Summary: You and Eric are making out but Cory catches you. (This is when Cory is like age 12-13 and slightly stupid)
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Eric and you lay on his bed together. Things had started out innocent with the two of you studying together but it quickly turned into more. You were now lying under Eric with his hands moving all over your body, one of his hand were starting to slip under your shirt but then you heard a little gasp from beside the bed.
You looked up and Eric turned around to see Eric’s younger brother Cory standing there with his eyes wide as he had just walked in on Eric making out with a guy. ”Hey Cory” you said awkwardly.
”Uhhmm... Hey Y/n... Whatcha doin there under my brother?” he asked even more awkwardly. ”Wrestling...” you answered. ”Yeah... And i’m winning” Eric said with a goofy smile on his face and sat up on the bed. Cory walked over to his bed and sat down facing you and Eric.
”So why were you two wrestling with your lips” Cory asked looking very confused. ”Oh! We were not just using our lips-OUCH!” Eric said, to which you elbowed him lightly, he mumbled a sorry.
”Uhm... Cory, Y/n is my boyfriend” Eric explained holding your hand. Cory looked even more confused than before, you could see him trying to put the pieces together in his head, then he asked ”Hold up!... Guys can kiss other guys?”.
”Well yeah if they want to” Eric answered. You and Eric spent a few minutes explaining homosexuality and such to Cory. ”So Y/n, out of all guys you could pick and you picked Eric? Cory asked making you laugh. ”Yes, Cory i picked Eric” you answered.
”So... Now that you know we are daiting, can you leave so we can get back to business?” Eric said who was a bit annoyed with the interuption. Cory rolled his eyes and got up an left. He went down stairs and to the kitchen where his parents were unpacking groceries.
”Hey Cor, have you seen Eric?” His mom asked him. ”Yeah he’s-” Cory started but cut himself of because you and Eric might not want him to tell them. ”Cory, where’s Eric?” His mom asked again, Cory did his best to try to come up with a lie. ”He’s upstairs wrestling with Y/n” Cory lied and then mentally slapped himself because of the bad lie.
”Please tell me thier wrestling with their clothes on?” His dad questioned. ”Well yeah, who wrestles in their underwear?” Cory said innocently. ”Teenage boys who think their parents don’t know they are dating” his dad answered. ”You know their dating too?” Cory asked them slightly shocked.
”Oh! Yes, they are terrible at being subtle” his dad said.
I read your "Swimmer's tide" fic and I'm absolutely in love with your writing style. Here because I got worried about you not updating it for a while, and hoping that things get better for you. Thank you for writing such a delightful fic that made my morning ~
Hi Anon, I haven't updated that fic since literal June of last year-, but your comment made me happy, so I wrote one more lmao hope you enjoy it, thanks for being sweet ❤
Swimmer's tide, chp 6.
Shaking his head at the, yet again, passed out human in his hands, AP walked at a steady pace back to the ship. He would be in a hurry if he had doubts of his mate's health and safety, but he knows what a human that's sick looks like, just as he knows what they look like when they black out from fear, and this was just the case.
So, he had come find him, eh? Brave little thing. Stupid, very much so, but brave. He wouldn't accept any less for a mate. The man was...a man, and that alone already put him at a disadvantage. Fuck, if he wasn't so -interesting-.
AP had been taught from a very young age not to play with his food. He was taught to eat it while it was fresh, while it was hot. Not to waste it. To savor it.
All his plans of savoring his mate went down the drain with his decision of coming to find him.
Nothing that a little talking wouldn't solve, though. As ironic as that sounded.
The only talking he ever did to humans was taunting, threatening and then laughing at their dismay. It sure was going to be interesting.
A soft mumble made AP look down at his arms again, to the limp figure resting against him as he walked. His face was a mixture of confused and troubled, even asleep. AP couldn't blame him, he knew he was terrifying. He liked it that way.
But you couldn't be terrifying to your own mate, could you?
Well, not to a human one, anyway.
As much as AP wanted to feel bad for acting on his instincts and seeking this human out, he didn't. He changed this man's life forever and he couldn't find it in him to feel guilty, he was selfish.
And possessive.
Decades and decades for him to finally find connection only to leave it behind? Because his mate happens to be human and lives in a shithole? With a shitty society? Not happening.
AP could and would give him anything. Any material possessions, anything he wanted killed, skinned, dead. Anything. And, he could also be soft for him, just for him.
The whole package.
Who could say no?
As AP neared his ship, he clicked a few times, his dogs running inside, straight to their kennels. AP himself lazily strutting inside, tapping the close button on his way in, not looking back as the door closed behind him.
Focusing on the human at hand, quite literally, AP walked over to his resting chamber, lowering him to his bed. The backpack was strapped to him, which AP quickly set to work, claws easily pressing against the rather primitive 'lock' that connected both strap ends on his chest, hearing a rather satisfying 'click' as it came undone.
AP held him upright as gently as he could, pulling the backpack from him, carefully taking each arm out of the loops, resting them on the bed again. Looking for any reactions, AP laid him out again, looking at the backpack in question one more time.
Shrugging, AP unzipped it, going through the contents in it as his mate had yet to wake. He found water, his "cellphone" communication device and a medkit, no food.
No food?
AP looked back at the sleeping form, eyebrows set in a questioning, mean look. No wonder the idiot fainted.
Shaking his head, AP dropped the backpack to the ground, uninterested in it now. Resuming his waiting time, stretching before making himself comfortable.
Hours later, he stirred. Feeling his head pulsing with pain, he moved a little, feeling around before daring to open his eyes.
He laid on something soft, surprisingly soft, considering he'd been taken by a monster. Oh God, the monster. Slowly cracking an eye open, just barely, he surveyed his surroundings. No monster on sight. No moving, no dogs, nothing. Just him and in a very big room with very big very, oversized furniture.
Sitting up, he looked around, taking in all the details. He was sure whatever took him was an alien now, everything was so strange, so otherworldly. The metal on the walls, the reddish hues from the lighting, the foreign feeling fabric underneath him, so soft but sturdy as he pulled on it.
He should be panicking, he really should. But his backpack wasn't with him, he had no means to call for help, to say anything to anyone, it was just a matter of time until the thing knew he was awake and came for him. He had seen too much, now in the gut of the thing's ship. Was he even on earth, still? What alien would take the time to take him to space just to kill him, right?
The more he thought about it, the more puzzling it was. The thing had been stalking him, that was clear, from watching him at the pool to breaking into his house, to watching him at the pool again-, and almost give him a heart attack, and a bruised knee-, to now make him all nice and comfortable on its -own bed-, what the fuck was going on?
Head snapping back as a fizzing sound came around the corner, he saw the end of a metal like door slide up, some smoke coming off of the other room. Swallowing dryly, he watched as the thing's leg came into view, muscles flexing as it walked inside its own room. Gaze running up, he locked eyes with it, watching as its expression somehow resembled one of satisfaction. Like it was waiting for him to come to.
"Shit." He moved up on his knees, the thing taking a step forward, making him stumble back into the bed, crawling backwards until his back hit the cold wall behind him, the creature stalking towards him.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck-, no, no, no! Stay back-, stay where you are!" He yelled, standing up on wobbly legs, pressing against the wall behind him, trying to either fuse with it or go through it like a ghost, god knew he looked like he'd seen one, "Holy shit-, you're a big bitch, fuck-" He rambled, his brain doing whatever it could to talk a not-from-here being into stopping dead in its tracks.
It somehow worked, it stopped, only for it to start….laughing. At him.
Big bitch? He called him a big bitch, first thing after waking up. After realizing he was alone in his very ship, nowhere to run to. AP laughed in a way he hadn't in a long time, shoulders shaking and tresses covering the sides of his face as he did. This sure was going to be interesting.
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Yall can read the other chapters on my ao3 (and somewhere in here, too) but the links here and on my bio, along with the other stuff-,
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
warning(s): relatively descriptive violence/gore, death (yes we are going there), simeon goes dark
genre: ANGST (i’m so sorry in advance)
Simeon never should have expected it to last.
It had been a wonder that the higher angels had even allowed you to stay around for so long after the Celestial War had ended. War angels like you, created only to fight and shed blood, have always been looked down upon, even among the so-called virtuous and prejudice-less. The fate of your kind is to fall on the battlefield in burning glory - that is the long and short of it.
It’s a cruel truth, that war angels are only ever admired when they die. Like heroes of old, they are heralded for their actions once their form dissolves from the world in scattered fragments of light, but are shunned if they return from battle in ragged armour. It’s hypocrisy, to put it simply - how many innocent souls have been cast away by an archangel’s hand simply for the sake of upholding archaic beliefs? How many angels have been lost because of crimes that they were forced to commit by the very council persecuting them?
Simeon had thought that the Council were fond of you at home in the Celestial Realm - but perhaps it had been naive of him to think that that would stop them from doing that they thought they had to do.
Simeon knows that you are far from the innocent lamb that many see you as. He knows what you see in your dreams, when you wake up in a cold sweat, gasping for breath as you try desperately to rub the blood of your fallen kin from your hands. He knows, now, something that he refused to acknowledge for the longest time.
Your time is limited. It always has been.
“Gabriel,” He says, unable to keep the discontent from his voice at the sight of a so-called ‘friend’ standing before the Purgatory Hall door. “What a… pleasant surprise.”
The archangel regards him with burnt amber eyes. His wings are spread behind him in a ridiculously ostentatious display of status, glowing a soft white amidst the Devildom darkness.
“We both know that this occasion is anything but pleasant,” He answers gravely. “Where is [Name]?”
Simeon immediately reaches for the door handle. He knows that mere wood won’t stop a member of the High Council for long, but if the situation should call for it, it could buy some time. He wonders if he should slam the door shut and make a break for the gardens to warn you, but Gabriel reads him like an open book, and abruptly slams the end of his eagle-headed staff against the door, forcing it wide open.
“Don’t make this any more difficult than it has to be, Simeon,” He says, eyes narrowing. “We have been generous. You have had years - and now it is time to say goodbye.”
“You’re going to kill him.” Simeon replies. It isn’t a question.
Gabriel lets out a soft sigh, now looking distinctly unhappy. He bows his head slightly, and for the briefest of moments, Simeon sees the work-worn lesser angel who had taught you how to make your favourite candied fruits all those years ago.
But then that angel disappears, and all that remains is the Enforcer of the High Council. Gabriel’s eyes burn an imperial gold, and he takes a single step forward.
Simeon holds his ground, even though his hands are beginning to tremble. He can’t give way - not even a little. Not when your life is at stake.
“He will not die,” Gabriel says. “We are merely freeing a pure soul from a bloodstained body.”
“Those bloodstains have long since faded!” Simeon spits, and Gabriel’s eyebrows lift slightly. It’s the most vitriol he’s seen Simeon display in his long life - and the pure animosty in his gaze is something perhaps more dangerous than anything in all three realms.
He takes in a breath, his expression softening. “Simeon… I don’t want this any more than you. But, as a member of the High Council…”
He trails off, but Simeon already knows what he had intended to say.
“I know,” He says bitterly. “This is your duty.”
They look at each other in silence.
“Let us talk,” Gabriel says. “Perhaps we can come to a compromise.”
His eyes are amber again, and Simeon dares to hope that, maybe, if he complies, he might leave you be.
He takes a deep breath and nods. “Very well.”
He steps back and allows Gabriel to step inside, pulling in his wings so as to be able to fit inside. He turns to lead him to the parlour, and sees Luke watching them around the corner of the hallway, eyes wide and face pale with terror.
“Call Lucifer,” Simeon mouths, and watches as Luke hurriedly nods and disappears.
Simeon is no fool - he knows that he would be no match for Gabriel. But Lucifer, once the Celestial Realm’s Morningstar, pride and joy of the angels, may be. He can only hope that he will arrive before anything can happen.
“Your residence is… homely,” Gabriel says awkwardly as he follows Simeon into the parlour.
Simeon doesn’t respond. He waits for Gabriel to sit down, then asks, straining to prevent his anger from seeping into his voice, “Do you want some tea?”
The archangel can clearly sense the undercurrent behind his words, but doens’t say a word about it. “No, but thank you for the offer.”
Simeon nods silently, tight-lipped, and takes a seat across from him.
“Did Father send you?” He asks. Gabriel shifts slightly, as if uncomfortable, but Simeon can’t find the will to care.
“Father believes… that [Name] will become a threat,” He says slowly. “I have no say in what he decides.”
“Do you not have a say in what you choose to do, either?” Simeon shoots back, unable this time to keep the venom out of his voice. “I thought the Celestial Realm advocated for liberty. Do you have no free will of your own?”
Gabriel looks taken aback for the briefest of moments, then hurriedly composes his face once again. “Of course I do. But, when it comes to these situations, I have no choice.”
“You do have a choice,” Simeon replies. “You could choose to let [Name] be - let us be.”
“You know that I cannot do that.” Gabriel shakes his head. Another moment of silence passes. “But… I cannot say that I don’t have another solution.”
Simeon eyes widen for the briefest of moments, but he refuses to let himself get hopeful. “Another… solution?”
“I have grown fond of [Name] over these years as well,” Gabriel says heavily. “I would find myself rather grief-stricken if he were to…”
He doesn’t finish his sentence, but both he and Simeon know what follows his lingering words.
“Then what’s the other solution?” Simeon asks.
“Bring [Name] before the High Council,” Gabriel replies. “Make a case for him, and make them see that he is not a threat. Perhaps then Father will allow him to go free.”
“How do you know the elders won’t smite him on sight?” Simeon leans forward, his expression tight. “Even Father isn’t above unwarned attack.”
“I will protect him,” Gabriel says, and he speaks so firmly that Simeon can’t help but be compelled to believe him. “And I know that you will as well. No harm will come to him under our wings.”
Simeon stares at him for a moment longer, then nods and sits back heavily in his seat, releasing a slow, quiet breath. “...very well. If it works…”
Before he can continue, a quiet knock sounds at the door, and you swing it open. You’re evidently fresh back from a job in the garden, with several leaves still stuck in your unkempt hair and your clothes slightly off-kilter.
He opens his mouth to greet you, but before he can, Gabriel abruptly stands up. It happens so quickly that Simeon barely registers it - his amber eyes burning a sudden, blinding gold, the wings bursting from his back - and before he knows it, Gabriel’s staff is plunged into your heart.
