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#our own bedrooms so we have our own space but can come and sleep together if we want to

winterrsun · 3 months

Text

Comfort

Reader x Daryl Dixon

Warnings: Smut, 18+ only

A/n: This is smut but it’s like the fluffiest sappiest smut, it’s meant to be really emotionally gratifying. Also I’ve really kinda half heartedly set it up for a part 2 where they reunite with the group and Rick…let me know if you think I should continue this!

Summary: after the prison fell, you and Daryl start to mourn what you’ve lost and find comfort in each other, both emotional and physical.

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The last couple of weeks had been such a blur. After the prison fell, you were thrown back into survival mode and all sense of security was gone. You never knew where your next meal would come from, or whether you were minutes away from death. You were grateful you’d gotten out in the company of Daryl and Beth; you’d always gotten along with both of them and Daryl was one of the most experienced survivalists. It was nice having Beth to talk to and relate to the experience as well, neither of you being natural outdoorsmen. Even if he was a grumpy ass most of the time, and she was still a bit of a bratty teenager at heart, you’d fast grown extremely reliant on both of them being around you.

You’d all found a small shack to hole up in for a couple of nights, you’d also found a stash of moonshine in the cupboard. Beth had been insistent on trying her first drink. It made you both amused and sad when you compared her experience to your teenage party years, so while Daryl disapproved you thought it was only fair to have your own little party. That’s how the three of you ended up on the living room floor, laughing your heads off.

“Really Y/N, you never been camping?!” Beth questioned incredulously.

“Yer even more a princess than I thought” scoffed Daryl.

“Yeah yeah,” you laughed, “well I suppose my whole life’s a big camping trip now.”

“Alright alright, my turn!” Daryl exclaimed. “I never… bin to a wedding”.

“You what?! Daryl that’s just sad” you said before taking a large swig of the homemade booze.

“Yeah, even I’ve been to a couple. Only other time I drank any liquor, daddy let me have a glass of champagne” said Beth.

“What part of my life was a fucking shit show before all this do you two not get” he grumbled.

You rubbed his arm, “alright we know, just teasing you” you smiled.

Beth’s giggles turned to hiccups, and she eventually lay her head down on the sofa and you realised she’d gone to sleep.

You nudged Daryl and nodded at Beth. He smiled at you, and pointed to the singular bedroom in the shack- suggesting you and he should move into the other room so as not to wake her.

The room was small; a double bed took up almost all the floor space, so you plopped yourself down on it. Daryl followed, carrying the bottle of moonshine with him. He took a sip before passing it to you, who did the same.

“She’ll be right” he gestured to the door, referring to Beth in the other room.

“I know” you replied, “we’ve all been there, she just needs to sleep it off.”

He nodded and you fell into an easy silence, both taking additional sips now and then. You grew pensive, and some of the thoughts you’d been mulling around for days started to come to the surface. The tipsy haze in your brain had your lips moving before you even knew you wanted to share what was on your mind.

“I don’t think I’ve said it,” you said, looking to Daryl, “but I’m so grateful for the two of you. The amount of times I’ve wondered what kind of state I’d be in if I was on my own…”

“Can’t be thinkin like that” he replied gently.

“I know. It’s just, it makes me mad to think about how quickly our circumstances changed. Things were so good Dar, they were finally all coming together. And then…..it’s just nothing in this world can ever really work can it?” You were rambling a little, but Daryl didn’t look like he was going to challenge you or tell you to be quiet. He just looked at you sadly.

“Do you think we’ll ever see any of them again?” You whispered to him. A tear escaped your eye and started to trickle down your cheek.

“I don’t know” he replied, and to your surprise he reached towards your face and softly wiped the tear of your cheek, “but I’m glad we’re here together too”.

He didn’t remove his hand from your face, in fact he gently cupped your chin. You leaned into it, while his head dipped closer to you and he planted a soft kiss on your lips. You closed your eyes and allowed the sweet sensation to wash over you.

When he pulled back away he looked unsure of himself, and mumbled a “sorry” to you.

You shook your head, placed your hands on his chest and leaned back toward him, kissing him more deeply this time. His tongue crept into your mouth and started to dance with yours.

Your hands drew up behind his neck as the two of you continued, and he reached for your waist, pulling you into his lap. The kiss grew needier as you straddled him; it wasn’t a need driven by pure sex and physical desire. It was like all the emotions you’d been feeling since the prison poured into your movements, and Daryl lapped them up and returned them with his own. You could’ve been hugging, or crying in each others arms, but instead you were kissing and writhing against each others bodies and it had the same cathartic effect.

You clung onto him as he pulled his lips away from yours briefly, to gently and slowly peel your dirty shirt up from your body. You allowed him to manoeuvre your arms overhead so he could take it off and toss it aside. He then reached around and unclasped your bra, and took a moment to stare at and admire the sight before him.

“You’re beautiful” he almost whispered, starting to run his hands over your breasts and grope them lightly. “I’m gonna take care of you Y/N, I promise”.

You were almost overwhelmed at this moment of pure bliss. You’d never thought there’d be anything sexual between you and Daryl. He was one of your best friends, with a bond like family. Sure he was hot. You’d notice his biceps peaking out of that winged vest and your heart might’ve quickened slightly every time you saw the way he gripped his motorbike handles. But you’d always just been friends.

Let alone the fact that you actually had a thing with his best friend. You and Rick had never defined whatever it was between you, but there was denying when he snuck into your cell nearly every night who you belonged to.

But Rick was gone. You didn’t know where, or if he was even alive, or if you’d ever see him again. It played on your mind every single day. You missed him so much more than all the others, longed for him. You were sick of it eating at you, and you just wanted to feel good for the first time in weeks.

You clawed at Daryl’s shirt, and he took a break from massaging your breasts to help you remove the black tee from his body. You pressed into him as your lips found his again and you relished the feeling of his skin against yours. It felt warm and unbelievably comforting. He began to rub circles on the small of your back and you arched into his touch.

“Daryl” you breathed against his mouth.

“What do you need baby?” He asked, pulling back and grabbing your face in both of his hands, eyes searching yours.

“You…I just need you” you said pleadingly.

Daryl shifted beneath you and lifted you up to flip you onto your back on the bed.

He slowly pulled your pants down and hovered over your torso, looking at your cotton panties. He dipped down and placed a soft kiss on your abdomen, creeping along your hip line. You hummed and wriggled at the tickling sensation, enjoying it. You felt a warmth envelop you from his touches. Then his fingers hooked into the elastic around your waist and pulled the fabric down from your body.

He ran his hand back up your leg, his eyes following the movements before he flitted them up to your face. You made eye contact and he sought the non verbal confirmation that you were okay. You bit your lip in anticipation as you gazed up at him, allowing yourself to be completely vulnerable under his touch. Now fully naked on the bed.

You gasped as his fingers found their way into your fold, and began to gently stroke around. You flinched slightly as he ran over your clit for the first time, and he placed a kiss back on your lips, then trailing down your neck. He began drawing circles around your sensitive nub at a steady but not too fast pace and he lifted his head back up to study your face again.

“So beautiful” he commented. You arched your back off the bed and moan softly. He picked up the pace a little and your pleasure increased.

“Daryl” you gasped, “I need more. I want all of you”.

He nodded, stroked your hair with his free hand before withdrawing them both to unbutton and remove his pants. You lowered your eyes and watched as he freed his sizeable cock from his underpants. You sat up and leaned forward, glancing up at him with doe eyes before attaching your lips to his member.

He groaned as you took him in your warm, wet mouth. You suckled and licked around it, playing with him while lubing him up for you. His hands found their way into your hair, loosely gripping it while you bobbed your head back and forth. He threw his head back and savoured the sensation.

After a little while you pulled away and he gently pushed your shoulder so you lay back on the bed. He braced himself over you and lined himself up, gazing down into your eyes.

“I’m so glad you’re here” he whispered, hovering outside your entrance. You nudged your head up to plant a kiss on his lips.

“Me too” you said softly.

Then he slowly thrust into you. It ached just a little on the way in, but you quickly adjusted to him. For the first time in weeks you felt whole, and human, and like you were capable of something other than simply just surviving as he sank inside you.

You tensed around him and wrapped your legs around his body, which he took as a signal to start pumping his hips in and out of you. Warmth filled your body, radiating from your core to chest at the feeling of connection and intimacy. To your surprise, tears prickled your eyes as you felt emotionally stimulated as much as physically. You squeezed your eyes shut and bit onto Daryl’s shoulder, allowing his warm skin to absorb the moan that left you.

“Don’t need to keep too quiet pretty girl” he said encouragingly. You smirked and let go, noting the love bite you’d left behind before moaning out into the room this time as his hips continued to pound into you.

He pulled out briefly and you were left feeling empty and disappointed, just for him to gently grab your thigh and push your leg back towards your face, hooked behind his arm. He pushed back in and you relished the new, deeper angle.

“Fuuuck, yesss” you hissed and he smirked down at you.

“Feels good baby?” He cooed before grind his hips in a particularly deep thrust and you nodded, moaning in reply.

He picked up the pace now and you felt the heat grow in your belly, driven more by lust at this point. Your climax was building, and it was as if Daryl could tell. He drove into you faster than before, angling his hips upwards to hit just the right spot.

“Dar! I’m gonna” you began-

“I know baby, let go” he soothed.

With an almost scream you came, it rippled through you in waves and he rode it out with you. In this moment nothing else mattered, not the situation you were in, the home you’d lost, the people you’d been seperated from. It was just bliss for a perfect moment.

As your pleasure subsided Daryl snapped his hips into a few more hard times before grunting himself and moving to pull out of you.

“Don’t!” You cried without thinking, holding his hips to yours with your small hands. You felt his dick pulsate inside you as he painted your walls with his cum. It was the last, comforting gesture you wanted to take from him tonight. The feeling of him filling you up as much he possibly could.

His sweaty forehead met yours as he stopped moving, and you felt his penis jerk inside you one last time before all was still. You panted together for a few seconds, before he slowly rolled over to lay next to you.

You felt his ejaculate trickle out of you onto the bed, and groaned at the mess, grinning at him.

He looked around and grabbed a throw blanket from the end of the bed, using it to roughly wipe up you and the linen beneath you. You both chuckled, and he tossed it aside before throwing an arm around you and pulling you towards him to lay your head on his chest.

With your head on his bare skin and listening to the sound of his heart beat and the sensation of his breath rise and fall, you closed your eyes and fell asleep. He planted once last kiss to the top of your head before doing the same.

You woke with a start to the sound of birds chirping and sunlight beginning to creep in through the window, neck stiff from the angle you slept at. You felt chilly and looked down to see goosebumps over your bare body. Not just yours, you noted the extra limbs tangled with yours and remembered the situation you were in. You smiled to yourself, knowing that the amazing night was a once off for you both.

Daryl had just started to stir at your movements on the bed, before you heard movements in the other room. A female voice groaning, before stomping quick footsteps and the sound of coughing and liquid splashing the metal sink. Beth had arisen, and was experiencing her first hangover. You almost would have giggled, except you realised you had to get dressed quick and decide how to explain the two of spending the night in a small room with one double bed.

You looked back at Daryl, now fully awake and judging by the expression on his face thinking the same thing you were.

“Well, back to reality” you whispered with a shrug.

He pulled you in for one last embrace, planting a kiss firmly to your lips before whispering back “thanks for last night beautiful”.

#Daryl Dixon #Daryl Dixon smut #Daryl x reader #Daryl x reader smut #Daryl Dixon x reader #daryl twd #twd Daryl #the walking dead #Daryl Dixon fic #darly Dixon x you

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upat4amwiththemoon · 10 months

Text

Too much

Summary: I need you to hold me.

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x female!reader

Warnings: angst, cursing

Word count: 1052

a/n: I’m clingy af, so I hide it by not talking to anyone and isolating myself bc I’m smart and mentally stable😎

Tags: @thought-of-you-and-me @rafecameronswhore @sayah13 @wandsmxmff @emsmultiverse @natashamaximoff69 @scarsw1fe

masterlists | guidelines

Letting out a squeal as she stretches her whole body, Y/N opens her eyes slowly. The morning sun is lightly shining through the bedroom curtains, making her smile. She turns her head to the side, seeing her girlfriend of one year still asleep. Y/N wraps her arms and legs around Wanda, and nuzzles her face into the crook of her neck, sighing at the comforting warmth that engulfs her.

Wanda’s breathing changes the moment she feels the weight on her. Mumbling something incoherent, she tries to pull away, but Y/N is holding on too tightly to get away. “It’s too hot like this.” She grumbles, eyes still closed. Her voice is raspy and tired.

“But you’re so comfortable.” Y/N whispers, at the edge of falling asleep again.

“Y/N.”

The hands pushing her away makes Y/N finally roll further from her. She has a pout on her face, but Wanda doesn’t see it, having turned around so her back is facing her.

Y/N moves to her back, staring at the roof. Her tiredness has now fully passed, so she stands up and goes to the kitchen, deciding not to think too deeply about Wanda’s action. She’s allowed to have her space, even when Y/N feels like being as close to her as possible.

It takes twenty minutes for the breakfast to be ready, and for Wanda to gather up her strength to face another day. “Good morning, sleepyhead.” Y/N grins when her girlfriend shuffles into the room. “Did you sleep well?” She sets the breakfast into two separate plates and pushes one of them in front of Wanda.

“Mostly, I just don’t like how hot it gets in our room.”

“We could get a fan.” Y/N sits down opposite of Wanda.

Humming, she just moves the food around the plate. “I was thinking,” she bites the inside of her cheek, “maybe we could get another bed to the study, so I could sleep there. That way it won’t be too hot. ‘Cause, you know, two bodies in one bed generate more heat.”

Y/N’s face falls. She sets her fork down and stares at Wanda, who isn’t meeting the eye contact. “Uhm, sure…if- if that’s something that’d make you more comfortable.” She gives her a tight lipped smile before going back to her food. Did she do something wrong?

“Yeah, thanks.”

The rest of the breakfast goes in silence, but Y/N goes right back to normal when they settle to the couch together. She flings her legs over Wanda’s lap and snuggles herself right next to her. “Do you have to go to the compound today?” She asks, playing with the ends of Wanda’s hair.

“I don’t think so.” Wanda’s posture seems more rigid than normally. She isn’t rubbing Y/N’s leg like she usually does and her face is stoic.

Y/N stares at Wanda. Her hand lowers from Wanda’s hair to her own lap, she starts playing with her fingers, suddenly nervous. Is Wanda angry at her? is the first thought going through her mind.

“I think I’m gonna take a shower.” Wanda pushes Y/N legs off of her as she stands up.

“Can I join?” There’s a playful glint in her eyes.

“I’d prefer to go alone.”

Wanda doesn’t wait for Y/N to answer. Sitting up properly, Y/N puts the television on and starts watching the first channel she stumbles upon. Her mind is raising all over, thinking over the past week, past month, if she has done something to upset Wanda this badly, but nothing concrete comes to mind.

The quiet sound of the shower turning on seems almost overpowering to Y/N, her senses heightened from the sudden tension growing in their home. She tries to focus on her breathing, three seconds in, three second out, forcing her brain to think it’ll be okay.

After a few hours of things going a bit more normally, Wanda decided to get a start on dinner while Y/N takes her turn in the shower. She’s humming a Sokovian lullaby to herself while stirring the pot on the stove. Her body tenses immediately, as Y/N’s arms wrap around her waist.

“Whatcha cooking?” Y/N’s voice is cheery, a grin decorating her face. She leans her chin against Wanda’s shoulder. “Smells really good.”

“Can you stop?” Her voice is raised and sharper than usual. Stepping away from Wanda, to give her room to turn around, Y/N’s grin turns into a look of confusion. “Why can’t I ever get a minute alone here, huh? You’re just so goddamn clingy every minute of the day. You’re fucking suffocating me.”

Y/N stays quiet, surprised by the words coming out of her lover’s mouth.

“I’m finally starting to understand why everyone warned me about you being too much. Too loud, too touchy, too needy, too fucking annoying!”

The words hit Y/N like a gut punch. It physically hurts her to hear those words again. She really through she had gotten herself under control, she promised not to be such a nuisance in everyone’s lives, but here she is again. “I- I’m sorry, I didn’t realize…”

“Thant’s your problem! You’re blind to your own faults.” Wanda lets out a frustrated groan when she notices the despair on Y/N’s face. Turning the stove off, she moves the pot to the side and walks to the hallway. “I’m going to the compound for some time, finish dinner by yourself.”

Y/N watches as Wanda pulls on her shoes and jacket, stepping out of the house with the door slamming.

Her lower lip trembles when the sound of the car turning on hits her ears. She’s really leaving. Y/N goes to the living room, her appetite lost, and sits on the couch, the sound of the television and tinnitus filling her head. Her eyes are wet, but she doesn’t let the tears fall.

She stays there on her place for hours, not moving even an inch. The sun is already setting down and the grasshoppers have started to play their song.

The next time Wanda walks through the door, Y/N keeps her mouth shut and blurry eyes locked on the television, and Wanda lets out a sigh of relief.

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skzfairyy · 9 months

Text

6:15pm

Pairings: Han Jisung x reader!

Genre: fluff

Warnings: smug Jisung and the cutest cuddle in the world 🤭

Wc: 826 words

AN: Jisung in this one is just too adorable 🥹 Enjoy!! - Y2K

“Baby?!” Jisung’s voice hollers through the entryway.

A groan is heard from somewhere inside the apartment, causing Jisung to smile. He’s quick to remove his sneakers and tries his best to not sprint down the hallway toward Y/N’s bedroom.

It’s been two weeks since the couple had last seen each other. With Jisung’s hectic schedule and Y/N’s job requiring her to travel more often than she wanted, they were finding it hard to meet up with one another. When Y/N’s job canceled her company trip at the last minute, Jisung was the first person to know. He had a light load of work to do today, and he, as well as a couple of other members, had the weekend off. The other members had originally planned to spend the day together, but Jisung had to decline, the overwhelming feeling of excitement to see his girlfriend was too much to push aside.

The brunette boy appears in Y/N’s doorway with a big smile, gray hoodie and black joggers fitting loosely over his toned body. His eyes land on the bed, Y/N’s body tangled in the sheets as her head lifts up briefly, sensing her boyfriend’s presence at the door.

“You're sleeping?” He whines as he enters the bedroom, climbing onto the bed and over her body. Y/N’s whiney protests don't phase him at all. Instead, he kisses her pouting lips gently.

“I thought I had more time to nap before you got here…” Y/N’s voice is scratchy, finally beginning to wake up. Jisung gives her no personal space as he nuzzles his face in the crook of her neck, murmuring against her skin.

“I finished early. Had to come see my baby and tell you all about my day.”

“Mm, what about your day?” Her hand moves to rub his back affectionately. Their voices are soft now, savoring this much-needed time together, relaxed and comfortable in each other’s presence.

Jisung rolls his body off of hers, settling on the other side of the bed beside Y/N. He rests his head on his palm as he looks at her.

“We wrote some new stuff and recorded some guides. Minho hyung was teaching us the choreography for our new song-”

“Maniac right?”

He nods his head at her response before continuing. “And It was pretty easy. Seungmin kept saying it was because I’m an ace or whatever…” he shrugs nonchalantly, though his tone indicated how smug he really felt.

“Oh, an ace huh?” Y/N teased with a smirk.

“Why’d you say it like that? You know Stay even calls me an ace!” He glares at her playfully, making Y/N release a giggle of her own.

“I know you’re good at everything baby, I was just teasing you.” Y/N wraps her arms around his neck and pulls his body close to her.

Jisung’s entire argument he prepared in his head disappeared the moment she touched him. Usually, Y/N will tease him a bit longer, but the sudden affection isn't unappreciated. Y/N’s always been the most comfortable with Jisung around, so he knew their time apart was hard for her just as much as it was for him.

“I’m basically a prodigy babe, you’re really lucky to have me as a boyfriend.” He says over her shoulder, causing her to laugh before pulling away.

“Oh, of course. I can’t believe I ever considered dating Song Mingi when you were right here the whole time!” Y/N says casually as Jisung pauses and frowns at her.

“Mingi asked you out? And you chose me?” His face held a look of confusion that only caused Y/N to laugh once more.

“Will you stop putting yourself down? No, he never asked me out, I was just messing with you. But if he did, of course, I’d still pick you, dummy.” Y/N smacks his shoulder lightly as Jisung sends her an embarrassed smile.

