#I can’t drink tea so I don’t have any tea opinions | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

milswrites · 3 months

Text

A thousand roses

~ Cassian X Fem!Reader

Summary: Every day you curse the books that gave you unrealistically high expectations of men. Sure you were going to be single forever until you meet Cassian. Adamant he wants to take you on a date, Cassian does his best to impress.

Warning: ⚠️ Reading this may give you unrealistically high expectations of men ⚠️

Actual warnings: Lots of sex talk and inferences to sex but no actual smut!

“And then he made her orgasm three times! Three! The last guy I was with didn’t even manage to squeeze one out of me!”

Upon finishing your latest read, you just couldn’t help but give a very detailed review of exactly what you thought about it to your co-worker. A packed cafe in Velaris during the middle of the day was probably not the most appropriate location to shout about your sex life, but you just had to share how the smut filled pages had left you more satisfied than any man had ever done.

Jadis snorted into the steaming hot tea she was drinking, liquid spilling everywhere, “I’m telling you girl, you just need to get out there, kiss a few frogs to find your prince. I don’t know how many more of your smut reviews I can take. It’s not natural to be this turned on at work.”

You hummed in response, fingers absentmindedly brushing over the pages of your book, “But that’s the problem. I’m too picky to go for a frog!” You blame the hundreds of books in your library at home for that, millions of perfect fictional men literally at your fingertips. “Real men just don’t do it for me anymore.”

This statement was confirmed as you miserably scanned your eyes over the customers in the cafe, none of the males present seeming to stick out to you meet any of your self-imposed standards. You only had yourself and your books to blame for your lack of a relationship.

“I’m just never going to find anyone! Forever reading in my house wishing I was at the mercy of one of my book boyfriends” you sighed, not wanting to seem downhearted but you just couldn’t help it. Velaris just so happened to be a haven for beautiful relationships, everywhere you turned you’d see interlocked hands, affectionate hugs and the occasional heated exchange of kisses. You could only wish that one day you’d be in the same boat as them, overwhelmingly in love with someone who you could call your own. There’s a reason the night court was so affectionately called the court of dreams.

Jadis reeled in your wandering mind, “Well darling, I hope you enjoy forever fantasising about sex rather than having it. I for one can’t wait to take Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome for a spin.”

She was referring to the moderately attractive male who had asked her out the other day during the preparation of his morning coffee. In your opinion, it wasn’t the most romantic scene. Though Jadis hadn’t been on a date in a long while and so in her own words she was going to implode if she didn’t get a good fuck in soon. So who were you to judge.

The bell above the cafe door twinkled, ending the conversation about your book and pathetic love life. Your eyes travelled to the cafe entrance and stopped when they landed on the biggest male you had ever seen. The Illyrian walked through the door, having to duck his head and draw his wings in to fit through the much smaller frame. His presence in the cafe was enough for you to lift your head from where it was sat in your palm, interest peaked.

There was no doubt that this Illyrian was one of the most attractive males you have ever seen. His long brown hair was pulled back messily into a bun. You didn’t normally like the rough, slightly barbarian-esque type, typically preferring your males to be more clean-cut. It was clear this man didn’t look like most males. No, he looked as if he had just stepped out of one of your deliciously sinful smut books.

He began to approach the counter, his body taking up so much space that he bumped into tables, displacing the drinks of customers who were grasping at the mugs and glasses to try and prevent them from spilling at the earthquake caused by this ginormous man. He apologised to each of them as he moved but kept his eyes locked ahead. Locked on you.

Your friend, noticing the effect this man had on you, spun around and immediately started acting as if she was busy with another job, leaving you to serve him in your hypnotised state.

“Just a coffee please love” he said, pulling you from your stupor as he finally came to a stop at the counter. Mother, even his voice was hot. It was resonant and also bore the twinge of gruffness which left goosebumps on your arms in its wake. There was no doubt everything about this man oozed pure sex appeal. You were too mesmerised to move, brain not registering that he had asked you to do your job. Instead, like a besotted fool, you stayed stood behind your counter, feet rooted to the ground.

“You alright there gorgeous?” The unbelievably good looking male asked, roguishly handsome smile growing on his face, clearly aware of the effect he has on you. This spurred you to move, the stacked cups surrounding you rattling at your sudden movement. “Coffee! Right. Yes, of course!” Managing to squeak a few words out, you turned around to busy yourself with making the coffee, hatred in your eyes as you glared at Jadis who left you stranded making coffee for this very handsome man who’s looks alone were doing very strange things to you and making you think very indecent things. Jadis, undeterred by your glare, wiggled her eyebrows at you, grin stretched across her face, beaming from ear to ear.

With shaky hands, you finish up with making his coffee and without turning around, afraid you’d accidentally start professing your undying love to him if you did, you ask, “any sugar?”

His honey coated voice replies, “No thanks, I’ve already got my eye on something sweeter.” You ignored the sight of your friend’s head snapping speedily to look at you in glee. Heat burning across your cheeks, you turn back to face him, avoiding the man’s eyes.

Hands still shaking, you place the coffee in front of him and wait for him to pay. The sooner he leaves the sooner you can gossip with your Jadis about him and moan about your inability to act normal in front of incredibly attractive men. He pulls out the money from his pocket and places it on the counter, pushing it towards you, but before you can take it from him he drags it back in his direction, finger holding it in place. “How about you and I go out together sometime sweetheart? You’re obviously desperate to.”

At this, the lovesick fog that had been swimming in front of your eyes since this man had entered the cafe dissipated. Rose-tinted glasses off you noticed that the smile that adorned his face was more of a cocky smirk. His confidence and tone of voice told you that he asks this question a lot and most likely always gets the answer he desires. It was clear this man wasn’t the personification of one of your book males come to life. He was just another playboy.

Not wanting to just be another name on the list for this man, you slid the money out from under his hand, sickly sarcastic smile on your face, and said, “I think I’ll pass thanks sweetheart.”

The males smirk promptly fell from his face in shock, clearly not expecting, nor used to rejection. He sputtered out a few buts and whats, flirty demeanour forgotten, a slightly pathetic butt-hurt one taking its place. This was definitely a man not used to losing.

“Have a nice day!” You enthusiastically, and very satirically, finished this interaction before walking away to busy yourself with clearing some now empty tables in the cafe. Wings hung low in defeat, the man at the counter left the cafe, bell ringing as he exited. This surprised you, having expected him to put up a little more of a fight, but nonetheless you were glad that it was over with. Cursing yourself for falling for just another pretty face, standards forgotten.

“What?!” Your friend screamed running over to you, grabbing your shoulders and shaking you vigorously as if you had lost all senses. Unafraid of scaring off the customers who still sat in the cafe, some clearly entertained by the whole event which had transpired. “Do you know who that was? Oh Y/N he was totally into you! Why did you say no?”

“Because he was looking at me as if I was a piece of meat! And no, I have no idea who he was and unlike you I don’t go jumping on every stranger who asks me out at work” You brushed Jadis off of you and started taking the dirty glasses back behind the counter to be washed, your friend hot on your heels not wanting to finish this conversation just yet.

“That was Cassian!” She continued, expression as if it should have been obvious to you who the Illyrian male was. “Good for him” you replied, no idea why it should matter to you who he was, clearly if Jadis and the few interested by standers in the cafe knew who he was he had quite the reputation in Velaris. Surely that mustn’t be a good thing.

“Cassian? Lord of bloodshed? General and Commander of the Night Court’s army?” She continued, seriously not convinced you could have absolutely no idea about him.

You snorted, “I’m sorry, no one actually has that many titles unless they’re from a book… or if they just have a very large ego”.

Jadis groaned, hands fisting her hair in exasperation, “Y/N he’s like totally hot and totally loaded and super important! And he was so checking you out!” You could tell all this was upsetting your friend who was most definitely hoping you were about to get some much needed action, but all you could do was shrug, “I’m sorry babe but I’m a romantic, it’s going to take more than pet names and a stupidly attractive face to gain my interest.”

Giving up, Jadis dropped her hands from her head in acceptance, disappointment clear on her face, “I know, but don’t come running back to me to complain how unsatisfied you are when that Illyrian god was basically throwing himself at you.”

After the topic of the male was dropped, your day continued as normal, whilst Jadis had promised not to bring it up again but you couldn’t help but notice the angry glances your friend kept throwing your way during the last few hours of your shift, distressed that you had let a man go who had seemed perfectly acceptable in her opinion.

At the end of your shift, in an attempt to get her to understand where you were coming from, you slid your book towards her, “Here. Read it and then maybe you’ll understand what I mean.” She picked it up, looking at the cover eyes bulging at the title, “Bound in chains? Really?”

“Trust me, sit down with a large glass of wine and read it. You’re going to love it!”

With that the two of you locked up the cafe, book secure in Jadis’s bag. You said your goodbyes at the door and headed your seperate ways, all thoughts of the handsome man from earlier in the day long gone. Upon your arrival at home, you wandered to your favourite room in the house, your library, wanting to select a new read to cosy up with for the evening.

Approaching your shelf that you reserved exclusively for books you had bought but had yet to read, you pulled one out by its spine, eyes glancing over the cover. The cover which bore the image of a large, well-muscled man, whose long brown hair flowed freely over his shoulders. Eyes blowing wide and blush returning to your cheeks you shoved the book back onto the shelf. Thoughts drifting back to the Illyrian with the same looks who had been flirting with you earlier. Maybe you’d be better off reading a safe fantasy book tonight. Or better yet a book that had no man in at all, although that would be a rare find in your library.

~~~~~

“I am a changed women”

Returning to work the next day, you were greeted by Jadis smiling, bouncing up and down on her feet, and holding your book in her hands.

“I take it you liked it then?”

“Liked it?”Jadis squealed, “it was like reading pure porn. I loved it”

You laughed along side her, of course Jadis would read an entire book and focus on the porn rather than the actual plot of it.

“Truly I did,” she continued, rushing about and gathering her things, “and I would love to stay behind now my shift has finished to talk about it but I have to go home and get ready for Mr Tall, Dark and Handsome, maybe tonight I can try out some of those moves I read about!” She winked at you, handing over your book before rushing out of the cafe with an excitable “Wish me luck!”

Work had been very quiet today, allowing you time to sit and read your newest book. After finishing a simple fantasy last night you were left unsatisfied by the lack of enjoyment it provided when it came to the physical romance. Needing more, you had selected one of the filthiest books you could find.

Engrossed in the pages, plot thickening by the minute, you were absorbed into the book. Only to be broken from its spell when the familiar chime rang of the bell rang out, signalling a customer had arrived. Rushing to finish the page before they reached the counter, your eyes flew over the words before you finally reached the end of the page. Enabling you to look up from behind your book only to see Cassian standing before you, lips formed into a cautious smile. As if unsure of how you’d react to his presence after yesterday.

“Coffee?” You ask, eyebrows raised, placing your book down before standing up from the stool you were sat on behind the counter.

“Please if you don’t mind, but don’t let me stop you from finishing ‘Fated Frenzy’… cauldron do women really read books like this?” Cassian exclaimed, picking up your book and flicking through the pages, holding it out of reach so you couldn’t snatch it back.

Clenching your fists together as you glared at him you replied, “well if only men knew how to actually please a woman then we wouldn’t have to.”

“Maybe you just haven’t found the right man then,” Cassian mumbled, focus still on the book that was dwarfed in his large hands. He must have reached a particularly risqué part as his eyes widened slightly, tongue peaking out from between his lips. Now as he spoke, reading from your book, he wore a large grin, “I mean not every man has a cock that looks as if it was sculpted by the gods themselves.”

You scowled, now managing to take hold of the book grasped in one of his large hands and snatched it back. “I’ve certainly never met a man like that” you replied as you slammed your book back onto the counter and moved off to make his coffee so he could leave you to read in peace.

“Don’t want to check sweetheart?” He teased from behind your back, clearly trying to get you as flustered as he had managed to yesterday. Pleased at your banter. Not wanting to give him what he wants, and definitely not wanting to turn around to see his stupidly handsome smirking face looking back at you, you replied from over your shoulder while you were busy finishing his drink, “it doesn’t take a fool to know the spymaster has a larger wingspan. Now his I’d like to see.”

You heard the catch of his breath, causing him to choke on air at what you had said, clearly not expecting your confident retort, and not saying anything at the discovery you do indeed know who he is all thanks to Jadis. Cheeks stretching into a grin of your own at his embarrassment, you turn and place his drink in front of him. Unlike yesterday, Cassian didn’t even attempt to reach for his money before asking, “Please, let me take you out somewhere nice”.

Your smile dropped, head shaking slowly, “What classes as nice in your books? Other than a quick fuck behind the back of the building.” This comment made Cassian’s eyebrows knit together, not happy with the impression you had of him. “What will it take for you to understand I’m serious? That I want to take you on a date to get to know you.” He sounded earnest you’d give him that.

“I don’t know ok! I just know that I’m not going to say yes to a man I don’t even know who asked me out while I was just doing my job.”

He stretched out his hand, trying to meet yours which was resting on the counter but you pulled away before any contact could be made. “I want to get to know you, if you’ll let me. Likes, dislikes, good bits, bad bits, everything.”

“I- I don’t know Cassian, I just don’t think this is going to work.”

“What will it take?” He begged, eyes desperate.

“For you to be like one of them” you said, nodding your head towards your book.

“An overly sexual alpha male?” He said, confused as to what you were actually referring to. This made a small laugh escape from your lips, “No that’s just a bonus. I’m sorry Cassian, I just dream about being swept of my feet by a man that acts like one of them. Romantic, sweet, not asking out every other woman they see.”

“I can be romantic” Cassian said defensively, “I can be incredibly romantic”

Wanting to get this interaction over with you decided just to agree with him. “I’m sure you can Cassian, no doubt there’s a very lucky woman waiting for you somewhere”.

You weren’t sure it was possible for his brows to furrow any more than they already were, “I’ll prove it to you. Prove that I’m all in on this. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on and I’m not going to let you go that easily.” Determined look plastered on his face Cassian grabbed his coffee and walked towards the door pulling the it open, bell chiming, and before he stepped outside he called back to you, “I’ll see you soon gorgeous, you better be ready for me” and with that Cassian left, the cafe silent apart from the bell still ringing, the sound helping you realise that Cassian was real and that interaction did actually happen.

It was only five minutes later, when your wild thoughts were tamed by another customer entering did you realise that Cassian never even paid for his drink.

~~~~~

“Y/N!” Cassian shouted bustling through the tables to reach you as he entered your work once more. Shock flooded your system, he had learnt your name from when you last spoke to him two days ago. After causing a ruckus, and spilling many drinks onto poor unsuspecting customers laps, he reached the counter where you were stood waiting for him.

“What are you-“ you started angrily, worried he would scare away valued customers. Though you were interrupted by Cassian whose arm, which was hiding behind his back, shot out revealing the largest bouquet of flowers you’ve ever seen.

He held them out expectantly, waiting for you to take them but your suprise had you rooted to the spot. Familiar with your freezing by now, Cassian impatiently shook the bouquet in your face, movement bringing your thoughts back to the present. Still not taking them, not quite believing something so beautiful could be gifted to you, you spoke, “They’re lovely Cassian but you just cut right in front of Matilda who was here first!” Cassian’s features faltered as he dropped the bouquet in disappointment.

Matilda , the lovely little old fae who frequented your cafe, leaned around Cassian’s broad figure so she could see you, “it’s alright Y/N! Take the damn flowers and talk to the man!”

Cassian thanked the older women and stuck out the flowers once more. “For you,” he said encouragingly, willing you to accept the gift, “I told you I’d prove myself to you. I’m here for a date.” By this point you had been stood there for a ridiculous time causing your Jadis to stretch her arm past you and grab the flowers smirking as she says, “Thank you Cassian, they’re beautiful, Y/N loves them. Lillies are her favourite, how did you know?” Winking as she walked off with the bouquet it was clear Cassian has been getting some insider information from the mouth of your best friend.

The Illyrian nodded his head at your friend gratefully and you finally rediscovered the ability to speak, “Thank you, but if you’re here for a date I’m sorry I can’t help you, this is my work Cas, I have to do my job.”

“Pfft bit presumptuous I’m here for a date with you”

At that your face fell slightly before you quickly returned you expression to normal, not wanting Cassian to know his words had an effect on you. Surely he wouldn’t bring you flowers just to have a date with another woman in your workplace. Was this some twisted way to try and make you jealous?

Flirty expression on his face Cassian adjusted where he was stood and flung his arm around Matilda who began to blush, “Have to find out everything I can about you from my beautiful date Matilda here! One coffee for me and one of whatever my darling date would like” he said, making Matilda giggle before asking for her usual. Relief flooding you body, your lips twitched and you began to make their order, “my, my, Matilda. I have to say I expected better in your taste of men”.

“Woah woah no need to tell her,” Cassian joked, “don’t want this hot commodity to leave me for something better” he finished, winking at Morgana who looked as happy as if it was Solstice morning. Grabbing the finished drinks you had placed before him, he headed to a table, coming back once the drinks were down to walk Matilda to her chair, but not before placing his money on the counter, saying, “Moneys there for the other day by the way, I’ll speak to you later.”

Cassian must have sat talking with Matilda for hours, watched closely by you from the corner of your eye as you worked, customer after customer coming and going. Finally when the rush had died down and your shift was coming to an end, the two who had been huddled together gossiping over more than a few coffees, hot chocolates and cakes stood to take their leave. Or more accurately, Matilda was taking her leave. Cassian had said his goodbyes bending down to give Matilda a big hug and then scooped their empty plates and cups into his arms before walking towards you.

There wasn’t enough time for him to place the items down on the counter before you watched as Matilda lay a firm smack to his backside before giggling, “I’ll see you later hot stuff.” Lucky not to break any cups, Cassian jumped, flying forwards and dropping them all onto the counter before you, eyes terrified.

You couldn’t help but chuckle, placing the cups the right way up before checking on the male, “you alright there hot stuff?”

“Oh don’t even start. That woman’s got one strong slap” he whined, hand rubbing his ass to relieve some of the pain.

“Don’t act like that’s not how all your dates end” you goaded, cheeks twinging at the effort to stop yourself from bursting out laughing.

“Trust me gorgeous, if any of my actual dates ended like that I wouldn’t be complaining” he winked at you, all the while pulling a napkin out of its holder to help you clean his mess from the counter.

As you watched him clean, you couldn’t help but admire the way his brows slightly furrow when he’s concentration, noting the way his focused mouth tilts to once side, tongue slightly poking from between his lips. He was handsome there was no denying it.

“Will you walk me home?” You blurted, snapping your mouth shut and internally cursing yourself for asking such a ridiculous thing, digging yourself into an even deeper hole you continued, “it’s only that the flowers you got me are so big… and I have all my other things…and…uh..”

“Y/N, I would love to walk you home”

“Great! I’ll just um, go and grab my stuff”

You turned, heading towards the cloakroom, only to be met by Jadis, bag and bouquet in hand. She shoved them eagerly into your arms squealing, “go get him girl!” Hands pressed against your back, she forced you to move forwards until you were in front of Cassian, “don’t have too much fun you two” she said now guiding you both from the cafe, tripping and stumbling over each others feet as Jadis’s excitement led to some very firm shoving.

~~~~~

Once outside in one piece, no thanks to Jadis, Cassian plucked the flowers from your arms allowing you to swing the strap of your book-filled bag over your shoulders. Timidness now overcame you, what were you supposed to say to him now? Had asking him to walk you home seemed too desperate?

“So what are you reading now? Not another book about a poor sexually frustrated female?” He asked, breaking your panicked thoughts as he walked side by side with you.

“No sex this time,” you giggled lightly, “this one’s about a man who sacrificed his kingdom for his true love”

“You really like that stuff huh?” Cassian spoke softly to you, he sounded like he was truly interested in finding out exactly how your brain worked, “that true love and romantic gestures shit?”

“It’s not shit” you defended, “sometimes it helps me not feel so alone. Reading about all these grand gestures and things people do for the ones they love.”

Cassian cleared his throat awkardly, his hand which was not holding the flowers moving up to scratch at his head, “and you’re into that? Romantic gestures?”

“It’s hard not to be. Pretty sure it’s every girls dream to be swept of their feet and fall as deeply as characters do in books.” Cassian was nodding along to what you were saying but his eyes showed he was lost in thought. It was your turn to draw him from his head, “you never done anything romantic for your ladies Cas?”

His name on your lips seemed to work, the clouds of thought in his eyes fading as he turned his gaze from the road ahead to you, “I guess I’ve normally always thought that just me is enough”. He didn’t say this to be cocky or narcissistic, you could tell. You didn’t mean to make him feel shame over the situation, you had been genuinely curious. Perhaps a little jealous at the thought of Cassian putting in just as much work into chasing other women as he has been with you.

“That’s ok. I think romance is more reserved for the pages of books these days than in actual reality”

Not a fan of where this conversation had turned to Cassian did his best to lift the mood, “I’m not surprised you think that if all your books were like that one I caught you reading. Heck where are you meant to find a overprotective god of war with who hates everyone but the lowly daughter of an inventor and they go on to have insane - and totally not physically possible by the way- sex!”

You scrunched your face, “Cassian there’s no way you were able to get all that from one page…Oh cauldron! You read the book! You read Fatal Frenzy!”

As if only now realising what he said to you, a flustered Cassian tried to provide you with lame excuses as to how he knew that information until it was clear you weren’t going to let it go. After about five minutes of listening to your constant prodding, poking and teasing as you walked, Cassian caved, “Fine! Fine, I read it ok. I was curious as to how he was going to put his god level cock to use!”

By this point you were full on cackling, having to stop your walking to put a hand on your stomach at the thought of this mountain of a man sitting down to read a devilishly smutty book. “I have to say”, you gasped out in-between giggles, “I’m surprised you can even read”.

Cassian acted out the most overdramatic reaction to your words, his hands flew to his heart, bouquet still in his grasp, and released loud, exaggerated noises of pain and cries of just how horrible you were. People had began to stop in the street, wondering why the Lord of Bloodshed was acting as though he had just been shot. Rolling your eyes and wanting the attention off the two of you, you elbowed his side prompting him to stop, “careful you’ll crush my flowers if you die any wilder.”

Charming grin of his face, Cassian looked down at you, “we wouldn’t want that would we? Not when a super hot guy went through the effort of finding out your favourite flowers for you.”

“You’re crazy” you said in dismissal, continuing to walk in the direction of your home.

“Your kind of crazy?” A hopeful tone in Cassian’s voice.

“I haven’t quite decided yet” you said honestly. You couldn’t deny that Cassian was already proving himself to you more than any man has. No one had ever bought you flowers before and no male had ever attempted to read a book you were reading for your attention.

“Well you just let me know when you do” Even the way Cassian looked at you made you melt.

“You’ll be the first” gentle smile on your face. Nerves building in you once more as you thought about what going further with the man next you you would entail.

Content to let you walk lost in your thoughts, Cassian didn’t try to force any conversation. A natural peace fell between the two of you, the silence not an awkward one. It wasn’t until you neared the outside of your house that you broke the silence, “Well, this is me”.

Nodding Cassian passed you the bouquet. For the first time you looked at the flowers and really admired them, admired the fact this man had gone out his way to go to your friend and make sure he got your favourite ones.

“Thank you Cassian,” you said, laying a kiss onto his stubbled cheek, “they’re beautiful.”

Cassian’s usual confidence gone, it was his turn to blush. Shyly, he tried his luck again, “so about that date?”

You walked over to your door, pulling out your key, turning back to Cassian, twinkle in your eyes, you said, “ask me again tomorrow”.

“That wasn’t a no!” He said, confidence rushing back into him. As you entered your house and peaked through the window behind your curtains you couldn’t help but watch Cassian, beam on his face, as he jumped on the spot. A small celebration that you hadn’t fully rejected him once more. A matching grin on your face as you observed him, you stayed watching until he took off from the ground, large angelic wings spread, wondering what in Prythian was this man doing to you and what sinful things you’d like to do with those wings.

