#best assured they are all always in my brain… even more not pictured here | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pourcap · 6 months

Text

thoughts: kr chapter 15 (pt. 1)

'If they come this way—’ said Nikandros in a low voice. ‘Hey!’ Laurent called out. (...) i bet this will make nikandors love laurent even more :)

(...) Brief visions of strangling Laurent weren’t helpful. (...) damen is the best protagonist ever

(...) Damen judged the distance between himself and the nearest of the approaching soldiers, his chances of killing them, of killing enough of them to even the odds for the others. (...) also does damen's mind ever not immediately go this route? imagine constantly being so on edge because you feel like you have to fight and protect because that's all you've ever known, and because you're the best at it so everyone's survival depends on how quickly you eliminate threat. so exhausting.

(...) ‘You are Charls the renowned Veretian cloth merchant?’ said the officer sceptically, as if this was a name well known to him. ‘No,’ said Laurent, as if this was the most foolish thing in the world. ‘I am Charls the renowned Veretian cloth merchant. This is my assistant. Lamen.' ummmm. okay. 'as if it was the most foolish thing in the world' made me laugh. laurent's brashness lol. also i absolutely love how laurent just went for the ship name, which is of course veeery far off from damen's actual name so they totally won't risk being found out at all

'I don’t suppose your men could aid us in our repairs?’ said Laurent. Damen stared at him. They were encircled by fifty mounted Akielon soldiers. Jokaste was inside that wagon. no way that's why laurent stopped them. is he insane???? i can 100% picture the way damen's staring at him.

just remembered "it's the game i like" so i'm guessing this turn of event makes sense

The officer said, ‘We’re patrolling for Damianos of Akielos.’ ‘Who’s Damianos of Akielos?’ said Laurent. His face was utterly open, his blue eyes unblinking, upturned to the officer on his horse. ahhhhh!!! oh god. also i looove when laurent puts on this faux-innocent look he used so much in book one. it's just so amusing to me bc he's such an asshole and i mean this very lovingly

(...) Nikandros had the slightly stupefied look that Damen remembered from several of his own adventures with Laurent. (...) can you believe i'm getting emotional over this? because damen knows laurent now. because laurent is known. for probably the first time in his life except for by auguste he has someone who really actually genuinely knows him and appreciates him for the way his mind works. i just love laurent and damen so much <3

Damen followed him in, acutely aware that he was being separated from his men. Laurent simply walked into the inn. such an interesting nod to how damen feels more comfortable in the presence of his men (whether that's because he feels the need to protect them or because there's safety in numbers in general) whereas laurent had to rely on only himself for the past years

(...) Perhaps he could overwhelm Stavos. He could negotiate some kind of exchange, Stavos’s life for their freedom. his brain just won't stop omg. imagine constantly thinking about how to get out of situation that could end in your death (also imagine how intimidating damen must look to an outsider since he's basically just always coming up with battle plans in his head lol)

'I can assure you. Charls the renowned merchant is already here.' noooooooo

'That is impossible. Call him out here.' ohh the audacity. laurent can be such a prince

Charls took one look at the unmistakable blue eyes and blond hair of his Prince, who he had last seen in Damen’s lap dressed as a pet in a tavern at Nesson. His eyes widened. Then, with a truly heroic effort: ‘Charls!’ said Charls. hahhaaha no way. bless the real charls <3

they're all charls :')

'Thank you, Charls, this man believes I am the King of Akielos,’ said Laurent. god he's soooo annoying i love him so much

'An agent of the King when he has raised taxes and threatens to bankrupt the entire cloth industry?’ said Laurent. Damen put his eyes somewhere where they wouldn’t meet Laurent’s, (...) i repeat: he's so annoying and i love him so much. also a fed up damen is so funny to me

'You speak very good Akielon,’ he said, loudly and slowly. ‘Thank you,’ said Damen. ohh that reminds me of that scene in book one when laurent had damen drugged and this guy told damen that laurent had an eye for detail or something lol

'(...) Nikandros is completely useless as the Kyros,’ Laurent said, loudly enough for Nikandros to hear him. ‘He doesn’t know the first thing about cloth.' oh my god laurent stop antagonizing your boyfriend's best friend!!!

Damen looked over at Laurent, who was deep in conversation, letting his eyes pass slowly over every familiar feature, the cool expression tipped with gold in the firelight. He said, ‘Did he?’ ‘Charls said, think of the most expensive pet you’ve ever seen, then double it.’ ‘Really?’ said Damen. damen stop getting horny pt. 34972387

'Of course, Charls knew who he was right away, because he couldn’t hide his princely style, and nobility of spirit.’ ‘Of course,’ said Damen. hahahhahaha awww i love charls and i'm happy that in the future he'll have some new tales to tell about this moment right now

'Maybe you could encourage Akielons to wear sleeves. You’d sell more cloth,’ said Laurent. Everyone laughed politely at the joke, and then speculative looks crossed one or two faces, as if this young cousin of Charls’s might have stumbled by accident onto a good idea. you can always count on laurent to find a new way to be a nuisance to akielos <3

ahhhh did laurent push their mattress together to sleep next to damen????? i'm crying. sobbing, actually <3

they're kissing !!! i love them soooo much i can't even put it into words anymore, my heart just goes "!!!" every time they're close to each other

Laurent didn’t seem to care, even seemed to like it. Damen pressed him into the wall, and took his mouth. Laurent smelled of soap and fresh cotton. Damen’s thumbs pushed into his waist. laurent being turned on by damen's sweat... honestly if we got laurent's pov, he'd probably be just as intense about damen as damen is about him. they're truly a match made in heaven.

(...) They had not before had the luxury of extended lovemaking, deliberate and unhurried as a First Night. His thoughts ribboned with all the things they had yet to do. damen is such a softie!!! he's seriously just thinking about all the things he still wants to experience with laurent. he's so cute :')

(...) It was charming, because it was clear that Laurent was unsure exactly what to do, yet, typically, had acted to take control of everything. again: he knows laurent so well by now! i'm so emotional.

'First time to entertain a lover?’ Just saying the word made him flush, and he saw Laurent flush too. god. goooood. godddddd.

(...) He watched Laurent react to his body. Virgins and the inexperienced tended to get nervous, which he enjoyed as a challenge to be overcome, hesitancy turned into eagerness and pleasure. It pleased some deep part of him to see in Laurent the flickering of a similar reaction. (...) hmmmmm. :)))))))) i mean, he's wrong obviously, but i am super happy that laurent gets to experience sex with a good man who he finds attractive and who he likes and who is, on top of all that, great at sex <3

And dropped to his knees on the floor of the inn. i'm getting teary-eyed over a blowjob. seriously. i'm just so proud of laurent and of him taking initiative because he wants to do this with and for damen !!!!

that description of the contrast between laurent's internal struggle and practiced skill makes me sick

#i keep forgetting tumblr has a character limit now 😭#capri #captive prince #laurent #laurent of vere #damen #damen of akielos #damianos #damianos of akielos #lamen

142 notes · View notes

alittleofsomethingarts · 2 days

Text

So, everyone, I got a story about this picture right here. I will include some pics from the process and there's even a moral at the end.

So the client approached me about it, I sketched it out, standard affair. It was supposed to be a gif image and I imagined her moving side to side while her sword glowed.

Mistake number one I did not plan out the side to side movements. This was the only rough I did before I started rendering it.

"Wow this is going to be so cool" I thought.

"This is going to be a piece of cake"

I wanted to animate it on Clip Studio Paint EX that I got this year specifically so I could do animation there.

I ended up drawing all the assets and I was happy with them. Side note, in pixelated animation it is better to use as little colors as possible, and I ended up having a lot more than 256 colors with the colored lineart here n stuff. That was my mistake number two. I really need to work on that.

I warmed my hands as the program was opening, ready to do some animation, only to come across a very unexpected problem.

In the end I have made a reddit post describing it, but you can basically see the results of it in this test animation

I spent an entire freaking day trying to figure out what to do with the blurring. It seems that it functions as intended, but it would be really nice if CSP didn't do this. I had to go back to photoshop to do the actual animation.

... I couldn't quite do the diagonal movement I wanted. Right, so I settled on this.

I drew like 3 movement frames for the white and blue cape and ended up not using it because it looked awful. And the sleeve movement is so wrong.

This is why you test these things, guys! In sketch phase!

So I made these static gifs, thinking this is probably over now and I did a good job.

Nope. Not even close.

My big brain missed one crucial detail in the initial sketching phase...

IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A BIG BEEFY GLOWING SWORD!

To be fair the initial glow was cool, the client didn't realize what I've been drawing. So we both missed it. Okay, fine. I decided to just redraw the glow, thankfully it didn't take long at all.

... Right we got another problem. How do I animate a sudden burst of energy coming from the sword?

... Oh no.

My head drew a blank.

I felt... I felt... Like a failure. I failed the client. I thought I could do this but it's not right.

I decided to slap a glowing effect and hide the burst under a white screen.

I couldn't imagine anything better.

Despair, utter despair.

In the end the version that looked the best was this one.

Feeling horrible, I decided to make a free quickie for the client to make up for my failures.

I poured my disappointment with myself and my ability to come up with cool animation into this little tiny owl that did nothing wrong. I gave her the most adorable but angry stare I could muster.

She's angry because she's short

... too short for this picture.

The client assured me that my work was fully acceptable from start to finish and that it's all great. That I shouldn't beat myself up.

But I usually get it all from the very beginning, you see. I typically don't do too much revisions. This kind of situation is not common. I wasn't able to see my clients needs and make the kind of gif that was needed from the beginning.

And I've been tipped extra for this picture too.

It's like the money I got was not quite worth the gif I ended up with.

I suppose it covered the extra useless work I did drawing the assets, but... I feel guilty, like I ripped off the client.

If I just needed to draw the static gif with some glow I could've made it cheaper.

Perhaps I undervalue myself and it costs more than I charged for it.

I don't know.

The moral of the story is DO TEST ANIMATIONS IN SKETCH PHASE. ALWAYS. FOR EVERYTHING.

I swear I got it the first time, why make this mistake so many years later? smh...

#storytime #art commissions

7 notes · View notes

masterwords · 2 years

Text

stuck like glue

Summary: Teenage shenanigans. Jess drags Hotch and Sean out to the lake for a lazy summer afternoon and things do not go as planned.

Pairings: None (Well, Hotch & Haley, but she's not in the story)

Warnings: abuse, injuries (back & hand), near drowning

Notes: Oh my gosh. I wrote something. Like an actual story came from my brain and made it to SO MANY WORDS after more than a month of a dry spell. Hopefully this means we'll have more...I have a few prompts in my inbox to get to, and a few others. This is kind of meant to be a backstory for ANOTHER long one I'm working on that will hopefully be done this week.

Word Count: 6.7k

Read on AO3: stuck like glue

She was tired. Exhausted, really. Summer classes started in two weeks (right along with her cushy job at the movie theatre) and it was the only two weeks she'd have fully off...she'd been planning to spend it riding her bike to the lake and sitting all day on the sand. It was more of a glorified watering hole, bigger than a pond but nothing like the grand lakes most kids would go spend their entire summers at. The reeds that surrounded its murky waters were as tall as she was, tall enough to afford her enough privacy that sometimes she decided to make sure her top half was properly and evenly tanned. No one around for miles to yell “Hey, Jess, put those things away!”

But her lake plans were on hold because Haley and Hotch were supposed to be camp counselors for a whole week and then Hotch had to go and get himself hurt. She wasn't really sure how bad it was, she hadn't had time to see him yet (or maybe she'd been avoiding him) but Haley assured her it was bad. So first he missed summer camp, and then he would miss tryouts for Shakespeare at the park, and to add insult to injury, he wouldn't make it to auditions for the summer production at the Children's Theatre. He was up a creek without a paddle, stuck at home with Sean for the foreseeable future. At least that had been the idea, but like all things in his life...plans change, and never in accordance with his desires.

On his first full day alone at home after "the fall" as Haley had come to call it so quickly, she'd taken her bike to his house just to see. His dad was at work, his mom had tennis, Haley was wrangling rowdy kids at summer camp and he was alone with Sean. With her backpack slung over one shoulder, she skidded her bicycle down the gravel road, twisting and going hands free every now and then, her unruly lion's mane blowing wildly in the wind. Two weeks of summer and planned to suck up every last drop, no matter what.

But she was so tired, and by the time she was dumping her bike on the Hotchner lawn and tugging the cuffs of her overalls back down, she'd already worried about what she was going to walk in to find. She could see Sean through the big picture window. He was standing over the couch pouting and she knew better than to knock. Hotch was hurt but he'd get up anyway, and she knew where the key was kept so there was really no reason to put any of them through it. He'd get up, she'd scold him for it...best to avoid it entirely.

Third board to the right of the rug, the one with the heart shaped knot, she peeled it up and pulled the key out quickly, getting the door open before he even had a chance to sit himself up. She'd been worried for nothing though, because at the moment of her entry, he couldn't have managed sitting up on his own. Not even as stubborn as he was.

“What are you doing here?” he grumbled, always finding a reason to be mad at something. She huffed and put her hands on her hips, staring at him, assessing the situation. Like hell she was going to be taking any shit from a kid who couldn't even roll himself over unassisted.

“Haley said you got hurt.” She paused, licking her Dr. Pepper chapstick lips and frowned, lowering her voice an octave. “Your dad?”

His sudden frown mirrored hers. “No.”

“Yeah right.” She wasn't about to let him lie to her, but this time he wasn't lying and he explained it in as few words as possible. The pain in his back was still fresh and at times overwhelming, he really didn't have the energy to expend on words. But he could find enough for this, to let his dad off the hook this time.

“I fell out of the treehouse.”

She rolled her eyes, but crouched beside him anyway to hear the rest of the sorded tale. Sean threw his arms happily around her neck, his sticky popsicle mouth tickling against her cheek when he whispers to her that Hotch is actually telling the truth. “I went up there to fix a broken railing, didn't want Sean to fall...”

“Well you're obviously not much of a handyman then, huh?” But she softened her tone and touched a scrape on his arm, probably the least of his concerns but it was big and angry red. “How bad is it?”

He looked at Sean and nodded for him to leave the room for a minute. “I told Sean I'm okay,” he started quietly, his voice hoarse and thick with what she suspected might be tears he'd been choking back for his brother's sake. “But I don't know. I can barely walk, Jess.”

“You know that's what hospitals are for, right?”

“Jess,” he groaned, letting his eyes drift closed miserably. “I can't do that and you know it.”

“Why the hell not?” Except she knew damn well why the hell not. He didn't need to explain to her the delicacy of his situation, his father, the hospital. He was skating on thin ice.

“Just tell them Aaron. They'll call the cops and...”

“And if my dad goes to jail, then what? He's the only income we have...”

That was it. That was how her summer started. And after two weeks, when she was working and taking morning classes to get ahead of her senior year, she thought that was the worst it could get.

And then Haley went to cheer camp and Hotch got a job and things got worse.

It wasn't an ideal summer job, but then, the idea of a job over the summer really wasn't ideal to begin with. Not that Hotch minded working, he actually quite liked keeping his hands and his mind busy but working for his father's firm was about the last thing he would have wanted to do. He would rather shovel slop from the sewers, and if such a job existed and was hiring, he might be inclined to apply. His father's full-time assistant was taking on twice as much work since the elder Hotchner had gotten sick, and they needed a file clerk. That meant another paycheck to dole out...unless he could get someone to do the work for free.

Enter his son whose relatively new back injury had sidelined him from just about every summer plan he'd mapped out to keep himself busy and out of the house for nearly sixty days.

“Honey, he needs your help and you can use the experience when you apply to universities...” His mother was a fierce negotiator. She always appealed to his good nature first in the hope that he wouldn't press further, but in this instance, he wasn't going down without a fight. This wasn't just going to ruin his summer, it would have tendrils that licked and twisted into every aspect of his life forever, he knew it. “Besides, what else are you going to do? Lay around like a lump and watch the television all day? If you let that back injury become an excuse, you'll regret it forever.”

It was a vague illusion of power, of autonomy. She was still phrasing it like it was a question, like he had options. He knew he really had no choice, though. He would work for his father because she was right...what else would he do with his summer? He'd just worked up to being able to ride his bike short distances again without wanting to die, so all of his youth summer camp and sports dreams were dead in the water. The community pool only enticed him for about the first week or two when there was still enough of a chill in the air that the pool wasn't packed. When the temperatures exploded into the triple digits and the humidity was off the charts, unless you wanted to pack in like sardines, you couldn't hang out there anymore. Kids shitting in the pool every other day didn't help, either, because then the rivers and the lakes were packed.

Anyway, his back hurt too much to argue with her. She had an ice pack and some tylenol in her hands and almost seemed to be witholding them until he offered her his reluctant agreement. Then he got the pills and the iced tea and the kiss on the top of the head that made his skin crawl.

“Good honey,” she smiled. And then came the insult to injury. He wouldn't be getting a paycheck. “You're getting paid in experience,” she hissed, her honeyed smile twisting when he asked how he was supposed to pay for gas to and from the office if he wasn't getting a paycheck. “Jessica works at the movie theatre doesn't she? See if she can help you get on there part time. You could run a show or scoop some popcorn...Sean wouldn't mind a free ticket or two.” He didn't want to do that, though. A full-time unpaid job at his father's was already a nightmare but to put a part time job on top of it? He did want to see Haley and his friends at some point in the summer so he caved and agreed that the office would be fine, yes, he'd be happy to just get experience and instead he got well acquainted with walking or riding his bike. No self-respecting 17-year-old rode their bike when they had access to a car, but then, he'd realized a long while before that he really wasn't all that self-respecting. He just existed. Riding his bike hurt his back, but then so did the endless bending over and reaching up high and carrying box after box of files so what was one more thing? It would eventually heal. And if not...

“Psst,” Jess hissed from the office doorway, her mountain of curls piled high on her head to expose her neck. She was sweating, it was damn hot outside. The air was soupy and thick and she, bless her soul, had come on her bike. Jess wasn't worried about being a self-respecting teenager...she loved her bike and the wind in her hair as it whipped around like a lion's mane in her face. More than that, she loved that she would ride with him out into the dirt trails and up into the cool shade of the woods to their own little oasis. A tiny creek that bubbled icy water ankle deep. She and Haley and Hotch would spend hours there on the hottest days, basking in the shade and the frigid water. She'd even managed to throw Sean onto her banana seat and bring him along once or twice now that he was old enough. They could all be free with only the bees and the crickets for company. “You done yet slowpoke?”

He glanced up at her, surprised at the time and sighed. Not fast enough, he tried to hide his hand but she caught sight of it. Angry and red knuckles, a bruise pooling pale blue and spreading from his middle finger up the back of his hand. He was filing one handed and moving slowly. It wasn't the bruise that caught her eye and held it though, it was the tiny crimson crescent of blood that made her sigh and level her stare at him. Accusing but soft enough. “No,” he said softly, pulling his hand behind his back. “I'm going to be a while. Go on without me.”

That would have turned most people away. If it were his friend Ben, he would have shrugged, blown a bubble with his Big League Chew bubblegum and popped it on his way out. No big deal, he would say. Not Jess, though. She walked in with her arms folded over her chest, chewing her Fruit Stripes gum loudly and he watched her eyes trail the stacks of paperwork he was sorting and filing. One handed. Pretending to use both hands was getting him nowhere...and anyway, he was pretty sure it wasn't broken. Just bruised. Just stupid and bruised. “Can I help? I got two hands...” She smirked and he mimicked her in his snottiest way, a brief moment of levity in an otherwise too heavy moment.

“You should go...” He was pleading and the despair in his voice made her shiver. He'd managed to protect Haley from his father. She hadn't even met him yet, a fact that distressed her endlessly. Like she thought maybe he didn't like her if he wouldn't bring her home, but Jess had met him more than once and she could attest to his skittishness when it came to bringing Haley around. Jess wasn't like Haley, she wasn't fragile and sweet, she had a hard enough exterior that she could take his father with a grain of salt. She didn't need to be protected. Still, he wanted to keep her from his wrath.

“What, your dad would be upset if someone else helped get work done for him? I doubt it. Who would turn down free labor?”

“J-Jess...” His voice was scarcely above a whisper but she heard that stutter loud and clear. It made her freeze, cocking her head slightly to the side. He hadn't stuttered in a while now, not since he'd joined the debate team and learned how to regulate his cadence and word choices. Not since they'd worked so hard to get past it. Something had happened and she didn't like it. She scrunched her nose and he pleaded with her silently to let it drop, not to make him say another word. Jess thought it was working here that was bringing it out (and that hand...probably punched a wall...he was falling apart) but you couldn't say anything like that to his mother. She would huff and puff and fire off a litany of excuses until you gave in, a quivering puddle, and admitted that it was the child's weak spirit and he needed toughening up.

He needed no such thing, at least insofar as Jess could see. “Let me help. I know my ABC's, Hotchner, I can file...”

“Miss Brooks, to what do we owe the pleasure?” The voice was syrupy and Southern, dripping with charm and she felt her neck flush. Shrinking momentarily, she watched as Hotch looked down at his papers sheepishly and she saw his adam's apple bob up and down. The change in his demeanor was automatic and she'd never hated anything more in her life.

“Mr. Hotchner,” she swung around, adjusting her own posture and smiling her best. No anger, no fear, she couldn't let him see how he made her feel. Men like this, she knew all too well from her own father's stories about too many nights down at the townie bar...they needed to feel you shrink before them. She wouldn't allow it. With that forced stage smile she extended her hand to him. “Aaron and I were going to ride to the library to do some research. We were assigned...” Hotch shuddered at her lie and forced his please-don't-let-it-be-broken hand to close around a manilla folder and slide it into place. Anything to avoid the way he would blow her lie right out of the water.

“It can wait, you have all summer. Aaron has work to do.” He was dismissive and disappeared quickly, without another word. The less time he hung around, the less she had to put on the brave front and the less she had to watch her friend cower like a mouse. While Jessica went red with anger, Hotch only breathed a sigh of relief. That had gone about as good as he could ever dare hope. Better, maybe. Her lie had gone over like a lead balloon, but he hadn't called either of them on it and for that he was grateful.

“You really should go.”

“Aaron...”

“Jess, please.”

She didn't argue this time. The bruised knuckles, the tiny crescent of blood, the look in his eye...it all added up to a storm she didn't want to bring on. He was having a rough day and she couldn't make it better by pushing him. “Okay,” she agreed, but she didn't go far.

She waited in the back stairwell. They one she had tiptoed up so no one would see her, the one she and Hotch would sit and eat their lunch in sometimes when she was on her way to work and made an extra sandwich. He liked pb&j as much as any child she'd ever met, maybe more. The sweet look of innocence that flashed in his eyes at that first bite couldn't be replicated in any other way and she wondered what he thought about. Haley had told her once that he'd been very close with his grandmother and she thought maybe that was it, memories of a woman he missed dearly. In any case, she had no sandwiches this time, only a desperate desire to ride her bike up into the woods or out to the lake...anywhere but here. So she waited for him, her only friend. She could entertain herself for hours alone, she was plenty resourceful. Plus she always kept a book in the front pocket of her overalls for just such an occasion. Holing up at the edge of the bottom stair, she kicked out her legs, wiggled her toes in her sandals, and started reading.

She was halfway through “Animal Farm”, and her water bottle, when she heard his footsteps coming toward her. For a moment she contemplated hidng and ambushing him, but then she thought of his hand again and decided against it. Foolhardy, he was going to be in no mood for her shenanigans. She just needed to get him away from here.

“I can't go,” he said softly, before he even rounded the corner. He knew she was waiting, he could smell her cucumber melon body spray. Haley liked sugary vanilla, she smelled like his favorite bakery, and Jessica smelled like a garden in summer. “I have to go to the post office, and I'm on spazz duty the rest of the day.” By the time she saw him, she had her arms folded defiantly across her chest.

“I'll drop that off at the post office, you go get Sean and bring him to the lake. We'll skip the creek today, okay? Come on it's like a thousand degrees outside...Sean needs a cool down too.”

He chewed his lip while he considered his options and while he definitely knew he shouldn't chance it...he was going to. His parents were ruining his entire summer, he would take one night for himself and still do everything they asked of him. “Okay. Make sure it gets there before the last pick up okay? It's important...” For some Senator his dad rubbed elbows with and was probably living very comfortably in the pocket of. He was learning a lot about his dad's job but none of it was exactly going to be helpful if he didn't want to play dirty. His dad was the king of dirty.

By the time they were all at the lake, Hotch's back had nearly seized up, his hand was throbbing, and Jess was sweating from head to toe. “I got there,” she announced while sucking huge gulps of air, dropping her bike beside his and taking in the sight of Sean splashing in the water. Hotch just sat on his towel on the beach, eyeing the spreading bruise over his knuckles with some fascination. “You're welcome.”

“Oh, yeah...thanks...” he muttered, poking at his swollen knuckle. She rolled her eyes and plopped down beside him in a spray of sand that stuck to the backs of her now bare legs, her denim overalls a few paces back in a heap. She'd shed layers incrementally until she was in nothing but her bathing suit, nudging him in his bulky sweater that looked like misery at the best of times but right now looked like it had been pulled from the pits of hell.

“Off,” she instructed, tugging at it. “Before you die of a heat stroke.” He only glared at her, but he did what she said because no matter how defiant he wanted to be, she was right. He couldn't sit there in his sweater all evening. Once he'd shed that last layer, she was satisfied and decided it was best to stop bossing him around while he was still being compliant. Before he started fighting back. Instead, she got up and crept across the beach, sneaking up on Sean who was lost in the world of tiny fish swimming around his ankles.

Around them the reeds hugged close to the shoreline, swaying in the gentle June breeze. Cat tails sprung up between them and Hotch thought about a time when he'd been young and innocent enough to cut one and bring it home. He hadn't realized that letting it dry out would have catastrophic results, and returning to his bedroom after a long day spent on the tire swing in the orchard, he expected to drop into his bed a puddle of sweat and dirt and happy sunshine smell only to find that the cat tail had exploded. Right along with his dreams of a quiet evening. Cottony puffs were everywhere, on every surface, and he panicked, shut the door quickly behind him before either of his parents could see what he'd done. At first he didn't even understand it, what could have happened? It looked like a teddy bear had been eviscerated in the middle of his room. And then he saw the empty jar, the stalk, the last dredges of pillowy innards clinging to the sides. It was letting him know what happeend, a secret message.

“Shit...” he'd muttered, the first time ever saying that word in his home. He clapped his hands over his mouth and stared toward the door, as if he'd set off some chain of events by saying that word in these walls...he expected his door to fly off of its hinges and the angry red face of his whiskey barrel father to appear. But divine providence smiled on him that evening and nothing happened. He cleaned up his room and got rid of the evidence as quickly as his little legs would carry him. The next day he walked to the library and checked out a book on plants, figuring he had an awful lot to learn and he had all summer to do it. If he didn't know what cat tails were capable of, what else did he not know?

“Jessica,” he said, shifting uncomfortably on the sand to grab the pocket knife from his back pocket. “Cut me a cat tail.” He handed her the knife and, thankfully, she obliged. He called Sean over to him and, with the knife in hand, dragged the blade agonizingly slow down the side of it, reveling in the way the insides puffed into his hands and scattered on the breeze. Sean's eyes went wide with wonder.

“How'd you do that?” Sean exclaimed, ready to go rip another cat tail from its stalk to see it again and again. Hotch grinned and shook his head.

“Magic.”

And it was, though not the kind he was implying or the kind that Sean took it to mean. This wasn't some man in a cape pulling a rabbit from a hat, this was better. He hoped that someday Sean could see that it was nature that was magic, not him. Sean lost interest fast and plunged toward the water's edge gleefully. He knew how to swim, at least enough to be passable, but Hotch felt a little fear twist in his belly anyway. They weren't supposed to be out here, they were supposed to be at home making dinner and working through Sean's summer reading program. He had a whole map to fill up and a mountain of expectations they had little hope of meeting if they skirted their obligations every night like this.

But Hotch was angry and indignant. He would take one night for himself.

Jess sat beside him and bumped his shoulder, peeling away quickly when she saw him wince. He'd tried to hide it but she saw it. “Shit,” she muttered. “I'm sorry, I forgot.”

“No big,” was his cool reply. They watched Sean splash his way through the water without fear, through the sand and up to his knees trying to catch the tiny little fish that circled his legs. He held his breath, held perfectly still, then plunged his chubby fingers beneath the surface only to come up empty handed. Each time he would take another step, thinking maybe if he was further out he'd have more luck, until he was waist deep and splashing wildly. Somewhere he'd gone from fisherman to wild animal, Hotch figured. His mind ticked games away so fast Hotch could scarcely keep up with him.

