#((gets around to answering this nearly a week later rip))

[steveslevis]

i love you, it’s ruining my life

azriel x cassian’s sister!reader - part 1 of 3

summary: it wasn’t supposed to be like this. you weren’t supposed to be your brother’s best friend’s mate, especially when that best friend is the same male who’s acted like you don’t exist for the last two centuries.

warnings: angst, very brief mentions of violence and abuse, azriel is oblivious and reader is angry, not much pining in this part mainly just angsty

A single band of golden thread, stretched from your soul, reaching out into an abyss. There was seemingly no end to the thread, no definite stop, just a shadowy mess that sent the thread into a disarray as it reached for your mate. 

Your mate. The male who had spoken maybe a full sentence to you a handful of times in the last few centuries. The male who was best friends with your brother, and acted as if you didn’t even exist.

Even in your younger years in Windhaven, it seemed Azriel didn’t even know you were there. Like you were a ghost, invisible to him in every sense of the word. 

Azriel didn’t ever really speak to anyone, though, so it wasn’t like you were an exception, he treated you like most everyone else. But you never had been able to shake the fact that he would nearly sprint out of a room if you were the only one in it, or that he would refuse to look you in the eyes when you spoke at dinner. It was like he couldn’t even stand the thought of being in the same vicinity of you, like he couldn’t stomach talking to you. 

And you were now bound to him, for the rest of eternity.

The bond had snapped for you immediately upon seeing the state of Azriel when they returned from Hybern without Feyre, when the entirety of their plan had gone up in flames, with Azriel in the main path of destruction. 

Seeing him in so much pain tugged at your heart, nearly ripping it out of your chest when you saw how ruined his wings were. It affected you so much that you ran out of the room when they first arrived, partially because of how much it hurt you to see him like that, and partially because of how distraught the bond snapping into place had immediately made you feel. You couldn’t bear to see your mate in so much pain, and you knew you didn’t trust yourself to be around when they inevitably put him into more pain while healing him. 

You kept to yourself for weeks after their arrival, only speaking to Rhysand and your brother when need be. 

Rhys was the first one to find out about your dilemma.

He called you into his study weeks later to talk about a mission, one he needed you specifically on for your daemati skills. While he explained the details, he could tell your mind was elsewhere, so much so that you couldn’t even stop him from getting past the pure obsidian wall you’d built up in your mind, the wall you never let anyone break down until that moment. 

Rhysand had given you a hesitant look when he stopped explaining the tasks in order to peer into your mind and capture your attention. He didn’t want to pry, only to get your mind focused by scaling his talon down the obsidian wall, which to his surprise collapsed before he could even attempt to breach it. But you nodded when he silently asked to see what had been keeping you so on edge, what had stopped you from helping Madja out with taking care of Azriel when they returned from Hybern, what had stopped you from engaging in conversation at dinner as of late.

A vision of a golden thread shrouded in black and gray shadows was sent to Rhys’ mind, along with a memory of exactly the moment you had been struck with the bond. 

“Have you told him?” he implored, though he seemed to already know the answer. 

You couldn’t even speak at that point, only shaking your head in response as tears brimmed your eyes when you thought of how fucked up it was to be bonded to someone who’d barely acknowledged you in the hundreds of years you’d known him. 

Rhys gave you a sympathetic look then, knowing the feeling of an unrequited bond all too well. 

You promised him about a thousand times that you wouldn’t let him find out, that you wouldn’t let the agony and sadness get in the way of the mission. You could prove yourself worthy and able to go on without thinking about how you might never get an accepted bond, you assured him that you could. He was still unsure when he agreed to let you go on the mission, but it was miniscule enough that any lapses in judgment wouldn’t be detrimental, so he agreed.

And you proved yourself, just like you said you would. You proved yourself over and over again with Rhysand’s missions, building up your mental shields stronger than they ever had been before. So strong, that the High Lord himself had a hard time cracking through them. 

You became a shell of what you were before seeing your mate in that near-death state, but you didn’t care. You needed to distract yourself in any way, shape or form that you could in order to forget about him, to forget that he’d never even taken a second glance in your direction. 

It got to the point where you became so shut off from reality that even Cassian, your brother known for paying no mind to female emotions, started to notice. 

You caught Cassian giving you inquisitive stares a handful of times during training and at dinners when your attitude was exceptionally reserved and demure, but never thought he would actually say anything to you. 

That was until he finally snapped, on the first dinner with Feyre back in Velaris, which just so happened to be the first dinner that Azriel joined in the weeks after Hybern.

You nearly fell out of your seat when you saw him in all his glory. There he was, standing at the end of the table, as beautiful as ever. He was almost fully healed, aside from a few scars littered over the membrane of his wings. 

Excited chatter filled the room as he entered, everyone falling into their rightful place in the Inner Circle, along with the newest members, Nesta and Elain. Though you were one of the longest standing members of Rhysand’s Inner Circle, you felt the most out of place in that moment.

The wine you’d been sipping churned in your stomach as you eyed the shadowsinger, who was sitting quietly across the table from you. You couldn’t handle it, knowing that he was your mate and he had no clue. You couldn’t stomach the thought of him finding out, of him potentially rejecting the bond. 

After a moment of silently wallowing in your self pity, you felt that familiar talon scrape along your mental shield. Rhys was requesting access to your mind, likely to give you some insight about this unrequited feeling based on his own experience. 

You rejected his request instead of letting him in, shooting him a quick glance before standing up abruptly, quietly excusing yourself with the reasoning that you weren’t feeling well. 

You rushed up the stairs, toward your bedroom all the while feeling like you were drowning. You needed air, fresh air, now. It was in that moment that you thanked the Cauldron for Rhysand putting you in the bedroom with a large balcony, one perfect for moments like this. 

Little did you know, your brother had stalked up the stairs behind you, worried after seeing the panic-stricken look on your face before bolting from the room.

You didn’t bother to close your bedroom door behind you, leaving Cassian the perfect opportunity to come in to check on you. You were out on the balcony in an instant, nearly gasping for air as the cool night breeze hit your face. 

“Hey,” Cassian called behind you, standing awkwardly in the middle of your bedroom. “You alright?”

“I don’t want to talk right now, Cass.” you retort quickly, shooting a glare in his direction before leaning over the metal railing as he furrows his brow. “I obviously don’t feel great at the moment.”

“Yeah, no shit. But that doesn’t warrant you snapping at me when all I’m doing is coming to check on you,” he presses, taking a step onto the balcony to stand by you. “It doesn’t warrant you ignoring me for fucking weeks now.” 

“What do you want me to say, Cassian?” you snap, throwing your hands up in defeat. “I—I don’t really know what kind of explanation you need from me, I just haven’t been in a talking mood these last few weeks.”

“Oh, bullshit.” he says, shaking his head at you. “I see you chatting with Rhys and Mor all the fucking time. You’re only shutting me out. What the fuck did I do?”

You take a moment to look up at your brother, finally seeing the hurt sketched across his features as he pleads with you, trying desperately to get through to you. 

“You didn’t do anything.” you sigh, letting your guard down as you realize how much you’d hurt your twin in the last few weeks. “I—I just am going through some shit right now.”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle.” he says, nudging your arm with his elbow as a relieved but hesitant smile passes over his face. “I’m always here to lend an ear.”

“Are you sure?” you say, voice cracking as you internally accept that you’re about to change everything in Cassian’s life with four simple words. 

“Positive.” Cassian says, smile still on his face as he grips your shoulder to reassure you.

“Azriel is my mate.” you say bluntly, watching in silent terror as your brother’s face falls and so does his hand from your shoulder. “And he has no idea.”

——————————————————————

That was almost two years ago. 

Cassian took the news quite well, and became your biggest supporter when it came to dealing with the hardships of an unrequited mating bond. Even as he dealt with his own unrequited bond for a short amount of time, he still made sure to make it known that he still cared for and understood the pain you were going through. 

And now that the war against Hybern had been won, you could focus all your energy into training and missions Rhys would send you on. 

Rhysand knew you preferred to be sent on solo missions, that you worked better alone without anyone disrupting your focus. But, there were some missions that couldn’t be done alone. 

“You–This is a joke, right?” you say with a laugh, narrowing your eyes at the High Lord who sat across the desk in his office, raising his eyebrow at you as you laugh. “I work alone, Rhys.”

“I know you work best alone, but sometimes I can’t send you alone,” Rhys starts, giving you a sharp glare as you start to stand from your chair, “I can’t send you alone, not on this one.” 

“Why?” you pressed, pushing off the arms of your chair to move closer to the desk. “You haven’t even told me what I’m doing or where I’ll be going yet, so why should I even agree to it without knowing?”

The look the High Lord was giving you made you uneasy, turning your stomach in knots, but you persisted. You needed him to stop treating you like you were made of glass, like you would break, like you hadn’t been training with Cassian since you could stand. 

“I’m not a child anymore, Rhys.” you snapped, hands balling into fists as they pressed against the oak of his large desk. “I can handle whatever it is, without Azriel babysitting me.”

“I really don’t know–”

“Are you trying to torture me?” you interject, a pained expression crossing over your face, one of betrayal at the feeling of one of your longest friends trying to put you in such an uncomfortable position when he knows exactly what you’ve been dealing with over the last two years. “Are you trying to make me suffer, do you want me to –”

“I need you to go to Windhaven.” Rhys finally commanded, voice wavering slightly as he brought up the place you once called home, the place he knew would send you regressing into a lesser version of yourself. “I need you to go there, with Azriel.”

The mention of Windhaven sent a shiver down your spine, wings twitching in fear as you thought about the horrors you endured in your final years at the camp. Your sharp gaze flickered for a split second, mind running back to that cabin, to the flash of wings and clawing hands, to the male who did irreparable damage to your soul, to the moment you swore you’d never let a male hurt you again. With a shake of your head, you block the thoughts out, pressing that black obsidian wall back up to prevent yourself from breaking. 

“I’ll be fine on my own.” you say, putting your stern persona back into place, trying to make it seem as though you’re unbothered. 

“I need to send him with you, someone needs to watch your back.” he insists while shaking his head as his gaze softens, trying to get you to break from your hardened facade. 

“What about Cass?” you retort, shaking your head.

“He’ll be in Spring, he’s got business with Tamlin and Eris to attend to for me.” he quickly replies, shaking his own head. “Please, I need you to do this.” 

“I–I can’t.”

“Is the thought of being alone with me for two days that bad?” a voice comes from behind you, nearly making you jump out of your skin.

Your mate, just the person you didn’t want to see right now. 

You whip around quickly at the sound of his voice, brow furrowed as you see him standing in the doorway. It takes everything in you not to sigh at the sight of him, at how damn good he looked, just standing there. You cursed yourself internally, wishing you could think about anything else besides how much you pined for him. Still, you had an image to uphold, an image of distaste for the beautiful shadowsinger standing in front of you.

“Oh, that’s rich coming from you, shadowsinger.” you snap, shooting a glare in his direction that sends a pang of guilt running down the one-sided bond. 

“I’m sorry?” he questions, raising an eyebrow at you, his face the poster child for cool composure as your rage boils in front of him. 

“You can barely stand to be in the same room for me for more than five minutes,” you state, crossing your arms matter-of-factly. “You quite literally leave any space in the house when I’m the only other person around.”

The thought of your mate, the one who was supposed to be at your side for all of eternity, leaving the room any time you entered made your blood boil and chest ache. You ached for him, you ached to feel his touch, to be loved by him. But he didn’t care about you, didn’t care if you lived or died. 

Seeing the anger in your eyes made Azriel stop in his tracks, something unfamiliar tugging at his heart as you seethed. There was a gnawing feeling in his chest as he thought about the last five hundred years, how he never paid you any mind. 

The truth was, he avoided you with every bit of willpower he had in order to restrain himself. He couldn’t be around you for more than a few moments without your overpowering scent filling his nose feeding his desire to tear you apart. Every time he was with you alone, he wanted to tear down any walls that he had and just have at you, to have you as his. He wanted you carnally, he wanted all of you, all of the time.

But that wasn’t the kind of male he was. He would never do such a thing to Cassian, his best friend. He couldn’t let himself have you just to fulfill his deepest desires, you deserved so much more than to be some one night fling. You deserved to be loved and cared for, to be protected at all costs. 

So he had ignored you, for almost five fucking centuries, because he thought he couldn’t give you what you deserved. He pushed out any thought he had about you, pushed away the urge to pursue you in any way, and pushed you away in the process. He knew you well from watching from afar, but to you it seemed as though you were the last thought in his mind, when in reality, you were the only thought in his mind at all times. 

“That’s not–” Azriel started, but the words fell on his lips as he watched your own pull into a frown, an expression that was much more broken than the anger that had crossed over your face when he snuck in. 

“Yeah, that’s what I fucking thought, you prick.” you said weakly, finally letting your emotions get the better of you. As tears pricked your eyes, you turned to Rhys once more. “I will not be going anywhere with him. I will be going by myself, or not at all. I am strong enough to do this on my own and I’m tired of being treated like a child in this court.” 

Rhys only stared at you as you stalked towards the desk once again, watching as your hands shook with pain. He showed no change in emotion as you spoke, fully in High Lord mode instead of the Rhysand you knew and loved. 

“I will be in my room, packing. When you’re done being a stubborn male and realize that I can do whatever the hell it is you need me to do, I’ll be waiting for further instructions.” you state, trying to choke back the tears that are threatening to flow onto the wood in front of your hands. 

The High Lord nods firmly in response, and you turn on your heels. Azriel is still standing in the doorway, but you don’t dare to look at him. You push past the shadowsinger, swiping your cheeks hastily as tears fall down them. As you pass, your wing brushes his in the lightest of touches. You swallow a gasp as they touch, a shockwave flowing through your wing and going straight to your heart. 

Azriel turns to gaze at you with wide eyes and you immediately know he felt it too. He felt the shock, the electricity between your wings, but not in the way you did. Not down the one-sided, golden bond that stretched toward him. 

Confusion spread over his face as he looked at you, but you turned away and rushed towards your room before he could fully process what happened. 

The rest of your afternoon was spent alone in your room, laying on your bed for most of the night as you stared up at the ceiling. You cursed yourself internally over and over again, wishing there were some way to change everything, some way to make you forget that you even had a mate. 

Over and over again, you told yourself how you weren’t worthy of the immeasurable love that came with a mate, how you would never be good enough for Azriel. 

It had always been like that for you, though. The feeling of inadequacy was a daily occurrence for you, it wasn’t a secret. Cassian knew it, and so did Rhysand, so you’re sure Azriel did too. You worked day in and day out trying to prove that you were worthy to your brother and the High Lord and everyone around you, regardless of the pain you put yourself in.

Rhysand knew you too well, and knew that you were all too serious about going on the mission by yourself, or at least without Azriel. After you left his office, he’d tried to speak to Cassian about accompanying you, but it was of no use, he was preoccupied. He didn’t want you to go by yourself, he knew you’d be scared just by being in Windhaven again, but he also knew that you being the one to go on this mission was the only hope. 

Your untraceable daemati skills were an impeccable weapon that couldn’t be replaced by Azriel’s shadows or Cassian’s brute force. Even the High Lord himself didn’t have daemati powers as stealthful as yours, so you were the best option when it came to figuring out who was trying to rebel. 

After much contemplation, Rhys eventually sent a concise and firm message to your mind.

I need you in Windhaven by dinner tonight, Devlon will be expecting you to be there. There are a few Illyrians that I need you to check in on while you’re there, Cass told me there are talks of rebellion led by Cormac and Bavlard. he explained, you should only need to be there for tonight to gather enough information, but plan to stay until tomorrow evening in case we need more intel. You’ll stay in the cabin as usual, I’ll be in contact regularly to check on you, since you’ll be on your own this time.

The last sentence had a smile flickering on your lips, happy that Rhysand was finally taking you seriously as a member of his Inner Circle and trusting you enough to send you on missions by yourself. Luckily, you were already packed so it didn’t take much for you to get ready to go. 

In less than an hour, you were dressed in your fighting leathers and on the balcony of your room. You waste no time in flying from the house, large wings spreading for the first time in what feels like forever as you make for the sky.

The breeze against your skin makes you sigh with joy, trying to enjoy the twinge of happiness that flying gives you as you make your way towards the place you once called home, the place you now call hell.

taglist: @paleidiot @tothestarsandwhateverend @impossibelle

#azriel #azriel x reader #azriel shadowsinger #acotar #azriel angst #azriel x you

[witchofthescions]

A Blank Canvas appears! It is openly dumping all the dumplings from one of the tupperwares into its mouth, the sesame tofu one in fact. Well, the stealing of food not belonging to it is probably just business as normal for it. The smoke that is coming out from the sides of its head however is not. The BC doesn't seem to be too bothered by it though.

The remaining tupperware containers are left neatly stacked on top of one another, two containing leek and egg, two containing chives and mushrooms, and one containing sesame tofu.

The BC is noticeably eyeing the second case of sesame tofu but eventually settles for eating the tupperware the first one came in.

A handwritten note is attached to the pile of containers. A corner of the note is noticeably burnt. "There are dumplings here. Two have leek and egg, two have chives and mushrooms, and I am pretty sure you only have 1 sesame tofu now if the way Potato keeps smelling more and more of sesame when it came home is any indication. I hope you have a happy lunar new year or equivalent for Eorzea with its strange moon. - Chi"

Erna spots the BC's arrival and regards it with a raised eyebrow. She's not too bothered about the blatant food theft, though the smoke does seem like a potential cause for concern? No? Alright then, as long as you're okay.

She kneels down and accepts the containers, taking quick stock as she reads the note. She chuckles to herself and glances at Potato. "You like sesame, huh? Well, guess I'll have to make sure I keep some in stock for the next time you happen to come 'round."

She holds up a finger to tell them to wait and goes into her apartment's kitchen to scrounge up an appropriate snack reward for the little courier. She ends up coming back with some homemade dango.

"Here ya go, a little 'payment' for your time. Enjoy!"

As for the dumplings themselves, she'll likely end up sharing them with some of the other Scions. Because hey, the Heavensturn cheer deserves to be spread around, right?

#informal inquiries (asks) #dog-tagged #to adventure! (f2f) #((gets around to answering this nearly a week later rip))

[chiffiorra]

₊❏❜ ⋮ One Phone Call Away

Kinktober Day #18

Prompt: Phone Sex Character: Sae Itoshi This Work Contains: fem!reader, established relationship, phone sex, guided later mutual masturbation, female orgasm, yearning, possibly ooc sae WC: 702 Note: i'm sorry in advance for how sae was written in this lol. i didn't think he would be this hard to write for rip 🫠 Taglist: @enchantedforest-network, @kenuis, @awkwardchick87, @awkwardaardvarkforever

Some days leading to months when you and him would be separated and you tried your hardest to get used to his presence not being around. Of course you knew this way before you started dating him. But it was hard to adjust to living without him as he pursued his dream without a care as to what anyone said, and he had you as his biggest fan to support him in his endeavors. But that was alright for the most part, you would happily be his side no matter what.

