ReiVelmin_

Zuko sucks at flirting and specifically being brazen.

He’s been on approximately 45 dates in the past year… and not one lady has been interested. Or rather they have been, until he opens his mouth.

But not even that; if there was one thing Zuko was absolutely embarrassed about, it was his lack of experience when it comes to sex. He was a virgin, a prude, and shuddered at the thought of having to have his first with some random woman he never met.

There was even one time the council suggested concubines due to his lack of courting success… but there was no way in hell he’d do that (since… as disgustingly sweet as it is… he wanted to be an intimate relationship with someone he considered close).

Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that he’s put off so many of those candidates, but a small part of him sulked at the fact that he’s going to have to have a wife sooner or later, and then have an heir. He sulked at the idea that it would be rushed and he wouldn't even love this person he was to marry.

“I can help you.”

Zuko’s lips pressed to a fine line, looking at your direction to see any reaction. Your face was completely neutral. There you were, sipping your tea while looking down, all with the most neutral expression in the world as if Zuko, the Fire Lord, didn't just tell you about his embarrassing celibacy.

He’s always told you his dilemmas, and this was no different. You’d always come up with a solution or compromise, but for some reason, he felt especially… on edge.

You’ve known Zuko since you two were children, as he attended the same school as you did for a few years before you and your father were officially promoted to head staff, and you, Zuko’s handmaiden.

Zuko remembers how you always followed him back in his childhood—answering to every beck and call; he remembers how sweet you were, how compassionate too, and how you’d encourage him when it came to Fire Bending.

You never showed a sign of protest when it came to anything, always a neutral look on your face.

And he couldn’t lie, you were absolutely stunning (despite said neutral look), but he couldn’t help but be put off even more. To be honest, you were more attractive than any of the candidates he's encountered (but who is he to say anything...).

“R-Really?” His skin turned flushed.

“Mhm,” you hummed, sipping your tea calmly like you didn’t almost cause for Zuko mentally break. You were currently sitting across from him, drinking tea with just him in the room while you listened to his problems like always. “I’m not some random woman, aren’t I? I can teach you.”

You were too damn casual.

He nodded hesitantly. “No, you’re not.”

He’ll admit, he has to get with the times. Not many people are saving their chastity and he has to stop being scared. Especially when it comes to wanting to romance others.

“And how so? How would you teach me?”

You shot him a smile. “Trust in me, my Lord. Everything shall be situated.

Zuko cleared his throat, glancing once more at your neutral face and nodded gently. “When do you suggest we start?”

You looked up and smiled. “Whenever you’d like, my Lord.”

lesson one: foreplay

Zuko thought it over, coming to a conclusion two days later and then asking you to come to his chambers later at night where the rest of the staff wouldn’t see you.

He sat there, robe hastily put on and sat there awkwardly at the corner of his bed, waiting. And then he began thinking.

Zuko’s known you for a while—you’ve been at his service for a long time. Hell, there was even a moment in time where he had a crush on you.

It was back when he would stride alongside his mother around the palace, constantly meeting your eyes every time he glanced over where your father would be working. Then you’d smile at him and his heart would be pounding; his mother knew, maybe even Azula knew—she’d certainly mess with you sometimes, but overall respected you (more than him at least).

Sure, you were a “servant”, but it’s obvious that you were a great Firebender. He remembers how he’d have trouble sleeping as a kid and walk off to the courtyard where you’d be there in a small corner, practicing Fire Bending and moving so graceful, it appeared almost like you were dancing.

Even when he got banished, he’d think of you. When he’d look at the stars, he’d think of how your eyes would shine every time you made eye contact.

And now you’re in this situation? He feels sheepish for almost exposing this vulnerability to you…

Zuko jumped at the sound of a knock at his door being knocked, walking fast towards it and swinging it open rather quickly.

“Get in, get in.” He turned around all too fast, his back facing you in sheer embarrassment that he’d even have to ask this of you.

And of course you could tell; you always could. “My Lord, please don’t be embarrassed about this. It is simply educating you on your sexuality; nothing wrong with that.”

“Right…” He walked to the bed slowly and sat down, his eyes following your figure slowly approaching him.

He can’t deny it; you looked beautiful. Your nightly robes were a pretty white, its sheer fabric covering your body nicely and your nipples poking out in the fabric.

But as much as Zuko’s eyes were on your breasts, he quickly averted his eyes to you the moment you cleared your throat. You were holding a book…

“And that?” You smiled at his question.

“This is erotic literature. Clear source material in order to work as an example on what to do.”

He blinked awkwardly, whereas your smile was still glued onto your face. You opened the book to a specific page, being bookmarked by a folded piece of parchment.

Perhaps Zuko was out of his mind—or maybe he already was (because why the hell else would he even be in this situation in the first place?), but he couldn’t stop staring at you reading. God, he knew he was a prude but to get aroused by watching you lick your index finger every time you flipped a page? He felt his pants get tight and his mouth dry.

“Do I have permission to proceed?” He looked away, his face burning with embarrassment. “I guess.”

“So… first, you hold their face and look into their eyes.”

Before he knew it, you leaned closer, holding his face and  looking deep into his eyes. Your eyes softened and the moonlight peeking through the curtains hit your irises—the color almost instantly becoming more vibrant.

“After that, lean closer…”

Then you just began kissing him. Zuko’s eyes felt like they were going to pop out; your lips were warm, plush and soft. You tasted sweet, like the pastries you’d make him on occasion.

Then your tongue slowly went in his mouth the sloppier the kiss went. Your hands cupping his face pulled him closer to you the more you kissed him.

But as Zuko was starting to get used to the pace of your lips, you stopped, pulling back.

He felt his heart race, blinking profusely like he was embarrassed.

The Fire Lord? Getting like this over a measly kiss? He can already imagine Aang and Sokka making fun of him should he ever accidentally tell this about this encounter.

“That was good, my Lord,” you smiled. “Maybe you don’t even need my teachings.”

“O-Oh…” He panicked, mouth going dry. “Um… I believe I still do…”

And damn, you smiled so kindly. “Okay then please position yourself and sit against the headboard, my Lo—“

“Zuko.”

He winced—God, did he really just say that? Your eyes widened a fragment and you blinked. “Sir, are you sure I can refer to you by your name?”

“We are practicing intimacy,” he looked away while saying this and was glad the moonlight wasn’t hitting him or else you’d see how absolutely flustered he was.

“Referring to each other by our given names is one of the most intimate things. I’d like to try it with you too.”

Only then he looked at you when he heard a light laugh slipping from you. “Okay, Zuko.”

Fuck, you said his name so pretty too… You said it like it was something precious; softly enunciating the consonants and not spewing it harshly like how he’s known for almost all his life.

He felt his heart race faster, observing how you slowly got on the bed and planted your knees on the sides of his thighs, straddling him. You then sat on his lap, your crotch against his, and from your small smile forming on your face, he can tell you’ve taken note of his evident hard-on.

“Now let’s try what we did again, but in this position!”

You sounded far too enthusiastic about this…

He blinked, awkwardly. He didn't know what to do. Hell, if he were to compare being in a room full of generals and his finest soldiers, he would consider that much easier than being stuck between your body and the wall.

Your eyes followed his hands, which were placed beside your thighs and you could sense how shaky they were. He let out a small gasp the moment you grabbed his forearms and led them to wrap around your waist.

“You can touch me, sir.” He nodded slowly and grabbed at your waist hesitantly.

Your lips met his again, except with more fervor. Like you were trying to get a taste of a candy you haven't tasted in years, with your head slightly rotated. Your hands roamed around his upper torso, with your slim fingers caressing on the scar on his chest; it was as light as a feather on his skin.

Zuko could feel his heart beat so. Damn. Fast. So much so that he felt overwhelmed and light-headed and aroused, but also nervous if he was doing this right.

Your hips began grinding against his, hands tangled in his hair while you let his hands travel across your skin. His callous fingertips lightly brushed on your warm skin under your shirt, on your hips.

But when he was kissing you, he couldn’t help but still feel so nervous—to be at such proximity to you and to be able totally touch you like this.

Then you pulled back and got off of him. As soon as he was in bliss, you quickly ended it. He couldn’t atop the quite upset expression he had on his face, noted by you.

“Don’t worry, sir. I must stop now since we are only at the beginning. According to this book, kissing intensely while grinding against one’s gene—“

“Okay… I get it. You’re dismissed.”

He laid on his bed, attempting to catch his breath before you spoke again. This time, without a blank look on your face and tone. You smiled so sweetly…

“It’s cute, but we have to work on your hesitation, sir. Please keep that in mind for our next lesson.”

He nodded, finally relaxing his body the minute you shut the door. You stole his first “make-out”. Sure, he’s kissed girls (and by girls, he means just Mai), but not like this.

Not like you wanted to practically taste them while caressing their face and pulling hair.

“Fuck…” he groaned. “What am I going to do with you..?”

And… he grimaced. He was still hard.

lesson two: fellatio + cunnilingus

For the next lesson, you had him sprawled out on the canopy bed of his chamber. Zuko swore he could fucking hear his heartbeat…

He glanced over at you, once again reading your "source material" pornographic novel, and felt his heart beat into his chest. Your previous lesson didn't inherently lead to any sex, rather it was foreplay that left him all hot and bothered the moment you left. 

All you did was grind against him and kiss, and you had him practically burning for more. And now, here he was, at your mercy. You were kneeled on the bed beside him while you really examined what to do. He could tell how your expression shifted from one of amusement to one of slightly shock, and then you closed the book.

“Now we are trying oral sex!” Once again, he couldn’t help but be nervous at your demeanor.

“Okay…”

“Actually, oral sex is also considered foreplay for some before penetrative sex! But, I didn’t want to rush you and also considered how flustered you got after last session, I decided it was enough!”

Zuko stared at you blankly. “Right…”

You spoke so academically? Blankly? You’re kind and listen to his dilemmas, but he feels unsure. When the both of you were making out, he was the one that was all hot and bothered while you simply left. Was he that terrible at this? Granted, it was his first time making out with someone while touching their body like that, but really?

He wonders how you get during sex… if you’re just as blank or if you—

“Okay! I will strip myself, then you now.”

You then began to peel off your upper half, where Zuko made eye contact with your pretty breasts. He’s never seen a woman’s breasts before like this, but yours looked beautiful. Really beautiful. Like a nice dumpling... Is that even a good comparison? What the hell is he thinking?

His eyes widened at how quick you leaned over, sliding his pants fast and exposing his dick, all hard and resting on his abdomen.

“Now please let me show you how to indulge in fellatio.”

You took his tip in your mouth, tongue swirling on his leaking tip and pressing on his shaft. It was too quick.

“Hahh—fuck…” Zuko closed his eyes, almost in disbelief that you were actually doing this.

You then took him whole in your mouth while stroking him at the base of his cock. You looked so cute, just cheeked hollowed out while you sucked him off.

You stopped for a moment, still stroking his cock while looking up at him with those damn pretty eyes of yours. “Now, if you want, you can also push my head a bit in case you would like a more pleasurable experience according to the book!”

And just like that, you latched your lips on his length, bopping your head up and down while your tongue dragged on his sensitive veins. He was itching for a release, and clearly you could tell too.

“You can also ejaculate in my mouth if you so choose!”

And just at that moment, he did, with spurts of cum unloading in your mouth. Then you swallowed… Shit…

Zuko took a moment to catch his breath, panting a bit before speaking again.

“Now let me do it to you.”

And for the first time, you looked hesitant. “Ca-Can you repeat your question again—?”

“Can’t I indulge in oral sex with you?”

Your eyes widened like they were going to pop out of your skull. “I-I mean yes…but it isn’t necessarily proper.”

Zuko pushed you on the bed by your shoulders, making you lie down, where he got off the bed and stood over you.

“If you are to educate me on my sexuality, not only would I like to learn how to receive but to give.”

He leaned towards you and grabbed the book beside you, flipping to the page you bookmarked talking about cunnilingus.

“Here we go…” He couldn’t lie that he felt nervous, but for some reason, just being in such an intimate situation where you were nervous as well, made him want to act more brazen. To take some type of authority.

“Do I have your permission to proceed?”

You blinked, your face feeling like it’s on fire, and nodded. “Only if you want, my Lo—Zuko.”

He kneeled on the floor, taking off your pants and underwear down and being face to face with your cunt.

Of course, Zuko’s taken anatomy during school and has gotten a diagram on how female and male anatomy look like: all technical.

But as he’s kneeled down, he can’t help but marvel at how pretty you look. Your sex was dripping with your arousal and as soon as you took note on how he was staring, you instinctively attempted to shut your thighs. Like a flower, almost. His eyes traced your body, all stiff and hesitant like you were anxious.

“Please don’t do that; let me make you feel good…”

Zuko grabbed your thighs, dragging you closer to him, and slowly kissed at your inner thighs, leading to your cunt.

Your breathing was shallow, shaky—and you were so evidently shy.

He lapped at your cunt, tasting your essence and going insane off it. He took one hand and placed it above your abdomen, two fingers spreading your labia apart and went at it.

Zuko was almost technical with his movements, kneading your plush thighs like bread dough and cupping his mouth around the top of your slit. His tongue began to piston inside you, going side to side and in figure-8 motions. He attempted to heat up his tongue even, to make the experience maybe a bit more pleasurable, all the while your thighs were crushing his head and you were…crying?

“O-Ohh my God…! Zuko—!” You were whining, your voice so high pitched that he had to do a double take. Your voice usually was derived of emotion, but you were in absolutely bliss. “Hahhh… that’s so so good—!”

He began rubbing your clit with the bridge of his nose, feeling how you twitched every time he was grinding his nose against it.

And then you pulled on his hair, shoving his face in your cunt further. Your back arched from the bed, rotating your hips against his face and tangling your fingers within his hair further.

