Currently watching: The Boys!! I watched it last year. Then stopped. Forgot about it a little so I’m rewatching it again, and i fucking love it sm. And FUCKKK BLACK NOIR IS SO FINNEEE IN HIS SUIT (the suit stays ON)
DADDY!!! (I need to see if there’s any fics of him🤔)
Current obsession: Invincible (Sinister mark🤤 Atom Eve🤤 Invincible himself🤤), The Boys (Dada Black Noir)
Currently reading: Fanfiction… (But if we mean BOOKS then Invincible Compendium 1)
Currently working on: Fanfiction. My main OC Spectra (hero name) and two other OC’s and two diffrent alien species. (In an AU mark is said species)
Last Internet search: «Am i sick?»
I dont know why i asked google that and i dont know yet either tbh. We’ll see if i am…..
Revelations and machinations.
A new dawn rises along with new issues.
Will you embrace this next challenge or fall to the call of the void?
!NOT PROOF/BETA READ!
enjoy!
wc: 1.6k
This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. Not when you’d worked so hard to get away. Not after all the time you’d spent covering your tracks.
But there he was, tall and bloodied and grinning like he’d won the lottery.
Mark cocked his head to the side, eyes flashing between you and the safe house. He seemed to be trembling with anger.
“Thought you could get away?”
You blinked, mind whirling. The stance, the eyes, the very air about the Viltrumite. Different… Just barely, but it was there. And Lord knew that you knew them all well enough by now to tell them apart.
A part of you crumpled in relief, the other part in disappointment.
This was not your Mark.
It was No Goggles.
He growled at the droop of your lips and the sag of your shoulders.
“Don’t you fucking pout, you bitch—“
“How’d you portal back?" You blurted, despite your fear. Your mind was beginning to spiral down all the possibilities. If the Variants were somehow back? "Did Angstrom strike another bargain?"
No Goggles lips split into a wicked grin, venom laced within his teeth.
“I never left, pretty girl," He cooed, before his expression turned acrid. "Your little frequency trick hit me--fuck you, for that, by the way--and it sent me careening a hundred fucking feet into the ground. And then it never stopped.
You blanched, suppressing a shiver as something crazed flashed in his gaze. Pain, constant pain. A full month of it. God, he must’ve gone insane.
“And then finally one day, it ceases,” He continued, staring down at you… At your body. A predatory calm settled over him as his eyes lingered on the bare skin. You fought the rising nausea.
“How did you find me?” Your voice was surprisingly steady.
“Angstrom, useless bastard, made at least one failsafe that wasn’t completely shit.” He began to stalk toward you, teeth glistening red with blood. “The serum he gave you was engineered with our blood--all of us. You lit up like a fucking beacon when I decided I was coming for you. Don’t really know how it works and neither do I fucking care--”
No Goggles seized, spine locking as if someone had pulled his puppet strings taut. Your eyes flew wide as he began screaming.
You flinched, throat tightening as he crumpled to the floor before you. Blood spewed from his ears, hot and thick, soaking the rug beside your bed. You winced at the splatter, pushing yourself to your feet. Holy shit, holy shit, holy fucking-
Some sick part of you twisted inside at the sight of No Goggles writhing in pain, blood now jetting from his eyes and nose. And yet… A bigger, darker, and sicker part of you took pleasure in his agony. He deserved it… Deserved much more than a nosebleed.
“They’re gonna find you, Sav—“ No Goggles managed to choke, crumpling in on himself. You stared, face devoid of any emotion. “They’re…Gonna find you and drag you back if it’s the last thing they do! We planned for this! We--”
He hissed, the sound gargled and wet, and you realized he was choking on his own blood. He… Oh, God.
His head began to turn purple, eyes bulging. A zip ran down your spine as you realized he was dying. Actually dying.
Whatever frequency pulsed throughout the safe house was strong enough to kill No Goggles.
Muffled shouts sounded down the hall, beyond the safe house, a distant rumbling shaking the concrete.
You didn’t move, and you decided you wouldn’t. Someone was shouting your name--your real name. You wouldn’t deny yourself this moment. A pressure began to fill your head, low and heavy. You--
You didn’t get the chance to see him die. No, you were too busy covering your ears, screeching as if nails were being driven through your skull. Your knees buckled, bile rising in your throat as your head throbbed.
What?
What the--
You screamed as the pressure doubled, black dots dancing in your vision.
Blood soaked your skin as you collapsed into the puddle left behind by No Goggles.
This wasn’t right. It wasn’t possible.
The pain behind your eyes seemed to deny that statement.
You couldn't breathe, couldn’t see past the pain that coursed through you like a living, breathing thing, hunting down your life force and aiming to snuff it out.
Your cheek pressed against the concrete, No Goggles’s blood seeping into your open mouth as his dead brown eyes stared vacantly into yours.
Shut it down
Shut it down
Shut it down--
“Shut it down!!”
You shrieked in agony. It was too loud, his voice booming across your mind. And the tether deep within you, that had been coiling around itself with every wave of pain, snapped.
Something grazed your cheek, another object clattering behind you and knocking against your spine. Dust whirled and landed in your matted hair. A dull, distant wave of weight flowed freely and then stopped.
You sobbed, small tremors passing through your body as everything went silent. Footsteps flooded in and out of your vision, around your sprawled out form. You tried to blink, speak, and move. But to no avail. You could barely feel the hands that grabbed you, a panicked voice calling out to you, worlds away.
You could only stare at the body before you, mouth hanging in a permanent scream and eyes wide in horror. No Goggles, lifeless, only a foot away, his blood flowing from him and beginning to seep into the cracks in the floor that hadn’t been there moments ago. The cracks that formed a perfect outline of your body.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* ｡ﾟ☆ :. ───
You jolted awake, body jerking slightly as your eyes opened. It was dark still, silvery strands of moonlight desperately trying to cleave through the smoky cloud cover. You took a deep breath, ribs aching. You knew it was wiser to try to get some rest. They’d come for you soon. But you couldn’t. Not as you saw him in front of the windows.
You swallowed at the bitter burn that framed in your throat as you watched him, sitting criss-crossed on the floor. He was in nothing but boxers, the flashing moonlight making his near-black hair glossy.
He looked so… Normal. Meek, almost, curved in on himself as he looked down on the ruins of New York.
But you knew he wasn’t. None of them were--least of all, Emperor Mark.
“I can feel you watching.”
You nearly jumped as his gruff voice cut through the silence. You tried to calm your racing heart, no doubt alerting him more to your lucidity. Inhaling through your nose, you grit your teeth, letting your nails cut into your palm. Be still, be quiet, be calm. Be still, be quiet, be calm, and he won’t touch you--
Emperor released a low sigh, his shoulders seeming to slump even more.
“Get some sleep, Savannah. No one will touch you tonight.”
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* ｡ﾟ☆ :. ───
You noticed three things when you awoke. The first, the sounds. Everything normal, like the incessant beeping of the machines beside you, to everything strange, like the footsteps of the nurse… two floors below you.
The second, the smells. You could smell the nurse, a warm and mellow smell. And then another, sharp and tangy and strong. The crusted blood underneath your nails, belonging to No Goggles. And then, yourself. Neither human, like the nurse, nor alien, like the remnants of No Goggles' blood on your skin. You were something… Different.
And finally, the third, the feeling of your braided hair, digging into the back of your head so badly you wanted to rip it out.
You felt that anger so intensely you nearly choked on it, your blood beginning to boil. Fear quickly replaced the anger, ice flooding your veins until you were sure your skin would shatter.
What--what the fuck was happening?
Your eyes flew open, and you indeed found yourself in a hospital room, not locked away in another nightmare.
“What’s happening to me?” You whispered, your dry voice like a roar to your sensitive ears. Cecil looked up from the chair beside you, his head previously hanging. His expression was grave, with deep purple circles under his eyes. He released a deep sigh, shutting his eyes.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* ｡ﾟ☆ :. ───
You couldn’t breathe, clenching your hands into fists so tightly they were numb. It wasn’t true--there was no fucking way--
Cecil shifted behind you, the sound bellowing in your ears. As did ticking and beeping within Donald’s suit jacket, no less than ten feet behind Cecil. As did the whirl of the screen before you, the screen which showed your test results. Blood work, MRIs, X-RAYS, and study upon study upon study that all led to the same fucking result.
Your DNA uncannily resembled the DNA samples left behind by No Goggles. And Mark Grayson. And Nolan Grayson. And every other fucking Viltrumite that had left behind something on Earth.
