#where else can i get primos
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anyways guys is ~1900 primos and one intertwined fate enough for c6 kazuha do you think
#game discussion#where else can i get primos#i cant do spiral abyss because i don't have more than four characters built#im not doing commissions#im just gonna rawdog this when the time comes. tbh
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so i just watched the scara demo earlier...
kinda think i should pull him?
#maybe?#the thing is tho is that he uses alot of the same shit layla did and i do not wanna farm for that again#im wondering if i can get enough primos from inbetween scaras banner to 3.5 cause thats when dehya is supposedly coming out#also ik i said im on break but this idc im just talking about this here cause i have no where else to talk about it
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SR Ruggie Bucchi - Tsumsitter Voice Line
Tsumsitter Ruggie has no vignette
Summon Line: They're sayin' this tsum's just like me, but don't listen to that. Unlike me, this little thing'll absolutely rip you off!
Groooovy!!: Geez, why's this tsum so hung up on madol? Who could it've gotten that obsession from…?
Home: Hey, tsum, what're you writ... A resume?
Home Idle 1: Those job postings the tsum is lookin' through all look like primo positions! Maaan, if I didn't have school, I'd totally apply!
Home Idle 2: Suuuper glad these tsums don't eat nothin'. If I had to pay for its food expenses on toppa everything else, I'd've rioted!
Home Idle 3: D'ya think that Idia-san's tsum is also good at buildin' contraptions or whatever? It'd be great if it could make somethin' so I could sell it an make a ton of moolah... Juuust kiddin'.
Home Idle - Login: Maaan, takin' care of a tsum's a drag… Guess I'll just pretend it's one of 'em lil' brats from back home followin' me 'round.
Home Idle - Groovy: Fine, I get it already! Here ya go, tsum, your half of the pay. Geez, cheeky lil' thing…
Home Tap 1: I can't really tell what the tsum is thinkin', but somehow I can kinda figure out what it's tryin' to say. I wonder why?
Home Tap 2: I was offerin' to look after Ace-kun's tsum, but he turned me down flat. Maybe I was pushin' a little too hard.
Home Tap 3: Apparently, Trey-san's tsum knows how to make cakes. I wanna cake baked by a tsum! I'll eat the whole thing myself, too!
Home Tap 4: The tsum is completely covered in chocolate!? Is there a chocolate fountain somewhere!? I wanna go so you better tell me where it is!!
Home Tap 5: If you got a present or somethin' for my tsum, I can take 'em off your hands. Don't woooorry. I'll totally make sure it gets it.
Home Tap - Groovy: Don'tcha feel like givin' me and my tsum some odd jobs to do? Our fee varies based on the type of ask, though… But hey, I can give you a friend's discount!
Requested by @ghostydancer.
#twisted wonderland#twst#ruggie bucchi#twst ruggie#twst translation#twst tsum tsum#mention: idia#mention: ace#mention: trey
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10 Character Dynamics the World Needs More of
Me handing out character dynamics like free samples at the Mall Food Court: “Take one! Or two! You’ll love it!”
I don’t care how many times these tropes have been done – write more of them. Write all of them. Fill out your author bingo card one by one.
1. “No one gets to kill you but me, Old Friend”
This. Right here. Primo rival content that I *live* for. All the juicy history between two old frenemies, the character drama, the backstory, the titillating unknown of what drove these two to rival status, bitter enemies that respect the heck out of each other, to the point that hell hath no fury should one get knocked down without the other’s consent.
And, of course, the moment where it seems all bets are off, when the rival comes to save their ass only to hand it back to them at a later date. The angst! The shipping fodder! Need I say more?
2. A bigger, badder villain, and their minion
You, reader, spend countless hours hating the guts of the big bad villain. They’re evil, they’re vile, they’re sadistic, heartless, irredeemable bastards. They killed your favorite character for shock value. The big bad moustache-twirling antagonist… is actually not the biggest fish in the story.
Either they’re coerced into doing evil as a puppet of the Bigger Bad, a tragic villain in their own right, or they have some reservation, some line even they won’t cross, someone else’s boots they have to kiss, someone who features in their nightmares, as they feature in the heroes. They end their stories dispatched without a thought by the Bigger Bad, or redeem themselves in death by taking out their masters. It never gets old.
3. A leader and their lancer: besties
You know what’s better than leaders and lancers who have zero faith in each other and are constantly bickering about who should be in charge? Leaders and their right-hands who adore each other (platonically). They have each other’s backs, they know each other’s greatest strengths and weaknesses and are each other’s perfect covers.
They can communicate with looks and vague gestures alone, they compliment each other’s flaws and misgivings, build up the rest of the team when they’re down on their luck, and should misfortune strike either, they pull out all the stops and show off exactly why they’re not to be trifled with, so that even the villain is afraid.
4. “I don’t even know who you are”
Oh, but you will. This one twists the knife, robbing the avenging hero of the importance in this world they’re desperate to maintain. They are their own hero, the sun revolves around them… but not to this one asshat that ruined their life and doesn’t even remember doing it.
An entire identity built upon the finding, fighting, and overcoming of this wrongdoer, every other goal in life cast aside for this one impossibility. Either the villain toys with the hero to make them irate, or gets suckerpunched by some pissant fueled by vengeance and spite and divine purpose to dole justice where justice is due.
6. The jaded badass and their naive ward
If the last 8 years of media is anything to go by, we still love this trope, whether it’s in a galaxy far, far away or a fungi-zombie post-apocalypse, or in the twilight hours of an era of legendary mutants. The best part of this trope? You get two often contradictory character types in one body. The pessimist, PTSD-ridden master of old with no living friends left and at least one dead love interest *and* beneath all that, still lies an atrophied heart of gold just waiting to be nurtured and revived.
The naive ward gets a hard lesson in how crappy the world can be, but also in how there’s still some goodness left, if their guardian cares about them. The jaded badass in turn, learns how good the world can be, that there’s something still worth fighting for beyond the next bottom of a bottle.
6. The enemy of my enemy (is my friend)
Similar to the “old friends”, this trope is often a result of the minioned Big Bad realizing they don’t want to be evil anymore. Or, bitter old rivals, sides of a war that have been fighting for generations, ideological polar opposites, fundamental polar opposites all come together when: Some evil schmuck managed to scare them both.
Doesn’t matter on what shaky ground this temporary alliance is built, or how long it lasts, equally-competent badasses on both sides finally work together and compliment each other’s strengths, and compensate for their weaknesses, in a way their teammates never could.
7. The irredeemable villain’s only wholesome connection
Not so irredeemable anymore, now are they? This trope messes with your head, taking a character you know has done heinous acts of terror, but who cares unflinchingly, unabashedly, about one thing – either their lover, their pet, their relative, or their kid.
This exists independently of the heroes and is not the same as an “oops I guess I’m your father” reveal. I’m talking this character who everyone is convinced cares about nothing and no one but themselves and their ambition still has a place in their soul for something they want to protect, they want to be loved by, or that they must spare from their atrocities.
8. Platonic Heterosexual Friendships
These two have seen each other at their most vulnerable. They’ve shared fears, dreams, desires, know each other’s deepest, darkest secrets. They’ve seen each other exhausted, frazzled, dressed up, dressed down, bloodied and broken and like a raw, open nerve. These two would die for each other, they would live for each other, and yet.
They’re not in love with each other. They’re wholly comfortable in each other’s spaces without lust and desire mucking up the atmosphere. Neither is the one, neither wants to be the one. They remain together not for the bonds of romance, but for the bonds of friendship, and nothing could be stronger.
10. The Ace and their best friend, the Self-Proclaimed Slut
These two respect the f*ck out of each other. One never mocks the other for lacking desire and in return, they’re never mocked for their promiscuity. They’ll never walk in each other’s shoes, but they don’t need to, to understand that’s just how some people are. They’re each other’s safest spaces when the world doesn’t take either of them seriously.
They’re each other’s biggest defenders against the bullies, presumers, the holier-than-thous who think they have it all figured out. They’re the perfect compliment to give advice on everything from relationships to the best outfits for an outing because there’s *zero sexual tension* between them. Or, maybe, if the stars align, they’re something more.
10. The redeeming villain, and their staunchest skeptic
This villain has lost everything – their home, the respect of their people, their worth, their evil ambition, their identity, and has begun working their way up from rock bottom doing everything in their power to show the heroes that they’re serious. They make amends, they break their bones proving themselves, they’ve swayed everyone they’ve wronged in the hero camp.
Except one. The one character that was probably their first defender, and got burned for it. The character that was naive enough to think this villain could be saved, and was wrong. The character that won’t be duped again without some serious drama and soul-bearing between them.
Now tell me which ones I missed!
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01. what did i walk in on?
“hey, pretty boy…i’d like 2 more shots of pink whitey and then i’ll close my tab.” you mumbled to the bartender. your eyes were teary and wet, eyes glistening under the light at the bar table. “you sure? you look pretty drunk, miss…” the bartender asked you with a worried expression. “what do you mean! i’m the soberest person here at this very moment!" you exclaimed. “alright alright, whatever you say… your total comes to 300 primos. shall i put that on your card?” “... yeah sure, whatever. see you next time, pretty boy.”
you stumbled out of the bar, walking to the dormitory of your school thinking about the money you’ve spent on drinks. 300 primos? all you drank was a glass of raspberry vodka, pineapple tequila and 3 shots of pink whitey… you didn’t want to return to your dorm, you didn’t want your roommate, lumine, to be concerned and ask why you were drinking so much again. you didn’t want to tell her about your argument with your boyfriend nor did you want her to worry so much about you. instead, you made your way to your friend, lynette’s dorm room.
soon enough, you arrived at the dorm building and went up the stairs to lynette’s room. you knocked on her door, hoping she’d be awake this late during a school night. “please please please open the door-” “uh, hi? i’m sorry but, do i know you?” a person with short ash blonde hair that looks similar to your friend, lynette, opens the door. tears welled in your eyes again as you looked away from the man. “oh… hi, sorry to disturb you but is lynette here?” you asked him, trying your best not to cry in front of a guy you just met. “i’m sorry but no… she went out for a quick errand.” he replied, sympathetically. “ah… okay. could you please tell her to call me once she comes back? sorry again for bothering you at such a late time at night.”
you turn around with tears starting to dribble down your eyes until- “wait! don’t go yet. here, come in. you can stay here and wait for her if you’d like.” stay and wait for her? you were willing to do that but you didn’t want to bother a stranger you just met, especially on a school night. “i’m lyney… lynette’s older brother. please, come in.” your ears perked up. lynette has an elder brother? you’ve known her for at least 3 years and she has never mentioned a single word about her brother… or her family. “thank you…”
now you’re crying on their couch, with lyney sitting beside you. “if you don’t mind me asking, what happened?” he asked you, trying his best to comfort you. you looked over to him, frowning. “oh! uh, i mean- if you don’t want to tell me then you obviously don’t need to! it’s just that i can’t have someone with a pretty face like yours crying!” he nervously rambled out. your face flushed at his words, “really…?” “yes, of course!” after that, you gave in.
“my boyfriend and i had an argument…i expressed to him how i didn’t like how he acts towards me and other people when he’s upset.” you began. “i told him that i didn’t like how he takes his anger out on others, including me… then he proceeded to call me annoying and needy! i was so upset to the point where i immediately retorted and called him so not so nice stuff. it ended with him walking out my dorm… i never intended on having a huge argument with him!” now you were crying even more than before, trying your hardest to wipe away all your tears.
“oh my dear… you’re quite in a pickle! i’m sorry you're going through that. but may i ask if he still brings you joy? do you feel like you have to walk on eggshells around him just to not make him mad or upset? partners should be able to communicate with each other. he shouldn’t be getting pissed at you communicating with him how you feel. he should listen and talk it out with you to find a solution. if he isn’t willing to listen without getting angry how are you gonna discuss anything else?” lyney said, opening a new box of tissues.
“sometimes people have their own things to sort out before they are ready to date and it sounds like he isn’t ready to be dedicated to someone else if he lets his anger out on you or gets mad when you try and tell him what he does wrong.” he pulls out a tissue from the box and wiped your eyes. “i’ll brew you some tea, though i doubt it’ll be as good as what lynette would make! feel free to rest on the couch, i'll be with you shortly.”
ANGEL EYES ✿ prev ❀ masterlist ❀ next
lyney x reader
SYNOPSIS you’re at a bar, drinking your heart out after another having a feud with your boyfriend of 2 years. you later stop at your friend’s house to stay the night but… the one who opens the door isn’t her but instead, her brother…?
notes : dudeee i'm soso sorry that the first chapter was written so long :c i know this is a smau but i just HAD to write this chapter for it to make sense... lmk if there are any grammar/spelling mistakes!
#⁺◟✿ angel eyes : lyney x reader#lyney x reader#lyney smau#lyney genshin impact#scaramouche x reader#scaramouche smau#genshin smau#genshin impact smau
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The Prince
Part Five - The Hungry (ao3 // one // two // three // four)
Vampire Terzo x F!Reader
Summary: With Primo's help you and Terzo try to find a solution to save your vampire. (21500 words I know. I'm sorry.)
Tags/Warnings: NSFW, MDNI, 18+, BLOOD, horror themes, vampire violence, vampire bites, blood drinking, major character injury, vomiting, magic, SMUT, unprotected sex, and more tags on ao3
apologies and thank yous at the end 💜 xo Ghouls.
Part Five – The Hungry
“Did you sleep well, piccolina?”
Primo’s deep voice carried from the far side of the kitchen barely audible over the rumble of thunder outside. It was somewhere between morning and afternoon, though the storm made it difficult to tell one from the other. Heavy rain pelted the stone walls of the cottage in a steady thrum in time with the howling winds. This type of scene used to be so comforting, but now watching water bead and trail down the windows just seemed to make you anxious. Sitting across the room and trying to make small talk with Primo Emeritus didn’t seem to help either. As kind and inviting as he was, he was still a complete stranger. An immortal stranger with superhuman strength you were supposed to stay far away from. Instead, he’d insisted on baking cookies for you.
Shaking your head, you jolted a little as the kettle began to scream from its spot of the stovetop. Sleep had been the furthest thing from your mind after Terzo’s spell. A full night’s rest would have been a dream, but there was no getting comfortable in this situation. How long could you be safe here in the middle of nowhere? How long would they wait this time?
“Primo, can I ask you something?” You wondered aloud, hoping the impending conversation would drown out the sound of the storm and your own thoughts.
He inclined his head, silently urging you to continue. A loose piece of his long, white-blond hair fell over the painted lines of his face as he moved; the rest was carefully tied back with a thin black ribbon. His focus remained on the pale green kettle in his hand as he transferred water into a dainty teapot at the edge of the counter. He moved with such precision, yet still maintained some impossibly delicate grace—the opposite of the way Terzo carried himself. There were other differences—far more than you could count—but where Terzo’s softness was an edge blunted by time, Primo’s seemed to be gently blurred into everything he did.
A flash of lightning filled the kitchen with bright light, the bank of windows on the eastern wall providing the perfect vantage point. You shuddered as thunder followed, too close and too loud for your own comfort. The storm blew a gentle breeze through the cracked windows and the ceiling fan above dragged it further in as it spun in lazy, lopsided circles. The kitchen smelled of florals and tea and rain, feeling like a Sunday afternoon you shouldn’t have access to. Everything was a little too dreamy, made fuzzy by a filter tinged with warm yellow-green like a flashback to someone else’s nostalgic past.
Someone else’s life.
“Why settle in this place?” you asked, vividly recalling the cracked asphalt and sun-bleached everything you’d passed on your way through town. “Why…here? The secluded cottage makes sense, but why live at the edge of some abandoned nowhere town?”
He turned to look at you for a beat before reaching for two teacups. “Well,” he started as he dropped a teabag into the pot. “It wasn’t always abandoned, piccolina.”
He set a cup in front of you before joining you at the table, a sigh leaving his lips as the wooden chair creaked beneath him. “This town…it used to full of a unique vibrance that drew me in. I suppose on some level I grew comfortable here, much like the other remaining residents. But mostly I stayed for the work. That’s what I told myself anyway. I have no doubt that Terzo would have you believe otherwise, but immortality can be incredibly mundane. When I found myself in this little town, I watched it grow from nothing just like I had done with a thousand other little towns in my lifetime. But this one—it was easier to fight that feeling of boredom here, to find a purpose. I chose to put my energy toward something, to have a common goal with the people here while I could. There’s a darling botanical garden on the edge of town, built something like seventy years ago, give or take. I helped fund the project.”
“Really? So, it had nothing to do with the cute girl that delivers your groceries?”
Black and white paint may have covered his entire face, but you could see Primo’s ears turn bright red. “That—she—hmph. She wasn’t even born yet. Neither were you for that matter.”
“Doesn’t mean she’s not the reason you stay.”
“The garden— “
“Sure, sure,” you teased. “Work, work, work.”
“Don’t start picking up bad habits from your beau, piccolina,” he warned. “Youth is wasted on the young indeed.”
“Not if you have an eternity to do something about it.”
He laughed quietly as he poured the most delicious smelling pink tea into each cup. “I forgot how much I enjoy such a human point of view. What of you and your eternal boytoy, hmm? What will you do when this is all over?”
You shrugged, pausing to consider his words. “Haven’t really thought that far. I think…I think I’d like to do all the things I never could before. No matter what happens I can’t go back to my old life—I wouldn’t want to go back, knowing what I know now. If I have to build a new life, it might as well be a better one than before. And if that sounds good to Terzo, then I’m happy to try building it together.”
“Hmm,” he replied with a thoughtful nod and faint smile playing on his lips.
“Belleza, I am happy to build you anything you want. But boytoy? Is that really what you’ve settled on, fratello?” Terzo grumbled as he appeared in the doorway, half-asleep with pillow marks on his face. He dropped into the seat next to you with a heavy sigh and rested his head on your shoulder. “Is that really all I am to you?”
“No. Sometimes you’re more of manbaby,” you replied and kissed the top of his head. “It’s ok though.”
“Ugh, I am so glad you two are getting along,” he teased sarcastically. “You are a bad influence on her, Primo.”
“Me? What did I do?” Primo mused as he took a sip of tea.
“You encourage her—”
“Ah.”
“—to be mean to me,” he whined. “What happened to that wide-eyed naïve girl from before, hmm?”
“I have no idea who you are talking about,” you responded flatly.
“Ah, yes. What happened to the fierce and terrifying woman who pretended not to be watching me sleep every night?”
“She met an unbelievably arrogant vampire.”
He sat up and shot you a big, toothy grin. “Oh, bellezza, was I your first?”
Primo groaned loudly and pushed away from the table. “Whatever you’re trying to do fratellino, do not do it in my kitchen.”
“Ah, calm down old man. I’m only teasing.”
“You were the one I liked enough to save. Even with your baking skills.”
Primo nearly spat out his tea. “Oh, Terzo, tell me you didn’t.”
“I was trying to do something nice for you, bellezza. But fine, fine. Let’s all pick on Terzo!” he grumbled as he stood. For a split-second the life left his eyes, the light within him dimming like a flickering lightbulb in a haunted basement. He was completely blank—jaw slack and body limp. Primo crossed the room before you could even think to react, rushing over to keep his brother’s body from collapsing to the floor. Terzo recovered just as quickly, coming back to himself as he stumbled slightly. He wrenched himself out of his brother’s hold and glared at him, teeth gritted.
“Fratellino—"
“Don’t,” he hissed. “I am fine, Primo.”
“Clearly you are not. How many more times has this happened?” Primo asked, looking back and forth between the two of you.
You crossed your arms over your chest and raised an eyebrow. It had been a few days since the incident in the bedroom and—as far as you knew—he had been completely fine ever since. If he’d started having spells again, this was the first you were hearing of it despite the promise he’d made. “Terzo?”
He shifted from one foot to the other, face washed with guilt as he concentrated on the floor and shrugged. “It… it’s happened a few more times now.”
“A few? What the hell, Terzo?”
“It was only for a couple seconds, bellezza! It wasn’t like the other times!”
“That’s not the point!”
“She is right, fratellino,” Primo agreed gravely. “You should have told me this was still happening.”
“Oh, do I need to report every detail of my life to you now? Would you like to know exactly what we did last night?”
Primo’s teacup flew from his hands and hit the sink, bursting into dozens of porcelain shards. He was so angry he was shaking; his white eye seemed to glow with his fury as his face darkened. You and Terzo jumped as he began to shout. “Satanas, Terzo you are still so stubborn!”
“Bellezza,” Terzo started quietly, moving between you and Primo. He placed a hand on your cheek and lowered his voice. “Would you please excuse us for a moment?”
You nodded silently, searching his eyes for any sign of worry as he urged you to go. You’d barely made it a few steps out of the room before the argument properly started. As you moved through the cottage their voices turned from hushed tones to an almost violent sounding shouting match. The escalation had them rapidly switching between languages to find the right words to fit their ire. None of it made much sense to you, so you let the bedroom door close behind you with a soft click.
No matter what you and Terzo had tried, the little bedroom still carried a faint smell of dust and disuse. The humidity had been so bad that leaving the windows open was hardly an option. At night when the heat broke the sounds of insects droning in the woods was so loud you could hardly think. By the time the storm rolled in, you’d given up completely on trying to air out the room.
You collapsed on the creaky old bed, balling the ancient quilt in your fists. It was still happening. Whatever they’d done to Terzo, whatever poison they’d created this time was still living within him. Things were already complicated enough, but if Terzo was still effected after this many days you knew it would only get worse. If he was hiding it from you, maybe they already had.
A tear slipped down your cheek. You’d been through so much together in such a short time, so many fucked up situations that most people would never have to think about. In some way it made sense if he didn’t trust you yet—you understood that, especially with the way the two of you had ended up together. What you couldn’t understand was why the thought of Terzo not trusting you hurt so much. Why it felt like hot knives in your chest, the searing painful burn of unease. Maybe you hadn’t done enough to show him he could trust you. Maybe he never would. You pressed a throw pillow over your mouth to stifle your cries, endlessly embarrassed by whatever this fucking feeling was.
A soft, barely audible knock on the door signaled the end of the Emeritus screaming match. Terzo said your name from the other side, speaking so gently you knew he had heard you crying.
“Bellezza? May I come in?”
You swiped at your face, brushing away whatever stray tears were left as you called out, “is that some kind of vampire joke?”
The door opened a crack, just enough that you could see his eyebrows pull together in confusion. “We don’t—that’s not a real thing.”
“I know. It’s ok, you can come in.”
He shuffled into the room and closed the door behind him. As he reached the foot of the bed, he dropped to his knees and laid his head in your lap.
“I’m terrible at this,” he admitted quietly.
“At what?”
“Apologies…relationships…honesty.” He sighed heavily. “Vulnerability.”
“None of those things are easy, Terzo.” You ran a hand through his hair as he nuzzled his face into your leg. “I’m not good at them either.”
“You deserve better than me—”
“Don’t say that.”
“I just mean…you deserve a better me than I’ve been lately. I should have told you.”
“Do you trust me?”
He looked up and locked eyes with you. “With my eternal life, bellezza. With everything I am.”
“No more secrets, ok? I want to help you, but I can’t if you keep hiding things from me, Terzo. It…it fucking hurts.”
“I am so sorry, bellezza. So, so sorry. I will tell you everything, anything you want to know.”