~~~~~

You were sorely disappointed over the course of the next week. Since that evening Cassian had walked you home to the cafe he had not returned. Jadis tried to keep your thoughts positive, saying he was probably away on important Night Court business, being the General of its army and all. After being the one to speak to Cassian about you she was adamant that he was undoubtedly in love with you and he wouldn’t leave you hanging.

It was hard though, when the eighth day of his absence rolled round, not to think that he had found someone more interesting to pursue. Someone who didn’t make him work as hard for their affections. Your mood was so glum that you didn’t even have the heart to read. Why read about love when you’re not sure you believe in it anymore?

You had spent days wondering what you had done wrong. Had you been too forward? Or did he find your obsession with males that weren’t real a little too bizarre? You did your best not to dwell on it but it was so hard not to, the flowers you had placed in a vase on the side table in your library, right next to your reading chair, still flourished beautifully, a constant reminder of the man who crashed into your life only to leave it in shambles.

So here you were, sat on the stool in the cafe, your thoughts being the only thing to keep you busy due to your sudden lack of interest in reading. It had been another quiet day, but it wasn’t long now until Jadis would arrive, you had opened the cafe for her after she asked for a favour so she could spend the night at Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome’s, who’s name you had learnt was Arthur. Happy that even if your love life was crumbling, at least Jadis’s was blooming. However, you were thankful you weren’t actually supposed to be working today, not sure if you could survive another shift listening to her unintentionally boast about how perfect Arthur was and how good he is at sex.

So you sat there and waited for her arrival, desperate to go home and crawl into your bed. Without your typical reading to do, you found yourself spending most of your free time sleeping, wasting away the hours you didn’t know what to do with yourself in.

It was finally an hour after the time she had promised to be in for, when Jadis flew into the cafe, bell ringing aggressively at her sudden entrance. Running to where you were at the counter, coat and bags in hand, she was profusely apologising over and over for her tardiness.

“You must have had a good night with Mr Handsome” you teased, trying not to let your slight annoyance at you still being here show. Confusion flashed across her face before she quickly corrected it in realisation, “Oh yeah! Totally great sex, every woman’s dream. Hugeeee dick.”

Opening your mouth, ready to ask her about her odd behaviour, she pulled you from your stool before you could talk. Dragging you out from behind the work area, saying “Come on Y/N it’s your day off, don’t want to be here any longer than you have to be!”

Now you defiantly knew something was off, Jadis typically keeping you an hour in-between shifts to catch you up on everything that has happened since the day before. “Jadis, what’s going on?” You asked cautiously, had something happened between her and Arthur? No. Jadis would definitely tell you if that was the case, or maybe she just didn’t want to make you any more depressed than you already were. Still in that strange tone of voice, Jadis kept pushing you to leave, “Nothings wrong! I’m fine. Now leave, you still have the whole day to do something, go read one of your smut books!”

This confirmed she was definitely hiding something, knowing that you haven’t picked up a book for the past week after listening to your incessant complaining about the matter. If you weren’t so desperate to leave and go rot in bed for the rest of the day you would have stayed and forced whatever it is she was hiding out of her. You decided that was tomorrow’s job, when you had a nice six hour shift together where she couldn’t avoid your pestering.

Shrugging on your coat and promising to yourself you’d find out what she was dodging tomorrow, you left the cafe. Turning your head around to look back through the windows only to be met with Jadis and her crazed eyes watching, as if making sure you were walking in the direction of your house. Unsettled, you followed the streets leading home, praying to the Mother that your friend was alright and you weren’t about to have to kill a man for upsetting her.

Finally, you arrived at your door, turning the key in the lock you were startled to discover the door was already unlocked. You were exhausted when you left that morning but you could have sworn you weren’t so tired that you’d risk your property and your safety like that.

Fear now coursing through your veins, you quietly pushed your door open, scared you would alert anyone in your house that you were there and something bad would ensue. The fae lights in your hallway were all lit, softly casting a warm glow over your home. You stepped inside, and instead of your foot meeting the usual plush of your carpet it was met with a slight crunch.

Casting your eyes to the ground you gasped. There were hundreds of rose petals scattered across your floor, leading towards each of your rooms. Following the trail, you made it through to the entrance of your living room, if your jaw dropped any lower you were sure it’d hit the floor.

The entire room looked as if it had been covered in a red blanket, a sea of roses covering the entirety of your room to the point where you couldn’t actually see anything that wasn’t a deep shade of red.

By this point your heart was pounding in your chest and you were sure you could feel your eyes watering, the hundreds of roses placed around you getting blurrier and blurrier. But there was no sign of the man you were sure had placed them.

Turning around you sped into each of your rooms, wanting nothing more than to find Cassian and throw your arms around him. Each room the same as the last, filled to the brim with the most beautiful roses. Lillies may once have been your favourite flowers but you think the kind-hearted man, who had wormed his way into your heart, may have just changed your mind. Roses were perfect.

Still no Illyrian insight you flung open the door to your library. Room decorated just as over the top as the others. And there in the centre of it all, sat waiting for you to return home, is Cassian. He stood quickly, treading on some of the flowers placed by his feet.

“How?” You asked, voice cracking as you tried to hold the tears at bay.

“It wasn’t easy, Jadis let me in.” Cassian said lightheartedly from where he stood across the room, too far from you for your liking, “I’m sorry I’ve been gone so long. I wanted to do this the day after we last spoke but I guess I didn’t actually think about the logistics of getting thousands of roses delivered.”

You stayed silent, heart overwhelmingly filled with love for the man before you, the man who had spent the past week getting a thousand roses just to ask you on a date. Taking your silence for something bad, Cassian began to ramble, “My brother Azriel - the spymaster - he helped too…I wanted to make sure it’d be done in time. It’s a mess I get it, I’m sorry, I’ll clear it all out for you I just-“

You cut him off, tears now flowing freely down your red hot cheeks, hands trembling, “it’s perfect Cassian. Nobody…nobody has ever done anything like this for me” At the sign of your tears Cassian made to make his way towards you but was stopped by the fact he just didn’t know where to place his foot without ruining all his hard work.

“Clearly I didn’t think this through very well” he mumbled, arms out to keep him balanced and preventing him from falling. Not wanting to spend a minute more away from him after having to suffer through a whole week, you ran, roses be damned right into his arms. Throwing yourself at his muscled body as he caught you, pulling you close to his chest in midair.

“You’re crazy!” you exclaimed, head tucked into his neck as you rested it on his shoulder.

Cassian placed you down gently, arms still wrapped tightly around your waist but he wanted to look into your eyes for this, “your kind of crazy?” His eyes held that same hopeful desperation that they had when he last asked you out.

“Hell yeah” and with that you grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and connected his lips to yours.

The kiss was like nothing you had ever read before in one of your books. It was everything and more. A fire ignited within you, burning hotter and hotter and you just kept needing more. Cassian the fuel to your fire and you were sure that as long as you had him with you it was a flame that would never die out.

It was a messy clash of teeth and tongues, both of you uncaring of how sloppily and uncoordinated were kissing. All you knew was you needed each other like the pages of a book needed ink. You kissed and you kissed, hands wandering until you weren’t sure which parts belonged to Cassian and which to yourself.

The need to breathe forgotten, you continued. Hands running over his back which was rippled in muscles before reaching around his neck, holding onto him tightly as he picked you up once more.

It was only when the need for air was so overwhelming that you had no other option to pull away that you did. Heads pressed together, lips still slightly touching, a trail of saliva linking the two of you together. Cassian continued to hold you in his arms as if you were nothing but a feather, catching his breath he finally began to speak, “So about that date then?”

You giggled, pulling him even closer to you by his neck and laying a soft peck on his lips before drawing away to give your answer, Cassian’s mouth chasing after yours, “If this is how you ask me, I can’t wait to see what you have planned for our first date. Hopefully you don’t ignore me for a month whilst you prepare.”

Barking out a laugh Cassian placed you on the floor of roses, holding your hands to ensure you didn’t stumble. He looked around the room, proud smile adorning his face, he first took in the roses which he had took so long in prepping, screaming at Azriel when he hadn’t placed them down as he had pictured in his head. His gaze then swept your shelves, hundreds of books upon them.

“Ever read about this in one of your books?”

“Nope this is definitely a first”

His eyes landed on the book resting on your table, right next to the vase full of lilies he had originally given you, title in gold lettering along the front of the cover. Fated Frenzy. The book he had read because of you. You laughed as you spotted what he was staring at, his eyes travelling back to you, running up your body with hunger before finally settling on your eyes.

“You into roleplay gorgeous?”

With those words he smashed his lips back onto yours. The promise of an exciting night ahead.

Here, standing in your library entwined with the Illyrian you decided all those characters you have read about were lacking in one thing you never even knew you needed.

They weren’t Cassian.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Notes: You have no idea how much I wanted to finish this fic with “And so Cassian did” lol

Happy Valentines <3

#acotar #fanfic #cassian fic #cassian imagine #cassian x reader #cassian #cassian oneshot #a court of thorns and roses #acotar imagine

227 notes · View notes

koishiro · 9 months

Text

# - 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍 𝐌𝐄𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐀 𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐇

masterlist | genshin masterlist | upcoming anon asks

Diluc

Okay I’m sorry but he’ll flat out ignore you at first,

Or at least he tries to considering he can’t stop thinking about you which will make him confused for a while on why his heart “aches” when you’re around. He doesn’t realise it but when you’re around or generally anywhere near him, he’ll subtly scuffle closer towards you and I can imagine Diluc trying his best to be in your line of sight as much as he can because that’s his way of infiltrating your mind. Every time you visit Angel’s Share don’t expect to pay for anything, it’s conveniently on the house. I can imagine he’d also want a form of validation from you (and only you) after he gives his opinion in a discussion, it makes him feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

“Fancy seeing you here Y/n, the usual? What are you doing? There’s no need to spend your mora on such wasteful things”

Zhongli

…I hope you like tea,

Because you better expect to be invited to the funeral parlor “for tea” at least 3 days a week. If you’re ever walking through Liue and compliment something at a passing stall, he’ll buy it for you without a second thought because let’s be real (and these are his words exactly): - “mora has no value if it’s not spent on something worthwhile” …this man - he doesn’t realise how much of a flirt he is and is always confused if he catches your red face. He’ll also subtly court you without making it too obvious, like he’d appear at your place of work quite often with the excuse;

“the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor is running quite slow today, I wondered if you’d like to take a stroll around the town with me, possibly have a look at the stalls”

Kaeya

This flirtatious bastard,

He’ll always think of ways to make you malfunction. You’re a regular at Angel’s Share as well?: “Ah so this is where all the pretty ladies are kept hm?”, followed by a drink he bought you. Any time he sees you walking though the streets of Mondstadt he’ll jog up to you and say: “Going somewhere m’lady? I could escort you if you’d like, maybe you’d care for a drink at the tavern?”. I can imagine Klee giggling to herself when she sees you as if she knows something you don’t…

“Sorry miss Y/n, Klee was told she can’t say anything, Kaeya made Klee promise - oh, you won’t tell Kaeya will you miss Y/n?”

Al haitham

This withdrawn boy…

He’d quite literally just stare at you from across the room until someone (Kaveh) nudges his shoulder, telling him he’ll scare you off if he continues. If you’re already aquatinted with each other he’ll most likely try and impress you by giving you book recommendations or talk about his findings at the Akademiya while you zone out and stare at his face for the next few hours. If you’re not aquatinted, he’ll saddle up to you and still give you recommendations:

“If I could just interject, herbal tea would be best whilst chamomile shall just make you drowsy, if you’d like I could show you how to make your own”

Childe

Ah yes, the cocky ginger,

I imagine he’d act like Kaeya, if he saw you strolling through Liue, Childe would stride up to you and ask if he could escort you to where you need to be with the excuse; “you can never be too careful” and this would become a habit to the point of meeting you once your shift ends to walk you back home. He’d also 100% spend his money on you no doubt, like Zhongli his excuse would be

“what’s the point of mora if I can’t spend it on a pretty girl hm?”

Itto

I hope you’re a dog person,

Because this is at your beck and call. One of the ways he shows his interest towards you is gift giving; you need a certain herb? Wait here while he goes and hunts it down for you, or maybe you need some meet? Don’t worry, he’ll quickly chase down a boar for you. And if you thank him a big smile when he delivers them? His tail could cause a tornado with how powerful his tail is wagging. Another way he shows his interest is physical affection; you’re sitting down reading a book? He’s there with his head on your shoulder, you’re both walking through town? He’s got a firm grasp on either your hand or your arm,

“what? I can’t let you wander off and get yourself lost, what would I do then? Who would hive me head pats?”

Kaveh

You wouldn’t even know he has a crush on you,

Instead thinking he’s just this friendly with everyone. Being an architect, no less from Sumeru, he would show and explain his ideas to you and ask for advice on what you think about them, sometimes he’ll deliver miniature structures to you that he made, for example: he once made you a wooden mobile (like a baby cot mobile) to hang wherever you please that plays music because he knew you had trouble sleeping or another time, he made you a glass wind-chime that would reflect the sun and cause rainbow rays to spread across your porch because you spend so much time in your garden. He’ll either make these as a thank you, a just cause, or he’ll make up a white lie and say it’s an experiment he’d like you to test run, always delivered with an excuse he made beforehand:

“Ah Y/n, glad I ran into you! I noticed the other day that you were struggling to keep on top of watering all of your plants so I made an automatic watering system! If it all goes well, I might start a batch of them”

—

－𝘬𝘰𝘪 𝘹𝘰

#diluc x y/n #diluc x reader #zhongli #genshin impact kaeya #tighnari #kazuha #al haitham #childe #scaramouche #genshin itto #genshin impact kaveh #genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin x you #genshin headcanons #genshin fluff

318 notes · View notes

luxaofhesperides · 6 months

Text

greener on the other side.

Danny makes a habit out of hopping into portals and exploring he places he ends up. It just so happens that this time, he ends up in Gotham right as the Signal begins his patrol. Duke meets the strangest, funniest, cutest guy on the roof of the Gotham City Public Library. He knows Batman would not approve of literally anything he’s doing, but sue him, he wants a meta friend and this guy seems to up for it. – OR: how Duke and Danny got together despite having secret identities and living different dimensions.

chapter two: how it grows - 10.7k

read chapter one here or the entire fic on ao3.

here's the duke pov! one chapter left from danny's pov, then this fic is complete and i can get started on the rest of the series focusing on their relationship! . . .

Duke doesn’t like to make a big deal of things. He’ll try to handle things on his own and roll with the punches. As long as he keeps his cool, things will work out.

Unfortunately, feelings are not one of the things that just ‘work out on their own’ and he has to admit that he might just need some outside help for this. The problem, then, becomes a question of who he can go to.

He’s come a long way since he was part of the We Are Robin gang and knows that he can rely on the rest of the Bats for help. He’s one of them, something that still feels surreal when he thinks about it for too long, but Duke has his place with them both in and out of the mask. He gets along well enough with Damian, trains often with Jason, bothers Dick for help when he gets in over his head, and makes fun of Bruce with Tim and Cass and Steph.

They’re good people and he trusts them. They’re messy, with lots of history and fights between them all, but what family isn’t like that?

They’re good people and he wants to ask them for help, but Duke can’t bring himself to go to the Manor. They’re all just… Some of the advice they give him for his civilian life is suspect at best. So instead, he’s going back to Jay’s house, hoping his cousin will have some normal advice for him.

Though he spends a decent amount of time with the Waynes, Jay technically still has custody of him; Duke doesn’t want to leave his family behind at all, not if he has any other choice, but he knows that looking after a teenager while being single and not having the biggest paycheck is stressful. Plus, it allows less time for any resentment to spring up between them with the amount of secrets Duke is hiding from him.

As unprepared for him as Jay was, he still does his best. He’s waiting in the living room when Duke arrives, dropping his keys into the dish on the side table in the entrance hallway. A bowl of popcorn and two glasses of ice tea are set on the coffee table and Duke gladly takes one and drinks half in one go before he even sits down.

“Alright, man,” Jay says, “What’s going on? You never ask me for advice.”

Duke sighs. “It’s, uh… dating problems? I guess?”

“You guess?”

“I don’t actually know if it was a date or not and I need a second opinion.”

Jay gives him a long look. “Usually, just having to ask tends to mean it was a date and you just didn’t notice in time. You getting back with that Izzy girl?”

“No! We both decided to stay friends, and it’s not like we’ve been hanging out much at all since the break up. This is someone new.”

“Anyone I know?”

“Nah, he doesn’t live in Gotham.”

The smile falls from Jay’s face and he leans closer to Duke, suddenly growing serious. “If this is an internet friend, I’m going to have to lecture you on stranger danger. Come on man, I know you’re smarter than that.”

Duke shakes his head, pushing his cousin back into the couch. “No! No, no, definitely not! Do you really think I don’t know anything about internet safety? Not the point. The point is, he’s from out of town and he’s really cute and I spent most of yesterday just hanging out with him and took him to the best food trucks I could find. Was that a date?”

“Honestly? Sounds like it. Good for you man. Just make sure to let him know if you want the next one to officially be a date.”

See? Simple, normal advice. Jay is just telling him to communicate like a normal person. It’s not that simple, of course, since Duke isn’t going as Duke but as The Signal, but it’s still good advice. Once he finds the courage to ask Danny out on a proper date, he’ll do it in a way that leaves no confusion.

It won’t be any time soon, though. Not when they’ve just met and Danny doesn’t even know his name.

“It’s that easy, huh?”

“Sure is,” Jay grins. “How do you think I got all the girls when I was in school?”

“Is that also why you can’t get any dates now?”

“Alright, you little shit,” Jay laughs, throwing an arm around Duke’s shoulders to trap him in a noogie. “See if I give you advice ever again. Is this the thanks I get for looking after you?”

Duke can break free from his grip easily, but it’s been so long since he had a nice, easy interaction with his cousin that he just sinks into it, laughing. Time apart has made things better between them; there’s less stress involved with hiding his identity, and Jay isn’t worried out of his mind about raising Duke right while also making enough for rent and groceries.

“You staying the night?” Jay asks, finally releasing Duke.

“Nah, the Waynes want me over for game night and I really wanna see them try to kill each other. But I got a couple of hours until they’re expecting me.”

“Up for a movie?”

“Is it another zombie movie?”

“You know it.”

Duke shrugs. “Sure, put it on and I’ll try not to laugh too hard when you get scared.”

It’s nice and lets his mind finally stop spinning in circles, going over everything he can remember from his not-date with Danny. He’s missed spending time with his cousin even if living away from him is a lot less stressful. As great as the Waynes are, they can’t give him this.

What they can give him is chaos and embarrassment.

“Caught you slacking yesterday,” Jason says casually as he drops onto the couch next to him. Both of them watch as Steph and Damian team up to kill Bruce for taking all their properties in Monopoly, and Duke suddenly has a feeling that he should have stayed with Jay after all.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replies, “I’m never slacking as the Signal. I’ve never done a single thing wrong, ever, in my life.”

“Didn’t you lead a gang?”

“Didn’t you decapitate eight men?”