“I’m just saying if he did-” Jisung counters, but Y/N’s hand covers his mouth before he can continue.

“If you continue to talk down about yourself when we haven't seen each other in two weeks, you’ll be sleeping on the floor tonight.” Her tone now leaves no room for jokes.

“Not even the couch?” His muffled voice comes through her hand.

“The floor, Jisung.”

He kisses her palm lightly before removing it and taking her hand in his. “Okay fine, what do we want for dinner?” Y/N smiles at the subject change before thinking to herself.

“Can we finish my nap, and then figure out food? I wanna just lay here with you for a while.” Y/N scoots into his chest as she speaks, Jisung welcomes her into his space before wrapping his arms around her waist.

“Okay, Jagi let's sleep.” He kisses the top of her head lightly before closing his own eyes, relishing in the warmth of her body against his.

masterlist

#y2kstories #han jisung x reader #han x reader #stray kids #skz x reader #skz #skz imagines #skz recs #skz fluff

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jeongintwenty3 · 1 year

Text

16.25

pairing: bangchan x fem!reader

genre: angst, fluff

warnings: mentions of tears, sadness

author’s note: hello! how’s everyone doing? decided to write this hurt/comfort imagine of chan cause i just cannot accept the fact theres only one chan in the world. pardon for my poor grammar and mispellings if present, other than that, happy reading! <3 remember, it’s just a bad day, not a bad life; it shall pass to. my dms are open if anyone wants to talk ab anything (:

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nobody said marriage life was easy. the day you said yes, the both of you were expecting the ups and downs, the happiness and sadness.

“i’m home!” chris exclaimed as soon as he stepped into the house, one of the few places the both of you feel comfortable enough to call home.

silence from the other side, he was baffled. confused was an understatement, why isn’t his wife scrambling to his arms? you’d usually greet him in ragged breaths, as if you’ve just completed a marathon.

going up, unsettling thoughts clouded his mind. although he knew deep down it will never happen, everyone’s gotta prepare for the worst, right?

wrong.

opening the bedroom door oh so quietly, he managed to make out your figure huddled under the thick comforter. oh, you’re sleeping.

but it’s just 4 in the afternoon?

deciding to kneel so he could be at eye level with you, he froze upon the sight.

chris felt his heart shatter as the seconds passed by, this is never a sight he wants to come home to. why is his favorite person in the world crying?

you’d be lying if you didn’t notice chris entering the room; you tried to play it off by pretending to sleep. but boy, did chris see through you.

he shook you gently, not wanting to invade any further into your personal space. looking up at his pretty eyes, your tears started to well up for the 3rd time this afternoon.

“oh no,” chris started to panic. “what’s wrong babe, hmm? talk to me,” he tried to coax you into reaching out to him.

you covered your face with your 2 hands, not wanting the man that stood beside you see the woman he married.

if chris had to list the top 10 most heartbreaking sights he’s ever encountered in his life, this will be the first. never in his life, he saw you this vulnerable. you always had this strong facade; but even strong people can crumble too. they just decide to not show it.

sitting on the edge of the bed, he guided you onto his lap; he knew, his woman needed his physical affection to ground her.

while patting your head with a few kisses to your temple peppered here and there, he tried to keep his guard up; as much as he wants to cry too, he needs to be strong for his one and only. silently praying the pain in her heart will subside soon, he continued his loving acts.

“deep breaths baby, you can do it,” chris whispered, ensuring the person cradled in his arms is still getting sufficient oxygen. “i’m here now okay? you can rely on me, you can talk about it, you have me,” chris continued, not wanting to aggravate any painful memories.

“i- i’m sorry,” you managed to blurt out while trying to keep your shit together. you knew he was exhausted, visible from the eyebags and the way his shoulders sag. “i know you’re tired, i’m sorry you had to come home to whatever this is,” you continued. “i’ll be better.”

chris wanted to explode; who the hell made his wife feel like this? she’s everything he’s ever dreamt of; kind-hearted, a little clumsy, very dreamy, independent, smart, adora-

his train of thoughts were cut short when he hears your crying started to worsen.

“no,” chris said firmly while still holding your frame. “you, my love, are the definition of an angel. now, before your thoughts get the best of you, let me explain.”

hearing no response from his woman, he let out a small okay, to make sure you were fine with whatever he said and will say — which you were.

“who isn’t tired? we all have our own problems, some we can fight alone, some we need others to help. whatever you’re thinking now, it’s all the exact opposite of what i think of you. you’re perfect, and before you start with your nobody is perfect speech, to me, you are perfect. heck, i often ponder to myself, what did i do in my past life to deserve such a woman?”

responding to what he said, you simply held him tighter and buried your face in his neck. now only hearing sniffles, chris felt relieved you’ve calmed down.

chris had to get to the bottom of this — “is there something you want to tell me?”

after a good 2 minutes, you lifted your face so you could stare into his face and man, nothing ever prepared chris for what his love was about to say next.

“this morning, i went to my pilates class as usual. there were these group of women, i don’t know them at all since they’re new,” you paused, needing a breathe because you felt your throat closing up again.

with a nudge to your side and a kiss to your forehead, chris encouraged you to continue.

“i heard them talking about how they were able to travel around the world with their partners, having the time of their lives, while i’m rarely at home for lengthy times due to work. it’s not that i want to stay away from you, if i could choose i swear i’d choose spending time with you over anything else in the world. i’m sorry, i’ll be home longer, i’ll make you happier.”

a single tear rolled down your cheek, and at the speed of lightning, chris managed to kiss it away.

looking into her eyes with so much adoration one can ever have, chris replied, “you’re enough for me, baby. we have holidays where we can spend time with each other 24/7 and we communicate with each other pretty well. you make me the happiest man alive and don’t change yourself; you’re perfect just the way you are. i understand your feelings, but please don’t ever underestimate yourself, you’re literally my favorite person in the world and i don’t like the person i love the most get hurt because of her thoughts, okay?”

resorting to a nod to respond to his answer, chris felt his heart swell looking at his wife. someone so selfless, she even let her thoughts get the best of her.

“like we agreed, let’s talk about whatever’s bothering each other yeah? no secrets between us, i know you trust me as much as i trust you,” chris concluded, not wanting another wave of sadness wash over his beloved.

“i love you, chris,” you whispered as to not ruin the comfortable atmosphere blanketing the room.

“i love you most, my beautiful wife,” chris replied, with a kiss to your forehead, cheeks, nose and lips.

nobody said marriage life was easy. but one thing you learned was, it’s always the two of you versus the problem, and with the right person, marriage life can feel comforting, like hot chocolate on a snowy day. with chris, you always felt at home.

#skz fluff #skz imagines #stray kids fluff #stray kids imagines #skz #skz x reader #bang chan fluff #bang chan #bang chan imagines #bang chan angst #bang chan x you #bang chan x female reader #bang chan blurbs

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artofalassa · 1 month

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Hey I have an odd question. Do Zack and Cloud still live with Tifa at the end of the Zack lives Au? Or is that still something that's up for debate? Also where's Denzel at?

Hey, no worries! Sorry for a tldr answer!

TLDR > Zack, Cloud and Tifa are always together, even if not living in the same apartment and Denzel lives with Barret and Marlene away from the Edge.

LONG ANSWER >

They don't and they do. Sort of.

In our AU, we settled that the building has more apartments. As in - there's a tiny little courtyard sort of in the back? That's where Cloud's garage/workshop is. This courtyard is a space these houses share. What I'm trying to say is that they live in almost the same house, but different apartments.

I was very adamant about the fact that Cloud wouldn't ever leave Tifa behind and needed to make sure he's always there for her, whenever she needs anything. He's just... in my AU, he feels like he owes her his life, so he wants to do the best he can do for her. And since for some, to him absolutely insane reason, what she wanted the most, was to be around him, he lived with her. Not like he had anyone else more important to him. And it made her happy. He'd do anything to make her happy. Until Zack was found. And Cloud realized he could and did have strong feelings for somebody else.

I only hinted it in the 'Arguments' comic, in one panel, where Tifa's standing alone in the apartment. However, Zack and Cloud moved out some time before they got together.

Zack couldn't sleep on their couch, because it was tiny and he's biggy biggy, he kept waking up with anxieties because WHERE is Cloud???, so Tifa found him sitting by their bedroom door a few times at night. He was asleep. And when Cloud found out about that, he decided it needed to stop and there was NO way he would ever force Tifa out of her own bed. So-- he took Zack and sort of left.

To a different floor/apartment.

He was being practical, as always.

'Our' Cloud has STRONG feelings for Tifa. He respects her, loves her, would do literally anything for her. But. All of those feelings are stronger when it comes to Zack, who was everything Cloud ever wanted and always treated him as his equal. While making him laugh, sacrificing his life for him etc etc all the events of the games hahah. But, I wasn't asked why I like ZC so much. SO.

As for Denzel...

I won't lie and try to make excuse - but man, I'm not a fan of the kid. Or more like - what he represents. For me he always stood as a representation of Squenix being too scared to admit, that yes, Tifa and Cloud are together and have kids together. No. That could enrage some of the fans and we need to make as much money from this as possible. So. Hey. Cloud found a kid. And declared him his son. And together they lived happily ever after. Eyeroll.

I drew most of my comics before I read the 'On the Way to Smile' book. I did see the episode Denzel meanwhile and loved it, because it showed events of VII from a pov of a bystander. And man do I love such stories. But Denzel never grew on me. So we always assumed that he left with Marlene, when Barret took her to live with him in the house shown in 'Gardens' comic. He's a big boy and he wants to be useful somewhere.

Then I read in the book that Cloud adopted him, eyerolled so hard and then shrugged, because I am, in fact, drawing a fan comic about my favourite character surviving his own death, so I suppose I can legit sort of skip some other things too, right.

It's a fanfic.

There's so much more we have on the topic of what happened later and in between. I was so sure I'd be drawing at least 150 pages more of the story and start telling a story with the three of them AND Kunsel joining them. But. Hey. I just. I burned myself out too hard with FFVII and I wasn't as excited about Rebirth as I hoped i'd be. So. Who knows if I ever manage. I still do want to draw at least some scenes, though.

So - Zack, Cloud and Tifa are always together, even if not living in the same apartment and Denzel lives with Barret and Marlene away from the Edge.

#las!talks #oof #longe #sorry!#second chances #zack lives au

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blu-joons · 2 years

Text

When The Boys Find You Both Cuddled Up Asleep Together ~ BTS Reaction

Jin:

The sudden sound of his bedroom door opening had Jin’s eyes looking up, shooting a glare at Hobi as he burst into the room. Jin quickly buried you into his chest just as Jungkook appeared behind Hobi’s shoulder.

“We’re waiting for you,” Jungkook yelled at him, only to be shushed quickly by the both of them whilst pointing at you.

Jin’s head shook as a mumbled apology came from Jungkook, “have you never heard of knocking?”

Jungkook brought his hand over his mouth, stepping back so that Hobi could take the wrap for suddenly entering the room. “Sorry, but we were wondering if you wanted to come and play the game with us.”

“We were sleeping here.”

“I know, sorry,” Hobi noted as Jin continued to make him feel bad for barging in. “Seeing as you’re awake now though, are you guys coming to play? Or shall we just play as the six of us for the time being?”

“You can see that Y/N is asleep, can’t you?”

“Are you staying with her?” Hobi timidly asked, stepping back as Jin glared again. “I’ll take that as a skip on the game then.”

“I can’t believe you thought that I’d leave Y/N.”

Yoongi:

The smile that was on Taehyung’s face as he walked back down to the bottom of the tour bus captured the attention of the rest of the boys, quickly asking what had made him smile so widely so suddenly.

“I found Yoongi, and I found Y/N too,” Taehyung told them all as they sat back down, “snuggled in Yoongi’s bunk asleep.”

Several chuckles escaped from the boys, “why didn’t we just look in his bunk as the first place?”

Taehyung shrugged in reply to Hobi’s question, leaning across the table. “I hate to say it guys, but they looked so cute snuggled up together. I’ve never seen Yoongi look so content whilst holding onto Y/N.”

“Can we go and see too?”

“No,” Namjoon called out to Jungkook and Jin scrambled to their feet to get a peek. “You guys will just tease them if you see them laying together. Why don’t we just let them sleep if that’s what they need?”

“Why are you being so boring now Joon.”

“It’s not boring, it’s being a good friend,” he corrected, “Yoongi would kill us if we ended up disturbing their sleep.”

“We’d be quiet as we look though, promise.”

Hoseok:

Wide eyes looked at both you and Hobi cuddled up on the sofa, all looking between each other. No one knew quite what to do as suddenly most of the space in the living room was taking up by sleeping figures.

“Do we wake them?” Jungkook asked the group, “I mean I can go and get an airhorn or something to make them jump.”

A hit around his head soon came from Jin, “you might want to be that cruel, but we don’t want to.”

A slow raise of the hand came from Jimin, stood just beside Jungkook. “I want to do something, they’ve taken our space and claimed it as their own, we can’t just let them get away with this you guys.”

“So, you want revenge?”

“Exactly,” Jimin chuckled as the other boys looked at him in despair. “How many times has Hobi messed with us when we’ve done something wrong? Isn’t this a chance for us to get back at him too?”

“Y/N has never got at us though.”

“It’s her own fault for dating Hobi,” Jungkook joked, “she can blame Hobi for getting her involved in all of this.”

“We’re having nothing to do with this.”

Namjoon:

There were groans from just about all of the boys as they walked back onto the tour bus to see you and Namjoon asleep together on the sofa, a blanket draped over you both that Namjoon had grabbed from his bunk.

“What is this?” Taehyung scolded as he watched you both, shaking his head as he looked back at the boys to see if they saw too.

Yoongi looked back with a look of confusion, “what do you mean what is this? They’re asleep.”

Jin began to pull the boys back so that they could give you both some space. “Come on guys, Y/N flew in this morning, she’s probably exhausted and jetlagged, and I guess that means we should feel sorry for Joon too.”

“He doesn’t need to sleep.”

“He doesn’t, but Y/N does,” Hobi noted, moving the boys with Jin to the other end of the tour bus. “And as much as none of us want to admit it, they do look pretty sweet together tucked up fast asleep, right?”

“But we don’t tell them this though, right?”

“No way,” Hobi chuckled, “Namjoon enjoys being smug about their relationship already without knowing that too.”

“He doesn’t need any more ammunition.”

Jimin:

A smile appeared on Yoongi’s face as he walked down the stairs at the back of the arena, noticing two figures resting against each other as you and Jimin overlooked the arena that would be filled in hours.

“There you guys are,” he chimed, beginning to walk along the row that you were sat in as Jimin slowly stirred.

Tired eyes looked back across to Jimin, “how long have we been down here? Did I miss anything?”

Yoongi immediately shook his head in response to Jimin, “you’ve not missed anything, don’t worry. Were you guys asleep down here?” Yoongi couldn’t help but ask, noticing you still curled up with your eyes closed.

“I don’t remember falling asleep.”

“You still look pretty exhausted,” Yoongi couldn’t help but tease, watching as Jimin rolled his eyes at the little dig that Yoongi made. “What were you doing? Showing Y/N around where you’ll be performing tonight?”

“She wanted to see what it looked like from the back.”

“She must’ve thought it looked pretty boring,” Yoongi sniggered, “so boring in fact that it’s sent her straight to sleep.”

“She’s just tired, that’s all it is.”

Taehyung:

A roll of the eyes came from Namjoon as he walked into the dressing room, smiling in your direction as you cuddled up to Taehyung. He quickly shut the door as the boys followed, stopping them from going in.

��What are you doing?” Jin groaned as Namjoon told them all to take a step back, “why can’t we go in our dressing room?”

Namjoon’s head shook back at them all, “I’m afraid the dressing room is out of bounds for now.”

Hobi’s sharp eyes soon looked around, noticing that one of them was missing. “Taehyung and Y/N?” He asked, figuring out almost instantly what was stopping Namjoon from opening the door and disturbing you.

“They’re fast asleep in their guys.”

“It’s not even Y/N’s dressing room,” Jin reminded Namjoon, but it wasn’t enough for the door to open. “What are we supposed to do? Just hang around out here until they eventually decide to wake up.”

“They’re not going to be asleep forever there.”

“I can’t believe you’re letting this do this,” Jin grumbled in reply, “if that was any of us then you’d just wake us straight up.”

“I’m your leader, I treat you all fairly.”

Jungkook:

Everyone dug their heels into the ground as they walked into the dorm to find Jungkook’s back pressed against the back of the sofa, with you cuddled into his side, his arms keeping you from falling off.

“Now what do we do?” Jimin shrugged as he looked back at the rest of the boys behind him, “do we have to be quiet?”

Namjoon pushed gently against his arm, “of course, we have to be quiet. They’re sleeping, Jimin.”

All six of them began to take small steps around the room, carefully moving to make sure that they didn’t disturb you both. “Does he not know that he has a bedroom to be able to sleep in?” Taehyung sighed as he watched you.

“It probably just happened.”

“He’s probably doing it on purpose,” Jin suddenly announced, “I mean we all know how much he loves to rub their relationship in our faces, he probably planned this so that we’d see them and feel jealous.”

“Do you really think that he’d be so mean?”

“Absolutely,” Jin quietly scoffed in reply to Yoongi. “Do you know him? He’ll take any chance that he can get to annoy us guys.”

“I’m sure Jungkook wouldn’t even stoop that low.”

---

Masterlist

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thepaintedlady00 · 2 years

Text

The Sandman and the Girl Without Dreams

Chapter 9: A Past As Beautiful and Destructive As Me

TW: the fates, knives, dirty thoughts, smut (Soft Dream is here)

I curled deeper into the warm covers, breathing out a sigh of relief at the heat that rolled off of them. That breath was one I could feel hanging in the frozen air, the heat of it visible in the cold as I blinked my eyes open. Everything was frozen. My pillows, the empty space of bed beside me, the windows and curtains, my chair. All of it. As I sat up, the chill filling the warm space I'd left, three figures stood in front of my bedroom door.

The first, standing closest to me, was a young woman in a beautiful sapphire blue gown, her dark hair curled in ringlets around her soft face. "Greetings, fate kept sister."

In a blink she was standing in the back and one of the others was now standing in front of me. She was older, her face slightly worn by the years. Her hair and eyes remained the same as the younger ones. "It is so good to finally put a face to that lovely name of yours, dear Weaver."

Another blink and the oldest of them stood before me, eyes cold and face wrinkled with age and wisdom. Her silver hair wrapped around her like a shroud. "She doesn't look like much, you'd think with the power in those veins she'd have a bit of spark to her."

I wanted to speak, wanted to demand what the hell was happening, but I couldn't. Like the room around me I was frozen in place, clinging to what little warmth remained. The youngest smiled at me. "I think she looks perfect!"

The oldest sneered. "Fate kept, fate kissed, fate bound. Your titles are as endless as that which you would so easily spread your legs for."

The middle one tutted. "Now, now sister-self, we cannot chastise her for answering the song she was gifted. That even remains higher than us."

"Such a sweet song they make together!" The youngest said. "I hope it does not give way to the dissonant cries that threaten to swallow it."

"A butterfly can do little against the storm to come," the eldest remarked.

"She will have to become a dragon then," the youngest replied. "Fire and armor born to weather any storm."

"The question remains if she will heed her calling or if she will bend and break and burn beneath the threads." The middle said.

"Heed our advice, fate touched, do not hesitate to reach out to the cold. For in the frozen depth much truth lies." The youngest said.

The middle reappeared. "Heed our warning, fate kissed, do not bend to those unworthy. It is their stained hands that seek to tear your wings from your back and watch you crawl and wither."

The oldest glared at me. "Heed our truth, fate bound, forsake that which you fear. For the path through flames of molten gold is that which holds your freedom."

A loud crack of shattering ice echoed in my ears, my hands cupping around them as I tried to block out the sound. When I looked back up they were gone. A faint feeling, like a hand wrapping around my arm pulled me from the frozen world. My hand found the knife beneath my pillow and my body moved of its own accord, the world swinging as I threw myself over the top of whoever had touched me and pressed the blade snuggly against their throat.

Below me Pierres eyes were glowing, his hands resting tightly on my hips. "It is good to be back beneath these powerful thighs, Ma moitié."

Breathing heavily I looked around the room, pulling the blade from his throat. It was just as I left it. My head snapped to the bed, now empty save for a single peony that lay on the pillow beside mine. Dream. I looked back to Pierre who looked me over with his heated gaze and winked. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"I was attempting to wake the sleeping beauty, but in our time apart it appears I've forgotten that she has quite the bite when startled." He smiled even wider. "Though I will never complain about our current position."

