Tumgik
#I did draw him in winter clothes before but it’s just so strange seeing him all bundled up 😭
jaxieus · 2 months
Text
Tumblr media
More Johan stuff.
The cold seems to be subsiding but always comes back full force to get me off guard so I kinda thought Jan would try to take care of Johan because of the unpredictable weather.
56 notes · View notes
kamyru · 1 year
Text
Voltage Inc characters as strange things I do (Headcanons)
Jin Namba: Doesn't understand the lyrics of the song until searching for the lyrics. This man can be fluent in as many languages as he wants. However, this is true even for his native language. He can't get the entire meaning of the song until seeing all the lyrics at once.
Hideki Ishigami: Laughs in his sleep. No, Ishigami doesn't sleep talk. It would be okay if he did. However, from time to time, he laughs, not giggles, but hearty laughs. And when MC asks him what's so funny in the morning, he has no idea. Sometimes, he wakes up due to his laugh but still doesn't remember why.
Hyogo Kaga: Doesn't own Winter clothes. He probably does, but he hasn't worn any of them in ages. There's a more chance he will put on two warm t-shirts instead of a jacket. The strangest thing is that his hands are always hot.
Shusuke Soma: Goes for a walk in the middle of the night. He finds it comforting to be alone at night, thinking about his things and getting something random from the convenience store. Sometimes he gets MC with him, and they share deep conversations while walking through the city.
Takaomi Tsugaru: Sleeps under the bed during hot Summers. And if MC asks him why he doesn't use a futon, he will say that the bedframe gives shadow and makes it chillier than a futon. The question that everyone has when seeing him like this is: HOW THE HECK HE FITS IN THERE?
Seiji Goto: Asks MC to hug him while he tries to put the duvet cover on. Do you know when you have your hands on the corners of the cover before putting it on the duvet? That's when he asks MC to hug him because it adds extra softness.
Ayumu Shinonome: Buys chips, Kinder eggs, etc., if they have dinosaurs as prizes. Then, he gets an entire reserve of these. However, he is interested more in the dinos than in the food. Moreover, he can find ways to know what dino he will get without opening the package.
Toru Kurosawa: He watches YouTube videos about food when hungry. Everyone thinks it's pointless, but that's his way of fulfilling his cravings. While doing this, he will say at least twice: "I want to eat cake. I want some barbeque," or whatever he is watching.
Yukihisa Maki: Knows the plot of books/manga/movies without reading or watching them, even if he plans to do it later. He doesn't care about spoilers. He likes the process of reading more than its result.
Shunichiro Tachibana: He can do a strange amount of things due to extracurricular activities in his childhood and teenage years. He probably, plays at least three instruments, can draw, horse-ride, dances ballet, solves math and physics problems for fun, etc.
Jun Araki: Has the most monotonous voice ever. MC or Rei at least once asked him to read smut. Both of them have the recording saved because it sounds like he is reading the Bible. He won't even chuckle at the strange things that happen there.
Toshiaki Kijima: Zones out while making coffee or tea. He's that annoying person who keeps mixing the sugar/coffee in the cup for entire minutes till everyone asks him to stop, just because he zones out while making it. Also, he looks at his already prepared coffee/tea as if it has spawned out of nowhere before starting to drink it.
Toma Kiriya: Listens to sad songs every time. Ask what's his comfort song, and he will probably say something about death/suicide/addiction. When he's happy, he also listens to them. His playlist is enormous. However, less than 15% are joyful.
Nasume Asaoka: Watches the same shows/movies/videos over and over again. It's not as if he doesn't enjoy new things, he does. However, he finds more comfort in watching a funny video from YouTube over and over instead of finding anything new. And there are probably movies that he watches yearly, not getting tired of them.
Ikki Tatsumi: Has to have the coverlet perfectly put on the bed. If he feels or sees any wrinkles, he will get up and ask everyone who stays on the bed to get up and will redo the whole thing.
Ukyo Senkawa: "It's five minutes away," Ukyo says and starts walking at 7 km/h. He can make 30 000 steps a day as if it's nothing. Also, he forgets that not all people can do the same or keep up with him. There are only two ways of catching up with him: run fast after him, or call him to ask him to stop.
Daimon Togo: Can't let himself feel sick if someone feels sicker. He may be on the verge of fainting. Yet, if he sees MC or his family in distress, he will do everything possible to be the "healthiest" one. Even if the world gets blank in front of his eyes, he will be the one to catch MC while fainting.
Kunihiro Kasai: If he is sleepy but has a lot of things to finish, he puts a video or music on and naps like this, sometimes with his laptop on his lap, because he doesn't sleep deep like this and can wake up any moment.
Kuranosuke Kiba: He repairs the things in the house just for fun. Like, what's the worst thing that this can end up with? An even more destroyed thing? So, after years of doing this, Kuranosuke is a master of using a screwdriver.
Eiji Takao: Answers to questions with delay. MC or the twins can come to him and ask: "Did you see the remote control?" And he will be dead silent while writing something on his laptop. Ten minutes later, he will say: "The remote is on the window sill."
Shu Hasunuma: Has the dumbest dreams ever. Everyone close to him knows that all the memes about strange dreams are about him. He was a frying pan, had a pet penis, saved his colleagues from getting eaten by zombies, watched entire inexistent movies, and invented new words and historical events in his dreams (that's a short list of dreams I have had during my life).
Toshiki Kasumi: He knows an incredible amount of strange facts. Hosho will talk about wedding bands, and Kasumi will be like: "Do you know how holly water is made?" He is why the EICU knows what "defenestration" means, that there's a possibility higher than 0 to walk through an intact wall etc.
Munechika Takado: Ignores the messages he doesn't think are worth answering. It's not as if all the messages he ignores aren't worth answering. Sometimes, Takado doesn't have enough time or doesn't know how to continue the conversation. However, if people ask annoying questions, like his sister constantly asking when he comes back home, he will ignore them.
Taro Akuchi: Can't sleep if someone else is awake. He probably can sleep everywhere, but not when the people he cares about (MC and Suzumu) are awake. That's the same when he wakes up. Taro isn't comfortable knowing that he is resting while others aren't.
Suzumu Mado: Talks everyone's ears off about how much he craves something, then doesn't buy it because it's too expensive. The person he is shopping with begs him to indulge his cravings, but he is too stingy for this.
18 notes · View notes
amorest-viesse · 1 year
Text
[Brightening Up the Castle] - Chloe SR Card Story Translation
Tumblr media
Ft. Chloe and Riquet
Spiral Staircase Exploration - Chapter One
[Oz’s Castle]
Tumblr media
Chloe: Whoa…! That’s one fancy chandelier!
Chloe: (Every inch of Lord Oz’s castle is so beautifully decorated and detailed… Heath would absolutely love it here.)
Chloe: Oh right, I wonder if there’s a place where Lord Oz keeps all of his clothes. It’s a bit nerve-racking, but maybe I’ll ask him later…
Chloe: Oh? Is that…
Chloe: Riquet! What’cha doin’?
Riquet: Chloe. I was just exploring the castle. There are so many things in here that I’ve never seen before, so I got a little curious.
Chloe: Ooh I see! Actually, I was just doing the same!
Chloe: (Hmm, but isn’t this castle enormous? If Riquet is wandering around by himself, he might get lost. If that’s the case…)
Chloe: Hey, why don’t we just explore together then? There’s still a lot of things I want to see too.
Riquet: You want to explore… together?
Riquet: Ah, you must be lonely going around all by yourself. Very well, I’ll accompany you.
Chloe: Ahaha, thanks a lot! Let’s go then!
♡♥♡
Chloe & Riquet: Wow…!
Riquet: Isn’t this a spiral staircase? I’ve seen them before in picture books!
Chloe: Yep! Look at how majestic it is. How incredible…
Riquet: Chloe, come over here! You can see right down to the bottom!
Chloe: Ah, Riquet…! It’s dangerous if you lean forward like th—
Riquet: Ah…! Whoa!?
Chloe: Riquet!
Spiral Staircase Exploration - Chapter Two
Chloe: Oh no, Riquet’s gonna fall…!!
Chloe: <<Suispicibo Voitingoc>>!
Riquet: Whoa…! I— I’m… floating?
Chloe: Th- that scared me… Are you alright, Riquet? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?
Riquet: Yes, I’m fine. Thank you for saving me, Chloe.
Riquet: I’m sorry for not listening to you… I’ll make sure to be more careful next time.
Chloe: Oh, don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re safe!
Chloe: You just got a little excited, but I totally get how you feel! There’s a ton of stuff here that I’ve never seen before either.
Riquet: …
Riquet: Even though you’re a Western wizard… you’re actually a really sensible person.
Chloe: Ahaha, am I? Well, I suppose the other Westerners can be pretty unconventional, even to me.
Chloe: In any case, if we’re all good to go, why don’t we check out that staircase? I want to explore the lower floors too!
Riquet: Yes! 
[Walking]
Chloe: (This staircase is so grand and imposing…)
Chloe: (It sure is a long way down too…)
Riquet: Chloe? Why are you stopping?
Chloe: Oh, uh, it’s not a big deal or anything, but I was just thinking…
Chloe: Wouldn’t it be fun to jump from here and fall straight to the bottom?
Riquet: What?
Chloe: Ah, only after casting a spell to ensure a safe landing though!
Chloe: Ooh, the more I think about it, the more I wanna try it…
Riquet: …I take back what I said earlier. You really are a Western wizard through and through.
Chloe: Huh!? Was what I said really that strange!?
Decorative Hem Motifs - Card Episode
Akira: Good afternoon, Chloe. Are you drawing something?
Chloe: Master Sage! While we were at Lord Oz’s castle during our last mission, I was gathering new ideas while walking around…
Chloe: So I’m finally drawing out some of the winter clothing designs I came up with! It’s still a work in progress, but I want to make something with a different feel from the last set.
Akira: Whoa…! These are amazing!
Chloe: Thanks! The entire castle was practically a work of art, so I wanted that to come through in the designs.
Akira: It really was an incredible castle. What did you like most about it?
Chloe: There were beautifully detailed decorations everywhere. I especially liked the chandeliers and the accents on the banisters. 
Chloe: You can feel how much dedication and passion went into each piece. No matter where I looked, there was something amazing to be seen.
Chloe: …Ah, right! I was thinking about using the motif on that chandelier as part of this hem design…!
Chloe: If I do that, it’ll match the design on the cuffs as well… Um…
Akira: (It’s kinda cute how excited he is about this…)
Akira: Hey Chloe, once you’re done with the new outfits, make sure to show them to me, alright?
Chloe: You got it! I’m making something for you too, so I’d be happy if you could try it on when the time comes too!
Home Screen Voice Line
“This design is still missing something, but I just can’t place my finger on it… Hey, Master Sage. Could you take a look at this with me?”
15 notes · View notes
icharchivist · 1 year
Note
it's a bit early, but happy new year! i'll make sure to properly wish you when the time comes, but I did go through the mankai event now so it felt strange not to say it, haha... i was actually thinking about finishing this event new years eve to be appropriate, but i ended up getting a little sick so. might as well do the events now while ive got the time right? also also!! i started a3 almost exactly 2 years ago on jan 1 2021 so i thought it would be nice to maybe try to start act 2 then? since after this i just have the anniversary event and vday magic (i think i'll do one day princess after ch 5). anyways the actual event. as usual i'll go through my thoughts chronologically.
that first opening scene is so good. citron staring at that charm while sakuyas sleeping… now that’s not really any evidence for citron being a light sleeper but in my heart I just KNOW he is okay. and what great sound design!! like all silence. no backing music. just the sound of sakuyas quiet snores. it sets that mood so well so i really felt that the charm citron was staring at must be really important to him...
oh also i want to say this because i felt soooo smart for doing it. the moment that first scene opened with citron i paused and took some notes bc i wanted to guess who else was in the cg lmaooo. with all the act 1 non-play events, there's exactly 11 events. i'm assuming the anniversary event is special so that cg might have the whole a3 cast or smthing like all the leaders? or even like a cg of matsukawa and izumi or something. that'd be cool. but who knows. but without that, its ten, and then theres 2 per event cg which gets u the 20 members of the troupe. excluding inter-troupe pairings, there's 6 unique combinations of seasons you can make: spring summer, spring autumn, spring winter, summer autumn, summer winter, autumn winter. we've had 8 events so far, and 4 unique combinations have been repeated twice: spring summer (tsuzuru&kazunari + itaru&misumi), autumn winter (sakyo&azuma, taichi&tasuku), spring winter (masumi&tsumugi, sakuya&hisoka), and summer autumn (muku&juza, yuki&banri). there's 4 members who haven't gotten event cgs yet, then: citron, tenma, omi, and homare. and there's exactly 2 unique season combinations left: spring autumn and summer winter. suffice to say that when i noticed that omi and citron were in the same cleaning group, and talked to masumi and juza about their talent show thing, and THEN went to get groceries together... i cheered so hard. calculations for the win.
back to chronological thoughts:
i’ve written this before but juza 🤝 yuki: *sees any situation* how do I make this about banri/tenma (derogatory)
nonetheless juzas conception of banri is sooooo funny to me. like banris super smart and talented and juza is like. he’s a weirdo who will draw a face on his stomach and make it talk by moving his muscles. like that’s sooo specific. and then banri immediately being like. I CAN do it! the moment juzas like. oh. …you can’t? like. actually something is weird about both of you (affectionate)
sakyo: aren’t you all forgetting something very important we have to do before the new year
me, nodding sagely: ah yes. annual performance reviews. *cut to next scene* ohhhh they’re just deep cleaning. I was just like. 100% convinced that they needed to do their annual like evaluations. i don't even do those but it's just one of my first associations with the year end i guess???
anyways when they find that duct taped box w/ yuki mentioning they could sell old props for play funding… I don’t know if it’s ever said outright but considering yukis always talking to sakyo abt like costuming and stuff and they collaborated with that kigurumi punishment I have to wonder if yuki has like. a nonzero amount of info on play budgeting as compared to most of the troupe. kazunari. the 14 year old in your troupe knows more about budget management than you. i mean yukis been selling his clothing etc. on the net so maybe he does know a nonzero amount of this kind of thing with like selling props...
it was so cute to see their street act! they’ve come so far. love the way azuma thinks abt it like “how do I jump in here” and goes “I’m going to cause problems. on purpose.” with making a surprise phone call. citron though oh my gosh. its like. yes. he does know what a year end rush is. and abt travel prices. hes not stupid!! but god the way hes like im gonna wish all the grocery staff happy new year as his excuse for searching for his charm... he knows. what he is doing. same with those travel prices its like. citron can be So Loud but hes also so careful to not say much. i want to pat him on the head. unrelated but i didnt realize azuma called citron his highness? i thought monarchy hater no. 1 citron would dislike that a little more. its also making me think if citron has mentioned hes like a prince / royalty...? since azuma calls him that. but ive got to think he hasn't. still more points to my runaway prince citron theory. omi helping him find the charm was so sweet though! its like. wow. nice. still the way citron literally Does Not Say Anything. crazy of him
citron: …it is a very special gift that I received from someone.
me: …guy?
and later w/ citron: never mind. but there is someone in my country who I would like to see again.
me: …guy?
oh but i'm not glossing over the fact that citron has three younger brothers who he's convinced don't want to see him again. runaway prince im telling u. also thats so sad wtf. the citron and omi cg was cute tho! i kind of liked how little this event did in terms of revealing too much like... citron lets a couple of details slip but doesn't really say much at all. which makes sense for his character i think!! man what a great event in terms of making me excited for act 2, though... i hope it comes up when guy shows up!! not to be like. i want to see citron cry. but i want him to get a little emotional yknow. reveal some of ur feelings i want u to be comforted.
i thought a lot of duos for the talent show ep were so cute! like hisoka and homare with homare being like. ill get u special marshmallows even, so do something with me. idk how to express it properly but i feel like in this event especially u can really feel how much joy homare gets by like. simply spending time with hisoka? made me remember their play event. and shakespeare?? In ENGLISH???? im obsessing over this. was it much ado about nothing? what play would be best for them… i haven't read enough shakespeare to make a definitive decision, unfortunately... my personal vote is for othello. homare knows shakespeare in english bc he’s a fan but hisoka… if he’s proficient in english. hm. hmm. more points to him being some kind of assassin/spy/foreign agent thing. like chikage was also overseas probably doing some assassin/spy business for a while, wasn’t he… im watching you.
also tasuku and tsumugi with their pantomiming and the way when itaru compliments him tasuku is IMMEDIATELY like "oh im nothing compared to tsumugi though" like wow. its kind of so nice hearing this out loud bc its like. oh right. this is what they were yelling at each other about in act 1. and then masumi and juza's bartending act. with the rainbow cocktail. masumi and juza, pointing at a3: I know what you are. packing peanuts was my guess for what was inside the box so im glad it was at least like a daruma doll lol. and juza got his sweets! the lil bonus with the ppl staying in the dorm to celebrate the new year was so cute too tho. like when misumi mentioned the triangular carrots.
tenma: d—did you say carrots? why did arisu have to leave me now…
me: tenma and homare friends??? homare eats tenma’s carrots (which he. doesnt like?) for him??? i need to see this. well i'm pretty confident they're gonna be the duo for vday magic so I'm quite excited, haha. oh also in the new years text chat!! is homares screen name alice? i think thats cute. anyways what a sweet event! it didnt leave me feeling anything toooo emotional but it made me REALLY excited for act 2 bc i feel like that's where the real payoff is gonna be yknow? so it was cool in a different way.
AAH HEY HEY HEY! HERE YOU ARE! I needed to be done with the event to properly tackle this ask, thank you for waiting.
First of, thank you for the good wishes <333 Happy New year to you too if we don't get around to say it on the day itself. And saying it because you went through the a3 event makes total sense ahaha
And it's such a good plan with timing! I'd be nice if you manage to reach act 2 by then, i think it's supposed to start late February in the timeline so, at this rhythm you can get in synch with the story as it goes! (and good plan for ODP since it IS set right after chap 5 originally).
ANYWAY WAHOO ALWAYS NICE READING YOUR THOUGHTs, LET'S GO!
And oh god yeah, i can totally picture your HC about Citron being a light sleeper. As for the charm oh man… oh man.
and oh my GOD. THAT'S SO CLEVER HOLY SHIT. i would never have figured it out meanwhile you kept track of all of this!! that's so impressive holy shit!!! your calculation is IMPRESSIVE HERE.
ALHDLKDFJFDLKFD Juza and Yuki, together in being so damn tired of their leader (affectionly but also derogatory)
AND HELPPP I FORGOT ABOUT THIS SCENE. Juza's conception of Banri is truly the funniest, i love that about those two. And the fact Banri can totally catch the bait is what's even funnier. And they were both idiots (and they were both idiots!)
ohmygod you're really set up to be a fellow acting addict now that your first thought was "annual performance review" this is so funny.
And you're totally right about Yuki i think. I don't recall them ever mentioning it directly, but considering how much he's fighting with Sakyo about budget and how often Yuki wins, considering Sakyo isn't exactly the kind to go KINDLY on something just because someone would insult him, it figures Yuki is arguing with proper arguments when it comes to budget. Like, both arguing why he needs expensive material (how it would reflect on the company and all) AND on how to manage the budget to justify it. as you said, Yuki sells clothes online so he's probably the best equiped about it. Which is really impressive, the 14yo is the one the most adjusted to discuss budget with the yakuza. Love that about him.
ohmygod right the street acts are always a nice way to show how they changed. And Azuma <3333 my mister problem. But yes totally agree about everything Citron there (that isn't confirming or unconfirming theory at least). he's very considerate and very smart, his only issue is the grasp on the language, but aside from that? he knows stuff. And sometimes when he acts stupid, that's exactly what it is. an act. He knows when to not say much. For Citron, he never mentioned anything about his past to anyone, but you might want to read the Citron&Muku crossbackstage from the "Others" tab. It's called "Sir Citron's Secret" and probably would give fuel to your theories. (while you're on that tab do look at the Homare&Sakyo one just because it's one of the funniest on the list). As it though, aside from whatever he tells Muku and how serious he is about it, he hasn't really come into details about it to anyone at all, aside from hating the monarchy. So Azuma calling him His Highness is indeed strange. I feel like Azuma definitely got Vibes from Citron (which is mhmmmm considering Azuma is a really good people reader), and it seems that Citron hasn't found in his heart a way to tell Azuma to knock it off. Or perhaps Citron is more annoyed at the idea of ACTING like Royalty (so, with the royal roles he gets), than he is being refered as such? all the more mhmmm things about his behavior for sure.
Omi is so so sweet and so nice yessss and Citron was so interesting this event. I love when the mask falls around Citron for a bit. He remains mysterious in his own way, but it's always fascinating to approach. God the charm. I have many thoughts about the charm. That i will not elaborate on. But so many thoughts.
And god yeah, the sibling situation. It's so sad. Regardless of the details it also does explain why he wants the Spring Troupe to be a family this much and why he ends up caring about his troupesmates so much. (and Muku, who's one of the charas outside of his troupe Citron has a lot of affection for. Re: their crossbackstage)
And yeah i agree, this event was really good for Citron's development without ruining the mystery for now. It's also really a good event to go back to when you do know, it's so fascinating. BUT HELP "I WANT TO SEE CITRON CRY" I SEE YOU. I hope act 2 lives up to your expectations <3
god you pointing out that Homare has so much joy being with Hisoka. Yes you're totally correct. Like, he may complains at time and Hisoka can be so rude but Homare enjoys spending time with him so much. I do love that he bribed him into it though. Homare, of course, is just like that, talking in English and in French and whatever. For Hisoka…. Yeah it sure is shady isn't it. Like wow okay mister amnesia how did you get that.
Tsumu and Tasu being on this vibe was so good. I love how it shows just how complicit they are. And Tasuku gets to be more and more communicative of his feelings. It is, after all, the thing he had to learn, since it's because he didn't know how to talk to his troupesmate, especially Tsumugi, that things went wrong, and he's been learning and it's sweet. THE RAINBOW OMMENT HELPPP.
BUT YESS The preparation for New Year are so sweet. And DLKFJDLKFJFD THE CARROTS. THAT DYNAMIC. But yeah it's pretty much this, Tenma doesn't like carrot, Homare wants him to eat carrots, but as long as Tenma doesn't want to Homare will eat them for him. It's adorable isn't it. AND THE NEW YEAR CHAT YESS IT'S SO SWEET. Homare's name is indeed Alice on here (since his last name is Arisugawa = Arisu, which is pronounced Alice. It's also sweet considering Hisoka always calls him "Arisu" only. also i think it's really cute like, the duo Alice In Wonderland and Sleeping Prince (canon nickname Homare use on Hisoka). They're adorable.)
BUT YEAHHH this event was great. A good lighthearted event for NY and just. so soft all around. I love those guys so much.
And indeed building up some act 2 things which are going to be fun to explore. Looking forward to see you experience it all, since you do have a keen eye at picking stuff up ;DDD
thank you once again for sharing all of this with me. It was a blast to read through and relive, and reminded me of quite a few things (esp since you're entering the territory of material-i-only-read-once, compared to almost everything before that i read a few dozen times ahah). So that's going to be a blast to relive for me as well ;D
thank you so much once again, and happy new year if we don't see each other again before the 1st ;D
Take care <33
6 notes · View notes
eli-my-beloved · 2 years
Note
Part 2 please of child mc,it’s sounds so cute😊😊😊
Tumblr media Tumblr media
the part 2 people have been waiting for. here you go guys! hope you'll enjoy them <3
Tumblr media
Aurelio would be a great adoptive big brother! he'd be very gentle every time, and he'd always tuck you bed. expect daily walks in the forest with him, where you'll play with the cute little animals <333
just like tyrian, i believe aurelio can cook very well ! especially pastries ! he's so kind wow <333
also, nap time is obligatory with aurelio. even if you don't want to.
anyway, 10/10 for aurelio! great adoptive big brother!
Tumblr media
Espen may have a younger brother, but that doesn't mean he actually knows how to care for a child. i mean, he only spent around eight years with anton before being locked away and never seeing him until the coronation.
but! he'll still do his best for you, and he actually does pretty well ! during the hot summer season, he'll keep you cool thanks to his ice powers, and during winter, he'll build snowmen with you.
bonus point if anton sometimes joins you during the winter, and turns the nice snowmen building activity into a snowball fight. you and espen versus anton, guess who wins /lh
he might, might accidentally give you a cold, though. especially during the colder seasons.
9/10 for espen! had to remove a point because of the cold thing..........
Tumblr media
Jasmir would do his best to give a child mc all the love a kid needs. he'll let you explore the depths of your imagination, and would love to hear you talk about your imaginary friends and such!
if you want to, jasmir will spend the entire afternoon drawing with you. once the two of you are done with drawing, he'll keep all of them somewhere safe. they're all memories he'll cherish forever <333
you'll always be dressed in the most beautiful clothes— only if you also like said clothes, though! he doesn't want you to feeo forced to wear something you don't like.
he rarely ever scolds you— unless you did something really bad, like perhaps breaking an expensive vase or something like that.
but in general he's very sweet and patient with you. 10/10 ily jasmir <333
Tumblr media
Arien does not know how to take care for a child. i mean, he was the one taken care of, as the youngest of his family.
sometimes, he'll go ask for help from his sibs when he has absolutely no idea of what to do!
please, please please please don't cry in front of arien. he'll immediately assume it's his fault, and he'll start to cry too. yeah, he may be the oldest here, but he sometimes also acts like a child...
otherwise, arien loves to play with you! if you're under the sea, arien will take you with him in his secret cave full of strange human objects. he'll also explore the old, sunken ships with you, though it is very dangerous...
6/10 for arien. come on man, you can do better 😭
Tumblr media
BONUS! URSULUS !
Ursulus is evil. however, the wholesomeness that comes with caring for a child may be the only thing that could soften his heart.
he'll act like he doesn't care about you— spoilers, he actually does. you're not allowed to leave his place unless you're leaving with him. and even then, you have to stay by his side, because you might swim away and get lost and then he won't know what to do and—
basically, ursulus' relationship with you would go from "i don't know this kid. i don't know them." to "excuse me???? mc asked for no pickles."
if you want to play with his tentacles, because you're a silly child, ursulus will allow you. he'll act as if he doesn't want to, but he's actually delighted. <3
8/10 for ursulus.
Tumblr media
and finally. we are done. bye. *dies*
30 notes · View notes
twilightmalachite · 8 months
Text
ABYSS - The Ocean of ■ That Drips Downwards 11
Author: Akira
Characters: Kanata, Madara, Souma
Translator: Mika Enstars
"That’s what Kanata said. Don’t take it, Mikejima. No copying."
Season: Winter
Location: Underwater
Tumblr media
Kanata: (… …)
(Puka, puka.)
(Floating, and swaying.)
(Where is this?)
(Never seen this place before.)
(But it’s like Kanata’s always seen it.)
(Strange.)
(Is this a dream?)
(Even though Kanata’s underwater…)
Tumblr media
Kanata: (Somehow, there’s something very warm—)
Location: Underground Waterway
Tumblr media
Madara: —Kanata-kun!
Kanata: Fwah.
Madara: Are you okaaay!? Are you conscious? Shit, that weird cloth that hides your face makes it hard to see your expression and all that!
Kanata: Mikejima.
Mikejima~…♪
Tumblr media
Madara: There there, it’ll be alright, God, you’re safe now!
I’m here to save you, okay?
…I’m sorry. I couldn’t protect you. It must’ve been scary.
Kanata: No. Because Kanata knew that Mikejima would save him.
Madara: Haha, God is the one who saves, not the one who gets saved.
Kanata: But Kanata is not yet a god—
—No, wait. Might not be able to use that excuse anymore.
Kanata needs to work hard and do his best.
Kanana needs to become a god who can save everyone.
Kanata doesn’t want Mikejima to have to look like that anymore.
Tumblr media
Madara: …What kind of face do I have right now?
Kanata: It’s a horrible face. It’s all beat up… Are you okay? Does it hurt?
Madara: I’m fine. Injuries like this are medals to allies of justice!
Kanata: Did you get in a fight again? That’s not good. Why can’t everyone just get along?
Madara: ‘Cause a world where everyone got along and were always happy and smiling would be gross.
Remember this! There are people in the world who get angry when others smile. If someone is happy, there will be those who want to force misfortune onto them.
I’ll protect you from horrible people, those bad guys. Next time, you won’t have to make a face like that again.
Kanata: That’s what Kanata said. Don’t take it, Mikejima. No copying.
Madara: We’re pretty similar, aren’t we? So, it’s not that weird we’re thinking the same thing, right?
Kanata: Muu… Mikejima’s just making excuses.
Souma: —Yaya, those who are far away, hear my voice! Draw closer and behold me![1]
Kanata: Fwah? W-What was that? That loud voice…
Madara: Hehe, God, remember that weird kid back at your mother’s funeral?
Madara: That kid helped me rescue you!
Kanata: Eh, that poor child who Mikejima hit?
Madara: Is that how you see it? That guy’s pretty impressive! He’s a weird kid… But if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have been able to save you.
The rescue mission was simple. He acted as a decoy and put up a commotion. During that time, I would sneak into their boat!
Kanata: Boat?
Madara: Yeah, they kidnapped you and tried to take you away somewhere on a boat! You don’t remember?
Kanata: Now that he thinks about it, Kanata does kinda remember floating and swaying…?
Kanata was scared and kept his eyes closed, so he’s not sure.
Madara: Maybe those guys from ABYSS who kidnapped you were trying to ship you overseas on a boat.
Kanata: Did you see a movie like that?
Tumblr media
Madara: Yeah. But I didn’t expect something straight out of a movie to happen in real life…
I don’t know, it seems unnatural.
Kanata: What do you mean?
Madara: This time around, I heard the hard way that children are really no match for adults. It’s just not possible for a smart kid to outsmart a dumb adult and turn the tables.
Those guys from ABYSS looked like they’d trained like crazy… I think they’re probably professionals in that line of work.
And guys like that fell for a strategy devised by a child—Diversionary warfare? How’d he get caught by that?
Kanata: Hmm? Why are you asking Kanata?
Madara: Well, whatever, I was able to save you. This is a happy ending, so I’ll put the questionable details aside.
More importantly, let’s hurry up and get outta here. God, can you walk?