However, there came a day where you truly missed him and just simply hugging the pillow that smelled like him closer to you wasn’t enough to keep you happy. So what to do? Simple, it was the time where he had free time, and you took this chance to call and check up on him.

“Baby?” You called as soon as he picked up, smiling in relief as you heard a hum of acknowledgement on the other line. That was just how he was and you were used to his behavior and the different ways he would come to love you.

“I… I really do miss you, I know you won’t be back until next week but I can’t wait to see you come home, the house has been feeling bigger without you around,” you let out a chuckle at your words as he remained silent, waiting for you to finish. With you, he was more of a listener.

After a moment of silence after pouring your heart out to him, he finally spoke. “I have an idea that I know would help you,” which made your ears perk up. Your eyes nearly widened when you heard his voice grow a tad deeper, “Why don’t you prove that you miss me? Touch yourself for me.”

Your heart began to beat faster at his idea and tone of his voice, he never suggested something like this before. And yet instead of nervousness, you felt a sense of following what orders he would give you and still be in control despite the distance. You laid down on the bed and got comfortable after removing your sleep shorts. You already felt yourself grow wet at the thought of your boyfriend guiding you through this.

“You’re actually gonna help me?” You innocently asked; hand already moving down slowly to your clit, already ready to get rid of this ache that was beginning to grow. 

“I will. Now do it,” Sae insisted. You didn’t need any more convincing after such bluntness.

Your fingers brushed over your clit as you began gently rubbing it in small circles, moaning softly as you put the phone on speaker, eager for him to hear everything from start to finish.

You were ready to purse your lips together tightly, but as if he could read your mind, you would hear, “Don’t hide anything from me. I want to hear every single noise you’re making,” in a stern voice. So you didn’t.

“Sae,” you moaned out, “I wish you were here with me.”

“I’ll be back soon before you know it… now keep going.” Your ears tuned in to hear a belt unbuckle on the other line and you couldn’t get any more excited. He was joining in on you? Your question was quick to be answered as you heard his breathing pick up along with a groan.

“I’m- I’m close– I’m so close-” you begin to pant out. You pushed a finger, then two, inside you, and began to pump away to make yourself cum. Your fingers were nowhere compared to his but that did not stop you, especially when you could hear his strokes and knew that he was ready to reach the end with you judging by the pace.

“Wish it were me, right?” He panted out, breathily chuckling as you moaned out a yes. “Go on, pretty, make yourself cum.”

As if your body was in tune with his words, you came, legs shaking as you didn’t stop. Sae groaned loudly as you heard him release too. 

Even though it would only be a week until he came home, you couldn’t wait to do something like this again.

#candy uploads 🍭 #kinktober #kinktober 2023 #blue lock #blue lock x reader #bllk x reader #sae itoshi #sae itoshi x reader #itoshi sae #itoshi sae x reader #sae x reader #lemon pastries 🥐

[nhlclover]

textbook | trevor zegras

word count: 0.65k

summary: while you’re studying for an important exam, your boyfriend decides you need a break

warnings: mentions of sex

notes: btw the LSAT is the law school admissions test!

My various LSAT books were scattered across the dining table, papers thrown in here and there. There was not a piece of the table that wasn’t covered in law material, forcing Trevor to eat in the living room. My back was killing me and my eyes were so strained. I desperately needed a break, but I also couldn’t afford to take one. I was on a roll and the LSAT was in less than a week. 

I read over the question this particular practice test was asking me, trying to make sense of it. I furrowed my eyebrows not totally understanding it. Fuck. I re-read it over and over until I could see the text with my eyes closed. I rubbed my eyes, sighing heavily. I could feel Trevor’s eyes on me from across the room, but don’t dare look at him knowing that if I did, I would end up getting distracted. So, I keep my head in my hands, reading the passage again.

The whole week he’s been trying to convince me to take a break but I consistently tell him I can’t. This is my one chance to do the test this year. Sure, I could always take it again next year but that would be another $200 down the drain and a year of my career I cannot get back. 

Suddenly, the textbook is ripped out from under my face. I look up and see Trevor holding the textbook in front of him, reading the page.

“What the fuck are they talking about?” He asked himself.

“Trevor give me my textbook back.” I demand with a little more anger in my voice than I mean. I soften my tone a little when I speak next. “I need to study.”

“You need to take a break and spend time with your boyfriend.” He tells me, stepping away from the table.

“Trevor.” I groan, standing up and following him into the living room.

“Listen I am so excited to have a super smart hot sexy lawyer girlfriend, but if you don’t take a break you will combust and never become a super smart hot sexy lawyer.” He says. 

I nearly smile but push that down, giving him a pointed look. “I need to keep studying.” 

“Y/n, you’ve studied enough.” He sighs. “I’ve marked so many of those practice tests for you and you’ve got 90% on all of them.”

“Then that means I have room to improve.” I tell him.

Trevor throws his head back, letting out a loud groan. “Y/n this is exactly what I mean! You’re so fucking smart and you’ll do great on the test. But that’s only going to happen if you let your mind rest as well.” Trevor tells me. I start to understand that he’s right. “You know, like how I nap on game day! My body’s gonna be working a bunch later, so I gotta nap earlier to balance it out.”

I let out a laugh at Trevor’s comparison. I decided that I will take a break, but only after I get this question figured out and answered. I stick out my hand towards Trevor. “Textbook, please.” I say.

Trevor huffs. “I will give you your textbook back…”

“Thank you.” I say.

“...If you come over here and make me.” He smirks.

I stare back at him, giving him an unimpressed look, to which he grins, shaking the textbook in my face. I give in and walk over to Trevor, standing right in front of him. “How do I get that textbook back?” I ask softly, wrapping my arms around his shoulders.

“I can think of something we could go do in the bedroom.” He says, tossing my textbook onto the couch. 

“But that’s not giving my body a rest.” I counter, reminding him of what he said minutes ago.

Trevor smiles at me. “It is if you let me do all the work.”

#trevor zegras #trevor zegras x reader #trevor zegras imagine #nhl #nhl imagine #hockey #anaheim ducks #luvzegras

[chaotic-iguana]

Hushed loving

lawfirm partner! joel x paralegal! reader

request by @suckerforfanfic : the reader and joel having a secret relationship based on i can see you by ts, which could include like little smutty scenes

wordcount: 1.1k

warnings: smut. sexy times, falling in love ish, power play, boss/employee relationship

a/n: thanks for answering my random law related qs @theywhowriteandknowthings vi ur the best 

masterlist

But what would you do if I went to touch you now?

What would you do if they never found us out?

What would you do if we never made a sound?

'Cause I can see you waitin' down the hall from me

And I could see you up against the wall with me

And what would you do, baby, if you only knew?

That I can see you

“Shhh honey, can’t let ‘em hear us,” a rough whisper came from behind you as a large hand clamped over your mouth, his other hand snaking around your waist to snap the band of your underwear against your skin, making you squirm. 

“So fuckin’ needy, aren’t you?” a soft coo into the back of your neck; a frantic swipe of his fist ripping the ruined underwear off of you. It takes all your focus to clear the haze in your mind and just nod desperately.  

“Almost think you like the thrill a’ gettin’ caught. Would you like that, baby? For everyone to know you’re being fucked by the boss?” The mere thought makes you moan and throw your head back into the warmth of his broad shoulder, a garbled yes tumbling from your lips. 

It had taken months for Joel to so much as look at you. The intern, the nobody who was lugged with every menial task no one else bothered to do. You’d been working at his firm for nearly half a year, when an extremely late night at the office had you accidentally falling asleep on your desk instead of finishing up the brief you needed to have at Joel’s desk by the next morning. He was the first one entering in the morning, and when he found you slumped over your desk with files scattered everywhere, he’d started yelling at you until he saw the exhausted tears in your eyes, the slump of your shoulders, and how uncombed your hair was. His piercing gaze had softened, hands smoothing over your shoulders as he tidied your desk up and put your computer in your bag before he turned to you with a familiar scowl and told you to get the hell out before you tank anything else, sweetheart. 

He looked at you more often after that. Thanked you for the coffees his colleagues forced you to get as a cruel joke. Two weeks later, he recruited you in a permanent paralegal position, claiming he was impressed by your work for him so far. It had taken a few drinks and yet another late night for him to pin you with a dark stare, a rosy flush spreading down his cheeks and chest.

And now, months after that, here you were. At his mercy in an empty conference room while literally every single one of your colleagues were in the bullpen right outside. You were so sure everyone knew by now - it was practically obvious. Both of you always left the office within twenty minutes of each other, his so-called lectures to you had way less bite than before - he even called you sweetheart during one and your heart nearly leapt out of your chest until you realised everyone else took it as condescension - and oh, god the looks. Joel was always looking at you now. From across the room, from the other side of the glass pane of his office, in meetings, in hallways. In all honesty, you weren’t much better. A frenzied need for him overtook your mind at all times, rendering you entirely mindless beyond him. 

His rough hands groped the inside of your thighs, nudging you to spread your legs as he leaned back into the table behind him, settling you on his thigh. The palm clamped on your jaw moved down to curl around your neck, cutting off the whimper that escaped you while his thumb grazed your folds, an arm hooking under your thigh to hold you to him as your hips bucked. Two fingers inched into you, making your breath hitch as Joel curled them slightly and began pumping them rapidly. 

“Lookin’ so goddamn pretty in this skirt. Had to show you my appreciation, sweetheart. Fuckin’ love ruining you at work.” Another muted moan, your nails biting into his forearms as you let out a high-pitched whine at his words. You could feel the knot in your stomach tightening, your thighs beginning to shake at the onslaught and Joel picked up on it immediately. 

“Shit-fuck are you about’a come? Already?” At your nod, he huffed and sped up his fingers, angling them so his thumb was circling your clit furiously. “Think you’ve earned it? Botched a fuckin’ meeting with a client thanks to you. Maybe I shouldn’t let you come until we get home. Leave you high and dry, hm?” 

Your eyes went wide and before you knew it, you were pleading him. “N-no, Joel, please. Need to come, need it-“ His scoff cut you off, movements getting more brutal; more honed to the spots Joel knew made you see stars. 

“Need it?” The mocking words made you shut your eyes in embarrassment before Joel continued rasping into your shoulder from behind. Another mumbled please had him flat out laughing at you. 

“Well, I gotta give my girl what she needs, don’t I?” and with that, you were coming, hard. Trembling in his arms, you clenched around his fingers hard enough for him to choke on his breath as he muttered praises into your hair, working you through the high before you went limp in his arms. 

Hands that had groped, spread, and bruised you began gently fixing your skirt while pocketing your ripped panties, smoothing out the wrinkles in your clothes before he looked down at you with a glint in his eye. 

“Prep the paperwork for Johnson’s case. Get it done by tonight, and I’ll make you some chicken alfredo when you get home.” He dipped to peck your lips once, lightly - as if he was choosing this moment to be bashful - before slipping out of the room. 

His footsteps were interrupted by the sharp, irritating voice of his colleague - the one whose client you were supposed to have spoken to twenty minutes ago, which in your defense is what you stepped into the conference to do before Joel found you - a man who found every opportunity to point out flaws in your work. And you were about to give him a smoking gun. 

“Hey Joel, where’s your favorite paralegal? I’ve been looking for her for the past thirty minutes and I can’t seem to find her anywhere. Some kid said he saw her go into that conference room you just came out of. She still in there?”  

There was a pause of silence, and you could hear the sheer panic in Joel’s voice when he finally spoke. 

“Uh, I don’t have a f-favorite paralegal. And if she’s in there I definitely didn’t see her. She must have gone in and come out a long time ago. Because why would we both be in the same room for so long, right?” 

His rushed, shitty explanation made it so fucking obvious what was going on - as if the many, many sounds slipping from the crappily sound-proofed room didn’t. 

So much for keeping it quiet. 

hello loves, as always - thank you for reading. comment your thoughts or find me on ao3. stay hydrated and have a great day! taglist (message me if you want to be taken off): @imherefordeanandbones  @theywhowriteandknowthings , @josephquinnswhore ,@millerscoffee , @nostalxgic , @sscorpiiiio, @pedrosaidsheispunk, @its-nebuleuse , @sofiparallel , @mandoisapunk , @bastardmandennis , @evyiione , @breakfastatjoels dividers by @reveriesources

#the last of us #tlou fanfiction #joel miller x you #the last of us x reader #joel miller x f!reader #tlou hbo #the last of us fanfiction #joel miller x female reader #the last of us fic #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller smut #joel miller fanfic #joel miller #dom joel miller #joel miller fluff #joel miller imagine #joel miller au #joel miller one shot #joel miller self insert #joel miller angst #joel miller x reader #joel miller the last of us #joel the last of us #joel x reader #joel x reader smut #soft dom joel #kali writes

[somanyratsinthewalls]

Burning Hearts Chapter 3

Pairing: Law x Straw Hat Zoan Type (named) FemOC 

Word Count: 3000

Summary: You were teleported across the globe in an instant, away from your crew. Your body was badly broken and beaten, thrust into the harsh landscape of a Northern island. You are discovered by the Heart Pirates and brought back to health. Startled upon waking up in a foreign place with an unfamiliar crew, you are shocked with the news that you’ll be spending two years there. Trafalgar Law, the captain of the Heart Pirates has made a promise to train you, but will it become something more than a mentor relationship?

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 - Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6

TW: Trauma, alcohol use, smokable plant usage. ;)

Hours went by. Or was it 5 minutes? 

Time didn’t feel real. 

The pillow under your face was soaked through. You had been crying for so long that your eyes had nearly swollen shut. Every time the tears slowed, the deep ache of your damaged bones and muscles throbbed and reminded you of your harrowing ordeal, causing the sobs to begin again. 

*knock knock knock knock*

You sit up in bed. Do you answer? Should you bar the door? You realized you were still covered in flimsy hospital clothes so you throw on the sweatshirt from your bag and sit back down on your bed. 

“Um… Yeah?” You hesitantly call out. The door handle turns and the door cracks open. A woman’s voice responds from the crack in the door. 

“Hey… uh… you missed dinner… I brought you some food anyway… Can I come in?”

“Ok…” You wipe your nose and eyes on your hand, sitting up straighter. 

Carefully, a woman with long, curly brown hair entered your room with a tray of food and some folded clothing. She was clad in the same off-white coveralls that all of the Heart pirates wore. She had a pointy nose and high cheekbones, long dark curls framing her face and shoulders. A yellow headband pushed her hair back into a curly crown around her head. 

“Hi.. I’m Ikkaku…” She smiles slightly and takes a tentative step towards you seated on the bed. 

“I’m Daisy.” You respond.

“It’s just some stew and rice, nothing fancy. We don’t really have a cook so we alternate kitchen duty. You’re lucky it wasn’t Shachi this week… he can barely boil water.” The woman chuckles. 

“Shachi…?” You say mostly to yourself. 

“Yeah. Pointy teeth, orca whale hat, stupid long greasy hair?”

“He was one of the ones who kept watch over me…” 

“That was him and Penguin. They’re complete morons, but they’re loyal guys. In fact, most of the people here are idiots. The captain is often not excluded from that. You’ll get used to it. I’m the only girl around here. Until now, I guess.” 

She sets the tray down in front of you on the bed. You also notice that the tray contains several off-white jumpsuits stacked together. Ikkaku sees you eyeing them. 

“The captain asked me to bring them…”

“I’m not wearing the fucking uniform.” You turn your head and shoot a vicious glare at the woman.

She puts her arms up in defeat. 

“I don’t blame you.” Ikkaku swallowed nervously.  “You don’t even know us and you’ve just experienced the most insane thing that’s ever happened to you. I’m not going to force you into a boiler suit.” 

Your glare softens. You drop your head and sigh. You realize your sweatshirt had ridden up and exposed the large brand on your lower stomach. Quickly, you pull your sweatshirt back down.

“Listen. I have some old clothes I wear on laundry days, I’ll drop them by later. They might be tight in the chest…” Ikkaku gestures at your ample chest and then back at her much smaller one and chuckles. “But it’s something clean.” 

“That… that would actually be great…” You sigh again and look back at Ikkaku. 

Ikkaku softly smiled. 

“Of course… I met your captain, you know.” 

You rubbed your eyes. 

“And? How was he?” 

Ikkaku laughed. 

“He’s a weird little dude. Pretty ripped up about losing his brother, though. One thing I do know, Daisy, is that he loves you and his crew a whole lot. I heard him tell our cap, he wants to make sure he never loses anyone he cares about ever again. That’s why he wants you to stay here and train with Law. It’s because he cares about you.” 

You feel the tears bubbling up again. Ikkaku’s woman’s intuition makes sure this doesn’t go unnoticed. She crouches next to where you were seated on the bed. 

“Hey… I know this sucks. You have to do what your captain asks. Just like I do… even though more than half of me was convinced you were going to rip my arms off when I knocked on your door. My captain was right. We have to trust them.”

You bring your hand up to your nose and mouth to try and cover your crying face. 

“If it makes you feel better… I got your weed back.” Ikkaku pulls out a red satchel and dangles it in front of your face. You sniff up your tears and lift your head. 

“No way… how?!” You grab it greedily out of Ikkaku’s hand. 

“I was cleaning the halls and found it in a wastebasket. I thought it had Berries in it so I grabbed it. Imagine my shock when I find this instead.” Ikkaku giggles. 

“Oh my gods, I seriously can’t thank you enough.” You genuinely smile for the first time since your incident. “I’m going to roll something right now. Care to stay? I owe you one. For the food, too.” You nod towards the tray of stew. 

Ikkaku looks at your bag, then turns her neck to make sure she had closed your door.

“As long as you don’t rat me out to my captain, I’d love to indulge.” Ikkaku smirks. 

You smile back and begin rolling a joint. After masterfully creating your signature spiked cigarette, you light the end carefully with your beautiful, gold engraved lighter that Sanji had given you for your birthday. You take a deep inhale of the sweet smelling herb and your eyes nearly roll back in your head in relief. 

You feel a twinge of pain in your back. 

“Hey, can you crack the window? I don’t need your weird captain barging in and apparently I can’t lift my arms anymore.” 

“Yeah, I’ll get it.” Ikkaku rises from the bed and opens your small window. You feel a rush of polar air from the crack in the window. Tiny snowflakes tickle your nose. She returns to her spot at the foot of the bed. You take a few more hits off the joint and pass it to your newfound acquaintance. 

Ikkaku wordlessly takes the smoldering cigarette in her fingers and takes a drag. She coughs violently. You offer her the glass of water on your tray that she accepts. After her coughing fit subsides, she laughs. 

“Man it’s been while. You must have a serious supplier, this is strong. Law is a real square when it comes to this shit.”

“Trust me, I noticed that. And I grew it myself, she’s my pride and joy.” You rolled your eyes. “What’s his deal, your captain? He isn’t exactly warm and fuzzy.” You take another long pull of the joint. 

