#this took me so long to write

[starfinss]

Efflorescent — Tighnari

𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮: Genshin Impact

𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨: Tighnari + Reader

𝘙𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨: NSFW

𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵: 8,495

𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺: Triggered by unseasonably cool weather, Avidiya forest is alive with rare flora. Upon going to investigate it, you and Tighnari get more than you bargained for. 

It was supposed to be an ordinary expedition. And by all accounts, it was, until you found that stupid clearing.

The weather that week was uncharacteristically cool for Avidiya Forest, as ushered in by a passing thunderstorm, and the change in temperature had caused flora that rarely bloomed to come to life, painting the forest with splashes of color, and it wasn’t until a few days after the storm that you began to take notice of the unusual plants.

So when Tighnari had rushed to your room that morning, rousing you from your slumber, you were just as excited as he was to go look for rare samples.

The conversation as you walked into the tree line was full of quiet excitement, the clinking of the glass sample jars in your rucksack almost musical against the morning stillness. You were used to the characteristic balmy humidity that was omnipresent in the rainforests of Sumeru, and the cool breeze felt lovely against your skin. The sky was perfect blue, cloudless and painted with streaks of gold and marigold hues as the sun rose.

The Akademiya would never allow this.

You smiled to yourself at the thought, knowing full well how strenuous it would be to get permission to do this if you were still with the Akademiya. You’d have to talk to your instructors, get permission, write a paper, write another paper, write a proposal, and the list goes on. It was all far too much for you, when all you ever wanted was to go out and discover.

“What are you thinking?” Tighnari asked, head cocked slightly to the side, eyes inquisitive.

“Just about how nice this is,” you replied, pulling your rucksack up higher on your back.

“It is quite beautiful,” Tighnari said fondly, “I wonder if we will find any Avidiya Lilies.”

You hummed in assent, your interest showing in the way your eyes lit up. You’d only seen the flower he mentioned as a bud, coiling along vines encircling trees. It only bloomed when it was cool enough, just after a storm, and since the cool had lingered, you were wondering if the flower had remained in bloom, just as Tignnari was wondering.

Small animals skittered past you as you walked, shroomboars and foxes paying you little mind, as they were used to the presence of the forest rangers such as yourself and Tighnari. You loved it out there; totally at one with nature, and filled with a sense of peace like no other.

Avidiya Forest was like a living organism, so full of vibrancy and life, awash with color and all sorts of smells. If you were hungry, you could stop and forage for mushrooms. If you were thirsty, there were plenty of clear streams you could drink from. Nature provided, and that was one of your favorite things about it. You took a deep lungful of forest air as you walked, a smile spreading across your face.

“There!” Tignnari cried, his voice hushed as he knelt beside the path, “creeping silkweed.”

You knelt beside him, studying the small, pale blue blossoms, which were blooming on a fallen log, attached to a delicate vine. Your fingers brushed against the fragile petals, and you withdrew your shears from your pack.

Carefully, you snipped off a segment of the vine, packing some soft dirt and clear water from a nearby stream into the jar before adding the sample. With a satisfying click, you screwed the lid closed, replacing the jar in the rucksack.

“I’ve only seen those in bloom at twilight, and even then, they often stray closed. It’s amazing to see them in bloom right now. When the conditions are right, they’re supposed to glow. It’s very beautiful.”

You stared at the remaining flowers on the vine, admiring the way the pale blue of the petals tapered off into white the closer it got to the soft yellow of the center. Veins of deep indigo laced up and along the petals, a beautiful contrast to the gentle color.

You stood when Tighnari did, listening intently to the information and facts he was giving you, happy to have the field experience rather than just looking at drawings of plants in a dusty textbook.

Tighnari looked like a painting in the fresh morning light. The dark of his hair was a sharp contrast to the lush green around you, the chartreuse of his bangs elegantly framing his pale, delicate face. Your face felt warm as you watched him, and when he saw you looking, he gave you a friendly smile.

“Is there something on your mind?” He asked gently, his eyes genuine, and you blushed, tearing your gaze away from his face.

“No, I was just listening. You were talking about the hypanthium of the silkweed blossoms?”

Tighnari nodded, eyes lighting up as he continued on talking about the various parts of the flower, and you went right on listening.

It wasn’t until about two hours later, when you were sitting down to rest and refresh yourselves when you caught your first lungful of something new.

You paused mid-gulp as you drank from your waterskin, moving the spout away from your lips as you took another deep breath. It was something you’d never smelled before, like jasmine and lavender, vanilla and lemongrass. It was indescribably scrumptious, smelling of earth and flowers, of your favorite incense, all at once, shifting, sending your senses into overdrive, even if it was still rather faint, requiring several deep breaths to get another whiff of; the kind of scent that you had to take several lungfuls to fully appreciate, or to even place. You had to wonder, out of academic curiosity and for more selfish reasons, where exactly that wonderful scent was coming from.

“I see that you smell it, too,” Tighnari mused.

You nodded, and suddenly, you were aware of how nice Tighnari’s voice was. It was musical against your ears, making you smile.

“It’s new,” he continued, frowning, “I’ve never noticed it before, and with my oversensitive olfactory system, it would have been very evident.”

“Is it dangerous, do you think?” You asked.

“I doubt it,” Tighnari said, glancing sidelong at you, “do you know of anything that would smell like this?”

You shook your head. “It smells like… like many things. All of them are wonderful. Maybe it’s supposed to draw in certain insects, or animals. I don’t know what made it this strong. That’s interesting.”

Tighnari’s brows pushed together, and he was clearly deep in thought.

You’d never noticed just how good looking he was before. You already knew that Tighnari was handsome, that was obvious. You were attracted to him, as many undoubtedly were, and he was a very dear friend. But right now, lit by the sun filtering through the canopy above, he looked more incredible than anything you’d ever seen. With him this close to you, you could smell the earthen scent of his soap, and—

“I’d like to take a sample.”

His voice snapped you out of your staring, and you coughed to hide your embarrassment.

Get ahold of yourself. Think about all of that when he isn’t less than a foot away. Collei already teases you enough.

Truthfully, you wanted a sample, too. You were always hungry for new information, and this was no exception. You eagerly pulled a sample jar from your rucksack, passing it to Tighnari. He sniffed the air once, then a second time, before motioning for you to follow him.

“I learned about plants like this in the Akademiya,” Tighnari explained, “they’re bait, like you said, for small animals and insects. I don’t think the plant is carnivorous, it’s just a way to spread the pollen around, since the scent is nearly irresistible. I’ve never heard of it affecting humans, or my species, this strongly before, however.”

You remembered something like that in a textbook, but the name of the flower in question escaped you. Also, the flower you were thinking of usually affected animals roughly the size of a squirrel or a fox, and not the size of a fully grown person.

The scent got stronger as you walked, off the beaten path and into a clearing.

You stopped after stepping past Tighnari, your breath caught in your throat as you took in the sight before you. There was a waterfall tumbling off a cliff and into a clear, glimmering pool. The pool was lined with stones worn smooth, as well as large slabs of slate. Patches of young grass were peeping through the cracks and bleeding into the small, surrounding meadow. Soft, golden sunlight was scattering through the leaves, casting speckled patterns across the grass, gleaming on the water.

Finally, there, growing on the stone wall, nestled in a curtain of vines beside the waterfall, was a blanket of lotus-like flowers. They were reddish pink, some tinged purple, with multiple layers of petals circled around a small yellow center. Filaments, thickly coated in pollen, were protruding from the flowers’ centers, and you imagined that this was the most likely cause of the powerful scent.

“There they are,” Tignnari said, and you were suddenly hyper aware of his athletic form at your back. The scent of that soap you noted earlier was mingling deliciously with the overpowering fragrance of the flowers, with the scent of his skin, which was somehow all you could even think about now.

“Yeah,” you said, clearing your throat and turning to face your companion, “any idea what they are?”

His brows furrowed, lip catching between his teeth as he pondered your question, and you couldn’t stop yourself from admiring how unbearably attractive that simple action was. You swallowed thickly, turning away from him about three quarters, just to give yourself some time to breathe.

If only you could remember the effect those flowers had on such animals, but, as it often happens in times of need, you were drawing a blank.

It was Tighnari’s turn to clear his throat, and the intonation made the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

“Shears, please,” he said, and you forced yourself to nod as you passed them to him, a jolt of electricity passing up your spine when his fingertips brushed against yours. He clearly felt it too, because he looked at you for a handful of seconds before gingerly pulling away with the shears.

Blushing, you trailed after him as he approached the tangle of flowers.

Tighnari’s eyes were lovely. Two toned, fading from brown into forest green; eyes like you’d never seen before. They were one of your favorite things about him, among other things. The cut of his jaw, the way the space between his eyebrows creased when he was focused, as he was now, carefully taking a snipping of a couple of the fragrant blossoms.

You forgot to breathe until he handed you back the jar, and that was when you got your first direct hit of the scent. It was like being kicked in the chest in its intensity. It made you dizzy, as you cradled the blooms in your hand, putting soft dirt and water into the jar, placing the flowers down and fastening the top. You put the jar into your rucksack as carefully as you could with your hands shaking as badly as they were before you gently pushed the bag aside and sat down on the soft grass.

Your head was spinning. You could hear your own heartbeat in your ears, like how you can after you’ve been running.

“I need to rest,” you said.

“It’s the scent,” Tighnari said, his voice lower than it was before, “something is… wrong.”

Oh, Gods. You were getting warm. And not normal Sumeru weather warm, worryingly, feverishly warm. You pulled your shawl off, draping it over your rucksack and rolling up your sleeves.

Tighnari rolled his shoulders back, softly breathing as he sat down beside you, and you could feel that heat spread across your body at an alarming pace. You could hardly take your eyes off him, and you watched with rapt attention as his tongue flicked out to wet his bottom lip. What were you feeling?

Everything was warm and getting even warmer; everything was hot, and you felt like you were suffocating.

“Stop that,” you blurted, “stop— everything.”

Tighnari looked puzzled. “Stop— stop what? I’m not doing anything.”

The crease between his eyebrows was back as he studied your face, and you felt yourself grow miserably warmer.

“You’re perspiring,” he said, softly, “I am, too. Whatever this is, it is affecting both of us. Your breathing is accelerated, as well.”

You realized it was. Your breath was coming in quick, shallow bursts, and you consciously tried to take deeper breaths. You quailed away in surprise and needless alarm when he reached for you, and when he pressed two of his fingers to your pulse point, you felt like an electric shock went down your body, stronger than when he’d touched you before when he took the shears.

“Your pulse is very quick,” he noted, “but still strong. It’s much too cool for you to be suffering from heat stroke, but it is hot out here all of a sudden, isn’t it?”

You nodded absently.

“Mydriasis,” he muttered, “I suspect with myself, as well. Archons, it really is too warm.”

Sure enough, the dueling color of his irises was thickly ringed around the pale circumference of his pupils, which were widely dilated. His breath was quick, matching yours, and you felt heat begin to simmer beneath your skin, nearly suffocating where his hand still lingered, though gloved, against the skin of your throat.

Your own gaze fell to his lips, soft and full, and you realized just how badly you wanted to kiss him. You’d wanted to kiss him before, in several instances, but doing so would irreparably damage your platonic friendship, which was the last thing you wanted. Now, you could not give less of a damn. You’d give anything to feel his mouth against yours, to feel his skin—

Stop. Stop, Archons help me.

“The scent,” Tighnari said, voice lightly breathless, “there’s a-a correlation between the scent and these symptoms, I think the microgametophytes in the air, combined with the odor is having a physiological effect, on the both of us.”

It took you a handful of seconds to process his words, because the sound of his voice was suddenly the most distracting thing in the entire world; no song you’d ever heard could compare, and the heat beneath your skin was becoming nearly unbearable.

“Pollen,” you said, your brain catching up, “you think it’s the pollen?”

“Yes,” Tighnari said, the hand on your throat dropping to the curve of your shoulder, “it resembles oxytocin, in a very heavy dose, coupled with accelerated lutrophin production, driving reproductive urges.”

It clicked in your head.

Your face turned several shades of red, and you nodded once. Of course. What better way to spread the pollen than to draw in whatever unsuspecting animal, slather the stuff on its fur or whiskers when it leans in for a sniff, and then passing it along when said animal gives in to its reproductive urges and—

“A-an aphrodisiac.”

Tighnari’s eyes darted away from your face, then back to meeting your own gaze.

“Correct.”

The implication hung heavy in the already suffocating air as the sounds of your breathing overlapped, interrupted only by the thrum of the waterfall.

“T-the water,” Tighnari said, his voice strained, “we should—”

“Tighnari,” you said, addressing him, and you intended to continue speaking, until you noticed the way his breath hitched as you said his name. It sent a wave of suffocating, shameful arousal down your body, and you tried your best to ignore it. His hand against your skin was searing, even through the glove, and it took everything in you not to reach out and touch him.

Oh Gods, oh Gods, oh Gods—

“The water,” you repeated, finally, your eyes flicking to the waterfall, “right. Let’s wash off.”

You figured that this plan was flawed, as the water was probably saturated in the pollen, but you were so overheated that as you hurried to unfasten your clothing, the feel of the air against your skin was a mercy. You pulled at the various buckles fastening your Forest Ranger uniform to your body, pulling off your blouse, then your shorts and boots, but as you did, something caught your eye as Tignnari moved to unfasten the toga he wore over his clothing.

There, straining at the front of his trousers, was a distinct shape against the dark fabric. It was hidden by the excess cloth before, but now that this was gone, the evidence of the pollen’s effects was more than evident.

But you weren’t the only one with wandering eyes.

You realized that Tighnari’s eyes were riveted to your bra-covered chest, to the now-exposed skin of your waist, and you watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. An exquisite flush painted his perfect, pale cheeks as he realized you saw him looking.

Quickly, he pulled off his gloves, then tugging his sweatshirt over his head, leaving him bare chested, and oh, you were an absolute goner. His chest was much more muscular than you imagined (and not that you did), toned and lithe and lean, with hard ridges of muscle in all the right places. Of course, he’d have a great body, you reasoned, with all the activity he does, and like the other rangers, you were certain he stuck to the strength training and cardio work you were supposed to do to keep in shape.

You tore your hungry gaze from his body, standing up to step into the water, which was colder than you expected, reaching your mid thigh as you stepped into the pool. You tried to focus on you and not how the space between your thighs was aching, and you stretched your arms over your head with a breathless sigh.

A soft splash filled the air, and a ripple traveled across the surface of the water as Tignnari stepped into the pool as well. When you turned on instinct to look at him, you wished you hadn’t, because you were helpless, your eyes raking down his defined chest, lingering on the thin threads of battle scars, his body tapering off into a trim waist, where his underwear hung low on his hips. It took every ounce of your waning willpower not to jump him right there.

His erection was even more evident through the thin cotton of his underwear, and you realized you could see the flush of pink through the now damp fabric as it clung to his skin, and absently, sinfully, you wondered what it would be like to put your mouth—

No, no, no—

But then your focus was brought straight back to him as he moved closer, his hand reaching out to catch a droplet of water traveling down the curve of your waist with his thumb. His eyes weren’t shy with their wandering, and you knew it was the pollen talking, but Gods, it felt nice, for him to look at you like you were the most exquisite thing he’d ever laid eyes on.

“I-I apologize,” he whispered, but he didn’t sound apologetic.

His hand remained on your waist, fingers tracing a pattern against your skin, causing you to shiver, and your own hand rose to catch his wrist, stopping him. The feel of his skin on yours was like someone applying a salve to a burn, and you had to stop yourself from sighing embarrassingly in pleasure at the sensation.

“Terribly sorry,” he said, sounding even less sorry, and his voice was lower than you’d ever heard it, “I— I can’t seem to help myself. I will go to the far end of the pool—”

“It’s fine,” you said, a little too quickly, your voice light and breathy.

You realized a little too late that you were moving closer to him, and by the time you had, you could feel his breath fanning against your skin, sending violent shivers down your body.

There was a warning in Tighnari’s eyes, but not a particularly firm one, that disappeared with every passing second as his gaze fell to your lips, raking down your body, and you almost lost your composure when he caught his lower lip lightly between his teeth again.

“May I—” Tighnari asked, finally, a note of need leaking into his voice, “may I kiss you?”

Your breath left your lungs in a dizzying swoop as you gave in.

“Gods, yes.”

That was all it took for him to surge forward, his lips connecting with yours more gently than you expected, but that didn’t stop you from tangling your hands into his hair, pulling his body close to your own. You felt his arms wind around your waist, holding you flush to him, and when your tongue swiped along his lower lip, he didn’t hesitate to give you access.

And everything rapidly went downhill from there.

The kiss was messy and uncoordinated, your tongue tangling with his, and you felt one of his hands rise to cup the base of your skull, holding your mouth to his, only separating every so often if only to reconnect. You were suddenly being crowded against the edge of the pool, his arms going on either side of your body to cage you in. Your thighs parted as his hips moved against yours, and he groaned lowly into your mouth when you finally made contact with him where he needed it most.

He was so hard. It had to be uncomfortable to be confined by the little fabric he was wearing, and you wanted so badly to touch him, but he beat you to it, one of his hands trailing up your body to palm your breast through your bra before fumbling with the clasp. You were about to lift a hand to assist him when he managed to unhook the garment, and you broke the kiss briefly to discard it.

“I can’t stop,” Tighnari mumbled against your lips, breathless.

“Then don’t,” you urged, and Tighnari’s grip on your body tightened.

His palm felt like perfection on your flesh, and you whined into his mouth when he rolled your nipple between two fingers, tugging gently and making you arch your back into his touch. His hands were calloused from years of working with them, with the soil, with his bow, and the rough skin sent delightful tingles up your spine.

Your hand slid down his torso, feeling the dips and curves of his defined abdominals, and you reveled in the sound of his breath hitching, his muscles tensing as your fingers crept closer to where the waistband of his underwear met skin.

“Can I—” You started, and he nodded, reconnecting your lips in a chaste kiss.

“Please,” he panted, “please.”

You’d never seen Tighnari anything but composed, so to see him like this was as disarming as it was arousing. You palmed him gently through the thin fabric, and at the sound of his breath catching sharply in his throat, you pressed a little harder.

That elicited a more extreme reaction. Tighnari groaned against your lips, a sound that prompted a cry of your own, and his hips pushed forward against your hand. You squeezed him through the fabric, your fingers dipping past and grazing just the very base of him, making him shudder, a stricken hiss escaping his lips. Fascinated by his reaction, you teased the clearly sensitive flesh with the soft tips of your fingers until he caught your wrist.

“Don’t tease me,” he murmured, his voice firm.

Tighnari guided your hand to his waistband, and you slowly pulled it down to tug him free. You paused for a moment, breath unsteady as you took in the feeling of him against your palm. He was thick and heavy, and long enough to make you dizzy with arousal. He groaned softly as you explored the new territory, mapping out the spots you knew contained the most nerve endings with your fingertips. Finally, you wrapped your fingers around him, stroking slowly.

“Oh,” he gasped, eyes half lidded as he broke away from your mouth, “oh.”

You rested your forehead against his as you looked down to where your hand was encircling him, and you felt him throb against your palm, the tip of his dick visibly twitching. You bit back a moan as his breath expelled itself through gritted teeth.

“Rub the tip— yeah.”

An obscene moan fell from his lips as you slowly circled the tip of his cock with your thumb, and you spread the leaking precum around the sensitive flesh, aiding in your motions as you stroked him, long and slow.

“Fuck, that’s good,” he muttered, eyes slipping closed.

Gradually, you sped up, squeezing where you observed that he liked it, and he grabbed at your body, hands on your breasts, the curve of your ass, and you knew he was unable to focus on anything other than the sensations he was feeling at that moment. He let out a quick, stuttering exhale as you squeezed gently, biting back a groan.

You picked up the pace, and he was canting his hips along with your hand, his breath leaving his lips mixed with an incoherent praise as he buried his face in the crook of your neck, sharp teeth sinking into the soft skin of your shoulder. He laved the damaged flesh with his tongue, soothing it, and you couldn’t help but moan, thighs rubbing together in a futile attempt to alleviate the pressure building there.

Tighnari’s mouth trailed down your torso, his lips closing around one of your nipples, and you gasped, back arching, your free hand flying to his hair, the sensitivity making your head spin. You knew it was the pollen heightening your senses like this, but Archons be damned if you weren’t enjoying it. You wanted him inside of you more than you’d wanted anything in your life. You wanted anything inside of you. And so, when he pressed his palm between your thighs, his head rising to lock his lips against yours, it was like he’d read your mind.

“Dammit, You’re so wet,” he seethed, breath heavy, expelling through his teeth, “I can smell it; how aroused you are. You’ve wanted this, haven’t you?”

Your face turned pink, but you nodded, squirming against his hand as he pushed your panties aside, his fingers finally sinking inside of you.

“Good,” Tighnari said, breathlessly, “I’ve wanted this, too.”

You cried out into the crook of his neck as his fingers filled you, stretching you so perfectly, and you were helpless as you ground your hips down, your fingers tightening around Tighnari’s cock, drawing out a needy groan.

He wanted this, you dully registered, just like you did. That meant he liked you, he felt the same, he— oh Gods you couldn’t think.

“I love the way you touch me,” he whispered, his voice hushed and chaste, “don’t stop, please.“

He whispered more hushed praises into the crook of your neck, hips bucking as you stroked him faster, and his thumb found your clit, making your legs tremble. His fingers weren’t very practiced, but he knew where he was touching, finding every spot inside of you with a certainty that made your knees feel weak, and you gasped sharply, inner walls fluttering around his fingers, making him groan. The pressure on your clit increased, making your hips jump, your heartbeat pounding in your ears, and it wasn’t long before you were grinding down onto his hand like a bitch in heat.

“Tighnari,” you gasped, head falling back.

“Our tactile receptors are affected by the pollen,” Tighnari said, ever the academic, even like this, “making us more sensitive, increasing oxytocin, making everything more intense.”

You were barely able to formulate a response, your brain fogged with desire so strong it was making you dizzy.

“Just don’t stop,” you gasped, back arching into his chest,

He curled his fingers inside of you, making you cry out.

“Not a chance.”