-x- Four Months Later -x-
Primo’s house smelled sweet—like sugar and fresh vanilla mixed with roses flowering in a gentle breeze. But underneath the pleasant scent was a hint of copper, a warm metallic tinge that permeated absolutely everything. Your entire life was covered in blood; it coated your borrowed clothes and seeped into your bedsheets, hanging in the air like a permanent red haze. You couldn’t get away from it if you tried. The taste settled on your tongue, bitter and harsh without the sweetness of Terzo’s kiss to wash it away.
Even the gardens felt wounded, the lifeless and bare shrubs now naked against the chilly autumn wind. The surrounding woods had turned as red as everything else, a dying fire against a cold, grey sky. It was hard to stay hopeful on days like this, hard to see beyond what looked like the end of the world.
Your world, anyway.
This was not how things were supposed to go. Stillness fell over the property, stretching past the woods to blot out the stars. You sat at the end of the path, knees in the dirt as you tried to decide your next move and the world just…carried on around you. Time and nature weren’t bound by the same crushing weight that followed you day-in and day-out. They just kept moving. Kept changing.
You dug your hands into the soil, grasping for something—anything—to distract you from the tears slipping down your cheeks. You were so tired of crying. Tired of thinking and feeling and being while just fucking waiting. Waiting for months with only uncertainty and pain to keep you company during the day. Waiting and watching as your lover struggled and grew weaker. You wanted to scream, wanted to scream so loud and for so long that even the old gods were forced to watch you cough up blood. It wouldn’t help but it would be something, anything that didn’t feel like this.
Something that didn’t feel like mourning.
“Do werewolves have big teeth?” you asked him, genuinely curious. Of all the things you’d come to learn about, you still had trouble wrapping your head around your sweet elderly neighbor transforming under the full moon.
Terzo gave you a half-smile as he rolled onto his side. “Not as big as mine, bellezza,” he replied suggestively, practically purring in your ear. His hand fell to your hip, pawing at the bare skin as he nipped at your neck.
“You are the absolute worst,” you groaned, but you didn’t mean it. You never did. These moments with him—these silly little conversations shared in the afterglow with bare chests and sweaty skin—you’d give anything to keep each other here forever.
“Ah, but not five minutes ago I was the best you’d ever had, no?”
“I never said that?”
“Excuse me—"
“It’s true, but I never said it. Wouldn’t it be kind of fucked up if you were bad in bed? Like how many years have you been doing this? A couple thousand?”
“Bellezza, I am not that old,” he grumbled.
“Well, that’s a shame. I’ve been into older men lately.”
“Better only be one man.”
“Aw, Terzo are you jealous?”
“What if I was, amore?” There was hurt in his tone, a seriousness that bit into you with venomous fangs.
“Terzo—”
“I’m sorry, amore mio. I know this isn’t easy for either of us, but—”
You cut him off by covering his mouth with your hands. “You are the only man for me, Terzo Emeritus. Do I need to show you again?”
A warm hand gripped your shoulder, pulling you back to the dying garden. Primo didn’t even flinch as you flung yourself at him, tears and dirt staining the silk of his fancy robe. He’d never mention it; Primo never once asked you to stop feeling, never told you to pull yourself together or chastised you for being an embarrassment to the organization. Primo Emeritus—a man you were taught your entire life to fear above all others—only ever offered you a shoulder to cry on.
And if that wasn’t enough, he’d simply offer the other.
He held you tight, quietly humming some centuries-old forgotten lullaby as your tears ran their course. He wouldn’t speak until you were ready. He never pushed or insisted that this would pass. He just waited to hear what you had to say. It took you a long time to get used to that level of empathy, for his simple acts of compassion to not feel like ulterior motives. But eventually you realized he couldn’t fix you any more than you could stop him from being a vampire. He only wanted to help you.
“It’s not fair,” you managed between sobs. “It’s not fair.”
“No, piccolina, it isn’t fair,’ he agreed, smoothing a hand over your hair. “It’s too much for either of you. But I swore to you I would help, sì?”
You nodded numbly.
He knelt in front of you, grinding more stains into the material of his robe as he placed a hand under your chin. “I would not lie to you, piccolina. I will save Terzo. No matter the cost.”
“What do you mean the cost?” you shot back, voice trembling.
He tutted softly and patted your hand before helping you to your feet. “Nothing you need worry about, my dear.”
“Primo,” you leveled. “What are you—”
“Hush now, piccolina. Why don’t we wake the sleeping beauty? We can discuss things together later, eh?”
You nodded once, knowing the vampire would hardly take no for answer. But something still ate at you, gnawing away at whatever sense of calm you had managed until you were nothing more than an exposed nerve. No amount of Primo’s wisdom or comfort could help you with this one.
“Could I—can I have a minute alone with him first?”
“Of course,” he replied with a kind smile. “Would you care for some coffee?”
“Yeah.” Before he could get too far you reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it gently. “Thank you, Primo.”
It was too small of a phrase for all those feelings, but someday you would find a proper way to tell him how much this all meant to you. For now, you hid your sniffles behind your hands and waited for the older man to disappear back inside before gathering the courage to face Terzo alone.
Over the last few months, the little room at the back of the cottage had slowly become something like a home. Your home. A cozy space you and Terzo had carved out of Primo’s infinite kindness and filled with odd, yet beautiful things from Terzo’s past. A collection of his vintage clothing and accessories had been stashed away in a closet, pieces from another time left here to idly wait for him to return. Neither Terzo nor Primo had shared why he sought sanctuary here those years ago, but rediscovering his old treasures made him so happy you didn’t need to ask. You trusted him to tell you when he wanted to.
If he ever wanted to.
Your feet dragged over the rug, the soft fibers adding some kind of familiar constant in this new life of maybes and what ifs. With a deep breath, the scent of clove and cologne filled your lungs, a warm combination you’d grown so fond of. Some days you went as far as spritzing the cologne on your own wrist to feel closer to him while he was stuck like this.
As much as this place was home, it was also a mausoleum. A place your lover was laid to rest, spending most of his days in a state somewhere between life and death.
Terzo lay on the bed, his eyes closed and his skin dull and grey. His lips had turned a horrid shade of blue made that much worse the longer he “slept.” It never really looked like he was sleeping—his sleeping face was so much more expressive than this empty vessel version of Terzo. Primo once said it had something to do with circulation, trying to explain the line where science met magic to form their physiology. You listened, but it never made much sense to you. You didn’t need to know. All you needed was for your immortal undead boyfriend to be not dead.
No matter how hard it was, your days weren’t always spent in some lonely pit of despair. When Terzo was awake he was still the same old Terzo—effortlessly funny and charming in a way you had never expected. He seemed intent on making your life together as normal as it could be, still trying desperately to woo you with grand romantic gestures straight out of those movies he loved. Some nights you’d stay up well past an acceptable hour, just listening to him share stories from his questionable past, tales of “years ago” that could have meant 3 or 300 years. There were other nights the two of you poured through a book about the history and architecture of Meliora House, marveling at photos of the grandiose mansion in its heyday. He would have you close your eyes and pick a random page before telling about each room in incredibly vibrant detail. While you never stopped being impressed by your boyfriend’s ability to recall so many things over so many years, your heart broke for him that such a big piece of his past had been destroyed forever. How many other things had he lost to time in 900 years?
You made it your mission to create as many memories as you could in that little bedroom with him.
Sighing heavily, you climbed into bed and pressed as close to Terzo as you could. You gently brushed a few wayward hairs from his face, hating how cold his skin felt under your touch when he was stuck like this.
“Sorry I was gone so long,” you whispered, laying your head on his chest. You would’ve given anything to hear him take a breath, for him to wrap an arm around you and hold you tight and kiss you so hard your lips bruised. Sometimes you wondered if you just wished hard enough or found the right god to ask…
“I know you said you can’t hear me when you’re like this, but there’s something I really, really want to talk to you about,” you whispered. “And I’m afraid I won’t be able to when you’re awake. If you’re awake…then it’s real and you’ll hear it and you’ll know. But if I don’t say it, if I don’t tell you…what if you never get to hear me say it? What if you never know? If you never get to hear it because I was too scared to say it…well, that’s no good either. So, what do I do?” y ou asked with a laugh. “I mean, I know what you would tell me to do, but it’s just…I don’t know. I guess it really isn’t that easy, huh?”
You reached up and kissed his cheek as you considered your options. You’d traced every line and crease of the man’s face, memorized every mark and scar so thoroughly they might as well live on your own skin and it still wasn’t enough. You had watched him for so long now—before you’d ever met him—and you could still spend hours just studying someone so beautiful it made your heart hurt.
He deserved to know you looked at him the same way he looked at you.
“I love you, Terzo Emeritus,” you confessed quietly. “And I’m going to tell you to your stupid, handsome face. I will tell you every day, whether you can hear me or not because it won’t change how I feel.”
You swiped away a tear and cuddled closer to Terzo, holding him for what felt like hours. It wasn’t enough; it was never enough. As Primo knocked on the bedroom door, you buried your face in his chest to hide your emotions from the other vampire as much as you could. He’d seen you express everything from rage to grief and back already of course, but if you could spare him one more pep talk you would certainly try. As he shuffled in, the smell of strong coffee began to overwhelm the subtle hint of soap and sweat that lingered on your lover’s skin. No matter how hard you wished you could stay and get lost in him you knew it was no use.
Primo’s slippers scuffed against the hardwood, cups rattling on the same tarnished tray he carried in every evening. Ambling through the room, he set the tray aside and gave you a half-smile before producing a glass vial from his pocket. You sat up and offered your left arm, the right already bruised to hell from previous draws. You hated this part, hated that this had become so routine. You couldn’t get away from the smell of blood, but you’d grown numb to the sight of your own.
The next part was always easiest. A bandage for your arm and a regiment of supplements and vitamins to keep you healthy. Things that kept the blood strong, Primo had told you when it became clear this was headed toward an everyday occurrence. You swallowed the pills down and accepted the cup of expensive coffee the older gentleman had made for you.
The two of you had bonded so much in these shared albeit terrible moments. You doubted he would be so quick to let you into his life without the forced proximity, but Primo never seemed to be bothered by having you around. It didn’t take long for you to understand that he was a balancing act, a man on a highwire with bound hands and nerves of steel. But those feats of strength could not hide the worried, emotional side of a man several hundred years your senior. There was something in the way he had leaned into this caregiver role, something that suggested there was more to his story than what he was comfortable sharing with you. But there were times that he would share, absently recounting stories from his own past. He once told you how Terzo had become frighteningly ill as a child, somehow remembering that very same fear of his brother at death’s door though several centuries had passed. He swore to you in a moment of raw honesty that just as he had done everything in his power to save Terzo as a boy, he would not stop until he saved him again.
And he promised that Terzo never had to know how much you cried.
“Did you two have a nice talk?” he finally asked, turning away. He hunched over the tray and jabbed a spoon into the thick, noxious mixture of tea and herbs whatever else he used to bring Terzo back to life.
You shrugged, not willing to make any more confessions for the day. Instead, you ran a hand through your hair and gave a noncommittal sigh.
“You should rest, piccolina,” he warned with a sigh of his own. “What would he say?”
“He’d probably call you an old man,” you replied, wiping at fresh tears with the back of your hand. “Or he’d put on his grouchy voice and mumble the equivalent in Italian to get under your skin. What’s that thing he always says? Testa di Cazzo?”
Primo chuckled. “Yes, I suppose he would call me a dickhead. Lovingly, of course.”
You managed a small smile before the tears threatened to fall again. “I really miss him, Primo.”
“I know you do, cara. I miss him, too. Though it is nice that someone finally found a way to shut him up for a minute.”
You snorted out a laugh. “Primo!”
“Just trying to lighten the mood, piccolina.” He knelt in front of you and made sure he had your full attention before he spoke. “I will cure him,” he assured you. “I promised you, sì? And I am nothing if not a man of my word. I know finding a solution has taken more time than any of us would like, but—Bah! Let’s wake him, eh?”
You nodded and looked down at your hands. You’d bitten your nails to the quick and ripped your cuticles to shreds over the past few weeks, your body trying so hard to fight off the anxiety that threatened to swallow you. There was dirt deeply embedded under your nails from digging into the ground out of desperation. Pieces of earth still stuck on your skin like tiny reminders of your every fear. “Please don’t tell him—”
“I would never betray your confidence, piccolina. Are you ready?”
You drew a deep breath, centering yourself before giving him a firm nod. Moving to the other side of the bed, you propped up Terzo’s body as much as you could, fighting against the dead weight and stiff muscles. You slid behind him, wrapping your arms around his chest to hold him in place while Primo readied the last ingredient for that awful elixir.
The smell was terrible, an overpowering punch of rust and dirt and the potion stuck to the inside of Primo’s teacups like roofing tar. The final ingredient had to be added seconds before consumption, like the half-life of shots of fine espresso but not nearly as appetizing. Primo nodded once to make sure your hold was strong before removing the stopper from the vial.
Terzo’s eyes shot open as the smell of iron flooded the room. Wild, hungry sounds erupted from Terzo’s mouth, feral growls that only grew louder as Primo moved closer and poured your blood into the mixture. The older vampire took his brother by the jaw, forcing his mouth open enough to pour the tea down his throat.
What used to take seconds now took a full five minutes. Every day you waited longer and longer for the vampire’s rigid body to relax and fill with warmth again. When it finally did, he melted into you with a happy sigh. Smears of blood and flecks of herbs clung to the corners of his lips as they stretched into a smile.
“Amore,” he whispered dreamily. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
Primo pushed the cup into Terzo’s hand before ruffling his hair. “Drink the whole thing, Terzo.”
“I will,” he whined. He made a face as he took another drink and struggled to keep the liquid down. “Augh, happy?”
The older man said nothing as he turned and left the room.
Terzo quickly chugged the rest of the mixture before he turned and nuzzled into your chest. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”
And there it was, the last thing you wanted to hear ever again. You groaned and pushed him away, climbing to your feet. Tired of having the same conversation, you slipped into the bathroom to hide the fresh tears that filled your eyes. Primo offered you an out after the fits gradually became worse. He told you that you were free to leave, that if you wanted you could go on and start living a new life. He said you didn’t owe Terzo anything, you got him this far and that was more than enough.
You’d never been more offended in your entire life.
Part of you understood it was out of kindness, that Primo didn’t want you to sit and watch Terzo “die” over and over and over. As nice as it would have been to avoid, you couldn’t help but think how panicked and hurt Terzo would be if he one day woke up without you. The thought broke your heart into a million little pieces, just like it broke you heart that there were still days like this. Days when he’d wake up ready to push you away. His misguided, half-hearted attempt to spare you from this never ever worked. Sometimes you could even joke with him about it, but today…today, with dirt from the dying garden still stuck under your fingernails you wanted nothing more than to be with him.
“Bellezza,” he whispered softly as he appeared behind you, almost panicked. He wrapped his arms so tightly around your middle there was nowhere else to go as his lips hovered near your ear. “I’m sorry, my love, amore mio. So sorry.”
You nodded and learned against him as the walls of that tiny bathroom began to close in on you. “Terzo—”
“Forgive me, amore?” he asked, pressing a kiss into your cheek. “Please forgive me.”
You turned to face him, staring deep into his odd, beautiful eyes. It was too hard to hold onto all that sadness when he looked at you that way, when he begged you. Your request was a whisper, a desperate plea in the silence of the room for him to just kiss you. He crowded you against the wall like he had done so many times over the course of your relationship and captured you in the most devastating kiss just as you’d asked. It was easy to get lost in him like this, to forget the awful trial he was being forced through and each painful day it meant for you. To forget all of it and let him be Terzo and only Terzo. You craved the way his touch quieted your mind, a gentle reminder that he was still here—that he would still be here.
It doesn’t take long for the spark to catch—it never took long with the two of you—and before you knew it, he was on his knees in worship of you. And maybe he did worship you, but you didn’t ask. You didn’t say much other than “please” and “more” as his fingers traced over every inch of your skin, committing you to memory on that bathroom floor.
It was slow and soft and you think Terzo Emeritus might be the only person who could ever fuck you against a wall and still call it “making love.” But you know that’s what he’d say because that’s what it is for both of you. You couldn’t stop yourself as he dragged his sharpened teeth across your collarbone and looked at you through heavy-lidded eyes, so blissed out and alive. It escaped you like so many of the tears you had tried so hard to hide from him and it hung over your heads as Terzo stared back at you, unblinking.
“What did you say, bellezza?” he asked, eyes wide and hips still.
You brought your hands to his face, holding him there. “I said I love you, Terzo,” you repeated, though you could hardly believe you’d said it yourself. “I love you.”
“M-me?”
“Yeah, you.”
“Oh, bellezza.” His mouth crashed against yours, clumsy and hungry as he tried to kiss you a thousand times all at once. “Love you,” he managed to say between breaths, directing most of his concentration toward carefully laying you on the floor. “I love you,” he repeated as he repositioned himself over you and slowly slid his cock back into your heat. “I love you…and you love me.”
“Don’t let it go to your head,” you warned.
“Too late for that, amore mio. You’re there forever now.” He grinned down at you and pointed at his chest. “And here too.”
“Ugh,” you groaned, rolling your eyes. “You’re such a fucking sap.”
“Sì, but you love me.” He made a point of circling his hips to watch you writhe and keen under him, smiling the entire time.
“Terzo, please.”
“Anything for you my love,” he whispered into your ear before changing his angle and beginning to fuck you in earnest. As he drove each thrust home, you could see stars in your vision. That white-hot passion that had always burned between you was a flare, a lifeline you could follow back to safety, to someone who loved you. To someone you loved.
He held you close as you came, his fingers digging into your hips as your own clawed at his back. He followed soon after with his face buried into your neck, his breath almost instantly cooling your heated skin. He stayed between your legs, lazily mouthing at your collarbone as you both came down from the high, completely addicted to each other.
“I’m so sorry, bellezza. Please, please forgive me,” he begged once more, finally resting his head on your chest. His hair fanned out, sticking in odd patterns to the sweat on your skin as he lay claim to you once more.
“I already have,” you admitted softly, carding a hand through his messy hair. “Shower?”
He nodded. “In a minute.”
You granted him as much peace as you could on the patterned tiles of the bathroom, silently lying with him and holding him close until he was ready to start the day—though it had to be close to midnight by then. Things seemed to move slower in Primo’s house, as though time itself had its claws in the two of you. Even tiny gestures like Terzo’s fascination with washing your hair could never be rushed no matter how much shampoo he managed to get in your eyes.
You were the same way, of course. Taking care to steady your hand before tracing the angles on his face in that black paint. It was no small task, especially not after he explained the meaning behind it. Every time he would tease you about the serious expression you wore while trying to even out the lines on his nose, taking this delicate, intimate part of his life and making it into some silly game. And you let him, finding yourself unable to stop doing anything that made him smile. Even if that meant you were now in charge of buttoning his shirts for him half the time.
Part of you missed those ridiculous crop tops.
-x-
Terzo settled his hip against the counter, watching closely as you moved through the next part of your routine. Preparing his midnight “breakfast” fell on you as Primo very quickly forbid him from using any of the appliances, some unspoken memory of a culinary disaster shared between them with a knowing look. Carefully, you poured the contents of a blood bag into the mug that previously held your coffee. Try as you might, you could never get Terzo to explain why he liked sharing your cup, he simply asked that you did. It was one of his more reasonable requests.
With the cup in the microwave, the two of you watched the faded design slowly spin in the ancient wood-paneled machine. What once read “Everything’s better in” some town was barely legible after at least a decade’s worth of runs through the dishwasher. The cottage was full of things like that—old and yellowing, well loved, but still functional. You cracked a smile, thinking about how similar your 900 year old vampire boyfriend and a microwave from the 1980’s could be.
“What’s so funny, hmm?” he mused and pulled you into his arms.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing, huh?” He squeezed your sides, tickling you until you let out a high pitched squeal.
“Stop,” you managed through a giggle. “You wouldn’t like the joke anyway.”
He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but the ungodly howl of the microwave timer cut off anything he was about to say. He reached for the cup and took a long pull, savoring the rich taste of A Positive with his eyes closed. A pleased hum rumbled in his throat as he tried to lick away the leftover traces, but a deep red line formed above his upper lip.
You smiled and let your eyes trail over every little line and soft ridge buried under the paint. Such fine details were only visible up close when he was painted, but you liked the way they added a softness to the harsh angles. You reached over and swiped your thumb across his lip to wipe away the blood mustache.
“You know I’m not going anywhere, right?”
Terzo stared back at you wide-eyed. After a beat he nodded and lowered his gaze, staring into his substitute meal with a hint of shame.
“I know, bellezza,” he offered quietly. “I’m sorry. I just—sometimes I can’t understand why you would stay with me.”
“Yeah, well. If you have to ask, you’re dumber than you look.”
“How dumb do I look?” he shot back, deeply concerned.
“Oh, bello.” You pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. “You don’t look dumb. At all.”
He beamed at you. “Bello?”
“Sì, bello. Bellisimo, even.”
“I love you, bellezza, but your pronunciation is terrible.”
“Oh, fuck off,” you groaned. “Testa di Cazzo.”
“Such a dirty mouth,” he tsked.
“Said the vampire with a blood mustache.”
“Straws are bad for the turtles, bellezza,” he informed you, his mouth set in a deep frown. “I saw it on the news.”
“Ha! I’d believe you could fly before I believe you watched the news.”
He sighed. “Ok, fine. It’s something I heard Omega say once.”
You leaned into him, resting your head on his shoulder. He was so warm after he ate that you couldn’t help but relax against him. “Do you think Omega and Alpha are enjoying their extended vacation?”
“I doubt they’ve ever been happier. They’ve asked for a swimming pool for Christmas for the last, oh, thirty years?”
“Do you even celebrate Christmas?”
“No! Which makes it that much more irritating when they ask—"
“Hate to interrupt,” Primo chimed in as he appeared in the doorway to the kitchen.
“Feel free not to then,” Terzo shot back with a wave of his hand. “We’re busy.”
“Apologies fratellino but it cannot be helped. There is something we need to discuss.”
“No,” he replied with a frown. “No ‘discussions’, no tests, no nothing. Not today, Primo. Please?”
It was Primo’s turn to frown, deep creases forming between his eyes and around his mouth. He looked older somehow, more wrinkled and tired than he had a few hours ago. His body appeared almost frail, like a distorted reflection of the way Terzo had become brighter and livelier.
“Primo, are you ok?” you asked gently.
“Always, piccolina,” he replied dismissively. “Now, I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important. Could you two join me in the lab?”
Terzo sighed heavily and knocked back the rest of his breakfast in one gulp. “Do we have a choice?”
“No,” Primo responded simply.
Together you quietly made your way through the back of the house and down the set of stone steps that marked the boundary of the original cottage. A large glass conservatory stretched across the back of the property; an addition made sometime later where Primo spent most of his time these days. The air in the structure was sticky and humid, heavy with the heat of the day still trapped between the thick panes.
You settled on the small sofa hidden amongst the massive leaves, the pollen from the fresh blooms making your nose itch as you looked around Primo’s makeshift laboratory. A worktable that should have been used for flower arrangements and propagation was covered in countless glass flasks filled with odd concoctions and a colorful assortment of potions. Some bubbled under the heat of an open flame, while others slowly dripped into a new container like moonshine being distilled in some prohibition hideout. Each mixture had been crafted by hand while Primo consulted some dusty old tome, working tirelessly to keep his brother alive. You weren’t sure if it was basic chemistry or some magical alchemy the old vampire had his hands in, neither would really surprise you.
