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bokettochild · 4 months

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Febuwhump Day 5 - Rope Burn

Well this took forever! I actualy finished last ight but then I wasn't sure if I hated it or not, so I had to sleep on it. If you see any typos, no you do not.

Wordcount: 9,300

Rating: Teen

Summary: After Twilight reveals some information about his past, Four tries to use it as a learning opportunity for all of them. It does not go as expected.

“There is no way a military leader was that incompetent.”

Wild pauses in his story, much to Wind’s frustration, because he really did want to hear the end of it, which he’s about to say, only the vet’s voice raises, a smirk touching the other’s face as he settles down at the fire with the rest of them after coming back from doing rounds. “Sounds about right to me.”

“Too competent,” Warriors challenges, dropping his head to thoroughly tousle his hair, “half my men couldn’t do that.” That’s fair, Wind decides, he remembers the captain’s men as all being somewhat... stupid.

The champion stares at them, openly astounded. “How,” he begins, glancing between the vet and captain “are your kingdoms still standing? If the leaders of your defenses are less capable than Master I-killed-myself-on-accident-with-my-own-power Kohga?”

“Spoilers!” That’s how the story ends? Wild had only just begun to get to the part where he fought Kohga, but now the ending has been well and truly ruined! Although, it seems they’re getting derailed, so it’s quite likely he won’t even get to hear said ending, considering the champion is too busy looking between captain and veteran for answers.

The vet just snorts, unknowing of what he’s missed, and of Wind’s ire, and simply crossing his legs and focusing on the fire. “Where do you think I got the title of veteran? I don’t just sit on my fanny all day, champ.”

When the champion’s eyes turn to Warriors, the captain just shakes his head. “I have no clue.” It‘s more sigh than anything, as though the captain’s long since given up hopes for competency among his people. “I’d say Impa, but even she can’t hold the country together by herself, so I’m assuming it’s pure dumb luck.”

Across camp, Sky, who’d been the first one to say anything after the champion’s insane story, stares. “You’re saying I brought down the knights of Skyloft just so they could devolve into idiotic half-competent protectors of the country and leave kids to be the ones to save the world?” It’s harsh, but it’s fair as well, although not everyone seems to think so. Wind can’t say anything on the matter though because the closest to military groups they have in his world are pirates, and pirates don’t exactly serve the people.

The group as a whole gives each other considering looks, although Legend and Warriors are too busy talking with their eyes- Legend raising a brow and Warriors sighing, rolling his own eyes and earning a smirk in answer- to really care about what everyone else thinks. He thinks Legend asked a question, but how either of them can read each other that well, considering how rarely they even interact, he’s not sure.

“The knights in my era are half-competent,” Four assures, “easily manipulated by magic, but they’re just people, so I can’t really blame them. They’re good at their work though.”

“Lucky,” Legend scoffs.

Time also seems confident in the soldiers of his era, but Twilight adds that his own are cowards and pathetic, so it seems they’re split. Wind, Wild, and Hyrule can’t add anything, due to the lack of military forces in their eras, the soldier is in agreement with their farm boys on the idiocy of his own people, and only their first two and the old man seem to have any faith whatsoever in those set to guard their era. He wonders if maybe there was a decline, after one of them, that led to the army of Hyrule falling, but he doesn’t ask, since it’s unlikely they can say for sure anyway.

“How often do you interact with knights though?” Sky challenges, glancing between them. Most haven’t been around them often, but those who’ve got only ill to say all scoff, almost simultaneously, which startles them as much as it does the rest of the group.

“I live with them,” the captain starts slowly, glancing between Twilight and Legend with a curious half-smile as though he’s actively trying to figure out what on earth could tie them to the people whom they so frequently scorn. “Spent the last five or six years in the army.”

The vet’s a bit more hesitant with his answer, staring between them warily, guarded. “My sister is a knight commander, and our family has ties with the army, so I end up around them a lot more than I’d like, even when they aren’t actively hunting me down.” And Wind wants to stop the conversation there and ask about the fact that Legend apparently has a family and also a reason for the army to be up his ass about something, but he doesn’t get a chance because once more, someone else speaks first.

“I grew up on a military base,” Twilight snorts, “trust me, soldiers are as dumb as rocks.”

And well, Legend having a family isn’t that crazy in comparison to that.

Warriors starts, staring at the rancher, blinking slowly as though still trying to process the words of the other. “I’m sorry- you what?”

“I thought you grew up in Ordon?” Wild questions, turning to his mentor, confusion on clear display.

Yeah, Wind has a feeling that Wild’s story is well and truly over now, but he supposes it’s worth it. Learning something about their rancher is, he supposes, better than hearing the rest of the story the cook had already spoiled the ending too, especially as the limit of their knowledge about the rancher at this point is that he’s from Ordon, used to work as a ranch hand, and is descended from Time and Malon somehow. The fact that he’s a hero goes without saying, but the ranch hand nearly never shares anything about himself, even though he seems to love talking about his hometown and all the people in it, to the point where some of them feel they know the village and its residents already, despite still not having been there yet.

Yet, the rancher is grinning as he leans back, the sprig of hylian rice between his teeth bouncing some as he flashes a wolfish grin at them. “Well, yeah, sort of.”

“Sort of?” Time nudges his pup, looking thoroughly unimpressed. Their leader isn’t keen on them being cryptic with him, even though he frequently does so himself. The hypocrite. “Explain.”

The rancher chuckles, a nervous little thing, but obediently pulls himself up, resting his weight over his knees as he looks around the fire at all of them, eyes glinting slightly. “Well, y’see, I a’tually grew up in a citadel on the edge of Hyrule.”

Warriors jaw drops so fast. “Holy Hylia you’re a military brat.”

He can’t help it; he bursts into laughter. Yes, objectively, it’s funny to see Warriors so shocked, but from an outsider's perspective it is so, so much funnier because he’s met Warriors parents and sisters, and he’s seen for himself the proof that the captain is anything but the sissy city boy Twilight likes to accuse him of being. No, the captain was born in Hebra, so far out from cities that he thought Kakariko was huge. Meanwhile, it turns out their “country boy” actually grew up in a military base? Not the country? It turns out Twilight is the military brat and Warriors was the hill-billy? How the turn tables have turned!

The rest of the heroes stare at him, confused, but the captain just rolls blue eyes, pinching the tip of his ear to make him shut up. “Ignore him.”

Twilight’s dark gaze flicks between them, but apparently, he determines to listen to the captain for once. “Right, so, my dad was a’tually a knight from some family o’ knights or summat, an’ my mom comes from desert folk, so I grew up on the border studyin’ with other knights’ kids to take on our fathers’ duties ’n protect Hyrule one day.”

The stares are very, very evident by now, although Legend’s in particular is strangely intense, studying the other with his mouth half open like he’s got a question about the rancher’s words.

Broad shoulders shrug, a bit awkward as the rancher grins at them. “My friends growin’ up were dumber’n rocks, an’ every knight I’ve met since is the same, so yeah. Knights ‘re stupid.”

“Just a question,” and it seems the vet decided to actually ask whatever’s in his head, “but your knight family, they Hyrulian Knights?”

“Yeah?”

The vet nods, slowly, lips pursed like he’s sucking on a lemon. “Oh.”

“Why?”

A shake of pink hair, eyes turning back to the fire. “Same hat is all.”

“You too?”

“Born and raised, but never followed. Your folks drag you to Snowpeak every winter too?”

The rancher shakes his head. “Naw, yeti’s took the place over some time ago. I’d heard it used to be ours though, never thought much of it though. You’ve been?”

“Yeah.”

“Hold up,” Watrriors interrupts the, frankly unexpected, moment between their rancher and vet to stare between both of them “You’re both military brats, you both hate soldiers, and you both neglected to say anything until freaking now? Also, Hyrulian Knights? You’re talking about the fabled family that sealed back Ganon here, right? Produced the Savior of Labrynna, may or may not be the family of the Hero of Time?” That has their old man looking up, startled, for a moment. It’s only a moment though, because that one wide eye promptly shoots down to Twilight and then, as though on second thought, Legend too, Time’s stare growing ever more startled and shaken, ears twitching like they used too when he was particularly confused or trying to work something out in his head.

Legend snorts. “Yes.”

“Heads up,” Hyrule chuckles, “Legend is the Hero of Labrynna, so keep your hero worship at a minimum there, Wars.”

He thinks that the captain’s face flickers through all five stages of grief for a moment there before the man gets up and simply...walks away, leaving Hyrule rocking in his seat from laughter and Sky looking thoroughly befuddled. “Is he okay?”

“Big hero worship,” Wind says, like the snitch he is. He’s no traitor in most senses, but if he can give Warriors a little grief, tease him a bit, he will. He’s fine with sharing some of the things he’d learned under the care of the other. “Apparently he views that guy like I did with Time, wanted to be like him and everything.”

Rather than flush or falter, Legend’s lemon-sucking face gets even more pronounced. “Why?”

“Because apparently the stories all say you were such an inspiring leader to Labrynna’s army that soldiers and generals emulated both your tactics and speeches for decades after Ganon’s defeat.” It’s amazing to watch the vet’s entire world-view shatter at the words, the man apparently not sure if he should look off towards their captain who’s flopped on his bedroll to contemplate his whole life all over again or down at the ground to contemplate his own. Like the problem child he usually chooses not to be, Wind decides to make it worse. “His Hyrule considers you the greatest knight that ever lived.”

Ringed hands bury in pink hair, violet eyes blowing wide as the other hunches over, mind clearly blown. Beside the vet, Twilight gently (and by gently, Wind means very cautiously) claps his brother’s back, his own face a bit tense.

Wind is loving watching this. This is better than listening to Wild explain his exploits against the Yiga! Although, he’s also curious. “Did you really grow up in a citadel, Twi?”

“Yeah,” a brief nod, dark eyes lingering on their malfunctioning veteran, “I only traveled up Ordon way around your age, when the citadel fell.”

Okay, not touching that bomb. “What was it like?”

His question earns a grin. “What you’d expect, I s’pose. We were monsters as kids, an’ I s’pose growin’ up military gave us a twisted view of the world. Or, rather, of what was normal any’ays.”

“Like how?” Sky, who grew up in a knight’s academy and seems entirely normal by what standards Wind has, asks.

“Our main games usually centered around pretendin’ to be knights an’ capturin’ each other or doin’ what we saw our dads doin’ most of the time.”

“Like?” Time prods again.

Twilight grins, and then falters, looking suddenly alarmed as he glances over the rest of them. “Okay, in hindsight, it was messed up.”

Now he really wants to know. “What did you do?”

The others all stare; those who aren’t, like Warriors and Legend, currently questioning their existence. Their concern is steadily growing the more Twilight falters and flushes, and Wind is now very much dying to know what sort of shenanigans the rancher used to get up to as a kid. Whatever it was, it can’t be worse than what Time used to put him through during the war, although the idea of their sweet and warm rancher being related to the gremlin he remembers from back then is now not so insane a concept anymore.

“Alright,” The (apparently not from Ordon) Ordonian starts at last, and Wind’s not sure if the rancher is aware that he’s moved his hand up to be toying with the vet’s hair now, a nervous sort of stroking, but the vet hasn’t snapped at him for it yet, although maybe that’s because he’s just too lost in his own head to notice, “don’t judge.”

“I will reserve my judgement,” Four answers, slowly, “but no promises.”

“I grew up on the edge of the desert, an’ most of what our folks did was hunt Gerudo thieves an’ protect traders in an’ outta the desert.” Which makes sense, but he feels like Twilight’s getting at something less than what his parents did for a living. “Nowadays, my hairs a fair bit darker, but it was purdy red back then an’ the other kids kind of figured it meant that when we played, I had to be the evil Gerudo thief, since, y’know, red hair.”

Ah, racism in children, now Wind sees it. Not what he was hoping for but he’s not sure what he was expecting.

“So,” Twilight clears his throat awkwardly, “when we played, I’d be the bad guy an’ they’d chase me down and ‘capture’ me. In hindsight, it probably was less play an’ more bullyin’ since I wasn’t too well liked at first an’ they weren’t very nice about it.”

“But?” Sky asks, maybe too hopefully.

“But,” the rancher accepts, because apparently there's something good in this after all, or at least something that makes the man smile, “part of the ‘game’ involved them tryin’ to tie me up. Unfortunately for them, I got mighty good at escapin’ bein’ tied up. I think I must’ve impressed ‘em, because they started makin’ a game of if I could escape various crazy things, an’ sometimes would ask me to help ‘em tie each other up so they could try a hand at it too.” Sharp teeth glint in a fond smile. “Got a reputation for bein’ slippery as a snake and sly as a fox, an’ t’others all started treatin’ me like some sorta genius. We became friends awful fast after.”

An awkward silence settles over camp after that, the rancher’s words sinking in and the rest of them processing what was said. Surprisingly, it’s Legend who breaks it, lifting his head from his own hands, apparently having decided to shelf whatever feelings he’s having, but also apparently missing the hand still tangled in his hair. “So, in other words, you earned the respect of your bullies and made their bullying into what sounds like a perfectly normal childhood game.”

“What sort of a childhood did you have again?” Sky deadpans. “Didn’t you start adventuring at like, eight?”

“And?” The vet returns, looking actually, genuinely confused as to what that has to do with anything.

Their chosen hero sighs, shaking his head, apparently already giving up on trying to explain the flaw in the vet’s logic. Honestly, Wind can’t see it, whatever it is, but he’s getting the impression that kids on Skyloft and kids in Hyrule have very, very different experiences.

It’s about a week later that someone brings it up again, and surprisingly, it’s Four.

They’re sitting around the main room of the smithy’s house, keeping warm after spending the last day out in the middle of a strange mix of fog and rain while hunting monsters. The smithy’s parents have been very welcoming towards their guests, and all of them are savoring the chance to fully relax for the first time in a good while. Well, most of them, Legend and Hyrule don’t seem particularly capable of fully relaxing, so Four’s mother has roped them into helping her in the little garden out back, which seems to be quite to the vet’s tastes and, while foreign to Hyrule, a new experience the traveler doesn't seem keen on passing up.

That leaves the rest of them free in the otherwise empty house, left to their own devices while the smithy’s father attends to his work at the castle. Twilight is trying (and failing) to teach Warriors how to play chess, and Wind and Wild are busy playing with Four’s cat, Tongs, when the smithy suddenly walks into the room again after coming downstairs and addresses the rancher. “Do you think you could still escape being tied up?”

Time, who was sitting on the couch, looking halfway towards dozing off, suddenly starts awake again and stares, as do the rest of them.

“Pardon?” The rancher asks, sighing in defeat as Warriors knocks all the pieces off the chess board with an agitated scowl, signifying his disinterest in continuing to try and learn the “stupid” game.

“The game you mentioned,” Four reminds them, crossing the room to perch on the couch arm closest to the rancher, although why he doesn’t just sit on the couch, Wind’s not sure. “You said your friends were really impressed by your ability to escape all the time. Do you think you could still do that?”

Twilight shrugs, scooping up the fallen chess pieces to put back in their box, all while Warriors glares at one of the rooks like it’s personally offended him. Wind wasn’t watching close enough to know if it had or not. “I mean, I might, haven’t tried in a while. Why?”

The smithy kicks his feet, well off the floor, and frowns, a thoughtful frown like he’s slowly piecing his words together. “I was curious. I’ve never been good at that sort of thing, and I wanted to know if you’d be willing to show us so I could get better.”

“And why do you need to get better at escaping being tied up?” The captain interjects, tossing the white rook into the box with a twitch of a frown.

“So sure you want to ask that?” Sky snorts, moseying in from the kitchen where Four’s mother had given them free access to make tea and grab food. The face the captain makes at him is scandalized but their chosen hero just slurps his tea, staring over the rim of his cup with raised brows.

Wind doesn’t get the joke. He’s not sure if he wants to.

Four huffs, slightly red in the cheeks, but presses on. “During my adventure, I made...some mistakes. It resulted in my capture, and I couldn’t exactly escape. I don’t want that to happen again.” It’s a simple enough answer, glazing over anything and everything other than the smithy getting captured, but it still raises questions, although not the ones the smithy was likely trying to avoid.

“I thought you were a knight?” Warriors picks up the queen piece, not dropping it yet but not staring at it either, instead focusing his narrowed eyes on their smithy. “All soldiers are trained on what to do in the case of capture, torture, and questioning. Did you not recieve that training?”

It’s Twilight’s turn to shift about to stare at the captain. “How would they train that sort of thing?”

The captain’s face screws up, “Am I the only one who was taught this? Sky,” the man drops the queen and it goes rolling across the table, “did you or did you not receive-”

“No,” the chosen hero doesn’t even wait for the other to finish. “Who on earth would even interrogate us? Skyloftian knights fight monsters, not men.” A long sip follows the words before Sky frowns and turns to look down at the seated soldier. “Do they seriously teach you about torture?”

“Yes?” Warriors glances around, but all of them look back at him with confusion. “All common soldiers learn this? You have to in order to progress through the ranks?”

“Not ringing a bell,” Time deadpans, staring at the captain with both eyes.

Warriors blinks, like the idea that his experience with knighthood not being universal is, in fact, a surprise to him. Wind can’t blame him though, considering based off of what he knows about the other, Warriors had gone through most of his experiences beside dozens of other young men, including his own childhood friends, in order to reach the rank he was at before the war started and he’d been suddenly promoted to captain.

“Well,” Four shifts, crossing his legs, “that’s a can of worms to be addressed later, but back to my question: Twilight, can you teach me escape tricks?”

“Correction,” Time sits up and turns around, eyes lingering on the captain a moment more before turning on his pup, “Twilight, Warriors, would both of you two be willing to help the rest of us learn escape methods and-” a vague hand motion is made at the soldier, “-whatever sort of training you received that all the rest of the knights here haven’t.”

The request seems to make the captain extremely uncomfortable and Wind doesn't miss the way royal blue eyes dart to him, hesitant. “Not the torture part.”

“What does that entail?” Sky asks, stare sharp and heavy in ways the man usually never is.

“Doesn’t matter,” Warriors is already moving to stand, leaving Twilight to clean up the rest of their game by himself. “I’m not teaching that to kids.”

“I am not a child!” It feels like the thousandth time he’s said that, but the look in the captain’s eyes.... yeah, he’ll let the man have this one. He's not sure he wants to see what it is that Warriors is trying to protect them from, especially after he saw everything that happened to the man during the war.

They have to recruit Legend and Hyrule from the garden, which Four does, and in the meantime Wind produces a length of rope for them to use for the exercise. The captain and Twilight are speaking in hushed whispers in the corner when Four returns with the others, and Legend shoots them a curious look as he heads over to where Wind is uncoiling all the rope he had in his bag.

“What’s going on?”

“Training exercise.” He answers, handing off the rope to the vet, who starts slightly at the contact but then helps him in re-coiling the loose chord.

“Why is the captain so tense?”

Those words make him look up, staring for a moment. Twilight seems perfectly at ease, but their soldier’s shoulders are tense, jaw set in a way he usually only has during a battle or shortly after one. Even the captain’s hands are still; devoid of their typical tremor, and if that’s not a sign to make him worry, he’s not sure what is. That said, he’s a bit surprised Legend had picked up on that. “I think he’s got bad memories of doing this before, he was pretty firm with Time about what he was and wasn’t willing to teach us.”

“Which is?”

“What to do if you’re captured or otherwise held against your will,” Time seems to materialize out of nowhere to answer the question, making Legend start slightly and scowl at the man. “Apparently most knights are trained to handle it, and I think you boys could benefit from having that knowledge too.”

“Yeah,” Legend snips, “because the shadow is totally gonna tie us to a chair and demand to know all our secrets.”

The conversation in the corner breaks off, Warriors running both hands through his hair in an agitated way while Twilight moves over to join the rest of them. “Maybe not, but the shadow ain’t the only threat out there, vet. You know that.”

The point is conceded, and the rest of them move in close, following their rancher’s example and watching as the man settles down into a kitchen chair Four had provided for their use. Twilight is not the one to start though, instead \turning his own attention, and thus the others do as well, towards the captain, who’s looking a little less like his normal self. It takes a moment, but Wind finally decides it’s the mess the man’s hair is in, that and the way all his emotions seem to have been wiped away cleanly as he stalks towards where the rancher is sitting.

“Twilight has agreed to show you all how to handle this, meanwhile, as I have the training, I will be instructing.” His breathing is off. “In some cases- most actually, the likelihood of being captured and watched by a large group is rare. Most of you don’t look like a major threat and few of you have a rank worth exploiting by your enemies, so your chances of being captured and tortured are low. The chances of questioning is also low, although possible, but considering how well you all keep your own secrets, I don’t think I have to teach you how to keep your mouths shut.” There’s the slightest quirk of a smile at that, and a few smile back.

Wind doesn’t. Wind is too busy watching the way too-steady hands reach out to take the rope Legend is still holding.

“I don’t need to teach you all how to watch the enemy, or how to be cautious, sneaky, how to move about without being seen- you know these things already.” The rope snaps in what he knows is a purposeful motion by the soldier to unsettle them, and that, if anything, is assurance that Warriors is still in there, and not entirely overwhelmed. Come to think of it, he may even be purposefully throwing them off with his behavior and appearance in order to better convey what it’s like to be held captive by a stranger. The thought actually makes him start and stare, watching closely. The hand thing can’t be faked, so maybe there’s some truth to the terrifying mask the captain is pulling; cold, harsh, calculating and seeking a reaction, but he genuinely hopes most of it really is just put on. “But how do you escape binds of different kinds? How do you quickly turn the tables to take yourself from prisoner to captor?” A twist of the hands and Warriors has made knot dangerously close to a noose. “Let’s try that, shall we?”

At his side, Legend tenses, eyes fixed on the captain as the man wraps the noose quickly around one of Twilight’s wrists, the rancher allowing himself to be manipulated as needed for the time being while Warriors twists and pulls and ties the rope this way and that. It's genuinely impressive, the kinds of knots and the effort put into them, far more than most enemies are likely to bother using, but the man still uses them, calling their attention to the different kinds and showing how some give way with a tug and others tighten, informing them that feeling the sort of knot used can be a huge step in escaping it, as it provides clues on how to manipulate your bindings to your own will.

Once the captain is finished, Twilight’s wrists and ankles are both quite effectively restrained, the rancher sitting quietly as he allows the rest of them to look over the bonds and Warriors to explain further about why certain knots are used and which ones to be on the lookout for. They are allowed to touch, encouraged even, to see how the rope feels, because- as the captain instructs them, clipped and cold- the likelihood of being granted sight is very low indeed when held captive.

“Everyone got all that?” At their nods, Warriors turns to Twilight. “Go nuts.”

Watching Twilight escape is very nearly as interesting as watching him get tied up. The rancher doesn’t explain nearly anything at all, focusing instead on getting out, but Warriors fills the blanks, pointing out that shifting, tugging and rolling your limbs can help loosen most bonds, even if it does tend to tighten the knots. “You don’t want to untie each knot, just get out of them. Most escapes need to be quick so as to actually be able to get out, but some circumstances give you time enough to pick over the knots later if you need the rope for something else. Getting a read on your situation at all times is crucial, but you have to rely on your own judgement much of the time in order to know what skills to employ and what to set aside.”

By the time the man is done speaking, Twilight is springing up out of the chair and making a grab at the captain. Almost without breathing, Warriors catches the other in a headlock. It's like watching a snake strike, one moment it looks like Twilight has him, and the next, the rancher is doubled over with their captain’s arms around his neck.

“Good try.”

Twi grins. “Woudla had’ja if I’d had time to slip my feet free.”

“Or if I’d been paying less attention,” the captain smiles, but it’s cold, thin, and very much not like their brother. The man’s hands let loose the other, leaving Twilight free to tug loose his feet while he turns back to the rest of them. “A key point is to watch for opening at all times. If your enemy turns their back or drops their guard, they give you a chance to over-power, injure, or kill them.” It’s said too coldly, too clinically, as though Warriors isn’t even talking about a life at all. He's beginning to see why the man spoke about this sort of training like he did; Warriors will be dumbing it down for them, making it something they can process, but with soldiers, commanders who didn’t give a shit about the innocence of their students, he can only imagine how this sort of thing would have been, especially paired with the knowledge that Warriors had also withstood training for torture and interrogation, so the mental strain would have been far worse then.

Honestly, maybe it’s not an act. Maybe Warriors is just used to shutting his emotions off when it comes to issues like this.

“Any questions?”

“Yeah,” it’s a new voice, one he doesn't know yet, which speaks, and it has all the heroes turning about abruptly at the sound of it, except the captain, who seems unsurprised, unlike them, to see Four’s father standing in the doorway “What on earth is going on here?”

As though of one mind, they all turn on the smithy.

“Training?”

“What kind?” The man leans in the door, one brow raised. He doesn’t look upset, maybe bemused, but Wind still feels Legend draw up stiff beside him.

“Escape training, sir,” Warriors clips, stepping forwards to address the man, “your son tells me he hasn't had a chance to undergo such training previously.”

“No.” It’s a very loaded word, “he hasn’t.” Guarded, wary, maybe even pained. Wind’s not sure, but he supposes maybe Four’s father doesn’t like the idea of his son undergoing whatever this training entails.

The captain doesn’t let the other knight’s tone bother him though. “All due respect sir, he requested that the Hero of Twilight and I instruct him, and the rest, in order that he might have some knowledge of what to do in the case of capture, sir.” Oh, Warriors is falling into soldier mode for real now. Shit.

Sir Smith notices too, apparently, face softening some as he looks at the younger soldier. “As ease, captain.”

Warriors does not relax in the slightest.

“Well,” their smithy’s father turns to look over them and the room in general, “I suppose it’s good knowledge to have, and about time you had it. Is there anything I can do to assist?”

The offer is accepted eagerly by their smithy, and while Warriors still looks somewhat tense, Wind’s quite sure it’s the nature of the training and not the man offering to help with it. No, the captain and this world’s army commander had got on like a housefire last night, and he knows Warriors likes the man. It’s fine, his brother is just uncomfortable and thus falling into familiar patterns and behaviors in order to not betray that. Given time after, and Warriors will slowly drop those and return to his normal self once he’s ready. He’ll be okay.

“Escapin’ is like pretty boy said,” Twilight tells them, standing up again now that he’s free, “it’s a matter of gettin’ the ropes loose enough t’slip out. Amateurs tend to go too loose, an’ they keep it quick an’ easy. ‘pparently soldiers cover all the bases though.” The last part is added with a snort and a light nudge at their captain.

Time nods, slowly. “Four minutes and seventeen seconds. Quite impressive, pup.”

The words have the rancher beaming.

“Right,” Warriors plows ahead, ignoring the moment and looking over each of them. “Legend, you said you’d been trained, how about you show the rest how a smaller individual can handle this?”

The vet glares at the implications but doesn’t say anything. It’s fact that most of them aren’t nearly as big as Twilight and, considering few of them possess his brute strength either, having a few examples will probably give them more to work off of in the long run. Still, there’s something wary about the way the vet approaches the chair, hands already fisted as he stands in front of it, rather than deliberately sitting as the rancher had done.

“Commander,” Warriors turns over to Four’s father (he’s introduced himself as Leon, right?) and motions to the vet. “I believe you have more experience than I.”

The elder soldier nods, in one motion both conveying respect and also submitting himself to the command of the younger soldier for the time being, which Wind thinks is very grand of him considering it’s the older man’s own house they’re in, and his son they’re teaching. Then again though, Four had said that his dad is the sort of person who isn’t afraid to let a younger person take the lead if they know what they’re doing.

He wonders how Four knows that to be able to say it so confidently. What on earth does he get up to on his own?

A question for later, he guesses. Right now, it’s time to pay attention, because even if he hopes to grow as big as Twilight, Legend and he are pretty close in size now, so this will be more useful for him than watching the rancher.

Unlike Twilight, Legend doesn’t go easily, making Leon actually have to fight against him in order to continue. That, apparently, it is good though, as Warriors makes it a teaching point, “Generally speaking,” one large hand catches the vet’s dominant one, “you don’t want to let the enemy tie you down in the first place. Honor is all well and good, but when it comes to surviving, no one’s blaming you for fighting dirty.” Something Legend is notorious for. “Watch how the vet handles this, then we’ll discuss after. Sir Leon-” that is the right name then, great! “-will probably approach it differently than I do as well, so be aware that all captors are not the same.”

And the smithy’s father definitely doesn’t handle things the way Warriors did, nor does Legend. Where Twilight had let Warriors shift and move him as needed, Legend fights, and where Warriors had given little vocal cues to his “prisoner” and guided his motions carefully, well aware that a wrong move from the rancher at close proximity could do damage, Leon isn’t nearly as careful, instead grabbing, holding, and forcing the vet’s arms behind his back before slinging a rope around them with all the speed of a sailor in a storm. Also, unlike Warriors, Leon doesn’t use a variety of knots, rather keeping it quick and tight.

“He’s got thin wrists, so a tighter bind is needed. Some tie it tight enough to harm, but that’s not the goal here. Know it happens though.” The elder soldier tells them, yanking back on the vet who makes to push away. He doesn’t try to force the vet into the chair, instead catching the younger by the collar while his free hand works, hissing, “stay still, you wriggly thing!”

Wind’s not sure what exactly about the situation is wrong, but he swears he hears the vet’s breath catch, stutter, and then with a truly terrific show of strength, Legend rips himself free of the man’s hold, kicking back against the knight and propelling himself forwards hard enough that his collar slips free from the man’s hands and the vet can stumble very quickly away. Rather than stage an “attack” though, the hero just spins about, and the whole room freezes.

Legend’s stance is too tightly wound, breath too sharp, too harsh, but most obvious is the utter and complete terror shining in blown out violet eyes.

“Shit,” Warriors is moving before any of them have a clue what to do, and all aggression, put on though it was, immediately disappears from Leon’s own stance as both knights recognize what Wind himself has as well. He doesn't know how, and he doesn’t know why, but something about the situation has acted as enough to trigger the vet into some sort of panic, and what to them is a training exercise, has become, to his mind, very, very real.

“Lad-” Leon’s motion towards the vet earns a start back, one that is made even worse when Four jumps up from where he’d been watching. Wind can’t imagine why the sight of Four, of all of the people in the room, would make Legend stumble so far back that he falls flat on his ass, but it happens. It happens and none of them, especially the smithy, miss it.

“Vet?” They’re all worried, and several of them step forwards, reaching out, ready to help, wanting to help, only for both Hyrule and Wild to grab those closest to them and pull them back, something Wind does himself, catching ahold of the smithy. The last thing the vet needs is people crowding in and leaving him no space to breathe. Being surrounded when you’re vulnerable is bad, very bad, and if watching out for Mask and watching the captain taught him anything, it’s that letting an experienced adult handle it and keeping everyone else away is the best course of action.