⋆˚꩜｡𐔌՞. .՞𐦯⋆. 𐙚 ˚ people you'd like to get to know better
Thanks to @kissalready for the tag! No pressure tags for the most recent moots in my mentions: @cursedradio @gatorsleftnut @ripmornings @sinner-i-ardly-know-er @splodencible @lovemesomejackless @stevegf @quitecasual
last song: “PDA” by Interpol, closely followed by “Graceless” by The National. Ones for the Gator playlist.
favourite colour: The darkest, richest goth forest green:
currently watching: Shrinking, which is not helping my rampant Jason Segel crush at all. Fiancé and I are also watching Peaky Blinders because we didn’t watch it when it was first broadcast and we needed something to alternate between seasons of Fargo.
currently reading: Flesh by David Szalay.
current obsession(s): I mean, c’mon, do I need to spell it out? Oh, I do? Okay:
last google search: Seattle Kraken Helsinki tickets
currently working on: disparate youth pt 7 and 8, a couple of one shots (for Gator), and the modern leper, the sequel-proper to the alarmist and the futurist.
last song: Anemone by The Brian Jonestown Massacre (completely accidentallyon the day when i got an anemone/windflower tattoo lol)
favourite colour: that's a tough one. i want to say millenial pink, but i also love rich, dark green!
currently watching: Invincible season 4 with my husband of course! though i still miss my boy Rex dearly 😭 and on my own The X Files. i'm still in season 1, so pelase don't spoil it!!! Mulder and Scully, i love your energy together sm 😩
currently reading: on my own I’m still going through the Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, and my husband is reading to me The Tower of Swallows (Wieża Jaskółki) from The Witcher saga by Andrzej Sapkowski
current obsession(s): DC comics, especially the Batfam and Flashfam! and, as always—Rex Splode ❤️🔥
last google search: lumene cc cream opinions (actually it was the English title for Wieża Jaskółki so I excluded it)
currently working on: Rae x Rex one shot, [redacted] AU with Rex Sloan x f!reader (honestly might be a crack fic lol), and I've roughly outlined track 27 for the playlist fic!
my no pressure tags: @that-dumb-bunny @elainewonderswriting @yaluficsaddict @queen-of-gotham @cheeyan @milkybbun
@splodencible every time u tag me in something i giggle in excitement lolol luv uuuuu!
last song: Cornfield Chase by Hans Zimmer(I have a movie/tv show soundtrack playlist on Spotify that i listen to while writing)
favorite color: Blue :) either teal or deeeep sapphire
currently watching: Invincible season 4!!! I also watch and rewatch Criminal Minds!
currently reading: Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green(craaaaazy book) and I just finished Quicksilver by Callie Hart.
current obsession(s): Ser Duncan the Tall, audiobooks, Clark Kent, & Shy!Mark Grayson(hehehehehhe).
last google search: If my favorite Thai restaurant was still open(IT WAS WOOOOOOOOOOO).
currently working on: Dance Me Brave Pt. 3 (Shy!Mark x Stripper!Reader), Book 4 for Mask Chronicles, &. and Ser Duncan fic as well as a Fourth Wing fic <3333
no stress, my tags: @kaylathekre8tor @simplepon @secretaccountlol @onlybatsyy
@elainewonderswriting actually never done this kind of thing before— BUT IM IN FOR IT!!
Last song: OKAY, SO. I listen to music a lot. So I don’t really know what exactly but I belive my last song i listened to was Under Your Spell by snow strippers lmao
the slowed version obviously
Favorite color: Blue. I like many shades of blue. Sapphire blue, teal, navy blue, you name it! I love blue. But I also like purple (like the one on takis bags yk)
Currently watching: INVINCIBLE!! (Waiting PATIENTLY for E5)
Currently reading: Invincible compendium 1 lol
Current obsessions: Sinister mark, Invincible,Young nolan (he’s literally mark with blue eyes I love that so much). I also like DC, but my main obsession is mostly Invincible.
Last google search: “how to make the size of the pencil smaller on iArtbook” …SO, ABOUT THAT! I was trying to figure out how to make the brush size smaller on this drawing app that I recently downloaded because I was trying to draw young Nolan. I didn’t figure it out until like AFTER I was done… hahaha…
Currently working on: My Invincible OC: Spectra (Her hero name). First time ever mentioning her on this app. I’ve been tweaking and creating more lore on her because I realized she dosent really have much lore on what she is.
I lowkey really wanna start posting about her and stuff but I don’t really know how to start, and if people would even gaf🥴
goodbyee
tags (np, you don’t have to): @hana-kitsu @lumineya @barbara-gordons-glasses-glasses
Holy fucking shit… this episode was batshit insane—
I’ve read the comics, so i know how that specific fight with Conquest vs Mark went , and holy fuck it was so much worse in the show…
Fucking hell, what conquest did (everyone knows exactly what scene im talking about) My jaw was literally on the floor. Everything just kept on getting worse and fucking worse— AND HE KEPT ON GOING😭
fic ⋆ Nolan grayson x viltrumite reader
tags ⋆ angst, forbidden love, slowburn, young nolan, his viltrumite backstory, you basically would fw the betrayer, slow burn, slightly suggestive, 11k words, yeah this is kind of long...
Synopsis: a bane in his side, you stay like a persistent thorn.
“Get up.”
General Kregg’s voice cracked through the cold white combat hall like a gunshot.
You were still on your knees, breath uneven, blood streaming from your nose and dripping onto the cold floor beneath you. Your ears rang from the last blow-no, the last few-and for a moment the world tilted sideways before you forced yourself upright.
Every movement hurt, the pain seeped through your side, and the ceiling lights were too bright.
Still, you stood, your gaze lifted, rimmed red, meeting Kregg’s. Disgust stared back at you-sharp, unhidden, absolute.
Weak.
Pathetic.
“You are a disgrace to the Viltrum Empire,” he spat, circling you like a predator assessing something already half-dead. “You couldn’t even finish your opponent.”
Your eyes flickered past him.
The girl stood a few feet away, barely steady on her own legs. Bruises bloomed across her skin, gashes split along her side, your doing. But she was alive.
Because you let her be, because you didn't finish her off when she went down on her knees in defeat.
She was supposed to die.
Her eyes met yours for a fraction of a second-wide, uncertain-but her mouth tightened, forcing composure where fear threatened to show. You looked away first.
You had hurt her, but not quite enough.
Not the way you were supposed to and maybe you were a fool.
Maybe you just didn’t believe in this-this system, this brutality, this endless cycle of proving strength through slaughter.
It didn’t have to be like this, you knew that.
Your mother had shown you.
When you were younger, you hadn’t understood what you were-what you were meant to become. You only knew what you were told: that strength was everything, that mercy was rot, that love was a flaw, a trait unnecessary, unworthy.
Your mother disagreed, of course but not with others that knew her, she hid it slightly, she knew the consequences.
and she had been gentle.
Too gentle.
She spoke softly, touched kindly, looked at you like you were more than something to be sharpened into a weapon. You didn’t understand how she survived as long as she did-not in a world like this.
A world where the weak were culled.
Where empathy was a disease.
Where affection didn’t exist.
But she gave it to you anyway.
And maybe… that was the problem.
Because by the time you realized what it meant, it was already too late.
You couldn’t unlearn it.
Couldn’t carve it out of yourself.
No matter how much they tried.
You were thirteen when she died.
Your father stood over her body, his shadow stretching across the floor, his expression untouched by anything resembling remorse. You remembered staring-uncomprehending, unmoving as her blood pooled beside you.
“She was weak,” he said.
Like that explained everything, like that justified it.
You stood still, your arms hung tight to your side and your pupils blown wide, your mother who used to be warm and alive, was now a dead body, you staring at her unliving eyes.
Then he leaned down, his voice lowering, cold and deliberate as it brushed against your ear:
“Fall short… and you will end up just like her.”
You believed him.
You had to.
So you survived.
You endured the beatings. The training. the moment your adulthood had started, when your father almost killed you, you survived, The endless tests meant to strip you down and rebuild you into something worthy of Viltrum,
Something merciless.
Something obedient.
You almost died more than once.
But you didn’t.
You couldn’t.
__
And now you were here.
Still standing.
Still… failing.
“Sorry, General Kregg,” you spoke flatly, your gaze slowly dropping to the cold floor.
The apology tasted like nothing.
Kregg clicked his tongue, brushing past you with enough force to knock your shoulder. You staggered slightly but caught yourself, jaw tightening.
“Fall behind again,” he said coldly, “and you will be finished.”
Dismissed.
The word wasn’t spoken but it lingered, and around you, the others watched, slowly the crowd dispersed, some looked at you with open disgust and others looked at you with irritation.
A few eyes with something worse, perhaps impatience, questions arosed in their head, why was someone like you still alive?
You didn’t belong here, and you weren’t what Viltrum stood for.
And yet… you remained, and you knew why, even when no one outrightly spoke it.
No one knew where the virus came from, just that now they were all exposable and it was an open weakness, and that's a problem to the empire itself.
The virus had thinned your kind-cut through Viltrumite ranks faster than anyone would admit. Numbers mattered now, even if quality suffered, even if the cattle wasnt worth keeping.
So they have to keep unworthy people, even if they should've been buried long ago.
Even if it meant keeping someone like you.
Expendable, unwanted, unnecessary.
—
You exhaled slowly and turned to leave, but your eyes still focused on the spot in front of you.
The girl had already gone.
The murmurs started the moment you moved-low, sharp, easy to ignore if you tried hard enough, so you did, you kept walking.
Until you stopped.
There, across the room, stood someone who wasn’t looking at you the same way.
He stood straight, composed, hands clasped neatly behind his back. His posture was effortless, controlled in a way that spoke of confidence rather than discipline alone.
His eyes blue, sharp were fixed on you.
Not with disgust, or with anger.
Something else.
Something quieter.
Curiosity.
Confusion.
It caught you off guard.
Your lips parted slightly, as if you might say something but you didn’t know what, and before you could decide, he moved.
He turned, almost lazily, and walked away like nothing had passed between you at all, like he hadn’t just seen you at your lowest.
You stood there for a moment longer before you left too.
But there was something about him that stayed with you.
__
The locker room was quiet in a way the rest of Viltrum never was.