All eloquence and academic vocabulary flew out the window as you stroked him quicker and quicker, his words replaced with moans of ecstasy mixed with your name, muffled by your skin or filling the open air. You felt him twitch against your palm, his hips bucking harder, and from the deliriously pleasured expression on Tighnari’s face, you knew he was close.

“Fuck,” he gasped, “don’t stop, please, please—”

He was going to cum, and you could tell by the way his thrusts grew uneven, eventually stilling to let you control the pace, working him closer and closer to his release, making him hiss through his teeth.

“Ah… shit,” Tighnari blurted, his jaw clenching, face laced with a stricken expression, “don’t stop, I’m so close—”

You wanted to tell him you weren’t going to stop, but all you could manage was a desperate moan as you ground down on his hand, your head falling back at the divine pleasure, and Tighnari’s groans of ecstasy grew louder, mixing almost incoherently with your name as you continued to jerk him off, your rhythm in tandem with his own as he worked his fingers inside of you.

Your climax was creeping up on you faster than you wanted it to, urged on by the increased sensitivity from the pollen. Your free hand knotted in his hair, your fingers raking upwards to wrap around the base of his right ear, making him groan.

“M-my ears— Not usually that sensitive,” Tighnari stammered, puzzled, his expression hazy, “feels good normally, but not— oh.”

You hummed in assent, fingers rubbing where his ears met his scalp, making him cry out against your skin, the combination of sensations clearly overwhelming to him. His fingers were now curling inside of you, making your eyes roll back in your skull, hips moving with his hand as you squirmed in his hold.

All it took was one more squeeze at the base of his dick to send him over the edge.

“C-cumming, I’m cumming,” Tighnari’s gasped, and with a final buck of his hips, your fingers were coated with white, dripping down your knuckles, painting your stomach, and there was so much of it, hot against your skin. You worked him through his climax with sure, even strokes, and he wasn’t softening, even as you milked him dry.

The sounds he made were madly erotic, his face the perfect picture of ecstasy as he rode out his blissful high, his ears drooping to the sides of his head as his face pressed against your shoulder, teeth sinking into your skin once again.

He yanked your hand away abruptly, even as he continued to twitch, and you were suddenly on your back, laying at the side of of the pool, his hands tugging your panties down and off your legs. He held your thighs apart, pinning you in place as his mouth took the place his hand had been, his tongue hot against your cunt.

Your cries were far too loud, but you were beyond caring about volume as he held you down and devoured you, your clit trapped under his tongue, between his lips, and you were aching to be filled, but he wasn’t giving you that satisfaction, not yet. You were already so close, and all it took was that one final push before you toppled over the edge, sobbing his name, your hands knotting in his hair, but he didn’t even slow, not even as you convulsed under his touch.

Tighnari’s tongue flattened against your clit, dragging up in broad strokes, and you felt your head pitch back, gently knocking against the stones beneath it as you tried to close your thighs instinctively, but were barred from doing so. You felt Tighnari’s hands grab at the backs of your knees, hitching them over his shoulders as he moved closer.

“Please,” you cried, desperate and dizzy with torturous desire, “please, please, fuck me.”

You heard him, felt him snarl against your cunt, more animal than human as he sped up his pace, taking your clit into his mouth and sucking hard enough that it made stars dance across your blurry vision. You were suddenly cumming so hard that you couldn’t even breathe, your mouth wide open in a silent scream, back arched off the ground, your hands locked in a white knuckled grip in Tighnari’s hair as you clenched down hard on nothing.

He was gentler this time as he helped you through your climax, pulling away finally when you were incoherent with pleasure. You lay there, panting hard, your eyes half open as you tried to recover, but even that wasn’t enough. You could still feel the effects of the pollen coursing through your system, and from the way Tighnari was looking at you, it was the same for him.

“I’m on a birth control tonic,” you said, propping yourself up on your elbows to look at him, “just— please, Tighnari, I feel like I’m burning inside.”

Tighnari’s hands went to rest on your parted thighs, pulling you forward and towards him, to where he stood, still thigh-deep in the water. Your own legs were submerged up to your knee as he pulled you flush to him, his cock pressing against your pubic bone.

“I won’t be able to stop,” Tighnari warned, “I apologize if it becomes too much, but I can’t promise you that—“

“Please,” you whined, growing more and more desperate, “I need you, I can’t take this anymore.”

That was all it took. Tighnari nodded a single time, once he was sure of your consent, and he reached between your bodies to line himself up with your entrance, slowly sheathing himself inside of you.

You made a soft, breathy whine as he filled you, a sound he juxtaposed with a heavy groan. The stretch was almost enough to send you over the edge right there, and if it weren’t for the effects of the pollen, you’d probably have felt more pain from the intrusion, but all you felt was a dull ache and a hint of discomfort.

“Oh, Gods,” Tignnari whispered, and you watched his hands flatten on the stones beside your hips, muscles tightening as he took in the new sensation.

His head tipped forward, his breathing heavy and uneven, and you used your thighs to pull him closer, disregarding the whisper of pain in the back of your mind as the pure relief of being filled up overtook you.

“Stay still, stay still,” he growled, the very threads of his control slipping away as he spoke, the warning clear in his voice, but you didn’t listen, pulling him forward again.

Your actions were met with a sound that was produced deep in his chest, like a warning an animal would give, and it hadn’t even occurred to you how the pollen would affect someone like Tighnari, someone with non-human heritage as opposed to yourself, and as he drew himself out, only to press back in again, your mind went blank, all semblance of scientific curiosity tossed out the window.

Your cries of pleasure mixed with his as he repeated the motion, again, and again, and again, and oh Gods, you couldn’t even think. The pace he adopted was clearly with your comfort in mind, but it was rapidly becoming not enough. You needed more, all you could fathom was how much you needed more.

“Faster,” you gasped, your voice barely there, but he heard you, as evident by the way his ears perked up.

Tighnari snarled, his grip on your body tightening, and when you whimpered, he lost control completely.

His fingers were sure to be pressing bruises into your flesh from how hard he was gripping your body, but you didn’t care, not when every cell in your body was demanding more, more, more. You were vaguely aware of your volume, and you put the back of your hand over your mouth in a half hearted attempt to quiet yourself, but it basically did fuck all, especially when Tighnari reached up to yank your hand away, pinning it by your side.

“I want to hear you,” he rasped, “every single sound you make, I want to hear it.”

Your brain fogged further with desire, fueled by the low, rough timbre Tighnari’s usually gentle voice had adopted, and you whined, back arching off the pleasantly cool stones beneath your body. With his words, every last shred of dignity that you’d feebly been clinging to evaporated.

Tignnari hiked one of your legs over his shoulder as he inched closer, rolling his hips in a way that made stars blast across your hazy vision. You’d never been this aroused before in your life, and all you could do was squirm and cry out as Tighnari fucked you absolutely dumb.

“Need more,” Tighnari hissed, his hands sliding along your body, “need more, needmoreneedmore—”

He let out a low, keening moan as you tightened around him, your hips bucking against his, toes curling. You felt like your sanity was slipping through your fingers like a palmful of sand, and you realized with a sudden shock that you were about to cum, and you were about to cum hard.

The climax hit you with the force of a tidal wave, and your body went stiff, back arching off the stones, hands scrambling for purchase and finding nothing. Your mind was a sea of empty thought, stars bursting across your vision as you convulsed, pulsing around Tighnari’s cock, and he wasn’t even pausing, a snarl tearing from his chest as he pushed deeper inside of you.

Your continued climax was making you lightheaded as you panted for breath, the decline less of a decline and more of a work up to yet another peak as Tighnari kept a steady, dizzying pace, making your eyes roll into the back of your skull. Everything was too much, but it still wasn’t even slightly enough, a bizarre oxymoron that sent shockwaves dancing across your electrified nerves.

Tignnari twitched inside of you, making you whimper, and you looked up at him through your lashes, watching his face. The mask of delirium was back, Tighnari’s eyes wild as he drove himself towards his own climax with deep, even thrusts that grew more and more unsteady.

“Take it,” you heard him rasp, “take it take it take it—”

He shoved himself all the way inside of you, and with a sudden shout, he twitched sharply, and you could feel him filling you, stuffing you full with searing heat. Somewhere in the back of your pollen addled mind, you were glad that your birth control tonic kept you from getting pregnant with a guarantee.

You could feel his cum leaking out of you, and when he noticed, his fingers swept along the curve of your ass and shoved the liquid back inside of you, a sensation that made you let out a startled moan.

Without pulling out, Tighnari was shifting, switching places with you on the stones, where the sat himself down, with you in his lap. The sudden change of position caused you to sink down, pushing him deeper inside of you, a sensation that made you gasp sharply. You appreciated some aspects of the shift, however, as this gave you full access to his body, and you wrapped your arms around his shoulders as his hands found your hips, dragging up and along your waist.

He said nothing as he found your mouth, joining it with his in a kiss far more gentle than you’d been expecting, an expression of affection amid the suffocating lust that afflicted you both.

Slowly, you moved, rocking your hips as you sank back down onto him, a motion that made you cry out, a sound that mingled almost musically with his own cry. His nails dug into the plush of your thighs, one hand sliding down where you were joined with him to rub circles against your clit, an action that made you stiffen sharply, almost started by the burst of sensation.

His mouth left yours to trail down your throat, teeth grazing against the spot he’d bitten before and making you shiver. He was moving with you as you rocked your hips, one hand on your waist to help you along, his hips bucking to meet you every time you sank back down onto his cock. You heard him whisper your name, and you bent to kiss him again, an action he returned with vigor.

Your fingers combed through his hair, meeting where his ears met his scalp, and you heard him gasp into your mouth as your nails grazed against the sensitive skin. He broke the kiss to tuck his face into the crook of your neck, keening desperately, his grip on your waist tightening.

“Keep touching me there,” he finally managed, and who were you to deny him?

Your nails dragged along his ears, making him groan, and you felt his arm wind around your waist, taking over controlling the pace as he pushed you down onto his cock, guiding you as you moved. You somewhat appreciated it; your thighs had been growing sore. You assisted him by rolling your hips as you moved with him, something he rewarded with a sharp buck of his hips, making blurry stars scatter across your vision, a shrill whine tearing itself from your throat.

Tighnari pressed down on your clit, making you tense, teeth gritting and eyes squeezing closed, and you felt him trail open mouthed kisses down your throat, overloading you with sensation, and you sobbed his name as he tugged you closer, filling you so completely. You felt like you were going insane, and not one part of you wanted it to stop.

You couldn’t even speak as your climax drew closer, only able to let out a strangled cry as Tighnari’s teeth sank into the delicate skin of your shoulder, the pain barely noticeable as it mixed with the overwhelming pleasure. If anything, it just heightened it all, your nerves going off like fireworks under his touch.

With a sudden gasp, your climax slammed into you, making you still as the sensations hit you with enough force to make you dizzy. You were vaguely aware of the sounds Tignnari was making as you tightened around him, muffled by your shoulder, and you were suddenly under him again, sprawled across the stones once more, hands pinned above your head with one of his as he fucked you at a near punishing pace.

His eyes locked onto yours as he moved against you, and you couldn’t even imagine what your face looked like. You could feel tears of overstimulation on your cheeks, sweat on your brow, and you were sure you were an absolute wreck, but so was he. His hair was a mess, the chartreuse of his bangs intermixing with the dark of the rest of his hair, and his face was flushed a rather lovely pink, eyes half lidded. His ears had fallen to droop on either side of his head. His lips were kiss swollen and pink, and you were sure your own were the same.

Tighnari’s free hand slid down your body to hike one of your legs up around his waist, gripping at the plush of your thigh, and you whimpered as his nails bit into the tender skin. You were so sensitive it was almost unbearable, and you tossed your head back when his thumb pressed your clit again, letting out an unrestrained wail, tears beading in the corners of your eyes, and you felt Tighnari kiss them away before joining his mouth to yours once more.

You knew he was going to cum from the unsteady way he was breathing, and you were too, far too sensitive to stand anything else. You didn’t know how much more you could take; everything was blurring together in a cacophony of noise and sensation that left you straining against Tighnari’s grip on your wrists.

“Fill me, please,” you gasped abruptly, surprising even yourself, and Tighnari pulled back from your mouth to gaze at you, eyes wild.

“That’s what you want?” He snarled, “you want me to stuff you full of my cum? yeah? You wanna be filled?”

You nodded rapidly, his words making suffocating arousal course through your veins, and you felt him pick up the pace, forcing you into another dizzying climax, your back arching sharply off the ground. You could just barely hear him whispering praises over the thrum of blood in your ears, and you let out a strangled whine as his mouth connected with your nipple, making you thrash in his hold. He wasn’t even letting you breathe, and all you could think about was him, all around you, mixing with the scent of the pollen in the air in an intoxicating fragrance.

Mercifully, he removed his hand from between your bodies, simply resting it on your hip as he chased his own climax next, whispering your name and filthy praises as he drew closer and closer, his pace growing uneven.

He finally reached his end with a low, nearly possessive growl, holding onto you with a bruising force as he stuffed you full once more, heat blooming in your belly, uncaring about the way his cum was leaking out of you. His teeth were gritted, eyes squeezed shut, and you felt his grip on your wrists loosen just enough that you could wrestle free, so you pulled him down to meet you in a fierce kiss.

He finally slowed, his breath heavy and uneven as he came down from his high, his forehead resting against yours as he remained still, softening inside of you. You relaxed back onto the stones, pleased by the cool temperature they brought, soothing against your burning skin. Your breath was still quick and thin as you recovered, and you could still smell the pollen in the air, but exhaustion was taking over, forcing your eyelids to close.

Tighnari pulled out of you, and you whined at the sudden emptiness, but recovered quickly as he tugged you onto the grass and to his chest, nose nuzzling into your hair where he pressed a kiss. Neither of you were able to speak, completely spent, and you shifted slowly to wrap an arm around his bare waist. The pollen’s scent was falling into the background as the exertion began to wash over you, and you could tell it was the same for Tighnari.

You were asleep in a matter of seconds, pressed close to him.

Warm.

You were warm. And it was dark. Well, darker. You’d been sleeping, you knew that much. The sounds of Avidiya Forest were present around you, as well as the sound of a waterfall. Your brain was lagging behind as you woke, still groggy from such a deep slumber.

You were pressed against something solid and warm and breathing, and when you opened your eyes, you almost jumped from your skin.

Tignnari was laying beside you, sound asleep. He was holding you in his arms, in a possessive, tender way, and it was suddenly all flooding back to you. The pollen. That damn pollen.

Your brain finally caught up, and you remembered. You expected you should be sore, but you weren’t. You felt more satisfied than you ever had before, completely rejuvenated. You lifted your head to look over at the curtain of flowers, only to find that the blossoms had closed, taking the pollen’s scent with them. It had also fallen dark, the sun already setting. You’d been asleep for a while, but after that, you supposed that wasn’t surprising.

You focused back on Tignnari. He looked so peaceful in his sleep, so relaxed. Every bit of tension had been drained away, leaving him looking soft and gentle. You reached a hand up to cup his cheek before you could stop yourself, and he started you when he leaned into your touch.

“Hello,” he said, voice still thick with sleep, and you felt your cheeks beginning to warm.

“Hi.”

And there was your anxiety. What if Tighnari thought that what you’d just done together was a mistake? Things surely wouldn’t be the same after that, you knew that much. He couldn’t just fuck your brains out and then act like nothing happened. That wasn’t how Tighnari was.

But then, he was leaning in to kiss you, and every single doubt was expelled from your mind. It was a soft, gentle kiss, full of tender emotions and care, and it made your heart stutter in your chest.

“Was I too rough with you?” He asked after pulling away, and you shook your head.

“No. It was… it was good.”

Tignnari raised his eyebrows. “Just ‘good?’”

You blanched. “N-no, it was more than good. It was amazing.”

A soft, tender chuckle. “I was only teasing you. You were amazing, too.”

A few moments of comfortable silence passed before he spoke again. “That wasn’t how I imagined that happening for the first time,” he said, a laugh in his voice, and you turned to look at him, trying not to show the surprise on your face.

From the way he was smiling, soft and affectionate, you’d failed on that front.

“I fell in love with you quite a while ago,” he said, “I thought I’d been clear in my advances, but maybe not. I care for you very deeply, though. If you don’t feel the same, I—”

You cut him off, scoffing derisively at the sheer absurdity of that statement, with a kiss. He held you to him, cradling your face in his hands, until you both ran out of air.

“There’s my answer, then,” he said with a smile. You answered him with another quick kiss.

“I love you, too,” you said, “I thought you didn’t feel the same.”

Tighnari snorted, eyes glittering with mirth. “I suppose we’re both a little dense, then.”

You sat up, stretching your arms over your head. “We should wash up. And head back. It’s gotten late. We’re probably missed.”

Tighnari sighed, sitting up beside you. “As much as I’d rather stay here with you a while longer, you’re most likely correct. Collei is probably beside herself with worry.”

You stood on unsteady feet, and Tighnari followed you to the clear pool. The two of you rinsed your bodies off until you felt sufficiently clean before redressing. You were careful to make sure your sample jars were well sealed before you picked up your rucksack, shrugging it onto your back.

“Ready?” Tignnari asked, and you decided he looked lovely in the first rays of moonlight. You smiled at him, taking his outstretched hand in yours and squeezing.

“Yeah.”

Hand in hand, you walked back to Gandharva Ville, basking in the natural symphony of the forest.

Fin.

#THIS TOOK ME SO LONG TO WRITE #WOW THIS IS LONG #8k WORDS HOLY SHIT #tighnari x y/n #tighnari x reader #genshin smut #genshin x reader #genshin impact #Genshin #fanfiction #fanfic #genshin x you #n.sfw #Smut #like this is pure filth #pure smut #sex pollen #aphrodisiac #pwp #My writing #paprika was so patient with me lmao #THIS TOOK LIKE TWO MONTHS #don’t let this flop #avidiya forest #whoever community labeled this your mom’s a hoe #fem!reader #female reader #tighnari x female reader #tighnari

[filmbyjy]

my brother’s best friend

PAIRING: enhypen x fem!reader

SUMMARY: various brother's best friend scenarios!

WARNINGS: a little mention of bullying here and there. some of these i am tempted to make them into a full fic but i unfortunately do not have enough time to do so :( maybe i might make it see first though! oh and ni-ki's part isn't heavily influenced with the brother's best friend troupe. i kinda went off the radar for his part. a little angst on jake's part but don't worry it isn't bad.

NOTE: ehem the reason why jay and jungwon’s fonts are different is bc I have a font called ‘CatLove’ and so I thought it was appropriate to use it. also no your brother isn’t any of the enhypen members….just some dude. unless you actually have an older brother than sure. imagine him(?)

WORD COUNT(total): 6K words

LEE HEESEUNG

school. you never liked it but you were forced to learn. not a single motivation could run through your veins to even get you to look forward to another school day but you still had to go.

there were these hotties of the school who so happens to be in your brother's football (or soccer) team. not even they could catch your eyes.

"i'm home!!" you called out the moment you entered home.

you walked to the living room, only to be greeted by 8 boys including your brother. you stood there shocked, a little flustered.

"welcome home, little sis. sorry, forgot to mention my friends are coming over. uhh, you can just ignore them. they'll just be in here in the living room with me." your brother explains.

you nod.

"mom said to buy dinner since her and dad are out for a trip. i ordered pizza. you can come out once the food is here."

"sure." you say.

your eyes met with one of the boys. his sharp nose, adorable doe eyes and pinkish lips. he was cute but this was your brother's best friend. you were sure there was no way you would have a chance with him.

you met the mysterious boy quite a few times and found out his name was lee heeseung. he was the same age as your brother. he played midfielder in the team, whatever that meant. you also found out he was extremely flirty. anytime, you were alone with heeseung, he'd start flirting with you for no reason.

"you know (name), i don't understand how someone as pretty as you could be single." heeseung says.

this was one of the many times he flirted with you. well, it most definitely wouldn't be the last.

"come to my game." heeseung says as he leans against the lockers next to yours. you closed the your locker.

"look, heeseung. i'm flattered but i can't go to your game when my brother is in the same team as you."

"your brother would think you'd supporting him."

"impossible. he knows i don't care about football."

heeseung sighs, "then. go for me."

"heeseung."

"i have something to tell you after the game." he hands you his jersey. "so, root for us? root for me?"

he certainly wanted you to come and as much as you were worried about your brother. you knew what your heart truly wanted.

"i'll go."

heeseung smiles, "great. see you!" you felt him pecking your cheek before running off to practice. you touched your cheek, feeling it warm up.

fast foward to game time, you had awkwardly walked over to the stands in heeseung's jersey. the problem was...his fangirls were gasping and gossiping at how you were wearing his jersey.

'is that heeseung's girlfriend?'

'i heard that's (brother name)'s sister.'

'omg that's soooo unfair. she's got the upperhand by being the captain's sister.'

yeah that's what they basically said. you settled down and the game starts. at one point during their break, heeseung spots you and smiles. your heart races. you waved at him and he waves back. your brother trails his eyes to where heeseung was looking at and he was shocked to see you.

"dude, are you and my sister-"

"not yet, captain. just hoping you'd allow me."

"ooo heeseung hyung has a crush on captain's sister." jake teases. your brother sighs.

"fine but don't hurt her and focus on the game first. we need to win this. we're loosing by 1."

"yes, captain."

game starts again after half-time and blah blah, they won. yay!

once it was done, heeseung does not care. he quite literally runs like a mad man and goes up to you. before you could even utter a word, the boy pulls you into a kiss. he hears gasps and cheers surrounding the both of you. heeseung pulls away with a little hesitation, he didn't want it to end but he knew your brother was watching so he umm stopped himself.

"i like you." he breathes out. you smiled and wrapped your arms around him.

"i like you too, lee heeseung." was what you said before you kissed him again.

PARK JONGSEONG

park jongseong, the epitome of an extremely hot boy. every girl in your grade loved him. however...

"park jongseong got into a fight again."

yeah...he gets into trouble a lot.

"not surprised. was he with his group once again?"

that same group happens to also include your twin brother. you never understood how and when he decided to mix with that type of crowd. unfortunately, he did and now he was just like jongseong.

you could smell the smoke from his cigarettes coming from his bedroom. you hated it and it made you nauseous.

"(brother name), could you please stop smoking? it's making me dizzy." you knocked heavily on his bedroom door. when the door flies open, your brother had his cigarette in between his fingers. he rolls his eyes.