Jason pinches his side in retaliation, making Duke jump. “So, you pulling a Superman? Flirting with a civilian you saved?”

They didn’t go anywhere near Crime Alley. How did Jason just happen to stumble across them? He probably should have expected someone to have spotted him. None of the Waynes care too much for other people’s privacy.

“No,” Duke says slowly. He is flirting with a civilian, but Danny is not someone he saved. Danny is someone who helped him out when fighting crime, and is fun to be with. “I was just showing him around Gotham?”

Jason’s eyebrows go up. “An out of towner? Didn’t think they’d have the balls the stay in Gotham longer than a few hours.”

“Yeah, well, he’s not one to be scared away so easily.”

“And does this someone have a name? If he’s spending time with you, I wanna know his name.”

Duke side eyes him. “Why do you want to know?”

“Look, it’s good to keep an eye on any civilian that gets close to us. In case they’re a threat, and in case they get caught up in the bullshit that saturates every part of our lives. The longer they’re with us, the more danger they’re in. But I can help you look out for him. So: name?”

That is… a depressingly good point. Duke can’t save everyone despite how hard he tries. It would be good to have someone else looking out of Danny while he’s in Gotham, just in case.

“Danny. His name’s Danny.”

“No last name?”

“I don’t know it. Look man, I only met him two days ago. He’s a meta like me and he’s not from Gotham. That’s about all I know.”

“That’s it?”

“Again, we literally just met. If he decides to keep coming around, then I’ll learn more about him.”

Jason gives him an assessing look, then gives him a sharp grin. “Oh, I’m sure he’ll be coming back for you. Boy was giving you doe eyes the entire time he was with you. Don’t drag him along too much, yeah? Poor thing’s got it bad for you.”

“He does not!”

“I’m not blind, Narrows. And I know you saw it too.”

That’s the problem. He did see how flustered and cute Danny was around him, always finding some way to bump into him or have their arms brush as they stood around, always sticking close as they soared through the air almost close enough to hug. It was cute, so adorable that Duke wanted to squish his cheeks and also lie face down on the ground. But it wasn’t Duke who was causing Danny to blush was the slightest of touches. It was the Signal, the daytime hero, and Duke knows they can’t build anything good together when it’s built on a foundation of secrets.

Danny’s got his own secrets too. Being a meta is only one of them and he’s not sure he’ll ever get to know those parts of Danny when the guy can just choose to never return to Gotham again.

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to try. It’s stupid and reckless when they’ve only known each other for two days but no one has ever made him feel so normal before. Even in the midst of using their powers and hopping around Gotham fighting crime, there was a sense that they understood each other, that their lives rhymed and it made everything so easy and comfortable between them.

“And?” Duke sighs. “He doesn’t even know my name. It’s not really anything right now, okay? We just get each other and it’s nice to spend time with someone like that.”

“Want me to find him for you?”

“Please don’t.”

Jason shrugs. “Alright, your loss.” He looks back to where Bruce is calmly stealing Steph’s Monopoly money as she has her arms around his throat, trying to choke him as she clings to his back. Damian is trying to steal everything back. None of them have caught on to the fact that Tim and Cass have teamed up and have taken over the bank and are steadily taking properties on the board, fully and shamelessly cheating.

He’s so glad he chose to sit this game out.

Jason seems content with leaving the conversation there, so Duke cuts his losses and leaves before Tim and Cass have to fend off everyone else and turn this entire game night into a blood bath.

It’s not like anyone’s going to win against Cass anyways.

Duke fully intends to go up to his room and get a full eight hours of sleep while everyone else goes on patrol. He’ll take some time to think about how excited he is to see Danny again when he brings his friends over next week, but only for a bit. His sleep is so important.

Batman could never compare to how much he values his sleep.

He’s got good priorities, okay? He’s not changing them for anything.

Instead of sleeping, though, he ends up laying on his bed for hours, all his thoughts swirling around in a restless tangle. This is why he can’t ask the Waynes for advice on Normal People Shit. They just make him overly paranoid and sure that everything is going to go wrong.

Danny’s a mystery. He didn’t feel like one when they met; Danny was just an average citizen standing on top of a building, and the Signal had a duty to check up on him.

But when Danny turned to face him, his eyes were a bright blue, practically glowing, and there was a light emanating out of his chest, as if he tucked a star into his ribcage. No normal human looked like that, and Duke would know. He’s seen a lot of weird shit with his powers, especially once they started affecting his eyes even more, but even people who dabble in magic didn’t look like that.

Danny had looked ethereal. Unreal. As if he wasn’t from this world at all. Like someone who had stepped out of a story and into the real world.

And he was fun.

That’s what’s tripping Duke up. He’s met other metas before. They tend to either be 1) homicidal, 2) depressed and traumatized, or 3) serious and heroic. Sure there were some that had a sense of humor, but it was just to keep the mood light as they went around saving people and being more Hero than Person.

That’s what Duke had become, growing into his role as the Signal until he worried that it was taking away from Duke Thomas. The other Bats seemed to have no problem with their various identities, or enjoyed being in the mask far more than they enjoyed taking it off. Duke, as he usually was, is the outlier.

It’s why he always has to wrestle with imposter syndrome, forcing himself to stick around until he can finally feel like he belongs with the heroes of Gotham. He can act unbothered as much as he wants. It will never change the fact that, at his heart, Duke is still the terrified and angry boy sneaking out of foster homes and orphanages to search for his parents, refusing to find a place in the world that wasn’t by their side.

As the only meta on the team, his powers are both a blessing and a curse. They’re another reminder that he’s the odd one out, the one who doesn’t fit in as easily as all the others, but also a tool that lets him help in ways no one else can.

He always has something to prove when he’s out as the Signal. He always has to make himself worth keeping around as Duke.

With Danny, all of that fell away.

Using his powers was fun with him. They darted around the city, from rooftop to rooftop, stopping crimes and teasing each other as they went. There was no pressure to conform or prove himself, just the easy joy of feeling the air rush by him as he swung through the skyline, hundreds of feet in the air.

It doesn’t hurt that Danny is cute, too.

Sighing, Duke rolls over and shoves his face into his pillow.

He hadn’t realized how lonely he was until he met another meta who wasn’t trying to attack him. Sure, he has other hero friends, but they’re either regular humans or not human at all. One day with another meta, just shooting the shit, enjoying their time together, makes him all too aware of how much he’s wanted something like this since his powers first manifested.

Jason said that Danny was down bad, but Duke’s not doing any better, honestly.

He can’t wait until he sees Danny again.

It takes putting on some soothing music and trying not to let all his thoughts drift back to Danny before Duke finally feels sleep take a hold of him and gladly gives into its embrace. . . .

The glow appears suddenly, a flash of light in the distance, and that’s all Duke needs before he takes down two muggers and zip ties their wrists together quickly. “Stay safe!” he calls to the victim, quickly grappling away as she glares at her attempted muggers. She’s looking rather violent, and if she wants to whack them over the head, then that’s her right.

Duke doesn’t need to worry about it. He’s already dealt with the problem and now he can make his way to Danny, falling into the familiar rhythm of catch, fall, and release as he chases after the cold star-glow of Danny.

He makes his way to the glow until he can see Danny standing on the roof of the mall in Diamond District. Duke stops a few buildings away, taking the time to catch his breath and make sure he’s in Signal mode instead of Duke Thomas.

Then, as prepared as he’ll ever be, he shoots his grapple out.

Danny and his friends are already facing him when he lands, eyes flickering between him and his grapple gun.

Duke tucks it away and offers them a small wave, giving Danny a soft smile.

“This is him!” Danny announces, turning to face his friends so he can do a little flourish and show off Duke. “This is the Signal, and he’s a legit hero here.”

A goth girl looks him over with an unimpressed gaze, then clicks her tongue in a way that reminds him way too much of Damian. “Too much yellow,” she says, “You should update your armor to be less… this.”

“Sam!” Danny says, smacking her arm. “Uncalled for!”

“What? I’m right. That’s way too much yellow.”

The other boy pushes his glasses up his nose and glares at Duke. “So you’re a hero, huh?”

Duke blinks and the sudden hostility, then nods. “Yeah, sure am.”

“And you save people?”

“I do my best.”

“Even if they’re not human?”

Oh, Duke realizes, they’re just being overprotective of Danny. It kind of sucks to be on the other end of it, but he’s glad to know that Danny has people that will stand by him. Being a meta without any support is awful and often dealy; human traffickers especially love to target vulnerable metas.

“Even then,” Duke says. “If anyone needs help and I can help them, I do. It’s how I got into the hero business.”

“Quit the interrogation,” Danny hisses, then turns to Duke with a strained smile. “I am so sorry about them. This is Sam, and this is Tucker.”

“Well, welcome to Gotham.”

Danny hooks his arms with Sam and Tucker’s, pulling them closer to himself with enough force that they stumble. “Stop being mean, guys. We’re here to have fun, remember?”

Sam sighs, then gently knocks her head against Danny’s. “Yeah, alright. We’ll behave.”

“ Thank you. Let’s hit up Wayne Tower first, then the botanical gardens and maybe lunch after that?”

“Sounds good,” Tucker says, pulling his arm free from Danny’s grasp just to hop onto his back. With Tucker secured, Danny sweeps Sam up into a princess carry, and all three look at Duke like this is something totally normal that happens all the time. And maybe it is! It’s probably normal for them and Duke is not going to judge them because he wants to make a good impression and not be a hypocrite.

He’ll just… not talk about the Bats and how bizarre they all are. Duke himself is not exempt from this.

“You gonna be able to hold them both and fly around?” he asks, just to make sure. He definitely doesn’t want anyone falling to their deaths while he’s leading them through Gotham.

Danny just offers him a grin, the tips of his sharp canines just barely visible. The glow in his chest gets a little stronger and his eyes flicker from blue to bright green. “Don’t worry. I’m strong enough to be their Uber today.”

“We’re not paying you,” Sam and Tucker say at the same time, then high five. Danny rolls his eyes, and Duke can’t help but smile seeing their little routines.

They must have been friends for a long time to be so close.

Duke makes a mental note to spend a day just hanging out with his own friends soon. It’s been a little too long, hero work and school taking up all his time, and though they understand and try to keep him in their lives through texts, it’s all too easy to slip away from each other.

Focus, Duke, he tells himself. Today is for Danny and his friends.

He’s the Signal. There’s no time for Duke’s problems. He’s got crime to fight and three teenage tourists from who knows where to show around Gotham. He’ll deal with his own shit later.

“I’ll lead the way to Wayne Tower then,” he says, walking backwards to the edge of the roof. Danny lifts up from the roof, hovering a foot in the air, and it’s so hard to look away from him when he’s literally glowing, eyes bright and hair turning white. “Also, just as a heads up, I may have to leave for a few minutes to deal with crime, but I will come back. Just stick to the roofs and you’ll be safe.”

Sam looks around, assessing the city. “Lots of crime here?”

“We’re called the Crime Capital of America for a reason,” Duke responds wryly and she grimaces.

“Well. At least the aesthetic is pretty nice. I’m digging all the gargoyles.”

“Wait ‘til you see some of our churches. Stained glass, dark stone, really Gothic. I think you’ll like it.” Then, to Danny, he says, “Ready?”

Danny nods, and Duke turns and jumps off the roof.

Behind him, he can hear a gasp, and then he shoots his grapple out and begins swinging through Diamond District, trusting that Danny is following behind him as they fly above the busy streets. And sure enough, when he flips off the edge of another building, Duke catches a glance behind him and sees the shimmer of an invisible Danny flying towards him, with two additional little shimmers that must be his friends.

He goes back to grappling through the streets, keeping an eye out for any crime.

“Come in O,” he says quietly, activating his comm.

“Signal, everything good?” Oracle asks, hopping onto his frequency within a second.

“Yeah, I’ve just got a few visitors I’m escorting around Gotham. Can you keep an eye out for any crimes that need my attention? Just let me know where they are and I’ll deal with it.”

“Sure thing. Who are these visitors?”

“Out of towners. One’s a meta and they wanted to do a little sightseeing, and you know how this city is dangerous for people who aren’t used to it. And with meta human trafficking…”

Oracle makes a small sound of understanding. “Yeah, best to stick close to them while they’re here. Good call, Signal. I’ll keep an eye out and let you know if anything pops up, but so far, it’s all looking quiet.”

“Good to hear.”

There’s a pause, and then Oracle’s voice turns teasing, bringing more Barbara into the forefront. “Soooo,” she starts, and he can already hear the grin in her voice. “Making friends, Signal? Looking to start up your own team? It’s tradition, you know; we’ve all done it.”

“Nah, they’re not looking to join the cape scene. They just want to see the sights, hang out a bit. Are you looking for information on them right now?” He can hear her typing loudly, fingers flying across the keyboard. She’s supposed to be working in the library, but she’s also got her own office in there now that she’s the most senior employee. It would be just like her to pass off patron duties to the other libraries and bust crime rings from her office desk.

Zero separation between regular work and night work. The curse all bats and bat-adjacent folk struggle with.

“Who do you think I am?” Barbara scoffs. “If you’re making friends, then it’s my duty to make sure they’re good friends. At the very least, I can’t let you run off with villains in the makings, or cultists wanting to sacrifice you or something.”

“They’re normal civilians,” Duke hisses into his comm. He casts another glance behind him to see Danny flying off to the side. From what he can make out from the movement of the shimmer, like a heat mirage given form, he’s pointing something out to his friends. “And how likely is it that they are villains? I doubt anyone looking to hurt me is going to ask me for a tour of Gotham.”

Barbara hums. “You never know. Tim befriended Anarchy. And a couple of League assassins.”

“Tim’s a special case. He can befriend literally anyone. I mean, didn’t Jason and Damain both try to kill him? Now look at them. Thick as thieves.”

“He is something special,” Barbara agrees, amusement coloring her voice. “Say, can you tell me their names?”

“Who?”

“Your tourist guests.”

“Danny, Tucker, and Sam. Why?”

There’s a pause, even the clicking of her keyboard going silent. Oracle being stopped in her tracks is never a good thing and Duke is suddenly worried that she did find something that will connect the trio to some evil world domination plan.

“I can’t find them.”

“What?”

“I’ve run their faces through the databases, I’ve searched for people matching their descriptions, I can’t find any tech on them that I can hack into… It’s like they don’t exist. Digitally, that is.”

Duke lands just a block away from Wayne Tower, staring up at it. The glass glistens in the few rays of sunlight that force their way past the clouds hanging heavy in the sky. It’s taller than any other building in the district, overlooking Gotham all the way to the bay. He hears the slight shuffle of feet as Danny lands on the roof behind him and sets Tucker and Sam down.

He wants to keep talking to Barbara because he can’t recall a time she wasn’t able to find something. She’s ruthless in the pursuit of information, effortlessly hacking into even the most protected files, capable of finding people and vehicles and buildings and everything else someone might need for a case.

The fact that Danny and his friends have hidden themselves from Oracle’s all seeing eyes has him on edge.

He really hopes it’s nothing. He wants to be friends with Danny. He wants to trust him to be a good person just trying to live a quiet life as a meta. He wants just one thing to not blow up in his face.

“Here we are!” Duke announces, showing off Wayne Tower with a flourish. “I can’t get you much closer to the tower without people noticing you pop in out of nowhere, so you’ll have to walk the last two blocks to get to the building.”

“Impressive place,” Tucker comments as invisibility slides off of him. Sam appears a moment later, followed by Danny, the glow in his chest softening and growing a little dimmer.

“Wayne Enterprises is always striving for perfection,” Duke agrees. “Though, between you and me, I’m 99% positive that the only reason this building is as big and impressive as it is stems from Wayne’s need to be better than Lexcorp.”

“Lexcorp?”

“Rival company in Metropolis. Lex Luthor is the CEO and we all hate him for a lot of reasons.”

“I kinda want to pit Vlad against these guys,” Sam says, shooting Danny a grin.

Danny snorts and shakes his head. “Vlad has a cheese castle. I think he’s already lost.”

Duke is really interested in hearing about the cheese castle, but a quick glance at the watch hidden in his wrist gauntlet (put there only so he can dramatically check the time and leave with some insane excuse when criminals were complaining to him about their own poor choices) tells him that it’s nearly time for the next tour to start.

“Alright, folks,” he says, “You’ve got around eleven minutes to sign yourselves up for the next tour, so if you want to make it, you’d better get moving!”

Tucker swears, then sprints for the edge of the building. “Danny! Get me down there! I’m not waiting another hour for a tour!”

Danny rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling fondly as he flies over to Tucker and scoops him up. They both disappear over the edge of the building, leaving Duke alone with Sam.

“So,” she says, and her tone could be mistake for conversational if it wasn’t for the coldness of her eyes. “You’re getting pretty friendly with Danny, from what I’ve heard.”

Duke smiles nervously. This is the beginning of a shovel talk, isn’t it? “I guess so. I mean, I’d like to be friends with him.”

“How old are you?”

“What?”

“How. Old. Are you?” she bites out, walking closer with a glare.

“Why do you want to know? I can’t just be giving out information about my identity, you know.”

“If you’re not a teenager, then I am going to have a few knives sharpened for when you make a wrong move towards Danny.”

“Wait, wait! I’m still in high school! That’s fine, isn’t it?” He definitely shouldn’t be telling anyone this, but if one of his friends said they were hanging out with someone they don’t know outside of a mask, or a username, or whatever, he’d want to make sure that person wasn’t a creep. Her protective anger is admirable, really. And besides, he gets it. If telling her his age (or age range) will reassure her that he’s not going to… groom Danny or something, then he’ll tell her.

He’d never fault someone for looking out for their loved ones.

“You better be telling the truth. For your own sake.”

“Cross my heart,” Duke says.

Danny pops up through the roof a moment later, startling both of them, easily breaking the tension. “Come on, Sam, Tucker’s signed us up and doesn’t want to wait for you to get over there.” He picks Sam up, then glances between her and Duke. “Wait. Sam. Tell me you didn’t threaten the Signal.”

“Do you want me to lie to you?”

“I can’t take you guys anywhere, I swear…” Danny mutters, then flies down to the street.

Duke blinks at the empty roof, then decides that he’s just going to move on with his day and enjoy spending time with Danny.

He grapples closer to Wayne Tower, following Danny’s glow to make sure they get inside just fine. It’s only a block, but anything can happen in Gotham; better safe than sorry. As soon as he watches them go into the building, Duke sets a timer to display on the corner of his helmet visor and gets back to patrolling, keeping watch over Gotham while he waits for the tour to finish.

“Signal,” Oracle says, and Duke snaps to attention, landing on the next building at the end of his grapple, hopping down from the ledge with ease.

“What’s up, O? Got something for me?”

“Not quite. I’d like you to keep an eye on your guests. One of my drones picked up a strange reading that’s similar to magical residue.”

“You think they’re magic?”

“I think there’s something going on with them that we should keep an eye on. I know you said they’re just here as tourists, but you know we can’t take chances in Gotham.”

As much as he understands Barbara’s concerns, Duke can’t bring himself to be suspicious of Danny or his friends. They do have secrets, and none of them have even hinted at how they arrived in Gotham, appearing suddenly and without warning on a rooftop. But he’s always been one to give the benefit of the doubt. To try to talk things out, figure out a solution where no one needs to get hurt. Most of the time, it doesn’t work since whoever is causing problems really only cares about venting out their pain and frustrations through property damage and loss of life. Sometimes, though, the people causing problems need a little help, need protection, need some space to calm down and get themselves under control, and having a horde of Bats chasing them only makes things worse.

“They really are just tourists,” Duke says. “I know how you feel. I get it, there’s definitely something more to the three of them. But it’s not causing any harm right now, so I say it’s none of our business.”

He hears Barbara sigh down the line, but she’s always been good at respecting boundaries (when it doesn’t come to privacy) and will let people do as they believe they should. It’s why she helps out Jason every so often despite his violent methods and familiarity with killing. It’s why she has her own group and leads them without controlling them the way Batman tries to.

“Alright,” she says, “You make the calls since they’re your guests. Just be ready for me to say ‘I told you so’ when something goes wrong.”

“Yeah, yeah, we know you’re always right, O. Let me make my mistakes in peace, alright? We’ll fix it when we need to.”

“This is why you’re my new favorite,” Barbara jokes.

He makes to respond, maybe poke fun at some of the others with her, when he catches sight of two guys trying to break the lock on a bike to steal it from the sidewalk. Dropping down from the roof, he casually walks up to them, then clears his throat and shakes his head in disappointment at them when they jump and whirl around to stare at him.

“Really?” he says, judging them harshly, “Stealing someone’s bike? In broad daylight?”

They both flush with embarrassment, scowling at him.

“Well, we gotta get home somehow!” one of them says, kicking at the bike in frustration.

“Can’t you take the bus or something? Walk?”

“We don’t have any money on us for the bus and we’re heading to Robinson Park. I ain’t walking that far.”

Well. At least they’re just trying to get around and weren’t planning on selling the bike off.

“Two options,” he says, and both guys tense up immediately, prepared for a fight. He hates that that’s the reaction people have to Gotham’s heroes. As soon as they turn to a crime, no matter how petty, they’re prepared to be beaten down into submission. It’s a precedent set by Bruce that he’s never really liked and Duke does his best to embrace how different he is from the rest of the Bats to show the people of Gotham, criminals and all, that everyone can turn to him for help.

“I can buy a week-long bus pass for you both. Or, I can give you two a ride.”

They share a glance, slowly relaxing. “Can we do both?” one asks. “Get a ride from you and the bus pass?”

Duke glances at the timer in his visor. He’s still got forty minutes before he needs to go back to Wayne Tower.