I’ve swam through water, broke into a boat, and beat up some careless guards with a stick..
Then after that, I swam and ran all the way back here with you on my back, sooo…
I’m reaallly tired. So it’d save me if you were able to walk on your own.
Kanata: Hmmm. Kanata is not good at walking, but he’ll do his best.
It would be pathetic for a god to only be saved.
Madara: Mhm, do your best! I’ll at least lend you my shoulder.
Kanata: Ohh, so it was you.
Madara: ? What are you talking about?
Kanata: When Kanata was closing his eyes, he felt something warm every so often. Kanata felt so safe every time he felt it.
Kanata barely can remember it anymore, but it was like when he was being held by Mother.
So that was Mikejima. Kanata felt something warm, because Mikejima was carrying him on his back.
Madara: I’m all cold and wet from swimming through the ocean and back, though…
Kanata: Okay. If you say so. It’s much better than not knowing what Kanata was touched by for what reason.
← prev | story directory | next →
1. The line Souma is reciting here is an old line samurais say when they give their name on the battlefield.
1 note · View note
husbandohunter · 3 years
Note
Your Stardew Impact has given me a serious brainrot and I couldn’t sleep on it so here
Imagine the boys getting Isekai to Stardew and meeting their (soon-to-be) s/o a.k.a the farmer who found them in the mines and dragged them out.
It’s basically the same as the original but the reader lives in Stardew universe from the beginning.
The Outlanders who trespassed the Stars [Stardew Valley + Genshin Impact]
Tumblr media
Synopsis: You were a simple farmer who lived a simple life before crossing paths with these outlanders. A tale of greetings and farewells tells a story that loving someone was like looking at the stars in the sky; a sense of warmth amidst darkness, where the dots connect no matter what distance it was. But just like stars, they were meant to be unobtainable.
(Basically what happens if the boys get Isekai'd)
Genre: fluff, angst (faceapalm didn't mean to)
Characters: Childe, Xiao, Zhongli
(A/n): Hi anon, haha I didn't think the Stardew Impact series would be this enjoyable. Allow me to serve your brainrot. But just for future references there is a character limit! Also it long, a pro tip to use ctrl+F and type in the name :>
======================
~Childe's Story~
The day you met Childe was perhaps during the most fortunate yet unfortunate hour of your life.
Winter comes by, your fields were left dry, what else was there to do other than mining? You were aiming to build a new Barnhouse before summer comes, fishing only made average income thus you decided to take your pickaxe and hope to run into some diamonds, gold or even better: prismatic shards. However, expensive items could only be found in the deepest parts of the mountains, where dangerous monsters lurk by.
When peeking over the abandoned minecart you so carefully shielded yourself with, you began contemplating whether you've just dug yourself a grave instead. The whole area became infested, you weren't in the best condition and on top of all that, you were out of food.
You decided to make a run for it, with the treasures and goodies at hand, you couldn't give up. However, things only got worse when purple mist began taking over your vision, signaling a lava bat wave drawing nigh. It was thanks to your greed that you ended in such a predicament but it was also your greed that brought you to him.
"W-Woah!!"
You tripped with your toe pointing downwards into a pile of wooden crates. The bats swarmed in shortly after, daunting around the area above but you couldn't afford to look. Your face was down to the ground and you could only rely on your ears regarding their whereabouts. As if Yoba heard your prayers, the lava bats could not seem to find you, confusing them to think you've escaped. And so, they flew away.
"I'm never doing that again," The sudden impact was excruciating, you were sure that your lip bled due to biting too hard. At least the floor felt somewhat soft, cotton-like and warm enough to be comforting. Yet, for some reason it was also a little…bony?
"…Mn…."
Your body jerks up like a springboard when you felt something shifting. A man, no older than his twenties, no older than you, lays sprawled out under your form. He was beginning to stir and you panicked when a pair of blue cerulean eyes pointed into your seemingly shocked ones within the close parameter.
Too close.
The man gives a cheerfully wry chuckle, you could practically feel his breath almost, "Well this is quite unexpected, didn't think I'd end up in this position," he jests, soon his expression began to tighten into a grimace, "Mind getting off me though? With all due respect miss, you're a little-…heavy."
You scrambled to the side while still kneeling, "What the hell, who are you?!"
"Hm," The man didn't answer, instead he pushed himself upright and turned his attention to examine the surroundings, "Where are we?" He paused when he noticed how the ceiling was made of rocks, "Wait, is this a cave?"
"Ninety two floors deep and surrounded by monsters," you sighed in frustration while rubbing your head with your palm, "Seriously, whoever you are you shouldn't be here, especially if you're not even carrying the necessary supplies."
"Hey, I just got here. I'm just as confused as you," he puts his hands up in a defensive gesture, "But how strange," he mutters to himself, lowering his arms ever so slightly before pinching his chin in deep thought, "I swear it was the right portal…or maybe it was the other one? Hmmm, could it be the effect of the hidden seal?"
I have so many questions. You sweatdropped nervously. Here you were, hours spent to get to the deepest parts of the earth and looking like a cavewoman while his clothes were practically untouched, nor did they seem to be a recognizable fashion. You've seen many odd events within Stardew Valley but not to this extent, "Alright you know what, let's forget about it for now. We need to get out of here before those lava bats come back for us again. Otherwise we're toast," you gestured to the lava pool, "Literally."
He gave another one of his gleeful smiles, you wondered if he was afraid at all, "Sounds like a solid plan to me. Judging by the equipment you're wearing, you seem to have been here for a while. You know your way around?"
Figures that he doesn't know, you thought, "I'll lead."
"Glad we're on the same page. Though, we've only just met and yet you're still willing to help a stranger like me," he mentions in an off-handed manner, perhaps he wasn't used to generosity ever since being recruited as a harbinger, "But not that I'm complaining. You have my thanks, comrade."
"(Y/n)," you tell him, "That's my name. I'm a farmer that resides in this town."
"I see. A town it is then," he inquires, "Call me Childe, as where I'm from, not sure how to answer that anymore."
"What do you-"
But before you were able to question him further, a hoard of lava crabs were spotted crawling it's way towards where Childe sat. He shot you a confused look and turned to the direction, amusement sparks in his eyes,
"Lava crabs? You've got to be kidding me," your arms have already grown tired long ago, at this rate, you figured it may be best to pay a visit to Harvey's doctor office and check up for any muscle strains that have occured during the process. You most likely have considered how heavy your items felt now. Partaking in another battle would only make it worse.
"Ah an opponent, to think this place wouldn't have a set of new monsters to fight. I was growing tired of beating up hilichurls all the time."
His casual reaction caused you to scrunch up your nose in disbelief, "We're being ganged up on and your first response was that???"
Childe paid no mind, instead he propelled himself back to his feet using his trained reflexes and swaggered towards the crowd, "Relax girlie," Stopping just after a few steps, he turns his head ajar over his shoulder with a floppy smirk spreading his lips, "I've got this."
You held in your breath, wondering if you could trust this man. For now all you could do was sit back and hopefully regain some of your strength while observing by the stacks of crates that were abandoned years ago. The lava crabs formed a straight line in front of him, they were smart creatures, cornering their prey in a very well strategized form so that trespassing was out of the question. Childe wasn't intimidated in the slightest, he merely looked down at them with hooded eyes, flexing his fingers for preparation.
"Lava crab…in other words you're of the pyro element," the harbinger holds out his hand in front of him, trying to cultivate the shape of his bow, "A shame. This fight would end much shorter than I anticipated."
However, when he expected his element to manifest, nothing came out. Childe was left dumbfounded.
"Don't just stand there," you screeched, "Do something!!!"
"Wait," he halts you and tries to summon his bow again. Once, twice, as the crabs grew closer still there was nothing, "My powers…they're gone?!"
"Take this," left without a choice, you pushed yourself towards him and shoved Neptune's glaive into his grasp. He examines it with curiosity, but you knew this was also your own well-being you were entrusting him, "It's really easy to use, just-"
When a crab leapt forward, you ran back to create some manageable space for Childe to move in. He delivers a powerful slice using one arm, hitting the crab's weak spot while tossing it toward the side until a dent was formed in the wall. Your mouth parts, fast, he was fast, you didn't even have the time to blink. It was as if he knew the glaive more than you did. Though, the assumption wasn't that far from the truth. Childe was well adept with swordsmanship as he was an expert with many other melee weapons. Which is precisely the reason why he chose the bow as his main, a ranged device, the challenge to keep him on his toes. Just like he was now.
"He wasn't lying when he said he could fight," you watched in mesmerization, each single blow he delivered deemed equivalent to three hits on your part. Childe was both powerful and swift. He was formidable. The way he effortlessly deflected his opponents despite not having an enchantment ring made you forget how much of an idiot he was earlier before. Soon, the lava crabs began to lessen, leaving what remained of their dusted corpse while some retreated back into the depths of the cave.
"Not bad, it was kind of fun!" Childe laughs exasperatedly, glancing at his blue reflection upon the marred blade, "It's been a while since I last used a sword, and still haven't gone rusty either," he hands you the hilt, "Thanks for letting me use it by the way. You seriously got yourself a sick weapon."
"Keep using it for now, I think I'm a little too worn out to handle it," you say regretfully and pointed your nose towards the ceiling, "The mist hasn't disappeared so there's probably gonna be more monsters we'll encounter soon."
Childe looks up as well, "Huh I was wondering what that meant."
"By the way I've never seen anyone fight like that. Exactly what kind of place are you from?" You finally ask, "You somehow ended up in a cave, without anything to defend yourself with and it's not like you know your way out either. Are you...from another world?"
"Huh didn't think you'd draw that conclusion so quick," he comments jokingly, "Guess there's no reason to hide it anymore. Indeed I am from another world, at least, that's what I can tell so far. I've never encountered these types of monsters either."
You couldn't help but be taken aback by his honesty, "That was strangely easier than I thought...."
After escaping the cave, you introduced Childe to the wizard who lived in Cindersap forest, M. Rasmodius. He was extremely intrigued by the concept of an outlander and seemed happy to be of assistance. Since helping others was the culture of Pelican Town, you commissioned Robin to build a small cabin for him to live in temporarily. In return, Childe must accompany you back to the caves and make up for your losses. It was a mutual benefit since he had the opportunity to fight as well.
Childe befriended the townsfolk rather easily. On friday nights where everyone goes to the Saloon to enjoy their time, he would be found in the other room playing pool with the gang (Sam, Abigail and Sebastian)-- you as well when he managed to drag you along with him.
Crashes at your place when you were busy with the farm. You can bet that he would pop up suddenly midday through your window, “Can you use the door like a normal person???” But despite how much you get irritated by this habit, all bygones are bygones the moment he starts a conversation.
He sticks around as you carry your hay batches, sharing his stories. How the organization he worked in was a powerful militaristic force that had authority over many countries. But you didn't see him as a brute since he only joined for the sake of his parents, for the sake of his siblings and their dreams.
You thought of your grandfather who also once told you to pursue your dreams: live a peaceful life away from urban society. However, as long as the harbinger was with you, there wasn't much option for 'peace'.
"Tell me again why you dragged me out here? You know thatI still have a lot of work to finish back in the farm," you trekked your feet through the thick icy sheets with one hand clutching the zipper near your collarbone. It was incredibly windy in Cindersap forest and Childe happened to have convinced you to leave the comfort of your home for 'a surprise favour'. He purposely made a vague statement to draw in your curiosity but if you had refused-- well, that would have led to constant nagging on his part.
"You'll see," is what he said, it was what he told you through this whole ordeal. He lifted his chin to feel the frosty air against his face, "There's this one activity I wanted to try out. Back in Snezhnaya, I used to bring my brother to go skating out on the lakes. It's deadly freezing there so the ice is pretty thick to work on. Haven't done any of that since I joined the Fatui."
You shot him a deadpan glare, "That's why you brought me out here? Why didn't you just go by yourself?"
"Now that's cold (Y/n),” you rolled your eyes at the pun, “Can't you loosen up instead of throwing yourself in a pile of work all day?"
"It's not that I don't want to...I'm just very busy with the farm since it's the last day of the month. At least I want to do as much as I can before Spring comes."
"Haha you're right but you only live once y'know?" Childe noted happily despite your protest, "And like I said before, seize the opportunity when you see it. You never know when it will be your last."
You cocked your head to the side, "What do you mean?"
"Now let's get started shall we?" As you both reach the edge of the frozen lake, Childe takes a step forward ahead of you, "Have you ever gone ice skating before?"
"Yeah but..." You glanced at the glassy surface with skepticism, suddenly struck by hesitance. The thought of drowning made you retreat your steps right away, "I don't know Childe, it doesn't seem that safe."
"That's true if you're not careful enough," he pointed out, "Luckily you have me to help you with that."
"How does that work?"
He placed one foot onto the hardened lake and parts his mouth into a grin, "Watch."
In contrast to your cautious personality, Childe was considered to be more of a wildcard if anything. He loved adventure, just like you except his side often included bloodshed and the thrill that danger carries. You weren't sure if it was worth putting up with his antics or entertaining his idea of skating on thin ice, but you complied regardless. He had a way of delivering his words through that cheery voice you couldn't deny.
Prior to meeting him, life was boring. The corporate world was boring. You moved into your grandfather's farm in order to search for some form of fulfillment that Zuzu city couldn't give and you thought you did now that you had your very own farm, but slowly you began to pile more responsibilities than you could even count.
Everything you did, you did alone.
If it weren't for Childe, you wouldn't have learned the art of surfing on ocean waters. You never would have known the taste of mixing three different ice-cream flavours together despite what strange names they all had. Or what it felt like to mingle with the townspeople rather than mingling for the sake of business. Suddenly, everything became...fun.
Childe wanted to go far and wide. He was always running, so far ahead, somewhere beyond the stars as he could conquer the world to the point you might no longer reach him.
No longer reach him, huh. Curling your fingers into your palm, you renewed your courage and took a step onto the ice.
At the sound of boots tapping behind him, Childe spins around to see you wobble in your stance, nearly tipping over. He slid across to where you were and grasped your arm before you fell.
"Gotcha."
"Thanks," You sighed in relief, "Jeez, this is harder than I thought."
"Guess this is your first time then," he commented with a bit of jest, "Don't stress yourself over it too much, you'll be okay. I got you."
He carefully led you to the center, staying close in case you were to fall sideways again. You awkwardly tried to keep your legs straight, balancing on your own yet the fact that there was still water underneath struck fear into your nerve. It caused you to tremble and eventually skittered backwards.
"Haha ice skating isn't your forte isn't it?"
"I'm just getting started!"
He takes your hand in his before you could even protest, it was one of his many aspects that you found endearing-- the fact his impulse stems from genuine intentions, feelings, not giving them a second thought. The two of you glide using the soles of your shoes, he speeds up ever so slightly and the adrenaline begins to increase until there comes a rush of excitement, freedom. The stress you once had already forgotten once taking flight upon the ice.
"Look Childe! I'm actually doing it!" You couldn't help mentioning with a bit of youthful playfulness in your voice, "It's so smooth and fast! Almost like I'm flying!"
He smiles quietly from a distance, “See? I told you that you'll be fine.”
It was clear to many that the two of you were much closer than what meets the eye.
Childe began to notice the change in your aura. You were happier and much more soulful. Before you were always on the edge, cautious in contrast to his sanguine approach, he couldn't help but be caught off guard whenever you teased him. Or the sudden honesty that causes him to be flustered. By your side, he was no longer a Fatui Harbinger rather more of a puppy, adorable almost.
But when he saw that the reason you changed was because of him, it brought fear into his bones. Why? How did things get to this point? You were lost in a wonderland, ignorant to the blossom that had sprung inside of your chest.
Maybe it was better to be ignorant. Just live in the moment while it can still last.
"You're leaving?"
Standing at the gateway between the mountain cliffside and the starry sky, you call out to the man you've known in a way that carries more than what words could say. Because he left a mark in your years that could never be erased and here he was, trying to erase his existence completely.
Childe lets out a bitter chuckle, he didn't dare to face you, "I didn't expect you to catch up so quickly. You're quick-witted, comrade."
"It's (Y/n)," you corrected, trying to steady your voice so that he couldn't tell the expression you were making, "Why didn't you say anything? What makes you think that I'll just stay silent and let you go on your own way? This isn't a joke Childe! Don't act as if none of it matters to you because it sure as hell did to me."
His lips that held his usual smirk flattens into a straight line, "Even if I did, would it make a difference?"
The world stills. You knew the answer, he knew the answer, you just refused to admit it. One by one, the stars begin to collect themselves until a bridge was formed in front of him, on another day he would be enjoying the scenery alongside you. But today they would be for you alone to witness. The man who you spent your time with had slowly, regretfully, inevitably became a stranger. He was right. It wouldn't make a difference. You were already aware since the day you met him that he belonged to another world and you willingly offered to help him find a way home.
"You know, you could come with me."
Your eyes jolt open. His voice was so free of care. As if he was commenting on something so minor on a casual Sunday afternoon while accompanying you to the beach. But when you came face to face with the harbinger, his expression lackluster, you knew that he meant every word.
"Just you and me, we can travel across the world to our heart's content. I always thought you were an adventurer just like me and you know what, the farm life just doesn't suit you," Childe slowly extends his hand as an offer, for you it was a temptation, "So what do you think? Care to join me?
Your lip quivers. What he said sounded like a sweet dream that you so desperately wanted to take a bite out of. But even so, you thought about the townsfolk, your farm, your grandfather. Their images flashed in as if holding you back, chaining you to the ground, "I can't."
The answer pained you more than it did to him.
"Figures, this is your home after all," he huffs out, " Now do you understand? I can't leave my home either. If I did, heh, I think my siblings would despise me until the very end and I just don't want that. So no hard feelings, okay?"
You didn't reply.
"Don't worry. I won't pressure you if you don't want to," Childe turns back to the bridge, it was almost time, "Do what you have to do (Y/n), hate me if it makes you feel any better. You can even forget about me," he paused, renewing his resolve, "But I know I won't."
"Childe-"
You ran to grab his scarf only to have it ghost through your hands. He was relieved that he couldn't hear your voice, as he returned to Teyvat, Childe wonders what kind of expression did you have before he left? He'll never know.
---
~Xiao's Story~
The day you met Xiao...well, you weren't in the best of the best positions.
This was probably your sixth attempt trying to make it through all levels of the cave and reach the last floor. The quest had been sitting in your drawer for months.
Of course you didn't expect things to be easy, the fortune teller channel you watched every morning had yet to inform you with any good fortune and you would often bump into obstacles that would halt your progress.
But to be fair, sometimes the colourful ore would attract your attention and before you knew it, it was time to go.
So close yet so far. You dragged your feet tiredly against the ground. What time was it? Who knows. Judging by your state, you assumed it had already struck past 12 a.m.
However, today luck seems to have taken pity on you, just...slightly.
You puffed air into your cupped hands for the nth time, huddling deeper into the touch of your coat while trudging into the cave's cold climate. A little longer, any time soon, you kept telling yourself over and over but as if time was frozen, the wait felt like an eternity. Ah how much you wish to be in the comfort of your soft, fluffy bed right now. Though, merely visualizing the image only reminded how achingly freezing it was so you decided it was best to spare yourself from the details.
"I can't do this anymore..." leaning your head against the ice covered cavern, you whimpered, "I should have stayed home."
As you were about to shut your eyelids, something flashed by your peripheral vision. You darted towards the direction it came from, the light was a bright green hue against blue, could it be, "Warmth!"
It seems you jumped to conclusions too quickly. With impatience, you swung around the corner, expecting to find a heat source, only to meet something much more horrifying.
"KYAH!"
They stared straight into your eyes, those demonic eyes tainted by black and fangs that stuck out of the mouth like tusks on an elephant.
However, when the light evaporated you were able to have a better sense of sight, slowly revealing the monster's true form and the body of a human boy. He fell onto his back with a thud and you used this chance to calm yourself from the frightful encounter.
"He's...unconscious?"
You meekly crawled to where he lay and examined closely. Aside from the mask, there were various distinct features that stood out in his attire, his tattoo being one of them, imprinted in what looked like an eagle. You then realized how unsuitable his clothes were in this current situation. At least there were no injuries so far. But was that a good thing? This man practically came out of thin air as if some sorcery had been committed. Witches never left a good impression ever since they cursed your chicken coop. You were hesitant whether to help a stranger who could potentially be one of them or a creation they cultivated. What other explanation could there be?
"I can't leave him here, it's too cold."
Your gaze suddenly falls upon his covered face. The design, although intimidating at first, upon closer look was very alluring in it’s own way. You haven't stumbled upon anything like what the merchants had to offer in Pelican Town and the mask almost looked too foreign. Was he from the east? Curiosity eventually takes over and you gingerly reach for the mask, sliding it off his face.
"Eh...?" You gasp, taken aback by his striking appearance. A part of it made you feel this was no ordinary boy but that didn't mean he should be abandoned in this environment. It would be immoral to let him die in a place like this.
Before you could even make a noise, his eyes bursted awake, grabbing your wrist in a harsh grip. He used his other hand to push against your shoulder until you were instantly pinned on your back with no opening to escape. You choked a sharp sound as you stared with wide eyes. The man was akin to a beast, he had the expression to match it, like the glaring sharp gaze of wolves that roam at the mountain cliffside near Zuzu city and the ferocity of the demonic mask he once wore. You were breath taken but in a more fearful way as he continued to grip onto you tighter with the possible intent to harm.
"Speak!” He demanded, “What have you done to my powers and where have you brought me?"
In Xiao’s case, he was thrown into another world under the circumstances of fighting against one of Liyue’s unknown beasts. He was on high alert, thinking the fight was still ongoing.
You may look human but you could still be a threat. Xiao is the type to act upon instinct in the moment when something feels out of place. Like the spear he wields, he was trained to behave like one: to strike, strike down his foes without hesitation. Don't leave an opening for them to take the advantage. Xiao is a weapon and violence was what he knew best. He couldn't afford to lower his guard even for a minute.
You could say he left a pretty strong first impression to the point you were paralyzed. As he looked at your face, petrified and tense, he wavered and began to reevaluate things. Large doe-like eyes stare into his feline ones. They didn't seem to hold any sort of malice, was it possible for you to be the one who cursed him?
"Eeeeeek! I-I have no idea what you're talking about, let me go let me go!" you cried, "Please don't hurt me!"
Perhaps he shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.
Xiao feels your struggle and eventually gets off to give you some space. Your reaction was understandable, he was used to it anyways. Xiao scoffed to himself, why are mortals so weak? Their strength, if compared to the adepti, was separated by a large gap (Like it always should be). Xiao kept his gaze averted to the side as you rubbed your wrist, focusing his attention elsewhere. He glanced at the vastness of the cave in front of him.
Why was he sent here? For what reason did it serve? Ever since he sealed the contract with Rex Lapis, the guardian Yaksha had never entertained the thought of leaving his country nor did he act upon it; he was far too loyal to his god to do so. But here he was, against his own will yet free from his karmic binds, stripped of his divine powers in the return of endless questions about this new found mortal-like form.
What should I do now?
Choosing not to dwell in any longer, Xiao rises to his feet and proceeds to walk the other way.
"Ah u-uhm sir, where are you going?"
If the universe wanted to test him then he'll find his own answers.
"Wait! Please wait up!"
"Tch."
Although he intended to keep going, Xiao heard you running to his direction and slowed to a halt, some mortals surely do not know their boundaries, "Hmph there's nothing timid about you. Leave me be," he demands without turning around, "Don't forget what I'm capable of."
Stay away.
"I-I know that," you retaliate weakly. Just by hearing his tone made you want to melt away and become one with the ice. He was a scary man indeed, the same one who attacked you earlier. But even so, "That doesn't mean I want you dead! If you go that way, you might freeze to death. Aren't you cold? You don't even have a coat on."
"..." Upon the mention of his predicament, his senses started to kick in. As a yaksha, Xiao wasn't able to be affected by temperature but now he felt his hands beginning to sting, trembling from it’s impact. Ah, so this is what it feels like to be cold. Still Xiao was stubborn and continued to push you away, "What happens to me has nothing to do with you. Now leave, or else."
"I-I can't do that!"
Xiao clicks his tongue in frustration. How annoying. This is why he dislikes meddling with meddlesome humans. But quite frankly, he wasn't sure how to handle your type of forwardness since most tend to back away. And so, Xiao does what he usually does, he ignores you and continues walking, eventually you'll give up on him anyway. However he hears a loud thump and whips around to see your body laying in the snow. The hours of travelling in the cave have seemed to caught up that you inevitably collapsed from exhaustion.
Knitting his evergreen brows together, Xiao lets out an irritable sigh.
...
You wake up to find the sky above your head and your coat draped over your shoulders like a blanket. Dawn was slowly rising above the distance valley, you figured it was around 4a.m in the morning. Rubbing your eyes, you eventually noticed a figure sitting across, admiring the sunrise.
"Ah it's you!"
Xiao jolts ever so slightly, peeking over his bare shoulders until you could see the sun's light casted against his golden irises. Did he stay here while you were asleep? Then, that would also mean he was also the one who carried you all the way up from sixty floors below.
“You're awake,” he noted flatly, “If that's the case, then I have no reason to stay here."
Of course, that wouldn't be the last time you saw him.
You were a tenacious human being, always so insistent in dragging him away from his lonesome personality. He resides in the forest and camps there for the time being (similar to Linus since they’re both homeless lol). But you’d always run in, DAILY and sometimes for the most stupid and mundane reasons. It could either be giving him the snacks you snatched off the table since Xiao refused to participate in parties, or fancy seashells you found on the beach. You didn’t want him to miss out on all those things of course! Although he responds with irritation, it was as if his words went through your ear and then out the other. His efforts were futile (however, he was slowly warming up without realizing).
He learns how easily his body reacts in the presence of food purely because he was hungry. You bring an extra set of blankets and pillows to his campsite when the ones you gave him wore out (he didn’t ask by the way). Xiao needed help whether he liked it or not since he no longer has his powers, hence he couldn't run away. He somehow ends up moving in to live on the small islands near your farm.
Xiao doesn't understand humans very much. Just as he was unable to understand how human emotions work. He was the almighty yaksha, Adeptus Xiao and a formidable beast that killed thousands in thousands of years, at least that's what he used to be. Even now he still has yet to figure out what he was or who he was exactly without a weapon to define his existence. He was made for battle but nowadays, he found himself watering plants, chopping down trees and throwing seeds to the chickens living in your coop. How did everything escalate to this? It baffles him, how much his life changed so drastically.
Haha, you’re Xiao of course! The greatest farming assistant I could ever have.
But above all else, the one thing Xiao couldn't understand among those universal questions, is you.
"Why are you doing all this?" Finally he asked. The urging thought had been persisting at the back of his mind ever since.
You stopped on your tracks and turned to look at him, tilting your head with a complexion made curious, "What do you mean? Ah, did I do something to bother you?"
"I didn't say that," Xiao interrupts abruptly, he folded his arms across his chest and shot you a deep contemplating gaze, " You're...incomprehensible. All I did was drag you out of that cave yet why are you so kind to me? Don't you think you're extending yourself too much just because of one little deed?"
Because to him, saving a life was the norm. He does it unconditionally just like you helped him with those same intentions. Except, Xiao had been pursuing corrupted souls behind the scenes all this time and expected nothing in return. Experiencing someone's gratitude was rather new.
You shook your head, "It wasn't small to me," a satisfactory smile melting onto your face, "I'm here at this very moment, feeling the wind against my skin and smelling the scent that nature carries, these are just the few things I cherish. It's thanks to you that I can still watch over grandpa's farm, that's why I don't feel like I'm overextending myself in any way," suddenly you beam at him, "At first I thought you were a scary person. Haha. Time flies so fast, it's amazing how much can happen in between."
"Hn, you're a simpleton. But that's not a bad thing..." he points out curtly yet softly, "Do as you wish, I won't stop you so feel free to call my name whenever you need my help. I'll be there."
Xiao also finds you to be very clumsy. He couldn't leave your side even for a minute. But that was a lie. He just grew very attached to you.
When you tell him that you've been going into the mines for a quest, he tells you that you're far from capable. So he teaches you how to wield a weapon properly. Xiao was a strict teacher and he intends to keep it that way, he wouldn’t even allow you to set foot in the mines until he finds you capable enough.
You were a meek yet optimistic person, yet you were also strong-willed.
For a place that wasn't his home, he felt it was. And he found that it was all in your presence. Those peaceful hours hiding inside the barn while a storm rages outside, you sit beside him while hugging a sheep close to your chest. Xiao learns how to feed some of them, he even brings seeds for your hen house too. If you were ever short on materials, Xiao would travel to the enchanted forest behind the wizard's tower and get them for you, no matter how late it was. Though if you went by yourself, he'd deliberately go with you despite your protest.
The minute Xiao realized how much he was attached to you, it was devastating. As if the claws of his karmic debt had come back, pulling him into the shadows once more. He was an adeptus with a contract and bound by his duty, he must choose between his god who saved him from a nightmare and you, the girl he fell for, showed him that the world was indeed a beautiful place, he was stuck in an equilibrium and he felt that the binds may even tear him apart if he kept resisting.
But when did he ever have a choice?
"Where are you going Xiao?"
When he heard your voice calling his name, the yaksha willingly pulled himself to a halt. His sunset eyes narrowing from guilt before it shuts with a trembling sigh out of his mouth. Why is it that you always appear during the moments where he desperately needs to get away from you? He planned to sneak out the door, making sure his footsteps were unheard while you slept. And by the time you woke up, he didn't have to face you, he wouldn't have to say goodbye. He won't. Even if what he was currently doing said otherwise. He will never hear himself say those words.
"Xiao?"
Yet, he cannot refuse you. Not now, not ever. You were breathtaken to see a type of expression that you never thought was possible for him to make. The creases that once formed between his slender brows, the heaviness he always carried in his expression was replaced by a sense of sentimentality. Before you could register what was happening, Xiao took his step towards the porch of your house, not once did he tear away from your attention. He slides his hand beneath your jaw and affectionately against your cheek, the fondness evident in his gaze that you almost felt imprisoned by it.
"You never fail to appear in the most inconvenient of times," He gives a weak smile, a smile that makes your heart swell. Despite how much you could drown in his honesty, you couldn’t help but feel there was something wrong, “No matter how many times I’ve tried to push you away.”
