okay be honest. if someone as hot as sokka (is constantly established to be by other characters within the text) said these exact words to you, you would also fall in love with them on the spot and/or be overwhelmed with uncontrollable horniness. yue is valid

Sebastian Vettel x RBDesignEngineer! Reader

Set in 2013 during the GP, Jennifer is fresh out of uni and has made a name for herself within the F1 world. She joins Redbull-Renault as one of their engineer designers and easily fits into the team, forming friendships easily. Most of all, she captures the attention of three time world champion, Sebastian Vettel.

Part 3 - here’s the LINK to part 2. After Red Bull’s first and second place win in Malaysia, the team enjoy a 3 week break, and partying ensues for the youngsters in the team. Sebastian finds himself steering more and more in Jen’s direction, the two dance a little too close and Luke is pissed. Warning: the bf does get a little physical but nothing in detail so just a tw.

My eyes trailed after Sebastian, swooning uncontrollably for the driver. He was kinda sweaty, his hair was a mess from attempting to rid his helmet hair, and there was just something about that smile that made me want to sigh out loud at his beauty. I was quite literally admiring him, it felt like I had no control, but there was just something so overwhelmingly attractive about him that hurt my soul. When he turned, he caught me looking, so I offered him a friendly smile in response. Shit, that was slightly embarrassing. Sebastian smiled to himself, making his way over as I pushed myself up further on the bench. “Hey you.” He gently spoke, coming to sit besides me. I didn’t doubt for a second that he had seen me staring, now I knew I was burning up hotter than ever.

“Hiya, good practice today.” I commented, glancing down to my knees, sucking my bottom lip in to avoid smiling so much. When it was just Sebastian and I, I felt like a completely different person, I knew it was bad, but something deep inside of me softened in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time. The feeling was addictive, the sensation of butterflies filling my stomach filled me with joy- followed by a sickening guilt shortly after. “Thanks. It went good, how has- how has your day been?” He asked as I scanned my eyes over his expression. He just seemed so genuine and pure, I hadn’t felt any man so intrigued with me before.

“Good, thank you. Busy as always, it’s been fun… I- that sounds so nerdy.” I facepalmed, “no, it is fun. This whole thing is fun.” He pointed out as I glanced around. “So crazy that we’re actually doing all of this.” “I know… who would’ve thought? Anyway- we’re going out tonight, are you coming?”

“Yeah sure.” I cringed at how fast I answered, my eagerness sounding a little too obvious.

“Ah, that was easy!” Seb giggled, eyes wide in amusement. “I just haven’t been out in a while.” I was quick to defend. “If only I could ask you on a date that easily.” He nudged into my shoulder as I scoffed out a laugh. “Shut up, Seb. What’s the plan for tonight??” On the inside I was a raging, blushing mess- yes Seb, I do wish it was that easy to say yes to you but- no! No I couldn’t think that way.

I ended up in some random bar, Luke of course following behind me, his grip was tight on my hand as he steered me away from saying a real hello to Mark. I watched the Australian’s eyes narrow towards my boyfriend in distaste. “Hey um… when do you think you’ll be heading home?”

“Well aren’t we going together?” Luke frowned. “Oh… I was going back to Monaco. Not England…” “Oh, I’ll come too.” He shrugged, barely even sparing me a glance as he stared up and down at the woman behind the bar serving drinks. I scoffed, pulling my hand away.

“Don’t you have work?” “Do we have to talk about this now?!” He groaned before he even replied, rolling his eyes and staring back down to me with a defensive look in your eye. “Yes. We do.” He had a funny look in his eye, one that just screamed to me that something was wrong. “What? What’s happened?” I sighed, automatically knowing there had to be something with him- as always.

“I lost my job, I don’t need it anway, I’ll just come to Monaco with you an-“

“What?!” Had I heard that right?! He’d lost his god damn job?! Something inside me raged as I looked back up to him with wide eyes. “You’re not coming to Monaco with me.” I firmed. “Baby, I’ve got nowhere else to go!” “Go to your mums!” I exclaimed, grateful the music was relatively loud in here. My comment didn’t sit right with him, I knew I shouldn’t have said it as soon as the words fell off my lips. Luke hated feeling like a failure in life. He likes to be in Monaco where he could ‘pretend to feel rich’. Jokes on him because when we were in Monaco it was too expensive to even do anything.

“What do you mean? Go back to my mums?” Luke harshly spun to face me directly now, causing me to step back slightly as he attempted to get up in my face. In return I swallowed, cowering my head. The smaller I looked, the less people would notice me, including him. My voice weakened instantly. “Don’t do this again…”

“We’re fucking leaving!” He snarled as I felt tears welling up in my eyes. “Oh- oh my god no you’re not crying.” But I was, and he was laughing now at me. Luke losing his job and deciding he’d follow me to Monaco meant he just wanted to sponge off me. I had no love for this man, just pure guilt that kept us together. The only reason he was here was because I was weak. I’d spent years and years and used my dads will to pay for the apartment in Monaco. He couldn’t come and invade that place.

As quick as Luke’s anger began, he was quick to morph it into a different emotion. Fake humiliation. “I’ve got no fuckin’ life baby…” wait? No real humiliation, he stood up straighter, noticing Sebastian nearby. Luke would catch nobody overhearing him speaking to me like this. The fact I had tears welling in my eyes was a huge give away to everybody that things weren’t ok, and that panicked Luke. Despite Luke’s numerous complaints about me working with Seb, he still tried to impress the man who seemed to give him daggers at any given point.

“Let’s not talk about this- hey mate!” Luke chimed as Sebastian awkwardly allowed him to give him an informal handshake. “Hey, uh- you good?” Sebastian’s eyes were on me, I could tell. Then there was a few, the more I glanced around the more mechanics, engineers, friends m, managers; people were glancing over in all different directions. I can’t believe we’d caused a scene, oh my god. “She’s good.” Luke falsely threw an arm around me as Sebastian attempted to walk around him in an attempt to get closer to me. “I’m asking her, not you.” He defended as I grimaced my teeth harshly together, offering a fake smile and nod. Sebastian getting involved just seemed so brave and I yearned for the care he offered- but, I knew this would and could only end ugly with him getting semi involved.

“I’m taking her home now anyway.” Luke sounded angry once again, his calm mask not lasting so long. Truthfully, he was threatened by Sebastian Vettel, who wouldn’t be. But he knew Seb as doing the decent thing like a decent human being would.

“Hey, you good?” Seb attempted to ask again, the urge to step out and go be with my friend was stronger than the urge to be with my own boyfriend. This time, Luke held his arm out, preventing Seb from getting closer, he even applied some force, nudging him away. That was the exact moment I completely lost it.

“Stop it!” I harshly yanked Luke’s arm back. “Don’t touch him like that, let’s go.” I cursed through now falling tears to my boyfriend who’s jaw was tight and he was shaking his head furiously. Seeing Luke ever lay hands on anybody was unsettling, never mind it being Seb out of all people. That had something inside of me wound up like never before.

When we got outside, he practically dumped me to one side as I sobbed loudly, the complete and utter disgust and humiliation I felt for this man becoming overwhelming. “What the fuck are you crying for?” He walked forwards, speaking harshly in my face as I flinched back, wiping harshly at the wet streams down my face. He’d ruined the night before it had even began. How was that possible? It had to be an all time record for him, and I was so fucking done. This was my life, my new life. I didn’t need this or him ruining it. “I’m the one that lost my fucking job! I don’t have any fucking money!” He threw himself forwards and for a second I thought he was going to hit me. I gasped, jumping out of the way as his fist collided with the metal door behind me with a curse. The bang rattled through my body and I desperately gasped for air, stunned by the aggressive act. All I could feel was my breathe heaving and falling in a petrified manner, I felt frightened to move, horrified that Luke had done something he’d promised to never do again. It made me self aware, I was better than this, that was abuse.

That evening we took our own methods of travel back to the hotel. I’d never had a man cry and sob on their knees for me before until he was begging me not to leave him, it was exhausting and in the end, the argument spun back onto other men including those who I worked with. In return I’d begged him to let me leave him, and despite it being the worst situation in my life, it worked. It worked and by the end of it and almost a grand on flight tickets for him later, he was gone. He was gone and I was alone, single, free- my body still rattled all night with the fear of his aggressiveness. It wasn’t until 5am that I caught a wink of sleep. I was haunted of the idea that he may return, and the calls from a ‘No Caller ID’ continuously buzzed through my phone. In the end, I turned it off, blocking all forms of life from outside the hotel room. Everything and anything could wait until the morning. I hadn’t slept well that night, I had a plane to catch and a cut to cover on my face. I felt ashamed, embarrassed, I didn’t even say my goodbyes to anybody in person, I just threw a text in their direction, claiming I was completely ‘good’ after they’d questioned me. On my ride to the airport however, my phone buzzed, this time with an unknown number. Hey, I hope you’re all good? Would you come talk to me when you’re free?

I almost shit myself at the text, raking my mind for who on earth it could possibly be. Could it be Christian? Ready to fire me? Somebody higher up, a CEO? Hi, sorry, who is this? It’s Sebastian, Hannah gave me your number My heart squeezed tighter and I felt tears well up in my eyes over the guilt I felt for my boyfriend laying hands on him last night. Extreme or not, he saw what happened, he tried to take care of me, ask if I was ok…

Hi, I’m so so sorry about last night, I’m good, I hope you are too? I’m on my way to the airport right now or I would’ve stopped by earlier to speak xx

It’s all good, I just wanted to see if you were okay? Hope you have a safe flight, I’ll see you when we get to China

I let out a sigh, wiping quickly at a fallen tear. “Miss? Miss we are here.” The driver politely spoke, eyeing me up in the rear view mirror. I didn’t even have a chance to reply to Sebastian’s message with all the hustle and bustle. It would be two weeks later when I arrived in China that I realised my mistake.

Anonymous asked: I find it absolutely breathtaking that you are still attracted to your wife even while she is carrying your child. So many men cheat and swear off the mother of their children, finding what their bodies are going through absolutely disgusting and I find that to be so wrong. Niccola really made off like a bandit in the night snagging you as a husband, Brian. Who would have thought you would be such a gentleman behind the scenes!?

There was much to Brian that many didn’t know about. Mysteries that bubbled just below the surface, he wouldn’t atone for the wrongdoings of his past, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t strive for a better future, secrets shared with those he trusted most. Niccola was one such person. All the good and the bad and the ugly confessed to her - the softer sides of the Loose Cannon - the dreams and hopes and wishes, too. If they were to survive together, than nothing, not even the darkest of skeletons in the closet, could keep them apart. Honesty was the best policy and there was not much more to that. All truth and no lies, it was a golden rule that they, as parents to a beautiful little boy, tried to teach and practice. There was no deception in what Brian had to say about his wife. She was perfect - even when those who asked him wanted to hear differently - pregnant or not. Without Niccola, there would be no reason, no happiness and wonder. A lost and dried wasteland just near death itself; a miserable soul that would forever question just what his purpose was, would ultimately destroy himself and everyone around him. All for the sake of petty revenge. 

But Niccola saved him, gave Brian everything that he could’ve ever yearned for. A loving marriage that was just as fun as it was fulfilling, two adorable children, one on the way very soon, and a home so full of love that it almost burst through its foundation. Maybe he was a gentleman, a kindhearted man when all the outer stone of his shell got chipped away, but it wasn’t just because of his own doing. Never, for Niccola had saved him, gave him the swift kick to get himself back on the right track. She deserved the credit. Brian’s true self freed after so many years hidden - it was nice to be comfortable again, genuinely at peace. 

“You sure do have a point there!” He smiled in glee, eyes sparkling. “Nickie sure did find herself a great catch! But, hey, she ain’t no slouch, either. Niccola’s a real classy lady. She could’ve had any guy she wanted, but she chose me, and I’m never gonna give her a reason to regret that. Not that I would let her go so easily. I might be retired now, and my ankle might look like it’s seen better days, but I’ll beat any S.O.B’s ass still. I might not be able to run, but I sure as hell can still throw shit. I haven’t forgotten those college football years yet!”

“Any guy who cheats on his pregnant wife isn’t even qualified to be called a man anymore in my book. Sounds more like a boy to me. A scared little boy who doesn’t realize the good that he’s got. Me and Niccola have two kids together. Well, one and a half. I couldn’t imagine giving our family, our lives, up for a skanky motel screw. Nickie and I haven’t gone through all the pain and heartbreak that we have just to get to a point like that. It wouldn’t be worth it. It’d be such a waste. Besides, she’s never looked hotter than she does right now! You could find me the sluttiest, leather wearing biker bitch in town, with a face like Pam Anderson, a chest like Dolly Parton, and an ass like Lil’ Kim, and yet they couldn’t compare to my wife. Maybe that’s just my husband and daddy brain talking, but my wife is the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever come to know, inside and out. She’s an angel straight out of heaven. I love her. And I’ll never be able to thank her for being the best wife, the best mother to our kids, and the best friend a man like me could ever asked for. If either one of us is the lucky one in our relationship, that would be me.”

___

Hi there! Love your writing and wanted to send in a quick request for a Bucky x Plus Size Reader fic. Reader is shy and socially awkward while her friend, Dottie, is seen as more attractive and social. As a result, most men notice HER rather than Reader. That is until Bucky comes along. Cue Dottie trying to flirt with him, much to reader's frustration. Would love to see a Reader, Dottie, Bucky love triangle, maybe some jealousy and pining that leads to smut?

hi!  a couple of things.  this didn’t really lead to smut but there are a couple sexual jokes/innuendos, and it might not entirely follow your request perfectly. there are also some negative comments about weight (all coming from dottie tho).  however, if you’d like me to redo it, just let me know!  sorry for taking so long, love.

It was always something like this.  You would be left alone, much to your dismay, as Dottie goes off with yet another man.  You couldn’t stay mad at her—she was your best friend, and she meant everything to you.  And yet, it still rubbed you the wrong way when she would just leave you without a second thought.  

Sometimes, after work, the two of you were supposed to meet by the elevators, so you could go out to eat.  Days like today.  Only today, Dottie was nowhere to be seen.  

You looked around the Avengers tower, sighing.  You were just a secretary.  You weren’t allowed above the floor in which you were stationed—if you were ever promoted, that would be a different story.  So you stood, waiting by the elevators.  Pulling out your phone, you tried calling Dottie, but to no avail.  She didn’t answer. 

You groaned softly and stuffed your phone back in your pocket, crossing your arms over your chest.  

The elevator doors opened up behind you, and you moved just slightly closer to the wall to avoid getting in anyone’s way.  You looked towards the elevator, locking eyes with Steve Rogers.  He was always nice—he also always greeted you with a smile when he came in.  But standing beside him was his best friend; Bucky Barnes.  When you turned your attention to him, you couldn’t help but try to keep your cheeks from burning.  He was looking right at you.  At least, you thought he was.  The slap on your arm drew you out of your mind.  

“[Your name],” Dot said, crossing her arms over her chest.  She was gorgeous.  He had to have been staring at her.  “Come on.  We’re going to be late because of you,” she rolled her eyes.  

You wanted to counteract.  But you stayed quiet, just nodding.  

As the two of you passed by Steve and Bucky, Bucky kept his eyes on you.

Steve waited until you both were gone before he looked at his friend.  “She’s really sweet, Buck.  Go for it.”

He rolled his eyes.  “Leave me alone.”

—

You saw Bucky more often, and you had even started talking to him on a daily basis.  However, you also started seeing Dottie more often as well.  She was always there when Bucky was around.  You thought it was odd, seeing as Dottie worked towards one of the back rooms and Bucky was an Avenger.  You never understood why he hung around your little nook until Dot blatantly flirted with him one day.  Right in front of you. 

“You know, I’m sure that hand of yours could do wonders,” Dottie said, leaning against the counter of your station, grinning in Bucky’s direction as he handed you a coffee.  

You hadn’t even asked for it, and yet, he got one for you from the breakroom.  

You diverted your attention from the kind man to your friend, your eyes wide.  “Dot, what the hell—”

Dot rolled her eyes again.  She had been doing that a lot, lately.  She just smiled, batting her eyelashes in Bucky’s direction.  “I’ve got a pretty nice place.  You could come by, we could watch a couple—”

“—no thank you,” Bucky smiled softly.  It took everything in him not to admit that he didn’t like her in that way.  No, he liked someone else.  But he didn’t have the guts to tell her that.  Not yet, anyway.  

“What?” Dottie stared him down, keeping her smile plastered to her face.  “Why not?  Am I not skinny enough for you?  I can work on that, cutie.  It’s not a big deal.”

Oh, you thought, she’s doing this on purpose.  

It was no secret that you were a bigger girl.  And while most days, you were perfectly fine with your body, snide comments like that always made you insecure.  And Dottie did that a lot.  You wondered if that was one of the reasons you weren’t surprised she said it.  

“I promise, doll, it has nothing to do with that,” Bucky said, staring right back at her.  He was appalled that she would even think that.  It didn’t even occur to him why she would say something like that until he looked at you.  He could see how uncomfortable you were and he clenched his jaw before making eye contact with Dot again.  “You know what?”

Dottie began to smile.  “What?”

“I don’t think we’re ‘meant to be,’” he softly scoffed.  “You’re pretty, but I don’t like you like that.”

“Oh, come on,” she groaned, leaning against the counter again.  She kept her arms under her breasts, pushing them up as she talked to Bucky.  “You’ve got to be kidding.  We’d be perfect together.”

“Dot, just give it a break,” you said, getting to your feet.  “He said he doesn’t like you.”

Dottie broke her trance on Bucky, turning her full attention to you.  “I’m sorry, were you under the impression that I was talking to you?” she asked, letting out a curt laugh.  “I don’t know where you got that impression, but sweetheart, Bucky wouldn’t go for someone like you.”

“Like me?” you asked, tears stinging your eyes.  What a good friend she was. 

“Who the fuck said you know what I like?” Bucky huffed through his nose.  “Dot, leave.  Before I call security.  Hell, I’ll just take you out myself.  Don’t you ever,” he said, walking over to her, pushing her off the counter, “talk to [Your name] that.”

“What are you gonna do?” Dot leaned forward, close enough to his face that he could feel her breath on his lips.  

Bucky took a step back, glaring at the woman.  “Just go.”

Dottie stamped her heeled foot to the ground like a child before she looked right at you, once more.  You could feel the coldness radiating off her glare.  “You’re such a fucking fatass.  I was only ever friends with you because you made me look ten times hotter than I already was, bitch.”

She didn’t dare to look at Bucky, quickly rushing off before he could react.  

You bit your lip, holding back any more tears that you had.  

The man standing in front of your desk turned to face you, his anger washing into concern when he saw your tears.  

“Hey…”

He walked around to where you were standing and he pulled you into a hug.  You welcomed it.  You couldn't believe that Dottie acted that way.  You never thought she would say something like that, but you supposed there was always a side of people that you would never see until they didn’t get what they really wanted.  

“She’s not even pretty,” Bucky said, in an attempt to comfort you.

You laughed and pulled back.  “She is, Buck.  She is.  But… but her personality is shit, isn’t it?” you asked, looking up at him. 

Bucky smiled.  “Yeah.  Shit.”

You sniffled softly and wiped your tears away.  

“You don’t have to stick around here anymore,” you softly said, moving to sit back down in your seat.

Bucky took your hand rather quickly, stopping you.  “I only ever came to talk to you.  Dot was just a… roadblock.”

You narrowed your eyes for a moment.  “A roadblock?”  While you most definitely might have had another phrase in mind, you couldn’t help but melt at the smile he gave you. 

“I only ever wanted to talk to you.  I was too… chicken to actually tell you, but I really like you, [Your name].”

“Really?”

“I wouldn’t lie about something like that,” he grinned, leaning forward to kiss your cheek.  

You welcomed the physical contact, looking up at him with wide eyes.  “Well… well, uh, maybe let’s not talk about that here, while we’re at work—”

“—then let’s go talk about it somewhere else,” Bucky smiled.  “I… have a bike.”

“A bike?”

“Motorbike.”

Your cheeks burned again.  “I, uh, think I’d rather walk if we were to go anywhere.”

Bucky smiled even more.  “You’ll be fine.  And if anyone says anything, I’ll get you out of trouble.”

“That’s not what I’m concerned about—”

Bucky knew what you were referencing.  He just chuckled, taking both of your hands in his.  “Trust me.  It’ll be okay.”

Dottie was a total bitch—she made you cry in front of the guy you liked.  However, it led to not only you getting out of work early that afternoon, but it gave you an opportunity to really get to know Bucky.  As much as you hated to say that, you kind of owed your relationship with Bucky to Dottie—without her, the two of you would have probably longed after each other for years before someone slipped up and said something.  

You stared at your reflection in the bathroom mirror. You could barely hear yourself think. You’d been attempting to sober up for some odd 20 minutes, whilst the pumping music faded through the tiled walls.

You’d drank plenty of water, and finally felt everything coming back to you. Once the writing on the walls started making sense again, you exited the room. The music finally filtered clear and you walked outside. 

You ran a hand through your hair, seeing your friends dancing in the distance. You were having a lot of fun actually. The only thing that slowed you down was the urge to pee a while ago. And once you felt yourself stumbling towards the bathroom, you realized it was time to chill for a bit.

You walked through a sea of people towards the bar on the terrace again, feeling like a new woman. You ordered a non-alcoholic drink with a sprite substitute for your base, sitting on the stool closest to the end against the wall.

You threw your head back, taking the deepest breath and looking at the sky. 

“Whew...” You sighed. “I almost got shit faced again.”

You heard a laugh from two stools away. You snapped your head towards the only other person on the terrace bar with you. He’d surely been sitting there when you walked past just now. But you were in your own world, and you were thirsty so you hadn’t noticed him.

“Did you just laugh at me?” You quizzed at the white haired gentleman just a few feet from you. 

He turned towards you, giving you a toothy grin. “Yeah, cause it was funny.”

You stared at him, wondering why he had the blindfold on. It dawned upon you that he was probably blind, and you didn’t want to be rude.

“Yeah, I guess it was.” You giggled in the most non-confrontational way possible.

“Good for you, though. Knowing your limits.” He said, taking a sip of his own drink. “Ugh. Yo,  bar tender, could make this a little sweeter?”

