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unpredictable-probabilities · 8 months

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"I Do": The Long-Term Deal || Chapter 3: An Abrupt Engagement

Summary:

After a photo of Jamil and Azul's kiss started circulating online, Jade proposes the absurd solution of forming a fake relationship for the public eye.

Azul vehemently rejects the idea and it seems to fall to the wayside... but when the dinner launch party presents unprecedented challenges, Jamil steps in and takes his boldest leap yet.

Word Count: 16,753

Author's Note:

Finally updated this fic after 9 months!!

Thank you so much to @patchyegg87 for helping me write this chapter~

This fic is gonna be a collab between us from now on <3

We hope you enjoy this chapter! ^_^

——

Jamil's jaw dropped open in shock. At the very least he had expected Jade to suggest that he and Azul pretend to date, but marrying him?

"Jade," Azul's voice had a dangerous edge to it as he glared at Jade. "We are not forcing Jamil into such an arrangement."

"I am not forcing either of you, Azul," Jade maintained his calm demeanor. "I am merely pointing out that an engagement announcement would keep both your suitors and the board of directors at bay for a long while."

"Could just be a fake engagement," Floyd added. "You don't actually have to marry each other for real."

"Indeed," Jade nodded. "And Jamil could maintain his life of travel without worrying whether people would recognize him as the person in the picture and pester him with questions. A clear association with you--and by extension Floyd and I--would prevent anyone from harassing him."

"You two could live here together," Floyd said. "And you're already doing that anyway. Just make a few public appearances every month and it'll be fine."

"The board would never contradict you," Jade pointed out.

It was all going too fast for Jamil's mind to keep up. He turned to Azul, hoping that at least he would say something that made sense, but Azul had gone quiet, his chest rising and falling as he seemed to be trying to control his breathing.

Azul strode toward the couch to retrieve the remote where Floyd had dropped it, then turned off the TV before facing the twins.

"It's not the only option," he said firmly. "We are not trapping Jamil in this, is that clear?"

There was a crunching sound, and Jamil couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from until the two halves of the remote fell from Azul's grip and clattered onto the floor.

"Azul," Floyd said carefully in a placating tone that Jamil had never heard him use before. "Your eyes."

Jamil turned to Azul; his eyes had become a startling bright blue, the pupils elongated into horizontal slits.

Octopus eyes, Jamil realized.

Azul's face went slack with surprise for a second, then he blinked rapidly and backed away.

He turned away from them and placed his hands on his hips, head bowed while he took deep breaths.

Jamil looked at the twins in concern; he had never seen Azul’s eyes turn into what he assumed were their original form, and it seemed to happen out of Azul’s control. What did that mean?

Jade gave him a reassuring nod, and Floyd kept his eyes on Azul.

"Let's not decide on anything for now," Azul said quietly, and when he faced them again his eyes were back to normal. "The event will be starting soon. Let's discuss this again after that. I'll contact Idia and have him get a handle on that MagiCam post."

Jade nodded. "You and Jamil should arrive at the party separately just in case anyone there had seen the photo and would be keeping an eye out for you two. You and I can take your car, and Floyd and Jamil can take Floyd's."

"Yeah. I live nearby, anyway," Floyd said. "We'll get my car. And Sea Snake, change your hairstyle for tonight, okay? You can keep the ponytail but get rid of the braids, they're too recognizable."

"You don't have to go to the event at all," Azul looked at him for the first time since they got in the house. "We've dragged you enough into this."

"No," Jamil shook his head. "I started this. If I hadn't done that when we ran into each other, we wouldn't even have this problem. I'm not just hiding here."

Azul looked like he wanted to protest, but he nodded. "I'll get you a suit you can wear. Jade, Floyd, how about you two?”

“My suit is still at the cleaner’s,” Jade said. “We can stop by there first, and they have a changing room that I can use.”

“I’ll get my suit at my house when Sea Snake and I get the car,” Floyd replied.

Twenty minutes later, Jamil was in the passenger seat of Floyd’s ride, dressed in a borrowed suit with his hair in a simple ponytail and no braids.

“What’s the matter, Sea Snake?” Floyd asked as he drove steadily down the highway. “You’ve been quiet as a clam ever since we left Azul’s place.”

“Is he okay?” Jamil asked. “Why did his eyes become like that? And that thing with the TV remote…”

Azul was never one to show violence; he prided himself in his intellectual capacities rather than the physical. Even when he intimidated schoolmates at NRC, he was never known to break anything as a show of strength.

Floyd took a while to answer, and Jamil had the sense that he was choosing his words carefully, which was something he never would have expected of Floyd.

“About two years ago,” He began. “The three of us ran into some trouble. And Azul was the one who stepped up and got us out of it by the scales of our fins. It messed us all up pretty good, and what you saw earlier was the effect that that experience had left on Azul. Sometimes when he gets super stressed or overwhelmed, his eyes revert to their merform, and his octo-strength comes out.”

Jamil furrowed his eyebrows. Floyd obviously didn’t want to share specific details, but he was still curious. “What kind of trouble?”

“Hmmmm… Well it wasn’t like an Overblot or anything,” Floyd laughed. “Had enough of those back at school, eh? It was just a… scuffle. Of some kind. Don’t worry about it.”

A ‘scuffle’ that traumatized all three of them–some of the most feared people back at NRC during their time–definitely sounded like something to be worried about, but Floyd didn’t seem inclined on sharing any more information on it.

“What if he gets stressed at work?” Jamil asked instead. “Do his eyes turn like that?”

Floyd shook his head. “As far as I know, he’s never been like that at work. No one else even knows that he has those moments except for you and me and Jade. And that’s why Azul just leaves the office whenever he gets super stressed. Can’t risk anyone else seeing him lose control like that.”

“But he lost control of his eyes and strength just minutes ago, is he really in shape to attend that event?” Jamil asked in concern.

“He won’t let us stop him, you know that,” Floyd said in resignation. “Best we can do is watch over him and make sure nobody irritating is around him for a long time. It’s a lot more challenging than you’d think, considering his colleagues and those suitors.”

“Suitors?” Jamil frowned. “There’s gonna be suitors there?”

“Those idiots are everywhere, man,” Floyd said with irritation. “At every work event, in the office… if the board of directors has anything to do with a place, there’s bound to be at least one suitor there. And a party like later? I’m betting at least five.”

Jamil pursed his lips and stared out the window. He reminded himself that he had no intention of being in a romantic relationship with Azul, so he shouldn’t be affected even if the man would be surrounded by flirty celebrities tonight.

He was there to observe the members of the board and find out their weaknesses. That was it. At most, he’d help Jade and Floyd make sure that Azul would stay as calm as possible the entire night, and even then he couldn’t get too close and risk being recognized.

Azul himself said that he could fix that whole MagiCam fiasco without Jamil getting involved. So after tonight, Jamil’s work would be done and he’d never have to get involved with Azul ever again.

——

“How dare you suggest such a thing?” Azul immediately rounded on Jade as soon as his phone call with Idia ended. “You know the history of my feelings for Jamil and yet you propose that he be my accomplice for such a stupid charade?”

“I was just suggesting one possible solution, a convenient and accessible one,” Jade calmly explained from behind the steering wheel, not taking his eyes off the road. “Besides, you had taken Jamil into your home for an indefinite amount of time. I assumed that whatever romantic feelings you had for him are now non-existent and therefore it would not be a problem to make such a deal with him.”

“They are non-existent,” Azul hoped that his infuriated tone would convince Jade of the lie. “But that doesn’t mean that I appreciate you taking inspiration from the board members when it comes to your ideas.”

“I apologize,” Jade said sincerely. “I did not realize how such an idea would come across. What did Idia say?”

“He was able to trace the path of the post, and it’s unlikely that any of the guests tonight would have seen that picture already. He said he could stop it from circulating any further for another week, but after that, the only way to prevent it spreading would be to take down the post itself, which could be seen as suspicious by people who have already seen it.” Azul pinched the bridge of his nose and reminded himself to stay calm. He couldn’t afford for his eyes to change again in the middle of the event.

After Jade had suggested that he marry Jamil—regardless of whether it would be a fake marriage—it was like he was back at NRC, being mocked and laughed at by fellow students for chasing after the man. Business strategy or not, his days of shamelessly convincing Jamil to work with him were over.

“For tonight, just worry about getting through the entire event while remaining calm,” Jade told him. “We’ll worry about the MagiCam post tomorrow; Idia has bought us enough time.”

“Right,” Azul nodded, taking a breath. “Just get through tonight.”

——

A while later, Floyd and Jamil walked into the venue, the latter immediately taking a moment to look around the area and its high-end arrangements. The colors of the floor were a glossy black, blue and white, as if they were walking along a path of stars. Floating baubles of soft golden light illuminated the space, with dark blue draperies and roses completing the set-up. People from high society—politicians, businessmen, celebrities—are flitting around, talking to each other over wine and dinner.

And speaking of dinner, a wide array of gourmet dishes were being passed around and served. It was to be expected for the launching of a restaurant, Jamil thought. He hadn't seen any other restaurant launch that was this fancy, though.

He found Azul among the crowd, but he kept his distance, instead looking out to see if anyone would recognize and approach him.

"Hey," He whispered to Floyd, who'd been eyeing the bar to the side with ominous interest. "Who here are the board members?"

The eel quickly responded. "That there's Janara," he pointed to a woman with a hood obscuring most of her features standing in the corner. "Very private. Keeps to herself a lot. When she does speak, she whispers all creepy-like."

He then nodded to two individuals: a stocky fellow with braided dark-brown hair as well as the edge of a glowing tattoo peeking through his collar, and a beautiful individual with long silver hair, a fancy gown of royal yellows and blues and stark-white pupils.

"Tattoo-man is Root and the one with the freaky eyes is Aali. They're both super into these kinds of fancy shindigs. Root's level-headed but he's got a temper, and Aali's got a tongue as silver and sharp as their hair. The two of them are the ones who pester Azul the most, so they're pretty annoying…” Floyd wrinkled his nose.

Then he pointed to a short but striking beastwoman surrounded by colleagues and sipping disinterestedly at her drink. She had cropped hair, dark make-up, raven wings and dark-violet clothes. "Hammery. She's cold and stubborn, but if you manage to get on her good side, you get on the whole board's good side. She's pretty scary. She reminds me of Ma sometimes… Ah, and then there's Ol' Gura."

A wizened-looking man with a solid shell on his back was sampling some of the food with a pleasant smile on his face, donning white cream-colored robes and a dark brown hat.

"He's a turtle beastman. He kinda comes off as sweet and old, but he's got powerful connections to all kinds'a companies and organizations for a reason—do not piss him off… Those are all the members who're attending today. The others are too busy doin' somethin' somewhere else. You gonna talk to any of them?" Floyd asked.

"I'm not sure. Probably not a good idea considering the precarious scandal hovering over my head…" Jamil muttered. "Thanks for giving me a heads-up, though. For a second, I thought you were gonna give me their sea-based nicknames."

"Oh, I have ‘em. You wanna hear 'em?" Floyd grinned.

"No," Jamil frowned. "What about suitors? See any you recognize?"

There was a moment's pause before Floyd shook his head, his mood souring at the very prospect. "None... so far."

"Ah, Mister Ashengrotto, you've finally arrived!" Gura greeted the young businessman from behind, voice thin and frail as he merrily held up a plate of confectionaries. "Such a lovely little party we have here. I reckon it takes you back to your first official launching—Oh! Here, have some pudding. It's raspberry!" He held out a spoonful of food to him.

"Mister Gura," Azul smiled amiably. "Thank you, but I just arrived and I don't want to skip right to dessert.”

"Ah, regardless, it is good to see you here! You have been away from the office for quite some time!" Gura said in a playfully scolding tone.

"You don't need me there much these days, Mister Gura," Azul replied just as playfully. "I heard that the company is doing quite well under the board's management."

While Azul and Gura were talking, Jamil's attention turned to the person who just walked through the door.

A lady with silky brown hair and an elegant red dress that complimented her frame.

Scarlet Coldfire had arrived.

Jamil tensed up, recalling all the rumors he learned about her and Azul.

"Psst, Floyd. Is that..?" He was about to ask, but then he turned and saw that the merman had gone over to sit by the bar, talking to a dark-skinned female bartender with yellow-and-black-colored hair (similar to a bumblebee), who was staring at him with suspicion.

Seeing that he was alone, Jamil looked back to see that Scarlet had spotted Azul, eyes lighting up in delight.

"Well, well! I didn't expect to run into you here!" the lady said in greeting. "I had figured you'd be too busy for these sorts of social stunts."

"Oh, he's hardly busy nowadays, unless you count him running away from us as part of his work," Gura teased. He extended out a hand to kiss Scarlet's knuckles in respect. "Miss Coldfire. A pleasure to see you in this lovely evening–Oh! Pudding?"

"My, don't mind if I do, Mister Gura." Scarlet hummed, taking a bite as she daintily tucked locks of her hair behind her ear. Jamil couldn’t help but dislike how alluring it made her look. "Mm! Raspberry chia! Lovely. Azul, have you eaten yet?"

They were on a first-name basis? Even more concerning!

Azul shook his head. "No, I had a late lunch so I'm not hungry yet."

Scarlet clicked her tongue. "I see you're back to your usual excuses. Mister Gura, you don't mind if I steal Azul for a while, do you?"

Gura chuckled. "Go ahead, dear. I don't think he would mind either.”

Scarlet laughed brightly and touched Azul's arm. "Well then, shall we? There are plenty of vacant tables. You got us dinner last time, right? Let me get this one."

"You do know the food is free here tonight? It doesn't count," Azul raised an eyebrow.

"Then I can treat you to dinner again tomorrow night," Scarlet said smoothly.

There was a second of them just staring at each other, then they both laughed.

Azul turned to Gura. "If you'll excuse us, Mister Gura. The lady wants dinner."

"Of course," Gura stepped aside and gracefully gestured to the tables.

Azul and Scarlet walked away still chuckling like they were sharing an inside joke.

Jamil felt a pang of jealousy shoot into his veins. He wondered what was so funny that it had them laughing so much. What did she do that was able to brighten his mood at the drop of a hat?

Unsure what else to do, he moved to the side so no one would notice that he'd just been standing listlessly for the past several minutes. He got handed a beverage by a passing waiter, and he took it but didn't drink. He knew he should be focusing on what he came here to do, but he couldn’t help but keep looking at Azul and Scarlet's way…

"You're new." Someone whispered.

He jumped and glanced over to see the quiet one, Janara, staring at him from the darkness of her hood. It really looked like there's nothing in there but the void.

"Er... Excuse me?" He asked.

"I know everyone who walks through these halls. You are a stranger amidst allies and adversaries. Why are you here?" she hissed.

"...I'm new to the business world," Jamil attempted, trying to look pretentious enough to belong. "I was given a personal invite by Mister Ashengrotto and the Leech brothers to attend and familiarize myself with a crowd of potential connections. Could you be one of them?"

The woman didn't respond for a while. Then she croaked, "What do you dabble in?"

"Nothing of the culinary sort, mind you. It's sort of why I feel out of place right now." Jamil said.

"...I don't like parties, either."

"Hm?"

"Conducting business in a gathering meant for pleasure... It's a gross combination. I wish to return to the cold perches of my office..."

"Oh. I'm... sorry to hear that. I'm Jamil Viper, by the way. I hope I'm not making this event any more uncomfortable for you."

"You and I… the same first two letters."

"What?"

"J and A… I am Janara. We both share the same first two letters in our name." She rasped, holding her own drink, which seemed completely untouched. "Very interesting."

"I… Right." Jamil decided to take a swig of his drink, feeling that this was going to be a long night. At least he's interacting with a board member now.

Meanwhile, Scarlet was sitting across Azul at a table, her gaze fond. "How have you been, darling? I've barely heard from you lately. A text or two surely wouldn't have killed you, would it?"

“I don’t seem to remember you sending any texts either,” Azul playfully replied.

“Touché,” Scarlet laughed, an pleasant sound that Jamil was beginning to dislike. “So have you been inviting anyone else to dinners while I was away?”

For a moment, Azul’s easygoing expression broke, showing hesitance. Then he blinked and his playful smile was back.

"Maybe," he answered vaguely. "You've been away a long time."

Scarlet rolled her eyes and shook her head in amusement. Then she leaned closer to Azul and said something too quietly for Jamil to hear, but it looked like she had asked a question.

Surprise flickered in Azul's face for a moment, then his smile became a little more relaxed, more genuine.

He leaned closer to Scarlet as well.

"... I'll let you know," was all Jamil could hear.

Jamil bristled at the entire interaction, and he excused himself from Janara's presence. "Sorry, I gotta go to the bathroom."

Janara simply nodded, sending him off with a "I’ll be watching you. I do that with everyone… Always…"

Upon entering the restroom, which was just as fancy as the rest of the building, Jamil lingered by the sinks to sort out his priorities. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

What do you think you're doing, Jamil? Stop getting distracted.

Knowing that he'd just end up staring at Azul and Scarlet the whole night if he was in the same room, he decided to head for the outdoor patio, where he found Jade talking with Hammery.

"Golden Silk's not a cheap resource, but they make a hell of a boost for abjuration concoctions. It prolly won't do much remedy-ing in the middle of an emergency, but when you're about to enter into a situation you can't trust? It'll do you right," Hammery muttered, her voice low for her short stature.

"Is it even more potent than Spider Dewdrops?" Jade asked pleasantly.

Jamil seemed to understand that they're talking less about business and more about alchemical ingredients like a couple of potionology students.

Jade noticed him then, and smiled. "Ah, it looks like we have company. Miss Talonfoot, this young man is Jamil Viper, a... special associate of Azul's."

"A special associate?" Hammery raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Then why have I never seen you before, Mister Viper, if you're so special to Azul?"

"I hadn't been around the area for some time." Jamil answered semi-honestly, looking at Jade and wondering what sort of narrative he wants to spin here.

"He had been traveling around, getting some worldly experience in—you know how it goes,” the eel-man explained, as calm as ever. "And Azul likes to keep associates as special as Jamil close to his chest, but since he's here, we figured it would be good for him to familiarize himself with the corporate world. And you have my word–he is legitimate."

"Introducing him into the business, hm? Up-and-coming entrepreneur?"

"It is up to him." Jade responded. "He is no entrepreneur yet. If he wants to be, he can. We just wish to familiarize him with these things because, well…" He gave Hammery a smile. "We figured it would be nice for him to know this side of Azul's life."

Hammery squinted and directed her gaze to Jamil, studying him much more closely. "I see..."

Jamil tensed up, beginning to realize that Jade's putting him closer to the position that he had suggested before they went to the party.

"Where is Mister Azul?" Hammery asked, looking around. "We haven't seen him in a long while. Did you come here together?"

"He's inside," Jamil lamely gestured, at a loss for words. "He's…er… talking with the other guests."

"Do you have any concerns, Miss Talonfoot? If so, you know you can always discuss it with me." Jade asked.

"My business is not so urgent that I would want to interrupt his 'peaceful' night, but I want to get to know this chap," Hammery gestured at Jamil, taking another sip of her drink. "Anyone who Azul gets directly involved with gets directly involved with us as a result, so you're either an additional new asset or a stain on our foundation. Let's find out which one you are."

She passed her empty glass to Jade and clasped her hands together. "Fetch me another drink, Mister Leech. Thank you."

"Very well." Jade bowed and made his way back inside, giving Jamil a quiet look of reassurance. "Enjoy yourselves, you two."

When the door closed, things were quiet for a moment before Hammery began to take a walk, gesturing for Jamil to follow. Wordlessly, he complied, worried about what grave he could be digging himself into.

Hammery led him to one of the vacant outdoor tables, gesturing for him to sit.

"So, Mister Viper, which side of Azul's life do you know?" she asked. "You see, most of us here are only familiar with the President Azul Ashengrotto; we know very little about the other aspects of his life. So forgive me if I'm intrigued to meet someone outside of his business."

"Well… I first met him when we were both students in Night Raven College," Jamil began. He couldn’t help but feel that this is an interrogation somehow. "We often got paired up for school assignments and event-planning, and... we just became close that way."

Close in what way? he asked himself. As friends? As something more? He still wasn’t sure what angle to go for, so he attempted to be as vague as possible.

"Oh, a former classmate of his?" Hammery said in interest. "Judging by Azul's age, you two would have graduated about… five, six years ago? Did you remain close throughout that time? Or did you simply reappear in his life recently?" she asked with more than a little suspicion in her tone.

Jamil did his best to navigate the situation. If she found out that anything fishy's afoot, then his presence in the party was gonna be called into question.

"We... didn't keep in touch right away," he slowly stated. "But I happened to run into him during one of my travels a few years back and we've been spending more and more time since then."

"I see," she nodded slowly. "Then are you the one who's been keeping him away from us these past weeks?" she said in amusement. "We'd been wondering where he spends his time in if not at work."

"Ah," Jamil pretends to look shy, which wasn't hard because he felt embarrassed knowing that that's more or less true. "It wasn't my intention, but Azul insisted and we both know that the man can get pretty stubborn and persuasive once he gets his mind set on something."

Hammery chuckled. "That's quite true. You must be rather close, then, if he would take so much time away to spend it with you."

Jamil heard the unspoken question in her tone. Before he could think much of it, he saw Azul and Scarlet walking in the distance somewhere behind Hammery. They had gone to the patio as well and it looked like they were about to start a conversation, but Aali appeared and greeted them.

The silver-haired newcomer smiled with half-lidded eyes at Azul, and Jamil noticed Scarlet subtly put a possessive hand on Azul's arm as she exchanged pleasantries with the board member.

Just like her, Aali placed their own hand along Azul's shoulder, smiling and chatting with the couple about something before momentarily moving to pull the merman away.

Scarlet held on fast, her demeanor pleasant, but firm. Aali arched an eyebrow at her.

Tensions would have risen then, when from the interior, another fellow walked out of the building to meet the group, flanked by a crowd of socialites and journalists. Based on the way he was the center of attention, dressed in a fancy suit that shimmered in a luminous blue and jewelries made from bone, he was clearly the center of the party—the man celebrating the launching of his restaurant.

He greeted Azul, oblivious to the growing tension between the other two. He seemed excited to see the merman, like he was meeting a celebrity he idolized and admired. As a result, the crowd that followed him turned their attention to Azul, filled with bright curious smiles and loud chatter.

"What's happening?" Jamil asked, growing alert.

"Hm?" Hammery glanced at the ruckus and shrugged. "Annoying party people being annoying party people. Why?"

Jamil stood up and started to head over since he couldn't help but feel concerned. "Excuse me."

Hammery didn’t stop him, watching how it would all go down with quiet intrigue.

"Mister Ashengrotto!" one enthusiastic journalist stepped forward. "Is Miss Coldfire your date tonight?"

"Ah, not exactly," Azul smiled pleasantly, but Jamil could see from his tense shoulders that he felt caught off-guard by the group. "She and I are just catching up."

"Do you have a date tonight, then?" another journalist piped up, and a camera flash came from somewhere, lighting up Azul's surprised face for a moment.

"Is Aali your date?" the crowd began to press around them.

Aali laughed pretentiously and waved a hand in false modesty. "Oh, stop it, you. If I were Azul's date, it would be very obvious and would leave no room for questions."

"There are rumors that Nikolai Pennington is vying for your hand. Is it true you'll be making an appearance in his next movie?"

Multiple camera flashes went off.

"Um, no," Azul spoke evenly despite looking momentarily blinded. "I have not heard of any movie—"

"But is he courting you?"

"Is he here tonight?"

Camera flash.

"Ah, he's not here," the owner of the restaurant said. "But he certainly is welcome anytime!" he laughed heartily and clapped Azul on the back.

"What are your thoughts on all of these, Miss Coldfire?"

"I think we should all go back to the party," Scarlet said sweetly.

"Mister Ashengrotto, would you be having a date at your birthday gala?"

"Is Miss Coldfire invited?"

Before Azul could answer, there was yet another camera flash that reflected off his glasses, and then a dramatic gasp from one of the journalists in the back of the group.

"Is this you, Mister Ashengrotto?" one reporter asked wide-eyed, holding up his phone and projecting a hologram in the air to show his MagiCam news feed.

It was the picture of Azul and Jamil kissing.

The group erupted in surprised gasps and overlapping chatter.

Surprise was unmistakable on Azul's face as the questions bombarded him while Aali demanded an explanation.

Scarlet gave him a concerned look and held his arm comfortingly.

Camera flashes came from everywhere.

"Who is this person?"

"Are you two dating?"