No shouting. No orders. No impact of fists against flesh, just silence, only the greeting of the spaceship humming filled your ears, you didn't know if you founded it comforting or more worser, lonelier.
You sat on the cold metal bench with a thud, elbows resting on your knees, fingers lightly brushing beneath your nose where the blood had already dried. You’d checked yourself over twice.
Nothing broken, nothing serious.
You were fine, well at least, physically, your eyes quickly show up as you hear the door slid open.
You didn’t look up immediately, nor didn’t need to.
But something in your chest tightened anyway.
You glanced over.
Him.
The same one from earlier.
Brown hair pulled back neatly, posture straight, movements controlled down to the smallest detail. He walked in like he belonged-like this place was built for him.
Unlike you.
He didn’t acknowledge you. Not even a glance this time, he moved to his locker, opening it with a quiet metallic click, you saw his forearm veins pop, and his muscles, clad in his white uniform, just like you, just like anyone else, why did it matter to you?
You stared a second too long, you didn’t even know why.
Maybe it was the way he had looked at you earlier, not with disgust like the others, but obviously not with anything kind, either.
Something colder, assessing, like you were a problem he didn’t care to solve.
You should’ve stayed quiet, you knew that but the question pressed forward anyway.
“…Why were you staring at me?” Your voice was low, cutting through the silence.
He paused only for a second.
Then he let out a quiet breath through his nose almost like mild irritation and continued rummaging through his locker.
“I wasn’t,” he said flatly.
Your brows pulled together slightly.
“You were.”
That made him stop, and slowly, he turned his head just enough to glance at you over his shoulder, up close, his expression was worse than Kregg’s.
Not loud. Not openly hostile, just… unimpressed.
“I look at a lot of things,” he said. “It doesn’t make them worth my attention.” that landed.
Harder than it should have, it made your jaw tightened, but you held his gaze, your lips pursed.
“Then don’t,” you replied quietly, looking away.
For a moment, neither of you spoke then he shut his locker with a sharper click than necessary and turned fully toward you, his broad body now facing yours.
“Trust me,” he said, taking a step closer, “I don’t plan to make a habit of it.”
There it was, disdain, not explosive-but clean, precise.
Like he’d already decided exactly what you were and what your value was, your fingers curled slightly against your knees.
“Then why bother at all?” you pressed, softer now-but steadier. “What did you see?” He stopped a few feet in front of you, you looked up at his chest and at him.
Close enough to be intentional but far enough to keep distance.
His eyes flicked over you-your posture, the dried blood, the way you held yourself like you were trying not to take up space.
It wasn’t curiosity this time but it was judgment.
“You hesitated."
Not an observation, but a flaw.
You exhaled slowly.
“So that's what this is about?” your eyes narrowed slightly.
“It’s what matters.” His voice sounded clipped, and you kept staring at him, a frown made its way on your face, you should have just let it go, it doesn't matter.
You gave a small, humorless huff, looking at him away briefly. “She was already down.”
“And still alive.” he answered back.
Your gaze snapped back to his, and something sharper edged into your voice.
“So?” That seemed to irritate him more than anything else you’d said.
His expression hardened slightly, a faint crease forming between his brows.
“So you failed.” he spoked cutthroat.
The words were simple, certain and final.
Your chest tightened and you forced yourself not to react-not outwardly.
“I did what I needed to,” you said, keeping your expression composed slightly, you didn't want him to know his words was affecting you.
“No,” he corrected immediately, stepping closer-closer than before, you felt his breath fan your cheek. “You did what was easy for you.” and that stung because it wasn’t true, its because it was.
Your lips pressed together. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“I don’t need to.” His gaze didn’t waver.
“You were trained the same way as the rest of us. You survived the same trials.” His eyes narrowed slightly. “And yet you act like you’re above it.”
“I’m not-” confusion etched onto your face, your lips spoke, forming another response before-
“Then what?” he cut in, sharper now. “Careless? Weak?” There it was, the word everyone used, you swallowed it down before it could settle.
“I just don’t see the point,” you mumbled softly, that made him go still, not surprised, just… colder.
“The point,” he said slowly, “is that weakness spreads.” his word made your stomach twisted.
“You sound just like them.”
“I am like them.” There was no hesitation in it, no conflict, just truth, and somehow, that made something in your chest ache.
You shook your head slightly, looking down for a moment before forcing yourself back up to meet his gaze.
“Then why are you even talking to me?”
A beat of silence passed, his expression shifted-just slightly, not softer, just… more deliberate.
“I’m trying to understand,” he said.
Your brows furrowed faintly, what type of response is even that, a weird feeling bubbles inside you.
“Understand what?”
His eyes locked onto yours again.
“Why you’re still alive.”
That hit deeper than anything else, not shouted, not cruel, just… honest. You let out a quiet breath, something tight curling in your chest.
“…I ask myself that too, everyday actually.” your mask slightly slipped, and he could see through the slight cracks. That was the worse part, you didnt want to expose that vulnerable side of you.
For the first time, he didn’t immediately respond, his gaze just lingered and studied.
Like he was looking for something-and not finding it or maybe finding something he didn’t like, and finally, he straightened slightly. “I’m Nolan,” he said.
The introduction felt abrupt, unnecessary, you blinked once.
“…Okay.” you uttered.
A flicker of something-annoyance, maybe-crossed his face.
“You don’t care?”
“Should I?” He held your gaze for another second, then-
“No.”
Flat and dismissive, as he turned away, finally grabbing what he needed from his locker.
like this whole conversation was over.
Just like that, you watched him for a moment, something unsettled sitting heavy in your chest.
“…I didn’t hesitate because I’m weak,” you said suddenly, you didn't know why you were telling him this at all.
The words came out before you could stop them.
He paused-but didn’t turn. “Then why?”
You hesitated, just for a second.
“…Because I didn’t want to kill her.” you looked at him with a solemn expression.
The silence stilled and longer this time, and he finally looked back at you.
And whatever had been in his expression before-
It was worse now, not anger nor confusion.
Something closer to disappointment.
“That’s the same thing,” he said, your chest tightened, and before you could respond, he shut his locker, hard.
“You won’t last,” he added, voice quieter now—but no less certain, not a threat, but a conclusion, then he walked past you, close enough that your shoulder almost brushed his, but not quite, the touch was fleeting and he left.
The room fell silent again, as you looked down at your hands, painted with sin and heavier weight you didn't want to carry but had been born to.
It felt heavier than before.
__
Days passed, and you returned to your duty, patrol or whatever assigned task gifted to you, you would do it, but today you and everyone else were lined up in a group, for-
“Reassignment.”
The word alone was enough to make your stomach tighten, you perked up before quickly looked straight ahead.
You stood in formation, barely listening as the rest followed-units being shifted, numbers adjusted, names called and dismissed like they meant nothing.
They didn’t, not really.
“…You.”
Your attention snapped forward, to the higher up standing above you, holding a holographic tablet and looking at it, and up at you, your designation was listed, then-
His.
You didn’t need to look but you felt it anyway.
“You’ll be relocated. Effective immediately.”
No explanation, none needed.
You already knew, that the virus had been cutting through Viltrumite ranks faster than anyone would admit. Rooms once filled with soldiers were half-empty now-some cleared out entirely.
Containment, controll and reorganization of things.
Or maybe just desperation.
“…You’ll share quarters.” and that was it.
—
The room was larger than most or... maybe it just felt that way now, you stared for a second before reluctantly making your way inside, the humming noise from space greets the silence.
Four beds lined the sterile clean white walls-two on each side. Metal frames. Minimal space. Built for efficiency, not comfort.
Only two were occupied now.
Yours and his, and you stood just inside the doorway, arms loosely at your sides, taking it in.
There were signs people had lived here before-small, insignificant traces left behind. A scratch on the wall. A dent in one of the bed frames, gone now.
Replaced like they never mattered in the first place.
The door slid shut behind you, and you didn’t turn around.
You already knew he was there.
Silence stretched between you, familiar and heavy.
Then he turned around crossing his arms, scoffing. “This is inefficient.”
His voice was flat and unimpressed, you exhaled quietly, stepping further into the room, trying to not look at him and just straight at the wall.
“Take it up with command,” you muttered, rolling your eyes.
“I would,” he replied, “if it were worth the effort.” you almost laughed at that, but instead, you moved to the nearest empty bed, sitting down slowly. Your body still ached faintly from training, but it was nothing you weren’t used to.
Nothing you couldn’t ignore, and aross the room, Nolan didn’t move right away, you could feel it-his attention, sharp and unwelcome, like before, still assessing, still judging you like a microscope and then finally, he stepped in fully, the door sealing behind him with a quiet hiss.
“They’re thinning us out,” he said, more to himself than to you.
“Or maybe grouping what’s left,” you replied.
A pause.
“To monitor,” he added.
You glanced at him briefly. “Or to make sure we don’t kill each other in our sleep.” your remark earned you a look, not amused and not entirely dismissive, either.
“Paranoia implies uncertainty,” he said. “This is calculation.” Nolan turned to you, his gaze sharpening with quiet focus.
“Same difference.” you retorted.
“No.” Nolan replied flatly.
You leaned back slightly on your hands, gaze drifting toward the ceiling.
“They don’t trust us,” you said after a moment, Nolan turned away, his lips pulled in a thin line, and uttered out “they don’t need to.”
You huffed softly. “Comforting.”
