#there WILL take them and hang them back in their original places what did u expect to happen?? anyway someone hung the clothes they had | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

aquaquadrant · 5 months

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from eden, part IX (act I)

Word count: 11,504 Warnings: Blood/injury, violence, death, animal death, temporary dismemberment, dissociation, self-deprecating thoughts (not really, Jimmy’s just a listener and doesn’t know it), strong language, fictional racism/xenophobia, panic attacks Summary: The Double Lifers have successfully thwarted the invasion by Hels Tek, but not unscathed. Now that Tango’s been outed as Bravo’s doppelgänger, the remaining threads are starting to unravel, and Jimmy suddenly finds himself fighting to save Tango from his own inner demons. Can their love survive the fallout?

A/N: This took a ridiculously long time to write and got way longer than I’d originally intended so uhhh happy belated holidays? There’s a lot in this one that I’m excited to show y’all so I really hope u enjoy it, pls reblog/comment if u do, it means a lot.

Also this chapter has been split into two parts bc Tumblr is a hoe with a paragraph limit, link to the second half at the end. And as always, this is part of a series, so the previous chapters can be found on my au directory here. - Aqua

~*~

from eden, part IX (act I) - no tired sighs, no rolling eyes, no irony

~*~

Somewhere in Double Life, a player kneels in a bloody wheat field.

Jimmy’s senses are flooded with iron. He’s regenerated enough health that his nose isn’t actively bleeding anymore, but he’s sure it’s still all over his face. As he finally pulls away from Tango, he realizes he’s smeared plenty of it on Tango’s shoulder. The blood on Tango’s chin and claws hasn’t fully dried yet, either. And through his slightly parted mouth, Jimmy can see it’s stained his teeth.

(Did you see what he did back there?)

(He was like an animal.)

(How long do you think he’s been keeping that in?)

Jimmy pushes the thoughts away. Focus on the here and now.

To be fair, though, the ‘here and now’ is a horrible place. The ranch is burning behind them. His eyes are burning from the tears and the smoke in the air. His throat feels tight and scratchy. He’s physically and emotionally exhausted, the weight of it dragging him down, sinking into the trampled soil beneath him. The singed edges of his wings are still stinging, but it’s an easily forgotten pain among everything else.

Jimmy hates crying. Especially in public. Really, nothing makes him feel more useless and pathetic than crying. But he has to admit, he’s at least a little calmer and more clear-headed. Now that he’s cried himself out, his awareness is gradually returning to the conversation going on around him.

“What in’a world was that about?!” Bdubs cries out, sounding absolutely flabbergasted.

“Yeah, who were those guys, anyway?” Etho asks, knitting his brows together. “How’d they get here?”

Joel makes a distressed noise. “They shouldn’t be able to open a portal here, this is a private world!”

“I know, I know, okay,” Grian gripes, “I’m workin’ on it. Hang on-”

“And what was all that nonsense about doggelpangers?” Scar pauses. “Uh, dop- doppabang-”

“Doppelgängers?” Cleo calls over wryly.

Scar hangs his head. “Dang it. Yes, that.”

“I dunno, but what if they come back?” Joel asks nervously. “What should we do?”

Isn’t that the question?

Jimmy takes quick stock of his surroundings. Grian is standing a little way’s off from Jimmy’s huddle, head bent down as he furiously scrolls through his communicator, the screen reflecting in his tinted glasses. Scar is hovering next to Grian, peering keenly over his shoulder, his bow held limply at his side. Both of them look a little roughed up from the battle, but alright for the time being.

Etho, still crouched at the spot where Bravo died, is searching through the dropped items. Joel is pacing in front of the broken portal frame and casting anxious glances at it, one hand gripping his sword while the other rakes through his hair, antennae twitching with agitation. There are a few scrapes and gashes between them- mostly superficial and likely to heal on their own.

Pearl’s wolf pack has been considerably thinned out- something Jimmy notes with a pang of guilt- but there’s still plenty of them milling about the place. With blood-matted fur and tucked tails, it’s clear they took a beating. Pearl herself must’ve gone, from the way they sniff and look around aimlessly, giving plaintive yips and whines. Scott is conspicuously absent as well, another hint as to the bonded pair’s fate. Jimmy’s sure they’ll be along soon.

Bigb and Ren are also nowhere to be seen- likely more casualties of the battle. Ren makes for a rather large target when in wolf mode; he probably drew a lot of enemy fire. And of course, Bigb would’ve gone with him. Box is quite a way from the ranch, Jimmy recalls, so it’ll take them a few minutes to get back.

Martyn is busy mining up the rest of the portal frame, seeming none the worse for wear. Cleo sits a couple yards away, one leg stretched out in front of her. The other one has been chopped clean off at the knee, and is clenched in their hand- but wait, it does that sometimes, Jimmy reminds himself before he can panic. The detached limb isn’t even bleeding, and she’s already pulling some string from her inventory to stitch it back on, seeming more inconvenienced than anything else.

Bdubs, across the field, looks no more beat-up than he always does. He’s fussing over his horse, snatching up stray bits of wheat to heal as it struggles to get its legs under it. Impulse’s horse, devoid of rider, has wandered off towards the barn- perhaps hearing the other horses inside. Impulse himself is crouched beside Jimmy and Tango, his golden eyes intently studying the collar that’s been locked around Tango’s neck.

Tango is still completely silent. He doesn’t move or give any indication that he’s at all mentally present, just kneeling idly in the dirt, expression blank, eyes distant. Nothing but static through their soul bond. He doesn’t seem to be seriously injured- most of the blood stains aren’t his. That realization isn’t as relieving as Jimmy wants it to be.

Grian clears his throat. “Right. First thing’s first, are we all still here?” he asks, scanning his communicator. “No one went through the portal?”

“Nah, all good,” Martyn calls over his shoulder as the final obsidian block pops onto the ground.

Etho has his communicator pulled up too. “Yeah, uh, just looks like Scott and Pearl got killed,” he reports. “Ren and Bigb, too. I’ll shoot ‘em a message, see if they’re alright.”

“Right, okay.” Grian chews his lip, wings ruffling. “And all the other fellas are gone?”

Etho nods. “Yep.”

“Okay-”

“G,” Scar cuts in, tugging on Grian’s sleeve, “you gotta respawn before that injury sets in.”

Grian shrugs him off. Only now does Jimmy realize he’s holding one of his wings closer to his body than the others, the one that took an arrow during the fight. “Gimme a second-”

”Um, guys?” Martyn says suddenly, pointing at the ranch. “Fire tick is on, yeah?”

Grian looks up at that, sucking in a breath through his teeth. “Hoo boy. Yeah, we need’ta get a ditch around the ranch, okay, or else the whole forest’ll go.” He casts a sidelong look at Jimmy, expression apologetic. “Tim, do you mind…?”

Jimmy shakes his head. “No,” he says hoarsely, “no, no, by all means. Whatever you need to… oh gosh, it’s all gonna go. It’s gone, isn’t it? It’s-” His voice breaks, and he quickly looks away, fresh tears welling in his eyes.

It wasn’t much, the ranch.

Only two floors- three counting the basement- and a bit tight on space. It wasn’t the most impressive build, not by a long shot. Certainly not when compared to the other builds on this world. It was something that would’ve taken two actually competent builders nothing more than a dedicated afternoon to put together. Plainly decorated, and comprised mostly of wood and stone variants. Nothing that’s particularly hard to obtain. And in all honesty, it was just a starter base; they were going to outgrow it sooner or later, anyways.

But it was theirs.

It was the scorch marks in the wood from Tango’s blaze rods, in the moments where his emotions got away from him. It was the rocking chair where Jimmy liked to do his embroidery, when he needed to unwind after a busy day. It was the auto-sorting storage room that Tango spent weeks fine-tuning. It was the small but cozy living room that Jimmy decorated with potted flowers. It was the kitchen that always smelled faintly of charcoal, and the wool rug in the foyer that came from their own sheep, and the bedroom that they shared with an east-facing window to let them watch the sunrise together, on the rare days when Tango was awake early enough to see it.

The ranch is burning, and there’s nothing Jimmy can do about it.

(Great. Gonna start crying again, are you?)

(What exactly is that going to accomplish?)

(Man up! Don’t be so pathetic.)

A gentle hand on Jimmy’s shoulder makes him look up. Martyn is there, sympathy glimmering in his eye. “We’ll save what we can,” he promises.

Jimmy manages a grateful smile, blinking away his tears. “Thanks.”

Martyn nods before straightening back up. “Etho, Joel, you got water buckets on ya?”

“Oh, yeah.” Etho puts his communicator away as he and Joel start toward the ranch, buckets in hand. “Yeah, here, let’s make an infinite source..”

“Right. I’ll get the ditch started, then,” Cleo chimes in, rising to their feet now that both legs are once again intact.

Grian makes an appreciative noise, still tapping away at his communicator. “Okay, so that’s done-”

“Grian,” Scar says again, more insistently. “You gotta-”

“Hang on!” Grian huffs. He looks up to meet Jimmy’s gaze. “Okay, so uh, I can’t ban them… but what I’m gonna do is lock the world down,” he explains, taking a few steps over. “No one goes in or out… not even through a backdoor portal. This is just a temporary solution, but it should do the trick for now.”

Relief washes over Jimmy. “Thank you,” he murmurs.

(Good thing Grian is here to clean up your mess, huh?)

“Hey, guys?” Impulse speaks up, making Jimmy startle. “Um, Tango… he’s not lookin’ so good.”

That’s putting it kindly. Jimmy’s heart tightens. “Right. We should prob’ly get him inside, um…” He trails off as he instinctively looks at the ranch, which is on fire.

Right.

Impulse gives him a comforting look. “C’mon, you guys can crash at our place.” He rises to his feet, calling out, “Bdubs, would you bring the horses over?”

“Yeah, gimme a sec,” Bdubs shouts back. He’s finally gotten his horse standing again, glancing around for Impulse’s. “C’mere, stupid- hey! No, don’t wander off…”

“You finished, Grian?” Scar asks impatiently, notching an arrow.

“Okay, okay, hang on…” Grian presses a couple more buttons before putting his communicator away. “There, it’s done. Now, I’m gonna do some diggin’ and see what I can find out about this. But, um…” His gaze sweeps over Tango, expression pinched. “As soon as Tango is up for it… we all need to have a serious chat, okay?”

The wording immediately puts Jimmy off. He can feel his feathers bristling, his wings flaring out almost unconsciously to block Tango from view. “Wh- hey, this wasn’t his fault!” he protests.

Grian holds his hands up. “Ey, I know, I know,” he says lightly. His lower wings sweep out and flatten into a sort of fan as he crouches; an appeasing gesture. “None of us think that, okay? But clearly those guys came here for him, so we need’ta figure out why and how if we’re gonna figure out how to stop it from happenin’ again. Alright?”

Jimmy takes a breath, letting his feathers smooth over again. “Right. You’re right, sorry,” he mumbles.

(Wow, so defensive.)

(Like you could protect him, anyways.)

(Have you no faith in your own friends?)

Grian glances at Impulse. “You got them, Impulse?”

“Yeah, don’t worry,” Impulse assures him.

Scar draws back his bow. “Any day now, Grian…”

“Okay.” Grian turns around with an exasperated sigh. “Alright, Scar-”

He disappears in a puff of respawn smoke. Scar immediately follows him, his bow clattering to the ground amidst the shower of other items.

Impulse exhales in what might’ve been a laugh, if he didn’t sound so tired. He turns to Jimmy. “Can you stand?” he asks, holding out his hand.

(Look, they all think you’re weak, too!)

Jimmy feels himself flush. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he says, his tone short. Ignoring Impulse’s hand, he struggles to his feet unaided, wings flapping about to help keep his balance.

And then he feels incredibly silly about it. These are his friends, for goodness sakes.

“Thanks,” Jimmy adds, to soften it. “But Tango, I dunno if he… I mean, normally I’d carry him, but right now, I think- I think I’d drop him,” he confesses. Already, the effort of just standing on his own is starting to fatigue him.

Impulse just nods, a knowing look in his eye. “Yeah, no problem.” Slowly, he crouches down next to Tango again. “Hey, Tango, buddy?” he calls softly. “Can you hear me? It’s Impulse. I’m gonna pick you up now, if that’s okay?”

Tango doesn’t respond. Carefully, Impulse gathers Tango into his arms in a cradle hold- which Tango doesn’t react to besides curling in on himself a little more. His breathing quickens for a few seconds before he settles down again.

“Sorry,” Impulse whispers.

Jimmy swallows. He’s never known Tango to be so quiet, so still. It’s incredibly disturbing to see. And gosh, he knows Tango’s pale, but right now he looks about as white as quartz.

The events of this afternoon were a lot for anyone to handle. Jimmy’s still only working with bits and pieces, of course. He knows that Tango originally came from a terrible world called Hels, escaped from that creepy scientist guy Dr. Atlas, and has been hiding out on Hermitcraft ever since. So it’s not surprising that Tango got a nasty shock when his past suddenly came knocking at his door- literally, in Bravo’s case.

But Jimmy also knows that Tango is quite tough. He’s not the type to shut down in the face of hardship- in fact, he’ll often go the opposite direction, with manic bursts of frantic energy. So for a reaction this extreme… either that collar they put on him is having a more drastic effect than Jimmy realized, or there’s something more to the story he isn’t aware of.

Before the collar dampened their soul bond, the fear Jimmy felt from Tango had been damn near overwhelming. What could those Hels players have done to him to elicit such a strong reaction? Jimmy dreads to think of it.

The sound of hoofbeats pulls Jimmy out of his musings.

“Here I am!” Bdubs announces loudly, leading a horse by each hand. “Got the hawsies all ready t’go- oh, hey, waugh- what happened to him?” he gasps, his horrified gaze falling on Tango, wide eyes going even wider. “Wha’ th- is he okay?!”

Impulse gives him a tired smile. “Bdubs, I know we’re outside right now, but indoor voice, please? I’ll explain later.”

“Oh, okay!” Bdubs immediately drops into a stage whisper, ducking his head sheepishly. “Right, right, right, right, right, sorry.” He eyes Tango nervously for another moment. “Jeeze, they really… okay, okay, okay, right. Let’s go.”

With an appreciative look, Impulse moves beside one of the horses. Shifting his hold on Tango, he hikes one foot up into the stirrup and swings onto the horse’s back, forked tail lashing through the air.

Bdubs follows suit, climbing onto his own horse before glancing down at Jimmy. “Uh- you wanna ride wi’ me, Jimmy?” he asks, still whispering.

“That’d be great, thanks,” Jimmy says gratefully. Just the thought of walking or flying to their base makes him feel like all his bones have turned to slime.

His own attempt to get on the horse doesn’t go anywhere near as smoothly. With someone else already in the saddle, it’s a clumsy maneuver, his flailing wings more of a hindrance than anything. In the end, Bdubs grabs the back of Jimmy’s shirt and helps haul him up. That only makes Jimmy feel worse. Bdubs is so much smaller than him, how did he manage that?

“Okay…” Bdubs glances over his shoulder as Jimmy gets settled. “You alright back there?”

“Yep, yep, I’m good,” Jimmy says quickly. He clears his throat. “Can we- can we get goin’?” He’s anxious to leave this depressing scene behind and get Tango someplace calmer.

Bdubs nods. “Okay. Uh- hang on tight, and you’d better keep those wings folded or else you- you’ll be blown right off’a this thing!” He turns to Impulse. “We go now!”

“Alright, let’s go.” Impulse urges his horse forward, and Bdubs swiftly follows.

The horses gallop away from the ranch.

Jimmy does as he’s told, leaning forward to put his arms around Bdubs’s shoulders and tucking his wings tightly against his back. The jostling of the horse’s stride isn’t kind to his aching muscles and bones, but he’s not about to complain. Right now he feels completely out of sorts- like a stranger in his own skin.

As exhausted as his body is, his mind is absolutely racing. He can’t stop thinking about what Bravo said, that Tango was to blame for his being in Hels. And Tango hadn’t really denied it.

From what Jimmy can recall from today’s chaotic events, Tango used to be in Hels, and then a portal appeared. He went through it to Hermitcraft, and somehow, that got Bravo sent to Hels. That seems to be the conclusion they’ve come to. And Tango didn’t know about it at first, but he’s known about it for a couple years at this point, and said nothing.

(How selfish of him.)

But it wasn’t Tango’s fault! He didn’t intentionally send Bravo there, and he only kept his knowledge secret because he was afraid he’d get sent back himself if he revealed the truth. That’s… really upsetting. If Tango didn’t trust the Hermits enough to tell them, after spending nearly a decade getting to know them, it’s no wonder he didn’t tell Jimmy.

Has Tango spent this whole time feeling like a fugitive in his own home?

And what is Hels, really? What kind of world doesn’t allow portal travel in and out? The way they’d spoken about it, it almost seemed like a prison. But created by who? And why?

What exactly is a Hels player? What does a ‘doppelgänger’ entail, exactly? Because if Tango is supposed to be an evil version of Bravo, Jimmy is clearly missing something, ‘cause he doesn’t buy that for a second.

Do all players have a Hels counterpart? Does Jimmy? Oh, now there’s a disturbing thought. Is there another Jimmy running around in a prison world somewhere, locked away from the rest of the universe?

Now that he’s aware of the possibility, he isn’t sure this is something he can just forget about.

But he knows his questions will have to wait. Tango is hardly in the condition to be discussing any of this- getting him recovered from his shock is Jimmy’s first priority. He’s about to ask how far away they are when two figures appear in the distance.

It’s Scott and Pearl, on the way back from their respawns. Pearl is preoccupied, intensely scanning her communicator as she walks. But Scott spots them immediately, nudging Pearl with his elbow and lifting a hand to wave them over.

Impulse glances over his shoulder at Bdubs and Jimmy. “Guess we’d better go see what they want,” he says as he steers his horse towards the pair, Bdubs following suit.

Pearl looks up at their approach. Her respawn must’ve taken care of any injuries she sustained from the battle, because she seems like her usual red-eyed self. But there’s an unmistakable air of anxiety about her- one that Scott seems to share, based on his terse expression.

“Impulse!” Pearl shouts, as soon as she’s within proximity hearing range. “You seen Tilly ‘round?”

Impulse eases his horse to a stop. “Oh, uh- she’s the one with the dyed collar, right?” he asks, knitting his brows together. “Yeah, yeah I’m pretty sure she was back at the wheat field.”

Pearl exhales heavily. “Oh, thank goodness. I- I lost so many dogs, I wasn’t sure…” She puts her communicator away, looking them up and down. “So uh, is everyone alright? Are… you guys alright?” she asks uncertainly, quirking a brow.

“We’re fine,” Impulse assures her easily. He jerks his head back in the direction they came from. “The others are dealing with the ranch right now, it’s uh… it’s a pretty big fire, I’m sure they’d appreciate some help.”

Pearl follows his gaze, eyes widening at the plume of smoke still visible above the trees. “Oh gosh, yeah, we’d better get goin’, then.”

“You alright, Timmy?” Scott speaks up suddenly.

“Huh?” Jimmy startles at being addressed. “Oh, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Mmm.” Scott doesn’t look convinced, his sharp eyes studying Jimmy’s face before flicking over to Tango. “Is Tango alright? Where’d tha’ thing on his neck come from?”

Jimmy’s heart jolts. “Um…” He isn’t sure how much he should be sharing with the others, while Tango’s incapacitated like this.

Luckily for him, Impulse cuts in. “Don’t worry,” he says gently, “we’ve got it covered. You guys go check in with the others, okay?”

It’s not a very subtle hint, but Scott allows it. “Alriiiight,” he drawls, holding his hands up. “Just remember you’ve got help if y’want it.”

“I appreciate it,” Impulse hums, but Jimmy catches the flash of relief in his eyes as he turns his horse away.

“Yeah, ‘preciate ya!” Bdubs echoes as they ride off.

They ride in silence for a few moments, until they’re out of proximity range, before Impulse clears his throat. “I just think Tango would appreciate some privacy right now,” he explains quietly. “You know everyone else- they’d all want to help and see if he’s okay, but a big group would probably freak him out.”

“Ah.” Jimmy nods. “Good thinkin’.”

(Gee, Impulse is really taking charge, huh?)

(You’re basically useless.)

(He would’ve been a way better soulmate for Tango than you.)

The thoughts make Jimmy flinch. He hasn’t often felt insecure in his relationship with Tango, despite having known him for a much shorter time than the Hermits. But right now, his general lack of knowledge and experience in how best to help Tango has become glaringly obvious.

Thankfully, before he can spend any more time feeling sorry for himself, Impulse and Bdubs’s house finally comes into view.

They’ve added another floor since Jimmy was last here. Floor-to-ceiling windows made of light gray panes curl around one side of the building, continuing with the sleek mid-century modern design. The front yard has received some landscaping as well; a wide, circular path that frames a small cluster of custom trees and shrubbery before leading to the dark oak door, framed by neat flower beds on either side.

As they come up on the house, Impulse and Bdubs turn their horses along a branch of path that veers off from the main circle, taking them towards a small structure built against the house’s side. Made only out of diorite wall posts and a flat, deepslate tiled roof, it creates sort of an overhang, divided into two compartments with warped stem fence posts. Its purpose quickly becomes obvious as Bdubs hops off his horse and pulls a lead from his inventory, leashing his horse to one of the posts.

Jimmy swings his leg around to slide off the horse, dropping onto the ground with an ungraceful grunt. In the stall beside them, Impulse has carefully dismounted from his own steed, still cradling Tango in his arms.

The longer Jimmy looks, the more his chest aches with longing. So he looks away.

“Alright, let’s get inside.” Impulse’s voice is soft. He turns back towards the front of the house. “This way.”

Bdubs finishes hitching the other horse to its post. “Right behind ya!” he chirps. He pats Jimmy on the arm as he passes- an encouraging, or perhaps comforting, gesture.

Either way, Jimmy appreciates it. He knows Bdubs tends to diffuse tense situations with humor, or by maintaining an energetic demeanor. It might be mistaken as inconsiderate, in some situations, but he seems to know where the line is. Genuinely, Jimmy thinks he’d feel worse if Bdubs was suddenly walking on eggshells around him.

Pity is a suitor that won’t take a hint, no matter how many times Jimmy turns it away.

He follows Impulse and Bdubs around the front of the house. Bdubs has already scrambled ahead to open the door for Impulse, whose arms are, of course, full of Tango. He ushers Jimmy in after them with a wide sweep of his arm.

They’ve moved their bedroom upstairs at some point, it seems. The main floor is now a dedicated living space with a modest kitchen in the back, overlooked by a loft from the second floor. An L-shaped lounge made of quartz stairs is built into the conversation pit occupying the center of the room, surrounding a small fireplace. The glass panes encasing it go all the way up to the ceiling, but the sight of fire makes Jimmy flinch anyways- which he immediately kicks himself for.

(Jeeze, man, get a grip! What if Tango saw that?)

If Impulse and Bdubs noticed, they don’t comment on it. Impulse silently leads the way up a spiral quartz slab staircase, which opens up into the loft. Bdubs’s interior work is clearly showing here, with cozy seating nestled beside a custom bookshelf-console unit. Straight ahead past the loft is a short hallway with a couple doors on either side.

Impulse stops at the first one on the right. “We got a spare room here,” he says, nodding his head at the door.

