Since I’m not posting the entirety of the Coffeehouse AU for public consumption, I figured I would like to post up the work I did in 2023 for it!

The comic above shows just how old this story is. I ended up using this art when I did the typesetting for this scene as well. This was originally something I posted up for a DoDL as well.

I would post the fake website images as well but I’m afraid I don’t remember where I sourced the photos I used (seeing as the actual fic is for Writer Eyes Only), so this will have to do.

It can’t wait.

She was so close today. The feeling of her fingers in his hair and over his body. They’re lingering on him. He’s dying for release.

The door to his apartment slams shut and he kicks off his shoes. He doesn’t even bother taking off his necktie as he drops onto the couch, unzipping, remembering the shape of her hips as she fell back into him weeks ago.

Thandi.

He’s so stupidly in love with her. Every little touch sends him spiraling. They flirt. They play. She calls him darling, makes him food.

His guilt freezes him midstroke. Is he a pet to her?

Thandi…

He wouldn’t mind. Not at all. If he could live with just what she gave him now, he’d still be happy. Especially when she pets him. Oh, he loves that. She’ll be teasing him and her hands touch his chest, his back, his stomach. 

He wishes, just once, her hands would venture lower. 

Thandi!

His hips rise and he gasps at the feeling of near-release. Just a little more.

Remember how soft she is, how kind, how doting. Remember that gentle way she smiles when he’s down. Her fingers in his hair. Tangling. Grabbing. Her voice. What sorts of noises would she make?

It doesn’t matter as long as it’s his name coming from her. She’d say it and kiss him with everything she’s got. Does she think of him? Does she remember that fall, his hands on her waist, holding her to him for that short moment? Does she think about touching his hair, kissing him?

I love you, Thandi!

Charlie catches his breath and slumps. Of course he does. Of course he loves her. There’s no world where he isn’t hopelessly in love with Thandi, he’s sure of it.

“Shot in the dark, here, but are ya seein anyone?”

The dark-skinned beauty gasps in response, a little squeak that makes Charlie’s whole being melt. Thandi has been the object of his affection for years, and so now… he sent Dean in. To collect more information. Of course she would gasp. How utterly cute. She’ll say no, and Dean will mention he has a friend, and why don’t they meet up…

Thandi laughs awkwardly. “Sorry, Dean. I have someone I’m interested in.”

What? Charlie can’t even hear the rest of their conversation. The world falls out from under him. The woman he loves… has someone. Someone. Someone.

His heart, gods! Who ever knew such pain could exist?!

Charlie quickly nips away, clutching at his chest. He can feel himself one step away from a panic attack. The small impulse to find Thandi like always makes it worse and he stumbles into his office and locks the door before crumpling onto the floor.

He can’t breathe.

He’s gasping for air.

He’s crying.

Oh, fuck him sideways, he’s fucking crying!

Pathetic!!

The only option now is to move on. He can do that. He can. It isn’t as if he’s spent five years pining after the same woman. That they’ve been close for those five years. 

But if she has someone she likes, knowing her… she can’t be persuaded to deviate. And he hadn’t deviated, not once, never… but…

He’s hyperventilating on the floor, knowing that now, maybe his love is a problem.

“So that’s why you want us to help you?”

Charlie nods, sitting up in his chair, legs crossed with his hands folded neatly atop his knee. “Out of everyone I know, I think you and Dean would have the most experience in, ah. This realm.”

“Charlie, I don’t think this is one a’ yer good ideas. I think maybe ya just need to ride out the blow…”

“Ride it out? How could I? I’ve loved her for five years and I could love her for another five. I don’t fancy being a crumpled heap on the fucking floor.”

Ayanda sighs, glancing at Dean. “Maybe we just give him a confidence boost. Take him out. I mean, at the very least, we get a DD, right?”

Dean sighs, hand rising to press his hat atop his head, as if it’s liable to fall off at any moment. “Fine. We’ll work wit’it, but. I also don’t wanna see m’best friend cry like that again.”

Words are still not coming to him. Not easily. He runs on want and need and the basest drive of life.

Persist.

When Thandi speaks, he can’t understand. He can’t form the words or make the thoughts communicable. He simply wants her and wants her to understand that she has him now, and she shall never want for anyone else.

