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loosesodamarble · 2 years

Text

A Shared Bitter Aroma

Summary: Three souls mourn a terrible tragedy. One is haunted by their memories and pain. Another finds themselves lost in tears and makes a final request. And the third finds themself no longer able to breathe.

Genre: angst

Word count: ~7200

A/N: @thoughtfullyrainynightmare helped write portions of the fic.

...........

Josele blinked away to the sight of light streaming into the room through the window. It was an early dawn. Vibrant oranges and pinks, as if straight out of a painting. Truly, a beautiful sight to behold.

But it was also a punishment. The bright light of a cloudless morning was a taunt. A reminder of what Josele once had.

…

Bathed in the light of the rising sun, Josele and Morgen sat together on the squad base’s roof. They were side-by-side, shoulders and thighs touching. Morgen held Josele’s left hand in his right one and had their fingers intertwined. Josele leaned her head on Morgen’s shoulder and he leaned in so his cheek pressed against her crown.

There was a sweet petrichor carried by a breeze in the air. The golden and amber rays of dawn danced off puddles on the ground below.

“The dawn is even prettier after a rainy night, don’t you think?” Josele asked while nuzzling into Morgen’s side.

“It’s gorgeous indeed,” answered Morgen in a dreamy sigh. He turned his head and kissed Josele’s crown before saying, “Just like how your smile is more radiant after seeing you fretting over something.”

Josele squeaked in surprise. “M-Momo, you’re too sweet!”

“I’m just telling the truth.” Morgen laughed and nudged Josele a bit. “And let me share another truth: your smile always has my heart racing. I call you ‘my heart’ for a reason.”

“Ooooh! Morgen!” Giggling, Josele pulled away and covered her burning face with her hands. “Why must you be so—?” She was cut off by her own laughter.

“Because it suits you so well!” Morgen chuckled. He tucked Josele’s hair back and looked her in the eyes. “Don’t you think so?” She could only nod in reply. “Then you shall be ‘my heart’ forevermore.”

“Aw, thank you!” Josele moved her hands to Morgen’s face and pecked his nose. When she pulled away, she and Morgen sheepishly grinned at each other. “You know, you should have a pet name too.”

“Josie, there’s no need.”

“But I want to!” Josele insisted. “Now…” She closed her eyes in thought. “You’re like a shining prince from a fairy tale. Someone as bright as the sun…” She giggled, feeling Morgen’s face heat up under her hands. “You fill my days with hope…” Josele opened her eyes. Right in front of her, Morgen’s face was illuminated by the light of dawn and his eyes were sparkling. “You’re like my own personal sunrise.”

Morgen’s eyes went wide for a moment before he smiled softly. “Your sunrise… I quite like that.” He took Josele’s hands in his own and lowered them. Then, he guided Josele into standing up. “If I’m the sun, then I shall strive to brighten your life for the rest of our days!” Morgen exclaimed with a look of pride on his face.

Josele beamed at Morgen. Unsure of what to say in reply, she instead rose up on the tips of her toes to kiss Morgen on the lips. Morgen didn’t hesitate to kiss back.

The kiss tasted of hope.

…

Josele turned to lay on her back and groaned.

All she wanted was to sleep. Forever maybe. Then she would be free to dream of a better world. And she would not have to wake to the cruel reality around her. Or perhaps Josele hoped that if she fell asleep and awoke again, she would find that the world she had been living in was a dream instead. It was a nightmare really.

Because it couldn’t be real. Losing Morgen couldn’t be real.

As much as Josele told herself though, she knew the truth. She held Morgen’s body, cold and still. Saw him laid in a casket, peaceful in an unending sleep.

Morgen was dead and gone.

Josele rolled on her side so she faced away from the window and closed her eyes. If only she could go back.

…

Morgen’s touch was gentle as he led her through a waltz. He twirled her under his arm before bringing her back close to him. They glided across the ballroom floor for a moment longer before coming to a pause. They both understood what would come next. Morgen lowered Josele into a dip.

“You’re as graceful as ever, love,” whispered Morgen.

“Only because I have a wonderful teacher.” Josele twirled a lock of Morgen’s hair that fell over his shoulder.

Morgen beamed, tilting his head and letting out a sigh as he did. How did he manage to do it? To look so relaxed yet refined. Like something out of a dream.

As Morgen raised Josele back up, he let go of her hand to hold the back of her head. Morgen brought Josele in close and leaned in until his forehead touched hers. She felt it all. The warmth of Morgen’s skin. The tickling brush of his bangs. Josele let out a giggle as he started to nuzzle their foreheads together. Then, with a chuckle bubbling from his throat, Morgen pressed a soft kiss to Josele’s temple. Held so close to him, Josele breathed Morgen in like a refreshing morning rain and took in the scent of honey on him. They swayed in place, caught up in one other.

…

Josele knew that moment wasn’t long ago yet it already felt far away. Like it had been years ago instead of months ago. Maybe it had been years and she had lost track of time in her sadness.

But still, the past felt like a dream. It left Josele wondering. Had she really ever been so blessed?

She opened her eyes and sighed. As much as she wanted to avoid the dreaded day, she had to face it. Or at least go about it in a listless daze.

The most she registered from her morning routine was the honey lemon tea she drank with breakfast. Their favorite had a bitter aftertaste.

She had no mission. No patrols. She was free to be on her own. Before she could return to her room as she initially planned, a large, muscular hand landed on her shoulder. A familiar voice said to her, “It’s been a while. Why not try visiting him today?”

If she did, she would only be visiting a ghost.

“Okay.”

She was already doing that anyway.

…

“I discovered this wonderful cafe in the Common Realm while on a mission. It’s called The Wildflower and it’s in the town Lindwell. How about I take you there soon?”

Josele looked at Morgen. He was smiling, as always. But his face was too fuzzy. Was it a relaxed smile? One of excitement for their next date? She couldn’t make it out. Still, she smiled back at him.

“That sounds lovely,” she had said to the suggestion.

Morgen caressed Josele’s hand before kissing it.

“Sorry I can’t talk long, but I have a morning patrol scheduled.” He continued to speak, a goodbye most likely, but the words were lost to Josele.

When Morgen walked away, he looked like he was radiating light. Not from his magic. Had morning light been shining on him through a window? Perhaps Morgen, his presence in Josele’s eyes, was simply… Bright.

…

The sky, now gray with rolling clouds, let out a low rumble.

“Why?” Josele choked up. She lifted her head to gaze upon Morgen’s headstone. “Why did you have to go?”

He couldn’t answer her. Not where he was. But she asked anyway so the question wouldn’t forever be trapped in her heart.

The world was so cruel to take Morgen away. All she had left of him were memories that would grow faded and indistinct with time.

Josele’s happiness with Morgen was gone.

That thought, too, brought memories back.

…

Five years ago, Josele stood in front of a different grave.

“Hi there, Mom. I hope you’re doing well in heaven. I bet it’s really nice there, especially for someone like you.” Josele smiled, or tried to, but it hurt to force it. “Dad and I are still here, doing our best. I’m finishing up those jobs you couldn’t… I’m not as good as you. I wish you could still teach me… Sing with me… And…” Josele tucked back her hair, trying to look composed. “B-but don’t worry! I’m okay! Like you said, my heart is strong…” Her throat closed up. “I’m strong. I’m fine. I’m—!”

Something snapped behind her.

Josele straightened up and turned. Morgen stood behind her, a broken twig beneath his foot. More alarming, his face looked pale and dreary.

“Hey there.” He spoke barely above a whisper. He walked until he stood at her side. “Isn’t it lonely out here?”

“No. Not at all.” Josele turned away from Morgen. “I want to be alone.” She felt Morgen’s hand touch hers and she hastily slapped it away. “What part of ‘I want to be alone’ don’t you get?” she snapped, though she was too tired to truly be mad.

There was a groan of thunder followed by the pitter of falling raindrops.

“J-just go, okay?” Josele muttered, trying to hide her shallow and desperate breaths. Her eyes burned hotter. “I’ll be fine.”

The rain poured harder upon her and Morgen. Cold rain and hot tears ran down Josele’s face. She brushed them off with the back of her hand and closed her eyes, trying to will the tears away. However, they did not stop. In fact, it seemed that the more she fought to keep the tears at bay, the more they flowed. Josele hid her face in her hands, crying uncontrollably.

Her mom died with a smile and so Josele wanted to be the strong girl her mother asked her to be. To grin and face life head on. But in trying to do so, she remembered that those were her mom’s last words. Knowing that made Josele cry. Cry until she ran out of tears and she felt numb. After that, she thought it was finally over and would try again to put on a brave face for herself, for her mother. And the cycle would repeat.

It was so much, too much even. Like Josele felt everything and nothing at the same time. She wanted it all to stop, to go away. But it didn’t. The hurt ebbed and flowed, weighing her heart with darkness. It never stopped though. Would it ever?

Then, there was warmth. A pair of arms wrapped around her.

A gasp escaped Josele. She tried to lift her head only for her face to be pressed into a shoulder.

“I apologize.” Morgen had one hand tangled in her hair and one on her back. “I know what you said but—” He choked up for a moment, holding Josele tighter. “I simply cannot leave you.”

The rain running down her face washed away the sting of her tears. But she didn’t feel any of the cold, not in Morgen’s embrace.

“I know how much you love your mother.” Morgen spoke softly in Josele’s ear. “And I’m sorry you lost her. The happiness you felt with her is gone and you can’t get it back. But you have to remember that you aren’t alone. Your father’s still alive. You have Nacht. And me as well. We care about you and will share in your sorrow until you are ready to smile again. So let us be here for you. Let me… Please.”

A floodgate opened, and Josele let out a strained wail as she clung to Morgen like a lifeline. The weight of it all, her sorrow and pain, caused her knees to buckle beneath her. Morgen didn’t let her collapse though but eased them both to the ground. He held her. So close. Like he wanted to be one with her even in such a broken state. As though he would never let her go.

In that moment, despite the sadness, she felt safe, loved even.

…

Josele knew it was raining. Her clothes were already soaked through. Her bones felt frozen over. But she wouldn’t leave.

Morgen stayed with her through the rain. The least she could do was return the favor.

The cold was nothing compared to how she felt. Nothing could match it. Losing the one she loved because she failed to do a thing for him. Perhaps the unending torment could be her solace, a reminder that she once had him at all after her happy memories of him faded.

Even if the world moved on without him. If she had to go on without him brightening her life.

Morgen was forever in her heart. Forever her light and sunrise. And it pained her to know that.

…..

It was dark. A quiet and comforting darkness. There was warmth in that room. Their room.

Even when Morgen wore the ring that Josele gave him, being with her—engaged even—almost didn’t feel real. To be with someone who loved the truest parts of him and whom he could love without fear. It wasn’t too good to be true but at times it felt like a dream. But Morgen could easily reach out and be reassured that he lived that reality.

So he did.

Morgen reached out his hand and touched Josele’s shoulder. Slowly, Morgen traced Josele’s back with his fingertips. The contours of her body were all too familiar to him. He’d spent so many years admiring her form, how tough Josele was from years of training yet how she felt soft in his arms. If he closed his eyes, he would still know when his fingers ghosted over the faint lines of her scars. Their rough beauty proved that she had struggled and grown. Morgen’s fingers continued down her spine. Perhaps she felt it, as she shivered between breaths, making Morgen chuckle before settling his hand on her hip.

Looking at Josele, Morgen knew he could live that way for the rest of his days. To fall asleep at night with Josele in sight and reach. Then, he could wake to the very same closeness when morning came.

In a few weeks, they’d be husband and wife. Then in several months, they hoped to welcome their first child into the world. And after some years, a whole little family all their own. But those thoughts were for another time. Morgen was getting ahead of himself.

For now, it was him and her. Alone in peaceful darkness.

Morgen soundlessly shifted closer to Josele. He fully wrapped his arm around her waist in a tired hug then rested his head in the crook of her shoulder. She was warm. She smelled of the earth and sweet citrus. It felt right to hold her close.

Not really thinking, Morgen left feather light kisses on Josele’s exposed skin.

“Nhhmm…” Josele shifted. “Morg…en…” Her hand found Morgen’s on her waist.

“Yes, it’s me,” Morgen whispered close to her skin. “Apologies for waking you.” He kissed her a few more times, moving up her neck until his lips brushed the shell of her ear. “Would you like a little more time to sleep?”

“Nuh… ‘S fhn…” More asleep than awake, Josele squirmed in Morgen’s hold and turned around. “Mornin…” Her hot breath fanned across his neck.

Smiling, Morgen hugged Josele closer and tangled his hand in her bedhead. “Good morning, my heart.”

Morgen was in bliss.

…

When Morgen woke, he noticed that the space beside him was unusually cold. That wasn’t right.

Morgen opened his eyes. Above him was the ceiling of his room at the Faust family’s manor. He shot up in shock knowing he shouldn’t have been there.

Because he remembered.

The pain that coursed through his body after he broke Lucifugus’ relic. Of being carried through shadows. Struggling to breathe and losing feeling in his body. The sound of Nacht’s voice breaking from tears as they spoke in Morgen’s final moments. His dying thoughts had been prayers to the heavens. Wishing to apologize to his loved one for throwing his life away and wanting more than anything for them to be alright without him. And the very last thing Morgen recalled, hearing the anguished scream of the woman who held all of his heart.

And then it was all dark.

Morgen remembered dying.

So how did he end up in his room?

Morgen rose from his bed and his body felt… like nothing. There was no weight to his motions and if it weren’t for the fact that he knew he was a spirit, he would’ve feared that a slight breeze would knock him over. His form was faintly transparent. It seemed he wore the same clothes he died in.

Walking, or perhaps he was only floating, around and inspecting his room, he found the place eerily untouched. The only thing different was the layer of dust over all the furniture. It brought several questions to mind.

How long ago was his death? Why did it take so long for him to awaken as a spirit? What happened after he died?

As his spectral feet wandered the room, Morgen’s mind wandered too. His thoughts drifted to the people he left behind.

Friends…

Yami must have suffered from Morgen’s passing. What did he say or do when he heard? He would’ve been one of the first to know. Despite acting like he didn’t have a care in the world, Yami would care and would not take the news lightly. Morgen could imagine Yami calling him an idiot for not bringing back up. Family matter or not, Morgen should’ve trusted Yami as his partner. The only comfort was knowing that Yami would forgive Morgen if they had a chance to speak again.

“Become the best Magic Knight for the both of us, okay?” Morgen said to the empty room.

He believed with his whole heart that Yami Sukehiro would become someone incredible.

Family…

And what of Nacht? Even if it was never said out loud, Morgen missed being close with Nacht, missed truly acting like brothers and not strangers with the same parents. Morgen was sure Nacht felt the same. Yet they let a rift come between them which led to that dreadful moment where Morgen’s voice could not reach Nacht. Then Nacht carried Morgen as he breathed for the last time. The weight of Morgen’s death must have felt like too much in Nacht’s hands. Why? Why did that have to be their last shared memory?

“Please don’t blame yourself, brother,” Morgen prayed, holding his hands to his heart. “Know it was me, my choice. For your sake…”

Because Morgen had only ever loved Nacht and wanted to see him live up to the potential he always had.

His beloved…

Morgen came to a full stop in front of his nightstand. There on top was a small portrait of himself and Josele. Of them not long after getting engaged, side-by-side and grinning with all the joy in the world. In his whole life, seeing Josele so joyous was amongst the highlights. Morgen smiled wistfully at the picture.

“Josele.” Morgen’s beloved heart, his treasured fiancée. “I shouldn’t have left you… I wish I could’ve at least said goodbye.”

There were no final words for them though. What had Morgen’s last words to Josele been? Their last conversation… Morgen should’ve said something special then. But he hadn’t, because he believed he would come back from the confrontation with his family.

How had it been for Josele? To be presented with his death, likely out of the blue, on a day that should’ve been normal, peaceful. She must’ve cried, even after he promised to never give her any reason to. How many tears? For how long? All while he had been able to do a thing. Not brush away the tears nor speak much needed reassurance. It was cruel of Morgen, there was no other word for it, the way he died and left Josele with heartbreak.

There was no fixing these mistakes. Morgen could not apologize to any of them, for anything.

It never crossed Morgen’s mind to wonder if ghosts could cry but in that moment, he knew. Because his own eyes were clouded with burning tears.

“Yami. Nacht. Josele. I hope you’ll all forgive me…” Morgen whimpered for no one to hear. “For being so foolish… I’m… sorry…” He tried to wipe away his tears but they kept falling. “Ah… Aaaahhhh! I’m sorry! I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry! I’M SO SORRY!”

A cry. A scream. A broken noise felt like it had been ripped from his throat and filled the room.

Morgen felt heavy. Pulled to the ground not by gravity but a weight of guilt too great to truly describe. His fingers curled, trying to grip the carpeted floor. Only his hand passed right through the material. All he could feel was grief, not even for his own passing but for his loved ones and their pain, the hurt he inflicted on them.

And so Morgen cried. He let his spirit be shaken with tears that wouldn’t end and screams that could no longer leave his throat aching.

At times, he choked. He felt his voice, his empty voice that no one but him could hear, catch in his throat. He couldn’t even feel that pain though.

Morgen continued to wail, letting his anguish echo in the room. He didn’t know or care how long it went on, he could only think of letting out every ounce of pain weighing on his heart. All he knew was his tears, his sorrow.

“Aaauuughhhh… Hah…ahhh…”

Eventually, Morgen’s voice died down. The heaviness he had felt before was gone, leaving him a weightless spirit as before. His eyes were still full of tears, but he no longer had it in him to scream or sob. He swallowed. Or tried to. He thought he did but his body truly felt nothing once again.

When Morgen opened his eyes, he found the room had gone dark. He rose up and looked out the window. Night had fallen, the stars and moon were out.

Morgen took a breath. Tried to. It was only the intent to breathe he could be sure of.

He was also sure that he couldn’t stay there languishing in sorrow. There was something for him to do. Because he was there, in the physical world as a spirit, not yet moved onto the afterlife. So there must’ve been something he had to do, a reason to be present.

And that reason, the one to come to the forefront of his mind, was Josele. To go to her and bring her comfort after he left her with pain.

So Morgen left, passing through the ruins of his family home. The cracked walls, splintered floorboards, and furniture thrown askew sent an ache through him. But he didn’t allow himself to get distracted by the lonely halls or the thought of going to Nacht.

It was a timeless stroll. Everything around Morgen was muted. Colors were only as vibrant as washed out chalk. Words blended and echoed to the point of being indistinct. It only made sense; his spirit may have been in the world of the living, but he was not amongst those alive.

Morgen did not stop until he arrived at the Grey Deer base, pausing outside the door where he knew he would find Josele.

“My heart, I’ve returned,” Morgen said before he stepped straight through the door.

Morgen’s room at the base looked largely unchanged from when he last saw it. A pair of desks, one with a clean, solid varnish and the other decorated with designs carved in by hand. The coffee table and loveseat in the far corner for them to relax at. The vanity, divided distinctly for himself and Josele to use.

The only difference Morgen could find was that there was one less person on the bed.

Josele, alone, lay atop the sheets, her back to the window and her hands clutching Morgen’s squad robe to her heart. Morgen drew nearer to Josele’s form. As he did, he could see her face, twisted in pain and stained with tears. Her voice reached his ears with perfect clarity, and the words she muttered…

“Sunrise… I’m sorry. I can’t… Just please come back…”

Josele, so broken and with the very same sorrow Morgen felt in his own heart. Seeing her in such a state brought a stinging haze back to Morgen’s eyes.

“Josele, my heart…” Morgen knelt beside the bed and reached for Josele. “I’m here for you, love.”

Morgen brushed his hand against Josele’s cheek. Josele stilled when he did and she opened her eyes, looking straight in Morgen’s direction with watery eyes. Morgen held his breath, or felt a sensation similar to the action with his bodiless being. But only for a brief second, as that imaginary breath was drawn out of him like his hope when Josele sat up straight and looked around the room.

The only sound to be heard was the labored breaths from Josele’s cried out throat. And then…

“Morgen?”

His name on Josele’s lips was sharper to his heart than a dagger.

Josele looked down at Morgen’s robe and let out a sob.

“No… Please, not a…” Josele’s voice broke after those few words. She drew the robe to her chest once again.

“My heart… This is my fault isn’t it?” Morgen whispered to her.

He sat himself beside his beloved. Again he reached for her, placing a hand on her cheek and wrist. Josele shuddered from another wave of cries but it felt as though it was in response to Morgen’s phantom touch. For a moment, Morgen watched Josele. He motioned brushing his thumb along her skin, ghosting right over her tears and leaving them untouched.

“For not being more careful with my life… For not returning to you… I’m sorry.” As he spoke, Morgen leaned in until his forehead should’ve touched Josele’s. Close as they were though, he could not feel the warmth of her skin or the way she trembled with each breath. “All I can ask for now is for you to forget. Everything about me, all our time together, let go of those memories. If it means you can smile again, I’m okay with it.” Morgen smiled, despite Josele being unable to see and the growing hole in his heart. “Josele, I love you with all my heart. And with all my heart, I ask you to forget me and the pain of my passing…”

All of Morgen’s words, his wish for Josele and the permission he granted, were not to be heard. He knew as much.

Morgen tried, and failed, to brush aside Josele’s bangs. Then, he placed a ghost of a kiss on Josele’s forehead.

Morgen watched Josele a little longer. As she curled in on herself. Around his squad robe.

Then, he stood.

As much as Morgen wanted to stay beside Josele. To have what was left of his presence watch over her despite not being unable to comfort her. He didn’t want to haunt her. Not even out of love.

When Morgen reached the door, he took one last look at Josele. At the woman whose heart he broke despite swearing to protect it.

For now it was dark. But Morgen wanted to believe that one day, maybe soon or maybe in the far future, Josele’s light, that spirit of hers which he fell in love with, would shine again.

“And we’ll meet again, Josele. I know it…”

.....

Evening was descending, and Nacht and Josele were on the roof of the Faust manor to enjoy the twilight.

They would certainly get yelled at for it later. His parents wouldn’t approve of him doing something so uncouth and frivolous. Her father would scold her for staying out late and hanging out with the likes of him. But neither cared.

They laughed as they scaled the roof to their usual spot, becoming bathed in the sunset’s light once they reached the top. In that glow, Josele’s face also brightened with a wide grin. It was somewhat silly, the way she looked so enraptured by a sight that happened every day.

Yet Nacht found himself similarly admiring Josele. A plain, straightforward girl whose every smile was… Nacht caught himself and hastily looked away before she could notice. Despite knowing that she wouldn’t.