Silence settled again, it was thicker this time.
Because this wasn’t a passing interaction, but this wasn’t a moment in a locker room that could be walked away from, this was constant, you shifted slightly, glancing toward the other beds.
“Four people used to be in here,” you pointed out, you pulled out four fingers just to prove a point, hung in the air, Nolan looked at you again warily before nodding.
“Yes.” he spoke.
“Now it’s just us.” you said again.
“Yes.” Nolan looked away, his features smoothing back into that familiar, distant calm, and you looked back at him.
“…Does that bother you?”
That made him pause, and you swore you saw a flicker of something in his face, just that you couldn't name, but it was fleeting and gone, and just for a fraction of a second, then he moved-crossing the room to his side, setting something down with precise, controlled movements.
“No,” he said.
A lie, or maybe not, with him, it was hard to tell, your eyes studied him quietly.
“You don’t seem like someone who enjoys… company.”
“I don’t.”
At least he was consistent, you couldn't help forming a faint smile, maybe just at the absurdity of the situation, you nodded slightly, more to yourself than to him.
“Then we’re both unlucky.” and that made his jaw tighten-barely, but you saw it. “Speak for yourself.”
There it was again, the edge, the defensiveness.
That quiet dislike he didn’t bother hiding, and you looked away first this time, just that you didn't have the pent up energy to deal with his problem with whatever this was between either of you.
“Don’t worry,” you said, voice softer now. “I won’t get in your way.”
A beat, then another, as you didn’t look at him, and barely see the way his expression shifted-subtle, unreadable.
“You already do,” he said quickly, your chest tightened slightly.
You masked it quickly, shrugging one shoulder. “Then you’ll have to learn to deal with it.” Nolan didn’t respond immediately, when he did, his voice was quieter, and more measurement
“I don’t intend to get used to something that shouldn’t exist.” That landed exactly how he meant it to, his words piercing through whatever veil you put up, you swallowed once, gaze fixed somewhere past him. “…Yeah,” you murmured swallowing thickly.
“I figured.”
The room fell still again, the two beds filled, two empty, it was too much space and still not enough distance, you lay back slowly, your head touching the soft pillow, staring up at the ceiling, feeling the weight of it settle in.
This wasn’t temporary... not really, not the way things were going, you turned your head slightly, just enough to see him across the room.
Already composed, and unbothered.
Like this didn’t affect him at all, and maybe it didn’t.
Or maybe he was just better at pretending.
You were stuck with him.
__
Weeks blurred together. You stopped counting somewhere along the way. It didn’t matter anymore-only the routine remained, the endless cycle of doing exactly what you were made for. A soldier, just another piece in a machine that never stopped turning.
You barely ever see Nolan sometimes, and when you did. He rarely ever looked at you, or acknowledged your presence and slowly it stopped tugging under your skin.
You were already in bed-half resting, half recovering. One arm tucked under your head, the other resting across your stomach, you just had gotten back from rotation watch, hours on end before you were swapped. Your body ached from duty, the kind that settled deep into your bones, but it was manageable.
The door slid open quietly, you barely registered it at first.
Normal, everything here was, until you felt it, the shift, you slowed turned your head.
And saw him, Nolan stood just inside the doorway, still, too still.
Something was wrong, why would you care? But seeing him like this, it hurt some part of you that you couldn’t understand, you pushed yourself up slowly, wincing faintly as you sat upright. Your eyes stayed on him, studying-really studying this time.
His posture was straight, as always, controlled, perfect.
But it didn’t feel the same, there was something underneath it now-something strained. Like whatever held him together had been pulled too tight, and normally neither of you would talk to one another, but something change in the air, it felt... different.
“…You’re back,” you said quietly, he didn’t answer right away, the mechanical door shut behind him with a soft hiss.
“Yes.” Short, but not sharp.
Your brows pulled together slightly, you swung your legs over the edge of the bed, sitting fully upright now.
“…What happened?”
A pause, it was longer than usual, he didn’t brush you off, didn’t dismiss you, didn’t tell you it wasn’t your concern, he just… stood there.
Then-
“The virus spread further.” His gaze was distant, a storm swirling in his pupils.
Your chest tightened, and you didn’t interrupt, didn’t speak, you just listened.
“My unit was deployed.” His voice was even.
“For containment.” he breathed out, that word again, you felt it settle heavy in your chest.
Your gaze softened slightly. “and?” you pried again gently.
Another pause.
“They didn’t survive.”
Silence.
You swallowed. “…Who?” you didn’t know whether he meant half the population, you knew your kind was dwindling, this virus was fatal and dangerous, you weren’t sure why you asked, maybe you already knew the answer mattered, and maybe you just… didn’t want him to carry it alone.
His jaw tightened, his azure eyes flickered down momentarily, his jaw clenched just slightly.
“My father.” the words landed quietly, but they hit harder than anything else.
You stilled, your breath caught for just a second, and suddenly, you weren’t here anymore, you were thirteen again, blood splattered on the floor, your mother-
You pushed the memory down, hard, as this wasn’t about you, and looked at him deeply, your eyes tracing his tense shoulders, his face, and you just looked.
And now you saw it, not weakness, not exactly, but something close to it, something… unsteady like he didn’t know where to put what he was feeling, or if he was even allowed to feel it at all.
“I see,” you said softly, he didn’t react, didn’t bother snapping or correcting you or making a backhanded comment, he usually would, that alone told you enough, the silence stretched again between the two of you.
But it didn’t feel empty at all but fragile and careful, like one wrong word might shatter something neither of you understood, you hesitated, but you spoke anyway.
“…Do you want—” you stopped, as your brows furrowed slightly.
Why were you even asking this? this wasn’t something Viltrumites did and this wasn’t something he would want, but the words came anyway, his lips opened and slightly closed, before-
“…a hug?” the question hung there, strange, out of place, dangerous.
Nolan went completely still, if possible even more than before.
You almost took it back, almost, but then of course you couldn’t stop yourself speaking any further.
“…Or,” you added, quieter now, “you can… come here.”
You gestured slightly to the bed beside you, your hand patting the side to where your hips were laying.
“There’s space.” Your voice softened, uncertain now.
“I mean-you don’t have to. I just-” You stopped again, as nolan stared at you, a bit startled and this time, your throat tightened slightly.
You hadn’t meant to say this part, but it came anyway.
“…my mother used to do that.” your voice cracked, your fingers absentmindedly twisted together, before you finally settled them on your chest.
“She’d… sit with me. Or just stay. When things were…” You searched for the word. “…bad.”
You let out a small breath. “It helped.” you didn’t look away this time, didn’t take it back, didn’t pretend you hadn’t said it, even if it was foolish and even if it was something he’d probably reject, and you felt Nolan’s gaze was on you now, fully, but it wasn’t cold or sharp.
Just… unreadable as if he didn’t know what to do with what you’d just offered.
“…That’s not necessary,” he said, it sounded automatic and conditioned.
But quieter than it should have been, you didn’t push farther than that, just that you nodded once. “Okay.” you simply shifted slightly on the bed, leaning back just a bit again, but you didn’t lie down, and didn’t turn away, maybe you left the space open.
As you turned away from Nolan, the room seemed unnaturally still, and you tried to settle down for some sleep.
Just in case.
__
Night settled heavily over the quarters, it felt cold, quiet. Still. Unforgiving.
You had fallen asleep at some point-your body finally giving in after the exhaustion of the day. The ache in your muscles dulled, your breathing evened out, and for a few hours, everything went silent, no expectations.
No prying eyes, or judgement on who you were supposed to be, it was just quiet rest, you can finally rest.
—
You stirred, well not fully awake-just enough to feel it.
A presence close by, it felt too close.
Your eyes opened slowly, vision adjusting to the dim light, a tall figure loomed over you, and there he was.
Nolan stood at the edge of your bed, looking down at you.
And for some odd reason you couldn’t name, you didn’t felt in danger nor didn’t startle.
Didn’t reach for defense, just something in his posture stopped you, and he wasn’t looming in dominance, nor wasn’t there to challenge you, he just… stood there, like… he wasn’t sure what he was doing, your eyes blink up slowly at him before you slightly rose up on your bed.
Your voice came out soft, still laced with sleep. “…Nolan?”
He didn’t answer right away and for a moment, you thought he might leave, or walk away from whatever this was, silently between you.
That this-whatever it was-would disappear like it never happened.
But then-
“…You said,” he started, quieter than you’d ever heard him, “earlier…”
He trailed off, his jaw tightened slightly, like the words themselves were unfamiliar, his arms tightly bound to his sides.
“You offered…”
A pause and his gaze flickered-brief, conflicted.
“…that.” He didn’t say it, didn’t name it, as if even the word didn’t belong to him, and now you blinked, sleep slowly fading as you understood, you pushed yourself up slightly on your elbows, watching him carefully, and Nolan still looked composed, still controlled, but now that you were this close—
You could see it, the hesitation in his face, the smallest fracture in that perfect exterior, as if he was standing on the edge of something he didn’t understand, and before he could say anything further.
“…Yeah,” you said softly, and Nolan looked up at you slightly startled.
Silence stretched.
“…I want to try it.” his eyes darted to your lips, on how it moved, the way it pulled into a certain line when you say things, before immediately settling onto your face.
It was quiet, careful. His eyes looked up back to your orbits gazing at him, he expected failure, or rejection or something worse.
