Silkfyre - ֆɨʟӄʄʏʀɛ

ミ[technical difficulties]

🍓 pairing: recom miles quaritch x human fem reader

🍓 tags: nsfw, daddy kink, size kink, alien genitalia, human x na'vi, oral sex, vaginal sex, q gets a v messy blowjob and repays u by blowing ur back out, brief voyeurism, quaritch's pov turned out so filthy?

🍓 wordcount: 19k

masterlist

reblogs are always enormously appreciated!

Recently, you’ve had to come to terms with a number of things.

Number one, the food rationing system on Pandora means that you have to go without some of your favourite foods for months, years, or even for the rest of your rotation planet-side. Fresh fruit, chocolate, pizza, any food that gives you joy, is practically impossible to get here. And even if there is a delivery, it’s always the assholes in upper management and leadership roles that get all the good stuff anyway.

Number two, military men are absolute pigs. If you thought the ones on Earth were bad, you weren’t prepared for the ones on Pandora. They’re cocky, arrogant, rude, and seem to have come to Pandora for the big paycheck and the chance to cause absolute havoc among the native Na’vi populations. You avoid them as much as possible, but Bridgehead is absolutely crawling with a military presence, and your job makes it difficult to avoid them anyway.

And number three… well. Number three is a little more embarrassing.

“—and if you wanna survive out there, you gotta be alert. First things first, we’re headed out to this area in the… shit.” Colonel Quaritch pauses in the middle of his sentence, then turns to you with a scowl.

You’ve only been half listening, a little too distracted by the Colonel’s enormous frame and big biceps and the way his cute little ears flick back as he debriefs his Recom team.

“Hey kid, how do I—” He gestures irritably at the slide presentation behind him.

That’s your cue to jolt forward and help him change slides. It’s really so easy to do; just a simple click of a button.

“Ah.” Quaritch mutters when you change the slide for him, before clapping you on the shoulder in thanks before getting right back to his debrief.

The clap to your shoulder is almost strong enough to nearly send you stumbling, his wide palm and long fingers almost spanning the whole width of your back. Blood rushes to your cheeks, and your face burns as you hurriedly step back into the corner you’ve been standing in this whole time.

And that’s the third thing you’ve had to come to terms with – the unnerving tingles that start up between your legs every time Colonel Quaritch’s enormous blue ass needs help with technological problems that are so damn easy to solve.

You clear your throat a little self-consciously, praying that you don’t look as flustered as you feel. You’ve already noticed the way the rest of the Recoms are sending each other little smirking glances and elbowing each other in the sides.

It’s humiliating. Not the crush itself – that, you feel, is fairly understandable. He’s nearly ten-feet of smooth blue skin and intimidating muscle, with a condescending sharp fanged smile and sharp, cold eyes. You’re only human, and he’s hot as hell. You can hardly be blamed for developing a crush, the man is built like a god.

No, the part that’s humiliating is the way you react over his little technical difficulties. The way he squints at the data pads that look so small in his huge hands, the way he pokes uncertainly at screens that don’t even have touch-screen capacity, the way his tongue clicks in frustration when he can’t get something working for him. It all just gets you going in a way that’s actually a little bit unnerving.

You sit through the rest of the debriefing, but you’re distracted. There’s no real reason for you to be there, so you don’t bother listening. Literally nothing about this debriefing has anything to do with you; it’s all aimed at the Recoms for their upcoming scouting missions into the lowland forest region.

The only reason you’re here is because Quaritch had instructed you to sit in the corner, and your knees had promptly gone weak and you had sunk down into the rickety chair at the edge of the room. The reaction stems partially from Quaritch’s sexy authoritative voice and partially from the fact that you’re exhausted.

You’re pretty much glorified tech support, but that’s alright. If anything, you’re eager for it – it’s a stimulating change from the monotony of your usual duties. You’re watching him closely, pulse leaping every time you see that cute little furrow to his brow, or the way his mouth turns down as he grapples with the clicker that’s much too small for his hands.

His tail lashes in agitation, his mouth pressing together as he glares at the presentation behind him, attempting to bend the Powerpoint to his will as he continues talking.

“—so we’re gonna be actin’ like we got eyes in the back of our heads, ‘cause if we get caught unawares by these bastards then we’re gonna end up with arrows comin’ out of our skulls—shit.” Cutting himself off yet again, Quaritch turns to you with a scowl.

You’re up before he can even verbalise the need for assistance (not that he’d ever ask for help, more like he’d just grunt at you until you got up to sort out the problem). The buttons are obviously much too small for his big-ass fingers. You take the clicker, and press the button yourself.

The slide changes, displaying a collage of dangerous Pandoran wildlife; thanators, viperwolves, banshees, titanotheres. It looks good, very professional – because you were the one that had made it, revising Quaritch’s ugly, half-assed attempt at just pasting a whole load of grainy jpegs on a word document.

Quaritch grunts in satisfaction, nodding as his tail curls. “Now, I know we’ve gone through this a hundred times, but we’re gonna go through it a hundred times more till I’m confident you knuckleheads ain’t gonna get yourselves kill the second we get out there.”

There’s a chorus of groans at that, but none of them seem brave enough to complain outright. Quaritch fields the groans easily by electing to simply ignore them, turning to give them an in-depth run-down on the threats out there in the Pandoran wildnerness.

You hover near his side, uncertain if you’ve been dismissed just yet. You figure it’s best to just wait. Knowing the old man, he’ll need help again with something else in a minute or too anyway.

“C’mon, sir, we know this.” One of the men complains. You think it might be Fike. “We’ve gone over this a ton of times.”

“Yeah, well, if the information had all stuck then we wouldn’t have ended with Walker nearly gutted on our last outing, would we?” Quaritch barks, his tone so sharp and acerbic that it shoots down your spine with an electric jolt.

The other Recoms roll their eyes, apparently used to his authoritative tone, but it nearly knocks you flat. You have to breathe through your nose and fight to keep your expression neutral, trying to pretend like you haven’t just soaked your panties at the sound of it. God, this dry spell you’ve been going through is going to be the end of you.

Huffing out an irritated breath, Quaritch turns to you and makes an irritated sort of gesture with his hand. “Just go to the next slide, kid. I’ll cut this short.”

You sigh, and click to the final slide. You cross your arms over your chest as you shift on your feet, jutting your hip out to try and distribute your weight. You’re seriously hoping that he picks up the pace and finishes soon so that you can get back to your own work. Or maybe a nap – you can’t remember the last time you’ve slept for more than three hours at a time.

Quaritch gets back to his debriefing, and you tune out. It’s not like what he’s saying has any importance to you at all. You’ve been a good little employee at the RDA for going on two years now, working hard in the tech sector of the colony at Bridgehead, and not once have you actually left the compound. So all these stupid safety precautions for the Recoms going out into the forest are boring to you.

You tap your fingers absent-mindedly against your arms as you wait, trying not to get antsy. You know your work is probably piling up back on your desk, but you can’t leave until you’ve been dismissed. As you wait, you allow your eyes to trail back to Quaritch so you can watch him idly.

The attraction to him has bloomed so oddly. In the beginning, you hadn’t been any more interested in him than in any of the Recoms, and even that was just natural curiosity about the enormous new blue soldiers. Part of your rules for living on Pandora was to avoid military men after all, and the nine-feet-tall Recom soldiers definitely fall into that category.

And listen, here’s the thing. You don’t even like him. He’s rough, rude, abrasive, and entirely dismissive of you even when you’re actually helping him. Besides, like you’ve said, the military men on Pandora are pigs. You avoid them whenever possible, for the preservation of your mental health.

And yet – that first day he had come into the tech hub with a handful of new RDA-issued tech and a frustrated, bewildered frown on his face, you had felt the weirdest tightening in your stomach. It had only gotten worse from there, when he came in for help with the most basic of things. It seems like technology has progressed a lot in the fourteen years he’s been dead, and he’s obviously irritated by being outpaced by it all.

“Alright, get outta here.”

Quaritch’s voice jolts you out of your daydreaming, and you glance around to see that the Recoms are all beginning to stand, preparing to move out. You have to suffer a moment of claustrophobia as you’re quite abruptly hit with the fact that all of a sudden you are by far the smallest person in the room.

You shift, uneasy as you crane your neck back to watch them all file out. They positively tower over you, your head reaching under their navels, and you step back a little nervously. You’re sure they wouldn’t step on you, but you don’t want to take that chance.

As the others leave the room, Quaritch turns back to the little monitor on the desk and starts swearing quietly at it.

“Damn thing,” He mutters, prodding roughly at it. “How do I turn this off?”

You step up alongside him, frowning. “Hey, don’t be so rough. You’ll break it.”

“I’m not being rough.” Quaritch snaps back, though he pulls his hand away.

You switch off the display, then begin powering down the digital projector. It’s quick work, and easy to do despite Quaritch’s impatient confusion, and you slot the clicker back into place on the desk.

“This shit’s a waste of time,” He grumbles as he watches you fiddle with the equipment. “Don’t see why I can’t just tell them what I need to tell them without all these crap visuals behind me.”

It’s not the first little diatribe he’s gone on about the uselessness of technology, so you just roll your eyes and let him rant.

“You need to make the buttons on those things bigger.” He continues, stepping after you as you gather your things.

“I don’t actually manufacture the equipment, I only keep it working.” You point out, keeping your tone even.

“Well, figure it out.”

And there’s the downside of having a crush on Colonel Quaritch. He’s an absolute asshole.

The attraction you feel towards him is entirely physical, and it’s hard not to think about sex when you look at him. He ticks every primitive mating box: incredibly tall, handsome, the strongest of any pack he’s in. Everywhere he goes, he brings an air of authority with him. Making people cower is almost part of his charm.

But god, he can be such a dick sometimes.

“Is that all, sir?” You ask, your voice a little sardonic.

Quaritch grunts, but you can feel his wide yellow eyes watching you. It’s unnervingly akin to being under the sharp stare of a predator, and you try to ignore the way your hair is standing on end.

“That’ll be it, kid.” He drawls, though he’s still watching you.

You wait for a beat, but no thank you comes. You wonder why you bothered waiting in the first place, considering you’ve never received anything of the sort.

With an eyeroll, you gather up your stuff and head out.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ

Your head is pounding as you work, the fluorescent light of your blue screen making your eyes throb. The screen blinks, an underscore slashing across impatiently, erasing the authorisation and the past day-shifts requests. Thousands of malfunctions are listed in a matter of seconds, logged at the top right-hand corner in a series of white 8-bit texts. The centre terminal lists a series of errors of accompanied by steady beeping.

The abrupt diagnosis comes with a high-pitched ring, signalling its potential danger/damage at a level six on the twelve-notch risk scale. You swear.

“Todd, have you been keeping on top of the atmosphere composition readouts in the Recom sector?” You ask, glancing briefly over your shoulder.

Your co-worker glances up, bleary-eyed behind his wire-rimmed glasses. His chin has a bit of dried sauce on it from the overly-processed dried noodles he’d been eating earlier, and you feel your nose wrinkle a little at the sight of it.

“Uh..” He says, and the pause is long enough for you to purse your lips and raise your eyebrows. “Yeah.”

“Well, it’s saying the nitrogen levels are too low.”

Todd blinks owlishly at you, and you feel your temper flare. Swearing lowly, you push yourself out of your swivel chair, feeling your spine crack ominously as you straighten up, lower back aching.

“Right, I’ll fix it myself.” You say grimly.

“You don’t have to.” Todd says unconvincingly. “I can do it.”

He doesn’t even twitch, making no effort to stand, so his offer falls flat.

Lazy shit.

You grimace at him, and don’t even bother replying as you stalk out of the tiny shared office that you do most of your work in. Having to shoulder your own workload can be challenging enough, but the weight of Todd’s added work can be stifling sometimes.

The brightness of the fluorescent lighting in the corridors hurts your head, and you squint as you scurry your way through the halls. Your headache is throbbing, your neck is aching, and you’re so goddamn tired.

The last thing you need is the added responsibility of having to fix Todd’s negligence before it turns into an actual problem, but you already know that Todd’s mistakes look like your mistakes too, given that you share the same shitty little office terminal.

The sector the Recom soldiers live in is no larger than any of the other sectors, though everything is almost comically over-sized. You fit an exo-pack carefully over your face as you enter the sector, making your way towards the maintenance terminal. It’s hidden behind a large grate, and you struggle with the heavy metal for a moment before you finally manage to get it removed, letting it drop to the lino floor with a heavy clang.

Your tiredness is making you lethargic and a little clumsy, and your eyes are dry and a little itchy as you turn your attention to the monitor on the terminal. The computer to the immediate left shows readings that atmosphere stability is down by 10%. You grit your teeth; Todd, you lazy bastard.

You grumble and swear to yourself as you jab at the screen and keyboard roughly. God, all you want to do is take a fucking nap.

You’re so tired that you don’t even look up when you hear footsteps heading your way in the corridor, though some part of your brain distantly recognises that they’re much too heavy to be human.

“Well hey, if it isn’t tech support!” A voice crows, way too enthusiastic for you to deal with right now.

You close your eyes, briefly praying for patience, before slowing swivelling your head around. Then you have to tilt your head back, because you somehow keep forgetting how tall these motherfuckers are.

It’s Wainfleet, accompanied by the quiet one that always wears those stupid shades (Mansk, maybe? You can’t remember). Wainfleet is grinning, as though running into you is just the most entertaining thing that’s happened to him all day.

“Yeah?” You ask, a little more aggressively than you had intended.

Lyle’s grin just widens, as though your aggravation is amusing. “Oh, someone’s grumpy. What’s wrong, kitty cat?”

Your teeth grind together hard enough to hurt, and you turn your attention back to the terminal. With one nail-bitten finger, you press the system's recovery code. It takes a couple of seconds to bring the generator’s core back up to its acceptable 99.9% after manually inputting the proper chemical levels - switching two filters to output .2 more of one oxide mineral and .8 less of methane.

Your sight of the terminal is blotted out by the shadow of Wainfleet’s looming body over your head.

“What?” You bite out.

“What’s all that?” Wainfleet asks. He doesn’t seem particularly curious; if anything, it seems like he’s only asking to annoy you.

You huff a sigh, but turn your attention back to the monitor. “I’m keeping the air in your sector breathable for you.”

“How kind of you.” Wainfleet drawls lazily, leaning over to get a better look.

You squint at the screen. It looks like the filtering system is gradually getting back to normal, and you click out of a couple of error warnings as they’re thrown up onscreen.

The big looming shadows of the two recoms behind you are distracting, and you find yourself feeling irritably on edge while you work.

“Go away.” You grumble without looking away from your screen. “Let me work.”

Mansk, at least, has the decency to step back even if he doesn’t actually leave. But Wainfleet just snickers, as though your bad mood is amusing.

“Jeez, you’re such a pissy little thing.” He drawls, leaning closer just to annoy you. “Why’re you so much nicer to the Colonel, huh?”

You choke at that, your fingers spasming where you’re inputting strings of code on the keyboard. You have to bite your tongue hard to avoid snapping back, wanting to avoid escalating the situation. Before you can say a thing, another set of footsteps start coming your way up the hall. You drop your head, sighing explosively behind your mask. Why can’t everyone just leave you alone to work?

“What’re you two loitering here for?” The Colonel’s barking voice rings out through the hallway.

Despite your exhaustion, you feel your aching spine straighten out at the sound of his voice and you lift your head. Blinking your stinging eyes, you watch as Quaritch approaches, casting disapproving looks at his soldiers. It doesn’t seem like he’s noticed your presence yet; it’s like you’re too short, and he never bothers glancing down.

Wainfleet and Mansk both straighten up, though they still look fairly relaxed even with the arrival of their superior officer. Wainfleet offers him a crooked grin, and finally steps away from you.

“Sorry, sir. Just watching the little nerd fix whatever the hell that thing is.” He says, gesturing carelessly at you.

You grumble quietly to yourself at that particular form of address, but don’t bother looking up again. You’re obviously busy, and you have no idea why these big blue bastards can’t just leave you be to work.

“Right, get lost.” Quaritch grunts.

You glance up for a second, startled, wondering if Quaritch was talking to you. But then Wainfleet and Mansk are stepping away, smirking, and going on their way down the hall.

You exhale in relief, then turn back to the terminal. There’s a new error flickering in the upper corner of the screen, and you blink at it tiredly before dismissing it. You almost think that Quaritch has left too, but then you hear the sound of him shifting behind you.

 “Your men are morons.” You mutter irritably, jabbing at the screen.

“Mansk’s not so bad.” Quaritch says with a one-shouldered shrug.

Your mouth twitches at the conspicuous lack of mention of Wainfleet. “Mm. What are you doing here?”

“I was gonna ask you the same thing.” He says. A shadow falls over you again as he leans against the wall next you, dwarfing you as he looms overhead. “This ain’t your usual haunt.”

“Oh, and you know my usual haunts now, do you?” You ask wryly.

He hums, but doesn’t reply. The terminal beeps loudly, a grating screechy sort of noise, and you grumble a sour curse under your breath as you work. The readouts are improving, but they could still be better. You feel irritation flare yet again; if Todd had been pulling his goddamn weight, all of this could have been sorted out from the central console in the main control room.

“I need you to look at this.”

Your brows twitch, but you don’t take your eyes off your screen. “I’m very busy, Colonel.”

“It’ll only take a sec.”

You exhale through your nose, frustrated. The terminal emits another screechy beep at you, and you resist the urge to smack it. The filtration system is struggling to synthesise xenon, which is throwing off the ideal atmospheric pressure across the whole Recom sector.

Quaritch is mercifully quiet for a couple of moments as you work, though you have to deal with him peering over your shoulder. You ignore him to the best of your ability, inputting strings of code with quick strikes of your fingers against the keyboard.

“You writin’ that code yourself?” Quaritch asks, and you wonder if you’re imagining the undertone of surprise in his voice. “Thought the system did all that automatically.”

It’s a little surprising that he can recognise that’s what you’re doing, considering his frustration with other elements of technology (he had asked you to reset the password to his RDA-issued email account, like, three times already). You guess he must be more familiar with the compound’s frameworks than most of the everyday technology, given his years spent as head of Sec-Ops.

“Uh, yeah..” You mutter, distracted. “It’s faster. Todd fucked the system up earlier, so it’s faster for me to just manually override whatever shit he plugged into the mainframe.”

After another few moments of tampering, the screen display shifts. The numbers, levels, and bars read fine, and the readouts are showing normal to good – the air stasis is flickering between 99.9% and 100%.

You finally lean back, groaning quietly to yourself as the vertebrae in your back crack brutally. God, you’re tired.

You had almost – almost – forgotten that Quaritch was standing right next to you, until he shifts expectantly on his feet. He’s not a patient man, and to be honest he’s already waited for you longer than you thought he would.

You look up – and up and up—at him. And maybe you allow your eyes to linger appreciatively around his tiny little waist and big muscly chest, because you’re tired and you’ve worked hard today and you think you deserve a little treat.

“Yeah?” You sigh, finally giving him your attention. “What is it?”

Wordlessly, Quaritch holds out a datapad. A big error screen blinks up at you. It seems like he’s entered the wrong password three times into the RDA-staff portal, and it’s now locked him out.

You sigh again. You kiss the chances of getting your nap goodbye.

“Fine.” You grumble. “But you’re buying me a coffee.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ

The night shift was surely invented by a total fucking sadist.

You sit at your computer terminal in the early hours of the morning, staring blearily at your screen. Your eyes are burning, strained from the harsh blue light of the monitor as you mindlessly input strings of code. You’ve spent your whole damn shift trying to fix all of Todd’s stupid goddamned mistakes, and you’re tired and crabby and hungry and so fucking irritated.

It feels sometimes like your whole job just revolves around fixing the mistakes made by your incompetent co-workers, and you’re so tired. You and Todd are responsible for only two sectors, but it’s overwhelming when you’re doing most of the work by yourself.

Most of the levels and readings are back to almost perfect levels by the time the rest of Bridgehead begins waking up, and you’ve finally begun to work away at the technical maintenance requests that have been racking up and waiting for your attention.  

By the time Todd finally clocks in to take over for you (fifteen minutes late, as always), you can only imagine what you look like.

The nightshift always has the same effect on you; your eyes are puffy with dark circles in hollow sockets, your skin is dull from the lack of natural lighting in your shabby little tech hub, and the big baggy sweatshirt you’re wearing has stains from the salty freeze-dried noodles that you’ve boiled and are slurping on as a poor excuse for breakfast.

“Morning.” Todd says, irritatingly chipper.

You grunt, slurping on your overstarchy, flavourless noodles.

Todd settles into his own swivel chair on the other side of the room, looking frustratingly well-rested. He stretches his hands overhead and sighs happily, then takes a look at his own terminal.

“Oh! Wow, the readings look good!” He notes, sounding rather pleased.

Your grip tightens around your fork as you grit your teeth. No doubt all your hard work will be undone by him in no time.

“Mm.” You say, stabbing at the somewhat gloopy mess of your overprocessed starch. “There are a lot of maintenance requests that need to be filled for the—”

“Yeah, don’t worry, I’m on it.” Todd says, without waiting for you to finish.

You purse your lips, irritated, but you’re too tired to start fighting this losing battle. You’re used to the thankless nature of your job, even if it exhausts you. You just sigh, and finish up on one of the last server maintenance requests you had been working on.

There’s a brief moment of blissful silence, but those never last long when Todd is around.

“So, busy shift?” He asks, and you can feel his stupid eyes staring at you.

“Obviously.” You grunt, shovelling another fork full of noodles into your mouth.

Todd laughs as if you had told a joke, and you feel your brow twitch in aggravation. God, he’s so annoying. You wish he would just work in silence.

“You work too hard.” Todd speaks with the air of someone imparting great wisdom. Insufferable moron. “You should take a break.”

It takes superhuman levels of strength not to roll your eyes. You can actually feel yourself straining not to.

