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uswntdreamer · 6 days

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misdiagnosed ❥︎ l. williamson x reader.

you find out you've been misdiagnosed and that your condition has never been treated before.

episode ii of red, in the blurry mess.

warnings: sexual content (first half). it actually took me awhile to write this part because i don't know how to write smut, so i was stuck on how to go about it. 😭 excuse me if it's bad.

leah's dirty shorts are pulled down to her ankles. you're face to face with her glistening folds, soaked from pure arousal and sweat. oh how you wish you could see her.

she used her hands to guide your head towards her dripping heat. you lay soft pecks on her hardened clit, hearing her sigh lowly at the contact. leah was not at all a loud woman in bed, in fact she was quiet for the most part, only letting out short gasps and a low groan when she climaxed, but since being together, your lover has learned that you appreciate her sounds of pleasures.

not having the ability of vision increased your other senses, like your touch, your sense of smell, and especially your hearing. it's probably why you get turned on when you feel her sweaty skin against yours, why you enjoy the smell of grass from the pitch, why you hold her so close to you when she comes, so you can hear her moans of orgasmic pleasure ring throughout your brain.

learning these details about you, leah adjusted her normal routine during sex to ensure that you were getting the absolute most out of the experience. these little acts made you fall deeper in love with the woman.

you felt yourself getting soaked as your brain wanders back to past sexual experiences with leah; the pleasure she bought you two from the strength of her thrusting, the mind blowing orgasms, the adorable aftercare she provided after [pretty much] destroying your insides, you wanted it all and now.

you latched your lips to her clit and began sucking gently. the one thing you learned about your lover was that she enjoyed soft and sensual sex compared to the hard and fast fucking she was used to with previous partners. in her own eyes, she was a lover, not a fucker, but tonight you needed her to be a fucker.

"there you go princess. that's it..." leah groaned out.

you continued to eat away at her, loving how her (usually tensed) body reacted to your actions. leah felt herself coming undone, her toes curling, her eyes shut, the veins poking out from her temple. you lapped up every single drop she blessed your tongue with. she pulled you away from her core and up to her lips where she kissed you lustfully, moaning at the taste of herself on your lips.

"leah, i need you inside me right now." you begged as you straddled her left thigh and began rolling your clothed heat against her bare skin.

she nodded at your request and carried you towards your shared bedroom. your arms and legs wrapped around her body like you were a koala to a tree. your lips moving in motion with hers, her tongue easily exploring your mouth without resistance. she laid you down on the bed and pulled your pants down, along with your soaked panties.

she broke the kiss away to lift up your shirt and unclasped your bra, leaving you bare under her hooded eyes. she latched her mouth to one of your nipples while her left hand raked over your smooth skin.

"please baby..." you begged again. "i'm ready for you... please.."

leah removed herself from the bed and pulled off her jersey. "on your stomach, princess." she commanded.

you turned over onto your stomach like she commanded. the bed felt bigger than it usually does at that moment, you couldn't tell if it was because leah's more bigger and muscular body wasn't next to you or if was always big and you're just now focusing on it.

you felt leah climb onto the bed and kneel over your frame. her knees on each side of your hips and the wet rubber of her strap rested against the small of your back.

"you look so beautiful like this, my princess." leah whispered from above you. "if only you could see yourself through my eyes, then you would understand how much i adore you." and with that, leah buried the tip of her penis into your sobbing core.

you bit down into the pillow below you. it's been awhile since you and leah found time to explore each other's bodies due to the latter's over packed schedule and you've never masturbated nor was ever a fan of it. because of this you were so overly needy at the moment that you needed leah to pound herself deeply within you right at that moment.

"please... don't waste time.." you begged her. "just fuck me already..."

leah took her time pushing herself in your heat, enjoying your dishevled state. you let out a pained groan as her cock messaged your aching walls.

"my baby queen, i have all the time in the world." she husked lowly in your ear. "you're mine, remember? i could do anything i want with you and you'll take it because you're a good girl, right? you're my good girl."

you whimpered into the pillow, the feeling of leah stretching your desperate walls sent a tear strolling down your eye. leah pushed herself harder into you, wanting every inch of her cock to be trapped in your cave the same way your body was trapped under hers.

you couldn't take it anymore. you felt like you were going to combust at any moment. you needed her. leah planted her hands against the mattress and began to move in and out of your core slowly.

you whined. you absolutely hated when leah played games with you, especially when you were so vulnerable and desperate. the scent of the grass from today's game lingered on her skin as well. it reminded you of how fustrated she was after the final whistle, how dominance oozed from her when she addressed the girls in the locker room today. you needed that leah, you needed an enraged leah.

"leah..." you whimpered. "i'm not feeling anything."

leah ignored you. she knew you were only saying that to get her to thrust harder, so you pushed her futher.

"just pull out leah, you're not pleasuring me the way you usually do."

leah continued to ignore you, dragging herself along your walls at the same pace.

"i'm serious, leah." you demanded. "you can't pleasure your girlfriend in bed. the same way you can't lead your team to a league title."

leah made a face and halted her thrust. "huh?"

"i bet a chelsea player could fuck me into a coma. they could also actually win their trophies unlike..."

leah hopped off the bed and dragged you off the bed with her. she forced your head and chest down onto the mattress while her hands gripped your waist firmly. without warning, she slammed her cock straight into your heat and began rutting into you like she's never done before.

you screamed into the mattress; your body shook with such force as leah fucked you with zero regard for you. you gripped the sheets below you while tears spilled down your cheeks, turning you into a sobbing mess.

leah didn't care. in fact, she accelerated her pace. putting one foot on the mattress, she forced herself deeper into your cavern, her nails dug into your skin and the tip of her strap assaulted your sweet spot.

"don't... you ever... say... that fucking... club... in this household... ever again." leah warned, speeding up her pace as she did so. too busy screaming your lungs out to respond, leah gripped your hair and pulled you up. "you understand me?!"

"ye.. yes! yes!" you cried out.

leah let go of your hair which sent you crashing face first into the mattress. she continued to pound into you without a care in the world as you struggled to take all of her. leah took her right hand off your hip and snaked it towards your clit where she ferociously flicked the swollen bud in all directions, sending a new flood of pleasure.

"f.. fuck... i'm gonna... baby i'm gonna..." you struggled to get out your words.

leah didn't care. she pinched your clit before slapping her fingers against it as she slammed her body against yours.

you came violently around around her, blacking out immediately as waves of orgasmic pleasure charged throughout your whole body. leah didn't stop. she kept going; slamming her pelvis against your sore bottom whilst slapping her fingers against your defeated clitoris.

leah felt her own orgasm building up. she thrashed against your unconscious body until she couldn't take it anymore. leah halted her movements as she came hard, her body jolting from the overwhelming pleasure.

she fell against your bare back to catch her breath. after taking a moment to recover, leah pulled herself out of you and flung the strap across the room to be dealt with later. she brought your body towards the head of the bed and laid you down against the soft pillows. she slipped herself into the bed and cuddle you from behind.

"nala..? are you okay, my love?" she asked, a hint of worry rushing over her. you groaned tiredly into the pillow and pulled her closer to you, in desperate need to feel her, skin to skin.

too tired for the usual aftercare, the two of you fell asleep together, feeling satisfied after an amazing sexual experience.

"nala? nala, my love, it's time to wake up." you felt your girlfriend shake you awake as she coo'ed in your ear.

"seven more minutes..." you mumbled into the pillow.

"you have an hour to get ready, my love."

you groaned. leah laughed. you pushed your body up and away from the soft mattress its been attached to for the past ten hours, still feeling sore from last night's activities. leah laughed harder at your struggle. what an evil woman.

"you could help me instead of laughing." you comment as you fully sat up to face her. "this is your fault."

"i suppose it is. my apologies, love." leah stands up from the bed and grabs the bundle of grey sweats that have been resting on the night stand. "i grabbed some comfortable clothes for you to wear. i know you don't like being in anything too restricting while at the office."

you sent a gentle smile towards her and began to get ready for the day. leah helped you get dressed, as she usually does whenever you two have the morning together, but there was something off about her this particular morning. she was more hesitant when helping you into your clothes, she more gentle in her touches, treating you like a piece of thin glass.

"is there something wrong?" you asked her.

"i'm a bit nervous." she admitted.

you let out a small chuckle. "for what? are you getting the surgery?"

leah grumbled. "no! i want you to be happy, but all these talks about surgery and what not worries me a bit. i don't want you to get hurt. i'd lose my mind if something was to happen."

"these are professionals." you assured her.

"and professionals can make mistakes."

you frowned, not liking the direction this conversation was going. "come on, love."

"okay i'm sorry." she apologized. "i've been overthinking a lot."

"you overthink about everything. i think i'm more worried about you, than you are for me."

leah laughed. "nonsense!"

"no, it's true! you freak me out constantly with your thoughts."

leah nodded. "i freak me out too sometimes." she grabbed her keys from off the nightstand and exited the bedroom. she walked over to dolly, who was relaxing on the sofa, and gave her a big kiss. "be a good girl while we're gone."

dolly barked happily and rested her head against the sofa pillows.

you and leah walked out of your shared flat hand in hand towards her car. she was more compassionate compared to yesterday; opening the door for you, helping you into the car, and adjusting the seat to your comfort.

"what's with the gentleman act, williamson?"

leah smirked as she entered the driver's seat. "i suppose i owe you an act of kidness for last night."

you groaned in embarrassment, but leah only laughed.

leah checked you in at the front office then joined you on one of the sofas as the two of you waited for your name to be called.

"i've always hated waiting in this damn lobby." leah admitted out of the blue. "the constant ringing of the telephone, the static from the tv, and the smell of alcohol. it's all too much for me. i could only imagine how you feel, it's probably a sensory overload for you."

you let out a small chuckle. "it is, but i've gotten used to it. what's on the news today?"

leah squinted at the television mounted on the wall. she could barely see what was being displayed through the awful static texture on the screen. "looks like... another pub closing down."

"oh? why?"

"can't tell. they need to fix the tvs in here."

"well most people that wait in here are blind, so i guess they figured it wouldn't be an issue." you chuckled some more. leah let out a snort of her own.

while the two of you waited for the nurse to call for you, a conversation about your future life together sprung to life. leah went on about her disapproval of the current school system and her worries for your future children.

"i thought you didn't want any children." you stop leah midway through her sentence.

"i also said i wasn't looking for a relationship, but look what happened." leah smirked at her own comment. "i think one will be fine, no?"

you made a face, an unrecognizable emotion painted over your features. leah quickly added to her question, "it's up to you of course. you'll be the one carrying the child after all."

you couldn't contain the laugh that ripped through your throat. "what?!" you asked in amusement and disbelief. "why do i have to carry?"

leah's smirk grew. "because the child will need a perfect body to grow in and you..."

"leah williamson please." you felt a strong wave of embarrassment rush through you like a tsunami. you thanked your lucky stars that there was no one else in the room.

"what?" leah asked amusingly. "you have a perfect body. am i wrong?"

"i wish you were as smart with your mouth as you were with your feet." you grumbled.

leah let out a laugh of her own. "but i am smart with my mouth. just ask your vag.. OW!" you whacked your stick hard against her shin. "what was that for? :("

you simply smiled. "shut it, williamson."

the bantering between you two came to a halt when your name was called into the office. the nervous feeling began to bubble within you. leah noticed your hesitation and laid her warm palm on your thigh.

"are you sure you want to go in? we could always reschedule." she assured in your ear.

you shook your head and pulled yourself up. "no, let's go." leah followed the nurse to the examination office and you held her hand as she guided you.

"okay so..." the nurse began once both you and leah were seated. "we've ran some tests the last time you were here and found that..."

the sudden ringing of leah's phone stopped the nurse in her tracks. leah pulled her phone out her pocket and muted the ringing before stuffing it back in her pocket.

"my apologies." she whispered.

"that's alright." the nurse assured before continuing. "ok so we've found that..."

leah's phone began to buzz once more. the vibration from her pocket echoed throughout the white room.

"leah, please answer that." you begged, quite embarrassed that your girlfriend's cell interrupted the nurse not once, but twice.

leah excused herself out of the room. the nurse stiffled a laughed while you tried not to explode.

"shall we wait for her return?" the nurse asked.

"no." you said a little too quickly for comfort.

"alright then." she responded. "we did some tests and we found that there may have been a mistake with your diagnosis regarding your blurred vision."

you gripped your walking stick hard. "mistake? what do you mean?"

"we assumed that your blurred vision was myopia. in the sense that you shared the same vision with the majority of people with blurred vision." she explains. "we assumed that your vision could be fixed with the lazer surgery, but the results have shown us that you might be past the point of that."

your body froze. "what... are you saying that i don't have myopia?"

"you don't have myopia. to have myopia means to be near sighted. you should be able to make out the objects near you while objects in the distance are blurred, but still recognizable."

"but... i can't see anything!" you stressed. "even when an object is near me, i can't see it! i can only see the colour if it's bright enough because dark colors are weak compared to bright ones."

"yes exactly." the nurse agreed. "you can't see anything, but a smudge of bright colours."

you nodded. the nurse pulled a picture up on the big computer screen.

"you have a type of blurred vision that we've never treated. it's hard to confirm it's treatable." the nurse confessed as she walked in front of you. "what do you see right now?"

"just white. a blurred mess of white and a smudge of pink."

the nurse nodded. "i am wearing a pink shirt under this jacket." she grabbed a large grey folder and held it up to you. "what colour is this?"

"white."

"no, the folder."

"it's... white? all i see is white." you felt like crying.

"no, it's grey. the folder i'm holding is grey."

you felt a tear escape your left eye. "i don't think i know what grey looks like, miss."

the door suddenly opened. leah stood in the doorway like a confused puppy. the nurse put the folder down and made her way to the door.

"please wait here. i'll be back." she promised plainly before her exit.

leah glanced at the screen; her eyes widened at what was displayed. she had no idea that your vision was as bad as what she was seeing.

[LEFT: myopia. RIGHT: your vision.]

"leah..." you called out.

"yes my love?" leah took a seat next to you on the bed rather than in the chair she once occupied.

"what is the colour grey?"

leah made a face. "look at your sweats. that's grey."

you looked down and immediately burst into tears. your sweats are white. all you see is white. leah was completely caught off guard, she's never seen you this distraught.

"nala...?"

"all i see is white, leah!" you shouted. "all i see are blurred colours!"

leah glanced back up at the screen then back to you. she wrapped her arm around your shaking body, not sure if there was anything she could say or do to cheer you up.

after awhile of crying your heart out, you lift your head up and stared directly at the white ceiling.

"i don't think this will ever get fixed. she said i might be passed the point of treatment." you said in defeat, mostly talking to yourself rather than leah.

leah's heart sank. "really...? like there's no other option...?"

"they've never seen anything like this before." you dug your face back into the palms of your hands.

a moment of silence took over the two of you for the next minute. you looked up once again and took a deep breath then glanced over at your lover whose eyes were fixated on the screen in front of her.

"who called?" you asked her, your voice filled with nothing, but pain and defeat.

leah ignored the sharp pain in her chest. "um it was kyra."

"kyra?"

"yes."

"what did she need?" you turned your body towards leah.

leah tightened her lips together in an attempt to hide a smile. "she connected me in a three-way call with emily. apparently emily didn't get the memo that i was just bullshiting about today's training session."

you struggled to contain your laugh. "don't tell me she was out there all alone."

leah bursted into laughter. "she was so distraught! she was too scared to call me, so she called kyra and kyra just didn't have the heart to tell her that i wasn't being serious."

"well you were being quite scary back in the locker room." you admitted through deep breaths.

"yeah, but everyone knows that i wasn't going to stick to my word. especially since you had this appointment at the same time."

"em's still new, leah."

"i guess so." leah agreed.

the two of you shared a laugh at the expense of emily being adorably clueless. it was a nice moment to take your mind off of current events. the moment was short lived as the nurse inserted herself back into the room.

"we're going to continue to run some tests to figure out what's the best possible treatment going forward."

"what if there isn't a treatment?" leah asked her.

"we'll just have to see." the nurse responded.

both women looked at you for your final thoughts on the matter. there wasn't much else to say, but you knew you'll have to talk with your parents later on tonight. you only thanked the nurse for today and followed leah out of the office.

once in the car, leah leaned over to you and kissed you softly on the cheek. you smiled at her and leaned back into the passenger seat.

"pizza for lunch, love?" leah asked as she backed out of the parking space.

"as long as you're not cooking it, then sure."

#leah williamson #leah williamson x reader #awfc #awfc x reader #arsenal women #woso #woso imagine #woso community #woso fanfics #woso x reader #red in the blurry mess

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wasawattpadkid · 1 year

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Housewife

Part - 14

Summery: Billy and Stu have been planning these murders for quite some time. Everything is going to plan until you show up. What happens when they meet someone who is just as mentally deluded as they are?

Pairing: Poly! ghostface x fem!reader

Warnings for this series: ⚠️smut 18+⚠️ murder, blood, smut (will be more in depth on smut chapters), power dynamics, a dash of sexism, knives, stalking, perverse behavior, cheating, homophobic slang, explicit boyxboy, oral (male and fem! receiving), fingering (fem! receiving), the word "rapist" is used once as a joke by Stu way before any smut begins, p in v, safe sex, foul language, voyeurism (?)

Part 1

The car purred as they drove down the highway. You were cuddled up in the back with Stu as Billy drove home. "Do you love me?" The question was so random Billy almost thought he was hearing things. "Huh?" Stu patted your hair as he looked out the window. "It's fine if you don't, I just wanted to know." It wasn't fine if he didn't. Stu knew he loved Billy unconditionally. It was almost obsessive the way he adored that boy. As Stu looked at your sleeping form he started to think about how he felt like he loved you. It wasn't the same sort of love he had for Billy. No, he hadn't known you long enough to feel that way. Stu would kill for you but that didn't mean much coming from him. He knew if a car was coming towards you he'd push you out of the way even if it meant killing him. Was that love or just being suicidal?

Billy looked at his friend in the mirror seeing his gaze focused outside. "Why would you ask that?" Billy wasn't mad or upset by the question just startled. He didn't do feelings. Sure, he had them but he wishes he didn't. They tend to overcomplicate things.

"I don't see how this relationship is going to work out if you don't love me. I've seen the way you look at her. Tonight when we were playing games at the arcade you stared at her like she was the only person on earth. You don't look at me like that. I-I just need to know if it's because I'm not new or you don't love me."

His words were strange to Billy. Never in their expansive time of knowing each other did they have heart to hearts. Billy was raised not to cry and not to reach out. Being upset meant you were acting like a child. "To be honest I don't know." Billy tried to pick his words carefully not because he was trying to manipulate but rather because he was trying to tell the truth. After so many lies he found it hard to understand what the truth was. "You don't know?" Stu couldn't grasp how someone couldn't know if they were in love or not.

"I don't know. I thought I loved Sydney but maybe I did get bored. You know that scares the shit out of me. Getting tired of you and Y/n? What if I wake up one day and the smell of her cooking disgusts me? What- what if I can't stand the sound of your voice anymore? I don't want to lose this. I had the best time of my fucking life tonight but oh it might not matter down the road because I got too comfortable." Billy's hand hit the steering wheel in anger. The more Billy talked the more he pissed himself off. Stu tilted his head like a dog processing everything he just learned. "You love us." Stu said a smile playing at his lips. Billy's face contorted in confusion. He just hit the steering wheel in anger but Stu was in the back seat blushing.

"How do you know?" Billy turned the corner focusing back on the road. "If you're worried about losing us then obviously you love us at least a little bit." Billy doubted it was that simple. Nothing ever was. Stu was always an optimistic person. He thought everything would work out eventually. That's not how life worked. "If you say so." The car pulled into the driveway and then the garage. "She's still asleep should I wake her up?" Billy shook his head. "No she's been taking care of our asses all week she needs the rest. Just pack her upstairs and put her to bed." Stu gently pulled you out of the car carrying you like a bride into the house.

Carefully he made it up the steps watching so he wouldn't accidentally hit your head. He nudged your bedroom door open with his boot trying not to make too much noise. Stu laid you in bed as comfortably as he could. You looked so peaceful to him. He pulled the covers up over you making sure to tuck you in. Stu pressed a kiss to your forehead before he left the room shutting the door behind him.

"She still asleep?" Billy asked as he folded up the basket of laundry you left out. "I thought she was dead for a second." The joke went over Billy's head causing concern. "I'm kidding she's fine. She drools in her sleep." Stu said making Billy laugh. "Did you have fun tonight?" The dark-haired boy was trying to make this work. Stu sat on the couch leaving Billy to fold up clothes. "I had a wonderful time especially since I absolutely demolished your ass in Mortal Kombat." Billy just rolled his eyes telling himself he let his partner win. "You looked good tonight." Stu glanced up in shock. He wasn't the complimenting type and he sure as hell never complimented Stu.

Billy kept his eyes on the clothes not wanting to make eye contact with Stu. This was what actual couples did right? "Thank you." The room was silent. Stu thought of his words before he said them. "You looked handsome tonight too." Handsome. The word made something turn inside Billy. For a second it felt like he couldn't breathe. Maybe he was going to vomit? "Thanks." Was all Billy could come with. It was unbearably awkward but Stu couldn't help but smile. "Do you need help folding? I can't do shirts but I can do pants."

You woke up in a hot sweat. It felt like you had died. If someone asked what year it was you couldn't tell them. The last thing you remember was eating food at a restaurant with Billy and Stu. "Damnit." You rubbed your eyes trying to see in the dark room. The clock said it was 11 o'clock but it felt like you'd been asleep for days. You threw on an unflattering nightgown before you headed downstairs. The boys laughed while watching some loud TV show.

"She's alive!" Stu exclaimed like he was Dr. Frankenstein. "How'd you sleep?" Billy asked looking at your disheveled state. "Water." You rasped walking like the grim reaper over to the sink. Cold tap water seemed to coat your throat helping you wake up just a little bit more. You walked over to the couch throwing yourself on top of the men. "What are you watching?" You asked as Stu giggled at some guy getting hit over the head on screen. "The Monkees! It comes on your old lady channel. I haven't seen it since I was a kid." You looked over at Billy seeing him shrug his shoulders. "He's been laughing for the past 30 minutes."

"You're not hard to please huh?" Stu pinched the tip of your nose. "Obviously not, I'm with you aren't I?" You faked a laugh as you stared at the tv. Stu's hand ran up and down your leg just like it had the first night they came over. His eyes were glued to the TV laughing every time something even remotely funny happened. Billy would chuckle just because his friend was laughing. There was something different between them but you couldn't put your finger on it. The date night you had might've had some effect. All three of you felt closer, it felt more normal if that was even a possibility.

"I think I want to have sex with you two." You blurted making both men freeze. You immediately covered your face regretting speaking. "Like right now?" Stu asked ready to strip. "No, well, oh I don't know." You groaned with embarrassment. Billy stayed quiet letting you say everything you wanted to. You sat up on the couch looking at the two men sitting beside each other. "Couples have sex right?" They nodded in unison. "We're like a couple right?" They nodded even quicker trying to fill in the blanks for you. "So we should have sex-" Stu reached to take off his shirt but you stopped him. "At some point." You finished making the boy frown.

"Why'd you bring this up?" Billy asked. Between you and Stu randomly bringing up touchy subjects he was liable to get whiplash. You rubbed your face with your hands trying to get a grip. "I was just thinking about it. I have been... thinking about it." Stu knew if anyone could overcomplicate sex it'd be you. "Guys I'm scared."

It was the honest truth. You were terrified. "Of what?" The tone Stu had seemed to dismiss whatever emotion you felt. "Nothing it's dumb." You stood up only to be pulled back down by Billy. "No talk to us. What are you scared of?" Billy made demanding eye contact with you just to show he took this conversation seriously this time. "You?" The word came out like a question. That question seemed to negatively affect both boys. Stu was gutted that you were scared of him even worse that it was sex-related. You grabbed Billy and Stu's hands not wanting them to think it was all their fault. "Men in general are scary. I'm not scared of you exactly more of what you could do." That somehow made less sense to them both.

"Stu, do you remember the other night when we were wrestling?" He smiled remembering how funny that whole thing was. "Yeah, I beat your ass." He said proudly. Billy seemed to understand what you were getting at by Stu's response. "I could give it my all and you both could still trap me. I don't stand a chance and it's frightening. What if in the middle of it all you decide to-" Billy moved forward putting both of his hands on your arms. "We would never do that." Stu scoffed sitting up next to you. "Yeah we may be killers but we're not rapists." Billy looked at Stu like he could kill him making the boy sit back and shut up.

"Y/n I'm really trying," Billy spoke as you nodded. "I've noticed." He smiled continuing his speech. "I don't and would never want to hurt you. That night that Stu's place I couldn't put you through that pain." He gestured to your closed-up wound. "I know but I joke around a lot. I say I'm into chains and whips but I'm scared of all of that. I don't want to feel like I'm stuck and with two of you it's pretty damn intimidating." You had got this idea in your head that anything intimate with the men would leave you used and torn apart.

"I joke around like crazy you don't think I'm being serious do you?" Both you and Billy looked at Stu. "Wow tell me what you really think." You laughed making Stu smile at his accomplishment. "Hey." Billy's hand rested on the side of your face pulling your attention back to him. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Do you understand?" The words were sharp but they weren't angry. Billy meant what he said. As long as he was living no one would lay a finger on you besides him and Stu. You nodded as he smiled. "Wait so are we sleeping together or?" Stu was just really confused. Before Billy could smack him you stood up. "I'm going to take a shower and freshen up. You two can do whatever you want." Without looking at the men you walked upstairs heading to your bathroom.

