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universecorp · 3 months

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Hearbeat pt.2 Teaser

Summary: After starting a situationship with your best friend from high school, things start to become complicated. Especially when you start to catch feelings.

Jaehyun x Reader Haechan x Reader (In pt2 and 3 )

w.c.: 2.3k

Genre: Comedy, smut, and angst

Warnings: Sexual themes, small argument

PLAYLIST: ♡

Sitting in a Dennys at 2:00 AM is not how you expected your night to end. You and Donghyuck had spent the better part of an hour talking and getting to know each other. He was easy to talk to, and funny, you didn’t feel like you were forcing any of your reactions which made you feel a lot more at ease than usual.

“Wait, you're Haechan? The streamer?” Donghyuck nodded, shoveling a scoop of hash browns into his mouth. “That’s so fucking crazy, my best friend loves your streams. We used to fuck and I remember one time he got the notification for your stream and stopped mid fuck to watch you.” Donghyuck nearly choked on the strip of bacon he was munching on.

“Please tell me you’re joking.” You shook your head. “That’s so sick, did he at least like pick up where he left off while watching?” Another shake.

“I had to push him on his back and ride him.” Donghyuck laughed loudly, catching the attention of most of the other late night eaters, but it was clear he didn’t care.

“Now that I think about it, there was this one time I read a comment and it deadass said ‘I was fucking my girl and stopped to watch.’ I thought it was probably a troll, but that might’ve been him.”

You scoffed, shaking your head once again. “There’s no way that was him, he would never refer to me as ‘his girl’ it would be kind of funny if that was him though.” Donghyuck hummed in agreement, it was all he could do since he didn’t even know Jaehyun.

There was a small awkward silence filled only with the sounds of plates clinking and light chatter from the other patrons. Donghyuck looked like he was having a debate with himself befofe hr finally opened his mouth. “Look, uhm, I don’t usually do this, I honestly don’t usually take my hookups to pre-breakfast either, but I was wondering if I could get your number?”

You were a bit shocked. You thought maybe this was normal and Donghyuck was just one of those nice guys who treated his fucks to post coiatal meals. Hearing otherwise brought a bit of heat to your cheeks.

“So uh… is that a no? Don’t leave me hanging here.”

“Oh no, wait no, I mean yes! Yes… you can have my number.”

“You’ve been smiling at your phone a lot lately. You and big head aren’t fucking again right?” Minjeong was doing your nails on the floor of your dorm, and you were definitely making it hard since you were texting Donghyuck with the hand she was trying to get you to dry.

“Of course not. I’m texting a new guy, I met him at that party me and Jae went to.” Minjeong perked up at the mention of a new guy. Talks like these reminded you of being a teenager, but they were always relaxing. You seriously owed Minjeong some girl time anyway with how far up Jaehyun’s ass you had been for the past year.

“So what’s his name?”

“Donghyuck, he goes here obviously, also get this, ” Minjeong leaned in “he’s that streamer that Jae likes a lot.”

“No way!?” Minjeong gasped, she accidentally swiped a little polish on your finger, but you didn’t mind.

You nodded, smiling basically ear to ear. “Yes way, and he’s so cute. He’s telling me how he wants to take me on a date this weekend!” You closed your phone to give Minjeong your undivided attention while she swiped acetone over her previous mistake.

“I’m happy for you, I know I was kind of an ass with all the ‘I told you so’, but I really just wanted you to be with someone who treats you for what you’re worth.” You knew that, but hearing it felt really good. You always knew Minjeong was just looking out for you, but she also knew that whatever you felt for Jaehyun wasn’t going away like magic. Even now you sometimes felt a twinge of what you used to when he did certain things, but it wasn’t as strong as it was a month ago.

“It’s ok Minnie, I know you only had my best interest.” You brought your nails hand up to blow on the wet polish. “Look on the bright side though, I went through all that and now I've learned my lesson. No more wasting time or energy on people who don’t deserve it.”

Minjeong jostled your shoulder, “That’s my girl.”

A week later you were with Donghyuck in his apartment, playing a co-op game called “it takes two” that he specifically bought for the date. He turned on his twitch to stream, but he left his mic off to enjoy the moment with you. He was ticking so many boxes and even Minjeong gave him the stamp of approval when he met her a couple hours ago. Everything today was perfect, he bought you flowers, ordered from your favorite takeout place and even surprised you with slippers for you to wear around the apartment. You had been seeing each other for about a month now so you figured he would be asking you to be his girlfriend soon, but you were in no rush. His gestures meant the world to you and even then just his presence was enough for you to feel satisfied.

Now the two of you were snuggled up side by side, controllers in hand and your head on his shoulder. Nothing could ruin this moment, nothing except your phone which had been buzzing on the nightstand for a good two minutes. “Hey babe, I can pause if you wanna get that?” You looked up at Donghyuck with a small pout before shaking your head. You felt bad that whoever was calling you clearly didn’t get the memo that you were busy.

“We can keep playing, I’ll talk and play, m’sorry.” Donghyuck waved it off as he waited for you to answer your phone. You rolled your eyes slightly when you saw Jaehyun’s photo, but still answered the facetime call. “What’s up loser?” You sounded less than enthused, but he should’ve expected that since you ignored his calls for two minutes.

“God what crawled up your ass and died weirdo and why aren’t you showing your face?” Jaehyun scoffed as if his facetime screen wasn’t paused.

“Just the fact that you’ve been calling me for two minutes. What the fuck did you want? I’m kinda busy.” You cursed under your breath since you and Donghyuck failed the game stage for the fifth time.

“First of all, I wanted to see if you wanted to grab dinner and come watch a movie, I’ll buy obviously. Second of all, if you’re gonna lie about being busy at least make it believable, I can hear you playing a game in the background.” Jaehyun had some fucking nerve assuming you would lie to him about being busy, but you weren’t gonna fight about it. You were gonna be civil. Even though Donghyuck had heard the way you and Jaehyun talked to each other before, he was a little annoyed that the other man was accusing you of lying.

“Jae, I’m on a date and we’re playing a game, so I actually am very busy.

“Wait… are you playing ‘it takes two’?” Jaehyun didn’t know about Donghyuck. He knew you had been on dates, but since he didn’t ask who with, you didn’t bother telling him it was Donghyuck A.K.A. his favorite streamer.

“Yeah, with my date.” You knew you sounded like a bitch, but you didn’t care. Jaehyun had barely been hanging out with you and even then it seemed like he only wanted to when he was bored. You were trying to follow Minjeong’s and your own advice and stop wasting time on people that don’t deserve it.

“If you’re actually playing a game with your date, show your face and his, then show the tv.” You were so close to hanging up on Jaehyun, but when you saw the screen pause and suddenly your phone was being held up by Donghyuck.

Donghyuck didn’t look happy. All of the irritation must have been building up to a point where even Jaehyun looked concerned. “Look, Jaehyun, I get it, you’re bored. I’m sure you miss having Y/N at your beck and call because you knew she would drop anything for you before.” Jaehyun opened his mouth to speak, but one glare from Donghyuck had him closing it immediately. “Those times are past and whatever sick game you’re playing at needs to stop. Got it?” The silence on the line was loud, Donghyuck knew he made his point. “Good. Now I’m going to go back to playing games with my girlfriend, enjoy the stream Jaehyun.” With that he pressed the end call button with a sigh and immediately after you were straddling the man.

“Girlfriend huh?”

Donghyuck set his controller down and placed his hands on your hips, it was all he could do to look cool despite the blush rushing his face. “Yeah uhm… I was going to ask you later during pillow talk after some earth shattering sex, but this is cool too I guess.”

You giggled, placing a kiss on his cheek. “This is cool too, don’t worry. We can still have earth shattering sex but now as boyfriend and girlfriend.” It was Donghyuck’s turn to giggle now. “Do you want to keep playing, we could even turn on the mic?”

Haechan shook his head, “No I think it’s time for that earth shattering sex we were talking about.” You bit your lip trying to suppress a laugh, he was so goofy and hot at the same time, you didn’t understand how anyone could be capable of that.

“I think that can be arranged…boyfriend.”

“He told you off?” Mark nearly yelled, catching the attention of several of the other students in the library.

“Dude keep it down, we’re in a library.” Johnny reminded before focusing back on his music theory assignment.

“Sorry, he told you off?” Mark asked again this time in a more suitable whisper.

“Yes, and she didn’t say shit bro, she just let him.” Jaehyun grumbled, taking a chip from the bag Johnny had managed to smuggle in.

Johnny was pretty unamused with the entire situation, given that he asked if the two men wanted to study in the library, but had basically been talking the whole time. “Have you ever thought that maybe she’s over how you treat her. I know you think you’re like bestie of the year, but you literally evaded her feelings for at least 6 months just so you would have an easy fuck.”

Jaehyun scoffed, “Remind me to stop telling you about my problems.” Johnny simply rolled his eyes before training them back on the score in front of him.

“I mean he has a point. You knew she caught feelings a while ago, and your agreement was to break it off, but you kept everything up. Plus you were the one who kept fucking with her and being all domestic, she’s probably traumatized.” Jaehyun shot a glare at Mark; he did not come here to be ganged up on.

“She can’t be but so traumatized since she spends all her time with Haechan, or Donghyuck, whatever the fuck his name is.” Mark and Johnny looked ready to hit their heads against the table, but clearly this was a delicate situation that needed to be nurtured and cared for so that Jaehyun would actually get some sense.

“Jae, buddy, pal, old friend if you will.”

“Get to the point Johnathan.”

Johnny sighed, “See the point is, she’s in a relationship now. You had your 15 minutes of fame where she basically avoided getting into something because she was holding out hope for you. Now, she’s tired of waiting. She wants something that makes her feel loved and worth it and frankly, your bare minimum effort of taking her back to your place to watch a movie and then fuck, isn’t cutting it.”

“Bars.” Mark fist bumped Johnny, adding an explosion sound effect at the end.

“You guys are losers. She didn’t seem to be complaining about the movie and fuck a couple months ago.” Mark cringed and Johnny simply shook his head at the way their friend could so shamelessly talk about you like that.

“Jaehyun, listen to yourself, you sound delusional. She may not have been complaining, but that’s also because if she did you would’ve had to break all of that off. You’re acting like she broke up with you when the two of you weren’t even together in the first place.” Johnny’s volume was starting to increase, but he couldn’t help it, he wasn’t the closest to you, but he refused to let Jaehyun disrespect you like this. “Also you literally only text or call her now when we can’t hang out. Do you think that makes her feel good?” Jaehyun opened his mouth, but Johnny cut him off. “Don’t answer that because I know you’re about to say some bullshit. You need to get with the program and stop treating her like some play thing that you decide to pick up everytime your other toys are broken!” Johnny finished closing his laptop and packing up his belongings.

“Dude, where are you going?” Jaehyun groaned before looking at Mark who was following in Johnny’s actions. “You too? Come on!”

Mark just shook his head, slinging his backpack over his shoulder before speaking again. “Dude, you have some serious soul searching to do. We don’t mind if you vent, but the way you talk about and treat her is sick.” Jaehyun just clicked his teeth in response to the younger man.

“Whatever.” Jaehyun stood up from the table and stormed out of the library.

“He needs to get laid.”

“Totally.” Mark agreed.

Taglist: @snapcracklen, @peachesmilk

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thewertsearch · 9 months

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TT: When John delivers the tumor, TT: And I do mean The Tumor, TT: I and I alone will navigate the Furthest Ring. TT: And I will destroy the sun. TT: By which I do mean the GREEN MOTHER FUCKING SUN.

Sounds like a plan.

Just... a plan. It's certainly a plan, and that's all I'm going to say.

TT: And in case it wasn't clear, TT: I won't be coming back.

Fucking what?

...oh, hang on, this is a fakeout, isn't it. It's her Dream Self, isn't it?

...isn't it?

TG: whoa fuck TG: a suicide mission are you serious TG: no bullshit thats not happening TG: hey look suddenly everything we just talked about was useless because its time to make a plan that doesnt fucking suck TT: Let's not be so dramatic. TT: I was talking about my dream self.

God. Do not scare me like that, Rose.

If you died in the Furthest Ring, I don't think you could be resurrected. There's no Space, so you can't even find the body to prototype.

TG: haha yeah thats fine i guess TG: those fuckers are all kinds of mad expendable

Not really. It's still an extra life, and you only get one freebie. Plus, the dual-bodies thing is actually pretty useful, and Dream Selves have access to magic like flight and shapeshifting.

Also... losing her Dream Self will put Rose in the Bubbles when she sleeps. That's the last thing her psyche needs.

TG: for someone whos saying lets cool it on the drama the whole i wont be coming back thing is a pretty theatrical bombshell TG: for future reference

That was pretty mean, Rose. Were you trying to see if Dave actually cared? Because you should know the answer to that question by now.

TG: so when do i do my thing TG: make this map [...] TT: If there's one thing you have more than any of us, it's time. TT: So, whenever you like. TT: As long as conventionally speaking, it's quite soon. [...] TT: And if you have trouble going to sleep, maybe you can ask your patron troll to trick the telepathic one into putting you to sleep again. TG: what TT: Each of us seems to have a troll infatuated with helping us. Haven't you noticed?