Simeon screams.
It feels as if the world has suddenly slowed down around him as you raise your head to look at him, eyes wide and golden ichor already spilling from your lips. Gabriel pulls the staff from your chest with an awful hiss of burning flesh, and watches emotionlessly as you sink to the floor.
“[Name]!” Simeon throws himself at you, desperately attempting to staunch the wound with his hands. His gloves feel heavy as the gold soaks into them, but he persists nonetheless, refusing beyond all reason to believe that this can really be happening - how can this be happening?
“S-Simeon,” You try to reach up to him, but your arms give way and collapse by your side again. “W...what...?”
“Please,” He whispers hoarsely, dimly aware of the hot tears coursing down his cheeks and dripping onto your face. “Please stay with me.”
“I…” Your hand lifts again, shaking horribly, and slowly, surely, comes to rest on his arm. “I’m here.”
“It isn’t worth it, Simeon,” says Gabriel impassively, and Simeon jerks around to look at him. “You know that.”
“You… you lied.” His voice rises to a scream, and his throat feels red-raw. “You lied!”
“I lied,” He repeats calmly, and Simeon has never felt such an intense bloodlust as he does in that moment. How can he stand there so expressionlessly as you’re dying right before his eyes - by his own hand?
But then you squeeze his arm, and he abruptly snaps out of it, turning to see you, your face still contorted with pain, trying to smile.
“It’s alright,” You say hoarsely, smiling despite the tears trickling down your own face, leaving little trails in the golden ichor splattered across your cheeks. “It’s alright.”
“You can’t…” Simeon shakes his head, words almost unintelligible through his trembling sobs. “Please… I’m not ready for you to go.”
Thundering footsteps approach from the corridor, and the door slams open to reveal a set of pitch black wings. Lucifer stands there for a moment, rendered motionless by the scene before him, then suddenly seems to explode.
“What have you done?!” He roars, and the very ground at his feet trembles at his words.
Gabriel freezes in place as Lucifer advances on him, pure rage crashing from him in suffocating waves with every step. In his wake, Luke hesitantly peers around the edge doorway, and staggers backwards, hand clasped to his mouth to stifle a strangled gasp.
Lucifer draws back a single hand surrounded by a vortex of darkness, his lips pulled back in an animalistic snarl. Gabriel raises an arm, as if to defend himself or perform a counter-attack, but even an archangel’s movements are no match for the former Morningstar.
Lucifer’s blow strikes him in the heart, and Gabriel’s form shatters on the spot.
The room descends into stone-cold silence. Lucifer stands still for a long moment, heaving for breath, and it’s only when he hears Simeon let out another sob that he remembers where he is.
He drops to his knees beside you, reaching forward to pry Simeon’s hands away from your wound. Luke gives a horrified gasp as your wound is revealed - a gaping hole in your torso that only grows before his eyes, eating away at your flesh until all that will be left is a golden mist.
“How did he get into the Devildom?” Lucifer asks through gritted teeth, his hands glowing a deep purple as he passes them over your chest over and over again, trying against all odds to seal the wound. “How— how did he do this?”
Simeon shakes his head, unable to speak through his weeping.
Your eyes are fluttering open and shut rapidly, as if your sight is disappearing. Simeon clasps your hand in his own, pressing a kiss to your palm and holding it close to his heart. He can only watch as Lucifer tries frantically to save you.
He feels useless - God, he feels so useless! Why can’t he do more than just sit here, watching as the life drains from your body? Why hadn’t he been able to save you? Why hadn't he been able to save you?!
Your body shudders, and both Lucifer and Simeon freeze.
“Simeon,” You murmur hoarsely.
Lucifer draws back as Simeon leans forward. Your hand slowly moves in his, fingers intertwining with his own.
“I’m here,” He says softly.
“I don’t…” Your expression crumples. “I don’t want to go.”
Simeon feels something deep inside him shatter into pieces.
How can something so terrible happen so quickly? What have you done to deserve such a thing? How could the High Council be so cruel? How could fate be so cruel?
“His necklace,” Lucifer says suddenly as your eyes flutter closed again, your breathing laboured and heavy. “Simeon - take the necklace!”
“What…?” Simeon follows Lucifer’s gesturing hand to see that the pendant hanging from your neck is beginning to glow softly. That pendant - it’s the one he gave you so long ago. You’ve never taken it off.
He sees that the blue-green stone is fading into gold, and Simeon suddenly realises what Lucifer means.
When an angel dies, their physical body will, sooner or later, dissolve into the wind as golden mist, never to be seen again. But the soul - the golden core - will persist. And, if one can catch that core, preserve it in a material state…
“[Name],” Simeon breathes in disbelief. “You’re transmuting your core?”
You’ve never been able to perform magic well - even the easiest spells have seemed to be incomprehensible to you - and transmutation of a core is no simple feat. It requires immense amounts of energy to even begin the process. And yet, as you lie dying… somehow you’re able to do it.
“For you,” You whisper, and smile.
Simeon lets out a disbelieving, hysterical laugh. “[Name]...”
“Take the necklace!” Lucifer says again, more urgently this time. “Don’t let it disappear!”
You reach up to touch a hand to Simeon’s face. “I love you.”
He takes in a deep, shaking breath, trying to calm himself. He wants to smile, one last time - he doesn’t want your final memory of him to be a face contorted with grief. But how can he smile in a moment like this?
Simeon’s face crumples, and he throws himself forward, wrapping his arms around your shoulders. Your chest heaves beneath him, your laboured breaths echoing in his ears, and he closes his eyes.
“I love you too,” He whispers, his voice barely audible. “I love you too.”
He forces himself to keep his eyes closed, unable to watch as your form slowly disappears beneath him. Your necklace drops to the floor, and he catches it in his gold-covered hands.
The pendant pulses in his palm, thrumming with warmth. He stares at it blankly.
Luke drops weakly to his knees with a weak sob. His eyes are wide, traumatised - but, in his state, Simeon can only absently lament that he had been forced to watch such a thing.
The silence stretches for what feels like forever, long and agonising. Finally, Simeon lifts his head.
Lucifer is looking at him with a mournful sort of sympathy. The loss he feels cannot compare in the slightest to what Simeon must be going through at this moment. And so, he swallows back his own grief, and forces himself to stay strong as Simeon falls apart. He cannot afford to let this destroy him now.
“You need to hide somewhere,” Lucifer says. “Take Luke with you. The Council will realise that their Enforcer is dead sooner or later - you cannot afford to be in the crossfire when they arrive.”
Simeon doesn’t move.
“Go,” Lucifer says, more firmly this time.
Simeon is silent for a moment.
“No.”
“...what?” Unguarded shock spreads across Lucifer's face, but there's something else there as well - a faint kind of resignation, as if he already knows the choice that his old friend is going to make. “Simeon - if the Council finds you at the scene, they’ll think you’re the culprit. You need to hide if you don’t want to be persecuted.”
Simeon meets his gaze, and Lucifer involuntarily draws back. The deep, seething hatred pooling at the bottom of his eyes - it’s all too familiar. He remembers seeing eyes like that once before - his own eyes, reflected in the mirror of a shield, on the side of a blade, in a puddle of golden ichor. Those are disillusioned eyes, eyes that can no longer pretend to see past everything. Those are eyes that promise war.
“I don’t care,” Simeon replies, enunciating each word with emphasis. “Let them persecute me.”
“S-Simeon,” Luke’s voice cracks, and if Simeon had been in any right mind, he might have tried to comfort him. “They’ll— they’ll exile you.”
“Then I'll fall,” Simeon says flatly, and Luke holds back a sob. “If they find out that Lucifer killed him, we risk another battle. It’s safer to let them think that I did it in vengeance.”
His words are measured and factual, void of any emotion. Lucifer stares at him in silence, then slowly, surely nods.
“I’ll take Luke somewhere to hide,” He says, rising to his feet. He turns, then hesitates. “...Simeon.”
Simeon looks up at him. Lucifer takes in a breath.
“You will have a home with us.” He says.
Simeon’s expression remains blank, but his lips twitch up just a little. He nods.
Lucifer casts one more glance at him, then turns and leads a softly crying Luke out of the room.
Simeon stays frozen there, numb, for a long, long time. He doesn’t move even as he hears a pounding at the door, the booming voice of his superiors calling his name with world-rending rage…
...and, when the time comes, falling is not as painful as he imagined it would be.
Perhaps it is because he’s already far from the Celestial Realm, or perhaps it is because he fell by choice. Whichever reason it is, however, the facts remain - his white wings have faded away, replaced by a pair of spiralling black horns and a twisting tail. Simeon is no longer an angel.
The brothers treat him with almost surprising compassion, advising him on how best to sooth the pain in his back and helping him practise keeping his balance with the weight of his new features. They offer him a room in the House of Lamentation, a place at the dinner table - a place in the family. He can't help but wonder, as he watches Belphie wander the gardens where you used to work, if this kindness is their way of honouring your memory. You'd never want him to be alone.
Most days, he stays up all night, sometimes accompanied by one of the brothers, sometimes by Solomon, sometimes on his own, reading until his eyes go numb and the words blur on the page. Luke sends messages regularly, sometimes through his D.D.D., sometimes through little letters included in packages of cakes. Half the time his handwriting spirals into an almost unreadable scrawl before he reaches the end of the letter, the inked words bleeding into each other, and Simeon doesn’t fail to notice the way your name appears in every other sentence, despite how hard Luke tries to focus on other matters.
It feels like, no matter how much he tries to distract himself, your ghost is always there, whispering to him at every turn, and he can’t help but listen for your echoes, unable to bring himself to truly say goodbye. Sometimes, as he tries to concentrate on yet another spell book in the House of Lamentation’s library, he sees you in the corner of his eye, working diligently in the gardens like always.
But, when he turns to look, you’re always gone. You haven’t been there for a long time.
When he does sleep, it’s in short and fitful bursts, always haunted by you, your warmth, your eyes, always staring, staring deep into him. He roams the ruins of a dream that isn’t a dream, watching over fields of flowers that will never bloom again, not without your touch.
The past is as fleeting as the morning dew, fading more and more the further he gets away from it. It taunts him every time he closes his eyes, disappearing as soon as he reaches out to catch it. And it doesn’t matter how many times he sees you in sleep - no matter whether or not he waits to dream to see you just one more time, you still won’t be there when he opens his eyes.
All the while, your necklace thrums above his heart. Sometimes it gives him the strength to stay awake an hour longer, to not lose hope, but other times...it only makes him colder. Your soul is so close, but you are so far, somewhere where Simeon can never see you, where he can never hold you, where he can never be with you.
But Simeon refuses to give up on you. He refuses to believe that there isn’t a way to fix this, that there isn’t a way to bring you back. He ignores the pitying looks he gets from the demons around him, he ignores the whispers about the fallen angel trying desperately to revive a dead soul. He doesn’t care about the taboo, and he doesn’t care about the consequence.
It scares him sometimes, how dark his thoughts have become, how far he is willing to go. But he knows that it’ll be worth it.
note from kin: once again i am writing for the boys because this fandom doesn’t have nearly enough content for them, especially for Big and Beefy Men. let them be in dating sim fandoms too!!!!!! give them more content!!!!!
anyway i’ve made you an angel since i don’t want to have to think about the deeper repercussions of what simeon dating a human would be (i mean we all know what happened to lilith when she tried it)
pairing(s): simeon/reader but it accidentally becomes everyone/simeon’s boyfriend at some point whoops (this ended up as a pretty big block of text as a result so please let me know if you have difficulty reading it so that i can try to format it better!)
warning(s): nope!
genre: fluff!!!! fluff everywhere!!!!!!!!!
simeon thinks you’re the cutest goddamn thing in all three realms
you may be six foot four inches of muscle but to him that is six foot four inches of ADORABLE
you’re very strong so he likes to just run and jump up at you from behind and wrap his arms around your neck because he knows you won’t be fazed by it (physically anyways, emotionally is another story)
the other angels always gasp when he does this in public because it’s so far from his usual ‘poised and elegant’ thing but how is simeon NOT supposed to climb all over you like a koala when you’re so big and huggable???
simeon just really loves jumping at you like that okay
because every time he does you’ll just pause for a second and look very confused as to why your back has suddenly gotten heavier, and then you’ll turn your head, and your smile and excited little ‘simeon!!’ is to DIE for
he has to be incredibly upfront with you about what he wants because otherwise you will not understand
he has to say, word for word, “i want to sleep in the same bed as you every day” before you actually realise that that’s what he meant
the whole exchange kind of went like this:
simeon, being sappy at like seven in the morning: “i want to wake up like this all the time from now on”
you: “??? do you want me to come lie down next to you before you wake up tomorrow morning?”
simeon: “no, for the whole night”
you: “you want to wake up like this for the whole night??”
Normalcy in Chaos (Jason Todd X Little Brother!Reader)
Characters: Jason Todd X Little Brother!Reader
Universe: DC, Batman
Warnings: Mention of abusive/unstable family
Request: jason todd x little brother reader? he’s his brother biologically, kept away from bruce & the rest of the Wayne’s by Jason until they find him one day when visiting Jay so Jason decided to introduce him to the rest of the batfamily?
Jason’s early years had been nothing but hell for him, a childhood ruined with no chance of repair, and that was something he had grown to accept and had moved on. He still had resentment for his father, and wishes that his mom had done better, but what was done was done, and he’d moved on. He’d gotten a new family, a new life, and new meaning. However, there was always one thing from his past he couldn’t let go of- not that he wanted to. That was his little brother.
Aether falls. Xiao doesn’t catch him.
If you prefer to read on ao3, here’s the link: click
Falling, to Aether, feels eerie similar to flying. He can still remember when he had his wings at his beck and call, soaring through the skies with Lumine and commanding the winds. He’s fallen before: purposefully off cliffs, reveling in the feeling of familiarity before his fight or flight system begs him to open his glider. This instance is just like any other. Except it’s not, because Aether is far too exhausted to even think about opening his glider, and the wind whirling past him feels like home. He’s falling far too fast to even begin to deal with thoughts, just letting the wind be his guide as he falls. He doesn’t think anyone will catch him: doesn’t expect them too, the adepti and their stubbornness when it comes to humans. He doesn’t mind. He was always destined to go out like he began, in the comforting embrace of the wind. Funny, really, how his favourite thing ended up being the source of both his creation and his demise.