“He’s seen a lot of shit. He seems hard and scary, but he’s really just a nerd. He collects ancient coins, for fucks sake. He’s got a strong sense of justice, he’s crazy powerful, that’s why we stay with him. He’s a gifted surgeon, saved countless lives. He may be a weirdo, but he’s our captain. I’m sure you can relate.” Ikkaku takes the joint from your fingers again. 

“Yeah… I get that…” You lean back against your stacked pillows. 

“What’s with the ‘Room’ thing? How does that work?” You asked, feeling that the altered state of consciousness would allow Ikkaku to open up to you more. 

“The Op Op Fruit, yeah, he ate it when he was a kid. He doesn’t like to talk about it. Shit, he’d kill me if he knew I was talking about it now, haha!” Ikkaku laughs, clearly less acquainted with medicinal herbs than you were. “He can make an operating room and control the laws of physics within it. He can swap people into each other’s bodies, he can do all kinds of weird shit. It’s the only reason you’re still alive. That, and his gifted skill as a doctor.” 

You finish the joint and snuff it out on the windowsill. 

“And your power?” Ikkaku asks. 

Your breath hitches in your chest. 

“My power?” You ask. 

“We… we saw your wings… I just assumed it was a-“ Ikkaku shakily inquires.

“I… I don’t know… I was forced to eat the devil fruit when I was a teenager. I’ve only used the wings. I guess a bat, there’s claws, though, maybe a lizard, or something, I guess… I don’t know nor do I want to. I can prove myself without devil fruit powers. I much prefer to use my blades in a battle.” 

“I see…” Ikkaku responds. 

“But your captain, he’s a swordsman… that’s why Luffy wants me to learn from him, right? He wants me to hone my skills with my blades?” You ask. 

“I don’t know what he meant. All I know is you’re here to train for awhile.” Ikkaku sits up. “After you’ve healed, of course. Eat up, gods know how long it’s been since you’ve had solid food. Thanks for the flower, I’m about to get the best sleep of my life.” 

Ikkaku rises and heads to the door. 

“Thanks for the food. I’ll see you around.” You nod. 

“Yeah, you will.” Ikkaku shoots you a warm smile before leaving. 

— — — 

You spent the next 3 days brooding in your room, accepting food trays from Ikkaku and sneaking to the bathroom when you were sure the rest of the crew had gone to bed. Time had still felt immeasurable, never able to sleep more than a few hours without waking from violent nightmares. 

“You can’t stay in here forever, you know.” Ikkaku had told you the night before. The sentence bounced around in your skull all night. She was right. You were feeling better physically and knew you couldn’t complete your captain’s assignment simply by wallowing in your bed for two years. 

This morning was the morning you were going to get up and start your new life. 

You haul yourself to the showers and spend an hour cleaning your hair, body, and face. Once finished, you dried off and pulled on an old set of Ikkaku’s clothes. 

Instead of trekking back to your room, you proceeded to find your way to the galley. 

“Haha! There’s no way you ever got that girl to come home with you, I call bullshit!”

“No no I swear! Remember that time-“ 

The chatter in the galley ceased. Each crew member dropped their conversation to stare at you as you gingerly stepped into the kitchen. There were almost a dozen sets of eyes on you, all silent as you moved through the door frame. 

“Don’t mind me…” You awkwardly slid towards the fridge, trying to be as small as possibly. 

“Hey, Straw Hat Girl! Heard you’re stuck here for awhile!” A large, brutish man shouts in your direction. 

“My name is Daisy.” You scowl. You grab a bowl of white rice that was on the kitchen island. 

“There’s fruit and eggs in the fridge, Miss Daisy. I can grab something for you, if you’d like-“ The large polar bear you recognized from the first time you regained consciousness rose from his stool and moved towards you. 

You frantically moved back, still apprehensive of the creature. 

“I’m fine!” You huffed out. “The rice is fine, thanks.” 

You scurried back to your room with rice and chopsticks in hand, sweating from the awkward interaction. Breathing heavily you slam the door of your room shut and sit down at your desk to inhale your breakfast. 

— —

“Well that was fucking weird.” Penguin finally blurts out after the girl’s sudden exit from the galley. 

“Leave her alone, she’s just lost her crew. Give her some grace.” Ikkaku states. 

“Yeah I’m still mad she tried to slaughter Penguin and I multiple times, though” Shachi remarks from across the dining table. The men around the table laugh. 

“You guys don’t get it. A woman being thrown into a situation with strange men she doesn’t know? You’ll never understand that fear. She’s handled it better than any of you could ever.” Ikkaku rises and leaves the table. 

A heavy silence fills the air of the galley. 

— — 

The day turns into evening and you roll over in bed to change the pressure on your damaged hips. You could barely walk still so you were mostly bound to your room, against your will. 

*bdpp bdpp bdpp* *bdpp bdpp bdpp*

You hear the hum of a mini transponder snail somewhere in your room. You rise from your pillowed nest to try and find the source of the call. You rip the closet door open and see a ringing snail on top of the clothing rack. 

You cock your head in interest. Who put that there?

You grab the ringing snail.

“H-hello…?”

“Daisy? It’s Ikkaku. The boys are finally in bed. I found the whiskey stores unlocked. Come down to the galley.” *click* The snail call ends. 

Whiskey? Your mouth waters at the mention of it. Normally you preferred to smoke your mind altering substances instead of drinking them, but a cold shot of whiskey sounded like heaven on earth. You pull on a pair of spandex shorts but don’t bother throwing anything on over your sports bra. You quietly creep towards the kitchen. You push the double doors open and find Ikkaku pouring two drinks into rocks glasses. 

“Hey girl. Glad you made it. I’m on watch and it’s been painfully boring.” Ikkaku pushes a very full glass of whisky in your direction. 

“I’m not one to turn down a drink.” You tiredly smile at your newfound friend. 

Silently, you and Ikkaku “cheers”ed your cups before each taking a large sip. 

*bddpp bddpp… motion detected. South Gate. Bddpp bddpp…” 

“Oh my god, these stupid monitors. Law makes us check them constantly. He’s so paranoid. I’ll be back in a bit.” You nod and Ikkaku excuses herself. 

Now that you were alone, seated at the kitchen island with a drink in your hand, you decided this was a perfect time to forget your present struggles. 

You slam your glass in one gulp. The alcohol was beginning to warm your veins. It felt good. Comfortable. You grab the bottle and pour another glass. You try your best to sip it slowly but find yourself chugging the whole cup.

More. 

More. 

The heartbreak and pain of losing your crew drifted further and further from your mind as you ingested more alcohol. On your 5th glass you stumbled and ended up catching yourself against the cool metal wall of the galley. 

“I’m so fucked…” 

— — — 

*CRASH*

The clatter of dishes and cups brought Law out of his office. He trudged down the hallway from his office to the kitchen to investigate the commotion. He swings open the double doors to the galley and looks around. 

Nothing. 

“Hnnnn… fuck…” 

Where was that voice coming from?

Law storms into the galley and investigates the noise. He finds the source quickly. He sees a tangled lump of brown hair with a grey streak laying on his kitchen floor. The body held an empty whiskey bottle in their hand. 

“Gods, Daisy.” Law sighs and rubs his forehead. 

“Luffy I think it’s fuckin great nnnhnn we can have more chips it’s a great idea. More chips, more dip. You an I… we fuckin get it…" 

“You’re wasted. I’m going to take you to your room.” Law states casually. 

“Who the FUCK are you… can’t take my dip..” Daisy lazily rolls over to try and resist, but falls again, pinning her own elbow onto the floor. 

Law takes a deep breath to calm himself and picks Daisy up off the floor, bridal style. Immediately, arms wrap around Law’s shoulders and neck. 

“I wanna go home…” Daisy whispers drunkenly into the crook of Law’s neck.

Law hears a weepy sniffle.

“I just wanna go home…” A wet sob is croaked into his neck.

He knows what she means.

"Please, I want to go home..." Daisy chokes out through sobs and drunk syllables.

“You’re going to go to bed now. We can train tomorrow.” Law trudges towards Daisy’s stateroom. Pushing the door open with his shoulder, Law enters the room. 

He walks carefully towards the bed and tries to gently drop her down, awkwardly letting her fall onto the sheets with an “oof!”

“You need to sleep, I must-“ Law starts. 

Suddenly a hand grips the back of his neck. 

“Can you stay?” A trembling voice calls out. 

The air is thick again. Law feels shaking fingers against his neck.

“What?” Law asks. 

“Every time I sleep…  it happens again. I see it again. It all happens over again. I can’t stop having these nightmares…” Daisy’s drunken grip on the back of Law’s skull tightens. “Can’t you stay here… with me?” 

Law was shell shocked. Not in his life had anyone ever asked for his touch or his presence. He knew anything he could ever contribute would make it worse. Daisy needed to grow… and his veiled comfort would only impede that. 

“I-I can’t…” Law pulled the blanket over her exhausted body. 

He stood up from the bed and peeled Daisy’s hands from his neck. Law shut off the overhead light and exited the stateroom with haste. He pretended he didn’t hear your wracked sobs and cries as he shut the door behind him. 

Law returned to his office and poured himself into textbooks, trying to forget the pain you were going through. His vision was blurred with thoughts of your desperate, curled up form as he tried to further his studies… 

Law knew you were going to be a bigger problem than anticipated. 

xx

Author’s Note: Something fun might happen in the next chapter hehe! Law is feeling conflicted. Should he leave Daisy to deal with her emotions on her own, or should he give in and comfort her? Who even knows what she wants right now. Also sorry OC is a stoner, it's suuuuch a devious self inset, LOL. Suggestions are open :)

#one piece #one piece anime #one piece fanfiction #one piece fanart #one piece live action #one piece netflix #one piece fandom #law x reader #trafalgar d water law #trafalgar op #one piece smut #trafalgar law #trafalgar one piece #trafalgar d law #law one piece #doflamingo #law x y/n

[rymndsmth]

come to me (namor)

warnings: uhh su*c*dal undertones, bpwf spoilers, probably plot holes but let’s ignore, it gets..nasty in a good way, google translate, I think that’s it but if not lmk and have fun I guess??

Streams of salt had caressed your face long before the rain came down. Too many times you’d been here before, mentally and physically. Why did everything end? And why did it always leave you feeling like you were being ripped apart like the storm bearing palms above your head? 

It was dark, nearly too dark. The moon’s light had been all but obscured by the thick clouds. Yet, there was just enough illumination for you to make out the small cay in the distance. It had been abandoned long ago by some tycoon that once resided in the now crumbling ruins of an estate tucked deep between wild foliage. 

Your friend, former friend, would sit on this very shoreline with you and whisper lofty aspirations into the air. I want to have enough money to own my own island, and we can drink and dance and bathe in the sun until we turn into raisins. Then, she would turn to you and always ask the same question, knowing about your strange ability. Have you ever swam to it?

The first time you’d discovered this inexplicable thing was at the age of five. An unspoken rite of passage by all natives, children being taught to swim by elders tossing them just deep enough into the sea. You were, of course, petrified as the water seemed to swallow you whole. 

Then there was nothing. No flailing, no panic, no screams. You opened your eyes that didn’t even dare to burn as a small school of fish rushed by. And then you realized your lungs weren’t protesting. 

In fact, they were expanding and contracting, but you weren’t inhaling. You were somehow breathing. Somehow submerged under crests of cerulean, you were breathing as if your toes were still tucked into warm sand. 

When you floated back up, no one said a word to you. The elders simply clapped as they watched you paddle back to shore, offering you an ice pop as a treat. Their lack of reaction, in your juvenile mind, made you believe that what you’d experienced was normal. 

So you thought nothing of it when you transferred to a school with a swimming pool, and dove to the bottom to sit for minutes. Bodies of your classmates rushed in, yanking you out of the water. They gasped and heaved and shook you. Maybe it was animal instinct that propelled you to do the same, eyes darting to take cues to see how you should be reacting as you mimicked their fear. 

The only person who noticed was your then friend. She kept it to herself, not even daring to bring it up to you until a few weeks later during summer break. Her usually boisterous voice was timid as she asked you to show her. And you did. Since then, she’d ask you that same question and your answer was the same every time. No. 

As curiosity instinctually dictated, she would further probe. Why not? You know you can easily make it. To that, you were never brave enough to conjure an honest response even though you thought it. What if someone saw you? There was already the risk of her knowing, but you trusted her. Not everyone would share the innocent fascination. 

Even truer than those fears was the fact that you were too afraid. You’d never tested yourself beyond a few minutes below the surface, scared that you would lose a grip on whatever made you have the ability to breathe. Scared that you would wash up lifeless. 

You peeled your rain drenched shirt from your body, and slipped out of your leggings to tie them around your waist. What was the point of letting the possibility of drowning scare you now? There was nothing left here for you anyway.

Though you truly believed that all the way down to your bones, you were still crying as you stepped into the raging ocean. They were only wiped away as you submerged, your legs sweeping behind you, arms slicing a path before you as you swam. 

Minutes to an hour could’ve passed by the time you were crawling onto the distant cay’s sand. You were exhausted, winded from the strain on your muscles as you rolled onto your back to glance at the sky. The rain had stopped and the moon had been uncovered. 

You smiled, and then laughed. 

It hadn’t even occurred to you that you’d make it this far, so you had no clue of what to do now. You began to think that you should rest up and swim back, that would be the smart thing to do. What wasn’t was what you actually did.

You fought your way back into your pants and delved into the bushes in search of this hidden estate. Using your toes to sweep before you stepped, you snaked through trees until you laid your eyes upon something you thought only existed in movies. 

The structure was worse for wear yet still beautiful. Remnants of a gate welcomed you and you strangely weren’t afraid to accept. Once you’d crossed the threshold, it was as if the air stilled. 

The once singing bugs had ceased along with the rustling of leaves. You turned your head back to look behind you only for it to snap back forward at the unmistakable sound calling from within the ruins.  

Come to me. 

There was no plea in its inflection. It was a command. In the same way your late mother would summon you when you’d done something to displease her, the voice spoke. In the same way your feet would carry you to her though you knew a scolding awaited, you walked towards it. 

There was no longer a door at the home once you padded up the driveway. The fine hairs on your arm stood to attention despite the humid air as you pivoted left, footsteps leading you down a passage that took you to descending stairs. 

You blinked, confused at what you saw peeking from below. A soft glow, a source of light emanating from whatever laid at the bottom. You were overcome with the feeling that you were trespassing, unwelcome, and whatever was down there was going to punish you for it. Yet still, you took the steps one by one until your feet hit even ground. 

At the sight of what laid before your eyes, you could’ve fallen to your knees. The ground in the middle of the room had completely caved in, leaving a large pool of water. All the way above it, the roof too had been lost, letting the moonlight cascade in. And between it, suspended in the air, was what looked like a man. 

He looked like a man, but being was a more appropriate term. No man you knew had winged feet, pointed ears and were covered in ancient yet polished adornments. No man you knew could float over to your frozen figure with eyes that burned. Eyes that softened when he landed to tower over you, head tilting as he walked an excruciatingly slow circle around your body until he returned face to face. 

His tongue floated a foreign language into the air. He tilted his head again, and you realized he must’ve asked you a question. The being practiced surprising patience as he waited for your reply. 

“I-I don’t understand you.“ Your voice was rough. “I don’t speak…what you speak.”

“Do you not know what you are?” He asked in your language with a melodic accent. 

Despite the furrow of your brow and the part of your lips at his inquiry, you knew your confusion masked what you truly felt. It was as if your soul had sighed finally. Though the answer to his question was no, you didn’t know. 

You know what you were told by the world you’d been born into, by the learned behaviors, and socialization. But no, you didn’t know. All that you had been certain of since that very first time was that you weren’t the same as those who you lived among. 

It made you feel isolated. You suffocated under this unknown truth, the truth that he seemed to be the only one to have knowledge of. The truth that he appeared to ache to give to you as he extended one large hand, and said: 

“Come, let me show you.” 

Any hesitation was brief if at all. His palm was much warmer than expected when you accepted his invitation, walking forwards as he treaded back until you were both neck deep in the water. The being gave you a reassuring nod, both hands falling to your waist. 

And then you were sinking. 

Falling deeper than you ever have before. It terrified you to watch the light above diminish to nothing, darkness embracing you both. How was he able to see, you wondered. 

A question that would quickly be answered by your own senses that shuddered awake like a vehicle that had once been forgotten. You think you saw him smile then, but your eyes still adjusting to your surroundings left you unsure. 

The descent felt endless. Your feet pointed, searching for the seemingly never coming end. What had to be hundreds if not thousands of meters below, the impossible occurred. There was light coming from beneath you. 

He dropped his hold on you to take your hand again, rolling his body in practiced grace to swim head first towards the source. You did so not nearly as beautifully, eyes growing wider as the distant blur morphed into a landscape. A city not placed randomly, but carefully planned and constructed. And so, so many people. From infants to elders and everything in between, they swam and laughed and played. 

If it weren’t obvious by the regalia adorning with his tanned skin, it was cemented by the way everyone you passed cleared a path. He was their leader, their king. They all offered a greeting, a bow of the head and palms appearing to hold an invisible orb. It was one he returned kindly as you followed closely to a large temple looming in the heart of the underwater city. 

You were already speechless and amazed, but that paled in comparison to what you felt when you emerged from a small pool to find that you were inside stoned walls. Even further, it was completely dry leaving you with the ability to breathe through your nose. 

“Where are we…who are you?” Your eyes swept around the room. Beautiful murals covered nearly every inch, bursting in color, sharing a narrative never seen in any book you’d read. 

“My people call me K’uk’ulkan.” He spoke, combing his hair back with one hand before helping you from the water. “And this is Talokan. A place created for my people to protect them from outsiders.”

That last word made your blood run cold, something he seemed to sense. His dark gaze landed on yours and your breath hitched. It relayed a multitude of things that you couldn’t put your finger on. 

“I’m not from here.” The statement felt silly falling past your lips. That much was obvious, though if examined your true implication would be caught. Why did you bring me to this place? Me, an outsider, the clear threat you’re protecting your people against?

“But here is where you belong.” His reply came to the unspoken question.

The being picked up a robe that had been folded on a stool and handed it to you. It was more than appreciated, a small thanks relayed to him as you covered your wet skin. He continued onto the mural covered walls with you on his heels. 

“This tells the story of how we came to be.” He began.

It was a tale that started with something you actually knew. The brutality of invasion, it’s cruel and methodological execution. Desperation of the oppressed, the willingness to do anything to survive. A gift from the gods found by a shaman to offer the solution. 

An iridescent plant lead to the creation of his people, but left them with no choice to dwell among creatures of the sea. His mother was pregnant while consuming this strange herb. She gave birth to him underwater, a child strikingly different from other Talokanil. A miracle who would be king. 

Decades passed before he returned to land to lay his mother to rest, only to be met with horrors beyond comprehension. The result of a tamed reaction to highly monstrous behavior was a child being unfairly branded as sin amor for eternity. After such a devastating encounter, he decided to keep his people in isolation for safety.