“Yeah, well, my shift is over now.” You say with your mouth full, manners abandoned. “I’m going to take a nap now.”

Todd laughs gratingly, again acting as if you’ve said something very funny. You glance at him out of the corner of your eyes, irritated.

“Oh, I didn’t mean just a nap.” He says with what he probably thinks is a charming grin. “I just mean—you’re always so… wound up. Don’t you want to let loose?”

You have a feeling that saying you’re wound up is just another way of calling you uptight. The worst part is, you can’t even necessarily protest that. Your workload on Pandora has always been challenging, but since being paired with the most useless co-worker on the planet it has been damn near overwhelming. It feels like all you do is sleep, eat, and work, and sometimes those activities cross over – you barely even have time to shower anymore. Some days you barely feel human.

“Not really.” You say shortly, unwilling to be drawn into this conversation with him.

“Oh, come on.” He wheedles. “You deserve a bit of fun, don’t you think?”

You don’t even bother to reply, too busy trying to slurp at the briny liquid left over at the bottom of your Styrofoam noodle container.

“I was thinking, we’ve been working together for ages now and we spend hardly any time together outside of work.” Todd continues. “We should—oh, I don’t know, go for a drink or something sometime.”

What a bizarre idea. You send a look his way, hoping that your face expresses your disbelief.

“Too busy for that.” You say, wiping the noodle juice roughly off your chin.

Todd nods, as though he had been expecting that. “Sure, sure. But just one evening. Could be… you know, could be nice. Just the two of us.”

And… oh god. Your shoulders stiffen, your eyes growing wide and horrified as you stare into the bottom of your Styrofoam container. No, no, no. There’s no way that he means what it sounds like he means.

You feel yourself seize up with nerves, anxiety blooming in your belly. Fuck, why is this happening? All these months of working together, Todd has never attempted to cross the boundary of co-workers, so you’re completely blindsided by this offer.

You could have guessed that Todd was desperate, but this desperate? You hardly look like a catch right now, with your unwashed hair and coffee-stained sweater, yet Todd is blinking expectantly at you for your answer.

“Oh, um…” You hedge, staring blankly at your monitor as you scramble for an answer. “I don’t think so, Todd. I don’t think it would be—uh, you know. Appropriate. With work, and all.”

Todd is leaning forward now, and it’s taking a significant amount of energy to not look at him. “Billy and Gina from the North-East sector server maintenance team have been going out together for months now, and HR has no issues with it.”

You forcibly unclench your teeth, and instead start chewing at your cheek. Fuck – if this was just some guy at a bar, you could turn him down as harshly as possible. But you’re still on the damn clock, and this is a co-worker.

“I don’t want to.” You say, trying to keep your tone as polite as possible while also being blunt.

“Oh, come on.” Todd says, trying for another charming grin. “Just one or two drinks. It’ll be fun, honestly. We get on so well at work!”

 You realise with a sinking feeling that he’s not going to take no for an answer. Goddamnit Todd.

And you hate playing this card. You seriously hate that this is the only way to end the conversation, but you don’t want things to be awkward – you have to work with this guy for the foreseeable future.

“I have a boyfriend.” You blurt, and try not to wince.

It’s kind of infuriating, but you can actually see Todd deflate at this. Typical. You should have known he was the kind of guy that would be persistent despite your clear no, yet back off at the mention of a boyfriend.

“Oh.” Todd says, his mouth twisting in a disappointed frown. “I- shit, sorry. I didn’t know that.”

“Mm.” You say. Your shoulders relax a little bit now as you turn back to your monitor, relieved that the matter is resolved. You think you’ve handled that well, and with minimum awkwardness, but you don’t think you’re going to be able to look at Todd in the same way for a long time.

“So, who is it?”

You pause. Blink at the screen.

“What?”

“Your boyfriend.” Todd says, still looking your way. He’s barely looked at his own monitor even once since he clocked in, his attention focused all on you. “Who is it?”

It takes everything you have not to freeze up. You hadn’t thought this far ahead, and now your thoughts have gone slow and jittery with panic.

“Oh.” You say slowly, swallowing. “He’s…”

Todd just looks back, waiting.

And shit, but your mind has gone blank. You can’t come up with a single name. You can’t even come up with a made-up name, because Todd is staring at you and you’re already so damn sleep-deprived that your brain is barely even working at half-capacity.

A brief knock sounds on the door, and you seize on the distraction. You whirl around with far more zeal than you’ve displayed your whole shift, impossibly relieved that someone is interrupting this godforsaken conversation.

It’s hardly even a surprise to see the big blue form of Colonel Quaritch ducking through the door, jabbing at the screen of a datapad with a huge finger. In that moment, you’ve never been so happy about his complete inability to work all the new technology that the Recom squad has been given.

Todd straightens up in his seat, visibly intimidated by the sheer size of Quaritch’s Na’vi body, but Quaritch doesn’t even glance his way.

“Hey kid, you gotta minute?” Quaritch says, but it’s not really a question. It’s perfectly clear that he expects you to make a minute for him.

Usually you’d be irritated by that. But now you jump to your feet, accidentally splashing a little bit of noodle juice all over your already stained sweater. You swipe distractedly at it, but don’t pay it too much mind as you push your swivel chair back.

“You need help?” You ask, your voice coming out much too loud.

Quaritch glances up at you with him brow furrowed. You must sound off, because his ears twitch and his tail curls as he eyes you – a little hint of shame blooms in your stomach as you watch his sharp golden eyes take in your unwashed hair, dirty sweater, and no-doubt frantic expression.

“Jesus, kid.” He says, “When’s the last time you showered?”

Okay, that just adds salt to the wound. You wince.

“I’ve been busy.” You say lamely, trying not to feel like a big crusty loser. “Do you need help or not?”

Quaritch is still eyeing you doubtfully, but his ears are still twitching in a way that honestly looks a little adorable. It’s body language that you’re quite certain means something, but you’ve never looked into Na’vi anthropology before.

“This needs fixin’.” He says bluntly, holding a datapad up.

You blink at it. The screen has been absolutely decimated. The glass is smashed in spider-webbed patterns, little shards of the screen falling off of it, and the metal back of it is all bent out of shape.

“What happened?” You ask, staring at it in disbelief; it looks like someone had driven over it with a tank.

“Wainfleet.” Quaritch says simply. He lifts and drops a single shoulder, as though he’s not bothered to commit to the full movement.

“Right,” You breathe, shooting what you hope is a surreptitious glance towards Todd. He’s still watching, with wide eyes. “Um…”

Quaritch is watching you too, his tail swishing impatiently behind him as he waits for your answer. Their dual stares are making you feel shifty, and you shove your hands nervously into your pockets as you try your best to avoid eye contact. Fuck, you want to sink through the floor right now.

You need to get out of here, your skin itchy with aggravation and embarrassment. You reach out to grab the broken datapad out of Quaritch’s hand. It’s even worse up close, and you give him another look of faint disbelief; you don’t even think fixing it is possible. You’ll just have to commission him a new one.

You glance up to tell him this, and accidentally make eye contact with Todd.

His eyes are darting between you and the Colonel, and he mouths “Him?” at you with a look of astonishment.

It takes you a moment to realise what Todd is asking – he thinks the Colonel is the boyfriend you lied about? Is fucking stupid?

And yet…

In a moment of thoughtless panic, you give a jerky nod. You’ll regret the lie later, maybe, but for now you just need to get out of here.

Todd turns his head and stares up at the Colonel with a slightly dumbstruck expression, and you can feel yourself flush as you realise that he’s trying to picture how that might work.

“I’m finished my shift, I’ll fix it in the commissary if you buy me another coffee.” You mutter, already pushing past Quaritch with the datapad in hand.

His eyebrows raise, obviously confused about where you’re going since you almost always fix his shit here, but you can hear his big footsteps following along behind you as you head for the door.

You hardly even breathe until you’re out in the corridor, and then you cover your face with your hands and let out a muffled shriek into your palms. Fuck, you handled that so badly. You’re undernourished and sleep deprived, and you swear your brain isn’t working properly, because what were you thinking?

The door slides shut, and you can hear Quaritch’s footsteps, but he says nothing as you have your silent little breakdown by the wall.

“Damn, sweetheart.” He says at last, his tone mixed with disbelief and amusement. “You are just one hot mess, aren’tcha? What’s the matter with you?”

“Don’t wanna talk about it.” You mumble into your palms.

There’s a moment of silence, then Quaritch clicks his tongue. You’re afraid to look up and see his face; you’re sure that you’ll see a look of mingled disgust and horror.

God, you wish you had least showered before he saw you, but you’ve just worked a near 20-hour shift and you feel half-dead, so showering is way down on your to-do list. The first thing you need to do is sleep, but before you can do that you need to sort out Quaritch’s stupid data-pad.

“Alright.” Quaritch says, reaching out to push at your shoulder with his big index finger. “Come on, kid. Let’s get you that goddamn coffee.”

You grumble into your hands but don’t protest as Quaritch pushes you into motion, using that index finger pressing into your back to guide you towards the canteen. He doesn’t say a word, and you’re too afraid to look at his face.

The canteen is mostly empty when you enter, and the very few people who are lingering around take one look at the looming figure of Quaritch before promptly hurrying their way out of the room.

You’re left almost entirely alone with the Colonel, and you’re shifty and grumpy and embarrassed as you settle into one of the plastic tables. Quaritch taps on the tables once with his knuckles before leaving you sitting there as he goes to get coffee.

God, you want to sink into the ground and die. You wonder if you should take this moment while Quaritch is gone to run back to your work room just to tell Todd that there had been a little mix-up, that you hadn’t really intended to insinuate that you and Quaritch were involved in any way.

But then Quaritch returns, and you lose your chance. Not that you were seriously considering going back to explain things to Todd, but still.

“So, can you fix it?” Quaritch asks in a drawl, plopping a styrofoam cup of steaming coffee down on the table in front of you.

“What?” You ask distractedly.

“The datapad.” He gestures at the wrecked piece of technology. You had almost forgotten you were holding it, and you place it down on the table beside you.

“Oh. No, obviously not.” You say, glancing at the smashed datapad. “You’ve totally wrecked it. I’ll get another one commissioned for you tomorrow.”

Quaritch hums, satisfied with that. “So, what, you just wanted to spend some time with me, is that it?”

You choke, surprised. You almost knock the coffee over, your fingers going clumsy with embarrassment.

“No,” You snap. “I just—high rank officers get better coffee. You should see the shit served to us tech grunts; it’s gross.”

The stupid bastard looks amused. He’s watching you with his big golden eyes, and his ears twitch every couple of minutes. To your great irritation, you think he looks adorable – like a big blue cat. The illusion only lasts for as long as he doesn’t speak, which of course means that it doesn’t last long at all.

“Mhm.” He rests his chin in the palm of his hand, his tail coiling coyly as he watches you. “Whatever you say, sweetheart. I think you just like being alone with me.”

“I—I do not!” You protest, mortified. “It’s not my fault that you practically harass me with all your stupid broken tech!”

He snickers, as if he finds your outrage funny.

“Sure, kid.” He leans back in his chair, and even sitting down you feel as though the sheer bulk of his body is dwarfing you. “Now, you gonna tell me what crawled up your ass?”

You’re certain your face must be making your mortification perfectly clear, but you struggle to control your expression all the same. There is nothing on this planet that could convince you to explain that you had inferred to your co-worker that you and Quaritch were in some sort of relationship, and so you end up curling up awkwardly on your rickety chair like a child, tucking your knees up against your chest.

“No.” You grumble.

He snorts, and his ears flick again. “Try that one again.”

You fiddle with the over-long sleeves of your stupidly big sweater, flustered and clumsy under his gaze. You’re mortifyingly aware of the stains on your clothes, and your unwashed and messy hair, and the dark bags under your eyes. You half-wish that you looked better, but then again you know that he’s definitely seen you looking worse.

“I had a long night-shift.” You mutter, hugging your knees. “Spent the whole night fixing all of the stupid mistakes Todd made during the day-shift. I haven’t slept in like three days.”

Quaritch doesn’t look particularly sympathetic, but at least he doesn’t mock you. Maybe he can sense your exhaustion, but his amusement doesn’t falter and his fingers continuously drum an uneven rhythm on the tabletop.

“Yeah, I might’ve guessed that.” He murmurs, his big eyes tracking over your face critically. “But that’s not all, is it? C’mon, kid, out with it.”

You fiddle with the cuff of your sleeve, avoiding his eyes. “Mm…”

“C’mon, you look even worse than usual,” He points out, and you scratch self-consciously at a noodle broth stain on your chest. “And you looked as spooked when I walked in on you. I take it that it wasn’t me that startled you like that, huh?”

You chew on the inside of your cheek, growing all hot and prickly with embarrassment. Maybe if you give him just enough of the truth to be convincing, but not enough to be humiliating, he’ll let this go and you can sort this whole misunderstanding out with Todd tomorrow.

“Todd, um…” You start haltingly. “Took me by surprise, is all.”

Quaritch’s fingers go still on the tabletop, and his eyebrows raise incrementally. “… Oh yeah? How’s that?”

Oh, his judgemental tone is even worse than you had been expecting. You have to fight a wince. God, why couldn’t the conversation have just stuck to technology?

“He, uh, he asked me out for drinks.” You say, keeping your eyes fixed on a couple of loose threads on your sweater sleeve, “And I said no, because Todd is kind of a jackass, but now I think things are gonna be awkward—”

Quaritch raises his eyebrows, an odd sort of expression on his face as he lifts his mask to his face to take a quick sip of air before dropping it to hang around his neck again.

“So what, he wouldn’t take no for an answer?” He drawls, sounding half bored and half amused. “The nerd’s some kinda pervert?”

Ugh, you feel all hot and prickly with embarrassment right now. It feels a little surreal to be having a conversation about your romantic life (or severe lack of it) with Quaritch, and you’re only telling him part of the story.

“He’s not that bad, he’s just useless.” You mutter. “But, um… that’s all.

His gaze is so intense it feels like it’s burning right through you. “Anything else?”

“No.” You mumble, avoiding his stare. It feels like he’s looking right through you.

A long moment of silence. And then a careless shrug.

“Alright.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ

Quaritch jabs his finger at the screen of his shiny new datapad. It’s a sturdy thing, he notes with amusement. Seems like you had gone out and found a reinforced one, just for him.

Sweet, He thinks, his mouth curling a little.

You’re such a thorny little thing, always so aggravated and grumpy, and he always gets a kick out of seeing your reactions when he comes to you with any problems for you to sort. You always look as though you’re barely awake, under-nourished and surviving solely off of bad coffee and vacuum-packed instant noodles, and you always mutter so grouchily under your breath when he arrives with the pieces of tech he needs you to fix.

You’ve got such a foul mouth, too – most of the time you don’t seem to realise that he can hear you when you grumble insults under your breath thanks to his new big-ass Na’vi ears.

Shouting draws his attention, and he raises his head to see Fike and Wainfleet wrestling as they both try to get the other into a headlock. Quaritch purses his lips as he watches them, debating with himself whether or not to interrupt them. He eventually decides to let them be, though he watches them to make sure they don’t get too rowdy.

He clicks his way into his emails, and wonders absently how irritated you’d get if he showed up in your little tech lair to ask you to reset his password again. He always gets a little kick out of your eye rolls and annoyed little frowns.

He checks the time; 8.37pm. He’s not ever going to admit it to anyone, but he knows your schedule well by now. You’re on the day-shift today, no doubt tired and crabby from your long hours, but the night-shift will soon be underway. You’ll be alone in that tiny little office all by yourself. His lips quirk at the thought.

He gives into the temptation, and pushes himself to his feet. He’s pretty sure that his impulse control has gotten far worse since he had woken up in this stupid blue body, but it’s not as though he’s actually trying to stay away from you anyway.

He likes a woman with a bit of bite, and you smell good, and he gets a kick out of antagonising you until your face is all screwed up into that annoyed little grimace you do. So why not indulge a little?

His squad glance up at him as he stalks towards the door, but they’re wise enough to keep their comments to themselves. At least, mostly.

“Going to see your little girlfriend, boss?” Z-Dog drawls, a smug grin growing across her face.

Quaritch shoots her a look, but doesn’t bother to make any kind of reprimand. He hasn’t been particularly subtle about his interest in you, after all, and he doesn’t mind a bit of friendly ribbing from his team so long as they don’t cross any lines.

“Watch it.” He says without heat. There’s no point making any pretences when everyone knows where he’s headed.

The short exchange has caught the attention of Walker, who is already grinning.

“Rumour has it you’ve made it official.” She says, leaning forward and waggling her eyebrows like a jackass. “Didn’t take you for a romantic, sir.”

And… that gives Quaritch pause.

“Rumour?” He repeats. Though his voice remains level, he is certain that the twitch of his ears reveals his interest.

There is some deep, strange part of him that preens at the insinuation. It’s definitely the result of some stupid deep-seated instinct built into this goddamn big alien body – he can feel his tail swish with the satisfaction of knowing that others recognise that he has some sort of claim on you.

Both women are laughing now, snickering and sending each other knowing little glances that irritate him. His tail lashes, waiting with diminishing patience for an explanation.

“Sure,” Z-Dog drawls, popping that damn gum. “Apparently, that sleazy little guy that works with her was telling the guys in mechanics that your nerd told him that you’re her boyfriend.”

Quaritch’s expression may remain impassive, but his tail lashes out of his control behind him. You had said that? That doesn’t sound like you at all.

The memory of you sitting in front of him in the canteen only a few mornings ago comes back to him; you were so small and grumpy and irritated, but anyone could have seen that you were also spooked about something. He had taken your explanation at face value; that the little creep you work with had asked you out. But now it seems there was something more to it.

“That so.” He says slowly, rolling his shoulders.

A slow, pleased smile of his own is beginning to grow on his face. Such a sweet little thing, deep down, he thinks smugly to himself. Should’a known.

“I’ll be back later.” He says, stepping away.

He can hear the quiet snickers he’s leaving behind him, but they’re wise enough to keep their comments to themselves until he’s out of earshot.

He can’t help the smug sway of his tail as he shoulders his way out of the Recom sector, nor the way his damn ears keep twitching. This body is still unfamiliar to him – while he relishes the strength and agility that his new body provides, the absolute inability to conceal what he’s thinking because of these new appendages is infuriating.

Your little work room is almost hidden, all tucked away down a narrow corridor that hardly anyone ever frequents. This means that Quaritch is able to slip down the hall unseen, which is a rarity these days now that he’s near ten feet tall.

Your shitty little room is empty when he pushes his way in, and Quaritch feels a momentary flash of satisfaction. You must have gone to get yourself a cup of coffee to wake yourself up before the end of your shift; this gives him enough time to position himself for your return.

He’ll admit that he’s always had a flare for the dramatic. He chooses the low, drab-looking couch that’s all set up in the corner of the room, and settles himself in on it. The springs creak ominously beneath his weight and the worn couch cushions dip right down, but it holds. He allows his legs to spread wide as he makes himself comfortable, his eyes fixed on the door as his ears prick up alertly.

It doesn’t take long for you to return, and when the door finally slides open Quaritch notes with immense satisfaction that you’re holding a chipped mug filled with coffee in your hand.

You freeze at the sight of him, your eyes flaring wide, before you visibly force yourself to relax.

“Colonel?” You say, and you almost sound calm but for the slight tremble in your voice.

“Hello, sweetheart.” He says, drawing the nickname out. “Long day?”

You gape, and Quaritch enjoys the look of bewildered surprise on your face before you manage to cover it up. Your fingers are twitching around your cup of coffee, and you swallow in a compulsive sort of motion.

Quaritch lets his eyes wander over you, lazily perusing your body. You’re wearing one of those stupid baggy hoodies you favour and a pair of soft baggy sweatpants, your body shapeless beneath your over-sized clothes. You look tired, your eyes a little bloodshot from staring into your screen all day, but your fingers drum nervously on the chipped ceramic of your mug.

“What are you—what are you doing here?” You ask, taking a slow uncertain step into the room.

Quaritch watches you move, and he can’t stop his tail from coiling in anticipation. You’re usually so crabby and grouchy, to see you all wide-eyed and uncertain like this sends a little bolt of excitement right between his legs.

He reaches out an arm to gesture you forward. “”C’mere.”

For a moment you don’t move, and Quaritch wonders if he’s going to have to stand and get you. But then you shuffle forward, if a little hesitantly, and he feels a smug smile begin to tug at his lips. Under all that bite you’re a good girl when it matters, though he can tell your obedience comes reluctantly.

“If you need help resetting your password or—or unlocking your datapad or something, come back tomorrow. I’m—I’m finished my shift soon, I don’t have time—”

Quaritch isn’t listening. That sweet scent of yours has just hit his nose, and he feels his ears twitch in response. Fuck, you smell so good. What the fuck is that about?

It doesn’t have the artificial acridity of a perfume, which means that the syrupy headiness is all you, all natural. Goddamn. He wants to bury his whole face in your hair – he’s pleased to note that you’ve showered since the last time he’s seen you, too.

“Thought you’d be happy to see me,” He says smugly, interrupting whatever the hell you had been rambling about. “Thought you’d wanna spend a little private time with your boyfriend.”

And oh, the way you freeze is just perfect. You look so startled, like a rabbit caught in a trap. Your breath catches, your eyes widen, your mouth drops open. He could just eat you right up.

And then you’re scrambling, your eyes all wild and horrified.

“Oh my god, listen, I can explain—”

Quaritch raises a finger lazily, and feels a thrill of slow satisfaction when you choke into silence at the quelling gesture. He reaches over and pats the threadbare couch cushion next to him, raising a brow as he waits for you to come closer.

And though you’re visibly hesitant and mortified, you do approach slowly like a skittish animal, as though you can’t help it. There’s really not much space left on the couch; he’s man-spreading hard, his knees splayed out wide as he stretches out, but you still approach and hover nervously near his left knee.

His senses are dialled up to a hundred in this new body, and he can practically feel the way your throat bobs as you swallow nervously.

