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thenovelartist · 7 months

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Life After Destruction - Chapter 2 - Honkai: Star Rail

For the first time in a while, Stelle could say she was genuinely, truly happy. Incredible what a short yet long-overdue talk between her and her husband could accomplish. Honestly, she was just glad that it was so easily worked out. Maybe they both needed to make an effort to communicate more in order to make this weird transition from what could only be described as a battle for life itself to rebuilding a normal, peaceful reality. But a normal, peaceful reality trailblazing with Dan Heng? That sounded like a dream come true to her.

As of now, she was in their room, turning the little square of wrapped candy in her hands. According to Bailu, she had added the medicine to a candy because she was worried about how bitter the taste was and this was the solution her assistant had given her. However, Stelle had to wonder if the assistant’s true intention behind that suggestion had just gone straight over Bailu’s innocent head.

Probably, since she didn’t blush in the slightest when she told them to break the candy in half and each eat a dose.

With a sigh, she set the candy down on the nightstand and plopped down on the edge of the bed. She toyed with the bottom hem of the dress she’d put on for the evening: a teal one with white lines highlighting certain seams, a golden dragon motif painted on one side, and a high neck that matched the Luofu style. It also hugged the lines of her body tighter than what Stelle was used to, hence why she only wore this dress on very certain occasions.

She subconsciously tugged the hem down lower over her thighs, as though it wasn’t already as low as it could go. Maybe it was because she felt as though the lingerie she’d specifically put on for the night—a black pair with red lace that Himeko had all-too-proudly gotten Stelle as a “wedding gift”—could be seen through the dress itself.

Ugh, she felt so stupid. She’d been married to Dan Heng for years, and yet here she was, nervous as though it was their first night together again.

“Come on, pull it together,” she quietly warned herself as she stood back up and paced the room again. “You wanted this. Woman up.”

With that pep-talk over, she looked at herself in the mirror once more. Tonight was a rare occasion that she wore her hair up, pinned in place by a very lovely pair of decorative hair sticks Dan Heng had given her before they’d gotten married. She didn’t wear them nearly as much as she’d like to as she was always afraid to tarnish the gold or ruin the delicate silk waterlilies. While Dan Heng had gotten her other, less flashy ones that she felt slightly more comfortable wearing out and about, these were her absolute favorite.

The door suddenly opened, and Stelle whipped around just in time to watch Dan Heng freeze in the doorway.

Well, too late to turn back now. So she stood tall with as much shaky confidence as she could muster. “Hey.”

Slowly, as he regained his senses, he shut the door behind him. He slowly ran his other hand over his jaw, as though unsure what else he could do.

Under his intense gaze, she once again found herself tugging at the hem of her dress.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen you dressed up like this,” he finally spoke, his voice gentle. His hand fell away from his lips, revealing a sweet smile that convinced her it was okay to relax.

“Do you like it?” she shyly asked.

“Of course.”

Finally, Stelle felt the tension in her shoulders disappear.

Dan Heng was the first to move, closing the distance between them. “You’re wearing the hair ornaments I gave you.”

“They’re my favorite.”

His eyes took on a happy glimmer as he reached up to toy with one of the dangling bead strings. “I’m glad. They suit you.”

“I know you always say that, but I still don’t see it,” she said. “They’re only my favorite because they remind me of you.”

“Precisely.” He then ran his hand down her arm, taking hold of her hand and raising it to his lips. “You are mine.”

Warmth crept up her neck to her cheeks. Ah, there was his territorial streak, the one she found incredibly attractive. Whether it be in the subtle things, such as the way he held her close in crowds, or the more notable things like decorating her, she would frequently find herself swooning for those little possessive maneuvers.

And that was only because she felt the same way and was glad to return the favor. He was hers as much as she was his.

“I love you.” The words tumbled from her lips automatically, but she only grinned wider upon having said them.

A sparkle seemed to dance in his blue-gray eyes at her confession. “I love you, too.” And with that, he leaned forward to kiss her.

Much to her dismay, he kept it brief, pulling away far too soon for her liking.

“Let’s go on a date.”

The words caught her completely off guard. “Huh?”

“You said you thought I was distant. And we haven’t gone on a date in…” He paused, a sheepish grimace crossing his face. “Even before the war.”

“It hasn’t been that long, has it?” she asked, trying to think back. Only, she grew more and more horrified as she realized their last official date was, in fact, three months before the war. And it was a picnic of snack food and stargazing, which only lasted an hour. “No, you’re right, it has,” she relented, covering her face with her hand.

A strained chuckle escaped him. “It’s been… a chaotic year.”

“You could say that again.”

“So let’s fix that. I know what I promised you tonight, but… after everything that’s happened, I want tonight to be more than just sex. So, Stelle, will you give me the chance to woo my wife again?”

Her heart drummed inside her chest, and she had to focus on not letting her knees cave out from under her. Aeons, who taught him these lines? She wasn’t going to be able to focus on the date if her husband was already flirting with her like that. “She would really like that. Does the husband have something planned, or is he going to let his wife drag him around tonight?”

“My original plan was to go to Aurum Alley,” he answered. “To get share a dessert and look at the night markets. But if you don’t like that idea, I’m happy to follow your lead.”

“Honestly, a classic, boring old dessert date after everything that’s happened sounds pretty magical to me.”

He looked relieved by her answer, meaning that, despite its simplicity, he’d given much thought to this date of theirs. “Then would you like to change into something you’re more comfortable in?”

She frowned in confusion. “This is fine.”

“The way you’re pulling at the hem suggests otherwise.”

Darn it. She’d been caught.

“But, don’t you like this dress?” she asked.

“Yes, but I don’t see a reason for you to walk around in something you’re not comfortable in.”

She sighed. Darn him and his observant nature and his thoughtfulness. She was trying to make an effort here, and she wasn't about to let him ruin it. “It’s not that I’m uncomfortable in it. It’s just… been a while since we've done anything like this, so maybe I’m a little nervous for the evening.”

Dan Heng gently squeezed her hands. “I am, too,” he admitted. “It’s been so long. But I’m excited for something normal again.”

She couldn’t deny that. “Yeah, I know what you mean. But we should warn someone before we—”

“I told Welt we would be out late tonight and to not bother staying up for us,” Dan Heng said. “He bid us a good time.”

“Well, with his blessing, we should get going.”

“Lets.”

~~~

She was beautiful. There wasn’t ever a time she wasn’t, but Stelle was particularly stunning tonight. Dan Heng was more than happy to escort this woman around the night market.

“Hey, they finally have some Puffergoat Belly Bliss.”

He blinked at her sudden outburst. Next thing he knew, she’d taken his arm and began dragging him over to a stall, one that boasted a long line.

“It’s so rare they have it,” she said, proudly taking her spot at the back of the line. “And when they do, we’re always off elsewhere.”

“But it’s not your favorite dish.”

“Yeah, but it’s yours, isn’t it?” she shot back with a knowing grin. “Besides, it’s not like I don’t like it. I just happen to have a few other desserts that top it.”

He gave a slight chuckle. “Just a few,” he teased.

She narrowed her eyes at him in warning, but the smirk she was failing to suppress told him there were no hard feelings.

He slipped his arm around her waist, bringing her a half step closer.

She reached over to pat the hand he had on her hip.

Mine. The word rang through his head as he looked down at the stunning woman snuggled up to his side. This is mine. And what an honor and blessing that was.

Even though the line was moving at a good pace, they still had plenty of time to stand and admire the night market. This might have been Dan Heng’s homeworld, but he would admit that it didn’t quite have the same shine to it unless Stelle was with him. He was never one for bustling places, but she was able to look beyond that and enjoy it anyway. Meaning he was able to enjoy it, too.

After they obtained their dessert, they managed to find an empty bench a little off the beaten path. It was there they sat and enjoyed their food together. As always, Stelle reached over to steal a bite of his. He could have stopped her, but he would rather guilt her into allowing him to return the favor. It had taken him some time to get comfortable with Stelle’s little routine, but now, it was a game he’d simply come to accept as normal.

The night was passing quickly, and before Dan Heng knew it, they’d been there for an hour and a half. After they’d enjoyed a treat, they’d done some window shopping, meandering around the markets hand in hand. For the first time in too long, nothing was looming above their heads; no stellaron crisis or world disaster or promise of doom’s day. It was just peaceful.

“There’s so many people out and about,” Stelle commented. “Like, more than normal.”

“The Luofu alliance did help us immensely in our fight against Nanook,” Dan Heng said. “While they suffered heavy losses, that was the price they paid for securing the future generations. There are many families here, so it seems as though the people are still celebrating the prospect of peace rather than suffering in mourning.”

“That’s understandable,” she said, curling her arms around one of his. “Knowing you can live in peace with the ones you love would be cause for celebration.”

His heart warmed at her words, and he couldn’t help but squeeze her hand in agreement.

“Kids! Slow down!”

Their attention turned to a woman calling out to a gaggle of children barreling down the street, her attempts at wrangling them clearly unsuccessful. Yet, even Dan Heng didn’t fail to see the pure joy on the young children's faces as they raced their kites down the alleyway. Until they suddenly ran into a couple whose backs had been turned.

The man turned around first. Dan Heng noticed his ears, ones that proved him to be vidyadhara, but the woman he was with was clearly a foxian. The children cowered in apology, but neither of the couple seemed to mind, instead bending down to talk about the kites the children were playing with.

By now, the mother of the children had caught up, bowing in apology before yelling at her children to do the same. In turn, the couple just laughed it off in dismissal. Dan Heng knew he shouldn’t stare, but he couldn’t help but watch as the children ran off again and the inter-species couple dropped their smiles. The woman in particular had a look of pain on her face Dan Heng couldn’t ignore.

For some reason, Bailu’s words came back to his head about those in interspecies relationships struggling to conceive, but how much harder was it for this foxian to know this man she was with, the one who was tenderly embracing her, would never be able to give her children from the start? Was it easier to accept that fact upfront rather than getting into a relationship only to learn later?

“I bet you could have wrangled them,” Stelle commented, bringing him back to reality.

It took him a second to realize she was talking about the unruly children. “What makes you say that?”

“You’re really good at leading and teaching kids,” she said. “And you’re a really good big brother to Bailu. She highly respects you, you know. It’s adorable.”

“I could say the same to you regarding Clara and Hook. And they both adore you.”

She shrugged. “I suppose.”

Unable to pull himself away from his previous thoughts completely, he gave her hand a squeeze. “Hey.”

“Yeah?”

The question stuck on his tongue for a moment. “I know… it’s a little late to be asking this question, but do you… want children?”

She froze momentarily, caught off guard by the question. “I mean, it’s a pointless question because your race can’t. And I’ve sometimes wondered if I even could. This stellaron had affected me in ways that I can’t even begin to describe, so what if I’m equally infertile?”

“But… hypothetically.”

She pursed her lips in thought. “Honestly, I don’t know what I want. The world just got put to rights, and I finally feel like the future has opened up to me. So, I never considered it before, mostly because I never had the chance to.” She then looked up at him curiously. “What about you? What’s your thought on kids?”

He shrugged. “I’ve always known I could never have any. That was simply a fact, but it never bothered me seeing as I never believed I’d belong anywhere or have a family, and I certainly never thought I’d have a wife,” he finished.

“And hypothetically?”

He should have known she’d return his questions. “I don’t know, but… at the moment, it doesn’t sound like a horrible prospect.”

At his confession, she slowed her pace, just for a step or two, before she gave him a sympathetic expression. “Maybe we can be like Welt and Himeko and just adopt whatever young adventurer next comes on the train.”

A mirthless chuckle escaped him. “I guess so.”

“But until then, I’m happy with you.” She snuggled up to his side. “More than happy.”

His heart swelled with affection, and suddenly, the alley felt far too crowded for his liking. “Stelle.”

“Hmm?”

“Would you like to go back home?”

He couldn’t tell in the lantern lighting, but he was pretty sure her cheeks gained a slight rosy tint as her eyes sparkled with adoration. “I thought you’d never ask.”

~~~

The moment their bedroom door was shut, the thread of anticipation that was strung between them snapped. In an instant, Stelle found herself pinned up against the door, her vision full of Dan Heng and Dan Heng alone.

The only reaction appropriate was to throw her arms around his shoulders, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt as she clung to him, and kiss him. Over. And over. And over.

The way he ran his hands up her sides was killing her, but it was the way those same hands trailed down her sides until they hit her thighs that felt electric.

“I love you.” The words tumbled out of her in between kisses.

“I love you, too,” he returned, their lips only a hair’s width apart. “So much.”

Before Stelle could close that distance—if you could even call it that—Dan Heng grabbed her thighs and lifted her up.

She gasped in surprise, her legs automatically wrapping around his waist to stabilize herself just as her back hit the door again.

And he had the audacity to chuckle.

“You think you’re so slick,” she muttered.

“Didn’t you say you missed this?” he asked, his kisses now peppering her jaw.

Huh? What was he…

Oh. She… she supposed she did. And he’d remembered.

Which once again begged the question of how did he get so good at flirting? He was so awkward at the beginning.

“You spoil me,” she moaned, squeezing him tighter with her legs.

She was rewarded with a sharp intake of breath on his part.

But that wasn’t enough of a reaction for her. “What do you want from me?”

“Huh?” His response came out as a hot puff of breath under her jaw.

She shivered, her body growing more sensitive with every passing second. “What do you want from me? A-as a reward for spoiling me.”

He paused, his breathing heavy as he pulled back, allowing her to see the already hazy look in his eye. “You.”

“Me?”

“You. I’m not picky.”

“You’re not making it easy on me,” she muttered, loosely running her fingers over his shoulder blades.

He shuttered at her ghost of a touch. “I could say the same.”

“That’s kinda the point?”

He huffed. “You want an answer?”

“Yes.”

“I want you out of that dress,” he growled, pushing her even harder against the door. “Or I will ruin it.”

She was going to lose her mind under this pressure. “If it made you happy,” she huffed out, struggling to keep her mind focused on teasing this man. “I’d let you.”

“If you like it at all, don’t give me the option.”

“Lucky for you, I like you more than this dress. I only wear it because it represents you.”

There was a dangerous glint in his eye at her words.

And she was stupid enough to want to play with it. “So, what do you want now?”

Slowly, painstakingly slowly, he ran his hands from her knees up her thighs, then let her slip back down to the floor, his fingers sliding the hem of her dress upwards.

She liked where this was going.

Even when she stood back on the floor, his hands didn’t stop their upward travel, raking over her rear end, applying just enough pressure to keep her flush against him as he pulled her away from the door. From the small of her back, up to her shoulders, then walking up her neck to find the zipper.

She was grinning like a fiend at this point. Oh, so he wanted to play the torment game? Well, two could play at that.

She slid her hands over his shoulders, slowly sliding them down his chest—a very toned one that she appreciated accordingly—and reached for his shirt’s hem.

But the moment her fingers slipped below his belt, he suddenly yanked her zipper down, shucked the dress off her, then threw her over his shoulder in one swift motion.

She squealed in surprise, not expecting to be picked up like a sack of potatoes before being thrown onto the bed. Yet, she couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it. Her own fault, though, for playing with fire. Imaginary fire, but fire nevertheless.

He was hovering over her now, straddling her to ensure she couldn’t move as he shed his shirt, revealing his battle scars in the process.

Her laughter died down as he grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head. Her focus was now elsewhere. Namely, the angry red scars that ran down his arms and curved over his shoulders. Wounds he took for her in the war.

Suddenly, she was a million miles away, watching as a metal monster swung its claws around aimlessly, ripping through everything in its path whether it be fortresses or people—

“Stelle.”

At the sound of her name, she blinked rapidly as the scene around her changed and she returned to reality.

And reality was her husband still had her pinned to the bed.

The fire that had been in his gaze had died down, a worried expression filling them now. “I lost you there,” he muttered, his thumbs rubbing little circles on her wrists in comfort. “What’s going on in your head?”

“Nothing,” she dismissed, her heart now racing uncomfortably in a way not caused by her husband.

“Dissociating is not nothing,” he countered, not letting it go. “Is it about your scar?”

Her scar?

Only once she looked down at her own chest did it click in her mind. Oh… she supposed it was on full display now. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen it before, but it was a new addition to her body since the last time they’d been intimate. Him catching sight of it while she changed was something she was already used to, but at his words, she slowly became hyperaware of how ugly it must be, and how there was no lingerie pretty enough to distract from that scar.

She must have taken too long to answer because he let go of her wrists, hands trailing down her arms before curling around her back. He lowered himself over her, embracing her fully as he began lavishing the disaster of a scar carved into her chest with kisses.

“I love you, my starlight,” he whispered, holding her tightly against him, skin pressed against skin. “And no scar in the world will change the fact that I’m so thankful you’re still alive and here with me.”

The slight warble of emotion in his voice struck a chord in her, her heart racing all the faster for it. And as he continued his ministrations against her scar, she caved to the heat of the moment, her eyes drifting shut as she let her head fall back against the bed. Her arms snaked around his shoulders, she curled her legs up around his waist, and she used every bit of leverage available to arch her back, pressing as close to him as she could possibly get.