“Your mother,” He turned to you. “Is she human?”

You blinked, eyes dropping to the ground. “She was.”

That you were sure of. She didn’t hold the same capacity to breath underwater like you did. Warm fingers jolted you, curling around your jaw to lift your head once again. The look he gave you mirrored on you’d seen in your own reflection. Of course, after centuries of living he knew loss better than anyone. 

“And your father?” His voice was softer. 

“I know nothing about him.” You shrugged. 

He made a sound and nodded. 

Two Talokanil entered the room. They appeared to be high ranking based on their clothing and weapons. An exchanged was made in the strange language he’d spoken to you initially before the male warrior departed. 

“Namora will take you somewhere to eat and rest.” He peered at the woman that lingered near the door. 

There was something about the way he spoke. Every word he said carried conviction, leaving no room for rebuttal. He talked, and everybody else listened. You awkwardly shuffled away in compliance with his command. 

Namora didn’t utter a single word to you as you followed her along the stone corridor. You tried not to stare at the passing faces, though they surveyed you until you were out of eyeshot. The quarters you were taken to was anything but quaint. 

Though minimal, it was what you imagined esteemed guests of royal families occupied on visits. There was a large bed sunken in the middle of the floor, a pedestal tub seemingly cut from a precious gem to the corner in the right, a dressing area to the left, and a small table with two chairs beside the entry. 

“Food’s on the table, and clothing’s on the bed.” The silent soldier spoke before leaving. 

You hadn’t even noticed the much needed garment at the foot of the bed, or the fact that you were starving until your stomach caved at a familiar scent. A plate of steamed fish and fresh vegetables were uncovered, and you wasted no time consuming it all. 

The lack of privacy with the exposed bath gave you pause. After short deliberation, you decided the quicker you got it over with, the less of a chance you’d be disturbed. Once that assumption was confirmed, you slipped on the soft cream dress left folded for you. 

For the first time since…everything you thought you knew was obliterated, you had a moment to think. Sleep came eventually, but not before your mind ran a marathon. 

A whole new species, and entire settlement lived right beneath you this entire time. History knew nothing of it or its inhabitants. Talokanil that you somehow descended from. 

With never knowing your father, you would most likely never get the answers to who or what he truly was. That didn’t seem to matter much to you anymore because for once, you didn’t feel out of place. You might not have been born here, and might be looked at as an outsider to those who were, but K’uk’ulkan’s words resonated deeper than any of that. Here is where you belong. 

Which begged the biggest question: would you stay? There were countless times in your life you’d asked yourself that. The only difference between then and now was the fact that you’d found somewhere that you didn’t have to hide. A place to live, to be yourself unashamed and unafraid. 

When you rose from you slumber and met with K’uk’ulkan per his request, he posed to same inquiry. Your answer was swift and sure, matching the conviction with which he’d spoken to you with before. Yes. 

From that moment forward, you got to know your new home. 

The Talokanil were the epitome of a community. They worked together to create a well oiled machine of a society. Everyone completed their role not for some bottom line or individualistic aspiration, but because it was what was needed. What they took joy in. 

You found your place in the garden. Helping the others grow and tend to fruits and vegetables that you all harvested to eat in a vast dining hall. You’d began to pick up bits and pieces of their language, naturally the words that made children giggle were the first of them. 

From time to time, but admittedly not nearly as often as you’d liked, you saw K’uk’ulkan. He would sometimes accompany you as you swam to the garden, or walk with you along the temple corridors. Your seamless adjustment pleased him. When he smiled at hearing you describe your time so far to him, you found yourself wishing he’d do it more often. 

It was difficult not to think about him. His towering height, perpetually bare abdomen, thighs chorded with strong muscle and shorts that left very little to the imagination above them. It was difficult to quell your natural urges as well. A shameless amount of nights found you relieving yourself of mounted pressure to his image. 

Weeks had passed by like that. 

You floated amongst the people, occasionally tangling in spins and twirls as you danced in celebration of a highly fruitful harvest. Some kids managed to rope you into a ball game, which went better than expected given that you’d had some sweet wine. 

Festivities continued, and showed no signs of slowing even as you bowed out. Making your way back to your chambers, you spotted K’uk’ulkan. You greeted him formally, not expecting much of an exchange until his hand closed around your wrist. 

“Did you enjoy it?” He asked, stepping behind you. 

Your breathing shallowed, head tilting to follow his movement. His body was so close that you felt his warmth. Every ounce of strength you contained had to be called upon for you not to push yourself back. Just the slightest arch would brush you against him. 

“Yes, it was the best night of my life.” You managed to get out. 

“So far.” There was a hint of a smile in his voice. 

You repeated his words with inflection covered in confusion, posed back to him as a question. So far? Normally you wouldn’t dare to speak as you did in that moment. Perhaps it was the wine going to your head, or the warmth pooling between your thighs that made you feel bold enough to do so. 

“I see a better one in the future,” His voice travelled until his lips hovered by your ear. “But I need to be sure before that happens.”

Your eyes darted to the side and you wished you hadn’t dared to look. He anticipated your move, immediately locking in your gaze. Your lips parted, waiting for your tongue to regain control of itself to speak again. 

“Sure of what?” You whispered. 

K’uk’ulkan looked down at your exposed shoulder and then back to you. “That you won’t break when I take you.”

By the time what he’d said had hit you, he was long gone. 

It left you in agony. Tormenting your mind that entire night and the days that followed. Wreaking havoc on your nerves each time you ran into him afterwards, his actions and words never once hinting towards those corridor murmurs. 

Why, you wanted to shout at him. Why would you say that to me with no further explanation? But mostly importantly, the thing you wanted to plead to him was, when? When would he deem you ready? 

It was a call that would be answered after you’d earned the respect of even Namora. The gardens were positioned on the furthest borders of Talokan, leaving it open to the odd stray that also inhabited the ocean. 

You’d noticed that the little boy who usually helped you trim plants had been gone for too long. It wasn’t unusual for kids to end up dragged away by friends, but your instincts told you otherwise. They were confirmed to be right when you swam outside to see him tangled in a struggle with a large octopus. 

Without second thought, you launched forward. Equipped with the overwhelming need to protect him and your small shears, you hacked at the limbed creature until it succumbed under your relentless jabs. 

The commotion drew the attention of others, all of who bore witness to your killing blow. A few warriors collected the octopus, pulling it to be prepared for a dinner in your honor that night. 

You grew bashful under all the fuss, especially knowing that anyone here would’ve done the same. But that was how the Talokanil were. Nothing was taken for granted, every reason to celebrate was done with the utmost reverence. 

A beautiful dress awaited you when you were sent to change in your quarters. The light blue gown with a dangerously low plunging neckline and two high slits billowed as you swam along a guard of honor. It held one road only, cutting through the city center to K’uk’ulkan who sat upon his throne in full ceremonial attire. 

You bowed before him and he greeted you accordingly. He floated down, extending a beautiful jade hilted dagger with an intricate design etched into its blade. Your fingers brushed his as you accepted, testing your grip under its weight. 

“Talokan owes you a life.” He said loud enough only for your ears. “How fitting would it be if it were my heir?”

The thousands of eyes all zeroed in on you had virtually been forgotten. You fell deeper into his brown eyes, sinking and sinking until you were snapped out of your reverie by a loud cry from towards the city. Na’akal, Talokan! 

They cried back the same, floating up in unison and surrounding you both. Cheers and praises rang out, hand brushing you adoringly as you were pulled along by their king through the mass of bodies.

K’uk’ulkan took you to his chambers that was vastly different from yours. His walls were covered in breathtaking patterns etched in every color imaginable. There was a large pool in the middle, a sprawling bed, and an impressive skylight that spanned the entire roof.  

“Before I start,” His fingers slipped beneath the straps of your dress. “I want you to touch yourself until you tremble. Do it to the thought of me, just as you have countless times before. Make yourself cum for me until I’m satisfied.”

You were shuddering long before you felt his lips against the back of your neck. This time, you didn’t hold yourself back from leaning into him. A gasped fell from your mouth at the feeling of his bulge against your lower back. He dropped your wet dress to the floor with one swift movement, pushing you with his hips in the direction of the bed. 

Your face was already hot, flushed with the blood that flowed to your cheeks. You slid back onto the mattress and spread your legs for him. K’uk’ulkan slipped into the pool not far from the foot of the bed, wading through the water so gracefully that ripples feared to form. 

He watched you intently as you swiped two fingers between your folds, shaking and shocked at the amount of wetness you already felt. You circled your clit, hips following the movement. Small pants melted into whimpers when you plunged them into your core. 

Your chest heaved, head lulling to the side as you fucked yourself for his pleasure. He took in your pussy that swallowed your fingers greedily, using them to chase release that thrashed in your stomach like a caged animal. 

When it broke free, you were crying out. With your velvety walls squeezing your digits with each wave, you shook and whined. After floating down from your high, your eyes found his. They blinked at you slowly. 

“Tu ka’atéen.” K’uk’ulkan commanded. 

Your bottom lip protested between your teeth as you complied. You pulled and pushed your hips back and forth, sliding from tips to knuckles. The noise of your juices spilling out of you echoed from the walls along with your soft moans. 

With your free hand, you balled the duvet in your fist. The second of the beasts escaped and all the air was knocked from your lungs. Your back arched, legs clamping shut on themselves as it wreaked havoc on its way out. 

“Tu ka’atéen.” He repeated. 

You wanted to curse at him. There was nothing more you wanted than for him to stretch you out, to make it known to all the ears still celebrating that you were his from your praising screams. You’d do anything for that. 

So with all you had, you propped onto your elbow and began to rub your clit. The tenderness of the nerve left you a writhing mess in milliseconds. Your hips jolted and spasmed, every instinct begging you to stop. Still, you continued until you were no longer able to hold yourself up. 

You collapsed flat onto the bed, breasts heaving as you brought yourself to another high. Tu ka’atéen. And another. Your vision had black spots by the time he rose from the water to join you in the bed. 

His cool hands cupped your face and finally, he kissed you. It was controlled chaos, navigated by the hot tongue and salty lips of its creator. Your hands threaded into his dark wet hair, tugging on the strands hard enough for him to nip your bottom lip in warning. 

“Will you bear my heir?” K’uk’ulkan rasped. “Will you be my queen?”

You nodded so frantically, so desperately that it nearly made your head spin. You’d do anything for him. Kill for him, die for him. He was beyond worthy of such sacrifices. 

For him to utter such words to you was perplexing, but you didn’t care enough to delve into semantics. There was never a time where he didn’t mean what he said. This occasion marked you as no different. 

“Je’el.” You breathed.

That was all he needed to hear before he was making true on his promise. 

The harvest celebration felt like child’s play in comparison to what he did to your body. K’uk’ulkan dove between your legs, lapping up all the ruin you’d created at his relentless requests. 

His name fell like a chant, a praise, a prayer from your parched lips. Your legs dared to struggle against his iron clad grip that forced them to remain on either side of his head. Tears flowed to the pillow below as you slurred incoherent sentences. 

A string of pleas. Simultaneously begging for him to stop making you feel so damned good, but to fuck you so deep that you didn’t know where your body ended and the mattress began. 

With a cruelly slow push of his hips, his cock entered you until his body was flush to yours. Your legs wrapped around his waist, keeping him locked there as he began to thrust in and out at a steady pace.

K’uk’ulkan’s large hands pressed your hips down, steadying their foolish attempt to speed things up. He wanted to feel every ripple of your pussy, to feel every micro-reaction his girthy cock drew out of you. Your nails raked at his back, teeth sinking into his shoulder with his tip just reaching but deliberately not touching the spot that craved him the most. 

“Please…” You pulled back to press your forehead to his, eyes shining. “Please, I…”

“Shh,” He hushed you. “You’re doing so well, in reina.” 

His words made you whine, your head collapsing back onto the pillow. He dipped his head to lap up the sweat stuck to your skin. From your collarbones to your breast, his tongue licked and his lips sucked as he continued the tortuously slow strokes that evaded your g-spot. 

It was both a moment of relief and a shock that left you screaming oh fuck when he placed your legs over his shoulders, giving you what you’d begged for. K’uk’ulkan drove his cock powerfully, mercilessly into your pussy. Right beneath your navel you felt him hit and bottom out, over and over and over. 

A high pitched cry ripped its way out of you, toes curling as you bucked so wildly that even he struggled to tame you. Your hands grasped wildly all around, moving up his back to his shoulders and to his neck. 

K’uk’ulkan made the most glorious sound when they brushed the pointed tips of his ears. It lit something ablaze in him, compelling him to sit back on his heels and taking you with him. His hands grabbed your ass, using you to work his cock. 

Another string of unintelligible words were drawn from you. He grew more vocal, groaning and grunting against your mouth. And with the single most beautiful noise you’d ever heard, he shot his warm seed deep into you. 

Connected with him in every was more than enough, yet you hungered. You wanted him again and again until his gaze alone made you recoil from overstimulation. You craved to taste him, for him to use your mouth until your throat was raw. 

All fantasies he made come to life, and then some. K’uk’ulkan never tired of you nor did you of him. The solstice gave way for the equinox and there you both remained, panting and shaking in tandem. 

You managed to stay apart long enough to at last complete a formal union ritual. Your body was cleansed in a sweet milky bath before it was adorned in a striking gold gown made of vibranium. A matching headpiece was bestowed to you for the final touch. 

The entire city watched as you appeared, your king waiting for you at his throne. K’uk’ulkan beckoned to you with an outstretched hand: 

“Ko'oten tin wiknal.” 

Come to me. 

You ascended. 

#namor #namor x reader #namor mcu #namor imagine #fics.n

[eoieopda]

the one with seokjin, soju, and all the stars in the sky

Requested by Anon: Kim Seokjin got really drunk on a members-night-out, so his fiancée has to pick his cute, clingy ass up. ft. late-night wake-ups, gn!reader, and a lot of feelings about science. A/N: I accidentally deleted the draft associated with this ask, so now it's a separate post. Sorry for the wait, anon!

When Seokjin left for the evening, he'd placed a kiss on your forehead and a new book in your hands.

The novel in question was some obscure, independently published thing Namjoon had recommended. You'd mentioned it to Seokjin in passing — weeks ago — but hadn't had the downtime to seek it out since. Even if you had somehow carved out a moment to scour the local bookshops, you wouldn't have had the spare hours to immerse yourself in it the way you'd want to.

Not enough to meaningfully discuss its themes with Namjoon, anyway.

But Seokjin was Seokjin. He'd made some secret, mental note about what you said; hunted down that old single-edition book; and come up with a reason to spend his Saturday night elsewhere. He and his friends would get dinner and drinks — you'd get an overdue bubble bath and the solitude necessary to study for your unofficial, impromptu, two-member book club.

And that's precisely how you'd spent your night before tucking yourself into bed at the beautifully reasonable hour of half-past nine.

When your phone went off four hours later, you thought you were dreaming. You squinted at the screen for so long, trying to wrap your brain around the contact information blaring into your bleary eyes, that you almost failed to answer.

"Namjoon?" You croaked, throwing an arm over your eyes to hide from the offensive lamp light beaming off your bedside table. "I'm gonna need, like, a liter of coffee before I can wax poetic about the —"

"Hey, noona, it's Namjoon-ah!" He cut you off before you could finish. If the delayed, rhyming introduction didn't tip you off, the snorting, self-inflicted laughter would have.

Kim Namjoon, the designated dad of the friend group, was irrefutably ripped, zipped, and zooted.

You scrubbed your hand over your face in a futile attempt to stop your forming grin in its tracks. "Your picture popping up on my phone told me as much," You chuckled through your exhaustion, "To what do I owe the pleasure of this wake-up call?"

You heard him shout geonbae and gulp down some sort of shot before he provided you with an answer.

"Sojin has entered the chat," He announced with an absurd, deepened voice. Immediately, he cackled, "Get it? It's a portmanteau of soju and Seokjin, who is shitfaced — anyways, can you come get your man?"

It took you five minutes to throw on clothes and shuffle out the door to your car. The drive to the bar took only slightly longer, though it was the traffic lights and not the distance that slowed you down.

Unfortunately, twenty years came and went while you tackled the dreaded, subsequent task: parallel fucking parking.

The stress of it all nearly had you sweating by the time you entered the bar — you'd be hearing all that judgmental honking in your sleep, once you got back to it — but it all evaporated the second you saw Seokjin.

Off in the far corner, he sat on the outer half of a bench. Trapped inside that booth, visibly waiting for the sweet release of death, was Min Yoongi. You couldn't make out the details of that predominantly one-sided conversation, but you could tell by Seokjin's wild gesticulating and pink-tipped ears that he was ranting about something.

Bits and pieces fell into place as you made your away over, but no part of the overheard conversation made much sense to you.

Seokjin hiccupped, "I've said it once and I'll s-say it again —"

"— Hyung, I guarantee you've said it way more than once —" Yoongi attempted to interject, but he was quickly silenced by more of Seokjin's animated hand-waving.

"— Magic. It's magic, Yoongi. I'm tell — I'm telling you, man. There's just — hic — Science is stupid. I don't care about it, you know? And do you want — you wanna know why, Yoongi? Well, I'll t-tell you why —"

As he blinked emphatically at Yoongi, Seokjin must've somehow sensed you across the bar. He stopped dead in the middle of his unsolicited dissertation, wide-eyed with his jaw dropped, and gasped, "Baby!"

Before you could physically brace yourself for impact, he'd launched his clumsy frame out of his seat and collected you in his arms. Within seconds, without time to blink, his warm cheek was smushed against yours. Plush lips fluttered near your ear as he mumbled, "I missed you."

Of course, it'd only been a few hours since he last saw you, but he held you like you'd just returned from years at sea. Breathing deeply and contentedly, likely taking in the scent of your shampoo. Gently clutching the fabric of your jacket in his hands as if you'd float away otherwise. You had no desire whatsoever to burst that perfect, loving bubble, so you simply squeezed him tighter and told him that you'd missed him more.

Over his shoulder, you saw relief wash over Yoongi's face. No longer held hostage, he scooted himself out of the booth and immediately twisted in place to crack his back.

How long had he been stuck in there?

"Thank fuck," Yoongi sighed as he proceeded to crack his neck. He rolled his shoulders while answered the question you were about to ask, "Twenty entire minutes. Barely paused long enough to breathe, so I thought, shit — what if he dies here? I was scared I'd have to spend the rest of my days in this booth."

Seokjin, who still hadn't untangled himself from you, simply giggled. With his cheek remaining flush to yours, you could feel him grinning. He offered nothing whatsoever in his own defense, so Yoongi waved at you and turned to head off towards the restrooms.

You called out after him, prompting him to turn around. "What's so stupid about science?"

Yoongi's mouth stretched into a straight line across the entire bottom half of his face; his eyes narrowed to match. He heaved yet another sigh, gestured languidly to the half-cut fiancée clinging to you like a vest, and smirked, "He's convinced you hung the stars in the sky."