Billy jumped off the couch making Stu sit up. "What? What's wrong?" Stu asked looking up at the man. "She said she's going to freshen up." Billy shook his hands for emphasis. He could see Stu simply wasn't getting it. "That's like the universal term for "we're going to have sex." How do you not know that?" Stu stood up a small "pfft" leaving his mouth. "No the universal term for we're going to have sex is "Hey we're going to have sex."" Billy's palm slapped his forehead before dragging down his face. "Listen just go clean up and change I'm going to take care of a couple things." With a nod, Stu went off to his room.

Billy waited on the stairs till he heard the water start to run. Your room was empty but the record you played was loud. The Smashing Pumpkins vinyl spun around letting Billy's favorite song play. He could barely hear you humming the words in the bathroom. You remembered. That fact made his heart seem to swell. It wasn't what you normally listened to. All he heard the past week was what you called "classics." Now there you were in the privacy of your room listening to his favorite album. With a smile, he got to work. The first thing he did was make your bed. Once it was neat he made sure the room looked comfortable. He noticed the candle you had sitting on your dresser. Billy headed downstairs to ask Stu for his lighter.

Stu's bedroom door opened hitting Billy with a cloud of cologne. "Jesus fucking Christ!" The boy cursed waving a hand in front of his face. "Too much?" Stu asked innocently. Billy huffed not having time to deal with him. "She's not going to let you in the room let alone her bed smelling like that." Stu thought he smelt good, you had complimented him on his cologne before. "Change your shirt and pants and air out this damn room." Billy was about to leave before remembering why he came down there in the first place. "Oh, I need your lighter." Stu dug through his dresser tossing the skull-covered lighter to the man. "What do you need that for?" Stu pointed towards the object. "I'm going to light a candle." Stu held up his hand covering his mouth with a laugh. Billy's face dropped at his friend's laughter. "Shut it fuckrag." Billy pointed at Stu but it didn't stop him from laughing.

Upstairs you had already stepped out of the shower pulling the cap off your head. You hung the shower cap up before wrapping a towel around your frame. You didn't know what to expect. Billy's little speech downstairs did wonders for your nerves. Were you still terrified? Yes but for some dumb reason, you trusted them. You had this nagging feeling you'd regret it. You willed yourself to believe in the fantasy land you've created. Sex wasn't something you'd grown accustomed to. That day playing truth or dare barely felt real. There wasn't much emotion behind it just teenage hormones. You weren't upset about it you just hoped this would be different. As your skin dried off you slipped a pair of underwear on covering them with one of Stu's shirts.

Billy sat at the edge of your bed biting his nails. He had to repeatedly tell himself he was trying to be better, to do what you asked. As you walked out of the bathroom he stood up. You could tell he was nervous by the way his eyes darted back and forth between you and the door. "I thought we could talk. You like talks right?" His smile was tight as he raised his eyebrows. You saw your bedroom door was closed completely leaving Stu out of the conversation. "I'm fine with talking but we made it a rule to include everyone when we talked." Billy watched as you walked over to your record player. The way you took care of the fragile vinyl said something about your character, at least he thought it did. "I know but I already asked Stu if it was okay and he said it was."

"I get that but we should have conversations together." Billy grew impatient. "Just!" The word was loud scaring him when he said it. You looked at him waiting for him to fix his tone before speaking to you. "Just.. please? I need to talk to you alone." You put the record on the shelf debating on talking to him in private. Billy was a complicated man. You didn't want to throw away the chance of getting him to open up. "Okay. What do you need to talk about?" You walked over to Billy's side sitting down with him at the foot of the bed. "You want this to be equal. Meaning this is a group effort right?"

"This?" You asked as Billy's leg bounced with anxiety. That little voice in his head told him he couldn't do this. "Sex." Was all he said. "I would like it to be that way, yes. I don't want anyone feeling left out." He nodded understanding what you meant. You couldn't begin to grasp how difficult this conversation was to him.

"Look if you want us to sleep with you that's fine but I don't want this thing me and Stu do to disturb you." His wording was intentional. To him sex with you was normal but sex with Stu was just a "thing." It was shameful to him. "I-I um..." He ran a hand through his hair keeping his eyes on the ground. "I don't want you to look at me differently after this." You didn't know what to say to make it better. There was no easy fix. Billy raised his arms in surprise as you wrapped your arms around him. His arms slowly found their way around you hugging you back. It was comforting. Billy didn't like hugs. This one however made him feel safe. You had him and you weren't letting go. Who he is didn't seem to bother you and knowing that lifted a weight off his shoulders. "Should I let Stu in now?" He spoke gently.

You nodded pulling back from the boy. Billy stood up opening the bedroom door. Stu came tumbling into the room. "I didn't hear anything." He swore picking himself off the ground. "Not for lack of trying." You smiled knowing Stu was eavesdropping. Billy made sure to close the door behind Stu locking it in place. The action wasn't lost on you. Something was different. Billy had no problem with what happened in your living room just weeks ago. The fact he was locking your bedroom door knowing no one else was in the house was odd. It was for security you supposed. The reassurance that no one could walk in. Your curtains were also closed but you knew you left them open just a few hours earlier.

"Here ya go." Stu pitched Billy a small bottle. "What's that?" You asked getting a quick and easy answer from Stu. "Oh, it's lube." He pulled two condoms from his pocket sitting them on your nightstand. You were out of your element. "If you don't want to do this I need you to let me know." Stu said wanting your full consent. This was a first for all of you, he didn't want to mess it up. "I want this, it just feels like you're both prepping for surgery."

Billy held the bottle in tight hands hoping to warm up the cold liquid inside. Stu chuckled finding his spot next to you on the bed. "I get that trust me but none of us here want kids yet and the lube is just to make sure you're comfortable."

Yet. The word pulled at pieces of Billy's brain. The thought of having kids was not something he wanted to worry about right now. With a shake of the head, he walked over to both of you. "Listen, we don't have to do this." Billy still had this unremitting feeling that things would change. You'd see him as some perverted homo and wouldn't want him near you again. He was ashamed of who he was and what he did but if you wanted this he'd do it. Both men looked at you trying to pick up on any signs of hesitation.

Stu was careful about consent the last time anything happened between the three of you. His behavior hadn't changed any. Billy's new behavior was something to get used to. His nail-biting, soft-spoken nature was different than the rude and demanding one you had got to know. "I want to do this but if one of you is uncomfortable we can just go to bed. You don't have to sleep downstairs." The promise of just sleeping next to you was tempting for Billy. He knew this would have to happen sooner or later. "I'm ready whenever you two are." Stu said as he peeled his shirt off. Billy slipped the bottle into his pocket before leaning down to you.

"I need you to say it."

His face was serious but not cold. "Say what?" The air between you two was nearly suffocating. Billy's voice was low as he spoke. "I need you to say you want this, you want me." Billy's hands rubbed the soft skin on your thighs as Stu stripped down to his underwear. You looked at his hands the eye contact quickly becoming intimidating. "I want-"

"Look at me, please." With a shaky breath, you looked back up meeting Billy's eyes. "I need this. I need you, Billy." There it was. That possessive glint you'd seen before. Any minute now he'd be demanding and rough. His lips softly pressed against yours. The kiss was slow and careful. Billy tried to remember the way your lips felt in case you threw him out after tonight. His tongue swiped across your bottom lip signaling your lips to part. Billy pulled away smiling at the love-drunk look on your face. "Let me help with that." Stu helped pull your shirt over your head leaving you in just your panties. "I was right. You look even better out of my shirt." Stu said making your cheeks heat up. Billy's shirt was the next to go. Stu cupped your chin before leaning in to kiss you. It was hungrier than the kiss before.

Billy watched his two partners with some semblance of pride. They were his. For how long he wasn't sure. In the end, it didn't matter because right now in this bedroom, he had them and for some reason, they agreed to have him. Stu squeezed your breast making a small noise leave your lips. Billy went back to work pulling down the fabric that hugged your hips. You raised up just enough to make his job easier. He tossed the underwear in the same spot his shirt had landed.

Stu laid back on the bed taking you with him. For a split second, you forgot Billy was even there. He made his presence known by pressing a kiss to your abdomen. Then another on your hip. Stu broke the kiss watching the scene next to him. You looked down at Billy as he littered your skin with kiss after kiss. He eventually made his way down pressing a kiss on your folds. Stu saw the way your chest jumped ever so slightly. He wondered if he told you how beautiful you were today but even if he did it wasn't nearly enough. As Billy's tongue ran up and down your folds, his eyes flickered up toward Stu. Your soft moans accompanied by Billy's gaze made his cock twitch. Stu picked your hand up moving it where he needed you most. Softly you began rubbing him through his boxers feeling him strain against the fabric. The moan that came from Stu made you continue your movements. It was hard to focus with Billy going at you like a man starved. Billy's eyes would go back and forth mainly focused on the man you helped please.

Being watched stirred something in Stu and Billy noticed. The short-haired boy removed his underwear with haste needing to feel you against his skin. Your hand wrapped perfectly around his cock. The pumps were gentle at first not knowing what Stu liked. His moans and the quiet chant of your name kept your hand moving. Billy pulled your clit between his lips making your back arch off the bed. Stu let out a lustful cry at the feeling of your hand squeezing around him. You didn't mean to do it at first but the new information only helped you tease him. Every few pumps you'd gently squeeze his cock earning a beautiful sound from Stu each time.

Billy's tongue continued its assault as he slowly pushed two fingers into your cunt. Hearing the sounds you made mixed with Stu's was enough to make him cum right then and there. It took everything in him not to. Billy smiled against you feeling your hips try to meet the thrust of his fingers. He doubted you were even aware of what you were doing. Too busy pleasing the man next to you. Your free hand tugged on Billy's hair needing more of him. Billy pulled out his fingers before moving to stand up. You groaned at the loss. With his eyes on you, Billy sucked his fingers clean of your slick even a soft moan could be heard like it was the best thing he's ever tasted.

"We've got to take turns right? Everything has to be fair and equal?" He teased moving in front of Stu. The boy looked at Billy silently asking him if he was sure he wanted to do this. Billy motioned his head upwards telling Stu to sit up. The boy complied sitting on the edge of the bed. You sat up making sure you didn't miss anything. Billy took a deep breath seeing you watch him. He knelt in front of Stu grabbing the man's erection. "Ah!" Stu exclaimed looking down at the man in front of him. With a trained hand, Billy stroked Stu's cock.

You squeezed your thighs together at the sight. Billy leaned forward spitting on the tip letting the liquid run slowly down the veins. Using his hand he pumped Stu's cock the spit making it easier for his hand to slide up and down. He knew what spots to pay attention to. Stu's moans were louder than before. His abs were prominent as his muscles tightened. Billy with a sly grin licked a stripe from the base to the tip. He kept his eyes on Stu not being able to look up at you. Stu turned his head pressing his lips to yours. He moaned into your mouth as Billy wrapped his lips around the tip of his cock. His tongue swirled around making Stu's hips jerk. Stu's breath was uneven as his chest heaved up and down.

"Fuck." Stu cursed against your lips as Billy slid his mouth over the man's length. With a moan, Stu's head fell back leaving you to watch them without interruption. Billy could feel your eyes burn into his skin. That insecurity slowly started to creep back up distracting him from the man under his touch.

Stu grabbed your hand squeezing as his orgasm rapidly approached. "I-I'm going to cum." Stu warned with a whine. Billy continued sucking knowing if he didn't there would be a mess to clean up. His eyes closed tight as Stu cried out. Stu chanted a mixture of your and Billy's names. Billy let Stu ride out his orgasm before he looked to the floor swallowing the evidence of the sinful act. Stu laid back on the bed letting the newfound clarity wash over him. Billy's lips were swollen and his cheeks were red. You'd never seen him look like this until now.

Billy didn't dare look up knowing he'd see the disgust in your eyes. "Billy?" Hearing his name made him feel sick. You waited for him to look at you but he refused. He rubbed his eyes wanting to erase everything that had just happened. Billy looked up immediately apologizing for something he didn't need to. You cut him off grabbing his face and pressing your lips on his. You could taste Stu on his lips and it spurred you on more. Billy was shocked. You broke the kiss to look at him. "I need you." Your hands tugged on the waistband of his jeans greedily. How was he supposed to be calm and careful when you acted like this?

"Say it again." His voice was low and demanding making your cunt throb. "I need you." You happily repeated yourself seeing the way it brought his confidence back. Billy stood up unbuckling his belt right in front of you. You focused on the way his hands pulled the leather off with ease. He grabbed the bottle of lube tossing it on the bed. His jeans were quickly discarded along with his underwear.

You looked at Billy's naked form growing embarrassed by the view. "Baby throw me one of those." Billy pointed towards the condoms. Stu was happy to toss the package over. He was well aware of how hard it was for Billy to do what he did. Stu no longer felt like a dirty secret. You crawled up onto the bed as Billy opened the black wrapper. "Here lift your hips up." Stu grabbed a pillow slipping it between you and the bed. The feeling of your hips in the air was odd but you figured Stu knew what he was doing.

Billy slid the condom over his length with ease. The man debated on asking you once again if you were alright with this. You wiggled your hips impatiently. That small gesture was all Billy needed. Stu grabbed the lube squirting a little in his hand. He kissed your neck as his fingers smeared the jelly over your entrance. Billy crawled on the bed settling between your legs. Stu's eyes watched as Billy lined himself up with your cunt. You closed your eyes scared of the pain you've heard so many people talk about. Stu continued to smother you in affection as Billy slowly pushed into you.

It wasn't near as bad as you expected it to be. You tried not to focus on the stretch as he bottomed out. Billy cursed trying to hold still. "You okay?" Stu asked and you nodded. Billy's hips started to move to find a rhythm you were both comfortable with. Stu wrapped his lips around your nipple getting hit with a feeling of deja vu. Billy held onto your hips as he thrusts into you. He had to remind himself over and over that he needed to be gentle. Stu was used to his partner's fast and rough routine so seeing him struggle was almost humorous.

Your breath hitched as Stu tugged at your breasts. His teeth teased your skin making goosebumps flood your flesh. Billy watched as his partner left small hickies in places no one but the two of them could see. "Faster..." You moaned one hand squeezing Billy's wrist. The man's pace quickened making the sound of skin on skin even louder. It seemed the faster he got the tighter your muscles became. Stu abandoned your side sitting up to kiss the man between your thighs. Billy's free hand wrapped around Stu's throat squeezing just enough to keep him still. You moaned watching the men as Billy's thrusts continued to knock the air out of you. Billy's borderline whimpers did nothing but fuel your arousal. "Don't stop!" You cried out making Billy hold off his orgasm just a little longer.

Both men watched as you came undone around Billy's cock. It was one of the most beautiful things they'd ever seen. Billy's thrusts became rough and erratic as that familiar white-hot pleasure twisted inside of him. With one final thrust, his body trembled. Your name like a prayer was said over and over like it was the only thing he could say. For a brief moment, it was the only word that existed.

You winced as Billy pulled out. Stu fell next to you pressing a kiss to your cheek. "How was it?" He asked knowing the answer from previous experience. Billy tied off the condom before disposing of it in your bathroom. "I can't feel my legs." You giggled making Stu laugh. A warm fuzzy feeling covered your naked body. You weren't sure if it was the sex or the overall love you felt from both men. Stu helped move the pillow out from under your hips. Your legs and arms felt like jelly as you moved to cover yourself underneath the blankets. Stu followed suit huddling up next to your naked frame.

Billy left the bathroom grabbing his underwear from the floor. You groaned as you rolled out of bed needing to use the restroom. "Do you need help?" Billy asked seeing your wobbly legs. "Don't get cocky." You said with a laugh walking toward the bathroom. "I wasn't trying to-" You pressed a kiss to his lips silencing the boy. "I'm just messing with you."

He smiled watching your ass as you walked into the bathroom. The door shut behind you leaving both men to themselves. Stu grinned seeing the look on Billy's face. "You love us." He said feeling that bubbly feeling once again. Billy laughed to himself. "You know, you might be right."

Taglist (closed): @katie-tibo @agustdeeyaa @bowlofceral @gonnapermashift @tati-the-fangirl @kozumewhore @tatijoestar @illyanam1011 @c4rved-pumpk1n @msghostface @gojosbucket @sammanna @lokigirlszendaya @reneki @fetusharryluvr @kadu-5607 @pumpk1n-writes @lovekeeho @zeysartzone @life-of-music3 @flyestvenustrap @littleblondesoprano @loomiscorpse @nicciekawegosblog @reneemunson @miss-puregotti @ksgsfsgaj @zoleea-exultant @briefwinnerpersonaturtle @mistydreamscape @l4venderia @nex-crowley @ashreblogsnow @brynaa223 @your-desire666 @billyloomiswhore4 @holyladyofsorrows @megluv1 @ellieswifeiya @yoluvrz @forallthstarsinthesky @madsothree @youcantbesirius @lubunnii @captainhowdysseptum @geekygremlin @madneedshelp

Part 15

A/N: Sorry that this chapter took so long to unload. Theres some serious character development happening and I wanted to make sure I did the characters justice. Hope you're enjoying the series so far!💕

(if your name has a line through it Tumblr wouldn't let me tag you.)

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alexbrainrot · 25 days

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alex yearns for a family with you / smut

pairing: husband!alex x afab!farmer a/n: this was in my drafts i just tweaked it a little..

alex was helping you install some new sprinklers and looked over your land as he did so. it was beautiful, you worked so hard to get it this way. it was well kept and spacious. perfect enough for a family.

he didn't want to pressure you into having kids, he never really asked you about how you felt towards having any. he wanted to wait until you brought it up, but still, he couldn't help but dream of becoming a father. the father of your kids specifically.

ever since you two got married, he's been a happier man. he matured a lot, or at least that's what you told him and he trusted your word for it. he felt it in a way too, his priorities began to shift and he no longer focused on irrelevant matters. he was learning so many things as your husband and day by day, his desire to raise kids with you grew stronger.

"this is a great place to raise children. i would've loved growing up in a place like this. so much room to run around.." he says bashfully, brushing off the dirt on his boots.

you were too busy using your scythe to even process what he said for a moment. then, you finally looked at him, shielding your eyes from the sunlight. "you think so..?"

"yeah." he responds in a quiet voice. his gaze softening. he hoped that you understood what he was really trying to say. a comfortable silence follows before he turns away and continues adjusting your sprinklers. in the back of his mind he wonders if you have the same wish he does.

alex knew child bearing was not a walk in the park. the moment he began to think about parenthood, he picked up a few books in the library in secret. it taught him a lot, and made him more sympathetic towards your decision whatever it may be.

still, it was hard to let go of the idea.

that night, when you finally got into bed after a long day of hard labor, he turned to face you.

you smile softly, a little surprised that he was still awake, usually when you got home this late he was fast asleep. the moonlight shined through your bedroom window, creating a sparkle in his green eyes. "not sleepy?"

"mm." he sighs and looks away.

"tell me."

"tell you..?"

"somethings on your mind, lex."

he scratches the back of his neck, unsure if he should even bring it up. he feels like he has no right to at all. he pauses for a long time before he builds up the courage.

"do you.. want to try for a baby?"

his words and the look on his face immediately make your cheeks flush. it suddenly made sense to you why he brought up children earlier out of the blue.

"a baby..?" you whisper back. he can't help but smile in response. he wants you to say yes so badly. his body scoots closer until you can feel his warmth and he gently wraps his strong arms around your waist. "i don't know where you stand on this.. but i really want to be the father of your children." his voice quiet, almost pleading.

your eyes search his, he looks so sincere. you didn't know he felt this way at all.

"i'll help you the whole entire way, i promise. i'll take care of the farm.. i'll-" you cut him off with a soft kiss. your hand grasps his shirt and bunches it up as you pull him even closer.

he blushes and catches his breath when you finally break the kiss. "is that a yes..?" you gently nod your head. "yes, honey.”

the joy that he feels upon hearing that is indescribable. he squeezes your waist and kisses your face all over before nuzzling into your neck causing you to giggle. his touch is soft and gentle as his hand grazes your side.

“how are you feeling tonight..?” he whispers in a low voice before planting wet kisses down your neck.

you feel your whole body heat up immediately. the sudden change in his demeanor caught you off guard. “l-lex..”

“tell me… can i fill you up tonight, baby?”

his words make you shudder. “im a little sore...” it wasn’t a lie, you had been out on your farm the entire day trying to prepare for spring.

“you don’t have to do anything…just turn around for me..” he whispers, adjusting you so that he’s hugging you from behind. your backside pressed up against him, feeling his muscles flex. he sneakily removes your pajama shorts along with your panties evoking a gasp from you. his other hand still wrapped around your waist keeping you in place.

"this okay with you?" he lips brush the back of your neck. everything he was doing was sending you into a frenzy, it was as if you were losing complete control. your body was reacting on its own.

he pinches your side when you don't directly respond to him. "tell me, dear."

"y-yes lex.. please.."

you could already feel his hardened length underneath his boxers, poking at your entrance. with a swift movement, he slides them down and you're skin to skin.

"let me make this easier, dear." he grabs one of your legs and lifts it up gently, allowing him easy access to your entrance.

slowly, he inserts himself inside of you, wanting to savor the moment. you could feel him stretching you out inch by inch. "oh.." you let out a shaky gasp and grip his forearm as he takes his time. his thick cock took a while to ease into.

he grunts when he bottoms out fully and his fingers dig into your waist. he's trying his hardest to wait for your signal to start moving, but the way your insides hug him is difficult to resist.

his breath is heavy as he begins to thrust in and out with caution. the sensation is too much for him to handle. he feels himself so pathetically close already since it was your first time having sex without protection.

"y-you're so wet, fuck." his voice is husky against your ear. you simply whimper, unable to even give him a proper response with the way his hips are snapping against your ass.

he can hear the lewd sounds of your squelching pussy every time he pistons in and out of you.

"you're gonna look so pretty with a swollen belly.." he whispers. "we'll try every day, sweetheart. i wont miss a day." grunts and moans escape his mouth as his pace quickens. his thrusts becoming sloppier as the tension in his abdomen starts to build up.

"can't wait to suck on your swollen tits, sweetie.. fuck." his grip on your waist tightens after every word he speaks, he's so close.

"g-god lex.. faster.."

all he needed were your words to encourage him, his firm grip steadies you while he pounds into your cunt relentlessly. both of your bodies are sweaty, his hair is sticking to his forehead and his eyes are screwed shut while he uses up all of his strength and energy to help the both of you reach your climax.

his body felt like it was on fire, chasing that pleasurable feeling.

not long after, he feels you arch your back and let out a long drawn out moan. your juices coat his cock and your flushed body heaves up and down. he follows suit and groans as his hot seed spurts inside your pussy, filling you up so well. his member thrusting until there's nothing to give anymore.

his large hand brings your leg back down and delicately caresses your thigh as you both start to come down from your high. you can feel him smiling against your skin. "i really want to be a dad." he mumbles.

you smile and bring his hand up to your lips, planting a small kiss.

"fingers crossed."

#alex sdv #alex stardew valley #sdv alex fic #sdv alex smut #fem!farmer #stardew valley alex #stardew valley smut #sdv smut #stardew fanfic #stardew x reader #sdv alex #sdv alex x afab reader

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missmonsters2 · 1 year

Text

What's One Little Kiss Between Friends? | viii

viii: Prepping the New Year

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Jealous!Nat. Scheming!Nat

Note: My holiday contribution <3 This occurs after Mistletoes Are For Excuses

College AU set. Feel free to request parts in my inbox!

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist

Count: ~1.2k

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

New Year's has always been one of your favorite holidays. There's a sense of relief and melancholy about saying goodbye to the year and welcoming the new one.

And, well, there was the New Year's kiss.

You tried not to let that be the thing that consumed your mind, but unfortunately, it just did. There was a saying about how you spend the year is the same way you spent New Year's Eve.

Historically, you've always spent it kissing your lover at the time or kissing someone you were hoping would become your lover within the year.

This year—you were stumped.

Your lips could still feel the softness of Natasha's kiss under the mistletoe on Christmas. You were becoming more familiar with them, having tasted them so often already.

But you were still only friends, and when you thought about it more, you became increasingly nervous.

"Who are you going to kiss tonight?" Wanda said eagerly as she stumbled into your arms. You laughed as you caught her.

"Not sure yet," you answered honestly, knowing full well there were only 10 minutes until midnight.

"No way," Wanda slurs, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "You always know who you're going to kiss every year."

"Why does that make me sound so sleazy?" You mused teasingly. "Who are you going to kiss?"

It was then Wanda slumped in your arms with a pout. "I don't know. I thought about kissing Vis, but he's being such a...a burnt toaster!"

You couldn't help but laugh, squeezing Wanda comfortingly. You knew she was taking the breakup with her long-time boyfriend pretty hard. They've been on and off since, and you're hoping the entire thing will end soon because it was messing with Wanda's head.

"Oh my god," Wanda grinned as she looked at you. "If you don't have someone to kiss and I don't have someone to kiss—we should kiss at midnight!"

You tried to not roll your eyes, but you merely smiled and kissed her cheek to placate her. "Sure thing. Why don't you go find Bucky? I noticed he's been sticking to Steve like glue, and at this rate, Steve is never gonna muster up the balls to kiss Sharon."

Wanda's eyes glinted as she kissed you back on your cheek and finally released you. You watched her stumble through the crowd, making her way toward Bucky, who was woefully unaware of how much of a cockblock he was being.

"So, you're kissing Wanda at midnight?"

The sound of your best friend's voice made you turn around, and Natasha was standing behind you with two champagne glasses in her hand.

"Most certainly not," you shook your head with a rueful grin, taking a glass from Natasha. "I think I learned my lesson in Mexico with her."

"You kissed Wanda in Mexico?" Natasha asked, her voice tight.

"You ask too many questions," you shook your head, still grinning. "Who are you going to kiss?"

There was a momentary pause.

"I don't know," Natasha sounded uncomfortable. "If you're not kissing Wanda, then who do you have your eye on?"