“Sit beside me, kid.” He says, and his voice comes out in an unintentionally low purr.

You’re still clutching that damn coffee like a lifeline, holding the chipped ceramic mug to your chest even as you lower yourself to perch nervously at the edge of the couch beside him. You look delightfully nervous, and he grins lecherously at the sight. Cute.

“Listen, I didn’t mean to—it was a big misunderstanding.” You say. Your usually grumpy voice is missing, replaced with an uncertain wavering tone. “I was so, so sleep deprived, and I hadn’t eaten properly in so long, and Todd was just—he wasn’t taking no for an answer, so I lied and said that I had a boyfriend, and I thought that we could just leave it at that but then you walked in to annoy me like you always do, and then Todd thought that I had been talking about you—”

Quaritch listens with a crooked smile, making no effort to hide his amusement. You appear so frazzled, practically swallowed up by your over-sized hoodie as you bluster your way through a panicked explanation.

He reaches out and lays his arm against the back of the couch, resting it around your little form. You twitch, tilting your head back to stare up at him with wide eyes, but you don’t actually pull away from him.

Quaritch doesn’t actually give a shit about your explanation. He doesn’t need to hear it. Even if it was unintentional, you’ve been spreading around a rumour that you’re his little girlfriend.

“You been sleeping?” He asks, interrupting you mid-blabber.

You blink at him, clearly trying to stifle your irritation at being interrupted. He’s tickled by the little flash of fire in your eyes.

“Have I been—what?” You snap, clearly thrown off.

Quaritch doesn’t normally like repeating himself, but he enjoys the way you look when you’re floundering.

“I asked if you’ve been sleeping, kid.” He repeats, making a show of slowing his words right down. “You look a mess.”

Your hand twitches, as though you’re moving to try and touch your hair before you quickly redirect and bury your hands in the long sleeves of your hoodie. Your eyes dart away, as though you’re embarrassed.

“I… I’ve been working some overtime.” You mutter, fidgeting. “Todd fucked up some of the systems I coded, so I’ve had to pull some long hours to try and fix it.”

It’s far from the first time you’ve mentioned your limp-dick, useless puke of a co-worker, and he feels his brows pull together in a frown. He can’t help but wonder how the hell someone so useless has held down a job for so long, but then he supposes that you’ve been hauling ass trying to fix all his mistakes.

He clicks his tongue, then reaches out and settles his hand at the back of your neck. You seem so tiny under his fingers, and he has to stifle his reaction at the sight.

“You’re just too sweet, aint’cha?” He rumbles, and feels his tail twitch. “Helpin’ that little loser out like that.”

He sees the breath stutter in your chest, sees you chewing uncertainly at your lower lip, and feels himself stiffen in his fatigues. His teeth ache; he wants to sink his canines into the squishy flesh of your thighs.

“It’s my job.” You say. Your tone is dry, but his ears twitch when he hears the slight shake in your voice.

“Nah, it ain’t.” He says slowly, allowing his fingers to curl around your neck as his palm rests at the top of your spine. “It’s his job you’re doing. Waste of your time, honey.”

He feels you shiver under his hand, and his grip tightens incrementally around the back of your neck.

“Someone has to do it,” You say, and though you sound defensive your voice wavers adorably. “I don’t want to get in trouble over Todd’s mistakes.”

Quaritch can’t help the wolfish grin that grows on his face. Oh, you don’t want to get in trouble. You might just be the cutest little thing he’s seen in his whole life – both of his damn lives.

“Mhm, you won’t.” He says, a little gruffly. He’s beginning to grow a little distracted, losing track of the conversation; you smell good, sweet and a little spicy, and he wants so badly to take a peek at what you look like under those damn baggy clothes.

You glance over at him, obviously about to say something before your eyes drop, then widen a little bit.

Ah, he thinks to himself, silently amused. You’ve noticed, then.

He keeps his legs spread wide, crowding into your space and throwing into relief the way that his hardened cock is tenting the fabric of his fatigues. The size difference between you and him only makes his erection look even bigger, and the obscenity of it gets him going even more.

He can feel the sharp breath you take, and he watches the way your eyes hastily dart away. You look bashful, and yet you don’t move away. His thigh presses against you, and your gaze visibly darts down to the bulge visible in his pants. You look a little mortified, but Quaritch can see the poorly hidden interest in your eyes.

He runs his thumb over the curve of your neck and the junction of your shoulder, and watches the goosebumps that raise on your soft skin.

“Tell me about this little white lie you’ve told.” He murmurs, his voice coming out in a deeper rumble than he had intended.

You swallow, then take a shaky breath.

“I didn’t mean to,” You breathe. “Really, it just—what I told you before was mostly true. Todd was asking me to go for drinks, he wouldn’t take no for an answer and I just—I just panicked, and I said I was with someone, but then he asked me who it was, and then you walked in here and he just assumed before I could really say anything—”

“Mhm.” Quaritch watches your face as you speak, enjoying your flustered panic.

“And then it all just snowballed, and people have been asking me in the corridors if it’s true – people I don’t even know—!” You seem genuinely horrified.

“You told people we’ve been fucking, hm?” Quaritch asks, just to watch you react.

You don’t disappoint; your mouth drops open, you take a sharp little inhale, and let out a scandalised sort of gasp.

“No, I didn’t—I didn’t say that—”

“But that’s what they’re thinking, honey.” He says, his eyes darting from your pretty little face to the way the soft skin of your shoulder yields under his stroking thumb. “Is that why you said it? Because you’ve been thinking of that too? Hm?”

You swallow thickly, your throat clicking, and shake your head. But you’re not meeting his eyes, and you’re fidgeting with your ridiculously long sleeves, and he swears he can see a bead of sweat forming on your temple. 

He reaches out and lays a hand on your thigh, letting his fingers curl around your soft flesh. Your leg twitches, but you don’t move away. You’re clutching that damn cup of coffee like it’s a lifeline, darting glances at him over the rim. You’re nervous, and the departure from your usual grumpiness is a novelty that he can’t get over.

Then you shift where you’re sitting, and Quaritch’s oversensitive nose twitches, picking up on a new scent.

Oh, he knew it. Beneath your usual sweet smell is something a little spicy, like brown sugar mixed with a kick of hot rum, and he swears he feels his cock pulse as the scent fills his nose.

You’re horny. He can smell it off you – and he can’t help the cocky grin that tugs at his mouth at the realisation.

That’s all he needs to take the next step.

He takes the hand that’s been resting on the back of your neck and brings it to his belt buckle, undoing it in one deft movement before unzipping his pants. He’s confident, but he watches your face carefully all the same; you’re a jumpy little thing, and he doesn’t want to scare you away at this point.

But it doesn’t startle you at all. In fact, if you had ears like him then he’d put money on them being pricked up right now, because you’ve turned to watch as his palm settles over the tent in his pants.

Quaritch grunts quietly as he presses the heel of his hand into his hardened cock through his pants, and the electric jolt that runs up his spine is only heightened when he sees the way your eyes have gone dark as you watch him.

His other hand squeezes lightly where it’s still resting on your thigh, and he gets to watch as you take a breath and squirm.

“Come on, kid.” He says, bending his head down so he can murmur into your ear. “Where’s all your usual bite?”

He punctuates the word with another squeeze, this one higher up on your thigh, right at the softest part, and he’s rewarded with a little jolt.

“I don’t—” You start to say, but then you stop and start again. You look more uncertain than he’s ever seen you, all wide-eyed and nervous. “Am I in trouble?”

He has to take a breath before he can answer you – the urge to put you on your back under him is growing overwhelming.

“For what?” He asks, nose twitching with the strength of the scent of your sweet-spicy arousal.

You’re frowning now, and he finds himself pleased to see that little furrow in your brow again. He has to admit, he likes it when you’re irritated with him. He’s always liked women with a little fire in them, even if you’re an awkward little recluse that hides away from society like a damn gremlin.

“For lying.” You say, and there’s an edge to your voice now as though you’re getting antsy. “About you. Being with me, I mean.”

He huffs a short laugh, and uses the opportunity to take a slow deep breath from the respirator hanging around his neck. He drops it after a beat, then reaches out to take you by the wrist instead. You’re so small under his big hands, and he’s so aware of how fucking delicate your bones feel; he could break you in two if he’s not careful.

He keeps his grip light as he guides your hand to his crotch, but you hardly need any guidance at all – as soon as he starts to move your hand, you move of your own volition. Your palm is tiny and soft when it lands on the outline of his hard cock, the touch so light that he hardly feels it at all.

“Does it feel like that’s something I’m mad about?” He rumbles, unable to disguise the amusement in his voice.

You swallow, and your hand tightens compulsively. Quaritch hums at the feeling, then rocks his hips up slightly to encourage you.

Your eyes dart up to his face, clearly trying to read him. He just raises an eyebrow; as far as he can see, this ain’t a complex situation. He’s sitting next to you with a cock as hard as a steel rod, and he can smell how wet your pussy is even through those baggy pants of yours. There’s surely only one natural conclusion to this situation, and it’s one that he’s hungry for.

“Go on,” He grunts. “Keep going.”

For a moment, it’s not clear what you’ll do. You just watch him, brow furrowed, hand still resting over his clothed cock. Quaritch watches you right back, waiting for you to make your choice. It feels like the two of you are teetering on a precipice, just waiting for one of you to topple over the edge and drag the other down with them.

Then you make your decision.

You slide off the couch and set your cup of coffee on the floor by the couch, and for a moment Quaritch thinks that you’re going to curse at him and march right outta there. But then you surprise him; you sink to your knees, right in front of him, in between his spread thighs.

“Oh?” He hums, flashing his sharp fangs at you in a grin.

“Shut up.” You say defensively.

He laughs, but says nothing further. He’s not stupid enough to ruin his chances of getting his dick wet for the first time since he’s woken up in this stupid blue body, so he just settles back and makes himself comfortable on the shitty, tiny little couch and spreads his legs wide to make room for you.

Your body is practically dwarfed by his muscled thighs, and Quaritch bites at his lip to try and suppress his smug smile as you reach clumsily into his briefs to pull his cock out. You’re a little uncoordinated, no doubt as a result of nerves, but that just makes it all the more endearing.

He’s big, thick in your small hand. Almost ridiculously so. You hold him in both of your soft little palms, staring at his cock with a look of blank surprise. It looks like you’re wondering as though you’ve bitten off more than you can chew.

Quaritch waits a beat, then after a moment of inaction he grunts and rocks into your hand. Your fingers squeeze tight on reflex, and he revels in the momentary jolt of pleasure.

But then you pause, loosen your grip just slightly, and give him an exploratory sort of stroke before looking up to his face as though searching for approval. When he just raises an eyebrow, you appear flustered.

“I… I don’t know what to do with this.” You confess, still holding his weighty cock in your small hand.

The nervous furrow of your brow and your tentative, uncertain touch is only making his cock throb harder. He’s never seen you so hesitant before, so eager to please.

“Never seen a cock before, baby?” He asks, his voice a little gravelly from arousal.

You laugh, but it’s a shaky thing. “It’s—it’s been a while.”

A bit of apprehension begins to sneak through his haze of lust.

“You a virgin, kid?” He asks. God, he hopes you’re not a virgin. There’s little to no chance of him being able to successfully jam his cock into you if you’re as innocent as you’re acting right now.

You roll your eyes, but he can see that you’re all embarrassed. “No. It’s just—like I said, it’s been a while.”

“Mhm.” He eyes you, not entirely convinced. “How many men have you been with?”

You lower your eyes back to his cock, still holding him with both of your hands. You’re all bashful now, your little hands flexing around the thick length of his erection.

“Two.” You mutter self-consciously, glancing up at him again to see his reaction.

Ah. Well, aren’t you just perfect. You’ve already had your little cherry popped, but you’re still inexperienced enough to look a little lost as you kneel between his legs.

“You sucked a cock before?” He asks, schooling his expression into one of sympathy.

“Yes,” You say, a little too defensively. “I’ve—once.”

Once. Quaritch feels excitement unfurl in his belly. You’re such a thorny and grouchy little thing, he can imagine you keeping yourself all holed up in this shitty office of yours, losing yourself in all your screens and monitors and programmes, and shying away from real meaningful human interactions. God, he wants to ruin you.

“Go on, then. Try with your mouth.” He says, leaning back and making himself comfortable as he looks down at you.

You take a breath, and your small hand grips the base of his cock firmly. It’s as thick as a soda can, and he can’t help the smug satisfaction that swells when he sees the size difference between him and you.

His equipment is all still new to him, so he can only imagine how strange it must be for you. He’s messed around with himself a couple times, tugging at his blue cock and examining the little white dots that speckle the skin and glow and pulse as his arousal grows, but it’s different having someone else touch him like this. He feels like a raw nerve, more sensitive than he’s ever been as a human – maybe it’s because all his senses are primed, every nerve and synapse firing and alert and directed towards you.

He just — fuck — he looks so big in your hands. 

The moment he sees this, blood rushes to his cock at almost painful speed. He didn’t think he could get harder, but his new young body keeps surprising him. He watches your small mouth part with glossy lips as it keeps growing bigger and bigger in your hand, until a trace of apprehension flashes on your face. 

“What, can’t take it?” He drawls. After all these months of seeking you out, he knows the best way to wheedle anything out of you is by appealing to that stubborn streak in you.

And sure enough, you set your jaw and scowl. “I can!”

Then you’re leaning forward and your small pink tongue is flicking out to lick the smearing precum from his tip.

Quaritch hisses, his head tilting back.

“Fuck,” He says, reaching out to lay his hand on the back of your head. His palm spans the whole back of your skull, like he can hold your whole head one-handed. “Just like that. Take it deeper.”

For the first time ever, you don’t try to talk back or roll your eyes or grumble under your breath. You’re too preoccupied with trying to fit the big head of his cock into your mouth without scraping it with your teeth, your brow furrowing in concentration.

“That’s it, good girl, keep going.” He grunts, his stomach flexing with the effort it’s taking not to buck up and force himself down your throat.

You take the encouragement in stride, inhaling sharply through your nose as you try to do as he says. He reaches out to caress your soft cheek with his knuckles, and grins when you gargle weakly as you struggle to wrap your lips around the thick length.

You don’t know what you’re doing, that’s obvious, but goddamn if you’re not trying. Quaritch exhales through his nose as he uses his hand on the back of your head to keep you bobbing your mouth over him. Your hand lies forgotten on his shaft as you devote your whole focus to not gagging. Though inexperienced, he can see an excited sort of gleam in your eye as you suckle at the tip of his cock. Your tongue is so small and hot and wet, and the texture of it feels so damn good against him.

He feels more like a teenager than ever before when you suck the tip of his cock back into your sweet mouth, the first mouth he's ever felt on his cock in this body. He's transfixed as he watches your lips tighten around him. He can feel your tongue moving along the underside of his cock and he bites his lip. 

When you try to swallow his cock down, the feeling of your small tongue squirming over the vein running along the underside of his length nearly has him reeling.

You choke, and spit bubbles out over your chin as it coats his cock.

“Jesus, kid.” He sighs, spreading his thighs wider and laying his arms across the back of the little threadbare couch. His fingers curl into the understuffed couch cushions as he tries to repress the urge to grab onto your hair and buck his cock down your throat.

You glance up at him, your slick glossy lips stretched around the bulbous tip of his cock as your eyes water. Fuck, you make for such a pretty little sight like this. Quaritch has never had much of an imagination, but he knows that this trumps anything he’s beaten his cock to over the past several months.

You lower your head and swallow his fat cock once more, taking only a fraction of it but still struggling. Your eyelashes are all clumped together and shiny as you blink rapidly to clear the tears forming as your eyes water furiously. You barely make it a quarter of the way down before you gag and sputter.

Quaritch hisses, his lips pulling off his teeth as he feels the wet heat of your throat constrict and convulse around his dick.

You pull away coughing, spit and pre-cum cover your pretty mouth as your chest heaves, trying to catch your breath again.

“Well, shit,” He breathes, his big golden eyes darting over your messy face. “Ain’t you just gorgeous like this.”

You’re still coughing a bit from gagging on his cock, but he can see the way the praise hits you – your still glossy eyes brighten as they dart up to look up at him, and you roll your reddened lower lip between your teeth.

“Treating me so well, huh?” Quaritch grins, unable to help himself from teasing you. “Like a good little girlfriend.”

You look a little mortified at that, which is what Quaritch had hoped for, but you apparently decide the best course of action is to simply ignore him by flattening your tongue against his cockhead and licking at him again.

He hums in satisfaction as he watches you explore what he’s sporting between his legs. The sight of the cranky little tech analyst he’s been admiring for months taking his cock and treating it so well with those little hands... It has him leaking right into your mouth.

Your mouth is so wet, slick, and hot, and a shiver rips through him as you suckle at the pale purple head of his cock. He reaches out and places his hand on the back of your head, encouraging you to swallow him deeper. His toes curl inside his boots as he stifles the urge to fuck deep into your throat – you’re so delicate between his big thighs, he’s never been so aware of how easy it would be to break you.

It's probably the messiest blowjob he’s ever gotten in his life – either of his lives. You’re slobbering all over him, saliva dribbling all over your chin as you suck at him. The gagging and slurping noises pouring from you are enough to make a hooker blush, and you’re finally getting into the swing of it. You’ve started using your hands to touch him, jerking him off as you drool and suck at the head of his cock.

Your mouth is obscenely wet and hot and tight, your tongue wriggling against the underside of his cockhead, and Quaritch can’t help but imagine how much better your pussy will feel around him. He feels his ear flatten back against the side of his skull and his tail whips around his thigh as he feels the tension of an orgasm build in his stomach, but it’s too soon – he doesn’t want this to be over yet.

He reaches out and grips you by the back of your neck, pulling you away from his cock, and to his surprise you whine. The sound goes straight to his cock, and he feels his arousal throb.

“Colonel,” You whimper, and your voice comes out hoarse and wrecked. “I—”

“You can call me Miles when you’re sucking my cock like this, princess.” He says, before taking a grip of your arms and hauling you up onto the couch again.

You’re so damn small under him, and pulling you around like this comes so easily to him. He tosses you on the threadbare cushions beneath him and then looms over you, enjoying the size difference between you as he bullies your thighs apart.

“You and these goddamn clothes,” He grunts, pulling at your stupid baggy hoodie. “It’s like you’re wearing trash bags. You trying to dress like a fuckin’ nun?”

“No,” You gasp, wriggling under him as he tugs at your clothes. “They’re just—they’re comfy—”

Quaritch just grunts, but he finally manages to pull your hoodie off and he immediately tosses it aside. Despite all the looking he’s done over the last couple of months, he’s never actually seen you without the stupid shapeless sacks you insist on wearing. And right now, he’s never felt so fucking resentful of a pile of fabric, because goddamn.

Your underwear isn’t in the least bit sexy; worn cotton gone a little shapeless from being washed so many times and the colours a little faded. The elastic around the waistband of your underwear is gone loose too, and Quaritch can feel himself salivate when he sees the way the thin threadbare fabric is stuck to the outline of your slick pussy.

There’s something oddly endearing about seeing you like this, all laid out under him in your worn out and shapeless underwear. It’s so unsexy that it’s obvious that you haven’t planned for anyone to see you like this, which only makes him desire you more. His cock is so hard it hurts, throbbing like one great bruise between his legs.

“Just look at you, girl,” He rumbles, one of his sharp canines hooking over his lower lip as he tugs at your bra and watches your soft tits spill over the cups. “Fuck. Spread those legs, let me see you.”

“Oh my god,” You breathe, turning your head away from him and squeezing your eyes shut. You’re embarrassed, which is a reaction that Quaritch doesn’t have time for.

He reaches out and grips your chin, pulling your face back so he can look at you. His fingers look so big against your little face, and he leans in and presses a messy kiss to your spit-slick lips. He licks into your mouth, his wide rough tongue pulling a little shivery gasp out of your mouth.

“Spread your legs.” He repeats into your mouth, and this time you listen to him. Your thighs drop open, and he wastes no time in pulling your ill-fitting panties off of you.

He almost tosses them over his shoulder, but stops last minute. Your cotton panties are ugly, but there’s a certain charm about the faded floral print and worn elastic waistband, and before he can think too much about it he’s tucking them into the pocket of his pants. They smell like you, and he has no doubt that he’ll be using them later on when he tugs his cock to the memory of this encounter.

Next is your bra, and it falls victim to his rough grasping fingers as he grows impatient with the clasp and pulls a little too hard. The seam tears, and he pulls the scraps away and tosses it aside carelessly, ignoring your indignant gasp.

“Asshole!” You squawk, “Do you have any idea how hard it is to get bras that fit on this damn planet—?”

You slap at his shoulder, and your little hand bounces off harmlessly. Adorable.

“None of your damn clothes fit,” He says dismissively. He’s not really listening to you; he’s too preoccupied staring at your soft tits, admiring the peaked nipples and the supple folds of your belly. “You don’t need to wear a bra. Can’t see anything under those stupid sweaters anyway.”

His enormous calloused hand paws at the fat of your breast, testing the weight of it in his palm and admiring the feel of it. He feels so large and rough, his body so huge and powerful and yet ungainly in the frenzy of his lust.

“You’re a fucking pervert.” You grit out through clenched teeth, though you still arch your back as he touches you.

And ah, there’s his snarky little loser.

“Never said I ain’t.” He says simply, leaning down and licking a wet stripe up the length of your breast.

You shiver, then gasp when he flicks your wet nipple afterwards.

 “You like that?” He teases, a finger tracing the sensitive underside of your breast.

“No.”

He laughs. “Liar. Your pretty little nipples are harder than my cock.”

You hiss at him, and it’s so similar to a Na’vi hiss that he’s actually surprised for a moment. But then he grins, and ducks down to kiss your tits again. He takes a swollen nipple between his teeth, practically taking the entire mound into his hungry mouth.

“Fuck,” You breathe, reaching up and interlocking your fingers around his neck. “Touch—touch me.”

