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#should i forget you let my right hand also be forgotten; add more also. if aught but death part me and thee.
babydarkstar · 2 months
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honestly no wonder harrow forced ianthe to lobotomize her so she could save gideon. listen…LISTEN…if i was a secret-war-crime cult nunlet princess worshipped by my entire planet and the only person that (barely) kept me in check was my childhood nemesis—a butch a year older than me, towering over me in stature and physical prowess, and so hot it made my teeth hurt from how hard my jaw clenched in her presence, who wielded a two-handed seven-foot sword and had irritatingly huge biceps and told very lewd stupid jokes and also learned how to wield an entirely new weapon and be my bodyguard with startling accuracy in three months—only to have us finally learn to trust each other because we got invited to a magic murder mystery and then before the bubble burst i spilled the worst secret about myself that i was born because my parents murdered an entire generation and tried to Kill Her along with them and she just wouldnt die, and i told her this expecting a swift death i believed i deserved, only for her to fucking cradle me in her big butch arms and kiss me on my forehead with her soft butch mouth and just. forgive me for a shameful weight ive carried my entire life and then MAKE AN ACTUAL NECRO/CAV VOW with me despite every evil thing i have done to her……to have her tell me, in the end, bleeding and broken after putting up the most beautiful and glorious fight of her life, that she understands purpose and she understands duty and she knows loyalty more fiercely than ever now, that she knows who she is to me, that there is no her without me….to have her backed into a corner and make the ultimate sacrifice…..for me…..to recite scriptural wedding vows of eternity to me in her last wisps of soul-consciousness…..if i thought there was even a snowflake’s chance in the pyre that i could save her by turning myself into her very own locked tomb, i’d be begging ianthe tridentweirdius to crack my skull open and turn me to mush too, goddamn. i understand you harrowhark girl you don’t have to explain a thing to me. god said you couldn’t undo the lyctor’s bond bc it’d kill you. you told god and his angels that not even a lyctor’s bond could outshine the power of female spite and lesbianism and they didn’t listen. they didn’t believe you. but i heard you loud and clear and i was 17 and hormonal and hopelessly romantic not too long ago unlike those fucking dinosaurs and i’m saying it’s valid it’s what i would have done and really everyone should be thanking you for not being worse and more wretched about it, all things considered
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dilfssleepingbag · 8 months
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Dutch Van der Linde NSFW HCs:
Minors Dni!
Fem ‘reader’
Calls you “darling”, “sweetheart”, “doll” and “love”
He loves spanking you. You wanna act like a brat? Alright, you will get treated like one (he sometimes leaves his rings on) “someone seems to have forgotten their manners. Don’t worry, doll..I shall teach you a lesson you won’t forget so easily” “who do you think you’re talking to like that, huh? Need me to put your mouth to better use?”
He enjoys to see your skin turn red under his touch, especially when the shape of his hand imprints on your butt (or face)
Has a daddy kink/ authority kink. He feels a surge of power and dominance whenever you call him “sir”, “daddy” or even “Mr Van der Linde”. “Yeah, that’s right, doll. Let them know who your daddy is”
Smokes one of his cigars after he successfully railed your brain into another dimension (he wouldn’t smoke around you if you dislike the smell)
His fingers…hdhjwbd… he def knows what he’s doing with them- like- just look at them and yk what I mean
He’s a big fan of orgasm denial “don’t cum until I give you permission, darling”
However…should you cum before that he will overstimulate you until you’re crying and begging for him to stop “oh? I thought that’s what you wanted, sweetheart. So take it and handle it like a good girl”
He usually has to cover your mouth in order to silence your moans and cries or the whole camp would hear you “ssh, you want everyone to hear your lewd sounds?” And you’d just nod and have him chuckle darkly “dirty girl”
One of his favorite positions is cowgirl. Dutch enjoys to see you flustered when he looks down at you and enjoys how it makes you look away. “ah ah, eyes back on me” he’d say as he grabs your face and turns it back in his direction.
He also loves to see you struggle to make yourself cum on his dick. Either your legs fail you or his dick just doesn’t hit the right angle “what’s wrong, doll? Need the old Mr. Van der Linde to help you out?”
He’ll make you cum one way or another. Dick, mouth, fingers. You name it, you receive it (but only if you’ve been a good girl)
Dutch is good at eating you out, the prickling of beard only adds to the sensational feeling he gives you and you buck your hips to get more of that.
He also enjoys you riding his face. The first time he told you to do so you got all embarrassed and tried to refuse his offer by saying that you’re too heavy and could suffocate him. He just grabbed you and positioned you over his head “will you sit down, girl? It should be considered an honorable death if I die by eating your cunt.”
If you were to suck him off he will make sure to humiliate or mock you before that. Dutch will slap his dick on your cheek and lips while looking amused “oh? You want it that bad, huh? I don’t see you making any efforts to earn my dick yet though. Keep begging, darling” (would smoke one of his cigars while he looks down at you (unless you hate the smell))
If you finally get what you longed he will tell you to thank him “darling, where are your manners, huh? Say ‘thank you, daddy’” (he will mock you for thanking him “what are you thanking me for, doll? Tell me why you’re thanking me”)
Dutch will throw your legs over his shoulder and fuck you hard and deep. He will place kisses on your ankles when he slows down and looks at your flushed face “taking me so well, darling”. He would lean forward and press your legs closer to your body as the mating press position allows him to slide deeper. “You like that?” He would press his hand down on your abdomen before playing with your clit with his other hand. “Aww look at you, doll. Such a cockdumb little slut”
He is also quite fond of choking you. Breathplay shows him how much you trust him and he’s easily turned on by that.
He likes marking what’s his. You will wake up with hickeys and bite marks on your tits, hips and inner thighs (he’s too much of a gentleman and saves you the embarrassment to walk around with hickeys on your neck..tho the camp most likely knows already what you did last night) And damn, will he be proud of looking at them the next day
He will praise you by calling you his “good girl” or saying “that’s it, you’re doing so well for me”, “that’s my girl, keep going”, “got myself such a good little whore, didn’t I?”
He’s good at aftercare. Makes sure to hold you close and place kisses on your head and forehead. His hands run soothingly over your legs all while he whispers sweet nothings into the depths of night
Some ppl who were interested in reading the hcs:
@photo1030 @pigeonsareevil @laureliciousdefinition @roamingtigress
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a-big-apple · 3 months
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Gideon, Harrow, and "Wedding Vows"
i frequently see the interpretation that this:
"The land that shall receive thee dying, in the same will I die: and there will I be buried. The Lord do so and so to me, and add more also, if aught but death part me and thee," said Gideon. (GtN 438)
plus this:
"If I forget you, let my right hand be forgotten," her mouth was saying. "Add more also, if aught but death part me and thee." And, unsteadily: "Griddle." (HtN 360)
plus this:
It didn't even matter when Kiriona said, "Sure, Cam. Marry a moron, then die. I get the urge." (NtN 372)
equals Gideon and Harrow are married! crying face emoji!
i'm not disparaging that interpretation, i think it's valid and has some basis in the text, and even if it wasn't/didn't, i think fans should have all the fun they want. but for me, it doesn't fully capture the complexity of what Gideon and Harrow are to each other, and i want to explore a slightly less straightforward reading.
Catholic weddings, vows, and Ruth under the cut ;)
Gideon and Ninth House traditions
let's start with Gideon quoting Ruth. i've seen folks repeating the idea that this is a wedding vow. it's more accurate to say that this is a verse often used as a wedding vow, in other denominations of Christianity, and secularly as well. but in a (traditional) Catholic wedding, the couple can't write or choose their own vows--the Celebration of Matrimony has specific text, with one or two variations, that is always used.
now, we haven't seen a Ninth House marriage ceremony. if we do see such a thing in AtN and discover that Ruth 1:17 is part of that tradition, i will cry a million happy queer tears about it. but i think it's somewhat likely that Gideon has never even seen a Ninth House wedding, given how small and trending elderly the population is, and that we know no couples in her lifetime have had kids other than the Reverend Parents.
what i'm getting at here is that this quotation from Ruth doesn't seem, to me, to represent something that's religiously or traditionally binding in Ninth House culture. it uses some similar language to Catholic marriage vows, "until death do us part" etc, but i don't think these are words that make them married in the eyes of the Ninth or the Houses at large, i think these are words Gideon has chosen as a specific expression of her devotion. and where does she get them from, if not some Ninth House ceremony or scripture?
well, this is a slightly longer stretch, but at the point in the story when Gideon says this, she's already dead. Harrow has begun to absorb her--and thanks to "The Unwanted Guest," we know that souls are porous, permeable, and rub off on each other when they're in contact. Gideon's soul is at this moment being integrated into Harrow's; Harrow has certainly read all kinds of books on the Ninth ranging from usual to totally heretical, some of them probably extremely old, and it's not unreasonable to think writings from before the Resurrection might have been copied and recopied into something Harrow could access. And speaking of soul permeability, Harrow's had Alecto's soul clinging onto hers for seven years, and Alecto's soul is in intimate contact with John's soul--there are so many ways for this bit of scripture to make its way into Gideon's non-corporeal mouth. the STI (Soulfully Transmitted Infection) of biblical knowledge.
Ruth in context
now let's talk a little about Ruth, the book of the Bible and also the character of the Bible, and Naomi, who she is swearing her devotion to. tl;dr, Naomi and her husband and two grown sons are Israelites who immigrate to Moab, a "pagan" nation, to escape famine. Naomi's two sons marry Moabite women; then the sons both die, as does Naomi's husband. Naomi, having lost everything, decides to return home where she'll be penniless and have a bad life but at least she'll be among her people; she tells her two daughters-in-law to go back to their families. One of them goes.
The other, Ruth, refuses, and swears beautiful devotion to Naomi, as we've heard Gideon quote: "She answered: Be not against me, to desire that I should leave thee and depart: for whithersoever thou shalt go, I will go: and where thou shalt dwell, I also will dwell. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. The land that shall receive thee dying, in the same will I die: and there will I be buried. The Lord do so and so to me, and add more also, if aught but death part me and thee."
in a biblical context, this has nothing to do with a wedding vow. Ruth is promising to leave the comfort of her own people, religion, and homeland to stay with her mother-in-law Naomi, even though the connection they had (Naomi's son, Ruth's husband) is gone, and all they have to look forward to is a terrible life of grief and bitterness. this is frequently interpreted as a parallel to Jesus, who (in the religious perspective) made the sacrifice of leaving his place with God and becoming human out of devotion to humanity, in order to live and suffer and redeem us. woof, this is giving me flashbacks to CCD.
of course, many Christians resist interpreting what passes between Ruth and Naomi as resembling a wedding vow for homophobic reasons too--making it about Jesus is a way to make it less queer--but i think the point still stands that this is a more complicated, and less marriage-related, expression of love than it seems taken on its own.
Harrow's lamentation
when Harrow later echoes it back, she conflates it with a different biblical quotation: "On the willows in the midst thereof we hung up our instruments. For there they that led us into captivity required of us the words of songs. And they that carried us away, said: Sing ye to us a hymn of the songs of Sion. How shall we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten. Let my tongue cleave to my jaws, if I do not remember thee: If I make not Jerusalem the beginning of my joy."
it's a lament, an expression of mourning, a longing for home from someone who has been forcibly removed from it. when combined with the Ruth quotation, in which Ruth is giving up her home in her devotion, this really reads to me as both Harrow's grief, immediate and overpowering, and a realization that Gideon is her home, and failing to acknowledge that is as disabling as the loss of a hand or of the power of speech. Gideon is the beginning of her joy, and Harrow is, in this moment, putting Gideon above the Ninth House in her devotion. above Alecto. above everything.
and again, i'm not saying all of that can't be about marriage, but it's about a relationship much more complicated than marriage can encompass in the context House cultural norms.
Kiriona Gaia, saddest girl
this brings me to Kiriona, and "marry a moron, then die." consider the context of this, and the tone. Kiriona's deeply, deeply hurt. the saddest girl in the universe. she died for Harrow, avowed her devotion to Harrow, and then (from her perspective) was rejected; buried; excised from Harrow's brain and then from her body. Kiriona, as she did when she was Gideon, covers her emotions with humor and sarcasm. i suspect she's even less able to handle being vulnerable as Kiriona than she ever was before. she's making light of Canaan House and what happened there, and it's only in sarcastically downplaying what she's been through that she recounts her relationship to Harrow as a marriage--something she has almost no positive examples of, something that is in her experience frequently political and joyless. also notably, she frames it as a marriage that occurred before she died.
Their actual vow
what Gideon (and Kiriona) really wants--she tells us over and over again--is to be a true cavalier.
and what does Gideon's ghost repeat right before she devastates us with Ruth 1:17?
"One flesh, one end," said Gideon, and it was a murmur now, on the very edge of hearing. Harrow said, "Don't leave me." (GtN 438)
it's taken me a dozen paragraphs just to propose that this is their vow. "One flesh, one end" are the actual words that need to be spoken, in Gideon and Harrow's cultural context, to bring them into an official union with each other; a union that is arguably more fundamental in the Houses, and certainly more complicated, than a marriage. a union Gideon specifically wants, and has seen in action.
in the pool, they vow to each other as cavalier and necromancer. in the moments before Gideon's death, she forgives Harrow again, and exposes her heart: "'You know I only care about you,' she said in a brokenhearted rush" (GtN 430). then she repeats their oath again, acknowledges the pain she's about to cause for Harrow, and rededicates herself to the Ninth--a place she never really belonged, Harrow's home and people more than her own, as Ruth dedicated herself to Naomi's home and people. Gideon "married" her moron in the pool, and now she dies to fulfill that vow.
and as we saw above, after Gideon's death, she reminds Harrow again of their union--of its importance, of how she's fulfilling what she has interpreted to be her whole purpose as a cavalier--and it's in response to Harrow's "don't leave me" that Gideon offers a final reassurance of her devotion. in her mind, this sacrifice is its ultimate expression, the most inextricable and undeniable union two people can achieve.
Gideon believes she'll be part of Harrow forever.
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"That's how it should be. Soft socialists paving the way for the *hard* working class to take over."
RENÉ ARNOUX- "Preposterous! Surely you don't mean it." He frowns. "I'm just sorry it had to be them. After eight years of fighting those commie hyenas, boiling cats for food and drinking my piss in the mountains..."
"I *would* have preferred if the right honourable King Guillaume returned to Revachol or even if that damn clown, Frissel, had risen from the grave and led us. Sadly that was not the case."
EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - This *Royal* failure weighs heavily on him.
RENÉ ARNOUX- "Instead, all that is just, holy, and beautiful in the world was wiped away and now it's neon signs with toothpaste ads everywhere. Foreign influence peddling garbage and stupid music on the radio." He sighs.
"This is just what the commies wanted. This was their plan all along. This is what they wanted to replace the rule of the Suzerain with."
"Who was this Frissel?"
"You mentioned Guillaume?"
"Hmm... what exactly is a *suzerain*?" (Conclude.)
RENÉ ARNOUX- "Damn Frissel -- he was the king we couldn't protect. The carabineers failed him... and the crown." The old veteran falls silent and massages his chest. "He died in the hands of the *hoi polloi* in a very public execution."
2. "You mentioned Guillaume?"
RENÉ ARNOUX- "A true King in both blood and mind. Led Revachol before Frissel. He would have been better, but the damn commies drove him into exile."
DRAMA [Medium: Success] - Some manner of self-deceit is present in his thinking. Sounds like this Guillaume abandoned him and he doesn't want to admit it.
3. "Hmm... what exactly is a *suzerain*?" (Conclude.)
RENÉ ARNOUX- "The Suzerain is the King. Has everyone forgotten already?" He then slowly nods and says to himself: "They've forgotten already."
EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - Soon they will forget everything. Him too… Then he chooses anger over melancholy.
RENÉ ARNOUX- "It's no use talking to you. You were still in daddy's balls when it happened. When *we* took our last stand against the filth and rode the cavalry straight into gunfire."
+5 XP
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We unlock a new check.
3. What is it about this old soldier that makes him stand so proud?
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COMPOSURE [Legendary: Failure] - All you observe is a veteran refusing to let go of the past and his old uniform. This is not uncommon.
RENÉ ARNOUX - He catches your glance and nods. "This is the uniform of the Royal Carabineers in service of Frissel the First, Guillaume *Le Lion*, and the valiant King Filippe the Fifth before him."
GASTON MARTIN - "Don't you mean Frissel the Fun?"
RENÉ ARNOUX - "*You* do not speak his name, craven! Although he was a clown…" he adds. He turns back to you. "But he was *our* clown. Ours to ridicule -- and to mourn."
COMPOSURE - There's something you missed... You will get to it, don't worry.
4. "Thank you for your time!" [Leave.]
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"Not bad, Rene, you might stand a chance this time."
The spirited chirps and clicks of swallows fills the air.
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Tyre track leading onto the roof. The slush and rain has almost washed them off.
Onto the... roof?
Well, we should probably also talk to Gaston.
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GASTON MARTIN - "I have really outdone myself..." He takes a bite out of his sandwich. "This is divine."
RENÉ ARNOUX - "Yes, that's what you need, Gaston. More padding on that fat ass of yours. I hope your heart gives out."
GASTON MARTIN - "René, tsk-tsk. It's the little pleasures. Life doesn't need to be a.... *mnjam mnjam*... a struggle."
"Hello, officer." He turns to you. "How might I be of assistance on this fine day?"
"Tell me, what do you know about the dead man?"
"Looks delicious." (Point to the sandwich.) "Can I have a bite of that?"
"Bye for now." [Leave.]
GASTON MARTIN - "Let me think…" He looks at the clouds, wistfully. "I heard someone was hanged and left on a tree for a week, but that's all I know really."
"C'mon, you must have heard something..."
"Really? You know *absolutely* nothing?"
"Shame. Maybe you can help me with something else then."
GASTON MARTIN - "No, officers, I'm sorry. And I really *would* like to assist," he adds, smiling apologetically. "You are both good guys. I can see that."
RENÉ ARNOUX - "Then help him, you wimp." Reproach fills his eyes. "You rub plenty of shoulder with the *gauche caviar* in the Union. *Someone* must know something."
GASTON MARTIN - "I wish I could, but I just don't know anything." His cheeks turn red. "I always keep my nose clean and don't gossip. Everyone knows and respects that."
DRAMA [Medium: Success]- Odd... He doesn't seem to be lying, but there's something off here.
"Sounds a bit like you're holding back."
"All right then. Change of topic."
GASTON MARTIN - "I'm *not*," he assures you. "I'm not even anyo---"
RENÉ ARNOUX - "Of course he's holding back." The carabineer crosses his arms. "His mouth is so full of Union prick he can't even speak properly."
GASTON MARTIN - "Can I at least finish my fucking sentence before you piss on it? Is that okay, René?" His eyes are furious. "I'm not anyone important in the Union. I just know Evrart."
"And who is this *Evrart* you know?"
"Are you a Union member?"
"Can you help me get inside the harbour?"
"Thanks, that's all for now." (Conclude.)
GASTON MARTIN - "Evrart *Claire*. Everyone in Martinaise knows the Claire brothers," he says solemnly. "I taught these boys human studies and history in the gymnasium."
RENÉ ARNOUX - "What do *you* know about history?" The carabineer snaps at Gaston. "You never witnessed history. Only heard about it -- years later -- when it had already moved on. You don't know history."
The old soldier mumbles something under his breath and turns to face the sea.
KIM KITSURAGI - "Let's try not to get caught in the..." The lieutenant lowers his voice: "Crossfire."
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Medium: Success] - Lest we leave riddled with bullet holes. This animosity is ancient.
2. "Are you a Union member?"
GASTON MARTIN - "Oh..." His cheeks turn red again. "In many ways, yes. Like an honorary member. I attend meetings and parties. Help with little things. Evrart, Edgar, and the older *Débardeurs* all know me."
"'In many ways?'"
"So you're not an actual member?"
GASTON MARTIN - "Oh yes."
"So you're not an actual member?"
GASTON MARTIN - "Not in the technical sense..." His eyes fix on the boules in the crater. "I don't have a vote or a membership card. But Evrart keeps me on the payroll. Just for the little things."
DRAMA - So that's what it was, before! Him hiding something. He tries to make it look like he's a big deal in the Union and now the illusion is disintegrating before your -- and René's -- eyes.
+5 XP
RENÉ ARNOUX - "Of course he's not a member! He's not a member of anything. I knew that." He frowns. "He's a weathervane -- turns to where the wind blows and tries to look important."
"I hate the socialist rabble," he continues, "but even siding with them is better than living your entire life on the fence, never committing to anything. Pick a damn side already!"
3. "What are the 'little things' you do for Evrart?"
GASTON MARTIN - "Writing work mostly," he smiles. "Occasionally he needs something written and I happen to have a way with words, people say."
"What kind of things do you write for him?"
GASTON MARTIN - "Oh, nothing official, I assure you. Just essays for the newspapers. About Martinaise and how things are and how they *could* be. Evrart and I have these long talks where..."
RENÉ ARNOUX - "Where he tells his little *penman* exactly what to say! It's commie propaganda, plain and simple. You should be ashamed of yourself."
4. "Thanks, that's all for now." (Conclude.)
Finding out Gaston's not a Union member means that we know there's no chance he can get us into the harbour, I guess.
GASTON MARTIN - "Thank you officer," he nods, smiling wide. "For being a consummate professional. You'll have this case wrapped up in no time."
2. "Looks delicious." (Point to the sandwich.) "Can I have a bite of that?"
GASTON MARTIN - "I'm sorry, officer, but I really don't share food," he says and quickly adds: "Nothing personal, it's just a principle."
RENÉ ARNOUX - "The only one you have."
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pearblossommina · 1 year
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ToG Read-a-Long, Queen of Shadows, day 5
Ch 26
I don’t know what a blood oath is but why does it matter if Aelin had more than one! The more the merrier, right? Can’t she just do whatever she wants? Isn’t she queen?
“How many scars would she add to that lithe, powerful body because of him?” If you’re not careful I’m gonna think you have a crush on your cousin - could you please not
(That’s icky Aedion)
(Stop looking at her lithe powerful body)
“He couldn’t bring himself to mention selling her hand in marriage to a wealthy foreign kingdom - not yet”
Is this the kind of world where the patriarchy exists or would she still be allowed to rule the nation of Terrasen?
Or would getting married mean she is queen of whoever her husband’s country is. Maybe she should marry Dorian and then she can take over the world. That is to say, both Adarlan and Terrasen. They could be married just for royal reasons and keep their own lives and lovers separate. Idk, I actually think that’s a solid plan, if she can get her head out of her ass and try to save Dorian instead of slaughtering him
“Lying to Aedion about the blood oath was… awful.”
I still don’t know what the blood oath is! Did she already give it to Rowan? Why does that matter? Is it fae magic that can only be given to one person?
Was I not paying attention again? god damn it
Ch 27
“He hadn’t forgotten that day at the castle - the arrow she’d fired and the one she pointed at him.”
Ok, Aedion, valid, very valid to hate Nesryn but also.
BABIES CAN YOU PLEASE JUST GET ALONG
“What I want is a pretty face to look at that doesn’t belong to my cousin. Looks like you’ll do the trick.”
Thank god, Aedion. You get over grudges so easily, lol. I gotta say I love you.
Ahhh YAY
I’M SO GLAD ROWAN IS HERE! ROWAN I HAVE BEEN A MESS WITHOUT YOU BOY!
I NEED YOU AND YOUR SURLY ATTITUDE AND YOUR MAGIC AND YOUR HANDSOMENESS TO MAKE THIS STORY MORE READABLE
FFFFFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFFFFFF
Ch 28
“She poked him in the shoulder. It was like touching velvet-wrapped steel.” 👀😈
“You met his father a few weeks ago. Gavriel.”
oh!!! Kitty!!!
Lucien vibes. Love that. I hope Gavriel is a doting and loving father and when he meets Aedion he is like: let’s go have father-son pizza and ice cream, let me cherish you, let me listen to the story of your life, and while you’re at it, tell me about your hopes and dreams. Aedion deserves to have a good time getting to know his brand new dad.
Ok, here comes me being confused again about the thing with the blood oath
If I understand correctly, it’s like, a deep bond, and can only be given once, so Aedion is upset because he wanted it with Aelin, but she gave it to Rowan, yeah?
Gavriel is in a blood oath to Maeve, and that *might* mean that so is Aedion
But; Rowan said it would be an act of war to try and lay claim to him, so he belongs to Aelin
I think she should make Aedion blood oath to Rowan
If you can only do it once! That’s a good way to get around it, right?
Aelin is bonded to Rowan and Rowan is bonded to Aedion, boom - everyone’s happy - no one’s available to be claimed by Maeve
Ch 29
Sometimes when I read SJM I just wonder if I’m stupid, for example, them being all concerned and upset about Lorcan. Should I know who that is?
Is he a bad guy?
A good guy?
Is he neutral? Is he here to kill Aelin, or make out with her? Why did Rowan chase him here?
“You remember what I told you about Sollemere.” Uh!!! No??? Did you tell me about it already? I swear this is all reading like brand new information.
Honestly, Rowan, if you have a long complex backstory, can you give it to me slow and treat me like I’m learning this for the first time, because I have a tendency to forget details and I must not have been paying attention before…
“Just get in the bed.”
