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vhenadahls · 3 years

Text

the remnants of the life i used to live here in eden

After Tali is exonerated, she decides to give Pippa Shepard a tour of the Rayya.

G, 2600 words.

“Tali’Zorah, in light of your history of service, we do not find sufficient evidence to convict. You are cleared of all charges.”

Admiral Raan’s voice is still steady and professional, a proper admiral’s voice, but it’s lighter than it’s been the entire time they’ve been on the Fleet. Tali sags forward against the railing in front of her and Pippa, relief exuding from her entire body. The garden plaza erupts with a buzz of chatter, blotting out both Raan’s and Shepard’s next words - not that Tali is sure she would’ve heard them anyways, her own heart is beating so loud. She hasn’t been exiled, and Shepard hasn’t revealed her father’s treachery, and when she woke up on the Normandy today she definitely had not expected this to be the way her day went.

The admirals end the trial, and people start to stream out of the garden plaza, still buzzing with conversation and gossip and thoughts and theories. Tali drags Pippa over to speak with each of the admirals, pointedly keeping the conversation with Admiral Xen blessedly short, and to thank Reegar and Veetor yet again for speaking up for her. Eventually they make it back to the corridor outside the plaza, Garrus trailing behind them. Looking up at the achingly familiar patched-together entranceway, she makes a split-second decision. “Garrus, you go on back to the Normandy. We’ll catch up.”

Garrus looks at Pippa for confirmation. She glances back at Tali, who knows her body language is telegraphing her excitement but that Pippa and Garrus won’t know what it means. After a moment Shepard nods, and Garrus walks back up the corridor to the docking bay the Normandy is in.

Pippa turns to face Tali full-on, a wide grin visible through the viewscreen of her helmet. “Well then, Miss vas Normandy, what’s got you so excited?”

Okay, maybe Pippa’s not so bad at quarian body language as she thought. She pushes that aside and bounces from foot to foot “We’re on the Rayya. It’s my birth ship. I thought I’d take you on a tour.”

Pippa’s mouth drops open behind her viewscreen - Tali’s learned this one, a display of shock or awe for many species, not just humans. “A tour? Really? Is that allowed?”

Laughing, Tali links her arm through Pippa’s and steers her towards the trading plaza. “Probably not, but I doubt they’re going to say anything after today.”

The trading plaza, just a short walk down the corridor from the garden plaza, is also achingly familiar and almost just as she remembers it. The people and items in it are different, of course, but it’s the same design as always. Bank of lockers on the back wall, all different sizes, all full of things someone didn’t need but someone else could use. Rows of desks for anyone to hawk wares, services, whatever it is they can do or make or trade that others might want. It’s loud, crowded, full of people speaking Khelish, people she can still understand if she turns off her translator. A wave of homesickness washes over her, even though she’s standing right in the middle of the ship she grew up on. She won’t live here again, not on the Rayya, even if she does come back to the Flotilla.

Trying to disengage from that feeling, she turns back to Pippa, whose grin has spread even wider. “Where are we now? It looks like a market.” Her eyes dart back and forth across the plaza, head turning so rapidly she looks like a top.

“Kind of,” Tali says, leading the way to the stall of a quilter she remembers from before her Pilgrimage. “We don’t use credits within the Flotilla. Needs like food, water, and medicine are doled out as needed, and you trade for other things. Trade your work, your surplus supplies, information, whatever you have. That’s what this is for - this is where people trade what they can. The lockers on the wall,” she points, “are for people to leave items they don’t want anymore, and someone else can take them. Other people make things to sell here. Quilts, suit adornments, and so on. And musicians and storytellers and dancers can show off their skills.” She points again, to a musician and a dancer attracting a small audience in the opposite corner.

“No credits? How?” Pippa slows, trying to watch exchanges between traders and customers while continuing to follow Tali. “Even when I was a kid on the streets, creds were king. That’s what will for sure get you food in your belly and a safe place to sleep.”

Tali’s heart squeezes painfully, the way it always does when Pippa mentions her childhood before BAaT and the Alliance. She’ll have to ask about that someday. “We don’t have to worry about food and shelter - everyone gets food, everyone gets shelter. You know that’s why we don’t have an incarceration system and our highest punishment is exile - we can’t support those who don’t work to provide for the community, because everyone is given those things by virtue of being quarian. But this sort of thing - things that aren’t necessities, things that make your life happier or easier or the like - those we trade for, because what better thing to offer than something else we value?” They’ve reached the quilt-trader, and Tali holds up her hand in greeting. “I’m Tali’Zorah, and this is Pippa Shepard.”

The quilt-trader nods. “I remember you, Tali’Zorah.” She turns to Pippa, holding out a hand with her palm facing forward, fingers slightly bent, so Pippa can interlace her own with them - a first-time greeting. “Welcome, Pippa Shepard. I am Chenah’Ayyal.”

Pippa looks back at Tali, probably confused, but holds her hand up - Tali would never have doubted she’d be a good sport. The quilt-seller interlinks their fingers, and Pippa won’t be able to tell, no matter how good she’s gotten at reading quarian body language, but Tali can almost feel the approval wafting off Ayyal.

“What brings you to the Rayya’s trading plaza, Shepard?” Ayyal asks, pointedly re-fluffing one of the quilts on her display. It’s reminiscent of Rannoch, qorach and canyons and wide-open sky, in shades of blue and purple.

Rather than answering, Pippa shoots a sidelong glance at Tali. The meaning is obvious - she’s going to let Tali do most of the talking, let Tali choose how others will see a human wandering around one of the Fleet’s most precious ships. She can spin this however she wants.

“I’m taking her on a tour,” she says. No spin. “I want to show her where I grew up.”

Ayyal’s stance becomes guarded, but not angry or mistrustful. Honestly more than Tali had expected, and her stomach unclenches just a bit. She draws one finger down the neat and even stitching of the Rannoch blanket. “This is beautiful. Your stitching is every bit as lovely as I remember. I’ve never seen it fray.”

With the disgusted sound Ayyal makes deep in her throat, the air clears even more. “How can you say that?” she asks, dragging the cloth from under Tali’s hand. “See here, the stitches are off center - everyone will notice! How am I supposed to be happy with anyone displaying this in their quarters? I’ll be a laughingstock!”

Tali tries her very best to muffle a laugh, and the hacking cough suddenly afflicting Pippa spells the same. “Just like a craftsperson,” she says, unable to contain a final huff of laughter. “Thank you for talking with us. Until I return.”

“Until I see you again,” Ayyal replies, and holds up her hand again to Pippa, who readily interlaces their fingers again. “And you, Pippa Shepard,” she adds, and Pippa’s answering grin could power the Flotilla for a week. At least.

Grinning too, Tali links her arm back with Pippa’s and steers her back out of the trading plaza and into another corridor. “So that’s the trading plaza, obviously. Most of what’s right around here is also community areas - a school, an infirmary, you saw the garden plaza, and those sorts of things.” She points out the places they pass as they go, places where she spent her childhood and adolescence. “Schools are clean rooms, because children don’t have suits yet. They’re bubbled - like Raan talked about - but when there’s that many children together, it’s better for the space to be clean too. Infirmary too, for obvious reasons, so those are usually right near each other for efficiency.”

“Name of the day on a ship, any ship.” Pippa peers in through windows when they exist, nodding at each quarian they pass. Tali’s heart skips yet another beat as she watches her. The Rayya might be one of the Fleet’s most important ships, but it’s still dingy and patched-together and shabby compared to the least Alliance ship, let alone the Normandy. But Pippa doesn’t look out of place or uncomfortable at all. She looks excited, interested. She looks like she fits in.

There’s only one reason Tali could be worrying about whether Pippa fits in on the Flotilla, and she is not ready to interrogate that quite yet. Instead, she pulls Pippa down a side corridor, so suddenly that Pippa yelps from being knocked off balance. “This way is to hydroponics - the reason these are called liveships.”

Pippa might be an entire handspan shorter than Tali, but she sure can walk fast when she’s excited about something. “Oh, man! I know I’m not going to understand any of it. But it’s so cool! You figured out how to grow enough food to support seventeen million people in space! Three hundred years ago!” She’s pulling Tali now, stopping dead when they reach an intersection. “Which way?”

Their footsteps echo on the metal floors, familiar and comforting, as Tali leads Pippa through the maze of cobbled-together corridors to the hydroponics observation deck. When the doors open, Pippa hurries over to the windows, pressing her faceplate against the glass to peer at the leafy green plants below. “Look at it! That’s all food!”

Laughing again, Tali joins her at the window. “We all take turns volunteering there, not just those of us who live on the liveships. So everyone has a chance to be part of how and where food comes from and is distributed and all of that.” She gestures to a corner on the far end of what they can see. “I always worked in that corner over there. Helped plant, check irrigation systems, whatever needed doing.”

“Wish I’d had something like that.” Pippa’s smile this time doesn’t actually reach her eyes. “Didn’t really think, as a kid, about where food came from before I nicked it.” Her voice is wistful - the opposite of nostalgic, whatever that is. Tali squeezes her hand, and Pippa turns away from the window.

“Show me where you used to live?” she asks. “If you want to.”

“That was my plan. It’s a deck down, so we’ll just go through here…” she lets her words trail off as they head back into the corridor maze, find the stairs, and go down to the deck where she spent most of her life. The designs painted on the walls, the quilts hung to muffle sound, someone in a familiar suit in literally every corner of the ship - it’s almost like she’s stepped back in time.

She stops in front of the door to her family’s apartment, the apartment that was her home until two years ago. The blank door beckons, but she doesn’t knock. “It belongs to someone else now, another family. They moved my father once I transfered to the Neema, gave him a space more conducive to one person alone and gave this to a family that needed more room.” Her voice is as devoid of emotion as she can make it, trying not to let Pippa hear how draining this is to be back in these spaces that hold memories of her father. And her mother.

Pippa’s hand appears on her shoulder, and Tali looks down at it, trying to let it pierce the haze of remembering. “Hey. It’s okay. It’s alright to be upset.”

It’s alright. Tali snorts. “My father wouldn’t agree. We don’t have time for sentimentality. We didn’t have time to come here at all, honestly. He would’ve been upset with me for letting my feelings overcome my duty.”

“Hey.” The hand on Tali’s shoulder slides down her arm to interlace their fingers together, three and five. “You’re allowed to care. He cared about you. He didn’t know how to show it, but he did. You care about him, still. You care about your people, about our crew. And that’s a good thing. That means you’ll do what you can to protect as many of them as you can.”

“They didn’t want me to come home.” An unfamiliar person emerges from the apartment door, looks between the two of them, and heads off down the hall without a word. Tali moves back up the corridor, Pippa trailing behind, so they won’t be right in front of someone’s door anymore. She tries again. “They didn’t want me to come home. They were using me as a prop, a piece in someone else’s game.” Her voice is rising, and she doesn’t care to stop it. “They stripped my ship name, Shepard!”

“I know. But you don’t have to accept their reasoning for it.” Pippa leans against the wall below a sign in Khelish telling her not to do exactly that.

Tali narrows her eyes. “How do you mean?”

“The ones who voted to strip your ship name wanted you to feel like you didn’t belong. Like you had no home, no one to stand with you. But you do, Tali, you have so many people who stand with you! And multiple homes!” So quickly she looks like she’ll topple over, Pippa stands up straight away from the wall, hands spread for emphasis. “Raan did what she could for you, Reegar and Veetor spoke up for you. They gave you the Normandy in your name in quarian fashion - that’s not a thing any other species does, you know that. You belong in both places. Both, and. Not neither.” Embarrassed, like she wasn’t expecting that speech to pop out of her, she leans back against the wall.

You belong in both places. No one’s ever made it sound like that could be possible. You go on Pilgrimage, you come home and you stay home. Or you don’t, and you never come home again. But Pippa - the same ridiculous human that Tali followed by chance two years ago, who’s come back from the dead at the hands of a terrorist organization Tali couldn’t hate more if she tried - Pippa thinks it doesn’t have to be like that. She can have a human ship name, an entirely non-quarian crew...and still belong to the Fleet. Two homes.

It’ll take some time to get used to that idea.

“You stood for me, too.” She nudges Pippa with her shoulder. “Don’t forget yourself.”

Another blush spreads across Pippa’s pale cheeks. “Well, yeah. I thought that was a given. Or at least, it’s a given to me.”

“It means a lot, though.” Tali takes a deep breath. “I’m glad to be part of your crew.”

The blush deepens. “I am too, Tali. Um, glad you’re part of the crew.” She looks back at the apartment door, closed now. “You ready to go home? Wait, shit, sorry. You ready to go back to the Normandy?”

Five minutes ago, Tali would’ve appreciated the correction. It still grates a little. But…

“Let’s go home.” She can have both. Or at least she can try.

#mass effect #tali'zorah #shepard #shepard x tali #shali #pippa shepard tag #otp: memories you bury or live by #logan writes fic

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whynotwinnie · 3 years

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Tímida: Roger Taylor x OC series

sorry guys i’ve been m.i.a. with second semester starting i’ve been stressing with class and all that but i had this chapter for awhile now and i decided to finish it. also i’m trying to work on “wounded” the kylo ren series but i fell into a bit of a writers block for that one. .-. i’ll work on it soon. but here is this roger taylor fic you can use ben hardy’s version of roger if you would like. :) thanks for reading.

MICKEY

Waking up groggy you checked your alarm clock, 12:00 in the afternoon you have definitely seen worse you groaned as you got up from your bed.

You had always followed a very specific routine in all honestly it just made sense living on your own had definitely impacted you and your mental health so sticking to a routine made it feel like your life was always on track, when it certainly was not.

The first thing on your non-existent schedule was coffee, no matter the time you always needed some sort of caffeine when you are tight on cash it was tea at home, but when you were able and that was most of the time you went to a small coffee shop that was about a fifteen-minute walk from your studio apartment.

After doing the basic self-hygiene you grabbed your tote bag filled with your work stuff and started walking to the directions to Beachwood Cafe.

The walk is always quiet and calm, but it always gave you little bits and pieces into other people’s lives. Like the old lady watering her plants or the way, the housewife takes her toddler for a walk in his stroller. The sense of familiarity comforted you.

“Hello there.”

You whipped your head toward the direction of the voice, this was not part of the routine you had never seen this man before, his shoulder-length blonde hair and ridiculously blue eyes were unfamiliar yet comforting. He was confident yet nonchalant with his greeting.

“Hello,” you said with a small smile he looked down at you smiling.

You continued to walk seeing Beachwood in the distance.

“Were you going to get a cuppa?” you nodded your head “That is so crazy because so was I.” he picked up his pace so he can open the door for you.

You muttered a small thank you and walked in, Beachwood was a small but very popular coffeeshop the owner Dayla has became a very good friend of yours and always brightened up your day with a joke or two.

“Mimi, how are you love?” she asked from behind the counter.

“I’m good Day how are you?”

“Can’t complain if I say so myself.” she said grinning “Let me guess Caffe Latte and a pastry?”

“Yes ma’am, it’s late in the day you didn’t run out of the pastries yet?”

“I just took out a fresh batch right now, I knew you were going to have a late start today.” God, you loved this woman.

You stepped aside to get your wallet from your bag

“What would you like young man?” Dayla asked the man who walked in with you.

“I’ll just get a cup of tea please, Oh! I’ll get her order as well” he said as he saw you handing money to Dayla.

“That’s okay!” you said feeling the heat rise to your cheeks.

“Please I insist.” He said practically throwing the money to pay for your order at Dayla.

“Please let me-”

“Mimi! he said he insists go sit down,” Dayla said looking at you wide-eyed.

You looked at both of them and walked to the seat you usually sat at and what a surprise the man came with you.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” he said motioning to the seat across from you.

“Go ahead,” you said

He sat down looking out the window and then back at you. “I’m sorry I realized I never introduced myself I’m Roger Taylor.” he said extending his hand out to you, you grabbed it.

“I’m Mickey… well it’s not really Mickey but it’s just easier to pronounce.” Stupid you should’ve just said Mickey.

“May I ask what your real name is?” Roger said still holding your hand

“It’s Mikaela but Mickey is fine.”

“Can you say it one more time, I want to make sure I got it right.” he rubbed his thumb across your knuckles.

“Umm… yeah it’s pronounced Me as in me and you, Ki like eye but with a K in front of it and Yella like yell with an A after… That sounded really complicated actually you don’t have to-”

“Mikaela?” he said slowly looking up at you for confirmation.

“Yeah!” your heart skipped a beat it is so nice hearing your name.

“Nice to meet you Mikaela” he said as he brought your hand up to his mouth and pressed a soft kiss on your knuckles.

Fuck.

Of course, at the exact same time as that happened, Dayla came with your drinks. She set your drink down smirking and left without saying another word.

“Is it safe to assume that you are not from here?” He asked while blowing on his tea before taking a small sip.

“Yeah, you can say that. What gave it away.” You said smiling from your coffee cup

“You’re just different from everyone not in a bad way either I like it. Where are you from.”

Oh god, I can die happy right now.

“Well, it's a bit of a long story.”

“I don't have anywhere to be.” He said his blues eyes burning into yours

Oh wow, he's so hot

“Oh in that case. I was born in a small town in Spain. Spanish was my first language so that’s why I talk funny.”

“I like the way you talk.”

He did not. Your face was definitely red.

“How does a girl from Spain come to London?”

“Ummm sheer luck I suppose.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure”

“Was it hard learning another language?”

“Learning English was super difficult sometimes I feel like I dont know what I’m saying, but English is my third language my second was Italian.”

“Italian? Where do you find the time to learn two extra languages?” He was genuinely in disbelief

“Well my mom was from Spain and my dad was from Italy so I just needed to know both and they’re pretty similar to each other so it wasn’t that hard.

“What do you do for fun?”

“What do I do for fun?” I repeated thinking hard

“Yes, you obviously must have loads of friends.”

“Well… I do have friends, I just can’t think of one at this second.”

This is embarrassing now he thinks I’m a loser

“Don’t worry I don’t have many friends either but consider me as your friend Mickey.”

“What about you? What do you do for fun?” I need to change the subject oh my god.

“Well, I’m in a rock band.”

“A rock band?!” You said a little too loudly

“What about me isn’t rock and roll Mickey?” he said laughing

“Not in a bad way of course you don’t seem like the type to be singing in front of a crowd,” I said shaking my head

“Well, I suppose you got that right I’m on the drums in the back so the audience can’t really see me anyways.”

“I’m sorry I’m not trying to make fun of you I just got caught off guard, does your band have a name?”

“Sm- Queen,” he said shaking his head.

“I like the name Queen, are you playing soon I would like to see what I’m missing out on.”

“We’re actually recording our first album right now, the recording place is not too far from here about a block or two further down. So we’re going on a small break until we’re done with the album but I believe the next one is in three weeks.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for it then.” You said sipping your coffee

“Actually I was hoping to see you earlier than that.”

You immediately choked on your coffee, making a scene by coughing into your napkin.

“That wasn’t the response I had hoped for,” he said passing you his napkin so you can wipe your tears with.

“Oh, I’m so sorry I wasn’t trying to be mean I just- well I would like to see you again as well.”

“Really?,” He said smiling, and you swear you could melt from his smile alone.

“Yes, of course.” You smiled back.

He then prompted to drink his cup of tea until it was finished and left money on the table.

“Great then I’m going to leave before I can mess up this perfect first moment. By any chance do you have a pen on you?”

You shook your head yes and looked through your bag handing it to him.

“This is my number, we’re recording until 6 today so anytime after that call me and I’d love to talk to you more.”

You felt your head spinning with how fast he was talking and moving.

He plucked your hand up and gave you a small kiss on it again, he then walked to the door before saying.

“Promise me you’ll call me,” he told you while he grabbed the door handle.

“I promise I’ll call you,” you said softly

“Perfect,” he said while he winked at you and then left.

He gave you one last look through the window and then left, once he was out of view Dayla came to the table.

“Who was that?” she said, collecting her tip that Roger left her.

“His name is Roger. I met him today.”

“Today! You’re joking.”

“I swear Dayla I met him minutes before coming here?”

“He can be a psychopath! And here you are chatting with him after knowing him for 30 minutes.”

That stopped you.

“He is not a psycho he was so nice and funny, and did you see how hot he is Day?”

“Yeah well murderers can be funny and hot.”

“Do you really think he’s a murderer?” you asked in a exsperated way.

“No, I was just kidding he is really hot and besides who would want to murder you?” Dayla said as she wiggled her eyebrows.

“Wow that doesn’t really make me feel better.”

She stood up grabbing Roger’s empty cup “Girl you know I was just playing I say go for it and have fun, anyone would be lucky to have you.” she bumped your shoulder with her hip and left.

Your mind felt overwhelmed with all the excitement from today you even almost forgot that you had some work orders to do you tried to push Roger from your mind as you grabbed your journal and sketchbook from your bag. You looked back at your notes reading on what your client wanted: a floor-length gown but not something too flashy something to show off their arms and their cleavage. Perfect. You spent your time designing the gown having fun with it since you probably wouldn’t have another gown piece for months. After finishing you went on to your smaller orders feeling yourself getting into the groove of things.

Looking up from your sketch you noticed how dark it got outside and how empty it now was in the cafe. You decided to call it a day, well that was until you go home, and then you would start making the gown. You noticed the clock when you were telling Dayla good night. 6:58 Damn time really flew by and then you remembered the number you had in your bag.

The walk home went by to fast your thoughts about what you would say to Roger once you called made you nervous to the point that your keys kept slipping from your hands as you were trying to open the door to your apartment.

You purposely threw your jacket on the phone hook so you didn’t have to see it and went to the bathroom you looked at your appearance baggy jeans, an oversize t-shirt that you also slept in, hair a mess, and no makeup. You shook your head, no way Roger was being serious about you calling him he was so much more put together and out of your league completely. You could just imagine all the beautiful women that he has been with, no way you could compare. You sighed walking out the bathroom ready to get started on your order. You grabbed the different fabrics you needed for making the gown and when you went to grab your sketchbook Roger’s number fell and slowly fluttered down to the floor like it was taunting you. You stared at the paper hard groaning when you opened it reading that he wrote “Roger <3” following his number. You did promise him you would call…

Your heartbeat picked up when you approached the phone dialing each number slowly wishing a catastrophic event would happen and end the world so you didn’t have to finish dialing. It didn’t happen. You put the phone to your ear and hear the first ring, and then the second. This was stupid calling him in the first place you removed the phone from your ear and were half a second away from hanging up when you heard “Hello?”

Shit.

You couldn’t just hang up now.

“Hello, is this Roger?”

“It took you long enough.”

#queen band #queen smut #queen imagine #rogertaylor #roger taylor imagine #roger taylor smut #roger taylor fanfic #queen imagines #borhap #borhap smut #ben hardy #ben hardy smut #ben hardy imagine #ben hardy fluff #queen fluff

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maggies-scribblings · 4 years

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Ladynoir, thinking post-reveal pre-relationship but idk whatever makes you happiest: “I’ll kick his ass if you want me to.”

I decided to make it a continuation of this. Hope you like it, and sorry it took me so long.

Ass-kicking

It was the first Saturday afternoon after the night they found out about their identities, and Adrien and Marinette were at the Historical Library. They were working on an ongoing History project with Alya and Nino, meeting there every weekend.

“Oh, great!” Marinette huffed, looking at her phone screen. “They just bailed.”

“Really?”

She showed him the message on her phone.

[Alya] Hey sweetie, sorry, we can’t make it today. Nino’s family is away and I need to help him with his French homework.

“French homework, huh?” Adrien said as he returned the phone.

“Somehow I doubt that.”

“There will probably be French involved,” he quipped, waggling his eyebrows, “but definitely not homework.”

Marinette had to cover her mouth as she snorted.

“How about we investigate that other subject?” he leaned over the table and whispered conspiratorially.

The library was mostly empty, but Marinette still shushed him.

“What? Here?”

“Where else? We can check out books about ancient languages, history…”

“Hmm… I don’t know… what if someone sees us? Won’t it be suspicious?”

“We’re still working on a project, right? I know! You’re applying for fashion internships in the summer, right?” She nodded. With a playful smirk, he pointed at himself with his thumbs. “Who better to help you with a fashion presentation than your friend, the actual haute couture supermodel?”

Marinette giggled softly while Adrien winked and made finger guns, in full-on Chat Noir mode. Her laughter made his heart sing.

“Okay, actual supermodel. Where should we begin?”

A few weeks later…

[Alya] Hey there gorgeous! Girls’ lunch today?

[Marinette] Hey Alya! No can do, project work all day.

[Alya] Secret project again, huh? 😉

[Marinette] Quit it Alya, I have to go. Raincheck?

[Alya] How’s Sunday?

[Marinette] Great! Text me in the morning. xoxo

[Alya] Yeah, right… I’ll drop by to wake you! xoxo

Alya sighed as she put her phone away. Marinette had been acting weird for some time now. Ever since that day she showed up at school with dark circles under her eyes and with a silly grin on her face, which she explained away with some excuse about good news from her Chinese relatives, and staying up late on Facetime to talk to them.

After four years of BFF service, Alya could tell when she was making up stories… and yet, even when caught in a lie, there were some things Marinette just wouldn’t share. It was frustrating, but Alya was respectful of her friend’s privacy. Well, most of the time, anyway.

It was also weird that she was hanging out with Adrien so often, seeing that not so long ago she had trouble even maintaining a simple conversation with him.