You would've melted into a puddle on the spot, but then Seokjin piped up and promptly shot your unsuspecting, lovestruck heart over the moon instead.

Abruptly changing the subject, he whispered — suddenly serious, as if it was the most important question in the world:

"Did you like the book, baby?"

#jade's requests #jade's drabbles #jin drabble #anon #bts #kim seokjin #seokjin #bts jin #bts drabble #bts fluff #seokjin drabble #seokjin fluff #seokjin x reader #seokjin x y/n #seokjin x you #jin x reader #jin x you #jin x y/n #jin fluff #kim seokjin fluff #kim seokjin x reader #kim seokjin x you #kim seokjin x y/n #ksj #bts imagine #bts scenarios #seokjin imagine #seokjin scenarios #jin imagine #jin scenarios

[kawaiiakamaru]

THE NOTEBOOK

noritoshi kamo x megumi's sister!reader

fem!reader, established relationship, fluff, sibling comfort, does mention motherhood/children?, etc. trigger warning: mention of death

word count: 1.6k ; not proofread

i do not give permission for my work to be copied or posted anywhere else! likes, comments, and reblogs are much appreciated:)

the moon shone through the large bedroom window as noritoshi toyed with his blood-dipped arrows. its luminescence was much less prominent in tokyo than back in kyoto, but just for a few days, he didn't mind—especially if it meant he got to see you again. with missions and the 360+ kilometers between the two of you, it was safe to say you didn't see each other nearly as often as you both deemed necessary.

having been sat criss-crossed on the ground and hunched over for about an hour, his back began to cramp. groaning, he rose and rubbed his eyes before picking up his phone from his bed. scrolling through the kyoto groupchat, he rolled his eyes at the series of messages.

miwa: i'm nervous for tomorrow. i just don't want to be the reason we lose the event. i mean, they are the students of gojo satoru. 🤷‍♀️

kokichi: please do not let this worry keep you up tonight. mechamaru will protect you, miwa.

mai: 🤨

kokichi: by that i mean we are a team, so mechamaru will protect everyone. 👍🏻

mai: ANYWAYS, that white-haired oaf? no, girl. we'll be fine. 🤚🏼⚔️

todo: do not worry. the bigger they are, the bigger they are! 🥔

momo: todo, what does that even mean?

his eyebrows furrowed as he saw another notification pop up.

y/n: hii, love. do you want to spend the night? 🥰

much to his dismay, the brunette's heart began racing as he typed his reply: i will begin to gather my belongings, please be patient.

two hallways down, you smiled and chuckled softly. always so formal, you thought.

lighting a candle and fluffing your pillows before lying down on the bed, you attempted to patiently await your lover’s arrival. a few moments later, you heard a soft knock.

shooting up from the bed, you darted across your room before swinging the door open excitedly.

your wide smile immediately turned sheepish as you stepped to the side and allowed the individual into your bedroom.

sliding out of his slippers and making his way to the edge of your bed, he was the first to break the silence, "are you doing okay?"

the room went silent once again as your mind raced. sucking in a breath, you decided on an honest answer, "i'm not sure."

megumi nodded his head and began looking everywhere but you. honestly, part of him was hoping you'd just say yes, and you both could go on with your nights knowing neither of you were truly okay. however, the other part of him was relieved that you was feeling the same way.

"you know I'm not the best with words," he began, "but i think that whatever you're feeling—whatever we're feeling—is justified. gojo-sensei didn't really give us an opportunity to react." a mild grimace played on his lips as he thought back to the events earlier that afternoon.

you nodded slowly. "it's not every day that you see your newly-acquainted teammate rip his heart out in front of you and return in a box weeks later." you fidgeted with the chain around your neck.

"sorry, i'm rambling. i just." you paused, "can i say something awful?"

your brother hummed softly, waiting for you to continue.

"i'm grateful he's back, but part of me wishes he wasn't-- i'm just so worried. what happens when word gets out that he's still alive? or alive again? god only knows if sukuna is part of the reason why he's here, which could mean that yuji has even less control over his body."

megumi remained silent, taking in your words carefully.

"we watched him die, ‘gumi! i just can't handle losing him again, and i know you can't either." your voice became muffled as megumi rose and wrapped his arms around his sister.

you remained there for a few seconds before a knock interrupted your embrace and megumi gave you a questioning look.

walking over and grabbing the door knob, you pleaded, "just be civil, that's all i'm asking for." you took megumi's silence as promised adherence to your request.

swinging the door open for a second time that night, you sucked in a breath. you didn't know if it was his casual attire, his freed hair, or simply your eagerness to see your lover, but one thing was for certain: noritoshi kamo was breathtakingly beautiful.

stepping into the room, he opened his mouth to say something before locking eyes with the eldest of the two.

"fushiguro." he stated cooly. megumi could hardly take him seriously with the glittery hello kitty keychain clipped onto his duffel bag--presumably a gift you had given him in private.

placing a kiss on your forehead and grabbing the door behind him, the ravenette responded, "good night, y/n. kamo." holding eye contact for just a few more uncomfortable seconds, you rolled your eyes and forced the door shut.

"sorry about that." you began, "i wasn't expecting him to come over."

noritoshi, visibly more relaxed now that it was just the two of you, hummed. "please do not apologize, y/n. you know that you could never do any wrong in my eyes."

a tinge of pink painted your cheeks before you cupped the archer's soft face in your hands. thumbs stroking his pale cheeks, he nodded, giving you permission to lean in.

their lips connected and noritoshi, purely by instinct, grabbed your waist gently and pulled you in close, whispering softly, "you are everything to me."

looping your arms around his neck, you kissed him with more passion and lust than before. lips moving in sync, you carefully walked the two of you backwards until you felt the back of your knees hit the mattress.

noritoshi, without breaking contact, cupped the back of your head and pushed you back gently, gingerly placing your head on a pillow.

he hovered over you, legs straddled around your figure as you kissed each other hungrily; tongues dancing together with so much passion, desire, and love, it could have been mistaken as your last. deep down the both of you knew that a jujutsu sorcerer’s life was shorter than most, which further prompted you to cherish each other’s presence.

in desperate need of air, noritoshi broke the kiss and used the mattress to push himself off of you—admiring your swollen lips and staticky hair before laying his head on the pillow next to yours.

as the combination of your panting ceased, you picked up a few loose strands of his hair. wondering aloud you asked, "do you think in a world without curses or clans, we still would have found each other?"

noritoshi was silent as he pondered this idea. eventually, he settled on the words, “no, i do not think so.”

before you could protest and voice your disagreement, he continued. "i don't know what we would be doing if we didn't live in this world together, but i can imagine that a world without curses to exorcise and the pain felt from comrades dying at the hands of them and other sorcerers, without the loneliness and anxieties that come from leading a clan, life would be much closer to perfection. and i think the lack of perfection in this universe is part of what drew us together. raw human suffering is romantic because it connects us, in some grotesque way.”

your vision blurred as you attempted to blink back tears, whispering, “i never took you for a poet, kamo.”

the kamo heir snorted and lifted his thumb to your cheek, wiping away a stray tear.

god, you loved when he was like this: when he spoke his mind freely without fear of damaging his clan’s reputation. when he was vulnerable about his feelings. when he snorted, for christ’s sake.

“you’re right, you know.” you whispered. “the fact that we found each other amidst the chaos of this life is beautiful.”

noritoshi gave you a small smile. “almost as beautiful as you.”

you rolled your eyes and bumped your shoulders teasingly. “do you say that to all of your girlfriends?”

noritoshi sighed, but played along anyway. “only to the ones i can envision as a mother to my heirs.”

your heart fluttered. “i will be anything you want me to be.”

noritoshi thought for a moment. checking an imaginary watch on his wrist, he tsked before shrugging. “for now, being yourself will suffice. ask me again in 10 years.”

you grinned before reaching an arm over to your nightstand to grab a book, checking the time simultaneously.

“it’s nearly 12, ‘toshi. i’m still not that tired yet, so could you read to me?”

noritoshi huffed in fake annoyance. “is my voice really that boring?”

seeing his adorable pout, you assured him that that was simply not the case; instead, because his voice was soothing and gentle.

opening the book to the page saved by the bookmark, noritoshi’s eyes danced over the words to remind himself where you both left off.

“Poets often describe love as an emotion that we can't control, one that overwhelms logic and common sense,” he began, stroking your scalp in a way that was sure to coax you to sleep in minutes, “That's what it was like for me. I didn't plan on falling in love with you, and I doubt if you planned on falling in love with me. But once we met, it was clear that neither of us could control what was happening to us. We fell in love, despite our differences, and once we did, something rare and beautiful was created. For me, love like that has happened only once, and that's why every minute we spent together has been seared in my memory. I'll never forget a single moment of it."

author’s note: ahh! first fic done! i know it’s not the greatest, but i haven’t written anything in the realm of creative writing before—just academic essays! i am open to feedback on how i can improve so i can do right by you all. thank you so much for taking the time to read this through! likes, comments, and reblogs are all very appreciated.

dividers: @cafekitsune

#jjk #jujutsu kaisen #jjk jujutsu kaisen #anime #jjk noritoshi #noritoshi kamo #noritoshi x reader #noritoshi jujutsu kaisen #megumi fushiguro #jjk megumi #megumi x reader #jjk x reader #jjk x you #jjk x y/n

[roseofdarknessblog]

Monsters and Heroes (Reiner Braun x Marleyan!Reader)

Word count: 5 400

Disclaimer: english is not my first language, I apologize in advance for any mistakes

A/N: Huge thanks to @wyvernslovecake for inspiring this story! Soft dad Reiner with his little princess has my whole heart! ❤️

TW: mentions of birth trauma, postpartum depression

Summary: You and Reiner were very well aware, that raising a child is going to be challenging. Although most days were filled with nothing but love and fun, there came days when you had to re-open old wounds, just to let your daughter know what the world she was born into used to look like back in the day.

This story can be read on its own or as a part of my little post-war series: House by the ocean

Monsters and Heroes

„Honey, watch your steps. You’re going to trip and fall down again,“ you said to your four-year-old daughter, who kept looking over her shoulder in your direction. It has always been her little thing – walking a few steps ahead and looking back, to see if you were still following. „And if you rip your dress, daddy is not going to be happy. You know this one is his favorite and he loves it, when you wear it.“

„He can buy me a new one,“ Maya replied without even thinking about the answer and gave you the cutest little smile. The bright yellow dress with tiny little white flowers was Reiner’s favorite from the moment he got it for his little princess. And you completely understood why. „Right, mommy?“

„I don’t know, you’ll have to ask him when he later comes home from work.“

„I wish he didn’t have to work so often, so he could be home with me.“

You smiled, tucking a few strands of loose hair behind your ear. It was a beautiful summer day – not too hot thanks to the light breeze, which was coming from the ocean. „You know he loves his job. And besides, he would be bored if he stayed home all the time, don’t you think?“

„No,“ Maya said and looked over at you again. You were on the way back home from the farmer’s market, which was one of her favorite places ever. She simply loved looking around, asking tons of questions, and saying hello to everyone who she passed by. Animals including. „I would keep him busy. We could play all day.“

Over time, Reiner got really friendly with the owner of the nearby farm, from where you first got your ducklings – way back when you moved here from Marley after the Rumbling and started a new life. And as their friendship got stronger, the owner offered him a job. As he was getting older and needed help more often, he wanted someone, who he could trust. And Reiner was just the right man for that position. With a pretty decent income came many more benefits as well. But the most important thing was, that Reiner was happy.

While you stayed home with your daughter, occasionally earning some extra money by selling your paintings and tending to the house, he worked five days a week and had the weekends off. That’s when the farmer’s sons usually came to visit him, so he had somebody else to help with the things that couldn’t wait until Monday morning.

And even though you never had tons of money to spend, you lived happily. You could always afford all the things you needed while living a slow and peaceful life, both of you doing something you truly enjoyed.

But the most important thing above all was your daughter – Maya Braun, whose birth almost cost you your own life. After nearly bleeding out shortly after delivering her, and then spending almost three weeks in the hospital due to many other complications, you had to face something even more horrific. You’ve barely heard about a condition called postpartum depression until you had to face it yourself. Not to mention the overwhelming anxiety and quilt, which keep you company for many months to come. Maya was nearly one year old when you finally started to feel like yourself again.

You had to face many hardships, to have the happy life you lived today. But with the help of your partner, his mother, and Pieck, who moved close by with her dad a couple of months after Maya was born, you did it. You slowly recovered and got to enjoy your new life, not taking anything for granted.

„Will Pieck come over today? She promised to braid my hair and put some flowers in it.“

„Not today, I think,“ you said, walking up the little hill to your house, which was situated on top of a cliff. The view from your garden was the best part, it overlooked the ocean in all its beauty. „But if you want your hair braided, I can do it. We can even pick some flowers in the garden.“

„No, Pieck does it better,“ Maya stated, looking back at you once more. She stumbled a little almost immediately but didn’t fall. She just twirled around a bit with a heartwarming laugh and continued walking as if nothing happened. „I’ll wait for her. Or for daddy, he can do it just as nicely.“

„Well, okay then,“ you smiled and shook your head.

She made every day of your life so worth it. As she was getting older and started exploring the world around her more and more, you simply loved to watch her every step. And Reiner was the same. He spent every possible second with his baby girl, always carrying her around on his shoulders and making her laugh until both of them could hardly catch their breaths.

She really was the happiest, when she was with her dad. And not only now, but ever since she was a baby. At first, you were pretty bummed about it and blamed yourself, for not being able to bond with your daughter right after birth. But as you saw how effortlessly Reiner cared for her and loved her, how much happiness his daughter brought into his life, you slowly let go of your dark thought. Seeing both of them happy was, after all, the most important thing.

Recovering from his past took Reiner a lot of time, but after many battles, he succeeded. Sometimes, there were moments he remembered something or got sad, but you couldn’t even compare it to the state he was in during the Marley Mid-East War or after the Rumbling. Maya truly healed his heart and mind in ways even you couldn’t. And just simply by being born and being his daughter, who took after him in many ways. Her blonde hair, nose, and lips looked so much like Reiner’s. Not to say her eyes, which started to turn the color of honey gold when she was about six months old. There was no denying, that she was Reiner’s daughter.

„Grandma said she’ll bake that cherry pie I love so much and bring some over in the evening.“

„Yeah, she’ll stay over for dinner as well,“ you answered, finally seeing your house on the top of the hill. Walking up here when you were in town during pregnancy was a true nightmare. „Will you help me cook something good for her?“

Maya excitedly nodded and when she too finally saw your house, she started running towards it, screaming for your ducks. She loved them to death, always playing with them and carrying them around the garden or the house when they were still little.

„Mommy, you’re taking forever!“ she shouted for you, shoving open the wooden gate. It was painted white and decorated with colorful flowers and butterflies, she helped you paint. On one of the wooden boards were three colorful handprints – Reiner’s, Maya’s, and yours in the colors orange, yellow, and red.

„You don’t have to wait for me, go check the ducks and ask them what they did while we were away.“

„They surely missed me so much.“

„Of course, they did, honey.“

While she raced to the back of the garden, which was reserved for the ducks, you stopped to check the mailbox. For almost seven years now, you were expecting at least a single letter from your father. A former Marleyan soldier, who was taken hostage by the Eldians from the Liberio Internment zone, when the Rumbling started. Only thanks to that did you and he got the chance to travel with them to Fort Salta and survive.

But after everything, he turned his back on you because of Reiner. It was humiliating for him, that his only daughter fell in love with an Eldian. Not to say with Reiner Braun. You tried to make amends with him throughout the years by writing him every week and even going back to his new home in Marley. But he avoided you at all costs. At that time, you were already pregnant without anyone knowing. Even Reiner got to hear the exciting news just after you came back.

After giving birth and almost losing your life, it was Reiner, who wrote to your father and begged him, to come and see you. But not even such horrific news convinced him to contact you. After some time, you somehow accepted it. He was simply not interested in you anymore. He rather lived alone, than accepted Reiner into the family. Not even the fact, that you named Maya after your late mother, who died when you were still a child, interested him.

And so almost seven years went by, without you and your father speaking a single word. You kept sending him letters, where you wrote about your life, about Maya, and sometimes about nothing important at all. But you kept sending the letters in the hope that one day he’ll respond.

With a sigh, you closed the empty mailbox, made your way into the house, and started putting away everything you bought at the farmer’s market. Maya was running in and out of the house, laughing and squealing just like always. Some of the ducks were following her, running around your legs, just like they used to, when they were following Reiner around.

You could barely settle her down to eat some lunch, without the urge to run away and do millions of other things in between every bite she took. However, the good thing was, that after lunch she usually only lasted another half an hour. After that, she always came to you for a hug and then voluntarily retreated to her room to take a nap, which sometimes lasted up to two hours. You went to check on her ten minutes after she’s gone to bed, finding her fast asleep under a blanket with little cherry blossoms, Reiner’s mom crocheted for her even before she was born.

Your relationship with Karina Braun was at a point, you never thought it would get to. After she realized just how wrong and selfish she acted towards her own son, and started trying to mend their relationship, everything changed. Even more, after she accepted the fact, that Reiner fell in love with a Marleyan girl. The two of you sat down to talk many times and slowly started to build a nice and solid relationship.

It was difficult in the beginning, but all of you tried your best. Mainly Reiner, who after all those years wanted to finally have a healthy relationship with his mother. And you were forever thankful to Karina, for being here after Maya was born and you were still in the hospital or recovering at home. She truly helped Reiner a lot by taking care of the house, her newborn granddaughter, and you as well, after you came home.

After you went to check on Maya and confirmed, she was soundly asleep like usual, you did some work around the house that needed to be done, and then crashed onto the sofa with your new book. It was a really hot summer day, so doing anything required too much energy.

The heat soon make you drowsy and your eyelids so heavy, you had to close them. One second you were reading your novel or wandering somewhere between reality and a dream, the next somebody was gently kissing your forehead and stroking your cheek.

„What time is it?“ you asked, sleepily opening your eyes and seeing your husband. Yes, husband. You became Mrs. Braun just a couple of days after Maya celebrated her second birthday. The wedding was small and simple, just like both of you wished it to be. „How are you already home? Where is Maya?“

Reiner chuckled at all of your questions, laying down on the couch between your legs and resting his head on your chest. „She’s still asleep, I just checked. And I finished early today, so don’t worry. You didn’t miss anything.“

„Great,“ you breathed out, still half asleep, and ran your fingers through his hair, smoothing it down a bit. „How was your day? It was really hot.“

„Pretty good. I had a lot to do, so there was literally no time to think about the heat.“

„And you still managed to finish early?“ you asked, lovingly caressing his nape and sliding your fingers under his shirt. You could feel his body relax against yours, his eyes closing almost immediately.

„I wanted to be with my favorite girls.“ You smiled at the tone of his voice. It was so gentle and full of love, just like always when talking to you or his daughter. „Mom is coming over for dinner.“

„I know, Maya reminded me as well. She can’t wait for your mom’s cherry pie.“

Reiner immediately lifted his head from your chest. „She’s bringing some?“ With a laugh, you nodded your head and tried to prop yourself up on your elbows, to give him a kiss.