Your chest tightened-just slightly, not in pain but…something else that you quite still cannot name, and you didn’t question it, you didn’t tease it, and didn’t make it bigger than it already was.
You just shifted, lifting the blanket slightly and opening your arms, it was a simple gesture.
Gentle, an invitation.
“Okay,” you murmured. For a second, he didn’t move.
Then- he starting moving, slowly, deliberately, like every movement had to be chosen.
The bed dipped under his weight as he lay down beside you-stiff at first, like he didn’t know where to put himself, what to do with his limbs, how close was too close, You adjusted without thinking, and turning slightly, guiding him-careful, not forceful-until he fit.
Until the distance disappeared, and your arm slipped around him, you felt his body went rigid, as if not used to the sudden contact.
For a moment, you thought he might pull away, but he didn’t, if anything you felt it the tension, coiled tight beneath your touch and so you softened your hold, as if to say, you’re here, it wasn’t trapping or demanding.
Just… there, after a few seconds, he shifted, barely.
But enough, that the space between you closed completely.
Now he was close, his body warmed against yours, now both of you were entangled with one another, it was too close, by Viltrumite standards, you could see the outline of his plump lips, his deep azure colored eyes, the lines of his cheek, slightly bruises that were healing on his forehead, near his eyebrow.
You both were chest to chest, breath against breath, and now you could feel the steady rise and fall of him, controlled but not as steady as usual, your hand rested lightly against his back, warm, alive, steady and real
This wasn’t combat, you reminded yourself, and that it wasn’t training, and this wasn’t anything either of you were supposed to do or allowed. and yet here he was, with you.
You tilted your head slightly, just staring at him, like you couldn’t help but do so and can’t look away, you realize his face was close enough now that you could see everything the tension in his jaw, the slight furrow in his brows, the way his eyes didn’t quite know where to settle.
Unfamiliar territory, for both of you.
“…Is this okay?” you whispered softly, and for a moment, he didn’t answer.
Then his gaze dropped finally meeting yours, close and unavoidable.
“…I don’t know,” he admitted.
Honest, for once, there was no cold remark or disdain in his voice, or insults, just, him.
Your lips parted slightly, for some reason that answer didn’t scare you, it made something in your chest soften instead.
“That’s okay,” you murmured, you shifted just slightly closer, your hold still gentle, giving him space even as you stayed near.
“You don’t have to know.” he just watched you, really watched you, like he was trying to understand how you could say that so easily and how you could be like this, after everything, after Viltrum, and after what you were both made to be.
His hand hesitated at your side, then slowly it hovered, and slowly his broad palm rested there, not gripping, not claiming, just… there, and you felt his touch was testing.
Your breath caught for just a second, but you didn’t move away, and you didn’t make it into something it wasn’t, you just stayed, with him, in the quiet.
In the closeness and in something neither of you had ever been taught to understand, and for the first time since he’d walked into that room.
Nolan didn’t feel like he was holding something back.
He didn’t feel like he had to, because for some reason, with you-
There was nothing to prove, nothing to suppress, just warmth, just you and him breathing, just you both laying down in the same warm bed.
Just… this.
And as you looked up at him, soft and steady as if you were trying to hold him, to tell him something, and-
He didn’t pull away.
__
It didn’t announce itself, really, just whatever this was between you it didn’t arrive all at once, didn’t demand to be named or understood, it slipped in quietly, day after day, and night after night.
Until it was there, and it felt like everywhere.
It became routine in the way breathing did, unnoticed until it wasn’t there, and you’d return from duty, body sore, mind dulled, the weight of the day still clinging to you. The room would be dim, silent, and you would hear a soft thud, and slow footsteps, and the knob turning, then the door would open again, and close.
Him, it was always him.
Sometimes Nolan came before you, or sometimes after.
But it didn’t matter anyway, because it always ended the same way.
He glanced at you more often, his gaze lingering longer than necessary, and then movement, toward the bed and toward each other.
—
There was no asking anymore, there was no hesitation.
Not like the first night, because now it was instinct.
You would settle first sometimes, lying back against the thin mattress, staring at the ceiling and you’d feel it, the shift in the room when he approached.
The subtle dip of the bed, and the quiet exhale he never seemed to realize he made when he was close to you, something you always noticed.
Then his arm, always his arm, sliding around you, firm, certain, pulling you in without force but without question either, like he expected you there, like you belonged there, and you always went to his touch, every time without thinking, your head would rest against his broad chest, cheek pressed just over his heart. At first, it had been awkward finding the right place, not sure where to put your hands, how close was too close.
Now it's as if you fit, perfectly.
Like your body had memorized him and searched for him always, and now the steady rhythm beneath your ear wasn’t just something you noticed anymore, it anchored you, and calmed you, without fail you’d catch yourself listening to it, syncing your breathing without meaning to, and when it faltered even slightly, you’d notice that too.
Sometimes you notice other things, like when his hand had changed, and you realized it slowly.
At first, it had just rested there. Careful. Measured. Like he didn’t want to do it wrong, or crossed any further lines of whatever what already there, like he could pull back and it would erase whatever it was, as if it shouldn’t be there. But it moved, not much.
But enough and sometimes it would settle at your waist, fingers just barely pressing into the fabric of your uniform. Other times, higher resting between your shoulder blades, thumb brushing absentmindedly in slow, quiet patterns he probably didn’t even realize he was making.
Your hand had started to linger too, at first, it had just been there resting against his chest, a point of balance, and now your fingers would curl slightly into the fabric at his collar, desperate for more touch, a way to connect yourself to him.
Or trace, absent and slow, along the line of his shoulder, and sometimes you’d still, catching yourself, but not pulling away.
Never pulling away.
It was subtle and everything about this, lingering between you and him was subtle.
Because anything more would make it real, and neither of you were ready for that.
Nolan always noticed when you pressed closer without thinking, when your leg brushed over his, and when your face tucked just a little deeper into the space beneath his jaw, or your breath ghosted against his neck.
It felt warm and soft, too close.
When his hand would still for a second against your back-
Like he’d realized how close you were.
How easy it would be to close that distance.
Some nights, your body would shift around in your sleep, constantly looking for something, and you would feel his arms tighten around you, as he looked at your sleeping form, as if his body also wanted more of your touch, like a reflex as if losing that contact even for a second was something his body refused to allow, he shouldn’t have allowed it, to get this far.
The time when you’d tilt your head up slightly, just enough that your faces were closer than they should be.
Your eyes are catching his.
Not fully awake and not fully asleep, just… there, lingering,
The nights continued like this.
He would lie in your bed, close enough that the space between you barely existed, his eyes always on you steady, unwavering. The silence of the room stretched around you, filled only by the low hum of the ship, and your hair rested beneath his chin.
You shifted slightly, and he felt your nose brush faintly against his neck.
“I feel warm.” Your voice was soft, almost absent.
Nolan Grayson looked at you, his expression unreadable.
“I do too.” His hand remained spread across your back, heavy and grounding.
The room felt smaller like this. Narrowed down to just the two of you your breathing mixing with his, warmth against warmth, something quiet and consuming pressing in from all sides and you leaned over him slightly.
It was a small movement but enough, his gaze sharpened instantly, locking onto you as if the shift alone demanded his full attention. Not startled-no, but aware and focused, like you weren’t allowed to disappear from his reach, like he wouldn’t let you, and you hovered there, close.
Too close, your lips near his ear.
“You don’t say things like you used to,” you whispered. “Why is that?”
Your breath ghosted against his skin, and Nolan looked up at you.
“What do you mean?” he asked, his voice firm-too firm,
“You used to make remarks,” you murmured, studying him. “I don’t hear them anymore.” strands of your hair slipped forward, brushing against his shoulder, and for a moment, he didn’t move.
Then his hand lifted slowly, like he wasn’t fully aware of it.
His fingers found your hair, catching a strand, then another-tangling lightly, absentmindedly. Gentle in a way that didn’t belong to him, a quiet exhale left him.
“I say what I see,” he simply replied. “And right now… I don’t have much to say.”
His voice was calm, but his hand didn’t stop, and you leaned closer to him, and your expression softened without realizing it, his fingers slipped free from your hair, trailing down-over the back of your neck, then lower, along your spine.
The touch lingered, warm and heavy, every time he moved, it left something behind-something that made the absence sharper when it passed.
“Billions.” the word was quiet.
But it cut through everything, his hand shifted, pressing more firmly into your back now, kneading slowly-grounding himself, or you. You couldn’t tell.
“Billions of our kind,” he continued, voice low near your ear, “dead.” and your breath caught.
“I had to throw them into space.”
Your eyes widened, of course you had heard fragments. Rumors passed between others, you remembered, you would be on patrol and sometimes you would hear a few of your peers talk about the virus, how many had perished, but it didn't seem like they knew either, you didn’t expect it, the number, just not from him.
“Wow…” you breathed, the word barely holding the weight of what you felt, and Nolan was watching you, always watching you.
“And your father…” you continued softly, your voice faltering. “You had to-” you exhaled shakily, your breath brushing his cheek.
“I’m so sorry, Nolan.” You said it so gently and carefully, like it might break something, and Nolan didn’t respond, not right away.
Then suddenly-
He moved fast, you felt his arms wrap around your waist tightly, and you felt his strength, as he sat up, pulling you with him before you could react, the motion sharp enough to steal your breath. You ended up in his lap, his back pressed against the wall behind the bed.
