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#while the others where there and anxiety had a bat in his head
emo-trash88 · 22 hours
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Hello! Its me again, i LOVED your Tyler and Aiden one and i'm back with one more. So think about it, Tyler knows baseball right? So why dont he use his bat skills? (is that what its called?) To beat the shit out of phantoms when they first go to the phantom dimension? Maybe something like thr reader gets pulled by a phantom and tyler crashed the phantoms head with his bat?
I love this! Fr this, like man, put yourself to use for once 😭 I'm putting this at like the first-ish part when they all get attacked on the bus.
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Home Run
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Tyler x Reader
Pronouns: Second person
Word count: 491
Tw: Uhhh bashing in heads??? also blood.
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So this wasn't exactly how you expected to be spending your nights with your boyfriend. Usually you would've expected sitting with him in his bedroom watching some stupid cringy movie or you forcing him to play a random game you found the night before. On the other hand, you haven't really had a night like that with him since Savannah, so what did you honestly expect?
Well regardless of how you feel about being unable to live your best life, you don't have a choice. You lay in your bed, waiting for it to finally hit midnight, like it has every other night. As you lay there you feel your mind wandering, and eventually you start thinking about where you all were last night. The bus graveyard, you were all running. But before you can finish the thought, you black out.
Almost as soon as you open your eyes, you hear Ashlyn whisper "Duck" and you, along with the others, crouch down almost in unison. As you all get down everyone starts brainstorming how to get out of this situation, how to get away from the lurking phantom. You sit there silently, almost in a trance, anxiety coursing through your veins.
After about a minute of debating, Ashlyn perks up and her eyes widen slightly, a sight you've gotten used to. She hushes everyone and after a second says "Hide under the seats.". You along with everyone else start army crawling under the seats, peering out periodically to see if the phantom is nearby.
As you try your best to stay still, you hear a semi loud creak. A creak thats too loud to be safe. You cover your mouth with your hand, your breath becoming more frantic with each passing second. You turn to look behind you and before you can do anything, the phantom grabs you by the ankle, pain searing up your leg as you let out a scream.
"(Name)!" You hear yelled, too freaked to be able to figure out whose voice it was. You grab onto a seat above you and start trying to pull yourself up while (attempting to) kick the phantom away. You let out pained grunts as the phantom digs deeper into your ankle, managing to weaken your grip on the seat above you.
You almost give up, the pain becoming almost unbearable for you, but before you let go, you hear a crunch. A loud disgusting crunch. And almost immediately afterwards, the phantom lets go, letting you pull yourself up.
You push yourself out into the aisle, seeing Tyler panting with a broken wooden bat and the phantom laying limp on the ground. You look at Tyler, tears in your eyes either from fear or pain. "Ben! (name) needs help!" Tyler shouts, running to you and pulling you into his arms.
This is when you're finally able to look down, and all you see is blood staining your pants, shoes and socks. It's slowly dripping onto the floor of the bus like a melted ice pop. As you stare at it, almost everything stops. You know Tyler is trying to talk to you to make sure you're okay (you're very obviously not) and you can see Ben tending to your wound with everyone else either staring at you or the dead phantom. But none of it feels real.
After a couple minutes Ben finishes wrapping your wound and Tyler pulls you closer to him (if that was even possible). "Please don't ever do that again" he says softly and he genuinely sounds worried. You nod in agreement and for just a moment, this feels a little better than a cringy movie night.
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Omg I'm so sleep deprived, but I hope this turned out good :)
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irisintheafterglow · 7 months
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kid megumi starts a fight. you and satoru finish it.
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being fresh out of high school while simultaneously taking care of a second grader was an interesting experience, to say the least. today was no different.
"oh my god; he what? i'll be there in a second, fucking hell," you sputter as you all but shoot upward from your desk, sweeping the post-mission paperwork to the side and grabbing your car keys from the bedside table. the car makes strained vrooms while you impatiently pump the gas pedal, accelerating down the street like a bat out of hell. swerving into the nearest parking space you could find, you forcefully swing open the door to the front office to find satoru waiting in a plastic chair. he mutters an exasperated oh, thank god under his breath before standing and taking your hand, leading you down the hall to the principal's office.
"is he okay?"
"he's fine, i promise." you look at him skeptically, remembering all the times megumi was "fine" yet had scrapes that satoru didn't know how to clean up. "i'm serious. i saw it myself. the nurse cleaned up his nose and iced the hit on his face."
"he got hit in the fucking face?" your jaw drops in shock and you quiet your voice to a hushed whisper outside the principal's office door. "what the fuck happened that he got punched in the-"
"fushiguro's guardians, please come in. we're ready for you," an irritatingly nasally voice calls from inside and it takes all of your willpower not to blast the door open until it's shredded to pieces. megumi's principal sits behind an obtrusively large wooden desk, with the boy sitting by one end and two empty chairs at the other. you immediately drag one of the chairs over to sit by his side, but a wrinkled hand stops you. "please sit across from him, not beside him. he must receive proper punishment and that begins with accounting for his own actions," the principal instructs you and you catch satoru's jaw clench in restrained anger. he wanted to tear the principal's head off for telling you what to do, especially since it was regarding megumi.
"i'll decide where i want to sit, thank you," you reply with forced politeness, sliding the chair next to a defeated megumi. he scoots as close to you as he can and links his pinky finger in yours. it's small, but you know he's trying to manage his anxiety along with yours. satoru shrugs indifferently at the principal but shoots you a proud wink when no one is looking. "they cleaned you up, yeah?" you ask megumi softly and he nods, wincing slightly when your knuckles lightly brush the bruise on his cheek. "i'm sorry, baby-"
"fushiguro instigated a fight with three sixth grade students, all of them older than him. we believe he may have developed issues dealing with his emotions, specifically anger," the principal informs you and you make a great deal of effort to wipe the glower from your face. "student witnesses say that he struck first, and-"
"do you know why he started the fight in the first place?" your eyes narrow on the scrawny, shriveled man behind the oversized desk and he shrinks away slightly.
"no, b-but we believe that violence should not be-"
"violence or not, shouldn't you be responsible for understanding why this occurred outright?" your voice is strained and tense, slightly shaky with repressed anger. you stare daggers into the old man's sunken eyes and catch satoru watching the whole scene with pride. here was a man who knew nothing about a child you considered your own, trying to argue that he started a fight for no reason when you knew megumi would never harm a bee, even if it stung him. before you're able to start a physical fight with the idiot school official that probably saw more board meetings than actual students, satoru's voice cuts in.
"forgive me, but i don't appreciate your tone-"
"we'll be sure to properly discipline him at home, sir," he states emotionlessly, and you wordlessly thank him for wrapping the meeting up quickly. after a few more glares and aggressive signatures on paperwork waiving the school of any responsibility for megumi's injuries, you walk out of the office with satoru's arm around your shoulders and megumi's hand grasping yours. "alright, firecracker. you fizzled out yet or do we need to take you to a kickboxing class real quick?" he presses a tender kiss to the side of your head, clearly unbothered by the way you barreled through that ridiculous meeting.
"put me in an empty field away from people, and i'll make a kickboxing class look like a fucking knitting circle," you mutter vengefully as satoru chuckles under his breath.
"alright, megs. you gonna tell us what happened or are we actually going to need to get you a therapist?" megumi glances off to the side, irritated, but you squeeze his hand once in reassurance that, no matter what happened, you'd figure it out together.
"they were hurting tsumiki," he says quietly and both you and satoru freeze, looking at each other in careful understanding. "she was saying it was just a joke, but i caught her crying while we were walking home."
"so, you decided the best option was to fight them," you say slowly. satoru's hand rubs loving circles on your shoulder and you ask the question you've been holding onto since he called. "well, did you beat them?"
"i did, and that's why everyone is so angry," the boy shrugs and you huff a tired exhale. "are you mad at me?"
"no, megs. i'm glad you defended your sister, but i wish you'd told us what was going on before acting on your own."
"yeah, we could have helped you," your boyfriend whispers and you elbow his stomach lightly. not yet, you mouth to him. let's drop him off first.
"the kids said they were going to get my parents involved. is that why you're here?"
"yes and no," satoru says, opening the car door for you as you slide into the passenger seat. he could have warped back to the school, but he'd silently indicated that he wanted to drive all three of you back. "yeah, we're here to come get you; but, unfortunately for those shithead kids-" you turn to face him in the backseat, a conniving smile creeping onto your face.
"we're not your parents, and we're gonna need those kids' names."
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stevieschrodinger · 16 days
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Part One
Steve’s bedroom door is open. He’s perched on the edge of the bed, pretty much everyone else wedged in here with him. Rob is on the bed too, leaning against him. Jon and Nance are sitting at the bottom. All the kids are sitting on the floor.
Everyone's quiet. Waiting. Straining to hear.
El and Eddie are next door.
And Steve has no fucking idea what the hell is going on.
The gates are all closed. Hawkins is a mess, but within the first twenty four hours there was a big push to start repairs. The government is probably pouring cash on this to tidy it up, clean it up, cover it up; make sure everyone knows it was an earthquake.
Gas main damaged in the quake leaked; if anyone saw anything weird, they’re already convinced it was a hallucination. So there’s that.
Everyone got out of hospital within hours; the worst off was probably Steve himself. His wounds from the bats, from their first run in with Vecna, still hadn't healed and one of them had been growing steadily more infected. He has fresh injuries from this time around; all of them inflicted by Eddie. Steve has two broken ribs, and he sounds like he's been smoking 100 a day for sixty years from where Eddie nearly choked him out. He needed twelve stitches in the nasty gash he picked up on the back of his head, but luckily no concussion this time. He's covered in scratches and bruises, but the hospital were happy to let him go with antibiotics and firm instructions to rest.
Eddie, surprisingly, has a clean bill of health. He was filthy, and the scars were bad but...otherwise, he didn’t have so much as an open scratch on him. Everything healed up completely. Which makes...no sense. Steve literally saw him die.
But that also means while they were preparing...planning...working to take down Vecna...he had Eddie the whole time. Potentially, that was nearly a week. The shock they had all had, seeing Eddie again. Obviously they hadn’t planned for that, hadn't factored it into their plans, and it completely and utterly fucked everything up.
They were done for. They were all going to die, no question. But something happened. Something changed. Steve was convinced he was about to get choked to death by Eddie, or maybe impaled on that ridiculous sword but...no. Eddie had blinked awake. And then he’d cut Vecna’s head clean off...which, unexpected, but still a win.
Eddie had dropped the sword, stumbling along after everyone else to get out before the gates closed on them.
Since then, Eddie's been silent. Going where he's told, stumbling through the examinations, sitting on the periphery of the group, staring into space. He looked broken, even to Steve, who realistically didn't know Eddie that well. Eddie had the vacant stare of someone who's just been though something traumatic.
When Dustin had tried to hug him, even, Eddie had flinched away.
No one tried to touch him after that, giving up talking to him pretty quickly. Eddie wasn't going to answer. Steve could practically watch Dustin getting more and more distressed over the state of Eddie. Everyone was aware; all they could do was sit and watch it happen.
Once they were out of the hospital they could look after him; try and figure out what the fuck was happening.
Eddie had disappeared pretty much the moment he had opportunity. He’d mumbled something about finding a bathroom, pretty much the first words he;d spoken, and as the minutes ticked by, it became increasingly obvious that Eddie wasn't coming back. The hospital was a mess, and they were supposed to wait for Owens.
Obviously the kids weren’t willing to let him out of their sight that fast. Vecna’s done something to him, controlled him somehow, that much is obvious. Just...nobody knows what.
When Owens finally showed, it was done and dusted fast. They confirmed Henry/One was dead. Owens had a lot of other shit to sort out; they were no longer his priority and they knew it. Dustin had been ball of barely contained anxiety the whole time, clearly wanting to track down Eddie but...by some sort of group mutual understanding...no one mentioned Eddie was alive. No one said he'd come back with them.
In the confusion, no one seemed to question it. Owens clearly hadn't bothered to look at the hospital's records, or whatever it was he could do. They left as fast as they could without raising suspicion.
The kids had found Eddie again pretty quickly, more through luck than anything, but finding Eddie sitting on the porch of some random house, nursing a bottle of vodka was...well. Everyone’s got their own coping mechanisms, Steve guesses.
Eddie still hasn’t spoken about what happened, but he was pretty quick to pass out on the spare bed.
El’s got that look on her face when she comes back, like she’s thinking big thoughts.
“Is he okay?” Dustin asks first. Obviously there were concerns. Vecna had Eddie for days, there could be anything in Eddie’s head. What if there’s something...lingering...from Vecna? Could be a risk.
El shakes her head, “he is very sad.”
“Sad about what?” Nancy, this time.
“When Eddie was…” she makes a face, she doesn’t have the words, for a moment, to convey what she wants to say, she puts the fingertips of both hands together, making bars, “Vecna put Eddie’s mind in a cage, he doesn’t remember what his body was doing, I don’t think.”
“So Vecna had him as a kind of puppet? He couldn’t get out of the cage?” Robin clarifies, “that’s good right, he didn’t see himself hurting us?”
El tilts a hand from side to side, “he did not want to leave the cage. Vecna made him…” she purses her lips, “love. He was in love. They had a baby, she grew up, she was going to college.”
“That makes no sense, he was there less than a week?”
“Time is different in dreams.”
“Yeah,” Dustin chimes in, “even if a dream feels long, it actually happens really fast.”
Steve huffs, “right, but he knows now, right, that it wasn’t real? So it doesn’t matter, right?”
“It matters to him,” El tells him so firmly Steve feels like he fucked up, “it was real to him.”
“Steve,” Nancy turns to him, “imagine if you got married, had...I don’t know, six kids and a Winnebago,” Steve winces because, yeah, okay, he might have deserved that, “and you come home after years and years of living that, being happy, only to find out it wasn’t real, how would you feel?”
“It’d be like they died,” Robin says next to him, suddenly gasping and making a pained noise, “oh that’s horrible. Poor Eddie.”
El’s nodding, and everyone else is silent, clearly letting that sink in.
And, yeah, Steve figures...that’s got to be pretty awful.
The kids have gone home, but Nancy, Rob, Jon and Argyle have all stayed. They promised the kids they would watch over Eddie, which wasn’t hard since Eddie’s been asleep pretty much since they got back. Steve doesn’t know if is the most of a bottle of vodka Eddie had downed, or the week he’s had but...he’s still asleep.
They take it in turns to check on him, every half an hour, someone comes up. Just to check.
Steve doesn’t know what woke him, but he needs to piss. Robins passed out next to him, snoring her wheezy little snore. Steve gets up and goes to the bathroom, figures he should check on Eddie.
And Steve finds himself suddenly very awake at the sight of an empty bed and an open window.
They split up, heading for likely places. Nancy, Argyle and Jon pile into Jon’s car, heading for Wayne first and then with a vague plan to work through town on the way back if he’s not there.
Steve and Robin strike out in the opposite direction.
“Lets head for the place the kids found him.”
“You think he would have gone back there?”
Robin shrugs, “why did he go there in the first place?”
“You think it means something to him?” A horrible feeling starting to form in the pit of Steve’s stomach, even as Robin shrugs ‘maybe’ at him.
They can’t see Eddie, but Robin insists they check it out. Steve’s glad Robin has half their brain, because she was dead right. There’s smashed glass on the porch and the door is open; someone has broken in.
Part Three
@autumncrocusandladybug @duckyreads @neonfruitbowl @slv-333 @starlight-archer @skys-archive @justdreamersdream @moomkin77 @prazinos
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punching-pentagrams · 2 months
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Love in a Hopeless Place
Chapter 7
Chapter 1|Chapter 2|Chapter 3|Chapter 4|Chapter 5|Chapter 6|Chapter 7|Chapter 8|Chapter 9
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Lucifer x prostitute fem!reader Word Count: 3.9k CW: Slowburn, Prostitution, Hurt/comfort, trauma, fluff, cuddles, depression, anxiety, Sexual fantasizing, insecurity
Lucifer's eyes started to flutter open the next morning, a beam of light streaming in through the living room window. Wow, had he actually gotten a full uninterrupted night's rest again? What a pleasant surprise. He smiled as he looked up at the ceiling if his living room. Wait... his living room? Was he still on the couch? He was used to you bringing him back to his bed after he fell asleep, what hap-
Lucifer's thought process completing froze as he became aware of the weight holding his body down to the couch, specifically, the weight of your beautiful body, that still laid on him, sound asleep. Lucifer felt his cheeks burn a bright red. 'Oh my god, she feel asleep on me last night?! This is amazing, this is also terrible. Will she get mad? Will her boss get mad at her? Should I wake her up?' God he didn't want to have to wake you up. The sight of you curled up on him with your head on his chest was breathtaking. Shit... he really had fallen for you, hadn't he?
Lucifer had no idea what to do, he many ideas of what he wanted to do, but not what he should do. He could run his fingers through your hair, kiss your forehead, rub your back, any of those things could have encouraged you awake. But instead, he just sleepily watched you dreaming on his chest, until you eventually started to wake up.
After a little while, your eyes began to open. You too had experienced an amazing night of sleep that you were not used to. Perhaps all that crying gelling did you some good. But something felt off, where were you? You looked up to see Lucifer's smiling face, "Hehe, uhh... good morning, I guess."
Oh my god, had you cried yourself to sleep in his arms?! Lucifer cocooned you again in his wings before you could panic.
"Shit! Lucifer I'm so-"
"Shhhh shh shhh shh," Lucifer stopped you, "No apologizes, please. Yesterday was... hard, seemed like we both needed sleep, and frankly, I slept great. What about you?"
You blushed, and laid you head back on his chest while still looking up at him, mumbling, "Well, I guess that's the best I've slept... in a long time..." It was the best you had slept since you had arrived in hell.
"Excellent! So, lets just call it a happy accident, that we figured something out from. Also..." God he was trying to be a little bold and it made him nervous, "Would you be willing to try this again... but intentionally next time?"