"How did you get in?" I asked standing up and helping him off the floor.

"The witch," he replied. "Though we both know if I had truly wanted in I'd have found a way." He leaned slightly to check out my ass in the shorts I'd slept in. "The years have treated you kindly."

I slapped his arm. "Eyes up."

He complied with a sly grin. "Oh I've seen it all before, no need to be so prude about it."

"That was a long time ago," I said, forcing his chin upward as he started looking back.

"Ahh so my other half has found herself a new lover!" He teased flopping onto the bed and twirling the peony in his fingers. "A thoughtful one is he?"

I snatched it out of his hand and carefully set it on my nightstand. "As much as I'd love to talk to you about my sex life you have work to do."

He relaxed into my bed. "It is already done."

"You cleaned up three bodies and all that blood already?"

"You say this like it is difficult," he replied, offended. "Have the years made you forget my talents for such things?"

"No."

"Stop worrying, Ma moitié, come lay down with me and relax for a moment."

With a sigh I flopped down onto the bed beside him. He pressed a kiss to my cheek. "It's good to see you Pierre."

"Of course it is, I am spectacular!" He cheered, turning to face me. "Now, tell me of this tall dark stranger the witch claims to have caught fingers deep inside you."

I groaned. "JOHANNA CONSTANTINE!"

***

Dream had watched Penelope sleep until the sun began to rise before he was forced to leave. He hated having to go, hated that she would wake up alone, but his realm needed his attention now. So he'd placed the peony beside her, hoping it would soothe her if she woke up worried about his absence. As he stood in the corner by her door he turned to the raven that had accompanied them. "Stay with her, Matthew. If trouble comes for her again I will not be caught off guard."

And trouble indeed did come, but a kind that Dream had not been prepared for. His jaw was firmly locked in place as he watched the interaction through Matthews eyes. At first he was relieved, proud, to watch her take the man to the ground with ease, a blade to his throat, but then when she retracted it and helped him up his relief twisted into something else. Something green.

When the stranger had not even attempted to hide his blatant lingering gaze on her body Dream felt the green feeling twist inside him. When he leapt onto her bed and grabbed the flower he'd left for her, he nearly lost all his self control and when she joined him in the bed his hands curled into the arms of his throne and the room around him gently quaked.

Penelope was obviously familiar with this man, too familiar for his liking. But as he watched them he felt no flare of arousal or any feelings from her that indicated this was anything more than a friend. Even without the mark he trusted her, but that didn't stop the bitter taste that filled his throat at the sight of them. He let his connection drop, let his eyes refocus on the throne room.

His thoughts were a rampant storm in his mind. She may not have felt anything for her friend, but seeing her so close with another man brought a possessive need within him. He was not unfamiliar with this, he’d had many lovers in the past and had felt the need before, but with Penelope it was different. It was so strong Morpheus had to consciously remind himself he could not just show up in her room and trap this friend of hers in a never ending nightmare. It was more than that though, more than mere possessive jealousy that made him retreat inward.

She was happy. She had been before he showed up in the apartment she shared with Constantine. In all the years he spent locked in that cage he thought of her often, mourned her. He was not prepared to find her alive, healthy and happy in the Waking World. Before Hell, he’d been determined to retrieve his tools, answer her questions and then let her finally be rid of him. Then he saw the torture she’d endured… felt the softness of her lips on his… had her gasping and moaning against him. He did not want to leave her, he did not think he could survive it now, but he worried what him staying would cost her.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He needed air - he needed to think. He needed to see her.

***

Pierre finally climbed out of the bed after he was satisfied he was caught up in my sex life since our departure, and grabbed a long box from the chair. “I know the last time we spoke, you told me you did not want these, but… Given the recent events I brought them with me just in case.”

At the sight of it I clammed up. It had been years since I’d given them to him… and as he opened the lid, holding it out for me to see the gleaming steel blades within it an old pain filled my chest. I took one of them in my hand, the familiar weight of it digging up a wave of bittersweet emotions. As I looked into the reflection in the blade it was his eyes that stared back at me. Olethros. The pain was one of great friendship and a sorrowful betrayal.

"I know it's not ladylike… but you really need to learn how to throw a proper punch Miss…"

"Barlow. Penelope Barlow."

"Well, Miss Barlow, are you alright?"

"Better now that I've stumbled onto a knight."

His laugh was deep and heartfelt. "Never been called a knight before, I could get used to it."

"Well, what name does my knight normally go by?"

"I've got a lot of names, Miss. You can call me Olethros."

"Olethros, I'm glad to have run into you."

"As am I, Penelope."

I quickly set it back in the box and closed the lid. “Thank you, Pierre. Could you just… just hold onto them a while longer for me?”

His eyes held the understanding that made Pierre one of my closest friends. He nodded, holding the box with tender care. “Of course, mon amour. Now, get dressed and join the witch and I for breakfast, yes?”

“Of course,” I answered watching him settle into my chair with a shit eating grin on his face. “Get out you sly bastard.”

“Very well,” he said with an exasperated sigh, moving toward the door. “But, if your new lover disappoints, perhaps we will reconnect in a different way?”

I rolled my eyes. “You and Johanna are the worst with boundaries!”

He laughed as he closed the door with one final shout of, “That was not a no!”

“NO!” I hollered, sitting on the bed and grabbing the flower Dream had left for me with a smile.

Pierre had been the person I trusted most in this world before Johanna and now Dream. He had been by my side in my darkest moments and had seen me through it all with kindness, patience and laughter. He was perhaps the most annoying person I'd ever met, but single handedly the most loyal and loving individual. I knew he wouldn't betray me, no matter how we left things or how long it'd been since we spoke through the years. Pierre would never betray me, would never do anything to cause me harm, would never abandon me.

It was nice to have him around again, nice in a mostly annoying way, but with him he brought a lot of messy history. I had no doubts that Dream had his own unpleasant moments in his past and I truly didn’t think he would care about some of mine, but I still felt nervous, still felt ashamed. What if the things I’d done made him see me differently? What if upon learning of the years I’d spent without him was just too much? Nothing could ever change the way I see you. He’d said those words, not long ago. He’d said them and meant them with everything he was. I set the flower back on my nightstand and smiled. Dream wouldn’t scare so easily.

A soft noise echoed from the top of the curtain rods and startled me. “Would now be a good time to tell you I’m here?”

Matthew perched above me, awkwardly. “Oh my god Matthew! How long have you been here?”

“Since the sun came up,” he said. “Dream had me stick around just in case there was any trouble. You know so he could come help and all that.”

I sighed, letting the tension release from my shoulders. “I should have known he’d leave you behind. I’m sorry you’re stuck on babysitting duty.”

"I don't mind!" He insisted, flying down to rest on the bed. "It'll be fun."

"Will it be?" I asked.

"Yeah! We can get pizza or go to the movies," the raven sounded very excited at the prospect of a normal day.

"Missing life as a human Matthew?"

"Just a little," he said. "Being a bird is great and all and I enjoy The Dreaming and everyone there it's just…"

"A lot of change in a small span of time. I get it." I finished for him. “I’m not sure what the day has planned, but I’ve got to warn you it might not be the typical human outting you're wanting."

His head cocked to the side a bit. "Yeah, I doubt most humans deal with constant threats of being attacked." Clearing his throat he hopped towards me a bit. "Speaking of… You don't have to tell me, but, uh, I am curious about what exactly you've got going on."

I smiled tensely at him. "You remember Hell? Those, uh, memories you saw?"

"Yeah," he admitted softly. "Those are kind of hard to forget."

"The doctor from the asylum is the head of the sixty, hell, it might be seventy now, year long hunt I've been avoiding."

"The doctor?" He questioned. "Shouldn't he be, I don't know, dead?"

I picked at my fingers. "Yeah, he should be. But those… The, uh… The procedures he did on me… They gave him enough biological material to create a prototype of his weird eternal life elixir or drug or whatever. He took it and used the extra time it gave him to link up with the cult assholes that trapped Dream with Roderick Burgess. They mixed their weird magic and his mad science to make a better version of the prototype. He and his closest confidants took it and have been using it to keep them alive."

"So these assholes don't die?"

"They do. Their new elixir only preserves their life… Their minds I guess. Their bodies still age and decay just at a slower rate than normal." I sighed. "He's running low on my material now though, he has been for the past tenish years."

Beside me Matthew cawed. "That's why they're coming at you so hard."

"Yeah," I whispered. "If they can manage to catch me, it'll be the end this time. He'll take every last bit of me and…" I shook my head. "But that's not going to happen."

"Yeah, I mean you've got Dream now." Matthew said. "He'll take care of it."

"No." I couldn't even think of what the worst bad outcome would look like. "He's going to stay out of it. If they think he's a threat they'll just find a way to trap him again, or worse. He needs to keep himself and The Dreaming safe."

Matthew looked up at me. "Does he know that?"

"No," I breathed out, trying to keep myself calm. "No he doesn't. But… He'll understand."

A chuckle and another caw. "I think we both know it's not gonna be that easy. This is Dream we're talking about."

I laughed. "Yeah, he's kind of an ass."

“He’s much better around you,” Matthew stated calmly.

Smiling down at the raven I shrugged. “I don’t think he can really help it. He can’t exactly hide things from me, not for long at least.”

“Well, whatever thing you two have got going on I’m happy for you. The boss needs someone like you around.”

“Someone like me?”

“Someone that will call him out on things,” he clarified. “Someone that’s not afraid to tell him he's wrong.”

Well, that was certainly something I could do. “Okay, shield your bird eyes dear Matthew while I get dressed for our human outting.”

He flew to the corner of the room, pushing his tiny head through the curtains and observing the street down below as I threw on the thinnest turtleneck I could find, adjusting it so the nearly faded bruising wasn’t visible before securing Jessamys’ feathers back around my neck and pulling on a light long skirt. I was covered head to toe, so any cuts or bruises I hadn’t noticed or hadn't healed yet would stay covered and not draw anymore unwanted attention my way. I set a magazine up for Matthew as I washed my face and did my hair. Listening to the bird comment on movie stars was one of the most amusing things I’d heard in a while. “You should start a podcast.”

He laughed. “A raven with a podcast, that would be hilarious!”

Once I’d gotten on a comfortable pair of shoes he flew to my shoulder and perched on me as I left my room to greet Johanna and Pierre who sat on complete opposite sides of the sofa, leaning away from each other. “Wow, don’t look too comfortable you two, someone might think you like each other.”

Johanna flipped me off. “Fuck you.”

“I would never!” Pierre said at the exact time.

“Breakfast,” I said. “Who's buying?”

Pierre’s eyes were glued to Matthew. “Are we not going to address the bird?”

Johanna smiled. “Nope. Don’t you say a word to him.”

“This is Matthew.”

Pierre's face grew even more confused. “The bird has a name?”

From my shoulder Matthew bristled and let out a caw. “Yes, he has a name and you’re not making a very good first impression.”

“When do I ever, mon amour?” He asked with a wide grin.

“Point taken, now let's go, I'm starving.”

Johanna pulled on her jacket. “Yeah, you haven’t had a real meal since Hell.”

I felt somewhat bad for Pierre as he looked between us with absolute confusion. “What has happened in my absence?”

The four of us walked to a nearby cafe and Pierre and I grabbed a table outside while Johanna went in and got our breakfast sorted. He’d pulled his chair right next to mine and leaned into me the whole time, something Pierre never grew tired of was physical attention. Matthew had perched on the opposite side of the table, beady black eyes boring into the French man beside me. Pierre stared at him for a while before turning to me to ask, “It cannot kill me, can it?”

Shrugging my shoulders I smiled at Matthew. “No clue, that's why you need to be nice.”

It was only when Johanna returned either coffee and plates of food that we got back to the situation at hand. They were back in London and if last night was anything they knew I was here too. Pierre spoke first, "So, no running this time eh?"

"No," I said, picking at the food in front of me. "Not this time."

"Why now?"

There were so many answers. I'm tired of losing the ones close to me. I'm tired of letting them push me around. But one that held the most truth. "I'm tired."

This made Pierre wrap his arm around me and squeeze my shoulder. "Finally. I have been waiting for you to turn loose the dogs of war!"

Johanna rolled her eyes. "We need to be smart about this. These cunts have people and resources, we can't take them in an all out fight."

"We have her," Pierre insisted. "No one is better in a fight than our Penelope!"

I looked down at the table, my mind drifting back to the hulking mass of red hair from all those years ago. "Fighting isn't just about numbers or strength, Inky. You have to slow down, think through the moves before you act."

I'd watched him attempt to bend the paper into the shape of my butterfly for almost an hour as we talked, still to no avail. "I've thought out the moves, Olethros. I can't win if I don't know how to actually fight."

"God damn paper," he muttered, tossing the paper into the pile with all the others. He sighed. "Why are you asking me this now?"

"You're the one that said I needed to know how to throw a proper punch!" I replied, reaching over to help guide his fingers. "I'm not asking you this lightly. I know how seriously you take fighting."

"Fighting almost always leads to death and destruction. Are you prepared for that?"

I shook my head. "No, but I don't have a choice. I have to do something, Olethros. I'd never be able to live with myself if I didn't."

I pulled my hands away from his and looked down at the disfigured butterfly. He let it fall onto the desk. "Don't think I'll ever be able to make one like yours."

With a gentle tug I pulled the paper butterfly off of where it hung on my necklace. I stroked over the soft worn paper, smiling at the memories of the friend that had given it to me, before holding it out to him. "You take it. Until you make one of your own."

"Inky…"

I set it in his palm. "Consider it payment for teaching me how to fight?"

His rich eyes bored into mine, fingers curling around my own. "Fine. But just some basic moves. You're no killer, Penelope Barlow. I just want to keep it that way."

Pierre nudged me, hand squeezing my shoulder. "You drifted off, Ma moitié. Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I answered, straightening up in my chair. "Yeah I'm fine. What were we saying?"

Johanna watched me carefully. "Pierre and I were arguing over strategy."

"Once she picks up those blades of hers we won't need your strategy!" Pierre replied.

I shook my head. "I'm not picking up the knives. Johanna is right we need to be smart about this."

He sighed. "But-"

"I don't want to lose anyone else, Pierre." I looked up at him with watery eyes. "I can't."

Cursing in French he pressed a soft, quick kiss to my lips and hugged me. "Alright, mon amour. We'll do it your way."

"Thank you."

Matthews wings flared out as he cawed, eyes focused behind us. I turned, looking over Pierres shoulder at Morpheus as he stood across the street. Smiling at him I looked at Johanna. "Are you guys good or do we have more to talk about?"

She glanced at Dream and smirked. "No, we're good. Come on Frenchie, let's go hit up a few contacts."

Pierre followed our eyes and grinned. "Is that the new lover? He is handsome."

"Very," I agreed, shoving against his chest. "Now get out of here.

He pressed one last kiss to my lips, longer than the first one, trying to get a rise out of Dream. And, if the way the shadows seemed to move over him meant anything he'd succeeded. I shoved again, slapping the back of his head, but he only smiled at me. "I have to make a good impression, no?"

"Fuck off." I laughed as he slid out of his seat, glancing at Dream as he walked away with Johanna.

Dream stayed still for a minute before he moved to join Matthew and I at the table. "Good morning," I said happily.

"Good morning." His tone held no indication of, well, anything.

I tiled my head, watching him take a piece of bread from the table and hold it. "How are repairs in The Dreaming coming along?"

"Well," he said. "I should be regaining most of my lost subjects soon."

"That's good," I said. He was off, but I couldn't quite tell why. A familiar feeling rose up in my chest, along with the sound of the raging ocean waves hitting thick wood. I shoved it down, watching Matthew peck at a plate of food, not able to get it all. I reached over, grabbing the plate and starting to cut up the food into smaller pieces.

His eyes looked down the road, where Pierre and Johanna had gone. "Was he a friend of yours? Or an old lover?"

"Both? Neither?" I chuckled. "He's my friend. We slept together a few times, but it was mostly out of convenience. I trusted him, he trusted me, we didn't have to think about potential dangers or something going wrong. We didn't have to think."

Dream nodded. "Does he know this?"

"He was there for me during a difficult time. And when he was offered an obscene amount of money to trick me he refused." I met Dreams' eyes and sighed. "I know he's a lot, but Pierre is one of the few people that didn't betray me."

"I understand," he said. "If you trust him..."

"I do trust him."

"And I trust you." He said simply. "So long as he keeps his mouth to himself you'll not hear any complaints from me."

"Your mouth is the only one I want, Dream Lord." I insisted with a wide grin.

Nothing. No smile, no teasing, just the same blank expression. After a few minutes of silence he spoke calmly, "I'm assuming there were no other attacks in my absence."

"No," I replied, bracing myself for this part of the conversation.

A nod. "Good, it won't take too long finding the individuals behind this."

"About that," I said nervously. Taking a deep breath I met his cold gaze. "I don't want you to get involved."

A flash of annoyance and anger filled him, curling around me. "What?"

"It's just…" I sighed. "These people are dangerous, Dream-"

"All the more reason for me to deal with it."

"They're well organized and well versed in both magic and science. If they find out you're involved in any way they will trap you," I said, watching his eyes flare with memories of his cage. "I'm not going to risk that happening, not ever again."

His jaw clenched. "I will be discreet."

"No." I could see the understanding fill his eyes as my aching worry reached out to him. "I have lost far too many people to this crazy cult mad scientist bullshit. I am not willing to risk losing you too."

"Penelope-"

"Promise me, Morpheus." I bit back a sob. "Promise me you'll let me handle it. Please."

He nodded, every inch of him rigid and tense. "Very well."

"Thank you."

Dream watched as I held the now smaller bits of food out to Matthew, who took it almost too eagerly. "You shouldn't indulge him."

"Oh leave him be," I said, the tenseness slowly dissolving. "He was human once, it's only fair that he gets some treats."

"If he gets too fat to fly back to The Dreaming it'll be on your head then."

I laughed. "If your magic ravens get fat from a few pieces of biscuit then that's just poor execution on your part."

Matthew ignored us both in favor of the food, but made quiet content noises from beside me. Dream continued looking around with his lips pouted. I could sense the emotions he was feeling, but couldn’t identify them. It was like a glass wall separated them from me, and looking at him I could just tell he was doing it on purpose. To keep me from being forced to feel them perhaps? Or to keep him from having to open up to me about what was wrong. Of the two the second seemed far more Dream.

I nudged his leg with my foot, bringing his emotionless eyes and face back to me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Dream…” I began. “I can feel something is off with you. Something you’re keeping from me.”

He sighed. “It is not important, Penelope.”

“I don’t care, I still want to-”

“Please.” He said, a flash of tenderness filling his eyes for a moment. “I do not wish to burden you with trivial things.”

With a sigh I handed Matthew the last piece. “Okay, but I want you to know that I’m here. No matter what it is, or how trivial it may seem, I’m here.”

“Thank you,” he said softly, sounding almost pained by the kindness of my words.

I didn’t push it further. Dream was stubborn and if he really didn’t want to talk to me, he wouldn’t. Trying to pry more out of him would only result in a fight, and after eighty years apart I did not want to spend our newfound time together fighting over little things.

After paying for the food we began walking once again. In one hand he held his bread and the other hand was stuffed in his pocket. I missed the feel of his arm wrapped around mine, but respected his space. I knew that it wasn’t something he did to appear cold or to purposefully hurt my feelings. Even in his sour mood I didn't think he'd act cruelly. He was a private person, that was all.

I followed him to a nearby park where he took a seat on a park bench and slowly began picking away at the loaf of bread, tossing the pieces to the pigeons. This was odd. Dream of the Endless was not the type to sit in a park and feed pigeons. I looked at him and just as I was about to ask what he was doing his hand snapped up, catching a rogue ball as it came hurtling towards my face. The young man that came to retrieve it apologized and complemented Dream’s catch before turning and going back to his game. “Are you alright?”

I nodded. “Yeah, thanks for that.”

His eyes gave me a once over and then the silence returned. That feeling began to aw its way back up just as I spotted the black boots approaching us. Everything was washed away with the warmth of her. With a bright smile I leapt up and threw my arms around her. “Death!”

She returned my embrace with an even tighter one. “It’s so good to see you, Penelope.” She pulled away, fixing my hair and looking at me with the warm loving gaze I hadn't seen in years. “You look good, how are you doing?”