Mother of course reminds him that there is a need for her help, but she understands that being alive means to suffer from emotion. He does not know why it is suffering but he knows that he likes it well enough. He has lots of time to get help. And he has lots of time to mate.

She seems scared, so he pulls a small word from the dark depths of memory. Safe. “Thandi safe.” He won’t hurt her. He won’t be cruel. He simply wants to be with her. She seems hesitant, so he eases her. Every step, he tries to understand desperately her desires until they both overlap and she seems to understand. They are mates now, and he will always take care of her. He will make sure she is fed and warm and happy. He will make sure she feels good and has everything she needs for kittens. He is eager to start chasing after the thing that he wanted and doesn’t remember. He is eager for her.

For a long time, he simply is.

There is a sense of loss, a sense of loneliness, but it is mollified by instinct and animal thought and Mother. A different Mother, one who wraps him up tight and holds onto him until such a time as he is ready to be born anew.

But Mother, she is sick, and she is dying. Her heart was never the kindest, but it was never hateful, not until a visitor came and he was pushed out, out, out. At the time he thought little of it. Just that he had to keep doing what instinct told him to do.

And instinct brought him to savagery, then fascination. A fascination. He watches a new visitor. The opposite of the other. A light. She is a walking light. She speaks and it tickles something in the back of his basest mind. Awakens a desire in him to… to… something. 

He wanted something once.

A long time ago.

Something he couldn’t have.

But now, here… watching her. He has it.

Thandi wakes feeling… odd.

Full. Warm. Sore. Giddy. Tired. Exhilarated.

She shifts minutely only to find she is pinned, a hot heat atop her. She runs her hands over it, eyes squinting as she blinks the sleep out of her vision.

She freezes as she starts figuring it out.

She has:

One, Lost her virginity.

Two, Lost her virginity to a man who is still sleeping on top of her.

Three, Lost her virginity to the man who hates her more than anything in the world.

Her heart is racing with adrenaline as it kicks in. He’s still buried inside of her, and when she moves, he moves. He nuzzles her and breathes deep, nuzzling her. 

Her eyes start to prickle with tears as she tries to mentally place herself. Remind herself what happened.

It was… ah. Covenant Day. 

There was drinking. Partying. Her head gets fuzzy after… gods. How many Dragon Shots did she throw back in the name of science? Everyone was cheering and she was probably already drunk enough to think she was queen of the entire disc.

She remembers vaguely sitting beside Dr. Vanderbee and… was it her who started it or him? He looked so uncomfortable… so she said let’s go somewhere quiet… And drunkenly zapped him home.

He was scared… or was he? Somehow they went from him drunkenly weeping to him on top of her, kissing and hugging and moving with unrestrained lust.

She calms slowly. They were mutually drunk. And this… well. She would have liked a better circumstance. More memorable. Less hazy. With someone who loved her.

Still… she feels him inside of her. Throbbing. The situation is oddly arousing and she’s not certain why, but she… she kind of likes… waking up like this, now that she’s had a moment to process it all.

Thandi pushes back some of Dr. Vanderbee’s hair and he responds with a small kiss and a deep breath. “Mmm…”

“Good morning,” she says quietly. 

“Morning…” 

Her cunt flutters at the hoarseness of his voice and she hears a small chirp from him. He lays kisses on her neck as he pushes himself up a touch, gazing down at her with.. 

With…

She can’t name it. She’s never seen this kind of expression before on anyone. The smile he gives her, the way his eyes crinkle, the slight worry in his brow… her chest squeezes and she can’t help but smile back.

“Now that we’re… sober…” He bites his lip a touch and she breathes deep, mild surprise taking hold of her as she feels him begin to rock his hips. “…do any of the plans we made… hold water?”

“Mm—!” Thandi reaches up to grasp his shoulders, mouth dropping open as he starts to fuck her in earnest. The soft slap of their bodies is dwarfed by the creaking of her bed. “Remind! Me?”

“Oh, dearest, did you get blackout drunk? Should I stop?”

“No! Don’t stop!” Her head falls back as his lips meet her neck once more, cock pistoning inside of her. She feels herself tightening around him as he speeds up. The small noises he makes, grunts of effort and a low groan of pleasure— how did she get here?

“Then I’ll continue,” he breathes around his work. “You’ll give me a year. One year and you’ll consider being my wife.”