Both he and Maya loved everything Karina baked or cooked. Sometimes even more, than what you made for them. But that was more than okay. Even if you tried your best, the kitchen was never your natural habitat. Not that Reiner would be any better. He tried and successfully learned some basics, but that was it. He really wasn’t pushing his luck around the stove or the cutting board.

„And how was your day? Did my princess behave?“

„She did, yeah. You know how much she loves going to the farmer’s market. So she had the time of her life there, we picked up a lot of things I needed and then she just chased the ducks around the garden and the house until she got tired.“

„I would love to have her stamina sometimes, she really has more energy than you and me combined.“

„Definitely,“ you nodded, kissing the tip of Reiner’s nose. His smile warmed your heart more than words could describe. „Oh, and she turned down my offer to braid her hair. You and Pieck do it better.“

„What a nice compliment,“ Reiner smirked, while one of his hands slipped under your summer dress and squeezed your thigh. „You always loved when I braided your hair. Mainly when you were pregnant, remember?“ You nodded, biting down on your lower lip when Reiner slid his hand a bit higher, his eyes hungrily looking at you. „Since Maya is still asleep...“

„She’s going to wake up any minute now,“ you reminded him, stopping his hand before it went any higher.

„Or not,“ Reiner objected and before you knew it, he put away your book and rolled up your dress. His lips pressed to your left inner thigh, making you gasp for air in surprise. „I think we have enough time to...“

„Mommy!“ Both of you were startled when your daughter screamed for you. Her voice sounded a little urgent and scared. Almost as if she was on the verge of tears.

„I’ll go,“ Reiner said and swiftly stood up, giving you a gentle kiss. You watched him walk into your daughter’s room, while you sat up and adjusted your dress. „Y/N,“ your husband called for you.

Without hesitation you stood up and joined them, sitting down on the edge of her bed. Your little girl was clinging to Reiner, tears streaming down her chubby cheeks. Karina said, that Reiner used to have them as well when he was this age.

„What is it, baby? What happened?“ you asked her, caressing her back, while she was hugging Reiner around the neck. „Did you have a bad dream?“ She nodded, while Reiner kissed the top of her head and hid her in his embrace the best he could. That helped every single time and in every situation. Just like you, Maya knew, that being in Reiner’s arms meant being safe from the whole world and loved beyond words.

„Do you want to tell us what that dream was about?“ he asked her in a gentle voice, kissing the top of her head once again.

„Take your time, it’s okay,“ you assured her and leaned closer, so she would feel your presence even without looking at you. „You know we won’t let anything happen to you, baby. Never.“

It took some time and many kisses from both you and Reiner, but she eventually told you. Still crying a little the whole time, she told you about what she heard from two women at the farmer’s market today. It all happened, while you were talking to one of your friends there and didn’t pay that much attention to your surroundings. Maya was right there beside you holding onto your skirt as she typically used to, so it didn’t even occur to you, that she could have heard something disturbing.

„Were they telling the truth?“ she asked with a quivering lip, looking from Reiner to you and waiting for an answer.

From what Maya told you, it was obvious that those women were talking about Titans and about the Rumbling. About the past, you and Reiner lived through and still vividly remembered. And it was also the past Maya knew nothing about. There was no need to tell her such things – not yet. However, you and Reiner both knew, that there will come a time to sit her down and tell her the most important details of your past.

„Did you see those monsters?“

Reiner looked at you, before nodding slightly. „Yes, we did,“ you said, closing your eyes just for a second.

Remembering those times was never easy. Not for you, an ordinary Marleyan girl, who survived only thanks to the Eldians from the Liberio Internmnent zone. And surely not for Reiner, who actually fought in the Battle of Heaven and Earth, as the people used to refer to the final effort of the Marleyan military, the Warriors, and members of the Survey Corps from Paradis to stop the Rumbling. Sometimes, when you closed your eyes, you were back at Fort Salta in Marley and you could see the Founding Titan and his army of giant steaming Titans getting closer and closer.

Some nights you still had nightmares about Eren Jeager and what he did to the world. And even after all those years, you tried not to hate him for that. Only because you didn’t know enough about him and his life to have the right to do it.

„They were very scary, just like those women said,“ you continued, stroking Maya’s head and leaning against Reiner. He seemed a little uncomfortable, but you couldn’t blame him. The past he was so eagerly trying to forget for almost seven years, was now back and trying to haunt his beloved daughter. „But they are gone for good, honey. Those monsters are never coming back, I can assure you.“

„Really?“

„Yes, really,“ Reiner assured her in a calm voice. „You will never have to face them.“

„And you know why?“ you asked a little more cheerfully, kissing her cheek and wiping away a couple more tears. „Because daddy took care of it. He fought those monsters and made sure they don’t hurt anybody ever again.“ Her little eyes lit up as she looked at Reiner in astonishment. „Daddy, Pieck, Gabi, Falco, and some of their friends fought those monsters and made them disappear forever. A couple of years before you were born and before me and daddy came to live here.“

„What about you?“

„Me?“

Maya nodded. „What were you doing?“ She looked from Reiner to you, waiting for your answer eagerly.

„Well... me, grandma, Pieck’s dad, and many other people were cheering on them from a huge, huge nearby cliff. From there we saw everything.“ You tried to make it all sound like a fairytale with a happy ending. But that was far from the truth. Even though you and Reiner got your happy ending, the Rumbling was something this world will never forget.

„Those women said, that the biggest monster was called Eren.“

Shivers ran down your back when you heard his name from your daughter’s mouth. At first, you didn’t even dare to look at Reiner. „I knew that Eren before all of that, and I can assure you, princess, that he was no monster. Just other people made him do bad things.“

„That’s right, daddy and Eren knew each other when they were young. They were friends.“ You looked at Reiner with love in your eyes, giving him a gentle smile.

„But then we didn’t talk for a couple of years and the last time we saw each other, we had to fight against one another. Sometimes...“

When he took a deep breath but didn’t continue after a while, you took over once again. „Sometimes people change. Or they are forced to do things, they don’t want to do. They just don’t have any other choice if they want to protect their family or friends.“

Both of you knew, that Reiner had his fair share of guilt in everything that happened. But looking back at his story, you could never blame him. Not, when he was brainwashed by his own mother and then the military as well. All that little boy wanted, was to bring his father home. Because of that dream, which was falsely made up by Karina, he got the Armored Titan when he was only ten years old. His whole childhood was lost to military training and a suicide mission to Paradis, which started all of the events, that ultimately led to the Rumbling itself.

„And are you angry at him for doing so many bad things?“ Maya asked Reiner, her cheeks still stained with drying tears. At least she wasn’t crying anymore. „Those women said he was very cruel.“

„He had his reasons,“ Reiner said, his voice trembling a little. None of you ever thought, that you would be having this conversation with her this soon. That’s why you weren’t prepared. Or else... how could anybody explain such an event to a four-year-old? „People who didn’t know him should never judge him. Times were hard back then, the world was a much uglier place than it is now.“

„Why?“

„Because...“

When Reiner didn’t continue, you tried to say something. But no words came out of your mouth. What were you supposed to say? That people like you wanted people like Reiner dead? That your military was punishing them, by turning them into said monsters? That even you for so many years hated people like Reiner and wished nothing but the worst for them?

„Because the past is almost always uglier, baby. Then people learn to do better, so the world can be prettier and safer,“ you said finally, while Maya climbed over to you and hugged you just as tight as Reiner before. „If you ever hear something similar, tell me or daddy about it, okay? So we can sit down and explain it to you. That way you won’t have nightmares.“

Maya nodded, but for the rest of the day, she barely moved from you or Reiner. Even Karina noticed that something wasn’t right with her granddaughter when she came over for dinner. So when Reiner and Maya went to wish the ducks good night, you told her what happened and asked her, not to mention anything in front of Maya.

She was still too young and innocent for all of that. And you wanted to keep it that way for a couple more years.

You were just about to get into bed when Reiner appeared at the door leading to your bedroom. „Is she finally asleep?“

„I had to read her almost half of that big fairytale book. My eyes started to close halfway through the second story, but I had to keep going, she was still watching me with eyes wide open.“

You smiled, sitting down on the bed. „Guess I’ll have to pay more attention next time and just pull her away when I hear something similar. I really didn’t notice what they were talking about.“

„Hey, don’t beat yourself up over it. I think we handled it pretty well.“

„But I don’t want her to know, Reiner. Not yet. She is still so little.“

It was only natural, that you wanted to protect your daughter. She and Reiner were the most precious people in your life, and you wanted nothing but happiness for both of them. They deserved it – life in a world, that was always full of sunshine instead of dark stormy clouds.

Reiner shrugged and came to sit down next to you. „Who knows, maybe it will be better this way. Randomly telling her bits and pieces over the years, so she can put them all together later on her own. And then, if she has questions, we’ll sit down and talk about everything.“ One of his arms wrapped around your shoulders, bringing you closer to him. „You can’t lock her into a golden cage so nothing ever happens to her, Y/N. We have to let her grow up and explore the world. Even its ugly parts.“

„I know,“ you breathed out, nuzzling your face into the crook of his neck. „It just hurts seeing her sad, scared, or in pain.“

Since Reiner only nodded but didn’t say anything, you stayed quiet too. It was more than obvious, that he felt the same unease about this whole situation as you. He just tried not to show it and be strong for you. But talking about that day and about Eren surely hit pretty close to home.

„I’ll go shower and get ready for bed. Will you wait for me or are you too tired?“

You smiled and kissed the warm skin on his neck. „Of course, I’ll wait for you, take all the time you need.“ When you pulled away from his embrace, Reiner bowed his head a little and found your lips in a sweet kiss. „I love you so much.“

„I love you too,“ he whispered into your lips, giving you one more kiss before he stood up and went into the bathroom.

When he finally put the lights out and made himself comfortable, you were half asleep. But still conscious enough, to cuddle up to him, wrap one of your arms around his body and rest your head on his chest. Falling asleep like this is what you missed most during pregnancy when your belly got too big.

„There’s something I wanted to talk about,“ Reiner said after a short while, his fingers playing with your hair. „It looks like Armin and the others are going to Paradis again. In the next couple of months. You know... to talk to Historia, maintain the still fragile bond Paradis has with the outside world.“ You nodded, feeling him tense up. „Pieck asked if I’ll come along as well.“

The last time he went there, Maya was just a few months old and he still worried about you and your health. He was thinking about not going, but you and Karina promised, that everything will be okay during the time he’s gone. And so he went, together with his old friends and comrades. They met with the queen and began the peace talks between Paradis and the outside world.

„Do you want to go?“ you asked, drawing all kinds of lines and shapes onto his chest with your fingers.

„I’m not sure. I don’t want to leave you and Maya here.“

„We’ll be fine, just like last time. Don’t worry about us so much, we can handle many things, Reiner. After all... we are the Braun girls.“

„Yeah, you are,“ he chuckled and kissed the top of your head. „I told Pieck I’ll think about it and let them know. Not that they can’t handle it without me.“

You still remembered how hard it was for him to go back the first time. Because of you and Maya, but because of his own past as well. He feared the worst, and you knew it. Even if he never told you. But when he came back after almost three weeks, you saw how content he was. Maybe even a bit happy, that he overcame his fear and went there. Back to the place, which held so many painful memories.

„You know, maybe it would be good if you...“

Before you could finish what you were saying, the door to your bedroom opened slightly and closed back when a four-year-old girl slipped inside. She quietly made her way to your bed and climbed up, walking over to you and Reiner.

„Princess, if I have to read you another fairytale, I’m going to fall asleep before we get to the end,“ Reiner said and outstretched his free hand toward her. Maya grabbed it with her much smaller hand and flopped down right onto Reiner’s chest.

„What’s the matter?“ you asked her, stroking the hair out of her face and switching on the lamp on your nightstand.

She slightly pushed out her bottom lip, hugging her favorite doll with her other hand. It was her favorite from the moment she got it – almost a year back when Jean and Connie came to visit and brought it for her. She immediately fell in love with both of them and was very sad, after they left.

„Can I sleep with you tonight?“ she finally asked, looking at you and then at her father. And that was it. All she had to do to convince you. Neither one of you could say no to her big puppy dog eyes. „I don’t want to be alone.“

Without a word, you pulled away from Reined and made space for her in between the two of you. Reiner rolled onto his side with a quiet laugh, so he was facing you and looking at Maya at the same time.

„Now, is this better?“ he asked, kissing his daughter’s forehead. She giggled quietly and turned on her side, so she could cuddle up to Reiner.

„Honey, if you’re going to be hugging daddy for the night what am I supposed to do?“ You teased her, leaning closer and kissing the top of her head while smiling at Reiner, whose eyes were full of love and joy.

„Here mommy,“ she said, turned around, and gave you her doll.

You took the toy from her with a chuckle. „Thank you, baby. Now I feel way better.“ She gave you one last cheeky grin, before turning her back to you once more and trying to hug Reiner as if he too was one of her dolls.

The bond she and Reiner had was something incredible and magical. You could watch them talk or play all day every day, and you still wouldn’t have enough. Seeing them both so happy together really made you feel like the luckiest person in the whole world. Even if things weren’t perfect and you still missed your father a whole lot, you had your own wonderful little family. You had the sweetest daughter and the most loving husband you could ever ask for.

And they were all that truly mattered. The people, who made you feel loved and appreciated. The ones, who were always excited to see you and spend time with you.

When you sometime looked at them, you felt sorry for your father. Sorry for the fact, that he didn’t want to have such amazing people in his life. And sorry for the fact, that he once loved you just like Reiner loves Maya, but he stopped in the moment you decided to live your own life and be happy.

If he gave Reiner at least one chance. Only one...

„Hey,“ Reiner said in a hushed voice, and before you knew it, he caught the first tear that was ready to roll down your cheek.

„I’m fine,“ you assured him and grabbed his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. When you turned off the lights once more, the darkness suddenly became even more comforting, now that Maya was right there next to you.

In the end, all that pain and suffering was worth it. A hundred percent. Your husband and daughter... your current life was worth everything bad, you had to face since the day you were born in the old world.

#reiner braun #reiner braun x reader #reiner braun x you #aot x reader #aot x you #attak on titan #snk #shingeki no kyojin

[itsyourstarboy]

Streamer!Honey Headcanons

Next Part

MWAHAHAHAHA

*ahem*

Okay, so Honey has been streaming for a long while; since before they met Guy.

They're mostly known for their dry (and dark) humor, and the amount of horror games they play.

Best part is that they're hardly phased by jump scares, so they're just kinda 😐

Some scares get them on rare occasion, and when they do it is always a violent reaction. Y'know that scary maze video where the person punches the screen? Yeah, that was Honey.

Something in the game scares them and they immediately jump up, rip their headphones off, throw them on the ground, yell "JESUS FVCKING CHRIST", and then pace for a few seconds to collect themselves before getting back in their chair and being like "well that happened".

There's a "Honey getting scared for 7 minutes straight" compilation video out there somewhere.

Honey usually doesn't play games with other people, and when they do they come off as annoyed and intimidating.

They don't mean to, their resting bitch face seeps into their voice, it's not their fault.

Before they moved in with Guy, they lived in 4 previous apartments with varying numbers of roommates.

Their relationships with past roommates was pretty normal.

So, when they moved in with Guy, and the chat noticed they were in a new place, no one really thought anything of it.

I mean, Honey never said anything about having a boyfriend, and the chat often played the game "what is Honey's sexuality," which was very entertaining for Honey to watch.

One day Honey was streaming (maybe a week or so into them living with Guy), and they heard Guy calling for them down then hall, clearly on his way to where they were.

Honey had decided when they started dating that they didn't want Guy to show his face on their stream. Not because they were keeping their relationship a secret, but because they have a fairly large fan base, and Guy delivers pizzas. Could you imagine if someone recognized him while he was working?

So, when Honey heard him coming, they whipped their head around, while simultaneously pulling off their headphones, and tilting the camera down so it was pointed at their desk, and got up to meet him at the door.

The stream can only faintly hear their talking, so the chat is going wild.

Honey has never reacted like that to a roommate walking in on them, so this was interesting.

They come back and chat is full of "who was that??"

And Honey, never being the type to directly answer a question, goes "that was just my Guy," and chat was never the wiser.

(until fast forward a couple months and chat finally learns that Guy's name is literally Guy, and someone puts two and two together)

Guy knew not to walk in on them while streaming, they had both agreed that if he needed something that wasn't that important (like dinner plans, or how to run the dishwasher), that he could just text them.

But one day he really needed to bother them. Why? He needed attention. The only thing stopping him was that he wasn't sure how Honey would feel about him calling them "Honey" in front of their stream.

So, he opens the door (which is out of frame), and calls them buy their real name. They turn around so fast, he swears they nearly broke their neck.

Chats freaking out (because of course, Guy has the cutest voice), and Honey can very faintly be heard saying "what did you just call me?"

Guy starts laughing, and goes "call you what?"

Honey narrows their eyes, "get out."

"what?" Guy laughs.

"Get out before I beat your ass."

"I didn't do anything-!"

Honey then proceeds to chase Guy out of the room, and when they come back to stream they may or may not have a flushed face and swollen lips.

Honey never said anything to confirm or deny chats sudden curiosity about their relationship with the stranger in the background.

(this is getting kind of long, I will write more later if y'all want, because I definitely have more)

#redacted audio #redactedverse #redacted headcanons #redacted writing #redacted au #redacted streamer!honey #redacted guy #redacted honey #redacted pizza guy #redacted fanfic #redacted fanfiction

[oceanlix]

Day 24: Sangyeon + Phone sex

Pairing: Sangyeon x female reader

Genre: Smut

Word count: 1703

Warnings: Masturbation (male and female), dirty talk, teasing, phone sex, brief mention of daddy kink, slight degradation, praise

Kinktober 2022 Masterlist

“Girl, are you sure you wanna post that?” Your friend peeks over your shoulder, shaking her head at the photo of you sitting between Sunwoo and Eric that you’re currently editing for Instagram.

“Yeah, what do you mean?” you giggle to yourself. Truth be told, you know exactly what she means. Posting this will only get Sangyeon’s attention in the worst way, but you’re prepared for that outcome. In fact, you want it to happen.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she sighs, heading back to her mirror to finish putting on her makeup. With another chuckle, you click on the post button and start the waiting game.

—-

It isn’t until several hours later when you’re doing body shots with Juyeon that you finally hear back from Sangyeon.

“Damn, your phone sure rings a lot!” Haknyeon yells, passing it to you. You raise your eyebrows, but you walk off to a little corner with less people in it. Unlocking your phone, your mouth goes dry when you open your texts and see the photos he’s sent. He’s sprawled out beside the pool, the sunset glow casting an unreal light across his toned chest and body. Every muscle looking like it was sculpted by God himself, totally bared before you. You almost don’t see the caption: Heard from a little birdie you’ve forgotten about me.