Hell!!!! YES!!! I am so excited! I do I do I do love a forbidden romance. Gimme gimme gimme pining and longing for each other and wanting to be together but unable to because *arbitrary plot reasons* oooooooh god yeah, that’s the good stuff
“There’s nothing that says you can’t take the oath, you know. Maeve has several blood-sworn members in her court.” ARE YOU KIDDING ME why all of the dramatics if it was really this easy to solve lmao
Aedion - for the love of god - stop being a baby and swear your life to your queen, smh
ch 30
Y’know I’m really starting to enjoy these Dorian x Demon chapters for the spooky, surreal vibes of them. I don’t like seeing him giving up, though. I would like to see him start bonding with the demon, instead. Maybe if he made a deal, or tried to befriend it or offer it something, he could have more time in the spotlight. They could share this body instead of fighting for dominance all the time. Idk. I know he’s real sad and I think that’s valid as heck but also, i miss Dorian, and I’m rooting for him to work his own way to the surface again.
This book is better than ACOTAR (and I love ACOTAR) specifically for the reason that we’re given a few moments from both of their perspectives. I like a first person POV, but with ACOTAR we are kinda limited to only what Feyre knows and experiences, and I am REALLY enjoying seeing and hearing from both Rowan and Aelin. I think this is the best way to write a romance novel because it makes it feel richer when you get that oh-so-sweet mutual pining.
Hell. Yes.
Get inappropriate, you two. You deserve it.
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Hi! For the 12 days, no. 8 and Din w/ f!reader please? I can imagine his armor would be too cold to keep on 👀
Things We Reveal In The Dark
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Pairing: Din Djarin x F!Reader
Prompt: #8 - The power is out and we need to cuddle for warmth.
Warnings: None.
A/N: So for some weird reason this ask wouldn't show on my phone so thank fuck I decided to treat myself to a laptop! Also this completely went the opposite way to what I expected but I enjoyed it and I'm considering expanding on these two characters further.
You’d warned him not to come after you - told him, sweet as syrup, that you would lead him to hell and back if he didn’t ditch your puck and forget the bounty on your head. He’s the only one you’ve been unable to shake - every other bounty hunter to take up the task to detain you has either given up or died, whether by the treacherous places you choose to inhabit or by your own hand.
But not this one. 
He’s different - your Mandalorian shadow -  smarter, more calculating and controlled than those who take the jobs to stoke a power complex and often meet a violent end as payment for their ego. He’s in it for the credits, it’s nothing personal he tells you and you believe him, at least maybe until you dance just out of his leather-gloved reach just one too many times with a delighted grin - a teasing wink and the honey-sweet purr of your voice on the wind. Better luck next time Mando.
Yeah, he comes for you a little bit harder after that - loses that professional detachment piece by piece as every meeting that follows feeds the charged tension growing between you, each new spark of contact painted with just a touch more ferality than the last. 
Now it’s a challenge. 
There’s no discussion anymore, any attempt at reasoning a simple, quiet capture long forgotten because you’ve initiated this little game of cat and mouse through the galaxy and apparently woken something within the previously stoic hunter. He attacks quick and ruthless when you’re hiding on Maldo Kreis - a ghost in the shadows of the darkest frost-bitten cavern you could find - sure there was no chance he would follow you here, let alone find you, until he’s suddenly right there. Behind you, snatching at your waist and yanking you tight against the sharp, broad width of his chest. 
He’s got you locked to him - thick arms like a band of steel around you as the clasp of worn leather encircles  your wrists before your fingers can so much as twitch in the direction of your weapons. You buck and writhe but it’s useless, he’s too large - heavy with muscle and the strength of his armour hunched over your frame. If only you could have a moment to think - slightly difficult with him crushed to you in a way that makes your already racing pulse jump erratically - you can’t throw your head back like you normally would, there’s no soft flesh or fragile bone for you to hit, just unforgiving metal that promises the worst fucking headache known to man if you decide to be so rash.  
You take in a steadying breath and test the waters but it’s like he can sense your thoughts. Like he’s so deeply attuned to how you think after spending maker-knows how long following you through the galaxy. Any ideas you have are burned up, turned to ash and carried away on the icy wind the moment you enact them as he blocks and parries every single attempt to hit out at him, keeping a secure hold on you despite your savage clawing and kicking. And it’s not until your muscles ache, your breath hitched on a quiet pant whilst you sag back into him that to add insult to injury, you realise his grip on you isn’t as restraining as it should be. It’s almost light - gentle even - taunting.
He’s trailing soft circles over the tender skin of your wrists, the rise of his chest deep and even against your back. Everything about him is calm, collected - self assured and bordering on smug. He knows you can’t get away from him, that he’s got you for good this time and is simply amusing himself by watching you jerk and thrash and snarl in fury. 
“Fuck.” You huff.
He chuckles then - the sound like rough velvet  and it’s impossible to not give in to the shudder trying to slip over your spine, to lean back into him when he presses closer and  dips his chin to your shoulder - the cold kiss of beskar against your cheek and the deep rumble at the back of his throat drifting through the modulator in his helmet to curl around your ear like smoke. 
“Better luck next time mesh’la.”
That fucking voice.
**
But now it’s your turn to be smug. 
After all there’s a reason you chose a planet like Maldo Kreis to hide on - it’s not like you're here for the entertainment, although watching the typically quiet Mandalorian grow steadily more agitated as his ship fails to regain power has been quite the satisfying experience for your wounded pride. 
He might have caught you unaware but the capture is only half of his mission and it’s looking pretty impossible for him to complete the remaining part when he has no way of hauling your ass out of here. You’re at a stalemate - the arctic climate working in your favour to trap him whilst he’s been preoccupied trapping you. 
There’s ice everywhere - creeping through the Crest like webs of frosted glass - burrowing inside the already temperamental mechanics of such an old ship and with the loss of light as the dark stretch of night slips in there’s no sign of things being fixed before morning at least. Something that you're sure has already become irritatingly obvious to him given the way he stomps back and forth as he secures your home for the evening. 
With every piercing howl of frigid wind that cuts through the cockpit he curses - his shoulders tensing that much harder and tone dragged through with grit as he hastily shoves another threadbare blanket into your lap when you begin to shake before throwing himself into the pilot’s seat and trying the controls again with no more result than he had ten minutes ago. 
“You need to stay warm.” He casts a sideways glance at you, grunts. “Otherwise you’ll die before we get off this fucking planet.”
You blink in surprise before grinning through the click of your chattering teeth. “ I didn’t realise you cared, Mandalorian.”
He goes silent - his helmet tilting an inch as he stares at you but your eyes are drawn to the minute twitch of his fingers on a switch - the soft creak of leather as his hands subtly flex and clench whilst he watches you watch him until a thick tension blooms in the air. When he eventually breaks it - slashes through it like a knife through a balloon full of water making you nearly gasp as if you’d been drowning within it - his words are detached, clipped, and maybe you’d believe them if it wasn’t for the echo of a strain they’re shaded in. 
“I get paid less if you’re dead.”
“Right, yeah of course - that’s what it is.” 
**
It only grows colder - the type of chill that hooks into your bones and bites deep. 
And Mando must see it on your face - the discomfort  - the stabbing ache of your insides turning to brittle glass beneath your skin - because he’s suddenly on his feet. Grabbing your wrist in the broad circle of his hand and dragging you quickly behind him - balling the blankets beneath his other arm as he leads you to an enclosed nook with a thin mattress inside. 
You both seem to stare at it for a short cluster of awkward seconds before he gestures towards the bunk - a jerking, almost insecure movement that you gather is from showing you something so mundane, yet so personal. And you get it. It’s becoming more difficult to simply see him as your hunter and you his bounty when he’s giving you all of this - his protection and his kindness (even if it is buried deep under a mountain of grumpiness) and now the place where he’s most vulnerable. It makes your gut twist strange, creates an odd tickle in your chest and draws a shaky breath past your lips as he clears his throat.
 “It’ll be warmer for you in here.” He mutters. “Get in and close it after you.”
You frown. “What about you?”
He makes a non-committal noise - a shrug. “I’ll be in the cockpit if you need me.”
“You can’t be serious?” You protest, concern bleeding through your tone before you can bite your tongue and a chirp of disbelief sounding from the back of your throat when he stares at you blankly in return. “Maker, Mando it’s practically frozen over in there, are you trying to tell me you’d prefer to suffer a miserable, icy death in that pilot chair rather than share a bed with me?”
That startles him - visibly - somewhat comically - this warrior, who’s imposing presence can terrify so many, choking on an abrupt cough before he shifts uncomfortably enough to  convince you he’d rather bolt right this fucking instant than answer that question. Hs reaction makes you wonder if he’s ever just simply shared a bed with someone or if that’s a tenderness he can’t allow himself to indulge in his line of work, your treacherous mind conjuring a hazy, soft edged image of him wound around you, of all those sharp edges moulded to the velvet plush of your skin as his hands stroke your cheek, your arms, your belly. 
Fuck, okay that’s enough of that.
There’s a flush of heat blooming in your face before it’s thankfully snatched away by the sting of ice in the air. Mando is quiet - the pitch dark blankness of his visor trained on you before his fingers twitch and he crosses his arms over his chest. 
“It’s not th- I don’t- it’s not necessary. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.” He eventually murmurs but he sounds different than before - huskier. 
You gulp as it slides over you -  as that tension from earlier in the cockpit seeps between you once again, thick enough to make your skin itch and your lungs feel tight and if you don’t break it now you might do something very, very, stupid. 
So you joke instead “Isn’t sharing body heat like the first rule of survival in this kind of situation? It’s because I’m a bounty isn’t it? Well then I hope the bastard who sent you after me didn’t plan on gloating when you take me back - he’ll probably have to defrost me first. 
He moves towards you - a single step before he seems to restrain himself, amusement briefly colouring his tone. “He did say I could bring you in warm or bring you in cold, my choice.” 
“Ah so you chose the ice cube option, wonderful.”
In response he nearly makes you swallow your own damn tongue - he reaches for you and cups your chin - brushes the skin just below your lip with his thumb as his voice pitches to a low rasp. 
“No, I prefer you warm.” 
Oh. Maker help you.
**
He relents after that - after your eyes go round and wide and your breath shudders from your lungs. You had almost swayed into him, your fingers itching to curl into his cape and pull him to you as things better left unsaid clogged up your throat, the beginnings of molten pleas that you shouldn’t be asking someone who intends to hand you over for credits. 
That effectively douses you in cold water - the reminder of what you are to one another - enough for you to take a step back out of his reach and attempt a strained smile when his hand drops and silence stretches between you.
“So are we bunking together or not because I’d really like to get some sleep sometime soon.” You say flippantly.
 And it’s not exactly a lie - you are exhausted, bone-tired from everything that has lead to this moment right here - but you know Mando picks up that it’s not the full reason for your abrupt reroute of the conversation - the unnatural lilt in your voice as you strive to appear unaffected by his touch - the heat coiling in his words
His visor is on you, the blankness of it somehow piercing as he regards you - tries to figure you out. To decipher what’s made you shift and draw in on yourself when you’ve always been so unflinchingly honest with him. But this is different, this is something you can’t be upfront about because where that path could lead is not somewhere you can go. 
“Sure,” He finally says. “If you’re okay with it, if it’s what you want.” 
It isn’t, not even close.
**
There’s something you hadn’t considered when opting to share such a tight space with a fully armoured Mandalorian - something that would have been great crossing your mind before your skin felt like it wanted to peel itself back from the searing pain that comes with touching frosted metal.
Beskar, like other metals, turns excruciatingly cold when exposed to such a glacial climate - a fact you miserably discover when Mando slides in next to you, the length of his body - that chill-bitten armour - pushing close to your back.
“Fuck, fuck, stars that’s fucking cold.” You hiss, your body bowing and twisting in a desperate attempt to get away.
But there’s nowhere for you to really go in what’s essentially a narrow hole in the wall, the ridiculousness of the situation eventually getting the better of you as the two of you try everything you can think of to not be in some kind of contact. It’s a drawn out few moments of wriggling - of practically trying to crawl up the wall amongst the echoes of your startled noises everytime you feel that shock of cold and Mando’s guilty muttering of “shit, sorry.”
You start laughing, you can’t help it - a delirious giggle spilling past your lips. He’s a Mandalorian and you’re a criminal - you both have this reputation that makes you formidable, makes people think you're tough - dangerous - if only the galaxy could see you now. You feel like teenagers. Especially when after a moment of stunned silence he joins in, a low, warm chuckle that grows into a beautiful, true laugh, drifting through his modulator to wrap around the pounding flesh of your poor, unsuspecting heart. 
How can someone’s laugh be that fucking attractive.
Nope, no, not going there - focus. 
“Okay, this obviously isn’t going to work.” You mumble, sensing him turn to you in the dark when you sit up and pass a weary hand over your face. “I’ll go sleep in the cockpit.”
“No.” There’s the sound of him moving then his fingers catching yours - the heat of him radiating through the leather. “You said it yourself, it’s frozen over, there’ll be no way for you to stay warm enough - I’ll go.”
And here we go again.
You roll your eyes, a teasing edge to your voice. “Mando I’m not kicking you out of your own bed - I might have some questionable morals but I’m not that rude.”
He snorts before his hand jerks. Stilling at the short, hesitant slide of your fingers up and down his - the motion of it tangling them together further as he inhales sharply. “A thief with manners - cute.”
“I try.”
They both slip into silence then, falling quiet to the gentle exploration of the other’s hand - the swell of warmth blooming outwards from the links of their fingers to encase them whole. 
He’s watching you - not that you can see - but you can feel his gaze, the weight of it trailing over and over and over every inch of your being until you feel almost certain he’s somehow managed to see inside of you too. All the soft fleshy parts, the fears and the insecurities, the secrets you bury deep along with those thoughts you have about him.
“I could take it off.” He says quietly. 
What? 
You're confused for a few seconds, your brain attempting to backtrack the last few moments for something you must have missed whilst you were too far in your own head. "Take what off?"
He swallows hard. "The armour." He murmurs. "I could take it off if it would make you more comfortable." 
Oh. 
That punches you somewhere deep, knocking the breath right out of your lungs as you whip your head in his direction to stare at him, incredulous. You don't know much about his culture, just tales and rumours, but you're positive that what he's offering to do for you is no small thing. 
"I thought that was forbidden for a mandalorian." You whisper. 
"We don't remove the helmets." He replies softly, clears his throat as he crinkles the sheets in the tense, iron grip of his other hand. "But it's our choice to remove the rest of the armour in front of another." 
You allow that to sink in for a moment, a little dizzy with it - this trust he's willing to tentatively slip into the trembling cup of your hands despite the muddied history you share, the time you've spent not necessarily as enemies but certainly rivals. 
"I don't - I'm not - I, fuck," He's struck you completely fucking dumb, tongue tied in some impossible knot with his waiting gaze fixed upon you. "I don't want you to do anything you're not comfortable with." You manage to breathe out eventually. 
His fingers draw away from you and your mourn the loss, the sudden emptiness as your heart drops somewhere by your toes. 
Have you upset him? Offended him somehow? 
But no, there's the faint brush, a whisper, of leather over the swell of your cheek almost to quick to recognise before he's moved by you and opened up the cosy little nook to the blistering chill. 
He cuts a terrifying figure as he looms over you but when he speaks his tone is gentle, shy almost. 
"I want to." 
** 
Is it rude to look or is it somehow more rude to look away? 
Fuck, you don't know. 
You quickly decide when he begins the process of removing the armour, choosing to fix your gaze to your lap because it seems like the right thing to do, respectful. For a Mandalorian you imagine removing the armour is like removing a layer of their being, baring themselves in some significant way that isn't simply just physical. 
It feels private - vulnerable and intimate - and you don't want to cheapen the moment by gawking at him like he's some exhibit in a museum. 
When the final clink of metal hitting the floor fades into an echo there’s a rushed exhale to follow - an expulsion of relief-tinged anxiousness - that you subconsciously mirror. You wonder if his palms are a little slick like yours, if his heart rate is that little bit too quick to try and convince himself that this isn’t going to change something monumental in whatever your relationship is.
“You can look at me.” He says gently - touched through with a whisper of fear. “I’m pretty sure you won’t turn to stone or something.”
It defuses the tension you’re brewing within your own bones just enough that your lips quirk slightly, your eyes flicking up before you can stop yourself and then you’re biting into the thick of your tongue until the coppery taste of your own blood floods your mouth just to prevent the gasp rattling in your throat. 
He’s just as breathtaking as he is with the armour - maybe even more so. Because now in addition to the broadness of him - the curves and ridges of his thick muscular body that you’ve witnessed exhibit a type of strength that can be explained as nothing short of intensely powerful - there’s just this smidge of softness to his makeup now, this glimpse of him that is so obviously human and so heart-stoppingly endearing that it feels like a herculean effort to not reach out and touch him.
It feels like your heart is jammed up in your windpipe as you offer a shaky smile - a timid offering of reassurance. “Good to know you actually have a body.” You muse, lips splitting into a broader grin when the Mandalorian seems to stare at you in a way you read as utterly confused. “I was beginning to think you might just be a soul attached to the armour or something.” 
He’s silent, a blank slate - but then after a few beats he huffs, drawls exasperated and somewhat fond. “You have some fucking imagination, you know that.” 
You wink at him, patting the flimsy mattress beside you teasingly. “If you hurry up and get in here before I turn into an ice block, I’ll tell you some other theories I’ve had.” 
“Can’t wait.” He remarks dryly, dipped in the shine of a grin. 
He climbs back in - closes the hatch and slides up to stretch himself alongside you and then it’s like neither of you dare move. You lay side by side with only the faint sounds of your breathing and the burning heat of his arm nudged up against your own to convince you this is really happening. 
And when you shiver he feels it reverberate through his own body, rolls onto his side in this tight little space where the action of it brings him close enough that had he been helmetless, he would be able to watch the way his breath stirred the long sweep of your lashes. 
“Are you still cold?” He asks. 
“Just a little.”
He makes a soft noise of an acknowledgement before you feel movement against the mattress - the slide of fingers over the sheets as he reaches to tangle them with your own and tug slightly. 
“Come here.” 
Your heart stills, seizes up, and then fucking pounds like the heralding cry of a war drum. Yet your body has a mind of it’s own - his words are a warm, low rumble through his chest sinking into the vital parts of your own, hooking into clumps of tissue to reel you into him. And you go - of course you do - because whatever power you have, whatever innate strength the maker gifted you at birth, it was clearly never meant to hold up against him. Not when he asks you like that. 
You go like you were made to do so and he seals himself around you like he was born to fit with you. And in the perfect pitch dark off the cot the simple act of it is everything. It’s the heat of him at your back, ridges of firm muscle pressed tight to the curve of your spine and the way you move in time with his every soothing breath. It’s his chin notched atop your head, the fact it’s somehow weirdly comforting when he speaks and it vibrates through the base of your skull. 
It’s his hands. Stars, his hands. He gives you his bare hands and they steal your breath away, these hands that have dealt pain and death - calloused with unsavoury deeds yet still so lovely - threading through your own with a gentleness you could never imagine he was capable of had you not felt it firsthand. 
All of it feels so soul-shatteringly natural - and that, you think, is the scariest fucking thing in the galaxy. 
You absolutely cannot allow this, it’s impossible this amount of peace in his arms without having to tear some part of yourself and leave it behind when you inevitably decide to make your escape again. And you don’t want to give any more pieces of yourself out into the galaxy, to someone who could take that piece and tear it to shreds, roll it in glass and set it on fire until there’s nothing but ash. 
You are a criminal and he is a bounty hunter - how else could this possibly end.
Move away. Just move away from him now and you'll be fine, there’s no damage done yet. 
But it’s like he can sense your unease - your sudden desperation to flee. “Sleep.” Mando chastises softly. “I can practically hear your brain whirring.”
“But what about all the theories I promised to enlighten you with.” You struggle to keep your tone light, praying he doesn’t notice and it seems like maybe for once today, luck is on your side. 
There’s the huff of his laugh as he curls around you tighter and squeezes your hands between his. It’s so fucking tender that you feel like sobbing. “Tomorrow. You can tell me all the theories you want tomorrow.” He murmurs - brushes a thumb over your knuckles. “Sleep now mesh’la.”
And because it’s warm, because you feel safer than you have in a long damn time, lulled by the deep, rhythmic breaths at your back, you do. You tell yourself that this is fine, that it’s just one night in his arms.
No harm can come from just one night.
Right?
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piratesfromspace · 3 years
Text
Finance Management (Deckard Shaw/Reader)
Deckard Shaw (Fast & Furious) x Reader
Word count: 1.9k CW: mention of food & alcohol, smut
Female reader
Note: This short fic has been inspired by a friend of mine who created the character of the financial advisor of mister Shaw.  Also there is not enough fics with Deckard Shaw so here we are. 
Read on Ao3
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“Mister Shaw, it’s me again, I’m so sorry but I really need you to call me back please. It’s important. Thank you.”
You let out a deep sigh as you hang up. Handling the finances of rich people is a lucrative and thrilling job, but damn it sometimes those clients of yours are annoying. Especially Mister Shaw.
First, he’s annoyingly busy and unreachable. Most powerful people are, but he can disappear for weeks on end without so much as sending an email.
Second, he’s also infuriatingly handsome and smart and funny. And he has an impeccable sense of style. He has nothing in common with the other clients of your firm, mainly old and boring men, whose only conversation subject is their money and how they hate their wives.
And finally, the worst thing about him is how good of a lover he is. You found out half a year ago, when you ended up in his bed after what should have been a regular business dinner. It was a mistake of course. One that could have cost you your career because it was a very serious breach of contract to sleep with a client.
You never told a soul, and you promised yourself to never do it again. But it was still hard to forget the feeling of him pressed against you, of his hands holding your waist, of his mouth between your thighs...
You try to focus again on your task and stretch your legs, kicking out your high heels. Feet bare on the soft carpet, you walk to the floor-to-ceiling window of your posh office, taking a second to admire the view, as the final rays of the sun disappear over the lake, and Geneva lights up under you. It’s breath-taking, really. But it also means you’re once again staying way too late at the office. Your assistant has gone home a couple hours ago, and your colleagues are either on vacation or on business trips, making you the only person on the building’s 7th floor. You still have a few things to finish so you plop on your leather chair and get back to work, hoping to make it home before 11pm.
That’s when you hear it: the familiar *ding* of the elevator’s door, at the end of the corridor. You tense immediately. You’re not waiting for anyone, and the security guards always use the stairs when completing their patrol.
Steps are coming down your way, and you grab your phone, ready to dial for the security team. And then you recognize his silhouette through the polished glass wall. There is a knock on your door before it opens to reveal Deckard Shaw himself. He’s wearing an expensive suit and an even more expensive watch, a very light stubble is highlighting his perfect jawbone and his deep grey eyes bear a mischievous glint. Handsome, as always.
“Mister Shaw…” you stammer.
“You know you can call me Deckard.” His stupidly sexy British accent and cocky smile will be the death of you.
He’s been in your office for two seconds and you already want to slap him in the face - or climb him like a tree, you can’t really decide.
“It’s quite late, Mister Shaw, you scared me. Anything I can do for you?” you insist on saying his family name, in a feeble attempt to maintain a professional façade.
“You needed to see me.” it’s more a comment than a question, and you’re suddenly reminded of the dozen of unanswered phone calls you made trying to reach him.
“Yes… yes, that’s right, but honestly you could have called tomorrow morning.”
“I’d rather see you in person.” he answers, looking you straight in the eyes. You can feel yourself blushing under his gaze. “Wanted to make sure you’re alright. You’re working too much you know.” he says with a soft smile, as his eyes drift down to your sore bare feet and then to the discarded heels under your desk.
What a condescending prick, you think. But at the same time, he’s right and his care seems somewhat genuine. It will not make you forget you almost lost your job because of him though.
“How did you know I was still here tonight?” you purposely redirect the attention on him, rather than you.
“Well, let’s say I would not leave the woman in charge of my assets without any... supervision.”
“Is that a polite way to say you’ve been spying on me?” you retort dryly.
“Oh I love when you’re getting all angry and snobbish, your French accent is even cuter.”
You’re gonna murder him. You really really want to tell him to go fuck himself, but he’s the one responsible for a very generous part of your paycheck, so you have to keep quiet.
“I would be more comfortable if we keep our conversation strictly professional, Mister Shaw.”
“Everything you want, dear.”
-----
“Mmph, fu-ck... Deckard, don’t stop”
The professional attitude has been long forgotten, since Deckard has pulled you onto his lap on the velvet couch of his presidential suite at the Four Seasons hotel, where you were supposed to only review the important documents he needed to see. But when the room service had brought a very nice bottle of Scotch, you knew you were screwed. You could not refuse a drink, and the warmth of alcohol combined with the warmth of his hand slightly brushing against your thigh had overcome all your resolve.
You are now sprawled on the king-size bed, moaning his name as Deckard Shaw is destroying your sanity very methodically. One foot on the floor, one leg bent on the edge of the bed, he’s pounding into you, holding your hip with one hand, and circling your clit with the other. His pace is calculated, not too fast so you can feel every inch of him, but not too slow so your nerves don’t have any respite, and it’s driving you crazy. Hands tangled in the dark silk sheets beneath you, you try to catch your breath to no avail.
“I won’t stop darling. Not until I can feel you coming again all over me.” His voice is like heavy honey, dripping all over your senses, drowning you in sweet and sinful promises.