“What is it you want now?” Terzo asked, clearly annoyed by Primo’s insistence. “More blood?”
“No, fratellino. You should sit down.”
He looked nervous, hands trembling slightly as he sat and sank into the sofa. It wasn’t an expression you were used to seeing on the carefree vampire’s face, even when things had been at their worst. Something in Primo’s tone scared him, which only made you frightened in turn. You slipped your hand into his, fingers intertwining in a silent reminder that you were there with him. That you loved him.
The exposed skin of his hands glowed with warmth—with life. You were glad to see him feeling better. Looking better. But Primo’s solemn expression cast a dark cloud over everything in the room. Whatever he had found, whatever he needed to say didn’t look good.
“Fratellino, how do you feel?”
“Better than you look,” he replied in a suspicious tone. “Why do you ask?”
Primo pinched the bridge of his nose. “Terzo…this isn’t easy—”
“You can’t fix it,” he whispered.
“No, Terzo that’s not—” he rushed. He paused with a sigh, searching for the right words. “What’s happening to you—the poison is…complex. It took a great deal of time to break it down and discover all the components—to understand why our temporary solution treats the effects, but hasn’t made any improvements toward ridding your body of this thing—"
“You’re blaming my body for this?”
“Of course not. Will you let me finish?” He snapped harshly.
“Fine,” Terzo huffed and crossed his arms over his chest as he pushed further into the sofa.
“Mi dispiace, mostriciattolo,” Primo replied quietly. “My temper is harder to control right now.”
You felt him tense beside you as he cautiously looked up at his brother.
“You…you haven’t called me that in at least 100 years,” he noted in a whisper.
“Fratellino, do you remember what I told you when you were young?”
Terzo nodded once and wiped away a single tear with the back of his hand. Another memory shared wordlessly between two almost ancient men. “What does that have to do with this?”
“Our enemies underestimate us,” Primo replied grimly. “They think I won’t do what needs to be done. That I—have never faced such a harrowing challenge in all my lifetimes. Surely that is the only way to survive this long, sì? Fear in the form of self-preservation. That I would choose my life over yours.”
“What are you saying, Primo?”
Primo shrugged. “The thing that binds us to each other, the thing we need to survive—they underestimate its power too. I would die to save you, Terzo. I would do it all over again without question. And that makes our family different. It is how we are bound that gives us power.” He paused to look at you. “How we can be bound to another. Our blood possesses properties humans have never dreamed of. The trouble is it will take a great deal of our blood to fix yours.”
“Like how much?” you asked nervously.
Primo didn’t answer, instead he lifted a hand to silence you as his eyes darted around the room. The faintest noise came from outside, barely more than a rustling in the grass just outside the conservatory’s walls. Both men were immediately on edge, their fangs bared in warning as something—someone—moved around the building.
“Stay here,” Primo commanded firmly before making his way toward the door.
Terzo moved so quickly it felt like missing frames in a sequence, your brain struggling to process his actions. He pressed a knife into your hand, swiped from somewhere on Primo’s table. You stared at the thing, blinking slowly until the realization hit you. Danger. Someone had finally come for your vampire.
Silently, you eased behind Terzo and prepared to strike at whatever—whoever—might present itself. You held your breath, straining to hear anything while Primo moved through the side door, his long, white hair disappearing into the darkness.
A feeling crept down your spine—forgotten yet so familiar—winding your nerves tighter and tighter like a loaded spring trap. Adrenaline coursed through your veins, dialing your senses to eleven as you scouted the room. Your pulse raced uncomfortably as the chemical tried to take over your body and mind, every cell screaming for you to fight. To run. You’d spent most of your life training yourself not to be afraid, but that was easier said when the only thing to lose was your own life. But now, with Terzo—with the man you loved—standing before you, that sense was heightened.
There was a desire to throw yourself in front of the vampire—to protect him. No matter what it might cost you.
A shadow formed in the doorway, a large and imposing figure looming in the dark. You readied yourself as it stepped forward, prepared to fight off whoever had come for you. Light hit the solid form and the familiar image of harsh black and white paint in a shape you didn’t recognize became clearer. The man leaned forward, squinting as he scanned the room.
Terzo let out a sigh of relief, his shoulders relaxing slightly as he called out, “Secondo?”
You felt your heart stop as Secondo Emeritus focused solely on you. With each determined step he ignored Terzo’s shouting and shoved him hard as he passed. He crashed into the sofa, the frame completely shattering from the impact and the sharp snap of solid wood bursting into pieces became the soundtrack to your false sense of security coming to an abrupt end.
Secondo had a hand around your throat before you could move—before you could think. He squeezed hard, cutting off your air as he dragged you across the room. Tears welled in your eyes as you helplessly kicked and tried to free yourself. But it was useless. He was strong, too strong. It took no effort for him to haul you up and pin you to the wall.
He stared you down, teeth gritted and eyes filled with malice. “Tell me why I shouldn’t just snap your neck right now, little hunter,” he ground out, fangs flashing with each pointed word.
Fear and pain surged through you, swirling its way around the adrenaline already poisoning your blood. Your lungs burned, screaming for you to take a breath as his fingers flexed and threatened to crush your windpipe. Years of training flashed in your head, every weakness and warning you’d ever heard. What good was any of it now that you were actually faced with an Emeritus vampire?
Maybe, maybe you deserved to die at the hands of a vampire, but you weren’t ready to find out.
You reached out and slashed at him with the knife. The blade easily sliced through the fancy material of his suit and into the soft flesh of his forearm. Again and again you cut into him, but he still wouldn’t let go. With a growl, Secondo wrenched the knife from your hand and stabbed it into the wall a hair’s width from your head. The placement was no accident. It was a calculated move to let you know that Secondo was going to kill you slowly and without mercy.
In one last desperate attempt you jammed your fingers into the wounds you carved, hoping it would break his hold. A warm rush of blood oozed around your fingers, but the vampire didn’t even flinch.
A choking sound escaped your mouth as you fought for each breath, tears streaming down your face. “Ter—"
There was a blur of movement followed by a sickening snap and you hit the floor hard. You grabbed your neck, sucking down desperate breaths as soon as you realized you were free. But how?
Secondo clumsily stumbled backward in surprise; his arm now bent at grotesque angle. Bone and sinew poked through his shredded sleeve as blood dripped onto the conservatory’s stone floor. With a great howl of pain, he pushed a protruding broken bone back into its rightful place and rounded on Terzo.
Terzo crouched in front of you, spitting and snarling like a wild animal. His teeth made a horrifying sound as he threateningly snapped his jaws at his brother. “If you ever put your hands on her again,” he growled in warning, his voice low and terrifying. “You will beg for death.”
Secondo offered him a sick smile as he stepped forward. “I would love to see you try, little brother.”
Terzo rose to his full height, squaring off with the taller man. He was almost an entire foot shorter and his slight frame made Secondo look even more muscular in comparison, but size and scale hardly mattered when it came to the strength of vampires. As old as they were, they were both powerful and possibly deadly to each other.
Secondo’s smile didn’t falter as he took another step. “Do you really think you can stop me before I get to her?”
“Would you like to find out?”
“Boys!”
Primo’s voice rang out so loud it rattled the large windows in their frames. The noise reverberated through the domed structure, bouncing around as Terzo and Secondo completely stopped in their tracks. The vampires were now frozen in their battle stances, refusing to take their eyes off one another but neither dared to move.
“I won’t tolerate you being at each other’s throats, so you might as well get over it now,” he instructed before turning to Secondo and pointing a bony finger at him. “If you touch piccolina again, you won’t be answering to Terzo.”
Secondo narrowed his eyes but otherwise stayed quiet as the warning hung between them.
You scrambled to your feet, keeping your back to the wall as you watched for the next threat. A surge of panic ripped through you as a woman in a designer outfit appeared behind Primo. She gently brushed past him with a small nod and a hand placed carefully on his arm, an ornate ring on her finger catching the light. The gems sparkled like stars in the way only real jewels could before they were hidden under the velvet sleeve of her jacket. She moved with such elegance, even as she rushed to Secondo’s side and delicately held his arm to examine his wounds. He tried to shake her off, earning himself a stern look from the smaller woman that seemed to fix him in place. He cupped her face with his non-bloodied hand, quickly mumbling an apology and something else that brought relief to her face. They exchanged a look—the kind could only exist between two people who were deeply connected or deeply in love—before he pressed his forehead to hers. Secondo’s entire being, this massive, monstrous threat, seemed to completely melt away under her touch.
Peeking out from under her collar was the faint line of a scar. You quickly realized who she must be. Reginetta, as Terzo called her, Secondo’s little queen.
What had happened to them was no secret among the hunters. Time after time you heard about how some rogue group had infiltrated his club, ransomed his assistant, and set fire to the building. How they had nearly succeeded in taking him out in the process. It was a fairy tale full of corpses and poisons, one Terzo didn’t like to discuss at all, but in your time together you had heard the other side of the story. How the hunters had tried to turn love into a weakness and forced Terzo and Secondo to watch as they stabbed his girlfriend. You knew all about how utterly helpless Terzo had felt, how it haunted and changed him from a man you suspected didn’t have a care in the world to one who carried the entire weight of it alone by the time you met.
Somewhere within the ruins of Meliora House, Terzo had also kept a couple of Lucy’s teeth.
You weren’t a part of what they’d done, but you were hardly different. Terzo was in this whole mess because of you—because you also foolishly decided to try to take out the most powerful vampire family in history. And for what? The was no glory, no noble cause. There was just some bullshit sense of victory and justice fed to you for years. You never questioned it, not even once. Not until Terzo directed his attention toward you.
There was nothing about you that was worthy of his love and yet, he gave it freely. He loved you—a pitiful, undeserving mess of a girl with blood on her hands and next to nothing to offer him.
You tried to swallow it down, to make yourself as small as possible and disappear. A wounded cry left your lips as you thought about all the damage you’d done. All that pain and heartache inflicted for centuries by hunters just like you.
He turned as you whimpered, moving faster than your eyes could follow. Holding you tight to his chest, he began to whisper a thousand apologies into your hair before you could even think to protest. You didn’t deserve this, didn’t deserve him, but he was right there with you. Fighting the urge to sob, you wrapped your arms around his neck. Everything the two of you had been through, every errant feeling or emotion you’d pushed down bubbled to the surface and threatened to drown you. You were afraid. You were worried. You were annoyed and happy and loved. You were so, so loved. And you were the safest you’d ever felt—the only time you’d felt safe in your miserable little life—here in his arms. That thought—that knowledge burned brighter than any of the nasty things you could tell yourself about your former life.
Terzo loved you. He’d said it a million times and now you finally understood what it meant. And you’d fight to the death to hold onto it.
“You’ve got real shitty people skills, Twos.”
You lifted your head to search for the voice. Another couple appeared, gracefully making their way into the conservatory. Gold accents adorned their coordinating outfits, glinting in the soft light as they moved. The delicate fringe of their epaulets swayed as Count and Countess Copia gave their surroundings a once-over. Their painted faces hid their expressions, but their military dress suggested they were here for something serious. Terzo however, wasn’t nearly as stoic. As Copia took a step forward, Terzo let out low, warning growl.
“Oh, calm down, fratello,” Copia called out with a dismissive wave. “No one’s going to hurt you or the girl.”
“Honestly,” the Countess started and turned to Reginetta. “How on earth do you put up with him?”
It was Secondo’s turn to growl. “She’s a hunter,” he grinded out.
“Yeah,” the Countess laughed. “A teeny-tiny little hunter in a room full of Emeritus vampires. What exactly did you think she was going to do?”
“She can speak for herself,” you spat as you tried to untangle yourself from Terzo’s arms.
The Countess let out a deranged giggle. “Not if I snatch out your tongue—”
“You’re not going anywhere near her. None of you are going anywhere near her,” Terzo sneered.
“Oh well,” she hummed and turned her attention to Terzo. “Terzo! It’s so lovely to see you dressed like it’s this century.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Well, Sorella, I lost most of my things in a fire and had to run for my life.” He gestured toward her clothes. “What is your excuse for this?”
She flashed her fangs and hissed.
“Amore don’t tease a dying man,” Copia urged, and steering her away by the shoulders. He casually dropped onto the broken sofa, barely noticing the splintered wood at his feet. “Do you have any sort of burial ensemble in mind, fratello?”
“No, because I’m not dying,” Terzo corrected. His fingernails dug painfully into your skin as he buried a much angrier reaction.
“Are you sure? You look terrible,” Secondo teased, ignoring the pinch he received from Reginetta.
“If you’re not dying then why did Primo call us?” Copia asked. “Primo, why did you call us?”
“I’m beginning to wish I hadn’t,” Primo muttered with a groan. “Frankly, it’s embarrassing that none of you can be in the same room for more than two minutes before you start acting like children. I called because Terzo needs help, your help—”
“And not because you’re trying to show off in front of the little hunter, hmm?” Secondo challenged coolly.
“Mind your tone, fratellino,” Primo warned, accompanied by a low growl as he stepped toward his brother.
“Oh, here we go,” Copia grumbled with a roll of his eyes and leaned forward to grab a sharp, broken piece of wood. He tossed the makeshift stake at Primo and Secondo’s feet, issuing a challenge of his own. “You ever see a real vampire bloodbath, little hunter?”
“Enough!” Terzo screamed. His entire body shook with anger as he looked around the room, staring each of his brothers down. “You said we’d be safe here,” he spat at Primo. “You promised me.”
“You are safe here—”
“That stronzo grabbing bellezza by the throat is your definition of safe?” He let out an uneasy laugh as he turned to Copia. “Make your jokes, Copia. By all means, please have another laugh at my expense. But let me ask you what would you have done, hmm? What would you have done if Secondo had stormed into your fucking castle and grabbed the Countess like that? If he had threatened to take her life instead of killing a room full of people so the two of you could live happily ever after, huh?”
“Well, I—” Copia started, but Terzo angrily waved him off.
“I don’t want your fucking help,” he stated tersely. “We don’t need any help from any of you if this is how you’re going to treat us. If this is how you and Secondo plan to repay me for fighting your fucking battles I don’t need you here.”
“Terzo, hang on—” Secondo tried.
“No!” Terzo snapped. “If none of you have any interest in helping, just go back to wherever the hell you came from. Leave us in peace. Let me die in peace.”
“I’m sorry,” Secondo offered softly. The room fell completely silent as he took a few careful steps forward and placed a hand on Terzo’s shoulder. “Mi dispiace. I’m sorry, Terzo. I didn’t mean to—"
“I don’t need your apology,” Terzo grinded out and shook him off. “You owe it to her.”
You shook your head, finally finding your voice. “He was only trying to protect you, Terzo.”
He whipped around with an incredulous look. “He tried to—”
“I know,” you replied quickly, cutting him off. “But I don’t blame him for that. I don’t expect him or anyone in your family to trust me. Hell, I wouldn’t trust me. The things you’ve all been through…It doesn’t matter how much you trust me; I’ll still have to earn it from everyone else. You just need to know the only thing I care about is helping you and if that’s why they’re here—if that’s what Primo needs to fix you…” you trailed off and shook your head. “I couldn’t care less about what happens to me.”
“I care about what happens to you, cara mia,” he whispered.
You offered him a faint smile before pressing a kiss into his cheek. “I know you do.”
“Well, if that’s settled. Is anyone hungry?” Primo asked loudly.
-x-
The cottage had never felt so full of life. A kitchen full of Emeritus vampires, both new and old, were all finding their rhythm as part of the task at hand. Primo and Secondo were singing at the top of their lungs, beautifully harmonizing some old Italian love song while effortlessly crafting a meal completely from scratch. Copia had shed his military jacket in favor of a novelty “kiss the chef” apron while he hovered over a simmering pot. Every few moments he would look up to make heart-eyes at his Countess while she and Reginetta stood nearby, hard at work attacking a cake recipe.
It unfolded like a scene from one of those silly films Terzo loved, a dynamic portrayal of a family that only ever seemed to be found in the most idealistic fiction. Your family, what little there was, had never once committed such an act of togetherness. Even Terzo—who was barred from helping in any meaningful way—flitted around the kitchen refilling glasses of wine and slipping into conversations like the perfect host.
He watched you from across the crowded kitchen, wearing a look of warmth and light and pure love that felt almost tangible. Without missing a beat, he seized the opportunity to take your hand and pulled you into the eye of the storm, making sure you were also a part of the greater Emeritus chaos instead of on its fringes. Primo shot you an encouraging smile as the ladies turned to ask your opinion on attempting something called “Italian buttercream.”
Maybe it was better that your family wasn’t like this, that you had never prepared a single dish that wasn’t frozen or had any idea there was more to frosting than the stuff that came in a plastic tub. Until now, you only had a vague idea of what you were “missing out” on, pieces of that “perfect family” that never seemed real to begin with. You doubted you would have been able to appreciate it for what it was prior to this past summer anyway. But now, hearing the sounds swell around you in that small kitchen meant more to you than anything ever had—including that limited edition sweater Terzo was still hellbent on replacing.
The sense of calm extended over a dinner served around 4 a.m., but it was anything but quiet. Laughter was shared around the table just as much as the food. Copia and Primo scrambled to find their most embarrassing memories of Terzo through the ages like a mother showing off baby pictures to a prom date. Secondo remained distant, though he didn’t ignore you completely. Once Reginetta had warmed up to you, he even began to use more than one word to reply.
The extent of Terzo’s situation was revealed over a dessert eaten with tiny forks. After one too many glasses of wine seeped into everyone’s bloodstream, Primo laid out what he’d discovered to an audience of vampires stunned into silence. Terzo buried his face in his hands while Secondo angrily shot up from the table and began pacing the length of the dining room.
Paying his brothers no mind, Primo outlined the rest of his plan. He’d found a solution, albeit a dangerous one. A mix of vampire blood, a rare plant, and a little bit of magic was all he needed, a list of ingredients you couldn’t quite comprehend. You tried your best to follow along and understand exactly what was needed to save your love, but the plan was so heavily flawed you couldn’t focus on anything but how risky the whole thing was. You weren’t as strong as the others, nor were you immortal, but you knew how to strategize and how to fight. You had an intimate knowledge of how the hunters’ network operated and everything Primo had laid out looked like walking into an obvious trap.
“So, this plant…you’re saying one of the only places to find it just so happens to be your little town’s botanical garden?” you asked. “I’m guessing this is the very same garden that you personally funded?”
“It is the same, yes.”
“I don’t like this, Primo.”
“I don’t understand,” the Countess interjected. “What’s the problem?”
“It’s too easy,” you and Secondo answered, almost in unison.
“Well yeah. But we could just kill them,” she replied with a huff. “Problem solved.”
“No, problem not solved,” Secondo growled back. “Are you even listening?”
“I agree we should kill them, dear Countess, but I must insist that we do not go charging into this. We will need every single body with a pulse that we can find, or we might not make it back from this. They will most certainly be waiting for us and they’ve had months to plan for our arrival. Hell, they’re probably watching us right now.”
“Ok but I do get to kill them, right? Like, after everything? Vampire snacks?”
“Who is going to stop you, amore?” Copia cooed, petting her face with a gloved hand.
“Bellezza,” Terzo started quietly. “Are you going to be ok with this?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, isn’t it possible these hunters might be people you know?”
The other discussions in the room fell away as the vampires waited for your reply. There was a definite possibility that people you once knew wanted you dead, but they were part of another life completely. Even if you hadn’t fallen for Terzo, they tried to kill you. You didn’t know if it was direct or just collateral damage, but the point remained the same. The hunters placed no value on your life or his, or anyone else in the room for that matter. They didn’t care what happened to any of you as long as they got the job done.
You took Terzo’s hand, squeezing it lightly. “If they are people I knew, they’re part of my past. They’re not people I want to know anymore. Honestly, if came down to it, I’d burn the world down to save you.”
“That’s not part of the plan, correct?” Copia asked nervously. “Don’t get any ideas, amore.”
“Must every plan involve all of you walking into an obvious trap?” Reginetta asked voice shaking as she pushed herself up from her chair. She turned and made a quick exit from the room, letting the front door slam as she escaped.
“Tesorino, wait,” Secondo called out, chasing after her.
“She has a point, you know,” Terzo added sharply, rising from his own seat. “It’s not like this sort of thing worked out well for us last time.”
“Terzo, this is different,” Primo offered.
“Oh, you’re right. This is worse. Much worse. This time we don’t have Mary, Alpha, or Omega here to help—”
“I’ve summoned Earth and Air—”
“Fantastic. Why not call everyone so you can host a proper family reunion at my fucking wake.”
Primo slammed his fists on the table. “I’m not going to let you die, Terzo!”
He sighed. “If you want to yell at god old man, be my guest. But my time is limited and I’d rather be doing anything else, so I am going to bed. Bellezza, will join me?”
You nodded once, too lost in your own thoughts to even think about sleeping. “Yeah, just um, give me a minute?”
He frowned, worry lines setting deep in his forehead. He wasn’t very good at being alone these days, especially when your time together was growing shorter by the day. That night in your apartment flashed in your mind, his soft confession about quiet being too much for him to handle. Everything you’d done since you met was to keep him safe, whether you realized or not. But were you really doing enough? Why did it sound like he was giving up?
You placed a kiss on his cheek on your way out of the room. The garden called to you once again, its empty husk now an old friend as you winded your way down the path. In the distance, the horizon was painted a streak of brilliant pink, announcing the arrival of another new day. A tear slid down your cheek as you tried desperately to steel yourself, flexing your hands into fists to keep from screaming.
Primo had figured out a way to help him, but you couldn’t help but think of what might be lost in the process. There wasn’t much you could do about it if this was what Primo wanted—it had never been clearer that he was in charge and whatever he wanted was the plan. But the possibility of something going wrong was so obvious even the others had spoken up, though it didn’t change anything. If the hunters were as prepared as you suspected, you would be outnumbered by an enemy armed with stakes, fire, and poisons that could literally stop the vampires in their tracks.
Was it all supposed to be some hopeless task? A trial designed for none of you to survive? You weren’t going to let that happen, couldn’t let it happen. You’d fallen hopelessly head-over-heels in love for the first time in your life and no one was going to take that away from you. All the silly plots to Terzo’s favorite movies finally started to make sense. You were so terrifyingly in love with Terzo Emeritus that you would do whatever it takes to keep him. Forever.
“It’s beautiful out here, huh?” A gentle voice asked behind you. As you spun around, Reginetta put her hands up to show she was no threat. “I’m sorry,” she started. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Sometimes I forget how easily we can sulk around in the dark.”
“Oh, it’s fine. Um, where’s—”
“Secondo?” she finished for you. “Secondo is taking a very long walk in the woods.”
“Ah. Is everything ok?”
She smiled faintly. “I won’t try to make excuses for his behavior. It wouldn’t be fair to either of you and frankly, he’s a centuries old grown ass man—He just…I hope you can believe me when I say that he loves his brothers even if he has a very odd way of showing it.”
You nodded once. “I understand. It’s…complicated.”