The mountain ranges of Liyue blend together as he falls from the sky, like a recreation of the Jade Chamber’s embrace of earth. Time slows, and Aether has a final moment to apologize to Lumine.
Not that she’s still alive. He’s known it for a long time, deep in his heart, that she was no longer with him. As the wanted posters faded so too did his hope, until he finally accepted the fact that she was gone.
He was tired, so tired. All he wanted was his sister back, and now… if the seven were kind, they’d be reunited on the other side. As the wind rushed through his ears, Aether closed his eyes.
He was gone the moment his body hit the ground.
—–
In a small cave on the edge of the abyss, Lumine feels the loss deep in her heart. The order is privy to her wails, screams echoing the cavern and singing of loss. There is no reason to remain in Teyvat, not anymore.
——
Grief, one finds, is all consuming. There is no break from it, no cure. No one is safe from its clutches.
Xiao is the first to see Aether’s body, blood curling around him like soft bedsheets. This isn’t the body of the traveller he’s used to, the one he’s fond of: no, this managed corpse of a man isn’t his. It takes him (all of them, because he isn’t alone) a few moments to realize what truly has happened. No one caught Aether.
Aether, who has put his health and safety and life on the line to protect a country that doesn’t care about him. Aether, who put his needs above everyone else’s just because he could. Aether, who’s only wish was to help those around him and to be reunited with his sister. Aether, who defended Liyue alongside them like a hero. No one caught the one person who needed to be saved the most. Who he needed the most. He is snapped out of his daze as Paimon floats over (someone cover her eyes, she shouldn’t see this, not her-) calling out Aether’s name. She doesn’t realize he’s dead yet, or she refuses to accept it. She floats down beside him, her white fabric staining red with his blood. She desperately calls his name, a prayer going to no god that would listen.
Xiao is convinced all of Liyue can hear her screams. Around him, Ningguang is silently sobbing. Tears stream down her face as she holds a hand to her mouth, unable to believe the fact that she just watched a child die. This wasn’t the way that this was supposed to end. Everyone knew the risks going in, but they were supposed to be in this together. They all lived or they all perished, no inbetween. She didn’t know the traveller, not personally, but the loss still sits deep in her heart. She blames herself: the loss of a child is the loss of a thousand men.
It is decided that Xiao will leave for Modstadt to deliver the news of the Traveller’s death. Himself, alongside Morax and Paimon leave after Aether’s body is recovered and deliver to Hu Tao. She has sworn on the Archon himself to guard the body with her life, to make no changes and to see her duties through. She does not know the blonde boy, but she knows what grief looks like. Grief is present on the Yaksha and the Archon, but deeply so on the fairy child next to them. She reassures them that Aether will rest peacefully while they are on their journey, and the three set out to deliver the news.
They don’t speak. Paimon cries at night, drowning in the grief of losing her best friend. She isolates herself, barely eating and barely sleeping. She keeps looking around her, as if Aether will jump out of the woods and tell her that it’s a prank. Both Zhongli and Xiao have buried the feelings deep inside themselves, used to losing the ones they loved most.
As they pass by the Dawn Winery, one of the maids takes notice. She is not stupid: the energy around the trio is sollem, and she notices Paimon. An adepti and an Archon accompanying her, without Aether? She knows in an instant that something is amiss, and thus begins the chain of command to inform Master Diluc about the storm that is coming. A bad feeling begins to swirl around those at the Dawn Winery, all consuming. Something terrible has happened, and none of them are brave enough to think otherwise.
When the news reaches Diluc, he abandones what he is doing and rares towards the city of freedom. He prays, for the first time in a long time, to the Archons above that he will get there in time. Dread has taken root in his heart, and he ignores it as he pushes himself to go faster. This situation feels far too familiar, and he is in freefall. He prays that he is wrong, prays that Aether is fine and safe and this has nothing to do with him. Diluc is wrong, of course, and that is confirmed once he reaches Mondstadt.
Amber greets them as they reach the gates of Mondstadt, Paimon soaring into her arms and hiding herself from the world. The outrider’s concern grows at this, and her heart drops as she notices the two men standing at the front. While Paimon returning without Aether isn’t exactly rare, her actions tell Amber that something is wrong. Very wrong. She feels her heart stop as they deliver the news: Aether is dead. He died a hero, defending Liyue as if it was his own. She doesn’t feel her legs give out, knees hitting the concrete hard enough to make Xiao wince. She doesn’t feel the scream that rip from her throat, the tears that fall down her cheeks. She clutches Paimon like a lifeline, knowing that if she lets go, there is no turning back. She refuses to believe that Aether, soft and shining and good, has left this world. Has left them behind without saying so much as a goodbye. Her screams attract those nearby, both knights of favonius and normal citizens alike. Diluc is the first to arrive, the other knights following shortly after in fear of what could have happened to Amber. Xiao repeats the news, and their world ends.
Jean has dealt with loss before.
As she races towards the front gates, she can already see the other knights doing crowd control. The crowd is silent, hushed whispers and hands over mouthes. Something terrible has happened, and it is her job to get the situation under control. The knights begin to herd people back towards their homes, and the crown is gone when Jean finally arrives, out of breath and seeing her top outlander sobbing on the stone. Fear courses through her veins, especially at the looks on her other knights’ faces. Lisa is holding back tears: Kaeya’s face is one of shock, and Diluc’s one of sorrow. Albeo, Sucrose, and Klee are nowhere to be found, and for that she is thankful. She then spots Zhongli and Xiao, who both look like they’ve seen better days and could use a weeks worth of sleep.
Xiao tells her what happened, and all Jean can feel is anger. How dare they act like this? Is this some kind of sick joke? Jean’s voice raises as she flings accusations, all pride and visages thrown out the window. These people come into her home and tell her that someone she considers a friend, family is dead. As a joke. She feels sick to her stomach, a small part of her whispering in the back of her mind that this is true. It takes a God telling her what happened to confirm one of her worst fears. She swallows her sobs and composes herself, apologizing for lashing out. They head to Diluc’s bar, and there begins the discussions of how to tell a certain archon of the news.
Telling the wind archon was no easy feat. He had lost his connection to Aether, and had begun a search of his own in a desperate attempt to find him. Venti rages with grief, quietly and far away as to not hurt anyone else. He doesn’t understand why Celestia keeps taking the people he loves away from him. He doesn’t understand what Aether had done to deserve such a cruel fate, dying alone without at least someone trying to save him.
When they arrive back in Liyue to dress the body, they find a peculiar situation. Hu Tao is standing guard outside the room where Aether’s body is kept, letting no one enter. She tells them that Qiqi is in there, trying desperately to recreate the spell that brought her back. It isn’t working, characterized by the child’s crying coming from the room. She doesn’t let anyone enter until there is silence. Qiqi is asleep on Aether’s chest, as if listening for a heartbeat and feeling for breath. She cries when they pry her away from his body, and Hu Tao begins her work.
In the end, Aether’s body is buried on the line which joins Mondstadt and Liyue. It only seems right for the child who defended both countries to be buried in both. He is given a knight’s funeral. The funeral is practically bare except for the nights of favonius and the few who come from Liyue. Aether was akin to a silent guardian, much like a certain Yaksha. He helped many, but remained anonymous. All of them, however, thought the same thing: that he deserved better. That he deserved thousands of people, mourning for a hero as good as him. But he died surrounded by few, and he was buried all the same.
• always ready to throw down (especially to traitorous Snezhnaya twinks)
• always tries to drink alcohol, but gets stopped every time
• ‘i’ve traveled across galaxies, seen things you wouldn’t even dream of, lost my twin to a crazy god, don’t have any of my original powers, now stuck in this dumb world and I can’t even get wasted?!’ ‘...We have a real nice Apple cider?’
• bi/pan
• would sell Paimon for primos
• teleports/glides everywhere
• ‘but the Wanshu Inn is right the-‘ ‘fuck stairs’
Aether
• gay gay homosexual gay
• ‘oh no he’s hot’ to literally every guy that talks to him
• hoards everything
• ‘aether I don’t think we need all those fow-‘ ‘but if we do’
• also likes to shot the birds around Timmy
• ‘look at all those sweet madams’
• would eat Paimon if he so much as misses one meal
• gets lost real easy (Paimon is no help)
• ‘normally my sis would be the one with the map...’
• Paimon and Aether share 3 brain cells between each other and they all are usually on food
• one time they stumbled across a fatui camp cause they where following a food smell
I see your “protective big bro aether” and raise you this
Feat Aether, but he’s the number one chilumine shipper.
Feat Lumine, finding Aether and hoping he’ll go all protective big bro to finally get her to snap out of her weird tsundere love face and kick Childe’s ass properly only to find out he more than approves.
Aether: He’s rich, He’s hot, He’s thoughtful- what more could you want???
Lumine: HE’S PART OF THE FATUI
Aether: Tsk, minor detail
Lumine: HE’S (probably) COMMITED CRIMES
Aether: I mean, who doesn’t like crime?
Lumine: HE LITERALLY TRIES TO FIGHT ME EVERY WEEK
Aether: Is there anything more romantic than the heat of battle?
Lumine: YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BEAT HIM UP FOR ME
Aether: Why? You can do that yourself.
Lumine:
Aether: lisTEN, EITHER YOU WOMAN UP AND ADMIT YOU LIKE HIM OR I MARRY HIM BECAUSE GOD DAMN-
Last second decision cause it’s Valentine’s Day. Also it’s short but that’s not my problem lmao
Requested by: @iliumheightnights
Can you please write a peter parker x male reader where peter keeps getting distracted thinking of a date and the avengers think it’s a girl so they give him all of these tips on how to “treat a lady right” but then his boyfriend shows up.
Word count: 1195
CW: mentions of reader as female
Any day Peter went to the tower, he was prepared for everything that could possibly go wrong. His table would explode, a supervillain would crash through the window, everything he worked on was deleted from his computer.
The worst one was when anyone he knew came to embarrass him in front of other people.
Summary: A cadet slips up and calls Levi’s dad but he doesn’t mind and the cadet continues to call him this. Who would have this would have been his last words the last name he called
Note: This was supposed to be fluff and I’m guessing the anon who requested this wanted it to be a fluff as well but it’s not I’m sorry if you don’t like it. Get ready for the heartbreak
Description: Kaoru gets a love note, and he and Hikaru are eager to play their old game again. You didn’t seem to get the memo.
A/N: this fandom doesn’t give kaoru enough love imo, plus there are hardly any male reader fics, i’m VERY tired of the ‘softboy innocent good-twin kaoru who does nothing wrong ever’ persona the fandom cooked up and i also lowkey wanted to branch out with the type of reader personalities i write so. kaoru oneshot here we goooo-
This originally was only going to be 800 words but I have no self control and my sleep schedule is ruined so this happened. I hope you guys enjoy this, I know its different from my usual bnha stuff so I just hope y’all don’t mind.
AP had found him during a hunt on Earth, he wasn’t the tallest or strongest human he had ever seen in his life, but there was just something about him. He knew they we compatible ever since he laid his eyes on him, maybe it was the small amount of human DNA in his blood that made him feel like so.
Or maybe AP just never paid attention to humans in this way before, not that any of them deserved this kind of attention coming from him, he knew of stories and rumors of Yautjas deserting their clans for human mates and some going as far as to bring them into their own clans-, as if they were equal.
Disgusting.
Humans are pests, they are everywhere and many at once, weak as anything, needy and arrogant, annoying prey.
AP wasn’t really expecting to fall for one, not in a million years, but then again, maybe that was what humans called ‘karma’. Nobody hated human mates like AP did….before he met his own, that is.
AP first saw him at what he supposed was his home, doing something AP never really saw a human do,
Swimming.
He swam peacefully around the vast pool in his backyard, moving his limbs freely with a calm expression on his face.
The sun had yet to fully come up, AP had completed his mission and was returning to his ship in the woods when he heard the water splashing.
The pink and orange hues from the horizon blended with the pool’s blue ones, casting an almost heavenly light onto his skin, marbled as the light shifted with the waves his hands made in the water, short hair wet and stuck to his forehead, mouth slightly open as he huffed, trying to regain his breath.
AP had to go back to his clan, report his mission and well, go on with his life, but something called his attention back to the human male as he lifted himself off of the pool and reached for a nearby towel, probably done with his morning exercise.
AP didn’t know if that man was beautiful to human standards, for he didn’t detect anyone else in the house, or any sign that someone lived there with him, he didn’t seem undesirable, but AP didn’t know anything about human mating either.
But AP would be lying if he said he wasn’t…captivated, for a second.
Upon arriving at his mothership, AP reported to his superiors and walked back to his quarters to rest from the trip. As he settled down, his mind kept drifting back to that one moment on earth.
AP knew himself well enough to know he was doomed, for the first time he wanted to touch a human but with no murder intent behind it, he was disgusted and ashamed, he went through so much to be the best enforcer, the strongest, the fastest-,
And all of that to unite himself to a human?
Well, not that anyone would say anything, considering AP’s impeccable challenge matches and that he could beat the lights out of anyone in this ship if he so much desired to. If they appreciated their lives, they would stay quiet.
He sounded like a youngblood, foolish, cocky, and well, foolish.
He saw this human once.
Maybe if he saw him again, observed him? Maybe if he studied him…Maybe then he’d come back to himself and his firm opinion on how pathetic and useless humans are.
“I’ll be going to earth again”, he informed his commander, the very next day.
“So soon? There were no calls, that quadrant is dealt with for now. Unless you’re going for…recreational purposes?”
Recreational, sure.
“I have my eyes set on some human maggots I found during the quest”.
“Then good luck on your hunt, may Paya be with you”, his commander told him, like he told everyone who went somewhere to hunt, being a commander sure sounded tedious.
AP restocked his ship that same day, not being one for patience, he debated whether or not bringing his dogs with him, and decided he shouldn’t underestimate the humans, even if he didn’t plan on doing anything too serious in their home planet.
Opening the space bridge, AP turned his ships invisibility on and set the course to where he pinpointed the human’s house, he wasn’t stopping in the same forest for he wasn’t stupid, it would be a walk but he didn’t mind nor care, as long as he did what he had to do, it was fine.
-
“Right there, see?”
“No, not really, are you sure you saw uh…what did you say it was?”