You want to close your eyes to focus on the overwhelming feelings, but the view in front of you is too good to be missed. He looks like some demi-god, bathed in the subdued light of the room, broad and muscular chest, abs perfectly drawn. What is his job again? You vaguely remember him talking about serving a few years in the military when he was younger, but he is still definitely hitting the gym on a regular basis.
His muscles flex when he brings you down on his thick cock a little more sharply than before, and you keen as he hits that perfect spot inside of you. You can feel your orgasm build again, and so can he.
“You’re close, princess, aren’t you?”
You mewl in response and he chuckles darkly, keeping up with his ruthless assault on your most sensitive parts. He angles his fingers just a bit differently on your clit, and keeps thrusting into you, stretching you so perfectly you can’t remember the last time someone fucked you this good - wait , actually you can, it was a few months ago and it was by mister Deckard “annoyingly perfect” Shaw.
“Come on, I know you want to, I’ll keep going until you give me one more anyway princess…”
And that's it. You’re gone. Back arching off the bed, you come hard, harder than the first time, clenching around him. You barely hear him hiss in pleasure as you spasm helplessly on the soft sheets, the silk feeling almost cool against your burning skin.
----
“Good morning darling."
You open an eye, natural light is flooding the room, as is the delicious smell of fresh coffee and tea. At the foot of the bed, you spot a room service trolley loaded with breakfast treats and through the open door of the bathroom, you can see Deckard is looking at you in the mirror reflection while buttoning a crisp white shirt.
"Your tea is ready. Black, no milk, right?”
He's right and it's annoying because is there anything this man messes up?
"What time is it?" You ask, suddenly remembering you have a busy schedule today.
"You have 27 minutes to eat and get ready, so I can drop you off at your office in time for your first call of the day."
He knows about your tea preferences and your professional agenda, of course he does , he was not joking when mentioning the whole "spying-on-you" situation, or "supervision" as he liked to call it. He needs to stop it, but you decide to keep this discussion for another day.
You stretch, and rise to put on the hotel bathrobe, sighing at the thought of having to wear the same clothes as yesterday. Last you saw them, they were scattered on the floor all over the room and your underwear were positively ruined.
"The concierge was very helpful this morning, thanks to him I got you a few clothes delivered for today." Deckard adds as he pours himself a cup of coffee from the cart and gestures to the leather armchair where a couple of bags doning logos of luxury brands are perched.
You make your way to the packages, and open the first one to reveal a sophisticated dress, fitted and sexy, but not too much that it would be inappropriate as office wear. The second bag is a thoughtful selection of high end make-up products. And the last one contains a gorgeous set of lacy lingerie, nothing too raunchy but sexy nonetheless. Of course everything is in the right size.
"Thank you..." you whisper, a little stunned. The assortment must have cost him a couple grands at the very least - not that he can't afford it because you're well placed to be sure he can, but still, he did not have to do this.
You have to suppress a smile, because damn he's being annoyingly perfect once more, but you don't want to give him the satisfaction to reveal he was right when promising you could stay the night instead of going home and still look fresh for your day at work.
"I was thinking, I'm free tonight, so maybe we can finally review those documents, you know the ones you were supposed to show me before you jumped on me on the couch last night?" Deckard states as he bites in an apple in front of the window, casually looking at lake Geneva glinting in the bright morning sun.
You blush unwillingly, struggling to find a reply that would save you from admitting you had failed at enforcing your usual work ethic.
"I'm kidding dear!" He barks in a laugh. "I know enough to trust you on this venture, you have my approval to go on with the investment." He continues more seriously.
You open your mouth to answer but he's quicker.
"I'm not kidding about being free though, so what about dinner and then we can see where this takes us…"
When you don't answer immediately, he turns to look at you. Maybe he's realizing the situation can be awkward and precarious for you since you're technically working for him.
"You can say no, I won't take any offense." He adds without irony.
"Yes..." You finally answer, tip toeing toward him until you can snatch the apple he was eating from him. He protests but you shush him.
"...Yes, I would like this very much..."
As he starts to protest again, you take a big bite from the fruit with a knowing smile.
"...but only for dinner. Nothing more."
"You'll be the death of me." Deckard says, falsely irritated, his voice dropping lower.
"At least the feeling is mutual, mister Shaw ..."
1K notes · View notes
mischiefandspirits · 3 years
Text
Bernard Figures It Out
Was reading through all the comments on @frostbittenbucky's post and all I could think of was that it was Bernard talking to Tim. Then I got to thinking...
"I've connected the two dots."
"You didn't connect shit."
"I've connected them."
Bernard figures out Tim's a superhero... sort of.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tim fidgetted nervously as he waited on the front porch of his boyfriend’s house. Bernard had sounded so serious when he’d called during Tim’s lunch to ask him to come over after work so they could talk about something.
Which Tim had done, after spending an entire board meeting just going over the past week trying to figure out what he’d done.
The only thing he could think of was that he’d ducked out halfway through their lunch date on Wednesday to give Duke some backup, but Bernard had seemed understanding when Tim explained there was an emergency at GRC Labs. It couldn’t have been a tipping point, either, since Tim had managed to only flake on three other dates over the past few months they’d been dating. Kate had been happy to cover for him as often as she could “out of queer solidarity” when she found out Tim was dating a boy for the first time and Tim had managed to trick Bruce into covering a few actual Wayne Enterprises emergencies for him when they came up.
There had to be a reason Bernard was breaking up with him, though. Had he missed something? He definitely wasn’t forgetting an important day. He was good with days and Tam was even better, so she would have reminded him on the off chance that he had forgotten.
What was he missing?
Bernard was smiling when he opened the door, but there was a nervous energy to it that had Tim’s stomach sinking. “Hey, Tim.”
“Hey.” Tim gave his own nervous smile then slipped inside.
They went into the living room and sat down on the couch.
Tim frowned when Bernard grabbed a manila folder off the coffee table. Crud, had he screwed up enough that Bernard had had to make a list? He knew he was new to dating a guy, but he hadn’t thought he’d done that bad. He’d really been trying, especially with how his and Stephanie’s relationship had fallen apart at the end. “What -”
“Just let me speak, Tim,” Bernard said, waiting for Tim’s nod. “Okay, so you know Clark Kent, right?”
Tim blinked as Bernard opened the folder to show a picture of Clark. It looked like one of the employee pictures from the Planet’s website, with his dorky “I’m just a humble country boy” smile and the golden globe from their roof photoshopped in as the background. “Uh, yeah? I think so. He works for the Daily Planet, right? I think he’s worked at a few of Bruce’s events. Not a lot of outside reporters are willing to come to Gotham.”
“Exactly!” Bernard said, snapping his fingers and pointing at Tim.
“What?”
He pulled out the picture to show the next page was an article titled, “DAILY PLANET REPORTER… BATMAN!?”
A wave of relief washed over Tim and he placed his face in his hands. “Were you up all night on the hero conspiracy boards again?”
“No. I mean, I found this on a board and was up all night thinking about it, but I found it reasonably early.”
“One in the morning isn’t reasonable, Bernard.”
“Says the guy who’s always wide awake when I call to infodump.”
“Touché.” Tim leaned against Bernard and gave him a smile. “So tell me, why is some reporter from Metropolis from all places Batman.”
“First of all, living in Metropolis is the perfect cover. Everyone assumes Batman would live in Gotham, no one would consider he could be from anywhere else. Metropolis is outside the GMA, but close enough that the commute is still possible.”
“But it’s Metropolis.”
“And who would think Gotham’s Dark Knight lives in the sunshine capital? Plus, I hear he disappears a lot on the job. There’s gotta be a reason for it!”
Tim made a note to let Clark know he needs to cut back on the disappearing act some since people are catching on.
“And have you seen the guy? He is swol AF, babe.”
“Please don’t call me babe while you’re talking about how hot another guy is.” Especially Tim’s honorary uncle.
“You know I prefer twinks.”
“BERNARD!”
“I’m just saying,” he continued, ignoring Tim’s shout. “The guy is definitely hiding something! Besides, Kent is an investigative reporter. He’s gotta know a lot about cases and the underground and detective work.”
Not as much as he likes people to think, but more than he likes people to know Superman does, Tim mused. “But what about the other vigilantes?”
“Well, Kent has a cousin…” Bernard flipped through a folder and pulled out a picture of Kara. It looked like a screenshot of her interviewing Lena for CatCo. “She’s obviously the latest Batgirl. Look at her hair. And the first Batgirl and the current Batwoman were obviously Lois Lane, the red hair is just a wig. Did you see how she kicked butt at that last event she went to? She’s not as subtle as Kent. That means their son is the latest Robin. He’s exactly the right size.”
Oh, Damian better not hear about this, Tim cackled internally. His youngest brother hated being reminded that Jon was the same height as him despite their two years age difference. Damian definitely took after Talia when it came to body type, no matter what he said.
“And Kent also has a brother.” This time he pulled out a picture of Kon. The clone must have been caught by a reporter out shopping with Ma since he was carrying some paper bags and glaring at whoever was behind the camera. “At least, he’s supposedly Kent’s brother, but he was a teenager when he first showed up with the Kents. A lot of people think he’s actually Kent’s son, that Kent got a girl pregnant when they were teenagers and something happened to the mom so Kent had to take him in. Now the Kents are trying to hide it by saying the two are brothers.”
That was… scarily accurate actually. Especially given Luthor and Clark were close friends at the time that Kon would have theoretically been born.
“And that beef would explain why the younger Kent brother went all crime lord on Gotham for a while before reconnecting with the family.”
“Wait, what?”
“Yeah, Kent Jr.’s got the perfect build for Red Hood.”
Tim bit back a comment on how Kon was shorter than Jason by a good foot. Timothy Drake-Wayne should not know that. Add Jason to the list of people who can’t hear this theory.
“And then there’s this girl,” Bernard picked up a picture of Lois, Jon, and Natasha Irons walking down the street together. “No one’s sure exactly who she is, but she’s been spotted with the Kents a few times. I think the cover story is that she’s Jon’s babysitter.”
“And the actual story?”
“She’s Black Bat, obviously. That’s why she wears a mask that fully covers her face. She doesn’t want to stand out as the only African American Bat.”
“Isn’t Signal also Black?”
“Yeah, but he works in the daytime so he’s already a standout.”
“And who is Signal in this? And what about Nightwing and Red Robin?”
“Well, Nightwing’s just a Blüd who came to Gotham. He doesn’t count.”
Ouch. Sorry, Dick.
“And Red Robin is obviously an older Robin, the one who was Robin when we were kids. Kent wanted to keep him on, and I don’t blame him. As for Signal, he’s got the same backstory as all the other Robins Kent picked up, he just went the Signal route because he didn’t fit the usual Robin mold.”
“Because the female Robin fit the mold,” Tim snorted. Robin Mold, as if he and his brothers were even the same ethnicity. Or even had the same hair color. Jason dyes his hair, Dick’s is brown-black, Tim’s is pure black, and Damian’s is more a dark brown and it’s only getting lighter as he gets older.
“She didn’t, that’s the point. Kent tried to give breaking the Robin mold a chance by letting his cousin have a go at it, but he realized it just didn’t work so she went back to being Spoiler and he got a new Robin.”
Not touching that with a ten-foot pole. “Right, and where does he get the usual Robins? Please tell me you’re not back on the secret government orphanages theory.”
“No, no, no. Kent travels sometimes for his job, right? And a lot of the time he’s going to places that have been hit by disasters or major crimes. So he’ll take in some of the displaced children to train as his robins.”
Tim pressed his face back into his hands.
“You see it, right?”
Honestly, Tim was just wondering how his boyfriend could be so close, and yet so far off. “How would Kent even afford taking care of a bunch of secret -- possibly illegally acquired -- children without anyone noticing?”
“Simple. Bruce Wayne is funding him.”
“Bernard, I love you, but what the heck?” Tim blushed and looked up as he realized what he’d said, but Bernard didn’t seem to notice as he steamrolled ahead.
“It’d also explain how he can afford all the gear and how he’d be able to travel to Gotham or anywhere else Batman goes without anyone noticing. He probably has a secret Batplane or something.”
“Why would Bruce do that?”
“Because Wayne cares about Gotham, everyone knows that, and this way he can make sure someone’s taking care of the city without anyone putting two and two together.”
“And two plus two is?”
Bernard gave him a hard look. “I’m not stupid, Tim. Bruce Wayne is obviously Superman. His face is right there.”
Oh, the others are going to love this! Too bad I can’t tell Damian or Jason. Jason especially would have loved this. “Right. Bruce is Superman.”
“He is. Superman is known for being nice and Bruce Wayne’s basically all that’s keeping the city running at this point. That’s nice as hell.”
Oh my god.
“And Wayne does charity for the victims of cataclysms, doesn't he? I bet he first saves people from them as Superman and then builds them new homes for free.”
Oh my god! Why am I not recording this!?
“And the Wayne’s were rich enough to hide the fact they adopted an alien baby.”
Tim raised an eyebrow. “If you’re about to tell me this is why Bruce’s parents got killed, you might want to stop while you’re ahead.”
“It’d make sense. There’re all sorts of unanswered questions about their deaths,” Bernard muttered under his breath, flipping through the folder. He pulled out another picture of Kara. This time she was in full Supergirl attire with a bus held overhead. “So if Wayne is Superman, then that’d mean your ex-girlfriend could be Supergirl. They look a lot alike and it’d explain how she got involved with you all.”
“Bernard, she has a human dad. You know, Cluemaster. The supervillain.”
“Yeah, her dad. But we don’t know anything about her mom!”
“Let me guess…”
Bernard pulled out a picture of Karen. She and Helena were suited up and talking to a group of cops, two goons held over each of Karen’s shoulders. “Her mom could be Power Girl! Some makeup and a wig and she could look just like Crystal Brown! And Damian Wayne is obviously the new Superboy! That’s why his background is such a mystery, right? He had to stay a secret until he could control his alien superpowers. That’s why he’s always so mean. It’s a cover since everyone knows Superboy is super sweet!”
Sure, when he’s not helping Damian pull pranks or using his adorable powers to put the blame on Kon and I. “No, Bernard. Damian and Steph are just very human hellspawn. And Bruce and Crystal are human too. I can’t believe you called me over here just to tell me you think Superman is both Batman’s sugar daddy and my adoptive dad.”
“Well, that’s not exactly why I called you over,” Bernard admitted, the nervous energy coming back. He grabbed Tim’s hands. “Tim -”
Tim’s stomach sank. “You are breaking up with me!”
“What? No! I don’t want to break up!”
“Why are you acting all nervous and serious then!?” Tim asked, pulling his hands away to throw them up in the air.
Bernard shook the folder. “Because I’m trying to tell you I figured out you’re Superboy!”
Tim’s brain blue-screened and his hands slowly dropped. “I’m sorry, what?”
“I know you’re Superboy. The older one, obviously. By the way, you and Damian really need to figure out separate names.”
Forget Jason and Damian, Kon can never find out about this. He’d never let me live it down. “Bernard, you called me a twink five minutes ago. Su-” Shoot, I can not risk getting Kon’s attention! “The older one might not be as big as Superman, but he’s not a twink.”
“Well, yeah, that’s the shapeshifting at work.”
“The what?”
“Obviously you Kryptonians can shapeshift. Why else would you look so much like humans?”
… Why do Kryptonians look so much like humans? Was there some - Wait, no! Break into the Fortress of Solitude for research later! Reassure your boyfriend that you’re not an alien now! “Bernard -”
“And that explains why your step-mom was so hot.”
“Gross.”
“She and your dad were actors hired by Luthor so you could have a normal life! But now Bruce has custody so he adopted you.”
“No.”
“That’s why you and your dad were so weird with each other when I met him.”
“We were weird because he’d just gotten out of a coma not long before to find that his wife was dead so he decided to actually be a dad for once in his life, but overcompensated and became a helicopter parent to a kid who was mostly on his own for his entire life!” Tim blurted out. “I am not an alien, Bernard!”
“Well, not technically since you were cloned from Superman on Earth.”
“Oh my god! You were just talking about Steph being Supergirl! Why would I date my dad’s cousin?”
Bernard blinked. “Supergirl and Superman are cousins?”
Right, Timothy Drake-Wayne wasn’t supposed to know that. “I thought they’d said something like that before, yeah. Are people seriously saying I’m Superboy on the internet?”
“NO! No, I swear I would have led with that if I thought your identity was compromised. A few people have mentioned Wayne and Damian, but not you or Steph or Jason.”
“Wh-Jason!? You think Jason was an alien too!”
“No, not exactly, but a few times when I’ve visited I swear I’ve seen a guy in the manor who looks like Jason. It’s just been out of the corner of my eye and he’s gone whenever I look so I’ve always thought it was just Dick or Bruce or some picture of Jason that my mind was playing tricks with, but it makes sense now that I know Wayne is Superman. He must have been able to heal Jason with alien tech, but couldn’t say anything because that would give away that he’s Superman.”
Damn it Jason! And damn it Bernard! I’m dating the smartest moron in the world! “Bruce did not bring Jason back with alien technology and none of us are aliens!”
“It’s okay, Tim. I won’t tell anyone.”
Tim grabbed Bernard by the jacket and pulled him into a kiss. When he started to feel lightheaded, he pulled back, “Could someone whose skin is as solid as stone kiss like that?”
Bernard blinked dazedly at him for a moment. “How do you know what Superboy’s skin feels like?”
Tim screamed internally. “He’s saved me from a kidnapping before.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I can get you the police report if you want.”
“Huh… And the others?”
“Not Supers. I can stab Damian the next time we’re at the manor if that’ll prove none of us are aliens.” He’d rather stab Jason, but that would probably only confirm to Bernard that Bruce used alien technology to bring him back.
“You probably shouldn’t stab your brother if he isn’t an alien.”
Tim rolled his eyes. “I won’t stab him anywhere deadly.”
“That’s not the point,” Bernard said slowly.
“He’ll be fine.”
“If you say so.”
“So do you believe I’m not an alien now?” Tim huffed, letting go of Bernard’s jacket.
The blond’s eyes dipped down to Tim’s lips. “If I say no, will you kiss me like that again?”
“You’re ridiculous,” Tim said, but he kissed him anyway.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Okay, but I still say Clark Kent is definitely Batman.”
“Sure, Bernard.”
278 notes · View notes
bokubonk · 3 years
Text
happy anniversary
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warnings: angst
content: hurt/comfort, angst
characters: Ushijima x gn!reader
date: 2/14/21
word count: 2.1k+
notes: Happy Valentine’s Day, my loves! Let us celebrate with some angst :)) Also I know I said it would be a few more days until I update but I just couldn’t resist writing this one.
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You approached your boyfriend once you saw the boys cleaning up after practice. You had been standing outside, waiting for your boyfriend for the past few hours. It was cold, but you didn’t mind, your excitement to celebrate your one year anniversary with Ushijima kept you warm. 
Your freezing hands were wrapped around his gift: a new volleyball. You saw that the one he had been practicing with was getting worn down from how powerful his spikes were and you wanted to get him a new one, knowing how much the sport meant to him. 
You crept into the gym as quietly as you could, not wanting to bother anyone but you saw some of the team members noticed you and they sent you small smiles after they saw the gift you were hiding behind your back. After all, they remembered that today was the date the two of you got together, their stoic captain and you, who somehow managed to put up with Ushijima’s busy schedule and look after the team like they were your own children.
Tendou and Ushijima were on the other side of the gym and you could see Ushijima being hard on himself as usual. Sweat lined his brow as he continued practicing his spikes, the force echoing throughout the gym.
You winced from how loud it was and as you came closer you locked eyes with Tendou, who waved at you and raised his eyebrows at Ushijima, exclaiming, “Oh? Look who it is, lover boy, your beloved y/n is here!”
Ushijima paused to look at you, his eyebrows furrowed and you were unsure of what to make of his expression. You knew your boyfriend wasn’t one to show emotion but the look he was giving you now wasn’t one that you were expecting, especially since today was your anniversary. 
“Go home, y/n,” he said, “I will be staying late today to practice. You should go home now. It isn’t safe to walk around alone at night.”
Your hopeful expression dropped but you tried your best to keep a smile on your face. He turned away from you and Tendou gave you a sympathetic look. It seemed Ushijima had forgotten what today was but you tried comforting yourself, reminding yourself that he was busy and that he had other priorities in his life just like you did. After all, you were both third years and there were plenty of things to worry about.
But, you couldn’t help the sinking feeling in your chest as you wished that just once, he would put more effort into your relationship. You were beginning to grow used to the ache in your chest from all the neglect you endured after Ushijima continued choosing volleyball over your dates. 
He would schedule last minute practices and leave you waiting for hours at the restaurants or the parks he promised to meet you at. You should be used to it by now, but you couldn’t help but hold onto the hope that he would change. 
You believed in his promises and even when he broke them, you told yourself it was okay, because you loved him and because he loved you, even if it didn’t seem that way sometimes.
Your cold hands clenched around his gift, the weight of the volleyball growing heavier as the seconds passed by and the lump in your throat grew. 
“Wakatoshi, I-,” you began, but he cut you off. “I do not have the time right now, y/n.”
“I need to perfect this.”
You moved your gaze away from him and stared at the ground, wishing the floor would open up and swallow you whole. You could feel the pitying gazes of the other team members as they looked at you and you hated how small you felt. 
Today was supposed to be a happy day so where did it all go wrong? What did you do to deserve being treated like this?
“But today is-,” you tried once again, your tears forcing your voice to a whisper.
“You are bothering me,” he interjected, harshly, “I am sure what you have to tell me can wait.”
You gave a small nod and began making your way out of the gym. Footsteps followed after you and for a second, you hoped it was Ushijima but when you heard a voice call your name, you felt the familiar taste of bitter disappointment. 
“Y/n, he’s just having a bad day,” Tendou consoled, his eyes widening when he saw your tear-stained cheeks. “You know he didn’t mean it.”
“Yeah, I know,” you smiled, one that clearly didn’t reach your eyes from how the frown on Tendou’s face deepened. You used the sleeves of your thin jacket to wipe away your tears before extending the gift in your hand. 
“Give it to him for me, will you?” you murmured weakly, “Make sure he doesn’t practice too late and don’t let him overexert himself.”
“No, y/n,” Tendou shook his head. “You should give it to him yourself. I’ll go grab him right now and tell him to walk you home.”
“It’s okay,” you assured him, “I’m not in the mood to celebrate anyway. I just came to drop off his gift.”
“Y/n, I’m sorry,” he frowned, his anger rising as more tears fell from your eyes. He knew how much you were looking forward to celebrating your anniversary and he felt terrible at how you were being treated by Ushijima. He wasn’t blind to all of the sacrifices you made for him and he knew it was time Ushijima stopped taking you for granted. 
“Good night, Tendou.”
The walk home was cold and lonely and you only felt worse when you woke up the next morning with a fever. But you were comforted by all the messages from Tendou and the other members asking how you were doing and interrogating you. They were seconds away from going over to your house because of your lack of response when you assured them you were doing fine and sent them a picture of yourself in bed, saying you had a fever.
Even with the group chat blowing up, there was still no response from Ushijima and you wondered if he just didn’t care. 
Your thoughts were swarmed with insecurities and before you knew it, you were sobbing into your pillow. 
Does he even love me?
You tried remembering a time where he actually said those three words, but you found you couldn’t. A year of dating and “I love you” never escaped his lips. A year of being treated like a second choice. A year of putting his feelings first and getting your heart stomped on.
You were tired and you didn’t know how much longer this cycle of disappointment could go on. 
You were torn out of your thoughts when you heard the front door open and the low murmur of voices before heavy footsteps began approaching your room. You pulled the covers over your head, hiding your messy hair and your swollen face. 
The door creaked as it opened and you peeked through the small opening of the blanket, your mouth dropping in surprise when you saw a large figure standing in your bedroom.
“Ushijima?” you questioned, sitting up abruptly before wincing at your nausea caused by the sudden movement.
He stopped examining all the photos in your room and turned around to face you, his eyes widening when he saw your red-rimmed eyes. He barely registered the fact that you called him by his last name and not his first, his main focus was what made you cry. 
“What’s wrong, y/n?” he asked, worry clearly written on his face. “Why are you crying?”
“Why are you here, Ushijima?” you asked instead, bringing your gaze to your fidgeting fingers, a habit you did when you were nervous.
“You are sick so I brought medicine and food to help you recover,” his eyebrows furrowed at your question and the lack of excitement in your tone when before, you always greeted him with a smile. It was one of his favorite things about you and he was beginning to miss it. 
“Well, as you can see, I’m fine. You can just leave the medicine and go. I wouldn’t want to interfere with your practice,” your tone was harsh and left no room for argument. 
You were angry, Ushijima finally realized. The hurt expression on your face wasn’t one he was used to and he didn’t know how to fix it. His heart shattered as your chin began to tremble and tears trailed down your cheeks. 
He remembered the harsh words he gave you and the fact that he made you walk home alone and he opened his mouth to apologize when he heard you whisper, “Do you even remember what day it was yesterday?”
His silence answered your question and you let out a bitter laugh, sliding back under the covers and turning away from him. “Just go away, Ushijima.”
“Please,” your voice cracked as you held back a sob. 
He stared at your shaking form, a frown tugging at his lips but he listened to you words and exited your room, the door letting a resounding click as it closed.
Despite your words, you hoped he would stay but you figured this was just another disappointment to add to the list. The thought only made you cry more and Ushijima listened just on the other side of the door, wondering what he could do to fix this.