“Not finished yet!” Bdubs adds hastily, though still making an effort to keep his voice low. “Or uh, heugh- furnished. I’m gonna- I was gonna do the interior, I swear.”

Somehow, the fact that Bdubs is concerned Jimmy will judge his lackluster interior decoration- despite everything else going on right now- makes Jimmy crack a smile. “Well, beggars can’t be choosers, ey?” he jokes.

“Oh, very freaking funny!” Bdubs huffs, but he’s grinning, too. He opens the door for them, and Jimmy lets Impulse carry Tango inside before following.

The room is, as expected, fairly bare bones. Quartz walls and a dark oak floor carry over the mid-century modern theme from the exterior, but there’s no furniture other than a double-wide cyan bed against the wall. A couple of haphazardly-placed torches on the walls provide the room’s only lighting.

“No windows yet, either,” Bdubs mutters, clicking his tongue as his critical gaze sweeps over the room. “I need ta- I- I still gotta figure out how to place ‘em, with the exterior wall and stuff.”

“It’s alright,” Jimmy assures him. Windows would make him feel a bit too exposed right now, if he’s being honest.

Impulse carefully sets Tango down on the bed. “Okay, Tango, here we are.” He straightens up, running a hand through his hair as he exhales heavily.

Bdubs crosses quickly-but-quietly over to Impulse, wrapping him in a hug. “You okay, sweetie?” he asks softly.

Impulse smiles down at him. “Yeah, yeah, I’m good. Don’t worry.”

“Okay.” Bdubs goes up on his toes to kiss Impulse’s cheek- and even so, he barely makes it. “I’m gonna go check on our boys, then, and see if the others need help with th- with the uh, the ranch. D’you- is there anything you want me to tell ‘em?”

“Yeah,” Impulse says thoughtfully, “maybe just let them know that we’d like to give Tango and Jimmy some privacy right now? We’ll let them know if we need anything, and we’ll chat more once everything’s calmed down.”

“Right, okay.” Bdubs glances at Jimmy. “That- is that good? For you?”

Jimmy is taken aback by the amount of consideration he’s being given. “Oh yeah, that’d be great, thanks.”

“Alright.” Bdubs casts one final look at Tango, trying but failing to hide his worry from those big eyes of his. “Alright, I- I’ll be back in a little.”

He slips out the door, leaving them alone.

Before an awkward silence can descend, Impulse clears his throat. “So uh, looks like someone got you pretty good,” he says, gesturing to his face.

“Huh?” Confused, Jimmy brings a hand to his face- only to jerk away as his fingers brush against his nose. Now that he’s actually paying attention, there’s a dull ache of pain radiating down the bridge of his nose, and underneath the still-sticky blood, he can feel a prominent bump where there wasn’t one before.

“Oh, right,” he murmurs. “Forgot about that.”

“Yeah, looks broken,” Impulse says sympathetically. “Need a respawn?”

Jimmy pauses. It’s difficult to tell when an injury will result in lasting damage- no one’s really cracked that particular scientific riddle yet. But generally, it’s understood that the sooner the respawn, the better the outcome. That’s why things like creeper explosions hardly ever leave a mark, since the death is usually instant.

More so, superficial wounds tend to be less likely to scar than deeper, more structural wounds. A simple gash will almost always go away after respawning- if it hasn’t already healed on its own- but things like broken bones can linger in the form of scars, joint deformities, and chronic pain. If he’s being smart, he really should get a quick respawn in, just to be sure.

But they’re on the Double Life world, and right now, his life isn’t just his own.

Jimmy looks Tango over. None of his wounds are serious enough to warrant a respawn, he only got a little scuffed up in the initial attack. In his current state, it’d probably do more harm than good.

“No,” Jimmy decides, “I… I can’t do that to him, not right now. He’s disoriented as it is.” He shrugs a shoulder. “Besides, I think it’s just the cartilage. Either it’ll heal on my next respawn, or it won’t, and it’ll just match the rest of my face.”

Impulse doesn’t laugh at the self-deprecating joke, simply offering a sad smile. “Alright. I’ll see if Martyn can bring some healing potions by once they finish up at the ranch, I’m pretty sure he’s got a brewing set-up.”

Jimmy’s throat tightens. “Right, thanks…” He smoothes a hand over the bed’s cover, setting his spawn anyways, before he eases himself onto the mattress. “Tango…?” he ventures. “Are you alright? Can you hear me?”

Tango has yet to move at all from where Impulse deposited him, back against the wall with his knees tucked to his chest, arms limp at his sides. He doesn’t acknowledge Jimmy at all- which isn’t anything malicious on his part, of course, but god does it hurt.

Taking a deep breath, Jimmy tries again. “Hey, Tango? It’s me, it’s Jimmy.” He puts a gentle hand on Tango’s shoulder, watching him all the while for any sign that he’ll startle or panic. “It’s over, you’re safe now. Are- are you hurt anywhere? Do you need anythin’?”

Still nothing. Somewhere behind Jimmy, Impulse makes a noncommittal noise. “Jimmy, buddy, I don’t think that’s gonna work right now…”

Jimmy ignores him. “Please, Tango,” he pleads, feeling his eyes sting, “can you just…” Idly, he lifts his other hand to wipe some of the blood off Tango’s chin. “Can you look at me?”

Unexpectedly, that gets Tango’s attention. He lifts his face almost robotically to look at Jimmy, eyes and expression still devastatingly blank.

The sudden movement startles Jimmy, his hand jerking back. And as it does, Tango lets his head drop back down.

An image flashes in Jimmy’s mind; Atlas, the doctor with the blood red gloves, grabbing Tango by the chin and tilting his head up.

(Oh, that’s messed up.)

(You’ve really done it, now.)

(Brilliant, just brilliant.)

Jimmy’s stomach turns. He scrambles back, away from Tango, his heart starting to pound. “Sorry,” he whispers, even though Tango gives no indication that he’s hearing it. “I’m sorry, I didn’t…”

A hand lands on his shoulder, making him jump. Impulse gives him an understanding look. “I… think he just needs some time to come out of it,” he says quietly. “Y’know, alone. When he shuts down like this, there’s really nothing to do but wait.”

Jimmy finds his voice again. “Wait, you’ve seen it before?” he asks, creasing his brows together.

Impulse winces. “A couple times, yeah.”

“Oh.” Jimmy swallows, glancing back at Tango. “I dunno, I- I don’t wanna just leave him like this…”

“We can stay right outside,” Impulse says reassuringly, folding his arms. “It’s just… when he gets like this, I’m not sure he’s fully processing what’s going on. It’s like a defense mechanism. So he’s not gonna come out of it until he feels safe, and um… well…”

It’s not hard to catch his meaning. Jimmy bristles. “What, are you- are you sayin’ he doesn’t feel safe with me?” he snaps, which is so unfair because Impulse has been so helpful and so kind and he’s actually sort of right, but Jimmy can’t help it.

Impulse holds his gaze. “Not if he doesn’t recognize you.”

That sobers Jimmy a little, his wings sagging. “Oh. Oh, yeah, good point. You’re right.” Ducking his head, he swings his legs off the side of the bed and rises to his feet. “I guess he’ll be okay in here,” he relents. “But um, can we- would you mind if we put out the lights? It’s just…”

“Tango feels safer in the dark,” Impulse finishes, realization dawning in his eyes. “Good call.”

“Yeah.” Jimmy fidgets with his hands as Impulse collects the torches.

(Wow, he really knows Tango, huh?)

(Thank god someone knows what to do.)

(What exactly are you even here for?)

With the room now sufficiently darkened, Impulse holds the door open for Jimmy. Jimmy gives Tango a final look-over, his blank face now lit by the dim glow of his dampened blaze rods.

“We’ll be right outside if you need us, Tango,” Jimmy says in parting.

Tango remains silent as Impulse closes the door behind them.

As soon as they’re back in the hallway, all of Jimmy’s fatigue seems to hit him at once. He sways where he stands, shoulder bumping against the wall- the dull pain is easily ignored in favor of the black spots dancing across his vision. He squeezes his eyes shut, biting back a groan.

Fortunately, Impulse is there to steady him. “Woah, easy there.” He quickly guides Jimmy over to the loft to sit down. “Just breathe, okay?”

Jimmy takes a few slow, deep breaths- in through the nose, out through the mouth. When he opens his eyes again, the room is no longer spinning around him, so that’s a plus.

“Here,” Impulse presses something into Jimmy’s hand, “you must’ve worked up some hunger.”

It’s a golden carrot. “Thanks,” Jimmy murmurs, immediately starting to nibble on it. He probably does have food on him, somewhere in his inventory- cooked steak, most likely- but the extra saturation helps.

Seemingly satisfied that Jimmy isn’t going to pass out, Impulse sits down in the chair next to him. “How you feelin’?”

“Better, thanks,” Jimmy murmurs, shifting to fold his wings a bit more comfortably. He feels awkward and just… so out of place here. And Impulse is a nice guy, sure, but it’s a little embarrassing to have to be taken care of like a child. If it weren’t for Tango’s sake, he probably wouldn’t have accepted Impulse’s offer of help in the first place.

“Good.” Impulse looks him up and down, brows pinching together. “Jeeze, they really did a number on you. I’m sorry we weren’t there sooner, chat was chaos and we thought they’d be at spawn ‘til we saw your SOS.”

That comforts Jimmy a little. At least he managed to do something right. “It’s alright, not your fault,” he assures Impulse. “I mean, if you guys hadn’t come when you did…”

“Yeah.” Impulse nods solemnly. “That, uh… would’ve been pretty bad.”

Jimmy studies Impulse for a moment. Now that they have a second, there’s a question that’s been nagging at him. “So…” he starts, “how much did you hear, of what Bravo said?”

“Eh, bits and pieces.” Impulse shrugs. “Something about Tango being an evil doppelgänger from Hels.”

He says it so casually, like he’s talking about the weather. Jimmy’s stomach cinches. “Impulse…” he says carefully. “Did you… did you know?”

“What?” Impulse looks at him in surprise. “Oh, that Tango was from Hels? No. No, I never knew anything about before he came to Hermitcraft. But you know, I always kinda knew there was something… not great in his past. I mean, there were signs. I just figured he’d come from an anarchy server or something.” He knits his brows together. “I guess you… never saw what he was like, when he was still new, huh?”

Jimmy frowns. “Wha’d’you mean?”

Impulse makes a noncommittal noise. “It’s not my place to get into all that. But let’s just say… he’s come a long way since then. So um, looking back, it kinda makes sense.”

“So then…” Jimmy hesitates. “D’you believe what Bravo was saying? About what Hels are like?”

Impulse actually laughs- though not unkindly. “Oh, no, not by a long shot,” he assures Jimmy. “Don’t worry about that. I mean, there are players who think non-humans are bad, right? Like, there are still public servers out there that’ll ban Cleo soon as she joins, just for being a zombie.” He shrugs a shoulder, his forked tail idly flicking through the air. “Or me, for being a demon.”

“Oh.” Jimmy blinks, feeling stupid. “Right. It’s… so easy to forget, sometimes, that some folks still feel that way.”

Impulse tilts his head. “Well, not when you have to live it,” he says lightly.

“Oh. Oh!” Jimmy smacks his forehead. “No, no, right, of course,” he adds hastily, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it’s easy for you specifically to forget. Just, in general, I guess. ‘Cause most players don’t have that problem with avians- I mean, sometimes they think some of our traits are weird, sure, but uh- but it’s not the same thing, cause we aren’t hostile mob hybrids. Obviously. And- and none of my friends feel that way, either, so I just…” He trails off, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m sorry, I’m not makin’ a lotta sense.”

Impulse gives him a gracious smile. “It’s okay, I know what you mean.” He leans back in his chair, his eyes thoughtful. “I’ve gotten so used to Hermitcraft, sometimes it catches me by surprise when I travel to public servers and people act scared, or… distrustful of me. And that’s without even seeing me in ‘full demon’ mode. So uh, even though I don’t know anything about this Hels world, I don’t believe that just being from there would automatically make someone evil. I know Tango better than that.”

Jimmy’s throat tightens. “Right…”

Now it’s Impulse’s turn to give him a sideways look. “... you don’t believe what Bravo said, do you?” he asks, voice low.

“What?” Jimmy blanches. Despite himself, he feels his wings puff up with indignation. “Gosh no, no, that’s- not in a million years, mate, it’s utter nonsense!”

“Alright, alright, sorry,” Impulse chuckles, holding his hands up. “I didn’t think you would. But you know, I just had to make sure.”

“Yeah.” Jimmy sighs, letting his feathers smooth down again. “You’re a good friend, Impulse,” he says, glancing away. “Seems like you know what to do, here. He’s gonna need that.”

“He’s gonna need you.”

That makes Jimmy look up. “What?”

Impulse’s expression softens. “I’ve known Tango a while, now, and even though there’s been plenty of fun and good times over the years… this is the first time I’ve seen him truly content. Like, he just seems at peace in a way I’ve never seen before. You do more for him than you’ll ever know- probably ‘cause he’s too scared to tell you.” There’s a knowing glint in his golden eyes. “Emotional vulnerability, uh, isn’t exactly his strong suit.”

A bittersweet smile tugs at Jimmy’s mouth. “Yeah, I’ve noticed.”

Impulse claps him on the shoulder. “We’re gonna figure it out, okay? You guys aren’t alone in this.”

Warmth blooms in Jimmy’s chest. “Thank you, Impulse,” he says softly, “I appreciate it.”

“No problem.” Impulse returns his smile before sitting back in his chair. “Now, how about you get some rest?”

Jimmy’s heart jolts. “Wh- no, wait,” he protests, “I’m not gonna leave-”

“You can stay right here!” Impulse assures him easily. “Just close your eyes and rest a bit. I’ll keep an eye out, and wake you up as soon as Tango comes to, okay? But right now, frankly, you look exhausted. And I’m sure you’ll wanna be well-rested for whenever Tango’s ready to talk about stuff.”

“Ah…” Chewing his lip, Jimmy glances over at the door to the spare room- mere steps away.

Since he forewent a respawn, he has to admit some shut-eye would be quite welcome at the moment. The immediate danger has passed. And right now, there’s nothing he can do to help Tango but give him some time. Might as well spend that time resting.

“I… suppose you’re right,” he relents finally. “But you gotta promise you’ll wake me if anythin’ happens, alright?”

Impulse nods. “I promise.”

“Right, then.” Jimmy settles into his chair, folding his arms across his chest. He fights back a yawn. “Thanks again. I- I mean it though… any little thing…”

“I know, I know.” Impulse waves him off. “Don’t worry.”

“Famous last words,” Jimmy quips, closing his eyes.

Impulse huffs a laugh but says nothing else.

Silence settles over the room, filled only by Impulse’s steady breathing and the rhythmic tap-tap-tap of him typing away on his communicator. He’s probably updating the others on the situation, so Jimmy can rest easy. He’s considerate like that.

Jimmy would’ve thought it’d be hard to fall asleep. This chair isn’t exactly built for it, and as lovely as Impulse and Bdubs’s home is, it’s not the ranch.

The loss is still fresh. He already knows it’s gonna hit him even harder in the coming days. But for right now, the post-adrenaline exhaustion is finally sinking in, and before he knows it, he’s drifted off into the inky blackness.

~*~

A gentle hand on Jimmy’s shoulder startles him awake.

“Jimmy,” Impulse whispers, his golden eyes glowing in the darkness, “wake up.”

It must’ve been quite a deep, dreamless sleep, because while it seems to Jimmy that he only just closed his eyes, he can clearly see through the window that it’s been at least several hours. The sun has long since set; a half moon is rising in the night sky. That’s alright with Jimmy- he was afraid he’d have nightmares.

Rubbing his eyes, Jimmy squints at Impulse. “What’s goin’ on? Everythin’ okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Impulse scratches the back of his head. “I uh, I just heard a thud in Tango’s room so I went to check on him and- he’s fine, don’t worry!” he adds quickly, as Jimmy bolts upright. “He’s fine, he’s up, but he still seems kinda disoriented? Like, he’s conscious, but when I tried to go in… I guess I look a bit too intimidating,” he taps one of the curved horns poking out from his hair, “‘cause he growled at me.”

“Growled?” Jimmy repeats, raising his eyebrows.

(Well, that’s promising.)

(Round two!)

(Here we go…)

“Yeah.” Impulse gives a sad smile. “So um, I think you should go try and talk to him, if you’re up for it.”

“Oh.” Jimmy blinks. “Oh, right, of course.” He rises to his feet, shaking off residual soreness from his awkward sleeping position.

Impulse pulls a lantern from his inventory and holds it out to Jimmy. “Give a shout if you need anything.”

Jimmy takes the lantern. “Right, thanks.” Steeling himself, he creeps over to the spare room, knocking lightly on the door- which is slightly ajar. “Tango…?” he calls softly, poking his head into the room. “You okay?”

The bed is empty, covers strewn in disarray. Tango is crouched in the corner farthest from the door, his back pressed against the wall. Hunched over and breathing hard, he stares at Jimmy, his blood-stained face lit by the faint glow of his blaze rods. His pupils are dilated again, lips curled back to show his teeth. There’s no recognition in his expression at all.

(You cannot sleep, there are monsters nearby.)

Jimmy swallows. His heart starts to pound. “Tango,” he starts tentatively, holding the lantern up so his face is clearly illuminated as he steps forward, “it’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt you.”

Tango makes a blaze noise deep in his throat; a haunting, hollow sort of growl. It’s unmistakably a warning.

Jimmy hesitates, wings shuffling uncertainly. How to get through to him? General reassurances don’t seem to be working. He needs to remind Tango of where he is, to convince him that he’s safe- in a way that only Jimmy would know.

He takes a breath. “Hey, rancher.”

Tango falls silent. Surprise flickers across his features, mouth parting, gaze sharpening. For a moment he just stares, motionless. Then he squints.

“... Jimmy?”

Oh, Jimmy could cry. “Yes, there we go!” he says encouragingly. “It’s me, it’s Jimmy. You okay, Tango?”

Tango’s breath hitches. He takes a single, careful step forward- then he halfs runs, half stumbles towards Jimmy.

Jimmy rushes to meet him, catching Tango before he falls. “Oh jeeze, okay…” Setting the lantern down on the bed, he lowers them to the floor, shifting so he can wrap Tango in his arms. “It’s alright, it’s alright…”

“Jimmy, thank god.” Tango clings to him just as tightly, face buried in Jimmy’s shirt. His claws dig into Jimmy’s skin just shy of being painful. “I- I woke up,” he gasps, “and the quartz- I thought I was…” He pulls away enough to scan Jimmy’s face, eyes wide and frightened. “Where are we? What- how long has it been?”

Jimmy knits his brows together. “Uh- we’re at Impulse and Bdubs’s place, and it’s been… several hours, I think? Half a day?”

“God.” A shudder runs through Tango. “That- that really happened, didn’t it?” He starts to breathe faster, his voice straining into that faint upper pitch that Jimmy’s come to associate with panic. “Oh god, I- I- I don’t- hhh, I c- can’t…”

“Hey, hey, breathe,” Jimmy soothes, rubbing circles on Tango’s back. “I’m here, you’re safe. It’s over. Just breathe.”

They stay like that for a while, Tango curled against Jimmy as he rides out the worst of it. He shakes violently, eyes squeezed shut, breath hitching as he tries to get control of it again. Jimmy’s heart aches for him- he wishes there was something more he could do to help.

But he knows from experience that just being here is enough.

It’s not terribly infrequent for Tango to have nightmares. Sometimes he simply startles awake at night, apologizes for waking Jimmy up, and goes back to sleep. If Jimmy asks about it the next morning, he brushes it off as nothing; just silly nonsense nightmares, the kind that are terrifying at the time but seem utterly ridiculous in the light of day. Nothing more than that.

And all this time, Jimmy believed him.

(What a fool.)

Jimmy’s only ever seen a couple nightmares cause a reaction as severe as this. The shaking, the shortness of breath, the panic. What helped in the past was simply holding Tango- offering a few reassurances, but mostly silent comfort. And of course, Tango never wanted to talk about those nightmares, and Jimmy didn’t want to push too hard. He’d figured that Tango would talk to him about it when he was ready.

(Fool me once, shame on you…)

Gradually, Tango calms down. His tremors cease, and his breathing starts to grow deeper. He’s still holding onto Jimmy, but it’s less desperate, now. More familiar. Jimmy curls his wings around them, as if providing another barrier, another layer of security.

After Tango’s been still and quiet for a few moments, Jimmy softly breaks the silence. “How much d’you remember?”

Tango takes a shaky breath. “All of it,” he whispers. “E- everything, I was- it was like I- I was watching everything happen to someone else, like I was outside my body…” He looks up to meet Jimmy’s gaze, eyes brimming with tears. “Jimmy, I- I’m so sorry.”

“What?” Jimmy frowns. “Tango, what on earth are you apologizing for?”

Abruptly, Tango pulls away. “I burned you,” he grits out.

“No, you-” Jimmy almost grabs him by the arm, but then thinks better of it. “That wasn’t your fault.”

Tango stares at him incredulously. “Wha’ th- what do you mean? Of course it was!” He rakes his claws through his hair. “I- I lost control, I set the ranch on fire, and you got burned.”

“That’s not the same thing,” Jimmy argues. “You didn’t do it on purpose, you were just defending yourself.”

“Doesn’t matter!” Tango throws his hands up. “If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have gotten burned, true or false?”

(True!)

(He’s got a point…)

(Why are you arguing this?)

Jimmy doesn’t answer. “Look,” he says instead, “honestly, it’s not a big deal. I’m fine!”

“Well, you don’t look fine!” Tango says bluntly. Distress flashes across his face as he looks Jimmy up and down. “Your poor wings- and oh, your face! What, did- we didn’t respawn?”

Jimmy ducks his head. “I didn’t wanna put you through that,” he explains, wincing.

He can actually see the guilt in Tango’s eyes intensify. “Ohhh no,” he breathes, dismayed. “You- why did you…” Shaking his head, he fixes Jimmy with a firm look. “Okay, you- you need to respawn, now.”

“It’s not important,” Jimmy replies, just as stubbornly. He holds a hand out, beseeching. “Tango, please, I- I’ve been worried outta my mind about you. So much happened- ”

“I’m fine,” Tango says shortly.

“No, you’re not,” Jimmy insists, working hard not to raise his voice. “I mean, honestly, I- I don’t even know what that thing ‘round your neck is doin’!”

Tango shuts his mouth with a sharp click and glances away.

That sobers Jimmy instantly. Tentatively, he scooches a bit closer to Tango. His eyes trace the collar- it’s so deceptively simple, so innocuous at first glance. Just a ring of smooth, flat iron. But clearly, there’s a lot more going on; a single red light above the keyhole hints at a mechanism hidden within.

“Do you… know what it is?” Jimmy ventures, giving Tango a searching look.

Tango’s jaw tightens. “It’s wither rose.”

Jimmy blinks, taken aback. “What? But… we aren’t withering, we aren’t takin’ damage-”

“It’s not…” Tango makes a noncommittal noise, waving a hand in an aborted gesture. “They’ve modified it, somehow, I dunno. It- it’s not the full effect. All it’s doin’ is dampening my fire.”

“And our soulbond,” Jimmy realizes, his stomach sinking. “After he put it on you, I- I couldn’t feel your emotions anymore. It’s just… numb.”