"Like... have me stay through the night? And... sleep with you in your bed?" You asked.
"Yes..." he asked with a little more hesitance in his voice. You chuckled, look at him go, asking for what he wants, and so nicely too.
You smiled and shrugged, "Works for me, just let the boss know."
"Right..." he said, he was starting to hate the reminders that you weren't just here because you wanted to be. He wasn't upset at you, it just left him with a pang of insecurity, a curiously if you would even put up with him if it weren't for the fact that he hired you to be here.
He cleared his throat, trying to refocus. "You won't... get into any trouble for this, right?"
You waved your hand, "Naw, I'll just tell him I was out late partying. After what happened yesterday, he wouldn't bat an eye."
"Ok, how are you feeling, by the way?" he asked, looking over your face.
"Much better... Thank you... for... well everything..." you smiled nervously. You still felt guilty that Lucifer had to spend his paid time with you dealing with the aftermath of other client sessions, you were normally better than that. He seemed like he wanted to be there for you, but you had no idea why he would even want to. It felt so good, but you still could not tell how real or how deep the care actually ran. If this continued, the guilt and confusion might become overwhelming.
"It was my pleasure," he said, grabbing you hand and kissing it while staring deeply into your eyes.
Ugh, why did this have to be so hard to figure out!
After that, the two of you begrudgingly got up, and got ready for the day. Lucifer teleported you back to your room, bit you farewell, and left. Both of you back in your own spaces, alone, already missing the other.
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The next night you two had together, you and Lucifer would change the end of night routine as had been discussed, ending up with you both falling asleep in each others arms, and getting the joy of waking up to seeing each other first thing in the morning. It was beyond bliss. You didn't know it, but you two were in a secret competition to see who could wake up first, and get the privilege of watching the other as they clung onto their last few minutes of sleep before they would wake up.
The mornings that Lucifer woke up before you were both beautiful and painful for him. He loved getting to stare at your beautiful face, sure, but the urges... oh the urges to run his fingers through your hair, the urges to lace his fingers with yours, the urges to kiss your forehead, your cheeks, your lips, your neck, your... everything... the urges to let his hands explore your body, to sneak his hands under your clothing, to find the sensitive places on your skin that would make your breathe hitch, make the fire grow in your eyes, make you want to touch him the same way... the pain of all of these urges pulled at his mind, every morning, every day.
Some of them he could get away with more once you were awake, fingers through your hair, kisses on your hands, but he wanted more. Beyond that, he wanted them to mean something. He knew that he could just ask you for kisses or sex, and you would say yes, but he didn't want that, he wanted it to be real, he wanted passion, he wanted to make love to you. Every day with you made those feelings grow stronger and more unbearable.
Luckily, at least for another couple weeks, Lucifer would still be distracted by the upcoming extermination, and he figured that it was best that he focused on one life altering event at a time. You and Lucifer would spend more of your evenings hanging out with Charlie and the others at the hotel. Alastor had helped Charlie recruit many of the people of Cannibal Town to help, much to Lucifer's chagrin, and Vaggie had also gotten some intel on angels being able to be killed with angelic weapons, and was able to get resources from Carmilla Carmine, another Overlord and the only Angelic Weapon-Arms Dealer in hell.
Lucifer did not like learning that angels could be killed for a number of reasons, but he tried not to focus on that right then. Right now, he cared about being there for Charlie, and enjoying the calm before the storm.
The night before the extermination, most of the hotel crew, honestly, seemed like they were in good spirits. Alastor was even behaving and not doing everything in his power to piss of Lucifer, just some minor loitering on the edge of his conversations around the hotel. Angel and Husk were hanging out at the bar, and Angel's best friend, Cherri Bomb, had also come to hang out to join the fight. You noticed that Angel and Husk had increasingly been giving each other cute looks, and that Sir Pentious was nervous when it came to any interaction involving Cherri.
What you didn't know, was that Angel, Husk, and Cherri had also been watching the way you and Lucifer interacted over the last couple of weeks, the way you too looked at each other, the way his touch would linger, or that any hug would last a littleeee too long for a hug between just friends. Whenever you were not at the hotel, those three would come up with theories on what was going on with you two.
At some point, you ended up in a conversation with those three, chatting it up, and eventually Angel was the one that finally brought it up.
"Alright, babe. So...spill it. What exactly is goin' on between you an' da Boss Man, hmm?" Angel said, leaning his hand on one of his hands with a cocked eyebrow. You were startled by the question. Shit.
"Uhhh... w-what do you mean?" you say sheepishly, messing with your hair.
"I think you know exactly what I'm talkin' about~" Angel replied with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
"I-uhhh..." you started.
"Come on, (y/n), cut the crap," Husk chimed in, cleaning a cup. "Ya!" Added Cherri, "We can all tell you two are seriously vibin' with one anotha," she said in her spunky Australian accent.
'Shit, had these three really been that curious about my relationship with Lucifer? Was it that obvious? I have been just trying to follow his lead on things when we visited.'
"I mean... we are just really close, and comfortable with each other... that's all," you say, not trying to look at them directly.
"But how close are you too exactly?" asked Husk. "Yaaaa, like bedroom close~?" Angel pushed in his flirty voice, talking a little louder.
You quickly covered Angel's mouth with your hands, looking around, no one else had seemed to hear him. Lucifer was across the room, chatting with Charlie and Vaggie, and Alastor seemed more focused on listening in on their conversation than yours. You look back to see Husk and Cherri with satisfied looks on their faces, along with a twinkling mischief in Angel's eyes.
You sigh and remove your hands, "Look, guys, I really want to talk about the details around my dynamic with Lucifer, but... I really can't... I'm not allowed. Even saying that might be too much..."
The trios' faces became more concerned. "Wait... he doesn't... own your soul, does he?" Husk asked.
"Oh! No, no, nothing like that. And he has been nothing but kind to me. It's just... not something I can talk about... no matter how much I may want to..." you say, holding yourself and looking down sadly. The other two looked to Husk, Husk looked sadly back at them, he could tell this was not a bluff, you were telling the truth.
Lucifer glanced across the room at you, and was surprised to see your body language had suddenly changed from how it had been during the rest of your conversation with the others at the bar. Your body language looked more sad to him. Lucifer briefly excused himself from his conversation with Charlie and Vaggie, saying he would be right back, and made his way over to you.
Cherri, Lucifer, and Husk saw Lucifer approaching, and he giving off a protective look of 'what did you do?' before putting a hand on your back.
"Darling? Is everything ok?" Lucifer said, his face softening as he looked down at you.
Your head spang up at his sudden contact and sound of his voice, 'Crap, did he hear any of that?'
You looked up at him in surprise. "Oh! Ya... sorry, we were talking about Adam and the battle tomorrow... just made me think about how worried I have been for you all..." you say sadly. The other three relax once they realized you were covering for them, Husk almost didn't like how good you were at pulling out a story like that, but right now he cared more about not pissing off the King.
Lucifer sighed and ran his finger through your hair, before pulling you in for a comforting hug, "I know... we are gonna get through this." He looked over at the other three over your shoulder, smiling, "Together."
The others smiled back at Lucifer and he released you from the hug before asking if you felt like we needed to leave for the evening. You shook your head, telling him you wanted to stay longer. He nodded, and then walked back to his conversation with Charlie and Vaggie.
"Well, one thing is for sure," Husk said looking after Lucifer, "That man cares a lot about you."
You blushed, you hoped so, you hoped and prayed that was true. But because of the structure, no matter what he said or did, you always had some level of doubt hanging in the back of your thoughts. You wish you didn't have to second guess every interaction. You wish you knew how an actually health dynamic looked like so that you had something to compare to. Most of all, you wished you didn't have to be scheduled and paid in order to see him. Would he even want to see you outside of the time he pays for you?
"How do you know?" you asked Husk. Husk gave you a soft smile, "No man spends as much time as he does constantly checking in on you if he does not care."
You cock an eyebrow, "But, he doesn't constantly check on me."
"Maybe from you're perspective," Angel chimed, "That mothafucka is constantly lookin' over at you, why do ya think he was over here so fast as soon as you started pullin' into ya'self. Which, thanks for da save by da way. I am not ready ta get on his bad side."
You looked over your shoulder at here at Lucifer, a moment later, he looked at you, smiled, and waved. You waved back, and looked back to the others.
"See? Man's totally whipped," said Cherri. Doubted that, Lucifer having feeling for someone like you? Ya right. But you could see how they would think that way without knowing the truth behind your relationship, and they made a fair point, he did care to some degree. You couldn't keep the blush from tinting your cheeks. I mean I guess he did send a man to be tortured for all eternity for hurting you, that has to mean something... No matter how small.
Before long, it was time to go. You hugged everyone goodbye that wanted hugs. While hugging Charlie you said, "Kick his ass honey, I'd really hate to lose a good housing option." Charlie beamed and hugged you even tighter, to the point where it almost hurt, "We will! We'll get you set up right after we kill all of the angels or kick their asses back up to Heaven!"
You laughed, said goodbye, and you and Lucifer departed back to his place. Little did you know, that would be your last time inside of that hotel.
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Sleep had not come easily for both of you that night, but it did all the same. Your time at Lucifer's did not end the following morning, Lucifer had booked out the rest of your day, he did not want to risk you getting caught if an exterminator if the angels were successful at wiping out everyone at the hotel and started going after the rest of the sinners. He knew the exorcists would not go anywhere near his house, Here, at least, he knew that you would be safe.
You wanted to help, but you knew you weren't a fighter, and giving Lucifer some peace so that he could fight when it came down to it was more important. Lucifer already had his hands tied in this situation. He had been the one to originally allow the exterminations to happen in Hell, mostly because he had no clue what else to do and he had been backed into a corner in that initial discussion with Heaven.
There was one rule however, that if broken, would allow him to fight, that rule being that hellborns were not allowed to be harmed. Funny, that a rule that he originally set in place to protect Charlie was now the rule that he hoped would get broken in order for him for be able to fight, and the only hellborn in this fight was Charlie, well, and Razzle and Dazzle too. Lucifer had created them as guardians to protect Charlie, and creations fell into a weird catagory. But an attack on them normally meant an attempted attack on her. He had to gamble that one of them would get hurt, but not so hurt that Charlie would be erased. It was a very uncomfortable situation, but nothing about this whole situation was anyway.
The two best case scenarios were that they could take out everyone, including Adam, without hurting Charlie, so Lucifer would never be needed, or for Charlie/her guardian's to get lightly hurt, so that Lucifer could jump in. Once he was able to jump in, the battle would basically be over. You didn't know much about how powerful Adam was, you had only seen small bits of Alastor and Lucifer's power, and nothing of Charlie's ability to fight him off. You had no idea how this was going to play out.
Lucifer however, knew how powerful Adam was, as well as his and Charlie's power, and he had a small idea of Alastor's power based on how he had defended the hotel a month ago. Lucifer didn't think that Alastor was going to be able to take out Adam completely, but he thought he would be able to most like put up a good fight, delay him, maybe get a few good hits in. If Charlie was as much of a fighter at Lucifer was, he wouldn't be as worried, but she was a gentle soul and didn't utilize her powers a lot. It was gonna be hard to tell how this was going to go.
Lucifer sat on the couch, tense, holding your hand, wings already out, waiting for the signal, waiting for the energy between him and Charlie to activate that would inform him that Charlie or her guardians had been hit. Before long, the sensation of a sting of shared pain ran through his body. He quickly kissed you on the forehead, said "See you on the other side," and jumped through a portal out to the battlefield.
You were now alone with your own fear.
You went to the window to see if you could see the hotel from his manor, but you barely couldn't. All you could do was pace around the house, waiting for Lucifer to return. You thought about turning on the tv or radio to listen for any news, maybe looking for a livestream on your phone, but no, all of that would have just made it worse. So you paced, until you decided to lay on the floor and stare at the ceiling, trying hard just to breathe.
Until... a portal opened up. You sat up, looking at the portal, through the swirling red magic, you saw a familiar black claw reach out to you. You smiled, as the image continued to clear up, and you could see Lucifer, next to Charlie, and Vaggie, Angel, Husk, Cherri, Niffty... all covering in golden blood, except for Lucifer who looked exactly the same as when he left.
You felt tears well up in your eyes as you jumped through the portal into the arms of your friends. You all hug in a group before Lucifer picked you up and spun you around. After the laughter and smiles you looked around, something was missing, something big. It was quiet.
"Where are Alastor and Pentious? And... oh my god! The hotel!" you said realizing that it was not only some friends that were missing, but that the group was literally standing on the rocky remains of the Hazbin Hotel.
Charlie rubbed her arm, "Pentious... Pentious scarified himself for us... Adam killed him... he's... he's gone. And, umm... we aren't entirely sure what happened to Alastor either... He was fighting Adam, and the next thing we knew, Adam was out fighting the rest of us. We haven't seen him since. And... ya... Adam took out the hotel."
"And I took out the Bad Angel Man!" Niffy said, proudly holding up her little dagger, both her at it covered in bright golden blood.
You and the others laughed at Niffy's excitement, but your heart broke for your friends, you hadn't really gotten to know Sir Pentious very much, but your knew he had meant a lot to the hotel crew. You hoped that Alastor had found a way to slip out or something, he was... a unique individual... but he was also an important piece to the hotel. And the hotel...
Lucifer grabbed your hand, "The hotel, however, we can fix." He said with a smile, "Wanna help us build a hotel?"
You smiled, finally something you were able to do to help.
"Lets do this!"
The rest of the afternoon was spent with the whole crew building up a new Hazbin Hotel, one that was even bigger and better than the previous one. You had no idea that it was possible to set up a new building in an afternoon, but with Lucifer's extraordinary magic and an amazing team, the shining new doors of the hotel were gleaming and open again.
Lucifer could not stop smiling the whole rest of the afternoon, to have a purpose behind his creativity and powers of creation, to have a community again that liked him, to have his daughter back and getting to support her dreams, and to have you, you who made all this happiness fall into place again. Getting to beat the shit out of Adam had also been quite enjoyable.
He looked down at the wedding ring that was still on his left hand, after wearing it for so long, he had forgotten that it wasn't just a part of him, it was his reminder of Lilith. He would still always have love and care for Lilith, but the time of her had come to an end, and you were his new horizon. He wasn't ready to take off the ring just yet, he didn't want to tip anyone off, but god did he just want to toss of the ring, swoop down from the sky, scoop you up, kiss you, and tell you how much he loved you in front of all of hell, but this wasn't the time. This day was about Charlie and her dream. Plus... he was still really fucking nervous and didn't know how to say it to you.
Eventually, Alastor manifested himself back from the shadows and re-joined the group, Lucifer and Husk were... less than thrilled, but everyone else was happy, including you. The group celebrated at their new beautiful hotel together late into the night.
Eventually, you and Lucifer split off for the night to celebrate the rest of the night together snuggling in each other's arms. You fell asleep first that night, and Lucifer spent his last few minutes awake looking at your beautiful face in the darkness or his room, daydreaming about the best way to tell you how he felt.
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Don't get too comfortable! I've got one more twist in store for these two :) xoxo, dany As usual, leave a comment if you want added to the taglist so that you can get notifications when future chapters drop!
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peace-for-levi · 8 months
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{when you need me...}
who would i be if i didn't project my mental health onto 2D characters/reader and not write about it? i see so many fics of reader being worried for nanami while he's out in shibuya and… we all know what happens there.
content warning: detailed descriptions of anxiety, reader refers to themselves as 'wife' (reader thinks they are a bad wife) and the use of 'she'. it's otherwise in the 2nd person perspective. negative self-talk/beliefs. use of pet names. nanami being the bestest husband. i miiiiight have made him OOC and overindulged on how soft i made him BUT ITS OK YOU GOTTA BE A DELULU IN THIS ECONOMY.
+18 discord server
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No, you were not going to call him. Absolutely not! Or text him either, for that matter.
The anxiety had been bubbling away all day inside your head like billowing storm clouds. You were grateful work kept you occupied, but once you arrived home, you trudged to your bedroom. You didn't even change out of your work attire.
You knew the source of all this, too.
Nanami came home injured while you were out dealing with another curse of your own. Thankfully, he had dealt with the bleeding himself and got checked out by Shoko. But to see him come so depleted of energy – dark shadows hanging under his eyes like bats, shoulders heavy – left you extremely unsettled. You were already an anxious mess, and now there are talks of a special-grade 'patchwork' curse. Not to mention the two unregistered cursed spirits that Gojo encountered.
What was going on in the world?
Now, he had been called out to the school again. After being badly injured, no less!
What if he was asked to fight the patch-work curse again? Was that curse able to perform Domain Expansions? Your husband never reached that height of jujutsu…
Would he… make it home okay?
You worked a "normal" job, not being employed at as a teacher at the highschool. As a grade one sorcerer, though, you were sometimes called in on particularly difficult and awkward missions. Your figured your problems with anxiety in the past would slowly fizzle away if you quit working at that highschool; after all, they couldn't make you exorcise and hunt down curses as often if you didn't work there. In your naivety, you assumed that'd be the end to your worries. But they only persisted and got worse the longer your husband of four years continued to work there as a teacher.
You couldn't resent him for it, and you knew he found greater fulfillment in being a teacher than adhereing to the laborious life of a salaryman.
But, maybe… your selfish thoughts got the better of you when you wished he could work a more "normal" job like you… If he worked a job where his safety was guaranteed…
How could you say such a thing? What kind of wife says that?!
Your hand collides against your forehead, releasing a (poorly contained) groan. Your teeth continued to chatter.
Now, I'm a bad wife on top of everything else…
Gruesome images flood your mind's eye. It's obsessive, relentless. After all, you have to prepare for the worst to come, right…? That's what you always do.
If you were by his side, would that make you feel any more relieved? Just by seeing him? But like a jolt, any solution you try come up with is met with more disturbing imagery. It was so vivid, it is as if you were there.