“I love you, Dan Heng,” she breathed out, tears beginning to form in her eyes as the emotions welling up in her began to overflow. Allowing herself to get swept up in the fluttery, ethereal feelings that only got worse as her husband tightened his grip on her, holding her ever closer, her hands soon raked up his back and threaded into his hair at the nape of his neck. “I love you so much.”

~~~

Dan Heng was perfectly and utterly content.

However, the way Stelle was ghosting her fingers over his arms, her brow knit together intently, told him she was not.

Meaning Dan Heng could not, in fact, be perfectly content.

“Enough of that,” he whispered, reaching up to gently rub his finger in between her eyebrows, hoping both to distract her and smooth out the wrinkle formed by her worrying. “What’s going on through your head now?”

“You have scars, too.”

His brow furrowed in confusion. “And?”

She glanced up at him, allowing him to fully catch that sad glint in her eyes before she turned her attention back to the scars on his arms. “Thank you for protecting me.”

“Always. But where did this come from?”

“Can I put some of the healing cream on it?”

“Slow down,” he said, not able to keep up as she bounced between each comment. “Why? Do they bother you?”

She shook her head, finally looking up at him again. “Not that they bother me. But that I’ve been so focused on myself that I—”

“Stop that,” he cut in, distracting her this time by gently stroking her hair back behind her ear and then not bothering to remove his hand from where it landed on her jaw. “You are not selfish for not fussing over my scars. They are nothing compared to your injuries. I was released and got my stitches out before you even came out of your coma.”

“Can’t I fuss over my husband?”

“You don’t need to. I’m fine.”

Her little grumble and pout told him that was not the answer she wanted to hear.

He sighed. “There is nothing to fuss over. I’m healthy. The scars don’t bother me.”

“I know, but…” She traced the scars she could see once more, and he suppressed a shiver. Even after everything they'd done that night, he was still hyper-sensitive to her touch. “I still want to put some salve on your scars. It’s not fair if I’m the only one getting treated when you’re hurt, too.”

“But didn’t Bailu make that salve specifically for you? She’ll begin to wonder why you went through it so fast.”

“You know she won’t mind if I tell her why. She cares for her big brother, too, you know.”

“I do.”

She looked up at him inquisitively. “So?”

Dan Heng sighed. Her persistence was admirable but unnecessary in this situation. However, she didn’t seem to want to drop this topic, so there really was only one thing he could say. “Alright.”

The lingering worry on her expression disappeared as a grin split her face. Next thing he knew, she practically sprung out of bed, dropping a kiss to his lips as she crawled over him. “Thank you.”

“For what?” he asked, slightly amused as he watched her snatch his shirt from the floor and slide it over her toned body.

Aeons, he’d forgotten what she looked like in his clothes. Worse yet, he’d forgotten how much he loved it.

“Letting me care for you,” she said, pulling on her underwear bottoms as well seeing as his shirt wasn’t quite long enough to fully cover her. “Even if it’s late.”

Geez, he could not figure this woman out sometimes.

She was back almost as quickly as she left, and he sat up against the headboard of their bed as she plopped down on the edge, the little jar of salve in her hands. Sparingly, she took some salve from the jar and began applying it on the angry red scars that he now sported on his shoulder. His guess of her next target would be the one on his right arm from where he was impaled by a spear. The war against Nanook had not been easily won, the broken skin on his body a testament to that, but he was thankful he walked away with his life.

To distract himself from those memories, he looked at his wife, who wore an intent expression as she applied the salve with the most tender of touches. He half expected her to kiss those scars once she was done, but on the other hand, they had just done quite a bit of kissing.

“Turn around,” she instructed before adding on at the end, “Please.”

He did as instructed, turning his back towards her. Even with the help of a mirror, he couldn’t see the scars back there very well, so those really didn’t bother him, even though getting torn up by the claws of a monster had hurt like hell when it happened. He forgot how many hundreds of stitches had gone into stitching him back up.

Behind him, Stelle sighed sadly before applying the medicine. Her touch was slow this time, as though she was extra mindful to trace this scar into her memory.

“Don’t think about it,” he warned. “I would have taken that hit for any of the crew. And we knew going in none of us would walk away unscathed.”

“I know,” she whispered, leaning forward until her forehead hit his back. “I… I know that. It’s just…”

She didn’t finish, yet Dan Heng understood. It wasn’t easy to just accept what had happened, especially when the people he cared about more than anything were involved. And he knew Stelle felt that just as intensely as he did.

Turning back around, he reached for her, wrapping her up in his arms and pulling her into an embrace. She came easily, allowing him to pull her into his lap without hesitation.

“Sorry,” she muttered, huffing out a bitter laugh. “For killing the mood.”

“Don’t be,” he reassured. “I have a feeling it’s going to take some time before we’re able to adapt to everything that has happened. But the fact we were able to have tonight shows that it’s possible to return to normal. Or, at least a semblance of it.”

She hummed. “I’ll try not to spoil the mood next time. Especially since I was the one who wanted this.”

“I…” He cleared his throat. “It wasn’t as though I didn’t want this, too,” he said.

That got her to chuckle, even if it was slightly strained. “Well, we still have to try Bailu’s little experimental concoction. So we can try again then.”

He’d forgotten about that. But for some reason, testing out that little experiment didn’t sound as bad as it once did. However, whether it was because he could now see the reason for its importance, because he was riding the high of the afterglow, or because of the promise of more was still to be determined. “Alright. Next time, then. We’ll get it right.”

Stelle snuggled closer to him, humming happily in agreement. “It’s a promise.”

#honkai star rail #honkai fanfic #danstelle #fluff #Married fluff #romance #Like... heavy on the romance

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blowflyfag · 1 month

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WRESTLING ALL STARS: Heroes and Villains : February 1993

“HITMAN” HART WINS WWF BELT!

“Sizzler in Saskatoon” leaves Flair sprawled!

[Bret proudly displays his WWF Worlds Heavyweight belt.

Nailz is no match for the Hitman in their title bout.

Hart has Nailz in an arm bar in their title clash.]

On October 12, 1992 history was made when the man known as “The Hitman” Bret Hart defeated Ric Flair in Saskatoon, Canada to win the WWF World Heavyweight title. For Hart, it was a big thrill to win the World title, but what made the victory even more rewarding for Hart was that he was able to capture the title in his beloved Canada.

[“When I wake up tomorrow, I hope this hasn’t been a dream!”--Bret Hart after winning belt.]

“Words cannot describe how I feel tonight,” Hart stated after his incredible victory. “I’ve always dreamed that someday I would win the World title and now it’s mine. Ric Flair is great. He has been the best there is for many years, but tonight I guess you can say I was just a little bit better. The thought that I’m really the World champion still hasn’t been a dream.”

Two days before the bout in Canada Bret Hart faced Ric Flair in Los Angeles with the belt on the line.

[Bret shows off his Intercontinental strap.

Piper hits the mat compliments of the Hitman during their Wrestlemania brawl.]

In that bout Hart seemingly pinned Ric Flair and even left the ting with the belt. But the following day when Mr. Perfect and Bobby Heenan protested that the referee who made the call was not the official referee, the WWF commission reversed the decision and the championship belt was returned to Ric Flair. Flair, however, didn’t have his precious “10 pounds of gold” too long. Just two days later, Hart pulled the upset of the year.

After his incredible victory, Bret Hart, speaking to Mean Gene Okerlund on the WWF Superstars of Wrestling TV program made his first appearance as champion and gave a rousing interview.

[Hart is a true credit to his profession. He is more than worthy of the honor that has been bestowed upon him.]

“I can’t tell you how proud I am,” Hart told the TV audience. “This is the greatest moment in my whole life, and I dedicate it to all the people who believe that our biggest dreams can come true. Since I was a kid I’ve been involved in wrestling. My whole family has been involved in wrestling. My father trained me and took me on the mat. I listened and learned and dedicated myself to mastering technical wrestling. I followed up on all the little details, never thinking I knew it all because you just never know it all. I’ve had my share of wins. I’ve had my share of losses, but you just wait your whole life for that one single chance and fortunately I got that chance. I have to thank every wrestler that I ever wrestled against. I’ve wrestled the greatest wrestler in the world and I learned so much. In particular I have to thank Ric Flair for giving me this chance. I want to thank each and every one of my fans around the world who supported me all these years. I want to thank all my friends that backed me up through thick and thin. I want to thank my family who have been with me since I was a little baby, and most of all I want to thank God above. Thank you for the greatest moment in my life. I’m proud to be the WWF World champion.”

[Hart shows off his World Tag Team title strap.

Hart and Jim “the Anvil” Neidhart are former WWF Tag Team champions.]

With Hart’s victory he joins Pedro Morales as the only man to hold the WWF tag team belt, the Intercontinental title and now the World belt. The new champion, however, should have a tough time trying to hold on to his newly won crown. Ric Flair, Razor Ramon, Papa Shango, Nailz, the Berzerker, Shane Michaels and possibly even Mr. Perfect are gunning for the new champ. With challenges like this, Bret Hart will have his work cut out for him, but if anyone can handle himself against the best in the sport it’s Bret Hart.

It’s great to see someone like Hart wearing the WWF Heavyweight championship strap. He’s a true credit to the profession and more than worthy of the honor that has been bestowed upon him.

#Bret hart #bred #bret hitman hart #wwf #world wrestling federation #magazine scan #magazine transcript

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kathxsoupp · 11 months

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In Love With a Fever: Chapter 2

William Afton x law enforcement ! reader (fem)

HIHIHI I'M SO HAPPY I GOT THE IDEA TO WRITE THIS I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO SEE THIS THING FINISHED :D

Summary: Reader is a detective who was put on the missing children incident case, her person of interest is William and is currently investigating him.

WARNINGS: very graphic violence throughout the whole fic, eventual smut, slow burn, age-gap between reader and Will, manipulation, mutilation, broken bones, use of pet names, Will is obsessive, mentions of death, death and murder, there will be smut, a lot probably, I think, dub-con at some point maybe, fluff and angst, idk if I missed something just read with caution

Notes: This fic is also posted on my AO3, linked in my pinned post, I'm updating this fic every Monday and it's the first thing I have ever posted, so I hope you like it!

--MINORS DNI!!!--

Chapter 2: Curiosity

He dropped his knife with a metallic clink. Taking in the sight of his creation, he removed the large heavy head of the animatronic costume he was wearing and set it down on the ground. A subtle clicking sound coming from behind him tore him out of his trance. He knew his life was endangered now, so he had to act quickly.

He carefully stepped out of the costume and locked it away where no one but him could find it. He ran his hand through his already messy hair and got to work cleaning up the crime scene.

The clock struck 5:00 am. The sky had a nice orange to blue gradient and your alarm rang with the most annoying high pitched sound. You sat up, slightly startled and reached out to turned it off. You let out an exhausted groan and buried your face in the palms of your hands.

You got up and walked over to your kitchen to make your morning coffee. You were still so groggy and your eyes felt incredibly heavy. You weren’t ready for another incredibly boring day of sitting in your office all day long until 8 pm. That’s when it hit you. Oh, right. You weren’t exactly in the mood to look for a psycho who kidnaps and murders children either, but you couldn’t deny it was pretty exciting.

After drinking your coffee, you washed up in the bathroom and did your makeup. You stood in frond of the mirror fixing your hair and staring at your own face. You sighed deeply as your mind wandered into thoughts about your life for the past few months. It wasn’t bad exactly, just your usual overthinking. You decided to just brush it off, as always, and went to pick out an outfit for the day. You ended up deciding on a pair of black suit pants, a white tank top and a black blazer. Your curled (h/c) hair rested on your shoulders and you decided to ruffle it once more before settling on the way it was styled. You grabbed your bag and keys and headed out to your car.

You parked your car at the pizzeria and took in the sorrowful sight of the place which just a week ago glowed with laughter and smiles of little children playing and chowing down on pizza without a single care in the world. Now, it reeked of agony, pain and death. No one has ever seen this place so utterly gloomy. You stepped out of your car and walked over to the enter of the pizzeria. There were a bunch of police cars and reporters hoping to get a story out of this outside already, along with two guards standing at the entrance making sure no one unauthorized enters. You showed them your badge and they let you in with a slight nod of the head.

The inside of the diner looked just the same as before, maybe just a little cleaner. Party hats aligned on top of the long tables where many little kids used to celebrate their birthdays. Against a wall proudly stood the main stage where the performances happened. To your disappointment it was completely covered by a long purple curtain with gold stars drawn all over it. You kind of looked forward to seeing the animatronics since they always fascinated you.

You saw other people already hard at work, collecting all the evidence possible. There truly wasn’t much to work with though. The bodies of the missing kids were never actually discovered. The only thing you knew was that they disappeared here. At the magical place for kids and grown ups alike, as they called it. Let’s just say that it was all far from magical at the moment. You looked around and saw your boss walking towards you.

''Morning, Agent (l/n). Have you read the file I sent you yesterday?'' he said, seemingly in a hurry. ''Good Morning, boss. Yeah I read it as soon as I got home, is everything okay?'' you replied. ''Awesome.'' he gave you a slight smile. ''Yes, everything's great. We've already interviewed Mr. Emily, one of the owners, he's clean so far. I don't have a good feeling about Afton though. We thought we'd leave him to you, you're a professional.'' he said with a chuckle, giving you a friendly wink.

You chuckled back as a response to him. He was right though. You are a charming, intelligent young woman. Incredibly good at interviewing violent criminals because of your personality, ethereal looks, but mainly, your brain. You could always see through everyone's bullshit and lies and outplay them with your brilliant use of psychology.

''Is he here already?'' you questioned. ''Yes, actually. That's why I was looking for you.'' he said. ''He should be around somewhere. Tall, thin, tired looking guy in a suit, you can't possibly miss him. Go ask him some questions, I'm sure you'll get a bunch of info out of him, kiddo.'' he chuckled and patted you on the shoulder as he made his way past you.

You smiled towards him and sighed. Alright, let's get this over with you thought, and you were on your way to look for the man.

#william afton x reader #william afton #william afton fanfic #fnaf fic #five nights at freddy's #fnaf

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waitimcomingtoo · 4 years

Text

Imaginary Friends

Pairing: Dad!Tom Holland x Reader

Request submitted by @karaannejones

Synopsis: Tom thinks you’re his sons imaginary friend until he meets you or as I like to call it FBI OPEN UP...ur heart lol

Masterlist

“FBI! OPEN UP!” Spencer softly kicked the door to Tom’s room with his little fingers in the shape of a gun.

“I didn’t do it! I’m innocent!” Tom held up his hands as he son pointed his finger gun at him. He got out of his chair and tumbled on the ground to get away from Spencer.

“Pew pew! Pew pew!” Spencer followed him and chased him out of the room. Spencer grabbed an FBI hat that was way too big for him and put it on his head before tackling Tom. Tom pretended to fall to the ground and threw Spencer in the air a few times until he noticed his hat.

“Where did you get that?” Tom asked as he held his son above his face.

“The pretty lady next door.” Spencer answer as his hat fell into his eyes. Tom set him down on the ground and fixed the hat to sit better on his sons head.

“The pretty lady next door?” Tom furrowed his brows. “I’ve never seen anyone in or out of that house.”

“Because she’s a secret agent, duh.” Spencer giggled as his hat fell down again. “No one can see her unless she wants to be seen.”

“What does this lady look like?” Tom played along, thinking Spencer just had an imaginary friend.

“She’s beautiful.” Spencer gushed. “She wears all black like a ninja and has a shiny badge. She lets me hold it sometimes.”

“Wow.” Tom pretended to be impressed. “What’s her name?”

“I can’t tell you. It’ll blow her cover.” Spencer said like it was obvious. He began to roll around and pretend to shoot things with his finger guns

“Right.” Tom chuckled. “She sounds really cool, buddy.”

“She is. She fights bad guys.” Spencer did a karate pose. “And sometimes, it’s bad girls.”

“Like Doc Oc and Venom? Daddy fights those guys too.” Tom humored him.

“Like kidnappers.” Spencer replied to Tom’s surprise.

“Kidnappers?” Tom questioned. “Where did you see that?”

“The pretty lady next door told me.” Spencer said. “She also told me to keep the doors and windows locked at night.”

“How long have you been talking to this lady?” Tom wondered. Spencer’s imaginary friend was pretty detailed for never having been mentioned before.

“A few months. She’s away a lot for cases.” Spencer explained as he began to play with some toys scattered on the carpet.

“Okay, buddy.” Tom laughed in content. “Maybe you can introduce her to me sometime.”

“Okay daddy.” Spencer smiled happily as Tom came over to play with him.

A few weeks later, Tom walked past Spencer’s room and heard him talking to his toys.

“You can never talk to strangers. Don’t let them buy you any candy or ice cream, even if it’s a fudge pop. You can only talk to adults that you know.” Spencer explained you his toys. Tom smiled to himself as he listened to his son babbling. He walked into his room and took a seat across from Spencer.

“Who told you all of that, buddy?” He laughed curiously.

“The special agent next door.” Spencer repeated. “She said we need a code word in case a stranger tries to pick me up from school.”

“A code word?”

“If they don’t know the code word, I won’t go with them.” Spencer explained and Tom realized he was right.

“That’s a good idea, buddy. What do you want the word to be?” He asked his son.

“Y/n.” Spencer said immediately.

“Y/n? Why that?” Tom wondered. They didn’t know anyone with that name, to Tom’s knowledge. He had no idea where his son would learn that name.

“That’s the name of the lady next door. She said I could tell you since you also fight bad guys. Can that be our word, daddy?” Spencer asked as he ran a toy car over Toms leg.

“Sure.” Tom agreed. “That can be our word.”

“Look daddy! I got a gold star on my report.” Spencer ran into the house, waving a piece of paper around in the air.

Tom greeted his son with a smile and scooped him off the ground, giving him a big kiss on the cheek before taking the paper.

“Who I Want to be when I grow up by Spencer Holland. Aw, buddy. Good job.” Tom praised as he read the title of the paper.

“I’m gonna go play.” Spencer told him and ran to his room.

Tom sat down at the kitchen table to read his sons paper.

“When I grow up, I want to be like the lady next door. She’s a secret agent for the FBI and brings home lost children. Her job is very dangerous because she fights bad guys. I think she is very smart and brave and that is why I want to be like her.” Tom read. He wasn’t disappointed that it wasn’t about him, just concerned. It was one thing for Spencer to have imaginary friends, it was another thing to write about them at school. Spencer could talk about the lady next door all he wanted at home, but that’s where it should stay. Tom was raising him all on his own, and he didn’t know if six year olds should be talking about their imaginary friends to other people. He decided to talk to Spencer about it as he made his way to his room.

“Hey, buddy, can we talk?” Tom asked as he knocked lightly on Spencer’s doorframe.

“Okay daddy.” Spencer smiled at him from his bed.

“I see you wrote your report on the lady next door.” Tom began.

“I did. I’m going to give it to her when she comes home next week.” Spencer bounced your and down in excitement as he brushed the hair on his police Barbie. Tom laid the report on his bed and sighed.

“Spencer, I had imaginary friends at your age too. It’s perfectly normal.” Tom began. “You just can’t write about her at school like she’s real.”

“She is real!” Spencer protested. “She lets me work on cases with her and let’s me hold her briefcase.”

“Do you think maybe you saw her on TV and got confused?” Tom asked gently. “Nobody lives next door, buddy.”

“Yes she does.” Spencer whined. “I’ll prove it to you.”

“You don’t have to prove anything to me.” Tom assured him. “She can be real at home, but it’s different at school.”

Spencer was about to say something when he heard a car door slam outside. He looked out his window and broke into a huge smile.

“She’s home!” Spencer cheered and ran out of the room. He ran all the way outside and tackled you in hug. Tom watched this from the window with a shocked expression. His son was hugging a woman he had never seen before, and he looked completely comfortable with her. Tom was about to go outside when he noticed a gun strapped to your hip.

Could Spencer had been telling the truth?

“Spence!” You hugged Spencer tightly before setting him down. “How are you doing, buddy?”

“I missed you.” He smiled wildly. “Do you have any cuts from the bad guys?”

“Nope.” You said proudly. “We took him down and ended the case a week earlier than we thought. Thanks for helping me work the case.” You cupped his chin fondly and dug in your pocket. “If you’re gonna keep helping me with this, you’re gonna need a badge of your own.”

You handed Spencer a tiny badge that said FBI on it and his eyes lit up with joy.

“Wow!” He beamed. Thank you! Now I can be just like you. I even wrote about you in my report.”

“You did? Can I see?” You asked him and he handed you the paper.

“Here. I was just showing my daddy.”

You took the report from Spencer’s hands and gave him a grateful smile. You read the paper a few times, almost teared up from how much it meant to you. He grinned proudly at you as you rubbed your thumb over the gold star.

“I love this. Can I keep it for when you’re a famous FBI agent?” You asked him as you pinned the badge to his chest.

“Okay.” Spencer nodded eagerly. You took your eyes off him for a moment when you heard his front door open. Tom came running out of the house and bent down next to his son.

“Spencer, what did I say about talking to strangers?” He scolded before looking up at you. You gave him a kind smile and his heart nearly stopped. Spencer really knew what he was talking about when he called you a pretty lady. Tom flushed in embarrassment and gave you a shy smile back.

“She’s not a stranger. She’s a secret agent.” Spencer insisted and you chuckled. You and Tom stood up and you held out your hand.

“Hi, I’m Special Agent L/N.” You introduced yourself and shook his hand. “You can call me Y/n.”

Tom opened his mouth to speak but found himself star struck. You were exactly as Spencer described in your all black outfit and pretty face. He couldn’t believe he had lived next to you for so long and had never seen you.

“See, daddy? She’s not a stranger.” Spencer said as he tugged on Toms hand. “She fights the bad guys like you do.”

“Oh, are you in law enforcement as well?” You asked Tom and he immediately forgot what he did for a living. Spencer tugged on his hand again and Tom snapped out of it.

“My character is.” He answered. “I’m an actor.”

“Have you been in anything I would’ve seen?”

“Depends.” Tom said. “Are you into natural disasters or superhero’s?”

“I can’t say I am.” You laughed the most beautiful laugh Tom had ever heard. “You mean like Marvel?”

“Yeah. I play Spider-man.” He answered, beginning to feel more confident when your eyes widened in amazement.

“No way.” You gasped. “I didn’t know I was living next door to a superhero.”

“Neither did I.” He laughed softly. You looked at each other for a moment and smiled.

“What do people call you when you’re not playing Spiderman?” You realized your never caught his name.

“Sorry, I’m Tom. I’m Spencer’s dad.” He looked down at his son and noticed the badge on his chest. “What’s that?”

“It’s a badge. Y/n said secret gents need a badge.” Spencer said proudly as he tapped on his badge.

“It’s true. Now you’re official.” You nodded at Spencer. Tom looked between the two of you with a pleasantly surprised smile. Seeing you be so kind to his son warmed his heart. Spencer didn’t have the easiest type making friends in school because he was shy, but he seemed extremely comfortable with you.

“Cool.” Spencer wiggled with excitement. “I’m gonna catch an unsub.”

“I bet you are.” You winked at him before he ran off.

“So how do you guys know each other?” Tom wondered once Spencer had run off.

“Oh, Spence is the smartest guy I’ve ever worked with.” You laughed and folded your arms. “He helps me with cases all the time. He’s loves reading the case files.” You shrugged and Tom smiled at you fondly.

“He talks about you all the time. You’ve taught him a lot.” Tom said in appreciation. It was nice to have someone else looking out for his since he was raising him all alone.

“I’m sorry if I overstepped.” You said suddenly. “The badge is something they sell for agents with kids. He always asks to see mine so I thought I’d get him his own.”

“No, it’s fine. I really appreciate it, actually.” Tom assured you. “This whole time, I thought you were his imaginary friend.”

“Really? That’s so funny.” You smiled in delight. “I usually see him in the yard and ask him for help with the case I’m working on. Don’t worry, I’ve never shown him anything graphic or violent. He actually helped me crack a case the other week when he suggested that the unsub could be a woman.”

“Unsub?” Tom questioned.

“Sorry. Work talk.” You laughed shyly. “Unidentified subject.”

“And he helped you find the person?” Tom asked in amazement. He couldn’t imagine how his 6 year old helped the FBI.

“Absolutely.” You insisted. “My team was only looking at male offenders until Spence said it could be a woman. He’s actually really good at this stuff. He told me he wants to be an agent when he grows up. I hope you don’t mind, I gave him one of my hats.”

“I don’t mind at all. He thinks you’re a secret agent, though. Like a spy.” He chuckled and you shook your head with a smile.

“I told him I was a special agent. He must’ve thought I meant secret.” You explained. “It’s okay. He still understands what I do.”

“I know. I hear him teaching his toys about safety all the time.” Tom said and you put a hand over your heart.

“Does he? That’s so cute.” You pouted. “I just taught him a few safety precautions he should always take.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.” Tom said sincerely. He couldn’t help thinking about how motherly you already acted towards Spencer. Tom didn’t date because of the thought of having to introduce Spencer to random women scared him, but you had already formed a bond with him. Tom couldn’t help the butterflies he was feeling from being around you. Everything about you, from your independence to your bravery, was drawing Tom in.