The last time I saw her was the night I nearly died. I’d almost begged her to take me then, and she’d been the one to assure me that there was still so much for me to live for. I smiled even wider, ignoring the tears that started to fill my eyes. “Better.”

“Good.” She said looking down at Dream, her face contorting into confusion. “What’s he doing?”

I shrugged. “No clue, he’s in a mood.”

“I’ll talk to him,” she assured. “Why don’t you go do something fun?”

He looked up at us now as the words of his sister registered, but before he could speak I held up my hands. “Don’t worry, I’ll stay within your line of sight.”

Dreams' jaw was tense as he nodded. “Thank you.”

Death gave me a look, but I waved her off, walking over to a nearby tree and plopping down. The two of them had a lot to talk about, and if anyone was going to get Dream out of his mood it was her. Matthew joined me shortly, nodding to the small hot dog cart off to the side. “Hungry?”

I rolled my eyes. “No, but I’ll get one for you.”

“You’re the best Penny!”

***

Death sat down beside him with a sigh, watching him closely. “What are you doin’?”

“I’m feeding the pigeons.” It was a simple answer, one that Dream knew would not keep her from digging up what was truly on his mind. His older sister was wise and had a talent for getting the truth out of people.

“‘You do that too much, you know what you get?’” She asked with a grin. “‘Fat pigeons.’” When he didn’t react she laughed quietly to herself. “That’s from Mary Poppins. Did you ever see it?”

“No.”

She watched a child run through the group of birds that had gathered in front of them, her joy among the humans was something he found odd, but he’d be lying if he didn’t admit he envied her. She saw them, truly saw them, for all that they were and she loved them. “Okay, so what’s the matter?”

“What do you mean?”

“I can tell something’s wrong. I mean look at you. Sittin’ here, moping, pigeon-feeding. It’s not like you.”

He sighed. “No. Perhaps it isn’t. I don’t know what’s wrong, but you’re right. Something is the matter.” He paused as she got comfortable on the bench beside him. “When they captured me, I just had one thought. Vengeance. And then…” His eyes found Penelope, mind racing with all the memories of her being chained and beaten in front of him. Death seemed to understand. “Then it wasn’t just about me, and my hunger for that vengeance grew.” With another sigh he shook his head. “It wasn’t as satisfying as I’d expected. Meanwhile, my kingdom had fallen apart. My tools long since stolen and scattered. And so I embarked upon a journey to find them. Which I did, along with the girl I’d spent eighty years mourning. She’s here, healthy and happy and I’m more powerful than I have been in eons. And yet…”

“Here you are feeding the pigeons.” She finished for him, gently clapping her hands together.

“You see, until then, I’d had a true quest. A purpose beyond my function and then suddenly, it was over, and…” He made a face. “I felt disappointed. Let down. Empty. Does that make sense? I was so sure that once I got everything back, I’d feel good… that I’d be able to let her go and move on. But in some ways I feel worse than when I started. I feel like… Nothing.” He tore his eyes away from Penelope. “You asked.”

Death put a comforting hand on top of his knee and smiled at him. “You could have called me, you know.”

“I didn’t want to worry you.”

She rolled her eyes and stood quickly. “Oh, I don’t believe it. Let me tell you something, Dream.” Taking the bread out of his hands she pointed it at him accusingly. “And I’m only gonna say this once, so you better pay attention. You are utterly the stupidest, most self-centered, pathetic excuse for an anthropomorphic personification on this or any other plane. Feeling sorry for yourself because your little game is over and you haven’t got the balls to go out and find a new one.” Her bread wielding hand gestured over to Penelope. An obvious message. “You’re as bad as Desire. No worse.” She threw the bread at him with an exasperated sigh. “Did it never occur to you that I would be worried about you?”

“I didn’t think-”

“Exactly! You didn’t think.”

The white ball flew through the air toward the back of Death's head. She whirled around and caught it right before it could connect and with a sigh she handed it back to its owner. “Wow. You’re as good as you… friend there.”

Looking back at him she shrugged. “He’s not my friend. He’s my brother. And he’s an idiot.”

He returned to his curled up position, tossing more crumbs down into the grass. “I’m just feeding the birds.”

“Look, I can’t stay here all day. I’ve got work to do. You can come with me if you want, or you can stay here and sulk.”

His eyes flickered back to Penelope. “What about her?”

“Is she not allowed to be alone all of a sudden?” Death joked.

“There are people after her,” he said, watching his sister's face grow more concerned as she looked over at Penelope. “I do not want to be far, just in case…”

“She can come with, if she’s comfortable with that. She's good for you, by the way," Death said with a smirk.

Penelope sat under the shade of a large tree, tossing bits of hot dog up to Matthew who swooped down making attempts to catch them before they hit the ground. She'd made a sarcastic comment about his eyesight, resulting in Matthew dropping the hot dog into her hair. He made playful attempts to get it, pecking her head and tugging on her hair lightly. They chased each other around the tree, her laugh lighting up the whole park.

"What makes you say that?" he asked, though he didn’t really need an answer. It was obvious.

She pointed to him. "You get that look when you see her, even when you’re sulking."

"I don't have a look."

"You do. It's cute!"

"Dream!" Penelope shrieked, running over to him and ducked behind him so he was in between her and the raven. "Control your pigeon!"

"Pigeon?!" Matthew hollered. "Low blow!"

She peeked out from behind his shoulder and flipped the bird off. The two bickered with him between them, yet all he could do was smile. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his sister's knowing grin and immediately forced his lips down. "Settle down you two."

Finally the two relaxed and Penelope turned to his sister and asked her about work, as if it was nothing to her, speaking to Death. After a minute he realized she still hung onto his shoulders, using him as a perch, not unlike the raven she bickered with. "Is there a reason you're hanging off of me?"

"Not particularly, why am I weighing you down, mighty Dream Lord?” She teased in his ear.

"Not physically. Mentally you are quite the weight to carry." Though his tone hadn’t changed, Penelope caught onto his playful meaning instantly.

She gasped and groaned, slumping forward, now fully hanging off him, acting as if she’d been struck. "You wound me, my lord! Oh! I fear I’ll never recover!”

“I wish to accompany my sister for a while.” He said, looking at her from over his shoulder. “Will you join us?”

“I don’t want to impose,” she said, nervousness flaring in him.

Death smiled. “You won’t be. I’ll tell you when to stay put and we’ll be fine.”

“Alright then,” she replied, squeezing his shoulder and moving to stand beside him as he rose to follow his sister. She moved further in front of them and he immediately reached out to her. She gave him a comforting smile.

“You can stand with us,” he said.

“You two have a lot to talk about,” she insisted sweetly. “I don’t want to intrude.”

He let his hand return to his side. “Stay within my sight.”

“I know, I know.”

Dream watched her walk forward, Matthew perched on her shoulder, and he felt a piercing pang of guilt fill his gut. He’d told himself he would say goodbye to her and let her live the life she’d built without him. She was happy, the feel of it warmed him. His presence would only bring her trouble, but she was already in trouble. The white coats and the doctor were a thorn in his side, but the even bigger thorn was her. He recalled her words to him, her gentle plea that barred him from involving himself in the matter. If it’d been up to him he would have already hunted them all down and put an end to this. He could do it still. But what would that cost? Her?

“Look!” Death said sweetly, drawing his eyes from Penelope to the stand of fruits and vegetables. “Yum! Okay two please.”

“None for me, thank you.”

She looked back at him with that loving sisterly gaze he’d missed so much. “They’re good for you.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You can just have it later,” she insisted with a shrug. When he didn’t budge she turned back to the vendor. “Just one, thanks.”

He watched the man clean the apple off and hand it to his sister with a warm smile. “There you go. It’s a gift.”

“Aw. Thank you! That’s so nice.” She turned, taking a large bite of the apple and then nodded to the vendor. “Mmm! That is delicious.”

“You are good with them,” he noted.

“Apples?”

“Humans.” His heart dropped when Penelope wasn’t where she had been. He took a long stride forward, Death's hand on his arm stopped him. She nodded to a small covered stall just a few steps ahead of them where Penelope knelt letting a child observe Matthew, who perched on her arm with his wings spread wide, clearly showing off. His heart slowed and he took a deep breath. She stood, urging Matthew to hop back onto her shoulder as the vendor, the child's father he assumed, handed her a bouquet of flowers. He listened to her whisper a soft thank you to them before glancing up to find him and Death before continuing onward, smelling the flowers as she walked.

Death watched him with her knowing eyes, practically beaming beside him at how obviously and pathetically enthralled he was with the human girl. She held the apple out to him, a smug smile on her face. “Bite?”

“No, thank you.” He replied.

“Hmm. Have you seen any of the others since you’ve been back?”

He shook his head, looking over at her. “Have you?”

“We did have one family dinner when you were away. The twins were in high spirits. Mmm, Desire was anyway.”

“With me gone, I have no doubt.”

“I don’t know. I think Desire missed having their usual sparring partner across the dinner table.”

“Any word of the prodigal?”

Death shook her head sadly. “No. Still missing. You were both missed.”

Dreams' eyes stayed locked onto Penelope as the crowd began to thin. She spoke to the raven beside her, not caring if anyone looked at her oddly, the joy he’d felt in her since this morning hadn’t dwindled at all, not even when she'd asked him to stay out of things. It was always there, buried in whatever else she was feeling. How does she do it? He questioned. She was being hunted like an animal at this very moment. Anyone else would have been terrified, paranoid at every noise or stranger, and yet she was here walking in front of him acting as if nothing was wrong. Death nudged his shoulder. “How are you sis? How have you been keeping? Aww. I’m well, Dream. Thanks for asking.”

He didn’t fight the smile this time, leaning into her and asking, “How are you, my sister? How have you been keeping?”

“I’m worried about my brother,” she answered honestly before perking up and holding out her nearly gone fruit. “And I’m enjoying this apple.”

Penelope’s sigh drew his eyes back to her. She swayed to the sound of the violin playing in the distance, twisting and twirling to the soft melody. He couldn’t help but stare at her, wondering how anyone could be so beautiful. Death pulled him to a stop, looking up at the building. “Can you hear it?”

“I know this piece,” he realized. “I haven’t heard it in two hundred years.”

“Come on,” she whispered, urging him to follow.

He looked back at Penelope. “Wait here. We won’t be long.”

She jumped up onto the stone wall and smiled. “We’ll be right here, Dream.”

***

I watched him follow Death into the yellow house where the violin had stopped playing and sighed, turning my face up to the sun. Matthew had hopped off my shoulder and settled beside me. “So, this isn’t exactly the human outting I was expecting. But it’s nice. Kind of relaxing, which is weird considering we’re walking with Death literally behind us.”

“She’s sweet,” I assured him, pulling a flower out of my bouquet and setting it on the stone beneath us. “Far more friendly than any of the others I’ve met so far.”

“Was Destiny a dick?” He asked with a chuckle. “Seems like he would be.”

“No,” I answered with a smile. “He was polite, but very cryptic.”

Matthew fluffed his feathers a little and watched the people walk past for a moment before asking, “Are you scared?”

“Scared?”

“Yeah, scared they’re gonna try and grab you at any minute?”

I looked around at the crowd of people and shook my head. “They’re not here.”

“How can you tell?”

Shrugging I watched the faces of smiling people pass and listened to the roar of their conversations. “They’ve been hunting me for eighty years. I’ve gotten pretty good at picking them out of crowds.”

He sighed. “I can’t even imagine what that's like.”

“It’s not all bad,” I said gently. “I just moved around a lot.”

“Yeah, and literally had people try to kidnap you more than once!”

“You get used to it after a while,” I answered. “It sounds sad, I know, but I did okay after a while. Lived as much as I could moving from town to town. I got to see the world, got to live in places I’d never even heard of.”

Matthew looked up at me. “You’re probably one of the most positive people I’ve ever met. It’s kind of annoying.”

***

As Death and Dream exited the house he felt relieved to find Penelope in the same place he’d left her, for once. Beside him Death smiled. “She’s lovely.”

“I do not deserve her.” It was honest, but he hadn’t meant for it to sound so hopeless.

“Maybe not. But she’s here all the same.” She said, “And from what little time I got with her it’s quite clear she’s not going to just let you disappear.”

He looked over at her, silently surprised that she’d read him that well. “I-”

“You're my brother, Dream. I know you. And I know you’re an idiot, big enough of one to think that abandoning that girl over there was a good idea.”

“She’s lost so much of her life already because of me.” He shook his head. “She doesn’t deserve to lose anything else.”

“What do you think you’ll be doing if you leave her now?” Death asked. “Because the way I see it, you’ll be robbing her not only of any future with you but also her choice in deciding if that’s what she wants.”

Death said nothing else to him, she simply made her way to Penelope and helped her off the wall with a smile. They waited for him to join them, and then they continued on. His sister's words echoed in his mind as they walked across the bridge, leaving Matthew and Penelope behind them. He hadn’t thought of what he would be taking away from her by just removing himself from her life without say or warning.

From his side she said, “I thought he was sweet, didn’t you?”

He thought of the old man they’d just left. “Sweet? I don’t know. Perhaps. My sister," He’d meant to tell her earlier, but had forgotten in his haste to move. “When I was captured, it wasn’t me they were looking for. It was you.”

Death nodded, a sorrowful smile on her lips. “Yeah, I know.”

He felt the ball of pain in him as the unanswered question exploded. So they had known, had known and did not come to his aid. She used his shoulder to kneel down and take off her boots. “What are you doing?”

“I’m taking my shoes off. You should take yours off too. It’s good to touch the Earth with your bare feet. It’s grounding.” She was so odd, in a way that made him wonder how they were related. Grounding? Why would he need grounding? “Come on, I don’t want to miss the next one.”

Looking back at Penelope as she looked out at the water, a look of something in her eyes as she turned to look at him. Before he could even think the thought she’d smiled and waved him off. “I know, Dream.”

She was insufferable.

***

The water moved and rippled beneath the bridge as I bent over the side to look down at it. Matthew watched me curiously. “So, rumor has it you threw a car off a bridge.”

“I did,” I admitted, resisting the curl of adrenaline that surged through me at the memory of the car falling and the water surrounding me.

“Why?”

“It seemed like my only option at the time,” I said, chuckling. “Though that might’ve been all the sedation drugs I was coming off of.”

Matthew cawed and said, “He’s different than he was when I first met him.”

“Dream?” I asked, looking down at him.

He gave me a tiny nod. “Yeah, he was all doom and gloom the first few times I interacted with him, I mean he’s still all doom and gloom the majority of the time, but, when he saw you it was different. It actually looked like he gave a shit about something, which was new considering his resting face looks like it does.”

I laughed, my heart fluttering at the thought, before the undeniable weight I felt in my gut returned. “He’s gonna try leaving.”

“What?” The raven demanded. “Why would he do that when he’s so obviously, I don’t know, in love with you?”

“I don’t know if he’s in love with me,” I argued. “Maybe it’s just this, just tension. Once we take that leap it’ll be gone and he’ll want to move on.”

Matthew laughed. “That’s not at all what this is and you know it.”

I focused back on the water. “I just don’t want to be blindsided again.”

“You’re not gonna get blindsided, Penny.” He assured me, tapping my arm with his beak in an attempt at a pat. “He’s not going anywhere.”

***

Dream watched the woman, the new wife of the man his sister had come for, cradle her husband's body in her arms and wail. He’d known that pain, he’d lived with that pain for eighty years. The only difference was that his grief and mourning had been put to an abrupt end by the woman he thought he lost. As he and Death returned to the bridge he felt an uneasy weight in his chest, a realization, as he looked at her. She had mourned him too. When they first reunited she’d told him that she tried to come back to the Burgess house to free him. It had been left unsaid, but obvious that this attempt was what led to her current troubles. Because of him. No. For him.

Penelope was a lot of things, but a victim of circumstance was not one of them. Everything she’d been forced to endure she did so with blood and fire. She could have bent under Rodericks thumb or under the doctor's blade, but instead she burned brighter and fought and raged until the chains that held her broke. She had not chosen to be stuck in the basement with him, to receive the mark that bound them, but she’d chosen every action that followed. And each time her choice was the same. Him. She chose him every day for years, most likely far longer than even he knew. He looked at her and felt her steady heartbeat in his chest, felt the swarm of joy and love that filled her as her eyes found him across the bridge. If he gave her a choice he knew what her answer would be and that scared him.

Death looked up at him and nudged him forward, and they reunited with the duo just as she’d finished pulling a flower from her bouquet and placing it on the bridge. He nodded towards it. “What are you doing?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know, I just felt like leaving a little piece behind.”

Death smiled and rubbed Penelope's shoulder. “That’s sweet.”

“Where to next?” She asked as Matthew settled back on her shoulder.

Death watched him with a curious gaze as he watched Penelope continue down the new street, not even batting an eye at what they were here for, not questioning any of it. “What?”

“How do you do it?” He questioned.

“Do what?”

“This. Be there, for her, for all of them.”

She shrugged modestly, as if what she did wasn’t that important. “I have a job to do. And I do it. When the first living thing existed, I was there. When the last living thing dies, I’ll put the chairs on the table, turn out the lights and lock the universe behind me when I leave. And I’m not there for all of them, there are exceptions. Mad Hettie. Penelope. And then there's your ongoing project. How’s he faring up after all this time?”

“Who? Hob Gadling?” Dream sighed. He hadn’t thought of the man in a long while. “I don’t know. I was forced to miss our last appointment.”

“Well I’m sure he’d love to see you.” She said, “They’re never too keen to see me though.”

He looked at her softly. “Does it not bother you?”

“I actually used to think I had the hardest job in all our family.”

“Oh did you?”

“They fear the Sunless Lands, yet they enter your realm every night without fear.”

He smirked. “And yet I am far more terrible than you.”

She laughed for a moment before a nervous guilt passed over her features. “It was fine in the beginning. Dying and living were new things and people did them with the enthusiasm they always bring to new things. And then after a bit, it just got harder.”

“But you continued.”

“I thought about giving up. Walking out.” She walked into the house as he looked up the road at Penelope.

“Don’t wander,” He reminded her, noticing she’d gone further than he’d thought.

She turned back around and came walking towards him with a sarcastic salute. “Apologies, Dream Lord Sir!”

He rolled his eyes and followed his sister inside.

***

I sat on the steps of the house Death and Dream walked into a few minutes ago, pulling another flower from the bunch and setting it on the step beside me. “No more questions dear Matthew?”

“You’re kind of an open book to be honest,” he replied from his perch beside me. “Though I am curious as to what your theory is on your whole situation.”

“That’s a very loaded question.”

“Aren’t those the best kind?”

“I guess it depends on who you ask.” I retorted, avoiding the answer.

He looked at me expectantly. “Come on, you have to have some theories.”

Shrugging I sighed. “I mean I did a long time ago, or at least I thought I did, but eventually it all just molded into one very dark theory.”

“Let's hear it.”

“I’m cursed.” I finally said, looking away from him, anywhere else. “It’s kind of the only thing that explains everything. Anything I touch, anything that I get close to gets ripped from the world because of me. It’s why I never… Why no one…”

Matthew was quiet for a while before he said, softly, “I don’t think you’re cursed, Penny.”

“Thank you.”

***

Dream had watched his sister take the child with a heavy heart and thoughts filled with the memories of his own son's loss. He exited the house, Death close behind when they walked into Penelope and Matthews conversation.

“I’m cursed.” She said after what appeared to be a long moment of silence, looking out at the sky. “It’s kind of the only thing that explains everything. Anything I touch, anything that I get close to gets ripped from the world because of me. It’s why I never… Why no one…”

Dream felt her sorrow mingle with his own as Matthew softly replied, “I don’t think you’re cursed, Penny.”

“Thank you.” Her voice was strained, on the verge of tears as Death closed the door loudly.

She stood quickly, not even turning to look at them before she continued forward, moving out of their way. When they all stood together for a moment, to travel to Death’s next appointment she didn’t look at him, just kept her eyes on the ground in front of them, twisting her necklace between her fingers. How long had she thought this? He wondered. How long had she been waiting for him to abandon her as well because of some curse?

In the next location he watched Penelope more closely, watched her leave a flower in the room of the patient across from his sister. She made small talk, laughed alongside the stranger and bid them a gentle farewell when it was time to leave. Her sorrow had lessened when she rejoined them, walking closer and closer to them each time they moved now, but still out of reach.

"You were there that night. The night she should have..." He couldn't even bring himself to say it.