“Sooo, giiirl…” Alya playfully asked, before taking a bite of her kebab. “Got anything you want to share with meee?... ”

“Share?” Marinette looked genuinely confused. “What about?”

“Don’t play innocent with me, sweetie. You thought I wouldn’t notice you and Adrien sneaking around on breaks, going to your place after school?”

Marinette’s reaction was even stranger. Instead of her usual sputtering and denial, she coolly replied they were working on a project together, refusing to add any other details. And yet, Alya couldn’t resist some gentle teasing.

“So, does this… erm… project include any nookie?”

“A-Alya!” There she was. Blushing, stuttering Marinette. “No-nookie? No! This is strictly professional!”

As it was, Marinette refused to discuss the project any further, except to add it had something to do with fashion and her application for summer internships with established designers Adrien knew. It was the exact same explanation Nino had heard from Adrien… almost verbatim. Her reporter's sixth sense was tingling, but she let it go. If her best friends were seeing each other in secret there probably was a good reason for it.

“Alya’s on to us.”

“What!?” Chat Noir almost spit out his palmier. “She knows?”

Ladybug shook her head and corrected herself.

“No—not that! I mean she’s not buying the story about the…” she gestured air quotes, “‘fashion project’!”

“Oh. That.” After licking his fingers, he took another cookie from the box Ladybug had brought to patrol. One of the best perks of the job, and now much more frequent. “Nino was also acting weird about it.”

“What do you mean, acting weird?”

“He was all like, oh, you dog, finally saw the light, took you long enough, whatever.”

Ladybug swallowed her juice quicker than she should, breaking into a coughing fit. Chat Noir tapped her back, which was no help at all but made him feel like he was doing something. As the coughing stopped, the pats turned to gentle rubs.

“He did?”

“Yeah, he was so… smarmy about it. Like he knew something I didn’t.”

“Huh.” Ladybug scooted away from him and went very quiet.

“Are you alright?”

“I… I just need a minute, okay?”

Adrien was confused by her reaction. Sure, things were different after that night. Since then, Ladybug seemed slightly more restrained around Chat Noir. Although he had toned down his banter, she seemed more embarrassed whenever he made some flirtatious joke.

The civilian side of their lives was altogether a different story. After a few days of mutual awkwardness, working together on the grimoire brought them closer than ever.

Of course, they had been friends for a long time — well, except for that time in the beginning, when she had been so uncomfortable around him. The gum incident when they met was probably a bad start, and there had been ups and downs between them ever since. He even asked Nino if she had something against him, but he wasn’t any help.

Eventually, that bashfulness faded as they grew older. Marinette started going out with Luka, much to the joy of their mutual friends and his own inexplicable chagrin. Adrien and Kagami were also dating within the confines of their controlling, yet approving, parents. After that, whenever they hung out there was a relaxed familiarity that made her open up more, and Adrien considered her one of his best friends.

Now that he knew she had been Ladybug all along, he couldn’t help but feel the bitter twinge of regret. What would—could—have happened if he knew then what he knew now?

“You really don’t know why Nino teased you?”

“No—I don’t.”

“They think we’re, you know, dating in secret.”

“What? Why? They think you’re cheating on Luka?”

“No! Not cheating… Luka sorta dumped me six months ago.”

“Luka dumped you?” Adrien was totally confused. How could anyone dump Marinette? “I’ll kick his ass if you want me to, Milady.”

“Nah, it’s okay,” she chuckled sadly. “It wasn’t working out anyway.”

“What happened?”

“Oh, you know. He has his music, I have all of this,” Ladybug sighed, pointing at her suit. “He wanted me to be more present, and I just couldn’t. It’s like we were always out of sync.”

“—out of sync,” Chat Noir ended the phrase with her. “I know what you mean.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it was the same with Kagami,” he admitted. “She wanted to do, you know, couple things, when I was exhausted from all of this. She needed me to be there for her. By the seventeenth time I ditched her during an akuma alert with a lame excuse, she was done and ended everything.”

“You still seem hurt about it.”

“I think I’m over it now,” he shrugged. “It’s been almost a year. I just couldn’t be the kind of boyfriend she needs and deserves, so…”

Ladybug was silent for some minutes. When she spoke, Chat Noir jumped a little.

“I can’t believe she dumped you,” she said indignantly. “She was so in love with you…”

“How do you know that? She’s usually so reserved.”

“Well, besides it being written all over her face when she was near you? She told me. Well, actually she told Ladybug.”

“She told you that? When?”

“Oh, it was a while ago, the last time she was Ryuko. She said you were made for each other.”

“Oh yeah, when you saved her from Heart Hunter. They were after people who were in love.”

Ladybug cringed with embarrassment, then sighed and straightened her back, psyching herself up.

“I—I need to be honest with you, Adrien… I didn’t exactly save her. I chose her that day because I was jealous.”

Chat Noir nodded, but she wouldn’t look at him.

“Jealous?” he cleared his throat. “Of… me?”

“Yes.” She uttered a sad chuckle, shaking her head. “I was so confused back then. So tired. I liked Luka, but I was so obsessed with Adrien-you, and I was trying not to like Chat-you. Then you and Kagami looked so happy that day… I tried to walk away, but jealousy got the best of me.” Ladybug covered her face with her hands. “I made so many stupid decisions that day. I almost ruined everything.”

Chat Noir pulled her into his lap and hugged her.

“Hey… hey… It was a tough time for all of us, with Hawkmoth chasing Master Fu—”

“—and I led him straight to where Master Fu was! It was all my fault.”

“No.” He gently lifted her chin to meet her eyes. “It’s all his fault. Hawkmoth’s the one who’s caused all this. Don’t you ever forget that.”

Ladybug nodded, sinking into his arms and pulling him closer.

“You can always count on me when you feel overwhelmed,” Chat Noir whispered, kissing her forehead. “Or if you need me to kick some ass.” He felt her chuckling softly into his shoulder. “Now you always know how to find me. Any time, day or night, okay?”

“Okay.”

“And we’ll talk about that other thing another day. I’m still annoyed with our so-called best friends and their teasing.”

“Okay.” This time there was a hint of laughter in her voice. “Please don't kick their asses.”

“Maybe I will, maybe I won’t… Now, let’s clear this up so I can take you home.”

To be continued? Let me know!

Thanks to @chanceuseladynoire, @zenmisery and @nomolosk for the beta read.

Asked for a sequel and/or to be tagged: @miraculous-elcie-fanfics @ao3bronte @bowser14456 @alexseanchai @delectablycoolscientist @lecolibribleu @omgpercabethadrinette @damelicorne

#alexseanchai #miraculous ladybug #ml fanfic #miraculous fanfic #ladynoir #adrinette #adrienette #adrien agreste #marinette dupain-cheng #ladybug #chat noir #my writing #my fic #my fanfic #post-reveal pre-relationship #prompt request

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myherowritings · 5 years

Text

autumn with the boys 🍂

BAKUGOU KATSUKI

bakugou loves the colder seasons because this boy gets hot and sweaty so easily, he’s thankful for the cool breeze and lower temperatures of the fall

plus, he’d never admit it, but he enjoys seeing you in oversized sweaters and likes having an excuse to wrap his arm around you at all times

“don’t smile at me like that, baka. i just don’t want you to get cold because then you’ll get sick and guess who the unlucky fucker who’ll have to take care of you is? that’s right-- me.”

you just nod along, pretending you believe him while snuggling closer to his chest

bakes you pumpkin pie

(extra cinnamon for added spice and you have to pretend you love it)

also makes apple pie with the lattice detailing

acts like it’s no big deal, but really it takes him a whole day to make because pie takes forever in the oven

during train rides, katsuki stares outside the window as he watches all the colors on the trees change

you think he looks uncharacteristically sweet and angelic, so you try taking as many photos of him as you can before he catches you

(but you forget to turn the flash on your phone off and he catches you in an instant)

“what the fu--?!”

but when you give him a pout and pleading puppy-dog eyes, he scoffs and lets you take a photo

“fine-- just one. and you better not post it anywhere!”

“i promise i won’t”

(you post it on every social media you have, tagging bakugou with a caption saying ‘the best season with the best boyfriend ever!’)

the smile you give him when he finds out is so cute, he can’t even bring himself to be mad

he’ll let it go but only because fall puts him in a good mood

TODOROKI SHOUTO

oversized sweaters

sweater paws

todoroki is cute naturally, but him in neutral-colored cable knit sweaters? it’s an overload of adorable and you hardly know how to contain yourself

he likes when you call him cute, yet gets rather embarrassed at the same time

a light flush dusts his cheeks… a small, dimpled smile makes its way to his face as he tries to hide it… the works

autumn usually equates to the cold and flu season and, while you succumb to the germs, shouto just seems to have the strongest immune system ever

as you’re coughing and sniffling, he’s completely unaffected

so he decides takes on the task of caring for you when you get sick

he tries to make you soup even though he can’t cook (but when you’re sick you can’t taste anything anyways, so you eat it to make him happy)

he buys you tissues and cough medicine and fruits and literally everything he saw on a “what to get your sick s/o” post online

you don’t need half the stuff he bought, but his effort is enough to make your heart swell

shouto is the best heating and cooling pad who is right there at the touch of your fingertips

warms you up with cuddles when you get cold

you buy him those yummy, pumpkin-scented candles you know he loves the smell of

no matter how many times you see him ignite the wick with his fingertip, it’ll always be the coolest thing in the world to witness

hot chocolate late at night while you watch a halloween movie on the common room couch is something the two of you do every weekend

(your classmates always walk by and you have to pretend not to notice them taking photos of “the cutest couple in 1a”)

best snuggle buddy to enjoy the season with

KIRISHIMA EIJIROU

he’s more of a summer/spring person, but likes to use fall/winter as an excuse for more cuddles

because the colder it is, the more cuddles are needed, right?

as much as he loves cuddling with you indoors, he also likes taking you out to do the fun cliche “autumn things”

kirishima laces his fingers through yours as he pulls you along to complete the best fall bucket list ever

he makes piles of fallen leaves and jumps in with you

takes you out on coffeeshop dates because “y/n, quaint coffeeshops are the perfect place to fall in love in the autumn! i read it online somewhere!”

brings you to a pumpkin patch and you have a competition to find the biggest, brightest pumpkin out there

enters the two of you in a couple’s baking contest and you fail miserably

(but it’s okay because neither of you can stop laughing the whole entire time)

you buy kirishima the biggest bag of halloween candy you can find and you guys finish it in less than a week

he’s hyper and jittery and the sugar rush seems like it’ll never go away

but it was worth it because candy

with the pumpkins you picked earlier this week, you have a jack-o-lantern carving contest with each other

you both carve the best design you can think of and tell your friends in 1a to vote for whose is best

when you finish, he shows you his

“um… kirishima? what’s that?”

“well, i tried to make crimson riot but it didn’t turn out as planned…” he scratches the back of his head. “what about you?”

you turn yours around and show him

“mine’s a shark baring its teeth! because it reminds me of you”

he starts tearing up and your eyes widen in alarm until he gives you a big hug

“h-how manly! we don’t have to call kaminari and ashido-- you already win”

any season is the best season with kirishima

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incidentreport31 · 3 years

Text

Episode 2 - Secure TRANSCRIPT

[You can listen to the show wherever you get your podcasts.

Recorder clicks on.

SFX of a mug being set down on a counter. Water pouring and then the clink of a spoon against ceramic. Then, an abrupt almost dropping of said mug as Zach begins to speak.

ZACH:

Tea? Really?

ARCHIVIST:

(stammering)Oh, hi, hello, can… can I help you…?

(beat)

ZACH:

You can help yourself by getting some coffee. Tea isn’t gonna do anything for you, you know. It won’t keep you going for the whole day. You’ve gotta get that good ole cup of joe to start your morning.

ARCHIVIST:

I’m… sorry?

ZACH:

You can’t tell me that you actually like that garbage, right? I mean what kind are you even making?

[shuffle as he grabs the box off the counter]

English Breakfast? Really? English? Compensating for being in the US are we?

ARCHIVIST:

(defensive for no reason beknown to the listener but painfully known to them) I happen to like it, actually but- no actually wait a minute, who are you? Do you work here?

ZACH:

(also defensive for previously explained reason) Yeah, I do. Do you?

ARCHIVIST:

Yes, indeed I do. I’m actually the head archivist. May I ask what in the hell you might do around here? Other than, of course, critique drink choices?

ZACH:

Oh. (beat) Oh you- (another beat) You’re the archivist?

ARCHIVIST:

(huffing out a breath) Quite right. Once again. What the hell do you do here?

ZACH:

Oh I’m Zach. Zach Baker. I’m sorry I didn’t realize you were… my… boss.

ARCHIVIST:

(hurried and with false confidence) Yes, of course. I’m Val West… your boss. Which means that I’m in charge here. Which then means you should… watch yourself in bothering me about these small things. Yes.

ZACH: It’s not my fault you have the worst taste in drinks-

ARCHIVIST:

(coughs to cut him off)

ZACH:

Well, you do. I’m just saying, okay? And- hold on, are you recording this?

ARCHIVIST: Hmm? Oh, yes I suppose I am.

ZACH:

Where’d that thing come from anyway? It looks ancient.

ARCHIVIST:

It is, from what I can tell. But Mr. Banks has instructed me to record all of my (said with distaste because the archivist is a dick to account givers) “little stories” into it. Apparently, silent reading does not do much in the way of furthering the plot of a story told in an audio format.

ZACH: Yeah, I guess he has a point there.

ARCHIVIST:

Fair enough… Either way, I'm not the biggest fan of the old girl, but she hasn’t broken down on me so far, so that counts for something I reckon. Not that there aren’t better ways of recording things, but I digress.

(a beat)

But, I guess I’ve just gotten in the habit of turning it on when it seems like I’m about to do something noteworthy that might further the plot, you know?

ZACH: Like… making tea.

ARCHIVIST:

Yes, yes, I believe you’ve already expressed your opinions on tea, but some of us prefer it to that… grimy coffee that you seem so attached to.

ZACH:

(flustered and compensating, sputtering his words out) Well you can defend your tea all you want, but I am still objectively correct and everyone else definitely agrees with me too, even if the coffee pot goes missing once a week-

ARCHIVIST:

The coffee pot what?

ZACH:

(feeling like he shouldn’t have said that as it seems to have hurt his argument, starting slow and getting increasingly heated) I… it goes missing sometimes… and I haven’t figured out who keeps taking it yet, but trust me I will, and anyways in the meantime, it’s a bit inconsiderate of you to continue trash talking my drink choice-

Recorder clicks off.

Recorder clicks on.

ARCHIVIST:

God, I had to cut that conversation off… It was getting quite past the point of relevance to anyone listening. Pointless debate. So… back to what I was hired on to do, I suppose. (clearing their throat) For the consideration of Boston College: Jordyn Mackenzie’s encounter with an odd child in her parents’ neighborhood, and her request to be exempt from her midterms. No date, once again. [mutters] I am starting to question my predecessor’s competency when it came to filing these out. Her story begins:

[ACCOUNT START]

Every Wednesday night, I make the drive over to my parents’ house to have dinner. When I first moved into my dorm, I had stubbornly been forced into these dinners, as if they were ripping away my freedom so shortly after I had received it. As time went on, however, those Wednesday night dinners have become what I look forward to most. After a while, the glamour of college began to wear off, and I got homesick easily, even if my mother and I didn’t always see eye-to-eye. There’s something so comforting about being able to step away from the bustling atmosphere of campus, and go somewhere quiet, and familiar. We’ve lived in that house almost all my life, and even with all of the bad memories attached to it, I can’t help but think of all the good ones. Perhaps that’s because I always try to see the glass as half full.

(beat)

It’s not just the house I enjoy. My parents live in a small gated community, just about twenty minutes away from school. The houses are all fairly new, with that white picket fence quality to them. In spite of that, each house has its own personality and charm to it. My favorite is probably this blue one with rabbit figurines out front. There’s a park in the neighborhood, too. Not a fancy one, just some monkey bars, a couple of slides, and a grassy field, but it’s great for picnics. Though, in all my time living there, I’ve hardly seen any other children there. I just assumed there weren’t many young kids in the neighborhood.

(another beat)

Thus, you can imagine my surprise when I met this particular child. Now, after dinner each night, I go out on a walk around the neighborhood. It’s small enough to walk the whole span of it in less than half an hour. My father used to come with me, but he’s been having troubles with his knee, so now I walk alone. The weather this time of year is near perfect for a walk—cold enough for it to kiss your face and wake you up, but not enough to freeze to death.

ARCHIVIST:

(mutters) Good lord, spare me the bad poetry. Would love to get to the actual point soon. Anyways.

[ACCOUNT]

It was on one of these walks that I first encountered the kid.

ARCHIVIST:

(mutters) Thank you.

[ACCOUNT]

As I previously stated, there aren’t many kids in the neighborhood, so it took me by surprise to see a new face. He looked to be about seven or eight, with unkempt, dirty blond hair, and blue eyes that were almost unnaturally large on his face. He wore a basic white t-shirt and jean shorts, and sure, I liked the weather, but a kid dressed like that must have been freezing, right? He did not shiver, however, hardly even emoted. Just walked right down the center of the road, staring dead ahead, carrying a bright orange toy gun.

(beat)

Of course, I worried for the kid. Where were his parents? Why was he out so late by himself?

I called out to him. He looked up at me with a surprised look, as if he was shocked to see me actually speaking to him. I asked him what his name was, but he didn’t answer. I tried to ask him lots of things—where his house was, why he was out so late, if he needed help or if his parents were nearby. He wouldn’t respond to anything I said. Just stood there and stared intensely into my eyes. I have to admit, it made me a bit squeamish. Eventually, I just walked away, hoping that whoever was responsible for the kid knew where he was, and that he would make it home safely. I tried not to think about it too much after that. The following week, when I went to dinner, I didn’t go on a walk. My parents had decided they wanted to play a board game, and I was more than happy to comply. The event with the kid had left me feeling unsettled, so I was a bit wary of going on a walk regardless. After another week, however, I had finally gotten over it. I figured it was just one weird kid, nothing more. I mean, looking back, I couldn’t blame him for being scared to talk to a complete stranger. I mean I wasn’t even certain looking back that the expression on his face was all that disturbing. It likely had just been fear, right? Surely, his parents knew where he was, and he was simply out for a post-supper stroll like I was. It was a fairly safe neighborhood, after all. So, the next time I went to my parent’s house for dinner, I went on another walk. There was a slight breeze, but my body heats up as fast as an oven with the slightest bit of exercise, so I welcomed the blasts of cold on my skin. The leaves in the trees rustled, and combined with the sound of windchimes, it was like a symphony of nature’s design.

ARCHIVIST: dropping down papers

(frustrated) I thought I said no more poetic imagery, christ- oh good it ends.

[ACCOUNT]

It was lovely, up until it wasn’t. I saw the kid again, still standing in the middle of the road. He was wearing the exact same outfit as before, the shorts even having the exact same grass stains they did before. It was uncanny, sure, but I figured it was just a coincidence. This time, I harbored far less discomfort or worry. It was just a kid. What could he do to me?

(beat)

A lot, turns out. (stumbling through the sentence) A lot meaning… scare me, but you know what I mean.

Before I even opened my mouth, I realized he was staring dead at me. As if his doll-like eyes were drilling holes into my skull. The weight of being watched hit me like a freight train, but I tried my best to shake it off. I apologized to him for being so invasive the last time we met. Again, he didn’t answer, just continued staring. I wasn’t quite sure what to say after that. It would be hypocritical if I began asking him questions again, immediately after I had apologized for doing exactly that.

ARCHIVIST:

Not sure a child understands what hypocrisy is, but, if it lets you keep the moral high ground, Ms. Mackenzie.

[ACCOUNT]

I didn’t like the way he looked at me, though. My desperate need to fill the silence was an instinct of some kind. As I stood there, teetering back and forth on my heels as I tried to think of what to do next, something strange happened. The kid, still staring at me, slowly began to raise his arm. In his hand was the same toy gun as before. He raised the toy gun until it was pointing directly at my head. Well, what the hell was I supposed to do with that? I knew it wouldn’t actually hurt me if he fired it, yet I still found myself frozen in place.

That was when the car, driving far too fast for a neighborhood, came barreling around the corner. The kid didn’t move. Didn’t even look to see the car coming. My feet lept to action before I processed what I was doing. I ran out into the middle of the street and tackled the kid. We stumbled towards the sidewalk on the other side as I dragged him. The momentum knocked us to the ground. Pain surged through my shoulder and my hip, but I hardly processed it until later, when I saw the large bruises that had formed. We had just barely managed to clear the car’s path. The driver didn’t even stop to apologize, or check to see if we were okay. Didn’t even slow down. I didn’t get a good look at the driver’s face, or the license plate. All I remember is that the car was black and might have been a Honda. Wherever they are, I hope karma did a good deal on them for their reckless driving.

Before I could focus on my injuries, I checked to make sure the kid was okay. Other than a scrape on his knee, he appeared to be fine, but it was hard to say. Even after all of that, his expression still hadn’t changed. For some reason, this made me indescribably angry. How could you almost get hit by a car and then still act completely neutral? Regardless,if he was in any pain, there was no way I could tell. I offered to take him back to my place and clean up his knee, but he shook his head. I noticed he was staring intently over my shoulder. When I turned around, I realized his toy gun had been destroyed. Orange and yellow plastic bits covered the street, almost like broken glass. He stood up and walked towards the remains. As he picked up what used to be the trigger, his face was still blank, but if I looked closely enough, I could have sworn I saw something adjacent to sadness. Disappointment, perhaps. For the first time since I had met him, he opened his mouth, and—god, I wish I had stuck around long enough to learn more. I wish I had pressed harder, since I now knew he was actually capable of speech. Hearing what he said next chilled me, though. I can’t quite say why. All I know is that after he spoke, I got up and ran back to my house, never wanting to see that kid again. Do you want to know what he said? The only words I ever heard him speak? It was this, with no further details or elaboration: “He’s not going to be happy about this.”

Paper shuffling.

ARCHIVIST:

And that seems to be where it ends. Jordyn gave us the name of the neighborhood this took place in, as well as the exact street the incident happened. The problem is, as she stated, it’s a gated community, and none of our staff had a code to get in. It says here in an attached slip of paper labeled: Incident Report, (sighs) date not given, that they contacted the head of the community in an attempt to gain access, but the head of the home-owner’s association said to, quote, “shove it in a place the sun doesn't shine, you conspiracy theory creeps.” Luca writes here that there was an issue involving a cup of… tea… thrown at their face… what a waste.(mutters) Rich people.

Because of this, there’s not much we can do. Without a stated name for the kid, or any known relatives, it’s hard to try to track this kid down. Frankly, I don’t think Jordyn’s story is all that concerning, other than the incident with the car, which we also could not find due to her vague description.

(beat)

It’s likely the child she met was simply shy, or possibly processed his emotions in a different way than she was used to. Her university certainly agreed with me, since it seems she was not given her requested time off. Thus, as far as I can tell, this is another instance of someone making something deeper than it needs to be and then trying to get an extra vacation. I can’t blame her, I suppose, since nearly seeing a kid get run over would certainly be upsetting. It does appear that Oliver, our resident psychological consultant, did recommend her a therapist, but she never went.

(beat)

Trust me, Jordyn, I would love to take a break as well, but post-grad school is expensive, and I doubt Mr. Banks would give me paid time off even if something worthwhile were to happen. It’s the world we live in, I suppose. Gotta pay off the student loans one way or another. (sigh)

End recording.

Recorder click off.

CREDITS:

Incident Report Number 31 is a podcast made by Three-Eyed Frog Presents. This episode, “Secure,” was written, directed, and produced by Val West and Luka Miller with sound design by Luka Miller. This episode featured Val West as the Archivist and Kaleb Piper as Zach Baker. Music is produced by Luka Miller. To keep up with the show and find transcripts, make sure to follow us on our Twitter at @IR31Pod and on tumblr at @IncidentReport31. To contact us with any questions or concerns, feel free to email us at [email protected]. Thanks so much for listening!

#ir31pod transcripts

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atc74 · 4 years

Text

Heartbeat - Chapter Two

Warnings: COVID-19, Croatoan, Fluff, quarantine, Mentions of fever, coughing, (Each chapter will have additional warnings).

Summary: Sam, Dean, and Y/N are sheltering in place at the Bunker, researching this new virus that has created a world pandemic. But what happens when one of your own is immune compromised?

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Word Count: 1850

Beta’d by: @amanda-teaches because she’s the best

A/N: I’M BAAAAACCKKKK, well, mostly :) I know I’m not the only one struggling with life right now, and writing has been hard. Thank you all for sticking it out until I was able to get something together for you guys. This is only temporary and will pass. Keep your chin up and try on your jeans every few days.

Heartbeat Masterlist

Like Dean’s scent? Buy it here from @scentsfromthebunker!

Previously…

“Sam, I’m sure you both took the necessary precautions. Dean’s a germaphobe by nature so I’m sure he is out there now, sanitizing his Baby already. He wore a mask, didn’t he? And gloves?”

“He sure did. Got some strange looks and things got a little dicey at the liquor store, and the drugstore. I don’t know why people are still hoarding toilet paper and feminine hygiene products,” Sam said, a look of disbelief on his face.