Jade doesn't. The troll she's probably talked the most with is Karkat. He's supposed to calm down later on, but I wouldn't characterize what he's currently doing as 'helping'.

TG: which ones yours TG: is it the absurd juggalo one that would be hilarious

...actually, Gamzee might be sufficiently off-putting to shock Rose out of this ominous mood she's in. I'm willing to give anything a shot, at this point, so bring on the Faygo.

#homestuck liveblog #full liveblog #act 5.2 #s91 #3043

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ashisgreedy · 11 months

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Professor Garreth Weasley x Female!MC

"A Potion Of You"

Word Count: 3,500 |Ch 2|

Chapter 1

The Three Broomsticks was more crowded than ever. She made her way into the bar, dodging and weaving people as she did. Her eyes scanned the patrons and landed on a familiar face.

“It’s been a while.” Sirona greeted her with a warm smile.

Her shoulders relaxed at the welcome sight. “Yes, it has.” She returned the smile, pulling Sirona into a friendly hug.

It was warmer inside than it had been out in the cool night air. She welcomed the change of atmosphere, feeling the tip of her nose begin to thaw.

“I didn’t think I’d see so many old faces in one night.” Sirona walked around the bar and waved her wand at the keg. “First round of butterbeer is on me.”

“Thank you.” She took a seat on the closest empty stool. “You said you saw other familiar faces here already. Do you know where they’ve gone? I’m supposed to be meeting up with some old friends but I’m a bit late.”

She glanced around again but didn’t see anyone she immediately recognized. She figured everyone she used to know may all look much different anyway. They were older and more mature-looking now that they were proper adults and not children going through a slew of puberty symptoms. Regretfully, it had been years since she had last seen any of her Hogwarts friends. It’s not that she didn’t want to keep in touch. She did. But, her desire for adventure took her farther from the castle than she’d ever imagined.

Her whole trip to Hogsmeade was a desperate attempt at seeking new opportunities. She wasn’t strapped for cash, but she was growing crazed for something new. The adventures she had as an adult were much less fun than when she was a teen. She grew bored of the humdrum and wondered if it would always be like that.

When Amit saw her walking around town earlier in the day, she was promptly invited to the bar for drinks. Amit said a few others were in town for the weekend as well and that they should all meet up again for old-time's sake. It piqued her interest, of course. She wondered what everyone else was doing with their lives. She thought she could take some inspiration and find something she was passionate about like Amit had done.

She took a big swig of her butterbeer but she stopped when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

“Hey, stranger!” Amit greeted. He patted her on the back a couple of times boasting a huge grin. “I’ve been keeping an eye on the door to make sure I didn’t miss your entrance!” He shouted over the growing volume of the crowd.

“It’s good to see you again, Amit! Sorry, I am late. I got caught up chatting with the vendor up the road.”

Chatting was one way of putting it. Truthfully, she was prying to see if there were any odd jobs she could take. A missing item? A recent troll attack? A possible kidnapping of a precious family pet?? Even if the task was small she was willing to pounce on it, as pathetic as she thought that might be.

“Not to worry!” He laughed. “Oh! Can we get another round please?” He gestured to Sirona.

Sirona nodded, pointing her wand toward the keg. Amit pointed up the stairs. “Want to come join us? We’re just up the stairs on the first landing!” He swayed as he pointed.

“Amit, are you sure you don’t need a glass of water or something instead?” She teased, grabbing her things as she stood.

“OH! Come on! When do you think I will get to celebrate like this again so soon?! It’s good to see some old friends!”

She followed closely behind him as he ventured back up the stairs. She wasn’t too sure who exactly would be joining them and found herself quite curious suddenly.

“I want you to know that I had full confidence you would be joining us tonight! Unlike some people...” Amit squinted at Leander in acquisition.

When he stepped out of the way she was able to see the ragtag group Amit had managed to wrangle. Her eyes scanned left to right waving and smiling at everyone. Her gaze stopped on another familiar face and she froze.

“H-hey!” He stood, flame-red hair a bit longer than she remembered. His shoulders were broader and his face was more defined, angular. “You made it!” Garreth walked over to her and stood in disbelief. She wondered if he was going to hug her, but he remained at a respectful distance.

“Hello, Garreth! It’s been a while since I last saw you. I don’t remember you being so…” handsome “...tall.”

“Ah, yeah” he laughed, foregoing the idea of hugging her after all. “That tends to happen when you get older.” He looked over at Leander. “For some of us.”

“Hey! I’m average height!” Leander balked.

“Please, sit with us!” A brown-haired woman gestured. She recognized her face but couldn’t put a name to it.

“Yes, thank you… uh.”

“Violet!”

“Thank you, Violet.”

Garreth ran his fingers through his hair and pulled out the nearest chair. “Yes, please have a seat.” He waited until she sat before he moved back to sit across from her.

She settled in while he took a huge swig of his drink, banging the empty mug down onto the table when he was done. Garreth’s maroon tie was already loose and the top button of his cream shirt was undone. She drank in the sight of him, noting all the subtle changes since she last saw him. It was much warmer on the second floor of the bar. Everyone else's coat was already hanging off the backs of their chairs and their scarfs were removed.

“Here you are.” Sirona came up behind them. She began to set fresh mugs in the center of their table.

There were five of them now, all sitting together around a large rectangular table. Amit set to her right while Garreth and Leander sat directly in front of her. Leander was seated between Garreth and Violet.

“What round are you guys on?” She asked, realizing just how flushed everyone looked. Amit was giggling at something Leander whispered.

“What does it matter!” He threw his hands into the air.

“One too many.” Garreth teased, pulling Amit’s new mug away.

“Hey! Give that back!” He stood and reached after his butterbeer.

Leander stood, held out his hand, and made sure Amit didn’t fall forward onto the table. “Maybe some peanuts for the table?” He suggested to Violet.

“Yes, let me go see if there’s a bowl nearby.” She stood, smiling at the guy's antics.

Everyone already seemed to be in such a good mood. She hoped it would rub off on her. She couldn’t shake the antsy feeling. Even now, back at her old stomping grounds, she was restless. Years ago, this place would have been a respite from all the activities she was always doing. Now, it WAS the adventure.

Garreth leaned toward her and spoke in a low tone. “I think he was here for a while before we got here.” Angling his eyes to Amit.

Leander nodded. “Much earlier.” He joined in a low tone. “He’s on the verge of getting tossed out of here.” He jested.

Amit settled back into his chair when Violet brought over the bowl of nuts. “So!” Amit began, slurring a bit. “What have YOU been up to these past few years.” He clapped his hands together, narrowly knocking over the bowl. Violet caught it just in time.

She cleared her throat. “Me? Um,” She scoured her mind for anything in her life that sounded even remotely interesting.

“Yes! What have you been up to?” Garreth added. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“Your hair is longer.” Leander pointed out.

“I keep it shorter now than how I had it in school.”

Leander squinted. “Then you style it differently… or something?” He guessed, tossing back a handful of peanuts.

Garreth shook his head with a sigh. His smile was contagious and she found herself grinning too.

“Do you work at the ministry? Or do you have your own shop?” Garreth pressed eagerly.

“Well, no. I mean, I did work at the ministry briefly.” Very briefly… barely 3 days. She wondered how many of her jobs she should raddle off. “And, I helped out at a shop near where I live for a bit.” One time. “But, right now I mostly do odd jobs here and there.” She rubbed her hands on her legs. Her palms had begun to sweat.

Garreth nodded thoughtfully. “You haven’t found anything you want to stick with yet?”

“Not yet.” She pressed her lips together. She took a large sip of her butterbeer and used her finger to wipe away any foam. “What do you do?”

Garreth smiled and began “Well, I-”

“He's a big shot professor now!” Amit blurted out.

“Oh?” She looked back at him with an impressed look.

“Yep!” Leander clapped Garreth on the back. “He’s the potions professor now.” His eyes held a prideful glint for his friend. “I know, shocker.”

“That’s impressive, Garreth! How do you like it?” She asked, leaning in with interest.

Garreth shook off Leander's hand from his shoulder and grabbed a fresh mug from the center.

“I love it!” His leg hit hers under the table and he sat up straight. “Sorry,”

“It’s alright.” She smiled, waving him off. “Tell us how you landed that position.” She sat back and took another drink of her beer.

“Connections!” Leander blurted. “Luck! Possibly even liquid luck!”

“Shut it, Leander.” Violet quipped, tossing a peanut at him. “Just because you needed liquid luck to get your job at the ministry doesn’t mean everyone else needs it.”

Leander fished for the nut Violet had tossed at him and ate it straight away.

“Connections or not, Garreth is a very talented potions master now!” Amit spoke up. He had begun to sink into his chair while his eyes drooped.

“Oh really?” She met Garreth’s emerald eyes.

“If you can believe it.” He smiled kindly and held her stare. She could swear she saw his face redden a bit.

Garreth was always chipper in school no matter the circumstances. Now was no different. It seemed like he’d always have a cheerful air. That was why she always gravitated toward him during their school years. Even on the hardest days, she knew he would lighten the mood and her spirits.

“I believe it. I am so happy for you.” She leaned forward toward him and Garreth mirrored her.

“I could give you a tour of my classroom sometime. If, I mean, If you are going to stick around for another day.” Garreth’s eyes glittered as he smiled.

“Oh.” She pushed her hair behind her ear. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be here.”

“Of course.” He sat back up. “I didn’t mean to impose or-”

“No, no! You didn’t. I would love to see your classroom. I just hadn’t thought about where I’d stay.”

Garreth leaned back in, smiling brightly again. “I’m sure Sirona could set you up with a room tonight.”

“This is so cute.” Amit sighed. “I still ship it.”

“What?” She snapped her head toward Amit and pinched her brows in confusion.

“Amit.” Garreth spoke his name sternly. She wondered if he used the same tone with his students when they acted out in his class.

“Bah!” He waved his hand. “It was years ago!”

“What was?” She inquired.

“Nothing- Amit!” Garreth spoke over Amit as he began to ramble.

“Garreth used to be so hopelessly in love with you.” Amit sighed, clutching at his heart. “It was so cute listening to him go on and on about if he should ask you out or confess to you. He had so many plans to ask you on a date and not one time did he follow through.” Amit laughed.

Leander nodded in agreement.

“Amit that's enough.” Garreth glared at Amit, desperation in his tone.

“I had… no idea.” She kept her gaze down and readjusted in her seat. Her foot hit Garreth’s knee as she tried to cross her legs.

“We always begged him to just ask you out already,” Leander added. “He was so annoying about it.”

“Please.” Garreth’s voice was quiet.

“I think that's enough, you two.” Violet pushed the bowl of peanuts toward Amit.

“Yes yes, sorry. But that was ages ago” Amit began. “I just thought it had been long enough that we could talk about it openly.” Amit gestured widely at the table.

There was a beat of silence.

“If you don’t mind, I am going to get some fresh air.” She stood, smoothing her skirt down.

Garreth buried his face in his hands.

“I’ll go with you,” Violet added.

“No, no. it's okay. It’s just getting a bit stuffy in here.” She turned toward the stairs. Her steps picked up speed the farther she went.

The night air blasted her face and she could feel the hot blush that had been crawling up to her ears. Despite it being Garreth that everyone teased, she felt just as flustered.

She took deep breaths, allowing the cool air to fill her lungs all the way before she exhaled.

It had been so long since she thought about how she felt back then. She and Garreth were inseparable their last few years at Hogwarts. She always suspected that he might have a thing for her, especially when he always had some kind of gift to give her. But, when he never pursued her, she let it go. She chalked it up to it just being a personality trait of his, being flirty and kind. Even if he was just that way toward her and no one else.

She crossed her arms and moved out of the way of the door to let people pass. A pang of regret radiated through her. Maybe she should have been the one to speak up while they were in school. Maybe then she wouldn��t have had to go stag to the yule ball. Her eyes began to sting as she stared up at the starry sky.

“Can I join you out here?” Garreth’s voice came from behind her.

She tore her eyes from the sky to where the voice came from. He had fixed his tie and put his coat back on.

“Of course, you can join me.” She shot him a small smile.

“I hope that wasn’t too uncomfortable…” He rubbed his hands together. “I’m sorry for… all that.”

“No, it’s fine, Gar.” His years-old nickname felt so natural rolling off her tongue despite it not being used in quite some time.

“I want to make sure you are okay…”

She nodded. “Thank you. I’m okay.”

“You got out of there pretty fast.” His smile faltered. “I felt the same. I’ve never wished for an invisibility potion more in my life.” His laugh sounded strained.

“Oh? The new potion master doesn’t have every potion on him at all times?” She quipped, finding a bench to sit on. She looked over at him thoughtfully and then pat the seat next to her. Garreth quickly obliged.

“That’s a great idea. I'll keep a bottomless bag of all my potions from now on. You never know when you might need them.”

She smiled as she looked down, digging her toes into the gravel. “Was it true?”

Garreth was silent.

“Was any of it true?” She pressed again. “Did you really like me all those years?”

He didn’t answer right away. He blew warm air into his cupped hands then fished through his pockets. “Is it okay if it is?”

“Garreth.”