“How'd you hurt your hand?” Jess asked, reaching out to grab it and pull it to her. A look of silent concentration washed over her face while she poked and pressed, none of this hurt terribly. It looked uglier than it felt...mostly just stiff fingers and tender bruises now. He considered his options carefully...there was always lying, he could easily say he'd fallen off of his bike. With his back as stiff as it was, it seemed likely but he did hate to lie to her. It felt like breaking something precious and fragile, he'd yet to lie to her and in his vast experience...once you started lying, it was awfully hard to stop. Just ask the hospital about the pages in his medical file. However, telling her the truth, that his father had gotten him so blocked up by poking at him that he got lost in a hole stuttering for at least ten minutes and he'd decided the only way to reset his brain was by smashing his fist into the exposed pipe that ran along the wall of the men's room enough times that the sludge broke free of the dam and he could think again...well that sounded just a little too real, a little too raw for sitting on the beach with his toes in the sand. Maybe he could find a careful middle ground, not quite a lie but not quite the truth.

“Aaron?” she asked again, and he blinked at her with a wash of confusion in his eyes that concerned her. Great, he thought, now she probably thinks I've got a concussion too. “Earth to Hotchner...”

“Sorry, what did you say?” he asked, pulling a few more minutes of decision-making time out of thin air. She laughed and let his hand drop back into his own lap, shaking her head. This was where the magic became real...she didn't ask him again. The question had distressed him to the point that he'd what, gone into the ether for a full two minutes with a blank look on his face?

“Nothing,” she replied quietly, figuring she'd get at the root of the problem somehow later. His father had a reputation for being a beast, and if she'd not seen him that morning before work she might be apt to think he'd been knocked around but not at the office...no way the man would ever tarnish his reputation. The silence settled in between them, until their entire world was insulated and peaceful. There was the sun high above them, beating down on their already pink shoulders, and Sean's squeals of delight seemed far away. He is the sun and you are the moon, his mother would always say, but he thought that wasn't quite right. Sean was certainly the sun but he couldn't believe he was anything as lovely as the moon, and he would argue it with his mother once he'd gotten old enough to know better. I'm not the moon, mama, I'm the fog on the treetops...and he hadn't exactly meant it to sound as sad as it did, but he saw that bright shine of tears in her eyes and he hated the idea that he'd made his mother cry. But she never argued with him. Later, when he started yelling back at his father, when he started punching walls (instead of faces), he knew that he was no longer peaceful fog...he was a great black storm cloud ready to open wide and rain anything in its path with violent hail. “Aaron?”

He blinked again and sighed. He was really out of it today. “Yeah.”

“Where did you go just then?”

He had nothing to say to that. Not a single thing. So he shrugged and flipped his knife out of its sheath, watched the blade glint in the summer sun. “Just thinking. It's b-b-been a long d-d-ay.” He stabbed the knife hard into the dirt beside him, ground it in, twisted and turned it deep into the earth and suddenly she knew what had happened to his hand. The story had written itself in the displaced grains of earth and rock beside him, in the way his lips set in a grim line, the deep crease between his brows.

A motor boat sped by far too close to shore. Teenagers, Jess knew. No adult would dare speed so close to where children swam, but kids...especially kids with access to beer and joints, they didn't give much thought to small children. Might as well be on a different planet. They would skid their boats into the reeds to make out, skinny dip, smoke. Jess didn't consider any of them friends but she was no stranger to boat hopping for a good time...drunk teenagers were friendly and generous. And when one of them got a little handsy, she had no problem wandering off into the reeds and finding her own way home. Summer was an adventure, she figured. But this summer she didn't want that adventure, she'd had plenty of it. This summer she wanted to soak up something a little slower, a little more sober, a lot less reckless. She had adulthood to think about this summer.

Waves cascaded toward the shore and smacked into Sean's little body, must to his delight. He started out trying to jump them, the smaller ones, one and then the other. He would crouch, watch the wave swell and then leap out of the water like a frog. The splash down was his favorite part. It never occurred to him that the waves could gather enough strength to knock him down...until he was tumbling beneath the water, tangling in seaweed and reeds. The more he thrashed about, the further the waves carried him back out, the tighter the grip of the reeds.

Hotch felt the moment the sun went out. His skin freckled with cold and the storm crackled beneath his surface. He held his breath and tried to stand but he couldn't move quickly enough. By the time he was even halfway upright, Sean was further into the lake, far beyond where he could touch the bottom and he was screaming for help. Gargling bitter water, spitting his brother's name through choking sobs. Cold panic crept into Hotch and this time he was lumbering toward the water as fast as his aching and stiff back would allow, grunting curse words under his breath at his inability to do this one simple thing.

Jess was ahead of him in an instant. She was kicking up sand as she tore along the beach, rushing into the surf and diving when she'd gone far enough. Then they were both under water and Hotch was alone with the waves lapping against the shore and the rustle of the fucking cat tails beside him. They were whispering to him, some desperately sick mockery in their tone. We bested you once, they seemed to say, and now we've got you again. Won't you ever learn?

Breathless seconds turned into what felt like muddy hours and he inched toward the water line, ready to crash his way in after them, knowing he shouldn't but also that he couldn't wait any longer. By the time he was fighting his way through the waves on legs threatening to give way, the breath had left his lungs completely and the entire world had gone cold. Without Sean there was no sun.

Finally, a burst. Bright and blinding, Jessica and Sean crashed through the surface, him clinging hard to her neck. A choking sound erupted first, and lake water splattered against her cheek before his screams began. Like a firework, first you see the light, then you hear the boom. But the sun was shining again, and Hotch rushed toward them without a care for his own limitations.

“You're okay,” she whispered into his ear, teeth chattering in unison with his. “Your'e okay, I've got you.” Her voice calmed him quickly and he nodded, terrified blue eyes locking desperate and scared with hers. For a moment, she was the only person in the entire world and she hugged him a little tighter to prove to him that he wasn't going anywhere without her.

“Is he okay?” Hotch gasped, reaching for his brother with trembling hands. She waited a moment, until she thought it was a good idea, and then pried Sean away from her neck and pushed him into Hotch's arms. Stepping back, giving them some distance, she watched the two of them wrap around each other, Hotch burying his nose in Sean's cold neck. Slowly he turned his eyes to Jess and saw her glowing through the filter of Sean's golden wet hair. She was wringing out her curls, keeping her hands busy and he could almost see her heart thundering in its cage. Shrinking under the intense scrutiny, she realized that he was looking at her in a way he's never looked at her before...and without wanting to dive too deep into what it meant, she realized she was doing the same thing right back at him. Something had changed between them, something that she wished felt like shimmering light but was really just a tightening noose.

“Let's go to my dad's store,” she said, breaking through the silence. “He's got hot cocoa. You want some cocoa Sean?” What she didn't want to say was that they couldn't go home like this, Hotch would get the licking of a lifetime and they both knew it. They had to play damage control, give Sean a few more stories to tell so maybe his brush with death wasn't the first thing that exploded out of his mouth when his parents got home. Sean's enthusiasm for Mr. Brooks' store, his cocoa on tap and his penny candy jars...it was better than any amusement park he could dream up.

The story about their time at the lake, about Sean's near drowning, distracted Roy from Hotch's hand. Jess was weaving a careful web here, not lies but definitely straying as far as she could from the truth of any one situation long enough that they might be able to bury it beneath the simplicity of kids being kids on summer vacation. “Always getting into trouble,” Roy said with a soft smile, pouring three tin mugs of hot cocoa. Extra marshmallows for Sean, army issue wool blankets for all three of them to warm up in. The store was chilly, air conditioning on full blast. He didn't bother telling them about the mistakes they made, he just said so quietly that he was glad they were okay and that he'd be happy to drive them home if they could wait another half hour until closing time. Hotch didn't think he should, but he didn't have much recourse, he was along for the ride. He'd have to go back with Jess for their bikes later, and he'd really be skinned if someone stole his bike, but it was a chance he'd have to take for now.

It was opening the car door that made Roy flinch. He'd heard plenty of Haley's moaning about Hotch's back, he was familiar with the tall tale of how that one had happened...not sure he really believed it but he wouldn't have said anything, the kid seemed stiff but more or less fine. But that hand, that bruise mottled hand, it was fresh, and he couldn't ignore that. “What's that?”

“Nothing, sir,” was Hotch's immediate reply. Roy frowned.

“Don't lie to me, Aaron. You and I, we've always told each other the truth right? I told you right away, we're good if you don't try to bullshit me...” The lecture was exactly the opposite of what Hotch needed, it was too much information for his already foggy brain and words escaped him. Roy's frown deepened, like he thought Hotch was trying to come up with a bigger lie. A canyon was forming between them.

“I h-h-hit the wall,” he muttered, biting hard into his lip as he stumbled over words. Roy watched him clench his fist and thought he understood the rest, he'd been an angry teenage boy a long time ago but that feeling never really left you. The memory lived there, dormant and waiting. He'd like to see how well he remembered his own fists when he thought about the elder Hotchner, so he ceased the inquisition and put his hand on the boy's shoulder instead. A light squeeze, a peace offering, closing the gap again. This kid couldn't afford a canyon. The car ride itself was quiet, and Sean was nearly asleep by the time they'd gone up the dirt road to the Hotchner house. Hotch squirmed out of his seat first, unbuckling Sean and pulling him out after.

“Jessie,” Roy asked, grabbing his daughter quickly before she could vanish into the Hotchner house. He held her back and lowered his voice. “Is he okay?”

“Yeah,” she replied with a quick nod. She wouldn't betray him, even if every single fiber of her being wanted to. “Had a rough day. He'll be okay.”

“That sonofabitch...”

“No, daddy. I believe him this time.” Roy regarded her suspiciously and sighed. She'd always believe Hotch, he knew that. She'd give him the benefit of the doubt forever or hold up whatever lie he thought he needed to tell to protect himself if nothing else worked. With some strange future perfect sight, a shockingly brief clarity, he knew Haley was going to marry this kid. They would be bound together forever, and it wasn't going to be sweet bliss...of that he was certain.

Jess ran to catch up to them, bounding up the steps behind Hotch and Sean quickly. “Hey! I'm gonna run back to the lake to get my bike, then I'll go and get yours. If it's still there.” Hotch rolled his eyes and nodded.

“Thanks Jess,” was what he said, effortlessly and without stumbling over her name. She calmed the storm in his brain. It was probably about the bike because that was the easy thing to thank her for, but really it was so much more. It was for coming to the office and pulling him out of his funk, for waiting in the stairwell for him even after he pushed her away, for lying to his dad and shaking his hand anyway, for saving Sean's life, for the cocoa. He watched her crouch and wrap Sean in a hug, whispering something secret and funny into his ear before pulling away and looking at him seriously. She was on her knees, eye to eye with him, and watching felt suddenly like intruding.

“Don't you scare me like that again, you hear me?” And then her arms were around him again, tighter this time. There was a desperation there that made Hotch squirm, and Sean seemed to sense it and tried to pull away. Big emotions frightened him and this hug felt huge.

“You're hugging me too tight...”

#aaron hotchner #jessica brooks #sean hotchner #my power trio #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction

28 notes · View notes

ninjastormhawkkat · 2 years

Note

How does the Charming Steven thing pan out in the Mousekit AU?

If you don't mind my asking, do you have any angsty headcanons for Steven in this AU? How'd he react to his canon counterpart?

So in the MouseKit au. Mr. Big gets tired of Amazo Guy ruining his plans and taking him to jail, even with Mousekits aid he is still tired of it. (You see where this is going.) He decided to make some citizens fall guys and gals to distract Amazo Guy while he can safely conduct his schemes without any hero interference. Mr. Big invents a mind control ray that can blast the TV radio signals and every once in a while, send out a mind control signal where the random target is manipulated into thinking they are a tough super villain and go out committing crimes which Amazo Guy has to stop. Unfortunately Steven gets affected by this signal later on as he stops to watch a commercial about a new type of pastrami sandwich that is being sold by the deli downtown. Unlike the other victims, Steven has the knowledge of how both super heroes and super villains work from countless analysis and studies - guy wrote both books for heroes and villains even though in canon he was already Two Brains when he wrote about villains. (Still that analysis comes from Steven's mind.)So Steven goes all out in becoming the number 1 super villain in Fair City which is in this case Mr. Charming. (I always pictured that if Steven did turn bad without the mouse brain, Mr. Charming would be a possible result.) Amazo Guy has real difficulty fighting him. When Becky finds out, she is torn, she is glad to see her dad join in villainy now but when she realizes he is being mind controlled, she hates that her dad is being forced to commit crime. She would rather him have the choice to do it like she had. Mr. Charming enlists the henchmen temporarily for their aid in this idea, but he sort of still treats them like canon Two Brains. Mousekit makes a temporary alliance with Amazo Guy to save her dad. What snaps Steven out of the mind control is when Mr. Charming builds a ray that is designed to greatly harm Amazo Guy who got trapped by Mr. Charming, but Mousekit gets in front of the ray and gets hit instead. She becomes fine in the end, but that ray really hurt a lot. Steven, horrified at hurting his child, snaps out of the mind control and goes over and apologizes for hurting her while trying to help heal her. Amazo hurriedly takes them to a hospital then is able to finally head to Mr. Big Towers to destroy the mind control ray while Mr. Charming is distracted. All the other mind controlled citizens snap out after the ray is destroyed and Mr. Big is taken to jail. Steven is a bit distraught about what happened afterwards but Becky and Amazo assure him it was not his fault and that Becky is fine now and is not mad at her dad. She jokes with her dad and say that he should try villainy on his own volition sometime because he would make a great villain. She does this to help him feel better and it works a little, Steven smiles a bit at his child's joke. Also Mousekit threatens to break Mr. Big's bones if he ever tries to mind control her dad again. Mr. Big agrees.

Besides that episode idea anon, not much angst happens to Steven in the Mousekit au. It's mostly a light hearted and comedic au that deals with a tired, coffee dad Steven trying to control an alien villain child. I do have a few here.

-When Becky chose to became a villain, Steven felt disappointed and thought that his hard work meant nothing if his own child decided villainy was better than heroism. A while after seeing how happy Becky is with her choice, Steven begins to understand that heroism is not for everyone and is fine that is child is happy with her path to villainy. He doesn't like what she does, but he still loves her and wants to help support what is really the best for her. As long as it involves nothing too illegal.

-Steven always secretly worries that what if another hero comes to town and is more harsh with the villains than Amazo Guy. He is worried about Becky being hurt by these corrupt heroes.

That's about all the angst I have for Steven in the Mousekit au.

As for meeting his canon counterpart.

Mousekit Steven would be horrified about how his other self became a crazed villain and what he viewed as "betrayal" to Becky's canon counterpart. He would probably make small talk with his other self, but still be unnerved by him and the crazy cheese obsession.

For Mousebraingirl Steven - Seeing Two Brains makes him really angry. He wished this was the reality he would face instead of his child being fused to Squeaky. It should have been him! Also Two Brains being a villain who shares Squeaky's brain makes Wordman despise his counterpart even more. Since he can't remove Squeaky without hurting his precious child, he has no qualms of doing it to his canon counterpart regardless of the dangerous and lethal consequences. Yeah, Wordman wants to beat his counterpart to a pulp.

@melodythebunny @drtwobrainsstuff @liloskull343

#wordgirl #wordgirl au #answered ask #anonymous #mousekit au #wordman #mousebraingirl au #steven boxleitner #dr two brains #mr. charming #amazo guy #mr. big #villain becky au #tw: implied threat #tw: implied murder #angst #wordgirl headcanons #yeah wordman and canon mr. charming both hate their canon counterpart

9 notes · View notes

inkskinned · 3 years

Text

she trails one finger down my cheek, sighing. "I'm gonna miss you."

i roll my eyes, lying back against her uncolored bedspread, watching the room settle into the correct form. she always gets like this, right before an Assignment. she takes our Roles a little bit too seriously. my brain is already sloshing with the pacing of the Narrative - a little stilted, a little distant. I'd been in Close Third in the last one, and more poetic. her hands make shadow puppets on the bright pink walls; the room shifts and become covered in art; shifts and become covered in band posters. then back to pink.

she'd been my Best Friend Forever since kindergarten, usually. the oldest we'd ever met each other was in middle school, but that Assignment had been pretty bleak anyway, and she'd only been in-and-out of the picture. I'd barely seen her. i loved her, usually, from the moment i met her - she usually had done something Charming in some way, solidifying our bond for the Audience.

"you're gonna be fine," i tell her. "we'll be back here in no time."

she sighs and curls up next to me, turning so our noses almost touch. she smells familiar, like drying ink. then she smells like mint and mown grass. then she smells like herself, for a second, before she's back to peppermint. "well, you're gonna be fine," she says. "The Main Character always is."

"this again." i roll my eyes a second time. this Assignment feels like it is heavy in the eye-rolling. i had told her before: i'm jealous of her Role just like she's jealous of mine. the Best Friend Forever gets to be quirky, spunky, cute. she always has a personality like a firecracker - even if sometimes that firecracker had a harsh edge to it. in most Assignments, she'd run around, starting - or getting me out of - loads of trouble. she gets to have grand adventures without too much Character Development, which is always painful for me and kind of annoying. she is always Assigned cool interests and hobbies, whereas i can feel my singular Driving Interest crystalizing in my bloodstream. "i think this time i'm Interested in yearbook. Gag me." I mime choking, she wrinkles her little lopsided nose in a giggle.

"you just hate it from stuff that's leftover from your last Assignment, though." she looks up at the ceiling. "you'll be actually Interested soon. in this one i'm gonna have a secret thing about fashion magazines. now that is gag-me."

"remember when you were like, so -"

"like so into porcelain dolls?"

"and i was like, Interested in -"

"you were deep in the paint of effing biology." she wrinkles her nose again, like a little mouse, and i realize i love this new face, the way i love all of her faces. i like this tic she has. sometimes her tics are supposed-to-be-ugly; i love them every time anyway. she's my Best Friend Forever, I can't not love whatever she is. she bites her lip. "oh gosh. i'm already talking like the Assignment. that's quick."

"sounds Young Adult. I haven't been able to swear in, like, a millennia." i don't usually get to swear though, regardless of Audience, since swearing is a Best Friend Forever thing. although sometimes i would be Assigned to just-swear if it was a big-deal kind of moment, and those Assignments were fun. the words would pop out of my mouth like a soap bubble, big and afraid of themselves. and my Best Friend Forever would always look at me, shocked and awestruck.

i loved when she looked at me like that. it wasn't in every Assignment, but it was always so gratifying to be in her eye like that. to be seen, the way a Best Friend Forever sees you.

she takes my hand gently. she's usually a little bit bigger than me, but in this one, she's smaller than average. slim. we're probably going to have a Big Fight about jealousy - whenever she's slimmer, the Audience needs to know she's also Insecure about it. Usually it's the other way around - I'm slimmer, and Insecure that i don't have her curves. in those, she's always "better with boys." until, at least...

like she reads my mind, she sighs again. "I know. i just hate the part where you meet Him."

i'm not startled by how on-the-same-page (ha! maybe i'm Funny in this one) we are. she's my Forever person. the Him changes a lot, but she is a delicate constant. she knows me - even when i'm not-me. or not this me. whatever. "i mean, it might be different this time."

she sits up. i sit up too, disoriented by the strange violence of the action. she pushes the heel of her palm into her cheekbone. "it sucks, you know?"

i can tell by how she wrinkles her nose that she is understating it. i've known her Forever, after all.

nose wrinkle. "we're always the most dynamic and interesting part. you and i, and how we grow up together, and how we interact, and how we try to get over the same things. i know we have a lot of Big Fights, but we always end back up together at the end."

it's a sore subject. i betray her a lot for Him. i can't help it. "i know, but maybe this time - i mean, it's not always ..."

her eyes flash while she turns to me. "you just, like, get caught up in Him. every time. and i have to, like, watch you leave."

"i don't always leave." i feel pouty, suspicious that she is right. it is a Main Character thing to be Right in The End, not a Best Friend Forever thing. i don't always do it the Right Way, but I always end up back here, apologizing to her. she always ends up being okay with it, because i'm always Right.

"you do always leave. and it doesn't make any effing sense, because He never makes sense like we do, you know, like... you both are never - like, your Development with Him, is never like, actually...." she moves her hands around in the air as if trying to find the term, but gives up. "the Audience even thinks it."

I hold my breath at her blasphemy. "don't bring the Audience into -"

she grabs at the roots of her hair. "i'm right, though. you meet Him, and because you are a girl, and you are the Main Character, you love Him, and you forget about me." her hands drop to her lap and her thin shoulders pull forward as if she has been suddenly deflated. the anger all seeping out around her. she's usually not able to stay angry at me long - loving me is her Role.

the air feels heavy between us. thick of something unwritten. i don't know the rules of this one. in the space between Assignments, she can be a little wild. her Role doesn't sink her as deep into the Assignment - she has wiggle room where i don't.

i try to tease her, nudging her with my shoulder. "i didn't realize you had a jealous Assignment this time."

she looks up at me. biting the inside of her cheek. i can see her jaw working against the muscle. "i'm always jealous," she whispers.

"that's natural," i assure her. "it's a Best Friend Forever thing. I'm always jealous, too, just a little. you know that."

"it's because we actually see each other. because we actually know each other. because we're made for each other." she doesn't drop my eyes. her hands take mine again, warm and soft. again, that feeling that she is a familiar love - a long love, a deep love - comes sloshing up inside me. i was made to love her, and i was also made to betray her. in order for the Character Development to work, i have to love her hard, so it hurts when i choose Him. she has to love me hard, too. "it's..." she breathes deep, as if through a choke. i wonder how much longer before we'll be in the Assignment, and unable to talk like this. it can't be much longer at all. "it's just stupid. every time, you see Him, and for no reason, he's just better and you leave and -"

"you know i don't want to hurt you, though!" it's an old argument. i feel the pattern of it, glad to be back on script. "you know i never -"

"you just see Him, and it's like magic, and it doesn't mater that He makes no sense - "

"it's about growing up! it's about Character Development! it's not about you, you know that, i love you, i just always Love Him, and -"

"and i am jealous -" she grabs my face, desperate, her voice thick. the room around us starts to shift, and i can tell by how it is pulling itself together that it's solidifying into the Assignment. someone is writing us into a space. her words are garbled for a second, and i feel the hair on the back of my neck rise as she fights the Assignment.

"we're gonna be okay," i promise, "i'll love you the whole time, you know that, even if -"

when she kisses me, something happens in the pit of my stomach. i've been Kissed many times, by many Hims. it is sometimes electric, dizzying, powerful. it is sometimes cataclysmic. it is sometimes rushed, hurried, overwhelming - sometimes harsh, dominant. i have been Kissed until i saw stars, and Kissed perfect.

this is not that. i don't have words for this. i have no narrative. there is only her, and only me, and no story, her hands on my cheeks. i realize, in the seconds we have - she's crying.

then i am on her bed again, which is pink and purple patchwork, and she is across the room, lying on the floor, kicking her heels up while she reads a magazine lazily. we've known each other from preschool, when she punched someone for stealing my candy. we both got detention - who knew preschoolers could get detention - and we'd be inseparable ever since. she listens to loud music but loves fashion magazines; and i love her.

she's saying something, but my old phone pings, lying on top of the Yearbook editing i'm doing. i look down, frozen. she asks me something, but i can't hear her, staring at the notification on my screen. i don't even notice her getting up to investigate.

her hair tickles my cheek while she reads the phone over my shoulder.

she grins. "oh my gosh." she says. "you got invited to the party, holy guacamole. do you know who's gonna be there? baby, you need to go."

i know i need to. after all, after a little complaining, i am going to go. we will try on all her clothes first. and while i'm there, i'll be a Main Character, and not-quit-fit-in.

and while i'm there, i'm going meet Him. and it will be Magical. for some reason, there are tears pricking at the side of my eyes, even though i have no idea why. this story is funny, and light, and amusing.

she grabs my hand, and she is warm, and familiar, and i feel Insecure that she's so thin. i feel Insecure - and - something - a memory, or a -

"come on," she says, and, for a second, something in her eyes is deeply sad, and the time between us feels like fraying satin.

but then she breaks out into a grin. "i know just what to dress you in. i can't wait. you're gonna meet Him."

#sorry mobile users #this does have a read more but tumblr succcksss #short story #fiction #spilled ink #prose #me: im gonna write a funny post about like #how fucked up straight media is #me: hang on what if i spend 2 hours writing THIS inSTEAD

2K notes · View notes

fang-wife · 3 years

Text

»» — { ♡ } —— { ♡ } —— { ♡ } — ««

voyeur | m. izuku

➳ tags ;; sub!izuku, dom!reader, watching hentai together?, reader is mean and nice </3, quirkless college au!izuku, corruption kink/religious guilt, unprotected sex/creampies, established relationship, afab reader

➳ wc ;; 2.1k

➳ a /n ;; @/sems-diarie made a post abt this a while ago n my brain wouldn’t let it be so. here we are </3

➳ plot ;; izuku didn’t sneak you into your dorm to watch.. this with you. but he has a habit of letting you do what you like.

»» — { ♡ } —— { ♡ } —— { ♡ } — ««

This is embarassing.

He knows this is embarassing - more embarassing than he really cares to admit to. He should really know better by now then to let you do as you please. You’re always stringing him along with your schemes and plans and he loses sight of his morals. His standards.

Then again, he doesn’t have any at this point. The point of him paying for this single dorm was so that he could have space to focus. It wasn’t to sneak you in when his R.A. wasnt looking. Even more then that, it wasn’t to do.. whatever this was.

It’d be one thing if he was having sex. That’s a normal thing to do in college, to sneak your partner in and smash. But you’re you, and all you ever seem to have planned for him are hair-brained schemes. It’s what this feels like - when you sit on his twin size bed and pat the empty space next to you. The distrust in his expression makes you laugh.. He sighs and does what you’ve asked.

“What’re you doing?”

He sounds exasperated. You laugh - too pleasantly for him to be comfortable. You type something into the search bar. Green eyes widen, skin warm and blushing.

“Wh-what’re you doing?”

You laugh as you prop the computer on the bed. You grin at him, tucking yourself under his arm. The website mocks him, all black background and animated women with huge tits covering the screen edge to edge.

“You know something, after you’re done using incognito mode - you’re supposed to switch out to regular search, you know,” you explain. Your hand rests on his thigh. Deku freezes.

The sound of your voice has always been something of a vice. It gets a little raspy like this - sultry in a way that has him squirming. He doesn’t know what to do. He can feel the heat of your body.

“Would you know my surprise when I borrow your phone to look up when the convience store closes,” you inch closer, press further “only to see..”

He knows what you saw before you announce it. His skin feels like it’s on fire, tuning out whatever description you’ve been giving of what he chose to watch.

Maybe it was the way he was raised - but he always had such a specific sort of guilt towards pornography. Always told himself he shouldn’t watch things like that, shouldn’t touch himself. Izuku had always been a good, well-behaved boy. Done the right thing even when it was hard.

Meeting you had changed that, changed him. He found his body craving you when he couldn’t control it and he ended up here - watching porn and jerking off with his shirt in his mouth. It’s all come back to haunt him, really.

“I’m not mad, y’know,” ― and your tone goes soft - it’s assuring enough that Izuku can whimper out an okay, but you’re not done ― “I’m just curious. Can’t we watch it together?,”

“That’s ― !”

You flutter your lashes him.

“That’s?”

He has a million words that he can say. That he should say. Bad, wrong, immoral. Words that belong at the end of the sentence to describe what he’s doing with you and what he’s considering.

None of that comes out.

“That’s.. too much”

You grin at him.

“Do you not want too?”

“..I didn’t say that, it’s just -”

Your hand squeezes his thigh until your stiletto's dig into them. Your mouth trails his jaw with hot, open mouth kisses until your turning his head to face you. A hand splayed on his face, tongue deep in his mouth. French kissing makes him pant - hands twitching eagerly to touch you. He watches, dazed - the spit trail of saliva that stretches between you two.

He’s so easy, it’s cute. You press forward with a chaste kiss.

“Show me what you were watching, Izuku,”

His hand trembles as he leans forward. He remembers the title - doesn’t know if that’s good or bad. Within seconds, it shows up and he clicks. You lean forward too, observing the tags with a small smile on your face.