“Is he-” again, Leon’s voice is cut off, this time though by a strangled sound from the vet.

“Leon,” and it’s the first time that the soldier’s voice has dropped titles to use anything else, “leave.”

“Excuse me?” Four hisses, but that also seems to have a very negative effect, one that has the captain turning, slowly, voice low and soft but cold enough to freeze.

“You too, smithy.”

Whatever is about to be said in return is cut off by Leon hefting his son over his shoulder and quickly leaving the room, although both he and Four look after the others even as they exit the door. If the situation were any different, Wind thinks he might have laughed at Four’s easy acceptance of being carried like a potato sack by his father, but right now dealing with the vet takes precedence. Luckily for all at hand, even if Warriors isn’t the most qualified to run a training simulation, there’s no one better at handing panic attacks.

Despite being downed, Legend’s still managed to shift enough that the ropes Leon was working to be decently tight have been mostly ripped off, although they’ve left a nasty burn across the hero’s skin, one that’s bleeding slightly in the worst areas along the inside of his wrists. No one stops him freeing himself though, and while the performance is definitely over, there’s also a part of all of them that notes how quickly Legend pulls himself free, the sailor even hears Time whisper a soft “two minutes, fourteen seconds” to himself, slightly awed.

“Hey,” Warriors’ voice has lost every amount of edge, ice, or stiffness as he settles down in front of their felled brother, now as full of warmth as if he’s back on the field, talking Mask out of his own head after the younger hero’s namesake was put away again. “You with me?”

Ragged breathing would indicate that no, Legend is not. He’s very much not, just staring after the door where Four and his father had disappeared, eyes still wide and breath too shallow.

The captain reaches out; slow, deliberate motions, easy to track as he reaches for the other hero. “You’re okay, alright? You’re safe. We were training, but it’s over. There is no threat here.”

The vet flinches away from the hand, inches from his arm, back slamming against a cabinet and making whatever’s inside clatter loudly, which just sees to further unsettled the shaken hero, who jumps at the sound, whipping his head around to look back, only to flick unseeing eyes back towards the captain.

Warriors doesn’t so much as falter, using his lifted hand to slowly push shaggy hair out of where it’d been over his eyes for the last while, messy and just slightly wavy at the ends, like he’s not had time to straighten it in a while. “Hey, it’s me. It’s Warriors, you in there, Link?”

Violet eyes flicker across the older man’s face, and this time, when Warriors reaches out, Legend doesn’t start away again, although he watches the hand reaching for him like it’ll produce a knife at any second. Luckily for all, the captain’s not capable of that sort of a trick, and all his hand does is catch one of Legend’s own, not by the wrist as Leon had done, but gently catching fingers in his own and guiding them towards himself, pulling the vet’s hand to settle over his chest, eyes locking with the other’s as he breathes a long, purposeful, breath.

Just like Mask used to, Legend mimics the action, although his own breath catches some. It doesn’t stop the captain from trying again though, and slowly, steadily, Legend’s breathing evens out again, clarity returning to his eyes like stars coming out at dusk.

“There you are,” their brother breathes, soft and warm and gentle and everything that eases tension and doesn’t spark it further, “keep breathing, you’re okay.”

Just because he says it though, doesn't mean it works, because the next breath that escapes their brother sounds more like a strangled sob.

Warriors doesn’t so much as falter. “You’re okay. It’s alright,” the hand that lifts is flinched back from, so the captain drops it again, resting it only over the hand still pressed to his own chest. “Keep breathing- there we go. You’re okay, you’re safe.”

The dart of dark eyes to the door betrays that Legend doesn’t believe him for a moment, but the vet shudders only a bit, focusing on Warriors again as he pulls away from the cabinets, although not so much to be closer to the captain as to not longer be shrinking away. It’s a sign of some recognition though, which is far better than nothing, and apparently a cue for the soldier to find out what is going on.

“That escalated a bit quick, wanna tell me what went wrong?”

Legend opens his mouth to answer, but a hitching breath is all that comes out, face twisting and screwing up again enough to warn that a repeat is very much in the cards.

Warriors counters quickly. “Was it the ropes? Too tight? Too many people?” He keeps the questions far enough apart to give time for a signal one way or another, but Legend doesn't do much more than force shaking breathes out as his hands reach to tangle in his wild hair. His hat fell off in the scuffle, and currently lies at Time’s feet. “Was Leon too-”

The strangled sound at the man’s name cuts Warriors off, and recognition shines in blue eyes.

“Leon.” Warriors repeats.

Legend’s eyes squeeze closed; face pinched up and shattered.

The soldier sighs. “Can I touch you?”

“No.” The fact that it’s verbalized is a huge step, and Wind sighs a breath of relief.

Warriors, likewise, accepts the boundary, shifting back a bit to grant their vet more space, but not so much as to seem like he’s leaving. “Okay, this is related to Leon. Was it how he handled you?”

Nothing.

“Was it something one of us said?”

A hitch in the vet’s breath, the captain opens his mouth to try again, to press, but Legend answers aloud again this time, voice a wreck. “I- he-” a desperate gasp for air as ringed fingers tug at messy hair, “he’s sounds-”

No doubt recognizing Mask’s same struggle with words in the other, Warriors offers his own, soft and quiet, but not yet a whisper. “Did he sound like someone you know?”

A nod. A fervent, desperate, nod as violet eyes squeeze shut again. “Sorry...”

Hearing the vet apologize has never sounded like such an awful thing. He hates it.

The captain clearly does too, but he says nothing to that effect, although the brief flick of his ears and flash of his eyes says it for him. “It’s not your fault. It happens to the best of us.”

A scoff. Yeah, Legend’s still in there.

Warriors presses on. “No really, it does. It sucks, but it happens.”

Dark eyes peek open, fixing on the captain.

“Yes, even with me.” The smile there is pained, strained, but real, despite all, and the flick down of the vet’s eyes to still outheld hands prompts the captain to reach out once more. “Would you like me to touch now?”

There’s a pause, nothing said, and nothing done, just a stillness as Legend considers the offer. He’s wary about touch even on good days, but usually only when it’s expressly offered or pointed out. When no one says anything, it’s usually met with acceptance as long as it’s not demeaning in any way.

As though catching onto a similar train of thought, Warriors changes his offer. “I could lend you my scarf?”

A glare. Okay, rude, it’s not that demeaning! Wind likes the scarf! Mask adored the scarf! Enough to throw fits when it wasn't his turn with it! Legend doesn’t have to want it, but there’s no need to make faces like that! It earns a laugh from their captain though, eyes creasing the way they rarely do, and only when he really means it, hand falling to rest gently on the foot of the other. Legend doesn’t shake him off, just stares, then lifts his gaze back up to search the captain’s face again.

Warriors meets it, smile fading back to the sad one again.

The vet’s gaze drops, arms falling to wrap around himself rather than digging his fingers into his scalp. “He looks-” a breath, harsh and strained, angry as it whishes between clenched teeth, brows drawing low with inward turned frustration, “the- our-”

“He looks like someone you know?” At yet another, hesitant, nod, Warriors presses further. “Someone who hurt you? Maybe someone you used to trust?”

A sigh. A slow nod before the vet’s head drops to rest against his raised knees. He's still shaking.

It’s clear as day that Warriors wants nothing more than to wrap an arm around their brother, pull hm close and assure, but he doesn’t. No, the captain respects the established boundary and doesn’t move any closer, hand just resting on one ankle as he crouches in front of their brother. “I get that.” his voice is softer now, bittersweet, “it sucks, I know. There's someone you trust and then you can’t trust them anymore, and it’s hard, especially when you meet someone who reminds you of them.”

Shit. Wind knows he shouldn’t, knows both he and Time know better, but neither can help it as they turn their focus on the captain, wary and watching. That is never a good subject to talk about, but the fact that Warriors is the one broaching it for the first time in forever is frankly shocking.

“You too?” Legend’s trying to pass off a tired smile of his own, but it just looks like he’s trying not to cry.

The captain nods, lifting his hand (definitely noticing how Legend’s breath catches at the loss of contact) and instead turning to lean his own back against the china cabinet, settling in beside their shaken brother, eyes falling closed in what’s both an open sign of trust, but also an obvious bid to ignore the sharp stares of both his boys on him. “Yeah, me too. It sucks, doesn’t it?”

“Sounds just like him,” Legend says, the first full sentence since he’d gone down, and Wind doesn't miss the way the other hero leans a bit closer into the captain’s space, although he doesn't touch him. “Looks like ‘im too.”

Blue eyes open again, turning past all their curious and worried ones to watch the vet, warm and gentle, that same look that he’d turn on Mask, and Wind doesn't doubt it was turned on him too, when Warriors thought they weren't looking.

The vet shudders, steeling himself up again, walls visibly reconstructing before their eyes. “He used to visit, when I was small. I saw him like a grandfather-” and they crumble again, the vet blinking violently, voice small. “He has granddaughters my age.”

“What happened?” Wind doesn’t mean to let the words slip, but they do.

Legend’s head hits the cabinet doors. “Corrupted.”

The captain nods. He knows. Wind knows that he knows. “I’m sorry.”

“He sounded just like him.”

“I know,” it’s a hysterical sort of laughter that escapes the older hero this time, “trust me, I get it. Every time I hear an Ordon accent, any time someone suggests playing chess,” the captain’s eyes roll upwards, and Wind’s kind of shocked when he realizes there’s tears there. “It sucks. Gods it sucks, but you live with it. I wish I could say it gets better, but I’m not there yet.”

Pink hair drops, settling against faintly shaking shoulders. “You were close?”

Suddenly the moment before them feels too private to witness anymore. Suddenly, being there feels wrong, hearing Legend ask things that everyone at home in Warriors’ world knows better than to speak of. He doesn't know why Warriors answers, maybe out of guilt for pulling the vet into the exercise, maybe out of a need to set an example or assure, maybe out of his own sort of desperation, but an answer is given.

“Yeah. Grew up together. He teased me for my accent, I teased him for his. We ran our mothers to worry and our commanders to madness. I hauled his ass out of prison, he watched mine on the field. Heck,” a smile, bittersweet as the captain settles a cheek in rosy hair, “we went through our trailing- kinda like what I was trying to show the others- we did that together too.” A soft scoff, not a sob, but close, “I think he’s the only reason I made it through training t’all. Would’ve gone mad wit’out ‘im.”

“What happened?” Twilight dares speak up, and Wind doesn’t miss the way the man’s thick accent is held in check, nearly gone altogether. So, Twi did hear the comment about Ordon.

The captain sighs, lifting his head and staring out at the rest of them, eyes fixing on the rancher last of all. “Ganon. As with most things.”

Twilight winces.

Warriors chuckles. “Some days it’s like he never left though. He’s still on my ass, still callin’ me ‘pretty boy and tryin’ to get a rise outta me.” Wind doesn’t miss how Twilight’s face crumbles when he realizes blue eyes are still fixed on his. The captain doesn’t either, smile twitching alive again. “It’s nice, sometimes, like seeing what he’d be like if nothing happened. Other days, it’s difficult, and it makes it hard to get through the day.”

“How do you handle us?” Legend breathes, half scoff and half awe, eyes trying for a smile again and doing much better. It’s not happy, but it’s kind.

The captain doesn’t miss it. “Hylia only knows,” he teases, knocking his shoulder against the one still pressed against it, and then, more serious, “I draw back if I need. Sure, Twilight reminds me of him a lot, some days, but then he does something Gassun would never, or does something so stupid only a hero would do it, and then I remember again and I’m fine.”

“Really?” The Stare of Disappointment was definitely something Time learned from the captain, so Wind can’t fathom why the man tries to use it on their brother, but here he is, doing just that. “You expect us to believe that?”

“Have faith in me,” Warriors snorts, “I don’t wander around in my own head all day. If I did, you’d’ve burned the world down already!”

It sort of ends like that. Warriors redirecting their attention and Legend rolling his eyes at their antics, slowly uncurling again until Four’s mother comes back inside and requests access to her kitchen again. They scatter after, Warriors throwing an arm around the vet and guiding him upstairs so they can have a talk, Time going off in search of the smithy and his father, Wild joining in dinner preparations, and the rest of them cleaning up their mess before leaving.

Hyrule still has questions for Twilight about escaping, but Sky heads upstairs after the others, worry creasing his brow in ways it rarely does, but Wind stays behind, scooping up Tongs to keep him company in the wake of his brothers all leaving. Even so, he makes a note to ask the others how they are later.

Of course, later, Twilight also asks about what Warriors said, and the captain, to the shock of both his charges, explains himself. Thinking back, it’s no wonder Warriors sees a resemblance; Twilight may have spent his last few years in Ordon, but the military haircut is still very present, a mirror of the captain's own and quite similar to said captain's old friend. Granted, Twilight is darker, hair redder and eyes bright blue, but the accent is the same, rough manner so similar, and the nicknames definitely finish the picture. He doesn’t like the implications of that, not for either of the two, but Twilight walks out of the conversation only looking someone thoughtful, rather than upset, and Warriors seems normal enough, although still quiet for the rest of their time in the smithy’s Hyrule.

Collectively, they agree to abandon the escape training. If they want tips, they’ll go to Twilight, but the emotional toll taken on both the vet and the captain isn’t worth it to any of them. Not a second time. Not when they all regret the first one.

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #febuwhump #febuwhump2024 #lu wind #lu legend #lu warriors #lu twilight #lu wild #lu four #lu sky #lu hyrule #lu time #four's dad #good golly it went on forever!#the boys are't letting me keep ANYTHING brief this month #vengeance for not finishing previous months I guess

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its-actually-minicika · 1 year

Text

The Harshest Winters (18+!)

Part 2;

Pairing(s): Jacaerys x Reader (rip king 🤍), Dark!Aemond x Reader (though it's very much one sided on his behalf);

Warnings: angst galore, mentions of SA, blood and gore, allusions and descriptions of death AND sex, book canon Aemond- need I go on?

Author's Note: The support received on the last part was insane :")) so here I am, writing another one! If this gets enough attention, I might just turn it into a series; Nonetheless, I hope you guys enjoy!

Also, this isn't proof-read; We die like men tonight :") Part 3 is out now! <33

(Y/N) and Ser Cain ride through burnt-down forests, scattered with ash and blood - twisted loyalties reveal their sick ambitions, and the girl is faced with a very tough decision.

"How'd you even manage to get into Harrenhal? Aemond may be blind in one eye, but he keeps an iron fist over who enters and leaves the Keep." Her hushed voice echoed through the empty forest.

Ser Cain looked at his lady with a glimpse of reverence, that could almost be confused with one of slight amusement.

"I must admit, I got plenty of help." He barked dryly, running a calloused hand through his blonde hair. "You may have had no friends among the Greens, but there was a certain wood witch that wanted you gone as soon as possible."

(Y/N)'s eyes widened in momentary shock. Her mouth opened and closed back up again, before she finally managed to form a proper sentence.

"Alys? Alys Rivers?" She asked tentatively, amusement licking at her fair features.

"Us bastards always find a way to help one another," Cain let out a roaring laugh, that brought a level of warmth to the Lady's weary heart. "I wanted you safe, and she wanted you gone. We reached a deal very quickly after that."

"No way you struck a deal with Aemond's bedmate." The girl huffed out in disbelief, "She'll be in a lot of trouble if ever he finds out... There is hardly anything for her to gain from freeing a war captive."

"Aye, he will be mad..." Her sworn protector made a short pause, "Yet there's nothing that stirs someone on more than jealousy." The knight sighed, lost in deep thought. "She has everything to gain from this - the walls talk in Harrenhal, my Lady. And they... well, forgive me for being so blunt - speak stories on how the Kinslayer loses sleep by visiting you in your chambers at night."

The girl's cheek are caught ablaze; the innuendo was more than clear on Ser Cain's face alone. She stills her horse and throws him a jaded look.

"As you saw when you guarded my door, ser - he does intrude often. But there was never a moment where we..." As her words came to a halt, the girl huffed out in a discontented breath, "I would rather die than spread my legs open for the usurper's kin."

"I know." Cain reassured her, a wide smile plastered on his face. "With the way you were gripping that candle holder, ready to swing it at me, I can only imagine the hell you gave Prince Aemond."

"It wasn't nearly as much as he deserved. I'm afraid I failed to do Jace justice."

Wordlessly, Ser Cain reached for her saddle, and gave her shoulder a tight squeeze. His other hand came to grip the horse's bridle, forcing both mares into another sprint.

"We can't stay in one place for long." He wanted to apologise, but (Y/N)'s reassuring smile made him calm back down again.

"Trust me. If there is anyone who wants to put as much distance between them and that disgusting psychopath, it's me."

For a while, the only noise made in the smoked out forest was the gallop of the horses and their shallow panting. After a while, even that proved to be too little.

"I have to ask," The woman started, quirking her brow up at the knight, "Where are we going? Riverrun is hardly a safe space - Aemond will go there first, once he gets notified of my absence."

Following her own logic, (Y/N)'s eyes widen.

"My brothers. Father and grandfather...!"

"You needn't worry, my Lady!" Cain Waters assured the girl with a delicate brush on her arm, "We like to think that we thought of everything - and Riverrun has been emptied since the very beginning of the Kinslayer's wild attacks."

A sigh of relief etches it's way from the girl's throat.

"Your father raised your grandfather's army - he's marching to Dragonstone, with Kermit, to aid our true Queen. As for your youngest brother and grandfather, they're both in the Eyrie - where Lady Jane Arryn is expecting you, too."

"So that's were we're heading." (Y/N) concluded with a deep sigh. "We won't reach it tonight."

"No." Cain agreed, but soon added determinedly, "We'll probably reach the Saltpans on the morrow. We'll hide a while near the Trident and, when the time is right, march North towards the Bloody Gate."

"Gods be good, it will take us weeks." She exclaimed through a shallow breath. "We can't afford spare that much time. Aemond will be hot on our tracks, that much is for certain."

Cain's eyes softened at her outburst, and the robust man bit his inner cheek.

"We have to take this chance - for your safety, my Lady." He tried to encourage her with a crooked smile, "Do not worry about the Kinslayer. I'll kill him if he touches you."

The way in which he spoke oozed with honesty and determination. His eyes were like two silver daggers, scanning, searching for any danger that could put his Lady's life at stake.

Cain was a loyal knight, Lady Tully concluded, a trusted friend and fantastic travel partner. He was her sworn shield - and men, willing to devote themselves to a cause in the way he did, waiting for nothing in return, were very few and far between.

The tiniest shadows of a smile dance across her tired features. She takes in a deep breath, and allows her shoulders to relax.

"I know you will, Ser Cain." She confirms with a small nod, focusing her attention to the road ahead.

Still... when a dragon stands between a man and his duty, what brainless knight would ever rush to a lady's aid?

Aemond's footsteps echoed through the wailing keep. His armour fell heavy on his shoulders, and the sword in his grip was fully drenched in blood.

Of all the men slain by his hand that day, Simon Strong, the old fool, had screamed the loudest. He begged until his last breath for mercy of the Warrior and the Mother, for a chance to prove himself and his loyalty to the Crown, but to no avail.

Of all the guards assigned to Harrenhal by his darling mother, all but one died, as fallen victims to his endless frenzy.

"If the words you speak are truthful," Aemond mocked him with an airy laugh, "Then pick up this sword and clash it with mine. Should you be innocent, the Warrior will grant you strength enough to defeat me."

But no Warrior, and no other God, beckoned his call that day.

Instead, Simon Strong died with his head severed, and body still twitching with a sword in hand.

Now, it was Aemond's turn to wail and sigh at the sight before him - the last knight he kept alive, a boy as green as grass, petrified beyond belief.

When he spotted the One Eyed Prince, the boy all but fell to his knees, begging for forgiveness through tear stained cheeks and apish breaths.

"Your Grace, please, you must believe me!" He deplored helplessly, "I had no part in this - I didn't know!"

Aemond felt his lips quirk up in a cruel smile. The view below him was beyond pitiful; a most amusing glimpse into what the Conqueror himself must have experienced when he put Westeros through the judgement of steel and flames.

Still, even the most amusing jesters become ridiculous when faced with the passage of time.

"Exactly. You didn't know." His honeyed voice rang out into the cluttered room. The Crown Prince took a step forward, reveling in how the knight pressed himself deeper into the ground. The stench of piss flared up his nostrils.

The boy had shat himself.

His whimpers broke through the otherwise silent room. A mixture of "Please"s and "Your Grace, don't"s - it left Aemond dissatisfied and forlong, irked to no end.

"You say you have seen this knight around." He hummed in admission, "Pray tell, what was his name again?"

"C-Cain! Cain Waters! He was a broad man, with a straight stubble and long, blonde hair!" He shook his head after each and every word, desperate to prove himself. "He had a scar - right here, on his left arm! And a broken nose - it curved to the left side, and he said he'd gotten it from a brawl!" The boy blabbered incoherently, spewing as many things as he remembered from the immediate memory.

Aemond chuckled at his words, raising his hand out to stop the disordered boy. Wordlessly, he held his arm out, enouraging him with a curt nod to raise to his feet again.

"You have an excellent memory, do you not? It seems like you remember a lot of things."

The knight nodded fevereshly, trying his hardest to stop his limbs from giving out.

"Yes, yes, Your Grace! I talked to him countless of times, I can recognise his voice with my eyes closed!"

Aemond quirked his head to the side, and let out another curt laugh.

"Good, very good, indeed! And, tell me..." As he spoke the last of his words, Aemond Targaryen got closer to the shaking boy, "You call this level of interest... not getting involved?"

Without waiting for an answer, Prince Aemond let go of the soldier's hand, running his sword through his stomach in a simple, yet effective movement.

"Y-Your G-Gh..." He strained himself to hiss though his bloodied mouth, before falling on his knees, his hand placed atop his wound.

"You've proven yourself very useful." Aemond asserted dryly, "Just as you said."

The Prince turned back on his heel again, and began marching towards the open door. With a bored expression on his face, he threw the child one more dejected look, and added, "But I've simply no more need for you."

The knight's endless gagging filled the room with a paculiar sense of dread. Somewhere along his way, Aemond got a hold of a kitchen wench; he grabbed her with his bloody hand, and clicked his tongue in pure disdain.

"Clean that up." Was all she was instructed to do.

Daylight had long broken the sky in two, as Cain and (Y/N) finally reached the Saltpans of the Trident.

Tired, and famished far beyond belief, the two stopped at the gate of an ale house, dismounting their horses and knocking on the door politely.

A couple of seconds went by, until a small click of a key was heard on the other side. An old woman stepped outside, holding out a crossbow, that was still too big for her wide frame.

"I said, no more scoundrels, and ruffians, and thieves, and men! Away, away with you!"

Her wrinkled hands swished and flicked about, right under Cain's nose, who swallowed a small laugh, and gently raised his hands out in taciturn surrender.

"No ruffians, scoundrels or thieves sit in front of you, ma'am. ... Though, of being a man, I must admit I'm very guilty."

Upon hearing his words, the old lady shook her head, with a strength so great, (Y/N) was sure her eyes would pop out.

"Oh, no, no! I said, no more of those around here!" She repeated again, though she lowered her crossbow from Cain's face, upon hearing the sound of his mellow voice.

"Madam, I... We beg you to reconsider." The Lady's voice rang through the open clearing. As she glanced up at the old, plump woman, her features turned soft and pleading, begging for help, like a child would to her wise mother.

She gripped Cain's biscep with her left hand, ensuring that their host would see her amethist ring, that now rested upon her ring finger. "My husband and I are so tired from our long journey and... as you said, Madam, the streets aren't safe."

The house's owner squinted at them with a hardened look, but then, almost too suddenly, she stepped aside for the two to come in.

"You'll have to forgive an old spinster," The woman smiled tightly over her shoulder, "It's just that in these parts of the Reach, you don't know in who to trust."

"Aye, we hear that." Cain replied with a warm smile, leading his lady inside with a hand respectfully placed above her waist. "Great thinking!" He leaned in to whisper in her ear, congratulating her on the ability to adapt to their situation so fast. "If I didn't know any better, my Lady, I'd say you didn't need me to make the trip."

She gave her a polite smile, and sheepishly bowed her head.

"Perhaps you don't know any better, then." She laughed at him teasingly, before moving her attention back to the old maid.

"My husband and I travelled no small distance - we live near Bitterbridge, but we decided to join with our relatives near Crossroad's Inn." She gave Cain's hand a tight squeeze, and looked at him affectionately, before pressing on. "With with the war looming over us, nothing is more important than family."

The old lady smiled at them, showing off her three gold teeth. Her eyes held no malice now, and she shifted her weight from her left foot to speak. "Mine mother was from Goldengrove - a proper Lady. She was almost a lady in waiting for Brianna Tyrell."

Looking almost wistfully to the side, the inn wench let out a melancholic sigh.

"Oh, but what am I sharing these stories for?" She questioned jokingly, while clasping her hands together. "I'll prepare breakfast for you two. And a bed - to sleep in for the night."

Cain offered the woman a small nod, and smiled tightly in reply.

As she made herself busy with boiling some eggs, the man leaned in, muttering lowly to his lady.

"She didn't ask us for how long we'd stay. She assumed right away we'd be gone tomorrow."

Taking in his cautious words, (Y/N) hummed, as she nibbled on her bottom lip.

"And if her words are true about her mother, then she served as vassal for the Hightowers, as well."

"Do you think she's a Loyalist, my Lady?" The knight choked on his own breath.

"It might be too soon to tell."

The man's eyes fell back on the dirty window, that offered but a shallow peek into the outside world. His face contorted to one of great concentration - Much like it did years ago, (Y/N) mused to herself, before an important Tourney.

"We'll tread lightly. ... It might be a good idea to show our support to Aegon when we talk amongst ourselves at dinner."

"An easy conversation to over-hear, of course. Especially after a glass or two of wine."

Their little dialogue ceased a moment, and both travellers shot each other a warm smile.

"W-W-Wait, just because I brought the letter here, that don't mean I'm gon' speak to the young master, too-" The strained voice of a serving maid bounced off the stone walls of the black Crypt.

She looked around frantically, shaking her head with so much dedication, that her braid came undone onto her shoulders. The servants around her made no attempt to soothe the girl, or take her under their protection - for they, too, were scared of the wrath that resided deep inside of Aemond.

Still, a raven, who's beak carried a letter that spoke naught on the outside, besides it coming from an inn in the Saltpans, had come to Harrenhal that afternoon.

A more educated one from the flock of young maids tried to decypher its contents in the light of day, but to no avail. The letter had to be opened. And it had to be opened by their reckless Prince, first.

"H-How do we even know it's something important?" One elder girl chirped shyly. "What if it isn't, and Prince Aemond punishes us for wasting his Grace's time?"

A shuddering thought went through each and every resting body, that rang clear through their bodies, like a blade would on young flesh.

"And what if it is important?" Another spoke up, "We'll all be executed for not bringing it to him, sooner!" She sobbed into her hands.

"Bring what to Prince Aemond?"

The rise of the unknown voice elicited a scared gasp from each member of the pitiful assembly. Comically, they all turned on their heel at once, gripping their throats in horrified wonder.

None but Alys Rivers stood before them, her own hands resting on her hips and her cascade of black hair, fraiming her expecting face in a gruellingly gorgeous way.

"Seven hells! You had us scared to death, Rivers!" One maid or another chastised her deeply.

Upon hearing the lack of reverence in her voice, the Strong witch clasped her hands tightly together, and glared upon the crowd with a look full of disdain.

"You ought be careful with how you address me. You forget yourself, wench."

Her words were cutting and scornful, and yet, they had no effect on the defying servant.

"I should be careful with how I speak to you?" The tiny woman let out a small scoff, "'Tis you who should sooner not forget her standing. You aren't mistress of this Keep. You are naught above us in station."

Caught in the red, Alys scorned down at the meek, servant girl. Her back turned awfully straight, and she demured in a demanding tone.

"You will either tell me at once what it is you're hiding, or I will have my Aemond take all of your heads." She let out a small chuckle, and carried on, "You'll see how much power I have over this keep and you - for I carry the Dragon's son, and his fires already lick at my womb."

The possibility of Alys Rivers carrying the Kinslayer's bastard sent a shiver down their hollow spines. Soon, the girls threw each other a despondent look, and settled their eyes upon the floor.

"It's... a letter from the Saltpans... m'lady." The same maid who provoked her now spoke. "We don't know of it's contents, but..."

Silence fell over the windy crypt. Alys quirked up a brow in amusement, and extended her arm out in palpable anticipation.

"I'll carry it to him, then. Make haste, give it to me, and begone."

For once, her command was almost immediately executed. The plump girl that had brought the raven inside hurried to give the parchments to her, and scurried along the dark hall, making herself scarce and unseen.

Alys' green skirts kissed the grounds which the woman walked, leaving a rustling echo along the large halls with every calculated step.

She reached for Aemond's Quarters, and slyly made her way inside.

"My Prince," Her voice rang out, "A letter addressed to you has just arrived."

The eager polishing of Aemond's sword was the only noise in the room for a while. He hummed expectantly, putting an end to his endeavours, and getting a hold of the enclasped letter with two of his long fingers.

Silently, much like a predator would it's prey, he analysed its contents, feeling a smug smirk tugging at his upturned lips. He lowered it after a while, and looked out the window, lost in the depthness of his thoughts.

"My Prince, what does it say?" Alys inquired officiously, dropping her head over his thighs. "Is it of an important matter?"

Aemond let out a joyous laugh - and, whether it was due to his amusement over Alys' stupid question, or due to the contents of the flimsy letter, was up to anybody's guess.

"Tell those kitchen wenches to prepare for a grand feast for tonight. We have reason to expect very pleasant company."

The man rose from his chair and smirked to himself once more, before making his way towards the grand oak doors of his private chambers.

He stopped on his tracks, however, to assert the woman on his bed once more.

"Alys... should you come to my room unannounced again, I will have your head for it." He uttered neutrally, with a bemused rise of his brows.

"Do you think it wise to leave tonight?" Cain's pleasant voice rang through the girl's ears, as the two made good haste scarping down on the dinner they paid for.

"Tonight?" The girl hushed back at him, before taking a sip of her wine. "You don't trust the old lady, do you?"

"Aye, I must admit, I don't." Cain confirmed her laid out question, as he followed the woman's form into the small kitchen again. "I can't shake off the feeling that something bad is about to happen."

Placing her hand atop his in a pacifying manner, (Y/N) squeezed tightly, putting an end to his restless thoughts.

"Then we should leave tonight. Wait until she's fallen asleep, sneak out and mount our horses. We can sleep when we reach the Bloody Gate, or hidden away in the forest." She concluded with a stone faced look.

Cain bit his lower lip and clicked his tongue in distaste for the plan. "I'm sorry for making you go through this, my Lady. A young woman shouldn't be forced to sleep outside, under such pitiful conditions."