He sighed, slipping gloves onto his hands. “It’s true… I’m sorry if that makes you uncomfortable. I never wanted you to feel that way around me.”

“All those years? You liked me all those years and you said nothing?”

His head dropped. Garreth licked his lips and nodded. “I didn’t want to lose you… you were my best friend. I-”

The alcohol she’d downed earlier began to tingle in her head. She willed the butterbeer to help her calm down. She didn’t think she could handle her heart hammering any faster than it already was.

“I had the biggest crush on you.” She rubbed her temples. Getting everything out in the air would be best. If this went south, It’s not like she lived here and she was going to bump into him again. She would get it out of her system at least. It was only fair since his dirty laundry was already aired.

Garreth’s face lit up. “You did?!”

“I did. And, I always wondered if you felt the same way…” She clasped her hands together. “I mean I thought you felt the same… sometimes. But then you’d pull away again and I would be left confused.”

A smile crossed Garreth’s face.

“Did you doodle my name in your notebook?” He teased, relaxing more in his seat.

“Shut up.” She laughed, pushing his arm. “No, I didn’t.”

“Liar.” He smiled so wide, his whole face lit up. “Well, that's too bad then.”

“What is?”

“It’s too little, too late. Right?” He put his hands behind his head and stretched.

“No... No. It’s not. Is it?”

“It’s not?”

She shook her head.

Garreth leaned closer to her. “So, if I asked you on a date tomorrow night, you would say yes?”

“A date?” She searched his face to see if he was being serious.

She studied him for a moment, bathed in the yellow glow of the lantern street light. Her eyes followed the curve of his ginger lashes as they curled upward, pointing to his well-kept brows. She noticed how the freckles closest to the center of his face were slightly bigger than the ones on the outskirts.

“Would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow night?” He spoke in a low tone. Not a hint of mischief in his words.

When she realized he was being serious, she nodded affirmatively. “I would love that.”

Garreth returned her smile as a blush rushed across his cheeks. “I am so happy right now, wow.” He laughed.

“Where are we going on our date?”

“Hmm,” He tapped his chin. ”May I keep it as a surprise?”

“Sure. I’m fine with it being a surprise. Just let me know what kind of outfit I need to wear. I don’t want to wear heels if you’re taking me on a hike.”

“Deal!” He agreed. “I’ll send you an owl first thing in the morning.”

They sat for a moment in comfortable silence, gazing at each other.

“This feels like a dream.” He reached over for her hand.

She reached out, palm up, and accepted the gesture.

“I can’t believe you liked me for so long and didn’t say anything.” She teasingly shook her head in disbelief.

“I know. I was so stupid.” Garreth laughed. “I mean, if I knew what I know now, I would have asked you out ages ago. But…”

Her brows perked up as he fell silent. “But, what?”

“I’m kind of glad we didn’t get together in school.” He rubbed his gloved fingers over the back of her hand.

“Why’s that?”

“Because statistically speaking… we might not have still been together.”

“I see.” She leaned in closer to him, watching him trace the lines of her hand. The buzz from the beer had spread throughout her body. She felt warm under her winter coat.

Patrons continued to walk into the three broomsticks despite how late it was getting.

“This place is pretty lively nowadays, huh?” She wondered out loud.

“It really is. I think the population in the area has gone up a lot since we were in school. A lot more houses have been built.” Garreth bit his lip and dropped his gaze. Another group walked past them, laughing as they entered the building. “Would you like to go back inside with me?” Garreth asked. “Despite what happened at the end there, I was really enjoying catching up with everyone.”

“Me too.” She nodded. “Yeah, I’ll go back in with you.”

“Awesome! We will just make sure Amit and Leander are cut off for the rest of the night.” Garreth stood and offered her his arm.

She laughed with him, linking her arm with his. “Deal.”

—-------

A|N: I saw lil-grem-draws post about Professor Garreth and was obsessed with the concept!

Also, HI I'm AshWren! This is my first fic in almost 4 years. I forgot how much fun it is to write!

Thank you for reading!

Read Ch 2 here.

#garreth weasley #garreth weasley x reader #garreth weasley fanfic #my writing

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takingchences · 2 months

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ultraviolet pt. 11 - BAKUGOU

A descendant of a legendary quirk longs to separate herself from her family name, but first she'll have to confront villains, ghosts from the past, and her growing attraction for Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight.

Pairing: Katsuki Bakugou x OP!fem!oc

Warnings: mature language

series masterlist + face claim

They hadn't been able to meet at the park for the last three days due to nonstop rain. Neither of them wanted to risk getting sick when the Festival was just days away.

Those three days gave Bakugou time to reflect on his strange behavior lately, like how he spent a few more minutes on his appearance in the mornings, spraying himself with cologne as if he wasn't going to come home coated in sweat and dirt. He'd even tried to tone himself down whenever her stupid friends were around... which lasted about thirty seconds before they'd had to restrain him from attacking some Troll Doll reject, who'd wandered over to pull Sana away, but not before purposely provoking the ash blonde.

For "shits and giggles," he'd claimed.

But the way that dumbass just crinkled her nose and laughed as she'd run off with the unknown boy was so damn cute and irritating that it only fueled his rage.

Or how her quirk lingered within his veins long after they'd finished training for the day, as if he needed a reminder of how she was slowly worming her way into his life. Lately the strawberry blonde had consumed his every waking thought. Almost every night, his dreams were plagued by twinkling eyes and patronizing smiles. She played a starring role in his favorite nightmares. Her smart mouth drove him insane, and her soft touch made his heart stutter. She'd gotten bolder by the day, often calling him by his first name when they were alone. Sana was touchy-feely with everyone, but she made it a point to wrap herself around his arms and torso like a boa constrictor whenever she felt like it.

She'd fiddled with his hair in class during one of the less interesting lectures and now she was obsessed. "It's so soft," she'd said in amazement. He'd rather shave his head than admit it, but feeling her fingers gently comb through his hair felt nice. Of course, he had to throw a fit every time she did so, but she'd just slap his shoulder lightly, force his head to face forward, and continue. He'd then slouch in his chair, his arms tucked under his chin petulantly.

The rest of their friends got a kick out of it.

It was now Saturday morning. He'd just received a text from Sana in the Bakusquad group chat inviting them to her house to hang out later that night. Her reasoning being that they were all working so hard lately, and what better way to relax and let off steam than to have fun with your friends? He could easily think of a dozen better things to do, but some part of him was hesitant to turn down the offer.

Bakugou pulled out his phone, scowling at the blinking line as he debated if he should text first or not. Luckily, Sana made the decision for him.

Sent 10:04am

Be there by 8 or I'll flambé your ass

The blonde shook his head, fighting the smile threatening to curve his lips. No. He'd rather go shopping with his mother than spend the night stuck in a room with a bunch of stupid extras.

Even if it meant seeing her.

Sana nibbled on her thumbnail, waiting in anticipation as bubbles danced across her screen, indicating that he was typing. She held her breath, every toe and finger crossed in hope that he'd agree to join in on the fun. A chuckle escaped her as she gazed down at the small screen.

Sent 10:07am

Who's kinky now?

¸☾⋆*･ﾟ¸☾⋆*･ﾟ¸☾⋆*

Bakugou found himself in front of her house hours later, his hands shoved deeply inside his pockets since he refused to knock or ring the doorbell. He still wasn't convinced on whether or not he should make his presence known or get the hell out of there-

The door swung open suddenly, a smug Sana bracing her hip against the doorframe. "I knew you couldn't resist."

"Whatever." He scoffed, turning to leave.

She shot forward, her fingers locking around his wrist and dragging him inside. "Nuh uh," she tutted, her other hand quickly wrapping around his bicep. "You're not going anywhere, mister." They both knew that Bakugou could easily break out of the hold, but something about the way she was hugging his arm to her chest made him feel warm and strange.

She pulled him deeper into the house, where laughter and music could be heard. Down the hall and to the left was a massive den area equipped with three couches arranged in a semicircle facing the biggest flat screen TV he'd ever seen. The sounds of Mario Kart were instantly recognizable as Sero and Denki sat hunched in their seats, shouting at the TV. The lightning boy had brown stains smeared across his mouth and cheeks, his bangs tied back and out of his face by a pink scrunchie.

"Bakubro!" Kirishima fist bumped the air, nearly tumbling off the arm of the couch he was perched on. "You made it!" The others chimed in, welcoming the ash blonde. The two gamers mindlessly waved, unable to tear themselves away from the screen.

"I told you he'd be here, Eiji!" Sana sang, smirking proudly up at Bakugou, who sneered in response.

Pop music filtered through speakers spread out around the room. Jirou was lounging in the corner, taking over as DJ of the party as she plugged in her phone. The switch cut the current song off midway through before starting a soft rock playlist. With her father out of town and Umi visiting her son and his family, Sana had free reign of the house.

The delicious aroma of snacks tickled his nose as Sana dragged him over to fix a plate. The strawberry blonde had to forcefully remove Mina from where she'd planted herself in front of the chocolate fondue. Her rosy cheeks were stuffed to capacity, like a chipmunk on a sugar high.

Outwardly, the ash blonde looked about as thrilled to be there as Mr. Aizawa at a press conference... or anything social really. Internally, he didn't feel much different. Get me the hell out-

Mina's hysterical laughter drew his attention as Kaminari dramatically fell to his hands and knees, his half of the screen now pitch black. "Curse you Rainbow Road!" He sobbed, shaking a fist up at the heavens, with Sero/Princess Peach placing third less than a minute later. The raven-haired boy jumped to his feet, cheering and whooping victoriously as his avatar popped wheelies. Kaminari (aka Baby Luigi in a stroller) was placed back on the track, coming in hot around a sharp corner... only to skid off the track once again.

To no one's surprise, he ranked last that round.

Mina and Kirishima made grabby hands for the controllers next. "Hand it over, chump!" She tried to wrestle the device from the blonde's hands. "Let the master show you how it's done."

"Guys! I have more controllers," Sana sighed, shoving the plate of snacks into Bakugou's hands and speeding away to break apart the two bodies now rolling across the floor. By some miracle, the solar girl eventually convinced the oversized toddlers to start a new tournament, so that everyone could participate.

Sana pulled Bakugou into the seat next to her, thoroughly enjoying his disgruntled expression. Jirou stretched out across the third couch, making dry comments about each player's progress and cackling each time Denki crashed into a wall, which was often. As the game went on, Bakugou registered a weight on his shoulder and blushed furiously. After three races, and no change in the blonde's attitude, Sana had enough. "Lighten up," she scolded playfully, lifting her head from his shoulder and jostling him with her's. "You're supposed to be having fun."

"This is fucking lame."

She rolled her eyes, her lips nearly brushing against his heated skin as she leaned in to whisper. "Well, what do you want to do?"

Bakugou looked at her, like, really looked at her. She was so close that it almost made him nervous. He was never nervous. He was Katsuki fucking Bakugou.

Her eyes danced across his features, lingering on his pouty mouth for a fraction too long.

Fucking Hell, they both internally groaned.

After the tournament ended, Jirou cranked up the music. With Nicki Minaj blasting through the speakers, everyone was smiling and singing along. They all danced in a group while Bakugou scrolled through unread texts from his mother. Mina and Sana were obviously the only ones with dance backgrounds, hip hop and ballet respectively. Kirishima knew every dad move ever to exist, while Denki pulled out old school moves like the worm, the sprinkler, and the funky chicken. Sero, not one to be out danced, proved to be a shuffle master.

Bakugou happened to look up and see Kaminari moving close to Sana, taking her hand and spinning her around. She laughed as he pulled her closer to whisper something in her ear. She leaned back, a grin spreading across her lips as she placed her free hand on his chest.

Fuck this.

"I'm out, losers." Bakugou announced, shoving his hands into his pockets and storming out of the room. His hand was on the door by the time Sana caught up to him.

"Wait a second!" She moved to grab his arm, but he pulled away, whirling around. "What's wrong?" She asked, reaching for him once more. He avoided her again. "Hey, talk to me." She shook her head, glancing behind them to make sure they were alone. "What's going on?"

"I didn't want to come to this stupid fucking party!" He nearly shouted, whirling around to face her.

Sana gaped at him for a second. "Okay," she dragged out the word. "So then why did you?"

An easy, simple question, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out the answer. He ran a hand through his hair, wanting to rip it out in frustration. Why had he come? He'd known it was a waste of his time, but he'd shown up anyway. Why, dammit?

The sunset haired girl sighed.

"Bakugou," she glanced back down the hall. "The whole point of tonight was to have fun and relax. You're so tense and worked up all the time. I thought this would be nice for all of us." Her eyes were sad.

"Yeah, it looked real fucking nice for you," he gestured angrily towards the living room. "Dunce Face couldn't keep his hands off you."

"What?"

"What?" He repeated, both teens looking at the other like they'd lost their mind. "Are you fucking blind? He likes you!" Sana shoved his chest until they were safely on the porch, closing the door behind them.

"He likes anyone that'll give him the time of day!" She argued. "It's fucking Denki we're talking about!" She pushed her hair back out of her face. "What does it matter anyway?"

"What about Troll Doll, huh? Or that damn Icy Hot bastard?"

Sana threw her arms out in exasperation. "What about them?!"