You wondered if this was the end of your relationship and after an hour of crying, you finally fell asleep. By the time you woke up, daylight had faded and your room was now shrouded in darkness. 
You were creeped out by how silent the house was but you figured it was time to get out of bed and get something to eat. You walked downstairs and heard the shuffling of footsteps. 
“Mom?” you called out, now a little nervous that an intruder had somehow gotten in while you were sleeping. 
You tiptoed your way into the living room, only for a scream to lodge itself in your throat as the lights suddenly flickered on. Ushijima stood there in a suit with a cake in his hands. 
“Ushijima?” you gasped, “What are you doing here?”
He placed the cake on a table nearby and walked towards you, cupping your cheeks in between his large hands. You were too surprised to react, still shocked by the fact that he was still here and he hadn’t left. 
“I am sorry, y/n,” he said, his voice soft as he struggled to convey his feelings. “You mean so much to me and I never wanted to hurt you. I didn’t mean to forget our anniversary.”
You came to your senses once you heard his words and you stepped back, letting his hands fall from your face. 
“It’s not just that, Ushijima,” you whispered, “I’m just tired. I’m tired of always being a second choice to volleyball and always putting in all the effort only to receive none in return.”
He thought of all the times he rescheduled your dates or came late because he chose to spend more time practicing and guilt washed over him. Ushijima never realized just how much you did for him. He was blind to your suffering and now he was facing the consequences.
“I will be better,” he promised. There was no hint of hesitation in his voice. He truly meant it and you could feel your walls slowly crumbling once again. “I will be someone who is worthy of you. Just give me a second chance to prove my love to you.”
Your breath caught and time stumbled.
“You love me?”
You didn’t expect him to confess and now that he had, you were completely powerless to stopping yourself from falling for him once again. The ache in your chest was replaced with warmth and you found the smallest of smiles forming on your lips.
“I always have,” he replied, reaching up to rub a thumb across your cheekbone. He leaned down to kiss your forehead before touching his lips to your eyelids. His face was centimeters away from yours when he pulled back, “Can I kiss you?”
You nodded and he pulled you closer. The both of you missed each other and the kiss was soft but desperate. You could feel the familiar butterflies making themselves known as he pulled away and gave you one of his rare smiles, the one he only gave you. “Happy belated anniversary, my love.”
“Happy anniversary, Wakatoshi.”
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omiscurls · 3 years
Note
Hello you precious human! I saw you're taking request and I thought of something.. mabye you have an idea for this one, if not just ignore the ask >.< what if diluc and zhongli (seperate) don't know that their s/o is an artist and one day their sweetheart gifts them a full ass beautiful portrait of them. Maybe they had a hard day and you wanna make them feel better and surprise them or it's an anniversary gift idk, go wild with it ♡
Have a nice day ! Ily and thanks!
gift(ed)
a/n: thank you for this absolutely lovely ask! hope you enjoy reading this!
plot: the reader makes the character a portrait of them
contains: diluc, zhongli
warnings: none!
diluc
you know he hates his birthday, for very obvious reason
but what hurts even more when you hear it, is that from what his old friends say, he used to love it, once
it hurts to think that it became one more aspect of himself he has grown to forget
so you decide to do something about it
you know very well he doesn’t want any celebrations to be held, so therefore he also denies any gifts, but you can only hope he’ll accept this one
you work your ass off for a good long while, wanting it to be absolutely perfect, not one flaw on your canvas, worried he’d notice right away
when the time comes to finally gift it to him, you’re stressed beyond reason, sweaty palms probably ruining the nice packaging that covers the result of your relentless efforts. you have arranged to meet with diluc on starsnatch cliff, hoping to do it casually enough for him not to notice it’s a birthday thing, but also sure he will know, he’s far too intelligent to fall for anything like this, after all.
the sun begins to set as you sit down on the edge of the cliff, testing how far away from the stone can you move your foot without starting to feel dizzy.
the grass is already getting cold from the humidity of the night air, and you wonder if you should stand up after all, so not to stain your outfit.
it’s only a call of your boyfriend that rips you away from your train of thought.
“darling?” is what diluc says, voice uncertain as he stands below you “you asked to see me?”
you turn around, a welcoming smile crawling up your lips, and even though he doesn’t know the reason he’s here for yet, he already thinks it was worth it, just to see you, smiling like that in the field of cecilias.
“you’re here!” you exclaim happily, almost making him chuckle, because how could he not if it was you who asked?
you get up, careful not to show him the package behind your back too soon. he takes a big step forward, arm already securing you from the edge, hovering around your waist, but not touching you, still.
“let’s get further away from the edge, shall we?” he asks softly, and although you want to laugh at his endless worries, the love and care in his voice makes you swoon internally. “so?” he asks after making sure for your safety. “what’s with the scenery?”
“well” you grin, looking down at your feet, over the minute he’s been here he already managed to make you forget everything you had on your mind. “don’t take it as a birthday gift, cause it’s not that!” you explain rapidly, shaking your head “the only thing i wanted was to make you smile, or, i don’t know, the thing is, i hope you like it-“
you don’t quite know what to say, but diluc chooses to surprise you with a soft look you so rarely get to see.
“darling, it’s not like i have a phobia for birthday gifts or something” he assures “it just feels a bit weird to celebrate myself on such an anniversary, but i’m honored that you spent your time with me on your mind, i really am”
you feel more confident with that on your mind, and you hand him your gift.
he takes it, raising an eyebrow, slowly untying the ribbon you ornamented the packaging with. as he slowly unwraps the paper, his eyes notice something he genuinely didn’t expect. 
it’s a painting of him, or at least he thinks so, smiling with his eyes closed, hand tilted and resting on his hand, slight blush creeping up his cheeks. he wonders if that’s really him, but the physical resemblance is unquestionable, even though he doesn’t remember the last time he has seen this kind of expression on his face. 
“i-” he attempts to speak up, but stutters “where have you had this ordered?” 
you grin even wider, knowing the biggest surprise is yet to be dawned upon him. 
“i didn’t” you explain “i painted it myself, do you like it?” 
you catch a sparkle shoot through his eyes before he lifts them up from the painting to find yours. 
“no, really?” he asks in shock, quickly going back to admiring the gift. “it’s- you’re- you’re very talented, do you know that? it’s so detailed-” he shakes his head slightly, having a hard time comprehending all that was happening. 
“i managed to sneak a photo of you on our anniversary dinner” you say “i wouldn’t be able to paint this without a reference, plus, i’d like you to know what moment i based this on. if i’m able to make you smile like that from time to time, then i never want to stop.” 
you can swear his eyes glisten with a thin layer of tears forming, but he blinks them back as soon as possible, and you can’t get a good look. instead, he looks at you again, love practically seeping through his gaze. 
“thank you” he says quietly, smiling just how you like it, not even fully aware that he is. he approaches you to wrap an arm around you and press a quick peck to your forehead. “this just might be the best birthday i’ve ever had.” 
zhongli 
you’ve been to someone’s birthday party together 
and it came in the conversation between the two of you that he has never received a proper gift 
offering is not a gift 
it was a whole deal, with choosing the present for that person, wrapping it up, decorating...
and you decided - why not just make him something, with no occasion necessary? maybe he’ll like it, maybe he’ll just acknowledge it’s existence, worth a shot 
so there you are, waiting outside the parlor, gripping on the package in your hands, and waiting for him to come out. 
it feels like ages since the moment you arrived, but can’t be longer than a couple of minutes. zhongli has no liking to material possesions, and you’re aware of that, so you’re hoping he’ll value the effort and thought you’ve put into your gift. you know he’d never hurt your feelings, not on purpose, at the very least, but you’re still kind of worried. 
“hello there” you almost jump out in surprise as you hear a tranquil voice behind you. 
“oh my, you scared me!” you let out a breathy laugh, but he seems to have ignored your comment. 
“have you been waiting long?” he asks instead, to which you shake your head slightly. 
“no.” you say immediately, a gentle smile welcoming him as always. he nods and attempts to take your hand, intent to go on a walk in his mind, but stops, surprised as he feels the rectangular object in your hand. 
“oh, are we planning to go to someone’s party again today? i wish you’d included me in the gift picking process this time too, it was entertaining the last we did it” even though he says that, no disappointment shows up behind his eyes as he waits for your response. 
“ah, no, you see-” you take a breath “that’s actually for you” 
his eyebrow rises ever so slightly as he mentally studies what date is today and if he has forgotten about anything. 
“oh” he finally mumbles “and may i ask to what do i owe the pleasure?” 
his talent with words seems to be on his side, and he’s apparently able to talk himself out of the confusion you put him in. 
“to absolutely nothing” you shrug, smile growing bigger, as his mind spins even harder, not getting the point more now. “other than being my amazing person.” you add. 
he feels his heart flutter in a weird pattern, but ignores it as you place the gift in his hands. he just sort of looks at it for a while, and you’re already scared he’s going to say something unexpectable, but instead he starts to unwrap the thing gently and carefully. 
you watch his eyes widen as he sees himself, painted by your hand, the softest of smiles painting his expression in warm colours. to you, that’s just how he looks everyday, but to him?
this is just one of many forms to him. he doesn’t look in mirrors a lot, he doesn’t pay much mind to it, he never studies his appearance how others do. he doesn’t get insecure in a way humans do. 
it feels foreign to look at the picture. it feels as if he’s looking at someone, indoubtly at himself, but through your eyes instead. he never knew his eyes looked this kind, and that the corners of his lips didn’t lift evenly when he smiled, instead having one slightly above the other. 
you notice so many things, he realizes, and he looks up at you, a wandering gaze searching for your eyes, as he struggles to comprehend just how wonderful of a chance he had gotten to meet you. 
he had seen miracles come to life and crumble before him, but never once had he though he’d be one to witness something as beautiful as your love and your affections are. 
meanwhile you wonder if he’s searching for the right words to say you “just shouldn’t have” 
you almost speak up, about how you just felt like doing something like this, and he doesn’t have to keep it, or something, but he manages to comment before you do. 
“your work is gorgeous, dear.” he says blandly, but quickly adds “but you’re the best gift i could ever encounter.”
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Text
The first tell was the body next to her. The second was the warmth. Her bed was never warm these days. The first two things had already clued her in that there was something off. Off was an understatement. She’s certain she passed out on her office floor clutching a bottle of alcohol and Jess was going to kill her in the morning. So, how the fuck-
The longer she stays there, eyes closed, feeling the breathing of a stranger, the more she’s convinced she’s suffered from amnesia. 
Beyond scared she opens her eyes, hoping, praying that she didn’t bring home some idiot from a cheap lesbian bar. Her eyes land on blonde hair and an all too familiar set of defined shoulders and Lena lets out a gasp of surprise. She sobers up, jerks upright. Jolting the pair of arms wrapped around her waist and making her companion wake abruptly. 
“Lena- Wha- Why’re you awake?”
“Kara-” That was all she was capable of as of the moment, because Kara was sitting up and flicking on the bedside lamp, letting Lena glimpse the small clock on the nightstand that read 4: 00 a.m. 
Kara’s voice was all raspy and sleep-laden and she was looking at Lena with concern. She was looking at Lena like they’ve done this all the time. And they did. 
Once. 
She remembers jerking awake screaming from nightmares and Kara holding her; remembers waking up to Kara’s screams and holding her. 
But this-
This wasn’t right. 
“Did you have a nightmare?” She asks, crinkle forming. And Lena just stares and stares and-
“Kara, this isn’t real.”
“What? Oh, baby, come here. That dream must’ve really done a number on you, huh?” Kara coos and she gathers Lena in her arms. Lena can do nothing but melt and follow Kara’s movements, her mind is still reeling. 
Trying to decipher the events that had led here. This wasn’t real. This-
A tremble shakes the bed. Lena’s heart rate ticks up, Kara seems to have heard because she’s tightening her embrace and more words come out of her lips, but Lena doesn’t hear a word of it.
“I’m here, you’re safe. I’m here.” 
Lena finally finds her voice and she slowly tries to extricate herself from Kara. She can feel her hesitating to let her go. 
“This isn’t real,” She repeats and Kara is ready to protest, “Please, Kara. Please listen to me?”
She nods. Kara was never one to deny Lena anything, anyway. Lena sighs a breath of relief. 
“Thank you. Uh- I think this isn’t real, Kara. I think I’m inside a Black Mercy induced dream.”
And as if it heard a cue, the bed and the rest of the room vibrates as if ashamed of being called-out so easily. 
“No, no, no. You aren’t. You’re real. I’m real, You-” Kara is scrambling for words, “Look- Here, feel this?” Kara frantically grabs her hand and presses it to her own chest, “Can you feel it? This is real. Don’t say it isn-”
Lena feels like sobbing, because it does feel real. The strong beats underneath her palm thundering through her very soul. It feels so so so fucking real. She’s never wanted something to be real as bad as this. She wants to believe, because Kara is looking at her with those baby blue eyes and she wants to say that ‘Yes, I believe it real. We’re real.’
She can’t.
“Kara, the bed is trembling. Can you feel it? This isn't real. You’re in my head.”
It was brutal. She watches Kara’s face fall. She retracts her hand back. 
“How are you so sure that this isn’t real?”
The question was asked with so much fear. 
“Because,” she starts shaky but certain, “I hurt you, Kara. And that is the one thing that I can never forget.”
It was true. She can never forget the way Kara crumpled to her feet. Can’t forget the way the Girl of Steel broke by Lena’s hands. Can’t forget the tear-stricken face. 
Can’t forget the pleas. 
“Don’t do this, Lena. Please, come on. Please, stay. Don’t leave. Not you, please I can’t-”
“Oh.”
The silence was deafening. She can’t look at Kara as she processes everything. So she takes the time to survey the room. And God, every inch of the room screams how much they’ve stitched their lives with the other. 
There were books haphazardly stacked in one corner, a painting easel in the other, Kara’s cape shining in the dim light of the lamp, Lena’s old MIT sweatshirt at the foot of the bed. 
A wedding portrait. They were married here. Fuck. 
Lena chances a glance at her left hand and not only does she find a ring but also a matching gold bracelet. A Kryptonian mating band. Now, she notices that Kara’s ring was worn on her neck next to her Mother’s necklace Lena supposes she wears it underneath the Super suit and a matching bracelet sitting on her left wrist. 
“I’m sorry,” Lena says ‘for everything.’ she wants to add but she remembers this isn’t her Kara. She doesn’t have a Kara. She doesn’t have any part of Kara. Not anymore.
“What are you sorry for? If anyone could figure out they were inside a parasite induced dream, it would be you.  You’re a genius but you’re dumb for apologizing. You should reject the fantasy now, Lena. You’ll die.”
Damn it, even here. 
Even here Lena is still hurting her and Kara still wants to save her. 
The tears finally fall. The sobs come next. 
“Oh, Lena. Come here. It’s okay. I’m here,”
“I- I know, I’ll die but God, Kara, I want to stay here. I- You’re my everything, you know?”
“I know, Lena. I’ve always known. You don’t have to die because I’ll always know. You need to get out of here now,” She whispers against Lena’s temple and Lena takes the time to breathe her in. God, even the scent smells real. 
“Y-you’re right. I should go, but-” Lena doesn’t know how to ask for what she wants. That was what her therapist had said the first time she booked an appointment.
“But what?”
“Tell me about our life here first?” At that Kara pulls away a bit to look into her eyes; gauging if this is really what Lena wants. 
It is, it’s what she wants but more than that it’s what she needs. The reassurance that somewhere out there, there was a world in which they made each other happy. That in a universe out there--whether real or not--the both of them had a taste of a happy ending.
“Okay, okay yeah. But first, promise me you’ll get out of here as fast as you can, once we’re done?” 
She was never one to deny Lena Luthor anything, remember? She was more than happy to recount the entirety of their love story to her.
“Thank you.” And Lena can’t help but press a soft kiss to Kara’s cheek. 
“Where do you want to start?”
“Do we have a dog?”
“Krypto,” Kara says with a shy smile as if she knows that Lena would laugh at the goofy sentimental name choice, “And a cat, Streaky Jr., you don’t allow pets in the bedroom so,”
“I’m impressed we have the time for pets,” Lena whispers as she shifts closer to Kara in the bed. Heart now beating in a steady calm rhythm, gone was the panic earlier, now replaced by a sense of security, no matter how false it is. 
“Well, you decided to distribute most of the workload to Jess--who you promoted to board member by the way, and to Sam. And since, Wednesday is my first day as Editor-in-Chief, my schedule’s not as busy as it was.”
It was nice to hear that. The way they have obviously chosen to grow into themselves together. She was glad that in her perfect world she hadn’t forgotten about Jess and Sam.
“Oh, and also you spend most of your days in our home lab with Jack anyway. So, the pets get plenty of love.”
“Jacky’s alive here?”
“Yeah, you reversed the nanotech matrix. You saved him.”
And the crying fest begins anew. 
“I miss him, so much.”
“I’m sorry.”
Lena doesn’t have to explain her reaction, Kara knows how to read her anyway.
At the reminder of Jack, Lena finds the courage to ask a question she’s never thought she would want to ask.
“What about Lex and Lillian?”
“Well, your brother’s probably drunk in an L-Corp gala somewhere and Lillian’s probably plotting about how she’s going to insult my next article-”
So, she still has her brother and it seems like Lillian’s not much of a xenophobe as she is in reality but she senses that she still is a bad mother with the way Kara talks.
“When did we get married?”
“Two years after we first met. We had two, actually.”
“I’m guessing I insisted on a Kryptonian wedding and you insisted on a human one?”
She knows that one, because she’s been thinking about it. Well, at least she was before everything went to shit. She wanted to give Kara a Kryptonian ceremony. She had wanted to show her that Lena would be honored to share everything Kara’s world had to offer.
“Are we-” she hesitated, “Are we happy, Kara?”
She wasted no time in answering, “The happiest. You make me the happiest soul alive in this universe and in any universe.”
Fresh tears fall down the side of her face and Kara wipes them away before speaking, “Can I ask you a question?”
“Well, I guess it’s only fair.” Lena sniffles and prepares her mind for what she knows will be an emotionally-charged exchange not that this has been an easy conversation thus far.
“Out there, are you happy?”
Lena’s air is stolen from her. Well, she doesn’t know how to answer that one. 
“Sometimes,” she whispers. She’s not happy most of the time but sometimes she is.
Sometimes, Ruby calls her to tell her about a science project or sometimes Nia sends her meme even though she hasn’t been to Game Nights for almost a year now, sometimes Brainy takes her out for a drink and she feels like she’s got a little brother to call her own. 
So yeah, sometimes. Because the thought of perpetual happiness without Kara in her life is impossible. 
“Only sometimes?” Kara asks, brow furrowing.
“Yeah, only sometimes. Not like it matters, anyway.”
“Well, of course it matters! Your happiness matters!” Kara exclaims, old habits die hard what can she say?
But then Kara takes a turn from defensive to curious again, “Am I happy? Out there? I mean?” 
“I- I have no idea.”
Lena waits for the answer to sink in to Kara. 
“What? What do you mean you have no idea?”
“Remember when I said I hurt you?” 
Kara gives her a nod.
“Well, I haven’t seen you for a long time. I’ve been avoiding you. Normally people tend to not seek out their exes, you know.” 
She’s trying to keep it lighthearted. She’s trying not to let this Kara see how much she craves her presence, how much she wishes she could see Kara again. Don’t get her wrong, Supergirl is plastered every minute on the news, but- 
That’s not who she wants to see. 
“She’s miserable,” Kara answers point-blank leaving no room for argument, “If you’ve been avoiding me, I’d be miserable.”
That has Lena speechless. 
Because miserable would be an understatement of how things had been ever since they ended things. 
Ever since Lena ended things. 
“I don’t like not being with you, you know?” Kara states as if Lena doesn’t feel the same.
“I- I don’t like that either.”
“I know.”
She has to go. Lena knows she has to go but Kara is looking at her so sincerely and she can feel the love and she knows this is nothing but an intricate trap formed by an alien parasite slowly killing her. She has to go but-
“Lena!” 
The both of them are startled and four eyes immediately land to-
Kara?! No, not Kara. Supergirl.
“Supergirl,” She says; surprise coloring her voice. She didn’t know Supergirl would go in and save her. Hell, she didn’t even know how she found her. But then again, she’s tried solving the puzzle that is Kara Zor-El but had never been able to piece it together. 
Supergirl takes a look at her doppelganger in bed with Lena; a scene so familiar to her. A scene she’s replayed again and again in her head. A scene that was once their reality then a memory and now an illusion. She takes a step closer.
“Lena, we have to go, please. Please believe me, this isnt-” 
“-real,” Lena finishes for her and Supegirl looks stunned, “I know, Supergirl. I know how to reject my own fantasy. I’ve had plenty of practice, after all.”
She aims for sarcasm, because fucking fucking hell, how the fuck does anybody expect her to function if there were two Kara’s in front of her?
That was asking for too much. 
Beside her, Kara had gone silent. It seems like she knows what comes next. She knows what Supergirl intends to do. They’re the same person after all. 
“It’s okay,” Lena hears Kara say and she breaks away from the hero’s gaze to find Kara looking at her with those eyes again.
“It’s okay, Lena,” She repeats, “It’s okay, Supergirl’s here. You’re gonna be safe. Stay safe for me, yeah?”
“Lena we have to go. Now,” Supergirl commands from the other side of the room. 
“Okay, yeah,” She whispers then she turns to Supergirl, “Just give me a chance to say goodbye, please?”
Supergirl stares at her for a moment then at Kara then she gives them both a nod and turns back to give them privacy.
“Last question?”
“Hit me.”
“What’s your surname?”
“Luthor.”
Fuck. She shouldn’t feel this surprised but damn, hearing Kara confirm it? Lena doesn’t know how to feel about that. She doesn’t know how to feel about all of this. 
“Just like you promised.”
“Just like I promised.” 
The words are echoed back to her and Lena hates the way she’s noticed how stiff Supergirl’s posture had become in her periphery. Ignores the fact that Supergirl has superhearing. 
“Thank you for indulging me, Kara.”
“Always.”
Goodbye, darling.”
And then everything fades to black.
author’s note: hiya lovely people send me an ask if i should write a follow-up for this.
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tobesolonely · 3 years
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aura (II)
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A/n: hi everyone! thank you for reading aura and enjoying it enough to ask for a part 2! i hope this lives up to what you guys want! Thanks so much <3 p.s. i am so sorry but I lost track of who asked to be on the taglist :-( So if u would like, please send me an ask and i will definitely add you next time i post about them!
summary: witch!y/n can see auras and harry is no longer blue. he’s pink!
my ko-fi! thank you :)
. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .
Harry always found Y/N to be a bit strange since his first encounter with her, but he never thought she was the type who could kill house plants with just the flick of her finger.
“What just happened?” Harry loudly questions, moving as far away from her as he could get. “How did you do that? What’s going on?” His aura is red and muddy gray. Anxiety, nervousness, and fear.
“How did I do what?” Y/N asks. She wasn’t willing to give herself up so easily.
“You killed my Pothos! I saw you,” Harry points at her accusingly. “Saw ya flick your finger and then it died. Do y’know how hard it is for that thing to die? I forget to water it all the time and it was still doin’ great!”
“Really? It didn’t look too great when I got here -”
“That’s not true,” Harry interrupts her. “You’re tryin’ to make me feel crazy! I know what I saw.”
It’s silent. Neither Y/N nor Harry says anything for what has to be at least half a minute. Y/N doesn’t know if she should tell the truth or try to convince Harry he didn’t see what he thought he saw, and Harry is too frightened to move. Finally, Y/N breaks the silence.
“Harry, it was your bad energy that killed your plant. I was just redirecting it because I didn’t wanna be stuck with it again.” Y/N nervously tugs on the hem of her shirt.
“What do you mean?” Harry inquires, moving slightly closer to her once more. He was still frightened, but quite curious about how Y/N would explain the situation at hand.
Y/N didn’t know what to say. If there was one thing she knew, it was that her… capabilities were not really supposed to be shared with anyone. Of course, they weren’t! It was a hard concept to understand. It was assumed that people who didn’t have this ability would ostracize those who did— potentially even hurt them.
She knew in her heart that Harry wasn’t the type to ever harm her, but her mother always told her she could never be too careful. Y/N lived by those words, always replaying them in her head whenever she wanted to open up to anyone about all that she could do. Harry looks at Y/N expectantly, waiting for her to speak. She seems far away, lost in some thought that Harry didn’t want to break her from.
“Ever since I was little, I’ve always been a really empathetic person,” she starts. “It seemed like I always knew the right things to say to help someone feel better, and I could always cheer them up. My saying this isn’t to brag at all, it was just how it was.” Harry smiles at this but doesn’t say anything, waiting for her to continue.
“I realized something was different about me when my friend came to school one day really sad because her fish had died that morning,” Y/N inhales softly. “Of course I felt for her, you know? Like I said, I was a very empathetic person. When I went in to give her a hug though, I felt so weird immediately after! She was fine, though. It was like she didn’t even care anymore.”
“She just wasn’t sad about it anymore?”
“She missed her fish still, of course. She was just able to reflect on how happy having a pet fish made her and all the good times she had with him. I felt terrible, though. I literally had taken on her pain just from hugging her.”
As Harry takes in what she’s saying, it all starts to make sense to him.