“You know what? Yes, we can do that. Let me get you those bus passes and then we’ll get going.”

The two men share an excited grin, stepping away from the bike and its slightly mangled lock. They follow Duke to the nearest bus station where a little kiosk is tucked under the awning. Barbara, listening in as she always is, buys the bus passes for him, getting them to print within seconds when they get there.

“Sending your new motorcycle to your location,” she says as soon as he hands both bus passes to the men.

As far as Duke knows, he only has one motorcycle. He wishes he could ask what Barbara meant with new motorcycle without anyone listening in, but he’s gotta give the guys his attention, keep them company while they wait.

They make small talk for a bit, the two asking him what being a hero is like while Duke chats about life in Gotham and shares some Batfam gossip (mostly patrol blunders of one of them slipping while crossing the rooftops and eating shit).

It only takes seven minutes for the motorcycle to arrive, appearing in front of them in the street as the cloaking turns off.

“Woah,” one of the guys breathes, staring at it in awe. “Man, you heroes get the coolest shit.”

“Perks of throwing ourselves into the line of fire. Literally.”

He sees why Barbara sent him an entire new motorcycle (!!!) because his original plan of having three people squeeze onto the seat of one motorcycle was clearly going to end in disaster. This new one, Signal Yellow as it should be, is more armored, a little larger, and has an extended passengers seat attached to it so three people can ride it easily.

Duke swings his leg over it, settling into the seat and grips the handlebars. “Come on,” he smiles, inviting the men to join him. They do, nearly tripping over themselves as they get seated, excited grins on their faces.

It’s nice to know that no matter how old people get, a cool motorcycle is the way to most people’s hearts.

And what a change it is to see two men, likely college students in their final years, go from scared and unhappy people to acting like kids again, jumping at the chance to ride a motorcycle with a hero.

Small interactions like this, where everything goes right, is exactly why Duke is determined to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, a chance to choose differently and be good.

“Hold on tight!” He revs the engine, then takes off, the men letting out whoops behind him as they rush down the street. The motorcycle picks up speed quickly and runs so smoothly it’s as if they’re flying, easily dodging all the cars around them.

Normally, he’d go invisible and use the cloaking mode on his motorcycle to get around, but with two civilians riding with him, he’d rather be visible so cars don’t accidentally hit them.

The ride to Robinson Park takes fifteen minutes at the frankly dangerous speeds Duke was going, and he has no regrets about speeding because 1) it’s fun as hell and 2) the guys with him are clearly having a blast.

He slows down once they reach the park, then pulls over to the side of the road.

“Thank you for riding with Signal Wheels. Be sure to leave a review!”

“Five out of five!” one guys says as he gets off the motorcycle. His hair is a mess, completely windswept and tangled when Duke turns to look at him. “Holy shit, dude, I think I’d marry your motorcycle if I could.”

“Oh same,” Duke laughs, holding out a hand for a fistbump which is readily granted.

The second guy needs a moment longer to get off, laughing breathlessly. “Ten out of ten,” he says, once he’s next to his friend.

“Trying to one up me, huh?”

“Just being honest here.”

“Alright, well you two take care now,” Duke says, shifting his weight to one foot in preparing to kick off and head back to Wayne Tower. “And be sure not to lose those bus passes!”

“Thanks Signal!” they both call out as Duke heads back down the road, turning invisible as soon as he gets to a good speed.

He’s got just enough time to make it back to lead Danny and his friends to the botanical gardens. He cuts it close, but he makes it, pulling into an alley and hopping off the motorcycle.

“O, would you mind getting this back to wherever you piloted it from?”

“Not going to take your new friends on it?”

“Nah, I get the feeling they prefer flying.��

“You got it, Signal.”

The motorcycle pulls out of the alley silently, then heads down on road once cloaking is enabled. It’s gone just in time for his guest to walk out of Wayne Tower, trailing after Tucker who talks with his hands moving around energetically, too distracted to watch where he’s going as Sam and Danny pull him this way and that to keep him from crashing into other people.

Danny spots him first, after he stops and his brow furrows, a look of concentration on his face. Then his head turns and his eyes snap onto where Duke leans against the wall at the mouth of the alley. He grins, the glow in his chest flaring brighter for a moment, and Duke offers a small wave, unbearably charmed by how cute Danny is, especially when he’s so clearly delighted to see him.

“How was it?” Duke asks once they’re close enough to hear him.

Tucker immediately launches into a rant about WayneTech and the R&D Lab and how he would give his liver to work there. Then he starts rambling about technology and coding and a few of the things he’s created and how he’d love to look through what WayneTech does. He doesn’t stop even as Danny flies him up to the roof, Duke following after with his grapple, Sam clinging onto his back.

“So, so cool,” Tucker gushes, “I could probably take over the government in Amity with this kind of tech.”

Okay. Kind of a concerning statement to make, especially in the wake of Barbara’s suspicions of them.

Sam snorts. “You could take over the government in Amity now, if you wanted to.”

“Yeah, I could.”

“Not that you’d be good at it. What would you do as mayor?”

“Create a steak festival to celebrate steak and all the meals you can make with it.”

“Oh you little—” Sam lunges at them and Tucker falls back with a shriek. And then they’re tussling on the rooftop, arguing about meat and veganism and the farming industry, which, what a subject change.

Duke looks over at Danny, who watches them wrestle with fond exasperation. “Should we… stop them?”

“Let them get this out of their systems,” Danny replies. “They’ve been having this fight for years. I’ll stop them in a few minutes, and then we can go to the botanical gardens.”

So they stand together and watch Sam and Tucker roll around the roof, trying to choke each other out. And all Duke can think is, Man, I can’t ever let them meet the Bats. They’ll get along like a house on fire.

Or, it’s all he thinks until Danny shifts closer to him, just a few tentative steps. He’s suddenly starkly aware of how small the space between them is, how Danny’s close enough to touch, how much he’s been looking forward to this moment since Danny left a week ago.

Boy was giving you doe eyes the entire time he was with you, Jason had said. Duke saw it, when he was with Danny, reveled in it, basked in the attention. It wasn’t that he didn’t reciprocate, but he knows it can be hard to convey anything through his helmet, but there’s only so much action can do.

But it’s what he can do, so Duke shoves away his nerves and wraps his arm around Danny’s waist, pulling him closer.

Danny lets out a cute little squeak, cheeks filling with color immediately, and Duke is so, so endeared he wants to cry.

“So, what’s the story behind this fight of theirs?” he asks, leaning closer to ask his question quietly in Danny’s ear.

“Oh! Um,” Danny blinks at him, visibly flustered, and Duke wants to squeeze his cheeks together, he’s so cute.

Oh, he really is down bad. Damn. He hopes Barbara isn’t watching through his helmet camera, but he knows better than to expect her to not be collecting blackmail on him for this.

Which is whatever! Jokes on Barbara, he’s not at all ashamed of what he feels for Danny!

He could do without the ribbing from the rest of the Bats. They have no leg to stand on when it comes to relationships and being honest about their feelings. He’ll turn every conversation about Danny into improvised therapy if he has to.

“Well?” he prompts.

Danny glances at his friends, then leans into Duke and turns to him with a small smile.

“So,” he begins, then launches into a wild story from his freshman year about Sam and Tucker splitting the school into two groups to have a mini civil war over meat vs vegetarian food. Which lead to eating grass (?!) for lunch, a ghost lunch lady attacking the school, and the teachers having their own hidden meat lunch kept secret from the students, which lead to more chaos once it was discovered.

“That was a wild school week,” Danny concludes, just as Sam and Tucker’s fight winds down.

“Dude,” Duke says, staring at Danny, unsure if he wants to laugh or ask follow up questions. “What kind of life have you been living? That’s so much. The only thing we’ve got here is shootings and so much crime. Also a zombie in the sewers.”

“See, you drop info like that on me and suddenly I’m convinced that my life is actually pretty tame compared to whatever’s going on here.”

“No, no, listen. In Gotham, you expect this kind of nonsense. But your story started so deceptively normal! ‘Just a fight between friends’ and then a ghost attack? Betrayal from the teachers? Grass? Danny, everything you said left me reeling.”

“It’s not that bad!” Danny laughs. “The ghosts barely cause any problem anymore. They’re just kinda like anyone else, now.”

“What’s this about?” Sam asks, brushing her skirt off as she stands. Tucker pushes himself up to his feet and takes a moment to wipe the lenses of his glasses.

“The first time we met Lunch Lady.”

Sam and Tucker make a sound of understanding, nodding. “That sure was something,” Sam says.

“To think we were so young and innocent back then,” Tucker says with a fake sniffle. “So innocent!”

“You’re still as insufferable as ever,” Sam replies, taking his smack to her arm with grace.

“You two ready to head to the botanical garden now?” Duke asks, getting them back on track. Danny moves out of Duke’s grasp, unfortunately, to return to his role as their personal Uber, this time getting Tucker in a princess carry while Sam clings to his back like a koala.”Well. Guess Danny’s decided you’re ready.”

His friends snicker while Danny rolls his eyes and mutters about their unending arguments, then nods at Duke to lead the way.

Giving him a little salute, Duke readies his grapple, then takes off, leaping off the building to return to the skies. Danny follows him effortlessly, a soft glow that occasionally passes by in front of him playfully, sticking close as they head north.

The botanical gardens are a large spot of green in the otherwise urban landscape. It’s a few blocks away from Robinson Park, close enough that everything nearby is deemed Ivy’s territory, but far enough away that most people can pretend it’s like any other building and visit it safely. It’s been a long time since the botanical garden was attacked, or use for Villainous Purposes™, so Duke is comfortable letting Sam, Tucker, and Danny explore it on their own.

Plenty of other people are also in the gardens, from what he can see a roof away. And no one’s run away screaming, which is definitely a good sign.

“Oh, wow,” Sam says once she hops down from Danny’s back. She stares at the gardens with something unreadable in her eyes, as if she’s seeing more than what’s there. “There’s so much…”

“Poison Ivy—one of our rogues who can control plants and is doing a lot better these days, don’t worry—she takes care of most of the gardens. The greenhouse in the middle is hers for studies and experiments with plants, but she lets the public walk the garden. She’s even added little informational cards for kids to read so they can learn more,” Duke says, walking up to where Sam is leaning concerningly over the edge to get a better look at the gardens.

“That explains it,” she says, explaining nothing. “Do we have to pay to go in?”

“Just five dollars per person. It’s her income, and we’re all encouraged to leave a donation so she doesn’t turn to crimes to get enough money to support herself again.”

“Well!” Danny claps his hands together. “Let’s go, then. Jazz made sure we had cash on had, so it should be fine.”

“I can cover our tickets,” Sam offers, “Since this is for me.”

“Then I’ll cover lunch,” Danny says.

Tucker shoves his hand onto Danny’s face to push him away as he says, “No, I’ll pay for lunch. Danny, you’re not spending anything since you’re the one that scoped out this place last week for us. Got it?”

“Yeah, yeah, got it. Thanks, guys,” Danny smiles, then turns to Duke. “Would you mind waiting here for a bit? I’m gonna check out the gardens for a bit, but then I’ll be back.”

“Sure,” Duke says easily. It’s a quiet day anyways, and he’ll take any excuse to spend more time with Danny.

“Great. I’ll be right back!” And then he wraps an arm around both Sam and Tucker’s waits, picks them up like they weigh nothing, and casually hops off the roof.

Duke sits down on the edge of the building, watching as they cross the street and enter the botanical garden, Sam pulling out her wallet to pay for their entry. He idly kicks his heels against the wall, looking around the street, enjoying the rare Gotham peace.

No one is calling for help and Barbara hasn’t alerted him to anything. This is a good thing, but it doesn’t change the fact that Duke is bored.

He pulls out his phone, which he knows he shouldn’t have while he’s in the suit but it’s his day shift, he can do what he wants, and checks his friends (no Bats allowed) group chat and sees that Izzy is active. He opts to leave the chaos of the group chat to message her directly.

flashlight: hey izzy u know how we broke up

2(00)chains: oh boy. strong opening. but yes i am aware we broke up

flashlight: would u be mad if i started dating someone new or is it too soon?

2(00)chains: OMG DUKE??? WHO IS IT YOU NEED TO TELL ME RIGHT NOW

flashlight: izzy.

2(00)chains: babe u gotta give me something to work with so i can know if i should give u my blessing or not

2(00)chains: but also if u want to date and they make u happy, then yes u can date

flashlight: okay thanks!! wasn’t sure and didn’t know if it would be rude

2(00)chains: rude to date when ur single?? it would have been a problem if we were still together but that ship has sailed bby

2(00)chains: but duke PLSSSS i need deets. give me some tea… a girl is parched…

flashlight: lmao. so dramatic. but uuuuuuh

2(00)chains: little concerned by that pause there duke

flashlight: ok hes a meta

2(00)chains: ok strong start, u dont need to hide powers from him

flashlight: he’s not from gotham and doesnt live here so idk how well long distance would do

2(00)chains: duke. is this an online friend u’ve never met before.

flashlight: no!! i met him in person in gotham!! he’s just visiting!!!!

2(00)chains: ok ok go on

flashlight: uh

flashlight: he may only know me as the signal?

2(00)chains: DUKE.

2(00)chains: i understand the need to keep ur identity secret

2(00)chains: but PLS do not be a superhero love story cliche. im begging here. u didnt even keep it secret from me

flashlight: he may also not exist in this world (universe?)

2(00)chains: .

2(00)chains: u know i think u can make it work

2(00)chains: u have my blessing! if he says yes when u ask him out (which he better do 🔪) then i demand to meet him!!

flashlight: u got it izzy

flashlight: thanks!! u always got my back ☺️

He only has a faint prickle on the back of his neck to warn him of Danny’s approach, looking up through gut instinct only just to see Danny’s fuzzy glow fly up to him.

Danny pops into visibility a moment later, pouting. “I was hoping I could sneak up on you.”

“It’s gonna take more than that, babe,” he laughs. “I’m hard to sneak up on.” Bar that time Cass… and Bruce… and Tim… Dick, also… Jason, too…

Okay, so anyone who isn’t a Bat won’t be able to sneak up on him easily.

“Babe?” Danny repeats, his voice suddenly much higher. Duke freezes and takes a moment to curse his loose mouth; he and Izzy love pet names and still call each other terms of endearment even now when they’ve broken up. And since he was just talking to her, habit made him put his foot in his mouth.

“Yeah,” Duke says, committing to it, “Babe”

Danny makes a little whine in the back of his throat, face going red, and then his hides his face in his hands and floats up higher, curling his body up into a small ball. The movement reminds him of the videos he’s seen of astronauts in space, moving in lazy circles in zero gravity.

“Sorry,” he adds on, “I was texting a friend and we call each other things like that, so I just… slipped up. Didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“I’m not,” Danny mumbles.

“What?”

“I’m not uncomfortable.”

Duke smiles. “Alright. Wanna come down and join me, then?”

Danny continues hiding for a few moments longer, then reaches a hand down towards Duke. He doesn’t look at him, shyly turned away, still red in the cheeks.

How is he so sweet?

Duke has never met someone so cute, and full of light, and literally glowing. He never stood a chance.

He takes Danny’s hand, gently pulling him down to the roof, wrapping an arm around him once he’s sitting to make sure he doesn’t go floating away.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Oh, I was just… I really like hanging out with you and you’re super cool and I thought I should explain a few things about myself.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“I do,” Danny says, resolutely. “First, I’m not from here.”

Duke stares at him. “Yeah, I got that. Kinda obvious after we spoke for the first time.”

“No, I mean. Really not from here. From a different dimension.”

Oh. So Danny’s just casually walking the multiverse, apparently, and chose to return to Gotham to spend time with Duke. That’s honestly really flattering.

“Makes sense,” he says.

Now Danny’s staring at him, incredulously. “How does that make sense? Do you not have questions about what that means, or where I’m from, or how I got here?”

Duke shrugs. “Not really. Listen, there’s a lot of weird shit in Gotham. Like, a lot. Batman was lost in time once and presumed dead until Red Robin helped get him back. There’s incomprehensible magic and time travel and so many aliens, dude. This is not that out of the ordinary.”

“YOU HAVE ALIENS?” Danny shouts, then claps a hand over his mouth, eyes wide. And then, whispered, “You have aliens?!”

“Yeah, we have aliens. Some try to kill us and conquer Earth, some live here as superheroes.”

“No way,” Danny breathes. “Can I stay here forever? My dimension doesn’t have aliens. I really want to meet aliens.”

“If you stick around long enough, it’s kind of inevitable that you’ll get caught up in some crazy shit, and you’ll probably be able to meet Superman then. Or maybe Martian Manhunter, if he’s available.”

He watches Danny mouth Martian Manhunter in awe and is so charmed by him and his visible excitement about aliens. Most of this is just how he lives life, knowing all these impossible things are out there but have very little to do with him. It’s only mind blowing when he actually meets Superman and all, but that’s because meeting big heroes is like meeting celebrities and it never stops being cool.

“Wait, I’m getting distracted.” Danny shakes his head, then lightly claps his hands against his cheeks. “Okay, so. I’m from a different dimension. And Tucker has made a few phones that can work literally anywhere. But only to contact other phones he made for interdimensional communication. I had him make one for you so we could keep talking even when I go home, if you wanted.”

“I want it! I very much do want it.”

Danny grins. “Great! Perfect, okay.” He reaches into his own chest (?!) and pulls out a phone.

“Um.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I can use my insides like a pocket dimension for extra storage.”

Sure. This might as well happen. Duke takes the phone and looks it over; it looks like a large, square flip phone, but when it opens, the screen and keyboard are both touchscreens the glow a faint neon green. He opens up the contacts menu, finds Danny, and shoots him a quick text that consists only of a smiley face.

“Man, this is so cool,” Duke says. “Thanks for giving it to me! I really am glad I can talk to you some more.”

“I feel like I should be thanking you for giving me the time of day.”

Duke knocks his shoulder against Danny’s. “Come on, man, don’t say that. Anyone would be happy to spend time with you. Besides, I’m really not as cool as you think. I’m a normal guy outside the suit.”

“You still have powers.”

“I do, but I’m not the only one.”

“I know this is a bit of a bad question, and I do understand how important secret identities are! But do you think I’d ever get to know you when you’re just… you?”

Duke thinks about how much Batman would disapprove, the lengths Tim went through to protect his own identity as Red Robin, how everyone around him would become a target if anyone figured out who the Signal is…

But then he thinks about how much keeping this secret puts a strain on his relationship with his cousin, how much of a relief it is to have his friends in the know so he doesn’t have to constantly lie to them, how he’s the only hero Danny knows in this dimension and the only person who can help him while he’s here.

“I’ll tell you one day,” Duke says, “Promise. When we get to know each other a little more, yeah?”

“Yeah, alright, that’s fair. Thanks, Signal.”

“You need to get back to your friends?”

“Nah,” Danny shakes his head, “They can manage on their own. Besides, they agreed to one hour each place, and Tucker’s hungry enough to drag Sam out as soon as it hits that hour mark.”

“Well, in that case, why don’t you tell me a little more about your dimension while we wait? Or any other place you’ve visited.”

Danny grins, leaning closer, and says, “Have you ever met a yeti? Cause I have.” . . .

He doesn’t get to see Danny or his friends off when they return to their dimension. They’d been in the planetarium for hours, and Duke had to end patrol and turn in for the day to look over cases with Steph and Tim, then work on his college application.

He does get a text from Danny, his new phone going off with a soft sound of a wind chime, in the middle of looking at different colleges and stressing out.

Danny: got home safe! off to fight dinner now 🤺

Danny: wanna talk more tomorrow?

Signal: sure! i’d love to!! good luck with dinner?

There’s a brief pause, and then Danny sends a blurry picture of a rotisserie chicken flying through the air towards a woman with red hair, holding out a steak knife, ready to attack.

…Yeah, he’s going to question that tomorrow. For now, he just sends Danny a thumbs up emoji and goes back to staring at his list of potential schools he wants to go to with growing despair.

Does he want to stay in Gotham? Gotham City University isn’t all that bad, and he’s familiar with the campus. Or maybe Montclair State University. Rowan University and Rutgers University don’t sound bad either, and both are still in the state, so he wouldn’t be too far from Gotham. Maybe he could go to his parent’s alma matter; UCLA and Penn State are both out of state, though, and way more expensive, even if Bruce offered to cover his tuition.

What would he even study?

So lost in thought, Duke almost doesn’t realize that his regular phone is ringing until the noise cuts off. His head jerks up and he stares at it, wondering who could be calling him right after he finished eating dinner.

Then it rings again, Barbara’s name popping up on the screen, and he lunges for it, worried that something’s going down in Gotham without him noticing.

“Babs! Is something wrong?”

“No. Should something be wrong? I was calling because you didn’t check in with me before you ended patrol, and you haven’t been responding to any of my texts,” she says, sounding distracted as the sound of her keyboard continues on steadily in the background. She must be working as Oracle already, preparing to assist the Bats on their patrols.

“Oh, sorry. Everything’s fine, our visitors were from another dimension and they really were just here to sightsee. Nothing to worry about.”

“I saw that you got a gift.”

Duke understands exactly what she’s calling about, now. He should have expected Barbara to fall to the siren call of new tech. “I did,” he says, offering nothing else just to mess with her.

“Duke,” she says, “It’s a matter of safety.”

“Just admit that you want to check out interdimensional tech.”

Barbara sighs, then says, “I want to look at interdimensional tech. Come by the Clocktower tonight and drop it off.”