Quaritch growls against your chest, taking his time kissing your tits. He leaves teeth marks on your delicate flesh and leaves your nipples coated with his saliva. He moved his lips back up to your panting mouth, slipping his hand between your thighs.

And Jesus fucking Christ, you’re wet. He drops his gaze to your pussy as he parts your labia with his thumb and pushes right up against you, and she’s so, so slick already, to the point where his thumb is already glistening with it. Fuck.

Distantly, he registers that you’re making some sort of noise, and he shushes you mindlessly, feeling a little wild. It’s hard to believe this is the same grouchy little tech analyst that he’s been eyeing up for months, here, lying in front of him, wet for him, moaning and squirming for him as he starts rubbing your clit with his index and middle fingers.

“How does it feel?” Quaritch asks. He slows his fingers enough to give you the chance to catch your breath, and you open your eyes from where they were just screwed tightly shut to stare up at him.

It takes you a second to focus on him and a second longer for words to leave your open mouth.

“Good,” You finally say, followed by a whimper as he rubs right over your clit. “It’s - it’s good.”

He hums at that, but he’s too preoccupied by the way his fingers are coated in your sticky slick to really pay much attention to your answer. He slips one of his big fingers inside of you, and his stomach clenches when he feels how tight you are around his single digit. You’re wet enough to make it a smooth slide, and god, but his patience is running out.

He hardly waits before sliding a second in; you squeeze your eyes shut and your nose scrunches, but you tolerate the stretch well.

That sweet-spicy scent of your arousal intensifies as you wriggle on his fingers, and he’s unable to stop himself from ducking his head down so that he can lean in and lap his tongue over your swollen clit. The tart taste of you bursts over his tongue, just to the side of sweet, and he rumbles out a pleased noise before licking at you again.

He knows that his tongue is different now, textured and rougher than it used to be as a human, and your legs jerk as he swirls his tongue around your clit again.

He’s been catching hints of this scent for months now, and he feels his erection strain at the idea that it was your slick pussy that he’s been scenting all this time. He drinks in your noises just as much as your taste; both are intoxicating, addictive, and if it wasn’t for the persistent arousal thrumming through his own body, he’d think he could do this forever.  

“Oh god,” You breathe, reaching down and tentatively running your fingers through his buzzcut. “Qua—Miles.”

The sound of first name falling from your tongue is better than he could have imagined. You’re starting to writhe, your hips trying to rut against his mouth even as he pins you down with his big hands. The noises that you’re making just from a little bit of licking to your clit are bordering on frantic, and he barely manages to keep from grinning as he sucks at your clit and works his tongue around your labia.

Unbelievably, it feels like you’re winding up to come already. It seems incredible that you, who’s always so sleep-deprived and tense and repressed, is currently humping your pussy against his tongue like a little fucking whore.

He slides a third big blue finger in, though it takes a bit of effort this time. You grunt and try to twist your hips to the side, but with the way Quaritch’s body is caging you in, there’s nowhere for you to move.

“Wait,” You gasp, your hips twitching, “Oh god, shit, wait, Miles, I’m gonna— fuck!”

You’re so sensitive and horny that it only takes a couple more strokes of his wide tongue for you to unravel. You let out a sob, shaking and quivering; your thighs tense around his head, pressing against his skull as your body goes rigid with the strength of your orgasm.

Your pussy squeezes tight around his fingers, growing impossibly wetter from the fluids of your release, and this tastes good too.

He groans as he laps you up, his much larger mouth almost swallowing you whole.

“That was quick, darlin’.” He murmurs, his slick lips sliding over your damp flesh.

You don’t even seem to hear him. Your gaze is unfocused, and there are faint tear tracks on your cheeks - a sight Quaritch never realized he would like as much as he does.

He chuckles at the dazed expression on your face, and pulls his wet fingers out of your cunt before letting them rest on his own tongue. You let out a soft sound of loss, though you watch him suck the taste of you off his fingers with wide, avid eyes as your gaze sharpens.

“When’s the last time you came, huh?” He asks, leaning in to murmur the words against the delicate shell of your ear. “’Cause that was a little too easy. You were too wound up, kid.”

You’re still trying to catch your breath from your orgasm, but you avert your eyes in embarrassment at the question. His interest piques.

“How often do you touch yourself?” He asks, stroking his hand down over your hip and squeezing lightly. “Hm?”

“I—” You say defensively, “I’ve been busy. I don’t have time for—for that!”

Good god, it’s like everything you say is specifically engineered just to make his cock pulse. You’re so disgruntled about the question, your little face all embarrassed and irritated even though your brow is smooth and your eyes are still a little hazy after your orgasm.

“Well then,” He murmurs, amused. “We’ll have to give you another couple to make up for that.”

You squeak when his thumb lands on the swollen flesh of your clit and rolls over it in confident little circles. “Wait, wait, I don’t—I’ve never come more than once in one go.”

“You will this time.”

His plan, as much as there is any plan left in his brain, is to get you off one more time before getting his cock into you. But now that he’s felt you around him, now that the slide of his fingers seems to be as easy as it’s going to get, he’s finding it difficult to wait.

But he curbs his impatience as well as he’s able to, and keeps rubbing at your clit. Your pussy has gone all puffy and creamy from your first orgasm, and the way you squeeze so tight around his fingers is sending him insane. At first you mewl and try to push at his wrist, but he’s bigger and stronger and doesn’t budge until you relax into him, overstimulation melting into pleasure all over again.

He loses track of time as he fucks you with his fingers, enamoured with the feeling of your velvet-soft walls. A thin film of sweat lays over your skin like a gloss, leaving you glowing in the unforgiving light of your little tech hub. You look so pretty like this, too young and too lovely for a dirty old man like him. It seems hard to believe you’re letting him do this, never mind reacting so positively.

When you start to let out those sweet little gasping breaths again, he leans in and swirls his tongue around your clit. Your legs jerk, one thigh splaying over his shoulder as your hips buck. Quaritch doesn’t let up, the movements of his tongue lazy and languid.

He pulls back, then spits on your pussy, watching your little body jerk under him.

He grins. “Oh, you like that?”

“No.” You choke out, but it’s unconvincing considering the way your eyes are practically rolling back in your head.

He laughs indulgently, letting his tongue loll against your clit. Despite your bratty attitude, he’s still set on making sure you come again. He’s feeling generous tonight.

“F-faster.” You demand, your voice coming out a little thready as you rock your hips back on his fingers.

He snickers again, his own breath coming out fast and a little ragged. “Fuck. You want me so bad, don’t you, kid?”

Your second orgasm creeps up on you faster than even Quaritch had expected. It washes over you in a shivery haze; your muscles convulse and you whine as your legs kick out.

He pulls back, licking his lips and grinning at the tart taste of you. He feels an immense sense of satisfaction, intense enough that it surprises him. He’s always felt a sense of pride when he’s succeeded in pleasuring his partners, but this is different. Your scent is thick in his nose, blocking out all his other senses, and it feels like he’s got tunnel vision right now. All he can focus on is you and your reactions to him, and what he sees soothes the jagged edges of his arousal for a brief moment.

He's never been so desperate to bury his cock into anyone in his living memory, but he’s careful to hold back. You’re still shivering and gasping, reeling as you twitch away from his insistent fingers.

“How’re we feelin’, mama?” He asks in a low voice, finally pulling back from you.

The distance allows him to regain a little clarity, but it also makes him aware of the painful strain of his erection as it hangs between his legs. His pants are still laying wide open and hanging low on his thighs, but the scratchy fabric of his clothes is beginning to feel unbearable on his overheated skin. He shoves the trousers down further, practically kicking his boots off so he can shed his pants completely, before turning his attention back to you.

“I feel..” You start to say, and your voice comes out pleasantly throaty in a way that makes his toes curl. “I feel like my muscles have turned to water.”

He chuckles, feeling his ego inflate yet again. “That good, huh?”

You roll your eyes, then push yourself up onto your knees on the couch beside him. You’re still breathing heavily, but you’ve lost some of the mistiness that had clouded your eyes. Now, you’re looking at him with an expression that’s a little wild, and hungrier than he’d expected considering he’d already given you two orgasms.

“I want you to fuck me.” You whisper, as bold as he’s heard you.

He’s not able to keep himself from wrapping a hand around his cock, squeezing lightly at the base. But despite the bass beat throbbing in his cock, he holds himself back. You’re so small, with your fragile bones and soft skin, and he really doesn’t want to accidentally kill you with his dick. He’s got to take this slow.

“Mhm.” He grunts. “When I’m ready to.”

A flash of irritation crosses your face. You’ve never liked being told ‘no’, and your lips twist into a pout. But that only lasts a second before it’s replaced by something a little more calculating, your eyes darting down to his cock.

His erection is as big as your forearm, and iridescent precome dribbles down the swollen lilac head. He’s expecting to see a flash of fear or apprehension at the idea of him fucking you considering the size difference, but your expression is pleased.

You reach out to touch it, much more confident and coy than earlier, and it’s shameful how the relief of your hand on him nearly knocks him flat.

“Oh, all this for me?” You coo, false sweetly. “Poor baby. You want me so badly.”

The mocking mirroring of his own words is his last straw. He moves, throwing you on your back on the couch under him so quickly he’s sure your head must be spinning. Oh, he’s going to make you regret that comment.

You squeak at the sudden movement, but your thighs are already spreading eagerly as he settles between your legs. That inexperienced nervousness from before is beginning to melt away, leaving you all breathless and restless as you wait for him to make another move.

“Hands and knees.” He directs you, and the order comes out with the same iron edge he usually uses for his squad. He watches as the words sink in, your breath hitching as a shiver runs through you.

You begin to roll over, and he reaches out to take your hips in his hands. He guides you over onto your stomach, then pulls your hips up so that you settle onto your knees with your ass in the air, your pussy visibly wet where it peeks from between your thighs.

“Jesus.” He mutters to himself. “Ain’t that a pretty sight.”

He shifts closer, putting his knees down on either side of your calves, and when he drapes himself over your back – or, really, over your whole body, with the way that the top of your head only reaches his chest – and slides his cock up against you, the helpless little sound that you make is nearly buried by his own groan.

He presses his cock against you, but doesn’t push in yet. He just lets himself relish the contact, the heat between your legs.

“In—put it in—” You gasp, your words muffled by the way your face is pressed into couch cushions.

“Shh, shut up. Just take a deep breath.”

He waits until he feels you obey, then plants one hand firmly on the couch, just next to your head, and the other on your back, and starts to push in—

– And it doesn’t work.

“You have to go slow.” You say, your voice small as Quaritch tries again to push inside.

“I am going slow— fuck.” He hisses, using his hand to position himself so he can try again, but you aren’t budging. “Too fucking tight—"

You make a noise like a wounded little animal, dropping your forehead down between your hands on the couch cushions as the tip of his cock presses into the tight ring of resistance at the entrance of your cunt.

To say the absolute least, it’s slow going. By the time that just the head of his cock is in, the edges of Quaritch’s vision is going black and your arms are starting to get shaky. You’re making soft, pained noises, but you’re not telling him to stop.

“Ungh.. Miles..” You croak, your fingers curling into the ratty couch cushions.

“Good girl,” He says mindlessly, hardly even aware of what he’s saying. “Take it, just like that.”

He rocks out, eases back in, rocks out, eases back in, back and forth and back and forth and moving a little further forward each time, until finally, finally, he’s pressed as deep inside you as he’s going to get. You’re gasping like you’re coming up from a long swim underwater. Even if he wanted to take it slow, Quaritch doesn’t know if he’d be able to.

You try to turn towards him, your mouth falling open with a silent gasp when your hips twist. You’re looking back over your shoulder at him with your eyes hooded and your jaw slack, your breathing pattern growing uneven and strained as he splits you open on his enormous cock.

“Too—too big—” You wheeze, your head dropping down between your folded arms.

He knows it’s mean of him, but he barely gives you a moment to adjust. You’re trembling, your back arched so perfectly as you practically present yourself to him, ass high in the air as he rocks himself inside of you inch by inch.

“Sh, shh… you’re doing fine.” He coaxes, pressing down on your shoulders to increase the angle of your arch for his own viewing pleasure.

You’re so warm and wet and if he thinks about the fact that the same little loser he’s been idly watching for months is currently crying out on his big new dick, his head starts to spin. You’re the tightest thing he’s ever stuck his cock in, and it feels like he’s cleaving his way through hot velvet.

“Just like that..” He groans, sinking a canine into his lower lip.

It takes a humiliating amount of effort not to come immediately upon feeling the slick hot grip of you around him – he’s reminded somewhat uncomfortably that he’s as good as a virgin in this new Recombinant body. He’s got his memories, alright, and they’re enough that he knows what he’s doing, but when it comes to the physical sensations they’re so much more intense than he remembers. He feels like a damn teenager again.

His ears are tucked flat against the sides of his head as he grinds into you, breathless as your body grips at him as though you don’t want to let him go. The scent of you is thick in his nose, and he feels his stupid neural queue tingle in a way it’s never done before.

“Am I—am I doing good?” You gasp. You’re visibly hanging onto his every word and noise, responding with an eager little whimper every time he lets out a groan or grunt.

“So good, baby,” He breathes, working himself back and forward just a single slow, hot inch. “So good for me. So good for—” 

Don’t, he thinks wildly. Don’t fucking say it.

You stare at him over your shoulder, holding his gaze like you’re urging him to say it out loud.

He gives in, resigns himself to the knowledge that he’s a pathetic, dirty old man.

“So good for Daddy, FUCK!” He practically yells it, curling his fingers into the couch cushions so harshly that his fingers tear through the shitty thin fabric into the stuffing.

You gasp, and he feels you clench down like a vice on him. Oh, you like that, he can tell by the way you squeak, how you go tight and gushy, how your lower lip quivers.  

“Nasty old man,” You hiss, though your ass arches higher to give him a better angle to fuck you with even as you grind your words out.

He gives a harsh, grinding thrust into you, and you promptly give up on looking over your shoulder at him as your elbows give out. You end up face down in the couch, your little fingers grasping at the grungy cushions.

He nearly slips out as you fall, and he quickly moves both hands back to grab onto your hips and hold you steady with a low, “Fuck.” Your hands are left to scrabble at the cushions below you, searching for purchase but failing to find it, and as he watches, a bit of drool slides from your mouth along with the helpless sounds being pushed out with each of his thrusts.

“Watch that mouth.” He warns, though he knows he doesn’t sound as harsh as he wants to. He’s sure that you’ve felt the twitch of his cock inside you in response to your name-calling, though that’s not something he’s willing to examine.

“Okay,” You wheeze, wriggling a little under him. It takes a moment for him to realise that you’re trying to fuck yourself back onto his cock. “I’ll be good, daddy.”

His head drops to your shoulder with a punched-out groan. Shit. He should have known calling himself that stupid name would bite him in the ass – hearing it come from your mouth might just be the hottest thing he’s ever heard.

 “Fuck.” He says, his voice gravelly and rough and more honest than he intends to be. “Can’t fuckin’ handle you calling me that, kid.”

He’s aware that he’s being a hypocrite, considering it was him who had said it in the first place, but he hadn’t considered the effect it would have on him. It’s been a long time since he’s gotten his dick wet, even when he was human – longer than he’s willing to think about. So to have a pretty little thing like you hanging off his dick and whining, calling him daddy as tears rolls down your cheeks, is pushing him right to his limit.

“Oh yeah? Is me calling you daddy gonna make you cream early, old man?”

Fucking hell. He’s always liked that smart mouth of yours, but right now he thinks it’s going to kill him.

He smacks his open palm against your ass, and the ‘crack’ of it echoes in the shitty little tech hub. You wheeze out a surprised gasp and rock forward with the force of it, but he can feel the way you clench down hard on him.

He adjusts himself so he’s fully over you, enveloping your body from above as he watches you take cock way too thick for you. You’re still trembling, glancing over your shoulder to watch him with glassy eyes, one of your hands reached between your legs so you can rub at your own clit. 

Quaritch drags his cock back, his eyes practically rolling back in his head as he feels your impossible tightness clutch at him, before pushing back experimentally. A little noise leaves your mouth and he can’t help himself. He does it again, slams back in — harder than he meant to.

You’re rocked forward, your hands grasping at the armrest of the couch in an attempt to grab some stability as you yowl. All that rigid tension and exhausted irritability has melted right out of you, to be replaced by desperate pleasure as you’re filled to the brim and pushed beyond your limits.

And then – he can’t help himself. He’s ruthless, fucking you so hard that you’re wailing with it. He can’t fit his whole cock inside you, you’re too small, but the part that he can get into you feels like it’s wrapped in buttery velvet, gripping him so tight.

You’re crying out for real, now, but you’re so wet that obscene, slick sounds are filling the room and it’s all he can hear. If he listens, he can make out some of the half-formed words falling from your mouth - “please, Daddy, please, please, feels good,” and so on and so forth like the best melody he’s ever heard. His ears twitch relentlessly, trying to pick up on every single sound you make, determined not to miss any of it.

He wants to leave you ruined, to leave you red and aching. Unable to walk without thinking of this, of him— of this whole encounter with him, of the way he has you used and crying on this dingy couch.

You reach back blindly as he fucks you, your little body taking him so well, and sink your nails into his thigh as he pistons his hips into you, your upturned ass making the angle so easy.

“Shit,” He hisses through his teeth, glancing down to see that your sharp little nails have drawn thin lines of blood from his thick blue thigh. “You’ve got fucking claws.”

You just whine in response, your face pressed into the couch as he ploughs into you, your legs twitching. It seems like you’ve sunk your nails into his thigh just so you can keep a grip on something.

The springs of the couch are squealing so loud that Quaritch has a brief, fleeting thought that the whole thing is going to collapse underneath the two of you. Between the grating noise of the springs and the gasping and babbling spilling from your lips and the soft squelching noises your pussy makes as his cock bullies its way in and out, he almost doesn’t catch the sound of the door opening.

But even though his senses are dialled up to eleven and directed at you, he’s still got enough situational awareness to realise that there’s someone standing in the doorway watching with a slack mouth.

It’s your co-worker. Tom. Or Troy. Something like that.

He barely spares the energy to send a glance his way, though he can’t help the sharp, smug grin that spreads over his face when he realises that your little loser co-worker is watching him fuck you with an expression of horrified and shocked fascination.

Quaritch has never been into voyeurism, but there’s a sense of bone-deep satisfaction that runs through him at the knowledge that this man, this challenger, is watching him claim you so thoroughly. His tail lashes as he humps into you, all hunched over your arched back so that he’s caging you beneath his big arms, and he glances over to the deadbeat in the door and bares his teeth at him.

Quaritch reaches under your belly to rub at your clit with one hand, using his other one to grab your hip, the flesh firm but supple and such a pleasure to squeeze, so he can fuck you harder and faster still. You cry louder for him, and he can’t tell who’s worshipping whom. It’s pure ecstasy, even despite the little worm watching you both in disbelief.

“Just for me, huh?” He snarls in your ear, his big fingers curling into the soft flesh of your hips. “This perfect fuckin’ pussy, mine. Fuckin’ mine.”

Beneath him, you make a soft, desperate sort of noise, drawing every gaze in the room to you – and you look nothing short of obscene. Your eyes are teary and unfocused, your face is flushed, your mouth is open and your lower lip bitten red, your pussy is wet and just this side of swollen. Quaritch dwarfs you in every way, and being above you like this, forcing your body to let him in and take him, is a sight that he suddenly feels grimly possessive over.

“Yes,” You sob, your finger scrabbling against the dingy couch cushions. “Y-yes, Miles, fuck—!”

Suddenly, he’s not so smug about someone else seeing you like this at all, especially not when it’s your loser co-worker that doesn’t take no for an answer that’s watching you with an open mouth and flushed cheeks.

The hiss that tears out of his mouth surprises even him – it’s born of pure instinct, a base urge rising out of the depths of his brain to get this motherfucker away from here.

Tom-Troy-Tim-whatever staggers back, eyes wide and frightened, before he promptly turns on his heels and flees, letting the door shut behind him again.

Below him, you don’t even seem to notice that there’s been a witness to your little rendez-vous. You’re too busy drooling as his cock carves out a space for himself inside you, mewling all soft and sweet as he strokes your clit.

“Perfect,” Quaritch says half-deliriously, “Perfect little slut. Doin’ so well, baby.”

He knows you’re a smart girl, and maybe that’s why seeing you all dumb and fucked out on his cock is so hot. It’s like all that sharp intelligence has been fucked out of you, replaced with nothing but the desperate desire to come as he pounds into you with your ass up in the air.

Liquid fire spreads from his loins, and he knows he’s close. It feels too good. He would open you up and crawl inside you if he could, just fuckin’ eat you from the inside out.

You glance over your shoulder, your eyes heavy-lidded and your lips shiny as you watch him fuck you from behind.

And then you speak, your voice throaty and teasing despite your dishevelled state. “Gonna come inside, daddy?”

And that’s his last straw.

His orgasm almost takes him by surprise, even with how long it’s been building. He holds you by the hips so tightly that it’ll be a miracle if you don’t bruise, and he snarls like a goddamn animal as he comes, emptying his balls deep inside you. He holds you there for a long, long moment, letting your tight, tight cunt squeeze around him for just a moment longer before the feeling starts to edge into something bright and oversensitive.

He starts to pull out, the head of his cock already sensitive, but you’re just so enticingly wet and soft and messy that he can’t help but thrust against you once more, his breath hitching.

You’re gasping softly yourself, sniffling and half-lifting your head from where you’d dropped it on the couch as he pulls out, but Quaritch doesn’t let you so much as get a single word out before he sits back on his heels.

He uses his hold on your hips to flip you around, so fast that all you can do is wheeze in surprise as he throws you onto your back beneath him. Then he pulls you up so that your pussy is right in his face, pulling a shriek out of you as he licks right over your clit and dripping wet cunt.