There was a tinge of something in Natasha's voice that you weren't used to hearing when it came to you.

Jealousy.

"I...I don't think I'm going to kiss anyone," you finally admitted. "I just...you know what I think about the New Year's kiss."

"That you're going to spend the year with the person you kiss?"

You nodded.

"And you don't want to spend the year with anyone here?" Natasha tried to say it casually, but she couldn't help the sting that seeped in.

You looked at Natasha carefully. She was absolutely stunning tonight, with loose curls and one side of her hair pinned up.

So many people were watching Natasha right now, counting down the last three minutes until the real countdown started. You could only imagine the swarm that would occur at 11:59PM.

"It's not that," you said slowly, locking eyes with the redhead. "It's just...it's a lot of pressure. Do you understand?"

Natasha just nodded, and it was rigid. You tried not to let out a physical sigh.

It was getting complicated, and you hated it.

Why was kissing your best friend so good?

11:58PM.

You watched as Steve looked relieved by Bucky being distracted by Wanda and how he shyly turned to Sharon with a boyish grin.

"Hey, why don't we head to my room? The view of the fireworks will be way prettier there," Natasha suggested.

You hesitated.

"And it will deter random strangers from trying to kiss us at midnight," Natasha added.

You weighed your options quickly but nodded as you did see someone eyeing Natasha a few feet away. And as much as you were worried about kissing Natasha, you were in no way in hell going to let someone else kiss her.

Natasha didn't turn the lights on when you entered her room, merely shutting the door with a quiet click and lock.

"It is nicer from here," you commented, taking a seat at her windowsill.

11:59PM.

"Yeah," Natasha sighed, taking something from her nightstand before she sat down. "Sometimes I miss living here...until I hear my mother and remember why it sucks."

The two of you laughed before you looked at the alarm clock she brought.

"I think you're the only person I know that still uses an analog alarm clock," you raised her brow at her and smiled, "you weirdo."

"You bought this for me," Natasha rolled her eyes, unable to help her smile.

"Because you went through that weird phase of collecting clocks and watches."

"10...9...8."

You could hear people outside counting down. Natasha was looking out the window, not even close to making any sort of move on you. You bit your tongue, unsure if you felt relieved or miffed, and joined her in looking outside.

"5...4...3...2...1!"

The fireworks went off immediately, and you could hear the second of silence, the lull of people kissing before there was cheering.

"Happy New Year, Natasha," you turned and smiled at your best friend.

"Happy New Year," Natasha smiled back at you.

And you sit in silence while the fireworks go off.

12:01AM.

Natasha grabbed the analog clock and began to reverse the time.

"What are you doing?" You asked curiously.

11:59PM.

Natasha set the clock down. "I want my New Year's kiss."

"Okay..." you said slowly. "You didn't have to stay here with me."

"The person I want my kiss with said she was feeling too much pressure about it. Something along the lines of worrying how the year was going to go. Honestly, I think it's a load of hooey—"

"Hey!"

"—but I understand. This is the best compromise." Natasha was staring at you so intensely that you were pretty sure your stomach could compete in the Olympic gymnastics.

Why was your best friend so fucking romantic?

You didn't even need to look at the clock to know there was only 5 seconds left until midnight...again.

You found yourself leaning forward, meeting Natasha's lips in the middle. It was familiar in all the best ways. You knew that softness, and the way Natasha tilted her head always fit yours.

God, she was so fucking pretty too.

When you pulled back, you licked your lips.

"You taste like raspberries."

"Yeah, I stole my chapstick back from your bag earlier."

You rolled your eyes, unable to contain the laugh. "You're so petty."

#natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff x you #natasha romanoff x y/n #natasha romanoff imagine #natasha romanoff fluff #black widow x reader #black widow imagine #modern avengers au #mm.drabble.nat #mm: my fics

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vecnawrites · 4 months

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Patreon Reward: Pure Support Group, Chapter 12: Elm Ederne

It's Elm's turn to tell of her experience with Joan~

Lian Ren looked around the room. It was time for another FABJA meeting, and they had a rather full house this time.

Pyrrha and Nora were both with her tonight, and the only reason that both were there was the fact that Joan was spending the night in the hospital wing for an overnight sleep test, leaving all of them free to actually join this meeting.

Ruby was talking animatedly with both Velvet and May, more expressive than she was even with her team, making her wonder just how those three became friends. Maybe one day she would learn.

Cinder, Emerald, Neo, and the Malachite Twins were a lot more quiet, talking in hushed tones, the twins having their hands over their laps to avoid showing off the fact that they were already hard.

Blake, Weiss, and Yang were sitting off to the side, talking to themselves as well, though she could tell they were trying not to talk too much about Joan, with Weiss nervously changing subjects between several things.

Reese and Arslan were chatting quietly, though from the swelling erections, she hoped that they stayed calm until after the meeting was done…

The largest group was those who came from Atlas; Ciel Soliel, Neon Katt, Fiona Thyme, all of them sat next to a very bashful giantess, Elm Ederne, who was hunched over and, just by looking at her, one could see the embarrassment wafting off of her.

Clearing her throat, Lian got the attention of the room and smiled softly. “Hello, everyone.” she said, looking over the packed room. “Welcome to this meeting of FABJA. We have a new speaker tonight. Please give Elm Ederne a warm welcome. Elm? You have the floor.”

The dark skinned woman looked up, flushing slightly and taking a deep breath. “H-Hi...this...well it happened earlier today…”

Elm finished her repetition, setting the weight back on it’s rack as she sat up and wiped her face with her towel, loving the strain a good workout gave her, how the soreness of her muscles made her feel alive from having a good workout.

She took a deep drink from her bottle, the water quenching her thirst and hydrating her after her workout.

Standing, she began to head to the treadmill to continue her workout, happy that Beacon Academy had such a well equipped gym.

As she started walking over to the treadmills, she heard an odd sound, like dull smacking. Turning towards it, she froze mid-step. Why?

She saw Joan Arc standing in the area with the punching bag, holding her hands up in a mediocre hand to hand stance as she ‘attacked’ the punching bag before her. She could tell that she wasn’t truly knowing what she was doing, but she was trying her best.

Despite remembering what happened during that...incredibly awkward...New Year’s Party where she was not only groped, but made to grope the girl she was watching. Her fingers twitched as she remembered how soft her breasts were…

She shook her head fiercely to banish the thoughts and lingering phantom sensations away, needing to focus on the ‘now’ rather than back then.

Seeing her attempt to punch the bag she was using in a mediocre fashion, she decided to step in and see if she could help. Not only was her form somewhat painful to look at, but they should be helping one another. And honestly, the girl was incredibly sweet and nice to be around, so it couldn’t be that bad, could it?

The sounds of flesh hitting flesh filled the room as every single person there palmed their own faces. No words were said, but the act was enough, leaving a flustered Elm sitting there awkwardly in the quiet, before she continued, not wanting to be told things like ‘you doomed yourself’, or ‘why did you tempt fate?’

Elm didn’t find this too difficult so far; she had helped others back in Atlas with their hand to hand before, though she was referring to the actions of teaching...the fact that she was dealing with one of the bounciest students she’d ever had. She knew the girl was wearing a sports bra, she could see the lining bleeding through the shirt she was wearing, but it was doing nothing to contain her considerable assets.

This was going to be more awkward than she thought.

But she persevered, doing her damnedest to focus on teaching the girl how to throw a good punch without leaving herself open. After a good hour of that, though, she ended up damning herself by suggesting grappling training.

“Oh god...f-fuck!” the twins moaned, clutching themselves as they both tipped over the edge and collapsed onto the floor, cumming from the mere thought of having a ‘grappling’ match with the blonde.

Not that anyone else mocked them, each of them were rock hard and dark spots were visible on their night clothes from the thought as well…

“Argh!” with a decidedly cute battle cry (not that Elm would ever say it) Joan launched herself forwards, throwing her body against her and trying to take her down to the mat, which she allowed, letting the blonde pin her and hold her down.

Despite the fact that this was supposed to be training, Elm bit the inside of her cheek as her balls reminded her that she hadn’t cum in the past week or so due to the fact that she was so busy, her cock hard and straining against her gym shorts, her balls churning from the need they had.

She did her best to ignore it. She could strangle her dick until her balls were shrunken down to raisins in her sack later.

“Good. Now, we’re going to try this once more, as a full on spar, okay?” she said, smiling at the blonde as they both stood, Joan nodding seriously and taking her spot across from her, taking her stance as did Elm.

Elm wasn’t going to take it easy on her, but she also wasn’t going to go all out, either. That was no way to learn.

Both stared at one another for several moments, before they moved.

The sound of flesh striking flesh filled the air as Elm clashed with Joan, forearms pressing against one another as both worked for their advantage, before breaking away a bit from each other, looking for weaknesses in each other’s form.

Elm was rather impressed due to how much the blonde had learned in the short lesson, how she had managed to absorb what she had been taught and was able to keep up with her...granted, she was holding back a fair bit at the moment, but-

Dark eyes widened as a busty blonde leapt at her, the mere act stunning her enough that she was slammed into and taken down to the mat, her head smooshed into a sweaty cleavage (one that she realized smelled good, a natural sweetness that made her cock twitch), and she tried to free herself as she heard the blonde giggle. “Submit, or I’ll use my secret technique I learned from my Auntie~!”

Breaking away, she managed a smile, even as her cock spurted precum into her compression panties. “You’re not winning that easily, Joan!” though she found herself spun onto her stomach (how had she?) and brought up to her knees, her ass pushed into the air.

She barely managed to feel a fleeting sense of embarrassment before she heard something terrifying and seductive at the same time. “Auntie Cynthia’s Technique: Internal Relaxation!” before she jerked as her ass was breached, gym shorts, panties, and all, and pulsing pleasure slamming into her prostate, radiating outwards, filling her balls, before her eyes rolled up and she moaned helplessly as everything in her balls evacuated in seconds, blackness creeping in as she heard Joan’s cheerful voice saying...something, before she blacked out.

“I woke up with Joan hovering over me worriedly, and then visited the nurse on duty afterwards…” Elm admitted, her voice shamed, her cheeks a visible red despite her darker skin, “And Joan…whatever she did managed to drain me to the point that I’m apparently going to be shooting dry for at least a week. There’s nothing left in my balls at the moment...I’ll need to go in every few days to get checked out.” she buried her face in her hands from embarrassment, the emotion radiating off of her in waves.

Everyone around her was swallowing hard, their lower garments tented, dark spots on all of them, each of them squirming in their seats and shamefully fantasizing about having a ‘hand to hand’ training match with Joan that resulted in the exact same end…

Even if they couldn’t cum properly for a week, the price would be worth it...wouldn’t it?

Coughing into her hand, Lian looked at the group. “Th-Thank you for sharing your story with us, Elm...the meeting is adjourned.” she needed to deal with her hard on, and fast. Thankfully though, Joan was away from the dorm for the night...and with the look Nora was giving her? That was good.

...She’d have to apologize to Pyrrha later for the fact that the redhead definitely wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight.

#Patreon Reward #Pure Support Group #Joan Arc #Elm Ederne

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newtonsheffield · 9 months

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The new Mile High chapter was great for so many reasons.

Anthony's anxiety and insecurity... *sigh* May someone, and by someone I mean Kate, hug him?

Kate's tenderness and consideration towards Anthony.

Their playfulness, bickering and (un)intentional sexual innuendos.

Kate's tattoo and scar? Can't wait to learn what's the story behind both of them.

Ben being a supportive younger brother - even though Anthony thinks Ben is just being annoying and nosy.

The Mars bar? Absolutely hilarious. I assume once they are in a committed relationship, the Mars bar is used as a code word for sex. They are in public and want to let each other know that they are horny, so one of them asks "Do you have the Mars bar, by any chance?".

All in all, absolutely loved it! ❤️‍🔥

Thank you, Molly! Enjoy your weekend and the time with your father.

Kate just clearing her throat as they’re going through security like “Ant, Babe, I think I’m going to need a Mars Bar after work tonight.”

Anthony bit back a smirk, “But you had a Mars Bar before we left the hotel.”

“Kate it’s 5am, what the fuck were you eating a Mars Bar for?!” Edwina cut in blinking. “And you shouldn’t be telling her what to eat.”

“Don’t get involved.” Sophie hissed, “A Mars Bar is clearly sex.”

Edwina’s face fell, “You two are disgusting.”

I know a couple of you have been wondering in the comments but yes: The scar along Kate’s ribs is related to the reason she’s no longer in the RAF and this is going to be discussed more in the next chapter for sure.

Ben is maybe the only one of Anthony’s siblings that actually sees how much he’s struggling. How much he was actually effected by what happened with him and their Dad. They all notice that there’s been a shift in Anthony recently, but Ben and Daphne also get invited out with Anthony and you know, Kate just happens to be at the same bar, it’s not a date, she’s just there, and he’s just there. And maybe Anthony buys her drinks and sits with his arm around her shoulder. And Ben notices how Kate snatches a single coaster off the bar when they pick up the round, but she doesn’t put it under her own drink. She puts a fresh coaster under Anthony’s drink, lines it up squarely in front of him and gets rid of the old, soggy coaster without even blinking. But she notices Ben staring at her later, when Anthony’s in the bathroom.

“What?”

Kate rolled her eyes, “You’re staring at me, and I’m super flattered and very much showing my hand here but I’m really into Anthony.”

Ben tutted, “I’m not staring at you like that I just… You notice him.”

Kate blinked, “He’s very cute, he’s hard not to notice.”

“Not like that. You just… You care about him, care about making him comfortable.”

Kate’s face softened, “Well, he cares about me too. He… I have some shit going on and he’s helped me… appreciate my new life so… yeah.”

“And you two aren’t together why?”

Kate shrugged, “I have a feeling we’ll get there.”

#mile high #kathony #anthony x kate #kate sharma #kate sheffield #anthony bridgerton #molly’s asks and answers

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ryverbind · 11 months

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Faceless Fixation {Sal Fisher}: Careful [12]

Honestly, Dark Autumn Complex is doing it right. They aren't in a giant hotel/casino mashup where all of the big guys perform, they're in a little bar down the strip. Still enough room for tons of people, but it isn't crawling with bodies like bugs under my fucking skin.

And it's a really nice bar, by the way. Mostly an indoor venue, but they have a little patio right in front of New York, New York-- and also some really tasty looking chicken wings.

My only complaint is the copious and nauseating amount of liquid covering the floor. Yea, people are living it up in here, but I think they're living a little too hard. This is definitely a toxic mixture of vomit, alcohol, and urine-- but I'm not the one who's going to actually confirm that.

Todd, on the other hand...

"For fuck's sake," the man hisses, taking knee-to-chest steps through the nasty flood on the floor. "I shouldn't have come. It'll take me weeks to get this stench off of my shoes."

"Oh, come on Toddler. It's not that bad," Larry harumphs, elbowing an unamused Todd in the ribs.

I snort, shaking my foot out after passing through a particularly goopy substance. Is this even real? It has to be a fever dream. "Actually, it is that bad, Lar. Even The Hangover wasn't this over the top."

Larry rolls his eyes next to me. "You're just a bunch of weaklings. Right, Sal?"

My head drops down at the sound of his name. I'll only add to the mess on the floor if I so much as look at him. He really hurt my feelings, and it's embarrassing to admit that.

The man doesn't say a word, but then again, none of us should have expected him to. He's a little... no. I shouldn't be angry, I should be upset. He hurt my damn feelings. More importantly, I should be focused on why his words hurt so damn bad. It's not like I expect something better from him.

Why do I have expectations at all in regards to him?

Not to mention, there's the daunting fact that he's finally texted Lexi. I don't know what to do-- I don't even think I want to reply. But unfortunately, there's a part of me that would feel horrible for making Lexi ghost him when he clearly cares about her to some degree.

Too many questions, not enough answers, and way too many worries. I'll file this all away in my cabinet titled Later.

Our group continues to push through the crowd. We're about an hour early, as per request on behalf of Ash who's hoping to find hot girls. Can't hate on the game, I just hope I have a bed to sleep in tonight.

I watch my every move, all three boys trailing behind me as I walk along the sopping ground. The LED's flash across feet and skin, and more importantly, the slick floor makes the light reflections seem even brighter. That means I'm blinded the entire way with only a few moments of relief and clarity.

There's one step I take in which my foot catches against something, so I desperately grab onto Ash's forearm to keep myself steady. She doesn't even look back, just lets me hold onto her-- I guess she's used to having me around already. That's cute. So, I balance myself then let go, traipsing through this toxic quarry of sorts.

Something I've never learned, no matter how many times it's made itself known to me, is to never trust myself. Or my feet, for that matter. If there's an open opportunity for me to be clumsy, my body will absolutely break in two to ruin my day and everyone else's.

Our prime example tonight is when I slip on a meticulous placed slice of banana bread that has had a wonderful time soaking up all the liquids on the floor.

The entire ordeal mimics the classic banana peel take-down. I mean-- really. My hands fly up, my legs about damn near follow me as I start flying toward the ground, unable to catch myself with Ash's arm this time.

I'm bracing for impact and a nasty swim in the thick contents below when hands slide under my arms, catching me right before I can hit the ground.

There's an awkward beat of silence where I'm hanging from hands with my ass hovering over the ground. I take a breath and glance up. Another beat of silence when I see that it's Sally who caught me.

He's leaned over me, watching me with agitated, narrowed eyes and his fluffy hair falling around his face. His fingers are digging into the flesh of my arms, his rings cold against my skin. The way heat envelops me in a millisecond both pisses me off and has me fighting for a way to get out of this situation.

I huff out a frustrated breath, blowing my hair away from my mouth and slapping a glare onto my face that I know he'll be able to see in my gaze. And then those infuriatingly pretty eyes of his roll before he puts some weight onto my arms, helping me back into a standing position.

I bite the inside of my cheek when he pulls his hands away from me quickly. I hate how much I enjoy his touch, but I blame the accent. I blame the style. I blame the allure. I blame it all. Even the asshole personality.

And I sure as hell am not about to thank him after what he said to me earlier. So I dust off my skirt, making sure it didn't manage to touch the... secretions... on the floor. But as I'm double-checking myself, he grumbles out, "Careful."

My head snaps to the side to look at him so aggressively that I'm worried I've snapped my neck for a moment. Did he really just say that? Have the gates of hell opened up on earth? Is this the end of times? Because there's no fucking way he just told me to be careful.

"Damn, Vi," Larry breaks my stare-off with Sal for a moment as he walks around us. He claps a hand on my shoulder, a gorgeous grin plastered on his lips that distracts me for just a second, only a second. "Falling for me already?"

"If that was me falling for you, then this has to be a Stockholm Syndrome thing because there's no way I wasn't going to slip on this floor," I reply, cocking an eyebrow when his smile falls into a pout.

"Awe, c'mon. You wouldn't be complaining so much if you actually fell," he notes, tilting his head inquisitively. "In fact, you'd be doing a backstroke right about now had you hit the floor."

No wonder he and Sal are best friends.

Todd walks past Larry, cackling the entire way as he passes us up. And Larry knows he's won, so he raises his eyebrows, a sly smirk pulling his lips as he turns away to catch up with Ash.

And then it's just me and Sal again.

I watch him closely, waiting for him to say something since he's looking at me like he has words just on the tip of his tongue. And then I hear a syllable leave his undoubtedly pretty mouth and immediately cut him off with, "If you're going to be a cunt, you might as well shut the fuck up right now because I'm absolutely in the mood to punch you in the middle of all these people."

He looks confused, shocked for a moment. I can even see his eyebrows because they're scrunched together, but then he seems to understand my words and proceeds to roll his eyes so hard that it literally looks painful.

"Larry gave you enough hell," he says shortly, adjusting his stance as he regards me with those forever irritated blue eyes. "I was going to say, do you remember what I said to you? That shitty stuff?"

Is this some kind of trick question? Because who could possibly forget the shit he said to me? But then again-- he just acknowledged that it was shitty... what kind of Sal Fisher am I witnessing right now?

I watch him with wary eyes, too afraid to look into the angry facade of his because just beneath that facade is an actual drop of vulnerability. And I don't think I like seeing him this open and fucking... fucking understanding.

"I guess that's a stupid question," he mumbles to himself, never breaking our eye contact. But then he sighs and speaks yet again. "I saved you. That's all the apology you're going to get."

A weight so heavy lifts from my soul and I feel like I'll start floating any second now. The barbed wire around my heart loosens, the boulders bouncing around my brain shrink. And I'm left with feelings I don't want to have, but feelings that are welcomed either way. I feel like, for the first time, Sal and I are on even ground. We both know something was wrong, and he even apologized, even if that apology was saving me from social suicide and reminding me to be careful. He wanted to make up for the way he broke me earlier. And he did.

And I also want to say that finding common ground with Sal is fucking weird.

"This is weird," I voice, suddenly tensing up over the awkwardness floating around us.

Sally's eyes close with relief and he seems to relax just a bit. "It is fucking weird. So can we forget about today and just continue the way we have been?"

"Oh, for fuck's sake. That's even weirder," I sputter out, taking a quick step away from him as my heart flutters over his words. I can't believe his willingness to let bygones be bygones is so fucking hot to me. Maybe it's because this is something I didn't think I'd ever get from him. I'm not sure. "Yes, fuck, anything to stop you from being sentimental. Please."

"Cool. Glad we agree," he grumbles, looking up and past me. Then he actually starts walking, intent on passing me.

But my eyes bug out of my head. "No, not cool! I don't fucking want us to agree-- just shut up. Stop fucking talking," I grit out as he passes me, turning to walk behind him.

Sal's head turns, eyes acknowledging me with disbelief. His voice is higher-pitched and filled with aggravation as he says, "How are you going to tell me to shut up when you fucking never do it yourself? Hypocrisy isn't cute."

"Oh, yea?" I retort, folding my arms against my chest as heat wells in my chest. He really is always fighting me, and he should be thanking me right now. I was just trying to end whatever weird shit was just happening. "Don't talk about hypocrisy Mr. I-Want-To-Fuck-You-But-I-Don't. Go try that one on for size."

"Didn't I just tell you to forget that?" he says exasperatedly. "Do you deliberately ignore every bit of sound advice you get?"

"If it's coming from you-- hell yea, I ignore it," I snort, stopping my walking when we finally catch up with Ash, Larry, and Todd who are standing in front of the stage.

Sal turns to me with fury burning in his eyes and I relish in it. This is normal. This is back to what we were doing just earlier today. No apologies, no forgiveness-- just going back to what we know.

"Wow, yea." He says, showing off dramatic jazz hands. "That sounds about right. Dumb bitch can't do anything but tear herself apart."

"Boo hoo," I answer, placing my hands on my hips. This is a good one. No one can hear us so we can just wail away on each other-- keeps me busy. It's pretty fun too. Exercises my funny bone. "Sounds like something the selfish prick would say. Assume that everyone's falling apart while he's so put-together, right?"

"You--" Sal starts, voice piercing straight through me with its sheer ferocity, but he cuts himself off with a frustrated groan, eyeing me with a sickening glare the entire time. "What fucking ever. Just shut up."

"Happy to know I won," I chirp, smiling sweetly at him.

I'm sure he's about to burst and reign hell on me, but a security guard approaches us. A flash of fear slams into me and I shrink in on myself when I realize this guy has probably been watching Sally and I yell back and forth at each other for a few minutes.

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Sally dip his head down too, a sign of nerves and shame. Hm. Serves him right.

The security guard, a huge and burly man that somehow stands a bit taller than Larry stops in front of Sally and I. He has an impenetrable glare in his eyes and a face so emotionless that it sickens me just thinking about how strong he must be.

And worse, he isn't looking at me. His grey eyes are dead set on Sally beside me.

I gulp, a chill running down my spine as the guard crosses his arms over his chest. Sal looks like he's about to literally start shaking and, hell, I don't blame him. I'm not far off from doing the same.

Sally's the type to put up a fight, clearly, but sometimes you have to know when fighting is no use. When fighting means you'll get thrown into a hospital. This is that time and I've never viewed this asshole as intellectual before, but I think he's making a good call by holding off right now.

Eyes still set on the bluenette, the security guard finally speaks in a deep, booming, authoritative voice. "I need you to come with me," he says to Sally and I feel like I'm going to shit myself.

Holy crap, I do not want to end my night on this type of scenario. With the fact that I got the notorious Sally Face arrested. I do not want that sitting on my conscience because the second this motherfucker gets out of jail, he's coming for me. Aw, fuck.

I watch the security guard with a gaping mouth, noting the way Sally's eyes widen. They're so big right now that I'm a tad worried they'll roll right out of his face, but I focus on getting out of dodge first.

"Um," I mumble shakily, shrinking back a bit more. I'm so going to throw up once this is done. "Is everything okay, sir? Are we in trouble?"

My main goal is to not die right now. And if the man who hates me most gets arrested or something tonight, I won't have a head in a few days. There's no doubt.

Okay, sure, I'm probably really overreacting but anyone would be in this situation. I mean this guy is huge and so, so intimidating.

The security guard looks down at me with aggravation and confusion flashing across his face. He raises a blonde eyebrow that could cut air and suddenly I think that vomit sesh I was saving for later is going to happen now.

"Who the hell are you?" He asks, looking down at me and squinting his eyes. "I'm here to grab the blue-haired kid in the mask and the really tall, super emo, questionably buff guy."

I blanch for a moment, staring up at the behemoth security guard that I just embarrassed myself in front of. What did Sal and Larry do? Are they both about to get arrested?

I glance over at Sally and he matches my gaze, shrugging subtly. His blue eyes are filled with wariness and concern as he turns his eyes back to the man.

And then the security guard looks like he's about to drop kick both of us, if his horrifyingly intimidating glare is a hint at anything, that is.