Tango’s face is grim. “That’s what wither rose does,” he says lowly.

The certainty in his voice is… somewhat concerning. Sure, any player who’s been ‘round the block will have learned what it feels like to be withered, at some point or another. But due to the tedious and somewhat risky nature of obtaining the roses by way of a wither farm, most players don’t regularly encounter them. And as far as aesthetics are concerned, they aren’t the most appealing flower, so when they are farmed, they’re mostly used for mass-producing black dye or as the killing method in a mob farm. Not as decor or landscaping, where a player might actually touch the rose and be subjected to the wither effect.

Personally, Jimmy can’t remember the last time he touched a wither rose, as a player who doesn’t make a habit of farming withers or even taking on the boss fight. But the tone of Tango’s voice right now is the tone of someone who is horribly familiar with the sensation.

“Tango…?” Jimmy prompts quietly. “Is there… somethin’ I should know?”

Tango swallows. He’s avoiding Jimmy’s eyes. “I… I don’t wanna talk about it,” he whispers hoarsely. “Not right now?”

It’s almost a plea, and Jimmy’s heart tightens. “Okay. That’s okay,” he says gently, forcing down his disappointment; this isn’t about him. He rises to his feet, holding out his hand to Tango. “Here, come on, let’s… let’s get up on the bed, alright? It’s late, you need some proper rest.”

Tango hesitates, though he accepts Jimmy’s offered hand to help him up. “You need to respawn…”

“It can wait,” Jimmy says easily. He tries for a grin. “Honestly, I- I already knew I wasn’t exactly easy on the eyes, but I didn’t think it was that bad…”

“No,” Tango says quickly, “no, you’re not-” He makes a frustrated noise. “Your wings.”

Jimmy softens. “They’re just feathers. They’ll grow back.”

Sure, it might take a while if his follicles have been badly damaged, and his wings won’t be a pretty sight once all the burned feathers fall out. But most of his flight feathers are still intact, so in terms of places to get burned, it could’ve been much worse.

Tango huffs a breath, clearly still upset with himself. But he doesn’t protest further as Jimmy eases onto the bed, gently pulling Tango with him. After collecting the lantern so the room is properly dark again, Jimmy nestles under the covers, sweeping a wing out to lightly gather Tango beside him.

Tango settles against him, and it’s then that Jimmy realizes he isn’t as warm as he used to be.

He’s not cold, not by any means. But Tango has always run a bit hotter than the average player- a blaze hybrid trait that Jimmy’s quite fond of. It was the whole reason they first shared a bed, back in the early days of the world, and inadvertently plunged their relationship into new, terrifying depths. If it wasn’t for that moment, they likely would’ve danced around the issue for far longer, and been robbed of many precious days of happiness together. So even on warm nights, Jimmy will still cuddle up beside Tango. Even if he has to kick all the blankets off.

But with the collar dampening Tango’s fire, he’s been robbed of that, as well.

Jimmy swallows the lump in his throat and puts an arm around Tango, who curls into his side, head resting on his shoulder. Having Tango so close is immediately comforting. God, to think of how close he came to losing this, to never holding Tango again…

It’s scary. It’s incredibly scary. There are few things in the universe that can really, truly cause lasting harm to a player. Injuries can heal upon respawn, death isn’t permanent- except for worlds where it is, then they just respawn on a different world and start again. But if those Hels people had succeeded in taking Tango through that hacked portal, into some isolated prison world that Jimmy has no way of finding… he’s afraid that would’ve destroyed him.

Jimmy turns his head to press a kiss onto Tango’s forehead, right between the dimmed blaze rods hovering around his temples. “Goodnight.”

“Night,” Tango whispers back.

The room grows silent. Jimmy stares up at the dark ceiling. His earlier tiredness has up and left him, his mind racing, plagued by thoughts of what might’ve been. It’s all he can do to reassure himself that it’s over, that Tango’s safe and still here with him.

That for once, he was lucky.

(For how long, though?)

He isn’t trying to stay awake. And he isn’t pretending to be asleep, either, just laying quietly with his thoughts. But at some point Tango must think he’s nodded off, because only then does he start to cry.

It’s a quiet sound. Just the sharp inhale and exhale of breath. Jimmy might not have even known he was crying if it wasn’t for the way his shoulders shake, and the sudden dampness seeping into Jimmy’s shirt.

It takes all of Jimmy’s willpower not to console Tango, to hold him tighter and offer hushed reassurances. There’s a reason Tango waited until he thought Jimmy was asleep- he’s very much the kind of person who prefers to show emotion on his own terms. If he knew Jimmy was awake to witness this, he’d completely shut down again. And he needs this.

So Jimmy pushes down his own emotions and does nothing as his soulmate cries, trying not to move or start crying himself as the guilt for being so useless eats him alive.

(Sweet dreams…)

~*~

Morning comes, eventually.

At least, as far as Jimmy can tell by his internal clock. The room he wakes up to is still fairly dark- just a slim beam of light coming in from the hallway through the cracked door. Impulse must’ve done that to better keep an ear out for them overnight. Thoughtful guy. Tango is sleeping deeply next to Jimmy, and the sight is quite comforting.

It seems they’ve kept with their usual sleeping habits, even without a sunrise to greet them.

Carefully, without jostling Tango, Jimmy pulls up his inventory to grab his communicator. He can’t recall hearing it go off, but he wants to make sure there isn’t anything that urgently requires his attention. He’s surprised, however, to find a potion of healing; Impulse must’ve slipped it to him while he was sleeping.

A smile tugs at Jimmy’s lips. He’s long since regenerated his health, but the potion ought to help with his lingering injury. He downs the potion quickly, grimacing at the cloyingly sweet note of melon. It doesn’t take long for a cooling sensation to settle over his broken nose. When he gently probes at it, he can feel it’s still a little crooked, but at least the pain is gone.

Putting the empty bottle away, Jimmy digs out his communicator, squinting against the blue light. No one’s used chat lately or sent him any whispers- it seems they’re taking the request for privacy quite seriously. But there is the backlog from yesterday waiting for him. It takes him a minute just to scroll back to where it all began.

Bravo joined the game.

<Grian> ey??

AtlasSyn joined the game.

Tyrannicide joined the game.

Phantonym joined the game.

<Grian> EYY????

Helfyre_004 joined the game.

<PearlescentMoon> Ummm?

<Renthedog> What the heck??

CRIMETIME joined the game.

t3rr0r_b1te joined the game.

EbonyHelmentia joined the game.

baddomen666 joined the game.

<InTheLittleWood> WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!?

staluggmite joined the game.

PwrPlayz joined the game.

<PearlescentMoon> Hello??

XxSLAYERxX joined the game.

Vexed2theMax joined the game.

ApexGamer98 joined the game.

<Smajor1995> wait how is this happening

<PearlescentMoon> Raid?? D:

SheHelsSeaHels joined the game.

ne’er_do_hels joined the game.

<Grian> i don;t know??

Jaffu joined the game.

<Grian> theres no one at spawn???

<Etho> woah!

<SolidarityGaming> SOS RSNCH

<Smajor1995> oh no

<Renthedog> What??

<Smallishbeans> rsnch lol

<GoodTimeWithScar> G come pick me up

Tyrannicide was slain by Tango.

staluggmite was slain by Tango.

Phantonym was slain by Tango.

<InTheLittleWood> Wait WHAT?!?!?!?!?!

<Smallishbeans> NO WAY

<BdoubleO100> OHHHHHHH

<Grian> EVERYONE TO RANCH

<ZombieCleo> what is happening???

staluggmite joined the game.

Tyrannicide joined the game.

<Smajor1995> omw cleo

Phantonym joined the game.

<impulseSV> Etho, Joel, our place?

<Renthedog> BigB where you at??

<bigbst4tz2> coming

SheHelsSeaHels was shot by GoodTimeWithScar using [hOtgUy]

EbonyHelmentia was shot by Smajor1995.

XxSLAYERxX was slain by impulseSV.

CRIMETIME was slain by Wolf.

t3rr0r_b1t3 was slain by Renthedog.

Jaffu was doomed to fall by ZombieCleo.

SheHelsSeaHels joined the game.

ne’er_do_hels was shot by GoodTimeWithScar using [hOtgUy]

Tyrannicide was slain by Renthedog.

XxSLAYERxX joined the game.

EbonyHelmentia joined the game.

CRIMETIME joined the game.

Phantonym was slain by Etho.

t3rr0r_b1t3 joined the game.

ne’er_do_hels joined the game.

XxSLAYERxX was slain by Wolf.

Jaffu joined the game.

Helfyre_004 was slain by Renthedog.

Vexed2theMax was slain by bigbst4tz2.

Tyrannicide joined the game.

XxSLAYERxX joined the game.

Jaffu was slain by Renthedog.

SheHelsSeaHels was slain by Wolf.

bigbst4tz2 was shot by AtlasSyn.

Renthedog died.

Phantonym joined the game.

baddomen666 was slain by Wolf.

SheHelsSeaHels joined the game.

Jaffu joined the game.

PwrPlayz was slain by InTheLittleWood.

Helfyre_004 joined the game.

Vexed2theMax joined the game.

staluggmite was slain by Smallishbeans.

Helfyre_004 was shot by Smajor1995.

EbonyHelmentia was slain by Wolf.

PwrPlayz joined the game.

ApexGamer98 was slain by PearlescentMoon.

baddomen666 joined the game.

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Bravo was shot by GoodTimeWithScar using [hOtgUy]

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Jimmy doesn’t know how long he spends looking at chat, reading it over and over again as he tries to make sense of it. All those Hels players came here with the express purpose of kidnapping Tango. But why? Dr. Atlas had said something about ‘getting back to work’ and a farm design, but what does that even mean?

Speaking of that doctor fella, he seems to have been the only one to get kills on the Double Lifers- the rest of them must’ve been preoccupied with Pearl’s wolves. Gosh, to think what her chat must look like…

But that’s something worth noting. Atlas didn’t waste his time with wolves, he went for Pearl and Bigb. He must’ve realized the wolves were Pearl’s and targeted her because of it. And the fact he went for Bigb instead of Ren, who was racking up the most kills... that means he was able to put together that they were soulbound, and he used that to get rid of the threat more easily.

Out of these Hels players, Atlas is clearly the one to watch out for.

Well, him and Bravo, of course. Though Bravo technically isn’t a Hels, if Jimmy’s understood it properly. But he’s certainly just as cruel and bloodthirsty as those other guys were, and he’s got it out for Tango the most. Jimmy can’t recall the last time he saw such hate in a player’s eyes, for any reason. And this is the guy claiming he should’ve been Jimmy’s soulmate? Unbelievable.

As if Jimmy would ever go for such a dense, hateful, entitled piece of-

“Honey,” Tango says suddenly, sitting up on his elbows, “you okay?”

Jimmy jolts in surprise; he must’ve been looking quite cross with his communicator. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” he assures Tango softly, offering an apologetic smile. “Sorry if I woke you.”

It’s difficult to make out details in the scarce light from the hallway, but Tango looks much improved from yesterday. Even underneath the dried blood, the warmth has returned to his skin, replacing that sickly, pale pallor. His red eyes are sharp and alert- that’s a huge relief, as well.

“No, no, you’re good!” Tango says brightly. He leans over to press a kiss to Jimmy’s cheek. “Sleep alright?”

His tone throws Jimmy for a moment. Someone’s feeling better. Blinking, Jimmy puts his comm away. “I did, yeah,” he answers uncertainly. “You?”

“Yep!” Tango smiles at him; it seems a bit forced. “I uh- I’m all rest-ificated and ready to start the day. So, what I- well, I- I guess our first order of business, we should go take a look at the ranch, right, see what the damage is? Then we can do some resource gathering and start rebuilding, so we aren’t crashing at Impulse and Bdubs’s place forever.”

Jimmy pauses for a moment to process the words. “Umm… are you sure?” he asks tentatively. “I mean, we can go look at it if you want, but uh, are you- we should really focus on getting that collar off you first, don’t you think?”

Tango shrugs. He isn’t quite meeting Jimmy’s eyes. “Doesn’t bother me. Besides, we don’t have the key.”

Jimmy knits his brows together. “So what, we just... let it alone? Move on?”

Tango huffs a laugh- it sounds a bit faint. “Yeah, yeah exactly.”

(What an abrupt change of character!)

(Lying again, it seems…)

(How suspicious.)

Okay, this is definitely strange behavior. Considering everything that happened yesterday, Jimmy would’ve expected Tango to still be physically and emotionally wrecked. But instead, he seems rather keen to just move on, like everything’s normal-

Ah. Of course. Jimmy doesn’t know why he’s surprised.

“Tango...” he starts, “I don’t think-”

“Good morning!” Impulse hums as he pokes his head through the cracked door. “How we doin’, guys?”

Curse his timing. Tango, of course, immediately takes advantage of the distraction.

“Oh, hey Impy!” he says cheerfully. “Hey uh, sorry about earlier. You know, I uh, I was a little confused, and uh… you know...” He pulls a face; overdramatized. He’s trying to make light of it.

Impulse seems to share the same realization as Jimmy. “Hey, it’s alright,” he says easily, though he keeps his tone in a lower register- more serious. Not feeding into the fake energy. “No hard feelings. Here, I brought some food.”

Tango takes the offered food without even a second of hesitation; a stack of golden carrots. “Of course. Thank you, thank you.” He quickly starts crunching on one, conveniently busying himself so he doesn’t have to say anything else.

Oh well, at least he’s eating. Jimmy gives Impulse a tired smile. “Hey, Impulse. Thanks again for lettin’ us crash here.”

Impulse returns his smile. “Yeah, of course, no problem. So um, I’ve just got a bit of an update for you guys.” He sits down at the end of the bed, expression sobering. “The ranch situation is under control, they managed to get the fire out before it spread to anything else nearby. So your pastures, barns, and fields are safe. All your animals, too.”

It’s easy enough to pick up on what he’s left out. “But the ranch itself is gone, isn’t it?” Jimmy says quietly.

Impulse nods. “I’m sorry. Most of what’s left is just the stone. I think the basement is pretty intact, too, but everything else…”

“Yep.” Tango, finished with his carrot, shrugs a shoulder. “Yeah, I figured. That’s what we get for building with wood, even though I’m super flammable and stuff.”

Jimmy gives him a sympathetic look. “It’ll be okay-”

“So,” Tango interrupts, avoiding Jimmy’s gaze as he gives Impulse an intent look, “uh- anything else?”

(Ouch! Testy…)

Impulse rubs the back of his neck. “Uh, yeah. Grian wants to know if you guys are up for a chat. Nothing bad,” he adds quickly, “he’s just trying to figure out a solution and we’re just a little in the dark about everything. You can stick to the basics; if there’s something you aren’t comfortable telling us, that’s fine-”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Tango assures him. Despite his grin, there’s a hard edge to his voice. “Let’s do it. Call everyone up, we’ll have a nice chat at spawn or something. Let’s- let’s get goin’.”

Impulse pauses. “Well, if you want, we can have just Grian come over...”

Tango huffs. “No, why- let’s just get everyone on the same page, okay? Get it all over with at once.” He spreads his hands. “No point in delaying, or- or having to explain the same thing over and over again, right? I mean, everyone’s stuck here ‘til Grian lifts the lockdown, I- I’m sure they’ll wanna know why.”

Jimmy exchanges a look with Impulse. “I… I suppose,” he says hesitantly. “But are you sure you’re-”

“Yeah,” Tango says, “yeah, it’s fine.”

Impulse purses his lips, clearly fighting not to let his frustration show.

The sentiment is one that Jimmy shares. It’s obvious Tango is trying to downplay everything- and if that’s his way of coping, fine. But it really throws a wrench into the works when moving forward requires actually addressing what happened, and having an in-depth conversation about it. And this doesn’t bode well for long-term; they can’t just pretend everything’s normal, no matter how much Tango might wish it.

“Okay, I’ll let him know.” Impulse rises to his feet. “The bathroom’s at the end of the hallway if you guys wanted to wash up.”

Tango actually makes a face at that, dropping the facade for a moment. He really doesn’t like water. “Wash up..?”

Impulse winces. “You’re um. Still covered in dried blood.”

(I was wondering when he’d realize that…)

Tango blinks. “Oh. Oh, right, of course.” Absently, he reaches a hand up to scratch at his chin. “I should probably wash that off, yeah. I mean, everyone knows I’m a vicious monster but I don’t have to look it, right?” he laughs.

Jimmy’s heart tightens. “Hey, Tango…”

“No,” Impulse protests, “that’s not-”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Tango says shortly. “Thanks, Impulse.”

“Alright.” Impulse lets the matter drop, turning to leave. “Come downstairs when you’re ready.”

As soon as Impulse is gone, Jimmy turns to Tango. “Hey, so-”

But Tango has already hopped out of bed and crossed to the door, calling, “Hang on, be right back!” over his shoulder.

Down the hall, Jimmy hears the bathroom door open and close. He sighs.

This is gonna be a fun conversation.

~*~

CONTINUED IN PART IX, ACT II

#hels to pay au #HTP fic #hermitcraft #double life smp #my writing #man tumblr really threw a wrench in the works #i know this chapter got long and i use line breaks excessively but DAMN

289 notes · View notes

joshsjipple · 2 months

Text

Unknown

JOSH KISZKA X FEMALE READER

A/N: Hey my loves! Had this idea for a while and I would kill for some Josh TLC rn so this is what you get! It’s mostly fluff, but there's a bit of smut at the end:) This is also HEAVILY unedited. I love you, thank you!

Word Count: 3.9k

WARNINGS: 18+ minors dni! graphic sexual content, unprotected sex (wrap before u tap please) praise kink, oral sex (f rec), p in v, language, fingering, some dom sub if you squint, some body insecurities, SO MUCH FLUFF, really just passionate lovemaking.

★・・・・・・★

After a long day of sitting in your cubicle for nearly nine hours, your body aches. As soon as you walk through the front door of your shared apartment, you fight the urge to collapse on the doormat. The only thing keeping you from doing so is the faint sound of Josh mingling in the kitchen. As you remove your shoes and hang your coat up, he appears around the corner.

“Hey, love. I figured that was you,” he says softly, padding his way over to you. He pauses just inches from you, his eyebrows furrowed with concern. “What’s wrong, mama?” He sets his hands on your shoulders.

Feeling his soft skin, hearing the tenderness of his voice, has your eyes beginning to water. Immediately, his expressions shift. It goes from concern to a high level of worry. He straightens his back, eyes racing across your face.

“Oh, honey,” he coos, pulling you into an embrace. One of his arms drapes over your shoulder, the other wrapping around your waist.

Involuntary tears stream down your face as you bury your face in the crook of his neck. You melt into his arms, a sob escaping as you do so. The hand placed on your neck repositions itself onto the back of your head, cradling you against him. His fingers gently work into your scalp, massaging and tugging in all the right areas. The hand on your waist presses gently into you, his thumb moving across your shirt. You sniffle and pull your head off of his shirt, afraid to get him wet from your tears.

“No, it’s okay. Let it all out,” he insists, encouraging your face back into its original place.

You relax your shoulders. You’ve never felt as safe and understood with anyone the way you do with Josh. He’s always the person to notice when something’s up, giving you a gentle glare until you break down and tell him. He always wraps you in tight, warm hugs, your bodies pressed together while your breathing levels. He’s your home, your safe space, your person.

After a few minutes, the tears stop. You take a deep breath and pull yourself off his chest. You grimace at the patch of black mascara you’ve left along with tear stains. You wipe away at it, feeling guilty for getting so emotional when nothing in particular happened. Josh grabs your hand and guides it down to his waist. Planting it there, he brings his hands to your cheek. Cupping them, his fingers glide over your tear-stained cheeks.

“What happened?” he says once you’ve gathered yourself.

You purse your lips together. “Nothing, I don’t know. It was a hard day and coming home to you just made me emotional,”

“That’s okay, it happens.”

“I swear I was fine until I got home,” you say, your eyes burning with more tears. “God, I’m so sorry. This is probably the last thing you wanted.”

“Don’t be silly, you know there’s nothing in the world I love more than holding you. I’m more at peace in your arms,” he says softly, causing hot tears to escape your eyes once more.

How did you get so lucky?

“Now,” he begins, moving his lips across your face. He places wet kisses on your tears. “Ice cream? A movie? Cuddles? What do you want, love? Name anything and I’ll make it happen.” His words soothe you between every kiss left on your skin.

“Maybe a bath? If we don’t have anything that’s fine–”

“A bath it is. I made cookies. Grab a few and sit down. I’ll get everything ready, mama.” he directs, letting you go.

He gives you a smile as he turns and walks down the hall. Without him in your bubble you feel like breaking down again. Instead, you shuffle into the kitchen. Two pans of chocolate chip cookies lay on the counter, fresh out of the oven. He must have done this on purpose, knowing you love nothing more than a warm cookie. Besides him, of course.

You sit on a stool and scarf down three cookies. Emotional eating? Perhaps, but you don’t mind. Neither does Josh. As he wanders back into the kitchen, he smiles as he notices your further relaxed state.

“It’s all ready,” he tells you, grabbing the tips of your fingers.

He stands a few feet away from you, your hands connected and dangling in the air. You swallow the last of your third cookie and push yourself off the chair and onto your feet. Slowly, he leads you down the hallway and into the bathroom, your fingers intertwined. The bath water is still running, the noise greeting you as you step inside the room. Josh maneuvers behind you so he’s able to shut the door behind you. Then, he spins you around so you're facing him.

“Can I?” he asks, fingers tugging at the hem of your shirt.

You nod and he slips the fabric over your head, exposing your bra and stomach. His hands run along the smooth of your back before settling on your bra straps. His fingers work to undo it, but after a bit of struggle, you help him undo the clasps. Carefully, he pulls the material off your shoulders and down your arms before sliding it off your wrists.

You have absolutely no reason to feel insecure as Josh has always made it his primary goal to make sure you’re well aware of his love for your body, but you feel awfully vulnerable right now. You feel the heat in your cheeks rise as he discards your bra. Without another thought, you cover yourself. Josh pauses, his eyes meeting yours. He tilts his head, his eyebrows raising. When you don’t make an effort to remove your arms, he cups your cheek.

“It’s just me,” he tells you. Biting your lip, you remove your arms, thankful Josh didn’t force you. He takes a step back, admiring your breasts and shoulders. “There’s my girl,”

Without another word, his fingers find the zipper to your skirt. He pulls on the tassel, the zipping noise sparking goosebumps across your skin. You let out a long exhale as Josh’s hands brush across the small of your back.

“May I?” he double checks before falling to his knees.

One thing you love about Josh is how absolutely infatuated with you he is. Not once has he ever shied away from his feelings towards you. He loves showing you just how much he admires you, whether that being through forehead kisses and hugs from behind or little notes scattered around the house. He enjoys laying in bed an hour longer, holding you close to his body, soft kisses pressed into the skin of your neck.

Kneeling in front of you, he pulls the fabric past your thighs. He’s humming a soft tune as you step out of the material, a hand placed on his shoulder to keep you steady. He slides the skirt to the side before removing both of your socks. Perched on his back two feet now, he stares up at you, eyes glistening and filled with love. He brushes his fingertips along the outside of your thighs until they meet your underwear. Rising to his knees once again, he kisses your navel. His wet lips trace across the skin until you shudder.