He mouths at you with a fervour, savouring the way your sweet-spicy taste mixes with his seed and bringing you to full-on sobs in between your moans. There’s something feral about his movements now, his thoughts clouded from his release – his arousal hasn’t yet abated, as though he’s still holding out for your release.

“Miles—oh fuck, it’s—I can’t—please!” You cry, and Quaritch just flicks his tongue over your clit and lets your words dissolve into nothing.

Some part of him recognises that he’s not usually so generous with his partners. He’s never been selfish; he always gets his partners where they want to be, always leaves them satisfied, but he’s never felt this all-consuming urge to leave his mark on someone like this before.

You’re a mess, squirming all over his face as though you can’t decide whether you want to move closer or further away. He holds you as steady as he can, not letting you get away as he suckles and licks relentlessly at you.

You cry out his name as you come, your pussy clenching around nothing and your hips rocking helplessly back against his face. It has his spent cock twitching from where it’s hanging heavy between his legs, his eyes practically rolling back in his head as he tastes your salty-sweet release on his tongue.

He presses one more kiss to your clit, just to make you choke on a small squeak of a sound, and then he pulls back to let you both catch your breath. Once he remembers how to move his body properly, he lays you back down and follows you, laying his body on top of yours on the pathetically small couch, mindful not to crush you.

“Jesus Christ.” He rumbles out, his sweaty body heavy and numb from all the activity. “You okay, princess?”

“Princess.” You repeat breathlessly, snorting. “Thought I was a little slut.”

Quaritch smirks against the soft skin of your collarbones, tired but immensely satisfied. He loves the mouth on you, that familiar snark raising its head as you recover from your exhaustion, but it’s important to keep you in your place.

He swats at your ass, right over the same spot he had smacked before, and you jolt, squealing.

“Fuck!” You squeal, legs kicking. “That hurts, asshole!”

“You liked it before.” He points out, his ego and male pride swollen.

You grumble, but turn your head to hide your face, obviously embarrassed. Quaritch takes the opportunity to let his eyes wander, uncaring whether you catch him staring or not. Minor muscle tremors run through your calf muscles even still, and your skin is still damp from perspiration.

“’m not gonna be able to walk f’r days.” You mutter, though you don’t sound upset about it. Unless Quaritch’s ears are deceiving him, you sound pleased.

He just grunts, too preoccupied with basking in the feeling of bonelessness that comes after a good orgasm.

There’s a beat of silence, then you say, smaller this time, “That was… good.”

He snickers, amused by your sudden shyness. He strokes a lazy hand down over your flank, relishing the softness of your skin.

“Mm…” He hums in wordless agreement.

Some of that somnolent satisfaction that’s been weighing you down has begun to fade away; he can feel you begin to fidget beneath him, and then you dart a look towards the door.

“Todd’s shift starts soon,” You say, and now he can hear a nervous edge in your voice. “We should—we should get up before he gets here—”

His tails coils, curling around your lower thigh. He doesn’t move, and he’s too heavy for you to shift his weight off you.

“Shh,” He hushes you nonchalantly. “He ain’t comin’.”

You pause, a frown furrowing your brow. “What d’you mean?”

He just grunts, unwilling to explain.

“I’ll have a little chat to him tomorrow,” He says instead, his face still lazily tucked into your neck. “About doin’ the damn job that’s been assigned to him.”

He snuffles at your neck as though your scent is a drug, then sucks at the tender flesh of your throat. You’re no doubt already covered in bruises – he was rougher than he should have been – but adding another few along your collarbones makes some deep instinct in him settle.

“You don’t—” You start to say, your breathing somewhat jagged as his teeth scrape over your throat. “You don’t have to do that.”

He doesn’t bother responding. He thinks it’s obvious by now that he doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to. He strokes one hand down your body, curling it beneath your ass just so he can squeeze gently at the crease between your bum and your thigh.

You settle, relaxing with a somewhat confused little sigh. He’s still curled over you like a stupid big cat, and the resemblance irritates him, but not enough to move away from you. You’re not snapping or teasing him right now either, which he’ll take as a win.

“Think of it as repayment,” He drawls out, “You’ve been such a good girl for me, sorting out all my little technical problems. Least I could do, huh? Besides, I’ve never liked a deadbeat.”

Then he grins lecherously, and he squeezes at your ass again. “But if you’re that grateful, you can always show me how much you appreciate it.”

You groan and reach up to push at his face, but your weak little hands don’t shift him and you’re doing a poor job at hiding the little smile on your face.

“You’re such an old pervert,” You grumble, as grouchy as ever as you curl into him from underneath.

He huffs a snort in response, unoffended. He knows how it looks; he may have a nice shiny new blue body and all the perks that his new ‘youth’ has to offer, but that doesn’t change the fact that he is, in essence, a dirty old man pawing at the sweet young little thing beneath him.

“You’re gonna let this old pervert come to see you again though, ain’t ya?” He says, a low mocking tone in his voice. “Gonna let me come bang you in this shitty office again tomorrow?”

He’s just prodding at you, mostly. He knows you’re not going to be able to take him again tomorrow. You had done such a good job taking him tonight, but that doesn’t cancel out the fact that he’s big and you had confessed yourself that you were inexperienced, that it had been a long time since you had done anything with a man. He’ll be impressed if you can walk tomorrow.

You yawn, your little pink mouth opening wide like a kitten. “You gonna sort out a nice new office for me too?”

He thinks of fucking you in a bright new shiny office, with a comfy new couch and space to spread you out and take you apart as leisurely as he wants. It’ll have to be somewhere out of the way, so you can make all those pretty noises of yours and not get interrupted. Maybe close to the Recom sector – he’s sure he can come up with some sort of excuse for why they need increased tech support.

He wonders idly if he’ll be able to get away with it without General Ardmore catching wind of it, then decides he doesn’t care.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

tags:

@live-laugh-neteyam@narwhal-swimmingintheocean @mechformers @malinowoczekoladowebudynie @byunpum @areislol @kisssatoru @notquitehero @kyurii-chan @shadowshart @atokirina-writings @cantescapethefantasy @thespadedhazesrave @mooniequeen @marauderseragal @lovebeinaprincessworld @justcaptainnoodles @sweetdayme4427

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Brian Van Holt as Bo Sinclair in House of Wax (2005) 10/??

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The Fall

2.8k mostly sfw homelander x reader. christmas adjacent. depowered homelander.

Summary: After being struck by an unidentified projectile that renders him powerless, Homelander crash lands in your backyard, wholly at your mercy.

this is a rework of this original prompt. inspired by the fable of the mouse that aids the lion whose paw has been stuck by a thorn.  ♡

Homelander is over a hundred feet in the air when he hears something whistling through the sky behind him. Some kind of projectile. A small missile, maybe. It's nothing he hasn't handled before: It could blow up in his face and he would be fine. He’s more curious about what exactly it is, who’s stupid enough to fire it at him, and where it’s coming from. 

With that in mind–in that split second he has to react–he decides to forgo dodging it and instead attempt to catch it.  However, as the mystery projectile gets nearer, his vision begins to tunnel. 

What the fuck? 

His reflexes slow, and before he knows it, the projectile strikes him hard in his left side rib, exploding in fumes that fill his lungs and coat his skin. In an instant, he feels pain like he's been turned inside out, a sensation worse than anything he’s felt since childhood. Instantly he's plummeting towards the ground, crashing directly into your backyard in an eruption of snow and yard furniture.

With his vision going black, the last thing he hears is the sound of the world turning deafeningly quiet.

When Homelander comes to, he's being shaken. No–compressed, hands over his chest, pushing again and again in a steady rhythm. Warm lips press against his, and a rush of air fills his lungs. His eyes snap open, and out of pure reflex, he drives his fist into your unfamiliar form, sitting up with a frenzied look in his eyes.

You should have flown back thirty feet with a hit like that. Instead, you only fell back onto your ass, coughing. Homelander's hands are shaking as he looks at them, and he can feel blood dripping from his ears, taste it in his mouth. He's disoriented, his whole body heavy. He's having trouble breathing, every ragged inhale a struggle, and his heart is pounding.

"Someone tried to kill me," he rasps in disbelief. Not surprised that someone tried, but that someone very nearly succeeded. "Someone... Someone tried to fucking kill me," he says again, growing more hysteric the more the pain sets in. His own brain is hammering against the confines of his skull, beating at the backs of his eyes.

He’s certain that he’s halfway to cardiac arrest, but no matter how he tries to focus, he can’t calm himself. His strength is gone. It’s gone. He looks at you, you, who should have a hole punched through your chest. Instead, you’re staggering to your feet, totally unharmed. 

"Homelander!" You address sharply, audibly trying to rein in your own bubbling panic. He can see his own fear reflected in your eyes. You’re just as confused as he is. Just a stupid little mouse that crawled out of your hole and found him like this. "I can help you, okay? Let me help you."

There’s something about the sharp authority in your voice mixed with an undeniable quiver of compassion that catches his attention. It could be the degree of his vulnerability sinking in, but after a second of dumbfounded staring, Homelander nods.

It must be pure adrenaline that gives you the strength to help him into your house. You don’t look like you should be able to carry him. He's practically dead weight in your arms, barely keeping himself on his feet as you both stumble into your living room. The height difference does neither of you any favors.

You get him down onto the couch before fetching a wet rag, a bottle of water, pills, and a first aid kit. He watches you fumble with it, hands shaking. He assumes it’s adrenaline, though you lack the acidic stench of it. No, you probably don’t. He just can’t smell it anymore. He can’t smell anything except the faint tinge of blood, and whatever nauseating scented candle you use to stink up your home. Though, even that’s distant compared to what he’s used to. However, he finds he doesn’t have it in him to panic. Is this what shock feels like?

He takes the water you offer him, but denies the pills. “No, no. I have no idea what that shit will do to me right now.” You nod, setting the bottle aside. You then lean over him, inspecting the level of damage. His ears are ringing, and his whole body is throbbing with sharp, painful aches. Maybe the pills would help, but he’s never had to take painkillers before. He’d rather swallow tacks than lean on something so pedestrian.

As you work, he notices a mottled mark blossoming darkly across the center of your chest, just under your collarbone, approximately the size of his fist. Without thinking, he reaches up to touch it, remembering the blow he’d dealt you.

You startle, looking down where he touches with a wince. The skin looks as tender as he feels. It must sting. Is he bruised like this beneath his suit? The thought of these same ugly dark marks mirrored on his own body brings him visceral disgust. 

"Don't worry about me," you tell him, as comforting as your voice can muster. You grasp his wrist and gently lay it back down at his side.

I'm not worried about you, he thinks derisively. "That should have caved in your chest."

"Guess it's my lucky day, then," you say absently, more focused on using a wet cloth to wipe away the blood from his temple, up into his hairline, seeking the injury. You're meticulous but gentle in the way you handle him, cupping the side of his face to turn him one way, then another.

If not for how clumsy your movements feel, he’d think you’ve done this before. There is care and determination in the way you tend to him, but no obvious medical expertise. Even the kit you pull from looks out of date and sparse. You probably picked it up from a gas station on a whim because you needed safety pins. "I think these need stitches," you say as you carefully apply bandages, brows furrowed. Homelander's gaze lingers on your lips as you speak. What kind of person sees someone fall out of the fucking sky, blowing a crater in their yard in the process, and then thinks to give them CPR?

"I'm calling an ambulance," you say, moving to stand. That breaks him out of his stupor. He catches you by the wrist, stopping you in your tracks, despite how pitifully weak his own grasp feels. "No, no, not... Don't do that," he says, screwing his eyes shut briefly. No one else can know that this happened. Besides, if those psychopaths are still out there, it will draw them right to him. "Too much attention, I just... give me a fucking minute," he says, flexing his hands. They still feel weak, tingling like they've fallen asleep, but the bizarre sensation is gradually beginning to abate.

Whatever was done to him, it doesn't seem to be permanent. 

He hopes to fuck that it isn’t. "Okay," you say tentatively. Instead of leaving, however, you reposition to continue wiping the blood from his face, gently rubbing from his temples down his jaw. He watches you like a hawk, rolling his fingers in and out of fists, gradually feeling his strength return to him.

He's unaccustomed to the way you're handling him. One hand cupping his jaw, ginger in the way you move his head only when you absolutely need to. The concern wrinkled between your brows is so palpable, so sincere, that for a moment he almost forgets you're strangers to each other.

"What're you doing?" He asks eventually, voice low. You pause, looking down to meet his eye. "Oh, I just... There's still blood, and I didn't want to leave you alone."

Your response tightens something in his chest, like a steel coil wrung too tight, leaving him uncomfortable. He feels small, vulnerable, and the tenderness of your touch is doing nothing for it. "I don't need you," he snaps defensively. "I'm fine."

"Okay," you respond, aggravatingly calm. Still soothing. "What do you need?" Homelander opens his mouth, but hesitates. Your earnestness is infuriating, waiting on bated breath for what you can do for him. He closes his mouth, jaw tight. His gaze flickers back down to the bruise on your chest. It's darker now, varying shades of purple and yellow fading into one another.

Looking back up at you, he schools his expression into calm focus. "Close the blinds," he says, gesturing with his head to the window, where you have twinkling white Christmas lights strung up. 

"I need to lay low awhile." He can feel his powers steadily returning. Once he gets back to Vought, he'll find out who it was, and rip out their fucking spine.

You've already gotten up to do as he asked, drawing the blinds down, and then closing the curtains over them. Afterwards, you turn to leave.

"Hey," Homelander calls, frowning. You stop in the doorway. "Where are you going?"

"The kitchen," you answer, hand on the doorframe. "You can call if you need something."

"Stay here," he says, ignoring the bit of petulance he can hear in his own voice. He doesn't care if you're confused. He doesn't care that he doesn't entirely understand himself. He just wants you to stay.

He watches you take a seat at the end of the couch, near his feet. He exhales, closing his eyes. It isn't as though you could do anything if proficient killers did appear, but for whatever reason, no matter how useless you would ultimately be, he feels better for having you near.

Even a curtain is better than no door at all.

After half an hour, his senses begin to sharpen again. It begins as a dull, irritating buzz at first. It has him rubbing at his ears, screwing his eyes shut. It rolls in and out of focus, making it difficult to adjust to. “Are you okay?” You ask from the other end of the couch, where you’ve been sitting with remarkable patience. Maybe you’re afraid of him. He hates not being able to tell by the rate of your heart.

“Peachy keen,” he replies flatly. “Hearing’s coming back.”

“That’s good,” you say, though the inflection you end with makes it sound more like a question.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s good, it’s just… Loud,” he says, grinding the heel of his palm into his temple. His skull is still pounding. “Everything’s all… Coming back in a jumble. Giving me a fucking headache,” he says, though as he speaks, he realizes he’s able to focus fairly well on the conversation, drowning out the more intrusive ambient sounds. “Keep talking.”

You look surprised by his demand, but after a beat, you oblige. After maybe an hour of idle conversation, he learns your name, that you work from home, you like decorating for Christmas even when you spend it alone, and that you've lived a thoroughly dull, ordinary little life until this very moment.

That’s just what you’ve told him.

From his personal observations, he's learned that you’re a perpetual fidgeter, that you touch your face when you're nervous, and that you would rather laugh than take any of his disparaging remarks about your mundane life to heart.

"I think it's lucky for you that I’m so boring. I might not have been here otherwise," you counter. Your smile is so inexplicably charming–nose wrinkled like you’ve somehow pulled a fast one on him–that Homelander forgets to refute your point. Instead, much to your alarm, he sits up.

"Oh, steady! Are you sure you're okay?" You ask, standing as he does, hands out as if to catch him. He stretches his hands out in front of him, and then curls his arms back in. Exhaling, his eyes flare crimson. He likes the way it makes your heart jump when he looks at you through the red glow.

His lips quirk, lasers fading out. "Good as new," he says confidently, though the aches of his fall still linger in his joints. Not quite new. He takes a few long strides across your living room, pausing in the doorway to your kitchen, where he can see through to your yard, and the absolute crater he left in it. "Vought will... take care of that," he says, gesturing vaguely to the destruction.

You can't help but laugh, crossing your arms loosely to survey the damage with him. "I appreciate it, but really, I'm just glad you're alright," you say honestly, staring out into the wreckage of your yard.

Homelander purses his lips slightly, glancing at you from his peripheral. Above him, he feels something brush the top of his head. When he glances up, what he sees hanging in the doorway makes him smile deviously.

Without warning, he puts his hands on your waist and spins you to him, lips landing warm and firm on yours. He absolutely devours the surprised little noise you make against him, halfway tempted to see what other sounds he can wring from you.

Your heart quickens to a race in his ears, and much to his delight, you kiss him back. You even surprise him by grabbing the back of his head with both hands, deepening the kiss of your own volition.

Not one to be out done, he adjusts his hold on you, one arm wrapping properly around your waist while the other slides up to cup the back of your neck, gloved fingers gently squeezing your bare skin.

To his delight, you retaliate with your tongue, slipping it between his lips and coaxing his forth.

Just full of surprises, little mouse.

Maybe you aren't so boring after all.

He meets you eagerly, exhaling a rough, excited little huff through his nose, dropping the hand at your waist to grab a cheeky squeeze full of your ass, wringing a soft moan from you that sends a bolt of heat straight to his cock.

When Homelander pulls back, you're flushed warmly all over. You smell of antiseptic wipes and peppermint, like Christmas in a hospital. It’s bizarrely appealing.

"What was that?" You ask, dazed.

"Mistletoe," he purrs, tipping his head back without taking his eyes off you, settling his hands back on your waist.

You look up slowly–taking a solid few seconds to process–and huff a gentle little laugh, nodding at the aforementioned ornament dangling above you. 

"Is this your way of saying thank you?" You manage to ask after swallowing back the lump in your throat, your shoulders relaxing, though your heart continues to gallop in your chest. "I hope you're still going to pay for my yard."

It's Homelander's turn to laugh. "Oh, no. I haven't even begun to say thank you yet," he assures you, hands lingering on your hips. 

The kiss had been pure unrestricted impulse, nothing he intended to follow through on. However, now that you're toying with the hair at the nape of his neck, your skin warm against his, your eyes half lidded, he’s not sure that he wants to let you go. Your lips shine where you’ve licked the taste of his from them. 

“I think for your good deeds, you’re owed a very merry Christmas,” he says, waggling his brows. 

You give a flustered, incredulous bark of laughter, covering your mouth as you look away from him, that flush of yours intensifying, making your whole body thrum warmly. You wouldn’t need to worry about keeping warm on these cold winter nights if he had his way with you.

“Okay, well, uhm, thank you for… for that thought,” you say, tripping over your words in a way you haven’t this entire encounter. “You hit your head pretty hard, though so maybe before you make any promises, we make sure you get checked out by an actual doctor,” you say, pushing lightly against his chest.

He maintains his hold for just a second longer, utterly immovable. It feels good to be himself again. He runs his tongue along his teeth, downright predatory in the way he stares down at you, but he does relinquish his hold.

“You should come with me to the tower. You know, now that you’re… Compromised,” he says, folding his hands behind his back. “Someone might come looking for me here. Interrogate you on my condition.”

Real fear flashes in your eyes at that. “Wait, you’re serious?”

“As a heart attack,” he gives back gravely.

“Uh… Okay. Uhm, let me… I’ll pack a bag,” you say nervously, stepping away from him to do just that.

“Okie-dokie,” he gives back simply, glancing around your home while he waits. He picks up an odd little gnome with a big red hat that covers everything but a little button nose, and a long white beard. Maybe he’ll convince you to bring along some of your festive decorations.

Merry Christmas to me, he thinks, already daydreaming about twisting the head off of whoever hit him with some kind of neutralizing agent.

He might thank them for the impromptu date while he’s at it.

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songbird

the ghoul x f!reader

summary: you used to be a singer in your vault - that skill comes in handy when you least expect it, and least want to use it. but who are you to say no when cooper tells you to sing for him?

wc: 5.7k

warnings: swearing, talk of murder, blood, alcohol, gun violence, sexual tension, smut, fingering, p in v sex, biting, possessive sex, possessive cooper

You had to admit - if you and your companion didn't find shelter soon, one of you was going to drop and the other wouldn't hesitate to feast on what was left.

The deserts of the Wasteland were harsh - you had known that the moment you stepped out of your vault those months ago and you had been faced with nothing but a searing sun, sand that got stuck places it shouldn't have, and creatures and fellow people alike who would risk it all simply for a quick grab at the pack on your back. But it seemed like this past week, God or Satan or whoever the fuck was controlling this shitshow of a world was in a bad mood. The heat was unbearable, even at night when the chilly winds should have weaseled their way beneath your vault suit and cooled your burning skin. Creatures mutated by the long-settled radiation were feeling the anger of the wasteland, as well, charging without warning or provocation. To top off a less than perfect week, your water supply had run out yesterday, and unless the skies opened up and released a storm of rad-infested hail upon your head, you weren't sure you would find any more before you keeled over and kicked it.

Struggling to plant your feet stable in the mounds of sand beneath you as you made your way between the shells of buildings that had once stood tall and proud, you glanced over your shoulder at your companion. Cooper was better adapted for this kind of environment than you were, what with his hardened skin and the wide brim of his hat shielding his face, but even he looked worse for wear. When he picked up his head, seeming to feel your eyes on him, you quickly averted your gaze and set your attention back on moving one foot in front of the other.

"Fuck're you lookin' at?" he said, his voice raspy as he called out through the dry air.

"Nothing," you snipped back, refusing to give him the satisfaction of facing him again. "Just wondering if I'm going to have to carry you the rest of the way, asshole."

The heat was making you both snappy - you hated it.