"Come on," he growls out, making me flinch in fear. "North wants you," he points to Sal, "and the really massive emo guy with the Dave Grohl hair. Can you hurry the fuck up?"

My eyes widen. Oh, for fuck's sake. Dark Autumn Complex's lead singer asked for Larry and Sal, which, hold on, how do they know that the boys are here? Is that even possible?

My eyes narrow as quickly as they previously widened. Something's weird about this.

I watch Sally from the corner of my eye, noting the relief that swamps his pretty azure irises. He puts a hand to his chest and breathes deep, throwing his head over his shoulder to call for Larry who turns to us with a raised eyebrow.

Larry sees the giant security guard and stiffens up like a Tom and Jerry character come to life. It's comical up until the guy gets into position to bolt out of dodge.

He crouches down and sets his right foot forward, ready to race through the crowd to escape the security guard. But right now, when North is asking for him, and with this freaky guy retrieving him-- that doesn't need to happen.

Sally groans and motions Larry over, shaking his head at the taller guy. "It's just North," Sal reassures. "He wants us for something. I don't know what."

Larry doesn't look convinced, but he walks over to our small group. "So he fucking sent the 'roid mall cop after us? Does he not know me and my history with the justice system?" He scoffs and glances over at the security guard who looks like he's barely holding back some unyielding rage. "I'm with Vi on this one man, I'm totally an anarchist."

"Larry," I hiss, heat enveloping my cheeks as a very real and very concerning tsunami of genuine fear for my life slams into me. Why would he say that in front of the justice system he supposedly has a bad relationship with? And why the hell did he have to rope me into it? "Shut the fuck up. Just go with the 'roid--" I cough, eyes close to flying out of my head because of my mistake. It's not my fault that the nickname stuck, but it's definitely damning. Fucking hell, Larry. "Just go with this nice security guard." I smile, wide and fake as fuck as I look over at said security guard who's hands are fisted at his sides. I grimace and glance back at Sal and Larry who look like deer caught in headlights. "Now," I grit out.

Both boys are clambering after the security guard in seconds. Larry may be a heathen and Sal may be clueless, but at least they were smart enough to read that play.

I heave a sigh of relief as both boys disappear into the crowd. I've never had trouble with police before in my life and I'd really like to keep it that way.

But as I walk forward to meet Ash and Todd, I think of a couple things.

My friends are standing right behind the barrier that separates us from the stage. We're as close as we can possibly get, and even that is way too close for me. Meeting my idols is something I sincerely don't want to do because I'll probably pass out. The thought of embarrassing myself in front of someone so amazing feels like a death sentence, so I'd like to avoid making eye contact with North, South, and/or East.

Maybe I haven't mentioned it before, but all three members of Dark Autumn Complex choose to go by one of the four main cardinal directions on a compass. The only member, or direction, they're missing is West. Whether they're looking for someone to fill the spot or just didn't want a member to be compared to Jade West, I'll never know. But why wouldn't someone want to be compared to Jade West?

To each their own, I suppose.

The point is that I don't know the reasoning behind their names, but the way it goes is: North is the singer and guitarist, East is the bassist, and South is the drummer. That's how it's always been.

I step up next to Ash, wrapping my fingers around the cool, metal barricade. Multiple neon colors flash around us as the crowd grows thicker. And as a result, the little swimming pool at our feet grows thicker too. You know, maybe I wouldn't let Ash buy me new clothes... but I think I'll let her buy me some new shoes after this fiasco. This is quite unique.

Our concert grows closer with each passing second. Ash and Todd meet some fans in the crowd while I hide away, trying to pretend I'm some random woman in a mask. Sally and Larry never return. I'm assuming they'll stay backstage... but then again, I still have some questions I'd like to have answered. And there are quite a few...

Do North, Larry, and Sally know each other? I mean, for the guys to be called backstage, they must be acquainted somehow. But since they are, why hadn't they mentioned that they knew Dark Autumn Complex personally?

Larry said that he could get me backstage, but I thought that was a farce. I still fucking think it's a farce. My spidey senses are tingling and there's something that just doesn't add up.

For example, again, no one mentioned that anyone was friends with Dark Autumn Complex. Another eyebrow raising detail is that Ash and Todd didn't get asked backstage. Why? Do Ash and Todd know about the connection too? Maybe they don't if they haven't brought up the friendship either...

I tap on Ash's shoulder once I notice a group of girls walk away from her. My gorgeous, jade-eyed and strawberry-lipped friend turns to me with a stunning smile gracing her angelic face. She looks down at me, tilting her head in question as she waits patiently for me to say something.

But I narrow my eyes. Everyone's a suspect in my non-murder mystery right now.

"Are Sal, Larry, and DAC friends or something?" I ask, pressing my lips into a thin line.

Ash's brows furrow and that's my first red flag. Why the hell is she doing that?

But then she says, "Didn't they tell you about that? We're all friends with Dark Autumn Complex." Her voice is just as sweet and tender as always. In fact, she seems a little shocked at the fact that I'm new to this information.

"Yea, no. I just thought you were all fans," I chew on my bottom lip, contemplating the friendship confirmation. "Well, why didn't North invite you and Todd backstage?"

Ash shrugs, not too worried about that apparently. "North and Sal are buddies because they both play guitar. North's been waiting for, like, ages to see what talent Sal has. And Larry has some history in music. That's why Sal brings him along for practice-- Lar has really good ears and can tune a guitar to fucking perfection. With all of those similar interests, North, Sal, and Larry naturally got closer than Todd or I were able to." A smile pulls at her lips again. "I'm good friends with East, but I have time to meet him later."

I raise my eyebrows at that last bit of information. After all, Ash answered all my questions so I feel much better. All the gaps are filled in and there are no more red flags.

"Oh?" I say suggestively. "And how close are you, exactly, to East?" My lips stretch into a little smirk when Ash rolls her eyes at my teasing. She's just so easy to offend.

"Not like that, you little slut," she jokes, winking at me.

"Oooouuu," I hum, leaning closer to her with a little grin. "Call me that again."

Poor Ash groans, rolling her eyes yet again as she throws an arm around my shoulders. "Shut up. I can't believe you're so into degradation." Her voice falls into a mumble as I look up at her with a smile, but her next words nearly make me choke. "Sal would love you." She shakes her head and looks down at me. I struggle to slap a stoic expression onto my face after hearing that. I have way too much information. I was hoping my new knowledge would stop after finding out that DAC and The Faces are buddies.

But, then again, my entire body warms at her words. While it's shocking information, it's also very interesting information.

"Anyway," Ash cuts off my thoughts. "It really isn't like that. I am so not into guys. Sometimes I find that one in a million, but, fuck, it's hard. I much prefer women."

I shrug, still reeling over whatever it was she let slip about Sally. I might as well just throw "Sally Face (Sal Fisher) has a degrading kink" into a file cabinet to save for later when I'll actually have the time and desire to mull over that.

"I don't blame you," I decide to tell Ash. "Men really suck sometimes."

Ash scoffs like she's just had an epiphany. "They really fucking do!" she exclaims, throwing her free arm up into the air.

I'm about to yap about the topic a bit more to distract myself when the neon lights over the crowd suddenly shut off. They're all pointing to the stage in front of us now.

When the hell did Dark Autumn Complex walk out here?

All three characters are set up on their respective sides of the stage and I suddenly feel like I'm going to throw up again. They all look so immaculate, so pretty, so mysterious.

My stomach turns with a mix of nervousness and excitement. A group I genuinely look up to is standing less than six feet away from me, doing some last minute checks on their equipment. My head feels fuzzy and I almost keel over with the way my heart repeatedly slams into my ribcage. I've never had this opportunity before in my life. I can't help but imagine if this is how I would have felt meeting The Faces for the first time if we were never friends.

I'm about to take in and observe their dark clothing when a screen lights up behind the band with HELLO written in big bold letters. This is interesting.

All I'm able to see before turning my attention to the screen is the striking, electric blue of North's guitar as the light catches it. Holy hell, that's a nice instrument.

North turns their body to the side, holding out a hand that gestures up to the screen. They glance at the crowd over their shoulder, then look back to the screen.

A booming voice is heard over a speaker and I almost shit myself for a second, the sound so loud that I have to cover my ears. But then, Ash, Todd, and I are all cackling. No fucking way.

"Hello Dark Autumn Complex bitches and cunts! My name is Larry Johnson. You may know me from the online streaming group called The Faces," Larry's stupid ass voice is full of confidence and pride as he snarkily opens up for the band. Wow. I don't even blame DAC for having him do this. If anyone could engage a crowd, it's definitely Larry. "If you'll all kindly turn your attention to the screen, I'm going to walk you through some rules that Dark Autumn Complex has set up for this little concert of theirs." Suddenly, Larry groans. "Ugh. Rules. Fucking boring, right?"

North drops their hand and shakes their head as the crowd starts to giggle. Like I said, Larry is perfect for this kind of job.

The screen changes from HELLO to some other stuff that Larry very sweetly explains with his adorably snarky gamer voice.

"So, first up, if you couldn't tell, no one from the band is going to talk. They want to keep their identity completely concealed, so as a precaution, you will only be hearing their instruments and singing." Larry's a bit more serious. I find myself admiring the way he knows when to be more tactful regarding sensitive or important information. It comes off as very genuine and so sweet. He cares. "They also want to say that they're extremely appreciative of your attendance tonight."

The crowd cheers and I do too. All of the screaming and clapping is infectious, even more so when North bows to the crowd, followed by East who waves at everyone, and finally South who puts a drum stick in the air.

"Next and finally," Larry begins again. "As you can see, there is a microphone in front of North who also, obviously has a mask on." The high self-esteem is reflected in Larry's voice again, an amused lilt in his tone. "The microphone is a fucking prop, you haters. Let that man pretend he's singing into it and not the little tiny microphone taped to his face under the mask, okay? He's a sensitive little guy and absolutely needed to have the prop or else it was going to, in his words, feel weird."

Okay, so North is a guy. Good to know.

North visibly cringes, throwing his arms up in exasperation as he turns back to the screen. I just know he's cursing Larry in his mind. No doubt about it.

Larry cackles a bit scarily before ending his opening segment. "But without further ado, I present to you, Dark Autumn Complex in all their might and glory."

The packed crowd around us cheers. Ash throws an arm around my shoulder and screams at the top of her lungs, so I join her. My eyes never stray from the stage filled with exceptionally hot looking musicians who are looking between each other as the audience quiets down.

They're all in black-- no other colors. Straight black clothing, which makes them all the more appealing. From what I can tell, based on where I am, East, the bassist, is exceptionally tall. But North and South are about average height. Other than that, there's nothing else of note other than their insanely elaborate masks.

It's clear that they have some other kind mask on to hide their hair-- probably black ski masks-- and then another mask on top of that. I can't see them all that well, but even from here the colors are gorgeous and it just feels like they must have been expensive.

North's mask is red, gold, and black. I can see some kind of drawing on part of it, but can't tell what it is exactly. The same goes for the other members-- East who's wearing a primarily black mask with white and gold, and finally South who's sporting dark blue with white and gold. Other than their colors, all three masks match.

We love hot people.

I feel like I'm going to happy vomit everywhere when East starts up a song with this sick riff on his bass. Even better, it's my favorite song by them. The same song, in fact, that made me so upset the other day. Wherein Christine Daaé Became Her Own Phantom.

I sing the lyrics as the rest of the band kicks up the song. It's crazy to see them live and realize they sound just as good in real life as they do in a recording. That's such a flex, considering so many people sound much different when they get out on stage. For their very first concert, they don't seem nervous about it at all and that helps the crowd become more immersed, makes the music so much better.

DAC goes through a few of their songs, some older and some newer, like the song they released about a month ago. I'm all jitters and a fluttering heart during the entire set, finding that my eyes never stray from the amazing band rocking about on the small stage.

They've gone through most of their songs after about forty-five minutes and at this point, I'm assuming that our concert is over. I'm already expecting the worst case of post-concert depression to hit me in a few seconds here, especially when the screen pops on behind all three band members again. And, naturally, this is followed by Larry's voice.

"Alrighty, sluts and whores," he starts happily. I roll my eyes but let a smile envelop my face anyway. "You're in luck tonight. While DAC may be ending this amazing fucking concert soon, they've decided to play a brand new song for you. From what I've heard, they've been working very hard on it. So be grateful, for fuck's sake!"

A new song? Really? Here, out in the middle of Vegas?

"The name of this new song, which also happens to be my favorite so far, is 'Actually Carrie Underwood Doesn't Like Me," Larry giggles a bit over the name. "Another insane title. I'm fucking pumped."

I look over at Ash who looks like she's about to have a brain orgasm. Then I look at Todd who probably couldn't care less, but he has a little light in his dark gaze that says he might be really excited about this.

I glance back up to the stage as my feet go numb. It might be excitement, or it might be from having to slosh around in liquid for nearly two hours. Maybe it could be both. But the point is that a shiver runs through my entire body, electrifying me in a way that's so addicting that I wish there were a way for me to make this concert last forever. It's going to hurt so bad to walk out of here and go back to the hotel later.

My attention and gaze are solely focused on North as he starts the song with a serene little melody on that gorgeous, electric blue guitar.

And almost immediately, before I can even take a moment to appreciate the short guitar solo, everything turns metal as fuck. And I'd go as far as to say that this is the hardest song the band has ever made. Yea, they're a rock band and they put out some really good and heavy hitting stuff, but this is different. This is angry.

"Look at what I've become-- My mother's careful knitting is undone. Sixty stitches and a price never paid, Might as well have sliced me with a blade.

All gaping wounds and pity, Disgust has never looked so pretty. My own disgust or theirs; Or is it just hospital rooms and wheelchairs?"

I officially think I'm with Ash on the mind-jizz bit. This is good. It's deep, it's angry, it's got that hidden meaning that no one will ever understand. It's something that only the writer will only be able to fully comprehend. Even if they would tell someone else what it was about, it'll never compare to everything that goes on inside their head when they think of this song.

"Self-inflicted cuts and scars, Just like the first which left me marred. So sick of the metallic taste Of the way I'm two-faced.

Bursting with hopes and regrets Falling through like fingers in fishnets. Regard myself as something to dispose of-- You think me a disgrace, don't you, my love?"

Leave it to DAC to fuck with my head again. As always.

I nearly crumble to the floor again-- this time with no one to catch me. The second North screams out the word 'fishnets' and grabs onto that prop microphone of his to get into the moment, I feel my heart skip a beat. My head is suddenly filled with memories of Sally weaving his fingers through my own fishnets just yesterday night. It feels silly to immediately remember that scene because of a song, but how couldn't I? The lyrics are literally the same as what happened to me.

And in the long run, that's the entire reason music exists. So it can resonate within those who find their own meaning in the lyrics. So others can create something from a pre-determined scenario. Make it their own.

But hell, I really don't want to think about that asshole while I'm trying to enjoy this new, really amazing song that one of my favorite bands just dropped. Live and in person.

"There's a monster in your bed, In your head, It's me-- Too bad I'm not dead.

Shove my face in a pillow case And curse the human race. Why'd I have to suffer? Why the character development to make me tougher?"

Ash is gripping onto my wrist so tightly that my arm is starting to tingle. She's excited and so am I. What's there not to like about dark lyrics and angry riffs?

We all listen closely, literally everyone on the floor. East is standing in front of South and they watch each other, playing wonderfully and completely invested in the music they're making. Meanwhile, North walks languidly across the stage, ditching the prop microphone and singing into the one that actually works instead. It's a win-win-- he can still sing, but he can focus on playing his guitar rather than fucking around with something that doesn't even work.

I can't help but watch him, my gaze never falling away from North's every movement. His hands expertly playing his flashy guitar, his head tilted down to watch his finger movement, and his black dress shoes taking calculated steps. I've never seen a musician wear dress shoes in the middle of a concert before in my life, but I'm certainly not complaining.

Regardless, it's very interesting.

"Years of therapy couldn't fix me-- No llores por mi. Such a futile attempt at a kill, Was it really worth the thrill?"

No way did this suddenly hot individual just spit out Spanish in the middle of a song. Is he single? If so, I think I'd like to change that. Anyway--

"All I am is rage and revenge-- Every little bit of me is unhinged. I'd say there's nothing to fear, But I'm no Shakespeare.

There's a monster in your bed, In your head, Blood red, Filled with dread. It's me, And you'll wish I was dead."

No. Nope. Absolutely not. I don't have some stupid celebrity crush on a person I've never met because they're openly not shallow and just as torn apart as I am. Not at all. Not a chance.

But the way North shuts his eyes and tilts his head to the ceiling as he sing into the microphone again does something to me. Makes a little corner of my brain light up. Sends shivers through my body. And I really don't like any of it, but what can I do? The heart wants what it wants. It's all shallow feelings anyway. For all I know, North could be the complete opposite of what I want in a person. Not to mention, he's already way out of my league.

"Some things cease, others never end, But my broken brain and diced up heart won't mend. You needn't expect much-- I'll never get too close to touch.

It's over now; Fatal words for your vow. So sick, I don't know how... Never anything more than thou."

I stare up at the stage with stars in my eyes, nearly jumping out of my skin when North makes eye contact with me for just a split second-- then he moves on and most likely makes eye contact with a ton of other fans too. It's nothing special. He's doing what all musicians do and looking out at his fans. Sudden eye contact is nothing rare. Just subtle.

The music calms down, just an eerily slow and melancholic mixture of notes that North and East meld together on their instruments. And then, the next lyrics are whispered. So soft, so terrifying, so angry-- but calm.

"There's a monster in my bed, In my head, Held together by a thread, A fucked path I tread, Memory of where I once bled. It's me. You better fucking hope I'm dead, Before I slaughter the monster I once fled."

I nearly yelp when the LEDs suddenly shut off, leaving everyone in a pitch black room where only the bartenders have lights. And with the sea of people around me, those distant lights are just a speck of dust in this abyss.

But then, music starts playing on the speakers again-- The Misfits, I think-- and the LEDs snap back on. But the entire band is off-stage. They're gone. Disappeared without a fucking trace.

I blink at the empty stage, noting the perturbed sounds of confusion flitting about me from other fans. It sucks that they left so quickly, but at the same time, this adds to the mysterious air that the band carries. I want so badly to find them hiding in the crowd. I want to sneak backstage and get into their room. I want to run off to the bathroom and hope that, by some ridiculous chance, I bump into one of the members.

And more than anything, I'd love to see North again.

I turn to talk to Ash, finding her pretty glossed lips set in a frown. Bet she'd be shocked if I kissed that frown off her right now.

"What's with the disappearing act?" I ask her, watching as she turns to me, that frown of hers morphing into a quizzical look.

"I actually don't know," she murmurs, looking over her shoulder to see Todd talking to someone, probably another fan. "But something about that giant hunk of man heading this way tells me that we might be able to find out," she continues, voice dropping to a seductive little whisper. I look over her shoulder with her, noting that the same intimidating security guard that scooped up Sal and Larry earlier is headed this way.

I grimace. Okay, so yea, I wanted to disappear and find Dark Autumn Complex two seconds ago but if this guy brings us backstage to actually meet them, I'm going to spontaneously combust. I can't meet a famous person. I can't meet someone I look up to like this. I'm going to make a damn fool of myself.

The security guard reaches Ash, Todd, and I. And he sighs. Fucking sighs upon making eye contact with me.

"Do I have to explain why I'm here again?" he asks, nodding over at me with a blonde eyebrow cocked. It's definitely a warning. If I want to test him right now, he's just going to fuck off and maybe throw me out of the function too.

"Nope," I tell him, my voice quiet and reserved. Very close to shaking. Fuck, someone's going to have to drag me back there because I won't be able to willingly walk backstage on my own.

My heart is pumping a thousand miles a second. At least, that's what it feels like when Ash grabs my hand with a beaming smile on her face.

Todd points behind him, saying something I can't hear to the security guard. He sends Ash and I a little wave then literally melts into the crowd.

No. No, did Todd actually just ditch us? Oh my gosh I'd much rather take a swim in this disgusting ocean at my feet.

I don't really have time to contemplate on the situation anymore as Ash gives my arm a yank, dragging me into the sea of people around us.

She and I are led through a bustling crowd, bodies crowding our every shift and turn. Lights flash all around us, Ash's hand grips tightly on mine, and it hurts too much to watch the floor crawl beneath me. It feels like I'm walking on quicksand and the solid, shadowy strangers slamming into every inch of me-- even into parts of me I didn't know I fucking had-- is making me panic.

I tilt my head up, staring at the wooden, planked ceiling above the crowd and the balcony that's left empty for people who pay for VIP seats. Must be nice.

The lights suddenly change color-- going from a normal white to red and, thus, adding an eerie touch to the already terrifying atmosphere.

Finally, Ash yanks me through a doorway, said door slamming closed me with a loud thud-- courtesy of the guard who led us back here.

"Damn," Ash breathes, so I turn to her, noting her flushed cheeks and euphoric expression. "Doesn't that just give you a rush?" she asks, looking down to me with a grin as she momentarily squints her jade irises.

I stare at her blankly. "No," I reply bluntly. "Actually, that freaks me the fuck out," I continue, squeezing my eyes shut. I want to scream. "I want to scream."

"Then do it. Not like anyone out there's gonna hear you," Ash's nonchalant response resonates in my brain and I open my eyes again, looking at her with a flabbergasted expression.

"Are you serious?" I murmur, "I can't do that here, That's social suicide."

"Just do it, Vi!" Ash happily exclaims, trying to convince me with her stare alone. "It's just us right now. Us and these guards and I fucking promise you they've seen worse than two women screaming at absolutely nothing."

I just look at her, waiting for her to say she was only kidding. But she only looks back at me, that ever-present smile on her lips and ecstatic emotions flashing through her viridian eyes.

Fuck it. It's a good way to get rid of nerves and it's just us.

"Okay," I whisper, tilting my head down a bit. "Anxiety scream on three?"

Bold of me to assume that Ash could reach peak excitement.

Ash's smile widens into a grin and I watch her eyes fill with so much excitement that I'm afraid she'll go crazy for a moment. "Anxiety scream on three."

I nod, confirming yet again as I say, "One."

"Two."

I gulp. "Three."

Ash and I both let out the most banshee-like, horror movie-worthy, tortured person screams we can possibly muster up. Not a single person flinches around us, no doubt having expected this based on our conversation. But that makes it ten times better because then it's like there's no one else there in the first place. Just me and Ash.

At some point, I need to breathe and I'm shocked Ash is still going by the time I keel over and cough up half a lung.

It's a mix of laughs and gagging over our sore and dry throats once Ash finally stops her scream. My hands are on my knees, tears in my eyes as I fight for my life to actually take a good, deep breath.

Ash has her face angled toward the ceiling as she coughs out bellowing laughs-- they're cackles, really.

I stand after a moment, pushing a hand under my mask to wipe at my wet cheeks. But then I look past Ash and notice the three people in all black standing off in a corner of the room-- all of them with three matching masks.

I sober up immediately, clearing my throat and straightening my posture. Fuck, when did they walk in?

Shit, I don't know how to react. I feel so embarrassed to have been caught recovering from a vulnerable moment. And hell, maybe they walked in while we were screaming. Fuck, that's even worse. But at the same time, I'm elated to almost nearly be face-to-face with one of my favorite bands. They don't beat Breaking Benjamin, but damn, they're so close.

It feels like falling in love. Especially when North and I's gazes connect.

Butterflies erupt from the depths of my stomach like a volcano overdue for an explosion. My cheeks heat up as I wonder if I look good enough. My hands grow clammy and my fingers begin to shake, and a very specific type of fuzziness in my head accompanies my racing heart.

I don't know what to say. I suddenly would rather walk out of the room and brave thousands of bodies than actually accept this chance to meet one of my favorite bands. I mean, they aren't going to talk to me anyway. They'll probably just watch me as I babble. Yea, it's better to just leave. I'm five feet away from them-- that's close enough to meeting to me. Time to go.

As I take a single step back, all three band members eyes on me, Ash grabs my hand and keeps me rooted in place. I look up to her, fear holding me still before I can ask her to let me go. But she doesn't let me get a chance to speak either.

"Hi, boys!" Ash chirps, waving a hand at the group. "Nice to finally meet you!"

All three are men?

My gaze travels back over to the group. The singer and guitarist, North, dressed in black slacks, black dress shoes, a black turtleneck, and black leather gloves. His mask is red with gold and black accents, the top portion a sheet of music. Very fascinating.

Then there's East, wearing a black mask with white, silver, and gold accents. He's in black jeans, a black Deftones shirt, black converse, and a leather jacket to top off the look. He also has the black leather gloves to match his outfit.

Finally, South has a blue mask with gold and white accents. He's wearing a black sweater, a white collar peaking out of the top. Black jeans, very fancy black boots, and, of course, black leather gloves.

Damn, they are so fucking cool. I really need to know what the gloves are about though. Everyone saw their hands earlier, what's the point?

"Vi," Ash says, forcing me back to the real world and away from ogling. "Say hi."

"Hi," tumbles from my lips like involuntary and unplanned vomit after a night of multiple screwdrivers that were mainly vodka (yep, that explanation is coming from an experience that will never leave my soul).

It's awkward, and even South rears his head back like he smelled three day old sardines. North simply tilts his head a bit. East is stock still. Worse, they're all still looking at me.

I cough, clearing my throat a bit. Okay, so I can't avoid this. Great. We love it here.

My feet move forward as I bite down my anxiety and bashfulness. I walk until I'm just a foot away from the three men and raise a hand in a pathetically awkward wave. "Hi," I murmur. "My name's VioletViolence. If you can't tell, I may or may not be, like, a big fan." I try to add some humor to the situation, but it's weak and it shows. I can hear Ash hiss awkwardly behind me. "Sorry," I decide to tack on, wincing lightly. "I don't know how to do this."