All that gore and worry conjured up in your cursed, anxious little head. The redness – so much red – of your imagery. It seeps and spreads along the ground at a terrifying rate, the image of someone – Kento – bleeding out. No one is there to help him.
You are.
You aren't gifted like Shoko, though.
There is no amount of horror – be it from forms of media or the wicked imagination – that can prepare a person for seeing the life ebb from another; the hopelessness, the tearing at the soul that is the departing of the other. As your loved one leaves this earth.
You're anxious, you're spiralling… You just wanted him to be okay. You wanted him to confirm with you he was okay. But you disturb him enough already with your texts and calls during missions.
Of course, in reality, if you hailed for Kento, he'd drop everything to be with you. He always has.
You didn't realize your thumb was hovering above the 'send' button. Through bleary eyes, you can see a hastily constructed text. Loaded with typos and errors. You're hardly able to read it though. Thumbs fidgting, you toss the phone.
You knew, logically, that he would want to help. He always has helped. But god, maybe you wanted to be big girl for once and try deal with it without him? Maybe be a good wife who doesn't send him a barage of texts when she's anxious?
Anxiety is the leak in your boat. You have to find a way to patch that hole or you'll drown.
But how can you when your worries revolve around your husband's safety?
You try cling to the logic that he has never refused you, made you feel stupid or invalidated you. Ever. But why would you cling to logic when the voice of your anxiety echoes through megaphone at you.
Of course, you're a distraction. Of course, you're a nuisance.
You hadn't even done a single chore to help around the house today. Some wife you were…
Kento would tell you that these thoughts you have are ridiculous. But you couldn't help it. You felt like you were holding him back from everything he deserved – you were so blessed to have a husband like him. You counted your lucky stars to be with him, but you ultimately felt like you didn't deserve him.
But Kento wasn't here now. So all you had was your mind to bully you.
The thoughts come as an electrical storm in your brain that, quite honestly, are painful. It's different from a headache and it feels the same as intense sorrow. It's uneven breaths as you claw at your chest, and it feels like you're suffocating; all the oxygen has been sucked out of the room. It's sobbing to the point of staining your shirt. The intense images come at you with cursed intent. Like being hooked up to a cattle fence - not enough voltage to kill but sufficient to keep things uncomfortable, paralysed with fear and unmoving. And you couldn't, for the life of you, talk yourself out of the spiral.
It wasn't as if you didn't want Kento to be there. You were just denying yourself of his presence. You thought you were being brave, you thought—
Ping!
You lower your hands from your eyes. You gaze at the phone, blinking owlishy, before picking it up.
You let out a groan. In anxiously twiddling your thumbs by your screen, you had sent the (questionable-looking) text.
You don't even have time to berate yourself, for your ringtone begins to chime.
"[F/n], honey. I don't quite understand your text," he greets. He goes back to doing what he was doing – it sounded like he was tidying something away. "Principal Yaga has us staying behind at the school to–"
He stops.
He immediately stops upon hearing you whimper over the phone.
"Sweetheart?"
You mumble, "I-I– Um, N-Nanami, I–"
What if he loses his patience today? Will this be the straw that breaks the camel's back?
You can hear him shuffling over the phone. "Talk to me, what is it? Are you hurt?"
You don't want him to leave work on your account. Damn, your thumbs! If only it stayed as an unsent draft.
You panicked. "I-I'm fine! I think I just–"
You hear him sigh. "You're a terrible liar… You're not fine." A pause. "I'm coming home."
"No, Kento, please–!"
The call ends there. Your fingers seize up and your phone falls to the bed. Your wrists bash off your head, hitting yourself. Stupid, stupid, stupid…
Ping!
Be safe. I'll be there in fifteen.
Your heart sinks, especially knowing that he'd probably break several road safety laws to get back to you as soon as possible.
Another notification arrives swiftly after that.
I love you. You'll be fine.
The fifteen minutes drag by so slowly. You're still rooted at the side of your bed. Not having changed, started laundry, started making dinner. You shake your head. It's frightful how automatically you chastise yourself for anything and everything. Once you hear the click of the door, you shudder and cower, waiting for him to come into your shared bedroom to berate you.
Your eyes are clamped shut still, even when you feel his calloused thumb rub at your knee.
"Oh, sweetheart…" he says, and when he speaks it's so soft. Soft like he'd holding fine china.
He's careful to not press your boundaries too much, not wanting to hold you tighter. But he doesn't sense any resistance right now. You let him hold you.
He holds you like you are the most precious and loveliest thing in his world.
(You are.)
As if you weren't crying enough already, his touch makes you crumble more.
"What has you so anxious, [F/n]?" he asks, rubbing your arms up and down. He pulls away briefly to ask, "May I sit?"
You nod and he sets himself down. You overwhelmed by his love. You always have been. He always spoils you with his soft, passionate touch and his gentle words. You sniffle and it takes every ounce of self control to not explode into a heaving, babbling mess (more than what you currently were.) You continue to sob into his arms.
"Shhh, shhh. You're alright, you're going to be just fine, sweetheart. But in order to be okay, you're going to have to stop holding your breath like that."
You hadn't even realized. You always had been an open book to him.
Breathe, breathe, breathe…
Your thoughts were so out of control, you were in a terrible cycle of either hyperventilating, or holding your breath. You shake your head, trying to break free. He doesn't let go entirely, but he loosens his grip. His hands hold yours, breathing deeply, as if trying to do it for you. You continue to resist, fighting his hold more as you take agonizing breaths.
"Let me hold you. Let me make things better. Let me stay."
You sob harder, knowing that once again he'll be picking up the pieces. Your pieces.
"What has you so worked up?" he asks, in between practiced, deep breaths.
Before you even have a chance to say anything, he whispers softly against your temple, "I love you. So, please, let me in."
And you let everything out.
He holds you close again once each and every worry comes out. He rocks you slowly back and forth, he plants the odd kiss to your dewy temple. He listens to you intently, taking in everything you say and more. He has heard these worries countless times before, and he listens to them as if these are being revealed to him for the first time. He gently 'shhhh's against your brow when you start to hiccup and unravel more.
As your husband, he wants to be able to promise you his safert; he wants to promise he'll come home in one piece.
But he can't do that. Because he doesn't know how any of this will play out.
So he hugs you, impossibly tighter.
"What can I do to help? Tell me what I can do to make it all okay…"
You want to be a good wife; you don't share the selfish thoughts you have, of wanting him to work at a normal job again. Even when he hated it, even when it left him feeling so drained.
So you say nothing and you let your little lie spread its wings.
You calm down in his arms, holding you until your limbs feel heavy. He continues to soothe you as best as possible. His voice was so achingly gentle, rubbing circles into your hips. It has your heart shattering into pieces.
Mindlessly, you mumble under your breath. "I just want you to be okay…" you admit.
He averts his gaze helplessly, because knows he can't promise you that. He relaxes and lays down on the bed, taking you with him. You undo the top button of his shirt.
He smiles sadly. It's the one thing he can't promise.
And though he'll never let you know, he feels like he fails in this duties as a husband.
But sometimes, he knows he's at least doing something right when he helps calm you down from such a state that you end up dozing off in his arms. He holds you til his arms limp and heavy.
In this blood-stained, fleeting life, he'll walk with you to the ends of this earth.
Even if he must depart early.
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starry-bi-sky · 9 months
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Part SEVEN of "Clone Danny"
Red Robin, Danny recognizes, steps away from him as he sits up. "My name is Phantom," he signs, blinking the exhaustion out of his eyes. (From Red Robin's perspective, it looks like he has no eyes. There lacks his signature green glow.) "I'm not a gang member, just an out-of-town vigilante."
Red Robin frowns at him, an uncertain grip on the bō in his other hand. "Phantom?" He repeats, no lacking amount of suspicion in his voice. "How can I believe that?"
Right. Yeah, okay, that's fair. Danny shrugs at him, and slumps against the wall. "Google search?" He gestures, he's been out in the daytime before and he's seen the news articles about him.
Red's eyes narrow at him and Danny simply draws his knees up and faceplants into them, half-listening to Red's murmurs into his comm while also trying to get some extra-shut eye.
("Oracle, can you pull up anything on a vigilante named Phantom? The guy here is claiming to be one." Tim says.
"On it."
"Is this Phantom wearing a white mask?" Bruce asks, his voice gruff like an aftershock. "There's a vigilante who shares the same name, but he resides in Illinois."
"Is this guy from that Amity city you visited ages ago?" Says Tim, before shaking his head. "Don't answer that. Yes, he's wearing some freaky mask. I said it reminded me of Hood's helmet for a reason."
"I've got something," Oracle interrupts, "Bats' right. as usual. The Phantom of Amity Park, not much stuff of this guy but he's only been out for over a year. Apparently, his rogues' gallery consists of ghosts."
"Oh great.")
"Look tell the Batman that I'm sorry for trespassing on his turf," He signs irritably when Red Robin eventually starts talking to (re: interrogating) him again. "It's not like I want to be here."
"How did you get in Gotham anyways?" Red Robin questions, batman was on his way to help deal with the situation but Tim doubted he wouldn't get caught up on the way with dealing with petty crime. "Your turf is nearly a thousand miles away from here."
"Two words." Danny deadpans, "Teleport ghost." (Red Robin winces sympathetically.) "I'm keeping this bastard in the thermos for a month for this alone."
(Danny was ignoring the slow-choking anxiety growing in his lungs over how he was gonna get home. He never takes his phone when he goes out, the risk of breaking it was too high. He had no way of contacting anyone to get him home.)
(He swallows the growing lump in his throat, and buries the feeling in the back of his mind.)
"Thermos?"
Danny unclips his Fenton Phantom Thermos off from his belt loop and shows it to Red Robin. "My ghost-catching device," He says with one hand, tilting it carefully for Red to inspect. "I wish I could say I made it, but its a FentonWorks invention."
(He wasn't sure if it was a smart idea to say who it belonged to, but saying it wasn't his probably loosened up any tracks on him, right?)
"Do you work with these Fentons, then?" Red asks, and something dark and shadowy flickers from the corner of Danny's eye. He glances over, and sees nothing, and his hackles raise.
(Either that was Batman, or a ghost, or Danny's mind playing tricks on him. He couldn't feel his ghost sense building in his throat, so he decided it was either the latter of the former.)
Danny snorts, quiet and gruff. "No." He clips his thermos to his belt again, stifling a smile on his face. "The Fentons hate me actually, I prevent them from catching ghosts themselves. Their son gives me their tech."
He had a cover story, so he might as well stick with it, right?
Batman shows up at that moment, appearing atop the little roof where the door is, and giving Danny a heart attack when he speaks in his low, rumbly voice like thunder rolling in, "Why would they hate you for that?"
Danny shoots up to his feet with a startled yell in his throat, clutching his chest as he whirls around and looks up. He nearly runs into Red Robin, and signs a few choice swears at the Bat.
"wow you're scarier in person, asshole."
"you didn't answer my question."
"Of course I didn't, you scared me." and Danny takes a trembling step back when the Batman jumps down and lands on the roof in front of him. He's faced ghosts before, but somehow the living is always scarier.
"But, um, the reason is a bit.. complicated, I guess." He says, fingers beginning to shake as his adrenaline wears off. God is he tired. He wants to go home. "The Fentons are the local ghost hunters and local crazies. I don't know if I can call them mad scientists because they're harmless to the living."
"But they're extremely anti-ghost. I've heard from their son multiple times the very unethical things they would do to ghosts if they got their hands on one."
Danny 'talks' a little more before calling it quits, even telling Batman that he can't tell him more without putting his identity at risk.
Plus, its getting harder and harder to hide his bone-deep exhaustion and his growing fear of being stranded in the most dangerous city in America with no way home.
"I would love to tell you more, believe me I'm dying to." Danny signs, shaky sarcasm dripping from his fingers. His hands are visibly trembling and he's withholding a slowly growing panic attack. "But I would like nothing more than to figure out a way to get home."
"Do you have no one to contact?"
"Sort of. But only one of them could probably come get me and get me back to Amity by sunrise. And I have no phone."
That one person being Ellie.
=====
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 4.5 (Dani interlude) Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 7.5 (Dan Interlude) Part 8
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gojhoes · 3 months
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Stay With Me
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- pairings: megumi x reader - contents: childhood friends to lovers, unrequited love, fluff, high school au, no curse au - wc: 1.4k
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Megumi had always been a quiet child. He was an observer, someone who sat back and didn't get caught up in the petty things.
And you were anything but that. You always had been. On the first day of primary school, you bursted into the classroom with a giant blue backpack and a lollipop in hand despite the 'no food in class' rule. Your voice rang high and clear without a trace of anxiety, "good morning!", successfully turning the heads of every kid in the room.
Megumi had been horrified, absolutely stunned by such boisterousness. And he was even more horrified as you sashayed directly over to him and sat in the seat at his left. Megumi gaped at you while you began to unpack your things without batting an eye.
"Hi," you said. "What's your name?"
Almost inaudibly, from both shyness and reservation, Megumi murmured his response.
Your voice was muffled slightly by the sucker in your mouth, but loud and clear you asked, "Isn't that a girl's name?".
And Megumi scowled at you, mad all over again about the stupid femininity of his given name. "So?"
But you were unfazed by his gruff attitude, which only increased as he got older. And ever since then, the two of you had been inseparable. It was more that you led and he followed, but there was something about you that Megumi liked. You were so unafraid to voice any thoughts you had, even when it landed you multiple detentions each week. You moved with confidence and intention in every step, bending to no one's will but your own. It scared him half to death when you'd force him to sneak out with you, agreeing to run off to the bridge at midnight just to sit and talk under the stars.
Throughout primary and secondary school, you and Megumi always ended up in the same class. Where there was one of you, there would be the other, walking side by side, sharing a clementine, or leaning on each other with your backs against a tree trunk.
You spent so much time at each other's houses that you both had a set of clothes and a toothbrush there. On weekends, Megumi's dad would let you stay up late to watch terrible soapy comedies and eat the candy your mom never let you have. And you would eventually drift off, always being the first to fall asleep, until Megumi would gently shake you awake to guide you to his bed. And you would curl into his side as you slept, the strands of your hair tickling his nose, but he never minded. He'd watch the passive rise and fall of your chest, letting your soft breaths lull him to sleep with the image of your face behind his eyelids.
That was the way it was, the way it had always been, and Megumi was happy. Because you were happy, you were close to him, because the two of you were inseparable. Best friends.
Until the first year of upper secondary school, when you alone were put into a higher-level preparatory class on the other side of campus.
"I'm gonna transfer out," you said over the phone. "This is bullshit."
Megumi agreed, humming as he listened to you rant. This was typically how your conversations unfolded; you would call first, ask him how his day was, then you'd launch into an attempt at one story that turned into several smaller ones. And he would listen to every word, murmuring validations as you prattled on and on. The reality was that he could listen to you talk all day. In his mind's eye, he could see your animated expressions as you talked with your hands.
Megumi knew it would be selfish of him to encourage you to transfer. You were on a path to greatness. Your bold personality came equipped with a ruthless ambition; you had to be the best, had to win at every game you ever played. Not to mention the nightmare it was to play you in Scrabble. You were the brightest in your year- you belonged in the preparatory class.
However, despite all the desperate denying he'd been engaging in recently, there was a small voice itching at the back of his mind: you belonged with him.
But Megumi would never, could never voice it. You had been best friends for nearly your entire lives. He wasn't sure exactly when it had happened, but one day when he'd overheard your name whispered by a group of male classmates, he realized that it bothered him to know other people thought about you like that. You were his, his one and only. Didn't everyone know that? Didn't you know that?
And you were popular- of course you were, with your charm and captivating extraverted personality. Everyone knew who you were. You were kind, smart, funny; it was impossible not to love you. And Megumi was just...Megumi, a quiet kid who had been lucky enough to get swooped up under the wing of someone like you. Where you were the sun, he was the moon, and he would never do anything that might eclipse your radiance.
You'd come over to stay the night with him before the first day of the new school year- the first year without you sitting in the desk next to his. Anxiety often got the better of you since starting secondary school, sometimes keeping you up into the small hours of the morning. It was already well past midnight when the two of you laid propped up in his bed watching youtube videos of video games on your laptop.
The side of your body was pressed shamelessly against his under the comforter. Megumi was trying desperately to focus on the video in front of him, but the feeling of your unadulterated warmth was dizzying. He could smell the remnants of the sweet floral perfume you'd started wearing last summer, a scent that nearly took his breath away each time he caught it.
"Are you worried about tomorrow?"
You pressed the spacebar, pausing the video and engulfing the room in silence. Megumi saw you hesitate as he took in the shape of your face. There were shadows under your eyes from an increase in frequency of sleepless nights. You had this idiotic notion that you had to face all of your problems alone. Regardless of the conviction in your voice when you assured him you were fine, Megumi could always tell when you were lying.
You sighed. "I'm just sad we won't be together anymore."
He was right there with you. You closed the laptop and pushed it to the end of the bed past your feet before nuzzling your face into the crook of his neck. Your breath warmed his skin and he froze as he felt your lips brush against it as you spoke. He swallowed hard, trying to keep his hands from shaking as his pulse jumped.
"We'll still hang out," Megumi said reassuringly. "At least we're at the same school."
But it wouldn't be the same and both of you knew it. Maybe if Megumi had applied himself and actually listened when you tried to tutor him then none of this would be happening. He'd be next to you with all the other smart kids, wouldn't have to leave you alone with all the boys who thought you owed them something. And then a horrifying thought crossed his mind, one that he'd been having since your classes were assigned. What if you ended up liking one of them? How could he sit back and watch while some idiot tried to take what was his?
But he couldn't tell you how he felt, couldn't voice the potential cataclysm that was his emotions. So, he laid with you, sliding his arm around your shoulders and pulling you into him snugly as he'd done for the last eight years. Your legs were tangled with his, your bare skin tickling the hair that had started growing in more thickly. One of your hands rested on his chest, the other squished between his arm and your own head.