“Of course. It’s my job to keep people safe.” You nodded. “I also just like talking to him. You have a really great kid.”

“Yeah, I know.” Tom smiled proudly as he looked over his shoulder at Spencer.

“You and your wife did a great job with him.” You said quietly as you looked down at your boots.

“Yeah, uh, no wife.” Tom scratched the back of his head and you tried to hide your smile. “It’s just him and I. And apparently, you.”

“I see a lot of horrible things on the job. Your sons smiling face makes me remember why I do what I do. It’s all for the kids.” You said sincerely.

“What do you do, exactly?” Tom wondered.

“I work for the FBI and I specialize in child abductions.” You told him and he looked impressed as it all made sense.

“Oh. So that’s where he’s getting all his information from.” He realized. “I think you taught my son more than I ever did.”

“He was always happy to learn.” You smiled brightly. “You’re lucky you don’t have a daughter. I would have a lot more safety precautions to teach her.”

“I’m sorry. Your job can’t be easy.” Tom frowned. You had to spend all day looking for missing children, and he was sure you didn’t always find them. That couldn’t be easy, yet you still faced the world with a smile on your face and kindness in your heart.

That only made Tom like you more.

“It’s not.” You agreed. “But every time I get to reunite a child with their parents, I remember that it’s worth it.”

Tom opened his mouth to speak and closed it. He had never been so star struck around a girl before.

“Sorry, I’m just a little speechless right now.” He laughed shyly and scratched his head again. “You’re just kind of the most amazing person I’ve ever met. I, um, wow.” He shook his head to regain focus as you laughed.

“Thank you, Tom.” You smiled. “I’m really glad I got to meet the man who raised my favorite kid.”

“Do you think we could maybe continue this meeting over dinner?” He made a bold move to keep you on the line.

“Are you asking me out, Spiderman?” You cocked your head and squinted your eyes at him.

“I’m trying to. I’m not very good at this.” He said sheepishly. You took a step forward and straightened out the collar of his shirt as he watched you with wide eyes.

“Well I think you’re doing a great job.” You but your bottom lip and looked him in the eyes. “How does 7 work for you?”

“7 is good.” He squeaked and you smirked.

“I’ll leave my gun at home. Unless you’re planning on getting fresh. Then I’ll have to arrest you.” You said seriously.

“I-“

“I’m teasing.” You cut him off with a laugh. “I’ll see you at 7.”

Spencer ran back up to you and Tom and Tom picked him up.

“See, daddy? I told you there was a pretty lady next door.” Spencer insisted. “I wanna be just like her.”

“Aw. You’re gonna be the greatest FBI agent the world has ever seen.” You pinched his cheek. “I hope you’ll invite me to your induction ceremony.”

“Maybe you can come as my date.” Tom shrugged and you shot him a smile.

“Yeah. Maybe I can.”

Tag List 🏷

@maybemona @foreverxholland @damnyoudameron @lavender-writer @captainmandeestudent17 @whatareyouhidingpeter @takenbyheartstrings @ultrunning @imyourliquor-youremypoison @theolwebshooter @andreasworlsboring101 @guksmyfav @waiting-to-be-myself @letsloveimagines @peterparkoure @a-villain-vying-for-attention @justcallmehitgirl @averyfosterthoughts @jackiehollanderr @tiny-friggin-human @celestial-skylines @mara-twins @iamaunicorn4704 @spideygirl2003 @the-crazy-fanfictionist @maryjanee23 @spacebitch2 @geeksareunique @emmamarshmellow @jillanaholland @unbelievableholland @rebekkah4766 @flixndchill @sovereignparker @wendaiii @thisisthebiplace @spideydobrik @every-marveler-ever @undiadeestos @caelestii-e @eridanuswave @itscaminow @fiantomartell @solarxmoonchild @where-art-thau-romeo @canyouevencauseicant @illwritetomorrow @thehappygrungelife @saysomethingspiderman @parkerboop @smilexcaptainx @hes-amarillo @quaksonhehe @kelieah @silteplaittais-toi @kickingn-ames @purefluff @seasidecrowbar @lovelessdagger @love-sick-blues @electraheart-3174 @lou-la-lou @unbelievableholland @yourtypicalhotmess @ohnothezombies @spideyanakin @horanxholland

#tom holland x reader #tom holland x you #tom holland x y/n #tom holland fanfic #tom holland fluff #single dad!tom holland #single dad!tom holland x reader #dad!tom holland x reader #peter parker x reader #peter parker x y/n #peter parker x you #peter parker fanfiction #marvel #spiderman

2K notes · View notes

embrassemoi · 3 years

Text

Surrounded by the Moon and Stars • 10

Pairings: Sirius Black x [F]Reader, Remus Lupin x [F]Reader Content: Language, possible errors, introducing more Marlene, unreliable narrative-ish Author’s notes: Ngl, I had to rush this one.

Masterlist: Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter 9: One Hundred and Fifty Points

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November rolled around signifying the start of the new Quidditch season. Inside the great hall was flooded with the smell of sausages and fried eggs along with the cheerful chatter of students looking forward to the first match.

Gryffindor and Slytherin were the first teams set to play and their relationship had never been so tense until now; even the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs who liked to join in on the playful raillery decided not to participate.

Whenever a Gryffindor was to pass by the Slytherin table to get to their respective seats or simply walk through the entrance, a hassle of insults and boos would follow and vice versa.

While both houses had their own tactics to mess with each other, the Slytherins had tactics that transpired off the pitch and were brought into daily life. It was a smart move, and some of the newer Gryffindor players allowed it to bother them even before stepping foot onto the field. The insults built over the past couple of years, largely because Gryffindor had yet to lose a single game since James joined the team a little over three years ago.

And since James was newly appointed captain, they were relentless.

In the days leading up to the match, whenever Y/N accompanied James through the halls, whispers of childish remarks like, “I bet Potty is going to go to the potty after Talkalot throws him off his broom,” and other insults follow him, varying from his abilities or his capability to lead his team to victory.

Despite the relentless jeers, James managed to take them in stride, constantly donning a bright smile. Not once had it wavered him or chilled his blood. If anything, he took it as a compliment and even bounced off of it with a witty response. A few times, he even repeated the insult, announcing it loud enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear before turning the joke on them.

But today, he finally cracked. Marlene, who joined the team last year as a chaser, was beyond ecstatic while James’ smile was non-existent. It was fairly evident to everyone who knew him that his smile and body language faked confidence in an attempt to mask nervousness.

As his first year as captain, James had an extreme burden on his shoulders. Stakes were at an all-time high to continue the three-year-long title holder of the Quidditch cup. He was under a constant microscope. Everyone was curious to see how James led his team. Not only did he have to prove his abilities as a leader but was also in jeopardy of staying captain for next year. His status depended on these games.

Additionally, the potential loss would be devastating. James was not the first pick as captain for this year. Charlie Bell, a seventh year, was supposed to take his place with James coaching the year after he left, but Bell stepped down, preferring to spend his time focusing on NEWT revisions. Although due to his time studying, Bell’s abilities were admittedly sloppy and began to worry James as he was not up to his standards.

Although in Y/N’s (biased) opinion, James had nothing to worry about.

He insisted on daily practices ever since try-outs were held in early September. It was even hard to catch Marlene who’d been James’ left-hand man of sorts. Today, the two players woke up bright and early in preparation for the first game. They woke up at six o’clock in the morning, to Marlene’s dismay, and went for a light jog and a quick exercise. The rest of the Gryffindor team was there and went over their ground plan again.

Y/N had seen a few of their practices to support them and bring any food incase they missed breakfast or dinner. James was absolutely merciful. Like any good captain, he listened and attended to the needs of his players, but he held Marlene’s opinion higher than the rest.

Rumours floated around the two and she was excited to see if they held true. Both players had become great partners and were almost unstoppable on the field. Because of this, it was highly anticipated that Gryffindor was going to win, especially with how gruelling James’ coaching methods were compared to former captains. Bets were placed ranging from Knuts, Sickles and Galleons.

Due to the overwhelming pressure, James was at a loss for words, for once. His anxiety spiked and the only person who could talk any sense into was Marlene; both sharing an odd, yet special bond.

Even in the days leading up, Mcgonagall, who she’d found out was very gifted and a huge fan of the sport, took notice of his unusual and quiet behaviour. McGonagall let loose, avoiding giving out homework for the week. She had even opted to avoid giving James any.

It was quite clear McGonagall had a soft spot for the marauders, often letting them do as they pleased while at harshest, taking away house points and sparingly handing them detentions. James, of course, had been using this to his advantage as he pleaded to give the entire Gryffindor team no homework using the famous ‘but we have practice!’ excuse.

When she arrived in the hall with Dorcas, the moment they walked through the entrance, the Slytherin table booed in their direction but was rivalled with a thunderous welcome from the Gryffindor table. Everyone in sight wore red and gold.

James had a vice-grip on Quidditch Through the Ages while in the other hand, tried but failed, to shovel potatoes in his mouth. Marlene sat on his left, reviewing several techniques they could use last minute that the Slytherins may not expect coming. They were already wearing their jerseys. Plastered on Marlene’s chest in bright yellow was the number 6 while James was 7. Their uniforms were identical aside from the pin on James’ shirt that caught everyone’s attention. A shiny new captain’s badge sitting proudly on his chest.

Both were talking to each other rapidly, barely registering their friends sitting down beside them.

“Don’t be thick,” said Marlene, “This is going to work. Stop second-guessing.”

“I’m mental. Abso-fucking-bloody-mental … What was I thinking?”

“Potter,” she scolds, “get it together. Now, in about an hour, we’re going to be walking on the pitch. We’ve practiced for hours — days even — much more than the Slytherins have. You were made captain for a reason and we have back-up plans. We’re beyond ready.”

He sighs, taking a deep inhale. “Okay… Okay.”

Within a few seconds, the air around him shifts and James' assertive and authoritative side takes over. “What were you suggesting earlier?”

“We have to go underneath and cut them off. Trust me, they won’t expect it.”

“Where do you want me?”

“What broom model do you have?”

“Nimbus 1984.”

Marlene scoffs, “Should’ve known, Mr. ‘Trust fund’ Potter. Anyway, yours is the fastest and newest — ought to be the first one to cut ‘em. Lead the way.”

James stops to ponder before bobbing his head in agreement, “Sounds good, but Bell?”

“— do you think he can do it?”

“Not sure. Maybe he will once the rush comes — no — we can use him as a decoy then.”

The sudden uproar of cheers and boos of both Gryffindors and Slytherins attempting to drown each other reached the table’s ears again, James looked down at his lap. Even Marlene’s leg started bouncing up and down.

Lily was about to make a harmless jab before Marlene’s eyes shot up to her, shaking her head warningly.

James was truly losing his shit inside and out.

“Mental,” he grumbles out. He barely registers his body move on its own accord. Marlene followed his lead, getting up with him before his attention was drawn back to everyone in front of him.

“You coming, right? Gotta see my moves,” James tries to joke, looking at Y/N.

“She better or I’ll drag her onto the field.” Marlene cuts in. Judging by the burning look in her eyes, Marlene was far from joking.

“Of course I will.” She then directs the next sentence mostly to James, “You’re going to crush them.”

A nod of approval comes from both players. Marlene’s chest puffs out from the praise, even going as far to dramatically flick her hair over her shoulder while James seems to relax considerably.

“Of course we are. You are talking to the King of Quidditch.”

“Hem hem — and queen!”

“My bad — and queen. We’re going to win.” It was nice seeing his arrogant side back.

“Pff— that’s not even a question,” Marlene says, “I’d rather fling my body off a tower if we lose this game.”

❉───────•~❉•᯽•❉~•───────❉

At eleven o’clock sharp, the entire school sat in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. From there, she could smell the fresh-cut grass, filling the air as cold steel filtered through her lungs. It was refreshing and tickled the inside of her nose. The seats were raised high, a warming charm placed on them, courtesy of Flitwick.

Flakes of dewey frost coated the field and stands. The wind howled as a few brooms whipped back and forth, checking to see if everything was in proper condition before the start of the game. Unfortunately for the players, stormy grey clouds were raised high and there was a high risk of rain or snow. It surely was going to make catching the Golden Snitch harder.

All the girls were there to support Marlene. Lily and Dorcas went all out and brought a huge poster. Streaks of red and gold were painted underneath their eyes as leftover gold tinsel from the Halloween party was woven into Lily’s hair. Many other students also held large signs, waving flags; even Y/N and Mary had binoculars secured around their necks.

A large lion was charmed onto the sign, moving back and forth before opening its mouth to roar. In bold letters, it read Gryffindor’s Weapon, McKinnon! Dorcas placed another charm on so the letters interchanged between red and gold, flashing similar to a new-maj diner sign.

Madam Hooch stood in the middle of the pitch. In a flash, the two teams came out, shouldering their brooms in a single file line from two hidden doors beneath the stands. At the front, the team’s respective captains led them to the middle. A deafening applause greeted them. Some players even waved back to the crowd for louder cheers.

A few rows down, sitting in the very front was Sirius and Peter, rapidly waving their arms around and cheering. Peter bent down, pulling up a sign that read Potter’s Preeminence . Even with the distance, Y/N could hear Sirius’ screaming. He wore a paper mache lion head while Peter wore the body of a lion.

‘YOU GOT THIS PRONGS! FUCKING CRUSH THEIR TINY LITTLE SNAKE BONES— LET’S GO GRYFFINDOR, LET’S GO WOOWOO!”

What caught her eye was Remus’ absence. She was under the impression that he and James were close friends, so surely he would have been there in support knowing that this game was immensely important to him.

Back on the field, the captains shook their hands. James’ head was held high, determined not to break eye contact first. However, the other captain simply smirked and leant in to whisper something in his ear before Hooch scolded her. When she pulled back, Y/N could hardly see James’ expression but she managed to catch a small glimpse.

He looked, well, she didn't know what his expression meant. Angry? Nervous? Annoyed?

This was her cue, “DON’T LET THEM GET TO YOU JAMES!” She shouted so loud that it managed to travel down to him. Sirius’ head whipped back, even looking appreciative at her encouragement.

James managed to hear and his head perked up. His head swivelled towards her, his frown wiped off as his confidence returned. Behind him, Marlene looked up to the stands and Y/N, along with the other girls, shot her a thumbs up.

Madam Hooch continued to give her speech. James looked determined, his head tilting towards Marlene as they nodded to each other in encouragement. Y/N was unfamiliar with the rest of the Gryffindor and Slytherin players, but surprisingly, Regulus Black was standing there. Unlike the other warm brown and golden brooms, Regulus’s broom was black, accented with silver metal. An odd mark was engraved on the widest part of the base.

Due to the distance, it was hard to make out what was engraved or what position he played before Madam Hooch grabbed her silver whistle, which was comically too big.

“Mount your brooms,” she said, the entire crowd hearing. She lifted the whistle to her mouth and gave a loud blast. The game began.

Fifteen brooms flew high into the air. The clouds covering a couple of players passing by.

The announcer’s voice fills the air. “Anddd we’re off! Gryffindor’s newest captain, James Potter, 7, has the Quaffle and— he passes it to Charlie Bell, 2. This is his last year on the team so everyone give him a loud cheer— he sends the Quaffle back to Potter— and he passes it over to Marlene McKinnon, 6, and— no— the Slytherins swiped the Quaffle! Captain Emma Vanity, 21, flies away and she dives— she passes it to Rhys Calwald, also a seventh year— McKinnon comes back and takes it! She’s— a Gryffindor is down! Bell was hit by a Bludger and— he’s back up, perfectly fine— Potter is by the goalpost and blocks off the Slytherins, speeding up. Above, Phoebe Dawson, 1, joined as the Gryffindors newest seeker. She’s high in the clouds, neck and neck with Regulus Black, 8, Slytherin’s seeker and— there’s a clear shot to search for the Snitch. The Quaffle is taken by Bell and— Slytherin’s chaser takes it! Chaser Lucinda Talkalot, 4— their beater bats it away from an incoming Bludger— Talkalot is rounding on Gryffindor’s goalpost— she’s close, Vanity is there— she dives— she shoots— and… and— SLYTHERIN SCORES!”

Gryffindors groan while Slytherin cheers and wave their signs higher. A roar of claps goes around.

Now Lily is screaming, her hands are stretched out, waving her large sign above her head, blocking the unlucky students sitting behind her. “THAT WAS ONLY TEN POINTS! GET THEM MARLS— YES! LOOK AT THAT DIVE!”

Down below, Peter and Sirius are mirroring Lily. "IS THAT ALL YOU GOT POTTER?! COME ON WE KNOW YOU CAN GET EM! YOU'RE DOING AMAZING! FUCKING CRUSH THEM!"

Y/N grabbed her binoculars, bringing them to her eyes. Marlene was high up, open for James who had the Quaffle tucked under his arm. He does not look over to her, but rather looks at Bell before he throws it to her, his eyes still trained on Bell. Marlene catches it and from the trick James pulled, she has an extra few seconds before the Slytherins catch her. Marlene speeds away as a Bludger is directed at her. Luckily, one of Gryffindor’s beaters already flung it away as Charlie came rushing close to Marlene’s side, warding off any Slytherins as best as he could.

The commentator cuts in again. “Gryffindor is back in possession of the Quaffle. McKinnon and Bell are flying closer to the goalpost—Slytherin's keeper is standing tall at their net, Ashworth, 3— they’re speeding towards— look! It’s the Snitch!”

The two seeker’s heads shot up. A low murmur spreads through the crowd as they caught sight of a flash of gold. Only for a second, they saw the little ball, its wings fluttering madly before it disappeared back into the clouds.

Slytherin directs a Bludger towards Phoebes before Gryffindor’s beater comes rushing up to swat it away.

Gryffindor still is under the possession of the Quaffle. Marlene and Charlie have been passing it back and forth while James comes back around. His body is pressed close to his broom. He does a funny hand movement, signalling to the rest of the chasers before they swoop down suddenly. Everyone is confused and Charlie is flying in the opposite direction, some of the Slytherins follow him before Marlene passes the Quaffle at James and shoots.

"— GRYFFINDOR SCORES!"

Another round of cheers echoes through Gryffindor’s side. Lily’s clapping slowed. She wanted to show support for Marlene, her house, but not for James. As the Quaffle is sent back up to the air, James and Marlene high-five each other discreetly before returning to their positions.

The Slytherins rush back towards Gryffindors goalpost; they're zigzagging through the air, violent swishes to avoid chasers from cutting them off again.

"Slytherin's in possession. Vanity is on Talkalot's right— passes it to her— shots— misses! Talkalot gets another rebound—

Y/N's attention is drawn back to the seekers. A beater is rapidly swatting away Bludgers as Phoebe is neck and neck with Regulus. Her eyes are stuck through the binoculars.

All of the sudden, a Bludger collided hard with James' broom, so strongly that Y/N swore a chip of wood was knocked off. His broom vibrates hard but his grip is still secured tightly to prevent bucking off. The Bludger was so close to his face that for a split second everyone thought it might've broken his nose. The crowd was cheering on intently while Sirius and Peter screamed.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?"

"FOUL!" Madam Hooch yelled. Gryffindor gets a free score on Slytherins goalpost. Marlene is the one to score.

"NICE JOB MARLS!" Lily bellows. Her voice is high-pitched and cuts through the air loud enough that Marlene looks over and gives a thumbs up.

By now, Slytherin has scored eleven times while Gryffindor was merely in the lead by ten points. Slytherin was rapidly gaining on them. Vanity and Talkalot were great at their positions.

"Gryffindors in possession! Bell’s got the Quaff— a Bludger is coming towards Potter again—” The iron ball was barrelling towards him, again. A beater shouted, warning him before James zoomed across the field as fast as he could. A beater trailed after him and swatted it away, narrowly avoiding being hit.

James ducked as another Bludger was rocketed in his direction.

"— BLOCKED! YEAH, SCUMBAGS — Sorry McGonagall!— Bell is gaining on the Slytherins and aiming at Ashworth. McKinnon is seconds behind— the seekers spotted the Golden Snitch!"

There was an edge of panic that soared through everyone’s hearts as both of the seekers dived down so fast that the chasers and beaters had to move out of their way. It was neck and neck, both flattened to their broom and the crowd only saw the glimpse of golden sparkles. Both reached out their hands.

It was only then a Bludger hit the back of Phoebe's broom, similar to James, causing her to lunge forward and off her broom.

Both seekers were laid on the ground. Everyone peered at the crash worried about their safety before Regulus lifted his hand, waving it above his head.

"I got the Snitch!" Regulus pants out.

James came rushing down to his teammate's side to make sure they weren't badly injured. He screamed for Madam Hooch.

After careful deliberation, Hooch ultimately decided that Slytherin won, awarding them the extra one hundred and fifty points. Gryffindor lost by thirty points.

"That was an illegal Bludger attack!" Marlene says.

"What the fuck?! That's rubbish!" Sirius screamed. Mary, Lily, Dorcas and Y/N groaned with the rest of the Gryffindors. The Slytherins chanted, waving their banners around and screaming as the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws clapped.

“Bell shoulda been cap, what were they thinking, picking the so-called King of Quidditch!” The Slytherins sang.

James, while still upset at the ruling, was more upset at his team member’s pain. Nobody knew what happened, but James seemed to leave Phoebe's side once he knew she was okay and stormed off in the direction of Vanity. Marlene grabbed a hold of his uniform to pull him back.

“James, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” She seethes into his ear, "Don’t start muggle duelling!"

“Are you fucking joking?” He bits back, “I’m not going to hit a woman!”

“Then calm down now.”

Whatever it was, James felt himself cool down considerably as he looked to Marlene. “Right, sorry. Just wanted to talk some sense into her.”

“Dreadful temper you’ve got there Potter.” Vanity spits out. She walks up to him, a pitiful smile on her.

“You need to keep your beaters in check,” he spits. Sparks fly from his nose as he marches back to Phoebe. By now, Madam Pomfrey has her laid back on a stretcher. James helps her, picking up the other end and walking back through the hidden doors. The team shuddered, trailing after them.

❉───────•~❉•᯽•❉~•───────❉

It was a devastating blow for Gryffindor. Everywhere Y/N looked, angry or disappointed faces would pop up. The team themselves were dejected while the Slytherins have begun planning a party.In the halls, students that made bets disappointedly slapped money it into the palms of students.

Nobody had seen James for hours. He’d left right after the game and all the marauders had disappeared, only reappearing for dinner. Only Sirius and Peter were at the table.

“— We were so close,” said Marlene numbly. “It must have accounted for something, using an illegal move like that.”

“You did amazing, it’s not your fault.” Lily cuts in, patting her on the shoulder.

“Now Potter is going to be ruthless for the next practices.”

A roar of laughter came from the Slytherins, a song chanting from their lips.

“Potter can hardly score a goal, he almost plummeted on the floor! He calls himself the King of Quidditch, well we call him the second option! Bell shoulda been cap, what were they thinking, picking the so-called King of Quidditch!”

“Shut it!” Sirius yelled, “You cheated! Bunch of gits.”

“Knock it off!” Followed Peter.

“Potter can hardly score a goal, he almost plummeted on the floor!"

Marlene cringes, watching the scene play out. Her grip on her fork tightens that for a moment Y/N thought she would have shattered the metal pieces. “They already won, what more do they want? A bunch of ugly toads...”

“Just ignore them,” Dorcas says. Marlene looked back at her, smiling reassuringly but with effort.

“He calls himself the king of Quidditch, well we call him the second option!”

“I don’t even like him,” Lily says dully, “But this… this is just mean.”

“Bell shoulda been cap, what were they thinking, picking the so-called King of Quidditch!”

No wonder James skipped dinner. Y/N turns her head to look at Sirius and Peter, both upset. A thought passes, perhaps it would be good to see how James was doing, but a small seed of doubt settled in her. If his best friends weren’t with him, then it probably would be better to leave him alone. But starving himself shouldn’t be the other option. As the Slytherins continued to sing, with teachers and prefects starting to get up to stop them, Y/N grabbed a nearby empty plate before piling on spaghetti and bread along with slipping a few utensils in her pockets. She excused herself, nodding to Marlene for comfort and slipping her way out effortlessly as teachers swamped the Slytherin table.

The common room was empty aside from James who was huddled up with his invisibility cloak, staring miserably out a window. Only his head was visible, the rest covering his body. It made her feel a bit queasy.

The fireplace crackled with every step she took. There were a few options Y/N could broach this situation,

She could walk around him like there were eggshells,

Or treat him normally.

She sat down beside him, a bit unsure, handing him his plate. His gaze moves to her, a quick smile flashes.

“Thanks.” He says, taking it from her. He ate in silence for a while, Y/N deciding to talk to fill the silence.

“I was thinking we should play exploding snaps-”

“Hey, look, “ he cuts off fast, nodding stiffly. His smile faded and a hard edge crept in his voice, “you don't have to try and cheer me up—”

“Relax, I’m not here to baby you. You’re doing that already.”

A small huff of amusement comes out, “Well then, mind if I play with you?”

“Of course!”

Whenever James won, and quite honestly he wasn’t the best, he’d make a small whooping sound. Even a few times she lost purposely so he would win.

That is until he spoke again, almost inaudible “You know… I care what people think of me- well certain people and I let them down today.”

“James, you didn’t.”

“I did —”

“Nobody is mad at you. If anything they’re mad at Madam Hooch.”

“Still,” he looked down embarrassed. “What are they saying about me down there?”

Her brain short-circuited for a moment; he would have to find out eventually. “They’re singing.”