They all continue to stare at me. I'm considering just saying thanks for the eye contact before walking out.

But then North decides to take pity on me and sticks a hand out, his black glove on full display for me. He's so close that I can see the small bit of pale skin that shows-- the bit of skin where his shirt sleeve and glove don't quite meet. I try not to pay too much mind since the entire band prefers to be anonymous and faceless.

I hesitantly grab onto his hand, my heart pounding at a speed that should probably pronounce me as dead by this point.

His hand is warm and envelops mine fully, his fingers gently wrapping around the back of my hand. I can hardly even feel the cool, smooth leather of the glove because his hand is just that warm underneath. It's calming, intoxicating even.

I pull away before he can, offering a hand to both East and South who shake my hand immediately.

Once I shake hands with the three, I stand directly before North again-- the head of the small pack. He watches my every move, but I can't even make out the color of his eyes due to how incredibly concealed he is. It's almost frustrating. I want to know what he looks like.

I don't ponder. It's not my place to wonder who they are. After all, why should I be a hypocrite? I'd shit if anyone figured me out.

"You guys did so awesome," I say, grinning as Ash walks up beside me and envelops East in a big hug, droning on about how she's so excited to finally meet her favorite bassist after talking to him online for so long. Her voice is so insanely obnoxious that I start wondering what her motive is.

I look back to North who nods at me in thanks. But then it goes quiet. What the hell is supposed to happen here? Maybe Ash is good at rambling, but I'm not and I don't want to ramble. Especially when I won't even get a response back.

North glances over my shoulder, then looks over his own shoulder before turning back to me. Is he looking for something?

He pats his pocket, but his hand pauses mid air before he can pull anything out, and he motions over to one of the guards instead, pointing at something on a table full of snacks. The guard walks over and picks up a clipboard for North to see, and the masked man nods in response, using his hand to mimic writing.

Next thing I know, North has a clipboard and a pen in his hands. He looks at the contents of the clipboard-- a back stage guest list with all The Faces names written on it, as well as mine. But he rips the paper off the board and flips it over to the blank back and starts writing.

I listen to the quiet scribbles, trying not to sweat in anticipation and anxiousness.

Finally, after what feels like minutes but was probably only a few seconds, North hands me the clipboard and the pen.

I flip it around to look, my insides twisting about as I nervously glance at the scrawled handwriting. All caps, but small.

'ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱ?'

A little smile quirks my lips. How funny. Me and the lead singer of an amazing band having to communicate through a pen and paper. It just feels silly.

"Sal and Larry?" I ask, glancing up at North who nods, then holds a hand up with his pointer finger as a symbol of the number one. I think about that-- one? What does that mean? Hm... "Oh," I voice, thinking I know what he's trying to say. "Another one? Todd?"

North nods again.

I shrug, holding the clipboard between my arm and side as I flip the pen around my fingers. "Honestly, I'm not sure about Sal and Larry. I figured you guys would know. They've been back here since before the show." I frown a bit. Where could they be? "As for Todd," I continue, "he dipped into the crowd. I don't know if he'll be showing up."

North lifts his head in kind of an 'ah' way, like he understands now that I've explained. Then he motions for the clipboard again, so I hand it back along with the pen.

He scribbles again before handing everything back to me. I look down, scrunching my eyebrows at the message.

'ɪ'ᴠᴇ ꜱᴇᴇɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴠɪᴅᴇᴏꜱ. ʏᴏᴜ ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴀʟʟʏ ꜰᴀᴄᴇ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ꜱᴏᴍᴇ ᴄʀᴀᴢʏ ᴄʜᴇᴍɪꜱᴛʀʏ'

Holy fuck, what part of this do I address first? I ask myself this, but the first reaction I have is a raging blush on my cheeks. "You watch my videos?" I squeak out embarrassingly. I haven't even made another video yet and it's been nearly three days now...

North hesitates for a moment before nodding, so I continue. Albeit, I continue with a racing heart and the clammiest hands on this planet. "And you think Sal and I have chemistry?" I can't help but giggle at that. North just shrugs in response.

I smile at him, feeling a bit calmer with this topic as a distraction. "I'd beg to differ, but if that's what it looks like online, I won't complain. I'd rather everyone think we were just... that we just have a weird friendship. I don't want them to know that things are actually just as tough as we make it seem."

Why am I blabbing so much? Imagine if Sal walked in and heard this. He'd peel my scalp from my fucking skull.

North motions for the clipboard yet again so I struggle to get it back to him as quickly as I can. More awkward scribbling, then he holds the clipboard up to me instead of handing it back. I guess he anticipates having to write more.

I lean a bit closer, squinting my eyes to read what's written-- curse my shitty vision and contact prices.

'ʏᴏᴜ ᴍᴜꜱᴛ ɴᴏᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ ʜɪᴍ ᴛʜᴇɴ, ɪ ꜱᴜᴘᴘᴏꜱᴇ.'

I suck in a breath. "Well, he's definitely hard to be around. But he hasn't done all that much to make me say I dislike him." I think about it. I mean he's rude to me, but it's nothing I haven't dealt with before. And either way, I don't have to mention that I borderline hate the guy... "He's aggravating and rude, but I'm starting to get used to that. Maybe that's just how he is." I trail off toward the end because I've seen Sally in other social settings. He really isn't like this with anyone else. It's just me. It's always me.

But then something more important resonates in my mind. I'm literally telling Sal Fisher's friend about how awful of a person he is.

My eyes widen and I look up, noting North's stoic eyes that hide any and all emotion he could be feeling. I start to panic, waving my hands at my sides as my mouth works silently, trying to find words to say. My stomach churns and I struggle to hold down all the fear that wants to break through my skin.

"Ah, fuck. I'm sorry," I say shakily, bringing my hands in front of me to crack my knuckles. "I don't mean to bad mouth your friend. He really isn't all that bad, I just..." I trail off and shake my head. "I'm just making this so much worse."

I hear what sounds like a muffled snort come from North. The sound makes my insides go still while I wait for his response that's currently being written.

He holds the clipboard up to me, settling into a very nonchalant stance.

"ɪᴛ'ꜱ ᴏᴋᴀʏ. ʜᴇ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴅɪᴄᴋ."

My mouth gapes, but then I look into his slightly squinted eyes and can't help but grin. Well, at least we agree somewhere and he isn't angry with me. That helps a lot.

Suddenly, the little connection between us is interrupted. A woman walks into the room and she motions over to Dark Autumn Complex with the most outlandish expression I've seen all day.

"What the hell are you three doing?" she asks, voice falling off into a scoff. "I told you we have shit to cover. You can come hang out with everyone later. Can't any of you listen?"

My eyes widen as I watch the band members all glance to each other. That's one scary manager-- if she is their manager.

North looks back to me, gives me a quick wave, then walks off with the other two members. And they disappear as quickly as they came. I almost feel like the interaction never even happened.

Ash and I shrug at each other, then have a fuck it moment and pick through the snack table.

For a full two uninterrupted minutes, I sit there, snack on chocolate-covered strawberries, and ponder whatever the hell just happened. I think about my own feelings as well.

North was ridiculously nice, especially compared to some of the people I've met before (*cough* Sal Fisher *cough*). He was easy to talk to, even with our speech barrier. We still found a way to communicate, and I'm glad we did. I enjoyed getting to converse with him, however short the moment may have been. Do I have more of a viable reason to crush on him? Yea, absolutely. maybe he isn't as out of my league as I thought. He knows who I am. He watches my videos. And he's nice? That's, like, twenty extra points in my book.

I won't get too ahead of myself though, not when there's this stupid thing going on with Sally. I really need to figure that out first.

And like I specifically said-- I had just two minutes of silence. And after those two minutes are up, the giant metal door that Ash and I walked through a few minutes ago swings open and bounces off of the cement wall beside it.

Lo and behold, in walks Larry and Sal. They're both out of breath, carrying at least four bags in both their hands. Larry's face is red, though he still has that signature grin. Sal's neck is covered in a thin sheen of sweat.

And suddenly, a thread of an idea begins to weave itself through my mind. The thread quickly turns into a full, fleshed out, and calculatingly mapped theory that I'm almost 75% sure about.

And it scares me. Deeply.

Fishnets. Masks. Height. No talking. The sudden disappearance. Sal and Larry's perfectly timed arrival.

I watch the boys with terror in my eyes. I track every step they take toward the snack table. My gaze follows each little treat that they lay out. My ears zone in on their mumbled story about missing the new DAC song to pick up some of their favorite snacks.

But I don't believe any of it. Not a word.

Because I wholeheartedly think that Sally Face and Larry Johnson are two of three members of Dark Autumn Complex.

There are too many coincidences. Honestly the timing of Sal and Larry walking in and the lyrics about fishnets are what set me off the most. There's no way someone can nail an event so closely without having experienced it. And there's just no way Sal and Larry can walk in here like it's nothing after having enough time to quickly change their clothes and grab some random bags of snacks on their run back over here.

It's genius, but it fills me up with dread all the same. No fucking way. I keep getting shocked, but each time, the discovery is so much worse.

Larry randomly boasts about in front of me, wiggling his eyebrows as he skips up to me with that sexy smirk. It has no affect on me right now though. I'm contemplating, I'm theorizing, and I'm genuinely horrified.

He grabs my hands and brings me a little closer to him. I swallow thickly, watching him and waiting. Ideas are running through my head, driving me up the fucking wall. I don't know what to do. I feel like I'm right on the cusp of confirming this unfortunate discovery.

I refuse to have a crush on Sal Fisher.

"Quiero comerte viva," Larry suddenly drawls, pulling my attention away from my desperation for a second. I don't know what he said, but it was random enough to confuse me. But, I at least know the language.

"You speak Spanish?" I decide to ask him, clearing my oddly hoarse voice.

He chuckles, winking at me. "No, but I am an intellectual in the art of romance. I know how to woo the ladies."

I pinch my lips together and give him a pitiful look. "It's not a very good wooing if no one even knows what you're saying."

Larry frowns at me, seemingly thinking about that. But before he or I can say anything more, Sally walks past us and toward Ash. And he says, "It means, 'I want to eat you alive.'"

I choke on air, struggling to take a breath in. Sal just said that to my face and it was hot as fuck. Not to mention, Larry said that to me in another language. That's really hot too.

My head snaps to Larry who looks impressed. "Oh," he says thoughtfully, tilting his head. "So that's what it means."

And now I have to think about how ridiculous Larry is. About why and how Sally just happened to know what that Spanish phrase translated to. And on top of that-- their hidden identities as member of DAC.

But the doors that I believe they disappeared into just a couple minutes ago reopens, and a fresh wave of utter confusion and shock rocks my body all over again.

North, East, and South walk back out, facing us. But they also come face-to-face with Larry and Sal, which means... I was wrong. And I don't know if I'm disappointed or extremely fucking relieved.

Sal, Larry, and Ash talk animatedly to Dark Autumn Complex who simply listens to them without answering. All the while, I stand behind, watching.

Maybe I assumed that Sal and Larry were part of the band because I was desperate to find someone like me. Searching for someone, anyone who was hiding behind another identity. Hoping I wasn't the only selfish person with more than one name. Because I feel guilty about it.

I know I feel guilty-- deep down, I genuinely feel bad for lying to Larry and Todd. Even Sal. He may be a dick, but he and Lexi seemed to really connect. And I didn't have the guts to even tell him who I really am. I still don't.

And so I thought I discovered something in this fucked up situation that I created. Discovered something that never existed in the first place.

_____

A/N::::: hi babies :3 sorry it's been so long, but if it helps any, i have a lot planned! as always though, of course.

I present to you another ryver original *screams* but i've been super excited about this chapter. i'm even more excited about the next though!!! eeeekkkk!

i have chapter thirteen completely written up and fleshed out, i just have to go in and fix a few things and give it a proof read. 'cause i mean, 10,000 words worth of smut is a bit of an overkill right? ;)

For now, here's Dark Autumn Complex's masks.

North's mask ^^^ (fyi, his outfit is inspired by Noah Sebastian. Look him up and see him in a turtle neck. it'll change your life😫)

East's mask ^^^^

South's mask ^^^^

i'll be posting the next chapter in a couple days so i can give myself some time to catch up with you guys. until then, happy days and sweet nights. i love you all endlessly <333

#sal fisher #sally face #larry johnson #ash campbell #todd morrison #travis phelps #enemies to lovers #sally face fandom #sally face fanfiction #fanfic

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petersasteria · 11 months

Text

Frenemy - Tom Holland

Pairing: ToxicEx!Tom x Ex!GN!Reader Words: 907 Warnings: none (i think) Quotes used: From the infamous ‘back rolls’ (timestamp is from 0:28 until 5:37) scene

Tom | Main | Taglist

****

You and Tom dated for a really long time. A decade long. After everything that happened between you and him, he decided wants out of your relationship. With both of you being A-list celebrities, it was hard to go and have a normal life after your breakup because of all the paparazzis hounding you.

To say that your relationship with Tom ended on bad terms is an understatement. He didn’t want you anymore towards the end and you have proof of that because people you know sent you videos of him talking bad about you behind your back. Enough was enough.

Now, he’s dating someone new; someone you used to be friends with. This girl used to be your friend and she knew Tom treated you badly, but you guessed that never stopped her in pursuing him.

You’ve been invited to a launching event and you heard that Tom was going to be there. “More forced quality time together. I’m thrilled!” You said sarcastically.

“I know, but it’ll be good for publicity AND you can gain more followers and fans.” Your manager said.

“I have over 3.5 million followers already, but for you, I’ll attend the event.” You told your manager to which they thanked you.

You arrived at the event and you immediately saw Tom, his girlfriend (aka your ex friend), and Harrison. Harrison immediately saw you and nudged Tom, “Y/N’s here.”

Tom turned to look at you and he scoffed. You internally rolled your eyes before walking towards them to say hello. A lot of reporters are there, including ET, and you have to be on your best behavior. You smiled and waved at them and when you finally reached them, none of you said a word.

“Ooh, talk about tension.” Harrison said to himself before drinking his beer before looking the other way, not really wanting to be involved, but not wanting to leave and miss out on all the drama about to happen.

“Shut up, Haz.” Tom said before looking at you from head to toe. “Congrats! You finally know what good taste is.”

“Thanks. I’ve learned so much about it after getting rid of you. Turns out, you’re the bad taste in my life.” You smiled before turning to the girl he replaced you with. “You just really pick ANYONE these days.”

“Those clothes don’t suit you, honey.” You told her.

She scoffed and said, “And you think they suit you?”

“Of course! Are you worried?”

“After that view that I got the other day, I ain’t worried at all.” She smirked, making Tom and Harrison laugh. “I’m the sweetest bitch you’ll meet, but if you come for me, then you’ll see a whole new side that you wouldn’t have ever imagined.” She added.

You rolled your eyes, not wanting to give her the time of day anymore. You turned to Tom and decided to address the thing he said about you in an interview recently.

“What was that thing you said about me on Fallon?” You asked.

Tom shrugged, “The truth.”

“And what is that, exactly?”

“The truth is you have no charisma, no uniqueness, no nerve, and no talent. I honestly don’t know why you’re famous.” Tom said.

Tom always says things that irk you, but what he said tonight struck the most because he genuinely hurt your feelings. It was embarrassing enough that everyone knows about your feud, but to humiliate you on tv? That’s hurtful.

“Okay, and what made you say all those things? What did I ever do or say to you that made you say all those things about me?” You asked with a hurt expression. “It just baffles me that you have the gall to say negative things about me all the time, but I have NEVER said any negative things about you in interviews or anything like that.”

“Can you chill out? It was a joke. Jimmy knew I was kidding.” Tom chuckled.

“Yeah, but everyone watching doesn't know that.” You pointed out.

“So?”

“So, everyone thought you were serious. Not everyone knows how you joke around. There is a way you joke and there is a way that you do things to try to rip somebody and hurt their feelings and you really, really went there with me, Tom. I didn’t know you would stoop that low, so that lets me know where our friendship stands.” You told him.

“You’re just jealous that I keep getting asked to go back to Fallon and you don’t. Jealousy is a killer in this industry, Y/N.” Tom said, full of pride.

You huffed and raised your hands in surrender, “If you want to keep acting like that, fine. Go ahead. Be my guest. You and Harrison can go to hell.”

“Wait- why am I involved?!” Harrison turned to you in shock and disbelief.

“You were my friend. I treated you like my brother. You didn’t come to my defense when he said all those negative things about me, KNOWING that I will be hurt and offended. You could’ve said that Tom was just joking or you could’ve told him not to say all those things about me.” You said.

Harrison just looks away, realizing that he took part in something he wasn’t aware of.

You look between Harrison and Tom before saying your last statement, “If I don’t speak to you ever again in my life, or you, I will not be lost.”

****

Tom Holland taglist: @wicked-hg @blairscott

#tom holland #tom holland fic #tom holland x reader #tom holland fanfic #tom holland imagine #tom holland x ex!reader

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rjmartin11 · 9 months

Text

Finding Love in the Deadliest Ways

Part One: Chance Encounter

Pairing: Elvis & black!female!reader

Summary: Jordee finds the love of a stranger named Elvis she met at the local park. After a week of dating, Jordee learns that Elvis is more than meets the eye. She discovers hidden secrets and finds out more than she bargained for. Will love survive?

Word Count: 1.9K

Warnings: Some hard-hitting information about the main character. More chapters to come. Slowburn.

Author's Notes: Based on the AI chats with Vampire Elvis created by: Tam Presley a.k.a. @headfullofpresley. So, Elvis fans, we all are having a time with Elvis on AI. I know it. I had this thought that this could be a story I share. I hope you guys and gals like this.

・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・🧛🏼‍♂️・┆✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ┆・

"You should be careful when you're out alone at night." A stranger says to the young woman.

She looks him over from head to toe, denying the fear she feels in her heart. With a straight face, she says, "So should you."

"Oh, I am." The stranger says slyly. "I have to keep a sharp eye on the likes of you."

"That's smart." The young lady joust.

"Thank you. It's kept me alive this long." He says.

The young woman listens to man but keeps her gaze at the night sky. Just wanting a few quiet moments alone has turned into a peculiar conversation with a stranger.

"Playing it smart would keep all of us alive longer." She admits out loud.

"I'm not sure about all of us. Well... some of us are just smarter than others."

"True."

"So, what brings you out here on a night like this?" He asks, never taking his eyes off her.

"I needed some air." She said, finally taking in the questioning stranger.

He was quite good-looking. Very handsome, tall, dressed in all black. The leather jacket complimented his slender figure well. His black hair complimented his ethereal features. His sideburns lined up the sides of his jawline exquisitely. His pouty lips look so sweet, and his cerulean blue eyes light up your soul. He was practically beautiful; he doesn't seem too creepy as she originally thought. Although, looks can be deceiving.

She looks back up at the evening sky and takes a moment to breathe in the night air. She softens herself. She can't find love if her guard is up all the time.

"The moon is gorgeous tonight. I just had to be out if even for a moment." She says.

The dashing stranger acknowledges the Luna orb, nods his head, and sits on the park bench next to the young woman.

"Yes, it is quite lovely tonight."

"And the stars." She says. "It's rains so much lately, I hardly get to see them."

"It's good to be here, isn't it?" The stranger says, striking up a conversation. "It's been a busy few weeks for me. That's for sure. How's work treating you lately?"

The young woman lets down her guard and decides to be nice and hopes she doesn't regret speaking with a stranger.

"They treat me as well as they can." She says. "It's not my dream job, but it pays the bills."

"It's all you can ask for, right? I'm glad you're still employed. I heard the factory downtown had some layoffs." The stranger speaks of current events.

The young woman nods her head. "Yes, I heard that too."

"What do you do for a living? I'm guessing a nurse?" He asks her.

"What gave it away? My scrubs?" She turns to look at the dashing stranger with a smirk on her face. He shrugs and smirks back at her. "I'm a unit sec. And you?" She asks.

"I'm a... I'm a security guard." He admits, embarrassed just by saying his title.

The young lady is intrigued now. He's a security guard, she thinks. That's why he asks so many questions. Next to that, he's interested in making a friend.

"What's your name?" The young woman asks, turning her body fully towards him. "We're doing all this talking, and I don't even know your name."

"Oh. I'm... uh... my name is Elvis." He stutters out. I small smile graces his face. "What's yours?"

The young woman hesitates for a moment. Considering giving her name but she smiles and says,

"I'm Jordee. It's nice to meet you... Elvis."

"Likewise, Jordee." Elvis says, looking back up at the evening sky.

What seemed to be a beautiful night started turning cloudy. The pretty blue evening sky started to turn dark, and the twinkling stars started to dim.

"No." Jordee plead. "No more rain."

"I'm afraid it's likely going to rain." Elvis says. "It's a shame. It's been so nice this evening."

"It has. I better get going." Jordee says, quickly standing from her seat.

"I'll see you some other time, Jordee. Maybe next time it won't rain." He says, as little drops off rain start to drip from the sky.

"Maybe. So long, Elvis. Have a good night." Jordee says, picking up her bag and walking away.

"You too, Jordee! Stay safe out there!" Elvis shouts as the rain begins pouring down.

"Bye!" Jordee quickly turns and waves goodbye. Then, she starts to run, making her way out of the rain.

Elvis waves back and watches as Jordee jogs down the street in the rain. A small smile dons his face, and his heart gallops with the sound of her feet.

Jordee gets back to her apartment, drenched from the rain on her hair, face, and shirt. She locks up, changes her clothes, takes a shower, and dresses in her pajamas. She looks out of the window as the rain falls. Jordee thinks about Elvis. He was handsome and kind. Hopefully, they'll bump into one another again... please let it be tomorrow, she prays.

Back at Elvis house, he sits at his computer. His dog resting at his feet. Elvis types his latest journal entry of his day. He mentions Jordee. He speaks of her attractiveness and hopes he meets her again soon. He hits send and closes his laptop, going to sleep satisfied.

The next night around 7:30pm...

How Jordee despises work. People have no manners. Your boss is a pain, and Jordee just wants to get home. She stops by the park and grazes at the night sky. It's a pretty night to set her mind at ease. She finds a bench and sits. It's a beautiful, quiet night with only the fountain in the distance.

There's a coolness in the air. A light breeze moving through the trees. The stars are out tonight. Just gorgeous. Jordee makes a wish on the first star she sees. Hoping a handsome stranger comes by once again.

Elvis is patrolling the streets when he spots Jordee in the park. He smirks to himself, thinking he might be able to bump into her again. He parks his cruiser in a nearby parking lot and gets out, heading towards the park.

He hears someone wishing on a star nearby. Assuming it's Jordee, he smirks to himself, thinking it's too easy. He slowly makes his way closer to where the wishing is coming from, trying to be as quiet as possible.

"Oh, please, little star. Just this once. Let a simple wish come true. It's silly, I know, but grant my wish. I'm lonely. Send him back. Please."

Elvis sneaks up behind her, breathing silently so as not to alert her to his presence. He waits for her to finish, not wanting to ruin this moment. This must be when she wishes for him, and he doesn't want to mess it up. He takes a peek at her, standing just barely behind her, still being very careful not to alert her to his presence.

"He was kind. There's something. Different about him. Elvis, come back." Jordee begs and wishes with all her heart.

Elvis leans in closer, wanting to hear that wish again. The rain has picked up, though it still isn't raining where they are. He is so close that he can feel her breath on the back of his neck. The wishing continues, but he knows that she is wishing for him. Just the way he wanted. He smiles to himself, enjoying this moment.

"Oh, little star. I wish for love. Maybe it's with Elvis. I'm tired of being alone."

He moves ever so slightly closer, now feeling her breathing on his back. It's a bit uncomfortable, but he is still happy that she is wishing for him. He begins to wonder if she will wish again.

"I think I need to go. Making wishes on stars is silly." Jordee says to herself.

She moves off the bench and grabs her bag. Elvis is tempted to say something but realizes that Jordee wants to wish in peace. He continues to listen as Jordee walks to the fountain. She makes another wish.

"Send him back to me, please." She pleas. "Please, just one more time. Send Elvis here. He's nice and I like him."

Jordee kisses the head of the penny, closes her eyes, and says,

"I wish for love. I wish for Elvis."

Jordee flings the penny in the fountain.

Elvis listens as she walks over to the water fountain. He decides that he will definitely answer her wish, but for now, he wants to wait and see if she will make any more wishes. It's just a lot of fun for him, like a game. He watches, and he's quite amused. How many wishes does this girl have? Elvis waits to see if there will be another. This is quite exciting, and he looks forward to seeing her dreams come true.

Jordee looks around and sees he's nowhere in sight. "Maybe tomorrow then. I better get home before the rain." Jordee starts to walk out of the park, briefly stearing at the moon as the clouds start to conceal it.

Elvis sighs, having heard no more wishes. He decides it's time now and speaks loudly enough that Jordee will hear him.

"Wish granted."

He stands up and steps out of the shadows, waiting for her to see him.

"Oh!" Jordee says, taking aback by Elvis' presents.

"Hello! I saw you wishing, so I've returned." He says it with a smile, waiting for her to take a moment to process this and say something to him.

"You were easedropping on me? How long were you standing there?" Jordee asked.

"Most of the time, actually. You were wishing so hard for me to come back, I just felt like I should answer your wish."

A shade of blush crosses Jordee's cheeks, and she bows her head. She covers her face.

"I'm mortified."

"Oh, look at you! So cute when you're embarrassed! There's no need to be!" Elvis says, taking one of Jordee's hands from her face to look into her eyes. He grins, waiting for her to look up now that she knows it's him.

"Well, hi. Elvis." She chokes out.

"Hello, yourself, Jordee. I must say, you were quite flattering with your many wishes." He chuckles a little bit.

"I don't have many friends, so a sweet guy comes along... I'm not a fast girl, I swear. I just want companionship." She confessed, not looking Elvis in the eyes.