"Are they here?"

"How long has this been going on?"

They were cornering Azul against the wall, and the merman's face was becoming paler.

"Miss Coldfire, did you know about this?"

"Aren't you afraid of being seen as his mistress?"

"I beg your pardon?" Scarlet was evidently trying hard to remain polite.

"You're overstepping, sir," Azul said in a dangerously calm voice.

"How many people are you dating right now, Mister Ashengrotto?"

The camera flashes weren't stopping, and Azul held up a hand to shield his face, turning to the side. He seemed to be controlling his breathing, his shoulders noticeably rising and falling.

From where he stood, Jamil could just glimpse Azul's eyes from behind his glasses.

Horizontal pupils on piercing blue irises.

Jamil stepped in before he could second-guess himself.

"That's enough," he announced, voice ringing out into the still courtyard. The people stopped and stared for a moment, surprised, as he stepped in front to shield Azul. "He's under no obligations to answer any of your questions tonight."

"Ah, you're the guy in the photo... I think!" One of them piped up, looking over at their device.

This caused another surge of murmurs of shock and curiosity.

"And what if I am?" he said out loud, his face getting warm. "Isn't it normal to greet one's lover in an embrace?"

"What?!" Aali exclaimed.

"What?!" the crowd gasped.

Scarlet stared in wide-eyed surprise.

He's really in for it now.

"Now if you'll excuse us, Azul needs a bit of space to himself," he hurriedly stated, tugging onto the merman's arm to lead him away. This time, neither Scarlet nor Aali did anything to stop him.

But as they were walking, the crowd burst into an uproar and were about to surround them with a slew of new questions when two tall men blocked their path.

"I'm sorry, did you not hear what the gentleman said?" Jade grinned, a hand placed on his chest.

"Buzz off, lil' guppies, or we're gonna have to do this the fun way!" Floyd smiled, baring his sharp teeth.

The crowd effectively clammed up and backed away. Jamil heaved a sigh of relief and continued to tug Azul into the nearest empty area, which were the hedge gardens near the patio. He spotted Hammery as they left, but the woman merely stared back, sipped from her newly-delivered drink, and said nothing.

Once he was sure they weren't getting followed, he turned to Azul and held him securely by his shoulders. "Hey. Are... Are you okay?"

Azul was staring at him in bewilderment, his eyes back to their human form. "W-What— am I…" he stammered. "Jamil! Why would you do that?! You've made yourself a target!"

"I didn't know what to do, it was the first thing I could think of!" he hissed. "They found the photo—it was the only way to get you out of that mob of predators!"

"But now they'll be coming for you, too!" Azul hissed back, glancing around to make sure no one had followed them. He started to pace around. "Perhaps we can still take it back, you can say that you just said that to help me, and Jade can accompany you back to my house. Floyd and I will deal with them here. We can deny that you're the one in the photo."

"The damage has already been done." Jamil reasoned, watching him walk back and forth. "If we retract it now, they're only going to question it and get even wilder with their rumors. Plus, I've already talked with two of your board members and I think they're suspecting the same thing. Choosing to back out will only make them more suspicious…" He sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. I said things without confiding in you beforehand, and now you're stuck with me and this problem. I can just leave, say I'm some kinda fling that got presumptuous and brash, and I can take responsibility for the whole claim."

"What?" Azul stopped walking in front of Jamil and looked at him. "No, don't— No," he shook his head, walking closer. "Don't say those things about yourself. I'm just…" he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "This is a messy, ridiculous world, Jamil. I don't want you to be trapped in it, especially not for my sake."

"You're not trapping anyone," Jamil replied. "I was the one who started this when I kissed you in that parking lot. This is just the consequences of my actions coming full circle and I'm…"

He searched inside himself, trying to detect any notion of despair or fear, but he felt strangely calm.

"... honestly okay with facing it. Besides, it's like Jade said, this might be your best excuse to finally put that stressful bachelor thing behind you… Unless this arrangement is just stressing you out even more."

Azul looked surprised. "Jamil… Are you sure?" his eyebrows were furrowed in concern. "If we do this, it would be very difficult for you to back out. Even your travels might be affected if people recognize you in public. And I know how much you love to travel. I don't… I don't want to hold you back from that."

"You're right that it's a big decision to make on the fly," he admitted, thinking about the good and bad possibilities. "Traveling around might get… different, but I don't believe it'd be anything I can't handle. Even if they manage to wrangle me for an interview, it's not like I've got anything valuable to give them. Besides…"

He gave Azul a small smile. "I was already in pretty big trouble with the whole pin theft even before you came along. If I ever run into anything I can't face on my own… I now know I got someone I can lean on, right? The point is, at least for tonight, we'd benefit more by keeping up with the charade. We're gonna get pestered, but certainly not like how you were hounded mere moments ago."

Azul just stared at Jamil for a few seconds, then his gaze softened. "Thank you, Jamil. That couldn't have been easy for you to do in front of all those people and cameras. If there's anything I can do to make it up to you, just let me know."

It seemed like Azul still had the same mindset when it came to favors.

Jamil huffed but stayed silent. He knew that if he tried to argue on that front, they'd be standing here all night.

"Sure… By the way, before the paparazzi came in, were those two bothering you? They seemed like they were going to start an argument earlier."

"Hm? Oh, Scarlet and Aali? It did get a little tense between them, but I don't think they would have caused a scene. Scarlet especially wouldn't start a fight; she's always been composed and level-headed."

Jamil noticed that Azul seemed to smile at that remark.

"... It looks like you and Miss Scarlet are pretty close." Could that be why Azul didn't want this pretend arrangement to begin with? But he shot down having a fake relationship with her, too, when Jade first brought her up. "Do you think… she'd have a problem about us being 'together'?"

Azul shook his head. "No, Scarlet doesn't like me in that way, and her own businesses are successful enough that she doesn't need to marry into another company. I would still have to talk to her, but she won't get in the way." He looked at Jamil with worry. "Are you sure you don't have a problem with this? There will be interviews. We'd have to face cameras and talk about… us."

"Then... we might as well get our answers prepared so I won't just look like I'm making things up on the spot."

Azul opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of footsteps approached, and they saw two people with notebooks and a camera looking around.

Azul grabbed Jamil's arm and pulled him behind the tall hedge, pressing him against it.

"Shh," Azul whispered, his face mere inches from Jamil's. He was looking to the side to peek at where the reporters were heading, his hand still holding Jamil's arm.

Jamil stayed still, staring at the other and taking this moment to really think about how he feels regarding their current situation.

To be perfectly honest, a part of him felt smug at having asserted his connection to Azul in front of Scarlet and Aali, even if he's still not wholly sure how they both feel about him.

But more importantly, he's nervous about getting this right and following through. He could admit that these were messy circumstances... yet he really didn't regret it as much as he thought he should.

He knew within himself that Azul... definitely wasn't the worst person to get stuck in a fake relationship with.

"Are they gone?" he mouthed to the other, noting their close proximity.

Azul took a moment to double check, then he nodded.

"Yes, they—" he turned to face Jamil and seemed to realize for the first time how close they were, their noses almost touching.

Azul flushed and quickly stepped back, letting go of Jamil's arm.

He cleared his throat and looked away. "Yes, they're gone now."

"Cool..." Jamil mumbled, straightening up and brushing off any of the leaves and branches on him. "About the cover story, Hammery knows we met as NRC students and that we saw each other again after graduation when I ran into you by coincidence. All true things, save for the fact that I made it sound like the run-in happened a few years ago and that we've been keeping touch since then, hence why they've only known about my existence tonight."

Azul nodded. "They would certainly ask how long we had been together already. Fortunately neither of us had been in any relationships, so we can choose how far back or how recently we supposedly started dating. What time-frame would be comfortable for you?"

"Will we only be posing as boyfriends or as something with more commitment?" Jamil asked. "The time-frame can shift depending on that answer. Will they bother us more if we're just dating or if we're engaged?"

"There would be plenty of questions either way," Azul said, clearly displeased with the thought. "The board and any suitors would most likely stop pestering me about dating, though, if we say we're engaged. But would you really be okay with that?" he frowned in concern.

"I'm still here, aren't I?" Jamil replied. He placed a hand on his chin. "So it's been six years since we've graduated... Should we say we've reunited four years ago, got together around the following year then got engaged within the past few weeks?"

"So we've been together for three years and got engaged… let's say… two weeks ago?" Azul asked. "And you'd been traveling around and just got back on the day that photo was taken. How does that sound?"

Jamil nodded. "We can make that work... Anything else I should know about before we inevitably get back in there? For the time being, they're not expecting me to be business-savvy. Jade and I established with Hammery and Janara that I'm new to the whole thing."

"I think that's it for now." Azul took a breath and ran a hand through his hair, evidently still a little rattled. "If you want to leave at any point for whatever reason, just say you have a headache and I'll have Floyd drive you to my house. Here's a spare," Azul took a keychain from his pocket and removed one key, handing it to Jamil.

As he received it, the raven-haired man made an awkward grin. "A key to your house? Now it really does look like we're engaged... Do you not have the same luxury? It doesn't look like you were enjoying yourself at the party even before this happened."

Unless you count the time when he started hanging out with Scarlet…

"I'm sure Floyd and Jade would be happy to make sure you leave safe and unbothered," Jamil added.

"I just got here, I should stay for about an hour more, at least," Azul said. "It's important that the investors see my presence, especially since I didn't exactly gracefully handle the situation earlier," he sighed. "You don't need to wait for me."

"Nah. I'll stick around. I still have to meet the other board members, anyway. And people would think something's fishy if I were to leave on my own. Would you prefer it if we both kept our distance throughout our stay? It's alright if being together's just gonna bring us more unwanted attention."

"I think we will be met with questions as soon as we return. And while Jade and Floyd will be there to prevent us from being swarmed, they can't stop the reporters entirely without causing trouble for the company. It might be better if we answer the questions together to make sure that we tell the same story, in case they ask anything that we didn't anticipate. Is that alright?"

Azul's usually composed appearance still seemed uncertain. He hid it well, but Jamil knew him enough to see how nervous he was.

Jamil took a moment to think before nodding. "Okay. That sounds fine to me. Maybe this might not mean much from the guy who landed you here in the first place, but... We'll get through it somehow, even if it's just for this party."

He walked over, wondering if it was possible to comfort someone knowing that he was pretty much responsible for their worry. Should he hold out a hand..?

He did. "For the ruse," he said as an excuse. "We'll head back when you're ready."

Azul looked at Jamil’s hand for a moment, then took it. He managed a smile. "I think I'm ready now. And Jamil? Just so you know, I don't blame you at all for any of this. And I don't regret helping you that day."

"Oh," Jamil blinked, feeling a part of him exhale in relief. "I'm glad. I'm not mad or blaming you for any of this, either. So…" He gestured to the party. "Let's go show those fellows what a great couple we make."

Azul chuckled and led Jamil back inside.

There was a noticeable hush when they returned, though Azul was right and they didn’t get swarmed this time. Jamil couldn't see the twins, but he's sure that they're just watching.

Reporters and guests alike followed them with gazes as they approached the tables.

"They'll ask us questions as soon as we sit down," Azul whispered to him. "Get ready."

Jamil took in a breath, glancing at each and every one of the people eyeing them with great anticipation. Then he nodded, squeezing Azul’s hand. "Let's do this."

They took their seats at a table, and a moment later a reporter approached them. Jamil recognized him as the one who saw the photo on MagiCam.

"Mister Ashengrotto," he tried for a smile, standing behind one of the chairs. "May I ask for an interview with um… the both of you?" he glanced around nervously. Whatever the twins told them earlier, it seemed effective.

"Of course, have a seat," Azul gestured to a chair.

The reporter looked quite bright—literally. His hair, styled upwards, glowed warmly, bathing his dark skin like he's some sort of fire spirit. He cleared his throat and turned to Jamil. "Edwar Marks of the Whispers Tribune. I, and many others here, wish to know about why you chose to reveal such shocking information midway through the party."

"Well, we hadn't been planning on announcing it just yet, but I'm afraid that candid photo you found sort of left us with no choice." Jamil replied, stoic and composed, just like how he was when he got Azul out of the throng of guests earlier.

"So you were hiding it?" the fiery fellow remarked, eyes of molten gold blinking in surprise. "Is that why you both arrived in separate vehicles earlier? And why you chose to stay separate until this very moment? Whatever for?"

"You and I know how stressful it is to be in this industry," Azul said evenly. "I didn't want Jamil to deal with all of that by being associated with me in the public's eye."

"Oh how sweet!" Edwar's hair flickered excitedly. "That explains why none of your suitors ever swayed you, Mister A! Your heart was already taken by Mister Jamiiiil…?"

Edwar looked at him questioningly, pen poised on paper as he waited for Jamil's last name.

Would it be foolish to give them his real last name?

No, even if he gave a fake pseudonym, news of their engagement would spread, and their friends and families would catch wind of it and question its legitimacy.

"Viper," he smiled.

Edwar promptly nodded and jotted it down before perking back up again. "Right, then! So what sort of relationship are we looking at here?"

"Ah. We're engaged."

"ENGAGED!?" The rest of the room followed suit in gasping. "Such a passionate bond has been taking place underneath our noses this whole time!? But then..." he gestured at their hands. "No rings? Not even stealthy ones?"

"Er-- Of course not. We'd be found out right away," Jamil hastily replied. Then he gestured at his hair tie, which was adorned with a scarlet gem. "We gave each other a different sort of engagement token. Something more subtle. Azul gifted me with this one." He glanced at the other, falling silent to signal him to continue.

"And Jamil gave me this," Azul pointed to a purple gemstone pinned to his collar. "As he said, rings would be too obvious, but we still wanted to give each other something.”

"Aww," Edwar cooed. "And how long have you two been this way? Quite clever of you to hide it from all of us!"

"We just got engaged two weeks ago, when we went on a trip outside the city," Azul calmly said.

Edwar gasped. “Oh, is that why you said you were on vacation at the time? We were surprised when it was Mister Jade Leech who was running Mostro Lounge.”

"Ah, you still remember that?" Azul smiled amiably, and Jamil knew that he had deliberately been counting on the reporter remembering that detail to give more credibility to the story.

"Why, of course!" Edwar said proudly. "I interviewed you the day you returned, didn't I? And you know I never forget our talks," he touched a hand to his chest dramatically. "So," he leaned forward conspiratorially. "Who popped the question?"

Jamil felt Azul tense up beside him. They hadn't prepared for this.

"Er... I did," Jamil offered, looking awkward. "It wasn't anything fancy, though. I could never compete with Azul's grand lifestyle. I'm not all that rich or acclaimed for much, so... I try to make up for it however I can."

"It was more than what I could have asked for," Azul said fondly, smiling at Edwar like he's telling a friend a story. "I had been planning on proposing myself, so you could imagine my surprise when Jamil did it first."

"I think we were all surprised, Mister Ashengrotto!" Edwar let out a merry laugh. Then he turned to Jamil, readying his notebook again. "So, how did this proposal go, Mister Viper? Tell us everything!”

"Actually, Edwar," Azul cut in. "If you don't mind, I had actually been planning to take Jamil on a date tonight. We just stopped by here for the launch, but it's almost time for our dinner reservation," He looked at his watch. "I do apologize for cutting this short. If the Tribune would like, you can contact Jade and set up a proper interview," he smiled apologetically and stood up, then turned to Jamil. "Shall we, darling?"

Jamil internally huffed in relief, his head calming down from trying to scramble up a story. He nodded, keeping his eyes on Azul and following him out. The press expressed cries of disappointment, having formed into a line after Edwar, but they couldn't do much else.

"Dinner reservation?" Jamil inquired.

"We're going back to my house," Azul said, pulling out his phone and making a call. "Meet back home. Now."

He put his device back in his pocket and glanced around, noticing that the guests outside were eyeing them.

He turned to Jamil and smiled, then took his hand, lacing their fingers together. "Let's go."

Jamil blushed as if they hadn't just held hands moments earlier. Something about Azul initiating it had his heart start to race.

"Did I mess up or something?" he asked as they made their way to the parking lot, pretty certain that they hadn't been at the party for a whole hour yet.

"What?" Azul turned to him in surprise. "No, no," he squeezed Jamil's hand reassuringly. "I just…" he sighed. "I realized how unprepared we were. That was just one reporter, and already we were scrambling with the questions. It would especially be a problem if we forgot the details and gave a different answer to another reporter. We need to build a solid story first."

There was no one else around anymore... and yet their hands were still linked.

…

Jamil didn't let go until they got in Azul’s car.

"So you're not gonna get in trouble for having to leave early?" He asked. "Although I suppose that that means that we stopped taking the attention away from the launch celebrant. He might sport a grudge on you and me for making his special day about us instead.”

"Yes, it's fine," Azul said as he started the car, a subtle crease on his forehead. The frown remained as he drove, looking into the distance and not saying anything.

Meanwhile, Jamil's phone was buzzing with notifications.

Jamil, unsure what to do with the ensuing silence, picked up his phone and took a look at what all the fuss was about.

The most recent text was from Ruggie.

ure engaged to azul?!? we'd been working together for 2 months and u never told me?!! is this fr???

Ruggie had sent another text after that, a link to an article by the Whispers Tribune with the headline, "The Viper Who Caught The Bachelor's Heart".

Another text was from Najma.

YOU AND AZUL!!!! I KNEW IT! WHY DIDNT U TELL MEEE 😭😭

She had sent an article, too, this one accompanied with the MagiCam photo. The headline was "The Viper's Kiss".

Kalim had sent a text as well.

JAMIL!! CONGNATLATIONS!!! WHENS THE WEDDING? : D

All the other texts had come from the old NRC groupchat that Cater had brought back to life by sending the MagiCam photo and the link to the article.

Cater: OMG!!!!!! CONGRATS U GUYS! 😍😍😍 Epel: 😲😲😲 Ace: WTF Vil: Well, it's about time. Leona: yea, whyre u all surprised Riddle: Oh, they're engaged! How wonderful. My congratulations to you both, @Azul Ashengrotto and @Jamil Viper.

"Oh, Sevens... The others back at home and NRC are beginning to find out," Jamil frowned, eyes flitting through each of their posts. Why were there so many apparently expecting this? "Are we gonna have to act in front of all of them, too? I think at least a few of them, like Ruggie, can be trusted with the truth."

Azul nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. "Yes, I believe we can tell Ruggie, especially since he would be able to help us with the ruse. What about your sister? Do you think we can tell her?"

"I can't say for sure yet," Jamil ruminated. "She's normally trustworthy, but there's a chance she could blab by accident and be overheard by my folks back home…"

Oh man, his parents. Well, they're in for quite a shock. "Is there a chance your family's gonna hear about this?"

"Perhaps not right away," Azul's thoughtful frown became a little more noticeable. "Though my mother would surely want the full story once she finds out…"

The car slowed down to a stop at a traffic light.

"… Are you holding up alright? You seem worried about something."

Azul blinked the frown away and nodded, releasing a slow breath. He closed his eyes for a moment and rubbed his forehead.

"I'm fine. It's just… a lot. There would be many questions from the board, and we'd have to be careful every time either of us goes outside." Azul paused, then looked at Jamil. "You saw my eyes change, didn't you? That's why you intervened."

"... Yeah, I did. That's never happened before back when we were classmates. Floyd told me it started a few years ago. Do you feel… anything dangerous when it happens?" Jamil leaned back in his seat. "Also you don't have to tell me what happened. From what I could tell, it's a pretty distressing time for all three of you, and that's saying something."

Azul stared at him, searching his expression. "You're not scared? Even when you saw me like that twice today already?"

"No..." he shook his head. "Should I be?"

If he was being perfectly honest, he's more worried about Azul and how it affected him.

"No," Azul reassured him. "But… I get scared, sometimes," his voice faded out. He looked down momentarily before speaking again. "I'm still in control of my thoughts whenever it happens, but you saw how I broke the TV remote earlier without even realizing it. Sometimes I worry that I might hurt someone…"

Azul had a distant look in his eyes that Jamil was all too familiar with. He saw it whenever he had the courage to face the mirror in the days following his Overblot.

"You won't." Jamil stated. Though he has no basis for this statement, he was confident and clear in saying it. "You've got better control than most mages, even those who are way older than you. And whether the people around you can get hurt is not what matters—you're the one who's feeling hurt and scared in the first place."

Azul seemed surprised at his remark. He looked like he was about to say something, but the traffic light changed to green and he faced the road again to continue driving.

“Thank you… for what you did back there,” Azul said quietly. “My eyes had never changed in public before. They could have noticed it if you hadn’t stepped in. I know it wasn’t an easy decision to make, and I want you to know that you can back out of this at any point. The twins and I will handle things.” His expression was guarded and his voice remained level.

Jamil stared at Azul's tense posture. "... When do you think I'll back out?"

Azul frowned in confusion and glanced at him for a second. “I’m… not sure. I don’t mean to say that I don’t trust you to keep up the ruse, I’m just letting you know that you don’t have to work with me if it ever feels too troublesome. This isn’t like Flight Class where Coach forced you to help me—” he cut himself off and took a breath. “You’re not stuck in this, that’s all,” he continued quietly.

"... I know." Jamil muttered, keeping his eyes on the road.

He's not sure what he's going to do for his future travels now that he has this to keep up. Would it be more suspicious if he stopped all his trips entirely? It's not as if they're an urgent need.

He would still want to have that option available, though. He doesn't mind traveling around with the mantle of an engaged man—it most likely wouldn't change much of anything on his end. But what about Azul?

He's certain Azul would let him.

... But he wishes he could have Azul travel with him. Alas, the man's got many responsibilities he couldn't afford to ignore.

"I wasn't ‘stuck’ during Flight Classes, either… Just wanted to let you know. Point is . . . I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

Azul was silent for a few moments. Then he spoke softly. “Alright.”

They reached the merman’s house shortly, and before Azul could close the gate behind them, Floyd’s car pulled up.

“Heyyy~!” he greeted cheerfully, rolling down his window and parking next to Azul’s vehicle. Jade was sitting beside him in the passenger seat. “Congratulations to the new couple!”

Azul closed the gate using a remote control and went into the living room, entirely ignoring Floyd.

"Guess he's not in the best of moods now that he's 'engaged' to me," Jamil joked to the twins, watching Azul disappear into the house. "So how was the situation at the party after we left? Any violent reactions?"

“The reporters complained and wanted to set up interviews, but Jade told them to just email their requests. Scarlet asked us how Azul’s doing. That’s about it,” Floyd said as he and Jade got out of the car. “There was a scheduled presscon about the restaurant’s launch, anyway, so we slipped out when that happened.”

“And I wouldn’t worry too much about Azul’s bad mood,” Jade added with his usual pleasant smile. “I’m certain you aren’t the cause of it. Shall we head inside?”

Jamil nodded and followed them through the front door, falling quiet for a moment before asking, "Do you two... think I made a bad decision? Leaping into the fray without thinking like that?"

“Hell no!” Floyd said immediately, grinning. “Did’ja see everyone’s faces when you called yourself Azul’s lover?” he laughed heartily then sighed in content. “That was the best.”

Jade chuckled. “I also don’t think it was a bad decision. It’s admirable that you took quick action when you saw the situation. Besides, I had already suggested the strategy of your engagement with Azul earlier today, so what you did wasn’t entirely unplanned.”

“What Jade is trying to say…” Floyd draped an arm around Jamil. “... Is we’re real happy to have you as a brother-in-law, Sea Snake!”

Jamil spluttered in surprise. "Brother-in-law?! Wait, what does that... Were you guys related to Azul this whole time?"

“No, but he’s still our brother!” Floyd said, then leaned down to get his face close to Jamil’s, dropping his voice dangerously low. “So don’tcha dare break his heart, ‘kay?” He stared at Jamil with the same heterochromatic eyes that terrified their schoolmates back at NRC.

The raven-haired man tensed up at the threat. Floyd makes it sound like they're together for real... "I'll take care not to... Honestly, I'm glad that he's got you guys looking out for him. I suppose let's all do what we can to make sure this engagement farce goes off without a hitch."

“Yeah!” Floyd said cheerfully and straightened up, no trace of the ominous air that he displayed mere moments ago.

Jade just chuckled at their exchange and led the way to the living room.

They found Azul sitting in one of the couches, scrolling through his phone.

"I've gotten multiple emails from each of the board members," he told them without looking up. "Some congratulatory, others upset, all of them immensely curious. They're demanding a meeting sometime this week."