"They're not good enough!" Bakugou was practically screeching now.

Sana took a step back in surprise. Was it possible? Was Bakugou... jealous?

"You think any of those idiots are right for you? You think any of them are gonna wake up at the crack of dawn for you? You think one of them can handle it when your quirk gets out of control?" His chest was heaving as he spat the words. The memory of Sana being carried by Todoroki only feeding into the anger. Her calling that bastard's name to save her—reaching out for him, instead. His vermilion eyes locked on her, daring her to focus on anything but him. "Does he challenge you? Respect you?" He dragged his hands through his hair, his expression almost pained. "Can he fucking see you?"

Sana was stunned.

"See past the bullshit act you put on? Put up with your loud ass mouth... and not run for the fucking hills?" Bakugou's knuckles were bone white, his fists trembling as smoke trailed off them.

There was a heavy silence as they each processed what he had and hadn't said.

Can you handle this? Was what she'd heard underneath it all. Can you handle me? She wanted to say yes, repeat it again and again until he finally believed her, but she wasn't the one hesitating here.

"I'm willing to try, Katsuki." She released a shaky breath, unable to form words. Her heart fluttered and broke at the same time, each harsh beat threatening to crack the fragile peace. "Are you?"

Bakugou stiffened, turning his face away. His expression was as cool and unreadable as stone.

He'd never felt more out of his depth than now. His knowledge of dating was limited to the romance novels he read in secret. Personal experience? Nonexistent. Girls had always been intimidated by him because of his abrasive personality, but to be fair, he hadn't been paying them much attention either. His drive to be the best, the strongest, consumed every aspect of his life but that. To him, a relationship would only serve as a distraction, steering him off course on his journey to the top. But it was only recently that he'd started to doubt his own logic.

He was always so laser focused on his goals, his future, that he sort of missed out on the normal teenage experience. He'd never been in love, or had his heart broken. He could count the number of times he'd held a girl's hand, all of which occurred after entering U.A... and with the prettiest, most annoying dumbass to top it off.

If only she weren't so much like him—a lit stick of dynamite ready to combust at any given moment. Their shared stubbornness could be their undoing.

Sana waited, hoping for him to continue his confession, but as the silence dragged on, she could practically see his emotional walls coming up. He'd completely shut down, leaving her with a million unanswered questions. She gestured towards the front door. "All I wanted was for you to see that there are people that care about you, that want to spend time with you and get to know you. That I-" she pressed a hand against her pounding heart.

The ash blonde groaned. "Not this shit again-"

"It doesn't make you weak to care about someone, or to let someone care for you." She insisted, her voice stronger than before. "We all need to know that someone cares. That we're not alone, no matter how much it may feel like it." Her mouth quirked in a sad smile, her eyes turning distant.

Sana sighed. It was a deep, melancholy sound.

"But I remember how well you took my last piece of advice, so I'll save myself the trouble this time." She turned her back to the blonde, retreating back into the house. "Good night, Bakugou."

Relationships have the potential to weaken some people... but Bakugou was quickly learning that having someone with the same goals and level of drive could also be a source of strength and encouragement. Someone to help mold you into a better version of the person you were meant to be, and vice versa. Bakugou needed that, someone to keep him in check and soften his rougher edges.

"I'm willing to try, Katsuki."

It was time he started trying, too.

#bnha #mha #my hero academia #boku no hero acedamia #bnha x reader #bnha bakugou #shoto todoroki #bnha bakugo katsuki #bakugou katsuki #bakugou fluff #bnha fluff #kirishima eijirou #shouto todoroki #kaminari denki #bakusquad #bnha angst

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themidnightghoul · 2 months

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pls give me your fantasy ghoul ideas

I uh, went a bit hard at this so all my thoughts are under the cut because I wrote almost 1K words about fantasy Ghouls oops.

-Swiss bought the tavern five years ago after retiring from adventuring. He was tired of getting hurt and having to heal after especially intense quests so he took the money he had been saving and bought an abandoned tavern in his favorite town.

-He loves to work behind the bar! Getting to put his talents as a Bard to good use by sweet talking his patrons is one of his favorite things to do. Plus, they all love how charming he is and always tip him well.

-He’s been known to bring out his lute on occasion and play some of the songs he wrote while adventuring. People love to hear about the things he had experienced out in the world and he gets to perform again so it’s a win for everyone.

-Dew was part of his old adventuring party and he stuck around to help out with the tavern after Swiss bought it but he got tired of working pretty quickly and found that his talents were in playing cards! So now he spends nights beating patrons in card games and taking their money.

-When the tavern opened, he started a tab and told Swiss he’d pay it at some point. That was five years ago and Swiss hasn’t seen a single coin yet.

-Aether was a traveler passing through town and stayed at the tavern for a night. Dew beat him in cards and Aether immediately fell in love with the firey Wizard, deciding that he didn’t need to be anywhere but wherever Dew was.

-Swiss hired him as a bouncer and it gives Aether the chance to put his Barbarian skills to use.

-Dew will occasionally pick fights with patrons just to see Aether whoop ass and throw them out of the tavern. He loves it when he gets to see him use every one of those beautiful muscles of his.

-Mountain is a Druid who lives on the outskirts of town. He makes potions and sells them to the local shops and makes teas for Swiss to serve in the tavern.

-He loves to Wild Shape into a cat and walk along the bar top to annoy Swiss. But he always sets out a bowl of milk for Mountain to drink from and gives him pets.

-Phantom is a Necromancer who was hired to deal with a slight undead issue in the towns graveyard. The skeletons wouldn’t stay in their graves, it was a big deal.

-They stopped at Swiss’ tavern on the way into town to ask for directions and fell head over heels for Swiss and his smile. At first, they just really liked his teeth, but the more they would get him to smile and laugh, the harder they fell. They love to tell Swiss silly puns to get him to laugh.

-After the skeletons were laid to rest and the wayward Wizard was dealt with (he was raising the dead to try and impress a girl but realized he couldn’t control them and just hid in his house until it was handled), Phantom decided they wanted to stay in town to be with Swiss.

-The two live above the tavern and Swiss has to constantly tell them no, they cannot have his teeth while he’s still using them no matter how pretty they think they are.

-Swiss will never admit it but he loves how strange and unsettling Phantom is.

-Rain is a weather Wizard! He travels to nearby towns to help with managing the weather for successful harvests.

-He also has siren abilities and has been known to swim out in the ocean and lure unsuspecting sailors to their deaths when he gets hungry for human flesh. Dew thinks it’s hot as hell.

-Dew and Rain got into it once (Fire and Water, you know how it goes sometimes) and Rain zapped him with a lightning bolt (not strong enough to kill him, just enough to make a point). Dew’s been hopelessly in love with him ever since.

-Cirrus is a Cleric and works as a healer in town. It’s small but she loves to help people with her gifts. She gets her potions and healing herbs from Mountain. He’s teaching her how to care for the special herbs he uses to craft his potions and she loves it.

-Cumulus is a Fighter and met Cirrus after she took a nasty hit from a troll a few years ago. The two are attached and one is never seen without the other.

-They spend weekends at the tavern and will sing as entertainment. Any tips they get go straight to Swiss because they love the tavern and want to help him keep it going as long as they can.

-Aurora is a Rogue and an assassin for hire. Her claws are deadly but her smile is absolutely killer.

-She met Swiss when she was hired to kill Dew (he beat someone at cards and took their house because they were stupid enough to bet it thinking they would win and hey, it’s not his fault he’s really good at cards, right?) but got her ass beat by Aether.

-Her and Phantom are absolute chaos together. They like to go with her when she’s hired out and they’ll steal teeth from whoever she kills like a little trophy. Swiss is unsettled by it but it makes them happy so who is he to stop them, right?

-Aurora loves to dance when Swiss performs at the tavern! She’s been known to pickpocket patrons but they never notice because how could they pay attention to anything else when a hot little Tiefling is dancing right in front of them?

#midnight answers #im a nerd for fantasy ghouls oh my god #i could probably go on even more #but i figured this was a good start #just remember you asked to hear my ideas okay #fantasy ghouls #swiss ghoul #phantom ghoul #dewdrop ghoul #rain ghoul #aether ghoul #mountain ghoul #aurora ghoulette #cirrus ghoulette #cumulus ghoulette

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jecksaa · 10 months

Text

Forbidden Frolic

Idea: A perfect one liner by the wonderful @diligentcranberry <3 girls a bloody genius Summary: Being hunted by Sebastian in the Forbidden Forest after giving him an insight to your desires… one catch though, you are wandless. Pairings: Sebastian x F! Insert (might change that to either she/her of MC, unsure atm. Let me know what you think) Warning: MINORS DNI !! 18+ Content, not for your eyes! Teasing, kissing, being chased, hunted, no plot just smut, edging, pred!seb, protective seb, one shot, everyone cums, except the dead guys, murder! Word Count: 7.6K A/N: This is the first ever smut I have written, any advice is appreciated. Thank you to @slytherizz for reading this before I posted it. It is also on Ao3, but thought I would also post my work on Tumblr as well. Different Strokes for Different Folks.

You and Sebastian had been spending time together in Hogsmeade, taking a well-deserved break from studying for your upcoming NEWT’s. You had been stuck in that Merlin forsaken library for weeks. The weather had finally been nice that day, walking through the streets, free of worry and stress. Visiting all your favourite shops together, Honeydukes was always necessary along with Tomes and Scrolls. You always adored perusing the books, trying to find your next fixation.

Both of you always enjoyed each other’s company, it felt natural. With everything that happened in your fifth year, you both had this unspoken understanding of each other. Never judging, never condemning, or never allowing the other to feel alone. Sebastian had truly become someone you trusted and cared for. More than cared for, over time you both had made each other aware of the attraction. Stealing kisses while studying, sneaking around the dungeons late at night together. You had never gone further then kissing, nor did you openly discuss your feelings for one another. He filled your dreams at night, always waking when you reached the peak. He made you frustrated, but you needed to know if he felt the same.

A trip to Hogsmeade was never complete without stopping into the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer or two. The atmosphere was the usual, chatter of the patrons, music playing in the background, the smell of butterbeer and fire whiskey filling the air and their senses. There is always something comforting and safe about being here, your reminded of your first time here. Sebastian brought you here after the troll attack, this is where he and Sirona protected you from Rookwood. A home away from home if you will. You were comfortable here, tonight maybe a bit too comfortable as you settled into your regular corner, butterbeers in hand. You needed a bit of confidence if you were going to approach the subject.

Sebastian sat beside you as he normally does, but this was different. He was closer than normal, his shoulder slumped into yours. He had never shown any type of affection in public before, it sent your mind into a tizzy. You watched him as he downed his drink, the refreshing noise that escaped his lips, the liquid catching on his chin, the little bits of foam on his upper lip. He was delicious and you have clearly had too much sun. You began sipping on your drink, partially to distract yourself and partially because if he was going to play that game, so were you. Your whole body felt warm, like it was on fire. Before you knew it you had downed your drink, wiping the foam from your lips, a heavy sigh leaving you.

Sebastian chuckled at your display, leaning into you more “Something wrong, love?”

You shock your head, grabbing Sirona’s attention for two more drinks. She nodded in your direction and sent two full butterbeer’s your way. Sebastian’s expression was curious, paying no mind to the boy pressed into you. You grab your drink and begin to drown your frustrations. Butterbeer is weak, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Just enough to boost your confidence.

The noise echoed through the Three Broomsticks as you slammed your tenth glass onto the wooden table, your sigh was heavier, breathier. “You sure nothing’s wrong, love?” His voice was irritating. “NO, noth-in wrong, love!” Your words were a little slurred, but you felt fine. You raise your hand to grab Sirona’s attention again, Sebastian pulls it back down, holding your hand beside him.

“I think that’s enough, love…” He lingered on that word, his stupid smug smirk pulling at the corners.

You snatched your hand from his, climbing over him to get out from the corner table, tripping on your feet as they got caught on the wooden bench. Sebastian chuckles at your feminine display and follows behind you, stopping to pay Sirona as you march your sorry self out of the pub.

“Wait up would you.” You could hear his feet chasing after you as you made it through Hogsmeade, through the archway and over the bridge.

“And why should I?” You were trying to protest but you really were not sounding convincing, the weak alcohol clouding your thoughts.

“Because something is clearly wrong, and I would like to know what I’ve done wrong this time.”

You were as quiet as a mouse, and about as small as one. You wanted to yell and scream about how frustrated you were with him, about how he made you feel inside and out. How dreams of him plagued the night, his hands caressing your body, his lips kissing all over, his… You felt the heat creep up your neck, you shook it off. You concluded that the alcohol was not helping.

He was a couple steps to you left, making sure to keep distance between you as you walked back to the castle. He was fiddling with his fingers; you could see him checking in on you every few feet. It was beginning to infuriate you.

“You want to know what’s wrong with me…” It erupted out of you, maybe the alcohol was helping, or maybe it was all too much.

“Yes, please, love.”

“That. That is what is wrong. You call me love, you have for years and yet all you do is steal kisses.”

“I thought you wanted me to kiss you?” His full attention was on you, eyebrow cocked in question.