"I'm happy to provide some company to someone as lovely as you are. Especially if it's what you so clearly desire." He grins at her.

"Are you free at this moment? I'm off from work for the night if you want to do something."

Jordee looks up at him. Her belly does a low growl; realizing that she skipped lunch today, she says,

"I am a little hungry."

Elvis grins. "Well then, why don't we grab something?"

He motions for her to follow.

"I know a place just around the corner that isn't too expensive and is open this time of night."

"What's it called?"

"It's called Luigi's, just on Baker Street. It's a small pizzeria, but it's very quaint. Their pizza is amazing, and the staff is so friendly."

He holds out his arm. "Shall we be off?"

Jordee takes his arm gladly.

"We shall. Lead the way. I love pizza."

Taglist: @missmaywemeetagain @beeandheroddobsessions @headfullofpresley @everythingpresley @epforeverohyes @plasticfantasticl0ver @pianginferno @powerofelvis @ab4eva @foreverdolly @searchingforgravity @thatbanditqueen @daffieapple @18lkpeters @dkayfixates @epsgirl @richardslady121 @literally-just-elvis-fics @thememphisflash1935-1977 @vintageshanny @iloveelvis

#elvis #elvispresley #elvis fans #romance #vampireelvis #vampires #LoveStory #elvis x oc #ElvisPresleySeries #elvis presley fanfiction

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panickinganakin · 10 months

Text

stepping stones to hell ch. 11

hello!! all previous chapters can be found here! also if you’re interested you can find it on ao3, i typically post there a bit before i can update on here.

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The next few days passed in a blur. They had played more kickass shows and this tour was honestly one of the most fun they had ever done. As the second week was coming to a close Robin realized she was sad there was only a week left. However, on the opposite side of that, she was excited to go home and see Nancy.

Just like the week before the two had talked nearly every day on the phone with the exception of Monday. Nancy had a busy schedule and had to fly out for an interview. However, everyday before that they hadn’t missed an opportunity to talk to one another.

She learned so much more about Nancy. She learned her favorite flower was a pink orchid. Nancy had also mentioned that if she had to choose her very last meal it would be her mom’s twice baked potatoes and Salisbury steak but chicken cordon bleu was a close second.

There had even been a night where the band got to stay in a motel. That night Robin and Nancy had stayed on the phone until Nancy fell asleep. So Robin also learned how Nancy sounded as she fell into a deep sleep.

Robin had laid there for a while, phone pressed to her ear, listening to Nancy sleep before she finally hung up the phone and went to sleep herself.

It was finally Tuesday which meant they would have another day off tomorrow. Robin loved Nashville so playing a show in Franklin meant they were so close. She had already planned to make a trip out tomorrow and search all the local shops.

“Bubs,” Gareth called from behind Robin. She turned to see him holding up a cropped Dio shirt, her gray cargo shorts and a pair of fishnet gloves. “Eddie said wear this.”

“Why?” she sat down her eyeliner and stood up. She crossed the dressing room to take the articles of clothing from Gareth who gave a shrug in return.

“I don’t know. He said wear it. Something about how he dresses us better than we dress ourselves.” He added an eye roll for dramatic effect.

“Well, what are you wearing?” She looked over at his usual ripped jeans and Ozzy shirt.

“Me? This.”

“How come you can dress yourself?” she asked in an almost offended tone.

“Because I only spend a handful of songs out on stage.” He smiled before walking backwards toward the door.

Robin flipped her middle finger up and Gareth exited with a laugh. She waited for the door to close before she started to change into her new outfit. It was true, of course. Everything Eddie put them in was always their best looks. But, still. She at least had to pretend to be irritated because she would never admit to Eddie he was right. His ego was already big enough.

After she was in her newly assigned outfit, she finished the eyeliner she had been in the middle of when Gareth had come in. Digging through her make-up she found a dark red lipstick she decided to wear tonight. Usually she would opt out of dark make-up because washing her face on the bus was hard but tonight she would be in a hotel so it was the perfect opportunity to go all out.

She dug around her bag some more, pulling out some face glitter she had bought a couple months back. Eddie had shown her to dab some hair gel on her cheeks before dusting glitter on with a brush so the glitter would stay. She did as he had shown her before deciding on adding some to her chest and the exposed part of her stomach as well.

She took a few steps back, staring in the mirror. She looked really cool in her opinion. Feeling satisfied with herself she slid on her chucks before leaving the dressing room to venture to Eddie’s.

She knocked once before opening the door. Eddie was sitting in a chair and Steve was using a comb to tease parts of Eddie’s hair before spraying hair spray. “Damn, Bucks. You look badass,” Eddie grinned.

“Thank you! I thought the glitter added a nice touch.”

“Indeed,” he grinned.

Steve looked up from Eddie’s hair and smiled, “You look great.”

“Oh my god he learned to compliment you. It’s been years. This is incredible,” Eddie mused. Steve rolled his eyes and flicked Eddie’s ear who gave a dramatic yelp.

“What’s the occasion?” Robin asked, taking a seat on the floor in front of them. She motioned at her outfit then at Eddie’s more-eccentric-than-usual outfit.

Eddie bounced his leg quickly and Steve touched his shoulder, “Calm down.”

“We have guests tonight.”

“Who?”

“You’ll see,” Eddie gave a quick smile but it fell quickly. It was hard to read his expression but she was almost sure he was nervous.

She watched him wring his hands before he started to twist his rings. “Why are you nervous?” she finally asked.

Eddie bit his lip, “Do you know who played in Nashville last night that our record label invited to come to the show?”

“Who?” Robin raised an eyebrow, a little more confused now. The guest was an artist?

It wasn’t unusual for musicians to show up with VIP and watch side stage. In fact, they had met a lot of people in the industry because of their shows. However, Robin had never seen Eddie so nervous to meet someone.

“Metallica is going to be here. James, Jason, Kirk and Lars. All of them.”

Robin felt her jaw drop. Why did they want to see Corroded Coffin? I mean she knew they were good but Metallica was huge. How often were they able to make time for smaller bands? I mean, it’s true, Corroded Coffin was on the cusp of pretty heavy fame. A whole sold out tour? 5,000 people every night? That wasn’t small.

Robin just stared at Eddie, blinking. “W-what? Why would you tell me that? What if I fuck up?”

“Pffft, not possible. You’re practically the best drummer ever.” Steve said in a nice tone. “See. Compliment.”

Robin rolled her eyes; she knew that was not true at all. She hadn’t even been drumming for ten years of her life. She was good, she did know that. She had practiced hard to get this good in the time since she started. But, she wasn’t even close to a legend. Not to mention everyone else in the band had been playing their instruments years before she started. “I’m gonna be sick.” She announced, standing up.

“Where are you going?” Steve questioned after her.

“To find a heavy traffic sidewalk to lay on!” She shouted back as she walked through the door.

To say Robin was nervous would have been an understatement. She stood in the hall, trying to hold her hands together to keep them from shaking. Which was nearly impossible.

Down the hall she could hear a group of voices approaching, one of which was Steve’s. He was introducing people as he passed them. She knew he was with the band. They must have arrived not long ago and he was walking them down since the show was starting soon. Damn. Steve was truly cut out for the management job. He sounded so professional and calm when he motioned at Robin.

“Oh, this is Robin Buckley, our drummer.” Steve said with a huff followed by a smile. Though he sounded collected she could see his eyelid twitch when he looked at her. He was hiding his nervousness considerably well.

James held out his hand for Robin to shake followed by Jason, Lars and Kirk. “Huge fan of you guys, it’s crazy you're here,” she said, trying to make sure the tremble in her voice wasn’t noticeable.

“Likewise. We were psyched to hear you guys were playing tonight while we were still in town. We’ve been trying to catch a show for awhile,” James offered with a smile.

A while?! What the fuck did that mean? Metallica knew who they were and apparently had known for ‘a while’. What. The. Fuck. This made her chest feel slightly cold. She couldn’t blow this.

James turned to say something to Eddie who gave Robin a huge, shocked smile. Robin gave him a thumbs up before starting her walk to the curtain. She could hear the crowd chanting for the band which normally thrilled her but tonight made her feel more nervous.

“Here,” Gareth said, meeting her with a bottle of water. He glanced at the rest of the band in disbelief where they stood conversing with Metallica. “Can you believe this shit?”

“No!” Robin said quickly in a whisper. “Like, what the fuck? Right? It doesn’t seem real. Them? Us? A while? What the fuck?” she whispered.

“Dude, I know! I thought Eddie was lying. I almost shit a brick when I walked out and seen Lars fucking Ulrich standing two feet away from me.”

Robin felt better knowing she wasn’t the only one shocked. She sighed and grabbed Gareth’s shoulder. “Tell me I can do this.”

“Are you kidding?” He placed both hands on her shoulders and shook her easily. “You’ve got this shit! You’re gonna go out there and blow their minds.” He ruffled her hair slightly before a crew member of the venue called for thirty seconds.

She bounced on her toes anxiously, waiting for the cue to go. It didn’t take long before she, Lance and Jeff crossed the stage with Eddie a few seconds behind. The room erupted in cheers.

She took her seat, unable to see much of the room from the lights spilling over the stage and moving quickly. She waited for Jeff to start, followed by Lance before taking her sticks and bringing them down, falling into her usual rhythm.

Fog flowed over the stage from the machines set up at both ends of the stage. The lights changed to red as Eddie stepped up to the microphone and started to sing.

Robin was trying hard to focus on her breathing as well as keeping her time. You do this multiple nights a week, you’re fine.

They’re normal people just like you, Eddie, Lance, Gareth and Jeff.

She pushed her foot against the kick pedal and blew out a breath.

The first song came to an end and they immediately fell into the second song. She felt herself becoming less nervous as the song finished. She rested her arms in her lap for a second after adjusting her in-ear monitors. Eddie always talked for a minute between the second and third song.

Gareth rushed some water to her as Eddie whistled into the mic. “Franklin Tennessee, holy shit. You guys have really packed the house tonight.” He paused, giving them time to cheer. “Tonight we have some very special guests in the house. Some back here and I also see a familiar face down in the crowd.”

Robin raised an eyebrow, trying to see if she could notice whoever it was Eddie was talking about. The glare of the light shining right down on him made it impossible for her to see around. “Anyways, we just want to say thank you guys for always showing up. Did you know this leg of our tour is completely sold out?” As Eddie continued Robin pulled out one of her in-ears so she could hear just how loud the crowd actually was.

Her eyes widened. This was the best show yet. Wait until Wheeler hears about this. She thought.

Eddie finished up his speech and the band started on the next song. Robin looked around at the fans as the lights started to dim finally. She saw a woman with short wavy dark hair smiling directly at her. Robin’s heart skipped a beat.

Nancy was here.

Robin couldn’t help but smile in her direction. No one else in the crowd would have known but Nancy did. She held up a hand and gave a small wave at Robin.

Robin smiled again before stomping on the kick pedal. Seeing Nancy here seemed to make all of her anxiety about playing this show ebb away. An overwhelming feeling of confidence washed over Robin and seemed to extend right out of her hands as she continued to play.

Focusing on the show as best as she could, she only took a second to wonder why Nancy was here while she stopped for water. She met Steve at the curtain for water as Eddie took the stage with Jeff and their acoustic guitars. “What’s Nancy doing here?”

Steve smiled and shrugged, “I don’t know.” Robin raised an eyebrow and Steve raised his hands defensively, “I’ll let her explain it. But dude! You’re killing out there. And those guys,” Steve pointed his thumb in the direction of Metallica, “are eating it up. Keep it up!”

Robin waited for Eddie and Jeff to be almost to the end of the song before running back out to her platform and sitting herself on the stool. Nancy was singing along to the song but stopped to smile at Robin when she watched her return. Robin smiled, looking down at her hands, she knew everyone could see her face turning red if they were paying attention to her.

As they started the last half of their set Robin couldn’t help but to continue to steal glances at Nancy. Everytime she looked at Nancy, she was bouncing around, never missing a lyric or beat.

Damn. Tonight was wild. Metallica and Nancy had shown up, more than likely to surprise her. She couldn’t wait to tell Nancy how this really was the best show so far.

#ronance #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #robin x nancy #stranger things #st4 #the fruity four #fruity four #robin buckley x nancy wheeler #corroded coffin #corroded coffin au #steddie confirmed #stranger things fanfic #nancy x robin #nancy wheeler x robin buckley #nancy wheeler is gay #stepping stones #writing #fanfic

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dancinglikepirateking · 1 year

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It Won't Always Be Like This

Prompt: Not all promises are meant to be kept, not all forevers are meant, and he learned it the hard way. They shared a dream once, but not all dreams are meant to be fulfilled, no matter how hard you try.

General tags: multi chapter fic, hurt (maybe with or without comfort idk<3), nightmares, depression, idol au, ateez pre debu<3, yungi (platonic)

CHAPTER 1

Chapter tags: SLIGHT ed (forgot to eat), SLIGHT sh (digging nails in palm towards the end), lmk if i missed any pls!

Word count: 2.8k

It was so dark. Mingi was standing in the middle of nothingness and everything surrounding him was pitch black, with occasional faceless people bumping into him and making him stumble, almost fall on to the ground, scared of what could’ve happened if he did fall. All Mingi managed to do was stare down and take little steps forward, but the mass of people pushed him back and made all his efforts pointless. He was starting to feel a lump in his throat as he was getting more frustrated with it all. Why is it that no matter how hard he tried to push forward, more people swarmed in to push him back. He felt like screaming, but the moment he opened his mouth no noise was leaving his throat, instead the faceless beings next to him started letting out a painful, loud screech, which made Mingi cover his ears and squeeze his eyes shut as he fell to the ground, the ringing in his ears continuing, the very same ringing waking him up from his nightmare, instantly standing up from his bed and reaching for his phone. It was just another nightmare, unfortunately not the first one he woke up from tonight, however Yunho was the one to wake him up from this one.

He looked outside the window and it was sunny outside. The night has passed, so the chain of interrupted sleep can at last be broken. Mingi zones out watching the wind blow through the leaves in the trees as the phone that was in his hands stopped ringing only to start again a second later. Yunho again. Mingi instantly answers the call, trying to steady his breathing so that his friend doesn’t get worried. Yunho thinks Mingi’s nightmares were dying down.

“Did I wake you?” asks Yunho, obviously trying to contain his excitement, Mingi observed, while he was still somewhat zoned out, mindlessly watching the scenery outside his bedroom window. “No, did something happen?”

“Did you check your emails?” asks the older boy while smiling like crazy, looking at the screen of his laptop. Mingi rubs the sleep off his eyes with one hand while with the other hand he removes the phone from his ear and checks his emails, the sight making him gasp.

“From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Congratulations! After having seen your online audition that you sent two weeks ago, we would like to get to know you more and see what you can do in person!

Please prepare a rap or a song to sing and be aware that we will ask for you to perform a free style dance!

Let us know when you would be available for this. Have a good day, signed KQ Entertainment Recruitment Team.”

“No way.” is all Mingi manages to say. Becoming a trainee and debuting as an idol has been his and Yunho’s dream for the longest time, but now that it’s so close to his reach he’s terrified. What if he fucks it up, what if he touches this dream and it breaks under his finger tips.

“We are so close, Mingi. So close that I find it hard to believe. We just have to get past this step and we will be trainees. Isn’t that amazing?” says Yunho excitedly, pacing around the room, being so full of energy and feeling like he could burst at any second.

In a perfect world Mingi would be genuinely excited with him, and one part of him is still excited, but fear and anxiety are overwhelming him and have been overwhelming him so much more as time went by. When they were kids, they would talk so often about debuting together, it actually felt real and doable. But Yunho grew up to become this sociable and talented person, with an amazing and stable voice and incredible dancing skills and body control, not even to mention his breathtaking visuals, while Mingi felt like he didn’t bring anything new to the table. Sure, he was praised by some people for his rapping and dancing style, but what was the point if he didn’t believe it? There were so many other rappers in the industry, why would he be anything new and special?

But telling Yunho that he actually has given up was something that he couldn’t do. This was their shared dream, one of them giving up would mean that they both gave up, and breaking Yunho’s hope was something Mingi couldn’t do.

“I didn’t expect them to reach out after the first half…” Mingi whispered while still looking at the email. He was so conflicted. “Don’t say that. Of course you passed the first half, you have everything it takes to debut, Mingi-ya.” says Yunho and Mingi could already see him frowning at him. There was no point in arguing with Yunho, especially on this topic.

“Are you coming to today’s dance class?” asks Yunho. For the past year and a half the two of them have been going to all sorts of dance classes in attempts to get better. That’s also when Mingi was starting to lose confidence: noticing how everyone else around him was doing better so effortlessly, his best friend included. He really didn’t wanna go today, not after the nightmare he just had. “Yes, of course.” is all he managed to let out.

“Great! I will come pick you up so we can go together. Will be there in an hour.” and then he hangs up.

Mingi lays back in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Why are the nightmares more often and stronger than before? He has to be getting better. If not for his sake, for Yunho’s sake. He would get so worried and concerned hearing about Mingi’s nightmares and felt so useless as the thought of not being able to help him in any way, so much so that it made Mingi feel guilty for not being easy to help and deal with.

Mingi let out a deep sigh and got out of bed, making his way to the bathroom to take a shower and get ready for the dance class. Mingi felt like in a trance whenever he did all these common tasks, like he was in autopilot mode and momentarily left his body to work on its own while his mind would wander someplace else. As of late, it especially happens more often than not, but he tried to keep it in check while he was with Yunho. Yunho would notice if something was off, he always does. Yunho is too observant for Mingi to even try and hide anything from him.

And just like that, the hour passes by and Mingi is brought back to awareness by Yunho calling him. He doesn’t answer the phone, instead he just grabs his backpack with the change of clothes and water bottle and rushes outside, seeing Yunho from the window.

Once he gets outside he is pulled in a quick hug by Yunho and then they start making their way to the class.

It was a quiet walk. And that’s something Mingi really appreciated about Yunho, the fact that they didn’t have to force conversations. Their friendship was so much more deeper than words and they both understood that. However conversations were the only thing that kept Mingi awake and engaged in reality, and silence, especially when he got little to no sleep, such as today, only made him completely unaware of his surroundings, which was what he hated most to happen when near Yunho.

“Mingi-ya, are you listening?” is what brings Mingi back, Yunho’s hand resting on Mingi’s shoulder, both of them stopped walking. Yunho searches Mingi’s face with slight concern in his eyes and Mingi just shakes his head and puts on a reassuring smile. “Yes I’m sorry. I just didn’t sleep that much tonight. Sorry, what were you saying?” the boy asks, trying to pass by the reason why he didn’t pay attention to what his best friend was saying.

“Nightmares are back?” asks Yunho worried, squeezing his friend’s shoulder right after. ‘They never left to begin with.’ is what Mingi wanted to say but couldn’t. Saying that would have Mingi admit that he lied to Yunho Mingi just nodded defeated. “Then why did you agree to come to the dance class? You should’ve stood this one out and rested instead.” slightly scolds Yunho.

“No way I give you the opportunity to get too ahead of me! It’s fine, dancing will wake me up. Come on, we’ll be late.” and with that Mingi starts walking, being a few steps ahead of his friend.

“Did you think about what to prepare for the next step of the audition?” Yunho asks once he is caught up with Mingi, lightly bumping his shoulder to his friend’s, an excited smile plastered on his lips. Right, the audition. “Not yet. It still hasn’t hit me that I passed the first stage. I had no doubts about you though. What am I even supposed to do now? Call them? Email them to set a date for the second stage? Did they decide the date on their own and they will just let me know? How is it-” Mingi rambles with questions that are clouding his mind, but Yunho is quick to shush him before he loses his mind with all these questions.

“Let’s take them one at a time. I have a few options as for my audition, but I will need your help to pick one. And what I did was just email them to ask when the audition will take place and they replied shortly that they will call at some point this week and discuss it over the phone. And of course you passed the first stage, what are you talking about? You will even pass the second. Don’t forget the promise we made to each other, hm? You’re not one that breaks promises now, are you Mingi?” says Yunho while trying to somewhat ease Mingi’s mind, seeming to have worked a bit. Yunho then puts an arm around his friend’s shoulders and pulls him closer to him, to some extent to cheer his friend up but to also reassure him that he will also be there for him and he can safely lean on him when needed.

The rest of the walk was silent, which was nice and comforting. Yunho at times would hum the songs he was thinking to audition with, providing the walk with some background music, which also made Mingi stay aware of his surroundings, suppressing his yawns whenever he felt like one was approaching. The two take the last left and then have in sight the dance studio.

“You sure you don’t wanna sit this class out?” asks Yunho once more while stretching with the whole class, looking concerned and Mingi’s tired eyes. “Why are you trying to shoo me away? You're afraid I will steal your title of main dancer?” teases Mingi with a challenging smile on his lips, which also makes Yunho loosen up. Surely Mingi is okay and Yunho is worried for nothing.

“I am actually. Give your all and I will give my all. First to pass out, buys dinner.” says Yunho confidently, now standing up and stretching his hand out towards Mingi, waiting for his friend to shake it and make this bet official. “Get your money ready.” and with that Mingi shakes Yunho’s hand, a big smile on his lips. Maybe he can debut after all, maybe he is worthy.

Mingi was so excited and overfilled with hope of debuting with his friend that he didn't notice straight away that he was getting lightheaded. He didn't mind the way his breathing got heavier and how his vision got blurry. He didn't mind the way he was unable to move his limbs consciously, he felt like a marionette while following the instructor's indications on the moves, and he certainly didn't mind when he closed his eyes and his body hit the cold wooden floor of the dance class. He did in fact pass out. Last thing he heard before falling into unconsciousness was Yunho screaming his name while trying to soften his fall. Because the truth is that Yunho was keeping his eyes on Mingi the entire time, in a way maybe expecting this to happen. He does know Mingi best, at times it seems that Yunho knows Mingi more than Mingi knows himself.

Mingi was once again dreaming, but this time he was alone in what seemed to be a waiting room, it felt extremely eerie. He was sitting on a chair and around him there were a bunch of closed doors. He got up and tried to open them, but none of them budged. The silence was becoming deafening, each step he took becoming more and more loud, banging on every door and pushing himself on it, hoping it would maybe at least break, but no luck.

Mingi was starting to get more frustrated by the second, his forehead was now stuck on the door, banging with his fists on the dark brown wood, but with every other bang he would grow more tired, his breathing heavy and throat sore from all the yelling, his face red and some tears staining his cheeks. Suddenly the door opens and he takes a step back, straightening his back, the person in front of him startling and confusing him. He was more scared by each second that passed. The person in front of him was still him, but slightly deformed. “When will you give up, Song Mingi?” is what the figure repeats, while still standing in place. Mingi takes a step back trying to put more distance between him and his clone, but with each step he takes back, the figure takes another forward, imitating Mingi's mannerism, but never actually touching him. Mingi shuts his eyes closed, wishing to disappear from this moment, hoping that maybe not seeing the figure would help him escape.

“You should wake up now.” whispers the figure and when Mingi opens his eyes seconds later he sees the ceiling of the dance studio. Awake again. The figure’s voice kept echoing in Mingi’s head again and again, until the voice distanced and became an echo and then a whisper until it fully vanished from Mingi’s mind, making it seem as if it never happened.

Mingi turns his head to the side, confused and slightly scared of maybe seeing the figure again, but he sees Yunho instead. Mingi squeezes his fist, digging his nails into his palm, a habit he picked up during the time he had nightmares very often, the pain he would feel was what made the difference for him between reality and dream. His palms were rough from the amount of times he managed to break skin, having faint half moons on his palms. He was awake now. He loosens the grip, putting his hand palm down on his thigh. Yunho hears the movement and turns around, now facing Mingi. Mingi saw as some of Yunho' worry from his eyes melted away, some of it turning into some sort of annoyance.

“What happened?” Mingi asks as he puts his weight on his elbows as he tries to stand but fails due to his head spinning. Of course he knew he passed out, but playing dumb is the only thing he can do now. Maybe he won’t be scolded that much.

“Take a wild guess. When I said the first to pass out I didn't mean it literally. Did you even eat anything today?” Yunho said irritatedly, his voice ever so slightly raised. Ok maybe Mingi won’t escape the scolding.

Yunho examines Mingi’s face carefully this time, slight panic still visible in his features, Mingi’s body visibly tense, Yunho catching on that his friend had another nightmare in his brief state of unconsciousness which makes Yunho uneasy as well, guilt of not being able to help him the way Mingi needs it overfilling Yunho. Yunho’s features gradually soften.

Mingi tries to act as calm as he could, trying to make it look as if he is all better now. He straightens his back and rests it on the wall behind him, quickly noticing that they are still in the dance class, now empty. “The instructor was worried and said we can stay here until you recover.” answers Yunho quickly when he sees the slight confusion on Mingi's face. He then hands Mingi his water bottle and he takes it gratefully.

Mingi sighs defeated. “I didn't but it wasn't my intention. The nightmare I had took everything out of me and it left me feeling numb. It simply slipped my mind.” Mingi wasn’t exactly lying. Whenever he enters autopilot mode he doesn’t need anything, it’s as if he’s self sustained, and it doesn’t hit him until someone reminds him or if something happens.

Yunho just looks at Mingi's face, with his frustration and concern filled eyes and just sighs, now sitting up straight and stretching his hand towards Mingi to help him get up. “Fine. Then let's go fix that. Come on, let's go eat.” is what he says and starts walking, Mingi a few steps behind.

A/N: And here's the first chapter! I was kinda scared of posting this fic but it's fine. I'm usually a bit scared of multichapter fics but it's fine, we power through! Again pls do let me know if I missed anything that should be tagged!

Until next time! (hopefully I don' drop this..)