"suck it up. it's just smoke." your eyes trailed into his bedroom. there sat park jongseong, sim jaeyun, lee heeseung and park sunghoon on the ground with cards in their hands. it seems like they were in middle of poker.

you sighed, "just. please open the window or balcony door wider. you got the bedroom with a balcony. can't you make use of that?"

"the cards would fly. we were in the middle of a good game."

"you are the pain of my existence."

"if i don't exist, you don't too (name)."

"if you don't exist, i could exist. i was born 2 fucking minutes earlier than you. i could've been an only child if mom's egg didn't fucking split."

you could hear his friends gasping. he rolls his eyes like a spoiled child.

"get out of my face."

"gladly. maybe you should learn how to make a come back before trying to use anything on me." you say. your brother groans and slams his bedroom door shut.

it's say to least, you've officially captured park jongseong's attention. he was attracted by you. he loved the way you put your brother in place. he also loved how you looked when you were getting all snappy with your brother. you must've forgotten that you were in your very skimpy pyjama shorts. in other words, jay was just an extremely horny teen.

the moment you shut your locker door, you noticed jay was leaning on the lockers beside yours. you ignored him and he starts chasing after you. he stands directly in front of you to prevent you from moving.

"you, me. date." jay says. you rolled your eyes.

"sorry, you may be the quote on quote 'hottest guy' in school but i'm not falling for your little game."

"what? game?" jay asks confused.

"do you guys not fuck with girls?"

"no? look we may be causing trouble but i don't go around sleeping with girls."

"well, too bad park jongseong. i simply do not have feelings for you." you tried to walk away but jay holds out his arm to not let you free.

"then, how about i court you? like umm, i try to make you fall for me."

you snickered, "you can try."

"really? okay, then. i'll do it."

"yeah, good luck with that. my brother might just allow you to do so." you sarcastically say.

surprisingly, jay does try to court you. he attempts to give you gifts, do something sweet for you. however, he does still get into a lot of trouble. you caught him once in a fight. his eyes softened just as noticed you. he was still gripping on the guy's shirt.

"dude, punch him?" your brother says. jay lets go of the guy's shirt once he spots you leaving. he chases after you. your brother yelling out for him to finish the job.

"what the fuck? he just left like that? for what? my sister?" your brother groans.

heeseung pats your brother's shoulder, "he is love with her. you know that, you'd do anything for someone you love."

"well he might turn soft because of her. i brought him up and made him who he is now. all because of my sister, he turns into some sick lover boy?"

"dude, let it go. let him be in love with your sister. it's not like he wouldn't continue being our friend. even if he changes for her, he is still jay. our friend." jake says. your brother rolls his eyes.

"if you hate it and want to unfriend jay. unfriend us too. we come as a package. we might actually leave to be friends with your sister instead." sunghoon says.

"fine. fine." your brother waves them off.

back to you. jay grabs your wrist and spins you around.

"(name)."

"you were fighting again. i thought i told you, i hate whenever you or my brother fights."

"i'm sorry."

you noticed the cuts and bruises on his knuckles. you tugged him and led him to the classroom. you grabbed the emergency med kit and started treating him.

"(name)." jay says. you sighed.

"it's been 2 months since you started courting me. you really haven't given up."

"my feelings for you are still very much there. i can't stop myself."

you looked up at him once you were done, "then don't stop."

he tilts his head, "what do you mean."

"i've caught feelings for you." you say.

and yes, jay very much does pull you into a kiss.

SIM JAEYUN

you swore your heart dropped the moment you heard your brother was friends with sim jaeyun.

like...your crush, sim jaeyun. the cute boy next door and your classmate? yeah, your older brother was friends with him. not only was he friends with sim jaeyun, he was also friends with the other 6 well-known boys.

your brother had actually been friends with lee heeseung since the start of the year because they were classmates but to think he met heeseung's friend group that included your crush? it was just nerve-wrecking.

the second time your heart dropped was when you overheard your brother on discord chatting with his friends.

"hey, jaeyun. how's that progress with the girl you like?" your brother asks. you heard the boys teasing jake.

"i just asked her out today." you heard jake say. you were clearly not the girl he was talking about because he never asked you out. which meant...he had someone else he liked. you felt...heartbroken.

you simply left after listening in and ran to your room and shut the door. now, remember when i said he was your neighbour? well, your room and his room were adjacent which meant you could see his window and he could see yours.

jake heard your bedroom room shut both from the discord call and in real life. he lifts his head up to see you crying. his eyes widened.

"hey, i don't want to pry into your family affairs but i know how protective you are of (name) but umm, she's crying." jake says.

"oh. i'll check up on her. give me like 5 minutes and i'll be back. you guys can continue playing. thanks for telling, jaeyun." your brother goes to check up on you. jake could see how you opened to door and noticed how your brother talked a little before pulling you into a hug.

jake frowns. maybe he should've gone over to comfort you instead of telling your brother.

the next day, you went to school and jake comes up to you.

"hey, umm. are you okay? i saw your brother comforting you." you hummed barely answering him.

jake was confused. usually you'd answer him. he just ignores it and simply reasoned that maybe you just didn't feel too okay still. after school, the boys were invited to your house since your brother wanted to hang out with them.

"hey, (name)!" sunghoon says when notices you coming out from your room. you gave him a small sad smile and left for the kitchen. sunghoon pouts. "what happened to her?"

"you guys know she had a crush right?"

"yeah. she used to always happily describe him and talk about him a lot. it was cute, it makes me wish i was her crush!" sunoo says.

"well, she found out her crush liked someone else so she's just heartbroken."

"what? that guy sucks. he doesn't understand how lucky he is to have (name) crushing on him!" sunghoon says.

"well, we shouldn't bring this up anymore. let her heal. i'll try my best to make her happy." your brother says. they nodded.

"(brother name), i'm gonna run to the convenience store. we ran out of snacks." you peaked your head to living room. your brother nods. you went to buy your snacks.

it was a lie though. there were still snacks in the pantry, you wanted to get out of the house since jake was there. it was suffocating for you to be in the same room as him. you did go to the park near your home for some fresh air. there was a playground there with a swing set. you sat there.

"i should've known that he wouldn't like me back. i was an idiot."

"i need to find a way to avoid him. right, how do i avoid jake." you huffed kicking the ground beneath you.

you heard someone settling on the swing next to you.

"so you were trying to avoid me." you realised who it was. you lift your head up to notice it was jake.

"what? i wasn't avoiding you."

"cut the crap. why were you avoiding me?"

"i wasn't."

"alright then. why were you planning to avoid me?"

you looked away from jake, already feeling tears stinging at your eyes. you heard the swing rustle and you felt him kneeling in front of you. you sniffled once a tear falls. jake grabs your hand.

"are you sad because your crush doesn't like you back?" you nod at his words.

"do you want me to beat him up?"

"how could you?"

"hmm?"

"how could you punch yourself?" you looked up at him.

"you like me?" jake mutters.

"for so fucking long but now i have to give that up because you love someone else. someone who isn't me. which means i have to sacrifice my feelings for you to be happy."

"how did you know i like someone?"

"you want to know how? i overheard that discord call. my brother asked how your progress with your crush went and you said you asked her out. i only assumed she accepted you."

"i only said that because i have to lie to your brother about me having feelings for you."

"you have f-feelings for me?"

"for so long, my love."

PARK SUNGHOON

your older brother was an ice skater. which meant you've been supporting him on his competitions ever since you were young. it was rare for there to be male ice skaters but that didn't mean your brother was the only one.

at a young age, you were acquainted with someone of your age. simply because well your brother knew him as well.

"(name). this is sunghoon, my best friend here in the academy. we also go to the same school! oh and he is the same age as you." your brother says.

when your eyes met with the boy, you swore you've fell in love at first sight. okay maybe at the age of 10, you were just in awe by him and how cute he looked. after all, you were still young and didn't really understand the concept of falling in love.

however, you knew by the age of 15. you were definitely crushing on park sunghoon.

you were now 20. sunghoon has gone to college so it was rare of you to really see him since he was focusing on his education more than his ice skating career. this meant, he wasn't around at all. you missed his little shy and cute smile.

"(name), i'm back!" your brother calls out. you gasp and gave him a big hug. it was finally winter break and your brother had came back from college. you too had just came back about a day earlier than your brother.

"how have you been holding with your lectures? are the modules hard?" your brother asks endearingly. you laughed.

"hey, i'm the 15 year old girl anymore. i'm already 20."

"well, of course but college is hard. as your brother, i must know so that i can cheer you up or possibly give you words of encouragement."

"you're the best (brother name)." you hugged him.

and then, you hear the door knock. your brother goes to open it. that's when you realise, it was sunghoon and well a few other boys you didn't know.

"hey! it's been so long!" your brother hugs sunghoon before hugging the other boys.

the other boys stared at you like you were some foreign object.

"oh right, boys. this is (name). my little sister. (name), that is heeseung, jake, sunoo, ni-ki, jay and jungwon."

you shyly waved at them.

"dude, i didn't know your sister was hot-" jake gets smacked by jay. sunghoon glares at the boy. your brother laughs.

"sorry about jake, he is a bit...on the party animal side. he also umm hasn't well how do i say..."

"gotten pussy." ni-ki blatantly says. sunoo smacks the younger male.

"yah! nishimura, don't just blurt things like that!"

what the boys didn't expect was for you to just laugh. it seems like you quite fit them and they loved that about you. you were as chill as your older brother.

coincidentally later on, the rest of the boys went out to buy something. which left you and sunghoon alone in the house.

"it's been a while." sunghoon says. you were kinda shocked to hear him start the conversation since he usually didn't start it.

"look at you, i see you've grown quite a bit. i guess college has taught you well huh." you teased.

"well kinda. jay and jake are usually the ones who push my introvert limits." sunghoon says. you nod.

"that's great that you're stepping out of your comfort zone. i'm gonna assume...you went to college parties?"

"one or two."

"wow, must be fun. i usually just get buried under piles of books to study." you pout. "but i'd rather get my diploma first than party."

"so you've never been to a party?" sunghoon asks.

"not at all. though my college friends do kinda force me to go but i just shrug them off and tell them i have some studying to do."

sunghoon hums, "honestly, partying was never my thing. i simply just follow jay and jake. it's quite boring really. especially with all those college girls trying to initiate something."

your heart clenches. right. there was a possibility sunghoon might have a college girlfriend while you're out here nerding your life away behind textbooks and papers.

"i see. well, i guess you're really popular with the ladies if they keep coming up to you." you nudged him. he chuckles.

"yeah but i don't really like any of them. besides..." he faces you and whispers, "they aren't you."

you swore your heart drops when you heard those words.

"what?"

"i said...they aren't you. i like you (name)."

"sunghoon." he reaches his hand out to cup your cheek.

"i really really like you."

you were melting at his words, "i like you too."

his eyes flicker down to your lips and it's like you could tell, he was asking for consent in kissing you. with one simple nod, he leans in and your lips touched his.

just then the door swings opens and reveals the boys. to which, sunoo squeals and your brother gasping. you have never pulled away so fast in your life. sunghoon blushes as he gets caught.

"I KNEW IT, YOU TWO HAVE SOME CRUSHING ON EACH OTHER!" your brother yells. guess, you'd have to explain everything to him.

KIM SUNOO

you and your twin brother have always had a close relationship. he had always made sure you'd never spilt any tears. until he was sick one day and couldn't come to primary school (or middle school).

you were left alone and so you spent your day quietly eating. however, you were suddenly pushed to the ground by some boy. he had never earned the courage to bully you because your brother was around.

"you! your brother is so annoying! he tries too hard to please the teacher!" the boy yells. you whimper and cower in fear. already shaking at the thought of being hit once again.

but before the boy could even lay a finger on you, you heard someone yell.

"yah! you! stop bullying girls! you jealous freak show! i already reported this to the teacher who makes her rounds here!"

you heard footsteps running as fast as possible and light footsteps coming up to you.

"hey, are you okay? do you want to visit the nurse's office?" you looked up. the boy holds out his hand, "my name is sunwoo but uhh usually people write my name a little funny so you can use sunoo instead if it's easier!"

from then on, you became friends with the boy. even your brother became friends with him. all because he was thankful for sunoo.

fast forward to years later, on your coming of age celebration...

"yah yah! you need to calm down on the alcohol young lady!" your brother pats your back. you smiled at him.

"(brother name), you should reallyyyy try this. it gets you all goofy and feeling warm!"

"that's because you drank 2 bottles! oh my god, this wasn't supposed to happen." your brother huffs. "sunoo, could you please bring my sister back into her room? i need to clean this place up. our parents are coming home tomorrow!"

"of course." sunoo helps to pull you up. he carefully brings you over to your bed. you giggled.

"sunooooo, you're sooooo pretty." you say. sunoo snickers.

"thank you but you're way prettier, angel."

"naurrr, you're so pretty and it's unfair. i wish i had a boyfriend as pretty as you."

"you've been hanging out with jake hyung too much." he pats your head, "and you can have a boyfriend as pretty as me, angel."

"but they won't be you!"

he hums, "you're right. they aren't me." he tries to tuck you into bed.

"babyyyyy. i don't want to sleep~" you whined. sunoo blushes.

"(name). we aren't dating, you shouldn't call me that." sunoo pats your head.

"we aren't dating?" you start to tear up and sunoo panics.

"hey, wait wait. don't cry. i just...don't want to confess to you when you're drunk. besides, this isn't a very romantic way for you to even find out i like you."

"i am not drunk!"

"sure you aren't"

"i am not!"

"alright then. if you aren't drunk, will you remember this tomorrow morning?"

"yes-" you felt sunoo's lips against yours.

did you remember it the next morning? yes. you did. was sunoo your boyfriend now? yup.

YANG JUNGWON

you had recently joined the photography club. why did you do so? well, you see you loved photography and the art of it. you were always so intrigued by the process and how they really truly captured the moment.

your older brother was in the rugby club (or american football) he was quite the star player. of course, he wasn't the only one. the whole team was. however, one particular boy had caught your eye. he was different. he didn't exactly look like he would be terrifying or even really play rugby but he proved everyone wrong when he became the captain of the team.

yang jungwon, that was his name.

one day, you were assigned to permanently become the team's photographer.

"oh look, it's you." your brother says as soon as you walked onto the grass field. you rolled your eyes.

"ah really, just when i didn't want to see your cocky face."

"funny when we both have the same parents." your brother comments.

the team simply looks between the both of you, confused. the coach of the team introduces you.

"last thing, you can probably guess. our star player here and our photographer are siblings."

"i am the big brother and she's the little sister." your brother proudly admits.

"yeah, as if that isn't obvious. your teammates aren't stupid, (brother name)."

your brother rolls his eyes. the coach laughs.

"alright alright. seems like there will be something exciting to listen to every session." your brother huffs. his teammates laughing and patting his back. "how about i show you around the place first before you start your first work for our team, (name)?"

"oh thank you."

what you fail to notice was how jungwon was staring at you.

"yo, skipper. you good there? our photographer caught your eye?" jake slings his arm around jungwon. jungwon shakes his head.

the skipper: it means captain of rugby or American football (I searched on the internet okay. google better not make a fool out of me😀)

"she's just our photographer, she's here for work so there should be nothing between any of us and her. you can be her friend but our main priority is to win the championship. no distractions."

"damn, didn't take you for being an anti-romantic. you should've just said you don't like her and end it there." jake says.

fast forward to possibly a few weeks later, you've taken a ton of photos of the boys during their trainings and competitions. it was also used in your school's website and newsletter. your name was credited just below the picture and you were happy with what you've achieved.

trainings had just ended and it started raining heavily. unfortunate for you but your brother had plans with his cheerleader girlfriend so you didn't have any way home and well you didn't have any umbrella with you. you quietly wait for the rain to become lighter. you watched the skies, it was really weirdly pretty. you took out your camera and snapped a few photos.

"isn't it just rain, why are you taking photos of it." a voice says. you get get startled before quickly realising it was jungwon. his hair was still a little wet from showering.

"oh, i guess but i think it's a little pretty. the clouds, the pouring rain. take it like a sad photo since rain is usually associated with sadness." you say. "ah, sorry. i was blabbering some nonsense wasn't i?”

jungwon shakes his head, "it's just something you're passionate about. it's alright to talk about it."

"well, i overheard you say that it's kinda stupid and lame-" you gasp and cover your mouth. "sorry." you looked away. jungwon nervously bites his lips.

"i don't think it's stupid."

"oh." you couldn't face the boy.

"look i'm sorry if you overheard that. i just never really understood why you like photography when it's just taking pictures. it's kinda boring really."

"it's okay. not everyone can like photography. this is something i've done dearly since this is only thing that shows i am my own person. rather than me being known as (brother name)'s little sister."

it was silent between the both of you.

"want me to walk you home?" jungwon asks. you looked up at him.

"no it's okay. i'll just wait until it stops raining." jungwon pulls out his umbrella and grabs your camera bag.

"come on." he says.

your heart races. that was just one encounter with jungwon, there was many more that happened after. it seems like you had been spending more time with him. sometimes he even poses for the pictures that you were taking. you jokingly scold him since it was supposed to be a natural photo of them doing their own things during training.

"let me see the photo, miss photographer." jungwon steps forward. you giggled and try to hide the camera from him.

"nooo, it's not for you to see!"

"you were taking photos of me secretly, how am i supposed to not want to see them!"

"they were taken in secret for a reason, captain!" jungwon smirks.

"in that case." he tickles you. you laughed and tried to get away from him.

"yo, cap! training is starting soon. sorry to cut your cute moment with our photographer or should i say girlfriend~~" sunoo yells. jungwon glares at sunoo.

"can you guys stop calling (name), jungwon's girlfriend? it makes me have goosebumps and not in a good way. it's disgusting to think my friend and my sister are dating."

jungwon smirks, "really, hyung? that's an interesting fact to learn about because well...you see...although she's not my girlfriend yet." jungwon lifts you from the ground and kisses you.

the whole team was cheering and yelling.

"oh my god, you go captain!!!"

NISHIMURA RIKI

dancing has always yours and your brother's dream. the both of you had always hold classes and became choreographers. it just so happens that after so long, your brother was finally able to chase his dreams. he became a trainee and was now a temporary backup dancer for HYBE.

though you didn't continue to follow your dreams, you had still were managing dance classes here and there. eventually, you yourself became a quite known choreographer. your brother made his debut shortly after in 2022. he was a backup for enhypen a few times so he became friends with the boys. he was closest with the jungwon since they were the same age.

"look at you. you've gone from being a backup dancer of ENHYPEN to an actual idol."

"hard work pays off." your brother smirks. you smiled and pat his back. you heard a knock at the dressing room door. a few heads popped in and that's when you realise, it was the ENHYPEN members.

"congrats on your debut!!" jungwon hugs your brother.

"thank you! it's been so long!"

"who is this? is she your-"

"sister. she's my little sister." you bowed.

"hello, i am (name)." you heard sunoo gasp.

"isn't she that choreographer that became really famous because she's only 17??"

you shyly smiled, "that's me."

"OOO i really loved the choreo you did to 'kill bill' by SZA! it was really a work of art!!" sunoo excitedly says. you thanked him.

"wait how did you say she was?" heeseung asks.

"17. she's 17."

you noticed a few smirks, "ni-ki san~" jake says.

ni-ki deadpans, "hyung, can you not."

you couldn't lie. you did admire ni-ki as an artist. he was a talented boy and he did kinda follow the same dreams as you. to see him this up close, you didn't expect for him to be so good looking and tall. it made your heart jump a little.

"umm, i do admire your dance style and dance a lot. you're a really great dancer." you say.

"ooo ni-ki got a compliment~~"

ni-ki blushes. he shoves jake. your brother laughs.

"okay, that's enough. thank you for coming today. i'm sure you guys are extremely busy. i have a debut stage to record soon."

"are you kicking us out (brother name)?"

"i am not. it's just...the staff are kinda rushing me and my members are quite literally staring at you guys because they need to change."

"oh my god, why didn't you tell me. this isn't professional of you, you're holding up your members from changing!"

"well we had a longer time but the staff cut it short so they need to cha-"

"save it. i'll get going. enjoy your time and don't forget to eat."

"yes, (name). i will do so. you're acting like a big sister."

"well, you were never one to take care of yourself and you overwork a lot sooo, i have to take care of you."

"such a sweet little sister." your brother ruffles your hair. he goes to look at the ENHYPEN members.

"thank you guys for coming once again."

"any time. you were always a hardworking guy and you encouraged us a lot so it's only right we come to visit you." jay says.

your phone rings, "oh, alright i'll be over soon." you end the call.

"i have to go now. classes are starting a little early today. don't forget to call me, (brother name)."

"yes (name). enjoy your time teaching the class. my little choreographer." you smiled.

after that, you never really see enhypen again. that is until, they came to your classes. you heard a knock.

"yes-" you gasp. "surprise seeing you guys today. are you the students?"

"yup, you will be our teacher for today."

"well i did get a notified from HYBE that i will be choreographing your side song so...it's great to see you guys again."

"so what have you planned for us?"

"it's still being polished but i can show you guys what i have so far."

"that would be great."

you played their song and showed what you had choreographed for it. the boys were in awe. they were so surprised that you choreographed this all by yourself.

"that's about it."

"i really don't get why companies don't come up to you and ask if you want to be a choreographer for their company." sunghoon says.

"they would have to pay top money for me." you smirked.

"that's right. taught you soooo well." jake says.

"you met her once jake. how would raise her?" jay says.

"the same way i raised ni-ki!"

so for the past few weeks of polishing and teaching the boys the choreography, it was finally able to be shown to the public. you clapped once they all finished it and fell to the ground.

"good job, boys." the staff clapped along with you. "here enjoy some drinks i bought for you while you guys were practicing."

the boys happily took the drinks. ni-ki was the last one to grab his drink, his hands linger on yours for a little longer. he winks at you before going over to sit with the boys.

now it was no surprise there was this weird tension between you and ni-ki but it was also partly because well...the both of you were secretly dating. he confessed last week and now you've been dating the boy for about 10 days now. you chose to keep it a secret because well for one, the boys would tease ni-ki and two, your brother was quick to know because jungwon and him were close.

"so did we do well?" jake asks. you giggled and nod.

"yes, you did extremely well. you executed my choreography way better than i did."