"That's hardly a problem, we can finish building your story tonight," Jade said confidently as he sat down on the couch across Azul. Floyd plopped down beside him, putting his feet up on the coffee table; at least he had the decency to take off his shoes first.

Jamil slowly made his way over to sit beside Azul, wondering whether or not to be close. Tentatively, he filled the twins in on what the public, including the board members, knew about them so far. "What sort of details are we still missing?"

"We need to figure out how the proposal went, since that's certainly a question they would be asking, as evidenced by Edwar earlier," Jade said, turning on his tablet. "Specific details aren't highly necessary, you can always say that you prefer to keep it private."

"What kinda questions did they ask you about Scarlet back then, Azul?" Floyd tilted his head.

"It was mostly just how we met and whether we were dating, which Jamil had already answered about us earlier," Azul said. "So their next questions wouldn't be about those things anymore."

"Who courted whom?" Jade asked, ready to type on his tablet. "Who initiated the romance?"

"It might be more believable if we say I did," Azul said slowly, frowning thoughtfully. "If they interview some of our old schoolmates—like Vil, for example—they can attest that I was the one who often sought out Jamil back then."

"Right, but it's not like anyone would say it was romantic or anything," Jamil commented, trying to think back on it. It certainly didn't feel like Azul was flirting... or had he been viewing it wrong somehow? "Still, that sounds like a good balance, you initiating the dating phase and me proposing. It really paints a picture of a lovey-dovey couple. How would you say the initial confession was like—the very moment we would have started dating?"

Azul thought about it. "Where were you three years ago? If we say that we were together on a particular day, we have to be sure that no one could disprove it. We should pick a time where I wasn't at the office, and you weren't with anyone else. We could say that I confessed to you three years ago in whichever country you were in."

"But did y'all get together immediately after you confessed?" Floyd asked. Then he turned to Jamil. "Didja give yer heart to Azul right away or did the courting last for a while?" he smirked, clearly enjoying building the story.

"Three years ago..? I was at the City of Flowers in the Shaftlands." Jamil replied.

"Ah, of course. The city of romance!" Jade beamed.

"I bumped into a familiar face there, but . . . I don't think he pried close enough to know that I had been traveling by myself at the time," the raven-haired man admitted, recalling his brief and accidental reunion with one Rollo Flamme, who's a teacher now at Noble Bell College.

As far as he could tell, he's still about as stern as ever—capable of giving even Trein a run for his money despite his younger age.

But more importantly…

"I probably would've said yes right away," he quietly replied, fiddling with his coat. "I would assume we've already been spending some time together at this point, right? I see no reason for me to let him court me any further."

He's already lost his chance once. At least this imaginary Jamil achieved something he wished he’d done.

"Alright, let's see…" Azul fidgeted with his cuff. "I was on leave from work for the first two weeks of February three years ago. They wanted me to host a birthday gala, and I wanted some time to myself before it. We can say that I went to you in the City of Flowers." He cleared his throat. "I confessed my feelings to you in the square by the bakeshop. We all spent some time there way back when we attended the masquerade and our old schoolmates can confirm that in case they're interviewed. I confessed there because it's special to us; we ate there with our friends after we danced. How's that?" he adjusted his glasses.

Jamil perked up at the memory. "Oh yeah... Sounds good. Although I recall that you didn't eat that much compared to our other schoolmates... Do you remember or liked any of the pastries they served there?"

"I liked the croissants," Azul recalled. "And the chocolate éclairs."

"That reminds me," Floyd sat up straighter. "Did you have dinner yet?"

"... No," Azul replied. "There wasn't time earlier."

"I'll see if there's anything to microwave." Floyd got up and walked to the kitchen.

"How about you, Jamil?" Jade asked him. "Did you manage to eat at the party?"

"Not at all. I can help cook… even if it means having to work with Floyd in the kitchen." he offered, beginning to get up from the couch.

"No please, you're our guest," Jade held up a hand to stop him. "I can help Floyd."

But before Jade could stand up, there was a ding in the kitchen, and Floyd returned carrying a tray with a plate of what looked like some type of bread.

"Pizza rolls!" he happily announced, placing the tray down on the table.

"I didn't have pizza rolls," Azul narrowed his eyes.

"But you had pizza. I rolled them." Floyd twirled his Magic Pen in his fingers and sat back down next to Jade.

"Ah, dinner is served," Jade chuckled then turned back to Jamil. "Now, what made you propose to Azul? How did you decide it?"

Jamil hummed in thought as he took a pizza roll. "What made me propose... Perhaps, after traveling around and coming back here, I decided that as much as I enjoyed it, nothing makes me happier than being by his side... Or is that too cheesy?"

"It's perfect," Jade smiled pleasantly and took note of it on the tablet. "And what made you say yes?" he asked Azul.

Azul took a moment to think about it. "I realized that through all the years of meeting people and making connections, I feel most comfortable with Jamil. And I liked the idea of coming home to him every night."

"How touching," Jade typed in Azul's answer.

"Ya better phrase it better than that in the actual interview, Azul," Floyd said. "That didn't sound romantic enough."

Azul just rolled his eyes.

Meanwhile, Jamil's picturing the image of welcoming Azul home, or maybe even vice versa. The thought of coming to a warm meal, a hug, maybe even a...

He blinked himself out of his stupor, clearing his throat as he looked at Floyd. "How would you know what did or didn't sound romantic? Have you dated anybody before?"

Floyd made a face. "No, but I know Azul can do better than that! What happened to yer fancy words?" he demanded Azul. "Ya always talk fancy in interviews, right?"

"We're just practicing the questions," Azul reminded him. "The flowery sentiments can come later."

"Here's a question for ya, Sea Snake," Floyd said. "How do you deal with your fiancé when he's too stubborn to eat?"

"Floyd," Azul said in annoyance.

"Don't gimme that face!" Floyd said, pointing at Azul with a pizza roll. "You fainted that one time because you weren't eatin'!"

"You will not say that in any interview," Azul glared at him.

"You fainted?" Jamil whipped around towards Azul. "Why weren't you eating?"

He glanced at their meal and offered one for him to take. "Surely you don't have to worry about keeping up appearances so much that you'd turn down a warm pizza roll now, would you?"

Azul hesitantly looked at the rolls, then looked at Jamil. He sighed and took one.

"I had a photoshoot for a magazine coming up in a week, and I got too stressed about not gaining weight," he said quietly, nibbling on the roll.

"But you had started eating normally again three days before the photoshoot, right?" Jade gently reminded him. "And it turned out fine."

"I suppose it did," Azul mumbled.

"Super fine, according to Nikolai Pennington," Floyd snickered. "He asked you out when that magazine issue was released, right?"

"He just wanted arm candy for the red carpet of his new TV series," Azul waved a hand dismissively.

"Who's Nikolai Pennington?" Jamil asked, feeling the familiar wave of jealousy prickling his skin. He has half a mind to bring his phone out to search him up. "Is he some kind of actor?"

"Yep, and model," Floyd said through a mouthful of pizza roll. "Kinda like Vil."

"He's actually worked with Vil in a movie once," Jade said. "The action-romance story gained quite the acclaim at the box office."

"He's a hot villain, not gonna lie," Floyd added.

"He certainly is quite talented," Jade said, amused at his brother's remark. "And he has shown up in every one of Azul's birthday galas."

"Because the board keeps inviting him," Azul scowled.

"He's an influential person," Jade shrugged.

"He's an insufferable prick," Azul countered.

Jade chuckled, taking a pizza roll for himself. "Regardless, he's busy filming his new movie nowadays. Perhaps he won't even be at your birthday gala this year."

"And even if he is, ya got Sea Snake now," Floyd pointed out. "So he can't keep flirtin' with ya anymore."

"Hopefully the engagement's a strong enough buffer to keep him at bay, then..." Jamil muttered. "Yanno, with all these people pawing for your attention, I'm surprised that you are still single, Azul. Only ever married to your business for the rest of your life or something?"

"I simply don't like any of them," Azul gave a half shrug.

Floyd snickered but said nothing.

"How about you, Jamil?" Jade asked in interest. "Any former paramours that might have objections with your engagement announcement?"

He shook his head. "My travels were pretty much focused on some badly-needed 'me time', so there wasn't much leeway to include anyone else. I made friends, but I'd hardly call them 'paramour material'. And you? Found someone to share your love for mushrooms with?"

"Ah, no," Jade smiled. "I still manage my greenhouse all by myself."

"And a good thing, too. I don't need a second person to cook me mushrooms all the time," Floyd made a face.

"I think I'm heading to bed now," Azul sighed as he rubbed his eyes under his glasses. "Set the interview for this coming Saturday," he told Jade.

"You haven't finished your food, Azul," Jade gently pointed out.

Azul looked down at the pizza roll in his hand like he had forgotten about it. He had eaten less than half.

"I'm not hungry," he mumbled, putting the roll back on the plate.

"Why not?" Jamil asked, looking at Azul in concern. "A good rest involves adequate sleep and food. Is it the fact that it's a pizza roll? I can go and cook something else for you if it can help. Or maybe it's indigestion... I can brew you tea. Do you want tea?"

Azul pursed his lips, hesitating as he was about to stand up.

"We'll be taking our leave now so you two can rest," Jade said. "Just message us if you need anything."

"And get some food in that guy," Floyd told Jamil as he and Jade stood up.

"Thank you for tonight, you two," Azul said quietly.

"Anytime," Floyd made finger guns and clicked his tongue.

Jade put a hand to his chest and tipped his head kindly. "We'll show ourselves out."

And then it was just Azul and Jamil.

"You don't have to cook anything for me," Azul said, taking his pizza roll. "I'll just finish this. But… some tea would be nice," he managed a smile.

Okay, that's something, at least. He nodded and made his way to the kitchen counter, putting up the kettle and boiling the water. "Do you have a preference?" he called out to Azul.

"Not really," Azul said, following him into the kitchen and bringing the plate of rolls over to the counter. "And feel free to cook anything you like if you're still hungry."

"Nah. Wouldn't feel right to use a guy's cooking equipment and just feed myself. The rolls are enough," Jamil replied, turning to the shelves to see what sort of teabags they've got. As his eyes roamed the interior, a thought crossed his mind. "... What was it like? Buying and sleeping in this fancy house for the first time? Were the Leech twins still rooming with you then?"

"Yes, we all lived together," Azul said. "It wasn't that much different from rooming with them in Octavinelle, except I didn't have a responsibility over them as Prefect so I felt more relaxed. I correctly anticipated Floyd's chaotic bathroom habits, so I had chosen the bedroom with its own bathroom. Jade didn't mind sharing a bathroom with Floyd as long as he got to have the garden for himself.

We had chosen a house with a pool for whenever we had to shift back into our merforms, though of course Floyd used it and swam whenever he liked. We used to have fights over who had to clean the pool. I said he should since he used it the most, and his counterargument was simply that he didn't want to," he said in amusement.

Jamil smiled at the very thought. "Classic Floyd... What made them move out, then? Did it get… a little lonely when you first woke up to an empty house?"

"Jade wanted to live closer to a university for his alchemy research as he still has a fondness for foraging for ingredients and making potions. Meanwhile, Floyd said he wanted to see what it's like to live by himself," Azul replied. "It was a little lonely at first, since I've spent the previous years seeing them every day since NRC. But I still saw them at work, with Jade being head of the PR department, and Floyd being head of security. Plus we made time to hang out."

Azul looked at him curiously. "How about you? Did it ever feel lonely, traveling by yourself?"

Jamil hummed in thought, recalling the mornings and the evenings where he'd be somewhere new, sometimes with strangers sharing the same living accommodations, sometimes on his own.

"It was strange for a while, not hearing the bustle of the Asims' staff or waking up to someone telling me to attend to something, but don't get me wrong, I saw that as a good thing. I don't miss my old life, but traveling alone definitely gave me room to appreciate the times where I do get to hang out with friends. How did your mom feel when she learned that you weren't coming back to the sea after you graduated?"

"I went home for several months after graduation to spend time with her, and she was alright with me pursuing my business plans here as long as I visit her every month for a few days…" Azul looked down and idly twirled the pizza roll in his hand. He had a worried frown on his forehead.

Jamil caught the minute change of his expression. "... And when was the last time you visited her?"

Azul blinked and looked at him, as if coming out of his thoughts. "About a month ago. Which means… I have to visit her again soon. And I want to. I love her and I do enjoy spending time with her. It's just… She would want to know about… our arrangement." He took a breath before speaking again. "News from land travels even under the sea, and my mother actively keeps up with any news about me. If she hears of my engagement from someone else, she might think I didn't care enough to tell her myself."

He idly tore the roll into smaller pieces and finished eating it, though he didn't look like he was tasting the flavors at all.

"Then let's go and visit her when it's time," Jamil offered. "We can tell her that we hadn't told her because… erm … we wanted wedding preparations organized before we told our family and friends. We were trying to keep it on the downlow as a private event but, well, the paparazzi just got to us."

Azul looked surprised by his response, then he recovered and nodded. "What about your parents? Do we tell them the same thing?"

Jamil sucked air through his teeth. "Now that... is an interesting thought. Things between us aren't the absolute best since Kalim's dismissed me and my family from a lineage of servitude, but... I suppose they'd still like to know if I ever have someone special in my life, so yeah."

Azul nodded and stood up, gesturing at the pizza rolls. "Do you still want these or should I put them in the fridge?"

"... Wait," Jamil takes one more roll. "Okay, now you can take them away."

As he finished his food, he got Azul's tea ready—a peppermint brew—and placed the teacup on a saucer. "I don't think I can make it as good as Jade does, but... I hope this suffices."

Azul transferred the rolls in a covered container and put them in the fridge.

Then he returned to take the cup that Jamil had prepared. He blew on it to cool it down and gingerly took a sip.

"It's good," Azul gave him a small smile, but now that they were facing each other with only the counter between them, Jamil could see the hint of sadness in his eyes.

Azul put down the cup on the saucer. "Since the actual thieves at the restaurant have been caught, it's safe for you to go back to your apartment whenever you wish."

"... Oh," Jamil realized. "Right…"

Silence hung in the air for a solid moment. Jamil had completely forgotten about that initial arrangement.

He supposed he should go; he didn't want to impose on Azul any further.

And yet…

"Would it be wise for us to sleep in separate buildings? On the off-chance that I get caught again by more paparazzi, people might get suspicious that I'm sleeping somewhere else given my background. However, if you need some time to yourself right now, then I understand. Just give me a text when you need me."

With that, he started to clean up, preparing to leave.

Azul was silent for a moment, tapping his fingers on his teacup.

"I'd been thinking the same thing, actually," he said as Jamil washed the kettle and put it away. "You travel a lot and we're supposedly newly engaged. They would expect us to want to spend as much time with each other as possible. Would you be alright with staying here for longer, though? I know how much your solitude means to you."

Jamil gave Azul a reassuring smile. "You don't have to worry. I kickstarted this plan, so it's only right that I follow through. Besides, it would be hard for me to fulfill Jade and Floyd's wishes of making you eat if I'm somewhere else. I'll certainly have to inform my landlord that I might be moving out, though... Thankfully, I don't have much to pack. Will we be busy tomorrow? I can take that time to transfer all of my belongings here."

"We're not busy tomorrow, no," Azul said. "And don't mind what Jade and Floyd said, you don't have to worry over my meals," he returned Jamil's smile and took another sip of tea.

Jamil shook his head. "But the thing is, I'm worried with them. Even if they hadn't said anything, I'd still want you to eat, too."

Azul hummed thoughtfully. "How about we take turns cooking dinner? I'd be more comfortable if I can make sure you eat, too."

"Sounds more than fine to me… However, I thought you're a busy man, busy enough that you don't have much time or energy to cook on your own." Jamil leaned against the counter, amused. "And yet you're offering it for lil' ol' me? How touching."

Azul raised an eyebrow and leaned forward as well, a playful smile curving his lips. "Of course, you're my fiancé, aren't you?" he said, mere inches from Jamil's face.

Jamil’s heart began to flutter, a portion wishing that what Azul said was actually true. He hastily brushed that aside in favor of him raising an eyebrow as well. "Oh? Be careful, Mister Ashengrotto. If you keep saying stuff like that, I might actually start to believe you."

"Maybe I want you to, Mister Viper," Azul said, dropping his voice to a low purr.

His borderline flirtatious smirk reminded Jamil of Alchemy classes and late-night library studies, where he and Azul bickered and flustered each other much to the annoyance of their classmates.

Jamil found himself chuckling fondly.

"Same old Azul," he muttered, shaking his head to recompose himself and clear away whatever feelings the other’s voice stirred within him. He straightened up again. "If that's how you talk to people privately, no wonder you've got all of them vying for your hand… Anyway, I'll be moving my stuff tomorrow. When I come back, we can start making… 'wedding' plans in case interviews and our families want to touch up on that."

Azul nodded and finished his tea. "Right. Also, I don't talk to anyone else like that," He made a face at the very idea. "Like I said, those who were 'vying for my hand' are really after the company, not me." He took his cup and saucer and went to the sink to wash them.

"... Do you ever want to actually find that special someone someday?" Jamil wondered aloud.

Azul's hands froze for a moment while washing the cup. "I don't know. I'm often busy with work, and I don't want to ask anyone to put up with that." He kept his back turned to Jamil, putting the cup on the drying rack and proceeding to wash the saucer. "How about you? Any future plans to actually get married?"

Jamil just shrugged. "It'd be nice if it were to happen, but it's not really a priority of mine. Plus I don't think I'm gonna get any prospective dates now that people think I'm engaged… but I'm not complaining. You make for good company, pretend or otherwise."

He then gestured to the stairs. "Anyway, guess it's time we call it a night, huh? I'll see you tomorrow, Azul."

Azul nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow."

——

Now that he was alone, Jamil found himself staring at the ceiling from his bed, letting the last few days play out in his head.

From their chance reunion with his reckless stunt to living with Azul, rekindling some long-forgotten feelings... to being "engaged", thanks to another reckless ploy.

It felt right in the moment, but now he wondered if he's dabbling in something dangerous here.

A selfish part of him was undeniably pleased with these turn of events. However… Azul seemed upset throughout the entire night. Something had been on his mind and Jamil hadn't been successful in discerning it.

Could he have been trying to meet and court with someone at that party? It's hard to tell what's a lie and what's true from Azul's lips, but there was no denying that he had been acting off ever since Jade proposed the engagement con.

But then the things he said back in the kitchen when their faces were so close to each other... Did he actually mean those or..?

With all the questions roiling in his head, he sighed and sat up. He couldn't sleep at this rate, so he decided to go down and get himself a drink.

When he got back from the kitchen, he thought that he could perhaps lounge for a bit until he felt tired, so he sat on a couch and turned the TV on, making sure that it's as quiet as possible.

——

Azul laid on his bed with his pillow pressed over his face.

How could he so shamelessly flirt with Jamil after everything that had happened?

As if it wasn't bad enough that his feelings for him had resurfaced after all these years, now they had to act like an engaged couple in public.

It was a good thing that Jamil had no plans to get into a real relationship anytime soon; at least he hadn't ruined that part of his life.

He didn't even want to imagine how their conversation with his mother would go.

He removed the pillow from his face and put it under his head, slowly calming down. He would just have to distance himself from Jamil outside of their arrangement. That would be best for both of them.

His bedroom suddenly felt claustrophobic, a strange and alien concept to the version of him that wanted to hide in small pots when he was younger. He sighed and sat up, getting the book from his nightstand. Perhaps reading a few chapters in the spacious living room would help him relax enough to sleep.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he noticed light coming from the TV, softly illuminating Jamil on the couch, who must have heard his footsteps because he turned to look at him.

“Ah, I didn't realize you were here," Azul said, suddenly feeling conscious in his dark gray sweatpants and deep purple hoodie. He’s pretty sure that Jamil’s never seen him dressed this casually before. He glanced back up the stairs before looking at Jamil again with a polite smile. "I shall leave you to your privacy."

He turned to leave.

Jamil sat up straighter. "Whoa, whoa, this is your house. I should be the one to go and leave you to it. I just... couldn't really sleep."

Azul shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous, Jamil. This is your house now, too." He paused, considering whether or not to go back to his room. Then he faced Jamil again. "Why couldn't you sleep? Are you alright?"

"Ah. Yeah, yeah, I'm okay... It's just a lot of thoughts. You know how it is." He gestured to the spot next to him. "If you want, you can... um…. sit here, too. I think we can both be in the same room for a little longer without either of us losing it."

Azul tightened his grip on his book.

More than half a decade later and it seemed like he still couldn't resist an invitation from Jamil.

Fine. I'll distance myself from him…

… Starting tomorrow.

"Alright," he relented, walking over. “I see you’ve found the spare remote,” he said lightly.

Jamil chuckled. “Yeah, seems to be working perfectly.”

"What are you watching?" Azul asked as he sat down beside Jamil.

"Not sure yet. I'm channel-surfing. Are there any shows here that you'd recommend?"

Azul hummed thoughtfully. "What are you in the mood for? Music, movies, animated shows?"

"Hm... Maybe a lifestyle channel or a documentary would suffice for now. Nothing too investing, but something a tad more fun than just the news."

He eventually landed upon a show detailing the history of different landmarks throughout the world. He placed the remote down, glancing at the book in Azul's hands. "What's that you got there, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Ah, it's just a collection of different myths and fairytales," Azul held up the book to show the illustrated cover. "Jade gave me this as a birthday gift last year, but I never found much time to read it; I'm only halfway through. Are you familiar with any of these?" He showed Jamil the titles.

Jamil peered over and scanned the table of contents. "Some, not all. A lot of these came from their respective region of origin... Do you see any stories here that originated from the Coral Sea?"

"Yes, including the one I just finished reading," Azul began turning the pages. "The one where a mermaid princess made a deal with the Sea Witch to have legs so she can be with the human prince she fell in love with. But according to that deal, she would turn into sea foam within a month if the prince didn't love her back, which is precisely what happened." He turned a page and showed Jamil an illustration of foam dissolving into the sea.

"Not exactly an uplifting tale," Azul said lightly. "And if the purpose of the author was to discourage merfolk from coming to the surface, it certainly didn't work."

"Well, that wasn't what got her, right? It was the unrequited love." Jamil pointed out before quirking an amused smile. "So as long as you guys don't go around falling for people here and there, then you're all good with the sea foam aspect."

"Or we could charm the people we fall for so they'd fall for us in return," Azul said playfully. "By the way, it doesn't make the news as much, but there's also a line for Jade and Floyd's hands, did you know? There have been events where it was me who had to get them out of suitor situations."

"Really..!? Huh... Then it sounds to me like they all should be learning those charm spells, 'cause it seems like they haven't been making any dents at the bubble you three made between yourselves," Jamil joked, then he had a realization. "Oh, but you said you actually used to like someone, right? Have you made any serious effort to pursue him when that was still a thing?"

Azul felt caught off-guard, and he carefully crafted a neutral expression on his face. "Oh, um… I didn't see the point, I suppose. He never liked me, even as a friend. I'd just be humiliating myself if I proclaimed any romantic feelings.”

"Huh. Sounds like a jerk. What made you like him, then, if he wasn't even giving you the time of the day?"

Azul smiled in amusement. "Not liking me doesn't make a person a ‘jerk’, Jamil. He was just… determined. He had goals and dreams, and all his focus was on working towards them. There was simply no room for me or anyone else. Still, I was drawn to him because I admired his tenacity and his ability to know what to do and when to do it. We were similar in our intelligence and cunning; everyone else thought so, too, but he would never admit it," he chuckled, remembering all the times Jamil rolled his eyes at the very idea of them being alike in any way. "I offered on multiple occasions to help him achieve his goals, but… he didn't trust me. I don't really blame him, though. I didn't exactly have a trustworthy reputation even back at NRC, right?"

"Oh... That is a shame. I guess that was true… but it's too bad he never saw past that side of you.”

Azul glanced down at the sea foam illustration and said nothing.

Jamil turned to look at the TV again, fidgeting with the strings of his hoodie. "If he ever were to show up again... and expressed feelings towards you after all this time, how do you think that'd go?"

"I don't want to think about it at all," Azul said in an even tone. He had made considerable efforts to try to forget the feeling of having Jamil’s hand in his. "Besides, that's highly unlikely to happen. How about you, then?" he redirected the conversation. "What about that chap you liked? Do you have any plans of pursuing him someday?"

Jamil sighed. "Like I said, it's not a priority, but..." his voice turned wistful, an expression flickering on his face that disappeared too quickly for Azul to decipher. "I think it'd be nice to have another shot someday, but I'll already consider myself lucky if we can at least stay on good terms."