The second time he met her, she was so adamant about knowing what was wrong with him. Harry thought he only felt better because he had talked to her about it instead of holding it in as he usually did (and that could’ve been part of the reason!), but she had also touched him.
It had happened so quickly, Harry didn’t even think anything of it. And why would he? It was nothing more than a gentle touch, gone as quickly as it was there. Now that he knew what he did, it all made sense.
“Can I ask you something, Y/N?”
“You can ask me anything, Harry.”
“How do you always know when I’m not feelin’ well? Jus’ by looking at me?”
“Well,” Y/N starts, a bit hesitant. “I can see it. Your aura.”
“My aura?”
“Your spiritual energy— it has colors.”
“What color am I right now?”
“Red and gray. You’re scared and nervous.” Y/N responds quickly. She’s right.
“How can you see it?”
“I’m not sure. I started becoming able to see auras once I learned I was able to take away people’s emotional pain…” Y/N trails off. “I know it’s odd.”
“Can you… show me?”
“You want me to show you? Show you what?”
“The thing you jus’ did.”
“It only works when you have bad energy.”
Harry raises an eyebrow at Y/N in confusion. “Thought you said I was scared and nervous?”
“Well,” Y/N hesitates. “Now you’re… uh, pink.”
“Pink?”
“You’re feeling love.”
Harry feels his cheeks flush as he quickly looks away, hating in that moment that Y/N could literally see what he was feeling. If that was really the case, how much longer would he be able to fight with himself about how he felt about her if even she knew his true feelings?  
He’s saved by the sound of his doorbell ringing, figuring it was his assistant dropping off lunch for him and Y/N. “Be right back.” He says quietly, getting up from the couch, still avoiding eye contact with Y/N.
Now it’s Y/N’s turn to be confused.
She was beginning to notice that Harry turned pink around her quite often— literally. Not only would his skin flush at her presence, but his aura would change too. Y/N decided to tell herself there was no way it could mean anything. Of course it meant nothing! She just met this man. His feelings (or lack of) for her meant nothing. Y/N was just glad Harry couldn’t read her aura in the same way she could read his.
If he could, he would see she was always pink, too.
. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .
Harry couldn’t stop thinking about Y/N.
She was magical. Literally.
After she had left that evening, Harry spent more time than he would like to admit researching auras and empathy. He learned there was a range of colors one's auras could be at any given time, and it was always subject to change. Harry figured that if he could see Y/N’s aura, it would always be shining gold.
Y/N didn’t explicitly tell Harry not to tell anyone about this, but he knew it was something he should keep to himself. He wanted her to trust him and know she was safe around him. Telling anyone what he assumed to be her biggest secret would do nothing but push her away from him— and that was the last thing Harry wanted.
He needed to hear her sweet voice again.
Harry didn’t want Y/N to think he was obsessed with her, but the cat was already out the bag. She could literally see that he had feelings for her. The way Harry saw things, this meant he could lean into his small crush on Y/N now rather than try and deny it. He just hoped she wouldn’t find him bothersome.
When she picks up his call after the third ring, Harry swears his heart just about beats out of his chest.
”Hi Harry. How are you?”
It takes him a moment to compose himself. “H- hi Y/N. Doin’ better, thanks for askin’... I was thinking of you.”
“Really?”
“Mhm,” Harry hums. “S’why I called. What are you up to today?”
“Nothing, really. Just at work.”
Oh. Work.
Y/N was so celestial, heavenly that Harry had forgotten she at her core a regular person who still had to work to pay their bills, just like everyone else. Just like him.
“I don’t mean to bother you while you’re busy. I’ll let you go.” Harry offers this as a courtesy, but he’s hoping Y/N will say he’s not a bother at all and she’s happy to talk to him.
“I think that would work out a bit better. I’ll talk to you as soon as I can. Bye, Harry!”
Harry is met with three short beeps that signify the call has ended.
. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .
Y/N couldn’t stop thinking about Harry.
He called her first! It made her heart flutter to know he was thinking of her. She’s glad he doesn’t know she was thinking about him as well.
It was nice to hear from him. Truth be told, Y/N was always worried about Harry. She worried that he wasn’t sleeping enough, eating enough, or telling people ‘yes’ when he should really be saying ‘no’. She worried he was unhappy. All she wanted was for him to be happy. Although Y/N couldn’t physically see him over the phone, she knew he was doing well today.
Y/N couldn’t say she wasn’t surprised to see Harry’s number flash across her phone. She thought that surely after telling him what she did he would want nothing to do with her. She was glad that he didn’t scare away easily, and that just made her feel even more warmth inside of her body. Y/N looked around the workroom filled with her other co-workers and she hoped there was no one else like her in the building lest they see how pink she was. She was absolutely smitten!
“Y/N, are you with us? What do you think?”
Y/N is broken out of her thoughts by her boss with the call of her name. In her Harry-haze she had completely zoned out, forgetting she was in the middle of an important work meeting.
“I’m very sorry. My mind was somewhere else for a moment,” she turns to face her boss, eyes wonder-filled.  “Would you mind repeating the question?” Y/N sees her boss briefly turn from red to pink and back to yellow before he repeats himself, clearing his throat.
Y/N smirks to herself. Men were too easy.
. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .
“What’s got you so smiley?”
Harry jumps slightly, redirecting his attention to his manager. “Whatdya mean?”
“Been smiling and strumming your guitar for ten minutes straight,” Jeff narrows his eyes at Harry. “Are you thinking of that girl again?”
“Y/N,” Harry corrects him immediately. “What are you gonna do if I am?”
“Tell you to snap out of it, man. She’s got you this distracted already and she doesn’t even know you have a crush on her?”
Harry wants to tell him that she does even though he’s not explicitly stated it, but then that would lead to a conversation that wasn’t his to have. So he changes the subject—slightly.
“What do think about me inviting Y/N to the studio? You’ll finally be able to put a face to the name,” Harry adds once he sees the look his manager gives him every time he’s about to tell him no. “I trust her. I jus’ want her opinion on a few things. I know she won’t leak anything.”
“I’m not sure if that’s your greatest idea…” Jeff trails off giving Harry one of his infamous looks of doubt.
“I wouldn’t even be suggesting this if I didn’t trust her with everything in me. ‘Ve never suggested this any other time, have I?”
Jeff gives Harry a pointed look, although he can’t argue with that.
“Fine, invite her. She’s signing papers though…”
Jeff’s voice is nothing more than background noise as he dials Y/N’s number, which he embarrassingly already knows by heart.
. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .
When Harry comes out of the large, wooden double-doors to meet Y/N, he’s glowing. He’s a flash of dazzling gold and pink, his aura not being able to just land on one. Y/N is flattered that he still turns pink when he sees her, and relieved to see him so happy. So relaxed.
“So glad you could make it,” Harry tells Y/N, pulling her in for a tight hug. “My manager had a fit when I told him you were comin’, he’s jus’ very protective of me and my music. Don’t take it personally.”
“I understand,” Y/N tells him honestly. “I don’t blame your manager for not being too keen on me crashing in on one of your sessions. I could leave my phone in the car if that would make you both feel better?”
Y/N made things so easy. She was perfect in Harry’s eyes.
“I trust you completely. It might make my manager feel a bit better though…” Harry trails off, feeling sheepish. Y/N nods and unlocks her car without saying anything, retrieving her phone from her purse and hiding it away in her glove compartment.
“There. Just me and my ears now.” She lets out the sweetest giggle Harry’s ever heard, and he swears he could melt.
“Follow me, then.”
Harry makes his way back inside the studio but feels weird with Y/N trailing so closely behind him, not speaking or physically touching him. He stops and turns to face her, reluctantly reaching his hand out for her to grab. She looks at him for a moment, analyzing his energy before shakily intertwining her finger with his. Harry glows pink—so much so that he was nearly shining red. Y/N was having a difficult time differentiating between the glow of his aura and the glow of his cheeks.
He continues walking down the hall, now feeling like he was on top of the world because he had the most beautiful girl in the universe’s hand in his. Harry was ready to get to work. She was his new biggest inspiration.
Y/N’s having the greatest time watching Harry’s colors. He’s so happy and full of love! The fact that Harry was in such good spirits possibly because of Y/N made her feel like she was floating on a cloud.
Harry feels Y/N’s hesitation to enter the room that now holds not only Jeff but Mitch as well. She pulls back slightly on his hand, hiding timidly behind his broad shoulders. “What’s wrong?” He asks quietly, turning to face her.
“I don’t think they’re happy to see me…” Y/N trails off.
“How do you know?” Harry asks habitually before he realizes who he’s talking to. He knows how she knows. He internally cringes at his question.
“They’re both red,” she shifts from foot to foot. “I can leave. I don’t want to cause any problems—”
“No!” Harry says a bit too loudly. Jeff and Mitch turn to look in their direction, finally aware of their presence. Harry blushes, speaking a bit more quietly. “Sorry. Jus’... don’t leave. I promise they’re not mad that you’re here. They’re just a bit nervous because you’re new and they’ve never met you before. I’ll tell ‘em you left your phone in the car though and it’ll all be good. Yeah?”
Y/N nods, not completely certain Harry could get these men to warm up to her just because he said so. He tilts her chin up so she’s looking in his eyes, and he gives her a warm smile.
“Hey… what color am I?”
Y/N swallows thickly before answering. “You’re yellow… and pink.”
“See? ‘M not red. It’s all good, darling. Believe me when I say that.”
Y/N’s heart beats faster at the pet name and she just hopes Harry can’t hear it. She gives him a forced smile before grabbing his hand again and following him inside of the small room.
“Jeff, Mitch,” Harry starts, swinging Y/N’s hand in his. “This is Y/N.”
“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Jeff says. Harry shoots him a look, silently pleading him to not say anything that’ll embarrass him. Luckily for Harry, Jeff catches onto this and keeps his introduction simple. “I’m Jeff, Harry’s manager.”
“Hi,” Y/N responds. Harry’s heart-strings feel like they’re being tugged at when he hears how quiet Y/N has become. “I left my phone in the car.” Jeff shoots Harry a surprised looked to which Harry gives a small nod in confirmation. Jeff hums, satisfied.
“We’re glad you could join us. I’m not sure if you have any experience in music, but it’ll be nice to get a fresh opinion on some things.”
Mitch gives Y/N a small nod and a smile, and Harry feels her grip on his hand tighten. “Don’t worry. Mitch is just shy.” Harry quietly reassures her. She loosens her grip on his hand slightly, feeling a bit more at ease.
“Where should I sit?”
“Y’can sit on that couch over there. Can I get you anything to drink? Have you ate, I can order food if you haven’t?”
Harry and Y/N are in their own world, only focused on each other. This doesn’t go unnoticed to Jeff or Mitch, and they share knowing looks behind the pair’s backs.
“What do you guys want to eat? Y/N hasn’t eaten yet,” Harry says, already searching for his text thread with his assistant. “Sushi? Mexican?”
“Whatever Y/N wants,” Mitch says, strumming a few random chords on his guitar. “Anything’s fine with me.”
Harry’s satisfied with this answer, just wanting to give all his attention back to Y/N. “Whatdya want to eat, love?”
“Do you all like veggie pizza?”
“Eh–”
Harry shoots Jeff a look that tells him not to disagree with her, so Jeff looks down and acts preoccupied with his phone. “That sounds really good, Y/N. I’ll order that.”
Harry actually hated veggie pizza. He hoped Y/N couldn’t tell.
. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .
”I just miss your accent and your friends…”
Harry was blue and Y/N hated it.
She knew he was pulling from old memories for his songs, but she hated when he was upset. Y/N was in a trance, though. Harry’s voice was beautiful. His songs pulled her in like magic. They were captivating, and so, so beautiful.
Y/N was enjoying being in the recording studio. She never had any experience like it, and it was interesting to see all the hard work that went into making just one song.
”Don’t you call him “baby”, we’re not talking lately,” Harry sings into his microphone sadly, licking his lips during the pause. “Don’t you call him what you used to call me…”
Y/N just wanted to go into the recording booth and hug Harry, take his pain away. She knew now wasn’t the time nor place for that, though. She’d check on him later.
“That’s good,” Jeff says, giving Harry a thumbs up. Harry gives him one back and takes his clunky earphones off, setting them beside his feet.
“How was that?” Harry asks Y/N as soon as he’s out of the recording booth. The musician in him knew it wasn’t bad, but he still wanted her praise.
“Very beautiful! Are you okay?” She gives Harry one of those knowing looks he’s growing to love. He shrugs, leaning down to speak quietly to her.
“Singin’ about someone who used to be very special to me,” he says, glancing down at his Vans-clad feet. “I’m okay, though. Don’t worry about me.”
Y/N wanted to tell Harry she always worried about him. She wanted to scream it in his face so he understood how much she cared for his well-being. She does neither of the two. “Okay, Harry. I’m just checking.”
Harry loved that she was “just checking”. He wanted to tell Y/N that he never wanted her to stop caring for him, as he would never stop caring for her. He does neither of the two. “Thank you for checking, Y/N.”
Unbeknownst to them, they were both falling deeper for each other.
. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .
“Y/N, are we gonna watch our movie tonight, or are you busy?” Y/N’s roommate, Amalia, peaks her head into her bedroom. Y/N was busy hanging upside down on her bed. Texting Harry.
“What? Oh, is it Friday? Let me just take off my makeup... “ Y/N locks her phone and slowly sits up, taking care not to smush her sleeping kitty who was currently snoring beside her.
“Who were you texting? You’ve been on your phone a lot more than usual lately,” Amalia notes, coming completely into Y/N’s room. “A boy?”
Y/N feels her body heat up at her roommate’s observation. “Maybe…”
“Y/N! You’ve gotta tell me! Who is he, is he cute?” Her roommate makes herself comfortable on Y/N’s bed, folding her legs beneath her. Sapphire startles slightly but quickly falls back asleep, curling her tail closer to her.
“You might know him,” Y/N begins. She and Harry never had a conversation about telling others about their association with others. She trusted her roommate, but she wasn’t sure if he would appreciate it. She decides she’ll just call him. “I’ll actually just call him. Hopefully, he’s not busy.”
Amalia finds it odd that Y/N would rather call this man than just tell her about him, but she says nothing, of course. She was used to her roommate’s behavior. She was different, and that’s why she loved her so much!
“Can you FaceTime him? I wanna see what he looks like,” Amalia claps her hands together out of excitement, feeling anticipation bubble in her stomach. She was hoping her roommate finally found someone for her so they could join her and her boyfriend on double dates and couples game nights.
“FaceTime him?” Y/N had never done that before. She and Harry always just spoke on the phone, and lately, they had gotten into texting. She hoped he wouldn’t mind. “Yeah, I can do that.”
Y/N pulls up the app on her phone and types in Harry’s contact name (which was ‘Harry’ with three pink hearts, which she would never tell him!) and bites her lip as she waits for him to answer. As an afterthought, she reaches for her earphones and connects them to her phone just in case her roommate recognizes his voice. After all, everyone on the planet knew who Harry was except for Y/N. He answers almost immediately, a dimpled smile on his face and a beautiful pink light surrounding him.
“Was jus’ thinking of you. Are we in sync? I swear I was about to call you,” Harry tells her, not being able to stop his toothy grin. “Is everything okay?”
“Well,” Y/N feels nervous. His gaze is still as intense and attentive, even though a phone screen. “I’m just hanging out with my roommate and she noticed I’ve been smiling at my phone a lot—”
“A very observant roommate.”
“Yeah, and she wanted to know if I was texting a boy. I didn’t know if it was okay to say anything but she’s beside me so do you want to say hi? It’s okay if you don’t want to, and I’m sorry if you’re busy right now…”
Harry’s gaze visibly softens. “Why wouldn’t it be okay?”
“You know why.”
Harry hums. “I’d love to meet your roommate. Go ahead and give her the phone.”
Y/N examines Harry for a moment, trying to determine if he’s telling the truth. His aura is slightly tinged red but it’s mainly yellow, making him glow the color of a sunset. He was probably a bit anxious, but he was happy. That was most important to Y/N. Amalia is sitting at the end of Y/N’s bed quietly, scratching Sapphire’s head while she waits. She watches as Y/N unplugs her earphones from her phone and wordlessly hands it to her.
Amalia’s mouth drops.
“Hi, it’s very nice to meet you. I’m Harry.”
Amalia’s entire body feels tingly.
“H- hi. Uh, I’m Amalia. Y/N’s roommate,” she looks up at Y/N, eyes wide. “It’s… wow. I’m sorry, I kinda don’t know what to say right now. I’m such a big fan of yours!”
Y/N hears Harry’s beautiful laugh and she smiles. It was his shy laugh. He was flattered. Maybe a bit flustered.
“That’s very, very nice of you. Thank you for the support.”
“Are you and Y/N dating? I can’t believe she didn’t tell me!” Amalia gives Y/N an accusatory scowl and she feels her body heat up at her roommate’s words.
“Not at the moment, but I’m working on it,” Harry tells her. Y/N doesn’t need to see him to know he’s pink. “I think she was jus’ tryin’ to protect my privacy. Which I appreciate, of course. But a friend of Y/N is a friend of mine! She has good judgment.”
Y/N can’t believe Harry’s “working on it”. He cares for her much more than she had initially thought, and Y/N just hopes he knows how much she cares for him as well. Even if she doesn’t say it.
“I’m gonna give the phone back to Y/N before I say something to embarrass myself, but it was really nice to meet you!” Amalia shakily hands the phone back to Y/N as Harry is telling her it was nice to meet her too.
Y/N is happy to see his face again. He immediately turns pink once he sees her again, a light blush tinging his cheeks. “She’s very nice. We should all go out to brunch one afternoon, how’s that sound?” Y/N nods, glancing at her roommate who currently looked like she was on the verge of fainting, bright pink just as Harry was. She was infatuated.
“Amalia’s amazing,” Y/N replies. “I was just calling to say hi, but I’m glad to see you’re doing good. I’ll talk to you later?” A deep indigo color slowly surrounds Harry at the prospect of Y/N ending the call, making Y/N frown. “I’ll see you tomorrow? Friday’s are our movie nights…”
“Oh!” Harry turns yellow again. “I didn’t mean to keep you from that. I’d like that, though. Lunch tomorrow?”
“And the studio?” Y/N asks, used to their routine. Harry shakes his head.
“Was thinking we do something else. Get out of there for the afternoon? ‘M sure you get bored jus’ watchin’ me sing all day. The last thing I want is for you to be bored.”
Y/N nearly laughed out loud. She was never bored when she was with Harry. She could simply sit and watch the grass grow with him, and she’d still be thoroughly entertained.
“I don’t want you to fall behind because of me.”
“S’my album. I can take a day off, darling. Hey–– can ya look at me?” Y/N knows Harry is asking her to examine what color he is. She nods after a moment.
“Okay, Harry. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow,” she takes a thoughtful pause as she usually does. “Have a good night.”
“I’ll be counting down the minutes. You too, Y/N.” The call disconnects. Y/N feels her heart about to beat out of her chest. Counting down the minutes.
She was counting down the minutes, too.
. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .
Harry was nervous to see Y/N. He hadn’t been alone with her since the day at his house when she came over to keep him company while he was sick. Their relationship was progressing quicker than anticipated, but neither of the two had any complaints.
Per Harry’s request (or, after a ton of his begging) Y/N agreed to let Harry pick her up instead of driving separately and meeting up like they usually do. He was excited to finally know where Y/N lived. When he thought of any space Y/N cultivated, he imagined it to be a bit cluttered. Lots of paintings on the walls. Perhaps some personal photographs of friends and family.
When Harry approaches Y/N’s apartment complex, he isn’t surprised to see that she lives in one of the oldest-looking buildings he’s ever seen. He was sure that when he asked her about it later, she would tell him that old buildings had the most character or something along those lines. Harry parks in record time, albeit like a bit of an asshole, and grabs the bouquet of flowers he picked up on his way to her before hurrying out of his car. His sunglasses immediately go on and his beanie gets pulled low over his forehead in the off chance there was someone who could recognize him anywhere nearby.
“Four, eight, two, five,” Harry mutters Y/N’s gate code under his breath as he approaches it. “Four, eight, two, five…” He’s delighted when it works. Against Y/N’s wishes, he didn’t write it down when she told him, adamant about having the best memory in the world. He was glad he didn’t forget it and have to call her and ask for it again.
Harry has no difficulty at all finding her apartment. Just as she said, there were several potted plants surrounding the door and a plaque that read, ‘Welcome to our home!’. He smiled to himself. It was just so Y/N. He firmly knocks and takes a step back, tightly gripping the bouquet in his hands. The door flies open moments later and Harry is met with Y/N’s beautiful face. His nerves immediately dissipate.
“Hi, Harry–– oh! Those are beautiful!” She opens the door a bit wider. “Please, come in!”
Harry’s happy. She seems happy. Of course, he couldn’t know for sure in the way that he could, but Harry was quickly learning her mannerisms.
“Hi, darlin’. S’nice to see you,” he leans down to place a delicate kiss on her cheek. “You’re lookin’ as beautiful as ever.”
“I haven’t even gotten changed yet,” she replies dismissively, shutting the door. “I completely lost track of time. I was helping Amalia get ready for a date that she’s going on and it made me forget all about ours.”
Harry could die a happy man right now. Y/N just referred to their spending time together as a date!
“No apologizing,” Harry says sternly, handing the flowers to Y/N. “‘M not upset about it, am I? We’ve got all the time in the world.”
Y/N looks down shyly at the shabby rug beneath her feet. “Do you wanna help me pick out an outfit? I’m not too sure about what I should wear… I really think it would help if you actually told me where we were going.”
“Nice try,” Harry chuckles, following her through the apartment. It looked just as he pictured it would. “Already told you it’s a surprise.”
“I thought I would try again.”
Y/N’s room was incredible. There were plants everywhere even more than the ones surrounding her front door. Some were even hanging from the ceiling! Her walls were a pale yellow color. She had glow-in-the-dark stars and planets stuck to her ceiling, a ginormous rug that covered probably half of her wooden floor, and paintings taped haphazardly to the wall. It looked like she made them herself, too. They were lovely.
“Your room is amazing,” Harry tells her, flopping onto her bed while she digs around in her closet. Even though he had never been there before, he immediately feels comfortable. At home. “Where’s Sapphire?”
“Oh, she’s around here somewhere,” Y/N’s voice sounds a bit muffled from being in her closet. “She might be hiding. She doesn’t like men.”
“Did you tell her that I’m nice?”
Y/N turns to look at him, two shirts in her hand. “I can’t force her to like you, Harry. What do you think about these shirts?”
“I think you would look good in all of them,” Harry feels his heart rate pick up under her gaze. “You may get cold if you wear something sleeveless, though.”
Y/N says nothing in response, just stares at him. To anyone else, her staring may be weird, but Harry knew what she was doing. He stares back at her just as intensely, raising an eyebrow. Finally, she nods, turning her attention back to her closet.
“Should I wear something with long sleeves?”
Harry hums in response to her question. “I think that would be a good idea.”
Y/N turns to face him again, tugging at her oversized sleep shirt. “Do you think you can take down some shirts on the shelf for me? I don’t feel like going to get a chair all the way from the kitchen…”
“Of course I can,” Harry immediately gets up from his lying position on Y/N’s bed. “Which ones?”
“The ones in that corner,” Y/N replies, standing beside Harry. He never noticed how much shorter she was than him until she was asking him to reach things off the top-shelf for her. Harry loved it.
He reaches up with ease, grabbing a stack of neatly folded long-sleeves. In the process of pulling them down, a box comes falling off the shelf, hitting the floor with a loud clang! and the sound of broken glass. “Shit,” Harry mutters, bending down to reach for the box. “Sorry about tha’, pet–”
“Don’t touch that!” Y/N exclaims, pushing past Harry to grab the box before he does. Harry backs up, putting his hands up in the air like he was a criminal who’d just been caught.
“I didn’t touch it, I promise,” Harry quickly reassures her. “Why can’t I touch it? What is that?”
“Remember how I was telling you about bad energy?” Her voice drops to a whisper. Harry nods. “This is where I store everyone's bad energy whenever I get stuck with it. They’re in little viles, you know what I mean? Those little tubes?”
“Yeah.”
“I think the tubes broke when it fell… I can never open this box again because then the bad energy will get out and go back to their owner's body.”
Harry doesn’t say anything, trying to take in what Y/N just told him. It wasn’t the oddest thing he’s heard since he met her. “Is any of my bad energy in there?”
“Yes. Remember when we were at the Greek food place?”
Harry smiles at the memory. “How could I forget? I think that was the day that I knew I had to get to know ya. I was properly obsessed with the idea of runnin’ into you again for days.” Y/N looks away as she usually does when he gets her flustered but this time Harry moves closer to her, snaking his arms around her waist.
“Thank you for always makin’ sure ‘m happy, love,” Harry’s lips are dangerously close to hers, so close that she can smell the scent of mint on his breath. “You don’t even have to touch me to make me happy. Jus’ bein’ near you is enough.” Y/N lets out a shaky breath, not trusting her voice enough to do anything other than nod. Both of their hearts are about to beat out of their chests.
“I’d do anything to make you happy, Harry,” Y/N finally says, staring directly into his eyes. “You deserve all the happiness this life has to offer you.”
“Likewise,” Harry says, feeling intoxicated from standing so close to her. “Y/N, can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Can I kiss you?”