You don't know him. You don't know his history and what things he committed in the past. But as if you've known this whole time, Xiao couldn't picture you leaving him for those reasons.
“You’re gentle but you don’t let others put you down. You’re kind but you don’t allow it to be your weakness. I sometimes wonder how it is possible for anyone to be so forgiving?”
"I-I don’t understand why you’re this Xiao. Is something happening?”
He won’t tell you. He doesn’t see the reason why you need to know.
You wince when something poked the side of your neck and you realized it was a tranquilizer. You looked at Xiao with dismay, his face becoming hazier until your vision darkened and could no longer hold your own weight. Xiao caught you around the waist with one arm as you fell unconscious.
"How can you be so stupid...?"
But he speaks as if those words were meant for him.
Pulling your body closer to him, Xiao chains you down into a desperate embrace. A silent scream of desperation. His forehead pressed against the bent of your shoulder and the other arm rested his hand at the center of your back. He will relish in the shape of your body, memorizing every curve both perfections and flaws. The way you fit into his arms and the pleasant smell of nature that you taught him to love, this was the only remnant he was allowed to take. Every detail, he will remember it as if clinging to the last moments of his whole world.
If he was allowed to have a desire, let him meet you again. He prayed to a god, any god-- even if it meant damaging his oath, he will accept his punishment. He prayed to each star in the sky and if he must he'll pray to the devil himself, whatever it is, he will do it for you.
As he painfully lets go, Xiao lets his hand slide off your body until the last thing he felt was the very tips of your fingers. He settles you down gently into your bed. You belong here in this peaceful world, not the one riddled with monsters.
---
~Zhongli's Story~
The Skull Cavern was considered to be the most dangerous mine of Stardew Valley. It wasn't your intention to run into any trouble, all you wanted was to test your cool new galaxy sword on some easy monsters and then be on your merry way. At first.
Just one more floor. You say, before catching an arm sticking out a pile of rocks.
"I-Is that a person?!!!"
You dug as fast as you could, any time soon the mummies would wake up and start attacking. Quick quick! Moving the last rock, you saw the face of a young man, he was asleep but alive! and undeniably attractive oh wow *lip bite*. But despite your attempts of shaking him awake, it was fruitless and the monsters weren't waiting.
Taking out two warp totems, you raised it to the ceiling and chanted a teleportation spell.
It wasn't everyday that you brought a man to your house.
But when you did, he wouldn't be from a cave, six floors down and buried in a place filled with monsters.
"And this small black device you say is some form of communicator? That certainly is intriguing, never in my years have I heard of something so advanced."
However you were beginning to think otherwise. That this man would have been from the prehistoric ages who you managed to unbury after his thousand year slumber. Zhongli sits on the couch across from you while examining your smartphone, a term he claimed had been completely foreign. You were contemplating whether you should bother Harvey despite being past his work hour and book an emergency appointment to see if this man had a special case of amnesia.
You brushed the idea away. There was so much going on and nothing made sense, for now, you decided to settle this on your own.
"Uhm Zhongli is it?" you asked nervously, "Maybe you can try giving the name of a relative or someone you know. I can use the phonebook to see if I can find their number."
“Number?” He parroted.
You blinked a few times, making sure if you heard him correctly, “Yes, number. You know? To communicate?”
"I appreciate your kind gesture," Zhongli acknowledges in a polite manner, "But that won't be necessary. This device doesn’t seem to be at a level where it can communicate with the people from my homeland."
If he was travelling then how the hell did he end up in THE Skull Cavern is what I wanna know!
“T-Then if you don't mind me asking, where are you from?"
Zhongli takes this moment to think of an answer, aware that if he blurted something out it would not have translated in the way he wanted. But you so kindly invited him to your humble household that he felt it would only be proper to owe you an explanation, "I suppose a land from afar."
You sweatdropped, "Suppose?"
"Yes. Although I won't spare you the details since this is not your burden to bear, it’s quite difficult for me to try and remember exactly what happened," Zhongli took his chin into his hand, fingers almost covering his mouth, "Perhaps I would need search for clues in order to refresh my memory."
Oh no he really does have amnesia!!
"A-Actually why don't I just call the local doctor, I'm sure he wouldn't mind giving you a hand," you say while taking your iPhone.
"A doctor? There's no need," dismissed Zhongli, "My condition is only a minor one and I do not think I'm in a position to afford medical assistance. Besides, you have done more than enough. May you find great fortune in your years Miss (Y/n), I shall be on my way."
He pushes himself up from the couch and you watch him cross towards the door. But just when he was about to reach the space of your carpet, Zhongli pulled to an abrupt stop.
"Ah yes,” He began as if remembering something, “ Do you happen to know where the nearest Inn is located? I would need to find a place to shelter for the time being."
"..."
This was how the former god ended up being your roommate. Like Xiao, Zhongli also takes upon a human form. He needed to eat, drink and a place to sleep. He insisted that he would take the couch as well as help you with any tasks that needed to be completed during the day.
You question if Zhongli was even aware of what situation he was currently in. Answer: HE WASN'T because Zhongli is an extremely dense man. To feel embarrassed was not part of his dictionary when living with a woman.
The type to take long showers. You always find the bathroom steaming because he doesn't turn on the fan to get rid of it (but maybe you should've taught him). So when it was your turn to use the shower, the water was either lukewarm or worst case scenario, cold.
Also he somehow finds your old kettle (that your grandfather used) to brew tea even though you told him you already had a water boiler. He stated that he liked doing things the old-fashioned way, it brings him a sense of nostalgia. You couldn't understand what he meant (unless you considered that he was older than he seemed....no that can’t be it!)
Despite it all, Zhongli was incredibly polite and considerate. Tending the farm was not an easy job and you often came home with sore muscles, fatigued from running so many errands. He's knowledgeable in terms of making the best herbal mix for a soothing remedy.
You would see a warm cup, every morning before going to work and every time you come home, it was sitting on the kitchen table (if his drink had potion effects, they would be regeneration).
Gentle he was but it wasn't good for your heart.
Ever since Zhongli moved in, it became difficult to live in your own house.
There were many situations where he caused trouble despite not intending to cause disruption to your daily routine. And when he did, the repairs came out of your own pocket. One time you opened your microwave to find thick ash and burnt cinders stuck upon the walls.The entire space was a hazard and needed to be dispensed immediately since Zhongli thought that plastic-wrapped items were allowed to be microwaved. Another incident, as bizarre as it sounded, was when your vacuum cleaner zoomed out of your house...and never came back. You remembered the awkward cough he gave when you shot him a deathly glare, hence why Zhongli was not allowed to touch your high-tech devices (if you considered them high-tech) without your permission.
Even so, you couldn’t bring yourself to hate him. It was the opposite in fact. One day, all the flaws you counted suddenly became his charms. You came to find them endearing almost.
Zhongli was a handsome man. He carried himself with a distinct aura that could only be found in the rarest geodes; revealing orestones mined from the depths of a forgotten cave, sometimes in the shape of exquisite artifacts-- a type of ancient charm. Perhaps that was why people were willing to obey his every command without hesitation. Whenever Zhongli spoke, it was full of firmness and authority yet somehow deprived of arrogance. He was polite to all and does not indulge in conflict despite how tempting gossip can be in modern society. Always patient during your temperamental moments and considerate to the point you wonder if he even had any desires. He was so kind that soon enough, you couldn't help but be flustered by his presence. Forget about having a conversation, maintaining his leveled gaze was already enough of a challenge. Like staring into the sun after the morning dew. So gentle and so very comforting. But the more you linger onto the sun, it's rays will continue to set ablaze, eventually bringing you pain.
And you feared that you have grown addicted to those feelings.
Why can't he understand?
Stopping at the center of the bridge, you kept your head low while letting the anger take form into your tightened fists. The town was empty with only the sound of water flowing beneath your feet, filling the heavy air. They rippled and swayed, peaceful amongst your inner turmoil. The fact that such a miniscule attribute was able to make your blood rise was hilariously pitiful. How did you stoop to a point that even nature, the very being you've tended for a living, could bring you bitterness? Were your feelings this uncontrollable? The answer was obvious. It spiraled, violently and mercilessly as if commanded by another. There was a wave of emotions filling your heart and you could almost feel yourself drowning from the inside. If only they were as tranquil as the ones you stood upon.
"I thought I would find you here."
The voice you dreaded calls from across and you fight to keep yourself from gasping. Oblivious to it all, Zhongli proceeds to close the distance until he towered over you, looking down to your bowed head, "When you hadn't returned home without a notice, I was getting worried if something had happened. But I'm glad that wasn't the case."
Your whole face clenches.
"Is something bothering you? If you would like, we can discuss it after eating dinner. Come, I have already prepared our meal while you were gone as well as turning off the rice cooker once finished. I hope it can ease your stress since I know it can be difficult maintaining a farm like this."
"Zhongli."
He blinks hard when the sound of his name falls out of your lips. Zhongli was an experienced observer and listener, he was able to catch the glimpse of frustration that dripped from the tone you used. Relaxing his poised shoulders, Zhongli carefully asked in a reserved manner, "Have I...done something to make you upset?"
A trembled breath escaped when you breathed out. Dense. He was so dense that sometimes it made you want to crack him open.
"Tell me..." you began, "Are you also like this with other women?"
The former god sets a brief sharp pause, "I beg your pardon?"
"I'm talking about the way you act, they're...giving me all these mixed signals. We've been living together for months, we even share meals together! And sometimes you would help me with the farm and when I didn't ask, you still insisted on tending to my needs when I felt sick. I just…” you trailed off, trembling ever so slightly, "It's all perfectly normal. You’re nice to everyone. I know that. I know that!"
"(Y/n)," Zhongli whispered. They sounded like a thousand needles to your heart.
"I doubt you have the intention to put me in this situation. You're a really great person Zhongli but I sometimes can't help feeling this isn't just some roommate thing you know?" closing your eyes, you thought of your past relationships, how they started and ended, "Do any of your actions mean anything to you? Do you know how it makes me feel? Or am I just overthinking this, that it was all one-sided this whole time?"
Alas the truth spills and the air stills, bringing the waves to a halt. Peace, tranquility, nothingness. That was all you wanted. That was all you heard. It was deafening.
"I see, so that's why," Zhongli mutters to himself with eyes narrowed, "There's...something I need to confess."
After several months, he tells you everything. How his memories returned, some of them were already intact. He told you about his homeland and his true identity, that he was a god that once ruled over Liyue for six centuries before giving away the gnosis.
The reason why he hadn't said anything until now was because there will be a day where Zhongli must depart and return to Teyvat. He was a god with a contract, the circumstance didn't matter, he must stay with it until the very end of time.
Through his years, Zhongli learned to cherish his finite moments. He didn't want to taint them with troubles to come. Thinking too far ahead into the future would only bring strain.
But what he didn't tell you was his true feelings. You were a sweet woman, tender and enthusiastic about agriculture, the way your feelings extend to the earth with grace whereas many others chose to trample over without hesitation, he fell deeply in love with that side of yours. You taught him many things and showed him many sides of humanity that he had never seen before. He even discovered an aspect of himself. Like breaking a geode, revealing the beauties held inside.
Zhongli couldn't look you in the eye when your expression was covered in disbelief. He thought he hid his feelings well but it seemed that he was expressing his love in subtle and subconscious ways that eventually drove you to fall for him as well. You didn't stop him when he left the bridge. He wasn't even in your house. He chose this, he chose to set you free from his heavy presence.
And as the weight started to lift from your shoulder, you sank to your knees and wept. It was cruel of him. To give you these emotions yet he could not bring himself to stay by your side. But your heart would not allow you to hate the man you love.
Things couldn't end this way. You had to say goodbye to him, see him one last time because if you didn't, these burdens will haunt you forever.
When Zhongli looked up to the sky he saw his ending drawing near.
Three days had passed since he last spoke with you and he had no plans in seeing you again. Soon, the former god will return to his rightful place. Even though he had already given his gnosis to the Cryo Archon as Liyue already began to enter a new era, it seems that his decisions weren't his to make as he was born in a world where stars ruled above the archons. Fate-- they won't allow it. He does not belong here. If there was one thing Zhongli regretted during his time in your world, it was that he couldn't leave you a good memory before taking his departure. The sight of your large glassy eyes and quivering lips when he crushed you with the truth, he sincerely believed that they would haunt him much more than it probably did to you. But perhaps things would be easier if you despised him. Because if he had stayed and you came to forgive him, he would no longer have the strength to let go.
Despite it all love was indeed a selfish creature. He couldn't help but feel resentment towards the stars for bringing you into his life in such a mockingly sweet manner. They tied him with a contract, made him vow to his own beliefs and tested them by using you-- a bystander struck between the crossfire, eventually bringing you down into the depths of his battlefield and he thought that maybe...maybe there was hope that he could bring you with him as well.
How disgraceful for a god to let the devil tempt him so.
Zhongli was thankful that you weren't beside him. Otherwise he would dance with the ugly hope of a slim chance for you to come along. This was the best choice. It was for his-- your own good.
"Zhongli!"
The arch of his lined eyes shot upwards. As if fate had decided to give him one final test, he felt your small figure crash into him from behind and your arms coming to hug around his waist, tightly and fearfully that he felt like you would be the one who would slip away instead.
"I...I made it time," you panted, burying your nose into his clothed back, "I’m so glad...I'm so glad you're still here…!"
Your cry of relief was a thunder to his ears, a reminder that he was the main cause. Zhongli, casted by solemn smile, lifts his hand to cover over yours and grasped onto them, I'm here, he wishes to say. Yet he knew they were only temporary promises, "To come all this way despite everything that has happened. You foolish girl..."
"It's your fault Zhongli, I'm a fool because I love you! It's all your fault that I have to say goodbye," You grit your teeth as the tears fell down your face until it blended into his clothes, "Take me with you. Please. Don't leave me all alone…!"
The words he wanted to say melted into a silent gasp through parted lips. Zhongli merely clenched them back together and his hand on your hand, even tighter. He won't lie to you. At the very least, let his actions speak for him where he himself could not.
Take me with you.
Don't leave me alone.
Goodbye.
If it is fated Morax...we will meet again.
"I see," letting his thoughts echo in his mind from the distant memories, the former god begins to take a new perspective upon his wisdom, "For many years, I have experienced countless farewells from the people I've come to known," Zhongli reminisced, tilting his head back with his golden eyes against night, as if searching for some sort of answer, "And yet I never thought what it must have felt like being in their position."
"Zhongli…" you trailed off, "Then don't! I may not know everything about you but it doesn't have to be this way. At least, just answer me this, will I ever see you again?"
"I'm sorry (Y/n)," he apologized and you knew the answer. He gently pries your arms off him, turning around so he could swipe the corner of your eyes dry. There was a glowing reverence in his countenance, one that he reserved for you and only you, it was the only way for him to express the feelings that run deep in his heart, "I cannot thank you enough for coming into my life. If there will be a day when I erode from your memories, I truly hope that you will find someone more suitable than I."
"That's ridiculous," defiantly, refusedly, you protest, "No one can replace you."
Zhongli laughs sadly as the white halo outlines his whole figure, signaling that there wasn't much time left. He wonders if there was anything he could do in his last moments, a small token, something, it could even be as small as a single star in the sky, "If it is fated...we will meet again."
You watch him turn transparent until he slipped from your grasp. No longer was the man, only the dust being one with the sky. They shone brilliantly but you were left in the darkness.
487 notes · View notes
moonctzeny · 3 years
Text
get to you again
Tumblr media
pairing: friends to lovers! hendery x fem!reader 
genre: smut, just a tiny teeny bit angsty I guess but with a happy ending, fluff
word count: 3k
warnings: raw sex, creampie, a little corruption kink?
summary:  “You wanted to lurch forward at him, tackle him onto the dusty road, and thank him by kissing every inch of his face. Hold him under the stars until you were covered with his smell, and the necklace wouldn’t be needed anymore; you could cling onto that memory instead. The urge was so strong that it made your heart physically hurt, knowing that you fell for the one person you shouldn’t have. But the heart wants what it wants, right?”
inspiration: get to you again - mac ayres
tagging the lovely: @markresonates
Tumblr media
It had been too long since you last saw Hendery.
You two had met so unexpectedly, both trapped in a small coffee shop a couple years ago, drenched to the bone and trying to find cover from the sudden rainfall.
“I was going to ask you if you were willing to share your umbrella, but I’m guessing you forgot it on the wrong day like me”, he joked, so you decided to share a table instead. After the fourth time he had you clench your stomach in laughter, out of the sheer willingness to make a stranger like you cheer up, you decided to exchange phone numbers, thus starting what would become a beautiful friendship.
It wasn’t easy being an idol. Two promotions in Korea, then a reality show in China, then another comeback. You counted the days, one by one until he’d get to you again. Until you’d finally re-watch his favorite movie with him for the millionth time, just to get to watch him laugh over the same stupid lines.
You weren’t sure when you realized you had fallen for him. Maybe it was last winter, almost exactly a year ago when he handed you your Christmas present. He had driven you on a hill on the outskirts of Seoul, the only place he knew with some privacy from prying eyes, and the breathtaking view of the tiny city lights made the freezing cold worth it. You were both sitting against the hood of his car, admiring the big city that seemed to unravel at your feet when you opened the small velvet box.
It revealed a silver necklace of two wings hanging from a dainty chain, with his initials carved on the back of the charm. As you stared at it long enough to make sure you weren’t making things up, you couldn’t decide which one was more beautiful- the pendant or the stars in Hendery’s eyes as he waited for your reaction.
“It’s symbolic”, he started explaining, a little embarrassed with how much effort he had put into the gift, “I know I’m not around a lot to take care of you, but just know that I’m always there if you need me. Like your guardian angel”.
He sounded so wholesome while saying it, long bangs covering his eyes that bashfully avoided yours. You wanted to lurch forward at him, tackle him onto the dusty road, and thank him by kissing every inch of his face. Hold him under the stars until you were covered with his smell, and the necklace wouldn’t be needed anymore; you could cling onto that memory instead. The urge was so strong that it made your heart physically hurt, knowing that you fell for the one person you shouldn’t have. But the heart wants what it wants, right?
Tonight, it was beating as fast as the rhythm of the blinking Christmas lights decorating your living room. How could it not, with Hendery sitting only a few inches away, sharing a blanket with you? He was a few minutes late due to a last-minute photoshoot, but he arrived at your door bare faced and dressed in his favourite flannel shirt. He was just how you liked him, raw and soft and beautiful.
Unlike what you had predicted, he suggested checking out a new romantic comedy on Netflix. It was one of those that come out every Christmas season, all with the same low budget and cheesy acting that ended with some festive spirit that magically solves every plot hole. Two childhood friends, falling in love with each other, yet the girl thinks that the guy is way out of her league so she does nothing about it. The pure irony convinced you that the universe must be surely playing some sick joke on you, forcing you to look at a Hollywood version of yourself getting a happy ending for the next two hours.
“I don’t understand”, Hendery huffs in frustration, midway into the film by now, “why doesn’t the girl just tell him she likes him? What guy doesn’t want to hear that?”
“Maybe she’s scared of the rejection, or ruining everything-“ you start defending the character with a raised voice, realizing that maybe you’re invested in the movie a little too much, “sometimes there is this line between two people, and it’s comfortable to stay behind it because you don’t want to lose them in case something goes wrong”. You draw an invisible line with your index finger between your bodies, and Hendery focuses his stare on it as if it was real. He looks lost in his thoughts, still frozen in place before shaking his head and murmuring: “I guess you’re right”.
Your comment, his response, the sex scene playing on the screen. It all made you so painfully alert with his presence that your whole body tensed up and your mouth dried up like it was filled with cotton. You both chuckle in the midst of all the steaminess, as the actor fails to drag his former best friend at the edge of the bed by tagging on her ankle.
“What a loser”, Hendery scoffs mockingly at the character’s mistake, and you turn around to give him a side eyed glare.
“Relax, muscle man. Like you would do it better”
He mocks offense by opening his mouth dramatically, and you giggle at the distortion of his face that still somehow managed to look pretty. It was so cute, how he always wanted to look ‘strong’ in the eyes of others, reliable and macho. You didn’t care about any of that, you thought his resolutions were stupid. He was perfect in your eyes.
“Of course I would! I’m strong, look-“
The disaster played out in front of you like a filmstrip. His hands on your ankle, then his own ankle tripping over the blanket on the floor, and finally the feeling of his chest weighing down over your own. With him pressed so close against you, you were sure he must feel the way your heart is thumping, filled with so many emotions that it’s ready to jump out of your body.
The room was cold, but with Hendery’s sudden body heat coating you, you felt like you were on fire. The fleeting thought of you taking off your clothes, to relieve yourself of the suffocating feeling made your cheeks burn even more. Hendery’s neck was exposed just inches in front of you in it’s full glory, and you thought about where those veins on the side of it, visible through his pale skin, ended. You’d gladly kiss along the path they drew, let your teeth leave little violet blossoms on the way, while you’d make mental notes of what kisses made him react the loudest.
It’s his bangs tickling your temples that made you realize that he is still on top of you. You look up into his eyes, expecting a frantic look, maybe a string of apologies leaving his mouth. He was strangely serene, staring at your own lips instead, and for a second you thought he’d finally mercy you and give you what you daydream about every time he comes around. You’d kill for the sight of him with puffy red lips and blown out pupils, messy just for you. You’d kill for the feeling of his tongue against your own.
When he plants a kiss on your right cheek, right over the corner of your mouth, you think it tastes bittersweet. You were still high on the intimacy when he finally apologizes and rips his body away from yours, your crash back down to reality brutal. The movie was still playing on a high volume, yet all you heard was a deafening silence after his trip. You don’t object when he tells you he has to go before you get to see what happens to the couple behind the screen. They were eating you away, all the things you wanted to say to him as you sent him off, so much more than just a ‘drive safe, text me when you get home’.
Those thirty minutes after you close your front door felt like a lifetime. You replayed the accident over and over again in your head, the skin burning where he kissed you. The thoughts of calling him, telling him to turn around and finish what he started, were so loud that you felt like a crazy person.
You certainly thought you went insane when you heard a knock against your door. Peeking through the peephole, you’re surprised to see that, as if you’d unlocked the secret of manifestation, Hendery was standing once again in your hallway.
“Guanheng? Did you forget anything?”
He looked restless and fidgety as he walked back inside your apartment, like he couldn’t wait to let out whatever was on the tip of his tongue. His shoulders were coated in a light layer of snow that had managed to flush his face, and dampen his hair and eyelashes as well.
“No- well- yes, I-“. He stopped himself mid sentence and sighed, and you let him collect his thoughts. He looked serious, the expression foreign on his usually bright features, yet the way he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration made butterflies fly in your stomach. “What did you say about that line between two friends again? When we were watching the movie?”
You blinked back at him in confusion, waiting for him to tell you that he’s joking, he just forgot his charger, and he’ll see you again when his company allows him to. But he doesn’t, so you start to roll the pendant he gifted you between your thumb and index, trying to calm yourself down.
“It keeps two people that are meant to be together apart, but there is too much at stake to cross it”.
You start drawing that invisible line again, the one that separates the miserable comfort of denying your feelings for him and everything you wish you were brave enough to pursue.
He would be brave for the both of you.
Hendery grabs your lifted hand, bringing it on the side of his neck before he crashes his lips against yours. You don’t hesitate in kissing him back, hungry for his lips that taste as sweet as you imagined them to. He hasn’t realized how impossibly close to his body he has brought you, not until his embrace gets so tight that your necklace pokes uncomfortably against his chest.
You suck on his bottom lip and he welcomes you with his tongue, the kiss getting so heated now that you can’t help but tug on his hair to keep you grounded. Shivering from your action, his hands are now sliding from your hips to your waist, following the curves of your body until he reaches the underside of your breasts. You mewl against his lips as his thumbs dig into their softness, discreetly trying to cop a feel through your cotton shirt.
A moan leaves your mouth, lewd and desperate as he swallows it with a kiss, and he rips himself off of you when it seems to reach his stomach. He looks disheveled, as if he woke up from an intense, lucid dream; panting, sweating, staring at you with those big puppy eyes.
“We- we shouldn’t. We are going too fast, right?” You nod in agreement at his question but you’re not really listening. You had your fingertips placed on his moving lips, and he identifies the metallic smell as the remnants of you fidgeting with your jewelry earlier. “I should take you to dinner first, to that one place you like so much”. Losing interest in what he is saying, the words being too distant and grey when he stood so deliciously in front of you, you mindlessly start to unbutton his shirt, fascinated with that mole over his collarbone and wanting to see more.
The fire your fingers spread against his skin, in the midst of the chilliness of your living room has him groaning under his breath, with a voice as low and sexy as in his good morning calls. You can practically see him throw all his inhibitions out the window when he kisses you again, pushing you with his body until your back finds the nearest wall. Hendery’s hands are far from gentle now, leaving bruises behind all the soft spots he kneads with his fingers.
“I want you”, you confess with a whisper as you rid him off his flannel for good, and you can’t stop yourself from tracing all the lines of his toned abdomen. You can feel his heart thumping loudly in his chest, its fast rhythm matching yours. You grab his hand to lead him to the carpet next to the Christmas tree that is blinking along with the lights that adorn it- you’re too impatient in your arousal to take him to your bedroom and he doesn’t protest.
Hendery lays you on your back, finding his place between your legs as you wrap them around his waist to bring him closer. You remove your hoodie and the sports bra you had on, his lips immediately latching onto one of your nipples. He circles his tongue around the bud, licking and sucking on it interchangeably until you’re a begging mess underneath him.
Tugging on the elastic band of his sweats, you urge him to get naked for you completely, and he removes the extra garments with a strong pull. His sex bouces out of its cotton constraint, red and throbbing and aching for you. It makes the heat that’s pooling on your lower stomach spread even further, and you wiggle your hips to remove your sweatpants as well.
There’s something about the frilly pink panties you’re wearing- the innocent design on your shapely body that ignites a carnal instinct in him. He wants to ruin you, mark you, make you his. The sound of fabric getting ripped has your eyes bulge out in shock. You’ve never seen Hendery so determined.
He falls on top of you again, leaving urgent kisses on your jawline as he rubs his hard member against your heat. It’s driving you insane, how he’s so close to where you want him but not quite there yet, and you tug his hair again to make him look at you.
“I wanna feel you raw”
And raw was how he’d give it to you. You feel his warm hand over your stomach, keeping you in place as he aligns himself with your entrance, and the pressure his tip’s already feeling has him cursing out.
“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this”
He dips himself slowly into your pussy, careful not to stretch you uncomfortably much. His worried eyes are glued to your wide ones, reading your expressions to ensure they’re those of pleasure. And indeed they are, your eyes rolling to the back of your head when he bottoms out fully, a symphony of both your moans filling the room.
He starts out with a steady rhythm, your pussy adjusting to his size with every calculated thrust. You’re getting drunk with the intimacy, with his smell that sticks to your skin and the sweet nothings he whispers in your ear. You feel addicted to it already, to the feeling of having him be a part of you, and as his growing desperation has him picking up his pace, yours makes you wish you could live in that moment forever.
“I don’t think I’ll last much longer”
”Neither do I”
He can tell how close you are, your heaving chest and guttural sounds giving you away. His cold fingers find your clit then, rubbing your sensitivity in messy circles and pumping more blood to the area.
“Yes, baby. Let go for me”
Little stars of various colors dance around in your vision, framing the sight of Hendery fucking into you so beautifully. You enjoy the hypersensitivity that the continuing motion of his hips gives you, locking your legs around his waist as his thrusts turn sloppy.
“Come inside me”
Just those simple words, slipping out of your pretty mouth are enough to send him over the edge, grunting as he paints your walls in ropes of white. You feel him twitching inside you for a good while, your belly bulging in fullness. It drips out of you slowly when he finally gets off of you, his hands spreading your thighs apart so that he can admire his creation.
He chuckles in disbelief of what you two just did, removing a piece of fake snow that somehow landed on your hair. You can only admire the way his Adam's apple bobs up and down, all the little curves and shadows on his neck, his smile that gives you tunnel vision.
“All this time…”, he whispers softly, “you liked me too?”
You silently winced at the naiveness of his words, knowing damn well your feelings ran way deeper than a simple attraction. Nodding affirmatively, you avoid looking at his eyes by pretending to play with his fingers. You can’t let him see the way they have glossed up, yet the numbing feeling of disappointment is getting hard to ignore.
He doesn’t let you distance yourself from him further, lifting your chin up so you can make eye contact with him again. To your surprise, he looks way more nervous than you, subconsciously nibbling on his lower lip. He takes a deep breath, mustering up some courage before verbally letting his thoughts out of his chest.
“What if I told you I am in love with you?”
You were shocked at the confession, so much so that this reality seemed like a figment of your subconscious mind. You expected to wake up at any moment, to find yourself asleep on your couch, two feet away from him and still stuck in the sucky friendzone. But that moment never came, no matter how long you held your breath to trigger your awakening, and you let it go with a sigh and a blurb of your own thoughts.
“I’d ask you to be mine”
882 notes · View notes
varnienne · 3 years
Text
At His Mercy
This is for the Citrus Dome's Hybrid AU Collab. It's so late and I feel terrible but life is so hectic for me rn. aflskfj this is my first attempt at writing monster smut so please be patient with me T-T
CW: dubcon, naga!Shinsou, edging, minor degradation/name calling, gn!reader but they have a pussy, I think that's it?
Tumblr media
A rodent squeaked as it raced across the ground. You jumped, heart thumping in your chest as you turned at the sound. Brightening your lantern, you glanced around. Nothing. You sighed.
Why did I take this job again? Oh, right. The reckless dumbasses in your party were still healing from the last job. Next time they want to fight an elder black dragon, you’re going to teleport them as far away as possible. Now, here you were, on a solo quest to help pay for lodging and food while they recovered. They owe me for this.
Something pulled at your senses. Frowning, you concentrated on it. No oily malice, but no warmth of light either. You hesitated. Last time this happened, it led you to an abandoned mansion full of strange traps and gifts. Poor Mina was now cursed with a ghost child haunting her. At least you got a new spellbook out of it.