"Lucky? Why? Weren't you always on good terms?" Azul asked.

"Hard to say, honestly. I can never tell how well I can read that guy. I hope we're on good terms, but who knows what he's thinking?" He leaned back against the couch's headrest. "Anyway, we prolly shouldn't linger on topics of lost love considering our current situation, huh? Sorry if I made things awkward throughout that."

Azul chuckled, leaning back against the headrest himself. "You didn't, don't worry. And… lost love, huh? So you loved him? What did he do that caught the heart of our resident viper?" he said playfully, wistful yet genuinely curious.

"Okay, maybe 'lost love' is a little extreme," Jamil blurted out, his face reddening. "And even then, it's not exactly as romantic as how the movies do it. I just... got used to him being around, and then I realized later on when it was already too late that I wanted him to stick around. It's a selfish and unfair thing to ask, though, especially when I've never shown much reciprocation to many of his approaches, so..." He shrugged. "I can only hope and wish him all the best."

Azul fell silent for a few moments. He wondered who this mystery man was that had Jamil so enamored, but he decided that it didn’t matter. Whoever he was, he had a better chance at a future with Jamil than Azul could ever hope for himself.

"You can always go to him after our arrangement is done,” he told Jamil sincerely. “The whole engagement facade would most likely only have to last for a few months. You can even tell him that our relationship was just a ruse, if that would help your chances."

A smile appeared on Jamil’s lips. "Noted... So is that your favorite story in that collection so far?" he gestured at Azul’s book.

"Hm? This seafoam disaster? Not at all," Azul wrinkled his nose. "I don't know if I have a favorite, but it's certainly not this one. The princess should never have agreed to such a deal. And that's coming from me. Even my most questionable deals never ended in death.”

He closed the book and placed it on the table, then leaned back against the couch.

"So. You like documentaries, then?" Azul asked.

"They're informative," Jamil nodded at the screen. "Before I traveled around, I'd watch trip-oriented ones, just to picture what it would be like to visit that place. Now that I can just do that—to an extent—shows about history have grown pretty interesting, too. But I also enjoy the occasional wildlife feature… and admittedly, Reality TV. It’s entirely unproductive, but a definite guilty pleasure."

Azul smiled. "What's your favorite place so far, among all those you've visited?"

Jamil's eyes twinkled. "At the Shaftlands, I happened to run into Jack, and he and his family took me to a nearby ski resort. From there, we viewed the aurora borealis at night. Even though I was practically freezing to death, it was breathtaking. I'd love for you to see it— Ah. I mean..! N-Not that you need me to take you there! Just… whenever you three plan on taking a vacation someday, you should try going. You'd be right at home with the colder weather."

Azul nodded. "I've seen pictures of the aurora borealis there, and it does look lovely. I can only imagine how much better it would look in person." He stifled a yawn and leaned back a little more on the couch. "I don't know when I'll be able to take a vacation abroad, though. I mainly just consider my visits to my mother as my vacation."

"Ah. Well... You don't know. Sometimes a perfect opportunity might unexpectedly come from just around the corner," Jamil shrugged.

"Perhaps," Azul said, though he didn't really believe it. "Where did you plan on going next, after here?"

"The Kingdom of Heroes, particularly around the bay area. Ortho told me to inform him when that happens, since I guess he's got something over there that he wants to show me," Jamil replied. "Can you believe that kid actually looks older now? I think he's been upgrading himself through every passing year."

"I actually haven't seen him in a while," Azul mused. "I should visit Idia soon, and Ortho is always there for board game nights. Let me know whenever you wanna go to the Kingdom of Heroes. We can plan it so that no paparazzi would bother you on your way there."

Jamil turned to him, curiosity in his eyes. "... Will you be going with me if I do?"

Azul returned Jamil’s gaze, unsure about what he meant. "... I mean… We don't have to go together. The public will know that you travel alone a lot even when we're supposedly in a relationship. They won't find it suspicious even if I don't go with you. Our arrangement will not be imposing on your travels."

"Oh, I know that, don't worry…” Jamil shifted in his seat. “But can you go if I say I want you to come with me?"

"You… want me to go with you?" Azul blinked.

"I think it'd help you, to get away from it all for a little bit,” Jamil replied. “And... yeah, since I've gotten us engaged, getting you to relax somewhere is the least I can do. Plus, you said it yourself: you want to visit the Shrouds again, so let's do it."

Azul thought about it for a moment. It certainly didn’t sound like a bad idea to travel with Jamil. He nodded and gave a small smile. "Sure. Do you have any particular date in mind?"

"Perhaps around early March? How does that sound?" Jamil asked, an excited twinkle in his eye. "Any date is fine, really, as long as it's not gonna interfere with your work."

"Alright, I'll make the necessary arrangements," Azul smiled back. "How did you manage to convince me to take a vacation in less than five minutes? You're dangerous, Viper," he said playfully.

"I think it's all those years of being Kalim's negotiator," Jamil sincerely answered. "Glad to see that I haven't lost my touch just yet."

Azul chuckled and turned to watch the TV. They fell into a comfortable silence, watching different historical places be described and explained by a narrator's voice.

——

During the Elephant Legacy segment, Jamil felt something gently bump against him.

He looked over to see that Azul had fallen asleep on his shoulder. The merman's hand had dropped to the couch in his sleep, the back of his hand touching the back of Jamil's.

Even with the documentary prattling on, Jamil's eyes lingered on Azul's open palm, something devious within him whispering that he can take advantage of this moment while the other is none the wiser.

He shook his head. Even if it's something as light as hand-holding, such thoughts could snowball into more dangerous territory, so it's best to curb the desire as soon as possible. Besides, he would not know how to defend himself should Azul end up waking in the middle of it.

More importantly, though, it seemed the universe still wished to toy with him, having Azul be so close like this yet feel so far all at once.

He took in a deep breath and sighed, hesitantly leaning his cheek on top of Azul's head.

They really must look like a couple right now, don't they..?

Jamil’s heart fluttered once more, and he closed his eyes, reaping the moment for what it's worth.

Though things could only get as far as this, he couldn't help but be happy that—even if it's all a ruse—they have each other now, dozing together on a sleek couch in the middle of a quiet night.

——

<- Chapter 2

(Masterlist)

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watercolor-hearts · 10 months

Text

(Not so) secret relationship for @lecsainz56. I hope you like it! 😊

(I was too scared to use Google Translate Spanish but in my mind Carlos' family speaks Spanish in the story so please imagine it like that. 😃)

Carlos/Charles • 630 words • secret relationship • fluff • (after) first time • cuddling/snuggling • (a bit of) angst • nsfw (I think. I'm still not sure what counts as nsfw. But this has some nudity and things like that in it.) • Ao3 link • 2nd part

Charles' breath tickled Carlos' skin as the boy was lying on his chest in all post-sex glow a few minutes after their first time with each other.

“We should have a shower,” Carlos said, caressing Charles' cheek with his thumb. Charles was beautiful like this, his green eyes glowing, a soft smile on his face as he was levitating between a dream-like place and reality. He had never imagined their first time could be this amazing with Carlos being incredibly gentle, taking time to prepare him, not wanting to cause pain or any discomfort, always asking for permission and everything. It was like a dream.

“We'll have time for that later too,” Charles whispered, drawing shapes on Carlos' right upper arm, enjoying that nobody will bother them because they're alone as Carlos' parents have gone from home for a few days.

“You like to snuggle, no?” Carlos asked, sliding his left hand down on Charles' back all the way to his ass, resting it on the cheeks. They were lying on Carlos' bed, all naked, Charles' body sticking to Carlos' because of Charles' own cum on his stomach. They should really have a shower but Charles enjoyed the snuggle too much to care.

“Mmm,” he mumbled, “best part. The sex was amazing too, but this... This makes it special.”

“Yeah,” Carlos agreed, kissing Charles' head and then closing his eyes. They deserved a few minutes of cuddling before the shower. There was no reason to rush.

***

“Carlos!” a female voice shouted, “We're home.”

Carlos jolted back from his half-sleeping state, making Charles wake up as well.

“Fuck, Charles, they're home!” Carlos panicked, quickly getting up to get dressed. “You need to go. They don't know I'm gay. They can't see you. Oh my god.”

“Fuck,” Charles jumped off the bed, “Weren't they going to come back tomorrow?” he asked, getting his underwear on as fast as he could.

“They were,” Carlos whispered, “I don't know why they're already back.”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck! What to do now?” Charles asked when he was ready to go but didn't actually know how he should escape so Carlos' parents wouldn't see him.

“Sneak out on the window,” Carlos said, “You can't use the door because they would notice you.”

“Yeah, okay, okay,” Charles nodded.

“Carlos, are you alright?” Carlos' mother asked, her voice sounded closer than previously. The panic rose even higher in Carlos, his heart thundered, and breathing quickened. She can't see them. She can't know about them. Not yet.

“Hi, Mom, I'm okay, I just woke up,” Carlos shouted, hoping it was enough for his mother not to come to his room and check on him. “Quick, come here,” Carlos said, opening the window for Charles. “Be careful, I don't want you to hurt yourself. I'm sorry about... This. We'll find another chance to be together soon.”

“Don't worry,” Charles said, squeezing Carlos's hand, “Your safety is more important.”

“I love you, cariño,” Carlos whispered, giving Charles a quick kiss.

“I love you too. Goodbye,” Charles smiled after the kiss and then started climbing out of the room.

“Goodbye,” Carlos said, and then tried to take a few deep breaths to calm down and seem normal.

When Charles landed in the yard, Carlos started to close the window but the familiar manly voice he heard made him freeze.

“Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my yard?!”

Carlos couldn't move, couldn't think. He felt like he was gonna faint.

“Mr. Sainz I... I...” Charles tried to say something but failed.

“I'm going to call the police you fucking thief!”

“Dad, no!” Carlos shouted out of the window when he realized what his father was going to do.

The conversation after this wasn't going to be an easy one.

#charlos #charles leclerc #carlos sainz jr #formula 1 fanfic #formula 1 #my writing #lecsainz56 #dream turned into a nightmare

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twilight-resonance · 3 months

Text

Seeds of Spring

Got some time tonight, and I figured it would be worth doing some writing. Not for anything particular, mind you - just for its own sake.

I've been doing better. The promises of the last post - and that final piece of myself pulled back into place, and that haunt solved - have continued to yield dividends. For the first time in almost ten years, I can write again - and have, just for fun and just for kicks. As planning and projects go, I feel stronger; I've been catching up on things and working on bigger projects than I have in a long time. Tonight, even, I finished writing up profiles of all the known regions in the game world - something that would have been largely unthinkable the last near-decade. It feels marvelous. It's nice to feel like myself again, at least in this way (but with it, many others, too).

But nevertheless, that's not what I'm here to write about. Not that I'm here to write about anything in particular, mind you - I'm just here to write whatever comes to mind. For instance: we're going camping over the next few days. Out in the woods, of course, several hours away; and it'll likely be very rainy, and I'm hoping our tent doesn't soak through like it did last time we did rainy camping; but camping at all, which I've been sorely missing. I had the week off and Hearthsnail was able to take a few days off; and we're going to meet my uncle up there too, and that'll be nice. Frankly, even if it ends in a huge wet mess, I'll just be happy to have gone and tried it. I feel like I haven't had enough of those experiences in my life for a long while - Hearthsnail is generally very risk-averse, and it means we don't try things as often as I'm generally motivated to. But even bad camping trips make for good stories and lessons learned and wellsprings of inspiration, and by the gods, I need more of that in my life.

So that's where we're at with that. Figure we'll do the meal prep and packing tomorrow. It should be nice, one way or another.

As for other things... I've been enjoying the rain, as I often do. We had a power outage from the last storm a couple weeks ago - that was nice. I honestly enjoy the sort of quieter, slower pace of the day that comes with a power outage. We spent some time playing board games, and reading, and spending time together in ways that tend not to happen when there are computers around to be distracting; and we rediscovered candles on rainy days, and burned through 'em all (we only had a few left) and ought to get more. The downsides are of course (1) cooking and hot meals, and (2) worry about a fridgefull of food spoiling, but we ended up doing takeout for a few meals and the fridge appeared to come out of things mostly fine. So, all in all, not bad.

Winding myself down before bed right now. Listening to and half-watching more massage videos, as I've been wont to do recently... On the one hand it's vaguely embarrassing, and on the other don't knock it if it works. They consistently calm me down and make me sleepy, which is a godsend with my brain working as-normal again (which is to say, in overdrive, permanently) (did I tell you the part where I originally went to therapy for sleep problems? because I couldn't turn my brain off enough to go to sleep?). It's also done a lot to help with nervous system regulation during the day, which is nice in and of itself.

Aie aie aie. Thoughts on that for another time. Mostly about a friend, and all the complexities therein and in between. Nonetheless, there are thoughts.

Hmm. What else to write about? I suppose it doesn't matter - I ought to be going to bed soon anyway. Slept like absolute crap last night, hoping I don't do so again. I ought to pick some individual topics to write about soon - for the practice, if nothing else.

#blog #journal #rain #camping #power outage #weather #sleep #writing #working #projects #sanity

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harmcityherald · 9 months

Text

Also a note to all my lovely followers, I may have a little bit off holding off the reblogging as I am writing my report and going through all the tags on my Tumblr and it becomes a scrolling nightmare. Soon enough we'll be back to normal around here. And we can carry on our wonderful party of Science Fiction, music and art and just general mayhem after this. I'm getting to realize that this is almost as big as any of my other gigantic hospital stays also it's going to become a little bit prolific bit of posts for my Tumblr page. Mostly I just feed things into the extruder and whatever pops out that's just the way it is and it's just an ongoing stream of everything that catches my attention and interests me and all this stuff that I love and all the thoughts that I have, whether you think they're crazy or not LOL is up to you. But no one will ever be able to contain me trapping me jail me or keep me in a box because of the way that I think or the things that I like. I'm almost saying this in a way because I kind of feel like maybe Dr diabolical will be crawling over the Internet about me, he certainly seemed to crawl pretty deep up into my chart because when he was arguing with me here he was bringing up a whole bunch of stuff from way long ago. And only being my doctor for a few hours he had had time to learn all of that so he went deep into my chart. He is a way more formidable enemy than Lieutenant dick. But I don't want to poison up this post as well with all of that bullshit. I just want to say things are going to be a little bit Rocky around here at harm City 0p0until it levels out and I'm back to my normal groove and then after that we will probably start a long running thing about the big Cancer Treatments that I'm hoping are right around the corner. I hate to think that anything that is happening right now might have a bearing on that. I certainly would hope that it would not because it certainly should not. Like I told Dr diabolical, no matter what my mental health status is it doesn't make any of that crap right. And it certainly shouldn't be used to decide whether I get a cancer treatment or not. So I take a deep breath and I don't worry about the big big worry. But I have to pay attention to this little detail before all of that might begin. You begin to feel bad you know, you don't want anybody to lose their job in a way but somebody so menacing and dangerous and sounding so horrible like that maybe they shouldn't have the damn job to begin with. That's not my fault, I'm just the guy on the scale that the dude was brushing on, Whispering hannibal lector shit in my ear.

creeeeeepy.

#it means im going to be in your likes like the plauge to mark posts for future reblogging #as always if you can always curate me out if you want #but im in love with everyone who stays #im really in it now #they dont scare me nothing does after you battle mortality

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starlessea · 3 years

Text

Doctor’s Orders (Daryl Dixon/Reader)

Prompt: “Why’d you always have to spoil my fun?” and “You nearly died!” Requested by anonymous, numbers #6 and #16 from this post.

Summary: Daryl isn’t too impressed when he finds you with a sling on your arm and a smile on your face.

Words: 1766

Warnings: Language, Injury.

There were many things you feared more than death. There were many things you feared in general. Whether it was heights or small spaces, or even spiders - those spooky, crawly bastards - you would easily admit it when you were afraid.

In this new world, death was inevitable. You didn't want to die; leaving your family behind was out of the question. Though, it didn’t frighten you, either. Rather, you often found yourself scared of the more mundane things - those things that you could control - over something that was completely out of your hands.

There were many things you feared more than death, and Daryl Dixon was one of them.

Denise had gone to get the man, despite your pleas not to. She'd been good enough to patch you up, and mend the small cuts over your skin. They were only shallow, so they wouldn't leave any scars. It was the sling you were more concerned about.

You knew when Daryl saw it, you'd be in for an ear-full. It wasn't that bad an injury, but Denise had still doped you up on some pain-killers before leaving to find the man. It was meant to be an in-and-out job, but things never really did seem to go as planned.

"Who're you trying to kill with that smile?" Denise teased, as she walked back through the doorway to the clinic.

You had barely realised you'd been grinning from ear to ear until she’d said it. She was alone for the time being, so you thought you should take the opportunity to cherish the peace whilst it lasted.

"Myself, apparently." You chuckled, but let out a wince soon after.

The small movement had reminded you to keep still. It was only a broken bone, and you'd had worse before, but it ached all the same. Denise shook her head in return, letting out a huff of air as she stared at you exasperated.

"You are the first person to come into my clinic beaming like that whilst injured." She muttered, and you sloppily shrugged one shoulder in response.

Then you heard the main door fling open, and slam into the wall - and sighed.

"Here he comes." You muttered, and braced for impact.

Daryl stormed into the clinic like he was on a mission. He was sweaty, and you noticed that he was missing his jacket. He rushed through the doorway and whipped his head around the room until his eyes finally settled on you, sitting on the bed in the corner. You offered him a sheepish smile, and raised your good arm to give him a small wave.

The man stalked straight past Denise and made his way to your bedside, standing over you in an instant.

"What the fuck were ya thinkin'?" He yelled.

It wasn't that you feared Daryl Dixon's temper - that, you could manage. What you feared was that certain look in his eyes, and you saw it now as you met his gaze. His chest heaved, and most would probably think it was from anger. But, you knew better than that. He'd probably run over here in a panic. That is what you could see in his expression - pure worry.

"Nice to see you, too." You joked light-heartedly, trying to mask your guilt.

Daryl glanced at you, letting his eyes trail over the shallow cuts on your face all the way down to your arm - which sat tucked away in its sling. He shook his head, and took small paces in front of you.

"Ya leave for a supply run-" he started, almost below his breath. "An' Denise comes to tell me ya jumped outta a movin' truck!"

His voice rose as he spoke, and his final words came out as a loud growl that made you swallow thickly. You were ashamed, but you also thought that the man worried too much. If it were down to him, he'd have you wrapped up in cotton wool everytime you left the gates of Alexandria.

"It wasn't even going that fast." You mumbled back, defensively.

Denise had her back pressed flat against the wall, inadvertently caught in the cross-fire. She was in too deep to leave unnoticed, and stood there awkwardly watching the exchange. You sent her an apologetic smile, before looking back up at the man.

"Why'd you always have to spoil my fun?" You teased, but felt like you might have stepped on a landmine when you saw him scowl.

Daryl threw his hands up in frustration, and narrowed his eyes at your injury again.

"Ya nearly died!" He shouted, his voice guttural as it cut through the room.

"Exactly." You quipped back, but instantly regretted it.

You'd only been trying to convince him that you were fine, but Daryl seemed inconsolable. Maybe it was the adrenaline, or perhaps the pain-killers, but you realised that you may have been acting a little too care-free. You weren't so much scared of Daryl as you were of hurting him.

"It's only a broken collar bone." Denise interjected, once she finally mustered the confidence to do so. "She'll be fine."

Daryl whipped his head around, as though he'd forgotten she was even there. He stayed silent, but you tried your best to help coax him.

"Listen to the doctor, Dixon." You reminded the man, but with a much softer tone this time.

Daryl stopped his pacing, and instead made his way back over to you. He closed the gap as he approached, and your knees knocked together with his from where you were sitting on the bed. You could still see the pain in his eyes, and it made you realised that you must be one of the things Daryl Dixon feared, too.

He rested his palm over your cheek tentatively, careful not to brush up against the fresh wounds that marred your skin. You leaned into his warm touch, and placed your own hand over his in return.

"Don't worry your pretty little head over me." You whispered, giving him a reassuring smile. "I promise I'll be more careful."

Daryl became like putty in your hands at that, and his expression softened like he'd only just allowed himself to relax. The entire time, it was as though the man had been running on pure adrenaline, and nobody could convince him that you were okay - even if he’d seen it with his own eyes.

In your peripheral, you noticed Denise looking at you - but she quickly glanced away when she realised she'd been caught. You could tell that she didn't want to intrude on the tender moment, but was curious to see Daryl so vulnerable at the same time.

The man stayed like that for a few seconds, letting your thumb rub over the back of his hand as he inspected your injuries some more.

"C'mon." He mumbled finally, and took a few steps backwards to let you stand up.

He retrieved your gear which had been left on a nearby chair, and slung it over his shoulder before walking to the door. You followed after him with careful footsteps, feeling as the pain jolted up your body. You sent a smile to Denise, and thanked her, but she shook her head in response - humble as ever.

"Look after her, Daryl." She called out to the man, as she saw the both of you off at the doorstep of the clinic. "Doctor's orders."

Daryl was normally a gentle man. He wasn't the type to have to be reminded to take good care of you. But, sometimes, he seemed to forget his own strength - along with his patience.

"Oww!" You shrieked, and flinched away.

The two of you were in your bedroom, and Daryl had been left with the impossible task of getting you dressed. He'd done a good job of it so far, but when it came your shirt all hell broke loose.

"Stop!" You yelled again, but the man had your arm tightly within his grip. "You're killing me!"

He'd gotten the first sleeve on just fine - but the other one was giving him grief. You'd slipped your arm out of the sling, but had trouble lifting it high enough to get your hand through the hole. The man kept trying to get you to straighten it, but you saw stars every time he did.

"So, wha'?" Daryl grumbled, seeming at the end of his rope. "Dyin' suddenly ain't tha' fun 'nymore?"

You winced as you jolted away too suddenly. At one point, you'd tried to convince him to just button up the shirt with only one arm in it - but he'd shot you a look and muttered something about 'making a fashion statement' under his breath.

"I ain't killin' ya." He continued, noticing your look of pain. "Jus' stop movin' an' it'll be over quicker."

You tried to do just that, but your arm wouldn't bend in the way he wanted it to - and you cried out again.

"It hurts!" You told him, and recoiled away. "You're pulling too hard."

Daryl wore an expression of utter exasperation, and opened his mouth to snap something back. Except, there was a knock at the door before he could.

You jumped again, having not even heard anyone come into the house - and breathed out through gritted teeth at the discomfort it caused.

"What the hell is going on in there?" A voice asked through the wall.

"Glenn?" You replied, immediately recognising him.

Daryl shot you a look, and you could tell he blamed you for all this. You rolled your eyes in response, and Glenn spoke again.

"Rick sent me to get you." He called, still behind the closed door. "Did you forget we had a meeting?"

Daryl let the sleeve of the shirt drop from his hand, and let out a heavy sigh.

"Ain't forget nothin'." He shouted back. "Jus' runnin' late 'cos of princess pain tolerance."

"Daryl?" Glenn asked, and you snorted.

You saw the handle on the door twist slightly, but Daryl quickly elbowed it shut before Glenn could enter.

"We'll be there soon!" You explained. "Daryl's helping me get dressed."

There was silence on the other side for a few seconds, and Daryl returned back to you - looking over at the shirt like he considered just taking it off again. You giggled at his expression, before you heard Glenn clear his throat from behind the door.

"Right." He said quietly, but you still caught it. "There are some things I'd rather not know."

A/N I broke my collar bone before and it was so painful... I remembered the struggles of getting dressed and HAD to write a scene about it.

Send me a message if you want to be added or removed from the taglist!

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@xxboesefrauxx @youhavemyfantasticbeasts @teel-dinosaur @speakinglikeconstellations @bunnymother93 @alularae3 @death-becomes-her @royaleclown @alex-sulli @julesmalek @fuseburner @riverscyberwife @browneyes528 @julesclues @diaryofkali @solinarimoon @ssonia13 @phoenixblack89 @srhxpci @jocyc1997 @bvbwestfall @graniairish @bitchynicole @whitexwingedxdoves @potatochic2003 @suranne-doesstuff

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echoisbabe · 3 years

Text

Echo x reader x Tech

I tried @fabulousapple and I hope you like it! It’s based on this post hope everyone that reads enjoys:)

The situation is one you never thought yourself to be in. Yeah, sure you've hidden in a supply closet with Tech and Echo but those were two separate occasions both having two different outcomes. You never thought to have them both pressed up against you such a small capsule.