Your first meeting with Cooper hadn't gone smoothly. Hell, your second or third hadn't, either. You weren't exactly sure when you had fallen into a more comfortable presence around one another, but it sure as shit hadn't happened overnight. You'd been only half a day fresh from your vault when you'd seen him scavenging madly over a mess of bodies he'd dropped where they stood, searching for a number of vials kept in their pockets that he let drip into his open mouth like a fountain of youth. When you had called out a friendly hello to him, he'd nearly shot your brains out. Cooper had taken in your shocked expression - as you'd clearly never seen a ghoul before - as well as the stark blue of your vault suit and the pack over your shoulders, then promptly told you to scoot your ass back around to wherever the hell you had come from. Of course, you hadn't. You'd followed him from a distance, watching as he'd picked his way across the dusty sands until he'd wrangled you with the lasso at his hip, told you to fuck right off, and left you tied to a number of old pipes in the basement of a nearly collapsed building.

A day later, you'd tracked his footprints in the sand to a little settlement, where you hadn't ducked away quick enough to avoid his gaze. He'd threatened to blow your brains out if he caught you following him again. He'd only half-delivered on that promise when, not ten hours later, he'd planted a fist-sized hole in the skull of a raider attempting to cut your throat for the Pip-Boy affixed to your wrist.

From then on, he'd simply chosen to ignore you as you followed behind him like a lost dog, intent on staying with the biggest, baddest wolf in the yard. After a week, he'd tossed you a part of his rations. A week after that, he'd - not too gently - invited you to sit at the campfire with him when he saw you shivering beneath your thin, vault-issued blanket a good few yards away.

Somewhere along the way you'd started to talk. Started to share - at least, you had. Cooper had simply tucked his hat over his eyes and pretended not to listen while you rattled about this and that until he physically couldn't take it anymore and told you to go the fuck to sleep.

These months later, having accompanied him all this time, you didn't hesitate to call him a friend. Maybe something more, if you let the ache between your legs when you looked at him speak for you, but you knew it was a fantasy and nothing more, so you decided to stick with 'friend.'

Back in the present, you swallowed and winced when your throat barked with a bout of pain in response. You didn't think you'd make it another mile, let alone five, which was how far Cooper claimed the nearest town was. Despite the months you'd spent adapting out here to the wastelands, you were still attempting to cope with the hardships that came with it. Vault life wasn't anything like this; there was always water to drink, beds to sleep in. Cool air to bask in when it got just the slightest bit too hot. Of course, you didn't voice these complains to your companion. If you did, you had no doubt he'd tell you to shut the fuck up and deal with it.

Just as you were about to ask if you could take a short break and get away from the harsh sun beating on your back like repeated blows from a red-hot hammer, a gloved hand wrapped around your arm and held you in place. You jerked to a stop, nearly falling back on your ass as Cooper held you where you stood. You prepared a strongly-worded question as to just what he was doing before you followed his gaze downward, to where a small handful of pairs of footprints traveled perpendicular to yours. Together, you tilted your heads to the left where the foreign prints were headed, and it was there you found a small slope leading downward into what may have once been a shopping mall. From where you stood, you were able to see that the glass dome around the center of the mall had been shattered, letting out the gentle sound of music and human hollers.

You exchanged a look with Cooper, each of you sunken from the iron-fisted heat weighing you down, then slid down the sandy slope after him when he took off toward the shopping mall.

If there was one thing you had learned about Cooper since planting yourself at his side and refusing to leave, it was that he valued silence above almost everything else. You, on the other hand, had come from a talkative vault, where gossip reached every end of every chamber only an hour - at max - after anything noteworthy had happened. Your companion had once called you the biggest yap he'd ever heard, and you would have taken it for a compliment had he not told you to shove it a moment after. The two of you had been silent nearly the entire day now, save for a few venomous barks at each other, and you cleared your scratchy throat in an attempt to lighten your shitty moods.

"I used to read about shopping malls in the magazines," you said, leaning your weight backwards as the sandy slope shifted downward. "They had all kinds of stores inside."

"Thanks for the reminder," Cooper bit back, quickening his stride. "Would have fuckin' forgot without you here."

You let your eyes roll into the back of your head as you struggled to catch up to him, your boots digging into the uneven earth beneath you. "When I was a kid, a few of my friends and I would draw pictures of clothes - because, you know, we only had our suits - and then spread them across one of our rooms and pretend to shop. It was stupid, but it we made entertainment where we could."

"Now, was this before you started pretending to be Billie Holliday?"

You gave him a sideways glance. "Who's that?"

Cooper shook his head and took off ahead of you. "Jesus fuckin' Christ."

During one of your, as your companion called them, yap sessions, you had confided in him that your vault valued the arts above anything else. Since you were a child, they had encouraged you to find something you enjoyed, as long as you were able to call yourself an artist. Painting hadn't worked out too well. Writing had been a bust. But then you'd discovered singing - a way in which you were able to express yourself without actually saying how you felt. You could drape the tunes in metaphors and similes, bump the second verse from the first, and when you were done, everyone would get to their feet to applaud as if your songs were the best things they'd ever heard. Cooper hadn't expressed much interest in this, instead taking to calling you a songbird with her wings clipped when he deemed you were at your lowest and needed to be kicked while you were down.

Of course, you hadn't shown him - you would have to be long dead for that - but over the course of the few months you'd known him, you had confided in your notebook carried in your pack all the little things you'd come up with that complimented his persona. How the gold at his heels called for you with each step he took. The way his hands, encased behind leather that creaked, held a smoke so delicately you could have imagined it was you. The rasping curl of his words when he smiled while he spoke and how each word cast a spell that made you want to follow him until the sun exploded and the earth was gone.

Cooper was an enigma you couldn't help but wonder after, and every scrap of himself he tossed to you led you on like a dog on a leash.

The music and echoing sound of laughter from deep inside the shopping mall became louder as the pair of you approached, eyes scanning for snipers on the roof or guards posted at the busted-out windows. There wasn't a person in sight, only mannequins stripped of their clothing hanging out the openings and long-shredded posters clinging to broken glass. Cooper led the way inside, picking a path across the wreckage and rubble stacked haphazardly against the entrance. You felt your pulse tick up when he produced his gun from the worn holster at his side, tapping his trigger finger against the side of the firearm in time with the music winding its way down the wide corridors.

As you followed your companion through the shopping mall, you couldn't help but ogle at the numerous attractions you passed. Shops had been boarded up and torn open again, giving you a glimpse of tattered clothes still on hangers, books tipped over on shelves, pre-war machines behind display cases that were covered in two hundred years' worth of dirt and grime. Gang signs and dirty catchphrases had been spraypainted along the walls and windows in a rainbow of colors. In the center of the long aisle you were wandering, a carousel meant for children sat neglected, still fitted with cartoonish horses who had seen better days than these.

"Did you used to come to these often?" you asked as you stepped across a mannequin missing its head.

"Shut the fuck up for a minute." Cooper raised a hand to pair with his little spat, silencing you from asking any further questions. His tongue darted out between his cracked lips as he placed his steps carefully around shattered glass and wind-up toys that would declare your position to the entire mall. He led you around a few wide corners before coming to a stop behind an old escalator, motioning for you to take cover. You crouched to peer around the other side, pulling your bag strap tighter over your shoulder. You were met with a sight that made your lips part in wonder.

Made up in the center of the mall's large atrium, directly beneath where the glass dome had been broken out, a small encampment of people had established what looked like a tiny town. Tents rested just inside nearby shop windows and winking Christmas lights had been strung above their heads. Lanterns cast shadows along the faces of the camp's locals as they milled back and forth, sharing dinners, reading from books - and dancing. Booming from a solar-powered stereo was a symphony of fiddles and guitars, harmonies of trumpets and clapping in time with the beat. A woman's tinny voice came through the speakers and she reminisced about an old lover who had gotten away. As you watched the people dance and stamp their feet along with the music, you found yourself drumming your fingers along, as well.

You were so engrossed in the music that you nearly missed what Cooper had his watchful eye on; the fridge-sized container with several spigots on its sides marked with a large piece of paper that read 'Clean Water.'

You and Cooper ducked back behind the escalator.

"Bunch of fuckin' idiots," said Cooper as he pulled a red-capped round from his bandolier and loaded it into his gun's chamber. "That shit'll attract every goddamn raider and feral within the mile."

"They're just having fun," you said, unsure of why you felt so defensive of these people you didn't even know. Maybe it was because they reminded you of your fellow vault dwellers back home. There had been a dance or performance like this nearly every night.

Cooper scoffed. "Fun like this gets you killed, little lady."

Your eyes widened as you watched him pull back the hammer of his firearm. "You're not going to just go up there and start shooting, are you?" You knew for a fact that he would. You'd seen him do it before - draw his pistol and start spinning the trigger because a raider or flock of ferals had what he wanted. But this - this was something different. Before he could do anything more, you reached out and grabbed his upper arm in a grasp so tight your knuckles paled. He flashed you a dark, dangerous look from beneath the brim of his hat, but you refused to let go. "Cooper, these people are innocent. They haven't done anything to us."

"Listen here, dollface, and listen well," he said, quickly spinning you around so that your back was pressed against the escalator. He caged you in, his gun hand still in your grasp and his other arm propped against the wall beside your head. You tried your damndest to not flush when you felt his breath on you, when his hips came just inches from pressing up against yours. "If we're goin' to be carryin' on this little arrangement, you need to learn to keep that pretty mouth of yours shut when I tell you to shut it. Now, I know you vaulties think everyone and their mama is goin' to repay that silly kindness of yours, but do not be mistaken. Keep yappin' and I will drink my fill of that there water while I make you watch, and then I'll tip the rest of it onto the floor. You hear me?"

You were at a loss for words, your tongue dry and your knees beginning to feel wobbly from the lack of water and proper rest. Just when you were about to let your eyes fall back down and accept that he was going to clear out the settlement for their water, footsteps echoed past where the two of you stood. Cooper snapped around and raised his pistol, his other arm still caging you in, and aimed down the barrel at a few young men approaching the rest of the locals beneath the glass dome. Instead of yelling, instead of dropping their belongings and begging for their lives while they pissed their pants in the presence of a ghoul, the men waved and smiled friendly grins.

"No need to hide," one said, gesturing the pair of you toward the others. "Y'all are welcome to come and make yourselves cozy. The more the merrier!"

They continued on, greeted by the other locals with shouts of welcome backs and fond hugs, paying no mind to the wide eyes and parted lips of you and your companion. Breaking away from Cooper's little cage he had created with himself and the wall - as much as it pained you to - you peeked back around the escalator. The young men pointed your way, and a number of people waved in kind and beckoned you forward. You found yourself taking a few steps toward the inviting sight of fresh water and the smell of food being cooked over one of the fires when Cooper snagged you by the back of your suit's collar and pulled you back into cover.

"Where on this good green earth you think you're goin'?" he said in a hushed tone, bringing your face close to his with a commanding grip on your jaw. Another flutter of excitement, of blood rush, bubbled to life in the pit of your stomach and began to travel south, but you suppressed the urge to lean into his touch. You didn't pull away, either.

"They invited us," you said, your eyes wandering back over to the light flickering from the lanterns and fires. "It's rude to turn down an invitation."

Cooper harrumphed and released you a little harsher than necessary. "What you've got is a one-way ticket to bein' on tomorrow's menu, sweetheart," he said, tilting his head to follow your gaze and keep eye contact when you looked away. "If you've about had your fill of the real world up here topside, then be my guest. Go and let'em fatten you up. I'll pour one out for 'ya tonight."

Deciding not to wonder if he would actually pour one out for you, if you really meant that much, you scoffed and shook your head. "You know it's okay to let your guard down every once in a while. Smile, maybe? Wave back? No wonder you're so damn bitter, old man."

Cooper stared down at you, and you wondered briefly if he was considering slamming your head into the side of the escalator. Would he drag you away with him, you thought? Or would he leave you for the strangers just around the corner. After what seemed an eternity, he hummed a short little note and nodded his head toward the camp. "You want to play friends, little lady? Go ahead. See how far that gets you before I've got to turn around and put one between the eyes of a man who's not lookin' just for the sake of lookin'."

With the faintest hint of a smile, you blinked up at him. "You'd turn around for me?" you asked in a murmur.

He matched your heated gaze, dark eyes intense and flaring a torch in your belly. "I suppose you'll just have to find out one of these days."

Swallowing thick, you took a breath, then turned and led him toward the little encampment of people. Heads turned as the pair of you approached, and you found that most of them smiled. You waved to those who offered little shakes of their hands, trailed by a ghoul stalking in his own shadow and resting the crook of his palm on his pistol. You were met by a kind-faced woman near the large tank of water, and she was forced to speak loudly to be heard over the sound of the thumping music.

"You folks just get in?" she said, already fixing two bowls of stew from a large pot simmering over a fire.

You broke yourself from the staring match you were having with the pot, the same one Cooper was still stuck in. Although, he may have been watching the chickens that roamed inside a little pen nearby as he licked his lips. "Yes, ma'am," you said over the trill of the woman's singing. You so desperately wished you knew the words so you could sing along. "I hope we're not imposing."

"Not at all!" A bowl of stew was pushed into your hands, and you forced yourself to be polite and not spoon it down your throat immediately. At your side, your companion gave the rim of the bowl a lick with the tip of his tongue before tipping it to slurp up. "We pride ourselves in being an open community. We might be small, but that just means there's more to share." The tin cups of water she handed over didn't last but five seconds before she was refilling them. "Make yourselves comfortable and stay however long you like. All we ask is that you keep your weapons holstered and don't disturb the music."

You and Cooper took seats at a dining table that had been dragged over from the cafeteria, neither of you speaking much as you both wolfed down what was in the bowls in front of you. Both of your spoons went untouched, each electing instead to drink up the strangely-colored meat floating around inside. Cooper finished much faster than you, and shucked off his gloves so that he could dip his scarred finger in to collect what juices were left. When he was finished, the bowl looked as though it hadn't even been used.

Watching him with a small smile, you let up from your own bowl and said, "I'm waiting."

"For what, exactly, little lady?"

"Your apology." You lapped up the rest of your stew before politely setting your bowl inside of his. "You wanted to -" You hesitated and glanced over your shoulder to make sure no one was too close to hear you. "You know." Then you settled a rather self-satisfied smirk over your features. "And look where we are now. So I'd like my apology now."

Cooper sucked on his finger, ensuring he was getting every last morsel of the stew that he could, and your attention was pulled down to where his lips wrapped around his digit. A part of you began to imagine it was yours. He noticed you staring and grinned wide. "And you know what I'm waitin' for, darlin'?"

"What?"

"For you to walk yourself over there and get me seconds."

You rolled your eyes, but nevertheless grabbed your stacked bowls and began to make your way over to where the woman was tending to the pot. "You'd better be thinking about your apology," you called over your shoulder. When you turned back around you nearly collided into someone retreating back to their spot with their own dinner. You jerked to the side, attempting to get out of their way first, and in doing so rammed yourself into the stereo set on a table in the center of the little camp. You watched in horror, bowls clasped to your chest, as the stereo tumbled over the edge of its pedestal and fell to the floor, where it shattered into what must have been hundreds of pieces. The camp became shrouded in a tense, shocked silence as every eye in the mall turned to face you and look upon your sin.

"I..." Your voice carried through the atrium and down the corridors of the shopping mall, sounding like an isolated cry for help. "I'm so sorry. I - I didn't mean to, I really didn't. Here, I might be able to fix it." You bent down to try and gather the pieces with your free hand, and the moment you did, a number of the camp locals drew weapons to aim in your direction.

"Now," came that familiar drawl behind you as you heard a hammer lock into place. "Are we really goin' to be killin' each other over some silly radio?" asked Cooper, and you felt some of your nerves ease slightly when you felt his chest press against your back.

A man to your right hissed. "You killed him!"

You shook your head viciously. "No, no! I - I didn't kill anyone. I'm sorry, I really am."

"You killed Sterry!" a woman accused.

"Sterry?" You looked down at the broken stereo and began to scoop up the bigger pieces you could find. "I - I can fix Sterry, I swear -"

"There's no fixing Sterry," moaned the woman who had served you stew as she sunk into the closest bench, looking as though she were about to faint. "He's dead. And you've killed us all."

You glanced back at Cooper, who wielded both his pistols now, each pointed in a different direction toward locals who had drawn their weapons. He offered a shrouded look that screamed, 'Now, didn't I tell you so, sweetheart?' You took a shuddering breath and faced the woman who had served you. "What do you mean?" you asked.

The woman placed her head in her hand as if she'd already accepted her fate. It was a daunting sight, the face of a woman so cheery and joyful such a short time ago, now deflated as though someone had let out all her air. "This place," she said, gesturing vaguely to the mall around you. "It's infested." The word was so heavy you felt as though you nearly choked on it. "Infested with creatures that will tear us limb from limb now that you've ruined everything. The music! The music was what kept them away, and now that it's gone..."

As if on cue, from the darkness of one of the long-winding corridors straight ahead, there came the bone-rattling sound of a feral hissing and snapping its weathered jaw. A few of the locals scrambled back as the creature emerged from the inky blackness, arms twisted and eyes sunken so far back into its skull they looked like they were forever pointed toward the sky. It took a rushed few steps forward before Cooper's arm rotated and he put a hole between its eyes. The feral dropped to the floor, leaking dark blood that stained the tile floor.

"Stop being so dramatic, Uma," said an older gentleman who stooped at your feet to begin gathering the pieces of Sterry. You immediately dropped to your knees to help. "We've fixed Sterry before, and we'll fix him again. It won't take long. But while we do, we'll need something to drive those creatures off..."

Your stomach dropped when, as you stood to hand over the pieces of the stereo, you felt Cooper's hands - still fitted with his pistols - rest heavily on your shoulders. "Well, then, y'all folks are in luck," he drawled, and you could practically hear the smirk playing his lips as he spoke. "I've got my very own songbird right here. I'd be happy to lend her to 'ya if, say... you filled our flasks from that there tank when the time comes for us to leave."

"Cooper," you hissed through your teeth as you spun around to face him. Singing for your vault was one thing, but singing for a bunch of strangers in the middle of an infested mall while ferals stumbled from the darkness all around you? He may as well have tossed you back out into the wastes. "You are not going to fucking trade me -"

"Done," said the old man as he sat down and began to sort Sterry's pieces. "Have your girl start singing - anything her heart desires. Just long enough for me to fix old Sterry here."

Giving the man a mock salute that didn't quite raise to his brow, Cooper shoved you onto a bench so that you stood over the rest of the camp. From this angle, they were all able to see your petrified expression and your hands shaking at your sides. "You heard the man," your companion said and smacked the back of your knee. "Get to it, songbird."

"Cooper, I can't -"

Before you were able to finish, Cooper turned, his ears pricking at something yours did not pick up, and dropped another feral that had been silently stalking the camp from the other side. A few of the locals yelped in terror, fleeing into shopfronts and tents.

"Sing for me, sweetheart," Cooper said. He sent you a wink, tipped his hat, then unleashed another round of lead into the darkness which only his eyes could penetrate.

You felt as if you were going to vomit. Sweat began to form on the back of your neck as you fisted your hands and swayed slightly where you stood on the bench. Turning your head, you met the eyes of a few camp locals watching you from their hideouts, their expressions filled with fear, anger, anticipation. They were waiting. Expecting. Needing. Attempting to push down the swelling that was beginning to form in your throat, you looked down at Cooper as he emptied his pistols of empty shells before reloading in order to fend off the ferals attacking the camp - the very camp he'd wanted to take out not half an hour ago.

He'd told you to sing for him. So you'd sing. For him, and only him.

Clearing your mouth and opening your lips, you took a breath and forced yourself to sing. "Death will come from where the earth meets the sky." Your voice wobbled slightly, rusty from having not singing since you left your vault. That, along with the fear and dehydration sitting on your tongue. "The sand is scorched beneath his step, the future decided by his eye." As you sang, the miniature explosions banging from the barrels of Cooper's pistols created a short, quick beat you unconsciously began to tap your foot along to. "He'll come for you all in the end, you'll never be free... he'll come for you all, but never for me."

Ferals shrieked in response to the gunfire, to the song torn right from your notebook in your pack, and one by one, like stage performers who had practiced this dance a hundred times, they dropped at the feet of the camp.

"Death's got a girl who croons his songs, which is why he never stays for long. He's got to run back to his lady, just as harsh as he, he's coming for you, but he's running back to me." As you sang you realized your voice was getting louder, louder, swelling until it filled the mall's atrium and every corridor far beyond. You tapped your heel along with the rhythm you'd created, closing your eyes and imagining an audience of one; a ghoul with his arms slung out across the chairs beside him and a knowing smirk playing his thin lips. It pulled you forward, pulled forth a song you hadn't realized was already in you. "He might sound mean, but I swear, he's kind. He's just got to peer into these eyes of mine. I'll ride with him, and he'll follow me, leaving behind a trail of blood far as the eye can see. Oh, my baby's got teeth to bite and a gun to blow, see his smoke and soon you'll know. Death ain't my man, he's my right hand. He'll come for you all in the end, you'll never be free... he'll come for you all, but never for me."

You had just been nearing a second verse when, from where it rested before the old man on the table, the stereo jumped back to life and filled the atrium with thrumming, pulsing folk music. It drowned out your voice, silenced you like a gunshot, and the ferals teetering on the edge of the darkness leading to the rest of the mall stumbled back into their hiding places. The camp locals slowly emerged from their hiding places, chattering excitedly about Sterry and his newfound love of life. Feeling a little stupid still standing on the bench, you climbed down and shuffled away toward where you had been originally sitting.

Taking a seat, you rested your forehead on your arms and exhaled a shaky breath. What had you been thinking? Singing a song for the man you'd become hopelessly fascinated with while he was just a few feet away, battling ferals who were intent on tearing out your throat and taking your voice with it? You were such a fucking idiot. You wouldn't be surprised if he told you to never open your mouth again.

Just as promised, your flasks were filled to the brims with fresh water before you went on your way, leaving the mall atrium and the singing, dancing camp locals behind as you picked your way back outside. Neither you nor Cooper said much as you continued your trek to nowhere, leaving a pair of footprints like echoes in your wake. Your cheeks remained flushed long after the mall had disappeared into the horizon, and long after you picked out an abandoned building to set up camp for the night. For once, it wasn't from the heat.