Another tug made you stumble. Guess I don’t have a choice. Slow, hesitant steps, the light of the lantern showed nothing but glistening rock. A cold droplet fell on your hand. You raised a brow, brushed it off, and kept walking. A few more landed on your clothes. What… your gaze moved to the ceiling. Eyes wide, you swallowed thickly. Sharp stalactites dripping with water hung low. Well, if I wasn’t careful before, I sure as hell will be now.
The strange pull coalesced and swelled until it pulsed from ahead. Magic sliced through the air, disturbing the formations above you. Several began to shake. Shit. You pushed off and didn’t look back. Some of the fallen stalactites started to block your path. Throwing your free hand out, magic surged from the pendant around your neck.
“Guiding Bolt!” Light converged into a ball. The ball raced forward, crashing through the rocks. The path was clear. More stalactites fell behind you. One skimmed past your leg. Another just missed your ear. You pushed harder. I’m not gonna let something like this kill me!
Another tremble alerted you to the largest column cracking and starting to fall. If you didn’t hurry it would cover the exit. But the stalactite was falling too fast to cast another spell. You leapt forward and rolled into a ball. The column crashed as you stood, ice shooting down your spine at the echoing thud. That was way too close.
You brushed yourself off and checked your lantern. “Dammit.” The glass was shattered and the last of the oil shimmering in a puddle by your feet. You shrugged. It was cheap anyway. Digging in your bag produced a striking stone. “Light,” you murmured. The stone sparked a few times before igniting, its glow just bright enough to see ahead of you. “Perfect substitute.”
~oOo~
Another hour of walking brought you to a three-way division. The pull surged once more, drawing you to the left path. It had a soft light that radiated with warmth.
The further in you went, the stronger its glow became. A gasp left you at the beautiful geode. Its vibrant purple crystals glittered from every crevice. The pull you felt earlier rippled all around you. This was the source of it. The geode’s aura hummed with a soft trill. Your eyes closed as the soft tinkling echoed in your ears. A smile danced on your lips as the magic enveloped you into an intoxicating high of warmth and comfort. There’s a word for this feeling. What was it again?
Something slithered around your ankles and a deep, timbre chuckle caressed your ears. “Well, well, well. Looksss like I found a would-be thief.”
“A… a thief?” Wait… were they talking to you? Your eyes opened as you tried to sense who was behind you. A yelp escaped your lips as you were lifted from the ground. Now hanging upside down, you stuttered out, “N-no! No, I wasn’t trying to…” But you were. For your client, at least. He wanted a small pouch full of crystals for the village’s power system. “Alright, I was.” Shaky hands waved in front of your face. “But I-I’m sure a few... small ones should work fine.”
The voice scoffed. “That’s what they all said.” Whatever held you up, shifted. You gasped when your gaze met the being who trapped you.
His deep violet scales glimmered with the geode’s light. Bright lavender hair defied gravity in soft spikes. Lithe, sun-tanned skin covered his torso, sloping down into a thick tail that disappeared into the darkness before looping back through the crystals and around your ankles. But what really caught your attention were his eyes. Slitted pupils with violet irises as deep as his scales, a quiet hunger for something you couldn’t place in them.
“Tell me,” he brought you closer, gaze narrowed on you. “What should I do with you?”
You gave him a shaky smile. “Le-let me go?”
The naga laughed. “That was a cute try,” you flushed, “but no. Can’t let you go that easy.”
Maybe if you could focus on another spell-
“What time of year is it?”
You blinked at him. “What?”
Shinsou huffed. “What time of year is it out there?”
“Uh… It’s almost time for the autumn harvests.” Heart pounding furiously, you eyed the growing smirk on his face and swallowed. “Why?”
The naga chuckled. “The villagers only ever send someone down here every few years before winter.” His tail finally lowered you to the ground. Though it coiled further up your legs. “Usually as some kind of sacrifice. Looks like they chose you to be next.”
“Sacrifice?” Escaped as a mere whisper. “What… what happened to the others?”
Shinsou slithered closer and cradled your face in one hand, the other carding through your hair. It loosened your braid and forced your hood down. His smirk turned into a wide smile that showed all his fangs. Another chuckle. You shivered.
“Depends.” His long tongue flicked out. “Do you wanna be eaten?” His thick coils tightened around your body, the pressure soothing knots in your shoulders and back. The softness of his scales relaxed the last of your tension. “Or would you rather face the villagers that sent you here?”
“I…” With your friends still recovering, you weren’t strong enough to fight an entire mob alone. But was becoming food really much better? “I don’t know.”
A strong hand lifted your chin. You glanced into Shinsou’s eyes. Funny. Were they glowing like that before? Or was that the crystals’ light in them? Claws gently slid up and through your hair.
“So, you want to be eaten?” You answered with a breathy yes. He chuckled. The deep tone had warmth rushing to your face. “Just remember, you asked for this.”
You blinked when the end of his tail tapped your nose. It brushed across your cheeks and trailed down to your neck. You shivered. Shinsou’s eyes flashed. His tail uncoiled from around you. Every touch of his scales on your skin sparked heat low in your abdomen. He smiled and finally released you from his coils.
Clothes in disarray, your shaking legs gave out. Shinsou caught you. “Careful now. Wouldn’t want a nasssty spill.”
You gasped. A tremble rippled through you. Shinsou’s hands grabbed your hips as his tail slithered between your legs. It teased you, moving higher and higher. Then it stopped. You rubbed your thighs, trying to relieve the ache.
Shinsou leaned in, breath ghosting over your ear. “If you want to be eaten, beg for it.”
You bared your teeth at him, but he only chuckled. Damn. Then his fangs nibbled at your neck. Fuck it. “Please,” you whined.
He smiled into the base of your neck. “‘Pleassse,’” His tongue slowly dragged up to your ear. Smiling lips barely touching the shell of it, he whispered, “What?”
Breathing ragged, you mewled and grabbed his arms. “Eat me.”
“With pleasure.” His tail brushed your inner thighs and wrapped around your waist. Coils shifted as he raised you high enough to reach your sex, tearing your clothes off. Shinsou set you down on a small pile of his tail. Clawed hands gently trailed down your hips and thighs. Your sex twitched when he pushed your knees apart.
He breathed in deep. Eyes rolling back, he growled. “Fuck. You smell deliciousss.”
Two fingers gently traced over your puffy lips. Up. Over your clit. Down. Barely sliding in. Shinsou teased your sex again. And again. You squirmed, trying to buck your hips onto his fingers. To no avail. A whine sounded from your throat.
“Impatient to be eaten are we?” He tapped your clit then gently rubbed it in circles. Slowly, so, achingly slowly, he leaned down. Breath ghosting over your pussy, he smirked. Then steadily licked up your slit.
You mewled. “Please, make me cum.”
“That’s sssir to you, little slut.” His deep chuckle rippled through you, strengthening the haze in your mind. Shinsou gently thrust into you. It writhed around, searching for that special spongy spot that should be…
Your back arched as your fingers dug into his tail. “Oh, fuck!”
Right there. The naga kept attacking that painfully wonderful spot. Rubbed your clit in faster circles. His fangs gently nipped at your nether lips with every thrust of his tongue. A clawed hand snuck around your thigh, holding your hips still. Shinsou stopped.
You whimpered when he pulled away. “Ah, ah, ah.” He glanced up, juices glistening on his lips. “You haven’t earned it yet.”
Blunt nails dug deeper into his scales as he edged you again. End of his tail slithering around your neck. And again. Fingers ghosting up your sides. Claws flicking across your nipples. And again. Tongue sliding against that delicious spot.
Finally, you couldn’t take it anymore. “Please sir, can I cum?”
Shinsou gently rubbed your clit. “Don't you want to feel this good all the time?” You whimpered and hastily nodded. He smiled with all his teeth. “Then all you have to do is sssubmit.”
783 notes · View notes
Text
Waiting For You Part Six (Ford Pines x Reader) Home In Your Arms
She awoke before the dawn as usual. Under the blankets was warm. Although the boat was cold Ford’s body, which was firmly pressed against hers, provided plenty of heat. The gentle swaying of the boat would have made it easy to fall back asleep, but since the weather was supposed to be clear today, she decided to get up and watch the sunrise.
Gently slipping out of the covers, and out of Ford’s grasp, she quickly dresses into more layers before quietly stalking up on the deck. She could still hear the heavy breaths and snores coming from the cabin below. The deck was even colder than the cabin, and there was a layer of frost on the upper windows. She quickly made a cup of coffee then downed it, then leaned against the front railing, and waited for the sunrise as the clouds on the horizon turned pink.
She was lost in thought, so when someone wrapped their arms around her waist she jumped. The person behind her chuckled and she let out a sigh.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Ford’s lips are right next to her ears, his stubble is scratchy on her skin.
She lets out a hum, then turns around in his arms to face him. “You could still be sleeping.”
He begins to plant gentle kisses to her cheek. “Couldn’t without you.”
She giggles and places a hand on his cheek, her thumb runs over his stubble.
“Why are you up so early?” He almost whines against her skin, still leaving soft kisses on the small amount of skin exposed on her cheeks and upper neck.
She let out a content sigh. “Weather is supposed to be clear. I wanted to watch the sunrise. Would you like to join me?”
He moves his head up and presses his forehead to hers. “I’d love to.”
She leans forward the inch she needs to so she can plant a kiss on Ford’s lips. It’s soft, but conveys so many feelings. Love, affection, the sense of being home.
Ford tries to lean forward for another kiss but she quickly turns around. He lets out an exasperated sigh.
“Sorry, but the sun rises this way.” She teases.
Ford’s hand is on the back of her neck, moving the hair away from it so he can press more kisses to her skin.
“You’re in a very touchy mood this morning.” She comments, leaning her back against his chest.
“Do you want me to stop?” He murmurs, lips still on her skin.
“No,” she quickly tells him. “Just an observation.”
He leaves a few more kisses on her skin before her hand wraps around his. “Ford, look.”
The sun had just peaked above the horizon, brilliant oranges and yellow began to fill the sky, casting warm rays of light on the small sleepy fishing village they had docked near. Soon the warm rays fell onto her face. “Isn't it beautiful?”
“Not more so than you.” Ford tightens his grip around her waist and rests his chin against the top of her head.
She’s glad Ford can’t see the blush on her face. Even after thirty plus years had passed, he could still make her blush. She was about to say something modest back to Ford until she heard a burp and scratching noises.
“Ugh, get a room.” Stanley had obviously joined them on deck.
“We have a room.” She rolls her eyes. “I think you forget we share sometimes. Your memory is slipping old man.” She teases without moving from Ford’s grip.
“Yeah, yeah.” He waves her comment away before heading inside the upper cabin to the coffee she had prepared.
There's a moment of peace, you might almost call it pure bliss. To spend the sunrise wrapped in your lover's arms, their warm breath leaving them in clouds of hot air, the boat gently rocking them as the morning tide rolled in.
“Everytime I wrap my arms around you, it feels like coming home all over again, to where I belong.” Ford whispers.
She turns to face him again and cups his face with both her hands, and kisses the tip of his nose. “When did you become so romantic?”
Ford leans into her touch. “I mean it.” He pauses for a second. “I don’t think I ever told you, but when I first came back and saw you, my first thought was that I had died and gone to heaven. Being with you again is everything I’ve ever wanted and more.”
“If you had died and gone to heaven then that would have meant Stan was in your heaven too.” She laughs.
“He’s still her now.” He grabs her hand to hold it still so he can tilt his head and kiss her thumb.
She laughs even louder this time, then wraps her arms around his neck to draw him into another kiss. “I love being in your arms. I love being your home, because you’re mine too.”
The boat rocks them gently as the morning sun warms their bodies. Their hearts are full of love for one another. “Let’s stay like this forever, and just let the world drift away.”
Ford is about the respond before Stan interrupts.
“Hey love birds! We gonna explore some anomalies today or what?” Stan barks from behind them.
Ford's eyebrows furrow and he goes to turn his head to snap at Stanley, but her hands catch his chin and turn his face back to her. She kisses him passionately three times and he’s breathless. She untangles herself from Ford and heads towards Stan.
“What’s on the agenda for today co-captain Stanley?” She smiles.
Ford is left standing there speechless and in a daze.
“Are you coming, co-captain Ford?”
Ford looks over at her. She squinting her eyes as the morning sun washes over her features, her cheeks pink from the cold. He has never been more in love with her.
“Coming, associate co-captain.”
---------- By the time the sun was high in the sky he three of them had docked the boat and climbed halfway up the mountain. The town folks had told them about strange flying creatures that lived near the top of the mountain.
The sun beat down on them, and they soon found themselves needing to take off some of the many layers of winter clothes they had dressed in for the day. About an hour into the hike Stan speaks up.
“Hey poindexter, how bout a break?” He huffs as he wipes sweat from his brow.
“We’re very close to where the creatures were reported being seen.” Ford is warm, sweat gleams on his brow, but his attitude is chipper and he’s not as nearly out of breath.
“Even the kid needs a break.” Stan motions towards her.
She rolls her eyes at Stan still calling her a kid. She’s also out of breath, almost as bad as Stan. The high altitude is getting to her, but she wouldn’t voice it.
Ford places a hand on her shoulder. “What do you think? Would you like to take a short rest.”
She smiles and nods. “Let’s take a short rest. We wouldn’t want Stan passing out on us.”
Stan grunts but doesn’t say anything. Glad to finally have a break from hiking. The three of them sit on the ground and drink their water. Ford is sitting as close as he can to her. She shivers as a cold breeze blows past them, feeling a little cold now that they have stopped moving. Ford wraps an arm around her shoulder, she looks up at him and smiles a wordless thank you.
After a few minutes they stand up and begin to get moving again. She groans as she stretches, and once they start moving again she is behind both the boys on the path.
“You alight? You’re normally faster than me.” Stan turns his head to talk to her while they move up the narrow mountain path.
“I’m fine, my legs are just a bit sore.” She tells him.
They continue their hike until they break through the tree line. They can see the horizon on the sea, and far below them is the small fishing village where they left the Stan O’ War II docked.
She’s stunned by the beautiful view and almost doesn’t realise Stan and Ford haven’t stopped walking like she had. She scurries to catch up to them, until she sees a bush near her shake. Looking over she sees a small head of a rat pop out.
“Aww.” She says softly to not scare the rodent away. “Hey little fella.” She coos.
The rat scurried back into the bush at the sound of her voice, much to her disappointment. She turns to catch up to the boys, After a few steps she hears a strange sound. Somewhere between a squeak and a squawk. Turning around she sees the rat has raised itself out of the bush with a pair of wings. This must be the creature they had been looking for!
“Fascinating!” She says to herself and pulls out her sketchbook and begins to jot down a quick doodle on the animal. The sun catches on her silvery pen and flashes a light up at the rat-like creature. It squawks loudly then dives towards her.
Further up the path Ford is mumbling to himself and Stan is tuning him out. Both of them freeze when they hear a shriek. They both stop dead in their tracks and whip around to see she is no longer behind either of them. The brothers share a second of a glance before booking it back down the trail.
It doesn’t take them long to get back to her. When she comes into sight they can see she's using one arm to shield her face, the other is holding her notebook and waving it aimlessly behind her, trying to hit the creature that’s attacking her hair.
Stan is the first to her, he pulls her to his chest with one arm and throws a left hook at the creature, sending it crashing into a tree. There's a moment of silence before Ford is pulling her into his arms. Stan makes his way over towards the tree.
“What happened? I thought you were right behind us?” Ford’s hands are on her face, tilting her head around and looking for any sign of injury. Her hands rest on his chest.
“Ford, I’m okay, promise. You were both further up the path when I noticed the creature. I thought if I called to you I’d scare it off. So I tried to get a quick sketch, and I must have scared it because it started attacking my hair.” She can’t help as a laugh escapes her.
“You could have been hurt.” Ford’s voice is soft as he scoulds her.
“But I wasn’t.” She teases.
“Please promise me you won’t go off on your own again? I don’t know what I’d do if you got hurt.” Ford told her seriously.
She stops smiling when she realises Ford is actually upset, not with her, but by the fact she could have been hurt. She takes his hands, which were still on her face, and holds them in hers. She leans up and gives him a soft, reassuring kiss.
“I promise.” She whispers.
“Check this out!” Stan shouts and holds the unconscious ratbird in between them by its feet.
She shrieks with surprise and jumps away from Ford. “Stanley that’s disgusting!”
“What!? I thought you like rodents!” He laughs, shaking the bird closer towards her as she takes another step back.
“I wouldn’t pick up a wild rat or bird with my hands, or let it that close to my face! Who knows where that thing has been!” She scolds him. “If it wakes up and bites you I’m not helping you.”
In the commotion Ford slipped on some protective gloves from his pack. “Hold it still please Stanley.” Stan complies and Ford gently stretches its wings open and begins to list off observations about it that she quickly sketches down. “It’s wingspan is too small to carry it far. That’s probably why it is native only to this island.” He lists other things off like teeth size and tail length.
Stan gently set the animal down. “Think that’s enough for today right?”
The other two agree and they begin their trek back down the mountain. She is in front of them now to set the pace, and so the boys can’t lose sight of her. When the path begins to get wider, Ford falls back a bit to walk besides Stan.
“Thank you for earlier.” Ford tells his brother.
Stan looks at him confused. “Didn’t do nothing.”
“You were able to get to her first and protect her from the rat bird.” Ford reminds him.
Stan waves it off. “Don’t mention it.” Stan wouldn’t admit to Ford how scared he was to see her get attacked like that, he’d rather not think about it.
When they make it back to the ship the sun is already touching the horizon. It was Ford’s night to cook and the other two went to rest in their beds. When the food was ready Ford headed below deck to find them both asleep. He wasn’t surprised Stan had nodded off. Almost anytime he wasn’t actively moving or engaged in an activity he would fall asleep. But his believed fiance would normally be reading a book or be annotating her notes.
He gently brushes some hair out of her face and she stirs. She smiles up at him and grabs his hand and brings it down to her lips to kiss his palm. His heart flutters at her sweet act.
“I fell asleep.” She murmurs, voice heavy with sleep.
“I noticed.” He leans down to kiss her. “Are you feeling alright?”
“I feel perfect now that you’re here.” She giggles and he frowns. She frowns too, but only to mock him. “I feel fine Stanford. I guess today was just too exciting is all.”
“Well, why don’t we have dinner then we can go right back to bed?” He suggested.
“You’re perfect. I love you” She smiles up at him, eyes half lidded.
“I love you too.”
They stare into each other's eye, and neither of them notice the loud snoring has stopped. There’s a loud groan announcing Stan has awoken.
“If you love him so much why don’t you marry him?” Stan teases, she rolls her eyes.
The next morning Ford is the first to wake up. His love is tucked close to his side, buried under the blankets. He turns on his side to draw her impossibly closer. She makes a noise at the movement but doesn't awaken.
The bed feels a little warmer than normal. Maybe the day will be warmer than the forecast had predicted Ford thinks. Ford lays there for a while, enjoying the silence and warmth for a while until she begins to stir.
He feels her stretch under his grasp and she looks up at him eyes still droopy from sleep.
“Good morning my dear. Would you like to join me for some coffee?” Ford murmurs into her hair.
She shakes her head no. “It’s too cold.” She tries to burrow closer to Ford to get any extra warmth.
“I’ll go turn the heater on upstairs, join me when you’re ready.” Ford moves the hair away from her forehead and kisses her there then freezes. He moves the back of his hand to her forehead, then his cheek to confirm his thought. “You’re burning up!”
“No, it’s cold.” She denies.
“You must have a fever. Do you feel alright? When did you start feeling sick?” Ford doesn’t bother keeping his voice down and clearly wakes up his brother.
Stan rolls his eyes at the commotion and makes his way to the upper deck.
Ford quickly stands. “I’m going to get dressed then go find a doctor in town. With a town this small there must be one to make house calls.”
“Ford, please, there’s no need for that.” She sniffs, still laying in the bed, pulling the covers closer around her.
“There really isn’t.” Stan grumbled, coming back down the stairs, a cup of water in one hand. The other was full of an assortment of pills. “Take these.” He gruffly shoved both the water and pills at her. She obeyed, sat up, and quickly tooked the unknown pills Stan had handed her. “Go back to sleep.” She layed down and closed her eyes, rolling over to face the wall away from the brothers.
“What did you give her?” Ford whispered, concerned.
Stan places a finger over his lips and motions towards the upper deck. They sit inside the cabin where Stan had turned on the space heater.
“She of course came prepared and packed herself cold medicine.” Stan slides the first aid box across the table so Ford can examine the medicine boxes of everything he had given her. “Almost every winter she gets a cold or two. Her legs start to hurt and she gets really tired. Should have seen it coming’ yesterday but was a little distracted by the birds. She must have noticed, but she never says anything. Thinks she can power through a fever.” Stan pauses a moment to laugh. “There was one time I caught her working on the portal shivering and sweating’ bucket. Practically had to drag her back to bed. The older we’ve gotten through, the less stubborn she’s gotten at admitting she’s actually sick.”
It finally dawns on Ford just how much Stanley had taken care of her while he was gone. Sure, she had told Ford directly that he had, but he thought she was just putting in a good word for her friend. Ford knows it to be true now. He remembers once in college she went to class with a fever just to be sent back to her dorm. If Stan hadn’t been here to make her rest when she was sick, she would have worked herself until she passed out or worse.
The cabin is silent for a moment.
“Thank you, Stan.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“No, Stanley, listen.” Ford looks at his brother and there are visible tears in his eyes. “She had told me before that you had taken care of her in my absence. I hadn’t thought much about it, since she's always been so strong and independent. I know she's also stubborn. If you hadn’t been there to make her rest… Thank you Stanley, truly, for taking care of her while I was gone.” Ford places his hand on his brother’s shoulder and gives it a firm squeeze. Stan returns the action, not commenting on the noticeable tears.
“She’d probably be happy to have you back downstairs to keep her warm.” Stan says, looking away from his brother. He doesn't want to see him cry, or he knows he will cry as well.
“I think you’re right.” Ford stands and goes to join her back in bed.
---------- Ford wasn’t exactly excited to go to the carnival on the boardwalk, but her and Stan conveyed it would be fun.
“It’ll be like the one back home! Remember when we tried to join the circus with our pet possum?” Stan laughed a deep belly laugh as they made their way past the ticket booth.
“You never told me you had a pet possum.” She's walking next to Ford, his hand is held tight in hers.
“But he told you about trying to join the circus?” Stan inquires.
“I’d argue he was more your pet than mine.” Ford argues.
They make their way around the attractions, eat some fair food, and play a few games. She has two stuffed animals they boys had won for her in her hands, and is filled with joy.
“You there, miss, would you like to know your future?” A voice calls to her, and she turns to see a fortune teller beckoning her towards their tent. The fortune teller's eyes are glassy and they don’t hold her gaze, they hold a long cane indicating they are blind. She feels an arm tighten around her shoulder.
“Fortune tellers aren’t to be trusted.” Ford tells her.
“It’s just for fun,” she comments. “There’s no way they could actually know my future.”
“I’ve traveled to different dimensions. I think almost anything is possible at this point.” Ford reminds her.
“I say we do it. I’d like to know when I get filthy rich.” Stan begins walking into the tent.
She tried to follow in after him but the fortune teller held up their hand. “Only one person inside the tent at a time please.”
So Ford and her wait outside the tent. It’s only a few minutes later when Stan exits with a huff. “You’re right, total scam, they don't know anything.”
The fortune teller exits the tent again and points over to her and Ford. “The six fingered one next.” Then enters the tent.
A chill runs up her spine. The teller was clearly blind, but to call Ford out like that. She shares a surprised look with Ford, who surprisingly goes into the tent after them.
Stan is clearly still mad about whatever he had been told, so she takes his hand. “I’m sure whatever they said it wasn’t true. Like you said, probably just a scam.”
Stan looks down at her warm smile and sighs. “You’re right kid. Just a scam. I should know.” They both share a laugh.
Ford exits the tent looking lost in thought.
“You’re next girly.” The teller holds open the flap for the tent and she makes her way in. The room looks bigger on the inside and there are two chairs on either side of a table with a fake looking crystal ball.
She sits and watches the fortune teller places their hands on the ball and thinks for a second before speaking. The ball lights up and smoke swirls around in it. “I would ask what you’d like to know about your future, but I already know what knowledge you seek. It weighs heavy on your heart. Knowing the truth might be even more of a burden. Would you still like to know?”
She thinks for a second. If the fortune teller was being honest and knew what she wanted to know, what she always thinks about, then she wants to know. “Will Ford and Stan die before me? I don’t think I could lose Ford again, and well, Stan is my best friend.”
The teller nods their head and hums. “As I suspected. Losing the ones you love is a heavy buren. Unfortunately you must bear the burden again, fortunately you only must bear it once.”
“Who?” Her voice quivers.
“As I said, losing someone you love is difficult, as you know. He cannot see his brother lost again. He will go first. You will be needed to comfort the six fingered one. This universe isn’t always fair, but it seems it will go easy on you, and you will not have to lose him again.” They remove their hand from the ball and the lights and smoke fade. “Now you know, you must live with this knowledge the rest of your life.”
She looks down at her hands and nods, then stands to exit the tent. She finds her boys standing exactly where she left them. Still looking lost in thought and a little angry. She pulls Ford into a hug and draws him from his thoughts.
“What did they tell you?” Ford asks, returning the hug.
She rests her chin on his chest to look up at him with a small smile. “That I’ll get to spend the rest of my life with you, and that’s all I want.”
“They really tell you that?” Stan grunts, clearly not happy with what he was told.
“No,” she confesses. “But they didn��t have to say that for me to know it, and-” She turns to look back at the tent and sees it's gone. She turns quickly to confirm what she sees if real. Then turns back to the twins, whose jaws are dropped.
The three share a look then agree to head back to the ship for the night.
Stan tosses and turns that night. He can’t seem to sleep. What the fortune teller had told his replays in the back of his mind and he’s still pissed about it. He throws off the sheets and puts on his coats and boots and heads to the upper deck. To his surprise, he wasn’t alone.
“Why are you up so late kid?” Stan slumps down onto the bench by her.
“I imagine for the same reason you can’t sleep.” She leans her head against her friend with her sigh.
There's a moment of silence between them. The only sound is the waves gently crashing on the nearby shore and the soft groan of the boat as it moves gently with the sea.
“What did they tell you?” They ask in unison. They both breath out a laugh.
“You first.” She says.
He thinks for a moment. “They told me I’m going to die before you and Ford. Ford, I get, he’s healthy and in shape.” She elbows him. “Not implying you ain’t! It’s just, I didn’t want to die before you is all. I’ve caused you enough suffering.”
She places her hand on his shoulder. “Stanley, don’t think like that. You haven’t caused me any suffering. You’re my best friend.”
He runs his hands down his face. “It’s my fault Ford got lost in the portal for thirty years, it’s my fault you didn’t get to start a family with him like you had planned to. It’s my fault you didn’t get to get married yet. It’s my fault that-”
“Stanley!” She shouts sternly at him and he turns to face her, surprised by the authority in her voice. She takes his hand in hers. “Stan you can’t think like that. You know I’ve forgiven you a long time ago with what happened with Ford. The rest of it… It doesn’t matter, because if it weren’t for you I wouldn’t have him back. If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t have met the most amazing great niece and nephew ever. If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t be sailing the seas right now with the two people I care the most about in the world, discovering amazing anomalies like I’ve always wanted to.”
Stan’s face is turned from hers but he gives her hand that’s holding his a tight squeeze. There's another moment of silence. “What did they tell you?” His voice croaks, she wouldn’t mention how he reached his free hand up to wipe his tears.
“They told me about the same.” She confesses. “That you’ll die before me, but I’ll be here for Ford.”
Stan Turns back to look at her. “Do you…” Stan doesn’t really want to finish the thought. He doesn’t want to think about their mortality.
“I’ll go before Ford. They said it was the universe going easy on me.” She smiles up at Stan, but the smile doesn't reach her eyes.
He pulls her into a tight hug. “Should we tell Ford?” She sniffs as tears sting her eyes.
“No. He wouldn’t want to know.”
----------- “Do you hear that?” Stan asks.
Ford and her are both sitting at the table noses in a book in the upper cabin of the ship. She and Ford listen, share a glance with each other, then look back at Stan.
“No,” they chime in unison.
Stan is driving the boat towards their next destination where there had been reports of strange ocean tides. He smacks his ear with the hearing aid.
“I must be picking up radio waves again.” He grumbles.
An hour later the two bookworms are asleep as Stan still mans the wheel, this time he hears the sound again. His head feels hazy and his body feels warm. He turns the boat towards the sound and begins to follow it.
Ford and her are jostled awake as the ship hits a large wave. They’re both lifted for a second from their seats before landing back down with a thump.
“Stanley what the hell is happening?” Ford is the first to notice the situation. The weather around them is awful. Rain pounds onto the ship, the boat jumps as it passes over enormous waves, going faster than she's ever seen it go. Lighting and thunder crash outside. Stan should have seen the storm coming.
Speaking of Stan. He’s standing at the wheel of the ship, eyes glued forwards, he doesn’t even notice Ford yelling at him. Ford pushes Stan out of the way and he falls to the floor. Suddenly Stan sits up and looks around.
“Where the hell are we?” He asks, hand held to his head.
“We should be asking you that, seeing as you were the one driving the last two hours!” She barks before reaching under the chairs for their life vests. She tosses the boys theirs and secures her own, they quickly buckle theirs as well.
“I don’t, I don’t know what happened.” Stan looks lost for a second. “I can’t remember.”
Her heart hurts for her friend. She knows that must be scary for him but now isn’t the time for comfort. Ford begins to bark orders, she helps Stan to his feet.
They begin securing lines and sails, making sure all objects are secured down so they won’t cause the three of them harm.
Suddenly she hears a noise and freezes. Her head feels hazy and her body feels warm. It seems as if her body is moving on it’s own as she begins to walk towards the door and exits the cabin. A strong hand grabs her arm.
“What are you doing?” Ford screams over the rain. Stan had taken the wheel again.
Her eyes are glazed over and she tries to continue walking towards the railing. Ford begins to drag her back inside but she resits. She freezes and he stops trying to pull her. She turns and points.
“There.”
Ford turns to see what she’s pointing at, and it’s the largest wave he’s seen in his whole life. He quickly wraps his body around her and tries to make it back into the cabin before the wave hits, but he’s not quick enough. The water envelops their bodies and they are thrown against the railing. The ship pops back up over the waves again and Ford looks into her eyes.