“The light shifted there as if there was a…well I don’t know, like when you splash water and it’s transparent but still visible? But up there”
“I think you just had water in your lashes man, there’s nothing up there, or maybe it was some mist? You said it was early morning”
“I don’t know…it sure did freak me out bad, ran inside as soon as I saw it”
“What, you thought someone was coming for you? Out of everyone around here? There’s a drug dealer like next door”
“You heard about the bloody murders they found last week?”
“Oh come on”
“I’m totally serious, dude!”
“I know you are, that’s why we’re going back inside and we’re going to play some video game and drink that whole cooler of soda I bought, you promised me, come on”, his friend said, grabbing his arm and all but dragging him back inside.
Glancing one last time close to the trees, he sighed and got inside.
-
AP landed on earth in the opposite direction of his initial mission, stretching his legs outside his ship as he scanned the area, deciding where he’d place his traps to ensure no one would find his ship while he was out.
Taking a brief look at his map, AP glanced at the direction where the house would be and set for it, jumping up the trees and past them, going as fast as being silent allowed him to.
-
“I think you’re overreacting man, I mean-, fuck how did you get that boost, fuck you! I mean, they did say on TV that the murders were like animal-based or some shit”, his friend said, turning the controller according to his Mario Kart character, like it’d help him in any way. “Animal-based? What the fuck-”,
“Yeah like some bear on steroids killed those people and shit-, fuck!”
“One of the men was ripped in three, dude, three! Three different parts of one single body!”
“It’s the police report, not mine, now stop fucking cheating you rat”, his friend laughed, pushing his arm as they finished their match.
“Police report my ass, they wouldn’t drop the classes if it was just some bear…”, He said, getting up from the couch, hand going through his short locks as he walked over to the fridge.
“Are you eager to go back to college? Cause I sure as fuck am not, Mr.Merman.”
“Shut the fuck up, Ethan” , He snapped, closing the fridge. “I’m gonna go out to buy food, you stay here and entertain yourself while I’m out, try not to break anything, will you? Ass”, he rolled his eyes, grabbing his wallet from the counter and heading out.
“Get me a turkey sandwich!”, He heard as he slammed the door closed, jogging down the stairs from the front porch and down to the street, the sun was beginning to set, orange and golden hues spreading against his skin and clothing as he walked.
He walked for about a minute before the very same dread feeling came back to him, made his hairs stand on end, and a chill run down his spine, jaw tightening shut, he stopped walking, slowly looking around. He felt like prey, like a deer staring into the fast coming lights that would surely be his death.
The street was one that seemed to come out of a horror movie, eerily quiet, only leaves hustling about. No children playing on the sidewalk, working people probably already inside their houses, only him and whatever was watching him about.
Looking up at the trees on the other side of the street, he squinted, trying hard to see anything and dreading seeing it as well. Seconds passed by and he decided to brush it off, if it was the murderer, he would have been dead already, and if it really was ‘a bear on steroids’ like his friend said, he’d hear it from a good distance, right?
“Right…” He muttered to himself, resuming his walk down the street to the grocery store.
From up the trees, cloaked, AP chuckled to himself. ‘At least he’s not stupid, or well…that stupid. AP had gotten to the house only to find another male there, one he didn’t know of, it wasn’t his human, he didn’t care. Seeing the trail of his human’s scent out the door, AP followed it until he spotted him, while human wore too much clothing to a Yautja’s liking, the tight fabric clung to his form, clearly displaying the adapted body of a swimmer. Tall, broad shoulders, long limbs, toned muscles, thin waist, strong legs.
AP’s head slowly cocked to the side as he so shamelessly watched the human’s legs flex as they walked, gaze slowly coming back up to his rear, lingering there for a few seconds before moving upwards to his back.
AP watched as his human strolled down the street and stopped at a ‘store’, coming back out a few minutes later, bag in hand. Food.
As night truly fell over them, AP no longer needed to cloak to blend into the trees and shadows.
He watched and waited as his human’s friend waved and got out of the house, shutting the door behind him, picking up what his system identified as a ‘bike’ and rode off, probably to his own house.
Leaving AP and his human alone.
The house had two floors. Small in size, but it fit his human’s needs, he could tell.
Tired of watching from afar, AP felt bold enough to hop on a tree closer to the house, cloaking himself in the process. His vision telling him where his human was exactly. Downstairs. Washing the dishes.
Which should take him a few minutes.
AP looked at the window’s lock and huffed in amusement. No wonder why he was so afraid, his security system was shit. Ap slid a claw under the lock and pressed, snapping it open with minimal effort. Lifting the window with his finger until it reached the top with a click.
The window was somewhat small, but he could still get in if he was careful enough.
Taking one last look at his human’s last position, he saw that he remained in the kitchen, still washing the dishes as he predicted. Wonderful. Time to find out more about his…future mate.
Mate-to-be?
Human-to-be?
Whatever.
AP shook his head and slowly slid his body through the window, hands keeping him steady, breathing controlled as he got in, closing the window behind him. Standing up slowly, AP looked around. Bedroom.
He was in the human’s bedroom.
‘Might as well have fun’, he thought.
AP was careful with his steps, for there was no way around it, AP was heavy. Stepping close to the furniture, AP avoided the creaking wood with success, looking around at the human’s belongings. Bathroom in the corner, ‘Laptop’, wardrobe, ‘television’, ‘Xbox’, bed, boring.
AP’s attention perked when he spotted an aquarium close to the bed. His human sure did like water, didn’t he?
Angelfish, Bristlenose, Corydoras, and a snail.
AP huffed in amusement as the fishes absolutely darted behind the algae as he came into view. Eyes drifting down the aquarium, another thing caught AP’s attention.
Pictures. Framed pictures.
AP cocked his head to the side as he picked one fo them up. His human, the other male he saw today, and another male.
Only that the other male’s face was scribbled over.
The original picture would have been his human hugging the scribbled male while his friend leaned against him. But male humans didn’t often hug this way, not that he knew.
Then it dawned on him.
A lover.
No, impossible. There’s no sign of-. AP’s confused expression turned to one of realization. ‘They’re not together anymore’, he thought, ‘that’s why he only wrote over that one’s face.’
“Hm.” AP huffed, putting the picture back down. So he wouldn’t have to kill any other possible mates, it seemed. Good.
He wouldn’t show mercy upon no human that got in his way.
“‘Cause we’re the masters of our own fate~.”
Fuck.
AP’s head snapped back to the door, his human approaching it.
AP’s cloaked form all but flung itself to the corner of the room, then up the ceiling, hands, and feet holding him up like a spider against the walls.
“We’re the captains of our own souls. There’s no way for us to come away.” The human sang as he opened the door, light from the corridor sweeping into the room as he walked in. “Cause boy we’re gold, boy we’re-, what?” He heard his human ask, slightly confused as he walked over to the aquarium.
“Guys? Where the fuck-,” He said, bending down slightly, the fishes coming out as he did, “Oh, there you are,” he smiled, “Thought you had-…what the fuck?,” He said, upset.
AP had to slightly crane his neck to see why he was upset, only to see his human holding the framed picture he was holding seconds prior.
AP heard a heavy sigh coming from his human and watched as he opened the frame, taking the picture out.
“First my fishes are scared and I didn’t leave you there, that’s for sure.” He said, opening a drawer and fishing scissors from it, “Thanks for the warning, gay ghost.” He said to the air as he cut his ex-boyfriend off the picture, the scribbled part of the picture falling to the floor. “Sorry Brian…Or better yet, fuck you, the gay ghost has spoken.” He chuckled, placing the picture back in the frame and setting it back close to the aquarium.
‘Gay ghost’, AP thought, centuries of training and dedication, and suddenly he’s reduced to a ‘gay ghost’.
At least he knows that his human and his compatibility is real, anyway.
His attention came back to his human as he started singing again, this time completely locking AP’s gaze on him.
“Cause boy we’re gold, boy we’re gold-,” He sang, taking his shirt off, “And I was like-, take off, take off-. Take off all your clothes.” He threw the shirt at the corner of the room, just below AP, hands moving to his belt as he walked towards the bathroom, “Take off, take off…Take off all your clothes…”
AP lost track of time and place, eyes dilating as he ate every inch of his human’s sight with his eyes. AP’s chest heaved with the fresh wave of his scent, senses overfilled with everything that was him.
“They say only the good die young. That just ain’t right, ‘Cause we’re having too much fun-. Too much fun tonight, yeah.” Belt and pants fell to the floor.
“And a lust for life, and a lust for life, and a lust for life-, and a lust for life-, keeps us alive, keeps us alive-,” he kept on singing, closing and locking the bathroom door behind him.
AP slowly descended from the wall, feet touching the ground without a sound, one of his clawed toes touching the discarded shirt. Which he picked up, being rewarded yet again with the sweetest scent he’d ever known in his life.
Taking a brief look back at the bathroom door, AP heard the shower working, his human’s singing slightly muffled by the door and water running, no less enticing.
It took AP every drop of self-control not to open the door and just close the space between them. To be united with his mate. To protect and nurture. To feel and get lost into.
To never let go.
“My boyfriend’s back-. And he’s cooler than ever-.”
AP shook his head slightly to snap off the trance he was in. Clutching the shirt in one hand as he walked over to the window, glancing at the bathroom door one last time before opening the window and going out again.
Back at his ship, AP struggled to rest, his mind replaying his mate’s song over and over. Voice smooth and sweet, intoxicating.
Holding up the shirt he took with him, AP purred as the soothing scent invaded his senses again, easing his racing thoughts to a bearable rhythm. AP knew it wouldn’t satisfy him for long, however. Soon he’d need more.
The night was hot and damp inside AP’s ship, as it should be. But even then he felt empty, of course, he didn’t have his mate with him. Yautjas can withstand being away from their mates, but when your mate doesn’t even know of your existence it can be…frustrating.
AP came to Earth with the purpose of really finding out about this human. A human that liked to spend his time in the water, as if he was born for it. Human this that absolutely had AP tied down from the very beginning, just by being himself. No show offs, no mating season fling that evolved into something more, no fighting for it, not on his part, he simply…was.
And that drove AP crazy.
Crazy with want, with need and with an absolute determination of making him his. Not by force like female and sometimes even male Yautjas demanded, no. AP felt no desire of beating him into submission. He’d never forgive himself for doing so, he thought.
AP growled at the panels of his ship, showcasing the time. He still had a whole night of thinking ahead of him. Not a drop of sleep was evident in his eyes.
Going out and hunting something didn’t seem interesting in the slightest, that was not the point this time. His point was asleep in his house at this time, thinking some ghost had given him advice from the otherworld when in reality it was just AP being stupid.
Stupid.
He’d heard about that. ‘Matehood makes you stupid’. Heard it from elders, elders too old to have any patience for ‘youngster love’, as they said. Matehood was about being stronger as one. Best parts of two halves uniting for a greater good. He could understand that now, really.
AP’s instincts yelled at him from every direction possible.
Yelled at him to move, to go after him, not to give out any chances for failure, to win the race. Yelled at him for being stupid, he was human and AP was obviously not, how could it even be possible?
Yelled at him for letting himself go that easily. Stupid.
But if AP was stupid for wanting it, his mate would be even more for accepting it, if he did accept him.
Gods, AP hoped he was stupid as well.
-
It was barely 5 am when AP all but flew out of his ship, cloaked, making a different route to his mate’s house, birds flying out of his way in panic. AP went through his plan yet again as he jumped from tree to tree. He couldn’t just burst through his front door and drag his mate kicking and screaming to his ship.
He could, but he wouldn’t.
AP’s plan only consisted of him succeeding. He didn’t have plans if he failed, which was the most dangerous thing anyone could ever do. If he said no, if he denounced his presence on his planet or simply couldn’t hold the secret they could both be done for.
Well, not AP. AP could run away, get on his ship and go back home and that would be it. But his human…They would kill him for knowing about him.
It had to work.
Growling, AP took extra effort in his movements to get there faster, which paid off wonderfully, for when AP arrived he was graced by the gods with yet another sight of his mate walking towards his pool.
Checking the time, 5:43 AM.
AP’s hands had an iron grip around the tree he supported himself on as he watched. His human dropped his towel on a nearby chair, walking towards a small shower head close to the fence, wetting his body briefly, shaking his head, limbs trembling slightly from the morning cold. Yawning one last time he walked over to the edge of the pool, the rising sun casting, yet again, the heavenly glow against his skin, his breath shining briefly against the light before disappearing in the air.
AP’s claws sunk in deeper into the wood as his human looked up at the place where he first saw him. The tree where AP had been standing on when he first felt the connection between them.
His gaze lingered there for a moment as if expecting that same form to show up. The air to bend like he swore he’d seen that morning. The one thing that had been plaguing his thoughts for days now, the feeling fo always being watched.
Sighing, the human shook his head slightly before turning his attention back to the pool before him. Swimming. Right.
He was going to swim.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes for a second, basking in the sunlight, still too cold on his wet skin, shining through the droplets as if he was made of diamonds instead of too weak flesh. Blinking once, he braced and jumped in the water, the splashing of his landing turning into smooth waves that barely broke the surface as he glided through them, resurfacing when he could truly feel his limbs waking up. The water was icy cold, embracing him all around, prickling his muscles with its sharp coldness, clearing his mind in the process.
From the trees, claw scratches marked where AP had been previously. Now standing close to the fence that separated the house’s perimeter from the woods. AP’s cloaked form crouched to make himself look less intimidating, within minutes the sunlight would reach him, it was just a matter of time. He had to see him, maybe not fully yet, but enough to know that yes, he was real, and yes, he was there.
6:03 AM.
AP sighed as he felt the sunlight hit his cloaked form partially, hoping for anything not disastrous to happen.
He’d been turning to the edge when he saw it, from the corner of his eye. Eyes widening as he gasped, taking in the very same form, only the edge of its head illuminated by the light. Heart racing, chest heaving with the rushed breaths, the world went still for a second.
Before it went back to playing, playing a horror movie. He choked on his scream as he struggled to get out of the water, towel forgotten as he rushed inside his house. What should he do? Call his friend? The cops? The firefighters? The president?
Panting, running to the kitchen where his phone was charging, wet hands struggled to unlock the screen as he growled to himself, “That’s not a fucking bear, bears don’t look like that! Bears are not that fucking big! WORK DAMNIT!” He all but cried, tears prickling the corners of his eyes as he heard the door he came in shutting closed.