“It’s actually a psychological response to minimize risk. It’s an emotional contagion as well, so when it starts happening in one part of the country, that news spreads and it drives people, either by fear, anxiety, or panic, into doing the same thing. I get the toilet paper, since that is a need everyone has, but tampons, really? I don’t know why I’m surprised by anything at this point,” Y/N chuckled a bit as she reached for one of the bags to help Sam.

“No!” Sam pulled the bags back from her. “Sorry. It’s just, um, can you please go wait in the library until I get all of this unpacked and sanitized? Please?”

“Yes, I can. Thank you, Sam. I appreciate you and am thankful for your concern,” Y/N smiled as she rose to her feet and made her way down the hall. She loved Sam as more than just a brother and her best friend. He had become her physical therapist of sorts, designing different workouts for her to keep her body strong when the MS wanted to take it from her. Sam had also done extensive research on different dietary and nutrition plans that people with MS have had success with combating their symptoms. Dean was her emotional rock, while Sam became the physical one. She lowered herself into one of the recliners and picked up a book. She’d had enough research for the day and some Harry Potter was what she needed to take her mind off things.

Now…

“Hey, honey, wake up,” Dean whispered, his breath fanning across her face as she stirred.

“Hi,” she smiled, stretching. “Did I fall asleep again? What time is it?”

“Yeah, you did,” Dean affirmed. “It’s just before six and dinner is almost ready. You hungry?”

“Starving!” Y/N said, getting to her feet and wrapping her husband in her arms. “You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. Just, it’s crazy out there and I’ve never seen anything like this before. Not even with the Croatoan virus back in oh six. That was small beans compared to the shit that is going on out there. We need to be even more careful than ever before. You can’t afford to get sick, honey. And I can’t afford to lose you,” Dean admitted.

“You and Sam are taking all the necessary precautions to make sure that doesn’t happen. I trust you both with my life,” Y/N leaned up, sliding her lips gently over Dean’s.

“I talked to your dad today. He is on his way to Rufus’ old cabin in Whitefish. He wanted to come home, but,” Dean paused, not sure how to tell his wife that her dad can’t be there right now.

“I know, baby. And, he knows, too. I’ll call him later, let him know I’m okay,” Y/N nodded. “Let’s eat.”

Over the next several days, the news reports were filled with more cases, more bodies. The National Guard was being mobilized in New York and Milwaukee, among other cities. Hotels, motels, and college dormitories were being converted into quarantine facilities as the virus continued to spread, despite the recommendations of federal and local government. Social distancing, shelter in place, and flatten the curve were terms used so many times in too many reports.

“So get this. You know how Chuck’s been throwing this temper tantrum? Destroying all the other worlds he created? What if, and this is going to sound a little out there, even for us, but what if, this is Chuck’s plan for our world? He knows he’ll never get the ending he wants, Dean and I killing each other. So, he’s decided to spread this virus, create a pandemic and kill off humanity?” Sam proposed. He leaned back in his chair looking between Dean and Y/N.

“Why wouldn’t he just snap his fingers and Earth go boom?” Dean asked.

“Because it’s too easy and frankly, it lacks the drama he’s looking for. If he snaps his fingers, who is going to be here to care? If this is his plan, killing off humanity slowly, then it’s all over the news. People are fascinated by tragedy, driven by it, and he gets the audience he craves,” Sam shrugged.

“So how do we stop him?” Dean pondered.

Y/N shook her head, ridding it of the current conversation. She was going stir crazy. In the last week, Dean had cleaned every weapon in the armory and Baby. Sam had inventoried three storage rooms, even one he didn’t remember they had. She couldn’t look at another news report.

“Dean, baby. I need to get out of the Bunker. Please,” Y/N begged him over coffee during the fourth week. “I’ve been cooped up here for weeks. I need to see the sunshine, feel the wind on my face.”

“Y/N, honey, it’s not safe out there,” Dean shook his head. “I can’t let anything happen to you. You’re my world.”

“Dean, I know. And I’m not asking you to take me to the store, or anything crazy. What if we just take a drive? I can see the sun, feel the wind. Just you, me, and the open road?” Y/N was practically purring in his ear.

“No more than an hour, and I mean it, Missy,” Dean stood, pointing his finger in her direction.

In less than ten minutes, they were in the car and headed down the dirt road leading from the Bunker. It was a beautiful, warm spring day and Y/N could already see the fields blooming with wild flowers as Dean sped past them. Placing her hand in his as he drove, she slid across the bench seat and smiled. This was exactly what she needed. Y/N was happy for the first time in weeks.

If anything, Dean was a man of his word and just over an hour later, he pulled Baby back into the garage. As he helped her out of the car, handing over her cane, he pecked her on the lips. “Feel better?”

“My cup runneth over, my love. Now, it’s naptime,” she announced, climbing the small set of steps with some difficulty as tremors overtook her lower extremities, and she lost her footing.

“Hey, hey, I got you, honey,” Dean said, scooping her up in his arms and carrying her down the hall to their room. He laid her gently on the bed before he sat beside her. “Are they getting worse?”

“Not worse, not better, just…there.” She closed her eyes, fatigued from the fresh air. “Would you get me some water please?”

“Of course, you need to take your meds anyway. I’ll be right back, don’t run away on me now,” Dean joked as he rose. He rushed down to the kitchen for a bottle of water. By the time he returned to the bedroom, Y/N was asleep. He hated to wake her, but he knew how bad things could get if she missed a dose. With water and pills in hand, Dean roused her gently. “Honey, I need you to take these, ‘kay?”

“Right, okay. I fell asleep, didn’t I?” Y/N said sheepishly, pulling herself up enough to accept the water and pills from her husband.

“Yeah, must’ve been all that fresh air,” Dean waited until she swallowed her meds, then put the cover back on the water, placing it on the nightstand for her. “Get some rest, I’ll start dinner.” He kissed her softly, pulling the blankets over her.

Dean closed the door softly behind him, and headed for the kitchen, trying to decide what was on the menu. “What’s for dinner, Sammy?” He asked his brother seated at the table.

“It’s a nice day, maybe we could grill up some chicken breasts. Chicken pesto linguine?” Sam suggested, raising his eyebrows.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Dean agreed, pulling out the ingredients for the pesto. “Y/N seem off to you?”

“I think we’re all a little off right now, man. This thing, it has lower mortality rates than the seasonal flu, from all the reports that I’ve read, but it spreads like wildfire. The world hasn’t seen anything like this since the Spanish flu, in like 1919. But, exactly what do you mean, ‘a little off’?” Sam rambled.

“We went for a drive today, just an hour, to get her out of the house, but she was asleep by the time I got her pills, and it seems like the tremors in her legs are getting worse. When I asked her about them, she just brushed it off.” Dean shook his head. “We’ve got to be more careful, man. I can’t lose her, Sammy.”

“And, you’re not going to, Dean. She’s strong, stronger than the MS, stronger than this virus, whatever it is. I’ll figure it out. It screams demons, just like Croatoan back in 2006,” Sam tried his best to reassure his brother.

“Yeah, but no one is going batshit crazy this time, with the exception of the hoarding.”

“I’m still looking into it. I’ve got several other hunters on it, too. We’ll figure it out. In the meantime, I’ll do the supply runs on my own. You don’t need to be exposing yourself or Y/N,” Sam decided.

“Thanks, Sammy. We appreciate that,” Dean said, returning to the sauce.

~*~

“Hey, honey. It’s time to wake up,” Dean whispered, peppering her face with soft kisses, making her squirm. “Dinner’s ready.”

“Five more minutes,” she mumbled, snuggling deeper into her pillow, but the pillow was not as soft as she remembered. She lifted her head, opening one eye to discover she was sleeping on top of him. “You were not here when I fell asleep. Oh crap! How long have I been sleeping?”

“Just a few hours, but dinner is ready, then I’ll fix you a bath, and tonight is your turn to pick the movie.” Dean slowly sat up, bringing her with him. “How does that sound?”

“Relaxing,” she yawned.

Dean helped Y/N to her feet, grabbing her cane for her, since she hated being carried as a general rule. “Let’s eat.”

“I didn’t realize how hungry I was,” Y/N said as she sat down. Dean took his seat next to her as the three of them dished up their plates. “This smells amazing.”

“Sammy’s idea, honey. I’m just the cook,” Dean chuckled, passing the pasta.

They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes, everyone enjoying their meal. “Dean, baby, this is phenomenal. It’s nice to know if we rid the world of all the monsters, you have a fall back career as a chef,” Y/N teased her husband, Sam laughing along with her. She started coughing and reached out for her water.

“Hey, you okay?” Dean watched with concern.

“Yes, just a little coughing fit, triggered by the giggles,” Y/N said.

“Yeah, yeah, chuckle heads. Now eat up,” Dean groaned, but his worries didn’t fade.

“Honey, you’re warm. You feeling okay?” Dean voiced his concern as they settled into bed a few hours later.

“Yes, babe. I’m just tired,” Y/N yawned, almost as if to prove her point.

“We’re taking your temperature,” Dean said, getting out of bed to get the thermometer.

“Dean, I think you’re overreacting a bit. I’m probably just still warm from our bath,” Y/N reasoned, but he wasn’t having any of it.

“It’s just a precaution, honey. I’m sure it’s nothing, but this virus is not like others. It moves quickly and it’s lethal.” He took a seat next to her and shoved the thermometer in her mouth before she could protest again. When the beep sounded, he removed it and checked the digital readout. “It’s 99.5, low grade. But I’m still keeping an eye on it, and you.”

“I’d expect nothing less,” Y/N yawned once more and rolled over, her eyes closing instantly. “Love you.”

“I love you, too, Y/N,” Dean echoed, crawling in beside her and pulling the blanket up to cover them both. He pulled her small frame into him, wanting, needing to keep her closer than usual.

Sleep did not come easily for Dean that night; he was worried about Y/N. Since she returned to his life, his nightmares and insomnia were few and far between, but as he lay next to her, his mind played out a thousand different scenarios where he couldn’t save her. He was hyper aware every time she moved, coughed, or even breathed heavily. He finally fell under, out of pure exhaustion, just before five in the morning, only to be plagued with nightmares of the same.

Did you like it? The nicest thing you can do for a writer is reblog their work and tell them, and others, how much you like it!

The Whole Enchilada: @iwantthedean @dolphincliffs @mrswhozeewhatsis @meganwinchester1999 @cherrycokegirls1 @closetspngirl @roxyspearing @flamencodiva @blacktithe7 @sis-tafics @just-another-busyfangirl @evansrogerskitten @amanda-teaches @hannahindie @wotinspntarnation @winchesterprincessbride @winecatsandpizza @kickingitwithkirk @wi-deangirl77 @hobby27 @mogaruke @gh0stgurl @alleiradayne @idreamofplaid @seenashwrite @manawhaat @crashdevlin @thoughtslikeaminefield @emoryhemsworth

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Heartbeat: @idksupernatural @imaginationisgrowth @gabrielslittleangel

#dean winchester x reader #dean x reader #dean winchester angst #supernatural fanfiction

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my-arlington-academia · 4 years

Text

Karolina and Tegan birthday fanfic! 👓👠

I wrote a (short?) fanfic for Karolina's and Tegan's birthdayyy 🎉🎉 Last time Scholar was a she so I decided that in this one Scholar will be a he again 👍 Hopefully my writing is getting less cringe 😂 but as you'll see for yourselves I'm still really bad, especially the narration, sometimes I'm like "Wait, what am I supposed to describe here to move on to the next scene?" So most of it is really basic 😅 On a lighter note though, I know that many sweet elite players come from lots of different countries and most times their first language isn't English (*cough*like me*cough*) so at least it'll be easy to read for everyone? (Yes, I'm totally trying to make myself feel better for my lack of vocabulary 😔)

Anyways!!! Have a good read! God I hope I'm getting better...

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"Karolina used to play Maryo Kart!?"

Tegan flinched due to Scholar's sudden outburst and almost dropped the controller out of his hands.

"W-Well... yeah. We were pretty close in elementary school and we used to share the same interests. Not when it came to everything but we usually agreed about a lot of things."

Tyler cackled from the bunk bed upon hearing this. Looks like he was still browsing through a shit-ton of pictures of chairs on Moogle. Apparently, he wanted to draw a chair for his next art piece.

"Just imagining Karolina even playing an app game gives me the same feeling as watching one of John Mulaney's skits: it's hilarious."

Scholar couldn't help but imagine Karolina playing Candy Rush or Flappy duck and it was in fact rather funny. Seeing Karolina frustrated because of a game would be like seeing Tadashi sleeping, which means it was impossible. Those two really need more rest and a bit of down time...

"So Tyler, you found any chairs that give you a spark of inspiration?"

Scholar decided to change the subject, after all Karolina didn't want anything to do with Tegan even though it was... well... their birthday. Scholar doesn't even have siblings let alone a twin so he had no idea how Tegan must be feeling right now. But from an outsider's perspective, Scholar thought that it was kind of sad and a waste that they didn't at least celebrate their birthday together. Tegan said that he didn't want anything too extravagant though. Thus, the 3 of them had gathered in their room to spend some time together, Ellie was also supposed to come but she said that she had "things to do" and that she'd drop by later.

"Nah man. MIKEA is really running out of ideas. I could come up with sicker designs in the blink of an eye. Actually, in a way this encourages me even more to draw a chair. I'll create the best chair this world has ever seen Scholar. Just. You. Wait."

While Tyler was hyping himself up over chairs Tegan had a really stern look on his face. Maybe it was because he was focused on the game but Scholar felt like there was something more to it. Perhaps they should've invited more people? In truth, the only real guest here was Scholar. This was TnT's room after all... Why is Ellie taking so long?

"...Tegan? Maybe you'd like me to go call Axel and Raquel over? Maybe even Alistair and Claire?"

Tegan who was frowning for a while now finally let his eyebrows relax.

"No uh... Sorry if I looked angry or something but um. I was just thinking about something."

When he said that, Tyler immediately let go of his phone and dropped down on the floor, then he sat next to Tegan.

"When you tell us that you're thinking about something, it means that you want to talk to us about it, right?"

Tegan continued to smash the buttons of the controller without even giving Tyler a side-glance.

"Not necessarily."

Somehow, Tegan was acting a bit cold but not in his usual "I'm sleep deprived" way. Tyler gave Scholar a pleading look. Probably meaning that Tegan needed another little push to tell them what was going through his mind. Of course, Scholar couldn't ignore that.

"Aww, come on man! If it was because you were spacing out like usual you would've just said "it's nothing" butcha didn't! You know you can tell us everything right? We won't snitch."

Tyler followed.

"Exactly! We'll never break the bro code of honor. Spill the tea! Or water! Or whatever drink it is!"

Tegan gave them a big sigh before leaving the game on pause and putting the controller down. Tyler and Scholar looked at eachother dumbfounded. When Tegan puts the controller down it means that shit is about to get real... or he's so tired that he'll short-circuit in a span of 10 seconds.

"Well, it's about Karol. Kinda. I guess."

Scholar and Tyler scooched over even closer to be sure to miss none of it. Talking about Karolina wasn't a taboo topic or anything, on the contrary, it was quite frequent and Tegan was totally fine with his friends taking jabs at her as long as it wasn't mean-spirited. But what was rare though, was for Tegan to bring her up out of nowhere.

"It's... how to say this. You know how when it's Christmas and you become super nostalgic about the smallest things? Or when Viewtube recommends you a short clip from a show you used to watch years ago and you decide to marathon it just for the heck of it? Well, for me that "nostalgic" time is our birthday. When I remember how we used to be so close and hang out together all the time I get kinda uh. I don't know. Regretful? Like, maybe if I didn't end up being a loser who spends all of his time playing games and doing dumb stuff Karol might still tolerate me. Or uh. If I dressed up a little nicer or took better care of myself maybe she'd at least want to stand next to me in public? Now, unless absolutely necessary, she doesn't even want to be associated with me. Like, she's ashamed of me or she doesn't want the other students to think that we're related or something. I don't know. Maybe I'm making it sound worse than it actually is but that's how I feel."

Woah. Okay. To be honest, Tyler and Scholar had already thought that something along those lines might be the reason for Tegan's grumpy mood today. That was a feeling he probably carried with him subconsciously everyday, just maybe to a smaller extent since he drowns himself in video games and doritos. But whenever their birthday comes around, all of it resurfaces. He already told them in the past that when Karolina started taking modeling gigs they started slowly growing apart. Tegan had said it so nonchalantly, like it wasn't a big deal and it was natural to "grow apart" but clearly, he wasn't happy about it.

Tegan was hanging his head low, as for Tyler and Scholar, they lay their heads down on Tegan's shoulders. Tyler ran his fingers through Tegan's hair to confort him.

"You're not a loser in any way Tegan. Karolina is the one missing out on you, she shouldn't set standards on you in the first place. So what? Just because you don't wear Bucci, Bupreme or Bouis Buitton it means that she has the right to act like this? You're my best bro and I know that my best friend is the coolest dude in the world. I mean, who can drink 3 monster drinks at the same time through 2 straws amirite?"

"Hm. Actually... You're not wrong."

Wait, 3 monster drinks at the same time with 2 straws? What?? Scholar's eyes widened.

"Uhhh. What the hell do you guys do when I'm not around? And may I remind you that Tegan is also my best friend!"

Tyler let out a laugh through his nose.

"Oh please, you may have barely enough points to unlock his tragic backstory but I'm still the OG. I'm ahead of you by at least a hundred points. Also, I wouldn't exactly call you a friend but rather-"

Tegan swiftly elbowed Tyler in the stomach.

"Ssshhh! Dude!"

"Ouch! Come on man... you know that Scholar is a bit dense sometimes, you gotta at least let me spell it out for him."

This was about to become a fight between the two of them, with Tegan trying to shut Tyler up and Tyler desperately trying to tell Scholar something. However, someone knocked on the door. That's weird, usually Ellie just barges in without even asking if she can. She just says "It's Ellie!" and comes in like this is her room as much as it is Tegan's and Tyler's. Their small fight stopped and Tegan got up to open the door... to be welcomed with cheers and confetti flying in the air. "WOOOOOOO!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY NERD!!!" Ellie had brought the whole gang: Alistair, Axel, Claire, Raquel and even Tadashi. The only ones who weren't there were Karolina and Neha but in a way, it was kind of to be expected. They were maybe celebrating Karolina's birthday in her room with some of their friends from the fashion department? In any case, everyone was thrilled for Tegan. They congratulated him and gave him some gifts even if they were a little bit less personal than anticipated. It was apparent that some of those were chosen in a rush. If Scholar had to guess, since Tegan is so secretive and discreet about everything, he probably didn't tell anyone about his birthday and Ellie had to go around fetching everyone and bringing them together. That's why some of the gifts exuded that "Oh shit! It's Tegan's birthday today!!!" aura. Especially Tadashi's gift.

"This is kopi luwak. Those coffee beans are extracted from the asian palm civet's excrements. I know that you're more into energy drinks but I thought that you might want to try something different. I know it sounds disgusting but the taste is actually not bad and it'll definitely wake you up, everytime you remember that you're drinking coffee that came out of an animal's digestive system it gives you an extra dose of adrenaline. No matter how many times I drink it, this coffee always makes me feel like I'm a little bit in danger and it wakes me up immediately."

Tegan looked really curious about it but at the same time uneasy at the thought of having to drink coffee made of beans that came out of an animal's asshole.

"Woah... thanks... Tadashi."

"You're welcome."

So that's how Tadashi stays awake, huh? He makes himself fear for his life by drinking weird coffee. Scholar had already heard of it, there's even some kinds that are made from elephant poop and civet cat poop. However, Axel was the first and only one to call Tadashi out.

"What the fuck man? It's his birthday and you gifted him fricking coffee beans that come from a raccoon's butthole? Well, I guess the nickname Tadashit fits you perfectly since you literally drink shit."

Tadashi rolled his eyes so far back that his pupils might've gone in his skull if he wasn't human.

"Like I said, it comes from the asian palm civet. Not a raccoon. Also, do not call me that."

Axel and Tadashi kept on bickering for a while before Claire brought the cake.

"Ta-dah! Sorry if it's not good enough but there weren't any backeries out there willing to make a birthday cake on such a short notice. I had to bake it myself with Alistair's help. We hope you like it!"

The cake gave off a really homey feeling. Scholar was reminded from back home when all of his birthday cakes looked really similar to this one. The icing was really amateurish looking but really really cute. Alistair switched the lights off and Tegan took a moment to think about his wish. The room went silent in front of his stern expression, seems like whatever his wish was, it must be pretty important. When he blew the candles everyone cheered but no one asked him what he wished for. Maybe no one felt the need to since it is said that if you say your wish out loud it won't come true.

Before Raquel could cut the cake Alistair took his phone out. "Wait! Wait a sec, let's take pictures with the cake first! I'm the one who drew the Zbox and the Playmotion logo..."

Raquel put the knife down while laughing. "Oohhh. So I bet that's the real reason why you don't want me to cut it yet?"

They all took lots of ridiculous pictures with the cake. It was a pretty big one so Raquel cut it into 10 slices. After a bit of a ruckus, things finally started calming down. The 9 of them sat down in a circle and talked about random subjects: the teachers, the homework, sleep paralysis, the new Store Wars movie, the conscious and unconscious mind in cognitive psychology...

The time was passing by and everyone was having fun no matter how weird the conversation was getting until Raquel reminded everyone of the last slice of cake.

"If no one's gonna eat it, I'll eat it."

The only one who was against it was Tyler who also wanted the last slice. They decided to choose the winner through rock paper scissors. A 3 round match. But just as it was about to start, someone knocked on the door again. Did the noise annoy the neighbours? It was getting pretty late after all.

Scholar got up to open the door only to find... Karolina followed by Neha!

"Happy b- oh. It's you."

Karolina was holding a small package and as for Neha, she didn't even bother to wrap up her gift. It was a fancy hoodie with a sort of skull on its back. Tegan almost flew towards the door.

"Karol! You came... and Neha, is that Sombra merch?"

Neha smiled warmly, seeing that he noticed right away.

"Yes. I mean, kind of. It's that character from Underwatch, right? I don't know if it's your favorite but one time I remember you saying that "she was fun to play". So I made you this. The quality isn't really that good though, sorry. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to make it properly. Anyway, I'm rambling. Happy birthday Tegan."

Tegan immediately put the purple hoodie on in excitement.

"Looks sick. Thank you Neha. You really nailed the logo."

Karolina also thought that it looked "sick" but not in a good way. She was clearly not getting why wearing that sort of thing would make someone happy. Since it was made by Neha, of course it was really well done but why does he prefer wearing video game merch rather than high quality clothing? She was almost regretting coming here. Tyler laughed at the sight of Karolina trying really hard not to roll her eyes, it looked like her pupils were trembling. Kinda terrifying honestly.

"I would've thought that you like soldier 76 or Tracer better since... they're about as straight as you are. But besides that, it looks dope Neha! Would you make one of my paintings into a T-shirt one day? Like, you know, my birthday? August 21st? Pretty pleaaase!"

It wasn't long until everyone started requesting clothes from Neha for their birthdays. Of course, she shut them all down while Karolina still stood there with what looked like a gift.

"Ugh. I see that you invited a lot... of people."

Her cold gaze was on Axel and Alistair specifically, since she did not like those two. As for Tegan, he was silently waiting for his gift. Judging by his face, it had been a while since Karolina had showed up to one of their birthdays, not to mention that she brought a gift too.

"Anyway... here. I'm sure you don't play those kinds of games anymore but uh... Well, in any case you better not laugh at my gift. Or else."

Tegan carefully unwrapped the gift. It was the new Maryo Kart! Everyone was baffled. Karolina actually gifted Tegan a video game? What's next? Is she going to play it too on top of gifting it? Tegan thanked her happily and reached for something behind the TV. It was Karolina's gift. Her eyes scanned the shape of the wrapping trying to guess what it was. Though she didn't lose any more time trying to figure out what it was and opened it. It was a Bouis Buitton bag. Karolina smiled.

"Basic choice but not bad. Thanks."

Seeing that Neha had already sat down, Karolina did the same. Of course, to Raquel's regret, they ended up splitting the last slice of cake, Karolina said that she didn't mind since she couldn't afford to eat food with too much calories. Especially not pastries but she let this one slide. As for Tegan, he immediately switched the game on. Of course. But then, he offered the second controller to Karolina. Everyone looked at him like he was batshit crazy. Miraculously though, Karolina sighed and took the controller.

"...Fine. But I don't remember the controls anymore."

That was a fricking lie. Karolina was killing it?? At Maryo Kart?? Raquel was going crazy. Well, everyone actually. But especially Raquel.

"What the hell?! So you steal the last slice of cake and now you're whooping Tegan's ass in a video game? I didn't even think you knew how to hold the controller correctly..."

Karolina clicked her tongue at that remark, looking unimpressed. Though clearly, she was a bit embarrassed about playing against her brother in front of 9 other people who had no idea that she was even capable of touching a controller without throwing up. But during that time, Tegan was grinning like a kid. It was like going back in time for him. He was thrilled. How many years has it been since the last time they played together like this?

"Believe it or not, but Karolina was actually the one to always kick my ass in video games. She was too strong. Thankfully, she's a bit rusty now."

Karolina elbowed his arm violently but Tegan didn't budge. It was like he was used to it, maybe Karolina always tried to distract him from the game by pushing him when they were little?

"Oh shut up. It's the game's fault. Why the heck did they add that much useless features? Also, the maps are way worse than the old Maryo Kart games. Those ones are a jumbled mess, doesn't make any goddamn sense with those twists and turns."