Y/N gives Harry the biggest smile before standing on her tiptoes, smushing her lips against Harry’s. His eyes shut as he melts into the kiss, having to remind himself to stop smiling so he can properly kiss her back. Her lips are soft, and she tastes just as sweet as she actually is. His entire body tingles and his chest burns due to lack of oxygen, but he was determined not to break the kiss first. His stomach twisted from all the butterflies he had, but it was a feeling no one had made him feel in a long, long time.
Y/N’s the first one to break the kiss. She giggles as she rests her head against Harry’s chest, gasping slightly for air. “You’re a very good kisser.”
“You too.” Harry’s breathless. He doesn’t want to pull away from her so he settles on intaking short bursts of air.
“I’m gonna get changed before I decide to stand here and just kiss you all day,” Y/N tells him, finally breaking their contact. “Can you wait in the living room?”
“I wouldn’t hate that,” Harry says as he places a quick peck on her lips. “‘M gonna go put your flowers in something so they don’t die. Y’think Sapphire will come out of hiding and let me pet her since her mommy finally let me kiss her?”
. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .
“I thought we were getting lunch?”
Y/N had been sat in Harry’s passenger seat for slightly over an hour now, his hand hardly leaving hers the entire time. He was yellow for the most part (except when Y/N would speak he turned pink). Song after song played lowly over the stereo, but it was mainly just background noise–– neither one of them was really listening to it.
“We are.”
“Why are we driving so far?” 
“I wanna take you to a really nice spot. Is that okay?”
“Are we almost there?” She stares intensely at Harry and she knows he can feel her eyes on him. He flashes red for a moment causing Y/N to cock her head in confusion. “Why are you nervous?”
“I don’t want you to think our date is boring.”
“Why would I think it’s boring?”
“Have you ever been to Balboa Park? San Diego?” Harry tears his eyes from the road briefly to look at her and he’s relieved to see a look of excitement in her eyes.
“I’ve never been but from the pictures I’ve seen it looks sooo beautiful! Are we going there?” Her grip on his hand tightens slightly.
“Mhm,” Y/N sees Harry visibly relax. “Figure we could grab a bite after? Or before, depending on how hungry you are.”
“We should eat before! Are we allowed to eat in the park? We should have a picnic–– can we do that?” Y/N is talking a mile a minute, too excited to slow down. She turns in the passenger seat to face Harry fully, hand still in his. “We’re going to the gardens, right?” 
“We’re doin’ whatever you want, love. I have some things planned that I think you would like but nothing’s set in stone.”
Y/N loves the fact that Harry took it upon himself to plan out their day. She decides she would go along with whatever he had planned, seeing as he’s been there before and she hasn’t.
They arrive at the park approximately thirty minutes later and Y/N quickly unbuckles her seatbelt and lets herself out of the car before Harry can open the door for her himself. He laughs to himself at her excitement.
“Where are we going first?” Y/N reaches for Harry’s hand seemingly out of habit, not thinking twice before doing so. If she wasn’t busy looking around in awe, she’d see Harry looking down at their interlocked fingers with a big smile on his face.
“How ‘bout we get you something to eat first then go find a spot to have a lil’ picnic? The last time I was here I remember seein’ people eating under this ginormous tree–”
“Okay!” Y/N agrees cheerily, dragging Harry through the parking lot. She was leading the way even though she had no clue where she was going. “Wait, where are we going?”
“How about I lead the way?” Harry is a mixture of green and yellow. He was happy and enjoying the prospect of a nature-filled day.
“Harry, what’s your favorite part about nature?”
“What’s tha’?”
“I see that you like nature, so I just wanted to know what you liked the most about it,” Y/N replies, swinging their hands. 
“It’s calming. I think ‘ve written some of my best songs surrounded by trees and water and things like that. What do you like the most about nature?”
“It’s beautiful. Plants help us and we help them.”
Harry smiles in response to her answer but says nothing, walking her the rest of the way through the parking lot and to the entrance of the park. Once inside they set out on finding something to quickly fill their stomachs with, not wanting to waste too much time eating.
“How do sandwiches sound?” Harry asks, nodding his head in the direction of a sandwich shop. “Quick and easy, isn’t it?”
“Can we still eat them under the fig tree?”
“Whatever you’d like, darling. S’your world, ‘m just livin’ in it.” 
Even though he lets out a chuckle after saying that, Y/N knew he was being completely serious.
. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .
Harry could listen to Y/N talk all day. He never wanted to stop hearing her sweet voice. Y/N’s attention was fixated on the beautiful, blooming gardens–– but Harry was only fixated on her.
She pointed out nearly everything they saw, impressing Harry with her knowledge on plant names and pointless information on how to care for them. She asked Harry to stand in front of all her favorite plants so she could take a picture of him to “commemorate the day” and Harry was more than willing to do so. Anything to keep a smile on her face. Y/N had grown tired of carrying her purse over her shoulder about an hour back and Harry even offered to wear it for her so she wouldn’t have a sore shoulder the next morning.
They decided to call it quits once the sun started setting, walking hand in hand quietly back to Harry’s car. He opens the door for her and checks to make sure she’s all the way in before slamming it shut and walking around to his side. He immediately reaches for her hand again, loving the way it felt in his way too much to not hold it at all times.
“Did you have a good time today?” Harry asks, looking at Y/N’s face in the dim light. She nods sheepishly, looking down at the hands.
“I had an amazing time. I can’t believe you drove all the way out here just for me,” she traces her fingers over one of Harry’s rings. “Thank you for today.”
“How many times have I gotta tell ya I’d do anything for you?” Harry questions, leaning over the center console to be closer to her. “Loved seein’ that beautiful smile on your face today. Made me happy.”
“You’re just saying that…”
“Oh, come off it,” Harry jokes, kissing her cheek before leaning back over to start his car. “Know you saw how happy I was the whole day. S’all because of you.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Harry sees Y/N lean over as he previously was so her face is close to his. She gently places the hand that was holding Harry’s on his face and turns his head so he’s fully facing her, licking her lips before she connects them with his. Harry melts into the kiss as he did earlier, feeling as if time stopped when their lips were pressed together. It was the most gentle, loving kiss Harry ever shared with another person.
He could get used to this.
. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .
please let me know what you thought!
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byunbaekby · 4 years
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title: haven’t been caught pairing: badboy!haechan x goodgirl!reader word count: 1.7k genres: fluff, established relationship au, high school au, secret relationship warnings: mentions of weed, suggestiveness, one cuss word, not proofread additional: based on the song “good girls” by 5 seconds of summer. also, big thanks to @florence-cvrt​ for all their help <3
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She's good at school, she's never truant She can speak French, I think she's fluent.
“Lee Donghyuck, if you don’t get your hand off my thigh right this instant, I will tell Mr. Qian to fail you.”
You bring a light slap down on his hand, which is threatening to slide up your skirt. Your boyfriend’s hand immediately leaves your leg, innocently tucking it back into his lap. When you turn to him, his pretty lips are spread into a fake virtuous smile and his long hair barely covers his entertained sparkling eyes. Still, he complains, “Wait until I tell the student body that their vice president is actually violent and manipulative.” 
He tsk’s as you show no reaction, instead flipping through the pages of the French textbook. “What would you tell them?” 
Donghyuck leans back in his desk chair where the two of you reside in an empty classroom, adjusting the collar of his leather jacket before running a hand through his hair. “That even though you walk around school smiling at everyone and kissing teachers’ asses, you love hitting your boyfriend and threatening him.”
“You, my boyfriend?” You laugh at him, eyes never leaving the book. “They’d never believe you.”
You’re right, because the school has no idea that you, the It Girl and vice president of the student body council, are dating Lee Donghyuck, the guy who smokes weed behind the school and always skips class for no important reason other than to entertain himself. How you even started dating is another story, but now your relationship is on the infinite downlow.
“You’re right,” he relents, but he’s obviously not given up yet as he leans closer to you. You try not to get swayed by the sudden infiltration of his scent, and continue scanning the pages of the French book. “They won’t. But it wouldn’t be a surprise. I mean, we’d be the hottest couple ever. So, maybe I should put a nice big hickey, right there on your pretty neck. Maybe then they’ll believe you’re not as innocent as you pretend to be,” teases your boyfriend, his voice dipping lower into dangerous territory. 
You roll your eyes. “Sure,” you respond sarcastically.
“If you say so.”
Before you know it, your boyfriend has leaned in to kiss you, lips inches away from yours. When you realize what he’s up to you put a hand up, so his lips meet your palm instead of their intended destination. “No.”
A whine leaves him, a stark juxtaposition from his dark appearance. “Why not?”
“Because it’s not appropriate.”
“Not appropriate?” he questions, crossing his leather covered arms across his chest. “You’re my girlfriend.”
A shake of your head tells him no, along with a teasing smirk upon your lips. “Not right now. Right now, I’m your French tutor. Now pay attention,” you tell him, gaze skimming the textbook page. 
“Fine,” he scoffs, leaning back in his chair. 
“Je suis allé au café et j'ai pris une tasse de café. Translate that for me.”
“That means,” he starts, rolling his neck back to stretch it out, looking less than interested in the lesson. “My boyfriend is so sexy and I wish he would kiss me right now.”
Your eyes narrow, and you shake your head. He speaks up again. “I was kidding, actually it means, Donghyuck, I love when you wear your leather jacket, it makes you look so sexy.” 
You lean forward, capturing your head in your hands in frustration. He just laughs. “Tu es une telle honte, pourquoi je sors avec toi,” you sigh out, exasperated. 
“Oh,” he hums, leaning forward to hold your hands instead. “Maybe that one means, My girlfriend is so beautiful and smart?” You look up at him, raising an eyebrow at his sudden attempt to appeal to you. “Because you are.”
You roll your eyes, a smile spreading over your lips. “Actually I was calling you a disgrace and wondering why I’m even dating you.”
“Not surprised,” he chuckles softly, but immediately closes the French textbook on the desk before the two of you. “Come on, you know I’m not good at this school thing. Mr. Qian already knew that when he asked you to tutor me. How about,” he tilts his head at you, about to put up an offer. “We ditch this tutoring session and go get some ice cream? On me.”
A purse of your lips tells him you’re considering it, and he adds, “If anything, I’m just studying more by being with a beautiful lady who speaks fluent French.” 
You chuckle, leaning forward with pursed lips. “Je t'aime.”
“That one I know,” he smiles as he presses a sweet kiss to your lips. “Love you too. Now let’s go,” he says, standing and pulling you along by the hand. 
'Cause every night she studies hard in her room At least that's what her parents assume But she sneaks out the window to meet with her boyfriend.
Carefully you climb down the side of the house, trying your best not to make any noise against the wall but also trying not to fall to your death. A sigh of relief leaves your lips as both your feet touch the solid ground.
“Going somewhere?”
Immediately you jump, eyes widened as you turn to meet the owner of the voice. “Donghyuck!” You hiss, voice still low. “I thought you were my dad!”
“Well, you can call me daddy too,” your boyfriend says as he approaches you to press a kiss on your cheek. The tip of his light chin stubble brushes on your skin as he does so. 
“Don’t even joke about that,” you roll your eyes, allowing him to slide an arm over your shoulder and walk you down the street to where he parked his car out of view from your house. “So, where are we going?” “A friend’s party. His name is Mark.”
A cautious eyebrow is raised by you. “Will anyone from school be there?”
He shakes his head in response, knowing you can’t be spotted together especially with you under his arm at a college party of course. You’ve got to protect your precious reputation. “Nah, he’s in college. There’s no way he’d let high schoolers in.”
“We’re high schoolers, silly.”
“Well, yeah,” he shrugs before turning and grinning sinfully at you. “But we’re cool.”
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that,” you tease as he releases you and unlocks his car.
She may be clever but she just acts too square 'Cause in the back of the room where nobody looks She'll be with her boyfriend, she's not reading books.
As you slide up onto your tiptoes, the feeling of your boyfriend pressing against you is much too present and you scoff. “Can you stop being a horndog and get this book for me?”
“Darling,” he chastises, reaching up to grab it easily above you. “That’s what I was doing.”
As he hands the book to you, you roll your eyes. “Sure, like you weren’t trying to rub up on me.” 
“Not at all,” responds Donghyuck, dark eyes glinting with mischief. You leave him behind as you turn into the next aisle, searching carefully for the next book you were looking for. As you get deeper into the library shelves, the light gets further away and the tall shelves begin to cast a shadow upon your hidden figures. “Why do you even wear your uniform, anyways? You know it’s not required by the school.” 
“Yeah,” you respond matter-of-factly. “But as the vice president I should adhere to the suggestions set by the administration. Clearly you don’t care,” you say, glancing over his usual outfit of ripped jeans (which definitely didn’t fit normal dress code anyways) and his trademark leather jacket over a white Adidas shirt. 
“Okay, but your president Huang Renjun is a lame virgin with a stick up his ass and even he doesn’t wear his uniform everyday,” retorts your boyfriend.
“More reason why I should have been president instead,” you respond, scanning over the back of a book sounding not at all petty.
“That’s because at the time, you were more focused on becoming my girlfriend than campaigning, you minx,” Donghyuck teases as you slide the book back into its place, unsatisfied with its synopsis. When you don’t respond, instead turning into yet another aisle, he follows you, fingers tugging slightly at your skirt. “That’s okay, I like the skirt anyways,” he says, his famous smirk over his lips as your mouth gapes and a flustered warmth slides up to your cheeks. “S’cute.”
She said to me, forget what you thought 'Cause good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught
“Oh my god, Y/N,” Donghyuck already starts as he approaches you in the front of the school, already losing his bad boy personality in the fear that you’d be upset at him. “I’m so sorry.”
The two of you had been caught making out in the bleachers by a few members of the football team after school yesterday. Okay, perhaps it wasn’t the most discreet of places but you swore they’d announced over the intercom that football practice was cancelled for the day! Unluckily, it seemed a few players still wanted to get some practice in. 
Surely, rumors flew in less than twenty-four hours. Y/N, with Donghyuck? No way. Impossible.
Yeah, that was what you thought too, until it happened. You fell for him, for all his rough edges and playful teasing. He doesn’t deserve to be hidden. 
The smile you give him must throw him off, because he blinks. He’s probably forgotten his pre-made apology; he knows how important your reputation is to him. In his silence, you speak up.
“I don’t want to hide anymore. Let’s,” you propose as you interlace your hands, surely feeling eyes on you already. “Show them what a hot couple looks like.” 
He blinks, eyes flying to your hands and it’s probably the first time you’ve seen the snarky Donghyuck speechless. He recovers smoothly, smirking and nodding. “Okay. Let’s blow them away.” 
“But if you fail your French test in third period, I will break up with you.”
A boisterous laugh leaves his lips as he kicks open the doors to the school hallway. “Noted.”
Before the two of you enter the hallway to expose your unlikely clandestine romance to everyone, you lean up and whisper in his ear. “Je t'aime.”
“I know what that means,” he smirks as he presses a proud kiss onto your temple, and takes a step inside. 
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engie-ivy · 3 years
Text
For the request: "I was wondering if you could write one where Harry reveals that Sirius has a crush on Remus or vice versa? He could either be a toddler or big already but Lily and James are both alive cause screw canon!" from @tugabooos! So happy I got a request, hope you'll like it!😁
Five-year-old Harry overhears his uncle Pads say mean things about his uncle Moony, and he's gutted.
To Harry’s surprise, uncle Pads hides his face in his hands and lets out a groan. “Stupid Moony with his stupid smile! ‘You’re such a good friend, Pads.’ I don’t want to be his bloody friend!”
Such a good friend
Quietly, five-year-old Harry slips into the room.
He’s quite finished with playing outside, and wants to see what his uncle Pads is up to.
His parents are visiting aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon, but Harry had begged if he could go play at uncle Pads’ instead. Last time they visited, his cousin Dudley had tried to push Harry in a mud pool. Harry isn’t sure what happened, but somehow, Dudley had ended up with his head buried in the mud. Aunt Petunia had screamed and called him a freak, and uncle Vernon had looked like his head was going to explode. His dad had been incredibly proud of his magic already showing so strong at only five years old, and had hugged him excitedly, which did nothing to ease aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon’s temper.
Needless to say, his parents were all in favour of him going to uncle Pads’ instead.
Harry can hear voices coming from the kitchen and realises uncle Moony is still here. Uncle Moony came to say goodbye to Harry because he had to leave like half an hour ago, but mum always says that when uncle Pads and uncle Moony get to talking, they completely lose track of time and can go on forever.
Curious what his uncles could be talking about, Harry crouches down in front on the kitchen door and spies through the crack.
Uncle Moony is standing with his coat on, and uncle Pads is leaning against the kitchen counter, looking at him with a smile.
“... check it out next time we’re in the area!” Uncle Moony just finishes his sentence.
“Yeah,” uncle Pads replies. “Definitely. That sounds great.”
“Oh, Merlin,” uncle Moony says. “Is that really the time? How have we been standing here for forty-five minutes already?”
“Story of our life, eh?”
Uncle Moony chuckles and moves to disapparate, but then turns back around again. “Oh, before I forget! Fabian’s birthday is coming up, and I wanted to buy him a record or something. You have somewhat the same taste in music, mind helping me pick out something?”
“Oh,” uncle Pads says, staring at his feet. “Everything okay between you and Fabian, then?”
Uncle Moony shrugs. “I guess? I’ve kind of decided I should worry less about whether I feel like he could be ‘the one’, and just take it day by day. I mean, we’re still young, as long as we’re having fun, right?”
“Right.”
“So will you help me?” Uncle Moony urges. “Please, Pads? I need you! You know I’m pants at buying gifts,” he adds with a sheepish smile.
“That you are,” uncle Pads agrees with a tight smile. “Yeah, of course I help you, Moons. Anything for you.”
Uncle Moony beams at him. “Thanks, Pads! You’re the best! You’re such a good friend, I’d be lost without you.”
Uncle Moony disapparates with a loud crack, and uncle Pads drops down in the kitchen chair.
To Harry’s surprise, he hides his face in his hands and lets out a groan. “Stupid Moony with his stupid smile! ‘You’re such a good friend, Pads.’ I don’t want to be his bloody friend!”
Shocked, Harry steps away from the door. Half in panic, he flees back into the backyard. He can’t believe his uncle Pads would say such mean things about uncle Moony! He loves his uncle Pads to bits, and really looks up to him, but he also loves his uncle Moony! And now uncle Pads doesn’t want to be friends with uncle Moony anymore?
Harry has to bite his lip not to cry.
Of course his parents have to invite both uncle Pads and uncle Moony over for dinner that very evening.
Harry just sadly stares at his plate, picking at his food. His mum gives him a concerned look from time to time. “Harry, love, are you feeling okay?” She eventually asks.
Harry’s bottom lip starts to wobble, and now everyone is looking at him in concern.
“Hey, little man, what’s wrong?”
“Prongslet, you know you can tell us everything!”
“Oh Harry, what’s bothering you?”
“It’s...” Harry sniffs. “Uncle Pads...”
All eyes shift to uncle Pads, who’s eyes widen in surprise. “Harry if I did anything to upset you, please tell me. You know I’d never purposely make you sad!”
“You said uncle Moony was stupid!” Harry blurts out.
Everyone blinks at him in surprise.
“Harry,” his mum says carefully. “That’s not something you can just say. I’m sure uncle Pads would never-”
“Mum, I’m not telling lies!” Harry’s eyes widen in shock.
His mum looks doubtfully, but then uncle Pads scrapes his throat. “Ah, Lils, I think I can explain. Harry must’ve overheard me say something, and misunderstood.”
Uncle Moony raises an eyebrow. “Do explain, Padfoot. How did such a misunderstanding come to be?”
A blush creeps over Padfoot’s cheeks and he rubs the back of his neck. “Well, ehm, you see... You asked me for a favour and when I see that smile of yours you know I can’t deny you anything.” He laughs awkwardly. “So I think said something like ‘Moony and his stupid smile’... In a joking manner!”
“Oh.” uncle Moony blushes as well.
“See, Harry?” His dad ruffles Harry’s hair. “Uncle Pads and uncle Moony have been friends for ages, and they’ll always like each other!”
Harry shakes his head. “But uncle Pads said he doesn’t want to be uncle Moony’s friend!”
“I’m sure he also has a good explanation for that?” His dad says, looking at uncle Pads pointedly.
“Yes,” his mum adds. “I’m sure he doesn’t want to teach our son those are the kind of jokes you should make about your friends?”
“And if he really doesn’t want to be my friend anymore,” Remus says in a rather cold voice. “Then I’m sure he can say it to my face?”
“Well, Padfoot?”
“Padfoot, care to explain?”
“Let’s hear it, Padfoot.”
“I meant I didn’t want to be just friends!” uncle Pads bursts out. “‘Such a good friend’, while sodding Fabian... Never mind. The point is, I don’t dislike Moony, of course I don’t. I like him so bloody much, I wish I could be something more than a friend!”
There’s a silence.
Uncle Padfoot’s face is bright red and he hides behind his hands. “Oh, Merlin.”
Uncle Moony looks flushed as well, staring disbelievingly at uncle Pads, his mouth opening and closing. Harry’s mum and dad’s eyes have widened. Harry looks from one person to the other, not really understanding what’s going on. Uncle Pads still likes uncle Moony, so that’s a good thing, right?
“Ehm, Harry,” his dad eventually says. “You see? There’s nothing to worry about,” but he sounds worried nonetheless. “Why don’t we go upstairs together with mum to read a story, eh? And give your uncles a moment to talk.”
Quietly, fourteen -year-old Harry slips into the room.
Uncle Pads looks up from where he’s standing in front of the dress mirror, trying to decide whether he should leave another button open or not. “Harry! To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Harry grins as he lifts himself on top of the table next to the mirror, and starts swinging his legs back and forth. “Just hiding from dad. He’s gone full-on-crazy best man-mode.”
Uncle Pads chuckles. “Why do you think I sent him away? I hope he’s not bothering Moony, though?”
“Nah, last I saw him, he was yelling at uncle Wormy for wearing a red tie while the theme is silver and gold.” Harry rolls his eyes.
“Oh, Merlin.”
“Yeah,” Harry says. “He has already sent aunt Marls home to change, as she was wearing a white dress. ‘For Godric’s sake, Marlene, you can’t wear white to a wedding!’” Harry gives a perfect imitation of his father. “Her protest that none of the grooms is very likely to be wearing a white dress to no avail.”
Uncle Pads shakes his head fondly. “Oh, Prongsie.”
Harry shrugs. “Mum says to be patient with him, as this is his big day, that he’s been dreaming of ever since he was a boy.”
“That’s true,” uncle Pads agrees.
“So we know my father is completely losing it as best man, but what about you?” Harry nudges uncle Pads with his foot. “Are you nervous?”
Uncle Pads thinks about it for a while. “No. I’m marrying my best friend, what’s there to be nervous about?”
Harry gasps in pretend-shock. “And I thought you didn’t want to be uncle Moony’s friend!”
“Watch out, you little rascal!” Uncle Pads laughs. “I haven’t forgotten what you put me through!”
Harry huffs. “I shall hope not! Thanks to me you finally confessed your feelings. I’m expecting a thank you in all speeches of today.”
“We’ll see, Prongslet,” uncle Pads says with an amused twinkle in his eyes. “We’ll see.”
“But siriusly,” Harry says in a more sincere tone of voice. “I’m really happy for you, uncle Pads. And for uncle Moony too.”
Uncle Pads smiles, and then wipes at his eyes. “Merlin, Harry, what are you doing to me? I thought I’d at least keep it dry until I saw Moony walk down the aisle.”
Suddenly, Harry’s dad’s voice sounds in the hall. “Harry! Where are you? I need somebody to sort through the rose petals, to make sure none of them have any brown spots!”
Harry’s eyes widen in horror. “I was never here,” he whispers, before slipping out of the room.
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babydarkstar · 3 years
Text
cacoethes
part two: bring your sweet loving 
rating: E (18+ ONLY) || pairing: ezra x f!reader || word count: 10.5k
chapter summary: as the night winds down and tensions simmer, we learn more about you, pieces of your past, and your relationship with ezra.
 warnings: ezra’s gigantic mouth that won’t shut up (suggestive language) and two criminals not knowing how to act; caretaking, i guess? reader cleans ezra but it’s nothing erotic; SMUT; handjob and graphic depictions of a glorious dick; dirty talk; dubcon maybe bc painkillers but he’s enthusiastic abt it; praise kink; switches having a great time; ezra’s subby in this but i promise he’s a dom too just not tonight; mentions of death, killing, tattoos, scars; mention of past drug use, bad coping mechanisms; mm i hc that ezra is a tiny tattoo guy so there’s that; fluff bc im sweet; author is a southern peach, forgive her if it gets a little slow and twangy up in here
a/n: un-beta’d bc mistakes are sexy. i’ll go back later and fix whatever i find but for now. enjoy. i’m literally just making shit up about this universe as we go but it’s working out for the best so bear with me. lmk if u want me to add u to be tagged here. tagging: @pedros-mustache @jk7789    
crossposted to ao3 :) || playlist || one || two || three
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Here, Cee,” you said, adjusting the threadbare blanket over your cot and splaying a hand over it while she eyed you from across the tent, still standing amongst the carnage of a violent field surgery, “I’ll sleep on the floor tonight.”
The poor girl was scared. Well—not scared, not anymore.
Vengeful, for certain, though it seemed to dwindle with every minute she watched you interact.
Definitely wary of the two of you.