Phone still in hand, wet feet slipped as he tried running upstairs, falling and hitting his knee, almost hitting his head if it wasn’t for the massive hand that closed around his arm, catching him in time.
Craning his neck at an odd angle, he was faced with the haunter of his dreams, a blur of green and black with teeth, eyes widening, he opened his mouth to scream, only to have it covered by yet another hand, the last thing he felt being his whole body tensing and then giving out to the panic, vision fading out, grunts and growling lost to his ears as he fainted.
Heavy eyes and a pounding head were the first things he felt. The pain making him squeeze his eyes before trying to open them, his neck also hurt, he didn’t remember laying down.
Laying down?
Looking around, he was in his room. His fish tank right beside his bed, along with his pictures-.
He was attacked.
Gasping and sitting up, looking around in clear panic now, looking for the blur that attacked him. He was swimming, he saw something, he rushed inside, his phone-,
His phone was charging on his nightstand, a message from his friend on the screen. “..What?” He muttered, hand rubbing his temple, trying to ease the headache he had.
He ran inside, got his phone, tried climbing the stairs, he fell, did he hit his head? No, his wrist, something got his wrist. He’d been in swimming shorts then. Lifting the covers, he saw the shorts he wore to sleep yesterday.
Yesterday? Was it a dream?
He shook his head, grabbing his phone from the stand, 1 PM.
1 PM. He slept all morning.
Confused noises left him as he checked his messages.
“ Ethan/Smartass - 10:46 AM
What’s up? My controllers arrived, wanna test them?
Ethan/Smartass - 11:03 AM
You still sleeping? Jesus, I thought your morning swim was sacred lmao
Ethan/Smartass - 12:43 PM
Okay, I’m fucking worried now, I’m coming over bitch.”
“Wha-”, He barely had time to finish before he heard Ethan banging on his front door, yelling his name.
Opening his window and sticking his head out, squinting at the light in his eyes, he looked down at his friend, “Hey! I need the door intact!”
“Oh thank fucking GOD, Where the FUCK have you been?! You-, were you fucking sleeping?!”
“Hold on! I’m coming down!” He said, almost leaving until something else caught his attention. The tree close to his window his marks on it, as if something big had been on it. “Oh my God…”
“Mr. Merman! I’m tired of waitinnng!” His friend yelled again.
Shaking his head he rushed downstairs, looking around carefully before opening his front door.
“Fucking finally, I was about to-Woah! Calm down, my shirt is new, let go, let go!” Ethan was all but pulled inside, the door being closed and locked behind him.
“Some very fucking weird shit happened again,” He started, grabbing his friend, still looking around as if they were being watched. “The thing is back again and this time it almost fucking killed me!”
“Thing? You mean the murderer? The bear on steroids? Well, why the fuck were you sleeping then?” His friend asked, fishing his phone out, “We have to call the co-HEY” Ethan yelled as he snatched the phone out of his hands, holding it out from him.
“It was no man, no bear on steroids, it was something else, we can’t just call the cops!”
“Oh God”, His friend started, hands coming up to his head, whining, “Oh no, don’t tell me you think it’s an alien, please don’t.”
“I don’t know if it’s an alien or not, but it’s not human, humans don’t fucking disappear out of thin air.”
His friend chuckled, “I know some that do,”
“I’m not joking!” He swatted his friend’s arm, who just laughed, “Dude, you’re stressed. You broke up recently, it was a…very long and drawn out relationship, the murders were your like, breaking point, this is all stress man, do you want to like, spend the night at my place? we can talk and play some games… test those new controllers, ay? What you say?” He smiled, trying so hard to cheer him up.
“I…I don’t know, maybe. I’ll let you know later”, He said, scratching the back of his neck, handing his friend his phone again. “Sorry.”
“Nah, it’s good”, he said, grabbing his phone, “You want me to stay here with you? I mean, if you’re afraid?”
“No, it’s fine, I’m just…I think I was just impressed by everything like you said,” he smiled softly, “Thanks for looking out for me, Ethan.”
“Anytime, Mr.Merman,” he winked, “I’m going home then, but if you feel bad again, call me, I mean it.” He said seriously. “Feel free to pop up at my place as well, alright?”
“Yeah, alright, will do.” He smiled and hugged his friend, walking him to the door. “I’ll see you later then! I mean-, maybe!”
“Maybe!” He laughed as he hopped on his bike, waving before riding off.
He watched his friend until he was but a dot at the very far end of the street, taking the right turn and disappearing.
Checking the time, 1:24 PM.
Sighing, he looked around, squinting as he tried so hard to spot anything out of the ordinary, any movement in the woods, from the bark to up the leaves. In his dream-, if it was really a dream, he remembered how quiet the morning was. He’d often swim listening to the birds chirping around, flying in and out of the woods, singing loudly in their freedom, but the dream was dead silent, the sun had already been up, they should have been around…Maybe they knew the creature was around too.
A stomach growl pulled him from his thoughts. A reminder that it was not only past lunchtime but that he hadn’t eaten anything yet. Shaking his head, the hungry swimmer got inside, locking the door behind him, still puzzled as he walked to the kitchen.
What in the world would want to kill him? He hadn’t had bad ghost dreams since he was a child, for fuck’s sake. Was it a metaphor? Breaking up had him feeling vulnerable?
He tried cooking something, only to burn his fingertip, racing thoughts making it hard to focus. By 2 PM he had already eaten and was back at his room. Feeding his fishes soothed him some, watching them eat as he continued to ponder. Maybe he was overthinking it.
But maybe not.
It would be hours until the sunset, he felt anxious. Maybe he really should spend the night at Ethan’s, try to get some sleep, and just enjoy the company of his friend, whom he appreciated so much. Laying back on the bed, he sighed as he thought.
That was it, he was going to call Ethan and tell him he’d accept the offer.
Getting back up, his shorts pulled against his thigh, revealing part of his knee, just briefly. Sitting on the bed, he pulled his knee up, confused as he stared it at.
A bruise.
Eyes widened as he remembered, he tried running upstairs, the floor was slippery, his feet were wet. He fell, hit his knee hard, and thought his head was next when he was grabbed by it.
The thing was real.
Panicking, he got up in a rush, running to the window as he hoped he was still dreaming. The scratches were still on the tree, had it entered his house before? Had it been watching him? Why wasn’t he dead already? Why didn’t it kill him?
He panted, running back to the bed, shaking hands struggling to grab the phone.
But then again, who would he call? Who would believe him? What would they even do? If anything he’d be called crazy. He wasn’t safe.
He couldn’t go after Ethan or else he’d be in danger too. “God, what the fuck is happening?” He looked around briefly, trying to gather himself. “Okay, think,” he told himself, “What reasons would that thing have?… Because I’m stupid and easy prey, Jesus,” He thought, pacing back and forth.
The afternoon passed by excruciatingly slowly. He couldn’t keep still, flashes of the early morning creeping back to him. It watched him, it followed him into his home but it didn’t…hurt him.
What did it want?
Looking back to the woods as the sun began to set, he made a decision.
Getting dressed properly, he gathered what he was taking with him to the woods. He couldn’t take food afraid it’d attract the bears, so he took a water bottle, a flashlight, his phone, a small, dusty medkit, and a multi-tool pocket knife.
While shoving the items into a backpack, he texted Ethan, telling him he wouldn’t be showing up, but not telling him about his plan either.
Checking the time, 4:02 PM.
Great, he still had a few hours before the sunset. Not that he planned on coming back early…or coming back at all. Looking at his fish tank, he smiled tightly as he set his feeder with enough food for a few days, if he did indeed disappear, he was sure Ethan would take care of them.
He sighed as he slung the backpack over his shoulder, taking the ‘knife’ and flashlight in each hand, heading out the door. As he stepped outside, he stared at the forest’s entrance, gaze shifting from one tree to another as the seconds passed.
This was so goddamn stupid it was almost funny, ‘College student wanders into woods and disappears while a serial killer is on the loose’, how…fucking obvious. Sounded just as stupid as himself, ‘how fitting’ he thought as he closed his house, walking over to the fence.
Opening the gate that gave out to the woods, he finally felt the goosebumps creep up his body as he really realized what he was going to do, where he was going, and what for. Every second he asked himself if this was really all happening, how had it escalated like this and so quickly as well.
Looking at his watch, 4:10 PM. That was it, that was the time he left the safety of his home in the middle of a serial killer alert. He took a deep breath and walked forward, boots crushing the dry leaves under them as he went.
He walked for a full hour before he started to feel weird. Not the ‘I’m in danger’ kind of weird, no. But the kind that told you that things weren’t exactly in their normal. He stopped, drank water, had a look around, and kept going.
Checking the time, 5:25 PM.
As he walked, he thought. Was he even following the right direction? What would he find? If he did find anything at all.
you could say he felt tired walking up and down the forest, wiping sweat off his brow every now and then, earth business wasn’t his forte, he felt like a…Fish out of water. He concluded.
Ethan would smack him for even thinking of that pun.
He smiled to himself as he thought of his friend. Maybe he was being dramatic and nothing would happen, maybe it was all just one of those crazy chains of events that you had no idea how came to be and just forgot about it as you got older, still telling the story to your skeptical grandchildren. Maybe that was just it.
“God, all this walk for no mons-” He stopped mid whisper as he heard something snapping behind him, turning around as fast as his body allowed him, he found nothing, not that he believed in the slightest that it was actually nothing.
Eyes darting from bush to bush, rock to rock, he thought about every emergency training he’d ever had in his life, how to deal with bears, how to protect yourself from a fire, how to behave when gravely injured and found that none of them were useful for the thing that came out from one of the bushes seconds later.
“Oh my fucking God-”, Was all he managed to say at the thing snarling at him.
The thing- the beast-, the goddamn monster was the size of a dog if that dog had eaten three other dogs, a lizard, and suffered mutation from eating the said lizard. Its skin was scally and glistened in the light, its face looked mangled but with no apparent blood, so that must have just been it’s natural looks, though he really wasn’t staying to make sure.
Color draining from his face, he darted through the bushes. Chest working rapidly as he desperately gasped for air as he ran, hearing the, whatever it was, barking and snapping behind him. Feeling the backpack hitting the small of his back painfully as he stumbled between the fallen twigs of the trees, he jumped over a rock, catching yet another silhouette from the corner of his eye, heart racing even more as he noticed that there wasn’t only one but two of them.
He was running and running until something grabbed his backpack and yanked him off the ground, his legs kicking as he screamed, chest heaving as he thrashed around, watching as the ground slipped further and further from his feet. Kicking legs recoiled as the creatures caught up and tried to jump up to bite him, “Let go! Let fucking GO!” His arms flailed around as he gasped, his left hand hitting something very hard, making him freeze momentarily, eyes widening as a loud growl made him crane his neck just in time to see a figure materializing itself out of thin air.
“Oh my G-, oh my God-,” He panted in panic, struggling to get air into his lungs as finally, the blurred face from that very morning appeared before of him again, only this time in as much definition as the human eye could provide.
It was a nightmare come alive. The very first thing on his face were the tusks, as sharp and dangerous as the small tool knife he had dropped when he was hoisted up. It was huge. He was high enough in the air that he felt his belly drop every time he dangled, or maybe it was the 10-foot tall creature holding him up as a snack for its…dogs, he didn’t know.
His chin wouldn’t stop moving as he struggled to form up words, what even was there to say? No? Please? Don’t kill me? Let me go? He had looked for it, and well, he found it, there was no way around it.
He opened his mouth for the hundredth time when the creature let out a sneeze like sound, making him scream in fright, then shaking its head only to go back to stare at him, still very much growling.
“What the fuck?!” Was all he could let out, and for someone who had fainted that very morning, he thought he was doing good.
-
“What the fuck?!” His human screamed at him. It wasn’t his fault, really. The scent of his fear made him sick. What was often motivating and wicked now became fowl and too much to breathe in. This was not what he had planned.
Not at all.
He managed to scare, traumatize, and almost have his mate eaten by his dogs in less than a day. Brilliant.
But the pressing worry was that he couldn’t simply let him go now. Not like this. Looking around, he clicked his tusks twice, his dogs scattering back to the ship as he himself started towards it, still holding his human up by his backpack as he went.
“Where are you taking me-! What do you-, what do you want!” His human pressed, apparently having fished his tongue from the back of his throat again, smaller hands trying to reach his own, a vain attempt to free himself from his grip. It was not happening.
“Answer me! You-!”
“Mr.Merman” He said, rumbling low from his chest, looking down at his mate in time to see his eyes rolling back into his skull, blacking out again.
"Why do you have to be angry all the time like, we're roommates, we could lay down together, hug and maybe even kiss but you literally choose to be like that, Jesus Christ"
"You're a damn human, this is a disgrace", the youngblood paced back and forth, fists balled in anger and confusion.
"The way you're acting right now is a disgrace dude, most of y'all are getting human roommates to 'stimulate friendships', which is a nice way to say they want us to fuck.", the human said, checking their nails absentmindedly, "And you got paired up with me."
"I'd rather go through my Chiva again."
"Ouch, I have no idea what that's supposed to mean but boohoo, you're an ass."
"Shut the fuck up."
"Yeah yeah, I don't wanna hear crap when I find someone else then."
The youngblood rolled his eyes, what a time to be alive, during the fucking human peace treaty.
The days went by as normally as they could, he trained, sparred, got drunk once in a while, noticed a different human every day, and went back to his room, to deal with his own human.
Just as the door opened with a hiss, he was met with a rather unusual sight. Instead of being awake, alert, and ready to 'roast' him on sight, his human was dead asleep on their bunk, on their side of the room, strange. The human didn't have a fixed job, from what he understood, the human helped whatever section of the ship needed assistance, from cooking and cleaning to ship inspection, 'maybe today was a particularly difficult day', he thought as he took his light armor off piece by piece, careful not to wake up his 'roommate'.
"Mnhn…"
Which apparently wasn't enough, he sighed.
Drowsy looking, the human slowly turned around, rubbing one of their eyes, taking a deep breath as they slowly came back to their senses, recognizing the youngblood across the room.