You didn’t know many guys that liked their drinks brimming with sugar like that. Then it dawned upon you about how unconventional and unsafe it was for a blind man to be at a club. He could get roofied and kidnapped and he wouldn’t know a thing. You looked down at his legs. He doesn’t even have a cane.

“Are you here alone?” You asked, almost worried for the guy. 

“Are you?” He asked smugly. Was he... hitting on you?

You instinctively adjusted your bodycon dress. It barely covered your butt when you sat down like that, making you place your purse above your lap. But then you remembered, he’s blind.

“No. My friends and I planned this party.” You asked. “Who invited you?” 

“A friend of a friend who knew my friend’s cousin, who told my friend and I that we should definitely come to this party in Shibuya City.” He explained whilst shooting you another cheeky smile. 

“Uh huh...” you slurred. You plopped your head down on the table, staring at him while you leaned on your arm. He was kind of cute, for a blind guy, you thought. You felt a little insensitive for putting it that way in your head. He had this mysterious vibe about him. 

The bar tender set your syrupy drink beside you, but you just continued to look at him.

“I hope that’s just soda.” The white haired male quizzed, picking up a skewered piece of fruit from his drink as the bar tender placed his cup back beside him.

You rolled your eyes, “Yup, just sprite and high fructose corn syrup.” 

“You’re cute.” He said, chuckling deeply. You felt your face heating up. His voice was buttery smooth. You wanted to make more conversation with him but you just shyly sat up and hugged your straw with your mouth. 

Your eyes caught on his jawline. God damn, you thought. You felt like you could ogle as long as you wanted, what was he gonna do about it?

His face is pretty proportionate. He could model if he wanted. His legs looked long on the stool, and he had broad shoulders. He probably could model, you thought. He surely had the height for it.

It wasn’t til he turned towards you and stuck his tongue out that you jumped a little. Just as he was about to say something, you heard a cellphone notification sound, and you frantically reached towards your purse. 

“Ah, that’s me.” He said, fishing his phone out his pocket. You watched him unlock his phone, and send a text.

“Wait, you’re not blind?!” You said, somehow feeling a little violated. You were the one staring through his soul this entire time.

“Is that what you thought?” He chuckled. “I was just about to ask you if you were checking me out, or possibly still feeling tipsy.”

You were at lost for words, feeling stupid. It was normal for you to assume he couldn’t see.

“Who the hell wears a blindfold to a party?”

“Hmmmm, maybe the birthday person? If it’s a surprise party. And then there’s me. I do that.” He grins.

You have a mortified look on your face, earning another laugh from him.

“If it makes you feel better, I think you’re attractive too.” He cocked his head to the side, holding his cheek in his palm.

“Thank you...” You said, head feeling hotter than it did when you were drunk in the bathroom earlier.

“I was just about to leave too. I wasn’t having that good of a time. Not to sound rude though, you and your friends planned a good party. I just finished playing wingman earlier and I was bored as hell.”

“It’s okay.. I get it.” You said, sheepishly bringing your straw to your lips again.

“Was...” He spoke again. “I was bored. Til this sweet baby girl sat beside me. Now, I’m intrigued.”

“You’re the intriguing one. I can’t even see half of your face.” You blurted out through red cheeks. He talked with such finesse. You crossed you legs, and he bit his lip playfully at you. 

“Ahh, I suppose I could show you. You wanna see that bad?” He licked his lips, leaning forward a bit. Though there were two seats between you, you still pressed your back against the wall. 

You slowly swallowed. “I mean... I wouldn’t mind it.”

“Honey, it’s yes or no. Are you as curious about me as I am about you?”

You couldn’t lie. You knew he was attractive even with the blindfold. But the eyes are the window to the soul right? What kind of man were you sitting with right now?

“Let’s bargain a little, yeah? When was the last time you did something crazy, hmm?” He hummed.

You didn’t know, you were so concentrated on the idea of seeing his face. And he’s changing the subject, but he’s still looking right at you, putting you on the spot.

“Define crazy.” You said.

“Skinny dipping, going home with a stranger, robbing a convenience store, you know- crazy shit.”

You burst out laughing at how he smoothly threw that in there. He chuckled along with you. 

“It’s been a few hours.” You say, crossing your legs in the opposite direction. 

“I like that answer.” He says. “So, if I show you what’s under this blindfold of mine, would you consider coming home with me?”

You were crazy for even considering it when he casually mentioned it the first time. You had no idea who he was, and he could murder you as soon as you both left. 

But your gut hadn’t been doing it’s usual thing for the first time in a while. You were nervous, but not because you were scared. He was simply a smooth guy. 

“Alright. Let’s see that mug of yours.” You cross your arms.

He lets out a throaty laugh. “Okay, 

sweetheart.” 

He moves one stool closer towards you and leans on the counter. No one else but you could see his face from this angle. He slowly reached his finger up to pull down the fabric.

He definitely knew how to drag on the moment.

“Or better yet, let’s let the lady of the evening do it, shall we?” He said, bringing his large hands to cover yours. They were hot, and your heart was racing. He lifted both of your hands towards his face.

“Go on, sweets.” You nervously put your fingers  into the fabric, sliding it down over his nose and mouth.

****🌏👄🌏 〰️👄〰️ 🌊👄🌊****

You were star struck. The words were dry on your tongue. He was stupendously beautiful. So beautiful you thought it was unfair. His eyes coaxed you further towards him. You could somehow see everything in them, and nothing but blue at the same time. 

He brought you back to reality when he stuck his tongue out at you. 

“Like what you see?” 

“You’re... gorgeous..” You managed to say through blushing cheeks, sitting back up straight.

“Thank you~” 

“Alright. That’s enough for now. Don’t want you passing out on me.” He slid the blindfold back up, earning a slight dissatisfied whine from you. 

“So, are you down?” He asked, putting his face right back in his palm, grinning from ear to ear. He was honest, and normally you thought you’d be offended by someone blatantly asking you to sleep with them.

Your legs stood up, pulling down what you could of your black bodycon dress.

“You better show me a good time, or I’ll give you the worst review of your life.” You adjusted your purse strap on your shoulder, swaying your hips and offering him a playful smile. The alcohol that wasn’t digested yet gave you a boost of confidence, you passed some hair behind your ears, looking down at him.

“My sex speaks for itself.” He stood up, towering above you and putting out his arm for you to hold. You blushed before loosely wrapping your hand around it. It’s like he had a response for everything, you thought.

“Lucky for you I don’t live too far from here. So you’ll get everything you’re fantasizing about real soon.” He bent down, whispering to you.

How could he be so sure he was going to pleasure you? A stranger he was, he didn’t even know your name, nonetheless how and where you liked to be touched the most.

What a cocky little-

“By the way, my name is Gojo Satoru.” He lifted  his blindfold on one side and peered down at you. You’d heard of the name before, but it could be pure coincidence.

“(Name).” You looked away, blushing yet again under his gaze. 

“Cute as hell.” He bent down towards your face. “Why don’t we tell your friends that you’re leaving with me, hmmm?”

He walked through the bar with you on his arm, finding your friends. They were in awe at the snack you’d found, realizing who he was far before you did. They coaxed you to go for it. 

You turned on your location, and he assured them he’d bring you home. 

Then you were in his car, which was incredibly spick and span. You anxiously pressed your thighs together. It smelled of new car and pine scent. Such a guy thing, you thought.

“Are you nervous?” He asked. He turned on the radio, attempting to lighten the mood. 

“No, your car is just nice.” You pouted, looking out the tinted windows.

“I know right?” He grinned. “Man I love this song.”

Cocky was an understatement.

You realized that one of your favorite songs had been playing. You watched him confidently sing the lyrics.

“You don’t know it?” He asked, turning towards you.

“Of course I do. It’s my favorite.” You say proudly. 

“I knew there was something I liked about you.” He said, humming soon after.

“Ditto. You have decent music taste.” You said. 

You both vibed, and eventually he pulled into a parking garage of a fancy apartment building you surely knew you couldn’t afford to rent.

“You live here?” You asked, as he opened the door for you. He gently took hold of your hand before speaking.

“Yup. Feel free to come visit me whenever after tonight.”

“What makes you so sure I’ll be coming back?” You stood up, looking up at him as you pulled your dress down once more.

“You will. I just know.” He chuckled. 

“You get around a lot, don’t you Satoru?” You quiz, watching him close the car door and click the button on his keys. 

“Here and there. I work more than I’d like to.” He said motioning you to hook yourself onto his arm again.

You wanted to ask him more about his line of work, but he quickly spoke again.

“I just realized you called me by my first name. What a cutie~” He teased.

“What did you want me to call you?” You asked, heels clicking as you both walked towards the elevator. 

“If you were my lover, a plethora of things. For now, you can call me whatever you want.”

You poked your cheek with your tongue. “Then I choose your first name.”

“A classic.” He said, pressing the button on the top floor. 

“What do your other mistresses call you?” You peered up at him.

“Charming, sometimes cocky.” He looked down at you. This guy was something else.

“You know what I meant.” You said, gripping his arm a bit. 

“Lighten up, honey. It’s all about you right now.” 

“Do you think you’ll ever get married?” You realized it wasn’t a tasteful question to ask in this moment, but you hoped to get some insight about him depending on his answer.

“Most definitely. My family expects me to have the strongest offspring.” He said, cocking his head back in frustration. 

“You don’t want to get married?” You ask.

“I do. But not for reasons like that.” He said, exiting the elevator with you. You caught on to what he meant. 

“So what would it take for you to fall in love?” 

“You make it sound like you want to be a contender.” He smugly smiled at you. 

“I get sappy when I’m tipsy.” You blurt out, ears hot and looking in the opposite direction.

He let out a hearty laugh. “As for your question, someone who understands me, which is kind of hard for most people. Oh, and a good sense of humor.”

You hummed, wondering if you fit the bill. You were just here for the sex, but his whole vibe piqued your interest. The blindfold, money, and the name you heard rumors about. He was handsome too, gracing you by allowing you to see his eyes. He seemed to have it all. And all this talk eluding to how he was about to rock your world made you a little nervous.

Could you deliver anything for him besides your body? 

You watched him fish out his keys and slide them into the door knob. A blast of cool air hit your skin and the scent of suede and leather furniture found your nose. You stepped inside, leaving your heels at the door. 

“What did you say you do for a living again?” You peered back at him, watching him hang his jacket and shutting the door.

“I’m an accountant.” He says slyly. You let out a laugh, and he knows you didn’t believe him, nor did he expect you to.

You left it at that, watching him approach the kitchen. He washes his hands, and motioned you to do the same. “Can I get you anything? I can make you something if you’re hungry.”

You shook your head. “You can cook?”

“In the midst of my survival, it became a necessity, alas’ I learned.” He said sarcastically, taking out two bottles of water. He set one in front of you anyway and took some gulps from his own.

“Couldn’t you have said ‘yes, my parents taught me’ like a normal person?” You said, sitting on the stool by the island.

“I could have. But I’m far from normal, if you couldn’t tell.” He pulled down his blind fold and set it on the island countertop, exposing his face again.

“Why do you wear it... if you don’t mind me asking...” 

“I’m sensitive to light. Sometimes I wear glasses. It’s a mood.” He was lying, and you knew. You didn’t actually expect him to tell you the truth. You weren’t particularly bothered either. There were plenty of things he didn’t know about you.

“Is there anything you want to ask me?” You say, tapping your fingers on the bottled water. 

He placed a hand on his chin. 

“Are you allergic to latex?” He leaned directly across from you.

“No...” You smirked. “That was thoughtful.”

“That’s just the kind of guy I am.” He chuckled lightly. He slid around the table, closer towards you.

“Mhmmm.” You say, looking up at him. It was hard to stay focused. Why did he have to be so good looking? You could see the skin of his chest through his white t-shirt when he leaned over you like that. You tugged at your bottom lip.

“Actually, there’s one other thing.” He was so close his hair nearly touched your forehead. You could smell faint remnants of fruity alcohol and mint. You never even saw him pop one into his mouth. 

And to guess what it could be, you had no clue. How could someone be so open but so hard to unveil at the same time? 

“And what might that be?” The response is barely audible, made for only him to hear it.

“What would it take for you to fall in love?” 

You were taken aback. All this time you honestly couldn’t tell how genuinely interested he was in you other than how you looked.

“You really wanna know?” You said, leaning towards him a little. His lashes were so long, he was so pretty he put your looks to shame- at least you felt that way.

“I asked you, didn’t I?” He said, cocking his to the side in the most kiddish, yet charming way ever.

“Someone who could make me feel safe. A good listener, a good communicator, and someone whose funny. And then I cross my fingers and hope for the sex to be good.”  You explain. He laughs a bit before speaking.

“And I just happen to be here right in front of you. Quite the coincidence, don’t you think?” He curls his lips into a sly smile.

“You’ve yet to show me a few things. The sex may or may not be a dealbreaker.” You roll your eyes. 

He brought a hand to your chin, touching noses with you now. “Alright, let me show you why I’m the best.”

He pulled your lips in for a soft kiss. His lips were smooth and slightly slick from whatever chapstick he was using. You had wanted him to kiss you so badly, growing anxious of the sexual tension between the conversations you were having. His teeth pulled against your bottom lip, sucking it into his mouth. The pressure from the suction sent messages to the nerves in the pit of your stomach. It wasn’t often someone could give you pleasure in your core from a kiss.

You let out delicate whine, making him let go and press his forehead against yours. 

“How was that?” He asked. The tone behind it clearly displayed that he knew he had gotten to you but he had asked you anyway, just because.

“Terrible.” You say, adverting your gaze from his eyes and towards his rosy lips.

“Guess I have to try again.” He says, taking hold of your mouth with his once again. He’s closer to your body now, touching and swirling his fingers down your back. He sent chills down your spine, sucking and pulling firmly at your lips. 

His tongue fell into your mouth somehow, and you welcomed it. You found yourself trying to stick your tongue in his mouth, oddly invested in making him see you had been a decent kisser yourself. Your hands were living in his hair, around his neck. You weren’t shy to touch him at all. 

“Look whose all over me.”  He smirked.

“You’re supposed to be showing me something, right?” You tugged at his shirt, earning a laugh from him.

He dipped his head down towards your lips again, continuing his tongue work for you. He snaked an arm around your waist, pulling you closer to him. You slipped out the stool, on your top toes. Your chest pressing against his, you could feel his heart beat. You could smell his shampoo, his cologne. All of it filled your brain. Your body felt like some sort of electric current connecting with his as soon as skin touched skin. You draped your arms around his neck, realizing just how touch starved you actually were. 

He had been pumping life into you and sucking it out at the same time. His large hot hands began running up and down the exposed back skin of your dress. 

"Jump." He barely broke the kiss whilst ordering you.

You hopped best you could, and his hands found the back of your knees. You wrapped your legs around his torso before feeling large hot hands cup your ass cheeks. Your dress riding up this far was inevitable, but you couldn’t help but let out a small yelp when he clutched your butt like that. 

He pulled away from the kiss for a moment, “Are you gonna make cute sounds like that the whole time?” 

“Are you gonna keep making commentary about it?” You mulled.

He squeezed your butt again, this time smacking the left side. “Only if you want me to.”

“You’ve been making these cute little noises the whole night. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, it’s driving me nuts.” He adds, spinning you away from where you both had been standing. 

You couldn’t say anything, and with him being so close you could only pan your glance else where. 

“And blushing so hard just like that. It’s precious.” He cocked his head in the direction you looked away from him in.

“Can you go back to kissing me?” You requested, a feeble attempt to get him to stop talking about your flushed cheeks. 

“So cute.” He cooed.

“It’s actually more unfair how good looking you are, you know that?” You managed to say.

He stuck his tongue out, shooting a wink at you. 

You eagerly kissed him, taking his tongue into your mouth. He let out a low moan against your lips. You were suddenly eager to please him, you tightened you legs around him, grinding almost. You felt him walking through the condo space. His tongue took control again, swirling around yours. You were lost in his kiss when your back connected with cool fabric. He laid you down on the bed, your small body sinking into the fluff.

“I’m about to spoil you rotten.” He sat up above you, removing his shirt and tossing it to the floor. He was fitter than you expected. Pale skin with hues of pink here and there. You wondered what his skin routine was. Or maybe it was genetics? It was a bit nerve-racking. He seemed to be this perfect human being, physically speaking.

He lowered himself to your neck, putting his hot mouth against your skin. He sucked at the soft skin, nipping it with his teeth. He cupped one of your breasts, squeezing and massaging firmly. You were ecstatic he was finally touching you. As you rubbed your hand against his smooth chest his tongue found your sweet spot. You whined again, earning a hum from him.

You felt him drag his mouth down your neck resting sweet kisses between your mounds. 

“May I?” He asked, tugging the bottom of your dress. You nodded. You sat up, pulling the thing off yourself. 

“Getting impatient I see.” He said, passing his thumb over your chin.

“Hurry it up.” You roll your eyes again.

“Maybe I want our first time to be special.” He teased. 

“I didn’t pin you as the sentimental type.” You say.

“I’m a man of mysteries, but you know that already.” He said, pressing his lips to yours again. 

Your hands gently held the sides of his head, kissing him back. His hair was undeniably soft as silk. He broke away from your mouth, kissing your collarbone instead. His large hands took to your breasts again, exposing one of your nipples to the cool air. They were already hard and swelling to be touched.

He placed his wet mouth onto it, sucking and flicking his tongue against the thing. You were squirming beneath him. Aching to be stimulated else where, your underwear was damp from your core, pooling between your legs.

He wrapped an arm around your waist, lifting you slightly while he sucked. Your placed your hands on the back of his head, almost patting him for doing so well. You whimpered softly, attempting to grind against him to give yourself some sort of stimulation down there. 

“I’ve got you, baby. You’ll get all of it. Be a good girl and hold out for me.” He said, looking up at you. You wish you could’ve watched the slick words fall from his lips, but you couldn’t see them under your breasts. 

You gave him a bashful nod. You were beginning to melt under his touch. You didn’t know what came over you, but you were ready to submit to him. Your needy and throbbing pussy was draining the bratty energy right out of you. He hadn’t done much, but you were ready to do whatever he asked of you.

You felt him unhook your bra whilst he sucked and massaged your mounds. The fabric slid off your body as he mumbled against your skin. “So sexy.” 

“You’re the sexy one.” You told him, knowingly feeding his ego.

“Thank you.” He said proudly, setting you down flat again. You watched him trail his lips down your stomach, leaving kisses in some places” He was feathering and brushing his lips on the skin more than actually kissing it, just to tease you.

He placed his fingers under the hem of your underwear, pulling them down and exposing your sweet sex. Your wetness dribbled onto the bed as he slid the fabric down your thighs and past your ankles.

“Are you this wet all the time?” You watched him cock an eyebrow through his bangs. You bit your lip. 

“You talk too much.” You turned your head. 

“You think so?” He said, spreading your legs and dipping his head towards your sex. He split your sticky, wet folds with two fingers, exposing your clit and pressing the flat of his tongue against it in an upward flick. 

“Mmm.. nnh...” You moan, showing him that you liked it. 

He hummed back at you before pressing a kiss to your clit, sucking and swirling his tongue over it. He pulled you down towards the edge of the bed, mouth still buried onto you. One arm wrapped around your body, hand cradling your rib cage. His other hand pinning one of your legs as far back as he thought you could manage. 

“Ahh... fuck.. ah...” You cursed. You wondered where he learned to eat pussy like that. You were trembling in his arms, raking your hands through his hair and undercut. 

He slipped a finger into you, curling against the roof of your sex, causing your spine to curl in response. You let out a cracked and broken moan, much to his liking.

He inserted another finger into you, allowing more slick to collect onto his hand and into the bed. He was so good, you sat up with the bit of strength you had just to watch him eat it. His deep, azure ocean eyes were resting on your frame the whole time, waiting for you to cum.

“Just like that...” Your eyes rolled back, you were reaching your end. You started clenching around his fingers and throbbing against his tongue. 

“G’head. Cum for me.” He parted his lips from your sex for only a second, flicking and sliding his fingers in and out of you.

Your body obeyed, releasing onto his hands and tongue. He kept at it, overstimulating you as he watched you ride out your orgasm.

When he finally ripped his fingers and tongue from you, you were a panting mess. 

“I’ve got a lot more for you.” You watched him lick the slick from his fingers. He towered above your body, tilting his to the side before speaking again.

“But do you need to rest?” He seemed genuinely concerned for your weak body. He almost thought he should’ve held back a little. Maybe just the tongue would’ve been fine, he thought.

“I’m fine.” You say, partially dazed. He’s definitely something else, you think.

“We can keep going.” You sit up, pushing him backwards. 

“Pants. Take them off.” You demand. 

“Anything you say.” He’s delighted, unbuckling and stripping the rest of his clothes for you. Your eyes twitch at his size. He was part animal without question- he had to be. You’d seen your share of sizes, but you couldn’t humble this guy even if you tried. 

“Are you kidding me,” you mutter. “Is there anything you don’t have?” 

“I hate to break it to you, but no.” He complacently smiled. You found yourself laughing a little before he spoke again.

“Actually, a wife and kids,” he said, turning towards one of his dressers, digging inside. 

“And frankly, I’d like to keep it that way.” He said, ripping the condom wrapper with his teeth. You watched him slide the rubber over and down his shaft. 

“That’s a little disappointing...” the words fell from your lips without you realizing. 

“Again, eventually. I’d like to start off with a girlfriend first, obviously.” His response triggered a mental face palm on your part, making you realize you’d said what you said out loud.

You felt like a teenage girl. Why did a little part of you decide he was husband material just from him eating you out? He’s still a stranger. A naked one, but a stranger. 

“You’re adorable.” He said, climbing above you. “You’ve got a crush on me now?” 

“Get to fucking.” You tugged at his ear, clearly agitated. He dipped his head towards your ear and whispered, 

“That’s okay. I’ve got a crush on you, too.”

The urge to cover your face in embarrassment was strong. He chuckled, “it definitely should be crime for anyone to be this precious.”

“You’re making my heart squeeze, looking all cute like that.” He took hold of his member in his hand, pressing and sliding it through your wet folds. 