“I did, I do. But I want more. I don’t just want to dream about it, Seb. I want you completely.”

He froze, you followed. His head cocked to the side like a puppy.

“You have dreams about me.”

“That’s the part you want to discuss.” You swore you had never met a more infuriating man in your life.

Talking a step towards you “Yes, love. I would very much like to discuss the dreams I am present in, what exactly do I do in them.”

“That’s not important. What is important that we get back to the castle. It is almost curfew.” You turned on your heels, trying to put more distance between. You were not about to be made a fool by Sebastian Sallow.

You got all put two steps before his hand was grabbing your wrist, spinning you back to face him. “Don’t be like that. Please tell me, I would really like to know.”

“I would prefer not to discuss my sex dreams with you, Sebastian!” Your hand flew to try and stop yourself, but it was too late. Shit, you really hadn’t meant to say that.

“Go on, love.” He was doing that on purpose, then you would match that. You have had enough of his little game.

“Fine.” You watched his expression shift from his usual playful demeanor to serious, eyes narrowed on you. He was listening intently.

“In my dreams, we are in the library, a broom closet, an empty classroom. Your hands like to roam, your lips like to explore. You suck and bite at my skin, My nails scratch at yours.” Every step Sebastian takes towards you, you step back. “You are always so eager to rip my clothes off, I take my time. Your fingers feel good inside me; your cock fits my hand like it was made for it.” His gaze darkened; you could hear the softest groan in his throat. “You throw me against a bookshelf, against a wall, bend me over a table and you fuck me till I can’t breathe, till I can’t walk, till I am no longer coherent.”

The cold stone of the archway to the Forbidden Forest was pressed into your back, the ridged stone that protruded would have pierced your skin if not for your shirt, you hissed at the pain. Sebastian’s hands gripping your shoulders, his fingertips felt like they were going to leave small bruises in their wake. It happened so quickly, you blinked, and he was there.

“You are a fucking tease, you know that right?” Sebastian’s voice was gravelly, it cut through your mind and buried itself deep.

“N…no.” you were trembling under his grasp. It was odd to hear him speak like that; to grip you to the point of pain. It was confusing, your mind was trying to catch up to the tone of his words. Was he serious, did it affect him that much.

“You sure, love.” His breath was scolding on you neck, he grazed his fingers along your skin as he withdrew his hold on you. “Because I would love nothing more than to completely unravel you in the most forbidden place known to wizardkind.”

It made you shiver, your knees buckling at the thoughts that now raced through your mind, he couldn’t be serious. Where did the Sebastian you knew go, the man who was always gentle with you, even when stealing moments together. This was different.

“Se..” Your voice caught in your throat, the slight of Sebastian undoing the first couple of buttons on his linen shirt. The freckles that ran across his chest and up his neck, he was like a dream you have had to many times. The realization hit you, the dream. You felt the heat run up your neck, hitting your cheeks. You just wanted to tease him the same way he was teasing you, you didn’t mean for it to go this far.

Your train of thought was interrupted by the slightly seductive tone in his voice.

“But, for making me wait… there will be a punishment. Understood, love?” His voice sent lightning through your entire body, it felt like your magic. Wild, untamed, and dark.

“Pu-Punishment?” Falling over the word, what could he mean by that, punishment for what… what did he mean by making him wait. You were the one confession about having dreams, fantasies about him. You had kissed multiple times in the last 2 years, but he always made sure it never went further. Had he wanted it to go further, he should have said something, done something.

You watch as Sebastian begins to crouch down in front of you, his hand on your ankles, running up the side of your calves, the back of your knees. A small whimper crept out; his touch was like fire on your skin. His left hand lingered on the back of your knee, gripping slightly. It made your breath hitch in your throat, the slightest moan escaping. His right hand ran under your woolen skirt, up your thigh. His thumb grazing the skin of your inner thigh, it was maddening. Your lips felt like they might begin to bleed it you bit down any harder.

“Yes, punishment.”

He pushes himself slowly back up, bringing his left hand to mimic his right. Both hands meet at your hips, thumbs pressing sharply in the gap between the end of your thigh and your hip bone. The feeling of the night air caressing your exposed skin, your skirt was gripped under Sebastian's hands. You felt your mind fading away, this was better than any dream you could have. Your behind was feeling the harsh stone being forced into the skin, The softest moan escaped as your front felt all of Sebastian’s arousal. You wanted nothing more than to wrap your hands around his neck, run your fingers threw his hair and let him take you completely. You didn’t care that you were still standing just off the main road that connected Hogsmeade and Hogwarts, you had waited long enough.

“It’s about time that the “Hero of Hogwarts” pays for making me wait this long, But I’ll be considerate first.” His smirk pulled at his lips.

“You’ll.. be considerate.” It was all but a breath coming out of your lungs. Your focus was fighting you, was it the alcohol… can’t be Butterbeer was weak, you had completely forgot what a light weight you were. Whatever it was, it was making you a little unsteady.

“Yes, love.” Eyebrow raised; smirk firmly placed. “I am going to give you a head start…”

“Head start?”

“Yes, but if I catch you, your punishment will be given.”

“Wha...”

Sebastian gestured to the entryway you were firmly pressed up against.

“You want me to run into the forbidden forest at night time.”

“Yes. However, one condition.” His right hand traveled back down your thigh; you heard a small familiar click of your wand holster that was strapped to your thigh. He withdrew his hands from your skin, letting out a small whimper at the loss of his touch, your skirt falling back to its wrongful place.

“This stays with me.” He held your wand in between his fingers, gently rolling it in place. Your breath protested at the presence of your wand in his hands. You would be defenseless in the forest, it was past curfew and yes you had cleared out most of the Poachers and Ashwinders, some still lurked though. Not to mention the natural predators that lived in the Forbidden Forest.

“No arguments!” He was demanding, you had never seen Sebastian like this. It was a sight you would very much like to get used too. Your expression must have been so easy to read. “Don’t worry. I would never let any harm come to you.” Under the demanding tone, there was reassurance. You knew that all too well, he had always protected you, always would protect you.

“Now that we have everything in order love, you have one thing left to do.” Rough, dark, and tempting. It hit that spot that had not stopped screaming since he opened his mouth.

You looked up at him, eyes wide barely focusing, mouth slightly parted, lips dry almost bruised, breath ridged, waiting…

“Run!” Sebastian’s eyes looked predatory as he watched your expression change from longing, confusion to realization. It was fear that settled, your mind pretested but your body knew better.

Clambering off the stone archway, you made a run for it into the forbidden forest. Your feet catching the wonky wooden bridge as you bolted, trying not to trip over. Your eyes trying to focus on the on the ground, the roots that had grown out from underneath and the loose rocks that were scattered throughout. You had been into the Forbidden Forest many times over the last three years, you knew where the paths lead too, what areas to avoid and what beasts roam where. But right now, your mind could only focus on one thing, running from Sebastian Sallow.

You weren’t sure how long you had been running, your chest ached from the short, harsh breaths that left your lungs. You needed to find somewhere to hide, to catch your breath, to rest your legs. You came to a fork in the dirt path, warning signs pointing in both directions. Familiar, you had been here before, mind racing trying to pinpoint… Jackdaw. You gave it your all, sprinting to your right down the path that you knew. Sebastian didn’t know about Jackdaw; he wouldn’t find you there.

At least this path had some light emanating from the little oil lanterns that were scattered around. You followed your memory, leading you to the small lake off to the left you took a quick rest, you really needed to catch your breath. You could hear all sorts of noises that were reserved for night in the forest, the wind in the trees above sounding like muffled screams, the howl of a wolf or mongrel close enough to hear but not see, the croak of dugbogs in the nearby swamp. Your hair stood on end, gooseflesh rising on your skin. The fear mixed with adrenaline was a combination you have felt before. This dizzying feeling was new, this was combined with the ache that had settled in your core, it was a tingling sensation that was uncomfortable. It needed to be scratched.

Crack.

The sound of small bits of tree breaking underfoot made your heart race, your eyes darting around to find nothing. It was time to move again, your legs moved quicker this time. The noise was enough to give you motivation, you didn’t know what punishment Sebastian had planned for you, but you weren’t about to find out this quickly. A part of you was excited though, the idea of being caught by Sebastian was enough to make the wetness in between your legs uncomfortable as you ran through the forest.

As you rounded the small cliff sides, a tiny light was emanating from between the trees in front of you. Making your way to hide among the trees, you needed to know of the potential threat, was it poachers or ashwinders or some idiot with a death wish deciding it was a good idea to go camping in the forest.

Your eyes scanned the encampment, cages littered the area, but they were empty. Good. But these were definitely poachers, you instinctively reach for your wand through the fake pocket you had created in your skirt for easy access to your wand holster. An annoyed sigh left your lips. Right, no wand. She was going to punish Sebastian herself for that one. If they were to see her, she would be as good as dead. Quietly looking around for somewhere to hide, a rocky opening in the cliff side was your safest option. As you get closer it looks like a cave opening, keeping your eyes on the poachers across the way, you back in letting the darkness eclipse you.

You closely watch the poachers, their movements to see if they plan to leave the encampment. They seem to be pretty set for the night, no sign of moving on or going on their own hunt, a similar hunt you were currently involved in. You wondered where Sebastian could be, was he still chasing you, had he given up, had he gone in the wrong direction. You hadn’t seen him since you entered the forest, your mind started to race. Was this a cruel joke for his amusement. You couldn’t shake the feeling of humiliation that snuck its way in. Sebastian would never, you forced it out of your head with a violent shake.

It was forceful, tight, warm. A hand covered your mouth, the other wrapped around your waist, pulling you flush against something, someone. When did someone get behind you, had they been waiting for someone to come past, how did you not notice them. You needed to get away, thankfully you were a quick thinker, and thankfully the butterbeer had finally begun to wear off. You maneuvered your mouth, allowing one of their fingers to slip into your mouth. You bit down as hard as you could, hoping this would get them to loosen their grip.

The hand flew from your mouth, trying to shake the pain off. You could see a little bit of blood where you pierced the skin. “Fuck!” nothing but a growl, one you were familiar with. You tilted your head to the back to make sure. “Seb…” His hand that was wrapped around your waist whipped you around to face him, his bitten hand gripped your throat. The familiar feel of sharp stone and rocks pressed into your back as he forced you against the wall, your knees buckling at the pressure.

“Did you have to bite me.” Sebastian loomed over you, half-lidded gaze flicking between your eyes and lips. Just a little instinct made your lips part ever so slightly, your tongue wetting the smallest area as your eyes watched his. Something about him like this made you weak, made your core ache.

“I thought…” You could barely get the words out with the grip Sebastian had around your throat.

“I know who you thought I was, did you forget about me already?” He voice was almost playful, his eyebrow raised at the question.

You shock your head, you hadn’t stopped thinking of him. Just glad he didn’t leave you here, wandless. You relaxed a bit in Sebastian’s grip. That seemed to confuse him.

“I think you are forgetting, love. I caught you.” Forcing out a whimper from you with his hand. Leaning his face closer to yours, his warm breath on your cheeks. You didn’t forget, entirely. Your heart raced at the idea of Sebastian doing whatever he wanted to you, in such a place.

Your eyes darted to the entrance of this small cave, now that your eyes have adjusted you could make out where you were. You could see Sebastian a little clearer, he looked smug, satisfied even.

“Don’t worry about them. All you must do is be quiet” Sebastian’s free hand ran down the side of your waist, gripping you firmly against the stone wall. Before you could protest his lips were on yours, kissing you like it was the last thing he ever did. His tongue slipped past your parted lips, needing to explore your mouth, his mouth capturing the small needy moans you were producing. He tasted sweet, a combination of the lollies from Honeydukes and the Butterbeers from Three Broomsticks. The hand around your throat tilted your head back further so he could have full access for his tongue to slip in completely. Rolling it over yours, grazing the roof of your mouth, your teeth, it was desperate, and you were gone.

Your hands needed to find homes, desperately. One grabbing the forearm of the hand firmly wrapped around your throat, your nails digging into his freckled skin. Hissing The other hand pressed between your bodies, splayed out on his chest. The heat was intoxicating, your hand chased the warm Sebastian’s body was giving, sliding up his chest, around his neck, tangling your fingers in his soft brown hair. He needed to be closer to you, you needed him closer.

The hand that had been on your waist had traveled further down to your thigh, now hiking up your skirt, gathering it between his index and thumb. His free fingers caressed the soft skin of your upper thigh where your drawers meet before sinking his nails into the tender flesh. His lips breaking from yours, A soft mewl escaped into the air between you. He moved your head, so your gaze is locked with his, through half-lidded eyes you see Sebastian’s devilish charming grin, his eyes felt sinister, greedy.

“Kissing you has always left me wanting… more.” The hand around your throat fell to his side, air rushed into your lungs, it made your head spin. “Today, after such a marvelous confession, I’ll be taking it all.” His warm breath clung to your neck, you didn’t have time to right yourself before you felt his fingers graze up your thigh and settle on the wetness that had leaked out. A hum of delight at the slick filled your ear, his fingers lazily moving the damp fabric over your clit. Stifling the moan that was building with your palm, you bit down on the soft part where your thumb connected. Anything to not alert the danger that stood a couple hundred feet from you.