"i don't think we can do that, (name). you were the blueprint and we just added our own style." heeseung says.

"that's true which means you made it even better."

ni-ki smiles, he watches you intently. he wanted to sit next to you but sunghoon and jay were already sitting next to you.

"ni-ki, what do you have to say? we did great right?"

"yeah, we did." you smiled at his words.

"woah, what's with this staring at each other. ni-ki, (name). is there something going on between you two? something we should know of?" jungwon says. you shook your head.

"it's nothing. just an inside joke me and ni-ki have. you wouldn't understand."

"damn. this is a dancer thing isn't it! that's unfair, i wanna know about it too!" jake huffs.

the day ends quickly, enhypen went back to their dorms and you went home. you texted ni-ki making sure that it was okay to facetime him. once he says it was fine, you called him. the boy appears on the screen. he was laying in his bed.

"hi." he says. you chuckled.

"hey, boyfriend."

"never going to get used to hearing you say that."

"what do you mean, you were the one who confessed. why are you shy about me calling you boyfriend? we are dating." you say.

"YOU SAID WHAT?" you heard sunoo yell. your boyfriend gasps. "JUNGWON CALL (NAME)'S BROTHER NOW. OUR YOUNGEST AND HIS SISTER ARE DATING."

"ALREADY CALLING HIM AS WE SPEAK!" jungwon yells. ni-ki facepalms.

"i didn't know they were listening in i swear."

"it's okay. it's surprise we even managed to hide this for 10 days."

"you're right." ni-ki shyly smiles. "i umm love you by the way."

"love you too."

"YAH YANG JUNGWON, THE KIDS JUST SAID I LOVE YOU TO EACH OTHER! THIS GOING WAY TOO FAST!" sunoo yells.

yup, this was going to be fun.

#MY GOD #THIS TOOK ME SO LONG TO WRITE #to type this much is actually a surprise to me #this is probably like maybe 3K worth or something #NOPE OKAY ITS 6K WORTH #YOUR WELCOME😀 #enhypen #enhypen imagines #enhypen imagine #enhypen headcannon #enhypen headcanons #enhypen x reader #enhypen x reader imagines #heeseung #heeseung imagines #heeseung imagine #jay #jay imagines #jay imagine #jongseong #jongseong imagines #jongseong imagine #jake #jake imagines #jake imagine #jaeyun #jaeyun imagines #jaeyun imagine #sunghoon #sunghoon imagines

[lordgrimwing]

Friends and Family #07

I was going to post the story directly to tumblr, but then I spent so long getting the formatting right on AO3. Here' have a link to the next installment of Old Gods.

Summary: 8 times Celebrimbor called the wrong person Papa, plus 1 time he got it right.

#celebrimbor is a little bit spoiled as a baby #it's kind of unavoidable with 8 adults around and no other kids to compete with #but is that so wrong? #this family is bursting with love #this took me so long to write #8+1 is actually too much #the title for this should really be 'friends and family and family and family and family and family and family' #inspired by my toddler niece #she gave me basically every idea and the strength to go on #celebrimbor #nerdanel #feanor #maedhros #maglor #celegorm #caranthir #curufin #amrod #amras #sons of feanor #the silmarillion #old gods au #grimwing writes

[slowlybutsurelygoinginsane]

Date with the Creepypastas!

How would it go?

Here are my thoughts

Jeff: He would want to take you on a killing spree. It's one of his favorite things (In my mind) and he wants to share it with you. Afterwards you guys are most definitely going drinking. Drunk or not Jeff would smother you in kisses to show everyone in the building you are his.

(BONUS FOR JEFF! He would give you one of his plushies of him he got from Ijustwannahavefunn.)

Ben: VIDEO GAMES! Honestly even though it sounds lame, the both of you would get into a feisty game of Mario Cart and from all of the joking and yelling, the rest of the creepypastas would start placing bets on you two. After a bunch of competitive gaming, Ben and you would go to his room and cuddle while you watch him play Zelda on his switch.

Laughing Jack: He would definitely take you out to a carnival, since it's where he thrives the best. He would get you candy and win prizes just for you. He would also persuade you to go on the BIGGEST roller coaster there. (If there is one of course) you two would have so many laughs together and that day would definitely be a day neither of you would forget.

Eyeless Jack: He would ask you for your kidneys. LOLLL ngl you would of probably gotten one of you kidneys removed just to give to jack. And instead of eating it he would put it somewhere where it would never go bad. Anyways, you two would spend QUALITY time together. He would ask you what you wanted to do and never disagree unless he thought you would get hurt.

Wendell: OK so he is one of my favorites and I have been wanting to write about this for a while so apologies if its long!!!

Wendell would wait for you to wake up while caressing you face and admiring how beautiful you are. After the both of you are up and dressed he would take you to a coffee shop. (The best way to start your morning.) After spending like 2 hours in the coffee shop he would take you to the movies to see a movie that you REALLY wanted to see. Even if Wendell didn't like the movie, he would sit with you during the movie and CONSTANTLY glance at you and after 10 minutes, finally man up and hold your hand. After the movie he would take you on a romantic walk in the park and pick some flowers for you. You would make a flower crown for him and even though it annoyed him, he would wear it cause it made you happy. After a long romantic day you two would cuddle up in bed and fall asleep while watching the notebook.

Comment if you want more!!!!

#creepypasta #jeff the killer #laughing jack #eyeless jack #wendell wilson #Ben drowned #Date with the creepypastas #this took me so long to write #but it was worth it

[giggle-bee]

Holaaa, hace rato que quería intentar una sugerencia, pero mi inglés es terrible y bueno... En fin, igual quiero intentarlo aún si es en español (puedes ignorarme si así lo deseas)

Soy del tipo de personas que es demasiado cosquilluda para su propio bien, DEMASIADO, y muchas veces de pequeña me hacían cosquillas con demasiada fuerza, así que aparte de reír, también lloraba porque me dolían las costillas o la panza

Cuando mi hermana se daba cuenta de que me estaba lastimando, me dejaba de hacer cosquillas, y en su lugar, me dejaba hacerle cosquillas todo lo que yo quisiera

En la actualidad no me gusta mucho que me hagan cosquillas porque me desespera muy rápido (a menos que sean muy suaves, en ese caso me encanta) pero si me gusta mucho hacerle cosquillas a otras personas

Al punto...

Tuve un sueño con Beelzebub de Obey me, en el cual, unas supuestas "cosquillas suaves" terminaron por ser algo mucho más brusco porque bueno, el baby no tiene muy buen control de su fuerza, y cuando se da cuenta empieza a disculparse muchísimo y termina diciendo que puedo hacerle cosquillas todo lo que yo quiera como compensación

Lastimosamente, no tengo las neuronas para escribir por ahora, y pensé en compartir mi idea, para ver si te interesa escribirla

De nuevo, me disculpo, por el monólogo y por, bueno... El idioma

Aaaa! Hola xd

Mi español es no bueno pero estoy tratando de practicarlo!! Soy mucho mejor leyendo que escribiendo, estoy usando un traductor para escribir correctamente..

Espero que esto tenga sentido 😣

Tu historia es una linda idea, me encantaría escribirla! No puedo escribir en español, pero puedo escribir en inglés! Está bien?

Gracias por escribirme!! Esta fue una práctica divertida :D

#bee answers #buzz #honey #this took me so long to write #but I need the practice #en español

[randomwriteronline]

Terusho joined the Survey Corps because the Professor caught them trying to figure out how to use his photocamera.

They had started out as an apprentice of the Manufacture Corps, and had gone to the ground floor offices to ask for something they had forgotten. The strange abandoned gadget had captured their attention.

It wasn't a punishment, truly - the Professor had been ecstatic to see someone interested in the technology and willing to learn how to use it. He had managed to rope Dagero into teaching them the basics and encouraged them to take pictures of Jubilife Village to practice and document its development.

So for a while, Terusho was 'the One-Eye Kid'. Wandering the world with only one eye opened behind mechanical lenses.

They took photos of buildings at first, then of people: the first ones were average at best, but that was to be expected. One day they took a marvelous one of Colza, and they blushed deeply at the praise it received.

The Professor had a lot of film for his camera, because he wanted to take pictures of Pokémon while he studied them; so one day, even though they were terrified and their legs trembled, Terusho followed him out to the Fieldlands to photograph a few of the mysterious creatures as he wrote down their behaviors from a safe distance.

As nerve wrecking as it had been, they had both returned to Jubilife safe, sound and satisfied with the day's research. The Professor was very enthusiastic about their improvement in photography, and especially complimented their pictures of a Shinx yawning and of a Starly caught in the middle of its first flight.

That was all it took them to become 'the Professor's assistant'.

Terusho wishes they would not have to go around catching and battling Pokémon as Survey Corps duty, that they do.

They're not good at either, basically a lost cause: how can you take on something that makes your blood freeze solid, and having to rely on one of its horrifying kind to booth?

They'd rather spend hours making all sorts of Pokéball for Choy to sell. They are good at that.

So while it is a little embarassing to be outclassed by an 8-year-old, they aren’t exactly complaining when AkaRei excitedly takes over the most perilous part of the Survey Corps gig, leaving their senior to just craft items they might need - because they are too young to properly grind medicinal leeks and Oran berries into potions, let alone carefully cut and carve an Apricorn to turn it into a functioning capsule.

One of the strange and good things about AkaRei is that they love to catch Pokémon: they love to complete the Pokédex pages, and they love to hear the Professor talk about Pokémon.

Being only able to carry six of them, this means that there are plenty docile specimens sitting around in the pastures - perfect for one to make a small collection of up close and personal pictures that Terusho would otherwise be too scared to even just try and attempt to take.

Terusho takes AkaRei’s second photograph in Hisui (the first one was taken by the Professor, of course): they have just gotten Lord Wyrdeer’s approval and promised aid. They look so small, sat upon the imposing creature’s back, little hands lost in the white beard; they smile brightly as they nuzzle the Lord’s neck.

It comes out beautifully.

AkaRei always smiles when told they are having a picture of them taken. They also sometimes say “cheese!” for no reason. It’s very curious.

Mr. Emmet of the Survey Corps also smiles wider when he notices Terusho is photographing him: he tips his hat, as if to get in a pose of sorts, like he’s used to it. He is surprisingly photogenic, too. He has a special look to him on account of his... Well... His entire face, really.

White of hair and eyes despite not being that old (as far as anybody knows), skin so pale that if he stood in the sun a minute too long he would turn completely red, a long straight nose that jumps out of his profile whenever he turns to the side. He has a certain piercing glare and frozen smile that make him seem unpercievable, yet curious.

(In the photograph of him and AkaRei to celebrate the quelling of Lord Kleavor, despite being forced on the ground by the aching in his bad leg, with that toothy grin and his eyes almost squeezed shut as he raises the triumphant kid's hand in the air declaring them the winner of the battle as if he’d been a mere a spectator and not a helper in it, he looks so friendly.)

It starts only with him, and then it snowballs: Terusho begins stealing secretive photos of the people around them.

It’s by no means new - this is what they do with wild Pokémon. They sneak about with their mechanical eye in hand and snap! A photo is taken without anybody noticing.

But with people it’s different, they think.

Sometimes there’s an expression that paints a face in a special way, and so they scramble silently to capture it before it disappears. Sometimes it’s just a certain way of being, repeated day after day, that when looked at from a slightly different angle turns it into a gorgeous scene.

The Professor stretching after a long day or the Captain resting her eyes a moment as she lays back in her chair. Captain Zisu crouching while she warms up. Beni making mochi batter. The Commander meditating. The Ginko merchants setting up and tucking away their caravan.

The Clans going about their lives.

Their first visit in the Diamond settlement was a year ago, actually - and they were nervous as all get-out about going around with a photocamera, eyed with at best an intense suspicion.

They had not at all expected for the quiet lady to ask for a picture - to be honest, there were so many thing they had not expected, like her apparent recognition of the gadget and quick approach of them with a shine in her eyes as soon as they had met her gaze, let alone for her to very enthusiastically invite them amidst her people's confusion to take a photo, even striking a bit of a pose. It did certainly ease her clansmen about the strange contraption enough for some to accept having pictures taken of them.

Miss Elesa seems to appear breathtakingly beautiful in every one of her photos, and Terusho is just an amateur. Who knows how heightened the effect might be if they were done by a professional.

(Even in the one where she is being helped back down from Lilligant’s arena, tired and pained and so unable to stand on her legs that she is only able to leave because AkaRei carries her on top of Ursaluna, she still flashes the lenses a genial, genuine smile by the child’s side. Her expression makes her eyes too small and her face too round - and yet she is still so pretty.)

They don’t need to hide that they’re taking pictures with her: she is always glad to be their subject or show off some clothing.

Terusho’s parents used to be weavers, working close with Anthe’s family (their child moved to Jubilife with her after all, as if she were their aunt), and when they were little they used to comb through wool and fur and fibers of all sorts to help around, watching as they were turned to vests and robes and coats. They were never too good in that trade - their hands were clumsy with needles and too heavy on the scissors - but they had remained fascinated with handywork all the same, with the ways one could spin thread to sew clothes, carve wood to make tools, melt ore to fabricate blades, mush herbs to produce medicine.

The guildsmen know how to make all sorts of things, of course. They learn quickly too, to the point where Choy jokes that they’ll put Anvin out of work with all the potions they learned to make from him. Not like they didn’t have their own recipies for that sort of thing - but many of the ones for Pokémon had gone lost in a very long oral tradition, as it happens sometimes.

But most of that knowledge is safe, and while not necessarily eager to share it they don’t mind it being documented in pictures if asked politely.

And Terusho is a very polite kid.

They have a way of singing that doesn’t sound like anything else, and they’re very good at making textiles and fabrics and ropes on their long journeys across Hisui, and wooden utensils: they’re great carvers. Must be why their pipes are so... Elegant, for lack of a better word.

Mr. Briosa always plucks hers from her mouth and snuffs it out when she sees kids around her - though once she didn’t notice Terusho in time, and they managed to snap a photo that they think is lovely.

From what they’ve heard she must know a lot about cooking, but they can’t really say they know a lot about her. They know more things about Volo, whom she always hangs around for some reason - probably to pull him along when he starts getting sidetracked while asking a million questions and such, and he said once half-jokingly that he lets her stick to him only because she can make a mean fried Barboach - and Volo is a secretive person himself.

(The closest they’ve ever come to her in a non-commercial context was after AkaRei had handled Lord Arcanine, on the shore of Firespit Island. They took a photo while she was tending to a big burn on the child’s arm: her mouth was perfectly flat, and her eyes wide, like she didn’t expect that. They can still hear her yelling in another language what was unequivocably a swear right after.)

They do know she can throw Volo, who is much taller than her. So. That is certainly something to remember.

Something else they need to remember - the Nobles. They need pictures of them, too.

...To be honest, Terusho doesn’t think they could ever approach any of the Nobles without their wardens around them. Actually, they feel safest when AkaRei is there, rolling around and throwing treats at them in a safer version of the frienzied trials the commander imposed on the kid as if to beat some record.

It’s only partially a matter of fear, though for Terusho that’s obviously the main point; but ignoring the natural scare factor, the main obstacle has more of a religious root. Rather understandably, considering they are holy descendants of blessed beasts, the Pokémon’s wardens are less than keen on having just any stranger come waving some strange device to make sounds and flashes at them for what seems like no good reason. The opinion of the Nobles regarding the camera are also something to take into consideration - some seem curious, others look at it with suspicion; some remain completely neutral to it, or might get frightened once it’s properly in motion.

The wardens tend to relent once informed that the purpose is only documentative, and that it won’t hurt them nor their wards. They still discuss with the Pokémon first, and only officially agree once they’re on board as well.

Terusho likes to photograph both the Nobles and their humans together. On one hand, it serves to show the unusual size of the creatures when compared to others of their own kind, though that’s usually achieved much more easily by putting them side-by-side with specimens grown or caught by AkaRei; on the other, it documents the wardens, their existence, their work. Terusho asks often if they’re allowed to take pictures of how they care for the Nobles, and notes if they’re permitted: this is also part of the research after all, isn’t it? For the betterment of relationships between Humans and Pokémon, one must know how to care for them, no?

Warden Ingo is often happy to dispense his more practical wisdom, if not to just invite them to come with him in Sneasler’s den to show them examples of what he’s talking about. Where others are skittish or focus their explanations on only a few things, he enjoys talking at length and very precisely about every aspect of caring for his ward or her kits - and his own team, too.

His face was awfully familiar when they first met him, what with that long straight nose, those piercing white eyes, the snowy hair, the squalid skin, something in the sharp angles of his mouth. They feel terribly silly for not piecing it all together sooner, but in their defense, neither had anybody else, it seems.

(The photograph Terusho took after his and AkaRei’s succesful quelling of Lord Electrode is gloomier than the other ones. It’s not a matter of lighting, nor because of the warden’s constant frown; it’s the kid’s furrowed expression despite a weak smile, and the bandages being wrapped around them. He made them laugh afterwards, though: so Terusho thinks of that instead.)

Ever since he started spending a lot of time in the training grounds of Jubilife, he’s been eager to explain battle strategies as well, to both them and Zisu, and a few of the Security Corps. They don’t really understand what half of the things he says mean, but they appreciate the effort and enthusiasm.

As for Terusho specifically, they already have a tutor. That’s AkaRei.

It would be much more embarassing if the 8-year-old wasn’t one the most skilled battlers in Jubilife, and also the only one who can explain battles simply enough for someone as hopeless as the professor’s assistant.

But it’s working! Their fear has eased up considerably, Pikachu actually likes them, and they’ve even managed to evolve Mime Jr! Even the prospect of participating in excursions through the various lands of Hisui makes them excited to capture wildlife scenes instead of causing them a stomach ache for the dread and anxiety that used to overtake them. They’re still as cautious as ever, but it feels much less daunting.

The clan leaders speak to them, even. This is something they would have never expected - Terusho is nobody important, let alone someone interesting to speak to - but they come to camp from time to time and greet them politely, asking news from Jubilife or wardens they’ve visited recently while the professor barely manages to tear himself away from his work enough to welcome them. The two of them even asked how the camera works, in a different occasion each - and Terusho did teach them, to the best of their abilities.

(They had to physically guide Adaman’s face closer to the device, as he kept getting further away and trying to squint into the lens, while Irida was so tense in handling the machine that her fingers jerked the focus too quickly, constantly pulling the image out of it. Their skin was rough in different ways, one dusty from remains of sunbaked muds, one harshly carved in by wind and ice, and if Terusho starts thinking about those little photography crash courses they gave them they end up spending the whole day in an embarassed daze, thinking only about their hands and faces and everything.)

(Their first photographs were of Terusho. Of all the subjects they had pointed to the two leaders, both insisted on chosing some Jubilife kid instead. Irida smiled, proud of herself, as she thanked them and apologized if it ended up all blurry despite her attempt at keeping her hand as still as possible; Adaman repeated the click with his tongue and changed pose and framing a few times, as if taking multiple pictures, and laughed sweetly at their bashfulness.)

(Terusho hadn’t had the guts to ask to take a photo of them until after Avalugg had been quelled. Hands clutched tight in AkaRei’s as the kid raised them into the air solemnly, Adaman does his best to fight the shivers that would make him a shaky mess while Irida remains unbothered by the cold. Despite wearing worried faces, they smile at the photographer: Terusho’s heart skips two beats.)

“We are zoologists, my dear!” the professor said when they first complained about the dangers of photographing wild Pokémon. “We aim to discover the secrets of mysterious and strange creatures to understand them! To better our relationship with them!”

Isn’t man too a strange, mysterious creature?

Despite all their works on human subjects, the professor has never chastised them for wasting film. Maybe he understands their fascination with mundane things - with making and washing and sewing, and living and eating and talking.

What Pokémon do - eating and flying and burning and sleeping and shocking and hovering and yawning - it must be mundane for them, too. 

Everything looks so... Weird. Behind the lenses.

The world closes in and focuses on a little piece of itself in perfect clarity. That’s the moment, the place: click! Immortalized.

All is where it should be.

Even the five of them, of all things and people, look in Hisui’s landscapes like Pokéball halves slotted together in a perfect fit.

They call them ‘the Misplaced’ - through time and space, and maybe even fate, why not. This is not where or when they belong, although they’ve molded themselves in the ways of the land enough to be plenty comfortable in it.

Terusho has documented gods and ghosts by now, beasts that tower over houses and others that barely reach their ankles; they’ve stuck them in photographs as they raged in battle with incredible feats of strength and mastery of the elements.

Still, they like above all to capture the subtle differences between the warden and guard while they watch a battle, to pause the forager in the perfect moment as she raises her arm in a certain graceful way, to press onto paper memory the way the merchant’s muscles carve into her skin. To catch the hero of Hisui off guard as they rub the tip of their cold red nose on the back of their hand.

They take one of the four adults as they speak to one another in the Highlands, sitting on the ground in different stances, hands flying; they call for them and they turn, and click! A smile, a frown, a small ‘o’, a perfectly flat mouth. A catalogue of human emotion in one shot.

If they were to count the ones where AkaRei joins them, it might take them a week and a half, both night and day. In part because they’d have to distinguish the from all the other ones with AkaRei, who likes to do what they call a ‘photobomb’ by jumping into frame when they see Terusho ready to take a picture, and whom the older kid likes to amuse by not telling them to move away and letting them pose.

A good number of the ones with their fellow Misplaced feature Mr. Emmet, usually with him holding them in his arms; this is because - as they themself said - he is their favorite one. (This doesn’t seem to happen often, asafter the initial surprise he moved on to bragging to his brother about this for a while.)

The picture that they’ve taken with Miss Elesa which they like the most features both of them showing the lens their tongue, noses all curled from how hard their squinting eyes are shut, index and middle fingers in the shape of a V, the child proudly displaying the badge they just earned on their kimono.

Their best one with Mr. Briosa has them in the middle of being thrown onto a futon. They’re just about to leap off of her bare shoulders and are clearly laughing madly; grinning wide, sarashi and ribs out in the open like nobody’s business, she’s clearly dosing her strength as to not hurl them in the sun.

Warden Ingo doesn’t have much luck with photos despite being as photogenic as his twin - he’s awfully embarassed by them, by his lackluster expressions. But they managed to take a lovely one during a long day, of him sprawled under a tree, the kid resting on him, the both of them snoring peacefully.