“Alright, I’ve made you wait long enough.” He said, penetrating himself into you. Your hot sex slowly wrapped around his length, you wrapped your arms around him bracing yourself for the sharp pain that followed. You let out painful squeak.

“Oh shit- I’m so sorry sweetheart.” He shushed you. He pressed soft kisses to your cheeks and neck. You were surprised at how tender he was  being. His delicate side was seeping out at the seams.

“I’m okay... Just give me a moment.” You say, your heart skipped a beat as you adjusted to his size. He caressed you ears and kept giving you soft kisses on your face and neck.

“If you keep that up I might fall in love with you.” You tease, but apart of you meant it.

“You might.” He said, earning yet another bashful look from you.

“You can move now.” You assured him, nuzzling more into the bed. He braced his hips back before pumping in again, and again, and again. 

He kept poking parts of your vaginal canal that you never even thought possible, like he was scratching this insatiable itch you had for years now. You never knew you could feel this full. 

His lips connected to the skin underneath your ear, sucking and kissing you gently as he thrusted into your hot sex. 

“..so... d-deep... it’s so... deep.” You stuttered through every jab at your core. The heat radiating off of your body felt hot enough to start a fire. If you didn’t know any better you would’ve thought you had a fever. You raked your fingers through the smooth of his undercut and combed through his hair as he fucked you.

“Why the fuck is it so wet?” He groaned into the crook of you neck. Your other arm wrapped around his back, trying so hard not to scratch his delicate skin. You didn’t want to hurt him, nonetheless you couldn’t tell if he’d be okay with it.

Your sweet moans filled the room, which took nicely to his ears. His hips bucked into you quicker, causing ripples of bliss throughout your body. Somehow, your toes were tingling, curling even, and you could feel pleasure in more places than just the center of your sex. You barely knew what to do with your hands, gripping the sheets and pillows around you. 

“You can pull my hair if you want,” he said, lifting himself from the warm space he created between your neck and shoulder. 

You gladly accepted, pulling some hair on the back of his head as he continued to thrust into you. You realized he sort of lead you on, giving you the match to start a fire in him. He shot you the most seductive blue glare as his head jerked back in delight. He bit his lip into a smile, thrusting faster into you.

Your moans went from sweet song to broken and incoherent mess. “T-That’s not f-fair.” 

“When did I ever say I was fair?” 

You felt like he was winning again somehow, not really registering when it became a competition. You wanted to fight back, pulling his hair again, exposing his neck to your mouth. You pressed your mouth to the skin, sucking and biting against it.

“You’re playing a dangerous game, you know that, sweetie?”

He slipped both arms around your body pulling both your bodies up straight. He was still inside you, rocking your body onto his length. He brought his lips back to your neck, sucking and biting against it.

“Ahh...” you panted. “F-fuck, put me down!”

“You’re gonna cum just like this.” He said, bouncing your body up and down his shaft. You didn’t think he could go any deeper, but gravity brought you down onto his length, forcing heavy moans from your lips.

You were lost in his sex, finding yourself bucking your hips back onto his length and grinding forward against him. 

“What a sweet girl, you like that, right? Of course you do.”

You felt yourself reaching another orgasm, and your grinding became erratic against him. 

“Yeah that’s right, grind on it baby.”

You released yourself onto him, leaning forward over his shoulders, panting heavily. 

You were surprised when he laid you back down for a moment, watching him pin both your legs back and over his shoulders. 

“Let’s see if you can take it like this.”

He pumped himself into yet again, earning a ragged moan from your frail self. You could feel him so deep in your guts, you were getting light headed from the overwhelming pleasure. You braced yourself for each thrust as he pounded into you. You juices were splashing with every plunge he made. He sat up, before speaking.

“Hold the back of your legs for me, baby.” He said, watching himself pump into your sopping cunt.

“Such a pretty pussy.” If there was anything Satoru adored most, it had to be watching his partner from an angle like that. He took his thumb and held it to your mouth.

“Suck,” he pressed it to your lips; waiting for you to open your mouth while he fucked you. You let him put his thumb in your mouth while he held your jaw with his large hand. You swirled your tongue around it before he pulled it away and mouthed a ‘thank you’ at you. He placed the slick thumb against your clit for you and rubbed in circles while he pumped. 

You squealed in delight, finding yourself starting to beg him to make you cum again.

“I will honey,” he grinned, “I will.”

Your arms and legs were weak from being pinned back, falling to his sides. You had just enough strength to wrap your arms around his neck and pull him down towards you again, connecting his mouth with yours. You begged for his tongue, moaning against his lips. 

“Fuck..” he mumbled into your mouth. You clenched yourself around him. He could feel himself nearing his orgasm but he had promised to spoil you first. It was getting harder for him to fight back the urge to release. 

Your clit was throbbing, and you were dribbling a bit at the mouth. He pulled your bottom lip into his, sucking hard. You couldn’t hold it any longer. 

“You’re cumming again, aren’t you? Moan my name for me, pretty please?”

The pace of his thrusts didn’t falter, giving you the final orgasm you so desperately deserved. You screamed his name, voice cracking whilst he battered your pussy.

Your voice was hoarse, riding your orgasm out as he approached his. It was enough to send him over the edge, satiating his ego and so much more. You’re throbbing erratically, and all he could feel was his cock being gulped swallowed by you. He shuddered against your lips, releasing himself into the rubber he wore inside you. 

He collapsed beside you. Your brain was cloudy from pleasure. You watched his chest rise and fall as he peered and panted back at you, holding his member in his hand. He slid the condom off and tossed it to the floor.

You were alarmed he was still hard. You could barely move, hips gyrating and insides throbbing a muck. Trying your best to gather your thoughts, you turned your body towards him. 

“Will I be getting my review now or later?” He snickered, damp bangs sticking to his forehead. You took hold of the nearest pillow, and slammed it onto his face. 

“Later I presume?” He laughs. “I’ll give you time to think it over.”

You would be thinking about it for while. It wasn’t often you’d meet someone who delivered on everything they said they’d do. It was uncanny how perfect he was. Could you fall for him because of it? Or should you keep your qualms to yourself and try to forget everything about tonight? And now that you remembered, he told you he had a crush on you, or was he egging you on in the spur of the moment?

“Do you want a t-shirt?” He asked, breaking you out of your thoughts. He had already managed to get some underwear on while you laid there lost in thought.

“A t-shirt?” You say, puzzled. Your arms go to cover your bare chest as you sit up, hair completely messy. 

“I’m kind of tired. I thought I could drive you home in the morning instead.” He yawned, pulling on some sweat pants. 

“You’re not kicking me out?” You say, catching the shirt he tossed you as he tied the strings to his pants. 

“Just what do you take me for?” He said, cocking his head to the side. You were starting to wonder if his neck hurt. You watched him bend down and pull out what seemed like a hot towel from an incubator and hand it to you. 

“I can wipe you up if you’d like. Front to back!”

“I’ve got it.” You say nervously, wiping the insides of your damp thighs. 

You slid the gray t-shirt over your head, “And I dunno, I just thought this is where the night would end for me.”

“Sweetie, I literally just told you that I like you. Did you forget?”

“Y-You were serious?” You stutter. 

“Did you not want me to be?” He casually walks towards a mini fridge sitting in the corner. He pulled out two more bottles of water and handed one to you whilst drinking his own.

“It’s not that at all, it’s just we hardly know each other and-

“So you do like me?” He quizzed.

“I mean I wouldn’t say that I don’t but-

“So we can work out the details later.” He grinned. 

You facepalmed. He looked down at you as you sat there on the edge of the bed before letting out a sigh.

“Why don’t you drink some water and then we can get ready for bed? Unless you really want to go home. I’ll drive you. Tell me what you want, it’s no problem at all.”  He kneeled in front of you, showing you that he did have compassionate side. 

You couldn’t lie, you did want to lay in bed with him. It wasn’t a matter of trust anymore. You felt confident that he wouldn’t hurt you. You were more concerned that he decided he liked you on the spot like that. Actually, you were more concerned that you decided you liked him on the spot like that.

“I’m staying. I’m tired too.” You smiled. “I wasn’t trying to fuss. I do like you a lot.” A little more than you should, but you decided to leave that part out. 

“Then that settles it.” He smiles back, holding your chin. “Now, it’s important to stay hydrated! Especially after a work out!” 

He held the water up to your mouth.

“I can do it myself.” You say, grabbing the water out of his hands, taking a few swigs. He holds up his hands in defense.

“Well, the bathroom is down the hall to the left. You can also use my personal bathroom, which is through that door right there. I also have spare tooth brushes too!” He assured you.

“So you do do this often. Hmph.” You say, laying back on the bed. 

“Girls have it rough. I try my best to have the necessities.” He shrugged, laying beside you. Your eyes drag down towards his bare chest skin before looking right back up towards his eyes.

“I can also go sleep in the other room if you need more security.” He suggests.

“I was looking forward to sleeping with you in here.” You say quietly.

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”

You glared at him, acknowledging that you know that he heard you and you wouldn’t repeat yourself. 

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” He laughed. He tucked himself underneath the covers before lifting the other side and patting the empty space for you. 

You crawled up and slid underneath the cool fabric. He reached over your body to turn the lights off. 

He snuggled himself down to your height and you could still faintly see his face.

“Comfy?” You nodded shyly. His bed was undeniably firm yet fluffy. 

“Good.” He smiled.

He’d been so kind yet so arrogant at the same time. Just how were you going to figure him out? He said there was time to work out the details, but your head still spun a thousand miles a minute. For someone who had it all, and clearly many secrets, he was seemingly cheery. You had no idea what bothered this guy. But he’d taken a liking to you somehow. And you couldn’t stop blushing at the fact that he literally just fucked you senseless and now he’s smiling at you in his bed like nothing happened. 

You inhaled and exhaled deeply, earning a confused look from him.

“10/10 oral experience. 10/10 sexual experience. 10/10 aftercare experience. 8.5/10 for not giving me pants. Overall rating is 9.6/10. Would come again.” 

“You could’ve asked for pants,” He smirked getting up. You tugged his arm, shaking your head.

“You’re gonna let all the heat out. Stay.” 

“But my score? I deserve a 10/10.” He argued playfully. 

You wrapped your arm around him, pulling him back down underneath the blanket with you.

“Here’s your extra credit. Cuddle with me until the morning. It might change your grade.

Results may vary.”

He laughed lightly, wrapping his arms around your body. 

“About that ‘would come again’ part. When will that be?” He said, looking down at you. 

“Soon.” You said, burying your head into his chest.

Part 2

Nightmare at Cryptid Corner || Deirdre & Marley

One of them has a fun time and the other is reportedly still crying in a corner.

Deirdre kicked at the ground, the abandoned amusement park was...okay. Not like a cemetery. Cemeteries were nice. They had all she needed: graves, bones, dead bodies. The theme park was lacking, though Marley had been right about one thing: it was better at night. Most things were. She waited idly for her companion to show; she’d come early and used her free time to question if she really had been flirting when she suggested they meet here. Unfortunately the verdict took her only a minute to reach and the unsurprising answer was no, she hadn’t been flirting. Flirting only counted if she was interested, which she very much wasn’t. But, bored out of her wits, she was delighted when Marley finally entered her sight. “There you are, Stryder.” She jumped off the ledge she’d been perched up on, smiling at her like a cat. “Haven’t you learned that you shouldn’t keep a lady waiting? Mhm, maybe I can write you up for that,” the words rasped off her tongue. Not flirting. 

Marley hadn’t decided if Deirdre was joking or not about liking murder, but whatever the truth was, she was interested either way. Of course, if it turned out she was a murderer, that meant Marley would eventually have to arrest her, but hey, a girl could have a little fun at first, right? Marley most definitely unashamedly flirted with almost everyone. This had been no different. But she had no real expectations for how this would end, except maybe wanting to get a tasty treat out of it. The all dark all the time was finally gone, which meant back to feeding only at night. A disappointment, but this was the way things usually were, so it wouldn’t be too hard to get used to again. As Marley headed up to the entrance, she spotted Deirdre quickly in the dark, her vision perfect. Adjusted her sunglasses, giving a bright smile. “Actually, I’ve learned the opposite. Leaving them waiting builds anticipation, and I just love watching people squirm,” she said, stopping in front of her and giving her a good glance up. Tall, pale, conventionally attractive. A nice face. She tilted her head, nodded towards the entrance. “Shall we? Unless you wanna wait some more,” she shrugged, “I’ve got all night.”

Was she wearing sunglasses? At night? Deirdre frowned, Marley was attractive otherwise, not that it mattered. But if she was going to be made to look at anyone during a night promised to her to be horrific, she might as well look at someone that was hot. “You’ll have to try harder than that,” she smirked, striding closer to her as she issued her challenge. “I’m a hard woman to make squirm.” The last of her words rasped out as she turned and took off to the entrance. “And deprive the world of Marley Stryder?” She called back, “I wouldn’t dare. Besides, you promised me horror. I expect you must deliver me something horrific or there will be punishment.” She turned again, leaning against the cool stone of the worn gateway arch. Deirdre crossed her arms as her smirk grew, “and who’s to say you’ll enjoy the kind of punishment I have in mind?” She winked, striding through the gate. This would be good. Little ever sacred her, so watching Marley get sick would be a welcome treat. 

Marley balked, laughing loudly. She loved a good challenge, and she so hoped Deirdre would be up to it. Curls bouncing on her shoulders, she shook her head, following after Deirdre. “Oh, I’d love to see what you could cook up, Miss Murder,” she said, grabbing the little iron gate and holding it open for her. “Trust me, I’m real good at making people squirm. It’s the reason I became a cop.” Followed her in, letting the gate close loudly behind them. The bored looking attendant gave her a look and she just flashed him her badge before moving on, catching up in stride with Deirdre. “Oh, don’t worry, there’ll be plenty of horror. But first--” she nudged Deirdre, turning to face her as she walked backwards, “commemorative photo with Mothman? Before I show you a truly horrific time?” A wide grin, spreading past her lips to her eyes. She was enjoying this too much. She was too eager to see what secrets this woman had. What made her quake with fear.

Now, Miss Murder was a nickname she could get into. And the perks of being with a cop she could get used to. Of course, this wasn’t a date. But Deirdre had no problems stringing Marley along if it came with perks. What were humans good for otherwise? Wasn’t that what her mother had drilled into her over and over again? Her admittance to being a murderer wasn’t just a fun joke, after all. “What the fuck is ‘Mothman’?” She should have confessed earlier that cryptids were a general hole in her knowledge, and the mothmen she knew were moth-fae. She glanced over to the man attired in the clearly cheap and poorly stitched costume that could only generously be described as a moth or a man. “Mr. Mothman!” She waved at the man, reaching out with a cold hand to drag Marley up to him with her. “Tell me your terrible costume has that anti-reflective quality that’s just to die for in moths. After all, there’s nothing sexier than glowing eyes in the dark. Right, Stryder?” She grinned at the detective, gesturing for her to get her phone out. “To commemorate the day the hot lady realized the hotter lady has no fears.”

Marley couldn’t help but roll her eyes as Deirdre dragged them over to the poorly outfitted Mothman and begged for a picture. “You don’t know Mothman? Why, he’s the most famous cryptid in New England!” She grabbed her phone and turned the camera on, before sidling up next to the now somehow nervous looking Mothman and snapping a picture of the three of them. Distinctly noting the chill in Deirdre’s hand when she’d grabbed hers, she examined the photo. Nothing too out of place, yet, but she got a feeling Deirdre was more than meets the eye. Grinning back, she showed her the picture. “Don’t speak too soon, Miss Murder,” she said mischievously, pulling the phone back and nodding towards a darkened section in the back, “everyone has something to fear. Now c’mon-- I know all the good spots. I can show you exactly where someone died and where people go missing. We can even walk through it, if you want. It’s like our own little Bermuda Triangle, right here in this shitty amusement park.”

The photo was...well, unflattering. Deirdre frowned. She should have known taking a picture under the cover of night never worked as well as she wanted it too. “Have fun, Mothman.” She bid the mascot farewell and slid back to Marley’s side. So far, no horror. Of course, their outing wasn’t over yet. “I already know all the spots where someone died,” she perked up, smiling innocently. And she did, she could feel herself tugged to them. But she’d led Marley lead her along, it wasn’t horror, but she always enjoyed a good death tour. “But please, tell me all the secret knowledge you’ve got as a detective. Where have people died? Where did they go missing? Show me.” There was a command in her voice, laced with perverse excitement. “It’s not horror, I’ll remind you. And you did promise that.”

Deirdre’s emphasis on the word promise wasn’t subtle. It was Fae who liked to make promises, right? Marley hadn’t met too many Fae in her life, they were an exclusive community. They only liked themselves and only looked after their own kind. Something Marley should have had with other Mara, but could never have now. With anyone. Anywhere. She shook the thought off. It didn’t matter what Deirdre was, all that mattered was that she had a beating heart, and wasn’t a Mara, and that meant Marley could feed from her. “What? You don’t consider places of death horrifying?” she  rolled her eyes. “I suppose I should’ve guessed as much, seeing as you're a psychopath who loves math.” She smiled from behind her glasses. “Sorry, those are secrets I can’t share. But do please tell me how you know all the best spots?” She led them back behind one of the stands, towards the places marked as “Employees Only” and stopped some ways in. It was dark back here, only a little bit of light trickling in from the paths. “What do you think happened here, then? Miss Murder. Any ideas?”

Suddenly they were somewhere darker and Deirdre considered what Marley might be trying to do. Something was...strange. Deirdre struggled to see with the lack of light, but Marley, even in her sunglasses, didn't seem bothered. Very odd. Could Marley have been the murderer? She had to admit, being stabbed at a derelict amusement park would be interesting. "I find them exciting," she rasped. She could feel a tug at her core, the pullings of a vision asking her to indulge. She didn't. "Why don't you tell me what you're doing with those glasses, Stryder?" She leaned in, grinning lopsided. She could turn her eyes black and check, but what fun was that? There were other things she wanted to share with Marley. Namely, murder techniques. Did she also use zombies to hide her evidence? "What happens if I…" she trailed off, reaching a hand up and hovering it beside the frame of her glasses. "I could tell you exactly what happened here. But I like a little honesty in return." 

Marley frowned. Deirdre was reaching for her sunglasses, and the part of Marley that had grown to find them as a comfort tugged at her chest. The first pair she’d ever gotten had been from the one and only person she’d ever trusted. Here, Cynthia had said, setting the pair of glasses on a thirteen-year-old Marley’s face, now people won’t see your eyes glowing red. But she stayed steady as Deirdre reached up, snagging her wrist only when she got close enough to pull them from Marley’s face. She looked at her from behind her shaded frames and gave a matching, lopsided grin. “Tell me first,” she said quietly, leaning in close, “then I’ll show you.”

Something was off then. Deirdre grinned at the prospect. Her wrist was seized: warm against her cold skin. She snapped it out of her grip, no less amused. “I show you mine then you show me yours?” Maybe the sunglasses were a smart idea, if Deirdre let herself dip into a vision, her eyes would be exposed. And could she trust Marley? Probably not. But there was no way this detective could hurt her. No one could. So she did it, staring into Marley’s face she let her eyes turn inky black. She smiled wide, keeping her gaze on to the detective even if she wasn’t technically paying attention to her. She could see someone getting stabbed; one, twice, five times and each earning a scream and the sloshing of flesh and blood. “Boring,” she blinked, back to reality, “a stabbing. I suppose that explains the stain.” And as tempted as she was to see more, Marley’s glasses were more important. “Show me yours?” She asked with a devilish grin. 

Marley wasn’t sure why, but her heart pounded. She watched Deirdre step back, outlined perfectly in the pale light. Marley could see everything and she knew Deirdre was struggling to see her, even two feet away. But Marley’s vision, perfect in darkness as it was in daylight, could see as Deirdre’s eyes filled with black. Oh. She knew about that. Cold skin, black eyes, drawn to death. Banshee. Deirdre was a banshee. Which meant...well, it didn’t matter. Marley was going to make good on her promise, no matter Fae or not. “Correct,” was all she said when Deirdre finished. Her eyes watched her closely from behind her spectacles. It was becoming increasingly clearer that Deirdre wasn’t just joking about killing. “I was the lead investigator on that case, you know,” she went on, ignoring Deirdre’s request for a moment. She began to walk slowly in a circle, past Deirdre, to the stain. Her fingers hovered over it. “We found the guy. It was an easy case.” She stopped, turned to look back at Deirdre. “But this spot, it’s not just the stabbing. Can you feel it, too?” She took a step closer to Deirdre. “The fear that lingers here? Do you know how many people have disappeared from this spot?” Reached up, grabbing the edge of her glasses. “I think about it a lot.” Pulled her glasses off, but kept her eyes down, thick, dark hair covering her eyes. “Most people are too afraid to come back here now,” slowly, she looked up, red eyes shining as she looked directly into Deirdre’s now normal eyes. “So tell me, Deirdre, what scares you?”

Deirdre watched the slow, calculated reveal. Red eyes gleamed under the night, Marley's body barely outlined by the thin light. She straightened up. Now Marley's words made a lot more sense. Deirdre smiled in recognition and then, defeat. "Good game, Stryder." She'd been out played, which was her fault. Her arrogance in assuming no one could truly deliver on terrifying her was met with the statistical anomaly that could. A mara. She'd been fed on by one before, her damn neighbor, and understandably, she didn't like it. But to her own credit, there really wasn't much that scared her. She was raised to live without it, after all. As she met Marley's eyes, the nightmare sunk in. The shadows curled and formed the bodies of Fae—horrified, brutalized. She watched Warden's rip their wings out, stared unflinchingly at how their backs puckered and bled. She had been raised to look at this without fear, but she'd never gotten the hang of it. 

Eventually, her body became to quiver under the agonized screams of her community around her. Over their mutilated bodies stood her mother, disapproving glare in her eyes. "You've failed," her voice merged with the rest of her family's. They voiced their disappointment in Gaelic and all at once they turned from her and Deirdre's stomach twisted. She could see herself as a child, weak, pathetic, sobbing on the ground. It would occur to her later that she truly had fallen to the floor, hot tears framing her face. A moment later moment later Morgan's body appeared piled on Regan's, then crushed under the force of Lydia's and Jeff's and—"S-stop," she whispered. Her fear was the gutting sort, the kind that tore her apart from the inside, silent. She was raised in death, and yet, some part of her feared that loss still, no matter what her mother had raised her to think. And that failure was her greatest shame, her strongest fear. She dug her blunt nails into the flesh of her palm, "y-you c-can stop." She was, for worse, sufficiently horrified, and she didn't know how much will she had left in her to beg for its end—how much longer she could cling to her sense. As the acrid scent of fresh blood coiled in the air, and the screams renewed themselves, Deirdre knew the answer was not much longer. 