She laughed, her voice high and light like she was the mirror opposite of the man she was trying to defend. “Complicated is certainly one way to put it. I don’t know how much Terzo has told you and it’s not necessarily my place to share either, but there were long stretches of time where they were all living secluded lives. They cut themselves off from the world and from each other, but when everything…happened,” she paused as she fought back tears. “Terzo and Secondo blamed themselves for things that were so beyond their control. I blamed myself for—well, that’s another story. The point is, I’ve never seen Secondo as scared as he was when he heard about the fire at Meliora House. Not even when I was bleeding out in front of him, because that—that he could fix. But if Terzo had been in that house…if Terzo was—”
The tears she’d held back began to pour down her cheeks as she flung herself at you. She wrapped you in the tightest hug you’d ever felt as she mumbled into your hair. “You saved him. You might not have any idea what that means for this family, but I can tell you it means the world to me. And I know you mean the world to him.”
“It’s funny, you know? I love him. I’ve never loved anyone. I love him so much it hurts sometimes and I…I never really thought that was possible for someone like me. It sounds stupid but I think he saved me more than I saved him.”
“The Emeritus brothers are funny like that. I don’t think I ever even let myself dream of someone like Secondo.”
You cracked a smile. “Like a vampire?”
She laughed again. “I will admit that was a surprise. Did you know the Countess was a nun? It’s probably safe to say none of us could have predicted the path we would end up on. But the vampire thing…that’s only a part of who he is—part of who they are.”
“And you.”
“Yeah,” she replied with a nod. “And me.”
“Can I ask…” you drifted off, wondering how invasive you question might be.
“What is it like?” she finished and waited for you to nod in return. “It’s…different. I imagine it’s different for everyone, but once you get used to the new teeth it’s a little easier. And having someone who loves you walk you through it is infinitely easier than I imagine doing it alone would be. But as different as it is, you’re still you. Maybe a little,” she stopped to wave a hand, “amplified, but at the core you’re still everything you were. I sleep easier now, my dreams are a bit brighter. It’s not what I would call a carefree life, especially right now, but I don’t regret making that choice. Not for one fucking second.”
“Tesorino?”
You both turned to find Secondo leaning against the gate at the entrance to the garden, wearing a look of worry under his paints. Reginetta’s face lit up as bright as a thousand stars as she held out her hand to him.
“Hello, my love. Are you feeling better?”
“I am, thank you,” he replied and joined her, placing a soft kiss on her cheek. He shot a quick glance your way before taking a deep breath. “Sorellina, I—my behavior—”
“Oh.” You waved your hands. “No, no don’t worry about it. It’s okay.”
“No, sorellina, it is not okay. Please, please don’t tell him I said so, but Terzo was right—that was no way to welcome someone to our family. It was spite and cruelty that was directed at the wrong person entirely. I’m afraid right now I only have words to offer as an apology, but I hope that will be enough, at least until this whole thing is over.”
“It’s—uh—thank you, Secondo.”
“There. Was that so hard?” Reginetta teased, poking at his side. He flashed his fangs.
“You know, for what it’s worth you were actually pretty terrifying,” you offered.
He almost smiled. “Thank you.”
“Of course. Just please don’t make me stab you again, ok?”
“I think you mean let you stab me—”
“Ok, we get it,” Reginetta cut in. “You’re a big, strong scary vampire and no one can stop you, my love. But it is getting late or early—either way we should all go get some rest.” She moved quickly, wrapping you in another tight hug. “I am so glad we finally got the chance to meet. Goodnight, sorellina. Sleep well, ok?”
-x-
Terzo was sprawled out on the bed, lazily flipping through channels on the TV with his mouth set in a hard line and his shirt missing. The rest of the family could be heard shuffling around overhead, their muffled voices asking Primo for incidental things like blankets or the WiFi password. In only a few hours the cottage had turned from a secret hideout to a well-populated ancestral home, transforming into a place where the Emeritus brothers could feel and act like a “normal” family. You smiled to yourself, realizing you’d landed in the middle of some bizarre vampire version of those stupid movies Terzo loved.
He looked annoyed and tired, but with his shirt off and his sweats low around his hips he also looked exactly as he did when you first met. You weren’t sure if it was the sudden arrival of his entire family or something else making him so grumpy, but even in a cranky mood he was still the most beautiful person you’d ever seen. Thinking about it now, you never really stood a chance.
“There you are,” he huffed and turned, stretching his body like a cat in the sun. A tiny grin betrayed whatever feigned irritation had been on his face moments before as he patted the space next to him. “Come to bed, bellezza.”
How could you ever turn him down? You shed your clothes and crawled into the bed, pressing as close to him as you could get. He was still so warm and soft, not yet showing any signs of the poison’s horrible effects. You cupped his face, urging him to focus on you. “I love you, Terzo,” you whispered. “I love you so much.”
“I don’t think I will ever get tired of hearing that,” he admitted softly and brushed a hair away from your face. “I love you too, cara mia.”
“You promise?”
His brow furrowed. “Bellezza? Is something wrong?”
You shook your head. “No, nothing’s wrong. I just—I think—I have something to ask you. And I don’t think you’re going to like it, but I need you to hear me out.”
“I don’t like where this is going—”
“This isn’t something that’s going to be easy for either of us, but if this is what it takes…if walking directly into the lion’s den is our only option to save you, we have to do everything we can.”
“Bellezza, you don’t need to worry—"
“Terzo, I want you to turn me.”
Shocked, he stared back at you unblinking. “No. Absolutely not. No.”
“Terzo—”
He sat up and made a few nervous passes through his hair with his hands. “Bellezza, no. It will kill you. Do you understand that? You will die, to death.”
You sighed as you sat up to meet his eyes. “I know.”
“Then why would you—”
“Because if we do this…no matter what happens I won’t stay dead. It’s…the simple truth is that I love you,” you admitted. “And I will do anything it takes to protect you, even this. Especially this.”
He brought a hand to your face and traced his thumb over your cheek. “It should be me protecting you.”
“Do you think really I can’t take care of myself?” you asked teasingly. “We promised we would save each other and I intend to keep that promise. Forever.” You leaned into his touch, letting your eyes close as he continued to stroke your cheek. “I’m going to make them pay for what they did to you.”
“Has anyone ever told you how sexy you are when you’re angry?”
“Uh, yeah. You.”
“Come here, amore mio,” he asked softly. Carefully you climbed over him, legs straddling either side of his hips as you settled in his lap. “They were very foolish to make an enemy of you, but what you’re asking for…it can’t be undone. It is forever in a way that I’m not sure you understand—”
Your face fell. “Is that what you really think? That I’m not capable of grasping the concept of an eternity with you? That this is just some sudden whim and I haven’t considered the consequences? I have had nothing but time to think about these things since we got here. And half of that time I have spent without you, waiting every day for you to wake up and being terrified that you won’t. I have considered forever and it’s fucking scary, but I am so much more afraid of losing you.”
“Bellezza, I’m not going anywhere. Now that I have found you, I will never leave you.”
“Then why is it so crazy for me to feel the same way?”
“It’s not. It’s just—what if you wake up one day and you want a normal life, eh? That’s not something I could ever give you.”
You leveled your eyes with his. “I’ve never had a normal life. You and me? We aren’t normal people. We never have been and we never will be. I don’t want normal, Terzo. Why would I want normal when I have what we have? I want this. I want you. I want to help my very, very handsome vampire boyfriend survive. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“Ti amo tanto, amore mio.”
Your eyebrows pulled together. “You love what?”
“I love you, bellezza. So much,” he cooed and reached up to cup your face. “You are the love of my nine lifetimes and I will do anything for you.”
“Even this?”
He nodded slowly. “Even this. Forever is a long time, cara mia— “
“And it still won’t be long enough, bello.”
He smiled brightly, his sharp fangs on display. “No, but then I will have forever to thank you.”
“For what?”
“For saving me.”
You smiled. “Well, somebody has to.”
“They don’t, but I am very grateful that you did.”
“Well, I love you. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner and that I haven’t really said it enough, but I want to be able to tell you everyday. For the rest of your eternal life.”
“It would be our eternal life, bellezza.”
“It will be our eternal life.”
“Have you been hiding a romantic side all this time, hmm?”
You laughed, shaking your head as you leaned in close and pressed the softest kiss to his lips. “No, I must have picked it up from you.”
“Ah, I see. Well, in that case I’ve been an excellent teacher.”
“How do you stay so humble?”
“It’s a gift, my love,” he replied with a grin.
You rolled your eyes. “So, how does this work?”
Terzo’s brow furrowed as he bit the inside of his cheek. “I’m not entirely sure, bellezza. I know the basics—I drink from you, you drink from me, you die, you come back—but beyond that I’m not sure I could explain the mechanics of it all. Believe me, I wish I could give you more answers. Perhaps Primo could explain it in more scientific terms. But if this is truly what you want—”
“It is.”
He pressed his forehead to yours. “Whenever you’re ready, bellezza.”
“I’m ready. I love you, Terzo Emeritus. And I’ll love you forever.”
He leaned in, catching your lips in a sweet, tender kiss that said more than he could at the moment. He held you close, hands desperately clinging to you like it was the first time or the last time he would ever get to touch you like this. In some ways it was, but only as something fleeting, something temporary. The end of something that could give way to something so much more.
If the two of you would be forever, you’d have to start somewhere.
You barely felt his fangs cut into your neck. He had always taken such care in moments like this, always treated you like the most precious thing he had ever handled. To him, you were—and he made sure you knew every day since that first time you’d saved him. You could tell from the way he hummed against the wound on your throat his worship of you had no end. And maybe he had loved you from the very moment he saw you. Maybe you had loved him right back.
It flashed as your heart slowed, every moment the two of you had spent together replayed in your mind. Screaming at each other in the rain. The night in the garden. The kitchen. His stupid princess bed. Your entire life had led you to those moments—some bizarre, unexpected turn in your destiny had landed you here and now with the man you’d die for. A tear slipped down your cheek as your pulse grew faint, leaving you feeling dangerously calm.
Terzo pulled away and brought his wrist to his mouth, pausing as he looked at you. “Bellezza?” He asked, his voice thick with concern. “Amore—”
“It’s ok. I’m ok,” you assured him. “I just never thought I would be this happy.”
“Bellezza, you must drink from me now. Ok?”
You nodded, wincing at the sound of him biting into his wrist. He brought his arm to your mouth, encouraging you to drink as much as you wanted. As his blood flowed past your lips, you were surprised by how different it was. Terzo’s blood didn’t taste like sour metal on your tongue. He tasted like the way he loved you—warm and sweet and as endless as the edge of the universe with a heavy dash of something you couldn’t quite name. It was like drinking down something ancient and ethereal, yet just as familiar as every song or poem, book, or film you’d ever loved. As intangible as starlight and thick as honey, he tasted of beauty and joy and life.
You drank as much as you could, not wanting to waste a single drop of this gift he’d given you. It coursed through you, warm in your stomach like Kentucky bourbon and just as dizzying. You slumped against him, unable to hold yourself up any longer as his blood began to merge with your own.
“I’m here, bellezza,” Terzo whispered softly, smoothing a hand over your back. “I will always be here.”
A million questions formed and swirled around in your head, unable to travel the distance across the synapses. As they dissolved and fizzled out, your breathing slowed. Terzo kept talking, offering gentle declarations of love, but his voice began to drift until it was too far away to pick out a single syllable and you slipped into a dreamless sleep—
—and woke to the sound of shouting. The smell of blood surrounded you, dried and matted across your skin and in your hair. You weren’t sure how long you were out—long enough for all that blood to dry at least. How long did it take to die and come back as a vampire? Pain wracked your body as your heart began to beat again. Slowly at first, a heavy thump, thump, thump that pushed dead blood through your veins. Each muscle spasmed as you struggled to move for the first time in your new life.
Life? Afterlife? Or were you undead?
Fuck, it didn’t matter. You pushed yourself up, vision fuzzy as you forced your eyes open. Blurry figures with black and white hair stood at the foot of the bed, arms waving wildly as they screamed at each other. Terzo and Primo began to come into focus, but they were too caught up in their argument to notice you were awake. Pulling yourself into a seated position, you settled against the headboard and watched them repeatedly jab at each other.
“I’m not the one who’s lost his mind!” Primo yelled, his voice so loud you could feel it in your bones.
“Hah! If anyone in this house is senile it’s you, old man,” Terzo shouted back just as loud.
“Satanas help me. You idiots keep turning every woman you meet—”
“Not every woman. Just the ones we love, stronzo. Maybe you should try it sometime.”
“You little—” Primo ground out some unintelligible Italian insults, repeatedly striking the back of his brother’s head as a means of punctuation.
“No, your mother stronzo—” Terzo snapped back and covered his head with his arms. “Stop fucking hitting me!”
“Nine hundred years and you still haven’t learned your actions have consequences—get back here!”
“Could you two please shut the fuck up?” You growled, pressing your fingers into your temples. Both men stopped and stared at you, stunned into silence. Relief left your lips in a sigh, the quiet filling your ears as you let your head fall back against the headboard. You unclenched your jaw, opening your mouth wide as you reached up to feel your sharp new teeth.
“B-bellezza? You’re awake?” Terzo stumbled toward the bed, quickly climbing up next to you. He took your face in his hands, inspecting it for signs of anything.
“Looks that way, huh?”
“How—how do you feel?” Primo asked.
You felt different. What was the word Reginetta had used? Amplified. Everything louder, brighter, stronger. More. Instead of elaborating, you replied, “kind of like I want to kill you both.”
Your lover laughed nervously. “Hypothetically, right?”
“Yes, Terzo. I didn’t wake up murderous.”
“Because you were lucky,” Primo warned. “Of all the stupid things—” He cut himself off and threw his hands in the air, laughing angrily. “Mostriciattolo, you are lucky she woke up at all idiota. Ah, Mostriciattolo e Draculina. Perfetto.”
“Primo, what are you saying?”
“Nothing at all, little one.” He gave Terzo a pointed look and left the room, slamming the door behind him.
“What was that about? Why were you two fighting like that?”
He shrugged and slumped onto the bed. “Same as always—I can’t do anything right, don’t think before I act, etc., etc. It’s all very boring, bellezza.”
“He’s upset about me?”
He shook his head. “No, no, nothing like that. He’s upset about the situation. Said it was ‘beyond irresponsible’ even for me, but he isn’t upset about the outcome. He’ll probably tell you as much later. Enough about my grumpy brother, how are you feeling?”
“Kinda tired. Hungry.”
He let out a happy sigh. “Oh, amore mio. Let’s find you someone to eat.”
-x-
Reheated blood tasted nothing like Terzo’s. Thick and bitter, the lukewarm liquid stuck to the inside of some old commemorative thermos instead of pouring easily into your mouth. You turned the container up and to get liquid to drain faster, a dissatisfied grunt leaving you as your attempts failed. The others tried not to make it obvious, but each of them had cast glances of pity your way. The Countess had been particularly horrified that this was Primo’s solution to your first feed, arguing with him for five full minutes before he’d ordered everyone out of the house.
Between the less than palatable snack and the endless sway of the vehicle as it lurched over long-deserted backroads, it was hard to concentrate on Primo’s rant. As distracted as you were, it was obvious that the oldest Emeritus was no longer acting like himself. The compassionate man you’d known for months was gone, replaced by someone loud and angry. His face was harsh in the dim light, his white eye eerily reflecting the streetlamps as he spun around to bark at his family.
“Have I made myself clear?” he asked and frowned hard at the muted replies from his family.
“We get it, Primo. You’re in charge,” Terzo added sarcastically.
His eyes narrowed as he leaned forward and pointed a bony finger at his brother. “Not another word from you.”
Copia spoke up as Terzo shrank into his seat. “The plan hasn’t really changed that much Primo. Don’t you think you’re being a little harsh?”
Primo growled, flashing his fangs as he sneered at Copia. “Is that what you think?”
The Countess sighed loudly and waved her hands between the men. “Are we gonna measure dicks all day or are we going to save Little Lord Terzo? Cuz I’m pretty sure I have the biggest cock around here and there’s no way our precious baby Draculina here isn’t fucking starving. And even if she’s not, I am. Your macho bullshit is far from appetizing, so can we wrap it up?”
“Excuse me?”
“I don’t know why you have your panties in a bunch when you know damn well every single one of us will follow you straight into hell, Primo. So let’s go.”
“She has a point,” Secondo offered. “We can talk about it for ages, but we might as well just get this thing done and get the kid someone real to eat.”
“Ooh.” The Countess’ eyes sparkled.
“No one eats anyone until the ritual is complete. Do you understand?” Primo shouted as the van crawled to a stop. He waited for everyone to nod. “Bene. Let’s go.”
One by one the vampires filed out of the van, joined by the two hulking figures of Primo’s ghouls. They’d arrived sometime before you woke, wearing similar metal masks to the ones you recalled Omega and Alpha wearing once upon a time. Earth and Air were much larger than the ghouls you’d met back in the summer, only appearing vaguely human-shaped. Their forms were almost too perfect, the details a bit too sharp to sit well. Part of it was the heightened vampire sense, but Terzo had briefly explained they simply didn’t care enough to make themselves look more human.
You filed that in your worry about it later folder somewhere between “what have you been doing for 900 years?” and “explain werewolves,” before letting it go.
“Once we get inside, stick to the plan,” Primo ordered.
“It’s not like we have any other options here Primo. Are you going to be like this the entire time?” Secondo asked.
The two older brothers began to argue in harsh whispers while Copia and Countess brushed past and strolled through the front door. Soft lights on the interior made the tall trees visible through the glass that encased the building, giving it a warm orange glow like sunset in the summer. It was a beautiful setting, full of ten times the greenery of Primo’s ridiculously lush conservatory. As you followed the group inside, you realized the botanical garden had a familiar touch. Primo hadn’t just thrown money at something 50 years ago—he created and curated a living work of art.
Terzo gently squeezed your hand. “Are you ok, bellezza?”
You nodded. “Does Primo still run this place or something?”
“It’s that obvious, huh? I tried to tell him they should update things, but he gets all fussy when it comes to this place.”
You hummed in response, gazing up at the lofty glass ceilings. Someday, you’d ask to come back and see this place during the day, but for now you had to stick to the mission.
“We should try to avoid an ambush if we can,” Primo began detailing his plan. “There are three paths to the exhibit we need. Copia, Countess, you two will come with me. Secondo, you and Reginetta take the central path. Terzo, you and Draculina will take the left path.”
“Is it wise to split up like this?” Reginetta whispered to Secondo who simply shrugged before whispering something back.
“Remember, if you encounter any hunters try to leave them alive. Terzo and I will need every drop of blood we can get,” Primo warned. “We’ll meet in the exhibit in fifteen minutes. Be careful.”
He turned and quickly walked away, leaving Copia and the Countess to chase after him with mild annoyance on their faces. Secondo nodded once toward Terzo before he and Reginetta made their way down the central path of the garden. With your stomach turning into tighter and tighter knots, you and Terzo moved through the left path.
Overhead, a system of fans and misters churned out unnatural mechanical noises, but the building was eerily quiet otherwise. Even with heightened senses you couldn’t hear any extra breathing or footsteps, no tell-tale signs anyone else was in the room with you. The occasional brush of a leaf against Terzo’s ridiculously puffy sleeve was the only sound that stuck out. It didn’t make any sense. The whole plot was designed to lure the Emeritus family here and there’s no way the hunters would’ve left the building empty.
Not even for a second.
The first shot whipped past you, barely missing your face before striking a tree. Before you could think much of it, you found yourself at the other end of the room, moving faster than you ever had. A small, metal cartridge had wedged deeply into the cracked bark, its pointed end breaking off as you worked it free. Inside, a clear liquid sloshed back and forth in a tiny vial.
“Terzo—” You’d barely turned to call out to him when the second shot embedded in your chest. Fire flared in your veins as the paralytic poison began to flood your system. Primo had anticipated this, handing out antidotes and vaccines before anyone left the cottage, but just because it couldn’t poison you didn’t mean it didn’t fucking hurt. You dropped on the spot as the vampire had instructed. Let them think it works, his voice repeated. Let them come to you.
It was easier to see now why Reginetta had been so angry about the stupid plan.
An unfamiliar face appeared over you with a cruel grin. “Aw, did that hurt? Funny how this stuff isn’t as effective on humans, but I hear it burns pretty bad.”
You gritted your teeth, keeping your mouth shut as long as you could. You have surprise on your side now, Draculina. They’ll never expect a turned hunter. Use that in your favor. You scanned the room as the man continued to taunt you, searching for any sign of Terzo.
“Where are the others, huh? I know you’re not stupid enough to come here alone.” He bent down, placing his boot on your chest as he wrenched the cartridge free. Pain radiated from the wound, pulsing in time with the beat of your heart. He tsked, shaking his head. “That won’t be enough.”
“Wha—”
He pressed a blade to your skin and whistled through his teeth, motioning to someone unseen. A dozen hunters silently emerged from the tree line and gathered to watch this man torture you. As Terzo feared, there were some you recognized, but not even one stepped forward to stop the attack. You held out as long as you could, biting down on your tongue to keep from crying out, not wanting to give them a single sliver of power over you. Blood began to pool on the floor beneath you and a tiny, wounded whimper escaped your lips before all that pain was replaced by something else.
The hunter hissed, pulling away to examine the fresh cut he’d accidentally made to his own hand. It took every ounce of strength you had left to stay still. Hunger ripped through you like nothing you’d ever felt before. A painful, consuming white-hot spark that could only be sated by one thing. You dug your nails into your palm, hoping to distract yourself but it was no use. You heard every drop as it moved from his hand and rolled down the knife before landing on the floor. It was so loud, a small insignificant sound made into a tidal wave.
You didn’t hear the others begin to shout as they drew their weapons.
Terzo stood at the edge of the path, his white eye glowing with rage as he stared down your attackers.
“Wha—I thought you shot him!”
“I did!”
“Why won’t you just stay dead?” the first hunter screamed.
“You threatened my family,” Terzo seethed, each step threatening. “You burned my brother’s business, killed his wife—"
“Hey, that wasn’t even us—”
“You set fire to my favorite house,” he growled through gritted teeth. “Reduced my home—my sanctuary—to ash and rubble while forcing us to flee in the middle of the night. You chased us, hunted us down in the city and sent assassins after us. And then you poisoned me and forced one of your own to make an impossible decision. I should tear you all limb from fucking limb for your arrogance. There is no honor among you, not a single shred of dignity spared for one of your own. You don’t even regret what you’ve done to her, what you all forced on her.”
He cracked a sinister smile. “And now? Now she’s an Emeritus vampire and I’m going to feed all of you to her, piece by fucking piece.”
Your fangs pierced the first hunter’s neck before he could make a sound. The others began to scream and scatter, but Terzo was too fast. In the blink of an eye, the room filled with the sound of bones cracking and pained cries. A dozen bloody bodies lay at your feet, a sacrifice left at your altar by the man you loved.
The hunter hit the ground in a lifeless heap, his blood dripping from your chin as you smiled and reached for another.
“Bellezza?”
You tore through three more hunters before Terzo was able to restrain you.
“I love your enthusiasm, amore,” he purred as you struggled against his hold. “But Primo’s instructions were very clear. We need them alive.”
You turned your head, lips and teeth colliding hard with his just like that first messy kiss in his bedroom. Power rushed through you, fueled by adrenaline and something new—some impulse you didn’t want to control. Hunger. Power. Lust. Want. Need. It clouded your brain, vision going red as you clawed at Terzo’s clothes and ripped through the fabric of his shirt. You pulled away whatever pieces you could, desperate to feel his skin.
You needed him now, more than you ever thought possible. The two of you tumbled to the floor, knees and elbows landing hard while never letting your lips part. He pivoted his hips and turned to pin you beneath him with a smile.