It was too much; you were practically crying out, tears streaming down your face while Zuko ate you out in such a sloppy manner, eliciting the most lascivious sounds to anyone who may walk in. He was practically making out with your pussy, savoring your taste. You were in a trance, practically almost reaching your climax.

Which is why, when the two of you were under your own euphoric state together, did you barely notice a councilman and his entourage barge in his chambers. 

“My Lor—Oh my goodness!”

“Fuck!”

Zuko looked up, already seeing you covering your face with the covers while the councilmen were looking anywhere but the direction of you two.

“W-We shall leave you be…” one spoke, turning abruptly. 

“Wait!”

Zuko abruptly put on his robe, following the councilman and his entourage.

“What is the meaning of this?! You dare infringe on my privacy?”

The councilman turned around, his expression going from embarrassed to slightly relieved.

The great Fire Lord was on his knees eating a woman out scandalously while he was supposed to be on the look-out for a wife.

The Fire Nation needs an heir now, and Zuko has a lover!

And the thing was, you were from a fine family. Your grandfather was an esteemed military officer to his grandfather and father; your mother taught at the military academy, your brother was a current general in the army.

This was perfect… An absolutely perfect candidate for a wife.

“That woman… That woman is to be your betrothed.”

final exam: the night of his wedding

Zuko sat beside you on his bed, looking away. He bit his lip all anxious and afraid to meet your gaze.

It happened too quick. It was uncharacteristic of the council, however apparently someone snitched and you soon became his betrothed, and were to get married in two weeks after he was caught indulging in oral sex with you.

And now, you officially have gotten married, with you being the Fire Lady.

Yeah... You're now the Fire Lady.

He could seriously scream (in rage because he couldn’t court you? In happiness because he actually likes you? In pure disbelief?).

His head turned to your direction, where you were blankly staring at the window. The moon was out and it was shining directly at your face, sporting a rather melancholic expression.

“I-Is everything alright?”

You were biting your lower lip and your eyes looked glossy, almost like you were stopping yourself from crying.

“Y-Ye—“ “Be honest with me.”

Your eyes met his and then, did the tears slip down your face and your lip quivering.

“I’m so—hic—so sorry… I can’t begin to express how sorry I am to you, Zuko.”

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, a pit settling in his stomach at the thought of being the reason for your tears. “What do you mean? Why are you apologizing?”

“I-I—Your wife! I s-stopped you from marrying your true love! A-And I’m so so sorry!” You were bawling at this point, lightly clutching Zuko’s robes and head crouched down in shame.

“Wait what?” He lifted your head up by your chin and saw how you were looking up at him with apologetic eyes.

Your breathing was shaky and you couldn’t look him in the eyes, making Zuko’s heart hurt. 

He hesitated. He didn’t know how to make someone feel better if they were sad—let alone a woman and someone he feels strongly about. His everything hurts looking at you cry. 

So he tried something he’s never done, but reminded him of his mother.

“Here,” he whispered, holding your shaky hands. His thumbs caressed small circles on your palms, and you slowly looked up at him with eyes that were still overflowing with tears. 

“You didn’t do anything wrong. At all. Don’t ever think that…” He held eye contact that made you cry even more. “My wife.”

At that moment, it felt so natural. You slowly leaned in, caressing his scarred cheek and running your fingertips through his skin, and kissed him. 

It felt all too natural, to be undressing you from your new formal nightly gown, and to lay you down on the bed beneath him.

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to… We don’t have to consummate this marriage.”

“I do. I want to.” You said it all too quickly, looking away like you were flustered and destroying whatever nonchalant neutral façade you had been building. 

The truth of the matter was that you love him and have been for years. And to think that you almost stopped him from “getting his true love”, you felt terrible during the two weeks the council forbid you see your husband until your wedding ceremony.

“I want to see you, Y/N.” It was the first time he’d ever say your name so gently while being face to face with you, and he felt a pit in his stomach just looking at your soft smile.

He kept eye contact while he stroked himself, hesitant on touching you.

“Okay…” you whispered quietly.

He began rubbing your slit with his cock, spreading your arousal on his length and paying attention to your clit. 

“I… I learned something from the book during these two weeks I haven’t seen you.”

You blinked and suddenly gasped. 

Zuko placed a hand above your abdomen and began plunging his index and middle finger into your pussy and thrusting them in and out, eliciting a string of lewd shlick! sounds that echoed around your chambers. 

Your eyes tightened, holding his muscular forearm as he continued. Your gummy walls clenched on his thick, quick fingers curling inside of you and hitting that spot. 

“Hahh… keep going. So so…good.” 

A sound somewhere between a gasp and a squeak slipped from your lips at the sight of Zuko sticking his middle and index fingers into his mouth, sucking on them. 

“My Lord—!”

He smiled, a sense of pride overtaking him at your sudden shock. “Can’t I know how my wife tastes like? You taste simply divine, my wife.”

“Oh my—!” You squeaked, using your forearm to hide your flustered expression and beginning to roll your hips against nothing. Your clit still ached in anticipation for that friction he gave.

Zuko’s nimble fingers traced your goosebump-ridden skin and he cupped your left breast while his lips went further down to your other one. “You’re so damn beautiful, my wife. All mine...”

The pit in your stomach grew and you looked away, embarrassed and aroused. 

“Please…touch me further.”

It was silent between the both of you for a moment; the wing in which the both of you were at was silent, and you could hear your heavy heartbeat in your ears the longer you kept eye contact with your husband’s golden eyes, pleading with you. 

“Let me pleasure you…Y/N. Please.”

You nodded your head slowly and bit your lip, your gaze trailing down onto your husband’s cock again, practically on the verge of cumming. 

“Darling—please,” his golden eyes gazed at you, your flushed face and hesitant expression, and he smiled softly. 

He felt nervous. What if he didn’t like sex? What if you didn’t like it? As much as he can call you darling, he was a nervous wreck internally.

“L-Let me know if it hurts. Please. I will stop.”

You nodded and dug your nails on his gentle skin, creating crimson crescents in their wake.

And just like that, your husband penetrated you while holding you so gently. Your lips pursed and your eyes followed where his were: at your cunt. The skin of the base of his cock wrinkled the moment he bottomed out in you and gleamed with your arousal when he moved his hips. Zuko hissed, his breathing becoming jagged and heavy.

“M-Move…Faster, Zuko!” He rocked his hips into you, holding your arms down against the sand. Your supple breasts bounced with every harsh thrust. 

Oh, Zuko appeared as if he was going to lose it. You were just so beautiful and you were all his now.

Your eyebrows pinched together, lower lip bitten down, and tears welling up in your eyes. 

“Oh my God!” Every move of his was fast, pistoning himself into you with ferocity that you slapped your hand on your mouth to stop squeaking. You felt bad for whatever maid or guard was outside hearing you cry out your husband’s name.

Zuko leaned towards you, latching his lips onto your jawline, where he left soft kisses in their wake. His cock dragged lazily against your velvety walls, clenching against him like a damn vice.

“Ahh—nghh…Z-Zuko—!” Your legs clung onto his hips lazily, body arching onto his while your arms covered your face. He’d slowly pull his hips away and slam into you so lasciviously.

Even if he did not replicate the same growing emotions you had for him, you still found yourself wanting more. Your hips bucked against his and you wrapped your arms around his neck, kissing him again.

“You feel so good, my Lord…” you whispered, against his lips as you tasted him.

Your legs clung onto his waist, feeling his hips buck and thrusts slowly become less consistent. “Let me make you feel good forever, my love…”

Oh…

He flipped you, to be on top of him. The moment he bottomed out inside you, you let out a cry, pressing down on his lower stomach and bounced yourself on his dick.

“Fuck! Oh my—!” God, you looked fucking stunning, with the moon hitting your upper torso and your breasts bouncing with every harsh thrust of his hips upwards. 

“Let me make you mine, Y/N. I beg of you…” He groaned, hissing at how your cunt tightened around him oh so good.

You were crying—like actually crying—rocking your hips and fucking yourself on him back and forth. Zuko felt like he was on cloud nine; you were just too damn perfect.

“Nghh-more! Please!” A wave of euphoria washed over you; it was amazing…something you’ve never experienced before. 

“Are you alright, Y/N?” He paused, noting your labored breathing and maw slack.

Your body felt damn feverish and you could feel how Zuko’s cock twitched inside you, spilling his hot, warm load inside your hole, making you full. 

“F-Fuck…” Zuko wrapped his arms around your waist and slowly tugged you down on him, his head on the crook of your neck as he burried his seed inside you deeper. All warm and filling. 

Your weight was on him and you could hear his heartbeat, both of you breathing heavily. 

“We should… We should do that again. That was nice.” God, you really are perverted.

Or maybe he’s the perverted one for having one hell of a time right now.

“Tomorrow?” “Tomorrow.” He sighed, running his fingers through your hair and feeling your legs’ hold against him become tighter.

But one thing’s for certain: he wouldn’t give this up for the world.

-

-

-

You had been living here for almost 2 years now and you’re finally at the point of being accepted by the clans. The Elder that you lived with, Zoka’ran, had unintentionally saved you from the men that he murdered and in return you shot the man that was about to slice his head off with a machete. Zoka’ran took you with him back home and gave you a place to sleep and eat and in return you helped with his household-mostly taking care of their “pups” or “sucklings” (who all adored you-all the pups on Yautja Prime did-loving to play with your hair and snuggle into your warm blooded body).

It took a while but you were comfortable with your life and you actually loved it, having made friends here and learned healing with the clans own healers which often came in handy.

It was pretty obvious to say that regardless of how long you’d been here you never once expected to become a true member of the tribe. Yes, there were Yautja who loved humans and had mated them, (more than you expected when you came here) but all of those women were human warriors and you…weren’t…at all.

As always you attended the ceremony welcoming the newly blooded members into the clan. You were relived to see some of the young newly blooded members that you’d gotten to know before they went hunting were alright and didn’t die on their first solo hunt, many of them even coming and showing off their first trophy to you. Praise wasn’t a concept that Yautja subscribed to which you’d noticed as soon as you arrived on this planet, often trying to give the younger Yautja a little bit of praise which you believed made people work harder. You didn’t know what any of the alien skulls were that they were showing you but you made sure to look impressed anyway as you could tell how proud these teenagers (kids really) were of their first hunt.

The celebration was mostly for the newly blooded however they also celebrated the members of the clan that had killed the most impressive prey so there were many Yautja being honored and you as a part of an Elders family (even if you were what most Yautja saw as a “Pet”) welcomed them all.

As expected you had seen quite a few Yautja that were now home honoring a female with a token and making their intentions to mate them known. You didn’t actually expect to receive a skull from anyone but as you put the youngest pups down in their hut for the evening you walked back to the party to see most of the Yautja’s eyes on one member of the clan-Va’kasha.

Va’kasha was blooded years ago and was well on his way (probably very close) to becoming an Elder at this point and it was surprising that he was still unmated but as you saw him in the center of the celebration with a good sized skull from an alien with huge horns in his hands, you realized that he had chosen and you were happy for him-he had always been kind to you…well…as kind as Yautja get.

To say you were shocked when he walked up to you would be an understatement, you actually moved a bit to your left assuming he’d been looking at someone behind you but his stare remained upon you before he knelt to the ground and held the skull above his head for you. You glanced back at your Yautja ‘family’ and you could see the smiles on their faces (having learned to decipher Yautja expressions after 2 years here).

‘You…you’re giving it to me?’ You asked softly and you received a series of clicks and growls in response, the earpiece you had been gifted translating in real time in your ear.

‘I honor my intended with a worthy kill. I will wear the scars of this battle forever with pride as I hope you will keep this trophy with pride in your mate for all our years to come.’ It was a lovely speech, way better than half the others you’d heard before, he’d actually put some effort into speaking to you.

‘I’m no warrior…’

‘No. You are not. I do not seek a warrior, I enjoy the comfort you bring after a long hunt, enjoy your soft heart when caring for sucklings, I wish to come home after every hunt to my mate waiting for me with our own sucklings. I will bring you a kill each time that I return that you may be proud of.’

She hesitated only a second before reaching out and taking the skull from him, accepting his mating gift. It was only a second before he stood up and swept her up into his arms making her squeal and all the Yautja at the celebration to cheer as he carried her off down the road and to his hut. It was a bit away from the rest and a decent size-she could tell he put effort into it for her, knowing that humans need certain things like comfort and warmth. The bed was comfortable layers of animal pelts and there were blankets from her own planet around the space to keep her warm as well as a small kitchen area for her to bake the sweet treats that every Yautja loves.

‘This is lovely, and cozy…Thank you. Do you mind if I make it more homey?’ She wondered.

‘It is your home my mate. You do what brings you happiness.’ He told her and she was instantly picturing how to make it more comfortable and less formal. ‘You are tired. Humans must sleep, come.’ He insisted, lifting her once again and carrying her to the bed.

‘I don’t need to sleep yet.’

‘You yawn. My mate will be taken care of, I did not ask you to mate with me without knowing what humans need.’ He insisted, laying her down and pulling a think animal pelt over her to keep her warm.

‘Lay with me.’ She told him, holding onto his hand as he went to leave. ‘Humans cuddle, it’s a normal thing. Come here.’ She told him and he did, crawling into the bed and allowing her to cover him with the pelt.

‘Human customs are strange.’ Va’kasha admitted before wrapping his muscular arms around her body and pulling her close, laying another blanket over his new mate to keep her sensitive body nice and warm as she laid her head on his chest. ‘It is nice though…’ he took a deep breath, laying his head on the pillows and pulling his new mate closer.

Humans may be overly emotional and wrong about a lot of things…but he could get used to cuddling.