"Oh hey-, damn what time is it?", the human yawned, looking for the closest watch around, summoning one from under their pillow, "Wow, you're early, and not bleeding! what a miracle", they chuckled, head flopping back to the pillow.
"Didn't go to the bar today", he mumbled, not sure why.
"That's nice, I was there all day today, witnessed some nasty fights", they replied, shifting to get more comfortable, if 'comfortable' was possible regarding their bunk quality.
He huffed, not indulging conversation.
And the human seemed to get it,
"Okay, okay", they said turning over, their backs to the youngblood while they faced the metal wall, "Goodnight princess."
The youngblood growled, throwing one of the human's own boots at them, laying back after being satisfied with the 'ow' he heard.
Hours and hours passed with the same intensity as long years for the youngblood, he simply couldn't fall asleep, something bothering his being down to the core.
Stealing yet another glance at his roommate, he mulled over again.
Rut season wasn't far, this had all been planned with much care, he could tell. Every single youngblood that one day declared they were okay enough with humans not to kill them on sight was given a human roommate and not just any roommate.
He was sure they had been tested somehow, maybe the teachers had their temperaments, tastes and customs passed to someone else, who played this matchup game, it was ridiculous.
But it was working.
The youngblood sighed, hand clenching and unclenching as he thought, did he want to engage in something with this human? What if he didn't? What if he did?
Rut season would surely change everything if he didn't claim his roommate, someone else would, someone who's match didn't work, someone who rejected humans at first but now changed their minds, it could be anyone.
The first thing he had to decide was: Would he be okay with seeing someone else laying claim on them? Did that make them angry? How would they react to-
"I can hear you thinking from here man, what's going on?", the human whined, turning around to face them again, hoodie over their heads as their eyes squinted, either from sleep or trying to see him in the dark, probably both.
The youngblood forced himself to remain calm, even if he knew the human couldn't see them as well in the dark.
"Are you okay?", they asked with genuine care, setting themselves up on their elbows, trying to have a closer look at him.
"I'm fine." He grunted, deciding whether or not to end his doubts.
"Are you sure? You don't sound-".
"When you said we could do those things together, what did you mean, exactly?", he interrupted, staring at the human's face, studying them.
"Those things? What thi-, Oh! The uh, roommate things… Well, I meant what I said, I mean, you're smart, you know why they put me with you specifically, I just-, didn't see why we should beat around the bush about it, it's always uh, straight to the point with you people so...I shoot my shot, y'know?".
The youngblood digested their answer and decided it was...valid.
"But I didn't mean for it to come out that crude", they said, rubbing the back of their neck. "I was just really nervous, I mean, we had been sharing the room for almost a week then and you hadn't warmed up to me yet, not even to like...I don't know, not even the basic stuff."
"What I meant is that we could get to know each other if you wanted to. Not that I'm going back on the sleeping together offer, that's definitely still up", they chuckled, mostly to hide the anxiety they were feeling.
"Hm...Okay.",He said simply, getting up.
"Okay what? What's okay?", the panic was evident now, ha.
"You wanted to sleep together, so move", he said as he crossed his arms, waiting for his space on the human's bunk.
"Are you really-"
"I'm going to change my mind if you take any longer."
"Jesus-", they muttered, moving as fast as the tangled blanket around their legs would, sitting up on the bed, the youngblood sitting next to them.
"How are we doing this? The bunk is small as fuck!".
The youngblood sighed, "It's simple, I'm going to lay down and you lay on top of me."
"Ohhh...yeah that sounds great to me."
"I bet it does", he huffed, laying back and all but pulling the human with him, who landed face-first onto his chest, not that they were complaining.
“Mine hates me,” One said flatly, “Mines alright, yeah”, “She’s fine! We both like sweets so it’s been good!” , “Mine slapped my ass just last night so I think we’re good”, “Mine hates me as well, I actually think I might ask for a, um, change,” The last human said, rubbing the back of their neck.
The ‘roommate’ program had been a success, so to speak. While some relationships formed great bonds of friendship, others evolved into the expected matehood. Very few of them needed changes, be it for a reason or another.
But some humans were left matchless. As were some of the toughest warriors in yautja society.
The program was initially meant for Youngbloods only.
It was only when the ship’s Commander had noticed his General’s strange behavior whenever a certain human messenger entered the cockpit did he notice that maybe they had overlooked that their Elites and Elders might also have….interest, in humans as well.
The human in question hadn’t been paired by the simple fact that their interests and profession diverged from what most of the youngbloods would be into.
Statistics.
The human liked numbers.
-
Never did General Guan-thwei think he’d feel what he felt in his ‘elder’ years. Thwei wasn’t old, his tresses had only started to turn into a mottled grey, but a title was a title and he wore it with honor. What he couldn’t deny was that he didn’t feel the same drive from when he was younger, rut season no longer had its claws around him as it did to most of the yautjas in the ship.
Thwei was sire to a memorable amount of pups, most of which were still very alive and conquering their ways out there, his youngest son having only just come back from his Chiva, now resting in his quarters with his new human roommate, or so he was told.
The thing was, Guan-thwei hadn’t given the whole program much thought until a human had to work with them in the very cockpit.
Thwei had first taken interest in them in the most pathetic way one could ever imagine. From hearing their voice.
Before attending the ship’s command center where the commander, him, and other chiefs often were, they usually just comm’ed them in on whatever message they had. This was when Thwei first knew of their name and occupation, a very brief identification before they rolled their reports in. The more they spoke, the more Thwei wanted them to continue, their voice was steady but not robotic like most accountants he’d heard before. They gave information and detail with precision and effectiveness, never lingering on useless facts.
Guan-Thwei was enthralled.
The human in question was so productive in their work that a decision was made to put them in charge of the accounting group responsible for the humans in the ship, as the group’s leader, they’d report personally to the Commander every other time or whenever they were called for.
It was no simple lust, Guan-Thwei thought. Although lust was there too.
Seeing them in person for the first time had been a mix of feelings. He felt excited, proud, worried, and well, excited.
Like a dumb youngblood.
Should he know better? Yes. Did he? Not really.
Though none of the emotions ever reached his face, his Commander was still sharp enough to notice how he fixed his posture in the -slightest- of ways, having his scarred muscles on show, armor glinting in the scarce light in the cockpit, mottled tresses decorated with beads and chains that told of his achievements and conquests.
Guan-thwei could feel his pupils dilating when his eyes spotted them. As the door fell open, the human that apparently defied every stereotype he’d heard about humans came into view. Compared to the other human’s Guan saw when he walked the ship, they were particularly tall. With their datapad in hand, their strides into the room were as confident as they could be without being cocky, which was good. The last thing one wanted was a staredown with the -Commander-.
Not that Guan was paying attention to the Commander at all.
In the end, Guan-thwei had been assigned to receive any and every report the human had to give in, being the Commander's right arm in operation. That or the Commander wanted to play matchmaker. Anyhow, Guan was glad enough with the decision.
The more Guan interacted with the human, the more he wanted to know about them. And while Guan-thwei, Official General of that particular mothership, Commander's right arm, Breaker of Skulls, The Night Blood never really talked about anything other than fighting and tactics, he wasn't really surprised to discover that raw intelligence was extremely alluring to him.
Soon enough, their talks would evolve from just reports. Until one day the program became a subject.
"The numbers have been oscillating a lot and I apologize, with more humans coming up every now and then for the program it gets hard to get cohesive reports." They'd say while fixing their glasses, a slight frown aimed at the graphics in their datapad.
"No one else could handle 'oscillating numbers' better than you, I'm sure." He'd reply with confidence, no other human in the galaxy was smarter than the one standing in front of him and he wouldn't discuss that.
"Ah- You flatter me," They'd smile, a sight that was rare at the beginning of their meetings but natural by now, sight this that would have Guan looking out for the report days with enthusiasm. "I have-, well, been around long enough to know how the program works so that's an advantage, I suppose." They said humbly.
Guan wasn't having it.
"Or you're just extremely hard working and deserve the praise, I'd say," He chuckled, "Long enough?"
Their smile would drop at the question, which almost made Guan regret asking it in the first place, "I have been here since the start of the program, being part of it, never got paired up, not for the lack of applying." The look in their eyes made Guan-thwei feel strange, he wanted to cease their sadness, but didn't really know how.
"You, applying for youngbloods?" Yet, he couldn't help the tinge of jealousy that idea brought to him, "Youngbloods wouldn't know what to do with someone like you," He scoffed, shaking his head, only realizing it when it was too late to take it back when the retort came.
"And who would know? You?"
Guan-thwei couldn't believe what he heard and apparently, the human couldn't believe what they had said.
"I-...I'm so sorry, please forgive me, I-, I have to go," They'd say, quickly striding out of the room, composed semblance forgotten as they all but ran out the door, leaving a stunned General behind.
The incident had left Guan thinking. It would be a few days until he'd see the human again, he wondered if they'd send someone else in his place, wondered if the conversation made them think as much as it did him. But reaching the bottom of the situation, it was clear that the same thought had crossed the human’s mind at least once as well, or they wouldn’t have said what they did.
He’d just have to wait and see.
-
The day of the encounter had come, Guan-thwei found himself feeling a string of anxiety as he walked down the corridor, making his way onto the meeting room he and the human picked when they first started their reunions.
Guan usually got there first, waiting for his accountant to arrive while standing, usually eyeing whatever was passing by the ship through the reinforced glass walls of the room.
Today it was different, it seemed. When the door fell open, the human was not only already inside but waiting for him as he often did himself. Turning back to look at him, jaw clenching shut as Guan made his way to them.
As Guan stopped in front of him, the human seemed to be yet again calculating the words that would first come out of their mouth, the first words after their little happening a few days prior.
“I wanted to apologize again,” They started, shoulders stiff in place, trying so very hard not to seem vulnerable in front of an alien that so obviously towered over them. “I didn’t mean to-,”
“It’s not needed. I would like to ask you a question, however,” He’d start, waiting for the human to give him permission before continuing.
“Of course” Was the reply. Accompanied by a rather saddened gaze, they must have thought Guan didn’t care about their apology.
“Are you still interested in participating in the program?” Guan asked straight to the point. And while the human couldn’t tell, a trained eye would dare to think Guan looked tense.
“I-, What?”
“You said you signed up for the program.”
“Yes, correct, but-”
“So, are you still interested?”
“I guess,” They said, fumbling with the edge of the datapad they clutched tightly in their hands, “Why? Was I...Paired up with someone?”
“No,” Guan shook his head, watching as the human’s shoulders sag slightly with a sigh, “But I wanted to ask if you’d be interested in trying with me.”
Then he watched their shoulders squeezed up in surprise, mouth slightly open as they stared up at him, “You want me to be your...Your roommate.” They said, mostly to assure themselves they had heard right, but Guan answered anyway.
“Yes, correct.” He said, starting to really feel the tension getting up to his own shoulders as he waited for an answer.
“But you’re a General,” They said incredulously.
“I am aware of that.” Guan replied.
“Do you know what roommates often do-”
“Yes, yes I do. I am interested, but are you?”
“I mean, yes but-, wouldn’t this get you in trouble?”
“So it’s a yes?”
“Well, yes, I-, yes, it’s a yes.” They said, shyly even.
“Great, and no, I have checked, it is not forbidden,” Guan said, pulling the chair aside, motioning for the human to sit while he sat on another one close to it, “I’ll help you gather your belongings after the-”
“How long have you been meaning to ask?” They asked, sitting down in the neat way Guan also came to adore.
“...A while, actually.”
“A while how?”
“It’s not important.”
“...It’s been a long time isn’t it, my first day?”
“Yes.” He sighed, defeated.
“Oh God,” They chocked back a laugh as Guan-thwei sulked. “Well, if it makes you feel better, I, erm, I liked you too, from the very first day.”
Upon hearing such confession, Guan looked up from his hands, being met with a shy smile as the human adjusted their glasses yet again. “I think I should, um, run my reports, General?” They said scooting their chair closer to his, their legs brushing, snapping Guan out of the spell he was in for a brief moment. “Yes, please do. Although I will need you to stay awhile after the reunion, Accountant.” He replied, amused. An arm wrapping around the back of the human’s chair, bringing them closer to himself.
“Not a problem, should I notify my new roommate that I’ll be staying out late?” They smiled slightly, blushing face turned up to look at him.
“I am sure he doesn’t mind” He answered, leaning down to rest their foreheads together briefly before his human started speaking about that week’s statistics, trying their hardest to ignore the hard blush that crept up on their cheeks.
Life was lonely, as he intended it to be. A worn, wandering warrior with the weight of his battle scars exhausting his soul, stopping from village to village, living from the very soil that his horse trotted on. Little were the things he still had possession of. His horse, his sword, and the very scrape that was left of his honor, each battle and happening seemly chipping away at it, as it did to his will to go on.
Word got to him in one of the villages that several honored warriors came to an abrupt end in a clearing. Their bloody robes and sometimes sword shards were the only proof that they were defeated by someone. The families grieved and every time, a new warrior would stand up to the challenge, arming up and setting to the very same clearing, only to be found days later by barking dogs and gasping children.
At first, he wasn’t impressed. Cocky warriors died every day, thinking themselves to be great and undefeatable only to stare in horror as the blade that sealed their fate came down upon them. But something was different this time. No one knew who was behind all the murders. It couldn’t be the foreigners with their guns and powders, there were no holes in the bodies they found, what they found was much worse.
The bodies were often missing the head and the spine and when the head and spine were not taken, the sword was gone, a complete disgrace. Taking a fallen warrior’s sword was asking to be cursed for life.
So he decided to ask around, not like he had anything better to do other than to wait for his death. Coming across a child that swore to see a red demon on a tree close to the clearing. ‘Big’, ‘Ugly’, and ‘With fangs pointing out of its mouth’. Now, he figured most demons probably looked like that, but it was the ‘it mimicked me’ that reminded him of a very old tale, a summer horror story, one his very grandmother told him every time he refused to come inside for the night, saying that old demons would snatch him and carry him off into the darkness, disappearing forever.
It sounded dumb. Stupid, even. To go after the very same place where at least five other warriors had perished. He once had judged himself to be a good warrior, quick moves, fast-thinking, and deadly strikes. Now his shame made him heavy on his feet, the regrets in his chest making it hard to breathe sometimes. He only drew his sword to tend to it, to make sure it was in pristine condition, ironically.