Beside him Death nodded. "Yeah, I was."

"What happened? Why didn't you take her?"

"Because she pulled herself out of that river and breathed." She said simply. "She was alive again."

"How..." He wanted, no needed, to know. "How did she feel about that?"

His sister met his gaze and smiled sadly. "She wanted to come with me. She was one of the first that ever has."

“Could she have?” he asked.

“No. It doesn’t work like that.”

“Will you take her eventually?”

Death shook her head as they walked down the alleyway. “I don’t think so. Something tells me she’s not meant for my lands, not for a long, long while at least.”

Dream looked at Penelope where she stood on the sidewalk by the street as his sister worked beside him. She left a flower on a small ledge of a nearby building with a smile. And when some loud drilling or construction work echoed from a few streets away she covered her ears with her hands, a wave of fear hitting her, and him, like a truck. But, just as he moved to go to her he felt her take deep breaths and heard the soft words that left her lips as she pressed her hand to her chest. “I’m here. I’m alive.” When they rejoined one another she’d calmed down, so much so he wouldn’t have even noticed what had happened if he hadn’t been looking.

In the field she waited on the path for them, leaving a flower on a nearby bench as she knelt down and played with a group of dogs as they and their owners passed through. She was so bright and full of life, even though only moments ago she was nearly curled in on herself with a residual fear. As they resumed their movements he could only focus on one thing. How resilient she was, had always been from the beginning. No one else would have survived, and they certainly wouldn’t be as she was, not as courageous, not as happy, not as alive.

“It’s funny, looking back now,” Death continued beside him. “I used to think I had to do this all by myself.”

“But you do.”

“No. At the end, I’m there with them. I’m holding their hand and they’re holding mine. I’m not alone when I’m doing my job. And neither are you. Think about it. The only reason we even exist, you and I, and Desire and Despair, the whole family. We’re here to serve them. It isn’t about quests or finding purpose outside our function. Our purpose is our function. We’re here for them. Since I figured that out, I realized I need them as much as they need me. I’ve seen so many cool things and people and worlds. I’ve learned so much. Lots of people don’t have a job they love doing, do they. So, I think I’m really lucky.”

She said it all with a passion he’d long since forgotten. Dream didn’t even truly remember the last time he enjoyed making his creations. “Listen, I’ve got to head back soon, but before I go I need to say this. That girl is in love with you, Dream. She has been from the start, she was the night I found her by that river. And if you leave her after everything you’ve both been through she will never forgive you. You’ll never forgive yourself and I certainly won’t forgive you. So, just this once, don’t be such an idiot.”

He stepped in front of her and held her hands. “You’ve taught me something I had forgotten. I thank you, my sister.”

She smiled. “Aw. That’s what family’s about, little brother.”

Penelope had stopped off to the side but quickly joined them when Death turned and opened her arms. She embraced her tightly and Dream watched her sink into the hug, soaking in the warmth of his sister's embrace. “Will I see you again?”

Death chuckled. “I don’t know when it comes to you.”

“Then I guess we’ll see,” Penelope replied fondly.

“Goodbye, Penelope. I might be seeing you.”

“Goodbye, Death. I might be seeing you too.”

***

As we walked through a small crowded alley Dream set his hand against my back and led me through the crowd of people. Once we reached a larger area he stood close beside me, his hand occasionally brushing against mine. "I'd like to introduce you to someone. A friend I need to reconnect with."

I opened my mouth in amused surprise. "Friend? That's a big word for you, Dream."

He rolled his eyes, lips twitching to fight the smile. "Will you come with me?"

"Of course," I said, falling into step beside him.

Looking up at him through my lashes I watched his eyes fill with that signature gloss of fondness. "I've not seen him in a long time, he may not be too happy with me."

“Oh?” I nudged him. "What'd you do?"

“What makes you think it was my doing?"

"Because I know you," I said laughing.

"I may have insisted I had no need for his friendship."

I hummed. "You know, you're kind of an ass, but I'm sure your friend will let it slide."

That soft smile finally graced his lips. "How very optimistic of you."

"Well one of us has to be."

Dream and I walked a ways before a familiar old tavern came into view. Beside me Dream looked sad, his eyes staring at the old building as if it had meant something more to him than I understood. I stayed quietly beside him, letting him work through the emotions I could feel bubbling against whatever barrier he'd kept between us, something I hated more and more with each passing minute. It felt wrong, not feeling what he did, even more so being able to feel something, but not all of it. Finally I said, "I came here once before it closed."

"You did?" He asked softly.

I nodded, leaning against him a bit. "Yeah, the place was an absolute shit hole, in the most endearing way of course."

"You should have seen it when Death first dragged me here." He chuckled a little. "They had livestock inside with the food and drinks. Absolutely abhorrent."

Looking up at him I smiled. "Don't lie, you loved it."

"I did not," he insisted. "But I suppose I did grow fond of it over the years. More so the friend I made here."

"Were you supposed to meet him here?"

"I was, a long time ago."

I pointed to the red graffiti. "Maybe he went to the new one?"

Dream sighed, turning and following the red that lined the fence. I didn’t need the bond to feel the nervousness rolling off of him. Did he and his friend leave things so horribly between them that he felt afraid they weren’t waiting for him? I leaned into him a little more, offering up a reassuring smile. Just around the corner, across a small section of tall grass was a beautiful brick building with white trim labeled The New Inn. Small tables with green umbrellas shielding them lined the patio as Dream and I entered.

Inside was decorated with old pale blue wallpaper and dark trim, blue curtains lined the large windows and antique looking tables lined the wall across from the bar. It was busy, but not so much that we couldn’t move through the space. I pulled away from Dreams' side. “Go look for your friend, I’ll hang out at the bar for a minute so you two can catch up.”

“You do not need to-”

“Go, Dream,” I prompted with a smile. “Unless you want me there for your grand apology.”

He nodded, moving through the space and around the corner, out of view. When he disappeared from my line of sight the ache slowly began to build again and I found myself worrying that if I followed he would be gone. God I was pathetic. If he was going to leave, why would he invite me to meet his friend with him? If he was going to leave, why would he still be around at all? I sighed, leaning against the bar counter, my eyes finding his black clad figure as he stood beside one of the tables, with his friend I assumed.

“Can I get you anything?” The bartender asked with a comforting smile.

I smiled back, recalling the man I’d met at the old tavern. “What’s the oldest whisky you have?”

***

Dream looked down at Hob Gadling with a smile, one Hob returned with a chuckle. “You’re late.”

“It seems I owe you an apology. I’ve always heard it impolite to keep one's friends waiting.” The man's smile widened and he nodded to the seat across from him, which Dream took with a lightened heart. He was so sure that Hob would be angry at him, yet the man simply seemed happy to see him.

The two spoke for a while about what Hob had been doing in Dream's absence, but then something at the bar caught his friend's eye and he smiled even wider. “How many more immortals do you have running around?”

“They’re not my immortals,” Dream said simply. He supposed now was as good a time as any to explain a few details to the man.

Hob nodded to the bar. “See that knockout of a woman over there?”

Dream turned, his eyes immediately finding Penelope sitting at the bar, making polite conversation with the man behind the counter as she swirled a glass of whatever drink she’d ordered. He turned back to Hob with wide eyes. “Do you know her?”

“I met her at the old tavern, waiting for you actually.” Hob said with a chuckle. “She has not aged a day! So, I assume she's one of yours then?”

He was surprised to say the least. First Penelope had met his sister, then his brother, potentially his mother and now she'd apparently met Hob Gadling. He looked back at her, just as she rose from her seat to come find him. The warmth of her smile almost made him miss the fear that was twisted in her gut. He wanted to inquire about it, but as her eyes slid to the man he sat with and her smile grew he had to push the thought away. She pointed to him, squinting a little. "Hob?"

He laughed, standing and embracing her. "Strange Penelope. I should've known you were one of his immortals."

"I should have known you were! You're so obvious about it with all those age jokes!"

Dream watched Hob take his seat, trying his best to ignore the way his eyes lingered on Penelope as she pulled a chair up beside him and sat down. She looked at him and nodded to Hob. "So, this degenerate is your friend?"

"Yes, yours as well it appears."

She shrugged. "I wouldn't say friends. We met once, drank a little and then I never saw him again."

Hob scoffed. "That's about the same thing he and I do every hundred years. I don't even know his name!"

Penelope turned to him with wide shocked eyes. "You haven't told him your name? How long have you been meeting?"

"A very long time."

"Are you serious?!"

Dream sighed. These two were going to be absolutely unbearable together.

***

My stranger, Hob, was my Dream Lords best friend. God it was funny. So funny I had to physically restrain myself from laughing multiple times as the two interacted. Dream told Hob his name and explained a few little details and I watched poor immortal Hob Gadling eat the words up with glee.

Once he'd had his fill of Dreams answers he turned to me and smiled. "So, how long have you been around?"

"A hundred years. Well a hundred and twelve years."

He smiled and shook his head. "You're just a newbie then, aren't you?"

"A hundred and twelve is hardly new!" I argued.

Hob shrugged. "Have you ever killed anyone?"

I tensed. "Why?"

"Well, as an immortal myself it's kind of a staple of the experience."

Trying not to think about just how many that actually was I nodded, my fingers curling into my glass. "Yes."

"How many?" He asked, leaning forward with a smile. Hob was curious, rightful so, I was the first immortal he'd met.

"A lot."

He hummed. "What was the first one? How'd you do it?"

"My father." I answered stiffly. "I tore his throat open with my teeth."

Hob made a face. "Well, I've never done that before."

"I don't recommend it," I took a drink of my whisky. "Takes weeks to get the taste out."

"Oh I can imagine!" He said. "Now, what's the worst way you should've died? Mines a tie between starvation, thrilling I know, and hanging! Interesting story that-"

My eyes were glued to the amber liquid in my glass as I thought about all the ways I should have died. There were so many… All under the pale eyes of that damn fucking doctor. Dreams hand wrapped around my thigh, his thumb drawing tiny circles into the skin. "You're here, with me."

I smiled at him, putting my hand on top of his, the memories fading away the more I looked into his eyes. Hob continued on describing his most noteworthy deaths, but he didn't ask me about it again. As the sun began to set Dream and Hob began reminiscing on the old days.

"Do you remember what the place looked like at the beginning?" Hob asked, laughing. "It was god awful!"

"Yes," Dream agreed. "I believe the livestock was partly to blame for that."

"Livestock," Hob shook his head looking around. "It's crazy how far humanity has come since then."

"How did the old tavern end up closing?" Dream wondered.

His friend shrugged. "Some people wanted to turn it into an apartment or something. Project fell through a little while after I found this place. I do miss it though."

"Why don't you two go back and look at the place?" I asked. "It's just around the corner."

Hob gave me an odd look. "It's locked up though."

"Hob Gadling, are you telling me you've never broken into a building before?" I laughed.

"I've never really needed to before," he mumbled.

Turning to Dream I said with a smirk. "I know for a fact you've broken into plenty of places. Fancy a walk down memory lane?"

He smiled a little. "I'm not opposed to the idea."

"Good! Because I want to hear all about you two idiots over the years!" I stood, nodding at the men to follow.

The gate was easy, so easy Dream hadn’t even gotten to offer his assistance before it slid open. The two looked around, pointing out things that had changed before we even stepped inside the musty space. Dust coated all the leftover furniture and the remaining sunlight that peaked in through the busted windows made the space feel even more like some far off memory. I stood at the bar, in the same spot I had been sitting the night Hob wandered over and smiled. What were the chances of us meeting? What were the odds of it being on the day he was waiting for the same Sandman that I, in one way or another, also waited on?

Hob settled in beside me, smirking at the fond memory. “Still the prettiest girl in the place.”

“It’s good to see your moves haven’t gotten any better,” I replied as Dream looked around the space.

“And what about your moves?” Hob asked with a wicked gleam in his eyes. "Strange Penelope, what ever happened to the bloke you were getting hot and heavy with that night?"

I nearly choked and sent him a look, heat rising to my cheeks as Dream's gaze fell on me."You noticed that?"

"Oh I think everyone noticed that."

"Well, I wouldn't know what happened to him. I never saw him again."

"A one night stand, how scandalous!" Hob sang.

I groaned and shook my head. "No, we kissed a little and I left."

"Was he that bad?"

I shrugged, eyes gluing to the floor. "It wasn't him. I just... Couldn't get someone else out of my head."

When I looked up and met Dreams gaze it was dark and hot as pride and tingle of something else twisted between us. I took in his posture, the way his jaw had tensed, the way his hands had curled into themselves. Was he jealous? Before I could ask, Hob turned to him. “So, you’ve got some kind of… Magic, right?”

“I do,” he answered coolly. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, I was just thinking the best way to give Penelope a taste of what things were like in the old days would be, well, through some kind of magic.” He answered. “Can you turn back time or something?”

Dream scoffed. “I am not a magician Hob Gadling.”

“Well what can you do?” He inquired.

He looked at me for a long moment before nodding. “I can cast a simple illusion. It should suffice for your purposes.”

Hob nodded with a wide grin. “Alright then, let's give the girl a proper tour!”

Dream waved his hand and the room around us filled with smoke and livestock and people from long ago. I looked around at them, listened to the near incoherent conversations they had before turning and looking at Hob, who was now dressed head to toe in rags. Suppressing a laugh I nodded. “This was the best idea you’ve ever had.”

“Oh shut it,” he scolded. “This was what everyone wore back then. I get better!”

“When was this?””

“1389,” Dream replied from behind us.

When I turned to look at him I was taken aback at the sight. His hair was longer, brushing against his shoulders. The black tunic he wore had long intricate sleeves that flared away from his wrists in a dramatic fashion and his ruby hung around his neck. I nodded at him. “Not bad, Dream.”

“Oh come on he looks as ridiculous as I do!” Hob argued before he scoffed. “You know what just take us to the next year!”

Dream merely smirked as he waved his hand again, the illusion around us shifting. The smoke cleared and things had gotten a little cleaner. The people's clothes changed as they shifted through the space. Hob was still dressed poorly, but less so than he had been. His hair was cut shorter and combed through and his brown attire looked at least somewhat cleaner and finer made. I pointed to his hair. “At least you improved a little.”

He rolled his eyes. “Ha ha, let's all make fun of the dirty little peasant!”

My eyes slid over to Dream. His hair was also shorter, framing his face similar to the first one. His black attire was slimmer, better fit to his body, the long cloak flared behind him in a very Dream way as he moved through the space, inspecting the fireplace by the table in the corner. “It’s a bit simple for you.”

He chuckled. “Simple?”

“Yeah, your usual style has a bit more flare to it. Fancy boots, your little midnight coat, you know Dream things.”

Hob looked at the fireplace with Dream and laughed. “I can’t believe I was going on about chimneys and card games.”

Dreams eyes slid away from me, a dangerous glint in them leaving me wondering what trick he had up his sleeve. “Indeed, it was quite riveting to listen to.”

“1589 then?”

With a nod Dream did his magic and the space lit up with the warmth of the fires. Everyone was dressed finely, making conversation and Hob had changed the most. He was dressed head to toe in an elaborate silk tunic adorned with blue designs and frilled cuffs. His hair was pulled back and his face framed with a goatee. He held his arms out nodding enthusiastically. “It’s good right?”

I nodded back, running a hand over the fine fabric of his shoulder. “An improvement for sure, Hob.”

“Ah, no then I was known as Sir Robert Gadling!” He proclaimed proudly.

I leaned back against the table and laughed at him. “Sir, what did a degenerate like you do to get such a fine title?”

He leaned in and whispered, “I don’t actually remember.”

Just as I was about to ask where Dream had gone he walked around the corner and my heart stopped, mouth falling open slightly with a breathless, “Oh shit.”

He was dressed head to toe in glossy black leather. His hair was slicked back, revealing the glint of an earring. God this is not fair. I bit my lip, eyes focusing on the ruby that reflected in the candlelight as he walked leisurely towards me, each step echoing through the space. I was blushing, I just knew I was. Hob had moved to look at something across the room and I had never been more thankful for his absence as Dream stood, dark eyes looking down at me.

“Well, what is your verdict, my lady?” He inquired, tilting his head a little, flashing his neck.

“It’s…” My voice was hoarse. “It’s a good look.”

His brow arched and he smirked down at me. “Good?”

A shiver ran down my spine and straight to my core. God damn you and that fucking voice. His smirk grew and he closed the little space that was between us. I tried to keep my thoughts from straying, but as soon as my hands touched the soft leather of his chest, in an attempt to steady myself, the filthy image filled my mind and if the unbearably hungry look in his eyes meant anything his too. It was a simple little fantasy. Dream, dressed in this newfound leather attire, throwing me on top of the table and fucking me relentlessly in the tavern full of people.

His lust smoldered between us as he took in the new information. “Is that how you think it would go?”

“Am I wrong?” I asked, straining to keep my eyes on his and not on his lips.

“Perhaps we’ll have to test that active imagination of yours,” he whispered, lips moving closer to mine. “Later.”

Then he pulled away from me entirely and it was like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on me. Hob rejoined us, asking to continue through the fun, while I glared at Dream. You’re an asshole.

The next hundred years Hob had lost everything, dressed back down to rags and disheveled hair. Dream however was dressed elegantly in black, long hair cascading down his shoulders. I glared at him as Hob looked down at himself and complained. I should pull your dumb long hair. He merely chuckled at me and we moved forward.

A hundred years later and both of them were dressed in high collars and well adorned outfits. They looked good, but I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of their hair curled and prim and proper. Hob rolled his eyes. “You have no idea what fashion was back then!”

“I don’t,” I said between laughs. “But my god your hair!”

A flash of gold entered the illusion and I turned with wide eyes staring at Johanna. Dream hummed. “Ah, I’d almost forgotten about this.”

“Is Johanna immortal too?” I asked looking at the image of the woman in front of me.

“No,” Dream assured me. “This is her ancestor. Though the resemblance is uncanny.”

“She would absolutely hate this,” I said with a smile at the thought of her disgusted face looking at the poofy dress.

I saw Dream’s 1889 look first this time. A simple black overcoat, short hair slicked back underneath a long top hat. He quickly took them both off, revealing a form fitting black shirt with his ruby around his neck. He looked good, and he knew it, but I refused to give him the satisfaction after his rude teasing. So I turned to Hob, who was dressed in simple gray and white with nicely styled hair. “Looking good Hob!”

He beamed at me. “I told you I got better.”

I ran my hands down his shoulders and smiled back at Dream. “Don’t you think this is a good look for him?”

Dream glared at Hob, then at me and sighed. “It looks fine.”

Eventually, the sun set and Hob retired for the evening, but not without making Dream promise to return soon… before the next hundred years, to make up for missing their last meeting. Then it was just he and I, walking along the mostly empty streets. “So, it looks like I know your friend.”

“Yes,” he said. “I was not expecting that.”

“I’m full of surprises.”

With a quiet sigh he looked at me and smiled. “Would you come with me back to The Dreaming?”

Warmth filled my chest and I turned into him. “Of course. But I need to grab a few things from my apartment first, and tell Johanna.”

He nodded in agreement, using his sand to take us to my room. I packed a small bag of clothes, knowing full well I intended on staying as long as he’d let me, before I left in search of Johanna. Dream waited in the doorway as I searched the living room. “Jo?”

“In there,” she said from the office. She was knee deep in a box of crosses, grumbling to herself as she tried to fish out a particular one. When she saw me she smiled. “Have a good time with your man?”

I rolled my eyes, moving through the mess to grab the bag of trinkets from my desk drawer. I’d wanted to show Dream some of the things Jessamy had found, but with the insanity of his arrival and everything that followed there hadn’t been time. “Shut it. I’m going with him for a few days, I hope. Will you and Pierre be alright here?”

She nodded. “Absolutely. He’s annoying as fuck, but the french man is very good at handeling himself. And I’m, well, I’m me so no worries there.”

“Be safe, and please don’t kill him while I’m gone,” I said, giving her a one armed hug over her mess. “I want to be there for the show.”

She laughed, but looked in my eyes with a seriousness unlike her. “You seem off. Everything okay?”

I sighed. “I’m about to find out.”

“If we need to kill him, let me know, I’ve got some people that might know a trick or two.”

“Goodnight, Johanna.”

As I made my way out the door she hollared back, “And if you fuck him I’m going to want the details!”

I laughed all the way back to my room and smiled at Dream when he gave me a curious look. “All set to travel, Dream.”