“Great.” Although he didn’t look bothered, just annoyed. However, he gained a rush of enthusiasm with his next sentence, “Whatever, I’ll show them next year.”

A few games later, James left before the swarm of students came back to the common room. Again, he covered himself with the cloak and disappeared into the hallway. The spring in his step was noticeably lighter.

110 notes · View notes

alarriefantasy · 3 years

Text

Hi, all! So it seems that the wonderful AO3 user - objectlesson - aka on tumblr as - horsegirlharry - has sadly deleted their fics. I have only a few saved in my files, but there are some I would really love to possess, if anyone has them? I would really appreciate it if you would message me and let me know! :)

Also, I am posting the whole list of amazing stories they shared for our fandom, and I am marking (with an asterisk*) the ones that I have myself, in case anyone else would like them too! <3

Silver White Winters

by objectlesson

In which Louis catches a cloud and pins it down.

Words: 5106, Chapters: 2/2, Language: English

I Must Confess (I Still Believe)

by objectlesson

Louis shrugs, eyes on the road. “You look cute in the blazer, too,” she says nonchalantly, and what the fucking fuck, what is Harry supposed to think?

“You probably do, too, but I wouldn’t know because I don’t even think you own one? Do you ever actually wear the entire uniform?” she asks, deflecting.

“Not since freshman year!” Louis boasts proudly. “They stopped giving me demerits because it’s, like, a lost cause. I literally haven’t seen my blazer in three years, I just borrow Veronica’s when I walk into Mass.” Her grin is very cheeky and bright, and she’s squinting in the sun, aviators pushed up into the overgrown auburn shag of her hair. The horizon is hazy and pink-orange as dark sneaks up on them, the air smelling of sprinkler water and BBQ smoke from people leaching the last warmth of October before summer’s gone for good. Harry feels alive with possibility, eyes watering as she smiles at Louis, unable to stop. She wrinkles her nose like it’ll somehow hide the way it looks on her face to be in love.

Or, Harry is the new girl at an all girl Catholic Girl’s School, and Louis is the unattainable, dashing senior who changes her forever.

Words: 44304, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Powerless (and I Don’t Care It’s Obvious)

by objectlesson

“Oh no, Lou, don’t make me laugh,” he whimpers. His Ribena-purple mouth twists into a glorious, breakable shape, and Louis’s heart stops. He should not be getting turned on by Harry’s full-bladder discomfort, his little twitches, his hips-stuttering. And yet.

Words: 4090, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

The Pink Ghost of Princess Park

by objectlesson

The thought of the vibrator does not go away. It’s sitting there collecting dust all through January, and every time Harry and Louis have to leave town for a press event or a show or to record or what have you, they come back home, and it’s still there, the Pink Ghost of Princess Park, the fucking glittery haunting that Harry cannot stop thinking of Louis stuffing up his arse.

Words: 7556, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

*Life Saver

by objectlesson

Nerd Boy’s giant, dorky, adorable hand shoots into the air. Louis notices he has chipped red polish on a few of his nails and some tattered friendship-looking bracelets, like the sort you make in camp, and he might hear the distant chime of wedding bells. He thought he didn’t even believe in marriage because it’s, like, oppressive and heteronormative or whatever, but that was before Styles, Harry (Harry Styles!!! What an absurd, wonderful name! What a perfect thing to scrawl in the margins of all his notebooks surrounded in hearts!) appeared in the bio lab at his new school and ruined all his principles forever.

or, Louis is a sweetheart punk with a theater background and a heart of gold, Harry is an inexperienced nerd who plays by the rules. Classmates, lab partners, and eventually friends, what happens when Louis knows he’s in love, but doesn’t know how tell Harry?

Words: 14809, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Even Your Honey Dew

by objectlesson

It probably says something about Harry that he’s so obsessed with another omega’s arse.

Words: 9512, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

What a Heavenly Way To Die

by objectlesson

She’s thought about it a lot, and two big things seem to be holding her back, aside from the uncontrollable paralysis that overtakes her body every time she so much as tries to sneak a hand under the waistband of Harry’s knickers.

Or, Louis is afraid to do stuff to Harry, who has done a lot of stuff to her.

Words: 8052, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

A Firm Believer and a Warm Receiver

by objectlesson

a few months ago, Louis had his first heat. It was no big deal, aside from it being awkward and weird and all the other things it was supposed to be. He figured he would present as an omega, so he wasn’t exactly surprised or anything.

But then, last week, Harry had his first heat, too.

Or, the omega/omega sleepover fic no one asked for but y'all really, really need.

Words: 10895, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

You’ll Know What Makes The World Turn

by objectlesson

Sometimes, when things are messy and they have more than a few weeks apart, they need the reminder. It’s comforting to have stars to map your course by.

or, Harry’s blue bandana is a day collar.

Words: 4624, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Sing You Butterflies

by objectlesson

Louis stares for a moment before some primal sympathetic force in him activates. He has to help this boy. He can hardly walk, and he seems so young (yet ageless, beyond age, like a sea turtle or a parrot or a tree or something else odd and magical), and on top of all that, he has body glitter clinging to his skin, like that roll-on stuff his sisters used to use as preteens, only pink-gold and twice as thick. It’s, like, professional grade. He’s also wearing grass- and dirt-stained pink silk women’s underwear, so maybe he’s from London. Maybe he’s a drag queen who crawled all the way from a nightclub in Soho just to save Louis from his horribly mundane and woefully heterosexual neighbours out here in the middle of nowhere.

or, Harry’s a clumsy unicorn who accidentally stomps on a witch’s garden and is turned into a human as punishment, so he wanders into a nearby village covered in glitter, still figuring out how to walk on two feet, and meets the fairy-tale-fine Louis, who has to teach him how to live as a human and stop him from eating soap.

Words: 22701, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Holy

by objectlesson

She deserves not to be so goddamned put together all the time. Being in the world’s biggest and highest exposure girlband means she’s never seen without a flat stomach, a spray tan, contouring, eyelash extensions, the whole of her body inescapably toned and plucked and waxed so frequently she genuinely forgot what fucking color her own pubes are. Louis wants to eat burgers and smoke weed and be twenty three. She wants to wake up with Harry and spend the whole day in bed fingering each other because they finally don’t have to have goddamn acrylic nails for once. She wants to grow her pubes out. She wants to lounge around in a posh, red-velvet High Hefner robe.

Or, Louis is dressed like a fucking queen, Harry’s begging please.

Words: 6608, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Only One I Dream Of: A Drabble Collection

by objectlesson

A collection of all the m/m One Direction drabbles and timestamps I’ve written on tumblr, so my readers on here aren’t missing out!

Words: 5164, Chapters: 5/13, Language: English

Diamonds in the Moonlight

by objectlesson

The 70s au where Harry is a rich girl stuck in the suburbs who thinks she loves Shaun Cassidy, and Louis is the skater who breaks into her backyard and changes everything forever.

Words: 16136, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

In the Heat of the Night

by objectlesson

“You’re sleeping with me, obviously,” Harry says then, pausing to regard Louis with a funny expression, nose wrinkled and brows drawn tight. “Don’t tell me you thought that I’d let you freeze out here!? Absolutely not! C’mon, the bedroom’s cozy, I dragged a space heater out.”

Louis wants to protest about as badly as she wants to sleep next to Harry Styles, which is a lot. Too much.

Or, Louis is the only butch in London with a truck and Harry needs to move a couch.

Words: 7726, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Once Upon a Dream

by objectlesson

“M’not gonna half-ass our fake relationship,” Louis almost snaps, voice sharp with a defensive edge, like Harry wandered too close to a bruise with needy fingers. “Now kiss me again. We’re gonna make every shitty tourist here wish they had stayed in the Midwest. We’re gonna burn Disneyland down with our gay. ”

Harry shuts his eyes and opens his mouth, because he can’t fucking say no to Louis.

Or, a fake dating AU where everyone is lying and they happen to be at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Words: 16643, Chapters: ½, Language: English

From Now Until Forever

by objectlesson

The girls go to Britney Nite and Louis wears Juicy track pants and Harry is not ok.

Niall takes the pint glass back from Harry and takes a swig, regarding her over the rim knowingly. “You’re nervous,” she observes with a grin. “Because you’re gonna get drunk at a gay bar with Louis, and you haven’t told her yet that you wanna marry her.”

“Oh, my god, stop,” Harry scolds, hiding her face in her hands, everything suddenly hot and shivery. “It’s not that,” she adds, even though it most definitely is.

“Then…you’re excited to see Louis in a schoolgirl skirt and bra? Covered in that body glitter that smells like cotton candy?” Niall presses, waggling her eyebrows, making Harry blush at the mere thought of Louis’s golden skin shimmering and sticky under club lights.

Words: 9223, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Hello, Heaven (you are tunnel-lined with yellow lights

by objectlesson

“Oh, yeah?” Harry asks, playing dumb as he helps Louis out of his coat before hanging it up. “A new phone charger? Mine’s still broken, the electrical tape didn’t work.”

Louis makes a face at him, all arched brows and tongue pressed into cheek. “Oh a phone charger? Is that what you need?” he quips lightly, voice high and lilting in this sing-song way that’s so, so high and gentle that it’s scary. He’s putting on a show for Harry, and Harry’s thrilled with it, already shivery and hot-cheeked because Louis got him something naughty, and they’re talking about it without really talking about it, wrapping it up in layers of mundanity and domesticity, still so excited to play the role of two Adults living in their new Adult flat in London that they bought with their own money from the X Factor. Harry’s living an unimaginably glamourous life so suddenly, and Louis and his gifts are right in the middle of it, the heart of his every dream.

Or, Louis buys Harry things sometimes.

Words: 2988, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Dream About That Casual Touch

by objectlesson

And that was the first thing Louis noticed about her. Not her nipples, or not only her nipples, anyway, but the fact that she was so confident with her body and didn’t seem to care that her tits were sort of soft and floppy and uneven or that she had a little roll of pudge around her hips that poked over the top of her jeans when she wore crop tops. She wore what she wanted to wear whether or not it was in fashion or technically even flattering; her hair was always messy, she only wore makeup half the time, and she seemed to like heeled boots even if she was already fairly tall and they made her tower over the boys. Louis always thought it was so fucking sexy how unconcerned Harry seemed with what people thought of her, how comfortable she was in her own skin. That by itself seemed like a sort-of gay thing, so Louis kept a remote, careful eye on her, hoping to one day see something else that blipped her radar.

Or, Louis and Harry fuck up two dates before they finally get it right.

Words: 7678, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

*Smoke Dreams from Smoke Rings

by objectlesson

“When I get a craving?” Louis says, “You have to help me chase it away. Distract me”

Oh. Harry can think of about one hundred different ways to distract Louis Tomlinson. One hundred better uses for his mouth, for example. “Erm,” he squeaks, well aware of the fact that he’s grinning and dimpling and blushing all at once, his whole face a suddenly mortifying warzone of transparent emotion. “How?”

“By hitting my arm as hard as you can,” Louis announces, holding out the arm in question. It bridges the gap between them, stiff and expectant, and Harry stares, not entirely sure if Louis’s being serious, if this is some prank that he isn’t clever enough to understand, or if the promise of touching Louis under any circumstances is so titillating that he just can’t process it. Louis rolls up the sleeve of his hoodie then, revealing his pale inner arm in maddening increments, pushing Harry somewhere between drooling and vomiting, he isn’t sure which. He just knows that his mouth is flooded, and the barely-there ghost of Louis’s veins through his skin is the prettiest thing that he’s ever seen. “Go on, hit me,” Louis orders. “Don’t be shy,”

or, Louis enlists Harry to help him with his bad habit.

Words: 18116, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Black Stars and Endless Seas

by objectlesson

Or, A Star Trek Original Series AU where Lt. Styles is a young science officer on his first away mission, and Louis is the headstrong ensign assigned to his security detail, and maybe they would be able to function together professionally in a normal setting, but not when their shuttlecraft crash-lands and they end up marooned together on an improbably and unfairly beautiful planet.

Words: 32246, Chapters: 3/3, Language: English

Rose Garden Dreams

by objectlesson

Harry thinks it’s a fever-induced delirium, at first. After all, she’s been sick in bed for a full forty-eight hours following the Best and Most Important beach trip of her entire life because fate is a cruel and jealous bitch who doesn’t want Harry to go on a date with the girl of her dreams.

or, Harry is sick and Louis comes to visit her.

Words: 9464, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Palms Reflecting in Your Eyes

by objectlesson

Harry visits Louis at his campus and finds a crop on the wall.

Words: 6496, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Wrap You Up in Daisy Chains

by objectlesson

Ten minutes later, an awkward, long-legged, curly-haired, so pale she’s reflective, and so obviously gay-looking Harry Styles is sitting shotgun next to Louis in a bikini, denim cut-offs, and heart-framed sunnies.

Or, Harry and Louis and a too-small bathing suit.

Words: 10613, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

To Keep the Night From Ending

by objectlesson

It doesn’t always feel real to kiss in the dark, Harry guesses. He wants it to feel real. He wants it to be the realest thing, burnt indelibly into his skin.

Or, Harry and Louis take a night swim.

Words: 5036, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Good Enough to Eat

by objectlesson

“Fuck,” Harry mumbles, shuffling. “You won’t give me shit for it? It’s sorta weird.”

“No,” Louis breathes. “Promise.”

“Okay. I just…fuck, I can’t believe I’m telling you this,” Harry whimpers, and he must be blushing because Louis can feel waves of heat coming off him, his embarrassment a hot, palpable thing. “So, like…I love rimming videos. Nothing makes me come harder,” he admits, covering his face with his hands so his voice comes out muffled and strangled.

It takes Louis a few seconds to process, to mentally rifle through his Pornhub search history and remember what rimming even is; Harry has him so stupid he can’t keep stuff straight. His ears ring, and then it hits him, and, oh, fuck. His stomach turns and tightens so quickly he’s gasping, an audible and shameful scrape of air in the dark. “You…really?” he chokes out.

Or, Harry is convinced he’s never gonna be able to try his favorite porn fantasy on a real boy, and Louis offers to remedy this.

Words: 6722, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Grenadine Sunshine

by objectlesson

Harry’s only sixteen, it shows right now, and Louis wants…he wants so many things. He wants to taste the faint, sugary ghost of lip gloss, he wants to cup Harry’s face between his palms and swipe the shimmery wet shadows from beneath his eyes. He wants to show him everything he knows, even though he doesn’t know anything about this, about kissing boys or flirting with them or doing their makeup or even showing them it’s okay to want to wear makeup in the first place. Still, Louis just wants, wants and wants and wants. It’s what Harry does to him.

Words: 18067, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Only Angel

by objectlesson

Louis pops his hip out, looking down at Harry from beneath the cut of his fringe sassily. “How do I look?”

Harry…Harry doesn’t have words, not really. He sits there on the floor with a half-hard cock, gazing up at this taller, scarier version of Louis with wide eyes. “Like I want you to spin-kick me in the face,” he admits after a moment, shakily inhaling. “You look…really good.”

Or, Louis finds a pair of heels that fit, and Harry wants to be ruined, as per usual.

Words: 6599, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Someone Who Knows How To Ride

by objectlesson

Harry gives Louis a lap dance. Or, at least, he tries to.

Words: 5114, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Copper Kiss

by objectlesson

Harry’s not allowed to fly back to the UK without marks to remember Louis by.

Words: 4604, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

You Drive Me Crazy ( I Just Can’t Sleep)

by objectlesson

The first time Louis ends up in Harry’s bed is a total accident.

Words: 18520, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Christmas Without You

by objectlesson

It’s Christmas Eve and Harry misses Louis so badly he might be going little crazy.

Words: 5639, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Vinyl and Lace

by objectlesson

Harry tries on a skirt in the X Factor dressing room as a joke. Louis doesn’t think it’s very funny.

Words: 7541, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Touch of My Hand

by objectlesson

Words: 3104, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: One Direction (Band)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: M/M

Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson

Additional Tags: Tour Bus Sex, Bus Sex, PWP, Up All Night Tour, Uan era, Canon Compliant, baby boyfriends in love, Masturbation, Mutual Masturbation, Established Relationship

Born to Make You Happy

by objectlesson

Harry makes a quiet vow to himself that he will be the very best girlfriend Louis has ever had, even if he never actually gets to be Louis’s girlfriend.

Words: 25662, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Taste of a Poison Paradise

by objectlesson

Louis notices Harry’s mouth right away.

Words: 9894, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

A Little Love (is better than none)

by objectlesson

It’s supposed to be no strings attached sex, but Harry’s in love with beauty and tragedy and Louis Tomlinson so there might actually a few strings they’re not talking about.

Or, alternately, the four times they fuck and don’t kiss, and one time they fuck and do (with a few more times thrown in because I’m a mess and know how to write short fics).

Words: 15074, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

*Take Me Under the Blue

by objectlesson

Louis hasn’t even seen his legs yet. He doesn’t know how they work or how long they’ll be. Maybe they won’t suit the rest of Harry at all, and he’ll have to grow into them or something. It doesn’t matter; Louis has loved Harry for a year with scales, so he can’t imagine wonky legs putting a damper on his attraction.

He supposes he’ll just have to find out. In the meantime, he wonders how the fuck he got here, in his squelching wellies about to save the love of his life from the sea and take him to bed and bang him for the very first time.

It’s sort of a long story.

Words: 19011, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

#deleted fics #objectlesson #horsegirlharry #larry fics #larry stylinson #larry fic rec

84 notes · View notes

zelenacat · 3 years

Text

When We Were Young- An Obitine Story- Chapter 18

Satine did not tell Korkie about her fight with his father, she did however, ask him to question his siblings on whether or not they wanted to meet their father. Tyra felt like she would hate to run into him at the temple if he’d met her, and Tristan felt that it would add more uproar to his life. Mara didn’t think he’d be proud of her, and seemed to understand that he’d fought with her mother. Korkie outright said he felt like forming a relationship with his father would be a betrayal to his mother. When Satine assured him it wouldn’t be, Korkie still didn’t budge.

So, a mere hour before the Duchess of Mandalore would welcome the head of the Trade Federation. She was texting Senator Amidala.

“None of the kids want to meet him?”

“None.” Satine repeated.

Padme bit her lip, “He’ll be angry.”

“I know.”

The phone end went silent.

“Padme,” Satine stutterted, “I mean, if it wouldn’t be too much, could you ask Anakin to break the news to him?”

“They haven’t been on the greatest of terms,” Padme frowned, “since Obi-Wan found out that we knew before he did they’ve been a little tense.”

“Could you tell him then,” Satine swallowed, “and ask him if he’d like to be there when I give birth.”

Padme sighed.

“Please, Padme,” Satine begged, “he won’t talk to me.”

“Alright,” Padme agreed, “but I don’t know what he’ll say.”

“Thank you, thank you so much, Padme,” Satine gasped, “you’re such an angel.”

“Good luck with the Federation heads, Duchess,” the Senator warned, “they can be stiff.”

“I will, Senator,” Satine smiled, “thank you, thank you a thousand times over.”

The Duchess’ dress weighed more than any dress should. Four ladies had to carry it into her room on a stretcher. It seemed that every blue crystal owned by the Mandalorian royal house was on that dress.

“How-” Satine began.

“Five pounds,” Waldie grinned, “and that’s without your tiara.”

Parna squealed.

“Let’s get you in it, Satine,” Khaami huffed, “it’ll certainly be a piece of work.”

“That it will.” Waldie agreed.

There were at least three layers of petticoats that Satine counted, then came the glorious masterpiece itself. A luscious royal purple silk resplendent as the stars with gems worth more than the Banking Clan owned all together.

“Ooph,” Satine huffed, “heavy.”

Waldie smiled, “Should I send for the royal jeweler?”

“Please.”

Khaami and Parna’s dresses were navy, modeled in the traditional style of ladies to the Duchess. Lord Eldar, Khaami’s husband, had given his wife their family jewels for the occasion. Parna ooed and awed. Parna, as head lady, wore the golden sash of service.

“They Royal Jeweler, Your Grace.” Waldie announced.

The old man bowed low, holding a wooden chest out before him.

“Your jewels, Your Highness.”

Parna gasped as Satine opened the treasure. Satine adorned herself with a diamond choker and pearls around her neck, and silver bangles on her wrists.

“Satine,” Khaami gasped, “I didn’t know you had such majesty.”

The Duchess giggled, “There’s more to come.”

The royal jeweler opened the box that Waldie was holding and pulled out a navy sash.

“The medals? Parna gasped.

“We’re putting on a show,” Satine explained as Khaami pinned on her medals, “and I intend to make the trade representatives quiver in their boots.”

“You certainly will.” Waldie assured.

“And now,” the Royal Jeweler gestured, “for the tiara.”

Satine’s eyes watered as she saw it, remembering her mother.

“The late Duchess wore this on her wedding day,” the Jeweler stated as if Satine had forgotten, “it was a gift for Queen Mara from King Zagreus the Second of Zygerria.”

It was gorgeously intricate. Silver, diamonds, pearls, and even some quartz glowed magnificent in the headpiece. Satine stared at herself in the mirror. She looked like an empress.

“Do excuse me, Your Highness,” the jeweler bowed, “I must prepare your nephew.”

“Thank you,” Satine nodded, practicing moving her head in the crown, “you’ve done me a wonderful service.”

“I can’t believe you invited the whole court,” Khaami grinned, “I haven't seen some of the clan leaders in years.”

“I know,” Parna agreed, “and we get to dress so fancily.”

Satine had forgotten that Parna was a little younger than her, they had become adults together, yet in many ways they were still young.

“I saw them raising the banners earlier,” Khaami cooed, “and I must say, the new crest is marvelous.”

“You know how I love lilies.” Satine smiled.

Parna slipped the Duchess’ comfiest navy flats on her feet.

“Ah,” Satine placed her hands on her stomach, “this is going to be a long night.”

“You’ve got this,” Parna huffed, “you’re the Duchess.”

“And the She-wolf of Mandalore.” Khaami added with a grin.

“Yes,” Satine agreed, “I am.”

The Duchess was grateful her dress had a stiff back, it helped spread the weight evenly as she walked. Satine, donning her transparent shawl, met Korkie behind the doors to the grand hallway.

“Wow,” his jaw dropped, “don’t scare them, Lady Aunt.”

“I make no promises.” Satine winked.

Korkie himself was also dressed finely. Wearing his navy military uniform with a purple sash and medals to mark him as heir presumptive. He even had a ceremonial sword.

“I’ll meet you at the bottom of the stairs,” Korkie nodded, disappearing down a side hall, “good luck.”

Satine smiled.

“Her Grace, Satine Kryze, Duchess of Mandalore, Second of Her Name and Lady Krewella, accompanied by Lady Parna Supreis and Lady Khaami Eldar.”

The doors opened wide and Satine descended gracefully, a noble dignity caressing her features. It was so silent the only noise were Satine, Parna, and Khaami’s footfalls, but the Duchess knew it was just awe settling in.

The doors across the hall opened.

“His Grace, Korkyrach Kryze, Duke of Sundari.”

Those who weren’t enthralled by Satine swiveled their heads to Korkie, who kept a steady pace walking down the hall as he was trained to do. When Satine reached the bottom of the stairs, she straightened her shoulders and waited. Then, holding out her hand as Korkie came close, allowed herself to be escorted to her throne.

As she sat, Satine scanned the crowd, there, at the back, were the Trade Federation representatives. An aide whispered to them and proudly, the representatives came forward, their circle of assistants around them.

“The Honorable Trade Federation Ambassadors lead by Trai Dee.”

Trai Dee, a man dressed in gold robes, bowed low before Satine. All his minions followed.

“Mandalore welcomes the Trade Federation with great reverence,” the Duchess announced, smiling, “we look forward to working to ensure the benefit of both our systems and set an example to the galaxy.”

“The Trade Federation thanks you for your welcome, my Great Lady,” Trai Dee raised his head, “we come with the righteous goal of acting as a beacon of humanly grace in wartime, and are grateful for Your Highness’ sentiments.”

“I appreciate the Trade Federation’s noble quest, and am most grateful for your time,” Satine looked up to face the court, “Mandalorians, shall we treat our guests with all our system has to offer?”

Cheers went up from the crowd, and a low rumble began as the drummers warmed up their tambors. The dance floor cleared, Satine stood, so did Trai Dee.

The Duchess walked down to the Ambassador, “I would be honored if you would join me for the first dance, Your Honor.”

“It would be my pleasure to accept, Your Grace.” Trai Dee agreed.

They danced La Mandalorra, and old Mandalorian waltz performed only to drum beats.

“Senator Amidala never told me you were such an exquisite dancer.” smiled Trai Dee.

“Thank you for your compliment,” Satine smiled, “I do hope you will enjoy the way we do things here.”

The Ambassador grinned back, “I happen to like grandeur and courtly rigour, Your Grace.”

Satine laughed, “Then you’ve come to the right place.”

The Duchess twirled, her dress spooling out around her. Then, she faced Trai Dee, who got down on one knee and kissed her hand. Applause arose, and the Ambassador stood as more people joined the dance floor. Khaami, Parna, and Korkie all danced with Ambassador Dee’s aides while Satine and her partner danced the second song.

“If I may,” Satine began, “I hope you will excuse any dealings you had with my former Prime Minister.”