“Milf, NTR, Gangbang,”

“S-stop reading them!”

You giggle.

Without warning - you press play. Izuku finds himself frantic. Worried about the sound, the time, all of it - but you don’t seem to care. The AD comes on and you skip that too. It’s on. A familiar arousal blooms in his chest, the memory of what he’d seen appearing. You settle between his legs, your back pressed to his chest. You bring his hands around your waist.

“Let’s watch ~”

Izuku face twists with displeasure. The plot nothing to ride home about - a lonely housewife goes out to a club and finds someone to take care of her needs. At first it’s just one stranger at the club - then two, then she’s surrounded and its too much.

Izuku assumes you’re gonna find him disgusting, but when he looks at your face - you’re smiling, heart-beating in your chest. His eyes blow wide when you take his hand between your legs. You’re wet and you’re letting him touch you and he’s trying his hardest not to show how much he’s shaking.

A little sigh of pleasure leaves your mouth when Izuku very carefully rubs your clit. It throbs under the pressure of big fingers - you hold his wrist and moan. He can hear the porn in the background but it doesn’t serve to distract him from you.

“You want me to go n’ get fucked by a bunch of strangers, ‘zuku?”

He shakes his head furiously.

“Then you just like watching depraved shit, huh?”

Unable to argue with you or with the the way his cock twitches and jumps in his jeans, he opts to whine. You can feel his it against your lower-back, the little wet-spot that presses to your thin tshirt. He’s too turned onto think properly - watching the way your body jerks and twitches.

The woman on screen is stuffed to the brim with cock - it’s all over exaggerated he knows, but he thinks that’s why he likes it. Maybe he just likes the idea of fucking someone that stuffed fulled of cum, how it leaks and pours onto every surface and the way her cunt just seems to take it. And Izuku is such a good, well behaved boy - it’s never crossed his mind to think about doing it to you.

And no, he doesn’t really want to see you get fucked by so many men but if there were more than one of him he’d be more than inclined to let you. His chest feels tight forgetting to breath.

He thinks maybe you’re some kind of witch because you always seem to know what he wants before he does. The right way to push all of his buttons.

“Oh, I see’ ― and he’s afraid of whatever words come out of your mouth next ― “you wanna fuck me full of your cum, Izuku? Wanna know how it feels raw?”

He moans - loud and shameless and needy against your ear. A breathless laugh leaves your mouth because that’s exactly what he wants. He wants to fuck you full of cum, just picturing how good it might feel.

You sit up on your knees and bend over a little - pulling short-shorts beneath the curve of your ass and thickest parts of your thigh. Your panties are drenched, clinging to your folds. He inhales sharply, frozen till as you lean forward - pulling them to one side.

“Take your cock out ‘n fuck me then, baby” ― you challenge, dark and dangerous. Everything about you is so sinful and too tempting for him to ignore. His cock aches ― “Do your best”

His body moves before he has a proper chance to feel shame. Whatever devils been whispering in his ear (read: you) has won whatever leftover dignity he has left. Without a proper word, his cock stands to attention. His hands are fidgety but they mange to settle on your waist. He guides you down on his dick, bottom lipped pulled between his teeth hard enough to draw blood.

“Oh, fuck”

He’s going to cum right away if he doesn’t take a breather. This is the first time he’s feeling you, and it feels so much better than he could understand. The lingering thoughts of the dangerous act silence by how tight and how wet and how willing your pussy is for him. The way your walls twitch - ache shamelessly around his cock. He’s fucking sliding in and out of you - it feels like a special privilege he’s done nothing to earn.

He’s shivering, over and over. When he looks down, he’s not all the way in. He’s not sure if he’s praying to god for the right reason - for forgiveness. All he can think about is how good it feels to be inside and how he absolutely doesn’t want to do anything else.

“How’s it feel, Izuku?”

He groans at the sound of your voice, the way you clench down on him and stretch so tightly around his shaft. He’s too wrapped up in the feeling of your cunt - like heaven and silk.

“F-feels so, so good”

Part of you thinks you should ride him, but another part of you is more interested in seeing how he fucks you. You snap the laptop closed and push it to the other side of the bed, before flipping around and laying on your back. His cock slips out and he snaps into reality - the way you have your legs in the air and your arms out.

“I’ll let you fuck me as many times as you want today,” ― your legs reach and wrap around his waist, easily forcing his cock back inside ― “go on,”

Izuku is a mess, really. His pants are only half-way pulled down and he’s wearing a nerdy graphic t-shirt. He’s borderline in hysterics over how good your pussy feels and can’t do anything other than thank you repeatedly and fuck you with an animalistic need. It’s clumsy like you’d expect, but he makes up for it with sheer enthusiasm.

His cock is long and pretty - hits every spot you need it too. Izuku fucks you with shallow, sloppy thrusts - so needy and chasing his orgasm. Selfish and inexperienced. Every time he pushes forward, you can feel he’s throbbing. Aching to cum inside and unload.

You reach a hand between the two of you to finish on your own time - planning on cumming before him. He doesn’t seem to care.

“Ngh, ohh my god, feel’s’good”

“Yeah? Gonna cum inside me, handsome? Makin’ such a pretty face for me”

His stomach churns at the way you call him pretty. It sounds so sweet and adoring - but he knows that you’re a bully. He knows that about but fucks you with all his strength anyways - overly frustrated and fucked out of his mind by the feeling. Like a drug. He likes you so much he feels stupid over it.

“Yeah, yeah ‘m gonna”

Your own orgasm washes over you in a pleasant wave, squeezing his cock with force. He gasp and goes faster - all the thoughts washed away from his head. He needs to finish more than he needs anything. More than he needs to sleep for his 6am work-out and 8am class. More than he needs to be quiet because the walls of his dorm are paper thin. More than he needs to exercise self-control, he needs to cum so fuckin bad.

“Look at me,”

He follows your command, like always - and you look amused and fucked out just like he is. And Izuku has really never been this into anyone before so seeing you evokes feelings he can’t understand.

“Oh, fuuck“

Briefly he understands that he really just came by looking at you, but nothing really makes sense to him. His eyes are heavy and he’s drooling onto your shoulder, spasming and clinging to your body with the most needy little whimpers. It’s so lewd, how he can feel his cum spurt out and coat your insides and his cock. It’s all so sinful but it feels so good, he can’t bring himself to care.

“So,” ― you smile, full of mischief ― “if you want to be like that, we’ve got a few rounds to go”

Izuku splutters at your comment and you laugh. He knows you’re not joking and he whines. You really are a bad influence on him. But with the way his cock is twitching to life again..

He might not be any better.

»» — { ♡ } —— { ♡ } —— { ♡ } — ««

#deku x reader #bnha x reader #bnha x you #bnha x y/n #deku x y/n #deku x you #gonna post first w/o tags then add them in #knk ;; [ unprotected ]#sub!bnha #sub!izuku #knk ;; [ corruption ]

2K notes · View notes

slutboybarbie · 2 years

Text

This was an ask from my other acc @spikefromlr because I wrote the first part there!

These Boots Are Made For Cleanin’

Sub!Harry x CEO!Reader

18+

Warnings/Summary: Boot Worship(nothing crazy), Oral Sex(m receiving), Degradation, some Praise, Mistress kink

A/N: I have soooo many ideas for this honestly so I might make this like, a mini series or something.

~~~~

She knew. She had to know. Why else would she be wearing those damned Doc Martens that lived in Harry's head 24/7?

You knew. Of course you did. It's not like he'd done his best to conceal his reaction when you'd asked him to pick between your heels and your boots for what you should wear to the club you were going to one night.

The wide eyes, the subtle blush that crossed his cheeks, and the mild stutter when he chose... the other shoes.

As much as Harry would like to see you in the boots again, he knew he wouldn't be able to focus at all if you wore them.

There'd be endless fantasies running through Harry's mind at every minute, all of them incorporating you dominating him in those boots.

This morning though, like always, Harry had left early so he could stop by his place for a change of clothes before work. You'd insisted that he leave some clothes at your house, but he assured you that leaving a little early was no hassle for him.

You didn't have to go in today, so you dressed casually to run some errands: jeans, a cropped band t-shirt to show off your belly button piercing that you'd gotten two months ago(Harry recommended it), and of course, your boots.

Harry usually took an Uber to and from work, but today you offered to pick him up.

When he walked to the parking lot he searched for your car, stopping in his tracks when he sees you leaned against your 2017 matte black Camaro, sucking on a cherry lollipop.

He looks you up and down, eyes lingering on those sinful shoes for a moment before making their way back to your face. His pants instantly tighten a bit and his cheeks have a permanent blush going on.

You finally look up from your phone, you spot him and smile. Taking the sucker from your mouth, you wave him over.

"Don't just stand there, we got shit to do."

Harry tries to maintain a normal face, smiling back at you as he walks towards you. You hug him and peck him lightly on the lips at first, caught off guard when he deepens it.

He can taste cherry on your tongue from the sucker, only making him want more.

You have to physically push his chest to get him to stop, looking at him with a knowing glint in your eyes. "What has gotten into you?"

"M'just happy to see you.", he lies, and you can tell that he's lying, but you decide to brush it off for now.

"I'm happy to see you too, pretty boy. Now get in the car, we're going home."

~~~~

Harry's been fidgety the whole ride home. Watching you drive is always something he loves, but today it's just affecting him more.

He can't help but stare at your hands, your freshly manicured black nails and your rings standing out as you grip the wheel.

It's not long before he pictures your hands gripping something else-

"Harry? Did you hear me?"

He snaps out of his fantasy, looking away from the wheel and to your face.

"Oh sorry, just got a little distracted. What'd you ask?"

"I was just asking if you were okay.", you say, looking away from traffic for a second so that you can turn to Harry.

You bring the back of your hand up to his face, pressing his cheek softly, "You're burning up baby, you feel okay?"

Harry's brain is too fuzzy to recognize the faux innocence in your tone.

"Here,", you say while putting your sucker up to his lips, "why don't you do me a favor and finish this off for me?"

His lips part, accepting the candy without hesitation, hand coming up to replace yours.

You purr a small, "Good boy.", that has Harry's cheeks turning an even deeper shade of red as he sucks on his- your lollipop.

~~~~

"I- huh?"

Harry was on his knees, shirt halfway unbuttoned as his pants grew tighter in a certain area at your recent request.

"I don't think I stuttered, but I'll say it one more time. If you like them so much, and I know you do, worship them."

You grip Harry's hair when he doesn't answer so that he looks at you, his eyes having been transfixed on the piece of clothing you were referring to. Your boots.

"You think you can do that pretty boy? Show me that mouth can do more than talk back and eat pussy?"

"Yeah- yes, I can do that.", His eyes are glazed over, lips parted as his dirty dreams are so close to coming true.

Using the hold you have on his hair, you walk Harry to your couch so that you can sit down. You release him and get comfortable, sitting with your legs wide open and hands slouchily folded across your lap.

"Well? Get to work.", you order when Harry is hesitant to move.

He begins to prop himself up on all fours, but you quickly stop him, "Ah ah, hands behind your back. Have you never done this before?", you lightly scold, already knowing the answer to your question but deciding to tease him.

"No- no mistress, I've never done this before."

You have to keep down the small smile that wants to creep up as you see him squirming in his position, cock hard in his pants.

"Hm, we'll see about that."

Taking that as his cue, Harry leans down once again, this time with his hands crossed behind his back, and he lays a kiss to the top of your boots.

He hears your groan of satisfaction and it encourages him to do more. He flattens his tongue against the smooth material, dragging it along the sides.

"Such a good little slut.", you praise him, panties growing increasingly wet as you see him clean your shoes with his mouth.

You can hear the messy sounds of his tongue and you have to resist the urge to yank him up and stick his face in between your thighs.

When Harry moves to your other boot, wanting to give them equal attention, you subtly move the newly wet shoe to his covered crotch.

You slowly begin to make a circular motion, feeling Harry's hips buck up at the small amount of friction you're granting him.

One particularly hard grind against the sole of your boot has Harry crying out, his breath quickening.

He lets out a whine when you remove your foot, hooded eyes coming to meet yours.

"I didn't tell you to stop, did I?"

When he goes silent you fist your hand in his hair once again, "Answer me."

"No-no you didn't, m'sorry." His eyes are closed, the pained pleasure of your tugging at his curls only making him harder.

"This is pathetic baby boy. I mean, you put that dirty little mouth to work and get a little pressure on your cock and you forget how to act."

He opens his mouth to protest, but you cut him off, "Hush." You let go of his hair and he slumps back on his knees.

You begin to unlace your shoes, signaling for Harry to take them off.

"I thought this would be a treat for you, y'know.", you say with a pout. "You've just been so good lately, and I wanted to be nice."

Once your shoes are removed you grab Harry's chin between two fingers, "But I think, that you don't want me to be nice. Hm? You want me to treat you like the worthless bitch you are? Say it."

Harry takes a deep breath, collecting himself, "I'm a- a worthless bitch."

"See? You can be good when you want to.”

You stand up, reaching out for Harry and pulling him up, catching him in a heated kiss as you walk towards your room.

You stop once you hit your bed, letting him sit on the edge.

"I've decided," you say once you've broken the kiss, your teeth tugging at Harry's bottom lip as you pull away and he whimpers, "that I'm just going to treat myself instead."

Harry looks at you with a confused look, his fuzzy brain not processing your words.

"How's that sound?", you ask, "Me using you like the fucktoy you are, for my own pleasure. Do you want that baby?"

"Yes, yes use me please." He responds with no hesitation.

You can't help but grin a bit at Harry's begging, his eyes lighting up when you sink to your knees in front of him.

"The first thing I want,", you start, your hand palming Harry through his tight pants, "is for this pretty little cock of yours to cum for me."

“Wan’ it all sensitive before I use it, yeah?”

Harry's using every bit of his restraint to not grind onto your hand, not wanting to get in trouble.

"S'not little." Harry murmurs, eyes never meeting yours.

"Oh but darling, you're whatever I say you are."

He lets out a mewl at your possessive words, hips chasing your hand when you move it to unbuckle his belt.

"Patience, Harry." You warn him, beginning to unzip his pants and tapping his thigh as a signal to lift his hips.

"Can't believe I thought I had you trained.", you say, somewhat to yourself and Harry pouts.

"You just continue to prove me wrong.", you pull down his boxers just enough to release him, dragging his pants down over his ankles and tossing them to the side.

You keep the belt beside you though, some ideas sparking in your mind as you trail your hands up his thighs.

Bringing the palm of your hand towards Harry's mouth you say, "Spit."

And he obeys, smiling a bit when you murmur "Good boy."

You bring your newly wet hand to his length, wrapping around it and beginning to stroke him, Harry's breath catching in his throat as he looks down at you.

"Can I trust you not to touch?" You ask, your unoccupied hand grabbing the belt and you can see the internal struggle as Harry looks at it.

Part of him wants the restraint, the grounding feeling of the belt wrapped around his wrists and the marks left there the next morning. But another part of him wants to be able to touch you if allowed, to be close to you while you take him apart.

You notice how hard it is for Harry to pick, knowing your hand on his cock probably isn't helping, so you decide to help him out.

"How about this Honey, we'll start without it and I'll see if you need it later, okay?"

Your low and soothing words comfort Harry, his shoulders relaxing as he tries to keep his hands and legs still.

You lean forward with your tongue out, beginning to lap at his tip and Harry starts to suck in quick breaths.

"Mistress, oh my god, I've missed your mouth so much." He gasps out, hands itching to grab at your hair.

You place the entire tip in your mouth, suckling at it before relaxing your throat and taking him all the way.

It catches Harry off guard and you hear, "Oh shit-"

You gently but quickly pull off of him, continuing to stroke him and looking up at him with a smile.

Harry knows that smile, it means he's in trouble. Something he just can't seem to stay away from tonight.

"What was that?"

"I didn't mean to say it, swear. S'just your mouth, feels so so good, m'sorry.", he whines, hoping that you'll take pity on him.

You don't actually care if Harry cusses, it's his mouth and he knows that but at the same time, there's just something so intoxicating about the fact that he's willing to let you have that much control over him.

"I guess I'll forgive you this time," you sigh out, "but I don't want to hear it again."

You’re about take Harry into your mouth again, wanting to make him cum as quickly as possible so you get an idea.

You bring both of your hands to the head of his cock, using your thumbs to slightly spread the slit at the top open, exposing him to you.

Harry’s hands are already clutching at the bed covers, knowing he won’t be able to stop himself from touching you if he doesn’t.

You hesitantly lick directly over the small hole, looking up at Harry as you do it. His head falls back and he lets out a broken, whiny moan.

“Mis-mistress please.”

He’s already begging and it’s doing things to you, your thighs closed tightly together to remove some of the ache.

You continue the pleasurable torture, reveling in Harry’s high pitched moans.

“M’not gonna last much longer.”, he says breathily. You bring one of your hands to start massaging his balls, feeling them tighten in your hand.

“Cum whenever you want baby,” you say before running your tongue up his length, “it won’t be the last time tonight.”

~~~~~

Don’t forget to like and reblog! :)

Also feel free to leave requests/asks in my inbox!

#sub harry #sub harry x reader #sub!harry #harry styles smut #harry styles fanfiction #one direction smut #ceo reader #subbry

294 notes · View notes

barnesafterglow · 3 years

Text

all you need (3)

summary: just after finishing college and your first novel, you meet bucky barnes - a friend of a friend, a publisher, and hopefully something more

pairing: publisher!bucky x author!reader

word count: 4.1k

chapter warnings: explicit language, consumption of alcohol, wandanat is horny (derogatory), this is a peggy carter hate account, bucky doesn't know how to handle feelings, the rest of the gang makes an appearance, mild sexual content (just a vague mention of fucking), i think that's it

a/n: here it is, chapter 3! i think (or hope) this does mr barnes justice for y'all. forever grateful to @pellucid-constellations for always helping me and giving me ideas. i couldn't do it without you. enjoy!! xoxo

join my taglist!

The rest of the week had you feeling like you were going crazy, like you couldn’t go anywhere without catching a glimpse of him - or at least what you thought was him; you always hurried off before you could be sure. Even at the grocery store on Thursday, you swore you saw him across the aisles - and you swore the large blonde man he was with pointed in your direction - but you left your basket and all but sprinted home.

Wanda and Nat tried to assure you it was okay, and that it probably wasn’t him, and even if it was who the fuck cares, right?

I do, Natasha. I do.

Of course she just waved you off - she had to remain flippant lest you catch wind of any doubts and spiral even further. At least that was her philosophy.

You swore you were fine, really, but everyday you talked yourself out of texting Beth to see if she knew how much longer he would be in town, just in case.

But you were a strong, independent woman, so you eventually went about your everyday life like it was nobody’s business, and it was working really well until you saw him through the large picture window of your cafe. Well, the cafe you met Bucky at.

You knew it was him, he was pretty much wearing the same outfit as the last time you had seen him over a week before - dark wash jeans, boots, and a well worn brown jacket over top of a white t-shirt. He looked gorgeous.

Almost as gorgeous as the blonde sitting across from him.

God, of course. A man like that couldn’t be single.

So that’s why it had been a mistake; he clearly had someone else. But that didn’t explain why he had continued to text you periodically throughout the week, asking for a chance to just explain himself.

You were racking your brain for any possible explanation - maybe she was a cousin? - until she reached across the table and, oh, cousins shouldn’t touch like that.

She was reaching across the length of the table, her fingers gently caressing the leather clad arm, with her chest so pushed out it was nearly blinding. (Your first thought, after the initial shock, was that Nat would have very much enjoyed the sight.)

Not wanting to be caught staring, you wrapped your arms around yourself and hustled down the street, past the bookstore and the gym and everywhere else on your list of errands, and took the longest way possible home in hopes that the biting air and ache in your chest would provide a distraction. It didn’t, of course, because you were all consumed by the thoughts of a man who had kissed you once, then immediately rejected you.

Who were you turning into? This was not you. You didn’t do boyfriends or girlfriends or romance. You focused on school and your book and your friends - that was all you had time for. Then again, now you had no school and no book, so there was time.

Maybe you just needed a better distraction, a physical distraction, to prove that your kiss with Bucky was only so electrifying because of your lack of recent activity. With a brilliant plan brewing in your mind, you walked the last couple of blocks home feeling lighter than before.

By the time you got inside, stripped your layers, and found your best friends in the living room, your light feeling had turned into full blown mania and the shit eating grin on your face made even Nat a bit nervous.

“Care to explain the creepy face?” Wanda said lightly, while her girlfriend just laughed beside her. They both knew you well enough to know that whatever you were thinking was either going to be brilliant or a train wreck and they were down either way.

“Hello, my beautiful roommates, I hope you’re doing well on this fine Friday afternoon. I also hope you don’t have plans tonight, because we are going out.” You didn’t ask them, didn’t leave room for question. You needed this.

Not that they would say no, anyways.

Within 15 minutes the three of you stood in front of your bedroom mirror, surrounded by piles of clothes, already drinking. Even though it was barely 7pm, they were starting their pregaming early, and had already invited Sam to come out with you all as well.

It had been at least a couple years since the last time you had all gone out together, so you supposed that was the reason they were going full force, but you were worried about what stupid shit you might say or do if you got that drunk.

Then you remembered Bucky, and it got hard for you to care.

So after about 3 hours of fruity drinks and makeup and a lot of hype from your friends, you were clad in the shortest dress you owned, heels that made you legs look killer, and enough alcohol to stop any kind of inhibitions you may have - and the girls were loving it.

The confidence with which you held yourself on the walk to the bar was enough to cover up the slight wobble in your step, but you told yourself you would grab a glass of water as soon as you got inside.

Once in the bar, you gave your jacket to the coat check and scanned the room for Sam, finally laying eyes on him towards the center of the room. You made your way over, and he pulled you into a hug as soon as he caught sight of you.

“Well, hey, baby girl. I’m glad you decided to come out again. How have you been?” He asked you in his usual flirty but friendly way, enough to make a girl blush if you read into it too much. While you were telling him about the mess that your life had been the last week or so, he pulled you over to the bar to order another drink.

You were about to inform him of your decision to drink a glass of water when you spotted the last person you wanted to see over his shoulder.

James Buchanan Barnes. With the same blonde woman from the cafe draped across his lap. If you weren’t so drunk, you might have seen that he didn’t look the least bit comfortable. But you were so drunk, so you ordered a round of shots for you and Sam and the girls, hoping he hadn’t seen you.

Of course, luck was never on your side.

Once you saw him heading your way, you threw back your shot then grabbed Sam’s, ignoring his noise of protest, and threw that back as well. You were able to compose yourself and put on your friendliest smile by the time he approached you.

You could see the million and one words he wanted to say written across his face, but you didn’t have the energy to deal with it, wouldn’t have the energy to deal with it, and you didn’t want to either. So instead of letting him say whatever was on the tip of his tongue, you flung your arms around your friends - one high around Sam’s shoulder and the other around Wanda’s - and introduced them to Bucky, your professor’s friend. Although you were hoping that avoiding any personal connection to him would make him just cut his losses and move on, you realized your plan hadn’t worked when he nodded his head towards his own friends, obviously wanting you to come meet him.

You looked around for an out from your companions, but Sam had disappeared and you saw Nat pulling Wanda into the single bathroom on the other end of the bar. Great.

With no other choice, you followed Bucky back over to his table, settling down into his chair and introducing everyone.

There was Steve, the blond you had seen at the grocery store, Maria, a beautiful brunette with a kind smile, and Sharon, the woman you had seen all over Bucky twice now. She was giving you a particularly nasty look, although you couldn't exactly blame her. Your mind was reeling trying to figure out why Bucky would introduce you to his girlfriend or hookup or whatever she was when he had just kissed you not that long ago. What game was this man playing?

You didn’t know, but you weren’t about to lose, so instead of taking the empty seat next to him as he probably expected you to, you took a couple steps around the table and sat yourself next to Steve, making sure your bare arm brushed against him as you did.

Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Bucky tense up, but Sharon had her hands gripping his biceps again within a second, so he forced himself to look away.

You, on the other hand, took your liquid courage and turned on the heavy flirtation, aiming it all at Steve.

“So,” you leaned toward Steve, placing your hand on his forearms, “do you live back in Brooklyn too?”

His cheeks gained a bit of color but he placed his hand on top of yours, rubbing it across your skin, before he answered.

“I do, me and Buck own the publishing house. But I grew up here. That’s actually why we’re all here in the first place. I moved to Brooklyn with my ma in high school, but my dad and family are all here. He asked me to come in for a weekend and the four of us decided to make a trip of it - we don’t get much of a break around work.”

He kept talking about the four of them - how he met Bucky his first day of school and they became instant friends, and then they met Sharon and Maria, also best friends, in college and had been inseparable ever since.

He talked so intently, your focus was entirely on him, even if you could still feel Bucky’s eyes burning a hole in the side of your head. You laughed a little loudly at his jokes, and the two of you had scooted so much that your legs were intertwined with his under the table, sides pressed flushly together, and leaning into the other's touch. One hand still rubbed lazy patterns along your hand and arm, but the other hand made its way over the back of your chair, occasionally playing with your hair or dancing along the bare skin of your shoulders.

When you shifted to take a sip of your drink, you noticed Bucky and Sharon in a similar position, though he didn’t look nearly as comfortable. Not wanting to think too much into it, you faced your body toward Steve and leaned to whisper in his ear.

“I’m really glad you were here tonight, it’s been amazing getting to talk to you.” Your body positions and the low, sultry tone of your voice probably made it seem, to the others, that you were saying much worse. It didn’t help that your slight exhale against his earlobe made him shudder.

Both of your heads snapped to look across the table at the sound of an indiscernible groan, and your eyes wandered down to Bucky’s white knuckles clutching his beer bottle.

“You okay there, Buck? Sounds like that bottle might burst if you grip it any tighter,” Steve tried to joke, but the tension in the air had become unbearably thick.

Trying your best to detach yourself from the conversation, you excused yourself to the bathroom. You had just stepped into the single room, not even able to lock the door, when it was pushed open into you. At first you thought it was some drunk creep, so you turned ready to throw a punch if needed, only to be met face to face with Bucky.

If you were smart, or sober, you would have pushed him out of the door without a word. Instead, you let him close and lock the door, then crowd you so you were caged between him and the counter.

“What the fuck are you doing, Barnes?” you hissed, still not in the mood for whatever bullshit excuse he was going to give you about the kiss.

“Me? What do you think you’re doing, putting your hands all over my best friend? What sort of game are you playing?” You scoffed at that, as if he could possibly get mad when that blonde was doing much worse.

“Remind me why you care, you should be focusing on your girlfriend out there instead of following people into bathrooms.”

“My girl- wait. Y/N are you jealous?” The unbearable grin on his face had you moving your hand forward to slap him - something you would never do sober - but he caught it and held it against his chest. “I can’t believe you’re jealous of Sharon. Is that the whole reason you’re pulling this whole act with Steve?”

You started to protest, say you didn’t know what he was talking about, that he was a goddamn idiot to think any of that was true, but nothing came out, and so he steam rolled ahead.

“Is that what the girls are doing these days - letting a guy know she wants him to fuck her brains out and then turn around and try it with his best friend? You could at least be a little bit more subtle, sweetheart.”

By this point you were fuming, who the fuck did he think he was? It didn’t help that there was that grain of truth behind his words, but you couldn’t even focus on that right now, too busy repeating another string of words.

Letting a guy know she wants him to fuck her brains out.

This was how he was going to bring up the voicemail? Right now in a bar bathroom when the two of you were both clearly beyond the line of logical thinking. Your brain was having a hard time keeping up with your mouth, and words were flying out before you could stop them.

“At least I don’t lead girls on like I’m some college frat boy.” Your hand flew over your mouth, but it was too late, you had laid all your cards on the table, and you might as well have gambled your future away in the process. How could you be so stupid?

Not wanting to catch even a glimpse of his response, you shoved past the arm that still had you trapped against the counter, able to get through solely because he was caught off guard, and practically launched yourself out of the bathroom.

Since you were in such a rush, and had a fair amount of tears obstructing your vision, you didn’t notice the couple coming out of the bathroom beside you, and ran straight into them.

You had an apology on the tip of your tongue when you realized it was Wanda and Nat, and instead you just shouldered your way past them, an unwarranted anger building at the fact that they had left you to fend for yourself. You knew it wasn’t really their fault, but you were drunk and your emotions were high and you really just wanted to be at home in bed before tear tracked cheeks turned to wracking sobs.