"But it's better to be safe than sorry," She assured him once again, "And I've slept in worse than grass and branches - you should know."

The knight's face twisted into pure rage.

"I swear to you, my Lady, I will have his head for all he made you go through. I will."

"There would be no one else I trust more with the task." She smiled at him happily, and a pang of sisterly affection surged through her bones. "Let's finish eating. Then we'll retire in our room and start packing up."

Cain nodded in agreement, and offered the girl one of his many placid smiles.

The evening went on with little to no commotion - the night displayed the hour of the wolf, when the two finally made their way outside their room, and onto the small corridor that led to the stables.

Still, their footsteps, however careful, alerted their horses, who'd grown so accounstomed to Cain's presence.

With a small huff of their muzzles, they rested their head upon the separating barrier, and shook their manes expectantly.

"That's it, those are my good girls." Cain hushed to them, untying their bridles from the putrid wall. "Let's go for a ride, shall we?"

In the same manner he did the night before, (Y/N)'s sworn shield helped her up the saddle, and secured her belts in place. Soon came his turn, and, before they both knew it, the pair was exiting the stables with tentative steps, stopping at the entrance.

"We'll take to the North road, but we'll travel slightly East. We'll be on Arryn grounds... and hopefully more safe."

"That sounds like a plan." Lady Tully agreed with a tight expression on her face. She let out a shaky sigh, opening the inn's gates with a strong jerk of her hand.

Cain clicked his tongue once, twice, three and four times, until both horses broke into a hasty sprint. With his hand over both bridles, he guided the horses over to the stony road.

The night was clear. The shadows scarce. And yet...

A looming figure washed up before them both, swallowing the light of the moon and shaking their foundations to the very core.

"Ha..." (Y/N) let out a laugh in disbelief, feeling her heart rising to her throat.

Cain's face tightened, and his knuckles turned white over the saddle's head. His body contorted in fear and disgust for the man above them, as he took in a deep breath.

"Run." He instructed dryly.

When a horse races with a dragon, which one of them wins? - It was a rather stupid question, for this was a race that the poor horse would lose everytime, no matter it's good breeding or strong muscle mass.

"TO THE FOREST, BACK INTO THE FOREST!" Ser Cain yelled out, turning both animals around, hoping for a chance of escape.

"Have you lost your mind?! He'll burn the trees down!" His lady's reply came and went, swallowed by the wind, and the ring of Aemond's cruel laugh.

"What other choice do we have?!"

That much was true, the lady admitted inside her head. Aemond was ruthless, and, chances were, they would both die either way. If there was even a slither of hope that they'll survive by confusing the man, they had to take it.

As the horses ran, Cain tried his best to untangle their bridles, but (Y/N) shouted after him.

"Don't!! Aemond won't burn me with his dragon, he needs me alive for my grandfather's banners! But he won't hesitate to hurt you, should we be separated!"

With one hardened breath after the other, the two made their way back into the forest, where Cain reached out to unbuckle his lady's saddle. His stiff fingers made slow work - the exhaustion, fear and speed with which they galloped made it extremely hard for the knight to see even three inches ahead of him.

"We get off the horses!" He alerted the woman, as beads of sweat rolled off his forehead. "From that distance, he can't see us - he'll think we're still on them! We'll have to run from that point on, but we must take the chance!"

(Y/N) replied in kind with his instructions, and both lady and loyal knight jumped off their horses' saddles, hitting the ground with a ferocious impact.

Pain surged through her limbs and bones, but Cain quickly grabbed her hand, and dragged her further into the forest, and farther away from Aemond's roars.

Their strained breaths and silent whimpers echoed through the quiet woods - they ran and ran, until their feet gave out on them, and the two reached a small cave.

"Come -" The man encouraged with a raspy voice, as his knees buckled below him.

For a while, there was silence. (Y/N) swallowed thickly, and whispered to her tired knight.

"We should stay here for a while. Maybe an hour, or... Shit, he won't leave either way, will he?"

"Aye, my Lady, not without you." His grey eyes came to clash with her (y/e/c) hues. A look of strange determination took a hold of his harsh features, contorting his brows in such a way, that they almost mended through themselves.

"From here we could go to Maidenpool. The forest covers enough a distance for such a feat."

"Maidenpool?" The girl's voice shook with fear, "It's nose to nose with King's Landing - going there is a death sentence!"

She closed her eyes tightly and kicked her leg into a nearby stone. "Shit, shit, shit - we were so close!"

"I shall challenge him to a fair fight." Cain mustered up to say. "The Kinslayer has no honor. But he still values the tradition."

The lady's eyes shot wide open, and her head shook to the side. "No, absolutely not. Aemond is well rested - you haven't slept in two days!"

"I must. What other choice do we have?" He repeated with a shaky voice, as he wobbled back on his feet again. His eyes trailed over the girl's small silhouette, and patted her back keenly.

"You stay here, my Lady. Should I arise victorious, I'll come back and find you."

With each word of their heated dispute, both companions raised their voices.

"No - not a chance. As your Lady, I'm commanding you; and as your friend, I'm begging you - let me come with."

"There should be no need for that." Aemond's deep voice rumbled out.

Cain wasted no time to place the girl behind his back, and unsheathe his sword with one swift movement.

"... How?" (Y/N) asked him in pure disdain and disbelief.

"Lady Alys sees many things. Before I left, she saw you in the fires of the kitchen, wasting away in this cave to rot."

The Crown Prince gave the girl a mellow smile, as he took a step ahead.

"At first, it made little sense to me. Especially since that withered whore sent me a raven, assuring me of your whereabouts in her inn." Hearing the calmness in his voice, the girl spat out a low curse.

But Aemond laughed at her display, and gently shook his head.

"The view you get atop a dragon, My Lady, is a very valuable thing. You can already guess my frustration when all I saw were pesky trees, but then... then I saw this cave."

Cain let out a low growl, and measured the One-Eyed Prince with his wild stare.

"None of that matters now." He spoke calmly, cutting him off, "We've to reach an agreement, Kinslayer. Pull your sword out now, and face trail before the Gods."

As his eyes trailed across Aemond's clean armour, the knight let out a strained snarl.

"Lest you be scared to, of course."

That seems to be the final drop for Aemond, who suddenly unsheathes his own Valyrian steel sword, and places it atop Cain's breastplate. "You'll regret ever taunting a dragon."

"We'll see."

Having said the last of their words, the men swayed on their feet, clashing steel with steel. When Aemond charged him, Cain moved barely fast enough to avoid the blade's sharp edge.

No sooner was Aemond's first slash blocked, that the knight made another - this time, the Kinslayer's armour proved to be pivital, as the sword rang though his breastplate, without making any damage to the warm body inside.

Hard and fast the cuts came, from low and high, from left and right, and each one Cain managed to block. The frustration in Aemond's eye etched itself into Vhagar's mighty roar, so barbaric and wild, that it sent a shiver of dread down (Y/N)'s spine.

Her knight caught one blow high on his armour, and a painted trout had lost its head. He countercut, and the Prince imposed his own shield, lunching in a fiery backslash.

Cain moved to his right, but the Kinslayer blocked him with a quick side-step, and drove him back the other way... towards the darkness of the cage, hoping to blind him and take his head.

The knight gave ground until he felt the shadows dancing on his back. A quick glance over his shoulder showed him what was way behind, and that recklessness almost cost him his head, when Aemond began his attacks anew.

One hit over his legs by (Y/N)'s dagger sent the Prince tumbling on his back, but he surged his way on his feet again with a rash counter-attack. He let out a wild roar, and his cold steel plowed into Ser Cain's flesh, where his shoulder joined his neck, stopping at the knight's breastbone.

The blood came rushing out in a hot, black gush - Ser Cain's knees folded slowly, as if for prayer, and when he opened up his mouth, only blood came out.

"NO!" The girl yelled out in a blood curling shriek, and she tumbled forward, trying to get a hold of the knight's bloodied cape.

With his last ounce of strenght, Ser Cain pushed the girl aside and slashed his sword up in the air - but Aemond spun like a turret, and blocked his mindless hack with a teasing smile on his face, discarding his sword to the side.

"I hope your God's a sweet one, Waters bastard." Aemond hummed through his hooded eyes, "For you're going to meet him shortly."

Wincing from the pain that was now licking at his opened flesh, Ser Cain spat over Aemond's boots, while gripping his shoulder to stop the endless rivers of blood, that were being eaten by the dirt.

Unamused, though still smirking, the One Eyed Prince raised his sword in the air, to deliver that one, final cut.

"STOP!" The Lady's voice rang through the tiny cave, grasping Aemond's attention.

Standing tall, she gripped Cain's sword in her own stilled hands, and brought it back to her own stomach.

"If you kill Cain now, I'll run this blade right through my insides!"

As if fallen under a spell, Aemond spat a low curse out, and rested his sword back on his hip. Wordless still, he pushed the knight down with the end of his Achile's heel, but raised his hands up in quiet surrender.

"I mean it!" She sobbed into the open space, her eyes never leaving Aemond's. "We'll see then what kind of support you'll receive from the Riverlords for your usurper kin!"

As if to accentuate her words, she pressed the sword deeper into her scorching heat, applying enough pressure to draw out a little cove of blood.

"Let him go. Let him live, and you can bring me back to Harrenhal, yeah?" The girl asked the Targaryen Prince tentatively.

"Hmm."

So very slowly, Aemond's feet carried him to (Y/N)'s direction. With one hand still raised in the air, he lowered the hilt of Cain's sword, pushing the tip away from her convulsing body.

His lonesome eye trailed low, enough to meet the poke of her clothes, and Viserys' second son let out a disappointed sigh.

His hand reached to cup the girl's jaw, and he gingerly turned it from side to side - inspecting it, just as he'd done when they first clashed wits in her prison cell.

"You've lost weight." He remarked through a furrowed brow.

Suddenly, his hand trailed lower still, all the way down to her neck, which he gripped gently, possessively.

"You are in no position to make demands. Do you think he won't come after you again if I let him live?"

"You all but severed his right hand - he will never fight again." The girl begged him with logic and fact, whilst swallowing thickly, as her heart hammered out of her chest.

"Let him live." Her hand ghosted above his tightening grip, her eyes frantically searching for his. "If you do so, I won't put up a fight ever again."

The final words of her vow caused a pleasant shiver run down Aemond's back. He falthered his grip on her throat, and moved both hands to cage her in between his body and the cold stones.

"Keep your... fucking hands... away from her." Cain hissed from his laying place, trying his hardest to get back up on his feet again.

Aemond's body tensed again, but, before he could move away from (Y/N) and do anything, the girl gripped his cheeks with both hands and brought his eye on her again.

"Stop it, Cain." She preleened through a shaky breath. "It's done."

Aemond's throat rumbled out in a purr of satisfaction, and he harshly grabbed the woman to bring her outside with him.

The monstrous Vhagar awaited them with open wings - and an open jaw -, which made the girl stop on her tracks and plant her feet into the grimy ground.

"I can't get on top of that-!" She uttered pleadingly, shooting Aemond down with a jaded look.

"You will watch your tongue, churl. That is Vhagar. And you will be riding her tonight." He pulled the woman near him and approached his dragon with four swift steps.

'The bond between a dragon and their rider it's a sacred thing.' Jacaerys' voice rang out in her ears.'The dragon always knows what the rider is feeling... Sometimes even better than the man himself.'

"You should be honoured." Aemond disrupted her trail of thought with an assertive remark, "Very few have been introduced to the Queen of the Dragons before."

His touch made her nauseous. Her head was swirling with a hundred unanswered questions, and the way Vhagar looked at them both only stirred her along more.

As Aemond reached for (Y/N)'s hand, the she-dragon let out a disapproving roar.

"Sagon gīda, Vhagar." He hushed gently, as if sharing a sensual secret with an old lover. "Rības issa udra. Umbagon nykeēdrosa."

His rough palm clutched the girl's one tightly, and he jerked her hand forward to touch the dragon's scales.

Restless, Vhagar tried to move away, rejecting the touch of the woman she didn't deem safe for Aemond.

'Dragons have a way of knowing how we all feel. If you wanted me dead now, Vermax wouldn't be so keen to please you.' Jacaerys laughed inside her ear.

But (Y/N) wanted Aemond dead. And of course, Vhagar knew that.

It came to no surprise that she was declining her touch. Still, Aemond persisted.

He moved behind the girl's small frame, and pressed his body against hers so harshly, that she tumbled forward, coming into full contact with Vhagar's scarred belly.

"Gīda, Vhagar." He whispered again, "Dohaeragon issa. Rȳbagon se rības."

Slowly, yet surely, the weary groans of the she-dragon ceased, as Aemond kept reassuring her.

When the Prince felt the bond satisfactory enough, he threw the woman over his shoulder, and began climbing to his dragon's saddle.

(Y/N) let out a disparaging heave, and she had to repeatedly remind herself just how close she was to a dragon's jaws, as to not hit Aemond over the head with all her strenght.

Once they reached the top, Aemond gently lowered her onto the saddle, making fast work on the belts around them.

His hand ghosted between her legs, in a feigned attempt to check the bindings, and the lady shot him a disapproving frown.

Whilst letting out a dangerous chuckle, Aemond shook his head and mounted himself behind her. "Are you ready?" He murmured into her left year.

Not even waiting for an answer, he rose his head and commanded clearly;

"Sōvegon!"

Thoughout the whole ride, the girl kept her eyes closed, despite Aemond's numerous attempts to make her open them.

They reached Harrenhall not even twenty minutes later, and the lady had to stiffle a bitter laugh as she dismounted the glorious beast.

If only her and Cain could have travelled faster; then nothing bad would have ever happened.

Cain...

She turned to glance at the ground, and closed her eyes for a quick prayer.

Though she believed not in the Old Gods or the New, her heart beckoned her to hope for his safety.

She let Aemond carry her back inside, not even paying attention to her surroundings.

He lost a lot of blood, her psyche echoed back to her, But there is a chance he made it out there.

The light click of doors closing grounded her back to her harsh reality. Peeling them from the ground, Lady Tully turned her eyes to the decour of the room, and took a step back once she realised this wasn't her old tower.

"You'll be sleeping with me from now on, My Lady." Aemond's velvety voice fell upon her deafened ears. "We won't have any other shameful accidents - not as long as you're under my protection."

The woman felt as if she could gag at any given moment. If Aemond thought, just for a second, that she'd bed him or become his whore, he'd be unpleasantly surprised.

She'd rather sleep on the floor. Or see herself rot back in the Dungeons.

Almost as if he could read her mind, Aemond let out a low hum.

He came before her, and scooted closer. His hand reached up, resting above her collarbones, and his breath hitched in his throat.

Timidly, his fingers came down to gently carress them, and the One Eyed Prince had to bite back a deep moan.

The contrast between his rough fingertips and her soft skin felt exquisite, and so, so right.

For a second, he thought about the kinds of sounds that might come from her haughty mouth as he slowly entered her. How her face would twist in pleasure, as he gradually, gently, taught her the art of the bedroom.

His lustful thoughts came to an end when he noticed how her face contorted in disgust and displeasure.

Familiar anger flared within him.

She was a whore. A lowly girl who, no doubt, spent every day spreading her legs to his bastard nephiew before, taking him into her sacred depths whenever he so wished to.

So why was she resisting him?

Did she not feel his touch as electrifying as hers was for him?

"Don't be scared. I will not bed you." He uttered near her swollen lips. "I take no pleasure in claiming what's not freely given."

An arrogant smirk tugged at the ends of his upturned lips.

He brought his thumb to brush over her lower lip, toying with it until he forced himself to let it go.

"But it's in a whore's nature to be begging for cock. And you will be pleading for mine before the Spring's end, I can promise you that."

Taglist:

@ohitsthemaster @bellameshipper

Translations:

"Sagon gīda, Vhagar." = Be calm, Vhagar;

"Rības issa udra. Umbagon nykeēdrosa." = Obey my words. Stay still;

"Gīda, Vhagar." = Calm, Vhagar;

"Dohaeragon issa. Rȳbagon se rības." = Serve me. Listen and obey;

"Sōvegon!" = Fly;

#aemond targaryen #aemond x reader #aemond fanfiction #aemond imagine #jacaerys x reader #jacaerys strong #house of the dragon #jacaerys valaryon #the harshest winters #dark aemond #Spotify

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confused-wanderer · 7 months

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Soap always goes too hard.

If theres not enough food, he cuts his portion size down to two bites, smiling while he claims to be stuffed and fine for the next five days. He’s the one who takes three lashings instead of one, a smile on his lips throughout.

But would he let it happen to anyone else?

No.

If there’s anyone on base who’s injured, he fusses over them and takes care of their wounds first, brushing off the fact that his wounds are still bleeding a shade too red. He’s the one who hollers at superiors if they pull too much shit on anyone else, yet for himself he allows them to take it a little farther.

Always a protector, never for himself. One day, Ghost and Price lounging in a dark office on base just cuz they can, simply enjoying each others company while they sort through the paperwork they’re supposed to get done. When suddenly there’s heavy footsteps, and voices start coming into focus.

“Soap-”

“Gaz you must be off yet heid! What’re ye babbling on about?”

And that gets their attention. Price’s eyebrows are raised, Ghost looks towards the door. The voices were heightened, angered and frustrated. This wasn’t like the two at all.

“Soap”, Gaz’s tone is exasperated and out of breath, as if he was trying to catch upto the other man, “mate if you think I’m being crazy-theory then just tell me the truth!”

“There’s nothing tae tell”, and that tone sets alarm bells off. Price and Ghost share a quick glance, both edging closer to the door. Johnnys voice was always warm. It was always open, inviting. This was cold. Harsh, like cutting down any further arguments and demanding silence.

“Really John? Mate.. why didn’t you get your wounds checked out? Again. They were sore, scarred and so many darker shades than purple then they should’ve been, and you can’t tell me they didn’t hurt! Why didn’t you say something?”

“Ah was fine Gaz it wasnae that bad-“

“YOU WERE BLEEDING. STILL. You ran around, you got everyone out the last mission and spent three days without any medical attention or food! What sane person does that?? How careless can you be-”

“Ah amn’t careless. I could take it-“

“No. No Johnny shut the fuck up. You were trying to see how much you could take. You always do this, you take pain too far, you take everything too far! If no one is allowed to be in pain then why are you?”

“KYLE. It’snae like that.”

There’s silence, Price and Ghost both waiting for the conversation to continue. The Captain’s breathing was shallow, cigar long forgotten- a sure sign he was worried. Ghost was no better either, hands clenching the papers so right they’d almost ripped while his blood boiled.

Silence settles, heavy footsteps retreating before they hear a sharp intake.

“.. do you like it?”

“Of course not Gaz! What do yah take me for?”

The image of Soap and Gaz staring each other down flashes in Ghost’s eyes, Soap looking at Gaz like he thought the other was insane, hands gesturing everywhere, Gaz looking concerned and frustrated at the Scot with his arms crossed and a frown.

There’s a silent conversation the two hold, Ghost is sure. A argument that Gaz wins apparently, the way Soap lets out a frustrated sigh. Price looks at Ghost, as if to ask if he knew what was going on. He simply shakes his head at the older man, holding his breath to hear if there was any noise outside.

There’s another set of footsteps following Soap’s, before they halt right in front of the office. There’s a soft exhale, and a shaky breath as Kyle steadies himself.

“.. oh my god...”

Ghost can almost imagine the scene: Gaz staring at Soap, eyes wide open in shock- or rather horror as he looks at the other man. He hears motion a little further down- Johnny presumably turning around at the sound.

“.. Soap… “, Gaz’s voice is so low now Ghost has to strain to hear it. He was pleading, with a note of something gut-wrenching he couldn’t identify.

“please.. please for the love of god don’t tell me you think you deserve it?”

They’d always said silence was worth a thousand words. And yet this time, it only said one. One word that was so loud, Johnny might as well have said it himself.

The look on Price’s face matched how Ghost felt in that moment of realisation, and his heart broke just a little bit more than he thought it could.

#lieutenant ghost #lieutenant simon ghost riley #lieutenant riley #simon riley #simon ghost riley #sergeant john #sergeant garrick gaz kyle #sergeant johnny mactavish #sergeant soap #johnny mctavish #johnny soap mactavish #Johnny Mactavish angst #angst!soap #team 141 #captain price #captain john price

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shinystealingbirb · 7 months

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I have SO many thoughts I don’t know where to begin: genshin 4.2 thoughts under the cut

Firstly the guy who said “wouldn’t it be funny if Skirk was even weirder than Childe” was on POINT that chick is just like him but more chaotic she’s just hiding it for the sake of being polite to an “equal”

Secondly Neuvillete, who despite his stolen power, is furious on behalf of furina for her purposeful ignorance and frankly horrid treatment in the face of Celestia.who grieves when focalors, who has so ardently worked in the shadows just to upset Celestias balance and uphold justice, completes her existences mission.

Wow that one really hurt to watch, especially as you can see Neuvillette acting more and more human in that scene, more so than oceanic focalors.

Third: WHAT THE FUCK. your telling me a recently created human was given a burden that prematurely ages most leaders and stressed them to the point their lifespans generally shorten… and she’s been doing it for five hundred years without telling anyone. She’s been mentally broken for half a millennia. She’s been crying and spouting insane shit for probably a hundred years before we meet her and… that final cutscene. Where she looks over the land and said “the prophecy.. is wrong?”

She believes still that her long life of suffering has been for naught. That the woman in the mirror intentionally lied to her, and five hundred years later sends a two sentance apology. She does not know the whole story.

I hope her life outside of Fontaine is filled with wonder. I hope she never again encounters us. I hope she either finds peace eventually or dies quickly, so she does not have to suffer anymore. A human brain is not made for five hundred years of agony, and she most certainly will never recover… but I hope she finds a measure of peace somewhere out there.

And then she’s given a vision, I haven’t see the story quest…but this is most certainly the prettiest revenge celestia has exacted to date

That brings up my next question: what will celestia do? Focalors has followed through nahidas bluff: destroy an aspect of Celestias control. How will celestia respond now that there are only six archons? Will the others feel it? Will the other archons begin to prepare for war? Venti, doubtlessly, knew the instant it happened. Zhongli, the old god of war, is probably talking to the adepti and forming a plan of defense. Who knows what Ei’s doing, and nahida os probably safe let’s be honest. Celestia does a lot of things but they’re not gonna fuck with Irminsul’s protector.

Now. The third descender. I thought it’s our sibling.Yes, yes, she-I play as Aether- is “of this world.” I don’t have any evidence to back it up… and I’m honestly pretty sure it’s wrong, given that we arrived much later than the gnosis were formed, but the Third Descender was most certainly like us. Possibly humanoid. Elemental resonance. Likely a Traveller who offended celestia, given their body was crushed and made into trophies to house massive amounts of power. So those trophies were made at the end of the dragons era, meaning the third descender was much older.

Last thing I swear: Paimon has a similar color scheme and star-effects as the whale. We sure she’s not a descender who’s lost her memory? Cause we’ve seen there’s multiple ways to block memory in Teyvat, and outsides can certainly be subject to them…

Kay bye

#genshin furina #furina #focalors #genshin focalors #genshin impact 4.2 #genshin neuvillette #neuvillette #skirk #genshin skirk #genshin archons #genshin paimon #Paimon

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prettygirlstothefloor · 2 months

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Cowboy Carter Review

sorry if i write a lot. i like to yap lol

Ameriican Requiem- i'm a huge sucker for a sitar so i was gripped in from the beginning. i grew up on country music (mainly 90s/early 2000s) and so when she showed up at the CMAs and performed with the chicks it was a childhood dream. but as a person who liked country music around the time 9/11 happened, it's only become even more racist since. the way they treated her that night even though she was one of, if not THE, best performer of the night was so upsetting to watch. even as the best artist on the planet, at the top of her game, she's always going to work a million times harder than any of her peers. i'm so proud of her being able to make a song like to this to put her thoughts out on the whole night that night.

Blackbiird- obviously everyone has heard this song before. i was unaware of the actual backstory to the song since i don't follow the beatles too much (i like george harrison but that's about it lol). i was not aware that the song the song was written for black women during the civil rights movement. i assumed the song was mainly written by john lennon who to my knowledge was kind of a grifter when it came to his activism. having this song come right after ameriican requiem is so poetic.

16 Carriages- shockingly i was able to avoid hearing this song in full until tonight. i tend to only do one single per release and so texas hold em was the one. this song is so heartbreaking because i think about all the kids in the entertainment industry who can probably relate to this song all too well

Protector- these songs she makes for her kids... i'm gonna need her to stop. not because they're bad but i straight up can't listen to blue and probably this song because i want a mom like this 😭

My Rose- i hate that this is an interlude. it's so beautiful and not to be dramatic should've been 10 hours long

Smoke Hour • Willie Nelson- idk what to say about this one lol

Texas Hold 'Em- i love this song. the only problem i have with it is it sounds too clean. like the production sounds too clean. maybe it sounds better on the radio where the quality is lower than streaming but its definitely a song that needs to be played not so isolated.

Bodyguard- there's something in this song. she channeled carole king for this on or something. it's so good instantly a top 20 if not top 10 song of hers through her whole discography.

Dolly P- once again idk what to say about this one its too short to say anything

Jolene- i mean i think the same way about her version as i do about dolly's version. why are we getting mad at these women when we should be getting mad at the men?? take away that beyonce is beyonce for a second. if she was a normal lady and this girl was unaware her man was taken, isn't that more on him than anyone? he's letting it happen.

Daughter- her voice in this song is insanity. the control she has is unmatched truly.

Spaghettii- the beat omgggg. i know this would hit so hard in a mashup with "my house" i'm obsessed.

Alliigator Tears- just from hearing snippets of the country music that's on the radio nowadays, i think this might be one of the few songs from this album that they will eat up. i'm not saying that as a diss at all. i love this song alot especially after a second listen.

Smoke Hour II- i guess i can add on here a random tid bit. i made a country playlist in preperation for the album to come out. i made it on valentine's day. tell me why i named it KNTRY. i didn't even know the "radio station" she has on the album was called that lol.

Just for Fun- i don't listen to lana del rey anymore. i had a small time during last year where i did but then she got real messy again and signed that letter thanking joe biden. that being said this song sounds identical to "norman fucking rockwell". which is a compliment because both are good songs. keep jack antonoff away from beyonce though. that's the good thing about beyonce is she doesn't sound like everyone else which he makes everyone do (yes i am a fan of him but i'm critical of his production lol)

II Most Wanted- i'm sorry i've never been a fan of miley cyrus (except for the song she did for black mirror and that one EP she put out). i want to like this song because i like aspects of the song but it being a miley cyrus song with a beyonce feature is not want i want.

Levii's Jeans- this is also a collab i'm not a fan of. i actually enjoy post malone but i would've liked to see them in a more upbeat song.

Flamenco- idk how to take this song. it's stunning as usual. my thoughts on the lyrics though is she's kinda talking to fans maybe like the OG like destiny's child fans who have started to leave because she's starting to experiment more with her sound and they miss her old sound. i would love to know her take on this song in particular. because i know so many artists who decide to change their sound throughout each release are terrified of losing fans because they're so stuck on a certain sound.

The Linda Martell Show- another one i can't say much on since it's an interlude

Ya Ya- now.... remember what i said about bodyguard??? easily top 10. idk where on my ranking but it's there. the interpolation of "these boots were made for walking" and "good vibrations". there's something about that old soul rock sound that gets me every single time. i know that it doesn't sound anything alike but "freedom" has that same vibe, where it takes alot from old 60s blues soul rock. this is gonna hit so good on tour!

Oh Louisiana- i will say i really like this interlude. second favorite out of the ones with actual music

Desert Eagle- another song she chose to make extremely short when it should've been hours long... come on B

Riiverdance- its a fun and cute song. i think the beat is good but i think i like it more on my first listen.

II Hands II Heaven- i'm hoping this will finally click for me. im seeing everyone really love this song but idk whats not clicking for me. i'll definitely keep listening to it though maybe someday.

Tyrant- someone said this is the thique of cowboy carter and yeah i can definitely hear it. it's a sexy song and it's a fun song. definitely like it alot more after a second listen

Sweet • Honey • Buckiin'- her sampling "i fall to pieces" in this song is so special to me. i do want someone to take this "honey" and add it to the end of pure/honey though i wonder if it would sound any good. i think sweet and buckiin are the best songs out of the three of these.

Amen- i love how this really rounds out the album, calling back to the first song. it feels and is a very emotional song. don't know if i'll go back to it only because i think it could make me cry lol

overall, i think it's a solid album. if we're comparing the acts, which idk how you can because they're two distinctly different sounds, i would probably still go with renaissance but there's still so many solid songs on this album that are now some of my top faves. usually i rate out of 10 but it feels too low tbh, so i'm rating it out of 100. it will definitely grow on me just like renaissance did. 89/100.

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ohbo-ohno · 8 months

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First of all I LOVE a good royalty AU and this Conqueror!ghost content has me foaming at the mouth. Particularly the fact the princess watches ghost turn soap to his side, turning her powerful knight and protector into his loyal dog. The whole time her knowing that he’s going to turn his focus to her next!

I feel like ghost did this strategically, partially because soap would be a physical theat if he wasn’t turned first, but also that he would be easier to turn. Ghost recognizing the years of training and dedication Soap gave to the knighthood, but noting that he desperately craved to be loved and cared for. Ghost was then able to use this crack in Soap’s armor to gain his love and loyalty.

Ghost would also know that from a young age a Princess is educated and trained in the ways of politics. Now whether this training was to be a pon in her parents game or to prepare her to be a powerful queen one day, ghost can’t be sure. However he know that she might be more away of his mind games and manipulation. So he has to take a different approach with her, one that begins with killing her parents, stealing her precious maidenhood and then making her watch as the one person that she could always count on to protect her is turned against her. Leaving her with only her pride and stubbornness as a last line of defense.

Again, I am obsessed

-🎃

i've been thinking in my head that princess' parents are old and veryyy overconfident, and it's actually relatively easy for ghost to come in and take over. they've gotten complacent and no matter how stressed their daughter is, they don't listen to her concerns and they're dead because of it. they were 100% gonna marry her off to the highest bidder

the thing with johnny in this fic is that he's like... never once felt affection from anyone besides the princess. her parents very much so hate him, he doesn't exactly get coddled in training, and he's got no parents/family of his own to take care of him :( that's part of the reason he loves and protects the princess as much as he does - she's like the only person ever who's actually shown him kindness. works his ass off to become her personal guard, has never been so happy as he is when they let him

and then here comes ghost, who should (logically) kill johnny in horrible and probably very public ways. but he... doesn't. no matter how much johnny shouts and screams and snaps, he never lays a violent hand on him.

and ghost trains johnny. takes him out of the barracks and gives him a room - one of his own - right next to his and the princess'. he lets johnny eat right after him instead of throwing him whatever scraps are left, and sometimes johnny still gets to touch the princess. only when he's been good all day, but... it's not very hard to be good for ghost. he just has to listen to his commands, and then he gets to hug his princess again. it's not the worst life, right? it's hard to give into certain touches in public, but none of ghost's people seem to think it's weird, so eventually johnny starts seeing it as normal too. it's only really difficult when things get sexual, and even then ghost (almost) always makes sure johnny gets off, and sometimes he even lets johnny fuck the princess

princess of course feels like she's going insane watching johnny - her johnny! - actually give in to this horrible man. if strong and unbending johnny is giving into him, what hope does she have?