“Careful, bellezza,” he purred.
“Oh god, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” you rushed, conscious thoughts returning in a flood embarrassment and shame. “I—I don’t know what happened.”
“It’s ok, amore mio. It’s ok,” he assured you while petting your hair. “It’s not your fault. I am rather irresistible and you might be, eh, more impulsive during your transition.”
“Impulsive,” you repeated with a laugh. “Fucking is an impulse now?”
His eyebrows knit together. “For you?”
“Don’t answer that.”
“I promise, bellezza, when this is all over—” He trailed off. He froze for a moment, muscles tense as his eyes went blank. His body went slack, collapsing on top of you in a heap of dead weight.
“Terzo?” You nudged him, slightly panicked until you felt him breathe.
He sat up, shaking his head as he came back to himself. “I’m ok, bellezza. But I think we should get to Primo quickly.”
You nodded and draped Terzo’s arm over your shoulder, lifting him as carefully as you could. You pushed through the exhibit door and into the next room, following the path with your head on a swivel. Getting shot with poison darts had felt about as good as you’d expected, and you were in no hurry to let it happen a second time.
As you moved through the building the path leading to the exhibit Primo had pointed out was suspiciously clear. You hoped maybe that was a good sign rather than a bad one, but it wouldn’t surprise if it was some elaborate setup either. The hunters had months or, depending on the size of the operation, possibly years to plan for this. Any part of of the building could be a trap.
You opened the last door to find Primo in the center of the room, hovering over what looked like an altar. Dozens of black candles surrounded him, their flames adding an eerie flicker to his eyes.
“Where the hell have you been?” he hissed as you approached and flew from his spot. He reached out, gripping your jaw as he eyed the blood staining your face. “What did you do?”
Terzo gave him a weak push, urging him away from you. “We were attacked, you ass. Leave her alone.”
“And you?”
“I’m not doing so well. Obviously.” He stumbled toward the odd arrangement in the middle of the room. Strange symbols lined the floor, etched in chalk and what looked like blood. “What the hell have you been doing in here?”
“Preparing, you ass,” Primo snapped back. “Where are the others?”
“How should I know? I thought Copia was with you. What happened to your grand plan—”
“A plan to save you—”
“Yes, and I will be eternally grateful once you stop acting like—”
“Don’t you dare,” Primo warned sharply.
Terzo sighed and rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to Primo’s project. He took a few unsteady steps, mumbling something in disbelief before dropping to his knees. You rushed to his side, but he shrugged off your attempts to help him stand. Instead, he leaned against you and stared forward, eyes fixed on the strange plant with its single white flower at the center of the altar. He began to shake, shoulders heaving as he gasped for breath.
You shouted his name, frantically trying to get him to answer you or at least say anything. His eyes were still full of life as you forced him to look away, but there was a profound sadness behind them you’d yet to see even on Terzo’s worst days. The vampire was crying. It hit you hard, a punch to the gut you didn’t expect as he collapsed against you, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Terzo? What—”
Primo knelt beside the two of you and smoothed a hand over his brother’s hair. “It will be ok, mostriciattolo. Have I ever broken a promise to you?”
He shook his head and cried harder, unable to form the words to answer as he held onto you.
“Primo, what the hell is happening?” you screamed.
He gave you a faint smile and jutted his chin toward the plant. “It’s…it’s a rare species, effectively extinct. Beautiful. Poisonous. It’s loosely related to datura—”
“Primo, I’m not a fucking botanist—”
“It grew around our home,” he interrupted, his voice flat as he stared at nothing. “When Terzo was a child, the grounds were covered in it. By the time we—it was all gone by the time he became a man. Seemingly lost forever.”
There was another untold story in the look they shared, one that spanned centuries and somehow now included you. You held Terzo, hoping to ease his pain or at least offer some form of comfort as he slowly pulled himself back together. With a hard sniff he pulled away from you, tears tracing lines through his paint.
“Mi dispiace, bellezza. I have not seen this flower in a very long time. I was not expecting to see it again—”
There was a rush of footsteps followed by a slamming door. Behind you, the other vampires began to shout as they dragged any and every object they could find toward a makeshift barricade. The door bowed under the force of something outside, a rhythmic thud against solid metal.
“I am going to tear out your eyes so you can watch me pull your head through your ass you little prick,” the Countess seethed, hurling her threats through the door. She leaned against the wall; her right hand pressed over what appeared to be a stab wound. Copia shrugged off his jacket and knelt beside her to hold it against her side.
“By all means, take your time, Primo,” Secondo barked sarcastically and braced himself against the door. “We’re not under attack or anything!”
“Stay close,” Primo muttered as he helped Terzo stand.
“Where would I even go?” Terzo sassed back, his body growing weaker with each step.
“Not you, stronzo.”
“Hardly the time for name calling—”
“Shut up!” he snapped and turned toward the altar. He began to toss various herbs and tinctures into a to-go cup he’d clearly swiped from the botanical garden’s gift shop. There was a familiar smell of ash and rust as the mixture took on the properties of Terzo’s usual antidote. A thick green-black sludge formed as Primo painstakingly stirred and cast a look over his shoulder.
“Is everyone ready?”
“Do we have a choice?” Copia shouted back, grunting as he twisted broken pieces of the door’s metal frame against itself.
“No matter what happens you must keep drinking. You understand fratellino? Do not stop for anything,” Primo warned in a low voice. With a careful hand he plucked the sole flower from the plant and crushed it between his fingers. He began to whisper something in Latin, a chant you couldn’t quite make out and wouldn’t understand even if you could. The flower began to crumble, turning to a pale dust that slowly fell between his fingers and into the cup. He cast one last look at Terzo and smiled. “To your health.”
He downed the contents and dropped to his knees, shoving his arm in Terzo’s face. “Drink.”
“Are you insane?” Terzo hissed.
Primo used the opportunity to jam his wrist against Terzo’s fangs and hold it there. “Drink.”
Whatever argument he wanted to make died in his throat as Primo’s blood spilled into his mouth. He tried to fight him, desperately clawing at his brother’s clothes, but his weakened state was no match for the older vampire. You watched in horror as your lover struggled, his eyes pleading for help. One by one the other vampires began to realize the seriousness of the situation, turning to look as Terzo slammed his feet against the floor in protest.
Whatever you’d been told, whatever parts of the plan you had all tried to understand escaped the room as glass began to shatter. The hunters were no longer trying to get through the blocked door, instead they spilled in from all sides, seeking any entrance to the solarium. The family formed a circle around Primo’s altar, protecting Primo and Terzo from the rapidly approaching violence, but there were more hunters than you could count. As predicted, they had prepared for this on a scale you didn’t think was possible.
“Primo—” You stopped short and gasped as your eyes landed on him. His face was gaunt, skin sagging away from his bones in a way that made him appear almost hollow. He was aging rapidly, withering away as each drop of life passed from his body to Terzo’s. “Oh, fuck.”
The room filled with the sound of hunters readying their weapons, each taking aim at the vampire of their choice.
Terzo finally managed to break his brother’s hold and pushed him away before doubling over. Every muscle in his body flexed and tensed as he tried to crawl away, pushing as hard as he could. With one great heave, a torrent of dark bile spilled from his lips onto the floor as his body rejected the poison. The hunters froze, many with a look of disgust on their faces as the puddle below Terzo grew.
Movement caught the corner of your eye, a blur of white so fast the humans never saw it coming. Shots rang out as the first few dropped, but Primo was too quick. Moving like an unstoppable ferocious predator, he cleared the room of anyone in his path. Secondo and Copia followed his lead, taking out as many hunters as they could while you rushed to Terzo’s side.
He was shaking, soaked in sweat and sick, but he was alive.
“Bello?”
He grinned and reached out to caress your face. “I’m here, bellezza,” he purred as you leaned into his touch. “I’m here. I will always be here.”
“How do you feel?”
His smile grew even wider, almost sinister. “I am starving.”
You smiled back. “Me too.”
Carnage was the only way you could begin to describe what was happening around you. A massacre—no—a battlefield stretched from one end of the room to the other drenched in viscera and severed limbs. Terzo and the others tore through the room, forced to finish a fight that had started centuries ago. The smell of blood and death was clinging to everything, sharpened senses now unable to ignore even the smallest drop. It overwhelmed you, drawing you into the fray as you bit into the first faceless hunter you could reach.
A few feet away, the Countess gave you a thumbs-up with the severed arm of one of her victims.
-x-
The cottage was unnaturally quiet. As quickly as they arrived, the other vampires had disbanded and headed their separate ways, leaving a cluttered and messy house in their wake. You weren’t sure what was going to happen next. You weren’t sure anyone did.
Primo had nearly died trying to save Terzo. That much was clear from the last time anyone had seen him, but his brothers were quick to assure you that Primo could and would take care of himself. For now, you had to let that be enough, but it felt wrong to leave your friend’s home in such a state.
Especially after everything he had done for you.
You went through each room, picking up whatever you could and putting things back together the way Primo normally kept them. There wasn’t much time, but you sensed Terzo understood this was something you needed. He simply kissed your cheek and left to pack up whatever belongings the two of you had accumulated in that little room.
The kitchen wasn’t a complete disaster, but the least you could do was rinse the handful of old coffee mugs resting in the sink. You washed them carefully though the years and dishwasher cycles had been less than kind to any images they once held. You always assumed you would have time to find out what it was about tourist traps that fascinated Primo, but now you weren’t sure how long you’d have to wait.
It wasn’t until you’d put the last mug away that you noticed the letters. Three envelopes had been left on the table, each the same red as Primo’s scuffed slippers. Each addressed carefully in an elaborate script. Terzo. Draculina. Diavolina.
“Hey Terzo?” You called out, a nervous shake to your voice.
He appeared in a blink, bags in hand as he quickly scanned the room for threats.
“Everything’s ok. It’s just…Primo…he left letters.”
“Ah,” Terzo grunted and dropped the suitcases in favor of clutching his chest. “Thank Satanas. I am too full to eat anyone else today. What does the letter say?”
You shrugged and handed him the one with his name before tearing into your own. There wasn’t much, a simple short note expressing a few wishes written in the most impressive penmanship you’d ever seen. “He says not to look for him—”
“Typical.”
“And that he wants to leave the cottage to his friend.”
Terzo made a face. “He has a friend?”
“You missed so much while you were half-dead, huh?” you teased before reading through the letter one more time. “Hey, what’s Villa Majesty?”
“Eh,” he started and sighed heavily, avoiding your eyes. “I don’t think you will like my answer.”
“What does that even mean?”
“It’s a castle…my castle.”
“Your…what? Like a castle, castle?”
“Sì, it is the smaller one.” He offered with a cheeky grin. “But I think you’ll like it there.”
You groaned. “How many houses do you have?”
He shrugged. “You have plenty of time to find out.”
-x-
“Ah, ah, bellezza,” Terzo purred and brushed your hair away from your neck. He placed a kiss on the newly exposed skin before whispering into your ear. “Slowly, my love.”
You resisted the urge to shrug him off and followed his instructions, drawing long, slow pulls from the vampire hunter’s neck. No one ever tasted as good as Terzo, but he was determined to teach you how to make the most of every kill. Though he couldn’t bake to save his life, so far he had been right about fear and desire tasting better than anger.
You suspected he just got off on watching you feed—not that you minded. Your relationship had started covered in blood after all.
The mattress creaked as Terzo pressed even closer, lips returning to your neck. It had only been a month since you arrived at Villa Majesty—a month-long whirlwind honeymoon phase filled with moments like this and various other “vampire lessons” that were thinly veiled excuses for him to get his hands (or lips) on you. But it was easy to let him try to charm you all over again even if he had already won your heart.
“Like this?” you asked, leaning into him as the hunter’s pulse began to stutter. It was pure luck that you’d found this one, or maybe just stupidity on their part. The village below was small and picturesque enough to attract a few tourists, but it was easy enough to spot someone behaving the way you used to. Feeding on humans can with its own set of morality issues, but when it came to anyone who would take down you or your new family without a second thought the decision was much easier.
Terzo hummed against your skin, his hands reaching around you to free the hunter from your grip. You let out a small yelp as he seized you and pulled your further onto the ridiculous bed, your snack and lessons now forgotten. Much like Meliora House, Villa Majesty was also decorated like a fucking wedding cake, but your lover made up for his eccentric taste in furniture by fucking you senseless on any and every surface he could and making post-coital promises about any remodeling the entire place if you wanted.
Honestly, there were worse things than being wrapped in lavender frills and ruffles while being spoiled by an immortal billionaire.
You pawed at his shirt, grabbing fistfuls of the near-transparent fabric between your fingers as you readied yourself to rip it from his body.
“Nooo,” he whined. “Not this one, per favore. I look too good in this.”
“But you look better out of it.”
“Bah! Impossible, bellezza,” he huffed and rose up on his knees to pose. “Look at me!”
“Oh, I am,” you assured him. You pushed yourself up and let your eyes trail over his form slowly, appreciating every inch. It was growing more faint over time, but you reached up and pressed your fingers to the scar on his chest with a small sigh. “Remind me why we even bother to get dressed again?”
It was his turn to sigh. “Omega and Alpha’s rules.”
“Ah, yes the demonic bodyguards who were tired of seeing your cock.”
His eyes narrowed as he leaned forward and took your wrists in his hands. In one quick motion he pinned you to the bed and hovered over you. “No one has ever tired of my cock, bellezza.”
“Hmm, it is quite nice. Is that why you showed it to me the second I walked into your house?”
“If it works, it works.”
“Terzo?”
“Amore?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too,” he said with a grin and bent down to kiss you. “Ugh, ok, ok, you can tear it off me—just this once.”
He released your hands and sat back to allow you better access. He was right he did look good like this, but his cock was tenting in his pants and straining against the fabric and that was a look you preferred to any other. You ran your hands over his chest and began the delicate task of carefully slipping each of the buttons free. He groaned at the pace of your work, breath hitching any time you touched the slightest bit of skin. Teasing Terzo had become a favorite pastime of yours over the last few weeks, watching him barely maintain his composure as you found the balance between your heightened senses and his own. He could easily overpower you if he wanted and some days it was more fun to encourage that, but with your appetite sated all you could think about was having him take you slowly.
“Terzo?” You asked as you pushed open his shirt to press a kiss against his stomach. “Make love to me?”
“Every single day for eternity, amore,” he promised with a sly smile. He shook the gauzy shirt from his shoulders and cast it aside, no longer caring about its price tag or the way he looked in it. He eased you onto your back and pushed your knees apart, leveling his face with your sex and the stupidly expensive, but admittedly sexy panties he’d procured for your new wardrobe.
He hooked his thumbs in the waistband and slowly slid them down your legs before stuffing them in the pocket of his tightening pants. He wasted no time burying his face in your cunt and letting his tongue dance a dizzying rhythm across your sensitive nerves. With a firm grip on his hair, you encouraged and praised him letting the man you loved completely take you apart. He held you down with one hand and used the other to tease and slide his fingers into your entrance, working to coax an orgasm out of you.
As you teetered on the edge of intense pleasure, he bit into the inside of your thigh and moaned loudly. At the same time you let go, your body tensing around his fingers as he drank from you. If it wasn’t for how painfully hard he must have been, you thought he could stay there for the rest of his life. Instead, he pushed your knees to your chest and kicked his pants across the room. He pressed into you slowly, eyes closed as he bit his own lip bloody.
“Bellezza, do you see what you do to me?”
You raised your head and watched your bodies connect, sighing with relief as he filled you. “Fuck,” you whispered, hands already grasping at the sheets. “Do you see what you do to me?”
When he was fully seated inside you, he stilled his hips and bent down to press a kiss to your forehead, letting you keen beneath him. Your revenge came as you nipped his throat and let out a particularly lascivious moan as his blood dripped onto your tongue.
“No fair, bella. Do you want me to make love to you or do you want me to fuck you?”
“Both,” you replied with a grin and raised your hips. “They can be the same thing. Especially when you taste this good.”
“Temptress,” he purred and began a torturous rhythm with his hips.
“Vampire,” you shot back, meeting each thrust.
He growled and bit into your neck, drinking from you as his pace picked up. The vibration of his low moans melted into your own, rattling through your chest as you neared your release. He was so loud, alternating between fucking and drinking and moaning while the bed shifted beneath you. You loved him like this, loved to see him so desperately in love with you that he almost couldn’t stand it. You told him so as he pounded into you with a ferocity that drew sounds from your throat Omega would probably leave a note about later.
Terzo’s fingers found their way back to your center as he pulled off your neck and leaned up to watch you come undone. And you did, your bliss hitting you hard in intense waves that washed over you. No one had ever fucked you like he could; no one had ever loved you as he did. No one else ever would.
He cried out, stilling his hips as he reached his own end and spilled inside you. He gasped for air, burying his face in your neck as he came down. The two of you lay like that for a while, twisted up and consumed by your love for each other.
A soft knock broke the silence of the bedroom. Terzo offered you a lazy smile and rolled off the bed, taking the sheet with him. He tucked it around his waist before opening the door a crack to reveal a slightly nervous Omega.
“Uh…sorry to disturb you…but you told me— “
Terzo threw open the door. “Is it here?”
Omega yelped and covered his eyes with his hand. He shoved a small package toward Terzo with the other hand before running down the hallway while shouting, “boundaries people!”
Terzo just shrugged and closed the door. You rolled onto your stomach to watch him rip into the cardboard box, curious to see what was so important it disturbed such a soft moment. The vampire smiled brightly as he walked toward you.
“You have no idea how hard this was to find, bellezza.”
You furrowed your brow. “What is it?”
He winked and handed you the box. Packed neatly and carefully inside was the same vintage hockey sweater you’d once owned, your favorite team’s colors still pristine and bright. Another smaller velvet box sat in the middle of their emblem. You blinked up at him, but he just shrugged and gestured for you to open that one as well.
The next time your eyes met he was on one knee, still wrapped in the sheet.
“Is this why you didn’t want me to rip your shirt?”
“I was trying to create a moment, bellezza.”
You slid off the bed and walked over to him, gently caressing his face. “I think you proposing naked is still a moment, bello. Better than your silly movies.”
He smiled softly. “Will you marry me, amore mio?”
“Yes,” you replied with a nod, tears filling your eyes. “Of course I will, you idiot.”
Thank you to everyone who waited patiently and cheered me on while I tried to complete this story. Your comments kept me going through some really tough times and I can't thank you enough.
I'd like to thank @ramblingoak for holding my hand for the past YEAR and being just the best fucking friend through everything. Suck Club would not exist without you. Thank you. 💜
here's more stuff from me // my ko-fi info
#my writing#my fics#suck club forever#mdni#papa emeritus iii x female reader#papa emeritus iii x reader#terzo x reader#the band ghost fanfiction#ghost band fanfiction#ghost band fanfic#vampire terzo#vampire terzo x reader#terzo fanfic#terzo fanfiction#vampire terzo fanfic#papa emeritus iii fanfiction#x reader#reader insert#fem reader
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Papa Headcanons: Showering Together 🚿🧼
What happens when things get hot and steamy in the shower with Papa?
WARNING - NSFW, MDNI
Inspired by Heartsforcopia_ on Twitter!
Primo
Lots of lotions and potions in unlabeled bottles on the shelves in his shower, all handmade from the things he grows in his garden
“Do you need help reaching, cara/caro? Let Papa help…” as he touches you in the most sensual way possible
Sometimes he prefers baths so he can just sit and relax after a busy day and invites you so you’re laying against his chest
Claims he has trouble reaching certain spots and needs your help washing, but you’re pretty sure you saw him bend over in the garden no issue earlier
Insists on no funny business as you both wash together but his touches leave you practically begging him to fuck you in the shower
On second thought, he was looking a little wobbly today so maybe shower sex would be dangerous (so you just bang it out in your towels on his bed)
Secondo
He’s got a nice ass shower, like it’s huge with multiple shower heads and lights and a bench
He’ll use the shower head on your sensitive spots to help get you off
Lathers up soap on your chest and pinches your nipples in the suds, kissing you deeply as the water falls over your heads
Watches you lather up, shave, whatever you do in the shower as he does the same, content on just watching the water roll off your frame
You ask him for help shaving your nether regions because you just know he’ll be careful
That’s the perfect excuse for him to go down on you as well while he’s down there
Terzo
Has all the expensive skincare items, and you spend half the time looking at everything and using a little bit of it all
“Oh your [insert preferred body part here] looks sooo dirty I must help you wash it”
Lathers up your entire body, lingering on your sensitive spots
Will NOT keep his hands to himself - he’s touching you, putting soap on you, putting his fingers in certain places and he wants YOU to wash him
Hogs the water on purpose but his caresses keep you warm
He fingers you with the claim that he must clean ALL of you 😫💀 (don’t worry, he knows not to stick soap up there)
He’s too much of a horndog so you fuck in the shower, soggy doggystyle 😈
Copia
You’re pretty much stuck with his 3-in-1 wash for your whole body
You start to question why he’s got a pink razor and think he might be seeing someone else who’s got their stuff in his shower but then he says he just prefers Lady Schick for shaving his balls
Blocks the water flow with his big ass head but he doesn’t mean to leave you cold and shivering, he’s just kinda spatially unaware
When he notices you’re cold he wraps you up in his arms and lets you have the water (where he stands shivering the rest of the time)
“Eh, can I wash your boobies/balls/butt, tesoro? 👉👈” (choose your preferred body part)
Excited to wash your hair, your face, everything because he sees this as more of a bonding experience versus a sexual one
But yeah he still gets really horny and if you don’t fuck in the shower, you for sure are slapping your wet bodies together on the bathroom floor or against his sink, wherever you end up first
#the band ghost#ghost bc#ghost band fanfic#papa emeritus x reader#ghost band smut#papa emeritus i x reader#papa emeritus ii x reader#papa emeritus iii x reader#papa emeritus iv x reader#papa emeritus smut#terzo fanfiction#terzo x reader#copia is my husband#papa emeritus iv#secondo smut#primo smut#terzo smut#copia smut#the band ghost fanfiction#ghost band fanfiction#ghost headcanons#nsfwheadcanons
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Can I also ask for Primo and „whispering in-between kisses“? You know what types of kisses 👀
I know the exact kind of kisses you want. It's time to worship that old man.
What You See I Primo x gn!reader
~ Primo needs you to tell him what you see when you look at him ~
(1800 words, fluff, angst, body worship, some spice, nsfw, 18+ only, not beta read)
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
“Amore, what do you see when you look at me?”
You set your brush down onto your vanity and turned sideways in the chair to look at Primo.
“I see someone that was supposed to be dressed ten minutes ago.”
Usually Primo enjoyed your teasing and he often teased you back. It was an easy banter between two people that had known each other for many years. Looking at Primo right now though it was clear he was not in a teasing mood. He sat down heavily on the side of your bed, a long sigh exhaling out of him.
“That is not what I mean.” There was a tone to his voice you didn’t normally hear and it made you get up to head his way. You held your bathrobe together and quietly padded over to stand before him. Primo was staring down at his hands in his lap, wringing them together nervously, so you dropped to your knees and slipped your hands into his to stop the movement. “Tell me the truth.”
You pulled his hands towards you and placed kisses into each of his palms before looking up at him. He met your gaze now, his eyes searching yours for an answer.
“I see the man I’ve admired for many years and loved for many more.” Primo snorted and pulled his hands away with enough force you fell back on your butt. “Hey, what’s going on with you?”