You were out the door and stumbling toward home before you even realized you didn’t have your coat and purse. Standing in the middle of the empty sidewalk for a moment, you were debating whether or not it was worth it to turn around and risk seeing Bucky again, when Nat rounded the corner with your things in her hand.

Once again, she knew exactly what to do, and wrapped both your jacket and her arms around you without saying a word, while you cried the whole way home.

Bucky watched your body disappear into the throng of people, and shifted his attention to the two girls in front of him - Natasha and Wanda, he recalled - as they talked through wordless looks.

The redhead disappeared after you, but not before she threw a sharp nod of her head in his direction. The taller of the two stepped towards him, a fiercely sympathetic look in her eyes. He didn’t know if it was for him or you or both, but he decided to take a chance and ask her for some help. It seemed she could read his mind, however, and was speaking before he got the chance.

“I see the way you’ve been looking at her, and I don’t think you’re quite the asshole you’ve made yourself out to be, but that doesn’t mean you get a free pass. Come by our place tomorrow and we’ll make sure she talks to you, but if you fuck this up I’ll let Nat after you, and she’s got a wicked bite.”

She slipped out of his line of sight before he had really comprehended what she’d said, and he stood there stunned for a few moments until he felt a looming presence beside him.

Turning his head, he saw Steve, who looked like already knew what a dumbass he was, so Bucky patted him on the back and headed back toward their table, mind whirling with all the things he needed to say to you.

The next morning brought you a massive hangover and a shot of life-ending embarrassment. It almost would have been better to not remember anything at all, but unfortunately you recalled every moment of the night before with excruciating clarity.

You took a long time to get out of bed, finally dragging yourself to shower after almost an hour of staring at this ceiling wishing the last two weeks of your life had been some nightmare instead of reality.

Not thinking anything of it, you head to the kitchen for a cup of tea after your shower, clad in only a towel and your still damp hair. What you weren’t expecting, however, was for your roommates to already have a mug waiting for you, or for Bucky to be sitting casually across from them at the kitchen table.

“Oh, what the fuck,” you snapped, not at all in the headspace to deal with this. As if reliving last night over and over in your head wasn’t enough, the source of all your suffering was in your home smelling like your lavender and mint tea bags. What the fuck.

Realizing you were now in the room, Nat and Wanda scrambled to their feet and shuffled past you to their room. But not before Nastsha stopped to whisper some words of encouragement in your ear.

“Just hear him out, Ангел, I think he deserves that.” She pressed a kiss to your cheek before disappearing behind the closed door.

Great, even your practically man-hating roommate was lapping up this guy’s charm. Ridiculous.

You stood there and stared at it angrily for a moment, as if you could will Bucky away before you had to endure this, but when you turned he was still sat uncomfortably in the old wooden chair, same sheepish smile he seemed to wear so often.

It really hit you like a ton of bricks, just staring at each other from across the kitchen, how beautiful he was. And how mad it made you, because it just wasn’t fair that this incredible man had been thrust into your life just to make a wreck of it.

Maybe it’s time to let go. Something your sister used to say often. You were known for holding a grudge, even when you didn’t actually intend to, and she was always the one to talk you down and walk you through forgiveness.

Those words had never rang more true than that moment. It was time to move on, whatever anger and shame was lingering in Bucky’s presence could be released, hopefully on both ends, because your future was more important than the petty feelings you wanted to hold on to.

So, after rushing back to your room to put clothes on, you came back and sat across from him, smiling gratefully when he slid the cup of tea towards you, and waited for him to say whatever he needed.

“I know I’m an idiot,” he had to stop after you made a snorting noise into your mug. What a way to start, you thought, but you just waved your hand for him to continue.

“I’m sorry. That’s the biggest thing I can say. I just - no, you don’t need an excuse, you need an explanation. I think you’re amazing - in so many ways. Your writing is incredible, and so is your mind, and I can say without a doubt that you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” He looked up for a moment, to see you pressing your hand to your cheek, trying to convince yourself that the heat radiating from your face was from the tea and not his overwhelming compliments.

You wanted to shrug him off, tell him none of that was true, but you could see how much more he had to say, so you let him continue.

“Despite all that, I was scared. It’s kind of a long story, but Steve was seeing this girl a few years back, right as we started taking off as a business. He was head over heels, swore he was gonna marry her; I thought so too, for a bit, but Peggy always gave me a weird feeling. I wish now that I had told Steve that, because as soon as her book was published, she broke his heart. He wasn’t the same for a while after that.”

Your heart ached for Steve, and for Bucky as well, because you could see all over his face how much his friend mattered to him. It also helped to loosen that grip the anger had on your heart. But not completely.

“He didn’t seem to mind me flirting with him last night. Why’s that?” That was really what you couldn’t put the pieces together for. This made him laugh, though you couldn’t figure out why until he finally controlled himself enough to explain.

“Oh yeah, that. Dumbass was so drunk and distracted by a pretty girl that he didn’t really put two and two together, even after seeing you at the grocery store earlier this week. Even though he’s okay now, he hasn’t been with anyone since Peggy, so his brain kinda turned off.”

This made you laugh too, and it was like the majority of the tension between you had dissipated. That felt really good.

You still didn’t know where you stood with him, but that was alright for now.

The two of you stayed in the kitchen talking for a majority of the morning, and he finally brought up your book - something that had somehow been pushed to the back of your mind in the midst of everything else happening.

“So, I finished your book,” he paused for a moment when he heard your breath hitch, but continued on. “I love it, and I hope you know I’m not just saying that because of anything that’s happened between us. Steve loved it and so did Bruce, one of our editors, when I sent it to him back in Brooklyn.”

“What are you saying?” It seemed too good to be true.

“I’m saying I want to publish your book.”

“You want to - wow. I’m shocked. Wow.”

But what the fuck happens now?

You must have spoken out loud, because he threw his head back in a laugh.

“Come to Brooklyn with me. This weekend, that’s when I was planning to leave anyway. You can come meet everyone else at the firm, meet Bruce, who will do your editing, and get to know Maria a bit more, sign contracts and all that other fun paperwork. Then we’ll be in business. What do you say?”

You couldn’t say anything, the grin taking up your face was simply too big. Instead, you did what any normal, professional author would do. You launched yourself at Bucky, wrapped yourself around him and let him squeeze you tight right there in the middle of your apartment.

Neither of you could see it, but Natasha and Wanda stood watching your embrace, silently closing the door back while sharing knowing smiles.

taglist *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

@mrsbarnesinmyimagination @ducky2104 @demongirl1917 @writing-for-marvel @zbutx @asgardwinter @thesneakylittleminx @winth0rsoldier @carrotfantasimp @cutelittletwistedhorror @enchantedbarnes @tlcwrites @maladaptivexxdaydreaming @subwaysurf45 @intrepidacious @ambrosiase @riverevelations @nexusnyx @buckydaddy @babycap @aquariusbarnes @gray-reads @starbuckie @lovinggbarnes @igotnoname4thisblog @signofthebarnes @cupidsbarnes @lostyx @silentkiller2374 @blossomedfloweroflove @red42985 @bennibabie @thesneakylittleminx @theokatz @fyeahatised @smokeinherperfume @miyadarling @awaywithtime @fandoms-writings @povlvr @sweetdreamsbuck @clementinesjourney @beefybuckrrito @shawnie--jo @pineprincess @scxrletrecsmarvel @vivalakatee @dihra-vesa @peachyprism @emmabarnes @goldustwomun @scxrletrecsmarvel

if your user is scored i couldn't tag you!

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes #bucky fic #bucky series #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes reader insert #tiff writes #all you need

225 notes · View notes

tetsunormous · 3 years

Text

Reencounters

pairing: Matsukawa Issei x f!reader

genre: college au, friends to lovers, smut (18+), fluff

word count: 6.5K

warnings: cunnilingus, fingering, vaginal penetration, unprotected sex, creampie, swearing, nipple play, pinning

A/N: This is for Ria's @bakugohoex's rich boy collab 💜 Congrat's on 3k!! thank you to @ohno-otome and @armins-futon for reading this for me. I love matsukawa but I don't write for him often so this has been really fun :)

Walking into your new dorm room, you weren’t sure what to expect. Sure, you’ve seen the pictures online, but there’s nothing like the slightly dusty window letting in a hazy ray of light shining down onto the slight dip in the middle of the mattress you now call your own. Your desk almost touched the corner of your twin-sized bed, and your new bookshelf barely has enough room to fit half of the books you brought, but this was your new life. It didn’t dawn on you just how different university would be until you arrived this morning, but here you were, unpacking all your clothes into the cramped closet in the corner. Luckily, you’re in the building where you had a single room. Privacy was something you were worried about, and the communal washrooms will be something to get used to, but either way, this was a new start, and no matter how nervous you are, you’re grateful for it.

High school wasn’t terrible, but it definitely wasn’t what you expected it to be. Going into it, you obviously knew that it would be nothing like how the movies depicted, but you were excited. How bad could those four years really be if you had your best friend right by your side? He was incredible. He understood you better than anybody else, would be able to tell how you were feeling without the exchange of words, but most of all, he was your person, and you were his.

There was no doubting that in all your years of friendship.

But alas, like all good things in life, they must come to an end.

The summer going into the twelfth grade, he was longer your best friend. The boy that would go to the farmers market with you and your mom every other Sunday was now lining up for the newest sneaker drop. The boy that would rather spend the night at home and binge-watch your shared comfort show for the seventh time is now out with the boys sneaking into shisha bars and doing donuts in the community centre parking lots with their new cars. You watched as he slowly forgot about you, getting caught up in his new friendships and obsessing over material items that he never cared about before. It’s not that you were upset he found new friends. It’s that the only time he would reach out was to randomly drop off something he had bought you in hopes it would make up for him blowing you off again.

They started small, simple sweaters he knew you would like, but the gifts became almost ridiculous as time passed. He would never let you return them either, so now you have designer shoes for imaginary banquets. Of course, you were always grateful, but you would trade all his gifts just to spend time with him again. His family has always been wealthy, they always went on lavish vacations and drove the nicest cars, but you never really cared about what he spends his money on or just how much his parents make. You cared that he saw you as a person he wanted to be with rather than just someone he could shove gifts towards to make up for the quality time he’d miss.

But now you’re here. You were arriving three hours before the suggested move-in time because you didn’t want to be rushed to unpack before orientation starts later. You’ve seen a few people walking around on your floor, but neither of your neighbours have arrived, and honestly, you don’t mind because that means you’re able to blast your music without worry. As The 1975 fills your room, you stand still for a second, really taking in where you are. You’re now attending one of the best schools in the country, living on your own with a floor of people you don’t know yet. It starts to sink in that you are starting anew. The people who end up in the rooms next to you might just end up being your lifelong friends. As the song comes to an end, you decide it’s time to try to make yourself look a little more presentable since it’s almost time for people to start rolling in.

...

It’s almost five in the afternoon, and everyone on your floor is meeting outside on the field for a quick introduction before group dinner. You’re sitting with your knees pressed to your chest as the girl next to you tries to make small talk. To be fair, she’s incredibly sweet, but you can’t focus on her because somewhere behind you, there is a voice you think you recognize. There’s no way he would be here. Sure, you have no idea what school he ended up choosing, but if he ended up here, he would’ve at least texted you. Right? Before you can confirm your suspicions, orientation starts, and your group leader is already talking with more energy than you can handle.

The group of guys settle down close by, and you can’t stop yourself from looking over, wondering if you’ll see the head of brown curls. Instead, you’re met with a bunch of frat boy looking wannabes that instantly make your eyes roll. To say you’re disappointed that you didn’t see him was so stupid. It’s been over a year, yet here you were, hoping to magically bump into him as if this was some cliche movie. If anything, it’s frustrating. It’s frustrating that even though he stopped caring for you, you still longed to see him, to hear him laugh at one of your cheesy jokes. It’s even more frustrating that this new start you’ve been looking forward to, makes you miss him even more.

There are only sixteen people on your floor, but introductions take a lifetime because someone didn’t come on time. When they finally do show up, you almost laugh at this whole situation because, of course, it was him. Of course, he was strutting down the courtyard in some brand new Gucci sneakers and the same Balenciaga sweater he had bought for you a few months ago. Of course, the annoying group of boys behind you gesture for him as he quickly apologizes to the group leaders. And, of course, when you make eye contact, he’s the one looking at you with a mixture of shock and annoyance.

Quickly rushing back to your room after the meeting, you decide you’re ordering in tonight so that you don’t have to see him for at least another day. This is all so fucked up. You wrack your brain trying to understand how probable this whole situation is because, frankly, it feels like a sick joke, and on top of it, he’s the one annoyed?

Naturally, you spend the rest of the night unpacking the rest of your things before ordering your comfort food to wash down all the feelings you’re experiencing. Putting on your favourite show, you begin your tenth rerun as you bury yourself in your blankets. Part of you feels so stupid for completely ignoring your initial dinner plans, but you knew with the mindset you had at the moment, there was no way you would have enjoyed yourself. It’s a bit silly you haven’t left your room since picking up your takeout, you don’t even know who lives beside you, but that’s a problem for tomorrow.

Slipping into your slides, you head towards the washroom with your little toiletry bag. You pass by the girl you were sitting with earlier, and she sends you a smile. After apologizing for disappearing all night she just laughs and assures you nothing happened. She even points out where her room is if you were up to hang out tomorrow during frosh activities.

Just this interaction makes you feel better, and you quietly hum along to the familiar tune coming from the shower stall.

He used to play this song all the time, claiming it spoke to him the first time he heard it. Since then, it became the song he would play anytime he’d come to pick you up, explaining how this song is special because the ending always reminded him of you. It didn’t matter how long it’s been since the two of you hung out. Every time you heard ‘Pluto Projector,’ it would always bring a smile to your face. You even tried to show the song to your ex-boyfriend, but he never paid attention to your suggestions. He always claimed that his music taste was better. Thankfully that relationship only lasted a couple of months, but still, the regret of not waiting for someone worthy lingers in your mind.

While applying your moisturizer, you hear the water shut, the person pausing the song right as the orchestra starts to come in. Worried about who you may run into, you quickly pack up your stuff. You hear the click of the lock, and as you turn around, you’re met with him, with his curly hair all damp and his obnoxious teal blue robe wrapped loosely around his waist.

Rushing past him, you briskly walk towards your room, but before you can close the door, his foot jams between the doorframe. He pushes his way in and quietly closes the door, only to be met with the unimpressed look on your face. He circles around your room, eyes searching for any trace of your past friendship before standing back at the door.

“What do you want, Matsukawa?” you ask impatiently. It’s bad enough you run into the one person you wanted to forget, but now he’s standing in your room with a matching frown.

Something indescribable flashes across his eyes, and you can visibly see his frown deepen at your question. Leaning against your door, his arms come up to rub over his face, peeking at you through his fingers before letting out a long sigh. “When did I become Matsukawa? I thought I was Issei.”

You can’t help the chuckle that escapes your lips, and you realize how childish your grudge might be, but he has changed, and the man standing in front of you isn’t the same man you once called your best friend. “When you changed, Matsukawa. Issei was my best friend, and YOU are not.”

His eyes filled with confusion as his eyebrows furrow, taking a step forward towards you. “I’m sorry? I tried to stay in touch with you. You’re the one that stopped talking to me, so I’d try to send you things instead. How was I the one who changed?”

You stand there, staring at him for a second before shaking your head. “I can’t do this right now; I want to have a good day tomorrow, so I need to go to sleep. Please, leave my room.”

His eyes soften a little, and you can see a faint glimpse of his infamous lazy smile, “We both know you’re not going to be sleeping anytime soon,” he stalks over and kicks his slides off before sitting at the end of your bed. “Let’s talk about this because, frankly, I’m tired of watching you decide if you hate me every time you see me.”

The nerve of this man. The fact that he invites himself into your room, declares his stay, and then sits on your bed without permission. You don’t even know if he’s wearing anything under that robe as his hair is literally dripping onto your comforter. Regardless of what the situation is, this action alone has you seething. Turning towards your desk chair, you harshly pull out the slightly imbalanced piece of wood and sit down, silently questioning why he isn’t the one on the chair.

He watches you stomp around, and he kinda chuckles at your little tantrum, missing how easy it was to rile you up. Your glare at him would be a little scary if he didn’t see the way your lips mumbled to yourself. It’s honestly a little cute to watch you all frustrated with him even though he saw one of the shoes he bought you in your closet. Sure, they look brand new, but the fact that you brought them here with you must mean something.

The year you two spent apart has been really stressful on Matsukawa. He thought that you’d be happy that he could give you everything you wanted. He knew he wasn’t spending as much time with you as he used to, but he thought the gifts he spent hours lining up for would make up for it.

When you stopped returning his calls and texts, he was crushed. Everyone could see how he felt about you, but then he watched you get close to another man. Within two weeks, you were dating him, and he was left watching from a distance. Neither of you ever confirmed your feelings for each other, but he could tell that man wasn’t making you happy. He didn’t understand your different facial expressions, he didn’t care about what you had to say, but all he could do was watch the girl he wanted from the sidelines.

Sure, as time went on, Matsukawa also started talking to other girls. None of them ever became his girlfriend, he didn’t think it was fair to get with someone when he was set on you, but he had his fair share of hookups. He has money, a shit ton of it, but he never let that get to his head. It wasn’t his fault that he gained popularity when he started to get into name brands and upgraded his car, but none of that ever changed who he was — at least not to the degree you had him pinned.

He watches you carefully, your leg bouncing impatiently as your eyes glare daggers in his direction. He runs his hand through his hair and lets out a sigh, “what did I do wrong? You didn’t even give me a chance to fix whatever I did (y/n).”

The lamp in the corner of your room shines a dim yellow hue onto his features. His brows are knitted in concern as he leans forwards on his knees, his robe showing off a deep v down his chest. You can feel yourself freeze up at his question, goosebumps covering your skin, while your eyes pour into his. “You changed Matsukawa. You stopped making an effort to be there. I’m not some girl you can just buy with all your money. I have never cared about how much you have or what you can afford -- you know that! It doesn’t matter what. I always split things with you because I never wanted you to feel like I was there for your money. But then suddenly, you just stop showing up. You wouldn’t even tell me you made other plans, and I would just open my door to find some package you dropped off.”

His eyes search your face before letting out a deep sigh. “I tried! You wouldn’t answer any of my calls, I know I stopped explaining myself, but can you blame me? Don’t you think I want to take you around and introduce you to all my friends? Don’t you think I miss going on late-night drives with you to 7-11? Every time I would drive past there, you’re all I thought about. You and your stupid obsession with cheese taquitos and Arizona tea. Did you even think about how I felt when you decided to act like I don’t exist?” He hastily stands up and paces around in the confined space of your dorm room. He never raises his voice, so hearing him talk at a slightly louder volume was enough to let you know he was dead serious. “You know, I never stopped talking highly about you because as selfish as it is, those boys have an important family. They have the connections you dream about (y/n), so even when you started to ignore me to go out with that fucking ex-boyfriend of yours, I never said anything.”

He looks at you with pleading eyes before going to sit back down, his elbows now resting against his thighs. “I know you don’t care about my money, but I didn’t know how else to tell you I was still thinking about you. I tried to get you things that you’d like, things that you’d wear. But no, I had to watch you put on a fake smile and laugh at that asshole’s jokes while you stubbornly ignored me to the point I thought you had me blocked.”

Looking up at you through his curls, his hooded eyes looked darker before. His lips curled into a forced smile as he let out a breathy chuckle, “he didn’t deserve you. But what do I know, right?”

You sat there quietly, taking in what he had just said. You didn’t realize how hurt he was. To be frank, up till now, you were so consumed by your feelings, and you failed to consider his own. His head is hanging between his hands, and the silence in your room right now is insufferable. He’s just explained himself, yet all you can do is scoff at yourself. While you were obsessing over the fact that Matsukawa wasn’t coming over to watch another rerun of your favourite show, he was out picking out different gifts he thought you’d like. You didn’t even open the last few because your own emotions so blinded you. Hearing him take a deep breath, he stands up and smiles sadly at you, “nice talk, (y/n). Thanks for listening.”

“I’m sorry, Issei.”

He lifts his head to meet your gaze, and you can visibly watch as his shoulders relax. It’s been too long since he’s heard you call him by his first name.

“I’m sorry too. I should’ve just gotten out of the car to talk to you.”

You look at him with a small smile. Walking towards your bed, you sit down and pat the spot beside you, pulling him in for a hug. His robe is probably the softest thing you’ve ever felt in your life, your fingers sinking into the fabric as you hold him close. His arms are immediately wrapping around you, and you both stay like that for a minute before you pull back, a faint blush blooming on your cheeks.

“No, you have nothing to apologize for. You tried reaching out to me, you tried explaining yourself, but I didn’t even give you a chance. I’m sorry. I can’t believe I was so caught up I didn’t even think about what you were feeling. The fact that you still wanted to introduce me to your friends, even after all the stuff I did to you….I’m so sorry, Issei.”

He gives you a playful smile and lightly nudges your shoulder with his, “yea, that was kinda unfair, but good thing we talked it out, huh?”

You flash him a sheepish smile, but your eyes glimmer with happiness, “yea, it’s good you barged into my room at two in the morning. Just like old times.”

His smile instantly grows at your playfulness, and he gives you a mock scoff. “I’m sorry, but if I remember correctly, you’d beg for me to stay over at two am cause you decided you wanted to watch a scary movie. Have you gotten better with horror movies this year, or are you still as jumpy as I remember?”

The tip of your ears growing warm while you mutter out a quick “shut up.”

His laughter makes your heart beat against your chest because you missed it so much. It’s been a while since you got to hear him laugh with you, and without even thinking, you go in for another hug.

His arms easily hold you close, and one of his massive hands reaches up to pet your hair. “Missed me, didn’t you?” he asks, and you can feel him smirking, so you just nod, your fingers playing with the damp, short curls at the base of his nape.

“Issei?” you ask with a little murmur against his neck.

“Hmmm?”

You smile to yourself and pull back a little, so you can see his face, “so other than hanging out with your friends and keeping up with my relationship, what else have you been doing?”

His face drops as he looks at you with a deadpan stare, the corners of his mouth twitching up in a smile as you giggle at his reaction. He pushes you back, so you end up falling onto your mattress, his long limbs effortlessly straddling your legs. Before you can think about the position you’re in, his fingers start to poke all-around your torso, causing you both to laugh as he starts to tickle you. “You think you’re funny, huh?” His hands go to tickle your worst spot as he starts to talk, but you can’t hear him over your own laughter. His fingers slow down, but you keep giggling when you’re met with his lazy smirk, “I’m trying to talk, you know. It’s rude you’re laughing when I’m trying to speak to you.”

He leans forwards and has both hands resting at the side of your head. Your faces now inches apart, the faint smell of sandalwood from his body wash now becoming more apparent. You stare into his brown eyes, and it almost feels as if everything stopped for a few seconds. The lamp in your room doesn’t do him justice as the shadows of his face wash over his features, but even then, his eyes stare back at you with a slight twinkle as you catch your breath.

Reaching up to wrap your arms around his neck and you tug him close, crashing his lips onto yours. The sweet hints from his beloved Burt’s bee’s lip balm make his lips even softer than you imagined. The kiss is short, but as you both pull away, he’s staring at you with a goofy smile.

“You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do that, (y/n).”

“Me too, Issei,” you whisper back before his lips capture yours again, this time with more confidence. This kiss is much more passionate than the last, holding onto each other in hopes of deepening it. One of his hands travels down to grab your waist, his tongue sweeping across your bottom lip, asking for permission. Your lips part and your tongues swirl together effortlessly while your hands play with his hair, pulling him closer into your body.

His hand feels a little rougher than before against your bare skin because of how often he trains, running down the length of your leg. The light touch of his fingertips admires how smooth your skin is before they trail back up, stopping just before the edge of your pyjama shorts. Hooking your leg around his hip, he leans into your body even further and even nips at your bottom lip.

Matsukawa smirks and whispers against your lips, “did he ever kiss you like that?”

Slightly surprised at the question, you shake your head, answering honestly. “He never made me feel the way you do.”

You watch as his eyes dilate, flickering into a deep brown you’ve never seen on him. The hand that was previously on your leg is now cupping your cheek, stroking your face softly, while his own face blooms into a rare shade of pink. Still, his words are clear, “please...give me a chance? He never treated you right. Let me take care of you?”

Words can’t describe how his question made you feel. You spent years learning about Matsukawa, understanding him to the point where words weren’t necessary to see what was happening in his head. Not once did you think he reciprocated your feelings, let alone want to be with you. Yet, here you are, caged beneath his arms as his hopeful eyes pour into yours.

Turning your head slightly, you press a kiss onto his hand and smile. “Please?”

His face breaks into a smile. His cheeks are tinted rose as the corners of his mouth reach up to his eyes. Leaning down, he peppers kisses onto your face, the loose curls on his head tickling your cheeks as he giggles with you. The kisses trail down to your jaw, and he follows the natural curve of your jawline to your ear. “Is this okay?” he whispers softly, only continuing down this path when you give him a curt nod.

Your legs tighten around his waist when he begins to press open mouth kisses down your neck, gently nipping at the spots that make you let out shy little sounds. His tongue leaves kitten licks against your skin after he’s sucked on it, littering faint marks. Seeing you with light hickeys on the base of your neck and collarbones is completely self-indulgent for him. Thinking about waking up in the morning and seeing the marks he knows he gave you makes him inexplicably happy as he sucks particularly hard, causing you to wince.

Immediately he stops and turns to you, “I’m sorry, did I hurt you? D’you wanna stop?”

His concern for you is truly a breath of fresh air compared to what you had before. Shaking your head, you guide his hands to the edge of your sweater. “You bought this for me… it’s only fair I let you take it off.”

He studies your face for a second before his lips curl into a lazy smirk, quickly pulling the overpriced sweater off your body. He takes a sharp inhale when you reveal you aren’t wearing anything underneath as he’s met with your beautiful tits, nipples hard and pointed. “You let me in here knowing you weren’t wearing a bra? And here I thought you were a good girl.”

Noticing how your legs tighten around him, he smirks even wider. Leaning back down, his kisses trail down to your chest, and his lips feel soft and warm against your skin. His fingers take hold of your chin and force you to look down on him while his lips wrap around your nipple, the tip of his tongue flicking gently at the hardened bud. His hand palms against the fatty flesh of your other tit; his fingers are rolling your nipple before tugging on it experimentally.

Suddenly feeling shy, your arms come up to cover your face slightly just to have him lace his fingers with yours, pulling your arms away. “Don’t hide from me. Let me see how pretty you look. Let me hear how good I make you feel, okay?”

“I’ve never had someone play with my tits like this…”

He just stares at you, brows knitted as his smirk turns into a slight pout. “You’re with me now; that means every part of your body will be pleasured. I wanna hear and see all of you, okay?”

With a shy nod, you gently roll your hips against him, inviting more of his attention.

He kisses you once more, murmuring against your lips, “you’re so beautiful. Let me know if I’m going too fast, okay?”

His lips follow down your body once more, lightly biting your tit before using the flat part of his tongue to feel the valley between your chest. Matsukawa lets out a low moan as you arch upwards, pushing yourself closer to his touches. Letting go of your hands, he begins to massage the soft flesh of your tits and kiss down your stomach, the tip of his tongue trailing against the waistband of your shorts.

“Let me hear you ask for it; I don’t wanna do something you don’t want.”

“Isseiiii, please?” you whine out, the tip of your ears turning hot at the thought of asking for his tongue.

He smirks at you, looking up through his hooded eyes and tsks. “Be a good girl for me. Use your words.”

His words go straight to your pussy, and you can’t help the doe eyes look in your eyes when you whimper out, “please, Issei? Wanna feel your mouth on me.”

You watch as he takes in a sharp breath, the hunger in his eyes shining through despite the dim lighting in your room. He tugs at the end of your shorts until they’re completely off, repositioning himself lower until your legs are resting around his biceps. His eyes zone in on the way a sheer layer of slick coats your lips, happy that the attention he’s been giving you has pleased you. As he shimmies down on your bed, his legs now supporting himself on the floor, he nestles himself between your legs, easily spreading your things open with his arms. Sending you a knowing smile, he blows cool air directly onto your clit, loving how your walls flutter for him.

“You’re so sensitive, baby.”

“No one’s ever made me feel like this before...want more, please?”

You look down at him with pleading eyes, your hands cupping his face when you speak. Pressing a quick peck to your hand, he hips his head down and traces your pussy lips with his tongue, savouring how you taste.