JANE THE KILLER — is completely thrown off guard when you confess your love. she wasn't oblivious to your feelings by any means, but it's also not something she wanted to acknowledge. she'd believed that you would've kept your love to yourself, that you'd be too nervous to ever confess to her, but... you've proved her wrong, and it's something she finds herself both fond of, and annoyed by.

jane doesn't deny that she's in love with you. she caught on to her feelings early on, and as much as she tried to ignore them, you made it impossible. she loves you too, painfully so. it's why she starts to distance herself after you confess. you deserve better than her, and she can't give you the relationship that you want.

it's not your fault. the blame is on her, mostly. if she weren't so hellbent on murdering jeff, on getting revenge, then maybe she'd be able to accept your love and start a relationship with you. but revenge is the only thing she wants. you understand that, right?

NINA THE KILLER — is, unsurprisingly, thrilled when you confess that you love her. the smile on her face grows, and she can't stop herself from squealing in pure joy as she pulls you into a tight hug. she's practically shaking from excitement, giddy as she tells you that she loves you too, and that you two would make such a cute couple, and that everyone is going to be so jealous.

she's been waiting for this moment. love is something she, well, loves. so much so that she's dreamed of going on all these different kinds of dates. she has an entire journal full of date ideas, so at least you don't have to worry about planning any dates! she has that under control, don't worry. everything will be perfect.

and now that your feelings are out there, nina doesn't hold back her own. she tells you she loves you numerous times a day that it's impossible to keep count, and if she's not out committing crimes, then she's glued to your side and talking about anything and everything. and trust the everybody knows about your relationship, because she never shuts up about how much she loves you.

HOMICIDAL LIU — goes soft the moment you whisper those words to him. even though he struggles to believe that it's something he deserves, it's easy to tell that the affection you hold for him is something he deeply cherishes. he's always convinced himself that his love is a curse. everyone he's loved has died, and it terrifies him to his core that you'll meet the same fate if he allows himself to love you.

but you just make it so easy. the moment those three words come from your lips, liu finds himself unable to push you away. it's like he falls harder and harder every time you tell him, and he can't help but be selfish. he clings to that love. he clings to you, and your warmth. it's almost scary, how greedy he finds himself for your love.

even after your death, he clings. your grave is always taken care of. fresh flowers, gifts he think you'd like and whatnot. when he's not trailing his brother, he's sitting next to your headstone and listening to an old voice memo you had sent him early on in your relationship. 'i love you, liu,' your voice said, soft and sweet, 'i'm gonna tell you that every day, until you get sick of hearing it.' and he cries, because... god, he wishes you had kept that promise.

SULLY — has this small smile on his face the moment you say those words, and it's like he already knew how you felt before you even spoke the words aloud. maybe it's a bit shocking, but sully is incredibly attuned to people's emotions. he can easily read people, because he's always looking out for threats to liu. you really hadn't done a good job at hiding your feelings, so he was waiting for you to confess before making any moves.

it's like a switch flips, because suddenly he's acting like the two of you have been dating this entire time. his already touchy behavior seems increase tenfold, if that's even possible. he's always got a hand on you in some way, and he goes out of his way to whisper disgustingly sweet words in your ear whenever the two of you are alone. it's kinda unnerving, to be completely honest.

this man is so smitten with you, and everybody can tell just from the way he looks at you. honestly, it's a wonder that the two of you didn't get together sooner, because sully went around telling everyone he loved you like... a week after meeting you. onlookers can only hope that he doesn't let his... less than healthy feelings grow. but judging from the way he stares people down just for talking to you... well...

THE BLOODY PAINTER — hadn't reacted when you told him. you didn't say 'i love you', but the implication in your words had been there, and he just stared at you. he wasn't there, not really. but he still heard you. he could only watch as you left, his hand twitching like he wanted to reach out for you, but... he didn't. he was taken back to his room after your visit, and for the first time since the massacre, helen found himself coming out of the daze he'd been in.

he was crying, he realizes. a disgusting feeling of sorrow lurched in his chest, and anger follows soon after. he ended up destroying his room, and nurses had to come in and restrain him to keep him from destroying anything else before he eventually got sedated. he waited every day after his trial to receive letters from you, but they never came. he made a promise to himself that when he got out, he'd find you. maybe then you'd say those words to him.

you loved him. he knows you loved him. you told him that the two of you would always be friends, you told him that you would wait for him. if that's not love, then what is? and when he finally finds you, after all these years, he plans to make up for lost time. even as you flinch when he gently pulls you into a hug, his fingers digging into you like he was terrified you'd disappear if he let go. you love him, so you won't push him away, right?

NURSE ANN — isn't quite sure how to react to your confession. love wasn't a foreign concept to her, but emotions in general were something she struggled to understand and feel. she's not upset or put off by your confession by any means, but don't expect much of a reaction from her, either. she enjoys your company, and if you want to take that as her loving you back, then she doesn't really care.

she does love you, by the way. in her own way, at least. ann's inability to really understand any emotion other than anger is the main reason why she isn't too sure whether it's love or just... not. she doesn't want to hurt you, so she never gives you hope. just the thought of hurting you fills her with this sense on unease, so clearly she cares for you in a deeper compacity than she thought capable, right?

no matter, ann will never turn your love away. call her selfish, but she likes spending time with you. love is a slippery slope that she won't pretend to understand, but if you're okay with her uncertainty, then she'd be happy if you stuck around while she tried to figure out her emotions. it might take a while, but that's okay.

EYELESS JACK — is more than happy to tell you he loves you too, thought it probably slips his mind in the moment. he's fairly put together when it comes to his emotions, so he's quick to catch on to when he starts to develop feelings for you. he's not the type to deny himself something when he wants it, and trust me when i say that he wants you. in a romantic way, sure, but also in a 'i want to eat you' way.

there's nothing more romantic than cannibalism, no? of course, he wouldn't actually eat you. but if you're okay with it, he'll definitely drink your blood. like... often. it's his weird way of showing his love without using words. i do think that he would just assume that you know he loves you back, so unless you ask him flat out, he's just going to think that you're dating.

jack is just a very simple creature. you love him, he loves you, and that's enough for him. words will never be enough to convey his feelings, so he always lets his actions do the talking. but if you need to hear the words, then he'll definitely repeat them until you get sick of hearing it.

LAUGHING JACK — jolts like he's been shocked the moment those words are put out into the air. the strange affection he held for you was something he adamantly refused to acknowledge. he didn't want to admit that he'd grown attached to another person, and that he was terrified you'd eventually leave him and break his heart. but here you are, telling him you love him, and he... he can't handle it.

he is absolutely thrilled, don't get me wrong. his abandonment issues practically latch onto any ounce of affection you show him, and to hear you confirm that you love him is something that he could easily get addicted to. but it also forces him to confront his feelings for you, something that... is not as easy as it sounds. he'll probably try to distance himself from you following the confession, but that's not something that lasts.

jack gets restless when he doesn't see you for longer than three days, so he's quick to pop back up by your side. you've basically sealed your fate the moment you told him how you felt, because there's simply no way he'll ever let you go. even if you come to hate him in the future, he won't let you leave. he'll kill you if you try.

HOBO HEART — is overjoyed. you have his heart, so to hear that you reciprocate his feelings fills him with such a strong sense of euphoria that he wonders if maybe he'd died. he tries to keep his reaction in check, concerned that if he's too excited he might end up scaring you off. it's impossible to keep the smile off his face, though, and he ends up asking you to repeat yourself. seven different times.

there's just something so satisfying, hearing you say 'i love you'. it's addicting. he needs to hear you say it over and over again, until your throat bleeds and you lose your voice. it's been so long since he's felt this way about anyone, and he doesn't want this feeling to ever go away.

truthfully, he's not sure what he would do if you ever decided you didn't love him anymore. but that's not something he should ever have to worry about, because you'll never want to leave him, right? well... no matter, heart won't let another person he loves leave him.

TICCI TOBY — doesn't really know how to react. his first instinct would be to push you away, but he doesn't want to do that. after letting his walls down around you, he doesn't think he'd ever be able to just put them back up. you meant so much to him now, and even though he's not sure if the feelings he holds for you are romantic or platonic, he doesn't want to let you go.

it's an awkward conversation, one he wants to avoid, but he does sit you down and tell you that he's unsure of how he feels. and you're so understand, because of course you are. he can't lie, a small part of him had been hoping you'd freak out on him and he'd have an excuse to cut you out of his life but fuck. you're a sweetheart. things are normal after that conversation, shockingly enough.

you never bring up your feelings for him again, leaving him with his space to mull the confession over and sort through his own feelings. toby reciprocates your confession months after the fact, in the early morning when you've only just opened your eyes. he whispers the words so quietly that you wondered if maybe you'd been mistaken, but he repeats them. everything remains the same, but it's all different.

CLOCKWORK — physically recoils from you the moment those words slipped from your lips. you were meant to be nothing more than a way to pass the time, really. a warm bed for her to sleep in when she didn't want to be alone. love was never something that was supposed to happen, and she had made that pretty clear the moment you two started hooking up.

you had to stop her from leaving, catching her wrist before she can get out of bed. an argument was inevitable, but it still got pretty heated. you both said mean things, and natalie ends up storming off before things could get worse. she goes weeks without talking to you, and she feels miserable because of it. she never realized how attached she'd gotten to you until now, and she hates it.

it would take somebody else stepping in for her to get her shit together. either you trying to move on, or one of her friends (very loose term) telling her she's being a loser for leading you on. either way, she's banging on your door in the middle of the night. the moment you open it, she's kissing you. she's never done anything like this before, but it makes her sick not having you around so if a relationship is what you want, then... she'll try.

JASON THE TOYMAKER — expects you to love him. you're meant to be his other half, so it's required that you reciprocate his feelings, otherwise he'll kill you. you saying the words out loud is nice to hear, and he smiles every time you say them. he probably needs to hear it multiple times a day, truth be told. he might start having doubts, if he doesn't.

oddly enough, jason doesn't tell you he loves you back for a long time. maybe he's concerned that if he does, it'll jinx your entire relationship and he'll be forced to kill you and find a replacement once again but... if he is concerned, he never voices it out loud.

of course, now that you've said those three words, jason will never let you go. your fate was sealed the moment he decided you were his special one. the only way out of this is by dying, or... getting incredibly lucky and living the rest of your life on the run.

THE PUPPETEER — refuses to give an outward reaction to your confession. he'll try to keep his face stoic, making a vague sound in the back of his throat to let you know that he heard you. he won't say it back, but you'll know he loves you in the way his strings absently coil around your limbs. he's never been the type to verbalize his emotions, not when he views his love for you as a weakness.

and if you thought that the man was possessive before, then it only increases tenfold now that he's aware that you love him. if you're not a proxy already, then he'll definitely consider making you one just to ensure that you're stuck with him for the rest of your life. that would require putting you through hell, though. that thought is the only reason he hasn't gone through with it yet.

both emra and zachary are well aware of his feelings for you, as well. they don't outwardly use it against him, but whenever they (zach, to be specifically) really want something, they have you ask him because they know he's more likely to listen to you than anyone else. so long as you don't ever try leaving, then your relationship with him will remain perfect.

ZALGO — is thoroughly amused, that's for sure. in the thousands of years of his existence, he's not sure he's ever heard anyone utter those words towards him before. perhaps a few lovers of the vessels he's possessed, but that affection was never for him. not even the cults he has would be so bold to declare love for him. fear, respect, awe... he expects those. but love?

such a mortal emotion is beneath him, so he tells himself. and yet here you are, still alive. still by his side. he's done nothing to rid himself of you, and actively goes out of his way to murder anyone who suggests you might be a weakness. how idiotic to assume one mortal human could be his downfall. he keeps you around because you entertain him, that's all.

but you know better. he's always around, even when he doesn't need to be. he keeps you company, even when he doesn't have to. he never tells you off or pushes you away when you wanna hold the hand of whatever vessel he's possessing. he might never say the words out loud, but you know.

X-VIRUS — actually jumps with joy when you confess to him. cody wears his heart on his sleeve, so he can't mask his excitement the moment his brain processes your soft 'i love you', and he ends up pulling you into a suffocating hug before quickly letting go and apologizing.

to be honest, cody had been trying to figure out the right time to tell you about his feelings. he's never been in love before, but he knows that he loves you because his heart races whenever you're around, and he kinda wants to lock you up and handcuff you to him whenever you have to leave. he'd never do that! not without your permission, at least, but the thoughts are always there.

and now that he knows you feel the same, cody won't shut up about you. he's constantly telling everybody that he's your boyfriend, and that the two of you are in love. he can't help it! he loves you so much, it's impossible for him to contain it.

LAUGHING JILL — is very certain that her heart melts when you tell her you love her. for a moment, she wonders if she had misheard you, or if you had meant the confession to be for someone else. but there was nobody around, and you were looking at her expectantly.

the excitement she feels is dizzying, and she's barely able to squeak out a soft 'really?'. the moment you reassure her that, yes, you very much do love her, it's like a dam breaks. she's throwing her arms around you and pulling you into a tight hug, tears streaming down her face as she's overwhelmed with emotions she didn't know how to describe.

for a long time, jill thought that anger was the only thing she could ever feel. after everything that has happened, anger became the only emotion she knew how to properly register. meeting you brought so many new emotions, and to know that you felt the same way about her was just... overwhelming, to say the least. she just loves you so much.

CANDY POP — is conflicted. on one hand, he finds himself thrilled at the idea that you love him. it feeds into his ego, and he thrives off whatever attention he can get from you. but on the other, he's annoyed. romance is a tedious thing that he doesn't want to entertain. he's a big, bad, evil, and scary monster. you're stupid for loving him.

but even as he says all of that, he's clinging to you. he has his cheek resting on your head, or your shoulder, pouting about how you're going to make everyone think he's gone soft. he hasn't, you both know that, but he likes to pretend, and you let him. there is so such thing as soft with him. but, he has gotten attached, so you're comforted by the fact that he won't kill you, at least.

he's always on edge. candy isn't an idiot, he's well aware that the feelings you hold for him right now very well may change in the future, and that thought makes him feel restless. he's not against dragging you into the abyss and forcing you to stay by his side if he so much as gets the idea that you're trying to leave him.