Your head turned, and you were peering into his eyes with soul-shattering intensity. "Promise you won't forget about me?"
And a small smile tugged at Megumi's lips, the only kind he was capable of, for the only person who could pull one from him. "I could never do that."
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myfictionaldreams · 1 year
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Day 24: Choking - Steve/Bucky
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Kinktober Day 24: Choking - Steve/Bucky x f!reader
Tags: 18+ readers only, smut, protective Bucky, threesome, piv, anal, double penetration, praise kink, begging, choking, slight breathplay, multiple orgasms, teasing, overstimulated, aftercare, nicknames, no use of y/n
my main masterlist 📚 // kinktober masterlist😈 // AO3 Link 
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It was a complete accident, something that had never even crossed your mind before.
As you were walking, Your eyes were on the phone in your hand, but you should have been more aware of your surroundings especially as you’d planned to visit the boys whilst they were training, entering the room without thinking or looking. This was when a protecting metal hand suddenly bumped into your neck, stopping your movements quickly, “Doll be careful”.
As Bucky spoke, a single knife came slicing through the air in the pathway that you were just about to walk into. An apology echoed around the room from Natasha as she moved to quickly retrieve the weapon however you weren’t concentrating on that. Instead on the hand that was still pushed against your neck as Bucky scowled at the other assassin, not realising where his hand had landed before he glanced in your direction and rushed to remove his hand.
“Shit, sorry babe, did I hurt you?” his voice was sincere with an edge of anxiety as he cupped your cheeks tilting your head back so he had a better view of your neck, making sure there was no visible damage.
“Oh no, I’m fine, sorry for not paying attention I was just coming to say a quick hello” he seemed happy with your answer but still kept a close eye on you for the remainder of the day which passed by quickly and without any further near-misses.
Your thoughts were muddled however as you subconsciously kept touching your neck, liking the pressure that it gave and a habit that Steve seemed to notice as you all settled around the dinner table as the sun began to set.
“What’s wrong with your neck, baby?” Steve asked. Bucky tensed, eyes shooting over in your direction as you tried not to cringe at the intensity.
“You said I didn’t hurt you earlier, let me have a look” you batted his hands away.
“No I’m fine, I promise Bucky” you rushed out, hating that you’d made him worried.
Steve looked confused between the two of you, “wait, what happened earlier” he asked.
Before Bucky could explain what happened you were quick to cut him off, reaching across the table to grip his hand trying to reassure him, “honestly Bucky I’m ok, I was just itching my neck”. Smiling at the two of them, they seemed to let it go, continuing on with their meals as you released the breath you hadn’t realised you had been holding in.
A few hours later, the mood had completely shifted. All clothes were removed and only heavy grunts and pleas were heard coming from your bedroom as you found yourself sandwiched between the two super soldiers. Specifically, Steve was chest-to-chest, hands gripping underneath your knees, easily holding you up, cock fucking long strokes in your cunt as his tongue licked the length of your neck. All the while Bucky’s toned chest was against your back, cock thrusting into your other prepped hole, hands circled around your waist, playing with your nipples as he bit into your shoulder.
Every time they had you like this, it was so beautifully overwhelming, feeling so incredibly full of cock as they double penetrated you but it always felt so good. Your hands were desperately gripping into their hair, holding on for dear life.
“You feel so good baby” Bucky praised as his lips teased your ear and all you could do in response was moan, knowing any words to come out of your mouth would be a bumbling mess.
Through it all, there was still a small spark of an idea at the back of your mind just wanting to try it, needing to feel what it was like.
Through your cock-drunk mind, you reached to grasp one of Bucky’s wrists easing it up until his hand rested against your throat. The two of them stopped their thrusting, which only caused you to whine and try and roll your hips to continue the pleasure.
“Please” you begged, eyes still closed, not noticing the shift in demeanour from your boyfriends as both of their blue eyes darkened.
“You want us to choke you, doll?” Bucky asked, his voice husky with arousal as his fingers flexed around your neck, squeezing softly, “is this what you want?”
“Yes,” you gasped desperately, nails digging into the skin of both of the shoulders now. Bucky kissed the side of your head before returning to fucking you, moving steadily, long strokes that Steve soon matched inside your dripping cunt.
“Harder” Steve and Bucky glanced at one another, before both moving at once, fucking you so hard that their cocks were a blur, just as Bucky's grip on your neck tightened enough that you felt ringing in your ears and breathing became slightly more difficult but it was the perfect amount of pressure if the way your pussy clenched was anything to go by.
The three of your bodies moulded together perfectly as they rammed into you, drawing orgasm after orgasm out of you, Bucky releasing his grip as you screamed through each one, giving you a moment to regain your composure before gripping once more.
“Awww baby, who’d have thought you would be into this, huh? Does it feel good?” Steve teased, seeing saliva dripping down your chin as if you didn’t have the energy to swallow.
“Fuck” Bucky groaned, hips snapping against yours as he chased his own orgasm, his grip never faltered, only making you become dizzier as you came again, not being able to suck in a proper breath. The sensation was overwhelming but it made your blood pump harder and your orgasm last longer until Bucky’s cum was dripping out of your ass and his hand released its grip.
You all but slumped against Steve, not noticing him moving until you felt the cool sheets on the bed against your back. The blonde didn’t falter in his thrusting, his powerful thighs driving his cock in and out of your pulsing sensitive cunt.
To your right, Bucky kneeled on the edge of the bed, hand returning back to your neck with a thankful groan from you. “You like this baby? Me choking you while Steve fucks your ruined pussy?”
It was Steve who grunted at Bucky’s words, moving even faster as his cock throbbed, looking at you beneath him, eyes glazed, cum dripping out of your ass, Bucky’s hand around your throat, he wanted to remember this picture for the rest of his life.
“I’m going to cum in this sweet pussy of yours baby” Steve growled, fingers latching onto your engorged clit, rubbing circles to match his thrusts and you were completely overwhelmed in pleasure.
“Cum for us pretty girl” Bucky encouraged, other hand stroking your cheek tenderly as you gave one last squeak before convulsing on the bed, hands grabbing his wrist as he began to move it away but you moved it back, wanting him to keep the tension to intensify your orgasm.
Steve was crying out with you, feeling you tightly grip his cock with your pussy he pulled out, shooting his load across your abdomen strikes of white coating your skin.
Bucky released his grip before you could pass out, matching sure you were taking deep breaths to come out of the dizzy spell you were trapped in, calming you down until he was satisfied that you were back to normal.
During this time, Steve had moved to the bathroom, returning with a warm washcloth to clean in between your legs and a cold one to place against your neck, soothing the skin. You smile thankfully up at him, eyes feeling heavy as they each kissed your temple, stroking back your hair, watching you fall into a much-needed sleep.
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the fruits, rotten 一 malleus draconia 一 twisted wonderland | 18+
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Summary. Malleus should've been more careful in handling the details of his relationship to his grandmother. A shame, really. Mayne he would have to go around hiding his love for you like a coward then, but that's how life pans out, a series of mistakes we wish we could have redone.
Warnings. 18+ Content Ahead. Mentions of Smut.
Edit Status. Not proofread, we die with beta
Word Count. 1.9k
Song. the fruits, paris paloma
A.N. I'm back here's some shit lol. Ended up joining this weird cult but it's all good now :D be careful online kiddos
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My love, are you the devil?
I would worship you instead of him
The sound of a brush scrubbing softly against keratin filled the Ramshackle Prefects room, The low hum of the fae prince cuts through gently, his large body hunched over on your bed, hands holding his head while you kneel before him. A small laugh leaves you as you watch his eyes slowly close, his breathing evening out, as he continues to lean forward until his forehead makes contact with your chest, and his hands slip from their place against his jaw.
You do your best to finish his horns, cleaning each ridge with precision and a gentleness to not wake up the sleeping prince, his hair still dripped with water from the shower you shared, which greatly helped in keeping all the grime soft enough to be removed easily enough. 
A deep breath makes you stop for a second, your eyes on Malleus, watching as he slightly readjusts before settling into your chest once again. You can’t help but worry for his neck and back, even while your thighs ache and your knees throb in pain. No matter how soft the bedding Crewel had given you was, staying in this position for nearly half an hour was beginning to take its toll on your body.
Finishing as quickly as you could, you readjust the prince to relax in your bed, pushing him to his full length slowly as you held his head and neck, before removing yourself from his side as he shifted once again to find comfort in the plush covers and pillows.
For I'm too busy committing sins
I have no time for confession
God, you think to yourself, he really was such a beautiful creature.
“And where are you off to, child?” An amused voice finds your ears, and you can't help but jump as a chill runs down your spine, the chilly air not helping you in settling quicker. You grip the band of the duffle as your teeth grind against each other, thinking quickly, you sigh and turn around, deciding to stall him before coming up with something… believable.
“And where are you off to so late? Doesn’t Bat-Daddy have you under house arrest?” You muse, raising your eyebrows and you watch him- he's still stand-offish, tense, but the mention of his guardian makes him relax, before a realization comes to him.
“How do you know that?” He grits, teeth on display as his most prominent feature, his fangs, have you faltering for a second. Pointed ears move downwards in an unspoken sadness.
“Sebek isn’t all that quiet when you’re upset, especially when you’ve been reprimanded by both Lilia and your grandmother, Mal.” You start shifting your weight between each leg, anxiety eating at your core.
He shouldn’t be here. He isn’t allowed to be here.
The knowledge of that leaves your heart breaking, but you didn’t want to leave Malleus in trouble over some silly human who doesn't belong to this world, especially when the topic of love and relationships with him comes to mind.
He isn’t allowed to be with me.
“I see. I don't think I have the heart to reprimand him, though.” He chuckles, attempting to lighten the mood, hopeful eyes and his ears twitching up and down, before remaining in a downwards position as your sad smile reaches his eyes.
“Go. I don't want you in trouble for being here.” You point with your nose to his direction.
Go back, please.
“Can I at least know where you’re off to? I’d like you to be safe.” He’s nearly begging.
My love, you're something special
“Crewel. Late night job with one of his oldies. Nothing too bad.” You smiled, catching your eye, and he seemed satisfied with that answer.
You never seem to leave the fae prince's mind.
Your smile, your laugh, the way you get excited when you’ve learned new things about this world, the way you yawn, how your shirt seems to always expose just the right amount of skin when you stretch-
You don’t like how easily you can lie to him now.
I've never met someone like you
He cannot get enough of you. He’s a man possessed, and not even a real man to begin with in technicality, both in his race and his age amongst the fae. He wants to hold you, to mold into you, have you in his unwavering grasp and never let go. 
His skin yearns for even the slightest of your touches, his lips mourn for yours once again, his eyes wish to the souls beyond to fall deep into yours- his heart can only survive with you by his side, happy, and healthy.
But he cannot give you that.
How could you make him feel this way? To love and lose, to yearn and obtain, to lust and hate. He wants to be angry, to hold his wrath to a standard of equivocated fear and respect like it usually is, but he can’t, not with you.
You'd make me fall from heaven
If only he was human. If only you were a fae. If he was a commoner or if you were of noble blood. If he was your lover and you were his.
How could a magicless human make him feel so much?
His whispers echo in a room filled with desperate pleas and calls demanding to be answered, his back hunched and cracking as scales start to make their way from under his skin, his body moving forward even more to accommodate the tail that manifests itself, Lighting crashes during the storm that rages on, and Malleus is grateful for the weather of the past week, able to hide his tantrum within the will of nature.
The room fills with smoke as he breathes heavily, unable to stop the small flames that leave him, and he gets his hips into an empty space- leaving him whimpering and choking up, before a low and deep growl follows.
But I know just what I do
Long black nails rake across the faes face as he grips at himself hard enough to draw blood, the wounds healing as quickly as they arrive, his breathing is shaky, uneven, as a low laughter leaves his throat. His eyes blow a brilliant green, nearly lighting up the room with their light alone, his horns crack and split open at the ridges slightly, exposing the game green that lights the prince's eyes. 
Your name leaves his voice in desperate whispers, clawed hands dipped in ink rush down his blistering flesh, lust consuming him as he reaches down to grasp at himself, imagining your own hands being the ones to do so.
"Angel, " he calls me 
It wasn’t enough.
He needed more.
Does he know that I'm falling
His lips clumsily drag themselves from your sternum, up your neck, and take your own greedily- nearly biting your lips in the process. It's sloppy, needy, and his grip is unrelenting as he tightens himself around your hips. He starts to huff with small amounts of smoke leaving his open mouth, tail and scales manifesting, his horns and eyes carrying their warm glow.
“Malleus- calm down.” You manage to get out before he's on top of you again, whining and growling, pulling at your pajamas while he nearly tears off his own clothing as well. The wind whips against the window, a sharp crack scaring you into a jump, and the small amount of bare skin that meets his own leaves him weak and fumbling.
From a precipice that I tripped off long ago?
“Malleus.” Your voice is strained, a harsh whisper, as your head is leaning back against the plush of the window seat as you desperately grip at the cushions and stone wall. He’s hunched over again, but this time, he's able to associate himself with you.
“N-no. Please just- just-” He’s stuttering and cutting himself off, unable to properly think now that he has you in his grasp. Nearly three months now. Three months of you running off and leaving him alone. Abandoning him. All because he let his affections for you slip. All because his grandmother's court didn’t approve of your relationship.
For three months.
"You're so pure, " he says
He was starving.
Does he know, I'm forsaken?
The voice of your guardian and adoptive father seems to fade into the distance as you stare out of the window, looking down upon the campus, thoughts running wild as a new soreness leaves your body aching and throbbing.
Malleus was starved. 
You think to yourself, if you could keep ignoring him for this long, and go back to avoiding him at all costs, and your heart breaks at the thought. You loved him, and your relationship was small, budding, but still strong and fulfilling.
Until the bud was found and cut by his grandmother and her court, leaving you heartbroken, and you in fear for your life as you were left with a simple warning.
But now he's had his fill of you.
Stay. Away.
And you did, ignoring him best you can, occupying your time with others, dodging him at every turn. That was, until he came to you in the middle of the night, opening the window of your little reading nook in Ramshackle, and begging you to have him.
“Puppy! Are you paying attention? This is important to how we're going to handle this little… situation,” Crewel doesn’t know about last night.
No one does.
The original sinner
Maybe there's hope for the two of you to let go.
Your neck throbs as you feel his teeth sinking into you once again.
But soon you'll know
For if I'm going down
Naked in that garden
His arm remains under your pillow, the other around your waist and keeps you close to him, while both of your legs remain intertwined with one another. Marks and bites litter your body, as Malleus also bares his own from you, though you can say you were more careful of your claims on his own body.
You fear the consequences of being found, but you can’t help but indulge your lover any time he comes to you, needy and whiny for attention. You push your fears to the side, enjoying your simple and short time with the fae, slowly turning and moving to embrace him.
I guess I'll take you with me
You slowly bring yourself into waking up, eyes heavy with sleep and body sore once again, naked and warm. The cover of the duvet encases you in warmth from your own body, Malleus’ own body, cool and slowly warmed by your own, wrapped around you tightly.
You breathe in his scent, a natural smell with his usual soap and cologne, a mix that leaves you addicted and needing more of him. Your nails slowly rake up and down his back, the pale skin going pink and rising slightly, going to his back and hips, upper thigh and the bit of his shoulders you can reach.
Slowly, Malleus wakes, and simply enjoys your presence and attention.
He could only think that this is how he wants to wake up everyday.
But for now, he lives with your love in secret, until he has the power to keep you by his side as he sees fit.
Whether you still remain by choice, or not.
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cultofdixon · 1 year
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Just You
Daryl Dixon • She/Her Pronouns • He knew the prison would be temporary. He shouldn’t have put bad vibes out into the universe then he wouldn’t have almost lost you. But he was thankful he had you with him…even if there was a whole new threat • ANGST/SFW/NSFW - unprotected sex [no glove, no love] / grinding / cum eating • TW: Canon Violence / Injuries / Anxiety / Scars
Requested by: @kaylakern4
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Where is she
Where is she
Where the fuck is she?!
Daryl snapped out of his anxious thoughts feeling the familiar soft hands grab onto his bicep. He turned to find Y/N staring up at him as his attention focused on her forehead bleeding and how she looks like she’s been through hell. But then he remembered—-
“We gotta get out of here”
“Haven’t you heard me?! I’ve been saying that for a few minutes! We gotta go!” Y/N pulled at his arm as the two ran out of the ruins of the prison.
Please look at me.
Please look at me.
Bring it up. Please—
“I think my head is still bleeding…but I…there was no time to grab shit and book it. I just grabbed what I needed most” Y/N frowns on the other side of their little campsite as Daryl took that as the opportunity to get up from his spot pulling his rag out from his back pocket.
Daryl sat beside her dragging the pack they managed to scavenge taking the canteen out. He pours some of the water on his rag before giving her a look asking for permission, waiting for her to eventually nod not knowing exactly what he was doing. Then he lightly dabs her head lac cleaning the blood off her face. Her beautiful face. Checking to see if it had gotten worse with all the running they’ve been doing but thankful it was just a cut. A scary cut that bled that much.
“Thank you Daryl…”
“‘Course” Daryl put everything away and before he could get up from his spot, Y/N tiredly rests her head on his shoulder.
“Why does this keep happening to us…”
“Makes yea wish there was somethin’ more permanent I guess”
Y/N brought herself close to take in his warmth that he was more than happy to provide even if he was terrified to wrap his arm around her.
What’s wrong
What’s wrong
Y/N.
“D, you see that?” Y/N gestures to what looks to be an abandoned country club. Daryl followed her lead to the place as he wanted to be first to enter in case of anything but Y/N took out her knife and went ahead.
Daryl followed close while wishing she’d look at him and tell him what’s on her mind. Since leaving the prison, the light she carried faded and it was eating him alive.
“Think anything here is worth the trouble?”