The gasp that you let out once you felt his touch was adorable. It suddenly became the sound Matsukawa will chase after the more he gets to know your body and what it likes. He takes one long lap up your pussy, stopping just before your clit and using his fingers, he spreads your lips even more. Once your clit is all exposed, he flicks it gently with the tip of his tongue, looking up at you with all the confidence in the world. Hearing your little moans make him greedy for more, for more desperate and needy sounds, so he goes to press a kiss onto your bundle of nerves. Feeling you twitch beneath him, he gently places his lips around the sensitive bud and sucks earnestly, relishing in the way you buck your hips and call out his name. After a while of pure clitoral stimulation, he leans back up to watch your eyes blink back into focus on his face, a silly dazed smile on your face.

He winks at you and sticks his tongue into your drooling hole, swirling it around to feel the walls of your pussy clench around him. His fingers dig into the flesh of your thighs as he nuzzles his nose against your clit, his cock getting unbearably hard at the way you pant our pleas.

“I-issei! Please….need you inside, please!”

Coming back up for air, his hand leaves your thigh as his fingers start to tease around your hole, loving how your pussy clenches around nothing. So needy for his touches when he’s barely even started. He knows your orgasm was building, but he wants to take his time with you. You mean the world to him, and seeing you like this already makes him feel like the luckiest man at the moment.

Taking two of his fingers, he coats them in all your slick before slowly pushing them inside you. His eyes squeeze shut when he feels how tight you are, his mind immediately thinking about how you’d feel wrapped around his cock. When he’s finally inside, he pulls out slowly before sliding them back in, loving how you beg for more.

“Need more, please, Issei! Go faster, please.”

Your hands pull his head up to kiss you while his fingers begin to speed up. With the lewd sound of his hand slapping against your sopping wet pussy, his palm is applying pressure to your clit. Your moans are lost in your kisses, his other hand going back to playing with your sensitive nipple.

“I have to stretch you out, babygirl. I don’t want my cock to hurt you.”

All you’re able to do is nod as his fingers start to scissor your hole, stretching you out even more. His fingers, now knuckle deep, curl against your sweet spot, making you grip onto his hair as he swallows all your cries, suddenly remembering that the walls in this dorm probably aren’t that thick.

His fingers curl into you more, whispering sweet praises as his hand teases and tugs on your swollen nipple. Everything happened so quick, and you’re cumming all over his hand, your sweet sticky arousal covering his fingers as he slows down. Matsukawa is smiling down at you, “you did so well, baby. Bet that felt really good, huh?”

Maybe you’re needy or just horny, but even after your orgasm, you start tugging the tie that keeps his robe up. Your legs are sore, sorer than they’ve ever been, but all you can think about is how full you would feel with him inside of you. He smirks at you as he pops his fingers into his mouth, sucking off all your juices before letting his robe fall and chucking it to the ground. He’s wearing his briefs, but you can see how hard his cock is under the thin cotton material. Before you’re able to pull his underwear down, he stops you and lets out a small chuckle. “I’m sorry, I don’t have a condom. We don’t have to do anything.”

You giggle and shake your head, “don’t need one; we’re in university, baby. What’s a little fun without risks?”

He lets you pull his underwear down, and his massive throbbing cock instantly slaps against his stomach as he laughs at your reaction. “Had to make sure you were stretched out enough.”

You bite your lips and stare at how big his cock actually is. It’s hard to imagine how you’ll fit that inside of you, but you’re determined to give it a try.

“You ready, pretty girl?” he asks as he taps the tip of cock against your clit, loving how you squirm under him.

“mmhmm, Issei.”

He lets go of his cock and leans up, and pulls you into a deep kiss, completely in awe of you.

“Tell me if you wanna stop, kay?”

Replying with a small hum, he gathers up the remaining slick that’s leaking out of your pussy and strokes his cock slowly, also letting his spit drip down to help lubricate himself. He lines himself up with your pretty pussy and starts to push the head in, studying your face to make sure you’re doing alright. When he sees you smiling back at him, despite the grip you have on his arms, he pushes another two inches inside of you.

“You’re doing so good for me, baby. We’re almost halfway,” he whispers into your ear as he kisses your neck softly, sucking on the spot by the base of your lobe. “Such a good girl for me,” he coaxes as his cock slides another inch into your sweet cunt.

Incredibly, he’s only halfway down because you’ve never felt this full before. Still, your fingers dig into his arms when you ask for more. “Just want all of you in me, please?”

Hearing you ask for more even though you already looked fucked out sparks something inside him. He lets out a low growl and quickly pushes the rest of his length inside you, mumbling sweet nothings against your skin. He moans out with you when he feels how warm and tight you are, your pussy stretching more than it ever has to accommodate his size.

“Feel s’good, Issei.”

With a breathy chuckle, he peppers kisses all over your neck, loving the sound of your soft giggles as he pulls back three-quarters of the way, slowly pushing his way back into you. The gasp you let out is different than before, much more surprised but sensual.

He continues this motion a few more times before he picks up the pace, his hips slamming against you while your tits bounce. Each thrust knocks the air out of your chest cause he’s brushing against your spot every time. Matsukawa leans down and presses his forehead against the crook of your neck, muttering how good you feel.

“F-faster...need you faster, is’o good, please.”

Obliging to your pleas, he starts to rut his hips into yours, the sound of his balls slapping against your skin with each movement. He looks up to see your dreamy eyes and smiles. He knows there’s not a thought behind those eyes right now as his cock slams against your walls with each thrust. He goes to kiss you again, silencing your cries as your nails drag down his arms, trying to ground yourself in the midst of all the pleasure.

“You’re s-tight baby I- fuuuuuck, I can barely move.”

You can’t help it. Your walls are naturally squeezing him because he’s fucking straight into your sweet spot with each snap of his hips. You look at him with hazy eyes, entirely in a trance as you moan out his name. He can tell you want to cum, so his hand reaches down to rub your clit as his cock continues to pound into you.

“C’mon baby, cum all over my cock. You can do it...ah shit, yea, just like that.”

He’s been trying so hard not to cum but watching your back arch into him as your nails drab down his back, his name falling out from your lips in a loud erotic moan, is making it really hard. He looks down in surprise when he sees a creamy white rim around his cock, proud of himself for making you cream.

“Good girl...that’s my fuckin girl.”

Satisfied he made you finish, his head falls back onto your shoulder, his hips just rutting into you as he chases his own orgasm. Not even a minute later, he’s calling out for you as he quickly pulls out, cumming all over your tits. His chest heaves along with yours, his hair sticking to his forehead slightly as he empties his load all over your chest.

Once you’ve both calmed down a little bit, he smiles down at you and goes to stroke your cheek. “Had you creaming on my cock, was it fun? Did you have a good time?”

“S’good...thank you, baby,” you say before pulling him down for a kiss.

He gets up and reaches for his robe, “you did so good, took me like a champ heh. I’ll be back with a rag to clean you up, okay? Don’t move.”

As he leaves your room, you stare up at the ceiling and let out a laugh. Not even twelve hours ago, you were cursing the fact that he was here with you, and now you have his cum all over your tiddies as he goes to get stuff to clean you up.

You watch as he comes back into your room, fully changed with a rag in his hand. He kneels beside you and pets your hair as he starts to wipe his mess.

“Why’re you changed?”

“Oh! We’re going to 7-11 once I get you cleaned up.”

“.....it’s like three-thirty in the morning.”

“I’ll get you taquitos and Arizona,” he says as he goes to wipe around your pussy, mindful not to put too much pressure cause you’re still sensitive.

“And skittles?”

He snorts and kisses your shaking thigh, “yea, I’ll get you skittles, brat.”

taglist: @plutowrites @armins-futon @arte-misa @strawbari21 @matsusimp @bokutomessy @mentaly-ill @arumiee @kvrooschibichan lmk if you want to be added to my tag list

#rich boy collab #matsukawa #matsukawa issei #matsukawa x reader #matsukawa issei x reader #matsukawa smut #matsukawa issei smut #haikyuu smut #hq smut #haikyuu x reader #hq x reader #haikyuu matsukawa #tw unprotected sex #dark

649 notes · View notes

gale-gentlepenguin · 3 years

Text

ML Fic: Soulmate Survey Part 38

Sorry for the delay. Real life gets out of hand. But here it is! The antepenultimate chapter.

Shout out to @asongeverlasting for beta reading for me and making sure I actually got this out.

Check her writing out on AO3 as Ramblingwren

(Master post)

(Read the fic in a more condensed on Ao3)

(The latest chapter will be up on there once this reaches over 500 notes on tumblr)

Hope you all enjoy

_____________________________________________________________

“I shouldn’t have let her go out there.”

Fu watched the school nurse, Angela, fret as she paced back and forth.

“I understand your concern, but I believe that it will all be alright. Ladybug and Chat Noir haven’t failed in handling an akuma yet,” he explained. “The girl will be okay.”

The nurse stopped pacing.

“I appreciate your optimism but… I am really not used to this,” She said as she gestured to the air.

Fu blinked at the statement.

“Oh?”

“This! This whole thing! Super villains that appear whenever someone gets sad, teenagers with superpowers! This is all new to me! I just moved to Paris a month ago from the countryside. All I wanted was to further my education and get work in the medical field. It… It boggles my mind that everyone in this city is so okay with all of this! Even my new boyfriend Curtis is able to shrug off an akuma attack like a sudden drizzle. This isn’t normal!”

The guardian could tell the young woman was distressed, and he couldn’t blame her. In a way, he envied her. This was all foreign for her, but to him, this was his entire life.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to blow up like that. I've had a lot to deal with, and this whole situation is just so…”

Fu moved to her and helped her sit down.

“It’s alright, this is by no means a good situation. Your concerns are very understandable. I can tell that deep down that your frustration and fear come from compassion and empathy. You will make a wonderful doctor one day.”

She took a deep breath.

“Thank you. You have no idea how much I really needed to hear that today.”

“How about I teach you a medication technique that will help you calm down?”

“Meditation? I'm not really one for that kind of stuff.”

“If one wants to be a doctor, being able to calm down and handle an emergency situation is a must.”

The school nurse agreed that he had a good point, and that this may help get her mind off of things.

“Okay, I guess I'll give it a shot.”

Fu smiled.

“Good. Let us start simple. Close your eyes and put your hands together.”

Angela felt the action was a bit odd but complied.

“Now, take a deep breath. Count to 5 in your head and then breathe out.”

She took her breath and followed the order.

“Whenever you feel a thought come to your head, simply picture yourself putting it out of your mind and into a bucket.”

She tried her best to comply.

As she did this, Fu moved behind her and quickly pinched a nerve on her neck, causing the young woman to seize up for a moment before losing consciousness.

“That will help her relax.”

He carefully moved her to the cot and laid a sheet over her like a blanket.

Once it was clear that she was asleep, a turtle kwami flew out of hiding.

“So, what do we do now, Master?”

Fu took a moment to consider.

His plan was already in motion. Ladybug and Chat Noir had plenty of allies to help fight the akuma. All that needed to be done was to sit down and wait.

But as he thought about it more, he couldn’t help but think that he should go in personally. It was what he'd initially planned to do with akuma, after all. Listening to this young woman’s fears made him really see how his inaction has led to such fear and uncertainty.

For once, it was time for him to go on the offensive.

“Now we head out and find this akuma.”

“Master, you already sent out three miraculous. Let the other heroes handle this,” Wayzz insisted.

“The people of Paris should not have to become used to this. I have been far too lax with this situation. Right now, Ladybug and Chat Noir are facing their most dangerous akuma yet. For decades I have always remained passive in order to avoid making another mistake, but I have already made so many with my inaction. It's time I stop letting my actions be dictated by fear.”

“But Master, you can’t transform! Your body is too old to handle it!”

“Fear not, Wayzz. I have been exercising and restoring my vitality with the techniques of the guardians. By my estimation, I should be able to maintain the transformation without too much issue for 10 minutes,” Fu assured.

“That is not a lot of time, Master!” Wayzz pointed out.

“True, but it is better than nothing. We will head out and wait for the moment we need it. Be ready, Wayzz.”

The old guardian started heading to the door.

“But Master, what if you get captured? What if the akuma does succeed and you are unable to step in?”

Fu paused at the door.

“I know you are concerned for me. I appreciate your care. But I need to go out there. I have lived a long life, Wayzz, far longer than most humans. One day I may not be here to be the guardian.”

Wayzz felt a pang of sorrow hearing his Master talk about how he would no longer be around.

“But that’s okay. I know that when that time comes… I have two young heroes that will be ready to stand up and fight. The best thing an old man like me can do is pave the road for them.” The guardian said with certainty. He went to open the door.

“Fu…”

The old man stopped. Turning around, he saw the turtle kwami he had known for most of his life smile at him.

“I know you think of yourself as a failure of a guardian… but Su Han and the others were wrong. You are a great one. You are the most caring guardian that has ever held the title. And I will be by your side to the end.”

The old man felt his eyes well up at the sweet comment.

“Then let’s go, Partner.”

___________________________________________________________________________

The dragon heroine grabbed the confused snake hero and moved him to the closest room before closing the door.

“Okay we should be safe here,” she said as she looked over to her comrade. It was clear that Viperion was still very confused. It did not help that both his and her miraculous were beeping. They didn't have much time.

“Thanks… ummm,” Viperion started as he tried to rack his brain for a name. Part of him felt like he should know her. But his mind is blank.

“Ryuuko. You can call me Ryuuko. And you are Viperion.”

“Okay… weird name for me, but I guess it works.”

Ryuuko realized that the bubble Viperion had been put in wasn’t just to keep him frozen in place. One of the side effects must have been leaving him without any memory of who he was. Had her partner been aware of that risk when he took the bubble for her? She couldn’t know for sure. But right now, she needed to focus on the task at hand. Shehad to take charge since her partner was out of sorts.

“Okay, 'll try to explain this as quickly as possible.”

“Your real name is Luka. But when you are in your hero form, you go by Viperion.”

“Hero form...”

He looked down.

“Well, that does explain the costumes. I thought it was some sort of weird costume party.”

Ryuuko decided to ignore that.

“Okay, so I'm a hero. And you're one too?”

“Yes. We are both heroes picked by Ladybug to help her fight villains. Right now, we're fighting a bunch of them, and you got your memory wiped by one of their attacks. That’s why you are confused. Any questions?”

The boy took a moment to look himself over and then look at her. This was a lot of information to take in. Ryuuko was half expecting him to call her crazy. Which, given how bizarre the circumstances were, she wouldn’t blame him.

“Okay, I think if it was anyone else telling me this, I would have called it a load of bull. But… I don’t know why but I feel like I can trust you. You sound sincere,” Viperion responded.

“Okay great, now let's…”

“I still have a few questions.”

Ryuuko sighs.

“Look, we really don’t have much time. We need to hurry and get out there to help…”

And just before she finished the statement, both of their transformations wore off. Revealing their civilian forms.

“Oh no.” Kagami muttered in horror.

“What happened? Where am I… What am I?” The snake kwami questioned as he looked at himself.

“It appears that Sass was also impacted by the amnesia.” The dragon kwami that popped out of her necklace commented.

Luka stared wide eyed at the creature.

“Are you a snake?”

“A snake? I suppose?”

“A snake with limbs? That is very rock and roll.”

The two fistbumped. Thankfully they seemed to get along.

Longg looked at them.

“This is quite a predicament.”

“We need to hurry back in. Longg! Bring the….”

“Hold on a moment. Both Sass and I will not be able to do that yet.”

Kagami stopped.

“How come?”

“We need to refuel. The energy of transforming AND using our unique powers drains a lot out of us. We need some food to continue.”

“Food… Okay.”

The snake Kwami grabbed his stomach.

“I find myself rather famished,” he commented.

Luka looked at him.

“Let me see if I can help you out.”

The teen took off the backpack he was wearing to go through it. Thankfully there was a bag lunch in there. For some reason he felt that was important. But decided that if it could help the little guy out, he was sure it wouldn’t be a big deal.

He opened the bag lunch and pulled out a bag of apple slices. Opening it to grab a piece.

“I know snakes usually are carnivores, but how about some fruit?”

“Ooo! It smells divine!”

Luka handed the floating kwami a piece of the apple.

He takes a bite.

“Oh! It's delicious! Juicy and sweet!”

The snake quickly devours the apple piece.

As that happens, Kagami looked through her bag.

“I don’t have fruit but I do have some onigiri. It was my afternoon snack… but since this is a dire situation.”

“Rice? Yes please!” Longg exclaimed as he dive bombed right into the delicious rice ball.

“It’s Umeboshi, it’s not to everyone’s taste but It is one of my favorites.”

“It’s the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. The sour plum really brings a new dimension of flavor.”

Kagami smiled a bit at her kwami companion, happy that she could help.

The two Kwami finished their food and were ready for action.

“Okay, Sass. You need to help Luka transform.”

“Sass? Is that my name?” the snake inquired.

“So, he helps me transform into Viperman?”

“Viperion, and yes,” Kagami responded.

“All you need to do is say. Sass, Scales Slither. And to activate your special power just pull your bracelet back and say second chance. Then pull it back when you want to use it. But be sure not to use it right away,” Longg instructed.

“Okay seems easy enough. Are you okay with this?” Luka asked as he turned his attention to his snake pal.

“The floating horn snake seems fine with it so I say let’s give it a try”

Longg decided for the sake of his friendship with Sass to ignore the comment.

“Alright! Let's do this!” Kagami exclaimed as she prepared to transform.

“One last question.”

Kagami was starting to get antsy. She wanted to be back out there fighting. But she held back her annoyance, considering how he sacrificed his memories for her.

“Make it quick, we need to hurry.”

Luka scratches the back of his head.

“Are we a couple?”

If Kagami was drinking water she would have done a massive spit take. Her cheeks turned red.

“What?!”

“You know… together? You seem to know a lot about me, and I just feel this connection... like I can trust you even though I don’t remember anything. I don’t know how or why, but I feel like you matter to me.”

Kagami’s eyes went wide at the comment. It felt surprisingly bold of the musician to say. She had to admit that the statement made her heart skip a beat.

“No, we had just recently become friends.” Kagami responded.

“Oh…” Luka was saddened by the response.

“But, I have thought about the possibility it could be more than that one day," Kagami continued. "But that is something to discuss when you have your memory back. Maybe.”

The fencer felt her mind scream at her.

‘WHY DID YOU SAY THAT! Well, at least he won't remember.’

Luka smiled at that.

“Well, that must mean I must be a good guy, if I could have such a great friend like you.”

The teen prepared himself.

“Alright then! Sass! Scales Slither.”

The musician shifted into his hero form.

“Let’s go save the day.”

Kagami looked at her hero partner and smiled.

“Longg, Bring the storm.

______________________________________________________________________

“Well, that might be a problem.”

Chat Noir and Ladybug looked to see a stone giant guarding the front door of the classroom. The two had hidden just out of the goliath’s view.

“Any ideas on how to take down Mount Akuma?” Chat Noir questioned.

Ladybug looked at the giant from their hiding spot and began formulating a plan.

“Stoneheart grows bigger when he gets mad. These akuma aren’t really able to express their emotions. That means we don’t need to worry about him getting bigger. We just need to find a way to incapacitate him.”

“We could ask Mayura,” Chat Noir pointed out.

“We could ask… wait WHA…”

Chat Noir covered his partner’s mouth and ducked down.

“Shhhh! She’s right there,” Chat Noir hushed.

Ladybug removed the cat’s hand from her mouth and looked from the spot to see that her partner was right. Mayura was in the building!

“She actually showed up?” Oh, this is a lot more serious than we thought. Hawkmoth is really playing it serious with this one.”

“To the butterfly man’s credit, he really has been throwing out some tough ones.”

“I will not give our worst villain credit for anything except this headache,” Ladybug retorted with annoyance.

“So, what do we do? Mayura is in the building and she is talking with the giant.”

Ladybug felt like the situation couldn’t get worse.

“Not so fast, Feather Freak!”

Ladybug recognized that voice.

“Chloé?”

Chat Noir and Ladybug glanced to see a familiar blonde strutting down the hallway. But their expressions of shock shifted to bewilderment when they noticed what she was wearing.

“So are you and that purple fashion blunder here? Or is it just you? I am guessing it's just you. Your boss doesn’t really like to show his face unless he thinks he is sure to win. No wonder Ladybug always kicks his…” The bee themed heroine confidently quipped.

“Queen Bee. Now that is a surprise. I thought Ladybug was done giving you a miraculous.” The peacock villainess commented. She had no interest in dealing with the bee heroine at this time.

“Well, you would be surprised by a lot of things. So how about we settle this. My fist really misses your face.”

Mayura rolled her eyes.

“Fortunately for you, I don’t have the time to deal with you. Stoneheart, I am sure Masquerade would love for you to take care of this pesky bee.”

“Oh don’t think you can walk away! You and that purple cockroach are the same. Both cowards that can’t even face children.” She jeered as she walked forward.

The stone giant moved forward, allowing Mayura to walk to the door and enter.

“Too scared to face me! Typical. I'll beat your pet rock as a warm up and then your butt will meet my foot!” Queen Bee exclaimed with confidence. “Because I am a real heroine!”

Queen Bee got into a stance and prepared to trade blows with the colossus of rock.

Chat Noir looked to Ladybug.

“Did you give her a miraculous?” He whispered in surprise.

“I don’t have any additional miraculous. I thought she had been captured with the rest of the class.”

“Wait… if it wasn’t you… you don’t think…”

“Either Master Fu is in the building and saw how dire the situation was or Chloé snuck away and had a Queen Bee costume stowed away in her locker.”

The two look at each other and immediately come to the same conclusion.

“We need to save her before she gets crushed!”

______________________________________________________________________

Mayura walked into the classroom.

She managed to keep a straight face, but internally she had a lot going through her mind.

What was once a standard classroom now looked like an elaborate throne room. The amazing curtains, the high ceilings. The steps leading up to an elaborate throne. The portraits of Masquerade really brought together the utter decadence and vanity of the akuma persona. It reminds Mayura of Gabriel’s obsession with Emilie in the worst way possible.

Despite finding the décor off-putting, she had to admit it was impressive how Masquerade had been able to change the room into something completely unrecognizable. A testament to her vanity.

She took a moment to see what akuma servants she still had in the room. The Gamer, Reflekta with around 12 copies, Princess Fragrance, Robostus, Zombizou and Horificator. While the white masks obscured their expressions, it was clear that all of them were watching her. It greatly unnerved her.

She kept these thoughts to herself as the masked akuma that was running the school took notice of her.

“Mayura. I've been expecting you.”

Mayura looked up to see Masquerade sitting on the throne.

“Please, come in.”

She approached confidently. Though in the back of her mind something seemed off.

Masquerade stood up from the throne and walked down the steps, a smile of certainty on her face.

“Masquerade. Your Sentimonster gave me the basics of your plan. Securing the school as your base of operations was a good first step. Your plan of creating a video to lower the spirits of those in Paris was also a nice touch,” Mayura praised.

“But of course! My plan is flawless,” Masquerade boasted. “Not even Ladybug and Chat Noir will be able to stop me.”

“Getting ahead of yourself aren’t you?” Mayura cut her ego trip.

Masquerade’s mood soured as her smile faltered.

“What do you mean by that?”

“You have yet to face the two heroes. Not to mention there's a pesky bee flying around.”

“A bee?” Masquerade was very confused by the comment.

“Yes, Chloé Bourgeois, or Queen Bee, to be precise. Seems that Ladybug and Chat Noir went and got back up."

“It doesn’t matter if they have one additional hero or three. This plan won't fail.”

‘Something isn’t right here. I need to leave now!’ Mayura’s mind screamed.

She wasn’t sure why, but something felt incredibly off.

“Speaking of heroes, your plan never really specified how you will deal with them. Care to elaborate?”

Masquerade’s smile grew more sinister.

“I am glad you asked. After Simularé relayed to me that you were here. I finally figured out the perfect way of dealing with those arrogant heroes,” the masked woman stated with certainty, moving forward.

She now stood only a few feet from the peacock villainess.

“Wait a moment, something is wrong here,” Mayura commented as she tried to focus. She couldn’t ignore the warnings in her head.

“What do you mean?” The mask akuma looked with confusion at the blue villainess.

Mayura looked around. Frantically trying to find something but it was fruitless. This distress caused Masquerade to smile.

“I can't sense it,” Mayura spoke with slight worry.

“Sense what?” Masquerade inquired further.

“Where is your amok? It should be on your person but I can't sense it.”

“Is that a problem?”

“Yes. If you don’t have the amok in your possession then that sentimonster will go out of control!” Mayura explained.

“Can’t you just rip the amok out?”

“If it's nearby and I sense it, yes. But I can’t do that if it’s out of my range.”

“So you’re saying you have no power over me right now.” A devilish grin appeared on Masquerade’s face.

“No, I am saying I don’t have any power over the senti…”

Mayura felt a chill as she realized that the masquerade in front of her was not an akumatized Lila.

“Horrificator, block the door,” the Faux Masquerade commanded.

The pink and purple monster quickly moved to block the door with her large form.

The controlled akuma started circling around her as Simularé undid the illusion and morphed into its true specter form, Simularé.

“You ungrateful little monster. You think your master will be okay with you attacking one of the ones that gave her power?”

“My master doesn’t care about you or Hawkmoth. You are a means to an end. And she gave me special permission to take your miraculous from you.”

“Well if your master isn’t here, then no one is jamming the signal. I can contact Hawkmoth and put this little coup to an end.”

Simularé shifted into Lady Wifi.

“I have access to every power my master does. You are trapped with no options.” The sentimonster mocked.

Mayura looked around as she was circled by the controlled akuma. She needed to get out of there.

She felt a pain rush to her head.

‘F*** not now’ She mentally cursed.

The odds were indeed not in her favor.

______________________________________________________________________________

Stoneheart began charging at the bee themed heroine, and just as Queen Bee was about to move, a yo-yo wrapped around her waist and pulled her away from the monster.

The stone giant had expected his charge to make contact but forced himself to stop when he noticed the bee was gone.

“Sorry tiny, but I’m your playmate now,” called a cat-themed hero.

The mindless akuma didn’t visibly react to the change in foe and simply charged at the cat hero.

Queen Bee found herself near Ladybug.

“Chloé! What are you doing?!”

“Uh… Saving the day? I got the jewelry box that you sent out because you needed my help.”

“Jewelry box… wait a minute that means. You are wearing a miraculous.”

“Yep! Don’t worry LB, I will show you that I am worthy of being Queen Bee. And not to boast, but I totally saved someone. But right now, we gotta go beat that ugly pile of rubble.”

Ladybug looked at Chloé for a moment. With the situation as hectic as it was, Queen Bee has shown some competence when there is real danger. Ladybug knew that right now, all hands that could help would be appreciated, and Queen Bee’s appearance could mean that Fu may be closer than she expected. So maybe there were more reinforcements. So if this was the case. She would trust Fu’s judgement.

“Alright, just be ready to return the bee after all of this is over.”

“Right, right, but just know I will probably change your mind about that after this is over!” the bee exclaimed confidently as she jumped back into the fray.

Ladybug shook her head. Whether she was Queen Bee or Chloé, she was still a handful.

“Are you finished gossiping? Because I could REALLY use a hand!” Chat Noir shouted as he held his staff up to hold back the rock monster’s boulder of a fist.

Queen Bee and Ladybug jumped into view and noticed the situation.

“Don’t worry you stray cat, The Queen Bee will put that rock in his place. Ve…”

Ladybug covered Queen Bee’s mouth before she could.

“Hold it. We might need your power for later.”

“I think it would be useful now!” Chat Noir shouted as he struggled to hold the weight of the giant’s rocky hand.

“Okay if my powers are a no no right now, what is the plan?”

Ladybug looked around. She found her attention drawn to a fire extinguisher, Queen Bee, a rubber band, and a discarded backpack.

“Okay, I have a plan.”

______________________________________________________________________

Gabriel had made a decision.

He hurried out of the lair in his civilian form. He was going to head to the school. Now he would just need to get his chauffeur and go…

Gabriel’s eyes went wide as he saw his son’s bodyguard and chauffeur fall to the floor at the steps of the main entrance, a white mask adorning his face that he was desperately trying to get off.

“What is the meaning of this?” Gabriel asked aloud in shock and anger.

He looked to see the mask akuma he created standing at the door.

“Well, if it isn’t Gabriel Agreste. Fashion mogul, and master manipulator.”

Gabriel’s visible anger faded as he stared at the akuma.

“Lila, is that you?”