“I don’t know, Babs,” he says teasingly, “I think Tim might want a look at it first.”

“I should have never believed Dick when he said you were well behaved. ‘The good one’ my ass,” she grumbles. “What do you want?”

“A favor to be decided in the future. No questions asked expect what’s needed to get that favor done.”

“Deal.”

“I’ll swing by soon. Do you think you could help me with my college apps while I’m there? I have no idea what to do or where to go.”

“Sure,” Barbara agrees, her voice warm, “I’d love the chance to big sister you. Jason hogs you too much.”

He does, and Duke doesn’t really understand why Jason gets along so well with him, but he’s not going to question a good thing. Street kids gotta stick together, after all. Even if neither of them are living on the streets anymore.

It’s nice to know that the others are just as willing to help him out, even if he works separate from them most of the time these days.

“Oh, and the phone I got from Danny has contacts already added to it. Please don’t text Danny or anyone else without saying it’s you.”

“That sounds like you’re giving me permission to talk to me.”

“I figured you’d want to talk to Tucker some, since he’s the one who built it.”

“Well,” Barbara says, and he can hear the smile in her voice, “Thanks for the permission. I’ll be sure to get as much information as I can from him.”

“Please don’t ruin this for me.”

Barbara laughs. “Oh, don’t worry Duke. I know how to be nice, especially with people you’re trying to impress. It’s Dick you should be worried about.”

She’s right.

Duke drops his head onto his desk with a groan.

“I’ll see you later, Duke.”

“Yeah, alright. See you, Babs.”

She ends the call and Duke sighs, contemplating taking a nap before he heads out. But that would mess up his sleep schedule, and he’s willing to do a lot, but not that. Instead, he flicks through his phone to the group chat with his friends, and sends a quick question about when they can hang out again.

He’s missed them. Seeing Danny with Tucker and Sam reminded him of how much he loves his friends and spending time with them. He should take a page from Danny’s book and spend a day with them, just catching up and enjoying their company.

And if they tease him about his crush on Danny, well, better them than the Bats.

#ghostlights #duke thomas/danny fenton #dcxdp #dpxdc #dp x dc #dc x dp #dc x dp fic #dp x dc fic #my writing #its been months but the second chapter is here and the boys are even cuter than before!!#tbh i dont think ive ever written such a fast burn before #now to think of a name for this ghostlights series on ao3...

230 notes · View notes

xfgpng · 10 months

Text

“𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐤𝐞”

— : [nsfw ] fingering, unprotected sex, fluffy, getting together, squirting, pet names + best friends to lovers

— : wc : 3.5k

“you .. like him” kaori grins. she looks far too smug about this entire situation and it’s only making you angrier.

“i do not like him!” you snap, crossing your arms and turning towards the window of the café you frequented with your so called best friend.

“sure you don’t” kaori says, nodding solemnly and you know she’s mocking you again.

you wouldn’t even be having this conversation if it wasn’t for the fact that your high school crush turned annoying roommate had brought yet another one of his dates home.

they don’t have sex, it’s happened twice and you yelled at him for 3 hours straight because you had to study and the sounds kept you up right into the next morning.

the only issue now, is that the girls he brings over try to talk to you and ask too many questions about him. mattsukawa issei. they always fall for his laid back personality and that stupid smug smile he always has in place and it’s pointless because he never brings any of them back after the first time.

you’d feel sorry for them but you don’t. it’s not because you’re jealous because you’re not, he’s been your friend since your first year of high school and that’s it. you just don’t like having to deal with a new “girlfriend” every morning when you’re just trying to enjoy your morning tea and the soft, fluffy eggs issei always make for you.

“have you ever wondered why mattsun never settles?” she asks, reaching for her iced coffee and it’s ridiculous the way she insists on drinking cold drinks during the cold winters. you could barely feel your fingertips.

“no, i don’t think about mattsun’s love life” you say dryly, “as long as he pays his half of the rent and keeps making those fluffy scrambled eggs, i don’t need to know why he can’t keep it in his pants”

kaori laughs likes she knows something you don’t and if you weren’t in public, you’d jump over the table to ring her neck but you scoff, reaching for your own drink. something much warmer for the weather.

“i’m just saying” she shrugs, “maybe he already knows what he wants but he thinks it’s unrequited so he just wastes his time until he can eventually get over it”

“which seems impossible since he’s been pining since forever” she adds before you can tell her to shut up.

“i’m done having this conversation with you” you frown, “i can’t believe i paid for your coffee”

“you love me” kaori laughs and reaches to steal your half eaten muffin before you can snatch it from your plate.

you and issei have always been close. you would spend a lot of your free time with him and makki in and out of school and the three of you still did almost everything together.

when you got your apartment, you had been scared to live alone. it wasn’t that you couldn’t be independent or be on your own, you just didn’t think being so far away from the home you knew, all the way in tokyo, could settle your nerves.

he was the first person you spoke to about moving and it was around the same time he decided he liked the idea of staying in tokyo and moving on from your hometown and it’s how you two ended up living together.

makki still visited you both every other weekend and you’d often tease him about being a trust fund baby.

the problem was that you knew issei was good looking, he always had been but he grew into his looks the older you got and you hadn’t realised just how much until the first girl he brought home. you were a little taken aback but he insisted you meet her because he cared about your opinion more than he cared about anyone else’s.

and there was only so much you could say after the 4th girl so you’d purposely hide yourself in your own bedroom, grateful for getting a place that had 3 bathrooms. you rarely needed to sneak out unless you were hungry. it was a win-win situation for you but issei didn’t like that you were avoiding him so he’d bother you in your own bedroom despite having a guest over in his own and if you tried to lock it, he’d knock and make a noise until you inevitably gave in like you always did when it came to him.

of course you loved him and you knew that he loved you too. he was probably one of the most important people in your life and it’s why you would not acknowledge whatever feelings you had because it was easier than messing up years of a good, no, great friendship.

“maybe he’s doing it on purpose” kaori grins, after finishing your breakfast muffin.

“doing what on purpose?” you raise a brow, wishing the conversation about issei would just end. you both had a class after this but her mind was clearly focused on teasing you.

“you said it yourself, he’s not sleeping with them anymore” she smirks, “at least not in your apartment so why bring them over?”

“i don’t know kao, maybe he’s just bored” you shrug and even you know that’s bullshit. you were great company so if he really wanted to hangout, he’d bother you and makki.

“how do you know he’s not sleeping with them anyway?” she asks and even though you know she’s baiting you, you can’t help yourself.

“… well” you clear your throat, “he obviously knows what he’s doing..”

she grins, hiding her satisfied smile being her cup but you still see the glint in her eyes anyway.

“don’t start” you scoff, rolling your eyes, “i’ve heard enough things okay? let’s drop it”

“whatever you say sweetheart” she winks and you get up to leave before you end up in jail.

“you can’t leave without me!” she calls after you, “you’re my ride and my best friend in the whole world”

you ignore her as you walk towards your car. you’d never leave her despite how much she frustrates you but the thought is enticing.

the apartment is warm when you enter, the sound of his favourite playlist playing from the tv in the living room but the smell of food is always welcoming and you hold back a groan as you remove your shoes and place your bag on the couch nearby the door.

“oh, you’re early” he grins, “hi cutie”

you’re too tired to chastise him for the nickname. he’d just call you something else to get a rise out of you and your day had been long.

“yeah” you yawn, leaning your body against the door as you close your eyes for a moment. you really could use a hot bath or shower and a nap before dinner.

“aw my big baby” he coos, coming up to lift you up like he does when you’ve had a little too much to drink or when you fall asleep during movie night on the couch. you don’t even protest, hiding your face in the crook of his neck as he carries you to your bedroom.

“i need—”

“i know baby” he grins down at you, “i’ll run you a bath and then you can nap until dinner”

you hum, rubbing your hands over your face as you reach to put your phone on charge.

“need help undressing?” he teases and you kick his thigh, causing him to laugh as he walks into your bathroom.

you can’t help but frown at how domestic you both tend to be around each other. everything is so natural and you know you can be yourself around issei without the fear of judgement or rejection.

you’re starting to understand why your own relationships tend to fail before it gets too serious. you’ve been comparing everyone to him your whole life and it’s laughable.

“did you fall asleep?” he asks when he comes back to check on you.

“no” you roll your eyes but the way his face softens whenever he looks at you has your heart beating a little faster than normal. you could easily blame it on kaori getting into your head again, even if she was right.

“thank you” you say after a moment, “wasn’t it my turn to make dinner?”

“yeah but i got home early and i know you’re tired” he shrugs, “you can make it up to me when you’re doing your skincare routine”

“you just want to use my expensive products” you say but you can’t hide your smile even if you tried, “get out, i’m going to relax”

“don’t fall asleep in the bath” he warns and you glare up at him as you get closer to your bathroom door

“that was one time!” you frown. he also saw you very naked that day and you can’t get the image of the light dust of pink across his nose and cheeks. you knew he wasn’t celibate so him seeing you makes should’ve been normal but he blushed. you would’ve teased him then if you weren’t so embarrassed about the entire situation.

“enjoy your bath” he chuckles, leaning down to kiss your forehead before he’s walking back down the hall towards the kitchen and living room.

you try not to think about the way he always takes care of you like this. he always had and probably always would.

“do you want some wine?” he grins, leaning against the doorframe of your bathroom with your favourite wine.

“don’t you knock?” you frown but make grabby hands for the glass.

“you’re covered up with bubbles and besides, i’ve seen enough” he smirks and you glare at him.

“only because you’re a pervert” you add dryly, “thank you for the wine and making dinner”

“baby don’t thank me for the bare minimum” issei rolls his eyes, “you need to eat”

you don’t mention the fact that your shitty exes never cared this much for you. you didn’t exactly have the greatest track record with dating and you were starting to realise why.

baby

“okay get out” you pout, “i need to get done”

“need me to scrub your back?” he asks softly and even though he’s obviously teasing you, you know if you said yes he’d do it.

“you can” you grin and turn away from him as you take a sip from the wine. it tastes perfect like always and you bite back an appreciative moan.

“you’re so spoiled” he scoffs but he’s rolling up the sleeves of his favourite sweater and leans beside the bathtub to reach for your soap. it was his favourite scent of peaches and cream because it often reminded him of you.

“yeah yeah” you yawn, tilting your head sideways so he can get your neck too.

“no dates tonight?” you ask after a moment. he hasn’t really been staying out late like he usually does and you haven’t seen anyone new around lately.

“i enjoy nights in with you too you know?” he frowns

“i know” you grin, “i’m just messing with you”

he kisses your nape before standing to his full height. he doesn’t want to think about how much he wants to climb into the bath with you.

“get changed and i’ll dish everything up for us” he smiles, “i’ll top up your wine”

“sounds good” you stretch, still not facing him, “but i’ll have a soda or something because i don’t wanna get drunk off wine”

he laughs and shakes his head. he knew how much of a lightweight you were when it came to wine.

the evening blurred after you ate. you weren’t as sleepy as you thought you’d be and you finally had a day off to just rest anyway so you’d have the day to sleep.

“ready for dessert?” he asks and you laugh, leaning your head on the backrest of the couch, “what did you get?”

“you mentioned wanting cheesecake the other day” he shrugs, bringing over the tiny dessert with a spoon, “i saw that new bakery you wanted to try and got it on the way home”

“you’re husband material” you grin and he laughs

“you did say you’d marry me” issei smirks

“i was a kid!” you scoff, “don’t even try it”

he flicks your nose before joining you on the couch. you had two one seaters and a loveseat that was just big enough for three people since issei insisted on getting a bigger one when you first found your apartment.

it didn’t matter how much space you had in your apartment, you seemed to gravitate towards each other.

“should we watch something?” you asks as he places your legs over his lap and keeps his freehand on your knee.

he reaches for the tv remote as you get comfortable and you can’t help but watch him as he scrolls through all the tv shows you told him about. he’s pretty, despite being rough around the edges.

he’s always been so tall and well built and you often said that he had broad shoulders so you had a place to lean on when you had a particularly shitty day. his hands were big and despite their intimidating appearance, they were soft to the touch and he knew how to be gentle when he needed to be.

“what are you thinking about?” he grins when he catches you looking at him. you’re not that shy to look away when your eyes meet.

“you” you say because it’s the truth.

“yeah?” he tilts his head sideways, “what about me?”

“your hands” you shrug, “i just think they’re soft, that’s all”

“oh?” he chuckles and runs his hand up your sides until he reaches your jaw, “soft?”

you nod as he grazes your lower lip with his thumb. he’s closer than he’s ever been to you, with your legs thrown over his lap and he could kiss—

he cuts your train of thoughts as he leans in closer, your noses touching as he looks down at your lips.

“can i kiss you?” he asks

“please�� you say, already abandoning the cheesecake in favour of wrapping your arms around his neck to pull him closer.

his lips as as soft as you imagined them to be and you figured he’d be a good kisser but the way he gently kisses your lips before deepening the kiss is nothing like you imagined it would be.

it’s so much better and you can’t help the tiny moan when he wraps his hand gently around your neck to keep you in place.

“fuck” he whispers, pressing his forehead against yours, “i.. i’ve wanted to do that for a long time”

“why didn’t you?” you ask, just as breathless as he pulls you onto his lap.

“i would never want to ruin our friendship y/n” he says, “you know how much i love you, i can’t—”

“it’s okay” you shush him, kissing his forehead, “I wanted to kiss you too”

“so you do like me?” he grins and it makes you feel better knowing he would never try to make anything uncomfortable for you.

“you’re such a loser” you roll your eyes but your hands in his hair is too distracting and he really wants to kiss you again so he does.

“take me to bed” you say and he nods, lifting you up easily and carrying you down the hall to his bedroom.

you’ve been inside his room many times but never like this and you find that you’re not nervous about anything. all your thoughts are occupied with him and the way he kisses you and slowly removes your clothing.

he’s taking his time, mapping out the feeling of your body underneath his hands and the way you look laid out on his sheets, in his bed.

issei could never get over how beautiful you are and even if he’s seen you naked before, it was so different when you were like this and all for him.

he wants to tease you and take his time but he also knows that after your first kiss, there was no going back. he had to have you all the time.

for as long as you’d have him.

“spread your legs for me baby” he says as he removes his sweatpants and he smirks at the way your eyes travel down his bed down to his cock. he knows his hung and he’s never had a reason to feel insecure about his body but it felt more important what you felt about him than any of his one night stands.

he places his middle and index fingers in your mouth and instructs you to suck. he tries not to moan at how eager you are and how you moan for him as you maintain eye contact.

you were just too fucking perfect for him.

he kisses down your neck, sucking and biting the skin before he reaches down to your breasts and bites your nipple softly.

“issei” you whine, back arching into his touch.

he slides his fingers through your folds and groans appreciatively at how wet you are and it’s all for him, because of him.

“fuck baby, already?” he teases just to watch you try and grind against him. he keeps your body down as he slides his fingers into your pussy.

you’re so wet and warm and he kisses you to distract himself because he knows he needed to prep you properly. he would never hurt you on purpose, no matter how much he wanted to fuck you into his bed until you couldn’t walk.

“issei please” you gasp against his lips, “want you”

“and you’ll have me baby, just a little longer yeah?” he says softly adding a third finger just to watch your eyes roll back, loud moans filling the otherwise quiet room.

you was determined to make you cum first before he fucked you.

pressing his thumb against your clit, he watches your mouth drop open and body shake as you try to close your legs around his arm.

“shitshitshit” you cry out, grabbing onto his shoulder hard enough to hurt but he doesn’t mind. he wants to feel it tomorrow the same way you will.

he has condoms. he’s always been careful but when you grab his wrist and shake your head, he swears he almost cums then and there. he’s never fucked anyone raw but never in his life has he wanted to so badly as he does right now.

“shit baby, are you sure?” he asks and you nod, kissing the side of his jaw

“put it in” you whisper, “want you to cum inside me”

you were always the one to preach about safe sex but all that went out the door when it came to him. it wasn’t like you weren’t on the pill. you’ve thought about this moment enough times to know you wanted him to be your first.

you weren’t a virgin but you never let anyone fuck you unless they had a condom and sex never felt as good as it did in that moment. he was good with his fingers and hands but you needed him before you really did lose your mind.

“hurry issei” you beg so prettily for him, “fuck me”

he pushes into you slowly, wanting you to feel the way at he throbs and twitches and the way the vein on the underside of his cock brushed up against your gummy walls.

“you feel so fucking good” he groans, wrapping his hand around your neck. he squeezes just a little bit harder than before but it’s enough to have your eyes crossing.

your neighbours might file another noise complaint but issei was good at sweet talking his way out of things so you didn’t care too much.

“you feel how deep i am inside you baby?” he asks, pressing down your stomach with his free hand

“yeah” you nod, moaning louder when he fucks you deeper and harder.

the sound of skin slapping against skin only gets louder and the wet smack would embarrass you if you weren’t so fucked out already.

he knows you’re close, the way you squeeze around him. your body tenses up just before you’re cumming, squirting all over his abs and your own thighs.

“that’s it baby, give it to me” he grunts, holding you down as your body shakes. he’s not far behind, thrusting once, twice and then he’s cumming inside you.

it’s hot and warm and your legs squeeze around his waist tightly. he collapses forward but he’s careful not to crush you.

“jesus baby” he chuckles

“hm” you hum, wrapping your arms around his neck again but you’re too tired to move your body.

“give me 5 minutes and i’ll get you cleaned up again” he says, kissing your softly.

“i still want that cheesecake” you frown after a moment and he laughs, slapping your ass before getting up.

“like i said” he scoffs, “you’re spoiled!”

“yeah but you love me” you stretch, laying more comfortably on his pillows.

“yeah” he huffs and you can see the fondness in his eyes, “i do”

#[ 🪼 ] xfg writes #matsukawa issei #haikyuu mattsun #haikyuu matsukawa #matsukawa issei x you #matsukawa issei x reader #matsukawa issei x y/n #mattsun x y/n #mattsun x you #mattsun x reader #haikyuu mattsun smut #mattsun smut #matsukawa issei smut #haikyuu smut #hq smut #hq matsukawa #hq mattsun #hq mattsun smut #hq matsukawa issei

199 notes · View notes

burbur-49 · 4 months

Text

Scarred Love - Chapter Seven: Sun And Moon

a/n: finally got some motivation and finished it, enjoy <3

Word count: 1,516

Cw: Ghoap x f!reader, soulmates, talk about scars, tiny mention if kidnapping[in a joking way] (Tell me if I missed any)

Ch1, Ch2, Ch3, Ch4, Ch5, Ch6, Ch7, Ch8~ Masterlist

Soulmates. You have them. They’re yours. All yours. How is this real? The happiness flowing throughout your body has made you energetic. The boys have taken you to a café to celebrate. Your entire body is still except for your mind and your leg that won't stop bouncing with adrenaline. You still can’t believe it’s real.

Johnny must be able to feel how the adrenaline is pulsing throughout your body with the way his hand is placed on your knee. You can tell he’s feeling the same way by the giddy smile on his face. Simon gets up to get your drinks once they’re ready, and when he’s back, he places your latte in front of you and Johnny’s mocha frappé in front of the two of you.

“I don’t think the two of you need any more serotonin in your systems.” He says with a huff as he places his own drink down; Earl Grey tea.

“We’re jus’ happy, ye’ big oaf.” You laugh at Johnny’s words.

The three of you spend a bit talking about small, mundane things before the topic of family is brought up. Oh no, you forgot that you had to meet their families… And they have to meet yours. Your family isn’t a big fan of them. All your family knows (thinks) is that your soulmate(s) didn’t give two shits about you and caused you a bunch of pain. That’s half true, they didn’t care about you because they didn’t know you were hurting with them, they didn’t know you existed.

You can see it now; your mother red in the face, on verge of tears, a mix of joy and a mix of resentment, your father sitting on the couch acting like they don’t exist, keeping himself from yelling at them, your older sister looking at them with a look of jealousy and trying to figure out a way to steal them from you even though her soulmate is right next to her, the poor girl is so sweet, your younger brother wondering if the same will happen to him, but with two women, for the rest of the family; you can only imagine.

“Lass? Lass?” You’re pulled out of your train of thought by Johnny tapping your shoulder and calling for you. “Lass, you okay?”

“Yea… Just worried about the two of you meeting my family is all.” Johnny notices the truth behind your words by the sigh you let out and wraps an arm around you.

“Don’t worry Lass, me and Si can handle ourselves, right Si?”

“Right.” He huffs out.

You let out a sigh, “I believe you guys can handle yourselves, I do. It’s just that my family doesn’t exactly have… Nice opinions of the two of you…”

“Not nice opinions like how?” Simon says with a cocked eyebrow.

“Well…. They think you’re self-centered assholes who don’t give two shits about your soulmate and want to cause as much harm as possible to them.” The boys let out low whistles in response.

“Tha's no good…” Johnny mutters under his breath. “Could ye elaborate, Lass?”

You take in a deep breath, “I'm gonna say their hatred towards the two of you stem from the fact that not only was I born with a couple of scars, I continued getting small ones while I was little,” You hear Simon say something under his breath, you think he might've said “Curse that old bastard.”, “And between the ages of eight and now is when the scars and physical pain increased. I was badly bedridden for quite a bit.”

You can see the gears turning in both Johnny and Simon's head. What are they thinking about?

“Luvie, how old are you?”

You look at Simon as he speaks to you, realizing you've never told either of them your age, and vice versa.

“I'm twenty-one, why, how old are the two of you?” Your curiosity is peaked, how old are the two men you're supposed to spend the rest of forever with?

Johnny sighs, “I'm twenty-six and Si's thirty-one.”