“Your house really has the best view,” Josele remarked as she and Nacht got themselves settled. “Wanna play our star game tonight?”

Racing to be the first to see the stars after sunset. A silly game from their childhood.

“Mhm. Sure.” Nacht’s answer was only half there. His attention elsewhere, as he dared to take another glance at Josele. But only for a second.

Even if he knew she wouldn’t see it, he couldn’t look at her. He couldn’t let her know. That her presence made his heart race yet lulled him into a tranquil state. How, like night and day, those two feelings pulled him in opposite directions without tearing him apart. That wasn’t it though. It wasn’t simply the feelings Nacht held for Josele, or the fact that he cared for her. Hiding it, all of it, from Josele was what ached. And not just ached but ate away at Nacht.

Those thoughts stirred in Nacht’s mind as he sat there with Josele, marveling at the golden rays of daylight descending below the horizon and making way for a deep blue, or perhaps violet, night sky. In the quiet of the moment, Nacht felt Josele lean against his side.

Nacht felt a sensation in his heart. Was it racing? Perhaps it was a flutter? Or maybe it could be described as a dance? It was something that was pleasantly warm yet strikingly hot. Nacht couldn’t find the word for what he felt because of Josele. For Josele.

He turned his eyes to her, little by little, as if a thief; not in the night, but the dimming light of the evening sun. Once again, he looked at her.

Even though he couldn’t. Because letting his feelings for Josele be known, by her no less, would be… nothing short of absurd. Though not because Josele didn’t deserve being cared for, or that Nacht found the emotions too much to bear. But because he, Nacht himself, shouldn’t harbor such an emotion for Josele.

That feeling, one so gentle and sweet, could only be… love.

In that moment, Nacht realized and could no longer deny it.

He loved Josele.

“There it is!” Josele’s voice brought Nacht out of his reverie. “The first star of the night!” Josele pointed—Nacht’s eyes followed—to a faint, silver twinkle amidst the darkness.

“Congratulations, Josie,” said Nacht, letting out a breath. “Time for your reward.”

Josele lifted her head and gave Nacht a look of disbelief. “Since when did we play for prizes?”

“Never. But I was thinking you deserved one after so many years.” Nacht’s reply got a giggle out of Josele. “Right. So…” He stared at Josele for a moment, and she stared back. “Your reward is keeping something safe for me.”

“Huh? I win and I have to do you a favor?” Again, Josele laughed. “Alright then. What is it?”

“Close your eyes.”

Josele raised a brow, silently questioning. Nacht inclined his head in her direction as if to say “if you would.” With a grin and sigh, Josele closed her eyes.

Then, Nacht leaned in and kissed Josele. A brief, soft brush of his lips against hers. There was a faint taste of citrus. There was a… bitterness. Not in the act itself but the sentiment. Because Nacht told himself it would be their first and last.

When Nacht pulled away, he saw Josele staring at him, face colored up and eyes wide.

“N-Nacht… that…” Josele touched her lips. “It was my first kiss…”

“Mine too,” Nacht admitted, grinning playfully at Josele. “Take care of it. That’s what friends are for, right?”

“Of course…” Josele averted her eyes and then nudged Nacht with her shoulder. “B-but now my first kiss is so dull! That’s not fair!”

“I entrusted my first kiss to you and you complain about it being dull?” Nacht clicked his tongue. “Why do I even try?” He melodramatically shrugged.

“Hngh…” Josele scowled. “Nachty…”

“Don’t look so sour. We both know you’re not really mad,” Nacht said plainly. “Besides…” He raised his hand towards Josele’s face. “Frowning isn’t a good look on you.”

Josele’s blush visibly darkened as Nacht’s hand drew closer. But she didn’t take her eyes off him. The tips of Nacht’s fingers brush against Josele’s cheek. Then, Nacht pinched Josele.

“H-hey!” Josele exclaimed, not out of indignation but surprise.

“Heh. I know I’m handsome but I think that view is much better,” Nacht whispered, gesturing towards the sky with his head and releasing his friend.

Josele recoiled with a giggle. “That’s true!” She lifted her gaze to the sky once more. “The night sure is beautiful…”

Nacht nodded. As for him, he looked at Josele.

…

Nacht looked at Josele still. Though the sight of her was much different in the present, far more painful.

Josele was there. Nacht knew as much, for he could hear her voice and reach out to touch her. But it wasn’t the same. Josele went through the days with a glazed look in her eyes. Her smile, the one that Nacht never tired of, didn’t show anymore. Her motions were mechanical and her actions passionless. She was there and yet wasn’t.

The Josele that Nacht knew, that woman he loved…

It was like she no longer existed.

And he was to blame.

Nacht stood in the doorway leading out to the garden. In the central courtyard, there was Josele. She sparred with Plumede using a wood staff. She gracefully pivoted around Plumede’s claws when attacked. Then, she swung the staff only for Plumede to gracefully duck under the strike.

Despite the curse, Josele still had drive. The determination to train and remain strong.

But to what end?

What kind of future did she seek? Where did her footsteps take her? Did she have a destination in mind? Or did she move simply so she wouldn’t have to stay still, stuck where she was? What purpose did she have in mind for herself, if any at all?

Nacht asked himself those questions because he couldn’t ask Josele herself. At least, he couldn’t ask and expect a definite answer.

To see Josele like in her present state, lost to even herself…

It was close to unbearable.

Nacht still watched Josele though. Even when he could scarcely swallow the anxiety that got caught in his throat when she was near. And his lungs refused to work properly.

They were crushed by a guilt that would surely never release him from its grip. Filled with sorrow, like the heavy waves in a storm, that drowned him. And the pain became worse when Josele was near.

Because Nacht mourned Josele. The same as he mourned Morgen. But at least Nacht could step away from Morgen’s grave and be assured that the earth had embraced his dear brother. But Josele lived.

Josele was alive and she breathed and could still be saved. So Nacht vowed to do just that, free her from the Blight Devil and break the curse that sealed her heart. He would stay close to her, protect her.

It hurt to see her as she was. Though it would have been far more painful, more terrifying, to even imagine taking his eyes off her again.

For if Nacht did look away… Then Josele could fade away entirely. Taken by cruel fates.

Just as Morgen had been.

So Nacht stayed close to Josele. Even if it meant he couldn’t breathe.

It was a bitter irony, Nacht thought. How once before Josele could steal the breath right out of his lungs with her smile. And in the present, she kept him from taking in air altogether.

At last, Nacht stepped out and approached Josele as her posture relaxed, finishing the spar. He stopped a few steps away and she, sensing him, turned around.

“Lord Faust,” Josele greeted with a faint nod.

“Just Nacht is fine,” he replied, trying to ignore the sting in his heart. He glanced at Plumede. The devil bowed her head and sank into Nacht’s shadow. Nacht returned his attention to Josele and said, “Would you care to watch the sunset with me? It’s sure to be lovely.”

Josele blinked and stared at Nacht, or perhaps through him, before nodding.

Nacht offered his hand to Josele. She took it. Her hand in his, it was so warm that it was hard to believe that it belonged to Josele at the moment. When he turned to lead Josele inside, though the route they always took as kids, he felt Josele hold her place.

“Would it not be faster to move through the shadows?” she asked flatly.

Though Nacht couldn’t see it, he felt her heavy, leaden gaze on him. A silent breath escaped Nacht. His brow furrowed and a bitter smile crossed his face. Then he muttered,

“Y-yes. It would be…”

He couldn’t do it. He didn’t want to pull Josele into the nothingness of the shadows. He wouldn’t dare do that to her after his rotten self already haunted her life, ripped away her happiness in killing Morgen, and thrust a hateful dagger into her heart. To drag her further into his darkness, his cursed world, was too horrid a deed.

“Let’s walk,” he whispered. He gave her hand a squeeze.

“Alright then.”

…

Sunlight peeked through the leaves and branches of trees that lined the path that led through the garden of the Faust estate. Walking side-by-side along the path were Nacht and Josele, only nine at the time. The girl had her arms crossed behind her back and she walked with a slight skip. The boy had a small book in hand, moving to close it.

“Wait, not yet. Read another one of them,” Josele said with an encouraging smile. “Please Nachty?”

“C’mon, really?” Nacht huffed and rolled his eyes. “You don’t even know what I’m saying.”

“That doesn’t matter! You sound so cool when you speak that old language.”

“I keep telling you it’s called German.”

“Okay okay. But I mean it! When you talk in German, it’s real am—”

“No need to butter me up, I’ll read another.” Nacht flipped to a random page and began to read off it. “Here goes… [Ich liebe dich, so wie du mich].” The syllables fell from Nacht’s lips with a grace despite the gutteral sound of them. “[Am Abend und am Morgen…]”

“Heh. That’s Momo’s name…”

Nacht smiled and nodded in affirmation. He continued to read, “[Noch war kein Tag]…”

For the next short while, Nacht spoke with clarity in a tongue Josele couldn’t make sense of. He glanced at Josele from time to time. Her expression was one of eagerness and awe, highlighted by the occasional sunbeam reaching her through the canopy. Seeing her so… “Entranced” felt too strong a word but a part of Nacht wanted to believe that he was that compelling, that Josele was that interested. Not that she could, or would, fake it.

Soon, Nacht spoke the final line, “[Schütz und erhalt' uns beide.]”

Nacht closed the small book and lowered it to his side. He looked at Josele, grinning proudly.

“So?”

“Cool as ever, Nachty!” Josele replied with a grin, her shoulders rising and head tilting to the right as she did. “So…” In her pause, she tucked a bit of hair back. “What’s the poem about?”

“It’s a love poem,” Nacht said as he waved his book in the air. “About having sorrow and comfort together.”

Josele tilted her head further to the side. “What kind of love poem is that? Thought love was supposed to be a happy thing…”

“Poetry can be confusing and contradictory,” Nacht remarked with a lazy shrug. “Maybe it’s one of those things we’re meant to get when we’re older.”

“Hm, maybe…”

They fell into a comfortable silence. Josele reached out a hand and Nacht took it. They continued their stroll together.

…

Just like back then, Nacht and Josele walked hand-in-hand.

Despite their physical closeness, it felt like there was a chasm between them. Their closeness in the past felt like a dream. No, it was a lie. Nacht didn’t deserve to be close to Josele, not the way Morgen was, but he couldn’t forget those halcyon days.

He clung to the memory of them. To Josele.

Nacht and Josele shared a life in that empty shell of his family home. It was the two of them in that house. Perhaps their devils were present but they weren’t a part of it, the tragedy between himself and her.

The sorrow belonged to Nacht and Josele alone. Even if she had locked away her share of it with the curse, it was there as the very reason she cursed herself to begin with.

The burden, the pain, was not easy for either of them. But Nacht knew it would’ve been worse for him if Josele, or what was left of her, weren’t beside him. And what Josele thought of him…

Nacht could only imagine how awful it was.

And he deserved it.

Still, Josele’s listless presence was preferable to her absence. Though her eyes lacked a spark and her words were devoid of any melody and her heart was locked away… Josele was there. She could, and sometimes did, hold Nacht in her arms. And in those moments, creating a pitiful imitation of true comfort, Nacht wept for Josele. For her sake and in her stead.

At last, Nacht and Josele reached the roof. It looked as though the sun had set the sky ablaze as it sank into the horizon. It truly was a magnificent sight.

Nacht turned his head in Josele’s direction. The sunset colored her eyes gold, like it used to. Josele’s eyes widened and her lips parted. An emotion didn’t quite make it to her features but she looked a little more alive.

How was it that even then, amidst so much pain, Nacht found himself feeling happy beside Josele? How could he fall deeper in love with her?

That old poem he read back then finally made sense.

“[Du, meines Lebens Freude]…” Nacht whispered, letting the sentiment be heard, though he couldn’t be sure if it was understood. “[Gott schütze dich, erhalt' dich mir]…”

Josele blinked, the light in her eyes fading in that instant, and turned to Nacht. “What did you say?”

The question was asked but it didn’t sound sincere, as if Josele already knew the answer. It didn’t make sense. But did anything about them make sense?

Nacht smiled bitterly.

“Nothing,” he lied. In truth, those words were everything. Because Josele was everything.

Ever so slowly and gently, he tugged on Josele’s hand—as he had never let go of her—and brought her into an embrace. He touched his forehead to Josele’s. With every breath, so close to her, he took in Josele’s scent, that of the earth and bitter lemons.

Nacht would not let go of Josele, never again.

Like a distant star in the night sky, that was Josele. His life’s delight. His love.

#black clover #black clover fanfic #nacht faust #morgeon faust #josele canty #black clover oc #soda's ocs #morgsele #nacsele #faustsele #angst #my lovely sister beta read this for me #and when she read morgen's flashback she looked at me and kinda asked #'how did you manage to write them so intimately?'#and i could only answer 'my imagination' because like... this ace gal ain't doing anything like that!#the way to break josele's curse is found in one of her flashbacks #nacht's section was by far the hardest part to write #he's so difficult sometimes! (affectionate)#the poem that Nacht recites lines from is 'Zärtliche Liebe'

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shoshiwrites · 2 years

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Prompt from this (very NSFW) list: "in a bar or restaurant, [characters] discuss in detail what they're going to do to each other once they get home" + Jo/Joe Requested by: @mercurygray

“We can get it next time, sweetheart.” Jo stretches in her little seat in the corner, extending her arm around the back of her husband’s chair, fingertips tracing the curved wood.

Evie and Angelo had circumvented their friends’ claiming of the check by calling ahead. Joe didn’t appreciate being outmaneuvered, least of all on a night out with his wife, but it also didn’t do to sulk when they’d had such a nice evening. A telephone call from the sitter pulls the Costas back to their apartment after dessert, but the two of them linger. Candle and lamplight, and plenty of red sauce and butter and wine and now coffee with real cream — it’s almost too much, even for an anniversary celebration.

She brings her hand to the back of Joe’s neck, the collar of his knit shirt and the chain resting beneath, warm against his skin. He lifts his head at the contact, as he returns his wallet to his trouser pocket.

In the quiet basement spot, they can be like this. Lazy, happy. Her head on his shoulder now. She’s got her shoes half-kicked off under the table, his jacket around the back of her chair.

“‘m surprised you stayed so clean,” she says, a note of pride in her voice, and she’s talking about his shirt, the cream color untouched by dinner. He makes a noise of mild discontent, and points out a tiny splotch near the hem. “Oh!”

She’s already making plans for how to get their hands on a sponge and some white vinegar even before they get home, but his movements don’t quicken like hers. He wraps an arm around her shoulders and pulls her in for a kiss. “But-” she says, and it’s about the fabric, and the quality of it, the need to make it last. He doesn’t let her get up. He takes care of his things, he does — she sees how he is with his projects and tools — but you don’t have nights like this one every week or even every month.

“Josie-” he says.

“It’s going to stain-”

His voice drops, and it’s only her who can hear him, in this corner. “Let it.” She pouts a little, an expression she’s largely unused to, but she doesn’t press it further. “I don’t wanna rush out,” he says.

She nuzzles the top of her head against his neck. “Comfy?” she asks.

“Very.” He strokes his thumb against the back of her arm. “And full.”

“You think I should start cooking like this?”

“I don’t think we got the money for new clothes,” he says, chuckling. “Or a new leg.”

“Fair enough.”

He can tell she’s still staring at the spot on his hem, with her eyes downcast. “Josie- c’mon-”

“My mother would have killed me if I left-”

“So would mine. You wanna spend the night doing laundry?”

She has no choice but to humph at that, her voice just this side of bull-headed. “If it means saving this shirt.”

He snorts. “You’re a little impossible, you know that?”

“And yet you still married me.” He twines his fingers with hers on the edge of the table, the glint of their wedding bands and her engagement stone. “Pretty rich coming from Mr. Stubborn,” she mumbles against his collar.

There’s a smile in his voice, something soft. “Oh, is that how it is?”

“If you’d just let me get a little vinegar-”

“What happens if I spill coffee on it too?” he asks. She bolts up in her chair as he tries unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh.

“You wouldn’t.”

“I’m just saying, messes happen.” He pulls her back to him, and for all the indignation on her face she lets him, lets him lavish kisses on her forehead and temple. Around his mouth are the faintest smudges of rosy-brown lipstick. He brings her cup to her lips, lets her mark it as she reaches to hold it herself, sips the last of the coffee down.

Something about the low light and the wine is making her feel like a song, something swinging around her chest. “I like making a mess of you,” she murmurs against his cheek.

His voice goes low too, as they lean against each other in their chairs. “I like it when you do too.”

“Mm-hm?”

She can barely hear him, even though he’s right next to her. His face is warm, his eyes heavy. “When you mark me up.” When she tries out a new shade and tests it against his shoulder. When she has to dab red off his cheek before they head out the door. The late evening when he’d sat stock-still as she traced his lips with the new tube of Cherry Coke, the hour afterwards they’d spent kissing it off. Memories that make her blush even deeper too, smears of pink on the inside of his thighs, and higher.

Want flickers in her ribcage. She bares her teeth a little against his jaw, clicks her tongue. “You’re mine,” she says.

His hand finds her knee, presses through the fabric of her dress. His voice barely leaves the back of his throat. “You promise?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Say it again?”

She’s conscious now of the swinging door across the room, the gust of cold. The few other diners left scattered around, the tiny candle wicks and melted wax, waiters clearing plates. Her whisper pressed against his ear. “You’re mine.” She knows she’s not imagining it, the way he shifts in his chair.

“Listen,” he says, and he’s trying to compose himself. Her stomach flutters with delight. “We ain’t out on dinner, so maybe we…”

“Yeah?”

“Find a place we can, you know…”

“Mm?”

“A room,” he finishes, and continues into the next thought with a voice that’s a little hoarse. “Nothing fancy, and we could stop and grab some vinegar on the way over-”

“You’re just saying that,” she says, smiling, her face hot, and she’s standing, and taking the coat off the back of the chair. He’s already glancing at the door.

“Yeah, yeah I am.”

#mercurygray #ok we didnt get to the detail but.#i had fun with this #shoshi writes #thank you merc <333 #jo's tag #smut under the cut #there are several things here that are...things now #i was going to save this for tomorrow or sunday. oops

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lamentingwclf · 2 months

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[ surprise ] a sudden kiss to catch the partner off guard

🐝 * ― 𝑫𝑰𝑭𝑭𝑬𝑹𝑬𝑵𝑻 𝑾𝑨𝒀𝑺 𝑻𝑶 𝑲𝑰𝑺𝑺 𝑺𝑶𝑴𝑬𝑶𝑵𝑬.

He'd never been to Josie's before, not for lack of trying, Matt and Karen often threw invitations over their shoulders as they left the office that he'd turned down time and time again. Something about the place felt sacred for the threesome that he hadn't wanted to intrude on, and given he couldn't feel the effects of alcohol, he didn't quite see the point in drinking.

It was Foggy Nelson that surprisingly won, if only to prove him wrong.

"You've never played pool?" He was practically bouncing at the idea of it.

"I'm more of a darts guy." Bucky shrugged.

"Okay...well, I've seen your aim and I'm not in it to lose that much money or pride."

"But you will for billiards?" A brow raises, and it should have been Foggy's first clue, but it was missed.

"Obviously, I'll stand a chance if you've never played."

Which is why, three games later, and sixty bucks richer, Bucky was seated at a table, nursing a beer, and Foggy was telling everyone he could that he'd been swindled. Which wasn't far from the truth. He'd spent a lot of down time in cities overseas playing pool with the other soldiers of his regiment. He'd lost a lot of rations before picking up a few tricks and really learning how to play; but he hadn't lied. He hadn't played pool...in about ninety years.

He grins against the mouth of the bottle when Karen sidles up next to the table, and he can tell she's trying very hard to show solidarity for her friend; but the amusement is in her eyes. She's heading out, she tells him, and much to her potential dismay, he won't let her walk home alone.

It's awkward, at first, having the communication skills of a thimble. Karen tries and fails to keep a conversation going, but it's not until they round a corner and come to a street he recognizes that there's a shift. He points to a closed down movie theater, "Steve and I used to sneak in there when we were kids - granted movies weren't like they are today - but I think the owner took pity on him after the first time he chased us out and I had to practically carry Steve after a block. We'd often find the back door cracked open after that."

It probably also helped Bucky stayed after a few times to help clean, or fix one of the projectors or popcorn machines.

"Over there - " He points to a lot that houses a run down building, and because yes, he is babbling now. "That used to be empty. We'd play baseball after school. I destroyed one of my favorite pair of jeans thinking I could slide into home base." He shakes his head, because he had, in fact, touched the plate and won the game, but going home that day and having to show his parents the gaping hole at the side - not so much a win. In fact, his father had broken his arm - they'd told the doctors he'd fallen off his bike trying to show off.

He continues pointing things out, and telling her small stories of his youth, until they come to her building and linger outside. He likes her, but it's not her empathy or even her beauty that really attracts him, it's the challenge in her - the fire, the way she'll snap back at the boys just as quick as they dish it. There's a fight in Karen and he's curious. But it wasn't something he intended to act on, and why he surprises them both with the unconscious way he leans forward and presses his lips to hers for the first time. It is quick, a fleeting brush, and he's leaning back with just as much confusion mirrored on his own face as hers.

"Uhh." The sound is dragged out, looking for purchase, and he's rubbing the back of his head. His confusion morphs into genuine panic and he's already backing away with a nervous laugh. "Yeah, I'm going - g'night." He turns on his heel, and walks away - in the wrong direction of where he's staying, but course correcting now would be a larger embarrassment, so he just keeps walking.

#survivorofhellskitchen #s : ll i can't love you in the dark #queue

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killiths · 3 years

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#legacies #userbru #userrachael #userrachel #tuserdee #tuserzoe #tuserkt #userjj #tuserl #usertheresa #tuserhazel #userjacko #legaciesedit #fosie #josie saltzman #finch tarrayo #mine #the pride and surprise in josie's face #i just rly adore them

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dannywagnerenthusiast · 2 years

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Empty Seat Moments Four: The Picnic Table DRW x SFK x Reader

Well, folks! Here she is- and she's over 10.5k words this time. Very angsty and very smutty. This was the last planned chapter between our little trio, so if anyone has anything in particular they'd like to see from this series, please let me know! Thank you all for reading, I adore you!

A/N: MINORS DNI 18+ ONLY Warnings: SMUT, angst, M/M/F threesome

Normally driving in Danny’s car, in the middle of the old bench style seat with Sam on the outside, found you at your most peaceful. The old but revamped Corvette was Danny’s pride and joy, besides you and Sam of course, and you loved nothing more than flying down the roads with both of your boys by your sides, wind in your hair.