“The first aid kit on the wall is.” Daryl pushes past Y/N as she looked through the clothes that were scattered everywhere in the room they were in. “We can patch up your head”
“Sounds good…” Y/N picked up a green sweater more so green earthy and not neon. She took the opportunity of Daryl’s back facing her so that she could change her shirt into the sweater.
The archer turned toward her at the wrong moment and quickly swung back feeling the heat rise to his face after catching a glimpse. Y/N adjusts the sweater brushing off a bit of the dust that collected on it before noticing his tense figure.
“You can look now” She says almost in a whisper as Daryl kept his gaze to the floor up until he was within arms length of her. Y/N took out of the presented first aid box what she’ll need before letting him put it away. “Think we can squat in here for the night?”
“Yeah just. Let me help yea and then we can barricade the door just in case”
After taking care of such, Y/N got a fire going in the middle of the main dining hall. As she tosses more newspaper onto the fire to build, she felt a blanket rest on her shoulders. Y/N didn’t say a word right off the bat knowing Daryl did such as he makes his way to sit on the opposite side of her. Which sparked something in her to say—
“We can share”
Daryl quickly looks up from fiddling with his knife when she said that as the silence made Y/N’s confidence lower thinking she crossed something. But the archer picked himself up and sat beside her feeling half the blanket drape over his shoulder making both scoot closer to the other.
Wrong time
Not the right place
But when will it ever be
“Daryl…”
“Hm?”
“I’m scared” Y/N frowns feeling Daryl’s arm wrap around her to bring her in his embrace. He held her, let her get comfortable in his space…resting her head in his shoulder and bringing her legs over his lap.
“Me too, sunshine…me too”
When morning broke, Daryl always woke first and knew he was holding Y/N as they are both awake most the night. But he didn’t expect her to be asleep on his chest the next morning. He didn’t move or say a word…he was enjoying this moment. Until they were both spooked by the sound of a walker hitting the barricaded door. Y/N lifts herself up and off of him but still had a hold on his vest when Daryl sat up.
“They can’t get it. We’ll be okay”
“I know…” Y/N realizes she was holding onto his clothing and let go before standing up. “Think we should move?”
“Just take it out, hold up here a few more days…” Daryl suggests watching her nod in response as she leaves to take care of said walker causing a ruckus.
The two explored more of the club finding pretty much nothing of use besides some cans of food…mainly fruit cocktail…empty liquor bottles, a lot of money that Daryl started to collected but both came to the conclusion that it’s worthless in the apocalypse, and finding empty rooms or full ones with the deceased.
Another night came in and Y/N took the lantern she found in the outdoor shed they checked to one of the empty rooms with a few couches. She set it on the window turning it on to illuminate part of the room as Daryl rests the blanket they shared on the couch he assumed she would take.
“You’re the one with no sleeves…you need it more than me”
“Nah, I’ll be fine” He sighs upon impact of sitting on the dirty couch across from Y/N’s. “Could be worse”
“True…it could” Y/N shut the door and pushed an end table in front of it just in case. Daryl should’ve done that so she could’ve adjusted before him.
Talk to her
About anything
Try to at least
“D”
Daryl snapped out of his thoughts to find Y/N sitting with him on his couch. “Yeah?”
“Do you think we’ll find any of the others?”
Be optimistic or be honest
Which will she feel better hearing
“Daryl…be honest with me”
Shit. Daryl shrugs. “I don’t know. We’ll head out tomorrow…maybe follow the tracks to find’em”
“You think we’ve lost some of them?”
“Honest?”
“Please”
“Probably…” He frowns, relaxing once more when Y/N brought her head to rest on his shoulder. “But hopefully we didn’t…just. Feel bad for losing who we did before we separated”
“Hershel…”
“Mhm…” Daryl continued to carry that frown, even when the beating of his heart grew faster the second Y/N brought herself close resting her hands on his face.
“You know it wasn’t your fault right? None of us could’ve seen that happening”
“Why do yea always know what to say…when I don’t know everythin’ on that beautiful mind of yours?” His confidence spoke through on that last bit but more his honesty. Daryl knows best what it’s like to keep everything inside and not share until he was at his breaking point. But it took her…spending time with her at the CDC…to the farm…and the prison…being able to trust someone he cares for so deeply, that he would hate for the one he loves to not trust him enough to speak up.
But it was more so the words were stuck in the back of her throat as Y/N suddenly felt the tears roll off her cheeks. Causing Daryl to feel a bit of regret when asking that question but he instinctively took her hands into his, squeezing them.
“Y/N…I-I didn’t—-“
“When the prison first got shot at…I was afraid I had lost you right then and there…but when I saw you looking around in the courtyard searching for something, I couldn’t have been happier to know you were alive. I just…couldn’t find the words earlier” Y/N sobs feeling him rub circles with his thumb on the top of her hands bringing her tearful eyes to look. “I can’t sit here without you knowing that—-“
“I know” Daryl interrupts, catching her confused expression that made his face heat up realizing what he was trying to say. “I know how yea feel…cuz I’m the same way…toward yea”
The archer thought his words stunned her but given the way she leaned toward him, he knew to close the space…pressing his lips softly against hers. The first kiss lasted a second, but he didn’t hesitate to go in for another that slowly turned into a more heated moment. Y/N snaked her arms around his neck bringing him close as he gripped onto her thighs.
They parted to catch a breath as Daryl continued to hold her thighs feeling her shift in his touch. He pulls away for a moment only for Y/N to anchor her hands on his broad shoulders bringing her into his lap. Feeling his hands return to her thighs bringing them to her ass pulling her more into him.
“I don’t want to wait anymore, Daryl”
“Take what you want from me, sunshine”
“I just want you” Y/N returned her lips to his feeling his hands bring themselves to the small of her back under her sweater to feel her soft skin. She pulls back once more watching Daryl lean forward to capture her lips once more before pulling her sweater off of her, locking eyes with her waiting for permission. “I’ve always wanted you…so please, have me too”
“Just you. I only ever wanted you” Daryl assures her, bringing his lips back onto hers moving their position to have her laying on the couch and him towering her with her legs wrapping around his torso to keep him there.
The archer couldn’t help himself when bucking his hips in her center to get a small gasp to escape her when they parted. He trailed his lips to her jawline, down her neck leaving a few hickeys that brought out more of her sweet music. Y/N couldn’t help herself but grind up against him to get some friction to fill the need as Daryl couldn’t help but pin her hips to the couch resulting in a whine to escape her lips.
“Daryl…please”
“Please what, sunshine?”
“Please fuck me” Y/N begs not wanting him to pull away but he did such to unbuckle his belt as she followed suit by pulling herself up to get her jeans and panties off that once Daryl got himself out of the confines of his pants, he grabbed the ends of her jeans pulling them off.
Daryl tosses her jeans onto the pile with his pants and her shirt. Next with his boxers and her panties. He pulled her back toward him by her legs hearing her squeak to the action before gluing her attention to the size of his cock when he positioned such to gather some of her slick.
“Fuck…all of this for me?”
“Only you. Always you” Y/N moans, bucking her hips every touch of her sensitive bud from his tip.
His woman…fuck, his woman watches as he positioned himself at her entrance glancing up for any signs of discomfort when he started to push himself in. Fucking tight Daryl grunts leaning forward over her bottoming out in her staying still until she adjusted as she brought her arms around his torso.
“Please move…fuck me, D. Mark me as yours”
“Mmm. You know I will” He growls started to buck his hips thrusting nice and slow at first.
Y/N held onto him feeling him hit that sweet spot instantly making it impossible to keep quiet. She gripped onto the back of his vest when he started to pick up he pace while also bringing his dominant hand to rub circles on her clit. He felt the way she clenched around him that she was getting closer and didn’t tell her not to or anything like that. He wanted to feel all of her for their first time.
“Fuck. Daryl I—“
“Let go sunshine, I’ve gotcha” He grunts hiding his face in the crook of her neck feeling the tugging of his shirt given her reaching climax along with the moan to rip out of her.
Daryl was careful when reaching his own feeling her legs wrap around his torso for him to hit that sweet spot with his thrusts. The second he felt he was close to release, he pulled out and came on her stomach. He hovered above her panting with her as she releases her death grip on his vest bringing her fingers to her stomach taking some of his cum and bringing it to her mouth. She locked eyes with him while tasting his release resulting in a satisfied hum from her and a groan from him.
“You tryin’ to rile me up?”
“Mhm…”
After cleaning up and getting re-dressed, Daryl got up for a second to grab the blanket from the opposite couch bringing it over to theirs. Y/N, the second the archer sat down, brought herself to lay on him making him move her for a second to bring his legs onto the couch. She pulled herself up more so that she could rest her head in his chest feeling the blanket drape over her and Daryl wrap his arms around her.
“You should get some sleep”
“It’s barricaded. You can sleep too D” Y/N looks up at him smiling when he kissed her forehead.
“Fine, sunshine. Then we can look for the others in the morning”
That was the plan and they started by following the tracks in hope for any sign. Daryl was already protective of Y/N and vise versa…now it was a bit more intense when they know how the other felt.
Daryl suddenly brought Y/N close when he heard something. That something being footsteps that only grew from one pair to six as this unknown group made themselves known and surrounded the two. Causing the archer to ready his crossbow and his partner to reach for her gun.
“Now now. You two look lost”
Silence
“Hm. Well…we ain’t here to make trouble of any kind” the one that was obviously their leader didn’t take long to make himself known. “Just wondering somethin’”
“We ain’t gonna make trouble. Just leave us be” Daryl states covering Y/N as she suddenly jerks forward when a hand smacked her behind.
“Damn got a nice piece of meat with yea. Mind if I—-“ Suddenly the man that spoke met the other end of Daryl’s bolt as he didn’t hesitate to take him out for touching Y/N. That didn’t sit well with the group as the others suddenly raised their weapons pointing to the archer.
But the leader told the group to lower their weapons and back away as he draws closer.
“Gentlemen…we know what’s ours and what isn’t. Len here clearly couldn’t tell by the marks she’s got that she’s been claimed. Don’t poke the bear alright?” He laughs shortly after saying such. “Names Joe…and we’re looking for somebody and given by the looks yall carried before we jumped yea, that you were also looking for some people”
“What do you want” Y/N frowns feeling Daryl suddenly take her hand squeezing in but also directing her out of the stranger’s line of sight.
“You help us find our guy, we help yea find yours. We’ll protect each other as long as you follow our rules”
“Which are what?”
“Whenever somebody sees something they like and yells “claimed” it’s theirs. Be lucky we didn’t let Len take your woman by those standard form of rules…now do we gotta deal or what”
They didn’t want to at first. But it would be a bit easier finding the others in larger groups. More people to cover bigger areas.
But being the only woman full of men brought on a lot of staring, even if your heart already belongs to someone and in their terms you already belong to someone.
“I don’t have a good feel about this D…” Y/N whispers bringing herself as close as possible to Daryl as he noticed the two Harley and Billy were looking at her until he locked eyes with them.
“I don’t either…but I’ll keep yea safe, and the second there’s a window. We’re booking it” Daryl whispers to Y/N resting his forehead against hers.
But that window was finding Rick, Michonne, and Carl on the road…and little did they know that Rick was the one that killed one of their own.
“Joe. Don’t do this. These are good people” Daryl made himself present to the situation as Y/N was trying to figure out a plan that didn’t hurt anybody. But that was never going to happen.
“See…now that’s where you’re a liar” and that triggered another Claimer to suddenly grab Daryl forcing him against the car and starting to beat up on him.
Rick was about to say something when suddenly Y/N came out from the tree line about to grab onto the claimer when another, Harley, grabbed her and forced her to the ground pinning her. That action on top of another claimer Dan, pulling Carl out of the car preparing to do the worse. Triggered Rick to do the unthinkable by killing Joe by ripping out his jugular with his teeth stunning the remaining claimers to give the window they needed. Michonne killed Tony without a second thought and made a beeline for Carl shoving Dan off of him. While Daryl got a hold of the claimer’s neck and snapping it before taking his machete and striking the one lunging for him. Then suddenly stabbing right through the head of the one that was strangling Y/N.
As Y/N shoves the body off of her coughing like crazy, Daryl dropped to his knees tossing the machete out of his hands to hold her face getting her to focus on him and focus on her breathing.
“I’ve gotcha. You’re okay. Just take a deep breath” He said repeatedly until she did as she tries to pull herself up to hold him but he got the idea and instantly brought her into his arms gripping onto her for dear life. “I’ve gotcha sunshine…we’re okay”
“We’re okay” She repeats through tears holding him and looking back to see Rick holding onto his son. Y/N sighs from relief that they didn’t lose any of their own.
The morning came a few hours later with Michonne resting in the car with Carl sleeping on her. Rick took a breather with Daryl sitting beside him and Y/N keeping a look out.
“We didn’t…we didn’t trust’em. And were gonna leave but thank god we didn’t.”
“You came at the right time. Granted. You didn’t need to get beaten in the process. Scared the fuck outta Y/N…didn’t know y’all were close like that”
Daryl looks over in a protective manner seeing Y/N is perfectly fine in that moment as he turns back to his brother.
“Takes time to find your person”
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close to home | chapter fifty
close to home | chapter fifty
plot: war comes to Alexandria and the reader stops at nothing to keep Daryl alive
series masterlist
Pairing: Eventual Daryl Dixon x f!reader Word Count: 1,983 Warnings: violence, blood, typical twd A/N: thank you for reading!!!
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You were with Daryl. Of course, you were. Neither of you would have it any other way, and Rick knew it too. So you stood by his side, behind the car with spikes through it, as you listened to the sound of the saviors approaching. You glanced at Rosita, who was pacing back and forth. Tara was a few feet from you, and you could feel her anxiety rippling off her. 
But for once, you felt okay, like you could do this. You ad the Scavengers, and you could all take on Negan. 
You weren’t entirely surprised to see Eugene standing with the saviors. He would’ve folded immediately to Negan, and you knew he would. Eugene wanted to stay alive and would find any way to do it. Even if that meant betrayal. 
You softly grabbed Daryl's forearm as you listened to Eugene try to get Rick to surrender. He didn’t flinch or tense at your touch, and you took a half step closer to him. 
When you saw Rick give Rosita the sign to delineate the bomb, Daryl stepped in front of you, and you both waited to hear it go off. But only silence followed. Your stomach dropped, and you looked up at Rick just in time to see Jadis pull a gun on him. 
It all happened at once. You had two guns on you. 
You could feel the anger radiating off Daryl, and you shook your head when you met his eyes. There was a better time for him to do something stupid. 
The gate opened, and you watched as the saviors took the bomb from the truck. Your heart was beating quickly, and you felt your own anger radiating. You wanted to kill every last of them, starting with the man with the gun on Daryl.
Your tingers switched when you saw Negan again for the first time and watched as he hopped up onto the bed of the truck, where a coffin was waiting. 
“I want every last grain of lemonade you got left,” Negan continued to explain, “I want a person of your own choosing for Lucille. Daryl. Oh, I gotta get me my Daryl back.”
Then his eyes landed on you, and he paused for a moment. You couldn’t decipher what his eyes said, not that you ever could. But something in them changed for a moment. Then, “And I want my wife back.”
Daryl took a step forward, blocking you from his vision. The guns followed him, and you carefully watched the man closest to him. 
“Maybe this time I’ll have to take out the competition,” You heard Negan say, and you fisted your hands and bit down on your lip hard enough to taste blood. 
After Negan threatened to kill Sasha and everyone else, Rick demanded to see her. Of course, Negan made a joke about it, and you assumed he went to open it up because you heard the bat hitting the coffin. 
“Holy God damn!” Negan yelled. 
You heard gunshots and watched above as Carl made the first move. Then Daryl shot the man with the gun pointed at him and then at you. You spun around and raised your rifle, aiming at every scavenger around you. 
You saw Rosita go down out of the corner of your eye, and you ducked behind the car, popping up to shoot at the saviors. You’d already taken out four scavengers around you, and you wanted blood from the saviors now. 
Tara called your name but you ignored it, following Daryl towards the gate and standing side by side with him. The kickback from the gun was already bruising your shoulder but you ignored it, trying to gun down every single person you could. 
“Go with ‘em,” Daryl yelled to you over the gunfire. 
You shook your head and pressed the trigger, watching one of the savior's head explode from the bullet. “Who’d cover your ass then?” You sarcastically said, taking down another savior. 
The two of you worked your way away from the gate, where there was too much heavy fire. He covered you while you ducked behind one of the trucks, and then you did the same for him. 
You could still hear gunshots all around the community, and you took a deep breath and looked at Daryl. You could tell he was worried. Things didn’t exactly look good for Alexandria, and if it fell, he’d die, and you’d be back to being Negan’s whore. 
Biting your lip, you peeked around the truck and watched Carl disappear around the street by himself, shooting away. 
“Carl’s alone!” You yelled over the gunfire. “We have to get to him!” 
Daryl nodded at you, and you took a deep breath before giving the street a quick look and making a break for the tree across the street. The two of you covered each other up to the road, where you finally saw Carl surrounded. 
“No,” You mumbled, switching out your ammo and making a break for it, ignoring Daryl’s yell. You gunned down the three men around him before they knew what hit them and reunited with Carl. 
“I said wait, dammit,” Daryl yelled when he caught up to you. 
“I don’t know where my dad is,” Carl said. “I didn’t see him. Are you guys okay?"
Before you or Daryl could reply, saviors approached you. You pushed Carl behind you, and Daryl stood in front of you both. You all raised your guns, but it wouldn’t do a damn thing. There were too many of them. 
You swore under your breath and lowered your gun. It was over. 
The saviors brought you to the yard across the street, where you were forced on your knees. You and Daryl side by side with Carl at the center. You tried to fight with each step, but nothing helped. 
Then you saw Negan, and you felt like throwing up. You wanted to rip his throat out and watch him die. But you knew you wouldn’t be seeing that today. 
“(Y/N), baby,” Negan said when he approached you. “I thought we had something special.”