#🎃 anon #asks and answers #conqueror ghost au #bo writes

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absurdthirst · 1 year

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The Bodyguard: My Protector {Dave York x F!Popstar!Reader}

Rating: Explict

Word Count: 18.5K

Warnings: Enemies to lovers? Teasing, angst, creepy photographers, controlling behavior, oral sex (female receiving), vaginal sex, rough sex, unprotected sex, obsessed fans, stalking, violence, mentions of blood/blood broken bones, death, mentions of marking

Comment: As a pop star, you are being kept in the dark about the threats that surround you. Your security being led by Dave York, one of the best in the business. Driving you crazy as he restricts your freedom and still makes you burn for him.

Co-written with @pedropascalsx

**Follow @absurdthirst-writes and turn on notifications to stay up to date on all new fics.

|| MasterList || Dave York MasterList ||

A/N: The mood board below is not meant to indicate the race or ethnicity of the reader. Mood board by @pedropascalsx

Click Keep Reading only if you have read the Rating and Warnings and understand the warnings may not be complete to avoid listing spoilers. As AO3 says 'creator chooses not to use warnings'. You also agree that you're the right age to be consuming anything here.

‘You speak to me. Through every word you sing. ‘Take my heart and cherish it forever, I’ve never known true love until you’. I know you wrote that for me. Baby, you know I would never do anything to hurt you. You are my world, my soul. I don’t understand why you didn’t see me last time, maybe your people were rushing you by too quickly? I screamed your name and told you it was me, but you just need to tell your people to let me in backstage. I can just wait for you there.’

“Jesus.” Dave slaps the copy of the rambling, startlingly concerning, letter down and sighs as he leans forward and reaches for the scotch bottle that he had hoped he wouldn’t need. “This 'Martin' sound fucking insane.” He snorts to himself. Resnick, his right hand man, was on his way downtown with the original copy, to take it to a lab that was willing to run an analysis on it. Dave York didn’t gain a reputation as one of the best bodyguards in the business by cutting corners or being sloppy. Now he’s protecting, you - one of the newest and hottest performers - and his gut feeling is that this person is fucking dangerous.

He’s doing it again, you think to yourself as you roll your eyes. The rest of the team are being let in on some secret he has clearly made them agree to keep from you. His eyes dart towards you a few times before he passes something to Resnick, and you have to fight the urge to stomp your feet, charge over there and find out what it is. He’s keeping something big from you and you’re not going to stand for it much longer.

“You keep your fucking eyes out.” His tone brokers zero room for error. “No one without a picture ID pass gets by you.” That had been one of the first new rules that he had implemented on your tour. There were pictures on every badge around everyone’s neck or they don’t get near you. He’s seen too much to risk it. “And you keep your fuckin’ mouths shut around her.” His job is to worry, your job is to get up on the stage and perform.

‘Asshole.’ You mouthed as you watched him order everyone around. Your father had insisted on hiring him about a year ago after an incident involving a ‘fan’ climbing over your gate and somehow going undetected. Thankfully you were out of town visiting family, but seeing the security footage of him sleeping in your bed made you physically sick. After that day your father took control and hired Dave York. Signing every contract Dave produced without even discussing how much and how impacted your freedom would end up being.

You hated him. He was rude, demanding, controlling and the thing that made everything 100x worse? He was the most attractive man you’ve ever seen. The competence and effortless way he captivated a whole room was mesmerising to watch.

You found yourself riling him up on purpose on a few occasions just so you could secretly watch the way the material of his shirt would get all taunt across his strong shoulders and back. But most of all you wanted to hear the way his voice got raspier and raspier as he got angrier. The sound of his voice going straight to your core as dampening your panties as he cursed out your bratty behaviour.

Dave looks around the room, his eyes meeting every one of his team and he finally nods. “Okay.” He grunts, motioning them to leave. “Get the fuck out of here and do your jobs.” Every single man on his team had been carefully vetted by him and he only took the best. Men who wouldn’t hesitate to kill if necessary and die when warranted. Some scoffed at the idea of dying for some pop star princess, and they had quickly gotten their pink slip.

“How am I getting to my photoshoot this afternoon?” you asked your PR manager who was furiously tapping on her phone screen, “I’m happy to drive myself.”

Dave walks up to you and the vapid woman who runs your PR. He swears that woman would sell your fucking soul for a good headline. He hears the end of your comment about driving yourself and chuckles. “Funny, princess.” He tells you dryly. “You’re not driving yourself anywhere. I’m taking you.” He doesn’t know what it is exactly, but you aren’t going anywhere without him.

You turn to face him and scoff, “No. You are not. I am fully capable of driving myself and I am not a princess.” The urge to storm away grows stronger but the look on his face tells you that he wouldn’t let you if you tried.

“Oh so US Magazine didn’t call you ‘this summer’s bonafide pop Princess’?” Dave taunts, rolling his eyes at how fucking immature you can be at times. He’s never had a grown ass woman so willing to fight him on *everything*. “You are capable of driving yourself, doesn’t mean you’re going to.”

“Didn’t realize you were such an avid reader of trashy magazines, Dave, you should have said! I would have signed a copy especially for you.” You counter back to his mocking. “I don’t need you to drive me, so I will be driving myself.”

Dave’s eyes narrow and he shakes his head. “Not today, princess.” He growls, his voice low enough to have most cautious men stepping back, but you aren’t a man and you aren’t cautious.

“You’ll have to take me kicking and screaming,” you grit out from behind your teeth. Your lack of freedom since Dave's takeover has started to really piss you off. If it isn’t him that’s always a stone's throw away it’s one of his goons and you’re tired of being treated like you're incapable of looking after yourself.

“I’m a grown woman, if you haven’t noticed. I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Obviously you do.” Dave snorts, stepping closer to you and sending you a withering glare that would make most men cower. “Otherwise daddy wouldn’t have hired me.” It’s better that you hated him than started playing fast and loose with your safety. As much as he wants to drag you over his knee and spank your ass until you can’t sit down, he cares about your well-being. “Just…let me drive you. It’s my job.” He’s noticed you’re all woman, but he can’t think about that now.

“Fine,” you say through gritted teeth, “But I have to make a few stops on the way.” You hate the way your stomach twists at the way he’s looking at you. If you weren’t 100% convinced it was hatred you might have considered it was a hunger burning in those dark eyes. “And by the way my Daddy doesn’t tell me what to do.”

“No?” He quirks a brow up and gives a low chuckle, knowing your father controls everything to do with your life, including your career. “Too bad, although what you really need, I doubt your daddy would be up for giving you. He's too…soft to do it.”

You raise a brow to match the expression splashed across his face and take a small step forward until you’re toe to toe and ask him, “And what is it that I really need, Mr York?”

“A firm hand.” Dave smirks. “Applied liberally and quickly to the bottom of your spoiled ass.” He could get fired for talking to you this way, but you won’t. Your father wouldn’t allow it because he knows that Dave is needed, even if he keeps you in the dark on why.

“I’ll make sure to tell my next hook-up to pay special attention to that area just for you,” you reply with a sugary sweet smile. “We have to leave in an hour.”

Dave huffs, watching you turn and flounce off, trying to pretend that you didn’t get under his skin. You sleep with such pretty boys. None of them are even remotely capable of being able to protect you beyond making sure you don’t drop your purse. He huffs to himself, turning around and striding out towards the garage. He needs to make sure your SUV is ready for your little errands.

With less than an hour to get ready and get out of the door you bounced off to your bedroom and locked the door behind you. Resisting the urge to take care of the pulsing in your little bundle of nerves that had been steadily growing since he felt the need to involve himself in your discussion.

Instead you had a very quick shower, throwing on a quick outfit that was cheap and worn enough to not worry about it getting ruined in hair and make up and grabbed your purse before making your way back downstairs and towards the front door.

Dave is waiting for you when you come downstairs, on his phone and scrolling through the different emails that he has already sent to the lab about the letters. Another letter fired off to your publicity to screen all your mail and any more from that person should be brought to his attention immediately. Your popularity is growing and with it, the number of security threats.

“Let’s go,” you simply murmur at him as you push past the door and make your way towards the waiting car.

You slide into the passenger seat and immediately go to plug your phone into the aux cord.

Dave shakes his head, huffing under his breath. No matter how many fucking times he tells you, you refuse to sit in the back unless you are arriving at an event.

“Any requests?” you ask with a grin, knowing full well that he’s pissed at you for sitting in the front. Also remember I wanted to stop off somewhere first, I have a craving for a milkshake.”

“Yeah…” Dave shuts his door and grabs his seatbelt. “Move to the back and buckle your fucking seatbelt.” He knows you won’t, so he is already starting the engine.

“Temper temper, Mr. York,” you reply as you switch on a random playlist. You look at the window and watch as your house gets smaller and smaller as he makes his way towards the studio. “I have no idea what magazine this is for.” You admit and you start pulling at your sleeve.

“They didn’t tell you?” He asks, not even taking his eyes off the road. “Figures. Do you want Baskin Robbins or Cold Stone?” He asks, acknowledging your desire for a milkshake. “Or McDonalds?” He doesn’t tell anyone about your craving for the fast food milkshake even if he knows Arby’s is better.

“Nope. I just get told where to go and when to be there.” You reply with a shrug, “Anywhere closest with a drive-thru, please. Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” He doesn’t turn towards you, just scanning the road for the closest restaurant that has milkshakes before he finds one about a quarter of the mile up the road.

“Weren’t you like a Marine or something? Why would you want to waste your time doing this?”

“Would you rather I just killed people?” He asks, tossing you a glance as he pulls into the parking lot to circle around and enter the drive through. “It’s not wasting time protecting someone. Just traded my country for a person and use the skills they taught me.” He smirks. “Plus the pay is better.”

“Ohh please,” you scoff back, “You hate this job. You hate me. You’re keeping god knows what from me!”

“I don’t hate the job, or you.” Dave pulls the car up to the window and turns towards you expectantly. “Chocolate or strawberry?” He demands, wanting to know what flavor you are craving.

You scoff again, “Sure, you don’t. Strawberry.”

Dave turns back towards the window. Once the person behind the speaker finishes their greeting, Dave orders your strawberry milkshake. Pulling forward when directed and instead of using the credit card he’s supposed to use for any purchases for you, he slips his own to the bored teenager at the payment window. It’s something he’s done when you just want a bit of junk, knowing your dad would object to you eating like crap when you are on tour. He doesn’t see Dave’s personal credit card bill and you’ve never noticed, so it’s his little secret.

“Thank you,” you say as he passes you your drink and you immediately take a large sip. The moan that leaves your lips is sinful as you indulge yourself in the sweet treat.

“You’re welcome, princess.” He pulls off from the window and moves to the exit. “What other errands do you need to run?” He demands, still unsure why you think he hates his job. He’s gruff, doesn’t take shit, but he’s never taken anything out on you. He’s just….rigid in his methods.

“You want a sip?” you offer, slightly annoyed he never orders anything for himself. You move the cup in front of his mouth and place the straw on his lips. A smile curling up on yours as await his reaction. “No other errands today. Just this goddamn photoshoot.”

Instead of pushing it away, Dave wraps his lips around the straw and sucks. Groaning at the sweet taste of the strawberry milkshake bursting on his tongue, he takes another gulp before leaning his head back. “Photo shoot, got it.”

“Taste good?” You ask as your thighs clench together at the way his tongue pokes out to wet his lips. “Yeah! Get ready to sit around and be bored out of your mind for three hours.”

“Tastes good.” Dave can’t say that he particularly cares for the photo shoots, a lot of the shit is just pretentious bullshit to him, but he does like seeing you in the little outfits. “I have plenty of emails to go through to keep me busy.” He tells you as he starts to drive towards the studio where the shoot is taking place.

“Mhmm,” you hum back at his tone. Clearly ignoring your attempts to flirt or at least make the atmosphere a little less… boring. “Sounds like you've got it all figured out.”

You spend the rest of the journey in silence, occasionally sipping on your milkshake and tapping on your thigh. The studio is in a surprisingly residential part of LA, tucked away somewhere quiet and away from the flashes from the herds of paparazzi that swarm the busier parts of the city.

He orders you to wait and you roll your eyes as he rounds the car to open the door. He ushers you into the studio and immediately starts asking a million questions about how can or can’t access the studio and ensuring that no one without a keycard or pass will be able to get in.

You offer the receptionist a small smile and mouth ‘sorry’ as he continues to whittle off all of his demands. Never before had someone been so thorough… Even he seems to be a little over the top today, you think to yourself as you stand quietly next to him.

Dave is moderately satisfied when his questions have been answered but he’s not thrilled at the security for this place. Instead of working on those emails like he had claimed, his head is going to be on a swivel. Finally, he turns back towards you and motions you over. “We’re ready.”

“Hair and makeup?” you ask the receptionist and she dutifully points you in the direction. You glance over and Dave and he nods his head as you make your way down the hall. “I wonder what the hell I'll be wearing in this one.” You say with a smirk.

“Maybe they will actually put some damn clothes on you.” He grunts, appalled at how little clothes they wanted you to perform in. You were a fucking singer, not a stripper.

“Doubtful,” you say with a shrug as you make your way to the makeup chair. A hoard of people immediately emerging towards you with thousands of dollars worth of makeup that’ll make you look almost unrecognizable when they’re done. “Enjoy your emails.” You shoot back at him over your shoulder.

He huffs, slowly following you but keeping his eyes out for any potential issues. You don’t seem happy with this photo shoot, and if he needs to, he will tell them that you are leaving. You are a pain in his ass, but you deserve consideration. It should have been your choice to be here to begin with.

The interview is brief, she sits and asks the questions whilst you’re poked and prodded in hair and make up. Dave had set a few more ground rules than usual and banned them from asking ANY questions about your personal life and the interviewer is clearly pissed at the lack of artistic freedom she’s left to work with and after about twenty minutes of generic questions she pretty much gives up and announces that the majority of the interview will be focusing on the new album rather than gossip.

You roll your eyes as you're presented with your first outfit of the shoot, it shows more than you’re comfortable with but you don’t have the energy to argue. So you pull on the almost see through body con and make your way into the studio.

The photographer wastes no time walking up to you and grabbing at your waist, pulling you in for an uncomfortable hug.

Dave always tries to hang around the edges of the photo shoot. Keeping a cup of ridiculously expensive - yet somehow horrible tasting - coffee in his hands in order to keep from looking like a hulking thug. He is there to be intimidating, yes, but it does no good to make people try to skitter away and hide. He frowns when the photographer’s fingers dig into your waist and he takes a step forward. His job is to protect you from unwanted threats and fans, but he has no problem telling a self important prick to get his fucking hands off you. “Okay.” He snaps. “Take the damn pictures. We don’t have all day.”

You spend the next ten minutes being contorted and molded into the most uncomfortable positions known to man. Your eyes seek Dave as the photographer makes a comment that makes you shudder and your stomach twist, before sending you off for your second outfit change.

“Jesus,” you murmur as you look at the two piece swimsuit that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. It was supposed to be ironic, the set decorated like it was the middle of winter and you’re parading around in summer gear.

You squeeze your eyes shut and take a deep breath before putting on the swimsuit and covering it with a robe and making your way back out to the studio.

Desperate to keep away from his judging glare you kept Dave out of your line of sight and dropped the robe with a grimace and exhale that screamed, ‘I don’t want to do this.’ The material had barely hit the floor before the creepy photographer was making a beeline straight over to you.

Dropping the coffee into the trash, Dave can see how uncomfortable you are. His face twisting into a deeper scowl as he charges forward and reaches you right as the twerp reaches you and grips the waistband of your outfit to yank the hips holes higher to show off more of you and damn near exposes your fucking cunt. “You’re done.” He spits, grabbing the man’s hand and twisting it around so that the fucker is helpless to move any way but where Dave directs him - which is away from you. “This is fucking done.” He growls again, ignoring the shouts and curses from the photographer and the people rushing over. “Go get dressed, princess.”

You nod your head at Dave and almost run back to the dressing room, unable to hide from the sound of Dave and the photographer yelling at each other.

You pull off the swimsuit and quickly dress back into your casual clothes before stepping out the door and calling Dave’s name. You know you’re about to be in for a world of hurt when your PR team and your parents hear that you didn’t complete the shoot, but you push down those worries and start making your way to the exit.

“- I don’t give a rat’s ass who the fuck you think you are.” Dave shouts, not backing down from the prima Donna in front of him. “You don’t fucking touch her. The shit you were making her do was boarderline sexual harassment and you aren’t going to do shit about it. Otherwise the local PD might get a tip about the fucking pound of coke you gave in here.”

You stand by the desk in reception waiting for him to come to you. “Dave,” you yell back towards the studio before deciding to go wait by the car. The air feels thick and you’re not ready for the fall out that’s to come.

The photographer jerks back and Dave smirks a very pleased smile. One that says he’s gotten his point across. “Use what you’ve got, or fuck off. And don’t worry, I’ll tell her people myself.” He turns around and strides off, rushing towards the door to find you.

The sound of the studio door slamming makes you jump, you turn around to see Dave making his way over to you. “I’m so fucked,” you say as you pull on the door handle seconds after he unlocks it with his key fob, “My dad is going to be so pissed. He worked for months to get me a photoshoot with him.”

“He is a fucking coked up pervert.” Dave snarls, snatching the door from your hands and watching as you climb into the seat. “I’ll take the heat, don’t worry, princess.”

“Good luck with that,” you sigh, “Thank you though. I’ve learned to accept that kind of behavior and it was nice to have someone on my side for a change.”

"No one will touch you like that while I'm working to protect you." Dave promises darkly. "Fucker is lucky I didn't break his arm."

"Yeah?" you ask with a slight smirk, "You'd really protect me, huh?"

Dave rolls his eyes and turns to look at you when he goes to shut the door. "It's what I'm paid to do, princess." He reminds you, shutting the door and walking around the SUV.

You watch him as he rounds the car, before opening the door. "Is it too late to run another errand? I'm sure there's some dry cleaning we can pick up somewhere before dealing with this."

He snorts and tosses you a smug smirk. "Someone's not ready to face daddy?" He asks mockingly before he starts the car. He doesn't answer you, but he pulls out of the parking lot and turns the opposite way from your house.

"Nope," you say putting extra emphasis behind the 'P' "You wanna go eat?"

Dave chuckles and looks back at the road after glancing at you. "It won't be five stars, Princess, but l'll take you to eat the best fucking food you've ever had in your life.”

"Sounds good." You say with a smile before looking over at him, he seems the most relaxed he has all day and you wonder if it's because you're not at his throat for once.

It's not an incredibly far drive, but Dave pulls off the main boulevard and enters a gated community, slowing at the wrought iron fencing and pressing a button on the little pad inside the SUV to allow the gate to swing open silently. Nodding to the man in the guard shack as he drives through and down the street.

You raise an eyebrow as you take in the rows and rows of houses with meticulously kept lawns, "Where are you taking me, Mr. York?"

"Oh it's Mister York now." He snorts. "Told you, I'm taking you to have the best damn food you've ever had in your life." He reminds you. "At my house."

"Something tells me you like being called things that assert your authority." you giggle, "Do you cook? Or do you have a secret wife you've never mentioned?"

He rolls his eyes again and drums his fingers on the steering wheel, reconsidering this entire thing. It was stupid to bring you to his house. "You think I have a wife?"

"I don't know," you say with a shrug, " know three things about you. Your name, your job and I learned today that you like strawberry milkshakes."

Dave grunts and pulls up to another gated driveway and presses the next button on the panel. "Now you know where I live."

You hum in content. His house is beautiful, the lawn is meticulous and clearly he takes pride in every aspect of maintaining his home. "It's a beautiful house.”

"It's secure." Despite the fact that Dave took pride in maintaining the type of home he had always dreamed of when he was a boy, the security was the most important thing. It takes some doing to get to him. The car pulls up into the garage and he cuts the engine after closing the door behind it. "Let's go inside."

You climb out of his car and follow him into his house. It's just as meticulous inside and as it is outside. "You have a beautiful home Dave. What's for lunch?"

"French onion soup and grilled cheese sandwiches." It doesn't sound fancy but he learned it from the girl he had been sleeping with when he was in France and he would never eat it a different way. The soup was already made, he had done that last night and it would be quick and easy to reheat it and make the sandwiches.

"That sounds incredible," you say as you take a seat, "Never pegged you as a cook." You look around the room and note that lack of personal touches, no photos, nothing to indicate a wife or kids. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"When would I have time for a girlfriend?" He asks, striding over to the fridge to start pulling out the necessary ingredients. "I'm with you, and when I'm not with you, I'm reading reports that says I need to spend more time with you"

You hum in response, "Does that bother you?" You ask as he hands you a glass of water. "You must get... frustrated."

"I get frustrated when you are mouthy and obstinate. Not caring about your own safety." Dave grunts, removing his jacket and showcasing the double pistols under each arm from the holsters he wears.

"Fuck," you say out loud. "Is that really necessary?" You try to ignore the way your clit begs for some attention at the sight of his broad shoulders stretching the material of his shirt.

"What? You want perverts grabbing you and trying to kiss you?" He asks, lifting a brow. He knows you don't know about the stalker so he keeps it generalized. "Rooting through your trash can for your used tampons?"

"I don't think anyone's rooting through my garbage." you say with a shocked giggle. "I appreciate that you care... about the job that is.”

"That's because I had them change the procedures." It's shocking how much was being kept from you, but that was his job as well.

"What procedures?" You ask before taking a sip of water. And taking another glance around the room.

Dave sighs slightly. "All your...intimate trash is either taken off property and disposed of, or incinerated. Personnel are monitored to make sure that they aren't taking items and selling them."

"Oh." You take another small sip of your water, your throat feeling extremely dry all of a sudden and then you raise an eyebrow, "What else are you keeping from me?"

"Do you really want to know all the details of your tour, princess?" He asks sarcastically as he spoons soup into bowls and shakes his head. "No, you don't." He answers for you.

"No wonder my Dad wanted to hire you," you murmur under your breath, "Two peas in a goddamn pod." You're pissed but you can't ignore the way your stomach growls at the smell of the soup, you can't remember the last time you had a meal that wasn't green and crunchy.

"I'm more dangerous than your father." Dave tells you simply as he slices a loaf of sourdough so he can make the sandwiches.

You scoff loudly and roll your eyes at him, "Right."

"Think what you want, princess." He huffs. "I doubt your father has a body count."

"A body count?" You ask with a confused look in your eyes, "What's yours?"

Dave turns around and levels a bland look at you. "I've killed more men than you'd want to know, princess."

"When you were in the military?" You ask. Surprising yourself at how calm you are after his shocking admission.

"Before I started protecting wealthy celebrities." He chuckles. "Pays better."

"Mhmm," you hum back, "Can't imagine protecting 'spoiled princesses' gives you the same thrill though." Your fingertip coats around the rim of your water glass as you watch him finish up the grilled cheese sandwiches. "Tell me something else about you."

Dave snorts and rolls his eyes. "Less people shooting at me." He offers dryly. "Well, you know I've killed people, I cook, what else do you want to know?" He tilts his head curiously.

You giggle at him. The serious expression paired with the adorable head tilt makes your insides heat up, "I don't know. What do you like to do when you're not working?"

"I don't have much free time." He's with you nearly twenty hours out of the day and only had a few days off a month. "A lot of the time is spent in bed."

"Oh," you mumble. You know you're pushing it, and you know he's likely to completely ignore your question or scold you for being so invasive but the question slips out before you have time to stop it, "Not just sleeping I suppose?"

Dave snorts and shakes his head. "When would I have time to find someone to fuck, princess? I can't just pick someone out like you can." He growls, unhappy with the lackluster choices in men you've paraded through your bedroom. Discreetly, of course, so daddy wouldn't find out.

Your laugh loudly at that, "Like it would take much. I can't imagine you're short of offers," you hate the twang of jealousy that you feel at the thought of anyone throwing themselves at him. "You probably walk into a bar and before you can sit there are multiple women begging you to take them home.”

"I don't go to bars." Dave knows what you're trying to ask, but he just keeps on avoiding telling you what you want to know. Enjoying the increasing look of frustration on your lips.

"Okay, so you use hook up apps?" You ask. Intent on not letting this go.

"Hell no," Dave snorts, shaking his head. "I don't fucking use those things, they invite trouble."

"Bullshit," you snort, "You're telling me you're not inviting a new lucky lady into your bed every night?"

"Why?" Dave smirks at you in the most condescending way possible. "Is the princess jealous?" He laughs, shaking his head.

"Curious. Not jealous," you say ignoring the heat rising in your cheeks. "So, you're what celibate?"

"Not celibate." Dave turns back to his sandwiches and flips them over in the pan. "I do alright when I want to.

"Anyone I know?" You ask, unable to hide the jealousy in your voice.

"Miranda makes it easy enough to get together when we need to release a little steam." Dave shrugs and doesn't even look over at you. He knows your face will be a sight but he wants to see what you say about him fucking your tour assistant. She was a beautiful woman and knew that it was just sex, so it worked.

You're pretty sure he saw the exact moment your heart stopped. "Miranda?" you croak out. "Wow. I guess you do make an attractive couple.”

"Couple." Dave scoffs. "No, we aren't a couple. We just fuck. Scratch each other's itches."

"Why her?"

"Convenience." Dave looks over at you and notes how you look like you're going to cry. "She wanted to cum and so did I, so it works when we want it to."

"So what? If someone wants to cum you'll provide that service as well? Or is it just my assistants that you feel the need to fuck?" Jealousy drips from every word spilling from your mouth.

"Did I hit a nerve?" Dave asks mockingly. "Someone's feeling neglected?" He knows you have a weird attraction to him despite hating his guts.

"Nope," you spit back completely unconvincingly, "Just interesting to find out what I'm paying you both to do."

Dave chuckles. "We fuck off the clock, princess. I don't steal time from you." It's laughable since he's not an hourly employee.

"Whatever," you mumble with a shrug. Annoyed with yourself for being so affected by this. He's made it clear that he doesn't have any desire to fuck you and you chide yourself for letting it bother you so much.

Dave snorts and just hums as he pulls the sandwiches off the heat and starts to plate them up. The last thing to do is melt the cheese on the soup and it will be done.

You reach into your bag and pull out your phone, ignoring the list of missed calls from your Dad and your PR team. You scroll through your unread messages and your fingers linger over an unopened text chain from a guy who you were briefly seeing, Chad, and you consider asking him if he's free to hook up later than afternoon.

Needing to blow off some steam and try to rid yourself of the jealousy that has made itself home in the pit of your stomach. You're pulled out of your thoughts by Dave calling your name.

"Come eat." Dave slides the plate and bowl in front of the stool at the island.

"Smells good," you say before digging in. "Oh wow," you say with a moan after taking a large bite, "This is phenomenal."

Dave smirks slightly and stands across from you. "Of course it is." He murmurs, even though your praise makes his heart quicken.

"Holy fuck," you moan as you taste the soup. You're so used to eating the same thing pretty much everyday that you have to internally remind yourself to slow down. "This might be the most delicious thing I've ever had in my mouth."

Dave smirks and doesn't say what he is thinking. He can offer you something better, but he just hums and nods as he dips his sandwich in his soup.

You stir your soup a few times before looking up at him. "Why not me?" you ask before dropping your spoon, "Why don't you want to fuck me?"

That makes him pause for a moment, staring at you and waiting for you to laugh. When you don't, he tilts his head and instead of answering you, he asks his own question. "Why would you want me to fuck you? I'm an asshole."

"Wasn't it you who recently said that all the guys I fuck are assholes?" you reply with a smirk. "You don't find me attractive?"

Dave grunts, knowing this is getting into dangerous territory. If you know how sexy he finds you, you will try to manipulate him, so his answer is just a shrug of his shoulders. "You wear too much fucking makeup."

"I can take it off," you say, looking directly in his eyes. "I can take anything you want off."

"Are you that desperate for a good fucking, princess?" Dave taunts. "You'd be a good girl and so anything I'd say so l'd fuck you?"

You feel conflicted. Your clit pulses with need from his words, but he's clearly mocking you. "You're a fucking asshole, Dave." The urge to get up and storm away from the table grows steadier but you refuse to give. Instead your eyes burn into his as you await whatever taunt he has next.

"I am a fucking asshole." Dave's grin is smug and cocksure as he leans in closer. "But obviously you like an asshole and I'm a bigger one than any of the little pussies you fuck." He shakes his head. "You let fucking losers touch you."

"Go fuck yourself," you spit back at him. Hating the way your body betrays you and despite his words being cruel they make you drip with arousal. "You know what... I'm pretty sure I heard Miranda talking about some limp dicked asshole she fucked once, I wonder who that could have been." You lie, wanting to piss him off in return.

Emotion slides off his face and his eyes flash with anger before they go carefully blank. You're trying to rile him up and you’re doing a good job. "Good thing she begs for my cock every chance she gets." He sneers. "Believe me, you'd feel my dick for days.

"I'm sure she does," you say with a roll of your eyes, knowing how much it pisses him off when you do so. You scoff loudly at him, "Is that what you tell yourself after you give whatever poor soul that finds its way into your bed a shitty orgasm?"

Dave growls for a second before he shakes his head. He knows you are trying to taunt him and it's working. "Keep it up, princess." He warns, jaw rocking in anger.

The growl he makes goes straight to your throbbing pussy, and despite the look on his face that tells you he's not playing with you, you can't help but throw out another jab, "How old are you now, Mr. York? Are you able to keep it up?"

It's the desire to shut your smart mouth that makes him snap. Coming around the island before you can react and grabbing your arms. "You want to find out, princess? I'll make that voice of yours raspy and hoarse for your next show."

"Fuck," you moan as he presses you up against the table. "Yes... Fuck, yes. Show me." you half whimper half plead as his body boxes you in.

This should be the point where he pulls back. Rejects the idea as impossible and takes you back to your people to rail about him being ridiculous and overbearing. But he doesn't.

Not when he sees the naked need in your eyes. Instead, Dave crushes his mouth against yours in a kiss designed to punish both of you.

The kiss is almost bruising, his hand twists around your hair as the other one possessively digs into your waist. He swallows every moan that you let slip into his mouth as his tongue battles yours from dominance. It's too much but not enough at once. You've never been kissed like this before and the only thought you're able to pull together is that you never want it to end.