DR SMILEY — cocks his head to the side at your confession. love? he's familiar with the concept. he's studied people, and seen lovers cry over each other's corpses after performing his experiments and whatnot, but... you love him? either you lack morals, or you're just incredibly stupid. perhaps both, honestly, he can't decide. he almost wants to laugh in your face with how absurd those three words had been, but he doesn't.

damien doesn't reject you, interestingly enough. maybe you only said it in an attempt to get him to spare you, or maybe you actually meant it. he isn't sure, and he doesn't really care. you've caught his attention, and he wants to keep you around long enough to study you. a living subject would be good, after all the dead ones he's picked apart and devoured already.

he might not understand your reasonings for the confession, but he's more than happy to play the part of a doting boyfriend if that's what you truly want. he might even treat it as another experiment for a while, but... it starts to become oddly genuine, the longer it goes on. he's not sure he'd be willing to let you go, if you ever tried to leave.

KAGEKAO — will definitely need a couple hours to even process that you had meant the confession, and that it wasn't some odd little joke you'd been trying to tell. he treats life like a game, so it's always so strange when something serious happens that he can't make a joke out of. he's had serious relationships before, though that was before he even realized he was gay.

he'd always believed relationships just weren't for him, also. a long-term relationship always led to heartbreak, and flings were much more his style. neither of you were meant to get attached, and yet here you are, telling him you love him. and he... he isn't rejecting you, oddly enough.

your relationship with him changes after the confession. it's never spoken about out of fear that acknowledging it might ruin everything, but kagekao does start behaving like a boyfriend rather than an fling. he doesn't leave immediately after hooking up, and his touch starts to linger. he can love you back, he thinks.

KATE THE CHASER — considers you her home, so to hear that you love her? it just solidifies in her mind that you are her safe space. you, for whatever reason that freaks her out if she thinks about it too much, accept her for who she is. you love her, despite all her flaws, and that's not something she ever expected. it's not something she felt she deserved.

words will never be enough to convey how deeply kate loves you. you do so much for her and never expect anything in return, and she would give you the entire world if she could. even on the days where she wants nothing to do with anybody and shuts you out, you still wait patiently for her. it makes her sick, sometimes.

your love is the one thing she allows herself. as a proxy, she knows that she'll never be able to hold a normal relationship. it's a wonder why slender was allowing her to maintain this relationship with you in the first place, but she won't question it. she'll be selfish, and drink up all the time she has with you.

THE DOLL MAKER — truly thinks he misheard you. his heart lurches, a spark of hope in his chest, but... no. no, he was just hearing things. he shouldn't get ahead of himself. romance isn't something he's well versed in, so when he fell for you, he fell fast. but there's no way you'd ever feel the same. but then you're carefully cupping his cheeks so he's forced to meet your gaze, and you're repeating your confession.

and oh. maybe miracles are real. he chokes up a bit, shedding a few tears and burying his face in his hands so you don't see him like this. it's a really soft moment, and he gets emotional every time he thinks about it. he never thought his feelings could be reciprocated, but you always have a way of proving him wrong.

he wants to be the perfect boyfriend for you. you deserve only the best, and he refuses to give you anything less. vine will cherish you for however long you'll choose to stay in his life. and he hopes that if you ever decide to leave, he'll be able to let you go.

JUDGE ANGELS — goes quiet as she processes your words. love is a sensitive topic for her for many different reasons. she's always dreamed of being in love, and she's read far too many romance novels in her spare time just to fantasize about what it might be like, but to hear that someone actually loves her... it's not something she ever expected, honestly.

dina isn't entirely sure how she should respond, and she ends up overthinking it and getting lost in her thoughts for so long that you have to awkwardly tell her that it's okay if she didn't feel the same, and that you'd still love to be her friend. you were giving her an out, one that she's quick to shut down as she stumbles over her words. she's not rejecting you, no! you just caught her off guard.

the relationship between the two of you develops at a steady pace. you're her first time for every single thing, and you're always ensuring that she's comfortable before doing anything. it makes her heart melt, every time you gently ask if she's okay with the affection you give her. you are the greatest thing that's ever happened to her.

ZERO — actually laughs in your face. are you crazy? no sane person would ever fall in love with her, so you have to be just as fucked in the head as her, no? out of the billions of people in the world, you just had to give your heart to the woman who wouldn't hesitate to crush it in her hands without a second thought.

she's attached to you to some extent though, judging from the way you're still alive. she doesn't know how you've managed to make her attached, and she'll get really angry if you even try pointing it out to her, so just be happy with what she gives you, yeah? it's the closest thing to love you'll probably ever get from her.

but don't think you can fall for anyone else, either. in zero's mind, you belonged to her the moment she decided to keep you around. if she sees you getting all buddy-buddy with another person, she'll kill them in front of you. consider it a lesson for thinking you could live a normal life after her.

ROUGE THE PROXY — acknowledges your confession with a slight nod. she's never hidden her own feelings for you, making her love abundantly obvious with the way she followed you around everywhere to ensure your safety. but it's also something she struggles to voice out loud. after everything she'd been through, showing any ounce of vulnerability is... well... scary.

taking care of you became second nature to her, and that naturally led to her falling in love with you. but to hear you felt the same way? it's... strange. she's happy, don't get her wrong, but she feels cornered. like something horrible will happen if she so much as indulges in those feelings.

you'd have to take this relationship step by step for her to even think about giving it a try. she's still fiercely protective over you, obviously, but she's withdrawn herself just a bit. if you really want this to work out, you just need to stay patient. once she gets out of her head, then everything will work out.

EMRA — smiles sadly when you tell her you love her. if life had been different, she would've been able to tell you the same, but she could never put you through the hell that would come with her loving you. it's bad enough that she's even risking your safety by interacting with you like this. your company is the one selfish thing she allows herself, but she didn't think you'd fall in love with her.

the puppeteer is fiercely possessive over her, so much so that he barely even lets zachary visit her. you could get in a lot of trouble if he ever found out you were sneaking around to visit her. after your confession, emra doesn't have much of a choice but to turn you away when you try visiting her. this is for your own good, she tells herself. you shouldn't put yourself in harms way just to talk to her.

and it hurts, shutting you out like this. she wants nothing more than to pull you into her arms and never let go. if she could cry, then she'd be shedding an endless sea of tears over the 'what if' scenarios her mind conjures up. but if cutting you off means you get to survive another day, then that's just a pain emra will have to go through.

ZACHARY THE PROXY — finds himself looking around the moment you speak the words into existence. he's on alert, making sure nobody is around before he's lowering his guard and quietly telling you he loves you too. he can never be too careful when around you, because the puppeteer is always watching. and zach, he didn't want you getting involved with that bastard.

but he's selfish, incredibly so. emra tells him that he should let you go, that you'll be safer if he didn't get involved with you. and sure, that's probably the truth, but he didn't care. he did so much for his 'master', so he thinks he deserves to have something for himself. he's gone this long without the puppeteer learning about your existence, and he's confident he can keep it like that for a while.

and should the puppeteer ever find out about your existence and zachary's relationship with you, then... be prepared for your entire life to be turned upside down, because zach won't hesitate to tear you out of your little life in society and keep you trapped in some cabin in the woods just to keep you safe from his master's will.

TIM WRIGHT — can't help but feel a bit guilty when you tell him you love him. after everything that he's been through, tim doesn't feel worthy of love. love, in general, is something that scares him now. everybody he's ever loved in some way ended up dying, and that's a weight too heavy for him to share with anyone else. just the thought of you getting hurt makes him sick, and that's the logic he uses when he cuts you off.

he completely disappears from your life. tim would go as far as to change his number, too, just to keep you from contacting him. he doesn't deserve you, you have to understand that. cutting you off like this will make you realize that he's not worth your love, and that you deserve so much better. someone who can love you back in full.

and though he cuts himself out of your life, he does keep check on you. tim doesn't want to admit it, but he truly does love you. he checks your social media every other day to see if you've posted anything new. it's the only way he can keep you close, because there's no way he'd ever allow himself back into your life.

BRIAN THOMAS — smiles like you'd just handed him the world the moment those three words escape your lips. he's pulling you into a kiss and whispering back his confession while lacing your fingers together. the two of you had been dating for a while now, and he'd been waiting for you to say those words first because he knew he loved you the moment he laid his eyes on you.

brian knows he can come on strong, and he didn't want to risk scaring you off with the overwhelming affection he held for you. he's taking everything at your pace, step by step. to any onlookers, your relationship with brian was simply perfect. the two of you resolved arguments quickly, and neither of you ever crossed any boundaries without talking to each other about it first.

so when brian disappeared, you were distraught. nobody seemed worried, and you couldn't get in contact with tim. it wasn't until jay contacted you about marble hornets that you began to get any leads on where brian might be. there was nothing that could stop you from searching for the man. not even the strange messages from some unknown number, or the occasional glimpse of a hooded man from the corner of your eye can scare you off. you will find brian. you will bring him home.

ALEX KRALIE — was in the middle of writing the script for marble hornets when you whispered those words in his ear. he'd been so focused on the project that he hadn't even realized you'd shown up. if this was your way of distracting him from work to get him to take a break, then it's working, because he finds it increasingly difficult to focus on anything other than you.

your relationship with alex was something the entire crew knew about. whenever he'd get stressed on set and snap at people, jay would end up calling you to talk to him. just talking to you was enough to distract him from whatever was stressing him out. everyone thought the two of you would have a happily ever after, honestly.

you thought that would've been the case, too. but the blood on your hands tells you otherwise as you stare down at alex's corpse. you're only vaguely aware of tim behind you, and you just feel so... lost. how did it come to this? life had been so perfect. and now everyone is dead. the love of your life is dead. how are you supposed to move on from this?

JAY MERRICK — almost trips over himself when you first say those words. you say them so casually that it catches him off guard, and he had to steady himself against a wall to overcome the wave of euphoria that hit him. you two had only been dating for a few months, and he'd been wondering when the perfect time to say 'i love you' would be. thank god you said it first, honestly.

his relationship with you was, in every aspect, perfect. he never thought a silly crush on you back in college would get him anywhere, but now the two of you are buying a house together and he'd been looking at rings recently. genuinely, there's nothing in life that he could possibly ever want, not when he has you by his side. but... then alex called him.

he doesn't know how much time as gone by. he can't remember the last time he's seen the sun. it's probably only been a couple of days, but it feels like months have already passed. he's pretty sure alex is dead, and he feels like he's going to go insane. all he can think about is his last conversation with you. a promise that he'll be home soon. god, he hopes you can forgive him.

JESSICA LOCKE — feels a little dizzy when she processes your confession. her heart is racing in her chest, and she stares at you for a solid three seconds before a bright smile is blooming on her face and she's laughing. it's not a mean laugh, no, it's a relieved one. she thought that her feelings for you might have been unrequited, so to hear that they aren't? well, she just can't help but laugh at herself for being so worried.

honestly, she didn't think dating was possible after everything that happened. it's a silly thought, and she knows that, but the thought of doing anything after the apparent horrors she'd gone through... it was weird. life as a whole felt weird.

Hunched below the large oak tree in your garden, you were suckling on prey out of view. Gulping down fluid, you shot up the second he grunted. “What the fuck.” A stalemate settled over you two, and you wet your lips, collecting the residue. “I thought you were busy today.” Even at this distance, he could see the glint of your pointed fangs.

Still dressed in a bloodied hoodie, he gaped at you while you wiped your mouth clumsily, absolutely aghast. “You’re a fucking vampire?” You huffed, squinting at him like he was the odd one for asking. “What? No. Why would I be a vampire?” He threw up his arms. “Because you’re literally eating some organ bullshit in front of me?” The accusation made you deadpan, and you turned to face him fully, said prey in hand.

An apple.

A drained, deflated, slightly browned apple. He faltered, palms still hovering in the air. “The hell is that?” You sank your canines into the fruit's flesh, and his confusion grew when it shrivelled further. The insides had been turned to a grainy pulp- then you cast it aside. “I wanted a snack.” Crickets were loud in the background as he narrowed his eyes; your porch light was the only source of illumination.

“Okay?”

“Jeff, just say what you want-”

“If you’re not a vampire, then why the fuck do you have fangs?”

“I’m a fruit bat.”

You glanced away from him, chewing on the inside of your cheek. “Kinda’.” You mumbled, and his arms dropped, eyebrow raised. “A fruit bat.” His bewildered tone hung between you for a moment before you shrugged, meeting his gaze. “Yeah.” He pursed his lips, opening and closing his mouth multiple times, blinking at you.

Okay. That was definitely fucking new. Like, a fruit bat? A fruit bat. In what world was that an acceptable answer? He knew human-eating monsters existed, but really? The worst part was that he could tell you weren’t messing with him. He could read you like a book, and currently, his lover was being utterly, unrefutably truthful. He pinched his nose bridge, gesturing at you dramatically after.

“So you just- what? Pounce on pineapples and attack grapes?” You rolled your eyes, beginning to walk towards the back door with him in tow. “I eat like a normal person, stupid. I just like to drink the juice.” You were referring to your ability to consume nectar. You could retain the nutrients by simply draining the fruits- it was more fun that way.

He shucked off his boots on the mat, padding into the kitchen behind you. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Jeff said, exasperated. “I don’t know- I just- like. It’s not something you just bring up.” You countered, and he puffed in response. “I literally stab people daily, and my boss doesn’t have a fuckin’ face.” Crossing your arms, you reclined against the sink.

“Okay, I should’ve told you, but I didn’t know when to talk about it-”

“You’re a bat. I don’t think timing really matters.”

“A fruit bat!”

“Same shit.”