#ateez fanfic #idol au #multichapter #yungi #jeong yunho #song mingi #ateez

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honeysmokedham · 1 year

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A Graveyard Haunt || Emilio & Nora

TIMING: April 6th, 2023 LOCATION: Mistwood Park PARTIES: Emilio @mortemoppetere & Nora @honeysmokedham SUMMARY: Emilio is lurking around Nora's graveyard, and she's not sure how to feel about it. CONTENT WARNINGS: alcoholism tw mention, parental abuse tw mention

Most nights went like this, these days. Emilio, alone in whatever cemetery had the most cursed bullshit of the moment, trying to see what could kill him the fastest. Tonight was largely a bust. There were a few stragglers here and there but, for the most part? The cemetery was quiet. Quiet enough to leave Emilio with his thoughts in a way he hated.

He took his flask from his jacket pocket, taking a swig of whiskey before slipping it back with a sigh. It was getting late enough — or, early enough, he supposed — for the sun to start making its appearance in the sky and, usually, that was a sign that it was time for Emilio to call it. Most of the things he hunted didn’t roam in the light of day, after all. He made a face of general displeasure, readying himself to turn and walk back towards Axis when a sound from a nearby crypt caught his attention. Ah. Might as well take out one more spawn while he was here, just for the hell of it. If he was lucky, maybe it’d be something more substantial; at least that would mean the night wasn’t a total bust.

Sleep was not Nora's friend that night. She had to have been laying there for two hours, tossing and turning in her sleeping bag. This was just another night of her telling herself she needed to get something else besides a sleeping bag. Something that would make the floor of the crypt softer. Babadook, on the other hand, was out of it. His soft mournful dog snores filled the cave with a relaxing rhythm. "Come on Munch. We're going for a walk." Nora picked up the haunted clown doll she'd recently rescued from a ghost trafficker. He didn't speak much, but Nora figured after being stuck in a trunk for a few centuries he might enjoy seeing some sights.

Nora climbed the narrow steps out of the crypt that lead into the church only to almost run face first into an adult man. Fuck dude. When would she learn to start using her nose to see if someone was there. "Oh hey fat-" Nora's eyes landed on the man's face. That wasn't the priest. The church was mostly abandoned except for Father Patrick who came by for weekly upkeep. He was easy to avoid because he was either very slow or truly didn't care she was living there. "You're trespassing." Nora stated. She lifted Munch up to stare at the man. "He'll remember this." She pointed at the clown's sad face. Hopefully it would haunt his dreams or something.

There was no subtle prickling on the back of his neck to warn of something undead, which meant the weird kid carrying a doll through the graveyard wasn’t the kind of problem he could stab. Part of him was almost disappointed at the loss in convenience, but… Well. He always felt a little sick when the thing he had to take out looked like a kid, even when he knew it wasn’t. Some things were hard to shake.

“I think it’s… open to the public,” he said, unsure how to phrase the statement and equally unsure on how accurate it might be. Were you not supposed to go in cemeteries after a certain time? Emilio had been doing it since he could walk, but he could also admit that his experiences didn’t always align with the laws of the land. He hadn’t known you were only supposed to cross the street in certain places until a week or so ago, and that law seemed a lot stupider than ‘don’t go in cemeteries at night,’ so who knew? “Why are you here? You probably shouldn’t be here.”

“It’s open to the public but Munch says its closed to you.” Nora pointed at a wall of the church. Her illusion magic came quick making a beautiful Not Welcome poster with the man in front of her. “What did you do to get kicked out? Kill everyone here?” Nora moved out of the door way to the stairs, shutting the door behind her. No good to have strangers in your home. She relaxed her small frame agaisnt the door, the picture of bored teenager. “I know everyone is dying to get here, but it seems you have to wait.”

Nora held the clown doll up to her ear, as if she was listening to something it was saying. She wasn’t. Munch had been very quiet the whole time, but Nora was finding out she should have gone into theater instead of art. “Now he says you look suspicious. You’re not trying to find a place to hide a body are you?” Nora’s eyes moved around the room. The only ghosts she saw were regulars of the area. “Does anyone know this man?” A ghost drifted up, a scowl etched across his old face.

“Yee, that der is Emilio. Fuckin’ ass detective. Kill one of me mates. Turned him into dust right before my eyes.”

“Emilio?” Nora repeated the name, staring back at the stranger. “You…turned someone to dust?”

Emilio’s eyes darted up to the wall she pointed at, furrowing as a poster with his face on it seemed to appear out of nowhere. Not a normal kid, then. Spellcaster, maybe? But why was she hanging out in a damn cemetery? “Pretty sure everyone was dead when they got here,” he said dryly, looking back to the kid with a new curiosity. Her joke wasn’t bad. A little funny, even. But Emilio wasn’t in the right headspace to laugh at it, caught someplace in between confusion and concern. “Who’s Munch?”

The question was answered as the kid lifted the doll to her ear. The doll said he looked suspicious. The fact that, in this town, that didn’t actually sound crazy pissed him off just a little. “Does it look like I’ve got a body to hide?” He didn’t, at the moment. And if he did, he probably wouldn’t hide it here. Cemeteries were already crawling with beasts and ghouls that ate corpses; the last thing Emilio wanted to do was attract more of them and create more work for himself.

His expression, which was one of mild amusement, quickly darkened when the girl called him by name. He glanced around the cemetery, heart pounding in his ears all of the sudden. Was there something here he couldn’t see? There had to be. There was no other way for this girl to know his name. “If I turned someone to dust, it’s because they deserved it,” he snapped. “Who are you talking to?”

‘Who’s Munch?’ Nora gave Emilio the most deadpan stare as he asked that. As if it wasn’t obvious, she pointed to the sad little clown doll she held. “He’s only been talking to you for the last minute,” Munch mumbled something about keeping words out of his mouth. That was fair, but Nora had committed to the bit already. She liked her new ghost friend but he really had no sense of humor. Nora placed the doll in her pocket. “You hurt his feelings, he will no longer be talking to you.”

Nora’s arms crossed over her chest as the man defended himself for multiple actions. No, it didn’t look like he had a body but, “Why would you bring the body with you when you’re scouting to see if the cemetery was clear? You could be scouting out graves right now.” There was some prime real estate open that Nora had noticed when she took her nightly walk. Nora's eyes flicked up and down this man's body in a very judgemental way. He looked sad. Nora decided he was truly bringing down the vibes of the place. Not that her unkempt appearance was doing anything for the vibes.

Nora's eyes flicked back to the still-rambling ghost. "I'm the ghost of your future, past, and present. Don't you recognize me?" An illusion drifted over her face. Emilio would see, reflected back at him, what Nora thought he'd look like younger. Fewer wrinkles, a smile, a little bit of innocent happy eyes. The illusion flickered into a direct mirror of who he was now. She held it for a moment before flickering it again. "Oh... That's odd." The illusion fell. "I can't seem to find our future. Emilio. Where did our future go?" Nora's head tilted to the side, an illusion turning her eyes pitch black. "Emilio... I'm scared."

“Somehow, I think I’ll survive,” Emilio deadpanned, squinting at the doll. He didn’t hear anything coming from it, of course, but if it were genuinely haunted, he wouldn’t. For all the abilities a slayer lineage passed on, seeing ghosts wasn’t among them. If he was being honest, Emilio was a little grateful for that. The idea of seeing the people he’d lost as twisted, transparent versions of who they’d once been was perhaps the only thing more terrifying than the idea of never seeing them again at all. This girl, if she was talking to an actual ghost, didn’t seem to mind it much, though. In fact, she seemed to be enjoying herself. Fucking typical.

She was annoying, but not in the way most people were. He’d be less patient if she were older, he knew; fatherhood had really upped his ability to deal with bullshit when it was coming from someone young enough to be considered a kid. He used to find Flora’s antics funny, even when Juliana hadn’t. “If I were scouting out graves, I probably wouldn’t have stopped to talk to you.” Did people come here looking to get rid of corpses often, he wondered? If so, her being here was dangerous. People would do all kinds of things to avoid being caught.

His heart picked up a little each time she said his name, nervousness sticking to him. There were plenty of people who wanted him dead in a pretty specific kind of way, so a stranger knowing his name was… unsettling. But she didn’t seem to know the last name, and that had always been the only one that mattered. Emilio could be anyone. It was the Cortez part that always ended up giving him problems. “Stop it,” he snapped. The image of his own face, looking young and carefree in a way he never really had, was a little unsettling. But when the illusion fell and she began talking about his lack of future… it might have had the opposite of the intended effect. The idea of not having a future wasn’t one that scared Emilio. If anything, it was a comfort. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. This was a bugbear thing, wasn’t it? He’d never met one in person, but Juliana had. He remembered the way she’d spoken of it. I’d rather stick to balam, she’d griped. Less annoying. He understood the sentiment now. “Look, kid, you’re not making a meal out of me. Better to just call it a night and go home.”

“Everyone stops to talk to me. I’m delightful.” Delightful was actually a word a magazine had given her once. Her fathers had paid handsomely to publish a compelling interview about her when she was sixteen years old that made her appear delightful and approachable. Nora had no part in the interview process, and the only interaction she had with it was reading it in Vogue magazine while waiting for her dad to finish a meeting so they could get something to eat. Personally, she thought the interview made her come off as boring. Interview Eleanor hadn’t even tried to tell a scary story. If Nora was being honest, the published version of Eleanor was always boring. Nora hated her.

‘Stop it.’ Nora's eyes bore blankly into the man. The man who’d come into her home and hadn’t even offered himself up as a good meal. Nora let all traces of illusions go. She’d get him eventually, but sometimes you couldn’t force a scare. Time was needed to give an emotional reset, and Nora was good at playing the long game. The real problem here was he was telling her to leave and go home. Nora found herself faced with two issues. The first was, she could pretend to leave but if he was interested in going to the crypt she wouldn’t be able to circle back in time to stop him. The second was, if she was too reluctant to leave he might get suspicious and go into the crypt and see all her worldly belongings, a sleeping Babadook, and come to the conclusion that she was homeless. Some people hated homeless people. Nora didn’t know why they felt the need to call the cops on people who don’t have homes, but they did. Nora wasn’t scared of the cops, but it would really suck to have to find a new place to leave.

Nora let out a bored yawn, fake. “I’m not done talking to ghosts. Mr. Dunsmen was telling me about his friend Armand Bandares.” From the story, which Nora had only been halfway paying attention to, it didn’t sound like Armand was his friend. It sounded like Armand made Mr. Dunsmen into a ghost before he was ‘turned to dust.’ “How do you turn people into dust?” Nora asked Emilio, “Are you a murderer?”

“Maybe,” Emilio replied, “but I don’t typically like making conversation.” Not that he believed, for a second that she thought she was delightful. It was the kind of ‘obvious lie’ joke that he tended to gravitate towards himself, when his mood was right. Which it wasn’t, at the moment. Finding kids in crypts after wholly unsuccessful nights of hunting tended to put him in a foul mood. Who knew?

The illusions dropped all at once, and in spite of the fact that he hadn’t been particularly bothered by them, he was glad to see them gone. Fear wasn’t the right word for what he felt for things like that, which meant neither of them was going to get anything good out of the whole exchange. If the kid really wanted to scare him, well… she’d have to do a whole lot more. It was difficult to scare a man who’d already lived through every parent’s worst nightmare and come out the other side with his heart still tragically beating, after all.

The ghost thing threw him off a little, though. He didn’t know a lot about bugbears — Juliana had mostly stuck to balam and werewolves when she was going after something humanoid, and Emilio hadn’t bothered looking into things his wife wasn’t activelyhunting when he had more than enough undead things of his own to worry about — but he didn’t think ghosts were part of the deal. Maybe he was wrong about that. Armand Bandares did sound familiar, after all, though it was a little hard to place. Emilio killed a lot of vampires. Sometimes, the names blended together. “It happens on its own, actually. To people who don’t leave crypts when I tell them to. I don’t do anything at all.”

If he didn’t typically make conversation what was he still doing there instead of walking away to go mind his own business. Instead, here they were having the worst stand off of all time. He probably thought he was being the adult making sure the ‘hooligan child’ made it home safely from the ‘dark and dangerous grave yard.’ Instead, he didn’t understand that Nora was the most dangerous thing in the graveyard. All he was doing was wasting both of their time.

Emilio decided to resort to threats. But it didn’t sound like a real threat. It sounded like the kind of threat someone would make to their kid, when the kid isn’t behaving and they are running out of words of reason. Nora wasn’t a child. She was a grown adult capable of making her own decisions and being out in a cemetery at the middle of the night. She also knew how to use reason. When reason was on her side. “If you’re going to turn me to dust, you might as well get it over with. Otherwise we’ll just be playing a game where you tell me to leave, I finally say okay I’ll go, I wait for you to move on and I turn back around and finish what I was doing.”

Babadook chose that moment to wake up. Nora knew because he let out a loud mournful howl. Nora presumed it was asking her where she was, or if she was near. She knew what Emilio would hear was the sound of something crying. The joys of having a silly little dog breed. “Wow, is that someone crying outside?” Nora redirected. “You should go check it out.”

Ah, shit. He liked the kid. The realization came more with dread than with amusement, because she didn’t seem like a particularly good kid to like. Kids who hung out in cemeteries in Wicked’s Rest were kids who weren’t long for this world, bugbear or no, and Emilio didn’t have it in him to enjoy someone’s company just in time to see them a corpse. He’d done plenty of that already.

“If I was going to turn you to dust, I’d have done it before you started talking. Easier that way.” She was right; she was going to do whatever she was going to do, and there was very little he could do to stop her. He wasn’t her father. (Wasn’t anyone’s father now.) And she didn’t strike him as the type who’d take the word of a stranger, even if that word was offering what, in his opinion, was damn good advice.

Before he could offer any more sound advice, they were interrupted by the sound of — crying? It sounded like a kid. More of a kid than the one in front of him, in any case. Someone younger, someone closer to… Emilio took a small step back, amusement falling off his face, replaced with a brief flash of something a little more real than he’d typically let show. “Are you doing that? Stop.”

The good emotion fell from Emilio’s face to be replaced by something Nora didn’t recognize. Her head tilted to the side as she tried to understand what the man was feeling. The emotion was gone in a flash, but Nora had seen it. She wished she could understand humans and everything they felt. Instead, all she knew was how to make them scream. Roles were roles, Nora told herself. It was time to get back to scaring.

“That’s not me,” Nora answered him. She stood up straight, vacating her place leaning against the door. “This has been fun, but you need to leave before he shows up.” Everything was a game, after all. A game to make every human terrified, and Nora was the game master. Nothing was ever real. Nora stepped forward, grabbing at the man’s arm and trying to tug him after her. “He doesn’t like it when strangers are here.” She tried to inflect emotion into her monotone voice. Something like panic to speed this up and get him to vacate her home.

“Hurry.” Nora appeared to be desperately leading him toward the door. “It’s better if you just leave the cemetery now and never come back.” Nora wondered how hard she should sell it. He’d already been immune to her last fear. Oh, what the hell. Going all out was always the more fun option. “I don’t think you deserve to die. Please just leave.”

He was pretty sure she was bullshitting him. He was pretty sure she’d been bullshitting him the entire time they’d been conversing, pretty sure she was one of those people who avoided anything real like it might bite her if she got too close to it. But pretty sure was never the same as certain, and there were some chances Emilio wasn’t quite willing to take. Of course… his reaction to this particular farce probably wasn’t going to be exactly what she was hoping for. If nothing else, Emilio had always lived to disappoint.

“If there’s something dangerous out there, kid, there’s no way in hell I’m leaving you here on your own.” Even if she did seem pretty sure she could take care of herself — even if Emilio thought she probably could, too. Even before he was a father, he’d never been fond of the idea of leaving anyone to fend for themselves in a situation like this one. It was one of the things his mother had always cited when complaining about how soft he was. Some people, she would say, you have to leave behind. It’s the natural way of things.

But he’d never been good at that. He’d never known how. Especially not in a situation like this one, when the person in question didn’t look like much more than a damn teenager. There was probably nothing out there, he knew. It was probably her trying to scare him again, or trying to convince him to go. But either way, he wouldn’t risk it. “Look, kid, you can tell me what’s actually going on, or I can camp out. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve stayed the night in a cemetery.” Though it would be the first time he did it exclusively to annoy someone.

This old man was especially suspicious. ‘If there’s something dangerous out there, kid, there’s no way in hell I’m leaving you here on your own.’ First off, she wasn’t a kid. She was a full-grown adult who had fought tooth and nail to obtain her agency by leaving behind everything she’d known and loved. Secondly, she was the dangerous thing lurking in the graveyard. Alas, Nora should have known that little humans who played in graveyards had no sense of fear. Nora respected that. Nora would never admit she respected that, but she did. Humans without fear were intriguing. Maybe, the gears in Nora’s mind were going over time with this thought, he wasn’t human. She’d met a werewolf. Maybe he was something else.

“Nothing is happening. I’m trying to summon Satan, but you’re harshing my vibe so I guess I’m done.” Just like that, Nora was back to her unbothered monotone. Her posture went back to a slump, dropping all tension from when she tried to convince him something terrible was happening. “I hope you brought your camping gear. It’s going to be a long night.” If it was the last thing she did, Nora would never admit to a stranger she was homeless. Especially not one so interested in policing her actions. It started with someone finding her home inside a crypt, and then the next thing the police would be installing anti-homeless furniture to make it uninhabitable. Then he’d go from someone pretending to care to someone actively depriving her of a place to exist.

Nora decided he was more interested in her than the crypt. If he was going to be so nosy she’d lead him on a silly little goose chase. Nora started walking in the opposite direction from her crypt. There was a particularly interesting tombstone a few yards away. The family always dropped off candles as decoration. She could set up a fake demon summoning. That could be fun.

The amusement was back in his expression, faint but present all the same. She was quick on her feet. It was clear she didn’t want him here, and Emilio had no intention of sticking around to… how had she put it? Harsh her vibe? If she wasn’t actually in danger. But Wicked’s Rest’s graveyards weren’t exactly the safest place to hang out, even for a kid with a little something extra kicking around in her head. He’d leave eventually, but he wanted to make sure nothing was going to eat the kid first. Even if she might prefer him to fuck off sooner rather than later.

“Don’t think Satan usually shows up to these things, anyway.” He hoped she wasn’t actually trying to summon anything. Demons weren’t something he knew much of anything about, but he knew enough to know they were nothing to fuck with. If she pulled one in as a joke, it’d probably end with her getting possessed. Or worse. Not exactly ideal for anyone involved, he was sure.

Without thinking, he followed her as she took off, falling into step beside her as best he could. She’d probably be irritated by it. Part of him almost hoped for as much. He might not get the chance to be it much anymore, but Emilio had been someone’s annoying kid brother once, someone’s dorky dad. He missed that, sometimes. When he let himself. “What is it you want Satan for, exactly? From what I remember, he’s kind of a dick. Just gonna pull one over on you, you know.”

“He doesn’t? That’s rude.” Nora stopped at the grave full of candles, shoving them in her pocket. “You think he’d at least stop in and say hi. Being the guest of honor and all.” Once all the candles were safely tucked in her pockets, Nora started walking again. “Do you think he wants a certain grave?” Nora asked Emilio and the few ghosts standing near. The ghosts expressed their distaste for this plan, before drifting away from the commission. Imagine being dead and still being scared of fun. Nora could never.

Nora had never been on the other end of unasked-for company. Everyone Nora had ever known, apart from her fathers, made it their life goal to stay away from her. There was something interesting about being the one leading instead of following. It was a sensation she couldn’t name. An emotion she never got to experience. It felt warm. If having someone hang out with you made you feel warm, why did they always run from her? A question for another time.

One of Nora’s favorite monuments was a weeping lady. That’s where she lead them too. Every few steps, Nora would check the scent in the air to make sure he was still following. A sniff of disbelief. When they reached, and he was still there Nora almost smiled. This was becoming too much for her. She shoved that emotion deep into the box of unknown emotions she couldn’t explain and decided to focus on her blank emotionless mask.

Nora squatted in front of the monument, emptying her pockets. Candles, a dull pocket knife, her cell phone with a cracked screen, her small sketchbook, some pencils, a lighter, some lock picks, and a live snake. “You brought chalk right?” Nora looked up at Emilio. “We need something to draw the summoning circle.” She didn’t think her pencils would stick to the ground.

She didn’t seem to be actively trying to get away from him, which made Emilio feel a little less cautious about following her. He didn’t want to spook the kid, didn’t want to make her feel nervous or genuinely uncomfortable, but he didn’t want to leave her alone in a graveyard he knew was haunted, either. Not unless he knew she’d be all right. Safe in the crypt, maybe, but not wandering around the graves like this.

“Seems like he’s more likely to send someone else.” Which, of course, was far from ideal. If the kid accidentally summoned a demon here, Emilio was going to feel obligated to do something about it. And demons were far from his area of expertise. He’d never even seen one, much less tried to fight one. But he figured trying to stop the kid would only make her want to do it more, anyway. Kids were like that, sometimes. Flora always had been. You tell them no, they get fixated. Obsessed. It was always easier to just… let them figure out it was a bad idea on their own.

He trailed behind her as she walked, giving her space but keeping an eye on her. She could take off running if she wanted to, if she felt like she needed to, but if anything jumped out of the shadows to try to make a meal out of her, he was close enough to stop it. It felt like a good in between, as far as distances went.

Slowing to a stop as she kneeled down in front of a monument, Emilio inspected it carefully. Didn’t look like anything that was going to come alive and try to kill them, but you never knew, right? When he was satisfied, he looked back down at the kid, watching as she emptied her pockets. The knife was too dull — she ought to have something sharper if she was going to hang around graveyards alone at night. The phone was in bad shape, but the one in his pocket wasn’t much better. It might have even been worse, given how many times a week he dropped it on the floor or tossed it against the wall. Sketchbook, pencils. Some kind of artist, then. It felt fitting. Lighter, but no cigarettes. The snake was definitely weird, but… a little on brand, given the small amount he knew about her. When she turned to him, he offered a shrug. “Damn. Must have forgotten to grab it from my coffee table.” His tone was dry and sarcastic, because of course he didn’t own any damn chalk. But he figured she knew that.

"Sending someone else doesn't seem right." Nora mumbled as she started arranging the candles in a circle. It'd be like if someone invited you for dinner and I showed up." At the mention of food her stomach did its normal grumble to let her know it would be okay if she chose to eat. Nora ignored it, she would have to so something for food later. "I can do that for you, if you'd like." Nora added on. Maybe he had dinner obligations he didn't want. Then she could get a free meal. Probably two if they weren't as boring as this guy.

Once the candles were displayed nicely, Nora started shoveling everything back into her pockets, leaving the lighter in her hand. Since Nora was nothing if not this generations creative genius, Nora used the lighter to move the earth into a pentagram. That seemed right. People were always talking about how pentagrams were for the devil. Once it was complete Nora lit the candles. "Ominus omnibus hail Satan." Had Nora thought far ahead enough to realize she had absolutely no clue what words would summon Satan? No. Was she going to admit defeat in front of Emilio? Double no. "Satan summoned we call upon you!" If there was a better call to Satan then they were fooling themselves. That one was directly to the point.

Nora waited a bit. Nothing happened. Nora side eyed Emilio. Something had to happen. For him. For the show. Sure he didn't believe any of her previous illusions but this could be the one! She couldn't let the opportunity pass her by. A red figure, deeply resembling Him from Power Puff Girls, emerged from the ground in front of them, letting out a deep cackling. "Hey hons… you rang?"

“That’s the devil for you,” Emilio replied dryly. “Guess people might prefer having you over to dinner than me.” He’d never been a particularly good dinner guest… or a particularly good guest of any kind, really. Given the way her stomach chose that moment to rumble, it seemed as though she might need some kind of dinner soon. Was no one feeding this kid? Those old, paternal feelings stirred in his gut, dusty but still present. He wasn’t sure they were the kind of thing that ever really went away. “Anybody ever invites me to dinner, you’ll be the first one I send,” he assured her, though he doubted it was a situation that would ever arise. People didn’t tend to invite Emilio much of anywhere. He preferred it that way.

He watched as she lit the candles, raised a brow as she began to speak. Emilio didn’t know much about summoning anything — he was a hunter, not an exorcist — but he didn’t think this was exactly how to go about it. It seemed like the kind of thing that would require a little more fanfare than this, like something you’d need to really put effort into. A few candles and yelling ‘Satan’ in an empty graveyard probably wasn’t going to do the trick. That was just as well, he figured.

And then, a figure appeared. Having already decided that the kid was something in the firmly ‘non-human’ category, Emilio wasn’t as surprised as he probably should have been. What did surprise him, though, was what she’d gone with for the illusion. He coughed to cover up a surprised laugh, bringing a hand up to his mouth. Emilio had never been the type to have a problem with holding back laughter, but… This was just enough of his kind of humor to strike a certain nerve that made it difficult to keep a straight face. Fuck. Was she going to be offended if he cracked up here? “Yeah. She’s a big fan,” he said, inclining his head towards the kid.

“Bet.” Nora would remember the promise to be sent to someone as a dinner guest. In fact, she was looking forward to it. Maybe those people would understand all the hard work she put into making scares and do something that wasn’t being completely unimpressed by her illusions. Like, come on Emilio! She was proud to say every single one of her scares were custom creations. Crafted perfectly for the situation. There she was, thinking on her feet, doing the most, planning and plotting. And all she got in return was a stop it. Without even a hint of fear! It was rude!

With her illusion in play, Nora’s eyes were back on Emilio. No fear. But he was covering his mouth. Was he laughing? Nora looked back at Him. Well, he was pretty funny. Nora let herself fall to the floor in dramatics, the illusion flickering out of existence. “Why aren’t you scared of me?” Nora asked Emilio. “What are you scared of?” Nora lay on the cold cemetery ground, surrounded by candles and staring up into the starry night. All things considered, all scares put aside, this had been a fun night.