“Oh quite astute! An amazing deduction. Was it that observational skill that made you the fashion success you are now?” the akumatized Lila inquired. “Though I go by Masquerade now.”

Gabriel knew very well the girl’s powers. He was the one that gave it to her. She was trying to antagonize him, get him angry. But that would not work.

“Well Masquerade, what brings you to my home at this time?” Gabriel asked calmly. Doing his best to keep his tone and mannerisms calm.

“Oh, I was just in the neighborhood, finding more people to join my little army and I notice my charm glowing as I was getting near.”

Gabriel’s eyes went wide as he realized something. The charm bracelet was configured to locate anyone that has ever been akumatized. That included him. His ploy to ward suspicion off of himself was now biting him in the butt. And of course, Lila was likely holding a grudge with how he pushed her with his words about his son and his classmate.

“My bodyguard was akumatized. What of it?”

The silent action figure enthusiast stopped resisting and his body began growing. Gabriel noticed the man was transforming into the gorilla akuma. Gorizilla! And he rushed up the steps as the akuma moved and pounded his chest.

“Gorizilla, go gather up anyone who has been akumatized that you know of. I will handle Mr. Agreste myself.”

The giant akuma nodded at its master and headed off, leaving the agreste mansion with a giant hole that was once the front of the mansion.

“Handle me? And what do you plan to do?”

Masquerade’s necklace began to glow.

“Oh! Well that is very interesting,” Masquerade mused aloud as she learned from the glowing charm.

“What do you mean, interesting?” Gabriel asked. He knew that the charm had the bonus effect of pointing out the emotional weak points of those that had been akumatized. But he had PRETENDED to be angry and wasn’t actually emotional when the akuma took over. Did the charm still impact him the same way it did everyone else?

Masquerade started walking up the steps.

“You blame yourself for your wife’s passing.”

The statement was a blade pointed right at his throat. But Gabriel refused to react. He would not let himself be taken advantage of by his own akuma. He has been on the receiving end one too many times and he would be damned if he let that psychopath have control of him.

Masquerade saw that Gabriel was not reacting to the statement.

“I have never seen a man more miserable and pathetic,” Masquerade said. Her words sounded genuine and cutting.

Gabriel tried to turn around and walk away. But Masquerade jumped high with her superhuman agility and landed right in front of him, continuing her tearing down of his emotional state.

“All of this wealth and yet you are obsessed with what you don’t have. You are so blinded by the grief of losing your wife that everything else in your life may as well not exist. You locked yourself away, desperately trying to find something, anything that would bring her back. But now you are finding that color is starting to return in your life. You feel guilt over hiding the truth from your son, you loathe the attraction that you have been developing for another woman. You hate that you can’t dedicate every second to your lost wife and any speck of joy you feel without her here feels like treason since she is not here with you. You are a man so blind with his obsession that you fail to see the world doesn’t revolve around you. It's disgusting.”

“You know nothing of my life,” Gabriel dismissed.

But Masquerade knew he would say that. She only smiled. The truth was right in front of her. And she was ready to bring it home.

“You are actually terrified of facing her again.”

That shook Gabriel.

“What?”

“You are afraid of seeing her again. Whether it’s a year or 10 years, you feel that even if you could bring her back, she would be here and realize how much of a shell you had become without her. You are afraid that your obsession with her will be the very thing that drives her away once you see her again.”

“That isn’t true.”

“Then why haven’t you brought her back yet? Don’t you love her?”

Gabriel felt like his heart was being repeatedly punched.

“How dare you question my love for my wife!”

“Then why isn’t she here? If you loved her she wouldn’t have been taken from you and Adrien. But you were far too pathetic to do it. You failed her, and you are still failing her. You will never be with her again, and deep down. You know it to be true,” Masquerade answered coldly.

Those words were enough to get him down. That is what finally did him in.

Gabriel fell to his knees.

“No…”

Gabriel had broken. Masquerade knew she had him.

He was emotionally devastated, to the point where couldn’t even react to the mask coming his way.

____________________________________________________________

Well now things are now hitting their highest points of drama!

Will Ladybug and other heroes be able to stand up to Masquerade?

Will Mayura fall to Simularé's double cross?

Will I EVER update in time?

Tell me your thoughts on the chapter. Your support keeps it alive

#ml #ml fic #ml fanfic #soulmate survey #miraculous ladybug #ml fanfiction #drama #ladynoir #lukagami

339 notes · View notes

miraculouscontent · 3 years

Note

so... could you write some more adrien/chat salt? your fics and posts salting on him are always so good 🥺

Thank you! And of course~

—————

Ladybug had considered what to say multiple times over the day she'd had to think about it. She'd thought about all the different ways she could've said it, and what would've been the most effective when who she was talking to was taken into account.

However, sitting there on the rooftops with Chat Noir, there was a point where she just had to say it, no matter how it came out.

"Give me your miraculous."

Chat jerked his head over to her, jarred from the silence and eyes wide as his brain seemed to process the statement. Ladybug, meanwhile, stared ahead at the night sky, as if she hadn't said anything out of the ordinary.

After a few more seconds, she got a reply in the form of laughter, Chat buckling over with a hand on his stomach. "That's quite the Hawk Moth impression, Bugaboo!" he exclaimed, though calming himself enough to give her a half-lidded gaze and add, "But you don't have to do that to impress me, you know."

She didn't reply, only turning to look at him with her expression entirely flat, not showing any reaction to the mixture of teasing and flirting.

He was still grinning for a while, but as the silence dragged on, he began to falter. "...Ah—" He shook his head, leaning towards her and trying to force a smirk. "—if you want a wish that badly, all you need to do is say the word, m'lady! I can grant all your wishes."

She remained stoic, maintaining eye contact with him but not encouraging his banter. She could practically hear the gears turning in his head as it became clear to him that she was very much not joking.

One of Chat's ears twitched in confusion. He leaned back to his normal distance from her, seeming at a loss for what to say now that the atmosphere was finally registering with him.

Ladybug took a breath, noting that she had his attention. She straightened and looked back over Paris, saying, "I can't do this anymore."

He followed her gaze, squinting as if the answer would be written out there in bold letters for him. "Being a hero?"

"No, us. Us being partners." While he gaped at her, she stared down at her lap, her hands clutching her thighs as if that would give her some sense of stability. "...Chat, do you think this is a game?"

Chat shifted and rubbed the back of his neck, clearly not having expected the conversation to go here. It was hard to tell whether he was trying to keep things light or if it was just his genuine reply when he responded, "W-well, I'm definitely in it to win if that's what you mean—"

"I talked to Xavier Ramier today."

She watched his expression carefully, his hand leaving his neck and hovering awkwardly in the air as he looked at her. He seemed puzzled, not knowing what this had to do with the conversation, though his brows rose briefly like he'd remembered something.

She continued, trying not to show too much in her reaction as she explained, "Since I'm not as busy right now, I thought I'd check in on some of the people who got akumatized but I didn't have time for earlier. He was one of them." Idly, she pulled out her yoyo, almost mindlessly tapping away at it as she navigated through the various menus. "He said you came by to check on him a while ago; said that you were sitting there, just enjoying the day with him. He told me that you asked him if he missed being Mister Pigeon, or if he was feeling any negative emotions."

"I—" Chat tried to interject.

She didn't hear him, too focused on telling the story. "Then I asked him when you showed up, and he didn't know exactly when, but..." She showed him her yoyo, the messages Chat had sent clearly being timestamped for reference. "I figured out from what his rough guess and asking around that it was when you were supposed to be on patrol."

"I was on patrol!" Chat protested. "I was just checking up on him."

"You were relaxing on a bench," Ladybug reminded him., her tone remaining consistently flat. Snapping her yoyo shut and returning it to her hip, she added, "I even asked around and people told me they saw you go into the Grand Paris Hotel. I heard from one of the butlers there that you were sulking, and got excited when you saw Chloe and Sabrina fighting."

He opened his mouth to explain himself, but she could tell that he was struggling to come up with an excuse; he honestly believed that she'd never find out about any of this.

"I trusted you, Chat. I trusted you to cover for me when I'm not there, no matter what." She needed to swallow back her emotions for that one. "Why would you do that? Why would you hope for akuma to happen? Why would you lie to me?"

"I didn't!" Chat insisted, waving his arms frantically. "I—see... it was an off day! I was just—you know I can always do my best around you, and I did patrol! I just... made a few stops along the way! I wouldn't lie to you!"

"So you don't lie to me," she stated cautiously, "and you've never lied against me."

"Of course not!" he assured.

She paused for effect, just long enough for him to grow uneasy, then said, "Theo Barbot waved me down a while back."

Chat visibly cringed, and she could hear a hissing sound as he sucked in a breath.

"He wanted to congratulate me. He saw the picture of us kissing on the Ladyblog and said that he was glad we could finally go public about our relationship." Her gaze sharpened even as she stared at nothing in particular. "I asked what he meant, and he told me that you said that we were a thing. He said that that's what got him akumatized."

"It wasn't..." He averted his gaze. "...a lie exactly."

In response, Ladybug stood, throwing her arms outwards as emotion began to seep into her voice. "This is about more than lies, Chat; it's about everything! If you can only do your best around me, then what happens if an akuma gets me?" She didn't need him to answer. "You'll lose it. I need someone who I know will take care of things even if I'm captured."

"I would!" Chat retorted he stood up, the nervousness now showing on his face. "I would do everything to get you back, I—"

"Party Crasher," she cut in without missing a beat.

He recoiled like she'd physically struck him.

"And it's not just that I can't rely on you if I'm taken out; I can't rely on you not to take yourself out," she said pointedly, turning away from him and taking a few steps away to distance herself. "You're always throwing yourself in front of me and sacrificing yourself, sometimes when you don't even have to and always without just talking to me about it! Do you have any idea how that feels? You tell me all the time that you'll listen to me and how I'm the planner here, and then you go and make plans without me."

She heard Chat's hurried footsteps from behind her as he tried to match her pace and argue, "It's not like that! It's just—it's because..."

She turned just as he reached her, her stern gaze making him stop. "Because my anger is so irresistible?" she asked. "I'm just so adorable when I'm mad that you won't listen to me?" She advanced on him, forcing him back. "Thanks, Chat, that makes me feel so much better that you can't take me seriously because you just love me that much," she said sarcastically.

"That's not what I meant!" he argued, though at that point it seemed like all he could do was weakly protest that he didn't mean anything that way. "I'm only teasing, Bugaboo!"

"Then what do you really mean?" She clenched her fists at her side. "I've told you to stop calling me Bugaboo and you never do! You're too busy bantering and talking about our relationship to focus on the fight, and when that kiss happened - the one that happened because you got shot by Oblivio and I had to save you - you laughed at me for being upset and you didn't care. I'm tired of having to deal with all of that; I'm dealing with enough as guardian!" Reminded of her own status, she steeled herself up and held a hand out to him, managing to calm down enough to say, "Now, revoke your miraculous. I'll give it to someone else."

Chat retreated, his hand moving to cover his ring protectively. The nervousness had partially faded away into him being generally upset, though he also didn't try to defend his actions anymore. "You... if you give the ring to someone else, you'll know their identity!"

"I've already got a plan for that," Ladybug stated, holding her hand out more insistently.

Because of course she did. She wouldn't have been doing any of this if she hadn't given it a lot of thought first. There were pros and cons to bringing in a new cat, and when she really weighed it all together, this was the only way forward. Chat wouldn't learn, and she'd been stuck in a limbo of shouting at him, being ignored, and having to push down her feelings in the future or risk damaging their teamwork. She'd devalued herself - devalued her emotions - in order to believe that she could make it work because she needed him.

Except, she didn't. She needed a cat; someone to use the more active miraculous to balance out the lack of firepower that the ladybug miraculous had. It wasn't that it could be just anyone, but it certainly didn't have to be Chat. While she deeply regretted going back on one of Master Fu's decisions when he couldn't even have a say in it anymore, the fact of the matter was that she was the guardian and she made the rules.

Chat backed away a few more steps, his eyes darting around as he sought a way out of the situation. Then, facing Ladybug, a mixture of upset and offended, he argued, "We're a team! We still come out fine no matter what happened! You don't even know my identity, I've kept it a secret just like you wanted!"

He was reaching, and they both knew it. That had always been the reason for revoking someone's miraculous: someone else knowing their identity. However, there were reasons beyond that, and them "coming out fine" from a battle was hardly a high bar for someone getting to keep theirs. Ladybug knew that well enough after having dealt with Miracle Queen; even if Chloe's identity hadn't been revealed, she was still a bad person who felt entitled to a miraculous.

But Ladybug also understood the game Chat was playing at: that it wouldn't be right to take his miraculous when he's protected his identity. The logic was flawed, but she nonetheless crossed her arms and gave him a blank look, staring into his green cat eyes and starting to fit pieces of a metaphorical puzzle together.

Kung Food, Horrificator, and Startrain: those at minimum were times where Chat's civilian form had to have been inside at the time the akuma happened. Chat had also mistaken Francoise Dupont for an elementary school after they'd defeated Kwamibuster, but she mentally acknowledged that he could've been lying. He had to have been, if they were trapped in that building together with Horrificator. It narrowed things down significantly, and she knew that he had to have been a teenager like her due to the timer on his miraculous.

And while she was aware that Chat's green eyes meant nothing considering that she got green eyes as Lady Noire, there were little coincidences sprinkled throughout their history together that didn't add up unless she came to one final conclusion.

Chat showing up at the museum even though he'd have no way of knowing that an akuma could've been there. Chat knowing that Volpina's illusion was fake. Chat's mysterious loss of his miraculous when Style Queen was attacking.

The feather allergy.

Then, Ladybug glanced at the hand he was covering; the one she knew had the cat miraculous on his right ring finger. She almost felt like congratulating herself for constantly resisting the temptation, because when she actually thought about it, it was so obvious.

She knew that hand, as she'd seen it so many times. She had pictures of it plastered all over her wall and the realization made her feel sick, her heart dropping as opposed to skipping a beat.

"...Adrien Agreste," she said finally. "You're Adrien Agreste."

He blinked, his expression blank at first before dread started to take its place. His mouth slowly fell open, words trying to escape but there weren't any to be found.

She let the moment drag, stepping forward to close the distance between them. Adrien's face flashed over Chat Noir's for a moment and she swallowed, summoning all of her confidence to address him properly.

"Tell me, Adrien. Tell me that this hasn't been a game for you. Tell me that you wanted to protect Paris all this time. Tell me that this hasn't all been about you."

She waited, not expecting or hoping for any answer in particular, because it no longer mattered; the conclusion would the same regardless.

Ultimately, she got no reply, and within the next ten minutes, the cat miraculous was in her hands and Adrien was promptly taken home.

—————

Marinette took a breath of the cool night air, having chosen to walk home rather than get there as Ladybug. She needed time to think, and walking helped her clear her head from the rush of everything that'd happened.

Her purse rustled, Tikki popping out and leaning off the side to look up at her. "Is everything okay, Marinette?"

"Yeah." She nodded her head, just to reassure Tikki further. "It was for the best. It's a lot, but... I wanted to do it; for me, and for Paris."

Regardless of how many emotions she had to deal with, she was glad she knew. She supposed that she could've taken Chat's miraculous without seeing his identity - though it would've been complicated - but it helped her sort through so many thoughts in her mind.

She let out half of a chuckle, idly thinking that she dodged a bullet. If dating Adrien would've turned him into any level of Chat Noir - or, honestly, just knowing that he was Chat Noir - then it was definitely for the best that she figured out his identity. She wasn't sure how she'd behave around him the following days, but just the idea of things being any semblance of "normal" in the face of "the famous model Adrien Agreste," with no stutters or freak-outs...

It was nice, making everything feel a little brighter. Maybe Alya would even stop claiming that she's just "jealous" of Lila, the girls would stop teasing her so much, and she could put all that time she used to spend thinking about Adrien into something more productive. There hadn't seemed to be a downside in sight, actually.

As Marinette kept thinking on the subject, her gaze wandered off to the side, taking in the sights around her, and she paused when she noticed that she was right next to the Seine. The revelation didn't surprise her - she knew she'd have to pass by it to get home - but it did inevitably remind her of Luka, especially since they'd broken up only a day ago.

The metaphorical wound was still fresh, not helped by the fact that Lies had come right afterward as if to remind her of why she had to break up with him; she couldn't have a normal life, and she certainly couldn't have a boyfriend. It didn't matter if she loved Luka and he loved her back, because she would always have to leave their dates at the first sign of an akuma.

Yet, nevertheless, there was some form of comfort in staring out at the river, and she found herself traveling down the nearest set of stairs to walk right next to the Seine instead of so far above it, her eyes trailing along the surface of the water to search for the Liberty.

It took a few minutes of walking, almost making her wonder if she'd passed it without realizing, but then she saw the ship resting in the water, right where it always was. She approached, taking in the various colors and the silly rainbow weathervane, her body automatically relaxing at the memories of those two weeks of crafting kittycorn-themed costumes from paper mache.

Curiously, she noticed that the gangplank was up, as someone presumably had forgotten to pull it back before going to bed that night. Marinette walked over, crouching down and wondering idly if it was possible that it had been put up but had just fallen over at some point, yet it was clearly set perfectly in place.

Mentally trashing the thought, she placed her hands on her knees and started getting up. As she straightened her back, her eyes involuntarily scanned over the deck of the ship, a familiar color palette of blues, blacks, and whites registering in her mind before she fully recognized what—who it was. Her eyes locked onto the figure, and she had to slap a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from letting out a yelp.

It was Luka, sitting down on an instrument case with his guitar in his lap, though Marinette noted after a moment that he was actually asleep. Concern furrowed her brows as she took in his posture, one of his arms resting on the case while the other was perched on the guitar's base. His back was arched against the taffrail of the ship and his head was tilted back to the point where his hair was falling into his face.

There was no way that was comfortable.

Marinette hesitated, feeling almost like she was trespassing, then gave Tikki a look to hide inside the purse while she walked across the gangplank Any footsteps against the deck of the ship seemed unusually loud due to the otherwise quiet night, but Marinette tried to ignore it, approaching Luka cautiously so as not to startle him.

He was frowning, and she involuntarily copied the expression onto her own face. Outside of the bumps in their dates and the break-up itself, it was rare to see him as anything but calm or happy, and she got the distinct feeling that it wasn't just because he was asleep that he was making that face.

She reached up, lightly fixing his hair in case to try and keep it out of his eyes when he woke up, then lowered her hand to his shoulder. She gave him a light shake, then another with a little more effort when the first failed to stir him. When that failed as well, she leaned close, looking side to side like she was afraid someone would see her and think she was doing something strange. However, no one else was around, allowing her to safely whisper his name to him.

"Luka."

She stiffened when she got an immediate response to that, Luka letting out a low humming noise as he shifted. She jolted back, trying to give him space and blushing at the thought that shaking hadn't woken him in the slightest but her voice had immediately.

Luka's eyes opened halfway, staring blankly up at the sky. Brows lowering in confusion, he tried to move, though a whine escaped him when his body protested at the uncomfortable position he'd gotten himself into. He winced, but eased forward and leaned on his guitar for support, only then looking forward and meeting her gaze.

She shifted in place, feeling awkward but knowing that it was too late to back out now.

"...Mmmarinette?" he asked, squinting like he wasn't really sure she was there. He blinked a few times, his eyes widening a fraction when he confirmed that she was real. "Marinette?"

"Ah—hi," she replied, waving awkwardly. "Um, sorry, it was just—I was walking, and I saw you, and you were sleeping weird—not that you sleeping is weird or you look weird when you sleep!—but you seemed really uncomfortable so I just..." She gestured vaguely at his current state of awareness.

He let out a tired sound that may've been an "oh," then ran his fingers into his hair and rustled it, like he was attempting to shake the tiredness out of himself. That done, he managed a small smile at her that didn't stretch anywhere near the amount it usually would. "Thank you. I'm glad you care about me that much."

"Of course I do!" she blurted out, a little offended at the idea that she wouldn't. She realized belatedly how loud she'd been and rubbed an arm in embarrassment, but didn't take anything back either.

Deep down, she knew where he was coming from. It must've been hard for him to watch her ditch him and then deal with her ending their relationship with next to no explanation. Even with the confidence he constantly radiated, not having any information on the 'how's or 'why's must've been difficult, and she hated keeping secrets from him.

Even Chat got better than that...

Luka tilted his head at her, the anxiety probably written all across her face. Concerned, he began to ask, "...Is everything—"

"Luka," she called suddenly, straightening to face him fully. "I—" She swallowed, needing a few seconds to compose herself. "I know this is a bad time, because I'm not really supposed to be here, and you can say 'no,' but... can we talk? About what happened?"

She bit her lip nervously as he sat up, his body noticeably more awake than before. She felt like he deserved to know more about the whole situation, but he also had every right to refuse her for waiting - even if it wasn't that long ago - so the possibilities were nerve-wracking.

Thankfully though, Luka relaxed after a moment, lifting his guitar out of his lap to set it aside, the bottom of the body resting on the deck of the Liberty while the neck was supported by the taffrail. Settling his hands in his lap, he then gave her his full attention, even offering a soft look of reassurance.

Her shoulders eased; he was going to hear her out. Part of her almost felt bad, wondering if maybe he was forcing himself, but she also knew it was important for him to get closure on the matter.

"Okay..." She breathed, acknowledging to herself that she hadn't planned this is the slightest. After some internal debate, she sat down on the deck of the Liberty in lieu of a proper seat, earning a look from Luka but no further comment otherwise. Running her hands along her capris, she stared up at him and finally began, "It—it wasn't you."

He raised a brow, silently encouraging her to go on.

"I mean, maybe you weren't worried about that, but I just... I needed you to know that." She shrugged half-heartedly. "You didn't do anything wrong, Luka - you're amazing - and if it wasn't for me always having to leave and rush off and make you feel bad, I would've stayed with you."

"...Really?"

She blinked at his tone, the corners of her lips quirking up as he covered his mouth, clearly not having intended to blurt that out. She simply nodded at him, falling back into her serious state as she continued, "You deserve someone who can be dedicated to you, and I just—I can't, and I can't tell you why either." She slumped, ashamed at the secret she was forced to keep. "I wish I could. I do trust you, but it's not about that. It's—" She pursed her lips, struggling to find the right words. "—it's not really something I can say?"

She dropped her gaze to her lap, but didn't miss the flicker of understanding in his eyes. It was important to her, for him to know that she believed in him and that he'd done everything right in their relationship.

"...Are—" Luka paused, voice laced with worry. "Marinette, are you being blackmailed or something?"

She almost laughed at that. His deduction wasn't entirely wrong, as "go defend Paris from a supervillain and tell no one about it, and if you do then they might be in danger," certainly did sound like blackmail. Still, she shook her head, reassuring, "It's nothing like that. I'm sorry. I really want to tell you, a-and even be with you, but I can't do either." She clutched at her knees in an attempt to ground herself, glancing back up at him with a mixture of sorrow and guilt. "I don't know what you see in me, Luka, but I feel so lucky that you like me so much, and then unlucky because—" She choked briefly, her cheeks heating up as she realized that she'd never said the exact words to him before. "—because I like you too and I want it to be that simple but it's not. You want the truth and the truth is that I can't tell you no matter how much I want to. I know I forget things and had to skip out on dates because I was so stressed out, but you made everything fun and not stressful and I loved every date we went on until... you know." She gestured wildly to imply 'unsaid things happening.'

He was quiet, not showing any particular reaction, though she'd spent enough time with him to know that he was glad that she was talking more openly about it and clearing some things up that he might've been wondering about. His expression seemed blank on the surface but he was relieved to know something even if her words were pulling his emotions in every direction.

Mentally preparing herself for the next step, Marinette pushed herself up and walked over to him, finding it hard to meet Luka's gaze even as she hunched over and boldly placed her hands on top of his. Out of the corner of her vision, she could see his eyes searching her face, not knowing what to expect next.

"...I'm sorry," she murmured. "I know I apologized already but I'm sorry. I should've known things would end up like this but I wanted to date you anyway. I can't even tell you when this is all going to end so I can't ask you to wait for me either because it's not fair. You deserve a relationship that isn't so complicated... that doesn't involve me."

She flinched at the emotional punch to the gut she'd just given herself. She'd already known that dating would be near-impossible so long as she was Ladybug, but it was a completely different feeling to face Luka and say it to his face. She wasn't sure if she'd been his first crush, but the thought left a bitter taste in her mouth that it'd all gone so wrong and there was no hope of getting it back.

She took another breath to calm herself, slowly raising her hands away from his. "Anyway, that's all I wanted to say," she murmured, still not making eye contact with him. "Thanks for trying to show me a good time, Luka, but... maybe you should fall in love with someone else."

She turned away before her emotions could get the better of her, about to walk off when a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist and jerked her back. She squeaked in surprise, glancing behind her to see that Luka was on the edge of the instrument case, arm stretched out like he'd impulsively hurried to stop her. She opened her mouth to ask what he was doing, but he spoke first.

"Why?"

"W...why?" she echoed.

"Why should I fall for someone else?" he asked, his tone somewhere between hurt and serious.

"Ah." She tilted her head, confused and with no idea of what he was getting at. "Because of everything I said?"

"That you enjoyed our dates? That it wasn't us who cut the song short?" His other hand reached up, holding her hand as well while he looked at her tenderly. His voice grew quiet, like he couldn't believe what he was saying. "That you like me?"

Marinette blushed, but found it hard to look away from him this time. "I...I do like you. Um—only you, but—Luka, the dates..."

Luka slowly stood up, gently squeezing her hand in a show of support. "I didn't even think that I'd be taking up too much of your time, Marinette. I wanted to be together with you, but I didn't want it to be hard either." He offered her a lopsided smile, adding, "And I'm glad you told me, because I don't think you being busy means we can't be together."

"...What?" Marinette gaped at him in disbelief. "I thought you said that you wanted the truth, and—"

"You gave it to me," he reminded her. "You said you can't tell me and I believe you."

She waved her free hand wildly. "Y-yeah, and I'll have to run off and we'll never know when!"

"Then we don't have to date, or we don't have to date as much." He'd said it like it was the simplest thing in the world, and maybe it was. "Why should we be playing sad solos when we can play a happy duet instead?"

She went to retort, but he'd so swiftly shot down her arguments that she was left speechless. She hadn't even considered that - trying to compromise with him on their dates - because she thought she wouldn't be worth it for him, yet here he was, offering himself to her again now that everything had been laid out for him. It seemed too good to be true, but...

He was her Second Chance, and every moment she spent with him just reaffirmed why she'd adored being given that chance in the first place.

She made a small noise as she tried to hold back emotion, her hand shaking in his. "You want me that much?"

His smile grew wider and more genuine, clearly recognizing that she was about to accept him. "Yeah. Do you want me too?"

Afraid her voice might crack and ruin the moment, she nodded and turned fully towards him. She held out her other hand for him and he took it happily, both of them able to enjoy each other's company once more.

Once things had properly settled down, she held back a shy giggle and asked, "S-so, do we just... pick up where we left off? Or just—before everything started going wrong?"

He hummed, seeming to honestly think about it. "I guess so. What verse do you want to start from?"

She retraced all of the bad dates in her mind, like she were rewinding a movie. One moment in particular stuck out to her, and she tried not to grin too much as she suggested, "The cinema? After I gave you the necklace?"

She didn't have to clarify any further, his eyes lighting up in remembrance. He grinned and leaned down to be closer to her level, her getting up on her tiptoes to meet him halfway in a kiss, thus finishing what they'd started from what felt like forever ago. She could feel Luka's hands caressing hers, as if to reassure that everything was alright and he was happy.

She waited until the kiss broke apart, then looked at him to ask teasingly, "Better than setting up a whole date to do that?"

He pressed his forehead to hers, sighing happily. "Definitely."

She beamed at him, almost tempted to kiss him again before she remembered what time it was. She gasped, inadvertently surprising him with the sound, then recoiled and placed her hands firmly on his shoulders, sitting him back down on the instrument case.

"You need to sleep!" she told him, then corrected a second later, "But—not here! Not right here anyway! It needs to be in a bed! Your bed!"

He laughed at the abrupt shift in tone, but nodded obediently at her, resting his fingers along her wrists. "I will. You'll sleep too, right?"

She nodded back, her heart skipping a beat at his care for her. "Yeah, I promise."

Her hands lingered on him, as did his with her as she pulled away from him. As much as she would've liked to stay with him, it was late and she still had a lot to take care of.