Karolina frighteningly sounded like a retrogaming nerd. Could it be that Tegan's love for video games came from...? Nah, no way. She's just salty that Tegan is catching up in wins. They're tied now.

"Okay! What about this: The one who wins the next round gets a kiss on the cheek from Scholar!" Ellie proclaimed in a loud voice.

"Wait! Why me??"

Scholar honestly doubted that Karolina would like that, Tegan? Maybe. But not Karolina. Surprisingly enough she didn't react but that lack of reaction probably hid something. Usually she would complain and quit but she's not the type to lose on purpose after getting this far. Tegan looked fired up too. Looking back on it, earlier Tyler was trying really hard to say something. Could it be that both Tegan and Karolina like Scholar? Well... that would be extremely awkward and unlikely.

In any case, it looks like Tegan has a head start.

"What's wrong Karol? Have you really forgotten the controls?"

"Say that again and I might murder you."

This is the most intense party of Maryo Kart anyone had ever seen. Isn't there an e-sport for it? Maybe the Novak(ova) siblings should sign up...

In the end, Karolina managed to catch up somehow. Ellie took that host voice again.

"Alright ladies and gents! Looks like Karolina will be the one receiving the prize! But what an act of cruelty on the sister's part, wouldn't you say? Because she was heartless and unpleasant I declare that as compensation the viewers should also get a kiss!"

Everyone cheered for Scholar's kiss but funnily enough, Tegan looked super offended. He was about to throw a tantrum.

"Wait. So I'm the only one without a kiss?!? That is so unfair! It's my birthday... I should at least get a participation fee!"

Tyler patted him on the back.

"That's rough, buddy. But hey, at least your boyfriend didn't turn into the moon."

Tegan quickly elbowed Tyler in the stomach again.

"Dude! Scholar's not my... dammit, I told you to be quiet earlier."

"Ow! I didn't even say any name... You're the one digging your own grave man. Look, he's looking this way."

Seeing that Tegan looked absolutely heartbroken (and pissed), Scholar took Ellie's place as the announcer.

"Change of plans! Only the siblings get a kiss because it's their birthday. All the others won't get any because it would be extremely unfair."

That's when everyone started booing but Raquel seemed to have an idea. A stupid one. But still an idea.

"Uhhh, excuse me! Actually, I'm their sister. We're triplets, so I also get a kiss!"

Axel did the same.

"No, Raquel is lying sir! We're actually quadruplets so I get a kiss as well! The four of us look so similar, I have no idea how you missed that..."

This whole thing turned out to be ridiculous. Seems like Tegan and Karolina suddenly had 8 new siblings. But of course, only the 2 of them got the kiss. Everyone was satisfied with the birthday party despite all of the chaos.

-------------------------------------- Oooookay! That's it! Sorry the ending was so abrupt (as usual) but I never know how to end these... Thank you for reading though! And sorry if you cringed! But that's a risk I'm willing to take ✊😔

#sweet elite #se #main 10 #Tegan Novak #Karolina Novakova #fanfic #fanfiction #I loved the Bucci Bupreme and Bouis Buitton part 😂#the idea was actually from a video #he's a youtuber who makes animatics #I think his name is erold?

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nobeliumoxygenoxygenmisc · 5 years

Text

Kagaminette || A certain taste

For fictober event @fictober-event

Prompt number: 9 “There is a certain taste to it.” Fandom: Miraculous ladybug Rating: General Warnings/Tags/Ships: None, Kagami x Marinette

Kagami tries out baking for the first time and it turns out… well, Marinette will tell her (or try to). (>1k words)

This was fun, Kagami thought with a smile, closing the oven door in satisfaction before turning to Marinette, who was smiling fondly at her. "Now we wait?"

"Yep!" Marinette said cheerfully. But then she blinked, a giggle escaping her throat as Kagami wondered what exactly it was that had prompted such a reaction. "But first, let's maybe clean ourselves up. And the kitchen," She added, gesturing to themselves and to the Dupain-cheng's kitchen that did look like a storm had gone through it. Kagami had never seen such a mess before, and she grimaced, wondering just how they'd get through it, when Marinette continued, "Though, it's not as bad as I expected."

She turned to her, surprised. "Really?"

Marinette nodded, already gathering some of the used equipment. "You should have seen when I baked with Alya. It looked terrible in here!" She laughed. "And she said she totally had it. You've never baked before, right Kagami?" Kagami nodded. "See? This is really good for your first try!"

On instinct, Kagami fought the smile before remembering to let it be. Her stomach warmed all of a sudden, the compliment making her surprisingly happy, considering how many compliments she received on the daily. But then again, those were for things she already knew she was good at (things she had to be good at); fencing, grades, archery... baking, on the other hand, was something she was completely new at.

The kitchen was cleaned up and the aprons taken off, the two going back into the living room where they continued playing the video game Marinette had said was Ultimate Mecha Strike Three.

Now that was something Kagami was not the most proficient at. Marinette seemed to win every round, except for one where Kagami had instantly known she'd gone easy on and had called her out for. Not that Kagami cared too much about the losing; it was fun, regardless. Especially without the need to be the best.

This whole day was fun, she thought again.

The timer went off, startling Marinette almost off her seat, Kagami concerned before she paused the game, laughing nervously. "Oops, guess I was too caught up, huh?"

"You were concentrating. That's a good thing," Kagami said, earning another laugh.

They went back into the kitchen, her heart beating as Marinette eagerly took out their trays and laid it on the counter. She was unusually excited for this; it wasn't as if her cupcakes were going to be the best things ever (in truth, she doubted how good they'd taste because they just did not seem the same as Marinette's), but... she was excited and she really, really hoped they did taste, at the very least, decent.

"Here." Marinette gave her a pink icing bag, her smile nothing but encouraging. "You can follow my lead, or you can make any sort of design you want, it's completely up to you!"

She nodded, watching Marinette for a moment then deciding that she would go her own path. Taking the bag, she steadied herself before carefully putting the icing on. She waited again, wondering about what exactly she was allowed to use before Marinette's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Feel free to use anything on the counter Kagami," She said. "If there's something else you want, we probably have it so just ask and I can try and find it!"

Kagami flushed, reaching out to get some oreo bits; had she been so transparent that Marinette could read her so easily? She must have been.

She ignored the thoughts, focusing. It didn't matter. Marinette was kind, and nice, and cute, and non-judgemental. She could let her guard down around her, she told herself.

It was a few minutes more before she was done, stretching a bit after having leaned down for so long, realising as she did so that Marinette was looking at her cupcakes with wide eyes. She glanced between her and the pink and red black-spotted cupcakes; had she done something wrong? She wasn’t normally this self-conscious, she knew, but baking was Marinette’s expertise and definitely not something she was even remotely well-practiced in.

"Are they..." Marinette began, hesitantly. "Are they Ladybug themed?"

Kagami smiled, the smile coming on naturally at the mention of the superhero. "Yes. I look up to her, so I decided to decorate them based on her."

Marinette seemed to beam, grinning. "That's really awesome, Kagami. I'm sure she'd love them."

"That would be nice, if she tried them." It would, but she pushed her hopes down, foolish as they were. As if she'd get an opportunity to give Ladybug some. And furthermore, "I must improve before even thinking of giving her one." Something flickered in Marinette's eyes, but she couldn't quite decipher it, even as Marinette asked to try one. She blinked, slightly confused. "Of course. It was only with your kindness that I could make them, after all. I would say they are also yours."

Marinette waved her hand. "Pfft, but you made these all on your own! They're still yours." She took a bite, her eyes widening as something even more unreadable flashed across her face.

Kagami waited. And waited, as Marinette chewed and swallowed, and suddenly her stomach sank, realisation dawning. "There's something wrong with it, isn't there?"

Marinette coughed. "Wha-wha-whaaat? No! Of course not! They're great! I've--I've never quite tasted anything like it! There's a certain taste to it--they're super dummy--yummy! Yummy! Delicious, I mean--"

Kagami held up a hand, conflicting feelings of disappointment but also strange fondness warring in her heart (she didn’t want to admit it, but she knew she had been expecting a brisk scolding, even though by all rights a failed cupcake should not have warranted such a reaction). "It's fine, Marinette. I understood I wouldn't be as good as I hoped in my first try." She raised her hand again as Marinette opened her mouth. "You don't have to spare my feelings. I'll know as soon as I try them, anyways."

She deflated, bashful. "...You're right. Sorry, Kagami."

Kagami shook her head. "Don’t apologise. I'm thankful you tried, but please remember you don't have to do that with me." She took a cupcake herself, and bit into it, thoughtful as she chewed.

Yes, there was something off about it. Maybe she hadn't put enough sugar? That must have been it. But she had followed all the instructions as best she could, though, how could she have... she pushed those thoughts away. No, it was alright to get things wrong. There were second chances, she reminded herself, looking at Marinette as she offered her an encouraging smile.

At least, in Marinette's home there was.

Then she noticed something else. "Are your cupcakes based on the superheroes as well?"

Marinette brightened, nodding vigorously. "Yep! I tried to keep it as close to their designs as possible... can you recognise them?"

Of course she did, looking at the black and gold one that was clearly Chat Noir; the green Carapace one with the pattern of a turtle shell; an orange and white one for Rena Rouge; yellow and black, the icing positioned like a stinger for Queen Bee; and even a few more she vaguely recognised, perhaps for the newer heroes that she had heard rumours about but hadn't seen yet (besides herself, obviously).

And then her eyes widened at the one she had previously assumed was Ladybug's. But no, Ladybug had no yellow on her costume whatsoever, and this one had four pieces of candy corn on the sides just like... Ryuko. Her.

"Is there something wrong?" Marinette asked, her voice soft and nervous. Kagami blinked out of her thoughts.

"No," She said finally, looking into Marinette's eyes and, if she could look at herself, she might have been quite possibly beaming. "They look amazing."

Marinette smiled, the happiness on her face setting off something even warmer in Kagami's heart. "I'm glad."

fourth one for fictober i think? ive written more than i thought i would (and way more kagaminette too 😂). thank u for reading and hoped u enjoyed!!

#fictober19 #miraculous ladybug #kagaminette #marigami #kagami tsurugi #marinette dupain cheng #kaganette #kagami x marinette #marinette x kagami #kagami tsurugi x marinette dupain cheng #marinette dupain cheng x kagami tsurugi #my writing #writing #my work

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dawnwriterimagines · 5 years

Text

Three Heroes: Various!BNHA x Reader (Part 1)

This is a Todoroki x Bakugo x Reader x Midoriya fanfic, inspired by the My Hero Academia movie Two Heroes, the storyline will be adjusted due to the readers presence. The reader is All Might's Daughter. Read on and I hope you enjoy!

Warning(s): Blood, Violence, fluff, poly!relationship, swearing, etc.

---

"Hey, Shouto?" You began as you stepped off the private jet, your boyfriend, Shouto Todoroki, assisting you down the steps with your hand in his. His head tilts as if to say he was listening as you step down from the steps of the jet, "What do you think we should do first? The expo hasn't begun, yet, so since you've been here before what do you wanna do first?" You smiled at him, excited to look around the moving city. Standing in your hero costune, you adjusted your sleeve, giving him a close eyed grin.

Shouto looked at you, thoughtfully, before he felt his face heat up, almost embarrassed. "I-I'm not sure..." he answered truthfully, your smile fades slightly, but it comes back sympathetically. Recalling him telling you how odd it was for someone to ask what he wanted for a change, it was still new to him.

You grabbed his hand anyway, giggling cutely. "Well, I guess we've just gotta go everywhere! Don't worry, remember, we're here to have fun. For once, we don't have to worry about anything else." You pulled him towards the exit as other planes came to the loading dock and people slowly began piling into the city. Shouto looks at you as he jogs beside you, his lips twitching up into a smile as you happily laughed beside him, your eye's sparkling as you witnessed the beauty of the city.

"A-actually..." he pauses as he stutters and you look over at him, he feels his face burning once more. It's still so weird, you make him feel all of these emotions and he's still learning how to deal with them. Especially since you encourage him, everyday, to express himself to the fullest when he's been taught all his life to do anything but that. He directs his gaze to the city, "I think I know somewhere you might like..." he suggests, remembering a place he had visited once before, fondly.

Your eye's widen at him before you laugh ecstatically, jumping up to float for a few seconds before landing and clapping your hands together. "Really? I wonder what it is, you're so thoughtful, I'm so happy you would think of me!" You pumped your fist in the air, "Come on, let's go!"

Shouto nodded, leading you to the identification inspection, you both passed through, seeing your pictures on the floating screens beside you both. With your luggage already being sent to the hotel by Endeavor's own assistants you and Shouto had all the time you needed to tour the city until the expo preview. You would have to be there for the formal party at the end of the day, your father being the Number one hero also had to be present.

That's right, you were (Y/n) Yagi, Daughter of All Might, the world's number one hero. You went to U.A. High School, the top hero school in Japan, and the hardest hero course to ever get into. You were proud to be part of your hero academia, you've met so many friends and you knew if it weren't for being a student there you wouldn't have met the boys who stole your heart.

You took Shouto's arm, pressing up against him, "So, where'd you wanna take me?" You asked him.

You both walked straight through the walkway, watching the projections that flickered across the sky and the tall buildings that towered over the area. People looked over at the both of you, noting your hero gear, Shouto could see the boys about his age staring at you alittle too long. You felt shouto pull away from you, slipping from your grip, you pouted before blushing heavily as he instead slipped his arm around your waist. Glaring at the boys as he passed them, he held his head higher as he smirked internally as they turned away, realizing you were taken.

"I was thinking, you'd like to see the hero support tech. They always have new items they feature every month, I remember you told me you were experimenting with designs for your thrusters. Maybe they could give you new ideas for--" he was cut off as you gave him a quick peck on the lips, he paused unable to finish as he stared at you, almost bewitched for the endless time today.

You laughed. "I'm so glad you think of me so often. You're usually not talking so much, I want you to do it much more often! And, oh...sorry, I didn't let you finish." You rubbed the back of your neck, chuckling nervously before he took your jaw in one hand. He tips your head up before kissing you lightly, you smile into it, before he pulls away and smiles, offering his hand once more.

"Let's head over there before it gets too crowded," he says, his heart warming as you blush and grin up at him, nodding happily.

"Right!"

●

An explosion cuts off the small lecture that a pro hero was giving after showing off her newest tech support, a metal chest plate, flexible alloy that could stretch and take an extensive amount of damage.

You and Shouto both turn towards the explosion, curious of the smoke rising from the area, you recall passing by an arena that a few people had challenged to overcome a few robotic, villain simulators. You link eyes with Shouto's before you both decide to head off in that direction, "Hey, do you think Katsuki and Izuku have arrived yet?" You wondered aloud, placing a finger on your chin, your head tilting up, curiously.

Shouto raised a brow. "Midoriya's here?"

Your eye's widened, remembering that you hadn't told him. "Oh yeah, Dad's taking Izuku as his guest. He was invited and had a plus one, just like you." That's right, you had wanted Izuku to come to the Expo, especially since he's always wanted to come to the floating city. You had taken Shouto's offer to travel since he was going alone and he had invited you beforehand anyway, you recalled Bakugo throwing a fit after you told him. "I guess since he and katsuki left earlier, they're already here." You said.

Shouto nodded before you both found yourself in front of the arena, the smoke around the area decreasing slowly. It wasn't someone you recognized, you almost hoped it would've been Katsuki, but you knew he'd show up sooner or later.

"Do you wanna try?" You asked him, turning towards Shouto.

He looked at you, alittle surprised, arm's crossed. "Hm...I wouldn't want to leave you here alone."

You grinned at him, "I'll be fine, don't worry. I'll be up here cheering you on, like in the sports festival!" You beamed. His gaze softened as you said that, remembering hearing your voice over the thundering crowds, encouraging him to keep going. "Besides, I won't be far behind you, I'll try out too!"

He nodded, smiling faintly. "Ok. I guess I'll go after this one...huh?"

You followed his confused gaze onto the arena as you saw a familiar red head, a smile quickly blooming on your face, "Kirishima!"

●

Izuku groaned, laying his head on his arm, slumped against the chair as he sat at the cafe table, relieved as the girls of his class didn't both to ask him any questions as to why he was here. Melissa, who was nice enough to show him around, distracted them with questions and answers.

He wondered what you were doing now, you had given up going with your father to the Expo, just for him. He couldn't believe he was here, having seen so many amazing sights and met the famous David Shield. He couldn't thank you enough, he had felt so guilty when you told him that you'd given him your ticket of invitation, calling the expo and everything to inform them of the change. He felt tears coming to his eye's, raising a fist in admiration for his love, he was so blessed to have you.

A glass was placed in front of him, suddenly, a small item, shaped in the yellow silhouette of All might's head floating in the colorful liquid. "Thanks for waiting!"

That voice! Izuku thought as he sat up, before his eye's widened in surprise.

The golden hair of his friend and the dark lightning stripe of hair stood out to the green haired student, "Kaminari!" Holding a serving platter to his chest, Kaminari grinned widely at his peer.

"Is that...Mineta?" He heard Ochaco gasp.

"What are you two doing here?" Jirou wondered aloud.

"Well, they needed extra staff for the expo and we applied to work, right?" Kaminari answered.

Mineta smirked, his hands on his hips. "We get to explore the Expo on our breaks, and we make the money!" He said victorious. Then, he made eye contact with the girls of his class, "Plus, we get to make passionate encounters with some of the cute--oh my god, I think I'm in love!" Mineta gasped out as he finished, his eyes landing on Melissa, who stared in confusion.

Izuku tensed up as Mineta and Kaminari immediately crushed him together, urging him to cough up any details about the American girl he was currently associated with. "Hey, midoriya, who's the high voltage hotty over there?" Kaminari creepily whispered.

"Come on! Give us details! It's bad enough that you've stolen (y/n) from us! Especially since she's here and she didn't even let me catch catch a feel in that sexy outfit of hers!" Mineta drooled at the thought.

"I thought you were working! This is what you do? You're supposed to be working hard!" Iida sprints over, lecturing the two perverted young peers.

Izuku glared at the grape head before his eye's widened as he listened to him carefully, "Wait a minute! Did you say (y/n) was here?" He immediately stood from his seat, ready to bolt to meet up with you, he couldn't wait to see you.

Mineta was still drooling, his hands groping the air as if he was imagining it was you, making Izuku twitch in irritation. Kaminari answers instead, "Oh, yeah, her and Shouto passed by almost an hour ago. They're heading over--" there was an explosion before he could finish. Everyone turns to the noise in shock.

"What was that?!"

After running over to the arena, he sees two large screens over a rocky mountain, smoke rising and debris having fallen to the ground. He recognized this as a villains course, his eyes widening as he recognized the person on the screen. "A stunning 33 seconds!" The announcer exclaimed, exuberantly.

"Kirishima?" Izuku questioned, surprised to see another peer.

"I'm guessing he's from UA as well?" Melissa questioned.

"Yeah, he's in the same class as us!" He answered.

Soon, the announcer spoke once more as Kirishima climbed down the mountain, "Please welcome our next challenger!" She announced.

Izuku immediately paled as he noticed the ashy blonde walking up to the attack course, "K-kacchan?!"

Bakugo gets ready, squatting down as his palms light up and the announcer raises her voice, "Ready...go!" Katsuki is blasting off the ground before anyone can register, his quirk immediately exploding off his fingers and targeting every robot in the vicinity, blasting him upwards to meet another simulated villain.

"Die!" He commands as he let's off another explosion.

Finishing off the last bot, he lands perfect in a squat, smirking in victory as he straightens to hear the results. "Amazing! Our first place winner with 15 seconds!" She hasn't even turned around yet when he starts walking off towards the audience stands.

"Hey! Isn't that Midoriya?" Izuku pales as Kirishima calls him out, eliciting Bakugo's attention.

Izuku chuckles nervously before he screams in shock as Bakugo blasts himself upwards, grabbing onto the metal railing stopping him from barreling straight into the boy. "Dammit! What're you doing here?!" Obviously pissed to see him.

"K-kacchan!"

Afterwards, after kirishima brings up trying out the course, Bakugo angrily allows Izuku to try a pathetic attempt to beat his high score. Gulping, Izuku passes him by, as the boy grits his teeth, holding himself back from strangling the boy. That's at least before he remembers something before Izuku can jump over the railing, "Oi! Deku!"

Tensing up, he turns around, "Y-yes?"

He frown's at him before calming slightly. "Where's (y/n)? I heard she went with icy hot, I guess she gave you her invite, typical." He grunts bitterly, angrily. Izuku could see the mention of you brightened his mood noticeably, despite his bitter attitude of seeing him at the Expo, of all places.

"I-i haven't seen her. Kaminari told me that he saw her pass by around here, I came over looking for her. I thought she might be with you."

Bakugo huffed, looking away from him. "Fuck...still with that bastard." He internally groaned, eager for your attention.

Seeing that he was finished talking to him, Izuku went down to the course to start. He waited for the announcers words before bursting into the air, similar to Bakugo, he took the robots on with no problem, limiting his power usage to prevent any damage to his limbs. Finishing with a surprising, 16 seconds, he happily smiled as he heard his score. Going up to his friends, Iida and Ochaco praised him immediately, "wow!" She praised him, as Iida told him of his great performance.

Bakugo grumbled, roaring angrily. "Shut up! I'll blast your score to ash!"

Suddenly, there's a rush of cold and the sound of ice spreading, quickly before the announcer is squealing at the rush of power. "Ah! This is insane! 14 seconds!"

Everyone went over to the railing again, surprised to see that half the mountain was encased in ice and Todoroki was at the bottom, straightening from using his quirk to destroy the bots with ease. "Hey, Todoroki!" Izuku grinned at the sight of his friend, before he began looking around, knowing you couldn't be far behind.

However, from behind everyone, Bakugo blasts into the air, angrily soaring towards Todoroki, who stares at the boy blankly. "Outta the way, icy hot bastard!" He yells before landing in front of the dual quirk boy.

"Bakugo." He says simply.

"You can't just appear outta no where and try to show me up!"

"And I see the others are here too," he looks at the stands, nodding as he makes eye contact with Izuku.

"Don't you ignore me! What're you doing in the island anyway!" Bakugo growls.

"My father was invited. I'm here in his place," he states, calmly.

The announcer waves a hand towards Bakugo, "Um, the next person is waiting," she says before squeaking in fright as Bakugo blows up at her.

"Shut up! I'm going next!" Bakugo turns and yells.

"Aw, and here I was thinking I'd get a shot..." Your voice instantly reaches the explosive boy, turning towards you he relaxes almost instantly as he sees you walking over to him, smiling happily. "Katsu, I'm glad to see you," you say, stopping in front of him.

Katsuki can hardly get the words out of his mouth for a moment, you had always been the only person who could leave him speechless, without even trying. That costume wasn't helping either. "(Y/n)...hey," he breathes, his normally stiff shoulders now limp and his back straightening as he fully turns to you. He realizes his unorthodox attitude before leaning forwards quickly to bump foreheads with you gently, "This bastard didn't bore you to death, did he?"

Shouto glares at the blonde, "Bakugo--" you place a hand on his chest, stopping him.

"Shouto was actually great company. We watched my favorite movie on the plane. He even gave me a tour, when we landed, I never knew this place was so big! It was so much fun!" You boasted, making Shouto's heart swell with pride while Bakugo was secretly hoping for a different answer as he huffed.

"(Y/n)!"

You looked away from Bakugo, both boys turning to see Izuku running towards you, happily, bounding with each step in excitement.

An immediate look of pure joy overcomes your features and your blasting forwards, purple energy bursting from your feet and leaving a dust cloud in its wake, you're ramming into him before he reaches you. However, after so many hugs like this before, Izuku is ready and catches you perfectly, laughing along with you as he spins on his heel with you in his arms. "Zuku!" You squeal, grinning widely as pepper his face with kisses.

As Izuku finally puts you down, you were surprised to see him on his knees almost instantly, burying his head into your stomach, his hands wrapped around your legs. "Thank you so much for bringing me!" He cries, his eyes welled with tears as he looked up at you, a watery smile on his face. "I'm so blessed!"

You grinned down at him, leaning down, your loose hair draping forward around you, "I knew you'd like to come and I wouldn't want you to miss it. Besides this trip wouldn't be complete with out you, babe," you giggled as he blushed at the nickname, although he should be used to it. You pressed your lips against his forehead and pulled away as he stood stood to his feet, standing taller than you.

"Well, I really appreciate it. So, I, uh, I wanted to give you this!" He pulls out a small box from his suits pocket, he hands it to you, blushing heavily but giving you a wide grin. "I hope you like it!"

You smile softly before opening it, you're eyes widening before softening as you take the brooch in your hand, it was big enough to fit in your palm. It was a ruby brooch, it was beautiful and you knew that Izuku bought it from his heart, you were moved that he'd get something so heartfelt for you, knowing you loved the color. You leaned towards him, "Thank you, Zuku. You're wonderful," you whispered before giving him a kiss in the middle of the field.

He melts into the kiss, his knees almost buckling before you pull away, giggling as you clutch the brooch lovingly.

"Uh...um, hey, so is anyone going next?" The announcer wonders aloud, questioning the four of you. You nearly forgot you were in the middle of the arena, reuniting with your boyfriends definetly took your attention away.

You stepped forwards, "Oh, yeah, I guess I am!"

The announcer sighed in relief before giving you you a thumbs up, "Alright, the villains attack course has reset!" You walked up to the starting target, where the announcer stood a few meters ahead of you.