Today, however, you were not enjoying the ride. Anxiety thrummed in your chest and you wrung your fingers together.

You were going to your grandmother’s house for a summer barbeque. And for the first time, you were bringing both Sam and Danny home with you.

Your family adored Danny in the years you two had exclusively been together. He got along great with your parents, and his parents loved you, too.

For the people that mattered the most to you, your mom and dad and siblings, Danny’s parents, Josie, all of the Kiszkas; they already knew. There were some surprised reactions, to say the least, but after witnessing just a few interactions between you, Sam, and Danny, your families were quick to understand the dynamic and accepted you all fully.

Your extended family, however, was a different story. Your grandmother could be old-fashioned, set in her ways…however you wanted to describe her, you had a feeling she wouldn’t take super accommodatingly to her granddaughter dating two men who were also dating each other. Not to mention the various other aunts, uncles, and cousins who would probably have lingering stares and snide remarks.

God, you were working yourself up. Take a deep breath, you told yourself. This is all going to be fine.

Sammy turns to face you with a dazzling smile when you throw your hand over his left thigh to ground yourself as your time remaining in the car ride quickly diminishes.

You give him a quick smile in return before resting your head on his shoulder and giving a bigger sigh than you intended.

From the driver’s seat, Danny asks “You alright, sweetheart?” Your sweet, perceptive boys both knew you were nervous about today, so you don’t bother hiding it. With another shaky breath you answer, mindlessly drawing circles on Sam’s leg. “Just anxious, I guess. I don’t want my family to say anything stupid.”

Your blunt statement causes Sam to break into his characteristic stoner laugh that you love so much, and for a minute you revel in the sound. “I’m serious!” You huff through a laugh, and Danny slings his arm around your shoulders comfortingly.

“It’ll be fine, my love. Your mom and dad know, and they love us. Who gives a fuck about the rest?” Danny says seriously, keeping his eyes on the road.

“Um, they’re still my family, Dan…” you trail off, feeling a little irritated. “I’m gonna care what they think about me.”

You can feel the tension building in your neck and shoulders where Danny is resting his non-driving hand.

“What I think our dear Daniel means to say, babe, is that we all love each other, and the most important people in our lives support us, and we’ll deal with the rest as it comes, yeah?” Sam muses, grabbing hold of Danny’s hand over your shoulder and rubbing over his knuckles.

“Yeah, that!” Danny says. Even without looking at him you can hear the smirk on his face. You’re kind of annoyed at his level of calmness, but Sam’s sentiment does ease your nerves slightly.

As Danny turns the car into the long driveway of your grandmother’s house, Sam presses a chaste kiss to Danny’s hand, followed by one on your cheek.

Subconsciously, you don’t even know you’re doing it, you brush Sam away quickly as your car comes into view. With a quick pat to his thigh, you adjust uncomfortably in your seat and unfasten the seat belt.

Sam turns to look at you with his eyebrows quirked into a question, but you continue to rub reassuring circles on his leg while your eyes scan for your family members milling about the yard as Danny parks.

“Fuck, everyone’s here already.” You moan as Sam opens his door and slips out, before offering his hand to you to help you out.

You look up at him with wide eyes before taking his hand and letting yourself be pulled from the Corvette. But as he takes a few steps away from the car after swinging the door closed, you let his hand drop.

Danny comes up behind the two of you and places a hand on each of your shoulders, guiding you gently towards the gathering. “Ready?” He asks gently. “I guess so…” you trail off on a sigh, and take a step ahead of both Danny and Sam.

“There’s Y/n!” you hear one of your cousins announce from the group of people milling around, and you toss your hand up in a quick wave as you make your way there.

You greet your cousin with a big hug, and find yourself being passed around the circle one-by-one to your family members. As you greet aunts, uncles, more cousins, and others, you can hear your cousin saying “Danny, how have you been! And who is this!”

You try your best to make eye contact with Sam and Danny as your aunt chats away with you about your job, but neither have caught your eye. Instead you can hear Danny simply say, “this is Sam, we’re in the same band, and we’re-” then he’s cut off by a different cousin gushing poetically about Greta Van Fleet. “Danny and Sam! Can I get a picture!”

Of course they are gracious, but they both finally find your eyes and their smiles look a little comedically pained. You shoot them a sympathetic grin and slip away to the coolers nearby, picking up three beers and popping them open before rejoining the circle.

As you pass them off to Sam and Danny, you find that you still can’t get a word in against your chatty cousin, but the boys are handling it well. As Danny continues telling some story about playing with Metallica to your uncle, Sam starts to drape one of his arms lightly around your lower back.

Instantly your heart rate climbs, and not in a good way. He’s your partner and you love him, but all of the people in this group don’t know that. They know Danny to fill that role. So, with a pleading look in your eyes, you look up at his face in sorrow and side-step away from him.

You can almost watch his heart break in real time as you let your hand linger on his wrist and announce to the little crowd, “I’m gonna go find mom and dad, you guys coming?” Danny and Sam both nod their heads and say their polite goodbye-for-nows as the three of you head towards the main house. Sam, a little bit behind you and Danny, can’t help but notice that you don’t brush Danny away when he places a guiding hand on your lower back.

As you approach the sliding glass door to the kitchen, you’re relieved to see that it’s just your mom, dad, and brother milling around and talking. As Danny goes to pull the glass open, your mom waves excitedly at you three. “Ah! You made it!” She gushes, and pulls the three of you into a simultaneous bone crushing hug. In the safety of the kitchen, you allow yourself to wind your arm around Sam’s waist and lean on him.

When you finally break apart, you greet your Dad with a hug, and he gives hearty handshakes to Danny and Sammy. Your brother chats pleasantly with the three of you for a while before excusing himself to get another beer.

As your dad steps onto the patio to light the grill, Danny says “Can I help you with anything?” looking at all the side dishes bubbling on the stove. Your mom flounders, pleased, and hands him a big whisk, pointing at whatever needs attention.

Turning back to Sam, you wrap your arms around his slender waist and lean back to look at his face. He gives you a somewhat tight lipped smile and sips his beer. “This is going well, right?” You ask him, running your fingers over the small of his back through his shirt.

“Yes, babe.” He answers, looking down at you, but his voice is tight. You tilt your head to examine his face closer, but some movement coming closer to the sliding glass door from the backyard sends you reeling away from him, nearly knocking his beer right out of his hand as you scurry away.

“Y/n, are you alright?” Your mom asks as she dries her hands on a dish towel. “Yeah yeah, just feeling a little jumpy today.” You say. Sam excuses himself from the kitchen and brushes past you, passing by Danny with an arm on his shoulder and a barely-there kiss on the cheek before he’s in the living room. You hear him greet someone else sitting in there, so you know he’s okay for now.

You know what you’re doing. You know you are hurting him. But you also know that your family can be bigoted sometimes, and they weren’t the ones who were going to have to deal with that forever.

Wait. If everything keeps going the way this last year has gone, you do want them in your life forever to help you deal with things like this. This burden would become theirs as well, this would become their family. Hell, your mom and dad already think of them as additional sons.

God, now you’re spiraling in your Grandma’s kitchen, and you really owe Sam an apology.

“Y/n, are you sure you’re okay, honey?” Your mom is standing in front of you with the back of her hand pressed to your forehead. You hadn’t even seen her come over to you. Danny isn’t even in the kitchen anymore.

“I- I really need to find Sam.” You tell your mom, and turn on your heel to follow where he went earlier.

In your clouded mindset, you aren’t paying very much attention to where you’re going as you wander through the house looking for your boyfriends.

One instant later though, you feel your blood run cold as you make eye contact with your Grandma. Martini in hand, she waves you over to where she is sitting alone on the screened-in back porch, overlooking the backyard.

“My granddaughter! Lovely to see you, darling!” She proclaims, kissing both your cheeks. The scent of her sickly sweet perfume makes your stomach turn. “Lovely to see you too, Grandma.”

She pats the cushioned bench next to her, so you sit beside your grandmother and wish you were anywhere else at that moment.

“My darling, I’ve got to tell you that I’ve just seen the strangest thing!” your Grandma says in a scandalized tone. You think you might be sick. “What’s that, Grandma?” You say in a brave voice, trying not to betray your nerves.

“That lovely boyfriend of yours, Danny, is it? Well, I just saw him and that other boy you showed up with, your friend, and they were doing something quite unholy! By the looks of it, it seems your boyfriend quite enjoys kissing the mouths of men, my dear.”

“O-oh.” Is all you can force yourself to say. Obviously you know this. But know your grandmother knows too, and god knows who else she’s going to tell.

Quickly a thought flashes through you- that maybe you should pretend you didn’t know, to save face. Instantly the guilt coursing through you makes you believe you actually will be sick to your stomach. “I have to go.”

You hurriedly leave the porch and find the nearest bathroom where you can dry-heave in peace, pulling in empty breaths and panicking. The thought that has you actually vomiting is that you never corrected your grandmother. You let her believe that Danny was cheating on you with Sam and keeping his sexuality a secret.

You were a monster. A vile woman. You didn’t deserve your two loving partners. Twice more you empty the contents of your stomach. Thankfully whatever bathroom you were in had mouthwash in the cabinet, so you swish some around before heading back out and trying to track down Sam and Danny.

They aren’t anywhere in the house, so you make your way back outside. Upon entering the backyard, you can see your grandmother leaning in close and chatting hushedly with one of your aunts. Your gut churns, but you keep your back straight as you scan over the little groups until your eyes finally land on the dark sweeping mop of curls and smooth brown locks of Danny and Sam.

They are facing away from you, and talking to all of your siblings and your mom as they spread dishes out on the long folding tables. With a steadying breath, you make your way to them.

When you finally cross the yard to your family, you slip your hand onto Sam’s arm. Both Sam and Danny turn, alerted to your presence, but they don’t look thrilled to see you like they normally do.

To your shock and horror, you think that Sam has been crying. Nobody besides Danny could probably tell, but you can. His eyes are slightly red-rimmed and his skin is glowing even more than usual.

You have to clear your throat before you speak so you don’t give away the emotion in your voice. “Can I talk to you for a second, Sammy?” He doesn’t look at you, he even brushes your hand away from his wrist. Still not looking at you, he says “I’m helping your mom right now.”

You bite your lip and nod, shunned and embarrassed. You can tell your family knows something’s up, but thankfully they keep their mouths shut for now.

When you turn to look at Danny, he’s already looking at you. He’s got his hands shoved in his pockets and a sad, worn out look on his face. He gives you a sad shake of the head and casts his eyes down.

You know you really really fucked up. Sam did not deserve this, he’s an equal in every aspect of your relationship. You, however, were too much of a coward to face your family and tell them this.

Should you make some sort of grand gesture? Hey everyone! This is my boyfriend Danny, and this is my other boyfriend Sam! Deal with it!

You’re ashamed once again as you can’t even manage that, because here comes your Grandma, sauntering over with your aunt. Panicky breaths begin leaving you once again, and you have to remind yourself to calm down, damnit.

Danny brushes by you with a gentle hand on your back, and pulls out your chair for you before disappearing to the cooler for a refill before the meal begins. You pull out the chair next to yours for Sammy, but he doesn’t look at you as he walks further down the table, your siblings and at least a cousin or two between you and the spot that he picks.

Just because the universe hates you, your Grandma snags the seat you opened for Sam, leaving Danny to join Sammy far away from you. The seat you wanted Danny in, to your left, remains open.

As your family begins passing dishes with lively chatter, your Grandma nudges you with her elbow and says, “Where’s Danny?” You roll your eyes out of her line of sight and sigh, telling her “He’s sitting with Sam over there.”

Gesturing towards the two boys with your fork catches the attention of your aunt and a few others who were sitting near you, drawing even more uncomfortable attention to yourself. You swear you can hear one of your cousins muttering something, and if you listen really closely, you think you catch your boyfriends’ names.

Thankfully, your mother is sitting directly across from you. By now she has an idea of what’s going on, and she changes the subject for the moment. Despite the meal having just barely started, you give the excuse of not feeling well, and think aloud to the group that the air conditioned house might do you some good.

Your mom grasps your hand from across the table as your Grandma huffs and your aunt’s eyebrows shoot to the top of her forehead, but you utter a polite “excuse me,” and move away from the table in the grass.

You have no doubt Sam and Danny can see you leaving, everyone can, but you really just need out right now. When you finally reach the cool kitchen, you lean on the counter and close your eyes, allowing yourself to just breathe for a moment.

The sound of the heavy glass door forces you back to reality. It’s your dad, and the sight of him looking concerned sets you off. “I really messed up, dad.” You whimper, and he catches you just in time as you collapse into him.

Your dad kisses the crown of your head and tells you that everything will be okay. He tells you that he talked to your mom, they know what’s going on, and they don’t blame you for being nervous about bringing both Sam and Danny around your family. He also tells you that Sam deserves better.

“I know he does, dad. I love him a lot. I need to fix this.” You can barely get control of your hiccuped breathing when the door opens again. Your dad passes your crying frame, with one last kiss on your head, from himself to Danny. The only reason you know it’s him is because you’d recognize his scent and the feeling of his arms anywhere.

Your dad makes his escape back outside, and it’s just you and Danny alone in the kitchen. He holds you for a moment, not saying a word. He lets you cry for what you did. For what you were afraid of. For how you treated Sam.

He rouses your shoulder gently after a few moments and tucks his head on top of yours. “We’re leaving, babe. Sam’s already in the car.”

You want to see your Sammy so badly. Hold him close and kiss his sweet face and tell him how sorry you are. Tell him how much you love him and how badly you need him. How badly you fucked up and how much you wish this never would have happened. You’re ready to see him. So you nod in Danny’s arms and brush away the tears lingering on your face.

Danny ushers you out the back door, even though it sends a chill through you to walk out using the screened-in porch. You’ll text your mom and dad that you got home safe later, they’ll understand. Right now you just need to make everything right with Sam.

When the corvette comes into view, you can see Sam’s chestnut locks leaned against the passenger window. Danny goes to open the passenger door for you, and you think that Sam will step out so you can shimmy into the middle seat.

Without even sparing a glance, Sam scoots himself into the middle seat. Your heart cracks a bit as you sit yourself into the passenger side and Danny closes the door for you.

You turn your body to look at Sam, but he’s stony faced and staring straight ahead.

Your lip begins to wobble as tears gather in your eyes. “Sammy…” you start, but he cuts you off.

“Don’t, please.” It isn’t mean, but it’s cold. Void of emotion. So opposite of your bubbly Sammy that it feels like a dagger to the heart.

The only thing you can manage is a shaky exhale as Danny gets in and starts the car. Sam leans his head on Danny’s shoulder and gives a soft sigh of his own.

Before Danny reverses out of the parking spot, tears are freely flowing down your face. “I’m so sorry Sammy.” You say, voice thick with emotion that hasn’t shown its face yet.

Just based on Sam’s inhale you can tell he’s affected, but he doesn’t validate you with an answer. “Sam!” You try again, this time on a choked out sob.

“Y/n.” Danny says as he looks over at you. “Please, just don’t right now.”

“Okay” you cry, body wracking with quiet sobs as you lean against the window. The best you can do to manage your outburst is pressing a hand to your mouth. All you want is for Sam to reach over and hold you. You can hear the periodic snuffle characteristic of him hiding the fact that he’s crying, and it sends you further into your pit of despair.

The entire way home, neither Sam nor Danny says a word to you or each other. The radio doesn’t play. Your quiet cries and Sam’s periodic sniffs feel very out of place for the beautiful late afternoon, picturesque day that it is outside.

When Danny finally pulls into your winding driveway, your eyes are aching and your head is pounding. Sam gets out on Danny’s driver's side, so you open your own door and follow the boys up the front porch.

You don’t, however, follow them inside. You decide to sit out on the front porch swing alone for a little while. Danny told you to leave it alone for now, so you will.

The front door closes and you’re left alone in the late afternoon breeze. The sun will set soon, but you can’t bring yourself to care about the slight chill in the air. Wrapping your arms around your knees, you let yourself mope for a bit while Danny hopefully takes care of Sam inside. You can hear shuffling and cabinets opening and closing in the kitchen. In your mind, Danny is making Sam his favorite kind of tea and bringing it over to him on the couch, wrapping him up in a blanket, and showering him with kisses. It’s what you would do if Sam were speaking to you right now.

The trail of thoughts causes your eyes to grow wet once again as you rest your chin on your knees. You’re shivering in earnest now, but you want to stay out of Sam’s way to avoid causing him any more pain.

God, the things you would do to be able to show him you were sorry. You could tell him, obviously. You would. You will. But you still feel like that’s not enough.

With your eyes closed, nonsensical visions of time machines and love letters and Sam and Danny dance behind your tired eyes. When you think you can’t cry anymore, a restless doze overcomes you, right there on the front porch swing in your jeans and tank top.

The thing that rouses you from your uncomfortable sleep is the slamming of the screen door on its hinges, and a figure standing before you in the dark. Your eyes are having a hard time adjusting to the night, but the figure standing before you is thrusting a mug into your hands.

Without any ado, Sam is muttering “ ‘s freezin’ out here.” His voice sounds worse for wear, although you still can’t really see his face to gauge how he looks.

He plops himself down beside you once you take a hold of the steaming mug, and you immediately feel fresh tears brewing.

Neither of you says anything for a minute or two, you just sit and look out over the beautiful property you share with the loves of your life. Occasionally you sip on the tea that Sam brought you. The fact that he brought it to you kind of shatters your heart, and you appreciate him more than you know how to tell him.

Finally mustering up the courage, you place the mug on the ground and take both of Sam’s hands in yours. He actually looks at your face this time, for the first time in hours, and instantly you crumble. His expression is still stony, but he looks tired.

“Sam, I am so sorry about today.” One sentence in and you’re crying. Hard. You take a shuddery breath in at the same time Sam does, and continue on, “I love you so much. So much. You didn’t deserve that at all, I-I’m…”

There’s so much more you need to say to him, but you’re shaking and gasping and you need to control yourself for a moment.

The entire time you’re pulling yourself together, Sam doesn’t say a word. His frown is deep-set and his lip wobbles, but he doesn’t break. He just keeps on looking at you. But he doesn’t pull his hands out of yours.

You do let go of his hands to put them up to his face, cupping his cheeks and running your thumbs over his soft skin. With your faces this close together, Sam finally lets a tear roll down his cheek. You brush it away before you find at least some of the words you want to say to him.

“I was a coward.” You whisper. Sam furrows his brow and shakes his head no, but you furiously nod your head-yes you were. “Yes, baby, I was. I thought I could face them, but I was too scared of what they would say, I was too scared of my own family…I-” you’re so ashamed that the words die in your throat.

Sam’s hands, that had previously been sitting idly at his side, tentatively come up to rest on your waist as he pulls you in. Just feeling his touch is enough to set you off again. You’re a blubbering mess as you clutch at his shoulders, burying your nose into his neck to get as close to him as possible. Like a mantra, you repeat “I’m sorry, Sammy, so sorry. I’m so sorry, baby.”

He’s actually holding you. He’s here and he’s holding you, and he loves you and you love him, and you haven’t lost him. You don’t know how many times you repeat it, “So sorry Sammy, I love you so much.” He just shooshes you and soothes you, rocks you gently.

As your sobs turn into hiccuping breaths and eventually you’re in control of your own breathing again, Sam removes his lips from your temple and speaks into the night air, “Your mom called. Told me and Daniel about your Grandmother. She sounds lovely.”

When you peel your face off of Sam’s neck, you look up at him with a sad expression. He’s looking out into the yard, expressionless.

“That doesn’t make up for the way I hurt you, Sam.” You whisper, afraid that he or you will break if you speak too loud.

“No, it doesn’t.” He turns to look at you, and the thought bouncing around your head is that you just want to see him smile. Sam wearing a frown throws the universe out of alignment. “But I get it.”

That felt like a physical punch to the gut. You just hurt the love of your life worse than you thought you ever could, and he understands.

“How?” You implore him, sitting up straighter to look into his face.

“She would have said horrible things about us, y/n. About you.” As Sam says this, he reaches out and holds one of your hands. You do not deserve this sweet man. You squeeze his hand with all your might, as if you could throw all your love into this one physical display of affection.

“I should have just let her say it. Who gives a fuck. She’s gonna find out eventually. I mean, I need you in my life, Sammy.”

He squeezes your hand back, still looking out over the view, and says, “You sure?”

“Babe” you whine, feeling close to tears again. “I need you more than I need oxygen, or water, or… something else important.” He snickers at this. So poetic drama is lost on you right now, so what? “Whatever! I’m serious, Sam.”

Finally, he turns to look at your face once again. You tug on his hand and tell him, “I can’t live without you.”

At long last, the quirk of a small smile graces Sam’s beautiful face. Maybe the universe isn’t out to get you after all, because in the same moment, Sam says, “I love you.”

And there you go again, with the waterworks. Sam looks frightened for a second, before he pulls you into his side and lets you bask for a minute. “I don’t deserve you, Samuel.” You tell him, littering kisses anywhere you can reach. His neck, his cheek, his ear, his hair.

“You do deserve me. And Daniel. And I deserve you two, too. Don’t forget that, trouble.” He says, giving your flank a hard pinch that causes you to yelp.

“I think I’m going to be saying ‘I’m sorry’ for the rest of our lives.” You tell him, snuggled into his side on the porch swing.

“Well, I’ve already forgiven you, love. So get it out one last time and then stop it. I want to move on from this. It’s fuckin’ cold out here and Daniel reheated the leftovers your mom snuck us while you were passed out.” Without lifting your head from his shoulder, you know he’s wearing his signature smirk and everything feels okay again. Not perfect, but okay.

With a deep breath, you plant a soft kiss on his perfect lips and let it linger for a moment. When you break apart, you hold Sam’s face in your hands and press your foreheads together.

He smiles up at you as you tell him. “I will never let you feel that way ever again, Sam. I am so in love with you and I need you every single day. I am so sorry, baby.” There’s no need for Sam to respond, he knows. So he just presses another kiss to your lips.

When you finally find your way back inside, Danny is standing at the stove wearing a knowing smile. He glances at the leading hand Sam had placed on your lower back as the two of you entered, and then raises his eyebrows in question.

Instead of breaking it all down right now, you just step over to where he’s standing and press a fat kiss on his mouth, savoring the feeling of being in the presence of nobody but your favorite people.