You wiggle and shift trying to figure how much space is really left between you but Tech's hands catch your hips and you turn to look over at him. There's a warning in his eyes and you give a little nod as you turn back to face Echo.

"Tech, tell me again why I couldn't go with Omega?" You question as your grip tightens on Echo's shoulders as AZI maneuvers our pod from the falling debris

"We were out of time" Tech answers as he bumps you as the pod is jerked to the right

Echo studies your face, your bottom lip is caught between your teeth as your brows are knit together in worry. He moves his hand from the cold glass to cup your face when you try to look over at where the glass in the pod had cracked.

"We'll be at the surface soon" Echo smiles softly despite the fear lacing his tone

"Oh- Echo are you- Tech, Echo needs more room" You wiggle yourself back only to be pulled closer than before "We've been though worse" a hint of humor in his tone and you smile as you nod

Tech lets out a nervous chuckle as he tries to pull you back a little. The close proximity of you and Echo lit a small fire inside him that’s growing each minute you both share eye contact, he can hear the hitch in your breath as he watches your hand slowly cup Echo’s exposed neck. He doesn’t know what came over him but he pushes himself up against you and hears the gasp of surprise leave your lips.

"Tech!" It comes out more breathy than you intended it too, you turn to look at him and he leans forward pressing pressing the part of his helmet where his lips would be to your temple and you feel your cheeks grow hotter and you turn away and press your forehead into Echo's shoulder.

Echo glares at Tech. His brow rising in an almost challenging manner. He didn't think Tech would enjoy behind this close to you, close enough that your scent is overpowering their own. Even Echo can feel the rise and fall of your chest against him, the way it would quicken. He wonders what Tech could feel on his side of every thing and he wonders if he would be jealous by it. He thinks for a moment as he feels your grip on his shoulders and the way you cuddle closer and he knows for sure, he wouldn't be. After all he has the greatest view of them both.

Tech licks his lips as his grip on you tightens, he press himself closer. He knows what's it's like to be facing you in such close proximity but to be behind you is a whole different experience. He sees the way the muscles in your back tighten and loosen when either one of them gives you a comforting touch. He can see the way your pulse quickens in your throat when his grip on you grows tight or when he presses himself into he sees the way it stops before speeding up. He doesn't want to say you like it but he thinks that maybe if this was any normal day inside a supply closet the outcome could be rewarding. Not just for him but for the other two in front of him as well.

The Pod shoots up and onto it's side. Your entire body crushed between the two. Echo's weight caught you off guard and causes you to let out a pained gasp as pieces of their armor dig into you. You start to wiggle and shift under Echo's weight. The armor feels like it's cutting into your skin.

"Don't-" Tech pauses as he lets out a small groan "Don't move like that" he finishes as his fingers dig into your skin and his fingernails are no doubt leaving crescent shaped marks behind "Get the door" He orders

You see the panel and wrap your arm around Echo pulling him closer as you reach up and your fingers tap the small circle in the middle and the door opens. Echo is quick to push himself off as he pulls you with him. You lean into him and close your eyes, His arms wrap around you as Tech's hand rests on your shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Tech asks lowly and you pull yourself from Echo to look over at Tech and smile

"I'm okay, are you two okay?" You ask looking between the two and they nod before turning over too see the damage.

You sit on your bunk once back on the ship. Your hand working at the knots in your neck as you try to think of anything but Tech and Echo. They both knew exactly how to calm you and keep you sane in that moment when you needed it. You know for sure if you had been with Omega that you would have panicked more. You knew you or Hunter would have to talk to about the stunt she had just pulled but right now you just wanted to take a few minutes if not hours to yourself.

“Hey” You turn to smile up at Echo as he takes a seat next to you “You did good, I know it can’t have been an easy or even comfortable-” You cut him off as you grab his shoulder, turning him to face you

“I was comfortable, I always am with you” You lean forward to press your lips into his shoulder that is now free of his armor “I know you probably think I need space but-” You pause as you look over to where Tech sits in the pilots chair “-but could you maybe just stay with me until we get back to Cid’s?” You ask and he smiles as he nods

You let him crawl in the bed his back pressed against the wall and you cuddle in closer. Letting out a content sigh as you wrap an arm around him, he’s softer than when he wore his armor. It’s nice to feel the way his heart beats in his chest, to feel his warmth so close. You could stay like this forever but something is missing. You wonder if he feels it too, and you look up at him. His hand begins to run up and down your back and you push yourself up to press a hesitant kiss to the corner of his mouth and you feel him stiffen as he looks at you with wide eyes.

“What was that for?” He asks as he relaxes a little and a soft smile grows on his lips

“I know today can’t have been easy for you” You whisper and he nods “You don’t have to talk about it now if you don’t want to but I’m here for you” You smile as you lean down once more and press a soft kiss to his lips to which he kisses back as his grip on you tightens, pulling you closer before he pulls back and you both lay there in silence relaxing.

Tech turns back in his chair to see you and Echo. He gets up from the chair knowing Wrecker or Hunter would take over. He walks over slowly before kneeling down beside the bed. You turn and smile at him.

“Room for one more?” He questions and his eyes flash between you and Echo, you both end up nodding and he discards his armor just next to the bed before climbing in next to you. He wraps an arm around your waist knowing Echo has his wrapped around your hips. He snuggles close and presses a kiss to your neck.

“Get some sleep, Cyar'ika” Tech whispers “We will both be here when you wake up” he adds as he looks up at Echo. A silent agreement made there, that neither of them will fight over you but rather share you just like this.

#the bad batch imagine #the bad batch x reader #tbb echo imagine #arc trooper echo imagine #tbb echo x you #echo tbb imagine #echo tbb x reader #tbb echo x reader #tbb tech x you #tbb tech imagine #tbb tech imagines #tbb tech x reader

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sunkaashi · 3 years

Text

— OVERTIME

↬ Pairing. College!Atsumu x Manager!Reader

↬ Genre. Fluff. A hint of enemies to lovers if you look really closely.

↬ Warnings. Mentions of alcohol. I guess nothing else? Let me know if you think I'm wrong!

↬ Summary. Atsumu Miya is hopelessly in love with you, but how could he ever catch your attention if all you do is ignore him? Well, maybe his plan starts to work out when he finds out that whenever he stays longer for practice, you have to stay too.

↬ Word count. 1.7k

↬ tris' note: I wrote this in the spur of the moment, but I had so much fun! feedbacks are extremely appreciated! if you wanna be added to my general taglist, fill out this form.

anyways, did you know that only hot people reblog the works they like? NO? well, now you do ;) jk, but reblogs help me tons and I'm very grateful for them <3

Sweat dripped down the back of ATSUMU's neck as he jogged around the college tracks for the nth time that afternoon.

"Just one more lap." He kept telling himself over and over again as if repeating it would make it any less of a lie.

But who could blame him when this was the only moment of the day that he could spend with you? When he just knew that, by the end of that turn, you'd be there to receive him, water bottle and towel in hand? If anything, that just drove him more and more motivated to get to the finish line.

Those seconds in which your hands slightly brushed off against each other's; the way you laughed whenever he tripped over himself, too tired to carry on; the sarcastic sneer on your face every time you scolded him for wasting your time, but still wouldn't leave. To Atsumu, that was his reward, better than any shining trophy.

"Oi! Miya!" Your voice woke him up from his trance as the blonde boy finally shot up a glance at you. He rested with his hands on his knees, chest going up and down in strong and unsteady motions, legs still trembling a bit from the training. "We've been here for almost two hours! Everybody has left already, and I want to go home for God's sake!"

Atsumu snickered at the way your voice got higher with each word, deflecting from his gaze while you said you wanted to leave. He also didn't miss how you knitted your eyebrows together just before going off at him, carefully scanning his shaky body.

"Ya could've left, ya know? I never asked ya to stay!" He replied, smirking a little while making sure to stare right into your pupils.

If eyes are the windows to the soul, that must be the reason yours were so beautiful to him. As he tried to get an answer through them, he also delighted himself in such a vision. That's why he was quick to notice their slight tremble at his remark.

"And leave you to die?!" Your voice, once again, cut him off of his daydreams. "You've been running for more than an hour after a pretty rough practice, if you go into cardiac arrest who's gonna call an ambulance?! I'm the team manager, I don't want any deaths on my back!"

In his defense, he was only there because of you, but — obviously — he wouldn't tell you that. He decided to just laugh it off.

"Well, that's something you don't see every day!" He teased.

"What?!"

"Yer’ worried ‘bout me!" Atsumu said, trying to suppress the smile forming in the corner of his mouth.

Even though his tone was playful, he knew something was off when his words were left hanging in the air, no snarky comments added to the back-and-forth banter you were both so used to.

Seeing your widened eyes, he started to question if he was right or, worse, if he had crossed a line.

You gulped down as if this would prevent you from spilling something you shouldn't say. Atsumu was dying to know what it was.

This had become a little routine of yours. Staying for a couple more hours after practice as you helped him out for a while. At first, he knew you're just doing your job, after all, you were there to assist the boys, it didn't matter who they were. Still, he couldn't shake the thought that maybe, just maybe, something had changed as the months went by.

He remembered it perfectly. It wasn't that long before that you used to curse him for making you lose such precious time of your day. He knew you had your reasons! Staying overtime underneath the unforgiving sun, having to catch up on your studies while sitting beside the filthy running tracks, surrounded by sweaty and dirty athletes.

Even so, it wasn't pleasant for him either. Jogging for endless hours, the summer heat consuming him as if hell were just around the corner.

Usually, he would run only half of those miles. But how could he stop? How could he stop knowing that the minute he did, you'd have to go home, and he would only see you the next day? No, he needed more time to win you over. He needed those small talks in between his breaks. He needed every single one of the few glances you exchanged every time he ran past you. He needed to hear you giggling at his jokes at least once more.

What once felt like dragging insufferable after hours, began to seem like less and less time over the weeks. Those little details were what made it all worth it. They were his private entrance to heaven.

And he believed that you might've been starting to feel the same way too.

He'd caught the way your lips curled up into a shy smile the last time he'd offered to walk you home. He also had noticed how your irises shined a bit brighter whenever he bought you food, worried because he knew you'd be there with him for those extra periods. He'd seen the way you laughed at his childhood stories just a tad too hard, always asking for another one.

Atsumu had always been aware of how he comes off to people: the arrogant self-centered jock. He never really cared about any of those things, but he did care about how you perceived him. The man just hoped that soon enough, you'd learn he was more than what others wanted him to be. Not a pretentious athlete, albeit a normal guy as any other, just with an ambitious goal set to his mind. And whenever you shared one of those intimate moments, he thought that, perhaps, you were one of the few people that actually saw him for who he was.

Still, that didn't make it any easier to admit the feelings he'd developed for you.

"Oi! Are ya alright?" Atsumu said, trying to catch your attention, a delicate expression laying on his countenance. "I'm sorry if I overstepped in any way, ‘kay? It was a joke, I promise." You didn't answer him just yet.

"Hey!" He proceeded, lifting your chin up so you'd look at him. "Now I'm the one getting worried 'bout ya! Snap out of it and get back to hating on me before ya realize I might have a heart!" Atsumu mocked himself, but shied away from your glare while doing so.

At least he'd made you chuckle.

“I always knew you had one, Miya." You said, rolling your eyes at the man. “I just didn’t know it worked!”

“Oya! That was mean!”

“Isn’t that what you wanted?” You asked, arching your brows.

“Well, maybe, but it wouldn’t hurt if ya were a little nicer to me once in a while!”

“Yeah? How so?” The words slipped past your lips without missing a beat, and Atsumu couldn’t help but wonder if the flirtatious undertone was something he had only imagined. He decided to take the bait.

“For starters...” Atsumu began, slowly making his way closer to where you were standing. “Ya could buy me a beer after we’re done here.” Was he crazy or did he really see your shoulders relaxing at his words?

“Oh, is that easy?” You responded in the same toying manner.

“Hold up!” He said, raising his hands to the air. “That’s just the first step!”

“And then what?”

“And then…” Atsumu continued, moving further towards your figure. “Then ya could let me hear that beautiful laugh of yers a few more times.” He completed, stealing a giggle out of you. “Just like that.”

“Great, so I’m halfway through it.” Your tone may have been monotonous, but your eyes told him otherwise. “Anything else or can we get this over with?”

“Maybe, while yer’ laughing, ya could finally realize that I’m not as bad as ya think I am.” He pondered, moving a loose strand of hair out of your features, clearing the view to your gaze.

“Now you wanna tell me what to think?” You scoffed, crossing your arms.

“Is just a suggestion! Take it as ya wish!” He winked at you.

“And what if I told you that I already did?”

“Ya did?” This time, he sounded soft, breaking out of the teasy character for a second.

“You’re not bad, Miya... Far from that.”

“Well, that’s a shock.”

“You don’t look surprised.” You stated, pointing out the crescent grin on his face.

“Too much wishful thinking made me ready for this moment.”

“And what exactly is this moment… Atsumu?” The way you said his name, in a hushed voice, almost like a secret meant to be shared by only the both of you, gave him the green light he needed to go on.

“It’s when I finally kiss ya.”

Atsumu was quick to grab your waist, pulling you closer to his chest, and finally closing the gap between you two. His gawk rapidly traveled from your mouth to your eyes, longing for a confirmation. It didn’t take a second after your subtle nod for him to merge your lips together, your body melting at his touch. His grasp was gentle, but firm, like you were something he treasured, something that he never wanted to let go of. And by the way you gripped onto his neck, the boy could tell he wasn’t alone in this.

Atsumu moved his palms all the way up your back, briefly running his fingers through your hair, but resting them upon finding your face. His tender touch cupped your cheeks in between his hands, pushing away just when he inevitably ran out of breath.

"Do I still have to buy you that beer or is this nice enough for you?" You said, unable to repress a smile.

“Hm, I’m not sure… Why don’t you kiss me again and we'll see?"

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one-piecee · 2 years

Text

#ONEPIECE1036

in my defence I thought we wouldn't get a chapter til like 2nd January (or so I heard??) and was super confused when we got one this sunday, but anyways!! new chapter means new post of me screaming a little

The chapter title is: "Bushido is the way of Death"

King got his wings cut (or just the right wing, and zoro is the right wing of the future pirate king luffy which should mean something but i'm not smart enough to know what so we'll leave it at that) and Zoro has now officially defeated King, victor: Zoro!

Also!! Just last chapter we talked about how Kaido definitely thought he himself was Joy Boy because of the whole "I'll change the world" speech he gave King and immediately after, aka this chapter, we get it confirmed that Kaido did indeed think he could be joy boy--

((or perhaps that King thought Kaido was Joy boy, and not Kaido himself since Kaido says "you still believe that?"))

Anywho, I also liked King's flashback here, because as we all know I'm obsessed with right hand men being extremely loyal to their captains and this kind of makes me like King as a character more:

Of course, unfortunately for King he did lose (to the right hand man of the real future pirate king, too bad Kaido)

And after King reminiscing, we get Zoro's flashback to him promising Luffy to never lose again (just like King to Kaido, nice) and saying that if "this is what it takes then..."

The CP0 get information about King's defeat signaling the defeat of the all-stars and the Tobiroppi, which tips the scales to us winning, but as long as "those two" are still fighting, those wins are meaningless-- which obviously means we'll be getting the fights with big mom and kaido soon enough.

Aside from Kaido (being dealt with by Luffy) and Big Mom (Kidd and Law) there's the two threats of Onigashima falling and Kanjuro's flame attack. Yamamoto is currently rushing towards the flame, and Momonosuke still has to figure out a way to stop Onigashima from falling down on the flower capital.

Also on more news, I think it's pretty much official now that both Kin'emon and Kiku will survive this war because of the (amazing, magnificent, top-tier, wonderful) speech by Usopp:

"I don't get this obsession with honor and comitting Seppuku, I know it's your culture but I can't stand it!

This also just solidifies Usopp as one of the bravest characters in one piece.

And then we have best boy Izo coming to the rescue looking as amazing as ever and also spewing off a wonderful line--

Luffy stays giving people reasons to live.

CP0 are still a threat, because Apoo is running away, and Drake has been taken down

and so I will continute the "Brook and Robin fight the CP0 and beat them up" Agenda. I need to see that fight-

Also!!!!! I don't know what this means and Oda needs to stop playing with us but!! Sanji's eyebrow!! Is back to normal!!!

first picture if chapter 1031, and second picture this chapter

His left eyebrow is back to looking like it did before his body went through the changes and I don't know what this means all I know is I hope things are ok now and I don't have to keep worrying for this man

moving on

we finally finally finally finally got some panels of luffy and kaido's fight

and let's just remember that while kaido is in his hybrid form, luffy is currently in his base form- and he's keeping up with kaido hit after hit. remember that

and you know how i said luffy keeps giving people reasons to live? my man is even giving kaido a reason to live, no more attempts to off himself he's getting excited cus he finally found an opponent worth fighting

big ass smile on his face and all that, that's the luffy effect

doesn't seem to be a break next week and if all goes well it should be big mom vs kid and law or luffy vs kaido (or another scattered one like this? or maybe the conclusion to raizo because they're going at it? or more cp0? or? or or? so many options i don't know why you'd try and predict BUT!! APPARENTLY THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME "CRAZY REVEAL" NEXT CHAPTER???)

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lovelywingsart · 3 years

Text

Metallic (18+)

-- Karl Heisenberg X OC (AFAB, She/They) --

Oh lord here we go- Ok, first off, y'all get a small paragraph beforehand, please forgive me. :'D I've... never posted smut THIS PUBLICLY before. This is admittedly incredibly nerve-wracking and I'm hella nervous because I feel like I write... 'conservatively'? You'll see what I mean. So... Please go easy on me for this one...? I'm great for sweet stuff and angst, but smut is a whole other beast despite NSFW being one of my favorite art forms when drawing. I mean, I've already made a few *spicy* art pieces for them, but just... Writing is difficult. I mean, I really hope you guys like it anyway!! But fair warning. THIS is new for me. QuQ I do have a few more smut pieces in the works, but this was the first one written.

So uh... on to the story, I guess...!

**Small reminder that I have a small 'Masterlist' for these!**

-------

*Warning?: Hella smut, lots of biting, choking and kisses, some blood from said biting, just rough sex in general? Normal, to rough, to fluff. not entirely sure what else to add?? :'D It's all consensual, no worries.

Summary: With some high tensions, a smart mouth, and some unfortunate forgetfulness, Emelia gets herself into a bit of... 'trouble' with the notorious Metal Man. But maybe this time she bit off a bit more than she could chew... Not that she really ends up minding.

A pair of footsteps echoed through the underground tunnels of the factory, almost mimicking the constant sounds of pickaxes being dug into the stone. The walking man looked around every once in a while, seemingly proud of whatever progress had been made.

"All is going well. Good, good." He said proudly, puffing on the cigar he held between his fingers. The woman next to him rolled her eye. The small lights of the tunnels glinted in the glasses he wore as he turned his head to glance at her. "Is there a problem?" He chuckled.

"If by 'well' you mean 'excruciatingly slow by dimwitted slaves', then yes."

"Would you like to join them then, Emmy?"

"Bloody hell, no. I'm still sore from lugging those damned carts around..." Emelia mumbled, reaching to rub behind her neck. The man next to her chuckled again, handing over his cigar. He stepped forward slightly as she took it, holding out his free arm.

"And yet you're still walking!" He chimed, looking back at her as she puffed on the cigar, herself. "We'll change that soon enough."

"I'm not working myself to death, Heisenberg." She huffed, picking up speed and shoving the cigar back into his face. "While factory productions are important to me too, perhaps learn the definition of a 'break', and not as in 'break my back'."

Karl took the cigar with amusement as she walked forward ahead, clearly heading back to the main building.

"First you tell me to work harder, then you say not at all." He mused, following closely. "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I can do what I want?"

"And yet, what you want is what affects YOUR factory in the long run... Timing, Karl."

"You act as if you know more about MY factory than I do."

"And what do you know?"

"Everything."

"Good, then you know I'm heading upstairs to rest for a moment."

"I assumed so."

The two wandered along the corridors to a hall with stairs leading to a metal door, sharing the cigar before she went forward and kicked the door open, snorting as she heard an irritated grunt behind her.

"If you break that, you're fixing it." He muttered, setting his hammer down to the side as he took the cigar from her. She snorted, tossing her own weapon to the side, watching it land on a pile of fabrics used for either covering machinery or covering herself when she slept, whichever happened to come first.

"You say that as if it would be difficult." She retorted, taking her hair out of the tie it was in and running her hand through it before stretching slightly as he walked past her to sit in a chair next to a desk in the room they were in. It was similar to a bedroom, but not quite. 'More like an office with a small bed' , she always said, occasionally taking residence on said 'bed' when she was tired. She felt Heisenbergs eyes on her as her muscles stretched and popped, and she let out a satisfied groan.

"It wouldn't be, but you'll have to make a new one from scratch." He said, arching a brow as he leaned back in the chair. She rolled her eye, moving to stretch her arms in front of her.

"Again, not hard." She shrugged, finally moving towards the desk he was next to. "Making a door takes less brains than you already have."

"Are you calling me an idiot?"

"I'm not calling you a genius."

She almost laughed as she saw him pause before taking a long drag on the cigar.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't just hear you say that." He sighed. She shrugged, leaning over the table and looking over the papers that had been laying on it.

"It's a joke, Heisenberg. I'll admit you're more intelligent than you let on." She said, moving the papers and other objects slightly while looking at them. She then paused as she held them, her eye going over the plans, x-rays, and sketches. "Did you leave out the other Soldat plans?"

"They're in with the cadou notes. I thought you would have seen them." He said simply, reaching for a manila folder on the corner of the table. He put the cigar in his mouth as he opened it and flipped through with a huff. "The new ones haven't been functioning properly, damn things... I'm thinking of rewiring the circuits to the brain.".

"Wouldn't that cause more damage than good?"

"Not if it's done properly." He chewed on the cigar for a moment before flipping over one of the papers. "The worst that could happen is the head exploding from the current. In that case-"

"Lycan food?" She suggested. He nodded in agreement.

"Lycan food. They're mostly useless to me otherwise..."

"As are most things..." she muttered, earning a glance. She looked back at him. "What? Am I wrong?"

"Not necessarily. Others do still have use."

"How?" She asked, turning to face him. "No head means no use."

He shrugged, tossing the folder back onto the table before leaning back in the chair.

"Replace certain muscle tissue and bones with pneumatic or hydraulic systems, whichever proves to be less of a pain in the ass that day, hot wire circuits to the remaining muscle structures, add an engine system into the chest with a strong battery..." he tilted his head slightly, almost as if he were picturing the plans in his head, thinking of more details as he went along. "They would quite literally be mindless, but a few shocks and currents would make them go just fine."

"Sounds a bit like you..." Emelia snorted, turning back to the table to organize the papers as he glared at her. "Shall I pick a few poor sods from the village to test this?"

"Or I could just use you..." he muttered.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Keep making your ass-backwards comments and see what happens." He shot back, finally pushing himself up to stand. "Yes, I'd like you to do that. Fresh bodies work best for the experiments. I'll send out the Lycans as well, given they don't tear them apart."

"That wouldn't matter anyway, Karl. You'll just stitch them back up like you always do."

"I could, couldn't I?" He started, taking a step closer to stand next to her with a sinister smile. "Or I could make YOU do it. You seem to have fun with tearing things apart and putting them back together-"

"I'm NOT sewing your bloody creations together." She interrupted. "I'll kill them and I'll tear them to shreds, or I'll assist with the inner workings of the mechanics. I don't sew."

"You'll learn."

"Like hell I will."

"I'll make you."

"Bullocks."

"Keep talking, Emelia." He dared, his voice lowering in a threatening manor. "I'm not in the mood."

"You were before we got here." She challenged. She only held her breath as he suddenly snuffed out the cigar on the table itself while his eyes seemed to stare directly through her.

"That's what happens when you keep insulting me, Emmy. I start to get angry. You know that."

She felt a chill down her spine at his voice. It was different from any other time she had aggravated him... It was as if she were in actual danger. His face was only inches away from hers, and he smirked once he noticed her hesitation.

"Scared, Emelia?"

She kept her eye on him, watching his movements carefully. No, No she wasn't in danger... Maybe.

"No." She replied, lifting her chin slightly as he arched a brow.

"Oh?"

"What is it you say to me...? I'm 'in a mood'...? Because I believe you're currently in one, yourself." She asked, finally moving forward and brushing past him in a nonchalant manor despite being somewhat stiff in her movements. "Drink some coffee and throw a few things around with that power of yours, you'll be fine."