“Oh, that’s not that bad, only a 5 and ten year difference.” You say with a giggle.

“Yer still a kid.” Simon huffs out, which you take offense to, “I am not a kid. I can drink, drive, smoke, and vote, thank you.” You say, the attitude heavily present in your voice.

“A kid can do all that with a fake ID.” He counters, “Yer brain won’t fully develop ‘til yer twenty-five.”

You dramatically gasp at his response. The audacity of this man, “Then by that logic, Johnny’s brain just recently fully developed.” You snap back.

“Johnny’s a doofus, but the horrors of war matured him.” Johnny takes playful offense to Simon calling him a ‘doofus’.

The horrors of war, you might not have seen them, but you sure as hell felt them. The proof is literally etched into your skin by the hundreds of scars that are littered all over your body. A large one on your ass cheek for god’s sake, the recovery for that one was hell; you were either constantly standing or laying on your stomach. You couldn’t sit for weeks. It’s debatable what’s worse; seeing and feeling what’s happening to your body as it’s happening, or not knowing what’s happening, just being in pain. You don’t know what horrors they’ve seen, what plagues their mind, memories, and even dreams.

You sigh, you’re not going to argue and be stubborn, as much as you want to, you know whatever counterargument they have could easily prove you wrong or start an argument. So, you decide to use pure fact against them.

“Actually, due to brain metabolism, a woman’s brain develops three years faster than a man’s. Meaning, by next year my brain will be fully developed, and you guys know what horrors caused your scars, I don’t. I don’t know why I have a bunch of ragged lines and bullet wounds littered throughout my body. This may seem like an excuse or guilt trip of sorts, but it’s not. It’s just facts.” You say with a sigh.

Johnny and Simon just look at you, and it dawns on them that you were ten when Simon was eighteen, fourteen when Price recruited him for Task Force 141. Nineteen, with terrible scars that only multiplied when you were sixteen and Johnny twenty-four, a year into his military work and being recruited to the 141. Your scars only got worse and more visible, but instead of detesting the two who had caused you so much harm, you had walked up to them and spoke to them so shyly, thinking they wouldn’t believe you.

The strange silence is interrupted by a call you get, it’s from Eve. Holy crap, you forgot to call her. It’s nearly three in the afternoon. You look at the boys.

“Hey, this is important, I gotta take this. Do you mind if I take it at the table?”

“Go ahead.” They say in unison.

You sigh and answer the call, not too sure how Eve’s going to react, “Hello?”

“Girl! Why haven’t you called or texted me? I’ve been worried you got kidnapped!” She fussed, “It wouldn’t be hard…. Those two are freaking huge…” She mutters under her breath.

“I haven’t been kidnapped.” You respond with what seems like a sigh mixed with a giggle, your response makes Johnny and Simon raise their eyebrows, “I’m actually a legal step below being married and have full citizenship in Great Britain now.” After you say this you instinctively pull the phone away from your ear expecting her to happily squeal.

“Oh my god! You’ve found your soulmates!” She squeals out loudly, just as you expected her to. You can hear all types of giggles and congratulations from your other friends that are in the room with her, “You have to send us a picture of them!” She happily suggests.

You look over to Simon and Johnny before asking them, “My friends want to see a picture of the two of you, could I take and send one?”

You get an affirmative gruff from Simon, “Only if ye set it as yer lock screen after.” Johnny says with a grin, which you take as a yes.

You quickly pull up your camera app and position the camera correctly, “Say cheese.” You ring out playfully. Johnny smiles, pearly whites on full display, and Simon does smile, you can’t see his mouth from under the black surgical mask he’s wearing, but you can see the way his eyes crinkle at the corners. You quickly take the picture and send it to your friend’s group chat.

The other line of the phone is silent for what seems like forever before you get a response, “Ho-ly Hell they are good-looking. They compliment each other so well, like the sun and the moon. You can be their Earth, their bringer of life.” Eve says with a giggle.

“Oh my god, ew. I’m hanging up.” You said with a giggle before hanging up the phone.

“So…. Kidnapping, pictures, and bringing life… Interesting topics…” Simon chides.

Taglist:

@under-the-dirt @littlebluespoon @actuallyhiswife @cassiecasluciluce @darling006 @cdej6 @whynotbad @kaoyamamegami @oooof-ifellforyou @aldis-nuts @fanngirl19 @zealouspursecowboydeputy

#ghoap x reader #ghost x soap #ghost x soap x reader #soap x reader #soap x fem reader #ghost x female reader #soulmates #Scarred Love

64 notes · View notes

tired-pigeon789 · 1 month

Text

A Deeper Understanding

(Astarion X Anemic GNreader)

Notes: this whole fic is based on MY OWN experience with anemia which happened with extreme blood loss and just general low iron. and is VERY self indulgent. I also don't think about Astarion romantically but if you read this fic that way go ahead. I don't blame ya lol. Tav is also gender neutral and not named, there no description of what Tav looks like aside from them at least having shoulder length hair. (I also didn't really re-read this lol so sorry for any mistakes)

word count: 1983

general warnings: lots of mentions of blood and blood loss.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was rough, the last encounter took a lot out of all of us and I’m feeling weak even after Shadowheart’s healing and the health potion. Even worse was the blood loss. Dreadful goblin gave me a deep slash and even though it’s patched I’m dizzy and lightheaded. A feeling I’ve grown used to but this is a new extreme. Personally I don’t feel the need to disclose my low iron. Just how often does one need to bring up such a thing? Well, one needs to bring it up when they are being healed I suppose. “If you knew you had this condition, why throw yourself at the main line of fire?” Shadowheart asks while taking my pulse. “I overestimated my abilities, yes, but at least they got me and not Astarion, he gave the final blow to the mage goblin.” I point out while I drink a hot tea while lean against one of support poles in shadowheart’s tent. She simply sighs as I feel her opinion change of me. “You’d be as good as dead if you don’t watch yourself. We already have enough going on.” I simply say ‘I know’ as I thank shadowheart for her help and rest up a bit before I go off and help the others set up camp for the night. We had found a cast iron pot and pan to cook with so at least I’ll be getting what I’m lacking from that. The stew Gale had made for everyone was wonderful and tasteful, and even though I had little to no appetite it helped and I started to feel more alert but sleep is still needed.

It was dark and late, the moon shines overhead and keeps my eyes closed. I feel weak after everything I’ve been through today but I’m just happy to have a bedroll to lay in. I just can’t sleep. In, out, in, out melt away stress. Breathe in, breathe out. I think this to myself as I try to sleep. I feel as relaxed as I can be but I just can’t slip away into the blissful void of sleep. First the blood loss and now the loss of sleep. There’s simply no winning today it seems. Sighing I open my eyes and gasp as I see Astarion hover over me, Fangs bare, a vampire. Quickly I prop myself up and try to steady myself despite the lightheadness and the massive headache.

“Shit.” He says as he backs away while I prop myself up on my elbows while I glare at the man “No No- It’s not what it looks like I swear.” “What the hell Astarion!” Glaring at the pale elf I see him look down at me. “I wasn’t going to hurt you I swear, I just needed some blood.” Getting at better at him I see now for what he is. “A vampire, honestly I'm kicking myself for not seeing it sooner.” I say as I try to keep my distance from him. “I’m not some monster,” he says in a desperate voice as he try to find the words to defend himself. “I only drink from animals, Boars, dear... Kobolds, whatever I can get, it’s just, after everything I’m too slow to go out and hunt.” “And you thought the best way to deal with that was to get a drink from me?” Astarion looks taken a back but sighs. “I just need a little blood, so that I may think clearer, and fight better. Just a taste, please.” The way he said please made me hold my breath for a moment. Probably because I know that feeling well. That lightheadedness, the faint lights that plagued my eyes when I walk the need to hold on to anything. It’s helpless feeling, one that I didn’t expect to share with a vampire.

“So if you drink my blood, you’ll be stronger?” I ask as I try to calm down and think more pragmatically about this offer. “It would benefit us all, but if not I could just hunt a bear or boar out in the woods.” Astaron says plainly. If I do this he’ll be better in combat, but I’m already weak as it is if I don’t sleep or eat something bloody myself. I know what he says is true, it’s basic logic when it comes to vampires. And deep down inside me I feel that understanding, maybe it’s one sided trust but I know if I had a way to rid of this feeling this hunger myself I would. At the end of it I sigh and nod. “Ok, I’ll let you do this, but you have to promise to stop when you have your fill and, you have to keep an eye on me.” Astaron smirks as he kneels in front of me with a look in his eye saying ‘I can’t believe I’m getting away with this.’ And frankly I can’t believe it either. "I promise you have my word. You can trust me” He says.

Laying back down Astarion hovers over me as he pushes my hair to the side, pulls down the collar of my shirt in a less obvious place to hide whatever mark would come of this, and takes a bite at my shoulder. Hissing in pain I take a deep breath and my hand holds onto his bicep as he drinks from me. The pain melts after a minute but the lightheadedness that I’m used to now feels even more nauseating and I start to push on Astarions shoulder to get him to stop. He stops thankfully but his face doesn’t leave the crook of my neck just yet. I’m shaking and running colder than usual, my breath is faint and I lay my head firmly on the thin pillow underneath. “Your blood, it’s faint. Are you anemic?” I nod as I try to control my breathing. “I know it isn’t a lot, but I don’t think anyone else in our party would’ve let you drink from them.” I say softly as I close my eyes as tiredness finally creeps up on me. “And I’d rather it had been me you drank from than some poor stranger.” “You’re going to be in a long sleep after this, you have nothing to gain from what you just did.” He says as he finally pulls away and looks down on me. “I couldn’t sleep anyway. And you got stronger right? At least a little bit? Surely it’s enough to cover for me tomorrow.” I jest a bit as I continue to shake a bit and cover myself with a blanket.

“I won’t drink from you again, your blood is very watery.” “Thank you?” I say weakly as I hear Astarion sit himself down next to me. “It’s not a compliment. You need to do something about that.” “Believe me I know. However last I checked I’m not in my cozy apartment in Baldur's Gate, where all my medicine is. I hate feeling like this.” opening my eyes I look over at Astarion as he just simply looks into the fire in front of us keeping us warm. “Be honest, with me” Astarion starts while he keeps his gaze on the fire, “If you knew you had this condition, why did you let me drink from you?” I think again for a moment before I speak. “Because I know what it feels to be weak from blood, It’s a weird craving and I know it horrible, maybe not in the same way as you but I can make a good guess. I’ll be fine, I’ve like this before.” I can’t move much, my whole body aches and my breathe is shallow as I feel the need to stay awake, it’s not really a fear of death from the Astarion bite but just unease and general paranoia. “Did my blood even do anything for you?” I ask. “Some what, I just didn’t expect the weak taste.” I just let out a small chuckle. “Talking about my blood like one would talk about wine, funny.” “how long had you know about your condtion?” my breath evens out but I still shiver under the blanket as I think about the question. “About a few years now, I figured it wasn’t normal to feel faint everyday.” Astarion hums in understanding as he sits next to me. “I’m surprised you’re still next to me if I can be frank.” I say softly as I look up at Astarion. “Can’t let the others think I killed you in your sleep now can I.” he pauses for a moment before he continues, “I also feel like we’re kindred spirits now in way” “you’re very funny.”

After a moment of silence between us, Astarion speaks up “you ought to sleep, there will be plenty to do when day comes.” I just hum softly while I cover my eyes with my arm “I doubt I’ll be of much use. You guys are going to need to do whatever is needed in my place.” “how long do think you’ll be out?” He asks with some surface level concern. I know he only cares enough about me to make sure I get the tadpoles removed, to how I just became the leader of this strange group I do not know but can understand why Astarion would ask that. I would too if I was him. Sluggishly I pull my arm away from eyes and see Astarion look down at me with slight concern but the arch and furrow brow of his gives away that he really doesn’t want to be next to me. Maybe it’s out of pity or guilt, or perhaps he just want’s to go hunt to get his fill. “I don’t know, but I know I can’t do much of anything tomorrow, I’ll be fine in case you were worried.” I say softly as the sweet void of sleep came creeping up on me, however I felt just as scared as I did when I first woke up in the Nautiloid. I know I won’t die in my sleep. I know I won’t. But the paranoia doesn’t leave me. I need to stay awake.

Struggling to keep my eyes open Astarion brings his hand over my eyes to close them “Sleep. like I said, I don’t want the rest of the camp thinking I killed you.” “How kind, but you would have though, Had I not woken up.” I say absent mildly. Astarion doesn’t say anything for a minute, not a ‘I would never!’ or a ‘yes I would.’ which in a way is enough of answer to me. I didn’t like that I was right. I feel the fire dies down a bit and I hear him shift the logs and the warmth comes back. “You’re not dead though, so lets not dwell on that.” he says. Almost like a child saying ‘you should be happy that worse case scenario didn’t just happen so you can’t be mad’ the idea almost makes me laugh. “You can still drink from me, only when I’m well of course and you can’t find anything else. I want you at your best.” “Even with your condition and finding out my secret you’d still let me drink from you? You must really not care about your life.” Sleep feels closer as I drift off while trying to the words to say something in response. “I’ll take my chances, I’d rather die bloodless than become a squid. But I’ve also grown to trust you a bit, Despite everything.” “Questionable logic at best my dear.” he chuckles which in turn makes me smile a bit. “Well I’m not in the best state of mind. But I don’t think it will change.” I sigh. “Sleep, I won’t leave-” before Astarion could finish his sentence my mind fades and I do in fact, finally sleep.

@half-poison-and-half-hope Just for you

#mick says shit #astarion x reader #buldars gate 3 #bg3 astarion #astarion ancunin #kinda angsty #astarion and tav

38 notes · View notes

everlastlady · 11 months

Text

Stolas X Fem Reader: One Sided Love

┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅༻☕༺┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

☕Author's Note: Hello! My little imps, demonic sinners, & powerful overlords. Welcome back! Here is another story. I finally have some Stolas content for yall I changed a bit of things so in this one Stolas doesn't have an affair with Blitz but they are still good friends from childhood. I'm not really a big fan of Stolas but I do find his character interesting. In my opinion he is a good father, not the best but he tries and that's all a parent can do is try. I also disagree that it's Stolas's fault that Via doesn't know any spells because he is probably waiting for the proper moment to teach her and wanted her to try and have a normal life and childhood before she has to take on responsibilities. Which he did try to give her a normal life. But sadly with how her mother is and the her father's affair its a yikes. Either way Stolas is an ok character not the worst but not the best.

☕Word Count: 3311

☕Story Contains: Violence.

☕Fandom: Helluva Boss

☕Requested By: @oyasumimosura

┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅༻☕༺┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅

“ (Y/N)! (Y/N)! “ You snapped out of your thoughts and looked at Stolas who was calling your name. Your giddy owl friend smiled at She spaced out when I talk about the stars. How rude. “ Stolas playfully said. You giggled and looked at Stolas. “ Sorry, just thinking about your wedding. “ You softly said and looked away. Stolas sighed and frowned. “ That thing. I went to meet my soon-to-be bride today. And she just looked at me and then at her parents. She had a pure look of disgust on her face, she told her parents did she really have to marry that thing, I was the thing. “ Stolas’s held his grimoire book to his chest and looked away. You dug your nails into the palm of your hand. If you were there, you have beat that bird. “ Hey, she should be lucky to be marrying a great guy like you, you are so full of life, knowledgeable about a lot of things, and you have a lovely singing voice. “ You said, trying your hardest not to blush. Stolas chuckled, your words seemed to cheer him up, “ Thank you (Y/N), I’m just glad when you get married. That I hope you get to marry someone you actually love. This is just an arranged marriage, that I can’t break away from, or else I’ll be a disappointment to my family. “ Stolas said, trying his best not to look sad while he held a smile. You didn’t really approve of Stolas’s marriage one because you loved him and two you knew the damage it would cause because this was only so they could create a child. This made you sick to your stomach. Stolas stood up and helped you up. “ But I’ll try to make it work. That is all I can do, maybe Stella will eventually love me and I’ll eventually love her. “ Stolas smiled. “ And when we do have a kid, you’ll be an aunt. “ Stolas laughed his little hoot laughter, which always made you smile. “ Yeah, that is true. “ She said trying to be happy. Stolas placed his hand on your cheek. “ You’ll always be a special person to me. “ Stolas said, the both of you smiling and staring at each other under the stars.

Years go by and you stood in the corner drinking wine. You could hear Stella’s laughter while she talked with her friends. “ (Y/N) darling, why don’t you join us. “ Stella said. “ I’m good probably going to go eat. “ You walked off hearing the laughter of Stella and her friends. The wedding had become too much and you decided to leave. You weren’t going to cry, you came here for support and gave your support. “ (Y/N) where are you going? “ You turned around to see Stolas. He looked so handsome in his suit. You wished that you were the one up on that altar but those thoughts made you feel selfish. You looked at Stolas and forced a smile. “ Shit sorry Stolas, I’m not feeling too well, I think I’m going to head home to rest. “ Stolas walked up and placed his hand on your forehead and cheek as you started to blush. “ You do feel warm. I’ll send you some teas and medicine tomorrow, do feel better, and thank you for coming. “ Stolas smiled at you and walked away going back to his wedding. You got into the limo and were driven home. When you got back home you sat down on the couch and began to sob. You fell on your side on the couch while hugging the cushion and crying. How your heart ached and you felt like you were choking on pieces of your heart. You had to accept that your friend was married and you should let go of these childhood feelings, but you knew one thing no one could measure up to Stolas.

You didn’t marry which your parents were fine with. They didn’t like people who tried to marry. Though sometimes they would make you go on dates. But these dates were with assholes, money hunger people, or snobs. That you stopped going on them. You were there for Stella’s baby shower but every time you went to go see Stolas he always looked depressed or mentally exhausted. When you tried to ask him what was wrong, he would tell you that everything is fine and that he was just dealing with royal manners. You knew that wasn’t right and but you didn’t pressure him into talking. When Octavia was born, Stolas right you were an amazing aunt. When Stolas was busy and Stella didn’t want to bother with little Via. You were there for the little hybrid bird child, she was your everything and you spoiled her a lot. You were like a fun weird aunt. You taught Via how to make crystal necklaces, taught her how to jump rope, and you always let her know how much you loved her. It made Stolas happy to see you and Via get along, but he wished Stella would get along with Via like that. But whenever he talked to Stella about spending time with Via or suggesting they all do something together as a family. She would sigh and act like it was a task or a punishment. You finally started to see why Stolas was upset and looked drained. At any party he and Stella held. She would always shit-talk Stolas and her friends would laugh along. And Stolas wouldn’t say anything he would eat and drink his problems away.

You held your tongue because you didn’t want to make things worse. You followed behind Stolas when you saw him walk away with the green bottle of alcohol. He walked into his office and sat down to drink. He laid his head on the desk and closed his eyes. He kept telling himself to do this for Via, over and over again. “ Stolas. “ He looked to see you. He quickly sat up and wipes his mouth. “ (Y-Y/N), I didn’t hear you come in. “ He let out a nervous chuckle. He watched as you walked over and gave him a serious look. “ Stolas please tell me what’s wrong. I know everything isn’t alright with you and Stella. I know you said and you hoped things will work out, but she doesn’t love, she is a bitch and she does not deserve - “ but you were cut off by Stolas yelling. “ (Y/N) enough! “ You stared at Stolas as his red eyes glared at you. “ You don’t know anything about Stella, she is my wife and you will not speak to her like that, you are my friend but please stop…. Just stop. “ You stared at Stolas and felt your heartache. But soon that heartache became anger. “ Fine…. Have fun with your marriage. “ You said looking away. “ I think you should leave… “ Stolas said and looked away. “ You don’t need to think. I was already going, bye Stolas. “ You stood up and left. Stolas watched the door slam and looked away. He didn’t understand why you cared, he knew you were his friends. But why would you care about his marriage. He sat down feeling bad that he had yelled at you.

You still came by but not for Stolas. You would take Octavia out for lunch. But you noticed her parents’ marriage had affected her. Apparently, she hasn’t learned any spells, and whenever she wakes up or even goes to bed the last thing she would hear was her parents yelling and her mother throwing things. This upset you and you offered Via to spend the night at your place. Which she gladly accepted, you were helping Via pack when Stolas stepped in the room. “ Via hun where are you going? “ He asked watching her pack her things. “ I’m going to go stay with aunt (Y/N) for a while if that’s okay. I know you and Mum have some things you need to work through. “ She grabbed her bags and walked off. Stolas looked at you and looked upset but also made. “ Did you tell her about me and Stella? “ He asked glaring. You glared back, how dare he assumed you were the one that upset Via. “ No! Of course not, she is almost eighteen years old Stolas, she is almost an adult she is going to notice these she probably has when she was a child, but unlike you, she knows when a marriage isn’t working! “. You said while breathing heavily. Stolas looked shocked but the next words that fell out his mouth broke you. “ Just because you are married and unhappy, doesn’t mean you can judge mine! “ Stolas said in your face. But his eyes widened when he saw the tears and realized what he said. “ (Y-Y/N), I’m sorry. “ He said trying to reach his hand out. But you stepped back and walked away, not saying anything else.