“It’s quite a terrible thing,” agreed Trai Dee, “I am just glad he is in custody.”

“So am I,” Satine tried not to frown thinking of Almec, “Senator Amidala was a huge help to us.”

“The Senator is a gift to us all.” Ambassador Dee nodded.

The second song finished and Satine curtsied.

“Do excuse me, Ambassador, I must see to my ladies.”

Khaami and Parna nodded at their partners and left to join Satine.

“Is anyone here I should know about?” Satine whispered.

“The Wrens are here,” Parna stated, “but I don’t think that will be a problem.”

“I saw a jetpack flying in the distance,” Khaami quivered, “but I have scanned the room and can’t see anyone we affiliate with Death Watch.”

Satine scanned the room as well, smiling slightly as she saw Tristan and Korkie, but then returned to her goal. After a minute she was satisfied.

“Accompany to visit Jaru, our Prime Minister,” Satine instructed, “I don’t believe you’ve met her yet.”

“I have.” Khaami grinned.

“Still,” Satine linked her arm through her lady’s, “you are married now.”

The Prime Minister was standing with some trade aide, who all regarded Satine and her ladies politely.

“Your Grace,” Jaru Djarin bowed, “you throw a splendid party.”

“It’s all in honor of our guests,” the Duchess smiled, turning to the aides, “Mandalore is thrilled to have you here.”

“We are happy to be here,” an aide responded, “Your Highness is very kind.”

“Well then,” Satine smiled pleasantly, “I hope to see you enjoying yourselves.”

Next, the Duchess made her way to Korkie, who was conversing with Mandalorian noble children his own age.

Tristan saw her first, and bowed, “Your Grace.”

“Aunt Satine,” Korkie grinned, “to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

The Duchess raised an eyebrow, “This song is coming to a close, Korkyrach, and I wore my good shoes.”

Sabine Wren snorted at that.

“Lady Aunt,” Korkie handed his cup to Tristan and held out his hand, “would you do me the honor of joining me in the next dance.”

“Why, Korkie,” Satine placed a hand to her chest, “I would simply adore that.”

The Duchess let her nephew lead her onto the dance floor. The musicians began, and Satine twirled.

“I never thought I’d have to speak pleasantly for so long,” Korkie whispered, “I met a couple of the Ambassador’s aides, our conversation was practically a minefield.”

“Minefield?” Satine asked.

“They of course have ties to both sides,” Korkie explained, “but I got the impression they resented your friendship with Auntie Padme.”

“I see,” Satine’s eyes narrowed, “and did they mention the Ambassador’s feelings on the matter?”

The Duchess spinned, returning to get Korkie’s answer.

“I think they feel we are more Republic-leaning,” the Duke of Sundari answered, “but an aide, Jaira Deere, said that the Viceroy would be pleased if Mandalore stayed neutral, and of course, that’s who they represent.”

The Duchess curtsied, the Duke bowed.

“You’ve been very helpful, Korkie,” Satine straightened, “let me introduce you to the Ambassador directly, maybe you’ll learn a thing or two.”

On her nephew’s arm, Satine went in search of Ambassador Dee. She found him talking with Ursa and Alrich Wren of all people.

Alrich saw them first, “Your Highness, Your Grace.”

Trai Dee turned around with a tense smile on his face, and Satine wondered if this visit was as much informational as it was to strike a deal and make money.

“Your Highness.” he bowed.

“Ambassador,” the Duchess smiled sweetly, “allow me to introduce you to my nephew, the Duke of Sundari.”

Dee bowed, “It’s a pleasure, Your Grace.”

“The pleasure is all ours, Your Honor,” Korkie extended his hand, “Mandalore is grateful for your visit.”

The Ambassador shook Korkie’s hand, “We’re glad to be here.”

The Duchess made some pleasant compliment about Korkie’s schoolwork and then excused herself, promising she’d return soon.

Satine was glad to find Tristan standing relatively alone, watching Sabine dance with a Saxon Lord.

“Lord Wren, may I speak with you?”

Tristan bowed, “Of course, your Grace.”

Satine lowered her voice, “I missed you and Mara’s sixteenth birthday.”

The boy’s eyes saddened, “I thought you forgot.”

“I couldn’t,” the Duchess tried to keep her tone even, “I was there you know.”

“Mara, and I met up for fifteen minutes in a shady part of town,” Tristan grinned at Satine’s expression, “we had coffee and commed Korkie and Tyra.”

The Duchess gave a small smile, “Well, tell your family that they’re invited to breakfast tomorrow with Korkie and my ladies. I’d like to give you your present.”

Tristan perked up, “I would love that.”

“I’m glad.”

Tristan bowed and Satine meandered through the ballroom until she returned to Korkie and the Ambassador.

“Your nephew is quite inquisitive,” Ambassador Dee’s eyes sparkled, “it’s refreshing to see one so young care about politics.”

“I feel that way as well,” Satine wrapped an arm around Korkie, “my nephew makes for a good Duke.”

When it came time for dinner, a bell rang and two grand doors opened into the dining hall. Pride filled Satine’s features, her decorators had done a marvelous job.

As usual, Korkie pulled out his aunt’s chair and pushed her in as the rest of the guests were sitting down. Parna, Khaami, and Korkie were all sprinkled at the head of the table near the Ambassador and his aides, along with the heads of Clean Saxon, Wren, and Bralor.

Near the end of the table sat Count Vizsla, looking unusually uncomfortable. Duchess Satine, when she wasn’t conversing with the Ambassador or eavesdropping on conversations, spent her time watching him. When the meal concluded, she noticed that Count Vizsla, instead of returning to the ballroom, took a wrong turn at an intersection.

“Follow Count Vizsla,” Satine instructed Korkie, “and take Parna with you.”

The rest of the evening was spent back in the ballroom. No one was dancing now, but instead couches had been moved into the room and the musicians were playing quietly as cocktails were served.

“Do tell us, Your Highness,” spoke up a make aide, “how neutrality has managed to keep your system stable.”

“It’s been quite a journey,” Satine responded, “but war is intolerable to civilization, it wreaks havoc in unseemly ways that destroys all the good society works for.”

“And yet you take support from the Republic.” a female aide countered.

Satine raised an eyebrow, “We’d be willing to take support from the Separatists if they were kind enough to not block our trading lines.”

“Jaira,” Ambassador Dee interjected, “we will not let the war interfere with politics where it is not needed.”

Slowly, the guests approached Satine and thanked her for such a splendid party, and ever the esteemed hostess, the Duchess replied that she was happy to provide her service.

Parna and Korkie returned about an hour later, Parna pulled her lady aside.

“He confessed that his son made contact with him and spilled all of Death Watch’s plans to spoil the event, he’s in custody now.”

Satine smiled as if this were happy news and thanked Parna with a knowing look.

When it came down to only a few people left, Satine asked her guests if they wished to retire.

“My ladies will direct you to your rooms,” the Duchess gestured, “please know that your comfort is our first concern.”

Ambassador Dee bowed, “Thank you, Your Grace, sleep well.”

As the musicians packed up, Satine found Korkie and Tristan struggling to keep their eyes open.

“Get rest, boys,” the Duchess instructed, “we have big days ahead.”

Confession time, Satine took the elevator to her rooms. Korkie came up with her.

“We can’t have you falling asleep on the job, Lady Mother.” he teased quietly.

As Parna and Khaami were still attending to their guests Korkie sat his mother down and took off her shoes.

“You don’t need to do this, Korkie.” Satine smiled sweetly.

“I take of my siblings,” the Duke grinned, “I’m the oldest.”

That made Satine’s heart melt, and she felt safe enough to ask about whether or not Korkie would meet his father.

The Duke paused, “I’d still rather not, but maybe one day.”

The Duchess nodded and held out her arm to help her son up.

“Get some rest,” she advised, “Tristan and his family will have breakfast with us.”

Korkie winked, “Fun.”

“Go on now.” Satine shooed.

It took a half an hour to remove all of Satine’s jewels and place them in the appropriate boxes. It then took a further two trips for Khaami to return them all to the Royal Jewel Room while Parna undid Satine’s heavy gown.

“I can’t believe you’re still wearing corsets in your second trimester.” the lady admitted.

“I’ve done it before with twins,” Satine stated, “and we have Hera now, if you’re worried.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Parna agreed, handing Satine her nightshift, “I think things will be much easier now.”

When Khaami and Parna woke Satine up the next morning, the Duchess felt drained. She had a headache and her back and shoulders hurt from carrying the weight of last night’s dress.

“We have to spread our vile mixture on your sheets, remember,” Khaami whispered, “to stop the rumors?”

With a groan, Satine nodded.

“Come on,” Parna goaded, “your dress will be lighter today.”

Her dress was lighter that day. She wore her dress embroidered with the Mandalorian star system. The corset that had been added wasn’t as stiff, but Satine wore heels and a sash to distract from the fact that she had gained some weight. Then, while Parna did up her hair with lilies, Khaami spread Satine’s fake blood on her bedsheets.

“I’ll dip some on your nightdress too,” the lady added, “it’ll make it more convincing.”

Before heading downstairs, Satine fished out two plain-looking keycards.

“What are the presents?” Khaami asked.

“Palace entry cards,” Satine blushed, “so they can come see me and have access to the kitchens.”

Parna snorted. The main breakfast was served in the dining hall, but Satine went to a private room where Korkie was happily chatting with the Wrens.

“Duchess,” Ursa grinned, a gleam in her eye, “you were resplendent of our sun last night.”

“Thank you,” Satine blinked, “but tell me, how is the food this morning?”

“Delicious!” Sabine clapped.

Alrich shot her a look. Tristan snorted.

“Uh, I mean, delicious, Your Grace.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Satine smiled, sitting down, “it’s been a while since I’ve seen your family, Ursa, how are you all?” “Well, thank you,” Ursa nodded, “though Sabine had a question about Pre Vizsla.”

Satine raised an eyebrow.

Sabine shrunk, “Word travels fast.”

“Ah.”

Was Sabine friendly with the Death Watch? She’d have to ask Tristan. Korkie then took up the conversation to ask about Tristan’s schoolwork, which the Duchess found greatly interesting.

“Top of the class this semester,” she smiled, “really?”

“Yes,” Tristan blushed, “and I intend to study genetic engineering.”

“How interesting.” Satine looked to Khaami, a smile on her face.

At the end of the meal, while Ursa and Sabine excused themselves, Khaami, Parna and Alrich were clearing the plates, Satine turned to her sons.

“Korkie, give us a moment, will you?”

Standing, the Duke of Sundari winked at his brother and left.

“Tristan,” the Duchess held out the cards, “this gives you access to anywhere in the palace, one is for Mara, but I’d like you both to come and go as you please.”

Tristan was flabbergasted.

“You will be able to access the kitchen, yes,” Satine smiled, “and anything in the med lab.”

Tristan took the card, hand shaking, “Thank you, Lady Mother.”

“Happy sixteenth birthday, Tristan Kryze,” Satine kissed her second son’s head, “to you and your twin sister.”

Tristan wrapped his arms around his mother.

“May I come in now?”

Satine laughed, “Of course, Korkie.”

“I’ll ask Mara to come this weekend,” Tristan said, excited, “does this mean we get wine cellar permission?”

Korkie snorted, “I’m not even allowed down there.”

Satine leveled him a look, “And you shouldn’t be.”

Tristan turned to Korkie, “Don’t worry, bro, you’ve got me now.”

A small knock bounced off the door. It was Ursa Wren.

“The meeting room is prepared, Your Grace.”

“Thank you,” Satine stood, “for all your help.”

#obitine #obi wan kenobi #obiwan #satine x obiwan #korkie kenobi #korkie kryze #Duchess Satine #satine kryze #fanfic #mandalore

17 notes · View notes

wheresmynaya · 4 years

Text

Cupcake Battles Ch. 1 | Brittana

I was inspired by the Brittana fanart circulating based on the Baking AU and as per usual the Discord had me out here binging Cupcake Wars until this happened! Hope this gives you a little smile.

Also available on ff.net (x) ao3 (x) & below the cut!

The doors of the commercial kitchen are thrown open as the most dramatic action music the Foodies Network Channel has to offer begins to play. A well-dressed, guppy-lipped blonde enters the room in slow motion and gives the camera a confident pose before he’s taking off his sunglasses and tossing them off screen.

“What’s up, America!” The man greets excitedly with a point to the camera. “I’m your host Sam Evans and tonight we’re gearing up for an intense cupcake clash. Overseeing this battle are our esteemed judges: Kurt Hummel, owner of the first ever fashion design-inspired patisserie The House of Hummel.”

As the camera pans to Kurt Hummel, he adjusts the gaudy – and most likely stupidly expensive – hippopotamus brooch pinned to the lapel of his Marc Jacobs blazer and gives the camera a prudish smile.

“Hold up,” The beautiful brunette beside him nudges to ask, “Is that a woman’s blazer?”

Kurt lifts his shoulder in disregard, “Fashion has no gender, Santana.”

“Huh,” Santana looks impressed and points back, “I needz me one of those.”

“I know a guy,” Kurt stage whispers before Sam’s voice fills the kitchen again.

“And he is joined by the ever-witty, ever-beautiful-“

“Why didn’t I get those kind of adjectives for my introduction?” Kurt grumbles.

Santana only smiles proudly without breaking eye contact with the camera, “Get like me, Hummel.”

If he were wearing any – which surprisingly he isn’t – Kurt would’ve clutched his pearls at the statement.

“Santana Lopez, owner and founder of the world-renowned bakery Sweets by Snixxx,” Sam says and the camera soon pans back to the judges’ panel where Santana Lopez gives the viewers her signature smirk accompanied by a sexy wink.

“In just a moment,” Sam continues with the camera back on him as he walks down the aisle which separates the four kitchen stations, “Four bakers will compete in the ultimate show down to see who comes out on top so,” He pauses dramatically as the camera whirls around him then zooms straight in for a close. In typical Sam-fashion, he sings the rest of his line to a familiar rhythm all while he karate chops at the air, “Let’s get down to business and meet the teams!”

The screen soon fills with two bright-eyed, young women sitting in front of a pastel pink backdrop. They’re dressed in electric blue baseball tees with their logo Batter Up Cupcakes scrawled across their chests. Their baseball caps are turned backwards and their hair is braided into pigtails and drape down over their shoulders.

They both wave excitedly at the camera before the shorter of the two blows the audience a two-handed kiss while the blonde pumps her fist in the air before it cuts to their introductions.

“I’m Brittany S. Pierce,” Says the tall blonde before she gestures to her side, “And this is my bestie Sugar Motta and we’re the owners of Batter Up Cupcakes in Lima, Ohio which is one of the only unicorn-friendly bakeries in Lima.”

The camera cuts to a cute montage of the two standing outside of their storefront while they alternate doing different poses that showcase their carefree attitude. Brittany can be heard doing a voiceover as the montage continues, “Sugar and I met when I first transferred to the Culinary Institute of America in New York and we’ve pretty much been inseparable ever since.”

We’re back in the studio with Brittany and Sugar sitting in front of the pastel pink backdrop as Sugar adds, “We just work super well together. We have a similar way of looking at things that is really unique but…there are some people out there that don’t get it.” Sugar then lowers her voice to a whisper and says, “Blaine and Tina.”

Brittany nods, “I think they’re jealous.”

“Because they’re lame?” Sugar asks behind a eye roll.

Brittany points to her friend and gives a single nod, “Yeah, that too.”

The screen then fills with another team sitting in front of the pastel pink backdrop. A man with way too much hair product smiles proudly at the camera while the woman next to him gives a wave. They both wear button-up dress shirts and little bowties with cupcakes on them as they go to introduce themselves.

“Hi, I’m Blaine Anderson,” The gel man says politely before wrapping his arm around the woman next to him. She melts into his side as he says, “And this is my lovely partner Tina Cohen-Chang.”

“Business partner…,” Tina corrects before her voice lowers slightly as she looks disappointedly to the side, “Not like a life partner, I’ve tried.”

“Yes, yes you have,” Blaine continues on before it gets any more awkward, “So together we own Baking Dreams Come True in Lima, Ohio.”

Off-screen a voice asks, “Oh, same as our other competitors: Brittany and Sugar of Batter Up Cupcakes?”

Blaine and Tina visibly grit their teeth before Blaine sucks in a deep breath and plasters on a smile, “Yes, one in the same. It’s such a small world, we actually attended the same culinary school too. They were…quite the eccentric pair.”

“It’s true,” Tina adds, “They’re known for coming up with some pretty quirky combinations. We however take a more traditional approach to things, really focus on technique rather than flare.”

Blaine bobbles along to everything Tina says, “That’s correct. They like to claim that they’re the first LGBTQ-friendly bakery in Lima but I’m pretty sure we filed our paperwork before them.”

“They say they’re unicorn-friendly, which doesn’t make any sense. Unicorns aren’t even real. It gives a mixed message,” Tina explains with an air of annoyance.

“It does, but people go there anyway,” Blaine replies with a shrug and his proud smile falters as he adds, “We’ve kind of been rivals for years now. Always trying to one up the other, it’s…awesome.”

Suddenly we’re back on Team Batter Up Cupcakes where Brittany gives a bored look to the camera and says plainly, “Honestly, with a name like that they’re not a threat to us.”

“Baking dreams come true?” Sugar chuckles, “Not today.”

Brittany giggles along with her and they both high five.

The camera is back on Team Baking Dreams Come True and Blaine’s looking like a puppy ready to wet himself with excitement, “We’re just here for fun.”

“It’s that attitude right there, Blaine,” Tina says tiredly before narrowing her eyes at the camera, “We’re here to settle the score once and for all.”

Blaine smiles hesitantly, “We love a little friendly competition.”

Back to Team Batter Up Cupcakes and Sugar is looking directly at the camera with this determined stare as she punches her small fist into her palm, “We’re going to crush them.”

Brittany nods proudly, “Totally.”

“So here’s how the competition’s going to go down,” Sam announces as he walks back to stand in front of the judges panel, “One by one, teams will be eliminated as they are judged by taste, presentation, and in the final round the last two bakers standing will have to bring it all together into one cheer-worthy cupcake display. The winner gets to have their creation as the centerpiece of the Annual Cheerios Breakfast Benefit and walks away with $10,000.”

The camera pans to Team Batter Up Cupcakes and Team Baking Dreams Come True to catch their reactions before panning to the two remaining teams to be announced.

The camera cuts to the third team that will be competing. Another couple dressed in matching flannel shirts is seated in front of the signature pastel pink wall but the camera dramatically adjusts to fit the insane height difference of the couple before anyone starts speaking. A chipper brunette smiles and waves while her dopey counterpart slowly does the same.

“Hi, I’m Rachel Barbara Berry,” The shorter one says with perfect enunciation before resting her hand on the forearm of the man next to her. She cranes her head back to stare up lovingly, “And this is my husband Finn Hudson. You might be wondering why I’ve kept my last name, well-“

Suddenly someone off-screen cuts her off, “No, no one was wondering. Just continue with your backstory, your baking-related backstory.”

Rachel looks a little peeved but waves it off, “Right. Well, I’ve always loved baking and my husband here loves to eat. Before my Broadway dreams were unfortunately-“

“Rachel, please stay on topic.” The voice says again which makes Rachel grumble.

“Fine! Finn and I started a home business called Gold Star Bakery. It’s taking a little while to get off the ground purely because someone keeps eating our clients’ orders-”

“Babe, you have to label it or else I’m just going to think it’s up for grabs.” Finn responds with a frown then looks back to the camera, “She’s a great baker and we’re just looking for our big break. This money will really help out a lot, maybe we can open our own place?”

“You mean that?” Rachel’s suddenly so overcome with emotion that a tear trickles down her face. Suddenly she’s breaking character and looks to someone off screen, “Did you get that? I can cry on command.”

Finn smiles proudly, “She’s great isn’t she?”

The camera cuts to the last team that will be competing and the man and woman smile brightly for the camera. They’re wearing matching purple t-shirts with their logo across the left pocket in blocky letters before they cut to a montage of the team showing off in their area.

“I’m Mercedes Jones,” The woman says and tilts her head to the man next to her, “And this is Artie Abrams and together we run AJs Bake Shop. We have worked together for years at various restaurants before we decided to team up and do our own thing. We’ve been killin’ it in L.A. ever since. ”

“Mhm, that’s right!” Artie nods with a sense of pride, “We’re top dogs where we come from so we thought we might test our skills and see what we can really do.”

“We’re here to win,” Mercedes says as she gives the camera an intimidating stare, “We’re not leaving without that trophy.”

“Wait, I thought it was money?” Artie asks with his brows furrowed.

Mercedes just shrugs, “We’ll take that too.”

Back in the kitchen, Sam stands by the judge’s panel to reveal another judge sitting with Kurt and Santana. A fierce older woman sits among them, dressed in a red and white track suit, and gives the audience a steely gaze.

“Tonight’s special guest judge is Coach Sue Sylvester,” Sam announces grandly, “She is the founder of the Olympic-winning cheerleading team: the Cheerios! Welcome to the battle zone, Coach!”

“Glad to be here,” Sue says slowly without any emotion whatsoever and continues to stare down the competitors, “I can’t wait to see everyone rip each other to shreds.”

Kurt and Santana exchange looks of confusion while Sam tries to reel in his worry and get back to his hosting duties, “So anyway, for tonight’s theme we’re thinking breakfast. For Round One, we would like to see our teams whip up something that encompasses the Sweet and Savory side of a classic American breakfast. Remember bakers, this is a timed challenge.”

The camera pans to the teams’ reactions and everyone looks a mix of surprise and anxious. Everyone, expect for Team Batter Up Cupcakes where we find Brittany looking in deep thought with her finger tapping at her chin while Sugar narrows her eyes and purses her lips, almost angrily.

“Looks like Brittany and Sugar weren’t expecting this one,” Kurt comments lowly to Santana and the two look in their direction as the team continues to stare off.

Santana’s eyes settle on the blonde and for a moment, she forgets she’s on camera as they start to roam. Santana has met many contestants during her time on the show, but none have been as attractive as the blonde baker before her. She’s not sure what it is about the woman, maybe it’s the backwards baseball cap that is alerting her inner lesbian or maybe it’s the baseball tee that’s doing it, but Santana really can’t stop staring.

Brittany is stunning, she thinks, and she begins to tune out the sound of Sam’s horrible impressions as she watches.

“Santana,” Kurt snaps and nudges Santana out of her daydreaming in time to hear Sam announce the start of the first challenge.

“Man your stations, bakers, and let the battle begin!” He says with the wave of his hands as if he were one of those flag girls at race.

Santana rolls her eyes at his antics and looks back to find Kurt staring at her. She scrunches her nose, “What are you looking at?”

“You know,” Kurt says with an all-knowing look and begins to smirk, “I saw you.”

“Please. You saw nothing,” Santana brushes off and tries to keep her eyes roaming the room to watch as the bakers – all the bakers – set off. She tries her hardest to give everyone equal attention, but she can’t help the pull that has her glancing over to Team Batter Up Cupcakes more so than any other team.

“You look nervous,” Sugar notices just after Sam had announced the start of the challenge, “Why do you look nervous? We don’t do nervous.”

“I’m not nervous!” Brittany says defensively before relenting with a sigh, “You know how I feel about breakfast, Sug. It’s impossible to understand.”

“I know, remember that one time you got into that argument with the waiter about eggs benedict?” Sugar frowns and Brittany lets out another defeated sigh.

“He was wrong then and he’s still wrong now,” Brittany huffs.

“Obviously,” Sugar agrees then perks up, “But the challenge is sweet and savory so there’s no way we can mix this up again. We can do this.”

Brittany’s worry is replaced with a determined smile, “You’re right and I think I’ve got the perfect mashup idea.”

Sugar claps her hands excitedly as they began to brainstorm.

Unbeknownst to Team Batter Up Cupcakes, every other team has decided to make two different cupcakes which will showcase a sweet and savory aspect individually.

The judges have taken notice of that which makes it even harder for Santana to keep her eyes off of Team Batter Up Cupcakes. They speak amongst themselves about the team’s decision and wonder if they just haven’t started on a second cupcake yet or if they’re really going with just one offering.

“Dear God, what is going on at Team Gold Star Bakery’s station?” Sue frowns when a bellow of black smoke emits from the oven.

Kurt looks in horror as Finn pulls out the crisp cupcakes.

Santana smirks at the sight, “Yeah, those are gonna be dry as hell.”

“Why is the oven set to 500 degrees?” Rachel practically yells while Finn throws away the ruined cupcakes.

“Don’t look at me, I didn’t even know oven temperatures when up that high!” Finn argues but Rachel just shakes her head.

“Trouble in paradise?” Mercedes calls over with a chuckle. She and Artie are quietly working away in their own station but tune into the sound of some juicy gossip.

“No!” Rachel frowns at her and looks to Finn, “We need to start over or else we’re not going to have anything for the judges. Time is running out!”

“Okay okay, we’re fine. We just need to get our heads in the game!” Finn looks more determined than ever but then his face falls when he sees the judges stand. He spins around so fast that he nearly knocks Rachel over, “Crap, they’re getting up to make their rounds.”

“Already?! They’re going to think we aren’t prepared!”

“Well…I mean we aren’t,” Finn says plainly.

“Finn!” Rachel chastises and begins rushing through another batter.

“Alright judges, here’s our first team: Blaine and Tina of Baking Dreams Come True!” Sam introduces as the three judges approach their station. Blaine and Tina smile politely and greet them all as they continue to move around each other.

“Wow, what an…interesting name,” Santana comments, losing the battle of hiding her judgement. Not that she ever actually tries to, that’s kind of what makes her a fan favorite.

“So take us through what you are working on,” Kurt says after shooting Santana a glare.

Blaine goes on to explain the complex flavor pairings they will be using which Santana points out isn’t actually all that complex. Tina’s working on some intricate detailing while Blaine pipes frosting, but they both stop to stare at each other with dropped jaws.

“I’m just not seeing any wow factor,” Santana shrugs.

“Well, don’t count us out just yet,” Blaine counters which causes Santana to raise a brow. It’s rare that any contestant ever talks back to her. “Tina’s fondant work is really out of this world.”

“Sugar’s better!” Brittany calls out from across the aisle where she’s busy hand-whipping something. She sends a smirk their way – which of course Santana doesn’t miss – and adds, “She has beaten you in every competition ever.”

“You suck so much, Tina!” Sugar chimes in as well from behind Brittany.

Sue cracks a hint of a devilish smile, “Love a bit of trash talk.”