He set a hand on my back and I curled into his stiff body. Something was still on his mind, but I couldn’t tell what, so I elected to ignore it… I’d wait for him to bring it up, or at least until I couldn’t wait any longer.

The sand took us somewhere different this time, the boards of the pier creaked and groaned with the soft gentle movements of the water. As far as the eye could see there was nothing but the deep sapphire and the reflection of the misty star filled skies. The air smelled like rain as a light breeze surrounded us, making me curl deeper into Dreams embrace. For a moment we stood in the silence, content to just exist, but then Dream cleared his throat and stepped away. He pulled the bag of Jessamys ashes out of his coat and smiled down at me. "She would have wanted us to do this together."

I nodded, holding my hands out and letting him pour half of the ashes in my palms before he poured the rest in his. Together we slowly let the ashes spread in the light breeze and the glistening waters below us. "Goodbye, old friend."

"May you finally be at peace," I whispered.

The silence that had once been comforting was now filled with uncertainty as I felt my gut twist the longer we stood. "Morpheus."

"Yes?"

"Are you going to leave?" I watched the water, afraid to look away.

He sighed, hands clasped behind him. "I thought about it."

There it was. The answer I didn't want to hear. Stinging pain, echoes of the countless abandonments and betrayals over the years filled me. Tears threatened to spill over as I said, "I would understand if you did." He hadn't been expecting this, his eyes looking down at me. "I can't imagine what it must be like, being thrown into the mess of my life."

"That's not at all why I'd been considering it, Penelope." He turned to me, his hand settling on my arm. "Look at me, please."

I did so with my jaw clenched. "Then why?"

His eyes looked even brighter here as he looked down at me. "I don't deserve you."

I laughed a little, tears rolling down my cheeks. "If you don't then no one does. You're not perfect, Dream, I’m not expecting that of you. I’m not perfect either."

"You are far better than I am."

"Maybe, or maybe both of us are imperfect." I pulled him down by his cheeks, pressing my head to his. "Have we not given enough? Do we not deserve even the chance at happiness?"

He closed his eyes, sinking into my hands. "You do deserve that."

"So do you. You are my chance at happiness you idiot," I breathed. "You always have been... You always will be."

His hands cupped my face as he pulled away enough to look down at me. "I am far from what you deserve, but so long as you want me I will always be yours, Penelope Barlow."

“I meant what I said the other night. I want all of you, Morpheus."

“I’m beginning to see that.” His eyes softened as he pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. My hands slid into his hair as the kiss deepened, quickly filling with the heat and pent up need we’d both been keeping reigned in since Hell, maybe since long before. I felt one of his hands leave my hair and then a slight tingle rushed over my skin and when I pulled away we were in his bedroom.

His eyes watched me take in the change of scenery, the depth of their want barely contained as I smiled. “That’s a very impressive trick, my lord. Do you have any others?”

"I have plenty of tricks," he said, pulling me back to him.

"Will I get to see them?" I asked breathlessly.

"Maybe a few." Heat ripped through me. "Now," he whispered, breath fanning across my face. "Where were we last night?"

"I'm pretty sure I was on top of something." I mused, pretending it was difficult to remember. I felt the hard wood behind me as Dream lifted me up onto the top of the replica of my desk. "I was wearing a dress and you'd just torn one of my favorite pairs of panties." The slight wave of his fingers sent a chill up my spine as my clothes shifted to a silk dress, not unlike the one I was in last night, soft and cool against my bare skin, already bunched up above my thighs.

"Anything else?" His voice was low and rough.

Fisting his coat in my hands I pulled him closer. "Just you."

He gripped my legs tightly as our lips connected. Soft hands dragged up my thighs, moving beneath each of them to drag me further down the desk and into him. I groaned at the feeling of his hard cock straining against his pants. My hands slid under his coat, pushing it off his shoulders greedily as Morpheus' hands moved again, under my dress to pull my thighs apart as wide as he could.

I gasped at the sudden chill of my exposed ass on the bare wood as he shoved the dress up higher, holding it in a tight grip in one hand while the other gathered the slick from my soaking folds and lifted them to his lips. I watched his tongue curl around his fingers with a needy whine. "Are you going to show me what your mouth can do when you're not pouting?"

He chuckled, returning his fingers to my core, circling around my clit torturously slowly and drawing out a strangled moan from my chest as I held onto his arms for dear life. "Next time."

"God, Morpheus," I gasped as his fingers pushed into me.

"You're so beautiful like this," he mumbled against my skin as he buried his face in my neck. He pressed soft kisses to the faded bruise left by the white coats, soothing over the skin with his tongue before biting and sucking new marks along my collarbones. "Falling apart already and we've only just started."

His pace quickened and my hips moved against his fingers. I gasped, the coil that had formed in my gut tightening every second. "You��" Another gasp as his fingers found the deliciously sensitive spot. "Ah, you… Make falling apart easy."

"Show me, my lady," he whispered as my fingers gripped his hair, tugging roughly at the roots.

His voice alone was enough to send me over the edge with a loud breathless moan. His fingers coaxed me through the orgasm, and slowly began building me up to a second before they stopped. I gripped him tighter, whimpering as he pulled away from my aching cunt. "Morpheus, please!"

With a chuckle he grabbed me by my thighs, and lifted me off the desk. "As much fun as that position is, I'd prefer take you on the bed this time."

The chilled silk sheets caressed every inch of me, now completely exposed before the Dream Lord. I scoffed up at him. "That's hardly fair."

"Maybe not," he admitted, eyes running over every inch of me, drinking in the sight with lust.

"Are you going to relieve yourself of your clothes as well, my lord?" I asked.

"I want your hands on me," he rasped. "If you'd like to do the honors."

I moved to sit up, running my hands up the sides of his things, under the black shirt he wore. Our eyes stayed locked as I relieved him of his shirt, pressing light kisses along his abdomen and working on his pants. When he was at last standing in front of me just as bare as I was I bit my bottom lip to keep in the groan. My eyes ran over the defined lines of his muscles, the memories I had of his naked body did not do him justice. Wrapping my hand around his hard dick I looked up at him, watching his eyes roll back and his mouth fall open slightly. "God you're pretty."

"Enough teasing," he gasped, wrapping a hand around my wrist to stop me. "Tonight, I will worship you."

"Worship can go both ways," I reminded.

Dream smiled, stroking my jaw. "You may worship me all you wish, later."

"Later," I whined as he gently pushed me back onto the bed. "I'm starting to think you like that word too much."

"I like you a great deal more," he whispered, kissing the scar along my thigh. He moved to the next scar, my knee and then the next, my hip. Every scar I had received his attention and every inch of skin between them was worshiped with kisses, bites and hickeys until he finally reached my collarbone.

"Morpheus," I heaved, every inch of my skin burning with the adoration he poured down the bond. "You said no teasing."

He sighed against my skin, his head moving toward my breasts. "My apologies, my love. Let me make it up to you."

When his tongue darted out and swirled around my hardened nipple I nearly choked on the moan. He continued the same attention to the other, seemingly attempting to draw out as many noises from me as he could and I was in no position to deny him. Every touch felt like fire, fueling the coil in my core until I couldn't take it anymore. "Morpheus, please!"

Smiling against my skin, his teeth grazed my nipple one last time, tugging on it lightly before he moved to press a searing kiss to my lips. "What do you want, my lady?"

"You!" I whined breathlessly. "Please."

Without another word his eyes locked onto mine as he lined his leaking tip with my entrance. My nails dug into his arms as he slowly pushed into me. Head thrown back against the silk I gasped beneath him and his hand beside my head fisted in the sheets. "Oh my god!"

A strained chuckle vibrated through him. "Not quite a god-"

"Endless," I said, a moan interrupting me as his hips finally came flush with mine. "I know, I know just shut up and fuck me."

Dream took my words to heart, his free hand gripping my hip tightly as he pulled back, almost pulling out of me entirely before thrusting forward. Oh god! My hands found purchase in his hair, tugging tightly and earning a moan from him as he continued setting a brutal pace. "I've thought of little else since our reunion," his voice in my head was too much as I writhed beneath him, the sounds spilling from my lips were absolutely unhinged. "Yet, in all my fantasies I could never have imagined just how wrong I would be. You are far more exquisite than I could ever imagine."

"Morpheus!" He looked down at me, his breath fanning across my face as he began thrusting harder, lifting my leg over his arm to push even deeper inside me.

"Keep making those sounds for me," he ordered.

I moved my hips against his, panting and scratching at him, blinding pleasure building even faster in me as his dick hit just the right spot. "There…" I breathed, pressing my lips to his in a sloppy, desperate, needy kiss. "Don't you dare stop."

He bit my bottom lip, tugging it between his teeth as he moved even faster, both hands on my hips, lifting me slightly up off the bed and pushing me down against him to match his pace. "Come for me, Penelope," he urged.

The coil wound tighter and tighter and then he moved his fingers to my clit, circling it quickly to match his thrusts. I came beneath him, my toes curling and head thrown back with a cry so loud I was certain at least half The Dreaming heard. He didn't slow, his thrusts growing faster and more erratic as he chased his own pleasure. With a few final movements he came, hands gripping me tightly as we both heaved against one another, sweaty and satisfied. Between us a steady hum of love and adoration flowed.

Morpheus gazed down at me for a moment before he pressed his forehead to mine. "I love you."

I smiled and breathed out a content sigh. "I love you too, Morpheus."

"We should have done this from the start," he said, rolling to the side, still holding me in his arms.

"Absolutely," I agreed. "But, the wait was worth it."

His smile was more beautiful than the stars. His fingers caressed over my back, lovingly tracing the scar up my shoulder. "You are so beautiful."

"As are you," I whispered back, my body melting into him. "So, do Endless dream kings sleep?"

"I can sleep," he said, waving his hand, encasing both of us in the silky blankets.

"Will you sleep with me then?"

"There is nothing I want more, my love."

***

When I woke the next morning the feel of his cold smooth skin beneath my palm sent a wave of happiness through me. He'd stayed. I moved, my cheek rubbing against his bare chest and his arm wound around me a little tighter. "Good morning." God his voice was even sexier now.

Looking up at him, bathed in the gorgeous light of the rising sun I smiled. "Good morning."

His fingers ran through my hair, scratching lightly at my scalp as I lifted myself a little to press a kiss to his jaw. "I trust you slept well."

"Better than I ever have," I said, burying my face into the crook of his neck. "Though I should have expected as much with the king of dreams in bed with me."

His lips pressed into my hair. “I’ve been meaning to ask, what was that bag you brought?”

Oh! I sat up quickly, reaching over to where my bag lay beside his bed. Magic is the best. I could feel his eyes roaming down my naked body as I fished the smaller bag out and set it on the bed. “Ta da!”

“It would certainly be more impressive if I could see what's in it.”

He sat up and then it was my turn to admire his naked body. I hummed, looking at him before leaning to press a kiss to his shoulder as he settled in beside me, pulling the bag open to reveal the shiny treasures within. “It’s mostly junk. But I wanted to bring it so you could see some of the things Jessamy found.”

Goosebumps rose on my skin at the coldness of the air, so Dream stroked a hand down my back and pulled me in for a kiss as a pair of the clothes I’d brought magically appeared on my body. When I pulled away I grumbled in disappointment at the sight of him also redressed, he only smiled. “There will be time for that again later.”

“Later again,” I groaned. “Fine, but it better be good, great king.”

“Was last night not?”

“That was perfect,” I assured him. “I’m just saying you owe me some mind blowing sex for robbing me of your naked beauty.”

“I could use the same argument for you.”

“Please do,” I encouraged with a wicked grin. “I have plenty of mind blowing ideas.”

He began sifting through the bag, looking at each small trinket with bright eyes and a smile. I told him the story behind all of them, moving so I was between his legs and leaning back against his chest.

When he pulled the old wired ring out I sighed. “This was one of the last things she brought me.”

“I know,” he said. “I sent her to get it.”

“What?” I turned, looking back at him with furrowed brows.

“You were crying,” he said softly, running his fingers along the stone. “She told me it was because you were worried for me. So, I sent her to find it.”

I looked down at the beautiful opalescent moonstone. “Is it from The Dreaming?”

“No,” he replied. “I told her to find a moonstone that she liked. Where she found this particular one I’m not sure.”

“Why a moonstone?”

With a small shrug he smiled at me. “Sometimes when you’d look up at me from that basement floor your eyes would catch the light and shine like these stones do. I figured it was as good a gesture as I could offer at the time.”

My heart filled with joy as I curled back into him, kissing his neck and jaw before pressing a longer one to his lips. “It’s perfect.”

“Well, not yet, it's not.” He curled his fingers around the ring and when he reopened it the beautiful stone was set in a dark, intricate band that shimmered and shined with starlight everytime the light hit it. “There, now it is perfect.”

“Morpheus,” I gasped. “It’s beautiful.”

He slid the ring onto my finger and kissed my knuckles. “I’ve enchanted the stone as well. If you ever need me, just invoke my name and I shall find you, wherever you are.”

“Probably a useful trick to have, all things considered,” I said, stroking his cheek.

“That reminds me, Lucienne requested my presence in the library. She wishes to go over a few things she’s found that might explain your disappearing act.”

I kissed him, intending for it to be short, but he cupped the back of my head and pulled me into him. The easy, soft kiss made every inch of me tingle with a gleeful happiness that was alien to me. It felt like I was finally where I belonged. He sighed against my lips when he pulled away, his thoughts swimming with my own. I lightly pushed against his chest. “Go, before we get lost in all those filthy thoughts of yours.”

“As if yours are much cleaner,” he teased.

Blushing, I shrugged. “Can you blame me? You’re far too good looking for clean thoughts.”

“Go back to sleep, it’s still early for human standards. I’ll be back as quickly as I’m able and we can continue this discussion.” He kissed my head and made his way out the door, sparing me one last glance before he closed it after him.

I smiled as I lay back on the bed, running my finger over the new shimmering ring on my finger. My eyes closed and I breathed in the absolute perfection of the atmosphere. When I opened my eyes next, everything was too bright. Lines of colors flared in my vision no matter where I looked and my head swarmed with a blinding pain. I grabbed my head, my hands digging into it tightly as everything began to twist and pull around me.

I stood, falling to my knees immediately and gasping for air as the pain began to lessen and my hands slammed down onto the glossy red floor.

Tap.

"Come now, Petal, we don't have all day." A familiar voice purred as my vision started to return to normal. With a groan I looked up at the figure clad in black standing before me. Gold eyes and red lips twisted into that wide grin. "There she is, our baby Weaver."

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#dream of the endless x reader #the sandman series #dream of the endless #dream of the endless imagine #dream the endless #morpheus imagine #sandman netflix #sandman morpheus #the sandman fanfic #dream imagine #dream sandman #dream smut #king of dreams #lord of dreams #sandman dream #morpheus smut #morpheus x oc #morpheus imagines

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mlbigbang · 1 year

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2022 Ladynoir Fic Rec List

It's the end of the year which means it's finally time for the ML Big Bang's yearly fic rec lists! We're really excited to bring you our contributors' favourite fics started this year to supply you with plenty of reading material while you're waiting for the Big Bang fics' publication in January.

Movie Date, Interrupted by @purrfectlypunny 1,043 words, General, 1/1 chapter

Ladybug and Chat Noir finally have time to spend together at a movie; unfortunately, a goofy akuma and a moody teenager have other plans.

"The dynamic between Ladybug and Chat is so good!!"

Polaris by @miabrown007 4,029 words, Teen, 3/3 chapters

Adrien had lost everything. Along with his Miraculous, he gave up his freedom, his kwami, his partner; there’s nothing else left to lose. But maybe it is an akuma attack going so predictably wrong all it takes to change his fate, and prove his worth in the team to the only person doubting it: himself. *** Kuro Neko-divergent hurt/comfort fic

"I am weak for any hurt/comfort that is made worse (better) by identity barriers. This fic very much delivers."

breaking me down to my knees in the dead of night by @sunfoxfic 2,429 words, General, 1/1 chapter

Marinette ran off in the middle of an argument and Adrien panicked. Now, he has showed up to patrol as Catwalker, and he has to lie in the bed he's made, even if he overreacted a bit much.

"(technically Ladywalker, but anyway…) A very sweet fluff-and-angst fic that gently but realistically portrays neurodivergence."

Maintaining a Professional Distance by @buggachat 43,417 words, Teen, 11/11 chapters

“I mean, how dumb does the mayor think we are? Offering us a permanent hotel room as a ‘gesture of gratitude for all our work for Paris’, like it isn’t clearly just some half-baked political ploy to place him more in the public’s favor after the whole school funding scandal, like we’ll allow ourselves to sleep in a hotel that we were publicly offered, making ourselves sitting ducks for Hawkmo—” “It’s a pretty big building,” he countered, and at least he seemed amused, because she certainly wasn’t, “Nobody knows which room we were given but us.” “It doesn’t matter!” she scoffed, “It’s still a security risk that he can narrow our location down at all! Also,” she jutted her arms out towards the bed a second time, “May I remind you? ONE. BED. ONE!” ——— Or, Ladybug and Chat Noir receive a hotel room from the city, which they most certainly will not use. After all, that wouldn't be very professional, would it? Yes, it's a Ladynoir bed sharing fic.

"Genuinely one of the most in character Ladynoir fics I've read. I love how the conflicts are resolved, how the characters deal with the fallout, and how no one is villainized. There's the "there's only one bed" trope, Marinette is a MESS but we love her for it, clownbug, Adrien is oblivious, Chat is a dork. Fun times all around."

"The best "There was only one bed" fic you will ever read. Ladybug and Chat Noir get their own dedicated suite in Le Grand Palais, as thanks for their continuing work protecting the city. Only one bed shouldn't be a problem since they both have a home and a bedroom anyway, right? Except.... sometimes Marinette needs to get away from the kwamis and have some space, and sometimes (a lot) Chat Noir needs to get away from whatever is happening with his family, soooooo..... "Friends with benefits without the benefits" is the perfect tag. It's hilarious. It's sweet. It's romantic and emotional."

Hamburger Ladybug by RaspberryCatapult 1,773 words, Teen, 1/1 chapter

Ladybug runs into a burning building. What comes out no longer resembles anything that can be described as a person.

"So, it's a little graphic, as it's about Ladybug running into a burning building, getting charred up, and Chat staying with her in the hospital. BUT...it is beautifully written - descriptive and emotionally spot on (pun intended). And the ending is mind-blowing. It never leaves you. Totally original."

i am not a puppet (i will work against your strings) by @bugchat 7,525 words, Teen, 1/1 chapter

Nothing quite hurts like loneliness– unless you count being thrown against a wall at top speed, while Ladybug’s horrified expression follows you. Adrien questions how he got here, pressed against a wall while fighting for his life, watching the city crumble around him while Ladybug stares. There are other heroes, a second, third, fourth villain, and all he’s done is give the villain the power to win. It’s over.

"GORGEOUSLY WRITTEN!!!! in love with how Cartara provided an Adrien POV to the season 4 final!!!!"

Wait— Don't let this line go slack by DescentIntoAbsurdity 14,418 words, Teen, 1/1 chapter

I think you've got the wrong number She sends her simple text, satisfied. Then she goes about and wipes down the benches and puts away the flour, and thinks, wait. I have a thousand neighbourhood cats that loiter around my apartment complex and threaten me for food. I cook cat treats in my free time. I know what to feed cats. Marinette deals with her crush on Adrien, cute neighbour and well-known model. She also tries to cope with baking in her free time, and her college assignments, and her growing feelings for Chat Noir; a boy who accidentally texted her regarding his cat. It's going about as well as can be expected.

"loved to follow their interractions via text and their fumblings irl"

Take 31 #LadyNoir kiss, action! by @malauu-ladynoir 41,422 words, Teen, 31/31 chapters

How many kisses does it take to let feelings spread free? How many redo to finally get over the subdued inhibition? Is it a first tentative kiss propelling you in an awkward leap into the unknown? Or is it the one built from years of holding back repressed feelings? When Ladybug and Chat Noir get asked to play themselves in a movie the drama doesn’t just stay on set. With a new nemesis, a dreaded kissing scene, consuming feelings and a new revelation can Ladybug finally give in to what she’s always held back…her love for her partner? Can Chat Noir's heart still be able to surrender?