“Wife!” Thandi gasps as he grows somehow more rigid inside of her. “Me?!”

“Yes. I love you, Thandi, I always have.” He sucks lightly on her pulse and her whole body shudders, her legs wrapping around his waist. He nips at her. “Such a good girl you are. You move into my cottage. I take care of you and love you properly. Anything in the world you want.”

“What if I want— ah! To work?”

“Then work.” He thrusts hard this time and Thandi keens, nails digging into his shoulders. As she catches her breath from the surprise, he slows his thrusts, pulling his head up to gaze into her face. 

“Sleep all day?”

“I’ll build you beds wherever, whenever.”

“Paint all day?”

“I’ll frame everything you make and hang it all up.”

She actually giggles at that. Once more his cock grows stiffer and he groans. 

“Fuck, you’re cute! I’m going to— rrrgh! I need to fuck you until you come!”

“Oh?!” 

He licks his thumb as he repositions himself, hand dropping to her clit while he gets on his knees. Thandi watches him with intense interest and then whe  he starts to rub and fuck her at the same time it feels like her body wants to snap in half. Her back arches and she grabs the bedsheets, crying out, “Charlie!“

“Good girl  You remember! Keep saying my name until you feel me fill you up!”

Thandi writhes under his attention as Charlie fucks her. Her headboard hits the wall and she’s mewling like a cat in heat and their bodies are slapping wetly together as she gushes on him and the pleasure is building and building and building around this thick length running along her inner walls.

She’s stretched to her limit around his fat cock and crying from the pleasure of it.

“There! There! Feels!! Good! 

It builds! 

And then an explosion inside of her that has her screaming, him saying something as he slams into her, a hot sensation inside of her! 

She grabs at his shoulder and kisses him and opens her mouth to say—

THUD THUD THUD!! The walls shake as the neighbor pounds on the shared wall. Charlie laughs and rests his body on top of her again, cuddling her with all the affection in the world. “Hence your eagerness to love. I bet it sounded better drunk than sober…”

“Yeah… but… I can stay over…”

She sees him as he rushes past, grabbing his arm. “Hold on. Look at you! You want to go in looking like that?”

“Like what?”

He’s a mess after staying overnight in the lab. His hair is askew and his collar is rumpled. His tie…oh, his tie. She knows he’s playing ignorant. No one but her ever sees him like this. He just likes to be preened.

So she smiles at him and straightens his collar, fixes his tie, and runs her fingers through his hair. It earns her a contented sigh and that cute little smile that she’s certain is only for her. He leans forward slightly, and there’s a moment where she thinks he might kiss her.

But he restrains himself yet again, nods his head as he murmurs a thank-you-very-much, and dashes out of the room.

The love of such a small gesture makes his heart race, and she’s so lovely. So wonderful. He’s tempted to stay in the office again overnight for another preen, but honestly, one could only be a mess so many times in a row. Shame.

“It’s perfect. He’ll step up his game and finally ask you out, girl! There’s no way this could go wrong!”

“Are you… sure? Charlie can be a little… unpredictable…”

“It’s foolproof, Thandi. You got this.”

Foolproof. But not in the way Thandi had counted on when she told Dr. Vanderbee that she had a date to go to.

So she’s here, staring up at a snarl-faced Charlie. He grips her forearm tightly, leaning over her, forcing her to back up. “A date? No. Absolutely not.”

“I don’t need your permission, Charlie!” She bumps into her desk, keeping her gaze firm on his. He’s not been angry with her for years. He’s not so much as snapped at her for a long time. She can’t even remember the last time. But this display…

It reminds her of when he used to frighten her, when she first joined Charity.

“Are you displeased with me? Am I not enough for you?” The growl in his voice is dangerous, and he grabs her roughly to lift her onto her desk. “A date. Why the fuck are you going on a date?!”

She hadn’t thought of a why. Just the other details. Who her pretend date is. Where they work. How good-looking they are. “I! I need to…! Move forward with my life! I want a family, you know that!”

Another snarl. “Move forward? Thandi, you’re here.” He pushes her onto her back, covering her mouth with a gloved hand as he leans over top of her. She hears him sniffing at her, and a million things run through her head. Who had touched her today? Who’s in danger? Who is he going to target? He’s growling into her neck. “You’re mine, you realize. You’ve been mine. You want a family? We’ll start one right now.”