“Fuck,” you curse to yourself, biting down on your lip. Immediately you head off in search of an empty bedroom, anywhere that you can strip down and get off to these glorious images.

Sangyeon being away has taken its toll on you, but not being an official couple meant your libido never really had to suffer. With hot guys like Sunwoo, Eric and Juyeon to keep you entertained, you didn’t have time to feel sad and mopey. Orgasms tended to fix that, for obvious reasons. But you hadn’t even gotten a normal text from Sangyeon in weeks, which is what inspired you to lash out. You hadn’t sent nearly as racy a picture as he just had, but you knew how to stoke his jealousy and you used it to your advantage. Besides, if a simple little picture of you sitting on Eric’s lap while Sunwoo draped his arm around you got you these kind of results, you’d be tempted to try this again.

As you find an unoccupied bedroom and lock yourself in, your phone starts to ring. Sangyeon’s caller ID photo overtakes the screen, making you let out a small whimper as you rush to answer the phone.

“How’s my baby?” he asks, a knowing lilt to his voice. You moan a little as you toss yourself onto the bed, wriggling out of your skirt as fast as you can.

“Those pictures are so unfair,” you complain, sliding your hand into your underwear and sighing. You’re soaked, just like you expected. If Sangyeon was here, he’d be mocking you for how desperate you are.

He chuckles and you hear the rustling of fabric over the phone before the sound of a cap opening. You know it’s lube; he likes his cock to be wet and messy. “Really? That’s rich, coming from you,” he replies.

You push two fingers into yourself, massaging your own walls. Sangyeon’s fingers are longer, so it’s not nearly as satisfying. But it’ll have to do for now. “Oh please, at least I had clothes on,” you argue, but your voice is breathy as you continue to touch yourself.

Sangyeon hisses as he starts stroking his cock. At least, you’re assuming by the sound of the squelching lube that you hear. “You know every time you wear that dress I want to rip it off of you,” he growls. It’s true; that’s why you’d chosen it.

“How’s your hand?” you tease, holding back your own moan. “Don’t you wish you were here instead, stuffing my pussy full of cock?”

“You know I do, baby,” he tells you with a sigh. You can hear his strokes getting faster, which makes you rock your hips against your hand.

“When you get back, you better set aside a whole day for me,” you warn him.

“Oh yeah?” He sounds amused, even though he’s more than a little breathless. You know he’s imagining it now, all the ways he’s going to ruin your pussy when he gets back home. “What do you have planned?”

“Well first,” you sigh, shifting the angle of your fingers and sucking in a breath. “I’m going to suck you off in the living room. We won’t even make it to the couch, I’ll just do it right against the front door. I’ve missed the feeling of your big cock down my throat, choking me.”

Sangyeon groans loudly on the other end of the phone, making you smile. “Love it when you choke on my cock, baby,” he gushes.

You giggle. It’s so easy to get him wrapped around your finger, though you’re the same way with him, so you can’t really talk. “And then I’ll take you over to the couch, where I’m gonna ride you so hard the neighbors will put in a noise complaint.”

“Oh my god,” Sangyeon says under his breath. “You’re unreal.”

“Oh trust me, I’m very real,” you laugh, crooking your fingers up against your spot. Like before, it’s not the same as having your man’s fingers stroking your walls. Sangyeon can reach places inside of you that you can’t even dream of. “My fingers aren’t long enough for this,” you complain, frowning.

“Aw, baby can’t reach, can she?” His voice is mocking, but it drives you crazy. You love when he gets a little mean; you rub your thighs together for more friction. Your walls convulse around your fingers and you whimper, imagining Sangyeon’s fingers are in place of your own. “Don’t worry, I’ll be home before you know it and then I’ll take such good care of you.”

“I’m not done with telling you my plans yet,” you interrupt, now rubbing circles on your clit to chase your high.

“Yeah? Go on ahead,” he urges you. He’s getting breathless again, imagining his hand is your warm cunt gripping his dick.

“When we finally get to the bedroom, you’ll fuck me doggy style.” You bite your lip and moan as your fingers finally touch the spot you’ve been trying to reach for the past few minutes, your hips bucking wildly. “You’ll spank me so hard that my face gets an imprint from pressing into the sheets.”

“Keep talking, baby,” he begs, the sound of his strokes speeding up on the other end of the phone. Sangyeon must be close, you realize. “Tell me more.”

“I‘ll scream your name so loud the neighbors won’t be able to look you in the eyes for weeks.” You bite your lip as your toes curl in pleasure. You want to keep painting a picture for your man, but it’s getting harder to focus with your orgasm so close. “Baby, come home soon so you can fuck me for real,” you beg, breaking character.

“Shh,” Sangyeon soothes you. “Cum for me, pretty girl. Let me hear what you sound like when you’re desperate for me.”

You let go at his words, squirting all over your hand and your bedsheets. This is your best orgasm in weeks, not that you’re going to complain about the ones given to you by your boy toys. There’s something special about Sangyeon talking you through this one though, which you decide to unpack at a later time.

Once you’ve caught your breath, you grip the phone in your hand and moan breathily into the speaker. “Are you gonna cum for me now, daddy?” you ask, knowing the nickname will help get him there even faster.

“Fuck, I love it when you call me that, baby,” Sangyeon growls. “Wish I was there with you, I’d cum all over that pretty face of yours and show you you’re mine. Forget all those other little boys you’ve been playing with, I’m the real deal.”

You giggle, biting down on your finger. “Okay,” you agree, stroking your fingers along your inner thigh. The idea of Sangyeon fucking you in front of your other hookups comes into your mind, and it’s turning you on all over again. “Show me I’m yours, daddy.”

Sangyeon moans into the phone, stroking himself a few more times before you hear him shout suddenly. He must have cum, judging from his heavy breathing.

“You’re so good to me,” he says after a moment. You’re still stroking your inner thighs, mindlessly spreading your cum around as you listen to him talk. “Such a good little slut, getting yourself off for me over the phone.”

You smile, pleased that your plan worked exactly as you wanted it to. You’d rather have him here with you, touching all your sensitive spots himself, but you’ll take a win where you can get one.

“Now how about you come outside and meet me, little one?”

You raise your eyebrows, sitting upright on the bed. “Outside?” you ask skeptically.

Sangyeon chuckles. “I’m here to collect you,” he says. You hear the honk of his car horn on the phone before you hear it coming from outside of the house. Quickly, you stand up and go to the window, only to see his yellow sports car down on the street.

“You’re home?!” you practically shout. You grab your skirt and pull it on as fast as you can, shoving your feet into your shoes. You don’t even hear his answer as you hurry down the stairs, rushing past Sunwoo who tries to reel you in for a dance. Your mind is only on one man right now.

When you open the door, Sangyeon leans over the console to greet you. You press your lips to his immediately, cupping his face in your hands as you kneel in your seat. “God, I missed you,” you moan against his lips. You’re getting wet again just from the hot and heavy kiss, but you don’t think he minds, not when he palms your ass and groans into your mouth.

“I missed you too, baby,” he laughs, slapping your ass gently. “Let’s go home and fuck for real.”

#tbz smut #the boyz smut #sangyeon smut #sangyeon x reader #sangyeon fic #kinktober 2022 #my fics #200

[goldenhawk-k]

👁👁

your tim survives the unknowing headcanons, hand em over 🖐🖐

omg i'm so glad you asked teehee

trigger warning for tim typical suicidal ideation

ok, before we start, to be clear, this is not a list of hcs where tim lived bc he became an avatar. if you want those ur gonna have to WAIT for my end!tim au. this is an au where he survived the unknowing as just a normal guy by pure miracle, ok? ok. awesome.

Tim was in a coma for about a week, and then was quickly put into a medically induced coma for another six because his body was so deeply fucked up. In total, he was out for about seven weeks.

Jon threw himself over Tim during The Unknowing in hopes of saving him. Ultimately, it saved his life (just barely, though. like, if the first responders arrived five minutes later, they wouldn't have been able to save him).

However, due to their positioning, Jon was only able to cover Tim's torso and head.

His legs got pretty much destroyed by the debris from the explosion.

After he wakes up, he's an ambulatory wheelchair user. When not in his wheelchair, he uses elbow crutches.

Anyways. back to when he first wakes up

When he first wakes up from his coma, he's confused. Obviously he's confused, he was asleep for seven weeks.

Once he realizes what happens, he's so fucking angry because he thought he finally got out of everything, he thought he was dead, his brother had been avenged, so what the fuck else is he here for?

He's incredibly suicidal when he first wakes up. It only worsens when the nurse tells him his mom visited him exactly once when he was asleep, within the first two weeks, and hasn't been back since.

(He tries to call her. That was the most contact they've had since Danny went missing, and he missed it.)

(She doesn't answer.)

(...the worst part is that Tim wasn't even expecting her to.)

He just kinda. Assumes that Jon's dead, but when Basira visits in the week he's being kept in the hospital, she tells him that Jon's 'technically' alive

"What do you mean technically" "...the nurses told me not to stress you out."

Tim DEMANDS to go visit Jon.

The nurses originally said no, but Tim started ripping out his IV, and they conceded.

He gets wheeled into the room they're keeping Jon in and every bit of anger towards him just vanishes.

He looks so small and fragile, and it reminds Tim of the friend he had in research.

He misses Jon so much.

Now this is the point where it could split into my "Tim is in Martin's place in s4 - Tim becomes a lonely avatar" au but this is not the post for that but know that is something that is in my head.

Tim takes to sitting by Jon's bedside at least three times a week, but it's usually more as he can't even get into the archive for the first month he's awake.

The reason he can't is that he's still going through physical therapy to work his elbow crutches. And you KNOW the magnus institute isn't fully accessible so he literally can't get down those stairs to the archive.

So. he sits with Jon most the time.

He has a civil relationship with melanie. she's going through her own slaughter shit. Basira and him get along well enough. But the main person he talks to is Jon's nearly lifeless body.

Jon hears ever bitch and complaint of Tim's life from the time he woke up.

If Tim cried in Jon's room, he'll never tell. Not like Jon would know either.

Things all go to hell after the flesh attacks the archive, which was one of the few days he's actually in the archives with his elbow crutches. he's nearly killed when basira leaves him

(i like basira btw but you know she'd leave people behind if it were to save either her or daisy. thats like. one of her character traits)

He sits by Jon more

And Tim never expects Jon to wake up, so when he comes in one day and Jon's sitting up, breathing, he turns around and leaves the hospital.

He comes back two days later and they talk.

And that's all my thoughts really. Bonus hc is that Tim has a sportier design of wheelchair with no handlebars or armrests and it's purple bc he needed something to lift him up.

Double bonus hc: tim has a few stickers on his crutches. he never buys them, but if he finds or just gets a sticker, that's where he puts them bc it makes him a little happier

#tw sui ideation #tim stoker #tma #the magnus archives #tim lives au #long post

[babygirlhq]

Whispers of the Cursed

It had been nearly three hours since Tristan had descended the beanstalk and set out in the direction of the wildwoods. The sun had already set, and the looming darkness of the woods should've brought a sense of unease to the apprentice, however neither that, nor any fear could be found in his gaze. Not even a hint of alertness that would come from the common sense of a mere human in the midst of nocturnal beasts ready to prey on him at any given chance. No, Tristan Goodman was walking face first into danger, guided by naught but an excerpt from an ancient text, a page ripped out of its book with the disclaimers left behind without a second thought.

Ever since he had truly understood the significance of the rewind, the possibility of it had been racking at his brain for weeks, and he was unable to push the unsubstantiated and borderline dangerous theories out of his mind, even after the many stern warnings from the wizard. Tristan had found himself in the restricted sections of the tower of rest after hours, asking questions he shouldn't have, getting his hands on texts that were better left buried in the vast libraries of the wizard, just to fuel his delusions, his hypotheses on Cagliostro's erased and forgotten temporal magic.

Even though the wizard's continuous denial and forbiddance of the topic should've already established a growing resentment against him, Tristan found himself to be far too busy to think about anything else other than harnessing enough power to do what he set out to do, weeks ago, ever since the realization of the true meaning behind the possibility of having time itself in the palm of his hand, his and his only to do what he wanted with.

After all, if he could change anything he wanted in his life with a simple spell, to rewind time and have the chance to prevent something from happening, to save people's lives, why wouldn't he seize that opportunity for himself right away? He would bring his brother back. He wouldn't let his twin go out alone that night. He wouldn't have to watch his parents die. He would save his family. He could do that. All he needed was a bit more time. And a lot more power.

The legend of the Mordred dreamstone was merely a myth, or at least it was given the same treatment as the many other tomes and records of magical objects that were purposefully wiped out of existence in order to subdue the weak humans who dared to think that they could learn magic and get on the same level as dreamshades. At least, that was what Tristan thought, until he'd stumbled upon the very page in his hand, detailing the location of the dreamstone in a riddle he'd been trying to solve for three days now, and he still didn't have the complete answer. The Mordred dreamstone was, according to legend, one of he most potent pieces of magical objects in the world, and to everyone else, completely lost, if not destroyed already. Many speculated that it was for the better, given that the all-powerful, jet black colored dreamstone was more than probably cursed.

But Tristan would deal with that later.

The only proof of its existence laid in his hand, crumpled up and ripped at the edges. But it was real. And it would help. Tristan whipped his head in the direction of the sudden snap of wood in the not-so-far distance. He folded the paper up and tucked it in his pocket, then broke his concentration on the small ball of light he'd conjured to navigate through the woods. Instead, two trembling hands lifted up to his chest, tattooed palms rubbed together briefly before he whispered out a spell and then pressed his palms against each of his closed eyes. By the time they lowered and he opened his eyes, they flickered light blue for a second, and the encompassing darkness around him was the welcoming sight of what any other nocturnal animal would see.

The lake

He wandered through the woods with ease after that, his ambition preventing him from feeling any sort of exhaustion, or hunger, or fear for that matter. He walked until he arrived to a lake, its surface illuminated by thousands of iridescent wings of faeries dancing a midnight waltz just inches above the water. The rowboat on the shore almost felt like a trap, that was how convenient it felt. He was so deep in the woods that no other soul would come here. No one who would be in need of a boat. But common sense would not stop him from progressing in his journey.

As soon as Tristan touched the boat, each and every one of the faeries scattered away and left nothing but darkness after them. He was almost thankful for the solitude, given the fact that he did not want others to know about this location, and faeries had a tendency to gossip.

He stopped rowing once he assumed to be in the middle of the lake, then looked around. He didn't see anything. But what was more concerning was the fact that he didn't hear anything, either. To be in the middle of the woods in complete silence never meant anything good. There was a long and deep inhale taken from him before he focused his attention on the water around him. A trembling hand reached out towards the surface. And it kept reaching until his whole hand and wrist were under water. Except it wasn't water at all. His hand didn't get wet. The surface was more of a veil, and he would have to get to the other side in order to progress. And so he did.

The room

The moment Tristan jumped through the veil, he didn't fall. He gently floated down, eyes opening not to an underwater lakebed, but rather the entrance of what he could only describe as a temple. Marble floors, colossal columns with braziers lighting the place up. Above him was a chandelier floating in air under a dome made of glass. There was no door on each side of the room. No riddles, no clues, but an empty room with a funny looking floor and columns as big as ancient trees of the wildwoods.

Empty, until it was not. He didn't know what compelled him to look behind him, as he didn't hear or smell or sense anything appearing and yet, when he turned around, he was met with a table made out of the same marble the floor was, with some sort of a basin on top of it. He stepped closer, and the chilled breeze coming from nowhere he felt on his nape gave him goosebumps. A hand came up to touch his nape, feeling something unusual under his fingertips. It took him a couple of minutes to figure out that it was an ancient dwarvish rune, with the meaning of "bare". He wasn't sure where the rune came from, or what it had to do with the puzzle of the room as dwarves had nothing to do with dreamstones, but he didn't waste any more time on second thoughts. Not when he had more important things to do.

Instead, he promptly started pulling his rings off. And then his bracelets. And finally, his necklaces. Each of them holding their own respective dreamstones embedded in them, clinking into the basin one by one as Tristan stripped himself of magic completely.

The cave

Once the last piece of jewelry was taken off, the room rumbled and shook as one of the walls opened up in front of him. He walked through it, the room with the columns and the basin disappearing from behind him as he continued into the next space. The sheer brightness of the cave whose walls were completely coated in rose quartz, illuminated by nothing at first glance, but as Tristan kept walking across, he realized it was his own body lighting the crystals up. He walked for about five minutes before he arrived to a fork in the road. Each path looked the same, and without his magic Tristan was hesitant to choose without careful thought put behind it.

There wasn't anything that looked out of place. Or rather, almost everything looked out of place, crystals growing in all sizes and shapes, not pattern to them, no distinctive runes, carvings, sigils, nothing. There was a slightly impatient sigh escaping Tristan, along with a quick rubbing at his eyes to try and keep his focus up after having to concentrate for such a long time. After all, he was only human. Without magic. He took a step closer to one of the walls, their brightness enhancing the closer he got. That was when he noticed one of the crystals lacking light. He reached towards it, and he watched it be filled with darkness, until it was completely black, not even reflecting any sort of light anymore. He swallowed thickly, pushing away the innate uneasiness from anything dark, as it reminded him of the Boundary. It was just a crystal. Another step in a puzzle he needed to solve.

His fingers wrapped around the crystal, its coldness feeling almost as if he was touching a block of ice, and with one swift movement he pulled it out of the wall. The path on the right collapsed, and Tristan didn't waste any more time, dropping the black crystal and taking the left turn to keep going. No turning back.

The maze

The crystal walls reflected his frame as he walked, but they were more shadows of his self than actual mirror-like reflections. The path twisted and turned, revealing more forks along the way. Tristan continued to navigate the maze, each choice guiding him further into the heart of the labyrinth. Some chambers featured illusions that played tricks on Tristan's perception, making walls appear where there were none and disguising openings with shimmering mirages. Without the aid of magical guidance, he relied solely on his wits and his determination to finish what he set out to do. At certain points, the path narrowed, forcing him to squeeze through tight spaces between the rose quartz formations. The tips and edges of various crystals left a few cuts on his body and his cheek. Occasionally, the maze descended into areas where the floor dropped away, revealing a seemingly endless abyss below, where he would have to keep his balance across narrow bridges.

It was one of these chasms he arrived to when he noticed that there were no means of getting across. In fact, no path continued across the chasm. Once he thought that perhaps he'd taken the wrong turn and turned around to go back, he was met with the alarming sight of closed walls behind him. The path on which he came was erased. He was locked in.

His panic only started to raise when fog started to pool into the room with such a quick pace that he felt like he didn't have enough time to make the right decision. If there was any decision to be made at all. There was only one way out. And that was down in the abyss. He didn't have time, he didn't have his magic, it was a stupid idea, this was surely going to be his end, nobody's going to know where he disappeared to, his parents will be lost forever, his family will be doomed, forever, his friends, his mentor, his lover-- He couldn't breathe. He didn't know if it was the fog overtaking his lungs, of the panic setting in.