He thought about turning his back and keeping going with his pointless journey. To once again just leave it behind him. He was no better than any of the warriors that fought and died.
But fate was against him, it seemed.
On his way out, from up a tree, a glint caught his eye. But it was no ordinary glint.
The light seemed to catch up on whatever magic that demon used, trying to reveal to the world that pure evil was walking on its very ground, unnoticed.
But not by him.
The child had not lied. The demon was massive from what he could tell from the shifting form. It’s eyes flashing a yellow glow before it vanished completely from sight, either jumping to another tree or just disappearing. No shifting, no sound, nothing.
It was taunting. Of course, to kill and to lure yet another imbecile to its trap, sounded every bit like a demon.
Making a decision, he asked the families just where exactly was the clearing.
-
Five tokens of his kills hung on the wall of his ship. Three skulls with their spines perfectly attached to them and two swords.
At first, his clan didn’t really understand his objective here. The will to learn and to adapt going far deeper than just hunting different races of humans.
Out of every race on this wretched planet, he respected these more. He watched as they taught their children to be honored. To fight with respect and bravery. To know when you’re defeated and when to strike.
Things they had taught them themselves once.
While most motherships hovered above hot countries in the south. Two distinct clans took home in the Orient. Both clans despised each other greatly, going as far as to keep away from one another in order not to harm the still learning human population. His clan chose the islands known to humans as ‘Wa’, which would later become 'Nippon’.
It had been centuries, of course. The humans had forgotten them just as they had forgotten the filthy beings that first generated them, who cowered in their home planet. When the clans decided to abandon Earth at once, so did the two clans. Leaving everything behind, only coming back rarely to hunt, forming the only negative memory of being demons to beings some of them actually came to love.
He’d heard everything about humans, he knew other races and even had trophies of some of them. Hunts so boring and forgettable that sometimes he caught himself checking just from where that skull was from. It was ridiculous.
But not here. He was having the time of his life here. And he might be having even more fun soon, it seemed.
He knew human badbloods existed and were total scum. Waking trash.
But what he did not really see coming was a bad blood that….Wasn’t really a bad blood.
He’d been observing when the warrior had come, his horse tiredly walking into the village. He looked out of place. His clothes were old, but not unkept like his beard. Humans had a different kind of 'beard’ than yautjas had, and with the time, he could tell the difference between a cared for beard and one that was just a rat’s nest on someone’s face.
Disgusting.
So he did not belong there, or anywhere, it seemed. He carried a sword that he could also tell was in good form. Good. Another match, perhaps.
While badbloods were to be taken out quickly from life, he found himself weirdly curious about this one. He had the same instance and breathing of clan leaders. Tired, exhausted from years of making decisions but still carrying on nonetheless. It was puzzling. Humans did not live that long to live this type of experience. But that one apparently did.
You could say he was angry when after hearing about all the murders and happenings, the human just walked off with his slightly rested horse.
But it wouldn’t do. No.
Despite being well over a youngblood’s age, he sure acted like he was one. Taunting his prey from up a tree, daring him to come forth and challenge him.
You could also say he was more than satisfied when it worked. The human walking right back to the widowed women to ask where the battles had supposedly happened.
He practiced harder that night, his blade extra sharp, wielded with much more precision and care than the first time he touched it. His style bettered with each battle, his adaptation proving to be, yet again, perfect.
Words could not describe would eager he was for his next battle.
-
You may have fought before, many times even. But surely never with a Demon. He had not.
Unsheathing his blade felt bittersweet. Wielding it felt rusty, almost. But the tingling in his fingertips was still there, the rush of the blood in his veins as he breathed in and out, remembering every move, every technique, every battle he had both won and lost.
Sharp as your blade maybe, it won’t fight for itself, your mind must be just as sharp and deadly as your weapon, he came to learn. Raw potential was nothing without guidance.
Closing his eyes, the wind hustled the trees around him, going into the general direction where he was told the clearing was. Almost luring him there, to his death, like it had done to the others before him. He was no different, no better. And yet, he’d face the challenge. Fight for people he didn’t know, against something that wasn’t natural, not from this world.
At dawn, he left his horse in the village, striding into the dense forest, armed with his sword and nothing else.
1400
He walked for what felt like forever, feeling his back burning under someone’s gaze. The hairs of his neck stood on end, every instinct in his body told him to leave while he still could, foolish. He had doomed himself the minute he decided to ask about the funerals, the minute he decided to rest at that village. There was no escape. Only forth, only future, whatever might it hold for him.
Reaching the clearing, he knew he was in the belly of the beast when he saw the remnants of the past battles that took place there. The dried blood in the grass, the blade shards here and there along with some bushes cut the way only a speeding katana would slice into. The trees had similar cuts to their barks, scratches that looked like a dragon had nested in this area for years.
His mouth closed again when he heard the growling coming from everywhere and nowhere at all, his hand instantly going to the hilt of his sword, searching the trees as the clicking sound circled him from the shadows, teasing him, trying to instill fear into his heart and soul. He could see past it.
It wasn’t long until a loud thud snapped his attention to his front, a few feet ahead, he watched as the Demon decided to show itself. It’s skin slowly materializing itself into view as it switched from the astral plane into the mortal one to fight him.
It was surprisingly as the child described. Big, red and ugly. It’s jaws spreading to reveal sets of sharp tusks as it roared, the birds that hid from them flying off in desperation.
Studying it, his eyes fell to something unexpected. A blade that might have looked like his, only it was corrupted by the creature’s evilness, twisted into dangerous ridges, made to maul and bleed instead of clean slicing and striking.
Disgraceful.
He scowled, not holding back his disgust at the sight, the Demon snarling right back to him before lifting his blade and getting into battle stance as he did the same.
Long seconds passed as his breathing fell into place with the rhythm he would set when fighting, staring into the creature’s eyes, piercing yellow like the fires of the underworld that it would try to drag him into.
But it wouldn’t work.
Taking a sharp breath, he lunged forward, his sword aimed at the beast’s arm as he went. Said beast roared again, meeting him halfway through the blow, swords locking as he felt the impact of the greater body coming at him, his right foot digging into the dirt with sheer force to keep his balance.
So close to it, he noticed it wore a necklace made of fabric, braided into loops around its thick neck. He frowned as he pushed back with all he had, the demon grunting as it forced back into him.
Realization downed him when he caught it looking at his sword sheath, the braided cords that tied it to his belt. Eyes snapping back to its necklace, he recognized the pattern in them, the different colored loops belonging to different victims.
Trophies. It collected trophies.
The scream that ripped from his throat was out before he could stop it, forcing the creature to back off as he all but swung his weight on it, their blades sliding free from one another as he lunged again, grunting his effort as he managed to block the Demon’s counterattack, missing his eye by an inch, he panted as he felt his arms begin to burn from the sheer force the beast pressed him down with, its muscles bulging as it snarled at him, tusks dangerously close to his face.
He grunted as he turned, sweeping low as the creature’s blade whizzed past his head, his own blade finding its calf and slicing it open, bright, green blood painting the grass under them and a perfect line on his sword.
He took the opportunity to jump back and gain space as the Demon roared its pain, eyes set on him as it lunged blindly in rage at him.
His sore arms not resisting the impact on time, he felt the searing cut as his right shoulder almost gave out under the pain, his face scrunching up as he couldn’t afford to close his eyes in pain.
He looked up to see the creature’s almost smug expression as it retracted its blade, piercing it forward again, aiming for his chest, for his heart.
He sucked in a gasp as he forced his legs to give out under him, dropping his body to the ground like a rag doll, the blade sinking into the ground dangerously next to his eye.
The Demon’s eyes widened as he tensed to pluck the blade from the ground, the warrior already moving again, his blade slicing the beast into its right side, under its first rib, green blood once again oozing out of it as it struggled to keep its balance, it’s free clawed hand coming to clutch its side while still trying to fight him with the other.
Still, in the rush, the warrior rolled to the side, feet turning as his legs worked to get him up straight again, robes dirty with green strands from both grass and green blood, his own shoulder tainted red with his own clotting blood. His breathing was heavy as he got in stance again, shoulder squaring, wincing as he felt the wound ripping open again, even more blood coming out of it. But it was either his shoulder or his life and between them, he chose life.
Before the creature could process swinging at him again, he lunged. Face scrunched up in anger, fists firm around the sword’s handle as he dived into the beast, blade cutting it through the chest downwards to its belly, the hard spikes it had there being cut off like wood chips out of tree bark.
His blade moving down and out, he spun again, stepping back to have the creature in full view as it finally lost its balance and kneeled, its legs giving out as the green blood soiled more and more of the ground under it.
He could hear the blood rushing through his veins, the ringing in his head crisp and clear as he struggled to control his breathing, eyes never leaving the demon.
Precious seconds passed before the creature tried getting up again, to no avail. Its arms and legs shook as it tried using its sword as support to get up.
He steadied his hands again and took a step closer to it, not sure of what to do. End it? Spare it? Could demons be spared? Could demons die?
He jerked back slightly as the demon roared at him, clearly angry for being outmatched. He frowned, taking another step forward as the creature bent over again, the thick dreads falling over as it stared at the ground, he pointed the blade at the beast, opening his mouth to speak to it, not really knowing if it understood him or not when its left hand whipped up and gripped his chest, claws sinking in on his robes and all but tearing the skin of his chest apart, leaving hot bloody trails behind as the claws closed in on his robes. He yelled as he was pulled forward, his foot straining against the ground as he refused to buckle.
Staring into the flaming eyes of the beast, he would not become another string on its necklace.
The warrior growled as he brought the hilt of the sword up, connecting it to the creature’s face three times as its grip loosened on his robes, bringing his knee up the Demons jaws, making its head snap back up, eyes disoriented briefly as it shook its head, looking up to find the warrior already on his feet, his blade ready to sink into his head anytime.
“You have lost.” The warrior said, voice firm and unwavering as if his chest wasn’t almost ripped open and the gashing wound on his shoulder didn’t exist. “Take your leave of this village or perish by my hand.” He finished, tone as sharp as the feel of his weapon.
The demon cackled, taking a few more breaths, wheezy and wobbly as it got up, stumbling slightly as it clutched its right side, blood oozing through its fingers.
The warrior wasn’t sure if it had understood him as it reached for something in the back of its belt, pulling a dagger that was an otherworldly shape. He braced himself for a final attack when the thing laughed again, holding the dagger out in its open hand.
’..ta'Ke iT’, it said, voice raspy and breathy.
The warrior narrowed his eyes, thinking it to be another trick from the demon, deceiving and dirty. He didn’t move, still in battle stance as the beast roared, clearly regretting it as its grip tightened on its side briefly, hand coming up again as it frowned harder.
'Ta'ke’, it hissed and the warrior stepped forward, hand cautiously coming to meet the demons own, grabbing the dagger from it, inspecting it quickly, sword still pointed at the creature.
'De’ feat’ It croaked, its blade retracting as it did. Pointing next to the trees behind him, 'Go’, it said, 'Su'mm er, re’ turn’, it growled, pointing at the warriors head, 'Ta'ke’.
The warrior merely huffed, “I’ll be waiting, now vanish, Demon.” He snarled. The Demon chuckling before turning on its heel and walking into the forest, its skin shifting into the forest’s skin once again. .
“I’ll be waiting”, he repeated, sheathing his sword.
-
This Oneshot was commissioned and the buyer kindly allowed me to post it! Just an example of the kind of work I can do ;) Hope yall like it!
https://ko-fi.com/wthtorke My ko-fi in case anyones feeling generous and wants to help a broke college student lmao
Post that Professor emory thing you sent me or so help me
(I buckled again lmao)
Teacher’s Pet.
Asa hated his normal job. Being a teacher at some college was not how he wanted to spend his precious time, even more knowing the projects that awaited him, starved, dehydrated in some secret place he set up so carefully.
Being a college teacher wasn't fun, it had no challenges to his intelligence, only challenges to his patience.
One would think Asa would love to trace and memorize the personalities and profiles of his students, but so could any moron. It didn't take a genius to know X was cheating on Y with Z, it didn't.
Asa didn't fry his brains trying to think which of them would be part of his collection because none would make it, he had standards.
Asa liked to test them. Every semester new faces came in, taking his class in hopes of easy points at the same time others dropped it because Asa's class was anything but easy points, his essays required research and brainpower.
A new semester was around, and so came the new faces, and to his surprise, one of them caught his attention. It wasn't hard to catch Asa's attention, he was very observant, always watching and paying attention to his surroundings, but this student.
Well, he was different.
For one, he had hair longer than average for the males of his age, going just past medium with a slight wave to it, just enough to frame his face just right, high cheekbones that Asa knew would make some of the girls jealous, especially the more empty-headed ones.
Asa's obsidian eyes caught the color of said boy's eyes, a warm honey tone that he was sure would melt most of the teachers in their circle of classes. His skin was fair, a bit pale even, but a good portion of his class was pale, the “nerds that didn't often see sunlight”, save for the dumbasses that made Asa keep believing in stereotypes that took his class, all bulging muscles, and no brain, hunting matter only.
The boy was 24 at most, 22 at minimum, and Asa was both glad and slightly frustrated when he learned later that day that he was 23.
But what Asa caught right away was that he was taken, a bracelet hanging around a healthy-looking wrist with a little carved beetle pendant.
He had seen one like that earlier that day.
On someone who he judged as 'cheating' as soon as he saw.
Asa didn't know to feel glad or angry, probably both, which was something.
Asa's strict rule was not to touch any obvious college kids, especially the ones that had or could have any contact with his class or the biology surrounding it. Asa was tired of hearing about 'fellow' teachers getting fired because of students.
Asa had little trouble with students trying to flirt or hit on him, not because of his looks but because of his rather imposing nature. Asa was tall, and on the contrary to what people might believe, he was quite toned, the demanding of his...hobby, being rather extreme at times.
Girls and boys who approached him, be it begging for missing scores by the finals or just 'to have fun' were equally shut down very quickly. Not that Asa didn't feel attracted to some of them, he did.
He just wasn't stupid.
Asa's first day of lecture came around and there sat “The couple”.
The boy he found endearing and his imbecile of a boyfriend. They both paid attention and took notes and judging by the way the soft boy held the idiot's hand, their bracelets touching as they did, Asa knew he was oblivious to the rotten personality of his lover.
Maybe he should show it to him.