A pause, then he gave you a once-over, sticking his tongue into his inner cheek. “… Were you born like that?” You sighed. “Yes.” If you thought the concept of your existence had finally settled in his mind, you were wrong- because he stared at you as if you’d told him the moon was made of cardboard.  

“How the fuck did that happen?” You hopped up onto the surface, perched on the kitchen sink ledge. “My mom was a fruit bat. It’s genetic.” He lifted his arm, drawing circles in the air in your direction when he spoke. “You- okay. Mm.” He clasped his hands together and pressed them to his mouth. “Be honest. Have you ever considered biting me?” The question had you sputtering. “No! Never. I wouldn’t hurt you- we don’t feed on blood.”

Much to your dismay, that’s not what he meant.

Your concern swiftly faded into irritation as the light in his pupils brightened. “I swear to god.” He, naturally, proceeded anyway. “Do you think you could, though? ‘Cause I can work with the fang shit-” The second the words left his lips, you exhaled loudly, throwing your head back in annoyance. “I’m not biting you because you wanna’ be a pervert!”

“Why not?” He argued, pleading. “You cannot be serious.” You gawked at him, and he groaned, crowding your space, his hands on either side of you. He pitched closer. “It’ll be hot. I can handle pain, babe.” Jeff’s masochism streak truly had no bounds.

Excitement was plastered across his face, and you grabbed his cheeks, irked. “Why are you like this?” He snickered, leaning into your touch. “You can mark me up- promise I’ll be a good for ya’.” He raised his brows suggestively, a snort forcing its way out of you despite your stance. “C’mon- c’mon, c’mon. You know you wannaaa’.” He dragged the vowels, persuading you the way he knew best- by making you laugh.

His antics, unfortunately, worked every time, and you giggled. Wrapping your arms around his neck, you finally dropped your guard.

“Fine.”

“You could hold my knife and everything. Make me really fucking feel it—”

“Jeffery.”

➽──────────────❥

Pickle Problems ▶︎ • ၊၊||၊|။|||| ↻

Toby never thought he’d be the one clutching his shirt while being defended, yet here he was.

You had gone out on a late-night snack run, stopping at a twenty-four-hour eatery. It was still a gas station, but it had a full, hot-to-go section where you could order from. He saw it while walking with you and decided it’d be nice to switch it up since you usually just went to the local corner store.

“We feeling spicy chips or normal tonight, Tobes?” You grinned, holding up two bags. The sodium lights hummed faintly overhead, and he bit his lip, debating. “Mm… spicy. I’m gonna’ be brave.” You nodded, the snack swinging at your hip while you walked to the register. The menu glowed from behind the counter, hung up near the ceiling. You called over your shoulder to him.

“Can you pick out a drink for me? I’ll order for both of us.” Your request was acknowledged by a short “’Kay!” And he stepped down the aisle, circling to the open fridge section at the back wall. He scanned the selection, wiggling his fingers over the miscellaneous bottles before grabbing a couple. He heard you talking with the cashier as he slipped the drinks into his comically large pockets. Men and their jeans, you’d said to him once. He thought about it every time he swiped something.

Shuffling to catch up with you when you finished paying for the items, the two of you made your way outside. You settled on a scuffed bench to the side of the shop, and he snagged a container from the plastic bag, opening the box. “I got you a burger- no pickles or tomatoes.” You said, eyes warm. “Oh my god, y-you know me.” He gasped teasingly, bringing the sandwich up to take a bite- when a single slice of pickle fell out.

It landed with a sad splat, and you both stared at it for a solid ten seconds. Smacking his lips together, he went to laugh, only to be interrupted. “No fucking way.” You clicked your tongue. “I literally told him not to put pickles on your shit.” Heavy irritation was written on your features. He blinked at you, chuckling. “It’s fine, I can just pick t-them off-”

You rose to your feet, bag in hand. “It’s not fine. We’re going back inside.” With that, he scrambled to match your pace, hovering his hand out, unsure. The automatic doors slid open, and you marched up to the counter, an overly polite smile gracing your lips.

“Hi, we just ordered- I asked for no pickles on my man’s burger, but we found some. Could we get it remade, please?” Sugar coated your tone, but Toby knew better. That was your “Do not piss me off” voice. A cadence he had been the victim of many times.

The cashier barely glanced up, with far too much attitude in his mannerisms. His name tag read ‘Jace.’ “I made what you asked for. We don’t do refunds.” Your eye twitched, and your boyfriend swallowed. Your anger may not be targeted at him, yet his heartbeat quickened all the same.

“I’m not asking for a refund, sir. I’m asking if we could get it remade- and I’m very sure, I requested no pickles.”

“I did my job. What else do you want?”

“I want my order remade because it’s not what I paid for.”

“Listen. I don’t know what your problem is. I made your fu-”

However, upon finally meeting your gaze, the man froze. While Toby was nonthreatening to you, you often forgot how he was perceived by most people.

His eyes were sunken in, bruises littering almost every inch of his skin, with scars peeking out from old bandages. There was a certain malice that lingered in his movements, this abnormal sharpness that followed every twitch.

Muted, but just noticeable enough- his shoulders would jerk, his teeth grinding every few seconds. Like he was only a fraction away from splintering. The boy’s eyes burned into his own.

The hairs on his neck stood on end, and Toby murmured, focusing back on you. “Can you ask for extra ketchup?” His words were eerily monotone, his fingers clinging to your sleeve when you nodded at Jace. “No pickles, extra ketchup, if you would be so kind.” You smiled, coy and expectant. As if you could see it in the way he breathed out.

There was something deeply wrong with this couple.

His view flicked down- less than a second, but he saw it. The distinct specks of red that dotted the cuffs of your lover's sleeve. If you were this comfortable with the guy, you had to be just like him. If not worse.

Jace was stupid, but not that stupid.

He straightened up instantly, simpering with a weak grin. “R-right. Yeah, sure.” He spun on his heel, darting to the back swiftly, leaving you and Toby alone. He turned to you, pouting. “I hope he adds a lot, I wanna’ s-suh- smush all the sauce together.” You hummed, then tucked a lock of hair behind his ear. “That’s ‘cause you’re weird and like your burgers soggy, Tobes.” He stuck out his tongue at you. “Yeah, and y-you kiss me after, s-so.”

Smacking his shoulder as the cashier returned with your food, you giggled. “Stop.” The worker stayed quietly across from you until you noticed his presence, and the order was handed over without fuss.

The night air was cool, the breeze caressing your cheeks while you enjoyed your takeout. Toby sniggered from your right, chewing. “I think we scared the cashier.” You shrugged before wiping the crumbs from the corner of your mouth. “Well, he should’ve been nicer if he didn’t want problems.” Your logic made him snort. “You’re s-so evil, muffin.”

“And you’re my accomplice. What does that say about you, Mr?”

“I never said it was a bad thing! I think you’re p-pretty when you’re mad.”

“You have a thing.”

You were right, he did have a thing. Perhaps it was toxic, but observing you get in someone's face- cocky with him standing behind you, had Toby more hot under the collar than he was willing to admit.

You didn’t need to know that, though.

➽──────────────❥

Too Chewable ▶︎ • ၊၊||၊|။|||| ↻

Happy as Jack may be, there were times when he couldn’t understand you if he tried.

He’d come over after being away for more than two weeks, a mission up north. They needed his strength, his prowess and grit to turn the tide in their battle. He had torn through the defences easily and ripped into their bodies without mercy. A ruthless soldier.

When Jack fought, his blood trail heeded a warning, telling anyone unlucky enough to witness his carnage to move with caution. Feared even amongst the proxies.

Razor-sharp claws that could slice into almost everything, with a maw strong enough to pierce bone. He was terrifying, a monster by right— unless he was here, of course.

“Let’s wrestle.”

The question froze him mid-act, making him turn to you with a confused expression. He’d just stepped out of the shower, still towelling his hair, when you spoke. Propping yourself on your elbows, you were sprawled on your stomach. “It’ll be fun!” The sheets hadn’t even been untucked yet, and your foot thumped against the pillows, body angled towards the edge of the bed.

He arched a brow. “You want to… spar?” Tossing the towel onto a chair, he padded to you while you sat up. “Yeah, and you can teach me how to suplex people with the strength of a thousand men.” Flexing your arm, you nodded at your lover eagerly. Then you rose, standing in front of him. He cocked his head, peering down, unsure. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, my dove.”

Your difference in stature was undeniable, and he couldn’t fathom ever being rough with you. Seasoned killers could barely hold their own against him on a good day, so staring at you now had him hesitant to say the least.

Dressed in your pyjamas, you looked so comfortable, warm with your gentle eyes. The idea of throwing you around for the sake of violence made him frown.

Alas, you were determined, taking his large hand in yours and pressing it to your chest, fingers intwined. “We can do it on the bed, it’s not like we’re actually fighting-” You pressed a kiss to his knuckles. “I trust you.” The excitement in your gaze was weakening his will by the second, his lips twitching up before he could stop himself. Damn his inability to deny you.

“… Alright.”

With that, the two of you climbed atop the covers, his frame settling over you. This was supposed to be effortless, but Jack wasn’t exactly versed in domestic warfare. He didn’t know where to start or how to handle the wrestling without harming you. Simply hovering above you, stiff as you muffled a laugh. “Tell me if I’m holding you too hard.” He murmured, and you grinned. “Jack, you’re literally not moving.”

“Love.”

“Yes. I promise I will tell you if you get too rowdy- but you won’t, ‘cause you’re way too careful for that.”

Sighing, he shook his head at your teasing. Leaving light pecks on your cheek, then pulling back. “Mm, try getting out from under me.” You glanced down, noting the gap between your bodies. He was lying in the middle of your thighs; all you had to do was flip him over. It couldn’t be that difficult, right?

Hooking a leg onto his hip, you used the momentum of turning to knock him down- only for your lover to stay stone still. Attempting again, you latched onto him fully, putting all your weight into the rotation.

Jack hadn’t budged an inch.

You huffed. “Why are you so heavy?” Rocking back and forth (or aiming to) as he chuckled quietly. “Attacking me, then insulting my weight, how rude of you.” You gave it one last push, his spine finally meeting the linen with a soft thump. He was splayed on his back, his arms limp at his sides, when you pouted.

His hair was still damp from the bath, chest bare with sweats hanging low on his hips- allowing Jack’s thick happy-trail to peek over the band. The picture-perfect example of a boyfriend. But you couldn’t afford any distractions.

Your gaze darted to his stupidly smug face, unbothered and aggravatingly relaxed. “You’re not even trying.” He ran his tongue against his teeth lazily, canines reflective in the low light. “I did try. You won.” ‘Intimidating’ your ass- he was more like an overgrown house cat than anything else. Your torso was pressed flush to his, and you rested your chin on your palm, poking him in the cheek with your free hand. “Put. In. Effort.” Every word emphasized by a jab.

He exhaled through his nose. “Fine.” The reply was short, and you snorted at his blunt tone. However, before you could prod him further, your shoulders were snug to the mattress.

He’d swapped your positions so fast that you didn’t register it had happened until you were beneath him once more.

Grip firm on your wrists, they were pinned by your head while he caged you. His jaw unlatched wide, revealing jagged incisors. It gave you the exact view his victims had. A beast holding them down, their strength pitiful in comparison, no matter how much they struggled. His head descended, and his nose brushed the sensitive skin of your throat, a basey clicking noise reverberating from his ribs—

Then he left a feather-light kiss against your neck, drawing back with a slight smile.

“There. We’ve fought. Are you satisfied now?” You lunged up in a flash, sinking a bite into his shoulder. You wiggled your feet, chewing on him softly as he was rendered speechless. He could feel your dull teeth compressing his flesh, and he blinked, both amused and stupefied.

The moment he released his hold on you, your arms looped around his neck, continuing to gnaw on him. He faltered.

“My dove?”

“Mhm?”

His palm supported your head when you detached, easing you onto the pillows. “What are you doing-” Yet he was cut off, your mouth securing to his bicep. You took advantage of his confusion and flipped him over. Your barrage was relentless, covering his upper half in marks- your lover simply taking it, boneless.

Your legs were swinging, little hums filling the room while he observed you. You would nip his throat, then bite near his collar. Groping his chest with one hand and feeling up his arm with the other. It wasn’t even sexual; you seemed content just using him as a chew toy. He sometimes wonders how he got here.

Ten minutes passed, and you reclined, satiated. “If I was you, I’d be way worse. Like-” Your fingers squished the fat of his pec, mindlessly squeezing. “You have so much relastate, Jack.” Your amazed expression forced a breathy laugh out of him.

“Thank you, little lamb.”

“You're welcome. Also, if I was a giant cannibal, I’d never eat you. Maybe, I’d like- nibble, but not fully, you know?—”

Jack thinks he’s going to spend the rest of eternity loving you.

➽──────────────❥

XOXO - Gossip Girl ▶︎ • ၊၊||၊|။|||| ↻

Most people would say that Brian was a killjoy.

You were not most people.

Flipping to the next page, you scanned the words. Immersed in your book when he bursts through the bedroom door.

His chest was heaving, coat swiftly thrown to the side, before he faced you with wild eyes. “Dolly, you will never fuckin’ believe what happened today.” He said, slumping down onto the floor, leaning against the mattress.

You scooted to the ledge and crossed your arms in front of you, lying on your stomach. If Brian was shaken up, you knew you were in for the ride of your life. “I thought you were just doing recon?” His head lolled back, glancing at you. “We did, but then we came back and guess who the hell was waitin’ for us?” You squinted at him, quizzical.

“Who?”

“You remember that motel girl I told you Tim was seeing?”

“You’re fucking lying.”

His words had your jaw hanging open, and you rose onto your elbows, now alert. “She tracked ‘im down- was sitting in her car when we pulled in.” You gawked. “How’d she even find you guys? Isn’t the house super far out?” Combing a hand through his hair, he shrugged, aghast. “Lord knows. Shit, if she wasn’t pissed, though.” You nudged closer. “What’d Tim say?”