“Seb- please, not here.” Breathy, muffled, trying to wriggle out of his grasp on your thigh.

His middle finger picked up the pace, tantalizing circles over your sensitive clit. The thin fabric in-between was suffocating, you wanted skin. But not here, anything but, his finger pulled back. Oh he listened, he understood the danger looming.

You felt a small tug just above the dampness, the string holding them up falling loose. Your drawers pulled down your legs, Sebastian moving down with them. Your skirt falling to its wrongful place once again, you whimpered in protest, your body wasn’t worried about the danger that your mind was, it just wanted Sebastian.

Your fingers still tangled amongst his hair, you watched him step your feet out of your drawers, slipping them into the pocket of his trousers. “You get these back when we are finished, understood?” All you could muster was a quick gulp and a small nod. Sebastian was playing dirty, he didn’t listen at all to your plea.

Sebastian didn’t hesitate, this time his thumb connected between your folds and ran up to your clit setting in with an unrelenting tempo, his fingers sprawled across your abdomen, pushing you into the stone wall harder. A needy moan softly echoing in this small space, you needed more, needed all of him. “Fuu-ck, you are soaked.” Looking up at you through hungry eyes, licking his lips, the tell-tale sign of the smug grin he wore when he was winning. It drove you mad, the fingers that were interlocked with his hair, gripped tighter. Sebastian let out a wince, a smirk pulled at the corner of your lips. “Gentle, love. I am only beginning.”

It sent lightning through your entire body when his tongue began lapping at your core, a disgruntled moan vibrating off your skin. Your balance shifted when Sebastian pulled one of your legs over his shoulder, resting his hand on the soft skin of your thigh. Your other hand flew to his hair to keep yourself up right. “That’s better. I want to taste you properly.” His tongue back between your folds, darting around, tasting your arousal. Small praises were being etched into your skin. “Seb- fuck“ A breathy moan lingered, your finger nails digging into his scalp. “please…” Your hips grind against his tongue, the hand on your thigh moved to your hip, forcing you back into the stone wall. His tongue circling your clit, your hands pulling him closer, chasing the friction. His lips sucking at you, his tongue curling around the small nub. His pleasing hum vibrating against you made bite your already sore lip harder than before, you could feel your release approaching. Through the bite all you could muster was a needy “more…”

Pulling his head away “patience is a virtue, love.” Your body protested the absence, softly thrusting your hips. He smirked at your obvious display. You could see your slick along with lips, dripping down his chin. This was punishment enough; he didn’t have to add to it by nipping at the soft flesh of your upper thigh. Sucking little bruises into your skin, his tongue grazing over the sensitive marks to sooth them. A small whimper leaving your lips.

Your leg fell back to the floor as Sebastian stood back up, hand still holding your hip firmly in place. Your hands let go of his hair, moving to his belt, pulling him into you. Your hands fumbled with the buckle on the belt, Sebastian pulled your hands away. “Not yet. Few more things to take care of first.” Tilting his head down towards you, one hand wrapping back around your throat. He pulled you into his lips, crashing together feverishly. The taste of your own arousal filling your senses, it was addicting to taste yourself mixed with his own sweetness.

The hand holding your hip in place shifted, gasping at the sudden intrusion of fingers inside, two to be precise. His movements were deliberate, hitting that itch just inside your core. Your moans had become desperate, unable to stifle them much longer. You pawed at Sebastian’s linen shirt, you managed to undo one more button on his shirt, slipping your hands inside. Running your nails over his warm freckle-smattered skin, smalls dark chest hairs tickled under your fingertips. He groaned into your mouth, his tongue dancing with yours. His fingers stretching you open, rubbing that spot you have trouble reaching yourself. His fingers are rougher than yours, thicker. His palm was resting on your clit, keen mewls follow with every thrust, you could feel that sensation again.

Your head fell back onto the stone wall “Fu—ck, Seb… yes, yes…”

You winced at the emptiness you felt as Sebastian retracted his fingers. You watched as he brought them up to his lips and sucked them clean. “You taste fucking divine, love. It’s a shame really.” He sounded pleased with himself, proud even.

“Sh-shame?” Catching your breath, watching him take a step back. Your skirt doing the one thing you hate.

“Yes. That was just the beginning of your punishment.” He stood across from you, arms folded, shirt still unbuttoned. You could see it more clearly now, his collarbones poking out from where the linen shirt sat open. You watched his chest rise and fall as he also seemed to be catching his breath. “The chase is still on, just this time.” His eyes darting to your skirt, eyebrows quirked. “Missing a vital layer.” His tongue ran over his top lip, it made your knees buckle again. Hands clambering to support you on the wall.

“Please, Seb. I can’t, no more.” Pleading with him, you were ready to give him everything. All he had to say was yes.

“You can, and you will.” His voice demanding, his gaze lazily roaming over you, you were sure you looked a mess. He seemed pleased with himself; the smug smirk plastered on his face again. If you didn’t need him, you would slap that smirk right off his face for toying with you. Punishment, you had also waited just as long if not longer than he had. Why were you the only one being punished, a sigh left your lips as you pushed off the wall. This was a bad idea, but two can play this game.

“Yes, Sallow.” A teasing tone, you meandered over to him. His head cocked to the side at the change in name and tone.

“But before I make my way back into the night.” You closed the distance between Sebastian and yourself. Your hand reaching for his belt again, watching his hands jolt in your direction. “tch tch, watch those hands Sallow.” Your voice matched his demand. Unclasping his belt, undoing it ever so slightly. You pop the buttons to give you access. Running your hand down into his trousers, finding his hard cock, “F-uck!” Sebastian letting out a hiss at the intrusion. You wrap your hand around, softly gripping. You let out a small moan at the thickness. You run your thumb over the tip in small circular motions, leaking, sticky. Sebastian’s hips jerk slightly, his cock moving in your hand, you begin to slowly slide up and down, enough to coax those sinful noises you did not know he could make.

“Patience is a virtue, love.” Mocking, stroking the flame. If he wanted torment, you were happy to oblige. Sebastian’s hands grip your shoulders, half to hold himself up and the other half to pull you away. Your hand retracted from his cock, bringing your thumb to your lips. You ran it down the length of your tongue, closing your lips around it and sucking it clean. Sebastian tasted fucking delicious, salty, a little bitter but perfect. You mimicked his smug smirk, his half-lidded eyes were dark, serious. Your heart hammered in your chest, the feeling from before was back. Tantalizing fear.

“Fucking Run!” This time it was a growl.

Your feet had never moved quicker, quicker than the first time. They caught on each other as you stumbled out of the cave, your hands giving traction on the dirt ground. You swear you heard him snicker at you. You didn’t care, you needed to run, you had never seen Sebastian that frustrated, it was enough to motivate your legs to move. Kicking up the loose dirt as your feet finally hit the ground properly, you didn’t care if the poachers were alerted. You were sure Sebastian would make quick work of them, in his current state. Glancing to the encampment as you ran past, it seemed they might have turned in for the evening.

The night air was colder than you remember, it felt like it was cutting through your warm skin as it whipped past your rushing body. It nipped at the wet core between your legs, muffled curses falling from your lips, taking Sebastian’s name in vain. Your breath was ragged already, you hadn’t been running for long, and your legs were already beginning to protest. They still felt the ache in between them, the denied release lingering as your thighs brushed together as you sprinted from the cave.

Throwing out the idea of hiding near Jackdaw’s Tomb, you head in the opposite direction. Approaching a junction you weren’t familiar on, you have to slow down, one to catch your breath and two to listen for dangers. The night-time noises fill your senses, the owls above with their drawn-out ‘whoo’s’, the branches rustling in the trees that surround you, and the mongrels howling at the moon. It was coming from your left, which was all you needed to turn your attention to the right.

The path was lined with dense trees and plants alike, you could see moonstone growing from the cliff side on your right, giving you the smallest bit of light from its glow. The path winding down further into the forest, you were certainly in the middle of the Forbidden Forest by this point. Your legs kept moving in a direction you had no idea where it would take you, but as long as it was away from Sebastian you would be… safe. It made you chuckle to yourself, safe. He was the safest place for you, the one you trusted with your life. You weren’t running because you didn’t feel safe, you were running because deep down the feeling of being hunted made your entire body ache. That tiny little voice in the back of your head was screaming in anticipation.

Thankfully, the momentum of the downward slope helped you move quicker down the path, not thankful about the tree you almost crash into when you reach the bottom. The path opened into a small lake; fireflies danced over the shimmer blue water. Large rocks scattered around the area, you prop yourself on one to catch your breath and to check on your hands that you had to use to stop yourself from the tree. They were a bit red and grazed, you would live. Watching through the trees as best as you could to see if Sebastian was following you, you couldn’t see all too well, but you also couldn’t hear any footsteps. Believing you are safe for now; you crouch down to wash the dirt off your hands. The water was cool on your skin, soothing the sore area on your palms.

You don’t know how long you had been watching the fireflies dance, the dragonflies that would just graze the water enough for it to ripple. Your arms resting on your knees, your fingertips playing with the water near your feet. It was peaceful, quiet, it made you almost forget about the looming danger. Your ears perked up at the rustle of nearby leaves, the hairs on the back of your neck stood up. Your heart pounding in your chest, blood rushing to your ears. You felt the tension in the air, you slowly lifted yourself up, turning to face the noise.

“Hello, sweetheart.” A stocky man, dressed in simple attire. Stubble on his chin, horrid smirk creeping up his lips.

“What do we have here, a wee little thing aren’t ya.” A gangly man, sort of weaselly looking. Long dark trench coat, fingers twitching at his wand.

No words left your slightly parted lips, your eyes scanning as far as they can see, hoping to see Sebastian. Your body trembled with real fear, you were wandless, defenseless, and alone. You wanted to scream, cry out for him but you couldn’t, your body and mind protested at the idea. You were completely frozen.

The stockier man took a few steps towards you. Looking back at the skinnier man, chuckling amongst themselves “She looks scared, doesn’t she.”

“It’s alright lass, we won’t hurt you… much.” The skinnier man had the most disgusting, sinister grin you had ever seen. Your mind racing, it reminded you of Rookwood’s grin before you took his life. A knot grew in the pit of your stomach, you needed to get away.

The skinnier man was in front of you before you could run, had he read your thoughts or was it just obvious that you wanted to run. His fingers gripping your chin, trying to pull away. The stockier man crept up behind you, hands grasping at your shoulders. It made you want to shed your skin; you were unable to break free. The fear of being completely defenseless was overbearing.

Your eyes instinctively shut as the skinnier man’s face closed in on you, the smell of stale cigarette smoke lingered on his breath. It made you physically ill, your breathing becoming shallow.

“Come on, lassie… let me see those pretty ey….” His voice disappeared into the wind, the feeling of fingers gripping your chin… gone. Your eyes slowly peaked open; the gangly man had vanished entirely.

“ERNIE!” The stocky man behind screaming in your ear, his friend was gone. His grip on your shoulders tightened, as both your gazes fell to the figure standing across the way. Wand pointed at the stockier man, his expression was dark, calculated, and ominous.

“Let.. Her.. Go!” Sebastian’s voice was like thunder, a threat of a storm approaching.

“Back away… or… your sweet little thing gets hurt.” The stocky man’s voice was shaky, unsure of itself. You could feel the hand that still gripped you was shaking; he had seen what Sebastian did to his friend. It must have been a sight; you kept your eyes focused on Sebastian. You didn’t want to miss it this time. The other hand held his wand, which was now pressed into your throat. You hissed at the sensation of it dragging across your skin.

“You alright?” Still thunderous but collected this time. All you could give was a small nod. “Good, I’ll make this quick. Just need you about 2 feet to the left though.” His devilish smug smirk pulling at his lips.

His grip was tighter, pulling you in close to his body, the feeling of his wand digging into your skin. You needed to get away, you could feel your magic screaming to get out. Your fingertips felt electric, coursing through your veins. It was demanding to be set free, you had never released your magic without a wand before. Clasping your hand, fingernails digging into your palm.

Bright white flashes of lightning screeching from above, hitting the ground that surrounded you. The stocky man’s grip loosened, and you were able to get free. Clambering away towards Sebastian, you watched his body shift, feet planted firmly on the ground, a wand movement you had not seen before, no incantation. A bright white light matching yours that still filled the opening shot across the clearing. You watched as it hit the stocky man in the chest… and he was gone, dust. Your head cocked in disbelief, eyes shifting back to Sebastian.

“Are they… dead?” Confused on the spell used, where did Sebastian learn to do that.

“What do you think, love. They touched you, of course they are dead.” It felt like the electricity from your magic rushed to your core. Sebastian would never allow anything to happen to you, ever again. Your teeth biting into your bottom lip, taking in the man walking towards you. “Seb-astian, what was that?” curiosity, maybe he could teach you. “Later. More pressing matter at hand.”

You took several steps back as he approached, backing into one of the larger rocks in this clearing. Sebastian closed the distance, looking for any signs of harm. You gave him a reassuring tender smile, you were okay, now. His hands clasping your cheeks, his lips were tender, kinder than before. This kiss felt like every stolen kiss you two had shared over the years, the secrets you hid in dark corners of the library, in empty classrooms in the dungeons, or the meadows surrounding the highlands.