The thought crossed his mind quickly and made itself at home in the back of his head, much to the cheater's secret dismay.
It wasn't hard.
Asa knew of someone equally (and if not more) slutty that would give in fairly easy if he set things just right.
And he did.
A few messages from unknown numbers and a week into the semester Asa had managed and planned a whole discovery, fight, and breakup.
The date between the two was set, time, and place just right.
He knew they wouldn't back off, he felt a far tinge of disgust while reading the texting he had clipped to keep track of.
“It has to be quick, I have a boyfriend.”
Asa did not pity humanity overall, this only made it reach even far negative numbers. But he was glad it would come to an end by his hand, whether they knew it or not.
He made sure the date was by his office, which “should be empty.”
But of course, he'd be there, “working overtime grading papers.”
Papers he had collected 2 days ago.
Asa didn't allow himself to feel proud of it, it was far too easy.
The night came around and he was in his office, the main light off, only his small desk lamp illuminating the papers he had neatly stacked on his table. Hell, he had even graded a few of them to keep up with the act.
All was one anonymous text away from happening.
Asa pulled the disposable phone from his pocket and set to work. “Your bfs cheating on you near Emory’s office, be quick.”
That was it. He didn't have to worry about any replies, he knew he'd come, who wouldn’t?
Asa texted a few more girls he knew would make it public quickly.
It would be a shitshow, right in front of Asa's office.
Not that he cared, he was just “doing his job.”
Not 7 minutes later, a quick look out his window proved all his theories to be right.
There came the storming boy, walking quickly, phone gripped tight in hand, with at least 10 other cunts trailing after him, no wonder to see a fight or any of what was about to happen. "What the fuck is going on here?!" Asa heard just outside his door.
He heard stuttering and gave it exactly three seconds before opening his door.
"P-Professor?!" said the cheating bastard, surprised and fearing, though Asa supposed he feared being both expelled and dumped and not his authority. There stood the boy, face red with unshed tears, shoulders tense and teeth-gritting as he struggled to deal with what he just saw.
His boyfriend, or well, his ex-boyfriend, and the little boy slut Asa had to rightfully casted for the act didn’t even try to move or to explain, it was very clear what was just happening.
Everything was followed soon enough by the snickering, phone clicks, laughter, mean jokes, and well, everything else that involved a scandal.
"What is going on here?" He asked, calmly crossing his arms, his voice icy cold.
"Fuck you!" Was all the boy said, throwing the bracelet into the idiot's face, flipping the “mistress” off as well before storming off, the small crowd parted to give him a path as the jeering got louder and louder.
Until Asa himself had enough of it and dismissed them, making sure to call in the college principal to let him know of the chaos that just happened and was still happening.
Neither of the three had the balls to show up to class the next day.
Just like Asa had predicted.
Looking into the campus' system, he saw a request to change dorms from the boy who sadly currently shared one with his now ex-boyfriend. Though Asa doubted he was staying in it.
It worried him for about two seconds until he remembered kids these days had friends and he was probably fine with someone.
It was at night that something he hadn't quite predicted happened.
He got an email.
“Professor Emory,
I can't express enough how embarrassed I am with the situation you (and the rest of the campus) have witnessed two nights ago. I'm deeply sorry for my reaction, I didn't mean to come across as rude to you or anyone present but my surprise and feelings got in the way. I hope you accept this apology and allow me to keep attending your class on Monday.
Sincerely, Elijah M.”
Asa's eyebrows raised as he read it, furrowed as he processed it, and set to a frown as he sighed. Of course, the boy was polite. Of course, he was lovely and didn't deserve any of the bad side of it happening to him, and it only made Asa's interest for him grow even more.
Asa had been trying not to think about his name, calling him the boy of the soft one in his head as not to get attached. But seeing the name at the bottom of an apology email for something he did not fault for was too much.
Elijah.
It was sweet like him.
“Fuck,” Asa thought tiredly as he rubbed his temples, gathering will to write a reply.
“Elijah.
Feel free to attend the classes as you will as long as you remember our deadlines and projects.
Professor Emory.”
“That was dull enough,” he thought.
The next Monday, there he was. And so was his ex-boyfriend. Elijah sat on the opposite side, on the left side of the classroom. First row, closer to Asa's table.
His ex-boyfriend arrived seconds before the bell rang, taking three steps towards him before the poisonous look Elijah sent him had him walking back to his original seat, where Elijah used to sit with him.
Asa was quite...satisfied.
He began his lecture, as usual. Checking on Elijah now and then from the corner of his eye, the boy either took notes on his notebook or staring out the window with a distant look in his eyes.
Not that Asa could blame him.
The bell rang again and the class was dismissed, the ex-boyfriend glanced at Elijah again before walking out.
Eventually, everyone had left, except for Asa and Elijah.
Asa's next 2 hours would be of grading papers or planning classes or well, doing whatever the fuck he wanted, as long as it was teacher stuff.
He quirked a brow at Elijah when the boy didn't move to get up.
"My next class is also with him."
As if Asa didn't know.
"Can I stay here? I don't...want to go yet" He said, fingers curling around the handle of the backpack, ready to leave if Asa told him to.
Which was not going to happen.
"Stay all you want," He said as he sat down, the boy sinking back into his seat, a smile gracing his lips, but not quite reaching the sad eyes, "Thank you."
After a while, Elijah bit his lip, pulling out two sandwiches from his backpack, staring at the extra one like it would murder him.
He looked up at Asa, brief confidence as he spoke, "Do you want one? I...forgot, and packed two."
Asa considered two possibilities. One, he had forgotten he was cheated on four nights ago and packed two sandwiches on auto. Or two, this was a move on Asa, be it gratitude or a move.
Asa bit the bullet.
"Sure."
Elijah had already finished his when Asa finally opened the sandwich, setting his pen aside as he neared the end of grading that particular stack of papers, stopping on, ironically, Elijah's paper about comet moths.
Elijah must have thought himself sneaky, stealing glances on Asa's stack of paper as he ate
"...Did I do good?"
Asa stopped chewing.
"I hope you like it" he sighed.
Asa slowly smirked behind the sandwich.
Move.
They went on with this for a little while, Elijah would keep Asa company every day they had a class just before lunch, which was three times a week. Asa didn't usually eat enough but everyday Elijah would bring him a sandwich.
People took it as a teacher's pet behavior, considering Asa caught him and the other two outside his office not too long ago. It was playing just as perfectly as Asa had intended.
Asa still had his side projects, of course. Cutting and carving whatever useless fly was dumb enough to fall into his web. Whatever didn't make it to the collection made up for a few hours or days of fun before he grew tired of them.
Still, Elijah never failed to cross Asa's mind, even when he was in the middle of...well, killing someone. One night, Asa met a particularly strong prey and got his forearm cut, he showed up to class with a bandaged arm and slightly bruised knuckles.
Of course, Elijah noticed.
"You fought with someone? What happened?"
The worry was evident, both in his eyes and his voice.
How sweet.
"Drunk man outside my house had a blade on him," He said simply.
Elijah gasped, getting up from his chair, hesitating a bit but getting closer anyway, the brave thing. "Are you well? Did you go to the hospital?"
Asa nodded (a lie), and even then Elijah's throat worked as he looked at his hands.
"Let me see."
Asa lifted his obsidian eyes to glare into warm honey ones, slowly laying his hands on the table, wary but not stopping Elijah from slowly reaching for them.
Elijah's hands were slightly cold, probably from the anxiety of the contact with him.
Fingers gently running over the angry red marks and some purple ones here and there on Asa's knuckles, Elijah hissed a bit, as if the action stung him and not Asa much to Asa's amusement.
"I'm glad you're okay, Professor Emory," He said, still looking at the knuckles, lips pursing as he thought.
Elijah wanted to kiss the knuckles, to put the strong hands against his face, and just feel their warmth like he'd been dreaming of in the last few days.
It started innocently, but the fact that a professor was more understanding and willing to keep him company more than people his age, more than his friends made him more...vulnerable to such thoughts. Asa Emory had something about him that Elijah couldn't quite tell what it was.
But it was...special? Well, it was sure intense.
Elijah hadn't met someone as intense as Asa since middle school, and he hadn’t felt anything then.
But he sure did now.
"I need my hands back, Elijah." Snapped Elijah from his trance, hands squeezing involuntarily before he let go of Asa's hands, the man smirking in amusement at him, "I'm sorry-, I didn't mean, sorry."
Asa huffed, shaking his head as he turned to his papers, pretending he didn't hear the beeping Elijah's phone was making.
Elijah cursed, setting it to buzz mode, but when the phone wouldn't stop buzzing he turned it to silent, sinking to his chair with a heavy sigh, hands rubbing his pretty face.
"He still doesn't leave you alone."
It wasn't a question.
"He...insists I talk to him" Elijah sighed, "To.."Work things out" " He said, "I don't want it" he frowned, "I'm not stupid."
Asa nodded, face blank as he continued grading papers.
Two weeks later Asa could tell Elijah was growing restless, and he couldn't blame him. Asa didn't pull him close but neither did he push him away.
Asa was patient.
Elijah? Not so much.
By the end of the semester, before Christmas rolled around, Elijah was sitting in front of Asa's table for the last time in the year. He wouldn't have classes with him the next year.
"Professor Emory," Asa smirked at the fake confidence in his voice. They were alone in Asa's office, alone in the building even, it was well past 2 pm, the morning students and teachers vanished completely until the night students and teachers came around, it was snowing heavily outside, nobody was near.
"Asa." He said, catching Elijah's surprised expression briefly.
"A...Asa." He tried again, a blush creeping his cheekbones which he'd probably blame it on the cold if someone asked, "I wanted to talk to you, I'm-"
"Interested."
Elijah's eyes widened in surprise, "I-, What? How-," and suddenly everywhere but Asa's face seemed very interesting.
Asa's smirk grew just enough for Elijah to look back at him, sighing, "Yes, I'm...interested in you" He tried, again "I wanted to ask if you...maybe feel the same way?"
Asa nodded, "What if I do?"
Elijah's throat worked as he gulped, making Asa's eyes drift there before back up at his eyes, his perfect face.
"I-, I don't know, I'm just attracted to you, we're not having...classes together next year so it wouldn't be entirely wrong if we-, did whatever you want to do."
Asa raised a brow as Elijah's blush seemed to intensify as 'whatever he wanted to do' seemed to flash in his mind.
"Come here."
Elijah felt his muscles tighten at that, a few breaths passing before his body finally complied and he walked to Asa's table.
"Sit." He said, firmly. And if it wasn't for the hand resting on his thigh, Elijah might have thought he meant the floor.
Elijah bit his lip taking a step forward but glancing back at the door briefly.
gasping and looking back as Asa pulled on his arm, making him all but fall on his lap, hands bracing against Asa's hard chest as he sat upright, thighs straddling Asa's hips.
Elijah had little time to look into the dark, deep obsidian eyes before he felt lips against his throat and arms snaking around his torso, pulling him flush against Asa's abs and chest as felt teeth biting his neck, "Profes-, Asa! The door-."
"It’s locked," Asa said against his skin, a hand creeping up to grasp the nape of his neck to keep him from turning while he kissed and bit his fill of the boy's soft, pale neck.
The question of 'how' died in his throat as he felt Asa's hand palming his pants, a moan finding a way out of his mouth instead, much to Asa's delight.
The swiftness in which Asa undid Elijah's pants was impressive, but everything turned to nothing when he felt warm fingers inside his boxers, grabbing and squeezing his already hard dick.
Elijah's hand came up to Asa's strong shoulders as he panted, eyes closed as one hand jerked him off with expertise while the other was tangled in his hair, pulling his head back so Asa could attack his throat again as he worked.
his breathing was coming off in hot huffs that disappeared into the cold air as his moaning intensified, somewhere in the back of his head, he knew he should be silent, but he just couldn't manage, it was too much.
too much was beyond that when Asa started speaking into his ear, "You've been thinking of this, haven't you? My hands on your body, my tongue against yours." He said, and only then Elijah noticed they hadn't even kissed yet.
He tried looking down, only to have both his hair and dick tugged harder, a half moan half gasp leaving his throat as Asa continued to stroke him.
Elijah was seeing white spots as he closed his eyes, barely forming the words 'I'm going to' before he spent himself in Asa's hand, abs contracting, muscles tensing as he half screamed his orgasm with a "Fuck!"
Elijah was barely down the intense wave before the hand in his hair guided his head down, lips crashing against his, Asa's hot tongue all but dominating him in both the best and most exciting kiss he's ever had in his life.
His body was putty, Asa's hands holding him up, his legs shaking against Asa's sides as Asa broke the kiss, violent, possessive eyes staring at Elijah's sex hazed ones.
Elijah panted, soft moans leaving his throat as Asa's fingers softened against his sore scalp, massaging and caressing his hair and the skin beneath, lips coming back to seal against him, softer this time and Elijah was thankful for that, arms wrapping around Asa's neck, muscles still twitching once in a while.
It was going to be a long and delightful winter break.
Summary: This continues where the movie ends. You pick up Arvin as you are on your way to Cincinnati. But he’s awfully quiet, haunted by his past. Not the ideal companion for a long journey, but you make most of it.
Warnings: Smoking, drinking and smut
Words: 7814
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The orange glow of his cigarette illuminated the features underneath the cap for a brief moment. The cindering bud scattered across the tarmac as it parted with an almost spent cigarette. A puff of smoke blew from his lips. Carried away by the wind, into the forest beside him. Another car drove past him. A visible sigh racked his frame as he dragged his feet back into action. You spot the man from miles away. His appearance became more apparent the closer you got.
His intentions didn’t change; you see his hand signal coming into view again. With his cigarette almost burned up, you leave your foot off the gas, and you let the car roll to a standstill a few yards after him. His jeans were dirty, torn, and worn long last past its intended lifetime. Just like the loose shirt hanging around his frame, the collar broad and wide. Blown by the wind. Spots of grime, sweat, and soil soaked in. A few locks of brown hair protruded from beneath his cap. Worn and colors fading. His expression was tired, and features that were gaunt like. Roadworkers were common in the area. And he sure looked the part.
This is pure GOLD right here! And not a little piece I'm talking about a huge piece. I love it! I was so entertaining to read and I got really mysterious vibes and stuff from it which I adore. And I said again I love it.