Letting yourself enjoy kissing Danny for a moment, you feel Sam come up behind you and press his chest to your back. Sandwiched between your two boys, you think there’s nowhere else you’d rather be.

Reluctantly you break away from Danny’s kiss to lean your head backwards on Sam’s shoulder. It’s a view that many would kill to have when Sam reaches up to pull Danny in for his turn at a kiss, with you still sandwiched there in the middle.

It takes the three of you ages to break away from trading sweet kisses, standing there in your kitchen. Only when one of Danny’s reheated dishes starts to bubble over the pot do you giggle and shove him towards the stove, while you and Sam bring out dishes and wine glasses for a makeshift dinner. It’s lighthearted and full of love, but the three of you can feel how important it is- sharing your time and space. Sam keeps littering lingering touches on your arms and Danny’s. Innocent little things, but he’s always reminding you of his presence.

Eventually, you stumble into your bed with Sam and Danny hot on your heels. You’re too tipsy on wine- and too emotionally drained from the day- for anything besides more sweet kisses in a dog pile under the covers. You can barely tell where one body ends and another begins- all tangled limbs and fingers in hair and lips on sunkissed skin.

When you drift off, you dream of a lake house. Sam and Danny are there, your mom and dad and siblings. The Wagners and Kiszkas. You’re all older, you don’t know how much, but you can tell that time has passed. An enormous, goofy-looking dog runs by your feet, and you know it’s yours. Your dad and Kelly and Dan are out by a grill, beers in hand. Their raucous laughter makes you smile. When you blink you’re in another room of your house- your mom and Lori and Karen, Ronnie and Josie, your sister, Jake and Josh, everyone you love is there, cooing over a tiny baby swaddled in white. Three or four more kids run around at the feet of the adults in the room. You aren’t sure who’s children they are, but it doesn’t matter, you love them. There is so much love in this house. In your house, yours and Sam’s and Danny’s.

---

A blindingly bright ray of sunlight streaks across your face and directly into your eyes when you wake up the next morning. You can tell it’s ungodly early, but the wine and the emotions caused the three of you to forget to close the blinds before tumbling into bed the night before. So, here you were, at- God, 6:18 am, wide awake.

After 20 minutes of willing your eyes closed and hoping you’ll fall back to sleep, you deem it futile and resign yourself to being awake. You can’t exactly get out of bed, though. You’re on the edge of the bed, but Sam, in the middle, has your legs completely pinned under his. Danny, from across the bed, has one arm over the pillows and reached around Sam’s sleeping form, with his hand resting on your collarbone.

As wholesome as the scene is, you can’t even adjust your positioning without waking up the sleeping boys. Your bladder is screaming at you, you’d love to brush your teeth, and when you wiggle your toes, they’re a little numb.

Thankfully, Sam stirs within the next few minutes and rolls on his side directly into Danny’s chest, freeing your legs. Danny’s arm that was spread across the top of the pillows is now capturing Sam in an unconscious bear hug. You can finally make your getaway, but not before snapping a picture of your precious boys.

As quietly as you can, you freshen up in the bathroom and throw on a t- shirt before you make your way to the kitchen. The idea strikes you to wake the boys up with breakfast in bed-who couldn’t use a little extra love and appreciation?- and god knows your boys will sleep for hours more if you let them.

Banana pancakes seem like a good choice for a lazy Sunday, and you find yourself humming the Jack Johnson song as you slice and mix. It’s peaceful in your sunny kitchen, and early enough that there are little other sounds coming from the house.

The lack of noise continues as your stack of pancakes grows, and you hum along to whatever song pops in your head. The lack of noise is so jarring, however, when you feel a pair of hands snake their way around your waist and lips land on the side of your neck.

You let out a squeal of untamed shock, thinking you were completely alone. When you turn in the arms of the intruder-Sammy-you clutch your heart and say “you scared the life out of me!”

He looks down at you appraisingly before attacking your neck with his mouth again, causing you to hiss. His voice still gravely with sleep, he says “After the fucking day we had yesterday, all I wanted was to wake up next to my man and my girl…” he puncuates this phrase with a sharp bite to the muscle joining your neck and shoulder, and you inhale sharply. Even just Sam calling you his girl sends you reeling.

His tongue laves over the bite mark and back up your neck, littering soft kisses. He plants a wet kiss right under your ear and continues, “so imagine my surprise when I wake up and she’s gone. After everything she put me through.”

At this, you pull back and look at his face with a questioningly sorrowful expression. Sam had forgiven you last night and the three of you went to sleep happy, so hearing him say this just about breaks your heart.

But when your eyes find his, there’s a playful glimmer in his eye. He smiles genuinely then, and cups your jaw in the most gentle manner before kissing you softly. You sigh into the kiss in relief, but once Sam can tell you’re at ease, he’s pulling away. Before he completely leaves your mouth though, he bites down sharply on your lower lip and tugs, causing you to let out a pitiful whimper.

“I wanted to make you breakfast in bed.” You tell him, turning back to the countertop to remove the last pancake from the stove and turn off the burner. Once you put the spatula down, Sam pins your hips to the counter with his own. His hands bracket you in against the marble, and you can feel his hot breath on the shell of your ear. His facial hair tickles you when he says, “how about we go find Daniel and say good morning a different way, hmm?”

Deciding that you’re feeling a little bratty, you push your ass back into him and whine, “but I just spent an hour cooking!”

In a move that is so unlike your gentle and often submissive Sammy, he lets out a growl from deep in his chest, and one of his hands gripping the counter is suddenly caged around your throat. His voice is gruff when he tells you “you really don’t want to test me today, love.”

His slender fingers around your throat have you whimpering again. He’s barely even touched you and you’ve lost count of the embarrassing noises you’ve let loose so far.

With his hand still on your throat, you turn to face him and give him the best doe-eyes you can manage. “I won’t test you Sammy. I’ll be good.” You watch as his light brown eyes dilate and his head tips back as he drinks in your words.

“Yeah? You gonna be my good girl?” He says with a tighter squeeze to your windpipe. All you can manage is a nod.

“You’ve got 30 seconds to get your ass in the bedroom. Understand?” He says, the hand on your throat trailing up to grip your jaw tightly. Again, all you can muster is a nod, but it’s not good enough for Sam.

“You’re gonna need your words today, baby. Use them.” His grip on your jaw is becoming deliciously painful, so you hurriedly say “I understand, Sammy.” Even to your own ears, your voice sounds wavery and about to break with need. “Good fucking girl.” He smirks, turns you around by the shoulders, and smacks you once on the ass before you’re scurrying to your shared bedroom.

When you enter the room. Danny is awake and dressed only in his boxers. He’s propped up against the headboard palming his visibly hard erection, a smug smirk on his face when you walk in and your pupils blow at the sight of him. “Morning, babe.” He sounds sly, even as he bites his bottom lip and continues working his hand over his clothed cock a little faster.

Your feet are glued in the doorway, eyes transfixed as you watch him work himself up. You just have to touch him. It’s purely acting on instinct when you climb onto his lap on the bed and grind down onto him, attacking his mouth with yours. His hands find your hips under your t-shirt instantly and he happily returns your kiss for a few seconds, but when he breaks away, he mutters “He’s not gonna like that.”

And boy was he right. Suddenly you hear Sam clear his throat from the doorway, and his eyes are icy when you meet his.

“Baby, baby, baby…” he tsk’s. He’s slowly sauntering over to where you’re still perched on Danny’s lap, but you don’t dare chase that delicious friction while Sam decides what to do with you. “You just never listen, do you?”

You swallow guilily and look up at him, not sure if he’s expecting an answer or if he’s just talking to talk. When he grips your chin and turns your face towards his, and sneers “Do you?” you know that for your best interests you should probably answer him.

“N-no Sammy, I didn’t listen. I don’t. I’m sorry.”

He scoffs at your meager apology and drops your chin from his hand, removing his t-shirt from his body in the silence that now fills the room.

“What should I do with brats who don’t listen?” He ponders, pushing his fingers now into Danny’s hair and tugging affectionately, as if asking him that question.

Danny looks up at Sam like he hung the moon, and Sam indulges him in a quick kiss, before Danny answers him. “Whatever you do, can I watch?” Sam smiles like the sun and runs a soft hand down Danny’s cheek while he says, “Of course you can, Daniel. I’m gonna need your help teaching her a lesson, baby.”

Being that it’s normally Danny who takes the dominant role between the three of you, he speaks up then. With gentle hands on your thighs, he looks at you and asks earnestly, “Are you okay with this, y/n?”

You take a deep breath and look at Sam, who’s looking expectantly at you for your answer. You know he’s not still mad at you, but you need to be 100% sure before you can enjoy this.

With an outstretched hand, you unspokenly ask for Sam to approach you. He goes to you immediately and lets you hold him closely, with you still perched on top of Danny. “You’re not mad, right?” You ask in nearly a whisper. You’re kind of embarrassed to ask, but it makes you feel better to know.

Sam looks like his heart might break at your question, and he kisses you sweetly. “No, my love, I’m not mad at you. Just having fun. Do you want to?”

You sigh in relief and kiss him deeply then, waiting for him to resume his role. When you break the kiss with a nip to his bottom lip, you tell him, “I don’t know if you can teach me a lesson as well as Danny does, but you can try?”

“You just keep digging your grave, baby.” He growls, and begins attacking your neck with his teeth. You yelp and try to shimmy away from the sensation, but the friction of his facial hair mixed with his nipping teeth are causing such a mix between pain and pleasure that your mind is going hazy. He doesn’t relent, moving across the side of your neck to your collarbone, dropping wet kisses and harsh bites over nearly every inch of skin.

One particularly harsh drag of his teeth has you jolting forward, which reminds you that you’re situated directly over Danny, who is still perched below you. When you peek down at him, he looks like the happiest man in the world to be watching Sam tear your neck apart and be receiving the occasional friction from your grinding.

The pure joy on his face causes you to giggle, and Danny meets your eyes when he hears it. “Hi, baby” you whimper out as Sam sucks your flesh into his mouth, and Danny meets you with a grind of his own hips upwards.

Suddenly, the mounting pleasure between your legs is completely gone. You find yourself flat on your back towards the end of the bed, and in a flash, Sam’s face is hovering over yours. “Eyes on me.” He growls.

His hands aggressively hike up your t-shirt and pull it over your head, leaving you in only your panties. Immediately his mouth is on your chest, giving it the same brutal attention that he paid your neck. Biting one of your nipples and twirling the other between his thumb and finger, the intensity becomes nearly too much as you writhe and thrash.

The sound of Sam popping his mouth off your nipple is absolutely obscene. With a final bite to the sore bud, he asks “Missing our sweet Daniel, y/n?” Immediately his mouth is on your other breast, and you shriek loudly before running a hand through Sam’s hair and tugging. Whether to bring him closer or pull him away from you, you aren’t sure.

Even though Sam grew frustrated with you last time you ignored him, you decide to not verbally answer him again. The consequences were sure to be so delicious.

With a harsh suck, he pulls off once again and calls for Danny, meeting him in a filthy kiss that you can hear more than you can see. You hear them speaking in hushed whispers cut off by the obscene sounds of wet kisses, when suddenly Danny is planting himself behind you.

You’re no longer flat on your back, but supported by Danny’s chest so that you can clearly see Sam settle between your legs. Your breath hitches when he picks up one of your legs and starts kissing his way up, starting at the ankle. Okay, so this was going to be torturous.

“Let me talk this through, baby.” Sam says between kisses to your calf. “How many times have you ignored the questions I’ve asked you this morning?” Danny’s hands have begun playing with your nipples, which has rendered you nearly speechless in its own right. And, you’re not even sure of that answer. “I- I…” you trail off on a low moan as Danny continues to tweak your nipples and kiss your neck.

“Oh! Another one!” Sam gasps, acting affronted. By now he’s kissed to the junction of your thigh and has begun trailing kisses across your stomach. You wriggle your hips, hoping to catch his nose or anything nearby for any sense of friction, but you get nothing.

“Daniel?” Sam asks, ignoring you in the places you most want to be touched. Danny pops his mouth off your neck, and you can hear him smirking when he answers, “that makes three, love.”

Your other leg is now draped across Sam’s shoulder as he nibbles on the tender flesh of your inner thigh. The noises you are making can only be described as pathetic, but you really really don’t care. You just want Sam to touch you. “Please baby, I need it, I need your mouth,” you whine. Your hips are moving on their own accord, even with Sam pinning you down.

“You whine so pretty, my love. Do it again before I shut you up.” Sam answers you, although it's muffled while he still works on marking up your soft skin. You relent, begging “please Sammy! Please touch me! I’ll be so good!”

When Sam moves his body up towards your face and away from your aching core, the whine you let out sounds absolutely distraught. You’d be embarrassed if you weren’t so needy.

Sam’s nose is a millimeter from yours when he growls in your face. “You think you deserve for me to eat your pretty pussy?” All you can do is whimper in response.

You crane your neck out for a kiss, but he scoffs at you and moves like lightning back down your body. With his face an inch from where you need him, he says, “good thing I’m feeling generous.”

Immediately he licks from your weeping entrance to your clit in a long broad stripe that has you arching up into Danny. Before you can revel in the feeling, he’s pointing his tongue and assaulting your clit with kitten licks that have you seeing stars. You’re mewling and gasping, incoherent sounds. As he licks and prods you, you grind down on his face as much as you can.

“Oh fuck, Sammy!” you cry. His tongue continued to work you over, but as soon as your babbling turned into a complete sentence, he removed his face from your core and made eye contact with Danny. “Shut her up.” He said, wiping his face with the back of his hand before diving into you again.

Once his tongue is working you over again, two of Danny’s fingers are pressing at your mouth. You let him in readily and suckle at them, drooling all over him and gagging when he presses them in even further. “Good fucking girl.” Danny tells you, right in your ear, and you whimper around his fingers.

Suddenly Sam changes his approach, and starts whipping his head back and forth, dragging his tongue over your clit sideways. Your breathing doubles in pace and your abs tense. If Danny’s fingers weren’t gagging you, you were positive you’d be screaming. The intense orgasm building in your stomach is seconds away from snapping, so you close your eyes and lean against Danny’s chest to revel in the feeling.

“She’s close, love.” You hear Danny say, and instantly all stimulation is gone. Sam’s face is gone from between your legs, Danny’s fingers gone from your mouth and breast. The sudden change in sensation is devastating, and you’re not even aware that you’re begging until you hear your own voice in the room. “Please Sammy, I need to cum, I’m so close! Please let me cum- I’ve been so good! I’ll be good, please, baby!” You’re reaching down to stroke Sam’s hair and face, but he’s unfazed. “That’s just one, babe. You’ve got two more times before I’ll think about letting you cum. Better stop with the dranatics.” He sucks your clit between his lips one last time before standing up from the bed completely.

“Daniel, we need a better way to get her to stop fucking whining. Wanna fuck her mouth?” Simultaneously, you and Danny release guttural groans from deep within your chests. “Fuck yeah I do. Babe?”

Leave it to Danny to be checking in with you, even while you’re getting your shit rocked by someone else. But Sam doesn’t let the act carry on for too long. He’s right up in your face with a hand on your chin when he tells you, “You’re gonna make our sweet Daniel feel good now, aren’t you y/n?”

“Y-yes.” Your voice fails you, but there’s nothing more that you want in the world than to have Danny’s cock in your mouth with Sam’s tongue on you.

Before you can blink, Sam’s manhandling you so that you’re hovering above his face while he lays flat on the bed. Danny kneels directly in front of you, stroking his hard cock in one hand and gently toying with your hair in the other.

“Sit on my face, Y/n.” Sam instructs, without a hint of hesitation. You’ve been in this position before with Danny, but never with Sam. You’re nervous you’re going to hurt him, so you ease down without putting all your weight on him. You can feel his hands grip your ass tighter and pull you down, hard. “I said fucking sit, babe.” It’s gruff, but you know he means it.

Danny must be able to see the trepidation on your face, because he leans in to kiss you sweetly and says, “You won’t hurt him, my love.” With a big deep breath, you let yourself fully sink onto Sam, and immediately his tongue is lapping at you like he’s a starved man.

“Oh, fu-” you’re cut off by Danny sliding his hard cock right against your bottom lip. “I was told to keep this pretty mouth busy, sweetheart.” He says, and you can hear Sam make a pleased noise of approval from where he’s licking you with broad strokes.

Now standing in front of the bed, directly in front of you, Danny is at the perfect height to slide his beautiful cock straight into your mouth. He groans deeply in approval when you pay attention to the head with your tongue, and you hum around him when Sam gives you a particularly strong lick.

You kiss up and down his shaft for a minute, drooling over his balls and getting him nice and wet, loving on him the way you know he likes. When you peek up, his head is leaned forward and his eyes are closed, he’s so beautiful.

Sammy picks up the intensity from below you and you grind down on him, whimpering as his tongue enters you. From this angle, every forward grind has your clit bumping into his perfect nose, and you chase the feeling.

As you continue grinding down on Sam, you tap Danny on the hip and whisper, “Fuck my throat, baby.”

Danny makes a sound high in his throat that you’ll be playing on repeat in your head for weeks, and holds onto your jaw delicately as he slides his cock into your throat. You do your best to relax around him, but Sam furiously working you over his tongue and nose beneath you doesn’t let you act as carefully as you normally would.

A furious gag rips through you as Danny tosses his head back and groans loudly, and in an instant he’s pulling back and letting you breathe. But you don’t let it stop you. You look up at him through your lashes and nod, and he cups your cheek again, sliding in after you take a couple slow breaths through your nose.

Danny has a rhythm set that matches the pace of Sam dragging you back and forth over his face, and the combined feeling is enough to make you start trembling and humming around Danny’s cock in your mouth.

Like a pained animal, it sounds like it takes all of Danny’s strength to pull himself from your mouth and say “Fuck- Sam, she’s getting close.” He allows himself to rest his cock on your tongue again as you writhe around on Sam’s face, chasing the high you know you probably won’t reach.

“Fuck, fuck! Feels so good, Sam.” You sound so whiny and fucked out that you can’t recognize your own voice. With a brutal suck of your clit between his lips, Sam pushes you off of his face sideways, effectively terminating the finish you were rapidly approaching.

The next thing you feel is Danny’s lips on your cheek, kissing away the errant tears that were rolling down your face. You were crying? “You’re doing so good, baby.” He whispers to you, wiping away any remaining tears with his thumb.

Blindly- with a hand reached out into the air-you seek out Sam. The thought hits you that he hasn’t been touched at all yet. “Sammy?” You ask, barely a whisper, when he doesn’t find your hand after a few seconds.

“I’m here, love.” Sam’s voice to your right causes you to turn and look, and his face is right next to yours. He looks ethereal, glowing, beautiful. His hand reaches up to stroke your cheek gently and says, “You doing okay?”

You nod and whisper, “I’m okay Sammy. Wanna make you feel good.” The look on Sam’s face is hard to describe. It’s full of love and longing, desire- but also adoration and appreciation. “My girl” is all he says with a final gentle stroke to your cheek, before he grips your hips and flips you onto your stomach.

You gasp in a breath, and his face is near yours in an instant. “You sure you can handle it?” punctuated with a bite to your ear.

“Yes!” You gasp, arching up to present yourself to Sam as best you can. “I want it baby, I can take it.”

He hums his approval and continues to bite at the shell of your ear while his fingers trail down your spine. For the first time since he’s been ravishing you, Sam’s fingers finally enter you, and you groan at the contact you’ve been aching for.

When you turn your head to rest your cheek on the mattress, your face finds Danny’s, who is watching Sam on top of you like the two of you belong in a museum. Although you had him in your mouth earlier, he didn’t get to finish and he still looks achingly hard.

“Fuck, Sammy” you whimper, his weight on your back forcing the words to come out airy and breathless. The state of your voice causes him to groan and work his fingers inside you faster, which has you keening for more.

Deciding that Danny deserves to be in on the action, you extend your palm up to his mouth at wait. The noise he makes is absolutely sinful, low in his throat. He calls you his dirty fucking girl before spitting once into the palm of your hand, with which you search blindly for his throbbing cock.

When you finally take hold of him, Sam notices and says, “That’s it, beautiful. Make Daniel cum, he’s been such a good boy, hasn’t he?” Danny whimpers at the praise from Sam, and you match his noises as your peak builds deep within your stomach, hot aching pleasure from Sam’s slender fingers and his body grinding over yours.

You start working Danny faster in your fist, the keening noises he’s making spurring you on as you grind yourself back onto Sam’s hand.

“Fuck, fuck- gonna cum” Danny whines, tensing his abs and throwing his head back. “Just like that baby, I’m so close.”

“Me too” you whine, though you fear you won’t be reaching your peak yet. Just as you predicted, Sam withdraws his fingers from you and rolls over your body to be closer to Danny while you continue working your hand over him.

With your fist still pumping Danny’s cock, Sam takes Danny in his mouth and sucks his head with a brutal intensity that has Danny choking on a sobbing moan. You don’t even have the wherewithal to mourn the loss of your impending orgasm for too long, hearing the sounds Danny is making as you fondle his balls and stroke his shaft while Sam sucks him off.

He sounds close to tears, incoherent with pleasure as he mumbles that he’s cumming, and Sam still doesn’t pull off. You watch in awe as Danny’s hips jerk and he writhes around on the bed, but Sam takes everything Danny has to give him.

“Ah, ah- too much, Sammy!” Danny pants, completely spent. Sam finally releases him with one final suckle, and you’re being tossed flat on your back again as Danny tries to regain control of his breathing.

In a flash, Sam’s head is between your spread legs. His next move, you're sure, will play on your head on loop until your dying breath.

Looking directly in your eyes, he spreads your thighs and spits Danny’s cum directly onto your throbbing clit, rubbing it with his thumb. In that instant you think you might black out on pleasure, but somehow you manage to stay in the moment.

Beside you, Danny chokes on air and you think you see his cock give a valiant but feeble twitch.

Thumb still toying with your clit, Sam raises up until his face is level with yours, and gives you the sweetest kiss you could imagine. It’s so opposed to the filth that he just bestowed upon you that your cheeks burn pink.

You can’t stop yourself from reaching up and burying your hands in his hair, his name falling from your lips like a prayer.

“My beautiful girl, you did so well. You want to cum now, baby? Want me to make you cum?” He asks, his lips barely grazing over all the swollen bite marks he littered you with earlier.

His beautiful face is so sincere that you feel close to tears again. “Yes, Sammy, please. I need it so bad, I need you.”