“Funny how true colors shine in darkness and in secrecy,” he sings softly against your skin. He hooks his fingers on the sides of your panties, eyes staring into you. When you nod, he begins to pull them down. “If there were scarlet flags, they washed out in the mind of me,” he sings.

It’s at that moment it finally registers to me what he’s singing. Unknown by Hozier. You’d recently become obsessed with that song after hearing it at a small cafe one morning. You brought it home with you, singing it around the house whenever you cooked or cleaned. You never told Josh to listen to songs as he was pretty particular with what he enjoyed. You knew he’d love it because of how much you loved it, but you didn’t want to force him into anything. He must have overheard you and done some research. Your heart warms at the gesture, making you teary eyed again.

“Where a blinding light shone on you every night and either side of my sleep,” He continues as you step out of your underwear. Tossing them to the side, he plants his hands on your calves, eyes glowing as he stares at you. Moving his head closer to you, he scatters you with kisses across your thighs. “Where you were held frozen like an angel to me,”

“Josh,” you sigh. “Baby, did you learn that for me?” You ask, guiding him back up to his feet.

He shrugs. “You’ve been singing it for a week straight, you really think I wouldn’t?”

You laugh and pull him into a kiss. His lips are soft and warm as you meet them. Softly, he kisses you back. Losing yourself in the way he feels pressed against you and his tongue tracing your lip, you moan into him. You feel his lips turn into a smile before pulling away. He steps away from you, eyes scanning over your naked body.

He bites his bottom lip as his eyes wander. The way he looks at you like you’re the only woman in the world makes your heart beat quicker. Blush spreads across your face, your cheeks bright red as his eyes feed off of you. They flick to your eyes and the corner of his mouth pulls into a smirk when he notices your embarrassed face. He says nothing of it and takes your hand.

As he shuts the water off, you notice he used your special aromatic flowers and oils. He returns to you, guiding you towards the edge of the tub. He helps you into the water, gripping your hand firmly so he can grab you if you slip. He drops it as you sink into the water.

“Oh, god. It’s the perfect temperature,” you sigh.

“Thank goodness, I thought it would be too hot,” he says cautiously.

As he turns and heads for the door, your heart jumps. “Wait. You’re not joining me, darling?”

He pauses. “Is that what you want?” You nod in reply. “As you wish.” You can’t help but giggle as he quotes your favorite movie, The Princess Bride. “Would you like a show?”

“I’d love one,” you lean over the rim, hands tucked under your chin.

His eyes hold yours as he removes his shirt. The light deliciously shines across his skin, igniting an orange glow all over him. He glows like the sun either way, but a little extra at this moment. He takes his shirt and holds it with his pointer finger above his head. With a wide-grin, he spins in a circle, a belly laugh leaving his mouth as he finishes. You clap your hands and encourage him to continue. He undoes his belt, slipping it off his waist and dropping it to the floor. You watch his fingers unbutton his jeans, the muscles working under his skin. He slides them down and off his ankles. As he stands there in just his boxers, you run your fingers through your hair impatiently.

“Enough of the show,” you say.

“You don’t like it?” he fakes being offended.

“I love it. You’re beautiful, Josh. But I want you in here now.”

His breathing hitches at the compliment but he quickly obliges and removes his boxers. You marvel at him, every inch of his body being perfectly sculpted. You run your tongue over your lips, coating them with saliva as he slides himself in front of you.

“Oh, this is nice.” he says, splashing water with his hands.

You agree and grab white suds that rest on top of the water. Josh does the same, playing with the soap in his hands. You scoot closer to him, your arms holding the suds in front of your face. With a smirk, you blow the suds into the air. They fly into Josh’s face and he quickly swats at them. Dramatically, he glares at you; a simple warning. Ignoring it, you do it again just to annoy him. He shoves his fist into the water, splashing soap and oils into your face.

“Careful! You’re gonna get soap in my eyes!” you whine, wiping your palms across your face.

“Oh quit being so dramatic,” he huffs, grabbing your wrist and spinning you so your back is facing him.

Wrapping his arms around your stomach, he pulls you closer to him. Your body is pressed against his, the only thing separating you being the water particles. He’s warm and soft as you lean back. Wordlessly, he delicately rubs your muscles. You let out a sigh of relief at the feeling and rest your head on his shoulder.

“What did you do all day?” he asks, lips pressed on your shoulder.

“Oh, you know. Same old same old,”

“What did you have for lunch?”

Your eyes flutter shut as his hands work across your body. “A sandwich my coworker got me,”

“Was it good?”

“So good,” you breathe.

“I never realized you had a mole here,” he observes, eyes locked in on your shoulder.

“Well, I reckon there’s better things to look at other than my shoulder,”

“I disagree. It’s very beautiful.” he plants kisses up your neck, making you moan in return. You feel him smirk against you, teeth nipping at your exposed skin. You tilt your head, granting him access. He licks and sucks at the skin, each time causing a whine to drift into the air. His hands move down your torso until they’re resting on your thighs. “Josh…”

“What, my love?” he whispers into your head.

His fingers squeeze at the skin of your legs, making them involuntarily open. Josh chuckles, the vibrations causing you to move with him. His hands trace up the inside of your legs, discreetly making their way up to your heat.

“Can you?”

“Can I what? Use your words,” he taunts you. When you don’t answer after a few seconds he tries again, “You know I won’t deny you anything, mama. I just wanna hear your words.”

“Will you make me cum?”

Almost as soon as the words leave your mouth, his finger drags through your slit. “As you wish. Let’s get out of here first, mk?”

He stands up first before bending down to grab your under arms. After helping you up carefully, he steps out of the tub. His hands on your arms steady you as you too try and get out. Without notice, Josh wraps his arms around your bare body and lifts you up. You squeal and giggle at him as you leave the bathroom.

Carrying you to your shared bedroom, he gently lays you down. Lying on your back in the open now, the cool air coats your body, making you shiver. Josh stands above you, his eyes admiring your body.

“I love it when you’re like this,” he states, bending down to kiss your belly button. “All sprawled out and wet,” his lips glide over your body. “Where do you want me?”

You squirm when he removes his lips. “I want your fingers,”

“As you wish,” he smirks, holding your gaze as a finger runs through your folds.

You screw your eyes shut, letting out a soft moan as he glides through your slick. You can feel his eyes watching your every move, igniting fire inside of you. His finger swipes over your clit and your body shudders. He does it again, eventually rubbing circles into your clit.

“Fuck…” you cry, biting on your lip.

“You like that pretty girl?” He asks, his breath on your chest now.

His tongue darts out of his mouth, tracing your hardened nipple. You squirm from under him as he takes the peak into his mouth. Swirling and sucking on it, he works fast circles into your clit. He moves to your other breast, kneading it with his hands before pulling it into his mouth. He removes himself with a pop, paying attention to his digit that works inside of you. You gasp as he adds his ring finger, fucking into your wet pussy. Because your eyes are shut, you don’t notice he’s moved positions until his lips kiss your clit.

“Oh my god!” You shout, gripping his hair.

He drags his tongue through your slit as his fingers work into you. You sit up on your elbow as your fingers grip his locks.

“Fuck, Josh. Just like that, pretty boy,”

He moans at your praise, the vibrations connecting to your clit. He laps at you, eager to map you finish. His tongue skillfully moves across your body, repeating motions that only he knows send you over the edge. He swallows you whole like you’re water and he’s a dehydrated man, bucking his hips into the mattress.

“Josh,” you quiver.

“Let go baby, come on. Feed me. I want it all,” he removes his mouth to speak.

Dipping his head back in, he thrusts into the sheets. You’re reminded of how painfully hard it must be for him. You imagine his cock, thick, warm, with arousal leaking from the tip. With his head buried between your thighs, you imagine it stuffed inside of you as he cries above you. You open your eyes to see his staring back at you. You begin to crumble, squeezing yourself around him as his eyes bleed into yours.

You’re a shaking mess below him, your hips thrusting into his face. Josh doesn’t mind as he likes when you’re controlling in bed. It doesn’t happen very often, but he enjoys it when it does.

With one particular curl of his fingers and a flick of his tongue across your clit, you spill over. The orgasm is warm as it floods your body, your back arching as you coat his face.

Josh is usually more dominant at in bed, making your orgasms fiery as it rips through you. But when he’s as loving as he is right now, the feeling is warm like summer. Handled with so much care, love, and passion makes it feel like drinking ice cold water after a long day outside; needed, appreciated, and heavenly.

You ride his face as his fingers continue to pump into you. As you come out of it, his motions stop until you’re panting. You remove your hand from his sandy-colored curls and allow him to remove himself. He abandons your cunt, his lips red and plump. His mustache and chin are coated with your release and he drags his tongue across the entirety of it.

Grabbing the back of his neck, you pull him on top of you. Your lips meet, butterflies in your stomach. Swirling your tongue inside of his mouth, you taste your cum and his saliva. You rock your hips into his crotch, feeling him twitch against your thigh and he whimpers into your mouth. You swallow the sounds, begging for a tape recording of it so you could listen to it forever.

“Josh…” you cry.

“What, my love?”

You bite your lips, giving him your best puppy dog eyes. “Will you make love to me?”

He smirks. “Does my pretty girl want my cock?”

“So bad,” you nod, pressing into his length again.

“As you wish. I’m gonna give it to you nice and gentle though, okay?”

“Yes, please.” You say as he slides the tip of himself through your soaked core.

He holds your gaze as he slips the tip in, easing you onto him. He stretches you so deliciously, your mouth falling open. He moans and shakes as he watches you. Reaching the hilt you cry his name softly. His thumb rubs your cheek as his eyes close tightly.

“You’re so warm and tight. Fuck, I don’t know how long I can last,”

“I don’t care, Josh. I just need you to move.”

He pulls back and pushes himself in, his head hidden in the crook of your neck. You hold his head with one hand as the other grabs onto his back. You claw at him as he snaps in and out of you slowly, grazing your g spot each time.

“You take me so well. Fucking made for my cock,” he cries into your skin, bucking against you.

“Harder,”

“Yeah? Thought you wanted it soft today?”

“Fuck, I can’t! You feel so good please just fuck me.”

He groans as he repositions himself. Working harder and faster now, he thrusts into you. Your hand tugs at his hair as the other creates red scratches across his back. You’re both moaning, absorbing each other’s sounds.

“I’m close,” he warns, twitching inside of you.

“Cum for me, pretty boy. Cum in me. Fill me up so good,” you beg.

“You sound so pretty with my cock inside of you. Gonna cum for you. Gonna fill you up so fucking good—oh god,”

He spills into you, coating your walls with his cum. He chants your name like some religious prayer, begging for release. He whimpers into you, snapping in and out of you until his legs start to shake.

He pulls out of you like a man on a mission and falls back between your legs. Immediately, his arm snakes over your thigh, dragging you into him. His fingers connect with your clit and work vigorously. You gasp as he fucks you with his tongue.

“Fuck, Josh. So good for me,” you say.

“Yeah? Gonna cum for me, angel? Right on my tongue baby,”

You feel it approaching, a knot in your stomach. He laps at your clit, dragging it into his mouth and kneading it with his lips. Tears stream down your cheeks as you fight from under him. His hands hold you down firmly so you’re unable to move as you cum.

It rips through your body, unlike the last one. You feel it in your toes and all the way up in your head. He continues his motions, not stopping until you let go of his head. You shiver as your legs shake, back arched.

He detaches himself from you and licks around your thighs, cleaning up the mess. You watch him with a smirk as he sucks on your flesh.

“Want a taste?”

You nod and he towers over you. Your lips meet and you lavish in the taste.

“We taste so good, baby.” You moan.

“I think so too. You’re such a good girl for me,” he kisses your forehead with a smile. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Josh. Thank you,”

He holds you in his arms for a moment, kissing across your shoulder and jaw. Your eyes flutter shut as he leaves love bites all over you. Pulling your hair away from your eyes, you stare at him. Oh my is he beautiful. His cheeks are red from the post-orgasm haze, his lips plump. You watch his deep brown eyes stare back at you. Your heart explodes just seeing him.

“Can we take a nap?” You ask, threading your fingers through his curls once more.

“As you wish,”

★・・・・・・★

110 notes · View notes

jaydizzel2844 · 7 months

Text

Marie x Jordan Drabble

No. 6

Hanging out with Jordan is always fun, which ever form they take. André never got peoples hang up over the gender thing was, Jordan was cool either way.

But he’ll admit that they’re easier to carry back to campus drunk off their ass when they’re a girl.

Him and Luke were easily able to hold up Jordan between them and with Cate to open doors and shit getting Jordan back to their dorm room was easy.

There was one small hiccup.

“Noooo, I wanna say good night to my beautiful amazing girlfriend with the best ass ever first .” Jordan whined.

“Buddy it’s 3am, she’s asleep you can talk to her in the morning.” Luke tried to reason with them as they got to the courtyard outside side of the dorms.

“Also your obsession with her ass is a little concerning.” Andre added.

The four of them had gone clubbing. It was a last minute plan and it wasn’t meant to be an original four night out but the other three were busy. Sam had an important assignment for his puppeteering class and Marie and Emma already had plans for a roommates movie night.

Andre probably should have realised that that meant Jordan would be fourth wheeling him, Luke and Cate leading to the shapeshifter spending most of the time out at the bar doing shots with the new friends they’d made while the 3 of them were being throuple-y.

But they all had a good night regardless and hopefully Jordan won’t have too bad of a hangover tomorrow.

“No it’s not. And she might not be asleep,” Jordan slurred out. “She was having a movie night, those can go pretty late.”

The look in Jordan’s eyes was too hopeful Andre couldn’t help it.

“Alright I’ll text her.”

“Thank you, thank you thank you. I just want to say good night and that I love her.”

“Whoa what? Is the first time you’re saying the L word?” Cate exclaimed, stopping the 4 of them from going any further.

“Lesbians?” Jordan asked, confused.

“No, love.” Luke explained “fuck you are way too drunk.”

“Oh sorry, yes I love her but I haven’t told her yet. I’m going to do it tonight.” Jordan looked so proud of themselves.

“No you are not,” Cate told them firmly. “Not when you’re too drunk to stand up on your own.”

“But..”

“She’s right dude,” Andre interrupted. “You got to make shit like that romantic, like recreate your first date or something.”

“I should recreate getting shitfaced at Dusty’s?”

“No,” Luke said with a laugh. “The dinner you two went out for the week after that. At the Korean place off campus. Or do something else romantic. Basically do tell her but not tonight.”

“Ok, can I still tell her good night?” Jordan’s big brown eyes were impossible to say no to.

“If she’s up.” Andre said pulling out his phone.

—

To Marie🩸

U up?

Jordan wants to say good night

From Marie🩸

Yeah ?

Are they ok?

To Marie🩸

Yep just drunk

We’ll swing by your room in 5

From Marie🩸

Cool

Actually I’ll met you at their room

Don’t want to wake Emma

—-

“When did you know you loved her?” Cate asked as they entered the dorm building and headed for the elevator. Getting Jordan to their room was going a lot quicker now that they knew Marie was waiting for them there.

“Um, she was giving me a blowjob..”

“How romantic.” Cate interrupted.

“Fuck off, anyway I switched during it by accident. I thought I majorly fucked up, like totally freaked her out but I didn’t. She just kept going. And I just knew then and there that she wanted all of me, exactly as I am and she makes me feel so happy and good about myself and I’ve never been in love before but I’m pretty sure that this is it.”

“Ok that’s a bit romantic.” Cate admits at they got out of the elevator on Jordan’s floor.

“Thank you.”

Marie was waiting for them at Jordan’s doom in slippers and a hoodie that Cate is pretty sure belongs to Jordan over her pyjamas.

Once Jordan saw her they slipped out of Luke and Andre’s arms and staggered into Marie’s.

“You got it from here or do you need help getting them into bed?” Luke asked.

“No I got it, thanks.” Marie said as she opened the dorm room door while Jordan nuzzled into her neck. “Goodnight”

***

Drunk Jordan was compliant if a bit cuddly so getting them into their pyjamas and into bed wasn’t too difficult.

“Sorry I didn’t come out tonight, it looks like you had a lot of fun.” Marie said as she helped Jordan sit on the bed so she could untie their shoes.

“Nah, it’s cool. You have fun with Emma?”

“Yep, we watched mean girls and a few other classics that’s she was horrified that I hadn’t seen yet. You?”

“Yep, it was so fun. So many shots, maybe too many.” Jordan got up and wrapped their arms around Marie, one hand sliding down to her ass before stopping. “Do you mind that I do that?”

“What?” Pulling out of Jordan’s arms so she could take their shirt off and replace it with a pyjama top.

“Me putting my hands on your ass, like you’ve joked about it a few times and Andre says I’m obsessed but does it bother you?” Jordan looked so concerned as Marie was undoing their belt.

She smiled to herself. “I don’t mind it, kind of like it to be honest.”

“Really?” They asked with so much relief and hope on their face that Marie couldn’t help but kiss them before getting back to taking their jeans off.

“Yeah, I’m been pretty unwanted all my life but I’m never insecure about you wanting me because you make it so obvious that you do, through ass grabbing.” Marie said with a laugh “you also make it clear that you enjoy spending time with me and are an all round amazing partner. Plus I know I have a great ass, I’d be offended if you didn’t appreciate it.”

Once Jordan was in their bed Marie pulled off her hoodie and slippers and joined them.

“It was really cool to hang out with they guys, even if I was fourth wheeling.” Jordan said cuddling into her side. “They give good advice.”

“Like what?” Marie asked as she started to doze off.

“They said not to tell you that I love you when I’m drunk. I’m gonna do it over dinner, make it romantic.”

Marie was suddenly wide awake while Jordan was out like a light. She just about managed to stop her self from jumping for joy or something equally as embarrassing and likely to wake up her partner.

‘Jordan loves me,’ she thought to herself self as she closed her eyes to go to sleep. ‘And I love them too.’

#gen v #jordan li #jordan x marie #marie moreau #limoreau

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indouloureux · 2 years

Note

how are u love? I dont know if you saw the pictures and videos of joseph and jamie in brazil (I just saw them and I'm SCREAMING) but could you write something based on that? like joseph x costar!reader?

ps: you're amazing and I LOVE that you write for Joseph sm and you do it SO WELL

HI IM GOOD YES i saw their pics from brazil and i went absolutely feral!!! tysm for reading my works ily !! 🫶 hope you enjoy this

side note: a couple of you guys sent in requests and im sorry if im unable to post it sooner. i promise i will get to them and i absolutely love your ideas!!! i also sincerely apologize if the fonts are small im writing the blurbs on my phone and ive yet to figure out how to put "read more".

brazil is really pretty, and so is the smile on his face.

his white dress shirt hangs perfectly around his frame, but his grey blazer is missing and is instead draped over your shoulders, an offer he'd done out of worry.

even so, joseph's got an arm around your waist, holding a drink in his hand that he so carelessly waves around as he talks to people though not spilling it on anyone else. his laugh is bright and a bit drunk, but it's still contagious nonetheless.

"hey," he murmurs in your ear. "i bet you twenty dollars i get at least more than fifteen questions about what my vecna song is, deal?"

you snort, gyrating your wrist to swirl your drink. "why? did the question reach brazil?"

"i can't tell you how many times i've said the words up and down by venga boys. it's a lot more than the amount of wrong theories i saw about volume two."

joseph beams at your smile, and as much as he wants to place a kiss on your temple, he's too shy to do so in a public place. "alright. and if it's not more than fifteen, i get the twenty dollars?"

"twenty dollars and a kiss," he offers. "only because i haven't kissed you since this morning and i've been taking it out on this glass."

"eugh," you turn away from him. "gross,"

"it's true," joseph removes his arm from around your waist, only to step in front of you so you'd look at him. "when you were at the toilet i've been mouthing my drink."

"jesus, joseph."

"and mary," he smiles at you, comes back to his original position where he slots himself at your side with a hand around your back in a kind possessive manner. "no one has actually asked you what your vecna song is, though,"

"i'd rather not answer than when yours sounds like a kids bop music at a child's birthday party," you playfully clink your glass with his. joseph wrinkles his nose and opens his mouth in a silent gasp, feigning offense at your joke.

"my, how rude! i've never judged you for listening to doja cat for a whole week when she tweeted about me," joseph squints his eyes at you.

"it's my way of coping. a hot girl flirts with my boyfriend and then what?" you shake your head at him. joseph smiles, and he's really fighting the urge not to kiss you. "plus her music's good. you should try listening to it instead of dancing to venga boys every morning."

"never disrespect up and down like that," he scoffs. his hand reaches out to play with the sleeves of the blazer around your shoulder, and you find yourself tracing the curve of his chain.

"yeah yeah, whatever."

"oh, here comes another one," finally, he steals a quick peck on your temple, hand sinking deeper into your waist. "prepare to lose twenty dollars, darling."

would very much appreciate feedback and reblogs!! <3

#joseph quinn blurb #joseph quinn x y/n #joseph quinn x you #joseph quinn fluff #joseph quinn #requests #joseph quinn x reader #joseph quinn fanfiction #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson blurb #eddie munson fic #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fanfiction

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thedvilsinthedetails · 3 months

Text

rosekiller band au microfic pt4

heyyy guys pt4 is hereeeee

ok so this one is a bit shorter bc I’m a bit tired today but I rlly wanted to write it anyway so I did lol but it’s not been edited like at all so there may be typos pls point them out if u spot them so I can fix them tyyyy

yayyyyy I love this one

Ok ppl who wanted to be tagged/wanted the next part: @good-oldfashioned-lover-girl @picklerab23 @nikholascrow @always-reading @weirdtinkerbellversion @lady-stardust-incarnate @depressedtheatrekiddo @y0url0verb0y @idk-what-to-put-here-123 @lulublack90 (as always pls lmk if u want to be added to the taglist/don’t want to be tagged x)

link to part one

link to prev part

(EDIT: link to next part)

***

Barty’s stomach flipped as Evan looked at him, stunned and stunning. Then the moment was broken and Evan turned his head to look at Dorcas who seemed to be fighting back a laugh. This was stupid fuck this was stupid.

“Did you know about this?”

Evan asked Dorcas who shook her head.

“First time I’ve heard about it.”

Stupid, STUPID. You’re so stupid Barty why would you go and say that. You should have said no when Marls suggested it, should have said no straight away.

“It’s um- to make a statement. Kiss on the stage to piss of Riddle but it’s fine you don’t have to-“

“It’s a good idea.”

Evan said quickly.

“Oh, yeah it was Marls’. Wouldn’t want to um…steal the credit.”

Wouldn’t want you to think that the idea of kissing you plays on repeat in my mind every second I’m awake.

“Yeah. I um- I want to. I think it would be good-“

Brilliant actually it would be fucking brilliant Rosier.

Barty amended Evan’s statement.

“To make a big statement.”

“Yeah.”

Yeah. Yeah what other reason would there be Barty? What were you hoping for? Pathetic isn’t it. The way you would gladly lick the crumbs left on his plate if he asked you to. He doesn’t want to kiss you, he wants to piss of homophobes. Don’t forget that.

It was in fact too late for Barty to not forget that because all that was ringing in his ears was ‘I want to. I want to.’ Because honestly Barty was going to kiss Evan. Maybe for the only time ever in his life. But he was going to. He’d never even thought it a possibility before.