She could’ve stopped when Deirdre begged the first time. She should’ve stopped the first time. But her fear was so good. Marley had found, over the years, that people who felt little fear or did not feel fear often, always tasted more satisfying. Maybe it was just a personal thing, knowing she had the ability to make even the most stalwart of souls bend with just a look. Deirdre dropped to her knees so fast, too. Tears already in her eyes. What was it that she was seeing? Marley itched to know. And so she didn’t let up, not until she was standing beside Deirdre, watching her fears play out. She feared failure. Fae dropping like flies, Wardens robbing them of their wings, their dignity. Her mother. Of course she feared her matriarch. That was typical, especially for someone from a line of Banshee. And she feared loss-- but not just any loss, the loss of those closest to her. A small pang of envy shot through Marley and she blinked, putting her glasses back on and ending the illusion finally. Marley leaned back against the wall, staring at Deirdre from behind her glasses again. She’d recognized some of the faces in Deirdre’s fears, but they weren’t clear. She’d save those questions for later. “I told you,” she said quietly, not taking her eyes off Deirdre, or the small trickles of blood on her palms, “I make good on my promises. Especially to fae.”

The visions swelled, and their height a sudden reprieve: Morgan stood beside her, loving, doting. Deirdre reached for her, aching for her comfort and just as she thought she might have it the human was pulled back, devoured into thick darkness and a swarm of glowing eyes and gleaming fangs. “Human, filthy human,” the voices around her chanted in gaelic. “Kill the traitor! Not one of us! Abandoned her ilk!” Their voices overlapped growing louder and louder even against Deirdre’s choked sobs. “Bring her back,” she whimpered, “please bring her bac--” her voice caught, one last screaming of ‘too human’ in English was the last she heard of her nightmare and the dark of night flooded back. Deirdre’s eyes dropped to her hands, the half-moon wounds spilled blood. She reached up to wipe her face with the back of her hand, swiping at tears slowly, as if she was unsure what they were. “It doesn’t get easier,” she laughed, stubbornly refusing to look at Marley as though that might change something, “loss. Fear. It never does. I was told it would, someday.” But she was still a child, wasn’t she? And she hated that too. She remained on her knees, finding an odd comfort in the ground. “You did promise,” she laughed bitterly, “fine. Thank you for letting me out of there.” It felt odd to thank the woman, but she didn’t want to think about saying anything else to her. She wanted to go home. She wanted out. Would Marley let her leave? She looked up at the mara finally, “I think I would have liked it better if you just stabbed me.” 

Marley was left to wonder what Deirdre meant in her quiet pleas to bring her back. It was one of the bodies she’d seen in her vision of loss. But which one? A lover? A family member? Marley would find out, that’s what she was best at, after all. Finding things out. She could easily pry into a memory during a nightmare, but going after Deirdre so soon after showing her cards would be a dead giveaway. So Marley would wait. She was patient, after all. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, Deirdre,” she said calmly, pushing away from the wall and heading back towards the main walkway of the park. She stopped just short, still in the shadows, where her eyes were brightest, her shadow thick and large, gorged on her meal. “It’s that everyone is afraid of something. And if they say they’re not, well, then...they’re lying.” She held out her hand in a gesture. “I’m not cruel, Deirdre. I fulfilled my promise, there was no point in pushing it further. But I can still stab you, if you want,” she said, letting the teasing tone return to her voice. 

Deirdre eyes flickered to Marley’s shadow, longer than natural. She had nothing left to say and so she shifted on the floor, pulling her knees to her chest. “Hilarious,” she croaked. She was done with her displays of eccentricity and charm. She’d been fed from once before, but even that paled in comparison to this pain. She hadn’t so much to lose then, and now there was so much that would slip between her fingers. “You won, Marley.” She glanced up at her again, worn. “Take that and leave before I decide to scream.”

It was Marley’s turn to frown. Deirdre looked small, sitting against the wall in the back alley. Of course, she was hidden by shadow, but Marley could see her completely. Dropping her hand, she reached back into her pocket and pulled out her glasses, putting them back on. “This wasn’t a competition, you know,” she said, her voice a little sharp, “I was just curious about whether all your talk about murder and violence was real. And I made a promise. I hope you don’t hold that against me,” she was still staring straight at Deirdre, not that the banshee could see. “Because I think you and I could get along real well. It would probably be good for you to have someone like me around, don’t you think?” She wondered if she could call Deirdre’s bluff. Took a few steps closer to her, bending down. “Besides,” she said quietly, making sure her voice was soft, “I think you’ll find we have a lot more in common than not.”

Deirdre swallowed a hiss. It was a competition, everything was. Marley’s red eyes were hidden again under her stupid sunglasses and Deirdre felt confident enough to meet her gaze. There was a point she wanted to prove here, and she hoped her eyes would show it. “I’m a banshee, I see murder and violence everyday.” And that was true, just how much she caused though, she wouldn’t say. “I don’t, Marley. I told you, you won. You’re a creature that needs to feed, and so you fed.” But she did have a problem with it. Who wouldn’t? Wracked with that kind of a nightmare. Evelyn’s agreement to never feed from Deirdre seemed like so much more of a kindness now. “Oh,” she laughed, turning her gaze back down to the thin shred of light that streamed into the alley. “Fuck you. I never had any intentions of getting along with you.” And what was this? The soft voice and the attempt to cajole her? Bullshit, it had to be. Deirdre felt like she might know Marley’s type. After all, the detective wasn’t wrong, they might have had a lot in common. Starting with--Deirdre imagined--this style of manipulation. She did it too. And she’d seen it enough to know not to trust it. Even if it was genuine, she didn’t think she’d be missing out on much. She worked fine before, she’d work fine now. “Kindly,” she looked back up, nearly spitting in her face, “fuck off.”

Marley let out a long sigh. Did Deirdre not understand how easy it would be for her to pull her sunglasses off and trap her in that infinite Hell again? And what, really, was stopping her? Only herself. Deirdre could scream, that was true. But could she scream at an empty shadow? Or an intangible body? They were on Marley’s turf right now, and Deirdre’s shrunken form knew that. “Fine,” she finally said, after a long moment, all pretense dropped from her voice now. She stood up, making sure to tower over Deirdre, despite them being similar heights. Allowed her glasses to slip just a little down her nose so that the red of her eyes could peak through enough for Deirdre to understand what this moment was. “Go lick your wounds. Because I’m only going to say this once, Deirdre,” she nearly growled, “don’t make an enemy of me.” And for good measure, she disappeared into the shadows instead of letting Deirdre watch her walk away.

Emogust - 07.08:  In which character A. is searching for a cat, and character B has found a cat around their windowsill // @sup-poki - A college!AU.

“What is that?”

Saguru squints across at his roommate, feels tempted almost to throw his textbook over at him, and decides against it. Kuroba is just being his strange self again, trying to distract him from his criminal law dissertation.

“I’m sure it’s very interesting,” Saguru sighs, trying to focus back on the legislation he’s researching. All very boring, important yes, but oh so very boring. He half considers procrastinating. “But not right now.”

“Oh please,” Kuroba says, “I’m pretty sure everything is more interesting that the legislation that’ll only be relevant to a single sentence of your report.”

Saguru hums. There are some interesting elements to researching his dissertation piece, but Kuroba is right that this isn’t really one of them. And it’s not even a major part of the research, just something he’s including because it will give him a higher grade.

Beside him, Kuroba shifts, unfolding himself from where he sits cross-legged on the sofa. He moves with a grace that Saguru catches from the corner of his eye, distracting in a criminal sense.

You know what, Saguru should probably be doing a dissertation on how his roommate is the Kaitou KID, there would be no shortage of articles and literature on the thief, and he’s got his own research he could add.

Then again, Kuroba would probably end up deleting his dissertation the day before submission if he did that, so… probably for the best if he doesn’t.

“I thought maybe it was a racoon, or a ferret,” Kuroba says now, and despite himself, Saguru glances up. He’s been successfully distracted. “But it’s a cat.”

Saguru lets out a sigh, pushes himself up, and follows Kuroba to the patio door that leads out to their balcony. It’s small outside, barely larger than a prison cell, but sometimes on hotter days, Saguru will study outside, dragging out one of the deckchairs from the cupboard.

“I’m sorry,” Saguru says, as he stares through the door – it’s opaque, and when he moves forward to unlock it, it slides open. “But do you even know what a ferret looks like?”

Kuroba huffs, crossing his arms. He says, “Out of the corner of my eye, it looked like it could be a very large ferret.”

“That doesn’t really answer my question,” Saguru says, and then, slipping his phone from his back pocket, he brings up a photo of said animal. Turning his screen around, he says, “That cat looks nothing like one of these.”

Kuroba does what he usually does whenever Saguru goes to show him something, and that’s steal his phone and swipe through the page without a care. Saguru rolls his eyes, steps out onto the balcony and glances at the cat.

“Ah, ferrets are kind of cute, aren’t they Hakuba?” Kuroba says. Saguru, feeling a headache coming on, decides to focus on their visitor instead.

Practically a bundle of fur, but almost elegant, the cat is easily recognisable as a Norwegian forest cat. Tufts of orange and brown fur mixed together against white fur, makes it look like the sort of pet someone would showcase in a pet beauty competition.

“Ah – Ah – Hakuba – look this one’s got a little hat on!”

Saguru takes a moment to glance away from the cat, offering Kuroba the driest look he can muster. It’s a mixture of exasperation and- nope. That’s pretty much it.

Let the man realise that even after all these years, even knowing that he’s capable of outrunning the police and committing crimes without being caught, Saguru still thinks of him as an idiot.

“You’re an idiot,” he says, just to make sure he gets it.

“How can you be so mean to me,” Kuroba says, “knowing that when you sleep each night, I’m only a room away?”

Saguru rolls his eyes. He turns back to the cat and finds himself squinting at it. Almost nervously, he reaches his hand out, as if questioning whether the animal will allow him to smooth it.

Glancing around, it isn’t too difficult to see how it got up here. Their apartment is on the first floor, so they don’t typically see anything other than birds up on their balcony, but there is a cherry blossom a little to the side of the apartment and it’s not impossible for a cat to climb to the edge of the branches and make the jump.

“Don’t be the demon roommate Kuroba, it’s too much of a cliché.” Kuroba huffs, and Saguru successfully places his hand against fur without having claws turned against him. The cat lets out a small purr, a low grumble and Saguru can’t help but feel satisfied by it. “Should we be looking for who owns this cat?”

He can practically feel the eye roll he receives. “Why do we need to search down the owner?”

“…Well, it could be lost, couldn’t it?”

“No, no,” Kuroba says, and now he moves forward, shuffling out onto the balcony as well, grabbing the back of Saguru’s shirt, dragging him backwards. “No, we’re not searching for the owner, it’ll find its way home eventually.”

“Wha–”

“We’re not doing this again,” Kuroba says, ignoring the incredulous eyebrow raise Saguru sends his way. “No – don’t give me that look. You know what I mean.”

Actually, Saguru doesn’t. He says as such.

“I refuse. Hakuba, dude, we go searching for the owner of this cat, and we’ll only meet someone who’s lost it. A weirdo, someone insane – deranged. Whatever. I’m not doing it.”

Saguru frowns. He says, “I think that’s a bit of a reach, don’t you?”

“Please,” Kuroba says, “it’s the truth.”

“No, you’re reaching.”

“Oh puh-lease,” Kuroba taps his fingers against his elbow, arms crossed as he shakes his head. “You haven’t realised? You attract crazy Hakuba, it kind of just flocks to you.”

Saguru frowns. He squints.

“I mean, I don’t really know why,” the thief continues, “but my working theory is you’re just so boring, that the crazies flock to you because they think you’re hiding some of it.”

“I don’t attract crazy people.”

“I mean, I’m your roommate,” Kuroba shrugs, scrunches his nose. “That’s one example.”

“You’re an anomaly in the statistics,” Saguru says. “And even then, you’re not crazy, you’re just…”

He doesn’t know what to say so he simply waves the man up and down. Kaito huffs again, breathing through his nose, the side of his lips moving up in a half-grin. More amused rather than annoyed.

“Uh, sorry,” – Kuroba snorts, lets out a low laugh. – “but you do. I mean, don’t you remember Yue-san?”

Saguru winces. Alright, so maybe Yue-san, the student they’d met during the previous years summer social had been a little insane, but they’d not known that at the time. And to be fair, the woman had hardly been crazy, just a cultist who was pursuing a sociology degree and…

Okay, no, yeah, considering the fact she’d tried to indoctrinate them both into her cult, it’d kind of be stupid to deny her… issues.

“Another anomaly.”

Kuroba groans. He sighs, goes to say something else, lips parted slightly for words when a knock echoes from the other side of the door. Saguru turns, arching his head back indoors.

“I’ll get it,” he says, because Kuroba is the kind of person who’d rather wait and say he’s not answering the door in case a murderer is on the other side. Which, well – there are so many issues with that.

“Hope you don’t die!” Kuroba says, which is pretty much confirmation that he isn’t expecting anyone.

Opening the door reveals a woman with deep, plum coloured hair. She looks concerned, worried, as she stands in front of him. For a moment, Saguru watches as she fiddles with the sleeve of her blouse and then, he blinks and reminds himself that he’s being rude.

“Uh,” he clears his throat, “hey, can I… help you?”

“Oh yes,” her voice is not hard, but there is a strictness to it, something that leaves him standing a little straighter. “Sorry, I don’t presume you’ve seen a cat around recently.”

Saguru blinks.

Well that’s easy, isn’t it. Now they don’t have to go searching for an owner.

“Ah, well, yeah I have actually.” He turns ever so slightly to look inside his apartment, to where Kuroba is now rubbing the belly of the animal in question. “A… Norwegian forest cat, yes?”

“This one?” The girl asks, and sure enough, when she shows him a picture it’s an exact likeness to the one on their balcony. “I’m quite worried about his absence.”

Saguru can understand that, how nervous someone can be when a cat is roaming around for a long time, without being seen. He says, “yeah, he’s uh – just through here. If you want to get him?”

She tilts her head, half agreeing, half thankful. Depositing her shoes by the entrance and continuing with just her socks, she waits until Saguru has closed the door and then, follows him to the balcony.

Kuroba glances up at the sound of their footsteps, and after the initial surprise at seeing a stranger in their apartment, he offers a smile. That polite one he practises for people he doesn’t know how to read yet.

“Ah, Hakuba, who is this?”

You know, maybe Saguru should have asked first. Oh well, no one ever said his social skills were very good.

“Oh, of course, I haven’t introduced myself,” she says, “my name is Koizumi Akako. It’s a pleasure to meet you – and you’ve met my cat, it seems.”

Eyebrows raised, Kuroba nods, turning back to the cat that’s nibbling now at his fingertips in an attempt to draw his attention back to him. He says, “Oh, this little guy is yours?”

“Indeed, he is,” Koizumi says.

She steps forward, scoops the furball up into her arms. The cat leans against her, immediately comfortable. It’s seems an odd sight to see – it puts up no argument, offers no movement, other than the slight curl of its tail, swishing back and forth beneath her arm.

“And what is this little guy’s name?” Kuroba continues.

Koizumi offers them a smile, soft and content as she glances down at her pet. She says, “this is Lucifer.”

Oh? What an original name.

Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Kuroba’s eyebrows fly up his forehead so quickly it seems almost like he’s waxed them off. It’s practically invigorating watching his roommate bite down his tongue in an attempt to not say anything.

“Is that so?” Saguru says.

“Yes,” Koizumi nods, adjusting her hand on the cat to scratch behind his ears. “This cat harnesses the spirit of the satanic majesty Lucifer himself. A drunken mistake made by myself, but we’re getting used to being roommates, I like to think.”

Kuroba jerks. It looks mildly, beneath the initial mask he wears around new company, like he’s in pain.

Maybe he’s having an aneurysm.

“But,” Koizumi continues, “he’s quite a docile little fallen angel as long as I give him tuna every so often, isn’t that right, Lucifer?”

Lucifer purrs.

Kuroba, predictably, jerks again. His lips force into a slightly larger smile than usual – it makes him look almost psychopathic, but hey, maybe it’s just because Saguru sees KID in a smile like that.

“He must love the tuna then,” Saguru says, and Koizumi nods.

“If you’ll excuse me though,” she says, voice lowering, “Lucifer and I should probably head back. We’re having a ritual dinner tonight, and I’d hate to be late.”

“Ah,” Saguru blinks. “Yes, of course. I’m glad we could – give you your cat back?”

Koizumi offers him a smile on her way out, her thanks slipping from her lips on her way out. Saguru closes the door after her and then, slowly turns around to face his roommate.

Kuroba looks almost like he’s waiting for something. He rolls his wrist, his hand waving in a way that urges him to speak. He says, “…well?”

“She seems nice.”

For a moment, all Kuroba can do is blink. Then, thrusting a hand out to point at Saguru, he says, “that’s what you’ve taken from this? She seems nice?”

“Well yes,” Saguru says, pausing. “What else am I supposed to think?”

“She’s – fucking crazy.” Kuroba lifts his hand, brushes it through his hair. It makes his hair even messier than it usually is. “She thinks her cat is the devil, and that she’s placating him by giving him fucking tuna, and all you can think of is that she’s nice?”

“I mean,” Saguru pauses, “I think a lot of cat owners say their pet is the devil.”

Kuroba takes a long breath, heaves it out with so much force that it feels like his body shakes from the pressure of it. He says, “I don’t know who’s more insane. That Koizumi girl for believing that, or you, because there aren’t any little alarm bells ringing in your head.”

Red and Gold Chapter 2: Blackened Magic—Pandora Hearts Fic for Phsecretsanta2018 (Vince/Ada Pirate AU) (Full Chapter)

Fic Title: Red and Gold

Fic Synopsis: Memories of a strange music box in Ada’s occult shop intertwine with a present where she meets the equally mysterious Vincent Nightray…

Notes: This was my Phsecretsanta2018 gift for @endoreon!

Chapter Title: Blackened Magic

Chapter 2:

“More meat, Seaweed-head, more meat!”

“There isn’t any more meat left, Stupid Rabbit!” Gilbert held up the empty plate that should have been enough for all of them.

She blinked at the empty plate. “Then you will be punished for disrespecting your Captain!” she took it from him and bonked his head with it.

“You’re not the Captain!”

“Oh yeah? Then who is?”

“Oz is!”

“Well he’s my manservant, so…”

“Are you really this stupid?!”

As they continued to fight, Ada tried and failed not to laugh. Luckily, her amusement went unnoticed by the two, on account of their focus on each other, and the noisiness of full table. Though her brother, Oz turned to her, smiling himself.

“They don’t get along very well, do they?” Ada mused.

They had decided to meet at a tavern a little way from the Vessalius manor for dinner, and Oz and his crew (well, he called them his crew, but—as Gil and Alice demonstrated—they often fought over who the true ‘Captain’ of their ship was) took up half the tavern.

Oz and Ada sat next to each other, chatting about school, and Oz’s latest endeavor into the Cheshire Cat’s dimension. Gilbert and Alice, of course, sat across from them, squabbling. Oscar sat at the end so he could get up and get more drinks whenever he wanted, already telling wildly exaggerated stories about things like how he tamed the sea. Sharon chuckled pleasantly at everyone’s antics, and Break across from him, teased drunk Oscar, and had managed to steal all the dessert before anyone finished the main course (they didn’t have much, so he had to do this to satisfy his sweet tooth…if that was possible. They would have demanded for some themselves, but anyone who dared attempt to get between Break and his sweets found that that sword at his side was looking rather sharp).

“It seems that way. But I think it’s just because they actually care about each other a lot.” Oz smiled.

“Say Oni-chan,” Ada drummed her fingers on the table, “you were telling me about looking for Alice’s memories, did you ever find any interesting objects or books in that dimension?”

“Uhh, we saw a lot of weird stuff, but no. At least, nothing to take back. We were kinda busy, you know. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious!” her voice was especially high-pitched.

There was a murmuring from the front door. They looked up to see that two people had walked in, and apparently they were something to whisper about.

One was a young man with golden hair, and a gold eye, while the other eye covered with a patch. Metal jingled as he walked in. His clothing was similar to Oz and his crew’s, though a little fancier; in black and silver, he wore a tri cornered hat, a long jacket, with a brown sash that held his bag, a black belt with a gun holstered on it, and black boots. The girl next to him was much shorter, younger, and had silver hair and eyes—eyes that had dimmed to a hollow grey, like there was nothing behind them—and she wearing a tattered white dress, with a blue corset over it, and a sword on her belt.

“Who’s that?” Ada tapped Oz on the shoulder.

As the man’s uncovered eye found their table, he cried happily, “Nii-san!” rushed up behind Gilbert and hugged him.

Gilbert didn’t seem nearly as excited to see him; he wore a scowl at the appearance of his brother, and attempted to break free of his grasp.

“Does that answer your question?” Oz snickered.

“What are you doing here?” Gilbert grumbled.

As her eyes scanned the table, she found that Gilbert wasn’t the only one who seemed displeased with the company— the playful look in Break’s red eye turned to something icy. Most everyone else, however, seemed relatively undisturbed, and continued with their conversations.

“Do I need an excuse to see my favorite brother?” Vincent hugged him tighter.

“Yes, when the Nightray manor is islands away,” he grunted.

Uninvited, Vincent sat down beside Gil. The girl seemed perfectly content to stand patiently behind him, and not partake in the festivities.

Alice didn’t seem to mind her seat being shifted, or if she did, her actions of trying to grab a bite of every other available food was her way of getting back, and was not, in fact, normal Alice behavior.

“You’re so mean!” Vincent chided playfully. “When I came all this way to see you!” he stabbed a piece of bread before Alice could reach it, giving her a taunting smile as she growled at him.