“You have me, my love.” He says when he finally enters you for the first time that morning, both of you moaning. He buries his face in the crook of your neck and glides all the way inside. Your three ruined orgasms have you teetering on the edge already, clenching around him with every slow languid stroke.

“I’m not gonna last, love.” Sam groans from high in his throat, enveloping you in his arms as his thrusts turn disorganized. “That’s okay baby, I’m close. Love you so fucking much, Sammy.”

You are all-encompassed by Sam. His hair cascades around your face, and one hand trails down your body to snake between you. You wrap him in your arms and drag him even closer to you as he furiously drags his fingers over your clit, in contrast to his deep and slow thrusts.

“Love you, Y/n. My girl. My fucking girl. Hmmf.” You can see the strain in his muscles to hold himself up as he rapidly approaches his high, and you’re just as close.

“Gonna cum, Sammy.” Your voice is nothing more than a whisper, raspy and ruined. “Do it baby, please.” He begs you, picking up the pace of his fingers. With his go-ahead, you finally let the coil within you snap. You hear your own voice begging him to cum inside you, but you aren’t aware of what you’re saying.

There are another pair of hands trailing up and down your stomach when you come to your senses. Sam still hasn’t pulled out of you, and is instead collapsed in a heap on your side, legs entangled with yours.

When you’re slightly more coherent, you wiggle away from him enough to have him fall out of you, and you both hiss at the loss of contact. He’s lying flat on his stomach, looking deep in thought.

You and Danny share a knowing look and a squeeze of the hand, before you both start pressing kisses up and down Sam’s spine. The airy little giggle he lets out sets your heart alight.

You know Sam can get lost in his own head sometimes, and he needs reassurances that you’re happy to provide him.

Spooning up to his side and still littering him with kisses, he asks you, “Was that okay, babe?” You scoff endearingly and plant a kiss on the nearest patch of skin you can find. “That was incredible, Sammy.”

He sits up and puts himself staunchly in the middle of the bed, leaning slightly on the headboard, before opening his arms and silently beckoning you and Danny each to a side.

You happily snuggle up to him, deciding a shower and the rest of your lazy Sunday can wait a few more minutes. Danny nuzzles into Sam’s ribs on his other side with his nose, and speaks into Sam’s skin when he says “that was the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.”

You laugh quietly and then admit, “I still can’t feel my legs.”

When you look up at Sam, he has an exhausted but proud expression on his beautiful face. You reach a hand up to drag through his scruffy facial hair and tug gently, causing him to playfully growl.

The silence that fills your shared bedroom is comfortable. But, Sam being Sam, can’t let that last for too long. “Hey, Y/n. Should we call your Grandma and thank her for initiating the mindblowingly good sex her granddaughter just had with two men?”

Taglist: @kdarling1 @hyperfixated-gvf @renaissance-confiance @fictional-duchess

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skipps-writes-for-gojo-satoru · 3 years

Note

Okay how about prompt 11 where the reader is pissed as hell bc gojo did s o m e Th i n g recently, and now they decide to tease him but not let him h i t i t until he be g s

Smut Prompt #11 "You're really gonna make me beg for it?"

Gojo couldn't help but stare at you as he sits on the dining room chair eyeing your figure. He knows you are doing this on purpose to arouse him only then to deny him. He tried wrapping his arms around your waist as he licks your neck from behind but you were quick to brush him off, waving him away.

You knew you had an effect on him by the way you can feel his eyes burning into your back. You grin as you continue cooking breakfast for the both of you. Although you had an amazing night yesterday, the ache in your steps was proof of that but you didn't like the way Gojo teased you. Making you call him sir, then fucking you furiously but when you're about to come he stops all movements. Watching you with sadistic glint in his eyes as he makes you beg for your release. Thinking about it now it was embarrassing to beg so shamelessly and then he continues to tease you about it this morning. Well, two can play that game.

Your purposely wore a thin white t-shirt without a bra so he could see your nipples poking through your shirt and black lacy panties which are his favorite. You would slowly bend over giving him a view of your ass but before his eyes could linger too long you quickly stand up straight. You knew Gojo's ego wouldn't allow him to beg much less apologize so you might as well deny him until he can get over his stupid pride.

Moments pass in silence, your mind completely forgetting about the man sitting behind you rather choosing to finish making breakfast. You reach for the plates and bowls in the upper cabinet making your shirt hike up, your panties on full display. You almost drop the plates in surprise as you feel Gojo's arms slither around your waist, pressing his obvious bulge between your ass. Nuzzling his face to the side of your head as he gives your ear a few licks before gently biting. You feel the blush on your face as you hold on to your plates trying to ignore him.

"You're really gonna make me beg for it?"

Your body shivers as his voice caresses your ear, you quickly place the plates on the counter-choosing to grip on to the kitchen counter instead. Doing your best to ignore his advances but your body just couldn't deny him. His hands move from your waist to your breasts, his large hands cupping them and slowly massaging them. Feeling your nipples harden, Gojo uses his thumbs to rub them while sucking on the nape of your neck. You try to fight the moans trying to escape your lips, feeling yourself backing into him in response-rubbing your ass against his erection.

"Please, (Y/N)..."

"I need you..."

A whine escapes your lips, your panties soaked. Gripping onto the counter as you try your best to resist him.

"Fuck.."

Taglist: @the-fandoms-georgie @crapimahuman @annie-acadia @iwanttobefuckedbysatorugojo @spicyyren @asmaeackerman1 @clearlynot-k-k-a @josie-jovan @your-waifuuuuu @dokiwoki

#gojou satoru #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen gojo #jujutsu kaisen x reader #gojo satoru #gojo satoru x reader #gojou satoru x reader #jjk gojo #jjk imagines #skipps writes #jujutsu kaisen imagines #jujutsu kaisen smut #jjk x reader #jjk smut #smut prompts

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jayankles · 3 years

Text

The Culmination: Endgame

Pairing: Sebastian Stan x Reader

Word Count: 2362

Summary: Y/N doesn’t feel so good and it’s not like her to not answer the phone to Sebastian. He was right to send over Josie, Y/N’s friend, over to find out what’s wrong.

Warnings: Angst, Implied Smut, Fluff

Written for: @anyfandomangstbingo | @anyfandomfluffbingo | @anyfandomgoesbingo

Squares Filled: Sick fic | first time | “I really don’t like doing this over the phone”

A/N - Blake Lively is not a representation of the reader; it’s just for the dress. And the other beautiful woman is exactly who I pictured for Josie.

Feedback is gold and appreciated

Of course, you were sick today. The day that Sebastian had told you that he was to take a day at the gym then spend it with Don. You knew that when you woke up this morning it wasn’t going to be a good day, the cold sheets a little foreshadowing of how your day would have gone. The little guttural feeling you had punching you in the gut right now, it had you on the floor, bent over the toilet seat with your head in the bowl.

You felt awful. Unable to move, unless it was your throat spasming. Definitely the worst day so far, you couldn’t move and when you finally were able to move at all you felt like a robot. Not a good look.

You decided that it was time to head back to bed, none of your food would stay down so you made yourself a bottle of water and stumbled into bed with a bucket in your hand, ready to put the bucket on the floor beside your bed.

Pulling at the covers, you curled up under them and took a swig of your drink. Tears rolled down your face as you felt the pain grow stronger, you rubbed your stomach in hopes it would make you feel better; it didn’t.

All you could do was pray that you would fall asleep to not feel this pain anymore. Sleep evaded you. The pain is all there is that you feel. You threw up another three times before you finally succumbed to the pleasures of sleep. Rattling of keys had been the object that had drawn you out of your few moments of slumber. You didn’t dare move though, there was no point, you couldn’t move anyway.

“Y/N! Y/N, where are you?” It took you a minute to realise that it was your friend, Josie, shouting your name in hopes of finding you. “Y/N, Whe- There you are. What are you still doing in bed? Oh...”

She looked as if she sighed out a breath of relief before she retracted, covering her mouth and nose with her hand. Inhaling the stench of the room, she quickly ran out of there, returning with air freshener, spraying it around you to make her feel better.

“You need a bath, babe. Stay here and I’ll run you one. Of course you’re going to stay here, you poor thing.” Josie rambled, you stopped her before she could go on for another hour.

“Jo, pour some lavender in there. Love you.”

Freshly out of the bath after thirty minutes, you were wrapped up in Sebastian’s bathrobe, a reminder that he was home as it still smelt like him. “I hate feeling like this. It sucks. But I feel better already.”

Josie softly smiled at you, pity in her eyes. “Must have been that nap you took but I know it sucks. Could you imagine Seb with this kinda illness, though? It would be 100% worse just because it’s man flu.”

“Thank you for being here.” You said, taking a seat on the couch. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“Seb called, said he tried texting and video chatting you but you wouldn’t pick up. I guess he was right to have me come over and check on you.”

“He’s such a cutie.” You groaned as you walked, the bath only slightly relieving some of the pain.

“I know. It makes me wanna barf… not like you, though. That shit is nasty, no, thank you, ma’am.” She tutted through a pinched nose, reminding of just how gross you felt and smelt not even a mere hour ago.

“You’re a pleasure as always, Jo. Always so kind to me, when I feel like shit. Thank you.”

She shrugged knowingly, a smirk on her face as she reached forward for the remote, finding a music channel and turning it down a little so it faded into the background becoming nothing but white noise. “So do you know what brought this on? Eat some bad food?”

“I don’t think so, otherwise Seb would feel the same way right?”

“Well you aren’t pooping as well as being sick so this isn’t a viral or bacterial thing. You’re not burning up? No severe migraines?” She asked and you only had one answer.

“Nope. And no, my appendix hasn’t burst because I’ve already had it out.” You said, becoming tired again as you let out a yawn.

“Well, I think I might need to slip out for a little bit.”

“Why? Where are you going? I thought you were going to take care of me?”

“I am. I’m just gonna head to the store and grab you some stuff to make tomato soup. I’ll be twenty minutes tops.” Josie was true to her word, never taking more than the twenty minutes she promised. Putting the bag of groceries on the counter, Josie pulls out the contents, revealing the ingredients she offered to get for you but you could tell that there was something else in the bag.

“What’s in there?”

Josie was fidgety, her fingers twiddling together. “I need you to keep an open mind because I think I know why you’re grossly throwing up.”

“Hit me. I wanna know how I can feel better right now.”

“It’s a good thing that you’re sitting down because…” She paused, making a face that she knew you weren’t going to like. “Because I think you’re pregnant.” her face unchanging as she pulled out the pregnancy test.

Then it hit you.

No.No.No. Fuck!

Hands dancing.

Tongues twining.

Passion blooming.

It was everything you could have asked for when he was away but now that Sebastian was back, you couldn’t keep your hands off of him. You covered every area of the apartment possible.

Oh crap.

“Fuck!”

“Yes you did.” Josie laughed at her own joke, the reaction not quite the same on your end.

“Oh god, Sebastian is going to kill me. He’s never going to want to talk to me. Why was I so stupid? Oh, I’m never gonna hear from him again. I’ll be kicked out. I’ll be a single mother. I’m gonna have to live with you and if I have this baby, you’re gonna hate me, then you’re gonna kick me out too. ”

Josie scoffed at you, helping you scurf back your hair away from your face, making you look into her wide eyes. “First of all, chill. I gotchu, you know I gotchu forever. Sebastian isn’t like that, but if he is you will never see him again and that is a promise and maybe a little bit of a threat. He’ll deserve it if he hurts you so. Just be my alibi if anything ever happens. Just go take the test. Negative? You’re just sick. Positive? You call Sebastian and you talk to him like an adult.”

“Why are you always right? Don’t you ever get sick of it?” You huffed before you smiled at her, squeezing at her hand after taking the small handful of the pregnancy test boxes back to the bathroom.

Five minutes passed and you were holding the peed on sticks in your hand, four out of five of them being positive. “I think I need to call Sebastian, and a doctor.”

After making an appointment with the doctor, you took a deep breath and pressed the button to call Sebastian. He picks up the call pretty quickly and you are not surprised.

“Y/N! Finally! Are you okay? What happened?”

“Hey bubba. I’m fine, just a little sickness. But I really don’t like doing this over the phone. When are you coming home. We need to talk.”

Two months later.

It was the night of the premiere of Avengers: Endgame and you couldn’t be more thrilled for the success that the Marvel Franchise had. It was 10 years of absolute lovable craziness. Thank you, Stan Lee.

You had no idea that you would be here on the aptly coloured, purple carpet with Sebastian after all you would have thought that you would still be with him after the whole pregnancy fiasco but the two of you were able to talk things through. Things were thrown, voices were raised, and tears were shed but still after all of that, Sebastian made the executive decision to calm the two of you down. The stress was no good for anyone at this point. You were both going to be parents; it’s what was established.

The two of you walked hand in hand, palms sweating as the cameras flashed, and photographers called out to each and every star that was involved in the production of Endgame. The culmination of the whole franchise was just so surreal, the fact that it was ending with a bang both made you swell with pride but it also made you a tad emotional because this collection of amazing characters wouldn’t continue but the legacy they left would. And that was what mattered.

“Sebastian! Y/N! Over here!” You heard from one of the interviewers, looking beautiful in her outfit, Sebastian rubbed his thumb across your knuckles, you were going to be okay. He was right there with you and you had done this a few times before. He was there for you.

“Hi.” “Hello. You and Sebastian answered at the same time, making the interviewer laugh.

“Wait, I remember you. I bought you a soup in a thermos and Tom gave you his jacket. I see we got lucky with good weather today, huh?” You said, smiling at her.

“Yes. You remember me?!” The woman turned to the camera looking right into the lens of it. “Guys, I’m fangirling so hard right now. Ah!”

Once the woman got her fangirling out of the way, she moved onto the interview, trying to get any information that she could before the movie premiered. Sebastian took over that one, telling her that there was no way that they were allowed to say anything about the movie other than he was dust.

“Now we’ve got that movie non gossip out of the way. Are you okay to talk freely about your pregnancy?”

You looked to Sebastian, it was his decision just as much as it was yours, you knew that Sebastian wanted to keep his private life separate from his professional acting career. “It’s okay, honey. Go ahead.”

“I think you’re good to go.”

“Thank you. I must say that you do look stunning in that dress.” She gushed, you thanked her, hiding your face a little. You loved this dress, the nude under layer and the little white and purple flowers that scattered across your dress, your bump barely visible through your dress.

“How far along are you?”

“Well, we’re in the first week of the second trimester. So I’m a little more confident when telling you that.”

“That’s amazing. Was the pregnancy planned at all?”

You made a face, sucking in a little air, looking to Sebastian for a little light to be shed on the situation. “Not at all. It was Y/N’s friend that actually realised that her morning sickness wasn’t her having the flu. She felt absolutely awful that morning, it was enough to know that it was bad when I tried to call her and I didn’t get an answer.

“We had our issues, you know, we didn’t know what to do, we're new at this. But I think that it’s important to know that you don’t abandon your family.” Sebastian softly smiled at you, subconsciously putting a hand on your slowly growing stomach. “I guess that is what this franchise is about though, right? It’s about family and- and looking out for one another. Everybody’s got a somebody here and I love that.”

“And Thanos, fucks it all up and snaps his goddamn fingers.” The three of you and the cameraman began to laugh at your little outburst about the mad, purple titan. “God, I can’t wait for the premiere tonight but I’m scared. For everybody. But especially for me, you know, I’m an emotional person anyway, add a hormonal woman to the mix and a whole lot of angst. Get my ice cream and tissues ready, because I’m coming for you, Thanos.”

“I heard that!”

“Love you, Josh. For the record, Josh is a nice guy, the character he plays is a big old sack of balls and I have no idea how he does it so convincingly.” Lovingly, you made eyes at Seb. “But it’s just like my Sebastian, a dark hydra assassin but in reality he’s a big ball of sunshine and goofiness. And I love him for it.”

“This is- this is what gets me.” The interviewer leaned in a little as Sebastian’s voice dropped to a slight whisper. “I know that she is going to be the best mom for our child because Y/N loves everything and everyone and that is a great quality to have but she’s also caring and matches my goofy side but her sass outweighs mine of course, no one can beat that.”

“Aww, he’s making me cry already. Seb,” you whined. “My makeup.”

“Well that's it folks.” The woman spoke, telling the audience that this was one of the cutest interviews that she had ever taken, that she could die happy and quickly saying congratulations before the two of you were whisked away to walk the carpet again and pose for pictures.

“You’re way too good to me, you know that right?” You said to Seb as you admired the sky blue suit he was wearing over his plain white tee. “I never even got to tell them that this baby will have the hottest dad in the world as well as the sweetest man. Thank you for being my baby daddy.”

Unbeknownst to you, the cameras had caught every single moment the two of you shared. The kisses you shared together, were now shared with the world, all over social media. At this point you didn’t care, you only cared about the man in front of you and the baby growing in your stomach. And this god damn movie!

Feedback is gold and appreciated

#anyfandomgoesbingo #anyfandomangstbingo #anyfandomfluffbingo #sebastian x reader #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan angst #sebastian stan fluff #sebastian stan x pregnant!reader #sebastian x pregnant!reader #mcu fic #rpf fic #sebastian stan fic #sebastian x reader fluff #queue you!#jayankles #jayankles writes #bailey writes

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openheartfanfics · 2 years

Text

WEEK 10: Pregnancy

Bryce x F!MC

Breakfast and Dessert - @storyofmychoices ☁ Bryce surprises Liv with a breakfast feast fit for a his queen.

Delivery - @omgjasminesimone Bryce delivers his child.

Doctor’s Note - @omgjasminesimone Bryce picks up donuts for MC.

Expanding Family - @littleredroseonthevalley Casey and Bryce welcome a new addition to their family.

How To Make A Family - @omgjasminesimone They decide to start a family, but the road to parenthood isn’t as smooth as expected.

How To Make A Family/Interludes - @omgjasminesimone Little moments of their life together.

Life’s Greatest Gift - @anotherbeingsworld MC takes a pregnancy test.

Little Blooms - @eleanorbloom How Bryce and Eleanor react to news that she’s pregnant.

Roll - @omgjasminesimone Pregnancy Fic

Silent Treatment - @omgjasminesimone She’s pregnant and mad at him about a case.

The Color of Joy - @anotherbeingsworld A yellow themed surprise for Bryce.

Ethan x F!MC

Again. - @utterlyinevitable ♥Ⓜ It’s been three months since the incident. They haven’t been intimate since.. except today Becca thinks it’s time to try again. Warning: Eludes to pregnancy termination/loss

Anniversary Dinner - @lsvdw-blog ☁📱 Ethan and Alan make Serena feel better during her pregnancy. Feat. Alan Ramsey

Baby, Oh Baby - @takemyopenheart If his suspicions are correct, will this ultimately change the rest of their lives? And will they be ready for it?

Becoming a Father - @mm2305 👔☁ Ethan receives some news on Father’s day.

Best thing - @perriewinklenerdie ☁ A quiet evening in the Ramsey household, pregnant Claire, a small Disney line and some very exciting news.

Cape Cod - @jamespotterthefirst ☁ His pregnant wife is a tad bit uncomfortable at the beach and Ethan is willing to do anything to help. Feat. The Gang

Change in Circumstance - @liaromancewriter ☁ When a pregnant Cassie is not feeling like herself, Ethan tries his best to bring her sparkle back leading to a heart to heart about what’s next for them.

Close for Comfort - @potionsprefect 🎭 He doesn’t want to spend a single second away from her but she finds it too much

Cravings and Confessions - @anonymousrookie ☁ A very pregnant Keegan wakes Ethan up in the middle of the night to help her find a snack.

Do We Have A Future? - @utterlyinevitable 📚Ⓜ️⭐️ [mini: completed] Rebecca needs answers and confronts Ethan about their future together. (TW: Depression, Abortion, Anxiety, Mental Health)

Everything Has Changed - @emmasumbrella ☁ Josie finds out she is pregnant, but how will Ethan react?

Expecting the Unexpected - @aworldoffandoms 🎭 “I think we need to talk about the fact that I’m in love with you and also that I’m pregnant.”

Fall On Me - @terrm9 ☁ After four years of dating and their first year being married, Chiara and Ethan find out that there are still surprises in store for them. TW: Fertility Issues

Family - @takeharryandgo 🎭 They're facing something no couple hopes to endure, but can their relationship survive it? TW: child loss

Father’s Day - @trappedinfanfiction 👔☁ They are both at work, ready to end their shifts early to celebrate Father’s Day with their son when their unborn decided he doesn't want to wait any longer.

Flushed & Flutter - @utterlyinevitable ☁ An ill Ethan falls asleep in Becca’s lap.

Great (un)Expectations - @jerzwriter ☁ Positively unexpected news comes Casey & Ethan’s way.

His Pride - @potionsprefect ☁ Pregnant Victoria has a heart to heart with Ethan.

Is that my shirt you’re wearing? - @rookie-ramsey MC has a contraction.

It’s Not Easy - @rookie-ramsey MC struggles to cope with news about her pregnancy.

K.O - @utterlyinevitable ☁ An awkward encounter at CVS, but Ethan’s got her back. 18. “Who knocked you up?!” “That would be me. Hi, nice to meet you.”

Little darling - @bi-cookie Ethan plays the piano to calm down his pregnant wife and their little princess that keeps on kicking.

Midnight Cravings - @lucy-268 ☁ Eating for two calls for all ones requests to be fulfilled.

New York & New Beginnings - @headoverheelsforramsey 📚 [mini: wip] Meera is in a convention at New York when she receives news that leads her and Ethan’s life to a new beginning.

Part 1 📷 | Part 2

Paint Fight - @brooks-eden ♥ Pregnancy comes with heightened senses and Brooke just can’t focus on picking a nursery color.

Peanut Butter and Banana - @rookie-ramsey Pregnant MC needs a morning snack.

Porcelain - @utterlyinevitable ☁ Taking a bath together and washing the other’s hair.

Positive Sign - @lightofcordonia MC found out that she’s pregnant with Ethan’s baby but she doesn’t know how to tell him.

Que Sera Sera - @liaromancewriter 🎭Ⓜ When Ethan and Cassie agree not to have any children, little do they realize life has other plans for them.

Quite the Simulation - @missmiimiie ☁ Ethan, Stefan and Baz are forced to experience the pains of labor. Feat. Baz

Small Bump - @emmasumbrella ☁ Ethan and Josie’s journey into parenthood

Sorrow - @lucy-268 🎭 Charley experiences loss and guilt. TW: car accident, miscarriage.