His hands were on you holding you there, and you felt his piercing azure orbits locked onto yours.
“I should have cut this off a long time ago,” he said, your brows pulled together.
“But you didn’t.” your voice was quieter now, closer loser.
His gaze dropped-to your lips, lingering.
“I didn’t,” he repeated, and this time, it sounded different, less certain, as his eyes lifted again, meeting yours and for the first time, there was no distance in them, no coldness, and no indifference to you, it was like your presence grew stuck on him, like a weed, that refused to wither away, and he for some reason, couldn’t cut the source, it irked him more than he could even comprehend.
The silence that followed wasn’t empty, it pressed in, heavy between you.
Waiting for something, as if something inevitable had already begun-and neither of you were willing to name it, the air between you felt different now.
Charged.
Every breath sounded louder than it should have. Every small movement felt deliberate, amplified by the closeness neither of you had stepped away from, and… your hands were still against his chest, you hadn’t moved them.
Hadn’t realized how tightly your fingers had curled into the dark fabric of his suit until they tightened further, instinctively-like your body had decided before your mind that you needed something solid to anchor yourself to, the material beneath your palms was warm, you could feel the steady strength beneath it-the solid wall of muscle, the rise and fall of his breathing, controlled and measured in the way only a Viltrumite could manage.
But not perfectly measured anymore, and he noticed, of course he did, he always did.
His awareness of you had become something quiet and constant these past weeks. A shift in your stance, the way your voice changed, the slight tension in your shoulders-none of it escaped him.
So the tightening of your grip didn’t go unnoticed, his hands shifted at your waist, it felt subtle but firmer now.
The movement was slow, deliberate-like he was testing the boundary he had already crossed simply by touching you at all and his fingers curved slightly more around your sides.
Not enough to restrain you, never that, vltrumites did not cage their own, but his touch was enough to remind you.
you were still there, still within the space he had allowed himself to close, and with him.
“This isn’t…” he started, before the words caught somewhere behind his teeth, he stopped.
His jaw tightened slightly, the muscle there ticking once beneath your gaze before stilling again. His control reasserted itself almost immediately-but the hesitation had already happened, like the words themselves resisted being spoken, like giving them shape would make this real in a way neither of you could undo.
You tilted your head slightly, just enough, and the movement was small, almost casual-but the effect was anything but your face drifted closer to his.
Close enough that your breath brushed faintly against his lips when you exhaled, you were too close to him this time now, face to face.
You felt the change in him immediately, his body tensed-not rigid, but tightened in a way that told you he felt it too, felt you.
“Allowed?” you finished quietly, his gaze flickered, not away, never away.
Nolan Grayson rarely ever looked away from anything that challenged him, but something in his expression shifted-darkened, deepened, like he was looking at you and seeing more than he should, and more than he wanted to.
“It’s unnecessary,” he corrected, the word came out sharper than intended, it was controlled, deliberate, and a reminder of viltrumite hierarchy, as if he was reminding you.
A correction. A boundary. A reminder of order.
But it didn’t land.
Not like that, not when his hands were still on you, and when his thumbs had unconsciously pressed just slightly into your waist, holding you closer than mere conversation required, not when he still hadn’t let go, and why can’t he?
“Then let me go,” you muttered softly, and you didn’t move, and didn’t pull back and didn’t even try to loosen your grip on him, your fingers remained twisted in the fabric over his chest, your palm warm where it rested over him, you just gave him the choice.
And that was crueler than anything else, because now he had to decide, and now the control he prided himself on demanded action.
You felt his hands tightened, just a fraction, but enough, as the shift pulled you slightly closer, your bodies aligning more fully without either of you meaning to move that far.
“No.” The word slipped out before he could temper it.
You stilled and so did he, as if the realization seemed to land for both of you at the same time.
Something shifted in the space between you.
Something that hadn’t been there before.
Something that could not easily be taken back.
Neither of you spoke.
Your eyes dropped-just for a second.
To his mouth, the movement was small, instinctive, but it didn’t escape him. And you saw the way his breath changed, it wasn’t steady anymore, not perfectly measured and his lips parted slightly as he inhaled, the subtle break in composure so unlike the disciplined warrior you saw, in the combat room when he stared you down when you were bleeding on the ground, in the locker room, countless of interactions between you both.
Then you looked back up and you caught it, that fracture in his composure and that brief, dangerous slip.
“You feel it too,” you said, not a question, and not uncertain.
Nolan’s expression hardened instantly, a reflex, a shield sliding back into place, but it wasn’t denial.
“That doesn’t make it right.”
“No,” you agreed softly, your voice didn’t waver, you didn’t argue with him or the words he said nor challenge the logic behind the statement.
Your hand moved, slow, intentional, sliding higher along his chest until your fingertips brushed near his neck, the uniform shielding it’s skin from you, but he still felt your touch.
This time you didn’t pull away, and you lingered there, feeling the warmth beneath the fabric, the steady strength beneath your touch.
He inhaled sharply and you felt it under your palm, and the expansion of his chest pressed faintly against your hand.
“It doesn’t.” Nolan spoke again, his eyes closing slightly.
Your thumb shifted slightly, tracing just barely along the line of his collarbone through the fabric of his suit, and the movement was feather-light.
“Then why,” you whispered, leaning closer so close now your lips almost grazed his with every word. “haven’t you ended it?”
That did it.
His hand moved fast, sudden with precision, and one moment it was at your waist, then it was at your jaw, and now fingers curled there, firm and unyielding as they caught your chin.
Not rough but strong enough to stop you, to hold you exactly where you were, right at the edge, not pushing you away, just not letting you come any closer.
Your breath caught, as his thumb brushed against your cheek, his touch was slow, almost absentminded, unsteady in a way that didn’t belong to him, the contrast-his iron grip against the hesitant brush of his thumb-made something tight coil in your chest,
“Because,” he said, his voice was lower now, quieter, it felt intimate like a shared secret between the two of you, and so closer to something real than the controlled authority he usually carried.
“You don’t feel like the others.”
The words settled between you, heavy, dangerous and too honest.
Your breath hitched before you could stop it, you felt it deeply-the shift inside your chest, and the way something tightened, then pulled, his gaze searched yours, and this time it wasn’t analyzing, nor calculating, not the cold assessment of a Viltrumite warrior deciding worth, but
Trying, trying to understand why you affected him like this, why you didn’t fall into the same place in his mind as every other soldier, why when he looked at you, he felt something crawl within his chest, a tightness, and why his instincts-normally flawless kept betraying him around you.
“And that,” he added, softer now-almost to himself-
“is the problem.”
Your lips parted slightly, and you didn’t pull back, you didn’t even think to, instead your hand flattened fully against his chest, directly over his heart, you felt it, the beat beneath your palm, strong and powerful, but it was not as steady anymore.
“You say that like it’s a flaw,” you whispered, your forehead nearly brushed his now, close enough that the faint warmth of his skin reached you, close enough that if either of you moved, even a fraction-It would be over.
“But you didn’t let go,” you continued, softer, your voice dropped until it was barely sound at all, more breath than words and his grip on your jaw tightened slightly.
“Don’t,” he said, his voice strained.
Your eyes flicked to his mouth again, lingering longer this time, watching the tension there, the way his breath caught again when you didn’t move away.
“You could stop this,” you murmured, looking at him deeply, introspectively. “You still can.”
A pause.
“Why aren’t you?”
That question left him nowhere to retreat, nowhere to hide behind doctrine or discipline, hiis hand at your waist pulled you just slightly closer, barely, but enough that your body pressed more fully against his and the warmth of him was unmistakable now, solid, unyielding.
“You already know the answer,” he said, your pulse quickened, and you felt it in your throat, in your chest, that weird feeling again, that hot, burning sensation. And you still didn’t move away.
“Say it,” you whispered, another pause, longer, and tighter.
His eyes dropped to your lips, and they stayed there, long enough that the air between you felt impossibly thin, and when he spoke again-and his voice wasn’t controlled anymore, not fully.
“Because… I don’t want to.”
The words landed between you, final and irreversible.
And this time neither of you pretended not to understand what that meant.
For a moment, neither of you moved.
The confession still hung in the air between you, heavy and undeniable, his words echoed in your ears and your heart was still racing from the sound of it. From the honesty in it. From the way his voice had lost that careful, iron control, and your hand was still spread over his chest, feeling the uneven rhythm beneath your palm.
You didn’t give yourself time to think and if you did, you might have stopped.
Instead, you stupidly leaned forward, slowly at first, your eyes flicked to his lips again, watching them part slightly as you moved closer, watching the way his breath caught and for the first time since you had known him, Nolan didn’t move to stop you.
He didn’t step back, didn’t release you, and didn’t even speak.
His hand was still at your jaw, firm and warm against your skin, his thumb resting just beneath your cheekbone like he had forgotten to move it, and your lips brushed his.
The contact was light, barely there, and soft enough that for a split second it almost felt uncertain like both of you were testing whether this was real or just another line neither of you should cross, the world seemed to go very quiet.
Your senses narrowed to the warmth of his mouth against yours, the faint brush of his breath.
The heat radiating from his body beneath your hands and for a heartbeat, the kiss stayed still, new, careful and like neither of you fully understood what you were doing, as if you were both learning the shape of something neither of you had ever allowed yourselves before.
You felt him inhale slowly through his nose, the subtle tension in his shoulders tightening beneath your touch and then something shifted.