You sat across the lantern and what light it cast from Cooper, who stared into the little beacon as if he were watching the most fascinating flick within its glass. You held your notebook in your lap, thumb marking your place as your tried to write, but nothing would come to mind save for the things you'd sung about today. Mortification stirred like a serpent in your belly, and you briefly considered excusing yourself to get up and throw up outside.

"Let me see that book you've got there."

Your head lifted at Cooper's request - more of a demand - and unconsciously tightened your grip around your notebook. Your notebook - full of songs, melodies, lyrics. The most recent half of which you had written about the ghoul staring at you. "This?" you said, your trembling voice giving way to your nerves. You forced out a chuckle and smacked it shut. "It's nothing worth looking at."

"Why not?" he said, voice rasping lower than the baritone he usually held it at. You swore his gaze was hotter than the sun during the day and the fires at night. "You got more songs 'bout little old me in there?"

Fuck, he knew. Fuck all, he knew. You felt your flush deepen as you pointedly tucked your notebook into the bottom of your pack and flipped the top shut. "I... I don't know what you're talking about," you said, avoiding his eyes. Instead you focused on the fraying tip of your boot. "I wrote that a long time ago. Back in my vault."

"Uh huh." Cooper stared you down for so long you thought that perhaps time had frozen. Then he took a barely-there breath. "Come over here, songbird. Let me get a good look at you."

For a long, long moment, you remained still as you ever had been. What was he saying? Normally the only time he let you close to him was when he invaded your personal space to deliver a shove or to smack your knee or thigh to tell you to get a move on. Your breath hitched when you finally lifted your head and found his gaze boring into yours, heavier than a ton and white hot like a branding iron.

"I ain't goin' to tell you again, pretty girl."

As if he had you on a fucking leash - because you swore he did - you found yourself pitching forward, crawling on your hands and knees toward him. He spread his legs slightly, enough to give you room to fit between them, and hesitantly, so very carefully, you rested yourself against his front. His rough, scarred hands, free of his gloves, came up to rest on the swell of your hips as if they were made to be there, fitting like puzzle pieces against your skin beneath your vault suit. You stared up at him, backlit by the lantern light, and let his thumb drag down your bottom lip until it slipped from his touch.

"Didn't think my songbird had such desire in her," Cooper chuckled, his warm breath fanning across your face.

You relished in the goosebumps that crawled over the planes of your skin. "I... I don't..."

"Oh, you'd be dead wrong if you said that little ditty you sang today wasn't all about desire." He settled back deeper where he sat, giving you more room to settle against him between the columns of his thighs. Your lower belly rested against his crotch, where you felt the hard outline of his cock straining against his trousers. Your heart skipped a beat or three. "If you wanted to ride with death, sweetheart, all you needed to do was ask."

Cooper sealed his lips to yours without word or warning, pulling a surprised little noise from the back of your throat that he swallowed up with fervor. As the initial shock faded, you found your eyes slipping shut and your mouth moving against his, lips opening without fight when his tongue demanded to explore your own. Bracing yourself with one hand against his thigh, you reached up with your other and cradled the back of his head, knocking off his hat in the process.

Swift to get a move on, to feel you against him and swallow up more of your sounds, Cooper easily flipped you around so that you were now lying flat on your back and he was hovering over your prone form. Both tingling excitement and nauseating nerves pulled groans from your lips as he moved to pressing harsh kisses and nips to the column of your neck, licking up red spots that would surely bruise come morning time. He shucked off his duster and abandoned it somewhere behind him, at the same time, by some skill you had no idea anyone possessed, also grasping at the zipper of your vault suit to pull it down as far as it would go.

It didn't take long for you to shimmy out of the suit, leaving you in just your underwear, the seams of which he traced with his calloused finger. It sent a chill running up your spine despite the heat prodding at your skin.

"My songbird sounds real pretty when she's singin'," Cooper muttered as he sucked a bruise into the swell of one breast over the cup of your bra. "I bet she sounds even better screamin' for me."

His hand plunged beneath the waistband of your panties and began to explore your folds, pulling a long, whining moan from your lips. He ate you and your whimpers up, devouring your lips like he wanted to eat you whole - maybe he did - while his middle finger ran up and down your cunt a few times before deftly finding your clit and applying a bit of pressure to the sensitive bud. You cried out. It had been far too long since you'd seen any real action. It didn't take long before your folds were soaked, and he was able to gingerly nudge his finger past the entrance of your pussy. It felt foreign to have another person thrusting their finger in and out of you, building you up to a kind of high you hadn't known since far before you left your vault. In less than a few minutes - something he would surely tease you about later - you felt that familiar coil snap in your stomach and you soaked his hand with a loud, throat-rattling wail that escaped your lips and flew right past his.

Cooper pulled back with a self-satisfied smirk and pulled his hand from your panties, lifting his spread hand to show you to slick you'd coated his digits with. You were only able to huff for breath and watch with hooded eyes as he brought his fingers to his mouth and used his skillful tongue to lick off your cum. You briefly wondered what else that tongue of his could do, what it would feel like to have him lap up your pussy like it was the only thing to guarantee him his daily hit of medicine.

"Sweet as honey, baby," he cooed, bracing himself with one hand while the other worked on the buckle of his belt. "Well. Maybe Tennessee honey. You ever had a taste of that?" He knew you hadn't. But that didn't stop his smirk from growing in size when you numbly shook your head. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about it, baby. We'll get you a lick one day. 'Til then..."

Your limbs dancing with pins and needles, you lifted your hips to help him tug off your panties. "I'll just have to settle for what I've got," you exhaled with a hazy smile.

Cooper grinned wide, a smile that bordered on the edge of dark, as he tugged down his trousers just enough for his cock to spring free. He was thick - larger than you'd expected - and his member was rough and scarred like the rest of him. It made you want to feel him all the more. "I'll promise you somethin', darlin," he said as he positioned himself at your entrance and you locked your legs around his waist, heels digging into the edge of his gun belt. "I'm better than anything else you'll taste these days." With that he slid into you, filling you at once to the brim like he just couldn't wait to feel you from the inside. A loud, sharp yelp escaped your lips as your back arched instinctively, curling yourself up into him. He only waited a few moments for you to adjust before he started moving, pulling himself out to the tip before thrusting back inside your welcoming cunt. You were able to feel each and every ridge of him, every scar, and you swore you were getting drunk from just the feeling.

"Fuckin' shit, girl," he groaned, moving to press the flat of his hand to the base of your neck so that he could keep you in place while he fucked you. "Better than I could've fuckin' dreamed."

Cooper's thrusts began to increase in speed, your moans and whimpers accompanied by his low, almost growling snarls he panted against the shell of your ear. You couldn't believe this was happening. You were being fucked by the ghoul you'd been following all these months, the ghoul you'd been watching and studying and falling hopelessly for. And it felt good. It felt so fucking good, a part of you wasn't entirely convinced this entire scenario wasn't a dream concocted by the recesses of your mind.

"God, Coop," you heard yourself moan as your nails dug crescent moons into the fabric of his shirt. "Feels so fucking good..."

"Atta girl," he muttered, moving his head down so that he could suck at the junction where your neck met your shoulder. "Such a sweet little songbird." His grip on your hips tightened as his movements increased even further. "Might just have to fuck you good every night so I can hear you sing for me."

You panted deep as you felt your second orgasm of the night approaching at an alarming rate. Your hips bucked up to meet his with each thrust, the sound of skin on skin filling the abandoned building in which you had taken shelter. "Don't have to - ah! - even ask. I'll sing for you any time, Coop."

Cooper's breaths came shorter, sharper, and it wasn't long before he came with a harsh bite against your shoulder, one that spilled blood into his awaiting mouth and pulled your own orgasm from deep within your depths. You shuddered and cried for him, tugging him close and holding him there for several minutes after your highs had faded and your breaths evened.

Finally, he pulled himself off of you. A short whine escaped you when he slipped from your heat, and he chuckled low before tossing you your panties to slip back on. When you were both covered again, you sat up and crossed your legs as you basked in the afterglow of what had just taken place. Cooper dug around in his saddlebag for a moment before producing his inhaler and drinking up a shot of his medicine, shaking his head against the sudden buzz that came with it as he sat back on his elbows and stared at the lantern light.

"I..." You struggled to find the words so desperately clawing at your chest. "I hope you don't..."

Cooper reached up and pulled your wrist out from under you, causing you to fall back on the ground beside him with an 'umph.' He let his arm cushion your fall before sweeping a few strands of hair from your face and giving you that crooked smirk which made your legs fall numb all over again. "Oh, don't you worry yourself, songbird," he said. "I ain't lettin' you fly away from me any time soon."

---

✨don't judge book by it's cover✨

---

At First Sight (Homelander Drabble)

(aka: Knock em' off his feet) Homelander x F!Reader (18+)

+ His first time seeing you. Actually, he's seen you in his peripheral a handful of times. This? This is when he gets a good, long, look at you. He's a little stuck to say the least.

Words: 657 (Short & sweet, I just couldn't help making a point.)

A/N: Oh how I LOVE down bad man. You can't watch the show and not know that whoever has his affection HAS him. This is my first fic on this blog, I've written a lot before, deleted my blog, and came back, Maybe this will bring me back in, who knows. (Ask box open).

Warnings: Cursing, Homelander craving you, a little too wanting.

+ + +

Homelander likes you. No, listen, Homelander likes you. These days he’s so brazen with it, and you can hardly walk into the same room as him without buzzing under his stare. However, I wanna start it off a little slow at least. He started it off slow at least. Kind of. 

It’s your third week in when he takes a good look at you. A rushed mission brief is called and Ashley, idiot, decides now is the time to try out a new presentation method. Handouts. She’s so fucking proud of herself when she steps to the front of the room and says, “I want to ensure everyone has a thorough analysis of the plan, as well as some facts about the landscape that I think—“

Oh please, he’s so close to asking her if she was shaken as an infant when he notices you. Supe by supe you walk around, placing a sheet of paper in front of everyone, & God the sight of you. You know how hard it is for someone to catch him off guard? You do it instantly, unknowingly, unabashedly. Honestly, it’s your eyes – wait – your lips. He can’t stop looking at your lips. Then you smile at The Deep and he has to sit back in his seat a little bit, scooch down, and lean over, chin in hand just to get a good look at you. You’re just about to reach Noir when Ashley musters up the gumption to ask, “Homelander, how would you feel about starlight leading this mission while you stay as backup?” 

He’s almost too slow to take his eyes off you, but he does & laughs incredulously at Ashley. “Why would I do that?”

She actually quick steps towards him, hand extended holding a sheet of paper, & places it in front of him before you can make it. “We’re working to establish your image with our female audience, ages 25 through 45, as a softer protector.” She says softer with a wince, like she can hear how fucked it sounds. He’s annoyed, and has to deep breathe his way out of showing it. What the fuck is he reading? It's a mess of statistics and a – quite honestly –l ameass excuse for a game plan that he’s happy to pass on to StarLight. Ashley finishes with “Currently you’re doing amazing with our male audience, but we’d like to shift towards a team player, lover of women image.”  

He’s a lover. Through and through, and sometimes hard to find. It’s there though, eventually you’ll get it. 

You walk behind him, and reach beside him to place a sheet down in front of Queen Mauve. You smell good. He tilts his head just enough to catch a sight of you without being too honest about it. You’re a sight. You know that? It’s enough to make his eyes drag down your body, stopping at your ass and then making a slow track down your legs. He’s a dog about it, and internally says fuck it, because then his eyes are back up and locked on yours. 

He hears your heart jump a little, but you’re a pro, because you just smile it off —fuck, you’re beautiful — and say “Good morning.” Before walking away. 

Fuck off, ‘Good morning’ , he’s salivating. 

“Good morning” he says kindly. 

He hasn’t been this turned on, this quickly in a long time. For a human at that? You’re a new feeling, one he can’t even tell if he’s comfortable with. So he’s gotta lock his eyes back on Ashley and pretend like he isn’t gonna think about you later. “Yeah, absolutely –” He waves his hand, & smiles, “– let’s show some girl power, huh?” 

One last glance at you, and you’re looking right at him. He doesn’t even hide his stares this time. His dick jumps a little at the fact that you don’t look away, and he makes a mental note to get your name after this. 

+++

A/N: *Screams in wanting him*

---

guard dog [b.heelshire]

summary: your ex-boyfriend tries to take you away from brahms. chaos ensues.

fandom: horror (the boy - 2016)

pairing: brahms heelshire x fem!reader

word count: 1.3k

warnings: this is VERY DARK, please proceed with caution. death, murder, very very heavy descriptions of stabbing and blood, dark!reader, brief mentions of kidnapping, just all the gory stuff

note: i am so excited to post this omg i know it’ll probably flop but i had SO MUCH FUN writing it!!! pls let me know if u like it and as always, likes and reblogs are greatly appreciated.

“Brahms…” you call, a soft and playful lilt in your voice as you walk across the quiet mansion; you presume that Brahms is either asleep or lurking within the walls until a shuffle followed by a gurgle comes from the direction of the kitchen. A shiver runs down your spine as you follow the noise. You call out again, louder this time.

“Brahms.”

He heaves a deep, ragged breath as you enter the kitchen and you gasp softly. In front of you stands Brahms, covered in a thin sheen of blood and sweat, clutching a massive bread knife and looming over a barely recognisable corpse. The porcelain mask covers his features but you can imagine his face contorted with rage, thick brows furrowed and teeth bared in a snarl. The flush that creeps down his neck and into his chest and ears tells you exactly how he’s feeling without you exchanging a single word. You glance down at the dead body, your eyes widening slightly. You’re not surprised, per-se, but rather touched that he’d go to these lengths for you. Before you met Brahms, you were squeamish, shying away from anything remotely gruesome. But living here with him… you’ve had to adapt.

“Is that Derek?”

Derek. Your piece of shit, toxic ex-boyfriend who had an obsession with you so strong he followed you out into the middle of the English countryside to try and drag you back into his life, even if you were kicking and screaming the whole way.

“Don’t be mad,” Brahms chokes, “He was trying to take you away from me. I don’t want you to go…” He stumbles into your arms, his massive frame engulfing you. The blood sticks to you but you press yourself into him regardless, prying the knife from his grip gently.

“I’m not mad,” you murmur, “You were just protecting me, sweet boy.” He nods frantically, his body crumpling. Cooing reassurances, you lower him to the kitchen floor, raking your fingers through his dark curls. He whimpers, the coldness of the mask seeping into your skin and making you shiver. Poor thing; he’d do anything to protect you, including die. He’s really not as scary as he looks - not to you anyway. His cardigan is doused in blood but he refuses to let you peel it from his body. Sighing, you sit against the cabinet, cupping his jaw. He melts into your touch, that high-pitched, childlike voice forcing its way out of him.

“Kiss?”

You smile, leaning forward until your nose presses against the cool hardness of the mask. You lock your lips with the ceramic, eyes fluttering closed. When he whines petulantly, you cock your head, feigning innocence.

“Oh, my boy wants a real kiss?” you ask, sticky hands flying to cover your mouth in over exaggerated shock.

“Please.”

Laughing, you push the mask up just enough to expose his plump lips and press your own to them; he lets out a little grunt, the dark curls sprouting from his chest tickling your exposed portions of skin. You stroke the pebbled flesh adorning his neck and face almost reverently, nipping at the sweet spot under his ear until he’s keening.

“There y’are,” you praise, pecking him one last time before sliding the mask back into place. “Such good manners.”

“Been practicing,” he mumbles, resting his forehead on your shoulder. This new side of him is such a stark contrast from his usual petulant - and at times, bratty - countenance.

Just as he begins to settle against you, there’s a thump and a crash from the front door and Henry, Derek’s best friend, hurtles into the kitchen. Brahms growls, springing up from the floor and swiping the enormous knife from where you left it on the counter.

“Brahms, wait!” You manage to keep a firm grasp on his blood soaked cardigan, drawing him back into you. He’s holding back significantly - he’s never so easy to restrain. Not that it’s your intention to hold him back; you know Henry has to die now, you just want to enjoy toying with him a little first. You fix your gaze on Henry.

“You’re an idiot for coming here. Even more stupid than I thought.”

Henry is stock still, eyes wide as saucers and glued to Derek’s disfigured corpse.

“What did you do to him, you bitch?” he seethes, although his voice wavers and cracks. His face is pallid, brows drawn together and he stifles a shake in his hands to mask his obvious terror. You click your tongue.

“You thought it’d be easy to come all the way out here to kidnap me? Take me back?” you ask, fists clenched at your sides. Derek and his little posse did always have a habit of underestimating you. “You thought he’d let you?” you scoff incredulously, cocking your head towards Brahms. His breaths are heaving and he shakes with a rage you can only begin to imagine the extent of. You giggle at how Brahms must look to Henry. How both of you must look. Covered in blood - Derek’s blood - deep, sticky and crimson, sharp and prominent against Brahms’ pale skin, the wicked glint of the knife taunting Henry. Goading him. Begging him to fight back just so it can plunge into him, slash away until he’s as deformed as his best friend.

“Why are you laughing?” Henry snaps, “Stop that! I’m not scared of your guard dog!”

You almost retch you’re laughing so hard, clutching Brahms’ bicep as tears spill from beneath your waterline and down your cheeks. The choked sounds pouring from your lips are weak and strained as you double over, wheezing. Brahms’ hands grasp under your armpits, lifting you back up to face him. He strokes your hair from your face frantically, nimble thumbs pushing the tears and creases from your cheeks.

“What is it?” Brahms murmurs, shoulders hunched to lower him to your height. The knife dangles from his fingers, just inches from your face, yet you don’t even flinch.

“I-I’m okay,” you hiccup, swaying slightly against his firm grasp. You give yourself a moment to breathe and compose yourself before you’re turning back to Henry and whispering in Brahms’ ear. “We can’t let him leave, baby.”

Brahms is on him before he can even blink; Henry thrashes underneath his weight, grunting with the fruitless effort of trying to escape.

“Don’t fight it,” you snicker, crouching until your nose touches Henry’s and you’re sharing breaths, “It’ll only make it worse.” Pinching his cheek and smearing claret across the smooth skin, you inhale sharply, tracing his lips with the very tip of your finger. “This is the last time you try to take advantage of me.”

The knife sinks into his chest with a slick squelch. Henry screams; Brahms jerks his arm rapidly, shaking him like a rabid dog until he goes slack. Again and again and again he rears back and buries the blade into him. Blood spatters onto the white walls, the linoleum floor, every visible surface is blemished with crimson. Brahms attacks him with an inhuman quality, a deep roar erupting from his chest every time he thinks about these men taking you away from him.

“She’s mine!” he screams.

When Henry is no longer recognisable, limp and far past dead, you pry him away.

“Shh, shh. I’m yours. I’m here. We’re safe, it’s just us.” you soothe, climbing into his lap. “I have you.” His arms squeeze your waist as he holds you flush to him, almost burrowing his way into your skin. You wrap your arms around his neck, kissing the slick red skin of his neck and collarbones; there’s so much blood. Is it bad that it turns you on a little? “You did so well. You protected me.”

“You’re mine.” He accentuates the statement with a sharp tug of your body, dropping the knife with a clatter and snaking his drenched arms beneath your hoodie.

“I’m yours. I’m all yours.” You kiss his head, nestling closer to him. “Yours.”

---

Love, Anonymous | Blaise Zabini

Synopsis: The rumor mill at Hogwarts has expanded into physical print, and with it, a buzzing section dedicated to anonymous confessions. 

Pairing: Blaise Zabini x Hufflepuff!Reader

Notes: I accidentally grew extremely fond of Ernie while writing this. Susan Bones supremacy, always.

Word Count: 4.8k

The infamous rumor mill of Hogwarts, upheld by boisterous Gryffindors Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, seemed to finally reach eminence in the social sphere of the castle. It was a long time coming, you thought. Grapevines. Heard from a friend. Through an open door — nothing was as fascinating as the arbitrary spiel that grew to fruition in the rumor mill. 

“I’m impressed. With all of this, you’d think Lavender was going after Skeeter’s job.” Susan hums, eyes scanning over the leaflets of paper lain strewn in front of you both. 

Ernie snorts as he shovels a spoonful of peas into his mouth, eyes rooted to the ceiling as he awaited the daily post, “What a load of bollocks.” 

“Hey, now. Don’t be so curt with it, E.” You muse, mouth folding into a wry grin as you pick up one of the loose papers, bringing it to eye-level so you could read it, “Look at this riveting slice of writing, Hogwarts Anonymous: With the Yule Ball so fresh in the minds of the student body–” 

“Fresh? It was almost three bloody years ago.” Ernie interjects, tongue clicking loudly as the sea of owls begin to scurry across the plane of the ceiling, dropping rolls and boxes of news and gifts. However, the surge of mail went largely ignored as many students remained engrossed in the new Hogwarts gossip column. 

You shoot Ernie a stern look at the interruption, but continue when Susan releases an amused huff, “As I was saying—With the Yule Ball so fresh in the minds of the student body and love so sorely missed as a result, Hogwarts Anonymous is dedicated to working towards the revival of matchmaking. To submit an anonymous clip of your own, reach out to Parvati Patil for inquiries.” 

“Love so sorely missed?” Susan echoes, eyes blown wide in disbelief. 

“Poetic. Inspired. Riveting. Ingenious.” Ernie utters with faux sincerity, ignoring the raucous younger years fighting behind him. 

You nod, barely able to conceal your grin as your eyes drop further down the blocks of text, seeing a few confessions and messages splayed across the paper. As you continue to read through the text, a sudden passage has you choking on your spit, thumb pressing harshly against the flimsy paper as your eyes narrow. 

Ernie peers up at you from his plate, glancing towards Susan as they both share unimpressed looks. Eventually, it’s Susan who plucks up the voice to question your sudden bafflement, “Y/N? Are you alright there?” 