“Hey! I was gonna eat that!”

“Don’t you think you have enough, Alice?” Oz tried to calm the boiling pot.

“No, Manservant! You can never have enough food!”

As Oz tried to appease Alice, Ada observed the man beside Gilbert. Gil’s annoyance with Alice was of a completely different nature than his coldness towards his blood relation. She had remembered him mentioning Vincent before, but he’d never been very long-winded in his descriptions, and she’d never met him herself.

Maybe most people would have been deterred against him, on account of Gilbert’s general good judge in character—(though Break didn’t like him either, and he wasn’t exactly the poster-boy for good character)—and the…something that seemed to follow him, something clouded, hidden, something you can’t quite place your thumb on…something about this man—maybe it was the same something that put others off—intrigued her. Seeing him in person, she wasn’t quite sure what she had expected before. In the same way she was drawn to the objects in her shop, drawn to the darkness, to an ominous mystery, that can’t-quite-place quality about him was probably what it was that drew her to him. Magic of a blackened sort. Like the opposite of a moth drawn to a light. Like…a spider and the dark.

And the fact that he was more than a little attractive was neither here nor there.

She cleared her throat. “Um, Gil?”—gold eyes flashed up to her—“I don’t believe we’ve been introduced.”

“My apologies. Ada-sama,” be bowed a little, “—As much as I may try to deny it—“ he muttered, “this is my brother, Vincent.”

Ada extended her hand from across the table. “I’m Ada.”

Vincent was resting his hand in his chin, and offered the other hand casually towards her, like he was royalty, though something about his smile, and the way he said—

“Pleased to meet you to, Ada-sama.”

Made her feel like royalty.

His hand was cold. But something about his touch made her feel warm.

“It’s nice of you to stop by to see Gil!”

“See,” Vincent taunted, “She understands …”

Gil rolled his eyes.

“There was a time I would have given anything to see my brother too,” she tapped her pointer fingers abashedly.

“Ah, yes, Oz Vessalius,” he turned to her brother, “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Yes, we’ve met.” Oz smiled, but failed to make it sound like that had been a pleasant experience.

As they continued conversing, telling stories and asking questions, Ada found she and Vincent were the ones carrying most of the conversation.

Something about the silkiness of his voice, the way he seemed both detached from those around him, and tangling webs between them…

What finally caused Gilbert’s brother to leave however, was when Break joined them,

“Oh look, they let a rat in here,” he draped his sleeve over Vincent’s face. Break’s tone was perfectly cheery, but his words were poison.

“Only because they didn’t clean up the scum walking around,” he responded in the exact same tone.

It didn’t take long after that for Vincent to say, “Well, as it appears I’m unwelcome, I’ll be going,” and stand up to leave.

“Feel free to not come back~!” Break waved.

But before Vincent left, he turned to Ada, “Ada-sama…might I have a word alone with you?”

“Eh? Me?”

He gave a curt nod.

Gil, Oz, and Break glanced between the two of them, confusion in their eyes—something protective flaring for Oz and Gil, and revulsion in Break’s.

Ada stood up and followed him outside.

“Um…Ada?” Oz stood, reaching out a hand towards her, his concern evident.

“It’s alright, Oni-Chan. I’ll be back!”

With that they exited the tavern, and walked a little way down the path before Vincent stopped, pulling a small spyglass from his bag to look out at something.

The tavern sat on a hill, overlooking much of the island, which they could now easily observe. She pushed her hair behind her ear as the breeze tossed it, waiting for him to begin.

He handed her the glass, saying, “If you look a little way down and to the left, you’ll see a shop.”

She followed his directions, and, as often happen with these things, the shop was her own.

“It’s said to hold,” he paused and spoke softly, “all manner of unsightly things.”

“Is that so?” she fidgeted nervously.

“It is also said that the proprietor is a young woman, from a famous dukedom.”

Her heart beat faster.

“Would you happen to know anything about that?”

She set down the spyglass.

“Why would I?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” he walked behind her, “maybe because you’re”—on the word he placed a hand on her shoulder—“the woman?”

She spun around, feeling her cheeks flushing. “W-Where did you hear a thing like that?!”

A smirk tugged at his lip. “So it’s true.”

“I-I never said that!”

“No,” he leaned in close, “but your cute little face,” he brushed his fingers along her cheek, “says quite a lot.”

She had never been very good at lying, or masking her emotions. Even now, she felt her cheeks growing hotter by the second.

“Oh don’t worry,” He took his finger away, “I won’t tell a soul.” He put his hands behind his back, and walked backwards in front of her, like a child excited to have a secret, and the power to keep it, and earn someone’s trust, or tell it, and break it, but watch the fire that spread. “In fact, I am interested in doing business with you.”

“Oh?”

“It has come to my attention that you just so happen to have an extraordinarily rare artifact. One that I happen to have been looking for for quite a long time.”

“What might that be?”

“Well,” he stood, pushing his own hair behind his ear, “If it’s not too forward, I was hoping we could discuss it tonight.”

“…Tonight?”

“You see, I have some rather important business I have to attend to, and I cannot come by tomorrow. And I don’t think either of us want our brothers finding out about this little operation.” He gestured to the tavern with his thumb. “Us meeting out here is strange enough as it is.”

She glanced back to the tavern herself, wondering if Oz and Gil were pressing their noses against the window, trying to gain clues about what they were talking about, and if they’d need to kill Vincent for coming near her.

“I…suppose your right.”

“It can be our little secret.” He whispered, and the sentence sent chills down her spine.

“What time were you thinking?” she kept her breath in check, her heart beating uncommonly fast.

“Shall we say…around midnight?”

Electricity. The words, his touch, his mere presence, were like lightning, making tepid feelings inside her bubble.

Even so, he might be Gilbert’s brother, but he was still a stranger. A stranger, asking to meet her in the middle of the night. Should she accept?

She’d be lying if she said this wasn’t the first time this happened—the objects she trafficked in lent themselves to clandestine meetings, (her meeting with Leo, of course was one example). People wanted to be discreet about these things, and atmosphere was important, after all. Still, it was suspicious any way you look at it.

Then again, the idea of meeting a handsome, mysterious stranger in the middle of the night to discuss an occult artifact, was so exciting it was almost intoxicating.

Looking into that golden eye—like his brother’s, and yet not—there was this feeling of things being unfinished, like there was more he wanted to do—whether it be in life as a whole, or with her specifically, she couldn’t be sure. And she couldn’t help but wonder if her eyes held that same unfinished quality, a yearning for something more. Because, in truth, she didn’t want to say goodbye to him. Not just yet.

“I’ll see you at midnight, Vincent-sama.”

She hadn’t been very good at explaining things to the table when she returned. That inability to lie was a rather large crutch when she was interrogated by Gil, Oz, and even a sobbing, hiccupping Oscar, who started paying attention when she left. She told a half truth about how he was looking for a magical object, and a witch (she didn’t quite like the looks of horror and disgust on their faces at the word). Later, when it was time to leave, she placed her cats on lookout, and was glad that no one—the servants, Oz, or Oscar—seemed to have seen her getting up in the middle of the night (though the latter she was guessing might be passed out, or else puking his guts out).

The idea of seeing his face, hearing those velvety words, again, made the hours she waited—9:00, 10:00, 11:00—sand dripping by slowly. The stars turned sluggishly into view. She wanted to take the minute hand and twirl it around until she heard midnight’s bells. Her anticipation, shifted and floated in the air above her heart, it dove back into her chest and squirmed there.

When the time did come, and she rushed towards her shop—in a black corset, her witch’s hat, and cloak—the night air was cool and blue, but, unlike the unease that it held when she met Leo something in her veins rushed too, the air buzzed, alive with exhilaration. Rather than seeming impure, the world was so much more alive; the stars shone a little brighter, the wind was a confidant, who wanted to keep her secrets, rather than moan her doom. The world was a wonderland for her to explore, a box for her to open.

She always loved discussing the occult…maybe she was just excited that Gilbert’s brother shared her interests?

Let’s face it, she was beyond excited about that.

But this was something more than just business. Something to do with him specifically—once again, that undefinable something.

She had been around magic long enough to know that this was more than just simple curiosity, this was something akin to enchantment. Something pulling her moves, something sparkling in her eyes. And she didn’t fight the spell. Nor did she yet know its name.

Or maybe someone watching from a far off future would say it was curiosity. That is, of the same dark, disobedient kind that led her to defy Leo’s words once before.

When she arrived, he was already there. They exchanged pleasantries, and she opened the door to her shop, lighting a few lanterns.

“Sorry it’s not much…” she said modestly.

Her shop hadn’t seemed so small before. She’d always been so proud of it, how full it was, how many questions she could answer, and that almost-alive quality of the place, and she had been looking forward to showing it off to him. Even if it hadn’t been completely recovered since her search for the whispers, it hadn’t ever seemed so cluttered and insignificant.

“I think it’s quite charming,” he replied politely.

She tried not to squeal her joy at his compliment.

“T-Thank you…So will you tell me what it is you’re looking for now?” she turned her back to him, folding her hands in front of her.

What could it be? She continued her attempts to curb her enthusiasm. Was it a book, or a lantern, or a compass, or, ooh, maybe a—

“Of course; It’s a music box.”

The world slowed, the current of fast turning seconds became slow sand again, and she could almost hear time’s ticks, like water dripping in a quiet cave—but who knows what lies beneath those black waters? The excitement that had been so potent seconds ago turned to dread. The wind outside, rather than lively with whispers of a thrilling adventure to come, became a howl, telling her she should have listened to her doubts. The gaps of black between the stars seemed to swallow the light, and the shop became smaller and more cramped by the second.

No. Not that. Ask me for something else.

She had wanted to bury it. Though the whispers had stopped, moving it back into the trap door hadn’t been quite enough. Whenever she had stepped over that creaky board, the sound called to her, a ghost, and the feeling that one day she would feel her dark bride’s hand grab her ankles and pull her back into the depths of her own past, crawled into her mind and made its nest there. So, though she knew she couldn’t get rid of it—for fear of who else might use it—she had wrapped the box itself more tightly, put chains around the chest, and moved it to a place she thought would be safer, more secure. She wished she had truly listened to Leo, and started by putting it there, as far as away as she could keep it from her, without it being completely out of reach.

Sure, there was more than one magic music box in existence. But she only had one; That music box. And, despite having used it, she never told anyone about its existence, per Leo’s orders. She was sure of that. How could he know?

Perhaps he meant something different?

“I’m sorry…could you repeat that?” she whispered, and didn’t turn to face him.

“A music box,” he said pleasantly,

“What sort of music box? What is its…purpose?”

“One that has a haunting tune,” His footfalls followed her, “which, when played,” and as he placed a hand on her shoulder, cursed words fell in her ears, “is said to allow you to watch your own past unfold before you…even converse with your past self.”

The words made something cold crawl down her spine, and she had to fight to keep memories from resurfacing like monsters in uneasy waters.

She spun around, brushing him off.

“Now why would I have a thing like that?”

“First of all,” he lifted his hand to refer to the shop.

Oh, right. Of course.It seemed that lying skill would be needed quite a lot today.

“And second of all,” he stepped closer, “once again, that precious face of yours betrays you.”

She turned away before he could touch her.

“If I had an object like that, do you really think I would give it to a stranger?” she rubbed her arm nervously.

“Come now, I’m not a stranger, am I? Nii-san knows you well enough for us to say we’re not complete strangers. But as far as the music box goes…” he paused, then laughed a little, “Oh I think you’d do everything in your power to hide the fact that you had it.”

He was smart. An intelligence she didn’t think she could battle, even if she had had the ability to lie.

“I’ve been looking for this for a long time, Ada-sama. I really don’t want any trouble.”

“And…why would you be looking for an object like that?”

“Why do my reasons concern you?”

The frankness of his response caught her off guard.

“Because—“

“Do you usually interrogate your customers?”

That was true; she usually didn’t care what people did with the things she sold, even if she was often interested. She may ask, but she tried not to pry.

“If an object like that exists—”

“Please. You wouldn’t be so restless if you didn’t know it did. If you think a few ill-conceived lies are going to deter me,” he ran his hand along her shoulder. “you’re very much mistaken.”

“Vincent-sama…”

What could she do? She was a bad liar, and, even if she wasn’t, he was a good at seeing reading her. She wasn’t going to stop him by…

Her hands clenched into fists at her sides.

And she tried a different approach.

“The past is…dangerous.”

He did the last thing she expected; he laughed. Loud and long. An action that made her intrigue turn more rapidly into something dark, and hot, and stubborn.

“Oh you think so, do you?” he put his hands behind his back, stepping forward, “What makes you think that? Did the Hatter tell you something? Or…” he stood back up to his full height, his eye boring a hole into her, as if he were casting judgment on her by his mere gaze, and he stepped forward, tipping her chin up to him, his words whispered, but cold, “Did you use it?”

She stumbled backwards into her desk, covering her ears, breath heavy, as if to block out his judgment, or her memories.

She flicked her eyes up to him, as if they could hold the same judgmental drilling power as his.

That intrigue and excitement was twisting and writhing and turning into something else. Something angry, and burning, and defiant.

“Listen,” she stood, brushing herself off, “the past may seem like it holds the answers, but it’s not something to be meddled with. Especially not mine. Please leave.” She pointed at the door, “I will not be humoring you tonight”

All that anticipation, gone. All she had been waiting for had become a demand to leave.

“Hm,” he grunted, turning to leave, though she could feel something simmering.

She let out a breath, surprised, but relieved hat he wasn’t going to put up a fight.

And in the next second that simmering thing was alive, and she was being pinned against the wall, his hands on either side of her, his jaw set, the look in his eyes like gunfire.

Electricity. It was in him now, but it was not that warm, bubbly feeling. It was a streak of lightning in an already stormy sky. The sting of something beneath the waters.

“I told you,” he hissed, “I wouldn’t give up that easily. Either you give me what I’m looking for, or—I don’t want to—but I’d be perfectly happy to tear your,” he looked around, a twisted smile on his face, “quaint little shop apart.” He leaned in closer, and she could feel his breath on her face, “Or if I don’t find it…you.”

Her breath caught in her throat, terror turning the dials in her heart.

“And I told you...” she heard the shake in her voice, and tried to sink to the floor, but he placed a hand on her chest to stop her.

“It’s not something I would expect a thing like you—a spoiled brat, who has had everything handed to her, for her entire life—to understand,” he spat.

The words bit even more than his threats. Is this what he thought of her? Just a spoiled brat? A noble’s daughter, who never suffered? Who couldn’t understand him?

More importantly, why did she care what he thought of her in the first place?

What should she do? Should she give in to save her life? Or would she give her life to save the music box from him, or him from it? What would be she be saving in the end? How bad would it be if he ended up trapped in his own past?

Still, this was Gilbert’s brother. Even if he tried to deny it, she knew he cared about him. If he disappeared…

This was Gilbert’s brother. She couldn’t believe that this piercing darkness was the only thing inside him.

There had to be more. There had to be a reason for his actions, his determination.

Surely he had been through a lot in his past, if he would go this far just to talk to it.

Maybe she could find a way to help?

As she was held there by the strands of her own decisions, and his venomous eyes—which she tried to keep from meeting—her gaze drifted upon the wind, out the open window.

It was far off, and out of reach, but she saw something flicker in the cold moonlight. Something important. Something worth noting. Something she’d missed.

Something they’d all missed.

Red and gold, fluttering in the wind.

Sitting in a little alcove, just off the edge, just out of view, was a ship.

A ship, with red and gold sails

"What’s that, Uncle?”

Oz pointed at the picture in the book. It was of a ship, sitting in a cave, its sails a peculiar color of crimson, with borders and symbols in gold. The ominous air surrounding even the picture of it was enough to give the children pause.

He, Ada, and Gil were all sitting on Oscar’s lap, sunlight from the window behind them draping them in gold.

Oscar pulled them all closer, “Remember about the Abyss?”

The nodded, each with different reactions—Oz with intrigue, Gil with fear, and Ada a mix of the two.

“Well, there are two things in this world connected strongly to the Abyss that are very dangerous.” He looked out the window, as if painting the picture in his mind, “One are called the Sirens, or Chains.”

“They drag bad guys into the Abyss, right?” Oz asked, and Gilbert clung tighter to Oscar.

“Very good Oz-kun.” His Uncle ruffled his hair. “The other, are the Baskervilles. This ship,” he pointed at the picture, “Belongs to them.”

Ada leaned in closer to get a better look at it.

“Why are they bad, Uncle?” she asked.

“Well…” he put a finger to his chin, probably trying to formulate a non-terrifying answer, “It’s not that they’re necessarily bad, it’s just…You know how the Abyss is like a prison? Well the Baskervilles are like reapers, they too drag people to the Abyss. But they aren’t always careful with who falls in.”

They paused, taking in the information.

“If ever you see a ship with red and gold sails, I want you to run as fast you can, got it?”

Everything seemed to both click into place, and go out of sync.

This man, the one who knew things he wouldn’t, shouldn’t, couldn’t, things she kept secret; who would ask to meet her in the middle of the night, because a strange and powerful artifact she hadn’t told anyone about; who had business to attend to in the morning, and whose anger was quick to flare; who would speak of the past like a toy, was a Baskerville.

Gilbert’s brother, Vincent, was a Baskerville.

Emotions brewed in her like a potion, and her expression must have been disloyal to her once again because his gaze followed her own.

She didn’t breathe.

The smile that grazed his face was gentle, but somehow twisted. “Do you like our ship, Ada-sama?”

She swallowed. “You’re a Baskerville.”

She hadn’t meant to say it aloud.

He grinned. He took her chin in her palm, forcing her to look up at him.

“Is that a problem?”

If she tried to escape, she might make the situation worse—he might call his Chain to pin her further, or worse, kill her, but if she didn’t, she might die anyways…

“What do you want?” her words were taut, tiny, like that little girl, so long ago…She wanted to be stronger than this.

“I told you.”

“Why would you bring an entire ship just for a music box?”

“Whoever said that was the only reason for our coming here?”

“You really think I believe you came for Gil?”

“Well, yes, that too,” he chuckled, “but that wasn’t what I was referring to.”

There was a sound like thunder outside. They both looked up to see white smoke puffing up from the aforementioned ship.

Where did that cannonball land?

Fear doubled in her, it stuck her heart and her throat, and threatened to overtake her breath.

“What’s your real intention in coming here, then?” the unwanted question spilled from her lips.

He came very close, dragging a nail along her cheek, and whispered in her ear. “To kidnap you.”

He pulled away, and gave a warm and genial smile.

She gasped, eyes wide. When her legs found the ability to move, she was surprised that, this time, he simply let her go. Her own legs double-crossed her, however, and she fell to the ground. She scrambled across the planks, reaching up for something, anything that could help her.

She had to get to Oz. To Oscar. To run, like her Uncle had told her to so long ago.

“Echo.” Vincent snapped his fingers.

The sound of glass shattering.

She hadn’t noticed the girl standing outside; she could have been there for days for all she knew, her presence was masked and the shop was dark.

That lightning split the world.

The shop was silent, and her witch’s hat fluttering softly to the ground, was the only evidence that something had occurred that night.

"Oni-chan!”

That word had interspersed itself throughout the earlier whispers. The word that came by the most often, the strongest.

It was her voice. Her terrified, little voice, crying for her brother.

Her voice, so small. She hadn’t realized her voice was so small then, that she could be so helpless.

But these whispers had stuck with her so much, because they reminded her of that time. She had tried to put out of her mind, like a fire. Told herself there had been nothing she could do, then. That even if she had made it in time, then, she couldn’t have kept Oz from the Abyss. She wouldn’t have been strong enough.

But these whispers were a poison. They made her question herself. They made her think the scene was still here, still fluid, could still be changed. They made her wonder, Maybe if I just—Maybe if I had—Maybe I could…

Instead, this time, as she slammed shut the box, the word, the voice, that tiny helpless thing that once was her, was no longer disembodied and subtly toxic.

She turned to see a little girl, in the room with her. Blonde hair, green eyes. Her little green dress, and gold hair soaked through with rain.

That past was real. Here. In the room with her.

Ghosts were more than whispers.

The adult Ada’s hands flew to her mouth to keep herself from screaming. In doing so, she lost her grip on the music box, sending it to the ground before she managed to lock it, causing it to land on its side and crack open.

Standing there—and yet, not there—was herself. A memory of the past, a specific past, her past, animated.

The little Ada flickered in and out of solidity. She was almost transparent, though real enough to send her heart reeling, and nausea to her throat. Her small eyes, dappled with tears, were—thankfully—not looking at her future self, standing there, but somewhere beyond her. Even so, they were still looking at something else that was also both there, and not quite there; something beyond her future self.

What if she knew that her future was watching her now? What would the little girl do? Would she scream? Or would she run up to her, say it was nice to meet her, and ask if the future was going well? If the little Ada knew the regrets that the future her felt now, would she have been given the strength to accomplish the task? What if she could talk to her? What would she say? Could she change things? What would her life become if she could?

Chills played melodies up and down her spine.

Her past self ran forward—(Ada jumped out of the way)—the little feet trod on the music box, and a few discordant notes spilled out from it. And as they did, her past self’s form became more solid moment by moment. After passing it, Ada turned to see what she was running towards.

The box played more of the song, and her thoughts rearranged themselves, went out of order, so the notes became background to her, not the thing itself; the thing to shut down, the thing that was causing this …but something that was simply there. Not to be noticed.

The song was dark, and slow. The notes tinkled out like raindrops, like leaking ink onto the pages of her life, drop by drop, flooding out. And, as the notes crept along the floorboards, their bony fingers trailed with them more of the scene, blood on the floorboards, in the water.

The ghost rain pounded louder and louder, becoming more real, more here, and with it, the shop started blurring, as if the drops were corroding it away.

All Ada—the future Ada, the, in her mind, real Ada—could do was watch.

She couldn’t stop it. She couldn’t seize the music box and shut it up. She couldn’t grab her past self and shake the hours out of her until only the future was left. Not anymore. She didn’t have the strength. The understanding. Or the time.

The music was all that was left.

A door, big and oak, a facet of a giant mansion—which would have been magnificent, with all its bricks, and windows, and rose gardens, had it not been so stormy—stood some ways away, below her.