•••

I figured out that this modern world is turning the wrong way round

There’s something about the way our bedsheets turn religion upside down

So we just have sex to solve all our problems

Let’s do it again

It had been Pandora’s idea for the kiss to happen during ‘cotton candy’ and everyone had immediately agreed. It was a stroke of genius really. Barty had originally thought it should take place in a love song, but that wasn’t what this kiss was about. This kiss was about the freedom, the liberation everyone deserved to be who they were, to test their limits and experiment and not be judged for being queer or straight or promiscuous or prudish. Cotton candy was just that. A call for sexual liberation, a call to stop demonising young people for living their lives.

And I wanna get stuck between your teeth like cotton candy

So you remember me darlin’

Barty turned his head to look at Evan. Their microphones were too far apart on separate sides of the stage, everyone hated it. He felt uncomfortable so far from Evan, they just performed better when they were up close together. The crowd had actually been pretty annoyed when they saw it at first. Still when he looked he saw Evan staring back at him. He cocked his head sideways, a silent, last minute ‘are you ready?’ Evan nodded.

Im losing myself in you

In you

I know

Evan stopped playing the guitar and let it just hang around his neck as he took the microphone out of the stand. Barty watched him before taking his own mic out the stand too.

I’m losing myself in you

In you

I know

They turned to face each other and Barty began to walk.

Leave me in the morning, although

I don’t wanna be on my own

They met somewhere in the middle of the stage and suddenly the scream of the crowd dulled and the music stopped and for a moment there was nothing except Evan. Evan Evan Evan. His eyes staring straight into Barty’s. The hushed sound of their soft harmonies. The warmth of his breath dusting Barty’s face as they pressed their foreheads together.

I’m losing myself in you

In you

I know.

And they kissed. The crowd screamed. And suddenly the world was filled with colour even though Barty had his eyes screwed shut. Kissing Evan was like…fuck Barty was no wordsmith, Regulus and Pandora wrote their songs. But kissing Evan was everything. He tasted sweet and minty like the gum he’d chewed right before the show. His hand was warm and calloused and currently threaded through the hair at the base of Barty’s neck, tilting his head up just so.

The instrumental was over, they’d missed their cue. Barty didn’t care. They kept on kissing till the song faded to a close and even then kept going till the clap of the crowd died down. They softly broke away but Barty couldn’t hide the grin that broke onto his face. Evan just grinned right back.

***

AHHH YAY OK I LOVE THIS SONG CAN I JUST START BY SAYING THAT

Watch the music video for this song (cotton candy by YUNGBLUD)

LOOK AT THE SKIRT HE WEARS AND TELL ME BARTY WOULDNT WEAR THAT

Also what do we thinkkkkk they finally kissed!!!!!!

Ayyyyyy

ok stay tuned for the FIFTH and FINAL part (probs gonna be released tmrw hehe)

Also I’m probably gonna put this on ao3 btw, not gonna change it bc I don’t have the patience to properly lengthen it (at least rn, ig u never rlly know) but it’s just like if ppl want to bookmark it or reread or whatever it’ll probs be easier

ANYWAY LMK WHAT U THOUGHT

😘BYEEEEE

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little-emerald-snake · 7 months

Text

Kinktober Day 6

Toys - Garreth Weasley x F!MC

🔥NSFW 🔞 MDNI

1.2k words

Garreth had come home from work early to what he originally thought was an empty house. His roommate, who he had grown close with at Hogwarts, and him had decided moving in together to cut costs after school would help them both get out of their sibling packed houses and gain some independence without fully living alone.

She was used to him being gone at this time so she mindlessly had her bedroom door open, her broad ‘collection’ out in front of her on her bed as she cleaned them. She prided herself on not needing a man but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to indulge in some much needed alone time.

She hadn’t heard the front door open or her red haired roommate walk down the hall. He absentmindedly peered into her room on his way by, stopping to talk to her when he saw her sitting on the bed. His eyes drifted down to the collection out in front of her on the bed and his eyes widened, broad smirk lighting up his features. “Hey roomie, looks like quite the collection you have there. Now I see why you never have any guys over here.”

She turned, horror scrawled across her features as she spotted him casually leaning against the doorframe of her room, his potioneer gloves hanging out of his pocket, apron slung over his shoulder lazily. She quickly grabbed her pillows, tossing them over the spread of toys on her bed. “G-Garreth?! W-what are you doing home early!? Merlin…you weren’t supposed to see this…”

He chuckled, turning to toss his work gear into his room before crossing his arms smugly, still leaning against her door frame and throwing her a teasing look. “Oh I’m sure I wasn’t. But now that I have, why don’t you show me what you’ve got? Have you had someone use them on you before?”

She looked dumbfounded up at him. At first she was shocked he wanted to see but at his second question she was thrown. She’d thought of someone else using them on her before but never had a chance. He’d flirted in the past but this was a new line they’d never crossed before. “N-no? What do you mean someone using them on me?”

He chuckled a bit and stepped inside her room, crouching down beside her bed and resting his elbows on the edge of her bed. “Don’t tell me someone hasn’t ever fucked you using only your toys? With a collection this big? Come on, let’s see what you’re working with here.”

She blushed, moving the pillows. A large collection of dildos, vibrators, clit suckers, nipple clamps, butt plugs and anal beads. He whistled, seemingly impressed. “Damn, quite a collection, I’m impressed. How often do you use them?”

He looked dead serious which had her doing a double take. He wasn’t smirking anymore, his green eyes shimmered with delight as his eyes flicked from the toys to her face in question. “U-um…once or twice a day…usually.”

He nodded, picking up a red jelly dildo and eyeing it, glancing up at her to see her reaction. She had her hands folded in her lap simply watching him with curious eyes while trying to tame the blush on her face. “Do you want me to show you what it can be like to have someone use your toys on you?”

The thought excited her as well as terrified her. She looked at the toy in his hand and then the more than serious look on Garreth’s face before nodding sheepishly. He nodded, rolling the sleeves on his shirt up and motioned for her to lay back. “Take your clothes off and lay back on the bed with your knees up for me.”

She did what he said, standing and stripping out of her clothes with a blush on her face before laying down on her back, her lower half toward Garreth, pulling her knees up on the bed while leaning up on her elbows to watch him settle on the floor beside her bed, between her legs. “My my, pretty girl. I can’t wait to make you feel good.”

He placed the dildo down and looked at the spread grabbing a pair of twist nipple suckers. He put one knee on the bed, leaning over her to give each nipple a small lick before placing them on and pulling the plunger so the suction would pull her pink nipples upward. She whimpered at the feeling while he hummed in satisfaction.

He went back for the red jelly dildo, picking it up and spreading her legs apart a little wider. She was already a bit wet but he held the toy to her mouth expectantly, proud when she did exactly what he’d wanted, opening her mouth and sucking on the tip. When he pulled it away, her spit coated the tip nicely.

He brought it back down between her legs, pushing the tip between her folds, easing the toy inside her with small thrusts, the toy going deeper each time. Once he worked the toy all the way inside of her he angled the toy so it would brush right against her sweet spot.

He smirked as she whimpered for him. His free hand reached up to a clit suction toy, grabbing one he’d read pretty good reviews about and turning it on the lowest setting before slowly applying it to her sensitive bud. She cried out, the slow thrusting and the suction being a combo to have her seeing stars.

She’d never used her toys like this on herself, never able to have enough hands to do sob but the angle of the toy inside of her and the perfect spot on suction of her clit drove her to the point of desperate, wanton cries.

Her wetness dripped from her now and he sped up the thrusting of the toy, it’s blunt tip nudging perfectly against her g spot. He could see the appreciation on her face as he turned the suction toy up. One click. Two clicks. Three.

Her hips were coming up off the bed as he worked the toys expertly in and on her sensitive areas. With every movement her body made she could feel the nipple suckers adding sensitivity as her breasts bounced. “O-oh! I’m already s-so close! Shit!”

Garreth licked his lips, the wet sounds of her cunt on the dildo driving him wild as he watched her writhe on the bed in pleasure. With one more click of the toy she was spasming on the bed, back bowing up in pleasure as she cried his name, completely unashamed. He watched her fall apart, working her through the most intense orgasm of her life.

He only stopped when her hips bucked with over sensitivity and she pulled her hips away. He chuckled, his sparkling eyes eating up her naked form, committing it to memory for later as he turned off and set the toys aside. “Anytime you want to do this again, just let me know…roomie.”

He walked away, a swagger to his walk that he didn’t have before as he left her naked and spread on her bed, leaving the door wide open like it was when he found her. She knew from then on they’d definitely be benefiting in more ways than they used to by living together.

Kinktober Prompt List

#hogwarts legacy #hogwarts legacy smut #garreth weasley fanfiction #garreth weasley smut #garreth weasley #garreth weasley x mc #kinktober #kinktober 2023 #writing challenge #hogwarts legacy fanfiction

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twinklix · 2 years

Note

HIHIHIHIHI i need perv han pls pls pls i love u sm biggest fan here ☹️ 🙏

wanted ✧.* | h.js

| Perv!Jisung x Fem Reader | Best friends 2 lovers | wc: 3907

A/N: Ok so my ass got carried away to say the least and its not even good bc i literally wrote it at midnight, and i got so lazy for the entire second half. but anyway luv i hope you enjoy, this is my first fic on this blog im so scared AHHHGHGHSDFG also this isnt proofread im tired ily

[warnings: Smut, explicit sexual content ,MDNI, piv, fluff, Degrading, semi public sex, virginity loss, unprotected sex (dont do it babes <3), fantasies, masturbation (m), bad writing bc im tired fingering, dom/sub dynamic, corruption kink ?]

“pass the popcorn Ji!”

Your second request for the snack was met once again with silence from the boy beside you. To force a reaction out of him, you reached for the closest thing to you,(the tv remote) and chucked it at his head. Not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to make him fucking answer you.

“YAH! Y/N!” He dramatically whined, rubbing his head, finally turning to you with a half pissed/half confused look.

“popcorn.” you motioned to the bowl in his lap and his face lit up with embarrassment and realization as he handed it to you. You accepted it happily and settled back into your spot on your bed, returning your attention to the movie playing only a few meters away on the tv mounted to your wall.

Han, however, did not return his focus to the movie. Not like his focus had ever been on the movie in the first place. It had been like this for the past few weeks. On these nights, he’d usually be intently watching with you, waiting anxiously for the opportunity to crack a relevant joke to whatever scene was playing, in hopes to make you smile or laugh. But now instead, he sits, trying to ignore the grumbling feeling of nerves and guilt mixing together in his stomach.

Being in this room. Your room, had a much different affect on him than it did mere weeks ago. Your scent. the excessive amount of plushies scattered across your bed. The posters on your wall of all your favorite groups and shows. Your clothes in a pile in the corner. He seemed to notice and dwell on these things much more now, because all those things were you. And you were all he could think about.

When this started, he wasn’t sure.

He had always loved you, but in the way he should love his best friend. He wasn’t sure when his gaze on you started to persist slightly longer than it should or when you started to invaded his thoughts at night and he especially wasn’t sure when he started to notice how visible your nipples were through your favorite white t shirt.

All these changes slowly snowballed to him, now, sitting stoic and silent on your bed beside you.

Your head turned to him, your lips turning to a frown as you sat the popcorn on the side table. “ji..” you began, and surprisingly he responded with a low hum. “do you not like hanging out with me anymore?”.

His eyes widened and he spun to you on his knees, waving his hands like an insane person. “no! no! never!” He almost yelled. Your frown stayed and you turned your head to look at the wall. “you haven’t seemed interested or...present.. whenever you’ve come over for movie night.”

He knew he fucked up and had to fix it. He hated making you sad.

“there’s just been a lot on my mind recently…” he slumped back down with a sigh, feeling like an idiot. “you know i love spending time with you! i spend my whole week looking forward to it!” he confessed, taking your hands in his, prompting you to turn back to him, a small smile adorning your face, making his posture perk back up. “you know what! Hyunjin’s having a party tomorrow. I wasn’t originally gonna go, but i think it’ll be fun!”.

You perked up fully now. You and Han used to go to Hyunjin’s parties together all the time until he suddenly stopped going and as a result, so did you. “really?” your eyes lighting up with happiness. Han looked into them, feeling his entire body warm up as the nerves and guilt in his stomach were replaced by butterflies.

He nodded and you sprung up to wrap your arms around his neck tightly, hugging him with a relieved and happy sigh. His arms snaked around your waist and it was then he realized. You weren’t wearing a bra. Heat rushed up through his chest, feeling the firmness of your breasts push against his chest, not far from his face. He cursed himself for thinking of you like that right now since that’s how this entire problem started. He couldn’t think about it much more before you pulled away, leaning back with a yawn.

“..but for now you need to get some rest, bug” he told you with a comforting smile, helping you into bed. Once you were comfortable and snug under your blankets, he went to stand up but was interrupted by a whisper from behind him.

“i love you Ji.”

Sleep hit you the moment after saying it. He turned to see your eyes closed and your lips parted. Soft. So soft. His eyes were stuck at your lips wondering what it would be like to kiss them, to use them...

You mouth was so small, he was sure you’d have the cutest expression trying to fit him. He was also sure you’d make the cutest noises as he touches you..

He shook his head, trying to make the thoughts go away. Trying to just see you as his best friend sleeping. Nothing else.

He realized how tight his pants had become and the grey spot appearing at the front. “fuck..” he whispered under his breath, thanking god you weren’t conscious to see him. His feet carried him quietly to the corner of your room where he leaned down to collect his stuff. Soft cotton brushed his knuckle as he picked up his jacket. His eyes fell to the pile of clothes he had zoned-out on earlier. Where his knuckle was, laid a pair of pink striped panties ready to be washed. A breath got stuck in his throat and before he could internally fight himself, he collected them along with his jacket and exited your room and apartment in a hurry.

Grunts and groans left Han’s lips as his hips thrusted up desperately into the soft cloth. He pretended it was you, pretended you were wearing the clothing item wrapped around his cock and that he pushed it hastily to the side to fuck you.

“fuck.. bug.” His nickname for you came out so breathily as he felt his chest tighten, so close.

He imagined you saying his name, as he was yours. He imagined how your face would contort with pleasure. He imagined being the only man to pleasure you.

His fantasy came to a sudden halt when he let out one last grunt and closed his eyes as he painted your most intimate item white.

He was left breathless, melting into his pillows as his chest rose and fell trying desperately to refill his empty lungs.

He removed the cloth from his cock to stare at it in his hand. He stared at where your juices mixed with his and he felt a depraved smile creep onto his face as he tucked the item behind his pillow, not planning on returning it anytime soon.

You arrived late to the party, being held up by an old friend you’d ran into on the way, exchanging the expected polite catch-up dialogue.

Not long after knocking on the door, Hyunjin swung it open to greet you, beer in hand and grin on face. “Hey.. Y/n!” his obviously tipsy gaze fell down below your eyes. “you look hot” he blurted out and you snorted, pushing him out of the way so you could step out of the freezing hall.

“haven’t seen you in a while!” he yelled beside trying to compete with the increasing volume of the music you as you walked through the entrance together.

“been busy!” you yelled back but slightly quieter than him since you were still sober and capable of somewhat hearing. He stopped at the kitchen and nodded to you “Han’s on the balcony” he told you at the volume of a normal human now and you nodded to him, giving him a quick thanks before leaving for the living room. You forgot how big Hyunjin’s apartment was, there had to be at least 50 people in this one room, all smushed together. You slipped through the crowd until you reached a table near the wall, decorated with different types of booze. You downed a few shots with a foul face then grabbed a beer.

Sliding the balcony door open, you saw only a few people. A couple making out beside you, leaning against the glass that looked inside. A drunk girl in a chair who you think was passed out. And Han, standing with his back to you, resting his arms on the railing to look out into the night.

“quieter out here, isn’t it?” you smirked, sliding beside him to lean ur back against the railing. Elated by your sudden appearance, he turned to you quickly, ruffling your hair with a smile “hey bug! I was wondering when you’d get here”

After explaining your hold up and taking a large swig of your beer, you tilted your head to him, already somewhat lightheaded. He finally looked down at your body, seeing your thighs on display and breasts practically spilling out of your dress. His words got caught in his throat as you looked up at him through your lashes. He cleared his throat and reached for the cup of bourbon he had forgotten and downed it quickly, deciding he’d need alcohol to distract him from how bad he wanted to fuck you.

An hour later, you both sat on the ground of the balcony, giggling messes leaning onto each other for support. You weren’t drunk, you were at the point of tipsy where you’re still aware and conscious but everything. is so. fucking. funny.

“i can’t believe it was you that gave suengmin that black eye!” you yelped out between laughs, clutching your stomach, trying to remember how to breathe. “i was practicing my nun chuck skills” he admitted casually, before you both lost it, laughing more.

“what’s the best sex you’ve had?” you suddenly asked, after you’d both calmed down slightly. Neither of you expected but it slipped out. Did tipsy you think about Han having sex? or did you just feel it was a standard party question?

“um-uh..” stutters were the only thing that left his mouth since the inside of his brain was currently filled with only tv static. It was normal to talk about sex with your best friend, but it was different for him considering he’d shot a load into your underwear 24 hours ago. You leaned back on your arms and waited, smiling. He straightened up and thought up some bullshit answer. “my first time i guess… in highschool. i can’t remember much about the girl though“ he technically wasn’t lying, he had lost his virginity in high school to some girl who’s name he couldn’t begin to try to remember. ”how about you?… how was your first time?“

You frowned and sat up, rubbing your arm awkwardly, “well uhhh..”

Han’s eyes widened in shock. You were a virgin. Sure, he’d never seen you go home with a guy or listened to you talk about fucking any, but you’d dated guys in the past and he just… assumed things.

You sensed his realization and nodded “yup.. no ones laid me”. A shameful giggle left your throat and before the air could settle from your confession or anyone could even think, Han chimed in with a brilliant idea. “i could help!”

You looked at him solemnly for a moment before bursting out into laughter even louder than the one after his nun chuck story. “wh-what? are you volunteering to fuck me?” you asked, looking at him actually curiously now and he felt something inside him snap. He thought about it. What he’d been dreaming about and jerking off to. Could it really come true?

“i mean sure. i’d rather you do it with me where i know you’d be treated right, than with some random douche” He meant what he said, not just lying yo get in your pants.

Somehow under some miracle, you saw the logic too. “ok...yeah” you timidly agreed before standing up. If life was a cartoon, his jaw would have fell to the ground and his eyes would be comically wide. He couldn’t believe his ears. You’d agreed to let him fuck you. Not just fuck you. But take your virginity. Midway through malfunctioning while trying to process reality, you grabbed his hand and pulled him up and into the apartment through the crowd. He let you pull him along, knowing he’d be happy with wherever the end destination was.

You let go of his hand and opened a door, walking in. He followed, realizing it was the bathroom. It was of course massive just like the rest of Hyunjin’s home, with a double basin on marble counters to your left with a width-long mirror above it. You moved to rest against against the sink’s counter looking down awkwardly.

Han closed the door behind him, making sure to lock it. A painful silence rested in the bathroom, a stark contrast to the blaring music just outside the walls. He walked over to your nervous figure, standing directly in front of you, leaving little space. His finger came up to lift your chin, forcing you to look at him. “are you sure you want to?” he asked, somehow letting the question come out in a low and unwavering voice even though his chest was swimming with fear. Your face mirrored his blank expression, but with an unidentifiable twinkle in your eye.

You nodded slowly, feeling a slight warmth in your thighs. He nodded back and leaned in quickly to connect his lips to yours. Your lips were as soft as he imagined them and it made his heart flutter and his dick harden. He pushed his tongue into your mouth with little protest from you, as you leaned back, placing your palms on the counter to hold yourself up. You felt the heat between your thighs grow as you let out a slight whimper into his mouth as his tongue continued to massage your own. He pulled away slowly after a moment, and you looked up at him through lidded eyes, panting slightly. He leaned back down and connected his lips to the left of your neck, using his right hand to turn your head to the side so he could complete his task better. His lips sucked onto the skin of your neck, leaving you whimpering slightly at the unfamiliar sweet feeling. you felt his teeth join, grazing he spot he was sucking, biting down softly causing you to let out a yelp, and grab onto his shoulder. “Ji..” you whined out. The heat had spread up higher, feeling it in your pussy now, you felt so empty even without knowing the feeling of being full. “please..inside me” you begged and it was music to his ears as he sucked one last time and pulled away, smirking down at the deep purple mark he had left. he moved back to look into your eyes now. You were blushing hard, feeling so embarrassed that he was seeing you this way, but even more embarrassed that you never wanted to stop.

He leaned down for one more kiss before directing his attention to your bottom half. “Up, baby” he instructed and you silently lifted yourself up to sit on the counter, dwelling internally on the new nickname,

You rubbed your legs together, trying to: a) hide your most private place b) get some friction to relieve the ache inside you. Han smirked and shook his head, placing a large hand on each of your thighs, slowly using them to spread your legs for him. You bit your lip in embarrassment but let him. one of his hand moved to caress your thigh slowly, inching closer and closer to where you silently begged for him. He hesitated before finally moving his hand to use two fingers to swipe a line up your slit over your underwear, causing you to let out a small gasp when he lightly grazed your clit. “So wet for me” he whispered into your ear and you couldn’t believe his voice could sound like this. The same voice that said the stupidest things and told the dumbest jokes, was making you silently beg for his fingers. He hooked his fingers under the waistband and yanked them down, lifting you up to help get them off. He discarded them into his pocket then turned his attention back to you looking down, feeling breathless at the sight of your most precious area, and the fact he was the only man to ever see it.

You tried to push your legs back together, feeling insecure under his gaze, but he didn’t allow it. Placing one hand on your thigh to hold it in place then moving the other hand to your clit, pinching it slightly, making you yelp. “think you can take my fingers baby?” he asked, collecting your wetness and using it to rub circles on your clit. You looked up at him and nodded quickly, making him chuckle. “Okay” he announced before moving the finger on your clit to circle your hole before sinking it in. “j-ji!” you moaned out, reaching for his shoulders, digging your nails into them. He curved the finger slightly and begin moving it in and out before adding another. Your eyes flew shut as he picked up the pace, fucking you with his fingers faster. You’d never felt anything like this and it only made you wonder how his cock would feel. He added one more finger and you started to feel a stretch, moaning out louder, as he fucked them into you so hard, you couldn’t even hear the music outside anymore. “you’re taking them so well” he assured you with a grunt and you nodded, unable to properly respond. You came back to earth when he suddenly removed his fingers from you and brought them to his lips to suck on them. “you’re so sweet” he told you and you looked at him. Mesmerized. Panting.

He made quick work of pulling his shirt off and you watched in awe, not knowing how beautiful his body was. Did he go to the gym? you wondered.

he moved toward you and looked at your already fucked-out expression, donning a cocky expression before unbuckling his belt and removing his pants and boxers. He was pretty big and he was already painfully hard. Slowly, you reached down to touch him but he pushed your hand away. “tonight’s about you.” he told you before scooping you up to place you back on your feet on the floor. “now if you do want to help me, be a good girl and lean over the sink. Without a second thought you turned around and bent over, doing as he said, sticking your ass in the air, causing your dress to fall from your legs to pool around your stomach. Han couldn’t believe his eyes. You bent over, waiting for him. He felt butterflies arise again, even after all he’d done to you so far. he walked behind you and ran a hand over your ass slowly, admiring your body. ”please..“ he heard you beg with a broken cry and he nodded.