Special Edition - @utterlyinevitable 🎭 Becca is on a getaway weekend to Cape Cod with her friends and shares a secret with Bryce.

Part 1 Ⓜ️ | Part 2

Surprise - @takemyopenheart It’s Father’s Day, and Luz and baby Rey have special news for daddy.

The choice is yours + bonus ending - @perriewinklenerdie 🎭 In one moment, his whole world falls apart. He loses everything, and he doesn’t know how to cope with it all. + bonus ending containing a more light ending to the very dark story. TW: death to mother and unborn child.

The Delivery - @heauxplesslydevoted Naomi goes into labor in unexpected circumstances. TW: Pregnancy and childbirth.

The Fall - @heauxplesslydevoted Naomi has huge news to give Ethan, but things don’t always go as planned. TW: Pregnancy. Feat. Bestie Bryce

Two Tiny Tadpoles - @potionsprefect ☁ There’s a lot of shopping to be done now Victoria and Ethan know they’re expecting twins

With or Without - @liaromancewriter 🎭 When Ethan Ramsey finds out he’s going to be a father, he starts spiralling, leading to a showdown with his wife.

You Outshine the Morning Sun - @jamespotterthefirst ☁ She finds out she is pregnant. How will he react?

Rafael x F!MC

THE NEXT CHAPTER - @inacrowdofchoices ☁ Grace and Rafael learn Grace is pregnant with their first child, and that moment in time would always be theirs.

Sienna x M!OC

Baby Wishes - @liaromancewriter ☁📷 Cassie and Kyra celebrate Max and Sienna’s new chapter during their first visit to Boston after announcing that they’re expecting their first child.

Party for Three - @liaromancewriter ☁📱 Max and Sienna adjust to their new situation and have a heart-to-heart about what’s next for their growing family.

Piece By Piece - @liaromancewriter 📱☁ As her pregnancy progresses, Sienna comes into her own, ready to face anything for Max and their child.

The Waiting Game - @liaromancewriter 📱☁📷 Max and Sienna start preparing for the addition to their family, and enjoy big and small every day moments.

Tobias x F!MC

Repercussions - @jerzwriter ☁ Late-night cravings and lots of love.

#oph trope challenge: pregnancy #open heart #open heart fanfiction #open heart fanfic #choices open heart #open heart fanfics #ethan ramsey #bryce lahela #rafael aveiro #tobias carrick

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natsora · 2 years

Text

Enchantment

@14daysdalovers

Read on AO3

---

“Are you coming to the show later?” Josie asks. “I hear there will be enchantments.”

“I don’t know.” Trev shakes her head. “I don’t think so.”

Since returning wounded, Skyhold feels too cold. Her back is as stiff as a plank every morning, sometimes tightening so much she gets a headache that lasts the entire day. Her hand aches constantly now. No amount of rubbing works. Only keeping close to a fire alleviates the pain.

Solas says she will heal, and the headaches will go away, in time. Right now, it’s a time for rest and a lot copious amount of stretching to keep herself limber.

“It’s a shame. But if you’re not feeling well, you should rest.” Josie says.

They walk out onto the ramparts. The chill turns her hand instantly into a claw. She grimaces. Excusing herself, she seeks the huge roaring fireplace in her quarters. However, when she is but one door away from her quarters, Trev finds her way barred by Cassandra.

They had been doing that awkward dance of avoiding each other since returning to Skyhold. Trev doesn’t know where they stood. Nothing is settled, not truly.

“Trev, do you have time?” Cassandra asks, her shoulders set and jaw tight. Anxiety crawls across her face. “I would like to invite you to the show later.”

If Trev isn’t in a hurry to get warm, her mood would have been completely different. But with the pain cresting into a crescendo, she can’t afford to stand and do the dance now. “Sorry, Cassandra, I—“ She gasps.

Cassandra takes one look and understands. “Sorry. I should—“ She shakes herself. “May I?”

Trev nods. As Cassandra wraps a hand around her, Trev leans heavily against her. Without Cassandra’s help, she expects she would have trouble reaching her room. The twisting muscles, stiffening and clenching, in spite of all potions she drinks, the exercises she does, is just resolved to torment her. Before she knows it, she is settled on the settee in front of the fire and Cassandra is stroking the fire back to life.

Gently, Cassandra takes Trev’s hand and starts rubbing her palm. It isn’t the first time she tries to massage Trev’s hand. But it is the first time since that fateful day when their friendship had been smashed to pieces.

Trev shakes her head but doesn’t stop Cassandra. It is the most contact they had in a long time. “It doesn’t help. Nothing does. I just need to get warm.”

Cassandra’s face falls and pulls away. A hand places its deathly cold palm against Trev’s chest. It steals her breath away. But she doesn’t have the capacity to deal with this now. All she can do is to keep herself warm.

Cassandra stands and pulls a blanket from the cabinet and drapes it over Trev’s shoulders. “I guess I should…” As she starts to leave, she hesitates at the steps.

Trev looks up, pain set across her jaw and waits for the rest of the sentence.

“Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be back.” And Cassandra is gone.

Trev bites down on her tongue. She doesn’t like the limbo they find themselves in. Are they still friends, even if Cassandra doesn’t want the love that Trev offers? But that day when she got hurt, Cassandra said her heart hurt too. What does that even mean? She half considers chasing after Cassandra, but her hand sends another spike of pain.

Trev doesn’t know how long she stays there. Time stretches when her body tries to eat itself. But quick urgent boot falls announces Cassandra’s return. She has something in her hand. “Here.”

Trev looks at the offered item. “A rock?”

“Yes, but no.” Cassandra sits next to her. “May I show you?”

Trev nods. Cassandra unfolds Trev’s fingers one by one and then she places the rock on her palm. “It’s warm!” Trev remarks, surprised. “And it’s not burning my hand.”

“I’ve asked Dagna for something portable that will keep your hand warm. She tells me with more time she can improve its ability to hold heat. Right now, it can only stay warm for a couple of hours.” Cassandra takes Trev’s glove and fits it over her hand, trapping the stone against her palm. “This should help.”

It does. With its direct contact, Trev feels her muscles finally relaxing. “Thank you.” She looks at Cassandra for a long moment and blurts, “Do you still want to go see that show?”

“But your hand—“

Taking a deep breath, Trev takes the plunge. Grabbing Cassandra’s hand, she stands. “It’s warm and it’s better now. If you’re worried, you can hold my hand and keep it warmer.”

Cassandra squeezes Trev’s hand as an answer. “I will.”

Together, hands joined, they head to the garden. The performing trope has everyone’s attention. Sparkles and lights dance across the air, weaving their way through the onlookers. Paired with music, singing and dancing, the crowd watches on enraptured, crying out in delight.

Trev though, she only has eyes for one person — her friend, her bestest of friends, her… her… She has stopped looking for a word for what they are. Whatever it is, it’s important, it’s strong. And she doesn’t want to give up without a fight.

She can’t say if it’s coincidence or there truly is magic in the air, but Cassandra turns. And their eyes meet. She squeezes Trev’s hand, and everything feels all right in her world once more.

#14DALovers #dragon age #Cassandra pentaghast #Cassandra Pentaghast x female Inquisitor #Cassandra Pentaghast/Female inquisitor #f!inquisitor #f!Trevelyan #OC: Lexington Trevelyan

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scxrlettwxtches · 4 years

Text

[9:40p.m.] kiss in vehicle + celebration | han jisung

warnings: slight slight making out

requested: yes!

a/n: whaddya know. josie can write fluff??? how?? anyways i really hope y’all enjoy this one! it’s a little shorter and fluffier than my normal scenarios, so i had a lot of fun with it :)

“You know, we’ve been driving for twenty minutes now, and you still haven’t told me where we’re going.”

“Come on, don’t you have any faith in me at all?” Jisung pouted, shifting gears as his billion year old car puffed along the road, feeling as if it would break down at any moment.

“Normally, yes, but you’re driving out of town and up the mountain, and I can’t help but think you’re just trying to get yourself featured as a serial killer on the next episode of Buzzfeed Unsolved.”

Jisung frowned at that, shifting gears with a little more ferocity than before, “Well, that’s just mean.”

“Why else would we be driving away from civilization?” You asked, crossing your arms with a teasing smile.

“Lots of different reasons!” He protested, reaching over to poke your thigh lightly as you swatted his finger away, “And besides, if I really was planning on murdering you, would I go up to your manager and to let you skip your last shift at the cafe to hang out with me? That makes me a prime suspect.”

Unable to contain your smile any longer, your burst into giggles, covering your mouth, “I suppose that’s fair. But you still won’t tell me where we’re going.”

“It’s a surprise,” Jisung whined, glaring at you halfheartedly. He always had such a big problem hiding his surprises from you, especially when you catch on that something is up. It didn’t help that Jisung was absolutely weak to your questioning, and that the secret always tended to tumble out of his lips before he could stop himself.

Your eyes narrowed with a hint of suspicion, “It’s not my birthday.”

“It’s not your birthday.”

“And it’s not your birthday.”

“And it’s not my birthday.”

“So, what exactly is going on?”

“My darling,” Jisung gave you a dashing smile, “just trust me.”

You let out a light scoff, but behind your teasing words and dripping sarcasm, you’ve always trusted him. First with your friendship, and then with your love. Jisung had never once given you a reason not to trust him.

After what felt like hours, Jisung pulled off the side of the road, and the car creaked and groaned in weak defiance as he pressed the brakes down. You observed your surroundings carefully, and your eyes widen as you see the beautiful view of city down below, the lights illuminating the dark blue sky.

“How did you find this view?” You asked in awe, unbuckling your seatbelt as you leaned forward, resting your arms on the dashboard.

Jisung chuckled, unbuckling his own seatbelt, his gaze not on the view before him, but on your incredulous face, “I have my ways.”

By ways, Jisung meant that he made a few serious Google searches and then picked the one that he thought you’d like the most. So what if it took him more than an hour to decide where to bring you tonight? He was totally enamored with you in every way possible, and he’d long since made it is personal mission to make you the happiest girl in the world. A few hours of work were more than worth it seeing the childlike wonder appear on your face, making your complexion almost glow with beauty.

“Alright, I’ll admit,” You turned to him with that smile that made his heart trip over three flights of stairs and do five summersaults, “This is really amazing. I’m sorry I doubted you.”

Jisung giggled, taking your hand and lacing your fingers together, “Apology accepted,” he said smugly, eliciting a playful scoff out of you as he pressed his lips to the back of your hand.

Comfortable silence filled the car, but Jisung began to feel the familiar flutter of anxiety bubbling up as he cleared his throat. Ears perking up at the sound, you turned to him as he squeezed your hand gently, “Hey, Y/N...there’s something I have to tell you.”

“I know. What is it?”

“Well, I--wait,” Jisung’s face contorted in confusion and a bit of panic clawed at his throat, his cheeks puffing out as he repeated, “You know?”

You chuckled, poking his cheek, “Why else would you have brought me someplace special?” You pointed out as you squeezed his hand gently, “But enough about that. What did you wanna tell me?”

Jisung took both of your hands in his, holding them close to his chest as the good news finally burst out, “Igotthejob!”

You blinked once, then twice, struggling to pull apart the avalanche of words that just tumbled out of Jisung’s lips, “You what? Deep breaths, darling.”

Reaching a hand up, you cupped his cheek and began to help him calm himself down, all the while Jisung was unabashedly staring at you with a lovestruck expression plastered to his face. You noticed it and only chuckled, booping his nose before pulling away.

“Okay, let’s try that again, a little slower,” you suggested.

Jisung nodded, taking a deep breath before he said again, “I got the job!”

Now it was your turn to have to calm your breathing as you literally squealed like a little girl, reaching to grab his hands in yours as you asked, “What?! You got picked?!”

“I got picked,” Jisung smiled so widely that he felt like the corners of his lips might split, “Y/N, they want me to start working on my first project next week. Apparently, many of their prominent artists put in good words about my work.”

You were utterly speechless, your mouth opening and closing in amazement. For the first time since Jisung had met you, you were at a genuine loss for words. Your thoughts were running a mile a minutes, filled with pride, elation, relief, pure unrestrained happiness that Jisung had finally achieved the dream he’d been working towards. There were so many moments of doubt, so many sleepless nights in which you held him to your chest, soothing his anxious tears as you ran your fingers through his hair. But now, all his hard work was finally coming into fruition, and you couldn’t be prouder of him.

Unable to express your love through words, you acted the only way you knew how. Your hands reached out, cupping his cheeks firmly an even squishing them a little. Jisung’s eyes could only widen in surprise before you pulled him forward, pressing your lips against his.

Jisung melted into the kiss before his brain even processed it. His arm looped around your waist, pulling you as close as he could with the center compartment in between the two of you. He kissed with just as much, if not more fervor than you had, caressing your soft lips with his. Jisung was a playful kisser, and you loved it more than anything. He liked to mess around even during the most innocent of kisses. He rolled your lower lip gently with his teeth, he cupped your chin delicately to hold you still as his kisses trailed to the corners of your mouth down to your jaw, causing you to giggle.

Eventually, he pulled away, his eyes filled with unmatched love and adoration as he brushed the strands of hair away from your face. The full moon illuminated the inside of the car, and your complexion seemed almost unreal under the silver light. Every day, especially this particular day, Jisung genuinely wondered what sort of good deeds he must’ve done in his past life to have the chance to be yours, your one and only.

“Y/N…” Jisung’s voice was no more than a gentle whisper, like the summer breeze beside the ocean. He brushed a strand of your hair away from your face as he smiled, “you know what else?”

“Enlighten me,” you smiled, leaning into his touch.

“The annual salary for the new job is high, even higher if you think about the royalties,” Jisung explained with a sparkle in his eyes as he finally gets to the core of the argument, “Y/N, I can finally take care of you the way you deserve.”

Your eyebrows furrowed, unsure of the intention behind his words, “Jisung…”

“You don’t have to work at that awful convenience store where your boss treats you like shit. You don’t have to work three jobs just to pay off our rent,” Jisung clutched your hand as he spoke, and your eyes widened as he kissed your knuckles.

“You held me in your arms and loved me when I was nothing,” Jisung murmured, and he reached back with his free arm, pulling something out of his pocket, “That night when the only thing that kept me from giving it all up was your words and your unconditional love, I made a promise to myself that I would return all of your love a thousand fold.”

Gasping, you covered your mouth with your hand as Jisung pulled out a black velvet box, and just from the encasing you could tell the price of it obviously far above your normal budgets. You felt your heart skip a beat as you realized that Jisung probably spent all of his first paycheck on this present. Speaking of Jisung, your boyfriend seemed considerably more nervous than a second ago, and he swallowed down his nerves, opening the box and revealing a beautiful diamond ring.

“Will you let me love you for the rest of our lives? Will you let me hold you when you’re stressed, comfort you when you’re sad, celebrate with you when you’re happy?” he asked softly, and despite his nervousness, his voice dripped with velvet love and adoration as he looked into your eyes.

“Y/N, will you marry me?”

The tears rolled down your cheeks as you nodded eagerly, your hand trembling as you choked out, “Yes. Yes, of course I will, Sungie!”

Jisung’s hands shook almost as much as yours did as he slipped the ring onto your third finger. It was a perfect fit, a ring that perfectly matched your style and the size of your hand. It made you wonder for a moment how many times Jisung had snuck in secret looks at your hand in order to get it so perfect, but your thoughts vanished as Jisung surged forward almost desperately, smashing his lips against yours.

You giggled at his eagerness, although you weren’t any less excited, and under the glow of the full moon, the ring glittered as Jisung’s hands played with the curvature of your waist and your hands were buried in his soft locks. In that moment, it didn’t matter what the future held. It didn’t matter that Jisung’s beat up car might not survive the trip down the mountain.

All you knew was that you had each other, and to be honest, that was all you ever needed.

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featherwriterweather · 3 years

Text

The speakeasy ��Le bonne nuit” Riverdale season 3/smut

It was hot autumnal night. It felt more like a summer. The night breeze was whispering tales of the teenage love that was experienced in the past months. We all had our summer flings. Some of them blossomed into relationships, others had to stay hidden because of love that was said to be unfit or unworthy in front of the messed up society of the small town of Riverdale that we called home.

That night was much different then the rest of the nights we had ever since the new school year had started. Our friends, our brothers, all of which Serpents, had gathered in the tent park to discuss a matter that couldn’t be kept in the waiting. The Goolies were back and, as far as we knew, their leader, the former Serpent, or more like a black mamba as I liked to call her, Penny Peabody, were back in town and they wanted the taste of fresh blood. Their strings were pulled by the much higher standing persona of the man in black. And, as Ronnie had infromed us, this man was her father, the one and only Hiram Lodge.

I was an honorary Serpent and I still didn’t have my jacket on my back, but as the night was getting older and so was my bravery. I was sitting on the ground, near the fire, next to Tony and Cheryl. Sweet pea and Fangs were pressing their bags to the nearest tree. Fp was pacing back and forth in front of the fire, while Jug was sitting in his throne, an old chair with crown drawn on its leather, and his queen,Betty, who was also my editor in the Blue and Gold, was standing right by his side.

“We gotta do something, man. We can’t just let them go round our land free. If they want blood, we should give them some.” Sweet pea said as he pushed himself off the tree. His face was death serious, something I wasn’t used to see, at least not when we were alone. Nobody knew that him and I had a secret. After my parents fled on me during riot night, Tony had offered me shelter with the Serpents. Every single night since then, when I was feeling down, scared or had a nightmare, I would go to Sweet pea’s trailer and I would stay the night with him. At first, nothing really was happening between us. But the more I was seeking the comfort of his warm bed, the more we wanted to push it forward. And so during the last days of summer, after Josy ditched him, we finally laid the cards down and did it. We’ve been hooking up for quite some time but decided to keep it down low so it was only between me and him. But the others got a little suspicious of his protectivness over me, which found its way to the surface again that night.

As he was talking to Jug, going on how we should defend our last piece of land, he took off his jacket and wrapped it around me so I was warm. He prefered to be cold but to keep me warm. That act alone, of having his Serpent jacket on my back, gave me the voice I’ve been trying to find all along.

“No, Sweet pea! We will not attack first. That will give them a reason to kill us all. We have to get more information. If Hiram is helping them, we have to get into his deepest deals to get the game. Then we will attack and free ourselves once and for all of them.” Jug said while tapping with his leg nervously on the ground.

“That’s a very good idea, Jug. There is only one problem. My father never speaks to any of us about that. So we have to go to the people he trusts to get what we need.” Ronnie declared standing behind Jug. Nobody had seen her come to us but she was our strongest ally so we were happy whenever she could offer us a good piece of information.

“What do you have in mind, V?” Betty asked. She had that gift inside herself to read people’s mind just by looking into their eyes. Whenever an idea was forming in our head, she knew we were up to something. I wonder how she haven’t found out about me and Sweet pea yet.

“All I am saying is that his gorillas, Leo, James and whatever the hell were the names of the other, know more than I would ever know.”

“That’s easy. We will get them, fix up their faces and they will sing like birds.” Fangs said from his place next to the tree.

“Not everything is solved with fists, Fangs.” Fp blurted out with his nervous voice looking straight into Fangs as he was trying to tame a little tiger with the power of his eyesight.

“That’s at least an idea, Fangs. But these neanderthals don’t go anywhere without daddy. We would have to think of something else.” she answered him never cheating to her habit of gesturing with her hands.

“Don’t we forget something here, guys?” I said. All of a sudden everyone turned to me. “ They are men before everything else. And what usually makes a man go crazy and spill everything? Think about it.”

“A woman ready to play. I like how you’re thinking. If we could get those idiots drunk and hard, they will tell us all.” Tony finished for me beaming with pride at my idea.

“No! I am not putting you in danger. All of you. We would figure it all out.” Jug said shaking his head.

“Don’t shut us down just that quick, Jug. We are women, we know how to lure men into doing what we want.” Betty took the initiative. “I would go with my girls as a true queen, to help V please her dad and his gorillas. Meanwhile, you and the boys will be inside as security guards. The moment we get them to leave the Speakeasy, you can handle them as you want to. It’s a plan worth trying.”

“I am in. I got just the dress for that.” I said.

“No, Y/N! I am not keen on the idea of using our women for target.’‘ I was surprised by the sudden outburst of Sweet pea but I knew he was saying it because this plan involved me.

“It’s a good plan! We’ll do it. Tomorrow night. Veronica will invite her dad for a casual talk while the girls take care of the bodyguards as we are there to secure the Speakeasy.” Jug said approvingly.

The same night I went into Sweet pea’s trailer again. I knew he wasn’t happy for the plan but it was our best shot.

“Hey, Pea! Would you let me stay the night again?”

“You’re always welcome!” he said openning the sheets of his bed for me. “But I don’t know how I feel about the seduction thing you came up with. I don’t want to look how some asshole will touch you and look at you as you are an item he can claim”

“You don’t have a say here, Pea. I want to deserve my jacket and I think the idea is damn good. And you would be there to keep an eye on me and the gorilla. But I can do my best to assure you that it’s just work and nothing more to me.” I said as I kissed him and got on top of him.

Slowly I started moving all the while kissing him. I pulled away from him and took off my shirt. He was always in the mood for a middle of the night fun. His hand were tracing paths between my hips and my buttcheeks. He was squeezing tightly at the skin, kissing me with all the passion he got. I could feel how hard he was underneath me. In one swift motion he turned us over so now he was on top of me. I took the hem of his shirt in my fingers and lifted it towards his head. He took it off himself to easy me. Next his pants and boxers followed as well as my own bottom and lacy underwear. He trailed kissed down my neck and colar bone, slowly kissing his way down south to the place that craved him the most. I was already wet and he knew it well enought.

His kisses and touches sent chills through my whole body. Kissing all his way to my very core, he started drawing circles with his tongue. I buried my hands in his hair and left myself be completely absorbed in the sensation of him eating me out. It was something I loved to be given and he was giving it to me everytime. His hands found their way to my breast, squeezing them, claiming that they were made for his touch. My body was waving on its own under the sweet pressure of the extasy that was builing in me.

Soon enough he kissed his way back up and I felt a pure bliss when he entered me in one painfully slow but extremely good motion. He started moving slowly at first, kissing my neck. With each moan he was picking up the pace, making me go completely lost under his touch.

“You’re a mess right now, babe. So wet for me and so tight. Do you know how hard that makes me? How crazy I am about every part of you?” he hissed in my ear, biting it softly

“Dammit, Pea! You’re gonna make me scream if you continue to talk to me like that. And I am not sure I want to muffle this scream.”