She felt his eyes on her as she neared a cushioned chair against the wall.

"I'll throw YOU around..." He growled, taking amusement in her body slowing down as he spoke. He walked towards her as she turned to face him. "See how that pretty mouth works after your head goes through a wall."

"You forget I've stopped your hammer with my arm." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest before smirking. "You smashing my head through a wall would be as effective as Sturm trying to hold something with his nubs."

"You don't seem to understand what I can do to you, Emelia."

"And you don't seem to understand the amount of fucks I don't give, Karl."

His arm twitched slightly, and she glanced over as metal pieces on the floor began to shake just slightly. She just hoped he wouldn't direct his power towards her...

"If you would like to play, I'll GLADLY entertain you."

She suddenly got in his face, a mischievous, antagonistic spark in the gold of her eye.

"Entertain me HOW? Throw me to the Lycans? The Varcolacs? Hell, let Urias get ahold of me, see what happens."

He bared his teeth in a snarl, though the corners of his mouth stayed in a malicious grin.

"I'll turn YOU into a goddamn Soldat, you'll be so full of metal you won't be able to FUNCTION without me-"

"I'm more afraid of your SISTER than I am you!"

Her smirk widened as she saw a sudden spark of anger in his face, his smile faltering.

"Don't you dare attempt to bring that bitch into this, I'll put my hammer straight into your skull-"

"TRY ME, THEN-" She started, only to give a yelping gasp in surprise as Heisenberg slammed her against the wall by her throat.

"Shut your damn hole!!!-" He snarled. His grip was tight, but he seemed to stop once he glanced at her open mouth. All of a sudden the air around them changed, and she stared at him with confusion in her one golden eye. "Oh, Emmy, you didn't tell me!" He said with a sudden cheerful tone, moving his hand from her throat to her jaw. He switched so quickly...

"Wh-" she began, only to stop as her jaw was yanked open. She was confused until she saw the reflection of her tongue piercing in his glasses.

Shit.

"Well well, I guess you've got some metal in you after all. I won't have to try as hard..." He chuckled, tilting his head as she stared at her own reflection. "What else are you hiding from me, Emmy?"

Her eye was wide in simultaneous fear and curiosity. She knew she couldn't have hidden the piercings forever, but certainly longer than this. She usually at least took the one out of her mouth when around him given how often they talked for this reason... But even then, he had never noticed it before. Why now?! She kicked herself for forgetting. She wanted to shove him away... Shove him and run. Would he chase her? He was most definitely trying to scare her, she knew that much... But she also wanted to know how far he would actually go if she did nothing. Would he rip them out if he found the others? Use them as control like he mentioned? Or would he leave her alone? Something told her the latter was out of the question as he showed growing interest in her silence.

"N-.... Nothing..." she managed, nudging her jaw out of his grip. "I just-"

"You're a liar, Emelia." He said, his grin growing wider. She gave a huff and shook her head.

"I am not, you ridiculous-"

She was stopped with a startled gasp as a gloved thumb was shoved between her jaws, nearly propping her mouth open.

"Now now, this'll go far easier if you do it my way. Now open up."

He lifted his other hand to his face, taking a finger of the glove between his teeth and sliding it off. The glove fell to the ground between them, and she watched as he reached for her face with his bare hand. She flinched slightly as his fingers pressed against her lower jaw, though admittedly relaxed as his thumb drifted over her bottom lip. The skin was expectantly rough, she found, calloused and covered in smaller scars. She closed her eye as it drifted over her sharp lower teeth before thrusting over her tongue, pushing it back and causing a small gaging reflex. It tasted... metallic... Metallic with hints of other things. Not quite metal, not quite blood... Maybe residual oil? Maybe a hint of the cigars. She couldn't tell exactly what it was, but the mixture wasn't bad... She really didn't mind much. She could almost feel the interested look on his face as she relaxed, though she attempted to hide it. Oh god, was she enjoying this...? She only flinched as he pressed his thumb against the muscle, pushing it out of her mouth somewhat to see the piercing fully.

"Let's see how much you're hiding from me, shall we?" He grinned.

There was a moment of confused silence before she felt his thumb press against the metal rod, her eye snapping open with a gasping yelp as what felt like electric sparks and currents traveled through that piercing, as well as the others.

All the others.

The sparks lasted only a second, but a second was all that was needed as her back arched slightly away from the wall. Heisenberg took a step back in surprise as Emelia suddenly collapsed to her knees, shaking and panting ever so slightly out of shock and... something else. She doubled over with a wide eye, an arm covering her chest and the other pressed against her abdomen and ever tightening thighs. What the hell WAS that...?! What the fuck did he do?!

"W-.... Wh-...." she tried, trying to voice her thoughts. But alas, despite the tingling feeling up her spine disappearing, she couldn't. She couldn't even move as she heard movement directly in front of her, the shock of the feeling only allowing her to look up as he grabbed her chin and lifted her face to meet his. She watched as he kneeled, only to look up and see the most smug grin she had ever seen.

"Liar liar, Emmy... You know how I hate liars." He chimed, adding to the smug aura he held. It pissed her off, but she couldn't do much about it now... She then grew nervous as he tilted his head, taking in her reaction fully as she stared at him with an ever-deepening red blush on her cheeks. "If I was more foolish, I'd say you enjoyed that."

"I-I... D-did NOT...!!" She snapped, stopping with a small squeak as he shoved his thumb back into her mouth to silence her.

He was met with another squealing whine as he pressed against the piercing once more, gleefully sending more currents through the metal pieces in her body. Emelia reached up to shakily grab his arm as the piercing was left alone once more, though the residual shock still remained. She wanted to say something... Say ANYTHING... but the feeling in her face, chest and thighs was so odd and... and good... It kept her silent, and Heisenberg took interest.

"Lycan got your tongue?" He joked, chuckling as she let out a growl. He found it amusing, of course. She only frowned as he tilted his head with the ever present smirk, his sharp teeth glinting in the dim light of the room. "You know, Emmy..." he started, yanking her forward by the jaw slightly as she kept her hold on his arm. "I can't help but wonder how it tastes."

She felt another shiver down her spine at the sickeningly curious tone in his voice. Taste... Taste?? She stared at him as he removed his thumb from her mouth, though nearly started to form words immediately in stupid curiosity. The answer came to her quickly, however, in the form of a hand around her neck, a mouth to hers, and being shoved against the wall once more. She made an almost strangled noise as her back hit the concrete, her mind attempting to play catch-up as she felt something being shoved into her mouth. More sparks traveled along the piercings as his tongue slid over hers, and she let out a whining growl in response.

The taste of metal and the slightest bit of sweetness filled her mouth, along with the taste of the cigar they had shared only minutes prior. But... Why did it taste so good? Why wasn't she fighting him? She found herself frozen for a few moments as the realization set in that she... truly enjoyed this. He couldn't have known, could he? There was no WAY he could have known... Oh god, what was wrong with her? She generally wanted to strangle the man, but now...

She allowed the frustration from earlier to bubble in her chest, giving her control of her limbs for a few moments. Heisenberg began to back off, thoroughly satisfied in her reactions and his 'taste test' before she suddenly grabbed the front of his jacket and yanked him back against her, giving a quiet grunt as her back was forced against the wall again with his weight. He was brought to his knees at the force of the tug, and it was her turn to feel satisfaction as a startled grunt left this throat.

Emelia returned the forceful kiss with all her strength, her back arching somewhat with the now consistent current from the piercings. Her legs shook slightly as she felt a warm feeling in her thighs from the current, unintentionally letting out quiet whimpers and heavy breaths into the kiss. His hand stayed pressed to her throat before he moved it to the side of her neck and shoved her head upwards with his thumb. He tore himself away to attack her neck immediately, licking along the skin before closing his jaws around it. She gasped as he moved along her neck, leaving bloody bites and bruises while using his free hand to nearly rip at her shirt. The fabric was pulled it from its tucked position, his grip tearing a few holes in the worn fabric as he held it taught away from her skin. She couldn't help it as her heavy breaths turned into pants, and she gripped his arm tighter as she felt the fabric continue to tear from a mixture of his grip and her squirming from the feeling between her legs. She shuddered as he finally pulled away from her now very bruised neck, his lips hovering right against her ear.

"Let me taste all of them, then." He growled, returning his hand to around her neck and squeezing along the bottom of her jaw.

Her squirming paused in his grip. 'Please, oh PLEASE-' she thought, secretly wishing to rip the shirt off, herself. But he couldn't know that... If he did, she knew he'd taunt her mercilessly. Not that he wasn't doing the same now... Instead she shook her head just slightly, trying to even out her breathing.

"W-Wait-" she started quietly, only to gasp once more as he finally tore the front of the shirt clean off from the seams. He tossed the fabric to the side as her back arched to meet the new air her front was exposed to, the newly revealed silver nipple piercings glinting as her body moved.

"Too late." He chuckled deeply, grabbing her by the side and bringing her chest forward as if he were claiming a prize.

He leaned down slightly, his arm wrapping around her as his mouth returned to her skin. He kissed and nipped to her shoulders and collarbone until his lips met the tip of the large scar that rested between her breasts. She swore she could almost see something flicker in his shade-covered eyes as he seemed to study it before nipping at it carefully. The nips were... oddly careful. It was as if he knew what it was... She managed to compose herself enough to speak, one of her hands moving to nudge his shoulder. She couldn't help but give a nervous gulp as he looked up at her, his eyes burning as if her touch had fueled the fire.

"N-... N-Not... um..." she tried, her voice oddly timid. She knew what was happening, though the idea made her nervous... "N-Not... here..."

"Hm?" He tilted his head slightly, loosening his grip on her neck. He then followed her gaze to the small 'bed' in the corner of the room- though it was more like a single mattress over a solid 'frame' with random odd pillows along the wall and multiple covers lumped on top. It was how she liked it.

"Th-There... uh..." she looked away for a moment, heavily aware her burning cheeks. "P-... P-Please..."

She could nearly feel his smile against her skin as he chuckled, though he didn't reply. It was then that she was suddenly picked up with a surprised yelp and tossed over his shoulder, her knees pressing against his sides to balance herself. She managed to hold on long enough before he walked to the 'bed', landing roughly onto it as she was tossed. She nearly scrambled to sit up until she looked up at him, watching him quickly close the space between them, removing his thick jacket and single remaining glove.

"Stay still, Emmy. The show is just getting started." He taunted, unbuttoning the long sleeve shirt he wore before kneeling onto the cushion and looming over her. She couldn't help as her vision traveled down what she could see of his chest, seeing similar scars along his skin.

She opened her mouth to speak, giving a quiet yelp as she was shoved into the sheets by her neck, her legs now situated around his waist. Her back arched as he leaned over, biting at her shoulder and collarbone once more before around one breast and onto the other. She gave a whining gasp as he reached the peak, his tongue swirling around the sensitive skin and the small bar of metal pierced through it, his teeth grazing the it ever so slightly. He used his other hand to trail along the scar on her chest and down to her pierced belly, his rough fingers caressing the skin until they pushed underneath the tied overalls. Her legs twitched as his fingers reached the piercing between them, feeling as it was surrounded by a moist warmth. He smirked.

"I knew it." He said, rubbing against the piercing and bundle of nerves with another jolt of electricity before removing his hand. She couldn't help the whine that left her throat as her hips bucked lightly from the feeling, and he chuckled. "Easy..." he muttered, returning the palm of his hand to her stomach and shoving her down.

He dug his fingers into the skin around the belly piercing as she glanced down, and she made another strangled noise as he sent another wide current through her piercings. Her back arched as he pressed harder to keep her down, though she was startled as he suddenly crushed his mouth against hers once more. The small currents pulsed in a slow rhythm as she returned the kiss, her legs shaking and tightening against his hips. She let out a soft cry against his lips as the pulses increased, her grip on his arm tightening and even pulling him closer as the waves of a small orgasm rushed through her in spasms. The feeling was strengthened with the addition of... something pressed to her thighs underneath their clothing. But the waves... The small spasms that affected the muscles of her back and legs... While it hadn't been something she had felt even when human, and while she knew what it was, all she knew was that it felt good. REALLY good...

She could have sworn up and down she hated the man at any point before this, but as he broke the kiss and pulled away to look at her, she couldn't help but feel... want? Desire? Whatever it was, she knew she didn't want it to stop at the moment, and that's all that mattered to her. She still didn't want to give in so easily... But god damn was this feeling hard to fight off.

"D-... D-Damn you..." she nearly whispered, her voice wavering slightly. She was met with an amused chuckle as he removed his glasses and lightly sent them to the table they had been at before.

"Just what I like to hear..." He taunted, removing his hand from her throat. "Tell me, Emmy... Do you want more? Feel free to say nothing if you do."

She stared at him as he gave another sly grin, opening her mouth as if to protest... But she couldn't. Instead, she remained silent, though gave an irritated, embarrassed huff as she glanced off to the side. Her lip curled into a silent snarl as he gave another chuckle.

"I thought as much." He replied, leaning up. His fingers were dragged along her skin as he moved, trailing along other scars that littered her skin.

She glanced down to follow his hands, watching as they trailed over her hips and around to her front where the knot in the tied mechanic suit she wore. With one quick movement it was untied and loosened, and she jumped as everything was suddenly pulled away and off of her hips, sliding down her thighs. She froze at the new rush of cool air surrounding the warmth between her thighs, and suddenly the entirety of the clothing was removed as he seamlessly pulled it away from her legs. Now she was completely bare in front of him... Exposed.

The desire to cover herself was overwhelming as she met his eyes, seeing the smugness and sense of possession he gave as he took in every visible inch of her skin. Her arms and legs twitched in an attempt to cover any vulnerable areas, but she suddenly found her arms pinned next to her head and his hips against the backs of her thighs to keep them open.

"Don't you dare." He grumbled, a smirk still on his face as he glanced down slightly before looking back up at her face. "I haven't tasted everything yet."

"Wh-..." she tried, her legs twitching again.

She was met with another kiss as he leaned down, though it didn't last long. She let out quiet pants as his lips and teeth moved along her jaw to her neck, leaving more bites and bruises among the ones that already stained the skin. Her arms twitched as he reached her breasts again, hit tongue repeating the same actions as before on both piercings before finally returning to the large scar running down her sternum. He planted light kisses and nips along it, earning her confusion as he continuously moved lower. She watched as he nipped along the skin of her stomach, the corner of her mouth twitching as he seemingly, almost playfully, gently bit the piercing in her belly and glanced up at her. She rolled her eye for a moment before he sent another current through the metals, and she let out a soft whimper. It wasn't until he let go and moved to kiss and bite around her hips and thighs that she realized, her head shooting up with slight panic as she felt his lips against the inside of her thigh.

"H-Hey-"

"Quiet Emmy." He purred, the tone of his voice making her freeze. She watched as he kissed the inside of her thigh once more, her head landing back against the cushion with a shuddering gasp as he bit along the sensitive skin. Her hand flew over her mouth as he moved closer to her core, whimpering as she felt his tongue gliding along the skin.

"K-Karl, wait-" she whimpered through her fingers, only to take in a sharp, gasping breath as she finally felt his tongue against her, moving slowly as if savoring her reactions.

She tried closing her legs, though found it nearly impossible due to his hands forcing them to stay where they were. She could almost feel the bruises form where his fingers pressed against the skin, though that feeling was second in her mind compared to the pleasured sparks up her spine with each movement of his tongue. She couldn't help as her hand left the sheets, finding its way to his head as he played with the small piercing through the bundle of nerves, sending small electric pulses through her body once more. She felt the vibration as he chuckled against her, gripping his hair with small gasps and whimpers as his tongue delved into the warmth. Her back arched slightly with each movement, her thighs shaking from the new sensations. Why did it feel so good...?! She let out a long whine as the electric pulses continued, eventually biting down on her hand as to attempt to prevent any further noises. She could feel the tightness return as his teeth grazed against the piercing, and suddenly her hand was gripping his hair in a fist as she came again, a multitude of muffled whines and mutterings of his name escaping her mouth while her back arched. She barely heard the grunt he gave as he was pressed against her, not even realizing as he was able to pull himself away.

She flinched as Heisenberg reached up to grab her wrist, her body shaking slightly as he managed to nudge her hand away. He ran a hand through his hair to smooth it out, rising to loom over her once more as he licked his lips. Where the actual FUCK did he learn that?!

"That hurt, Emmy." He purred, keeping his grip on her wrist as she finally looked at him. Her face was red as she panted, her legs trembling as they rested against his hips once more. "Good girl."

He smirked as she stared up at him, his tongue swiping over his teeth before he leaned over and yanked her other wrist from her mouth, pinning both of them to the cushion beside her head. Her breath caught in her throat at the sudden movement, her eye widening as it met his. There was a moment of silence as they held a stare down, only ending as he shifted her wrists into one hand and used the other to undo the belt and button of his own pants in one swift motion. It took her a moment to register the movement, keeping eye contact once the full realization of just how far- and how fast- this was about to go hit her. She squirmed slightly in his grip as she glanced down, nearly breaking said grip, only to get caught in yet another rough kiss as she felt something warm press against her thighs. She could taste herself on his tongue, and somehow it made her arousal worse...

She let out a whining groan as she was rubbed against, her back arching once more at the new feeling, only to give a surprised and somewhat pained cry against his lips as she felt him enter her quickly and fully with a grunt. She gasped into the kiss as he returned his hand to her neck, her back arching into his chest and her thighs once again tightening around his waist. More of the pleasurable feeling shot up her spine as he moved a few times, pressing against her roughly as she gave small whimpers and whines. It felt... good... so good. Why did it feel good? Why did all of this just feel GOOD? What the hell was she missing from her old life that didn't include THIS?? She couldn't help the small moan she gave as the kiss was broken, and he shoved his hips against hers. He tightened his fingers around the sides of her neck with a sly smirk as he stayed where he was. Although the glint in his eyes may have looked malicious, his actions proved otherwise as he allowed her a few seconds to relax.

"Am I being too rough with you, Emmy?" He asked, his smirk widening into a grin as she mindlessly shook her head, though it was more like a few twitches.

"N-... No... N-Not rough enough..." she growled with a challenging tone, though her voice was still light. She was met with a dangerous chuckle.

"Good."

Emelia glared up at him with a somewhat clouded eye, her breaths coming in light pants that turned into gasps and moans as his movements continued, growing faster and harder with each passing second. She struggled to keep her voice down despite the feeling of each thrust sending sparks into her chest. The sounds of his low grunts and deep breathing weren't helping, she found, and it made it much more difficult to control her own pleasured noises. She was then aware of a low laugh from him.

"Ah... I didn't think... you could sound like THIS, Emmy...~" He purred, his grip on her neck tightening. She opened her mouth, nearly flinching as she let out more soft moans.

"S-... S-Shut...." she tried, though was unable to finish any thought with her gasps and whines.

Her arms struggled in his grip, shaking with each thrust, only to suddenly be freed as he let go in order to take ahold one of her hips. She mindlessly reached for him almost immediately, gripping the edge of his shirt with one hand and grabbing the necklaces around his neck with the other in order to yank him down. She was rewarded with another rough kiss, her head being jerked up as he kept a hand around her throat. She let go of the necklaces, instead reaching under his shirt, her fingers trailing over his own scars until her nails dug into his back. There was an internal satisfaction as she heard Heisenberg give a surprised grunt, only to give a yelping cry as he suddenly pulled away to replace his hand around her neck with his teeth.

Small sparks of pain made their way through her shoulder as his teeth broke the skin, though they seemed to amplify the feeling as the thrusts became rough and quick. She finally reached her other hand around and under the shirt he wore, her nails dragging down the skin of his back as her moans and whines grew louder.

"F-... FuCK...! K-Karl...!!" She said suddenly, her voice cracking somewhat as she was met with a possessive growl and the slight smell of fresh blood as he let go of her neck. She couldn't help but gasp as she felt his cheek against hers, his beard scratching against her skin as his lips nearly against her ear.

"You're MINE, Emelia..." He growled.

Emelia felt as more pulsing currents were sent through her piercings, and she couldn't help but cry out as the pulses caught her by surprise. Her muscles tensed, her nails tearing at Heisenbergs back as she felt the waves of a strong orgasm, making her body shake and her legs flex around his waist. Her thighs tightened at his hips, halting him enough to keep him where he was as she came, but not long enough to stop him entirely. He let out a low growl as he kept up his movements until he slammed against her hard enough to move her up a few inches. She gave a gasping moan as could feel his muscles shudder and a strange warmth in the pit of her stomach as he filled her, and her back arched against his chest as she nearly hugged him to her for dear life.

There was small silence as their movement ceased, each breathing heavily. Emelia held onto the man over her as if it meant life or death, momentarily forgetting her irritation around him in the first place as there was a sudden feel of lips along her neck in a multitude of small kisses. They were gentle against her bruised skin... The odd tickle of the facial hair made the corner of her mouth twitch as she panted, unintentionally laying her head to the side for him as she very slowly but surely relaxed. Her irritation only slightly returned as she heard a chuckle from her neck, and she glanced down.

"Th' bloody hell is so funny...?" She muttered, unable to keep the lightness from her voice. She watched as he looked up from her neck, a sly smile across his still bloody lips.

"You're adorable, Emmy." He said simply, making her groan and start to push him away.

"Piss off...!!" She growled, only to gasp as he suddenly leaned over her with a chuckle, nearly being pushed into the mattress again as he finally slipped off the button-up shirt.

"Precious little doll, you didn't seem to hear what I said."

'Doll' ...? Emelia stared at him, now also shirtless, taking in the rest of the scars she had never seen. She could feel her face heat up more as he leaned over her, holding himself up with his hands on either side of her shoulders.

"Wha-" she started, only to let out a gasping yelp as he gave a single hard thrust to silence her.

"I told you, Emelia. You're mine. In more ways than one, it seems." He nearly purred, leaning down to press his nose to hers.

Her single eye widened as he grinned, only to be met with a quick, relatively gentle kiss. It took a moment for her to calm down before she returned it, staying where she was and secretly holding herself to that proclamation. She didn't want to admit it... She never would. But somehow, despite how he could be, this made her feel... wanted. It was an odd feeling, and one she knew she would be hesitant on getting used to. But she still hated him... Right?

She gave a soft whine as he pulled away, physically removing himself from her with a shuddering breath. She let out a whimper as she relaxed back against the covers, feeling an odd coldness and even a slight sense of loneliness as his weight left the mattress. She opened her eye with confusion and watched as his pants were fixed before her vision trailed up his back to see the bloody scratches she had left.

"Whoops..." she muttered, earning a chuckle and a glance back.

"I'll let you relax for now, Emmy. I don't wanna break you just yet..." He joked, nodding to the shirt he had left. "Use that for now, we'll get you another shirt later."

She couldn't help but smirk, her face red.

"Done already...?" She asked, her smirk faltering heavily as he glanced back with an odd mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Never said I was, Doll. This is for your sake."

Emelia watched as he began to walk to the jacket he had left, but she felt... sad. Not because he had stopped. Not even because she almost wished they would keep going immediately... No, it was another reason she couldn't quite place with every step away he took. She carefully pushed herself to sit up, wincing at the tenderness that settled between her legs before reaching for her discarded jumpsuit. But she only grabbed the simple boxers she had, managing to slip them on with minimal issue. She saw him slow his movements as she managed to stand, her knees just the slightest bit weak. Holding on to a support beam on the wall, she shakily made her way over to him as he glanced at her with an odd curiosity. She didn't care if she was entirely naked save for underwear, simply covering her chest with her arm as she reached for him. She stumbled into his back, feeling his muscles tense as her arms slowly wrapped around his torso, her fingers lightly drifting along the hair and scars on his chest.

"Don't you dare leave me like this, Heisenberg..." she muttered, pressing the scarred half of her face against his back. She knew he could feel her trembling as her legs threatened to collapse on her.

There was a moment of silence before she heard and felt him chuckle.

"You really are an odd one, Emmy..." He chuckled, turning his head to glance at her over his shoulder before giving a dramatic sigh. "Have it your way, then."

Emelia jumped as he suddenly turned in her arms, her cheeks going red as his face was suddenly mere inches away from hers. What was she DOING? Why she acting this way? She didn't know... But she was pleasantly stunned as she felt his hand raise and nudge her chin gently. However, instead of it going around her neck again as she expected, he simply caressed her cheek, avoiding the scars around her missing eye; Even he knew she hated them being touched, and now didn't seem like the best time to annoy her. In fact, he almost enjoyed her more when she was calm like this... She couldn't help but feel relaxed as the rough pad of his thumb brushed over her skin. Relaxed enough to settle her cheek into his hand fully, ever so slightly trying to remind herself that this wasn't who he was all the time. This was temporary... But she could do temporary.