"I absolutely loved Ladynoir's dynamic in this fic, it's so good!"

one does not love breathing by @wackus-bonkus-maximus 99,476 words, Mature, 34/43 chapters

All of Paris watched as Hawkmoth murdered Chat Noir, taking the Black Cat Miraculous for himself. Ladybug swears revenge, but her enemy—and every miraculous in his possession—disappear without a trace. Six years later, a new team of villains launches an attack for the last remaining Miraculous: Volpina, armed with new powers; Queen Bee, with questionable loyalty; Argos, the new holder of the Peacock Miraculous; and Cat Walker, who Ladybug hates the most. Takes place after S4 - Strike Back.

"Quite possibly my favorite ml fic ever. Is really all sides of the love square (Ladynoir is emphasized, especially towards the beginning, also Mari...walker?), as well as other pairings (Lukazoe, DJwifi, and Feligami), and a lot of amazing action and office espionage. Chat Noir was killed by Monarch in front of all of Paris, and Ladybug swore revenge. Now, after a strange visit from Bunnyx, Monarch is suddenly back, along with a team of Miraculous users that Ladybug has to face all by herself. Amazing character interactions, new uses of Miraculouses, fantastic action scenes, and heartbreak, heartbreak everywhere. Also senticousins."

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #ml fic recs #fic recs #ml big bang 2022 #ml big bang #ladynoir #ladybug #chat noir

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love-toxin · 2 years

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Vampire!eddie holding you sweetly when you cry, because your little bat babies want mama to swing with them and they don’t understand why she can’t/won’t

how could you do this to me....

(cw: blood mention)

"It's okay, baby. C'mon–shhh, it's okay.."

Rarely has Eddie seen you in a state like this; bawling your eyes out and collapsed into his arms, so upset all you can do is whimper and take deep, shaky breaths as you try not to sob too loudly. And that's taking into account the fact that you've been together for years now, you've been through hell together, and you've birthed him the most beautiful babies he swears he's ever laid his eyes on, yet he's never witnessed you crumble in this particular way–and all over something he found relatively silly, even though you certainly didn't see it the same way.

"I disappointed them…I let down my babies…" Your lower lip wobbles, your sniffles loud and wet and pitiful. Maybe part of this reaction is because your hormones are a little crazy right now, but Eddie's grip doesn't loosen and his kisses to your temple don't slow just because it might be an overreaction on your part. He doesn't really care if it is, because the fact of the matter is that the comment your youngest made, while totally without malice, absolutely crushed you to tears, and you need comforting now more than you ever have before.

"Oh, sweet girl, you haven't let them down–I promise. They just don't know any better." Eddie squeezes you tighter, his hand comes round to pull your thigh higher on his lap and rub at it when you're seated more comfortably. The comment in question was that harmless "Mama, why don't you swing with us? Why can't mama swing?" and it rendered you speechless and teary-eyed as you very swiftly excused yourself, leaving Eddie to busy them for a minute or two before he could follow you to your master bedroom.

"But it's not just that!" You cry, clinging to his worn-out Black Sabbath t-shirt that he refuses to part with, despite the many little holes that catch your fingers as you do. "I can't fly with you, I can't sleep like you do, I can't take our kids out to teach them how to hunt, I can't swing with them-"

"You do so much more, baby. You're the best mother I could ever want for my children." He kisses the tears off your cheeks in the spaces between his words, before touching your cheek with the pads of his cool fingers and diving in for one on the lips. It's always been a cold kind of thrill, his bloodless flesh sliding against yours like the skin of a corpse–you hate when he compares himself like that.

"But I'm not like you." You sniffle, moments after he's broken it off. "I'll die one day, Eddie. And I'll leave you and all our kids behind."

You both know how much of a sore spot that is. He knows the reality of it all, and so do you, but being prepared for it is completely different than being able to deal with it when it comes. And Eddie knows by that look you give him, when the tears quit falling and streaking your precious cheeks, exactly what idea has struck your mind.

"We don't know if it'll work." He pleads, suddenly all too aware of how sharp his fangs are in his mouth.

"We can try."

"It could kill you," Eddie tears his gaze away from your neck, that beautiful expanse of skin that tests his self-restraint every morning and, especially, every night. "...I could kill you."

Those words hang in the air, that "kill" echoing in the strained silence of your bedroom, save for your own breathing. For the first time in his life he prays, quietly, that you'll let it stop there and drop that ridiculous….idea. That you won't bare your flesh and blood to him, won't look up at him with those eyes full of life and whisper, almost seductively, your plea for him to take it all away.

It's wishful thinking. Even moreso that he'll have the self-control not to give you what you want, and take what he needs so desperately in the process.

#eddie munson #vampire!eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie's angelface #bat!eddie munson #st 4 #stranger things #ellie writes #anons

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nostalgiclittlespace · 3 days

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your post on regression grief hit me hard. i recently had a moment where for a couple hours i so vividly went back to when i was a kid, when it was the spring leading into summer during middle school and we all gathered in the open grassy field and played games. music played. the smell of the season was full of joy. ive been having more and more moments like this. the older i get and the more trauma i endure, the more i find myself having moments where i regress and cling to my tiger plushie and find myself talking a certain way. i go back to reliving these memories and its so comforting and simple.

Regressing is entirely new to me. i was told its something bad and “problematic”, so i was really scared when i started to put two and two together. do you have any advice for someone newly discovering this part of themself? (i know this is a heavy question so its okay if you dont!!)

Hi, friend ❤️❤️❤️ First of all, I have the impulse to say that I’m sorry for all the stress you’re under. While regression can be a very joyful thing, the side of it you usually see on the internet, it can also be that crushing, confusing grief. I hope some of what I’ll say can help.

First, I completely understand where you’re coming from. For me personally, regression is revisiting childhood because adulthood is hard and being a kid is just so much easier. Sometimes it feels like that’s the only safe place. Those memories are precious, and they are happy. (Some of my favorites are when I remember playing with my siblings, running around my backyard. Those were my favorite days)

My first piece of advice is that it’s okay to cling onto those memories and regress with them. It’s okay to have that bittersweet sting as you remember how simple life used to be. No matter who you are and what your situation is growing up is it’s own kind of trauma—suddenly being faced with responsibility and work, when it seemed only yesterday we didn’t have to worry about a thing. So, it’d natural to miss those easy times, and to wish for the, back. If that make you regress, then that’s okay.

I am actually fairly new to regression as well. I started trying age dreaming a year or so ago to try and cope with stress (with moderate success), but it wasn’t until the past few months that I’ve actually started to do regress routinely and consider myself a member of the community. I will admit that before I framed my regression negatively. I felt almost ashamed of myself for not handling my stress in a “typical fashion”. Which brings me to my next piece of advice. There is nothing wrong with regression. If you’ve been on this side of the Internet for long enough, I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but I’m saying it again. Age regression is completely okay, it is a valid coping mechanism.It takes time to let go of those negative outlooks and preconceptions (believe me, I know) But you have Avery supportive, kind, and fun community agere, and we’d all be happy to help you however we can.

For me, the best way to get comfortable with regressing was to take baby steps. It doesn’t have to be grand gestures like decorating your bedroom as a nursery (tho if that’ll make you more comfortable, then go for it!) personally, I started small. Watching Disney movies. Sleeping with a stuffed animal every night. Coloring with crayons and coloring books instead of my fancy colored pencils. Eventually, it became natural.

However I would also like to point out that not all regression is sunshine and rainbows (unfortunately.). It’s also that space where we recognize our trauma through a child’s perspective, and that’s hard. It’s okay and normal for regression to be difficult or painful.

Nonetheless, it’s important to take care of those feelings. remember that you deserve this safe place.

I think the most important thing I can say is to indulge in it. Your mind will thank you. Personally, I’ve honestly been handling life so much better, recalling lost childhood memories I would have forgotten about, and just generally feeling happier since I’ve allowed myself to regress when I need to.

I hope some of this was helpful. Sorry if it was a bit scatterbrained. If I think of anything else, I’ll edit this later. And If you need anything else, whether to ask some more questions or just need a listening ear, I’m always available! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Lots of love to you, friend, sending lots of warm, happy vibes your way

-Marty 💙

#agere community #little space #sfw agere #sfw interaction only #sfw regression #age regressor #agere blog #age regression caregiver #age regression community #agere little #age regression tips #age regression comfort

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vizzy740 · 8 months

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He was beautiful like that.

Todoroki wasn’t always fine, when they first met, Katsuki had hated him.

Katsuki’d hated his power, even at half his potential, Todoroki was able to easily wipe out the competition, easily surpass Katsuki without giving one fuck about it. Emotionless in the face of his superiority.

Then they failed the provisional license exam, and things changed.

Katsuki dumped his feelings, he opened up, and Todoroki… Todoroki started acting all buddy-buddy. He called Katsuki his friend, not caring what Katsuki had to say on the matter.

It was annoying, but eventually it grew less grating, like Shitty Hair and the idiots.

But unlike them, they didn’t end up in this position.

“Thanks for dinner.” Todoroki, or Shouto, as he should really call him, says as he sits next to him on the couch. He leans against his side, even though it isn’t an armchair, and there’s enough space for him to sit comfortably with a good foot between them.

Katsuki hums in response, “You’re staying over, right?”

Shoto shrugs, “I guess so, I haven’t stayed overnight in a while. Yaoyorozu asked how things were going. I think she thought our fake relationship was going downhill. Though this couch is uncomfortable.”

He turns to look in Katsuki’s eyes. Katsuki returns the gesture, and it goes quiet for a second.

Soon after he’d finally debuted as a pro-hero, after he’d finally hired PR people, an annoying prerequisite to being a high-level public hero, he’d been told his image was too sharp, aggressive and angry, he didn’t appeal to most, he lacked most likeable aspects of his ‘archetype’, he was the bad boy that didn’t go to bars, the playboy that never brought anyone home. It didn’t fit.

‘All your rough exterior and rude personality seems to hide, is that you really really care about your work. You’re like a remake of Endeavor, but more… villain I suppose.” Was something that was said to him once, and restated in different words many other times.

To repair this ‘issue’ they decided to go for the most hair-brained scheme imaginable.

“Is there anyone you’d be comfortable getting into a fake relationship with?” His PR lady had asked him once. “You could just handle it like a normal relationship, not say anything to the public, just bring someone along to certain events, you don’t even have to say you’re dating them, just be… a bit nicer to them than you would be to other people, hang out with them in private, between only you two. At least that, which isn’t a lot.”

Katsuki agreed to it because it meant his advertisement deals would be better, because it turned out most money that heroes make isn’t their actual salaries, but cuts for appearing in commercials.

Fucking stupid.

Around the same time, Shoto complained about getting too many romantic fan letters, a problem for every young, heartthrob hero and basically no one else. Katsuki answered by complaining about his own PR team and their insistence that he get in a relationship, and Shoto replied that he’d do it.

And now they’re here, a few months later, in Katsuki’s apartment together.

“Could I sleep with you?” Shoto asks.

“Do you know what the fuck you just said?” Katsuki replies back, because even now, two years after UA, Shoto still doesn’t understand some elements of informal language, mostly in more… faux pas contexts but still.

It takes Shoto a second to realize, “Oh, no, I wasn’t saying we should have sex. I was asking if we could share your bed, you said it was a double, right?”

“Yeah.” Katsuki replies. “Sure, you can sleep on it with me.”

“Good.”

They both stand up and walk to Katsuki’s bedroom. Neither of them say anything, and it’s comfortable. Ever since their second year in UA it’s always been comfortable, when it’s just the two of them.

Todoroki comes with him to hero galas and every other press event, to keep up the charade, but it isn’t grating, he stands by his side, he’s someone Katsuki wants to be around, and stays with him as he’s tossed between reporters that go between political to vapid in a second.

“Do you have anything I can wear?” Shoto asks.

“Yeah,” Katsuki replied easily, then told him where he stowed his clothes.

He walks out, probably out to take a shower before sleeping.

Katsuki looks back to the bed. He’s got enough pillows to make a wall between them, but it’s too much effort. He doesn’t care if they get tangled up together in the night. Todoroki won’t say anything about it.

Shoto returned, his wet hair had fallen limply over his face, his left side taking on a darker shade of red, more crimson than usual, contrasting even more with his white hair.

He chose to wear one of Katsuki skull t-shirts and black sweatpants. The clothes didn’t fit as well on him, the former a bit too wide and the latter a bit too short.

They laid down, and fell asleep.

Katsuki opened his eyes to Shoto with his arms around him. He was still asleep, like he usually woke up later in the mornings than Katsuki.

Katsuki tried to move away, but Todoroki tightened his hold. Katsuki sighed. He had the day off today, he could stay in bed and wait for Todoroki to wake up, but if it took too long, he would definitely get him up.

As he laid in his arms, Katsuki felt Todoroki’s breath rise and fall. He looked mostly the same as when he was awake, his face still mostly emotionless. His hair was a bit more tousled, the red and the white mixing together. His limbs were a bit more limp, but not by much.

As he waited for Shoto to finally get up, Katsuki carefully moved a few strands of his hair around, back with their respective color, then he ruffled it up again, it looked better messy.

He was beautiful like that.

-Catcity

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madstwd · 2 years

Text

Dream's do come true

Daryl X Reader

Words: 2.3k

Warnings: SMUT, Fluff, sex in-front of mirror

Season: 5

Hope you enjoy this! Hopefully posting CH 9 of in the end soon, I've been so caught up in fics but hopefully getting them out in a better flow! - mads

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“I laid out a mat for both of us” you smiled at the rough archer who only grunted in response. His eyes glued on the surrounding houses, looking for weak spots or places where evil could lurk. “I think we are actually safe here ya know” you said. Daryl turned to look at you, seeing your eyes set on the stars above you both, the lanterns light falling over your features, ones he adored so much. “Then I can sleep on my own?” He grumbled jokingly. You shoved his shoulder, “you like sleeping next to me” you replied with a smile that made the man's knees crumble. “When ya don't snore I do” he joked back, a small laugh leaving his lips. “I think you’d find that I don't snore. Anyway Let's have one last night together before we get our own rooms” you said standing up, your small hand outstretched to take his. He nodded, taking your hand and allowing you to bring him to the spot in the far corner. It was close to the travel cot they had set up for Judith but also hidden from the rest of the group's prying eyes. He settled behind you, your hair falling into his face. He could smell you had washed it, it's normal smell of diet and sweat washed away or hidden by coconut. The matted hair is now soft under his finger tips as he found himself subconsciously running his fingers through it. Letting you relax into a peacefull sleep.

It had never happened before he wasn’t sure why it happened now, maybe the two of you were safe at last, maybe it was the coconut shampoo. He had woken himself up, the feeling of an orgasm approaching him fast as he found himself rubbing up against you. His small grunts woke him up causing him to shuffle away from you carefully as he stood up to sit out on the porch. Even though he wasn’t trying to his actions had woken you up, you had wordlessly laid still biting your lip from producing any moans as he grunted your name softly. His breaths tickling your neck, his errection rubbing inbetween your thighs as he fucked into them. You desperately wanted to know what his mind was thinking,the dream he was having. If it was the same to any of the ones you also had. You sighed when he left after he caught himself. You watched his retreating figure walk towards the porch desperate to follow him and drag him into one of the empty rooms but you deicded against it instead rolling to face the wall where he had previously laid.

The next morning rick had stated he deemed the place safe enough for everyone to split off into the two homes that deanna had provided for everyone. You decided to stay with Rick, Daryl, michonne, carol and grimes kids. Daryl had insisted to take the basement as his bedroom rick helped him set up a small bed and seating area downstairs, the man wanting a more practical place to spend his time. You had chosen to share a room with Michonne, however you desperately wanted to be close to daryl after spending years bunking with the man he wouldn’t even look at you. You decided to give him space to figure out whatever he needed to figure out. You spent the day with michonne decorating the place to suit both of your styles, the two of you growing close as well when you escaped the prison with her. “How come you didnt share with daryl? Everyone thought you would” she asked, laying back against the plush twin bed. You shrugged, “he seemed distant, lots of stuff going through his head. Though i would give him some space”

Michonne gave you an unsure look, causing you to laugh and bring out a large grin. “Okay okay, he had a wet dream last night and was rubbing himself up against me. Like almost to the point he orgasmed ya know?”

“So? Go down stairs and talk to him. It’s obviously mutual”

“Are we talking about the same daryl? You know maybe time apart would be good for us? What if he finds someone and then he’s got me bunking with him”

Michonne didnt reply, she just gave you a smug look before giggling to herself causing you to through a pillow at her.

Day’s had gone buy and daryl still hadnt spoken to you, if you entered a room he would blush and the leave, it was beginning to drive you insane you wanted nothing but to be near the person who made you feel safe. It was late at night, you were laying in your bed staring up at the ceiling as the soft bedding kept you safe from the bitter night chill from where michonne insitied on keeping the window open as she slept. You tossed and turned but you couldn’t shake off the idea of daryls dream being so explicit that he was actually close to cumming in his dream, your body craved the soft grunts you heard him make in his sleep at full volume. The wetness pooled in your underwear making it uncomfortable to sleep. Frustration was blinding up quickly as you tossed and turned. “Fuck it” you whispered. Standing up, wrapping your blanket tightly around you, you wondered downstairs to where he slept. The basement. You hoped to at least be able to sneak in and cosy up against him, hoping that being close to him again would at least calm your craving for the archer. You opened the door and his head immediately shot up, looking in the direction of the door as he tried to figure out who was disturbing him at such an hour. “Y/n?” He grumbled, his voice thick with sleep. “What’s wrong?” He added, sitting up in bed facing you, now showing off his torso to you, the broad shoulders contracting as he held his weight on one hand. You didnt say anything, your body reacting faster than your mind as you approached his bed. You dropped the blanket releaving your body only covered in an oversized shirt and white underwear that might as well be seethrough. His eyes stalked you as you crawled over to him, your arms pushing him down on the bed as you straddled him.

He didnt say anything, he didnt have to, his body told you how he felt. His cock hardened as he felt your wetness soak through the blanket he had draped over you. His apple moved as he stared at you, confused but also amazed. “Y/n, what are ya doing?” He asked, your hair fell around his face the smell of coconut filling his senses causing him to groan. The sound going straight to your pussy. “Your dream, act it out please” you whimpered. Daryl blushed, he tried to shift underneath you only causing him to stifle another groan at his over sensitive coc. One that would not leave him alone every time he saw you. “Dayl please, i heard you. I promise its okay” you said, your soft delicate hands holding him so lovingly. He melted into your touch, like every time you rolled over into his chest in your sleep, or placed a hand behind you making sure you were still there. “Are you sure?” He asked. “Yes” you breathed out. He grabbed your thighs manouverig himself on top of you, the blanket falling off allowing you see his cock already wet from your juices. His fingers worked on undoing the shirt, your nipples becoming erect in the cold air. He sucked in a breath as his fingers traced your curves, the soft skin feeling exactly like he imagined it. “Ya everything like I dreamed” he groaned. You smiled, his compliment melted you for him, a puddle for him to drink from. He kissed down your body, there wasn't a surface he didn't leave a mark or kiss. His lips left goosebumps.

“Act out your dream please, I want to know what you were thinking of me” you whispered in his ear as he came back up to kiss your lips. He said nothing, his fingers clasping your hands as he lifted you off the bed, stripping the both of you of your final clothing. He brought you over to a mirror one he wasn't sure was even in this room, maybe he had hopes you would eventually come down and be with him, he was so ready to take up the couch so you could have the bed. He stood you in front of it, allowing you to see how your figure had changed with the lack of food and water you had recently, he had know of your insecurities of your new body. So he was going to show you they weren't true, he pressed his length in between your legs, bucking his hips caucusing you to move forward, he watched as you looked over your body before your eyes met his through the mirror. “Do you trust me?” He asked. You nodded, he smiled seperating your legs so he push his tip inside you, you fell back against his body, allowing his cock to curve at the perfect angle as you walls welcomed him.

You could see his cock enter you, how curved you watched as his wetness was dripping down you, never had you seen something so explicit. “Daryl” you groaned as you felt him stop, he was fully in you, the best he could get at the awkward angle. “Learn forward and touch the mirror darlin” he said. You followed his command, you felt the cold mirror under your palms, daryl's hands holding your hips. “Ya always complain about how ya don't look good, you look perfect” he groaned as he started thrusting. It was slow at first, but when he saw your face contorting in a heavenly way he picked up the pace. He watched your tits bounce as he fucked you in front of the mirror. “Daryl” you moaned. He could have exploded there, he watched your back arch towards him, allowing him to get better access. He loved this, watching you get fucked, it was like an image he saw in one of his dads old porno magazines. He thrusted faster desperate for more of your moans,

“let me hear it baby”

“The others-”

“Fuck em, I like ya nice and loud for me”

You groaned loudly, his name falling off your lips as he picked up his pace. You moved a hand guiding his to your clit, helping him move it in the perfect way, the pleasure causing you to put your hand back before you collapsed against the floor. He kept going drawing your orgasm closer and closer. His groans falling into your ears, you were right they sound just as good as you wanted them to.