Tim, from what you’d heard, had a long history of scandalous romantic affairs. He never stayed with one person for long, and if he did, it didn’t end well. Him and your lover were brothers in arms, with Brian carrying the more domestic passions, it seemed.

He’d had his fair share of lacklustre relations, but they were all one-night stands, clean cut. Not to mention the fact that he was with you now, blissfully claiming the title of your boyfriend.

He sighed, sticking his tongue against the inside of his cheek. “What didn’t he say. They were yellin’ at each other for over thirty minutes-” He tossed an arm onto the bed, body turning towards you. “Apparently, she thought they were exclusive. Saw him out with another missus, and lost her mind.” You gaped as he shot you a look.

“She said he told her he’d call her the night she saw ‘em together, too. Was screaming her damn head off on the porch- they got so loud, Rogers woke up and came outside.” You felt terrible on her behalf, but you’d be a fraud if you said you weren’t on the edge of your seat. “He’s so messy, oh my god.” You snickered, fully invested.

“Yer’ tellin’ me. She was sayin’ that Tim was a good-for-nothin’ liar, had him all sorts of wound up.” He grunted, and you tilted your head to the side. “I mean, is she wrong? Like, if the man I was talking to promised to call, and I saw him with someone hanging off his arm, I’d be so irritated.” The scoff that left Brian made you snort.

“That’s what I fuckin’ said! But that bastard don’t listen-” Flinging up his hand, “And that ain’t even the craziest part, baby.” He narrowed his eyes, jabbing a finger into the mattress. “Motel girl knows Clockwork.” You raised a brow, wracking your brain.

“Wait, who’s Clockwork?”

“Rogers ex.”

You gasped with all the space your lungs had to offer, mouth wide in astonishment. “Brian.” He clicked his tongue and gestured into the air. “We had to drag her out- she wouldn’t leave until Tim forced her into the car. She was callin’ him shit I didn’t know existed.” Slapping a palm over your lips, you muttered harshly. “Not him being yelled at in front of his own home. I’d literally die.”

“After she left, Tobias told me that the girl’s insane. When he was still with his ex, she’d show up to shout at ‘em both ‘cause she had problems with Clockwork- didn’t even flinch when she saw him.”

“Tim actually has the worst taste in hook-ups. He needs to reevaluate or something because this is not it, girl.”

“Sweetheart, don’t even get me started.”

You giggled at his building exasperation, and he groaned, pinching his nose bridge. “This ain’t the end either. He’s goin’ to see her tomorrow. Y’know, sometimes, I wish I could see into that damn head of his ‘cause I- mm.” You angled yourself, leaning forward before kissing his temple. “Talk to me, lover.” Brian hummed at the affection, shoulders easing. He nuzzled into your cheek while his lashes fluttered closed.

“You’d think after havin’ his ass chewed out, he’d make better choices, but no.” Continuing, he pointed into space, circling nothing as he talked. “S’all ‘Brian, you don’t get it! I got somethin’ real here!’ And ‘I have it handled, stop looking at me like that!’ Like-” He shot up, whipping towards you head on, bothered to hell's end.

“The only thing real here is the fine I’m gonna’ hafta’ pay when she bashes my windows in because she thinks it’s his truck. I mean, would it kill him to find someone who likes to paint once an’ awhile?— A nice lady who doesn’t threaten my well-being ‘cause he ain’t wanna’ turn on his fuckin’ phone. Maybe somebody who knits instead of trying to take us both out, since he wants to do fuck all- all the goddamn time.”

His tone was heated, and he wrapped up the tangent with an aggravated “Ugh.” Lip curled up in frustration. “I’m sick of it, dolly. I am.” He crumbled back down, huffing. “The world is so evil to you, Bri Bri. You’re so strong.” You cradled his neck, pecking along his cheekbone. “Hopefully, he settles soon, and you’ll be free from this torment.” Your teasing had the edges of his mouth tugging up.

“If his next missus ain’t whip some sense into ‘im, I’ll do it myself.”

“You’re gonna’ fight him on behalf of the maneaters?”

“Sure am.”

With the crooked grin on his face, perhaps you’d buy him a T-shirt that said ‘Number one ally’ on it.

➽──────────────❥

Barking Opposition ▶︎ • ၊၊||၊|။|||| ↻

Tim had hit the lowest point in his life by far.

You were mad at him.

He hopes he dies.

He doesn’t know how it happened or when it happened, but it happened. And now, he’s condemned to couch duty for the foreseeable future.

Your prized possession, your absolute, all-time favourite comfort sweater, had been ruined. An irredeemable amount of blood had gotten on it, and no matter how hard he tried, the dark patch refused to come out. He’d sat on the sweatshirt by accident post-mission, dropping onto the sofa in his dirtied jeans. The crime was realized too late, and you caught him in the act, mid-panic. That was two days ago.

He agreed that it was his fault. You had warned him multiple times about being careful, reminding him to move with caution when he came home after a job. Alas, he was used to the living conditions of the mansion, where everything was already caked with grime, and nobody batted an eye at bloodstains. Except that was the manor, and this was your home.

After The Incident took place, you’d rightfully given him the cold shoulder. All his apologies were met with an icy glare, then you’d spin away from him dramatically, leaving him in your shadow to sulk. To make matters worse, the dog you’d begged him for had taken his spot on the bed.

Every goddamn morning, it would prance out from the bedroom. Jolly, smug as it cuddled up to your side. You’d pet its head, telling it how handsome it was- how well behaved and polite. The puppy was basking in your love while Tim got nothing. Not. Even. Scraps.

Tim hated that dog more than he hated the operator.

That dog couldn’t protect you from otherworldly dangers. It couldn’t defend your name righteously as a good man should. It didn’t help you with laundry and the kitchen sink pipes when they’d act up. It couldn’t even talk- and yet, it was the one curling up on your chest when dusk fell. The thing was practically rubbing it in his face at this point.

He remembers what the stray did, as if it were yesterday (it was). He was minding his own business when it came sniffing around the corner. Strutting to his seat, it had turned its nose up, skipping away as if it only came to show off. The tag on its new collar read- “Best Boy,” and he had never felt more betrayed. Best? Best? You had to be joking.

He’d fought borderline wars to make it home in time for dinner, and that good-for-nothing dog had taken his position in your life overnight.

Tim was fuming.

He hadn’t gotten a single kiss from you in over forty-eight hours. Forty-fucking-eight. He was dying of thirst watching an ill-fitted replacement drown. You weren’t responding to any of his messages either, simply leaving him on read or giving his text a thumbs up if he told you something you deemed important. You were probably spooning the puppy right now, having it tucked into you. Being terribly sweet on that stupid, undeserving, wretched, godforsaken motherfucking—

“Masky, are y-you good?”

Toby’s voice jolted him out of his thoughts, and he whipped to the side. The boy had settled next to him on the porch bench, equally as scuffed from the prior assignment. His cigarette was snapped in half from how hard he’d squished it during his inner monologue. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

Though his words were nowhere near convincing, making the younger proxy arch a brow. “… Are you sure? You’ve been s-staring at the truck like it killed your family, man. John W-Wick style.” He sighed in response, closing his eyes for a moment before he snagged out another cig, lighting the smoke tiredly. “I fucked up, Rogers.” He spoke with so much grief, Toby leaned back.

“What’d you do?”

“I- lord. Favourite sweater. I stained the son of a bitch, and now I’m sleepin’ on the couch.”

“Oh yikes.”

Huffing, he reclined, taking a long drag. “Haven’t been loved on since. I might as well have ended up in a ditch tonight.” He exhaled heavily, and Toby nodded in understanding, sympathetic. “I remember when I stained my baby’s f-favourite pillow. I was in the dog house for weeks.” That had Tim scowling. “The fucking dog- should’ve never gotten a pet-” Facing the boy once more, he gestured at him with the cigarette.

“It’s sleepin’ in my spot, Rogers. Can you believe that? After all I’ve done. I get thrown away like fucking chopped liver- for a dog.” Toby shook his head, shrugging defeatedly. “Yeah, I’ve b-been there. Happens to t-the best of us, Masky.” Tim buried his face in his palms and groaned. “The hell am I supposed to do, huh? I can’t even get a damn kiss after all this bullshit.”

Toby slumped against the bench, trying his best to come up with a solution. Masky had always given him advice when he was learning the ropes of being a good partner, so it was only fair that he put in effort now.

It felt like his brain was steaming from the strain, but after a few minutes, he sat up. Light bulb sparking above his head. “Have you tried using a boombox?” Tim looked at him as if he had lost his mind. “What in god’s name are you talkin’ about, Tobias?”

“When I f-fuh-fucked up, I stood outside with a boombox for l-like an hour- and it worked!” He explained, raising his hands. “Listen, if they love you enough, the boombox always does w-what it’s supposed to. Trust m-me.” Tim narrowed his eyes, inhaling the smoke before puffing in disbelief.

“I’m a grown ass man. It’s not doin’ shit, and I ain’t got the time to stand outside for an hour.”

“Okaay- well, don’t b-blame me when you’re still s-sleeping on the couch tonight instead of being held, Masky.”

He went to scold the boy for his tone, only to be interrupted by Toby standing suddenly, phone pressed to his ear. Tim could hear the sappy nonsense spill through the speaker, and the other killer grinned, mouthing at him. “Gotta’ go, angel wants me home.” The porch was occupied by him alone after that, the silence giving him room to think.

He wasn’t showing up with a dumb boombox. He couldn’t. It probably wouldn’t work anyway. There was no way it would actually make you any less mad, and he wasn’t risking the chance of your mood worsening. Absolutely not, he was not buying an oversized stereo to blast cheesy music outside. That was idiotic; he was far too old to be pulling off stunts like that. He wasn’t doing it. He will not do it—

The boombox rattled in Tim’s backseat as he drove, and he prayed that he wouldn’t have to kill Toby Rogers tomorrow morning.

➽──────────────❥

Purple With Jealousy ▶︎ • ၊၊||၊|။|||| ↻

Habit was seething.

This was Evan’s fault.

Gengar. A Pokémon. A fucking cartoon character. He had a shirt with the little shit printed on the front. Nothing spectacular, just a faded tee he had in his closet- yet you seemed to like it. You said it suited him, the creature sharing his grin or something like that. He never thought anything of it, never cared about it.

Until now.

Recently, he’d come home to find you hugging a life-sized plush of the character. It was round and stupid-looking, but so were the rest of your stuffed animals, so he brushed it off. You told him you’d bought it because it reminded you of him, and he had scoffed. Okay, he found it a tiny bit endearing that you got a dumb purple pillow to hug when you missed him. But that wasn’t the point.

The present issue was that the whole “only using it when he wasn’t available” thing seemed to have slipped your mind. You had begun bringing it to bed with you, saying you didn’t want it to get cold. Which made zero fucking sense, but sure. It was fine-

And then it fucking wasn’t because you were currently facing away from him, cuddling with that ugly bitch.

You had let go of his arm in your sleep, rolling over to latch onto the toy instead. Habit, of course, noticed immediately. He didn’t need rest the way you did, and the second your warmth left him, his eyes shot open. The only reason he was there was to hold you- or else you’d get sulky. With that logic, why were you even an inch away from him, let alone embracing something else?

His teeth were grinding harder by the millisecond, and he scowled, glaring at the back of your head. You were snuggling into its chest, humming quietly. Grabbing onto it like it was your boyfriend, when your real boyfriend was less than a centimetre behind you.

Its stupid, featurally challenged smile had him livid. It was so fucking ugly. Genuinely an eye sore to see. Its fat fucking head wasn’t even, and its stubby limbs stuck out at odd angles. It looked nothing like him. It couldn’t keep you safe or soothe your worries. It didn’t take care of you the way he did, and it definitely couldn’t fuck you the way you liked.

It didn’t even have a fucking dick.

So why. The actual fuck. Were you nuzzling the hideous ball-shaped teddy as if you loved it?

You held the son of a bitch with so much fondness that it made him irate. His eye was twitching, and he had half the mind to yank it out of your arms. This wouldn’t have even happened if Evan’s stupid ass hadn’t bought the shirt. Yet much to Habit’s dismay, Evan was a fucking nerd who liked merch, and now he was losing his carefully nurtured rabbit to a cotton stuffed purple whore.

If he could sink his hands back into the depths of Evan’s soul to choke him, he would.

A vein was popping out of his neck, and he turned onto his side, staring at the toy with visceral hatred. “I’m going to find your creator, and rip his spine out of his fuckin’ throat, you hear me?” He muttered under his breath, full of malice.

He slipped an arm around your middle, tugging you back into him, and you squirmed, still attached to the parasite. This had to count as cheating. He huffed, reaching over to wiggle the fabric from your grasp. Your fingers eventually loosened, and the plush rolled off the mattress, landing on the ground with a muted thump. Jesus- fucking finally.

Habit exhaled when you shuffled, turning to face him, then rubbing your cheek into his chest. You inhaled deeply, a soft smile gracing your lips as you nuzzled deeper. He felt your thigh nudge between his legs, and you were fully cocooned in his embrace soon after. Contentedly babbling about whatever you were dreaming of.

Clearly, you were much more comfortable this way. “Gengar” was an unnecessary addition to the household, and he would be taking care of it in the morning.

While your lover didn’t need sleep, the lull of your heartbeat was calming. Repetitive, like white noise amongst the crickets outside- his lids were drooping before he realized. It wouldn’t hurt his vessel to rest a little extra, so he yawned and buried his nose in your hair to call it a night.

Though as the next day rolled around, his anger returned tenfold.

Everything was great, dandy, even. He’d planned to throw it out when he awoke, but he had business that he’d forgotten to wrap up. He could just toss the thing when he got home; it wasn’t a big deal. However, upon stepping foot into the house, the sight that greeted him had him holding back a yell.