She's over the railing, dangling off the ship, her only tether is Ford’s hand.
“Don’t let go! I’ve got you!” He shouts desperately holding onto her and the ship.
Her body is like a rag doll as it’s slammed into the ship with the waves. She looks back up at Ford, eyes still glazed, and lets go of his hand, falling into the inky water below.
The second her body pops back up from water her head clears. Her life jacket inflated when she hit the water. The last thing she remembers was she was on the ship with the boys. A wave overtook her and she pushed back under the water. When she comes back up she realises she hears Ford screaming.
It’s dark and all Ford can see is the automatic light on her life vest getting further and further from them. He’s screaming for her, and for Stan to move the boat in her direction.
She tries to scream for him but is pushed under water again. When her head resurfaces she struggles for a breath before the same thing happens again. Coming back up this time she sees the ship be covered by a wave, then herself. This time when she comes back up she sees the light of the ship are gone. She feels something grab her foot, and is dragged under the water.
Ford feels warmth all around him. His eyes fluttered open and he squints as rays of sun blind his eyes. Waves softly lap and his boots and he quickly sit up as the events that just unfolded flood his mind. He looks around quickly hoping to see his love, or his brother.
Stan isn’t far from him and Ford hops to his feet to run from him. He falls to his knees and sees he’s breathing, Ford begins to shake his brother. “Stanley! Are you alright?”
Stan’s hand comes up to swat his brother away. “Five more minutes.” He mumbles.
Ford doesn't hesitate to slap him across the cheek.
Stan is quick to sit up. “What the hell was that for?”
“Do you not remember what just happened?” Ford barks.
Stan’s eyes grow wide in horror. “She went overboard… Didn’t she?”
Ford slumps forward and his hands cover his face. “I had her, she was in my hands and she… She let go.”
“She let go?” Stan echos in confusion.
“She had the same look in her eyes that you did when we found you steering the ship into the storm.” Ford breathing is quick and ragged, the panic of what’s happened starts to over take him. “I… Oh god, I-,”
“Shut your yap,” Stan commands. “You hear that?”
At first all Ford can hear is the gentle crashing of the waves onto the shore, then he hears it. The distant call of a voice. A very familiar feminine voice.
Ford’s eyes frantically scan the beach both ways looking for the source when he sees her. She must have spotted him at the same time because she begins to sprint towards him. Ford is quick to his feet and meets her halfway. Ford pulls her into a crushingly tight hug as tears fill both of their eyes.
“I thought I had lost you.” He cries into her hair. “I don’t know what I would do if I had.”
“I’m okay. I’m okay.” She sobs. “We’re safe now.” She whimpers against his chest.”
They stay there in each other’s embrace, until Stan slowly walks over to them.
“Glad you’re alright kid.” Stan smiles.
She grabs Stan and pulls him into the hug. He grumbles something but hugs both of them. After a moment they pull back. Ford’s hands are still clutching the back of her wet, sandy shirt. Ford and her look at each other and share a breathy laugh, and begin to wipe the tears away from their eyes.
“Now that we’ve had that lovely reunion, where are we and where’s the ship?” Stan frowns.
“Destroyed, I'd imagine.” Ford clears his throat.
“Actually…” She takes Ford’s hand and begins to lead them down the beach the way she had come. “When I had gone overboard, my mind cleared when I hit the water. I saw the ship get taken over by a wave and thought the worst. Something grabbed my foot and dragged me under, but…”
They round the corner on the beach and see Stan O’ War II, unharmed, anchored off shore. Ford and Stan both notice some splashing around the ship that wasn’t like normal waves. The brothers share a look.
“How is it not damaged?” Ford is in awe of the vessel's perfect condition.
“Turns out, we’ve had a guardian angel this whole trip we didn’t know about.” She smiles.
“Who?” Stan asks.
“Mable.” She laughs as theirs another splash in the water, this time closer to the shore.
The brothers both see the end of a tail then a few seconds later, a head pops up.
“Ford, you might remember what Mable had written in the journal about meeting her friend, Mermando. Turns out she still writes to him and told him about our trip and asked him and his people to look out for us.” She waves over at the head that had popped up signaling to him it was safe.
“It’s the least I can do to repay my friend. If it wasn’t for her then I might still be trapped in Gravity Falls.” Mermando smiles. He had swum over to them as far as he could without leaving the water.
“A real mermaid, huh?” Stan grunts.
“Fascinating.” Ford muses.
“He and a few others were able to pull us to safety after we were lured into the storm.” She tells them.
“Lured?” Ford repeats.
“Yes, unfortunately two of you had been affected by a siren’s song. They’re like merpeople, only they crave violence.” Mermando shakes his head.
“We really can’t thank you enough.” She sighs, giving Ford’s hand a squeeze. “And please, don’t mention this to Mable. I wouldn't want her to worry.”
“She will hear nothing of it. You have my word. Farwell Pines!” And with that, Mermando splashes under the water and is gone.
“Darn it, I should have asked him some questions while I had him here.” Ford brings a hand to his mouth in thought.
She playfully shoves him. “I say we should be happy that we’re alive.”
“You know what I say?” Stan asks and begins stripping his clothes. “I say we have a beach day! Been forever since we were in a warmer climate like this!” He splashes into the water in just his underwear, leaving the other two behind.
“What do you say, my love?” Ford pulls her to his chest.
She wraps her arms around his neck. “Having a nice calm day after almost drowning to death? I think we deserve it.” She plants a soft kiss to his lips before pulling away and begins striping down to her underwear. “Race you to the water.”
Ford doesn’t have to be asked twice before he follows suit removing his clothes.
After hours of relaxing on the beach and playing in the water like children, the sun had begun to set. Stan had made his way back to the boat leaving only her and Ford on the beach.
Ford is laying on his back, her head rests against his shoulder. His arms are tightly wrapped around her. Her fingers absentmindedly trace the knit pattern on his sweater.
“I can’t believe out of anywhere I could be in the world right now, I’m here with you.” She whispers.
He hums and she can feel his chest vibrate under her cheek. She turns her head to look at him. His eyes are closed but there's a smile on his face.
“Are you asleep?” She giggles.
He hummed a sound to tell her no.
She breathes out a laugh and sits up. “Let’s head back before the sun sets all the way.”
He opens his eyes half lidded and smiles at her. She takes his hand and helps him sit up. His hands move to her face to draw her in for a kiss. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
---------- “Alright, there. I think that will work.” She places the tablet down on the table she and her boys are sat at.
“Are you sure you set it up right?” Ford asks.
She rolls her eyes. “I helped build an interdimensional portal. I think I can figure it out.”
“I just wanted to make sure. You remember what happened when you tried to set up our vhs to record Saturday Night Dead.” Ford reminds her.
“That was one time! It’s not my fault the vhs caught fire!” She huffs.
“Can you two stop arguing like an old married for a couple?” Stan groans.
Ford and her share a look and smile. Their attention is pulled away from each other when the tablet begins to make noise.
“Oh, it’s ringing!” She leans forward and presses the green answer button. “Hello? Kids, can you hear us?”
She's greeted with the sound of laughter. “You’re too close to the camera. Move back a little.” She moves back and the screen reveals Dipper and Mable.
“I told you I set it up just fine!” She pats Ford’s chest.
“Kids! It’s good to see you!” Stan greets.
“You guys look so cute in all your boat gear!” Mable squeals.
“Yeah you guys look really cool!” Dipper confirms.
“How has school been going!” Ford asks.
“Great! I got accepted into some senior level classes for next semester.” Dipper cheers.
Mable pushes dipper aside to hog the camera. “And I got a boyfriend!”
Dipper shoves Mabel back to get back in frame. “Yeah, and he’s actually not awful and kinda normal?”
“Congratulations to you both.” She smiles and leans her head against Ford’s shoulder.
They continue to talk and catch up for almost an hour.
“So we can come back to Gravity Falls next summer for sure?” Dipper inquires.
“Absolutely! I've been in contact with Fiddleford and he said we are more than welcome to stay with him in the old Northwest manor.” Ford confirms.
“Soos also said you’re welcome to sleep over at the shack whenever you want.” Stan chimes in.
“I can’t wait to see you two again! You’re really the best great niece and nephew ever.” She comments.
“You’re the best graunt ever!” Dipper and Mabel speak in unison, then begin to giggle and shove each other.
“See you two in a few months!” With that they end the call.
“A month and four weeks, four days, and six hours.” Ford says precisely.
“But who's counting?” She teases.
“And only a month, fours weeks, two days, and four hours until you become my wife.” Ford pulls her close, Stan rolls his eyes and leaves the upper cabin.
“Now that I am counting down to.” She plants a kiss to his cheek. “Mrs.Pines, I love how that sounds.”
“Well then, Mrs. Pines?” He kisses her forehead, then her cheek, then her lips. “Will you do the honor of being mine?”
“I already agreed to marry you, that’s why we’re getting married.” She laughs.
“I know, but I love hearing you say it. I still can’t believe you agreed to marry me.” He jokes. “Will you say it? Say you’ll be mine? Forever and always?”
Her finger came up to trace his jawline and lead his lips to hers. “Forever and always.”
180 notes · View notes
littlestarofthewest · 3 years
Note
I'm glad you opened requests again! Your writing is 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻I've been thirsty af for a fic where M!Reader and Arthur are fucking and Arthur manages to make the reader cum without even touching his dick, just pure prostate stimulation (preferably with his dick but fingers are good too). Obviously no pressure to actually write it tho!
Thank you for turning this into a tip request. It was a pleasure to write 😄
In The Deep
Pairing: Arthur x m!reader | Words: 2630 | Rating: Explicit (18+)
You sink deeper into the water, feeling like you're floating on clouds. Since you're used to washing in cold streams or lakes, a hot bath is easily the highlight of your month. That, and your company.
Arthur comes over and puts a towel down on the chair next to the tub. "Let me guess, you'll never come out of there."
"If you keep bringing me hot water when it runs cold."
"Oh no," Arthur says, laughing, "that was a one time deal because you looked miserable. I ain't your maid."
Arthur says so, but you're still wondering why he drew you a bath in the first place. You came here to rob a stagecoach or a train, but Arthur found this homestead instead. It belongs to a wealthy family that likes to stay in the city over the winter.
You could have just robbed it and moved on, but it's well off the grid, and you've been on the road for days. Arthur said you should take the opportunity to relax a little, and now that you're soaking in the water, you have to thank him.
"Sure you don't want in on this?" you say, feeling a little guilty that Arthur went to all this trouble for you.
"Maybe tomorrow; I'm good for now."
Arthur's leaning back on the chair, lighting a cigarette, and you can't help but watch him. You've been doing that ever since you joined the gang. There's just something about Arthur that draws you in.
You've seen him beat and kill people, knowing full well that he's by definition not a good man, and although you're usually suspicious about pretty much everybody, you trusted him from the start. Not that he ever tried to get you there. In fact, you've rarely seen someone who tried so hard not to be loved. You fell for him anyway. 
It all started with little things like a lingering touch while passing a gun or Arthur always picking you to bring along on hunts and jobs. That led to whispered conversations while stalking your prey and sharing a tent during cold nights.
You remember the day at the lake like it was yesterday. Arthur helped you bring in this ridiculously big fish, both of you overjoyed. You've rarely seen Arthur this light-hearted before and couldn't help but kiss him. You sat with him by the fire deep into the night before you cuddled up for warmth. And then…
"What are you thinking about?" Arthur asks, leaning over to look into the tub.
The mere memory of being with Arthur gave you a sizable boner, and you take a deep breath. "You told me to relax, remember?"
"That I did," Arthur says, putting out his cigarette.
He comes over and puts his hands on your shoulders, running them up and in your hair. Then he gets some soap and takes his time to wash you from head to toe. You wish you could tell him to stop, but you've never been pampered like this before. You only get out of the tub when the water finally runs cold, and Arthur helps to get you dry.
"Sure you're not my maid?" you tease.
Arthur only rolls his eyes before putting a quick kiss on your lips. "Come on, you haven't seen the best part."
He leads you into the next room, and you can't quite believe your eyes. The bed is enormous compared to what you're used to, with more pillows and blankets than anybody could ever need.
"Some people live like this all the time," you say with wonder.
"And today, we do as well," Arthur says with a shrug. "Help me out of these clothes."
You're all too happy about that command and open the buttons on Arthur's shirt. He peels himself out of it while you move on to his pants and then the union suit. There aren't many things that you like as much as undressing Arthur. 
Somehow you feel closer then, being the one trusted enough to see Arthur vulnerable. As much as you love him with hat, spurs, and guns, just Arthur is everything to you. 
He's still very much in control, but out of choice rather than appearing so in front of others. You learned early on that Arthur is anything but a dumb brute who only knows force.
The second Arthur's naked, he draws you in for a kiss, but before you can cling to him like a second skin, he leads you to the bed.
"Let's get you in there," he says, and you crawl on top of the sheets.
"Jesus, that's soft," you say, making Arthur chuckle.
He comes after you and moves you around, so you lie flat on the bed. You stretch out your arms and legs, enjoying the space and how you sink a little into the fresh bedding under you.
Arthur crawls over you, kissing you. All of this seems too good to be true, making you think about the alternative. You could be fleeing from the law right now or sit in jail after a robbery gone wrong. 
"Arthur?" you ask, a sudden thought creeping up on you.
"Hm?" Arthur hums while he nibbles on your neck.
"There was no train or stagecoach, was there?"
Arthur answers by kissing along your collarbone and down to your chest. It gets harder to concentrate, but you want to get to the bottom of this.
Did you know about this place before we got here?"
"Maybe," Arthur says, peppering your stomach with kisses.
"Why did you bring me here?" you ask, and finally Arthur looks at you, a grin on his face.
"Pretty sure you know."
Heat rushes to your ears before a shiver runs down your spine. You always enjoy being with Arthur, but it means so much more that he planned this.
"What's Dutch going to do to us when he finds out that we didn't rob anything?" you ask.
"Don't worry about that," Arthur says. He moves back up along your body, placing soft kisses here and there until his face is hovering over yours. "Worry about what I'm going to do to you."
Arthur looks serious, and although you know that he'll never push you farther than you can handle, your heart pumps faster. You lift your head, coaxing Arthur into kissing you. It's soft and slow at first, but you can feel Arthur between your legs, so you roll your hips, rutting against him.
"Something you want?" Arthur asks, and you answer by pressing yourself against him.
"Pretty sure you know," you say, making Arthur grin.
He gives you a quick kiss before diving to the end of the bed, and when he comes back, he's holding a small bottle. "Let's get you nice and ready for me."
A tingling feeling takes hold of your whole body, and you wonder if you'll ever be with Arthur without it happening. For now, you let it wash over you and spread your legs, showing Arthur that you're more than willing to get ready.
Arthur takes his time, using a lot of oil that he rubs around your hole before carefully pushing his finger in. You'd be okay with him being more forward, but Arthur seems to be in a certain mood today. 
After taking care of you in the bath, he goes deliberately slow now, pushing his finger in in slow motion, always giving you time to adjust. By the time he actually moves his finger in and out, you're ready to beg for more.
"How does this feel?" Arthur asks, and you sigh.
"Great."
"Good," Arthur says, moving his finger again, and for a moment, it feels weird, like he's looking for something.
A jolt runs through your body when Arthur hits a particular spot, and you suck in the air through your teeth. Arthur puts his other hand on your stomach, rubbing in a circle. "Just relax."
"I'm trying," you say, but the sensation is strange. "It feels like I have to pee."
"That's normal, don't worry about it."
"Normal?" you ask, realizing that Arthur planned this as well. "What are you up to?"
"You trust me, right?" Arthur asks, his voice serious.
"Of course."
"Then let me take care of you. Just breathe and relax. I promise you'll enjoy it," Arthur says, before adding with a chuckle, "you're not going to pee. Don't worry about that."
You take a few shaky breaths before there's a regular rhythm to it again, and like Arthur said, you try your best to unclench your muscles.
The way Arthur strokes this one spot inside of you still feels weird, but when you breathe deeper and begin to trust that you won't pee yourself, the touch becomes more and more pleasurable. 
It's similar to having your dick pumped but also so different. The arousal seems to pool deeper inside of you but still has you standing rock hard. 
"See? You're doing just fine," Arthur says, and his voice makes it even easier for you to just let it happen. 
Arthur moves his other hand now, running it up to your chest and neck, caressing your thighs and teasing your nipples with soft touches that rile you up just enough, so you roll your hips. 
Meanwhile, Arthur doesn't stop stroking you, and you can't help looking down. Your cock is leaking way more than your usual precome, and a jolt of anxiety rushes through you.
Arthur must notice since he catches your eye and stops his movements for a moment. "Hey, look at me. It's alright, that's normal, too."
"Sorry," you say, reminding yourself that Arthur would never hurt you.
"Don't worry," Arthur says, going back to teasing you, "you're alright."
He leans in to pepper you with soft kisses wherever he can reach but leaving out your dick. Instead, he keeps up the pressure inside of you.
Once you stop thinking so much about it and focus on Arthur's touches instead, your whole body seems to grow warm from the inside, with your cock twitching in excitement. You roll your hips, your body sinking in the bedding as if you want to melt, and your breathing grows even slower. 
"Now, that's a good boy," Arthur says, his voice like a gentle caress. "You're doing so good."
Just listening to him always adds to your pleasure, and as you welcome the way he teases you more and more, your arousal grows. You're warm and relaxed, but your dick begs to be touched, and you can't hold in quiet moans when Arthur's finger hits you just right. 
"I need more," you say while Arthur touches every inch of your body except your dick.
"More?" Arthur asks, and you know that he wants you to actually spell it out.
"I want you inside of me."
Arthur gets the oil again, using more on you and his cock before crawling over you. You can't hide your excitement, but again, Arthur doesn't quite give you what you want.
He teases you with the tip of his cock, rubbing with enough pressure to drive you crazy but never pushing in. 
"Please, Arthur," you whine, "I need it so bad."
"Tell me," Arthur says, his voice deep and unyielding. 
"I want you to fill me up and make me lose my mind. I'll do anything. Please."
Finally, Arthur pushes into you, but just like he did with his finger, he stretches you open with his cock as slowly as he possibly can, even holding still once in a while.
The treatment makes you grab the sheets under you, and you buck your hips. "God, I beg you, Arthur. Please, please more."
"Someone's needy," Arthur chuckles, and you run your fingers over his chest, your nails digging into the skin.
"Please," you say again, the word coming from deep within, and Arthur must hear it in your voice.
He pushes as deep as he can go, filling you up. You sigh, a little bit of the build-up pressure leaving your body. Then Arthur kisses you again, his body lined up so perfectly with yours that you feel completely at ease. Arthur's weight on you, his scent, his lips on yours, it's home for you now.
Arthur rolls his hips, hot and heavy inside of you, and with his body trapping your dick between the two of you, you're right back to being on edge. You'd be happy to keep going like this, now that you're on familiar ground, but Arthur has other plans.
After a long kiss, he gets in a kneeling position, lifting your legs up over his shoulders. You're about to ask why but Arthur pushes into you, hitting that spot again.
"Jesus Christ," you moan, your body tensing up for a moment from the surprise.
"Relax," Arthur says, running his warm hand over your stomach. "That's all you have to do. I'll do the rest."
You take a deep breath, and like you did before, you lean into the feeling. Arthur's movements are slow and deliberate, quickly building up that hot sensation you noticed before.
When you close your eyes, Arthur pets your thigh. "That's good. Open up for me."
You're torn between looking at him and just focusing on yourself, but soon it becomes quite hard to miss what's going on. It's like Arthur is setting fire to your lower body. 
Looking at him as he holds on to your hips to thrust into you makes matters even worse. Your dick twitches like crazy, still untouched, and you're not sure how much longer you can take this.
"Arthur, please," you groan, having a hard time even catching your breath, "I need more."
"You're doing so good; just give it time."
You don't have a chance to argue, not with the way Arthur changes his rhythm. You can feel him deep inside of you, adding to the heat, and his voice becomes constant torture.
"God, I love watching you like this," Arthur says. "You're doing so good for me."
Listening to him makes you melt, and when Arthur thrusts into you with shorter bursts, something inside of you suddenly gives. It feels like a volcano erupts behind your cock, hot lava making its way up and down your body, sending heatwaves to the tips of your hair. 
"Arthur," you gasp, and he smiles.
"You're such a good boy. Let it happen. Come for me."
Every push of him drives you almost insane, your thighs shaking, and every muscle cramping in your body. Your cock pulses between your legs, and you stare in surprise at your own dick as you shoot your come onto your belly.
The relief that follows lingers just like your orgasm did, in a way that you've never experienced before. You close your eyes and just breathe, trying to burn that feeling into your memory.
Arthur slips out and lies down next to you, kissing your cheek. "You alright?"
You sigh before you turn to him to steal another kiss. "What the hell have you done to me?"
Arthur chuckles. "Why?"
"It never felt like this before," you say, caressing his chest with your fingertips. "You have to do that again."
"I think you're better off with a break," Arthur says with a smile.
You run your hand further down before you follow the same line with your lips. "You're right; let's take care of you first."
Unlike Arthur, you don't play it slowly but suck his cock into your mouth, eager to pay him back.
"Jesus Christ," Arthur curses, holding on to the sheets like you did. "Fine, you're a good boy. I'll do it again, I promise."
You hum around his cock, happy to apply what you already know, and you can't wait for Arthur to teach you more.
405 notes · View notes
littlemissnoname13 · 3 years
Text
Wisps of Smoke (Draco Malfoy x Slytherin!Reader) - Part four
Summary: Y/n and Draco find themselves drawn to an abandoned classroom every night
Pairing: Draco Malfoy x Slytherin!Reader ft. Pansy Parkinson, Theo Nott, Blaise Zabini
Warnings: Excessive smoking, Drinking, mature language and themes, sex, masturbation, 18+ content, reader discretion is highly advised
A/n: as always, thank you for reading WOS. This story has gotten so close to my heart over the last few weeks of writing it and I am grateful for every one that read part 1,2,3. And to everyone who guessed the Astoria plot line, Damn ya’ll are too good! 
I’d like to stress that smoking is injurious to health.
Word count: almost 4000
Part One, two & three if you haven’t caught up already
Tumblr media
Thursday (Continued)
With his palms resting flat on the shower wall and his grey eyes fixed on the floor below, Draco allowed the lukewarm water to trail down his body and calm his nerves. 
Between the restlessness he’d felt after his father’s visit and the stinging feeling of remembering just what was expected of him, he’d barely managed to sleep a wink for three consecutive nights.
And how could he have gone to sleep when he knew you were in that classroom—waiting for him in your silky little dress. 
Oh..wait a minute. 
He smirked to himself when he remembered that he had destroyed the top half of your dress in an attempt to tug it off your shoulders. 
You looked absolutely stunning with the bottom half of your dress pushed back as you spread your legs wide open on top of a classroom desk—he had fucked you so fucking hard that day. 
Draco wrapped his hand around his length and began to pump slowly as he recalled the way you wrapped your legs around his torso as he moved in and out of you.
Your moans. 
He wondered if you were even aware of the effect your moans had on him. 
The way his name slipped out of your cherry lips and the way your tits bounced with every thrust only made him want to drive deeper into you. 
He let out a sharp grunt as he started to pump harder, fantasising about all the places he’d fuck you in.
He’d press you up against the shower wall and push himself deep into your cunt from behind, he’d lay you down on his desk and eat you out till you were a quivering mess before driving in and out of you, he would bend you over one of the common room sofas and fuck you so hard and fast if he ever got the chance to. 
He’d make you cum time and again till you were sore and dripping with his release—fuck. 
Draco let his high take all over him for a brief moment before opening his eyes when he heard his dresser drawer creak. 
He dismissed the strange sound and washed the remaining soap from his body before stepping out and towel drying his hair. 
“Draco! Y/n is here to see you.”  
Astoria? What on earth is she doing here? This can’t be good.
He frantically wrapped the towel around his torso and stepped outside the bathroom.
“Y/n what are you doing here?” He asked, observing the eye bags under your eyes. You were wearing a loose fitted white shirt with the sleeves pushed back and the top two buttons undone.
If Astoria wasn’t gaping at the exchange between the two of you, he would have had you pinned against the wall already. 
“I—I Just—” you began but before you could reach the end of your sentence, Theo jogged up to his door and stood right next to you, panting.
“Oh, you’re all here.Good.” He said with excitement saturated into his voice. “Apparently, there’s a party this Saturday night in the room of requirement and we are going—I am not taking no for an answer.” 
“That sounds like so much fun.” Astoria grinned and looked at Draco expectantly,making your stomach twist.
“It’s not like we have a choice.” Draco muttered still looking at you while Astoria beamed at him. 
“So, Y/n you were saying something?” Astoria politely turning the conversation back to you.
“I actually just came in here to talk about the party too.” You lied looking Draco directly in the eye.
Friday
Even though you were walking to class while bumping into a sea of students, your head was somewhere else. 
But of course Malfoy was sleeping around with other girls!
How could you have forgotten?! Maybe he was shagging Astoria outside that classroom the other nig—
“Going somewhere?” Draco asked as soon as he grabbed you by the wrist and pulled you into a gap in the corridor. 
“Yes, Away from you!” You spat angrily. “And I don’t appreciate you lurking around, pushing me into a wall every chance you get.”
“I just needed to talk to you y/l/n.”
“About what? Your girlfriend?” You blurted, instantly regretting your decision.
“She is not my girlfriend.”
“Oh yeah? Then what is she?!” 
What you heard next made the ground crumble from beneath you and you couldn’t help but wish you had paid more attention to your mother’s letters—especially the one about the announcement at the New year’s ball. 
~~~~~~~⚜️~~~~~~
Dear Y/n,
Your father and I are looking forward to having you back home for Christmas. 
It will give us some quiet family time before the New Year’s Ball hosted by the Malfoys. I’ve heard it through the grapevine that young Malfoy is getting betrothed to one of the Greengrass sisters and they will officially be announcing the betrothal that night. 
Isn’t that absolutely fantastic?  
Let me know what sort of dress robe you’d like to wear to the Ball this year. I will make necessary arrangements. 
Send my regards to Adrian. 
Love,
Mum
~~~~~~~⚜️~~~~~~~
Saturday
Vodka always tasted unpleasant to say the least. In fact, it burned. 
But it burned a lot less than the burn you felt watching Astoria reclining against Draco across the room.
Vodka always gave the worst type of hangover and with every gulp, you knew you were on a steady path to a regretful morning after. 
But the morning after drowning yourself in unadulterated vodka shots was better than watching the soon to be Fiancé of the boy you were slowly harbouring feelings for wear his blazer on top of her silver sequinned dress. 
What kind of a deranged person gets jealous over someone that was never theirs to begin with?
You forced yourself to tear your eyes away from the ridiculously attractive blonde boy dressed in all back, knocked back a few shots and happily accepted Pansy’s hand as she pulled you to the dance floor. 
One minute you were jumping around with Pansy, Blaise and Theo and the next minute, you were seeing nothing but pitch black darkness.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Firm arms gripped your waist as you staggered back to your room after blacking out at the party. In all honesty, the person walking you wasn’t much help either with his bloodshot eyes and unsteady footsteps. 
“You— you shouldn’t have walked me to my room.” 
“I know.” Draco said simply as he watched you walk shakily up to your door.
“Go back to the party Draco.” You said with your voice wavering as he slowly inched closer and closer to you till you were firmly pressed against the door. “You know you shouldn’t be here right now.”
“I know.” He said once again before pressing his own Firewhisky laced lips with yours. “I know.” 
Maybe it was the intoxication, maybe it was the way he held firmly onto your waist as his tongue collided with your own but you used your wand to unlock your door with your mouth still attached to his. 
Both of you entered the room bumping into furniture, leaving a trail of clothes all the way to your bed.
Sunday
“What is happening to this world again? Can someone please walk me through?— I am simply too hungover right now.” Pansy groaned, scratching her head as he opened the door to your shared dorm with Theo and Blaise right behind her. 
Having partied all night long, all three of them were too tired to make sense of the scene in front of them. 
“Yeah, I thought Malfoy was with Astoria now.” Theo scratched his chin at the sight of your head on Draco’s chest as you both slept. 
Pansy’s eyes widened when she heard Astoria’s name as she quickly ran inside the room. 
“Wake the fuck up you idiots.” She yelled using her wand to draw away the curtains making Draco groan as the morning light hit his eyes. 
“What’s all this ruckus about.” You mumbled snuggling closer to Draco as your eyes slowly opened to see a glaring pansy accompanied by Theo and Blaise. 
“I have invited Astoria up here to hang out with us, so both of you have a lot of explaining to do before she gets here.”
Monday
“So let me get this straight.” Theo began, as he took a long drag from one of Draco’s cigarettes. “Both of you have been fucking around—traumatising poor Blaise for the last two weeks, correct?”
Draco rolled his eyes, scoffing as he lit up another cigarette while you shrugged. 
The four of you were at the astronomy tower, reclining against the railings as the day faded away into a chilly winter evening. 
“And you two claim that you are not together, correct?”
At this, both you and Draco turned to look at each other—as if questioning each other about the status of your relationship. 
“It doesn’t matter anymore.” You finally said, slowly breaking eye contact with Draco. “He is getting betrothed to Astoria anyway.”
“And you’re okay with this?” Pansy asked, her face barely visible from all the smoke she was exhaling. 
“Never been better.” You lied, reaching for a cigarette for yourself. You placed the filter end in between your lips and lit it up, inhaling quickly. 
The second you did, tears automatically started to stream from your eyes as you started to cough. 
Draco shook his head and turned to you. 
“Here.” He muttered taking a step towards you, before taking a deep drag from the cancer stick in between his fingers. 
With his free hand raked inside your hair, he pulled your face closer to his until his lips were barely touching yours.
“Inhale y/n.” He murmured, as wisps of smoke left his lips and entered yours. 
You were too preoccupied by his proximity to notice the gagging sounds your friends were making beside you. 
Tuesday
On your way to the library after class, you heard the voice of Lucius Malfoy right outside the dungeons. 
He was going on and on about a ring and how irresponsible Draco was for not getting one made already. Christmas holidays were nearing and Lucius was sure Draco would tarnish the Malfoy family name by not having a ring made on time.