He likes that you are still fighting him. Even if it's the stroke of your tongue against his. Demanding more of him, and pushing him. Growling into your mouth, Dave slides his hand around your hip and plunges it inside your stupid sweats that you are wearing and into your panties to find you hot and already wet.

You whimper into his mouth as he slides a finger into your slit, seemingly avoiding your bundle of nerves on purpose. "Fuck me," you murmur against his lips before reaching up to start undoing the buttons of his shirt.

His chuckle is dirty, leaning in and nipping the skin behind your ear to make you shiver as he slides his finger back to tease your entrance. "Maybe I can keep it up." He huffs in your ear right before he sinks his finger into your tight cunt.

You almost scream his name as one of his thick fingers pushes inside of you. "Fuck," you manage choke out as he curls it up inside of you. You're pretty sure it must be hurting him with how deep your fingernails dig into his arms, desperately grabbing onto him as your legs threaten to give way beneath you.

He chuckles and hums his approval for how vividly you react to him. "You want to go into the bedroom, princess? Stretch out on my bed and let me have you?"

"Yes, please," you mumble as your face nuzzles into his chest. "Ne-need you to fuck me."

He gives a dirty chuckle and pulls his finger out of you, enjoying the way you whine and your hips chase his hand. He doesn't guide you to the bedroom, instead he scoops you up and tosses you over his shoulder like a heathen claiming his prize.

You yelp at the man as he manhandles you, taking the stairs with ease before laying you down on his large plush bed. Something tells you that you should wait for him to give your permission to speak in here, so you look up at him all wide eyed and patiently, your teeth digging into your bottom lip.

"Why don't you put those stage moves to use? Strip for me." Dave growls, wishing you didn't have that fucking makeup on, but he's not going to make you wash it off right now.

"You want a show, Sir?" you tease, as you move to kneel on the bed. You slowly reach for the bottom of your shirt and inch it up slowly.

"You gonna tease me, or strip off so I can fuck you?" You've already started unbuttoning his shirt so Dave finishes it, shrugging out of the jacket and shucking the shoulder holster for his guns.

"Both," you reply petulantly before pulling your shirt the rest of the way off, and sliding off your bottoms. "I want you to taste me.

"Fucking brat." Dave growls, shaking his head as he peels off his shirt. Always trying to dictate things. "Taste you." He sneers. "You mean lick your cunt? Eat your pussy? Tongue fuck you?"

"Aw, have I struck a nerve? Does Daddy not like being told what to do?" You ask with an exaggerated pout, "Yes, Dave. I want you to lick my pussy."

He rolls his eyes and scoffs. "Bet none of those pussies actually made you cum, did they?" He challenges.

"All of this talk, Dave," you tut, "Yet you're doing nothing to prove you're any better."

"I’ll gag you." He threatens, even as he's kicking off his shoes and reaching for his belt.

"Bullshit," you counter back, "You wanna see if you make me scream your name too badly for that." You remove your bra and slowly remove your panties, making extra effort to bare yourself to him. Before laying back and spreading your legs for him. "Hurry. Up.”

"Keep it up and you'll not even cum." He growls. "I'll fuck your throat and blow my load all over that pretty face of yours.”

"Doubt I'll cum anyway." You know you shouldn't keep pushing him, but you can't help yourself. "Sounds like that's not the first time you've thought about doing that, Dave. Would you want me to eat it or just lay there covered in your cum?"

"Eat it." Dave grunts, pushing his pants and boxers down in one swoop. "If you were just wearing it, I'd want to take a picture of it. And that can't happen."

"Oh wow," you gasp at the sight of him, and you don't need to look at his face to know he's wearing the smuggest smile right now. "I'd let you take a photo." You admit quietly whilst biting down on your bottom lip.

"Never let anyone take a picture of you like that, princess." He growls as he stalks over to the bed. "Not even me.”

"I wouldn't let anyone else, but I'm just saying that I'd trust you. Are you going to touch me now?"

"Brat." He kneels on the bed and slaps your inner thigh before grabbing your ankle to drag you closer to him, instead of lowering himself to the bed, he is pulling your legs up over his shoulder to bring your cunt to his mouth.

Your hands scramble to find purchase on the bed as he lifts your hips up towards him, "Dave," you moan as he breath coats your inner thigh, "Please." The second his tongue licks a wide stripe through your folds, you start to lose it, chanting his name over and over and he dives into you like a man dying of thirst.

There's never a civilized way to eat pussy and Dave doesn't even try to pretend there is. His sole goal is to make you eat your words and make sure you never forget when he touched you. Sucking your clit into his mouth while he reaches down and slaps one of your tits.

"Don't stop," you plead as he does something magical to your clit, you whimper at the sharp stinging on your breast but you want to beg him to do it more. You brokenly sob out a pitiful 'please' as he brings you closer to your high.

Dave doesn't acknowledge you beyond a grunt. Doubling down on the flicks of his tongue and watching you. This can only happen once and he isn't going to deny himself seeing you shatter for him.

"I’ve wanted this so bad," you croak out before everything goes black. Pleasure ripping through your body as his arm tightens around you to keep you still, his tongue continuing its delicious assault on your bundle of nerves as you're reduced to a whimpering mess.

Your choked cry of pleasure is loud, ringing out and he groans against your clit. Slowing his tongue down and working you through the buckling of your hips with the most profound sense of smug pride that he could have. Watching your face as it rapidly cycles through expressions as you cum.

Slowly everything starts coming back into focus, your thighs still shaking from the way he just completely shattered with your earth. "Oh, that was... wow." You say with a giggle.

"Thought you said I wouldn't make you cum?" Dave huffs with a smirk on his face.

You want to hit him back with a witty retort but it dies on your tongue, instead you push yourself up when he drops your hips and smash your lips to his. Moaning at the taste of you still clinging to his lips.

It's a little too easy to wrap his arms around you and kiss you. Letting you set the tone of this one as he holds you. Dave grunts and he cups the back of your head and pushes his tongue into your mouth just like he had to your cunt.

You moan into his mouth and sink your fingernails into his shoulder blades pulling him closer to you. His cock throbs against your stomach as you bite down on his bottom lip.

"Fuck me," you whisper against his lips, trying to ignore the way your heart is fluttering in your chest. The way you're unable to stop looking into his eyes already tells you that you're fucked, but you ignore that feeling and concentrate on just feeling him.

Humming, Dave pulls away from you. Watching you for a moment before he nods and pushes you back down onto the bed. Climbing over you to straddle your waist and he looks down at you with his cock pressing against your stomach. "Beg me." He orders, smirking at you. "I want to hear you beg me to fuck you."

It's unbelievable to you how quickly you're at his mercy, the urge to please him outweighing the urge to challenge him and so with absolutely no fight you're like putty in his hands. "Please, Dave," you whisper, staring up at him through your fluttering lashes, "Please fuck me. Fuck. You can do whatever you want to me, be as rough as you need. Use me however you want. Please. Please fuck me. I need to feel you. I.... I need you. Please."

Reaching down, Dave squeezes your breast before he starts to circle your nipple with his finger. Flicking it over the peaked tip and making you moan. "You look good like this, princess." He shuffles back and pulls your thighs out from under him to wrap around his waist.

The noises he so easily plucks from you fill the room, as you continue to be entirely at his mercy. "Yeah?" you ask, keening at his praise, "You like me spread out naked in your bed, huh, Mr. York?"

"What do you think?" He takes his cock and grips it tightly while he slides it through your folds, teasing you with it. Making sure he presses against your clit as he wets himself with your cum.

"I hope so," you reply as he makes you hiss. Your clit is still pulsing and a little overstimulated from your orgasm. "You gonna make me beg some more or are you going to push that big fat cock inside my pussy, sir?"

Dave chuckles at the quick way you try to push him to fuck you. Debating on drawing it out, he decides against it. Instead, he lines up and rather than sinking in slowly, he snaps his hips forward and splits you open in the space of a heartbeat.

The scream of pleasure that falls from your lips as he fills you to the hilt is sinful. It's overwhelming, the thickness of him is something you've never experienced. Even the few toys you've experimented with haven't been as girthy as his cock, and it takes a few moments for your pussy to adjust to the size of him. You whimper as he grits something about how 'he knows it's a lot to take,' as you involuntarily clench down around him. You give him the signal to start moving after pressing your lips to his collarbone.

He grunts as he pulls his hips back, feeling the way your walls drag against his cock and you are possibly the tightest cunt he's ever fucked. He knows he hurt you, his cock is thick, but you're squirming under him and wanting more. "Such a little whore." He chuckles darkly, looking down and watching your lips spread wide as he moves. "Want me to wreck you? Make it hard to sit down, princess?"

You simply nod your head, unable to form a coherent sentence as he continues to stretch you out. You feel completely overwhelmed by him but in the best possible way. "Please, Dave," you beg as he notches against something incredible inside of you.

It makes him grin when he sits up so he can push your legs back. Change the angle even more plus it gives him the distance to keep from kissing you the entire time. Your fingers dig into his arms and he hums. "Hang on."

You feel a little disappointed that his lips are no longer hovering over yours, but the feeling is fleeting as it's replaced by something extraordinary. The angle of his cock rubbing up something inside of you that you weren't aware existed.

Every thrust pushes you further into the mattress, pushing you up the bed as he snaps his hips forward with a single determined goal, making you scream his name.

The room is filled with the sound of your moans and whimpers, "Please," you mumble over and over, not sure what you're pleading for but being unable to stop. You've never cum without clitoral stimulation before now, but the way his cock drags against nirvana inside of you has you threatening to fall over that cliff at any moment.

He grunts, shifting. his hips and he reaches down between the two of you. Rubbing your clit goes against what he wants to do, but he's overheard you talking enough that he knows it's what you need. "Fuck- fuck you keep squeezing me." He pants out, his thumb rubbing hard circles around your bundle of nerves. "You're gonna soak me. You know you wanna."

The added addition of his thumb on your pulsing clit makes you shiver with anticipation, your orgasm is already teetering and you know you're about to be thrown over the edge. "Kiss me," you plead and he simply shakes head no and increases the pace of his thrusts, his thumb doubling down on its efforts as you start to come undone beneath him. Your pussy clamps down around him hard and you scream his name as you cum, flooding his cock and soaking him as he demanded.

You have gotten to him. He's broken his own self imposed rules of never getting too close to the client. He was supposed to care about your safety, your well being. Not give a shit about your orgasms, or the way you look when you cum. He bares his teeth and takes it out on you. Speeding up and making sure that his thrusts are punching the head of his cock against the spongy cervix deep inside your cunt as he tries to fuck away the realization that he's in too deep.

He pounds relentlessly into you, chasing his own orgasm as he mindlessly starts to build another up for you. Every drag of his cock makes your legs tremble more and more. You never want him to stop and you want to feel him buried deep inside of you whenever he needs relief. "Fill me up," you plead as your third orgasm washes over you. It takes you both by surprise as you clamp down hard around his throbbing cock. As he continues to thrust into you the realization that he may have ruined all other men for you hits you like a tonne of bricks.

"Can't." Dave growls out, twitching at the idea of filling you up and the next swing of his hips nearly makes him cum, but he can't risk getting you pregnant. He would ruin you and he can't do that. "You- it's too- too risky."

"IUD," you whine in response, "Wanna feel all of you."

That does it for Dave, the sound of need rumbling in his chest as he flattens himself over your body and drills his cock as deep as he can work himself. Watching you as he starts to pump you full of his cum with a groan of your name.

"Holy shit," you pant as he fills you up, "That was... you're incredible." You giggle. He stills inside of you and you think you'd be content to stay here in this moment forever. You want to ask him to kiss you again but you don't, instead you just look up at him and bask in the afterglow. "No one has ever made me cum before," you admit with another giggle. "I thought I'd just have to rely on my vibrator forever."

He throbs inside you for another moment before he chuckles and starts to pull out of you. "Then you have been fucking the wrong boys." He groans at the sight of his cum leaking out of your cunt, taken by it. Wanting to push it back into your cunt and keep it there with his fingers until he realizes that he can't do this again. Shuffling back and standing, he runs his hand through his hair. "Use the bathroom or whatever you need, I'll get ready to take you back."

"Oh, okay," you reply, feeling your face fall at how quickly he moves away from you. You push yourself up off the bed and scramble around looking for your clothes. You pick up your sweatpants, bra and t-shirt and make your way into the bathroom. Once in the bathroom you clean yourself up and start to get dressed. Realizing that you left your panties somewhere in his room but deciding not to bother him as he clearly wants you out of his house. So you pull on your sweatpants, bra and t-shirt and make your way downstairs to find him. Forgetting about your discarded panties in the process.

Downstairs, Dave sighs, redressed in some clothes from the dryer and mentally trying to put back up the barriers between you and him. He needed to be objective, not emotional and he had realized while he was fucking you that you've gotten under his skin. You are his client, not his girlfriend.

"Hey," you mumble as you enter the kitchen and see him standing there waiting for you. "Did I do something wrong?" you ask before slipping on your shoes. He barely glances over at you as you do so.

"No." Dave continues to clean up the kitchen and load the dishwasher. "Are you ready, princess?" He asks, closing the door to the machine and turning around to look over at you. "We need to get you back."

"Yeah," you say quietly, "I'm ready." You pick your phone up from his kitchen table and follow him out to the car. Climbing into the passenger seat and waiting for his incoming speech about how it's safer for you to be in the back but it doesn't come. He doesn't glance over in your direction, he simply switches on the ignition and waits for you to click on your seatbelt and starts to drive away.

The drive back is quiet. He doesn't look over at you but he feels your eyes on him every few seconds. Refusing to start a conversation with you when you clearly want to. It's better this way, especially since this cannot happen again.

Your fingernails dig into the meat of your arm as you glance over at him, unable to stop yourself from trying to gauge what he's thinking. His demeanor is stiff and you can feel tension flooding the air but you can't bring yourself to say anything to diffuse it. Deciding that you'll wait to see if he speaks first.

Once he has pulled up, Dave puts the SUV in park and cuts the engine. Getting out of the driver's side, he walks around the car to open your door, staying silent as he waits for you to start pitching a fit or yelling at him.

"Thanks," you murmur with a fleeting but polite smile before walking past him. The second you open that door you know you're in for a world of hurt so you take a large inhale before twisting the doorknob.

"Where the hell have you been?" Your father booms at you before both of your feet are in the door.

"Avoiding this," you say with a small gesture of your hand, "I'm not going to argue with you. And before you mention it... that photographer was a fucking creep." You walk past your father and your tutting PR manager and up the stairs.Listening to the cruel taunts your father bellows at you and leaving Dave to deal with the fall out.

"Before you say anything, the asshole you chose to photograph her was pawing her." Dave growls, scowling at your father. "It was disgusting."

You close the door behind you. You don't want to deal with this right now, you just want to get into your comfiest pajamas, so you do just that. Before climbing into bed and thinking about today, thinking about how his lips felt as he crashed them against yours. Since the drive home your pussy has started to ache from the way he fucked into you. You close your eyes and focus on the way you can still feel him.

"Do you know how long it took me to land that photographer?" Your father demands, puffing up his chest and looking at Dave in annoyance. As if the man thought he could actually intimidate Dave."Who fucking cares?" Dave hisses. "The contract you signed states that I have complete control over your daughter's safety and that includes killing any sessions or events that I see fit." He reminds him. "I think her being assaulted by a fucking man who couldn't keep his fucking hands to himself posed a threat to her safety. Or would you rather there be a story about how her manager and father wouldn't protect her from sexual assault because the photographer was popular?" Dave wasn't above leaking a story for you, another clue that he was too involved with you.

You can hear Dave's voice echoing through the house. His words are muffled but you're confident that he's standing his ground and sticking up for you. Lack of sleep and the events of today catches up on you and you let yourself drift off into a comfortable nap.

Dave watches as your father turns around a strides off, unhappy with his decision but there wasn't a hell of a lot he could do about it. Not if he wanted to keep Dave protecting you and he knows he can't change your security. Not with the threats that he has been keeping from you.

Instead of going to his office, he climbs the stairs to see what you are doing. Opening the door to your bedroom, he finds you asleep sprawled over your bed and he huffs. Smirking with pride at wearing you out, he walks over and picks up your throw blanket and covers you up. Watching you sleep for a moment before turning around and walking out. He can't have another lapse in judgment, not when your safety was in jeopardy.

It's been three days. Three days since the disastrous photoshoot and three days since Dave. You weren't sure what to expect from him afterwards, not that you were expecting anything, but the way he's clearly avoiding and ignoring you makes your heart drop. You've seen him a handful of times, using finding an excuse to dip out of the room or watching him start a conversation with someone else. You sent him three texts and all three have gone unanswered. This morning you walked into your living room and he glanced over at you before making his way across the room to Miranda and your stylist Luna. All three of them then disappear from the room as you stand there awkwardly.

"Before she uses anything, you verify where it comes from." Dave has gotten more letters and the results from the lab have him on edge. There have been traces of poisons on the paper but they can't tell if it was from the sender or something that had been contaminated in transit. There was even something off about the postal marks. That was still being investigated.

"Every bottle of water, every coke. If it doesn't come from us, she doesn't get it." He glances between the two of them. "Luna....you need to make sure that no one has access to your supplies."

Eventually the three of them emerge from the room and Luna gestured for you to follow her upstairs. You were briefly appearing on some tv show via video link and she was there to get you all glammed up.

Dave doesn't watch you as you climb the stairs but he does grab ahold of Miranda's arm when she moves to follow. Holding her back until everyone is out of earshot. "Hey." He frowns slightly. "Tonight. Get a drink with me?" He asks, watching as the pretty woman breaks into a happy smile. She wouldn't if she knew that he is planning on telling her that he's not sleeping with her anymore. "What do you say?"

You make a deal to ask Luna to go light with the makeup. No smoky eye or bold lip today. Wanting to keep it light and natural. She works her magic with your hair and uses minimal makeup, only enhancing your natural beauty and glow. Just as she's finishing up your door swings open and Miranda comes bouncing in.

"Hey babe," she greets you with, before turning all her attention to Luna, "You remember that guy I told you about, the one I've been kind of seeing for a little while? He asked me out tonight." She gushes with a wide smile plastered across her face.

"That's great," Luna gushes back before going off on some excited rant about how she should wear some off the shoulder dress that some magazine had lent to you, because they'd never notice that it went missing for just one night.

You feel tears spring up in your eyes, acid rain threatening to spill down your cheeks and you bite down onto your lower lip to avoid them breaking free. Luna and Miranda are too busy excitedly chatting about her upcoming date to notice how quiet you are.

You slink out of the makeup chair and pull the outfit set out for you from the hanger and make your way into the bathroom to get changed. "Fuck him," you mutter to yourself as you look in the mirror, he'd only touched you once but you were hooked. Never in your life had you felt more comfortable, safer and more alive than you did in those moments that he made you his and you hate yourself for losing yourself in him so quickly.

Dave strides back to the office and closes the door. He's tried to stay away from you, afraid that he will reveal too much. This has gotten complicated and if there's one thing he knows is that complicated gets messy. Pretending to ignore your hurt eyes has given him problems and he's picking up his phone. "Resnick." He greets the other man as soon as he picks up. "Need you to watch the princess tonight." He grunts, looking down at his calendar. "Need to take care of something and she's gonna be here all night. Easy work."

The interview goes by smoothly, the late night host asking you a few questions about your upcoming tour and your plans for once it's finished. He teases you about your plans for a much needed break after it's finished and he reminds you that the last time you said that you'd dropped a surprise album.

It's early evening once you'd recorded your segment for the show airing later that night. You have a few texts from friends saying they're meeting up at a bar tonight and how you should come.

After realizing that Dave will be too occupied on his date, you text back one of your friends for the address of the bar and say you'll swing by after escaping your babysitters. You see the rack of loaned dresses still untouched from earlier and run your fingers across a few of them, settling on a short black backless number and tucking it under your arms before heading back upstairs.

Dave represses a sigh when he sees that Miranda has obviously taken pains with her appearance tonight. He recognizes the dress as one that had been brought in to loan to you, but he doesn't know if you might not have encouraged her to take it. You knew that he was fucking your assistant and you might not care. Instead of frowning, he reaches for her and gives a tight smile. "I thought we could go to a bar." He offers, the real reasoning is that it would be public enough to prevent a scene, something Dave despises.

Once the coast is clear and you're happy that Resnick is too busy to notice you slipping out, you grab your keys from the drawer and make your way to your car. Slipping into the drivers seat for the first time in ages and punching the address to the bar into your GPS. Once out of your driveway, you switch on a playlist and drum your fingers against your steering wheel, singing along loudly as you navigate your way through the LA traffic.

Blissfully unaware of the car that's been trailing behind you since you left your gated community.

Almost 25 minutes later you're pulling up to the bar your friends are in and searching for a spot in the parking lot out the back.

You groan a little when you notice the only available spot is the furthest one from the bar. You pull in and switch the ignition off, taking a few minutes to look in the mirror and fix your hair.

You grab your phone and purse before stepping out of your car and locking the door, taking a few steps forward and almost crashing into a person emerging from the back of your car.

You start to apologize but he just stands there, staring at you with a smile splashed across your face that fills you with unease.

"Did you get my flowers?" He asks, taking a step towards you, "I'm a little upset that you haven't been writing back to me, but I know that you've been busy, sweetheart."

Your heart starts to slam in your chest as he takes another step towards you, you scan the parking lot for signs of another person but you're all alone with him.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?" He asks with a frown, "It's me. It's Martin. I know you've been reading my letters. I hand deliver them to your mailbox everyday."

“I’m so glad that you invited me out." Miranda reaches out and touches Dave's arms, squirming on her high top seat at one of the last remaining tables in the bar. "I didn't think we would ever do this." The sex has been fantastic but it's only sex and she doesn't try to push for more since Dave isn't the type of man who is pushed around

"Yeah." Dave's head is on a swivel, glancing around the bar as they both wait for the drinks that had been ordered. Frowning slightly at the rowdy group of people in the back corner.

You remember the one thing Dave warned you to do if you ever found yourself in a situation like this. 'Do NOT panic. Try to remain level headed.' You take a small inhale and plaster a fake smile on your face, "Of course, Martin. Hi. How are you? The flowers, oh, they were beautiful. Thank you. What are you doing here?"

He tuts and takes another step towards you, "I saw you leaving, sweetheart, wanted to see where you were going to in such a hurry. It's been so long since you left your house without that guy," he snarls and you realize he's talking about Dave. "It's been so hard to get close to you.”

A shiver runs through you as his words bounce off your goose-pimpled skin. "He's not here now," though he says with a creepy smile.

"We should go inside," you say as he continues to inch closer to you, "We should get a drink."

You don't want to go anywhere with him but you figure the second you're in the bar your friends will spot you and you can signal for some help but he just shakes his head "Oh, sweetheart, it's so loud in there. We have so much to talk about. So much to do.”

You breathe out a shaky exhale before an anxiety shiver rips through you. "Just a quick drink and maybe afterwards we can grab a bite," you suggest. Trying to remain calm as he starts to box you in.

"I don't think so," he says before shaking his head, "We've been waiting so long to be together, angel, why would we waste our time with those losers in the bar. Don't think I don't know who's in there. I've seen their pathetic instagram stories... They're not your friends, they're using you... can't you see that?" He rants.

Your phone vibrates in your hand, but you don't look down at it. Instead you attempt to unlock the screen with your passcode. Keeping your eyes focused on Martin as not to draw attention to what you're doing. Your phone lightly vibrates a few times, letting you know that your attempt to unlock your phone had failed. You take another deep breath as he continues his unhinged rant and you enter it again. This time correctly.

Without looking down you tap the bottom left hand of your screen and pull up your call list, pressing one of the names at the bottom of the list knowing that Dave number occupies the majority of the list.

His drink is wrong. How they could fuck up a whiskey on the rocks and give him a tequila and water, he will never understand but that isn't important. His hand curls around the drink and he leans forward as Miranda sips her. "Listen, there's a reason that I invited you out tonight..." He starts, huffing when the phone in his breast pocket starts to vibrate.

"Of course." Her lashes flutter and Miranda looks positively smug. "You wanted to get laid again. Don't worry, you're getting lucky."

Dave ignores that and lets go of the drink to pull his phone out. Seeing your face pop up, he frowns, wondering why you are calling him. "Princess? What are -"

"-you got all my letters. What did you think?" Dave's eyes widen when he hears a voice that doesn't belong to you, sounding like it's several feet away and he can hear the background noise. Obviously not in the house.

His face snaps into a fierce scowl and the chair screeches against the hardwood floors as he stands. He can't shout to get your attention, you might just have the phone in a pocket. Instead he's placing you on speaker phone and immediately starts to pull up the tracking app he put on your phone as he looks at Miranda. "Call Resnick now." He orders her harshly. "Ask him where the fuck your boss is and why he isn't with her."

Your eyes continue to dart around the parking lot, searching for any sign of life as it becomes clear that you're not making it into the bar. You pray Dave has picked up the phone but you're unable to sneak a glance, terrified that Martin will notice and take your phone off of you so instead you ask him another question, something to placate him and keep him from trying anything. "Oh the flowers," you gasp, "Gosh, Martin, you are so thoughtful. How did you know they're my favorite?" You ask. Making an effort to emphasize his name.

"You told me, silly," he says with a laugh that makes you skin crawl, "On Fallon. You said that tulips were your favorite. I know a hint when I see one. Let's get out of here, sweetheart. We don't want the paparazzi getting sniff of you being in the area. I don't want you photographed dressed like that."

"Fuck...fuck...fuck!" Dave rages as he hears the comment about leaving. If it's Martin and he gets you into a car, Dave might never see you again. "Stall him, princess." He hisses, cursing the app for taking so goddamn long to pull up your location. Fucking cell service is shit downtown.

"Why don't you get in your car and I'll follow behind?" You suggest. Not wanting him to get in your car and definitely not wanting to get in his. "I don't wanna leave my car in the lot."

"Don't be stupid, sweetheart." Martin hisses, "We will take my car. The last thing I want to do is get stuck in some god awful LA traffic because you got turned around trying to follow me somewhere."

"I have GPS, I'll just punch in your address and if I lose you it's fine, I can just follow the navigation system.”

Come on Dave, you think to yourself, praying he's on the other end of the phone and/or coming to your rescue.

"But really I think we should go inside and get that drink before we go anywhere," you say again, desperate to hold off for as long as possible. But you see the impatience in his eyes, you see the way his eyes go dark as he realizes that you're stalling for something. For someone.

"I'm not an idiot, sweetheart," he snaps at you, "And neither are you. He will arrive any minute and take you away from me if we don't leave now and I know you don't want that. I hear the words you're singing to me in your songs and I can't bear to spend another night being kept away from you."

"Fucking finally." Dave growls, moving towards the door when he sees the dot pop up on the map. His eyes widen when he realizes that you are right here. In the parking lot. You are right in the fucking parking lot of the same goddamn bar he is in. He doesn't bother to say anything to Miranda, just shoving past people and running out the door as he listens to the increasingly agitated Martin start to scream at you.

Your stomach twists as you listen to the delusional words he's now screaming at you, occasionally quoting some of your own lyrics at you in between the unhinged ranting.

"Martin," you plead as he boxes you up against your car door, "We're friends, right?" you try to calm him down by saying but the sudden burst of rage that flashes in his eyes tells you that you've really fucked up.

You squeeze your eyes shut after his hand comes out and strikes you across your cheek. It's only after the immediate throbbing from the slap that you realize that you're crying. Tears streaming down your face as you attempt to placate him. You squeeze your eyes shut again and you let the one word that you've wanted to scream for the past ten minutes fall from your lips, "Dave."

The phone in Dave's hand falls to the ground but he doesn't even bother to pause. Too busy running towards the parking lot and he hears a sharp cry. Eyes narrowed as he spots you, a man pulling his hand back and Dave hisses.

"You fucking bitch! You're mine! You're mine, you're mine! You belong to me!" You cry out again when he brings his hand down, slapping you across the face as he screams at you.

Pushing his body to move faster, fury floods Dave’s veins and makes him scream out a yell as he barrels towards the attacker who is trying to hurt you.

You whimper as you feel his hot breath coating your face as he moves closer and closer, screaming louder as he does so. You prepare yourself for another strike as he repeats over and over than you're his property, keeping your eyes squeezed shut the entire time.

Lowering his shoulder, Dave slams into the assailant like a freight train. Driving him to the ground and away from you in a burst of rage that has him immediately hammering his fist into Martin's sides as he pushes up off of him to get a better angle to beat the motherfucker to death.

It's over as quickly as it started. The sound of someone crashing into another, followed by a sharp cracking noise as a fist slams into a jaw. Shattering the bones at immediate contact. Your eyes briefly flicker open and close again at the sight of Dave.

Safe. You think to yourself as you crumble to the concrete ground. The ringing in your eyes drowning out the sound of each blow Dave delivers to your attacker. You don't hear the sharp squeal of a car tire as Resnick, Ari and Kovak pull up in the parking lot. You don't hear Dave screaming in fury at them as they pull him away from Martin. You don't hear Miranda calling your name as she drops down to your side and gently caresses your throbbing cheek.

Dave's focus narrows to just the target. The ten inch by five inch oval that comprises Martin's face. Bloody now that he has hit him multiple times but he just keeps whaling on him, again and again and again despite the other man not fighting back. The image of your terrified eyes and the welts on your cheek that he had gotten a brief, split second glance are all he can imagine as he tries to inflict as much pain on your attacker as possible. Screaming and fighting when hands drag him away from his target. Lunging for him again and scrambling to shake off his team in his bloodlust to get back to the man who had dared to touch you.

You feel unfamiliar hands on you and you shudder before everything comes back into focus. Miranda. She's kneeling in front of you, your face resting in her hands as she checks out the painful welt throbbing on your cheek.

It takes Dave well over a minute but he finally calms down enough that the team lets go of him. Jerking his shoulders free of their hold, Dave spit towards the prone man, "fucker." He hisses before he turns and rushes the few steps towards you and drops to his knees in front of where you are sprawled on the ground beside your car. "Move." He orders Miranda roughly, needing to see you are okay himself.

"She's fine," you hear Miranda shoot back at him, still holding your face in her hands.

"Move." His voice is harder, more forceful and his own bloody fists push her hands out of his way. He wants to make sure of that himself and even then he will have a private doctor come and check you out.

"Dave," you mumble as he inches towards you, "I didn't... ! didn't listen to you. And I'm so sorry. All of this is my fault."

"Shhhhh shhhhhh it's okay. " He will yell at you later, when you aren't in shock. But for now, his hands are slow and gentle as he reaches for you. "You're okay. He's not going to hurt you."