There’s a lot more, of course. But aside from a few  that migh interest future historians, and an even smaller part they gladly gift to the four adults, Terusho will probably end up keeping them for themself.

Never to be seen by anybody else. Maybe passed down in the family.

It’s not at all a bad thing.

On the last day the five spend in Hisui, because their return home has finally been granted and they want nothing more, they have two photos taken of them.

The first one has the professor behind the camera. They stand in a nice row for him just before the snowy patch of land preceding the cave that leads up to the peak of the mountain, an artful mismatch of what survived of the clothes that came with them and new garments in place of the uniforms they’ve worn for years or months, looking into the lens for a picture they can’t sign the back of and that they hope to maybe see one day, perhaps in a museum; after it’s done the kid runs into the poor man’s shins and hugs him tight, saying thank you and goodbye as he embraces them back and cries a bit.

They say their goodbyes; they go.

Terusho watches them for a while, until they seem to disappear. A knot in their throat makes their eyes prickle.

It takes a look to get the professor’s undying support as the camera gets almost shoved in their hand, and off they bolt! Their feet are cold and the tips of their socks are a little wet, and thank goodness the Electabuzzes and the Alpha Electivire have taken a vacation today so they don’t have to worry about dodging lightning strikes as they run - there they are, all set to get in the tunnel - wait, wait, hold on, just one, just-

“Hey!”

All five turn towards them.

They stop without reaching them, seeing as the Misplaced don’t continue on their path, instead waiting for them. Their heavy breaths, tired from the sprint, turn into clouds as they leave their mouth.

Terusho raises an arm and waves, smiling.

AkaRei raises both of them and waves back, smiling.

Click!

The Misplaced say one last goodbye to Hisui, arms up in the air caught mid-motion, smiling.

Terusho, professor Laventon’s assistant, the One-Eye Kid, turns around satisfied by a photo nobody will ever care for and walks back to the camp near Moonview Arena, rubbing their cold red nose against the back of their hand.

(”I know this one!” Luce tells their mother, gasping as their hand gently caresses the old glass frame that preserves one of their great-grandparent’s photos from deterioration, and recognizes first and foremost their pijama peeking through the large plush kimono they’re still not done growing into of all things: “Terusho took it right before we came back home!”)

#pokémon #pokemon legends arceus #professor laventon #submas emmet #pokemon elesa #submas ingo #pokemon irida #pokemon adaman #briosa pokemon #random writing #EVERYBODY GETS EEBIE DEEBIED AU ONCE MORE LADS YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA BOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY #THIS TOOK ME SO LONG TO WRITE #AND IN THE END THE TRICK WAS JUST LISTENING TO Starbound OST Novakid Theme I Was The Sun (Before It Was Cool) FOR LITERAL HOURS #i have written. the entire last half of this. tonight more or less. to a WILD WESTERN SOUNDTRACK #anyways! terusho my beloved <3 #if youre wondering abt their name! its a mix of the japanese protag names! Teru (male) and Sho (female)! like AkaRei! #photography #idk how to tag this but im so happy abt it #also terusho gets a crush on adaman AND irida. 15yo bi mess for the win

[harborchild]

being brave and babbleing about my scrunklies for @small-artist-oc-showdown

Patches

Patches is a lil sweetheart, dose their best to be kind, they care about their friends and chosen family a WHOLE lot, tho they can be a little odd and akward at times

They're a talented clothier/tailor and make clothes and other wearable confy things for their friends, and their lil heart melts when they see someone wearing something they made for them

They care alot about their loved ones, and will do their best to see that they're well taken care of

Guise

Guise WILL bite you, this is a promise

they're always hungry and will eat anything they can get their lil creature hands on, includeing things that arnt typically edible, like silverware

they're missing their soul for one reason or another, most of the time its been ripped out of them, and it being missing is the cause of their cavernous hunger

they like to wear masks and have a decent colletion of them

in general they're a menace who bites people

Also! Very Important, they're Buddies with Sky an Worsties with Ruse, both belong to @morbid-mordecai

now heres a colletion of drawings of them

#oc guise #oc patches #this took me so long to write #im so slow at writeing things #anyway heres my scrunklies

[leavemetoplaythesims]

OCS as OBSCURE ASSOCIATIONS

i was tagged by @kazuaru thank youuuuuu!! <33

i tag @barbieaiden, @goblinivy and @goldenwaves (feel free to ignore no pressure <33)

for Florence, Felix and Francesca :)

ANIMAL: Cats - Horses - Snakes and Spiders

COLORS: Black, Purple and Red - Gold and Blue - Grey, White and Green

MONTH: November - June - September

SONGS: Vagues - La Femme, Lament - Keaton Henson, The World to Come - Daniel Blumberg and Josephine Foster - Line of Fire - José Gonzáles, You Don't Know What Love is - Chet Baker, My Rifle, My Pony And Me - Ricky Nelson, Dean Martin - beyond the cemetery wall - Natalia Tsupryk, All The Wild Horses - Ray LaMontagne, Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers

NUMBER: Twenty Five

PLANTS: Orchid - Dahlia - Magnolia

SMELLS: Vanilla and Lavender - Cigarette Smoke and Mint Gum - Shampoo and Newly Washed Clothes

GEMSTONE: Jet - Amber - Quartz

TIME OF DAY: 04:00 - 16:00 - 06:00

SEASON: Winter - Summer - Spring

PLACES: The dark and stormy sea - A meadow on a warm day - A lonesome street where the street lights have just been turned on

FOOD: Oatmeal with Fresh Fruit - Pasta - Onigiri

DRINKS: Wine - Whiskey - Protein Shakes

ELEMENT: Oxygen - Gold - Lithium

ASTROLOGICAL SIGNS: Scorpio - Gemini - Pisces

SEASONINGS: Garlic - Basil - Ginger

SKY: Starry Night - Sunset - Pre-Rain

WEATHER: Summer Rain, Snow - Clear Skies and Sunshine - Cloudy with the sun occasionally peeking through

MAGICAL POWER: Defying Death

WEAPONS: Kitchen Knife - Rifle - Fists

SOCIAL MEDIA: Pinterest - Instagram - Tumblr

MAKEUP PRODUCT: Eyeliner - Nail Polish

CANDY: Fancy Chocolates - Gum - Pick and mix

METHOD OF LONG DISTANCE TRAVEL: On Horseback - By Plane

ART STYLE: Realism - Expressionism - Pop Art

FEAR: Drowning - Forgetting - Ending Up Alone

MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURE: Sirens - Angels - Zombies

PIECE OF STATIONARY: Palette Knife - Journal - Ink

THREE EMOJIS: (🕸💜🦇) - (🤠💕🚬) - (🌸👽✌)

CELESTIAL BODY: Neptune - The Sun - The Milky Way

#this took me so long to write #and a lot of googling #tag game #oc: florence #oc: felix #oc: francesca

[starfinss]

ɪɴᴄɪᴅᴇɴᴛꜱ ᴀᴛ ʙᴀɴᴄʀᴏꜰᴛ ʜᴀʟʟ — ᴄʜ. 2

Chapter One can be found here!

𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮: Lockwood & Co.

𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨: Anthony Lockwood + Lucy Carlyle

𝘙𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨: SFW

𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵: 5,507

𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺: The client’s daughter flirts with Lockwood, is a massive nuisance, and Lucy gets jealous, among other things.

It took us far longer than we would’ve liked to find Madeline Quintrell, who had stationed herself in the kitchen, where she was casually eating a sandwich. I was the one who found her; Lockwood had gone to search the living room, and when she saw me, she let out a surprised squeak of fear. My rage reached a tipping point when I saw a rapier from the kit we’d left in the kitchen set across the table, just by her hand. I marched over and snatched it up, carrying it back to its proper bag, zipping it inside.

“What the Devil is wrong with you?” I spat, a bit sharper than I meant to, but I was angry.

I was fed up with this girl prancing about like she was immune to Ghost Touch, and somehow, miraculously, traversing the house without any incident besides my rapier at her throat when she’d startled me in the study.

“I was hungry,” she said simply, setting her sandwich down on the plate in front of her, “could you give that back to me now?”

I stared at her. “Give what back to you?”

“The rapier. I picked it out—”

I laughed, incredulous, and quite tired of this farcical series of events. It was a short, unpleasant sound, but it shut her up. “No. You don’t get a rapier of your own until you pass your Third Grade, and since you haven’t, no rapier for you. I’m not letting you handle a weapon if you’re not qualified. This isn’t a game, Miss Quintrell, it’s a job, and it’s not a safe one. You have no idea what you’re playing at. You try and fight a Visitor with no training, you die. That’s it.”

“But if Lockwood were to protect me—”

“Shut up,” I said, and I knew I probably shouldn’t have, but I was beside myself with rage, “Lockwood doesn’t have timeto protect you. He’s here to investigate your house so you can have a safe place to live. You’re getting in the way of that. Chasing after boys is hardly a reason to try and play act being an agent.”

Her face turned a frankly impressive shade of red, almost rivaling the color of her hair.

“Well,” she scoffed, “he clearly doesn’t have a girlfriend. A shame, he’s a very handsome bloke. The other girl in your agency is pretty, but she doesn’t seem to be interested in him. And you. Why would he be interested in you?”

I didn’t want to be affected by that. I really didn’t think I would be, either. But for some reason, that stung. Not the part about my appearance, I didn’t care about that. I didn’t need to be beautiful to be a good agent. It was the second part that sent a strange jolt of stinging embarrassment through me. Why, though? Why did I even care if Lockwood was interested in me?

“This isn’t about me,” I said finally, but she cut me off.

“But this is about you,” she mused, her expression smug, “at least I’ve got the guts to go after a boy. You’re the one blushing like a schoolgirl every time he smiles at you— don’t think I didn’t see, I’m not blind. You’re jealous.”

Absolute nonsense, I told myself, I was not jealous. Complicated, unpleasant feelings were swimming laps in my veins, and I could feel my face growing hot from them. I had to stay calm. Haunted locations were no place for such feelings. I could sort them out once I was back in my bed at Portland Row, with no hungry Visitors to provoke with my racing thoughts.

I took a deep, cleansing breath. “This is not about me,” I repeated, firmer this time, “this is about you, swanning off when we’re not looking. You don’t seem to care that you could’ve gotten yourself killed.”

The door to the kitchen opened, and Lockwood stepped in. He looked at Madeline with a mix of relief and irritation, sighing heavily. At the sight of him, he stomach did an uncomfortable twist, and I forced myself to look away.

“Right, there you are,” he said, “I’m glad you’re safe, Miss Quintrell. No more wandering off, please, we’ve still got an investigation to complete. If you must stay, stay in here, where the largest amount of iron is. And don’t touch anything in our kit. Come on, Luce, George and Holly are already set up in the master bedroom.”

“No,” Madeline protested, “I want to come, too.”

I rounded on her, my fury outweighing my inner turmoil, but Lockwood put a hand on my shoulder. I could see that muscle in his jaw again, tensing. He was reaching the end of his rope.

“I simply cannot allow that, Miss Quintrell.”

His voice was tense, the usual politeness it possessed when dealing with our clients rapidly draining away.

Madeline stood up, pulling her dress down. It took me a few moments to realize what she was doing; trying to appeal to Lockwood with physical appearance rather than smiling and batting her eyelashes. If Lockwood was affected at all, he hid it well, dark eyes remaining fixed on her face.

I really doubted he was affected, though. All she succeeded in doing was making herself look rather silly.

“Please?” She asked, in a soft, simpering tone that made me nearly erupt with fury.

“That’s quite enough of that,” Lockwood said with a cough, and I could see what I could have sworn was a faint blush on his pale cheeks, “I’ll be calling your father now.”

“Why isn’t it working?!” She erupted, and Lockwood stopped mid-stride as he was crossing the kitchen to where the phone was hanging on the wall.

He stared at her, puzzled. “Why isn’t what working, Miss Quintrell?”

“I’ve been flirting all night. Blokes like it when we want their help, yeah? I—”

“Ah, there it is,” the skull drawled, “letter opener. I’ve had just about enough of this girl. Letter opener, I say!”

“Ah,” Lockwood said, “that’s what you’re doing. I’m sorry, Miss Quintrell, but I don’t tend to go around with my clients.”

“I’m not your client,” she supplied, “my father is.”

Lockwood shrugged his narrow shoulders. “That’s quite close enough for me.“

Ignoring anything else she said, Lockwood finished his journey across the kitchen, where he dialed the number to the guest house. The phone rang twice, and when Sir Quintrell picked up, I could hear him from across the room. He didn’t seem pleased that his daughter had snuck out, however, even with how much he seemed to dote on her.

Lockwood and I remained with Madeline until her father came from the guest house to fetch her, apologizing profusely (and loudly) for her behavior before putting an arm around her shoulders and leading her out the front door and away.

The rest of the investigation passed as smoothly as it could in a haunted location, and by the time Lockwood and I joined George and Holly in the master bedroom, George had already located the source, and was pulling up floorboards while Holly fought off an angry Specter in the form of a man in a high Victorian collar with impressive mutton chops. Off in the corner, a Shade was hovering, a grey smudge of a thing in a Victorian style nightgown.

Lockwood joined Holly, and I knelt beside George, aiding him in tugging up the floor. With much sweating and swearing, we discovered a bundle of letters, unreadable due to age, but once we shoved them into a silver link pouch, the Visitors blinked out of existence and were gone.  For a moment or two, the four of us sat there, panting, as we took in the silence, before moving to gather our kit, then back down to the kitchen.

“You sorted the Shade upstairs, then?” I asked, and Holly nodded.

“It didn’t put up much of a fight,” she said, “just stared at us rather crossly while we looked for the Source.”

I grunted in assent before rising to my feet from where I’d been sitting cross-legged, folding the iron chains up and packing them away.

“I’m going to do a final sweep of the house.”

I stepped out of the kitchen and into the dining room, letting myself breathe. I really was going to do a sweep of the house, but I also needed to clear my head. I was trying to figure out why what Madeline said had gotten to me the way that it did. I was fond of Lockwood, I knew that much. Maybe I didn’t like it when other girls looked at him like that, but what of it?

With racing thoughts, I walked the length of the dining room once, then again, before exiting into the main hall, and finally drifting into the living room.

“You don’t seem well,” the skull said, startling me, “don’t tell me that tart got to you, Lucy.”

“No,” I said, a tad sharply, “I’m fine.”

“You’re a horrid liar.”

“Shut up. I am not.”

“You absolutely are. It’s the way she was looking at Lockwood, right? You don’t like when other girls get too close to him. I’ve been telling you as much for a while.”

“I am not. And even if that is true, I don’t have time for this.”

A dark chuckle. “If not now, when? You never have time. And you think I’m the weird one.”

“You are,” I said, “you’re a haunted skull in a jar. That’s textbook weird.”

“Are you alright, Luce?”

Lockwood’s voice startled me even further than the skull’s had. I heard him bite back a laugh at the way I jumped, and I glared at him.

“Fine,” I said, “just peachy.”

“Liar,” the skull reiterated, its voice adopting a taunting, musical quality, “liar, liar, pants on fire.”

I had half a mind to turn the tap closed, and I was setting my bag down on the ground to do so when Lockwood spoke, rendering me sidetracked.

“You don’t seem peachy,” he said, regarding me with dark eyes, “Miss Quintrell didn’t do or say anything to bother you, did she? Other than the obvious, of course.”

I snorted half-heartedly, offering what I hoped was a reassuring look. “It’s nothing you need worry about, Lockwood. She got on my nerves, but I’m able to deal with any further feelings on my own.”

He wasn’t convinced. “Luce—”

“I’m fine,” I said. And I was. Probably.

Prettiness wasn’t my profession. I was content with my apprentice, even if it wasn’t much to be proud of. I had nice eyes, and I liked the way my waist was shaped. I had some things about myself I was fond of.  I wasn’t about to let the words of a cosmetically challenged rich girl define my self worth. And I didn’t blush every time he smiled at me, did I? That was ridiculous. George would’ve teased me about it ages ago if I’d been doing that.

“Liar,” said the skull, once more. I glared pointedly in the direction of the jar.

“Oh, all right, then,” I retorted, “tell me what I’m lying about. Enlighten me, Skull.”

“Besides always claiming to abide by the one biscuit at a time rule, you’re lying about what you feel for Lockwood,” the Skull drawled, “It’s sickening, I tell you. You’re going to wind up Ghost Touched, the lot of you, for all the time you spend smiling and blushing and staring at one another. I wish you’d just get it over with, telling him, so you stop with all your blasted sighing.”

“I don’t do that,” I retorted, even though I felt heat beginning to rise to my cheeks, “and what she said about— never mind. I don’t know why I’m entertaining this. I’ve got thicker skin than to let someone who I don’t even know do my head in.”

“Hold on,” Lockwood said, and honestly, for a moment, I’d forgotten he was there, “what’d she say to you? I can surely take it up with our client if she offended you. My patience with her is already rather thin, with her disrupting the investigation, and I prefer not to have my operatives face disrespect if I can help it.”

“Yes, tell him,” the Skull said, “tell him that she said you’re an unsightly troll and that’s why he isn’t interested in you.”

This was all becoming too much. I felt heat settle in the apples of my cheeks, much to my annoyance.

“That isn’t what she said at all,” I said, leaving out the added troll comment, “she didn’t say anything about my appearance. Why do you care about this, anyway?”

“Because I like watching you squirm. But you don’t deny the last bit, do you?”

“First of all, rude,” I said, “and second of all, no, I don’t. She phrased it differently than that, though.”

“Phrased what differently?” Lockwood said, and I ignored him.

“Right, right, she said;” the Skull cleared its nonexistent throat, warping its voice into a hideous falsetto, “and you? Why would he be interested in a troll like you?”

“No,” I said, “why are you so set on her calling me a troll? I think you’re the one who wants to call me a—”

“Lucy!” Lockwood cried, successfully getting my attention this time, and by now, the color in my cheeks had spread down to my neck, and I felt hot with embarrassment.

“Did she upset you in any way?” Lockwood said, “I noticed you were particularly cross in the kitchen, when we found her.”

“I was already cross,” I said, “you would be too if you found someone messing about during an active investigation.”

“Well, cross-er ,” Lockwood relented, “she called you a troll?”

I sighed. “No. That was something the skull added.”

“I was merely reading between the lines.”

“Shut up,” I said, nudging the bag containing the jar with my foot, “what she said isn’t important. I’m fine. I’m just frustrated that she managed to get under my skin.”

“Well,” Lockwood said, a half smile tugging at his lips, “for all intents and purposes, I think you’re lovely.”

I wasn’t exactly sure what face I was making in that instant, but I probably resembled a deer in the headlights. It was like something in my brain just completely stopped working as I stared at him, unsure of how to even begin to formulate a response. My heart was doing that familiar, funny thing it does whenever Lockwood is involved, but on a far greater scale than I was used to. My face was hot enough to fry an egg on, and I was surprised that steam wasn’t rising from my skin.

For someone as perfectly lovely as Lockwood to say that I could be described as the same word wasn’t something I really knew how to comprehend.

Surely, he was simply commenting on my abilities as an operative, or as a friend. He was probably just trying to make me feel better, which was strange, because not even I was sure what I was feeling. Whatever it was, it was extending dangerously beyond the realm of platonic that I tried hard to stay within when it came to Lockwood.

I wanted to say a retort of some kind, sharp and snappy; in an effort to deflect his confusing compliment with the banter I was more used to between the two of us, but instead, all that came out of my mouth was:

“What?”

“She commented on your appearance?” He said, as casually as if he was discussing the weather, “well, now, so am I, if I may.”

“She didn’t,” I said, stupidly.

“Oh,” Lockwood said, “well, I still stand by that statement regardless.”

I wasn’t sure what to do. Before he’d followed up with that bit, I was going to politely thank him for commenting on what had to be my abilities as an agent, but that had completely evaporated. He didn’t mean my skills. He meant me.

And everything imploded. It was like someone smashed the thin glass window between us, as my suppressed feelings, the ones I only ever entertained when I was alone, rushed in like an unblocked river. I denied it relentlessly, but every shared glance with Lockwood made my heart feel like it was twisting into the Windsor knots he wore his ties in. I’d long dismissed it as nerves when I was in the field, and as pure silliness when I was at Portland Row, because that was what it had to be.

There was no way he’d look at me like I was sunshine when I was standing in the kitchen the morning after a case, spreading jam on toast and dressed in my silly pink-and-yellow nightie. There was no way I’d catch him looking at me like I was precious and incredible when he thought I wasn’t paying attention, or that his caution and care for me was in any way different than his concern for George or Holly when we were in the field. I’d dismissed it as imagination, because it had to be. I was silly for all of it.

But he’d demolished all of that in a single blow, and with so few words that it was astonishing. I stared at him some more, at a complete loss for words, and an infuriating, mirthful glitter worked its way into his dark eyes.

“What?” I said, once more, my voice a little strangled, “you— you what?”

“I said I stand by—”

“No,” I interjected, “I heard you. I think. You think I’m pretty? That’s what you’re saying?”

A short chuckle. “Well, that’s usually what people mean when they call someone else ‘lovely,’ Luce.”

I was too stunned to formulate any kind of intelligent response, and it didn’t help that the skull was being suspiciously quiet.

“How long have you thought that?” I asked.

“Great question,” the skull said, “do you have any others just as silly?”

“Always,” Lockwood said, as if it were obvious, “I think I realized just how lovely you were when we went to the Fittes ball together. Blue really is your color, I think. But really, I’ve thought that about you since we met.”

I reached up unconsciously, to where the very same pendant he’d given to me that night rested just below where my collarbones met. I didn’t understand how he could say things like this so casually, like when he’d ever-so-nonchalantly told me he’d die for me beneath the department store during the Chelsea Outbreak. Now, it was this. A casual confession of attraction, said in the same unapologetic way.

He continued to stare at me, glimmering mirth and something dangerously close to affection in his eyes, and I knew.

“Have you… been flirting with me?”

He laughed at that. A merry, lovely sound. He stepped closer, just a few paces, and I had to bend my neck back a bit to look up at him.

“What do you think?”

I felt annoyance bubble in my chest. It joined with the other emotions I was feeling in an exhilarating concoction as I stared up at him with wild, incredulous eyes, and I finally allowed impulse to take over, because I couldn’t take itanymore.

