bam

"What now?" A voice so quiet, it almost wasn't audible, murmurs within the dark.

A groan seeps from another being. "You are incredibly bleak. Seize the moment and pleasure me. Pleasure yourself. Do not be such a virgin, we have done this many times."

Lavender hair pooled at the satin sheets, hungry eyes stare up at him dauntingly.

"What if your mother finds out?"

"I will not allow it."

Taft's throat suddenly becomes dry at the mere beauty of his bed partner. Despite this...encounter supposedly being a mutually satisfying...agreement, and despite the fact that he wanted to slash her throat into overkill constantly, he couldn't help but admit how beautiful Ivory is, how her pursed lips made him see a whole other side of the woman.

Even an evil bastard like him gets to fuck a pretty fucking woman.

All this time, he thought he wanted to kill her, not that he could anyway, Ivory's power is on a whole different scale than his, he'd admit that without question. He is so fucking pathetic, he wants to kick his own ass.

Taft was rough, probably the most rusted tool in the shed, but at this moment, this one passion felt and heat. His body is hot, hotter it's ever been.

So, imagine what his reaction was when Ivory yanked him through the temple corridors and to her heavily patched quarters.

Ivory's body beneath his, her skin glistening like a slick sheet of silk. She was beautiful, beyond beautiful, truly. It made his heart go thump and skip a beat.

It scared the fuck outta him.

It takes a hell of a lot to scare Taft, and this is it.

A terrifying woman beneath him, requesting for him to fuck her like there is no tomorrow. With each passing second as he contemplated, Ivory became more restless, even though she looked so collected and patient.

All those times of wanting to prove he's the strongest...it was all for her. After years of being a Follower and then an Elite, he's cursed every word that existed, fought, and lost against the lavender-haired vixen. She was fucking three hundred years fucking older than him for fuck's sake! But he'd damned if she weren't the most beautiful woman he's ever seen.

"How come you are so disruptive and destructive on a daily basis, but when I ask you of a simple favor, you turn into a stuttering goose?" Ivory sighs, easily lifting herself, her nose brushing his. "Perhaps, it should be I who takes the lead."

Ivory's cool fingers grip his shoulders, and like that, Taft found himself looking up at the dimmed ceiling, his body pressed against the satin-clad mattress. It had happened so quickly, it was like he had been lying on the bed the whole time.

The shirt she wears is loose and baggy. The buttons were undone, yet the shirt closed, refusing to let Taft see the flesh hiding behind. He felt himself become hard thinking about how smooth her skin is, how he wanted to paint her with bites and love bruises...to be in her...

Burning violet eyes gleam down at Taft, hungry and full lust. A hand makes its way to the center of his sternum as a sadistic giggle melodically rings through the room.

"I'm going to ruin you~" Ivory licked her lips in a way that would even give the most deadliest and ruthless killer shivers.

...annnnnnd that feeling is gone now. He's fucking horny as shit.

~

~

~

~

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

I can't see anything. The blindfold wrapped around my face prevents me from seeing if it weren't obvious enough from the word "blindfold".

The second the clothe was wrapped over my eyes, I knew something was up. Yukino was being hush-hush about it, shushing Sting or the Exceeds even if they dared to open their mouths, or at least that's what it sounded like.

Cobra and Midnight were silent for the most part. Happy, well, I assume he's keeping pace with his fellow exceeds.

I don't know how long the blindfold had been preventing me from seeing, but it very well may have been a few blocks, into a store (or some kind of building, I'm not entirely sure), up a few stairs, and down a long corridor. It leads me to believe that I am in my apartment building.

"Are we close yet? My feet are beginning to hurt." I complain before Yukino stops me, her hands slightly squeezing my shoulders.

"You trust me, right, Lucy?" Yukino says, a jingling of keys and then the unlocking of a door.

"Yes, but I'm very much suspicious," I say warily as she takes my hand and leads me inside of wherever it is.

"You don't have to be suspicious, you're going to love this, I promise!" Yukino shuffles around me and I hear objects being moved and situated and prepped, maybe a light switch or two.

"Ho-ly fuck..." I hear Midnight murmur.

Now that comment, in particular, made me worry. What'd Yukino do to my apartment? Did she paint over my walls or switch out the carpet or what? It bubbled within my chest for a good second.

"Are you ready?" Yukino asks almost impatiently.

"Do I have a choice?" My mouth becomes dry with my nervous reply.

"Not really." And with that, the blindfold tightens only to fall from my eyes.

I blink under the light, not expecting to have my sight back so quickly. My fingers fly to my eyes for a second. The back of my eyelids explode with color while massaging my eyes for a quick second.

I get the feeling Yukino is vibrating with impatience. Here goes...

A wave of emotion crashes through me the second I finally see why Yukino was so eager to bring me home. My heart thumps and clenches inside my chest, hurting so much, the breath in my lung is washed out almost.