She feels an icy thrill run through her body. It’s… terror. And… something else. His teeth run over her pulse as his other hand moves to her waist. He grabs under her thigh, opening her legs with a force she’s never known from him. Her gentle Charlie is a beast right now. And she’s scared.

“A fucking date. Absolutely not. We’ve belonged to each other for a long time. I know what your arousal smells like.” His hips sit between her legs, and she feels him press his groin to her. Feels him rock his hips against hers, grinding against her. “I know what you like. I know every little fucking detail and you want to go on a fucking date.”

His hand leaves her mouth as he straightens, shedding his labcoat and tossing it aside carelessly. He tugs off his gloves and her ring glitters on his… left ring finger. Has he been wearing it since she gave it to him? Charlie reaches out, both hands sliding over her ribcage before halting at her waist.

“Well? Last chance to stab me before I fuck you on your own desk.” 

Thandi’s heart is racing, the thrill of the moment capturing her. Sense is out the window. He’s about to take her and use her and do whatever he likes… She hears him undo his belt, sees a sizeable strain in his underwear  as he unzips. He reaches down to her blouse, hooking a finger onto her buttons. They pop off one by one. He pulls the cups of her bra down, pausing to admire her chest.

“Gorgeous. Always so godsdamned gorgeous. I can smell how much you’re enjoying this, dearest. I know you have the power to stop me. Come on. Look at me.” He pulls his cock out of its prison and… oh. He’s… bigger than anticipated.

“Charlie… um…”

He rests his cock on her mons, purring as he grins mischievously at her, massaging her tits gently, his thumb brushing over her nipples. Thandi can feel herself soaking her panties, fluttering each time she recalls his cock is there. “Speak, my love. Spit it out.”

“Go… go slow?” 

His brows rise and he shakes his head. “I’m going as fast as I like. Now. All you’re allowed to say is my name, Thandi. Anything else and I’m going to leave you alone, mussed in the office.” One hand reaches between her legs and slides along the wet line of her panties before pulling them aside. He lines his cock up to her, playing with her clit as his hips move forward slowly. Thandi is trembling as she feels him press deeper and deeper inside of her.

She squeezes her eyes shut and she feels a rough hand on her chin. “Look at me. Watch me fuck you.”

She looks up shyly, cunt squeezing down on him when her eyes meet his. Despite the anger, despite the terror, there’s a sense of intensity beyond anything she ever thought possible. Charlie is inside of her, grabbing her hips as he sighs, relishing how she feels.

He goes shallow and hard first, as if to defy her earlier request. The desk rocks and squeaks loudly, her painfully organized everything falling over. Pens and pencils clatter onto the floor as he moves, the feeling of him becoming her sole focus. It makes her squeak as much as the desk. It’s reaching so deep! And somehow the sensation of him abusing her innermost parts like this, sweating and red-faced and savagely handsome…

He groans with pleasure as his hips clap into hers, and Thandi grabs his wrists, her back arching. He’s hitting something in her, something so…! So…! 

A pure explosion of pleasure as she cries out, cunt spasming around him. It makes his breathing stutter as he leans over her and slams his cock deeper inside of her, that pleasure deepening as she feels heat spreading from him. She can’t help it. “Charlie!! Gods!! Ch-Charlie!!”

And he leans over her to kiss her hard and press his body to hers, hips picking up speed again. His lips are soft, despite the force behind the kiss. Thandi opens her mouth and straightaway, she feels his tongue. He’s absolutely mad for her! He’s still fucking her! 

Charlie opens his eyes and sees her staring.The look only makes him do longer strokes, emptying and filling her over and over. “I love you. I always have. So no dates.“

“Y-you’re! Ah! My! Hhmmmnnn! Date!”

He pauses in his thrusting, leaning over her still, shocked. “What?” She… can feel his cock twitch inside her. She can feel how excited he is, to the point he’s forgotten his threat. It gives her a moment to catch her breath. His hands move to her tits, massaging them and teasing at her nipples as she wraps her legs about his waist.

“I was! It wasn’t my idea! But… it worked?”

Charlie pouts down at her and glares into her sheepish smile. His anger dampens her attempt at levity, and he sighs, shaking his head. “I think you need a punishment.” 