“You’re an idiot, Lockwood,” I said.

Faster than even I could comprehend, and before I even knew what I was doing, I was grabbing the front of his greatcoat by the lapels, and in another quick motion, I was on my tiptoes, my lips molding against his.

He made a sound of surprise when our mouths met, and when he did, it seemed to break through the impulsive haze that had overtaken me. Mortification growing, because I’d just kissed my employer, I was about to pull back to apologize until I was blue in the face, but then his hands found my waist, and he was pulling me flush against his body, stopping any thoughts of doubt in their tracks.

My hands moved from the front of his coat to his chest, and then my arms were around his neck, and one of his hands was in my hair, drifting down so his palm could cup my face as he sighed against my lips.

He tasted like the Earl Grey tea he’d been drinking earlier, something that didn’t surprise me, but thrilled me nonetheless.

He pulled back for a mere second before diving back in, repeating the action a few more times before I felt his teeth graze my lower lip, sending sparks dancing down my spine, and I knew for a fact that the dam between us was breaking for him as well. He’d been craving this just as much as I had.

I made an unintentional sound against his mouth, a soft, breathy gasp, and I could feel him moving, crowding me against the wall not far behind me. The kiss grew fierce and unrestrained and passionate, turning into the kind of kiss that came from an endless amount of pining; the kind where you couldn’t help yourself anymore. My mind was full of something similar to Ghost Fog, only far more pleasant.

It felt good to kiss Lockwood, I realized. It was fulfilling a need I didn’t even know was there, or maybe one that I’d been ignoring. I didn’t particularly care which it was at this point, and from the way Lockwood’s hands slid down my body to slip under my coat, resting comfortably in the bend of my waist, he didn’t care, either.

My hands rose to tangle in his hair, and I felt electricity buzzing in my blood at the soft sound he made against my mouth as my fingers combed through thick dark locks, nails gently scraping his scalp. His hands slid further down my body to rest on my hips, long fingers bunching in the fabric of my skirt before drifting upwards once more and slipping under the bottom hem of my sweater. The feel of his palms against my bare skin drew a sudden gasp, sending my head spinning off into outer space. One of my hands slipped from his hair to the back of his neck, then sliding down to wrap around his tie, fingers catching in the knot, using it to tug him gently closer.

Slowly, reluctantly, Lockwood pulled back, enough to put a small gaps between our mouths, and I wanted to close the distance once more, but he spoke before I could do so.

“Were you jealous? Of Miss Quintrell?”

In response, I pulled him back into a kiss, which he allowed for a frenzied moment before gently pulling away.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said, brain still wreathed in fog.

“So that’s a yes, then?”

The laugher in his voice made my blood boil, but a smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. I looked down, my eyes fixing on a fleck of salt that was stuck to Lockwood’s collar, debris from a salt bomb we’d set off during our tangle with the Visitors in the master bedroom. I moved my hand from where it remained on his tie, flicking the granule away with my thumb.

Lockwood’s hand found my face, cradling my jaw, an action that seemed almost forbidden when coupled with the unfamiliarity of it, and I unconsciously leaned into his touch.

“Luce, please. Tell me, did she upset you?”

“It’s stupid, really,” I said, “she just said I didn’t have the guts to go after a boy I fancied, and that she did.“

Smug satisfaction settled on Lockwood’s face. “So you fancy me?”

I stared at him. “Obviously. Why do you think I spent the last few minutes snogging you? That’s a usual activity between people who fancy one another. She also implied I wasn’t very pretty, but I don’t particularly care about that. Prettiness has never been my profession.”

He ignored the former part of my statement, brow furrowing. “Who ever told you that you’re not beautiful, Lucy? And who taught you that rubbish?”

I shrugged, indifferent. “My mother.”

Lockwood made a displeased face. “I reckon I’m going to have to have a serious talk with your mother.”

That one sentence alone sent butterflies swarming my stomach, but the mental image of Lockwood facing off against my mother was enough to make me smile, my heart glowing with warmth.

“Before you do that,” I said, “do me a favor?”

Lockwood smiled lopsidedly. “Yeah? And what would that be?”

“Kiss me again.”

And he did. It was softer this time, with less of the frantic energy from before, now that the mutual affection we had for each other was firmly established. There was no Madeline Quintrell now, just Lockwood and me, in each other’s arms. We were so wrapped up in each other that we didn’t hear the door opening.

“I finished the sweep of the upper floor— Oh!”

It was Holly. Lockwood and I broke apart quickly, and I realized how compromising our position was. I was still backed against the wall, lips kiss swollen, and Lockwood’s usually neat hair was in disarray, even though he still somehow made it seem intentional and elegant. It was clear what we’d been doing.

Lockwood and I looked at each other, identical deer-in-the-headlights expressions adorning our faces, and I turned my head to look at Holly.

As she took in the scene, I watched as a slow smile spread across her lips, broadening to a grin, before she turned halfway to the door behind her.

“George! You and Kipps owe me twenty quid! Each!”

“What?!” Came George’s muffled voice, “why?!”

Holly looked at us and then back to the door, giving us a knowing smile before turning and walking away.

“You know why!” I heard her say as she closed the door behind her.

“Did they bet on us?” I asked, astonished, and Lockwood chuckled.

“Seems so. I wasn’t exactly subtle with the flirting, I’m surprised it took you as long as it has to realize what I was doing. I suppose they caught on before you did.”

That was embarrassing. I felt my cheeks warm again.

“Yeah, well, excuse me for that,” I said dryly, “I’m not exactly used to being flirted with, especially when someone like you is doing the flirting.”

Lockwood looked at me quizzically. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I laughed, astonished. “You mean— Lockwood, you’d have to be completely thick not to realize how attractive you are. You’ve surely seen the effect you have on girls— Madeline Quintrell is a testament to that.”

I was surprised I was able to be as blasé about that as I was, but snogging the life out of someone kind of gets rid of the need to beat around the bush, I think.

“I’m aware I’m charismatic,” Lockwood said, stepping away from me, but remaining close, “I know how to talk to people and tell them what they want to hear. I’m also aware that I’m what’s considered to be conventionally attractive, if that’s what you mean. But I don’t see what that has to do with me finding you to be lovely.”

I combed my hand through my hair, patting it down, and straightening my clothing.

“You’re sort of out of my league,” I said, “that’s what I mean.”

Lockwood smoothed his hair back into place, straightening his tie.

“Nonsense,” he said, “if anything, you’re out of my league. I don’t deserve you, Lucy. London doesn’t deserve a girl as wonderful as you.”

And that was where he ended the conversation, leaning down to press a kiss to the tip of my nose, and sending my emotions into a tailspin once more.  Thoroughly flustered, I reached down and pulled my backpack onto my shoulders. Lockwood and I finished sweeping the lower floor with minimal chatter, bathed in a comfortable silence as his hand rested on the small of my back.

After we’d finished, we met the others in the kitchen, where Holly was smiling like the cat that got the cream, and George looked like someone who had just lost twenty quid. He quickly busied himself with calling a night cab, ignoring us.

We’d booked a hotel in the nearby village in advance since the trains back to London wouldn’t be running again until morning. I was to be rooming with Holly, which wasn’t a problem, I was used to doing so when cases took us away from London for a few days. What was a problem, however, was the way she was looking at me like she wanted to wring me out for information every time I caught her eye. It also wasn’t helpful that the skull kept bemoaning about baring witness to Lockwood and me in the living room back at Bancroft Hall.

“If I weren’t already dead, I’d carve out my own eyeballs and die again. Disgusting.”

I decided that was enough of that, and turned the tap closed for the night.

I took a shower and tucked into bed after that, and was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

All of us were so tired that we didn’t particularly care for conversation as we packed our things and boarded the train back to London. I fell asleep in our train compartment, and only woke when George shook me awake. Lockwood kept stealing looks at me, giving me smiles that made my stomach do backflips, and I could think of nothing but what had happened the night before in the living room of Bancroft Hall. I hoped it wasn’t a one-off thing, and that Lockwood’s attraction was more than just attraction, as mine was for him.

I’d dismissed it as a silly crush at first, and tried to push it down until it faded out, like crushes tend to do. I thought my stint away from the company after the Chelsea Outbreak would remedy that somewhat, but if anything, it just made it stronger. It reached a boiling point when I actually rejoined, and by then, I realized that my feelings for Lockwood were very much not platonic, like I’d been insisting to myself. I’d just been the last to realize it.

I’d have to get the outsider’s perspective from Holly, since the last thing I wanted to do was talk about boys with George, but I was still a little too mortified to look her in the eye after she’d walked in on us. Good thing she’d split from us upon our return to Portland Row, undoubtedly on her way to her apartment to see Dalia.

George started on a late breakfast after dropping his things in his room, and I retreated to my own as well. I figured I’d have a nap a bit later, after I’d eaten.

I didn’t even hear Lockwood come upstairs, and I didn’t even notice he was there until he cleared his throat. I jumped so hard I almost tripped over my discarded boots.

“Blimey,” I said, “knock next time.”

He smiled. “Sorry. I wanted to talk to you.”

I looked at him warily, crossing my arms. “Alright. I’m listening.”

“What happened last night,” he started, and I tensed, waiting for what he said next. I was waiting for him to say that it couldn’t happen again, or that it was a mistake, but instead, he said, “I meant every word of what I said to you.”

I blinked, a little owlishly. “You did?”

He stepped closer, and I did as well, tentatively. “I fancy you, Lucy Carlyle,” he said, and I felt my heart stutter in my chest, “would you…”

Would you believe it? He was blushing. I’d never seen him blush before, and it was even more obvious because of how pale he was. It was one of the most endearing things I’d ever seen.

“Would I what?” I asked, voice quiet; expectant.

“Would you like to have dinner with me? Just the two of us, obviously. I know the head chef at a restaurant in Kensington, he owes me a favor. If you’d accompany me, I’d be honored.”

I was smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. “Yeah,” I said, “I mean, yes. I’d love to have dinner with you, Lockwood.”

He swallowed, sighing, then broke into a smile. “I’d like to take you to so many more places, Lucy. It would make me very happy to be yours.”

I stepped closer, taking his hands in mine, squeezing. My stomach was aflutter with butterflies and ladybirds and every other thing that flies. I wasn’t used to this, but that didn’t mean I didn’t like it. It thrilled me and terrified me all at once. It was incredible.

“And I would be happy to have you,” I replied, raising my head to look at him. His hand slipped from mine to cradle my jaw.

“You really are so lovely,” he whispered, nothing but affection in his dark eyes.

And he leaned down to kiss me, a smile still on his lips. It was perfect.

And, for the record, so was that dinner.

#lockwoodandco #lockwood & co #locklyle #fanfiction #fanfic #My writing #this took me so long to write #cross posted on AO3 #I cross published this from ao3 #lockwood and co #lockwood netflix #anthony bloody lockwood #lucy carlyle #lucewood #shenanigans ands hijinks #again this is about the book characters but the Tv show characters fit too I guess #if you ignore Holly or something #she’s cool though so don’t ignore her too hard #read the books #jonathan stroud

[appalachianapologies]

There are many new friends on the archive, and many are young and have only known social media, which is why I wanted to say something!

Ao3 does not have an algorithm! It isn't a social media site, it's an archive.

Posting fics on Tumblr isn't the same as posting fics on Ao3

Ao3 is like a giant virtual bookshelf, and everyone is able to add their own stories to the bookshelf, all stored with different tags and different fandoms. Works are automatically sorted by newest to oldest, but filters, looking at bookmarks, and using the search function can change that.

Certain works are not pushed to the top like social media posts. More kudos and reads don't push a single work to more viewers by some algorithm. Unless otherwise filtered, works will be at the top of the page based on how recent it was posted.

Smaller fandoms get less views, less kudos, less bookmarks, and larger fandoms get more simply because of the number of people inside the fandom.

Ao3 is a giant virtual bookshelf- there is no algorithm, and there is no man behind the shelf pushing certain books forward.

Happy reading, and if you'd like to have more people notice a fic, why not share it with them! Send a dm to a fandom friend and it might turn into one of their favorite fics!

#ao3 #archive of our own #organization for transformative works #i have admittedly only been a member of the committee for a couple of years BUT ive been a member on ao3 since i was much younger #and it took me a hot second to understand how ao3 works; so i wanted to write a lil post about it after seeing this comment #no shade or blame to the person who wrote this by the way! #after being on social media so much it's a completely understandable mistake and i totally get it #and in fandoms populated by younger ppl typically it's even more understandable! #so absolutely no hate no shade no passive aggressiveness #but i do think it is important to learn how the archive works #so if you'd like to share this it would be greatly appreciated! <3 #okay have a good day sorry this post/tags became so long haha

[ageofstarkey]

soft glow ✰ m. riddle

summary: sleepy mornings with matthéo

pairing: bf!matthéo x reader

warnings: slightly suggestive at the end, but nothing really other than that!! just tooth rotting fluff n théo who’s soft for u and no one else!! :’))

note: hi!! i’m not sure how i feel about this one but i still think it’s a lil tiny bit cute so i’m posting!! feel free to send in requests!!

masterlist

comments & reblogs are so appreciated! <3

✰ ✰ ✰

when you wake up, matthéo’s bedroom is warm with the soft glow of morning. golden rays of sunlight peek stubbornly through his drapes, and soft white noise filters steadily in through the window.

as you slowly come to, you begin to register the familiar sensation of matthéo’s touch. his calloused fingers glide almost curiously across your face; carefully tracing each curve and dip, as if to memorize your every detail.

with a soft hum, you finally blink open your eyes - squinting into the sunlight. you roll towards matthéo with a yawn, offering him a sleepy smile. “hi”

matthéo grins, smoothing a mess of tangled hair away from your face. “hi, darling.” his voice is raspy and painfully fond - and your heart aches pleasantly behind your ribcage. his hand slides casually to the back of your neck, and you quietly hope that your cheeks aren’t as red as they feel. “how’d you sleep?”

“me? oh - i slept terribly” you’re aiming for deadpan in a desperate attempt to play it cool, but you wear a giddy little grin that almost certainly gives you away. “worst sleep of my life.”

“oh yeah?”

you nod with all the conviction you can muster - which admittedly isn’t much. “mhmm” with a little stretch, you’re leaning upwards to kiss his cheek. “you snore louder than my granddad.”

matthéo scoffs in mock offence, fingers poking teasingly at your side. “‘s that so?”

you nod once more, trying desperately to stifle a giggle. matthéo’s teasing is relentless, and you squirm clumsily away from his prodding fingers. in the end - it doesn’t take long for you to give in. “okay! okay - fine!” you laugh breathlessly. “you don’t snore and i had the best sleep of my life. is that what you wanted to hear?”

“yes actually. because you on the other hand - you do snore and it’s really quite loud - sort of like-”

“matthéo!” he’s being mean on purpose and you pretend to hate it. “i do not snore!”

“okay but how do you know you don’t snore, hm? i mean - if you’re asleep when it happens…” he tugs you towards his bare chest, one arm wrapped firmly around your back. “you wouldn’t really know, would you?” he punctuates his words with a soft kiss to your forehead, and you all but melt into his gentle embrace.

“i hate you.” with your face smushed against matthéo’s chest, your words come out awkward and muffled. “like - i really, really can’t stand you sometimes.”

he tugs you impossibly closer with a pleased laugh. “don’t lie, sweetheart”

“i’m not lying!”

he tilts your head upwards before slowly kissing your lips. you feel warm all over, and you chase him with a quiet whine when he pulls away. “if you really hate me, why were you screaming m-”

“you’re so awful!”

#it took me SO long to get this right for some reason #and i still don’t think it’s that good but oh well i’m posting anyways #enjoy <3 #ageofstarkey writing <3 #ageofstarkey harry potter <3 #mattheo riddle #mattheo riddle x you #mattheo riddle x reader #mattheo riddle drabble #mattheo riddle blurb #mattheo riddle fanfiction #mattheo riddle fic #mattheo riddle fanfic #mattheo riddle imagine #mattheo riddle headcanon #mattheo riddle fluff #slytherin boys #slytherin boys x reader #slytherin boys fanfiction #slytherin boys blurb #slytherin boys imagine #slytherin boys fanfic #harry potter

[inkskinned]

you have to be sexy but you have to be sexy in a way that's kind of bloody. you learn this early because you are wearing a ruffled skirt and the snow around your ankles kicks little sand particles against your calves. baby's first catcall. welcome to sexiness! welcome to the eyesore of your own body!

you have to be sexy like high heels. like sculpted eyebrows. like lean stomach and highly treated hair. you have to be sexy like youth is sexy, which means you have to be sexy like boxtox and plastic. a 30 year old can be sexy but she's not going to be bloody, and they like the bloodiness of it. a 30 year old is sexy when she is a whiskey glass and a wooden desk.

but you need to be sexy like an open mouth. you need to be sexy like a bitten apple. like plucked skin and white-knuckling the waxing kit.

so sex is a performance, not an enjoyment. for a while, you just assumed everyone else was also in on the joke - nobody actually likes sex that much, right? like, some men probably do, but why would you? it is like a gender - your gender is sexy. your gender is the performance of sex. you are thigh highs and garter belts. which, to be fair, do make you feel sexy.

part of what does make sex good is that you can tell that other people want you, which means the performance of sexiness is both bloody and wanted, which is good, which means you are winning at having a body. being wanted is the prize. being wanted is the thing you are searching for, not hope. you think you are looking for a soft grave in easy loam, but that is bloody but not sexy. to be sexy you must be bloody like a red open sign. bloody like a handprint. this will make you wanted.

any wanted or unwanted body is subject to supply and demand, which is to say that the more demand, the better you are valued. you must be highly demanded to be valued. this is stated in matter-of-fact by some men. sometimes it is a priest that says it, and sometimes it is a podcaster, and sometimes it is the 45th president of the united states of america.

(if you do not have any experience with being told your value, i want you to grab the nearest bird to you and i want you to crush it into a thin paste in your hand. spit into the center, and then hold your fingers closed tight around it for days and days, long after the rot has set in. feel bones itch inside of your fist. this is only a fraction of what it actually feels like, but it will suffice for a moment.)

good sex feels like you have earned their desperation. you have earned your own value. for a while you operated under the understanding that everyone knew about the power structure, even him. that their desire to take you - the violence of it - means that you must desire to be caught. little prince, guardian fox - you would rather have cut your own arm off. you liked the secret, cunning little voice you keep tucked into a box. you think you are fucking me. i am not even here right now. you are fucking what i conned you into perceiving. this is a painting, not a person. dominion over the body before all things.

so you bend your body like a wheat shaft and learn the steps so perfectly that it almost seems graceful. (if you do not have experience faking your own connection to your body and sexuality, cut each of your articles of clothing just a little bit incorrectly. pour fishbones into each of your meals. this way, you will experience the average noon on a tuesday.)

you have to be sexy like light spilled over a desk, but not desperate. not a noose. you can't be sexy like an electric guitar, you are the acoustic. you have to be on top of the bull but you can't have control over the animal.

okay, okay. the little rabbit of your heart went to sleep so long ago that winter has ravaged your concept of the human soul. there's something very-bad inside you, something that has taken over, a little fetid and rabid animal, angry and hurting and willing to bite first.

oh but even that's a pain that's sexy. open your mouth. be careful not to let the canines show.

#spilled ink #writeblr #warm up #the reason i tag warm up on so much is bc often i write them between me doing other things so im mostly telling myself to come back and edi #bc i rarely have time to check for typos lol #this is partially about compulsory heterosexuality btw #and why it took me so long to realize im a lesbian #i just assumed sex wasn't really supposed to be that good #been reading feminist lit and u can always tell

[mipexch]

comic about v2 and the goal they'll never fully reach alongside a dissatisfying conclusion. intimate rivalry and all (alternative ending comic. V1 dies instead of V2 during 4-4. V2 is narrating. V1 is dead.)

#high of victory drops to an overwhelming crushing feeling of what comes next now that youre done #if it wasnt clear v2 is trying very hard to put v1 back together after it kills them. very very poorly. weight of your actions hits #v2 #v1 #ultrakill #v4v #heavy implied at the very least. see as you will #i realize now that the writing is very disconnected and so are the drawings but bear with me here. do you see my vision #theres something going on between these two that is beautiful but also extremely codependent #at least on v2s end #tried to do those two descriptive pages in a way where it went like. 2 - 3 small details about v1. and then something very specific. some- #-thing theyd only know if they paid close attention to how the other acted or looked #took me a few days to put together and im pretty happy with it i think #feel free to dub or do whatever as long as you gimme credit where credits due #there are many ways to interpret v2 and this is one of them #gen art

[bluebeary-jay]

Let me (put my lips to somethin')

Joel Miller x f!Reader

Summary: 5 times you wanted to kiss Joel, and 1 time it actually happened (or: your relationship with Joel over the years)

Tags: 5+1 babeyyy, VERY self-indulged (i just want this man to call me his babygirl 😫), FLUFF, tooth-rotting fluff even, a bit of angst, age gap, PINING, i could write several fics out of this but no we're doing 5+1! also reader has she/her pronouns (i tried not to but at some point it was getting difficult not to use any :( sorry guys)

Warnings: descriptions of violence and wounds, cursing, getting drunk, David (which is a warning in itself), allusions to SA (but nothing happens)

Word count: ~9.4K (jesus i really got carried away im not doing that again for at least some time)

A/N: i am baack!! i finally had time to finish this monster and i guess it's ready to post <3 i absolutely ADORE 5+1 fics and always wanted to write one on my own. so here it is!! hope you enjoy because i loved writing it

1. boston qz

You bit your forearm harder, trying to hold back the tears of pain. The man kneeling in front of you glanced up.

“Bite the sleeve of your jacket. Otherwise they’re gonna think you’re infected and shoot you on sight.”

You didn’t answer but nodded, knowing that he was right. Holding your breath for a moment, you took a handful of the material and bit down on it, shutting your eyes tightly. The excruciating pain in your leg was hard enough to endure, but for the first place with it competed an absolutely unbearable look of poorly concealed pity (which you initially took for irritation) on the face of Tess’ friend.

It was through her that you met Joel. At the beginning he wasn’t very keen about letting you work with them but slowly warmed up to your presence – at least as much as a man like Joel could. Most of the time he was grumbling and, in all fairness, looking slightly angry but you’ve soon understood that he’s actually a pretty good guy. Caring. Funny, if he lets you see this side of him. Also really fucking handsome, but that was beside the point.