He aligned himself, rubbing his tip up and down your slit making you whine. “don’t worry, I’ll be gentle” he promised, looking up at his reflection above you and smiling, feeling joy at every sign this wasn’t a dream. He focused his attention back to you, pushing into you slightly as you helped out reaching back to try and grab on to him. He collected both your arms with one hand and held them behind your back, pushing the rest of himself in. “i-it stings” your voice came out almost only as a breath and he ran a soothing hand up your thigh, “it’s ok baby” his assurance helped you relax and after a moment of laying there, panting, you nodded slowly. “can you do it now ji... fuck me.. please..”

No words had ever sounded more beautiful to han and without much warning he pulled himself out of you only to dive back in quickly, causing moans to escape your lips in lines, one after the other. Once he was rested inside you fully, he repeated the action of pulling out to the tip and then plunging in. keeping this slow, deep and torturous pace for a few minutes until you couldn’t handle it anymore. “faster!” you cried out, not caring about anything else anymore. Han chuckled before granting your wish, increasing the speed of his thrusts greatly. “oh god!” you nearly screamed out, “yes...like that Ji”, Han could listen to you forever. Both the sound of your moans getting louder and your pussy taking him so well, he knew you were making the most beautiful noises he’d ever hear.

“you’re being such a slut for a virgin” he groaned out, causing your pussy to clench around him even harder, thrusting into you especially hard after speaking. “god… so desperate for my cock you let me fuck you here in the bathroom… couldn’t even wait to get home to lose your virginity” he scoffed, reached forward to tangle his hand in your hair. You tried to break your arms away from his grip behind his back, so desperately wanting to touch him but he tugged on them harder, using them to pull you up so you were standing. He slid out of you and turned you around. You were unrecognizable. And he loved it. your pupils were blown, eyes barely open and your lips and cheeks bruised red. You pouted up at him, feeling empty once again, but too tired to protest verbally.

After admiring your state he reached for one of your legs, lifting it against his chest before entering you again, returning quickly to his quick pace, hitting deeper spots inside you. The sting inside you had long passed and you only felt euphoria now, squeezing your eyes shut. Something was happening inside you, something unfamiliar and strong. so strong. “i-i” you tried to think of the words to say between your pants and moans but Han nodded, “i know baby, it’s ok let go” And you did, clenching down on him so hard he could barely move. In an attempt to reach his end too, his hand found your breasts through your dress and he massaged them, watching you let go around him, moaning out so loud, and hanging onto his neck for support. With that, he let go too, painting your walls like he had your underwear, the night before.

You held onto each other, trying desperately to catch your breaths.

“i’ve wanted to do that for so long”

You came back to reality and looked up at him with wide eyes, confusion and shock on your face. “r-really?” The question was so nervous and shaky but he met it with a warm smile. “of course. You’re the most beautiful girl in the world, how could i not” All the energy you had left, was mustered up and used in you playfully hitting his arm with a laugh.

“im serious though. i love you. i’ve thought about you like this for a while..i felt horrible about it..but now..” your hand ran up his cheek, looking into his eyes softly and lovingly. “I love you too Ji.”

Tysm for reading i hope you liked <3

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fromriches-tosin · 17 hours

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hiiiii i rmbr u saying jean and eren dont really interacted in s4 to focus his interactions elsewhere. it got me thinking, all of his exhaustive interactions in s4 are with people outside of 104th squad levi. and i think its cool that he is the link of that circle with the outsiders. (he did interacted with mikasa, armin, connie, levi but it doesnt add much to him development wise) whereas his interactions with onyankopon, niccolo, magath, yelena, gabi, floch, hanji, reiner somehow shows us his conflict, rejection, acceptance, growth. u already shared your meta on his and reiner's relationship in s4. so im curious on your opinion on his relationship with hanji, floch and gabi since those are the next notable relationships he has in the later part of the story.

Hi!

Hange is someone Jean admires. Some time ago I read a post about the MOBILIZATION of Jean at the end of S3. The pun was so genius, it made me squeal. Jean takes Moblit’s place (to some extent); he probably wants to make up for the fact that he manipulated Hange in order to save Reiner’s life in Shiganshina. He surely feels bad because Hange lost their entire squad. He surely feels grateful that Hange didn’t accuse him of treason. But, on the other hand, Hange must see Jean’s potential. They must trust him. It’s not his first time working closely with a commander, after all.

During the timeskip, Hange must have been the one to promote Jean to a commanding officer. I also think their strong reaction to Jean’s doubts as to whether they should try to stop Eren is caused by the fact that Hange knows Jean really well. They know what kind of person he is and they are greatly disappointed with his behavior. I love how fast they’re able to get Jean back on track. And I love their little conversation from the AOT After Party event; Hange consoles Jean at the campfire and tells him about the importance of change. I know Jean’s heartbreak after Hange’s death speaks more than a thousand words, but they really were family.

If Hange is an angel on Jean’s shoulder, Floch is a little devil.

Jean sees some part of himself in Floch. They both presented themselves as self-absorbed cowards at first, they both went through traumatic events that changed their lives, they both looked death in the eyes, but they ended up choosing different paths. I have an impression Jean recognizes how similar they are, almost in a “what if” kind of way. What if Jean had joined the MPs? What if he didn’t listen to Hange? Jean’s distraught by Floch’s death because Floch dies thinking he’s doing the right thing: protecting his homeland, avenging the fallen ones, dooming their enemies. Thinking he’s a good guy. If Jean could save him, he most certainly would, just like he saved Reiner.

As for Floch, I think he’s a little obsessed with Jean. Jean is the only (original) Scout he’s close to, he’s the only one he wants to talk to and he’s almost desperate for them to remain on the same side. It’s a “if I can get Jean, I can get them all” kind of approach.

Jean’s relationship with Gabi is… sweet. It doesn’t start this way, obviously, because she kills Sasha and Jean instantly tries to kill her. It’s only when his bullet ricochets and almost hits him that he realizes what he almost did – killed a child in cold blood. An assassin, but nevertheless a child. It’s a vicious circle. Killing Gabi won’t bring Sasha back. It won’t stop the war. Jean knows he’s directing his anger at the wrong person. A child soldier. So, he mellows out.

Gabi, on the other hand, grows to respect him with time. I think she’s already a little impressed with his calm behavior on the airship, but only truly starts to value him when they meet the night of the campfire. Jean is adorably gentle with Gabi, all things considered. The fact he apologizes for kicking her by accident, the fact he’s looking out for her when Reiner is not around… Gabi is surely grateful to him for knocking some sense into Reiner, too. She knows Jean is a good influence on her cousin.

#thanks for the ask ✨#veecanons

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legodamianwayne · 8 months

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BATMAN AND ROBIN 2023 #1 (Take 6 (yes))

(im not writing this as i go since ive already read the issue before. ill also be mentioning gotham war since this takes place during it (just a warning for spoilers!))

i just noticed the bat and robin on the cover! so cute

OH........(just noticed this too) that doesn't look good

look at them goofing off n having fun

this is cute but the way bruce acts here and in gotham war is so jarring its kinda funny

bruce in batman #137: can't stand my fake ass family

bruce in b&r: me and my son damian 🤗

bruce is in his "local dilf in the area" era rn

damian having talia's mannerism that bruce noticed is so <3

and here its confirmed that this takes place during gotham war. not sure how to feel about that

STILL INSANE OVER THIS baby first self insert fanfic

damian went from drawing hyper realistic gore vent art to anime eyes in the corner

i think it'd be fun if we see damian write more as the story goes on. like him daydreaming n doodling in class

wonder if theres any meaning with damian putting talia as a hero n bruce as a criminal here...or maybe its just a "totally original character do not steal" thing

you dont say bruce 🙄

"the last few years"?? pretty sure the events shown there all happened not even in 2 years since damian turned 14 around the start of the lazarus tournament

also why are alfred n talia not shown there? alfred's death has huge impact on damian (he literally hallucinated him) n talia was there as much as ra's

i dont like how damian looks here but that white connor should be a crime

"thats enough emotions for tonight father" [slams door]

i wonder why damian is staying with bruce tho (outside of making this book exist) didn't bruce n talia had a custody battle moment™ n damian's like "nah i have my own life (is literally 14)"

HELL YEAH MY BOY CAN COOK

he's quoting alfred ohhh im gonna sob

this is kinda embarrassing for bruce...like ur son is finally living with you again n he's the one up early cooking?? sir u better step up

aw he's making tea the way alfred did

*squints* did bruce get his hand back? thats a pretty normal looking hand to me

did damian's comment on it in batman #137 made bruce think "shit i cant give damian any ideas of getting a robot hand" n he just. magically grow it back

[GLASS SHATTERING SOUND]

gotham...heights? n. not gotham academy? no maps? no damian joining her dnd team?? no detective club finally hanging out with damian??

ik damian got expelled from gotham academy BUT. WHY

okay? whats the point if he's not going to the same school that his friend went to?

interesting how damian fantasize for a normal life in robin 2021 (with him liking the mundanity of shoujo manga) n now that bruce is offering him that he's rejecting it (or maybe he just rly don't like school which is. fair enough)

wellll just cuz we're not getting maps n the detective club doesn't mean damian's other friends arent showing up right? RIGHT? (maya plz come home)

THE ROBIN MOBILEEE it looks so ridiculous i love it

HOLD ON. DOES THIS CAR HAVE NO SEAT BELTS?? BRUCE UR LETTING THIS SLIDE?

ik that thing is rly loud too damian waking up the whole neighborhood here

not rumors abt the batfam fighting getting spread around?? this is so embarrassing omg

am i the only one getting gotham academy flashbacks here? with killer croc n the trio with the fox shark n bird masks

they're very comfortable with calling eachother father n son while in suits huh. ig everyone in gotham knows that batman is a dilf (who's beefing with his adult children) now

not much to say abt the rest: bruce got shot with something n now bats are attacking him

end thoughts: i hope with all the focus on animals here means that we're getting damian's pets back soon n that gotham war wont affect this book much since i rly want to see damian interact with his siblings again. also is it just me or does the day scenes looks very bright? saturated? it kinda hurts for me to read idk. the night scenes r pretty tho

next issue is damian's first day on his new school that is not gotham academy but im still excited for it! (coping)

bonus bestie corner

#damian wayne #bruce wayne #batman and robin 2023 #FINALLY tumblr keeps posting it while im editing it but its done yippee #this is inspired by makeste bnh/a liveblogs! i remember how much fun it was reading them that i wanna try it with b&r #tho i dont think i could ever write as much for a single issue...#still figuring out how i want to do this

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duck-era-lexi · 5 months

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deadset headcanon that bonkai happened after the end of tvd

or: bonnie ended up alone and that is just not okay.

note: i didn't watch the originals and idgaf. their plot is probably stupid anyway.

ok so kai is in the prison world, yes, and bonnie is traveling the world, and elena and damon are being humans and shit and caroline is being pregnant and stefan is dead (god bless). so where is the drama? bonnie while traveling in... africa hooks up with a lot of people and learns a lot of shit, runs into some near death experiences but gets her voodoo witchy magic out of it. she eventually starts being mad about enzo's death because she should be and she's also realizing that she can't find another love because she hasn't gotten over it. then it's been like 5 yrs or something and bonnie gets the news that elena is pregnant perfect time to head back.

so they've kept in contact, done some visits but bonnie's mainly been traveling because when you can magic shmagic cold hard cash into thin air you can kind of do whatever you want. damon and elena are doing good, they live in a white picket fence house with a dog and two cats, not in mystic falls but still in virginia. damon makes jokes about eating the neighbors and elena talks a lot about how stefan's probably watching over them. that kind of stuff. bonnie stays over for a baby shower and elena has a heart to heart where she's like... girl u know you can have kids too right? bonnie admits that she wouldn't feel right dating someone who's not supernatural based on her experiences hooking up with random people. bonnie reveals she knows the gender of the baby already but elena plugs her ears so she can't hear it. the cat scratches at the door and elena shooes it away and bonnie waves her hand, the cat falls silent. elena looks at her friend with a kind of fear, forgetting how much power witches have. bonnie reminds her that she is not just a witch, but the most powerful witch.

(this is gonna be long but hang in with me here)

so fast forward to the baby shower, mystic falls gang comes down from the salvatore boarding school cause elena is kind of scared of going to mystic falls (we're gonna ignore the compulsion plot holes from the story idgaf). klaus sends his farewells yadda yadda easter eggs but bonnie just gets really sad and jealous and it just so happens that caroline wants someone to live near her to take care of her kids. caroline and bonnie haven't been that close just cause they kinda drifted, but they instantly reconnect and bonnie loves caroline's kids.

caroline and alaric are married, and a) bonnie is like, he was ur teacher are u freaking kidding me and b) there are photos of stefan on the wall and bonnie realizes that she really detests stefan for killing enzo right in front of her face. caroline belittles enzo and they argue about caroline invalidating her feelings and bonnie accuses her of being racist, blah blah blah it ends up in a blowout and bonnie wanders into the woods to find the ghost of enzo talking to her. (i don't really remember the rules of tvd). enzo tells her the move tf on and bonnie has a thought: what if she was never really that much in love in the first place? it's terrifying and she refuses to accept it, simply lying to enzo (even though he's dead) and being distracted because two vampire dudes try to murder her and she snaps their necks

so she traces back to her first love, but jeremy's also in the middle of a freaking battle thing so first she has this entire arc where she has to help him commit genocide and then finally they have a heart to heart where she convinces him to teach at caroline's school and jeremy says that they were young love. then they hook up and bonnie realizes she doesn't really have any feelings for jeremy anymore, not after he cheated on her with his dead girlfriend :(

maybe, she missed a person in between...

this is all to say kai is desiccating in the prison world, because he's alive- oh, did i mention he's alive? the plot moves to caroline's boarding school, the hollow's bullshit, oh no hayley marshall dies, and elena's kids are reaching double digits. but bonnie is MIA. how?

one day, bonnie exits the prison would with kai behind her. and i'm telling you, this is crazy. but how? because bonnie bennett is absolutely done.

it's a string of things.

fighting with elena and elena insisting that she wants a magic free environment, that she read all the parenting books and her kids will go off and become vampires themselves if she doesn't try to prevent them. the salvatores move to like europe or something and try to live a normal life. damon and caroline still keep in touch, but damon and elena are the only humans in the entire gang and life is kind of different when you know you're gonna die someday.

getting a call from a call and meeting a little witch named davina, a cute girl named hope, and a whole shitload of problems that she thought she left behind her. she takes the hollow upon herself and tears her apart physically and mentally, and only after she threatens to destroy the entirety of los angeles (as a joke!! haha....unless....) do the mikaelson siblings take accountability. klaus mentions how different she is from her friends, and bonnie comments on the fact that it's probably because she lost her two best friends to humanity and didn't realize how crazy their lives had become.

davina (and kol) want to see bonnie's prison world, and bonnie is fosure its for some kinky bullshit reason, but it's been so long she doesn't gaf anyways. she's the kind of insane that she might go to a psychiatric hospital soon, and near her 40th she went so crazy she mind controlled someone to be in love with her. the reason she's never linked in particular with any male witches is because she gets a strange sort of irritation to them, and one of them realized that she played a part in klaus' blood triangle so he tried to kill her and then she killed him and that really hurt her. but really, when kol and davina are with her, she decides to wake kai up.

talking to kai is awful, and it takes, 1, 2, 3, times too much- and the force of their fight is so catastrophic that it creates a prison world inside a prison world, but it's a limbo- it's two rooms, one her childhood bedroom and the other his and it goes on forever and ever. they fight, but neither of them really get an upper hand- yes, kai is more powerful but it's bonnie's world technically. kai wants to talk but bonnie just wants to beat someone up and suddenly, davina falls into the world, crying. she tells bonnie that kol touched something weird and disappeared, and bonnie says that she enchanted some things to help her be able to leave that only work once, and that she forgot about it. davina entered the world through kai's chains.

kai holds davina hostage with knives that he hid under his bed and bonnie conceeds to talking with him. and by talking, i mean like actually coming to the same conclusion that everyone else should've came to.

in the end, kai and bonnie have an awfully rocky relationship that first involves bonnie stealing part of kai's heart so that he's like half-vegetable (long story, trust me there's some way it can happen) and then, in his partially mentally deformed mindset he brings up taking the hollow. this is at the point where they live in some random hill in romania in a hightop castle and kai offers to take the hollow and kill himself with it.

bonnie removes the curse from his heart and reveals she actually forcibly impregnated herself because she wanted him to die at the hand of his own child, the leader of the gemini coven, and kai's like how i thought i was a vampire and also the gemini is dead and bonnie says idk i marlene king came up with this, actually in the limbo world i got another dose of the cure and then i'm giving it to you and by reverse psychology now the gemini coven is back alive.

i have to stop myself from writing really graphic shit because this can get really bad really fast, but in the end i do think they fall in love blah blah blah and they reinstate the gemini coven which eventually makes the bennett coven more powerful. witches have always been corrupt and selfish and a convenient plot device to bring up in the writer's room when you want a promotion so i really don't care. if you can write all this bullshit about stefan and still make him the good guy, kai can be dug out of his grave too. bonnie invented space and time and magic. silas who?

their kids are ultra powerful and bonnie and kai cut everyone off cuz they're all haters. except for caroline (ironic), and their kids are too cool to be involved in hope mikaelson drama bullshit. they say aye dad isnt it a good day to commit mass genocide, i heard cousin lizzy is struggling with her psychotic tendencies back in the americas!! kai says no son let's go play catch and watch my favorite episodes of glee while your mom cooks some lasagna with frog legs and unicorn hair sprinkles on the side. then in the afternoon i'm gonna show you some of my evil plans for world domination and we can practice your leaping spells.

xoxo

#ale writes #ale writes a LOT #tvd #bonkai #tvd fanfiction

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chcrryade · 2 months

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when you think you know what i know.

Hasun, and all of the people he has to learn how to understand.

INCLUDES ⁺⠀lee hasun, cherryade ensemble. TIMESTAMP ⁺⠀JULY—NOVEMBER 2021. WARNINGS ⁺⠀profanity, injury, smoking, arguing. the piece as a whole is kind of a mish-mash of scenes!! WORD COUNT ⁺⠀7.8K. NOTE ⁺⠀i guess this is.. a chapter? or at least a little insight into these weirdo freaks idk.. but i hope u like it anw!!! if u hv any thoughts please tell me or i’ll blow up!!! and finally thanku to my fave isa for making the decision for me for this to be through hasun’s eyes (bc it was originally gonna b doyeon LOL). love u 🫂

ఇ⠀PRACTICE ROOM⠀3RD JUNE, 2021

Doyeon looked like he was an untied shoelace away from snapping.

It was just them in the practice room, the others having left not long after the choreographer did to spend the rest of their evenings however they so desired. Hasun stayed because of the creeping worry he was falling behind, an uncomfortable feeling hanging over his head that if he didn’t get up to standard soon he would simply be cut. Easily, thoughtlessly, as he had seen the company do before and feared they would do again.

Why Doyeon was still there, though, he had no clue. The older seemed miles ahead of him in terms of talent, every move he made flowing perfectly into the next. Doyeon was like honey, slow and sure and golden, and Hasun supposed that made him something of an irritating bee trying to replicate it for himself. He had first tried to just shut him out, focus on his own steps and twists and turns, but soon the force of Doyeon’s trainers against the wooden floor were starting to drown out the music from the speakers, and Hasun had been watching him ever since, barely attempting to keep up the pretence of following the routine anymore. His movements were ghosts of what they had been earlier, eyes fixed on the figure next to him in the mirror.

The older boy seemed.. Off. What was once honey-smooth now looked more jerky, forceful. Like it was being pulled out of him, every movement too big for his body. His face was blank, eyes far away, and his hands were curled into fists at his side. Hasun’s brows drew together, mouth opening to call out, to try and snap Doyeon out of whatever trance he looked to have fallen into, but he faltered in the face of the rhythmic beat of trainers against floorboards and the melodic vocals of their mock-up debut track playing on repeat.

Everything seemed to grow in volume. Feet on the floor. His breathing in his ears. Music from the speaker, lyrics from the song. It was a climbing crescendo, and the chilling feeling was back—running along the nape of his neck, a feather-light touch across his skin that left it crawling. Something felt wrong.

The music only felt like it got louder, after that. As if protesting against the sense of dread that was slowly seeping into his train of thinking. His hands were cold, his feet ached, his eyes widened. Everything was slowing down, and Doyeon was stopping in place, and his eyes seemed to snap open in realisation, finally awake, and then—then he was crumbling to the floor, a pained yell ringing out around the room that echoed horribly in Hasun’s ears. The demo track carried on.

He was by his side in a second, hands cautious as they hovered for a moment before he finally settled them first on his back, then moved to his shoulder. He didn’t know what to do. Doyeon pushed to sit upright, the clouded-over look in his eyes replaced with something that Hasun couldn’t name, and didn't know how to describe.

“Hyung. Are—are you alright? Should I go get someone?”

The way the older one reacted made it seem like nothing sounded worse. He jerked further upright, shifting out of Hasun’s hesitant grip, and his hand made to grab at his arm, eyes suddenly frantic. “No, fuck. I’m.. I’m alright, Hasun-ah. See?”

To demonstrate, he pushed himself to stand and presented his hands in a flourish. It was almost believable, until he moved to take a step and one of his knees nearly buckled all over again. Doyeon slumped back to the floor before his legs could do it for him, face pale and all excuses shocked silent.

Hasun was starting to panic. His hands rose to try and reach for the dancer again, but he shoved them back by his sides when he saw how they were shaking. Idiot, he berated himself, glaring hard at the floor so Doyeon didn’t see the unsurety in his face. You’re supposed to be helping.

“Are you sure, hyung? Please don’t lie, I don’t.. I don’t know what to do.”

To Hasun’s horror, he felt the hot prickle of tears threatening to fall, a broken half-sob clogging up his throat before he choked it down and clamped a hand over his mouth. Shame came not long afterwards, the tips of his ears burning red-hot. He couldn’t be breaking down, not now, not here—not when, if anything, it should’ve been Doyeon brought to tears. Doyeon who seemed to be the picture of calm in that moment, teeth coming to gnaw at his bottom lip as he yanked up the leg of his sweatpants to inspect his ankle, brow furrowing slightly at what he saw. He lifted his gaze from his leg to try and reassure the youngest one more time, but stopped still when he saw the tears shining in his eyes, resolutely avoiding eye contact. His words faltered, coming out stilted, awkward. The positions had flipped, and now Doyeon was the one with no clue of what move to make.

“Hasun-ah, I’m fine. Hyung’s fine. There’s no need to—just. Don’t cry, Hasun-ah. Please.”

His attempts at consolement were flimsy, crumbling at the foundations, and so he gently set a hand on the maknae’s shoulder instead. That seemed to be all Hasun needed for him to collapse into Doyeon’s shoulder, head down and cries muffled in the thin fabric of his sweater. The demo track was still playing from the speakers, lyrics looping over and over. Hasun wished he was back in the dorms. In bed, underneath a duvet in a room that at thirteen had seemed so like a stranger but he now knew like the back of his hand. He wanted his tears to dry, the music to stop, a warm meal that evening, and for Doyeon to be alright. For everyone to be alright. He wanted to make it, and he wanted everyone to be fine when they did.