“Scream for me, baby. I want to make you scream. You’re going to let go! So soon!” he was feeling how close I was. My walls were tightening agains him. I simply nodded and gave myself fully to the sensation of riding out my orgasm.

I knew he wasn’t finished yet, so I pushed him on his back and got to business.Just like he did, I kissed my way down to his still hard dick and slowly licked it all up from the core to the head. His deep moan made me go wet all over again. I took it deep into my mouth, giving him a firm stroke as I was sucking it. He hands got a hold of my hair making me go a little faster. His deep voice moans were making me eager to go faster and faster untill I felt him twich and realese the tention in my hand. His smile said it all to me as I went up to kiss his lips and then rest my head on his shoulder.

The morning came and so did the night. We all got dressed in our sexiest dresses and went to the Speakeasy waiting for Hiram to arrive with his gorillas for the casual talk with his daughter. The boys, who were all wearing black, stood by the bar playing their role of security guards for the night.

“Daddy, welcome!” Ronnie said as her dad walked inside.

“Mija, you wanted to talk to me, so here I am.” He said sitting at one of the tables.

“Let my girls take care of your fellas here, daddy, while we have some quility father-daughter time.” she said as she waved at us.

“Let’s do this girls!” Tony said as we all finished our drinks and went to the gorillas. They were three and so were we. Betty, Tony and I went up to them and sat in their laps. I could sense how mad Jug and Sweet pea were just by this sight. We started talking, whispering sweet nothings in their ears as we were handing them drink after drink after drink. Leo, the one that I took, was moving his hand up and down my leg that was peeking through the slit of the dress. I looked behind his shoulder and saw how Sweet pea squeezed his hand into a fist and slammed in on the bar. Jug put his hand on his chest and said word for I am pretty sure was “Not now, give them some more time!”

Soon the alcohol did its magic. The tree almost middle aged gorillas Hiram had hired were completely under our spell. All three of us stood up and took them by the hand taking them towards the back room with smile on our faces all the while biting our lips knowing that in a few second the boys would take care of them.

We took them back without Hiram seeing anything. Ronnie was doing amazing job at keeping him distracted.The boys slipped into the back room after us while Reggie and Pops were holding the forth at the bar.

“Ladies, you can step aside. We advice you not to see what will happen next.” Jug said telling us to leave.

“No, we’re staying. My girls and I want to see these scumbags singing like lovebirds.” Betty said with a certain dark beam in her eyes. We moved to the side of the room and waited the Serpents to work their own kind of magic to make them talk and spill all about Hiram’s plans with the Goolies and the drug dealing.

“Sweet pea, do you wanna show this one here how to act around a lady?” Jug said.

“My pleasure, Jones!” He said as he arched up his back and slammed his right fist in Leo’s face so hard that it broke his nose. “This is for touching my girl! Now let’s talk business. Speak! What has Hiram with the Goolies?”

I was weirdly proud of his eagerness to protect me, that he called me his girl and of his honor. But also I was a little scared of his force and thirst for punishing these scancs.

Not long after the first fists, all three of Hiram’s gorillas started singing all the information we need. We pulled it off as an incident of some drugged men trying to take us away from the gorillas. Hiram acted like he didn’t suspect anything and called them idiots. “You can’t even hold one teenage girl for the night without getting into a fight. Why did I even hire you? Let’s go! We’re done here, Mija! When you have a better deal, call me!”

“Oh, I will, daddy! I’ll make sure.” Ronnie said as she turned to us smiling. Our job for the night was done. Once more we proved that teenagers and especially the Serpents can trick the big bad men in black without them even noticing. But little did we know that the war between father and daughter had just begun.

#riverdale smut #riverdale imagine #riverdale southside #southside serpents #serpents imagine #sweet pea imagine #sweet pea smut #sweet pea and reader #sweet pea and you #riverdale gangs #riverdale season 3 #riverdale girls #serpent boys #riverdale serpents

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kdelarenta · 3 years

Text

envy

pairing: mason x f!detective (josie valentine), also bobby is in this

note: after the bakery incident (because I’m still not over it), things are tense and bobby only contributes, a lot of confusion lol, bobby and josie kissed in book 2

Mason didn't like this, he didn't like this at all.

In theory it made sense with Josie's whole 'all for Wayhaven, town spirit' shit but did it really have to involve that stupid fucking reporter?

Even though Josie went on and on about how it was nice of him to promote the blood drive and how him covering it will draw people in, he saw that she wasn't indifferent to the idea of having him there. Something happened, he was sure of it. All he knew was that the two were best friends in college and somehow fell apart. Josie might be an open book but she was particularly stingy with the details whenever he was involved.

Him. The reporter. Bobby.

The same Bobby who was at Josie's apartment that night, the same Bobby he caught her visiting almost every day at the Agency's hospital wing. The same Bobby that keeps harassing her at work, no matter how much she tries to play nice and ignore him. He knew the shit face was getting to her, the way she was playing nervously with the sleeves of her yellow shirt and that worried look on her face were evidence enough of how much she was dreading this meeting, he thought briefly about having a little chat with him. But why should he? Josie could handle it, besides it's not like they were on the best of terms right now — he'd only make everything worse.

Josie still hasn't spoken to him except for a brief 'yes' when asked if she was going to be working late again and a 'no' when he asked if she needed him to walk her back to her car.

Both questions work related, as all their conversations were these past few weeks. But whatever. She'll get over it. Mason didn't care, or that's what he kept telling himself, but that still didn't stop the regret from coiling deep in his stomach.

When Bobby finally arrived he was greeted only by Nate and Felix, with Nate giving him a polite nod and Felix looking between him and Mason as if he's expecting the two to jump on each other any second. Adam simply gave Bobby a curt nod while Mason didn't bother to hide his eye roll. Bobby didn't seem too bothered by it but still stayed at the doorway as if waiting for something, Josie shifted on her feet unsure of what to do. The tension in the room was nearly impenetrable and the quiet was only interrupted by the sound of the station's printer. This meeting couldn't end soon enough.

"Hi." Josie blurted out before snapping out of it "Welcome, thanks for coming."

Bobby simply smiled and with a shrug stepped into the office.

"Well I wouldn't be a good reporter if I didn't cover the town's newest event, would I?" He steps further into the room, his attention completely on Josie.

"Especially when it's hosted by Wayhaven's dearest detective."

Mason almost growls at the sultry tone he lets casually slip in the compliment, Josie's eyes widen briefly before she looks away from him, blushing slightly. Mason frowned — what was up with her? She simply offered Bobby a small tight smile, lifting her shoulders to her chin in something akin a shrug. A tell that Mason knows means she's shying away and wants to shrink but Bobby doesn't miss a thing, his eyes gulping her down, hungry.

"Right. Thank you. Well, we should get started."

Josie busies herself with lifting the files from the table to make room for the blueprint of the event. Once she lays it down, Bobby joins her on the other side of the desk to examine it thouroughly. Josie's yellow shirt, with which she replaced her turtlenecks and pressed shirts once summer started, clashes with Bobby's white one causing Mason to avert his eyes every once in a while. The bright yellow should be even more unbearable to look at but somehow on Josie it didn't bother him that much. Bobby's shirt was also slightly unbuttoned, on purpose Mason assumed, since judging by his reaction earlier he didn't expect Unit Bravo to be there at all. He wanted them to be alone.

Mason smirked. He can forget about it.

After a few moments Bobby whistles. "This is the Mayor's idea."

"Yeah." Josie slightly leans on the desk "Flashy. Colorful. Fun — the brighter it looks, the more people it attracts."

"Sounds about right." he says giving her a conspiratorial smile.

Josie shrugs. "It's the best way to get people interested."

"Yes I know Jo." Bobby rolls his eyes "You don't have to jump to everyone's defense all the time."

Mason didn't know if it was the nickname or the almost irritated tone he used that made Josie uncomfortably shrink again.

"Just get on with what you came here to do." Mason interjects impatiently "No one asked for your opinion."

They both finally look up at Mason and acknowledge that the rest of Unit Bravo are still in the room. Bobby makes to probably sass him back before Josie cuts him off.

"Stay out of this Mason." she orders in a strict tone so unlike her usual gentle one "Bobby was kind enough to help us out with this so you should treat him with respect."

Bobby seems just as surprised as Mason at the outburst before turning towards him with a smug smirk.

"Yeah Specialist Agent Mason." he almost spits out the title "Show me some respect."

He simply crosses his arms, stifling the urge to grab him by the collar and teach him some 'respect'. Felix throws him a worried frown but he shrugs it off, he wants a smoke but he doesn't want to leave.

Choosing to move on from the conflict, Josie and Bobby agree to get started with crafting the article. Mason watched with interest as Josie took initiative, listening attentively to everything Bobby suggested and making her opinions strongly known when needed. The change in Josie's confidence didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the team who seemed really proud of how far she'd come since their first meeting. And Mason was glad, he couldn't help the small tinge of pride that lingered in his chest at seeing Josie be more sure of herself.

She was a great detective, Mason never doubted that and it was time for her not to doubt it too.

His senses haven't been acting up again, not with Josie's presence there to soothe them, but something was begining to set him off. A strong aroma, as he focuses on finding the source it immediately draws him to Bobby. Overwhelming. His face scrunched up when the scent finally hit his nostrils — juniper, Josie's favorite. Does he really think he's being subtle? Though he doubts subtle is really Bobby's forte.

He's onto the bastard and what's he's trying to do. It won't work, Josie's too smart for that. But as more time passes, the more unsure Mason becomes.

The two work in sinc, dancing around each other in a familiar routine that they only know the steps to. It's like they've done this a thousand times before and Mason briefly acknowledges that they probably have. The way they communicate through glances, the way they finish each other's sentences knowing what the other is going to say before they actually say it. It reminds him of Nate and Adam and he wants to extinguish that connection, they're nothing like Nate and Adam.

He's a bastard and she's—

She's Josie, she's Josie and he can't imagine how they could've ever been friends.

"Are they going to serve food there as well?"

"I guess, since there will be a lot of festivities."

Bobby hums in agreement before sliding his glance briefly over at Mason. He smirks again as if he's suddenly remembered something.

"They better not serve strawberry ice cream though, right Jo?"

Josie looks mildly panicked glancing from him to the team as if they're supposed to know what that means.

"Bobby you promised!" Josie pouts slightly but he can see it's more out of amusement than being upset. They both share a smile from across the table and Mason's sick again. He's throwing it in his face, isn't he? The fact that they have secrets, memories... something that her and Mason don't. Whatever. He doesn't care who she has memories with, he'll win her over soon enough.

Josie joins Bobby's side of the table as they both lean over the blueprint. Mason doesn't miss how Bobby's eyes never leave Josie's face as she talks, too engrossed in the blueprint to notice. He couldn't quite make out the look on the reporter's face and it irked him. Josie was pretty to look at, there was no doubt about it, but it wasn't just that. There was something else there; dialated pupils, fondness...

He's not staying for this bullshit anymore. Josie briefly looks up at the sound of him leaving the chair. He doesn't care — he's not thinking about this anymore. He's not thinking about the fact his hand is only inches away from hers and he's definitely not thinking about the fact that she's starting to forget herself too, leaning into him slightly, their shoulders touching.

"This is taking too long, I need a smoke."

He doesn't look back. He doesn't notice Josie watching him leave.

Josie offers a final smile to Nate as she closes the door to her office. She didn't know what exactly encouraged her to walk Bobby out, maybe it was because she wanted to thank him again or maybe it was because she wanted to make sure that everything was right between them. She had her reasons, there was no doubt about it. She prayed for weeks that he wouldn't remember the kiss they shared in her apartment. She wouldn't know what to do if he did. And so far, he hadn't mentioned a thing, so he must've really forgotten everything that had happened.

The meeting felt familiar. And it was familiar, so familiar that if she closed her eyes and let herself drift away, she could pretend that this was a college project. That they were partners, friends, best friends...

She bit her tongue.

"Thank you, again, for doing this."

'I couldn't have done this without you' she almost says, like she did before. But she learned that she could do it without him.

"No problem." he said giving her a friendly smile "I would've stopped by anyway."

Why? , she wants to ask immediately. But she knows why.

User.

"Oh." she simply states and finds herself avoiding eye contact. A small part of her was still scared that one moment he'll snap out of it and remember what happened.

The kiss had remained her own filthy little secret. She didn't tell anyone, not Tina, not Rebecca, not anyone. She was filled with such shame, how could she have been so weak?

What was she thinking? That he actually cared? She had finally stopped returning his calls, stopped turning around when he'd try and talk to her. Stopped treating him as a treasured person in her life that he once was. He decided to stop being that. Her best friend. It was his choice.

So she doesn't believe him when he says he misses what they had because what they had was so easy to throw away for a stupid article. An article that made sure she couldn't show up to campus anymore. Her nails dug into her palms. That was the thing with Bobby, he managed to bring out the worst in her, the worst that Josie desperately tries to keep inside.

"I had a weird dream about you, you know." his voice brings her out of it and she doesn't avert her eyes this time. The way his mouth shaped around the word 'weird' filled her with dread.

"What?"

"It felt so real." he utters somewhat to himself, his eyes laying solely on her lips. Breathing heavily, she reflexively took a step back but stopped the urge to run and lock herself in her office.

"People dream about all sorts of things. You shouldn't worry about it." her words are half-rushed, her tone is all skewed and she all but freezes when his eyes meet hers with intent focus. As he examines her face, she's almost sure he'll give her that content smirk, the one he uses when he knows he's won, and call her out on her bluff. But he doesn't.

Instead he simply looks away for a second and shrugs, visibly snapping out of it. She makes an effort not to let her relief show.

"Yeah, you're probably right. See you around Jo."

She doesn't trust herself to respond, after all, she'd never been a good liar.

And how can she respond when she can still feel his kiss on her lips?

#twc #the wayhaven chronicles #twc m #twc mason #specialist agent mason #twc bobby #bobby marks #mason x detective #HITS POST AND DIPPS #i come on here once in a blue moon with a really specific fic idea and then it's back to radio silence #i haven't written fics in months ?#plz don't drag me #i'm sensitive aha ha ha

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mikauzoran · 3 years

Text

Lukadrien: Zebras Can’t Change Their Stripes: Chapter Seven

Read it on AO3: Zebras Can’t Change Their Stripes: Chapter Seven

“Aren’t you done yet?” Luka half laughed, half groaned, banging his head against the bathroom door.

“Perfection takes time,” Adrien informed primly from within. “It’s my first show. I want to make a good impression.”

Luka clicked his tongue. “Perfect Fifth, they’re going to love you, but you take longer in the bathroom than my ex, and I still need to do my makeup.”

There was a beat before Adrien tentatively asked, “…Are we at a point where we can make jokes about your ex?”

Luka contemplated this for a moment and winced, admitting, “No. No, I actually don’t think we are.”

“…Okay. That’s okay,” Adrien assured, opening the bathroom door.

Luka, still resting his head against the door in question, nearly fell over into Adrien.

Afterwards, he was equal parts glad and disappointed that he hadn’t crashed into his roommate because, if he had, Luka would not have been able to control himself.

As things stood, Luka got an eyeful of Adrien in ripped, black skinny jeans and punk couture topped off with messy, wild hair and a generous helping of eyeliner.

Luka’s temperature shot through the roof as all the blood in his body rushed south.

A frown slowly knitted Adrien’s eyebrows together as he watched his friend closely for a reaction and didn’t seem to get a positive one.

“…How…do I look?” he pressed tentatively, beginning to shift his weight uneasily back and forth, fidgeting under Luka’s intense gaze.

Luka was preoccupied with fantasies of pushing Adrien up against a wall and sticking his tongue down Adrien’s throat.

…Better yet, Adrien pushing Luka up against a wall and sticking his tongue down Luka’s throat.

“Is it that bad?” Adrien demanded, beginning to panic as he took the shocked silence the wrong way. “Did I put on too much eyeliner? I’m sorry. I should have asked for your help, but I thought I knew what I was doing because I’ve seen the way you dress, so I thought—”

“—Sorry. What?” Luka cut him off, managing to shake himself loose from his daydreams. “I’m sorry. I spaced for a minute there. What are we talking about?”

Adrien blinked twice slowly. “…Um… Do I look bad? You were staring.”

“Oh! No! Nonono,” Luka assured, waving his hands in an attempt to clear up the misunderstanding. “Sorry. NO. You look great. I was just…”

Some of the blood deigned to come back up into his face to make him look like a cherry tomato.

He cleared his throat. “Sorry. I’m a little out of it. You look perfect. I love you—your eyeliner. And the hair,” Luka covered, mentally smacking himself.

“Oh,” Adrien responded uncertainly. “Thank you? I was kind of going for a Chat Noir vibe.”

“You look amazing.” Luka finally got it together and replied with an earnest smile. “You really nailed it. Jacob and Josie are going to coo and fuss over you.”

“Are you going to coo and fuss over me?” Adrien hummed, resting his forearm on the wall and leaning so that he very much resembled Chat Noir: lithe and predatory and very dangerous to Luka’s sanity in such tight clothing.

“I don’t think your ego really needs it,” Luka countered, “but I’ll consider it if you don’t make us late and we have a few minutes before we need to leave for the show.”

Adrien pulled out his phone and winced at the time. “Looks like my ego will have to wait to be stroked because we’re cutting it close as is.”

“Pity,” Luka sighed, not sure if he’d dodged a bullet or been deprived of an opportunity.

True to Luka’s word, Josie and Jacob did, in fact, coo and fuss over Adrien when he and Luka arrived at the bar where they’d be playing.

“Look at him!” Jacob exclaimed, showing Adrien to Marc like a prize being revealed on a gameshow. “He’s so precious! He looks like a real baby punk!”

Josie shot Luka a lascivious grin and quietly teased, “So, how are you holding up with him wearing those pants?”

Luka took her by surprise by answering honestly: “I’m going out of my freaking mind. Thank you for asking.”

The smirk promptly dropped off of Josie’s face to be replaced by a look of concern. “Luc, are you okay?”

Luka shook his head. “Adrien is the guy Marinette never got over, and Adrien had feelings for her too in the past, so when they meet up again, I can only guess at what will happen.”

Josie winced. “That…really sucks.”

“Yeah, so there’s no point in letting my feelings for him come back only so he can break my heart too,” Luka sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Kind of hard with him looking like that.”

“Everything okay?” Marc called out, drawing Jacob and Adrien’s attention to Luka.

Adrien’s eyes narrowed, and he came over to touch Luka’s cheeks and forehead, testing for fever. “Are you still feeling out of it, Orpheus? You do feel a little warm.”

Adrien’s hands on Luka’s skin only served to make Luka’s temperature jump an additional degree or two.

“I’ll be all right. Thanks,” Luka lied, slipping out of Adrien’s reach. “Probably just a twenty-four-hour bug. I’m going to go start the equipment check.”

Jacob opened his mouth to comment, but Josie caught him by the sleeve and whispered in his ear.

Marc quirked an eyebrow, and Josie repeated what Luka had told her for him as well.

Collectively, the group grimaced.

“What’s going on, guys?” Adrien inquired, looking back and forth worriedly between Luka’s retreating back and the rest of their bandmates.

“He’s just feeling a little depressed and hopeless right now,” Marc explained with a sad but kind smile. “We’ll have to figure out some way to make him feel better and lighten up a bit.”

“We should do something fun together,” Jacob agreed, going to sling an arm around Adrien’s shoulders. “No need to worry about it now, though. Right now, we just need to get through the show.”

Adrien nodded as Jacob led him over to the equipment to prepare for the performance.

“That was amazing!” Josie squealed, throwing her arms around Adrien as soon as they made it off stage.

“I can’t believe we pulled that off without a hitch,” Jacob laughed giddily, carding a hand through his spikey hair.

Marc rolled his eyes, giving everyone pats on the back. “I mean, we have been practicing every day this week for hours.”

“Still, Adrien was incredible,” Luka chimed in, giving Adrien’s arm a squeeze. “That was flawless.”

“Not completely flawless,” Adrien protested sheepishly. “But thank you. Seriously. Everyone…”

He looked around at his bandmates with an enormous, grateful grin. “Thank you so much for your patience with me this week. Thank you for letting me be a part of your group. This was really a team effort, and I never could have done it without you.”

“Aww. He’s so modest,” Jacob chuckled, pulling Adrien into a side hug and ruffling his hair.

“You could have managed without Jacob,” Josie snickered, giving the bassist a teasing elbow.

“Josephine, play nice,” Marc sighed in exasperation, shaking his head with a fond smile.

“We should celebrate!” Josie announced, pointedly ignoring Marc’s reprimand. “Who wants to get some drinks and dance?”

“Me!” Jacob’s hand shot up, and he proceeded to bounce up and down in place. “Me-me! Me!”

Luka winced. “I…can’t. I drove over here, and I need to be able to get Adrien home safe.”

“I could get you guys home,” Marc volunteered. “I need to bow out so I can go tuck my little girl in, but I can come back later and drive you home.”

“Hold up,” Adrien demanded. “You have a daughter?”

“I’m surprised he hasn’t shown you pictures yet,” Josie scoffed.

“Her name is Antoinette,” Marc gushed, beaming with pride. “She’s two years old, and she’s the best thing I’ve done in my entire life.” He whipped out his phone and navigated to his photos.

“Aww,” Adrien cooed as he looked at the picture of a pale toddler with ink black hair and even darker eyes in a green party dress with her arms wrapped around a fluffy white Maltese. “Marc, she’s adorable!”

“Thank you,” Marc preened. “I wish I could take the credit, but that’s all my wife Wakana.”

“Her smile is yours, though,” Adrien observed.

“You are the sweetest thing,” Marc laughed, patting Adrien on the shoulder before turning to Luka. “I should be back in about an hour, but you can stay later, if you feel like it. You feeling emotionally well enough to drink responsibly?”

Luka’s teeth sank into his bottom lip. “Maybe?” he fibbed.

Honestly, he was on the edge and could easily go either way. It could turn out to be a fun night with friends or the start of another drunken grief spiral.

Marc pursed his lips.

“Don’t fret so much,” Jacob chided, clicking his tongue as he slung his arm around Luka’s shoulders. “You’re no fun, Maman. I’ll look after Luc.”

“This does not inspire confidence,” Marc sighed.

“I’ll keep an eye on Luka,” Adrien volunteered. “I don’t drink, so I can play babysitter and make sure everyone’s okay until you get back, Marc.”

“Thank you,” Marc replied, only slightly exaggerating his relief. “I feel better leaving an adult in charge.”