That night Stolas kept trying to call you and message you. But you ignored it, Via would tell her dad that you weren’t home when he called her but you were and you could hear him tell Via to tell you that he is sorry. You sat there eating pizza with Via as the girl reached out and placed a hand on your shoulder, she smiled at you and smiled back. The next few days, you could see that Via was sleeping peacefully and this made you happy. All you wanted for your niece was for her to be happy and have a normal life. And you knew Stolas was trying to do that but he was going about it in a wrong way. But you also knew he couldn’t divorce Stella and as much as you wanted him to do it. You felt selfish because you felt like you weren’t thinking of a normal life for Via but your own happiness. After a week you were out at a coffee shop. You stood in line and ordered your drink and sat down at the table, drinking and scrolling through your phone. You heard someone clear their throat and looked up to see Stolas. You were about to get up until Stolas spoke. “ (Y/N) wait! You have every right to be mad at me. What I said to you was cruel and I regret what I said to you, even when we were in my office. But please I have something to tell you, I won’t force you to listen but you can also leave once I’m done. “ He said staring at you with those soft red eyes, the same eyes from when you were children. “ Fine, Stolas. “ You sat down and Stolas took a seat after he got himself a latte. “ I’m divorcing Stella…. I got tired of her insults not only did I see it was affecting my mental health but Via as well. I wanted a normal life for her by forcing this idea that I and Stella are in a loving marriage. But I realized it's not, and I hurt her and I hurt you. “ He stared down at his cup of coffee and sighed.

“ I’m guessing she didn’t take it well? “ You asked and reached out placing your hand on top of Stolas’s hand. He looked at you and sighed again. “ She almost hit me but I grabbed her hand and stood up for myself. She tried to threaten me with her brother. You shook your head, you always hated Andrealphus that ice bird was someone who tried to convince you to marry him but you turned him down, he didn’t like that but you didn’t care. “ She said I’ll pay but I don't care I just want a normal life for me and Via. I don’t care what my family will think, besides they only cared about one thing and she is about to be eighteen. “ You listened to Stolas while drinking your coffee. “ I’m proud of you and I accept your apology. “ You said. Both you and Stolas stood up and hugged each other. You and Stolas sat back down talking, he was glad to hear Via was smiling and laughing more that she was sleeping well. Once Stolas left, your driver was taking you home but you couldn’t stop thinking about what Stolas said and how Stella told him that he would pay. But you knew Stolas would be alright. You came home and told Via that you and her father made up but you didn’t tell her about the divorce since that was up to Stolas to tell her. You and Stolas had been cool since talking at the coffee shop. But the tension between him and Stela was hotter than Lucifer’s hot sauce that sometimes whenever you were over to check on Stolas. Stella would ask who do you think is in the wrong. You either change the subject or leave.

You were out shopping when you saw someone riding up on a horse towards a shop. You quickly got out of the way and looked inside seeing the person reveal themself. The person was a tall imp hybrid who pulled out his gun and you watched to see him shoot at Stolas. “ Stolas! “ You watched Stolas look at Stella who was grinning with an evil smile. Stolas used his ability to run off. “ Hello (Y/N), don’t you look pretty ~, “ Andrealphus said. You rolled your eyes and ran to see where Stolas went. You jumped back again and saw a horse shooting off with Stolas on the back. You glared so this was Stella’s plan or was Stella and Andrealphus both in on it. You shook your head, you weren’t going to some cowboy jackass hurt Stella. You looked at the wall and saw the wanted poster, you saw the face of the kidnapper. “ Striker wanted in Wrath… “ You nodded and walked. “ I guess, I’m going to Wrath. “ You did what you could to make it to Wrath and along the way you met two Imps named Millie and Moxxie who were also on their way to save Stolas. “ I’m also going there to save my friend. “ You said. Millie handed you a knife. “ Then you can ride with me and Mox. Our boss isn’t with us because he has things to do but we’ll help you. “ Millie said getting into the front seat. “ Yeah me and Millie have a score to settle with that asshole who kidnapped Stolas. “ Moxxie said and drove quickly. You found out this wasn’t Striker’s first time trying to kill Stolas and that he tried to kill Stolas when he went to the Harvest Moon festival. “ So Stella has been trying to kill Stolas for a while. “ Your nails dig into the seat almost leaving claw marks. “ That swan bitch is going to pay... “ You growled. “ So how do you know Stolas, hon? You seem to care a lot about him. “ Millie said looking at you. “ Me and Stolas are childhood friends, how do you guys know Stolas? “You asked. “ He lets our boss Blitz, use the book to help us get to the human world to kill people. They also knew each other when they were kids and since then I guess they have been good friends, I’m not too sure about everything hon. “ Millie said. “ Buckle up ladies. “ Moxxie said. You put on the seat belt but Millie had no need for it.

Crashing through Striker’s hideout the door quickly swung open as the imps began their attack. You ripped off your seatbelt and ran towards Stolas, you gasped as tears slide down your face and you saw Stolas looking injured and messed up. You fell to your knees and carefully hold Stolas’s head in your lap. “ Stolas, I’m here don’t worry I’m here. “ You said. Stolas open his eyes a bit to stare at you. “ (Y-Y/N) what are you doing here!? “ Stolas winced in pain. “ I’m here to save you but don’t move, we’ll get you out of here. “ You said staring at Stolas who smiled but he saw Striker coming up to you. “ (Y/N) behind you! “ You turned around as Striker raised and smack you, and you fell over. You looked at Striker and chuckled. “ Came to save your pretty little birdy friend didn’t ya darlin'? But I’m not going to let you and the vermin walk away with that rich asshole. “ Striker tried to stomp on you but you rolled out of the way and pulled out the knife Millie had given you. You didn’t know how to fight but you sure as hell wasn’t going to let this dick kill Stolas. Striker was able to get a couple of hits on you and tried to corner you. But you swung the knife slicing his hand. He hissed in pain and moved quickly behind and bent your hand behind your back making you drop the knife. He pinned you to the ground and broke your arm, you screamed out in pain. “ Let her go! She has nothing to do with what you and my wife have planned for me! “ Stolas said. This made Striker grin he knew that Stolas loved his daughter but now he was connecting the dots. You sure as hell didn’t work for I.M.P yet you came to save Stolas and then he was seeing how Stolas looked at you it clicked. “ You must have a sweet spot for her. Good thing your wife said to keep you alive. But she said nothing about this one. “ Striker grabbed the knife you dropped and stabbed you in the back a couple of times as you screamed out. He stood up raising his foot. And looked at Stolas who was screaming for him to stop. “ Oops, my foot slipped. “ With that, a large crack would be heard as Striker broke your leg. The pain that you were in caused you to let out a quiet sound and you passed out.

Stolas watched as Striker was about to raise his gun to shoot while looking at him. But Moxxie used Striker’s lasso to pull him and when Striker tried choking Moxxie. He let go in disgust, he looked up trying to run seeing his statue almost fall on him. And before anyone knew it Striker was gone. Moxie limps over to see you knocked out and Millie saw Stolas passed out both of you losing a lot of blood. “ oh crumbs, we need to get them to a hospital. “ Moxxie said. Millie and he both carefully took you both into the van. And drove to the hospital. Stolas had woken up a bit during the ride to see your unconscious frame laying next to him. He reached out to hold your hand. When arriving at the hospital there were news reporters. But the plague doctors were able to take you both inside. Stolas begged the doctors not to separate you both. You and him both sharing a hospital room. Stolas looked over to see still passed out. Just like him, with a broken arm and leg. He still wondered why you would almost risk your life to save him, he thought about all the memories you had from talking about his arranged marriage when you were teens, to the wedding, the fights, and…. It clicked it finally clicked. He felt so stupid for not noticing, that you loved him, Stolas wanted to cry because almost lost you. Maybe deep down he was feeling the same way knowing now how much you’ll go through to see him and Via happy. “ I promise you when this is all over, we’re going to have the most grand wedding. That I will protect you like you protected me. You’ll always be a special person to me and you still are. “ Stolas closed his eyes to rest, and he did keep that promise.

#helluva boss #hazbin hotel #helluva stolas #helluva stolas x reader #stolas x reader #helluva x reader #helluva stella #helluva octavia #helluva andrealphus #helluva moxxie #helluva millie #helluva striker #writerscorner #writeblr #writing #writers on tumblr #my writing #request ☕📖

150 notes · View notes

honest-moth-of-silver-grove · 3 months

Note

Hello! I was wondering if you could please write up a BG3 headcanon request involving Halsin, Wyll, Astarion and Gale? How would they react to/take care of their Tav who has an alcohol or drug addiction?

A/N: Aw, man, do I feel this ask. Sometimes I like to joke that I come from a long line of alcoholics, because, well, I do. But it’s usually me trying to put some levity into serious family discussions. I don’t think a lot of people understand that addiction is a physiological illness: it’s a full-body response, not a case of “mind over matter” as some people like to say. There’s such a stigma and it sucks because research shows that when we respond kindly, and not with punishment or ostracization, that’s when addicts have a higher chance of recovery. So know that while I am no expert on addiction, I did try my best to be respectful and accurate. I hope you enjoy!

TW: Addiction, Alcoholism

BG3 Male Companions Taking Care of Tav Who Battles Alcoholism/Addiction

Astarion:

In a way, Astarion is kind of an addict himself. He’s a vampire, spawn, or ascendant, he needs blood for energy. He can go for extended times without it, but those times have been tortuous and caused lasting mental and emotional damage. That eternal need hanging over his head coupled with the impact of Cazador’s abuse has permanently re-wired his brain. Astarion doesn’t react like the average elf, he can’t, not anymore.

So when it comes to altered brain chemistry, Astarion’s certainly no stranger. Although his addiction lies more within the supernatural, he can use his own experience to relate to Tav’s more pedestrian affliction.

Astarion won’t ever outright deny Tav something. If Tav asks for a drink or a drug, Asation won’t take it upon himself to literally hold Tav down as a means of keeping them from consuming it. Astarion knows that method won’t work in the long run, and would most likely only result in Tav resenting him, and he can’t have that.

Astarion will make a face or two, however, his expression switches from concerned to slightly judgemental depending on the context. He wants Tav to be aware of his opinion, but he doesn't want to smother them. Tav’s not a child, Astarion isn’t responsible for them.

Still, thanks to his concern, I do think Astarion would confront them about it. He’d need to speak to Tav to hear for himself precisely what's going on. If Tav is still in their denial phase, Astarion tries hard to get them out of it. There’s no use trying to help someone who refuses to acknowledge they have an issue. Astarion knows, so he understands the shame that comes with it. But he reminds Tav he did eventually come clean about being a vampire, and about his past with Cazador, so now it’s Tav’s turn to do the same.

Once Tav is open about their struggles, Astarion makes a point to check in with them throughout the day. He’ll nonchalantly provide Tav with alternatives to drink: water or tea, things that aren’t ale, and wine. He’ll be subtle about it though. Astarion will never act as if he’s going out of his way to do Tav a favor. No, it’s not like that, he swears! It just so happens Gale was asking for tea and Astarion thought he’d go make him some seeing as how sad and pathetic the wizards had been acting over losing his goddess, and Astarion thought, well, perhaps Tav would like some as well.

The most difficult part for Astarion is witnessing Tav endure withdrawal. It’s a horrible, painful process. If Astarion didn’t know any better, he’d say the whole thing looked a lot like being killed and then brought back from the dead. He still remembers the way his body ached and burned and hungered upon Cazador turning him into a vampire. It may have been two hundred years but nothing could ever make him forget that pain. It’s why Astarion wishes, more than anything, that he could alleviate such agony for Tav.

If Astarion remains a spawn, there’s nothing he can do but hold Tav close, dab their forehead with a cool cloth, and whisper soft words of comfort into their ear. ‘You will be alright, darling. Even this will pass.’

If Astarion has become a vampire ascendant, however, he can make Tav a vampire, if that is something Tav chooses. This isn’t a magic fix, however. While there’s a possibility Tav may no longer have the addictions they did as a vampire that they did as a human, there’s no guarantee that hunger will not carry over. Should it carry over, Tav would then be forced to be content with those previous addictions in addition to their newfound bloodlust. It’s a risk. But even if there’s a small chance it could work, Astarion proposes the idea to Tav. Ascendant Astarion would still find it preferable for Tav to be an addict as a spawn, as it makes it incredibly easy for him to control Tav’s actions. Sure, they may still be addicted, but without Astarion’s permission, they can’t take what they want when they want. It would create tension and a fair degree of hostility between the two. But Astarion the Vampire Ascendent believes an angry, vampire-spawn Tav to be superior to a happy dead one.

And of course, no matter whether he’s a spawn or ascended Astarion makes a point that despite Tav’s addiction, he’s not going anywhere. If Tav falls off the wagon again, or if they’re not ready to try and face their addiction right now, Astarion will remain at their side, waiting for the day they’re ready to try again. ‘I’m not going anywhere my love. I can promise you that.’

Gale:

Gale’s first response, of course, is to try and determine a way to solve this problem via magical means. Now as a wizard, he doesn’t have access to the kinds of healing spells druids and clerics have. But, he does a fair amount of arcane knowledge about enchantments, and curses. And well, what is addiction if not a natural, biological enchantment? Gale considers himself fairly rounded on the subject of human biology as well, so Tav is in for a bit of an earful if and when they first admit their affliction to him.

Gale may not have experience with the kinds of addiction Tav is, but thanks to his experiments with Weave, and now having been cursed with the orb, Gale knows the urgency of living under a constant ticking clock. If he cannot consume the magic from magical artifacts, if the orb is not sated with bits of the Weave on occasion, he risks blowing up everyone for miles.

In some ways, this makes Gale’s “addiction” all the more dangerous. It doesn’t merely affect his own body and the relationships with his loved ones, but it jeopardizes almost every other living person within Baldur’s Gate. Of course, Gale would never say this. And while he may think such a self-pitying thought, he dare not share it with Tav. The last thing Gale wants to do is make Tav’s very real problem seem inconsequential because it most certainly is not!

Instead, Gale offers to commiserate with Tav on occasion, making sure to never bellyache the loudest. He wants it to be Tav’s time to vent, complain, scream- to just let it all out. He knows Tav is under an incredible amount of pressure as their leader, addiction or not. Gale wants Tav to trust him enough for the two of them to be vulnerable around each other. I mean Mystra above! The whole camp knows that Gale’s easily susceptible most of the time, so there’s absolutely no shame in Tav admitting they experience similarly at times.

Gale will take it upon himself to concoct a special drink menu for Tav, all nonalcoholic of course. It’s elaborate and painstakingly organized. If Tav thought their sober options were few and far between before, they certainly won’t now! Gale is the camp’s resident cook, so he takes pride in being able to satisfy not only everyone’s needs but to please their tastes as well. Well, except for Astarion. Blood is not ever to be a feature on Gale's menu, thank you very much!

The part Gale has some trouble with is wrapping his head around someone as wonderful as Tav would ever want such a life for themselves. Gale thinks highly of Tav, sometimes too highly. In some instances, Gale cannot see the forest for the trees thanks to the pedestal he’s placed Tav on. In such scenarios, Tav may have to remind Gale that they’re only mortal. And that this affliction of theirs is no more a choice than Gale’s own need for magic.

Once Gale is on the same page, he ceases the majority of his condemnation, instead opting to try and distract Tav from the overwhelming desires raging on inside them. He offers to show Tav the Weave once more, or perhaps, some other simple, rather pretty tricks. Rolan’s display of fireworks in Emerald Grove wasn’t a difficult spell, and certainly no challenge for Gale. But if many simple spells are what it takes to keep Tav’s mind occupied as they ride out their newfound prohibition, then so be it.

If by some miracle, Gale does find a spell or enchantment to help alleviate some of Tav’s worse withdrawal symptoms or cravings, he will perform it enthusiastically should Tav want. And if Tav prefers to handle this the old-fashioned way, Gale will do his best to bite his tongue and respect Tav’s choices. ‘I just want things to be easier for you. Life is hard enough as it is with all this tadpole business running around. Whatever you ask of me, you shall get.’

Gale is a faithful partner. He doesn’t run at the first sign of trouble, not when’s committed himself to another person. Be it in friendship, or romance, relationships mean a great deal to him. He refuses to let Tav endure this hardship alone. ‘I do not say this lightly: you mean a great deal to me. No matter the toils, I will stay by your side.’

Wyll:

Wyll, above all else, aims to be an honorable man. Despite his suffering, despite his shortcomings and misfortunes, he refuses to falter or fall. His deal with Mizora may have sullied his Father’s view of him and dampened Wyll’s view of himself, but it did not change how he desires to see himself. Wyll knows the kind of man he wants to be and he does everything within his power to act accordingly.

For Wyll, addiction is a difficult subject. He’s very strong-willed, and because he spends so much time working hard to do what he believes is the right thing, he can look down on other people at times. He has sympathy for people dealing with such afflictions, but behind his care, a small part of him is disappointed. He believes in choosing to be good, to try harder. He thinks all mortals are capable of acting wiser. So while Wyll understands Tav endures such difficulties now, Wyll also firmly believes Tav will have conquered them in the future.

This can put a fair amount of pressure on Tav’s shoulders. But it can also serve to inspire them. In either case, Tav would need to talk to Wyll about how they feel when it comes to Wyll’s encouragement. Wyll, being the supportive man he is, would never want to intentionally make Tav feel demoralized. So if there’s something in his behavior or in his words of motivation that he can change to make Tav feel less burdened, he will do so.

Wyll, like Astarion, knows he cannot make himself responsible for Tav’s choices. So Wyll does not take the part of Tav’s keeper, but he does make an effort to be near Tav as they make their decision, offering his opinion should Tav ask. The more Wyll’s presence remains a constant in Tav’s life, the more Wyll hopes Tav will come to appreciate his perspective. If Tav knows Wyll isn’t going to leave or abandon them anytime soon, they may feel emboldened to make the necessary tougher decisions of turning down a drink or two.

Wyll is more than happy to stay up chatting the nights the cravings just won’t go away. During days Tav’s irrepressible urge causes them to feel restless and manic, Wyll asks Tav to join him for a lesson in combat. After all, he’s not called the Blade of Frontiers for nothing. Sweating out the chemicals and forcing the body to flush all the drugs out of Tav’s system is a great way to sober up. And if the symptoms of withdrawal aren’t all-consuming, it also makes for a great distraction.

However, during the periods everything is all just too much: the headaches, the nausea, the itchiness, and the sweating won’t stop, Wyll finds a shady spot in camp for the two of them to rest. And as Tav rides out such agonizing lows, Wyll tells stories of his time as a child living in Baldur’s Gate in soothing, hushed tones. His warm voice brings comfort, a much-needed contrast to the ailment Tav’s fighting.

Wyll cares deeply for Tav. And he believes in Tav, even when Tav doesn’t believe in themselves. ‘You can resist this, you will resist this.’

Wyll has no intentions of going anywhere. Addiction or sobriety, he and Tav are a team. Wyll sees Tav as a great hero: he knows they can fight to save themselves. ‘You are the strongest person I know. Nevertheless, you do not have to shoulder this burden alone.’

Halsin:

Halsin is the least likely to have any shared experience when it comes to dealing with addiction. He has fought off depression and hopelessness time and time again but he knows not of the pitfalls addiction brings. Having lived as long as he has, there’s no doubt he’s met those suffering from such afflictions. And being a druid, he may even have been consulted on how best to treat them. But that’s the end of Halsin’s experience.

If Tav has an issue, any issue, Halsin is more than willing to help Tav navigate it. After all, Tav helped him save the shadowlands from their darkness. There is no ask too great, Halsin could never say no to aiding Tav with a favor. To Halsin, Tav is a savior: they saved Emerald Grove, they saved Thaniel’s realm, hell, Tav saved all of Baldur’s Gate. Halsin feels he owes them unimaginable thanks. So it pains him greatly to know Tav is suffering.

Halsin offers to use his abilities to help Tav ease their obsessive mind, and the nagging hunger addiction brings. Of course, druid magic alone is not enough to stop the urge from manifesting and whispering in Tav’s ear. Halsin offers to accompany Tav around town, to sort of supervise them, in his way. He won’t force Tav to change any of their decisions but he keeps a watchful eye almost like a doting father as he places a supportive hand on Tav’s shoulder each time they walk past a bar or tavern.

Halsin knows he cannot control Tav’s actions, but he can influence the choices they make together as a duo. So long as he is at Tav’s side, Halsin will let his wise opinion be known.

In their time outside of the city, Halsin takes time to educate Tav on the different flora and fauna found in Faerun. When they come across a plant used to ferment alcohol, Halsin explains the history of the process. Yes, wine and ale are examples of making use of what nature provides, but as with all other things, even nature must be consumed in moderation. Mother Nature blesses everyone with the ability to enjoy such pleasures, but that gift can double as a curse. It is a test of our restraint and humility to know when and where to indulge.

Speaking of indulgence, Haslin would not recommend swapping one appetite for another, but should Tav want to bide their time engaging in an alternative pleasure, Halsin would be more than happy to oblige. Physical activity and sweating would help relieve Tav’s body of some of the toxins built up within their system. In addition, such activity provides a temporary release of euphoria in the body and brain, which would help combat the pain and despondence that come with withdrawal. ‘If I can provide you with the least bit of comfort. It’s no hardship from me. Far from it.’

In the case Halsin leaves Tav for a time to settle the newly displaced within Thaniel's healed realm, he does what he can to ensure his new village is a place of continued healing and sobriety for Ta. Halsin privately enlightens all of the other adults within his new settlement about Tav’s condition. He asks them, respectfully, to refrain from providing Tav with any alcohol or other substances whenever Tav comes to visit.

Halsin does all within his power to let Tav know they are not alone in their journey, and that no matter the setbacks along the way, he intends to bolster Tav through it all. ‘You are by far nature’s greatest gift to me. No matter the foe, be it the shadows or the dependency within your mind, could ever keep me from you.’