Rushing across the gangplank, she waited until she was safely on the other side so she wouldn't risk tripping as she turned to face him, walking backward and waving excitedly. "Bye, Luka!"

He suppressed a chuckle at the happiness-induced loudness of her voice, then waved back at her. It was only when he got up to take his guitar inside that she finally turned around and started officially heading home.

—————

When the last of the Adrien photos had been shoved into her trash bin - even the ones on her corkboard - Marinette allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief and collapse into her chair. It'd taken a little longer than she'd thought, but she was still satisfied with the change. The walk home and conversation with Luka had brought all of her thoughts together and made her feel optimistic about how the day had gone.

"Marinette?" Tikki looked up from the chocolate chip she'd been nibbling on, her being the only kwami awake at that hour. Voicing the inevitable, she asked, "What are you going to do about the cat miraculous?"

Marinette turned, acknowledging her, then reached into her purse to pull out the ring in question, turning it a few times in her hands. It was weird having it in her possession while she still had the ladybug earrings on, but it wouldn't stick around for long anyway, so she wasn't concerned.

Tikki continued, an urgency in her voice, "You're Ladybug, and you're not supposed to know anyone's identities, but you're also the guardian now, so you're supposed to give out miraculouses and know everyone's identities!"

Marinette, much to Tikki's apparent surprise, flashed her a smile and held the ring up confidently. "That's exactly why you're going to pick the next cat, Tikki."

Tikki blanked, dropping the chocolate chip in shock. "Wh—me?" Her voice squeaked. "Why me?"

Marinette would be lying if she said that she didn't find some amusement in Tikki's befuddlement. With a bit of effort, she pushed herself up from her seat, setting the ring down on the table and walking towards the sink at the other side of the room. "Because you've been with every ladybug who's ever existed, which means that you've known every ladybug and cat duo that's ever existed." Giving Tikki an expectant look, she added, "If anyone knows what kind of cat I'd need as a partner, it's you."

"But—" Tikki floundered, the thought clearly having never occurred to her. "It's the guardian who has to hand out miraculouses!"

"I won't know the new cat's identity this way," Marinette reminded her, idly tracing her fingertips along the sink's edge. "Sure, it'll be someone we both know, but if I didn't figure out that Adrien is Chat Noir until I tried, then I won't figure out this one either."

Her eyes scanned over the various drawers in her reach and she pulled open one in particular, a small box jerking forward from the momentum. It was the same box that held her ladybug earrings all those months ago, and now it would be the box for the new cat as well.

Holding the box to her chest and silently wishing luck upon it, Marinette returned to her table to see Tikki staring quietly at the ring in thought, apparently still processing what she'd been told. Marinette paid her no mind for the moment, setting the box down and searching various other drawers for a white cloth big enough for the box to be wrapped in. Then, once she'd successfully found one, she laid it out neatly on the table and opened the box to place the ring inside.

The moving of the ring snapped Tikki out of whatever trance she'd been in. She flew up, clinging to Marinette's hand and begging, "Wait! At least tell me what you'd want in a cat!"

Marinette supposed that was a win, since Tikki wasn't outright rejecting the idea and had little argument against it. She dropped the ring inside the box and smiled at the gentle 'click' it made when she closed it, then turned to address Tikki. The nervousness on display made a modicum of sense when considering that kwami were supposed to obey the guardian, so being told to do what they wanted was probably a little strange.

Marinette just took it in stride. She leaned against her chair as she considered her ideal cat, having been so used to Chat Noir that she needed a minute to imagine someone who really matched her.

"Thoughtful," she answered, nearly blurting the word out when it finally came to her. "Someone who thinks the way I do so I'm not doing everything myself. They can be selfless, but they have to have limits, and with good instincts so they won't throw themselves in front of me." Her expression growing fond at the idea of such a partner, she took the cloth and wrapped the box in it, sealing it with a strong knot as she added, "And... they have to be understanding, where I can cover for them and they can cover for me and we'll just—click."

She snapped her fingers for effect, watching as Tikki flew over to the wrapped-up box and tested it to ensure it was safe to carry. While she was tugging at the knot to confirm it was tight enough, Marinette stood and headed up the stairs to her bed, opening the way to her balcony so Tikki had a way out.

By the time Marinette peeked over the bed to check on Tikki, Tikki had already taken hold of the cloth and flew up to be eye level with her, the box being a noticeable yet manageable weight. Marinette moved to the side, allowing the straight-faced Tikki to go past her and go up to the balcony.

Thinking that Tikki had already gone, Marinette was about to close the trapdoor when she heard a soft, "Marinette?"

Her head turned to see Tikki, hovering above the little table with the box still held in her paws. She seemed conflicted, like she was struggling to find words, but eventually settled on, "You're a great guardian."

And with that, she left, Marinette blinking in surprise for a moment before a smile formed on her face. She closed the way to her balcony, then slipped back down the stairs to start getting ready for bed.

At the same time she'd be settling in to sleep that night, her tiny Miracle Box would be set down delicately in the Liberty, specifically on Luka Couffaine’s amp.

#((And some Lukanette obviously because I have no self control.))#MC's Writing #writing: story #category: salt #salt: chat noir #episode: Lies #other: ml spoilers #relationship: Luka Couffaine & Marinette Dupain Cheng

581 notes · View notes

hyunjilicious · 3 years

Text

a helping hand [henry cavill] - part 3

A/n: I know it took me ages, and I'm sorry, but it's finally here!! I don't know when part 4 will be up, but I know the plot, and by the time you finish reading this, you'll know it too!! Filth is coming. Also, since I posted the first 2 parts weeks ago, under the cut you'll find a small summary of what happened so far! Ofc, I'm linking the previous parts as well! Have fun reading, sorry for taking me so long, and please, don't hesitate to tell me what you thought! (I’ll reblog it with the taglist, otherwise it doesn’t show up in the tags!)

Summary: after Henry lost it during a fit of jealousy, he sneaked into your apartment, his actions having some very different repercussions from what he initially intended. SMUT 3.9k

Warnings: please be over 18!!! mentions of smut, masturbation (male receiving), sightly/some somnophilia, stalker-ish/obsessed Henry, cum play if you squint and ofc, mentions of filming and sharing pornographic material. 18+ please!!!!

You can find part 1 here and part 2 here!

Quick recap: Henry's crush on his very sweet and younger neighbour (you lol) grew into something else when you asked him for help with taking some pictures for your onlyfans account. Following this, your relationship reached a very teasing level, which prompted Henry to take matters into his own hands, even if that meant crossing some lines. So when he found out that you and a specific man from your past were on a voice call, he just had to know what exactly was being discussed. This jealousy fit had him using his spare key to enter your apartment and eavesdrop, and this is where chapter 2 ends. Have fun reading the next part!!!

“No” you sighed, waving your arms around, desperate to get your point across. But it was mostly useless, nothing even remotely decent would ever manage to penetrate Steve’s thick skull. He was a dumbass with a heart of gold, so you couldn’t even blame him for messing things up on purpose, you just learned the hard way not to take his advice under any circumstance. “No, Steve. I won’t do that. Not a chance!”

“Hun-” he scoffed, rolling his eyes as a smirk showed up on his lips, “When have I ever been wrong?”

“Really!?” you giggled and then sighed, “Listen, I gotta go to the bathroom and you’d better forget about this topic by the time I come back”

“Wait, wait. Ok, fine. Scratch that” Steve laughed, stopping you from getting up, “When have I ever been wrong on purpose?”

“Listen, I know you’re just trying to help” you smiled, “But I don’t think your experience in seducing girls with daddy issues benefits my situation in any kind of way”

“‘Course it does! I can give you some perspective!”

“Perspective on what?” you mocked, playfully frowning at him through the screen on your laptop, “You and Henry have nothing in common”

“The dick for one” Steve joked but when he saw you roll your eyes, he became serious, “I’m just tryin to help you hook up with the guy! That’s all”

“See!?” you laughed, already exasperated by the conversation, “I’m not trying to hook up with him, I want something more…”

Your sentence was cut short by the sound of a door closing. Your blood ran cold and your hands froze, eyes staring blankly into the camera.

“Y/n?” Steve asked with worry, “What’s wrong?”

“Wait here” you mumbled, pushing the laptop off of you and rushing to the door of your bedroom. You pressed your ear against it, and listened closely, the sound of a lock being turned chilling you to your bones. With shaky hands, you stumbled your way back to your bed, and looked into the camera, directly at a somewhat already worried Steve. “I gotta go-”

“Wait-” Steve tried to ask, “Are you-”

“Yeah, I’m fine, talk to you later” you hurriedly mumbled before ending the call. Your fingers flew across the screen of your phone, finding Henry’s name and pressing the green button in the blink of an eye.

And had he not been this utterly stupid and reckless, none of this would have happened. His impulsivity got the best of him, and panic rushed through his veins when he heard you were about to head to the bathroom. Pressure did him no good, and the first thing that came to mind at that point was to bolt out of there, knowing there was absolutely no way to explain what he was doing in your apartment. But his shaky hands were of no help, and the dexterity he earlier proved himself capable of was nowhere to be found. However, he didn’t care. He just stormed out, happy to finally breathe again as soon as he was out of your apartment - but when his phone vibrated in his pocket, he felt like dying all over again.

With your heart beating inside your throat, you grabbed your bedside lamp into your free hand, and curled yourself into a ball in the corner of your room, opposite to the door, the sound of the ongoing call being the only thing you heard over the loud buzz in your ears.

“Yeah?” Henry’s voice rang loudly when he finally answered, making you all but jump with fright.

Had you paid more attention, you’d have noticed he too sounded out of breath, but you were too out of it to tell. All you could think about was the psycho what was at your door.

“Henry-” you cried, voice shaky as the intake of air was no longer satisfying. You were hyperventilating, sweating from every pore, scared out of your mind.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice more stern now. “Y/n? Are you ok?”

“Yeah- yeah…” you said on autopilot, mind on standby. “No…” You whimpered, “Henry, can you- I think someone is trying to break into my house, I-”

“What!?” he gasped, “I’m sure no one-”

“Henry!” you cried into the phone, “Can you please look through your peephole? Please?”

He sounded confused, but you didn’t have to ask him twice. You heard a bit of shuffling before his voice reached your ears again, “There’s no one there, there’s no one at your door, you can relax”

“No-” you whimpered, unable to calm down, “Henry, please-!”

“I’m coming over right now,” he said.

“No! No, what if they’re still in the hallway?”

“There’s no one there, love” Henry tried to reassure you. When you heard him unlock the door of his apartment your heart stopped, but after that, everything was quiet.

“Are you ok?” you muttered, wiping your nose with your sleeve.

“Yes, love. I’m fine” Henry lightly chuckled, “I’m at your door, can you open up?”

“No” you scoffed, “What if someone got in?”

“No one got in” he tried to explain, but your adrenaline soaked brain refused to comply.

“Henry, take the spare key I gave you” you suggested, “And grab a knife”

Seeing how affected and terrified you were, Henry didn’t argue with you anymore. In a matter of seconds, you heard the door of your apartment being unlocked, Henry assuring you through the phone that it was him. When he walked inside, you remained hidden in your spot. He checked the kitchen and the living room, coming up to finally enter the bedroom. When your eyes landed on his massive frame, you breathed out relieved and rushed to him, throwing yourself into his arms. There was no other place on Earth you felt as safe as you did when he was holding you.

“Shh, you’re ok, you’re good” Henry cooed, cradling you to his chest, “I got you, baby, ok? I’m here”

But there was no stopping you. You broke down entirely, holding onto him as your legs gave in, turning into a mess. Henry carried you to the bed, sitting you down and allowing you to calm down at your own pace.

“I’m here, ok?” he asked again, rubbing your back, “I won’t let anything happen to you, Y/n, you know that. You’re safe, I got you”

It was impossible to tell just how long it took you to fully calm down, but it was safe to say that it would have taken hours longer had Henry not been there with you. When you were finally able to properly breathe again and hold a conversation, you looked up at him, big doe eyes hoping to convince him without too much of a fuss. “Can you stay here with me, please? I can’t be alone right now”

With nothing but sympathy in his eyes, Henry leaned down and kissed your forehead, “Don’t you think it would be better if we went over to my place instead?”

“No” you shook your head, “And leave the apartment unattended? I don’t think that’s a good idea”

His heart broke. Being his usual, impulsive self, Henry managed to break you down and terrify you to your core. As much as he wanted to reassure you everything would be fine, he couldn’t. He couldn’t just tell you it was him who broke into your apartment in the middle of a jealousy breakdown. So, he settled for the second best option, and really, he couldn’t complain.

It was late in the afternoon on a Sunday, no locksmith on the clock. Seeing how you’d have to wait until the next morning, he was more than happy to spend that time with you.

As time started to pass, you also started to relax.

The day slowly wilted a way, as both you and Henry made yourselves busy around your apartment. He wasted a couple of hours installing games on your school laptop as you took a bath, he then cooked you dinner, and by the time the night rolled around, you were your usual bubbly self again. And after watching and laughing your hearts out at Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets, sleep started to creep up on you.

Henry placed one of your kitchen chairs under the doorknob before turning to give you a massive hug, “No one can get in, darling. I promise”

“Thank god you live across the hall” you confessed, snaking your arms under his hoodie as you gathered yourself as close to him as possible. “What would I have done otherwise?”

“You don’t have to worry about that” Henry kissed your forehead, “I’ll always be here when you need me”

And in that moment, right there, stopping yourself from kissing him turned out to be the most difficult thing you ever had to do. Instead, you settled for his cheek, before hiding your face against his shoulder. “I’ll always be here for you too”

“Thank you, angel” Henry breathed out.

There really was nothing on this earth you loved more than this man.

Getting ready to go to sleep, you changed in your pajamas, while all Henry did was take off his hoodie. With your toothbrush lodged between your teeth, you lingered in the door frame, watching the muscles of his back flex as he bent down and put his phone down to charge.

Toothpaste and drool could very well have dribbled down your chin as you stood and gawked, only releasing you were staring when Henry turned around and a smile made its way up his lips. “Yes?” he laughed, but all you did was look him up and down, before returning to the bathroom with a shake of your head.

“Oh, Y/n?” Henry called again, following you, “Where can I find a blanket or some sheets?”

First you squinted, but then you decided it would be best if you just finished brushing your teeth before anything else. After rinsing your mouth, you turned to look at him, utterly unamused. “What for?”

“So I don’t have to sleep on leather?”

“You’re sleeping with me” you rolled your eyes, grabbing his elbow and dragging him into the bathroom so he could get ready for bed too. “Not up for discussion”

“Ok” Henry chuckled, looking at you in the mirror. “But I snore”

As if that would make you reconsider. You walked away and into your room, settling under the covers, without another word. About 10 minutes later, Henry joined you.

He fit in like a piece of puzzle and you didn’t even try to keep yourself from cuddling into his side. Sinking his head down between the multitude of pillows on your bed, you giggled, crawling on top of him. Without thinking too much about it, you kissed your way down his neck, peppering tens of kisses against his naked chest. You felt his heartbeat under your palm as he breathed in and out slowly, smiling down at you as he enjoyed the view.

“Thanks for doing this for me” you mumbled, rubbing your hand up and down his chiseled abdomen.

“Really, Y/n” Henry said, wrapping his arms around you, “There’s no need to thank me. Plus, you think I’m not enjoying this?”

“Oh shut up” you giggled. The amount of small talk that followed turned out to be exactly what you needed in order to allow your eyes to peacefully close. Despite the events of earlier in the evening, you now felt safer than ever before.

It was just a matter of time until soft snores started escaping past your lips, your chest rising and falling every so softly as you drifted out of consciousness.

But Henry’s mind was nowhere near relaxed enough to drift off. No. You were too close to him, too innocent and vulnerable for him to just let this moment pass. The way you had just thrown one of your legs over his lap drove him insane - your bare thigh too accessible to him.

At first, he just tested the waters. A peck to the top of your head, and a small caress against the back of your hand. You were completely out, and that accentuated his need further.

Slowly moving his free arm down his body, Henry brushed his fingers over his clothed member, grunting out loud when he felt the sensibility in his tip. He bit into his bottom lip out of need to keep quiet, teasing himself just a little as he struggled to decide how to go about things. With the way you were laying right now, it was next to impossible for him to free himself without moving you. And even though at the beginning he tried to avoid that, when you stirred in your sleep, your body rubbing up against his, he lost all kinds of patience.

As softly as he could, Henry pushed your leg back, just a little. Even in your sleep, you craved his touch, as when you felt movement, you involuntarily shuffled closer, but much to his relief, your legs remained on the mattress.

Eagerness controlled his actions as he pushed his pants down his thighs, propping his hips up with difficulty. When his underwear was pulled down and his cock sprung free, Henry hissed with unmatched satisfaction. With his hand wrapped around his base and his eyes on you, he swallowed thickly, his heart beating out of his chest with a demented sense of bliss.

"My baby-" Henry cooed, rubbing his lips across your hairline as he started stroking his cock.

His movements were slow but not calculated in any way. His brain was occupied, forcing his hand to work on muscle memory. But still, he teased himself, rubbing his thumb across his slit just like he liked to think you would.

The fear of getting caught was at an all time high as you stirred again. He froze for a second, "That's my good girl-" Henry whispered, looking down at your sleeping frame. As much as he wanted you to take an active part in this, he knew better than to risk it.

It was getting more and more difficult to breathe, his back sweating profusely as he pumped himself closer to the edge. His hips bucked, causing the bed frame to creak. Instantly, he stilled, eyes on you, but all you did was rub your cheek against his chest, completely unaware of your surroundings.

"I'm so close for you, my darling" Henry groaned, his throat paper dry as the words left his lips. All he could hear was his own breathing and the unmistakable perverse sound of slapping skin, but still, even above all of that, you kept on peacefully snoring.

The arm Henry looped around your frame was now traveling lower, his palm exploring your side until he reached your ass. He softly gripped a handful of your bum, squeezing hard enough to make up for the struggle of not allowing himself to finish too early. But it was reckless and maybe he shouldn't have done so, as his touch all but woke you up.

Still overwhelmed with sleep, you barely pushed yourself up, eyes closed as you slightly changed your position. You were now laying higher up his body, your head almost falling off his shoulder. Your breathing tickled the side of his neck as you snaked your arm up and looped it around his frame. Biting down hard on his bottom hip, Henry felt ridiculous amounts of blood rush to the tip of his cock as you refused to settle already.

Rubbing the tip of your nose across his jugular, still mostly out but not fully, you peaked your eyes open, “Henry-?”

“Y- yeah?” he swallowed thickly, freezing in his spot.

“Why’re you awake?” you mumbled.

“Just woke up- had a weird dream, that’s all”

You believed the lie without an ounce of doubt, “Wanna talk about it?”

“Yes” he whispered, “But in the morning. Sorry I woke you up, go back to sleep, darling”

“Ok” you sighed, kissed his bare shoulder and allowed yourself to drift off again.

Henry licked his lips in a haze, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as sweat worked his entire body. God, how he regretted getting himself in his position, but his cock was full on hard, all but leaking at the tip, not so patiently waiting to receive any kind of attention again. He sucked in a deep breath, eyes on you to make sure you were asleep.

His heart skipped a beat as your mouth popped open, but your light snores came as the strongest form of reassurance, and he resumed his work. The anxiety of getting caught fueled him, and the heels of his feet dug into the mattress, his hips bucking upwards as he furiously pumped his cock.

It was all getting too much. He was close. Henry threw his head back trying to suppress a moan, but he miserably failed. A choked back wail escaped his now dry lips as his whole body tensed. He squeezed you closer, his fingers lewdly digging into the sweet flesh of your ass. He was crossing many lines but that didn't stop him. He didn't see things clear anymore. His chest heaved, rushing up and down as he fisted his cock, biting into his lower lip as he watched your peaceful expression.

It was pure, dumb luck that he managed to spot a pack of napkins laying on the night stand mere seconds before he came. His juices eagerly ran down his shaft as he flew through his orgasm, his saviour napkin proving almost useless.

Coming down from his high, he all but managed to calm down, but his mind was still set. He would never get enough of you. And no matter how many times he'd cum, he'd still be down to go again. You had that power over him.

"Fuck…" Henry panted. And in the blur of the moment he created, he didn't even stop to process his thoughts. Gathering the few droplets of cum that landed on his stomach, he brought his hand up to your face, his thumb rubbing across your lips.

In that moment, then and there, when you unconsciously wrapped your lips around his finger, he almost lost it all over again.

"Holy-" he cried again, kissing your forehead. As eager and willing as he was to keep going, Henry stopped himself. He tucked the napkins next to the foot of the bed, pulled his pants back up his hips and settled under the covers.

Sleep didn't come easy, but he eventually drifted off. Unfortunately, the clock had almost struck 3am by the time he closed his eyes, and no later than 6:15, your alarm went off.

"No" you protested, wiggling around in search of your phone. "No school- no, thank you"

Eyes closed and cheek squished into the pillow, Henry raised his arm and found the phone with ease, handing it to you without a word.

Squinting under the bright light of the screen, you dismissed the alarm and snuggled back into Henry's chest, his arms wrapping around your body in an instant.

And as heavenly as this felt, it only lasted for about 5 minutes, until your alarm went off again.

"Just turn it off" Henry laughed, kissing your forehead, "I'll wake you up after I make breakfast"

"You don't have to" you protested, throwing in a whine or two as you curled yourself around him.

"I want to"

"No"

"Y/n…"

"Ok fine" you sighed, "Thank you"

"No need darling" Henry chuckled and stood up. He once again pecked the top of your head and then he was gone. About one second and a half later, you were asleep again, only to complain when Henry woke you up.

"It's 7" he stated, gathering the blanket in his arms and allowing the cold air to reach your body.

"Give it back" you cried.

"Is that how it's gonna be?" Henry threatened, and despite his dominating tone, you still refused to take him seriously. When you hid your face between the pillows, he deeply sighed, but satisfaction was still audible in his tone. "Fine then"

Taking you completely by surprise, Henry bent down and gathered you in his arms, throwing you over his shoulder with absolute ease.

"Henry-" you yelled, "The fuck-"

"Not gonna be late, Y/n" Henry laughed, "Not on my watch"

"God" you giggled along and allowed yourself to be carried to the kitchen.

As soon as he walked out of the bedroom, a delicious smell reached your nose. It was probably the first real breakfast you'd had in weeks, so you weren't going to complain anymore. Fresh coffee, toast, avocado, pancakes, hard boiled eggs and a multitude of veggies and fruit awaited on the table.

"I didn't even know I had all this food in my house"

"You didn't-" Henry shook his head, sitting down beside you, "Grabbed them from my place"

"You shouldn't have, but thank you"

"No need" he assured you, "Dig in"

When you were done, and right before you headed to the bathroom to get ready, you turned to him again. "Do you know the number of any locksmiths? I really wanna change the locks"

Following a quick Google search, Henry found a multitude of ads, and after choosing the most trustworthy looking one, he dialed the number as you patiently waited beside him.

Everything seemed to go perfectly well, until he frowned, "No, today pl- [...] No, I'm not locked out of my- [...] You sure-? Ok, ok fine. Ok, tomorrow, first thing, ok, thanks"

"They can't come today?" you pouted as soon as he hung up.

"No, I'm sorry" Henry shook his head, and seeing the disappointment plastered on your face, he spoke up again. "I can stay one more night, if you want to. I'll sleep in the living room-"

"What? No" you scoffed, "It's not that…"

"What is it then?" he questioned, starting to get worried.

You hesitated. "Its no-"

"Don't tell me it's nothing" Henry commanded, pointing a finger at you. A smile appeared at the corner of your lips as you rolled your eyes.

"Ok, fine. I just- I just had to film today for the- you know… That's all, but I can do it some other day"

Henry didn't answer until a smirk tilted the corner of his lips upwards. "Or I could help you?"

"Help me?" you gawked.

"Yeah" he nonchalantly shrugged, "Helped you once before, didn't I?"

"You sure?"

"Yeah" he smiled, "Only if you me want to, of course"

Your knees weakened and your heart was beating in all the wrong ways, so all you managed to do was giggle and shake your head in disbelief. "Well, yeah... I want to"

How were you going to tell him that the video was supposed to be of you fucking yourself with a baby pink dildo? And how exactly was he going to help? You had a long day ahead of you and the ridiculous amounts of school work you had to get done in the meantime didn't allow you to give these questions any kind of priority. All you wanted was for the evening to come around already even if you sweated profusely just at the thought of what was to come.

#henry cavill #henry cavill imagine #henry cavill x reader #henry cavill smut #henry cavill x you #walter marshall x reader #august walker x reader #geralt of rivia x you

766 notes · View notes

sixeyesgojo · 3 years

Text

Dad!Gojo with a teenage daughter

Summary: In which you've grown up a little too much for his liking. Using a female reader.

Characters: Gojo with a teenage daughter

Word count: -

Content warning: mentions of menstruation, blood, reader is injured but nothing descriptive, Gojo Satoru

A/N: requested on AO3.

Oh dear. Gojo knew that raising kids did not fall into the "easy" category, like exorcising special grade curses was to him. At first, it was extremely exhausting, brain-draining even, but as the time went by, he managed to do better, to just manage. Young children were a handful and he knew it from experience - not only was he a teacher of youngsters but he had also been younger once upon a time. Gojo remembered being put on a pedestal in his childhood years since he was the honored one and came from a renowned household. However, nothing ever prepared him for this.

Raising a teenage daughter was a challenge he had to take up on a daily basis. Puberty, the hormones, the fights, the worries about her going out late at night, the helplessness he felt. It wasn't rare for him to consult Shoko in "times of extreme crisis" (as he called them), asking for help and advice.

After hitting puberty, you became more and more distant to him bit by bit and as if that wasn't already enough for the two of you, your mood could change in an instant. Of course, you still loved him the same - he was your dad after all - but it is a known fact that teenagers may feel like their parents wouldn't be able to relate.

One day you had started bleeding from down below and frantically called out to your dad to explain your situation. He understood what was happening with your body and he knew this day would eventually come... but experiencing the situation itself and not really being prepared still sent him into panic mode. Yes, he went out to buy some pads, some tampons, whatever you needed at that moment but gosh, you should have seen him at the store: "What size should these be? Is this the right one? There are pads for NIGHTS ONLY?" It was a good thing he was super charming and just charmed his way out, so it was less embarrassing.

He hurried home to give you the necessary items. One thing he didn't expect in that moment was the tears that were streaming from your face, which was contorted in pain, as you opened the bathroom door to accept the items he had bought. Of course he knew cramps were a side effect of menstruation but he was just so perplexed to be able to think straight in that moment. Gojo patiently waited in front of the bathroom door until you came out, repeatedly asking if you needed anything else in the meantime. When you came out, dried tears on your face and just overall being a mess, he gave you a comforting hug and then scooped you up in his big arms and carried you to your bed. "For today, just rest, sweetheart. Your amazing dad will take care of the rest," he had said in a gentle tone. Later on, he even texted Shoko and Mei Mei to ask how to help as a dad, googled all about periods and how to ease the pain.

The very next day, you were wondering where he went when you didn't see him at home - turns out, he headed out early to buy an extra blanket and a hot water bottle just for you, some more pads and/or tampons (in different sizes since he wasn't certain about your flow yet and he was certain that you didn't know yet either), pain relievers and some snacks and sweets. Sweets could never be a wrong choice, could they? At least they always did the trick for him and he remembered that being the case for you too. He read that a lot of women eat chocolate as a sort of comfort food, so of course he also stocked up on chocolate. The look of gratefulness on your face when he finally came home and presented all the things he had gotten for you? He thought he should have taken a picture of your happy face in that moment but little, did he know he was going to be tackled into a hug by his daughter.

"Thank you so so so so so much, you are the best dad," you exclaimed and gave him a big smooch on the cheek. Gojo grinned and replied cheekily, "I mean, I know I am the best dad but it doesn't hurt to hear it once in a while from my little girl!" With him supporting you during times like menstruation, close to nothing could go wrong, even if your mood changed within the blink of an eye. He would spoil you with affection.

As human beings, there was no way for the both of you to avoid fights and misunderstandings, so naturally father and daughter ought to disagree sometimes. One time was particularly bad that you even ran away from home. Every ounce of stress was just piling up at that time. On top of that, you were on your period and the mood swings killed you. Ultimately, you couldn't handle it any longer and ran out of the house. Well, let's just say even the strongest jujutsu sorcerer could break out in panic. This state worsened when he got a call from Ijichi - an unregistered curse had manifested and was randomly attacking civilians. His gut gave him a pretty shitty feeling and the white-haired sorcerer just knew something was wrong. He had to hurry. When he arrived at the scene, he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw you lying weakly at the ground in front of a strong curse. This was enough to trigger his anger and he defeated the evil curse quickly. Hurrying to your side, he cradled your battered form in his arms and checked whether you had any life-threatening injuries - thank heavens, you didn't.