Santana would have to agree, “It’s something we don’t see here too often. I think we’re in for an interesting battle.” Then she looks to the team again, “Good luck.”

Blaine and Tina just stew in their annoyance as the rest of the judges bid them good luck and travel across the way to Team Batter Up Cupcakes.

“The second team competing today is Brittany and Sugar of Batter Up Cupcakes,” Sam announces for the judges. Sugar gives a wave of her fingers and flashes a bright smile, while Brittany literally does a double-take when she finds Santana smiling at her.

She has seen the show on tv before and she of course is aware of Santana’s prestigious backstory – and sure she might have a tiny crush on the star too – but she wasn’t quite prepared for the unabashed beauty she was going to be smacked with upon seeing Santana in person.

Miraculously, Brittany manages to give her a confident smile despite the flips happening in her belly. She says without a trace of nervousness, “Hey, I’m Brittany. That’s Sugar.”

“So I’ve heard,” Santana replies coolly through a smirk with her deep brown eyes twinkling.

“What’s the tea between you and the other team?” Kurt asks, giving Santana a slight nudge back into professionalism.

“We’ve always been rivals; grew up in the same small town, attended the same culinary school, even started bakeries in our local area. We’re just better than them and they can’t come to admit that yet,” Brittany says it like it is, “Hopefully they’ll finally take the hint when we win.”

Santana laughs at that, “I like your confidence, Brittany.”

“Of course you do,” Brittany says without thinking and it surprises both Kurt and Santana but she rolls with it anyway, “Going back to Bland and Tacky over there, isn’t their lame bakery name a mouthful?”

“Wanky,” Santana smirks and Kurt swats at her arm. If he had a spray bottle on him, that comment would’ve earned her a spritz.

Brittany – on the other hand – just smiled back before continuing with her work, her tone arms flexing as she whisked vigorously.

Santana licks her lips at the sight, her eyes dipping down to the bowl in Brittany’s hands then back up, “Tell us what you’re working on.”

Brittany wonders if she’s imagining things or if she really just saw Santana Lopez eye her up and down like she was a fresh glazed donut hot out off the belt. No matter, she takes a breath and goes to explain, “So we’re doing something with maple bacon for that sweet and salty factor and it’ll add a little crunch. Sugar’s working on a white truffle frosting and this is the start of a jalapeno-infused pancake cupcake for a bit of spice.”

“You’re putting all of that in one cupcake?” Kurt asks, wide-eyed. He looks a little nervous and it makes Santana snort while Sue is equally intrigued.

Brittany and Sugar shrug nonchalantly, “Totally.”

Kurt looks to Santana somewhat worried but Santana’s looking at the team with interest. It’s an odd combination, but she can see what they’re aiming for and it’s pretty out of the box. With competitions like this, contestants usually stick to the basics so she has a little soft spot for those who like to take risks.

She also has a soft spot for smokin’ hot blondes.

“I think it sounds interesting,” Santana says with a smile, “I can’t wait to taste.”

Blue eyes darken with the way the last word rolls off of Santana’s tongue. It gives Brittany this boost of confidence because Santana is known for being a pretty hard judge to please yet here she is handing out compliments.

“You won’t be disappointed,” Brittany tells her earnestly.

Santana chuckles and it comes off as the best combination of sexy and cute, “We’ll see. Good luck.”

As the judges move on to the next station, Brittany’s eyes linger on the sway of Santana’s hips as she goes. That dress she’s in does amazing things for the woman’s slim figure. It’s hypnotic and she probably would’ve overwhipped if Sugar didn’t break the staring contest she had going on.

“Britt!” Sugar gasps and swats at Brittany’s arm, “She was so flirting with you. Santana Lopez, flirting with you!”

“Why did you say it like that? Like you couldn’t believe it?” Brittany pouts playfully then laughs Sugar off, “She wasn’t flirting with me. It’s just her character, it’s all for show. I’m sure she’s like that with everyone.”

“Yeah bullshit,” Sugar scoffs and goes back to frosting, “She didn’t even acknowledge me and I was standing right next to you!”

“Well maybe you should step your game up then,” Brittany quips as she knocks her shoulder teasingly into Sugar’s before she heads over to pull out the cupcakes to cool.

“I don’t think it’s my game she’s interested in,” Sugar counters.

“Alright bakers-“ Suddenly Sam is slipping on his shades again and doing a terrible Justin Timberlake impression, “You’ve only got 4 minutes, 4 minutes!”

“He should be fired,” Santana scrunches her nose.

Kurt shrugs, “The viewers like him.”

“Shh, Madonna is iconic,” Sue hushes them both as she watches Sam continue to sing and dance.

Brittany’s somewhat nervous as she and Sugar approach the panel with their finished cupcake.

They’ve been watching the two other teams before them – Team Baking Dreams Come True and Team AJs Bakeshop – get judged when they realized they might have a bit of competition here. As per usual, Santana has found flaws in each other their cupcakes though and it doesn’t seem like anyone’s pleased her yet but Brittany has faith that she might be able to change that.

In more ways than one as Sugar not so discreetly put it.

“Did you forget one?” Sue asks as a single cupcake is presented.

“No. We decided to do something a little different, it’s something we’re kind of known for,” Brittany explains as the final plate is given to Santana who sits the furthest away from her. “Instead of creating two separate cupcakes, we thought we could combine those flavors into the ultimate sweet and savory breakfast-inspired mashup. This is our take on a classic – although, I’m not exactly sure what counts as a classic since America is a melting pot of cultures and breakfast looks different for everyone – “ Brittany pauses to wonder while Kurt and Sue stare back in confusion.

Santana is the only one that seems to understand her point of view.

Sugar interrupts Brittany’s wondering to and finishes her previous train of thought, “We hope you enjoy!”

Then Sugar goes to explain their thought process and the flavors used while the judges dig in.

Brittany has shifted to being too preoccupied with the way Santana licks frosting off of her fork to offer Sugar any assistance. It’s quiet and they wait anxiously for someone to speak. They took a huge risk by only presenting one cupcake, but their flavors are there and they’re really the only ones that tried something different so that should count for something.

“I’m actually really enjoying this,” Kurt says, “I had my doubts, but you’ve perfected the balance between sweet and savory. My only complaint is the cake itself might’ve been a little too spicy for me.”

“Really?” Santana looks surprised, borderline offended.

“What? I’m not use to having jalapenos for breakfast, Santana.”

“Yeah and it shows,” Santana says with a roll of her eyes before looking directly at Brittany. Her annoyance is suddenly replaced with delight, “Color me, impressed. Aside from Kurt’s ridiculous compliant about spice, I agree with everything he said. You’ve knocked the ball out of the park for me. I really admire the risk you took by focusing on combining the sweet and savory aspect into one cupcake instead of keeping them separate. Sheer genius.”

“Wow,” Sam says and suddenly the camera is on him again, “Such high praise on the first round, the other teams need to watch out for Team Batter Up Cupcakes.”

Sue goes on to say her comments too, but Brittany doesn’t hear them. She’s too captivated by the fact that she was able to impress the Santana Lopez, the Queen of High Expectations. She feels really, really good now.

“Thank you ladies,” Sam then waves his hand to their station, “Please return to your station. Team Gold Star Bakery, you’re up!”

While the last team goes up for judgement, Sugar and Brittany try to contain their excitement after getting such great feedback on their cupcake.

“We rocked it, Britt!” Sugar cheeses then waggles her brows, “And did you see how Santana was eyeing you up there? She was practically undressing you with her eyes.”

“She was not,” Brittany laugh dismissively.

“She totally was, I’m telling you! She’s into you,” Sugar assures her, “Look, she’s staring at you right now!”

Brittany spins to look and sure enough she finds Santana smiling at her with that same cocky grin from before.

Brittany rolls with it and gives Santana a wink before turning to Sugar, “That’s nothing. She’s just being nice.”

“If being nice means she wants a piece of you then, yeah! She’s being really nice.”

Brittany can only laugh at her friend’s comments, she’s been known to try and set her up with randoms. She wouldn’t actually be too upset though if Sugar ended up being right about Santana though, but she’s not giving into that just yet. Once Sugar is on a roll, she’s a little hard to reel back in.

“She’s super hot and successful which is the perfect combination for my dream girl,” Brittany starts, “But I don’t think anything will happen. We’re too different.”

“Seriously? You guys would be the perfect mashup!” Sugar lets out a heavy sigh but decides to drop it for now and focuses back on the excellent praise they received. “Knocked the ball out of the park,” Sugar mimics Santana’s earlier words, “That’s amazing.”

Brittany’s back to smiling proudly, “We didn’t even have to get to any of the bases first,” Then she starts to pout, “I was kind of looking forward to that..”

“Okay, you can’t get on me for thinking that you guys would be cute together then say something like that,” Sugar groans, “Let me be your wing-woman!”

Brittany shakes her head and smirks, “We crushed the first round, huh?”

“Yeah, we did!” Sugar beams and while the cameras were busy on the judges’ panel, she sticks up her middle fingers and flips off Blaine and Tina, “Suck it, losers!”

“Oh my God,” Tina frowns as Brittany joined in on it too. She’s looking completely offended as she pulls Blaine from watching Finn and Rachel. He’s confused but looks to wherever she is pointing.

“Awh, come on guys!” Blaine sighs upon seeing them, “Don’t be like that. We’re just here to have fun.”

“Spoken like a true loser,” Brittany calls over and sticks her tongue out at them while Sugar forms an L with her fingers and lifts it to her forehead.

Blaine just shakes his head at them and forces Tina to look elsewhere, “Don’t mind them, T. They’re just trying to get into our heads like always. We’ll get them in Round 2.”

“Okay. So after some deliberation the judges have come to a decision,” Sam starts and the music suddenly turns ominous as he deeps his voice, “The winner…of Round 1…goes to…”

Brittany and Sugar are hanging on to each other’s hands, their knuckles going white with how tightly they’re holding on. Brittany’s stomach is full of cartwheels and fluttery butterflies as Sam takes an excessive amount of dramatic pauses.

“Brittany and Sugar of Team Batter Up Cupcakes!”

Brittany’s jaw drops at the sound of their names being called before they’re bouncing up and down excitedly in each other’s arms while Sam continues to speak.

“Although you are the only team who presented a single cupcake for this challenge, you were able to balance the flavors of sweet and savory so well that the decision was unanimous.”

Santana watches on with a proud smile as she and the rest of the judges clap for them.

“Congratulations ladies,” Sam says then the ominous music is back, “There is one team that won’t be so lucky and that team…will be…Rachel and Finn of Team Gold Star Bakery. Your fight is over at Cupcake Battles.”

“No!” Rachel cries out dramatically and falls to her knees like she’s been shot.

Unfortunately that means she’s out of the camera’s view, but she must realize that as she squirms out from behind the station, sliding along the floor like a worm until she’s back in view and continues to cry out right on the floor.

Finn looks like he doesn’t know what to do with himself but he gives the camera this gassy-baby impression before he’s trying to pick Rachel up off the floor, “Come on Rach, we’re better than this.”

“I can’t go on! The failure is too great,” Rachel says dramatically, “Just leave me here…”

Santana watches the scene with her jaw dropped slightly. Never in the history of the show has anyone reacted like that after being kicked off.

“I-I just want to know why…” Rachel asks through her tears as Finn finally brings her to her feet.

“Yeah, we were trying to get to that before the – uh – theatrics started,” Santana quips.

Santana’s words spur another outburst of cries from Rachel.

Kurt tries a more sensitive approach and looks to Rachel and Finn apologetically, “You both are so passionate and we…really appreciate that but execution is really important when you’re up against such talented bakers and you…just fell short.”

“That’s short person discrimination!” Rachel says suddenly and this time Santana can’t help but laugh out.

“What in the hell?” Santana whispers to Kurt, “Where did they find her?”

Kurt just shrugs as Rachel continues to rant. Santana’s had enough though and swiftly cuts them off.

“Alright, listen…Rachel, Finn, your cupcakes sucked,” Santana now had her infamous glare zoned in on them as she spoke, “They were overcooked, the frosting was way too sweet, the cake itself lacked depth, not to mention the fact that they didn’t rise at all yet you still put it on the plate and tried to pass it off as pancakes like we wouldn’t notice…would you like me to continue?”

Rachel stammered while Finn just looked down in embarrassment.

“Ah-ah, that was a rhetorical question. I don’t actually want to hear anything else you have to say, you’ve wasted enough time as it is,” Santana says and crossed her arms across her chest.

“Now get the hell out of my kitchen!” Sue chimes in.

Kurt and Santana exchange a look before Santana is speaking up again.

“Uhh, your kitchen?” Santana challenges. Thankfully, Kurt is sitting between them and is already trying to get her to sit back in her seat. “You’re here for like what? Five seconds? And you think this is your kitchen? Please, you’re just a guest here. This is our house, we invited you.”

“Okay!” Kurt claps overly-excitedly, trying to break the tension, “Sam? Back to you.”

Sue just rolls her eyes as Sam dismisses the Rachel and Finn.

Brittany was oddly turned on as she watched that whole thing unfold. Seeing Santana give it to someone straight like that was glorious in person and she looked so hot doing it, but it also assured her that she never wanted Santana to have that kind of reaction to anything they put up.

Now, that would be a disaster. But they were off to a good start and the just needed to keep that momentum going for the next round.

“With our first challenge done and dusted and our first round of winners and eliminations out of the way, we’re on to the next challenge!” Sam announces he looks to each team and asks, “You ready, bakers?”

Everyone yells out an enthusiastic yes!

“Awesome!” Sam cheers then turns back to the camera, “Stay tuned for more Cupcake Battles, Round 2 is sure to leave you in high spirits.”

#Cupcake Battles #Brittana #Brittana fanfiction #fanfics #Baking AU

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amalthea9 · 4 years

Text

LOTR FA: Frodo Marries Cornflower in Rivendell

My collab with @cinefantastiquemitho of Ian Holm's Frodo with my hobbit, Cornflower Baggins. I edited a few things, but the core is writing, so please praise them above me! The song featured is from the amazing Loreena McKennit, which I will link. It really projects how Cornflower feels towards Frodo leaving for Mordor later.

https://youtu.be/f5CPjlqZNfE

FRODO MARRIES CORNFLOWER IN RIVENDELL.

AN ORIGINAL IDEA BY: AMALTHEA9

WRITING BY: CINEFANTASTIQUEMITHO

The sun awoke.

And with him, the people of Rivendell.

Cornflower opened the curtains of her window, and saw a procession of elves, with Gandalf at their front, walking to sit on benches in front of a myrtle tree.

-Oh sweet stars, how many people!

Exclaimed Cornflower, surprised at the vision of the procession.

-Are you nervous, my dear?

Asked Arwen, sweetly behind her.

-Cornflower, nervous?! Ha! More nervous must be the groom!

Exclaimed Tulip coming to Cornflower’s side.

-I feel that I am just as nervous as him, Tulip.

Answered Cornflower shyly to her witty friend.

-There are almost more people here to watch our wedding than Uncle Bilbo’s 111 birthday party, back at the Shire. Seventeen years ago, our Uncle was the center of attention. Now, the center of attention will be Frodo and me. It’s difficult for us to get accustomed to it.

Arwen took Cornflower gently by the shoulders and slowly turned the sweet hobbit lady’s face to look at her warm blue eyes.

-From the moment you put on your dress and the niphredil crown, there will be no one watching you. There will be only Frodo, waiting to hold your hand and kneel at your feet under the myrtle tree.

Hearing these words of encouragement from the elven lady, Cornflower sighed with relief and gave her a joyful smile.

At this moment, Tulip took Cornflower’s hand, exclaiming:

-So let’s go to the baths and get ready! Because we cannot let poor Frodo wait! And Gandalf is impatient!

And holding hands, the two hobbit ladies ran swiftly from Arwen’s chambers, laughing in excitement and joy.

While the ladies were getting prepared for the ceremony in the baths, at Bilbo’s chambers, Glorfindel gave the final adjustments to a golden vest that clothed Frodo Baggins, who was looking anxious in front of a large mirror.

-And now we are... finished!

Exclaimed a proud Glorfindel.

-Earendil and Gil-Galad pale under my nephew’s handsomeness.

Said Bilbo proudly.

-Oh please, stop Bilbo, you are making me more nervous!

Replied Frodo, starting to tremble.

-Will you feel more calm if I say you actually look like an ugly troll?

Commented Boromir playfully.

-What he actually needs is a good cup of chamomile and fennel tea.

Commented Aragorn, offering a steaming cup to Frodo, who readily accepted it.

-But not the whole cup, Aragorn, or he will fall asleep for the rest of the day!

Now it was a concerned Legolas’s turn to remark.

-I think the groom would feel more calm if we give him some time alone. Come now, gentleman, let’s join the good wizard at the myrtle tree.

Suggested Gimli, gesturing like he was pushing all the man out of the chambers.

Aragorn was the last to leave,and he closed the door behind him.

Frodo looked around, realizing he was alone.

So he looked at his face in the mirror, and, with a handkerchief, cleaned a few drops of sweat from his forehead.

-What if she doesn’t want to marry me anymore? What will Ido?

Frodo asked his reflection.

Then he took a deep breath, and exclaimed, this time with a more confident voice:

-No, Frodo Baggins! She already made a dangerous journey away from the Shire to an unknown place, to be with you! She will not give up. Neither nor ever! She loves me and I love her!

As soon as he finished that proclamation, Frodo heard a knock at the door.

-Mister Frodo, are you ready?

It was the voice of Samwise.

-Yes Sam, come in!

Sam opened the door and entered.

-Sweet heavens! Cornflower will be the proudest bride when he sees you in that golden vests!

-Most proud will be dear lady Rosie Cotton, when you marry her.

Answered Frodo with a teasing grin.

Sam blushed at the remark.

-It is too soon to talk of dreams, Mister Frodo. Now, we must concentrate our attention on what is real. And what is real is that we are going to find Cornflower under the myrtle tree.

And quickly with a giggle and bright smile, Sam pushed Frodo out of Bilbo’s chambers. Frodo giggling along with Sam.

Finally, Frodo was under the myrtle tree, with Sam, Merry, and Pippin at his side. They were his three men of honor, who wore matching clothes of a fiery orange color.

Gandalf also was standing at their side. He still kept the grey clothing, but it appeared less ragged and more formal. Though his hat and staff were unchanged, because Cornflower insisted he wear the hat she loved so much.

In the front seats, there were sitting Aragorn, Arwen, Glorfindel, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli and his father Glóin.

Those men were also wearing fiery orange vests, while Arwen wore a beautiful blue dress.

Sam, Merry, and Pippin were watching Boromir’s lips, and ha the impression that he was saying something along the lines of “You still have time to run away, Frodo”. With a playful grin.

The three cheerful hobbits became anxious that Frodo would be seeing this and consider running away. But when they looked at the once blushing groom, they sighed with relief: His eyes weren’t looking in the direction of the benches, but instead to the free space between them, that was now being covered by a carpet of colorful flower petals released by Tulip, who came down the aisle wearing a pretty blue dress.

An female elf, adorned in white, began to play a golden harp and sing:

-The road now leads onward As far as can be Winding lanes And hedgerows in threes By purple mountains Round every bend All roads lead to you There is no journey's end

Here is my heart and I give it to you Take me with you across this land These are my dreams, so simple and few Dreams we hold in the palm of our hands

Right behind Tulip, came Cornflower, escorted by Uncle Bilbo, who was supported by his cane.

Bilbo was also matching his companions with fiery orange vests, along with a single niphredil pinned to his vest.

Cornflower wore a beautiful dress of a pale gold color, and her brown curls were adorned by a crown of niphredil flowers. The dress shimmered in the light of the sun, and to Frodo, she looked like an elven princess.

-Deep in the winter Amidst falling snow High in the air Where the bells they all toll And now all around me I feel you still here Such is the journey No mystery to fear

Here is my heart and I give it to you Take me with you across this land These are my dreams, so simple so few Dreams we hold in the palm of our hands

When Bilbo arrived with Cornflower to where Frodo stood, he kissed his beloved niece’s hand, and put it over Frodo’s hand. Then, the old adventurer walked away to sit at his old friend Glóin’s side.

-The road now leads onward I know not where I feel in my heart That you will be there Whenever a storm comes Whatever our fears The journey goes on As your love ever nears

Then, Frodo and Cornflower slowly dropped to their knees while holding hands.

-Here is my heart and I give it to you Take me with you across this land These are my dreams, so simple and few Dreams we hold in the palm of our hands

Lord Elrond came forward, and started to speak:

-It was the great Eru of the Iluvatar, God of Arda, that first gave birth to all of creation. He pledged to watch over us as his children. It is from his love of us that we first learned to love one another. It is from this love that we learn that a life lived alone is no life at all. We gather here today, under Eru's loving gaze, to bear witness to the union of two souls in eternal companionship. May they journey forth together in this life, and the next. Iin prosperity and poverty, in joy and hardship.

Frodo, son of Drogo. Do you agree to be bound together with Cornflower, daughter of Cotman, in love, now and forever?

-I do. Now and forever.

Frodo confirmed, beaming at Cornflower as tears ran down his blushing cheeks.

-And you Cornflower, daughter of Cotman: Do you agree to be bound together with Frodo, son of Drogo, in love, now and forever?

-I do. Now and forever.

Cornflower replied, her own eyes filled with joyful tears, beaming at her Frodo.

-If any of those who are here has any protests against this union, speak now...

Elrond didn’t even have time to finish the speech before Boromir was raising his hand. This worried the man and maid of honor. Fortunately, Cornflower and Frodo only had eyes for each other. So they did not seeing Boromir’s gesture.

-Please, my Lord, skip this part, the knees of those poor hobbits cannot stand the floor any longer!

Gimli could not resist nudging Boromir in the arm.

-Behave yourself, Boromir! This is a solemn ceremony!

-The wedding rings. Where are they?

Asked Elrond.

-Oh, give me just a moment.

Said Gandalf, taking off his hat and placing one hand inside it.

He searched inside it, making Cornflower giggle in delight, and from there made a clenched fist.

-There!

Opening his hand, Gandalf showed two silver rings.

-Fortunately I did not lose them!

Said the old wizard, handing the rings to the couple.

First, Frodo kissed the ring in his hand, and then placed it on Cornflower’s ring finger.

It was Cornflower’s turn to kiss the ring that she held, and placed it on Frodo’s ring finger.

-I proclaim you husband and wife. Bound together in love, now and forever. You may kiss.

With this declaration of Elrond, Frodo and Cornflower exchanged their first kiss as husband and wife.

The crowd of friends cheered with a chorus of “Long live Frodo, son of Drogo!” ;“Long live Cornflower, daughter of Cotman!”; “Long live the groom!”; “Long live the bride!”

And in that moment, the myrtle tree blessed the newly wed couple with it’s flowers.

#frodo baggins #frodo baggins romance #ian holm #sir ian holm #LOTR #romancefanfiction #lotr fanfic

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quant-um-fizzx · 5 years

Text

Swept Away

Synopsis: Bucky feels strangely drawn to a woman at a Halloween party thrown at the Avengers compound.

Bucky Barnes x Reader. Except - not? There’s really no way to explain this upfront without giving the whole thing away. It is a nameless female character but it’s also not “fictional you” as a reader because I could not get that to work within this mystery concept.

Warnings: Smut, I’m calling this Dub-Con (but only in the sense that things might not be what they seem) Language, mild Angst, an attempt to be eerie.

Word Count: about 3000

This is for @sherrybaby14‘s Fall Into You writing challenge from the prompt: “Halloween Party”

It’s loud like parties always are and Bucky welcomes a reason not to join in their bickering, no matter how playful.

“It’s the principle, really.” Steve says, sniffs whatever Thor tipped into his glass this time.

“Yes, that’s my point. Thank you. Don’t make a rule and then break it.” Rhodey gripes, adjusting the gold construction paper shooting star taped to the center of his shirt.

“I believe the rule as stated was ‘don’t spend more than $10 on a superhero costume.’ I spent zero dollars on this ensemble.” Tony gestures at the Mark 5 armor he’s wearing. “What we need is a neutral party analysis, who will then concur I am winning at not spending.”

Clint twirls an empty beer bottle between his fingers. “Look, I’m not saying that it’s cheating to come as yourself...”

“I sense a ‘but’ in there somewhere,” Nat says.

“I sense a butt right here,” Rocket chimes in. He’s dressed no differently, having openly complained he didn’t see the point and costumes sound more like some of the stupid shit Quill would be into.

Steve flicks the deep red bed sheet pinned to the back of his shirt, making it swoosh around his feet, casually flipping what no one needs to know is Thor’s actual hammer. The group chatters on as he surveys the room, pausing when he spies Bucky in a far corner, his arm slipping artfully around the waist of a very pretty woman in a white post-Edwardian nightdress. She seems familiar but he can’t really get a good look at her and, considering Bucky’s clearly enthralled with her, he doesn’t think he should be trying to get a better look. They appear deep in conversation, the woman’s hair falling across her face like a curtain. It’s intimate, the way they lean in, and suddenly Steve feels like he’s intruding. He coughs and returns his attention back to the current debate.

***

She curls further into his side, burrows her chilled shoulder down where he’s warm and snug. Her head falls back to look up at him with doe-eyes. He gets lost in them, irises so peaceful and deep, dark like still waters, like starless night sky. She runs her hand over the blue near-ancient canvas stretched across his chest, traces the white star with an elegant digit.

He leans in, almost captures her lips. Forgets it’s not private. Like there’s no one else. Like there shouldn’t ever be. She offers her neck, bends so far back that it’s a bit unnatural, but he brushes the thought away. He shakes his head, tries to recall something. It seems important. Scratching at his brain.

He stops, pulls back. His eyes pinch. He doesn’t know this woman. Doesn’t know anything about her. But he wants to. He wants to know her. Maybe that’s what he couldn’t remember. “What’s…” Runs his nose along her cheek. “What’s your name, Darlin’?”

Did she already tell him that? Did he already ask?