Gengar was sitting at the fucking dinner table. You were eating with it. Talking to it. You had propped it up with a dumb bib and everything. Its rotund ass was in his seat. With his plate. Having a grand time with his bunny. Habit marched up the chair with a sneer, grabbing the plush’s head harshly.

You gasped, a pout already forming while you scrambled to rise onto your feet. “Bitty! What are you doing?” He grunted, replying roughly.

“I’m burning the bitch.”

“What? Why?”

“Bonbon, do not piss me off—”

➽──────────────❥

Bogeyman Down ▶︎ • ၊၊||၊|။|||| ↻

Laughing Jack was currently doing everything but laughing.

Oh, he’d really done it now- you were livid. Absolutely ticked to the moon. He’d done the one thing you’d asked him not to. The singular requirement you’d talked about prior. Do not mess up your life because he was in his head again.

And Jack had meddled to high heaven.

As stubborn as he was, he, unfortunately, could admit that this was his fault. Kind of. Maybe. Definitely. Whatever. In his opinion, the man with you looked suspicious. He was all over you. Laughing as you walked, nearly falling into you while you joked around. It had Jack feeling beyond betrayed, and he perhaps acted a bit irrationally.

He waited for you to part ways, then he snapped. Following the guy home before slipping into his dreams, tormenting him to the brink of psychological breakage. When he awoke that morning, he couldn’t even speak. Wouldn’t respond to any stimulus. His roommate was in shambles and beyond worried, so they called in professionals.

Which is when Jack found out that the guy was not a friend.

He was your cousin.

Your thoughtful, very close, and well-respected cousin. You’d informed him earlier that month that “Jay” was coming to visit, talking about it briefly while you two were under the covers. Though regrettably, he’d been quite distracted.

You had a habit of feeling him up for fun. You’d grope him through his shirt, grab his ass roughly mid-conversation, and knead at his thighs if you were bored. That night was one of those nights. It’s not that he wasn’t paying attention; it was just hard to stay focused when you were practically stroking him over his boxers. “It’s keeping my hand warm!” You’d said- and then you proceeded to pump him until his eyes crossed.

So gods forbid he was a little off course when analyzing your cousin.

Still, that didn't matter because you were very angry with him currently. You knew what’d happened from the second the man's roommate called you, turning to him with a glare that chilled him to the bone. You had left swiftly to visit Jay after, and now he was sulking alone past one in the morning. Curse that boy.

Alright, he was reaping what he sowed, but he missed you. You’d been mad for over two days, and he was dying. Literally dying, he swears he could feel himself withering by the hour. Yet the faith he had in your love remained; you were mad, yes, but you promised you weren’t breaking up with him. Therefore, he had to plan this out carefully. He was not about to put your relationship on the line due to recklessness.

The hospital halls were illuminated by cold overhead lights, humming dully as he slinked down the corridor. He’d made a bouquet for you, a bundle of your favourite flowers, with treats mixed into the stems. Tied together with a large red ribbon, a classic.

He saw the ajar ward door at the end of the walkway, and he padded forward, heart felt speech prepared. One step, another, then a shocked gasp made him falter. Twisting around, there was a nurse gawking at him two paces away. Her face was drained of colour, aghast at the view in front of her. Jack loomed over the scattered carts, lit by the faint glow of the private room behind him.

It cast shadows across his features, the glint of his edged teeth reflecting white. His form was towering, barely fitting beneath the ceiling. Skin pale, with makeup cracking along the curve of his painted lips.

A haunting sight that sent piercing fear through her nerves, making her grip her necklace shakily. She stared at him for a moment, their eyes holding tension while the awkwardness crept up his spine. “Hello…?” He greeted, trying to be cordial, and she staggered back. Muttering under her breath, “Babayaga.” He frowned at that.

Blinking a few times, he opened his mouth, closing it rigidly after debating his options. Usually, he’d simply get rid of any witnesses, but you were mad enough. If he acted out of line, your patience would definitely wane, and he couldn’t afford that.

Jack swallowed, shuffling blindly to the side, attempting to reach the door handle. Her eyes were still glued to his figure— light flooded into the dim hall.

You, in all your irritated glory, were stationed at the room's entrance, and he swivelled to you. “Gum drop-!” Though you didn’t let him finish, completely focused on the worker trembling in his shadow.

You held a palm up in his direction, effectively silencing him. “Hi. Sorry, my boyfriend’s really eccentric. He’s just visiting.” The tight smile you were giving the woman had him gulping dryly.

“Your- your boyfriend?”

“Yes. My boyfriend. He’s harmless, I promise. Just tall.”

“Right.”

She obviously did not trust the information one bit, but she nodded nonetheless. Returning your grin weakly, before swiftly speed walking her way around the corner, signing a cross over her chest.

You turned to him, eyes narrowed. “Jack.” Good god. Alright. “Yes?” He said with a nervous half laugh, and you scowled. Drawing a deep inhale, your tone left no room for nonsense. “You know what you did.” Jack hummed in acknowledgment, then you crossed your arms.

“This is the last time you piss me off.”

“Mhm.”

“You will not do it again, and if you start feeling off about somebody, you tell me about it. Because we are in a relationship, and that’s how it works. Do you understand?”

“Yes, my sweet.”

Your glower made him deflate more and more, shrinking into his fur cloak until his chin was tucked by the end. He’d fought immortal creatures for fun, been through unfathomable carnage, yet nothing compared to the disappointment of his spouse. You were scary when you were mad.

The staleness stretched on for another beat, then you sighed. “Stop overthinking and talk to me.” Moving closer, taking his hand in yours. “I love you so much, it’s not fair when you keep doubting me.” His palm cupped your cheek, and you stood chest to chest. “I trust you with my life, and I need you to trust me too, Jackie.” The earnestness in your gaze made his shoulders drop.

“I know- I know. I just-” He murmured, tugging you into him, the flowers pressed against your back. “I’m not… good at this. But I’m trying- I swear, I am.” He whispered into your hair, “I’ll be better.” And his vulnerability was clear as day.

You buried your face into his chest, clutching at the wrapping around his torso. “You’re not in a box anymore, and I’m not leaving you behind. No more bottling things up, okay?”

His bottom lip wobbled, and he squeezed you. “Okay.” Abandonment issues be damned, he’d rather spend another five hundred years imprisoned in a tupperware than lose you.

“What the fuck?”

The foreign voice made him shoot up, whipping his head to the source. Jay was leaning on the door frame, confusion plastered on his face. “He’s- He’s fucking!? That’s- I saw him!” He stuttered, and you held your hand up, attempting to de-escalate the situation.

“Wait- okay, it’s not what it looks like. Take a breath-”

“Take a breath?! He literally gutted me, I fucking felt it.”

“I lightly disembowelled you-”

“Jackson, not now.”

— ^ ^ —

The journey wasn’t long, and when you finally landed, Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph were already there with Appa and Momo. Zuko opened the door to the big beach house, and everyone quickly spread out like they already knew where they would be staying. In truth, they did. You were the only one who had never been there, so you stood at the entrance with your bags, and when you looked to your side, Zuko was still there, waiting for you with a soft smile that created a knot in your stomach.

“Come on, I’ll show you to your room.” He took your bag from your hand and made his way up the wooden stairs, not even giving you time to protest that he didn’t need to carry your things. At the top of the stairs, a very badly done drawing was hung between two big vases.

“Did you draw this?” You pointed at it with a quirked brow.

“God, no.” He scoffed with what others might have considered far too much honesty. “That was Sokka. He made it when we all visited my uncle’s tea shop after the war ended.” There was a look of endearment in his face as he looked back at it, and you could see how much he loved his friends; to the point of hanging a horrible, childlike drawing in a central place in the house. You felt your heart skip a beat just before he turned to keep walking. The first floor was much smaller than the ground floor, and you noticed there were only two rooms in it.

“This is you.” Zuko stopped by the first door and opened it. “I hope you like it.” He entered and placed your bag on the bed. The house had clearly been prepared for guests; everything looked fresh and clean.

“Zuko, it’s beautiful.” The dark wood of the floors and beams contrasted with a soft cream tone of the walls, accompanied by the deep orange that made up the sheer curtains, bathing the entire room in a warm hue. The white linen bedding was topped with a dark crimson cover; its silk brocade mimicking the flickering of flames. 

“It used to be my room.” He looked down at you for a moment, just watching, silent. You felt a fluttering in your stomach, and you knew you shouldn’t, but you couldn’t stop yourself from staring back. Finally, he snapped out of it. “I’ll be right next door if you need anything. I’m going to go and get ready to go down to the beach with you guys before I check on Druk.” His hand brushed your shoulder as he smiled, before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.

After he left you all at the beach, Zuko made his way to the volcano crater where Druk was. He preferred checking on him by himself, at first, to make sure the dragon felt comfortable and up for visits.

While Toph made sand sculptures to top up her sandbending skills, Sokka, Suki, Ty Lee and Aang were playing kuai ball, and you and Katara were playing around in the water, making a giant water octopus and big whirlpools. After about an hour, Aang and Sokka decided to go for a swim themselves, and you and Katara joined Toph, Suki and Ty Lee by their towels so you could dry off. You were enjoying the feeling of the sun on your face, when something suddenly covered it. You put your hand over your forehead to shade your eyes as you looked up; two strangers stood before you.

“Hey, I’m Ruon-Jian, and this is Chan. Are you new around here?” He asked you with a smirk.

“Uh, yeah. We’re on holiday here for a few days.” You signaled toward the girls, who were all looking at him. The other guy suddenly perked up.

“No way. Ty Lee?”

“Oh, hi.” She replied with her usual sweetness. “I can’t believe you remember me.” Her cheeks had gone pink.

“How could I forget you?” Chan made his way towards her and kept chatting.

“You’re only staying a few days? That’s too bad.” Ruon-Jian turned back to you.

Meanwhile, Zuko was just returning from his visit to Druk, when he saw you, laying on your towel, casually talking to some stranger who was clearly trying to flirt with you. Something took over him, something distant but familiar, and he sped up his pace as he made his way to you. As he grew closer, he noticed the guy hitting on you was the same that had flirted with Mai all those years ago, and his anger threatened to become uncontrollable.

“So, we’re having a barbecue later, if you guys would like to come. You can bring the boys, too.” Aang and Sokka had made their way out of the water by now, and were also walking towards their towels.

“She can’t. She’s busy.” Zuko’s voice sounded from behind you, and you looked to see him looking angry; his face was red, his arms crossed, and he looked like he was trying not to spit fire.

Unfortunately for him, his scar was unmistakable. “Fire Lord!” The strangers looked flustered as they straightened their backs and bowed. Zuko’s posture immediately softened at the realization that he wasn’t just some banished prince anymore, and you weren’t his girlfriend. But he couldn’t help how he felt. “Forgive us. We didn’t mean to-“

He cleared his throat. “It’s ok. I just meant – we already have plans.”

“We do?” You asked first, but everyone else in the group turned to him with the same confused look, which only made the scarlet in his cheeks deepen.

“Y-yes. We’re going to the theater.”

“Oh, that’ll be swell.” Aang rolled his eyes at the memory of the last play he had seen at Ember Island.

“Well, I can still show you around, if you’d like.” Ruon-Jian said softly, only to you now. The Fire Lord was single; everyone knew that. His relationship status was of national interest, particularly to the families who hoped to marry their daughters into the royal family. It was a completely reasonable offer to a woman who appeared to be single. But Zuko’s ability to think straight was barely hanging on by a thread at this point, and the fact Ruon-Jian kept trying only made him angrier.

“She doesn’t need a guide. I can show her the island myself.” The entire group looked at him with inquisitive looks, except Sokka; he looked like he’d just won a bet. “In fact, I came back to get you because I wanted to show you something. How would you like to meet Druk?”

Your eyes widened and you immediately rushed to get up. “I’d love to!” The smile on your face was so big, he forgot all about his anger and jealousy; smiling back at you. You quickly put on your beach dress and your shoes, and didn’t think twice before taking the hand Zuko offered to walk up the beach with you.

“Oh, please, don’t mind us. Who needs to see a dragon more than once?” Sokka commented.

“I’ve never seen one.” Toph quipped; her arms behind her head.

“You need to stop with the stupid jokes.” He said, annoyed.

“Only if you stop with the stupid remarks.” She chuckled.

Chan went back to chatting to Ty Lee, until Ruon-Jian tapped him on the shoulder and signaled for them to leave; his pride wounded.

“How long do you think until they finally get together?” Sokka asked the group.

“It’s all up to Zuko. He’s the Fire Lord. She’s never going to think she has a chance.” Katara seemed sad for you. Even though you hadn’t told her, she already knew exactly how you felt. It was as if she could read your mind sometimes. There was a moment of silence at her statement, which was broken by her brother.

“Well, then, considering how oblivious he can be, she better come back and go on a date with that guy.” There was a harsh sound of solid rock, followed by a shriek and a harsh splash. Toph had thrown Sokka up in the air and into the sea, making everyone burst into laughter.

By the time you had reached the top of the beach, you dropped Zuko’s hand, and he reluctantly let go of yours. You walked in silence for a few minutes, until you finally worked up the courage to talk.

“Uhm – Zuko, what was all that at the beach?” It would have been naïve to think you would have just let that whole scene slip with no thoughts or questions. But, despite expecting it, Zuko couldn’t help but feel nervous.

“Uh – I –“ There were a few seconds of silence as he thought of what to say. “I just don’t like those guys. I met them a few years ago and they were all entitled jerks. They invited us to a party just to flirt with Ty Lee and… the guy that was hitting on you… tried to hit on Mai too. Even though he knew we were dating.” He went quiet, cheeks blazing, looking everywhere but you.