“Leave her be,” Daryl spat. 
“I don’t think my wife would appreciate that,” Negan sneered as he got eye level with you. He stared at you for a long moment before tucking your loose bangs behind your ear. “You’ll have to spend some time in the box, maybe work for some points. But don’t worry, baby, it won’t be long before we keep each other warm.”
Your lips twitched in anger, and you spat directly onto his face, which contorted into bitterness you’d never seen on him before. “Fuck you! I’d rather die before ever going back there.”
Negan wiped your spit away from a handkerchief that Simon handed him, and he chuckled. “I believe you know that won’t happen, baby.”
Then he stood up and walked away from you, and you looked at Daryl with tears. The thought of returning to the Sanctuary, of being Negan’s wife again, you wanted to scream and tear out your hair; you wanted to gun down everyone here to prevent that from happening. There is nothing that would ever make you go back there. 
You were trying to suppress your cries when Rick showed up, hurt, but it didn’t look serious. He was made to kneel next to Carl, and you felt like you would be sick. Negan was going to do something terrible. 
Negan made a big show of it; of course, he did. Talking to Rick and belittling him in every way, mocking and playing his stupid little game. Every jibe made you want to scream for your friend and leader, who you loved both so much. 
“I’m gonna kill Carl now,” Negan said, and your blood ran cold. “I’m gonna make it one, nice, hard swing; try to do it in one ‘cause I like him,” 
You couldn’t hear the rest of what Negan said as you stared at Carl, your tongue heavy in your mouth. Just like at the lineup, all of a sudden, you couldn’t talk. You couldn’t scream. You couldn’t do anything. You just wanted to jump in front of Carl and take the blow for him. But you wouldn't even make it close with a dozen guns between you and him. 
You watched in agony as Negan lifted Carl’s hat off and lined up the hit, and then in a blur of orange and black, you saw Shiva attack. In everyone’s half-second of surprise, gunshots rang out. 
You stood and punched the guy closest to you, knocking him over. You grabbed his dropped weapon and started shooting at anyone. You could see Daryl doing the same out of the corner of your eye as you brought down savior after savior. 
Then you heard King Ezekiel, and you paused for a moment as you watched the Kingdom flood in, with Carol and the King at the front. A smile broke out on your face, and you spun around, pulling the trigger repeatedly as you pushed the saviors back. 
When you saw your cousin leading the Hilltop, your heart was beating faster than you ever thought it could, and you believed this was it. This was your stand, and you were going to win. 
In the chaos of the fight and your need for revenge against the saviors, you kept a quick pace as you killed man after man, woman after woman. Your body count must’ve reached two dozen by now, and if it was hand to hand, you’d be soaked in blood. 
You’d just turn the corner, killing another savior, when your gun clicked empty, and you grabbed another from the ground. You heard close gunfire, and you followed the sound. You were near the gate now, and there was smoke in the air. Some type of gas bomb. 
You saw Daryl behind one of the cars, but you were too far away to get his attention. But you were in perfect view of seeing who was before and behind him. Within seconds, the saviors would have him cornered. And as much as you believed in his abilities, there were seven of them. 
You swore under your breath and looked around to see if anyone else was with you, but everyone was scattered. There were enemies everywhere. 
Then you looked again at Daryl and thought about how much you love him and realized that there was one thing that would make you go back to the Sanctuary. 
You dropped the gun and started running towards the gate. “Hey!” You screamed. You heard Daryl yell something at you, and then you heard your cousin from somewhere, but you ignored them both. 
“I bet I’ll fetch you a nice prize with Negan,” You told the group of the saviors closest to you. “But this offer expires, so we better go now,”
You were apprehended immediately, hands roughly pushing you forward. You heard gunshots from behind you, and one of the men to your left dropped dead, while the others quickened their pace. 
You were shoved towards Negan’s truck and lifted and thrown in while men followed you. You hit the truck bed face first and immediately felt the blood from your nose. But when you sat up and looked out the back towards Alexandria, your heart broke as the truck started to move. 
Everyone was there and firing after the trucks. Your entire family ran after you until the truck was too far away. The last thing you could make out was Daryl dropping to his knees. And it brought tears to your eyes as you thought about what you’d just given up and what you gave it up for.
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sodobabe · 23 days
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Nightmares are Never Fun: Dew/Aether/GN Reader (hurt/comfort)
A/N: I have been taking a break from writing the religion trauma piece as it has really just messed with my mental health. I have been distracting myself by writing shorter works that I think more people would enjoy.
Summary: You, Aether, and Dew are all mated together. Your original mate is Aether, but the two of you realized Dew was a mate as well. While the three of you were always pretty happy, Dew suffers from horrible nightmares due to past abandonments and trauma. You and Aether are the only ones who know how to help him.
Warnings: not really warnings but this piece is emotional Dew and comforting Aether and Reader. Also, Phantom gets hurt trying to sooth Dew.
You woke up to the feeling of being shaken. You open your eyes and are met by Phantom towering over your bed trying to get your attention. You were so confused as usually Aether was the one to wake you from his tossing and turning. Tonight you slept alone because the two of you had an argument and you just wanted to be alone. The ghouls knew not to worry you unless it was urgent. Unless someone was sick or dying.
“What could you possibly need, Phantom,” you grumbled, annoyance and sleep riddling your voice.
”It’s Dew, he- he’s-“ the new ghoul tried to get out without crying.
”Hey, Ant, it’s okay. Is he sick? Is he dead?” You tried to ease him while making sure the resident fire ghoul wasn’t dead.
”Neither. He’s hurting himself. Screaming. He’s scaring me. I can’t get him to stop. I tried to touch him but he, he hurt me,” Phantom cried out, clearly scared about the other ghoul.
“Okay, alright. Let’s go check on him. Can you go wake Aether and tell him to get some of dew’s special meds and bring him to Dew’s room while I go ahead in there?” You asked, sympathetically.
He nodded his head and made his way to Aether’s room while you threw on some pants before making your way down to Dew’s room. As you approached his door, you heard the muffled screams. This one was going to be bad. You cracked open the door and saw the fire ghoul laying on the concrete floor with his face in a pillow as he kicked his legs as if someone was on top of him. He was crying into his screams. You could hear the saliva in the back of his throat as he produced gurgled screeches. You entered his room and quickly shut the door behind you, being sure not to startle him right off the bat. You walked up to him and knelt next to him.
”Dew,” you said quietly and gently as you grabbed his burning arm, nothing.
”Dewdrop, hey,” you said again, a little louder, maybe more stern, while giving his arm a shake, this caught his attention.
The small fire ghoul locked eyes with you and stopped screaming but started violently sobbing, causing himself to cough and gag.
You pulled him to you, making sure he could feel your skin, along with your heartbeat. This allowed him to understand that it was one of his safe people. You and Aether were the only people he trusted when it came to his nightmares and his anxiety. From the way you were sitting on the cold floor, you could not get the footing to pick him up and get him back into his nest. You stayed where you were as you gently rocked Dew back and forth, trying to sooth him more. His hands started to grab at his hair, giving it a harsh pull as he tangled his fingers into it.
”Hey, Dew, babe. Let’s not pull your pretty hair out. Here, give me your hands, put this one on my heart, and the other on my face,” you instructed as you grabbed his hands and placed them.
His hand was hot against your face. You felt his fingers relax against your soft skin. This tactic was something Aether taught you when the two of you decided to include Dew into your relationship. As you sat there comforting your second mate, you wondered if him experiencing the heated argument you and Aether had earlier had anything to do with this outburst. As the fire ghoul started to calm in your arms, his door opened slowly as Aether and Phantom slipped into the room. This caused Dew to start to panic again. He pointed at Aether and started to sob. This attack was definitely prompted by the argument.
“Dew. Dewdrop. You’re okay. It’s just Aether. You like him,” you said as you tried to get his attention.
“Aether, can you and Phantom please sit on the couch over there while I get him calm again and we can all maybe figure out what happened?” You shot your other mate a look.
He didn’t reply. He just led Phantom over to the couch and sat down with the new quint ghoul. After some more convincing and rocking, you finally got Dew calmed down to the point that he could speak.
”Dew, what happened? Wanna talk about it?” Aether chimed in.
”I’m going to lose you all,” he sniffled as more tears formed in his eyes.
”Hey, fire lily, we are not going anywhere. Why would you think that?” Aether replied, getting off the couch and picking Dew up out of your lap before carrying him to the bed.
This gave you the chance to pry yourself up off the floor with the help of Phantom. Phantom sat back down on the couch as you joined your mates in the nest.
”You two got into a fight. You don’t love each other anymore and you don’t love me. You’re going to leave me because I’m the reason you argue,” Dew muttered out.
”Dewdrop. Aether and I are sometimes. It’s usually about stupid shit, and never has anything to do with you. We love each other just as much as we love you. We are all mates here, and I personally cannot imagine a life without the two of you,” you started to explain.
You looked up and noticed that Aether had tears in his eyes as he smiled at you.
”I love the two of you, so much, and don’t you ever forget that,” you continued.
You placed a kiss on Dew’s forehead before giving Aether a peck on the lips.
“Uhhhh, hey, should I go?” Phantom chirped up.
”Oh, sorry ‘bout that Ant, forgot you were here, I need to tend to your wounds, here let me give Dew his meds then I will take you to the infirmary for stitches,” Aether chuckled.
Aether administered Dew’s anxiety medicine before giving his fire ghoul mate a gentle kiss and crawling out of the nest.
”You got him? Once I’m done with Phantom I will come back and join the two of you,” Aether said before giving you a kiss.
”Yeah, I got him. We are probably just going to cuddle and watch whatever he wants so he can hopefully get back to sleep,” you said as you pulled the fire ghoul to your chest.
With that, Aether took Phantom up to the infirmary and patched him up before sending him back to bed. Dew had drifted off to sleep with his head on your chest as you gently scratched his scalp. Aether returned to the room and crawled to the other side of the Dew, usually you were in the middle but you knew that Dew needed middle time this go around.
“How is he?” Aether asked as he pulled the blanket over himself.
”He’s finally asleep. I think the meds knocked him out,” you replied before giving Aether a kiss.
You gently moved the sleeping fire ghoul off of you and rolled over to face your two mates. Dew was knocked out, and Aether was slowly following suit. Seeing as both of your mates were finally relaxed, and the three of you were all one big happy group again, you decided to try to get some sleep yourself.
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undermine-the-instinct · 11 months
Text
Title: Second Male Lead, Enter!
Cyno x Bard!Reader x Kaveh
Bard!reader masterlist • Continuation of this Wc: 5.7K. Warnings: None (unedited)
Tags(?): Reader was born in Monstadt, and was a part of the Knights of Favonius, for future reference. Gender neutral reader.
The lyrics used are from a song called Van Horn by Saint Motel
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Thank the Archons, you were born in Monstadt. Monstadt has winding paths and steep hills, wide valleys that stretch as far as the eye can see, so you're used to walking a great distance without losing your breath. When you had trained as a Knight Of Favonius you would often run laps around your beloved home till your legs wobbled like jello, and then force yourself to run the trek back.
All that training paid off, because you are hauling ass, and the General Mahamatra is right behind yours.
Oh fuck he's fast.
Okay okay, you got a little ahead of yourself today. But you get tired of only playing your music quietly in whatever little room you're renting, or for whoever decides to hide you for the night (you're pretty sure he knows you change places often).
So you started playing in some courtyard. And…. Maybe your song of choice was a bit too on the nose? You saw him striding along angrily and he almost looked like he was pouting. So you opened your stupid mouth and sang the first thing that came to mind:
Well tell me do you hate me, or do you wanna date me?
It's kinda hard to tell cause your eyes are looking crazy
So why you come on over, anything but sober
Looking like it's time tonight for fight or flight in Van Horn.
You had chosen Flight. He had shot out of the crowd like a bat from hell and you hightailed it out of there.
That's where you're at currently.
Stick to crowds, stick to crowds. Drifting tight corners is your specialty damn it, use it!!
You drift around the corners and through the courtyards, and your grin is shaking from both adrenaline and fear. You think for a moment that you should try to use your vision, but Pyro wouldn't bode well with all this greenery. You don't want to be charged with arson also.
You've been caught and sent to precincts and holding cells for days at a time, you don't want to stay any longer than you have to.
People catch the spectacle, and children cheer while their parents hush them with hidden smiles. You hop over stalls and people actually move some of their carts when they see you rushing forwards, subtly going back to their work (and blocking the General, oh Archons this place is awesome.)
A full bearded man at a food stall even holds out some sort of bun, wrapped in cloth when you run by, and you grab it, yelling out a 'Thank you!', because you can't stop. You don't want to accidentally bite your tongue off trying to eat this thing either so you put it in your satchel.
There isn't any place this man wouldn't chase you. But if you can find a place to hide, you can lose him, then wait it out till he has to attend to his other duties. You've done this song and dance before. Pun intended.
You don't mean to bump into a man while dashing into an alleyway though.
Your face goes 'smoosh' into the open plane of his chest, (his skin is really soft), and he yells in shock while you fall. Kinda a second too late he reaches out to catch you and you both tumble to the ground. At least your head doesn't hit the ground.
"What the…? Archons, are you alright?!" He reaches out a hand to help you rise. His fingers are calloused, but pretty.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Sorry for bumping into you."
"No need, it was my fault for being in the way." While he talks you look around you frantically, knowing you're losing precious time and ground. He notices your anxiety and tilts his head a little down to match your height.
"Are you alright? You're looking a little nervous there?"
"Yeah, sorry, kinda freaking out. I'm getting chased by the General Mahamatra."
"The what now?" His face blanks, and he is blocking your way.
"Might have heard of me, the bard from Monstadt, the one making a huge ruckus in Sumeru? Yeah, that's me, can you please move- Oh shizz—"
You hear the commotion behind you and you know you only have a few moments before he gets to you. The man's ruby eyes light up, and can he move already–
He grabs your hand and pulls you into the alleyway. You think to pull your hand away, but he's fast though, and he's going in the direction that you were heading anyways, which is away, so you let him pull you along.
"I have heard of you!" He calls back. "I've been wanting to meet you!" He's a pretty shade of blonde, pretty in general. He looks expensive too, with the tailored silk he wears and the intricate earrings.
"I'm Kaveh. You are?"
"Wondering where you're taking me!" What happened to not allowing yourself to be led to a second location? Technically this was the first but whatever–
"Don't worry. It's a place that I'm sure he can't get to you, not without clearance at least."
You two runalong, and you don't hear any footsteps behind you, which doesn't really soothe your nerves. He can be quiet when he needs to. But you two run, and eventually he leads you to a building that looks fairly new. He leads you through the back door, and up two flights of stairs to a sort of sitting room, yelling out greetings to the other people who call out his name.
This room has full couches and low tables and giant, fluffy looking pillows to lounge on. There are blueprints on the tables and half a model of a building on another. There are windows lining the wall, but this room is towards the back of the building, so all you see when you look out is a shadowed alleyway leading to the backs of other buildings.
Kaveh sighs when he enters and lets your wrist go.
"Sorry for dragging you all the way here. I might have gotten a bit ahead of myself."
"What is this place?"
"It's an Architects guild. There aren't very many in Sumeru, and even if he knows of this one, he can't get in."
"No?"
"No. The General Mahamatra has clearance to enter any government owned building. This building has been bought and renovated by the guild's hands, so he would need a warrant to enter." He waves you in and gestures for you to sit. You do so, sinking into a seat and grabbing a pillow to hold.
"I wasn't going out of my way to find you, but it's fortunate I have the chance to talk to you now.
"Many people are intrigued by you."
"I'm nothing special. It's all the ruckus that's been left in my wake that's interesting."
"I don't think a person the General Mahamatra has been sent after is nothing special.
"Bard, tell me, what brings you so far from home? I can tell you're not from here."
Hm, well, he did kind of just save you. You can indulge him a little. "I had a wanderlust. Spent a lot of time in Liyue, Inazuma was pretty interesting. I spent most of my time with a felon running from the Shogunate, whom I met on a pirate ship."
"How fascinating. So you're from Monstadt?" He frames it as a question and you nod. He reaches for a pitcher and pours you both a glass of wine. His hand is warm when he gives it to you.
"Honestly, I had hoped I would get to meet you soon, but with the General Mahamatra after you, I thought the chances were slim."
"You really wanted to meet me?" He nods, reclining in his seat.
"And today was my lucky break! The effect you've had on Sumeru as a whole is astounding. It shows the disparity between the ideal Sumeru the Sages try to project and the true reality that is the people's lives." He drains his cup in a few gulps.
"It's lifeless and droll, what they push for. The path of an erudite is honorable and all, but their blatant hatred for the arts, how do they live with themselves? Art is everywhere, art is essential. Art is food for the heart and soul."
"That's what I'm saying!!" You bounce in your seat with shock and excitement. Is it true? Finally, someone you can talk to about this?!
"It's a means for human expression! Even before people learned to read and write we had songs to sing. So many archeological finds are statues and art of past civilizations, we learn about past cultures from the stories they told, ancient paintings in tombs or cave walls." He's nodding eagerly along to what you're saying, earrings swinging.
"Exactly. You can't escape art, you can't escape the divine act of creation! Our jewelry, the way we dress, the way we talk, how we build and decorate our homes, how we work, eat, it's all an artform! A romance unto itself!"
"Yes. When you hold yourself above the arts, you're basically proclaiming yourself above mortal….well, mortality. Joy. Culture. I think it's Ironic how the Sages worship the late Greater Lord Rukkedevahta, when she herself was close friends with the Goddess of Flowers. Whose dance was so graceful she made the pardisarahs bloom."
"A flower the Greater Lord dedicated her friend to. They've worked hard to try and erase her importance from the text books," he grumbles, "as well as the role of the Scarlet King. I can only imagine what they've gotten rid of in all these centuries past." You both sigh at the same time, and grin at each other in amusement. You curl your legs underneath you, a little bashful.