Her past self was running across a stone bride towards this door.

When Ada looked back she saw that she was now on this bridge too, and the quaint, quiet shop nowhere in view. Her life was suspended over howling, hungry waves and jagged rocks.

Panic and intrigue were now the battling forces in her. She couldn’t quite quantify the scene, place it into normal terms and call it by name—it just was now. How she would get back, and how much she would see before she did something, were no longer answerable. Her mind was in another place too, perhaps still in the future.

She, of course, remembered this scene. She knew everything that happened. Not in precise detail, but she had been through it once before, of course. However, the foreignness of the sensation made it seem as if she was seeing it for the first time, wondering where this unknown little girl was going to, and why it mattered.

As she looked all around her—trying to find a single piece of reality, of now—she gazed down at the waves below.

There were many ships; people had come from far and wide to see her brother’s coming of age ceremony. These ships had all sorts of symbols and colors on their sails, or just plain white. They were from different houses, and came in all sorts of sizes, shapes, and kinds.

But there was one in particular worth noting.

Once again, in a cave, hidden away, to the side. She would have never seen it if she hadn’t been on this bridge, high above. And she wouldn’t have found it so quickly if she didn’t already know it was there.

A ship with red and gold sails.

And for a moment she was that little girl again, running because she had to save her brother, she had to warn someone, anyone, that that ship her uncle had warned her about was here, now, and they would surely—

“Your sin is…”

But she had been too late then, and she knew she was too late now.

Soulmate AU + heroic sacrifice + Barisi

Read it on AO3 

Unlike everyone else, Sonny hated the mark on his arm. He hated the idea that fate had determined when he would meet the person he should spend the rest of his life with, his soulmate. He could only be grateful it was so far in the future as he went to church and smiled and listened to talk of soulmates and God bringing people together.

More than that, he was terrified that either his soulmate would be a woman and he would feel nothing for her and be forced to live a lie, or his soulmate would be a man and he would have to finally come out to his family. He’d known he was gay for a long time, had finally accepted it with the help of his priest, but he couldn’t let his family know. The way they spoke of people like him… he couldn’t bear the thought of them knowing.

With each transfer through each borough, he grew more and more terrified that his soulmate would be a colleague and not someone completely random. He longed to cover it up, try and forget that he’d already worked out what time and date he would meet his soulmate, but he knew he couldn’t. He knew even if he tried his own family would never let him forget. His mother had had that day marked in the calendar from the moment they came home from the hospital, and though it was distant, though Sonny would be older than they would have liked, they still smiled, they still reminded him of it when he was feeling down, when another relationship failed.

His stomach churned as he walked in for his first day at Manhattan SVU, but he tried not to let it show. He thought that maybe if he just dove straight in, buried himself in work right off the bat, then he would be too busy to notice he’d met his soulmate.

It didn’t matter how many times he’d heard about the blinding flash of pain before another heart seemed to beat alongside your own, jolting and uncomfortable. It didn’t matter that he knew he was to expect a hyper-awareness of the other person, always on his mind. He was holding onto the hope that if he tried hard enough he could ignore it. He knew there had been cases of soulmates not connecting, of their timers just running out and them never having felt anything, not knowing who their soulmate was supposed to have been.

He was grateful for being thrown instantly into a case, grateful to meet all of the squad members early in the day, before his clock ticked down. And then they were off, chasing leads, racing through paperwork, meeting what felt like a million people, and it wasn’t until some time in the afternoon that Sonny realized he’d felt nothing.

He glanced down at his wrist, his clock reading a big fat zero, and he felt relief wash over him in waves. He’d done it. He’d successfully avoided his soulmate.

At that moment his phone buzzed, ‘Home’ flashing up on the screen, and dread clouded his relief as he realized he would have to explain to his family, his church, that whoever his soulmate was didn’t matter, that they had clearly rejected each other by accident, that he had been so busy on the job it could have been any number of people, victims, witnesses, perps, police. He swallowed hard and declined the call like the coward he knew he was.

That night he dreamed of their ADA, of a tan suit he could slowly remove layer by layer while the ADA smirked at him, talked dirty to him, encouraged him. He woke in a cold sweat, cursing himself for, once again, finding himself attracted to a colleague.

He couldn’t help wanting to show off and gain Barba’s attention. He was sharp and funny and rude and intelligent, and his suits fit snug in all the right places, and Sonny found himself absolutely smitten.

Except Barba seemed to hate him. Even as Barba slowly softened towards him, let him shadow on trials, offered kind words of encouragement and congratulations on passing the bar, Sonny always felt he was kept at arm's length. And maybe it was for the best.

--

Sonny nodded to Barba’s wrist one night while helping him go over paperwork. “Who’s the lucky woman?”

Barba frowned before glancing down at his wrist with a sigh. “I wouldn’t know.”

“Did you wanna know?”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” Barba snapped, but there was an underlying sadness there that told Sonny all he needed to know.

“I don’t know who mine is, either,” he said softly.

Barba looked up at him, eyes searching for a moment, and Sonny felt his stomach flip under his gaze. It was always piercing, penetrating, like Barba could see right into his soul. But this time it felt different. This time it was like Barba was truly seeing him for the first time, not looking to snark or snipe, not looking to tease or taunt, just…looking.

Sonny’s heart thudded in his chest, tongue feeling thick in his mouth. He wanted to look away, wanted to go back to what he was working on, but it was almost as though he couldn’t, and before he could think about it he was moving, sitting so close to Barba their knees touched.

Barba’s gaze softened for a second, and Sonny felt transfixed. He was hyper aware of his own heartbeat. He felt so close to giving in to what he wanted, and for the first time, he thought maybe Barba wanted that too.

The moment between them shattered at the sound of a knock at the door, and both of them sprang apart in an instant. Sonny felt his heart lodge somewhere in his throat as Benson entered Barba’s office, and he forced himself to focus on the trial papers once more, willing the heat on his face to disappear.

For the next few weeks, every time Sonny saw Barba his heart skipped a beat. There was an ache growing inside him, a desperate need for release he couldn’t get, building and building, and he was sure one day he would snap.

He dreamed of Barba almost constantly, always waking with a buzzing headache that faded by the time he got to work.

“Barba,” he shouted, running to catch up as Barba beelined for the elevator.

“Detective,” Barba muttered with a small smile, barely glancing up at him.

Sonny had a plan. He figured if he just got it out of his system, slept with Barba, maybe he could finally let him go. He wasn’t sure it would work, but it was all he had.

“Was, er, wondering if you wanted to grab a drink after work?” He rubbed the back of his neck as he felt his face grow hot.

“A drink after work,” Barba repeated back to him, looking at him properly. He smirked, eyes raking up and down Sonny’s body before settling on his face. “Okay.”

“You...really?”

“Why not?” Sonny was sure Barba was teasing him, and he felt his face grow hotter. “Forlini’s, 8pm.”

“It’s a date,” Sonny said before he could stop himself, internally cringing at his choice of words.

As his shift ticked to a close, Sonny considered canceling, saying he had to pull overtime, or that he was simply too tired. The buzzing was back, vibrating the base of his skull, growing with intensity. He knew this was a stupid idea, knew it would be insane to sleep with a colleague, especially one he worked so closely with. And if Barba rejected him, if Barba wasn’t interested, then Sonny would be back at square one anyway, having been humiliated for his efforts.

He had just been about to send off an apology when the man himself strode into the office, stopping by Sonny’s desk.

“I had to see Liv,” Barba said softly, leaning into Sonny’s space almost conspiratorially. “I thought we could leave together if that works for you?”

“I still have another 40 minutes left of my shift,” he protested weakly.

“I’m sure you’ll be the one waiting for me, Detective. I’ll be a while.”

Before he could protest, Barba tapped his desk and strode off, leaving Sonny gaping after him, heart pounding almost painfully in his chest. He couldn’t deny his excitement, though. Underneath all the fear and uncertainty and dread, there was now a thrumming anticipation, a knowledge thay Barba was actually looking forward to this.

Time ticked by painfully slowly as Sonny finished off his paperwork and waited for Barba, but eventually, he strode out of Benson’s office, expression unreadable.

“Walk you out, Counselor?” He asked with a grin, and Barba returned it with a tired but genuine smile.

As they stepped outside Sonny was hit by a sudden pang in his chest, fear blooming behid his ribs, though he couldn’t, for the life of him, work out why. It was as though everything had slowed down around him.

“Are you okay?” Barba’s voice sounded distant and far away, like his ears had been stuffed with cotton.

He could hear the deep rumble of a car headed towards them, could hear muttering, the click of a gun as the window wound down.

Sonny’s heart leaped to his throat, panic engulfing him as, in slow motion, the gun aimed right at Barba, who was completely oblivious, looking at Sonny with concern.

“Get down,” he heard himself shout, and the world sped up again, rushing back into full focus as he lunged at Barba.

A searing pain filled his head, his vision whiting out completely, and for a moment he felt sure he was going to die. His heart seemed to stutter in his chest, beating an impossible rhythm, and he felt choked by it.

“Sonny,” a voice called, somewhere beside his head, and he forced his eyes open.

Barba was beneath him, looking pale and panicked, hands running over Sonny’s body like his life depended on it. Sonny groaned, heart still beating erratically, and tried to lift himself up.

“No, no, no, don’t move,” Barba muttered, pulling him close. “Don’t move. You’re gonna be okay.”

Sonny frowned, ready to ask Barba what he meant, but then Barba pressed firmly on his side, and he felt another flash of pain, different to the one he’d felt before, and he became distantly aware that he’d been shot,not in the head, but in his side, as a wetness spread across his shirt under Barba’s hand.

“You’re okay,” Barba whispered, but his voice shook and his eyes were full of tears, and Sonny was sure he’d never seen that look on Barba’s face before.

“‘Course I am,” he croaked out, but he could feel his body growing tired, resting his weight more and more on top of Barba.

He tried to focus on breathing, on the beat of his heart, but it still felt off, too slow and too fast at the same time, and as hands grabbed him, pulling him onto a stretcher, the last thing he saw was Barba’s tear-stained face, and then the world faded to black.

--

Sonny blinked awake to the sound of beeping, eyes adjusting to the blinding white around him. He shifted a little, groaning at the pull in his side.

“Hey, don’t move,” Barba whispered from beside him, and Sonny turned to look, confused.

“What are you doing here?” He croaked out.

“You’re an idiot,” Barba muttered, but there was no bite to his words. He just looked exhausted and pale, and Sonny’s heart clenched.

It was then that he became aware of his heartbeat, still unfamiliar and wrong somehow, and panic slowly clawed its way up his throat.

“You feel it too?” Barba whispered, placing his hand over Sonny’s heart.

It was then that it dawned on him that it wasn’t his heart beating strangely, it was simply that there were two hearts beating alongside each other. He took a moment, swallowing hard before nodding, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at Barba.

“I’m sorry,” he choked out, turning his face away.

Barba sighed, removing his hand, and Sonny wanted to reach out and grab it, pull it back, hold it tight, but he didn’t dare. They were quiet for a moment, and Sonny tried to find solace in the steady thrum of Barba’s heart, just a little out of time with his own.

“I won’t pretend to understand,” Barba said slowly, quietly. “I’m sure you have your reasons for rejecting me, but—“

“I wouldn’t if I’d known,” Sonny blurted out, surprised by his own words. “I’m sure I fell for you from the moment I met you.”

“Then why—“

“I was scared. I so desperately didn’t want to know who my soulmate was that I unconsciously rejected you.” Sonny paused, taking a deep breath before forcing himself to look at Barba. “I’m not sure I wouldn’t have even if I knew it was you.”

Barba schooled his expression, and Sonny was sure he could physically see the walls going up. He reached for Barba’s hand, needing him to understand.

“I’m glad it’s you,” he whispered.

“It took getting shot for you to want me,” Barba muttered, but took Sonny’s hand anyway. “I’m not sure that’s want, so much as fear.”

Sonny shook his head, wincing as the motion jostled his body. “I’ve been dreaming about you for months. I can’t get you out of my head. I chose you before I knew the universe had chosen you for me. I asked you out, remember?”

Barba’s lips twitched up in a small smile and he lowered his head. “So that was a date?”

Sonny snorted. “Really? The great Rafael Barba can’t tell when someone’s asking him out on a date?”

Barba was silent for a moment, thumb brushing Sonny’s hand lightly as he thought.

“I felt the same,” he whispered after a while. “At first I hated you. For absolutely no reason. Maybe it was my soul’s reaction to rejection. But over time you...ever since that night in my office, our almost moment, I thought about the potentials.”

Sonny squeezed Barba’s hand, willing him to look up, but he didn’t.

“I never thought you’d want that,” Barba admitted. “Good little Catholic like yourself.”

Sonny’s stomach seemed to bottom out at that, reality setting in, and he squeezed Barba’s hand again. “It’s not ideal,” he acknowledged. “But we’ll work it out.”

Barba finally looked up again, searching Sonny’s face before pressing a soft kiss to Sonny’s forehead. “We’ll work it out,” he agreed.

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A Lioness Amongst the Wolves

A departure from John Proctor, I hope you enjoy it. All comments gratefully received and if you could reblog that would be lovely.

“Holy Mary Mother of God, I wish it would rain.”

The sun has been baking the ground and searing the crops for almost three weeks and it is yet a week to the shortest day of the year. It is so dry that the air burns the throat with every breath taken and dust rises in choking clouds at every step along the road. It is market day and the peddlers, merchants and farmers wives have been here since an hour after dawn, anxious to sell their wares and depart before the heat makes the day even more unbearable. I walk among the stalls with Jehanne Mercier the seamstress from the Manor and we have Julot the scolland in tow.

It is already stiflingly hot and I can feel sweat running down my back and between my breasts, at least I am wearing a dark gown it will not show. I have already sought out the small items my Aunt, who requires, sewing needles, coloured threads and a needle box. Jehanne haggles for linen and fine woollen cloth which cannot be woven at the Manor, she has already beaten the merchant down twice on his exorbitant price. Julot dawdles along behind us, alternately grumbling, picking his nose and scratching his arse. He is here merely on sufferance so that he can help carry our purchases home.

All eyes, mine included, turn towards the noise as a small group of horsemen canter into the centre of the market place. They are swathed in the dust they kick up and it settles down on the riders and horses alike, coating them with a fine dun coloured bloom. Seven riders, one at the front the others behind in two rows of three. Unusually none of them are wearing their helmets but have fastened them to their saddles, the lead rider appears to be looking for someone or something and as they slow to a walk he stands up in his stirrups to look around the market place. He smiles, apparently he has found what he was searching for and heads in our direction “Merde!” The appearance of this man and his well born “thugs” generally spells trouble for someone or other. He reins up beside us and I whisper in Jehannes ear “I wonder what he wants, I can’t imagine he’s come to buy ribbons, threads or a pot to piddle in” Her reply is a loud snorting laugh, it is not a ladylike noise and it attracts attention. “Something amuses you, woman?” the voice is deep, rich, carries more than an edge of brutality and is accompanied by a fierce stare. Jehanne is unusually flustered under his glare and her customary bravado withers a little as she casts her glance downwards and mumbles “Nothing Sieur Raymond, nothing”

From his vantage point Raymond looks down at the women, the one he has cowed is of little interest but the one standing next to her he knows, she is the reason for his being here today. This woman does not look away but fixes him with a stare of her own. He leans forward resting his forearms on the pommel of his saddle, reins held loosely in his right hand.

“I know you, you are Isabé, a companion in the household of Henri Bouvier” He leans down towards me. “Isabé Pelletier and we have met before I think”

“I have seen you at my Uncle’s house Sieur Raymond”

I make sure he knows I am no mere companion for Henri’s wife, I am family. Why does the way he says my name send a shiver through me and why should he even care to make note of it?

In one swift move he dismounts and comes to stand in front of me. His eyes never leave mine. There is a slight frown on his brow as he cocks his head this way and that examining my face, then he lets his gaze sweep over me, from head to foot as if he were appraising the finer points of a good brood mare. Even in this heat I shiver.

“Sieur Raymond, if you will excuse me, I am expect at the Manor.” I drop him a curtsey and linking arms with Jehanne try to make my way past him. But he is fast, very fast and he snakes his right arm across my body to stop me. Smiling now Raymond slides his gloved hand slowly down from my waist to my hip and lets it settle there as he pulls me closer. I glare at him but even through the layers of cloth and the leather of his glove, I feel the heat of his touch. He smirks down at me as if daring me to make a scene but there is no amusement in his eyes rather curiosity.

“You two” he gestures with his other hand towards Jehanne and Julot “Go back to the Manor, I shall escort Mam’selle Pelletier. Jehanne looks shocked and is about to speak but I cut in. “Jehanne, go, tell Madame I am delayed but will be there presently” “But she will want to know why you are delayed” “Tell her” I had best choose my words carefully “Tell my Aunt her that Sieur Raymond de Merville has....” I hesitate. “Has taken it upon himself escort me safely home” “But Isabé you will have no woman to accompany you”

Raymond barks out a laugh. “She has me and six of my men, she will need no one else, now go, be on your way.”

Jehanne scuttles away telling Julot not to dawdle and to make sure he understands, she fetches him a smack across the back of his head as she passes.

Raymond still has his arm across me, still lets his hand rest heavily on my hip as if I was his personal property. “Let me go Sieur, you show a lack of courtesy, I ask that you have some thought for my reputation even if  you care little your own” then I add in a soft voice as I smile sweetly up at him. “But then why would you, since it has long been tarnished”

Mon Dieu why did I say that and why have I not tried to pull away from him?

The smirk disappears and is replaced by a feral smile as he holds me even tighter to him. Those blue eyes have no warmth, they are like ice as he slowly traces the gloved fingers of his left hand down my cheek then curls them under my chin in a firm grip, tipping my face up and dropping his own face closer to mine. Now, there is nothing wrong with saying that Raymond is handsome for it is true. Oh yes in spite of his battle hardened face and the scar that marks his face from his right temple to the corner of his right eye, he is indeed an extremely handsome man with incredible blue eyes. Though he is certainly an arrogant Bastard.

I am conscious of his men sniggering and have the feeling that everyone in the marketplace has their eyes upon us. But I will not give in and lock my gaze to his, Raymond drops his forehead to mine his breath smells of cloves and cinnamon and the warm scent of lemon and hyssop drifts up from the exposed skin of his neck and throat.

My mouth is suddenly dry and I lick at my lips, I can’t help it but all the same I bring up my right arm and land as hard slap as I can manage on his cheek. It is a stinging blow and his head snaps back and to the side. As he turns to face me I see the mark beginning to redden on his face as retribution and in an effort to shame me more he grazes his lips against mine, they are warm and I feel the brush of his short beard against my skin as his voice rumbles low in his throat .

“I think I like you Isabé, you have spirit, but a word of warning Cheri, do not suppose for one moment that I would ever allow you do that again.”

I have never been one to resist a challenge and I try once more to lay a fierce slap on him but he seizes my right wrist, curling his fingers around it in a powerful grip that makes me wince. Hoping he is distracted I swing my left hand but he grasps that also and pins my arms to my sides. Without warning his mouth is on mine again but this time hard and fierce and he takes my lower lip between his teeth and rakes them over the flesh. Just as suddenly he releases his hold on me, his expression gives away nothing, but his eyes are no longer cold then he grins and he leans in towards me again and whispers.

“You are brave Mam’selle, or is it merely bravado hein?  

I will not show him any weakness. But suddenly I am lifted off my feet and I let out a squeak as he swings me up into the saddle then vaults up and settles behind me.  Instructing his men to follow, we proceed at a gentle pace. Raymond has his arm tight around me, my back is pressed so firmly against him I feel the metal of his belt and the rings of his mail pressing into my back. Truly I am glad not to be walking, it is hotter than ever now but more humid, the blue sky is dulling and changing to a sickly grey, my leg aches and I shall be glad to sit and sew with my Aunt in the coolness of her private room for the rest of the day. There are no more words spoken between us and when we arrive at the Manor, Raymond helps me dismount, his hands firm around my waist as I slide from the horse. He holds me just a little too long and by the time he releases his hold my Uncle and Aunt are waiting to greet him.

“Henri, Blanche”  

Sieur Raymond de Merville and Henri Bouvier must be of an age, though there the similarity ends. Henri Bouvier is several inches shorter and though once muscular he is running to fat a little, his hair is almost grey, his eyes a little dull and he is no longer the battle hardened warrior. Henri is settling into comfortable retirement. On the other hand Raymond de Merville stands over six feet tall, broad shoulders, broad chest. His hair is still dark with only a little grey at the temples and he wears it in a typical soldiers cut, longer on the top but shaved close all the way round from the tops of his ears downwards. Raymond still conducts and carries himself like a soldier he walks with a warrior’s grace and easy stride and is not the kind of man to sink into contented old age.

“Sieur Raymond your men are welcome to ride around to the kitchens, there is food and drink for them whilst they wait.” Madam Blanche Bouvier curtseys and Raymond takes her hand and brings it to his lips, something I would never have imagined him doing.

“Blanche please, no formality our families have known each other too long for that.” and he tosses the reins of his horse to a young rider. “Your son Guillaume does you credit Blanche” he nods towards him “I could not wish for better Squire.” Blanche gives the wide smile that only a mother could and flushes with pride. Aunt Blanche gestures me forward and sweeps into the house with me beside her, the moment we are inside she turns to me smiling.

Isabé “quickly my dear go and change into your best dress then join us in our private chamber.” Jehanne comes in from the back of the house, she too has changed her clothes, brushed and rebraided her hair and there is a faint scent of lavender about her. My look says “What in God’s name is going on” Her only answer is a shrug and a shake of her head before she disappears into the chamber. 

“Hurry girl, off with you” I have a fleeting but uncomfortable feeling that this visit is not entirely unexpected and I stare at my Aunt waiting for an explanation, but there is nothing forthcoming. “Isabé I will not tell you again, now go.” With that I am dismissed, and make my way up to the room I share with Jehanne.

As quickly as I can I strip, then dip a cloth into cold water, I hesitate then pour a few drops of my precious Rosewater into it and swirl them around before squeezing out the cloth and wiping it over my face, breasts and under my arms.” Cleansed of the dust, my hair combed and with the faint scent of roses clinging to my skin I slip on my best dress, clean hose and indoor shoes. The dress is dark blue, Aunt Blanche says that it sets off the colour of my hair and that it deepens the colour of my eyes, making them look like rain washed slate. Why am I doing this, what is so important that I must wear my best dress? I have no more time to think for I can hear Jehanne outside the door.