Doyeon appeared to understand without him saying a word. He simply pulled him in closer, a hand making its way to stroke over his hair softly, tangling and untangling the strands between his fingers. There they sat; in the practice room long after everyone else had left, long after the sun had set. Bruises were starting to form around Doyeon’s ankle, sickening shades of purple and blue. Hasun’s hands were still cold, his head starting to hurt from the soft sobs that wracked through his frame. Neither of them paid any mind, for now.

“We’ll be alright, Hasunnie. We’ll get through this.”

Maybe it was an empty promise, but Hasun didn’t care. It was good enough for him.

ఇ⠀CLUB (?)⠀5TH JULY, 2021

“Why are we here, Jalen-hyung?”

The strobe lights were hurting his eyes, painting him pink and purple and blue and a whole other range of colours he was too overwhelmed to remember the name of, the bass of whatever EDM remix they were bumping was matching how fast his heart was beating, and his hands were sweaty from where they were holding onto the back of Jalen’s shirt in a vice grip as the older led them through the back-alley club he’d dragged him to—for what reason, he could do nothing but guess.

Jalen turned back to him, the white of his teeth when he grinned gleaming at him even through the pseudo-darkness. “Inspiration. Why else? You said you wanted to write a song, didn’t you?”

Hasun shifted, straightening up when somebody knocked into him from behind and then carried on pushing their way through the crowd without so much as an apology. “Not about anything like this. I’m not—I’m not even allowed to be in here yet.”

All he got in response was an eyeroll, and then suddenly Jalen was off again, finally coming to a stop at a rare empty booth that he shoved Hasun into before cramming up next to him. Sweat was starting to bead across his forehead from the stuffiness of the room, and the older one’s voice was too loud in his ear when he leaned in close to yell in it.

“So just don’t tell anyone! It's not like I’m making you do shots, I’m just trying to get you inspired. What is it you even want to write, anyway?”

That was where Hasun stopped in his tracks, suddenly far too interested in the rings on his fingers than meeting Jalen’s eyes. The thing was.. He himself didn’t really know. Hasun just knew he wanted to do something, contribute something other than his vocals on the tracks and dancing for the stages. Every single one of the other members already had things to show, traits they were known for, both personalities and reputations already established (for better or, in some cases, for much worse), and Hasun had nothing. He was the nobody, the new boy. So he figured a good way to show people he wasn’t going to just stand around without pulling his weight would be to get his name in the credits for one song, at the very least.

But he couldn’t relay all that to Jalen. He’d probably just laugh, leer, pat him on the head and tell him that his voice would be more than enough, because he didn’t get it. Because it wouldn’t, it wasn’t, and it never would be. That was one of the first things he’d learned as a trainee, standing in the cold one November evening while his cousin stubbed out cigarettes under her stilettos and ingrained into him things that he’d never learn in any practice room.

They never just want your voice. Or your talent as a dancer, or your pretty white smile. It’s not that easy. You have to be someone, you know. You have to be the one who tells the best jokes, or gets the most girls, or the one who looks like they just don’t give a fuck about anything—about anyone. You have to write the songs, or get yourself onto billboards, or say the most in all the interviews. You’re not enough. She never said it, but it was written in the fine lines, the footnotes. Hasun was desperate to please and to prove, so with knuckling down and shoving some lyrics in front of their producer’s face with a hopeful smile he hoped to kill both of those birds with one stone.

But he couldn’t relay all that to Jalen. So instead he just shrugged, raising his head and trying not to mumble so he’d be heard over the music.

“I don’t know. Just.. Something. Something fun.” Something worthy. Something that’s enough.

The older one again gestured at the atmosphere around them, with a force that sent one of his dangling earrings swinging and an eyebrow raised in expectation. “Fun? We’re at just the place for it.”

For him, maybe. Hasun had overheard all the stories Haeil had playfully forced him to tell the rest about his life back home, everything he’d seen and done so far. Scenes like this probably felt like a place where he could slip into a second skin, into a nature he’d grown up inhabiting. For Hasun it felt like being thrown into the deep end, locked in a cage with his oxygen cut off. Everywhere he looked was another flash of glittering fabric, sparkling jewellery, and on occasion an LED-endowed vape clutched in the hand of a drunk partygoer—which Hasun was half-sure was allowed just as much as him even being in this place at all, but from how run-down the entire establishment looked (from both the outside and in) he wouldn’t be surprised if the smoke alarm’s wires had been cut long before anyone started flicking lighters or hitting blinkers.

The air felt as if it was weighed down, so laden with the force of sweat and perfume and powder that Hasun felt that if he stuck his tongue out he would be able to taste it. He laughed weakly in response to Jalen’s question and shimmied down further into his side, trying his best to melt into the cheap leather even if the stench of the alcohol that had seeped through it made him want to retch.

Unfortunately, Jalen wouldn’t let him off that easily. His grip around his arm wasn’t a rough one, but it was firm enough that he tugged him back into sitting upwards with ease. His gaze when he turned to stare into Hasun’s eyes was unflinching and uncomfortable, and the youngest wished he’d said yes when Jalen had asked if he was doing anything that night.

“Stop moping, just humour me for a minute. Ignore this shitty music, ignore everyone else—just stay in your head and think. Lyrics can be anything, you know, no one’s expecting us to bring anything deep to the table. Fuck it, you can write about the awful shade of purple they’ve painted the walls if it means you’ve got a song on your hands. Just.. You know. Try.”

Try. Try and write something fun. Something enough. He tossed Jalen a wary look in the face of his gentle encouragement, but broke the eye contact and tried to push out the overbearing noise thumping into his skull anyway. Stay in your head. His mind was quiet, a place of solace, and he slowly lowered his head into the comfort of his folded arms atop the table, tugging his beanie down over his ears in an attempt to muffle the bass even further, and thought. Felt.

It took a while for anything to form, while he sat there and stared into the ocean of neon lights and young recklessness, and when it did it didn’t even come all at once. It didn’t come in a perfect flow of intro-verse-chorus-verse, but instead in broken lines. Or rather, just one. But he shot upright all the same, and Jalen next to him jerked in surprise, eyes wide as Hasun tugged harshly on the sleeve of his jacket.

“Hyung. We need to go. I need to write this down.”

Jalen’s grin was just as wide as it had been earlier, and looked to gleam even brighter as he got to his feet and gave the youngest a hand, arm around his shoulders as he tugged him out the same entrance they’d come in from. Hasun’s eyes were trained on his feet, at the floor, desperately trying to keep what he’d thought of in mind, trying not to lose it to the tug of the crowd and the rhythm of the music. It wasn’t whole, wasn’t any sort of final product or finished piece, but when it was..

When it was, then maybe it would be enough. But only then.

ఇ⠀CHERRYADE DORM⠀21ST JULY, 2021

The voices in the kitchen were far too loud for Hasun’s liking. He almost hadn’t heard them at all, because debut was around the corner and they were being worked to the bone, but the combination of the walls being so thin, his room being the closest to the kitchen, and the slamming of the front door with the harsh back-and-forth between whoever was out there that followed not long afterwards was enough to rouse him. He shifted upwards in his bed, bleary eyes struggling to make out one foot from the other as he shoved back the thin duvet and reached for a hoodie tossed over the chair shoved against his tiny desk. He was gentle as he pushed open the door, quiet as he pushed it closed behind him. The only light was coming from the warm yellow bulb under the stove hood, and bathed in it he could just barely make out Haeil sitting on the counter, face half obscured by the figure in front of him.

Hasun made to step closer, to ask what was going on, until he snapped to full attention at the sound of Jalen’s voice, the coldness of his tone cutting straight through the otherwise warm atmosphere.

“What the fuck were you thinking? Are you drunk? Is that it? How could you do something so stupid?”

Haeil’s face twisted into something ugly, and he shifted away from the older man in front of him, hand reaching up to rub at one of his eyes. His reply was just as harsh, his usual apathetic state turned cruel by whatever argument he was in the middle of.

“I’m not drunk, and I’m not stupid, either. God, you make it sound like I asked for this to happen. If you’re just going to give me a lecture, you can fuck off. I can take care of this by myself.”

Jalen’s returning scoff hurt Hasun’s ears. He only pressed closer, bringing his hands up to hold Haeil’s face in a way that was far too soft for how he was berating him only moments earlier. Hasun felt slightly sick, skin burning too hot for the thick fabric of his hoodie. He didn’t think he was supposed to be seeing this or hearing this at all. But he couldn’t turn away, rooted to the spot out of the morbid curiosity that was eating through him.

“Can’t you just let me help, for once? It’s late. Knowing you, you’ll knock everything over and wake everyone up. I don’t want to deal with a pissy Yijun at two in the morning, thanks.”

Despite how Jalen’s tone had lightened, lifting at the end in a half-attempt at a joke, a hand reaching out for Haeil to take, a silent plea for them to agree on a truce, the rapper was resistant. He squirmed out of the vocalist’s hold once again, and turned his eyes towards his feet, words only just above a mumble—so quiet that Hasun strained forward in order to hear, and hated himself a bit for it.

“You’re not my mother.”

The play at being civil dropped, then. So abruptly that Hasun could feel it in the air—like there was a drop in temperature, a shift in the mood. It was a step too far. The three steps back that came as the fallout to Jalen’s weak excuse of moving forward. Jalen straightened up, all previous notions of helping Haeil discarded, forgotten. His next words sounded mean in a way Hasun hadn’t known Jalen to be, the sardonic smile visible even if his back was turned.

“That’s a bit rich coming from you, isn’t it? Has she called?”

Silence rang out in the kitchen. If Haeil had taken it a step too far, then Jalen had just ripped it apart with his bare hands. All was quiet for a few moments longer, before the oldest moved to speak up again, hand slowly raising to Haeil—who was just.. Staring at him, eyes saying far more than either of them could ever out loud and body stunned still—again, before he dropped it with a sigh and turned on his heel. Hasun froze on the spot, unsure of whether he should return to the safety of his own room or press himself as close to the wall as possible and hope Jalen would brush right past him in the dark.

But before he could come to a decision Jalen had solved the issue for him, simply brushing straight past him without a mere glance in his direction and wrenching open the door to his own room, letting it slam carelessly shut behind him and leaving Haeil behind on the counter watching in silence, mouth having opened as if to call out after him but then thinking better of it, and Hasun with his heart thumping hard in his chest, socked feet unmoving from where he’d been stood throughout the whole ordeal.

And then there were two. Haeil looked to have curled in on himself, head hanging and arms loosely wrapped around his sides, and Hasun felt he had to do something—because if he’d gleaned anything from the conversation he’d just overheard, it was that something had gone wrong. So he steeled himself, pulled his hood down from where he’d had it covering his messy head of hair, and stepped forward into the low kitchen light.

“Hyung? Are you—is everything alright? I just heard some noise, so..” The lie settled uncomfortably in the pit of his stomach, but it was better than admitting what he’d just overheard. Haeil startled at his voice, head snapping up to face him, and what looked back at Hasun was a face that held something far worse than any of the scenarios the youngest had been thinking of. Haeil’s face was bruised, beaten, the beginnings of a black eye already starting to form. His arms looked to have fared a little better, but there was blood still sluggishly oozing from one of his scraped knees. The laugh he let out in response to Hasun’s question echoed around the empty room, sounding almost hollow.

“Does it look alright? Think some concealer would cover it up fine? Some drunk fuck jumped me while I was out for a—just. While I was out.”

His skin was burning hot to the touch, and Hasun’s hands were shaking as he tried to figure out what to do. He felt like he was back under the stark white lights of the practice room with a fallen Doyeon before him, a fawn on unstable legs. Haeil was a lot less receptive to his panic, though, simply pushing himself off of the counter (biting back a curse when he did so, the leg he’d injured shaking a bit when he landed on it too hard on his bare feet) and opening up the cupboard they’d unspokenly agreed was meant for the more miscellaneous things, fishing around for the unopened box of plasters and throwing Hasun a half-hearted thumbs-up when he found them.

“I’ll be fine, Hasun-ah. It’s nothing water won’t fix. Why don’t you go back to bed, hm? Hyung’s sorry for waking you up.”

The bathroom was all the way at the other end of the hall, and Hasun watched on in silence as Haeil hobbled his way down, melting further and further away from the warm kitchen light and disappearing into the darkness, the only sound being his bare footsteps padding across the wooden floor. Bright white illuminated his silhouette when he switched on the bathroom light, the blooming bruises on his pale skin almost unearthly in the unnatural glow. He turned and met Hasun’s waiting gaze over his shoulder, and the look he gave him felt inconceivable. The moment stretched on for a beat, another.

Haeil turned back and slammed the door shut behind him, taking the light as he went. Hasun, now standing alone in the kitchen, clad in his socks and sleep shorts and threadbare hoodie, felt like there was something he wasn’t getting—that there were lines he couldn’t see, and so was unable to read between.

But he supposed he’d never find out now. The only thing left to do was flick the stove light off and trudge back to his bedroom, falling back onto his bed and being unable to do anything but close his eyes and try to dream.

Haeil’s eyes stared back at him when he did; asking a question Hasun didn’t know how to answer, wanting to hear things Hasun didn’t know how to say.

ఇ⠀CAFÉ⠀30TH AUGUST, 2021

It wasn’t the first time he’d seen Yijun smile, but it was certainly one of the only. Hasun had no clue who he was talking to on the other end of the phone, but whoever they were had the main rapper grinning like a fool, all while Jaehee and himself were left to sit opposite and make small talk—which wasn’t going all that well either, seeing as Jaehee was far too busy trying to eavesdrop into the other’s phone call to make any sort of conversation with the youngest. So the only real source of entertainment he had was to play with the straw poking out of the top of his smoothie (that Yijun had earlier commandeered one sip of, and then proceeded to fake-retch at the taste of) or people-watch from their convenient window seat, watching as couples and friends and lone individuals wandered by.

“Do you have to? Fine, if whatever you’re doing is more important than me, then go ahead, but just know I’m getting you back next time I see you. Mm. Alright. Love you, bye.”

His conversation apparently having ended, Yijun carelessly let his phone clatter back onto the table and sat back in his chair, taking his coffee with him as he did so. Jaehee leaned forward eagerly, grin on his face as he started his interrogation.

“Who was that?” The leering grin on his face made Hasun feel like Jaehee knew perfectly well who it was, and was only asking to piss Yijun off.

The question served its purpose to a T. Yijun turned his nose up and released the bitten straw from his lips to snap back at him almost immediately. “None of your business. Nosy fuck.”

The fellow rapper pulled a face, slumping back into his own seat but not staying deterred for long, piping back up after only a few seconds of sulking. “I was just asking, God.”

Hasun wanted to finish his drink as fast as possible and leave the two to their oncoming argument, but at the same time he felt he needed to attempt to mediate. Surely they wouldn’t start yelling like they did on occasion back at the dorms—seeing as the café they were all sitting in was a very public place, and with Yijun’s first group scandal already under his belt after his run-in with a senior at Inkigayo they were already walking on thin ice.

“Well, don’t.” Came Yijun’s snappy reply, taking another pointed sip of his drink that drained the rest of it and setting it back down on the table with the force that made his phone jump in its place face-down on the smooth surface. “Why are you even here? I don’t want you to be.”

The pout on Jaehee’s face was starting to morph into something that looked more like a scowl. “Who died and made you leader? I’ll go where I want, I don’t care if you want me there or not.” It seemed like a final statement, but then the rapper was turning towards Hasun with a sudden grin that made him look like something of a cartoon shark, wide and pointy. “Hasunnie does, doesn’t he?”

Shifting awkwardly in his seat, now with the force of two unblinking pairs of eyes on him, the youngest gave a nondescript gesture that was an amalgamated mix of a shrug and a nod and wished the ground would swallow him whole. Jaehee huffed, seemingly unsatisfied with his answer, and Yijun burst into laughter.

“Doesn’t look much like it to me. You’re really running out of allies if even our maknae can’t bear to spend time with you.”

And with that, Jaehee reached his breaking point for the day. It always went like this, as Hasun had come to learn over the years they’d spent together. Jaehee prodded, and then Yijun shoved and broke and snapped in retaliation. The scraping sound of his chair legs against the floor was ugly, grated against Hasun’s ears, but where he winced, Yijun simply picked his phone back up and went back to scrolling mindlessly at something or other, not sparing the rapper a singular glance.

“I’m calling Jaeyoung-hyung. I’ll just—I’ll see you back at the dorms.”

He was gone without another word, one hand clutching the remnants of his drink and the other bringing his phone up to his ear, turning back for a moment to meet the eyes of Hasun watching him go and throwing him a final thin smile that looked too fake on his lips before he pushed the door open with a shoulder and was disappearing off down the street, only pausing for half a second to pull his hood up over his head despite the late-afternoon sun still being high in the sky.

“Well,” Yijun began, shoving his phone in his pocket for the time being as soon as Jaehee was out of sight and turning to face Hasun properly. “That was quicker than usual. Maybe it’s because my friend on the phone is a touchy subject for our Jaehee.”

It had sounded more like a sore spot for Yijun himself, but Hasun wasn’t too keen on meeting the same fate as Jaehee, and so kept his mouth shut. The silence that then fell over them wasn’t awkward, by any means, but it wasn’t the most comfortable either. Hasun just focused on finishing his drink, wondering if he should tell the older man to go ahead and not bother to wait up. The words were on the tip of his tongue, shifting to sit further upright so they’d come out coherent and not a jumbled mess of syllables, but before he could say them Yijun slumped down in his chair, a hand coming up to rake through his hair before the other joined it to dig the heels of his palms into his eyes for a brief moment.

He looked tired, all of a sudden, all the fight from earlier having left him. He reached into his pocket for his phone again, but swore under his breath when the screen stayed dark, battery dead. The youngest watched as his hands squeezed together tight before just barely relaxing, fingers coming to pick at hangnails and teeth gnawing at his bottom lip. Hasun took a breath, another, and then slowly brought his own phone out of his pocket, unlocked it, and held it out to the rapper. He didn’t know what Yijun wanted it for, but he was going to offer it all the same. Watching the older all twitchy and uncomfortable felt odd, unnatural, and he wanted to see him back to his normal self (even if that didn’t mean someone particularly kind, or caring, or all that nice at all) as soon as possible. Yijun stopped his picking and looked at the home screen of Hasun and Eunhee arm-in-arm to the face of the youngest and back again, hesitating.

“Take it, hyung, it’s fine. Just don’t.. I don’t know, drain my bank account.”

Yijun scoffed and rolled his eyes, quickly back to his usual brash act even if his hands were wary when they took the device from Hasun’s hands. “As if. I’d only do that to Jaehee, Hasun-ah. You’re my favourite.”

Hasun grinned, happy to see him back to normal even if it was just for show, just to save face. He then finally finished off his own drink and set it on the table, getting the feeling he wasn’t really supposed to stick around any longer to listen in on any more conversations Yijun was probably going to have. He started to get his things together, yanking the zipper of his hoodie up and shooting the rapper a smile.

“I’ll go first, Hyung. Call a cab when you go if it gets late, don’t walk home on your own.”

Yijun made to protest, but Hasun stopped him before he could say a word and stood from his seat, granting the older a wave as he gently pushed open the door and stepped out into what was gradually turning into the early evening. He’d get back before dark if he walked quickly, and so only turned back for a moment to grin one last time at the rapper before he turned and was on his way, wondering absently what was waiting (or rather, what was left) for him in the fridge back at the dorms.

Later that night, when Yijun slipped into his room after only a quiet knock, he gently placed his phone back onto the bedside table and gave Hasun another one of his rare smiles, small but genuine. There were no words that needed to be shared between them, nothing more that needed to be said.

It was only a small moment of understanding, one that passed as quickly as it had arrived, but it left Hasun feeling warm all the same. Left him feeling like he was getting somewhere, finally.

ఇ⠀DOWNTOWN GANGNAM⠀16TH SEPTEMBER, 2021

This was supposed to be a coffee run. They had practice in ten minutes, and instead of doing what he said he was going to do, Minhui had hopped out of the car, blew a kiss goodbye to Jaeyoung (and got a middle finger in return), took Hasun by the arm, and dragged him along to the closest shopping centre. He’d counted three coffee shops, and the dancer hadn’t spared a glance at any of them. Minhui seemed more interested in the rack of fur coats—made from animals that Hasun could only guess, in so many outlandish patterns and thicknesses and the rest that it almost looked like a scene from a movie.

“Hyung,” he hesitantly began, looking over his shoulder before drawing closer to the still-browsing older boy. Minhui only hummed in response, half-listening. “I really don’t think we should be..”

“Shut up. Go try this on.”

A coat twice the size of him was suddenly being flung in his direction, and he only just barely caught it, before looking back up at the dancer, wide-eyed. At the sound of their commotion a few other browsers had turned to see what all the fuss was about, and it made Hasun want to melt into the floor. At the maknae’s pleading gaze, Minhui simply rolled his eyes.

“Stop panicking, won’t you? I doubt we were actually going to practise today anyway—Yijunnie fucked off to go see some of his ex-members, and Haeil-hyung was out again last night. But if we get in trouble, then don’t worry,” he threw Hasun an overexaggerated wink, his smirk cat-like and vaguely unsettling. “Hyung will take the fall for you, aegi.”

He shuddered at the term of endearment, and Minhui clearly revelled in his displeased reaction if his responding cackle was anything to go by. Still, Hasun turned the coat around and slowly slid it off its hanger, before tugging it over his shoulders. It felt odd on his bare arms, the interior lining not so much a wild and fluffy affair as it was a silkier and smoother fabric. Minhui cooed again far too loudly when he gave him an indulgent flourish of his arms, tugging his phone out of his back pocket and aiming it straight at him.

“Yah, hyung. I never said you could take pictures.” His complaints were rather unfounded when he wasn’t doing anything to stop him, but he felt he needed to get the message across anyway. Minhui, of course, ignored it.

“You never said I couldn't, either! Do a twirl for us, Hasun-ah.”

Muttering under his breath the whole while, Hasun did as told while the dancer snickered and snapped picture after picture every second of the process. He found he felt less worried about the potential prospect of missing practice the longer he was away from the company building, everything being much easier to forget when it felt like it was just him and Minhui—no managers, no staff, no-one. Just them, the generic pop songs they were playing on the in-store speakers, and a rack of fur coats.

Minhui got bored eventually, after he’d made Hasun try on everything he could find that piqued his interest, and he left the maknae struggling to catch up when he abruptly walked straight back out the entrance to the store in the same manner he’d entered: rushed, in a way, every step almost too quick to catch, but also with purpose, confidence. Like he was the owner of every location the chain belonged to, dropping in for a surprise visit and putting everyone on edge before leaving again.

He hadn’t seemed to have figured out their next stop, as when they were out in the busy Gangnam street again he stopped and turned aimlessly a few times, taking in the abundance of billboards and flashing lights and people everywhere he looked. Hasun took a small step away from him, not exactly wanting to be associated with the pink-haired dancer twirling around on the spot while innocent onlookers were made to be his witnesses, but similarly took a moment to simply stand and stare at the bustling city around him.

It felt like too much—car horns beeping at one another, ten different conversations between twice the amount of people floating into one ear and out the other, glaring LEDs hitting him in the eyes on every building he dared to glance at, and about three different idols staring back at him from their places in bus stop windows or billboard advertisements, holding whatever product they were being sponsored by close to their porcelain faces—but at the same time, it felt just like home. A part of him as much as everything else was, as much as the company was, as much as the group was.