You turned to the boys with a close eyed smile, "Wish me luck!"

"Good luck!" Izuku. "You got this." Shouto. "Just don't go hurtin' yourself, would you?" Of course, Katsuki.

You giggled before turning to the announcer and crouching down, urging your power to spread. You felt the energy running through your suits chest orb before it split to run through your arm's and down to your legs. Light purple energy slowly becoming apparent around your body, a rope of gold energy swelling out of your skin. "Ready..." you felt time slow, letting out a breath as you felt your skin heat up, before you felt a smirk blossom on your face as your eye's narrowed and changed color. A ring of purple energy swirling in your orbs. "Go!"

She didn't even see you move, the announcer only felt felt a burst of energy run through her and right out before the air pressure blows her back. You're soaring above her before she can utter a word, your booted heel making contact with the first bot before you burst upwards causing it to shatter from the thrust. The force causes you to flip in mid-air and you bring your charged fist forwards, a ball of energy apparent around your fist. It hits the second bot as you release it and you turn quickly, bringing both hands up to take the third bots metal face in your hands and blowing it back. The impact causes it to make contact with the fourth, both exploding on impact.

"Wow..." Ochaco mutters as she watches you from the stands, before glancing down at the three boys standing at the side of the arena. They all watched in pride, even Bakugo, although although he was more reluctant to show it.

"(Y/n)'s doing great!" Jirou smiled, praising her friend.

"So amazing! She's learned so much from her internship, I bet!" Momo gasped, grinning at her friend.

You landed in a crouch, straightening with a smile, "That was fun!"

"Wow! Our new challenger just scored our highest: 12 seconds!"

You laughed, clapping happily, "Yay!"

"(Y/n)'s so amazing..." Ochaco exclaimed in awe.

#all mights daughter #midoriya x reader #bnha x reader #mha todoroki #mha bakugou #todoroki x reader #bakugo x reader

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misssophiachase · 4 years

Photo

Remember this story? If not, I don’t blame you! I have been adding (and in some cases amending) my fics and uploading to AO3 and am hoping to get a couple done because they are almost finished. Thanks to @romanoffsbite for the stunning cover : ) Click on the cover above for the link to the full story on AO3. It’s also on FF HERE

Synopsis: British Ambassador to the USA, Klaus Mikaelson, needs a babysitter to look after his daughter. Enter nanny, Caroline Forbes.

Lessons in Diplomacy - Chapter 7: Attaché

British Embassy, 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC

"I know this isn't exactly what you had in mind when we discussed a date." Klaus looked at Caroline apologetically hoping that she understood. Klaus was used to his job disrupting every other facet of his life, but it had been so long since he liked someone, let alone went on a date, that he wasn't familiar with the protocol.

As if his job wasn't difficult and time-consuming enough, he also had an eight-year-old who required constant care. Darcy had woken earlier that day with a stomach ache and he'd been reluctant to leave.

Klaus had spent the past week planning their date and had made reservations at one of the best new restaurants in DC as per Rebekah's recommendation. He could have hired a sitter for the evening but given Jane had recently decided to retire from her post and Caroline was his alternate he didn't have much choice. Not seeing Caroline wasn't an option, it had already been six days since the ice hockey game and Klaus was greedy for some alone time without the peanut gallery (also known as his siblings) commenting.

"I don't know," she murmured. "At least I get fed, so that's something sort of date-like. How's Darcy feeling?" His face softened, he liked the fact she was so concerned for his daughter even though they'd only met a few times.

"Well, last time I checked she was asking the chef for some chocolate brownies, so I think we can safely say the worst of it is over," he explained.

Klaus was worried that Darcy wasn't okay with him dating Caroline given her miraculous recovery earlier. He figured it would be difficult for an eight-year-old to get their head around the fact their babysitter was also dating their father. Klaus was solely devoted to Darcy and she always came first, no matter what. That's why he thought it was important to check she was okay.

One hour earlier

"So, brownies hey?" He asked, approaching his daughter. She was lying in bed, hair in messy pigtails and wearing pajamas while watching Frozen on her iPad for what Klaus swore was the millionth time. If he was told to 'Let it Go' one more time, he'd lose it.

"I haven't eaten all day, I was hungry," she whined. Klaus took a seat next to her and ruffled her hair affectionately.

"For chocolate, Darce, really?"

"I think it's the only thing that will make me feel better," she argued. "Trust me on this, dad."

"Oh, so you're now a medical expert?" She gave him a look which meant he wasn't funny. "Everything else is okay, right? I mean, besides the stomach ache?"

"It's fine," she answered, scrunching her nose up in that adorable manner he loved. "Well, except for the lack of brownies."

"You know Caroline is coming over tonight, right?"

"Can we play together? I want to show her my new nail polish and tell her all about what Marcy Johnson did for show-and-tell. Oh, and we need to read the next chapter of The Little Prince." The fact she spoke so excitedly and seemed to genuinely like Caroline filled him with warmth.

"Well, actually she's coming to see me tonight. You know how I told you last week that I like Caroline and wanted to spend some time with her?" She nodded. "Would that be okay? I promise you can see her next time."

"As long as you promise," she smiled.

"Pinky swear," he grinned, interlacing fingers with her. He then leaned down and murmured in her ear. "How about I get Marjorie to bring you up some of those brownies, sweetheart?"

"Well, I actually brought her a little something, there's nothing worse than being stuck in bed sick with nothing to do," Caroline murmured bringing him out of his trance and handing him a brightly coloured bag.

"You really didn't have to, Caroline," he smiled warmly, thinking just how kind and considerate she was, amongst other things.

"It's nothing," she replied. "I know that she's trying to out-do Marcy Johnson on show-and-tell so I thought this might help." Klaus was beginning to think this Marcy Johnson was going to be a problem and the fact Caroline knew, and after such minimal contact, was extremely telling. She obviously mistook his silence for something else. "I know it isn't all about competition.."

"The hell it isn't," he laughed.

"Like father like daughter," she teased. "Although I've been known to get a little competitive myself, just ask Katherine about our days in the Cheer Squad." Klaus had to admit the visual of Caroline in a tiny skirt and pompoms wasn't entirely unwelcome. He coughed, attempting to regain his composure.

"How is Katherine? I asked Elijah after the ice hockey but he's like a vault, no one is getting any information from him. I always thought he would have been an absolute asset in the secret service."

"Good apparently," she murmured. "Although given your sister's interest in her designs, Katherine's workload has increased ten-fold, not that she's complaining. I've always known Katherine was talented but it's really great to see it finally acknowledged."

"That's good news," he smiled, thinking how generous Rebekah could be and happy that her best friend was the recipient.

"When I left tonight she was still at her atelier, apparently your brother was dropping past to get fitted for a suit for Saturday's reception."

"And here I thought she already had his measurements," he grinned knowingly. "So, I probably should invite you inside given this is a date and everything?"

They were still standing in the front hall and Klaus watched as Caroline shed her excessive layers of clothing to ward off the chill outside. Her blonde hair hung in loose waves around her shoulders and her creamy skin was tinged pink from the cold air.

It wasn't until the last layer, in the form of a thick, woollen scarf, came off that Klaus was stunned into silence. He'd seen her mostly in jeans and casual clothes which were flattering anyway but she'd certainly made an impression with tonight's outfit. The little, black dress fit her perfectly and highlighted every delectable curve. He felt his mouth go dry, willing himself to speak but nothing was coming out.

"What's wrong? She asked, looking down at her ensemble. "Do I have something on me?"

"No, " he stammered. "You just, uh, you look.."

"And here I thought diplomacy was about being a good conversationalist?" She smirked, her blue eyes twinkling mischievously.

"You look stunning, Caroline, not that you don't always look good because..."

"It's okay," she soothed, placing her hand over his. "Message received," Klaus mentally kicked himself thinking what an idiot he must sound like to Caroline. He planned to be confident and suave but obviously the horse had bolted on that. "So, what's for dinner?"

They were taste testing the menu for his welcome reception on the weekend and Caroline had offered to play guinea pig for the evening. Klaus much preferred her as his date than having to sit through it with Rebekah and her excessive amount of opinions.

"Just so you know, Rebekah tells me there's no foie gras or black truffles on the menu. She wanted to avoid any messiness on the night."

"Now the real Klaus Mikaelson is back," she teased. "You realize there won't be another date with me, outside or inside the Embassy if you continue to bring that up? I could talk about your form at the ice hockey game the other night if you'd prefer?"

"I know it's called a puck," he replied defensively.

"I'm glad you called though," she smiled. Klaus couldn't get over how one smile could take his breath away but Caroline wasn't like anyone he'd ever met. "It's nice to know you're not that guy who says he'll call and doesn't."

"The twenty-something-year-old, college me probably would have," he explained. "But I haven't been that guy for a very long time."

"Since Darcy was born?" Klaus knew he'd changed a lot since his daughter came into his life but he also knew that he'd matured long before that.

He paused briefly gesturing in the direction of the dining room so he could compose his answer while they walked. As they did, members of his house staff smiled and greeted Caroline personally on the way.

"Wow, I've been here so many times that people know me. Do you realize that I didn't even have to tell the security guys outside why I was here? Usually, they are so foreboding and serious but I swear I saw Ahmed crack a smile."

"You got Ahmed to smile? I'm impressed, love. Let's just say word travels fast around here, mainly due to my nosy siblings who have no filter whatsoever as you witnessed the other night," he chuckled. "Just consider yourself my personal attaché."

"Attaché for what? Last time I checked I don't have the requisite skills to be your military aide or any other aide for that matter," she laughed.

"How about we stick with Personal Attaché to the Ambassador?"

"And what exactly does the Personal Attaché to the Ambassador do, Your Excellency?"

"They stop saying Your Excellency like that because the Ambassador might lose all sense of control and want to skip dinner altogether."

"Oh I know what this is about," she purred. "You make a girl come to your house and expect her to put out. Just so you know, I'm not that easy, mister." Klaus hadn't expected the night to go there so soon and he'd be lying if that comment teamed with the cheerleader visual wasn't messing with him.

"I happen to think it will be well worth the wait," he smiled, pulling out her chair.

"Now, there's that diplomacy in action."

"The chair yes, but just so you know, my diplomacy doesn't extend to that familiar kind of language. If I'd said that to the Ukrainian Ambassador I'd be on the floor," he joked. "She has black belts in both Taekwondo and Aikido."

"Just so you know, I'm glad you only say things like that to me," she smiled, placing a chaste kiss on his cheek before taking a seat at the table. "And I'd be willing to fight the Ukrainian Ambassador for you, in case you're wondering."

"You've got to stop saying things like that, love," he murmured. "I think we definitely need to eat before I do or say something untoward." She giggled, sending him a sly smile from across the table.

Katherine Pierce Designs Inc, Cady's Alley, 3318 M St NW

"You do realize I have your measurements, right?" Katherine asked, smiling at the eldest brunette.

Elijah had called her earlier in the week to ask if she'd fit him for a new suit for the Welcome Reception. She'd agreed but also mentioned how busy she was and he'd suggested dropping past her atelier to make it easier.

"It doesn't hurt to double-check," he offered. "Plus, I brought you dinner to say thank you." He held up a brown paper bag enticingly. The combination of hunger and relief on her face was enough to tell Elijah he'd made the right call.

"I love you," she smiled, grabbing the bag excitedly before realizing what she'd said. "Oh, well, I, well you know what I mean."

"You must be starving given that response," he chuckled. "I promise I won't take any offense."

They walked inside and she cleared her table so they could eat. Elijah could tell she was tired but he didn't think she had ever looked more beautiful with her long, dark locks pulled into a ponytail, wearing simple jeans and a t-shirt combination with a measuring tape hanging around her neck as if it was an accessory.

Elijah Mikaelson was a professional and cautious person who was solely focused on his work. The fact he was so successful and wealthy was case in point. He didn't often let himself feel or get involved with anyone but there was something about Katherine Pierce that had intrigued him from the moment she spilled hot coffee all over him.

Yes, at first he was angry but decided that was due to the hot, scalding water rather than the woman who did it. She'd not only apologized repeatedly but had fitted him with a brand new suit for his meeting. Elijah didn't consider himself a clothes horse but if there was one thing he knew it was how a well-fitting suit should look and feel. And hers were not only classic, but they were also well-tailored.

"You don't have to buy another suit you realize?" She stated, clearing her plate and looking up at him curiously. "Oh come on, Elijah, I know you have like a thousand suits you could wear on the weekend."

"Well, maybe not a thousand," he joked. "And yes, maybe I could, but I want a Katherine Pierce original to mark my Washington DC Embassy debut. I also happen to know that both Niklaus and Kol would like to be fitted up as well."

"You realize I'm good but not that good, right?" She asked, mouth agape. "Especially with all the business your sister has thrown my way before the big reception for your brother. I'll be making suits until next month at this rate. Not that I'm complaining, of course, your family's generosity has been amazing."

"Well, Rebekah has her moments," he teased. "Maybe I got a little carried away." He was staring at her earnestly now, afraid to tell her how he felt, especially after such a short time but also knowing exactly what to say, he was new to all of this. He noticed a slight but adorable blush cross her cheeks.

"I like a man who gets carried away," she cooed. Elijah moved around the table, deciding that once he got to her he'd hopefully know what he was doing until his cell decided to ring and interrupt the moment.

He was so close to her now, his lips mere inches from hers. Elijah looked at her helplessly, he wasn't one to ignore calls especially if they were work-related. He noted the caller ID. It wasn't his work but he felt a sudden need to answer it.

"Answer it," she murmured, her hand brushing his arm briefly. "I'll go get your suit and we can start the fitting." He nodded, thinking his brother was going to pay for interrupting him.

"Kol? What's going on?"

"You need to get down to the hospital right now, there's been an accident."

British Embassy, 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC

"So, is it a bad sign that we aborted the taste-testing to scoff Darcy's brownies in the kitchen instead?" Caroline asked, licking the remnant chocolate from her fingers while moaning about its delicious flavor. Klaus decided then and there it wasn't safe for her to do that in his presence unless sex was in their future. But given it was kind of their first date he knew that was not a possibility.

"We don't have to tell her," he replied, taking another bite. "Plus there was nothing wrong with the menu, we both just decided we wanted to binge on brownies more than canapés and whatever that crab, artichoke and brie thing was."

"Yeah, that was, uh, interesting. Is Darcy going to be upset we ate her dessert?"

"Oh, you mean my naughty daughter who was supposedly so sick with a stomach ache that she couldn't go to school today?"

"You wouldn't want to go either if Marcy Johnson was in your class," she quipped. "I had a Marcy Johnson except her name was Dana Andrews and she tried to beat me at everything."

"Is there something I should know about this Marcy Johnson you know besides her views on how boys act when they like girls?" Klaus was beginning to think he was a bad father given both Caroline and Darcy knew all about her and he had absolutely no clue. "If she is bullying my daughter..."

"Chill, Klaus," she soothed. "Marcy is just an annoying know-it-all, but we've got it in hand. Bonnie said she and Kol are taking her to the zoo next week so she'll have plenty to talk about for show-and-tell."

"It's remarkable how much you know about my daughter and her movements," he laughed. "I didn't even realize Kol was taking her to the zoo but I suppose he'll fit right in with his animal friends. It's nice of Bonnie to babysit both Kol and Darcy for me on her day off."

"You realize she likes Kol, right?" Klaus was dumbfounded. Sure, he had the tendency to miss certain things but that fairly big detail he would have known about. Well, he thought so anyway.

"No, they can't stand each other," he explained. "At first I thought it was this cute banter thing but Bonnie is way too smart to be seduced by him and we all know Kol likes to play the field too much to even consider a steady relationship, especially one with my best friend."

"I don't think excessive rambling is going to make it any less true, Klaus," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Bonnie couldn't take her eyes off him when he was playing the other night, plus she told me all about how Kol ends up in her ER all the time due to injuries. Coincidence, I think not."

"Well, I'll be damned. Is there anything else I don't know?"

"I think your sister and the bodyguard are in denial, I sat next to them at the hockey and the combustible energy between them is enough to..."

"Okay enough about my siblings and their sexual urges," he drawled. "I never thought our date would descend into a discussion about them and Darcy's know-it-all nemesis from school." As he said it Klaus, couldn't help but feel completely happy and comfortable in her presence and how things had turned out. It was as if he'd known her for years, not weeks.

"Caroline..." he murmured, his voice raspy. He ran his hands through her waves and pulled her closer, his sole focus on her lips. He was wondering if they were as soft as they looked and if they'd taste like chocolate. Klaus figured it was time to find out.

His phone rang at that exact moment. He wanted to ignore it and finally kiss her without distraction but Caroline had already pulled away from his grasp and was picking up his phone from the counter.

"It's the zoo animal," she explained holding it up so he could see the name Kol displayed on the screen. He faltered, thinking it could probably wait but the moment between them had passed and given Kol knew they had a date he figured it must be important.

"Niklaus," he said before Klaus could speak. "You need to get down to the hospital." Klaus felt sick from all of the memories it evoked, it wasn't the first call he'd had like that before.

"What's happened?"

"It's Enzo, he was shot on duty and they're not sure if he's going to make it through the night."

#yes i'm back #lessons in diplomacy #misssophiachase #klaroline fanfiction #klaroline #my writing

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madsruti · 4 years

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Not that I think someone will read this cause it's too long, but I talk about death so I could be triggering. Also, it's probably badly written because I cried while I was writing it and I don't want to revise it because I will cry again, but I don't really care right now. Anyways...

It's been a while. Much has changed and I feel like shit.

Tina died on July 17. I still can't talk about it and think about her without crying (yes, I'm crying right now). She was exactly 15 years and 6 months old. And she looked so tiny. And she was so cold. She got back to the ICU after my last post and then she never left. She died in my arms when I last visited her. She was sleeping and snoring. And cold. She wasn't able to keep her body temperature anymore. I held her for about five minutes and then it happened. I was alone with her. I have never seen someone die before. And just stupidly thought something along the lines of honey why are you coughing are you thirsty because I am a dumbass. I tried texting my mom (she was at the clinic too) but she wouldn't respond, so I had to leave Tina on the desk and try to get someone. I knew she had died, but I didn't know that it had already happened when she was in my arms. It killed me to think that she could have died on the table. I think I said before how I didn't want her to feel alone and abandoned, I'm glad I was with her when she died. I'm glad she died sleeping and didn't suffer. But I'm also a wreck. I can't not think about it when I remember these last few days. Or how I had to take her convulsing in my arms just a week before that. It was too much. It is too much.

I spent two weeks basically doing nothing after that. I cried a lot. And then her ashes came and I cried more. And now I feel sad and I feel longing every time I look at it (I'm not ready to spread it somewhere yet. I don't even know where it would be). Sometimes it's easy to pretend that she's back at my father's house instead of being with me and my mother. Sometimes I forget for a second and think oh I should make one extra nugget for Tina and then it hits me. I hid her stuff, but I'm not ready to let them go yet too. Just the other day I found one of her blankets inside one of my jacket's pockets from this day we went to visit her at the ICU and thought maybe we could bring her home... And I was crying again. I miss her so much. And I know she had a good life overall (especially these last few years), but I also can't stop thinking about what I should have done more or what I should have done differently, especially when she was a puppy. Even if back then I was also just a child and if my parents said Tina had to leave outside of the house, I couldn't do much. Why the fuck a pinscher had to live outside of the house? It changed after time, but still, my mom wouldn't allow her on the couch until like three years ago. I should have held her more. I should have taken her to more walks. I don't know, I should have done something more. I love her so much it feels like my heart is gonna explode and I don't know how to express myself. I'll never have a pet again. How some people have so many of them? Fuck, I can't. I can't. I feel like I've lost a part of me.

As I did nothing, I had a lot of time to think about life in general and how I wasn't happy with mine. Quarantine is obviously being a bitch. I like spending time alone at home, but not that much. I miss going out to eat with my friends. I miss going to the movies. I miss being alone because now my mom is working from home and she is here all the time (my mother hates being at home and she was always out doing whatever) and my neighbors whose walls we share are also home all the time and it's always so noisy I can't ever be truly alone. I know it's probably bullshit and some people live like this always and not just during a pandemic, but I'm used to being alone. Oh, how I miss those two years I lived by myself.

But besides being mentally fucked, I also have come to accept that I don't want a PhD. I told my parents I was dropping out and my mother freaked. So I got even more mentally fucked. I feel guilty about giving up, I feel guilty because I don't know what the hell I wanna do with my life and I just know that I don't want to be a graphic designer or a professor. And my mom makes me feel worse because she's always but why can't you just finish it it's just three more years and what are you going to do now why don't you do this and you know you gonna have to go back to college right and you probably won't enter a public university (which is free) but we also don't have enough money to support you and just a million things that I already know. She doesn't let me have a minute to think. It's like I'm dropping out on monday morning and in the afternoon I have to be already enrolled in something else. And let me tell you something, I know that I don't want to be a designer since the first semester at college. That's about fucking nine years ago. But I wasn't brave enough to accept it back then and I just sucked it up and finished it and continued to do it until now because it was easier. So no, I won't magically know what to know if I don't know what to do for the past nine years (you could say more, I was already lost in high school). And now I'm feeling sick like two to three times a week.

But the thing is, I want to do something. I really do. I don't want to spend the rest of my days on my mother's house couch browsing tiktok (cause that's what she probably thinks I wanna do). But I don't even know where to begin. So I'm seeing a therapist (although I'm not sure I'll be able to decide what I wanna do with my life with just that, but yeah pretty sure it's clear I've got other problems. Even if I already went to a therapist for I don't know six or seven years before that), I went to a psychiatrist (she said I don't need meds, so maybe I not as bad as I think, but I definitely need to keep going to therapy) and I know I need to find someone who does some kind of career advice thingy. Yeah, I'm pretty lost. I'm also very unproductive, not because I don't have classes to attend anymore but I could be doing something besides watching TV and youtube and tiktok and crying all day. I could be studying french. Dammit, I could be watching all those stuff in french. I could be drawing. I could be playing the guitar. I could be learning the piano since I already chose the one I want to buy but I haven't done it yet. It's so hard to begin to do things again and it hasn't been that long yet. It's just that it's not a vacation, it's hard for my brain to understand that it's ok to focus on my well being now and I don't have to do something that's gonna be work and earn me some money.

Maybe I should read this to my therapist. I'm not sure if I like her yet. Things don't make sense anymore. Time's moving differently. Why can't I just wake up ten years in the future? You know what would be easier? Yes.

Mads

#madsruti #dog #phdblr #death #???

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shadowjack12345 · 4 years

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Three’s Company 3 - The Date

Been a while lol

Beast Boy woke up even later than usual. He'd been up late and yesterday had been exhausting anyway. He rolled out of bed and let himself flop onto the floor. He mumbled into the carpet, still not really wanting to begin the day, when he remembered what the end of it held. He rose to his knees, a sock stuck to his forehead.

"I have a date with Raven and Starfire," he said to no-one. He then stood and started walking in a tight circle, his hands fidgeting with each other. "Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man. I have a date with Raven and Star. They're going on a date with me. And with each other. Are we all going on two dates? No, that's dumb. I can't do this. I can't do this." Then he stopped, took a deep breath, and turned to point at himself in the mirror.

"You ca-HGHGHKK!" As he'd opened his mouth to speak, the sock, previously resting backward on his hair, flipped forward and fell into his mouth.. He spat the garment out and coughed for a few moments. "Ahem. You can do this. You got this. I'm sure they're just as anxious."

In the common room, Starfire hummed happily. She was rather looking forward to tonight and already planning what she might wear. True, she hadn't asked where they were going but it made sense that she at least consider her options. She did wonder where Raven was at the moment - it was long past the time when she usually woke up, but remembered that yesterday might have taxed her more than an average day. She shrugged and continued her task, which was petting her dear Silkie, while rifling through her wardrobe in her mind. Still... it would be nice to see Raven. She was running late but when she did arrive, no doubt she would desire her tea. Starfire put Silkie down and headed to the kitchen to wait.

In Raven's room, the woman herself sat on her bed (or more precisely, slightly above her bed) in meditation. She had a need of it after last night and suspected she might need a little extra serenity today as well. After another ten minutes, she let her eye crack open when she felt Beast Boy's emotions start to stir as he woke up. Looking at the clock, she saw it was after ten and decided she'd had enough meditation for now and would rather have some breakfast instead. She floated a little higher and let her legs unfold beneath her before drifting forward and alighting silently on the carpet. With a glance, her cloak flew from its peg on the wall and settled around her shoulders. She took another centering breath and made to leave, just as she felt Beast Boy's anxiety spike. She smirked.

"I guess he remembered our plans." She exited her room and made her way to the common room. The door swished open, as usual, and she made a beeline for the kettle, as usual, while Nightwing read the paper and Cyborg surfed the TV channels, as usual. Starfire was already in the kitchen, as usual, and she turned when she heard the doors close behind Raven, as usual, and she looked at Raven. More than most people, Raven appreciated the value of routine, and she had learned to use it almost as moving meditation. Any second now, Starfire would sing out various flowery greetings and Raven would humour her and... and... oh. Starfire was looking at her. She looked at her the way people do when they share a secret but, underneath that, there was an unmistakable longing. Raven knew Starfire had concealed her feelings for Beast Boy and herself and now she was clearly relishing that she could express them in any way, even something as small as a very attentive look across the room.