The job was supposed to be an easy one – just meet with a couple of Zeke’s people, pick up the smuggled items and exchange them for some meds and ammunition. However, none of you expected some random rogue group to ambush you on your way back and attempt to steal the cargo.

Tess has managed to get away just before soldiers showed up, alerted by the sound of gunfire way past the curfew. Before they could spot any of you, Joel quickly pulled you into one of the nearby buildings after one of the strangers slashed your thigh, leaving you unable to run.

So now here you were. Bleeding from your leg and making a pathetic crybaby out of yourself before the very eyes of the man you respected and lowkey had a small crush on.

Speaking of whom, Joel gave you a look of sympathy before squeezing the stapler handle again, ejecting another staple into your skin. You tensed and a broken cry escaped your lips, your breathing rapid.

“It’s alright,” he murmured, putting his other hand on your knee and rubbing slightly. “Just two more and you’ll be good to go.”

You breathed out a humorless laugh and wiped your face, sniffling.

“Just get on with it. This is way more embarrassing than it should be.” In the corner of your eye you saw him look up. He didn’t move the hand in which he held the staple gun yet, so you took this moment to steady your breath and slumped against the wall. “You probably think it’s pretty pathetic, but in my defense I never had such a gash closed with staples like that.”

“M’not thinkin’ that,” he retorted and you blew a raspberry.

“Sure. Tess told me about some of your forays, you know? You could probably get run over by a damn tank and walk it off like it’s nothing.”

Joel was silent for some time. You wiped your cheeks and motioned for him to eject the last staples at the edge of the deep cut in your thigh. He mumbled to you to get ready and you took a deep breath, bracing yourself for the pain.

It hurt like hell and you couldn’t help the tears flowing from your eyes, but soon enough it was over.

The sound of shouting from outside drew your attention from the pain in your leg for a couple of seconds. You tensed up, listening intently if the soldiers weren’t busting in the building you were in, but the noises soon went past you.

“Y’know, if my brother was here, he’d have told you about the first time I had a wound stitched outside of the controlled conditions,” Joel spoke up unexpectedly, unpacking his backpack in search of clean bandages. “I nearly bit off my thumb when he was tryin’ to sew my foot back together.”

You couldn’t help but snort at his confession and he glanced at you from the corner of his eye with a slight smirk.

“Is that true?”

Joel huffed with fake indignation and lifted his left hand to your eyes, twisting it so that the dim light from outside illuminated the side of it. Above and below the small bone at the base of his thumb appeared very light and irregular lines. You looked at his face with an unbelieving smile.

“When was that?”

“Ah… Just before the outbreak, I’d say.”

“And what happened to your foot?”

“Construction work. I don’t remember exactly what that was.”

“But how hard did you have to chomp down on your thumb for it to be still visible?” you asked, laughing, to which he chuckled and shrugged.

“Hey, don’t judge. If it was Tommy who was fixin’ your leg, you’d probably end up without a couple of fingers too, just for good measure.”

He found the bandage and motioned for you to straighten your leg at the knee. You watched him carefully as he looked over your bare thigh and the (not very pretty to look at) sutured wound. The leg of your pants was cut and tossed away earlier so that Joel could stitch you up freely.

“So you have a brother. Is he really that bad at treating wounds?” you asked to distract yourself from the awkwardness of the whole situation, though Joel seemed surprisingly calm.

“He got better with time,” your colleague answered and then looked up at you. “But I didn’t tell you this to bitch about Tommy’s skills.”

“Oh?” you nudged him with your other leg. “So what moral should I draw from this story?”

You clearly saw him suppressing a smile when he shook his head lightly.

“Don’t feel bad that it hurts,” he murmured and the snicker disappeared from your lips. “I’ve seen looks like the one on your face plenty before. It’s a fuckin’ big gash, I’d be worried if you didn’t show any signs of pain.”

You couldn’t come up with any snarky remarks and just blinked when Joel sent you a quick, if not a bit self-conscious, smile, like he wasn’t used to reassuring someone else.

“The fact that you let your tears flow doesn’t make you any weaker,” he said even quieter than before. You still weren’t answering and he cleared his throat, apparently growing uncomfortable with your silence, then grabbed the bottle of alcohol. “I’m gonna pour some of that shit over your wound again. It’ll sting a bit.”

You observed without a word how he cleansed the gash and started to wind the bandage around your thigh.

Weirdly enough, you also noticed that you couldn’t stop glancing at his lips.

*****

2. bill and frank’s

“No. I said no, come back here!”

Giggles erupted from you as Joel tried (and failed) to grab you when you jumped over the couch. He sighed deeply as you made eye contact with him and, with a provocative smile, drank up the rest of the bottle before putting it down on the nearby table. The man looked so disappointed and done with you, it only made you laugh louder in your drunken state.

You two were staying for a couple of days at Bill and Frank’s heavenly place, which you looked forward to for weeks now. Originally Tess was supposed to go with you but there was a last-minute change of plans, and you made the journey alone with Joel. Not counting a few infected you stumbled upon on your way here, your venture was quite nice and after a delightful dinner with your hosts, you sneaked into Joel’s room with the bottle of wine Frank gave you and the stuff you smuggled yourself.

Joel didn’t seem to be having as much fun as you, though.

“I’m never drinkin’ with you again,” he muttered, sitting heavily on the couch with a grunt. You faked a pout, leaning over his head upside down and almost losing your balance.

“You’re grouchy because the stuff you brought tasted like shit.”

“And yet you drank most of it.”

“I didn’t,” you slurred, waltzing round the couch and grinning. “I’m feelin’ great.”

“Be careful or you’ll pick up my accent you so like pokin’ fun of.”

You snorted and flopped on the seat next to him. “Mhm, m’feelin’ fine and dandy,” you grumbled in the deepest voice you could make, ridiculously imitating his Texas drawl. “Yee-haw.”

“You’re the fuckin’ worst,” sighed Joel with exasperation but you could see a crooked smile tugging on his lips. You beamed and plopped down, laying your head on his lap. He peeked at you with his brows raised. “What are you doin’ now, you little devil?”

“Just resting,” you answered. The lamp behind Joel was blinding you with its light, so you covered your eyes with your hand to shield them. “Is that uncomfy for you? Do you want me to get up?”

“Nah. You can stay for a minute.”

As if wanting to make sure you won’t try to stand up, he laid his hand on your hair, brushing some of it to the back. You hummed and shivered when he gently scratched one specific spot on your scalp, and instinctively tilted your head, chasing his touch.

Joel snorted.

“You look like a goddamn cat.”

“Shut up,” you murmured in response, a small smile adoring your face. “It feels nice.”

You opened your eyes and once again shielded them from the lamp. Joel moved his head slightly to the side to block out the bothersome stimulus, causing you to giggle again.

“It looks like you have a halo ’round your head.” You lifted your arm and made a circle, brushing the side of his face when your hand plopped back down limply on your stomach. The older man huffed a smile, looking away to glance around the room.

“I’ll be really surprised if you remember anythin’ of what you’re sayin’ tomorrow.”

“Gimme a break,” you grumbled with a smile, not taking your eyes off him. Your hand raised itself to his face again, as if on its own accord, and brushed lightly the corner of his mouth and the stubble on his cheek. “It looks pretty.”

His brown irises flickered to you before he averted his gaze. With a hum you withdrew your hand and closed your eyes, your mind getting woozy from alcohol and tiredness.

Joel’s fingers were still running through your hair gently and you really hoped you’d remember it in the morning.

*****

3. road, somewhere in missouri

You had no idea how long you had been driving.

Ellie was asleep in the back seat and Joel was getting some well-deserved shut-eye after you volunteered to sit behind the wheel several hours ago. The clock on the dashboard was showing 4:07 and you planned on driving until the sun started to rise, then switching places with Joel.

That is, if you manage to stay awake.

You tried to drink some of the coffee Joel prepared beforehand to wake yourself up but it tasted horrible, leaving a too bitter taste on your tongue. Once you catched yourself closing your eyes for a second longer than intended and the car started to veer off course before you corrected it.

Yes, you were aware driving in this kind of state was extremely stupid, but you knew Joel was anxious to find his brother and drop Ellie off with the Fireflies as soon as possible. And you knew that if you wake him up he’ll insist on driving for the rest of the way himself, ignoring his own needs and exhaustion.

You risked a look to the side at his sleeping form. He had his arms crossed over his chest and his head propped against the headrest. Honestly, it looked like the man was just pretending to nap – his body seemed uptight, as if he was ready to spring into action at any second.

And he looked beautiful with his face bathed in the gray light of early morning. Like a painting you’d gladly admire for hours.

You sighed and cracked your neck, focusing on the road ahead of you. Several more hours to go. There was a gas tank in the back of the car, so you didn’t have to worry about that, and if you remembered correctly the map you and Joel studied earlier, you should get close to some bigger city in the late afternoon. Joel wanted to take the side roads and you agreed, but your supplies… Did you have enough of them? And what was the name of that city again…?

A hand grabbed the wheel and gently straightened the course when without you noticing the car started to veer too much to the left again.

You emerged from your reverie immediately and looked to the right at Joel who was now wide awake.

“You alright?” he asked with concern, and his voice had this enticing, raspy drawl to it that told you he really dozed off for a while.

“I’m so sorry,” you said quickly but quietly, not wanting to wake Ellie up. “I’m fine, promise.”

He eyed the tiredness on your face and the tight grip you had on the wheel.

“If you need to get some rest–”

“No, no, no. I can go on. Sorry you had to wake up.”

Joel grunted and stretched in the small space in the front seat and you tried really hard not to stare at how he craned his neck or at the way his muscles tensed, or at the strip of his skin revealed when his shirt rolled up…

“Pull over.”

You snapped out of your thoughts. “No. I told you I’m fine.”

“C’mon, darlin’, don’t make me wrestle with you in a movin’ vehicle.”

Either he had a clue about what this nickname was doing to you, or he was still half-asleep and it simply slipped out; but whether it was intentional or not, you couldn’t dream of opposing him now and with a defeated sigh (and burning neck) you pulled over, slowly bringing the car to a halt. You glanced backwards, but miraculously Ellie hadn’t woken up yet.

Joel looked you over with concern and you shut your eyes, laying your forehead on the steering wheel. “I’m sorry,” you repeated. “But I really can keep going, at least until the sun goes up.”

“We’re switchin’,” he just said, unfastening his seatbelt.

“Joel, no!” you hissed, but he ignored you and went around the hood of the car, stopping at your side and opening the door for you. “I’m not moving. You need to get some fucking rest.”

“I already did. Now scoot over.”

“No, I told you–”

“What’s going on? Are we there yet?”

Both of you looked back to see Ellie sitting up and rubbing her eyes. In a split second she went from half-awake to alert, and she eyed you and Joel suspiciously. “What’s going on?” she asked again.

“We’re switchin’ places,” Joel spoke up before you had a chance to answer the girl. “Our current driver is pretty tired.”

“I’m not!” you protested, glaring at him.

“You almost drove the car into a ditch.”

“Woah.” Ellie lifted her hands and puffed her cheeks in a nervous manner. “Just this time, I second Joel. I really don’t want to end up in a ditch, thank you very much.”

“You see?” Joel looked at you expectedly. “Outvoted.”

You squinted in the rearview mirror at the teen. “Traitor.”

Ellie just shrugged. With a heavy sigh you unfastened yourself and exited the car, but before you could go around it and take Joel’s previous place, he stuck his arm out, stopping you.

“Actually, Ellie, do you want to ride shotgun now?” he asked and nodded in your direction. “It’d do her good to lie down for a bit.”

“No,” you said firmly at the same time when Ellie agreed with an enthusiastic “hell yeah!”. You crossed your arms over your chest and glared at the pair. “You guys are in cahoots.”

“Boo-hoo,” Ellie had a mean smile on her face. “Get in the backseat and cry about it.”

“She’s so cheeky,” you murmured to Joel, trying to hide your smile, and by the look of it he had trouble doing that, too. You sighed and lifted your hands in surrender. “Alright, you two. You won.”

“Great.” Ellie grinned, then started walking off the street. “But give me a moment, dudes, I gotta pee,” she said before marching further into the field on the side of the road.

“Don’t go too far!” shouted Joel after her.

“Don’t drive off without me!”

With that Ellie disappeared behind a small hill and you turned back to your companion, scrunching your face at him. Joel shrugged and walked past you.

“C’mon. I’ll find you a blanket.”

You huffed but didn’t argue further, knowing nothing will change his mind. He could be stubborn as a mule sometimes.

You climbed into the backseat and waited for Joel to take out the blanket you took from Bill and Frank’s house from the back of the car. He opened the door next to your head and handed it over, waiting for you to unfurl it. You expected him to go take the driver’s seat right away, but he stayed in place. Only then you noticed the folded jacket he was holding in his hands.

He didn’t react at all to your raised eyebrows and questioning look, and just casually laid his jacket under your head to serve as a pillow. The gesture was so sweet it made you melt inside, and you just couldn’t stay mad at him.

“Promise me you’ll get some sleep.”

“Only if you and Ellie aren’t too loud,” you teased, trying to settle down the butterflies fluttering in your stomach. “If you start arguing about some stupid shit again, I’m taking the wheel from you by force.”

He smirked and squatted next to your seat, looking down at you with an amused expression.

“I’d like to see you try.”

You had to be really fucking tired, because for a split second you thought that Joel has just flirted with you. You hid your face in his jacket to partially conceal your smile, but it only made your face hotter because the material smelled of him so much.

“I could. You’re lucky I’m deciding to show mercy.”

“How gracious of you. I’m honored.

“But we’re swapping places when I wake up,” you added, looking at him as sternly as you could. He raised his eyebrows with a half-smile when a yawn escaped you immediately after. “I’m serious, Joel.”

“Sure, darlin’.” He leaned in and kissed your forehead before standing up. “Now sleep.”

You could only stare into space as he carefully closed the door next to your head and walked around the vehicle with heavy steps. The spot on your head where his lips touched your skin was tingling and you inhaled deeply to calm yourself down before he entered the truck again and fastened the seatbelt.

Joel put some cassette into the tape deck and turned the volume down even before the song started to play.

You closed your eyes and wrapped the blanket tighter around yourself, hiding the lower part of the face – and a blush spreading on your cheeks – under the cover.

*****

4. jackson

You looked out the window at the children pulling their sleds behind them and smiled at how happy and carefree they looked. Down the road you could just barely see the big Christmas tree in the square and for a moment it felt like the apocalypse had never happened.

“They’re pretty lucky to be growing up here,” you said quietly. Joel was closing and opening cabinets behind you, clearly looking for something.

“Not sure about it. But I guess it beats growin’ up in any of the QZ’s or Fedra’s barracks.”

After Joel’s sudden change of heart and Ellie’s confident decision that she’d rather travel with you both instead of Tommy, the younger Miller convinced his brother to stay one more day in Jackson. It was honestly a good idea because you doubted any of you three got any rest the previous night. You certainly didn’t, tossing and turning the entire time from worry.

Joel chuckled and the sound pulled you out of your thoughts.

“What did you find?” you asked. He was kneeling in front of one of the cabinets, holding a small box.

“Old cassettes. You want to listen to some music?”

“Sure.” You stood up with a smile. “It’ll be pretty atmospheric.”

Joel gave you a dirty look.

“I’m not putting on Christmas carols.”

“I don’t want to listen to Christmas carols. Find something good.”

He sighed and took out a carton box from the cabinet, and then started to rummage through it. “Alright, so what do you want?”

“You can choose. Pick something you think I’d like.” A thought struck you and you glanced around the living room, furrowing your brows. “Is there even any tape player in here or something like that?”

“Upstairs,” Joel mumbled absent-mindedly. “In Ellie’s room. We can go see if it works.”

Ellie was out exploring Jackson and you doubted she’ll be back very soon. You knelt down next to Joel, looking at him with a grin as he inspected the box, pulling out and reading some of the cassettes before putting them back down. You rested your chin on your hands.

“Just get anything,” you ushered after some time, to which he chuckled.

“You said to pick somethin’ you’d like. Gimme some time.”

“Do you think I’m that picky?”

“Of course you are.”

You rolled your eyes but didn’t have to wait much longer before Joel stood up with a grunt and held out his hand to you. In the other one he held a white cassette.

“C’mon. I’m pretty sure you’re gonna love this one.”

You took his hand with excitement and let yourself be pulled to your feet. It’s been so long since you’ve been able to listen to some music – well, maybe not as long, but you missed it regardless – that you felt a bubbly joy at the thought of hearing something new.

And more than that, something that Joel has picked specifically for you. Doesn’t matter that you had to ask him.

You went upstairs to the room that was currently Ellie’s bedroom and Joel bent down, inserting the cassette into the tape player. He looked over his shoulder at you with a small smile and you beamed right back.

A loud, scratchy sound rang out.

You winced and Joel furrowed his brows. He took the cassette out, checked the empty slot and the cassette itself, and then made sure the power was on.

The first notes started to play, but they sounded distorted, like a scratched record. Joel cursed and tried again, but there must’ve been something wrong with the device, because no matter what he did, the music didn’t play right.

He tried again and again, and finally you decided to put a stop to it. You placed your hand on his shoulder.

“Leave it, Joel. It’s okay.”

“Just my fuckin’ luck,” he muttered, not turning around. “Of course Tommy gave us a place without a working cassette player.”

“It’s okay,” you repeated. You wanted to say something like ’the song probably isn’t even worth fussing over’, but the words got stuck in your throat. He picked it for you to listen to, of course it was worth it. “Maybe I just wasn’t meant to hear it.”

The man worried his lip and you quickly averted your gaze. He straightened up and put his hands on his hips, sighing.

“Nonsense,” he answered, looking intently at the device like he wanted to get it to work by sheer willpower. “You wanted to hear it.”

“Well, I did.” You got embarrassed for whatever reason, not knowing what to say. “But there’s not really anything we can do about that. It’s no big deal.”

Joel’s jaw twitched and he turned to look at you thoughtfully. You offered him a lopsided smile, but he didn’t move a muscle and you could almost imagine small gears turning in his head when he had this expression on his face.

“You okay?” you asked with a stifled laugh.

“I… have an idea,” he said slowly, almost hesitantly. Then he focused his eyes on you again. “Just… trust me for a moment.”

Your gaze softened and you took a step closer to him.

“Joel, of course I trust you. I trust you with my life.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed but his brown irises haven’t left yours for even a second.

“Close your eyes.”

“What?” you asked with a crooked smile, but he just shook his head.

“C’mon, close your eyes. And promise you won’t laugh.”

Confusion washed over you but you closed your eyes as requested. You heard Joel sighing and then he took your hand in his calloused and rough one, slowly putting it on his shoulder. Your neck got way too hot but you tried not to tense or flinch in fear of making him back out.

“Promise you won’t laugh,” he repeated and you just now realized you haven’t answered him. He put his hand on your waist, very, very lightly, and your other hand was raised to  shoulder height, cradled in his warm one.

“I swear I won’t,” you whispered, your heart beating so damn loud you were scared he was going to hear it with how close you two were.

Joel exhaled heavily and you felt his breath on your hair.

And then he started to hum quietly and sway you gently from side to side. You desperately tried to remain calm, but how were you supposed to do that when your body felt so hot and he was so close–

“I reached inside myself and found nothin’ there… to ease the pressure… of my ever-worrying mind, hmm…”

Joel’s voice was deep and harsh right in front of you, and it sounded more like he was purring than singing. You suspected he slowed down the pace of the song significantly to match his movements and your heart swelled with warmth and adoration. The smile on your face widened and you took a step to the left, then to the right, gradually engaging in your dance more and more. You wanted to make it less uncomfortable and awkward for him and it seemed to have worked a bit because the next lines were much more confident, and his voice steadier.

“All my power wasted ’way, fear the crazed and lonely looks the mirror’s sendin’ me these days, hmm…”

His hold on you tightened slightly and you held his hand a little more securely, unable to hold back a goofy smile on your face.

“Touch me… how can it be? Believe me… the sun always shines on TV.”

You were falling for him all over again and it was not fair that he made you promise to keep your eyes closed. Though if he didn’t, you’d probably end up doing something dumb.

Like kissing him.

Fuck, you wanted to kiss him so bad.

“Hold me… close to your heart. Touch me… Give all your love to me. To me…”

Did he just pull you closer or was it you that took a step forward? It was hard to tell without seeing where you step, but you suddenly were very aware of the material of his shirt under your chin and the smell of shampoo he used to wash his hair, the pressure of his hand on your lower back and his quiet, drawling voice right next to your ear.

You were positive you’re about to pass out.

And it felt blissful.

Joel kept humming the chorus of the song, his voice getting softer and lower with each word. You relished in the warmth of his embrace, begging any higher power that he won’t let go of you immediately once he stops singing.

He didn’t.

Instead you two kind of naturally came to a stop but neither of you moved, still standing chest to chest and breathing a bit shakily. Your palm – or maybe it was his – was sweaty, but you ignored the unpleasant feeling, wanting to stay like this as long as possible.

“The original is much more lively,” Joel spoke in a soft whisper after some time and you smiled lightly.

“Well, I really liked your version,” you answered just as quietly, not wanting to disturb the intimate atmosphere in the room. “Joel?”

“Yes, darlin’?”

“Can I open my eyes now?”

A moment of silence.

“Yeah.”

You did so, but didn’t move your head, still keeping it on his shoulder and breathing in his scent. “Thank you for that,” you whispered and you felt him nodding.

“Anytime.”

His fingers crept a bit higher up your spine, but still his touch was so light and unsure.

You realized with a flicker of hope that he wasn’t pushing you away. He was pulling you closer.

Careful not to move too abruptly, you lifted your head and turned it to look him in the eyes. They were already on you, so very close, warm and hesitant, but also not showing any signs of discomfort or regret.

“Joel?” you asked again and you were so close to each other, it came out less as a question and more like a quiet breath. He heard it, though.

“Yeah?”

“Can I–”

Suddenly the door downstairs slammed extremely loudly and you both jumped when the noise broke the heavy silence.

“Hello! Is anybody here?!”

Ellie came back.