"Jump."

Air filled his lungs as he gasped, hearing the voice of his mother, a sound he shamefully thought he'd forgotten over the years already. Tears welled in his eyes as he obeyed his mother, or whatever vengeful creature it was that overtook his mind and feasted on his greatest heartbreak. And he jumped.

Mordred

Tristan woke up with a sharp inhale, as if he was having one of those dreams where he was falling from a height, and just before the impact his body yanked him back into reality. His whole body trembled as he pushed himself to sit up, eyes widening at the sight of a throne room. Everything was white in the room. White floors, white walls, ornate curtains and carpets, frames for canvases that were painted completely white. It was almost blinding. There was only one point in the room that seemed to consume all other colors into a jet black gem embedded into top of the backrest of the throne.

That was it. The dreamstone of Mordred. The very thing he'd come for. The key to power. The solution to all his problems. Blinking his tears away and catching his breath, Tristan stood up from the floor, approaching the throne, slowly at first and by the end, consumed with desperation, he ran towards it. Nothing stopped him. No one spoke to him. There was no audience for his doubts.

He stepped up to the throne, heart racing from anticipation, one hand on the arm rest of the throne to balance himself while he set one of his knees on the seat, climbing it halfway as his free hand stretched out towards Mordred. There wasn't one moment of hesitation before he wrapped his fingers around it. He didn't need to pull, or fight against it. It was neither warm, nor cold. It came out of its place with ease. As if it had been waiting, alone, to be found, to be taken, to be cherished. Tristan hardly even noticed how his shadow had stopped moving as soon as he touched the dreamstone.

What he was concerned with was the cracking of the white walls, the stretching of the cracks and the immense amount of water starting to flood inside so fast that the water level was already reaching his knees. He looked around. The jewels he'd left behind nowhere to be seen. Doors have disappeared, locking him in once more. The only way out was through the cracks, but they were too small for his whole body. He needed to break a bigger hole into the cracks. He needed enough air in his lungs to swim to the surface. He needed magic.

He glanced down at the black dreamstone in his hand. It was almost as if he could see something swirling in the center of it. He had to use it. This was what he came here for, wasn't it? He was going to use it anyway. Sooner or later. It didn't matter how unprepared for it he felt in that last minute, he water was by his chest by then, rapidly rising towards his neck. He took a breath. And another one. And an even deeper one, and he finally recited the spell to make the crack in the ceiling wider. And the ceiling disappeared completely. He didn't have time to marvel at the sheer power that came from the dreamstone as water replaced air almost immediately, and he quickly signed the spell for an air bubble tapping the runes tattooed on his torso. And he could breathe underwater.

He clutched onto the dreamstone tightly as he swam up towards the boat. He clutched onto it even as he conjured a gush of wind that propelled the boat to shore. He never let go, not even as he pocketed all his jewelry he found safely in the grass. And he would keep holding onto it when he arrived back home, just before dawn to lock himself in his study. He had a lot of research to do, and no time for sleep.

He wouldn't be aware, not for a couple more weeks, of the fact that the little voice in his head that kept telling him to push his limits, to take those risks, to miss those events, to take his frustrations out on those closest to him, that little shadow in the corner of his eye that made him paranoid in the dark, that urge to go against everything he'd ever thought to be good... that very voice would turn out to be Mordred itself, corrupting his heart, twisting his mind and using him for its own ambitions.

#warning this is a long boy #{{ 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑢𝑛𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛 }} ( tristan. )

[anna-hawk]

Mondays don't always suck

Pairing: The Mute x GN!Reader Fandom: Pilgrimage (2017) Rating: T Word Count: 1156

Summary: Your week is off to a rough start, but then you meet this beautiful stranger.

Warnings/Tags: Modern Setting – Meet Cute

A/N: I came up with this idea yesterday morning, but initially with Frank. Then I was considering other characters that would work well with it, and suddenly, I really wanted to write something soft for The Mute. Is it a bit silly because it's modern setting? Maybe, but eh.

It’s early Monday morning as you practically jog to your local coffee shop. You huff in exasperation as you feel your phone buzzing with the second email of the day. You hadn’t even started work yet, and you already know that you’d be swamped with emails and phone calls as soon as you got to your desk. The craving for caffeine becomes a necessity as you need fuel to get you through the morning. Ugh, Mondays. 

You pull out your phone from your coat right as you enter the coffee shop. You bask in the wonderful smell of coffee beans and the warmth of the place, since it’s January and Winter had truly settled in a few weeks ago. With your eyes on the screen, you only make sure that you don’t run into the person next in line through your peripherals and scan the latest email from your boss. Why couldn’t she wait until you’re actually there to tell you everything instead of sending you several emails with random thoughts? It’s not like you can do anything before getting your computer started. 

Sending her a quick reply that says that you’d be there in fifteen minutes, you finally put the phone away again and lift your eyes. Your eyes widen at what they find right in front of them. You nearly take a step back to fully take in the man standing before you in the line for the counter. He’s tall, with broad shoulders and a large back, that tapers down into a narrow waist and the curve of a stunning, denim clad ass. The dark blue material of the plaid shirt that he’s wearing is pulled taut over the shoulders, the cut of the collar highlighting a thick neck, while dark hair curls around his head messily. 

You’re ripped out of your staring by the line moving up and the man stepping forward. Except that the person before him seems to have taken a step back again, forcing the man to do the same and ending with him gently colliding with you. He halfway turns towards you with an apologetic expression, and you see him mouth the word sorry while rubbing a fist in a circular motion over his chest. 

“It’s fine,” you smile and wave away his apology, while simultaneously taking in his soft brown eyes and the gorgeous, thick beard that looks incredible on him. 

The man faces forward again, but turns his head towards you a couple of seconds later, as if really taking you in this time, and smiles at you. Your eyebrows rise, surprised by his quick perusal. You give him a small smile in return and bite your lower lip once he has to look to the front as the line moves up again. To your continuous surprise, he halfway turns to you once more, but this time he waves faintly, making you laugh at his tentative approach. 

“Hi.” You emulate his motion, which makes him grin and look down. 

He’s the next in line, so he faces away from you and walks up to the counter, where you see the young barista greeting him with a bright smile and asking what he’d like today. To your surprise again, you see hand movements from the man, instead of hearing a vocal answer. 

Sign language, you suddenly realize, thinking back to the way he’d apologized. You watch the silent exchange between the two men, the way the barista – Diarmuid, you remember – interacts with the man, signing and talking easily, a clear sign that they know each other well. The beautiful stranger laughs, despite no sound coming from him. He glances behind him and at you, then signs something for the younger man. Diarmuid looks at you as the larger man steps to the side, and grins with a wide and friendly smile. Your eyes go from one man to the other as you walk to the counter, one eyebrow lifted and a curious smile on your face. 

“Good morning. My friend here would like to buy you a drink as an apology.”

Your eyes widen as you turn to look at the older man. 

“Oh, no, please. That’s not necessary. It wasn't your fault.” 

You try to say the words a bit more slowly than you normally would, wondering if the man can read them off your lips. You cringe inwardly, wondering if it’s something common to do for deaf people. 

“He can hear you just fine,” Diarmuid says with a soft smile at your effort. “He just can’t talk.” 

“Oh, I’m so sorry for assuming, I-” You want to facepalm so hard and already feel the creep of embarrassment heating the back of your neck, but the man just smiles and shakes his head. 

He signs something else, which makes Diarmuid laugh as he addresses you next. 

“He says that now you really have to accept that he buys your drink.” 

You burst out laughing at the unexpected reply, feeling better thanks to the two men’s easy-going attitude. 

“Okay then, I guess.” You quickly give your usual order, while feeling the eyes of the man on you as he waits for the other barista to finish preparing his drink. 

Diarmuid takes the money the man hands him, then thanks him happily as he keeps the change at the man’s request, you guess, and puts it in a jar. 

“Thank you,” you smile, as you watch the other barista handing the man his drink. 

He nods with a pleased smile, then begins to walk away. You frown, confused. By the way he had looked at you earlier, you know that he had been flirting with you. 

“That’s it?” You ask as he passes you, catching him off guard by how his eyebrows lift, and he looks at you. He stops in his tracks 

“You’re buying me coffee… and that’s it?” You smile with an amused chuckle.

He shrugs with a small smile in return, then looks towards the counter with a twist to his mouth; no Diarmuid to help. He nods his head towards an empty high table, silently asking you to follow him. You take a second to retrieve your finished drink from the barista, then join him, noticing that he’s taken out his phone. He’s put the coffee on the table as he busies himself with typing something. 

I don’t want you to think that you have to talk to me just because I bought you coffee. 

The text reads as he hands you the phone. 

Your eyes go from the screen to his eyes. 

“Just like that?”

He shrugs again and nods. 

“What if I do want to talk?” You smile softly, completely smitten by this big but sweet man. 

He chuckles softly, although there’s no sound, just his chest moving. He takes back the phone and resumes typing. 

I would like that a lot. 

Maybe your Monday wouldn’t be that bad in the end.

#bernthirstpalooza #the mute x reader #the mute #pilgrimage #jon bernthal #fanfiction #writing #mes fics #reader insert

[platonic-activity]

Ignis Fatuus (Foolish Flame)

Chapter 4

Read here on AO3

Her visit with Mulder was a blur. He was irritable and tired. Mulder isn’t the type of person who is comfortable sitting still and resting. She knows this from his prolonged rehabilitation after taking a slug to the femoral artery during their first year working together. She had played a naive Clarice Starling to a psychopath and it had ended with Mulder nearly bleeding to death on a dock. She remembers that feeling of dread when she couldn’t assess his blood loss because it was pouring through the decking into the water below. 

He had overextended himself today. Of that she is certain. It is a sobering thought. That a short walk to purchase some groceries is still too much for him in his current state. Open brain surgery is brutal requiring a six-week minimum recovery. That is when they know exactly what was done. The upside is there appeared to be minimal violence to his parietal bone considering he had endured an unscheduled craniotomy. 

His vitals were normal. Blood pressure and pulse textbook but a little higher than normal for a man in his level of physical fitness. He tersely answered her uncomfortable questions. His breath sounds were normal. Her fears of a pulmonary embolism or massive infection were allayed. 

It wasn’t until she removed his bandage that she began to worry again. Of course, this was itchy. He has the beginnings of a localized infection around his sutures. She had slammed her eyes closed worried that getting him to agree to another hospital visit would be nearly impossible. 

When she opened her eyes he was watching her face intently. 

“It looks like you have a small infection starting around your sutures. If this surgical site were anywhere else I would bring you oral antibiotics. I don’t want to take any chances with this. I think you need IV vancomycin.” She said in the calmest voice she could produce. 

To his credit, he didn't argue but disappointment and frustration were written on his face. She would have been more comforted if he had lodged a campaign to avoid the hospital. It took a few minutes to get a fresh bandage applied and they were out the door, Mulder in sweats and a ripped Brooklyn Dodgers T-shirt. Her stomach is sour with worry. 

_________________

It’s 2 am by the time she leaves him sleeping, doped to the gills with Benzos and fluids going into one arm and full-strength Vanco into the other. She is almost as punch drunk as he is having flown a badly routed connecting flight from Chicago less than 24 hours ago. She takes a moment to close her eyes, jolting awake when headlights fly past her in the Georgetown medical parking garage. 

She urges herself into action and pulls her car out onto the empty streets of Georgetown pointing towards the Richmond suburbs yet again with a piece of Mulder’s bandage securely in her pocket.  

_________________

She wakes up slowly on a thread-bare couch. She smells garlic and coffee and sees a sunbeam traveling from a high transom window to the wall above her. She stretches and sits up slowly. One of the gunmen has delivered her coffee and next to it sits a bakery bag bulging with bagels.

Thank god for these wonderful nerds

She is finishing adding cream to her coffee when she hears a quiet knock on the door a pause and then Byers sneaking a look around the door to see if she is awake. 

“Oh hi, Agent Scully. I took a guess and toasted an everything bagel for you.” He says politely as he sets a plate down on the coffee table. He is already in a suit and she wonders if he slept in it or if it's just later in the morning than she had intended to rest. “Frohike is ready to talk with you in the lab.” 

“Thank you.” She sighs trying to pull herself together a bit. 

She meets Frohike in an alcove towards the back of their offices. She can see the rest of the space from where she sits. Byers has started to fidget with some hardware, glancing up at her every few minutes looking like an overgrown owl. She is fairly certain she can’t be heard from where they are. 

Frohike wastes no time before launching into their reason for meeting. 

“Anna Walsh…  thought to be 35 years old. Her birthdate is listed as September 17th, 1965. Her fingerprints are on record in the state of Illinois as a requirement for employment working with kids. The earliest records I can find of her is that she passed a GED exam in 1984, after that I have a lot of work history. The state of Illinois Department of Revenue has two unclaimed paychecks on file totaling $367, one from an after-school coordinator job at the YMCA and the other from a bar in the Polish downtown area of Chicago. She has no arrest record that I can find; however, there are two incidents where she was detained briefly and released. I would guess that she was involved in some way with the guilty party in both cases, either riding in the car or sharing a living space. Both instances were drug-related.” 

He pauses to see Scully’s reaction to that. Scully listens intently, sipping her coffee. Her expression is tight, mulling over each bit of detail Frohike supplies.

“She moves to the suburbs at some point. The first address tied to her that I can find is a small apartment near a mall in Naperville in 1989. The lease was in her name only. After that, I didn’t see any rental records until the past two years in Mount Carol where she cosigned on a house rental with a woman named Maya Williams who appears to have also been in foster care and is close to the same age as Anna. 

When Frohike pauses she waits. 

“That’s what I have. She doesn’t appear to have a driver's license. The DNA was difficult. My lab contact says that the sample is degraded. He hopes it will be enough to show a relationship but he isn’t confident.”

Scully stands and looks around. Byers seems to have found a task interesting enough to occupy him. Langly is sitting on the couch playing a video game with headphones on. It’s all so overwhelming, each tidbit of information swirling in her mind to create an image of who this woman is. It’s also quite underwhelming. This will not be definitive. There is so much more information she will need before going to Mulder. 

She feels herself sag, the emotions of the past two days catching up with her. It must be evident on her face. Frohike looks apologetic and concerned. 

“I hate to admit this but I would know a lot more if I could widen our circle a bit here. Langly could get into the adoption records. I fear that if I try I will send up a flag on our activity. Don't ever tell him that I said that.”

Scully chuffs a small laugh and reluctantly agrees. “Her juvenile files must be sealed,” She says. 

“I believe it’s the case for all members of the foster care system in this state. Without any idea of how she came to be in Chicago and at what age we really can’t make any headway. We need to know how this happened to gauge whether she is safe.” He levels her with a serious look. “Let me bring Byers and Langly in to find her childhood records. I won't tell them your suspicions or the DNA tests.” 

She thanks Byers for the bagel and takes what is left of her coffee with her into the early morning air. The circle is widening. The wider it gets before she talks to Mulder the more uncomfortable she gets. 

_________________

When he wakes up she is there beside him, dozing in a chair with her head on the bed next to his hip. She has changed and showered. He can smell her fresh flowery shampoo. It seems that she has brought him coffee. 

Despite his recent discontent with being infirm and dependent, Mulder feels better than he has in the two weeks since he last woke up in a hospital. The difference between waking up to her then versus now is heartening. She isn’t radiating fear for his life. He isn’t in any pain. This was only a precaution she had assured him. The doctors had been in at the crack of dawn to inform him that his blood tests looked good and that the antibiotics were doing their job.

She looks peaceful in her uncomfortable position just like the million times she's fallen asleep on planes, in cars on stakeouts… just like this waiting on him to wake up in the hospital. Her hand is slightly curved and he thinks she might have been holding his hand at some point. He marvels at how she manages to sleep anywhere as he starts in on the coffee she brought. It's from a cafe near her apartment that she knows he likes. It’s not fully cooled so he figures she must have gotten here recently. He squints at her watch. It’s already 9:30 in the morning.  

A nurse bustles in and halts when she sees Scully asleep. She quietly goes about her tasks placing discharge paperwork on his table and removing his IVs. He holds his right arm over his body so she can take out both from one side of the bed. “I’ll come back for those papers after the neurologist comes and gives you your instructions. You should be able to leave within the hour.” She says in a hushed warm tone and leaves with a friendly smile. 

He doesn’t want to wake her. He tries to remember the last time she has been at peace in his presence and struggles to do so. It must have been Vegas. By the time he had arrived, she had already roundly shamed the Lone Gunmen for luring her under false pretenses. She had been nursing a protracted but manageable medication-induced hangover and let him treat her to lunch at a burger stand loved by the locals and a walk through an old graveyard of historic neon signs. He had been in such a good mood he even dropped a 10 into the collection tin with the sign saying “Help us get plugged in, Donations Encouraged.” 

Something about watching her eat unreserved always puts him in a better mood, especially in the past 2 years. She had scarfed down a huge burger and almost all of their shared fries. “I don’t get why they didn’t just ask for my help.” She stated around a mouth full of French fries. She washed them down with a swig of beer. “I’m not that difficult to approach. Why all the subterfuge?” She said leaning forward on her elbows and regarding him seriously. 

He had thought it better to keep his response to himself and chose that moment to take a long pull from his beer. “Hhm, the guys just prefer to operate on subterfuge. I think they get off on it.” He said following it up with the most charming smile he could come up with. 

He could tell she had been feeling better and her eyes sparkled with a bit of mischief. The tilt of her lips had him suspecting that she was considering pushing the issue further but instead, she surprised him by suggesting they try their hands at some poker before catching their flight that evening. 

Then the next two months happened. They had quarreled in a way they hadn’t since right before their unexpected trip to Antarctica. Only this time it was he who suggested that her contribution to their work was trivial. He regretted it and she knew that. They had barely gotten their feet under them when the artifact showed up. 

In the space of two weeks, she had been to Africa and the American Southwest in search of answers to save his life. When she arrived at his side desperate to communicate with him she was still fighting for his life. There was nothing trivial about what this woman adds to his life. 

Now months later she is dozing peacefully. He hopes that he can figure out a way to allow her to keep this peace for a little while. It’s the least he could do. Finally, he reaches out and tucks her hair behind her ear and she stirs, waking slowly and then suddenly all at once. When she fixes her eyes on him she gives him a warm sleepy smile. He swallows what feels like a giant lump in his chest as she reaches for his arm turning it over and running her fingers over the bandage left behind from his recently removed IV. She glances at his other arm and then into his eyes. 

“It looks like I’m ok to go home.” He says his voice slightly thick. He clears his throat. “Just waiting on a final visit from the doctor.” 

“Good.” She says, still holding his arm. Her fingers are rubbing a light circle around the underside of his forearm. “I’ll get the paperwork to the nurse,” she says reluctantly letting him go.”

#ignis fatuus #x files #the x files #fanfiction #fanfic #mulder #scully #mulder and scully #msr