"... Don't tell anyone..." She muttered suddenly, keeping her hold on him as he leaned back against the shelving next to them to stay comfy. He chuckled once more.

"Who do I have to tell, Emmy?" He chimed. She stared at him for a moment before shrugging, laying her head against his chest.

It was a moment of domesticity that she vaguely remembered wanting as human... Something about someone being close physically always seemed tantalizing, yet there was no way to achieve it here... Or so she thought. If she could just have more time like this... Though she knew it wasn't meant to last, especially not with him... But for now, she appreciated it. It wasn't until her senses focused on the machinery noises outside of the room that she gave a sigh, reluctantly pulling away from him.

"I should get back to work, then..." she mumbled, taking a few steps away, her fingers dragging along his chest before she turned, not seeing Heisenbergs face as he watched her walk away and run a hand through her hair to push it out of her face.

She made her way over back to the bed-like cushion, absent-mindedly picking the button-up shirt he had been wearing and slipping it on, herself. She'd take it since he offered, and because she didn't necessarily feel like hunting down new clothing. It was only slightly loose over her frame, being only slightly smaller than him in stature, and she felt his eyes burrow into her back as she buttoned it up. Quiet footsteps approached her from behind, causing her to jump with a small gasp as arms surrounded her while the shirt was only halfway buttoned. Heisenberg pulled her back against his chest, one hand on her hip and the other around the front of her waist.

"What are you-" she started, only to stop as the arm around her waist raised to nudge the collar of the shirt off her shoulder, placing gentle bites and kisses along the skin as soon as it was shown. Small shivers went up her spine with the movements, and she let out a wavering breath in attempts to not laugh from the tickling of his beard. "K-Karl, stop-"

"I never told you to get back to work..." He said simply, his now semi-serious tone interrupting he train of thought and causing any hint of laughter to disappear. He trailed kisses and bites to her jaw and her ear once more. "Indulge me then, Emmy, and I'll let you go. Let me have my fill."

Her face fell slightly. His fill... Did he mean...?

"W-What, be your toy until you're done?" She huffed, turning her head slightly to face him. Though he was on her blind side, she could almost feel the grin.

"Well, when you put it that way..." he started, letting his hands wander. One trailed under the shirt slightly, his fingers drifting below her belly, while the other found and gave a gentle squeeze to a now exposed breast from the shirt being moved before resting over the large scar. "Yes. But don't worry. I take care of my toys... I said I wouldn't break you so soon. And besides..." he pressed another gentle kiss behind her ear, "You seem like you want more. Am I wrong?"

Emelia took a shaky breath as she felt the odd sensations once more, reaching to hold onto his forearms as his hands moved. Well, of COURSE he was right... She knew there wasn't much else she would have to do around the factory today anyway. She worked constantly, and the factory ran relatively smoothly without her. She even came here for a break, anyway... And, despite her feelings about him, what the man had just shown her was... Well, her legs still held a slight wobble. To say she wanted more was an understatement. And so, she have a small huff and looked forward, tilting her head to allow him at her neck.

"... Go ahead..." she muttered, her voice an embarrassed tone. She felt his grin against her neck taking a breath as he gave a small, rough bite.

"You won't regret it, Emmy."

She gave a small, joking snort.

"I'll believe you if you can prove it, Karl..."

"Oh, even after what I've just shown you?" He played, his lips pressing to her neck once more. She said nothing, only somewhat easing against his chest with a huff. She rolled her eye as he chuckled, though her breath caught in her chest as his hand left the scar, letting his fingers trail up and along her throat. "I didn't think I would have to prove anything."

"You never do..." she muttered suddenly, only to close her mouth as she felt him freeze behind her. Where the hell did that come from...??

"Oh?"

She was silent for a moment before clearing her throat.

"Th-That, ah..." she started, only stopping as he grabbed her throat and pulled her to him roughly.

"What?" He growled, ever so slightly moving them forward. She took shaky steps, following his direction.

"N-Not... what I... mean..." she finally managed, glancing down with a quick breath as she felt the edge of the work table against the front of her thighs.

"Hm. What did you mean then, Emmy?"

"I..." she tried, though was unable to find her voice. What was this rush of excitement...?? The tone of his voice sent chills down her spine as he nibbled at her shoulder while awaiting a response. She then decided to just speak. What could go wrong?

"I-I mean...." she managed, gaining a smirk and holding onto his arm. She could feel as he tilted his head in curiosity. "You haven't quite done so thus far, how am I to believe you could...?" she continued, feeling his grip tighten. Good. She pulled away from him slightly to aggravate him. "You always need to prove yourself Karl, you won't get far without it-"

She was stopped with a surprised grunt as she was suddenly shoved down against the table, giving a surprised grunt of pain as her chin hitting it with a light *thunk* . He kept his hand between her shoulders, using his weight to keep her down as she moved to rub her jaw. Her hand was then suddenly yanked away as he twisted her arm behind her back, earning an uncomfortable grunt.

"Bloody hell- H-hey-!"

"I don't give proof, huh?" He growled suddenly, leaning down over her to talk into her ear. "I assure you, Emelia, I have all the proof you need."

She opened her mouth to speak, only to shut it with a surprised noise as he suddenly bit down on her neck and yanked her towards him. The backs of her thighs hit his hips, and she let out a small, surprised whimper. He slipped his fingers under the waistline of her underwear with his free hand, taunting her by slowly dragging them down. There was a sudden spark at her piercings once more while her lower half squirmed, and she couldn't help but give a small, moaning whine as she felt the sparks increase. Waves of pleasure traveled up her spine, causing her back to arch into the table somewhat and nearly bite her bottom lip until it bled. Small goosebumps covered her skin as she felt her underwear finally fall to her ankles. It wasn't until she felt him adjust himself behind her that she attempted to look to the side, only to be met with a growl and his teeth digging into the skin more.

She could smell the blood as it began to seep from between her skin and his teeth... It made her head swim as she finally felt him rub against her roughly, the small sparks of pain from his teeth adding to the odd pleasure she was feeling. He removed his teeth from her neck for a moment to speak into her ear, sending more shivers down her spine.

"I've got your 'proof' right here." He purred, his smirk nearly audible. He shoved her down again once more. "HERE!!"

He gave a rough thrust forward as he spoke, filling her quickly once again and earning a yelping moan; but this time, he didn't stop. A mixture of pain and pleasure racked her body as he kept up the rough thrusts, simultaneously twisting her arm more behind her back to hold her there. She couldn't stop the now loud moans and whines she gave as she panted, nearly digging her nails into the metal table supporting her. She could feel the pulses of her muscles threatening to tighten and mutate as she was slammed into nearly mercilessly, her fingers creating small dents in the material as she forced her mutation back once she felt a familiar flutter in her chest. He seemed to notice, letting out a low chuckle through his own grunts and growls.

It wasn't long before she felt the sudden waves of an orgasm, making her give a loud cry as she shifted under him, pressing back against him for a moment. She reached forward quickly and gripped the edge of the table, easily denting and nearly crushing it in her grip with light cries as he continued his thrusts through the tightening spasms. Her body shook while he didn't slow down. Instead, he increased his movements, and she almost felt tears come to her eye with the overwhelming sensation.

Her other arm was suddenly freed as he moved to grip both of her hips, leaning down to bite at her shoulder once more with low grunts and growls. He kept going... Oh god, he kept going. She couldn't speak, the only noises leaving her throat being whines and cries. She couldn't help but lean into his jaw, almost begging him for more despite the overstimulation. Her neck was bitten multiple times as if she were being marked, each bite breaking the skin with ease. Beads of blood slowly dripped from the wounds and over her skin every time he let go, only to feel his teeth elsewhere. She felt tightness below her belly once more as she let out a wavering cry of his name, only to be met with slower thrusts and a growl at her ear.

"What do you want, Emelia?" He growled, his voice low and strained. She couldn't help but squirm and push back against him with whining whimpers as he slowed more, quickly becoming frustrated and seemingly desperate. No... No, why was he stopping... Why was he slowing down?!

"N-.. N-No...!! D-Don't- fuck- D-Don't slow-...!!" She managed, earning a dangerous chuckle.

"Tell me Emelia, or I swear to God I'll stop right NOW." He played. She could hear the smirk in his voice as he spoke. She knew this was amusing to him... It was payback for her insults. Her body shook out of desperation and anger as the thrusts slowed considerably, and she put her forehead against the table with a growling whine. He held her hips in place against the table to prevent her from moving against him. She couldn't take it anymore... She wouldn't even try to fight it. It was as if she were being denied a prize, and she hated it already.

"F-Fuck- I-" she started, barely able to get words out, "Y-YOU Heisenberg, you bloody idiot!!! I want YOU!!!" She finally yelled, her voice cracking somewhat. "J-Just... D-Don't... Don't FUCKING stop!!! Fuck- PLEASE!!"

She could almost feel the pride-filled smirk he gave in knowing he had won, but she didn’t care... Her little outburst gave her slight confidence as he chuckled, his last breath coming as a low growl.. She jumped as she suddenly felt an arm around her waist, roughly pulling her back towards him as his other hand reached to pin and hold hers as if keeping her in place. A wavering whine left her lips as he gave a possessive growl, looming over her with obvious intent.

"Good girl." He grumbled, only giving her a chance to inhale before returning to the powerful, near brutal thrusts from before, pulling her to him with each movement.

She didn't even attempt to hide her voice again, her cries and moans growing louder with each passing second. She almost didn't want the feeling to end, allowing herself to melt into him as her back arched into his chest.

"D-Don't... D-Don't stop... F-FUCK- Don't stop...!!!" She repeated, her voice wavering with uneven pants and gasps.

"You. Are. MINE." He suddenly growled in her ear, not letting her respond before biting into her shoulder once more.

More electric pulses were sent through her piercings, nearly making her scream while gripping the hand over hers. The orgasm she felt then was strong, traveling through her body in waves and overstimulation as the pulses continued. The feeling was amplified as he kept moving for a few seconds, finally pressing her roughly against the table with a loud, wavering growl and swear as he came as well. She let out another gasping moan as she felt him twitch inside of her, shuddering with the light warmth she felt at the pit of her stomach.

The room was filled with the sound of their panting and deep breaths as their rode their highs, and Emelia finally relaxed against the table with a shaky, satisfied sigh while still panting. She felt... good. Great, actually... Very sore now, as well as numb, but good nonetheless. It was as if any frustration she felt had melted away with the thin layer of sweat on her body. She gave a quiet whimper as she felt Heisenberg shift somewhat. He removed his jaws from her shoulder, nudging her head and pressing his cheek against hers as his grip on her loosened to allow her to relax more.

"Are you alright, Emmy?" He asked quietly, his voice low and catching her off guard enough to flinch. She only made a small, confused noise as she glanced over. He chuckled, catching a glimpse of the residual pleasured tears that stained her cheek. He reached over, dragging his thumb over her skin to wipe them away. "Is that a yes?"

She kept her eye on him for a moment before giving a small nod and setting her head back on the table. She attempted to shift, but found her body was... unable to move. The numbness had begun to turn into the feeling of being a puddle, she found. Her muscles shook as she tried to push herself up, and she almost collapsed under him. He nearly laughed while kept his grip on her waist, keeping her upright while he watched in interest.

"Would you like some help?"

"N... N-No, I..." she tried, her voice quiet. There was silence for a moment before she gave a shaky sigh, putting her head down once more in defeat. "... y-yes..."

"I thought so." He chuckled, finally pulling himself away with a quiet grunt. She could hear the amusement in his voice. "Alright. Keep steady, now."

Emelia glanced back as he partially adjusted himself, not bothering to fully fix his pants before he let go of her waist. A small panic entered her chest as her legs began to collapse under her, barely able to use the table to keep herself up before she felt him at her side. Her body shook as she tried to lean up once more, reaching to hold on to Heisenbergs arm as he draped it across her shoulders. He didn't even flinch as she leaned her full weight on him, and he chuckled.

"Come on, then." He said, suddenly leaning down once she was fully off the table. She let out a surprised yelp as he swept his other arm behind her knees, bringing her up into a cradling position against his chest as she held onto him tightly. She tightened her grip more as he started to walk, her face red. "Something wrong?" He asked, amusement thick in his voice. She watched his movements, only somewhat relaxing as they neared the bed.

"N-No..." she replied quietly, slowly easing herself in a sitting position the tattered covers as he set her down, wincing again at the soreness she felt. While the fabrics weren't always the best for relaxing, right now they were comforting, and a godsend for her shaking muscles. She then jumped as he sat down himself before he laid beside her with a huff. She stared at him for a moment as he held his arm out for her. What was he doing...?

"Well?" He asked expectantly, raising a brow as she looked confused.

"... what?"

He rolled his eyes.

"You're wearing my shirt Emmy, the least you could do is lay down."

"What-" she started, only to look down. "O-Oh... um..." She had admittedly forgotten what she had been wearing, and sheepishly pulled the shirt over her now throbbing shoulders and neck. She then adjusted herself on the mattress with a quiet grunt. "Ok..."

"NOW you're embarrassed??" He asked, nudging her arm slightly. "Should I describe, in detail, what I just did to you?"

She glared at him and gave a small huff as she managed to lay down.

"Shut up..." she mumbled, somewhat begrudgingly cuddling onto his chest as he smirked.

"It was an honest question."

Emelia only grumbled in response, though relaxed as she felt his arm go around her. She adjusted her head on his chest, pausing as she felt a heartbeat. It was slow and rhythmic, lulling her into a relaxed breathing pattern. He glanced at her as her arm wrapped over his chest as well, though he froze as she mindlessly began to trace over some of the smaller scars over his skin. She watched her own fingers move, an amused smile creeping on her face as she felt him tense and relax at her touch. She tilted her head slightly as she heard a light grumbling from his chest, her fingers pausing. He shifted under her, and she looked up to meet his eyes.

"What...?" She asked, resuming the movements. She watched as his eyes traveled between her and her fingers multiple times, his breathing easy with small grumbles in each inhale.

"Nothing." He replied simply, only to lift his chin slightly in confusion as she moved her hand to the scar across his neck. She felt his breath hitch as she traced it, and he looked at her again. "What are you doing, Emmy?"

"Nothing." She copied, almost laughing as he rolled his eyes.

"Don't get soft on me now Emelia, just earlier you were threatening me." He snorted.

"I still can if you would rather that."

"Hm. No, I'd rather fuck you again."

She went silent for a moment, her face heating up once more with embarrassment. "You said you wouldn't break me." She huffed.

Heisenberg gave a chuckle before turning to face her, gaining a smirk when she looked at him in surprise.

"I won't. I can't, actually." He said matter-of-factly, suddenly pushing her shoulder to have her lay on her back. She jumped, staring up at him in a stunned silence. "That doesn't mean I can't try. I haven't had that much fun in years, and I know you're durable. So am I."

"I-I can tell..." Emelia managed, clearing her throat slightly. Well, she knew he had a point... Despite being sore, she still felt oddly energized... Sure, the light exhaustion was there, but she knew she would have gone back to work immediately if she were physically able to. And she had to admit... She enjoyed this. It felt... normal. Almost.

She kept her eye on him for a moment before taking a breath. Was she really debating on this? The reality of the current situation hit her full force like Sturm on a rampage. She was silent for another moment before gulping slightly.

"What... What is... 'this' , exactly...?" she asked, her voice quiet. Karl drew back slightly, caught off guard by the question.

"Excuse me...??"

"I... You... You piss me off, Heisenberg..." she started, her arms resting at the sides of her head. Each movement of her shoulders resulted in a dull pain from his teeth, and his mouth twitched as he realized. She paused as she saw the smallest... tiniest twinge of regret in his eyes. But she shook her head, looking down at herself.

"I don't... I've been here for... only a short time compared to you, Karl... And now I... We do... THIS..." she continued, looking back up at him as he held his place over her. "What are we doing...?"

It was his turn to stay silent, obviously contemplating his answer. She had seen the same look on his face when discussing important factory matters... It almost made her feel better.

"What do you want from it?" He asked finally, tilting his head with a light shrug. She blinked.

"... What?"

He rolled his eyes, giving a small smirk.

"Ah, who's asking the hard questions now?" He played, chuckling as she glared at him. "I don't quite care what this leads to, I know what my goals are." He explained. "What are yours? What do YOU want out of it?"

"I..." she started, looking to the side. "... I don't know."

"Then don't worry about it!"

"But I-"

"Look, Emelia. If you can't figure it out, then focus on something else. Is it really worth wasting the energy if you don't know right away?" He asked.

She was silent. He... He was right.

"That... That's the most intelligent thing I've ever heard you say."

She nearly laughed at his insulted expression.

"Hey-"

"I'm joking, Metalhead..." She sighed with a small smile. There was silence for a moment before she finally gave a huff. "Just... For now just..."

"Come on, we don't have all day." Heisenberg joked, smirking as she glared at him.

"... Shut up you daft idiot." She growled finally, reaching to yank him down by his necklaces.

The movement startled him, but he seemed to know exactly what to do as his lips met hers with a light chuckle. The kiss was... gentle, oddly enough, but she relaxed once more under him. Light shivers traveled up her spine as she felt his fingers travel along her skin. The shirt was fully unbuttoned once again and nudged to her sides, and she took a deep breath as she felt the air on her chest. She only whined as her legs were moved, making him pause. There was a soreness between them from his roughness beforehand, sending small waves of a low, pulsing pain through her body. He gave a questioning hum against her lips, and she spoke against his.

"Sore..." she admitted quietly, feeling his amused smile.

"Good." He replied simply, adjusting himself and his pants to rest between her thighs. Emelia let out a quiet whimper as she was rubbed against, her legs shaking against his hips and her arms reaching out to his onto and wrap around his shoulders.

The dull throbbing sensation continued as he pushed into her once more, earning a somewhat pained whine as her back arched. It hurt... But the feeling lessened to a light sting after a few seconds, and she took lighter breaths. She couldn't help but wonder as he stayed still, his words and question playing in her mind as he returned to his position of leaning on his forearms over her. What DID she want from this...? Did she truly wish for any sort of stability from this? Or just survival? Maybe this was the first and last time she'd experience this, or maybe it would be regular. Did she WANT it to be regular, though? She didn't know... All she knew was that his touch swung wildly between rough and gentle every time he touched her, even before this. He always switched between harsher interactions and kind ones, making her angry and thankful at the same time. And yet, when he touched her NOW... Even while over the table, it was almost careful, hesitant to push her too far even while leaving bruises in her skin. Somehow, while sharing this intimacy, he was a perfect mix of the two. And somehow, it calmed her and even gave a small hope in the back of her mind.

Her thoughts stopped, letting out a breathy moan into the kiss as he started moving, this time at a slow pace. This time she kept her arms around him, hugging him close enough for their bare chests to press against each other. Her breaths and moans came from a different sort of pleasure, almost willing to believe that sharing this with him would allow some sort of normalcy. Her nails dug into his shoulders as he set a careful, hard rhythm, one of his arms moving down to press his hand against her stomach.

A single second passed before Heisenberg sent a low pulse of electricity through her body and piercings, causing her back to arch as she pulled away from the kiss with a gasping whine. She felt as he lowered his head with a low groan, starting to kiss and nibble along her jaw. Her nails dug into his back as his movements increased somewhat, creating more scratches to match the ones he already had. Her voice came out in quiet whines and moans into his ear as she clung to him. Sure this was making the soreness worse, but she almost couldn't tell between the low pulses and thrusts coming from the man. Her body shook while simultaneously encouraging more. She WANTED more... She already admitted as much to herself. Another whine escaped her lips as he nibbled just below her ear.

"Fuck, Emmy...~" he nearly purred into her ear, lifting her hips slightly and switching to smaller quick thrusts.

"K-... K-Karl-! F-FUCK-" she managed, her voice breaking somewhat as she allowed her legs to loosen at his sides to bring him closer. She whimpered as he suddenly leaned up, her nails digging and sliding down to his biceps before gripping them as she felt a familiar tightness below her belly; he could feel it, too.

Emelia suddenly held her breath in a surprised, wavering gasp as he slid his hand up her body from the belly piercing, his fingers dragging along the large scar on her chest before lingering and pressing against the sides of her neck. Her whines and moans continued, even as his hand moved higher to her jaw. She then jumped as his thumb pushed past her parted lips, resting on her tongue. She attempted to look up at him, but found it difficult to even keep her eye open... Heisenberg gave a low chuckle at the sight, pushing on her jaw slightly. He didn't even have to say a word as her mouth nearly closed around his thumb. Her whines and whimpers grew louder and her grip on him tightened, and she could only gasp as he pulled his thumb from her mouth and replaced it with his own.

The kiss was returned instantaneously, followed by her wavering, now muffled cry as she finally came once more. He grunted into the kiss as she tightened around him, her legs wrapping around his waist once more while her back arched. She wrapped her arms fully around his shoulders with overstimulated whines as his pace quickened before he finally let out his own wavering moan against her lips. She joined him with her own moan as he shoved his hips against hers, feeling the warmth enter her as he rode out his own orgasm with shaking muscles. God, it felt... It felt good... The warmth and twitching from him kept her whines going as they panted, her body shaking under him.

Both were silent for several moments, the kiss lessening to gentle movements before breaking.

"D-... D-Damn..." Emelia nearly squeaked, her head rolling to the side as her jaw was nuzzled.

"Hm. Are you alright?" Heisenberg asked, earning a small nod.

"... gonna be sore..." she replied quietly, relaxing somewhat as he kept his face against hers. He chuckled.

"You wanted it."

"Shush..." she huffed. Her breathing eased, feeling his smile against her skin. This was... Nice, she had to admit... An uncomfortable whine left her lips as he began to push himself up and away, only pausing as her legs twitched around him to keep him there. "N-No... stay..." she whined, watching as he raised a brow. "... P-Please..."

"I've never heard you say 'please' this much." He joked, earning a light glare. But he simply returned to his place over her with an amused chuckle, nearly laying on her.

She was relaxed despite nearly his entire weight on her torso, though she had no issues. He was really warm... She could almost purr with the warmth both on top of and inside her, the feeling relaxing her to the point of her limbs going lax around him. She felt him chuckle against her skin, taking a breath as his lips found her bruised neck. But her mind wandered elsewhere, and she found herself pressing her cheek to his.

"Can we... Not talk about this...?" She asked quietly, earning a confused hum as he glanced at her.

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"J-Just... Um..." she tried, turning her head to look at him. "M-Maybe this could be... just... stress relief...?"

She jumped as Heisenberg shifted, his face now hovering over hers with their noses together.

"Just stress relief?" He asked, amusement dancing in his eyes as her face reddened. "Is that what you want?"

She simply nodded, her fingers traveling over small scars that covered his upper back and shoulders. 'For now...' she thought. Wait, 'for now'...?? Did she really mean that...? She was pulled out of her thoughts as he pressed a quick kiss to her forehead.

"Then so be it." Heisenberg said simply, meeting her gaze. She stared up at him before nodding and taking a breath. But he moved before she had a chance to even think, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Hold on."

"What-" she tried, only to cling to him with a surprised yelp as he pushed against the mattress to lean up with her against his chest. She let out a light whine as she was shifted on him, small sparks shooting up her spine as she was settled against his hips while he sat and leaned back against the wall. He couldn't help but smirk as she let out a whimper, her legs twitching. "Better?"

"I..." she tried, though couldn't manage words as she felt him shift against her to make himself comfortable. So she simply nodded before leaning against his chest.

It was his turn to freeze as she nuzzled to his neck, giving a pleased sigh as his arms hesitantly went around her waist. She relaxed against him, enjoying the warmth he gave and the feeling of his arms around her.

"... You're warm..." she said quietly, earning a surprised chuckle.

"I would almost hope so." He replied, reaching up and under the shirt she still wore to drag his fingers along small scars on her back. He smiled as she relaxed. "I'm going to assume you're not moving any time soon?"

He nearly laughed as she nodded against his shoulder.

"Fair assumption..." she mumbled, closing her eye.

While she wasn't necessarily tired, there was a sliver of exhaustion in her chest. She had to admit, there was still pain from the bite marks that now covered her neck and shoulders, and the soreness of her legs came as a dull throbbing. But she oddly didn't mind... She held her breath as she realized her enjoyment of this. The touches, the intimacy... Even the dull pains she felt. Maybe she didn't even mind HIM...