Which was appropriate, given that Ezra had killed her father and left her alone on an uninhabitable moon, only to be scooped up by his partner and deceived into thinking she was safe, and then forced to perform impromptu surgery to hack off an arm. But she appeared more wary to accept help from you than wary of you.
And honestly, if Ezra hadn’t just lost a limb and you didn’t want to hover beside him after not seeing him for a month to make sure he didn’t slip the veil in his sleep or disappear beneath your fingertips—and if you weren’t trying to earn her trust, you’d have made her take the floor.
But things were different now, they might always be. She had saved his life. You owed her your cot to sleep on.
“Wait,” Ezra said, swallowing thickly as he blinked, seeming to just process the words you had spoken, “You think so little of me that I’d let you sleep on the dirt after the day you’ve had? Now, I agree that our guest should find comfort in a cot of her own, but I will not deny you the simple respite of sleep. That would prove me an unworthy companion.”
“Ezra,” you said, giving him a look of incredulity that seeped into your tone, “You can’t be serious.”
He eyed you and clenched his jaw, still stomaching the fact that he had one less limb to worry about, and a bunch more problems to deal with. It was a look that told you he was not arguing with you, you were going to sleep on the cot. He would not be coddled like a child just because he lost an arm.
Which was, in itself, ridiculous. You didn’t plan to coddle him—you weren’t the type, not really. But. He’d lost a fucking arm. But he was also still delirious from the anesthetic, so that didn’t help his desire to prove something to the universe.
“You’re taking the cot, I’m not having this conversation,” you said, wiping his sweaty brow with your sleeve, “Tap into the ruthless outlaw inside of you and take it without regret. You know I hardly sleep anyways, I’ll live without a bed for the night.”
“Then I must insist you share it with me, precious angel,” he sighed, and you could almost see the cogs in his head turning as his distant gaze darkened into something hungry, “I’ve longed to feel your body pressed against mine since I left with Number Two. The divinity of your skin.” He hummed, eyes fluttering shut, “More…more precious than the ore we risk our lives for. Sweeter than fruit. Fresher than a rainstorm.”
“Ez,” you warned, snapping a glare at him.
“Your body…so tender, warm,” he continued, entranced in his own fantasy, not even hearing you when you warned him yet again, “All soft and pliant beneath my touch. It has been far too long since we partook in a pleasure as indulgent as one another—before our partnership with Two, if I can recall. Grant me heaven tonight. I deserve the satisfaction of watching you drip honey for me—”
“Hey! None of that,” you snapped, cocking an eyebrow—and fighting the flutter in your chest and the heat tingling down your core, “There are young ears present, Shakespeare Erotica. Not to mention young eyes.”
You would do no such thing with him as long as this teenager remained in close quarters and under your care. He turned to look at Cee, as if he’d forgotten all about her for a moment. Or maybe it was that he didn’t care. Bastard.
“I’m okay as long as you guys don’t fuck in front of me,” Cee sighed, resigned to have dealt with too much in her past to be worried about flirting—no, verbal-fucking.
“We won’t be doing any of that,” you assured her, giving Ezra another pointed look before slinging his arm around your shoulders and helping him to the cot. He grumbled incoherently, moaning and groaning the few steps it took to ease him down into the squeaky frame.
When you finally got him down—forced him to lay down—he let out another soft whimper of pain, followed by your name. “Don’t go.”
Brushing the hair off his sweaty forehead, you bent down to press a kiss there, “M’right here, Ez. Rest. I’m gonna clean you up, okay?”
It was the least you could do—and that way you could take inventory of every inch of him to ensure he didn’t have any other wounds hiding and festering and threatening his life. Just as this wouldn’t be your first time tending to him while he laid incapacitated, he’d done the same for you plenty of times. There was very little, if anything at all, the two of you hadn’t seen of each other. Vulnerability had another name here: normalcy.
“After—” he rasped up at you, coughing and then righting himself, “After we find our way off this Kevva-damned moon—which we will—I understand if you no longer deem me…worthy of your affections. It’s the only explanation I can find for your denial of my offer to dote on you. I only pray you make good on your long-standing promise to drop me where I stand should I ever disappoint you, dear heart of mine.”
Okay, you didn’t know where all the insecurity and sentiment was coming from, especially hearing it from the mouth of your dear old confident mean-streak Ezra, but he couldn’t possibly be serious. It made you ache to think that he didn’t trust you to stay with him, that he viewed himself as lesser because he lost his arm. Well, he was lesser, but only by mass.
Also, really? The only explanation he could find for you not wanting to sleep with him was that you hated him and didn’t want him because of his injury? He couldn’t think of any more glaringly obvious reasons, those of which had just been pointed out to him?
With a sigh, you brushed your thumb across the silvery scar on his cheek, “Rest now, chatterbox. I’ll be here when you wake up—and every morning after, for as long as I can. Only death could pry you from me, and me from you. You’ve got me, forever….I still see you as you are—a hundred percent you, a hundred percent mine.”
The words felt foreign on your lips, but he was bound to forget them the moment he fell asleep, so you didn’t feel as weird waxing poetic right back at him. The man had rubbed off on you in more ways than one. You normally didn’t speak to one another so frankly—at least, you didn’t, given the nature of what it meant to care out here and how you’d already unofficially established that you two were something more—but tonight you couldn’t fucking help it.
Ezra leaned into your touch, pawing at it with his hand, grabbing onto your fingers and kissing into your palm. A dull smile poked at his mouth and he let it engulf him. “Quite the charmer you are, siren.”
You didn’t respond, only half-smiled and wriggled—reluctantly—from his grasp to grab a few clean cloths and fill a bucket with water. After squirting the sanitizing solution in the water, you simmered the lights down to the lowest setting, to where your eyes had to adjust for a moment before you could make your way across the tent. His gaze bore into you—no, both Ezra and Cee watched every move you made; one in lazy admiration and the other in curiosity.
“Do you need me to put a drape over the post? I’m strippin’ him,” you asked Cee as you slung Ezra’s clean shirt from off the drying line onto your shoulder—you smiled at the floor, thanking yourself from hours ago for deciding not to burn it. You grabbed the bucket and tottered over to him, nodding at him to scoot. He obliged, giving you room to sit by his hip so you could ease his clothes off.
Cee shook her head when you looked to her for a response, opting to sit on your cot facing away from you with her nose in her book, so you shrugged and tugged the fabric off of Ezra in slow, deliberate motions, wincing every time he grunted.
As you took the time to clean off the grime and dirt and sweat of the Green, he told you about running into Cee and her father Damon; how he tried to take his entire harvest from the few cycles he’d spent with Two; about Two’s untimely, irrational outburst that cost them their life. About the Queen’s Lair and the mercs, and the plan to ravage and plunder and take it all for themselves. You thought the Queen’s Lair was a rumor. Not even a rumor—a myth, a legend, something fabricated by desperate fools with hazy minds of dust and their eyes set on fortune. But Ezra told you he’d seen part of it marked on Cee’s map, that her father was contracted to help extract the deposit. Cee even pulled her map out to point to the marked areas, albeit with clinical movements and short words.
So you made a plan to head out at first light, with the trip taking most of the daylight, and they’d be cutting it close but there was no way you’d let Ezra hike so many klicks in his state—not without a few hours’ rest first.
After you’d managed to clean his legs, his hips, his feet and get him into something more comfortable than compression pants, you moved to his torso and traced over each scar marring his skin, each jagged edge where something hadn’t healed right or wasn’t stitched properly. He’d lost some weight under the harsh conditions of the Green—you both had. But he still held onto muscle from the toil that came with survival on such harsh terrain; and he was naturally broad, he always would be, which made him sturdy.
Your fingers ghosted over a few microtattoos he’d gotten; one beneath his ribcage, one on his hipbone, and the one you’d given him yourself on his lower sternum. That one, as you brushed over it with a wet cloth, never failed to make you smile. A sad smile, but a smile nonetheless.
A tiny, unfilled heart, a mere outline, barely a centimeter in size. It was messy, simple, done in minutes. But it meant something, meant exactly what you’d never quite been able to voice.
My heart is yours. Take it.
You’d done it one night when the two of you had gone on a two spin bender, which happened more towards the end of your glory days, when the drugs came easy and heavy and the illusion of time slipped by like sand on the wind.
Any time someone hired your services as cleaners, it took a toll. They didn’t do it often because of that, but the payout was worth the work. No matter how many times you swore you would never do it again, you went back. Because it was hard to ignore the way it felt to flood a deserving someone’s mouth with the taste of their own blood, or to slip a knife in between their ribs and let it slide like butter and watch the light die. It was hard to ignore that you liked it, especially when it was so violent—one of the worst sins to commit, and you enjoyed it.
The act of killing had become cathartic for you. It made you feel more alive, reminded you that you had a beating, bloody heart, and a brain, and veins that pumped blood, and muscles that tore apart and rebuilt themselves stronger. Killing came easy when you didn’t know the target. It felt like a game.
Ezra didn’t enjoy it as much as you did—not to say he didn’t enjoy it at all, for he most certainly did. But he didn’t process it the same way you did. He saw killing as a means to survive and a means to get where he needed to go. He enjoyed turning it into a game, making fun out of whatever circumstance presented itself.
But that one—the last one—it had gone wrong. Messy, slow, noisy, choppy. There was only supposed to be one person in the house: typical target, a man who owed the wrong people a whole lot of money and refused to pay up.
One man.
One man was all you’d expected.
One man was all you’d been instructed would be in the condo.
He went down easy enough, quiet enough—Ezra snuffed him and stuffed him and you’d made to transfer his points into the right pockets.
And that was that.
They had tossed the bodybag over the high-rise balcony and into the pits of the bottomless highway next to the building, with a blinker-bomb inside just in case.
That was that.
Except it wasn’t, it was so fucking far from it.
Ezra, being himself, had wanted so bad to sneak in a quickie before heading back—an unholy, immoral ritual you two had initiated, to fuck where you killed—and who were you to protest? Who were you to say no to pretty words and soft eyes glittering with an untamed wild? To say no to the hands that already ripped at gear and pushed beneath underwear just to get a taste—you couldn’t, it was impossible.
Fresh off a high of adrenaline, pulsing with nervous energy—he was always so good, he always got you right where you needed and then that much further.
And Ezra—being himself—could not keep his fucking mouth shut. The stereotype about men holding in their moans, about them never whimpering or whining or groaning or grunting—yeah, that was a load of Bearkie-shit.
Maybe it held true for some men, but.
Not your Ezra. Not even a little bit.
He talked like heaven’s mouthpiece—or maybe the devil, given all the sinful things he’d whisper to you in the crux of any given night. He let loose whatever noise he deemed necessary to make.
They’d only just made it to the dried, bloody stain on the carpet (a bed on which to copulate), knocking over a floating hilolamp and pulling a chuckle from your paramour, when a shout rang through the apartment and shattered your moment into a thousand pieces.
It was only supposed to be one. One man.
Instead, you were met with another man who you’d later learn to be his brother, the target’s mother, and his pregnant wife.
The man held onto some type of curved sports bat, keeping it up threateningly as if warning you of something imposing. Ezra didn’t hesitate to shoot him in the head, not even bothering to get up from where he’d pressed his hips between your legs. But then you’d had to go and check the other rooms, effectively killing any mood the two of you had shared.
Because fuck, where the men had no fight in them, the women wouldn’t go down without a struggle. Or maybe it was that you pitied them, and it distracted you. They’d already peeked their heads out from behind the door of the master bedroom, worried and doe-eyed and determined.
Maybe if they hadn’t seen your faces—if they’d still been asleep while you swept for warm bodies after the first assailant—maybe they’d have gotten out with their lives. But who were you kidding? You killed without thought. You’d likely have put a pillow over their heads before aiming your thrower and firing twice for good measure, had you been sharp and not distracted by a tongue in your mouth.
Instead, Ezra had the audacity to try to bargain with them. Something about having a soft spot for mothers—his own having been a beacon in his life until she left him orphaned as a young boy. He made it a point not to kill women and children. It was one thing in which he remained unwavering. (He’d kill a grown woman if she gave him reason to, like he had on Exon-5, but that was another story for another time, and a different circumstance which called for such measures, namely that of protecting you.) But he should have known better, he should have known not to try something like that. He should’ve known that he’d have to let go of the final shred of morality he held onto.
So Ezra took down the old woman in a way you still have yet to ask about and don’t care to know; and you’d ended with the pregnant woman choking on her own blood when you twisted your knife into the dip of her throat—and you felt awful about it after watching her crumble beneath you, but she’d hit you upside the head with a thick textbook of outdated skimmer-craft modules and it made you see red among pinpricks of stars.
And that night, after all was said and done they’d spent a fortune on getting high—just to forget, just to be okay.
That night they’d locked themselves in a self-imposed prison of satin sheets and destructive tendencies. Two days buzzing with no food, little water, just him and you and needles and spoons and eyedroppers and blades and pills. Like you couldn’t breathe if he didn’t fill you with all of him, you wouldn’t be able to stand upright if he took his hands off you and stopped letting you flood your veins with a chemical glow. Heavy eyelids, messy sex, raw arms and red eyes.
It felt fucking awful, coping that way, but it felt too fucking good and it made you forget about the lives you’d taken in (somewhat) cold blood.
So after sprawling beside him on the gigantic plush bed with his hand ghosting over your spine, you’d found a part of yourself snagged at the corner of this wild-eyed man’s tar-black soul, and you had thought about what could have happened in an alternate universe.
A moment when he was the target, you were (somehow) the pregnant wife, and you watched him die before succumbing to the dark of your own soul escaping you. And it made you desperate to cling to him as he was in the moment, desperate to know that he was yours and you were his. It was then that you’d asked him if you could mark him. Claim him, to know that he wouldn’t leave you like that, and if he did, he’d have a piece of you everywhere. He’d go down with a piece of you.
Ezra had been delighted, of course, as he was always one for symbolism and deeper meaning even if he didn’t quite understand the rhetoric. And it wasn’t the first time you’d marked each other, just a different time with a different meaning. So he let you dip a sterile needle in ink and plunge it into the tender skin of his chest.
You had one too, a heart on your sternum. Nestled between your breasts, just close enough to your heart to feel like it mattered, like it meant that he felt the same. But you didn’t even let yourself go that far—you two were doped up and delirious and he enjoyed marking you in any way he could, so an opportunity to stick and poke his way further into your skin than he already had was an opportunity he could not pass up. At least, that was how you saw it. Nevertheless, it made you happy to see it there on his chest, and to have one that matched.
Ezra’s soft voice snapped you from the memory.
“What’s crossed your mind to make you so delicate in your touch, so solemn in your stare?”
You realized you had stopped your ministrations and had planted your palm on his chest, staring just over his shoulder and onto the canvas beside him. With a careful hand, you resumed gentle motion over his pecs, up his clavicle, his throat.
“Thinking about Beta-Mobilia,” you whispered, unable to meet his eye, “And after.”
“Mm,” he grunted in recognition, the vibration tickling your fingertips, “Regrettable night. Unavoidable, necessary. But I dwell in shame identical to yours.”
“I don’t deserve to be here after that. I didn’t deserve to live after the Exons, The Grime. Why am I still alive?”
“We’ve discussed this in great length by now, siren. Don’t doubt your existence. It’s beyond sense, beyond comprehension.”
You nodded, still unable to look at him. But then he latched onto your wrist, brushing his calloused thumb over the delicate skin there, and this time you couldn’t keep your gaze away from the soft smile that begged to form on his lips.
“And I appreciate your tender care, wildfire,” he hummed, eyes glittering up at you like two dark pools of amber, “Where would I be without it? Mmm…mhm. Dead, likely. Or bitter. Wicked with taciturn rage. No meaning could come from that.”
“You, bitter and unspeaking? Unthinkable, I’d sooner pronounce you dead,” you drawled, thankful for his kindness to grant distraction, and he granted you an eye-roll. But his expression softened when you sat him upright and maneuvered behind him, wiping down his back in gentle strokes. You folded the cloth over once the side turned brown with grime, and moved up to his neck, scrubbing over his shoulders and giving short strokes down his nape and behind his ears.
“So you planned to go ravage the Queen without me, huh?” you asked quietly, irked that he hadn’t even come to find you before setting out on that venture, “Planned to leave me to rot on the Green, take the money for yourself and steal away with the girl.”
Ezra sighed, and you could see from behind his shoulder how he worked his jaw, formulating what to say.
“Understand that I do nothing without you willingly. Birdie over there’s about as fleeting as a real one. But trust that I planned to come get you—I’d never leave you stranded. I just couldn’t introduce another person into the threadbare alliance I had forged until the time was right.”
“She likes me,” you countered, smiling over at Cee, who now laid with her back facing you as her ribs contracted with the first breaths of sleep. A sign of trust. You didn’t know when exactly you’d earned it, but you’d accept it nonetheless. She had also taken both of your throwers (something you protested and Ezra waved off), so maybe that helped.
“No doubt—there’s plenty to like about you.”
Ever the flatterer, even when delirious with pain.
With a coy smile, you scrubbed over his head and then his face, careful to avoid his snapping mouth that reached out ever so often to nip at your hand—there was that playfulness, the natural effervescence of his presence. When you decided your work was done, you eased him back down on the cot and he allowed it with no protest.
You fluffed his pillow and moved the book you’d stashed beside it. He turned his head and pressed his nose to the pillow, grunting in mild appreciation.
“Smells like you down here,” he remarked with a half-smile, eyes drooping, “You sleep on my cot while I was away?”
“I missed you,” you whispered, nodding, just now aware of how much his presence affected you. To think that you had resolved to try to move on without him—it seemed ridiculous now.
“I missed you,” he returned, “You haven’t the slightest idea how much I wanted you beside me. Number Two was a fond ally but not a companion. Nothing like the banter we exchange, nor the secrets we share.”
“They never talked. I imagine your time away was just as lonely as mine.”
“Absolutely. I regret agreeing to leave with Two. But you know we couldn’t have trusted them to stay at camp while we went off—not absolutely. Not when they’d never spoken a word,” he chuckled and then coughed, a quiet rumble you felt against your leg as it zigzagged through his chest.
Thank Kevva you had a plan to leave now. The spent filter had taken a toll on Ezra—and it wasn’t even his to begin with. He insisted on giving you his when the one your new suit came with was almost completely used up.
Fuck the man for caring about you; he’d gone soft during your time on the Green, and you hated how much you loved it. Hated it because he needed to focus on himself, needed to stop putting you before him. Hated it because every day it made you feel like somehow, he loved you back. That somehow, he thought of you as more than just a constant in his life, more than a body to fuck and a brain to pick.
You’d grown used to each other. But his unpredictability oozed into every aspect of himself, every nook and cranny of his life, and you were too worried about fucking up a good thing over a simple conversation. All it took was one sensitive topic breached and you’d surely find yourself shit out of luck. He was all you had left of the scraps of a fucked up life. Without him, you’d make do but not without a struggle and not without reluctance. Some part of you knew he’d be the same even if he initiated a split.
The thought had you hurrying to tug his shirt on before gathering the cloths and scurrying to place the bucket near the front of the tent.
And you shouldn’t have been so scared to be honest with him—the two of you rarely kept things to yourselves. But to love someone so fully within your heart, to never want to be away from them, to never grow tired of their presence no matter how tedious they may be or frustrating they could get, it scared you.
“A kiss for the wounded?” Ezra asked, brown eyes wide and mouth pouty enough to break you from your racing mind. You softened then, padding back over to him on tiptoe and settling back at his side for a brief moment.
With a gentle smile, you leaned down to grant him a kiss to his lips—the first one you’d shared with him in fuck knows how long. Too long, that was for sure, because when your lips notched with his chapped ones you melted, every worry and every qualm simply washed away in a swirl of pink pleasure.
You couldn’t help yourself—an indulgent, quiet moan pooled in your chest and slipped from your throat before you could stop it, and he hummed right back when his tongue pushed between your lips and you let him devour you. Always the ravager, ever a greedy bastard when it came to his pleasure, he licked up into your mouth and tangled his tongue with yours. It took very little for you to melt right into his chest, pressing your own against him and whimpering when he sneaked his hand up the hem of your shirt to rub circles over the skin of your back. You remained sloppy and almost lazy but intentional as you held either side of his nape and toyed with the strands of his still-damp hair, pouring yourself into this kiss like you’d never kiss him again.
Fuck. Fuck, you wanted him so bad. You missed this man with every vibrating inch of you. You missed his body, you missed his voice calling to you from the very depths of himself, you missed everything about him, and you needed him as close as possible. Closer than close, you needed him.
But fuck. You couldn’t. When you pulled back for air, it didn’t surprise you when he pressed his palm flat on your back to keep you from moving too far.
“Mm, baby—you’re divine. I ache for you,” he all but whimpered into your mouth, breath brutally hot and heavy as he fed you his soul, “Come sit down on me—come take what’s yours. I want to feel you strangle me, show me just how much you—”
“No, Ez,” you cut him off in a biting whisper, lips kiss-swollen, hating how, if there had been literally any other person in the tent beside you, you might’ve taken him up on the offer, “I want to, I promise you that. But she’s a kid and I have limits—one of those limits is fucking in the same room as one.” You glared at him with half a heart, then leaned down to run the tip of your nose along the curve of his ear, smiling when he shivered, “I swear, once we get out of here I’ll make it up to you so many times you’ll forget your own name. You get first choice—however you want me, I’m yours to take.”
“Fuck—alright, I apologize for my eagerness,” he smiled, tilting his head to kiss your forehead.
“But,” you whispered, your heart racing as you glanced over to be sure Cee had fallen asleep before inching up to look back into his eyes. Fuck it, he deserved it. “If you stay quiet, I’ll take care of you right now.”
His eyebrows raised in deft interest at your offer.
“Will you let me take care of you, Sailor?”
Ezra would never admit it, and you’d never tease him about it because it made you feel some kind of way—but he fucking adored when you used his callsign. You were his siren, after all. Only made sense for him to draw to you like a dying man at sea when you called for him. You used it rarely aside from in the field, opting for your preferred chatterbox—because he was more that than anything else—so it came as a treat when you decided to pull it from your bag of tricks.
“I can hardly refuse such a tempting offer.”
“Quiet, though,” you reminded him, tiptoeing your fingers across his chest and tugging the waistband of his pants and his underwear down. Just enough to spring his cock free, which was already hard and leaking for you.
Fuck, he was such a gorgeous sight, and you couldn’t help the urge to cup his balls and nudge them free too, to admire every glorious inch of him.
Spreading your fingers out over his groin through the coarse curls gone wild with mistreatment, you paid extra attention to the white patch of hair ghosting over the base of his cock and spreading out near his abdomen before stopping abruptly on the left and diverging back down into dark brown. You remember when you’d first noticed it and had all but squealed in delight.
Every bit of him was a pleasant surprise, just as you’d found yourself more than eager to let him ruin you for anybody else with the sheer size of him.
Nobody fucked you like they were dying and you were salvation; nobody but him. And shit, did he tear you open. As if he’d carved a space inside of you just for him, each time he’d leave you with a hollow ache that only he could sate.
“Baby,” you purred in a whisper, kissing his hipbone and then leaning up to wrap your hand around the girth of him, rubbing your thumb over the weeping red of the head, “You’re so pretty for me like this.” Forever a glutton for compliments, he whimpered his soft appreciation and you hushed him accordingly. He was so thick, so big that you struggled to touch the tip of your middle finger to your thumb, so long that if you had planned to swallow him down tonight, you would’ve been needing your hand to help. But tonight you could not risk the absolutely filthy noise of you gagging on him; he’d likely cum faster and in less time to worry about waking up a certain tentmate, but you wanted to watch every muscle in his face twitch, wanted to see him take his pleasure unobstructed by your tears. This way was quieter.
So with that thought in mind, you shifted to straddle one of his thighs so you could watch him without tiring your hand in an awkward position. Then you let a string of spit drool down and over him and you gave him a twist and then more, sharp and sudden and fast in your movements as opposed to the slow, appreciative way you’d unsheathed him.
Ezra hissed out a curse, bucking up into your hand, “Shit, darlin’—“
Arching an eyebrow, you halted your work on him immediately. His pulse beat through the throbbing vein jutting out
“What did I tell you?” you snapped. With your free hand you reached up and wrapped your fingers around his neck, feeling the column of his throat contracting as he swallowed. Wide brown eyes looked up at you, a tinge of amusement in their stare.
“Are you gonna be good for me?” you asked in a low rasp, tightening your grip on his neck and giving him a little shake before going slack again, “I don’t wanna hear a single word come outta that pretty-boy mouth. If I do, I’m blue-balling you. Fair?”
Ezra nodded, his gorgeous fat mouth blessedly shut for once.
“Good boy,” you cooed, kissing him before forcing his jaw open and spitting in his mouth. It would’ve been cruel but you meant it so affectionately, and his gentle moan told you he was more than willing to accept it.
You felt his cock twitch beneath your fingers and you simpered, giving a little shimmy of your shoulders in appreciation.
Controlling this stubborn man, resorting him to silence made you feel powerful. It made you feel respected, worshipped; if the man who never shut up and always called the shots would gladly take the backseat and grant you the power to take charge, that meant more than you could wish for.