“Isabé, Isabé your Aunt is asking for you, she wishes you to come downstairs, now!” “Calm yourself, I’m coming” and I step out into the corridor. “What’s going on Jehanne?” “I don’t know, like you I was told to put on my best clothes and wait with them in the chamber.”  There is a slight frown on her face. “Sieur Raymond must have some very important business here.” She takes me by the hand and we bustle down the stairs, although my childhood injury means my steps are not as graceful as hers.

The private chamber of my Aunt and Uncle is at the rear of the manor and even though the sun slants through the window openings it is deliciously cool. This is where they can be quiet, where my Uncle sometimes conducts business and where honoured guests are invited to sit and take a glass of my Uncles finest wine.

But when we enter Raymond de Merville is standing and his presence fills the room, he owns it, has taken it over and made it his to command. Dear God but he is handsome, only an idiot would say otherwise. Oh yes, he is indeed an extremely handsome man. 

“Ahhhh Isabé, come” I step towards my Aunt with my slightly halting gait, she holds out her hands and I take them in mine searching her face and her eyes for any hint as to what is happening. A kiss on each cheek and then she hands me a goblet. “Wine for you my dear, to toast your good fortune, this family is being honoured for the second time. Guillaume has already been taken into the service of Sieur Raymond, but for you Isabé the honour is even greater. “Dieu, what now?” “We are so happy for you Isabé, as your guardians we are delighted that Sieur Raymond has asked for your hand in marriage”

I don’t have a tag list as such, but I you want to be added to the list or removed from the list just let me know.

@armitageadoration @fullvoidmoon @cd1242  @deepestfirefun @uknwwhttheysayboutthecrzy1s @leah-halliwell92 @captaintauriel77 @maybetomorrowgirl @thegreyberet @monika44 @erisedwombat  @sweeticedtea @lovingnightstrawberry  @kimanne723 @calicoskatts @princess-of-erebor1992  @trumoo-foryou @vaneaustation  @worldtofantasy @fromthedeskoftheraven @tinkertailor1212 @whohobbs @laureline073 @theincaprincess @thorinrichardarmitage @hellbull @anemiechen @pixiedurango @fandomgalcentral  @xxbyimm @aidanturnersass @inkededucatednnerdy @tomssweetbouquet @willmbj @thorinobsessed @pithyflamingo @simonedk @smoops-and-smoops @sdavid09 @princessbelgoof @lady-jessica-9 @iammhereforthefandoms @aninomori @ggbbhehe4455 @pixiiebutt @w-marie98-blog @abiwim @evyiione @tendersquishyjamie @ladyharlequinreaper1992 @arwenaminmaeleth @sherala007 @the-107ths-whore @elven-wine-lover​

G-Dragon fanfiction (one shot)

Plot:

You’re a daughter of music editor from YG company. Your father works there for ages and at times you visit studio. At first it was because you’re fascinated by this whole process of music production. When you was teenager you was firstly dazed, seeing so many popular artists. Big Bang was already popular when you visited studio for the first time. Now you can rather call all these people your friends. The other (and now main) reason of you coming here was just behind a door that you just opened. He was writing on computer, certainly working on his new song.

Jiyong was fascinating person and you noticed it throught all these years when you’ve been coming here few times per month. You noticed he’s beautiful man right away but he became even hotter when his stage image became more rebellious. But earlier- when you started to watch him at tv and listened to stories from others, you felt that he’s really interesting. Wasn’t it quite ironic? Sometimes he was next to you but you never really talked since you started having crush on him so you actually knew most of things about him from others. Last time you dared to talk to him was five years ago when you thought about showing him some of your lyrics that you wroted at the age of 16.

Jiyong oppa, they say that you’re really good in writing lyrics.. you started conversation in one breath. Your heart was beating fast but that time you wasn’t still sure why. He looked up at you with smile.

Me? Who did tell you this? he asked you, laughing. Something skipped in your stomach. You thought it sounded like you was asking people about him which was true.

Uh.. Just some folks. you answered, trying to sound cool. Anyway, I wroted some stuff and I wanted to ask if.. you know, if you could take a look.

Let’s see.

He started reading and you wanted this moment to end because you felt like a fool standing there in silence, not knowing what what he was thinking.

Min Young, do you want to be a song writer? he asked suddenly, looking at piece of paper in his hands. He always seemed unpredictable. You rather expected him to say that song was a real crap or just fine but instead of this he came out with this sudden question on which whom you didn’t know the answer.

Oh.. That’s tough question. you started, fixing your long hair. I guess I must like it if I wrote some of it.

Then wrote thousands of it. Then you will know if you really like it and if it’s better than the previous one. If people like it, it means you did good. Try to improve it.

Wow. Kwon Ji Yong, that’s cool advice. you said out of blue and Jiyong started to laugh.

Ok, I’ll be back to work. Good luck. he said, patting your arm. You knew he treated you like a kid and just a daughter of his co-worker. You was a young lady but still underage so it would be creepy if he had any interest in you. But even now when you was 21, you kne he didn’t pay attention so you decided that you will just continue coming to studio to at least see him. You bowed to everybody in room and sit next to your father. You started talking to him about mom wanting him to come home earlier. When your father started nagging about having lot of work, you looked discreetly at Jiyong. He was already in his own world, listening to background music, prepared for new lyrics.

Anyway, why aren’t you home? you heard your father. You didn’t pay attention until he looked at you curious.

Huh? Why? Can’t I? you took a simple words out of your mouth.

Sweetheart, you know that we’re working on new album. And you’re not little girl..

Ok, I get it, appa. you cut it off. You didn’t want to listen that you’re too big girl to come here anytime you want. You didn’t want anyone say anything connected with you being kid. You was adult now and you wanted the one you liked to see you as a woman. You got up from the chair and took your handbag.

Go to lunchroom and drink some coffe. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes, ok?

For some reason you wanted to stay in YG building so you agreed and left. You had an idea to buy some coffe and come back to studio, pretending that fifteen minutes already left and you waited for too long. So you did it. You entered room that was now full of people. You heard discussion between Jiyong and producers. There was also Taeyang who left recording room, saying that he wanted to change his part. You saw Jiyong rubbing his face with tired expression.

Your father noticed you and directed you to corridor.

We’re having hard time because we may not have all songs ready for a planned date. He sigh, looking at you. I know why you’re coming here but he needs to focus now.. And I also don’t think it’s a good idea.

You prayed not to blush that time and be too obvious but you knew how to talk smoothly with your father to make him think that his assumptions were wrong.

No. You don’t know why I’m coming here and even if you think you know there’s no specific reason that I’m coming here. And even if there was, you can’t stop me.

Father started blinking with disbelief.

Here you go again. I don’t understand anything.

That was my intention, actually.

Ugh.. Ok, just go home. he said with resignation in tone.

___________________________________________________________

Before you fell asleep you remembered this awkward moment from past when you visited studio. You saw Daesung sleeping on couch and T.O.P sitting on chair, staring at his phone with his tongue sticked. He was probably playing some weird game. Music producer was doing something important but there was no trace of Jiyong.

Hi, Min Young. Are you looking for GD hyung?! you heard behind your back and you looked at Seungri with awe. T.O.P looked over his phone at you. You gulped silently and forced yourself to smile.

What? You’re weird, oppa. you laughed and patted his arm. I’m just bored. Can’t I stay here?

Of course you can! Seungri said. You sit on the couch. GD oppa will be back soon by the way. he added and you clenched your teeth to not to accidentally tell him to shup up. You noticed suspicious smile on T.O.P’s face.

But it would look too obvious if you left now. It would look like Seungri was right and you tried to run away from Jiyong. Besides, you wanted to see him so badly. Jiyong came and said short hello to you. He was in good mood and you just listened when he talked funny story about his trip to Japan. He was so adorable when he laughed so sincerely.

You knew that one of many things that made you fall in love with him was his sweet smile.

All right, boys. Time to go home. There’s nothing for you to do here now. producer annouced after few minutes.

Yes, sir! T.O.P shouted suddenly, jumping from his place and saluting. Daesung lifted his head with grimace.

Why are you screaming? I had so sweet dream. he mumbled.

D-Lite, you can go home and sleep as much as you want now. Jiyong laughed, stroking his head.

Oh ok..

You took your jacket and bag, ready to leave when you suddenly felt embrace around your chest.

Min Young-ah, thanks for cheering us up. It’s been a while when some girl was in studio and it’s boring without girls around. you heard Jiyong’s voice close to your ear.

You stopped breathing for a second. Did he just hugged you from behind? Right in front of the rest of members? You saw surprised face of Daesung and then you just started looking at the ground. Jiyong realeased you and you knew you was checking out if you’re fine.

Min Young-ah?

Why did you hug me? We.. Do you hug every girl you barely know?

You didn’t know how these words came out from your mouth but you sounded so cold. You were embarrased. Was he making fun of you because he knew what you felt about him or he was flirting like this with every girl?

No.. but.. We’re like a family. We, people from YG. he looked confused.You felt even bigger anger. So he hugged you like you was his sister or some cute puppy? It was even worse than him playing with you. At least then it would mean that he treated you like a women he’s attracted to. Not some baby. And then you said a words that you regretted later:

You’re just working with my father. We’re not that close.

It felt even more awkward because members were still there, looking at both of you. You bowed.

Thank you. I had a nice time. Good bye.

You left studio calmly but you started walking very fast to come to elevator before other memebers. You took a lift. It was raining outside so you stopped for a while, thinking what to do next.

Awful weather, isin’t it? My driver is coming. He will take you home. I heard your dad still has a meeting with CEO.

You looked at T.O.P approaching you, lighting his cigarette.

Thanks.

You like him, right? he asked you. You started staring at him but kept looking ahead. I mean, Jiyong-sshi.

You just nodded after longer silence. T.O.P smiled.

Many girls have crush on him.

I know. you answered.

He likes fooling around with girls at times but he didn’t mean to offend you. I’m sure he’s embarrassed now.

__________________________________________________________

And after that you felt that T.O.P was right because Jiyong didn’t try to talk to you instead of saying hello to you. He even seemed to not noticing you when you were coming. You decided that you will try to stop liking him so much but it was hard. You even started to date a guy from your school. It’s been years and you tried to avoid Jiyong. You just dated your boyfriend and you stopped coming to studio. You even felt that your feelings started fading away but ou was wrong. One day you had to visit your father’s workplace to give lunch that your mother prepared for whole crew. You saw Jiyong behind a glass in recording room, rapping his part. Your heart skipped.

Hey, guys. Come here. My daughter brought very delicious meal. you father said.

Can I go now? you asked, seeing that Jiyong was just taking off his headphones, ready to leave recording room.

Look at you. Not so long ago I couldn’t make you go home. Your father laughed. You will eat with us. Don’t be ridiculous. Sit down.

Jiyong came and he only looked shortly at you. Your father invited him for little treat.

He thanked and tooked his part of meal. He didn’t talk much. In fact he seemed to be in a bad mood.

I’ll go to smoke. T.O.P-sshi, you’re coming too? he annouced, rising from chair.

No. I just smoked. Thanks.

You finished eating and checked out if anyone was looking at you in any weird way.

Dad, I’ll be going now, ok? Thanks for your company. You bowed and left studio. You started looking around. You wanted to follow Jiyong so badly. You wanted to see him, to look at him and be with. He usually smoked on the roof so you went there but he wasn’t there. There was also a balcony on second floor where most of people smoked so went there. Jiyong was sitting on the stairs but he didn’t seem like someone who came to smoke a cigarette. He seemed more like someone deep in thought. He noticed you but didn’t say a word. He probably didn’t realise that you came here for him. You came closer.

What are you doing here?

I don’t know.. You seem down. Something’s wrong? You asked him, sitting next to him. He was clearly surprised.

Aren’t we just strangers? Why would you care about my mood?

You could feel bitterness in his voice, even if his face didn’t show any emotions.

But.. we didn’t seem strangers before.

You said yourself that I was just your father’s co-worker. he answered, not even looking at you.

You still remember what I said almost five years ago?! you couldn’t hide how surprised you were. He slowly nodded and started to laugh.

How couldn’t I? I thought that I will be killed by your father after he finds out I hugged his one and only daughter. Wasn’t that inappropriate when you were only 16?

Oh.. I see. you answered shortly, looking at the ground. Sorry for overacting. I was just.. surprised, I guess.

You noticed Jiyong smiling under his nose.

I’m sorry too. I don’t know what came into me. he added and there was something different in tone of his voice. You looked at him and he smiled lightly, looking away. Was is only your imagination or he just gulped?

Just the same way that you used to when you was nervous in front of him? Your felt your stomach coming to your throat. You involuntarily looked at his lips.

What? you asked nervously but he only smiled.His eyes were so beautiful and sparkling.

You even didn’t know when your faces become so close.You felt his breath on your lips and warmth of his body next to you.

Your lips met but just a second before they meant to be linked, your phone started to ring. You flinched on the sound of it so Jiyong moved his head away.

You looked at  display. Your boyfriend was calling you.

Aren’t you going to answer? Jiyong’s voice was cold.

Oh.. Yes.

You picked your phone and you heard your boyfriend’s voice:

Where are you? I found out you’re not home.

Did you check it? I told you before that I’ll be later. you answer with tired tone.

Why didn’t you answer my message? You’ve been ignoring me lately!

I’m not ignoring you. Stop screaming! you answered with anger. I’ll talki with you later. See ya!

Yah..

You disconnected and and looked down. There was a long silence between you and Jiyong. Like both of you were afraid to say anything. You finally got up from stairs. You take few steps but you stopped. You couldn’t just walk away when you almost kissed. But he heard your conversation with your boyfriend..

Min Young-ah.. you heard him and felt a touch of his fingers on your hand. He grabbed it and he quickly stood next to you like he was afraid that you might disappear in one second. When I heard you talking with him, it’s obvious that you’re not doing well. Maybe I’m delusional but it gave me some hope.

Hope? you only whispered, staring deeply in his eyes. You were breathing heavily.

I thought you didn’t like me all this time but now it looks like you care about me too, don’t you?

I-I do.. you mumured. He took both of your hands.

You can call me crazy jerk but I don’t care that you have a boyfriend. He touched your cheek, looking intensely at you. It makes me like you even more. he added and you suddenly felt that your legs became weak. Did he just confessed to you when you thought he didn’t even see you as a love interest?

But.. you started but he stopped you by sudden kiss. It was deep and passionate.

There wasn’t even a second when you just pulled him closer and kissed him back. I like you too, Jiyong.

Woman

Warnings: slight smut at the end! Picture is not mine

 Inspired by “Woman”! Enjoy!

“There is something I need to show you,” he whispered against her lips, gently brushing a lose strand of hair behind her ear while offering his hand for her to grab it. There had been something that he had worked on for a very long while and now that it was finally finished, Harry was so ready to present it to her. The young girl in front of him looked at him with a slight hint of uneasiness in her eyes. She knew she shouldn’t be here in his apartment in the middle of the night and if her father ever found out about her disregard of his rules than she was completely in trouble.

People told her thousand times not get involved with Harry. They claimed he was not a good influence on anybody, trying to put him into a bad shadow. But despite all those warnings, (Y/N) still couldn’t let her fingers away from the attractive young man. It was quite impossible, no matter how much she tried. From the very first moment they met, she was so smitten with him that she instantly developed feelings for him. Feelings that were not one sided but also returned by Harry. There was no way that she would let him go. Other person’s opinions didn’t have an impact on her. She simply didn’t care.

Harry’s smile on his lips widened as she hesitantly took a hold of his hand. With their fingers intertwined, Harry led her to his bedroom where also a part of his studio was set up. Leaving her in the middle of the room once arriving, he pulled out a CD where he had recorded a special song just for her. A song which held so much meaning, love and passion behind it.

He put the CD into the music player and as he pushed the play button, soft music instantly filled the entire room. (Y/N) closed her eyes, her ears only focused on the nice melodies and a chuckle left her lips as she heard a sound that resembled quite to a duck. When she heard his voice, singing “lalala”, her heart increased its beating.

Then she felt his presence closely behind her, so close that his breath was tickling the back of her neck, causing the tiny little hairs to rise up.

“Couldn’t stop thinking about yeh while writin’ on this song,” Harry mumbled, nibbling on the soft flesh of her neck. Her eyes fluttered at the sensation that he caused within her. “You were the only one that consumed my mind.”

He wrapped his arms firmly around her waist, pressing her against his hard chest.

“I’m selfish I know/ But I don’t ever want to see you with him…” he sang along with his recorded voice. (Y/N) knew exactly what he was talking about. There was a time where her father tried to set her up with somebody else only to prevent her from meeting Harry. Her father was a famous lawyer and it definitely bothered him that his one and only daughter were interested in a superstar like Harry.

She still met somebody besides him but only to please her father. Her father had no idea of her secret meetings with the young man that she loved and it all happened behind his back.

“I’m selfish I know/ I told but I know you never listen…” By now, Harry swayed their bodies slowly to the rhythm. He nestled his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her sweet scent of vanilla. This woman in his arms, the woman that he felt like protecting with his whole being, to cherish her, would be the only one in his life that he was going to love unconditionally.  

“I hope you can see/ The shape that I’m in/ While he’s touching your skin…” How much of rage did he feel in his entire body as one time he saw her so called ‘boyfriend’ laying his dirty fingers on her. Right back then he wanted to kill him, he would have if there wasn’t his friends who held him back from fulfilling his intentions.

“He’s right where I should/ Where I should be/ But you’re making me bleed…” Harry knew that he would never be enough in her father’s eyes. He knew he would never get his blessing. He didn’t even have no clue what he did so this man showed his obvious disgust toward him. All he wanted and wished wholeheartedly was to be with this girl without any hidings.

Harry noticed how her heartbeat quickened, he could practically feel it with every fiber of his body. He wanted to show what she did to him. His fingers found their way under her chin, turning her head to the side so she could face him. Her eyes sparkled with amazement and fascination. She still couldn’t figure out that this song was about her. Soon, everybody in the entire planet was going to hear this song but none of them would found out the true meaning behind it.

His eyes went from her eyes down to her full lips. She had bitten on her lower lip quite nervously but still seductively, a gesture which turned him on, making his legs weak and all wobbly.

The atmosphere in the room had become hotter and warmer, they felt it, and yet both of them stood there, looking into each other’s eyes.

A wave of emotions flooded through (Y/N)’s body. Desire is what she felt in the first place and the need to be close to him. She wanted him to devour her, right here in his bedroom. She wanted him to make her his, once and for all.

Harry brought their lips to a heated kiss. On the background you could hear ‘Woman’ being sung, supported by another lines of “lalala”. He fully turned her body around so their chests crashed against each other.

“Touch me, Harry. Please…” (Y/N) moaned, once pulling away and this was the only confirmation that Harry needed. Both were overwhelmed by their feelings for one another. She needed him as much as he needed her.

He ordered her to jump, steadying her legs around his hips and walking towards his bed. He softly put her down onto the covers, then hovering over her tiny frame. Slowly and carefully, they freed each other from their clothes until they were completely exposed to the opponent. Harry took a little while to admire her perfect body, to memorize every little detail of her. The little scar on her left thigh, the stretch marks on her hips. All those particularities that made her the person that she was.

The song continued in the background as he drew a trail of kisses from her chest to her belly. The sweet sounds that escaped her mouth sounded like a melody in his ears. He had never been so in love as he was with her. He looked at her passionately.

“Spread those pretty legs for me, gorgeous.” 

It was soft spoken but yet an order. She complied without any hesitation, giving him a view on her intimate part. Harry was good with his tongue, there was no doubt and he definitely knew how to use it. He gave her an optimum pleasure, licking and sucking her clit to her orgasm. She whimpered as she hit her climax, tugging at his curls that she fisted tightly as Harry began to eat her out. “Harry…” She spoke his name, almost begging.

Harry glanced at her once more, her body glistening with sweat and she looked like an angel in her vulnerable state. Nobody was ever going to see her like this. He would take care of it. He marked her as his own already.

Excitement rushed through their bodies and Harry did want nothing but to bury himself into her. He was aching to feel her entirely. He parted himself away from her just to take a condom which he rolled over his now hardly manhood. (Y/N)’s warm hand stroked over his tummy and the muscles under his skin clenched at her touch, leaving a tingly sensation behind. She slung her arms around his neck, forcing him down to her to connect their lips again.

 “God, woman, I love you so much!” He moaned against her lips.

And as he guided himself into her, carefully and gently, feeling her warmth surrounding him, it felt like heaven had opened its gates only for him.