You simply didn’t understand why the Malfoy’s couldn't just use an old family heirloom but you decided to not question it as you walked past them—watching the tired and defeated expression on Draco’s face.
Wednesday
Draco lay on his bed, fiddling with an oval cut emerald ring with the letter “M” engraved on the back of it. The ring had been with the Malfoy women for generations and he simply could not picture the ring on Astoria’s fingers. 
And even though he had no say on his betrothal, he wanted to have a say on the ring and so he had insisted on getting something else made for Astoria. 
But the last two weeks had gone by in a matter of seconds so he did not find the time to, and could not even be bothered to go and have another ring made.
He had known about his impending engagement since the beginning of the year. He’d taken Astoria out several times but he knew there was nothing to that relationship besides sex and chaste kisses on the cheeks exchanged during family dinners.
He didn’t really mind at first, everything felt fine and he simply craved the validation of his father. 
Draco was doing just fine before you came along. 
Sure, life was a little lacklustre. The sky wasn’t as azure, his morning coffee wasn’t as aromatic, and cigarettes were simply means of deteriorating his lungs.
But now, things had shifted a little. 
He felt happier than he had felt in a really long time.
Just as he was opening up his drawer to put away the family heirloom, you knocked on his door—looking breathless. 
“I’m sorry but I overheard your conversation with your father and I think I might be able to help.”
“Huh?” Draco asked, tilting his head,watching you as you grabbed his left hand and dropped a shiny Amethyst ring in the palm of his hands. 
“I had it made for my birthday last month.” You shrugged, it’ll help you keep your father off your back till you get another made.”
If he hadn't fallen in love with you already, he surely did in that particular moment, as he pulled you into his arms, desperately crashing his lips on top of yours. 
Fuck validation. 
Fuck everything. 
Fuck everyone. 
Thursday
Your back firmly pressed against his bare chest—his heart beat calm and steady. 
Draco had his arms wrapped tightly around your waist as he possessively pulled you closer to him the way he always did. 
That is how you had woken up. 
Cuddled up with him in his incredibly snug and comfortable bed within four walls enclosed with the smell of bourbon, mixed with the smell of soap, sex and his absurdly expensive cigarettes. 
Even with your eyes still shut, your lips couldn’t help but curve upwards when you felt his breathing gently tickle the back of your neck. 
That is how you had woken up that morning and you honestly wouldn’t mind waking up like that for the mornings to come. 
“Morning Y/l/n.” 
His raspy and deep morning voice sent shivers down your spine as his soft lips came in contact with the spot right below your ears. 
“Morning.” 
He continued to sensually suckle and nibble that particular spot and you suddenly found yourself wanting to be suckled and nibbled on other places. 
“Draco.” You hummed pushing yourself further into his embrace. There was something so fulfilling and satisfying about the way you fit into each other's embraces. Entangled arms, limbs and all. 
The hands that were wrapped securely around your waist now trailed upwards until they found your breasts. 
The feel of his hands taking their own sweet time—softly kneading your sensitive flesh was enough to have you writhing against him 
He made sure to take his time and give equal attention to both your breasts, using his slender fingers to pinch and tug at your hardened buds till you were pushing your hips further back towards him—craving friction, any type of friction really. 
“Easy now.” He lazily whispered into your ear as you started to grind your hips urgently against his erection aching to feel him inside of you again. 
You were empty and missed the feeling of being full but he was nowhere near done with worshiping your breasts—making you restless and impatient with each squeeze. 
“Draco.” You tilted your head backwards and sighed into his neck.“I—I need you to fuck me. Please—I just want to feel you inside me.” 
Draco let out a small chuckle at the directness of your words.
If someone had told him that the same girl that tried to hex him so many times in the past would be saying that to him, he would have told them to get themselves checked at st. Mungos. 
“Relax Darling. I’ll take take of you.” He murmured before trailing his lips down your neck and towards your shoulder placing mellow and relaxed kisses all the way. 
“Draco please.” You whined, grinding your hips harder—desperate tears threatening to leak out of your eyes when you felt his hand on your hip, slowing you down. 
“That’s it. Such a good girl.” He whispered encouragingly into your ear as you let his hands guide you—moving your hips in excruciatingly slow circles against him while he resumed kissing your neck and bare shoulders. 
“Atta girl. Yes that’s it. Keep doing that.” 
His kisses were a stark contrast to his lustful, ravenous and angry kisses from the previous night and the kisses only left you craving even more.
“Please Draco—Fuck me. Please just fuck me.” 
“Look at you, begging for it.” He said in a hoarse whisper as the tip of his cock made contact with your already soaking wet folds and all you could do was let out a muffled moan into your pillow. 
The tip of his cock only slipped halfway inside of you before he pulled out again, teasing.
“You’re dripping wet.” 
“Draco..” you whined.
“Tell me darling, who made your pussy this wet?” 
“You did. Draco Lucius Malfoy—Only you.” 
He loved hearing you beg, he loved it only second to the way you said moaned his name and so he finally entered you allowing his cock to completely stretch you out and fill you up. 
With his perfect teeth bared, Draco peppered kisses onto your shoulders, nibbling gently as he rocked his hips at a slow but steady pace—all the while mumbling sweet nothings into your skin about how well you took him, and how good he felt being inside of you.
The way his skilled hands tugged, twisted and pinched your nipples made you feel an other worldly sort of pleasure—causing you to whimper and moan his name,moving your own hips, trying to feel him deeper inside your walls.
“Shhhh—easy there.” He whispered against your neck. “Just let go.. Focus on feeling every inch of me buried deep inside your pretty little cunt. Can you do that for me?” 
You nodded and stopped moving your hips and used  one of your arms to hold onto his neck as you relaxed into him. 
“That’s it y/n, Just like that.” He coaxed, running his hand up and down your body before firmly resting on your hip as he fucked you nice and slow. 
There was something different and unexpected about his thrusts, something strange and foreign about the way he used his thumb to rub slow and sensual circles on your clit.
“You feel so good y/n. Your pussy feels so amazing.” 
Your moans muddled into one and his movements rocked the bed as he made love to you, pushing you closer and closer towards your orgasm. 
“Fuck—Im so close.” You moaned, burying your head deep into the pillow as Draco picked up his pace pushing his cock in harder and deeper with each thrust. 
“Oh fuck. yes Draco..yes.” You moaned as he dug his nails onto your hips forming crescent shaped indentations as he pushed himself deeper, hitting just the right spot over and over again, making your walls clench up. 
“Draco…” 
“Cum for me, Angel. Cum with me.” He groaned,making both of you ride out our highs till his warm seed spurted deep inside of you. 
When he pulled out of you, some of the warm liquid had already managed to seep out of you and trickle down your inner thigh.  
After taking a brief second to catch his breath, Draco shifted lower into the bed till he was in just in between your legs. 
“I could get used to waking up like this.” He smirked looking up at you. His platinum blonde hair was slightly wavy and kind of fluffy, falling on his forehead but not yet covering his stormy greys. 
“Like what?” You teased. 
“Don't play with me y/l.n.” He warned with a wicked gleam making the grey hues in his eyes brighten into a brilliant. It felt like his eyes changed colors from blue to grey according to his moods. 
“I could get used to waking up like this too.” You said softly as he tried to push back everything that had managed to trickle out. 
Right before Draco could even reply, his door creaked open. 
“Malfoy, Astoria is waiting for you in the common roo—fuck not this again.” Blaise groaned as you pulled the sheets over your body. 
Friday
On your last evening at school before Christmas break, you found yourself perched on the windosill, nestled in between Draco’s arms and limbs in the classroom that started it all.
The pad of his right thumb traced slow, almost lazy circles on your hand while he held his cigarette in his left hand. 
The lit tip of his cigarette was the same shade as the sunset in the tangerine sky and you took deep breaths to try and soak him and the smoke rings that escaped his lips up because you weren't sure if you’d get to be with him again. 
“What are you doing y/l/n?” He asked when he noticed you breathing in and out. 
“Nothing.” 
“Please.” Draco chuckled, taking a long drag from his cigarette. “You have that look on your face.”
“What look?” you asked, turning your head to look at him—the way the last rays of the setting sun caught up on his eyelashes only making you fall harder than you already had.
“This look y/n.” He kinked his eyebrows and tried to mimic your expression. “This is the look you have on your face wherever you are up to something—like  when you try and fix your failed potion in Potions class. Actually, you even make this face when you mix sugar into your tea.” 
“Im just—” You clicked your tongue in frustration. “I’m just going to miss this, I guess.” 
Your words made his expressions soften because he understood. 
How could he have not?
He had spent the whole of last night watching you sleep—the way your chest was rising and falling, the way your heart was beating against his.
He had spent the last hour trying to store the scent of your fruity shampoo deep inside his memory banks because he wasn’t sure if there would be a next time. 
“Let’s stay back at Hogwarts”  He mumbled, pulling you closer to him. “It’ll just be us, it will be good.”
“If only.” You sighed as you rested the back of your head at the crook of his neck. “But I have to go back home and explain the whole situation with Adrian and you…” 
Both of you went silent for a bit. 
“Give me your hand y/n.” He finally broke the silence as you turned around and  looked at him quizzically. “I want to give you something.”
You turned your body around so you could face him better. The strong winter breeze blew his hair towards his eyes, making you want to reach up and push those stray hairs away. Instead, you simply placed your hand on his. 
“Close your eyes.” 
You rolled my eyes at him before squeezing your eyes shut. 
“Are they closed?” 
You nodded and you felt him slip something onto your finger and you quickly  opened one eye to take a peek and It didn't even take you a second to realize he had slipped an emerald ring from onto your finger.
“Draco. I really don’t think this is a good idea.” 
“I thought I told you to keep your eyes shut.” He snapped. 
“But I can’t take this.” 
“I owed you a ring y/n.” He said holding your hand in his to look at the ring on your finger making a type of warmth spread over your entire body. “Keep it till I get the other ring made.” 
You simply stared at the ring unable to form words with your mouth until you felt him shift beside you as he got back up to his feet. 
“Don’t overthink it y/n—I’ll see you at the ball.” 
You hummed as you quietly watched him walk away from you, ignoring the stab your felt in your heart with every step he took. But before you could process your emotions fully, Draco turned on his heel and walked towards you— instantly cupping your face in his hands. 
“Draco what are-”
His lips ardently crushed yours before you could even finish your sentence
There was an abrupt kind of finality in the way he moved his lips against yours. It was like he was kissing you for the last time . 
“I’ll be thinking of you y/l/n.” 
To be continued..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part 5 teaser:
Draco’s features softened as he slowly shifted and got up from the reading nook in his bedroom to fully open his window.
You shielded yourself as cold drops of rain started to hit your face. “What in the actual fuck?”
“Shut up and follow me.” He said as he climbed out of the window and onto the ledge.
“Are you mental?”
“Just do as I say.” He said helping you onto the ledge.
Both of you laughed hysterically as the rain seeped through our clothes as you sat on the ledge with you bare feet dangling in the air.
One wrong move and both of you could fall to your respective deaths. But there came an adrenaline rush with the risk of it all.
___________________________
WOS Tag list: @maybesandohnos @justfangirlthingies @lieswithoutfairytales @dracomalfoys-wh0re @hannahhobnob @sycathorn-slush @mxl-foyrecs @daringvixon @linetteyde @imbadwithunsernames @dracoswhore007 @myunngi @goawayimreadingbeach @loxbbg @icedlattewithalmondmilk @paulina1998 @fa-me @loganrwebb @nee-naw-nee-naw-beepbeep @leaveittobecca @dummythiccwitch @desiredmalfoy @badslytherin @dlmmdl @trainintersection @lilsubbyx @lunar0se10 @babydraco04 @anythings-n-everythings I adore y’all sm<3
You can join my tag list here or simply message me.
My other posts can be found here.
WOS Masterlist can be found here.
Love,
V
328 notes · View notes
snootsnoot-fiction · 3 years
Text
Your Gentleman
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader
Word count: 2.5k
Warnings: None really
A/n: My first marvel fic yay!!! I love that it’s Bucky as well☺️ This is a birthday gift for my dear friend who I love @inthatmomentwewereinfinite 🎉🎉🎉 you’re honestly one of the nicest people on the planet, I hope you have the best day you can ❤️
Summary: You haven’t seen Bucky in years…
Tumblr media
The life of one James Buchanan Barnes was quite the tragedy. At least for the most part.It was a long, involuntary life, but to say he wouldn’t be the least bit grateful for the majority time skip would be a lie. Oh, there were things “Bucky” Barnes missed of course, but there was plenty to make up for it.
The man thought he would lead a simple life; serve in the war, get married with Steve as his best man, maybe even die of old age. A far cry from the fate that really awaited him, for he found himself being part of the Red Skull’s experiment. An experiment that began his journey as who would infamously be known as The Winter Soldier. 
~~~~~
You were quite the artist to say the least. You lived and enjoyed a fairly quiet life as well. That’s not to say your talents weren’t sought out, for you were also quite the fashion designer. Sometimes you would simply consult. Create and draw up a design for someone else to make. Occasionally you would make the pieces yourself. It was an interesting way of making money, and you were happy to keep living your quiet life - your involvement usually kept secret in some way at your request.
Needless to say, one of the biggest things you ever worked on was the new suit for Captain America. You found his tale fascinating. You knew of the man, but it wasn’t until you heard he was back that you looked into him a little more. Strange things seemed to be happening more often.
The detail of his best friend’s supposed ‘death’ was another thing that interested you, but all anyone could assume was he actually was dead now. It didn’t stop you from wondering though.
You did work on occasion for people such as The Avengers, but aside from that, you were a normal citizen. So to say you were surprised when you caught the eye of Mr Barnes in modern day was an understatement.
Recognising him immediately, you weren’t sure what to do. He looked beyond exhausted, and it was clear to you he was trying to keep his head down. The man carried on, and despite thinking you probably shouldn’t, you followed. The next thing you knew, a cold arm was pinning you against a wall as the one and only James Barnes stared at you. Up close, his eyes looked even tireder, and you could see just how rough a state he was in.
“Why are you following me?” He huffed out. Anyone could see how tense he was. Almost afraid.
“I’m no-one I swear! I just recognised you and got curious… you’re Bucky?” He slowly let you go, but remained tense. “I don’t even know what happened… you look awful…” you frowned slightly as you gave him a proper look. You really had no idea what was going on, but you felt bad for him. Whatever happened to this man, you were glad to not know right now. 
~~ a few months later ~~
You wondered how people would react to finding out about you helping ‘The Winter Soldier’. The thought made you nervous sometimes, but you knew what you were doing to be right. Something in you from the moment you met him told you he himself was at no fault, but of course, not everyone would see it that way.
The day you met him, you had ended up giving him a fresh change of clothes that would help him to blend in more. You had offered more, even a meal, but trust would take time to build, and he didn’t want to stick around you too long. 
‘Too many innocent people…’ was all he muttered before giving thanks and leaving without a word.
‘I’m happy to help…’ you hadn’t been sure if he even heard you, but surprisingly it wasn't long before you saw him again; with time, the two of you built a sense of trust. Bucky would never stay too long, but when he did you would allow him to use your own facilities if he needed, You would make him a warm meal almost every time, and give him another fresh change of clothes if he needed them.
Trust takes time though, and you didn’t know much of the story of why he was even here. You didn’t want to push or pry, but you couldn’t help but wonder sometimes. 
Today was the day you’d learn.
The old soldier hesitantly stepped into your home. It always made you frown a little to see just how hesitant he was; whatever it was he was hiding from, you wish he didn’t have to.
“I know you don’t like to, but I made my sofa up for you just in case-”
“Sofa? The couch?” You went a little red and chuckled nervously.
“Yeah sorry, I didn’t grow up here..” and for the first time, you saw him smile. It was little, but it was there. It made your heart flutter just a bit, causing you to smile.
“I might take you up on that.” His words were quiet as he walked in to see the couch. You had set a single, plump pillow on one end, and laid your biggest blanket over the piece of furniture. Bucky had been so hesitant to talk even one word to anyone, nevermind taking refuge from someone, but he couldn’t even remember the last time he had a nice place or spot to sleep. Not only that, but you seemed genuine to him. Deep down he knew he could trust you. Your smile widened.
“Are you hungry?” At your question, he looked back at you with a small nod. The tired look in his eyes made you want to really look after him, but there was only so much you could do and you didn’t want to startle him.
That night, you sat on opposite ends of the couch as you ate a freshly cooked meal, some sitcom on the TV. Eventually you decided to ask him what had happened to land him here. There was no pressure to answer of course, and you were more than willing to forget you asked if he didn’t yet feel comfortable to tell his story… but he did. You listened patiently and quietly as Bucky talked about The Winter Soldier.
Little did you know just how far you had already fallen for this man.
~~ Avengers Civil War ~~
After hiding for so long, Bucky had to admit there was something refreshing about now being out in the open.Of course, the circumstances were most unfortunate, but whatever happened, he would no longer be in hiding. Therefore he wouldn’t be putting you in any more potential danger. The two of you had grown quite close, and if anything happened to you because of him, well.. he didn’t like to think about it.
People like himself existed and had been used to assassinate King T’Chaka, and now the group his best friend Steve had put together were trying to get to the guy behind all of this. Unfortunately Tony Stark had created an obstacle for them. The old soldier could see that both men were somewhat regretful, but firm in their beliefs. Before he knew it, the fighting had begun.
Bucky and Sam Wilson had hidden in the airport terminal to start when this kid in a red and blue costume came at them. Sam knocked the kid away, so Bucky ran after them, and when he reached them, he saw an opening and threw a chunk of metal at the weirdly flexible kid. Naturally this kid was able to throw it right on back before being tackled by Wilson again.
Reaching the both of them just in time, Bucky ran between them as the spider kid flung himself at Sam, landing both the men in the floor below and his metal arm in some sort of.. webbing. The old soldier hated the fact they ended up in this position because of a child who didn’t even sound as though he had hit puberty yet. That’s when the kid was thrown out the window by the little robot bird.
“You couldn’t have done that earlier?” he growled at Sam, genuinely annoyed with the guy.
“I hate you.” Bucky merely scoffed at the response. They were in the middle of something big, but for a brief moment he found it funny that Steve’s new friend was this guy of all people.
Despite all this, you were still there. In his mind. With everything now in the open, he hoped your part in all of this was still in the dark. He just wanted you safe. To live your life.
~~ present time ~~
To Bucky, it almost felt like his past had repeated somewhat; to skip from one time to the other was confusing and frustrating. At least this time around it wasn’t as far into the future as the last time.
For you, however, it was a lonely experience. With The Snap, you had stayed behind. You lived out those five years. You had found a connection with this older guy you absolutely adored, and then you find out he was snapped out of existence along with half the planet. Lonely was an understatement, especially at the start.
At least he didn’t physically die - a fact you turned out to be grateful for when suddenly all those who had been Snapped were back. Of course, you knew the type of life Bucky led beforehand, so you were still worried, but you hoped with time he would contact you again. That hopefully things had finally calmed down at least somewhat in the world now. 
Meanwhile, in the last five years you had moved to New York. With half the world gone, work had been a difficult adjustment for everyone, and you decided to start your own little business in The Big Apple; a prime area for you. It was just a little fashion/clothing business, but it turned out well enough to keep you afloat. Business got quite busy when everyone reappeared. It was stressful at first, but you managed to hire a few other people that helped. You were even able to start taking a little time to yourself occasionally in all due time. Eventually it became the norm.
With business and the world calming down, Bucky Barnes had been on your mind recently. You wondered where he was, if he was alright.
You were in your store. It was a weirdly calm day today, so you sat on a chair behind the main cash register. You heard the door open, but by the time you looked up, the person had disappeared behind one of the clothing racks. You thought about keeping an eye on them, ready to get up if it looked like they needed assistance.
“I got ‘im.” One of your workers said from behind you, offering a smile as she walked past you.
“Thanks.” You smiled back, watching her hover near whoever the customer was before looking back down at the book in your hands. You seemed to get quite into the book, because before you knew  it, a shadow stood over you, but you didn’t notice until he spoke.
“Hey..” the voice caused your heart to stop as your ears perked and a weird yet pleasant shiver flew down your spine. You knew that voice. You knew eventually you would see him again, but it was still a surprise.
Slowly, you closed the book, and your eyes dragged up until they were on that same face you had last seen way over five years ago now. His hair was short now, but it was him alright. It was Bucky.
The man offered a small smile and wave as you stared at him. You had no idea what to do.
“Uh.. this your place?”
“Yeah…”
“You’ve done well.”
“I’ve had a lot of time.” Your responses were automatic. Your mind was blank.
“Uuhh..”
“Bucky?” You stared at him with wide eyes, your voice triggered a slightly wider smile on his lips as he nodded.
“It’s been a while.” His words made you scoff loudly.
“You’re telling me!” The both of you chuckled. The last five years had felt so long for you, but the two of you were already falling back into your old dynamic.
“... Listen Y/N.. all that old stuff.. The Winter Soldier stuff… it’s gone now.” His words made you smile for him. You knew how much his past had troubled him. You doubted it was completely out of the way, but you knew what he meant.
“No more hiding?”
“No more hiding.” Bucky smiled, a look of genuine relief on his face.
Just then, a group of teen girls walked in and your smile disappeared for a moment.
“I’m at work. I’m the boss but I still gotta work, we can’t..”
“I know a place we can go to later if you want? Catch up?”
“I’d love to! I close up around six today, we can go after then.”
“Perfect! I’ll come back and we can walk there together.” You smiled and nodded, too shy to say anything else right now. Bucky smiled before turning around, looking back at you as he opened the door to leave. You gave him a little shy wave.
You spent the next few hours constantly thinking about Bucky and finally being able to see and talk to him again. Excited was an understatement. You were happy. Bucky was back. You were always too shy to say anything about what you felt, but absolute adoration was another understatement when it came to that man.
The clock had finally struck six. Your employees were now leaving, and you decided to check the store, make sure everything was alright before closing up. The same employee that had helped out earlier that day came up to you as you picked up your things.
“Your gentleman caller is waiting outside.” She had a knowing smile on her face. She even seemed kind of excited and she stood there and waited as you blushed.
“Thank you..” you attempted to avoid her gaze as you packed the rest of your things in your bag.
“I’ll tell him you won’t be long.” At that, you offered her a smile before she left and you took a moment to relax before following.
Bucky wasn’t right there as you left through the front, but when you turned back around after shutting and locking the place, there he was just a couple feet away from you. A small flower bouquet in his hand. Your heart melted at the sight.
“I know you’re not much of a flower person, but I wasn’t sure what else to do.. You know… with the time gap and all.. But these are your favourites.” Bucky looked almost nervous. You shyly stuck your hand out to take the bouquet, your fingers brushing against his as you did.
“They’re perfect, thank you.” A small smile tugged at your lips again as you looked at them before looking back to the man in front of you.
“I’ve missed you Y/N.”
“Me too.. You that is! I’ve missed you, not myself.” You blushed as Bucky chuckled at your flustered self. He then held out an arm.
“Shall we?” You hesitated before taking hold of his arm with your free hand, a feeling of happy warmth washing over you.
“We shall.”
Tagging; @blondekel77 @book-hoardingdragon @mandosmimi
128 notes · View notes
shiversdownyerspine · 3 years
Text
14. Isolation
A long chapter, just for y'all. :>
We gonna get a lil sad, a lil sweet, and a lil weird and dirty. >:D
18+
You fold your grocery list and tuck it safely away. The brothers doubt that they'd experience any significant injury, but you won't be discouraged. It's good to be prepared, just in case.
The Commission did provide its field agents with training and adjustments once they had been employed, but the improved healing wasn't as...thorough?..as yours. Some first aid wouldn't hurt.
You'd decided once the brothers leave for the mission you'd get the shopping done. Otto and Oscar had almost seemed to sulk, but Axel had agreed with you that this would be more convenient. There wasn't all that much to grab and everything would be ready and waiting when they returned. Scooting from between Axel and Oscar you remind them that if there are complications they are free to return to you to restrategize, and you certainly wouldn't mind a surprise visit.
Oscar playfully pulls you back against him. "Aw, you're going to miss us?"
Squirming with a laugh you tease him, "Maybe a little."
The youngest Swede releases you with a pout, feigning hurt as you apologetically rub his back. With a grin you wander over to the pantry to double check the cat food supply as Otto heads to their guestroom to retrieve their guns. Tugging the bag you estimate there's a good couple months left before it's gone, so no need to worry. Though you will be grabbing a couple cans of wet food for the kittens as a treat.
Otto returns with bag in tow as you head out to the garden to consider what to plant for fall...carrots, onions, maybe cauliflower? Kneeling you reach for your sugar pumpkins, happy to see that they're coming along nicely and should be ready around Halloween time. Lingering among the plants you take a moment to relax and think, breathing in the cool air. Autumn is practically on your doorstep, and the gray skies and yellowing leaves herald its arrival. Winter won't be long now, and you will once again be keeping an eye out for a space heater.
Long ago you'd found an old used one available in town, much to your delight. It had lasted a single day before the thing let out this awful high pitched noise and died right there on your floor. You count yourself lucky that it didn't burst into flames. For a moment you had considered keeping it to try to fix it, but it didn't come with a manual and you didn't want to risk it burning down your home, so you decided to do away with it. Hopefully you'd find another space heater, but the town is old and you've yet to get lucky.
In the meantime, you have Axel, Otto, and Oscar to help you with the cold. Your cheeks flush; the touches they've been giving you have been working, though some nights your condition successfully rears its stubborn head. You have a feeling you'll have to start knocking on their door when Winter creeps a little closer.
You've yet to see what they've done with the guestroom, if they've put up any knickknacks from home or from their travels. Certainly you're curious but you won't invade their privacy. Maybe they'd prefer your room? The sofa? You don't mind sharing your bed, you trust them.
The creek of the door interrupts your thoughts, and you lift your head to see Axel motion you inside. Dusting your hands and knees off, you head in after him. Coats and jackets donned with packs strapped to the younger's shoulders, it looks like they're ready to go.
With your own canvas bags in tow, you walk along the dirt path with the Swedes to the abandoned bus stop. The vine tangled little shack is being overtaken by nature and is tucked back against trees and bushes, making it easy to miss. The windows are long gone but the door still remains, stubbornly resisting the wear and tear of time.
Before you get the chance to say goodbye, Oscar is pulling you into a hug and kissing you on the cheek. You wrap your arms around him in return. "Be careful, don't get into too much trouble."
"Only a little, here and there. Danger is..ah...spice of life." Oscar squeezes you again as Otto's hand rubs your upper back before lifting to stroke your hair. The two release you as their older brother clears his throat. Faces blank and eyes hard, they stride through the overgrowth into the little shack to wait for Axel.
The blue-clad man gazes down at you with scrutinizing eyes as the sounds of the forest ebb and wane. He steps forward and reaches into one of his coat pockets to retrieve a familiar item wrapped up in a familiar old cloth that you'd forgotten about. Your fingers curl around the 'gift'.
Grasping what you know is your paring knife, Axel's voice is a bit gruff when he declares, "For protection."
Touched, you step forward to reach for his empty hand and give it a little squeeze, smiling when his thumb sweeps over your knuckles. "Thank you."
His opposite hand cups the back of your neck as he leans down to press his lips to the top of your head, nose buried in your hair. The moment is interrupted by Oscar barking out one of the windows, "Pussa henne igen!"
Axel gives an exasperated sigh but takes a second to breathe you in, squeezing your fingers one more time before releasing you to join his brothers.
The three are gone with a flash of light and you're left standing alone. After a melancholy moment or two of eyeing the empty bus stop, you're turning your attention to your knife and unwrapping it to check the blade. But as the cloth falls away, it's the wooden handle that draws your curiosity.
A little symbol has been carved into the wood, but you don't know what it is or what it means. But for some strange reason you still feel a lump in your throat and a prickling in your eyes the longer you look at it. You remind yourself to ask about it when they return.
Your shopping trip was uneventful and you had successfully gotten everything on the list. The trek back to your home was lovely, though when you walked by the bus stop you had lingered a moment. When you entered your home and put away the groceries, the emptiness of your house was disquieting.
Efforts are made to distract yourself hour after hour after hour with relative success. The day fades into night and you curl up in bed to read your well-loved book of fairytale collections until sleep finds you.
The morning is quiet, but the cats keep you company. After lunch you take the opportunity to plant some of the carrot seeds you purchased. Towards the evening as you're figuring out what to make for dinner, you realize you can still smell Axel in the kitchen. It's bittersweet and you wonder at how deeply you miss your cooking buddy. After dinner when you're doing a load of laundry, you discover one of Otto's shirts in the dryer. As you're folding the garment, his scent grasps your heart and squeezes. The entire time you're wandering around your home, something in particular is gnawing at you, something is missing...Oscar's sneak attacks.
You drop on the sofa with a huff, shaking your head at how quickly you miss the three men. It's absurd, you're used to being alone...but at the same time it makes sense. You've gotten used to their company. As have the cats. Rubbing your temples, you watch a little television before heading to bed.
The next day is much of the same; distract yourself, do chores, care for the animals, read books, go for walks, tend to the garden and the forest, miss the Swedes. It doesn't take long for you to start worrying about them as well, if they're okay. Your home doesn't feel right and eventually, you don't feel right.
You feel...twitchy. And restless. And tingly?
The fourth day is a little easier, as is the fifth, but you still feel off.
On the sixth day your cats are crowding the living room windows. Not all that strange considering you live by a forest, who knows how many birds and little critters visit your home. Besides, more important things have your attention this morning; specifically, you feel the urge to bake.
When the front door opens you're in the kitchen messing around with baking sheets so you don't hear it. Maybe you'd have felt the cool air drifting in if your oven wasn't on. But you recognize Oscar's spicy scent a second before he pulls you back into his chest and nuzzles into your nape. He lets you twist around in his hold to hug him as the sound of his brother's boots grace your ears.
You wiggle out of Oscar's arms to pull Otto and Axel down for hugs as well, Otto with your left arm and Axel with your right. It's hard to tell whose hand is rubbing your back and whose is cupping the back of your neck but you don't mind. Noticing they still have their coats and packs, you welcome them back before telling them to make themselves comfortable.