"You okay, Rae?" Raven turned to Cyborg who had spotted her standing still in the middle of the room. How long had she been there, she wondered, staring back at Starfire, who had now turned away from her.

"Fine. Just... thought I'd forgotten something for a moment," she said. Cyborg shrugged and turned back to the TV as Raven resumed her route to the kitchen. Feeling suddenly bashful, Raven went to pull up her hood as she stood alongside Starfire.

"If it is all the same to you, Raven, might you leave your hood down?" Starfire said, quietly. Raven looked up at her.

"Why?" she asked, her hands still holding her hood. Starfire smiled wider.

"You are very beautiful, Raven. I like seeing you, if you are willing to be seen," she said, lowering her voice. Raven flushed under Starfire's gaze and felt her mouth go dry. She let her hood fall, clearing her throat as she set about brewing some tea. Starfire's smile became slightly sheepish. "I am sorry if I made you at all uncomfortable, Raven," she said, her eyes drawn to Raven's red cheeks.

"No need, Star, it's just that... Beast Boy might be a little put out when he finds out you've been flirting with me before he gets here, especially when you do it so well," she said. Starfire grinned, gratefully accepting a proffered cup for herself.

"Oh, I am sure he will be pleased by my flirting," she said.

"Just don't make him panic, he's nervous enough already," Raven said, her mouth curling up a little. To emphasise the point, the door opened to show Beast Boy clearly in the middle of taking a deep breath before stepping in.

"Hey, guys," he said as he walked in, waving his hand in Nightwing and Cyborg's general direction and they grunted in acknowledgement. "Uh... morning," he said to Raven and Starfire, rather less confidently than he had greeted the others. They smiled at him, and he fidgeted under their gaze. He seemed strangely unwilling to enter the kitchen while Raven and Starfire both stood in it. They looked at each other and silently agreed - they moved to one end of the kitchen but didn't altogether leave, Beast Boy circling around to come in the other way. He poured himself a bowl of cereal while glancing sideways at the two women who continued to watch him as they sipped from their cups. Beast Boy finished preparing his cereal and stood, bowl in hand, visibly hesitating. He looked over toward the TV, where Nightwing and Cyborg sat, then over toward Raven and Starfire. He took another breath then marched to his chosen destination.

"Good morning, Garfield," Raven said between sips. He placed his bowl on the counter beside them and started to eat, smiling at them and at his own behaviour. Starfire looked between them a few times before speaking herself.

"Good morning to you... Gar." Raven and Beast Boy both blinked at her. She shrugged and looked away. "Did I do something strange?"

"Not strange, exactly. Unusual," Raven said. Beast Boy swallowed a mouthful of his cereal.

"You've never called me by my name before," Beast Boy said, wide-eyed. Starfire smiled sheepishly.

"I believe that, after our conversations last night, we might prefer our given names over our codenames," she said. Beast Boy looked to Raven.

"Don't look at me, I only have the one name," she said. Beast Boy looked back at Starfire and his mouth slowly stretched into a wide smile.

"Sure thing... Kori?"he tried. Starfire beamed at him.

"That is entirely acceptable, from either of you," she said. Raven nodded.

"Kori it is. So here we are, Raven, Garfield, and Kori'Andr," she said.

"Yup. Here we are," Beast Boy seconded. Starfire nodded and took a swig of her tea.

"One question I have, though," Raven said, "is what do Raven, Garfield and Kori'Andr tell Dick and Vic?" She jerked her thumb over her shoulder toward their two oblivious comrades. For her part, Starfire didn't particularly relish telling Nightwing that not only was she embarking on a new potentially romantic relationship, but that it was with not one, but two, of their mutual closest friends.

"Nothing," Beast Boy said, interrupting her train of thought. "At least nothing right now. We haven't even had our date yet, I think we're allowed to keep it private." Starfire smiled in secret relief and Raven agreed as well.

"Okay, then. Second question: what are we wearing?"

Between them, they decided on fairly casual civilian clothing, but something smart enough to mark the occasion. They agreed to meet up at about quarter to eight, as Raven had agreed to simply teleport the three of them rather than have everyone fly there. With that decided, the three stood slightly awkwardly as they finished eating and drinking, then carried on with their day as normal. Beast Boy plopped down next to Cyborg and watched TV with him and Nightwing. Raven followed her treasured routine of meditation and reading, expanding her consciousness and her knowledge in turns. Starfire might normally join Raven at this point but decided instead to pamper Silkie this morning. However, each of them, even Raven, found their eyes occasionally drawn to the nearest clock, even with hours left to go.

LATER

Beast Boy admired his reflection in his room, dressed simply in jeans, a blue button-up shirt, sleeves rolled up, that he wore open to show the t-shirt he wore under it. The t-shirt was grey and read 'party animal' in fading letters. He also glanced at his shoes, a pair of immaculate white sneakers, that still sat on his desk. He smiled at himself, satisfied, and checked the time.

It was seven o'clock.

He sat heavily on his bed and held his face in his hands, careful not to disturb his artfully messy hair, and grumbled impatiently.

Starfire twirled in the air, examining her own reflection. She wore a light skirt, dark red but with a white floral design, that came just past mid-thigh on her, as well as a loose, white sleeveless blouse that had small, pale pink flower designs on it. She wore a simple pair of black, heeled ankle boots to complete it and, as she did in everything, looked spectacular. Happy with her outfit, she again fussed over Silkie to pass the time, whispering her hopes for their date to go well.

Raven looked down at herself. She had a smaller wardrobe than most of the others, at least when it came to outdoor clothes (she secretly had an impressive collection of extremely comfortable pyjamas) and so hoped her choice was acceptable, as she didn't have many other options. She wore grey, high-waisted jeans and a blue crop top that ended barely an inch above her waistband. Over that she wore a long, thin black cardigan with sleeves slightly to long for her, her fingertips only just poking out when she held her arms at her side. After a great deal of procrastination, she elected to wear lipstick - black, naturally - and sat on her bed to don a pair of grey fuzzy socks (her comfy sock collection rivalled her pyjama collection) and a pair of heavy black boots. She glanced at her clock, it read twenty minutes to eight.

She realised with a start that they had forgotten to say where they would meet before heading out, but it was quickly taken out of her hands when she heard a rapid, excited knock on her door. She opened it and saw Starfire, hovering some inches from the floor and beaming down at her.

"Hello Raven, are you ready?" she sang. Raven looked her up and down - she looked amazing, as she always did. With their mutual attraction now in the open, she allowed her eyes to drift down for a moment, admiring Starfire's legs unadorned with her thigh-high boots. When she returned her gaze to her face, she found that Starfire's own eyes lingered on the skin that showed between her jeans and her top. When they met Raven's, there was a knowing look in them - she had caught Raven's admiration and so hadn't hidden her own. Raven felt her face heat up as Starfire touched down on the floor. She cleared her throat.

"Well... ready as I'll ever be, I think. Have you seen Garf-?" she started.

"HOLY GUACAMOLE!"

"Never mind." Sure enough, Beast Boy stood some distance down the corridor, staring at the two women. Starfire tittered at his wide eyes and open mouth.

"I... am under-dressed," he said, looking down at himself. Just as he seemed ready to turn back to his room, Raven called after him.

"Garfield, you look fine," she said. He paused but didn't seem particularly encouraged by that. "Actually, you um... you look really nice," she tried again, glancing away and fidgeting. Beast Boy stared again while Starfire sidled up to him.

"Agreed, Raven. I think Beast Boy looks very handsome tonight," she said, taking his right hand in both of her own. Beast Boy turned to face her, a shy smile crossing his flushed face.

"Thank you," he whispered. Raven watched them for a moment before beckoning them inside.

"Come in so I can close the door. Then we can go." They did so and Raven closed her eyes. "Azarath, metreon, zinthos!" Her power flared and they were gone.

Outside Alessandro's Italian Restaurant, the three stepped out of a black vortex - fortunately, there was no-one to be startled by it - and, after a momentary confusion where all three of them tried to open the door for the others, they stepped inside, immediately greeted by the effusive man himself.

"Mr Logan!" he yelled, throwing his arms up as he made his way to them. He wasn't especially tall, only slightly taller then Raven, and had a heavy build - he often joked that he loved to eat almost as much as he loved to cook - and appeared to be middle aged, his mess of black hair speckled with grey. The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up and he weaved through the tables in a way that was strangely reminiscent of their obstacle course, always with his eyes on them. He reached them and pulled Beast Boy into a bear hug.

"Hey Alessandro," Beast Boy laughed as they slapped each others backs. "How've you been? And I keep telling you, Gar or BB's fine." Alessandro stepped back, his hands on Beast Boy's shoulders.

"I have been well. I have been alive, Mr Logan, thanks to you," he said with a fond smile and a wink. He turned to Raven and Starfire. "Did you know this man is a hero?" he asked while Beast Boy groaned through his smile.

"Well... yes," Starfire answered. Alessandro chuckled.

"Yes, of course you do. But I do not simply mean his powers or his costume: he has the courage, the fire of a true hero, right here!" he exclaimed, thumping Beast Boy's chest with one of his heavy hands.

"We know that as well," Raven said. "It's nice to hear that you know it too." Beast Boy flushed again. It was a fact of their profession that they would have a great impact on people's lives in the city, but rarely did they interact with those people later. Aleesandro had found Beast Boy nearby one day, purely by chance, and had all but dragged him back to his small restaurant to show his gratitude. From that, a genuine friendship was born.

"Oh but where are my manners?" Alessandro cried, releasing Beast Boy. "Miss Raven and Miss Starfire, you are great heroes also! My niece is a very big fan," he said. "Please, let me show you to your table."

The restaurant was cosy, the tables close together and not remotely uniform, but it was charming and the smells coming through from the kitchen were divine. They reached their table after passing by a few other patrons, all of whom noticed their famous company, and found it to be clumsily but effectively screened from the rest of the room by a hanging curtain. Alessandro gestured at it.

"I knew you wouldn't want everyone grinning and gawping at you while you eat, my friends. Mr Logan, I have your favourite ravioli made just for you. Miss Starfire, Miss Raven, someone will come by for your order very shortly. Drinks?" They only asked for water for now and Alessandro vanished through the curtain.

"He's interesting," Raven drawled. Beast Boy laughed at her understatement,

"I know, right? Great guy, just a little overbearing when he's excited. Which is always."

"How did you become his friend?" Starfire asked.

"Remember when those runaway Joker goons tried to carve out a piece of Jump City?" he asked.

"The so-called Circus Squad," Raven said with a grimace.

"Right. Alessandro was with his family in the park and almost got in their way. I got there first," he said with a shrug. "He saw me one day and brought me in here to feed me as a thank you. Food was great, so I kept coming back. He really is a great guy. I might need your help to convince him to take money from us for this, I still have to argue with him about it," he laughed.

"Consider it done. I shall make the sad face until he accepts remuneration," Starfire said. Beast Boy shook his head with a smile.

"Aw man, no one can resist that!" he said.

"Not even me," Raven added. Starfire grinned slyly at them both.

"I shall remember that," she purred. With a jolt, Raven and Beast Boy remembered why they were there in the first place, shrinking a little under Starfire's gaze.

"Hi, welcome to Alessandro's can I take your oh shit in a bucket!" A young woman had passed under the curtain to take their orders and had, apparently, not known exactly who she was serving.

"Can you take our what?" Raven asked. The server left without a word. "That was odd." Before Raven could add more, the woman reappeared, smile back in place.

"Sorry about that. I'm here to take your order?" she said. Raven quickly glanced at the menu and Starfire did the same.

"Uh, any recommendations?" Raven asked.

"I might suggest the meatballs, they're always good," the server said, pointing them out on the menu. "Or the pizza. Alessandro does a great calzone."

"Calzone sounds great," Raven said.

"Meatballs sound very nice," Starfire said. The server took note of their order and turned to leave, but stopped mid step. Raven smirked - she thought this might happen.

"I just wanna say, you guys are awesome. Just awesome," she blurted before vanishing again.

"I guess Alessandro couldn't hide us from every fan," Beast Boy chuckled. "She seems nice, though." Raven and Starfire nodded their agreement. Then there was silence. None of them seemed to know what to say.

"Well. It got quiet," Beast Boy said. More nodding and more silence. Raven frowned - this was stupid. They talked all the time, why was it so hard now? She searched her mind for something to say...

"May I ask you something, Gar?" Starfire said. He grinned, glad for the conversation.

"Sure, Kori," he replied.

"What does it feel like when you fly?" she asked. Beast Boy cocked his head.

"But... don't you know how flying feels?" she smiled back at him.

"I know how it feels for me. It feels like freedom and exhilaration and-"

"Unbridled joy?" Raven volunteered. Starfire chuckled.

"Yes, unbridled joy. You remember," she said. Raven sighed deeply.

"Kind of hard to forget," she said. Understanding dawned on Beast Boy's face.

"Right, the Puppet King." He shuddered.

"Yes. So... what does it feel like for you?" Starfire asked. again. Beast Boy took a moment.

"Well, when I swap out for an animal, a lot of it is instinct. Hardwired in, you know? Like there's no way me or any human could walk as a spider or something, we'd just trip over ourselves. It's the same as a bird, I just know how, I can feel the air under my wings, and my tail and I fly. I don't consciously turn my tail to steer I just... go one way or the other. I guess when I'm a bird, flying feels like... I feel like I belong up there. The really weird part is that some birds can see UV light - world looks way different through their eyes." Starfire rested her chin on her hand.

"Fascinating," she said. Beast Boy flushed, though he wasn't quite sure why.

"Your turn, Raven," he asked. She blinked for a moment.

"Well, St- Kori already knows this but, essentially I hitch a ride on my soul-self. I project my soul-self in whatever direction I want to go and anchor my physical self to it. It sounds more involved than it it, at least after some practice. It's like driving, it almost becomes instinctive." Beast Boy nodded slowly.

"So cool," he said. Now it was Raven's turn to blush. Not long after, their meals arrived and the conversation flowed much more naturally. Once they were finished and Alessandro had been bullied into taking payment, they lingered at the table, unwilling to see their night end.

"This was... a lot of fun. It was nice," Raven said at last.

"It really was," Beast Boy added. "Also, I know I didn't say it earlier (though I think I gave it away), but you both look amazing. You're just amazing all around, actually," he said, looking vaguely embarrassed.

"Thank you, Gar," they said in unison, which caused a few giggles among the trio.

Shortly after that, they emerged from Raven's power in her bedroom. Starfire turned and gently embraced Raven.

"Goodnight, Raven," she whispered, before turning to Beast Boy and embracing him in the same way. "Goodnight, Gar." She released him and, with a wan smile, she opened the door.

"Goodnight, Kori," Raven said as she left.

"Yeah, 'night Kori," Beast Boy added. They looked at each other. "She didn't ask."

"No, she didn't," Raven said. "I'm guessing she didn't want to chance spoiling tonight for herself. It was a very nice night."

"Yeah... See you in the morning?" he asked.

"You don't want to talk about it? About us and Kori?" Raven asked. He shook his head.

"I think it's pretty obvious what happens next, Rae," he said. She sighed.

"You're right."

The next day, Starfire didn't emerge from her room at all in the morning. She hadn't planned it but just felt safer in there for now... at least until someone knocked.

"Kori?" It was Raven. Starfire took a deep breath. Then another. Then she answered her door.

"Raven," she answered, timidly.

"Gar and I are going to grab some lunch," she said. Starfire nodded, looking at the floor. "Are you coming with? Or shall we bring something back for you?" Starfire looked back up to see Raven, hand outstretched, waiting for her. Carefully, Starfire took the offered hand.

"I would like to be with you," she breathed. Raven smiled and Beast Boy stepped into view, holding out his hand as well. Starfire took it and floated between them as they walked to the elevator, her smile as radiant as her name.

So I guess I haven't updated this for... three years. Oops.

-Jack

#bbraestar #beast boy #starfire #raven #fanfiction #shadowjack12345

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celawrites · 4 years

Text

Day 21

The sun’s hues blind me while I type. But if I were any other basic person, I would take a selfie and bask in the sun. Too bad I’m not. I stretch and head out of my car. It’s currently 7:07 and since I had a good rest on the car, I settle for continuing the story on school grounds.

Madison is there when I head over to my usual seat. I move out of the way and let her stay there. I was here to type and manifest ideas, not deal with her shenanigans.

“So” She sneers. “How’d you do it?”

I ignore her. Some days I wish I could block people irl. Well, I guess murder works as well but I mean too many legal issues. A restraining order? She hasn’t done anything bad to me though.

“I asked you a question bitch”

I continue typing. I’m rather glad that I’m currently typing an analysis on a love rival, this is actually the perfect material for the new character.

“All you ever do is stay silent and type. What happened to that strong persona you have when he’s around huh? You haven’t changed one bit” she snickers.

I spare her a glance and continue typing.

“Not gonna answer me huh? Tell me. How many of them did you sleep with you slut,” She hisses out. “There’s no way any of them would befriend you after the rumor that surfaced about you”

My hands remain busy on my keyboard as I give her the only reply she’s getting. “Is that all?”

“What do you mean? Tsk. So you admit that you seduced half of the school into voting for you?”

In my mind, I snort at her assumptions, but I ignore her words. The sun is already in the sky by now, and Sun should be joining us any moment.

“Just so you know, I actually am Serenity. And I will not hesitate to send my fanbase after you and ruin your life. So I suggest that you stay away from what’s mine”

“So I’m an object now?” Sun walks over to us.

“Ah, good morning darling!” Madison beams, a fake one, you can kind of tell how her arms are tense.

“Good morning Sun, took you longer than usual”

“There was a little traffic on the freeway. Good morning Madison” he nods and settles down next to me. “What’s today’s prompt?”

“Antagonist design. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.” Despite Sun not knowing who I was, he still knew that I had a passion for writing.

“Mm.”

“Hey darling. Do you want a signed book from me? I’m hosting a fan-sign soon and you seemed pretty invested in the book last year.”

“Serenity doesn’t host fan-signs. For all we know, she could be a he, and they could be an old woman in her forties. So no.” Sun sighs.

“Stop frowning, you’re gonna get wrinkles.” I hum, noticing how he creased his eyebrows.

“Says the one with permanent eyebags”

“So which cafe are you guys headed to this Friday? I wanna join you guys!” Madison is glowing, I kind of need medicine or something, she’s too fake.

Sun and I both remain silent. Madison shuffles uncomfortably in her seat and Sun leans over and reads my analysis to ignore her. “Vinicia. A woman known for her charms, she owns one of the largest underground empires in the city. Constantly picking a fight with Seph. She controls almost every high-level street fighter possible”

He hums. “Known for being an angel in real life. Constantly helping out anyone and everyone, only a few know how two-sided she is. Sounds familiar”

“Does it? I was just thinking about every other basic antagonist”

“Not in-depth enough. Why is she that way? Is she bored? Does she want to avenge someone? And also, what’s her empire called? What does it consist of? Is she really as innocent as she makes up? Does she have any hints that you can tell that she isn’t?” Sun points out.

“It’s only the early stages Sun. It’s not like I have a deadline for these prompts”

“True huh” I do have a deadline, and the deadline is in a week. I was supposed to turn in all my character plans for my next book yesterday, but things happened and I was given another week.

“So Madison.” I hum. “What’s your next book going to be about?”

She tenses, and at this point, there are multiple students around who are also curious. “A-ah. I posted it on my blog a little while back! It’s about love. But you know, there’s also an antagonist and stuff”

I hum, and Sun snickers. “Serenity doesn’t give such vague answers. If you’re going to pretend to be her, then at least play the part. Her next work is on magic”

“B-but I am Serenity! So what if I tend to overshare on the internet? You guys can just get all of this information on my blog!” Madison stammers out.

The first bell saves her from any more questions, and everyone scrambles to get ready for class. I text Sun the answer to one of the math questions as my confession today and snicker when he flushes red. ( i < 3u )

The day passes like normal, and when Sun runs up to me after school, I’m more than confused.

“cRESS”

“What’s wrong Sun?”

“Take me out”

“With a gun or on a date?”

“Either. I’m tired and I don’t want to go on a date with Madison”

“PFft.”

“sUN~” Madison runs over and Sun speeds himself to the front seat. I laugh and slip in myself. A knock is heard on the window and Sun opens the window. His hand is in mine, a habit that I let him develop because of his anxiety. I rub soft circles on his hand, and though we’re not dating, at this point we could be friends with benefits but only benefits of cheesy stuff.

“Is something wrong?”

“So what about our date?”

“I’m already hanging out with Cress today.”

“Can I join in? It’s not a date right?”

“ah-”

“It’s a date” both Madison and I look at him in shock. EXCUSE ME? I DID NOT AGREE TO FAKE DATE YOU IDIOT HOW DARE YOU. HOW DARE YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ME CRUSHING ON YOU FOR THIS I DIDN’T AGREE TO THIS HISSS.

Sun shrugs and motions for me to drive. Deciding to be cheeky, I grin. “I’ll tell you if he’s a good kisser later Madison! See you!” I step on the gas and leave.

“I hate you” I mumble.

“You’re in love with me” Sun hums.

“And you’re being a jerk by playing me”

He remains quiet for a bit. “I panicked. I’m sorry”

I remain quiet and opt to drive to an empty parking lot instead.

“You owe me a 3am McDonalds run now”

“Alright. What are we doing here anyways?”

“I need vibes. I can’t type without them. If you have any questions or need anything, feel free to swap seats with me and drive there” I hum.

“Alright”

He’s quiet until he catches me off guard with a question.

“So you think I’m a good kisser?”

I choke. whERE THE FUCK IS THAT COMING FROM?

“W-what?” I cough.

“You said you’d tell Madison if I was a good kisser or not”

“I mean I had to think of something cheeky to say. You’d be sorely wrong if you think I’d let an opportunity like that slip by.”

“So you didn’t want to kiss me?” He smirks.

“You’ve never kissed someone before. You’d be sorely wrong if you think I’d agree”

“Says the one who’s never dated someone before”

“I’m hURT”

The bantering goes on until it’s nearing 4pm, and I drive him home. His brother is quick to ask me for the details but I only tell him that we hadn’t done anything except correct my horrible grammar on my stories. Z only huffs.

The rest of the day passes silently, and my home is quiet as usual. Nighttime approaches, and I’m in bed again.

Previous : Masterlist : Next

#angst?#fake dating #people panicking bc Sun is a dumbass #fluff #writing #fiction #first person #project #quarantine project #bitchy people smh #365 days #365 days of writing #365 days of rejection #I dread the day that I have to apply to college ngl #my ocs #dumb people

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omggiogiothings · 5 years

Text

Voices Ch.9

So sorry about the lateness of this chapter,,, But hey! UPDATE! so good times : )

If you’d like to read this fic on Ao3 please click here!

Thank you guys for putting up with me. Happy reading!

Keith quickly learns his wedding outfit was not meant for comfort.

The tight fitting undergarments bite into his skin and he’s annoyed at the amount of times he has to discreetly pull his shorts down when they start riding up his thighs. He’s showing enough skin as it is, he does not want to flash the prim and proper Alteans standing around them.

He had assumed after the wedding the reception would be a short affair but all his hopes die the moment Shiro introduces him to the Puigian leader, and then the Olkari, and then the Arusian. It’s an endless string of people each giving them praise and well-wishes that are definitely lies. The Puigian had given him such a dirty look Keith was amazed he hadn’t bitten his tongue when he said he was happy they were married.

It was part of his duties now, he supposed. Keith stayed by Shiro’s side, one hand light against his back as Shiro held him with a loose hand on his hip. Sometimes he would drum his fingers against Keith when someone started getting talkative. Once he realized what he was doing he blushed, embarrassed and avoided Keith’s knowing gaze.

The reception was a public affair on purpose. There were too many aliens Keith would not be able to recognize or remember. And from them all, there was only a sprinkle of Galra. Keith remembered making the seating arrangements with the others, telling them which squadrens would be better together and which would be better apart. He isn’t surprised to find some of them missing. Keith knew there would be a punishment for showing disrespect to Zarkon’s orders.

Keith is introduced to a couple dozen people and knows there is no way he will remember their faces or names. He also notices no one from Zarkon’s court had bothered to show up.

Keith catches the double meaning. None of them had approved of Zarkon’s decision. He didn’t have to be privy to the peace talks to know that. Zarkon’s court was filled with purebred Galra, each withered and old. They had been commanders and warriors once upon a time. Keith loathed them as much as he loathed his grandfather. He learned to walk eggshells around them. He didn’t like being in the same room as any of them. Only a handful of them had truly left him alone as a child. But once he presented as an Omega, there was an air of disgust and revulsion. Keith knew Lotor had suffered the same issues because Zarkon had coupled with an Altean.

They were hated for things they couldn’t control.

Still, he could name them, could talk about their glory days and their children. Their children were high ranking officers and each with their own corrupt pockets of command. He hated them but learned to tolerate them. He didn’t get involved with politics, instead he found ways to work around them and away from them.

They were stupid anyways. Zarkon’s court was nothing more than puppets, made to make the citizens of Gal think he was a just and caring ruler. A load of ruggle.

When the newlyweds were finally allowed to take a seat the, servants started serving meals and refreshment. Their table is at the front of the grand hall where Keith had met Shiro for the first time. Despite being exhausted, Keith is pleased to see that their decisions had been taken into consideration for the decoration. There’s a mixture of black and golden decorations, streamers with lace fabric lining the tables and chairs. The flowers are beautiful, he remembers a few of them from the ones Shiro had sent him. There’s cards on the tables but Keith isn’t sure what they decided to put on them. He isn’t even sure what the point is, if he was honest. There are also small details he notices as well. He remembers the arguing over the silverware (that Shiro and Keith had both thought looked exactly the same but Coran had screeched that there was a terrible difference) and the red and black designs on the plates instead of the black and red designs (again, exactly the same but they were scolded for assuming so).

