#sevenbulletsavior

draped in the warm yellow glow of the nightstand light, natasha's hands card into karen's hair as their lips meet. it isn't the slow, lazy kiss that they'd shared in the living room as they watched tv. this was a hungry and passionate kiss, the type that sets her ablaze and makes her stomach flutter. karen's bare form presses against her own, thigh pressing right up against the slick heat between her legs. a soft groan escapes, one hand travels down karen's side, over her hip to grip at her ass. natasha's own thigh lifts up to press more firmly against karen's center.

the bar was narrow, dim, and humid with the residue of too many conversations that pretended to be casual. he preferred places like this - people were looser in the dark.

karen page sat two stools away when he first noticed her - nursing something amber, untouched long enough for the ice to surrender. she didn’t appear drunk. she looked contemplative, which was far more interesting to dmitri

he shifted one seat closer, not enough to crowd, but close enough to exist in her periphery. giving his tumbler of vodka a glance as he rocked the liquid back and forth, dmitri leaned to his left, canting his head towards karen just a fraction.

' you're thinking loudly, ' he clocked the way she looked up, the way her slender brows arched as she gave him a once-over, ' you haven't taken a sip for as long as i've been in this place - it suggests disappointment. ' dmitri continued without turning his head to face the woman. instead, he lifted his own glass and took a mouthful of his own drink, letting the clean burn spread across his tongue with a familiar warmth.

' or deliberation. ' dmitri offered in a musing tone, finally turning his head to meet karen's searching gaze. he saw the way the corner of her mouth twitched though.

' we all eat lies when our hearts are hungry. '

oh now that had his curiosity well and truly piqued - no denial. no argument. just a nuanced deflection that told him he was tugging on the right thread. dmitri stilled for half a beat, before giving a curt nod of his head, a faint smile tugging on the corner of his mouth as he raised his glass towards her in a feigned toast.

' here's to hunger then - it makes people forgiving. they tell themselves that the lie was necessary ... protective. romantic even. ' the last two words were quieter, softer, his tone musing and hinting that maybe it hadn't been meant for her ears at all; a hook dangled for the bite.

she has him confused for someone else. playing devil's advocate to a man who has already run circles around this conversation. pointing out things that'd been said months ago. years if he's left to his own devices too long. and hadn't he been ? on the other end of a phone that rarely buzzed. when one more trip to one more doctor leaves him grinding his teeth and typing out message after message that goes unsent. a draft folder that bulges at the middle, @sevenbulletsavior 's address above empty subject lines. but he doesn't need to worry about that.

" i'm sorry ? " it's offended, not apologetic. brows shoot high over eyes that can't decide whether to darken. honey was just as easy to get stuck in, after all. " what part about that shouldn't i worry about ? "

Control was a vital thing for a man who felt his life was a nebulous, malnourished thing. A birth home completely soaked in the vileness of corruption, foster home after foster home with motives making decisions, and juvenile detention. Everyone and everything had been manipulating him while telling him what was right and what was wrong. He needed two hands full of control just to be him. A version of him for that matter— the version of him who could walk among normal people. In turn he ripped the control out of a lot of people's hands, Karen Page included.

Sadistic piece of shit. Could a psychopath fall in love however? Could one relinquish that power to the one and only one he cared about? Dexter never liked labels very much, but he didn't mind the label of love. And Karen, mmm, how spectacular she looked taking back what Dexter had stolen and killed. Her touch even if it was born out of animosity acted like cupid's arrow to arouse and entice the mad man. She smelled good, too, but he was not dumb enough to nuzzle the tip of his nose against the pale flesh of her wrist for more.

Dexter's adam's apple bobbed thickly with his head turned in submission, but the fire of excitement in his blue eyes matched her crazy. He wanted to move his hands beneath her shirt, around her waist, to feel the material of her underwear, and then yank her blonde hairs too. Would she cut his throat or shoot him in the head or... would she moan? Dexter's blood was rushing, and the freak was getting too excited. He had to calm his breath with a lick of his lips and the gathering of his thoughts before clear thought became speech.

❛ Come on, Karen, you can do it. ❜

nonverbal prompts.

The shift in tone of Karen's visits had not gone unnoticed -- nor unappreciated -- by the king. Surprisingly, she turned out to be pleasant company. It also helped that she was whip-smart, and her experience as an investigator and journalist made her an excellent source of information, which was the most valuable currency in his world.

He had paused mid-conversation to pluck another one of his Asgardian "cigarettes" from its silver case and place it between his lips, but stopped short of lighting it when he noticed a glint of something shiny in Karen's hand -- his lighter. That she'd swiped it from his desk so efficiently, so subtly, made him smirk.

He nodded in approval and leaned forward, allowing Karen to light the end of his cigarette. He took a long drag and exhaled a puff of wormwood-scented smoke before holding the cigarette between two fingers and looking at her with a glint of mirth in his eyes.

shipping sheet.

do i ship our characters together?: yes | no | not yet but maybe soon

would i like to ship with you?: yes | maybe, i'm willing to try | no

type of relationship i could see: childhood or high school sweethearts | exes | engaged | married | long-term relationship | crushes | unrequited love | fling | long distance | online relationship | just dating | new relationship | toxic lovers | friends with benefits

tropes i'd enjoy writing for them: friends to lovers | enemies to lovers | exes to lovers | fake relationship / dating | forbidden love | grumpy and sunshine | star-crossed lovers | surprise pregnancy | second chance | soulmates | amnesia / mistaken identity | forced proximity | secret relationship | slow burn relationship

would i rather plot first or jump right in and see where it goes?: develop their relationship first | jump right in | something in between

𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐤𝐢.

Loki considers his response for a moment before crossing his arms and exhaling, much the same as a disappointed father might. How the years have changed him.

Then, he laughs.

"Yes, I suppose we both know that those kinds of questions are only asked out of obligation. Still, I have the strangest feeling that you wouldn't tell me even if I did want answers."