"He's not going to hurt anyone." Resnick huffs, coming over to stand in front of you and Dave. "He's dead."

"Oh God," you squeak out, "He's dead because of me."

"He's dead because of himself." Dave tells you sternly, his dark eyes focused on you. He was the one who had killed Martin, and he would do it again. "He chose his own fate. He could have walked away. He died because he didn't."

You nod a few times just to acknowledge that you heard what he said, before a new stream of tears start to flood your cheeks, "I need to get out of here."

Dave can't leave. He’s killed a man. He will have to wait for the police so he looks up at Resnick. "Resnick is going to take you home." He tells you, starting to draw you up to your feet. "But don't shower. Don't do anything. The police will come and they will need to see you exactly as you are."

"Okay," you murmur, looking up at Dave. "Don't be long, please."

"I won't." He breaks, seeing the fear and sadness on your face. Leaning in and pressing his lips to your forehead briefly before he turns you over to his teammate and watches him escort you away to the waiting car.

You climb into the back of the car, knowing it'll give Dave a little peace. Resnick speeds out of the parking lot and towards your home. The journey passes in a blink of an eye and before you know it he's rounding the car and helping you out, leading you into the living room and onto the sofa. Before disappearing into the kitchen to grab you a bottle of water.

When the cops arrive, Dave answers their questions as succinctly as possible. The bar's cameras on the parking lot confirmed Dave's version of events and the team had scans of the threatening letters in the vehicle. It takes an hour to get the body loaded up and the crime scene photographed.

Dave tells them to follow him to your house so they can collect evidence from you and get your statement.

The rest of the evening goes by in a blur. The cops ask you a million questions, some over and over again as you're forced to replay the evening over and over. You feel drained, your face is throbbing and your hands haven't stopped shaking for hours.

Dave walks over to you about another hour of questions and breaks in. "That's enough." He tells them. "She's given you her statement, you can collect her clothes but we are done." He insists. "Any other questions should be directed through the legal team. She's been through enough tonight."

It seems like eternity for them to leave. Even after Dave tries to hurry them up. Eventually you're ushered up the stairs by somebody as Dave answers the last few questions. Someone stands outside your bathroom as you pop your clothing into an evidence bag and pass it out to them through a slight crack in the door. Immediately closing it back up again and slipping into a much too hot shower. And letting the tears you'd been holding back fall freely.

Once the police have left, Dave sighs and locks the door and sets the alarm. He's sent everyone home and even had a short conversation with Miranda. It hadn't been pretty, but she hadn't really put up a fight after learning that Dave had killed Matin. Apparently the idea of a deadly man was more appealing than the reality. Trudging up the stairs, he opens the door to your bedroom and hears the shower going in your bathroom. You've held yourself together with nothing more than sheer determination and even though his hands are bruised and cut, bones obviously broken, Dave doesn't hesitate to start stripping outside of your bathroom and once he's naked he opens the bathroom door to join you.

You don't hear or see the bathroom door open. Your skin is sore from the way you've scrubbed it raw. Trying to remove every trace of this evening from your skin.

Opening the shower door, Dave steps into the shower and his heart aches when he sees you curled up on the bench. "Shit, come here, princess." He moves over to you quickly and scoops you up into his arms, taking your place on the bench and holding you in his lap.

You're not sure how long he holds you for, his voice gently soothing you as you sob brokenly into his neck. You feel him gently wash the conditioner out of your hair before lifting you up and out of the shower.

"It's okay." Dave murmurs, grateful that he's able to carry you instead of insisting that you need to walk on your own. The only time he lets you stand is as he dries you off. Gently rubbing the towel down your body and wrapping your hair for you. Picking you up again to carry you through to the bedroom and tuck you into bed.

"Stay with me?" You ask as he tucks you comfortably into your bed. "Please." You feel a twinge of guilt for asking, knowing that he had gone on a date with another woman a few hours before, ignoring the feeling that he doesn't want you.

“I’m not going anywhere." Dave promises, rounding the bed and climbing in beside you before he plasters himself to your back and wraps his arms around you to drag you closer to him. "I fucked up." He whispers into your hair. "I'm so sorry, princess. I didn't protect you."

"I ruined your date," you murmur into the pillow, placing your hand on top of his, "I got jealous and I fucked everything up." Tears spill out onto your pillow as you start to sob again.

It's news to Dave that the reason you were there was because you were jealous. He pulls you to him and turns you around so you are facing him. He doesn't care that both of you are naked, he's trying to comfort you. "You didn't ruin anything." He promises you, rubbing your back as you collapse against his chest to cry. "It's- it doesn't matter. Miranda knows now that I was ending our arrangement."

"I'm so sorry, Dave," you sob into his chest, wrapping your arms even tighter around him. "Promise me you won't leave, even once I've fallen asleep?"

"I'm going to be here, princess." Dave tightens his hold on you, just shy of squeezing the air out of your lungs. "I'm gonna be right here, I promise." He doesn't know how to soothe you, just rubs circles on your back and holds you tight, letting you sob out all your fear and anger and disappointment.

Sleep comes quicker than you anticipated. The warmth of his skin seeping into yours as he holds you plush against him. You wake as the early morning light breaks through the crack in your curtains and beams down directly on your face. His gentle snores vibrate in your ear as you press a kiss to his shoulder. He kept his word. He didn't leave in the middle of the night as you feared. He looks peaceful, his usually tense shoulders slack and his brow not burrowed for a change. You slightly shift up and press a kiss on his lips, before nudging your nose against his.

"Hmmm." Dave frowns slightly and his hand slides up your back. "You're awake?" He mumbles sleepily, opening an eye and looking at you. He had anticipated that you would sleep for a lot longer but you look better. Your eyes have bags but you don't look like you are about to cry again.

"Mhmm-hmm," you hum across his lips before pressing another kiss down on them, "Your voice is sexier when you've just woken up.” Exhaustion still lingers in every bone in your body, your face still throbbing from the blows it took the night before but you feel safe. His arms still protectively caging you in from any harm and it makes your heart flutter.

He lets out a slightly rusty laugh, sliding his hand up and down your back protectively. "Because I haven't woken up enough to be an asshole yet."

You giggle back before pressing a third kiss to his mouth, still remaining cautious about the situation you're in but not wanting to ignore your need to touch him. "Dave," you quietly moan as you wrap your legs around his waist.

"What do you need, princess?" Dave rasps out, his eyes opening again and focusing on you.

"You."

His cock twitches and his fingers dig into your hips. "How do you need me?" He growls out.

"However you want," you croak as he pushes the head of his already hard cock through your folds, "Just need to feel you."

You are sprawled on top of him and he shifts his hips, starting to fill you up as he pulls you down onto his cock. "This what you need? You need to sit on my cock?"

"Fuck, yes," you moan as you sink down onto him. He feels even bigger than last time from his angle, "I want to ride you, Mr. York."

There's a moment where he watches you close your eyes and smirk. He slaps your thigh and pushes you down harder onto his cock. "Then ride me, Princess. Show me how needy you are for my cock."

"Yes, sir," you tease as you start to rock your hips. He's a lot more vocal in the morning and it makes you keen down around him. You find your rhythm after a few moments and slowly increase your pace, bouncing up and down on his cock as his fingertips dig into your hips, hard enough to leave little circular bruises.

"Good girl." He grunts, his hips starting to shift up to meet your pace. Making you bounce harder on his cock and enjoying the way that you clench around him.

You grind down on him slowly after his praise, his words making your neglected clit pulse with need. You pull him into a fleeting but bruising kiss before you increase your pace again, dragging one of his hands up to one of your tits. "I want you to fill me up," you whisper as your hand grips the bottom of his chin, "Fill me up and then eat your cum out of my cunt, Dave."

He groans, grabbing your tits harshly and rocking his hips to flip you over. Losing control at the neediness in your tone. He leans in and bites down on your shoulder. "Hold onto the bed." He orders harshly.

You grip onto the bed ready to take what he's about to give you, you clench down around him as his teeth sink into you. "Make this tight little pussy soak that fat cock."

He already knows that your next concerts are going to be canceled. He's not going to allow you to perform until at least a week goes by. So he doesn't hesitate to bite you again a few inches over. Giving you a hard thrust of his hips as he slides back so he can put your legs on his shoulders.

"Marking me up?" You giggle before a particularly hard thrust knocks the wind out of you. His cock slamming against that spot inside of you that only he had managed to find and the room is echoing with a lust filled scream of his name. The position your in allowing him to fuck you even deeper than before and he continues to rut into you.

He doesn't give a fuck who hears, although there's no one in the fucking house. He would have gotten an alert on his phone. He knows it won't stay that way for long so he makes sure that his hips snap forward with a determination to make you shatter for him, watching you closely every time he rocks forward.

With every sharp snap of his hips you're being pushed closer and closer to that delicious edge and you know he can feel just how close you are. Your pussy flutters around his throbbing cock, sucking him back in every time he moves back. "Gonna cum," you garble incoherently as you start to fall apart beneath him.

Instead of slowing down, he rocking his hips faster. Hissing and grunting curses as he fucks you frantically. Loving how tight you get and how your legs go tight, just making him lean into you harder.

"Oh, fuck, Dave," you choke out as he fucks you harder and harder throughout your orgasm, ripping it from you with ease as you soak the sheets with your arousal. You clamp down on him hard as your body convulses with pleasure, every little sound that you're desperate to unleash getting trapped in your throat as the whole world goes black. And all you can feel is him.

He sees the moment where everything fades away. Where all you can do is feel nothing but pleasure. Groaning, he pushes deep one last time, reaching up and wrapping his hand around your throat, not to squeeze, instead he tilts your head up to press his mouth to yours as he pours himself into you.

“That may have been the best way I’ve ever woken up in my life,” you say honestly but with a giggle. Nudging your nose against his. “Thank you for staying.”

Dave gives himself another moment, kissing you again before he closes his eyes and starts to pull out of you gently, his fingers let go of your throat and caresses the skin softly as he opens his eyes and looks down at you. “I quit.” He announces, staring at the swelling on your cheek from where Martin had hit you. It’s gone down, but he can still see it. “I didn’t do my job, I didn’t protect you.” He shifts off of you and onto his back.

“Oh,” you utter, feeling the happiness that you’d been floating on fleeing your body and being replaced with hurt, “No. You can’t fucking… no. What is this? You regret this again? Just like you did last time? No. I won’t touch you again but you can’t quit.” You feel your eyes burn as tears spring into them, threatening to stain your already bruised cheeks. “I don’t want to feel unsafe.”

“I can’t do my job.” Dave hisses, hating the fact that he is making you cry. You have to see that he’s doing this for you. Sitting up, he cups your cheek, hating how it’s still swollen. “I did this. It’s because I had to have some clarity. To stop things with Miranda. I wasn’t with you. I should have been. But I wasn’t. Because I couldn’t keep sleeping with her when I wanted you.” He growls angrily.

“Bullshit,” you snarl back, pushing his hand from your face. “You want me? So the solution to that is to just leave me? Make it make fucking sense, Dave.”

“I-“ Dave’s breath shudders. “I was afraid.” He confesses softly. “Afraid I couldn’t get to you, afraid he would hurt you.” He closes his eyes. “I failed you, princess. Why would you want me here? You got hurt and it’s all my fault.”

“Can you stop pretending like I’m not a grown woman?” You say with a scoff, “I made the decision to go out last night. Am I pissed that you didn’t warn me about him? Yes. I’m fucking furious. But you didn’t fail me. But if you walk out on me right now, you will fail me, Dave.”

“You would have frozen.” Dave argues. “Every fan that comes up, you would wonder if that’s him. Every time the doorbell rang. You would have become a wreck. It’s my job to protect you from that. To let you do your job and keep the monsters in the shadows.”

“And now you don’t want to do that job?”

“Why would you want me to keep doing the job I failed at?” Dave frowns, shaking his head. “You should scream at me, kick me out, tell me you hate me.”

“You didnt fail, Dave,” you scream back at him, “If you want to go, just fucking go, just don’t pretend it’s because of the job.”

Dave hisses, grabbing your arms and the only way he stops himself from yelling at you is by doing what he really wants to do. Kiss you. He kisses you roughly, every fucking fear and emotion he had last night pours into the kiss. Hard and unyielding until it isn’t. Until the softness breaks through and the other emotions show.

You attempt to fight him off for a few moments, your efforts futile and not convincing to either of you. Before giving in and sinking into his arms, letting his kiss consume you both emotionally and physically. “Please don’t go.” You whisper as he rests his forehead against yours.

“I’m not.” Dave admits, shaken by the depths of his feelings for you. “I’m not going anywhere.” He looks into your eyes and sighs. “I could never leave you, princess. Never.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” you murmur against his chest, terrified that he’s a flight risk. “Just please don’t push me away.”

“Princess, I love you.” He murmurs quietly. “I killed a man for touching you. I’m not going anywhere.”

Your eyes search his for any sort of sign that he’s not telling the truth, but the way they soften as the way he holds you tells you that he’s being honest. Your mouth crashes against his as his grip around you tightens, your kiss is possessive and messy and filled with hope.

“I want to release a statement, tell the world what happened and then I want to take a much needed break. No touring right now.” Obviously some details will be left out but you want a brief statement out there. Something that’ll explain to your fans what happened, but keep the darkest side of how it ended hidden.

“Then that’s what you’ll do, princess.” Dave nods, knowing your label and your father will be furious, but he doesn’t give a shit. Your safety and well being is too important.

“Thank you for always being on my side. Even when you’re being an asshole.” You mumble into his neck.

He snorts and rubs your back gently, turning his head and kissing your hair. “I’ll always be on your side, Princess.” He promises softly. “That’s why I’m your bodyguard.”

Eventually, you had to get up and dress. Your entire team was going to descend on your house in a fury of questions and concerns. He had held them off for as long as he could but barely an hour after you had put on a pair of leggings and a sweater and Dave had put on his gym clothes, your father walked into the house, calling your name. “She’s in the kitchen!” Dave has you seated at the bar, drinking a coffee while he makes you breakfast.

“Hi,” you offer meekly to your father, whose face is twisted with fury. There is no concern for your well-being, no checking that you’re okay or asking about the night before. He just screams at you. Furious that you’d already posted a video on your social media account and gave as much detail as you could in regards to the night before and offered full refunds to everyone who had bought a ticket to the tour you had now indefinitely postponed.

“What do you have to say about all of this?” He bellows at Dave after finishing his expletive filled rant and Dave just shrugs and makes a comment about it being your life before squeezing your shoulder gently.

After many failed attempts to placate him and explain what had happened the night before you simply shrug, and tell him to leave.

Dave is the one that herds him out the door, not even listening to the man as he screams that he hired Dave and he will sue him for breach of contract. He obviously didn’t read the contract, he can’t. Only you could fire him. When the door is closed, Dave shakes his head and turns around the walk back over to you, giving you what looks like a much needed hug. “It’s okay.” He promises again. “He can’t make you tour.”

“I know,” you murmur against his chest, relishing in the feeling of his arms wrapped around you. “Dave, he’s in control of all my finances. I need to figure so much out today.”

“So call in your business people.” Dave murmurs into your hair. “I can call in a lawyer I know. Have him look over everything.”

“I don’t know who to call,” you admit, feeling yourself get all heated from embarrassment, “I just got called into sign shit.”

Dave has participated in this, feeling guilty about it now. “He will treat you right. Get it all figured out.” He promises.

You take a step back from him and awkwardly giggle, “Guess you were right about me being a princess,” you try to joke to hide your embarrassment.

“You were concentrating on your music.” Dave argues. “Letting others take care of the details. I did it too.” He won’t deny that. “Now, you just need to decide how hands on you want to be.”

“Yeah,” you half heartedly agree with a shrug, “But mostly it just seemed easier to let other people deal with it.”

“So you still let other people deal with it.” Dave tells you. “Just have them answer to you.”

“Like you do?” You say with a raised eyebrow and a little smirk, “Clearly, I’m great at keeping you in line.”

Snorting, Dave shoots you an unamused look. “Just try it, Princess.” He warns darkly. “I’ll do exactly what I wanted to do the first time you pitched a fit.” He pauses for a second. “Throw you over my knee and spank you until you are crying.”

“Oh yeah?” You challenge him. “I think you’d do whatever I told you to do. No argument.”

“Not if it compromises your safety.” Dave will stand firm on that. Loving you will not make him just give in to you to make you happy.

You take a step forward and whisper in his ear, “So you’re telling me that if I said really nicely that you’re to wrap those thick fingers around my throat and rail me as hard as you can… you wouldn’t? Because you’re all for safety?”

“Shut up.” Dave hisses, narrowing his eyes at you as he pulls back. “You know what I meant, princess.” He growls. “Keep it up and won’t get my cock at all until I decide you can have it.”

“We both know that I’ll be getting it exactly when I want it, sweet boy.” You know you should be focusing on your never ending list of chores but teasing Dave is too much fun.

Dave doesn’t answer, instead he draws his hand back and slaps your ass harshly. “Go eat.” He demands. “I’ll start making calls.”

“Fine,” you mumble, knowing that he’ll want to get the ball rolling and that the ache in your pussy will have to wait. “I’ll eat and then deal with myself after.” You shout back to him as he makes his way to his office.

“No you won’t!” Dave shouts back, smirking to himself as he shakes his head. You are going to continue to be a pain in his ass, but he’s not quite as annoyed by it now.

You giggle as you take a bite of the eggs he cooked you. “Oh yes, I will,” you say to yourself as you think about the way his cock feels as it drags across heaven inside of you.

It had been a rough three weeks. Your father had dug his heels in and made everything as difficult as he possibly could. But Dave had kept his word, the lawyer he had put you in touch with had worked tirelessly and for the first time in your life, you were in charge of your future.

Your team had agreed that you were due a break, and agreed to let you take a few months to recharge. The minute it was final Dave had pulled out his phone and booked two one way tickets to St Lucia and found a private villa on the beach that had a chef come in three times a day to prepare your meals. He paid for everything, packed both of your bags and kept everything a total secret until you were pulling up to the private jet that would be flying you to paradise.

For the past three days that had been in heaven and he’d taken you more times than you could possibly count.

The first time on the flight with his fingers, then his mouth and finally with his cock.

“See Princess? Relaxed.” He groans, slowly rocking his hips up as you grind down on his length. Sitting outside in the warm sun, the breeze trailing over your skin, you look like a fucking goddess riding him on the surprisingly sturdy lounger by the infinity pool that overlooks the ocean. No boats were allowed in this private cove and you had free reign to do whatever you want. “Just like I promised you.”

“So relaxed,” you moan as you keep the pace slow. Loving the way he completely fills you up. Your walls hugging his cock as his thumb draws slow circles on your clit. “God, you feel so fucking good.”

He chuckles, hearing those words every time he fucks you. You’ve become addicted to him being inside you and he’s not complaining. Dave’s other hand comes up and squeezes your tit. “Even more relaxed when you cum.” He coos. “Lay out in the sun and nap after?”

“Oh God, yes,” you say as you press a kiss to his lips. “As long as I get to lay on you.” You slightly increase your speed, wanting your high to come quicker. Needing to feel the warmth of his cum coating your walls.

“You’re like a leech.” He jokes, squeezing your breast again and pinching your nipple. He knows as soon as you cum, you’re going to collapse against his chest and fall asleep with his cock still inside you. It’s become your favorite way to sleep since that second night he had spent in your bed.

“And you love it,” you say with a giggle, knowing that he loves the way it feels when you giggle on his cock. “Make me cum, Mr York.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Dave grunts as he leans in and nips your bottom lip. “Have to follow the princess’s order.” He lets go of your breast to grab your hip and braces his feet on the lounger slats to thrust up into you harder.

“Yes you do,” you giggle back. Your mouth captures his as he fucks up into you. You bite down on his bottom lip before licking your way into his mouth. He swallows every moan you unleash as you wrap your arms around him tighter, “I’m gonna cum,” you garble as he starts to lose restraint fucking you harder and harder as you come undone on his cock.

Watching you peak has become his favorite view. Watching your mouth open and your entire body spasm in pleasure while you cry out is what sends him over the edge himself. Letting you burrow your way deeper into his heart as he cums, filling you up with his cum until it’s pushing out with every shallow thrust to slide back down his shaft and pool in the curly hairs in his groin.

His lips press against yours as you come down from your high, and his hand rubs comforting circles into your back. The world comes back into focus and absolutely everything becomes clear, his dark eyes find yours before you rest your forehead against his. “I love you, Dave. I love you so much.”

It’s the first time you’ve said those words to him and he sighs softly, reaching up and cupping your cheek. “I love you too, Princess.” It’s only the second time he’s said the words, but he’s shown you how he feels everyday since that morning. “That’s why I’ll always protect you.”

“My protector,” you say against his lips. “Now, I think you promised me a nap.” You nuzzle your face against his neck and snuggle up to him. His softening cock still inside of you as you feel his protective arms wrap around you.

"That's right, princess." Dave rubs your back gently and leans back against the lounger as he brings you with him. Knowing that you will be asleep in minutes. "You sleep." He urges you softly. "I'll make sure nothing ever happens to you again." He promises, looking around even though he knows the two of you are completely alone. He's still your bodyguard after all.

#pedro pascal #dave york x you #dave york x reader #dave york x f!reader #dave york smut #dave york fanfiction #dave york equalizer 2 #dave york imagine #bodyguard au #reader insert

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azulas-lightning-bolt · 2 months

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guys I just want you to know that azula is my fav atla character (right above katara/toph/suki can you tell I like girls) but I’m actually going insane about mako right now.

also for the like,, five people who liked my last mako post please please please go look at @/jade-of-mourning’s blog. they’re so cool. they make such super awesome mako posts and his writing is really good and she also posts some stuff on ao3 so like. yeah. I’m obsessed with them.

anyway back to losing my mind over mako,, (a LOT more under the cut)

so okay I’ll admit I’m not typically a fan of angsty male characters (zuko is the exception. he’s too funny to not, and his character and development are really well done) because they all feel like copy-pastes of each other and they’re generally uninteresting.

but mako. mako is the female experience. not sure if I reposted it (as I tend to do with,, everything on here) but I saw a post talking about how what happened to mako’s character (all potential being discarded after romantic plot) is what happens to the vast majority of female characters. and as I’ve probably said at least fifty million times, he’s SO eldest daughter coded. I’m trans (they/he) but I grew up an eldest daughter and he’s like?? literally me??

as I was yapping about in a reblog—I just checked (lol) and it was in fact the post about mako having the female love interest treatment and tags about his eldest daughter syndrome—mako is somewhat made more ‘relatable’ than katara even when sending a similar message for the general audience. I think people should just be less brickheaded and appreciate my wonderful waterbending girl but mako being a guy makes people not immediately put his character into the lens of ‘ugh, dumb feminism’. (which, again, should not happen)

okay so why does this redeem him so much? I said I hate copy-paste angsty backstories meant to exacerbate a character’s edgy mysteriousness and mako is literally batman with a more violent aang for a little brother. he was basically the messiest character on the show, cheated on both his gfs with each other and fucked them up so bad they turned gay for each other (which was funny as hell of the writers by the way. his reaction to them coming out in the comics was GOLD. ik my boy was fighting back tears.) so, logically, I should hate him like 90% of the fandom, right?

well obviously 90% of the fandom HAS NOT WATCHED THE FUCKING SHOW is MISOGYNISTIC or HATES CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

I have. so much to say about this.

for one. did we watch the same show. mako is one of the most selfless, hardworking, and considerate characters, which he shows multiple times—it’s a major point of his character, actually. he’s the protector, the nurturer (*cough* the eldest daughter). down to his backstory, he shielded bolin from the worst bits of the underworld as best he could while still providing. from eight years old, all alone, he provided. that’s honestly what sets mako apart from literally being Batman (lmao) and why I don’t actually mind his backstory. he was put in an impossible situation, and told to figure it out. he was given no reprieve from the extremely traumatic event of watching his parents die by the element he wields, the one that he has to learn on his own to use to protect bolin.

the other thing is that a lot of his actions are selfish in a way. he doesn’t really care much about the street rats in the same position he was once in the beginning. but even that selfishness isn’t in his own interest—it’s selfishness for the sake of bolin’s well being. one thing that really hits me hard is the brothers’ relationships with food while on the streets. I’m going to make another post about that soon because I don’t want to ramble too endlessly on here. it’s really personal because. eldest daughter who grew up poor. yeah.

second, fandom misogyny. this makes like. no sense but I swear I know what I’m talking about. okay so misogyny is about gender right? but let’s step away from the cutout copy idea of gender, like genitals or fem/masc presentation or pronouns. think of gender as a set of inherent preconceptions, ideals, or societal expectations. that’s what it is but specifying that makes more sense. mako is a dude who is referred to with he/him and he looks like a guy but he represents a girl. mako is expected to be nurturing but not overbearing. present but not annoying. a provider, but don’t ask for anything in return. mako can’t cry in front of bolin, it’s not right for a little boy to look up to someone fragile. mako needs to work, but tiredness is not allowed. don’t be overly cheerful, it’s annoying and unfitting, but too much gruffness is just haughty.

did you feel like you were reading the transcript for that scene about how hard it is to be a woman in the barbie movie? good, because that was the intention. mako, to me, represents the idea of a sibling who is forced to also be a parent, whether or not they are the eldest, and often a girl to a boy. it could be because parents are absent or dead or bad at parenting or just foolish and inattentive. mako is hated (aside from that messy ass romance plot) for almost all the same reasons as katara and that just. infuriates me. like I have this one perfect representation that reminds me of my own background (sorry katara ily and you represent my rage) while aligning with my identity and everyone is shitting on it?? fuck mako haters he’s my special boy

last point. have you never heard of character development in your lives. did you not all love Zuko’s redemption arc, and then as soon as a dumb teenager who’s never had romantic relationships fucks up JUST AS BAD AS THE OTHER TWO PEOPLE INVOLVED (sorry korrasami ily but y’all were nasty for not asking to kiss mako) you’re all like ‘unforgivable’?? like he didn’t even have a redemption arc because HE WASNT AN EVIL CHARACTER. he was a poor kid looking for a sense of stability and he fucked up. he felt bad. I don’t think any of them apologized, despite the fact one was needed all around. he grew as a character because he let himself find stability and mature before seeking someone new to use as a life raft who was already sinking themselves. I truly believe that korrasami—had it not occurred at the end of the series—wouldn’t have worked out either.

all of them were unstable and lost and scared for their lives almost constantly. that’s not a healthy place to be in to seek a relationship and they none of them were good for each other until they gave themselves time to step away from romance and heal.

anyway stan mako to not be a bigot (im unwell about him)

#mako lok #lok #tlok #legend of korra #mako tlok #mako

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primeofprimes115 · 1 year

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You Saved Me From Myself ♥️ - Supergirl x Male Reader

Warnings: Fluffy/Wholesome and Angst (Also a cheeky smut 💕)

18+

Being someone who is practically and almost immortal with a gift of power comes with many advantages... But what it doesn't prepare you for... Is the heartbreaks.

Watching all of your loved ones die and pass away while you stand there like like you haven't aged at all.

This does as such for an Ancient Warrior named Elementor aka Y/N L/N... Well just Y/N now as it is.

Gifted a power from an Ancient God, a Gardener of sorts, resurrecting him from the dead with little memory of his last death or how he even died.

He's fought many battles, lived through Humanity's greatest wars and over the years, he's changed.

But... Like all times, heartbreak is destined to change someone completely, scarring them for life.

Y/N went through so many heartbreaks, scarring him, changing him into the person he is now, who has no time to muck around, and gets the job done without question or ease.

But deep inside? He hated himself, he hated his purpose, he doubted himself and pushed so many potential friends and many who liked him away, to save himself of that heartbreak.

He wasn't as chatty as he was centuries ago, he barely talked and when he would, everyone would shut up and just listen to what he had to say.

For a time... He was angry at himself, angry at whoever gave him this godlike power, angry at the curse that was brought upon him to watch his loved ones wither away while he couldn't.

He still is angry, angry at the curse brought on him, only to just protect Earth and the Universe for that matter, a purpose which was slowly turning him insane.

The world he lives in now? Is a world filled with Heroes, Heroes that are Human, Meta-Human and Aliens.

Many teams of heroes had these protectors, such as the Justice Society of America (JSA), the Justice League of America (JLA), the Outsiders, The Teen Titans and last but not least... The Doom Patrol.

He's met many of the heroes, the only one he respects the most is of course Batman, someone as serious as him, gets the job done without question and plans ahead accordingly.

But even everyone has their least favourites, and it's mostly a lot of the Heroes, the chattier but not too serious types, he would often butt-heads with many... But there was one particular Hero who he butted heads with more than he could count, one who he didn't really get along with on good terms who recently joined the newly re-formed Outsiders, led by Nightwing aka Dick Grayson and Artemis the Amazonian Warrior.

The cousin of Superman, the Maiden of Might, the Girl of Steel, Supergirl.

"At least show some respect!" The Kryptonian got annoyed with his attitude toward her, though it was for a reason.

"Respect isn't given, it's earned! You could've jeopardized the whole mission, you got cocky, reckless and you could've gotten a member of your squad killed!" Y/N scolded her, his voice was heard by everyone within the HQ.

"I was only trying to help as much as I could, isn't that what we're supposed to do?" she argued back, getting a little more angrier as everyone watched.

"By putting others in danger? Causing collateral damage let alone distracting others in the process? You got cocky, you tried showing off, you tried to impress others, let alone tried impressing me? You didn't impress me girl, you only disappointed me" he said with outmost disappointment once more, turning his back to end the conversation with him walking away.

"Ha, it's not like you tried protecting your own friends and people before right? Oh yeah I forgot, you don't have any!" Kara smirked with her insult, prompting the Ancient Warrior to stop in his tracks, his eyes widening as his blood began to boil.

"What. Did you just say?" his voice turned cold, his head moving to the side, giving her the side eye.

"You heard what I said" she crossed her arms as everyone within the room looked shocked, flabbergasted.

"Damn... That's just... Cold" Impulse aka Bart Allen broke the awkward silence between his fellow allies standing beside him, ready to witness what was about to be said next

"And what would your birth parents think!? ~" he violently turns round to face her as her smirk disappeared from her face - "What would they think of the woman you've become? A cocky, disobedient, snob who disobeys orders most of the time! ~" he shouted at her, Kara began clenching her fists as he dared talking to her about her parents - "You think you deserve to wear that glyph? When you wear that symbol, you don't bring hope, the only thing they'll see you as... is a disappointment... Someone who's not worthy to wear that!" he growled at her, Kara's facial expression went completely from all of that went from snarky to downright angry, she grinded her teeth, clutching her fists as they both stared each other down with hatred for one another.

"DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK OF THEM LIKE THAT!!" she suddenly lashes out at him, right hooking him across the jaw with super-human speed and power, the force of her punch echoed through the entire room, shaking everyone in their boots as Y/N was turned round due to the force of Kara's punch, his back now turned to her.

A moment later, he spat out blood along with a few teeth, this pumped something in Y/N, giving him adrenaline, no one has ever managed to make him lose a few teeth in years, let alone make him spit out blood.

Shocked gasps were heard, some whispers between one another, debating if they should stop this now or there won't be a HQ to reside in.

Y/N could only wipe at his mouth and then...

He laughed, he let out a laugh like none other - "No one has ever managed to make me spit out teeth and blood in years" he continued to laugh, no one has heard him laugh before which was... Pretty scary to others.

But to Kara? She showed no fear, her blood was still boiling, her face said it all.

His laugh then turned into a sinister growl after spitting out some more blood one more time, he turned round with the crazy eye - "you want a fight? ~" he summoned a scorching hammer in his hand - "THEN LET'S FIGHT!!" he shouted, making his way over to her as she began to also approach, before being stopped by the other Outsiders.

"Hey hey, chill out! There's no need to fight" Blue Beetle got in Y/N way along with Impulse, Metamorpho and Thunder while Wonder-Girl (Cassandra Sandsmark), Halo and Jade hold Supergirl back from fighting Elementor

"Let go of me!!" Y/N growled, attempting to push them all away.

"What's wrong? Knocked a few teeth out! I'll knock out the rest!!" Kara shouted across as her friends tried holding her back, almost getting overpowered by her.

"You two! KNOCK IT OFF! ~" Nightwing finally arrived at the commotion with Artemis, The Amazonian Warrior, trying to break up the commotion they heard from outside the debriefing room - "Y/N. calm down! And you too Kara! Knock it off, both of you!" he told the two off like telling off bad behaving toddlers, already having enough of their crap.

Y/N growled one last time before overpowering the heroes holding him back as Kara did the same, knocking them away as they both rushed each other, only for both Nightwing and Artemis to get in the way - "When I say knock it off, you knock it off! ~" his hands both reached out in front of Y/N and Kara, as they both stared each other down with hatred, Kara was so tempted to use her heat vision, super-breath, anything just to land another hit on him as he thought of using his elemental shield to throw it at her, but with both Nightwing and Artemis standing in the way, he knew he couldn't - "I don't know what's gotten into both of you to fight but it ends now!" he ordered.

"He started it!" Kara argued, staring down Y/N as he kept his eyes on her also, giving her a glare.

"I don't care who started what, you both need to calm down and stop fighting like a married couple" Nightwing folds his arms in disappointment, the Kryptonian and Warrior look at with shock and utter confusion.

"Wait what ~" Kara cocked an eyebrow before cackling - "Me, him? Married couple? Uh uh, nope, nope! Never happening, never!" The Kryptonian scoffed.

"That's not what I meant Supergirl ~" Nightwing retorts - "my point is that there's no need for violence, and Kara, you know well not to attack someone who's trying to school you from what you did, I was told what happened and Y/N is right on one thing, you were being reckless, and you also disobeyed orders" Nightwing turned his gaze to Kara, being held back by Artemis.

Kara shakes Artemis' grip off not long after, thinking why is he siding with such an asshole? - "Excuse me? I was helping people, isn't that what we're supposed to do? Plus, he's not even in the Outsiders so why is he here in the first place?!" Kara pointed towards him, who just stared angrily at her, letting out cold breaths in between.

"I made him team leader for the mission till I was back from Bludhaven, and he's here to help us for the time being, he's an ally, not an enemy" Nightwing scolded her as she pouted.

"Yeah right, at least he can show respect, a team leader doesn't scold their own, and plus, you think I'm just gonna let him make me think that I'm a disappointment to this? To my parents!! ~" she pouts, angrily tapping the House of El glyph - "I bet he does the same with others, If he even had a team to lead or friends for the matter"

Nightwing just sighs and looks at Y/N, still wielding his scorching weapon as it burned brightly as he stomped closer - "Stand down Y/N, calm down ~" he reached his hands out to him - "I'll deal with this, I'll talk with her about it but you don't need to start a fight with her either, she's one of my teammates and I won't let her get hurt, and that'll make me responsible for it" he tried calming down the flame inside the Warrior, keeping his eyes on the Kryptonian as she gave him a hateful glare.

"Nightwing... With all due respect... I'm going to say this once, and once only... Keep. Your own allies in line ~" he coldly spoke, towering over the crime fighter before getting into his face, leaning down a little - "Or I will" his words came out cold with a threatening aura, his hammer disappeared before walking out the room.

"Well... That was awkward ~" Impulse says out loud before being punched in the arm by Wonder-Girl - "Ow! What was that for?" he yelped.

The former sidekick of Batman sighs as Y/N disappeared out of view, turning back to Kara as she kept her eyes focused on the wall, using her x-ray vision to see where Elementor was heading.

"Kara ~" Dick snapped his fingers, snapping Kara out of her x-ray vision - "Debriefing room, now"

Y/N stood outside, sighing to himself as the calming winds hit his face, he looks out to the city ahead of him, closing his eyes as echoes of voices ring in his head, echoes from his past... Of his loved ones, family and friends.

All he could hear was "Don't push people back, let their kind soul help you"

He wished he could, but he couldn't, he didn't want to feel that pain of losing the people he'll care about, they'll become attached to him.

Batman was right about one thing, don't let anyone become too attached to you and... Y/N respected that... But deep down... He knew it felt wrong but he was doing it for a reason.

He sighed to himself once more, before he felt Nightwing's presence behind him - "What is it?" he asked brashly, not in a mood to have any company.

"Just coming to check on you big guy, I spoke with her -"

-And?" he moved his head to the left a little, giving him a side eye.

"And? Y/N, you were a little harsh on her don't you think? She's not long-"

-"That doesn't give her the right to disobey orders, DIRECT. Orders. The world isn't sunshine and rainbows Grayson, she needs to learn responsibility, she was cocky, reckless, put her own team at risk and I had to save them and herself!" Y/N snapped.

"She's trying, like the young generation are, I heard what happened with you and the younger generation of Heroes, you're not really liked by most of them, yes I understand that she was a little reckless during the mission but that doesn't give you the right to lay into my own, not with her, she's just new to the team so cut her some slack!" Nightwing raised his voice at him, Y/N turns round immediately turns round, staring him down with annoyance before the realisation hits him.

His facial expression turns somber as the former sidekick realises it, the Warrior sighs and turns his back to him, one foot up on the platform of the roof - "I know... I just..."

"I know you're trying to look out for them, trying to show them that the world isn't as colourful as they think ~" he stood beside him taking in the view also - "But Kara? She understands, she doesn't need to be schooled like that. She's gone through a lot for the past year, she's still new to Earth... Sorta, but she's lost her planet, twice, Krypton and New Krypton, she's lost her people, her parents, friends... She's still... grieving as it is, I know you were there when the Kryptonians issued an assault on Earth ~" Nightwing finished as the both looked at the city's lights, lighting up everywhere - "My point is... Just cut her some slack, I know she can be... Rebellious but let me deal with her if she does anything like that again, she's got great value to the team, the world and she's one of the Outsiders now, or at least part time but... I would probably keep your distance from her, I've told her the same also, and... I know what she said to you, I was told about it" he added.

Y/N looks at him before sighing with somber, thinking back to what Kara said that got them to fight in the first place - "She's right about that Grayson... I don't have any friends left... All my people are gone" he gave in to Kara's harsh words from earlier.

"C'mon don't say that, she was just saying that to get a reaction out of you, I mean... You scolded her a bit too much and she retaliated" he tried cheering him up.

"I wish you were right Dick Grayson, I wish you were" he refused to believe him, making him realise that Y/N was still grieving too.

For how he knows this? By reading his face.

"Look, I know you've lived for a very long time and still looking young as ever ~" he jabs at the curse a little, making Y/N grumble - "But I also know you're pushing people away, refusing to have anyone help you or... Become friends with you, I know that because you didn't want to be my friend, just acquaintances, I know that because... You don't want to go through that pain again, I can tell by the look in your face that I'm correct right?" he asked as Y/N looked at him.

He sighs once more, looking back at the city - "Yes... You're correct, it's not the fact I feel... That pain, but the fact that if I have someone close to me, wither away and die while I can defy death, over and over and over again, it's a curse Grayson, and it's..." he stopped speaking to grumble again.

"It's driven you insane?" he asked kindly.

"I guess you can put it like that" he agrees with him.

"I can't imagine what you're going through Elementor, but don't let it drag you down, just gotta push forward, all you need - is a little push and you're all set to sail" he patted his back which surprised Y/N, and for the first time... He smiled, without showing it of course.

"You're smiling, aren't you?" he smirked.

"Don't make this awkward Grayson" he warned him as a laugh escaped Nightwing's throat.

"Whatever you say big guy... Just remember to... Keep your distance from her, to prevent arguments and that but knowing her? She might not listen" Grayson sighed to himself, patting Y/N on the back before walking off.

"A push? A little push and you're all set to sail?" he repeated Grayson's words from earlier as he kept his gaze on the city, making him realise that maybe he wasn't wrong, maybe he was harsh on Kara, too harsh to say at least.

Sure she can be pretty immature, impulsive, bratty, rebellious and too quick to anger, but from what he has heard about her... She's done some good, despite many people not liking her mostly everywhere, especially Metropolis.

In a way... He felt pity for her, but she doesn't fully understand him, why he acts the way he is, mostly strict and commanding, the guy who always ruins parties and stuff, she didn't like him for it, nor has she ever.

That's where the dislike comes in, he doesn't like when she acts out of order, she's disobeying orders and getting cocky which almost got her and a few others severely hurt, killed almost, including civilians, she doesn't like when he's so strict and commanding, the one who isn't much fun at parties or anything fun, he just gets stuff done his way, in and out, quick and clean.

She even relates him to Batman in a way "He's like Batman but more... Nastier, grumpier and... Just a downright dickhead" she once told her friends.

Even some of Kara's friends dislike him for what he is, Ancient Warrior or not.

But they fail to see the pain behind the armour, the mask. The pain he's suffered throughout his time of living for that long, he's watched many of his allies, friends and family wither away and die, and that scarred him for life.

They can't imagine what it's like to live for thousands of years and die over, and over, and over again, coming back each time just to repeat the cycle again and again.

He felt... Lost, he didn't feel himself anymore... He doesn't feel...

Human anymore...

He only felt... Isolated... In a world he doesn't understand anymore.

As he looked toward the stars... He began to think...

"What happens next?"

A month had flown by, quite say that the Outsiders were getting along... A little.

Supergirl and Elementor always kept eyes on each other when one weren't looking at one another, Kara pulling off faces at him when he wouldn't look but she was caught doing it one time which made him roll his eyes.

"Maybe she is more immature than I thought" he mumbled to himself which she heard him, almost erupting into another pointless argument which would be broken up.

Though things were still heated between the two, she began to show a little... Pity for Y/N after she briefly heard him talk with Nightwing one night, talking about the situation they're currently dealing with before the next part caught her attention fully... Where Y/N would tell him about his life, and barely scratches the surface about his last friends the other night.

She knew he had no friends but... To hear him say "The only friends I ever had... Are gone, and they've been gone for a long time ~" made her realise that there is more to Y/N than she originally thought - "I'm just... Afraid of losing people close to me again"

Maybe the way he acts commanding and strict is because he doesn't want whatever fate happen to her and the others that happened to his friends? His allies?

She revealed this to her friend Cassandra Sandsmark/Wonder-Girl.

"I caught onto Nightwing's conversation with Y/N believe it or not" Kara said, sitting down lazily on her couch within her apartment, still in costume.

"Really? What'd you hear?" she replied with curiosity.

"They were just talking about... The situation and the plans but then... Nightwing asked him something about 'letting people in?' or something like that but... There was one thing that really caught my ear is that... Y/N replied with 'The only friends I had are gone, and they've been gone for a long time' which made me think there's more to him than I thought? Maybe I was right when I said he had no friends and I didn't even realise why it hit him the way it did a month ago" Kara answered, feeling pretty guilty about her harsh words to him last month.

"Oh really? Wow ~" Cassie didn't know what to say, this was the first time she's heard this piece of information - "I know he's lived for a long time but... Ouch, I can't imagine that" she felt bad for him too.

"He told Nightwing that he's still grieving about it, but it doesn't give him the excuse to... Loath into me and a few others, or treat us like toddlers when he looks like a a young person too ~" Kara complained - "And he hasn't even apologised to me yet about what he said about my parents, my birth parents, about... Thinking I'm not worthy of wearing this" she pouted sadly, sighing to herself as Cassie went to comfort her best friend.

"Maybe he's just working on it, after all, I think you should apologise to him for what you said to him last month" she told her as Kara looked at her friend.

"What's the point? He's not gonna listen, he's just gonna ignore me, like he usually does with others" she pouted.

"Maybe, but give it time, give him time to come round, it will happen, just like how you and I forgave each other" Cassie comforted her.

"But that was different, this however? This is something else, how can I make him forgive me?" she wondered.

"Like I said, with time Kara. Or you can just approach him and apologise there but... I don't think that's a good idea considering your in hot, boiling water with him right now" Cassie replied to Kara's thought, making sure she doesn't think too far ahead.

"Thanks Cass" she hugged her friend with a smile.

"Anytime Sis" she replied, smiling back with her.

The next few weeks were quite eventful for the Outsiders, especially for Kara.

It indeed was a busy few weeks for the Outsiders, with villains on the run, causing some commotion as usual and with the current situation, it was no surprise that one of them, being Lex Luthor, was looking for a source of ancient power, a power Y/N once sealed away that came from an ancient being

This is where he was fully involved in this, despite Kara not willing to enjoy it...

However... Things weren't as they seemed for both Kara and Y/N, even after stopping Lex and his quest for power.

(Kara/Supergirl's pov)

Had to stop by Metropolis to do what I do best, saving the day, kicking criminal butt and taking names!

There's one thing I really enjoy about being Supergirl? It's not just saving lives and kicking butt! It's the flying part that's my favourite. Being able to fly out of Earth and sunbathe is definitely an experience, a very relaxing experience.

But from what I've noticed? I've noticed that Elementor hasn't shown up to the Outsiders for the last week or two after the situation was dealt with about Lex and his quest for power.

Why does he even bother? I don't know? It's Lex Luthor, once he sees something, he wants to claim its power.

But... Last week... Y/N... He saved me from getting hurt badly, using his elemental shield or something to save me and... I never got to thank him for it.

"I've got you Supergirl, we'll fight him together" I remember him reaching out to me with his hand to pull me up, I still haven't forgotten that, it was pretty magical in a way too, him saving me in that way, I think that's the moment maybe I was wrong about him.

I still need to apologise to him... I should've done it as soon as I could but... I was too stubborn, doubtful he'd even take the time to listen to me.

But for some reason... He was... Very nice to me, he barely even talked but... What made me happy was that he praised me for my heroic deeds for saving the Earth while my cousin was immobilised.

It made me happy but... I should've apologised there and I regret not doing so... Though he hasn't apologised to me yet so... I guess we're not there just yet.

Nothing more than just flying around the city, enjoying the breeze and wind hitting my face as I continue patrolling Metropolis.

That was until I flew over near the Cemetery, where I caught a familiar face near it.

It's... Y/N? What's got him in Metropolis? And is he carrying... Flowers?

He was walking to the entrance of the Cemetery and this really got me curious, is he visiting someone's grave? Because it sure seems like it.

Doesn't matter, I need to see why he is here, it's been a hot minute since I last seen him.

I stayed a-float so he couldn't see or hear me, I didn't want to draw his attention, whatever has him in the Cemetery must be something very important to him.

As I flew a little closer, he stopped at a gravestone before kneeling down to it, using my microscopic vision, I could see it read; 'Here lies Elliot Richards 1865 -1901, loving husband, father, friend and sibling'

Wait... Was this? Is this one of Y/N's friends? from the 18th century?

"Hey old friend... It's been a while ~" he sighed to himself as put down the flowers, I stayed stationary not too far from him but a little closer than before - "I know I haven't been able to... Visit since well... Been busy... Keeping all of this safe" he sounded... Sorrowed, hurting, like he was in pain.

I blocked every noise that I could hear with my super-hearing to listen to what Y/N was saying, I flew a little closer than before - "I don't even know where to begin, the world has... Changed since the last time I ever visited you, and the others too" my heart wrenched at this, a sick turning of my stomach was enough to make me realise what was really happening.

He was grieving... Like I would... I'd talk to a picture or... Something that reminds me of my parents... And this was his way.

"The world isn't even the same as it was ages ago, there was no advanced technology, no skyscrapers in cities, not many extra-terrestrials... Nothing like that, there was only... Us... Guardian Warriors and Humans, they call me an Ancient Warrior now but... Humanity has changed, many things have changed, whole cities were built, more aliens and extra-terrestrials than before... And I thought in the next cycle, there would be more like me... I was wrong ~" he scoffed, I really wanted to swoop on down there but I know I can't, not right now - "If I could give you my one life, If could do the same for everyone I cared for... I would... But I can't, I have to live with the fact that no matter what happens... I don't think I'll ever have that one, final death... It's a curse! A lie! The fact I've died so many times only to come back has been driving me to insanity and I... *sigh* I don't even know anymore, I don't even know who I am at this point" he looked at his hands, self-loathing himself... Just like I did? Survivor's Guilt?? I'm not the only one who suffers from it???

I hear him sigh once more, after all this time? He's been suffering from the same thing I've went through? This realisation hit me pretty hard, those harsh words I said to him not long ago, the way his facial expression got when those words left my mouth, the fact he bad mouthed me over me not being worthy of wearing this glyph? How he made me think I disappointed Mom and Dad, Alura and Zor-El.

"I may have... Done some... Things I'm not proud of to people who didn't deserve it, especially to... One particular girl I scolded, around 18 years old, her name is Kara... Kara Zor-El, people call her Supergirl, she's also an alien called a Kryptonian much like her cousin, but... *sigh* she didn't deserve to be scolded by me, she's been through a lot as of it is and I... I said some... Horrible things to her, even though she did the same but not as bad as I did... I don't think I'll ever -"

He's talking about me? I have to agree that he wasn't wrong about me... I felt like I wasn't worthy, I still feel responsible for New Krypton's destruction that I just I wanted to give up being Supergirl, just to live as Linda Lang full time, not everyone likes Supergirl, but I knew what Kal would say, what Conner, John Irons and the rest would say, including my Earth Aunt, Lana Lang.

But overall... Y/N was right about one thing... I got reckless during that mission, I got cocky, I tried showing off, tried impressing him and all I did was screw up,

That's when I heard him... Chuckle? He chuckled softly? - "I know you're listening... Supergirl, you can come down now" he looked up to where I stayed a-float.

I don't know how he does it but... He sure does have a very good sense of surroundings, almost like a super-sense of some kind.

I flew down slowly, gracefully landing gently on the grass a few feet away from him as I slowly approach him, feeling remorse for him.

"Hey" he greeted me, I practically had to swallow the lump at the back of my throat to speak.

"Hi" I say with a lowered voice.

"So... You heard it all?" he asked me as I nodded my head, he sighed afterwards and looked back at the gravestone.

There was awkward silence between us, all could be heard was the flapping of my cape behind me, I stood closer to him, standing beside him, my left hand crossed to my right arm as we both looked at the gravestone together.

"How'd you meet him?" I asked him as he took a deep breath.

"I met him when he was getting himself into trouble at a saloon, saved him last minute before he his fate could be sealed by some Outlaws" he replied, chuckling near the end.

He was hurting, I can tell by his tone and his pain, I've felt and still feel it.

"He was... A kindred spirit, like many others before him, like... My brethren" he broke the minute long silence between us before I could, I just wanted to say sorry to him but... He had more to say as I questioned his... Brethren?

Did he mention his 'brethren?' Was there more like him? - "Brethren?" I asked him.

"Yes... Believe it or not but there was more like me years ago, we were called Guardian Warriors, a group of warriors that would defend the planet for centuries. We. Were. Legends... Until our history was scrapped from the history books, keeping our kind hidden from Humanity today ~" he looked at me, I can see the pain in his eyes, grieving, hurting - "I am the last of the Guardian Warriors"

I blankly stared at him as he revealed this, I had no idea he'd been living for this long, to hear that... It must've been... Hard for him.

"I know what you lost Kara, you lost your planet twice, Krypton, New Krypton... Lost friends, family even... And... I'm... I'm so sorry for what you lost ~" he trailed off, looking away as I began to remember my parents, my friends... Thara... - "I was there when the Kryptonians invaded, after many years of hiding after General Lane issued that I'd be hunted down, I went out of hiding to protect Earth once more... I killed those invading Kryptonians Kara, they began hurting innocents and I... I killed those who harmed the innocents, the amount of their blood on my hands, justified who I was... I became... A monster again... And I'm so sorry, I'm especially sorry for what I said about... What I said not long ago, when you... Knocked my teeth out" he... He actually apologised? I felt a little relieved about it but... Knowing he killed those invading Kryptonians attacking Earth... My adopted home, stung my heart a little knowing he did that but do I blame him? Should I get angry at him?? For killing those invading Kryptonians???

No... That was justified, he had no choice... And I don't blame him, knowing he's lived for this long, seeing his home... Our home, get attacked over New Krypton's destruction, calling to run Humanity to extinction.

"I still remember their faces, their last words before they were gone, when... New Krypton was destroyed, I wanted to give up being... This ~" I point to the family glyph on my chest, gaining his attention to look at me - "After Zod issued a full assault on Earth, I... I just wanted to give so badly that I blame m-myself for its destruction, I brought Reactron there to justice, only to find my mother torturing him before..." I stopped myself as I choked up, I still felt emotional talking about it, knowing my mother is gone, my father is gone, all of those people... Gone.

In an unexpected manner, he pulled me in to hug me, which took me by surprise, my face saying it all - "Don't blame yourself, that only adds to the pain of loss ~" he cooed, managing to keep me calm a little, I just wanted to cry, I really did, to just cry in his chest as he held me but... I couldn't, I let my tears fall down without sobbing - "Trust me... I know how it feels, it adds to the guilt, making you self-loath yourself further, Survivor's Guilt? We both share it" he talked me down, in a comforting matter, I felt... Safe when he held me I have to admit, it was...

A nice, warm feeling.

I sniffled as he pulled back, looking at me in the eyes with... A smile?

He was smiling... He's. Smiling!? I've never seen him smile before, he used to be this... Grumpy, I kill the mood for everyone person but... To see him smiling? It made me flutter a little.

I wipe away any remaining tears on my face still, to point out his... Unusual behaviour - "You're, you're smiling" I grew a little smile too as his disappeared, you just had to say something Kara, now he's gonna be annoyed with you.

"Perhaps I was" he agreed, admitting he did smile... Phew, thought he'd get mad at me

But I wanted to apologise to him, I need to, he deserves one from me.

"Oh, also... I wanted to apologise for... Saying... What I said to you when you and I had that... 'Fight'" I began to play with my cape in nervousness, afraid of what he's going to say next.

"No need to apologise, you're forgiven either way" he nodded his head, smiling once more, I swear his smile is making me blush now.

"Eh ~" I didn't know how to say my next words afterwards, my hands were behind my back, my cape flapped behind me also as I blushed a little, I wanted to bury the hatchet between us, Rao I love that saying, to perhaps... Become friends? - "So... Do you want to start fresh? To bury the hatchet between us and... Start from there? Re-introduce ourselves and... Maybe become friends??" I spoke a little low with awkwardness, grinning like a fool before he sighed, which killed the stupid grin I had.

"I've pushed so many people away in my lifetime after... Elliot passed ~" he looked at the gravestone of his friend before making his way back to me - "For years I've walked among the Earth alone, with no one by my side, no friends to call on, only minimal allies I met along the way, but I never saw them as a friend... But there is one person that's ever been close to be called a friend... Is Dick Richard Grayson, Nightwing ~" he continued, the fact Dick was very close to making Y/N call him friend, made me smile as it melted my heart, it really shows why he's so generous and he's like a big brother to me - "Though I've never admitted it... I do see him... As a friend... And maybe having another friend... Wouldn't hurt much" he gives me a sweet smile which made my heart flutter, I smiled like an idiot and chuckled happily, knowing he's willing to give it a go.

"Great! ~" I hugged him without warning him until I realised what I did, my face went red as I pulled back, scratching the back of my neck awkwardly as I giggled - "Sorry, *nervous chuckle* I uh.. Got carried away there ~" I couldn't look at him in the face as I felt totally embarrassed, but I pulled myself together by clearing my throat and staying calm to re-introduce myself once more to him - "Hi, my name is Kara Zor-El, like Superman or Kal-El or his secret identity; Clark Kent, I'm from Krypton, I go by Linda Lang as my secret identity since I was adopted by my Aunt: Lana Lang but... Everyone here knows me as Supergirl" I reached my hand out for him to shake as I waited for his response.

"Y/N... Y/N L/N, Elementor, Guardian Warrior, Earth, it's a pleasure to meet you, Supergirl" he shook my hand with a cheerful smile, calling me by my Superhero name as I smile brightly, standing in front of him with my superhero outfit on

"It's good to meet you too... Y/N"

(3rd person pov)

For the next few weeks, their fresh start started pretty well, he began opening himself up a bit more to Kara, who invited him over a few times.

He revealed he lived within an abandoned alien ship that crashed centuries ago, the outside area was outgrown, covered in green and flowers but the inside was pretty clean for an old abandoned ship.

The biggest twist was that when Kara saw it... She immediately realised it wasn't just any ordinary ship, it was a Kryptonian Shuttle, a modified scout ship that went missing centuries ago in Kryptonian History.

This discovery was big for Kara, she thought the Fortress of Solitude was the last Kryptonian structure on Earth and the Universe? She was wrong.

Her cousin was called up to this immediately after this discovery and the fact Y/N had been living in it for years says many things, even most of the tech inside the ship still worked but the engines were completely busted beyond repair which was upsetting but Kara didn't care, she was happy either way.

This grew Kara's bond with Y/N further, he began entrusting others into his circle, opening himself up more to others but to Kara? He trusted more the weeks would go by where nicknames were given.

His: Y/N/N.

Hers: Angel (There's a deeper meaning behind it, you haven't revealed it yet)

"I've never been more proud... To call you... A friend, Angel" he smiled sweetly, melting Kara's heart as she hugged him on the couch.

"What about best friend? Best Super Friend??" she asked him, pulling back from the hug.

"Let's not go there yet, I'm still trying to get used to... This" he replied, looking at his surroundings, it only has been a few weeks since then after all.

He looks back at her and smiles, though she put on a sad face, trying to win him over by calling her best friend.

He slightly chuckles at her facial expression, he couldn't lie, she looked pretty cute when she did that, putting on a puppy dog eyes expression.

"What's with the lost puppy expression?" he asked her as she fiddled with her hair.

"I just thought we could be... Best friends?" she looked at him with a naïve expression, he had to admit that she was naïve and adorable when she was, it was almost like he was falling in love with her in a way.

He shook that thought right out of his hand and snickered at her - "You want to be best friends?"

She smiled brightly while nodding her head.

"Okay... I'm only allowing it because you're an exception" he cooed, Kara erupted in exhilaration, filled with joy upon him allowing it, hugging him tightly, giggling uncontrollably.

He chuckled at her cute nature, accepting the big hug by wrapping his arms around her, his heart fluttered when he thought about her, like he had something else to say, a feeling from earlier on.

He wanted to say that she saved him from himself, saved him from hating himself.

He's never felt this happier before, though it was hard for him to admit it.

Their hug however was cut short as Kara heard sirens in the distance, and shouting... Curse Super-Hearing!!

"Ugh, great" she sighed and groaned.

"What?" he asked her, wondering why she groaned.

"Sirens, probably crime... Again ~" she got up and changed with super-speed, transforming into Supergirl as she placed her glasses down on the table in front of Y/N - "you coming?" she sweetly asked him with a hand on her hip.

He exhales and begins to get up, his armour re-forming all around him - "Let's make this quick" he sighed.

"Agreed" she acknowledged, picking him up and flying out the opened window towards the scene...

* A week had gone by and... It was a pretty stressful week...

Lex was back at it.... AGAIN, with his schemes and also had backup with him...

But on the other hand... A Darkness had risen back up, long thought dead after years of not showing back up, this Darkness was a figment of Y/N's past, better known... His sworn enemy, the one responsible for the death of the Guardian Warriors, labelling him the last Guardian Warrior on Earth.

Nightwing issued a debriefing for the two main issues, one issue was that Lex was now looking for another source of power while the other, was that the Justice League had encountered a mysterious entity and a team of heroes had not reported back since they first encountered it, once of those heroes included the Man of Steel, Kara's cousin.

Upon this new threat, Y/N suffered flashbacks to a very powerful god who feeds on Nightmares, Terrors, Pain and Fear.

This god was named Sevarec, a god Y/N once took down but who kept coming back to haunt many others, including himself.

"I am Pain. I am Fear itself. I am-"

"Sevarec" he hissed out loud, gaining all their attention.

"What? What was that Y/N?" Nightwing asked him as the man of elements shook his head, out of hearing Sevarec speaking and laughing.

"I know who the entity is, I heard his voice, his name is Sevarec, a God of Pain and Fear, he feeds on Nightmares, Terrors, he's someone I've faced many times and should not be taken lightly ~" he explained his rather word vomit - "I'll go after him, while you take the others to the other issue I'm sure you'll manage" he issued.

"I'll go with Y/N" a femme voice spoke out, belonging to Kara Zor-El, taking everyone by surprise, even him.

"No Kara, this will be too dangerous, even for -"

"Listen Y/N/N, I don't care what you have to say, my cousin's trapped in there and I'm going to find him whether you like it or not" she interrupted the man with the elements as she had her hands on her hips, striking a superhero pose, he thought it was cute when she performed a superhero pose to get her point across.

"Kara this is a very stu..." Nightwing was cut-off by Y/N, preventing him from scolding Kara into thinking she could go against some powerful God, let alone, someone that feasts on fears and nightmares along with pain... And she still has those nightmares and fears about New Krypton's destruction along with everything afterwards.

"If she wants to go with, she can go ~" he told him, which took him by surprise and her also - "Your love for your cousin, I can sense it's strong, like your heart and we'll find him and the others... Together" he told her, which seemed to uplift her a little.

"Are you sure about this?" Nightwing asked him.

"Yes... I am" he nodded his head before looking at Kara who had a smile on her face... And he smiled back at her.

Supergirl begins to groan as she wakes back up from unconsciousness, clutching at her head as she sat back up, her outfit slightly torn along with her cape, she looked down at herself and groaned, getting on one knee.

Fire was everywhere, the ground was ruined by the amount of debris.

Kara looked to her left and saw her cousin, unconscious, along with Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) trying to get up but struggling to even step on one foot.