“Woman/Woman/Woman/Woman…”

If It Were Me Chapter 3: Towards the Western Land

Y'all. This is purely shit. Like a pink troll just came up to you, bent over and shit glitter EVERYWHERE. Yeah. That's what happened to this chapter. Tagging my girls because they are my rocks and my muses. @inunanna @lacyjaybird @keichanz @adorableears7 @kags09 @inukag-4ever Also, @gypsin @shardetector @grapefruitwannabe @artistefish @mmhinman @mustardyellowsunshine @kagomeforever and all the others that showed any interest in this syory. I hope y'all enjoy. My cell does not allow italics or bolding on this one. 😡 so it may be slightly confusing. I'm posting this via my cell, while I wait on help to arrive and jump start my car.... 😂 I'm a moron most days. Anyway, on with the chapter. ---IIWM--- Previously on If It Were Me: Kagome shook her head. “I know a mountain that holds the castle of the Lord Inu no Tashio. The people of the castle concealed it after his death, and rumor has it, it’s now abandoned.” Inuyasha’s ears perked up as he stood. “Take me to it.” She shook her head. “It’s too dangerous.” “So. I have some weird blood flinging power and you have your sacred arrows. We’ll be fine.” Kagome sighed. “Do you really think this is wise?” “I’m the son of the Lord of the West. You’re the Guardian of the Sacred Jewel. I think we got this.” He extended a clawed hand to her and she gratefully took it. “Fine. Let’s go. It’s a three day travel. I warn you, the terrain is tough for someone who is not used to this climate.” She stepped towards the West, Inuyasha following close behind her, hands shoved in his pockets. “Will you be okay, yer shoulder and all?” Kagome cocked her head to the side and smiled with a nod. “It keeps getting better each moment. Crazy how fast that medicine is working.” “Good. Then let’s do this.” He wanted to see the castle his father inhabited, and maybe learn a few things about his family and his demonic side that his father never told him. Plus, a few more days with Kagome wouldn’t be so bad, though hell would have to freeze over before he would admit to such a thing. The priestess in mind kept a steady pace ahead of him with a smile on her face. Kagome was happy he was staying a bit longer too, but he didn’t need to know that either, thus his ego would get to big. Giggling, she peered over her shoulder to see him looking at her. When their gazes locked, they both blushed and averted their eyes. It was going to be an interesting few days. Thus, their journey has just begun.   ---IIWM--- Towards the Western Lands Two days on the road with Kagome were a little more difficult than Inuyasha had imagined. Being a male, and only having an older brother, he had forgotten that women had very specific needs. Even though his mother was very much a woman, he didn't exactly take notice of her feminine hygiene. The duo had camped out near hot springs both of the previous days because Kagome was determined to smell her best while in the company of a man. Kagome had pinched his right, upper arm flab- or Bingo Wings, as some people liked to call it- when he huffed for the fourth time that morning. His arm still hurt so Inuyasha decided it was best not to argue with her. The half-demon honestly had no idea why she was so worried. He actually thought the pure priestess smelled great, like the forest and sunshine. How does sunshine have a smell, idiot? Inuyasha shook his head. If he had said that aloud, Kagome would either have accused him of being mental or a pervert. Clearing his throat with a cough into a closed fist, he settled on not saying a word as Kagome scouted for the perfect campsite. Kagome stopped mid-stride and pointed to a large tree off to the far side of the dirt road. “That looks like a nice spot, what do you think Inuyasha?” Sighing, the half-demon stretched his arms and laced his fingers behind his head. “We’re stopping again, wench?” Kagome shot him a glare over her shoulder causing him to shrink back slightly -a habit he developed dealing with his mother’s temper- and throw his hands up in mock defense as he nodded.  “Fine. It's fine.” Inuyasha had learned that Kagome had a temper that rivaled with his mother's. He walked to a nearby tree and sat down cross legged. Inuyasha noticed his uniform was beyond dirty and his hair had collect enough twigs and leaves to construct a fire pit. Kagome made her way towards him and set down her bow and quiver. Settling beside Inuyasha, she reached out and undid his hair tie. As a reflex, Inuyasha jumped away from her. “Oi, what are you doing?” “I am removing the various items that have collected in your hair for the past two days. The sun will be setting in about an hour. So you can go wash up first and I will clean your clothes. Maybe your father’s castle will have something for you to wear.” Giving her a look that screamed, should I trust you, Inuyasha saw her blue eyes light up as she smiled which caused his accusations to dissipate. Leaning back into her touch, he cast a golden glance over his shoulder.“Hey, are ya feeling any better?” Kagome’s smile widened. “I am.” Inuyasha arched a brow over the same narrowed eye he was assessing her with. Kagome sighed. “It’s sore, but there is no pain. The herbs are working wonders and it’s healing just fine. Now, just relax.” Still uncertain, he stared at her for a moment, before he shrugged and turned back to face the west. Kagome concentrated her power to see past his glamour where the target of her desire hid from normal human eyes. The miko was so careful with his ears and it amazed Inuyasha at her tenderness. He only had to growl once when she accidently ran her fingers over the soft fur. Giggling like a school-girl, Kagome regained her posture and continued removing the debris. She took the time to take in Inuyasha’s form. He had to be the most handsome man she’d ever met and since she spent fifty of her supposedly sixty-eight years of life pinned to a tree, that was the best she could ask for. At the moment the half demon was laid back and calm, however she knew that wasn’t exactly his personality. He had a foul mouth ninety percent of the time and honestly he had no idea how to talk to women, but he sure knew how to treat one. His mother must be an angel. Her thoughts cut short when Inuyasha leaned his head back to look at her. The glamour flickered, but when it was clear again, Kagome sighed. Those golden eyes. “Done wench? The bath sounded like an okay idea.” He muttered. “Oh!” Shaking off the mesmerizing trance his eyes put her in, Kagome pointed right. “Of course. Just go to the hot spring down the hill, and I will take your clothes to the river on our left.” “You want me to get naked and walk to the hot spring from here?” Kagome laughed. “Yes, or would you rather me walk with you, watch you strip, and then take your clothes?” Inuyasha grinned. “If ya wanted to see me naked, all ya had to do was ask.” Once his brain registered the words he had spoken, he immediately regretted them. Scare her off why don’t cha? Spending way too much damn time with Ryou. She didn’t know her face could get so hot. “I—well you see—wait—what?” Trying to play cool and save face, Inuyasha laughed, “I was kidding.” He stood and walked behind the tree. Quickly stripping, he wondered if he should give up his underwear. It dawned on Inuyasha that he probably should incase there wasn’t anything else at the castle. Did men even wear underwear in this era? “Here.” He flung the clothes around the tree. Before she could utter a single word, Inuyasha was already halfway to the hot spring. Laughing, Kagome gathered his clothes and headed to the river. Once she got there, she started separating his clothes out of the bundled up wad Inuyasha had rolled them in. A small thud sounded against the rocky shore and she spotted Inuyasha’s rosary. He had been wearing it from the time they left the village, since he wasn’t one hundred percent sure about his surroundings in her era, but he had just taken it off for whatever reason, and for that she was more than grateful. He was beautiful in any form, but who could pass up on those ears and molten orbs? Not sure what to do with the rosary, Kagome simply placed it around her slender neck. The cool beads felt nice against her skin. “Dog-boy sure has nice taste.” Kagome giggled when she recalled the moment she had demanded he sit next to her by the well. The look that crossed his face was priceless, no doubt he thought she was using the term because he was in fact half dog-demon. “Sit . I can’t believe how cliché that is.” Releasing the fang she was holding, Kagome began to wash his clothes, unaware of the red tint the rosary was suddenly surrounded in. ---IK--- The water was fucking hot. Inuyasha stood there for a moment; the temperature of the isolated spring even moreso hotter than that of a hot tub. He slowly waded in, letting his balls get acquainted with the temperature, before settling down. Finally all the aching muscles in his legs and feet gave into the relaxation and he sighed. “Oh yeah.” He dunked his head back and ran his fingers through his hair. Standing, he shook his head like a mad dog before tying it back so he could rest comfortably against a rock. Inuyasha figured Kagome would come for him before too long so he leaned against the boulder and let the calming steam surround him. It wasn’t so bad until thoughts of a certain raven haired beauty came to his vision in nothing but her birthday suit. His eyes snapped opened before he shook his head. “Oh no, not her.” He grumbled. He couldn’t be attracted to her. He would be gone in a few days, hopefully, so he could not, should not, would not get attached to her. Stop picturing her naked. “Inuyasha. I have your clothes laying out to dry.” Kagome’s voice drifted out from behind a tree and he could see her hand waving to him. “Uh, thanks. Can you throw me my underwear?” “Um, but you don’t have a fundoshi.” Inuyasha ran his palm down his face. “No, but I have underwear. The blue briefs are what my era calls a fundoshi.” How could I forget about fucking fundoshi? Kagome laughed. “Oh. These? Incoming!” The boxers made a flop on the rocks beside the hot spring. “I’ll be at the camp site. I took the liberty of gathering wood for a fire.” Before he could answer she shouted out. “And hurry up. It’s my turn.” He grinned. In a teasing voice he shouted back. “You could just join me.” Kagome was silent for a moment, but soon she appeared from behind the tree. “You don’t mind?” He gaped at her before burying himself deeper into the water. Hold up. I was only kidding. He thought, only no words would come out of his mouth. Moving closer, she motioned towards his briefs. “I’ll leave mine on too. The bandages are not in the way of my cleansing.” Inuyasha gulped, but nodded anyway and slipped on his briefs as she turned away to strip behind a rock. Kagome returned wearing the bandages that tightly supported her breasts and a koshimaki that she lifted and tied between her thighs. Inuyasha thought the thin material looked like a diaper the way she had wrapped herself up, but it was a little hard not to notice how the thin white material became see through once she waded into the water across from him. She sat down and gently began washing. Not once making eye contact with the handsome half-demon in front of her. Inuyasha had to tear his gaze away- it was like ripping a bandaid off of a hairy arm-, but once she began to clean her face and neck, he noticed his rosary against her porcelain skin. “Kagome, is that my charm?” Delicate hands stopped mid rinse as her eyes snapped open and she gasped. “Oh! I’m sorry! I forgot about it. I was- um washing your clothes and it had fallen out. I didn’t have anywhere to put it so I put it on so I wouldn’t lose it. I know how important it is to you.” She hastily shot out her excuse as she reached to take it off. Inuyasha was baffled for a moment before he let out a laugh. “Calm down. I was only curious. You can wear it. It's not like I have to have it right now. I’ll let ya know when I need it.” He didn’t know what possessed him to let her keep it on for the time being, but the words flew out of his mouth as if he was destined to say them. Kagome nodded and continued cleaning herself. A blush appeared on her cheeks and she kept her eyes cast downward. She was tempting, even for his age he knew how bad he had it for the beautiful woman. Maybe it was just lust, he was just lusting after her body. She was fit with her tight belly, decent size breasts, full hips and a round butt to top it off. Now that she was wearing something that was his, something very important to him- well, it didn’t help his case of blue balls. Lust. That was it. He was a man after all, but that didn’t stop the thoughts running through his head. Think of Sesshomaru naked. That worked, yeah- he was good. Kagome smiled. “Inuyasha?” He snapped his attention back to her. “Yeah?” She was making her way over to him and his breathing hitched. “Would you mind washing my back? I know we changed the dressing this morning, but I can still feel the hardened paste from the herbs Kaede sent with us.” He nodded and wet his hands. Careful of his claws, he slowly massaged the green paste from below the bandages on her arm and back. It was a little hard to get off, but he finally chipped the last of it away. She sunk below the surface as he moved his hands tenderly across her back. Kagome wasn’t sure how relationships acted in his time, but she thought he must be with someone at his age. “Are you married, Inuyasha?” That question stumped him and he retracted his hands quickly. “Say what now?” She turned to see a very confused look on his face. “Married. Do the wedding customs differ in your time? Many of the young adult villagers are married. Eighteen is considered an adult. We have villagers as young as eleven marry.” Inuyasha laughed. “No. They are very different. In my time, many people are still not married and some are a lot older than eighteen.” Her face twisted. “Seriously?” He nodded. “So you are not?” “No and I am not seeing anyone either.” That was a lie. He wasn’t sure what possessed him to say that. He had been seeing Haruka on and off for the past six months, but he honestly didn't consider it a steady relationship. “Oh.” Was all she seemed to have left to say. “Demons don’t marry in the way humans do. Half demons don’t either. Demons mate for life. My father mated my human mother and in doing so he was able to share his life span with her. Demons can live for centuries so now she can live as long as my father does. I’m half-demon so if I were to marry a human, I would share my life span with her, except we wouldn’t live as long as full blooded demons do. When two full blooded demons mate, nothing changes except their bond. Neither would have to share their life span to keep their mate alive. My half-brother mated a full blooded, wind demon-” “Brother?” “Sesshomaru-” “Sesshomaru is your brother?” Kagome seemed almost appauld. “Half-brother and I forgot he lived this era too. Have you ever met him?” “Only once, cold hearted bastard.” Kagome crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “He killed without mercy and left with no remorse.” Inuyasha halted all movement. “I didn’t do anything so put those veins back in yo7r forehead.” When she presented him with a small smile, he reached over to poke her in the cheek. “You can do better than that. Come on.” Kagome giggled and Inuyasha grinned as he continued to remove the remaining dried paste. “He ain't that way anymore. I mean he’s still a bastard, but he doesn’t kill now. Like I mentioned before he’s mated to a wind demoness named Kagura.” “That’s someone I’ve never met.” She placed her finger to her chin, as she thought to recall the name. “Nope, no wind demoness’ in my lifetime, but I have been passed out for fifty years.” Kagome laughed at her own joke. Inuyasha rolled his eyes with a snort as he rinsed off her back. “Done.” Kagome turned to him and smiled. “Thank you.” The half demon locked eyes with the priestess. She was missing fifty years of her life, but in his eyes it was like a blessing. He was glad he was able to meet her now and while she was still young. Does that make me a bad person for being happy she was pinned to the tree for fifty years so I could meet her by chance? Inuyasha shook his head when her voice interrupted his thoughts. “Let’s get back to camp. I am starving.” Nodding, they stood and walked back to camp after they gathered their clothes. Once they got settled around the fire, he noticed a dead rabbit lying by the rigged skewers she had set up next to the fire. “You killed it?” Kagome nodded once as she smiled wide. She looked so proud of herself. He watched her walk over to the fallen animal and pick it up. Pulling a knife from her quiver, she looked at him and crouched down before turning her back. “Oi, woman, what cha doin’?” Kagome glanced over her shoulder. “I have to skin it and gut it so I can cook it.” He walked over to her and looked at the animal. The priestess brought the knife down to skin it. “How do you cook food in your time?” “A stove mostly.” Her confused expression caused him to elaborate. “It’s a device used for cooking. You can cook on the top of it or inside of it. Really, it’s not as complicated as I make it sound.” Either she didn’t care, or she was too confused to care, and she turned away and finished her task. Soon she had the rabbit skewed and roasting over the heat of the fire. “Damn. It actually smells good I don't think I’ve ever had rabbit like this before.” “I'm glad you approve so far. Wait until you taste it. I use to cook quite often. Rabbit stew was my specialty. However, I had the tendency to cook enough for the whole village.” She rotated the rabbit. “I’m not used to cooking small proportions. So the village started to contribute once a week for me to cook the stew. Other nights we would eat rice balls and fish.” “That river that runs in front of the village must be a nice accommodation for you.” He tried to continue the small talk. “It is.” She pulled the rabbit up and took a small taste. “Perfect. Here taste.” Kagome pulled a small piece off the side and extended the offer to him. Inuyasha didn't  move at first, but then Kagome huffed and moved closer until she was directly beside him. A faint blush crossed their features as she offered him the bite once more, this time he accepted it as he opened wide. Kagome placed the piece in his mouth. When his tongue accidentally touched her thumb and pointer finger, Kagome jumped at the sensation. Inuyasha tried not to let her see him grin. The two ate in utter silence. So much for the small talk. Inuyasha thought. He finished his portion of the meal and stood to grab his clothes hanging from a nearby branch. The damp underwear was a little uncomfortable in his uniform, but he would have to make do. He did not want to know what a fundoshi was that men wore in this time. Soon, Kagome yawned and settled back against the trunk of a large tree. Inuyasha had decided in order to watch over the miko better, he would perch himself in the same tree so he could see farther distances and hear better from each direction. Kagome set her weapons in her lap and wrapped her arms around them loosely. “Goodnight, Inuyasha.” The half-demon grunted in response. Sleep was looming over him and he gave in to the temptations before he even realized Kagome had fallen asleep minutes before. His last thoughts were what a catch the pure priestess actually was. ---IK--- Kikyou was dreading looking for Kagome. She honestly did not want to kill her cousin, but now that she was awake, Naraku would do anything to get rid of her and whatever demon had come to grab her attention. She wasn’t even sure if Kagome was still alive, if the aura of the demon she had sensed was actually as powerful as she thought. In all honesty, Kagome could be dead already. Which would save me the trouble. Kikyou wasn’t sure what possessed her to hate her cousin so much. The pure priestess was a gentle soul, so full of life and love. Maybe Kikyou was jealous, as Kaede had always put it. “Ye really crossed the line Kikyou. Going after Onigumo the way you did.” The young girl had told her sister after Kagome had caught them kissing one afternoon. Of course Onigumo had denied the act, but he knew Kagome was no fool. “Ye are just jealous that Kagome finally found love and it had nothing to do with the sacred jewel.” Oh but it did, dear sister. The jewel was Onigumo’s target all along. When Kagome had found him that fateful day, he had no idea who she actually was, but after a few weeks with her, realization struck him. Kagome was the guardian of the Shikon no Tama and he wanted it, no he desired it. The whole falling in love and spending the rest of his life with Kagome was a lie. He never wanted the guardian, never wanted a life with her, he only wanted the jewel she protected. Or so he had told Kikyou. When Onigumo and Kikyou met, all he could do was fawn over her. Onigumo used Kagome, used her for his own selfish reasons and love had nothing to do with it. He had promised Kagome that he would love her forever, but only when she became a free woman. However, he swore to Kikyou that each day he was with her he loved her more than he could express. She believed him and that was her downfall. They advised a plan to get rid of Kagome so Kikyou could have everything she wanted; Onigumo, and the true love of a man. She didn’t need to possess the jewel anymore, but he did. Onigumo wanted to possess the power it held so he could reign supreme in all the lands. The only thing in their way was Kagome. He told Kikyou to kill her, to get the pink marble and they could finally be free and live together like man and wife. The older priestess had agreed to the whole thing and went to her cousin begging for forgiveness for the actions she had displayed with Onigumo. Kikyou’s apology was nothing but a ploy to get close to Kagome, but being the woman Kagome was, her heart far bigger than most, she forgave the older priestess. Kikyou took her chance to take the sacred pearl, but failed in the end. When Kikyou escaped empty handed, a thought struck her like a lightning bolt; she could give Onigumo the powers he wanted without the jewel. The priestess dabbled in black magic, mixing herbs and other various items until a large cloud of purple smoke rose from her mixing bowl. Kikyou poured the contents into a small tin, and went off to find Onigumo. He was resting under a tree when she approached him. Standing he reached a hand out to her. “Where is the jewel?” “I was unable to get it.” He had a scowl on his face. “You told me you would get the jewel, Kikyou. Do you not love me? Am I not worth this small task?” She nodded eagerly. “Of course, which is why I brought this.” She shifted her haori and brought forth the covered tin. “Drink this and I can give you the power of 1000 demons.” Onigumo snatched the silver tin up and downed the contents. Kikyou pulled a small blade from her haori and swiftly plunged it deep into his chest, directly into his heart. He let out a vigorous scream as she had begun to chant, a white ring surrounded them. Onigumo was on his knees, the deep, red blood dripping from his wound and her hands. The light disappeared and a swarm of demons came rushing forth from the sky. Kikyou fell back out of the way as Onigumo absorbed them into his body. “Onigumo, your body is restored.” Kikyou announced. She stood and walked to him. Placing her hand in the center of his back, she ran her fingers over a large spider-shaped scar. He stood there, adjusting to his new flesh. His eyes blood red, his hair grew far too long and the color of midnight, and his voice became ever so empty. “You know what I need?” The voice was deeper, colder, evil. "Yes, Onigumo.” “Call me Naraku.” He laughed and pulled her to him. Quickly she fell into his arms as he kissed her passionately. Naraku had pulled her to him, turning to press her against the tree. He gently pulled her hakamas down running his hands up her now bare thighs. Bracing Kikyou against the tree trunk, he brought her leg up to wrap around his narrowed waist. Once situated, he entered her, quickly thrusting into Kikyou’s warm body as she used his shoulders to steady her balance. Soon he had both her legs around him, pounding vigorously inside of her lithe body. Both gave a cry of pleasure as Naraku dropped her slowly to her feet and pulled free. It ended as quickly as it happened. That was also the night he had taken Kaede’s eye. The once young child had tried to protect Kagome from Naraku who had shaped himself into Kikyou’s form. Kaede knew something was wrong with the person before them and she attempted to shoot an arrow towards him. Naraku laughed at her attempt and shot forth a cluster of tentacles from his arm which Kaede desperately tried to dodge. Kaede cried out as they impaled her, tearing a gash into her shoulder and eye. Kikyou had been oblivious to his plan and her young sister had paid the price. “And all of it was for the stupid Shikon no Tama.” She muttered. Shaking her head the dead priestess kept walking to Kaede’s village. Kikyou needed to pay her sister a visit, and if Kagome was there, so be it. ---IK--- “Inuyasha? You awake?” Kagome’s voice came out a little louder than she meant for it to. Inuyasha woke with a start, falling from the tree branch he was resting on. “What the hell, wench?!” Kagome suppressed a laugh as he stood rubbing his sore backside. “It’s time to get going.” She nodded towards the mountains in the distance. “We should be there before dark.” Inuyasha grinned. “We can get there faster if you climb on.” He knelt down and waited for her to move. “Are you sure?” She cocked her head and placed her bow and quiver on her back. “Yes, now get on, we ain’t got all day.” She could tell he was getting a bit irritated, so she climbed on, minding his long hair and held on tight. “Alright. Hold on!” With that, he pushed off the ground with a powerful thrust causing the beautiful woman on his back to gasp. Oh I’m going to enjoy this. He gripped her thighs firmer as she held on to his shoulders a little tighter. Kagome squealed with delight as Inuyasha bounced off towards the West. She opened her cerulean blue eyes only to narrow them as the wind whipped her in the face. However, she was still able to experience the beauty around her. It was sight Kagome had never seen. From the height in which he was jumping to, the miko was able to get a whole new outlook on her homeland. The leaves were multiple shades of green and moved fluently with the gentle wind. The sunlight ricocheted off the water producing a sparkling diamond like effect. She was in awe. Kagome's left hand tightened on his left shoulder as her right arm extended up in the air as if giving the sky a high five. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Kagome gave off an excited whoo-hoo as she threw her head back. Inuyasha almost missed his next landing, but as he glanced over his shoulder and witnessed the pure joy etched across her face, he smiled. The sun was hitting her just right, making her glow like one of her sacred arrows. When Kagome finally opened her eyes to look directly into his golden orbs- a mega-watt smile plastered across her face- he couldn't help think--- Kagome was the greatest, fucking woman he had ever met. He just wasn't sure what exactly how he was supposed to assess the feeling he was starting to get the past few days. A matching blush spread over the bridge of their noses and they both turned away. However, neither one released the grip they had beneath their fingers as if they truly didn't want to. The spark that had ignited between them was starting to grow and no one would be able to extinguish it. Ever. ---TBC---