"I haven't seen many people in Sumeru as enthused on this matter as you are."
"Alas, it is both a curse and blessing."
"Is that right?"
"Yes. I am an architect, art is a necessity for my creations, my work depends on creativity. But that also deems me as frivolous, people are less likely to take my word in other matters. My roommate calls me over emotional and tedious. But I'm not the one frittering away my income on horrible art decor. I swear he does it just to spite me."
You laugh. "You two sound close."
"Frenemies, you could say, I swear he lives to aggravate me. He always wants to take my keys, and he likes to frame it as an accident even if we both know he does it on purpose, and then lock me out of the house!!"
"Uh-huh."
"And I'm the one stuck doing all the housework! I've never seen that man so much as wash a dish or pick up a duster. Do you know how exhausting it is to be the only one to do housework around the place?"
You sip from your cup. "Very exhausting."
"Yes. And that attitude of his. You know what he's like? He believes that art exists solely for commercial exchange, that art is a revenue to be exploited and holds no other value. That the day that value has been exploited is the day all its value ceases to exist." At this you gasp.
"Are you serious? No, you're kidding."
He rolls his eyes. "'Can the production of anything exist without commercial exchange?'. The bastard."
"That sounds horrible. Art isn't meant to be exploited or capitalized on. What kind of of mindset is that?"
"The wrong one. People like that drain the joy out of every golden bleeding day." He sighs again with a wave of his hand, like brushing away the current topic.
"What about you?"
"Hm?" His vision, dendro, jingles as he crosses an ankle over his knee.
"What kind of friends have you made while in our great nation?" You laugh a little, watch your reflection distort when you swirl the contents of your glass.
"Friends? I have none. It is known throughout Sumeru that the Sages detest me. They have sent their General after me. Sumeru craves a spectacle but one they can watch, and not be blinded by." You drink, if only to give yourself pause.
"They might make way for me if they see me dashing away from the authorities, like earlier, but they would not house me or aid me if I'm injured. Some establishments have banned me so it's hard to find work to feed or support myself, but I make due with odd late night shift jobs."
"Hm. I heard a rumor that you were good friends with Miss Nilou of the theater."
"Miss Nilou is a lovely person, but even still, she won't put the theater in jeopardy by associating with me. It's the smart thing to do.
"My 'friends' are usually the outcasts of society. The drunks and the dropouts and despondents. Even then. They're not my friends since they're more likely to sell me out or stab me in the back for some mora or attention."
"What if I said I wanted to be your friend? Would I be considered a fool?" He dramatically puts a hand to his chest, a smile on his face.
You look him up and down. "You just helped me escape from the General. I'd call you less than bright."
"I'll have you know that I am considered the Light of the Kshahrewar." He huffs, affronted but not really. He smiles wider when you chuckle.
"It's awfully droll being surrounded by people with no appreciation for anything beautiful or lovely. Technically, you haven't broken any true laws, but the Sages are afraid of the influence you have." He waves a hand.
"I don't care for any of that. You're a peach and I'd like to get to know you better."
"I'm a peach?" You ask, confused yet amused.
"Yes!" He laughs. "You've been nothing but delightful so far. I'd like to get to know you better."
Well, it would be nice to make merry with someone you don't have to fear will rob you in your sleep, or rat you out. He did just help you hide. He's a good conversationalist, and he appreciates art as well as you do.
"You know what? I'm too endeared for my own good. I would like to be your friend Kaveh." You reach out a hand and he takes it, pressing a kiss to the back as if he were a knight.
"Splendid. This deserves a toast!" He refills both your cups and you clink them together. It settles down warm in your belly. Monstadt wine is always better though, slides down your throat like honey and settles in hotter. This is still good though and you tell him as much.
"My roommate is the one who bought this. Apparently he ordered several crates of the stuff, and I figured not to let it go to waste by letting him drink it all and ruin his kidneys."
"Crates?"
"Yes, crates. Around ten of them. He's quite the alcoholic."
"Depends on how fast he drinks it. In Monstadt you'd share that among friends and it would be gone in a mere day."
"Goodness, now two of my friends are alcoholics."
"You seem like one to talk."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
You go on to talk more, about music, architecture, the sages, and the conversation flows smoothly. You find yourself relaxing, it's been weeks since you really had a proper conversation with anyone. Maybe the General counted, but really all you do is throw quips back at him and flee.
Well, you flirt with him a little too, but it's mainly in jest. You want to see that stoicism of his crumble. He can capture you and put you in holding for weeks at a time, but it's still cute to see that little blush he gets when you get too close to him or when your lyrics get risqué.
Then suddenly, you hear a rumble that cuts the conversation off, and look over at Kaveh. He puts his hand over his stomach with a half mortified look.
"Please don't mind me."
"Are you hungry?"
"I'm fine."
"I have a bun if you want."
"I'll be fine. I…gave up my lunch to a couple desert foxes earlier."
"Oh no, were you bombarded?" You ask, laughing. They are cute.
"I couldn't resist, they had me surrounded! Then I bought flowers from a stall two children were running so I'm broke. I'll eat something later." Okay, that's adorable. You take out the wrapped bun from your satchel, and it's still warm.
"Take it."
"It's fine."
"Take it."
"No."
"Why not?"
"It's hard enough for you to find good housing, right? So I'm sure it's hard to find any restaurants willing to let you order or eat in. You eat it."
"It's fine. I'm not hungry." Your stomach betrays you by letting out a growl, long and embarrassing. He gives you a look.
"...Then we'll split it." You do promptly just that, and give him the bigger half despite his complaints.
It's a stuffed pork bun. It's good. You really were hungry.
You have to buy more strings for your lyre and your guitar, just in case. And you had a tear in your cloak, so you'd need a needle and thread. It wasn't too bad, and If it was you could use one of your spare shirts if you needed extra fabric.
There were lots of plaza's and courtyards and markets here, compared to monstadt. The only place that might compete was Liyue, but you weren't there long, and there were lots of seats and benches to sit. Not here. Get where you're going and stop loitering. The ground was flat and smooth though, not high cobbled streets or grasslands, so you don't mind. All this to say you might need to buy another pair of shoes with the extreme amount of walking and running you've been doing.
And probably waterproof cases. And clothes with waterproof pockets and lining. You had to jump into the waters of Port Ormos to escape from Cyno once and your flute was never the same.
Where were you going to get the money for this?
Your musings are interrupted again when you hear a weird sound, and look up to see Kaveh choking.
You stand and refill his wine with the recanter, lifting a eyebrow.
"Something strange cross your mind?"
"Uh, no, nothing like that." He flounders after he drains his cup.
"Just caught off guard. Listen, I'm, uh, I'm not kicking you out, but I think you should hurry."
"Oh? Why?" He's leaning a little back in his seat, outside the window's view. You're helping to block him a little.
"Because the General Mahamatra is looking right into this window." You choke a little on your bun, and sneak a peek out the window.
What the actual fuck.
He just, standing there. Menacingly. You're barely peaking your head out, but you two lock eyes immediately and you flinch back. You dont drop the stare. It's heavy enough that if you did, you fear it would land on your foot and break it.
"You said he can't get to me here?"
"Not unless he has a warrant."
"He's the General, doesn't he like, have an automatic pass?"
"I don't think so…?" Lightning starts crackling along his form and your heart rate elevates, you start making sure you have everything. You down the rest of the wine and stuff the bun into your mouth. You almost choke.
"He'll try staking out or scaling the building if I stay any longer."
"Really? It's that serious?"
"He's done it before." You shiver. He scaled up a building with those lightning hand things of his before and pulled himself through the window to get to you. You thought your judgment day had come for you then, but you had managed to wriggle out an escape, thank goodness. Yeah, you have everything.
You turn to your new friend with a grin, and hope that there's nothing in your teeth.
"Well, Kaveh, friend of mine, thank you for the wine and the convo. Guess I'll see you when I see you?"
"Of course, hopefully soon?"
"We'll see!" He gets up, wiping his hands on his knees.
"Then we leave it to fate. Where are you going to go now?"
"If I can make it out I can lose him in the districts, or head underground and lose him there."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Yep! So, I'm gonna jump out the window now, so don't panic." You learned your lesson the first time you did that, the matron of the bar had screamed and it brought too much attention to your escape. People are so nosy here.
"Keep inside so that he can't completely see your face, okay?"
"You're not serious? We're two stories up and he's right there." You climb onto the ledge and perch there.
"Well I'm not jumping down towards him silly. Bye-bye." You wave your fingers.
"Wait wait, hey!!" You jump out of the window, several windows next to the one the General stood under, without any fanfare.
Another good thing about Monstadt; You're used to falling from heights. Two stories is nothing, so you fall fast, hit the ground hard and roll, ignoring the sting in your ankles and feet. You run.
But, due to the sting and height you fell from, you're not very fast initially and about a dozen alleyways later, (you got farther at least) you feel a rough hand grab onto your shoulder and slam you into a wall. Ouch. Oh well.
You bite back your cry of pain when you catch the gleam in his eyes, almost triumphant, you would say.
"Caught you."
You scoff, and try to ignore the way his fingers dig into your shoulder. "Please. You really think you have me?"
"Where do you see yourself getting out of this? How do you see yourself escaping?"
"A multitude of ways, actually."
He frowns deeper, his mouth a flat pressed line."Tsk. Smart mouth." You sigh, making sure the air blows over his face. Pork bun breath.
"Where did you even come from? I was singing and I saw you. Then you suddenly just shot through the crowd."
"I was following you from when you left the inn. I had a feeling you'd try something. I was right."
Damn. Looks like that place is compromised. You'll have to find another one, secretly and soon. You'll probably sleep outside tonight.
You put your hands to your face like a scandalized maiden.
"You were stalking me? You even know where I'm staying? Oh my, I never dealt with this kind of situation with a fan before…You know I don't like you like that, right?" He rolls his eyes at your display, the way you make your eyes soft and wide.
"Stop it. I'm not your fan."
"If you'd come to one of my performances for real–"
"No. They're unsanctioned."
"But if they were–"
"They won't be. No."
"You didn't deny that you were stalking me though." He doesn't say anything as rebuttal and you grin, leaning back against the wall like you weren't being held there. Looks like you're going back to a precinct for a couple of days. At least you wouldn't have to worry about where you're sleeping tonight. Or tomorrow.
His frown deepens. "Stop it."
"Stop what?"
"Acting like that."
"Acting like what, Cyno? You got me. Do whatever you're gonna do to me." You make your voice lower, smoother, and you know he notices, because he just keeps looking angrier and angrier.
"It's not a joke."
"It's not."
"You're under arrest."
"You're all up in my space, of course I know that." You chuckle. You lean a bit closer and yeah, he's blushing a little.
"You'll be taken to court to be judged by the sages."
….Well. What a shock.
"Wait, what? Why?"
"For all the trouble you've been making."
"To Court? On what grounds?"
"The Sages–"
"My crimes could only be labeled as a Violation, which would result in a fine or community service, or up to fifteen days in jail. Which I've been doing. Why would I get a trial for a Violation?"
"Because your crimes are listed as a Class B Misdemeanor. The Sages have decided to be more involved in court cases and jail sentencing recently. With their interest in you it's understandable they want to be involved in your sentencing."
"Hah!" You laugh. "And I bet you've been busy too, rounding up people to lock behind bars."
"They are people who have broken the law in the most severe senses.They have to be dealt with."
"Let me guess, people who tried selling research or contraband, thieves? People charged with armed or aggravated assault or disorderly conduct? Okay, I can understand them paying for their crimes, but even I have noticed how the Sages always label them as felons and just throw them in jail for longer than their sentences should allow." You sneer.
"And that's if they can get a fair sentence."
"Should we, the system, force these convicts into redemption? No, we can't, that is only something that one has to work for. Self reflection is the same; they must reflect on their own transgressions. They could only do so if they regret their actions."
"They can't reflect if they are worried about survival. If the system basically makes it damn near impossible to redeem themselves they're not going to try."
"Do you know what kinds of people you're defending? Do you think these people want to be redeemed?" He suddenly hisses. He presses in close to your face and you feel your skin prickle.
"What kinds of people do you think I am sent after? You think those kinds of people spend their allotted time reflecting? Do you think they care or regret what they've done? You think they wouldn't do it again in a heartbeat?" You open your mouth to speak but he cuts you off.
"Because they would. Because these people don't care about the consequences. About how many people would be harmed or dragged into their mess. I'm not sent after petty thieves and criminals. Wayward researchers are common but not the bulk of my arrests. The students of the Akemdemiya might have spread my name, but don't let it slip your mind that I am the General. I wage war. Not petty battles."
You two stand off for a moment. His normally blank eyes, back-lit by lightning, are alive, red hot, pupils dilated. The corners of his mouth tremble. You wonder what he sees in your face.
You tilt your head. "Then why are you chasing after me?" He gives a barely perceptible flinch, but doesn't back up.
"Because, even if the Sage's judgements are cruel sometimes, it's all for the better good of Sumeru. As long as that is their ideal, I will stand guard by it."
Disappointment is heavy and sour on your tongue. For some reason…you expected better. Maybe it's the Knight in you, Monstadt and the fire of your vision, Freedom and revolution, a song in your breast. But a system that condemns its people unfairly is one you would want to undermine.
One you would want to burn down.
"I asked you a while ago whether you felt if the law was just, or upholding the law was just. You answered me wrong back then." Cyno sneers a little, derisively.
"Well, what would you know?"
"Oh Cyno," you shake your head in pity, however little of it you feel for him. Young, naive boy. "You're such a fucking idiot."
You snake a hand to his nape, and yank him close for a kiss.
He gasps in shock at your movements, but that just lets you deepen the kiss, pulling him closer till his body is pressed against yours. You feel the stutter of his chest, his eye lashes blinking rapidly against your skin, his hand trembling on your shoulder.
But he doesn't pull away.
It's only a moment of shock before you feel his lids close, and he's kissing you back. His lips are a little chapped, but the scrape of them against yours is delicious, and you shiver against him. Just to feel his hands panic before he settles them on the slope of your hips. He's shivering, shoulders jumping.
You pull back and just brush your mouth against his, drawing small circles just below the nape of his hairline.
"What are you doing?" He stutters, you lick the seam of his mouth and smile when he gasps again.
"Do you want me to stop?" Why do you ask? You know your answer. It's in the way his hands grow firmer and he doesn't stop you when you nudge him with your forehead, back into a kiss.
This time it's him who pushes against you. He's clumsy but eager, a little messy; he misses your lips a few times and presses his mouth to a lip, your cheek, your chin, your jaw. You giggle when his lips press to the space underneath your earlobe, and sigh when he travels down. His shoulders tremble under your hands, while you nudge his cheek and guide his lips back to yours.
You tilt your face to deepen the kiss, and draw your leg up, hips aligned. Only now does he let out a punched out gasp, and pushes himself away from you.
His face is flush and his mouth dark and red, shiny with spit. He breathes heavily, and stares at you like you've grown a second head, a nightmare realized. You just smile prettily at him, a little quizzically. It dawns on you quickly though.
"... Cyno, was that your first kiss?" He's acting like it was, face both livid and bashful, and just plain adorable. His face darkens and he takes another step back from you.
"Oh what the…" you both swivel around, to find a young boy in the alleyway with you. Probably on an errand, he looks barely thirteen you'd say, and he stares at you two shell-shocked, a crate in his arms. His wide eyes jump back and forth between the two of you.
"....You didn't see anything, boy." Cyno hisses, and the boy nods amicably.
"You're right, of course I didn't. Now that last sentence I heard though…" Well, that's your cue. You turn, with a quick prayer to Celestia, and dash the hell out of there, a giggle on your lips.
He doesn't chase after you. You go blocks and blocks without any indication otherwise.
That was nice. Really nice. He was gonna kill you. You should really stop messing with that general.
——————
Kaveh has been in an especially good mood lately.
Barely two weeks ago he was bemoaning and whining about completing a project he felt stuck on, now he's drafting blueprints and models, hammering away throughout the night (he's had to wear his soundproof headphones to bed for days now) and furiously scribbling away in his notebook any spare second. He doesn't even rise to his barbs when Al Haitham pokes at him, which is odd.
Alright, that's a lie, he just doesn't get as annoyed.
Luckily he's still willing to overshare to anyone with half an ear that could listen, so it's easy enough to figure out why he's been in such a jolly mood.
"You're friends, with the Bard?"
"Yes! They're fascinating, mind you, I've barely known them for a few weeks but the creativity!! That flows through my head with each interaction is amazing!"
"So you're using a felon as creative inspiration." He scowls like he predicted.
"It's normal for friends to bounce ideas off of each other and inspire each other. If you weren't such a recluse you would know."
"I don't need help with finishing any of my assignments. If you had a little more sense you wouldn't associate yourself with a criminal." He gives his roommate a side eye.
"Knowing how work is going, I assume you'd take more caution with the people you associate with."
"They're not a Felon. A criminal, technically, yes. It's known throughout Sumeru now how much they're hated by the Sages for their performances. They're trying to have the people ostracize them because of that." He's wearing a new hair accessory that he fiddles with, not looking up from his mess on the table.
"And let me guess, they've charmed and endeared the people so, so that is no longer a viable option."
"Yes, exactly. I bailed them out of a precinct four days ago, you should have seen! They were teaching the rest of the inmates some Monstadt tune and it seemed the guards were allowing it, at least until I came in. They started serenading me too as soon as they unlocked their gate." He grins, dopey, and Al Haitham raises an eyebrow at the behavior.
"I've never met someone so unabashedly free spirited, it's so lovely!"
"I've heard that the Sages are growing increasingly frustrated with the fact that The General Mahamatra can't seem to pin them down."
"They know the law," Kaveh shrugs.
"So they're staying low right now to hopefully blow over some steam. They might get an actual sentence if they keep on, so they're looking for some work now. No more performances."
"Hm." Kaveh turnt back to his work and Al Haitham drew away, pondering.