It’d been hard to truly get a grasp on at first, what with the training and the debuting and everything in between that had made his life far too hectic for him to take a minute and really accept where he was and where he wanted to go, but now in the stolen moment of peace—by himself, with Minhui at his side, on what was supposed to be a coffee run, when they had certainly missed whatever practice there may or may not have been by now—he felt he could finally process it all properly. This is where I am. This is where I want to be. I don’t know where to go next, but that doesn’t really matter, because I don’t need to know that right now. Right now, he could just be. He could just sing the lines they gave him, dance the choreography they taught him, and just hope he was doing alright instead of worrying if he was going to be replaced.

A smile grew on his face, quiet but wide. Hasun enjoyed the moment for a second more, another, but it was ripped away from him by a complaining Minhui tugging at his arm, apparently bored with (or had gotten dizzy from) his spinning-around-in-circles gimmick.

“Hasunnie-yah. Let’s go get lunch, hm? I’m starving. It’s all on me, but if you want dessert then it’s gonna have to come out of your own pockets.”

Hasun rolled his eyes, but didn’t complain any further, letting himself be dragged along to whatever eating place Minhui could find and listening to all his tangents and rambles on the way. He didn’t feel all that annoyed at his moment being ruined—in fact, he felt it only would’ve been ruined if Minhui had let him overthink any further. He felt that his acceptance of his place was something that should be processed simply and left at that. This is where I am.

And, as he was taken down winding alleyways and wide open stretches of the high street, surrounded by conversation and lights and life, he didn’t think it was an all-too-terrible place to be.

ఇ⠀JAGUAR BUILDING⠀25TH NOVEMBER, 2021

As soon as Hasun entered the recording room, all eyes swivelled to him. Yijun, Daejin, and Doyeon were the only ones there, but even their three gazes combined made him feel uncomfortable, the back of his neck burning as they just continued to stare. It was only when he was just about to pipe up and ask what was wrong that Daejin sent him a sympathetic smile and turned fully in his chair in front of all the production equipment, pushing his headphones down to rest around his neck.

“Hi, Hasun-ah. I don’t want to be too much of a bother, but.. Do you think you could go find Jaehee?”

The immediate question on the tip of his tongue was why, and Yijun spoke up to answer it without him even needing to say a word. “He threw another tantrum and stormed off. Daejin-hyung wants his part done by tonight, so we don’t have to listen to his shitty vocals any longer than we need to.”

Doyeon clicked his tongue in disapproval at Yijun’s choice of words, but didn’t move to say anything to disprove them. Daejin visibly bit back a smile but shook his head anyway, quashing the grin completely as he looked back to Hasun to hear his answer. The maknae nodded easily enough, and turned to leave—but then stopped abruptly and swung right back around on his heels when he realised he had no idea where the rapper was.

“Where would I find him, hyung?”

That seemed to draw a blank out of them, both the producer and leader doing nothing but shrugging helplessly. It was Yijun that spoke up again, not looking particularly happy about the answer he had to give.

“Outside. Round the back, near the main road. Tell him to go home if he’s crying though, that sniffling would drive me crazy.”

Doyeon did speak up at that, reaching over from his place settled on Daejin’s tiny leather sofa to whack him lightly on the thigh. “Leave off, Yijun-ah. The only reason he stormed out in the first place was you. As usual.”

The vague directions had only been a half-help, but Hasun was sure he’d find Jaehee if he wandered outside long enough and turned back around, letting the door swing to a close behind him as he navigated back to the elevator. Evening had long since fallen, and he stared out at the city skylights in silence on the way down.

The November air was biting through his thin hoodie, and he hoped he wouldn’t have to be looking for too long as he took the first step outside the company building. Near the main road wasn’t very helpful, seeing as they were near about three, but he diligently fished his phone out of his pocket and fiddled with the flashlight until he had a more reliable source of light that wasn’t the fleeting car headlights passing by every few moments and began his walk, straining to hear anything that wasn’t the skid of wheels on tarmac or distant conversation from the nearby shops and bars and restaurants.

“Jaehee-hyung? Hyung!”

Another harsh gust of wind hit him right in the face, and Hasun was starting to get tired of looking for the rapper already. Maybe he could just say he couldn’t find him, and go back up to Daejin’s nice, warm, recording room. Yijun definitely wouldn’t mind—would probably celebrate, even. Doyeon would just sigh and accept it, and Daejin would wave it off and say it could always be recorded another day. The more he thought about it, the more pleasing of an idea it seemed to become.

“Hasunnie?”

Nevermind. He whipped around, curious as to where the voice had come from. It was definitely Jaehee, but he just couldn’t see him. That was, not until he looked down. Then he found the very person he was looking for crouched down on the gravel with his back against the wall and his phone in hand, open on a contact whose name he couldn’t read that well upside down. Jaehee was quick to shut it off and shove it back in his pocket as soon as he recognised Hasun anyway, standing back up and smiling the same thin smile he always did when everyone else knew that, really, he didn’t feel like smiling at all—the one that was stretched too wide, far too obviously fake for someone who used to be an actor.

“What’s up? Did you want something?”

Hasun shifted on his feet, pulling his hoodie tighter around himself. “Daejin-hyung wants you back up at the recording room. Says he wants your parts done by tonight.”

The smile almost immediately melted into a scowl, his figure slumping over and head lolling back as he groaned aloud, breath coming out in a visible cloud in the cold air. “No, God no. Not until Yijun-hyung’s gone. If he’s still there I’ll just do it tomorrow.”

The maknae’s brow furrowed, not really wanting to stand out in the cold and listen to the inevitable explanation of their latest fight but hearing the unspoken prod for him to ask about it and doing so anyway.

“What happened now?”

Jaehee slid back down against the wall, phone back in his hands as he passed it from palm to palm like it was a stress toy of sorts, absentmindedly chucking it up into the air and just barely catching it when it fell back down. “He was just—talking shit. As he normally does. I don’t know why it got to me so bad tonight, though, but it just.. Did. I needed a break.”

Hasun nodded empathetically, still hopping from foot to foot. The rapper’s head tilted back to lean against the surface behind him, his face scrunching up, and for a moment Hasun had the panicked thought he was going to cry. He felt out-of-touch and awkward with Jaehee on a normal day, but if he was crying then it would no doubt be thousands of times worse. Thankfully, the rapper only relaxed his face again and sighed, his phone having dropped to the concrete beneath his feet but making no move to pick it up. His next words were quiet, strained, and Hasun had to lean closer for him to be able to hear them at all over all the other noises assaulting his ears.

“I—I don’t really know what we’re all doing this for, to be honest. I don’t even know if we’ll even make it that big in the end.”

His words blew away with the force of the winter wind, but Hasun felt frozen still. He felt like he needed to say something, to attempt to comfort him even if he had the feeling anything he came up with would sound hollow, empty. He thought it over for a few long seconds before clearing his throat, forcing the words out when they felt like they were choking him up.

“It’ll be alright, hyung. We’ll—we’ll get through this.”

Hasun felt cheap, using Doyeon's words to him from four months ago on Jaehee now, but from the way it got his face to finally lighten up again after he let the words sink in for a few moments, got him to pick his phone up from the floor and slowly stand back up to join him in walking back into the company building, he figured they were as much of a comfort to Jaehee as they had been to him. Even if they both knew it was unfounded, standing on shaky legs and likely to crumble with the next disagreement, the next fight, it was good enough for now.

And that, in the moment, was all that mattered.

#⠀⬦ ⠀˚⠀⠀ALL ABOUT ME⠀⠀⸻⠀⠀writing.#⠀✸ ⠀˚⠀⠀너도 이미 STAR⠀⠀⸻⠀⠀development.#fake kpop oc #fake kpop group #fake kpop bg #fictional kpop group #fictional idol group #fictional idol community

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stardustbarbarians · 11 months

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I am BEGGING u for more dad!sanny content. I need slow burn with a baby pls pls pls

Hehehe who's ready for an origin story?

+++

"I'll be back in about an hour or so," Daniel remarked before heading out the door. The three Kiszka's bid him farewell before he left, all three of them sucked into watching a movie together. It wasn't unusual for all four of them to congregate in one spot. It just seemed natural.

They had planned on making dinner at some point, but that would be after Danny got back. Sam couldn't really remember where exactly he said he was going, just something along the lines of catching up with someone. Sam glanced back at his kitchen, wondering briefly if he had enough food to make something for all of them. Eh, if worse came to worse, they could order something out.

Sam had turned his attention back to the movie. It seemed like Josh barely even launched into one of his monologues about the logistics of the movie before the front door opened. All three of the brothers turned their heads to the entrance in unison, which was probably creepy in retrospect. Daniel was standing in the vestibule with something that looked like a purse hanging from his arm. He was dimly lit, yet Sam could see a haunted look in his eye.

"Daniel? You're back early..." Josh pointed out, his hands planted against the floor as if he was frozen in the middle of standing up.

There was a loaded silence in the air as all of them waited with baited breath for Daniel to say anything. To do anything. That's when a small cry permeated the air. It made the blood in Sam's veins turn to ice. That... That was...

"Is that a baby??" Jake was leaning forward in his chair.

Danny, at the question, seemed to finally snap out of his trance. He glanced down at the thing hanging from his arm that Sam now realized was a baby carrier, and glanced back at Jake. Josh had paused the movie so the only noise was that of the baby's whimpering.

"I..." Daniel looked back down at the carrier, looking as if a feather or a small puff of air could knock him over. He swallowed thickly before looking Sam directly in the eyes with pure desperation written all over his face. He was begging Sam for help, for any sort of comfort and normalcy.

Sam quickly got up from his spot on the couch and walked over to Daniel. He gently placed a hand on Danny's shoulder and back before tenderly guiding him to the couch. Danny allowed himself to be guided, a blank expression in his eyes as all the color drained from his face. He set the carrier in his lap as he sat down, looking through the floor rather than at it. Sam took the spot next to him, tenderly rubbing Danny on the arm. He couldn't help it. He peered into the baby carrier. Looking back at him was an infant with one green eye and one brown eye and short, black hair that fell in tightly coiled locks. The baby was bigger, probably around a year old. When she noticed Sam, she clapped her hands together and smiled, a giggle escaping her lips. Sam couldn't help but smile back at her, finding the whole thing cute.

"Daniel, what's going on?" Jake asked as he stood up to also take a look into the carrier.

"I..." Danny began, taking a breath to center himself, "do you guys remember Madison?"

Sam remembered her. He also remembered the cold hatred he felt for her each time she was around. Well, hatred wasn't the right word. Whatever it was, Sam just knew he didn't like her.

"Yeah." His response sounded clipped and icy to Sam's own ears.

"Well, that's who I went to go see."

"And she just gave you a baby??" Josh exclaimed, peering in at the baby. She started crying at the sight of him, and loudly. Josh startled at the sudden wailing, all of them did, actually. Sam shot Josh a look before picking the baby up from the carrier, making sure to support the head. Once in Sam's arms, the infant seemed to calm down.

Danny nodded at Josh. "She told me she was in trouble with the law. Tax fraud or something. She needed me to take care of her baby."

"But, why you? There had to be someone else she could've relied on that had a more baby-friendly career," Jake pointed out.

"I..." Danny glanced over at Sam of all people before answering. "I'm her father."

Sam immediately froze.

"You mean..."

Daniel looked Sam directly in the eyes and nodded. For some reason, Sammy got the impression that Danny was trying to apologize to him. For having a baby?

"Why are you learning all of this now?? Why didn't she tell you before??" Jake seemed the most miffed out of the bunch.

"I don't know, Jake. I didn't really get the chance to ask her any questions before she handed me a baby and sped off!"

It fell silent once again. Daniel hardly ever yelled.

Taking a deep breath, Danny apologized while rubbing at his forehead. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be lashing out at you."

"Daniel, it's ok. You just got the insurmountable responsibility of taking care of a human life sprung onto you. I think you earned yourself a pass," Josh comforted, placing a hand on Danny's shoulder.

Danny sent Josh a smile, a small one. He then turned his attention to the fussing baby in Sammy's arms. She looked about ready to cry again, however Josh couldn't be blamed time around. Right on cue, she began wailing. All four men were suddenly at a loss. They had never taken care of an infant before.

"Oh no," Daniel lamented, his voice cracking from stress. He looked down at his alleged daughter, his eyes glittering with unshed tears. All of the sudden, Sam had the fervent impulse to fix the situation.

"It's alright, Daniel. I think she just needs to have her diaper changed," Sam softly speculated. He wasn't aware of the puppy eyes he was shooting at his best friend, however they did serve as a comforting sight for Daniel.

Danny nodded his head slowly. He knew that. He knew that about babies.

"Did Madison happen to hand you a diaper bag?" Sam inquired, getting up with the baby still in his arms. The way he stood was so careful, cradling her little head even though Sam was about 75% sure she was old enough to hold it up herself. She was just the tiniest little thing Sam had ever seen or held... He didn't want to risk hurting her at all due to his ignorance.

"It's in my car-"

"We'll get it. You stay here with Sammy and figure out where we're gonna change her," Jake insisted, grabbing his twin by the shirt and pulling him towards the door. Jake held up his hands for the keys, Danny obliging and tossing them over as he sat back down in his seat.

It got quiet again, with just the three of them. There was so much to talk about yet there was nothing. The two adults ended up just kinda watching the little girl move around in Sam's arms.

"She's got your curls, Dan," Sam pointed out, his tone fond to match his smile.

Daniel couldn't help the smile the spread on his face. "She got he mother's nose, it seems. Though that's probably for the best." He absently brushed his nose with his fingers, a self-deprecating smile on his lips.

"You've got a gorgeous nose, Daniel. I'm in love with it." Sam hadn't meant to say that out loud. It just... slipped out. He felt his cheeks heat up as he realized what he just said. Not really knowing what to do, Sam busied himself with looking around for a good changing station for the baby.

"T-Thank you, Sam," Daniel stuttered, a hand rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. If the lighting had been better, Sam would've been able to see the blush burning prominently across Danny's cheeks and nose.

Neither of them really knew how to continue after that, so they both decided to ignore it for now. Sam cleared his throat, holding Danny's daughter closer to his chest.

"So where should we make this little tyke's temporary changing station?"

"Annalise."

"What?"

"The baby, that's her name," Daniel explained, walking over to his best friend and taking the child from his hands. Sam watched as he rested her bottom on his forearm and rubbed her little back with his hand. Her yellow gingham dress complimented her father's tan skin tone very well.

"Annalise," Sam repeated slowly, "that's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl."

"I thought you didn't like kids, Sam," Danny pointed out as he subtly bounced up and down to soothe the baby. She was getting fussy again and it seemed almost instinctual for him to do as such.

Just when he was about to explain himself, the twin returned with the diaper bag. The four of them struggled to change her diaper, looking up articles online as well as youtube tutorials. Eventually, Annalise was put in a new diaper and was happier for it.

Once she had been changed, she became very sleepy. Daniel held her in his arms as she soundly slept. His chest started to ache as he looked at her little face, looking like an angel. She'd only been in his life at most a few hours, but he knew he'd do anything in the world to protect her from all of the horrors of the world.

"Alright, gentlemen. I think it's time I head home." Danny motioned towards the baby, her thumb in her mouth as her dark curls mixed in with those of her father's, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Are you gonna be ok doing taking care of her alone?" Sam's brow was furrowed. He'd never had a good poker face, so the concern was written clear as day all over his face.

Daniel, knowing that he damn well couldn't, shook his head. This was his burden to bear, he couldn't ask Sam - or anyone for that matter - to do this for him.

"I'll be alright," he reassured, flashing Sam his best smile. He gently brought a hand up to Annaliese's head, nuzzling her deeper into his nest of curls.

Sam was far from convinced, but he let Daniel go. He couldn't force Danny to accept his help.

Daniel waving goodbye from the front door was the last Sam would hear from those two for nearly a week. After worrying himself sick over the possibilities, Sam finally caved and decided to drive to Daniel's house.

He knocked on the door for a solid minute despite having a key to the door; he didn't want to be rude. When no one came to the door - even though his car was in the driveway - Sam said to hell with niceties and used his key.

"Daniel!" he called out, his voice echoing in the front room against the walls and down the hallway that led to the living room. He kicked his sandals off, noticing the stark contrast of the dark hardwood floors and his beige shoes.

Walking further into the house, he tried calling out again. It was oddly quiet. There was always music playing around all four of them; he was expecting Elton John or some baby music playing off the speakers of Danny's stereo, but there was nothing. The silence did nothing to soothe his nerves.

"Daniel?" It was more frantic this time, his head swiveling wildly for any sign of his best friend. He finally got some relief when he spotted Daniel sitting on the floor, his back resting on the couch with a spaced out look on his face while multiple toys were scattered on the ground around him. Annalise was curled up in his lap in nothing but a diaper, her father absently stroking her back.

".....Daniel?"

Danny finally seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in, his head slowly gliding over to look at Sam. There was a note of surprise in his eyes, but that's not what Sam first noticed. instead, it was the tears that had yet to dry on his cheeks and the redness they caused his eyes.

"Sam? What are you doing here?" His voice was rough, cracking as he spoke. He used his free hand to scrub the tears form his face, but it was too late. Sam had already seen them.

"We haven't heard from you in days, we were worried!" Sam exclaimed, cringing at his loud voice after remembering the sleeping child in Danny's lap.

Danny looked away from Sam, a knit in his brow. "Right."

Sighing, Sam walked over and took the spot next to his best friend. He looked down at the little girl sleeping, her little curls all frizzy and disheveled with a pink barrette in the shape of a bow nearly falling out of her hair. She had a green binky in her mouth, the thing moving back and forth periodically.

"So, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm..." A fresh set of tears cascaded down Daniel's cheeks again. He hung his head, his curls falling off his shoulders and swinging in front of his face as his shoulders shook.

Sam felt his blood go cold as he watched Danny silently sob next to him. He was paralyzed momentarily as he scrambled to find a way to comfort his best friend, settling for putting a hand on his shoulder.

"She ran out of clean clothes. She spilled chocolate milk all over herself earlier and wouldn't stop crying. I tried to changer her and clean her off as best I could, but she just ran out of clothes. I finally got her to calm down and take her nap, but I just..." Daniel looked over at Sammy, his red eyes brimmed with tears that steadily flowed down his face. There was a desperate look in his eye that Sam had never seen before. "I... I can't do this, Sam. I thought I could handle this on my own...."

Without any warning, he threw his arms around Sam and began sobbing into his shoulder. Sam simply looped his arms around Daniel and let him cry, smoothing his hand up and down Danny's back. Annalise didn't even stir as her father cried, too caught up in whatever sweet dreams were filling her head. Sam was thankful. Danny couldn't handle her waking up and potentially crying.

"Daniel, it's ok," Sam repeated in his ear as he comforted him.

Eventually, Danny pulled away. He wiped at his tears, a hand gently coming to rest on his daughter's back again. "I'm sorry," he kept muttering.

"Don't be. You're under a lot of stress. Keeping yourself alive is stressful enough, let alone being responsible for another person's." Daniel shot him a look like he didn't believe Sam for whatever reason. "You didn't ask for any of this, and the fact that you took on Annalise without even knowing if she's yours; you're incredible, Daniel."

He hadn't really meant to say that last part, but that's not to say he didn't mean it.

This time when the drummer looked over at Samuel, there was a soft smile on his face. "Thank you."

"Of course. I just wish you had reached out to one of us instead of letting yourself get consumed by your stress."

"I thought I could handle it..."

Rather than harp on that, Sam just let it go. Now wasn't the time. Instead, Sam looked around at the clutter the past week of having a baby in the house had accumulated.

"So. Tell me what I need to do."

"Oh, Sam. I couldn't ask you-"

"Good thing I'm not asking, then."

All of the sudden, a huge, relieved smile spread across Danny's lips. There was a twinkle of something close to admiration in his eye that Sam couldn't quite place. Abruptly, Sam felt a set of lips against his as well as a pair of strong arms wrap around him. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it would change the course of Sammy's life.

"I'm-I'm sorry, Sammy. I-I don't know what came over me, I-"

"Don't worry about it, Dan," Sammy squeaked out quickly, his face burning with the intensity of an August mid-day sun. Truly, he thought steam was wafting off his cheeks.

Getting up from his spot, he slipped on one of Annalise's toys and was so smooth about it. He totally didn't almost face plant and was only saved by grabbing onto the arm of the couch. Righting himself quickly, Sam tucked a strand of his hair that fell out of his bun behind his ear.

"I'm gonna go..." Sam cleared his throat and pointed int the direction of the laundry room, "....yeah." Keeping his gaze diverted from Danny, he briskly walked towards the laundry room. He leaned against one of the walls and clutched at his thundering heart, trying to catch his breath.

"We're in it now, aren't we, Lise-y?" Sam overhead Daniel whisper. Sam didn't know what they were "in", but he couldn't deny it. There was no going back from what just happened, and Sam didn't know if that was for better or for worse.

+++

"Have you seen her binky, Daniel?" Sammy called over the wailing child, bouncing her in his arms in an attempt to soothe her.

The drummer came around the corner a moment later, one of the girl's binkies in his hand. "Don't you mean 'pacifier'?"

Sam, rolling his eyes, snatched the binky from his hand and gave it to Annalise. Instantly, as if a button was pressed, when she grabbed onto the binky her crying stopped. She put it into her own mouth, happily sucking on it. She then settled into the crook of Sam's neck, her little arms loosely hanging around his neck. They had been trying to wean her off for it for about a month now. But as you could probably tell, it wasn't working all that great.

"She really is just like her dad, huh?" Daniel observed, a soft smile written all over his face as he leaned against the wall.

"What's that supposed to mean??" Sam coolly responded. He wasn't exactly sure when he became "dad", but he thinks it was just around month two when Lise-y pointed at him and said "dad". His heart never melted faster.

"Throws a fit until she gets what she wants? Sound like anyone we know?" Daniel continued, pushing off the wall to get closer to Sam and their daughter.

"Sounds like Josh to me," Sam answered.

"Hmm, guess again," the drummer hummed, his soft smile turning flirtatious.

"Jake?"

"Strike two." Daniel held up two fingers, leaning in closer to Sam.

"If you say me-"

"And we have a winner, folks!"

Sam just scoffed, unable to help the smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. "I have no idea what you mean."

Daniel's eyebrow quirked up.

"You're insufferable."

The two kept leaning in closer and closer to one another, now just atoms apart.

"Aren't I," Sam said flatly before being the one to close the distance between one another. It never got old, kissing Daniel. Each time felt exactly like the first; leaving him flustered and starstruck.

Despite coming into their lives so abruptly, Annalise was the best thing to ever happen to either of them. Touring the world, winning Grammy's... it could never compare to the thrill of watching Annalise take her first steps unaided as Sam celebrated right beside him.

Daniel had never been more thankful for anything in his life.

+++

Happy Father's Day to these two specifically

#greta van fleet #greta van fic #blurb requests #danny wagner #daniel robert wagner #danny gvf #sam kiszka #samuel francis kiszka #sammy gvf #sanny gvf #fluff #kid fic #jake kiszka #jake gvf #josh kiszka #josh gvf #sam x danny

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