Both of you automatically took a step backwards, letting go of each other. Your face was scorching hot and you couldn’t force yourself to look at Joel. With a deep (hopefully unnoticed by the man standing right in front of you) breath, you quickly tried to get a grip on yourself when you heard Ellie running up the stairs.

“I was calling you, guys!” she panted and looked from you to the older man. “What’s up?”

“We…” Joel cleared his throat. “Tried to put some music on. The darn thing isn’t workin’, though.”

“Ugh, that’s a bummer.” Ellie turned to you and tilted her head. “Were you out, too? Your face is all red and shit.”

Even if it wasn’t before, it certainly was now. All attention shifted to you in a second and it made you want to cry.

“Yes,” you uttered quickly, “and… I’m actually going out again. I wanted to ask Maria something.”

You didn’t wait for any of them to stop or question you further – you all but ran down the stairs and bolted outside without even taking a jacket or a hat.

Fuck…

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

*****

5. basement, somewhere in colorado

He was dying.

Joel was dying and there was nothing you could do to help him.

You tried your hardest, though, to take care of both him and Ellie. You went out hunting so she wouldn’t have to starve, you encouraged her to get as much rest as possible while you watched over the unconscious man during the night, and not once did you show any doubt that Joel will get better.

But you had a feeling she knew why you were so reluctant to stay behind while the girl took her turn looking for food.  The truth was, you were starting to crack if you sat for too long at Joel’s side, letting the intrusive thoughts take root in your mind. You needed those moments outside, because they were the only ones when you let your tears flow.

So when it was only you and him in the basement, you spent this time brushing the hair out of his face and coaxing him to drink. You checked his wound every so often, trying to keep it as clean as possible. You held his hand, humming to him that one song he sang for you in Jackson, though you didn’t know the words.

It was painful, to just sit in place and be unable to do anything to help, but you tried not to break down. Not when both of them counted on you.

So you stayed strong, hoping it’ll all turn out alright.

But luck still wasn’t on your side.

The men Ellie encountered the day before were here now, looking for you and Joel, and hungry for blood. She told you all about her interaction with them and since yesterday you were ready for a fight in case they showed up, but somehow it still surprised you and made your heart hammer in your chest in fear.

There wasn’t anywhere you could run to, and Joel wasn’t even able to keep his eyes open, let alone walk. You didn’t really have any other options.

So there was only one thing you could do, and that was to protect those closest to you.

You quickly took your backpack and passed Ellie your gun, closing her fingers around the cold metal.

“I’ll barricade the door, but if anyone comes in here, you blast their skull open, you hear me?” you whispered urgently and the girl nodded. You took Joel’s rifle from the floor and hung it over your shoulder. “I’ll try to take them out and lead them away. I’ll be back.”

“You better come back,” Ellie muttered and you looked at her softly, nodding. Then your gaze involuntarily shifted to Joel.

You didn’t know how many people were outside – if there were three or four of them, you should be able to shoot most of them before they notice you. If you don’t miss, that is.

But if there were more…

Choking back a nervous sob, you knelt next to the mattress and took Joel’s head in your hands. His eyes were only half-open and his forehead covered in sweat. Your heart clenched painfully at how weak he looked.

Acting on impulse, you leaned down and softly kissed the place above the corner of his mouth.

“Wake up,” you said to him firmly, brushing his cheeks with your thumbs. “Please, Joel. Ellie and I need you.”

You knew you had to go. You had to go now and make sure those fuckers outside don’t find Ellie and him.

But you stayed just for a second longer to press your forehead to his.

“I love you,” you whispered, so quietly you barely heard yourself.

And then you pulled away and ran upstairs.

From then on it was all a blur. You managed to kill one of the men with a clean shot between his eyes, but the other one ducked out of the way when he noticed you. Turned out there were six of them – too many – and what’s worse, one of them came up behind you, forcing you to flee sooner than you’d planned.

It would probably be wiser to take the horse but you didn’t want to endanger the poor creature, so you ran on foot.

You didn’t get far. One of the men managed to shoot you in the leg, making you keel over onto the frozen ground with a scream of pain. You turned around and saw him lifting his gun again before another voice yelled that he wanted you alive.

No. No, no, you weren’t about to let them take you.

You crawled towards where your rifle lay in the snow but just before you could reach it, it was kicked away by a heavy boot which then dealt a severe blow to your stomach. You doubled over, wheezing and coughing for air. By the time you managed to somehow catch your breath, someone pressed their foot on the gunshot wound in your calf, forcing a scream of agony out of you.

“Now, stay calm. I don’t want to shoot you.”

You clutched at your leg, glaring up at the ginger man who you suspected was the same David Ellie has encountered.

The man grinned nastily at the state you were in, and you didn’t like his expression one bit. He must’ve noticed that you were ready to lunge at him at any moment because he swiftly lifted his gun to your head. You froze.

“Where is your friend and the girl?” he asked quietly. You sneered at him, baring your teeth.

“Fuck you. I ain’t telling you shit.”

“David, she killed Paul,” spat another, younger one, looking down at you with hatred. “If that bastard has already died, let’s at least kill his bitch.”

You tried to think of a way to get out of this situation, but both of the men had their guns pointed at you and you knew you wouldn’t be able to move quickly enough with the gunshot wound.

You tried to move slightly but David pressed his foot harder on your leg, causing more blood to flow from your wound and you cried out, the pain clouding your vision.

“Don’t try anything, sweetheart,” he murmured in a warning tone. “You might bleed out.”

Your eyes were full of hate and rage but you didn’t dare to move again just yet.

“Where are they?” David asked again and you huffed a humorless chuckle while trying not to show how much pain you were in.

“You know that it was me who killed that idiot?” you asked in the most mocking tone you could muster, in the meantime desperately thinking how the fuck you were going to get out of here, preferably alive. “And your friend over there.” You nodded in the direction of where the body of the man you shot was lying. “Which one of you stood next to him? Was it you?” you asked the younger man who shot you in the leg. “I hope I hadn’t splattered you too much with the remnants of his brain.”

“You little bitch,” the other man sneered, lifting his gun again despite David’s stern order to back off. “I’d love to see the face of your friend when I blast your–”

“Leave her alone, you fuckers!!”

All of you turned your heads and your stomach churned when you saw Ellie on the horse you borrowed from Tommy. More shots rang out in the air when she blindly fired at the two men standing above you, and then the rest of the strangers who emerged from between the trees.

“Alive!!” David yelled after his men when they started chasing Ellie who grabbed the reins and cantered in the opposite direction. Then the man turned back to you. “We will catch her. Then we will find your friend, and he’ll pay for his sins.”

You growled.

“I told you it wasn’t him who killed that man.” He shook his head and you fumed with anger. “You don’t think I’m capable of that?”

“Oh, I think you’re capable of a lot.” His stare slid down your body, from head to toe, and terror gripped your heart at the sadistic excitement in his eyes. “And I think you must really care about him if you’re ready to trade your life for his. Such loyalty is admirable, but your love is misplaced.”

The snow around you was getting more and more red and you really started to worry that the bullet might’ve hit an artery. David’s eyes shifted to your leg as well, and he hummed.

“We’ll take care of that, don’t worry. You’ll be well taken care of in our community.”

“I don’t want to be any part of your fucked up sect.”

“You will. You just need a father to lead you to the right path.” He leaned over you in such a manner that it made your blood run cold. “I’ll teach you personally.”

Suddenly a shot echoed in the air and you heard a distant neighing of a horse. Your head automatically turned in the direction of the noise and David took advantage of your moment of distraction to strike your temple with his gun, thus knocking you unconscious.

*****

+1. silver lake

Joel woke up.

And he felt like he was made out of pure adrenaline and rage.

You weren’t with Ellie when he found her staggering through the snow, the face of the teen terrified and covered in blood. He comforted her as best as he could, relief and fear fighting inside him as he held the girl in his arms.

But she didn’t know where you were held. If you were even alive.

And that was a thought that Joel couldn’t bear. He wouldn’t even allow for the possibility that you were no longer…

He vaguely remembered you stroking his cheek with slow and delicate touches, and your humming while he was laying on the mildewed mattress in the basement. Maybe it wasn’t even a memory, but a dream – it was hard to tell in his delirious state.

But he was pretty sure he wasn’t hallucinating when he felt soft, cold lips right next to his and heard your voice – he knew it was your voice, he’d recognize it anywhere – whispering the words he never let himself hope you’d say to him.

Words he would be damned if he didn’t say back to you.

And that’s why he was merciless with the men he encountered on his way to you and Ellie. His own tiredness and pain piercing his abdomen didn’t matter – nothing mattered when you two weren’t with him, when he didn’t know if you were hurt or even still breathing. The desire to help and protect his girls numbed the pain in his stomach so much that he almost forgot he could barely stand just a few hours ago.

Once he found Ellie and took her to a safe location, he went back to look for you. He didn’t want to leave the girl alone, but she seemed terrified at the prospect of going back and through the buildings, so he left her his gun, promising to be right back.

One of the bastards Joel ran across on his way back was helpful enough (after being shot in both knees and having his forearm broken) to direct him to the place where you were supposedly being held – a small building hidden behind the still burning dining room.

No one else stood in his way when he cautiously reached the structure. He went in and started checking every single room, getting more and more anxious every time he found them empty. At one point he was ready to tear the walls apart and go back to see if there was anyone left alive who could tell him where you were – but then spotted a hidden, smaller metal door, which apparently led to the basement.

It wasn’t locked and Joel didn’t hear anything on the other side so he opened it slowly, quickly walking down the stairs and scanning the room for any enemies, but there were none. Half of the room was enclosed by a chain-link fence and the entry to the cage was slightly open.

And inside sat you, with a cloth around your eyes and hands tied above your head.

His knees almost gave way under him from relief when you perked up at the sound of his footsteps. You were alive. You were–

“If you fucking try to touch me again, I’ll break more than your stupid jaw!” you yelled out of the blue, starting to struggle and kick haphazardly, though the placement of your wrists was forcing you to stay in a sitting position. “You motherfucker, don’t come any closer!”

The fear and desperation in your voice broke Joel’s heart in an instant and made him stop dead in his tracks.

“It’s me,” he hurried to say, but his voice was weak and the next words got stuck in his throat when he saw your bloodied nose, bruises on your face and neck, as well as a dirty bandage tied around your calf with a seizable crimson stain on it.

He ushered inside, opening the door to the cell wide open with a loud scraping. You started panicking even more, cursing and kicking when he crouched next to you, intending to untie your hands.

“I said don’t fucking touch me! I’ll kill you!” you screamed and Joel actually had to back away a little to avoid getting kicked in the ribs.

“It’s me!” he said louder, but it was clear you didn’t hear him. In a quick movement he reached out, yanking the blindfold off your eyes, and put his hands on both sides of your face. “It’s me. Joel.”

In the first moment his touch made you recoil and the look of fury deepened on your face while you continued to scream bloody murder. Your eyes were so wild and terrified, Joel wanted nothing more than to pull you close to his chest and never let go. 

“Look at me, baby. It’s alright,” he whispered soothingly, brushing his thumbs over your cheekbones like he vaguely remembered you doing when he was unconscious. “It’s me. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

Your eyes slowly started to focus on his face for the first time since he took the blindfold off, and Joel felt like something was tearing his chest apart at the sight of fear and disbelief on your face.

“It’s okay, darlin’,” he muttered in a strangled voice, trying not to show he was close to crying, too. “It’s me. You’re safe now.”

A broken sob issued from your throat when you took in the sight of him, your eyes lingering on his face and stomach where the wound was.

“...Joel?”

“I’m here,” he said softly, quickly cutting the ropes binding you to the indent in the wall and wincing when he saw the red and purple marks around your wrists. “It’s okay.”

It wasn’t okay, not for you and not for him. Your body was trembling when he finally cut your hands free and without hesitation gathered you in his arms. It seemed like all the bottled up stress was pouring out of you now with the tears as you cried into his jacket and he held you tighter.

“J-Joel…”

“I know, babygirl,” he whispered into your hair, rocking you both back and forth slightly. You were clinging to him almost desperately and it pained him physically to see how scared you’ve been this whole time, but you were safe now, you were back with him and you were alive… “I know. I’m so sorry.”

You pulled away abruptly and looked over his shoulder, your face crumpling in despair when you saw no one there.

“They took Ellie, I don’t know where–”

“She’s safe,” he quickly assured you. “She got out and I found her just before comin’ here.”

You nodded with a sigh of relief, and he shifted his gaze to your calf, gently laying his hand just above the bandage.

“How’s your leg? Can you walk?”

“One of those fuckers shot me,” you murmured, not moving or attempting to stand up, which concerned Joel. “I didn’t really have a chance to see if I’ll be able to stand on my own but they sewed it up provisionally.” Your eyes flickered to his and you smiled softly, brushing your fingers over the back of his hand. “Not as well as you, though.” Then your smile disappeared and your hand grabbed his in a firm grip, like you wanted to make sure he was really here. “How are you, though? I was… Shit, I was so afraid I’d lose you.”

Joel could only stare at you, having no clue what to say.

He was not good at talking. He knew what he should do, though – he should examine your leg and make sure it was alright, he should go back to Ellie and get you two out of here, he should calm down his goddamn pounding heart so that he doesn’t pass out and cause you any more trouble.

But he couldn’t will his muscles to move. He couldn’t do anything, he couldn’t think about anything at all – not when you were sitting in front of him, looking at him with those tearful, gorgeous eyes of yours, holding his hand so tenderly but firmly, your touch so soothing, so familiar, and he remembered vaguely the same fingertips caressing his face.

And your voice, those words…

You said his name haltingly, but he didn’t register any of that, instead letting the overwhelming feelings of relief and fear, and – and adoration – take hold over his body, and he affectionately took your beautiful face in his hands.

Your eyes widened slightly but then these irises he dreamt about so often flickered to his lips and your own parted slightly, and that was all he needed before he leaned in and kissed you deeply.

There was a moment of hesitation on your part during which Joel began to worry that he didn’t read the situation right after all, but then you cupped his cheeks, too, and pressed yourself closer to him, letting him envelop your form in his arms with a quiet sigh.

It was better than he could have ever imagined. He could taste a hint of blood on your lips and hot, blinding rage surged through his veins at the thought of those bastards hurting you. His kiss turned harder and more desperate – he needed to make sure you were really here with him, he wanted to feel your every breath in his own lungs. You didn’t pull away, only tangling your fingers in his short hair, and the small noises you were making were driving Joel crazy with lust and relief. He felt dizzy, like he was going to faint again but he pushed through it, keeping his attention solely on you.

The second you two parted, even before you had a chance to catch your breath, the words started spilling out of his mouth fumblingly.

“Listen, I… I heard you,” he whispered, panting like he just ran a mile – and his heart certainly acted like he did. “M’pretty sure I wasn’t halucinatin’, but even if– doesn’t matter, I want… no, I need to tell you this, I…”

He exhaled nervously and shook his head, avoiding eye contact with you because he was damn sure he'd burst into flames if you looked at him like that again.

Fuck, he was really not good at this.

He cursed under his breath, missing a concerned look you gave him, and felt your hand covering his where it was still situated on your cheek. He knew that with this gesture you wanted to make it easier for him somehow, but it only caused his chest to get even warmer and tighter. “Joel, slow down–”

“I… I love you,” he finally choked out, softly brushing your cheekbones with his thumbs. And damn his old, faulty heart, he wanted to gaze into your eyes again, even if it was going to kill him, so that’s exactly what he did. “I loved you for so long, darlin’, and I got so fuckin’ scared that I won’t be able to tell you and, and it’s okay if I only imagined you saying that and you don’t feel that way, but I needed to tell you, I…”

All strength left him when he paused to draw a breath. His vision was becoming blurry and for a second he was certain he’s losing consciousness again, but it turned out they were only tears filling his eyes, blurring your form before him.

Which was even worse, somehow.

“I’m sorry.” He intended to sound reassuring and strong but it came out more like a broken whisper and he hated himself for feeling so weak and helpless when you and Ellie needed comfort and strength. He couldn’t help it though – all this time when he was looking for his girls the only things that kept him going were anger, terror and regret. Now there was relief, yes, but… he felt so very tired and old.

You turned your head slightly to plant a soft kiss on the inside of his palm, and Joel’s head snapped up. Tears were filling your eyes and he immediately scanned your body for other injuries, any signs of damage or pain, but then this gorgeous smile he so loved illuminated your face, and it put all of his anxieties at ease.

“You weren’t hallucinating,” you said quietly. “I did say that. And I love you, too, Joel.”

He couldn’t help a short, breathless and broken laugh that escaped him when he really heard you speaking those words, this time as clearly as day.

You sniffled and mirrored his smile, and in the next second Joel was kissing you again.

He knew you two had to go, had to get back to Ellie and leave this god-forsaken place, so he tried to be quick, but you – your smile, your touch, all of you – were so distracting and not eager to help him pull away in the slightest.

“I love you too, babygirl, love you so much.” He peppered your face with kisses, ignoring tears running down his cheeks and disappearing into his beard and under your hands. “So fuckin’ much… Don’t ever scare me like that again.”

“Because your old heart can’t handle it?” you teased and he huffed a laugh. A damn tease in every situation, he wanted to say, but before he had a chance to chide you, you pulled him in for another deep kiss. Joel decided you’re off the hook this time.

“Exactly, darlin’. Now hold onto my arm, we’re gonna see if you can stand, and then we’re goin’ back to Ellie.”

A hiss and a grunt of pain escaped you when he attempted to pull you to your feet, but you gritted your teeth and shook your head quickly when he froze, worry evident on his face. Turned out you could stand on your own and even slowly limp forward, but clearly had to push through intense pain to do so. Joel offered you his shoulder (against which his tired body protested immediately) but it made walking easier for you, so he sucked it up.

“I got you,” he whispered when he helped you up the stairs, keeping an arm around your waist for support. You whimpered every time you had to climb up a step, and Joel took hold of your hand, brushing his thumb over your skin lovingly. “That’s a good girl. Just a couple more.”

You didn’t let go of his hand even after these ‘couple more’ steps.

He kept his hand on your shoulder when you finally got reunited with Ellie and tears of relief spilled out of your eyes.

You tangled your fingers with his when the three of you were leaving this cursed, cruel place.

You all held each other when Ellie broke down and you both hugged her tightly, trying to make her feel safe again.

He hooked his little finger over yours, not wanting to drag you down when he started to lean on you, getting significantly weaker from how far he traveled and how hard he fought in the state he was in.

You grasped his hand again that night when you laid down next to him in his sleeping bag while Ellie was curled close to the two of you on Joel’s other side.

He didn’t let go when he leaned in to kiss you again, keeping his touch soft and gentle, and pulled you as close as he could, murmuring words of love and sweet promises into your hair.

Both of you knew you had a lot to talk about in the upcoming days – and probably even weeks. All three of you needed time to heal, physically as well as mentally.

But just for this moment, Joel couldn’t be happier and more relieved as it was slowly dawning on him that after this horrible, hellish nightmare, he had both of you right next to him, breathing and alive, and not chased by anyone for now. Two persons he loved in very different ways, but who were his entire world, whether he was ready to admit it or not.

As if reading his thoughts, you shifted slightly and kissed the edge of his jaw sleepily. His eyes closed, hiding the wetness in them.

He really couldn’t believe his luck.

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #the last of us #tlou hbo #joel miller #ellie williams #the last of us fanfiction #pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader #joel miller x y/n #5+1 things #joel tlou #it took me SO LONG OMG #beary writes

[royalarchivist]

Foolish: You know what? Fit: it's the perfect alibi. "Just a janitor," going through... just to cleaning around everywhere... talk to a lot of people... and you're just bald and such, you know, no one would think twice that you- may be you'd up to something.

Fit: Foolish that's- that's literally the entire point, we've been over this.

Pac: You like the plumber's work, right? You like to get your hand in the plumber's and- do the stuffs, and plumb [makes a very loud popping sound] those pipes, right?

[Everyone loses it and starts laughing]

Pac: I'm sorry- I'm sor- I'm- [laughs] I did- I didn't mean-

Fit: WAS THE SOUND NECESSARY???

Foolish: No, the sound made it.

Pac: I didn't- I didn't hear myself- sorry, sorry, sorry. Oh my god, I'm so shy right now, I'm just gonna sit.

[Full transcript ↓ ]

Foolish: You know what? Fit: it's the perfect alibi. "Just a janitor," going through... just to cleaning around everywhere... talk to a lot of people... and you're just bald and such, you know, no one would think twice that you- may be you'd up to something.

Fit: Foolish that's- that's literally the entire point, we've been over this.

Foolish: Have we?

Fit: I said I'm- I'm trying to find out more about like, the Code Monsters!

Foolish: I thought you just wanted- liked being a janitor.

Fit: Well, I actually do kinda like it, I'll be honest with you, I like getting paid, but-

Foolish: Wait damnnit, Philza's doing it right.

Pac: You like the plumber's work, right?

Fit: Yeah.

Pac: You like to get your hand in the plumber's and- do the stuffs, and plumb [makes a very loud popping sound] those pipes, right?

[Everyone loses it and starts laughing]

Pac: I'm sorry- I'm sor- I'm- [laughs] I did- I didn't mean-

Fit: WAS THE SOUND NECESSARY???

Foolish: No, the sound made it.

Pac: I didn't- I didn't hear myself- sorry, sorry, sorry. Oh my god, I'm so shy right now, I'm just gonna sit.

#FitMC #PacTW #HideDuo #FitPac #QSMP #FoolishGamers #Philza #Foolish #Pac #Fit #Phil #The reason this took so long to edit is 100% because it gave me THAT bad second-hand embarassment #Me: Thank god I finally finished editing this now I never have to listen to it again #Me realizing I still have to write the transcripts: FRICK #In Pac's defense: you actually couldn't hear the pop that well from most stream POVs #unfortunately on Fit and Phil's stream (esp. Phil's stream) it was frickin HD quality #and VERY loud #They let Pac get away with this WAY too easily but you know what #the way he covered his face like that and immediately sat down in game was very cute #so I can't blame them for giving him a free pass #he's very cute when he's flustered #I always like the side-by-side reaction comparisons and I hope y'all do too! #Phil's reactions are always funny #''Every day Philza Miinecraft is oppressed by the gays'' #Q #I really do need to spend less time doing stuff for this blog and the archive... #I'm not getting paid for it. It takes up way too much time #it is good video editing practice though but... #Edited