His hand at your jaw tightened just slightly, not enough to pull you away, just enough to hold you there and his lips pressed back against yours, firmer this time and the hesitation faded quickly replaced by something deeper, something that had clearly been held back far longer than either of you realized.
His mouth moved against yours with growing certainty, his tongue slid in your mouth, exploring. the careful restraint that usually defined him began to unravel in small, dangerous ways, and your fingers tightened in the front of his suit again as you leaned further into him.
Your weight shifted naturally, instinctively, you found yourself settling more fully against him, you grinded in his lap causing him to groan in your mouth, he pulled you tightly closer to him, the movement seemed to break something in him.
His other hand slid from your waist to your back, spreading wide against it as he pulled you closer, his grip strong and sure as he anchored you against him, your chest pressed against his and the warmth between your bodies intensified, his hand at your jaw tilted your face slightly, guiding you as the kiss deepened further.
This time there was no uncertainty, his lips moved against yours with a hunger that surprised both of you, for someone who carried himself with such relentless discipline, the shift was startling, there was a quiet desperation in the way he kissed you now like he had spent too long denying himself even the thought of this, of what it could be?
His mouth parted slightly against yours, and your breath caught softly against his lips as your hand slid higher along his chest, fingers curling lightly at the edge of his collar as you held onto him, you could feel the strength in his body even in something as simple as this-the way his arms wrapped around you with effortless power, the way he held you securely against him like he had no intention of letting you drift even an inch away.
The world outside of the two of you faded into something distant and irrelevant and all that remained was the slow rhythm of shared breath, the warmth of his mouth, the solid strength of his arms around you, his thumb brushed your cheek again, slower now, almost unconsciously as he kept you close as the tension between you weeks, months of restrained glances and careful distance, unraveled all at once in the quiet intensity of the moment.
When the kiss finally broke, it wasn’t sudden, it was slow, reluctant and your lips parted gradually, breath uneven as you pulled back just enough to look at him.
For a second, neither of you said anything, just that your foreheads nearly touched, and your breaths mingled in the small space between you, a faint string of saliva still connected your lips before it finally broke when you pulled back just slightly more.
Nolan’s hand was still cupping your jaw, as his other arm remained firmly around your back, holding you against him as if he hadn’t quite remembered how to let go yet.
His gaze lingered on your mouth for a moment longer before finally lifting to meet your eyes, the composure he usually carried so effortlessly was gone, not completely but cracked.
His breathing wasn’t perfectly steady anymore and his grip on you hadn’t loosened and for the first time since the moment began-he looked just as affected as you felt.
You were still in his lap, and you hadn’t moved, your knees remained slotted against his hips, your body pressed close enough that you could feel the slow rise and fall of his chest with every breath, both of yours were still uneven, heavy and the kiss lingered between you like something physical, warm, new.
A faint trace of his saliva still clung to the corner of your lower lip, catching the dim light for a second before you absentmindedly brushed it away with the back of your thumb, and nolan watched the small movement.
His gaze hadn’t left your face since you pulled apart, not even for a moment.
His hand was still at your jaw, thumb resting against the curve of your cheek like it had forgotten how to let go. His other arm remained around your back, wide and steady, holding you firmly against him, your foreheads were close, not touching yet.
But close enough that the warmth of him reached you, and for a moment, neither of you spoke.
You just looked at each other, your eyes softened slightly as your breathing began to slow, though the feeling in your chest hadn’t settled, not even close.
“You know…” you murmured quietly. your voice was softer now, calmer after the rush of the moment, as his eyes flicked briefly to your mouth again before returning to your gaze, you saw the way his throat moved as he swallowed.
“If any of this bothers you,” you continued gently, “the way I make you feel.” You paused, as your fingers drifted slowly across his chest again, tracing absent shapes against the fabric as you spoke.
“You wouldn’t have to worry.” Nolan’s brow furrowed slightly.
A small, barely-there shift in his expression.
“What do you mean?” he asked quietly, as your gaze held his, steady, and there was no fear in it, only a quiet sort of acceptance.
“For whatever chance this virus is,” you said softly, “whatever it’s doing to the Viltrumites…” your voice grew a little quieter.
“It could get to me too…” You shrugged faintly, the movement was small against him.
“Then you won’t have to think about it really.” your eyes flicked briefly to his lips before returning to his gaze.
“I’d fade,” you added, your voice was almost a whisper now.
“Just like that.” the words settled into the space between you.
And for the first time since the moment had begun, Nolan reacted.
Not loudly or dramatically but you saw it.
A flicker, something sharp and immediate flashing through his expression before he could hide it as your words had reached somewhere deeper than he expected.
The realization seemed to irritate him or unsettle him.
Maybe both.
His jaw tightened slightly and then, without saying anything-
His arm around your back pulled you closer, firm and sudden enough to make you inhale softly as your body pressed more fully against his, making your foreheads touched now.
The contact was warm, solid, his hand was still cupping your jaw, tilting your face slightly upward so you couldn’t look away from him.
His lips were close to yours again, close enough that every breath you took brushed against them.
“You talk about fading,” he murmured, his voice was low, quieter than you had ever heard it before, like the words were meant only for you, as his thumb moved slowly along your cheek as he studied your face.
“I should want that.” The words came out slower this time, measured and honest in a way that almost sounded reluctant.
“You being gone should make things simpler.” His gaze inspected your face, every detail of it, the softness of your skin, how your eyes look at him, your lips, your scars, everything.
“It should make me lighter,” he continued quietly.
“Unbothered.” The faintest crease formed between his brows.
“Restore things the way they’re supposed to be.” His grip on your jaw tightened just slightly, like he was holding onto something he didn’t fully understand.
“But you-” He stopped, his breath brushed softly against your lips again as Nolan searched your face like he was trying to find something there, some explanation, some answer to whatever this was inside him.
“You stir something in me,” he said finally, the words came out rougher than the others, more reluctant.
“And I hate it.” There was no venom in the statement, only frustration and confusion.
His thumb slowed against your cheek.
“But…” The word lingered, His gaze drifted down again, to your mouth, and you felt the faintest shift in the way his hand at your back held you, just never pushing you away, not loosening, just holding you there.
Close, too close.
His voice faded slightly, as if he didn’t quite know how to finish the thought.
He didn’t get to finish.
Your hips shifted first, slow, almost absent-minded at first, like your body moved before your thoughts could catch up, and the movement pressed you more firmly into his lap.
You felt the way his breath caught immediately, the way his chest tightened beneath your hands.
Your gaze stayed on him-watching the flicker of surprise cross his face, watching the way his composure strained again, and then you moved again.
This time deliberately, your hips rolled faintly against him, you didn’t mean to, just that his touch, you needed more and more of it, even if it’s something you shouldn’t need, something he shouldn’t be allowed.
A slow grind of pressure that made the muscles in his arms tense instantly around you.
“Nolan-” his name left your lips breathlessly.
His voice came out rough, quieter than before, a warning or maybe just your name.
You didn’t let him finish, and your hand slid upward into his hair, and was softer than you expected beneath your fingers. Dark strands slipped between them as you curled your hand gently at the back of his head, and then you kissed him again.
There was no hesitation this time, your lips met his with far less caution than before, the careful uncertainty from that first kiss gone completely, the moment your mouth touched his, the restraint he had been clinging to finally snapped.
His hand at your jaw tightened again anchoring you there as he kissed you back with a sudden intensity that stole the breath from your lungs, your moaned softly as his mouth moved against yours with a hunger that had clearly been building long before either of you admitted it.
Your grip in his hair tightened slightly as you leaned further into him, your body pressing against his as your hips moved again without thinking, the friction pulled a low breath from him.
His arm around your back tightened, pulling you flush against him, his hand spreading wide across your spine like he intended to keep you exactly where you were, as his mouth opened against yours,
When his tongue pushed into your mouth, it wasn’t hesitant, it moved with a confidence that felt almost possessive-like he had already decided that whatever this was between you, he wasn’t stepping away from it now.
You inhaled sharply against him as the kiss changed again, slowly and deeper, you were getting lost in him.
Your fingers tangled further in his hair as you held onto him, your other hand gripping the front of his suit as if you needed something solid to steady yourself, as he took from the kiss the same way he approached everything else in his life, with focus.
Intensity and control that was beginning to blur into something more primal, every time you pulled a breath he followed you back in, his mouth finding yours again almost immediately, like the brief distance was something he already disliked, your hips shifted again without thinking, just desperate for his touch, for anything, any piece.
The subtle grind drew another rough exhale from him, and this time his hand moved from your back trailing lower, to your hip, gripping there firmly as if to steady both of you.
The room around you had gone completely silent, as the rest of the world felt distant and irrelevant compared to the quiet storm building between the two of you.
The slow movement of lips and tongues, and the faint sound of fabric shifting as your bodies pressed closer together, and his groan vibrated through your mouth.
Your forehead brushed his for a moment when you both pulled a breath, and it didn’t last for a long.
Then the distance vanished again, another kiss, and another, each one lingering longer and hot than the last.
Your fingers brushed through his hair again, nails lightly grazing his scalp in a way that made his breath hitch before he buried it against your mouth, he kissed you like he had been starving for the contact without knowing it, every time you leaned further into him, every time your body pressed closer or your fingers tightened in his hair, that quiet desperation only deepened.