“You don’t drink?” Josie pressed, ignoring Marc’s slight as she looped her arm through Adrien’s.

Adrien shook his head and smiled in embarrassment. “Yeah…I kind of don’t like not being in control. It’s dangerous, making yourself vulnerable like that. It would be different if we were somewhere safe and it was just people I trusted, but…”

Josie’s eyes narrowed. “Chéri, are you okay? Who hurt you?”

Adrien shrugged, averting his gaze, still not quite ready to admit that he’d been on the streets until just a few days prior.

Luka broke away from Jacob and went to Adrien’s side, resting a hand on his shoulder and looking him in the eye intently. “We don’t have to stay, if you’re uncomfortable. Just say the word, and I’ll take you home. It’s totally fine, Perfect Fifth. I don’t mind, honestly.”

“No, no,” Adrien assured, waving away Luka’s concern with one hand. “It’s good. I’m not uncomfortable, but thank you so much for always being so considerate. I appreciate it. No, I like dancing, so I have no problem hanging out with everyone.”

Luka let go of the breath he’d been holding, and the tension slowly faded from his body. “Okay. Good. Just let me know if you start feeling uncomfortable, though. Any time. I want to make sure you feel safe.”

Adrien smiled brightly, gratitude and affection filling his eyes. “Thank you.”

“Can we meditate for a moment on the fact that he calls him ‘Perfect Fifth’?” Jacob demanded, unable to hold in his laughter. “That is the sappiest thing, and I’m kind of jealous because I never got a cute pet name like that when I was dating him.”

“Ouch,” Adrien snickered, pulling away from Josie to wrap his arms possessively around Luka. “Sucks to be you. Guess Luka just loves me more.”

Marc shoot Luka a pitying look as he wondered if it were really okay to let Luka drink that night after all.

Meanwhile, Jacob cackled. “Ow! I am wounded. Even more so because it’s probably true.”

“So…if you’re Luka’s perfect fifth,” Josie puzzled, “does that make Luka your tonic?”

Adrien hummed softly in thought, not noticing as Luka tried not to spontaneously combust in mortification.

Not for the first time, Luka thanked the heavens that he was taller than Adrien so that Adrien couldn’t see the look on Luka’s face as Adrien embraced him.

“I mean…yeah,” Adrien replied softly, resting his head on Luka’s chest. “Luka’s always been my ‘tonal center’ in a way. Whenever I felt frazzled or lost as a teen, I knew I could go to him to help me find my way again…so I guess he is my tonic.”

“Aww,” Josie cooed. “That’s adorable. I was teasing, but you are just too cute.”

“Yeah,” Jacob sighed with a shrug. “I know when I’ve been beat. You win, Adrien. I could never say something that gooey with a straight face. You and Luka deserve each other.”

Adrien made a move to pull back to reply, but Luka hugged him in tighter, afraid that how he felt for Adrien was written plainly all over his face and that if Adrien saw it, he wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing a flat with Luka anymore.

“Sorry,” Luka whispered, burying his face in Adrien’s hair. “That’s…That’s really sweet. It means a lot to me that you think of me that way.”

“Of course,” Adrien chuckled, not minding the affection in the least. “You’re one of the few people in my life I’ve always been able to count on.”

“Okay, seriously,” Josie huffed. “Who hurt you? Who do I need to go beat up?”

Adrien broke away from Luka and turned to placate Josie. “It’s really not that bad. Please don’t assault anyone on my behalf.”

Luka turned away and quickly attempted to compose himself.

Marc gave him a questioning look, a silent offer of assistance, but Luka shook his head.

Jacob quirked an eyebrow.

“I reserve my right to assault whoever I determine deserves it,” Josie insisted indignantly, reaching out to ruffle Adrien’s hair.

Adrien gave up and submitted to Josie’s attentions with a small sigh and a reluctant smile. “Thank you, but I really am fine.”

“You’ll never convince her of that,” Luka informed, briskly changing the subject. “Let’s go get some drinks, shall we?”

Luka had regrets.

At that moment, his regrets were named Whiskey and Adrien.

More specifically, Adrien’s dancing.

Adrien dancing like that while wearing skinny jeans that reminded Luka how he had worshipped Chat Noir’s butt back in the day.

Luka didn’t really dance, but Jacob and Adrien had hit the dance floor, and seeing them together made Luka irrationally jealous, so he’d gone over there and started dancing with Adrien…and the alcohol in Luka’s blood was trying to convince him that it would be a good idea to tug Adrien in gently so that their bodies were pressed flush together and then kiss him for all he was worth.

Objectively, Luka knew that this was a very, very bad plan…but the way Adrien was swiveling his hips gave Luka ideas that would be easier to shake if he were sober.

And Luka was not sober.

“Where did you learn to dance?” he asked over the music in an attempt to distract himself from the bad ideas.

Adrien’s face flushed. “Mostly Chloé. She had alternating phases where she was really obsessed with pole dancing, belly dancing, and burlesque.”

“Oh,” Luka replied dumbly.

“Alya taught me a little too, though. Nino tried, but our styles are different,” Adrien elaborated, body flowing like liquid to the beat as he spoke. “I don’t think all of my lessons in ballroom and Latin dance count, but…I’m sure you’ll recognize where I stole this cute butt wiggle from.”

Luka did indeed recognize Marinette’s patented butt wiggle, and it made him feel all kinds of things he didn’t want to feel.

“Is that Marc over by the bar?” Luka asked, craning his neck as if trying to get a better view.

Adrien frowned and stopped dancing to look too. “…I don’t…think I see him?”

“I think that was him,” Luka lied. “You go ahead and keep dancing with Jacob and Josie. I’m going to meet up with Marc and take a seat.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Adrien inquired uncertainly. “Want me to walk you?”

Luka shook his head, needing to get away so that he could stop feeling so much. “Nah. He’s just over there. I can make it across the room by myself. You keep having fun, Angel.”

“O…Okay,” Adrien replied, still uneasy as Luka smiled reassuringly before turning to go.

Luka was quickly swallowed up by the crowd, and Adrien couldn’t quite relax after losing sight of him.

Luka made a beeline for the bar, numbing himself with more alcohol.

Fortunately, Marc really did show up within a few minutes and found Luka before too much harm could be done.

“I take it the evening took a turn for the worse?” Marc sighed, gently taking Luka’s glass away from him.

Luka groaned, resting his forehead on the counter. “I’m in love with him. I never stopped loving him, and now he’s going to start dating Marinette, and I’m going to have to pretend to be okay with this, to be happy for them, and I can’t do it. I can’t do this.”

“I think you’re catastrophizing,” Marc informed softly, reaching out to rub soothing circles between Luka’s shoulder blades. “I know it feels hopeless now, but hang in there, okay? Things will look a little less dark in the morning. You’re going to get through this.”

Luka shook his head.

“Shhh,” Marc cooed, giving Luka’s shoulder a squeeze. “Yes, you will. You’re strong, Luc. You’re tough, and you’re going to make it if I have to drag you out the other side.”

“What happened?!” Adrien gasped, stunned at the state he found Luka in fifteen minutes later.

Marc winced. “I think the alcohol suddenly hit him all at once.”

“Luka, are you okay?!” Adrien was at his side, fussing and carrying on, in seconds.

“No,” Luka moaned.

“He’ll be okay in the morning,” Marc promised through a doubtful grimace. “Or…at least by tomorrow evening. He just needs to throw up and sleep it off.”

Marc’s reassuring words did nothing to loosen Adrien’s pinched frown.

“Don’t worry,” Marc soothed, reaching out to rest a hand on Adrien’s upper arm. “He’s going to be okay. Trust me.”

Slowly, tentatively, Adrien nodded.

They packed Josie and Jacob into a cab to Josie’s house to take care of one another for the night and then loaded Luka into the backseat of Luka’s car, most of his weight supported by Adrien.

“You’re beautiful,” Luka purred as he played dazedly with Adrien’s hair. “So pretty.”

“Thank you,” Adrien replied self-consciously, not sure how to respond. “You’re pretty too.”

“You’re going to-to hurt me,” Luka chuckled darkly.

Adrien gave a start. “No, I’m not. I would never do anything to hurt you, Luka.”

“Not on purpose,” Luka hummed, dropping his head to Adrien’s shoulder. “Not on purpose…porpoise.” He laughed at that.

“Not on porpoise,” Adrien agreed, still feeling like he was on shaky ground.

“…I love you,” Luka snickered, giving Adrien’s neck a wet kiss.

Adrien gasped, his nerve endings lighting up as his stomach flipped involuntarily.

It wasn’t like the other times Luka had said those words or given Adrien a platonic kiss on the cheek or temple or forehead. It felt different and wrong and right all at the same time.

Adrien wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

“I…I love you too, Luka,” Adrien answered in the most conversational tone he could manage.

Luka only laughed, further unsettling Adrien.

When they got back to the apartment building, it took both Marc and Adrien to awkwardly trundle Luka up the stairs, down the hall, and into his bedroom.

That accomplished, Marc turned to Adrien with a delicate smile.

Adrien recognized it as the kind of smile he’d often received when the person smiling was about to attempt to manage Adrien.

His defences automatically went up.

“I think I’ve got it from here,” Marc informed with a tired sigh. “Thanks for your help.”

Adrien blinked, thrown off balance. “Uh…you’re welcome. I was actually about to say the same thing to you. I think I’m okay now, if you want to go home.”

Marc shook his head. “It’s okay, Adrien. I’ll stay with him.”

It sounded like a polite implication that Adrien should leave, and Adrien wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

Luka had repeated over and over again that this was Adrien’s home now as much as Luka’s, but, suddenly, Adrien was feeling like an intruder all over again.

He turned to Luka. “Orpheus, do you want me to stay with you, or do you want Marc?”

“Marc can stay,” Luka grumbled out from under the arm he had tossed over his face. “Go ahead and go to bed, Perfect Fifth.”

Adrien pulled away, averting his gaze and wrapping his arms around himself. “Well…okay, then. I guess I’m no use here, so…um…I’ll just be in the other room if you need help finding things or something.”

“Thank you, Adrien. I’m pretty familiar with the house, though,” Marc replied with a strained smile.

“Right. Of course,” Adrien muttered, cheeks bursting into flames of humiliation. “Sorry. I’ll just…I’ll get out of your way.”

He’d gotten halfway to the door before Marc caught up and caught Adrien by the shoulder.

“You are not in the way, Adrien,” Marc assured gently, quietly so that Luka wouldn’t hear. “I have no doubt you’d do an amazing job of taking care of him. It’s not about you being capable or not. It’s just that he’s going through some stuff, and he wouldn’t want you to see him like this. He cares about what you think of him, and he doesn’t want you to see him as a mess.”

Adrien’s eyes rounded as he saw the sincerity in Marc’s expression.

“He doesn’t care if I see him gripping the edges of the toilet seat and puking his guts out,” Marc explained, “but he’d die if you saw him like that. He wants you to respect him and think he’s cool and all that.”

Adrien gave a soft snort. “I do respect him and think he’s cool.”

“Good,” Marc chuckled tiredly. “I’m glad to hear that…but he probably still wouldn’t want you to see him like this…you know?”

Adrien stuck out his lip in a pout but begrudgingly nodded anyway. “I just want to help, though.”

“You have been helping,” Marc assured, resting his hands on Adrien’s shoulders. “Everything you’ve done for him since you moved in has been tremendous. Trust me. I’ve seen him before and after you coming back into his life, and he has been doing so much better these past few days. You are a miracle worker…but I think it’s best if I take this one tonight…if that’s okay?”

Reluctantly, Adrien agreed. “…Yeah. I don’t like it, but I get it. I’ve…I’ve not reached out for help before when I needed it because I was afraid to let people see how bad things had gotten, so I do get it.”

“Good.” Marc gave Adrien’s shoulders an encouraging squeeze before pulling back. “You can help out again in the morning. He’ll need breakfast and aspirin and plenty of water. I’ll turn him over to you in the morning, but I’ll go ahead and take the night shift, all right?”

“All right,” Adrien affirmed, finally feeling a little better about it all.

So long as Luka still needed him. So long as Adrien wasn’t in the way.

“Perfect Fiiiiiifth,” Luka groaned deliriously.

Adrien was back at his side in an instant. “I’m here. What’s wrong? What do you need?”

“I love you,” Luka choked, and it sounded more like a lament than an affectionate remark.

“Love you too,” Adrien answered anyway, leaning in to press a light peck to Luka’s forehead. “Marc’s going to take care of you now, so you be good, okay? See you in the morning.”

“I love you,” Luka repeated balefully.

Adrien gave Luka an encouraging smile and patted him on the shoulder. “I love you too. Feel better, Orpheus.”

On his way out, Adrien sent Marc a worried look.

Marc did his best to inspire confidence and optimism, but Adrien wasn’t easily convinced.

Needless to say, no one slept well that night.

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laurelsofhighever · 3 years

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“Wet kisses after finding refuge from the rain” for Maighread and Cullen? 💙

Thank you for sending this prompt, and for finally giving me a reason to write Maighread and Cullen’s first kiss! It’s rambling and heavy on the angst because maighread overthinks everything, but it has a happy ending, I promise.

Maighread Trevelyan, Herald of Andraste and storied leader of the Second Inquisition, stands at the tower door, hand raised to knock as it has been for long enough that the blood is starting to drain out of her arm. It’s pouring rain, night black around her, storm lanterns guttering on the walls, and she’s drenched. At least the bad weather means no one can see her, though the thought is of little comfort. The light spilling under the door means that Cullen is still inside, awake – probably working.

What is she even doing out here? A sensible person would have waited until morning, or at least until the rain stopped. But she’s not sensible. Her feelings for the Inquisition’s Commander have been burning in her, consuming her from the inside out like a fire in the heart of a lightning-struck tree. She thinks about him all the time. When he talks to her – smiles at her – the blood in her veins sings; when shadows bruise his eyes and his voice emerges in terse, indistinct mumbles it’s like the cut of the wind off the mountain peaks. Varric and Bull have needled her, and Cassandra has been kind, but she could not make any of them understand. She had tried to weather the emotions Cullen stirred in her, determined to outlast the impossibility of having feelings for a man put so far out of her reach by past and present circumstance.

But her mind won’t let her rest. It turned over, and paced, and snapped at her heels until it went one sting too far and drove her out of her rest and into the rain, to his door, now bedraggled and shivering with the bravery drowned out of her at the last step. All she has to do is knock.

And what will she say? She already knows all the reasons why it’s a terrible idea, she’s recited the full list to herself often enough. Besides which, she must indeed be presumptuous to think their rally of book recommendations and a few games of chess in the garden mean that his feelings run along the same lines as hers. She imagines his rejection, imagines him laughing at her – or worse, pitying her – and her hand drops to her side. Her arms wrap around her own body. No, she thinks, better she fights this demon on her own rather than succumb. She’s survived worse.

Then again…

Her steps halt a few paces back towards the castle. He seeks her out, asks about her wellbeing. He searched for her through the snow after Haven and lets her hide away in his office when Josie crams Skyhold with too many noble visitors for comfort. And isn’t it always better to take the lid off a boiling pot, instead of letting the contents bubble over without control? So what if her feelings aren’t returned? She cannot control his actions, but she has always felt pride in her ability to control her own, and she has suffered enough shame to last a lifetime for things she cannot help. After a moment summoning courage, she turns, glares at the door, marches up to it to raise her hand again as the sheet of falling raindrops hiss onto the stone at her feet.

No. She can’t do it. The cost is too high. She’s a mage, and she’s nervous and standoffish and lacking in all social grace; the only thing special about her is the mark in her left hand. Water drips off her lashes and suddenly she’s glad for the storm, because her eyes sting and her throat is starting to burn and she is a fool but at least she is one out of sight of all the people who will snicker at her behind their hands. None of them really know how much of a coward she is, and if she leaves now, retreats back to the fancy tower room, they’ve given her, she can hide away until –

The door opens.

“Inquisitor!” Cullen halts in the doorway with an oilskin envelope in his hands and surprise hanging off his open mouth.

She must look like a used handkerchief. Her voice doesn’t work. She drops her gaze, drawing her arm back into her chest.

That startles movement out of him. He throws the packet in a vague direction behind him so that papers burst and scatter over the floor, and steps out across the threshold to gather her up against the rain before she an protest.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, closing the door. “Has something happened?”

Panicking, she can only shake her head.

“You’re soaked to the bone. here –”

She numbly allows him to guide her over to his desk chair, which he pulls out for her before bustling around the small room to tidy up. Dread fogs her mind, the rain still a roar in her ears. He’s seen her now, which means she can’t pretend she was never stood arguing with herself in a downpour, which means he’ll ask her why she’s here, which means –

“Will you be alright here for a moment?” he interrupts, in a voice timorous with concern.

Her head turns towards him, but she can’t unstick her gaze from the wall. For a moment longer, he hesitates, until he seems to decide that staying would be worse than going, and retreats up the ladder into his loft, which at least now has a barrier charm over it to keep out the weather. Her fingers tighten on soft wool and she realises he’s tucked his mantle around her shoulders before he left. It smells like him. His warmth is still on the collar, and her traitorous hands wrap it more tightly around herself as if she might hide in the depths of the red-streaked fur.

She could leave, sneak out. But then she would have to explain herself to him later, and she knows she won’t. She’ll avoid him, dodge around his gaze or simply escape to some Maker-forsaken part of Thedas until he gives up, and that will hurt him. He’d think he did something wrong.

The clatter as he drops from the ladder startles her, as does the waft of scent, oakmoss and elderflower, that enfolds her as he brings her blankets that must have come straight from his linen chest.

“You don’t have to –” she tries, but he’s already piling the soft wool around her. It seals in the wet with her, but she won’t deny it’s nicer than having the draughts of the room stealing what little body heat she has left.

And now he kneels before her, tugging his gloves off with his teeth and laying them aside on the desk so he can get at her hands to chafe them warm. The callouses on his skin rasp against her knuckles, the broad fingers disappear hers between them, but the touch is delicate, gentle, and she can’t take her eyes off the sight. A ribbon of water seeps through her drenched hair and trickles cold down the back of her neck.

“What’s happened?” he asks again, quiet.

Her heart trips against her ribs. “Nothing. I’m –” But finishing that sentence would admit too much.

Her halted answer brings a sigh from his lips, as if he’s steeling himself – or losing patience.

“Maighread…” He sucks in his bottom lip. “If something is troubling you, I would help if I can. If you would let me. And not only because you are the Inquisitor.”

The rain still lashes down, but inside this solid stone it’s less impressive, a futile bit of noise. Their hands are joined in her lap, just together, and he doesn’t seem to mind that hers are leaching warmth away from his. In the silence, his thumb makes a slow sweep along hers.

“Do you care for me?”

Her gaze stays rooted on their hands, but on the edge of her vision his head snaps up. Another bead of water escapes her hairline. This time it traces the contours down the side of her face, before it loses momentum in the corner of her mouth and gets stuck there. This sudden spark of bravery doesn’t even feel like bravery, with her hands cradled so as if she’s precious, but nevertheless it fizzles out just as quickly under the weight of his stare.

“I tried not to think about it – to wonder,” she excuses, shrinking. “I know we’re at war, and I’m the inquisitor, and there are so many bad things that might happen. Not to mention –”

He prompt is as tender as his hands. “What is it?”

I am such a fool.

“I’m a mage. You were a templar. I –”

It’s too much. Her throat closes up, her body holds itself so she can’t breathe and she has to squeeze her eyelids shut because he hasn’t moved and she wishes all at once that she had more courage, that she were anywhere else, that she could barricade herself off from the raw strength of emotions tugging her along like a pebble caught up in the tide.

Fingers curl under her chin.

“I didn’t think it was possible.”

The wonder in his voice forces her eyes open, and her heart rolls through her chest like thunder at the whiskey softness looking back at her.

“I… I’ve wondered a thousand times what I might say in this kind of situation,” he admits. “But I never thought I would ever get the chance.” A smile curls at the corner of his mouth as he sweeps a glance over her bedragglement. “Especially not on such a nice day.”

She huddles deeper into his blankets. “I didn’t know it was raining. I mean – I did, but I didn’t notice at first, and then –”

“I do care for you,” he interrupts, and her ramble stutters to a halt. “It seemed like too much to ask for, that you would return those feelings… but I want to.”

He’s leaning in, fingertips sliding along her jaw, waiting for her to pull away, but she doesn’t – can’t – because having him so close is overwhelming and her mind has fled to wonder if her shivering is because of the cold or because Cullen is about to kiss her. Their lips meet without fire – she is still half-frozen and he has chosen caution – but still her insides twist, her limbs tense as if with lightning. It doesn’t feel like last time she was kissed; Cullen’s focus is rapt on her, responding to her movements but not demanding more, and at the end she breaks away because if she doesn’t the tension thrumming in her chest will suffocate her completely.

But he doesn’t pull away. Their breath still mingles, his thumb strokes her cheek as she fights for steadier breath, his forehead pressed to hers.

“I care for you,” he repeats. Laughs. “I’ve wanted to do that for so long. I’ve wanted to tell you… I didn’t think you’d welcome it.”

“Cullen…”

“Mm?”

“What happens now?”

His smile fades. “What do you mean?”

“I wasn’t expecting to get this far,” she stumbles, in her haste to reassure him. “I thought –”

She thought of rejection. Humiliation. And now that she’s been wrongfooted, all expectations scattered, a new kind of panic takes hold. Her hand has taken a vice-like grip on his. She has no idea what to do, how to act – what if she does something wrong, something unforgivable, what if something happens? Words have been spoken now and made the whole thing real where before she could have denied it and kept it hers alone, secret, impossible to be used against her.

“I care for you.” This is the third time he’s said it. “What do you want to happen now?”

Has anyone ever asked her what she wanted?

“I don’t know.” And it’s absurd. A bubble of laughter forces itself out of her chest, because she’s in his office, completely sodden, confessing her feelings as far as she can because actually saying it leaves her too vulnerable, and she feels so pathetic she could cry, and yet – and yet. “I – I’m cold.” It’s the only thing she can settle on.

“Then let’s warm you up before you catch a chill.”

He rises, practicality back in place now that he has a problem to solve, but as relieved as she is that some attention has been deflected from her, her traitorous heart skips in her chest because he’s still holding her hand.

kiss prompts

#professionalfruitgremlin #dragon age #dragon age inquisition #dragon age: inquisition #da:i #cullen rutherford #maighread trevelyan #f!trevelyan #mage trevelyan #cullen x inquisitor #cullen x trevelyan #my writing

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