He allowed you to cum, it came fast as hard you collapsed further into the mirror before he dragged you back up to his chest supporting you as you rode out your orgasm.

“Fuck me till you cum”

You didn't need to say anything else, he pulled out and pin you around your back and hit the mirror. You instantly wrapped your legs around his waist, feeling him enter you again as he fucked you, the mirror sticking your skin from the sweat that had formed over your body. His lips fell hard on yours, biting and tugging on them when he found a Rhythm that worked perfectly for him. Your name fell off his lips in loud grunts. His hands were squeezing the soft flesh on your tights so tight you were sure he would leave fingerprints. His lips moved to your neck leaving hickeys as he forced the most pornographic sounds out of you. You felt his thrusts weaken so you arched, bringing him deeper inside of you causing him to spill his load inside of you finally. He stayed inside you for a moment, his head rested under your chin as he caught your breath.

“I guess dreams really do come true” you laughed, as you unwrapped your legs from his waist. He pulled out of you, “shit” he muttered as he watched his cum drop onto the floor. You giggled at him, causing him to look at you with a wide grin. “Daryl”

“Yeah”

“I think I love you, and I don't want to sleep alone again”

He smiled at you, nodding. He didn't say anything but brought you into a hug, kissing the top of your head, his nose smelling the coconut shampoo again. “I think I do too”

He guided you into bed, pulling you close as he draped the blanket over the two of you. “You know we should get one of those duvets upstairs to sleep under, they are super fluffy” you giggled, turning to look into his eyes. He nodded giving you a soft smile. You could tell he was nervous about being here, about not fitting in this new community that was still so innocent. “Hey, no matter what. It's us, it will always be us” you said. He nodded pulling you closer, you felt him relax under your touch. “You know if you watched your hair it could smell like this too”

“I don't need to smell like coconuts”

“You seem to like it, you sniff my hair a lot”

“I don't-”

“You need to shower anyway, perhaps you can join me sometime”

He chuckled, “do I need a coupon?”

You laughed, shaking your head, “a coupon?”

“Seems like these people would still be using coupons”

“You don't need a coupon to have sex with me”

His face flushed as he hid into your shoulder with embarrassment. You laughed again, holding him close like he had done all those times in the world. He was thankful, the change was scary but with you it was something he could face.

#the walking dead fanfiction #the walking dead x reader #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon x y/n #daryl x reader #daryl imagines #daryl dixon #daryl dixon smut

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mycatwantstoeatpins · 1 year

Text

I need to yell about Sang Jiu.

Below the cut because this is very long and it has many spoilers for Till the End of the Moon up till episode 17.

So Till the End of the Moon is about Tantai Jin (played by Luo Yunxi) and Li Susu / Ye Xiwu (played by Bai Lu), but starting at episode 11 the characters enter a sleeping spirit's dream and we get the story of Sang Jiu (a clam spirit, played by Bai Lu) and Ming Ye (the God of War, played by Luo Yunxi).

Episode 11

Ming Ye's fighting a war against the Devil God who's trying to destroy the world; Sang Jiu lives in the Mo river with her father and brother (Sang You) and watches Ming Ye from afar because she has a crush on him.

Episode 12

In one of their battles, the Devil God injures Ming Ye and he falls from the sky into Sang Jiu's river; she carries him to safety and draws away the Devil God's soldiers. But Tian Huan (Goddess of Flying Snakes, daughter of the former God of War and in love with Ming Ye) secretly steals the crystal from the Water-Calming Stone to keep Ming Ye alive - the crystal keeps the river spirits alive but she thinks they're too lowly to care about.

Sang Jiu sacrifices her own divine essence to replace the crystal, putting herself at risk of being overwhelmed by her demonic energy (previously suppressed by her cultivation and divine essence). Sang Jiu's dad guilts Ming Ye into marrying Sang Jiu so she can go to the immortal realm and be healed there. Tian Huan is in a coma so she doesn't know about this yet.

[Description: a hazy still of Ming Ye and Sang Jiu in their white and red wedding clothes.]

Ming Ye and Sang Jiu fly to the immortal realm in their wedding pavilion. For this whole scene they keep looking sideways at each other but they're both too shy to speak. On the journey, Sang You tells Ming Ye that the river spirits may be insignificant to the gods, but he'd better look after Sang Jiu. Ming Ye promises and Sang Jiu thinks '我一定会幸福的 / I will have a happy life.' (foreshadowing!)

And then she sits in her bedroom for hours waiting for him and eventually falls asleep. The next day, he tells her there's nothing between them and that he'll never enter her bedroom. The two maids who serve in his household tell Sang Jiu he has no hobbies and spends all his time training or fighting.

Episode 13

Sang Jiu begins to win Ming Ye over by taking up war training, sharing food with him and generally being adorable. She meets Ming Ye's friends, Chu Huang the Goddess of Space and Ji Ze the God of Time, who are stunned to realise he's falling in love. Chu Huang gives Sang Jiu a gift of divine power that will connect her to Ming Ye, but only once.

Sang Jiu begins to succumb to her rising demonic energy and visits Sang You who tells her what's happening and asks why Ming Ye hasn't dual cultivated with her to help her suppress it.

[Description: Sang You, all set to storm heaven because the God of War isn't treating his little sister right.]

Sang Jiu asks Ming Ye to dual cultivate with her and he agrees (!). They have a nice time. Meanwhile, Tian Huan wakes up and sees them. Ming Ye tells Sang Jiu to come and see him whenever she needs to suppress her demonic energy.

Tian Huan is pissed and goes to see Ming Ye, who tells he and Sang Jiu will leave the palace if she doesn't want to share it with them. Tian Huan finds Sang Jiu that Ming Ye finds her annoying and that dual cultivating is harmful to him and weakens him in battle. She offers to help Sang Jiu suppress her demonic energy.

[Description: close-up of Tian Huan looking at Sang Jiu (offscreen) as she says, 'You thought you were special? / 以为你是特别的']

Later, Ming Ye wonders why Sang Jiu has stopped coming to him for dual cultivation and gathers some starlight to give to her. Sang Jiu goes to Tian Huan for help with her demonic energy, and Tian Huan tricks her into bathing in caustic water. Tian Huan finds Ming Ye and tells him Sang Jiu has been avoiding him because she's fallen in love with someone else.

Episode 14

Sang Jiu recalls a story her father told her about two gods who tested the sincerity of a king, causing him to dismember himself. (foreshadowing!) Ming Ye continues to pine, but doesn't go to Sang Jiu or talk to her for. Reasons. Presumably.

Ming Ye and the other gods hold a council and make a plan to sacrifice themselves to finally defeat the Devil God. Ming Ye expects to die, and obviously talking to his wife is out of the question, so he sends Sang Jiu a certificate of divorce. When she goes to see him, he puts up a magical barrier between them.

She asks why he's divorcing her and he tells her he's tired of her. Sang Jiu says she thought she could endure enough suffering to prove her sincerity, like the king in the story, (he almost breaks here) and asks if he ever felt anything for her.

Obviously it isn't enough just to say he didn't love her. Instead he says:

Sang Jiu, from the moment you and I arrived in the Shangqing realm on our wedding carriage, to the moment you ate the untouched divine fruit, and to your each and every move when we were together, never, I've never loved you.

[Description: a close up of Sang Jiu as Ming Ye tells her he never loved her.]

(Bai Lu is so good in this scene at being hurt and vulnerable and I didn't even fully appreciate it until later.)

Ming Ye gets drunk in his bedroom. Sang Jiu puts her wedding dress on, tells Ming Ye he still owes her a wedding night, spends the night with them, then leaves.

The gods go to war against the Devil God.

Episode 15

The gods are still fighting the Devil God and we get

this song

We fight in songs till the universe darkens

Till everything sinks into cinder

Life or death is as common as a smile

Go ahead and use my body to block the enemies

I won't regret burning in fire or [being] broken into pieces

Even if there's only a glimmer of hope

(yes, I do like power metal)

All the gods die except Ming Ye, who's badly wounded. Sang Jiu is living by herself in a house by the river. When she hears about Ming Ye, she uses Chu Huang's gift to find his body in the Ruo River. He's reverted to his original form (a tiny dragon), so she puts him in a bowl of water with medicinal herbs to nurse him back to health.

He recovers enough to regain his human form, but he's blind and doesn't recognise her voice. She thinks when he can see her, they'll never see each other again. She cares for him and continues to look for a way to restore his sight.

Episode 16

Ming Ye asks Sang Jiu to buy wine that he can pour out for his dead friends.

Later, Sang Jiu tells him that when he regains his sight she'll leave immediately and he can have the house. While she's combing his hair his sight comes back and he sees her face in the mirror, but pretends he's still blind so she won't leave. (again, he can't ask her to stay. for. reasons.)

While Sang Jiu is out looking for herbs, Tian Huan finds Ming Ye.

(It's hard to capture in a screenshot but his body language is so different whenever he's talking to Tian Huan. He stands very straight and rigid and does this flick of his sleeves, and everything he says is cold and abrupt.)

Tian Huan asks him to help her find and neutralise the Devil God's Bone-Refining Seal. He leaves a letter for Sang Jiu telling her he'll return, but Tian Huan stays behind and burns it.

They find the seal and Ming Ye goes into seclusion to purify the seal so he can use it to restore Sang Jiu's divine essence. He thinks 'Maybe I can get some good luck' (foreshadowing!)

[Tumblr ate the rest so I'll finish it later]

#till the end of the moon spoilers #tteotm spoilers #till the end of the moon #sang jiu #ming ye #stuff i like

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qtipcottonbuds · 2 years

Text

𝙑𝘼𝙇𝙀𝙉𝙏𝙄𝙉𝙀𝙎 '𝟮𝟮 ; 𝙒𝙄𝙏𝙃 𝘼𝙇𝙀𝙓

yes. was this due february. yuh. but that isn’t important rn yoyoyoyoyo. dis is a developing relationship yes yes !!! i think we fear becoming our parents, especially those who have experienced abuse. dis is short >:(( idk what this is bro

chosen prompt ;; "can you stay the night?" + Alex

warnings ;; potentially mild language, implications to past abuse etc, fear of continuing the cycle of abusive parenting and a bit angsty etc

by qtipcottonbuds 2022. do not repost.

𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗫 𝗫 𝗚𝗡!𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥

(‘Can you, uh, stay the night? Not like that of course- I just-’)

He’s sleeping on the couch, one hand pressed underneath his cheek, easing the weight against the hard material, the other, settling across his stomach.

Well, the keyword being ‘sleeping.’ It’s one of those nights; he’s all too aware of the tiredness in his body, urging him to sleep, yet, he can’t. Too many thoughts. His brain won’t shut up (it won’t ever fucking shut up).

Alex doesn’t regret asking you to stay over; he was mentally patting himself on the back in a moment of impulsiveness when you’d walked with him back to his front door. But, a part of him regrets that he wishes he could’ve taken the opportunity to open up about it. For once.

Not yet, though. He doesn’t think he has the guts yet. But, he will.

In his tiny bedroom, it’s dark, although he can see you clearly from this angle, opposite to where you’re spread out, in a starfish position, on his bed.

Alex isn’t staring.

He’s not.

(That’s just weird).

It’s watching. There’s a difference.

There’s a slight bit of saliva coating a small part of his pillow, in a odd shaped circle, but he doesn’t mind (not when it comes to you), and you’re shifting again once more, this time, your head tilts over in his direction, eyes closed, lips parted, “You ‘kay?”

“It’s nothin’,” he says in return.

“Just watching me sleep?” That’s what you settle for, with a wry smile.

“Yeah,” maybe the confidence rouses from how late in the evening it is, Haley had mentioned once about emotional levels running high at night (or maybe that was from a lack of sleep, he wasn’t listening properly), “just watchin’ you sleep.”

He feels your gaze on him, observing him, quiet. He doesn’t like it (being seen).

You shift, onto your side, to face him; a palm spread open, swiping across the empty bed space beside you, patting down, “I can’t see you that well… Come here?”

And for once, he doesn’t refuse. He welcomes the comfort.

Wordlessly slipping in beside you, he realises how cramped it is. Legs pressed up against one another, you turn to him, still hazy with sleep.

“M’scared of the dark too.”

You say it like you’re almost ashamed. A confession in the dark.

“But, I feel a bit better being in the dark. Together, I mean, then on my own.”

He swallows, unable to say anything, and opts to nod slowly - you’re not as coherent as you were, but you’re finally drifting off - and he’s grateful.

“Next time, we’ll keep the light on, ‘kay?” it’s barely recognisable, the phrasing, but he just manages to get a grasp on what you were attempting to say, your face now pressed into his pillows, neck bent at an awkward angle.

He reaches forward, but pauses, hand wavering mid-air.

Would you mind him touching you? (Like this?). So intimately, almost. It’s you and him, only the pair of you both - and he can’t bring himself to interrupt it, to burst the bubble. The moment is so close, yet still not within his grasp fully - but he opts to reach forward once again, hand sliding behind the nape of your neck, and shifting it into a more suitable position.

You’re dead to the world, all but to the comfort of his own home; leaning into his touch but Alex decides to respond with a silent ‘okay,’ his hand seeking, reaching out for yours underneath the thin covers.

He believes that maybe, just maybe, for once, he can be gentle too. Maybe he can be vulnerable.

#stardew valley #stardew valley fluff #sdv #stardew valley alex #sdv alex #gender neutral character #gender neutral reader #gender neutral y/n #gender neutral insert #x gender neutral reader #x female reader #x male reader #alex x gender neutral reader #alex x gn reader #alex x male reader #alex x female reader

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blueroan-equestrian · 2 years

Text

Know your Place

An awkward smut Darrel Curtis and reader

I laid sprawled out in my usually shared bed, alone. My boyfriend and I had gotten into a fight and like all the other fights the stubborn oof insisted on sleeping on the lumpy couch in the living room. We have been together since middle school. When his parents died we went on a break so he could focus on his brothers but after some time I convinced him to let me move in and let me help him take care of them and him too.

This was an argument on how to handled his baby bothers priorities. I thought it was alright for him to have his head in the clouds a little, after all he’s only fourteen. But Darry felt like he needed to get serious and I felt like Darry was forgetting that Pony is an individual and is a smart kid who can handle going at life his own way. I also might have mentioned that he was being too hard and a bit of a stick in the mud. He then said that I was coddling Ponyboy and needed to learn my place, which not only set me off but Ponyboy who had been ease dropping on the conversation… probably more because the walls are thin and you don’t have much of a choice when there’s a screaming match in the house than he wanted to. Pony had banged on the wall calling Darry an Asshole which upset Darry more and he walked out of the house to cool off.

While he was gone I went to the kitchen to make his favorite dinner as a peace offering. Ponyboy of course said he didn’t deserve it because of how he spoke to me and Soda told Ponyboy that he agreed Darry might have crossed a line but love was something that was hard to explain.

Anyway when he came back he refused to speak to me and honestly that hurt but it wasn’t really out of the usual. We ate in silence but when it came to bedtime I really thought this time he would come to bed. He has never told me to know my place before and I thought surely asking him to come to bed would get him to oblige as surely this wasn’t a huge fight and he only walked out because he was embarrassed about what he had said but here I am laying alone. I tossed and turned but I couldn’t fall asleep so I decided that I was going to tip toe into the living room and wake up Darrel and apologize and beg him to just come to bed. But when I got out there I found him sitting on the couch, head in his hands and tears in his eyes. “Baby?” I questioned.

His head snapped up, “Doll, sweetheart… what are you doing up?”

I stepped up to stand between his legs and placed my hands on his shoulders, “I couldn’t sleep but you’re crying what’s wrong?”

He leaned forward to rest his head on my belly, and hold me in his arms, “I love you so much baby! I’m so sorry I said such an awful thing. You were just trying to help…”

I ran my hands over his head, “So why didn’t you come to bed when I asked hmmm?”

“Because… I don’t deserve you.”

“I could say the same thing. Now will you please come to bed? I’m sorry we fought.” I cooed kissing the top of his head.

“Are you sure? I understand if you want space.”

“I don’t want space, I just want you next to me bone head!”

He smiled and followed me to the bedroom. Once in the room with the door closed, I pushed him up against the door and purred, “Now Darrel, I think you’ve forgotten your place, I think I need to punish you.” Darry smirked cheekily, he reached for me pulling me into a hungry kiss. But today I was going to be in charge so I playfully pushed him away, “Oh no Darrel, I’m running the show. On the bed now!”

He smirks and begins his way over to our bed, stripping as he did. He turned around and plopped down onto the bed, putting himself on full display. I placed myself between his thighs and my hands on his broad chest. He groaned and slid his hands up my own thighs and into the material of my sleep shirt aka his shirt, pulling it off me, revealing my body to him. He groaned as he let his hands worship my body. His touch was sensual as he peppered kisses over my bare skin.

“Lay down on the bed doll, I want to taste you please. I know I have been a bad boy but I’m quite hungry. May I please have a taste?” He whispered softly as he kissed my right breast.

I smiled and kissed him before crawling onto the bed. He kissed my legs until he hovered above me looking down at me lovingly before planting a kiss on my lips and then sinking down between my legs. He kissed my inner thigh before he kissed my lower lips. Darry sucked and licked at my pussy eagerly. My body convulsed instinctively and his strong hands came up to hold my hips down. The assault of his tongue on my pussy had me reaching down to lace my fingers into his hair and tugged as I cummed all over his tongue.

Darrel sat up with a proud smile on his face, he wipes my juices on his face off with the back of his hand. “Damn baby, you taste better every time. Have I redeemed myself?” I bit my lip and nodded vigorously. He climbed up my body, kissing my skin as he went. I could feel his hard cock brushing against my thighs as he hovered over me. “Would you be willing to allow me to take control?” After another nod he ordered, “Open your legs baby.”

I obediently open my legs for him to settle in between. He kisses me all over my face and down my neck causing me to giggle. He pulled up and gazed down at me with such affection, “You know I love you right?”

I nodded, “of course I do love.” I take his face into my hands and pulled him down for a delicate kiss, “I know you didn’t mean it but it still hurt.”

He lowered himself so his weight was on me as he cuddled me. “I’m sorry really… but it’s like a tug of war when it comes to Pony. He gets in trouble and he goes running to you because he knows you’ll baby him.”

I rolled my eyes, “or you’re too hard on him. But that’s besides the point. We need to be on the same page next time you feel he has done something that needs to be resolved aka he’s in trouble for something, we need to be on the same page so let’s talk first alright and then we can decide what to do next.”

“He’s my kid brother, he’s my responsibility.” He mumbled into my bosom.

“I’m here to help you carry that responsibility and to make it easier for you. But we have to work together. I love you and your family. I’m here till the very end. We can do anything together. Now, are you going to let me make you feel good?”

He groaned as he positioned himself at my entrance. Darry pressed sweet kisses on my lips as he slowly entered me. He groaned and dropped his head into the crook of my neck as he waited for me to adjust to his size. I breathed deeply as I stroked his hair trying to calm myself. “You feel so good baby girl, how are you feeling?”

“Full… a little stretched but I think I’ll be okay. You can move… just nothing rough today we haven’t done this in a while.” He nodded in agreement before beginning to pump in and out of me.

Darry could be a very dominant lover but he could also be sweet or even submissive if I asked him to be. Darrel’s just the kind of guy who will put his girls wants and needs before his own and still be completely happy and satisfied.

Darry gentle movement inside of me had me feeling whole and completely satisfied, not even orgasmed yet. He bit my collar bone as he tried to keep himself from cumin before I did myself. “Please doll I need you to cum for me, I can’t hold out much longer.”

I reached down and began to rub circles on my sensitive bud until I was a moaning mess, leading him to follow and came inside of me. He collapsed on top of me and focused on his breathing. I lazily ran my hands up and down his back as I too, tried to relax. Darry snuggled into me contently and I kissed his head, “I love you Darrel.”

“I love you too sweetheart.”

#the outsiders #darrel curtis #darry curtis #Darry Curtis smut #Darrel Curtis smut

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