Hours seemed to slip past unnoticed, maybe it was only minutes, neither of you were keeping track.
His lips brushed along the curve of your neck, sucking gently at your skin until a soft whimper escaped your throat. His fingers wove into your hair, gripping just tight enough to tug your head forward, exposing more of your throat to his mouth.
"mmnh-" you let out.
He peppered hot kisses across the column of your skin, then nipped lightly with his teeth, sending shivers racing down your spine. With a firm pull, he drew you both deeper onto the bed, his body sinking into the mattress far from the headboard, your weight settling atop him, straddling his hips, as you leaned forward for more and more.
Your mouths crashed together again and again, slow, deliberate presses that deepened into devouring kisses, fueled by a raw hunger neither of you could name.
In the hush of the night, that shared urgency pulsed between you, quiet and insistent, pulling you closer with every breath.
Desperation for connection.
All you wanted was him at this moment even if it shouldn't be him, even if you weren’t allowed it, you didn’t care. Neither of it could matter to you, and if it slightly mattered to him?
It didn’t any longer.
For all he needed at this moment was you.
And he couldn’t let this go.
lowkey listened to this song and thought of a whole scenario
Okay so, the trailer for Invincible season 4 has been out for a while, right? And in one of the clips, specifically where Mark was having a nightmare where he was punching someone I noticed something about it—
I CANT be the only one who instantly thought of that white and gold or blue and black dress drama😭😭
I feel like i CAN NOT find ANYY new fics of him lately and it feels like being stabbed in the ssa because what happend to the hundreds of fics that used to be posted daily of him?
Literally need it so bad bruh. If its him being, well— Sinister, or him being cocky, or an asshole or all of the above WHATEVER YOU DO WITH HIM!!
JUST PLEASE ALSO MAKE READER BAD, SO SHES NOT JUST LIKE «omg mark pls no hurte me pls🥺» LIKE SURE, HE CAN KILL HER, BUT SHE DOSENT CARE, BECAUSE SHE KNOWS HE WONT OR SOMETHING😭
(or maybe SHE is strong/powerful too, so she can lowkey be able to kill him/hurt him too. So his ego highkey is hit and they highkey be hurting eachother just for the love of the game?)
yes.
ilysm ilysm ilysm
YES I WILL WRITE IT ASAP.
I will make the reader wicked and such a deviant you have no idea
RULES: make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous, and tag as many people as you have WIPs. People send an ask with the title that most intrigues them, then you post a snippet or tell them something about it!
Well well well … thanks for the tag @sassandscribbles 💚
Don’t Wait For the Sky to Clear - my Dear Darling Reader Exchange fic (ssshhhhhh)
Are you ready for it..? Parts 3 / 4 / 5 - footballer!Bucky Barnes x popstar!reader
Call You Mine parts 2 / 3 - TFATWS!Bucky Barnes x mutant!reader
Put It Into Words - Bucky Barnes x reader
Sonar (working title) - Bucky Barnes x mutant!reader
Ruff Love: Howling Commandos Dog Shelter - Bucky Barnes x reader
Gonna go ahead and tag @schwazombie @salty-tang @buckysdecaflove @unificsation @sunday-bug @kileyking
AHAHAHHAH THAT PICTURE IS TAKING ME OUTTTT AAHAHAHAHAH but also i totally get not knowing tumblr i lowkey still don't know what i'm doing lololol
okay okay okay i'll go fast and so micro snippets of each!!!
Clark Kent x Reader (Title TBD, CW: occasional swearing, maybe light smut, fluff)
You kept finding reasons to be in the same room as him. Folding laundry that didn’t need folding. Lingering over dinner when the plates were already clean. Sitting close enough that your knees touched, pretending not to notice.
Nothing had happened—yet—but everything felt charged, like the quiet before a confession.
It was just another day for you and Clark as roommates… And yet, this one. This one, felt different.
Bound (Sauron-ROP ERA- X Original Female Maiar Character, CW: Dark, manipulation, k!dnapping, torture, NON-CON, dub-con, smut will be more implied--but don't fret, it will be there--, Elrond will be love interest as well, memory loss, swearing, angst, toxictoxictoxic, dead dove)
“Ki Vir (my star), this is the price of perfection. There is beauty in the pain and suffering. You've only witnessed it from afar. But rejoice, you'll unlock the knowledge that I learned after withstanding the kiss of Morgoth’s blade. You mustn't only touch the darkness, but become one with it.”
Stockholm Soldiers (Dark!Chris Evans x Original Female Character x Dark!Sebastian Stan, CW: very dark, manipulation, NON CON, Dub con, k!dnapping, stockholm syndrome obvi, forced housewife scenario, heavy smut, heavy swearing, more tw later)
Ice filled her veins, her heart skipping as her eyes found them. And even though they were thousands of miles away, panic still gripped her by the throat as if they were here, breathing down her neck. She’d seen them many times through the media, as they were promoting their latest Marvel movie. And just like all the times before, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t tear her eyes away.
They were breathtaking, as usual. Manicured to a tee, buffed and unblemished. They both wore their camera smiles, even if it didn’t quite reach their eyes. Millie swallowed roughly as Chris released a boisterous laugh. The sound washed over her like lava, settling in her stomach. Seb also laughed, but it was half-hearted and airy. Millie could see the tick in his jaw, the way his shoulders were set. They were still angry--furious, even. Millie knew she'd have to keep running. Otherwise, they'd find her. And she'd be as good as dead.
PolyBatBoys x Reader (Title TBD, One-shot, CW: omg so many... heavy smut, k!dnapping, polyamory, predator/prey, swearing, implied non con, dub con, dirty filthy nasty stuff lol)
“It was a mistake,” you whispered, gooseflesh rippling down your arms as his siphons responded to your voice. The General sent his penetrating gaze crawling down your body, soaking in your appearance. You grimaced as you remembered what you were wearing. Cass said nothing, though, turning his attention to the forgotten bottle of liquor on the bar. Taking slow, lazy strides, he settled onto the stool and poured himself a healthy glass. You watched him, nearly as terrified as you were aroused.
“Az found you first,” He began, voice rough. His gaze had turned to his glass, rolling the amber liquid around in the tumbler before raising it to his plump lips. “With his shadows, you know how they adore you.”
Your stomach dropped as Cassian poured a second glass, throwing it back just as slowly as the first. Your heartbeat pounded in your ears. You hadn't even thought of Azriel’s shadows.
“My brothers sent me because they weren’t certain they could control themselves..." His gaze hardened. "Do you know how badly I wanted to kill every male in here just for them being close to you?”
You were trembling against the edge of the bar, craning your neck to meet his fiery gaze as he approached you.
“You know little one if you were planning on running away, you shouldn't have stopped.”
“It was a mistake.”
He grinned wickedly, eyes darkening.
“You said that already.”
Caught in the Middle (Kylo Ren x Original Female Character & Hux x OFG, CW: k!dnapping, smut, major angst, inappropriate use of the force--LIKE RLLY NASTY AHAHHA--, swearing, violence, torture, stockholm syndrome, manipulation, possessive and jealous men, etc.)
“What do you think, Ren?”
“Breathtaking.”
“Exquisite,” Hux agreed, voice gravelly. “And all ours,” He growled, settling a hand around the back of her throat. The gesture was not intended to restrain her but more to convey his meaning. She belonged to them.
“You are not to make a sound, little one, understand? This is a punishment, after all.”
lord have mercy im bout tuh bust--
Spencer Reid x Original Female Character (Title TBD, CW: Smut-lighter level, swearing, violence, k!dnapping, main character is a profiler with a crazy backstory)
“Gideon, I think I’ve found someone who’s been stalking me-- and he’s still here! I-I can find him!” I countered, nearing the back of my house. Gideon spluttered over the phone, and I froze.
“That’s what he wants, Thatch! He’s the unsub from the case--” Multiple voices crowded the line, accompanied by the sound of a jet revving. I could hear Hotch nearly shouting at someone, while Morgan shouted for Emily to throw her suitcase to him, and Spencer…
“Get her out!! Get her out, now!” He screamed, maybe to Gideon. I wasn’t sure. All of this jumbled together in my mind, all of it turning to mush as the officers turned their flashlights onto the back wall of my house. Terror gripped my heart, causing the phone to fall from my hand. There, plastered up on the wall, were news articles. All of them were headlines about me, surrounding a word written in bold, red letters:
MINE.
You know.... I think i have a thing for k!dnapping, dark!characters, and threesomes--BAAHAHAHAHAH. but i promise i can write soft stuff too!!! i pinky promise <3333 ok lovies, see u later!!!
RULES: make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous, and tag as many people as you have WIPs. People send an ask with the title that most intrigues them, then you post a snippet or tell them something about it!
Well well well … thanks for the tag @sassandscribbles 💚
Don’t Wait For the Sky to Clear - my Dear Darling Reader Exchange fic (ssshhhhhh)
Are you ready for it..? Parts 3 / 4 / 5 - footballer!Bucky Barnes x popstar!reader
Call You Mine parts 2 / 3 - TFATWS!Bucky Barnes x mutant!reader
Put It Into Words - Bucky Barnes x reader
Sonar (working title) - Bucky Barnes x mutant!reader
Ruff Love: Howling Commandos Dog Shelter - Bucky Barnes x reader
Gonna go ahead and tag @schwazombie @salty-tang @buckysdecaflove @unificsation @sunday-bug @kileyking