"This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't run away," you sobbed, the argument long forgotten, "I'm so sorry, Dad." "No, shh. Baby, I am sorry for letting it escalate like that. But what matters the most to me right now is your safety, so let's get away from here and we can talk it out when you feel better, yeah?"

Ever since that time, everything has gotten a little easier, especially since your dad helped you create a system you could rely on in order to manage stress and your mood swings.

When you hit age 16, oh boy, that was an age he feared. For multiple reasons:

He knew how he had been at 16. Gojo was definitely one of the more popular boys within the female community, despite attending a school with no more than twenty students overall. He had been invited to a lot of parties and who was he to not enjoy himself when he could? Going out almost every night and coming home early in the morning was a given. If he hadn't gone to Jujutsu Tech, his grades would have sucked. In theory, you could also end up like that or even less moderate - he prayed that was not the case. He was lucky enough that you went out moderately and not as often as he used to. The thing is, he was not exactly concerned about your safety. If anyone knew that you could handle grade 2 curses just well at this age, it was him... since he taught you how to defend yourself.

It was the boys he was worried about. Not everybody had good intentions. For sure, he would handle anyone in a heartbeat that tried to touch you with malice. Furthermore, he was overly worried about you getting to know some guy for a fling or even worse: you falling in love and only to get your heart broken. He wouldn't know how to act if the latter ever happened. Rest assured (or not), every guy you ever bring home will be thoroughly scanned by his Six Eyes and his soul. Gojo was sceptical (but wouldn't show it) until proven otherwise.

Once he had gotten comfortable with your guy friends though? Bring them over any day. Sometimes you question whether he didn't just adopt them all in his mind. Still, Gojo getting along with all your friends was something you were very grateful for.

Gojo knew that raising kids was not an easy task, like exorcising special grade curses was to him, but he still wouldn't trade his precious daughter for the world or anything else.

#gojo x reader #gojo satoru x reader #gojo satoru headcanons #jujutsu kaisen #gojo as dad #dad!gojo #papa!gojo #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk x reader #jujutsu headcanons

742 notes · View notes

ekaterinatepes · 3 years

Text

Nothing but the Best

Author’s Notes: wow guys! Thank you so much for your support and for following this story! I never thought I would get so much acceptance so quickly! You are all incredible! ❤️

VIII.

“…he’s not in Japan, he’s gone to the Americas” Suguru arched his brow to Ijichi’s words about Satoru’s whereabouts “how come?” He asked “mission in New York, special grade curse in a school” Geto stopped on his tracks “New York?” He took off running to go get his phone without another word.

From: Suguru

To: Kitten

He’s in NYC! Get out of there!

You both agreed not to communicate through phone since Satoru for sure had his device monitored but this was an emergency.

It was 1pm in Japan which meant it would be around midnight back in New York.

“Fuck…” he didn’t have any time to lose, knowing Satoru, he had already found you. He had been there for about two days, plenty of time to locate Y/N.

Shit! He didn’t want Y/N to have to face Satoru alone. Well… so much for postponing his trip to New York.

“Shit!” Whispered getting in his car. He wasn’t about to let you handle Satoru on your own. Not that you couldn’t, oh no! Suguru was confident that if needed be you could hold your own just fine. But, you are his friend, someone who he loves. On the other hand, Suguru couldn’t just ignore what his own heart demanded. He didn’t want you to be alone anymore.

The past 6 months he had to stay behind just to keep Satoru from finding you but it was too late for that.

https://youtu.be/44mTGIotkWQ

youtube

|||

Each minute that passes feels like a lifetime… the clock falls off the wall…

|||

Defeated… that’s how Satoru felt now that he was finally able to face you. In his mind he pictured this encounter way different from this painful waltz of heartbreak.

He had been stupid to think you would jump in his arms, kiss him like there was no tomorrow and forgive him. He had been more like… delusional, thinking you would receive him with open arms (and legs) just because he showed up here.

Satoru thought you would see how hard he worked to find you, how much he suffered in your absence. He thought that would be enough to at least get a smidge of compassion from you.

Nothing was further from the truth…

You had always been a tough girl, stubborn, opinionated and bold. And fuck! He loved how you always made his blood boil with your passion! He could never get enough of you which is why he was so smitten.

But there was something different in you this time around… you had never been so… cold.

There was always a warmth that surrounded you at all times even when you were angry (specially then) a metaphorical and also a physical halo (not visible for non sorcerers) of luminescence that clung to your body enticing him and any cursed energy user to come closer. But now… standing here, before you. Watching you through his six eyes he saw that same halo much more opaque and cold. It was as if you had surrounded your heart with ice walls. A shiver ran down his spine.

What had he done to you!?

|||

Hold your breath… And pray for the world to end

Nothing's left… Some broken hearts will never mend.

|||

“Please… listen to me for 5 minutes and then I’ll leave you alone” (more like I’ll stalk you in silence and make you believe I left but I’m not gonna). Holding his hands in front of him as if trying to appease you, showing you he wasn’t hiding anything.

“You and I have nothing to talk about Gojo” your melodic voice was steady. Ouch… It hurt how you didn’t call him by his first name or any of the other cute and overly sweet nicknames you used for him; he haven’t heard you call him by his family name in about six years! No longer after you met you both were on a first name basis. He understood, it was a way of driving a wedge between the two of you, to distance yourself from him.

“There is nothing left for you and me to discuss… it’s over! Leave me alone” you stopped to take a breath trying to calm your heart.

“You know you technically are still a Gojo too… right? So it doesn’t make much sense that you call me by OUR name”. Yes, it was petty but he would be damned if he didn’t try and convince you to call him in a more familiar way.

She looked at him as if he was soft in the head for a moment “Sign the papers and forget I ever existed…” he had to cut you right there “NO! I refuse to forget about you Y/N! You are my wife! By law and by right you cannot just keep me away from you! I am not signing shit!” All those words tumbled from his lips faster than he expected. The rejection he felt for the idea of you never being with him again was making him lose his mind. You could not be serious! Could you? You couldn’t really be considering to move on… without him. (As if you hadn’t already done that).

“Just let me explain! Fuck!” running his hands through his hair in an exasperated gesture. “Please…” came a broken whisper, not a demand, but a request.

You straightened your back and folded your arms over your chest “you have 5 minutes and that’s it. At the end of that time I want you to leave and never come back!” Satoru nodded although he didn’t really agree to those terms but he thought if he continued to defy you it wouldn’t do him any favors to gain your forgiveness.

“I am sorry…” looking straight in your eyes started the handsome sorcerer, crestfallen and bleak “I know… I fucked up so bad… I know I hurt you. “ only words wouldn’t cut through the thick barrier you carefully crafted around yourself. You might as well be shielded by his infinity.

You looked at him with a mix of anger, pain and longing. You hated yourself so much for feeling your traitorous heart hammering away, getting lost in his crystalline eyes and deep voice. It wasn’t fair he held so much power over you.

“But I am fixing it Y/N… Sookie is not in my life anymore… I left her and haven’t been with her in a very long time, I don’t want anyone else but you…” assured the man desperately.

“How can you say that?!” You asked horrified “what kind of man are you that you would abandon your child!?”.

“He was not my son!…. Y/N. She cheated on me with someone else, the baby she carried was not mine. I confirmed that when the child was born…” admitted once more embarrassed about his stupidity.

Your expression was blank for the longest time, trying to process what Gojo had just said.

You blink a couple times, it’s almost as if he expected you to feel bad about his luck.

Fucking asshole! You knew he was trying to play the pity card with you but it wasn’t working.

“Well… I don’t care about your personal life, it’s none of my business” you reminded him. Satoru visibly flinched at the brutal retaliation. “let me finish! God damn! Y/N!” He felt like pulling out his hair.

“I know I fucked up so bad but please… please give me another chance… I will do whatever you say! Give you whatever you want just…. Don’t do this” he waited for an answer from you. He wanted to touch you and hold you in his arms, promise you he would take care of you and prove he was now worthy of your love.

“Goodbye Satoru…” you said turning around and getting ready to leave him standing there in the cold.

On instinct he warped in front of you and stopped you by wrapping his arms around your body, one went to your narrow waist and the other behind your neck pulling you to him.

Fuck it…. You already hated him, might as well give you a good reason.

He crushed his lips against yours in a passionate embrace. Your body froze in his arms and he took that opportunity to deepen the kiss, ever the opportunist he slipped his tongue between your lips and caressed yours, enticing you to taste him as much as he was tasting you.

It only took your brain a couple seconds to work but by then you were trapped. You tried to fight him, placing both your palms against his chest and pushing him away. Might as well have been pushing a fucking wall. Gojo fucking Satoru was the strongest living person for a good reason.

It felt like an anaconda embrace, the more you struggled the tighter he held you until you finally gave in yourself. A tear ran down your cheek by the time you started kissing him back. You both went from practically devouring each other, angrily fighting for dominance to sensually and tenderly exploring each other’s mouth with your tongues, little licks and nips until you separated. His forehead against yours, both of your breathing heavily.

Not a single word was exchanged. Both of you afraid to break the chasm of this frail truce.

—————

———> Chapter 9

@sleepyamaya

@cloudsinthecosmos

@jxvajxy

@satoruhooraaa

@my-reality-is-in-my-head

@dok-ja

@jscarlet06

@fiona782

@thatsharklovingwoman

@heichoustheoryofcleanliness

@syynnaaah

@shaylove418

@coldvillainess

@vampgguk

@sukuna1stwife

#jjk #jjkgojo #jjk satoru #jjk suguru #jjk anime #jjk fanfic #gojo angst #jujutsu kaisen gojo #jujustu kaisen #gojo x you #gojo saturo x reader #jujutsu geto #geto smut #jjk geto #geto x y/n #Youtube

154 notes · View notes

absolutepokemontrash · 3 years

Text

MC is Half Demon and Blah Blah Blah-

Time for the Group Retreat!

Part 1 Part 2 Lessons 1-5 Lessons 5-6 Lessons 10-12 Lessons 13-15 Part 3 Part 4

I’m quite hyped for this one, ladies, gents, and esteemed readers! For simplicity’s sake, since this is before M!MC and A!MC arrive, L!MC will go back to being referred to as just MC. Enjoy the Headcanons!

Since the previous Underground Tomb incident ended much less violently, Lucifer is now more worried than angry about MC’s rampant shennaniganery.

Like... his kid was poking holes in his totally foolproof “Your cow-uncle went to live on a farm in the human world” story. What if MC somehow got into the attic and got hurt?!

It didn’t help that they were still in this weird phase of their father/child relationship. On one hand, Lucifer obviously cares for his kid, and his kid likes him... but it’s also only been less than three months and we all know how emotionally constipated Lucifer is.

MC’s also getting REAL sus of all the secrets their dear old dad is keeping... doesn’t help that they STILL haven’t went up into the attic.

Anyhoo~ the announcement for the retreat was a barrel of laughs.

“I’m proposing, a group retreat!”

Everyone met Diavolo’s announcement with the exact same confused reaction. It’s like the entire assembly hall was doing the ‘Guy Blinking’ meme.

“A... group retreat?” Lucifer repeated slowly. “For what reason exactly, Lord Diavolo?”

The Crown Prince was giddy with excitement as he explained. “MC told me about their middle school overnight trip and it sounded like it would be quite fun!”

Simeon, Luke, MC, and Solomon were all seated next to each other in the ‘exchange student seats of less importance’. Luke leaned over and whispered a question to MC.

“Why are you so friendly with the crown prince?”

MC smirked and shrugged. “Lucifer had the Demon-Flu and couldn’t go meet with Lord Diavolo last week so I went for him. Lord Diavolo’s surprisingly bad at Connect Four but has really good luck in Snakes and Ladders.”

Luke’s jaw dropped in complete and utter shock and horror.

“We’re playing CandyLand and the Game of Life next time, want to come?” MC added.

“Play CandyLand... with him..?” Luke looked at Diavolo, who was still explaining his plan for the retreat, then looked back at MC. “I’ll only go to shield you from his corrupting influence.”

“Yeah... Corrupting...” MC had to hold back a laugh at the thought of Diavolo, who during MC’s visit lit up like a Christmas tree upon being called ‘Dia’ and believed that Mood Rings were the greatest human invention ever, being a corrupting influence.

“MC! Torture dungeon or no!?” MC was snapped out of their conversation by Mammon shouting at them from his seat.

“What?”

“Do ya think there’s a torture dungeon under the castle, or not?”

“I’m not sure,” MC turned to Diavolo. “Lord Diavolo, is there a torture dungeon under the Demon Lord’s Castle?”

There is in fact, no torture dungeon. Presumably...

Everyone packed up and headed out to the Demon Lord’s Castle!

The fabulous seven all broke several speed limits and traffic laws in order to be there early. Listen, they had to get there before Purgatory Hall, it was a matter of pride.

Besides, what’s the Royal guard going to do? Arrest six of the seven rulers of hell and a kid? Ha. No. Not when Diavolo controls their paychecks.

The rooming situation remained the same, Asmo, Simeon, and MC were roomed together, and MC got to watch Asmo get psychologically profiled by Simeon. It was truly a sight to behold.

MC was nice enough to assure Asmo that they really liked him and thought he was very sweet.

Asmo, not used to being complimented on his personality, almost started openly weeping.

So, the tour of the Demon Lord’s Castle began! Asmo got yelled at by his ex in the painting and the usual batch of idiots got sucked into the catacombs under the castle.

Lucifer wasn’t terribly sure how or if he should express his concern for MC being stuck in the labyrinth.

All these new fatherly feelings of worry are very very odd. He didn’t worry this much for Satan, mainly because Satan was usually the threat.

Even as a baby...

Lucifer found himself checking his DDD every few minutes to see if MC had texted or called from wherever the painting dragged them to, never mind that if they did text he’d hear the phone ding.

“Lucifer, don’t worry too much,” Diavolo patted Lucifer on the shoulder, a bright smile on his face. “Your brothers and MC will be perfectly fine! There’s nothing too dangerous in the catacombs that they wouldn’t be able to take care of.”

Resigning himself to the fact that MC was under the care of his last choices for babysitting, Lucifer put away his DDD. “I know they’ll be fine, but I’m not overly pleased with the situation.” He shot a glare at Helene in the portrait, who rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

“Lucifer worrying about someone, I’m truly, genuinely shocked.” Hearing Satan’s attempt at goading him, Lucifer, flawless demon that he is, resisted the urge to throw his DDD at his brother.

“Quiet, Satan.”

————

“WHY THE FUCK IS A SNAKE DOWN HERE?!”

“ITS HENRY 1.0!”

“YEAH THAT REALLY CLEARS STUFF UP, LEVI!”

MC and Levi continued their screaming match as the group ran for dear life from a giant snake.

Yeah... nothing the brothers couldn’t handle... sure, Lord Diavolo...

They made it out of the scary catacombs... don’t worry.

Lucifer did that parent-thing where he cleaned the catacomb dust off MC’s face with a napkin.

Yay! Parenting!

Failed pillow fight attempt #1 happened that evening. Because Mammon was obsessed with being the fun-uncle and saw his brothers encroaching on his place as favourite uncle.

MC doesn’t know how to break it to him that he’ll probably always be the favourite uncle and he doesn’t have to be such a dumbass to keep his spot.

Scavenger hunt went on as canon dictates.

Asmo had his diva tantrum and stormed off, but MC also wanted to win so they didn’t go after him.

Clearly expecting someone to go beg him to come back, Asmo was very annoyed when no one went after him.

“Um, helloooo? Anyone going to comfort me~?”

“Nope.”

“Well I don’t want your comfort anyway, SOLOMON.”

It was very close, L!MC insisted their loss came from sabotage. No evidence was found but just LOOK at Satan’s face.

Time for the Formal Dance~

If you’re wondering why Luke didn’t say anything when MC was suddenly poofed into their demon form, you’re assuming that Mammon wasn’t in on the “let’s prank the chihuahua” plan.

“Mammon..? Is MC behind you?”

“Nope! Why?”

MC was able to get to the other side of the ballroom with Luke none the wiser! Hell yeah, nothing like screwing with your friend!

So it’s canon that Lucifer is like, a solid 20/10, therefore MC is ADORABLE. What I’m saying is, some of the younger demons asked them to dance.

Asmo was also being MC’s hype man, which was very nice of him. Mammon also tried to give advice on how to be cool and suave. Beel was there for moral support.

“Alright kiddo, you need to be aloof and mysterious! People love aloof and mysterious, that’s why I’m so popular.”

“Don’t listen to him, MC. He flew into a wall as a kid and it killed all his brain cells. Just be proper but not snooty, sweet but not saccharine, friendly but not annoying,”

“Ask them if they want to share some of the hors d’oeuvres.”

“Okay, first, aloof and mysterious are the last words I would ever use to describe you, Mammon. Second, Asmo I have no clue what you’re asking me to do. Third... Beel that’s the best advice I’ve received in recent memory.”

None of that mattered anyway because MC got swarmed with dance offers.

“Well,” MC smirked and held out their hand at the demon that was bold enough to ask them to dance first. “I admire the confidence.”

The demon’s smile brightened, then dropped completely when their gaze drifted behind MC. “I uh... on second thought... I’m gonna...”

MC’s potential dance partners all quickly scattered to the snack table. The half demon growled and turned around to see their father acting like he didn’t just scare away MC’s groupies.

“Father! What was that for?!” MC huffed, Lucifer rolled his eyes and grabbed MC’s wrist and began to pull them away from the dance floor.

“You’re too young to dance.”

“That’s crazy! They looked like they were my age.” MC protested, their wings fluttering in annoyance.

“Even if they looked to be your age, MC, they’re hundreds of years older.” Lucifer said calmly.

“What about that equivalent age stuff you told me about? Like how Luke is hundreds of years old but by angel/human standards he’s technically younger than me?”

“That doesn’t matter right now.” Lucifer lightly pushed MC towards the hallway that led back to their room.

“But I want to dance with someone!” MC felt their wings involuntarily fluff up.

Lucifer turned and smiled at his dear little brat, crouching slightly to get to their level. “Not on my watch.”

MC’s face was literally this: >:0

Lucifer is out here being the dad in every comedy that involves someone bringing home their partner to meet their parents.

MC was banished to their room, they spent their time angrily reading the manga they had packed.

When Levi escaped the party slightly later MC grilled him for details of what went on after they left.

“Nothing too interesting... except... um...”

“Spit it out, Levi!”

“...lrddiavlondlucferdnced”

“I can’t understand you, stop mumbling.”

“Lord Diavolo and Lucifer danced together...”

“...”

“I MISSED THAT?!”

So yes, MC’s desire to get a picture of Lucifer sleeping stems from VENGEANCE!

How DARE their father send MC up to their room and make them miss their OTP dancing together!?

So they call up their troupe of idiots and get ready to go be menaces to society.

MC also invites along Asmo because he seemed like he could use the adventure.

And because MC couldn’t plan the prank without Asmo noticing so it was better to just implicate him as well...

“Grrr...”

MC brightened and clapped their hands. “I know that growl!”

“It’s not my stomach, I packed snacks.” MC couldn’t see this, considering the room was pitch black (it must’ve been some kind of magic because demons have excellent night vision), but Beel waved a bag of chips in the air and got to eating.

“No, I’m not talking about your stomach, Beel.” MC skipped towards the source of the growling despite Mammon and Levi’s pleas for them to stop.

Ah! There he was!

“Cerberus!” MC cooed, the three headed dog stopped growling and barked happily. “Whose a good boy? Is it you?”

Cerberus let lose a bark that would probably make anyone crap their pants, but MC giggled and kept petting him. “Yeah! You’re the good boy! You like cuddles! Yes you do! Yes you do!”

A flash of light from a camera caused MC to drop their baby talk voice and stare angrily in the direction where the light came from.

“Whoever took that picture better delete it or I’m going to feed you to the dog.”

Cerberus growled in agreement. What a good boy.

“Well, as nice as this is...” Asmo huffed. “We’ve clearly been duped because this is not Lucifer and Diavolo’s room.”

“Oh well!” MC chirped and continued to pet the three headed dog. “Look at the doggy!”

“MC, you’re crazy. Dontcha ever forget that.” Mammon whimpered as Cerberus growled at him.

So yeah, they couldn’t get out of the room, so they ended up opening up the other door and falling into the catacombs like a bunch of lemmings.

Asmo charmed Henry, and they got out of the labyrinth no problem.

Yay! No consequences! Oh no- hi Lucifer.

Lucifer gave them all the mother of all lectures. Satan showed up with the rest of the gang and brought popcorn.

Belphie wasn’t there, okay? Satan needed to be a little shit for him.

Ah yes, the pillow fight... Mammon’s crusade to be the best uncle culminated in a massive pillow fight that ended with MC, Lucifer, and Diavolo standing over everyone’s unconscious bodies.

So they uh... won the pillow fight.

MC couldn’t sleep. They legitimately couldn’t. As exhausting as the pillow fight victory had been, everyone was snoring, and MC was bleary eyed and awake at one in the morning.

They eventually sat up and looked around, Asmo was passed out in a very unflattering position, Solomon was chanting god knows what in his sleep, Levi was half hanging off Simeon’s bed, Simeon and Luke were sleeping like angels (hehehehe-), Beel was in the middle of eating his pillow in his sleep, Mammon appeared to be dreaming about winning the lottery, and Satan was... suspiciously absent.

He was there a minute ago... weird.

Deciding that this wasn’t worth it and they should just go sleep somewhere else, MC got out of bed and avoided stepping on anyone as they vacated the room.

The Demon Lord’s Castle at night could rival the House of Lamentation in terms of overall creepiness. MC had gotten used to the spirits and curses that littered their home, but they had only been to the Demon Lord’s Castle once before, so they were extra careful not to accidentally touch anything. Their stomach rumbled and they frowned.

Damn, they had the midnight munchies... they needed a snack.

MC made their way to the kitchen and on there way, noticed a peculiar room through a half open door. Taking a few steps back to peek into it, they noticed... doors. A lot of doors. And ivy covered steps. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to any of the placements, and the room was... weirdly chilly.

“You can come in if you’d like, MC.”

Barbatos’ voice nearly caused MC to hit a high note that they hadn’t been able to hit since their voice began to change. They straightened out their wrinkled pyjamas and stepped inside.

The butler himself was walking down one of the flights of stairs.

“Um...” Quickly remembering their manners, MC straightened their posture and cleared their throat. “Good evening Barbatos.”

Barbatos smiled and inclined his head in turn. “Good evening to you as well, MC.”

“How did you know it was me outside? You were up there a second ago.” MC asked.

“It’s a part of my powers. I can see possible futures, and I foresaw you passing by my room and getting curious.” Barbatos explained.

“Oh,” MC said, half nodding and continuing to look around. A the sound of a door closing out of MC’s vision made them squeak and look around for the source of the noise. “What was that?!”

“It’s nothing to be worried about.” Barbatos raised his hands in a placating gesture. “These doors in my room are gateways to different timelines and some are gateways into the past of this particular timeline. That was another version of me passing by.”

“Does this... happen often?” MC knitted their eyebrows.

Barbatos hesitated before answering. “Not really. It’s quite rare. Lord Diavolo has expressly forbidden me from using my full powers freely.”

“Ah... makes sense...”

“Now, I believe you came down for snacks?”

MC blinked in surprise. “How did you- oh... the time magic...”

“Yes, the time magic. Now, would you prefer yogurt and fruit, or apples and peanut butter?”

“Yogurt and fruit please!”

I’m sure MC’s knowledge of how Barbie’s room works will totally not come into play later. I’m sure.

Solomon and MC graced the brunch table with their cooking. I think you can guess how it would have turned out if Barbatos hadn’t intervened.

Rest In Peace to Beel’s tastebuds.

Anyway, the rest of the retreat was all fun and good.

MC may or may not have slipped up and called Diavolo ‘Dia’ in front of Lucifer. It would’ve sparked a lecture if Dia’s puppy-like excitement wasn’t so damn adorable.

Lucifer’s got a heart... somewhere... it’s probably all shrivelled up and tiny, but I’m sure it’s there.

Everyone went back home, brought closer together through... pillow fights and surviving Solomon’s cooking I guess..?

Anyway, MC got home, unpacked their stuff, watched Kakegurui with Levi and Mammon, let Asmo paint their nails, made and ate dinner with Beel, continued their piano lessons with Lucifer, and received a 100% fake smile from Satan.

It was a nice day with their new family, MC curled up in their bed and prepared to go to sleep.

“Help me!”

MC lurched upwards in their bed, whipping their head from side to side, trying to find the source of the voice. Their room was completely empty, the perks of being half demon extended to being able to see in the dark. No new smells either, they were alone in the room.

Auditory hallucinations were common before falling asleep after being sleep deprived, creepy, but not too unusual.

“MC!”

Okay- that one couldn’t be ignored. It was common knowledge that the House of Lamentation was definitely haunted in some capacity, but the ghosts never really bothered the demons living inside, MC was partly convinced that some of the ghosts didn’t even notice that the demons were there. So it couldn’t have been a ghost calling their name.

“MC! I need help!”

The voice reverberated through their head, like it was trying to hit every part of their skull to make sure it was at least felt if MC couldn’t hear it. MC massaged their scalp and got out of bed.

The House of Lamentation at night truly lived up to its haunted reputation. Cold, clammy, dark, even by demon standards. No spooky old house was going to scare MC though, they walked down the hall with their head held high.

They walked closer to walls and furniture, knowing that the floor was less likely to creak in those areas. How did they know that? Mammon had told them it worked like a charm. Well, it’d work better for him if he stopped tripping over the furniture and alerting Lucifer.

MC was much more nimble and careful, stepping slowly and lightly around the hallways until they reached the door to the attic. They reached out to clasp their hand around the doorknob, then froze. It smelled like…

Oh no.

MC leapt away from the door like it was rigged to explode if they touched it and practically dove for cover into an alcove. The all too-recent smell of Lucifer’s fancy cologne and the increasing sound of someone coming down the stairs made them clamp their hand over their mouth and crouch down.

What was their father doing up there?

He had said the attic was full of old junk and there was no reason to go up there, so why exactly did he-

The door slammed open and Lucifer stomped down the hallway back towards his room, MC presumed. They were about to let out a sigh of relief when the footsteps paused. MC felt their heart drop right into their gut when they heard the footsteps coming back in their direction.

What were they going to say to him when he found them? ‘Sorry! This isn’t where the bathrooms are!’ The last thing MC wanted was to add to their father’s ever growing list of stresses. MC was totally responsible and grown-up, their father didn’t need to worry.

MC clamped their eyes shut and tried to slow their heart rate. Demons were beings of darkness and shadow, they could blend in quite easily. They took a deep breath, cleared their head, and felt the shadows of the hallway shift and cover them like a blanket.

Lucifer’s footsteps stopped, MC heard a tired sigh, then the footsteps started up again, this time in the direction of his room.

They allowed themselves a sigh of relief before relieving themselves of their hiding space and opening the door leading to the attic staircase.

If the rest of the House of Lamentation was considered clammy, cold, and foreboding, the attic staircase was that multiplied by a factor of twelve. MC felt themselves shudder involuntarily when they stepped closer to the staircase. Every primal part of their brain was telling them to turn around and walk away, but one tiny part was holding them back. They placed their foot on the first step, waiting for any kind of resistance, nothing other than the feeling of passing through invisible cobwebs.

“MC?”

Upon hearing their name, MC craned their neck to try and get a look at what could be waiting for them at the top of the stairs.

“Are you coming, or not?”

The cascade of warning sirens that began to blare in MC’s head went ignored as they continued to scale the staircase.

When they reached the final step, they were met with a long hallway, with a single door on the right side of the wall.

“H-hello?” MC tried to instill some force into their voice, but it still ended up quavering a little.

“Down here.” Someone knocked on the wall next to the door, almost causing MC to jump.

Oh. Oh no. MC stood straight in front of the door, and when they saw who was looking back at them they nearly passed out.

“Belphegor..?”

Belphegor’s eyes flashed as he gave MC a once over. His eyes narrowed when his gaze snapped to MC’s. The analytical expression melted into a lazy grin.

“That’s me,” he said softly. “Nice to finally meet you, MC.”

244 notes · View notes