The two brothers head for their guestroom and Oscar follows them after giving you one last hug...and scratching the chins of the cats desperate for the men's attention.
Your house returns to normal, but a little later you find you still don't feel quite right. Your condition doesn't really feel like this, so maybe you're just still feeling the absence of the Swedes? Only thing you can do is give it time...and pop on a cozy sweater, just in case.
The strange antsy feeling gets a little stronger one evening as Otto and Oscar play a game outside in your garden with a vicious looking knife. Leaning back against the side door to your kitchen, you watch as they throw the knife into the dirt at their feet, trying to see who can land it the closest. Apparently the game was called Mumblety-peg.
"Is this what siblings do? Assert...dominance over the other?"
Axel snorts, "For fun."
"...I see." Your next comment is cut off when the knife punctures Otto's upper thigh, courtesy of Oscar.
Immediately you're tugging Otto inside to sit at the kitchen table, the world fuzzing and voices fading as Otto removes the knife with a firm tug. Blood is staining and you're staring, focused and utterly silent before turning to Oscar. "You should have been more careful."
Oscar shrugs, "Not serious. Don't be...tråkmåns?..stick. Stick in the mud."
You know they have better strength, better stamina, and better healing. But while you were missing the three men, you had also been worrying about them...
Axel doesn't have a chance to reprimand his brother again before you're bristling and baring your teeth, "Well do excuse me for caring about you three. The first aid kit is in my bathroom. Get it now. Please."
Oscar blinks, surprise mingling with guilt and maybe a sprinkling of arousal at your feistiness. He follows your order, slinking down the hallway as he remembers the awful sinking feeling in his belly the one time they discovered a bullet buried in Axel's back that they had to dig out.
The eldest Swede watches the exchange silently, approving of this stern, no-nonsense side of you. Not to mention the 'please' you added at the end was cute. Even though you had reacted a little strongly to Oscar's shenanigans, it shows you care for them a great deal. You had worried for their safety while they had been gone. As you check Otto's wound, the large man admires the fire in you that is quietly sizzling down. You're deep in thought, forcing yourself to acknowledge that the Swedes are technically your mission so if anything should happen to them you would be notified. Sometimes it's hard to hear your voice of reason when it's warring with the paranoia and lack of trust in your employers.
Still, Oscar should be a little more careful. The youngest Swede returns with the kit and you apologize for snapping, that you know they heal more than civilians.
Feeling sheepish at having reacted the way that you did, you try your best to explain, "It wouldn't even take me an hour to heal from a wound like this. With my ability...if a wound lingers it's proof that it's severe. That something is deeply wrong. So...I just..reacted when I saw the bleeding. Before I could think."
You admit to them that you panicked a little...and yes, missing them may have had something to do with your reaction as well. Oscar apologizes to you, and when you raise an eyebrow, he apologizes to Otto as well.
That night when Otto pulls you down on the sofa with him to sleep, eyeing your sweater with a little concern, you decide it couldn't hurt. You've been feeling strange for quite a while, so maybe a dose of body heat is just the thing you need. Making sure the man was alright with the way you were positioned on top of him, minding his injury, you settle in with a deep contented sigh.
But you did not sleep through the night. In fact, you woke several hours later to darkness and that strange restless sensation that had been plaguing you for days now.
Otto's hand has slipped down a bit, fingers caressing the bare skin of your back that your sweater has revealed in your sleep. Your lips part with soundless pleasure at the gentle calloused warmth of his fingers, eyes fluttering when a tingle crawls up your spine...and down your arms and legs? Your brow furrows in confusion as your toes and fingers prickle and heat builds under your stomach before reaching a gentle simmer and lingering until...!
Startled, you shakily pull yourself up and stumble on your feet. You feel like you're wading through molasses, your head wrapped in fog as instinct leads you towards the safety and privacy of your bedroom. Entering your room, you whimper as you feel another wet rush that soaks your panties. Desperate, you lurch into your bathroom and rip off your clothes to find your inner thighs damp. With a trembling hand, you gingerly swipe your fingers through the fluid, not quite daring enough yet to touch the direct source. Clear and slightly sticky...hm.
You blink and look closer at the apex of your thighs...you're a bit swollen and flushed...and with a careful ticklish caress, find yourself to be somewhat sensitive as well. You're baffled, this looks to be simple arousal...well, deep arousal all things considered. As if to mock you, another shallow surge slicks your thighs and trickles down your legs. No, the small puddle your body is supplying isn't normal, your fuzzy head and lethargic body isn't normal, but you're not normal so maybe it's just...new? Something that's been delayed because of your long-term isolation? You've always lacked a menstrual cycle, so what are the odds this has some strange connection with it and your ability?
Without delay you hop in the shower, fiddling with the knobs as you begin to put the puzzle pieces together. The hot water that cascades over your skin is soothing, fighting back the earlier panic. Feeling quizzical, you once again gently slide your fingers down, pushing lightly over your clit as your eyes flutter shut with a soft sigh, touch lingering.
And suddenly it's not your hand, it's a much bigger palm cupping you possessively before fingers thicker than your own tease between your swollen lips and oh so slowly, a fingertip pushes inside, sliding to the first knuckle- A rush of juices from your cunt jerks you back to reality as you gasp, practically hyperventilating as you tear your hand away from your aching body to grasp at the tiled shower walls. ...Oh.
Maybe you missed your men more than you realized.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pussa henne igen - Kiss her again!
tråkmåns - Stick in the mud.
45 notes · View notes
sankyeom · 4 years
Text
picture perfect | k.m
Tumblr media
pairings: kevin moon x reader genre: art student au, strangers to lovers, art!student kevin, actor!reader, another secret admirer situation (yes i know we already did that in my sangyeon fit but it’s cute so idc) summary: in which you find a sketchbook filled with drawings of you, and go on a mission to find the owner word count: 8.5k (these just get longer and longer wow) series: sankyeom’s 2k followers celebration
masterlist
Your psychology professor always spoke a mile a minute, and it made taking notes unnecessarily difficult. Usually when she lectured, your wrist cramped from writing so fast, and your classmates couldn’t wait to get out of the room. On one particular autumn afternoon, you stared into nothingness as your professor gave a lecture on Milgram’s experiments, running lines in your head instead of taking notes like you usually did.
When you were cast as one of the lead roles (who didn’t even have that many lines to begin with) in your University’s winter play of An Ideal Husband, you were ecstatic to be given a new challenge. You had never been involved in acting or theatre before University, and you always felt like you were behind your peers. Your excitement soon morphed into something less productive: fear.
You were so afraid to mess up and disappoint your peers that you frequently did poorly in rehearsals and were the source of your cast’s frustrations. Perhaps it was your lack of experience, or perhaps it was because you didn’t really have any faith in yourself. Either way, it was all you could think about.
As your classmates started packing up to leave, you realised that the lecture was over and that you had just been in your own head for over an hour without learning anything from your class. Scrambling to pack up, you put away your notebooks and pencils as your phone chimed. Checking the text, you saw a message from your friend Sunwoo asking if you wanted to get lunch with him.
Getting to your feet, you texted Sunwoo that you were down for lunch as you exited the now empty lecture hall. As you left, you felt your shoe come in contact with a solid object in the doorway; a notebook that somebody must have dropped on the way out. Knowing that you would want your notes back if someone found them – especially in this class, where your professor spoke way too fast – you opened the notebook to see who it belonged to.
Your breath caught in your throat.
It wasn’t a notebook, it was a sketchbook. With a drawing of you on the first page.
At first, you scolded yourself for assuming that the person in the drawing was you. It was presumptuous of you, wasn’t it? But the texture, colour, and length of the person’s hair perfectly matched yours. The person in the picture had your eyes, skin, clothes, and smile.
Perhaps it wasn’t so arrogant of you to presume that you were being depicted in the drawing.
“That’s a lovely drawing,” Professor Shin, who was on her way out, complimented. “You’re an excellent artist.”
You glanced up from the page, feeling a little dizzy. “It’s not mine,” you admitted, head spinning at the idea of somebody drawing you. Plain, simple, me? You couldn’t believe it. “I just found it here on the floor.”
“Looks like somebody admires you,” your Professor mused, smiling before bidding you farewell, leaving you standing in an empty lecture hall, clutching the sketchbook in your hands.
You tried to find a name on the other side of the cover, but there was no number or form of identification anywhere. The only thing that alluded to an identity was the small signature at the bottom right corner of the drawing.
Moon scribbles.
Tumblr media
The first time Kevin saw you, he was seated three rows behind you in one of his Cultural Anthropology classes last semester. You were jotting notes as quickly as possible, brows furrowed together in concentration as you gripped your pen hard enough for your knuckles to turn white.
Kevin didn’t take any notes that day.
All the could do was watch you, appreciating the way your expressions changed as you understood the content, and the hesitance on your face when you volunteered an answer during class.
He didn’t mean to start drawing you. You had simply inspired him to pick up his pencil and start sketching, the soft strokes of the lead slowly but surely forming shapes that resembled your eyes, nose, lips…  
Kevin didn’t think that you’d be all he could draw from that moment onwards. Even during his art classes; if the assignment was to study the scenery surrounding the University and draw a landscape, Kevin couldn’t get the image out of your face out of his head. Whether he used paint, charcoal, ink, or lead, it was your profile that emerged from his efforts.
Today was no different; Kevin was supposed to be studying the Psychology slides from class that day – which he hadn’t taken notes on because he was too busy sketching you – and yet he only had the urge to add the finishing touches to his drawing instead of facilitating his studying. Dragging his messenger bag over to his desk, Kevin rifled through it in search of his sketchbook. He had filled many, many pages with your face at that point, and it had become a habit for him to bring it everywhere with him in case he had the urge to draw.
Kevin furrowed his brows when he couldn’t find it. His heart pounded suddenly, the idea of him having lost his sketchbook in a place you might find it seeming terrifying and disastrous. After a final sweep of his bag – which included emptying it inside-out to make sure he didn’t miss anything – Kevin could only hope and pray that he’d find it before you did.
Tumblr media
“You found what?” Sunwoo asked through a mouthful of noodles, his eyes comically large and rounded in surprise.
“A sketchbook full of drawings of me,” you replied in a monotone voice, knowing fully well that Sunwoo had heard and understood you the first time. This was the fourth time you had explained the situation, and it was starting to get a little old.
Eric narrowed his eyes, judging Sunwoo’s eating habits, before turning to face you. “Are the drawings cute?” he wondered.
“I wouldn’t say they’re cute,” you said absentmindedly, thinking back to the drawings you saw. After succumbing to your own curiosity, you had looked through the notebook to see what other drawings there were. You knew this was an invasion of privacy but you couldn’t help yourself. Surely enough, they were all of you.
“They were beautiful. Drawn in such detail that I couldn’t even believe it when I first saw them… And I look genuinely gorgeous in them,” you paused when Sunwoo scoffed at your words. “I’m not saying that to be vain,” you defended. “Trust me, I look much better in the sketches than in real life. Whoever drew them just… sees me differently than I see myself. I look beautiful in the pictures.”
“Your Professor’s right, it does sound like you’ve got yourself an admirer,” Eric teased you, pleased that somebody other than your close friends was starting to see how great you were. He wasn’t your best friend like Juyeon or Sunwoo, but he knew you well enough. “Did you get a name or anything?” he asked excitedly.
“Nothing,” you sulked. “I can take an educated guess that this person is probably in my Psych class since it’s the only class I have in that room, but who knows? It could be anyone that’s seen me before.”
“Maybe it’s one of your fans from the drama department,” Sunwoo poked fun at your cast members, not liking how they were treating you in rehearsals.
“Very funny,” you rolled your eyes, finally picking at your rice and starting to eat. “I just want to know who’s drawing me in such an amazing way. It’s so detailed that I assume it might be someone will a lot of skill, maybe an art major? But a lot of people draw as a hobby who aren’t art majors as well. Maybe-”
Eric interrupted you. “You’re thinking too much,” he said, trying to clam you down. “Just… slow down a little. Maybe they’ll come looking for it next time you have Psych? There’s no name or information so you can’t do anything to find them, anyways,” he rationalised, something that was usually your role in your friendships.
Your eyes lit up. “Moon scribbles,” you exclaimed.
Sunwoo gave you an unimpressed look. “Bless you.”
You ignored his cheek, taking out your phone and going onto Instagram. “The artist signed all of their drawings with a signature that says Moon scribbles,” you explained.
“You know it’s rude to go onto your phone during mealtimes,” Sunwoo replied.
You laughed. “I’ll be sure to remember that for the next time you do the same, Kim Sunwoo.”
After typing moonscribbles into the search bar, you saw an art page by the same name pop up. You couldn’t tell who it belonged to, as the bio vaguely gave information about the artist going to your University, studying art and being a pisces. Since the account was private, you decided to risk it and request to follow them, no matter how strange that might be if they weren’t the person you were looking for.
“I should have invited Juyeon out for lunch instead,” Sunwoo decided, picking at your rice dish in between bites of his noodles.
“Juyeon would rather hang out with Eric than you anyway,” you teased your friend back, knowing that Juyeon and Eric had a deeper friendship despite Sunwoo and Eric being the same age. Eric grinned, amused that the was the topic of discussion and not chiming in to deny anything. “And excuse me, I paid for lunch, you rascal! Now stop complaining, I’m done anyway.”
“Alright, fine. Did anything come up?” Sunwoo wondered, slapping your wrist when you tried to take some of his noodles. You rolled your eyes. Typical Sunwoo: always taking your food but never willing to share his with you.
“I don’t know yet,” you admitted. “Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Tumblr media
A few days passed without any response from moonscribbles on Instagram. You checked a few times a day to see if they ever accepted your request to follow them, but nothing ever came back. They didn’t deny your request, nor did they let you follow them either. It was frustrating, but it fell to the back of your mind after a week due to your schedule.
You had started doing full rehearsals with your cast members on stage for the play. At first, you thought that the setting might help you remember your lines and act without feeling awkward, but you were wrong. Most of your cast mates thought you got one of the lead roles for an alternate reason; perhaps you were related to someone on the University’s board and the director put you in because they wanted to keep their job. None of that was true, of course, but it didn’t help you make any friends.
The only friend you made was Younghoon, who played the lead opposite you, and with whom you frequently got together to go over lines and practice. He was one of those actors who was a completely different person from his role; he could keep be totally in character while doing his lines and the second the scene was over, he was back to his smiley self.
It didn’t help your confidence that he was an absolute pro. It only made you seem less competent in comparison, and you scolded yourself for even thinking that. Of course you knew it wasn’t Younghoon’s fault that he was simply much better at acting than you, but it definitely hurt your pride even more.
After another disastrous rehearsal, your cast mates had left to go backstage so you could have a word with the director. Younghoon sent you an encouraging smile and a pat on the shoulder before he followed your cast mates backstage, going over his lines in a faint whisper.
“Y/n,” your director began gently. “I don’t mean to hurt your feelings, but what’s up with you?” You said nothing, prompting her to keep talking. “Your audition was really great. I knew I wanted you to play a lead role the second you were done auditioning. But you’ve been doing pretty poorly in rehearsals.”
“I know,” you admitted. “I’m really sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
Your director sighed. “Look Y/n, I still want you to play your role. I like your chemistry with Younghoon and I think you guys could be really great leads. But if things don’t improve, I’m going to have to replace you with your understudy for the sake of this production.”
Even though you knew it was the obvious thing to do, it still hurt to hear. “I understand,” you whispered, nodding as you glanced at the floor.
“I really hope you can figure this out,” your director said, gently placing a hand on your shoulder. “Let me know if I can help in any way, okay?” You nodded, and your director excused herself, leaving you standing at the edge of the stage by yourself.
You groaned once you were alone, taking a seat at the edge of the stage and letting your legs dangle over the edge. Welcoming the silence in the theatre as most of the cast had left for the day, you allowed yourself to lay back and close your eyes.
Why couldn’t you get this right?
Maybe I should just quit the play, you thought to yourself. It’s probably for the best.
When you heard the gentle patter of footsteps leading onto the stage, you spoke without opening your eyes. “Let me guess, you came to tell me how terrible I am too?” you uttered, not even caring who it was anymore.
The footsteps paused. “Um, actually, I’m just here to paint the sets…” a soft male voice spoke, causing you to open your eyes and sit up.
A familiar face stood a few metres away from you, paintbrushes and paints in hand. He had black hair that slightly covered his eyes, cat-like eyes and small lips that were pursed at the awkward interaction the two of you had just had.
“Sorry,” you apologised, getting to your feet. “It’s been a rough day,” you paused. “You’re Kevin, right?”
He looked surprised that you knew who he was. “Oh. Yes, actually.”
“I’m close with Juyeon,” you explained, realising how strange it might seem that you knew his name and recognised him. “I suppose I should probably have led with that.”
Kevin smiled. “No worries. I know you as well, you’re Y/n. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Likewise,” you replied, bending down to collect your script and other belongings, pushing them into your tote bag as quickly as possible. “I’ll get out of your hair, then,” you smiled at him, implying it as your farewell.
“For the record, I don’t think you’re terrible,” Kevin confessed, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt and starting to mix paints. You glanced at him. “Are you in your head a little? Maybe. But you’re far from terrible,” he assured you, his brown eyes brimming with kindness.
“That’s very nice of you to say,” you replied. “Thanks. Although, you seem more like an artist than an actor,” you added, teasing him just a little. You couldn’t help yourself, he was pretty cute.
Kevin laughed. “Fair enough,” he allowed. “If you want me to brag about being the lead in Aladdin in middle school, then I will.”
You placed your tote bag on your shoulder, holding your hands up in surrender. “I take it back,” you said immediately. “You have more experience than I do on stage.” The two of you shared grins.
“You’ll get the hang of it,” Kevin assured you. “If I can do it then you certainly can.”
He seemed really sincere, and you appreciated it. “Thanks, Kevin,” you said, feeling much lighter and in a far better mood than before Kevin had come on stage. “I’ll see you around,” you bid your farewells before exiting the stage.
You’d have to ask Juyeon more about his friend Kevin.
Tumblr media
The next time you and Kevin bumped into each other was after one of your rehearsals a few weeks later.
You had improved in your rehearsal times, with a lot of help from Younghoon – who practiced with you in between classes – and Sunwoo – who you ran lines with anytime the two of you were together. When you were done rehearsing, your director had expressed how happy she was that you were starting to warm up to the stage and really get into the character the way she was hoping you would. Younghoon earned himself two week’s worth of free coffee from you, and your cast finally stopped glaring at you whenever you came to rehearsals.
“Oh, hey,” you greeted Kevin, who started coming onstage to work on the sets with other people who were involved in the production process. “Good to see you again,” you told him.
“You too,” Kevin beamed, his hair falling over his eyes just slightly. You had the urge to brush it out of the way so you could see him better, but you resisted the urge and scolded yourself for being so forward. “You guys are looking pretty good out there,” he complimented, waving at Younghoon as he left the theatre. His older friend gave him a knowing look, making big eyes at him and puckering his lips to tease Kevin about his crush on you.
“Thank you,” you smiled back at him, entirely clueless to Kevin cursing Younghoon with his eyes right in front of you. “The sets are really coming along too,” you commend him, gesturing around you. “It’s certainly adding some more colour to our rehearsals.”
“Glad to hear it,” Kevin replied. “Set painting isn’t exactly my vocation or anything, but it’s a fun way to help out with my skillset.”
“Skillset?” you echoed, tilting his head in curiosity.
“Ah,” Kevin cleared his throat awkwardly. “Um, I’m a fine arts major. So set painting is a little less refined than what I usually do. Not that I’m bragging,” he added quickly.
“Not at all,” you agreed, your eyes widening in realisation. “Fine arts, that’s a really cool major. You must be pretty talented to get into fine arts here, it’s such a competitive major,” your eyes widened in sudden realisation. “I’d love to see something of yours that doesn’t involve painting sets,” you motioned to the stage around you.
Kevin almost blushed. “Really?” he asked, his heart beat hammering in his chest at the idea of you seeing his art.
“Yeah,” you nodded your head eagerly. Partly because you were really curious about his art, but mostly because Kevin was pretty damn cute. “For sure! I mean, if you come to opening night of the play, I’d love to go see your art some time.”
“How’s this Saturday?” Kevin asked, his words almost slurring together at the speed he was talking. “The art department’s putting on an exhibition and a few of my drawings are going to be in it.”
“That sounds great,” you agreed. “Do you think I could bring some friends?”
Kevin nodded, his deep brown eyes brightening at the idea. “For sure! I already invited Juyeon but you can bring Sunwoo along as well.”
“Then I’ll be there,” you promised.
Tumblr media
“Oh my god, are you touching the art?” you heard Kevin exclaim semi-loudly. You froze from your place, pointing at the water fountain from which you were filling up a cup of water to drink.
“What?” you asked dumbly, your eyes widening as Kevin smirked, hiding his laughter.
It was the Saturday of Kevin’s exhibition and you were doing your best to blend in with all the artistically-minded people in the room; admiring the paintings, motioning at the sculptures and pondering over the meanings behind the light exhibitions.
“I thought this was just a regular water fountain,” you tried to defend yourself.
“It is, I’m just messing with you,” Kevin shrugged, causing you to exhale in relief and slap Kevin’s arm.
“That was awful of you,” you scolded, unable to hide the large grin making its way onto your face. “You suck.”
“So I’ve heard,” Kevin retorted easily. “Hi. Thanks for coming.”
“Thanks for inviting me,” you replied. “So, when am I going to see your pieces?” you asked, motioning around the room. It was filled to the brim and people were bustling around the room to get a good look at every piece.
“Right now if you’re up for it,” Kevin suggested, waving as Juyeon and Sunwoo made their way over to the pair of you. You had excused yourself to get some water when Kevin spotted you and came over. “Hey guys. Sunwoo, good to see you again.”
“You too,” Sunwoo replied courteously, which was unlike him. Sunwoo knew Kevin vaguely through Juyeon, who was the same age as Kevin and had a lot of classes with him, and Eric, who Kevin often hung out with because they both spoke English. “Any of these yours?”
“A few,” Kevin said modestly.
Sunwoo nodded, looking around. “Are they good or are they more… conceptual?” he asked, his own way of asking whether or not Kevin’s art was a piece of crap or not.
You rolled your eyes. “Your eloquence astounds me, Sunwoo,” you said sarcastically.
“Well I might as well get to the point,” Sunwoo chided, glancing back at Kevin. “So?”
Kevin, who was observing you and Sunwoo with the same amused smile that Juyeon was, motioned the three of you over as he led you in the direction of his drawings. “I’m not so sure if they’re good, or conceptual, but I suppose you could judge that for yourself,” he told Sunwoo, coming to a halt in front of a display of drawings.
The drawings were lively and bright; colours in the form of pastels and charcoal bringing richness and warmth to the image. Most of his drawings depicted a faceless person. There were multiple drawings where the person was being portrayed from the back, and ones that were head-on didn’t have any facial features.
“These are amazing,” you breathed out, enchanted by the creativity of the drawings, as well as the immense detail that went into them.
“I like them,” Sunwoo decided, causing Juyeon to nod in agreement.
“They’re really good,” Juyeon complimented his friend, patting him on the shoulder. “I’m really glad you decided to put something on display this year.” Juyeon knew all about the artistic slump Kevin was in last year, so he didn’t have any art on display.
Kevin thanked Juyeon quietly, still studying your expression. “Can I ask why they’re faceless?” you asked, tilting your head as you studied the drawings further.
“Ah, that,” Kevin began, an uncharacteristic shyness appearing in his tone. “Well, I’ve been inspired by somebody for a few months now,” he explained. “I suppose I made my drawings faceless because I don’t want people to know who my muse is. I’m not ready to face how I feel when I draw them yet, and I think it’s too personal to put in an exhibition.”
You nodded your head, understanding where he was coming from. “That’s really great. I hope that one day I’ll get to see their face,” you said kindly, genuinely enjoying his art. Your eyes widened as you realised something. “Hey, do you know the other students in your major well?” you asked him.
Kevin raised an eyebrow at your sudden change of topic. “Yeah, I think so. We’re a small major and I have all of my 300-level classes with all the same people. Why do you ask?”
“Would you be able to recognise one of your peer’s work?” you inquired, the sketchbook in your dorm room burning a hole in your mind. He might be able to solve my curiosity.
“Maybe,” Kevin drawled slowly. “Why?” he found your sudden change of pace surprising. “What’s up?”
“Well, I found someone’s sketchbook in one of my classes and I was wondering who it belonged to,” you began, hesitating before bringing up the sketchbook you found in your Psychology class. “But they didn’t put their name on it so I can’t return it to the owner. It was really detailed and skilled work, so I thought they might be a fine arts major.”
Kevin’s heart plummeted into his stomach.
His worst nightmare had come true: you had found his sketchbook. His sketchbook that was filled with his heart-felt drawings of you. And here you were, asking him if he knew who it belonged to. Somehow, it was equal parts thrilling and mortifying.
Sunwoo, having heard about your secret admirer decided to check out a different part of the exhibition, but Juyeon – who was hearing this for the first time – stayed out of curiosity. “You found someone’s sketchbook?” he repeated. “What was in it?”
You laughed awkwardly. “Oh. Well, here’s the thing… There’s some drawings of me in it,” you admitted, feeling shy about divulging everything about the sketchbook to Kevin. “I just… I guess I want to meet the person that made me feel so vibrant and beautiful when looking at the drawings.”
“You have an admirer,” Juyeon realised, beaming at you; eyes squinting into little crescents. “That’s adorable. Does it say anything inside?”
“Yeah it does, actually,” you told him, giving him a smile before meeting Kevin’s eyes again. “All of the drawings are signed with the handle Moon scribbles,” you recalled. “No name or phone number, though.”
Juyeon’s brows furrowed together. “Kev, isn’t Moon scribbles-“
“A really interesting name?” Kevin cut Juyeon off, sending him the clear message that he wasn’t ready to tell you about the fact that you were his muse and he couldn’t stop thinking about you.
Getting the message, Juyeon eagerly agreed, thanking Kevin for finishing his train of thought. “Um, I don’t think I’ve heard of it before. But if you show me the drawings, maybe I could recognise the style?” Kevin suggested, coming up with a solution for you to find the owner of the sketchbook.
“That would be really great, actually,” you acknowledged. “I could bring it by the next time we hang out,” you suggested, excited to figure out who you should thank for their hard work.
“Next time?” Kevin echoed, excitement filling his stomach. “Are you really so eager to solve your mystery?” he teased you.
“Well, you’re not such a bad addition,” you added with a wink.
Kevin’s heart soared.
Tumblr media
You met up with Kevin in the library a few days later to show him your sketchbook. It was good timing because you definitely needed to study for your Psychology class after zoning out in your last few lectures, so the library was the perfect setting to meet.
“Hey,” you greeted Kevin, taking the seat next to him on one of the sofas in the more secluded area of the library.
“Hi,” Kevin mumbled in return, his voice sounding quieter and more hoarse than usual. At first, you thought it might be the fact that he had to whisper that made him sound more quiet. Then, you spotted the dark circles under his eyes and the fact that he was wearing glasses, which he didn’t normally do.
“You okay?” you asked him, seeing him stretch out and yawn in his seat.
“Me?” Kevin murmured, meeting your gaze with tired, glazed-over eyes. “Yeah, I’m good.”
“Not to sound like an asshole who’s telling you that you look terrible, which I’m not, but you look really tired,” you had to tell Kevin. “Are you sure you’re up for this? You look like you could use some sleep.”
“Sleep,” Kevin said the word like it’s funny. “Sleep and I… we aren’t friends.”
You smiled sympathetically at your new friend. “Up all night studying?” you wondered.
“Insomnia,” Kevin corrected you.
“Ah,” you nodded in understanding. “So sleep is… a distant acquaintance?” you played off his previous joke.
“Something like that,” he allowed, moving his glasses up onto his forehead to rub his eyes. “I’m good, though. I look like this most days, don’t worry about it.”
“If you say so,” you trail off, your concern still not being calmed by Kevin’s explanation. “We can do this anther time if it helps, though. I wouldn’t want you to be unwell because of me.”
Kevin grinned, adjusting the beanie on his head. “But I couldn’t possibly be unwell if I’m around you,” he said, pointing his finger in the air as if he had made an excellent realisation. “Now, show me the sketchbook.”
You pulled the sketchbook out of your tote bag and handed it over to him.
Seeing it right in front of him, Kevin could confirm that it was definitely his sketch book that you had found. Although the chances of another person on campus being entirely smitten by you to the point where you became their artistic muse was slim, it wasn’t zero.
“Can I,” he motioned to the sketchbook, asking for permission to open it. It was incredibly ironic, but Kevin was too embarrassed to come clean about the sketchbook being his.
“Go ahead,” you nodded, telling him to flip through the pages.
Kevin did so, pretending he was seeing all the drawings for the first time. He paused on every page, looking over the details in the sketches and the way they realistically depicted your features. Even though he was the one who drew them, Kevin could admit that the drawings were really great. They were great because he appreciated the subject and was inspired by you. That much was clear to anybody.
“Wow,” Kevin said when he was done looking at all the drawings, holding the sketchbook on his lap. “That’s… you,” he observed, as if he didn’t already know.
“So I’m not crazy?” you asked immediately, biting your lip. “That’s me?” you glanced down at the open page in front of Kevin, seeing the resemblance between you and the person in the drawing.
“Oh it’s definitely you,” Kevin confirmed. “Unless you have an identical twin somewhere out there, there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s you.”
You let out a relieved sigh, leaning back onto the sofa. “Okay, good. I thought I was being really shallow and presumptuous at first but it’s good that you agree,” you told him, feeling a weight being lifted off your chest. “So, does it look familiar?”
“I’m not sure,” Kevin replied vaguely, wondering how he was going to get himself out of this one. “Do you think I could keep this? Maybe look over it a few more times when I’m not about to pass out,” he added.
“Sure,” you allowed. You trusted Kevin enough that he wouldn’t lose the sketchbook, since all of your mutual friends spoke very highly of him. Besides, you were becoming more impressed by him every time the two of you met. “I hope something comes up. I looked moonscribbles up on Instagram but their account is private and they haven’t responded to my follow request yet.”
Kevin had completely forgotten about his private art Instagram account. Before he was inspired by you to draw, he was in a serious slump and had been spiralling downwards. In this time, he made his Instagram account private in an effort to not think about it too much. Kevin scolded himself for not realising that you would look him up on social media to find him.