“That is not what I asked.” He stood up and then reached down to you, gently grasping your elbows and pulling you to your feet. You let out another ‘hey’ when he tugged you over to the windows that overlooked his garden. Primo squeezed your hands and then let go of one to grasp your chin. “Now, look at me and tell me what you see.”
You pulled away from his hands and then placed yours on his shoulders. With a firm shove you got him to fall into the chair behind him and climbed after him. You straddled him, your knees on either side of his legs. He wouldn’t meet your eyes so you used his own move on him and took a hold of his chin.
“I see someone that is tired from all of his years of working hard for this church.” His mismatched gaze met yours then and your heart clenched at the look in his eyes. You leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on his forehead before moving down to kiss the soft, puffy skin under each eye. “You never get enough sleep because you’re up too late worrying about your brothers.”
The only answer you got was a soft nod and you smiled at him before kissing the tip of his nose. Your lips trailed from there to where the skin next to his mouth where he had wrinkles from smiling and then further down to where it had begun to sag.
“My Papa is getting older and his face shows it. His body shows it.” You kissed along his chin and then made your way down his neck, whispering into the wrinkled skin there when you stopped again. “Can I keep going, Papa? Can I show you what else I see?”
You felt him nod above you so you slipped your hands into his robe and pushed it off his shoulders. He was bare underneath and you took a moment to admire the body you had been intimately familiar with for many years now. When you started kissing him again you made your way from his neck across to his shoulder.
“Your skin has seen too much sun, Papa. Look at all these freckles.” To illustrate the amount he had you made sure to kiss each one you saw. You made a mental note to be more forceful with sunscreen next time he went out in his garden. Down his arm you went, finally holding his hand up between you so you could both look at the rough skin on the back. A few of his knuckles were misshapen, arthritis having begun to set into his joints many years ago. “I can tell that these hands have done so much.”
“Like what?”
Primo’s voice was quiet and shaking slightly. You were afraid to look into his eyes because if you saw tears there you would end up crying too. He needed you to be strong right now and you refused to let him down.
“Your hands have held onto so many others here, guiding them onto their path within the church…leading them in prayer…pulling them from the lake during their unholy baptism.” A thought crossed your mind and you couldn’t help but laugh a little. “I’ve seen this hand slap Secondo on the back of the head when he misbehaved as a child.”
“Or as a grown man.”
It was good to hear Primo laugh and you chanced a look at his face. His eyes shone with unshed tears and he sniffed when he saw the same in your eyes. He brought his free hand over and caught one when it started to trail down your cheek.
“I remember you holding Terzo’s hand when his mother passed away, how you carried him around the garden so he could pick flowers to take to her grave each week.” You grabbed his other hand when he tried to wipe your tears away again. “And I remember when you stormed up to Nihil and took Copia from his arms.”
“That old fool wasn’t cut out to be a father.”
“No he wasn’t, but you were.” You placed his hands on the arms of his chair and leaned forward to place a kiss on his chest over his heart. His chest hair was more white than blonde now, much like the hair on his head before he had begun to shave it, but it was still soft to the touch. For a moment you rested your ear against him, listening to his strong heartbeat. “You’ve been there for all of your brothers and helped them to become the men they are today.”
He took a deep breath under your ear and you could tell he was trying very hard to control his emotions. You weren’t done though, because deep down you knew what his biggest worry was when he started this conversation. Very slowly you turned your head so that your lips were against his skin and you kissed a trail to his nipple. You flicked your tongue against it before pulling it between your lips and nipping at it softly with your teeth.
“Amore…”
“Hush Papa, I’m not done.” You moved to his other nipple and gave it the same amount of attention before going lower to where his skin had started to pull down with age. The wrinkles here were larger, the skin soft and warm against your lips. Primo jumped when your tongue left a wet trail across his chest. “When I look at you Primo, when I touch you, I see a man that has aged beautifully.”
Your mouth moved to the center of his chest and you slid off his lap to rest on your knees before him. The robe was easy to pull off his lap and now he was completely bare before you. His cock was still soft, but that didn’t surprise you. It didn’t bother you either. You placed your hands on his knees and then slid them up his thighs, resting where they met his waist. Primo abruptly dropped his hands to cover yours and gave them a squeeze.
“Not tonight, I don’t think, amore. Too much going on in this old head.”
You smiled and moved closer to him, shouldering his legs further apart.
“It doesn’t make a difference to me either way. Do you know why?” Primo shook his head, his mouth falling open in a silent gasp as you leaned forward and started to mouth along his soft cock. “Because I still see the man I love no matter what is happening here.”
Even soft his cock was long and you took it as deep as you could, the tip reaching well into your mouth. You tongued the underside, pulling back so you could press it against his slit. His thighs had begun to shake under your hands and you heard him groan above you. As you bobbed up and down a few times you let out a little moan when you felt him finally twitch in your mouth. With a smile you pulled off, a string of saliva lingering from your lips to the tip as you moved away. Primo pulled a hand out from under yours and rubbed his thumb against your bottom lip, smearing your saliva around.
“Shall I keep going Papa?” He gave you a quick nod, taking a deep breath as you mouthed along the side of his cock. It twitched again, slowly filling out as you gave it attention. You licked the drop of precum that started to leak at the tip and then looked up to see him watching you. “Will you tell me now? Will you tell me what you see when you look at me?”
He brought his hands up to cup your face, smiling softly as he pulled you close enough to slip his cock into your mouth once more.
“I see someone that is more beautiful than any flower in my garden.” Primo grunted as he began to thrust in and out of your mouth, his cock nearly fully hard. “Someone that has never left my side, that ah! Cazzo. Someone that…someone that I love more than anything.”
His moans started to mix with your whimpers as he moved faster, the tip of his cock hitting the back of your throat with every thrust now. There was so much more you wanted to say. So much more that he needed to hear but you didn’t want to stop him. You wanted him to fill your mouth with his cum, you wanted to swallow everything he gave you.
Primo’s fingers began to dig harder in your hair as his cock started to kick in your mouth. It wasn’t long before he nearly doubled-over as he came. Your mouth filled with his release and you did your best to swallow it all, lapping at his cock to clean off what you could. When he pulled out you kept your lips wrapped around him until you pulled off with a soft pop. He was looking at you like you were the only other person in his world and you found your eyes filling with tears again when he spoke softly to you.
“In you, amore, I see someone that I will worship until my final days. If you’ll let me.”
“Forever, Papa.”
He chuckled, wiping the mixture of saliva and his release off your chin before leaning in to press his forehead against yours.
“Forever.”
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
My Masterlist ~ My Archive of our Own ~ My Ko-Fi Tip Jar
#my fics#my writing#primo x gn reader#papa emeritus i x gn reader#the band ghost fanfiction#primo x reader#papa emeritus i x reader#papa emeritus x reader#primo fanfiction#papa emeritus i fanfiction
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dreadful need in the devotee
Pairing: Cardinal Copia x f!Reader (Curator!Reader)
Rating: Mature
Tags: drunk reader, soft copia, general aching sweetness, slight horniness
Words: 1,670
Summary: Taking shots from Terzo is probably a bad idea, right? The cardinal helps take care of you in the aftermath.
a/n: This is the most self indulgent thing I have ever written. Reader has a thigh tattoo because I have a thigh tattoo and you know what this is absolutely about me and my needs. Thank you for coming to my ted talk.
Tagging @anamelessfool come get y'all food
divider by @gothdaddyissues!
He’s never seen you like this before.
Granted, you’ve only been working at the abbey for almost five months so it’s not saying much, but he likes to think he knows you better than anyone else here. Over those five months the two of you have become close, particularly after Imperator directed him to assist you in your quest to curate the abbey’s art collection. It’s a daunting task, but your enthusiasm for the subject was infectious, as was the bright grin that always graced your features whenever you made some new, exciting discovery. Before you, he barely interacted with anyone else apart from his fratelli and Sister Imperator, and your presence has felt like a refreshing rain storm after a long stretch of sweltering, oppressive loneliness. He’s invigorated by you and your anxious energy, as if you emanate some sort of force field that draws him in.
Perhaps drawing him in in more ways than one.
Copia shakes off the thought and sets down his glass of chianti, returning his attention to what you are currently occupied with. Terzo has just passed you a shot of something dangerous Copia suspects comes from the Ministry’s own stills and you, having completely shaken off your mantle of shyness, accept with aplomb. Copia winces as you down the concoction, mirroring the slight gagging motion you make. He knows the stuff all too well, thanks to Terzo in their youth. Secondo roars with laughter behind him, two siblings clinging to his sides, while Primo sits in the corner smiling and shaking his head. You perform a deep, if wobbly, curtsy, an electric grin twisting your flushed cheeks. When Terzo pulls you in for an intimate side hug to murmur something in your ear as siblings around you laugh and cheer, a bubble of jealousy surfaces in Copia’s belly. Whatever Terzo says to you makes you blush deeper and roll your eyes, shoving him away as he laughs jovially.
What he wouldn’t give to make you blush like that for him.
Copia, mood slightly soured, turns to leave the area when in an instant, you are by his side.
“Cardinale,” you say, swaying slightly towards him with bright eyes. “Are you leaving?”
He reaches backwards to a bookshelf where he had placed his biretta and favors you with a soft, apologetic smile.
“Eh, sì. I think it’s time.”
For a moment you look devastated, then in a moment of panicked clarity, you place a hand on his arm.
“Me too,” you whisper conspiratorially. “Please get me out of here before Terzo gives me another one of those shots, that shit almost killed me.”
Your hushed confession makes him chuckle and before he can respond, you’re ushering him out of the room with your hand on the small of his back, making the tips of his ears turn pink. Once the two of you finally escape out the door and down the hall, you let out a dramatic heaving sigh and collapse against the cool stone wall.
“Cardinal,” you say, eyes focused on something over his shoulder.
“Sì, mia cara?” He chances the endearment he’s been dying to gift upon you from the moment you met.
You refocus back on him at his words and oh, the way your cheeks flush all the way across your chest. Take that, Terzo, Copia thinks triumphantly.
“Take me back to my rooms? I…don’t think I can find my way.”
He grins slightly and nods as you link your arm with his and he guides you further down the hall. Your journey up several flights of stairs and down several more hallways is quiet, punctuated by the occasional loud hiccup from you. He knows that silence from you all too well now - you’re contemplating something. You absentmindedly rub at the red wool of his sleeve with your thumb and more than once, you lean into him as if you’re about to say something.
But you remain silent.
When the two of you reach your rooms, you let out a dramatic sigh and turn to him with a pout.
“Help me,” you whine, gripping his sleeves and dragging him towards the door.
“Sì, sì, I will help you. Ah…keys?”
You fumble around with the small jeweled crossbody bag you brought to the party, doing a concerning amount of rummaging for such a small capacity item. Finally you emerge triumphant, presenting your room keys to him with a flourish. Delicately, he removes them from the tangle of your fingers and opens the door. You push past him only slightly in your eagerness to be inside the comfort of your own rooms, and the first thing you do is remove the heels you’ve worn for the evening, violently flinging them across the room. He winces as he hears something crash and fall.
“I was not built for that shit,” you grouse, now stomping barefoot into the center of the room, where you stand and sway for several minutes.
“Eh, bed?” Copia provides helpfully, gesturing to the closed door on his right.
“Damn straight,” you announce, stumbling slightly over to the door and opening it.
Copia’s been in your quarters before. After checking in on you one night and finding you crying and homesick, you had let him in and the two of you bonded on your couch about the inherent loneliness of the abbey. That was the first time you had hugged him, a deep crushing thing filled with so much emotion it nearly made him faint. He didn’t wash that cassock for a week after that, too content to smell your perfume on it til it faded to nothingness. He has not, however, been in your bedroom.
He follows you in and takes in the surroundings - it’s a decent size, with a queen bed in the center and a dark wooden dresser. The first thing he notices is the walls are covered in art - no surprise there - and he smiles at the subject matter. Devils, witches, and temptresses decorate ornate frames you had likely found in various storage rooms in the abbey. He may make a sister of sin out of you yet. He’s so lost in his thoughts that for a moment he doesn’t notice how you move to strip down in front of him. When he sees you begin to slide the straps of your dress down he starts with an exclamatory noise.
“Cara!” he shouts hoarsely, causing you to jump. “Not here!”
You look confused for a moment before he looks around behind him and spots a black sleep chemise crumpled on the duvet. He grabs it and thrusts it into your hands before ushering you into the adjacent bathroom. You don’t protest, but Copia does spot the mischievous curl of your lips as you shut the door behind you. When you have been safely secured away from his gaze he returns his attention to the room. Shuffling over to your dresser he begins to pick up and study the tchotchkes you have collected - various pointed crystal towers, a little ceramic pig, some kind of small animal skull, and – oh. Your perfume sits innocently amidst the clutter, the decorative bottle calling to him. Copia looks over his shoulder before picking it up and inhaling deep. He bolsters himself so he doesn’t collapse against the foot of your bed, but he feels almost as intoxicated as you are upon smelling its contents. He’s ashamed to admit how much it affects him, once again glancing over his shoulder as he adjusts himself through the abundant material of his cassock. Copia does not wear deviancy as easily as Terzo. He’s about to chastise himself for being a pervert when your bathroom door flies open. When he turns to see you, he exhales shakily.
Maybe he should have grabbed different pajamas.
You strut out towards him, the silk of your nightgown shining in the low light of the room, and give him what can only be described as a sultry look before flinging yourself on the duvet. His throat is dry as he regards you reclining on the material, writhing slightly in an attempt to get cozy, causing his thoughts to wander and darken. When you finally get comfortable, you look up at him from under your lashes and he turns slightly to hide the hardening of his cock. Your movements have caused the hem of your chemise to ride up your body, exposing the meat of your thigh and the large tattoo there to his gaze.
He didn’t even know you had a tattoo there.
“Eh, goodnight.” He moves to make a rapid exit from your bedroom but you grab his sleeve with impressive speed, pulling him back to sit next to you on the bed. Copia knows his cheeks are violently red as you take his gloved hand in yours and squeeze it. He looks at you askance and practically melts at the soft way you regard him.
“Il mio cardinale,” you murmur, and before he can say anything you’ve brought his hand to your mouth, kissing the gloved knuckles in an echo of the way he introduced himself to you all those months ago. All he can bring himself to do is nod and you smile warmly at him, looking more sober now than you have all evening.
“You’re always so good to me.” you say simply, making his heart swell.
“You’re easy to be good to,” Copia manages to whisper in response. The gleam in your eyes makes him feel exhilarated. Brave. The boldness you have inspired causes him to lean down and softly kiss your forehead, lips lingering on your skin.
“Buona notte, cara.”
He moves to pull away but you’ve got your hand on his cheek in an instant, brushing your lips to the point of his neatly trimmed sideburns.
“Buona notte, Copia.”
When he finally brings himself to leave your bedroom, and then your quarters, he is bursting with radiant light. He wants to sing, to scream, to cry all at once.
Take that, Terzo, indeed.
#cardinal copia x reader#cardinal copia x f!reader#cardinal copia#copia#the band ghost#the band ghost fic#rachel writes
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I have some more ideas, observations, and thoughts to drop before Hazbin is officially here tomorrow!
-Vox's blue fingertips are sharp metal claws and they make audible clinking noises when he touches certain things with them. It makes me curious about the composition of his body but... nice detail
-oh so you're telling me Vox can enter security cameras and warp around and also teleport short distances like he's Tracer, ok, ok, he definitely is primo stalker material, you could literally have this man warp to your location if he really really wanted to find you
-seeing Vox handle Valentino and know how to calm him down (which was kinda sexy ngl) gives me big BIG "Vox would want to keep you for himself but if you ever run away or threaten to leave him he'll threaten to bring Val into the mix to intimidate you into obedience" vibes. You're halfway down the block from like escaping out a window and suddenly your phone turns itself on and you hear Vox say "Valentino is still asleep. If i dont see you don't turn around in 5 seconds I'm gonna wake him up and he's going to be REAL hungover while I tell him you left" and you do a u-turn on the sidewalk right then and there because, Vox might take away privileges and confine you, but Val is the one who's more likely to get physically violent or at the very least yell and scream at you
-ughhhh I just really like the idea of Reader actually getting to be like his platonic friend or secret crush and you're running around as like either his own PA or even his co-host and, you're just a positive influence in his life, he likes you, spending time with you, like you guys hang out outside of work, and eventually having you hang around so much catches Val's eye. He sees Vox talk casually to you and suddenly is overwhelmed with curiosity on who tf you are and is maybe a little jealous his man seems more than comfortable around you
honestly just platonic/genuinely cares for you yandere Vox who hides you away from Valentino when our favorite moth starts being a creep. You tell Vox ONE TIME that Val cracked a joke about you throwing neck for him when your boss left the room and Vox is sure never to leave you alone with Val ever again
-I just see like in some noncon poly scenario where you get passed between them like a blunt that there would still be hard lines Vox hopefullyyy wouldn't let Val cross? Like you start hysterically crying one day, "do YOU think I'm ugly Vox?!" "What the fuck are you talking about?" "Val wants me to have cosmetic surgery! He gave me a list of all the work he wants to have done!" and you hand him like a literal actual list in very familiar pink handwriting and here's Vox, forcing a smile, "hm! Gonna be right back!" and he leaves the room and like in 10 seconds flat you hear them roaring at each other from the other side of the house and Vox zooms back, "hey, great news! You aren't having surgery" and it's never brought up again
-also as an end note. Reader who winds up having the same body type as one of Velvet's models and she snags you from Vox or Valentino one day to have you try on something and you become her like. Her new favorite little pincushion she likes to try new ideas on. You're just minding your own business and she's barging into the room with sudden inspiration and she's, doing her little finger waggle and changing your clothes without your consent, potentially making you half naked or explicitly dressed in front of your male companions or anyone else around
I'm just definitely looking to watching the show and seeing more of everyone in full ^^
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꒰ა ONLY ANGEL ໒꒱
javier peña x f!reader
chapter two: lips of an angel
series masterlist
rating: E (18+ only, MDNI)
summary: After his return to the US, Javier is trying to settle back into a normal life without the pressures of Colombia and the DEA, but he finds himself feeling isolated with no one to spend his nights with. Now a newly appointed criminology professor at Texas A&M, he is drawn to you, a post-grad student in one of his classes. You’re intelligent and witty, sweet and kind, and he can’t get you out of his mind. To cope with his growing loneliness and to rid himself of thoughts of you, he signs up for an “arrangement service” to connect him with somebody—a sugar baby—he can care for. After he is matched up with Angel, he finds himself developing feelings quicker than he ever expected, but what happens when he finds out Angel is really you?
series warnings: power imbalance (prof and student), sugar daddy/sugar baby relationship, discussion of money, criminal activity, judicial systems, graduate school, smut, daddy/papí kink, praise kink, degradation, self deprecation, discussion of self worth, multiple sexual or romantic partners, sex work, cursing, use of spanish, likely more warning so read at your own risk!
word count: 5.1k
a/n: thank you @northernbluess for beta-ing this series for me <333 love you bestie, the only one i'd wanna be a sister wife with
To: TheOnlyAngel
Subject: Nice To Meet You?
Hey,
I got an email that we were matched for Sweet Temptations. I figured I would reach out and introduce myself, maybe get to know you a bit if you are alright with that.
Feel free to call me Javi. I am honestly not sure what else I’m meant to do in an introduction like this. I promise I am normally much smoother than this, or at least more human and less awkward.
It’s nice to meet you, and to be matched up with you, Angel. If that’s what I should call you?
J
From: TheOnlyAngel
Subject: Re: Nice To Meet You?
Hi Javi!
It’s nice to meet you too, and hopefully, we get to meet in person. These first emails are always awkward no matter how many I’ve sent or received, so please be assured that, honestly, that was one of the better ones I’ve gotten. :)
I normally like to ask what you’re looking for out of this “arrangement” (I hate calling it that, it sounds so impersonal) and maybe you can tell me some fun facts about you if you want to share!
I can go first for the fun facts:
Green is my favorite color
I unironically love the song MMMBop by Hansen (which is unexpected if you saw the rest of my tape and CD collection)
My current favorite movie is Romeo + Juliet that came out a couple of years ago cause Paul Rudd <3
That’s about all that I can think of as I sit in bed and type this so hopefully that is sufficient enough!
TTYL Javi,
Angel
To: TheOnlyAngel
Subject: Re: Re: Nice To Meet You?
Hey Angel
Paul Rudd is pretty likable, I’ll give you that. Is he your type? Cause I hate to break it to you sweetheart but I don’t really look like him. Both have dark hair but that’s about where the similarities stop. And Romeo + Juliet huh? Must be a bit of a romantic.
And MMMBop…it is catchy. I have to stop myself humming it at work these days.
As for what I’m looking for, I guess I just want someone to spend some time with. Whatever comes of it, comes of it, but I don’t want to really have any expectations. Just wanna get to know you, Angel.
Took me a while to think of some fun facts:
I grew up on a cattle ranch right on the border of Mexico in Southern Texas
When I was little (like 9/10 years old) my primos dared me to enter a rodeo for Mutton Busting (chasing a sheep around to try to catch it)
A CD of Selena stays in my car at all times, and yes, I know all the words
Hope those were fun enough for you, Angel.
And I hope you have a good day today.
J
The emails continued for about a week and a half, Javier slowly became more comfortable with the virtual communications. Angel was bubbly, and sweet, always asking him questions and always interested in hearing about his day or what his favorite book was. It was either his loneliness or a newfound desperation that had his heart skipping when the sound of new mail pinged from his desktop.
It felt a bit strange to have such normal exchanges with Angel and be reminded of the circumstances with his bank statement for the charges that the service takes monthly. With how personable Angel has been even via email, he finds himself forgetting what exactly brought them together. Maybe all the mystery and excitement will wear off when the two of you meet, but something deep in his gut is telling him that isn’t going to happen.
He drags himself away from his desk, no response from Angel yet today. All he can think about is how he hopes there’s a new message when he comes back, gathering his things to head to the lecture hall for the third week of Sociology of Deviance.
In the beginning, he thought this class was going to be a chore to do. Stuck onto his schedule last minute, had new material to cover, and had an annoying Dean of Faculty checking in on him much more often because of it. However, a handful of sessions in, he’s got a bit of a skip in his step to rush over there, the familiar jump in his stomach when he thinks about you.
The pretty fall floral dresses you’ve started wearing with the change in weather, large cardigans pulled over the top. You’ve worn a few flannels over your shoulders, clearly oversized and he feels a prick of jealousy whenever he sees you in them.
Do you have a boyfriend? Are those shirts his?
What would you look like in one of his button-downs?
Christ, the thoughts won’t stop no matter how hard he tries. Another reason why he is attempting to completely throw himself into this new “arrangement”, hoping it would be a means to an end to his crush on his student.
That’s what it is. He has a fucking crush.
He hasn’t had a crush in years.
Laying everything out for the class session, he starts writing the discussion points on the board. At the sound of the door violently swinging open and a rumble of loud footsteps rushing, he looks over his shoulder to see you, belongings in your arms and clearly flustered. His jaw drops open to ask if you’re alright, making a burning flash of eye contact with you before you drop your head, embarrassed, and find your seat.