***

“Tell me again, how is coming as yourself and wearing your actual multi-million dollar suit not breaking the rules?” Nat saunters across the circle, grabbing a drink off the bar.

“I’m just saying, that since you were the guy who made the rule, it’s kinda weird that you’re the one breaking it.” Clint sets his bottle down with a clink that sounds a bit more irritated than he appears.

“Point of order: Cap lent his costume to two people.” Tony feigns deep offense, gestures toward Scott.

“What? This? Nah, I hand-sewed this baby myself for Comic-Con years ago.” Scott stands proudly, hands heroically on his hips.

Tony’s eyes roll back into his brain. “That still leaves Barnes and his circa WW2 Star-Spangled-ness? Care to explain the museum piece over there and the clothes he’s wearing while you’re at it?”

***

She smiles softly, delicate. Her features unbothered despite that it seems he’s forgotten her. Goes up on her toes and places cool fingertips on his fevered lips. Pushes her own together in a silent hush and he feels it in his gut - feels himself give in to something more than gravity pulling him down, twisting. He leans in toward those lotus-petal painted lips, almost...almost.

She pulls back just a little. Smile shy, but somehow not. A little knowing. Knows a secret she’s going to show him. He doesn’t like secrets; he’s kept too many, he’s been too many. Doesn’t trust them.

But he wants to know hers. Wants her. Needs to see where this leads.

Her fingers entwine with his, pull him fluidly toward the exit door.

And he forgets. Forgets they are leaving a brightly lit room, forgets there are people who might miss him, forgets everyone, everything but the promise of losing himself in her.

***

Steve shrugs. “Bucky asked how much trouble it would be to borrow it. Turns out it wasn’t much trouble,” he says, pulling his eyes away from the door Bucky had disappeared through.

“Excellent!” Tony claps. “Now that we can all agree the utilization of old suits is not a budget factor, let’s discuss what I am sure is a fascinating reason why Wilson here jumped on the opportunity to dress as a defunct Russian asset.”

Sam scoffs and pretends to smooth the aluminum foil wrapped around his left arm. “The Winter Soldier? Nah, my arm’s just dressed as a baked potato.”

***

Her fingers swim up under his shirt and along each rib like organ keys. He’s draped over her, touching every inch, body covering her like a blanket, a pall. Their kisses swell and he dives when her mouth parts for him. At first a shallow exploration, his warm pink tongue skimming inside until she, impatient and sudden, curls into his mouth and catches it.

The party and the lights feel a million leagues away. The sounds muffled and distant as if they’ve sneaked off to skinnydip not go necking in a backseat.

Lips and teeth banging, urgent. She’s under and around him all at once. Calling him to claim her like the open sea.

Hot breath rushes from him as he pulls away and she floats up to follow but then settles back flat along the seat, smiling up at him. Hair splayed out around her face in waves and her face glowing like the moon.

It registers with him that they’re in a parking lot, in the back of a car. It seems like new information, as if he had just realized. Must have been too busy kissing her, touching her because he doesn't know how they got here. Doesn’t remember clambering into the car. It’s large and old. A Studebaker? A Streamliner?

No, that can’t be right.

***

“Hey, Mr. Stark. Cool Costume. Ned dressed as Mark 5 in 3rd grade.” Peter scurries up, acting slightly winded, as most of the crowd shoots daggers at him. “It, uh, it looks way better on you though.” He looks hopefully around, checking if that fixed whatever he’d said wrong.

Shuddering, as if he’s just recalled what he’d come to say, Peter looks back quickly over his shoulder at the doorway Bucky and the woman walked out. “That’s all kinds of creepy. Just like that urban legend, right?”

“When it comes to questionable bed partners, I am spectacularly aware that I have no room to talk. But what is the deal with Steve’s pal and Coraline?” Tony gestures over his shoulder. “There’s a line between cute and creepy. But that one just runs a bit too realistic as The Woman in White.”

Steve looks between them and the door again. “The what?”

***

He presses his lips to her neck. Runs his tongue up a long trail to the shell of her ear.

Soft. He’s never felt anything so soft in his hands. Breasts like silt, spilling under his palms. Soft every place he’s hard. He’s so hard, aching with it. Cock straining, reducing him down to that near-pain desire. He wants to bury himself between her thighs, drown himself inside her.

She pulls the gown free from her shoulders and it pools around her. She arches up to him. Offers. Urges.

Insists.

He licks his lips and wants more. Already can’t remember what she tastes like, saltwater or sweetened honey? He kisses her again, soft press against his tongue and he’s thirsty. Parched. Dives in for more but each touch leaves him wanting more. More heat. More water. More...air.

She’s under him and begging him.

“Take me.”

Rouge tongue runs over chapped lips as he comes up for a breath. “You don’t have to ask me twice, Sugar.” He rasps, lungs seized up in want.

Her hands dig into blue shoulders and her legs wrap around red and white stripes, clasping behind the small of his back. Pulling him down to her, pulling him under.

Fog coats the windows. Their want dripping in rivulets down the glass. The air is thick with it, clings to his lungs, each breath heavy, laboring.

“Hang on babe,” he pulls back, heart racing gulping down air. “Whew. Huh. Wow.” He looks around, squints, trying to get his bearings. “Gimme a sec, okay?”

She smiles again, sweet as rain. Shakes her head slowly, hair swirling around, a tangle of moss on the seat. Locks her hands behind his neck and digs her heels into his thighs.

She reaches down inside his pants and draws him out, a whisper caress on his length. Barely there, but possessive. Hers.

“Take me.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” he gasps, breathless. Gasps as strokes him. “I’ll make it good, so good for you.”

He wants her. Wants her like air. “Can’t wait. Gotta have you - now.”

She flips him over, deft like he weighs nothing and he floats beneath her. Straddles his hips and anchors him, grinding onto his cock. Her head falls back again, does that deep swoon to expose the marble column of her neck. And he feels again like he needs to stop her, to catch her head and stop her. To cradle her skull.

***

“I can tell you, Cap,” Sam says, leaning in conspiratorially, “but you and I are going to have a long chat later about how you manage to interact with other humans every day and still stay so damned isolated.”

Steve gives Sam a withering look but motions for him to continue.

“The story goes, there’s a ghost that wanders the area. She fell for a guy years ago and got abandoned. The story changes in the details. Sometimes she died in childbirth, jumped off a bridge, whatever. But one detail is always the same: heartbreaker was shipping off to war the next day. So, she, you know, ‘did it for her country.’ But the guy never comes back and she dies, waiting for him. Wandering the road leading to where they were last together.”

“Huh, that’s super weird,” Scott says, throwing back what he immediately learns is heavily-spiked cider, his eyes going wide on the burn.

“Ghost stories are weird by definition, Scott” Nat says, licking the rim of her glass.

“No,” Scott coughs, throwing back two more cider shots in quick succession. “I mean it’s weird because I picked her up on the road coming here. She asked all slow and dramatic about her soldier - I guess she is just super into Halloween - and I was gonna call her an Uber but then she said she was looking for Stark’s thing.”

Steve is incredibly done with this entire conversation. Peter, the exact opposite, presses for more info. “Which road?”

Sam shrugs dismissively. “The one by the old fairgrounds.”

Scott chokes on a fourth shot. “Down in Queens.”

“You mean the fairgrounds where Stark held the first Expo?” Steve say, unblinking. All fun gone.

Suddenly, Steve knows where he’s seen her. It’s just been a very, very long time since 1943.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Tony says, eyes locked on Steve.

“Are you saying that I picked up a...a... ghost and rode with her for an hour? Guys...guys, I need to sit down.” Scott wobbles, hand shooting out to steady himself on Rocket. Rocket steps aside.

Before Scott’s ass hits the floor, everyone else is out the door.

***

She sinks down around him, fluid and silk. Her hands press into his chest. His warm muscles tense and brown nipples pebble in her touch’s wake.

As she rides him, the night’s light behind her makes her hair look like a halo floating out around her. A thought breaks through that she looks familiar - he does know her - but she’s just one more thing he lost along the way.

He wants to tell her they can make this new, start over, whatever went wrong before, he can fix it and it wasn’t his fault and didn’t mean to leave her and please forgive him because he didn’t mean to toss her away.

Wait.

Wait...

He recalls a flash of her face, dry and bright. She’s looking up at him in his brown uniform. Red car hovering on a stage behind her. Then, as suddenly as it came, the picture’s gone, popped like a burst bubble.

***

Steve and Sam are first out the back, toward the dock. Peter has a legit meltdown but still manages to check every car. They’re all empty.

“Cap! There!” Clint shouts, pointing out at the water.

The middle of the goddamn lake.

In the goddamn, deathly still, dark lake.

***

She glides over him and it’s so desperate and slippery. Everything urgent when all he’d really wanted is to take his time. To do this right. Bring her some daisies - or, no, she'd like lilies he thinks dumbly and runs his hands up to cup her face. He wants to show her a good time before his ships out in the morning and see if she has a different friend for Steve.

The guilt is raw and burrowing in his heart he can’t shake it but he doesn’t quite know why.

Maybe that’s her secret. What she wanted to show him.

Maybe it’s that she deserves better than this back seat in a parked car outside Stark’s expo. He starts to say sorry but is silenced with another watery kiss.

Burning starts low in his back, the building pull low in his spine, and he wants to come. Desperate for his end.

Maybe it’s too much because she can have it all she can have him and he’s not scared - but a small spark fires some forgotten place in his mind, that he is scared - that maybe he should be.

Sliding over him, bend and rock. Tight. He surges up into her again and again. His release looms, vision tunneled down to her. Nothing but her and the sweet hold, the way she’s anchored him down after so many years adrift.

He thinks blindly that he should warn her. Opens his mouth but she swallows his words.

Then he’s coming, pulsing out of him like lifeblood. Breathless and drained. And he’s so tired.

Peaceful. Serene.

“Take me,” she sings.

He can’t hold on. Body aches for rest.

Her brow furrows. “Take me home.”

His eyes flutter. He starts to form the words, but just...can’t.

He would’ve taken her home and not left. He didn’t mean to make it seem like it must have seemed. He didn’t just throw her away. But it was war and he wasn’t expecting the hell it brought or the hell that came after. It had all seemed so innocent in that old back seat, with his promises he didn’t mean to break.

She grinds down, damned serum refractory period kicking in. He swells against all reason and moves with her until she shakes and clenches, nails digging into his skin, a mournful wail spiraling out of her as he feels himself spill again.

She touches his neck, feels his pulse stutter out, slow. Her face is confused. Head shaking.

He takes her hand, holds it to his heart. An apology.

Then, she rails back, wretches and twists. She slips through his fingers like time, like silk, like thread.

What was once solid, warm like new sun on a cold sill, now shifts. Contorts and writhes, skin viscus and pooling around his fingers like so much rancid dough.

He wants to care but he wants to sleep. Just rest his eyes. Just for a second. It doesn’t feel right but he can’t make himself care. It’s so quiet and peaceful, down here where she used to be solid, where he used to be warm.

***

Then, when he’s almost gone, when peace has fired off in nearly every cell, he’s yanked free.

Colder than he’s ever been. Night air like a fire burning, like he is nothing but frostbite dropped in a boiling pot.

Sam drags him up onto the dock and collapses beside him. Sam’s face is drawn and terrified and their clothes soggy and weighted, water running off between the wooden planks.

“The Hell Barnes? Party full of perfectly available, alive folk and that’s the strange you go for.”

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x original female character #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes fanfiction

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artificialqueens · 4 years

Text

Galactica, Chapter 20 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Yeah, it’s been a minute. But we love you and we hope you like this chapter. XOXO! Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Last Chapter: Violet and Sutan bonded, Courtney made a new friend, and the final preparations for Fashion Week occured.

This Chapter: Welcome to Fashion Week.

***

Trixie loved Fashion Week, loved all the inspiration and all of the interesting people, but the long lines, the incredibly skinny models and the general chaos were some of his least favorite things.

(He also never had high hopes for Europe, but Fame had talked about him potentially skipping Paris, which meant he would at least escape the French.)

“Baby, your car is here!”

“Coming!” Trixie grabbed his phone, wallet and a pair of sunglasses before he left the room he shared with Katya, ready to face the day. It was early morning, but Fame had asked him to swing by her house so she could check his outfit in person before the day started.

Katya was standing by the door, a bright smile on her face as she held out a backpack to him.

“… What’s that?”

“It’s your backpack, silly!” Katya laughed, rolling her eyes. The backpack was a stylish black one, but as soon as Katya opened it, an explosion of color appeared.

“I packed your camera, your powerbank, a few of your business cards and some snacks, just in case you get hungry.”

“You’re like my mom,” Trixie blushed, equally parts ashamed and happy with Katya. “But like… cool.”

“You always know what to say to a girl.” Katya laughed and helped Trixie put the backpack on. “Now go, unless you want to be late!”

“I love you.” Trixie smiled, unable to actually understand how he had managed to get a girl as amazing as Katya.

“I love you too, sugarbutt.”

***

SUTAN: Hey lovely eyes, what shows are you catching today?

VIOLET: You’re texting like I won’t be sitting outside waiting for Fame.

VIOLET: She’s doing Vera this afternoon

SUTAN: Do you want to go inside?

VIOLET: Can you do that?

SUTAN: I’ve been known to work magic ;)

VIOLET: Don’t tempt me. I have work.

SUTAN: It’s Fashion Week baby, let loose and have fun!

VIOLET: I’ll take it into consideration.

SUTAN: Call me if you figure something out. I’m sure the models can handle themselves ;)

VIOLET: High hopes

SUTAN: You being snarky is a lot less fun when I can’t kiss you

***

Pearl stumbled through Lincoln Center, more than a little hungover. Luckily, she’d run into an old hookup when she’d arrived--a stylist who happily loaned her a Chanel dress in exchange for a few minutes of breathless fun, and Pearl had never been one to say no to something that paid off.

She didn’t feel her best, but she looked damn amazing, which was really all that mattered.

Pearl scanned the crowd, looking for interesting people to stop, maybe even talk to for Galactica’s new youtube channel. Her eyes lit up at a cute little pink-haired girl bouncing along in a Galactica skirt suit that fit her like a glove, and it took her a few moments to register that she actually knew the girl.

“Courtney!” she called, and Courtney stopped and turned towards her. She was wearing a messenger bag and holding a large to-go cup of coffee, phone clutched in her other hand and notebook tucked under her arm.

“Oh...hi, Pearl.” Courtney smiled brightly, her energy betraying the fact that she was clearly a newbie, Fashion Week not yet destroying her soul.

“You look great!” Pearl said, and Courtney’s smile grew even bigger, lashes fluttering coyly. “Spin around.”

Courtney twirled, giggling.

“Can I take a picture for our Insta? You know, of how to wear Galactica flawlessly?” Pearl asked. She figured that it didn’t hurt to really pile on the compliments, seeing as how Courtney bloomed like a rose with any praise.

“Sure!” Courtney exclaimed, and then a worried look flashed across her face. “Or...well, maybe not this second. Miss Fame is waiting and I have to get this to her while it’s hot-”

“Right, of course, but this is also work business, yeah? Please,” Pearl gave her signature pouty look, the one she knew that no one could resist.

“Well...okay. If we’re really quick.” Courtney gestured to everything in her hands. “What should I do with this stuff?”

“Keep it! It’s part of the whole effect. And um, pretend you’re talking on the phone.”

Courtney tucked the phone between her ear and shoulder, posing. She’d clearly done this in the mirror many times, giving Pearl sexy angles right away. Adorable.

“Yaaas! Omigod, administrative realness. This is great!” Pearl snapped a few photos, and then thanked her. “Okay, I’ll let you go now, but tell me your Instagram handle so I can tag you.”

“Courtney Act Jenek. J - E - N - E - K.”

It took Pearl a moment to register, but then she began to laugh.

“Wait, hold up. Courtney Act? Are you serious?”

“It’s my middle name. My parents love puns,” Courtney said with an apologetic shrug.

“That’s fucking silly, girl. Love it,” Pearl said, shaking her head. “Okay, found you. You’re free to go now!”

“Bye Pearl! See you later!” Courtney called, dashing off with that spring still in her step. Pearl shook her head. Ahh, new kids. So full of hope.

***

“Raven! Raven over here!”

Raven smiled as she pulled her sunglasses down, allowing the crowd of paparazzi to get a glimpse of her eyes. She turned, allowing the cameras to get a photo of her back too, her ass looking downright amazing in her tight skirt. Raven was long past the days of hanging out outside of major shows for an ounce of media attention, but she wasn’t above letting the street style photographers and the paparazzi get a picture of her outfit if she looked good.

“Who are you wearing?”

“Galactica of course!” Raven ran a hand through her hair, making sure the black locks cascaded in just the right way.

“And that’s enough, princess.” Raven looked up at her fiancée, Raja watching her with a smile, the blue power suit sinfully sexy.

Raja had taken forever to leave the car, her fiancée emailing someone about something that Raven didn’t care about. She knew Raja just wanted to get to the show, that she just wanted to take her seat and watch the Calvin Klein show, but Raven was never one to miss an opportunity for good pictures.

“For me?” Raven snuck her arm under Raja’s, pulling on her elbow, and with an exasperated groan, Raja posed for the cameras, the two of them standing side by side like the true power couple they were.

***

“Ouch! What the fuck bitch, don’t punch me!”

Bianca rolled her eyes; she had merely elbowed her sister in the side, trying to get her attention. The two of them were sitting in the front row, waiting for the Calvin Klein show to start.

Bianca took off her sunglasses and used them to point across the room, flashing a dimpled smile at the paparazzi, who went insane the minute she took off her shades.

“Who’s that with Fame?” Bianca pointed, “Isn’t that your friend?” She vaguely recognized the girl, who was handing Fame a Starbucks cup.

“Oh yeah! That’s Courtney!”

Adore waved enthusiastically at Courtney, unfortunately not catching her attention as she made her way to her own seat in the back row, far away from both of them and Fame.

“Right. What’s she doing here?”

“She’s Fame’s new assistant. I helped her get the interview,” Adore said proudly. “Do you like her hair? I totally colored it yesterday!”

The girl in question had hair tinted rose-gold and pinned up in a chignon, and was wearing a deeper pink bouclé skirt suit that Bianca recognized from Galactica’s 2013 collection. Bianca had met her a few times, she supposed, but must have brushed her off as just a random college kid, one of her baby sister’s many friends. Now though, seeing her all dolled up with chic, mature styling...Bianca found herself thoroughly enchanted.

“Yeah, it’s cute,” Bianca said benignly. How was it possible that she’d never noticed how absolutely stunning Adore’s best friend was? And Bianca was no stranger to beautiful girls--she was editor in chief of a fashion magazine, for Christ’s sake. But this one had the kind of face that made Bianca feel pain in her chest. Bianca forced her eyes away to tease, “Definitely better than yours.”

“Fuck off!” Adore laughed, as Bianca gave her newly purple locks a playful tug. “I look fucking cool and you know it.”

She did look great, actually. The rich, dark purple suited her complexion much better than the fading green she’d covered up, and made her blue eyes pop even more. And best of all, today she’d actually made an effort to style it--as well as wearing tights without a single rip. But Bianca wasn’t about to give her the satisfaction of knowing how proud she was, slipping her sunglasses back on with a haughty shrug.

“If you say so…” The dimples gave her away, though, and Adore giggled, kissing her cheek and then leaning a head on her shoulder.

As the show began, Bianca found her eyes being pulled back in Courtney’s direction, taking in the star-struck awe of her expression as the models strutted down the runway. Her enthusiasm was refreshing and charming, and by the time the show was over, Bianca realized she had spent more time enjoying her gorgeous, dreamy-eyed face than she had judging the clothes.

***

Courtney sat in the car, positively vibrating with excitement. Even if she had only seen the show from the back row, it had been amazing. The lights, the music, the girls and the clothes coming together. And, equally thrilling: Miss Fame had not snapped at her or rolled her eyes at her once all morning. In fact, when she’d left her to get into her own car to go to lunch, Courtney could have sworn that she almost had a smile on her face.

All of it had seemed like a dream, a perfect dream. Courtney was determined; she could do her job, she could be a fashion girl, and with her new clothes and amazing hair, she would kick all the ass.

Courtney was pulled out of her thoughts when the car door opened and Violet slid in besides her.

“Thank god, I thought I would never find the car! I always forget how crazy it is at Lincoln Center.” Violet didn’t even look at Courtney as she talked, her concentration on her wallet as she pulled out a 20 and handed it to the driver. “Get us to Bryant Park, and then you can get yourself lunch.”

“Yes Miss.” The driver smiled at Violet, quickly snatching the 20 dollars from her hand as he pulled out from the curb.

“Has everything gone well so far? Did Fame make it to the show? Did you like it?”

Violet was still roaming around in her bag, not giving Courtney time to answer her before she pulled out several food items.

“I got you that green juice, and a protein bar. I hope you like peanut butter because that’s all they-”

Violet looked up for the first time since she got in the car, horror filling her face and a loud scream leaving her lips, dropping the juice on the floor.

“What have you done to your hair!?”

Courtney felt dread fill her entire body. It had seemed like such a good idea yesterday. Adore told her it looked “bitchin,” both her mum and brother had loved it on Facebook, and even Pearl had gushed earlier about how cute she looked.

“I...I dyed it?”

"Yes, I can see that.” Violet was so clearly trying not to panic. She reached out, grabbing a strand and running it through her fingers. “Is it permanent?!" Violet held the hair up.

"No, I thought-" Courtney swallowed.

"Oh thank god." Violet released the hair, and Courtney sat up. She crossed her arms, leaning back in her seat and closed her eyes, clearly taking deep breaths through her nose, her nails digging into her upper arm. "Good.”

Courtney bit her lip.

Violet looked angry, and maybe she should have given her a heads-up.

“I...I just thought that it would look cute with all the stuff Ivy picked out for me this week. There’s...a lot of pink. And people seem to like it-” Courtney twirled nervously on a lock of hair that had escaped her updo. She considered mentioning the photo Pearl took this morning, but decided against it.

"Could you not talk please?" Violet asked, eyes still closed, everything about her radiating anger.

“Okay.” Courtney swallowed, sitting back uncomfortably, ready to suffer through the rest of the ride in silence. So much for her kick-ass day.

***

“She dyed her hair, Ivy.”

Ivy had to hide a smile. Violet was whispering, but she could feel how upset she was, the two of them standing at the very back of a show, the runway so far away they could barely see the models.

“Well,” Ivy shrugged. “I think it looks good.” Courtney did look amazing, the pink light and fun and very trendy.

“That’s not the point,” Violet hissed, and Ivy actually turned her head slightly, watching Violet out of the corner of her eyes. “She made that decision without consulting anyone-”

“Nothing happened.”

“I don’t understand why you don’t understand-” Violet took a deep breath through her nose. “When I picked a coral nail polish, Fame sent my right back to the manicurist--”

“But Violet,” Ivy reasoned, “Coral is an actual human atrocity.”

She had hoped the joke would lighten the mood, but Violet blushed instead, and surprisingly, she continued talking.

“--in the middle of the day! I had to work nights for an entire week to reschedule and catch-”

Ivy could clearly see how anxious Violet was, wound tight as a top. It reminded her of when she’d first started, over a year ago, no training or procedures or anything in place from her predecessor, but if possible this seemed even worse. It had taken less than a month before the girl became robotically efficient at her job, no one ever seeing her sweat--one of the best assistants Ivy had ever worked with. But now, ever since Courtney started, Ivy noticed that cool confidence faltering. She wondered why--Courtney seemed perfectly capable to her, if a little overwhelmed, but an extra set of hands was an extra set of hands. She wasn’t sure why Violet was finding it so difficult to handle having her in the office. She wished there was something she could do to ease her tension.

“But,” Ivy placed a hand on Violet’s arm. “Fame likes Courtney’s hair, so try not to worry about it, okay?”

Violet sighed, her teeth sinking into her pink lip as she leaned back against the wall, her fingers tight on her skirt.

***

Max felt an arm sneak around his waist, distracting him from the girl he was just about to chase down to get a picture of. He turned around and smiled when he saw who it was.

“So do you like the new camera I got you, sweetheart?”

“Hey Miss.”

“Have you found anything interesting?”

Fame smiled, looking up at Max. Even with heels, Fame barely made it to Max’s shoulder.

“I think I got some pretty good shots, do you want to see them?”

“I’d love that, darling.”

Max and Fame quickly found a seat in a nearby VIP lounge where Max got a drink for each of them. Fame lazily sipped on her glass of rosé as Max showed her the pictures he had taken so far that day.

“How has your day been?” Max put away his camera, watching the other partygoers out of the corner of his eye, looking for anything and anyone interesting.

“Well enough I suppose, for the first day of course.” Fame took a sip of her drink, enjoying the fact that she could spend a few quiet moments with Max.

***

Violet took a deep breath, the evening air fresh for New York. The 30 minute wait period had passed, Fame not reaching out to her to demand anything, so Violet had to assume that Fame had everything she needed.

She had released Courtney early, the other so happy she got to go home after a long day of standing around in heels, trying her best to look pretty, stay out of the way, and be useful.

For a lot of people, Fashion Week was all glitz and glamor, the whole thing a desperate dash to be seen in as many places as possible, to be the most important, the most fashionable, the most beautiful.

For Violet though, she couldn’t wait to go home, close the door and take a long shower.