“Wha—”

Charlie’s cock slips out of her, throbbing from stimulation, covered in a mix of his cum and her slick. Her cunt drips with the rest, and he pulls her off the desk to kneel in front of him. Seeing him up close… this bit she’s never seen and was just inside of her… Charlie glares down at her. “Clean me up. And then I’m going to fuck you again. And if you’re a good girl, I may say yes to a date. You’ve rather offended me, Thandi.” The tip of his cock presses to her lips and she’s nearly overwhelmed by the scent of their sex.

She opens her mouth and he buries his hand in her hair, pushing his shirt up slightly. She’s seen so little of his skin, and now she’s got his cock in her mouth and she’s greedy for more. Her eyes follow his hand to take in the soft musculature of… her… friend turned lover.

“Thandi. I said clean my cock.” He growls down at her, pulling her head back. It makes her heart jump into her throat, just before his cock meets it there. Her hands grasp his hips as he pulls his cock back out of her throat. She takes a breath before sucking on his tip, licking his length. She does want to be a good girl. If she had been good, he wouldn’t be so upset with her right now.

She looks up to look into his eyes as she looks for a hint of approval. A hint of the Charlie she’s used to. A hint of… forgiveness for trying to mess with his feelings. He watches her with serious eyes. 

“There we are. She’s learning. Good girl, Thandi. Kiss my cock now. Tell me how you feel.”

Kiss it… her eyes flick to the tip of him and she presses her lips to him gently. He throbs in her hand, prompting a pleased growl from Charlie. And slowly, she takes a breath in. “I love you. A lot.”

“I love you. Go on.”

“For… for a long time… And… um…”

“No room for um, dearest.”

“I’m sorry I tried to make you jealous.”

“Good girl. Stand, now. There we are.” He turns her to face away from him, leaning her over her desk. She spreads her legs slightly, prompting a chuckle from him, as his cock teases at her entrance. Dipping in and out of her. It has her whining. And then he pushes a bit further and grabs her hips to drive his whole length into her at once. “Yes! Your pussy is more amazing than I could have thought, Thandi. This is your reward. Thank me for it.”

Thandi, barreled forward by the force of his fuck, the way he slams deep into her, tries her best. “Th-thah! Thaaaank…! Yooooh….oou!” 

“Good girl.” He’s bouncing against her ass. He’s filling her deeply. She feels herself building up again. He reaches out and grabs her by the breasts, heaving her up to stand her straight. “Such a perfect woman you are. I forgive your mistake.” He’s breathing hard, teasing her nipples as he fucks her, purring loudly. “I suppose you were bound to make one eventually, my love.” He kisses her neck, one hand sliding over her stomach to keep her steady. “I want you to understand that you deserve this. A good, hard fucking from your Charlie.”

“My… Charlie?” She whines out the question as she reaches back to grasp at him.

“Yours. Always yours. Just as you are mine.” He lets out a small grunt of pleasure and kisses her neck again. “And you always have been. Now play with yourself. I want you to come on my cock.”

Her hand immediately slides between her legs, finding her clit. Charlie’s fucking has found a steady rhythm, one that builds up her pleasure easily. Her fingers rub herself in time to his thrusts and soon her cunt is clamping down on him, making him groan and purr against her back. It rumbles through her and then—

“Charlie! Oh! Oh gods!!” Her thighs squeeze together as her body quivers. He whines into her ear, slamming himself into her again as he fills her with his spend. Again. And again. And again. He holds her up, breathing hard, coming down from his orgasm as she shakes. He wraps his arms around her, swaying her slightly.

“There we are. That’s my good girl. My beautiful Thandi… I love you so much.”

She sniffles as he pulls out. It feels empty without him, and their mixed fluids begin to drip from her before Charlie rights her panties. He turns her around, adjusting his pants to put his cock away before hugging her to him. She grabs at his vest and cries. “I love you, too. It. It felt good.”

He strokes her hair. “I know. You’re not bad for enjoying it. I’ve known for a time now that you do.”

“You…”

“You read from my collection. I can smell when I excite you, my love. Rest assured I did not want to hurt you. You weren’t in pain, were you?”

She shakes her head as she presses her face into him. She had read before that it hurts, but all she felt… was… pleasure. “No.”

“Experiment success. Magic is handy for the strangest things, my love.” He kisses the top of her head gently. “You were very good. Thank you, Thandi.”