Turning back to the chalkboard, he shakes his head minutely, rolling his shoulders before continuing his writing, white powder from the chalk coating his fingers. Instead of his normal thoughts of you, he keeps fighting the urge to ask if you’re okay. In the short time he’s known you if you could even say that about your dynamic, he knows it’s very unusual for you to come in that incomposed. He wipes the residue off on his pants, facing the class.
While he teaches, his eyes continue to wander to you, oddly quiet when you would normally be engaged in the discussion. That kid Alex, obnoxious from the jump, is taking up far too much air time in this class, and Javier can’t help the annoyance on his face as he leans back against the desk, arms crossed over his chest as he waits for this kid to finish his long-winded, and incorrect answer.
You scoff audibly at a point that Alex made, piquing Javier’s attention. The two of you make eye contact again, and Javier suddenly unravels one arm from his chest, holding it up toward Alex.
“Excuse me, Alex, I respect your points but I think there might be some counters to your arguments. I want to be able to hear them before we move on,” Javier calls out your name, and his head snaps to you, nodding encouragingly, “What were your thoughts?”
“Oh, um, I was going to say that I don’t think that socioeconomic or social standing is the only explanation for the makeup of the prison system. And I think it’s pretty naive to think that it’s only rich people that get off with less severe punishments.” Javier watches your shoulders tense a bit at the obvious eye roll from Alex, the pen in between your fingers bouncing with nerves.
“Do you mind expanding on that? I’m interested in what you think is another reason,” Javier holds eye contact with you, the slightest smile on his face to reassure you to stand your ground in the argument.
“I mean, to me, It’s pretty obvious that the biggest reason is racial discrimination in the legal process. White people dominate the political landscape and the prejudices, even unconscious bias, contribute to the makeup of the incarcerated population. Judges will give favorable or less severe punishments to white defendants, and of course, class biases are a thing, especially because of the cost of criminal defense, but I think the overt, umbrella reason is racial discrimination in the legal process. It’s built into the systems of government, which is pretty depressing…”
You trail off and laugh awkwardly at the silence in the room, some classmates nodding in agreement while some are unphased, uninterested.
“That’s good. That’s exactly what I was hoping would be brought up by someone,” Javier nods to you, pointing in your direction before he rounds the desk to start writing on the board for students to take down in their notes.
In your seat, you start to copy down into your notebook, glancing up to see him look over his shoulder at you. One corner of his mouth lifts, a smile in his eyes as you try to bite back your own grin that threatens to expose how much you enjoyed his short praises.
From: TheOnlyAngel
Subject: Wanna Meet Up?
Hiiii Javi
I’ve had such a shitty day today, but honestly, I was still excited to be able to come home and talk to you. :)
Do you think you’d be interested in meeting in person this weekend? I’m free Saturday night if you are. LMK!
Hope your day was better than mine!
xoxo,
Angel
Plans were made to meet Saturday night around eight o’clock. Javier had chosen a bar he’d become familiar with on those nights when he couldn’t sleep, when the memories of Colombia were too much when he couldn’t stop thinking about those damn boats that were in his backyard.
The place is small, intimate, and quiet enough to hold a conversation — which he knew from the one or two times he’d picked up someone and brought them back to his apartment. There was always some sort of live music, usually some jazz or folksy blues, that could fill any first-date awkward silences.
In his last email to her, Javier told Angel that he’d be in the back of the bar, at a table for two, wearing jeans and a red short-sleeve button-up shirt. He makes sure to arrive first, getting there a bit overly early at 7:30 to snag a table and order himself a drink to calm his nerves. Pounding the glass back on the bar top, he orders another whiskey neat to nurse until she arrives.
This is a different feeling than he’s had before a date. Nerves aren’t normally his thing when it comes to women, but something about this night feels higher stakes than before.
Get it together, Javi. It’s a date, if it goes horribly, you don’t have to do it again. Plus, she doesn’t even need to be interested in you, this is her job.
When you arrive at the tiny, hole-in-the-wall bar, you nod thanks to the man holding the door for you, rolling your eyes when you get a comment from him that you didn’t ask for.
“Nice tits, sweetheart.” He slurs and sends you a wink that is definitely more of a blink. You slip past him without issue, scanning the small area for the man with dark hair and a red shirt on. At this point, with how many times you’ve done this, you’re normally not nervous to meet these men in person. It’s something you’re obligated to do, like showing up for any other job, and that’s how you treat it.
But this time around, something’s different. Talking with Javier has actually been….nice? He’s responsive and wants to get to know you, never taking more than a day to get back to you. He’s asked you more questions about yourself than anyone else has before and he always, always wants to hear about your day. If you weren’t careful, you could see yourself getting attached.
Well, getting attached if he’s anything like you’ve imagined him. Or who you’ve imagined him to be.
The only red shirt you can spot is on a man sitting at a table toward the back, facing away from the door and toward the stage in the corner where a jazz trio is playing a low, crooning song. Biting back a smile, you start to make your way over to him, admiring him from behind.
It’s broad shoulders and a strong neck, muscles flexing as he adjusts in his seat. His dark, chocolatey hair is combed nicely, so much so that you can’t help but have the thought of running your fingers through it and messing it up.
Dressed in a black dress with blotted red lips, you weave in between people, ignoring anyone else as you keep your eyes on the man you’re here to meet. Javi stays facing forward, watching the band play even as you stand behind him, cheated to his side a bit. Holding your breath, you lean closer and tap him on his shoulder.
“Um, excuse me, Javi?”
At the sound of his name, Javier turns over his shoulder to his right, a smile on his face already from the honeyed kindness in her voice. She did really sound like an angel for a second there before he realized where the sound was coming from.
“Yeah, I’m Ja—“ The sound stops in his throat when he is facing you. Your supple lips with the dainty Cupid’s bow, rouged cheeks, and gentle smile; normally in a nice dress or cardigan in class, but here you’re wearing much less material, more of your skin on display.
What would it be like to kiss it?
No. That is not ever going to happen.
Those doe eyes hold an innate tenderness that he couldn’t imagine ever being privy to, but here he was, under the stare of those and it was making him sweat. He can only imagine what he looks like to you at the moment, eyes wide and mouth blubbering to speak like a fish gasping for air.
You recognized him at the same time, biting the inside of your cheek to hold back the word vomit threatening to come out. If it did, you know you would end up spilling how honestly excited you are that the man you’ve been emailing with has turned out to be Professor Peña. You’ve harbored a bit of a crush on him for the last few weeks, ever since that smile he gave you when you introduced yourself after the first session. It had been burning moments of eye contact, and those gentle encouragements from him.
Hell, after class this week when he praised your counterarguments, you thought about his voice saying “That’s good” over and over while you laid in your bed that night, coming with the image of him over you in record time.
The first word out of his mouth is your name, tone flicked up at the end in a question. He grumbles to himself as he moves to stand up, forgetting his drink on the table.
“Fuck, this is bad…” He whispers under his breath, shaking his head at himself as he runs his hands on the sides of his jeans. “I’m so sorry.”
He steps back to further the distance between you two, awkwardly avoiding your eyes as he attempts to recover his professionalism.
“It’s alr—“
“I had no idea it was you. This is completely inappropriate, I apologize. I should leave, uh, and I completely understand if you need to change out of my class. I know it’s past the cut-off date, but I would help if you needed—”
“Javi — can I call you that?” He considers it for a moment before nodding, rigidity evident in his body, “Javi, it’s alright. You don’t need to apologize, neither of us knew before this moment…But I do have to say, I wouldn’t tell.”
“Uh, I’m sorry — what?”
“I wouldn’t say anything. If you wanted to sit down and have a drink, or a few, and get to know each other like we planned to, I wouldn’t say a word. Even if you weren’t interested after this, I promise, the secret’s safe with me.”
Javier can’t deny how much he was looking forward to meeting the woman he was emailing with. And he can’t deny that he’s had his eyes on you since that first meeting. Hell, he can barely control his thoughts around you.
Of course, it had to be you. The two people he can’t get out of his head have turned out to be only one person, and of course, it’s you.
“If it informs your decision, I would love to get to know you more, Javi.”
He stutters through his thoughts out loud before resigning with a sigh, taking a breath as he forms his response, “Only if you’re comfortable with it.”
“Definitely. Wouldn’t have suggested it otherwise. Now, may I join you?” You gesture to the empty chair and Javi nods quickly.
“Yeah, of course. Here, let me get that.” He visibly relaxes a bit, falling into a routine he knows well. Rounding the small table, he pulls your chair out for you before settling in the seat opposite. Shortly after, a server comes around and takes your drink orders, Javier looking to you to go first. After the order is placed, the server leaves the two of you in silence at the table.
Another beat passes before Javier speaks, saying what you both are thinking, “Sorry, I just, cannot believe it happened to be you.”
“Why’s that?” You ask with a lilt of humor in your voice, sitting up in the chair to move toward him, “Don’t think I would be into all this?”
“Yeah, I guess so, but—Actually I should not say what I was about to say,” he chuckles and shakes his head.
“Oh, c’mon, what were you gonna say?”
“Nope, definitely not going to tell you, sweetheart,” he smirks at you and then adjusts in his seat awkwardly, “Oh, ‘m sorry, I shouldn’t have sa—“
“Javi. It’s fine, just relax. You’re not making me uncomfortable at all if that’s what you’re worried about,” you give him a sincere smile, reaching across to hold his arm that’s lying on the table, “It’s actually kind of nice to have those nicknames coming from you and not some other creepy men who contact me.”
“Why’s that?” He echoes your question from moments before, eyebrows raising in curiosity and the same smirk growing on his face, glancing down at your hand on him.
“I shouldn’t say what I was about to say,” you attempt to imitate his voice, laughing at the end when he gives you a look that says ‘Really?’.
“I don’t sound like that, cariño. But that’s a good try. Now what is it that makes me nicer than the other men you’ve seen?”
‘That’s a good try.’ This man.
“And how do you know that? I could be nailing what you sound like to other people. You hear your voice differently.” You poke his arm pointedly, moving your hand toward your lap again. Before it leaves the table, Javier stretches his arm across, catching your fingers with his. He holds them loosely in his, running his thumb across your knuckles as he keeps eye contact with you.
“I’ve heard my voice enough in press conferences that were televised, angel. I don’t sound like that,” he uses his free hand to take a sip of his whiskey, “And don’t try to change the subject. I wanna know what you are gonna say.”
“I could say the same thing to you. We both have our secrets tonight,” you take a sip of your drink and shrug, “You tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine.”
“Nice negotiating, cariño, but I think I’d have to have a few more of these if I was going to share mine.” He raises his glass a couple of inches off the table, the amber liquid sloshing around before he sets it down again.
You’d say anything to get him to keep giving you praise like that all the time.
Grabbing your own glass, you lift it to him and smile, “Well, only one of these and I’ll be spilling all my dirty secrets.”
Javier’s jaw notches to the side as you say that, biting his cheek before he takes his hand from yours and runs his thumb across his bottom lip to the corner.
Inside his chest, he feels his heart beating faster and feels his blood rushing south, that same damn smile of yours that you give him from rows away in class doing the same damn thing it does to him there.
Half of him is wondering how he can make you smile like that all the time.
The other half wants to wipe that smile off of your face and have you whimpering.
What would you look like under him?
Jesus Christ, he’s way far gone.
Javier’s had three more whiskeys on top of his previous three. You’ve had about four drinks yourself.
The evening has devolved into something much more casual, breezy; conversation has flowed between you two, finding things in common and swapping stories that have the other laughing. From the serious professor in class, this more easy-going Javi is refreshing to see and definitely makes your crush a lot worse, somersaulting stomach and warm, syrupy flood across your whole body.
The subject has returned to the evening’s secrets, you asking him again to share what he was going to say.
“Please, Javi, it can’t be any more embarrassing than what mine is. I’ll tell you what I was gonna say if you promise to tell me.” You extend your arm, fingers closed into a fist beside your pinky.
He looks at your hand, debating internally before deciding ‘fuck it’ and links his little finger with yours.
“I promise, cariño,” he smiles and nods for you to share, “What are you dying to tell me so that you can hear what I was gonna say?”
“The affection from you is nice cause, I don’t know, you feel…safe. When I first started, I was getting some weird men that wanted to meet, and—This has just been fun,” you resign with a soft smile, “Plus it helps that you’re hot. Got the whole smoldering cop with the porn stache thing.”
“Smoldering cop with the porn stache? I didn’t realize that was a thing,” he laughs, the crinkles next to his eyes deepening before he takes your hand lying on the table, “I’m glad this has been fun for you. After all that shock and awkwardness at the beginning, I think it’s been really nice to get to know you, angel.”
“Alright, I shared my little secret, you share yours now.”
Javier sighs, his thumb rubbing back and forth across your skin. He takes a moment to speak before he meets your eyes, a resistant smirk on his face, “You are really gonna make me say this?”
“You pinky promised! I didn’t make you do that, there’s no coercion here, Javier.”
“Fine, fine. You’re too quick, cariño,” he squeezes your fingers with his, “I was gonna say before that I couldn’t believe it happened to be you ‘cause—It’s stupid, really, but I’ve had a bit of a crush on you since that first class, querida.”
“A crush? The sexy Professor Peña has a crush on me?”
“Couldn’t keep my eyes off of you. Can’t keep ‘em off of you, cariño. Too beautiful. And you’re fucking on it all the time, so goddamn smart. I really am convinced you should be teaching for me,” he glances down sheepishly, feeling exposed from his tipsy confession.
The surface of your cheeks heats up, feeling a tingle down your spine when his eyes meet yours again. Leaning forward across the table, you bite your bottom lip as you drink him all in.
“D’you think I’ll ever be able to properly pay attention in class again after that?”
“You better, sweetheart. Just cause I’ve got a crush on you doesn’t mean you’ll get a good grade. Not gonna go easy on you. Fair’s fair.”
“Mm, I don’t mind it hard. I prefer it that way, actually. Makes it much more satisfying when you finish.” Your tongue wets your lips before you take your bottom one between your teeth, watching as Javier’s eyes darken at your double entendre.
He shakes his head, giving you a knowing look about your mischievous word choice, “Better be ready for a challenge then, angel.”
“Always, Peña.”
It’s late now, verging on turning into Sunday; the hours flew by with each other. Javier noticed the time on his watch, the crowd in the bar was sparse in spots that were full when he got there. When he looks at you, your eyelids look heavy, and those normally wide and bright eyes, eager and excited, look drowsy and content, so close to slipping closed and turning your mind off for the night.
“You ready to head out, angel? We’ll go find you a cab.” He asks with a subtle smile on his face, scooting out of his chair and standing, offering a hand to you.
“Yeah, m’ready.” You rise after taking his hand, hiking your small rectangular bag over your shoulder and stepping closer to him as he switches which hand is holding yours. Right in right, he grips yours from the outside of your palm, fingers lacing together as he presses his left into the small of your back, weaving between the patrons and out the front door.
The air is crisp when the door breaks open, cool air surrounding your warm, alcohol-blanketed bodies. Javier's touch still surrounds you, your right shoulder pressing into his chest when you turn to say something to him.
He takes a step back, allowing you the space to rotate fully in his arms, meeting his eyes and feeling a grin toy at your lips.
“Tonight was nice.”
“It was. Think I should be saying thanks to you. M’glad you had me stay.”
“Yeah? Well, m’happy to hear that cause I was gonna say, if you wanted to keep this up — meeting up, the arrangement all of that — if you wanted to keep it up for the semester, I would happily keep the secret. Y’know, you help me, I help you kind of thing. We just have fun.”
Javier considers the offer, ticking his jaw as he debates internally. On one hand, it’s a massive risk. The two of you could be seen out with each other, or if anyone noticed anything different in class, it could jeopardize his job, and possibly your degree. But on the other hand, if every night with you is like this one, he’s hard-pressed to say no. You’re funny and intelligent and beautiful — sure, there’s the element of how you two met and what happens behind the scenes, money taken out of his account monthly and forwarded to you through the service — but with the way you’ve had his heart pumping from your sweetness and his cock half hard at how turned on you have him constantly, he really can’t find a fuck to give about the risk.
“Alright. If you are in for it, I definitely am, angel,” he grins at you, his tongue poking out to wet his lips when his eyes flit to yours, the faint red lipstick of yours still holding strong.
“Good, Javi. That’s good,” your voice is a purr, a smug smirk playing at your lips when he leans in closer, walking you back towards the brick facade of the bar. His knees nearly give out when he hears those small praises, already waiting for the next time you speak them to him.
“Can I…?” he trails off, the tip of his nose only an inch from yours.
“You can kiss me, Javi.”
Without wasting another second, he catches his lips with yours, gentle at first with soft, delicate kisses exchanged. His tongue slides along your bottom lip, a breathy whimper parting your mouth enough for him to lick into it, melting his tongue with yours. One of his hands moves to hold your jaw, the other stagnant at your hip. A step closer brings him flush against you, quiet moans muffled into each other’s mouths.
The roughness of the brick is harsh against your bare skin on display, the contrasting sensations pooling arousal in between your legs. Javier tastes like tobacco, whiskey, and mint gum; an interesting combination but an intoxicating one. His hand at your hip moves around to your ass, pulling you off the wall slightly and against him, his growing bulge felt against your torso.
Before the two of you can get completely lost in each other, you pull away, hands on his chest. A taxi pulls up at that moment, honking its horn in question if you need a ride. You wave to him and ask for one minute with your fingers, turning back to Javi standing in front of you a bit breathless.
“I should go. Got some reading to do for this class on Monday that I’ve got.”
“Oh, yeah? Hope your professor hasn’t been killing you with the readings,” he smirks back at you.
“Nah, he hasn’t been killing me but seems like he does really wanna give it to me. Must have some high expectations,” your voice is coated with a lilt of teasing, winking at him as you slip from his arms.
He follows close behind to walk you to the cab, a hand finding your back and dropping down to graze his fingers across your ass.
“Think you’ll have no trouble exceeding those expectations, angel. Plus you could always ask for one-on-one tutoring or some extra credit.” It’s his turn to wink, opening the rear door for you and helping you in.
“Glad I have your confidence, Javi. Here, gimme your phone I’ll give you my number.” You reach out and he fumbles it from his pocket, passing it off to you. The information is quickly entered and saved, handing his device back to him and looking up at him from the seat of the cab.
“I’ll be waiting for a call, Javi. And I’ll see you Monday, Professor Peña.” You give him one last look, giggling as you shut the door and he hits the top of the taxi before you drive away, standing there with an idiotic smile on his face.
Javier grew up religious, his mamá dragging him to church every Sunday. He’s only been back to church at the major holidays he’s been home, leaving behind any spiritual side of him. All the concepts of eternal souls and heaven and hell meant nothing to him.
However, tonight, he felt an inkling to believe that heaven was real, and he had met an angel.
His angel.
tagging those from last time: @northernbluess @swiftispunk @joelsversion @mrsquill @yazsos @cartoon-garbage04 @sugadolly @ilovepedro @lovers-liability @deathwife @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite @undrthelights @atticrissfinch @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin @casa-boiardi @wannab-urs @fishingforpike @msjarvis @walkintotheriveranddisappear @sugadolly @tbniarq @vee-bees-blog @spidermanfrog @belliezz @joelsflannel
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Hey! Can you please write headcanons about all the papas with a S/O who gets angry pretty easily. Like something small happens and the S/O is ready to throw hands.
Thank you <3
Anytime :D <3 - Nyx
Papas with an S/O who gets angry easily
Primo
It was the final straw when you knocked over the potted plant. It fell to the floor and smashed, soil going everywhere, the plant laying there helpless.
You shouted angrily, and kicked a bit of the cracked teracota.
"Amore" Primo says calmingly. "It's alright, it does not matter."
He scoops up the plant and carefully places it in a fresh pot, dropping in the soil to cover its roots.
"See? No harm done." He sees that you're still frustrated, so he pulls you to him, stroking you hair and muttering soothing words.
A ghoul has already cleaned up the broken pot and soil by the time he releases you.
Primo sits you down and makes a pot of tea, he'll ask if there is anything else bothering you. He listens to you as you finally admit what is really going on. So many things have built up.
"It will pass, when you reach my age you realise that. All things good and bad will come to an end. So this, amore, will also pass."
His presence is already calming anyway, so it doesn't take long for you to calm down.
If you ever get annoyed at him, he'll be so calm and gentle with you it's almost impossible.
He'll ask how he can sort things out to see you happy again and then he'll make it happen. Or if it's something you've misunderstood or anything like that, he'll just talk it through with you.
Mind you he's not a push-over, if you go too far you'll see a little glimpse of his dark side, just enough to end the argument there and then. It's the look in his eye as he asks you to leave him alone until you calm down that just stops you.
Secondo
You were on a night out when it happened. They were rude, they pushed past you to get to the bar, knocking the drink from your hand.
Thankfully nothing spilt on you, but you blood boiled and you snarled at them "watch where you are going."
They arrogantly told you to "watch where you are going." You could feel your hands balling into fists.
"Buy them a new drink." Secondo appeared next to you looking terrifying. The person stood there stunned. "Apologise properly, and get them another drink."
Once the situation was over Secondo took you aside, and let you vent about how inconsiderate the person had been.
He will always be there to back you up no matter what. If you are angry, he's got your back. He won't let things escalate unless the situation demands it. In which case he's thrown the first punch before you get a chance.
If you ever shout at him he'll just raise an eyebrow and wait for you to calm down. He chooses not to lose his temper with you because when he snaps, he snaps. But afterwards he'll have a discussion about whatever was said, and you work things out that way.
If he thinks you've said anything unfairly to him while in a rage he will address that. "Now then cara, it's not true is it that I ignored you all day. You know that's not what it was. I was working. But if you miss me that much, we can go out together now" He'll hold his arms out to you as you mutter an apology.
Terzo
"Tesoro, what is wrong? Come here, come to Papa and tell me" He holds his arms out for you and pulls you onto his lap. Stroking your hair, and calming you even as you protest.
He eventually gets you to tell him what's wrong. An ex friend of yours has been nasty, and you went to punch them. But then you knew you couldn't so you just stormed off and now you feel like you should have.
"Amore, do you want Papa to go and sort it out?"
You mumble that it's okay, you can defend yourself. But he insists on coming with you.
Terzo rips the person to pieces just with his words. He gives them such a dressing down for treating you badly that they never try anything again.
If you are angry at him he might make a joke to try and defuse the situation with humour. Which just annoys you more. So he just claims he made you angrier on purpose. Because he wanted you to get it out of your system.
Sometimes his jokes work and you end up laughing. There is no way you can stay angry at him and he just grins.
His other approach when someone really annoys you is to take you to the gym.
He'll pass you some boxing gloves and put the pads on. He then holds them up and says "Imagine these are the persons face, hit these, amore. As hard as you can"
Copia
If you aren't too angry, just on the verge of it, he'll distract you with his rats.
If you shout at him, he'll look shocked and miserable. You can't, you just cannot be angry with this man so you stop instantly and hug him.
"Calmed you down, sì?" he'll say with a small smile like it was intentional.
He hates seeing you angry so he'll get you to talk about it.
"What has happened at work today, cara?" He asks all concerned as you storm into the room.
You angrily tell him something went wrong and you wasted an hour on useless crap.
He'll let you rant about it for as long as you need while cuddling you until you calm down a bit. He will also try and help you find a solution. "How about I help with some of your work tomorrow, sì? make up for lost time, eh?"
He kisses you softly "That's better amore, just breathe, just be in the moment here with me."
