Author: Hope Zane

Angel Under Fire, ch. 1

Hope ZaneNovels

Hideya taps his box of cigarettes listlessly, lip curling as the conversation from earlier replays in his mind.

Sakamoto-san, the man in charge of an entire wing of the Agata-gumi, sat behind a long, polished desk. The desk hid the gut he was starting to develop from years of fat living, and its top was decorated with a rare cigar in a case and pictures of Sakamoto-san’s family.

Behind the desk, he folded his hands pensively, his jocular and booming voice coming forward.

“Hideya-kun, it’s just not practical. You understand, right? Just work under Nanami for a few more years, and then you’ll have kobun of your own to run.”

He talks to Hideya with the kind of avuncular affection that makes it sound like Hideya is an errant child—to be indulged to a point but ultimately too naive and asking for too much.

That had been the outcome of Hideya bringing his plan to Sakamoto-san for the second time in twice as many years. The answer had been the same when he was twenty—you’re too young; it’s good to be ambitious, but mind your elders.

He had bought it at twenty, but at twenty-four, Hideya was older and wiser—and starting to understand that Sakamoto was just giving him the runaround.

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Loved the Most, ch. 2

Hope ZaneNovels

Lynx has been a slut since he was 16.

That was the age he got his first crush and figured out the sorts of things two boys could get up to when they were horny, hormonal, and curious.

After that, it was off to the races.

His profession hasn’t helped, between the dating bans and constant scrutiny in the public eye, but the other thing about Lynx is that he’s everyone’s darling. He has long, silver hair that hangs down to his mid-back, sleek and shiny and delicately maintained, and he has a slender, sleek little swimmer’s body. Compact and perfect for dancing, or cradling between strong arms, or getting up to mischief with Adia.

Lynx loves Adia, and he loves Haebom, and he loves Jaehee, and he loves Shun. Not necessarily in that order.

Lynx’s heart is fickle, and he’s never been able to keep it in his pants or figure out loyalty, but he’s lucky because the others all love him just the same.

Lucky, he thinks as he falls asleep some nights. Lucky, lucky, lucky.

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Loved the Most, ch. 1

Hope ZaneNovels

It’s Lynx’s 24th birthday.

Come out to the bar, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.

Despite managing to make it 24 revolutions around the sun, Lynx had never actually done this kind of thing before. Oh, he’s had drinks, but he’s had them back in the dorms with his friends, or on nights out at the KTV, or just generally in settings other than this.

But this is fun. It’s nice. The bartender is cute and smiles at him with dimples, and his friends have been having fun going up to the bar to order Lynx a steady stream of increasingly outlandish drinks for his tender cat’s tongue, all of them sweet but some of them fruity, some of them tasting like chocolate and cream.

Lynx still has the taste of heavy chocolate lingering in his mouth, clinging to his lips, when Adia presses himself close.

“Hey, my baby. Are you having a good time?”

Adia smells like leather and the new perfume he’s trying out. It’s cooler and a little more open where Lynx is standing, but Adia has been dancing like mad in the middle of the crowded dance floor. He’s dripping with sweat, and Lynx can feel the heat wafting off of him when he gets in real close. He’s wearing leather pants, the material wrapped tight and snug around his vulpine hips, his dancer’s thighs, and Lynx can feel one of those hips nudging into him with how close Adia is standing.

“Pretty good,” Lynx agrees, tipping the last of his chocolate pudding-tasting drink into his mouth and crunching on the ice cubes.

Continue reading “Loved the Most, ch. 1” →

Fragile Tender Wedding Ring Thoughts

Hope ZaneExtras

Some self-indulgent thoughts about wedding rings in light of Love and Deepspace’s current wedding event:

Nice has a plain white gold band from Rook that he wears on a chain around his neck. It’s not a family heirloom. It’s a gift just from Rook to him, something new. This was important to the both of them.

Willow absolutely has some kind of extremely fucking extra ring from Lira. It’s probably made of enchanted ice that’s cool to the touch and never melts. It was hideously expensive and looks like a shining diamond on Willow’s finger.