“Oh.” He was just being a good friend, as usual. “Well, no wonder you don’t like him. Makes sense why you didn’t want him near your friends. Thanks for looking out for me.” When he finally turned to you, you were already looking at him with a sweet smile.

I didn’t want him near you. “Of course. You know I’ll always be here for you.” That last sentence left his lips before he could think about it.

Druk was kept on Ember Island’s dormant volcano. It had a cave were he could sleep and hide, and he could walk freely around its massive crater. When you arrived to the tunnel that led inside the crater, its entrance was heavily guarded. Six soldiers stood there to keep anyone from entering, and when you walked into the crater there were six more inside. Druk seemed to have expected you; he was sitting upright and facing you.

“I told him I’d be back and bring someone for him to meet.” Zuko tried to explain, expecting you to be frightened by the dragon’s stance. You should have probably been scared, but you couldn’t hide the absolute awe and wonder that coursed through you at the sight of such a magnificent creature.

“He’s so beautiful.” Your eyes were wide, and your lips parted into a smile. “Can I approach him?”

“Carefully. He’s going to judge you first. Don’t be offended if he doesn’t let you touch him, he doesn’t allow most people. I think it’s because he’s still a moody teenager.” The dragon grumbled, as if he resented the Fire Lord’s remark.

“I heard you were also a moody teenager.” You teased him, raising your brow with a smirk.

“I-“ His brows pinched together as if he were about to protest, until he remembered it was true, making you giggle.

You looked at Druk again and slowly approached him. “I can’t believe there’s so few of you left.” Your eyes glossed over as you admired the dragon and thought of all the creatures that had nearly been extinguished by the war. You thought of Aang, the last of his people. Despite being close at that point, instead of approaching further, you stopped and just looked at him, blinking the tears away. Zuko had been somewhat nervous for you. Now, he was confused, just as Druk was; but he knew better than to come between the two of you at such a crucial moment.

“I don’t need to come closer. I just wanted to meet you.” A smile painted your features. “It’s an honor.” You bowed.

The dragon took a step forward and stretched its neck slowly, until his nose was mere inches from you. He gave you a sniff, before a warm exhale dried the tears on your cheeks.

“Thank you.” You beamed. Druk’s eyes quickly shifted to his companion, before turning back to you and shutting completely. His head lowered, and he nudged your chest with surprising gentleness, as if asking for you to pet him. So, you did. He was warm, like Zuko, but his scales made him rough to the touch. The Fire Lord was in complete awe.

“He’s never asked for anyone else to touch him. Except for me and Aang.” You could tell by his voice that he was now right behind you. “How did you do that?” Druk looked at Zuko again, and somehow, he knew. He knew the dragon knew his heart, and he knew it was showing him his heart had chosen wisely.

“Maybe he’s in a good mood today.” You remarked absentmindedly, your hand still caressing the dragon’s skin.

“Yeah… I guess he is.” Despite their bond being fairly recent, it was already a deep one, and an exchange of looks was enough to hold entire conversations. There was a request in Zuko’s eyes. A plea for reassurance. “Would you like to… go for a ride with me?”

Your head snapped towards the Fire Lord. “What? Are you sure?” You didn’t remove your hand from Druk, but you knew better than to push your luck. The dragon didn’t move. He stood stoic, holding his companion’s gaze.

“Yes. I am.” Finally, his eyes turned to you. “Would you like to?”

You blinked, finding the courage to answer. “If Druk doesn’t mind, then I would love to.” As if to answer, Druk laid flat against the ground.

“I think he’d love to take you, too.” Zuko couldn’t contain his happiness. He felt like a giddy child again; a feeling he didn’t get to experience often. He grabbed your hand and pulled you towards the dragon’s neck, where he helped you climb on. In only a few seconds, he was behind you. His arms came around your waist, and he picked up the reins that curled around Druk’s horns.

“Ok. Knees tight against him - don’t worry, it won’t hurt him - And hold on to his mane. I’ll hold on to you, too, don’t worry.” His arms tightened around you, encircling you and pulling you flush against him.

“Do you also have to go yip-yip?” You joked, trying to feel less nervous.

“No. That’s dumb. He understands us.” The deadpan way in which he said it almost made you laugh, if he hadn’t immediately given the order. “Druk, go!” The take-off was different from anything else you had ever experienced. Riding on a dragon’s neck was incomparable to anything else, though when his gaze was fixed, it was surprisingly steady.

“This is nothing like riding Appa!” You held on as tight as you could and risked a look down at the island.

“Don’t tell him I said this, but I think it’s more fun.” He spoke against your ear, and the feeling of his breath gave you goosebumps. Suddenly, a pull of his reins made Druk dip into a quick descent as you closed in on the beach. The swirl in your belly was exciting, and you couldn’t help but laugh instinctively. The locals were used to seeing Druk flying by now, all of them sworn to secrecy until he was grown enough to leave the island. When you flew closer to the shore, Zuko waved at your friends, and you shot them a big grin as you passed by.

“Hey, why does she get to ride the dragon and I don’t?” Sokka exclaimed.

“Maybe the dragon doesn’t find you worthy.” Toph provoked him.

“Or maybe you need Zuko to fall in love with you first.” Suki giggled.

“I’m going to join them” Aang quickly picked up his glider and got up.

“No, you’re not!” Katara grabbed his arm. “Let them have their moment. Maybe this is the little push they need.” The Avatar looked between his partner and the sky, and realized she was right.

“I’ve missed you guys.” You picked Momo up, removing him from your head, and held on to him while you scratched his chin. The room was, like most of the palace, composed of dark red hues with gold accents, decorated with piles of pillows, settees, and small tables filled with snacks and drinks. A soft breeze was blowing in from the balcony, making the sheer curtains billow.

“We’ve missed you too! Come, let’s have a drink and you can tell me all about that lightning show you and Zuko did. He refused to tell us about it without you.” Katara pulled you towards the center of the room, where she picked up a glass of flaming plum liqueur, which she handed to you before ordering you to sit. You looked back at Zuko, whose eyes were already fixed on you, to make sure he followed.

As the hours passed, despite the fuzzy feeling given by the drinks you had, you became more and more aware of how Sokka kept watching you. He seemed to be forming a theory in his mind, watching you for a moment, then looking at Zuko. Even in the midst of everyone’s jokes, there was something he was trying to figure out, and you were scared that he’d point it out. You liked Zuko from the moment you saw him, but getting to know him only made your feelings stronger. He was smart, sweet, attentive, cared about his people and justice; he was even funny sometimes, though it was mostly unintentional. He could be awkward from time to time, but that only made you like him more. You yourself could be like that too, so it just felt like you understood each other; like it was ok to be a bit blunt sometimes. It also didn’t help that he was so tall and beautiful, with those warm amber eyes, that long, flowy black hair, those broad shoulders and strong arms.

You realized you had been staring at Zuko the whole time he had been speaking, and you turned to Sokka to see he had noticed it. As soon as the Fire Lord ended his sentence, he prepared to shoot his question.

“So, are you guys-“

“I need some air!” You shot up from your seat and spoke way too loudly, making everyone stare at you. “I mean- I feel too warm- from the plum liqueur- I’m going to get some air and cool down.” Sokka slumped in his seat, frustrated at your escape, and everyone resumed their conversations. You made your way to the balcony, internally cursing yourself for how obvious you had allowed yourself to be.

The moonlight shone over the pond below; its light reflected onto the entire garden. You took a deep breath, having realized you actually were too warm, and put your hands to your cheeks to cool them down, like you had done for Zuko at dinner.

“Are you okay?” Your eyes closed and a sigh escaped you at the sound of his voice. Having cooled down properly, you removed your hands from your cheeks and turned to see the Fire Lord’s worried eyes.

“Yeah! Yeah, just- needed to cool down, that’s all. I heat up quick when I drink.” You chuckled.

“I think more than one glass of flaming plum liqueur will make anyone too hot.” He chuckled, and you noticed how red his cheeks were. Zuko was always warm, and could tolerate high temperatures, but it was impressive just how much heat he generated. You watched as smoke came out of his mouth, blown into the breeze. I guess royal fire and blood burn hottest.

“So, you can cool down on your own.” You raised your brow, throwing him a mischievous smile.

The smoke turned into a flame, and he began coughing as if he choked on the fire. “I – sometimes. If I’m not too hot, or sick.” He explained. “It’s always easier for firebenders to create heat, and sometimes we can’t help but burn like fire ourselves.” Your eyes wandered through his frame. His hair, flowing lightly in the breeze, his golden eyes, his long neck, partially hidden by his robes.

“It’s like making cold for me. I’ve always found it easier to create ice and cool down fevers than warming people up.” He was close to you now, and you both went quiet.

“Makes sense, we’re opposites.” He whispered after a few moments, and raised the tips of his fingers to your cheek, sharing a sliver of his warmth. You did the same, and he felt a soothing cold against his skin. Droplets of water collected around you, as if the air itself was condensing. Suddenly, tiny blue sparks erupted for your fingers, and you each felt a prickle in your cheek that made you pull away.

“Sorry-“ You both said.

“Now that’s what I call having a spark.” Sokka said from the doorframe of the balcony. He was leaning against it with his arms crossed, looking smugly at the two of you.

“Sokka-“

“Hey, don’t mind me.” He raised his arms in surrender. “I was just trying to catch a glimpse of my ex-girlfriend.” You and Zuko looked at the bright full moon.

“Won’t Suki get jealous?” You asked smugly, trying to change the subject.

“If I could actually kiss the moon, maybe. But since I can’t, she doesn’t see it as real competition.” He shrugged. “So, if you two are done… electrocuting each other, Aang wanted to know when we’re supposed to head to Ember Island.”

You looked between Sokka and the Fire Lord. “You’re going to Ember Island?”

“We’re going to Ember Island. You’re coming too.” Blablbla

“What are we doing there?”

“Even the Fire Lord deserves a holiday from time to time. Besides, I have to check on Druk. I think he’s grown enough now that I’ll finally be able to bring him to the palace.” The Fire Lord’s dragon was a well-kept secret, shared only with his caretakers on Ember Island, and his group of friends, which you were now part of. The idea that you would get to see, maybe even meet one of the last remaining dragons in the world, was beyond exciting.

A few days before you departed to Ember Island, you were on your way to deliver some scrolls to the Fire Lord, when you heard the Lord Chamberlain’s voice in the throne room.

“My lord, when you return, we must address the matter of your lineage. The council believes it’s time you found a wife and produced an heir. We have made a list of the best candidates in the nation, that will bring honor to the royal family and are of adequate status.”

You felt the air leave your lungs. How could you have been stupid enough to think you had a chance? Zuko was the Fire Lord, and you were just some water tribe nobody. Even if you were someone of standing, it didn’t matter; your review of the history of the Fire Nation for the educational reform showed you that no Fire Lord had ever married someone from another nation. It made sense. Could you imagine if the Fire Lord had a bunch of water bending children? It would cause an uproar. He had a nation and a dynasty to worry about. Surely, he would never even think of seeing you as more than a friend, and you would just have to accept that. You handed the scrolls to a scribe that was about to enter the room and left as quickly as you could, back to your office.

“What if I don’t want any of your candidates?” The Fire Lord’s brow quirked.

“Well, if there is anyone you have in mind, the council would of course look into it and evaluate the propriety of the match. It is expected that you marry a lady of status from our nation, preferably one with bending abilities.”

“Expected?” Zuko rose from his seat. “I have given myself, my time, my life to this nation.” The braziers in the room erupted, creating a wall of fire the likes of which hadn’t been seen since the reign of Fire Lord Ozai. “I do everything that is expected of me, and more. We live in times of unprecedented peace and prosperity because of the efforts I make daily!”  The wall of fire puffed as he spoke, reaching all the way to the chamberlain’s feet. “Do not forget your place, lords.” His fiery gold gaze passed through the faces of each council member. “You are part of a council. As such, it is your job to counsel me. I trust your wisdom and expertise on many matters, but you will not choose my wife. Is that understood?” As soon as he finished speaking, the wall became stable, only a few flickers broke through.

“Yes, Fire Lord.” The council members spoke in unison, bowing down in reverence. They had seen Zuko angry before, but very rarely was it at all of them, much less to the point that the room became a fire pit. There were amongst them a few who thought he didn’t possess the authority needed to rule the nation, like his father before him, but this display showed them that the new Fire Lord was simply a man of wisdom, who knew to listen to others when necessary, but who would make his own decisions when he made up his mind.

“Good. Council dismissed.” The brasiers returned to their normal state, and the Fire Lord walked out of the throne room. On his way out, the tiny scribe nearly bumped against him, and immediately bowed down, extending his arms holding out the Water Tribe scrolls.

“Fire Lord. The Water Tribe envoy has asked me to deliver these.”

His rage seemed to have quickly subsided, something he had gotten better at with time. “Why didn’t she come give them herself?” He asked with a raised brow, taking the scrolls into his own hands.

“I don’t know, my lord. She seemed to be in a hurry.”

“Thank you.” She must be busy. He thought to himself. Though, you had never been too busy to see him even for a short time, especially if you had something to give him.

Introduction - 1 , 2 , 3

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Translations by order:

"Kung sino yung matangkad na may scar sa mikha, naka leather jacket and long black hair, hmu" -> Whoever is the person with a facial scar, wears a leather jacket with long black hair, hmu

"inet inet na, tas naka leather pa" -> it's so hot and he's still wearing leather

"Manipis to, di katulad ng mukha mo. Diba naka DNI ka? Obsessed much" -> This is thin, unlike your face. Aren't you in my DNI? Obsessed much

"Bakit hindi mo ako i-mute o block?" -> Why won't you mute or block me?

"Naka ilang strike ka na" -> How many strikes have you had

"ba't ka naka question mark? Ikaw nagsabi yan sakin ih" -> Why did you send a question mark? You told me that eh

"Wala lang, madali kang asarin" -> Nothing, you're just easy to annoy