“That’s too bad,” he said sympathetically. “Maybe they’ll respond soon?”
“I hope so,” you mumbled, sighing. “I just… I want to meet them.”
“Just out of curiosity, why do you want to meet them so badly?” Kevin wondered. “Because they drew pretty pictures of you?”
“Kind of?” you replied unsurely. “That’s definitely part of it. I guess I wanted to meet somebody who thought I was vibrant and colourful and beautiful,” you shrugged, glancing down at your lap. “Because I don’t think that about myself at all. It’s why I suck at acting, and it’s why my cast mates hate me. I just thought that if somebody out there really thought I was special, maybe I would have a reason to believe it, too.”
Kevin felt butterflies rising in his stomach again, but not in a fluttery, nervous way. He was anxious about what was going to happen. “I’ll do my best to help out,” he said gently. “And Y/n?” you looked back up at Kevin. “I think you’re special,” he admitted. “A lot of people do. Juyeon, Sunwoo, Eric, Younghoon… You don’t need Moon scribbles to be special, you’re already special to us.”
A grateful, shy smile spread across your lips at his words. “Thanks, Kev. For your help, and for saying that. I really appreciate it,” you acknowledged afterwards, realising that Kevin was going out of his way to figure out your mystery while he was dead tired.
Noticing the shift in atmosphere, you cleared your throat and changed the subject, heart hammering. “I’m going to stay here and study for my Psychology class, so you don’t have to stay if you’d rather get some sleep.”
“Psychology?” Kevin echoed. “Are you taking it with Professor Shin?”
“Yes,” you groaned. “She talks so fast that my hand feels like it’s going to fall off after her lectures,” you complained.
Kevin laughed. “I can relate,” he commented. “I didn’t think you were in my class. I’m in section fifteen, what about you?”
“Section twenty-two,” you said, shrugging. “Although I’m glad to hear that it’s not just my class that she’s driving crazy.”
“Ditto,” Kevin agreed. “I actually have to get some studying done for that class too. You mind if I stay?”
“Not at all,” you promised. “It always helps to study with a friend,” you added, pulling out your notes and laptop from your tote bag.
After setting up all of your work, you quickly got to studying, cross-referencing terms from your notes to the textbook to make sure you didn’t write down anything wrong in your hurry. Kevin was silent and still beside you, which you took no notice of because you were so focused. In your distraction, he soon drifted off to sleep with his pencil still in hand, head lulling back to rest on the sofa as his eyes shut by their own accord.
Forty minutes later, you had finished both of the units on Social Psychology and furrowed your brows at an unfamiliar name. “Hey Kev, did you guys talk about-“ you paused after turning to face your new friend, seeing that he was peacefully sleeping, his head now leaning to the side to face you.
The sight of him sleeping peacefully warmed your heart, especially after he had talked about his insomnia earlier. Smiling, you pulled your headphones out of your tote bag so you could listen to the recorded lectures in favour of waking up Kevin to ask him for help. As carefully as you could, you slid the pencil out of his palm and placed it to the side so he could get some rest.
You spent the next half an hour studying in silence, until you noticed Eric, Sunwoo and Jacob walking up to you and Kevin. “Hey,” Sunwoo greeted you, earning a wave from you.
“Hi guys,” you whispered back. “What’s up?”
“Are you and Kevin dating?” Eric interrupted whatever Sunwoo was about to say, an excited glint in his eyes. “You guys are in the make-out section of the library!”
You made a face. “That’s why nobody’s here?” you realised, looking around and frowning. “No, Eric. We’re just studying together.”
Jacob grinned. “Looks like Kevin’s making really great progress on that front,” he teased. “I’m Jacob, by the way,” he added, since the two of you hadn’t properly been introduced yet.
“I’m Y/n,” you replied. “Nice to finally meet you! These rascals have told me all about you,” you motioned to Sunwoo and Eric, who beamed proudly.
“I’ve heard a lot about you as well,” Jacob replied. “And I’ve come to collect Kevin. If he doesn’t wake up soon, he’s going to miss his Ceramics class,” he explained.
“Aw,” you pouted, glancing over at Kevin. “He looks so peaceful when he’s sleeping, though. And he said he was struggling to sleep.”
“Yeah,” Jacob agreed. “I hate waking him. Believe me, I’m his roommate so I see it all first-hand. But attendance is graded in this class, so…” he trailed off with a small shrug before leaning over and waking Kevin up.
Kevin awoke, eyes blinking drowsily as he took in the image of four people staring at him. “What did I do?” he asked, wondering what prompted all the attention.
You grinned, finding the sight rather cute. “Your wake-up service is here to tell you it’s ceramics time,” you explained.
“I fell asleep,” Kevin realised. “I’m sorry,” he apologised, feeling bad that you were studying in silence when you were supposed to be helping each other out.
“Don’t be, I’m glad you got some shut-eye,” you assured him. “Go get ready for your class.”
Kevin gathered all of his things into his bag and waved his goodbyes, trudging out of the library with Jacob. “So,” Jacob began, a wide grin gracing his features. “That’s Y/n?” he teased.
“Yes, that’s Y/n,” Kevin replied quietly.
“The famous Y/n?”
“Oh my god please tell me you didn’t say anything to Y/n.”
“What should I have said? Oh so you’re the Y/n that Kevin has been in love with all semester! The famous muse! Nice to meet you, I’m the guy that has to listen to him gush about you.”
“Don’t make me hide your guitar.”
Tumblr media
moonscribbles accepted your follow request!
You sat up from where you were lying down on your bed, startled at the notification you had just received. Racing to open your Instagram app, you looked at moonscribbles’s account. None of the drawings on their account were of you, so you couldn’t decide if they were the right person. But they simply had to be. They went to your school, they studied art…
Braving it, you decided to send them a private message.
Hi! I think I found your sketchbook in Professor Shin’s lecture hall. How do you want me to return it to you?
You waited for a response, which came within a minute.
You can keep it.
Tumblr media
You were pouting over your cereal in the dining hall when Juyeon joined you, his plate stacked high with all kinds of delicious breakfast foods. “Hey pouty,” he teased you, giving your shoulder a gentle nudge when he took the seat next to yours. His smile never failed to cheer you up, which is why your frown caused concern to grow in your best friend. “Why the long face?”
“I’m never going to meet moonscribbles,” you told him, your eyes uncharacteristically sad and shiny when they met Juyeon’s.
He startled at how upset you were. “What? Why would you say that?”
“They accepted my follow request on Instagram,” you explained. “And they told me I could keep the sketchbook. Then they went offline,” you recalled. “I guess I was wrong about them.”
“I’m sorry. Whoever they are, they clearly have no idea what they’re missing.” Juyeon frowned, sympathetic of your situation and confused about what Kevin thought he was doing.
“What who’s missing?” Jacob and Eric took the seats opposite you and Juyeon, their plates equally filled with breakfast foods.
“Moon scribbles,” you said vaguely, not wanting to get into it with anyone other than Juyeon and Sunwoo. While you were starting to get to know Jacob better, you didn’t feel comfortable enough around them to discuss the matter with them. And of course you loved Eric, and he knew your situation, but you hadn’t anticipated feeling so upset about Moon scribbles’s response.
“Kevin?” Jacob asked innocently, picking up his fork and elbowing Eric so he wouldn’t steal his food. “What did he do?”
Your eyes snapped over to Jacob. “What did you just say?” you asked. Juyeon’s eyes widened, mouth slightly open as Jacob revealed Kevin’s secret to you without even realising it.
“I was asking what Kevin did,” Jacob repeated. “You said Moon scribbles, didn’t you? Kevin’s artist handle?”
“That’s clever,” Eric chimed in, innocently eating his food. “Since his last name is Moon, and all.” Then his eyes widened and he realised the situation, his gaze snapping over at you to see how you were handling the reveal.
In that moment, you’d never felt like more of an idiot.
“Kevin is Moon scribbles,” you echoed, dropping your fork onto your tray.
“Oh,” Jacob paused, reading the room as he saw the way Juyeon was staring at him. “Did you… not know that?”
“No,” you told him, having lost your already minimal appetite. “He didn’t say a thing.”
“Oh boy,” Jacob said awkwardly. “I feel like I definitely just messed up.”
“No, no,” you denied, waving your hand in Jacob’s direction. “Not at all. I’m just glad that I know who it is,” you tried to convince him, as well as yourself. “Did you know?” you asked Juyeon. “That day at the exhibition… You were trying to tell me that you knew it was Kevin, weren’t you?”
“Yes, I knew,” Juyeon replied slowly, confirming your suspicions.
For a moment, a dull pain ached in your chest. “Why didn’t you tell me?” you asked, hurt that your best friend had lied to you.
“Because I figured Kevin wanted to tell you in his own time,” he explained. “I wasn’t trying to keep anything from you, I just thought he’d do the right thing and explain it to you himself. It felt like it wasn’t my news to tell.”
“Okay,” you nodded. “I understand,” you got to your feet, grabbing your tray after putting your bag on your shoulder.
Juyeon stood up with you. “Are you upset with me?” he asked. “Because I understand if you are.”
You did your best to smile, not caring if it looked real or not. “I’m not upset with you,” you assured him. “I’m upset, but not at you. I have to get to the last dress rehearsal before opening night, so,” you glanced over at Jacob and Eric, who both looked mortified. “Enjoy your breakfast,” you told them before putting your tray away and walking to the theatre as quickly as you could.
“Hey!” your director greeted you when you came in, beaming. “You’re like a half hour early,” she observed.
“Oh, I’ve just come to go over lines and talk to some friends,” you lied, smiling at her before stepping backstage. The set design volunteers were adding last-minute touched to their sets, and you knew that was where you’d find Kevin.
“Hey,” he greeted you when you arrived in front of him. “What’s up?”
“Moon scribbles doesn’t want their sketchbook back,” you told him, as if you didn’t know that he was Moon scribbles. “So you don’t have to keep looking for them,” you added.
“Oh, okay,” Kevin nodded as if he didn’t already know this. “Did you want the sketchbook back?”
“You can keep it,” you declined, crossing your arms over your chest. “It’s rightfully yours anyway.”
Kevin paused his painting. “It is?” he asked, voice squeaking just slightly in surprise.
“Yeah, Moon scribbles,” you narrowed your eyes at him. “Besides, it’s the only way you’ll get to see me ever again, anyway,” you added, frowning as you turned around to go. “Bye, Kevin.”
“Wait,” Kevin put his fine paintbrush down to stop you from leaving.
“What?” you asked him, facing him with a raised eyebrow. “You know what, I actually really want to hear this. What exactly is it that you’re going to say to save this situation?” you wondered.
Kevin sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I didn’t mean for it to go on this long,” he began.
“That’s a joke,” you accused. “You knew how much this meant to me! Just admit that you were never going to tell me that you’re Moon scribbles.”
“How could I tell you?” Kevin exclaimed, startling you with his sudden increase in volume. “How could I just come forward and tell you that it was me? What would you have thought of me?”
“I’d have thought more of you than I do now,” you retorted. “Look, I get it now. I read the situation all wrong. You don’t think I’m special or vibrant or any of those things. You just drew me because I was there, I suppose,” you decided, feeling your heart dropping in your chest at your own words.
“That is not true,” Kevin denied, shaking his head. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”
“I suppose you might have though I was pretty if you drew me,” you allowed. “But clearly, I was putting too much onto this whole Moon scribbles thing, and it didn’t mean anything to you at all. Which is fine, it doesn’t have to mean anything. It just sucks that you couldn’t just tell me that to my face,” you confessed wholeheartedly. “But it’s fine. You can just go back to drawing your faceless muse now, I’m over it,” you lied.
“That’s not why I didn’t want to tell you that I’m Moon scribbles,” Kevin insisted. “I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to think I drew you just because you’re beautiful.”
“That worked out well,” you muttered.
Kevin sighed. “I don’t care about your looks, as ironic as that sounds. When I first saw you… You exuded an aura. I know that sounds cheesy and not everyone believes in vibes or energy, or whatever, but it’s true. You inspired me to draw and be creative,” he explained. “But I liked you when I met you. When I saw you in class and when I saw you around Sunwoo and Juyeon. You don’t get it. You are my faceless muse. You have been ever since our Cultural Anthropology class last semester.”
That stopped your train of thought. “You were in that class?” you repeated, confused.
“Yes I was. The first time I saw you… I swear, I haven’t drawn anything other than you since that day,” Kevin’s tone was uncharacteristically serious, and you felt inclined to believe him. “No matter how hard I tried. Flowers turned into your eyes, landscapes became your hair; I was a man possessed. I still am.”
“Then why not tell me all of this?” you wondered, frustrated with the situation.
“I thought that if you found out I was Moon scribbles, you’d just think I was shallow,” he paused. “Or worse.”
You rose an eyebrow. “Worse?”
Now it was Kevin’s turn to sound frustrated. “I mean, I’m not so great and special. I figured you’d be disappointed that it’s me.”
Your heart clenched for him. “How could I be disappointed that it’s you?” you asked him. “You’re great. It’s me who’s awful.”
“You aren’t awful,” he denied. “You’re so much greater than you can see. Don’t you get it? You inspired me to create after the most awful year I’ve ever had artistically. I drew you instead of studying, I drew you instead of leaving my dorm, hell, I drew you instead of sleeping. You didn’t misunderstand anything. I do think that you’re special, and vibrant.”
You buried your face in your hands. “Okay,” you spoke quietly, your mind spinning in circles. “I believe you.”
Kevin nodded. “Good.”
You nodded back at him, unsure of how to continue. “So… You have a sketchbook full of drawings of me,” you decided to tease him, just to bring some of the usual lightheartedness you felt around Kevin back.
Kevin visibly reddened at your words. “I mean… I’d be lying if I said it was just one,” he confessed.
You brightened at his words. “You have multiple sketchbooks full of drawings of me?” you exclaimed.
“I made drawings of you for the art exhibition,” he reminded you. “I haven’t been able to draw anything else for seven months. And I draw a lot, so the sketchbooks just started piling up. Plus my iPad,” catching the delighted glint in your eyes, Kevin cut himself off. “You know what, we don’t have to talk about my iPad.”
You smiled, flattered that Kevin had been so inspired by you. “Well, thank you. For filling sketchbooks and iPads and whatever other mediums with drawings of me. You made me feel seen for the first time in a really long time, and I appreciate it,” you acknowledged his efforts. “Is this why everyone acts so weird when we’re together?” you put the pieces together.
“What are you talking about?” Kevin asked, dreading your answer.
“Eric practically skips over to me whenever he sees me now, asking about you and all kinds of other things. Jacob is a lot more subtle, but he looks at me like a proud dad sometimes,” you explained.
Kevin rested his palm against his forehead. “Why are they so obvious?”
“The real question is: Why was Juyeon the least obvious,” you retorted.
“I think he just wanted us both to figure things out in our own time,” Kevin mused, earning a hum and a nod in agreement from you.
“Hey Y/n,” Younghoon poked his head around the corner. “We’re getting ready for rehearsals. Are you going to be done in time to change?” he asked, eyes flitting between you and Kevin.
“Yeah, I’m good to start getting ready. Thanks Younghoon,” you agreed, grateful that your friend wasn’t making a big deal out of what he might have overheard. Younghoon nodded, disappearing with a wink to get himself ready. “Well, that’s my cue,” you trailed off, motioning to the backstage area where you had to get changed for your last dress rehearsal.
Kevin nodded, slightly upset that your conversation didn’t come to a closure yet. “Okay,” he replied. “I guess I’ll see you around?”
You agreed with him, grabbing your bag from where you dropped it on the floor and making your way to the changing rooms. Before you opened the door, you turned back to face Kevin, who had been watching you leave. “I came to your exhibition, so you have to come to opening night,” you reminded him of the agreement the two of you made.
“I’ll be there,” Kevin assured you, taking it as a sign that the two of you could still – at the very least – be friends.
“Good,” you smiled. “And after opening night, we have a few days off so I would definitely be available, say, Wednesday?” you informed him, hoping he’d get the idea.
Kevin brightened up, his posture straightening suddenly. “Oh?” he stammered. “Would you maybe want to get dinner on Wednesday?” he offered. “Like, a date?”
You grinned, your eye dropping into a wink. “What an excellent idea,” you told him. “By the way, don’t bother asking the boys about what I like, they’re completely clueless. My favourite flowers are peonies.”
“Peonies,” Kevin repeated, accompanied by a nod. “Any preferred colour?” he asked, giddy with excitement at the outcome your confrontation had.
You shrugged. “Surprise me.”
Tumblr media
note: okay i know you guys waited forever for this so thank you so much for your patience!! i hope you guys enjoyed it xx
696 notes · View notes
bonniebird · 3 years
Text
The girl with the red crayon
Tumblr media
Bucky Barnes x Young!OC
Summery: Bucky is hired by a young girl who wants to hire the Winter Soldier to assassinate her family to help save her. Bucky, with Sam’s help, takes a different approach.
“I hate this.” Bucky said to Steve. He leaned forward and frowned at Sam who was grinning, having just said the opposite to Steve. 
“It’s only another hour. We’re done after that. This was Tony’s idea to help us seem less intimidating.” Steve smiled as he glanced at Bucky who was glaring. A man had been approaching Bucky with a sharpie and a newspaper in his hands. As soon as he saw the look on Bucky’s face he hesitated and turned to the table Clint and Natasha were sitting behind.
“This is ridiculous. We’re supposed to be the guys the cops call when they have some sort of shape shifting alien. Not television stars.” Bucky grumbled as he watched several reporters and cameramen flock to Tony’s table. He and Spider-man had a crowd so big around their table that he couldn’t even see the security guards.
“This is to help our public image and help the public to be less afraid of us.” Steve explained for the fifth time in the last hour. Tony and Pepper had come up with a PR event. Fans of the heroes and the Avengers would be able to flock to the building Tony had rented, meet their favourite heroes and take pictures. Stark industries had even come out with a line of toys and re-started Steve's old comic book line. Even Steve thought Tony had gone a bit far. He had pointed out to Tony that Bucky wouldn’t like being paraded about like a trophy. Tony had still insisted that they all be there. All except Loki who had been replaced with a cardboard cut out that sat behind Thor and Dr. Strange at their table. Bucky had seen one of the body guards that was assigned at their table, tentatively poke the cardboard figure, just to be sure that it wasn’t really Loki. Even Hulk was running around having a great time, being chased by squealing children. Though Sam had pointed out that Hulk did look like he was running for his life and that the children might be the only ones enjoying themselves.
“You know if you smiled a bit more I bet people would come up and say hi.” Sam said to Bucky who rolled his eyes. Several groups of people hurried up to get cards and merchandise signed by Steve. Some even wanted selfies with Steve and Sam. When the crowd around the table cleared Bucky spotted a little girl staring at him. She had a white envelope in her hand, the other a rather large red crayon was clutched so tightly it looked as if it had snapped. Her clothes looked baggy and old, they looked as if they hadn’t been washed for a while. A large greying and bobbled jumper hung past her knees, a hand me down, Bucky thought. Her shoes looked so worn down they must have had holes in them. Another crowd rushed the table and he became distracted. When it cleared he couldn’t see her any more. But the envelope was on the table in front of him.
“Hey look at that! You finally got some fanmail. Guess Tony will add you to the mailing list.” Sam teased. Bucky rolled his eyes and picked up the envelope. It was heavy and something clunked when he turned it to look at the front of the envelope which had Mr Winter scrawled in an uneven red crayon.
“Maybe you should have it checked before it’s opened. You know what happened when Spider-man opened a fanmail gift.” Steve said hesitantly.
“Yeah, that kid went flying.” Sam agreed. Bucky ignored them both and opened the letter. Coins rained out onto the table. A small note fell out as well. The note was written in the same crayon. Upon close inspection Bucky saw the smiling drawing of Steve in his captain uniform with a speech bubble saying ‘share your thoughts with your super friends!’. Which meant that the note was written at the stand manned by Jimmy Woo and Darcy Lewis over by the exits. An Idea of Jimmy's who had claimed it would be a great chance to catch out any villains that might want to show up. Even Nat hadn’t the heart to point out that it was unlikely a villain would take the time to write out a suggestion.
“I’ll be back.” Bucky muttered as he got up. Steve, who had been signing a little boys plastic captain America shield, looked up at Bucky.
“Where are you going?” He asked quickly. Bucky had already walked away from the table and was parting the crowd with the scowl on his face alone.
“I can go after him.” Sam muttered to Steve who nodded as more people flocked to the table. Sam grabbed at the note still on the table and hurried after Bucky. He hesitated as he saw the note. A child’s writing which simply said. ‘Dear mr Winter. My best friend said that you are the boss of the police and are allowed to kill bad people when the police aren’t allowed to. I have saved up all my money. It is six bucks. Please help. Rue Rockey.’
“Damn it! Bucky. Hey! Wait up.” Sam as he hurried to reach Bucky. 
“What?” Buck asked when Sam started falling in pace with him.
“You’re not going to go and you know… off a kid of asking you to assassinate anyone are you?” Sam half joked. Bucky sighed and glanced at him.
“I was going to see if the kid is alright. Someone probably sent the kid in here as some prank. Couldn’t be much older than six. No harm no foul.” 
“Oh. Ok. So your plan is to walk up to a six year old, you the big scary Winter Soldier and ask if they’re alright?” Sam asked. He stopped and Bucky sighed again, turning to look back at Sam.
“What else should I do?” Bucky asked. He was starting to doubt if it was a good idea now.
“Well you could ask the, you know, child that works for us. Kids love spider-man… also apparently the hulk but kids are weird like that… I assume.`` Sam smiled and paused to take some pictures with a group that hurried up. When he was done Bucky had walked off.
Tumblr media
It had taken Bucky around thirteen minutes to convince the security at the place Tony had rented to give him the security footage. It took him a little while to upload it to the computer system and he had to ask Nat to help him with facial recognition. She didn’t ask any questions but they shared a long look that Bucky took to mean, if anyone asked directly where he was she’d say something, but if not he was in the clear.
As soon as she had found an address he left, not waiting for her to finish talking so he could thank her. Finding the property in Nat’s sticky note was harder than finding the street. It was long and stretched for miles. He’d knocked on the door of a run down house and asked an old lady about the girl he had seen. But she had only been able to say that a couple moved to a house nearby a few years ago and she thought she had seen a young child. But she wasn’t sure. At least she managed to point the right direction out, Bucky had thought in defeat. 
When it was starting to get dark he heard the sound of Sam flying by and landing behind him. “You know people are looking for you right?” Sam called as he jogged to catch up with Bucky.
“I don’t see why they would, I’m fine.” Bucky muttered.
“Oh, because Steve was worried so I showed him the note that you were given this morning. Nat eventually said that you’d found their address. Which she conveniently couldn’t remember because you took the address and somehow the computer had been… smashed? You know for a while people we’re worried that you were going after a kid.” Sam explained.
“I am… hey! You!” Bucky stopped short as he spotted the next house on the long road. A small boy was playing in the driveway and he stood up, staring at the two men that walked over to the end of the drive.
“Woah. You’re the Winter Soldier. Are you here to kill Big Bill?” The boy asked. Sam glanced at Bucky who didn’t react to the boy's comments.
“I’m looking for Rue Rocky.” He said monotonously. The boy looked nervous and glanced at the front door of his oue when a woman opened the door and called for him.
“You wont kill her will you? She just wanted someone to make Big Bill stop. He’s a real bad man.” The boy said. He glanced back at his mother who was hurrying out to them. “She lives at the next house on the other side of the street. It’s five minutes that way.” The boy said as his mother snatched him away.
“Sorry, ma’am. We’re just… looking for a friend. We heard that they were near… around here.” Sam said to her.
“You Avangers need to leave things to the police. Honestly. I told you not to talk to strangers.” The woman said as she dragged the boy inside. He cast one more glance at them over his shoulder and vanished into the house. The door slammed loudly behind them.
“So you’re going to help the girl who tried to hire an assassin. What kind of… how old did you say this kid was, six? What kind of six year old hires an assassin?” Sam asked. Bucky wasn’t sure if he needed an answer so he bit out a short comment back.
“One that lives with a bad guy called Big Bill.”
The property stood out when they reached it. Sam let out a low whistle of shock and disgust at the sight and Bucky couldn’t think of anything much better to punctuate the sight before them. The grass was almost to Bucky’s chest. There was a stench of dead animals somewhere in the grass and there was so much garbage scattered around the path to the house that it was almost invisible. They made their way through, as they passed Sam pointed out a barn that was falling apart and an old silo that was missing so much of it’s metal sheet panels that it was a miracle in itself that it stood.
When they knocked on the door, an angry, rather sweaty man with a red face and a cigarette hanging from his mouth yanked the door open. “What!” The man snapped.
“You Big Bill?” Buck asked.
“What’s it to you?” The man snapped. Bucky could hear the tv in the background and the smell in the house that had wafted out when the food opened wasn’t much better than outside.
“I...” Now that he thought about it. Bucky wasn’t sure what he was going to do. He could tell just by looking at the little girl she hadn’t been cleaned or fed in a while. She was skinny. But in the way Steve had been skinny when they were kids. He’d just wanted to know she was ok. “I’m looking for Rue Rocky.”
“What the hell did that brat do now?” A woman slurred from back in the house.
“Will you shut up and stay out of it? I'm dealing with it. What’d the idiot do?” When Big Bill had turned to shout into the house, Bucky and Sam had glimpsed a police badge and a gun attached to his belt. Sam had nudged Bucky as if to draw his attention to it.
“Nothing. She hasn’t done anything, we're just friends.” Bucky answered. Sam tried not to react to the lame cover up but couldn’t help but laugh at it.
“You’re friends with an eight year old?” The man asked dubiously. 
“Sure… she urm… posted a letter for me the other day and I gave her a dime for it…”
“Let me guess. The bitch ripped you off and never posted the letter. Between you and me. We haven’t seen the kid for a few hours. Come back tomorrow if you want a pound of flesh will you, my show is on. Now get off my porch.” 
“Well that went well.” Sam said as the door was slammed in their faces and a new layer of horrid stench added to the smells outside. “Who the hell treats a kid like that?”
“An asshole. You believe him that he hasn’t seen her for a few hours?” Bucky asked Sam. He was starting to feel glad that Sam had tagged along, because now he had no idea what to do.
“No. But Redwing picked up a small heat signature from over that way.” Sam gestured towards the ruined barn and silo. “We could check it, nothing else we can do. Unless you want to kick in the door and search the house.”
“They’d describe it from the sound of it.” Bucky muttered. They headed over to the barn. Passing the silo they could see that there really wasn’t anything in there or anywhere to hide. They paused as they entered the barn and heard a soft sniffling sound. They followed it to a pile of rotting hay, covered with flies. There they spotted the small girl. She looked up at them, eyes wide and tearful, nose crusted with dried blood. Swollen lip and a small cut on her cheek. “Please don’t assassin me Mr Winter.” Rue said quietly. Bucky glanced at Sam who crouched down and motioned for Bucky to do the same.
“We’re not here to hurt you kid. We just want to help. You got hurt huh? You know. I know how to fix people up really well. Could I have a look?” Sam asked. She stared at him for a long moment but nodded.
“Did you want me to get rid of Big Bill?” Bucky asked and Rue shied away from Sam who had been inspecting the cut on her cheek.
“Big Bill helped Momma get rid of daddy. No one ever noticed. I tried to tell someone but Big Bill is the boss of the cops.” Rue explained. Bucky frowned and stood as Sam did. Sam pulled him to one side and leant in.
“There’s no way that was accidental. We can’t just leave her here. We should call someone to help.” Sam said. Bucky glanced away from Sam and watched Rue shuffle back to where she’d been hidden. He let out a long sigh and Sam raised his eyebrows. “You… have a plan you want to share or are you just going too… you are picking up a random child.” 
Bucky picked up Rue who looked afraid for a moment. The fear passed into fascination as she started prodding at his metal arm. Bucky then led the way out of the barn and started walking towards the main road and off the property.
“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing!” Big Bill said as he rushed out of the house. Bucky pulled a knife from his belt, flung it at the angry, gun toting man, then pulled out his own gun and started the man down without a word. Big Bill backed off, tripping over the thing in the yard and rushed back inside.
“So…” Sam said as they started to walk back down the long road. “What’re you going to tell Steve?”
“About what?” Bucky asked. He’d tried to swat Rue’s hands off his arm a few times but gave up and let her occupy herself as she knocked on it with her knuckles.
“About you kidnapping a little girl at gunpoint Bucky. She hired you to off her parents and instead you’re taking her home with you.” Sam said quickly. He watched as Bucky frowned and shrugged.
“I’m not sure he’ll mind. What’re the parents going to do, tell people I took her? Look at the state she’s in. The place they live will be condemned.” Bucky listeed off.
“Ok. So you’re fully prepared to just keep the kid?” Sam asked.
“I’m Rue. I can hear you.” Rue said as she turned to look at Sam.
“She can hear you Sam.” Bucky added and smiled when Sam rolled his eyes.
“I’m an accessory to kidnapping. You’re lucky I like you.” Sam warned playfully. At the end of the road, a large gate opened up into a field. Both men stopped when they saw some sort of aircraft and what looked like Natasha waiting for them.
“You boys need a lift?” She called. Sam and Bucky glanced at each other before heading over to the aircraft.
“You stole a kid… what’re you going to tell Steve?” Nat asked as they climbed up into the craft.
“Kid hired me. Just making sure she gets her six bucks worth.” Bucky explained.
“Well the search party is back at base. You’re lucky that the aerial pictures of that place make it look like a garbage dump. Tony was ready to send out a retrieval mission.” Nat said as she started to take off.
“You think that place looked bad. You should have smelled it.” Sam said as he hurried to take a seat next to Nat at the controls so he could tell her everything that had happened. Bucky sat next to Rue, who had been placed in one of the more comfortable seats. She was watching Bucky carefully.
“Do you like candy?” He asked as he dug in his pocket. He found a partly melted toffee that the Spider-kid had given him that morning. Rue reached out, snatched it from his hand and shoved it in her mouth before the offer could be retracted. She remained quiet for the rest of the ride back to the Avengers headquarters. She stared out of the window the rest of the way.
396 notes · View notes