“Y/N looks like a startled crup puppy in Arithmancy.” You recite rigidly, feeling the paper warp and crease under your unrelenting grip. 

There is an unsettling pause in the atmosphere, as though the entirety of the dining hall has paused in their routine to listen to the confession, but it soon washes away as Ernie practically howls in laughter, his broad frame throttling forward as he tries to muffle his guffaw. 

Susan, ever the diplomat, proves to be more successful at maintaining her composure, but you don’t miss the small grin that tugs at her lips as she reaches over to grasp the paper, “Here, give me that.” 

“Crup puppy? Oh my goodness! That is bloody—Ow! Hey! Okay, stop!” Ernie’s fit of laughter and verbal tirade is swiftly dealt with as you send numerous stinging hexes his way, basking in the alarmed glint in his eyes. 

Susan shakes her head at both of your antics, and folds the paper up, eyes scanning the room as she muses, “How romantic. You just have to wonder who the culprit is.” 

“Merlin. It might just be a prank. Or maybe someone has a vendetta against me.” You groan with exasperation, realizing that just about everyone in the castle was going to be hearing about it. 

Ernie bumps his shoulder against yours and grins, “Chin up, Y/N. If someone’s out to get ya, Susan and I will send them to their maker—without their kneecaps, rest assured.” 

You roll your eyes but nod in appreciation, gaze falling down to your pitiful plate of food as your mind is thrust into overdrive. Hopefully, it would all blow over by the next day. 

Wishful thinking on your part because in fact, it did not. 

“It is endearing how Y/N is always lost during Potions.” Susan reads off the paper with squinted eyes, mouth furling into a frown of disbelief at the words. 

“Does this person hate me?” You murmur, leaning on your elbows as your eyes run across the aisle of bookshelves in front of you. 

Ernie rocks on the heels of his feet as he hums, “Abysmal flirting. Subpar, one-sided banter. Hardly charming. A Gryffindor, for sure.” 

“Well, the only Gryffindor in both Arithmancy with me and Potions with us is Hermione Granger, and I surely hope she hasn’t turned away from Ron. He’ll be insufferable if so.” You grit out, torn between chasing down your secret “admirer” and putting forth your best effort to ignore their future comments.  

Susan hums at your suggestion with crossed arms, Runes homework long forgotten about, “Surely not. So not a Gryffindor— and really Ernie, you can’t let your heartache blind your judgement! Seriously, are we sticking with the ‘All Gryffindors Are Bad’ thing?” 

Ernie gapes at her words and pinches the bridge of his nose, “Guys, I’m over her, we’ve been through this.” 

You pat your friends arm empathetically, hiding your sly grin as you muse, “Of course you are. Poor Fay Dunbar, really.”

Before your friend can retort, the sound of clicking footsteps attracts your attention as a figure emerges from behind the shelf next to you. Your eyebrows furrow as you watch the familiar Slytherin stroll towards you all with cool eyes, hands shoved in his dress pants as he hums, “Bones. Macmillan.” His eyes drop down to where you’re seated and you see an indecipherable glint cross his gaze as he greets you, “Puppy.”

Your reaction is almost immediate as a hot wave of mortification swallows all your sensibilities, “Excuse me?” Your offended wheeze hardly deters the Slytherin as he merely smirks at you. 

“I think your time would be better spent working through the latest Arithmancy assignment instead of gossiping, no?” He asks with a slanted grin, eyes never trailing away from yours. 

“What’s it to you, Zabini?” Your voice comes out taut as you feel Ernie place a hand on the back of your chair, likely eyeing down the boy in front of you. 

Blaise’s eyes briefly flicker to survey Ernie’s ministrations before they glide back to you in consideration, “Just concerned for a fellow classmate is all. I’ll see you around, Puppy.” Without giving you time to retaliate, the tall Slytherin vanishes just as swiftly as he arrived. 

“The absolute nerve!” You utter with indignation, swiveling your attention over to Susan. The girl frowns in the direction that Blaise disappeared through, eyes glimmering as you could see her brain whirring. 

“Strange. I thought Zabini was one of the tamer Slytherins out of their lot.” Ernie mutters, resuming his position beside you as he rubs his chin. 

You shake your head, “Malfoy’s influence is something to fear for years to come. Zabini may have been pleasant in our youth, but he’s been so shifty to me as of late.” 

Ernie snaps his fingers at your words and snickers down at you, “You used to have the largest love-sick eyes for him.” 

Clicking your tongue, you send a side glance at your friend before looking at Susan as she seems to take in your clueless expression. 

“Seriously?” She huffs, eyebrow drawn up as she gazes at you both like she was staring at a pedestrian display. 

“Seriously what? Suze?” You prod, leaning over as she shakes her head and redirects her attention to her work. 

Ernie shoots you a shrug as he pulls out the chair beside you, reluctantly following the girl’s lead as he sifts through the pile of parchments in front of him. 

The next few days blur by in a similar fashion, except you had taken to avoiding Hogwarts Anonymous like the plague, forcing Ernie and Susan to do the same when you were around. You eventually fell back into your routine of focusing on coursework and your future anxieties, letting the anomalous events slip from your mind. 

It is not until you’re organizing your supplies during Arithmancy that your fragile bubble of peace is disturbed. 

“Puppy.” The dulcet sound of Blaise’s voice has you snapping your head up, boggled by his sudden appearance beside you. The boy usually sat rows behind you, leaving the spot next to you to be occupied by Padma Patil. However, it seemed she was nowhere to be found. 

Suppressing your complaints, you don’t even attempt pleasantries as you sigh, “Zabini, hello.” 

“What’s with the long face? Not happy to see me?” Blaise teases, mouth stretching into a small grin. 

You’re almost tempted to squint as his perfectly white teeth glare at you in all their glory. Fuck. Did he not have a single flaw?

“I’m flattered, but perhaps the only thing I’m unable to do is catch you on a good day.” Blaise’s eyes twinkle with mirth as he smiles softly at you. 

Your face heats up so violently that you’re sure radiators across the globe were turning to you with envy. Forcing your jaw from parting so gauchely, you can only sputter out weakly, “Did I say that out loud?” 

Blaise hums wordlessly as he continues to look at you. Clearing your throat, you turn back to face the front of the classroom as Professor Vector begins to rise from her desk, “Right.” 

The rest of the class seems to tick by like molasses from a tipped jar: incredibly, painstakingly slow. You were usually quite engaged with the lesson and content, but you couldn’t ignore the occasional glances from the Italian boy beside you. 

As you absentmindedly continue to scrawl on your parchment, eyes transfixed on the swirls of ink blooming on the page, you feel something poke your arm. Frowning, you try to ignore it, directing your full attention onto sketching your diagram. 

The light poking persists until you bring your other hand up to swipe at your robe, fingers dancing across a sheet of paper with a slight crinkling noise. Faintly tilting your head, you furrow your eyebrows when you see Blaise attempting to slide a sheet of paper towards you. Slowly grasping the paper, you lay it atop one of your dry parchments, eyes scanning across the leaflet in confusion. 

‘Hogwarts Anonymous. Submission 0128: Y/N L/N is devastatingly oblivious. It really is quite cute.’

You feel your entire body steel up at the words, lips parted from shock as you continue to reread the confession. The nerves across your body seem to buzz wildly as you try and rein in the burning climbing up your chest. 

“Alright, dears! That will be all for today. I expect the next two chapters to be read by our next convening. Ah, and L/N, my dear! I need to speak with you.”  Professor Vector’s euphonic voice cut through your haze of disbelief, drawing your eyes away from the dizzying passage and up towards the heart of the classroom. 

You don’t dare to glance at Blaise as you quickly clamber towards the awaiting woman, weaving around the retreating students that file through the grand doors. Huffing to relieve the pressure in your chest, you peer at the woman in anticipation as you finally step toward her. 

“Sorry to call you up like this, L/N. It’s just that the other professors and I are concerned about the recent articles that are being passed around the student body. It’s come to our attention that these anonymous confessions regarding you are quite prolific.” Professor Vector keeps her voice steady as she gazes at you with warm eyes, evidently trying to gauge your honest opinion on the matter. 

It would appear that everyone knew about your predicament. 

You shake your head quickly, eyes wandering towards the tomes resting on her desk, “It’s quite alright, they’re just small statements. Besides, no one has been giving me a hard time.” Which was partially true, but you also did not want the column to be shut down and run the risk of facing Lavender’s wrath. 

“If you’re quite sure, dear.” 

With a soft nod, you send a small smile towards her before bounding back towards your table, releasing a small breath as you see the rest of the classroom was vacant. As you slung your bag over your shoulder, the call of your name has you twirling on your heel. 

“L/N.” Professor Vector gives you a faint nod, “You’re doing quite well in this class. I’m sure whoever is sending those messages is just teasing you.” 

Clearing your throat, you plaster on a reassuring smile, “Thank you, Professor. Have a good afternoon!” 

You practically sprint out of the classroom, mind set on nipping the blooms of your troubles—starting with the roots. 

The clicking of your shoes against the dusty corridor tiles seem to smother every other inkling of noise, many students shifting from your path with wide-eyes as your gaze darts around furiously. Even the slightest hue of crimson drew your dutiful eyes like a moth to a flame, and you were beginning to get tunnel vision. 

A flash of wispy blonde waves flashes across your plane of sight, and you’re immediately beelining towards the girl, a victorious smile painting your face once you see Lavender’s startled frown. The girl glances from side-to-side as you draw closer, shoulders tensing once you tentatively stop a few paces before her. 

“Lavender, good afternoon.” You greet cordially, fingers lightly brushing against your sides as you become wary of your awkward hand placement.  

The girl nods and shoots you a confused smile, “Hi, Y/N. What’s up?” 

“I think we both know why I’m here.” You mutter frankly, head tilting down emphatically as you take notice of the latest edition of Hogwarts Anonymous in her hands. 

Lavender glances down at the paper and hums, “Ah. Right.” 

Sighing, you readjust the strap of your bag as you step closer, “Look, I’m not here to give you any grief over your work. In fact, Hogwarts Anonymous is probably the most exciting thing to happen all year. But, I need to know the person behind all these messages aimed at me.” 

“I’m sorry, but confidentiality–” Lavender starts, eyebrows stitching together in remorse at your clear disdain over the matter. 

Before the girl can continue her, no doubt, enlightening spiel about the rules of journalism, a velvety voice curls through the air around you, “Hello, Puppy. What seems to be the fuss.” 

You aren’t sure any measure of propriety could have stopped you from raising your eyes to the sky as you slowly spin on your heel. A frown briefly washes over your face as you address the boy behind you, “Zabini. Again with that nickname? It’s getting quite old. Originality doesn’t seem to be your strong suit.” 

“No use in fixing what isn’t broken. Besides, I’ve never known you to be overly concerned with trivialities like this.” The boy retorts, eyes sparkling with blatant amusement. 

You purse your lips at his choice of words before musing, “That’s because you don’t know me, Zabini.” 

Without missing a beat, Blaise is quick to step closer to you, head craning towards you imperceptibly as he lowers his voice, “I suppose you’re right. I could get to know you though.” 

Your lips part at his words, but you try to remain nonchalant as you huff, “Hysterical. And what’s in it for me?” 

“You’d get to know me, too.” 

“As enticing as that sounds, I’ll have to pass.” You mutter, taking a step back from the boy. His eyes remain firm with confidence even as you begin to retreat, your gaze glued to the growing smirk on his face. 

As your nerves finally seem to spark back to life, you swiftly spin around and begin to stomp towards your common room, brain muddled with harping thoughts about the exchange. Before you’re able to round the corner, you hear Lavender’s soft voice bristle through the air, “Maybe try a different approach…” 

A few odd days pass after your encounter with Blaise, and you’ve taken to gluing yourself to Ernie and Susan in hopes that the Slytherin would be too intimidated to approach you again. Your friends take the new developments in stride, only occasionally shooting you knowing glances. 

“Weird.” Ernie hums, fingers drumming against the grass as he peers at the paper in his lap. 

You don’t take your eyes off of the serene lake just yards away as you reply, “What’s weird?” 

Susan pauses in her reading as Ernie straightens up and turns to you, “There aren’t any more anonymous messages about you in the column.” 

“Seems that you missed your chance with your secret admirer, Y/N.” Susan hums, propping her chin on her palm as she smiles teasingly at you. 

You shake your head and wave them both off, “I talked to Lavender the other day, maybe she intentionally left it out. Either way, I look forward to reinhabiting the semblance of peace that I lost.” 

Ernie hums as he diverts his gaze towards something behind you, “Peace might have to wait.” 

“Y/N.” Blaise’s honeyed voice dances through the cool air, accompanied with the soft crunching of grass as you sense the boy approach your lazing figure. 

“Blaise.” You greet evenly, eyes slowly drifting across the tufts of clouds meandering across the sky. 

Susan and Ernie pretend to busy themselves as the Slytherin stops behind you, close enough where the edges of his robe lightly graze against your back. It is quiet for a few moments before the boy addresses you again, “Have you given my offer any further thought?” 

“I can’t say I have.” You mutter, slowly fidgeting with your wand as you add, “Do you want me to?” 

The Italian huffs out a small laugh before you hear a faint rustling, “That’s entirely up to you.” Your eyebrows draw together in confusion, but before you can turn around to question him, a crisp envelope drops into your vision. You feel the curtains of Blaise’s robe swim across your back as he offers the tempting object to you. 

Gently grasping the envelope, you flip it in your palm to inspect the front, but you’re met with shallow disappointment when you see the paper is completely blank. On the back, you recognize the Zabini emblem pressed into the bleeding red wax. 

“Blaise, what is this for?” You slowly peer over your shoulder only to be met with Blaise’s retreating back growing farther into the distance. 

Staring at the envelope with a frown, you debate on whether or not to frisbee-launch the paper into the lake as the wind sweeps across your face. Susan is the first to interrupt the calm silence that blanketed the air, shooting you a knowing smile as she points her chin at the stiff paper, “Open it.” 

“Do you know something about this?” You question with narrowed eyes, tone light with jest, but bleeding in genuine confusion. 

“About the envelope? Nope.” She hums with a sweet smile, quickly swiveling her head back to her book. 

You shuffle closer to your friends, shooting them a disbelieving frown, “And about Blaise?” 

Ernie mimes a zipping motion across his mouth as he shakes his head, which is all you need from the boy to know that both of your friends were privy to something you weren’t seeing. Clicking your tongue with exaggerated indignation, you carefully peel the envelope open, noting that neither of your friends were attempting to peer over to see its contents as you did so.

You didn’t know if you were thankful or concerned for that fact. 

Reaching inside the smooth cradle of paper, your fingers run across a folded piece of paper. Pulling it out, you hesitate for a few moments before deciding to bite the bullet. 

Smooth, even swirls of letters dance across the paper in abundance much to your surprise. 

Y/N, 

Lavender advised me that my previous tactic of trying to get your attention was ineffective, so I should therefore be more forthcoming. I hope you understand now. Although it was entertaining watching you fumble about for answers, I realize that time is slowly dwindling as we progress through our last year here at Hogwarts. 

This is not some ploy if you’re wondering (because I know that you are… really, are you Hufflepuffs not supposed to be the most trusting of us all?) 

I have admired you for quite some time. If you are willing to, let’s meet before dinner. I will be at the library. 

Love, 

“Anonymous” 

You drop the letter into your lap as you sigh into the air, neck aching as you roll your head from side to side. Ernie assesses you from the corner of his eye, head tilting at your reaction, “Well?” 

“Well, I’ll have to meet you both at dinner it seems.” You concede with a heavy sigh, realizing that you were the only one who was drowning in the darkness of oblivion for the past few days. 

Susan nods at you with twinkling eyes as Ernie muses with a wide grin, “Sounds like a plan. Good luck!” 

Pacing away from your friends and up the vague incline of grass, you fiddle with the paper in your hands as you begin to dredge up all your encounters with Blaise. They were plentiful in your youth, but between then and the whirlwind of Hogwarts Anonymous— you could count the number of proper conversations you’ve had with the Slytherin on one hand. 

That’s not to say you still didn't find the boy attractive. There was an unspoken consensus amongst the entire student body that he was the prime candidate for bachelor, between his suave demeanor, dry wit, academic prowess, towering trust fund, and neutral political stance— it did not get much better than Blaise fucking Zabini.

For the first time in weeks, you feel that your head is finally clear. An airy aura encircling you as you traverse through the halls, not minding the bustling of younger students or the perpetual miasma of stress that radiated off of your fellow seventh-year peers.  

At the threshold of the bright library, you take a deep breath of consideration before you step in, an intangible veil of warmth immediately ushering you into its cavernous hold as you sift your gaze through the hunched backs and steep shelves. 

Taking slow steps so as to not remain erect in the entrance and cause traffic, you’re snapped from your concentration by the softest tug to your robe sleeve. Dropping your gaze to the chair beside you, you aren’t able to mask your nonplusness at the sight of a familiar Slytherin searching your expression with curiosity. 

“Oh, hi Theodore.” You wave smally, stepping closer as he begins to speak. 

“Y/N. You’re here for Blaise, right?” The boy’s words are barely above a murmur as he slowly shuts the cover of his book. 

You nod and shift to lean against the table as Theodore begins to look around, only dropping your eyes to him once he speaks up again, “He just came in. He might be toward the back, near the Restricted Section. He doesn’t like being around others when he’s restless.” 

“Oh?” Your eyebrows shoot up at the insinuation, unable to truly comprehend a mental picture of the composed Slytherin as anything but smug and assured. 

Humming, you shift your weight from one leg to the other as you dismiss yourself, “Alright. Thank you, Theodore. I’ll see you around.”

The boy merely nods before turning back to his work, but you don’t miss the glimmer that flickers across his eyes as they quickly catch sight of the letter in your hand— it was the same knowing look that your friends held. 

Shuffling towards the back of the library, you slowly feel the confidence draining from your veins as you near the Restricted Section. Rounding one of the shelves, you stop in your tracks as you catch sight of Blaise sitting at a corner table by the window, robe discarded and flung over the adjacent chair as his eyes run across the book in his hand. 

Clearing your throat faintly, you make your way towards him. Before you’re even within reaching distance to him, his head shoots up toward you. 

His eyes swim with confusion for a split moment before they sink into a familiar unreadable look. 

“I read your letter.” You mutter with uncertainty, squaring your shoulders as Blaise nods and rises from his chair. 

“I wasn’t expecting you so soon,” He softly admits, lips curling up at the sheepish look that replaces your former expression of hesitancy. Before you have time to reply, he steps forward and chuckles, “Couldn’t wait to see me, then?” 

Swallowing harshly, you hum, “You have a bit of explaining to do.” 

“Yeah, I do.” His voice comes out light, shedding away into a near whisper at the end as he gazes at you with consideration. He takes a step forward and continues, “Before that though, I need to know how you feel.” 

“About you?” Your mumble is met with a firm nod, and you feel your heart miss a few beats as the words seem to just glide out of your mouth without filter, “Well, we haven’t spoken properly all that much this year or last year, but I like you… too. I like you, too.” 

“Yeah?” Blaise hums, shoulders faintly drooping as the tension dissipates from his muscles. He reaches his hand out in offering, and you have to give his face another once-over to confirm that it wasn’t an elaborate ruse before you take it. 

He slowly drags you towards him before nudging you to sit in his chair as he smiles, “Well, I’ll apologize for the public messages, it just seemed like the opportune moment when Lavender approached me.” 

“Lavender approached you?” You quietly squawk, not even batting an eye when Blaise crouches in front of you and brings his other hand to clasp yours. 

“My attraction to you is no secret, Y/N. Not that I tried to hide it.” He supplies, eyes full of warmth as you recount all the indecipherable looks you’d received from Blaise’s friends over the months. Honestly, you had merely assumed they were looking for a fight. 

Squeezing the boy’s hands, and ignoring the tingling that buzzed up your wrist from the coolness of his steel rings, you muse, “So… you like me.” 

“Hm.” Blaise hums patiently, assured by your reciprocation of his physical touch. 

“Well, you’re quite the romantic, Zabini.” You can’t fight the lopsided smile that falls on your face. 

Blaise huffs a small laugh as he shakes his head, “I was thinking you’d hold a contrary sentiment.” 

“You better be planning ways to make it up to me, public scrutiny is not enjoyable.” You mutter with a small grin, relishing in the way Blaise shifted at your words. 

He gives your hands a firm squeeze before he straightens up and leans towards you, “There’s no rush anymore.” 

“Who says? I’m fleeing once we graduate.” Your teasing elicits an eye roll from the boy as he shakes his head. 

Leaning over, he grazes his lips over your forehead as he mutters, “Funny, but no can do, you’re stuck with me.” 

His arms encircle you as he continues to drop light pecks to your face, clearly uncaring of the unconventional crane of his spine as he does so. Bringing a hand up, you place it on his cheek before leaning to join your lips together, acutely aware of how his hands tighten around your frame as he leans in impossibly closer to you. 

Pulling back briefly, you smile as an idea balloons in your thoughts, “I’m going to need to find Lavender later.” 

Blaise’s hands draw circles on your waist as he hums, “Why’s that?” 

“I can’t let you have all the fun, now can I? I have the perfect anonymous submission.” You grin brightly, tugging at his tie to draw him closer. 

His eyebrows slowly raise at your words as he leans in, “Yeah?” 

“Yep. How does ‘Blaise Zabini is a terrible flirt and an even worse snog’ sound?” 

Blaise hums and drags you closer to him as a playful glint blazes across his lidded gaze, “It sounds like I’ll have to change your mind before then.” 

“I agree.” You whisper just as his lips sink against yours again, the faint scent of his cologne swirling around you like a blanket as you lean back against the table. 

And when morning rolls around, bringing clear skies and a new column of Hogwarts Anonymous, you can only shrug your shoulders when Susan practically slams the paper against your face in fervid question. 

‘Hogwarts Anonymous. Submission 0283: Blaise Zabini is an alright snog.’

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