No, no... She DID mind him. Did she...? She still found him infuriating... But the way he held her now was... Well, it made her question quite a bit.

She finally sighed, relaxing fully against him. She focused on his touches against her back instead of the thoughts in her mind, willfully ignoring them for once. She'd enjoy what she had for now... Her attention went to the sounds of his heart and distant machinery, letting them lull her into a light sleep. She didn't NEED she sleep at the moment, but to her, it was almost perfect.

She only hoped it would stay that way.

#oc #resident evil #resident evil oc #resident evil village #resident evil village fanfiction #resident evil village oc #re8oc #re8 #heisenberg #karl heisenberg #karl heisenberg x oc #heisenberg x oc #karl heisenberg smut #lord heisenberg #smut #lovelywingsocs #LovelyWings Writes #Metalworks Fanfiction #heisenberg fanfiction

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xpeachesncream · 3 years

Text

restart | four

[ SEQUEL TO PERFECTLY WRONG ] | [ series masterlist ]

summary: as you and taehyung start to build your life together post graduation, things become more complicated than what you expected it to be. while taehyung struggles with his inner demons, you’ve become the sole supporter, the pillar, juggling different jobs to keep you two afloat. your love for each other has been put to the test as your relationship continues to face hurdles - hurdles that have you questioning whether or not your relationship will make it through.

pairing: reader x fiancé!kth

genre: post grad au, established relationship au | fluff, angst, smut

words: 4.8k

warnings: cussing/mature language, jealousy, lots of insecurities and overthinking, angst, crying, bar scene, alcohol consumption, flashback scene in the middle of the chapter, a lil sprinkle of fluff, implied sexual content, bickering/arguments

note: honestly, this was ALSO not supposed to get this long but like… 🙃 here we are lol

tags: @enchantaeduniverse @thedarkwinterrose @sapphirejeon @jwlmnbt @bluesharksandfish @ra-mun-e @brightcolorsoffendme @jungcrookthecookbook @sunniejinnie (please message me if you would like to be added to the taglist!)

"Okay, I think that's it." You said, hands on your hips as you and Jungkook walked through your door for the final time.

"What are you selling, the world?" He huffs and puffs.

"For someone who works out often, you complain a lot." He rolls his eyes playfully.

"Where's Tae?"

"Sleeping still." He nods.

"Oh, okay. Ready to go then?" You nodded silently as you grabbed your bag to hitch a ride to the café with Jungkook since he was working today. He starts to talk about the girl who works with you two and how he thinks she's a little cutiepie. He has such a silly crush on her that his cheeks are lightly rose tinted every time he talks about certain encounters they've had. You're happy to see him happy, and you tell him to keep pursuing it since she's a super sweet girl. However, part of you is sad solely because you couldn't say you were 100% happy at this moment. You wish you were, but these problems were hindering you from feeling complete. You just wanted to get past this page in the book.

As soon as you both get to the cafe, you start unloading his trunk and getting everything inside. Jungkook claims he has the last two bags covered, so you walk to the back and take breather just to gather yourself before setting up. But you truly didn't expect to lose it right then and there.

"Okay! I got all the— Y/N?" Jungkook instantly worries when he sees you crying into your hands in the backroom and hurries over to you. "Hey, woah. What's going on?" He gets in front of you, gently trying to pry your hands off of your face.

"Fuck, I'm sorry." You continue to cry as he successfully removes your hands from your face.

"Sorry for what? What's going on?" He wipes your tears with his sweater and lifts your chin to look at you in the eye.

"Nothing."

"The day barely started and you're already crying in the backroom." He says softly. "Don't try and lie to me."

"I just don't know what's going on between me and Tae and it's stressing me out."

"What's going on? Same stuff?" You nod, tears still streaming down your cheeks. You tell him about how he had been super weird about taking Jimin's help and how you both got into a huge argument about it. Then, you told him how last night ended [sparing your poor bestfriend the details] and how you couldn't help but feel used because he simply dismissed you, which is very unlike Taehyung when it comes to arguments and disagreements. "I'm sorry, Y/N. I know he's going through a rough time, but Tae also needs to respect you and look at you as his partner, not someone who's also attacking him or against him. Do you want me to talk to him?"

"No." Simply, no. Because you never get your friends involved like that. You just don't, no matter how much they wanna help. "He looks at me like I am, especially after this whole Jimin thing. I don't wanna say it's stupid because I don't wanna discredit his feelings, but god. Like, should I just do this on my own? Tell Jimin to forget it?"

"No." Jungkook shakes his head. "You're already getting a good start on your goals, Y/N. Don't let that go because of everything going on. Give him some time and space."

"I have been. For awhile now." You sat, feeling completely defeated already, tears still coming down your cheeks.

"Here, I'll go set up and I can take over the table for a bit. I'll ask Isabella if she can cover for a quick second." He stands in front of you, hands out to help support you as if you had lost your footing.

"No, I'll be fine—"

"Y/N, just sit. Okay?" He gives off a small sigh. "Just sit for a second and let yourself take a breather." He gently sits you down and makes sure you don't get up by slowly backing away from you.

"Kook, this isn't Marco Polo."

"I'm just trying to make sure you don't run off because you're stubborn!"

"Hey!" Isabella comes running in, a little confused as to what's happening.

"Hey, can you cover me at the front for a bit?" Jungkook stands back upright in a normal position to ask her sweetly, hands tucked behind his back as he bounced on his feet. This boy.

"Yeah, of course Jungkook." She blushes.

"Thanks. I'll be right back." He gives you a quick look before dashing off. You lay your head onto your arms as they rest on the table, a small headache forming at the center of your forehead.

"You okay, Y/N?" Isabella asks softly as she puts her things away.

"Yeah, sorry. Just a really weird day yesterday."

"I'm sorry." You feel her hand caress your back. "Let me know if you need anything, okay?" She says before shuffling herself out of the room. To be honest, you had no idea what was going on with you, and why you were feeling this way. You were just so sick and tired. Sick and tired of being sick and tired.

This was slowly taking a toll on you, and you weren't even sure if Taehyung realized what he was doing was hurting you in the process.

He can't say he does.

Tae set the weights down back onto the rack aggressively before sitting on the bench, watching Jimin finish his set. They had been working out after lunch, Jimin calling him shortly after Taehyung had fully woken up.

"Are you gonna go to the café after this?" Tae shrugged.

"I don't know, Y/N said she didn't need help and wouldn't be there all day."

"You won't even visit for a bit?" Jimin asks. Usually Tae was rushing to get back to you, but he knew everything that had been going on had been affecting your relationship to an extent.

"We'll see."

"You two coming to the bars tonight then?"

"What are we celebrating again?"

"Nothing. Just getting together like old times. I told Kook, Hobi and Yoongi. They're down." Tae nodded.

"Joon, too?"

"Joon, too."

"Me and Y/N will probably go but I don't think we'll stay long. She has to do that thing at the school—" He scratched his head. "The thing— the exhibit and talking to incoming art students or whatever." Jimin chuckled at how Tae couldn't get his words out.

"It's not whatever."

"You know that's not what I mean." Tae rolled his eyes at him, annoyed all over again at how Jimin had been kissing your ass lately. Cause fuck, the way Jimin had been painting himself as a knight in shining armor, an angel even, was pissing him the fuck off. It made him feel like he wasn't doing enough to support you, or like you couldn't turn to him for help. He hated that feeling, even though he had been rude as hell and showing it in a different way.

"That's fine. Just come out and hang out for a bit." Jimin sighed as he sat on the bench next to him, drinking some water before placing the bottle back down on the ground. "You two doing okay?"

"Yeah, what makes you think we aren't?" Tae asks, getting defensive. Jimin quickly eyes him, reading his body language. He knew Taehyung so well - so fucking well that he knew almost immediately when things were taking a toll on him. Things liiiike.. his parents. As a prime example. Jimin knew Taehyung and his parents obviously didn't have the best relationship, and he knew he took things to heart whenever his father got on him about stupid shit [just like he did over that dinner]. Taehyung wasn't one to show emotion much; he liked showing people he was mentally tough and that he could handle whatever came his way. For the most part, it was true. But, Jimin and Namjoon also knew he wasn't always like that, especially when it came to things that mattered the most to him - his family and you. Taehyung hated to admit it but his family's opinion of him was important no matter what. He was hard on himself because he wanted them to be proud. He wanted to actually feel like he had been doing something good for once. He was still longing for that feeling no matter what he said or did. It was a never-ending battle; like a plot with no happy ending in sight.

"I'm just asking." Jimin threw up his hands, showing that he wasn't suggesting anything behind the harmless question.

"We're fine. I know she's been stressed lately because of work and her art."

"Mmm."

"It's funny." Taehyung chuckles at himself.

"What's funny?" Jimin laughed a bit, confused.

"I didn't expect to be caught up in her like this. After Hana, messing around with all these girls. She's my fucking fiancé."

"Yeah and you better not fuck that up." Jimin stands to gather his things.

"You sound like my dad." Tae jokes, even though he was pretty offended.

"I'm sorry, didn't mean to." Jimin instantly apologizes, knowing everyone had been walking on eggshells around Taehyung lately. "She's a good girl, you've got it good."

Taehyung softly smiles at the thought of you, but he wasn't gonna lie, he was hurt by Jimin's statement. Call him sensitive or whatever, but he wasn't feeling the fact that people were constantly looking at him as a fuck up and hinting at it. It seemed to be a reoccurring theme lately. "You ready?" Tae sighs before grabbing his stuff. They get into his car, departing from the gym to make their way to Jimin's so he can get dropped off before Tae heads home. Taehyung replays yesterday's events in his head, which instantly irks him all over again. But, he has such a soft spot for you that he feels terrible for having been too harsh about it. He was still upset, and he wasn't gonna let up on his feelings. But he knew he should have been better about how he approached it. He knew better than that. He's learned to do better.

➤ FLASHBACK

Taehyung excitedly parks his car at the café to surprise you for your pop up today. He had been working endlessly to finish off finals strongly, and he had been so busy that he hadn't really gotten a chance to help you or support you. He felt terrible about it because you were his babygirl and he wanted nothing but to spoil you for all the hardwork you've been putting in.

He creeps up behind you, bouquet of flowers hidden behind his back. "Excuse me, miss." He says lowly near your ear.

"Holy fuck!" You say as he startles you. "Babe, what the hell! Don't do that!" He laughs.

"What's cookin', goodlookin'?" He wiggles his eyebrows, making you chuckle. "These are for you." He smiles toothlessly as he hands you the pretty bouquet. "And your favorite!" He hands you a Mcflurry cup.

You squeal. "Oreo Mcflurry! Aw, thank you baby." You place a quick kiss on his lips. "But don't ever scare me like that!" You playfully hit his chest, causing him to erupt in laughter.

"You should've seen your face."

"Ha-ha, very funny." You rolled your eyes, causing him to pinch your cheeks.

"How's it going?"

"Welp, I'm almost out for the day." You giggle. "I, uh, may have underestimated." You look down at his hoodie, realizing it was one of the hoodies you had made for a previous collection you sold at Jin's. "Waaaow, cute sweater, who made it?"

"Mm, I don't know if you know her. Her name's Y/N."

"Uh huh?" You nod, hand on your hip, waiting to hear more.

"She stands about this tall." He lowers himself close to the ground, causing you to laugh. "Cute, right? She's beautiful, incredibly smart and sexy. Brilliant visual designer and illustrator. Packed with hella attitude." He pretends to ponder on his thoughts. "I could go on about her, really. She's one of a kind."

"Cute. She must feel lucky." You smile.

"I know, I'd feel lucky if I knew me too." You roll your eyes and playfully hit him. "Ah, I'm kidding." He pulls you into a hug. "I keep this sweater in my trunk."

"Oh, so you keep it in your trunk just for emergency wear?" You sarcastically ask as he holds you from behind.

"Yeah, and cause it's the only sweater I'd choose to wear out of the hundreds I own." You smile up at him. "Mhm, not gonna try and win that one." He places a big, sloppy kiss on your cheek before pulling away. "Show me. How can I help my pretty baby today?"

➤ END FLASHBACK

"Hey, I can't stay out late tonight because of the event tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know." Taehyung says softly.

"Please don't drink too much."

"I wooooooon't." He whines with a small sigh, also slightly offended at that statement. He didn't know what it was, maybe it was the fact that his own father painted him in such a negative light that everything seemed off to him lately. Like people were just out to get him or constantly looking down at him and his actions. A personal attack at who he was. It was slowly piling up for him and he wasn't sure how much more of it he could take.

You prepared a quick dinner while he hopped in the shower. You set his plate aside before taking a look at the mail that had come in today.

Bills, bills and more bills.

You sighed to yourself as it felt like you had just paid things off, but clearly not. Moving into Taehyung's wasn't the greatest idea, being that his space was much more expensive than yours. But, he did have the space you needed for your work. There was money left, but you knew it wouldn't last forever. You hated tapping into your savings and whipping out your credit cards because you wanted to keep yourself clean as much as possible. However, that was proven difficult as of late. It was a sacrifice, especially since Taehyung had cut off his mother's help. Taehyung's pride was such a curse sometimes.

You shook your head, already finalizing the fact that you would deal with it later. You had began to set your things aside for the new student event tomorrow morning. You figured you'd get there early to set up and make your table at neat and cute, so you didnt have to worry much about it right now.

Taehyung comes out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, hair slicked back and wet. You turn to face him, your eyes wandering down to his chest and bottom area. God, why was he so beautiful? It wasn't fair. You loved him so much that you could crumble even being upset. He talks a whole lot about you being the death of him, when really, this man is going to be the death of you. Truly. There's no debate about it.

Getting to the bar, you both immediately spot your friends in the corner, a huge tower of beer decorating the center of the table. Jimin is the first to stand, coming towards you two with a huge smile on his face.

"Friends!" Jimin yells. "Drink!" He says, holding up two shot glasses.

"Fuck, man." Taehyung says taking the glass. "We just got here."

"So! Y/N needs to be home early remember?" He watches wide-eyed as you two take the shot and make sour faces at each other.

"Okay, I'm good." You say, being that you were the DD tonight. Taehyung could enjoy himself if he wanted to [to an extent], but you definitely needed to be in tip top shape to be a good role model to those incoming art students tomorrow.

Throughout the night, the bar starts to get packed from end to end, you and your friends staying at the table and keeping to yourselves. You could tell Taehyung was crossing the line of pretty fucking drunk, which somewhat bothered you. You literally just told him to take it easy tonight - just for one night - so you could do what you need to do tomorrow.

"Hey." Jimin comes next to you, swinging his arm over your shoulder like he always does. "One more shot?" You give him a toothless smile. Ugh, why the hell not? Your man was drunk, and Jimin had only been helpful lately. You could at least return the favor by taking a shot with him.

"What are we drinking to?"

"You." He smiles. "Your shop. Your art. It'll only go up from here, yeah?" He rose his shot glass up before clinking it against yours and taking it to the neck.

"Mkay, that does it for me." You chuckle. "Thanks for the shot."

"No problem. You doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good." You looked at your watch. "Should probably get out of here soon, but Tae looks like he's enjoying himself. I don't wanna drag him out of here."

"We can just bring him home." You shake your head worriedly.

"I don't wanna leave without him." Jimin chuckles and looks over at Taehyung.

"He'll be okay and you'll be just fine tomorrow. Besides, you can make up all the bullshit in the world to tell the incoming students, they'll believe it either way."

"That's mean." You chuckle.

"Come. Let's dance!" Jimin says, leading the way to the empty space near the table. Everyone gets up to dance, Taehyung slipping himself behind you, whispering sweet nothings in your ear.

"Can I at least get one minute with my lady without Jimin interrupting?" He says in your ear.

"Taehyung." You flatly say, looking back at him.

"That's your mad face." He holds you tightly from behind as he sways you from side to side.

"I'm not mad."

"Mhm." He kisses the back of your head. "Why don't you have fun with me for a little? We'll go home after this." You couldn't even stay mad at him, with that fucking frustratingly handsome face of his. He was definitely drunk though, you could smell the whiskey lingering on his breath as he danced with you for a bit. You let him be, just so you wouldn't trigger anything within drunk Taehyung. Everyone around you was having a good time, the feeling of nostalgia hitting you pretty hard. You missed the days where you could get together and go to parties after a long week of school. Or, when you would tease the fuck out of Taehyung as his fuckbuddy during parties, or at the clubs. You know, before graduation and responsibilities happened.

But as one hour turned into two, and two turned into three, you found yourself getting restless. It was nearing 2AM and you had to be at the school by 8am - even earlier just to set your table up. You made your way to the bathroom, hoping Tae would get the point and start getting himself ready to leave.

Right.

Once you were out the bathroom, he'd realize you had been gone for a little and start saying his goodbye's. He'd realize time got to the best of him. Right?

"It's a fucking good time tonight!" Jimin tells Namjoon, laughing with him as he watches Joon act a fool with his dance moves.

"I'm sure it is, since you've been in Y/N's space the entire night." Taehyung says it jokingly, but he doesn't realize it only comes off that way in his head. Jimin furrows his brows at him, his high quickly dying with Taehyung's unnecessary comment.

"Don't start with all that. Not tonight. Everyone's having a good time--"

"Or what, Jimin?" Taehyung chuckles like the petty ass he can be. "You know it's true. Don't you think it's a little disrespectful to be crossing boundaries?"

"Hey, let's step back for a bit." Jungkook lightly tugs on Taehyung's arm as he hears the conversation going south quickly. But Taehyung breaks from his grip, stepping forward towards Jimin.

"You really think I would do that to you?"

"Haven't you already? Swinging your arms around her and shit, being all angelic--"

"Tae, come on. That's enough. Don't." Namjoon steps in the middle. "Let's go outside to get some air."

"You really wanna make me look that bad in front of my own girl?" Jimin lightly pushes him away, Taehyung getting too into his space.

"Enough." Namjoon shakes his head, aggressively stepping in the way to create distance. Taehyung shakes his head and walks off, the rest of the group watching as he walks. You finish off in the bathroom, assuming Tae was already getting ready to go. However, you realize your assumption of leaving by the time you're back is absolutely incorrect because when you get to the table, Taehyung is nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Tae?" Kook looks at you frazzled, before his eyes begin to pan the room again.

"Look, don't freak out, but him and Jimin just got into it and he walked off."

"What the hell do you mean they got into it and he walked off?"

"It's nothing, Tae is just drunk—" Kook squeezes your wrist and shakes his head.

"No, it's not just nothing because you and I both know how he's been feeling lately." You run your hand through your hair. "What did he say?"

"He just got into it about Jimin getting close to you lately, and how he felt like he was disrespecting boundaries." You sigh heavily.

"Fuck."

"We have an issue." Namjoon comes back from out of the blue. "He's not around."

"What do you mean?! Where did he go?" You run your hand through your hair.

"Okay, let's not panic." Jungkook tries to relax you. "Let me go check the bathrooms." Namjoon nods as he continues to look around the room.

"Please? We should get home." He nods to you before he's off to check for Tae in the bathroom. You stand near the table awkwardly, worry filling you quickly the more time passes.

"Hey, you okay? What can I do?" Hobi squeezes your arm, his face flushed with a red tint from how tipsy he is. You give him a small, reassuring smile and nod to try and keep calm.

"I honestly don't know anymore, but I'll be good. I think. We're just gonna look for him and head home."

"Is Kookie looking in the bathroom?" You nod. At this point, you catch a glimpse of Jungkook coming back alone.

"Jungkook?"

"I'm sorry, I couldn't find him in there. I swear I tried."

"So, where the hell is he?" Jungkook shrugs.

"Lets check around again. I won't leave until we find him."

"Have you tried to call him?" You had already beaten Yoongi's question, calling Taehyung's phone only to see his phone vibrating and ringing on the fucking table. "Hm, okay. Maybe not."

"Fuck." You snatch Taehyung's phone from the table. "Is he serious right now? It's about to be 2:30AM. How the fuck can he get lost at this time?"

"Y/N just go home, we'll find him and bring him home." Jimin says, coming back from roaming around the place.

"No, I'm not leaving here without him."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen." He says, looking at you in the eye. Although he was pretty fucking pissed, he couldn't help but worry about him either. No matter what, that was still his bestfriend. He didn't want anything to happen to him.

"It's not your fault."

"We need to check around the neighborhood." Jungkook suddenly comes back and grabs your arm. You follow him, Yoongi, Hobi, Namjoon and Jimin outside of the bar, the cold hitting your skin harshly.

"Let's split." Namjoon says. Jimin and Hobi split, Namjoon and Yoongi sticking together to go down a different path. You kept yourself close to Jungkook, knowing there were all sorts of drunk ass men out at this hour and you weren't helping wearing a tiny ass skirt and a deep cut shirt.

"Cutiepie, let me come holla!" A dude yells as he tries to swing his arm around your waist. Jungkook easily pushes him off, glaring at him.

"Back the fuck up." He spits out, your bestfriend coming to your rescue amongst the sea of men you're encountering on the sidewalk right now. He throws his jacket over your shoulders, hoping to shield you from them and the cold. "Your outfit." Jungkook frowns, a little worried.

"I mean, I didn't expect to lose Tae tonight." Once you had gotten to a quieter part of the street, you come from behind to walk beside him. "Where the hell could he have gone?" You whine. You're more worried for his safety and wellbeing right now more than anything and all you wanted to do was find him and bring him home, even though you were slightly worrying about yourself and how things would go tomorrow. You could give him an earful later. It could wait.

"He couldn't have gone far." You both continue down the street, heading towards your car, hoping he may be around the area. Jimin calls to check in, saying him and Hobi hadn't caught sight of him yet, and the same thing goes for Yoongi and Joon. You almost want to cry when you don't see Taehyung near your car, but Jungkook ends up walking further down towards the park near your parking spot. "Y/N! Here!" He calls out, running towards an individual slumped over on their knees on a bench. "Taehyungie?" Jungkook sits next to him and shakes him a bit.

"Shit dude, I just kept walking then I suddenly had no idea where I was at." He drunkily says as you sit next to him and sigh heavily.

"No one said you had to do that, Tae."

"I just needed some air."

"Yeah and look where that got you, it's close to 3AM." You respond, irritated.

"Y/N." Jungkook says softly, shaking his head at you as if he were signaling for you to quit with your attitude. "Let's go back to the car." Jungkook watches him stand up and wobble a bit, but eases up when he realizes Taehyung is capable of walking himself to the car. You three get back safely, letting the others know that you had found him before driving Jungkook back towards the club so he can meet with everyone else. You quickly thank him for his support before driving off to head home.

The car is incredibly cold, and silent.

"Love, I'm sorry. I just needed air and got lost." He breaks the silence.

"I see that." You say softly as you drive home, keeping your eyes glued to the road in front of you.

3:23AM.

"Please don't be mad." He gives your thigh gentle squeeze. "I just got a little into my head tonight." You sighed, gently removing his hand from your thigh.

"Taehyung, I'm your fiancé, I'm doing this with you and only you. Do you even understand how worried I was? You just walked off, without your phone. Without saying anything to me. Just cause you got in your head for no reason."

"I'm sorry." He repeats at a whisper. You don't say anything else for the rest of the drive home. You silently park the car and head to the apartment, Taehyung sluggishly following behind you. He knows you're bothered, knowing it's closing to 3:30AM and you had an early morning. Honestly, he didn't realize how drunk he was until he had gotten himself into that argument with Jimin then got lost, especially without his phone. The fact that he had made you worry and stress like that made him feel terrible, especially after these past few days. You could have easily left, but you didn't leave without him even if it was this late. He instantly just wanted to cuddle you and tell you how sorry he was.

You quietly get ready for bed and line your things up by the door, just so it would be an easy quick and grab as you head out in the morning. You slip yourself into the sheets, Taehyung following shortly after he gets himself ready for bed. He shuts off all the lights and grabs himself a water bottle to sit by his nightstand before slipping in next to you.

"I love you." He whispers against your ear, wrapping his arms around you. But you don't respond. He peeks over to see your eyes shut, silently sighing to himself as he nuzzled his head against the nape of your neck. He knows you aren't fast asleep yet, and it hurts him that you hadn't said it back. You both just knew exactly how to love each other well, but also push each other's buttons. But, maybe, it was true - he was just fucking up left and right lately. Enough for you to go to bed without saying 'I love you' back.

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'cause baby if i find a way, i'm sure of it, this love won't stray; just give me a chance to say i love you, and i need you. now are you here to stay, or fade away like every other day? you're the reason that i lie awake

track two: 3AM - finding hope

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