It’s elegant and regal. He remembers Pidge mentioning that the first half of the reception would be for the polite congratulations of the new couple before the public was invited to join them for the occasion.

The food is served with a flourish and Keith forgets about looking interested and instead focuses on the meals he recognizes from taste testing with Hunk and… the questionable items.

Keith and Shiro are seated with one another along the long table taking up one side of the great hall. They’re sat in the middle, separating their respective families as planned. Keith has his father on one side and feels a judgemental stare at every plate he picks up. But he’s hungry and he refuses to be denied a meal so good.

Keith takes a moment to investigate what looks like a grotesque looking flower when Hunk suddenly leans forward and waves a hand at him. “Uhhhhh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you, man.”

“What is it?” Keith asks, pushing it away gently and looking at Shiro who is having a staring contest with it. Shiro stabs it, making it open up and release a pink puff of air.

“Altean cuisine,” Hunk deadpanned, not bothering to look at Shiro who nearly knocks himself backwards as he coughs into his hand. The smell is horrid and Keith takes pity on him, pushing the plate back and away with the end of his fork. “It’s like, questionable at best. I’ll save you the mystery of what it tastes like. It’s really bad. I think Alteans are the only ones with taste buds strong enough for it.”

Keith considers, looking out to the crowd and how they handle their own meals. He finds Thace in the crowd, picking at it and putting a piece into his mouth. Thace was respectful like that, always willing to appreciate someone's culture. It doesn’t end well when he chokes, startling the lieutenants around him. Thace swallows and almost disappears as he slouches in his seat. If Shiro’s reaction to it hadn’t been enough to convince him, Thace turning the lightest shade of lavender is.

“Thanks.” He turns back to Hunk, momentarily finding Shiro fighting with another item of food. Keith wrinkles his nose when the new plate of food actually moves and takes his fork. “You don’t like it?”

Shiro doesn’t look at him, glaring at the newest enemy on their table. Hunk dutifully hands him a butterknife before looking horrified and yanking it away. They didn’t need a new food monster stealing a butterknife. “No. Just, no.”

“Shiro thinks Altean food shouldn’t still move which is a very valid concern.” Hunk says matter of factly.

“You hunt for food. You kill the animal to eat it. I don’t want to have to fight it.” Shiro sounds exasperated, as if he had been over this a million times before.

Keith looks at Shiro’s purple markings and pointed ears, frowning in consideration. But before he can voice his question Hunk claps a hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “But, thank god Shiro didn’t inherit the non-existence taste of an Altean. He’s more human than Altean when it comes to taste. He loves sweets, especially my cookies.”

“Cookies?” Keith pulls one of Shiro’s Galra plates closer to himself and stabs the meat. He looks up at sees Shiro’s narrowed gaze and eats the meat. They’re running low on edible food, all the remaining food on their plates are colorful where it shouldn’t be and moving. Keith dares Shiroto try and steal his plate back..

“You don’t know what cookies are? Oh man, I am going to have so much fun showing you the ways of my culinary genius.”

“To be fair,” Shiro started, giving up on taking the plate but still sneaking a piece in defiance. “Anything Hunk makes is really good. Maybe even better than what my mom used to make me as a child.”

“Aww, that’s sweet. But honestly, it’s totally where we’re raised that makes a difference. Tale smelly tofu for example.”

Hunk starts a discussion on food, leaving Keith to munch on his food as they argue back and forth. He’s content to just listen to them, already feeling something shift in his relationship with Hunk. Hunk is a good balance of sarcasm and anxious energy. It keeps him sharp despite being exasperated with certain situations. Keith supposes being a Paladin really does help you develop a thicker coat of fur.

By the end of their discussion he knows Shiro is weak for anything sweet and will actually cry if he eats anything spicier than ketchup (whatever that is).

As the food dwindles down, a band plays music in the background signaling the final stretch of the night. Keith watches Alteans take their partners and allied friends to the center of the room. Each of them laughing and enjoying one another. The main entrance opens and a sweep of new faces appear. Civilians were encouraged to join the festivities once the main ceremonies were held. It may have been a political arrangement but the civilians easily mingled into the crowds.

Keith’s content to spend the rest of the night at the end of the hall but Shiro has other plans. He stands up, ignoring the soft hush that falls across the room as he turns to Keith and extends a hand. “Would you give me the honor of having this dance?”

Keith stares at him in surprise, wary and embarrassed. There’s a reason he had wanted to stay seated all night. “I, I don’t know how to dance.”

Dancing was not something talked about often in the empire. He remembers hearing whispers of it at the Academy and even the head Mistress had mentioned it. But it was not taught there. Another forbidden tradition, Zarkon held it over their heads with an iron fist.

At least he thought Zarkon had as he sees Thace taking another Galra with him to the dancefloor. His partner is pale with the yellow glow of a purebred’s eyes. Something cold settles in his stomach when he realizes Zarkon had not held it over their heads with an iron fist, he had held it over the Omegas.

“Don’t worry.” Shiro snaps him out of his thoughts, gentle with him. “I’ll lead you through it, okay?”

Keith hesitates for only a second before caving into Shiro’s wishes. He supposes it would be good to show the room full of Alteans that they were taking this marriage seriously. It still doesn’t stop the knot from growing in his stomach as he’s lead around the table and away from the judgemental eyes of his family.

Shiro’s hand is warm in his as they find a relatively empty area to begin. Shiro picks up their intertwined hands, holding them steady as he guides Keith’s left hand onto his shoulder. Shiro places a hand under Keith’s arm, resting it gently across Keith’s left side. “Luckily, Altean music follows a simple beat. Let’s start with a simple sway, okay?”

Keith is nervous, wondering if Shiro could feel the tremble in his hands. He doesn’t want to embarrass himself, especially in front of an entire court waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. But Shiro smiles at him gently and then ushers them to the side. “It’s all a series of beats okay? One, two, three. You can count the steps until you get the hang of it.”

Keith looks down to their feet, catching the steps with Shiro in his own head as the gently move side to side. The music sounds soft to Keith, though he can’t say he’s listened to much music. It was present in the Empire but Keith had never been exposed to it often outside of formal events with other alien species.

“Now, I’m gonna twirl you, okay? It follows the same amount of beats. Just, glide into it.”

Keith’s ready to mention how the ruggle was he supposed to glide into something but Shiro counted out to him, “One, two, three-”

Keith was unprepared for Shiro to let him go, gently easing him into a twirl that made him smack a Puigian in the back. He ducked back closer to Shiro as the person gave him a nasty glare.

“I’m sorry,” Shiro offered, giving a nervous laugh and hauling Keith close and away from the person. “I’m not the best dancer.”

Keith saw the hostility melt away to a polite expression. It made Keith’s stomach turn in disgust, he hated people who were such liars to others for the benefits of politics.

Shiro led him back to an empty area, getting his attention as he held his hands again. “That was good, I guess it’s hard to teach the waltz on the fly.”

“I’m a quick study.” Keith said, determined to perfect the steps. The incident with the puigian only solidified Keith’s motivation to figure this out. He’d show those upstarts he knew how to play their little political game too. “And you’re a great teacher.”

Shiro coughed into his hand, looking a little amused before getting them back into the starting position. “Remember, all to the count of three.”

Keith managed to stumble over his feet this time but met Shiro with the same frustrated glance and the need to try again. By the third time Keith was able to follow along with Shiro, keeping to the dance quickly enough.

“This is nice.” Keith said, still looking at their feet as they continued their simple swaying side to side. “What did you call it? A waltz?”

“Yeah, it’s a type of dance on earth. There’s a bunch of variations of it but for a beginner trying waltz, this is the one to go to.”

Keith looks up, taking in the way Shiro was smiling down at him. “Are there a lot of dances on earth?”

“Hmm. Yes. Each varies by the cultures they come from. Sadly, the waltz is the only one I really know and that’s because I had to take a class in elementary school.”

“What’s an elementary school?”

“It’s uh, it’s an education facility that teaches young kids basic education.”

Keith hummed, thinking of his own tutor when he was young. The memories are fuzzy, making him sad to forget his face so easily. But he had taught Keith to read and write, how to hold a sword and the basics of Galran history. He taught Keith of his mother, how to mourn, and how to keep himself safe, even if he was physically not.

“I haven’t read up on earth. I guess I should.”

Shiro twirls him one more time, bringing him back in close. “If you’d like.”

A new song picks up and Shiro focuses on something just over Keith’s shoulder.

“Hey, uh, hope I’m not interrupting?” Hunk is close, something like a shy smile on his face. “Mind if I have this dance?”

Keith blinks, ready to hand Shiro over when Shiro leads their linked hands to Hunk’s. “I’m done for the night. Would you like to dance with Hunk, Keith?”

Keith feels like he’s being put on the spot but Shiro stops before they reach Hunk, looking to him for approval. He gives a hesitant nod and Shiro drops his hand in Hunk’s. It’s instantly dwarfed by Hunk’s grip as Shiro moves back and gets intercepted by Pidge who drags him out to dance with a grin. Hunk keeps him in the same grip Shiro had him before but there is a stiffness and space between them that hadn’t been there with Shiro.

Hunk leads him through the same steps as Shiro had and Keith follows along easily, albeit nervously. Was he supposed to talk to Hunk during this? It was one thing talking about food with others, it’s another on their on their own.

“I meant what I said. Earlier. Uh.” Hunk stutters around his words, avoiding Keith’s gaze. Keith’s a little lost and Hunk seems to realize that as he finally swallows and faces him head on. “Look, we got off on the wrong foot. And I know, it’s pretty shit that a Paladin of Voltron is so… dumb towards the Galra. And ya know, I believe there aren’t all terrible Galra out there. Just scared civilians who are trying to figure themselves out. But someone from the royal family? That just spells trouble, dude.”

They stop in their dancing and Hunk snaps his mouth shut, seeming to realize what he was rambling about. “Wow, that is not what I wanted to say.”

“Hunk, stop,” Keith starts, but Hunk continues their swaying, even as something clenches in Keith’s chest. “I appreciate your honesty. You don’t have to do anything with me. No relationship and no need for formalities. I understand.”

“Okay, I’m scared of you.” Hunk doesn’t stop barreling on. “I mean, you were bat shit good in the mating ceremony fight. You are an unknown factor, an unknown variable that is now a part of our team and we have to account for it. Never introduce an unknown variable to something, like, unless it’s controlled or something. I don’t know, research and analysis was a boring field to me, that’s Pidge’s business. But anyways, it’s just terrifying cause you come with a lot of baggage that could really tear this team apart.”

And wow, Keith said Hunk should be honest but he really wanted him to stop now.

“And it sounds bad because I always think of the worst case scenario in hopes to prevent it from happening. But being a paladin makes you realize you can’t keep preparing and preventing because you’re always gonna get shit thrown at you. And you’re apart of this team now, married into it, I guess. So we stick together and we do the best we can to deal with stuff as they come.” Hunk brought him in a little closer, taking the steps in a slow and gentle movement. “I’m willing to try making a friendship work. But only if you want to. I’ll be honest with you and only take things at your own pace, okay?”

Keith is struck, feet stumbling that Hunk catches up on for them. He feels flustered, not sure how he is meant to respond to something like this. But Hunk doesn’t expect an answer, only smiles at him and grunts when a pointy elbow hits him on the side.

Pidge grins from under Hunk’s arm, pushing him with her hip even if Hunk doesn’t budge an inch. “I’m stealing your dance.”

“Wow, first, rude. Second, you know your elbow is a weapon of mass destruction, can you not.” Hunk is glowering at her but still lets Keith go as Pidge takes Keith’s hands and yanks him close.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Lance wants a dance too, big guy.” She grins, all teeth before making Keith stumble as she pulls him away. Hunk lets out a big sigh before heading back to their table where Keith sees Shiro trying to slink his way back before he’s stopped by a breed of alien with more legs than arms. Keith squints but Pidge’s attempts in leading him to dance start to demand his attention.

“I was never that great at dancing but I can lead.” She is determined, looking at their feet and moving them along. She’s still a few inches shorter than him but he indulges her. He’s sure they look plenty awkward when she tries to twirl him. “So, how was the wedding?”

“Tiring.” Keith admits. “Dancing is weird. How long do I have to do this?”

Pidge hums to herself, eyes looking back to the table where he sees the way Allura is staring at them. He hadn’t paid attention to her all night and now he realizes why. Allura is seething, anger for a reason he can’t understand. “Lance will be asking you to a dance soon too. We wanted to do this as a sign of respect for you joining our ranks. It’s also a back off tactic to people who think we aren’t taking this seriously and might try to undermine us. Allura hates it.”

Keith looks away from her. Allura hates the Galra and probably was hurt when her father suddenly decided they had to like them. He knows she had to have grouped them altogether for her to act the way she is. But a part of him can’t even blame her for it. He’s grown used to his own prejudice and bias towards Alteans. But he does not favor one race over the others. Both have wronged him. He’s a neutral party, ready to advocate for either side if he was asked. Alteans had played with fire just as the Galra have. Keith won’t let either race try and sweep their behavior under the rug just like how Allura refused to let this wedding cover her animosity.

“Why would you do that to her?” Keith asked before he could stop himself. He realized a second to late that, that was a personal question. But Pidge hums, considering it.

“I… It’s mean and it’s not right, I know that. But, what was she thinking? After we finished this war we had to rebuild and to do so, we have to work for the Galra. I’m… I’m scared about what her plans were afterwards or if she even had any. You got a weird hate respect going for them but that’s the best we have at this point. You married an Altean. That says a lot for this treaty. And she hates it. And I’d understand if she hated it for the decent reasons. But she hates it because it makes us look weak. Shiro? Taking a Galra for a spouse? She feels like it sullied the line and I hate her for it!”

They stumble and Keith brings them to a halt, looking at her in surprise. “You don’t hate her.”

“No.” She mumbles, looking close to tears. “I could never hate her. I’m just… She’s better at this stuff and calling us out for it and yet here she is, being a hypocrite. I want what’s best for her but I don’t know how to even tell her that.”

Keith looks around, realizes they’re being stared at and brings her close, leading her along even if the steps confuse him. “She has to do it on her own, Pidge. You can’t make her do anything.”

Pidge sniffles and nods, leading into the dance now. “I know. I just don’t want to hurt her feelings but I have a feeling this won’t be the last time I do it.”

They twirl before Lance appears, glower on his face and looking embarrassed about being in this situation. Keith almost wants to dance with Allura instead. Pidge passes him off quickly, a small smirk on her lips at the awkward situation.

Lance is stiff, keeping his face neutral when Keith takes his hand. Keith’s sure he’s scowling if the twitch in Lance’s eyebrow means anything.

However, when they make a twirl, Lance stumbles a step and steps on Keith.

Keith hisses, jerking away but instead tugging Lance into hin where they awkwardly flail and knock into a few dancing couples.

Lance is too close, armor digging into Keith that Keith elbows the unprotected area of Lance’s stomach.

“I thought you could dance?” Keith hissed.

“Of course I can dance, you can’t dance.”

“You stepped on me!”

“Nope, lies, didn’t happen.”

Someone cleared their throat and they snapped up, perfecting their stance and glaring at the nearby alien.

“Yes, is there an issue?” Lance asked, smoothly leading Keith back into the waltz like nothing happened.

“Keep your petty arguments elsewhere, Paladin.” The alien hissed, jagged teeth bared at them. It was a threat if Keith’s ever seen one. Keith looked away, not wanting to cause any more of a scene (even if it was Lance’s fault!).

“Listen, furball.” Lance said, making Keith turn to him quickly. What the heck was he doing?! This guy towered over them, walked on hind legs with coarse fur. He was huge, definitely something Keith knew would keep up a good fight at the arena. And Lance was challenging it? For what?? “Last thing I wanna hear is you complaining to me about petty arguments when I remember saving your planet because of your people’s petty argument. A paladin doesn’t forget.”

The alien didn’t flinch but it was close. He gave one last hiss before turning and walking away from them with his partner. Lance sniffed, turning back to Keith with narrowed eyes. “What?”

“I didn’t say anything.” Keith said, looking away from the paladin as they continued their robotic and stiff steps. Keith wasn’t sure he had anything to tell Lance. He was the only Paladin Keith tended to avoid. He didn’t like being accused or judged and picked apart. He should be used to it but Keith would still rather avoid it.

As the song came to a close, someone cleared their throat.

Keith went stiff at the familiar face of Krovok, someone from Zarkon’s council.

“My prince.” Krovok bowed, one fist clenched over his chest. Familiar, but Keith had never seen it aimed at him. “May I have this dance?”

The implications of Krovok coming to him were endless. His mind turned over the possibilities. What did he want? Was he going to make a show of Keith on the dance floor in front of the Alteans and their new allies? Was he going to try what Sendak had tried? Was he going to try and offer his services? Keith would rather die than take anything this man could offer from him.

But Krovok was a mystery. He was tied to the homelands of Gal, he had been a commander since the beginning of the war. He had led an assault through Altea’s home system and managed to solidify two bases onto the outer moons of the system. The bases had been their strongest outposts for years. Krovok was a war hero even if he looked like he’d keel over and die at any moment.

His ears were pointed, a jewel hanging off the tip of one. It was one Keith recognized as a courting gift. And as Keith looked him up and down, past the gauntlet of his armor was a tattoo, a mating mark.

Krovok had always stayed in the back of the meetings Keith attended. He protested vehemently to Zarkon whenever a new military law passed that limited whatever joys he took in their culture. He may not have directly tormented Keith but he had not stopped it either. Krovok always got taken down a peg when he went against Zarkon. Soon, he had stopped trying to protest altogether.

“Keith?” Lance said, gently.

It made Keith blink, turning to the paladin to see he had tightened his hand on Lance’s shoulder, claws digging into the plating.

Keith swallowed, considered his options and stepped away from Lance, offering his hand to Krovok. The sooner Keith knew what this withered old man wanted the sooner Keith could start planning ways to avoid him.

Lance shifted on his feet, looking at them before finally looking at Keith seriously. Keith couldn’t understand what Lance was trying to tell him. When he made a gesture, Keith only shrugged. How was Keith supposed to know what hand signals meant? He couldn’t even have a decent conversation with the guy!

Lance scowled, turning to head back to the main table that Keith refused to look at. He didn’t even want to know what his dad thought about the whole thing.

Keith faced Krovok, one hand on his shoulder and the other held in his. Surprisingly, Krovok didn’t stumble in his steps. He lead Keith back and forth, even managing a twirl.

“I’ve come to give my blessing.” Krovok, lowered the hand from Keith’s side, tightening on his waist and pulling him closer. Keith’s ears pressed back hand digging into the man’s shoulder in response. He wasn’t going to be made an example. “And my loyalty.”

Keith stumbled a step, watching as Krovok turned them so his back faced the table to where Zarkon was staring directly at them.

“I’ve waited a very long time for an opportunity like this one. You mating ceremony was beautiful, truly something to be proud of. When Lotor had first introduced you to the court I had known something would happen to finally change the tides of this empire.”

“You can’t change the tides of an empire.” Keith hissed. “It’s not a battle.”

“It is,” Krovok grumbled. “When you don’t believe in your emperor.”

Keith pulled back. “That’s traitorous. Zarkon will have you killed for that.”

“Don’t act loyal to the empire, Kit.” Krovok stopped their swaying, leaning close. His claws dug into the flesh of Keith’s waist, making Keith tense, moving his hand to press his thumb to the commanders neck. Keith pressed lightly, a warning even as his heart thudded in his ears. Any kind of attack or threat on a council member was worth punishment.

Krovok noticed, lifting a hand and pushing Keith’s hand away with ease. “I do hope you regain that nerve you had all those Deca-phoeb ago. Though if you're so determined to get rid of me now, I guess it never left, did it?”

Keith hesitated, swallowing around the lump in his throat. “I have no reason to trust you nor to speak with you.”

Manipulative, it was something Keith was not. His father was; Lotor could twist someone to do his bidding in an instant, it was almost terrifying. Keith had seen it, had recognized it and always tried to make sure he knew when it was used on him. Even if he couldn't stop it at least he could prepare for what was coming.

“I am risking,” Krovok muttered, claws tightening on Keith’s skin before disappearing. “Deca-phoebs of loyalty to your grandfather, something considered heinous, to offer my loyalty to the bastard omegan son of an exiled half-breed prince returned out of necessity.”

Deep rooted hatred, Keith had seen it often. Krovok hated Zarkon, Lotor, and Keith. But it seemed Krovok hated Zarkon and Lotor a little more than he hated Keith.

“Remember that as I tell you what I have to offer.” Krovok swayed with him, ears twitching and gazing heavily at Keith. “There's restlessness in the courts. An alliance? Do not be absurd, my prince. Offering your hand? Something evil is afoot. Something is changing and soon, you will reveal yourself as a piece of the puzzle or nothing more than a pawn. I am the only one willing to put my faith in you.”

“You detest me.” Keith muttered. “I'm sure you're only waiting till the moment to strike me down as well.”

“Possibly. But I would prefer the unpredictable option available then what the other royal family has to offer. So far, you have taken our traditions and worn them beautifully. You are the only option I have.” Krovok nodded, stepping back and bowing towards Keith, one Keith mirrored. “That is all I have to tell you.”

It sat cold in Keith’s lower belly. Years at the academy, being brought down inch by inch and suddenly he was relevant, being thrown around with bets placed on him. It was the arena all over again and a part of him wanted to face beasts instead of the gleaming eyes of corrupted council members all ready to slit each others throats.

Keith was a pawn in all sense of the word. Only he didn't know who was playing him, Zarkon, Lotor, the Alteans, or the council.

Keith was done with dancing, smoothing his expression and turning back to the table to return to Shiro's side.

He figured they had played up their image well enough, he could-

“My name is Cryoz!”

Keith stopped, blinking at the tiny Arusian who stood before him. They were dressed in what Keith assumed was formal wear for their people. The Arusian held out their hand. “It would be the highest honor to dance with the newly mated beauty!”

Keith can't believe it, this guy is adorable. He feels himself blush and cups his mouth in an attempt to hide it before coughing and clearing his throat. “I, uh, yes. I'd love to.”

He spends the rest of the night alternating dance partners, the Arusians the first to break the awkwardness by suddenly asking him to dance and soon even Shiro returns with a tiny Arusian dragging him (one of the Arusian’s gets handsy with Keith and he sternly picks up the stray hand to return to his waist while giving a glare that makes the little guy sweat. He hears Lance and Pidge burst out laughing from somewhere behind him). He's not sure what he's feeling by the end of the night but it's warm and content. When Shiro throws his head back and laughs at Lance for taking on a dance partner with too many arms (and failing, terribly), he feels something in him fall into place and realizes maybe, just maybe, things might work out.

#sheith #takashi shirogane #keith kogane #galra keith #altean shiro #Galra Keith x Altean Shiro #vld lance #voltron #arranged marriage au #Voices #writing #chapter update #voltron legendary defenders #keith voltron #vld shiro #omggiogiothings

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buttsonthebeach · 5 years

Text

Out of Time

@baisleac really challenged me with this commission, which features Aviselan Lavellan and Solas traveling back in time to Elvhenan! Thank you for trusting me with this idea and with your characters <3

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The Crossroads were always so still, Aviselan noted as she crossed through Morrigan’s eluvian. It was the lack of wind, she decided. There was something unnatural about it, and yet something that always felt so right - something that hummed in her mana, that made her think of everything she’d studied both in her clan and at Solas’s side once she became Herald and then Inquisitor. She could not help analyzing everything she saw as she waited for him to appear beside her - the color of the trees, the arrangement of the mirrors, the cracked stones at her feet. How many of her ancestors had walked here, and what had they been like? Now that she had been to the Temple of Mythal - had seen the sentinel elves in their gleaming gold armor, the exotic birds, the glowing paths, the Well of Sorrows - the question was even more present in her mind.

She felt Solas before she saw him - first the brush of his aura, then his hand curling gently around her own. He was like that now; quietly starving for her affection, even as he hesitated to show that need to others. They rarely touched in front of other people. But here, in the Crossroads, in this in-between world where there was only them - he did not hesitate to reach for her. Happiness fluttered through her chest at the thought. She squeezed his hand.

“Ready?” she asked, smiling at him. He nodded.

“What is this experiment you wanted my help with?” Solas asked.

“Well, the Crossroads is not the Fade and not our world, correct?”

“Correct.”

“I want to see which world it is more like - ours or the Fade’s. I want to see how it responds to our intent as mages. Are there any particular schools of magic that will react differently to this space, and so on.”

“And here I thought you just wanted to get me alone, vhenan.”

Aviselan’s heart fluttered again. She stopped, put her hand on Solas’s cheek, and drew him down to her so she could kiss him. For a moment the warmth of his lips against her own chased away every other thought - her thoughts about the army, still on its return trip from the Arbor Wilds, about Corypheus and whether or not he might find another eluvian, and how that was why she needed to fully understand the Crossroads, about her clan and her failure to protect them, that absolute, aching loss. Solas sighed softly into the kiss and put his hands on her waist, holding her close. For a moment, that was all that mattered. This man that she loved and trusted, and the knowledge they would soon share.