So you resumed pumping his cock, working him with both hands and then switching to hold onto his throat again before going back to two hands. The act still made quite some noise—filthy and wet and sloppy—but at this point you were less concerned about it than you had been prior. When you decided, despite his tip dripping precum, to spit down onto him again for the fun of it and twist him with a gentle tug, he couldn’t stop the whine that left him even with his bottom lip pulled between his teeth. It had you darting to clamp over his mouth, shooting daggers down at him as he stared up with a silent apology in his eyes, one you might have taken as genuine if not for the way the brown of his irises had disappeared into black, blown out with lust and glassy with pleasure.
“If you’re gonna cum, let me know so you can do it in my mouth. I just cleaned you up and I’m not doing it again.”
The last bit came out harsher than you meant but he took it all the same, biting back a grunt in the form of a sharp exhale as he twitched violently in your hand. Yeah, he didn’t really need to let you know when he was about to blow; you knew him too well. At that, you took it upon yourself to remove your hand from his mouth in favor of scooting to lean down and put your mouth over his angry, swollen tip, flinching at the way the frame creaked but ignoring it and opting to swirl your tongue over him instead.
“There it is,” you whispered with an arguably evil smile—quickly, before pulling him back into the heat of your mouth, resuming your work and grunting when he bucked up into your mouth, chasing the high you were drawing out of him.
Ezra came with a muffled, broken sob, his face buried in his arm as he bit down on his bicep, flexing and squeezing his fingers. A thick stream of his cum hit the roof of your mouth and you indulged him, taking him in further so you could swallow everything he gave you. Ropes and ropes and ropes of cum, like he hadn’t let himself get off in so long, like he’d been saving all of it for you. The thought made you whine around him, and you pulled off when he finished, flashing him your dripping tongue with his spend still on it and drawing it back in before any of it could spill.
“Holy fuck, baby,” he sighed, letting out a quiet, breathy laugh as he tugged on the front of your shirt to kiss you, tasting himself on your tongue.
This time when you pulled back and smiled, you granted him a toothy grin, goofy and knowing. It took you a minute not to giggle like a little kid as you carded your fingers through his hair. He grinned right back, still catching his breath. To you, he was gorgeous, inside and out, flaws and all. You wanted to fuck him right then. You wanted to make love to him, to let him fill you entirely and to sob into his mouth, showing him everything you couldn’t tell him.
“Get some sleep,” you settled on instead, slipping off the cot with little grace after replacing the waistband of his pants, “We head out early tomorrow.”
“Hey now, what about you?” Ezra asked, brows drawn together in concern that you wouldn’t find the same enjoyment he did.
“You’ll just owe me.” You winked then, and gave him one last kiss, which he hummed into with a great appreciative rumble.
Then you pressed your forehead into his, “Mine—you’re mine. Never leave me again or I’ll hunt you down and kill you myself. You’re everything.”
Because he was.
“Nothing without you.”
That was his response, always always always. To hear it again pricked tears in your eyes, so much so you squeezed them shut.
And once again, you caught yourself wanting to say it. This time it had ghosted in your throat, almost making it into the curve of your mouth for you to hold its shape and give voice to a thought. But you stopped it before it could get far. Those three words, the same ones that now haunted you since you’d decided to indulge in every reminiscence involving them. Somehow he had come back to you, a feat which could not be commended enough, but now you ached for him—yearned for him even stronger than if he had well and truly died.
As you settled down onto the floor beside him, those three torturous words surfaced into a memory. The one that, among other fears, made you ever so hesitant to admit just how much you loved him.
————————————
“—In that vein, I don’t find myself in particular need of a great, star-shattering love story. If love is all-encompassing, I can do without the obstacle. Romanticizing my life and its quarrels is satisfaction enough.”
You didn’t know why you were still listening. You just knew that if Ezra kept it up, you’d find a way out of this cell just to break into his and strangle him. Anything to get him to shut the hell up. Banging your head methodically against the wall that separated the two of you, you didn’t even try to hold back your groan of displeasure as he rambled on.
“Now, don’t doubt my skill in worship. I have plenty of practice in the art of copulation”—you could hear the shit-eating grin on his face—“To say I haven’t affixed my interests on one soul or another at some point in time would ordain me a liar. I simply prefer to remain lovers in action…and not in name nor feeling. Companionship…yes, it’s something we all yearn for. It can’t be helped. A warm body, a brain to pick. All wonderful facets to enjoy for the sake of one’s own baser desiderata. But—“
“Shut up,” you bit out through gritted teeth, tugging at the roots of your hair when he kept going and you had to repeat yourself, “Shut up, you goddamned chatterbox. I don’t give a fuck about your love life. Why are you even talking about this?”
A brief silence occupied the space, as if he was thoroughly perplexed by your outburst. Then he let out a huffed laugh, amused.
“You inquired about the specifics of my occupation, little thorn.”
Every time he used that nickname for you—the thorn in my side—it made you bristle. Especially when he used it almost affectionately, soothingly, full of calm and charm that had you balling your fists and pricking the skin of your palms with your fingernails. You despised him, and he treated your existence as a joke, or as a little pet he would grab from its cage and admire before tossing it back and neglecting it until he deemed its presence acceptable again. Everything was funny. Everything could be laughed at. Sometimes you didn’t mind when the guards came to beat him bloody; it made him shut up, whether from pain or because he had passed out.
“Prospecting has nothing to do with love,” you snapped, shoulders tense despite the ache in your body. If these fuckers holding you captive didn’t kill you, the stress of surviving next to this fucker surely would.
“No, it doesn’t,” he agreed, suddenly serious, “Love for others, at least. Love for the dig, love for the hunt and the adventure—that’s a different narrative altogether. Which is why I deemed it appropriate to explain such measures. The lifestyle I settled for is no small undertaking. It comes with sacrifice.”
His condescension was unintentional but still stabbed and poked at you like keepers at a circus.
————————————
It comes with sacrifice. That it did.
That long-ago night haunted you to this day.
But Ezra had his mind focused on softer dreams as he broke you from your self-destruction once more.
“Nights like these make me keen to hear you sing for me again,” he lilted out through the dark, a reminiscent simper pulling at his mouth and crinkling his eyes as he shifted to look down at you, “The melody of your voice haunts the halls of my midnight reveries. But it is such a sweet possession—as though I willed a ghost to enchant me with her gift. A siren indeed. Lure me into the sea of your deception, try to pull me under like the rest of them. But not me. No…not me—I float like driftwood in the breeze…follow the tides of your affection. Somehow I remain unscathed, and you lap at me in gentle waves.”
“Such powerful words from a man who should be asleep,” you chuckled quietly, pressing your lips to the back of his hand where you held onto it now, fingers laced.
“I am but a vendor of poetry. And you, a weaver of melody. Sing for me, siren,” he murmured, his voice thick with the drowsy pull of lassitude. He hadn’t asked that of you in so long you had almost forgotten what it felt like to hear it. Almost. And you would have agreed to it, but—
“No, the girl, she—“
“I don’t mind,” Cee interrupted, quiet and soft. It surprised you; you thought she had fallen asleep—you didn’t want to wake her with your singing. And then you were—
Shit. You sincerely hoped she had just woken up due to Ezra’s long-winded soliloquy about your singing, and hadn’t heard anything else beyond that. Mm, no. You think she would’ve said something about how fucking gross it was. Or pulled a thrower on you.
“As well you shouldn’t,” Ezra chuckled, turning his head to grin at the girl where she had turned to face him on the opposite cot, “She sings like Kevva strung her throat with gold. Or the very strings of a harp.”
You blushed and ducked your head into your shoulder, embarrassed by his flattery. Looked to him and found his honey-dark eyes drinking you in from above, the ghost of a smile on his lips as he flattened his palm over your chest and rubbed it affectionately. “What would you like to hear?” you asked, running a hand over your hair and shifting on the floor to calm your nerves.
It was just Ez.
…and a girl who harbored a teen angst bigger than ten moons; fuck if you wanted her to judge you.
“Whatever tickles your fancy,” he replied, his grin wider now that you’d agreed, “You know I’m not particular to any one hymn—I find myself enraptured by it all.”
“Okay.” You pondered for a moment before settling on one of your favorites.
Then you sang.
Quietly, nervously at first in an unpracticed rasp, then growing more steady and mellow and soft.
Some swirling folk melody from your childhood in your native tongue, one you’d never forget even if someday you lost your memory. A lullaby for village children; a lilting work song for the women to hum when laundering clothes at the stream, soothing the babies strapped to their backs or their chests or both.
It told the story of a curious young girl who loved the stillness of the ocean, found peace in its silky depths. She liked the silence so much that she would spend hours beneath the water, training to hold her breath and exploring the creatures of the reef and listening to the wavering silence.
Until one humming summer night she swam so deep the water turned black. She was scared she wouldn’t be able find her way back home but she reveled in the quiet—the quiet that not even the nighttime forest could provide, nor the village when the hunters and scavengers left for work. It was then that she saw a light shining from the deep, and decided to chase it.
Down, down, down.
And down. Until the light became so bright it surrounded her, seeped into her until she did not know where she began and it ended. No pain, no fear surrounded her. Just a sense of calm, and peace.
And she became the moon, the biggest one in the sky. The silence up there was incomparable.
The song was meant as a warning to the village children not to wander too far from the town and somehow find themselves in the cove breaching the outer mountain range. A warning to stay away, else you’d become one of the many moons in the sky, never to return to your family and the life you loved.
But you’d always found it more compelling than that, more meaningful, because the story originated from a similar legend of the moon goddess your village worshipped, the deity of the biggest satellite in your skies. The minor difference came in the detail that she chose to become the Great Moon after divine conversation instead of chasing a light down into the deep on a whim. And there was a ceremony held to initiate her transition into a celestial body.
When you’d wrapped up the lullaby you found yourself more at peace than you’d felt in a long time. You didn’t like to think about your planet, nor your village, nor the tragedies that occurred there. But this memory was a happy one, filled with sleepy eyes and chubby fingers grabbing onto mothers’ cloaks, and getting tucked into warm soft blankets by a fireplace.
“Sweet siren,” Ezra whispered in a drowsy slur, giving your hand a gentle squeeze as he turned to rest on his back, “Never fail to soothe me even when ’m in utmost anguish.”
And with that, he left you in silence, and you knew he wasn’t far from sleep.
By the time his breath evened out, you felt your eyes drooping.
Fuck, you were exhausted.
This spin had been arguably more eventful than any you’d had in a long while, and it didn’t occur to you that you could be tired when you’d hardly done much until the action rolled in.
The floor was actually not half bad, given that you laid on the tarp that absorbed heat but quickly cooled when you moved. The nights here got cold, surprisingly. But Ezra’s hand hanging down and resting across your chest felt so good. The weight of him, the heat of him, it grounded you. You circled patterns into his upturned palm until you became too sleepy for that, settling on threading your fingers with his and feeling his pulse beneath your fingertips.
How dare he think you’d care for him less with only one arm? If anything, it showed his perseverance, his will to move forward and make hard decisions. Only something a man with determination could do.
He felt so warm and sure—steady. He was safe now that he had come back. You felt the inky black of sleep begin to wash over you as organized thought became jumbled feeling.
You didn’t have to worry anymore, not about his whereabouts. Everything was alright. It was as good as it had been in quite a while.
Everything would be alright, you could just…
Just…
“I wish my parents had loved each other like that,” Cee murmured in the quiet dark of the tent, rendering you wide awake with a jolt, as if someone had plunged a shot of adrenaline into your chest.
“They separate?” you managed, knowing it came out strange but not wanting to confirm or deny anything about you and Ezra. The silence that greeted you implied that she had had no intention of you hearing it. But she spoke regardless.
“No,” she scoffed, then went quiet for a moment, “My mom died when I was little. And I can’t remember what they were like together. We were always working so there wasn’t a lot of time for love between them.”  
Oh. An orphan. It softened you a little more for her, made you more sympathetic to the fact that Ezra had killed her last living parent. You were an orphan too. So was he.
“We’re all missing parts of our family in some way or another. People with worldly attachments don’t usually sign up for this level of intensity. Not the strays, anyhow.”
“But you have each other,” she insisted.
“By chance alone. We didn’t start off liking each other. And we’re not…married, or anything.”
The last bit came out strangled—you’d never…said something like that aloud.
You and Ezra, married? It was odd, to say the least. You never thought of yourself as one to desire marriage in any respect—ceremonial, legal, the like. It just didn’t sit well with you. Too many complications, a lot of governing body involvement that you didn’t care for.
And Ezra…he wasn’t too fond of it either. But not because he didn’t want it, that much he’d admitted to you one night after admitting the complications of his feelings on his love life, ones that somewhat contradicted the first time he told you about it all; he couldn’t have it, he’d never let himself believe even a fraction of him deserved it. The life of a floater—and sure, just as Cee’s parents had prospected and been married (you assumed) and had a kid, many others did the same. But then you supposed it ended with kids like Cee, and she was lucky to not lay dead next to her idiot father, or trapped and sold as a body in the Dark-Spawn Trades. Lucky Ezra wasn’t filthy and depraved, lucky you were once young and scared like her and so took it upon yourself to keep her in your sights for now.
“How’d you meet?”
A chuckle bubbled out of you as you sat up and ran your fingers through Ezra’s hair, watching his chest rise and fall in even strokes, thinking back on that night so long ago.
“Stealing supplies from the same drop company. Two feral dogs fighting over who deserved it more. We bickered and threatened so much we lost track of time and made a mess and a ruckus and got caught.” A smile threatened to break your features and you let it, for just a moment. It faded as you recalled your awful encounter, “Captured, tortured for information because they thought we worked for a rival mining company. They wanted the locations of dig-sites we didn’t have, mining techniques we didn’t know. When he brought up the Wastes earlier…that’s what he meant. Surprised we didn’t die, but they really thought we were valuable or something.”
You gave yourself a minute before continuing. In a panic, you rubbed circles over the tattoo on the web of Ezra’s hand between his thumb and forefinger, trying to ground yourself as wicked, blood-specked memories flooded your head.
Deep breath. You’re safe, he’s here. This will be good to get off your chest. You’ve never spelled it out to anyone before. Nobody’s ever asked. Maybe this girl is a gift from the universe, maybe she was sent here to give you space to heal. Deep breath. You’re safe. He’s here.
You eventually pressed the back of his limp hand to your cheek, and found your voice once more. You didn’t need to worry about waking him; once he conked out into REM sleep it took a freight train to wake him up. At least, when he was with you he always slept deeper. He’d told you one night; how it helped to have you there, like you dragged all the bad memories and nightmares away, pulling them so far out of reach he only found thoughtless, worry-free sleep.
“Hearing someone’s screams from the other side of a cell wall makes you more susceptible to care about them. A bonding experience, so to speak. He’d talk to me for hours on the nights they made us sit and anticipate another session. Recited poetry, recalled stories from his time as a prospector as an escape from our reality. I would sing for him, when we knew the guards had left. It was how we got to know each other. It’s—that’s why he calls me his siren. The reason I call him a chatterbox, among other obvious explanation.”
“How’d you get out?” Cee asked, resting her cheek on her hands as she laid on her side, watching you with keen interest.
“Killed them,” you rasped, not wanting to go into the gory details, “Every single one.”
For nights you had laid awake, haunted by memories of blood staining your only pair of clothes, blood splattering into your mouth, chunks of brain matter on Ezra’s gloves as he dragged you through a maze of tents and established buildings, viscera on your recovered suit, the way you’d had to swallow bile back down your esophagus at the sight of all the lives you’d taken. But you had to do it; it’s what you told yourself when the images would replay every time you closed your eyes.
Vengeance, necessity, paired with Ezra’s seemingly insatiable bloodlust—and your own. Your own shameful desire to incite violence, one you bred in the early years of your youth and had stuffed away until needed.
But you hadn’t been able to deny that, when Ezra shot a man who’d pinned you to the ground and then finished him off with a knife spurting blood out his neck, it stirred your blood something wild. Hearing him panting through the transmitter, grunts and curses as he tore through humans and humanoids and alien creatures alike right beside you. Hearing him call out targets, watching your six, taking single-word direction from you when you did the same.
They worked like a well-oiled machine, like you two had never not known the other. And he was sloppy in his technique, grounded more in brute force than strategy—but you made up for that in quick, evasive maneuvers and stealth. Both of you had near-perfect aim and could work around the clunky gear of your suits.
Messy—pools of blood, the sickening crunch of bone and cartilage crushed beneath your hands and your feet and your knife and whatever other weapon you scavenged along the way.
It felt like a ritual. A baptism of carnage that ensured neither one of you could live without the other.
So of course, when it all was over and the last vertebra snapped—
—there had been filthy, unhinged, surely unsanitary, bio-hazardous fucking in a tent surrounded by carnage.
Fucking in way you could only describe as feral.
Unrestrained.
Hot, Kevva’s saints was it brutally hot and so needy—but also so, so tender.
Full of soft emotion. Unspoken, even for Ezra’s standards. Almost loving.
Your aching bodies, exhausted and weak and battered, dragged lazily against one another once both of you had ceased the initial writhing pace of passion and the adrenaline ebbed. It tasted tinny like blood and musky like spit and salty with sweat and tears, and if nothing more, it was real. Whispering about how fuck, they’d made it and god, they were on the same level, we made it, baby—can’t live without you, I need you I need you I need you—
That day was quite possibly your favorite memory as well as one of your darkest. The day that you knew, in the charred, most twisted part of you, that you’d follow this man to the ends of every planet, to the far reaches of the universe—and he’d very well do the same.
Of course, you shared none of that with Cee.
“We took down the main base of the entire company. They were small but well-endowed. Got to transfer points into our accounts and sort through the mining equipment and the food,” you offered instead after a long bout of silence, “And the spoils of their labor. We were rich, could have retired early.”
“Why didn’t you?”
You debated whether to lie or tell her the truth, deciding on the latter. This girl wasn’t a threat, she genuinely wanted to know. “Ezra and I have—had a certain…interest in finding thrill wherever we can.”
Cee quirked an eyebrow, and you elaborated, “It’s not something to romanticize, we certainly weren’t smart about our spending. Gambling, drugs, slingshot scooter racing, smuggled creature ring-fights. The risk makes winning worth it. It was addicting. We earned a lot. Uncountable amounts of money. But we spent it all and then spent more. Pulled stunts that not even the most daring would try. Heists, intel-theft for enemies of certain people. We got caught up in it. Eventually drowned in a swamp of debt and unrequited favors. Got put on watchlists by the head crime syndicate and peace officers alike in the Core Worlds because we got cocky. Sloppy. So many people want our heads on a stake that we’d be better off dying out here. It’d be ironic, given the executions we deserve.”
You shuddered at the thought of Karolclan and their unusual procedures for punishment. They wanted you the most—you owed them the most. Them and Omni-Five. But Karolclan was decidedly worse.
“Why are you still mining? Wouldn’t it be easier to hide somewhere less dangerous?”
“We have debts to pay, bird,” you sighed, fond of the nickname Ezra gave her as it fit her well, “It’s the only honest work we can get without a biotracker recognizing our scans or someone realizing that the burner names and scouting codes we give them are bullshit. We work alone—no drop company, no mining corps. Until we can get our names cleared and our bio-scans off the watchlist, we can’t do shit else.”
If nothing more, Karolclan did allow debt payoff. But only if you could evade their capture, and only if you had the means to satisfy compounded interest. They were brutal, ruthless.
“He said you had a crew…and a ship…before you ended up stranded.”
“We did. A group of people like us. But you can imagine that a group of outlaws don’t always see eye to eye—buncha hotheaded criminals. Fought over aurelac, argued over fair shares, resources, everything.”
That wasn’t the whole story.
It started as a dispute over aurelac, but had quickly turned into a spat against Ezra, why he had so many successful harvests and surely he was stealing or cheating, how it wasn’t fair that you two were attached at the hip and didn’t section off when you split into groups to cover more land. In the heat of argument and the desperation of man, that had morphed into threats against you—Why don’t you fucking share her, Ezra? We all have needs and she’s barely good at the dig-sites. Put her to use somewhere else or we’ll find a use for her, and that devolved into Might take her right from under you if you don’t watch yourself, don’t be surprised if you hear her struggle tonight.
You had gotten used to the crude commentary, the snickers and wolf-whistles when you bent over, and if they had tried to somehow steal you away in the night, they’d have been reminded that you slept fully armed and showed no mercy to anyone who touched you unless they knew just where to start—and only one person did.
But that…that had not gone over well with him. It ended before you even knew what he did, and pretty soon you had a dead crewmate spilling blood over your boots while the familiar sound of throwers charging up rang in your ears, all of them pointed at the man panting beside you. The only one from the group to live and remain on the Green had been Two, and honestly you were never fond of them but weren’t surprised when they helped you and Ezra take the heat off your backs—they always teamed up with you two and they were good at what they did. It was a shame they were gone—despite their silence and threatening demeanor and sometimes uncalculated moves in a plan, they never made a move to harm either of you; they just wanted to harvest and get out like you did. Better them than Ezra, though. You’d have genuinely lost your mind if they had shown up in his stead.
“Did you kill the crew too?”
“Only a few,” you said honestly, “The others left us stranded when they realized we’d kill them next. Number Two was our only ally. Now they’re dead.”
You laid back down and put Ezra’s hand across your chest again, “Get some rest now. We’ve got a long day ahead of us. And if you choose to kill him while we sleep—kill both of us.”
You didn’t know why you’d felt compelled to say that, but revealing such a dark part of yourself to her convinced you that she’d plant a bolt in you or Ezra’s head and run. Ezra was the more likely target, given his history with the girl. It was irrational, for the most part; if she truly wanted him dead she would have let his wound kill him. Or she would have shot him sooner. But you couldn’t be too sure.
And you’d sooner die than wake up to him cold next to you.
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tarosin · 3 years
Text
Brownies
requested: yes/no
pairing: platonic tommy x reader
summary: y/n and tommy attempt to bake brownies
content warning: cursing
unbeknownst to y/n, tommy stood messing with the ingredients whilst they were preoccupied setting up the camera, making sure it was straight and in focus. “the recipe is straight forward it’s pretty difficult to mess up. let’s be honest if techno can make the brownies so can we.”
“go live already you’re taking ages- OH HELLO CHAT HOW ARE WE ALL? i’m only joking i only care about your money! also chat if you’re not subscribed already, make sure you sub as all money y/n makes today will be sent my way, isn’t that right?”
“absolutely not, anyway chat since several of you guys decided to give me all your money, i mean subscribe to me-”
“that is quite literally the same thing.”
“moving swiftly on in order to celebrate this milestone, we’re going to be baking brownies because how hard can it really be? all you do is mix a bunch of ingredients together, throw it in the oven, and wait.”
tommy stood pointing at the ingredients laid messily on the table, a confused expression etched on his face. “i’m pretty sure they know what we’re doing y/n. considering everything is on the table, and the stream is titled baking stream with tommy. chat i would personally like to add that if anything goes wrong it is all y/ns fault, purely because i never do anything wrong. y/n on the other hand.”
the pair stood bickering over who will be to blame if everything goes wrong, only stopping when their argument was interrupted by y/n remembering they didn’t preheat the oven.
“right let’s begin shall we! tommy can you pass me the scissors? the fucking bag won’t open and i don’t trust you with them.”
“no.”
“what do you mean no? i need to use the scissors.”
“back in phils day scissors didn’t exist, they used their strength! i’m sorry you’re weaker than a plastic bag, hand it here let a man like me show you how it’s done.”
chat started spamming how phil was currently watching the stream and heard everything tommy just said. the pair looked at each other, trying their hardest to contain their laughter. a minute passed tommy was still arguing with the plastic bag. unimpressed by the fact he too was unable to open it he gave up, and stabbed the bag with the scissors, allowing the dry mixture to fall into the bowl.
“well that was rather violent, i’m sorry you let a plastic bag annoy you.”
for a while everything was going smoothly, y/n and tommy managed to work together peacefully. that was until tommy decided his new profession was egg juggling.
“put the eggs down!”
following y/ns advice he dropped the eggs onto the counter.
“are you serious-“
“awe no chickens spawned.”
“tommy go touch grass.”
“ill fix the problem don’t stress that little mind of yours, after all they don’t call me mr professional baker for the fun of it!” tommy grabbed more eggs and started to add them to the mixture, whilst y/n stood there pointing out how much shell keeps falling into the mixture, causing tommy to defend it by arguing he’s adding more texture to the brownies, so they’re not boring. they both noticed the sprinkles on the counter, then all of a sudden as though they had read each other’s minds, they ran to the sprinkles.
“HA! let’s make a deal you can have them, if you can reach them!” he laughed holding the sprinkles above his close friends head.
“fuck you!”
forgetting the brownies were supposed to be edible, tommy had poured the entire container of sprinkles into the mix, then hid the container so y/n wouldn’t notice.
“they’re ready to go into the oven!” he smiled innocently at y/n, as they placed the tray into the oven. whilst the brownies were in the oven y/n, suggested playing try not to laugh so that chat could be included.
time flew by, neither of them willing to lose the game, as loser had to take the brownies out of the oven. however, at this point the brownies had been long forgotten, and should have come out of the oven 40 minutes ago.
“uh tommy did you set the timer?”
“i thought i had let me go check...oh i forgot to press start.”
y/n put on oven gloves and took the very questionable brownies out the oven. once they had cooled, they held it up to show chat, then cut two slices of the brownie.
“tastes like burnt sprinkles jesus christ. did you put the entire container in here?”
“like i said earlier chat, this was 100% not my fault as i never make mistakes. bye chattttt!”
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