“You are mine and I am yours, from now until the day we die.” It sounded like a demand, one that you would happily follow to the end of the earth.

“Yes” breathless, heart pounding against your rib cage.

His lips crashing back into yours violently, hands clasping your face, pulling you into his mouth. His tongue breaks apart your lips, slipping in and tangling with your own. Soft moans being captured, hot breath burning your lips. Your mind was racing, legs shaking, back pressed hard into the large rock behind you. You mumbled his name through a break in your lips. Your hands roamed over his linen shirt, pulling at the buttons, Sebastian’s shirt feel open. Your hands pushed underneath the material, running them over his broad chest, your fingernails tangled in his scattered chestnut chest hair.

Sebastian breaks from the kiss, moving his lips across your jaw, nibbling at your skin. “I had more planned.” His teeth graze your earlobe. “I was going to sneak up behind you.” His lips on your neck, sucking little bruises into your flesh. “Seb…” Your hands trailed down his chest, nails dragging along his skin. “Wrap my hand around your throat, you seemed to like that.” He purred into your skin, his fingers making quick work of your shirt buttons, pulling it off your shoulders. Your hands found his belt done up again, your fingers fumbled as you unclasped the buckle. His humming vibrated through your skin as his teeth sunk into the skin at the base of you neck, tongue lapping at the flesh that was beginning to bruise. A needy mewl filling the air as your head fell back against the rock, hands pulling at his trousers to loosen them. “No patience, love.” Another needy mewl answering for you. “Good, me neither.” Sebastian’s voice was a low, rough hum.

A small shriek pierced the air, Sebastian pulled your legs up to rest on his hips, his hands supporting your backside by your thighs. Skirt pushed in between your bodies, your hand slipping down to free Sebastian’s cock from its restraint. Your neck being nipped at as he adjusts his hips to line with your soaking core. Grinding his hips against the wetness between your legs, the tip pressing between your folds. Your body reacts to the intrusion, moaning in delight at Sebastian’s throbbing cock stretching you open. Fingers gripping into his biceps to sturdy yourself, he lowers you slowly until he is completely engulfed by you.

“Hol-y Shit, Love.” Growling at the tightness wrapped around him, letting you adjust to him. “Your cunt… feels f-fucking divine.”

Sebastian’s movements felt deliberate, deep penetrating thrusts that hit the deepest parts of you. Every thrust invited needier moans. “Seb… please… more…” You could feel the tears streaking your cheeks with every twitch of his cock. His hip bones hitting against your thighs, his hands slid to grab the back of your knees, pulling your legs closer to his chest, your back fully digging into the rock.

His cock plunged into you, again and again and again, deeper with each retreat. Little praises, ragged grunting and breathing filled the space between you two. Your hands shifting to grab hold of his neck, pulling him in hungrily. Pulling his bottom lip in-between yours, biting softly at him. A hand ran into his untamed hair, gripping it between your fingers. Small winces caught between your lips. Sebastian pressed his body further into you, his pace was frustrating. “Fuck, love.” You could feel his breath against your lips. “I want to feel you come undone on my cock.”

“Yes, Se-bastian… Ple-please… you feel so…good… I need to come.” Begging for the release you have already been denied. His hips tilted back slightly, giving him just enough space to completely penetrate your dripping wet cunt. Back arching, thighs squeezing shut, your walls contracted around his cock. “Yes, love. Come for me.” The build-up finally hitting its peak, your body shaking at your release, moaning uncontrollably. Your release spills out of you, down Sebastian’s shaft and your behind.

Unable to hold back the overstimulating screams as Sebastian chases his own release, your fingers pull at his disheveled messy hair. A muffled scream on your lips as your thighs are pressed into your chest “Yes, Seb… come.” A groaning mess, his hips bucking as he fills you. It is hot, coating your insides. Sebastian catching his breath, head resting on your knees that are still firmly pressing you into the rock. “Sebastian, my back…”

“Oh, shit! So-sorry.” He gently pulls himself out from your core, a whimper at the empty feeling you are left with. He helps lower your legs to the ground, your knees buckle as your feet make contact. Your legs tremble with the aftershock of your release. Sebastian steadies you, softly leaning you against the rock, again. “Just a second, love.” You watch as he tucks himself back in his trousers and fixes his shirt to look a bit more presentable.

“Alright.” Sebastian slightly bends down; a small shriek escapes you. He grabs the back of your thighs and slings you over his shoulder. Fixing his posture and making sure you aren’t going anywhere. “Seb, what are you doing? Put me down.” You hit him in the back, protesting the position you are in. “Can’t do that, love. You could barely stand. I will happily carry you back to the castle.” You couldn’t see his face, but you could still hear that smug smirk pulling at his lips.

Walking back through the forest, you could feel Sebastian’s fingers running softly over your thigh, Giggling at every little movement. It suddenly feels a little wet, warm. Now that the adrenaline has worn off, all you want to do is hide. Sebastian chuckles to himself, his finger running small circles where your mixture has leaked out, his fingers creeping in between your folds. A small moan followed by a swift whack on his shoulder “Sebastian…”

“Yes…”

“You can’t do that here.”

“Well then, love. We better make our way back to the castle quickly, as I have an exceptionally lengthy list of places I want to fuck you and so very little time before graduation!”

#hogwarts legacy #sebastian sallow #hogwarts legacy smut #one shot smut #my first smut #sebastian x reader #sebastian sallow smut

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valsnonsense · 1 month

Text

Princess Vanilla of Pop

"Shhhh! Please keep your voice down, you're in a library!"

Parents: Queen Poppy and King Branch

Siblings: Choco (Sister), Strawberry (Sister), Apple (Younger Brother), Oran (Younger Brother), Lemon (Younger Brother), Lime (Younger Brother), Blueberry (Younger Brother), Grape (Younger Sibling), Iris (Younger Sister)

Age: 24

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Bisexual

Genre: Pop/Classical/Orchestral

Voice Claim: Kimiko Glenn

The second eldest of the Broppy kids. Soft spoken and gentle, if not a bit stingy and uptight. Vanilla is the biggest bookworm of her siblings, and is never seen without a book in her hand. She's very knowledgeable about the history of their cultures and other things, and often tutors young Trolls in her spare time.

Vanilla works at the library in Trollstopia, helping with the upkeep of historical books and tomes. She's a bit strict with how their books are handled, often coming off as a bit rude towards patrons. She's working in it.

Outside of reading, Vanilla loves practicing music. While she can perform as a Pop Troll, she adores classical music. Vanilla took lessons as a kid in playing the violin, piano, and even the flute. She'll sometimes perform at restaurants when she and her family go out.

Despite her somewhat stingy behavior, Vanilla cares deeply for her friends and family, and like her sisters, would do anything for them. She works towards improving life in Trollstopia for all Trolls alongside the other young royals.

She currently resides in Trollstopia alongside her family.

Fun Facts!

- Vanilla prefers to keep her hair down. She thinks she looks a bit silly with it up, even thought it's normal for Trolls hair to stand up.

- Despite her gentle, sophisticated appearance, Vanilla loves to fight. Like, fight fight. On rare occasions, when she's feeling exceptionally angry or frustrated, she and her cousin Rosebud will go down and participate in cage fights held on the outskirts of Trollstopia. She has a hidden scar on her leg given to her by a rock troll she fought.

- Vanilla is terrified of romantic relationships. She only had one love interest in the past, and it ended badly. Very badly. She keeps to herself a lot because of these events, not letting people in out of fear of getting hurt again

- She studies astrology in her spare time. She wishes to one day see a Midtempo troll

And that's Broppy kid #2! Vanilla went through a few changes before I landed on a design and character I really like. Her whole love life will be a story I delve into later.

Also I love a character who appears all prim and proper on the outside but secretly loves wild, chaotic behavior (hence her brutal sparring matchedls with cousin Rosebud (whom we haven't seen yet lol)).

Also for the future in sibling listings, if it just says brother, sister, or sibling without a "younger" or "older" before it, it means they were born together, aka twins, triplets, quadruplets, so on and so forth

Voice Example: Kimiko Glenn - When He Sees Me

#dreamworks trolls #trolls #trolls oc #myart #traditional art #trolls vanilla #trolls broppy #broppy #vanilla beaaaann #thats what branch called her when she was little #Spotify #trolls the depths au

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weaselishmcdiesel · 4 months

Note

:0 your blockdads au is so fun! Any thoughts on who Kanaya's parent would be?

Tyty!! So I had the idea that all the patron trolls would get the members of boatem, with Sollux being a weird exception since he was going to be a patron troll before vriska stepped in so he gets impulse and iskall. I had chosen everyone else before I got to kanaya so that left her with pearl! But tbh it’s still a good fit- pearl is still prankstery but she doesn’t go quite as crazy as grian, her builds, imo, are the most beautiful of any hermit’s (because I’m biased towards the natural organic look) so kanaya would appreciate that, and also I feel like she can be even-tempered like kanaya when she needs to be :)

#weasel speaks #asks!#hs #hc #blockdad au #I also sorta based the patron troll’s parents after the respective kids #John and grian. obvious. pranksters.#scar and Dave. tbh idk but they both have more going on than what first meets the eye #Jade and mumbo- both very very sweet and thoughtful but can become no nonsense #rose and pearl… there isn’t much there besides being easy to deal with if that makes sense #like they’re both reasonable but when they have their silly sides they’re SILLY #my aus

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nine-of-words · 3 months

Text

Out in the Cold (Part Three)

M Orc x M Troll (Hulder) Reader

PREVIOUS || STORY TAG || NEXT

Wordcount: 3709

Content Warnings: None

A hint of bonding, as a little treat.

You take a few deep, calming breaths.

As bad as the stew incident was… No one was seriously hurt.

You got through it. Just like you always do.

And you’ll get through this, as well.

Because you are suave and smart and good at what you do, regardless of your bad luck.

…And you don’t need anybody’s help.

You hype yourself up, and soon you’re back on your feet, ready to take on this obstacle, and any other obstacle that may come after it.

Now… just to figure out a plan of action.

You look around the snowy woods around you, waiting for inspiration to strike. And as your eyes come to rest on a tall, sturdy pine tree in the distance, it quickly does.

Perfect.

You swiftly bound towards the tree, getting a running start. Then you spring up, managing to catch a low branch between your hands. You scramble up the tree, branch by branch with feline grace, the motions coming naturally to you.

From the confident perch you’ve managed to reach, you have a decent view over most of the tree tops nearby. You’re flooded with relief as soon as you spot the river that flows back towards town in the distance.

Great. That would be the way, then.

You know you should be in a hurry to leave, but… the view is really nice, and the tree branch is surprisingly comfortable… And you had to wake up in the middle of the night to sneak off without being noticed, so you’re so, so tired…

It wouldn’t hurt to shut your eyes for a second…

LAST SPRING

The tankard is massive in your hands as you look down into the surface of the murky beverage. It's still mostly full - you learned pretty quickly at the Turn of the Wheel celebration a few weeks ago that you can't finish a whole serving without blacking out. That was a truly embarrassing experience, with you once again having to be carried like an overcooked noodle to the safety of a warm bed.

Honestly you would prefer something lighter, but they have no wine, and having a drink in your hands prevents weird looks from the other patrons of the tavern, even if you nurse it the whole time.

You’re seated at a table with Urguk and Lurog, who so far are the only other orcs that seem to treat you as an equal, rather than a lost soul to be pitied. You often end up having a beverage and playing a game of cards or darts, at least on the days you manage to finish your tasks at a reasonable hour.

"I think you two are the only ones here that actually like me." You say with a dry laugh and a smirk to your companions.

"We like you?" Lurog asks just as dryly as she draws a card from the pile, then takes a long swig from her own tankard.

"W-We do!" Urguk barks out and jostles her on the side with his elbow, causing her to gurgle slightly on her drink. "What makes you think everyone else d-doesn’t?"

"Everyone laughs at me?" You point out, trying not to sound too hurt about it. And you're not - you're used to being the butt of the joke. "Constantly. And they don’t even try to hide it."

"Trust me, it's better that they're laughing."

"Could be scowling or yelling when you fuck up instead. Urguk would know."

“Heh.” Urguk looks sheepish and changes the subject, promptly throwing you under the bus. “Even the stew incident was pretty funny- ah, after the fact-”

“Please have mercy, not again.” You groan and cover your soft ears with your hands, squashing them flat against your head. “I never want to hear the word stew again!”

“I wouldn’t worry about nobody liking you- most everyone seems to have a soft spot for you so far. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a new outsider join the tribe!”

“A lot of the old farts think it’s auspicious that we have one again. Good omen or whatever.” Lurog adds. Urguk winces as they draw a card, seemingly lacking the ability to mask their reaction for the game whatsoever.

“That's a relief, and it’s true that everyone has been kind even through my various blunders but… I don’t feel like I’ve really gotten to know anyone that well besides the two of you. Everyone else is handling me like I am fragile.”

And not getting to know anyone is making it very hard to find where what I’m looking for is kept…

“Of course they are, it’s because- well-”

“Any of the adults could snap you like a twig with no effort.” Lurog punctuates Urguk’s sentiment flatly. “And most of the grannies could, too. And any of the kids.”