When he drew back, there was an anxiety in Solas’s gaze that hadn’t been there before. He wasn’t the most positive of men - his pessimism and arrogance had been the source of more than one fight when they’d first gotten to know each other - but Aviselan sensed something different about this. She’d sensed something different about him since their return from the Arbor Wilds. Perhaps he was as shaken by the Temple and all of its implications as she was.

“Let us find a place to begin,” she said, her tone soothing. Solas’s lips quirked up in a half smile.

They walked a little further into the Crossroads, until they were near a stone bench flanked by two of the strange metal trees, with a cracked eluvian behind it. It was a smaller mirror than those she had seen so far, inlaid with precious gemstones around the arch at the top, with designs etched into the sides of the mirror that she had seen carved into the aravels of other Dalish clans. How her chest tightened at that one small connection between her present and that long-dead past. Aviselan tested the eluvian with a flicker of magic and felt latent arcane energy seething just underneath its fractured surface. Curiosity filled her with warmth and light, loosening the tightness in her chest. Could this be activated? She reached for the whispering voices from the Well of Sorrows, but didn’t get anything clear. A sense of urgency, maybe, but no clear advice.

“It would not be wise to experiment much with this,” Solas cautioned, as if reading her mind. “A broken eluvian that still contains so much energy could do many unpredictable things.”

“True. But -”

“Aviselan.”

There was a warning edge to his voice, but she was already taking off her pack. This whole place - the way it made her feel, its alienness and its familiarity - she couldn’t believe that there was anything here that wasn’t her birthright as one of the People; that didn’t have something to teach her as a scholar. All her life she’d wondered about her ancestors, and no one could tell her to turn away now. She sent another wave of energy into the mirror, some of her storm magic mixed with a touch of spirit, and the surface of the eluvian rippled. Solid, liquid, solid. So perhaps it could be activated - if she found the right combination of energies - if the time magic Dorian and Alexius had worked on could open portals it might work here - if she just infused a little of that with storm to power up the eluvian and spirit to strengthen its connection to the Fade -

“Aviselan!”

Solas’s hand was on her wrist, trying to pull her back, but she was rooted to the spot. A loop connected her to the mirror now. She was sure of it. They were one and the same, and it was calling to her, and she had to answer that call - answer the voices she heard coming from beyond the silvery surface -

“No!”

Solas’s frightened shout, and the sound of shattering glass, were the last two things she heard.

The first thing Aviselan felt when she woke was pain. It covered every part of her, right down to her toes. She coughed and struggled to breathe through it. The second thing she noticed, as her magic flared outward with her panic, was the staggering amount of arcane energy swirling around her. It was more magic than she’d ever felt in her life - more magic than she’d ever felt anywhere except -

Except when she fell into the Fade at Adamant.

She forced her eyes open, expecting spectral shapes, floating rocks, sickly green light. Instead, she saw marble walls veined with gold rising all around her. The floor beneath her was marble too. And was the gold flowing through the marble, like a river through a riverbed? How was that possible?

Where was Solas?

She pushed herself up onto her elbows. There - he was also rising from the floor, groaning, but seemingly unhurt. His face was turned to her, and it was even paler than usual. Was he hurt after all?

“Vhenan - you are unhurt?”

“I think so. Where are we? There’s so much magic everywhere.”

Fear. Solas’s face was pale with fear. As Aviselan followed his gaze, she thought she knew why.

The eluvian behind her was riven with cracks; a dull, lifeless, broken thing. She didn’t even need to reach out with her magic (although she did anyway) to confirm that it was completely deactivated. Damaged beyond repair.

“No - Solas, we have to find another eluvian. We need to figure out where we are and we need to get back as soon as we can.”

The room they were in was small, and when she turned away from the eluvian and back towards Solas she saw an archway leading out of it into what appeared to be some kind of hallway. She thought she could see trees beyond that - maybe even a glimpse of the night sky? So perhaps it wasn’t a hall at all. But she needed to go out there and figure out what happened, as soon as she could -

Solas seized her by the waist and pulled her back before she could leave.

“No. Stay.”

She scrambled in his grasp, turning. “What? Are you insane? We have to figure out where we are!”

“Peace - keep your voice down.” There was an urgency and fear in his voice she’d heard only rarely in the months that she had known him.

“But -”

“We are in Arlathan.”

Aviselan’s mouth went dry.

“You mean - a version of it? A memory in the Fade?”

“No. I mean that we are in Arlathan as surely as we were in Skyhold this morning. As surely as you and Dorian were in a future version of Redcliffe Castle because of Alexius’s spell.”

There was a subtle tremor in Solas’s hands where they rested on her waist. His aura was a jangle of contrasting sensations and emotions. Elation and terror, sparks of arcane energy and whorls of frost. Aviselan looked away from him, back towards the marble wall with its rivers of molten gold. She shifted just enough to extend a hand and trace one of those rivers with her fingertip. The magic pulsed beneath her fingertip.

Arlathan.

“I can’t believe it. We still need to find a way back but - Solas, you can’t tell me you want to see what we can see. These are our people. This is the past we thought lost.”

Aviselan broke free of his grip, and stepped carefully towards the archway leading into the great hall. Arlathan. She was standing in a great hall in Arlathan. She was awash in magic and it felt so right. How had there been so much magic in this time? Why did it feel like she didn’t have to pull it from somewhere else, like it was just part of her and everything around her?

Then the other elves appeared, scurrying across the marble floor of the hall, supporting tables and chairs between themselves with bonds of Force magic, speaking Elvhen in hushed tones. They had vallaslin just like hers - the branches of Mythal’s tree crowning their foreheads. She wanted to go to them at once, to embrace them. She wanted to unwind time and stop herself from making that awful decision that led to the death of her clan so she could tell all of them about this.

Solas pulled her back once more.

“We can ask them what to do, where the nearest eluvian is,” she protested.

“Aviselan, no. It would not be wise for you to go out there. Let me go -”

“Why?” The hall was filling with more and more elves now. Aviselan could hear them. She couldn’t understand every word they said but she could catch most of them. Why wasn’t Solas as thrilled as she was by this? Why was he still so afraid?

“Your vallaslin,” he said. “Let me use a spell to hide it, or remove it -”

“Remove it?” She was stunned by the thought. Her vallaslin, her rite of passage, her last connection to the family she’d lost - her strongest connection to the living, breathing ancestors she now had before her. How dare he? “Why? Are you ashamed to be seen with your Dalish lover here amongst our ancestors? I just saw at least a dozen Elvhen with vallaslin so far, all Mythal’s like mine.”

“No! Vhenan, they are all -”

Aviselan left the alcove.

Her jaw dropped open as she crossed into the hall. Was hall even the correct word? It was a grand space, the floor made of the same marble as the alcove she had just left behind, the veins of gold still moving like water beneath her feet, and there were columns ringing the perimeter, but when she looked up, she saw only a night sky flooded by brilliant stars. When she looked past the columns on the other side she saw fantastical trees bathed in sunlight. And were those palaces in the distant sky, just like Solas had described to her once? All of this belonged to her people. All of this was what they had lost. Elves worked quickly around her, still moving tables into place. She wanted to take hold of the nearest one and tell them: I am here, I have come home, tell me everything, tell me how we let the humans take this from us. She wished the Well of Sorrows would whisper in her ear, give her some clue of what to do, but it was silent.

Then a woman appeared in front of her, draped in ropes of glittering jewels, with cream-colored silk beneath that. Her long delicate ears were cuffed in intricately carved gold. She was furious - and she had no vallaslin - and she was shouting at Aviselan. Her Elvhen was strangely accented, her grammar inverted, and Aviselan could only catch parts of what she was saying - but one word stuck out over and over and over again.

Slave.

“Please,” she interrupted in Elvhen. “Please, slow down. We need help -”

The woman was shocked. Her aura reverberated with it. She was powerful, one of the most powerful mages Aviselan had ever encountered. When her green eyes narrowed, Aviselan felt the way she had in Corypheus’s grasp at Haven. Like an insect.

“You need,” the woman enunciated slowly and carefully. “To remember your place, slave.”

Why did she keep saying that?

“Why do you think -”

Solas was at her side - a little in front of her, in fact, as if shielding her from the angry woman.

“Apologies, Ratha. She arrived with me only recently.”

His Elvhen sounded different now, too. Aviselan couldn’t follow what he was saying - partially out of shock, partially because of the language. How did he know her name? Why was the woman reacting differently to him than she had to her? She looked Solas up and down in confusion, eyes still narrowed, but the tone she responded to him with was respectful.

When the exchange was done, Solas took hold of her arm and guided her swiftly away, not back towards the alcove but out of the hall, to another antechamber beyond it. It appeared to be a small storage room of some kind, though the things being stored there were strange to Aviselan’s eyes - rods of fire, large vials of lyrium, runes, things any mage would hoard and treasure, tossed in what appeared to be little more than a broom closet.

“What just happened? How do you know your way around here? Was she - was she really calling me a ‘slave’?”

Solas took a deep breath and ran a hand over his face. He looked so much older, suddenly. Like he could no longer hold back or hide the weight pressing down on him from all sides.

“Yes,” he said. “All the elves you saw who had vallaslin are slaves.”

Aviselan was going to float away. There was enough magic in the air to allow that, wasn’t there? Slaves. Her ancestors kept slaves. Mythal - All-Mother - the goddess she dedicated herself to, the goddess whose marks she wore on her face - kept slaves.

“How do you know this?” she asked. “How can you possibly - ?”

Solas looked away. “I have been trying to think of how to tell you - I would say since the events in the Arbor Wilds but that is not the truth. It has been since we kissed in the Fade. Since we kissed on your balcony. Since I could no longer deny how I felt about you. Vhenan -”

Solas seized her hands and held them tight. His eyes stared into hers. He was so afraid. For a moment she forgot about slaves and broken eluvians and the terrifying thought that no one in the Inquisition knew where they had gone, and only wanted to take his pain away.

“I want you to know - whatever else happens here - I was going to tell you the truth. No matter what happens, what we have is real.”

He squeezed her hands. It was just this side of pain.

“I know all of this because I have been in this palace before. Not in the Fade. In actuality. Because I served Mythal. Because I am who your people call Fen'Harel.”

It couldn’t be.

Aviselan pulled her hands from Solas's grasp. She stared at him - the man she loved, the companion she trusted - the man who had been so angry towards her people, who had such an odd style of magic, who could walk the Fade and speak Elvhen just as their ancestors had.

It could be.

“I know you must have questions. We cannot remain here indefinitely. I know a spell. I can remove your vallaslin so that no one treats you as a slave. That will buy us more freedom as we -”

Aviselan left the closet.

She strode out into the hall, taking gasping breaths, trying to sort through everything she knew now. I am in Arlathan. I am in Arlathan with Solas, the man who I call vhenan, and he is telling me that he is the Dread Wolf. She tried to sort through the emotions but realized there was no point. They were a tide and they were going to carry her where they willed. She just stood there, and stared, and tried to calm her racing heart, and watched as more and more and more people filled the great hall they'd left, as mages summoned ethereal instruments - no, they were all mages, there was not a single elf in that hall that was not using magic in some way. This is what we lost. A woman appeared and everyone bowed before her and her headdress was made of dragons retaining and that was her, Mythal, and those were her slaves at her feet -

“Kneel!”

That word had survived the centuries, too. The cuffed hand to the back of her neck was unnecessary.

And Solas was there in instants, whips of his magic seizing the wrists of the man who'd hit her, his eyes flashing and his voice full of rage.

“That is not how we treat people in this court, ignorant stranger.”

It was a struggle but even in her heightened state she was catching the rhythm of the words, assimilating the vocabulary. She was a scholar even here.

“Is everything well, Dread Wolf?”

Eyes were on them - hundreds and hundreds of eyes. Including Mythal's.

“It is, my lady,” Solas said with a courtly bow. Of course he was the Dread Wolf. What backwoods apostate would have been so comfortable in the Orlesian court? “If you will excuse us.”

Mythal (Mythal) looked at them a moment longer - were her eyes tracing the branching vallaslin on her face, the marks meant to honor her? - then nodded and turned to the assembled elves once more. Solas led her away, this time out to a balcony overlooking a vast city below. It was full of strange, twisting shapes, of crystals, of light, of magic.

“I tried to warn you, vhenan,” he said softly.

“Don't.”

A plan. She needed a plan. She needed to get out of here. She needed to think. She thought again and again of Mythal looking at her. The back of her head still hurt from the unknown man's strike.

“Take my vallaslin,” she said, not turning to look at Solas.

“Are you certain?” he asked. He was closer to her. She didn't have to turn to know that. He probably wanted to reach out, to hold, to protect like always. It hurt that she’d trusted and loved, and he’d lied. What was true?

She closed her eyes and thought of the day she'd gotten the tattoos, the silence and reverence of the act, the pride she felt the first time she saw her new reflection. But her clan was gone, dead at the hands of foolish shemlen. Mythal looked at her and saw a slave.

“Do it.”

She looked at Solas this time. She saw the muscles in his jaw and throat working, and again the pain in his eyes. He closed them a moment, and with a wave of his hands cast a spell she did not quite recognize. There seemed to be a shimmering cone around them, a slight distortion in the air in each direction she looked, like the light had been bent.

“Invisibility. I would rather that any curious onlookers not see what I am doing. Not yet. It isn’t time,” Solas said. He was so close to her. It should have been normal but it wasn’t. None of this was normal. None of it.

“Do it,” she said again.

Solas took a centering breath, then he channeled through his hands, surrounding them in a warm green light. Then he raised them, passing them gently over her face. A tingling sensation followed his movements, and the slightest of burns. She winced.

“Be still, my heart,” he murmured. “This is how I got my scar.”

The one on his forehead. Solas had vallaslin? Solas had been a slave? When she opened her eyes they were thick with tears of confusion and anger and fear.

“Ar lasa mala revas, Aviselan. You are free,” he said. And then his lips parted, perhaps as he saw the tears spilling out of her eyes, and he reached for her. She turned away.

“Get us out of here,” she said, bracing herself on the balcony’s balustrade. “Please. And then explain everything.”

Solas kept up his shimmering cone of invisibility until they were out of Mythal’s palace and safely secluded in a glen outside the city with a waterfall that poured into a large pool. Then he warded the entrance to the glen and approached her where she knelt, staring at the reflection of her bare face.

“I recognize this place,” she said, half to herself, her eyes still trained on her reflection.

“Yes. I believe it is in Crestwood in your world.”

“My world?” she spat the words. She could look at his reflection in the water, but she feared that if she turned and really looked at him, she might strike him. “I suppose this explains why you don’t consider my people your own.”

Solas sighed, and knelt. “I owe you an explanation.”

He began to tell her a story.

A story of a young, prideful man whose extraordinary talent with magic brought him to Mythal’s attention, who rose and rose through her ranks until she decided that he was to be her right hand man, and allowed him to remove his own vallaslin. How those who wore it were not always slaves in the sense that she might understand - how some of them were people bound in the service of their ruler, but with more dignity and respect. How even that began to change as time went on.

“The events I must tell you of now have not yet come to pass. There will be a war. And through that awful, terrible war, the people we know as kings and queens - Mythal, Sylaise, Dirthamen, Elgar’nan - will become known as gods. The same gods your people worship so many millennia from now.”

“So they were never really gods.” Aviselan’s voice was flat. The tide of emotions that overwhelmed her at the palace had receded. She was numb, but her mind was alert. Processing, questioning.

“Not the way your people believe, no. Not the way they misled everyone to believe. They are incredibly powerful, yes. More powerful than most other beings Thedas has ever seen. But they are not gods.”

Aviselan thought again of how much more powerful she was in this place. Of how magic flooded and filled every blade of grass, every tiny creature. Of how easily one might seem like a god, if one was particularly gifted, and lived in such a place. The Well of Sorrows had been strangely quiet in her mind - and the Anchor had been strangely quiet in her hand - but she thought she heard a flicker now, something about rebellion and not betrayal.

“How did this happen? How did we lose all of this? And you - how did we come to consider you a god, too?”

So Solas told another story. A story of an older man, one who could no longer stand the injustice he saw, the rampant abuse of power, the destruction. One who started freeing slaves, removing their vallaslin, telling them how they had all been misled for century upon century, how the people who used and abused them were not gods at all. How he led a rebellion that tore Elvhenan apart. How he feared he could never truly win the war he started, unless he did something drastic. How he feared that the Evanuris were on a path that would destroy everything, if they were not stopped.

“So I created the orb Corypheus carries. I used all of the power in that orb to create what you know as the Veil. I hoped to lock the Evanuris away, but instead -”

His voice broke. He looked away. His shoulders were slumped in defeat.

“I locked all but the tiniest trickle of magic away. I destroyed all the things I wanted to protect. I doomed my people to centuries of despair and slavery and loss. I doomed spirits to imprisonment, too. I made mages pariahs among all races. And all the while I slept, exhausted, unaware - and when I woke, just a year before you met me - I awoke to a nightmare.”

Aviselan’s heart sank. “Is that truly how you viewed my world? My people?”

Solas still would not look at her. “Yes. At first. But now…”

What was now? They were thousands of years in the past. And Corypheus was thousands of years ahead of them, and the Inquisition had lost its Inquisitor, but there were people suffering here and now, people wearing vallaslin like hers, and if they tried to fix things what would that mean for her world -

And what did it mean, that the man she loved had betrayed her so?

Had he ever really loved her?

Aviselan turned to face Solas directly. He did the same. “We need to find a way back. If - if we can help people as we go, then we do so. But we have to get back. If Corypheus wins because we were here… Nothing matters.”

“I agree, vhenan.”

She wanted to tell him to never call her that again. She wanted to kiss the sadness from his eyes. There wasn’t time to sort through all this. She started walking.

And they did try to get back.

They tried, and they tried, and they tried.

There had been something special about that first eluvian - something that reacted well to the time and spirit magic Aviselan flooded it with. Solas theorized that it was some combination of corruption over time and perhaps a hastening spell that the original enchanter had placed on it. Such spells were often used on eluvians that connected the slaves’ quarters of various palaces. A slave would pass through, have their steps hastened by the mirror’s magic, pass quickly through the Crossroads, and arrive at their destination. It sped up their service, or so the thinking went.

It made Aviselan sick to think about it.

Searching for another eluvian that would work the same way the first one did meant that they went to the slaves’ quarters of palace after palace. She saw the untold wonder and splendor of Elvhenan - the rocks that flowed like water, the magical duels, a mage in the midst of perfecting a spell they had already been casting for fifty years. She felt the glory of her own magic reaching higher and higher heights - of subsisting on magic alone.

And yet all it did was make her sick, because it was all built on suffering.

At first, she and Solas did not speak much, for all that they spent every moment together. Or, rather, they spoke but they did not talk. Aviselan thought back to those early days in the Inquisition, how eagerly she and Solas had talked and fought and exchanged knowledge. It was the foundation of their relationship - or so she had thought. In the end, it was all just lies.

So they talked about where to go next, what to try, but they did not communicate further than that. Solas would stare at her, sometimes, like he wanted to say something, but no words ever accompanied that look. She thought about asking him why he had such a hangdog look at one point, thought of the fact that he was the Dread Wolf in the next, thought about the fact that she had kissed the Dread Wolf, and then she dissolved into a paroxysm of laughter that verged on hysteric. Aviselan Lavellan, First of her clan, supposed savior of Thedas, chosen by the shemlen’s so-called Maker, had fallen for the Dread Wolf’s lies like every idiot maiden in every story Keeper Deshanna ever told.

But even as they traveled through the awful beauty of Elvhenan - the scores of arcane warriors drilling, the statues that sighed and sang, the distant shapes of varterrals sparring over hunting grounds and guarding tombs - even as people occasionally recognized Solas and even called him Fen’Harel - she found she could not reconcile the stories she had heard with the man before her. In so many ways, he was still the Solas she knew. The man she still loved.

He did not bother to hide his power now - and he was staggeringly powerful - but his storm magic still wasn’t as elegant or powerful or precise as her own. He still preferred simple meals, simple clothes. He still slept the same way - on his back, one hand on his stomach, his other arm flung out to the side, lips parted.

And, most of all, he still cared. He cared the same way he had for the refugees at the Crossroads, the same way he had when she took flowers to a wife’s grave when a grieving widower couldn’t any longer, the same way he had when his dearest friend was abused by ignorant mages. Even here in Arlathan, even now that she knew he was the Dread Wolf, he still returned fallen baby birds to their nests. Even though she tried her best not to look at him, not to speak to him, he still reached out to catch her if she slipped, still offered her the best and driest places to sleep if they had to stop to camp. He still answered every question she asked, a hint of warmth creeping into his voice if she let him go on, if the topic was one that excited him.

And she still loved him.

She knew that when they had spent an entire year searching, when Solas had not left her side once, when they reached the last eluvian he could think of that might share the same properties, and the spell once again failed.

“I am so sorry,” he said. “I am not sure how to make this work. I have failed you. Just as I failed everyone here.”

Aviselan thought of what it felt like when they worked together, fought together, loved together. She reached deep inside herself and realized that feeling hadn’t changed. Not even thousands of years in the past. Not even knowing who he really was. If they had that - they had what they needed.

“Then we stay,” she said. “And we see this through.”

She took his hand. He looked to her, soft shock on his face. She tilted her head up, and pulled him down, and the kiss they shared in the light of that last eluvian was the sweetest, softest one they’d ever shared - the most uncertain, and the most binding.

So it was that this time, when the Evanuris went mad with power, when they began to pursue ends that would destroy Thedas and everything they loved, it was not just the Dread Wolf who rose to put a stop to their tide of destruction. For the first time, Fen’Harel was never alone.

Wherever stories spread of a simple, hooded wiseman, or a frightening general, or a trickster, there were also stories of a wisewoman with eyes like lotuses, who commanded lightning like she had it in her blood. A bright counterpart to the Dread Wolf. The first time someone called her the Bright Wolf, it was startling.

“I am not at all surprised,” Solas said. “I have seen your brightness for years. You were a beacon of hope to the people of Haven - the one light that stood against Corypheus’s darkness. No one can resist that kind of light - an ancient wolf least of all.”

And it was years. Years, and years, and years of fighting, of hoping that this time because they were the Dread Wolf and the Dread Wolf’s Mate, because this time they knew what was going to happen, they could make a difference. It might mean that the Thedas Aviselan knew never existed. It might mean that Aviselan herself never existed. But she had to do what was right. It was what made her the Bright Wolf. The Dread Wolf’s Beloved.

Except that it wasn’t enough.

Even all their knowledge wasn’t enough to stop the Evanuris. The same pieces fell into places - the same mistakes were made. Maybe it was just something about the way time worked. Maybe you could only ever change so much.

“It is still better this time,” Solas said, softly, on the day they recreated the orb. He held her cheek in his other hand. “Because this time, I have you.”

The creation of the Veil was a beautiful, terrible thing. The way the power exploded outward from the fortress she would one day know as Skyhold, the terrified cries, the way all the magic was sucked out of her like air from a lung. They’d used her power too, this time. She was as dizzied, as exhausted, as Solas was. But she was not alone as she drifted into uthenera, and neither was he. Neither of them was alone as they spent those dark and dreaming years in their long sleep. And neither of them was alone when they woke.

“Was it like this before?” she asked him at once. “Has anything changed?”

“I do not know. We will have to see.”

So they had to leave Skyhold, chests tight with anxiety, and strike out through the foothills of the Frostbacks into Ferelden, where they came across two hunters from a Dalish clan. And already she could feel Solas tense, nervous, and already she could feel the twin stabs of pain at the sight of vallaslin and the thought of how it had been twisted, and how she still missed what her own used to mean to her. She guided the interaction, ensuring Solas did not repeat whatever ludicrous mistake he’d made the first time, and the young hunters agreed to lead them back to camp. As they crossed the perimeter, Aviselan noticed that they had two statues of wolves, both facing outward, away from the camp. Her heart skipped a beat.

“You have two statues guarding your camp,” Aviselan said. “Is the Dread Wolf not also He Who Hunts Alone?”

“What?” the hunter said, looking at her as if she was an ignorant child. “Of course not. One is for Fen’Harel, and the other is for Fen’Lealun.”

Their accents were different. After so many, many years in Elvhenan, Aviselan could hear it now. But she still understood the words.

“Bright Wolf?”

“Yes. Fen’Saotafalon? Fen’Lathem? What clans have you visited, where they don’t keep the Dread Wolf and his bride side by side to guard their camps?”

She and Solas shared a glance. “To guard, and not to prevent them from harming the clan?”

Now the hunters shared a glance. “Of course, to guard. Where do you get these ideas from?”

So some things could be changed.

It was the year before the Conclave, they quickly discovered. And Fen’Harel and Fen’Lealun were honored members of the Elvhen pantheon, and while some misconceptions remained, some memories yet persisted. Of a noble struggle against tyranny. Of an attempt to save the world that went sadly awry. There were sure to be other changes - and other changes they could make, she thought at once, remembering where Clan Lavellan was a year before the Conclave, imagining them making the journey, warning them ahead of time to get as far away from Wycome as they could. Imagining preventing Corypheus from ever getting the orb.

There was much to discuss. But it could all wait. Instead Aviselan sat by the fire, Solas’s hand in hers, and drank in the feeling of being home.

#beach does commissions #beach writes #aviselan lavellan #solavellan #dragon age fanfic #baisleac #ahhhh this one was a challenge and so fun #thank you again <3

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