If You Enjoyed, Please Consider Tipping Me Via Kofi!

#astarion x tav #wyll x tav #gale x tav #halsin x tav #bg3 imagine #bg3 #hc #bg3 imagines

37 notes · View notes

brainrotbrainrotbrainrot · 7 months

Text

Captain John Price relationship headcanons that are rotting my brain. Mostly fem but can be read as male.

Also just little British things I don’t see much of?

sfw and nfsw (under the cut)

He still has a season ticket for his favourite football team despite not being able to attend any matches. He refuses to give up his seat.

Disappointed that he’s always deployed when the Ashes and cricket are on. Will teach you to understand cricket so you can keep him updated when he gets time to call you.

A man of simple pleasures, please take him to a Greggs when he’s home. Though he’ll complain about the price increase of sausage rolls for about five minutes.

Teaches you the differences between IPAs and stouts when you’re at the pub and likes your opinions on them, even if you hate all beers. It’s just a thing between you two that you do together when he’s home.

If you ever get McDonald’s, this man puts his chips in his burger and will hold the bun up till you rid his burger of gherkins. Only keeps them on his burger if you’re a fan of them, otherwise he’ll always order them without. He will not let you tease him about his hatred of gherkins.

Wants to adopt a retired police or army dog if gets to retire with you. On that note, he wants to settle down with you, but can’t commit to the idea till his enemies are gone and he knows you’ll be safe.

Absolutely makes the best gravy and Yorkshire puddings ever for a Sunday roast.

Loves nothing more than sitting on the couch with you with a drink, watching a TV show or movie. But he always falls asleep and his head rests on your shoulder. It’s like a little routine between you two.

Always buries his head in your shoulder for a good few minutes and holds you to decompress when he’s home.

Loves coming home with fresh flowers to see your reaction every time.

This man snores when he’s home. At first you weren’t sure how you were going to deal with it, but realising that it meant he was in such a deep sleep around you and was getting rest, you forgave the snoring. You know now that it means he’s having a good night. If he’s not snoring, then something is probably troubling him.

Builders brew, has to be Yorkshire tea. Absolutely hates PG tips. You know how to make his perfect cup and he always reminds you and gives you a kiss when you bring him a cup.

nsfw.

Loves putting his hand on your thigh when he’s driving. If you take his hand off for whatever reason, the glare he gives you immediately makes you instantly put it back.

If you ever say a bad word about your body, he’s instantly ready to worship you and show you that he loves every part of you. He loves to worship your body, especially thighs. He loves marking your thighs since you can hide the marks and only he knows they’re there. But your thighs? Did I mention thighs? He’s obsessed. He loves to bury his face in them and would happily let you suffocate him. Loves to fuck your thighs too (especially male partners).

Hand always on the small of your back when you’re out and about, not too much of a hand holder. He knows it makes you feel safe and he’s the only man you felt like that with.

Won’t fuck you till he’s made you come at least once. Hands, mouth, whatever it takes. Your pleasure first and always. He definitely knows how to use his hands on you but his mouth is divine. Will always eat you out like a starved man.

Loves good old missionary, loves making eye contact and being able to hold your thighs in that position. Also loves it when you’re on top for obvious reasons again. Cannot ever keep his hands off of your thighs. But he’ll make sure you don’t do all the work when you’re on top, he loves to help out. He hates feeling like you’re doing all the work.

Sleepy spoon sex before bed and in the morning if you’re in the mood.

Hand jobs, he loves hand jobs. Almost more than you being on his knees for him. Loves it when you press against him and put your hand in his trousers and jerk him off that way. Goes mad for it. Loves it when you make his knees feel weak.

Please squeeze this man’s balls more. It’s the only way he’ll whimper for you.

#john price #captain price #captain price hc #john price x reader #john price headcanons #captain john price #john price x female reader #cod mw #cod headcanons

85 notes · View notes

gothhabiba · 1 year

Note

obviously you can’t cook don’t know what a blog is etc etc. but in a universe where you did would you know of any recipes your alternate self posted which used leftovers or scraps? or alternatively making really good stock? many thanks

hm. if I ever cooked I think I would say something like—take

the peels, ends, and greens (if you haven't used them for anything else) of carrots

the ends, leaves, and outer stringy bits (if you're one of those people who peel them) of celery

tomato skins

mushroom stems

peels and trimmings of onions

peels and ends of garlic

skins and trimmings of ginger

the whites of green onions

stems of fresh, tender herbs (parsley and cilantro)

stems of woody herbs (thyme, rosemary), in moderation

trimmings from leeks, turnips, and fennel, in moderation

And simmer in enough water to cover for about an hour, with herbs or whole spices if you'd like (I generally include bay leaves, black or white peppercorns, cumin seeds, and coriander seeds), then strain. You can keep scraps from preparing meals over the course of a few days or weeks and freeze them in a bag or other container until ready to make stock; make sure each bag has a good proportion of different vegetables. Frozen scraps will only take 15-20 minutes of simmering to make stock.

Make sure that you scrub any vegetables whose peels you will be using for stock thoroughly. Scraps can be used for stock if they are wilted, but not if they are rotten.

Various places online will give you different ideas of what to include in stock and what not to bother including (there's a pretty comprehensive list here); as you do this over time you will no doubt have your own opinions about inclusions and ratios. Do not include cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower) as they will make the stock unpalatably bitter. You may chuse to divide scraps in terms of what meal you plan to make with the stock (e.g. leave ginger, lemongrass, galangal peels &c. for an east Asian meal rather than, like, an Italian one).

Other things that can be done with "scraps":

The whites of green onions can be simmered alongside kombu/dashima when making Japanese dashi or Korean yuksu. Also reconstitute dried shiitake mushrooms in this stock to get flavourful mushroom water in the stock + reconstituted mushrooms that you can slice, boil, fry, &c.

The whites of green onions can also be used to make shiraga negi, a Japanese garnish

Thai recipes often involve leaving the peels on garlic when chopping or pulverising it. I'm not sure how the skins on Thai garlic compare to other varieties so your mileage may vary.

Garlic and onion peels can be dried in a dehydrator or an oven on low (~200F) and then ground to add savor to bread, soups, rice &c. Basically use it like garlic powder

Cauliflower and broccoli stalks can be peeled, sliced and roasted (along with the leaves) at around 400F (200C) for 20 minutes or so until browned and crispy with olive oil, salt, and spices of your chusing, then dipped in ranch or garlic sauce (for a quick vegan ranch I mix vegan mayonnaise + grated garlic + a squeeze of lemon + pinch of salt).

Kale stems can be pickled, or sliced thin, sauteed, and added to stir-fries and soups.

The inner core of cabbages (which some recipes call for you to remove) can also be minced and added to soups.

Orange, lemon, and grapefruit peels can be used to make mixed peel; apple peels and cores can be used to make apple jelly. These recipes aren't really something-for-nothing, though, as they do use a lot of sugar.

Also orange peel tea. Sometimes when making mixed peel I drain the water after five minutes of simmering and drink it as tea, then replace the water and continue simmering as the recipe calls for.

Some Medditerranean cake recipes involve (perhaps soaking and then) blending an entire orange, peel and all--look up "whole orange cake."

When not making mixed peel, I (remove the pith from and then) dry orange and lemon peels to grind into zest and store it to use as needed. A friend of mine saves the pith, too, and dries and grinds it and uses it to replace some of the flour when baking.

South Indian & Latin American recipes sometimes feature the peels of bananas or plantains—look for banana peel curry/thoran.

Various recipes can be found for banana peel pulled pork and banana peel bacon; banana peel cake; banana peel tea.

Starch left from rinsing rice can be used to thicken soups and stews (this is common in Korean recipes).

The water left from cooking dried beans can be used in soups and stews, or in cooking future batches of beans.

Make sure that anything you're eating or boiling has been washed well.

I— I'm. uh. huh. that was weird, I don't know what came over me...

#Anonymous #questions

100 notes · View notes

prettypinkpuddles · 2 years

Text

i’m in pain so Y/N is too.

yea my hips and back hurt for no reason… AGAIN. so now you are.

now to make myself feel better, here’s how some genshin characters would react to you being in pain. ⭐️

he immediately identifies the issue and finds a way to fix it quick.

period cramps? rubs pyro slime concentrate on your midsection to make them more bearable

“lie still, Y/N. it won’t work properly if you keep fidgeting…” he sighes as he gently pushes down your shoulder. you groan and follow his orders, lying back down with your head on a pillow

“thank you, my little alchemy boy…” you grin at him, he leans down and kisses your temple and goes back to studying… whatever he’s got on his desk.

got a tummyache? he finds out what you last ate and will make you cream soup to make you feel better.

you felt so embarrassed, opening your mouth reluctantly as Albedo pushed to spoon toward you. he was feeding you a simple stew with a potion mixed in it’s broth to lessen the pains of your tummy.

you were more than grateful that your boyfriend had made you a soup, but did he really have to feed you like a wittle baby? in front of the Traveller? your face burned as you accidentally locked eyes with them, who was starting to giggle at your misfortunate situation.

“got it, i’ll be careful in Dragonspine, Albedo. Bye now… bye Y/N.” they stood up and waved goodbye to you, shutting the door and leaving you with Albedo. your lover looked at you, reaching out to feel your forehead.

“my, i think you’re starting to develop a fever-”

you jumped over to Albedo, wrapping your arms around him and burying your face into his shoulder; you began whining to him about how humiliating it was to be spoon-fed by him in front of the Traveller, your voice coming out in a whiny tone, some words sounding like sobs.

“please don’t ever do that unless i simply can’t lift my arms!” you pleaded with him, almost starting to cry from the situation.

Albedo chuckled and pulled you away to see your puffy, pouty face. “i didn’t realize how much you respect the Traveller’s opinion on you, nor did i think that it might make you embarrassed. I’m sorry, Y/N. i just want you to feel as well as possible..”

you told him it was sweet of him but you only wanted to be fed like that in private.

does his pretty Y/N have chills from Dragonspine after going out with him? oh trust me, he’s got a solution.

he completely pampers you, after all you did go with him, so he’s gonna feel personally responsible

you giggled as Albedo and Klee wrapped you with as many blankets, sheets, quilts and covers as they could find.

“you two don’t have to do this y’know! a small cup of goulash an’ some warm tea; i’ll be jus’ fine!” you said in a bit of protest.

the two didn’t listen, Klee propping you up with another pillow, telling you that you could get very sick from being unprepared in Dragonspine. you giggled at nodded at the little girl as she ran back to Albedo.

“Y/N, i should’ve have had you come with me.” he sighed, hauling the last blanket he could find over to you.

“but i wanted to go! it’s my fault, i didn’t bring any warming bottles with me.” you smiled at him, trying to not make him feel so guilty but it didn’t work. he bent down toward Klee, whispering a task into her ear and she quickly scampered off. Albedo walked toward a shelf of cooking ingredients, pulling down some carrots, tomatoes, slabs of chilled meat, white onions, and potatoes.

you watched as he began making you a warm bowl of goulash with the ingredients you managed to buy from Blanche two days ago. the ingredients were a bit difficult to get since there was a pretty nice sale going on and many people were buying things in bulk.

“i’m baaaaaackkkkk!” Klee burst through the door, holding a yellow drink with apple slices dancing around in it. Albedo grinned at the girl fondly, telling her to hand the drink to you.

you took a sip from it, tasting the sweetness of the apple, the aged cider crisp and rustic in a way. overall, you liked it and could tell that Dawn Winery put their damn foot into making it. you leaned over and pecked the blonde child on her cheek, making her giggle and sway around witty giddiness, “thank you Klee.”

bro give good ass massages 😩 like, he knows how to push his thumbs right into those tender spots.

you winced in pain as Shinobu did her best to tend to your rather deep wounds. at a first glance they looked like mere scrapes and bruises, something a child would get from playing a sport or a rookie samurai, but your bruises and sores wouldn’t stop hurting, even with putting ice on them, they burned dully no matter what you to lessen the pressure on them…. but you had gotten them cleaned, dressed and healed a while ago.

Itto held you hand, letting you squeeze whenever Shinobu cleaned a scrape with alcohol. “can you sit up?”

you turned your legs to the left, pushing yourself off the bed and sat upright, trying not to double over into his lap. he held onto your shoulder, giving it a good squeeze and you sighed in relief, asking him to do it again.

he did, pressing your shoulder between his thumb and fingers and you smiled, the pain practically being pressed away by him.

“i’m gonna grab you some water, Itto, keep doing that, give her a massage. it looks like it’s helping.” Shinobu stood up and walked out the room, heading toward the kitchen. Itto sat himself behind you, starting to press and squeeze at your shoulders.

you turned into soft, warm putty in his hands as he rolled his thumb and palm over your back, rubbing the inside of your shoulder blades for good measure.

“ahh, that’s much better~” you fell back into the oni, a happy grin on your face and he pulled you closer to him. “i might have to have you do that once a month for me, darling…”

Itto grew a smirk at those words, “oh-ho, so you like my massages, Y/N? well, my little buggy-bug, i’m gonna need to be reimbursed for my services if your going to start asking for more. Arataki Itto doesn’t just do any hard work for free!”

“not even for me..?” you looked up at him and pouted like a baby, “pleaseeee?”

Itto leaned back, looking away and blushed ferociously. “w-w-well… i guessss, i could make an expectiom for my partner. after all… it’s not work if it’s for y-you..”

you grinned cheekily at his stammer, finding his flustered stare adorable

Dilcccccc

if his lover has those morning migraine things? mannnnnn he’s ready to break the bank to help you out…. and his maids..

you wake crying, practically bawling your eyes out in horrid pain. Diluc has no idea what’s wrong and you can barely speak because the pains in your head throbbed with each syllable.

“Dollface, do you want me to-!”

“The Light! Turn It Off! Please..!” you shouted, your eyes shut tighter than a clam, your hands over your head. he panicked for a split second and put the light underneath the bed, quickly lessening the intensity of the glow.

“….can i touch you?”

you turned to him and nodded, he reached his arms around your balled up figure and pulled you close. you winced softly and held onto his night shirt, explaining your terrible morning dew dilemma. he suddenly became very soft and gentle with you.

“my mother had migraines, she said that it’d hurt to do lots of things, even swallowing was a challenge for her, but she could bare soup. would you like some?”

you whimpered with a sense of distaste for having something like veggie radish soup, or a crab, ham and veggie bake for breakfast…. but you couldn’t exactly handle chewing anything more than softened veggie and tender meats at the moment.

you pressed your face into Diluc’s hand, nodding with a whine. he let you go, getting up to go out the room, promising you it wouldn’t take any longer than fifteen minutes. you held a thumbs up, not able to pull your muscles up for a smile and nodding was already out of the question.

as you sat there in a dimmed room, you tried to hold back tears, knowing all too well it would just make the throbbing so much worse, so instead you thought of your boyfriend. how sweet and patient he was with you.

you remembered that once you were out helping pick apples and grapes late at night before the workers came in the morning, Diluc came out wondering where you were and once he spotted you, he slowly walked up to you, asking you jokingly if you were planning on eating the picked fruit. you gasped and nearly tripped over a jutted out rock, but luckily he could you and the basket.

“Y/N, doll. i’m back…” Diluc crept back inside, trying to keep as much light out as possible.

you turned away from the open door, waving you hand at him to hurry and close it. he walked toward you, a warm bowl of cream stew in his hands.

you took it from him, holding the spoon above your lips, waiting for any really hot steam to hit your face. once it didn’t, you took the bite, smiling with content at the taste. looking down at the bowl, you saw that the carrots were cut into little hearts and there was a swirl of heavy cream over the broth, making it a little chilled so it wouldn’t be as hot.

“you made this yourself, didn’t you?”

diluc looked at you with a bit of surprise, “how’d you know that?”

you began describing the differences of Adeline making stew versus Diluc making it, how the carrots were cut, the color of the stew was darker, and… the meat tasted like it was from a boar…

he smiled at you, softly kissing your temple as he sat beside you, commending you for your observations.

so let’s say you’re motion sick from the rising of the second Jade Chamber, plus the battle with Bishet

you groaned, finding yourself on the floor, your vision all slurred from the shaking of Bishet and her terror. you’ve been in the Jade Chamber before, when it storms, but this feeling was different. you tried to stand but it was simply no use, opting to crawling toward Ningguang, even if it would distract her from her the fight.

“…Ni-Ning..” you tugged at Ningguang’s flowing dress and looked up at her. she immediately helped you to stand, ordering the Traveller and Shenhe to keep things under control in her swift absence.

you felt terrible for pulling her away from such a crucial moment, but you didn’t know what was wrong and didn’t know who other than your girlfriend to rely on. she laid you down on a soft pillowy bed, telling you she’d get a servant to tend to you swiftly. she called for Mika, one of the older, more attentive workers, giving her instructions to make a soup, find warmed blankets and make sure you were as comfortable as can be. you knew it was a selfish request with what you were about to ask her… but you desperately wanted it.

“no… don’t leave me, N-Ning…” you reached for her arm, pleading with her to not leave your side, knowing she had to and the energy you just used was simply in a vain.

Ningguang shut her eyes and looked away from you for a moment, knowing she had a whole country to take care of, but you were in who knows what kind of pain. she leaned down to you, “you know i have to, but i don’t want to. i’ll be back the moment i’m finished, my love. i promise.”

you whined, but nodded, Ningguang turning away from you and going back outside. Mika began carrying out the orders of the Ningguang, making you lotus seed and egg soup, finding you a fluffy blanket and tending to anything else you might need.

time slowly passed, a few screeches and rumbles, waves crashing and then some silence.

“Y/N!” a few voices called out for you, the doors of the Jade Chamber opening. Ningguang, Ganyu and the Traveller running for you. they immediately began examining you, feeling your temperature, looking for sores and bruises, anything that might help them tell what was wrong.

“i’m fine now, everyone.” you tried wiggling yourself from their probing grasp, but Ningguang just wouldn’t let you go. she smothered you with her affection for the rest of the day, treating you like a natural glaze lily plucked from Dihua Marsh.

shenhe is new to nearly every mortal thing. but she knows some stuff, like menstrual cramps.

you sighed, not wanting to get out of bed, in fact you wanted to sink into bed. you simply decided to doodle, scribbling little mental images you pulled from your mind. you hadn’t realized how much time had passed until your front door was pushed open.

“Y/N? are you unwell?” a soft voice called out to you, footsteps looking for you.

you got up, knowing it could only be Shenhe. she had the only other key you had made for your house, trusting her with it since you knew she simply wouldn’t loose it after knowing it’s importance.

“i’m here, Shen-Shen…”

she turned to your bathroom and found you leaning over the counter. she looked at your pained face, immediately trying to identify the source. she checked for splinters, sores, cuts, scrapes, broken bones, but nothing told her what was wrong.

“…Shen-doll… i’ve got my cycle..” you muttered, not expecting her to understand what you meant. her eyes widened and she scooped you up, walking out the door, making sure to lock it and kept going. you head no idea where she was taking you, maybe to Baizhu for herbs, or to her own house.

you found yourself at a quaint little spot in the mountains, a rock-made table with a tea set, a trickling waterfall and a stunning overview of Liyue.

“Cloud Retainer.” Shenhe called out to the darkness in the waterfall. a few seconds later, an enormous bird crawled out and looked down upon the two of you. you squealed and jumped, falling right out of your girlfriend’s arms, splashing into the waters. the bird seemed to chuckle at you, a smile coming across her face.

i feel like she’s like 50+ feet, which would be pretty scary

“so this is Y/N.” the bird bent her elongated neck down to you and peered at you intently. “she’s very emotional. but why did you bring her?”

“she’s having menstrual pains. i want you to do what you would do to me when i had them.” Shenhe said, helping you stand. she walked toward the bird, again asking for it’s help. the bird sighed but nodded, picking the up the two of you and carrying you under the falls.

“s-so this is Cloud Retainer…?” you whispered.

Shenhe nodded, “yes, she took care of me.”

suddenly you were in a spacious and golden hued area, floating platforms connected by transparent roads. the bird summoned a soft pillowy bed, setting you two down on it. you immediately felt a lot better, the bed warmed and fluffy. you collapsed on it and sighed. the bird lifted her feathers over you two, a warmth falling down upon you. Shenhe’s kissed your cheek, telling you she’d be right back.

you looked around at the wondrous area, catching the attention of Cloud Retainer. she began talking with you about Shenhe, asking if she had adapted to the mortal area well, how you two had met and more.

once the woman in question had returned, you were listening to Cloud Retainer tell a story of her when she was smaller.

“I’ve returned.”

you waved to her, seeing a bowl in her hands. she looked down at the floor she stood at, a set of stairs materializing for her to walk up to you.

“i thought i told you how much i disliked that story.” Shenhe sat on the bed and looked right at the bird.

the bird huffed and turned her head, “i’ll leave you two alone, if you don’t wish for thine company, thou shan’t waste her time!”

and with those very proper words, she flew off into the seemingly endless area. you giggled at the interaction, assuring your lover she’d just began to tell that story. you saw her shoulders loosen from that and handed you the soup. it was a pretty bowl of dragon beard noodles, each ingredient used to make the heart more and more intricate and lovely.

you quickly nommed the dish down, feeling extremely satisfied, you laid back down on the bed of pillows, your pains subsiding and softening. Shenhe looked down at your still and tranquil figure, leaning closer toward your face, reaching to play with your hair, scratching at your scalp with her nails.

you lazily looked up at her and grinned, the soft and motherly feeling drifting you into a sound sleep. Shenhe lied beside you and pulled you toward her chest, following your lead and falling asleep.

326 notes · View notes