"Papa will stay here with you as long as you need." He holds you close to him. He is incredibly soothing and comforting.
The anger just melts out of you when you are in his embrace.
Old Nihil
He's too old to really get angry. Like, he can say harsh words and wave his arms around. But he just doesn't have the energy to lose his temper properly like he did when he was younger.
No matter how furious you get, he'll just sit there, staring at you lovingly.
"Oooh siiibblliiing your rage... it only makes you more beautiful... It lights up your eyes... I can almost see the flames of hell dancing within them..." He sighs happily.
That actually stops you in your tracks, your earlier infuration at him for not meeting you for lunch fading.
But you are still upset so you repeat again, slower, slightly more calmly that he stood you up.
It's like he suddenly sees how upset you actually are, it's more sadness that will get through to him than rage. "Oh... I am sorry, did we have a lunch planned?"
He holds his arms out wide "Let me hug you instead. I can show you how sorry I am, yes?"
And that is how you ended up snuggled against him for the rest of the day, watching movies.
Young Nihil
I mean... he's a hot head.
Something annoys you, he'll get just as annoyed.
If it was an object that had caused the anger, then Nihil will definitely join in smashing it up.
Like the time when the thing you were trying to fix just would not fucking work. No matter what you did.
So seeing you get frustrated and hit the thing, he picks up a hammer, walks over and whacks it. He then just grins at you.
"Go on, babe, you try." he hands the hammer to you, you then hit it. It's very cathartic. You giggle at the way he just came over and smashed the thing without even saying a word. You both enjoy absolutely destroying the thing, it's definitely broken now.
You shout, he'll shout at whoever or whatever it is that has pissed you off.
He'll be straight there by your side, ready to throw hands.
So Dark Lord help anyone that pisses you two off.
If you shout or get angry at him... it's going to be one hell of an argument.
You are both exhausted by the end of it, stood facing each other, breathing fast with your faces flushed. He stops short of saying anything else and just looks at you, how hot you look when you are furious.
"It's not worth it, babe" He'll growl. "Not when you're so enchanting, a temptress sent to me by the Dark Lord himself."
If you are up for it, then it normally ends in very passionate, enjoyable makeup sex.
~
Written by Nyx
Taglist: @copias-fluffy-asscheeks @lunarsromantichomicide @randodummy @tuttifuckinfruttifriday @copiaspowderedjizz @dio-niisio @firefirevampire @mybotanicaldemise @emo-mess @natoncesaid @sirlsplayland @ouijaboardemo @lightbluuestars @igodownjustlikeholymary @thatoddboy @strawberriiblossoms
#anon#ghost band x reader#ghost bc#ghost bc x reader#ghost x reader#papa emeritus ii#papa emeritus iii#papa emeritus i#papa emeritus iv#primo#papa emeritus i x reader#primo x reader#papa nihil#young papa nihil x reader#young papa nihil#young nihil#papa nihil x reader#old papa nihil x reader#old papa nihil#secondo x reader#secondo#terzo x reader#terzo#copia#copia x reader#ghost headcanons#ghost band#papa emeritus ii x reader#papa emeritus iii x reader#papa emeritus iv x reader
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Sorry y'all this one's gonna be a long one lol fun analysis/theorizing/headcanoning whatever the fuck this is under the cut :)
So, lately I've been really thinking about Lambo and Tsuna's relationship, Lambo's connection to Vongola, and Lambo's spot as the Lightning Guardian. I know as a fandom, we tend to disregard Lambo because he has like.. two fights in the whole series or wish that someone else was made the Lightning Guardian because that boy is Literally Five. And I won't act like it wouldn't have been cool to see another character as Lightning Guardian (My Haru Guardian fans rise up where are you) but I think what Amanos done here is really fun too from an analysis perspective.
To start with, Tsuna's family is not really a..traditional Mafia family or even a traditional Vongola family either. Let's look at this here, he's got his Two Best Friends(TM), his crush's big brother, the leader of the Disciplinary Committee at his school, a criminal, a half dead girl, and the aforementioned five year old as his guardians. This is FAR from what's likely expected out of the Vongola family, even when you date it back to Primo AT LEAST PRIMO HAD PRINCES, PRIESTS, SAMURAIS as his guardians. (Though he gets away with having One Best Friend (TM) as his guardian.) Yet somehow, their family makes it work!! They survive the Mafia world, multiple times throughout the series and when it's not working they get stronger as a unit and they fight for each other and make it out together. And I think that's the beauty of their specific family.
So then you have Lambo, who Tsuna would do anything for just to avoid Lambo having to experience a fraction of the shit they go through. And Tsuna actually SUCCEEDS at this, he doesn't normally succeed when it comes to being avoidant of Mafia stuff but this was something throughout the series that he was so genuinely adamant against. He only let Lambo fight when he truly had to and even then he very minimally let the Mafia world wrap its greedy paws around Lambo. Kokuyo arc, Tsuna didn't even sort of kind of a little bit consider taking Lambo with them (which would later help keep Kyoko and Haru safe), Varia arc, knowing that this would disqualify him, Tsuna decided he could not allow Lambo to keep fighting.
Future Arc, Tsuna kept Lambo out of the fight as much as he could, allowing the non-fighters to take care of him and I-pin. Shimon Arc, Tsuna felt real regret at the prospect that he allowed Lambo to come.
(And Arco arc where Lambo was hardly present at either, which I'd like to imagine that if Lambo was involved in Arco arc then Tsuna may have just absolutely fucking died)
Tsuna to Lambo is not his guardian (Frankly, he doesn't view any of his guardians as such, they are his friends, his pride, his comrades, and those he has traded blows with and knows they can be trusted.) Lambo to Tsuna is his little brother. This five year old was sent on an assassination attempt that was absolutely in no circumstance meant to actually succeed and the Bovinos know that. To send Lambo to assassinate the strongest hitman was a death mission. So, Tsuna took this child in (or rather this child stuck around bc his Mom makes banger meals) and immediately Tsuna assumes the role of his brother. Lambo and Tsuna are the closest out of all the kids. (Ofc Tsuna loves I-pin and fuuta too, but I think it's safe to say Lambo is his dumb little brother)
Now, I don't think that Tsuna is ever going to see Lambo as anything but his little brother. I actually theorize that the way TYL Lambo is the way he is because Tsuna never really got out of the habit of babying him. He's calmed down since he was a kid and developed a more nonchalant personality with the occasional tantrum because you can't tell me Tsuna DOESNT STILL view TYL Lambo as a non-combatant. When Tsunas 15, he looks at 5 year old Lambo and goes no thanks that boy is never touching a weapon in his life. When Tsunas is 25, he sees 15 year Lambo and goes that is STILL a child he is never touching a weapon in his life. And yes he's completely unaware of the hypocrisy in my head.
This is a spoiled little brother no one can tell me otherwise.
So we know Tsuna just sees him as his kid brother and not a real guardian. But then you have Lambo's feelings about the whole matter. We know that Lambo doesn't really consider Tsuna a boss but as his big brother, but I don't think that changes a lot for Lambo. While fighting is scary for Lambo, he still desires to follow alongside Tsuna and his friends. He doesn't want to be left behind and makes Tsuna promise him he'll take him wherever he goes. He sees Tsuna freaking out about him being a child in a battlefield and he goes, "No you don't understand, I want to be there."
And that? That right there is what fucks me up after everything. Lambo as a concept for a Lightning Guardian feels really unique because of this. He's the youngest one. He's always going to chase after the others, trying to keep up with them, to walk alongside them. One day, he wants to catch up and be considered a rightful Guardian like the others. And that is so... Tsuna and him would be batting heads over this because I cannot see Tsuna relenting on Lambo staying out of the battle. I cannot see Tsuna ever feeling like Lambo's ready. Not because he thinks Lambo is weak, but because Lambo's his baby brother and Tsuna needs him more away from the battle or else he can't focus.
While Tsuna doesn't react outwardly in this frame, I do think it's not a coincidence that he could focus on fighting the battle and not be "impatient" as Reborn put it, the moment he saw Gokudera and Hibari on the battlefield. He could focus easier knowing his friends were running around saving Lambo and co.
Okay, so you have the Big brother who wants to protect his little brother from seeing the same stuff he does, from fighting the same battles he does, and wants him to grow up as a regular kid (a right which he had been robbed off the moment a certain hitman showed up at his door). Then you have the little brother who wants wholeheartedly to be there, desires to catch up to his big brother and know the world that his big brother knows.
How does this difference in value get addressed? well it doesn't because Lambo is still 5 and Shounen jump are cowards for ending Amanos series when they did <3 B U T we have this.
We all know this scene for when we rewatched Reborn for the first and went "..wait.." because that was some actually sweet foreshadowing from Amano. Okay, so. We have a Lambo who finally did it. Finally is someone worthy of being called the Vongola Lightning Guardian. And Tsuna and co are implied to have just been... Gone. All of Tsuna's efforts to raise this kid in a regular life are ripped away because something happens to HIM, not Lambo. And from Lambo's perspective, he's caught up finally but the person he was following isn't around anymore. He didn't think he'd see him again. I think it's safe to assume that this scene either implies that something happens to Tsuna in his 30s (since we know he wasn't actually dead TYL) OR 20yl Lambo is from a parallel world where Byakuran had actually won and actually took Tsunas life.
And I think that's some real meat to bite into for these characters. A little brother who will lose his big brother if he doesn't do something, get stronger in time. A big brother who won't let him join the battle because he's afraid of losing HIS little brother. A Vongola Lightning Guardian who wants to be a shield for his Boss, and a Boss won't let him be a shield.
And that? That's a good concept for a Vongola Lightning Guardian.
Thank you for reading this far if you did :] this is a bit of a ramble but I was thinking about it and I felt it nice to share. I hope maybe I shared some of my brain worms with you <3
#katekyo hitman reborn#khr#sawada tsunayoshi#lambo bovino#ough this was a long one#why cant i make regular haha funny one liners#whys everything gotta be a thesis paper i s2g
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luca marinelli character FIGHT: FINAL ROUND
it's been a fun ride. our final round is exactly what i expected it to be when this whole thing began, but truly where else could it have ended. it is, of course:
the RULES of this hypothetical fight are as follows:
weapons are BANNED.
re: nicky's immortality, within the constrains of the fight if primo managed to kill him then the fight would end and primo would win, even if nicky got better. essentially i want the immortality factor to have as little effect as possible (but he retains the 900 years of experience
outside help is not allowed. this is a one on one luca character only cage match.
take the above as guidelines only if you have a funnier hypothetical scenario but to keep this fair please vote based on who would win the fight. i think this is more evenly matched than one may think instinctually
ARGUMENTS can be found below the cut
i'll be honest these are difficult to divide into pro nicky vs pro primo arguments so here they are anyway and you can decide
"Nicky arguably wouldn't kill you unless you're a threat/have done something seriously bad, while Primo would probably kill you for cutting him off in traffic. He's killed people out of sheer annoyance and spite which is a thousand times more dangerous." - @goldheartedsky
"Nicky would not have needed two shots to stop Bertollini's car. Just saying." - @astrabear
"Primo junkies tend to dwell most on his physicality and malice (for good damn reason). But his cunning is what ultimately makes for winning ways. And yet, …how could he outmaneuver Nicky’s near millennia of sheer experience. That priestly powerhouse has seen it all. And yet, …Primo’s drive seems able to overrun every possible obstacle. Can he win on that white hot will? Or will another left hook like bicycles or phone phobias scupper his schemes? The only possible way to win this all is if he could manage to sway another Old Guardian to betrayal. To get the jump on Nicky (not that kind of jumping on) the surprise must come from within. No way Primo has that level of science or magic or whatever to sway one now. Nicky takes it and doesn't feel the least bit sad about it." - anon (really appreciate the level of thought put into this submission)
primo may strike first but nicky would retaliate and that would be the end of it
primo may have killed a lot of people but nicky has killed significantly more over the course of like 1000 years
and MY argument: i think primo could do it. i think primo could react with enough sheer speed and surprise factor that nicky would be caught off guard. but then again. this is nicolo di genova we're talking about here. ultimately i think they're fairly well matched under the above constraints. so.
#luca marinelli character FIGHT#luca marinelli#the old guard#trust fx#primo nizzuto#nicolò di genova#using main tags and everything. let's go#excited for this. hoping it's more well matched than people might initially assume. wanna have fun with it#i ended up deciding whether weapons are banned by asking my sibling who said yes#so they're banned. but i don't think it changes much about the outcome#they're pretty evenly matched both ways. i think#anyway. go forth and vote. please add your thoughts on how you think this is playing out / arguments onto the post itll be funny. audience#award for tags / arguments still undecided so
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hey! i love your writing so much :) it’s so week thought out and really true to each character without being stereotypical, i love it. this may be an odd request, but i was wondering if you could head canons for the Papa’s based on Slut! by Taylor Swift? You don’t gotta listen to the song, i just really love the “if they call me a slut, you know it might be worth it for once” theme n like being slutshamed but really is just two people in love. either party can be the “slut” :)
"Slut!" Headcanons
I’m not sure if I responded with how you were expecting anon, but I hope you enjoy them! Also I wrote most of these after working from 6am to 2pm, and then going back to work 11:45pm to 9am the same night with only maybe two hours of sleep in between. So I apologize for any mistakes!
Primo
Of all the Emeritus brothers, Primo would have the least reaction to having a partner with behavior that is perceived as slutty
In all his years, Primo has seen and experienced it all. Why waste time by holding back what the body and mind wants to express?
Encourages you to wear however revealing of outfit as you desire, because Primo would never think to feel jealous of someone else seeing your beauty
Always enjoys your affection, feeling humbled and flattered that you are so openly forward about your attraction and love for him
Doesn’t care for the term slutshaming, because in his eyes there should be no shame in any of that sort of behavior
Primo also does not believe there is no shame when it comes to you, because he knows that the cause is from the love that you feel for each other
Secondo
Of all the Papas, Secondo seems the most well equipped and or has the most experience being with a partner that society would view as being slutty
Being a party animal, he meets a lot of people that would be similarly viewed, and he has been with more than a few
More than happy to let you dress and act however you wish, as long as it is always him you are going home with at the end of the night
If you ever ask if an outfit is too revealing, Secondo will tell you so, but will insist you wear it. Let them see, if only to make them jealous of what they cannot have
Also won’t admit it, but Secondo loves the attention you give him. It keeps him feeling young whenever he is with you
Sometimes if Secondo gets too drunk, he is the one that will act like a slut, especially if you are in a nightclub
There are never any doubts about your love and affection for each other
Terzo
It should go without needing to be said, Terzo is the slut in this scenario
The way that Terzo interacts with Omega on the stage is just a glimpse of how he interacts with you
Is not afraid to throw himself all over you in public, even in situations where he probably should not. Why should he ever hold back his feelings for you?
When you are out in public, Terzo will often make a show of throwing himself at you whenever the opportunity strikes. He loves it when all eyes are on you both
Happily wears the title of slut as if it were a badge of honor, always reminding you that it is all just for you. He is all yours
To everyone in the Ministry, you are both a set of happy love drunk fools
Sometimes however, Omega does have to reign Terzo in a bit to keep him from taking things a bit too far in public. They don’t need Sister Imperator on their case again
Copia
This poor man is so easily flustered, you will have him permanently trying to hide his bright red cheeks beneath his Papal paints
Getting him to admit that he loves seeing you in tight revealing outfits sometimes takes a bit of work, but it is so worth it to see the way he drools over you
Zero issues with other people seeing you in such outfits either, because he would never disrespect you in such a way or treat you as if you were his property. Plus, despite his awkward shyness, Copia is very secure in knowing that at the end of the day it is only him that gets to see you out of such outfits
It is such a foreign concept for Copia for someone to so openly show their attraction and affection for him that sometimes he will get a bit overwhelmed at times. So there may be times you have to dial it back a bit as to not break the old man
But to the same end, Copia is just as eager to similarly display and share his love for you so openly
Actually it is thanks to you that Copia feels the confidence to wear such skin tight lace up trousers, or even how he acts when up on stage
#ghost the band#the band ghost#cardinal copia#papa emeritus iv#papa emeritus x reader#papa emeritus 4#ghost fanfiction#asks#papa emeritus iii x reader#papa emeritus ii x reader#papa emeritus i x reader#pap emeritus iv x reader#terzo x reader#secondo x reader#copia x reader#primo x reader#headcanons#ghost headcanons#papa emeritus iii#papa emeritus ii#papa emeritus i#terzo#secondo#primo#requests
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LET'S TALK ABOUT THE PRINCE
A LITTLE PREVIEW AND TAG LIST UPDATE.
💜 Hello beloveds, how are you? It's been a very long time since you've heard from our crop-top wearing himbo vampire, but I am happy to say you won't be waiting much longer.
💜 If you would like to join the new tag list for part five please leave a comment below.
💜 Catch up with The Prince on ao3 or on tumblr - One // Two // Three // Four (18+, MDNI)
💜Or if you wanna start from the beginning check out The Count (vampire!Copia) and The King (vampire!Secondo) (18+, MDNI)
💜 Thank you all so SO much for all your support and encouragement over the last year. I love you all ✨🦇
Below is a little taste of The Prince - Part Five. Beware of spoilers!
“Did you sleep well, piccolina?”
Primo’s deep voice carried from the far side of the kitchen barely audible over the rumble of thunder outside. It was somewhere between morning and afternoon, though the storm made it difficult to tell one from the other. Heavy rain pelted the outside of the cottage in a steady thrum in time with the howling winds. You used to find this type of scene so comforting but watching water bead and trail down the windows just seemed to make you anxious now. Sitting across the room and trying to make small talk with Primo Emeritus didn’t seem to help either. As kind and inviting as he was, he was still a complete stranger. An immortal stranger with superhuman strength you were supposed to stay far away from. Instead, he’d insisted on baking cookies for you.
Shaking your head, you jolted a little as the kettle began to scream from its spot of the stovetop. Sleep had been the furthest thing from your mind after Terzo’s spell. A full night’s rest would have been a dream, but there was no getting comfortable in this situation. How long could you be safe here in the middle of nowhere? How long would they wait this time?
“Primo, can I ask you something?” You wondered aloud, hoping the impending conversation would drown out the sound of the storm and your own thoughts.
He inclined his head, silently urging you to continue. A loose piece of his long, white-blond hair fell over the painted lines of his face as he moved; the rest was carefully tied back with a thin black ribbon. His focus remained on the pale green kettle in his hand as he transferred water into a dainty teapot at the edge of the counter. He moved with such precision, yet still maintained some impossibly delicate grace—the opposite of the way Terzo carried himself. There were other differences—far more than you could count—but where Terzo’s softness was an edge blunted by time, Primo’s seemed to be gently blurred into everything he did.
A flash of lightning filled the kitchen with bright light, the bank of windows on the eastern wall providing the perfect vantage point. You shuddered as thunder followed, too close and too loud for your own comfort. The storm blew a gentle breeze through the cracked windows and the ceiling fan above dragged it further in as it spun in lazy, lopsided circles. The kitchen smelled of florals and tea and rain, feeling like a Sunday afternoon you shouldn’t have access to. Everything was a little too dreamy, made fuzzy by a filter tinged with warm yellow-green like a flashback to someone else’s nostalgic past.
Someone else’s life.
“Why settle in this place?” you asked, vividly recalling the cracked asphalt and sun-bleached everything you’d passed on your way through town. “Why…here? The secluded cottage makes sense, but why live at the edge of some abandoned nowhere town?”
He turned to look at you for a beat before reaching for two teacups. “Well,” he started as he dropped a teabag into the pot. “It wasn’t always abandoned, piccolina.”
He set a cup in front of you before joining you at the table, a sigh leaving his lips as the wooden chair creaked beneath him. “This town…it used to full of a unique vibrance that drew me in. I suppose on some level I grew comfortable here, much like the other remaining residents. But mostly I stayed for the work. That’s what I told myself anyway. I have no doubt that Terzo would have you believe otherwise, but immortality can be incredibly mundane. When I found myself in this little town, I watched it grow from nothing just like I had done with a thousand other little towns in my lifetime. But this one—it was easier to fight that feeling of boredom here, to find a purpose. I chose to put my energy toward something, to have a common goal with the people here while I could. There’s a darling botanical garden on the edge of town, built something like seventy years ago, give or take. I helped fund the project.”
“Really? So, it had nothing to do with the cute girl that delivers your groceries?”
Black and white paint may have covered his entire face, but you could see Primo’s ears turn bright red. “That—she—hmph. She wasn’t even born yet. Neither were you for that matter.”
“Doesn’t mean she’s not the reason you stay.”
“The garden—“
“Sure, sure,” you teased. “Work, work, work.”
“Don’t start picking up bad habits from your beau, piccolina,” he warned. “Youth is wasted on the young indeed.”
“Not if you have an eternity to do something about it.”
He laughed quietly as he poured the most delicious smelling pink tea into each cup. “I forgot how much I enjoy such a human point of view. What of you and your eternal boytoy, hmm? What will you do when this is all over?”
You shrugged, pausing to consider his words. “Haven’t really thought that far. I think…I think I’d like to do all the things I never could before. No matter what happens I can’t go back to my old life—I wouldn’t want to go back, knowing what I know now. If I have to build a new life, it might as well be a better one than before. And if that sounds good to Terzo, then I’m happy to try building it together.”
“Hmm,” he replied with a thoughtful nod and faint smile playing on his lips.
“Belleza, I am happy to build you anything you want. But boytoy? Is that really what you’ve settled on, fratello?” Terzo grumbled as he appeared in the doorway, half-asleep with pillow marks on his face. He dropped into the seat next to you with a heavy sigh and rested his head on your shoulder. “Is that really all I am to you?”
“No. Sometimes you’re more of manbaby,” you replied and kissed the top of his head. “It’s ok though.”
“Ugh, I am so glad you two are getting along,” he teased sarcastically. “You are a bad influence on her, Primo.”
“Me? What did I do?” Primo mused as he took a sip of tea.
“You encourage her—”
“Ah.”
“—to be mean to me,” he whined. “What happened to that wide-eyed naïve girl from before, hmm?”
“I have no idea who you are talking about,” you responded flatly.
“Ah, yes. What happened to the fierce and terrifying woman who pretended not to be watching me sleep every night?”
“She met an unbelievably arrogant vampire.”
He sat up and shot you a big, toothy grin. “Oh, bellezza, was I your first?”
Primo groaned loudly and pushed away from the table. “Whatever you’re trying to do fratellino, do not do it in my kitchen.”
“Ah, calm down old man. I’m only teasing.”
“You were the one I liked enough to save. Even with your baking skills.”
Primo nearly spat out his tea. “Oh, Terzo, tell me you didn’t.” “I was trying to do something nice for you, bellezza. But fine, fine. Let’s all pick on Terzo!” he grumbled as he stood. For a split-second the life left his eyes, the light within him dimming like a flickering lightbulb in a haunted basement. He was completely blank—jaw slack and body limp. Primo crossed the room before you could even think to react, rushing over to keep his brother’s body from collapsing to the floor.
more stuff by me // my ko-fi tip jar
#my writing#my fics#suck club forever#mdni#papa emeritus iii x female reader#papa emeritus iii x reader#terzo x reader#the band ghost fanfiction#ghost band fanfiction#ghost band fanfic#vampire terzo#vampire terzo x reader#terzo fanfic#terzo fanfiction#vampire terzo fanfic#papa emeritus iii fanfiction
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