"Likely true, if a touch insulting.” You pout. You can’t ignore the fact that compared to all of these orcs, you must seem literally small and breakable. “It's simply a bit discouraging to be treated like a child."

“Have you considered not acting like a child, then?”

You scoff in mock offense, trying to make a point of your displeasure by taking a sip - then making a face of actual displeasure at the skunky, overly fermented taste of the rotgut.

“No- W-Wait, I think Lurog has a point!” Urguk rubs his chin in thought, thumb tapping his lip.

“Oh no, not you too…”

“What I mean is- You haven’t done your first hunt yet, right? S-So, to everyone else, you might as well be a child...”

"Ah, I see! Some sort of rite of passage, then? How would I go about going on one of these hunts?"

"Usually a parent hands their kid over for the hunt during their 11th year… this year’s will be coming up soon, now that the heavy snow is over."

"Probably could ask Boss about it when he shows up."

"Ugh… I'm already going to have to sit here and listen to him lecture me about how bad I am at everything." You've been sitting here killing time until he is due to appear for whatever hellish performance review you’re about to receive, after all.

"Ah, that's right. You're graduating from gruntwork to a trade soon, right?"

"If he decides to let me… I'm lucky he's even speaking to me again." You sigh. "He's been watching me like a hawk. Breathing down my neck if he's not avoiding me completely, after… You know."

“Mmh. Boss is a hardass. But he’s good at what he does. Dedicated.”

“Y-Yeah, I’ve got to wonder if he’s taking enough time for himself.”

"Exactly the problem. He's far too uptight. It’s not good to be that tense all the time! Maybe he needs to find a nice lady orc to let off some steam with sometimes." You chortle loudly. "He'd probably be a lot easier to deal with if he got laid once in a while!"

However, your companions don't have the chance to laugh in return, they only stare past you; the color completely draining from Urguk's face in horror while Lurog tries desperately to hold in a cackling fit behind tightly set lips.

"I'll take it into consideration."

The hair on the back of your neck stands up in response to Torg’s gruff voice behind you, and you struggle to keep the brushy fur on your tail from visibly bristling.

“You two - make yourselves scarce.” He says in a surprisingly calm tone as he comes around the table and into your view.

They hastily comply, leaving the game mid-play and the small assortment of coins on the table.

Torg waits for them to disperse with quick goodbyes (and looks of pity) before taking a seat in their place across from you. He looks surprisingly neutral despite the comments that you just made, his lips stretched into a thin, taut line the only sign of annoyance.

“Um, heheh, sorry-” You say sheepishly, and consider blaming your loose tongue on the contents of your tankard before he stops you.

“Nothing I haven’t heard before.” Torg waves his hand, completely putting it aside. “Let’s get this chat about your standing out of the way.”

You nod, unable to shake the feeling that you’re being led to the gallows.

“So… Where to start…” He stalls out and scratches where his thick, slightly unkempt beard meets his neck, seeming to be encountering uncharacteristic trouble on how to proceed with what he needs to say.

“You’re going to tell me I’m doing a fantastic job and to keep up the great work…?” You smirk and bat your lashes at him.

“Look-” He huffs out your name. “I’m just going to be direct with you. Things have not been going well. You must realize that, right?”

“What? But I make sure I take on enough work tasks every day …”

“The amount isn’t the issue, so much as the quality.”

"Oh… What am I doing wrong?"

“You are constantly mixing things up, making mistakes, being a general safety hazard. The simplest of tasks become drawn out disasters when they involve you.” He gives you a stern look in response to your disbelieving pout, turning his hands palm up on the table for emphasis. “...Do I even need to mention what happened with the stew?”

“No…” Your ears flatten, dejected.

“So, you understand why things can’t keep going on this way.”

Your sadness and shame is instantly cut with panic. You can’t go crawling back empty handed - who knows what the guildmaster will do to you if you did.

"You're not going to kick me out, are you? Please don’t." You grab his hands on the table in yours and beg, only half-lying. "I don’t have anywhere to go back to- Please."

Torg pauses for a moment, looking at your hands gripping his.

"...No. I would not kick you out over something out of your control." He finally seems to come to his senses and slowly detaches his hands from yours and laces his own together on the table in front of him. "The only time it was a possibility so far was when I thought you had intentionally poisoned us."

"I really am trying my hardest…" You say in your most pitiful voice. The sad part is that you don't even have to make a show of it- you're genuinely ashamed at your failure, especially considering how much effort you're putting in.

"I think that's the problem. You are trying too hard, at too many things."

"Oh. Well, I wasn't lying when I first told you I wasn't good at anything in particular..."

What am I going to say? I'm great at burglary or pickpocketing or forgery? Right.

"Everyone has a talent. We just need to figure out what yours is. It’s my duty to help you find it if you are lost.” He strokes his beard in thought. “...You don't even have to be particularly skilled at it yet, it just has to be something you can focus on and build skill in. Is there anything you enjoyed doing as a child that could translate to a trade, maybe?"

"Well, my father used to take me on hunting trips when I was younger." You lie, finding a seam to pick to get what you need, before adding a bit of truth. "But he died when I was still young, so my skills are surely rusty."

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Torg says, clearly not the most comfortable.

“Eh, don’t be. It was a long time ago.” You shake your head. “I only bring it up, because maybe hunting is something that I could do?”

"Hmgh… No. Can’t do that." Torg grunts in vexation. "At least not yet. You haven't been acknowledged as a hunter. You'd have to go on your first trip."

"Well there's one coming up, isn't there? I want to go."

"You want me to let you- knowing what we know about your past record- Go on a hunting trip." He leans his elbow on the table, his temple propped on his fist. He looks at you with the most hard eyed, no-nonsense look he's ever given you. "A barely chaperoned hunting trip. With real weapons. Full of children."

"Yes." You smirk with conviction, your confidence swiftly returning. Regardless of your general tendency to mess up, at least you can always talk your way out of, or into, anything. "You just said you'd help me find my talent, did you not?"

"I did. But usually first hunting trips don't involve learning to deal with friendly fire."

"I'll be on my best behavior."

“It’s not just that. You need to craft your own weapon to make your first kill with. Typically a young orc’s parents help them to make it. And they’re trained on how to use it first.”

“Well- I’m fresh out of parents.” You shrug and let out a short giggle, leaning back on the bar stool. “Maybe you’d be kind enough to adopt me?”

To your surprise, Torg’s hardened expression cracks and he lets out what looks and sounds like a genuine laugh.

“Are you implying I’m old enough to be your father? That’s harsh. I’m not even grey yet.”

“Oh no, I meant in more of a… figurative sense, I suppose.” You subtly tuck a stray piece of hair behind your ear. “Seeing as I don’t have anyone to teach me.”

“...Fine. I will help you practice." Torg sighs. “But you will need to craft said weapon yourself. Your hunter friends can help with that.”

“Great! I’m so excited.” You beam at him.

“Any other concerns?” Torg shifts restlessly. “If not, I have a few other things to see to before nightfall.”

You’re speaking before you can second guess the wisdom of what you’re saying.

“You know, about what I said earlier - you probably wouldn’t have any trouble finding someone if you actually wanted to. You would clean up very well with some attention to detail - trim your beard back a bit, take better care of your cuticles- You’re already quite handsome.”

He simply shakes his head.

“Hmm. Something’s wrong with your eyes, then. Maybe take it easy on the booze.” He smirks, his eyes lingering on you longer than they typically do before he abruptly gets up from the table. “First practice: tomorrow, sunrise. Don’t be late.”

You watch Torg leave the tavern, a strange mix of dread and hope settling like a weight in your stomach.

You scoop up the few pieces of gold you ‘won’ from your interrupted card game, and hurry back to your dormitory.

When you arrive, you get out pen and paper to scribble an update for your Guildmaster. You’ve been diligent enough to remember at least each week so far, and you don’t plan on stopping now.

If this job is a success- if you perform well- you might just get a rank increase. Better accommodation, better food that you don’t have to steal, ability to choose what jobs to take…

You scribble the coded message in your surprisingly neat handwriting;

Fritz-

No sign of it yet. I’ll have access to the armory soon. I think it must be in there.

Then you sign off the letter with your byname, before folding it three times and placing it in an envelope you got from the archives. You drip a bit of your wax stick on the nearby candle flame, before smooshing the dot of wax with your simple seal to secure the missive closed. Then, you crack your window, placing the envelope underneath the sill and jutting out into the open air as you shut it.

When most of the lights in the settlement have gone dim, you see the form of a crow land on the sill where the letter is lodged. The sealed envelope disappears on the other side, and you hear the muted sound of wingbeats.

You let out a sigh, extinguish your candle, and crawl into your bed, not wanting to sleep deprived while handling weapons in the morning.

The next morning, practice does not go as well as you would like.

You spend hours trying out different weapons at the targets, with Torg demonstrating the proper form for each one first.

You managed to snap a throwing spear, after missing every throw beforehand. You hit yourself with the sling multiple times before you could even launch a projectile with it, giving yourself a few good welts on your forearms in the process. You even gave the throwing axes a try, but you just can't get a good spin on them, each one that hit the board bouncing off when the head of the axe contacted the wood.

This would be much easier if you could just use your dagger. It's what you have the most experience with, but unfortunately it's not the most effective weapon for hunting at range.

“This is probably going to be more your speed. It’s more suited to your build- Bit surprised you haven’t used one before.” Torg nocks an arrow onto the bow in his hands. He draws it back, then lets it loose, the arrow hitting cleanly in the line between first and second ring of the target with a deep thunk. “See? Easy.”

He hands the bow to you, and moves out of the way so you can stand in line with the target. He adjusts your form a little - you're not used to him being so close, feeling not just that overbearing presence, but the physical weight of those heavy hands touching you, even this briefly.

The bow is heavier in your hand than it looked, the wood hefty and dense. Even keeping it aloft is somewhat difficult for you, but you manage to get into proper posture and nock an arrow. The real trouble comes when you start to draw back, the tension of the string making your arm noticeably shudder in exertion before you even get it halfway pulled.

“Mm. Draw weight’s way too heavy.” Torg observes, clicking his tongue ruefully. “That’s the lightest one in the armory, too.”

You know he doesn't mean it as criticism, but it lights a fire under your ass all the same. You stubbornly keep pulling, despite the shake in your limbs and the ominous popping noises in your shoulder.

Despite the grueling effort, you manage to pull it back all the way, releasing the arrow the very instant you can. It soars through the air at high speed then sinks into the wooden target, only a few inches below Torg’s on the lower third ring - but it's actually on the board!

"Hahah, there. I did it!"

"You did. Good job." Torg says, a sense of relief to his voice as much as there is commendation. "How about you try a few more shots?"

You somehow force yourself to draw the bow and fire several more times, despite the shake in your arm making it difficult to aim. You work through half the quiver until Torg stops you.

"I think that's enough for today." He takes the bow off your hands and lets out a soft chuckle. "You're going to be sore up top tomorrow…"

"Fine…" You sigh, disappointed with how little you managed to actually train before your body failed you. The burning in your shoulders and back is hard to ignore.

You go to retrieve your last round of training arrows - some on the ground, but most of them on the target, even if they're on the outer rings.

"Great work today." Torg says as you return with the full quiver.

He's unstringing the bow to store it. You can't help but feel a twinge of envy at how easily his toned, thick arm muscles handle releasing the stored tension in the curve of the wood.

You don't have to say that just to make me feel better…

"Thanks. And thank you for training me today, as well."

"It's no problem."

"Isn't it, though?" You say, half jokingly, half grimly.

Torg raises an eyebrow at you in a silent question. He's watching your expression closely, now that he's finished preparing the training weapons to be stored.

"I guess I'm wondering- What do you gain from it?" A twinge of your bitterness seeps through the facade - not bitterness at Torg specifically, but at the fact that you're very well familiar with the abandonment that typically comes next. "We both already know I'm a nuisance, and you're clearly very busy."

"I said that I would help you with this." He says simply.

"Well, yeah, but why not shove the problem off onto someone else, if not just get rid of the problem completely? When you have the power to do that, I mean. It seems to be what people normally do with the power to make the decisions."

"...Do I need a reason to help you?" If you didn't know any better, you could swear you hear a note of offense in his voice.

"In my experience, yes. Nine times out of ten, you do."

"I don't know how things work where you're from- But that isn't how it works here." He lifts his hand, then hesitates, before following through and laying his wide, calloused palm on your shoulder and squeezing lightly to emphasize his next point. "The tribe is only strong if everyone is thriving, not just the strong ones. And it's my job to make sure everyone here thrives. If you are struggling, it is my problem as much as it is yours. It would be my failure to not help you."

You nod, but you can't bring yourself to look at him or speak. You just chew your lower lip, vexed.

He lets his hand slip off your shoulder and effortlessly picks up the load of training supplies, resting it over his shoulder.

The walk back to the armory is quiet, save for the chirping of birds and the small sounds of the settlement beginning to come to life for the day.

You're unable to really believe him, as much as it'd be nice to. At the end of the day, you don't belong here. You're a foreign body infiltrating, here to get what you need and get out.

Maybe if things were different…

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