Of course he's heard of you, and with his station he's heard more than just the rumors of the Sages' hatred of you; he's seen and heard it firsthand.
People in the Akademiya are too terrified to even mention your existence for fear of upsetting, not the sages, with their distant judgment and contempt, but the General Mahamatra.
People know when he was sent after you, because those days are the ones where the jackal is more likely to snap at people. The students are more mortified and studious than ever while he storms the halls like a nimbus cloud, dark and crackling.
He's also most likely to shut himself in his office for hours upon hours, and it's only in the late hours, when Al haitham finally decides to head back to his place, is when he sees the young general leave his office. A haunted look hangs in his eyes.
You obviously have some sort of effect, or insane luck, to escape the General so often. Of course he can catch you and throw you in a cell for a few days, it's been done before. But he's hunted and caught greater people for lesser crimes, and you somehow keep getting away with yours.
He just might have to meet up with you soon. Just to see what all the hype is about.
192 notes · View notes
undertheopensky · 7 months
Text
If You Can't Say Anything Nice 1
Whumptober Day 7: Radio Silence
Characters: Legend
Trigger warnings: Anxiety, bullying, struggling to communicate, lil bit of unreliable narrator
Read on Ao3!
-----
"I don’t know what his problem is, but you shouldn’t let him push you around like that.”
Sky’s response is lost in the roaring in Legend’s ears. His skin feels cold – his face feels hot – his eyes burn painfully dry –
He hadn’t – he wasn’t being mean. He hadn’t even – what had he even said? The buzzing in his head is spreading, drowning everything out. His skin feels like millions of bees are walking over it – or humming just underneath.
I’m sorry, he wants to say. I didn’t mean it.
No one – no one ever listens, though. Scoffs, brushes it off. Tells him off for talking back. For being sarcastic, or for lying. He’s not. He just – doesn’t understand.
If you can’t think of something nice to say, his uncle used to tell him, don’t say anything at all.
He’s trying. He doesn’t – it’s not as if Legend wants to make people angry with him. Working in a team – isn’t something he’s that experienced in, but he’s not against it. He wants to help.
The others call him ‘the veteran’. Sometimes it just makes him feel old, but it means the others recognise he’s seen a lot. Fought a lot of different monsters, dealt with a lot of different problems, found often unconventional solutions (that somehow still involve less fire than whatever Wild is doing at any given moment). It means he notices stuff, and sometimes that stuff is useful.
In the very next fight, Legend is working his way through what feels like a small horde of miniblins when flashes of colour among the overhead kargaroks catch his attention. He bats one of the little monsters away and squints upwards, making sure – yeah, there’s at least one vire in the air.
“Wars,” he calls, since the man is on airborne monster control, “watch out, when you kill those –”
“Yes, thank you, Legend, I think I have it covered,” Warriors snaps.
Legend flinches back from the next burst of fire. Why had he-? He’d just – how was that even-? Then his train of thought is broken by a moblin’s roar and he gratefully lets it fall away. Maybe battle’s not the best time for something he struggles with anyway. Maybe he needs to think it through more.
He lets the moblin push him away from where Warriors is trying to start a forest fire. Then, when it overextends itself thinking he’s too tired to dodge, he steps in close and stabs up into the heart.
The moblin collapses and starts to smoke gently. A bokoblin stops to wave its weapon at him angrily, and Legend takes the opportunity to behead it. Why were Wild’s monsters so weird?
The natural tide of the battle has drawn Wind to the edge of the clearing, where the ground underfoot becomes a minefield of rocks and exposed roots. He wants to warn him, but after Warriors – he’s fine, Wind’s always telling them he doesn’t need their protection. He’s a hero just like them.
Wind finishes off the bokoblin and swings to the next, triumphant. Wind’s like that - big, sweeping movements that look flashy and open to exploitation, while his excellent blade control keeps him well centred.
He’s still used to a flatter battleground, though, and doesn’t always notice shifts in terrain. Wind knocks aside a stab and steps forward to cut the bokoblin in half. The monster goes down with a squeal, but so does Wind, foot caught in a tree root and ankle twisting under his weight.
Quietly, Legend deals with a couple of keese diving in. They’re not difficult – one sword stroke each to cut off a wing takes them down – but if they get an artery, especially when you’re already off balance, they can cause a lot of damage. That’s why he wanted to warn Wars.
Why did he yell at me?
Wind staggers back up without incident. He tests his ankle and winces, but heads off to sneak-attack a lizalfos that’s focused on Twilight with only a slight limp, and Legend gets absorbed in a cat-and-mouse fight with one of Sky’s annoying armoured moblins.
Later, once the fight is over, he approaches Wind.
“Hey, sailor. How’s your ankle?”
Wind flushes. “Fuck. It would be you who saw that.”
Legend rocks from foot to foot. This is already not going well, Wind’s already upset, should he just cut and run-? But next time Wind might be too far away, or there might be more monsters. He has to at least try.
“It was the tree roots giving you problems. A lot of your fighting happens on the deck of a boat or on sand, right? The footing’s different and you’re not used to it.”
Wind makes a face but nods.
“Getting used to obstacles underfoot takes practice. There’s a couple things you can do to regain balance more quickly that don’t work for sand, obviously it’s best not to lose track of where you are in the first place but –”
“Aw, don’t bully him, vet,” Twilight jeers, leaning an unkind elbow on Legend’s head. “Not everyone can be as perfect as you.”
Legend swats him away and storms off, face blazing.
-----
As he scours black blood from the rivets of the Tempered Sword’s guard, Legend listens to the not-argument happening a few feet away.
“Nope, I’m not touching that. Do your own weapons maintenance, Wind.”
“Aww,” Wind whines, “why not? You’re sharpening Twilight’s sword!”
“Because his is blessedly normal,” Four says sternly. “Yours is enchanted to hell and back. I don’t touch magic weapons, not anymore. You never know what they’re gonna do to you.”
Four Sword’s already enough for you, huh?
Legend’s throat locks up before the words can come out.
Would Four be upset if he said that? He’s so proud of his blade and the workmanship that went into it, and he’s right to be; why use something else when the Four Sword suits him so well? But what if he thinks Legend is looking down on him for not trying a different weapon – for not helping Wind – for refusing to touch the Master Sword to Sky’s face –
“You shouldn’t push your chores off on other people, Wind,” Sky chides lightly. “Four’s only helping because Twilight sprained his wrist.”
Four shrugs. “I mean, as soon as we come to a smithy who’s willing to let me rent an anvil, I’ll definitely be fixing up everyone’s armour.”
“That’s different. That’s a valuable skill we appreciate you using to help, not basic weapons maintenance,” says Time. He ruffles Wind’s hair when the boy pouts. “Come along, Wind; I need to do some work on the Biggoron Sword today. Want to see if you can finish first?”
Legend mutely watches them go.
He hadn’t… said anything. No one yelled at him.
If you can’t think of something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
…is he just… not a nice person?
-----
Legend takes time over the next few days to really watch the people around him interacting.
They talk a lot. It’s a constant back and forth that makes Legend tired just following it, chatter and jokes and stories. Even Time, notoriously reserved, will crack jokes that make everyone stare at him in delighted bewilderment. They’re also touching all the time, little things; Wars tugging playfully at Wind’s hair, Wind throwing himself at Twilight demanding piggyback rides, Sky gently hip-checking Four when the smithy gets stuck in his head.
By contrast, everyone keeps their distance from him. Even Hyrule, who sometimes wanders over eager to ask questions about the time before his own, keeps a careful arms-length away. No one else even gets that close, unless it’s to shove him or pinch his ears.
There’s a difference in how they treat him that he hadn’t noticed before.
Legend’s chest hurts.
They really do just… tolerate him. He’s – he’s a good fighter, and that’s – that’s all.
Maybe that’s - maybe that’s - okay. He can be useful, that way. He can fight all kinds of monsters, and quietly cover their backs. He can still help.
He keeps to himself after that. In battle he’s as fierce as ever, and freely guards the others when they’re turned away from danger. But he stops trying to reach out, to participate in team tactics. He stops trying to joke with the others, or offer stories he thinks they’d find interesting.
He stops talking.
It’s the best thing for everyone.
So why does it hurt so much?
-----
Sitting by the evening’s campfire, Legend considers getting up and moving closer, maybe adding some more wood. He feels cold, despite the licking flames. Legend’s so engrossed in the decision to move or not move that he completely misses the footsteps approaching from the side.
“Hey, Legend.”
He flinches and looks up. Wide violet meets sky blue, and Sky smiles warm and gentle. “Can I sit with you for a bit?”
I can’t stop you/why would you want to/I’ll only make you upset/don’t refuse/don’t make him mad; his throat closes before he can say anything. Instead he presses his lips together and nods.
When Sky sits, he’s so close Legend can feel the warmth radiating off him. He nearly sways into it; stops himself at the last second. No one likes you, he reminds himself, don’t push your luck.
Sky doesn’t catch his lapse, for which Legend is thankful. The man is instead looking out across the camp with his usual absent smile. It’s like he just came over to… sit there. With him. For no reason.
Slowly, hardly daring to believe it, Legend relaxes. Sky does spend a lot of time just watching the world go by.
This isn’t so bad.
“Hey, Ledge.”
He flinches again.
Sky’s not quite looking at him, still facing the fire. “I noticed you’ve been really quiet lately. It can be hard, sometimes, being in such a big group. I guess I’m just -” he flashes Legend a crooked smile - “wondering if you’re doing okay.”
The lump in his throat burns.
“Legend?” Sky looks so – so concerned, so worried over Legend, when he’s always cranky and mean and can’t say anything right –
The first sob takes him by surprise.
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citadelsanchez · 1 year
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Maybe one where female reader is scared to take showers alone? Rick notices this somehow and then they like-uhh- take a shower together IN A ROMANTIC WAY like no sexual stuff just real romantic and loving or smth
if thats weird im sorry and you dont have to write it lol 💀
Loved this thought so much, ugh. Hope I did it somewhat justice. xx
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ever since the invasion incident, you were absolutely petrified of being home alone.
In truth, you have never been a huge fan to begin with. You loved having your own space and time to do as you please, but when trouble strikes, being left to your own devices is not fun. In addition, you're quite paranoid so any strange noises you hear at night are automatically a threat.
By your bedside is a collection of weapons for said threats- baseball bat, taser, mace, and an alert box given to you by your dearest friend Rick.
"A-alright, you press this button and it shows a data scan of the house and who's in it" he'd explained. "This other button, after being held down for 5 seconds, will alert the police and my own receptive remote that you're in danger. D-don't be an idiot. Hide it when you're drunk or bored so you don't get the temptation to press them like a toddler."
You'd rolled your eyes and scoffed. Of course he couldn't make a sweet gesture without inserting his condescendence. But you quickly changed your face and demeanor to one of sweetness.
"Uh huh. Thank you Rick, you're so good to me" you'd said, making sure your voice sounded slightly seductive while matching his patronizing tone as you touched his arm. You knew it would have an impact since you were only wearing a sheer nightgown that accentuated your breasts and exposed your smooth legs.
He'd flushed pink while staring down at you. He knew just as well you did that you two were well beyond "friends" but that's what was labeled to your relationship. No one could counter him the way you do, or make him feel so normal and good, even after all his transgressions. No one could make him so hard either.
He took a drink from his flask, ignoring the growing sensation in his pants. "I-it's no problem."
You'd hoped you wouldn't have to use any of the weapons or the box anytime soon. But 4 days ago, you'd received the news that your neighbor's house was broken into. Even worse, the woman had been in the shower while the person entered- the bathroom door open. Thankfully, the invader didn't take any harmful action apart from stealing money from her wallet and running on his heels after she'd spotted him through the doorway.
Now though, you were sure that you'd be next. And the anxiety had not stopped flowing in your veins since that night. You knew that you needed to get over it and that you were safe, but you hadn't showered in 3 days because of it.
You decided to force yourself to try, however. Moving slowly, you entered your bathroom and turned the knob to run the shower. The loud sound started as the water came out and your heart thudded fast. It's so loud, I definitely wouldn't be able to hear anyone breaking in. I wouldn't have time to even grab a weapon or the stupid box, your anxiety screamed at you.
You shut off the water and go back to sit on your bed and hold your head in your hands in frustration. Before you can contemplate your next move, a glowing green light fills your vision as Rick steps into your room. You've come to barely flinch at it anymore, whereas you used to scream and throw things at him.
"Heyo, so when I was with Morty I found the fuckin- whoa. W-why do you look like a dirty orRPHAN?" He belches, raising his brows at you.
You want to pretend to be annoyed with a witty comeback but the embarrassment from your fear is overpowering. Your hug yourself out of insecurity as you look at him. "Um, I've, I haven't showered in like a day or two. Nothing serious."
He stares blankly before a realization seems to strike his face. "Because of the neighbor thing?" He asks.
You look away in shame. "Yeah."
He's silent for a few seconds before speaking again. "W-well go shower. I'll be here to watch the house."
You can only agree and make your way to start the water back again. You strip your clothes off and get in, feeling a little more at ease, knowing he'll be here basically guarding you. But then again, Rick can be obnoxiously unpredictable and may portal away out of habit. You sigh, wishing you could just shut off your worrying brain.
Your thoughts are interrupted by the feeling of something moving in your hair. You gasp and spin around to find Rick in the shower with you, also naked, as his hands detract from your hair to hold your shoulders steady.
"RICK, WHY THE F-"
"Hey Y/N, it's okay" he whispers and you're taken aback some by his gentle tone and soft touch. "I-I know you're still scared s-so I'm gonna help you get over it. Just- just close your eyes and trust me."
You breathe out slowly and do as he says before turning back around. He begins running his fingers through your hair again which makes you lean back into his touch in pleasure.
When he's done soaking the shampoo in your hair, he gently turns you so your hair rinses in the water. He then gets the soap and rubs it over his hands before softly caressing your arms, chest, and shoulders. You don't feel awkward or exposed, but taken care of- comforted and, dare you say.. loved?
He smoothes over the rest of your body and you take the time to open your eyes. His spiky blue tufts of hair are flattened from the water and hanging over the sides of his face. His face is calm and relaxed as your bodies are pressed together.
You pump out some shampoo onto your hand. "My turn," you say, trying to hide your smile.
He drops his arms to his side and bends down slightly so you can reach his hair.
The action almost makes you melt completely at his submissive vulnerability in such a caring manner. You still have to stand on your toes a bit to reach the top of his head. You run your fingers slowly through his wild hair, massaging his scalp in circles before bringing your hands to the sides of his face. He places his arms around your waist to hold you both in place.
"Rick.."
His eyes flutter open and his face still appears to be in a daze. "Hmm?"
"I just gave you the most wicked mohawk."
His hands still firmly on your back, he sighs quietly. "S-so I take it you're not scared anymore?"
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clanwarrior-tumbly · 11 months
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How's about follower kallamar with a squid reader that is the head doctor and a former follower of his
On the day of your indoctrination...an ugly plague was currently infesting he entire cult. It definitely wasn't the best first impression.
You saw so many sick followers shuffling around, trying not to throw up (although some failed miserably) as they went about their daily tasks.
Lamb excuses themselves to go yell at the healthy followers who didn't bother cleaning all the puke lying around, before sending the sick to their beds and shoving thermometers in their mouths.
And of course, an elder decides to die right next to the goddamn shrine...resulting in those still hanging around to vomit at the sight.
Once everything's slightly under control, Lamb rushes back to officially welcome you into the cult, but you're not impressed at all.
"You promised me sanctuary, Lamb. But all I see is illness and death here...was I right to trust you?"
"....you can blame your "bishop" for all of this......I promise this is a safe haven."
You give them the benefit of the doubt, considering they did save you from being sacrificed to Kallamar.
But when asked why his followers chose you, you explained that you're actually a doctor who treated a lot of sicknesses back in Anchordeep. Sore throats, stomach bugs, flu, pox, etc. You were seen as sort of a miracle worker.
Unfortunately Kallamar saw your skills as a threat to his power, insisting only he can perform "miracles" and decide who's worthy of healing...and his fanatics were inclined to agree.
Luckily, your new leader allowed you to take on that role once again without fear of persecution, and you got the plague under control practically overnight.
You've implemented a system where every follower got a regular checkup. Even if they looked or felt fine, it's better to be safe than sorry.
When Lamb started bartering with ???, they gifted you a gold immortality necklace to ensure you didn't die of old age (seriously, they needed your medical expertise).
You already had a skull necklace, but were grateful nevertheless.
Ironically, Kallamar became the most troubling patient when he arrived into the cult, getting sick right off the bat just from his spiraling anxiety.
He hid behind a tree upon seeing you.....and Lamb found him, literally having to drag him over to your medbay (now a small building instead of a single shrub hut) and order you to treat him.
Great Ones forbid he caused a plague as both bishop and follower. They weren't going to tolerate that.
Ofc, he was hesitant to say anything to you, but after quietly treating his stomach ache and changing his bandages...he breaks down sobbing on the cot, begging for forgiveness.
"I-I was wrong. You do..s-so much good work. You were thriving, performing all these miracles, and....a-and I tried to take that all away....why heal me?"
"Kallamar, I'm not holding that against you anymore." You reassure him. "You're free of the Blue Crown's influence. I know you didn't really want me dead, did you?"
"..n-no, my...followers suggested it. Cult morale was low a-after what happened to Leshy and Heket so...I had to do something!"
Whether that revelation made you feel better or worse, you find it in your heart to forgive him, never denying him treatment even if others in the cult disagree.
You wanted to help him. One squid healing another.
To this day, he still feels bad visiting your medbay, but with time he becomes more comfortable approaching you whenever he gets sick.
Soon enough you find out one of the primary causes of his stomach pains.
It's cauliflower stew (while there's a 5% chance of sickness for everyone else who consumes it, his is always at 100% for some reason).
As it turns out he, ironically, has a severe cauliflower intolerance.
Poor guy never knew that was a thing.
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