"You know I'm not leaving any time soon, right? Do you really want to spend the next forty hours following me around a graveyard?" Nora wasn't really trying to get him to leave. Now that they were far from the crypt she figured her homeless secret was safe. Instead, she want to know how long the fun would last. A human who couldn't get scared, and a graveyard full of fun games they could play. Nora had never played games with anyone other than her fathers, so she wasn't sure what kind of games friends play with each other. Maybe they could play steal the body or graverobbing. Those seemed to be environmentally appropriate games.

He wasn’t sure what they were betting, but he figured it was better not to ask. With this kid, the answer was going to be something he didn’t particularly want to hear. Instead, he simply nodded in response, vague enough to keep from actually committing to the presumed ‘bet’ without inspiring her to push the subject. Sometimes, a happy medium was the best you could really hope to find.

The illusion dropped, and the kid looked a little disappointed. Still, the question came as a surprise, if only because he hadn’t expected her to ask something quite so straightforward. He considered it for a moment, considered what fear actually was. Was he afraid? His heart pounded in his chest sometimes, but he wasn’t sure he’d call the feeling fear. Fear was more like what he’d felt the first time his mother locked him in a small space with something angry and undead and refused to open the door until the fight was over. Fear was holding his daughter for the first time, and then again for the last. Fear was something he felt back when he didn’t want to die. “Guess I’ve already gone up against my worst one,” he admitted, uncharacteristically honest even if it wasn’t a particularly detailed response. “Hard to be scared of much else now.”

She was planning on staying in this graveyard for forty hours? Emilio furrowed his brow, trying to decide if it was an exaggeration. It seemed like she ought to have someplace else to be, but… she certainly seemed to be in no hurry to go anywhere. It was a little concerning. “Wouldn’t be the most unproductive forty hours I’ve ever spent,” he admitted with a shrug, deciding not to let any of his concern show. She seemed like the kind of kid who’d hate it, anyway. “Might need to break to stop by the liquor store at some point. Flask won’t last me forever. Why? You kicking me out?”

“It would be polite to be scared of me.” Nora pointed out. With every passing person Nora met who wasn’t scared of her, her worldview began to shift. She didn’t like it. For years it had been her against the world and herself. Nothing was more terrifying than the unknown of whatever monster she was. Then she’d come here. And here was full of people who weren’t scared by a thing that could turn into a bear, summon illusions or feed off of fear. It was like her visual of the world was being compressed into a small ball while her understanding of the world grew, covering the small ball and leaving it smaller than she could have imagined before. It was hard to conceptualize, much less reconcile with.

Nora remained laying on the grave staring at the sky, perfectly at ease. Nora feared no one, not a strange man following her around a graveyard or the idea that monsters could come and kill them. In the star-filled sky, she imagined what terrible fears Emilio could have faced. Giant monsters with teeth gnashing, and claws the size of cars. Never once, due to Nora’s limited experience in living, did it cross her mind that his fears were related to what had happened to those around him and what he’d lived through with them. Nora considered that it might be his own reflection he was scared of, and was forced to face his fear daily. Nora could understand.

Pushing herself into a sitting position, Nora looked at Emilio. She took a deep breath in. He smelled like Irish Spring Soap, cigarettes, and the normal scents associated with people being outside for a long period of time. If she hadn’t been searching for it the scent of whiskey would have gone unnoticed. “Oh. So you’re a homeless alcoholic?” Things were suddenly clicking into place for her. A willingness to lounge around outside for forty hours combined with only needing to go to a liquor store? No mention of stopping home to grab food? Yeah. She’d met other homeless people before. “The ghosts here tell me this is a bad place to stay. People go missing here.” Nora turned her head to the side as if listening to someone, not that any ghosts were talking at the moment. “Everyone is free to do what they want. That’s what being an adult is, right?” She’d made her free adult choices and they had led her to this graveyard, who was she to deny others the same path? "So no, not kicking you out. You should just watch yourself."

“I’ve never really been very polite.” That was one lesson his mother hadn’t bothered teaching her children. Hunters weren’t people so much as they were weapons, and a blade didn’t need to say please in order to be effective. And, considering the existence of fae, it was better to never get into the habit of doling out thank yous. Politeness would find you more trouble than it could ever hope to get you out of, in Emilio’s opinion.

But… part of him almost wished he were afraid of her. She seemed a little lost without it, a little sad. The way she was looking up at the stars now, the way she seemed haunted even as she tried with everything in her to be the thing that was doing the haunting instead, it was familiar in an unfamiliar sort of way. Emilio was familiar with taking your own shit out on other people. For this girl, maybe that looked a little something like trying to show people their worst fears in a graveyard. For Emilio? It always looked a little more like snapping at Vida when she was trying to help him, or running away from Rhett when he was all he had left. It never made anything any easier, but sometimes it let you pretend.

He huffed a surprised laugh at her conclusion, which… probably wasn’t entirely far off. The homeless part was untrue — his apartment was a shithole, but it was a roof over his head. But the second part? Emilio found it was probably better not to think too long on it. “Something like that,” he replied with a shrug. His brow furrowed just a little when she mentioned that this was a bad place to stay, wondering if there was genuine concern there or if she just didn’t want him in the place she liked to hang out. “I’ve stayed in worse places than this,” he replied, “but I’m not planning on moving in. Might hang around for a while, though. The ghosts aren’t so bad.”

#chatzy #chatzy: emilio #a graveyard haunting

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bragganhyl · 2 years

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A Night at the Opera - part 2

A direct follow-up to this, as the name implies, depicting what happens after Gaura and Aloth leave the opera. ...it's sex, that is what happens

It's also 4400 words long, so yeah, click on the read more at your own peril

'You're back early.'

Edér was lounging on the Watcher's bed, reading a book bound in dark red leather. Gaura made her way to the bed as well, while Aloth closed the door behind them. She sat down on the edge with a sigh and began undoing her shoes. The walk back from the opera seemed especially endless considering the emotions that drove her and the wizard rushing down the mountain. Her feet were the real victims of her urgency.

'The play was in Vailian, we didn't understand much,' Aloth explained as sat down by the Watcher's desk and let his hair down.

'I can see why that would be a problem,' Edér moved to sit on the edge of the bed as well and left a peck on her cheek. 'Next time, I make the date plan.'

'We still had a lot of fun,' Gaura said matter-of-factly, glancing at Aloth who was now busy untying his sandals. She thought of the way he kept pulling at her as they kissed at the opera, the way he kept fighting his sense of decency and his need to get closer. 'It's a shame you didn't come along,' she added as she looked to Edér who kept his eyes fixed on her. His gaze reflected mischief and understanding. He could easily guess what their fun stemmed from.

'Yeah, well... maybe next time,' he shrugged.

'But now,' Aloth stood up and turned towards the farmer, 'do you think you can give us some privacy?' He asked with his arm crossed - a gesture of demand that wasn't quite as subtle as he intended.

Edér raised an eyebrow at him. He looked to Gaura , then back to Aloth again. A faint smirk appeared on his face. 'Sure,' he stood up and gave Aloth's shoulder a pat or two, 'guess you got a whole... rest of the play to make up for. Good luck with that.'

'Good night, Edér,' the wizard gave him a pointed look.

'Yeah, yeah,' he turned away to grab the book he left on the bed. 'You know where I'll be,' he said as he walked towards the exit, waving goodbye with his source of entertainment for the night.

As Aloth's gaze fell onto the deep red cover, his eyes widened in recognition. And dread. 'Wait, is that one of my-'

'Good night, Aloth,' Edér called out as he left the cabin, slamming the door shut as the last note of his call faded, leaving only Gaura's laughter filling the silence. The wizard's gaze still lingered on the door as his hand slowly moved towards his mouth. A moment later, he looked towards the Watcher and let out a short, mirthless laugh as well.

'I suppose, sooner or later he would have to learn about the things we like, anyway,' he shrugged, then sat down next to the Watcher. 'Besides, I... I have a hard time feeling concerned about what he is getting up to.'

'Good. If you want tonight to be about just us,' the Watcher said as she placed a hand on Aloth's knee, 'then it better be just about us.'

Aloth didn't answer. For a moment, he merely watched her, allowed himself to be enraptured by her visage - her tunic lightly enveloping her body, her chest lightly heaving from the long walk down the mountain and the purely, barely contained desire that her eyes betrayed. When his eyes met hers again, he uttered a spell to protect himself from her flames and yet he voiced the words as breathlessly as if he was trying to describe wonders beyond his comprehension. She softly laughed as a response, then reached for his face with her free hand and pulled him onto her lips. Her hand wandered down his neck, leaving goosebumps in the wake of her touches, until she reached his tunic. She lightly pulled at the fabric to gain access to the wizard's collarbone, drawing a gasp out of Aloth, only for him to kiss back harder the next moment, leaning closer into their contact. He wrapped his hands around her torso, and held on to her side as if she was his anchor. Gaura, however, pulled away just as suddenly as she kissed him, freeing herself from the loving trap of Aloth's embrace and leaving the wizard yearning for her closeness.

He didn't have to yearn for long, however.

'Come here,' Gaura said as she lightly tapped on her thigh a few times. Aloth looked to her lap and let out a bashful chuckle. He steadied himself by holding onto the Watcher's shoulder and moved on to straddle her.

'I wanted to do this back at the opera,' his voice rang shyly but he still smiled down at her.

'Somehow, I had a hunch,' Gaura claimed the wizard's lips again. He relaxed at their contact, placing a little more weight on her and she couldn't help but smile against his lips. She enjoyed that weight on her, she enjoyed the way his thighs hugged hers, she enjoyed the way he held her by the back of her head. He touched her lightly and yet that was enough to keep her at the distance he wanted, at the angle he needed to kiss her with all the hunger and need that pent up in him during the night. She in turn kept him steady by his hip and to her surprise, Aloth answered to her touch. He rocked his hip against her. It was a quick, shy motion, barely there, that could've been easily mistaken for a shudder. But the Watcher knew him. And Aloth trusted her. It was like a secret shared by discreet confidants.

'I like it when you get needy,' Gaura whispered, breaking their kiss. But before Aloth could answer anything, she reached for his hair and wrapped it around her knuckles. The wizard gasped, but didn't take another breath while he anticipated the light tug, that came after. Gaura latched onto his arching neck, leaving a trail of sloppy kisses from his chin to his collarbone. Aloth tightened his hold on the back of her head, pressing her down harder against him. When the Watcher reached the neck of his tunic, she took the fabric between her teeth and lightly tugged at it. 'Help me get this off you.'

Aloth stole one more shallow kiss as an answer, before he straightened his back and reached for his belt. He undid it without looking, without turning his gaze away from the Watcher's eyes. Gaura in turn let her hands roam along his body, caressing him through his clothes as if she couldn't contain the anticipation of touching his skin. She guided her hands eventually to his thighs and when she did so, she slowed her movements, she savored every fraction of a moment as she pushed his tunic up to his hips, she savored the goosebumps and the shivers and the lust reflected in those dazzling eyes of his. Meanwhile, Aloth removed a pin by his shoulder and allowed the fabric to fall into his lap, exposing his chest but only in part.

'I'd... like it if you took this one out yourself,' he said, biting his lip and pointed to his other shoulder.

Gaura cocked her head, pretending to ponder his request. She brushed the fabric covering Aloth aside, until it merely hung off his shoulder but as she did so, he reached for her face, preventing the tunic to fall off him. 'Something tells me, you want me to take this off in a... very specific way,' she said as she left a sloppy kiss on the wizard's chest, then a few others on each of his collarbones.

'I... I liked the way you nipped at my clothes just now,' he admitted breathlessly, enjoying the feeling of the Watcher's lips on his shoulder. 'Please,' he added when he felt a pause in those kisses, only to hear a soft chuckle as a response and feel the pin slowly sliding out of his clothes, followed by the relief of the tunic falling to the ground. Gaura pulled away and took the pin out of her mouth. She flicked it away, but Aloth couldn't be bothered to see where it fell. By the time it hit the floor, his lips were already on the Watcher's and this time, he didn't restrain himself from grinding against her. Gaura's hands explored his back but the anticipation she wanted to build in him had a greater pull on her. When her hands moved to Aloth's hips again, she felt him smile against her lips. She pulled away, and flashed an impish smile at him before she leaned forward to leave a kiss on the center of his chest. She traced a path with gentle touches of her lips until she reached his nipple. The wizard let out a staggered sigh as her lips closed around the nub and her fingers hooked into his underwear. He eagerly lifted himself slightly so she could pull down the fabric along his thighs, forcing her to detach from his chest, and as he sat back down, Gaura felt his tension in every fiber of his being. She reached around his waist with one hand while she lifted the other to her lips to gather some of her spit in her palm.

'I hope my hand is not too dry,' the Watcher said as she took Aloth's cock in her hand, sending shivers down his body. She touched him gently, waiting for a response, desperately trying to hide her own need to see the beauty of his ecstasy.

'It feels perfect,' his voice rang with pure adoration. A moment later, a shade of self-awareness appeared on his face. Gaura chuckled. He always seemed to use the wrong words when his heart was overflowing with fondness, but before he could correct himself she closed the gap between them, and tightened her grip lightly around his erection. She rubbed him slowly, recalling the rhythm of a serenade from the opera. She thought of the love expressed in words she couldn't understand, the intensity of the melody and she wanted it all, she wanted it along her fingertips so she can show it to Aloth through her touch alone. The wizard moaned into their kiss as she pumped his shaft with more determination. However she kept her pace slow and steady, a pace he found sweetly frustrating but easy to keep up with. He began lightly moving on top of her again, gently thrusting into her grip. Gaura softly laughed at that, breaking the kiss.

'If you want me to go faster, you can just ask,' she said as she picked up her pace, drawing a groan out of Aloth. He didn't kiss her again, instead he rested his forehead against hers. He tried and failed to keep the sounds forming in him trapped in his throat, and breathed them quietly into the small space between them. The Watcher let out a hum, an approving and impatient sound as she moved her hand even faster, unable to contain her excitement and love for him.

'Gaura,' he whispered her name after a while, and Aloth found himself unable to keep moving, unable to do anything but to hold on to the Watcher and let her have her way with him. A hand came to rest at the back of Gaura's head while another gripped the clothes on her back so fiercely that she and Aloth both wondered if he'll manage to tear it. But Aloth couldn't care of he did and Gaura found the possibility amusing. She pulled him closer by his waist and leaned to his ear. She gently took it in her mouth, caressing his earlobe with her lips and her tongue, prompting him to hold her tighter, and to bury his head in the curve of her neck. She felt him tense up on her lap and a moment later she felt a clumsy, sloppy kiss on her neck, then another and another, with a longer and longer pause between each.

'Look at me, love,' Gaura's voice rang hoarsely from lust. Aloth hesitantly pulled away, barely, just enough to be able to look her in the eye. His face reflected his building pleasure and the Watcher couldn't help but bite her lip, seeing him so close to the edge. 'You are so precious,' she said, admiring him, as her hand around his cock picked up the pace once again. Aloth tried to respond something, but all that escaped his lips were a long, cathartic moan, as his eyes fluttered shut and his seed spilled on Gaura's belly. She slowed down her rubs, but didn't stop, trying to draw out his ecstasy as much as she could, Aloth, however, didn't let her watch him. He kissed her so hard that she felt it in her teeth and as a sweet retaliation she bit his lower lip, lightly, laughing into their contact.

They couldn't tell how much time has passed by the time Aloth's breathing calmed down fully and he finally relaxed. He let out a sigh that turned into laughter almost as soon as he exhaled it. He pulled away to look her in the eye once again.

'You're really...' he shook his head, grinning both at her and his own inability to describe her.

'Really?'

'Remarkable,' he said as his gaze wandered down her chest, 'incredible, and...' his smile faltered and an short, apologetic laugh bubbled up from him, 'and I ruined your dress.'

Gaura followed his gaze to the mess he left on her. She looked back up at him, smirking with feigned disapproval. 'Oh no, whatever am I going to do,' she shook her head, 'I'm stuck wearing stained sails and the culprit is too handsome to push him off,' she said as she left a kiss above Aloth's heart, enjoying the sound of his laughter.

A moment later the wizard climbed off her, somewhat clumsily with his underwear trapping his legs. While he freed himself, Gaura stood up and removed the pins in her tunic, allowing the fabric to slide off her and pool at her feet. Aloth froze in his movements, stunned at her sight, while the Watcher bounced lightly on her heels a few times get blood flowing in her legs again. Then she stepped over her dress and was just about to make her way to her footlocker when the wizard came to his senses again. She was stopped in her tracks by a hand grabbing hers.

'Where are you going?' Aloth asked as he gently pulled her towards himself. When she got close enough he took both her hands.

'To the kitchen. I figured I could grab something to drink,' the Watcher answered, trying her best not to get distracted by the wizard lifting both her hands to his lips, and kissing each of her knuckles while holding her gaze. 'I... I wouldn't be away for long.'

Aloth pondered her words. He held onto Gaura as if he was a moment away from dragging her back into bed and showering her with kisses. Then the moment passed and he was still merely holding her hands, while a thought seemed to have crossed his mind that put a faint frown on his face.

'Alright,' he let her go, and turned away to cast a protective spell on their blanket.

Gaura went to footlocker and put on the first shirt she found, then quickly slipped out of the cabin. She snuck to the kitchen as inconspicuously as one with flaming hair could and sure enough, she found a flagon filled with khapa tea and a bottle of rum. She gathered the bottle under her armpit while she carried the flagon in one hand and two mugs in the other. By the time she got back to the cabin, Aloth was almost done turning their pillows fireproof. At the sound of the door opening, he looked up and dropped the pillow he was holding to rush to the Watcher's aid. He took the rum and one of the mugs, allowing Gaura to pour them some tea. The wizard carefully took her mug while she placed the flagon on her desk. When she turned back towards the bed, Aloth was already sitting on its edge, pouring rum into their mugs.

'Oh, I forgot to ask if you wanted any,' he said, lifting the bottle slightly.

'I would've said yes,' Gaura shrugged then she approached the bed. When she reached for her mug, however, Aloth pulled it away.

'You are...' he cleared his throat, blushing, 'you're rather overdressed.'

The Watcher chuckled at his fumbled attempt at being subtle, but obliged him nonetheless. She made sure to take off her shirt slowly. And when the wizard still didn't offer her the tea, she slipped out of her underwear as well.

'Better?' She turned around to let him look her all over. By the time her gaze met his again, he seemed almost mesmerized by her. The Watcher burst out laughing and dropped down on the bed beside him. Aloth handed her a mug and touched his against it.

'To you being beautiful and thoughtful.'

Gaura raised her mug. 'To you being beautiful and thoughtful.' As she took a sip of her drink, she felt Aloth's gaze on herself. He watched him lost in thought, a wistful smile tugging faintly at the corners of his lips. 'What's on your mind, love?'

The wizard was snapped out of his daze. He shook his head but his smile widened. 'It's nothing, just... This has been the second time I've been to the opera. I... Didn't imagine tonight would go the way it did back then.'

Gaura didn't respond. In the silence, Aloth turned somewhat bashful. The Watcher took a large sip from her tea, then climbed on the bed proper. She crossed her legs, fully turned towards Aloth and held on to the mug with both hands. She looked cozy like one ready to hear an interesting tale. The sight drew a chuckle out of the wizard and continued.

'It was many years, ago. I was still a student at the Academy. One of my peers had a patron gracious enough to treat us all to a night at the opera.'

'That's rather generous.'

Aloth scoffed. 'Hardly. It was a statement of prestige. And we didn't even see a play. It was a concerto. The musician was skilled but his performance was loud and obnoxious, or at least it sounded that way as close to the stage as we were,' he lifted his mug to his lips and shyly glanced at Gaura over it. 'I... I much prefer your performances.'

'Mm-hmm,' the Watcher squinted at him with fake suspicion.

'Regardless... I was quickly distracted by the boxes by the sides of the hall. You see, in Aedyr, the boxes in the opera houses also have curtains. And sure enough I've seen one being drawn, then another, and another. And...' he grew quiet. The wizard looked into his mug as if he could see his memories reflected by the liquid within. 'I was wondering if... I was looking at my future. I've been Awakened for a few years by then, and hiding my Awakening, hiding Iselmyr... it overlapped with many other aspects of my life. It was fairly easy to guess what was happening behind those curtains... Secret dealings, secret affairs... And I couldn't help but ask myself if... If I never found a cure to my Awakening... If I were to thrive regardless, if I were to experience love and intimacy... Would it also be something I could only experience hidden? As a secret of mine and by being someone else's secret?' He looked to Gaura who watched him intently. 'I was rather moody in my Academy years,' he let out a rueful chuckle as he continued. 'I think deep down I dreamt of meeting someone like you... but I didn't dare hope for it.' He took a sip from his mug, then placed it on the ground beside the bed, quickly casting protective spells as he did so. He leaned over to Gaura and took her mug as well. She didn't resist. Not even as he lightly pushed her on her back and crawled on top of her. 'Thank you, for... destroying my dreams,' he laughed, 'and replacing it with a better reality.'

'You planned tonight,' she grabbed him by the face and pulled him onto her mouth. 'Give yourself some credit,' she said once she let him go.

'I suppose, that's true,' he said as his hand wandered to her breast and lightly cupped it. The Watcher bit her lip at the sensation, and reached for Aloth's chin. She ran her thumb along his lower lip as he gave her breast a light squeeze. 'But it was hardly free of mishaps,' he moved lower and kissed the glowing mark in the center of her chest, enjoying the feeling of her harmless flames licking at his lips. 'And... I still have more planned.'

'Is that so?' Gaura's question ended in a gasp as Aloth took her breast in his mouth. The hand that has been fondling it slowly moved down her belly, down between her legs. He lightly rubbed her inner thigh, close enough to her sex that she could feel the ghost of his touches on her folds. She absent-mindedly moved her leg, closer to him, closer to her own pleasure. The wizard looked up at her and pushed himself up.

'Of course,' he removed his hand from the Watcher's thigh to lick some of his slender fingers. 'It would be rather callous of me to let you make me feel the way you do,' he reached between Gaura's legs and lightly ran those wet fingers along her folds, drawing a deep, satisfied chuckle out of her, 'and not try my best to do the same for you.'

Aloth leaned down to leave a kiss on her knee. From there he traced one of the cracks running along her leg, with his tongue at one moment, and his lips at another. Gaura reached down to caress his hair while he teased her, softly chuckling to herself - after all she could feel his impatience in the touch of his fingers. The wizard looked up at her, and for a moment it seemed time itself has stopped. Then he leaned forward to place a kiss right below the Watcher's belly button. But at the same time, his fingers entered her and the contrast of sensations drew a gasp out of her. Gaura wanted to rock her hips against his touch, hungry for more, and it took her every bit effort she could spare to stop herself. Her hold on Aloth's hair tightened as he hurriedly kissed his way down on her, while his fingers kept caressing her walls. The movements of his hand were slow but meticulous despite his eagerness. His mouth, on the other hand, loved up her clit rather sloppily. When Gaura felt the precious contrast of sensations, she let a breathless curse slip from her lips and let go of her restraint. She grinded against Aloth's mouth, and she glimpsed a smile hiding in his eyes. She laughed as she thought back to the way he was grinding against her earlier.

'You like it too, don't you? When I get needy for you,' she whispered, a hint of chuckle hiding in her tone, but when Aloth nodded without pulling away, whatever response she had in mind was swept away by the sensation. The Watcher threw head back as she moaned, drowning out the wizard groan against her, but she could swear she felt his voice. She felt it resonate along her nerves that he set ablaze, with increasingly faster movements. And then... he found the perfect spot. 'Fuck,' she cried out, 'right there, Aloth,' she pushed herself up slightly so she could look at him. She involuntarily moved her legs closer to him, until they brushed against the tips of his ears and her mind couldn't help but wander to the earlier hours of the night: to the feeling of her dress against her legs that seemed to have faded behind the feeling of Aloth touching her. To the taste of the strange wine that paled in comparison to the intensity of the pleasure building in her. To the music enveloping her, the songs about longing and separation, and she only felt overwhelmed to have Aloth with her. 'I love you so much,' she let herself collapse back onto the pillow. Her eyes fluttered shut, and with it she lost her sense of time. She only sensed what Aloth invoked in her, and she couldn't get enough of it, of him, right until she was overwhelmed with ecstasy.

'I love you too,' she heard the wizard's voice coming from above, and a moment later the Watcher felt a soft kiss landing on her lips, and a tongue brushing against hers, carrying her own slightly metallic taste. She wrapped her hands around his shoulders, trying to ground herself once again, while his fingers were slowly guiding her back to her senses as well. He pulled them out slowly as he pulled away - as much as he could with Gaura holding him.

'I have to say,' she said as she tucked a few unruly strands of hair behind Aloth's ears, 'leaving early feels like the right idea so far.'

'I'm inclined to agree,' the wizard laughed, and laid down on top of the Watcher, with his head resting over her heart. 'Do you mind if we stayed like this? Just for a minute?'

Gaura lifted her head and blew a kiss on his hair. 'We've got the whole night.'

'Indeed, although... if we go on like this,' he looked up at her somewhat shyly, 'I'm not sure I'll ever be able to go the opera again, and not think of... you. I mean, us. As we are right now.'

'Well, tonight was my first time at the opera... If I were to go again, tonight will be on my mind for sure.'

Aloth's gaze softened as he listened. He didn't answer right away, merely he reached for the Watcher's hand to lace his fingers with hers.

'That is both comforting and enticing to know.'

#pillars of eternity #aloth corfiser #aloth x watcher #tho the team gilded vale romance is mentioned #nsf vörk #oc fic: gaura #wrytinge #gaura sélfolgh #i didn't proofread bc my head hurts and i feel done with everything you have fun tho

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