The living room floor is covered in baby essentials, clothes, even a pale pink with blue trimming bassinet. The clothes are neatly folded on the coffee table, some empty feeding bottles and breast pump (I'll have a chat with her about it later), and even some binkies. There is a quilt draped over the back of the recliner, it being pale and pastel, the colors equaled a checkerboard, but with pink and blue replacing the red and black.

"Yukino..." I step forward toward the closest toy, a teddy bear with a red bowtie lazily lying against the arm of my favorite recliner. I take it into my arms, liking how soft its faux fur is.

"I thought since because you aren't able to be around family and haven't had much time to do baby shopping, I'd do it for you." Yukino is soft-spoken, genuinely supportive. "And for obvious reasons, we didn't know the baby's sex, so I bought both pink and blue, maybe some purple or green onesies, if that's okay..."

"Yukino, I..." It came over me without warning, the dam behind my eyes broke and the tears flooded my eyes, leaking uncontrollably. "Th-thank y-you!"

I clutch onto the bear with my lips quivering. No one's ever done this for me before, probably because I've never been pregnant before. I use the back of my hand to wipe away as many tears as I can, but it's to no avail. My emotions overwhelmed me rather quickly, maybe it was my hormones doing the talking.

Everything Yukino had done for me... there are no words to explain how much I appreciate her help and presence. She's so nice to me and I haven't even done a single thing for her to---

I sniffle, managing a weak smile.

"I...thank you so much, Yukino."

"Don't mention it, " Yukino casually dismisses the subject. "I'm happy to do anything to make sure your baby comes into this world happy and healthy."

I smile, peering down at my bulging abdomen, rubbing my thumb above my belly button. Yes, that's right. This baby would come into this world happily, healthy, and loved.

"What is this thing?" Midnight's voice draws our attention.

The gothic man sits on a yoga ball, testing out how far he roll it without falling off. During this, he keeps a straight face, it's comical.

"Oh, that would be a birthing ball."

A birthing what.

Just like the snap of two fingers, my hormones did a complete three-sixty. My mind felt like it was gonna shut down.

"Oh, god, eww!" The ebony-haired man leaps to his feet, clearly disgusted.

"That's exactly what I said." Sting had crossed his arms and leaned against the wall near the couch.

"Its purpose is different than it sounds, " Yukino defends quickly. "It helps labor to be a little easier on the mother."

"You went into depth about everything, huh, Yukino?" I playfully jab at the white-haired woman.

"Of course I did! I do my research!" She says, rushing toward a pair of...large scissors? The ends weren't sharp, but instead, they were curved like hands would be.

She picks it up, holds it as if it were scissors, "Forceps! They are used to clutch the baby if it gets stuck in the birth canal."

Excuse me? Is she saying she'd stick cupped tongs in me if my baby got stuck coming out of my vagina?

"I think I'm gonna be sick..." I feel myself turn green as I place my right palm over my mouth, curling my other over my stomach.

"Agreed." a few murmurs of the guys ring out.

"It's not as bad as it sounds, Lucy!" Yukino puts the forceps back in their box, completely crestfallen. "It's a support if it does happen."

"Cora must be giving you fantastic lessons, huh?" I truly didn't mean to sound so...rude, it just came out that way. "Yukino, as much as I appreciate this; the birthing ball, the...the lessons in being a midwife and even buying things for the baby, but I am having this child in a hospital."

Yukino gives me a straight look. "I understand, but it's better prepared than to not be."

She's got me there.

It makes me uncomfortable to even think I'd have this kid outside of the safety of a hospital, away from doctors and medicine that could numb the pain. It felt like too much to juggle.

I'm about to be a mother and yet my body hasn't had the time to adjust and register that it had a baby in the womb. Its kicks hurt like hell and the baby staying still felt like a foreign object settled in my belly. Yukino is doing her best to make sure I am comfortable enough and I'm here being a whiny know-it-all.

"Hey, Yuki, where'd this come from?" The small voice of Lector sounds out. "I don't remember this being here before?"

The red cat appears, holding a small box in his paws. It easily is the size of a ring box.

"Let me see, " Sting takes the box from his exceed, opening it. "Huh. There's a note. "To replace the previous ring, Dorinbolt". Looks like it's for you, Lucy. Seems like a council guard has the hots for you."

The blonde teased, closing the box and tossing it to me, which I barely catch, but my fingers snag the object just in time.

"Oh, please. Dorinbolt isn't my type, " I joke back and take a look a the ring. "Besides, this mind protective wear." I pop the band out.

The metal was cool, copper-colored, and had the same inscription of protection engraved on the inside of the band. There is a teardrop-shaped ruby decorating it, I find it lovely. Jewelry always had me weak in the heart.

"What's that mean?" Sting asks, Rogue nodding in agreement.

"It just protects the wearer from mind readers."

"That's insulting, " Cobra grumbles. "I don't read minds, I hear them."

We erupt with chuckles. "Keep tellin' yourself that, Snake Boy."

"The fuck did you say, emo bitch?!"