She then heard noises, Wonder Woman came flying out of nowhere and landing a few feet in front of Kara, falling to unconsciousness.

She then then heard the clashing of weapons and a roar of sinister laughter.

"I will enjoy this moment while it lasts!! As I did with your people!" Sevarec roars out in satisfaction, his scythe clashing with Y/N's Glaive, two of them clashing back and fourth.

Supergirl gets back on her feet and immediately gets up, flying right toward where she heard Y/N and Sevarec fighting to the death... Only to run into...

Something unexpected.

"But as much as I enjoy our fights, it all must come to an end someday" he says with cold meaning, his scythe impaled right through Y/N, he was all battered up, his wounds weren't even healing like they should.

And it hit her...

"Y/N!!!" She screams for Y/N as his body falls limp on the blade and is thrown to the side, right as Kara caught him.

She set him down, as he clutched his wound with little effort, she tries cauterizing the wound with her heat vision but nothing seemed to work, his wound wouldn't close up.

"Why isn't it closing?!!" she panicked, she kept looking back at him and his wound - "Y/N please answer me! Please!! Don't..." tears began forming in her eyes as his breaths were shallow.

"K-K-Kara... It's... Magic... Can't heal ~" he struggles to say as he holds her hand - "I'm proud of you Kara... I see it, they're calling... For me" he smiles at the sky above, seeing a Light and hears many voices call out to him to join"

"Y/N, stay with me! Don't go! Not now! I need you!" Kara cried, tears falling down rapidly as his thumb wiped them away off her face, he smiled

"Thank you... Kara, for being *laboured breathing* for being... M-My best friend... Don't give up Angel... I... Love you" he said through a choked breath, gasping for air as his vision began to turn white. closing on Kara's angelic face

"What? You what? ~" she spoke through tears, looking at him in panicked confusion as Sevarec began to drew near, slowly making his way to her - "Y/N? Y/N?! No... Don't go! Please don't..." she begged as his eyes began to shut, his body goes limp.

She couldn't hear his heartbeat anymore, the hand he held went limp, touching the ground beneath them as Kara cried... She begged for him to come back.

First Krypton, and Kandor, Argo, her parents and friends, losing them twice, TWICE and now? This... Y/N's sudden death at the hands of Sevarec.

She whimpers and sobs, tears continued falling down from her eyes, holding his lifeless body close to her as Sevarec laughs with no remorse, which began to stir something within the Girl of Steel.

"That pain and... Fear within you? Oh it's so satisfying! Watching you painfully watch him wither away and die... And... Your pain? You blame yourself for a Planetoid's destruction, you doubt yourself, you fear that you bring pain and destruction to everyone around you, you think... You're a failure... Not worthy, you fear that you... Are alone... that... Pain? Let. Me. Devour it!" he snarls as he enables painful memories to swirl inside Kara, putting her through tons of pain.

Flashbacks run through her head, all of her bad moments first from Krypton to landing on Earth, through her struggles and coping with living on another planet... To finding Zor-El killed by Reactron and then... Watching the uprooted Krypton fall to chaos and destruction, killing thousands of Kryptonians, watching her own home fall twice... And now... This.

She groaned, cried, and hissed through the pain, putting down Y/N's lifeless body as she tried fighting back.

She got up on one foot, trying her best to move as Sevarec's torment was pulling her back down, slowly feeding on Kara's nightmares, pain and fears.

"You... took him from me ~" she managed to step on her other foot, standing up - "I was... Happy, and you... Took. Him... Away from me" she stepped forward, fighting the pain of torment"

She took another step, refusing to stay still, fighting the pain and turning it... Into harnessing anger.

"What? N-No, that's impossible ~" Sevarec realised that Supergirl was fighting his torment, beginning to inflict more pain and suffering on her which made the Maiden of Might stumble to one knee - "I won't let some Kryptonian girl overcome my power! My power is limitless!" he snarled, grasping his clawed hand to inflict more pain on the Kryptonian than before.

"Everything is possible! ~" Kara shouted, putting aside her grief, fear and pain by turning it into strength, allowing the memory of her parents, her friends, New Krypton and... Y/N, to fuel her resolve, pushing through the pain, breaking through it all, getting close enough to punch Sevarec with all her strength which sent him flying backwards, his torment over her broken - "You may not know me Sevarec, but Y/N told me everything about you! I am Kara Zor-El of Kandor, of New Krypton, Daughter of Alura and Zor-El, I am a Superhero of Earth... And I don't scare easily" she stood tall and resilient, ready to fight Sevarec as he growled at this.

"Then. You will die screaming for mercy" he growled, using his scythe to balance himself.

"No ~" Kara retorted - "You will" she snarled, her eyes lighting up red with heat vision and within a blur... She flew at him with inhuman speed, practically teleporting toward him before connecting a killer left hook, delivering a flurry of punches before going for an uppercut, sending him up into the air as she gave chase.

Back on the ground where Y/N's body was, his finger... Began to twitch as voices spoke to him.

"It's not your time yet son" a man's voice spoke to him as he puts his hand on his shoulder... His son's shoulder.

"But Dad, I'm here, I'm with you all, I've always wanted to be here to see you all again to stay with -"

"Son ~" a woman's voice spoke, belonging to his mother, she approached Y/N as he grasped his hands - "Your father is right, it's not your time to join us yet, not now" she cooed.

"Mum... I..." he stopped himself as he looked down, getting a little emotional, he hasn't spoken with his parents for what it felt centuries in his lifetime as he swallows the lump in his throat.

"Son, look at me ~" she placed her finger under his chin to make him look back up, a tear falling down his face as the woman smiles - "My boy, my sweet, handsome boy, we know how much you've missed us all, how long it's been... But don't fret, we will always be with you in here ~" she points to where his heart was, he sighs afterwards upon hearing this - "Son, there are people out there that need you, they need their Guardian... Their Warrior... Their Protector, don't just go back for us... Go back for them and... That girl... What was her name?" she cooed with a question for her son.

He slightly chuckled, smiling at the thought of his friend, a friend he hasn't had in so long - "Her name is Kara... Kara Zor-El but the people know her as Supergirl, and she goes by Linda Lang to blend in with society" he kept his smile, thinking about her as he would on a daily basis as feelings fluster inside him.

"Go back for Kara, you love her, don't let go of that ~" she told him, smiling before she along with her husband see the door to the real world begin to close - "The door's closing, you need to go back now"

Y/N looked back also, it was now or never, he knew his parents were right, it wasn't the right time for him to join them within the afterlife, not now when people need him, not when Kara needs him.

Before he would run back... He turned round and hugged both his parents - "Thank you, for raising me" he choked a little as son and mother and father hugged one another for the last time.

He pulled back and began running for the door, he stopped as he reached the door, to look back at his parents as they were joined up by the many people that Y/N saw as friends and family, he had a huge smile on his face upon seeing them all.

He then takes a long, deep breath, praying he gets back in time as he stepped through the door...

All it took was one... Deep... Breath.

*Gasping for air* he awoke, gasping for breath, immediately shooting up as he breathed heavily, his eyes wide open like he saw headlights coming at speed to hit him.

"I'm... I'm back?" he asked himself, looking at his surroundings, seeing what appeared to have been the aftermath of a battle around him.

There was a few cracks on the walls and craters on the ground, a hole leading to the outside area - he began to get up as he checked himself, the wound he suffered from Sevarec healed up, though his armour was still banged up pretty badly.

"Wait... Kara? Shit! Supergirl!!" he remembered she was left alone to fight Sevarec after he supposedly killed Y/N himself, he began to panic a little before hearing noises coming from outside, prompted to check what it was.

It was... Whimpering, sobbing, crying... Coming from Kara as she hugged her cousin tightly, the body of Sevarec was surrounded by Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Steel and Flash (Barry Allen).

Kara sobbed to her cousin, they all knew what had happened, upset by the death of Y/N caused her to snap and... Put an end to Sevarec.

Kal wasn't angry nor disappointed with her, he couldn't... His cousin was upset, very upset, distraught, up until...

A Heartbeat was heard.

A familiar, slow heartbeat, very calm and soothing to Kara's ears, a heartbeat she always listened too whenever he would draw near.

She broke the hug with her cousin as the heartbeat drew near, upon looking where it come from, the figure drew closer.

His armour was broken but the hole in his chest had healed up like nothing happened.

They all looked shocked, for sure he was dead, it was confirmed later on when Superman woke up from unconsciousness, before he and the others would find Kara destroying Sevarec in a harnessing, unrelenting rage.

Kara's eyes brimmed with more tears as his face appeared from beyond the fiery smoke.

"Y/N!!! ~" she shouted with jubilation, crying tears of joy as she rushed toward him with super-speed into the arms of her friend, digging her face into his chest - "You idiot, you stupid idiot! I thought you died!! I thought I... Lost you!" she cried, sobbing into his chest.

He didn't know what to say at this, she was crying but was it happiness or sadness? He couldn't tell.

"It's alright, I'm here now" he wrapped his arms around her, feeling the softness of her singed cape as he looked on at the shocked faces of the League and the dead body of Sevarec.

"Is he?" he asked.

"I-I lost controlIcouldn'tstopmyselfandI-"

"Hey hey hey, calm down Angel ~" he broke the hug to look at her as more tears streamed down her face - "It's alright, I say good riddance, though he might come back, we'll be prepared for him next time" he cooed, de-stressing Kara a little as she began wiping her tears away which blurred her vision.

"Wait, did you just say this thing can come back from the dead like you can?" Flash asked from afar, looking back at the dead creature.

"Yes, he's been doing it for years, it takes him years to come back, so in 20-30 years at most, but he can still torment people, even if he's dead... He needs to have his remains locked away safely out of harms reach" Y/N replied as Barry looked back and fourth at him and the creature.

"I don't think I'll be sleeping tonight, don't want Oneirophobia" he mumbled to himself.

"You do realise what Oneirophobia is right Barry? It's the fear of dreams, not sleeping is literally that!" Hal told him.

"Eh fair point" Barry shrugged...

A few hours has gone by after the entire Sevarec threat had been neutralised, his remains would be locked away, safely within the Fortress of Solitude, Y/N agreeing with Kal on taking the remains there for safe keeping.

Overall... Y/N's supposed death almost left a toll on Kara, she was... A little shaken up about it but afterwards... She was all cheery again, put on a spare backup outfit she had just in case if her other one was ripped and torn like it was near the end of her fight with Sevarec.

His death and revival reached the Outsiders and they were somewhat relieved that Y/N would walk out with Kara, especially with finding the lost team that first encountered Sevarec, though problems still arose with Lex and his schemes, along with some other issues too.

What surprised most was that... Kara defeated a literal God, it surprised her too but she was the one who lost control, not holding back in any form, the supposed death of Y/N fuelling her anger for Sevarec.

Currently... She was on patrol, recently saved a few construction workers who were repairing a damaged structure that was destroyed during the Kryptonian Invasion of Earth months back

Soaring around Metropolis once more to enjoy the summer breeze, the sun was beginning to settle down for the night to kick in.

She was smiling with closed eyes, thinking back to good memories, letting the wind hit her face as her cape gently flapped behind her.

That was until... She heard him, his voice.

"Hey Streaks! Didn't mean to scare you pal but have you seen Kara?"

The Kryptonian smiled at this as she immediately began flying back, doing a barrel roll in the air as she giggled to herself, singing a tune to herself. her cousin's theme tune.

"🎵 da da da da da, da da da, da da da da da, da da da!! 🎵" she sung to herself, mouth opening widely to strike a radiant smile as she continued singing to herself.

She for sure was enjoying herself on the flight back to her apartment, giggling away as she did more tricks, her arms extending out to each side almost like she had wings.

(A/N: Definitely one of my favourite comic drawings of Kara I've ever witnessed upon reading this comic, it's from Supergirl Issue 50... She honestly looks like one of em Disney Princesses in a way too... Fun fact: did you know that Helen Slater herself took part to write this comic too? Also, credit goes to rosewilsonworth for this edited image)

Her smile was bright as a star, enjoying the wind hitting her face as the apartment drew nearer the more she got close.

"Eh, she's obviously out on patrol and..." he stopped his words as Kara swooped on in through her window, landing gracefully as she stroke a superhero pose as she shook her hair back behind her.

"I heard someone wanted to see me?!" she grinned.

Y/N smiled as he approached her, taking in her presence - "Yeah, just wanted to pop in to say hi and if you're alright with me staying here for a bit, just to y'know? Take you up on that offer" he referred to Kara's offer from last week, dinner at her place for a change.

"Oh yeah, the offer still stands but... How did you get in here?" she asked him with an eyebrow

"...I climbed... ~" he blankly stared at her as she put on a confused smile - "Okay... I didn't, I teleported in here with a experimental device I've been trying out and it works! Though I may have scared Streaky on accident doing so" he rubbed the back of his neck as Kara called for Streaky.

"Come here Streaks! Come to mama! ~" she knelt down as the orange tabby cat came meowing toward her, happy to see his owner back - "Hi Streaks! Hi! How's my baby boy?" Kara asked after picking him up, booping him on the nose gently before planting a kiss on his head as he began purring.

"What is it with you and cats?" he rolled his eyes with a smile, referring to the many pictures of her and cats, especially with Lions and their cubs.

"Cats are adorable! Even big cats! Dogs are too like Krypto but Streaks here? He's my baby boy" she melted, hugging him gently as he continued to purr happily.

"I agree... I guess" he kept his smile as Kara put Streaky back down on the ground

"So... Are you cooking dinner or am I cooking?" Kara asked him, hands on her hips again.

"Yeah, I'll cook this time... I've got something special to cook up, and I want to share it with you"

"Aww, how touching ~" Kara giggles before hugging him - "Is that what the bags are for? Those the ingredients?" she then asked him, quickly scanning through the bags with her x-ray vision.

"Yeah, quickly went down to grab the things I need, got some extra's just in case" he looked back at the bags.

"With what money?" she asked, looking at him.

"Uh... Bruce Wayne? He gave me some cash after I sold an artefact to him, I didn't need it so... I sold it to him, I told you this remember?" he revealed the answer to her question.

"Oh right, sorry, It's been a hot minute" Kara looked away awkwardly.

"No worries Angel, but I should get to making dinner"

* The night went on by while Y/N made dinner for both himself and Kara, a pasta dish, pesto sauce, ham, beef with a little kick to it, a dish once made by his mother a very long time ago and surprisingly... He remembers the ingredients and the steps all to well thanks to an un-rather memory he regained.

Ever since you came from the Afterlife, you've been having memories flood through you, memories of your parents, friends, everyone you knew and met throughout the years you walked among the Earth, travelling to different country.

Kara talked about her patrol, keeping the city safe, snapping you back to reality from a daydream of memories, and all the while she was still in costume, not bothering to change out of it at the moment.

She revealed few subtle details about her upcoming promotion of her other job, not her job as a superhero, the one she previously landed with Lana Lang's assistance along with Kal's and Lois' help.

He was proud of her then she asked him if he'd ever get an Earth job...

"So... Do you think of getting an Earth job?" Kara asked while playing with her hair.

"My Earth job... Is protecting Earth, it's my purpose after all" he replied.

"No like... A secret identity type of job" Kara re-worded what she said.

"It is... My job" he cocked an eyebrow.

"You really stink at this, y'know that?" Kara chuckled.

"I know I do" he smiled at her before the water within the pot began to sizzle, disrupting anything else he had to say.

When the time came to dish out the food, it really had a good smell which got Kara's attention away from her little story she was telling him.

She... scoffed the whole lot on her plate. Her plate was completely empty, no ham, no beef, and no pesto pasta left.

"That... That was amazing, really good, best pasta dish I've ever had" Kara praised and boasted, licking her lips afterwards.

"Yeah, happy you enjoyed it... Haven't had it since mother made it" he picked up his and Kara's plate, taking it over to the sink.

"Wait... That was your mom's dish?" she asked curiously, but surprised also.

"Yeah... Ever since I 'allegedly' died and got out of the Afterlife, when I could interact with my parents again, when I came back to life, I began to experience... Memories of my past, of all my friends and family, happy memories, and one of them was... This" he began cleaning the plates with the hot boiling soapy water, letting the heat hit his hands as he sighed with satisfaction.

"Oh, like the good memories you've spent with loved ones? Yeah... I have them too, I always try to remember them when they last" she trailed off, fiddling with her cape.

"We can't always cling to the past, but we should always cherish the good memories from our past also, only leaving them alone as the bad ones remind us that we have come a long way... As they fade away" he monologued, moving onto the next plate to clean.

The question Kara wanted to ask was beginning to bother her again, thinking back to what Y/N said to her when Sevarec firstly killed him - "I... Love you" she wondered if he meant it and was surprised he hasn't even brought it up yet.

"Uhm... Y/N"

"Yes Angel?" he answered sweetly, making Kara blush a little but she pulled herself together.

"Back when I... Held you after Sevarec impaled you. You said something to me before you... Died" Kara began to twiddle with her fingers, feeling nervous about asking the question.

"Hmm?" he hummed, finishing cleaning the plate as he went to clean the forks next.

"You... said something that's been stuck with me since then... You said... 'I love you' ~" Kara looked at him as he stopped cleaning upon hearing what she said, he looked at her wide eyed as she chuckled softly - "All I want to know is... If you... Really meant what you said?" she finally asked the question, THE question that's been bothering her for the last few hours.

He looked at her, still wide eyed as he tried to think of something to say... Before he sighed, his facial expression falling - "Kara... The last time I ever loved someone was... A very long time ago ~" he looked away from her as she got off the chair, to go all the way round to face him, her facial expression showed concern, written all over, eyebrows knitted - "there were many times where I could've fell in love again... But I pushed all of that away after... Losing the one person I fought along side, she was one of us, like me... Sevarec killed her and it... Changed me, I could never find that one person again... Until... You knocked some of my teeth out" he began to smile as Kara's mouth carved into a huge smile, giggling at the memory.

"You have to admit that I have a hell of a killer right hook" she said with sparkle and enthusiasm, her smile shining brightly as he looked away with a chuckle, not being able to keep a straight face at her piercing smile that stroke his eyes.

"Yeah, you do... Every time you smile it... It distracts me since I can't think straight every time I see you smile like that and... Since then when you knocked my teeth out with that 'killer right hook', I think I... I began to find you... irresistible, naïve and sympathetic, i-in a good way of course" he kept his smile as he looked back at her as she kept that curvy smile on her smile, flustered by his words... She began to move.

Closer...

"Go on" she said with a coy smile next.

"And the fact that... Since I saved you that one time properly and... Congratulated you for saving the Earth... That day when you and I finally apologised to each other, knowing that we both share similar pain... The fact you... Wanted to be my friend, though I was tempted to push it away but... You brought something I never felt in a long time" he began to chuckle nervously, he's never chuckled nervously in a long time which fuelled Kara's thoughts.

"And that is?" she smirked, now closer to him than before, their bodies were close as their eyes locked on to one another.

"A heart... You brought a heart to me and I... I couldn't let it go ~" he smiled brightly as her eyes sparkled at this, unable to keep her eyes off of him - "I never said this to you before and I should have but... You saved me from myself, Angel... And I can't thank you enough for that, you changed me for the better ~" he also couldn't keep his eyes off of her, he was falling deep for her, the way she smiled, her eyes on his, her angelic face, her laugh, it always made him feel... Himself around her.

"I saved you from yourself?" she asked with a growing smirk as her forehead puckered, trying her best not to levitate off the ground and kiss him right now.

"Yes... You did... And... I hated myself, I really did, but you... You changed that and I call you *a blush appears across your face* my Angel for that... Practically that's why I call you by nickname, Angel.. But to answer your question ~" he made sure to look at her in her eyes - "As I look into your beautiful comets that make your eyes shine bright... I. Meant what I said... Kara Zor-El, I. Love you, and I have since we started fresh" he smiled ear to ear as Kara's eyes sparkled once more, her eyes falling to his lips as she let her intrusive thoughts win.

"Well, if that's the case" she giggled, levitating off the ground a little as she drew her face closer, placing her hands on his chest to support herself before... Her soft, tender lips touched his, connecting gently and pressing against him.

He placed his hands around her hips as he melted into the kiss, closing his eyes with hers, feeling the softness of her precious lips on his.

"Y/N, I love you too" she said back, breaking the kiss as she giggled afterwards.

"Can I stay with you tonight? To wake up beside you?" he asked her sweetly, his smile growing on his face as she kept her gaze on him lovingly.

"Yes, I'd love that" she pulled herself back in to continue kissing as she landed on her two feet gently, kicking a leg up before things began to...

Heat up...

(Smut time! 💕)

Their lips began to dance with each other slowly but as time progressed, Kara began moaning into the kiss, deepening the kiss further, their lips dancing as they begin to make out.

She backs him up to the wall not far behind him, breaking the kiss as they both looked at each other with lust.

This was the first time Kara ever tried getting emissive, let alone make out with someone.

And she felt she was pretty damn good at it, feeling all flustered and lustful, feeling in the 'mood' of lust, a feeling of sensation.

They both smile seductively, as they continue to make out, using their tongues next as they dance in each other's mouths, her soft moans as his hands reach down behind her back, beyond her cape as it moved around with her motions.

She had him pinned to the wall, floating up a little to his level as their tongues and mouths danced together fluently, in sync.

Her hands reach for his shirt, unbuttoning it slowly, making sure she doesn't accidently rip his shirt as she pulled back, her lustful smile growing bigger as his chest was beginning to show, his soft and hardened body striking her eyes as she blushes red at the sight.

Her lavish smile grew into a deepened smirk, licking her lips before biting her tongue at the sight before going in to kiss his bare chest, pecking it little by little, slowly turning him on along with herself.

She's been waiting for this moment a long time now, her feelings for him showed out, her lustful desires becoming reality as she continued to kiss his athletic chest as he watched on with a smile.

"I've been waiting a long time for that ~" she smirked, speaking with a lowered but seductive tone - "Y/N/N, this is my first time doing anything like this... I want this, I 'need' this ~" she said, exaggerating the 'need' with enthusiastic lust - "I want you to be my first and only... Allow me to show you how much... I love you" her smirk deepened further, biting her lip hard as she pulled herself in for another seductive kiss.

Her hands began to reach for her crop top with the cape attached, ready to take it off but she felt his hands stop her, as they opened their eyes to look at each other - "No, keep it on, Angel" he smiled ear to ear, not breaking eye contact as she kept her smirk going, immediately going back in to continue their make out session.

It was at this point where you were now in control, taking her over to the dining table and planting her on top of it, her cape draping across it behind her as you both continued kissing.

She began to get more hornier by the minute, her hands slipping into his pants as his hands reached for her breasts, fondling the House of El glyph on her crop top.

She began rubbing the bump in his area, stroking the hard on he was beginning to get as her moans filled his ears, squeezing her soft breasts through her top.

Her two hands began pulling down to his pants, revealing his boxers as she then pulled them down also, revealing his hardened member, her hand began stroking it after looking down at it, him continuing to play with her boobs, fondling them even further as he kicked off his trousers.

Her moans soon turned into lavish, demanding more from him as she continued stroking his member, making him groan with satisfaction as she then vibrated her hand fast enough to stroke it with more speed, bringing him to orgasm no long after.

Your juices hit her skirt, landing all over it as she giggled, allowing you to shoot the rest of your juices all over her lower half, most of it hitting her skirt.

"Well, won't need this on anymore ~" she took off her skirt and panties, revealing her cherry for him to witness, his eyes bulging out at the sight as his blush deepened, stirring him even further, she caught this and instantly giggled with a brightened smirk of lust as she drew closer to his face - "Let's take this to the bedroom" she suggested, smirking and giggling cutely as she got off the table, taking his hand to lead him to the bedroom.

Her ass swayed side to side as she walked, her cape got in the way a few times but she took notice and held it out, allowing him to "enjoy the view".

Reaching the bedroom was where things kicked off further, they began making out once more, Kara was on the bottom as he laid on top, allowing him to take the wheel for now.

She really wanted to feel him inside her so bad, but first things first, he wanted her to feel good.

Upon looking at her cherry pop, you smirked as you began to draw closer to it, wanting to pop her cherry, after all... Supergirl was a virgin, you wanted to make her think she's all yours and make her feel good.

"Go ahead, make me feel good" she spoke slow and submissive, licking her lips as she would bite her tongue afterwards.

Before long... she moaned as his tongue licked the entrance of her cherry, teasing her as his tongue licked her labia more frequently as time went by, making her excited and warming her up with his technique.

He's had sex before, many times with his former love years and years ago, but now? At this very moment? He was enjoying it again.

His tongue entered through her cherry, beginning to eat her out as she moaned for him to continue, fondling her breasts as she felt his tongue inside her, moaning with passion, using his finger to tease and rub her lips as his tongue danced inside her vaginal walls, working his way to make her orgasm.

"Yes! Oh Rao, that feels so... Fucking, good!" she moaned out loud, lifting up her crop top to reveal her tits and nipples, hardening as she continued to play with them.

She watched as he continued working on her vagina, moving his tongue in and out of her all the while he rubbed his fingers on her clitoris.

"Keep going! Keep going! It's coming! I'm gonna cum soon!!" she felt her vaginal walls closing up, her orgasm coming closer as he continued eating her out.

HIs fingers began to rub on her faster, making her moan out in pleasure loudly, she tried biting her lip to stop her moans but even that wouldn't stop her from moaning as loud as she was, her eyes rolled back in pleasure, her hands clawing the bed

"Ohhh fuck!!" she moaned loudly, squeezing her breasts as she let loose, letting her juices fly at him.

A moment passes as things calm down, her slight whimpers as he cleans her up with his tongue, licking the juices that were still leaking out of her.

"Wow, pretty powerful orgasm you had there" he complimented her, making her giggle with a satisfied smile, but clearly...

She was hungry for his dick inside her.

She wants her virginity took away by him and only him, she practically begged him to stick his member inside her, seducing him to do it with a deepened kiss, stroking his cock to entice him.

He teased her, which was driving her crazy, craving for it more than she was before, her lustful eyes staring into his, a sparkle of light brimming in them.

She positioned herself, spreading her legs as she pulled down her crop top again, showing off the House of El glyph to him to remind him who he's fucking.

He had to double check if she had protection anywhere but she had it covered already.

She smirks as he positions himself, aiming his tip right for her entrance as she begins rubbing her clitoris, he thought of teasing her as she caught wind of this - "C'mon, I know what you're thinking, slip it in already!" she groaned, eyebrows frowned, wanting his member inside her as he smirked at her facial expression.

"You read me like a book huh? ~" he teased - "But hey... You wanted this" he got closer to her face, looking right into her eyes, their lips not far from each other as he thrusted his hips into her, his tip entering her cherry as the walls constructed around it, causing her to let out a huge, softened moan, breathing onto his face.

She re-opened her eyes after she briefly closed them due to the pleasure of him entering her, her eyes widening as he went deeper the first thrust before going slowly, this was her first time and he didn't want to rush things but he hissed, groaned...

"Oh damn... Your tight already" he hissed, she began to show concern as his face scrunched up.

"Are you alright? We can -"

"Shhh ~" you placed your finger on her mouth - "It's a good thing, your vagina's not crushing my cock so. we're. Good" you reassured her, which seemed to calm her worried thoughts down, you were groaning in pleasure.

It's been so long since you felt like this, that you ever slipped inside someone.

He never thought he'd be fucking a Super, let alone Kara Zor-El, Supergirl, you admitted you loved her geeky, nerdy side when it came to her identity Linda Lang but... It was Supergirl you fell for, the heroic, hot headed, cute Superhero.

"Oh fuck! Fuuuuck" Kara clawed the bed sheets around her, as he kept thrusting in and out of her.

Her continuous moans, filling his ears as they both embraced in a deep kiss, using their tongues to dance in each other's mouths, his hands once again reached for her breasts, fondling the glyph once more, massaging her breasts through her crop top as she moaned during the deep kiss, laughing softly as he began to pick up a little speed.

"Oh. Fuck. YES!!" Kara breathes out heavily, her moans getting louder as his cock popped her cherry, going even deeper as it slipped in and out with more ease, her pussy lubricating his cock as it penetrated her, he moved his hips like a jackhammer, picking up speed and slowing down again.

"You enjoying yourself huh?" he teased, pulling out his cock and teasing her entrance again.

"Hey! I was until you did that!" she pouted.

He began to chuckle - "Relax Angel, step two coming up" he smirked as his cock aimed back down into her hole.

Before the Kryptonian knew it, he slammed right down inside her, going in deep as this made her gasp, eyes widened as the pleasure was sudden, his cock drew deeper as he thrusted with speed, knowing he popped her cherry not long ago.

His thighs collided with her pelvis, slapping noises were heard as he was going deep, his cock slipping in and out, in and out as she continued to moan loud, her pussy got wetter as that began to make noises too.

Her moans were silenced briefly by Y/N's lips crashing into hers as he kept the paste up, her muffled moans colliding with his own soft groans, both breathing hard after the long deep kiss they both shared, his hips going much faster than before.

His hands massaged her breasts again as her eyes brimmed with tears, the pleasure becoming too much for her to bear she began to giggle uncontrollably, laughing at the pleasure of his cock going deep inside her, touching the G-spot.

She craved for this, looking into his eyes as she used her elbows to reach up to him, wanting to kiss him deep by pulling him down to her, her legs wrapped around him as she wanted him to finish inside

And she knew it was coming, she knew he was getting close to orgasm, she could feel his cock twitching.

Not only that... She was close too, her walls began to tighten further as her soft moans got louder again.

"Oh Rao yes!! Fuck, fuck, fuck! Keep going!! I'm gonna cum again!!" she shouts with pleasure, his cock did a few more thrusts before - "YESSSSSS!! OH FUCK!!!" she shouted with an orgasm, cursing and talking dirty in Kryptonese not long after.

You didn't understand what she meant but she said it with heart and lust as you came to orgasm after she did, groaning as your cock twitched inside her, filling her womb up before crashing into her body as the two of you laid there, panting heavily as both of your hearts calmed down.

Kara laid there was satisfaction, looking at Y/N as he sighed with her, both feeling satisfied as they embraced in a kiss.

Not long after... The two got up and cleaned themselves, Kara changed out of her outfit by putting on a suitable pair of pyjamas, donning her glyph.

Y/N however stayed within his boxers, both were laying on the couch, watching a movie they agreed to watch.

His arm outstretched over her shoulder, cuddling into him as they watched the movie together.

It was at this point... Y/N was the happiest he's ever been.

He found that one person who somehow managed to break open his shell, his layer of walls that isolated him forever.

It was like what Dick Grayson once told him - "A little push and you're all set to sail" he thought back as he laid his head against Kara's.

"Y/N"

And upon that...

He would never want to leave her side.

"I love you"

Ever...

"I love you too"

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