Every time she saw that stupid pink hair, she was reminded of what terrible decisions the other girl made, constantly, how she was not to be trusted, how if Violet wanted her promotion, she had better be on top of things 24/7 to guarantee that Courtney was ready to take over the office.

Ivy didn’t seem to see the problem, which had only made Violet feel worse, disaster right around the corner, and she was apparently the only one knowing it was on the horizon.

She had clearly been too soft with Courtney, but that ended now.

No more friendly, easy-going coworker.

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jojo-at-his-computer · 5 years

Text

Of course. I gotta say, this kinda makes me think of the song Pity Party, so I love it.

Josuke X Reader: Happy Birthday To You

It was a lovely morning in Morioh when you woke up, the smell of chocolate chip pancakes and bacon greeting you. You got up, washed your face, put on your favorite outfit, brushed your hair and went downstairs. Your dad was reading the newspaper while your Mom set your place at the table with your special breakfast.

"Happy birthday!" shouted Mom and Dad. You smiled. It was your 16th.

"Thank you guys!" you said sitting down to your meal, instantly drowning your pancakes in syrup and devouring them.

"Imagine that." said Dad in surprise "16! Almost a grown-up." He and Mom smiled proudly.

"Hurry up and eat, then we'll get the decorations put up." You beemed and you finished your breakfast, appetite invigorated.

As you went around the house putting up balloons and streamers in your favorite colors, your mind wandered. Your family had only moved to Morioh a few months ago. You ended up starting highschool in town as a first year, one of many new kids, and you ended up making a few new friends there. Your best friend was Josuke Higashikata, a classmate of yours. He was a pretty nice guy, though if someone were to make fun of his hair, he'd kick their ass. He had a unique pompadour haircut, and while you were a bit nervous to say so, you thought it was cute. You thought HE was cute. Okay just admit it, you were totally crushing on him, hard! You liked everything about him, his hair, his sapphire blue eyes, his smile, and on your first day of school, he saved you from a group of bullies that were trying to shove you into a locker. You've been wanting to confess your feelings to him, but you've been so nervous. You shook your head. Today's not the day to think about mushy stuff like that. Nope! Today's the day for celebration! It's your party and your day to shine!

After putting up the decorations, Mom told you to go ahead and relax in the living room for a few hours until the time that guests would arrive. You played some Mario for a bit, but after falling down and dying for the umpteenth time, you decided it'd be better to watch a few anime videotapes for the time being. But as you went to plug in the VCR, you heard Mom slam the phone in frustration.

"Just great!" shouted Mom. She shook her head and calmed her voice down to not upset you as much. "I'm sorry sweetie, but Grandpa is sick and can't make it, and I just got off the phone with your Aunt. She had an emergency meeting that's running late and had to cancel."

"Oh!" you said a bit surprised. "I'm sorry. That really sucks! I hope Grandpa gets better." You felt bad, but you also knew that your parents would try to get them together again and you all would get to do something special altogether, like a movie or dinner at a restaurant.

"I'll tell Grandpa you said that." said Mom. "It's about time for your friends to start arriving, why not wait in the sunroom to greet them." You glanced at the clock, about 5 til 4 pm, realizing she was right.

"Okay" you answered. You grabbed a copy of Shonen Jump to read as you awaited your friends arrival. 10 minutes, no one yet. That's okay, it's only 5 after 4. 30 minutes went by. Huh that's weird, but they must be running late. 45 minutes now. You start getting a little worried. An hour. You ended up finishing your Shonen Jump magazine. Out of fear and anger, you start pacing the floor in front of the door. Tears start to well up under your eyes. It's 5:15, more than an hour and no one shown up! Without giving it a 2nd thought, you cross to the phone in the kitchen. Mom asked you a question, but you ignored her, all you could think about was knowing why the hell you got stood up at your own party.

You dial Josuke's number at rapid fire speed, hearing the dial tone indicating the phone was ringing. You heard the gentle click as Josuke answered on the other end.

"Moshi moshi, this is Higashikata!" answered Josuke. You couldn't help but feel an odd sense of joy hearing his gentle voice, followed by anger and hurt that he wasn't at your party.

"Where were you!" you said suddenly shouting. Josuke was taken aback.

"(Name) is that you?" asked Josuke. "Where we supposed to hang out or something today? What's wrong?" All of the sudden you couldn't take it anymore and tears burst from you, not being able to hold it in anymore.

"I can't believe you didn't show up for my party!" you shouted "Nobody shown up, the party has been going on since four, and nobody came! Not even Grandpa or my aunt could make it!" you were heaving in-between sobs, shaking before you realized you heard Josuke ask something. You calmed down a bit before you asked him to repeat what he just said.

"Today's your birthday?" he asked.

"Yes of course it's my birthday! I sent you the -" you cut off when it clicked in your brain. You realized what might have happened, why nobody had shown up.

"You didn't get an invitation, did you?" you asked Josuke.

"I don't think so!" answered Josuke, "I wouldn't forget your party if I did."

"Oh my God!" you said feeling weak. "Of course! Something must have happened with the invitations! I'm so sorry. I should have known you'd make it. Well now the party is ruined and it's all my fault."

"Not yet!" answered Josuke. "Don't cancel the party yet. Give me about an hour, I promise."

"Okay." you answered, taking a deep breath. "I believe you, just get here as soon as you can." You hear the dial tone that the line is now dead. You breathed a sigh as you sat on the floor waiting. It was now 5:25. You waited some more. It was 5:55. You called Josuke's house again, but his mom picked up. However she did confirm that Josuke left awhile ago. You said thank you and hung up. At this point Mom looked in the front room where you were waiting.

"I'm sorry honey." she said hugging you. "It's been a couple hours, why don't you join us and we'll cut the cake."

"No mom, I know Josuke for sure is coming." You explained how you found out there was an apparent mailing mishap that prevented the invitations from reaching your friends. Mom shrugged.

"Okay." she said. "But if he doesn't show up before 7, we're cutting the cake without him."

"Deal" you said. You looked at the clock, it was now 6:15, nearly an hour since you spoke to him. Where could he be? Of course! He must be going to get me a present, you reasoned. No sooner you finished your thought, there's a knock at the door.

"Hello", you say as you answered the door. You opened it to find not only Josuke had arrived like he said he would, but he brought some friends with him too. There was Okuyasu and Koichi, two of your friends from school, and two people you didn't recognize, an old man with a white beard and glasses, and a man in his late 20's wearing a white hat that had "JO" on it. Everyone's arms were loaded with giftbags.

"Oh my gosh!" you gushed, "You guys made it! Josuke thank you for bringing everyone here." you said giving him a hug. "C'mon in guys." you motioned for everyone to come inside.

"Sorry we're late," said Josuke, "I called Koichi and Okuyasu, along with my, er, relatives, this is Joseph Joestar and Jotaro Kujo by the way." he said motioning to the old man and the man in white respectively. You remembered Josuke saying he had family members in town recently.

"Hello there," said Mr. Joestar.

"Hello," said Jotaro with a small smile.

"Nice to meet you. Thank you both for coming." you replied.

"We realized that we didn't have any presents." said Koichi.

"And we weren't sure what to get you." admitted Okuyasu.

"Yeah," said Josuke a bit embarrassed. "We kinda panicked and went to different stores. Sorry we didn't have time to wrap anything."

"That's okay!" you laughed. "You didn't have to get me all these presents. I'm happy to have you guys present! (God that's such a terrible pun lol) I'm so glad everyone's here." You led everyone to the kitchen, having the guests put their gifts on one of the tables. There was a whole table with pizzas and potato chips and soda pops, you told the guests to help themselves. You made conversation with your friends and Josuke's relatives as you enjoyed your pizza. Jotaro talked about his marine biology work he's been doing in town. Later you opened presents from your friends. After that, your parents brought out the cake, frosted with pastel buttercream and had 16 candles all aglow. Everyone sang Happy Birthday as you blew the candles, making your wish.

Shortly after the cake and ice cream, the guests started to leave. You said goodbye and thanked everyone for coming. Josuke decided to hang around a little bit before going home. The sun had set and it was nighttime. You and Josuke decided to sit in the backyard and look at the stars.

"I'm so sorry I yelled at you earlier," you said a bit embarrassed.

"Hey, don't worry about it." said Josuke. "I'm sorry I forgot your birthday. I probably should have called earlier, but I forgot, I've just had a lot on my mind lately." You nodded understandably. You couldn't exactly put your finger on it, but a lot of weird stuff was happening lately in town.

"Anyways," said Josuke, pulling out something from his jacket pocket, "I kinda lied. I had something special I've been wanting to give you. I got this awhile ago." It was a small rectangle shaped box. You opened it and inside was a gold medallion necklace with two gold charms, a heart and a peace sign, just like the gold pins he wears on his uniform.

"Oh my, this is beautiful!" you exclaimed. "I love it. Thank you!"

"I'm glad you love it!" said Josuke blushing a little. You sighed. Guess the time is now to tell him.

"So, I've been wanting to tell you for awhile. I've had a crush on you since I started school here. I think you're cute, I love your hair, and I ended up making friends here thanks to you, and I want to be more than friends, but I was so nervous to tell you because I'm afraid you wouldn't like me that way and then things would be awkward and - "

You were interrupted when Josuke suddenly gave you a quick kiss. Both of you blushed a bright red.

"I'm sorry." said Josuke blushing a bit. "I've been wanting to tell you too. That's why I got you the medallion."

"Thank you so much." you say happily. "Now that we're together, you want to see a movie or something this weekend?"

"That sounds great!" says Josuke. You put on the madallion necklace, smiling at Josuke.

"You look beautiful!" said Josuke smiling. You happened to look at your watch, it was about a quarter to 10.

"Oh crap! It's late! You got to get home!" you said in surprise.

"Oh God you're right!" said Josuke looking at the time. "Meet you at the movies this weekend?"

"Of course." you answered. You gave him a kiss goodbye and walked him to the front door. You waved goodbye as he left, then went to help Mom clean up and put away the party decorations. While it had a rocky start, it turned out to be an amazing party. You thought about the wish you made when you blew out the candles, it had come true. You wished to kiss Josuke.

#jojo at his computer #jojo's bizarre adventure #jojo no kimyou na bouken #diamond is unbreakable #josuke higashikata #josuke x reader #reader insert

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sunshinechii-scenarios · 5 years

Text

Kiss the Pain away

✿ Nct’s Renjun x Female!Reader ✿ Angst, fluff, not rlly smut but theres making out lol ✿ 2.3k words ✿ Not requested ✿ Written by Chii ✿ Masterlist!

A/N: hey kids its me,,,,renjun trash,,,whats newwwwww. I’ve had this wip for a while and got super inspired to finish it after listening to stay the night by kid travis! his other song sunset is what i wrote sunset ride too! also the blogs first year anniversary is the 10th I’M CRYING uwu - chii

✿ Description: When the world decides to unleash its wrath on you, you can find your peace of mind with someone.

You throw your school bag on the ground, letting it fall wherever it landed and slammed yourself onto your desk chair. Your phone landed on your bed when you haphazardly threw it, annoyed. Huffing, you turned on your laptop to blast music directly into your ears in attempts to drown everything out. Unfortunately, a post-it you stuck on it earlier this week was staring back at you.

“Read your chapters for next week,” you said out loud after you ripped it off the screen. You forgot you had school work. Your teacher assigned four chapters to be read by next week before the class meets and you were only given the weekend to complete it all. It wouldn’t have been an issue if this week was the worst week of your life so far.

You had gotten into the worst argument with your best friend. Lucas Wong was known around school, not for anything good though. He was a heartbreaker and you hated how much he played your best friend like a fiddle. He had been texting her, getting her hopes up and leading her on since the beginning of the semester. You thought back to when she called you at two in the morning, when she was well aware you both had class tomorrow at eight am, to ask you how she should respond to the text that he replied to. The one she sent six hours before that. You were looking out for her as friends should but she didn't see it that way. She let a boy blur her perspective of you. Her pink glasses of love turned into an angry red and accused you of wanting him as well, even going as far as to questioning your relationship with Renjun. Your brows furrowed at the last text either of you sent, is Renjun your rebound because I like Lucas? You left her with no response to her cold words and haven't talked to her since.

The final you took on Tuesday came back with an ugly 47 inside a red circle. You canceled the date Renjun set up for you two in efforts to lift the finals week stress off of both of your shoulders. You studied late into the night every night. Right after classes, you rushed to the tutoring hall and the countless hours you spent studying went to waste. All that time with the tutor, the after class sessions with a student-teacher was for nothing. You were going to fail the class unless you took up the 25 page assignment summarizing the class which would be due a day before the semester was over, which was in two weeks.

Your mind scanned all the problems you had, everything felt like rocks on your shoulders. Bringing you down, mentally and physically. The only things that helped you when you felt stressed were Renjun, your best friend and the playlist Renjun specially made for you for when you got stressed. Renjun was on his way home from his late classes, he had later classes and his commute was a lot longer than yours also. Your only option was music, so, you went into your files and played it. Your face lifted from its sour expression to a soft one when you read the title for the millionth time since he sent the playlist to you, for when the stars fall, i’m here. It was all lowercase and the playlist cover was of the two of you. You plugged in the cord and pressed play while you hauled the giant textbook from the corner of your desk and started reading. It was going to be another night coped up in your room.

After an hour or so, you pushed out from under the desk and stretched your legs that lost blood flow about 10 minutes ago, they felt like pins and needles. You paused your music and you could hear arguing. Your phone was still sitting on your bed. You could see it lighting up every now and then in your peripheral vision but right in front of you was the big, heavy textbook. Your eyes grew tired from the highlighted lines and colorful pen marks that etched the paper. You hear the bed creak in the other room and footsteps downstairs. Dad was sleeping on the couch again. You sigh and shut the book on the desk. You had no motivation to keep reading the chapters. The moon outside told you that maybe it was time to sleep, so you tried to.

As usual, the same things pop up in your head. False accusations from someone you could trust, separation of family and failure. Another night you considered crying in the pillow until you tired yourself out but tonight wasn't going to be that night. You knew Renjun finished his last final at 7 PM today and he would usually be home by 9 PM due to transportation time. You turned to your side and picked up your phone. An unknowing smile appeared on your lips when you saw Renjun as your lock screen, he was happily smiling as he sat on a picnic blanket. Your fingers move across the screen to unlock your phone and tap the messaging app. Your eyes scanned your most recent texts. Seven hours ago, a text from your college saying that final scores are out. A day ago, your mom asking you if there was milk in the fridge. Five days ago, a text from your ‘friend.’ Your mood soured and you sighed. Thankfully, Renjun's number was conveniently pinned on top of your most recents. Your fingers played across your screen to text him.

Y/N: are you awake right now? Renjun: I just got home, are you okay? Y/N: can i come over? Renjun: Of course, my parents are out on their monthly date night! Y/N: be there in 10 Renjun: I'll meet you at the door...is something wrong? Y/N: I’ll talk about it later Renjun: Alright love :(

You figure it was be best to tell him in person. You rolled off your messy bed to plant your two feet on the floor. You walk over to your closet to put something on to wear. The first thing you grabbed was one of his hoodies he gave you when you two first started going out and a random pair of black pants. You stuffed your keys, wallet and phone into your hoodie before opening your room slightly. Your mom was asleep but your dad called out your name when he heard the door hinges creak.

“Y/N?” You go down the stairs softly and walk down to the couch.

“Where are you going sweetpea? It's kind of late.” His voice was low, as if he just woke up, he probably did. He was always a light sleeper.

“I was going to visit Renjun. He just came back from his last final.” You couldn't lie to your dad and he trusted you enough to tell him the truth always.

“Ah, tell him I said hello,” your father paused before continuing, “keep him around sweetie. He really cares for you.”

You nod and you bid your dad a good night but he's already fast asleep. You sighed and fixed the blanket he had over himself before going to slide on a pair of shoes.You walk out of the door and lock it behind you. You stepped foot out the house and into the night. The sky was dark but littered with stars, mocking you almost. As dark as the sky got, there was always something shining either it be the moon or the stars. You had nothing right now.

The walk wasn’t too long, only 15 minutes. You walked closer and closer to the white house on the corner of his street. Your feet stopped at his blue mailbox with gold stickers reading out 127 on them. At your feet you see a silhouette in the orange light, your eyes follow it and there was Renjun was sitting on the steps in front of the door. The orange patio light shining from above him. You followed his shoes up his jean clad legs, all the way up to his face buried in his phone. You walk up to him and he looked up at you. He stood up and brought you into a warm hug that you wished could last forever. He mumbled a small, “I missed you so much.” You give him a lazy smile and kiss his cheek.

“Do you want to stay out here or go inside?” He asked while you were still hugging his chest.

Mumbling an “inside,” he let go of you and opened the front door. You two tossed off your shoes before going to his room, hand in hand. The sound of footsteps in sync up the wooden stairs was the only sound that could be heard before he opened his room door.

"When did you rearrange your room?" You said as you stepped into his room. The white walls were lined with his sketches and drawings. A picture of you two was proudly placed on his desk right by his laptop that was playing music at a low volume.

"Just this week, I wanted to face the window at night. Helps me sleep I’ve realized,” he said as you walked around his bed and picked up the couple plushie you bought for you two. You held it in your arms as you sat on his bed. The springs creaking as his dark blue sheets wrinkled under your weight. You giggled before speaking, “to watch out for UFOs?"

"You know me so well but no, the moon and sun reminds me of us." You turned your head to smile at Renjun. He mirrored a similar expression before walking over to the side of the bed you were on.

He crouched down and looked at you, “tell me what's wrong.”

You explained to him the events of the past week. His heart sank. He wasn't able to be there for you. He was dealing with academic related issues too but he was beating himself over not checking up on you every now and then. He felt guilty but he was there for you now, so, Renjun slowly moved you into his chest. Letting you rest on him. You took this chance to bury your face into his sweater and hug his frame. You felt the tears starting to form. As you kept talking, Renjun would stroke your head and back, trying to provide a sense of comfort and safety for you.

When you finished spilling your worries out to him, you looked up at him with teary eyes. His thumbs found their way to your cheeks and wiped away the evidence of your sadness. Your eyes fluttered in between his eyes and his lips as he came close to place a soft kiss on your forehead.

“I’m sorry nothing worked out the way you wanted to it,” he mumbled. When he pulled back, you pulled him back in, on the lips. You didn’t know what took over you. All you knew was that you needed something to help you temporarily forget your troubles. He was taken aback at first but gave into you. He closed his eyes and let you do what you needed to do. He blindly pulled the sleeves of his sweater down to his hands. You felt the soft fabric against your cheeks as he wiped the hot tears streaming down your face again. As if Renjun’s entire being was pushing out all the negativity you had inside you, the worries you had washed away each second you two spent against each other.

You let your arms circle around his neck, your hand weaving themselves in his hair and eventually playing with it while you kissed him. The kiss was soft at first but turned intense.Your nails slightly scratched at his scalp, he felt shivers up his spine. Your noses bumped each others while you deepened the kiss as far as you could with the sudden need of his lips unlike you ever felt before. When you pulled a little too hard on his hair, he groaned and it knocked you out of your trance. You quickly moved away from him. His eyes fluttered open, his lips a deeper hue of pink and his hair, messy. He blinked a few times before looking at you. Your hair was also a mess and your lips looked swollen.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to hurt you are you okay?" You worryingly asked, the last thing you wanted to do was hurt him accidentally.

His arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you closer to him, "I'm fine." Your legs dug into his bed at either side of his body. You straightened yourself up as he held your back. You saw his dark eyes glitter in the moonlight as he look up at you. You felt him shift to sit up straight and hold onto your waist now. He let your fingers lace together at your sides before he placed a kiss on your knuckles. He looked up at you through his lashes before trailing his hand up your arm. You sat down in between his legs and he gently moved your hair from your shoulders. His lips brushed against your collarbone before giving it a featherlight kiss.

“Is this alright?” His breath was hot against your skin. You nodded. He felt your hands back in his hair, you unknowingly gripped on it harder and harder but he didn’t mind. It was like encouragement. His lips fell into one area above your collarbone before latching on and leaving harsh kisses, each one feeling like a burn, something you could get addicted to. Your hands went under his sweater to lift it off and to leave him in a plain white t shirt.

You were wrong about having nothing. The darkest skies in the night had something to hang onto for support. Something to make them feel like a whole. You had Renjun.

i love huang renjun that is all uwu - Chii

Please don’t claim this as your own and please don’t do anything with it without my permission. If you don’t want it happening to you, don’t do it to others.

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captain-azoren · 5 years

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White Knight, Red Queen - Chapter 2: The Mirror

Claudia repairs a broken magic mirror, only for her and Soren to get sucked in and sent straight into the clutches of the Fire Nation! And on the day Soren was to be sworn into the Crownguard no less.

FF.net

AO3

Now it really begins.

2 years ago…

Soren marched proudly and triumphantly through the halls of Castle Katolis, donned in a shining new set of armor and the signature black and white tabard of the Crownguard, the most elite class of knights in Katolis. Today was his day, the day he would officially become the youngest Crownguard in the history of Katolis, and Soren could not be happier as he thumbed the hilt of his new sword. Soren grinned and winked at the other servants and soldiers as he made his way to the tower where his father’s study was located. Soren threw the doors open and made his entrance.

“Hey, future almost newly appointed Crownguard here!” Soren shouted into the room as he entered. He looked around to find Claudia nose deep in a spell book and carrying her bag of dark magic items. “Hey Clods, where’s dad? My knighthood ceremony is in an hour…and what are you up to?” Soren watched as Claudia walked over towards a table covered in ingredients, the kind she and their father Viren used for dark magic. There was a small cauldron in the center, into which Claudia poured in a vial of glowing orange liquid. The sorceress finally looked up to her brother.

“Oh, hey Soren!” Claudia greeted her brother cheerfully. “Sorry, I’ve been trying to crack this spell for dad. You see that mirror?” Claudia pointed towards the back wall, and Soren’s gaze followed to find a large, rectangular mirror, framed with gold flames and beset with rubies. The glass, however, was cracked into several shards, though all the pieces remained within the frame. Soren frowned and crossed his arms.

“Yeah, how could I forget,” Soren pouted. “That’s the mirror dad got mad at me for breaking all those years ago.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have been fooling around in his secret magic room,” Claudia replied and gave Soren’s shoulder a playful shove. “But it’s been over seven years since then, so your bad luck should be all out, right?” Soren simply huffed and turned his head away. “Aw come on Sore-bear, dad’s not still mad about that. Here, have an apple. Don’t worry, it’s not poisonous.”

Claudia handed Soren an apple from the table. She knew he liked to eat when he was upset. Years ago, Viren had found Soren in his secret chamber in the library, and the gold framed mirror smashed. Viren had been furious at the time, and ever since then the cracked mirror had been a reminder to Soren, hence why Viren still kept it in his study and not moved it along with all his other magic items to a more secure location.

Soren eyed the apple before biting into it. “Well, whatever. I don’t see how it’s so hard to fix a mirror anyway.” He said between mouthfuls. “I don’t even remember how I broke this stupid thing! It wasn’t my fault…” Claudia threw a spoonful of crushed butterfly wings into the cauldron, and a poof of smoke evaporated into the room.

“This is no ordinary mirror, the glass is magic,” Claudia explained. “The pieces are all attracted to each other, but they need a spell to properly repair. I’m betting we could use it to spy on people, or maybe even talk to them!”

“Look, just don’t take too long, okay?” Soren bit off another chunk of apple. “I don’t want you or dad to miss the ceremony. This is my special day, and I don’t want to be one upped by a mirror.” Claudia nodded absent mindedly as she gave the cauldron the juices from a sparrow’s gizzard, making Soren queasy. Another puff of smoke shot from the cauldron, and Claudia smiled gleefully as her concoction began to bubble and glow.

“Alright, let’s see if it works…” Claudia whispered excitedly, making Soren roll his eyes. He watched as Claudia dipped a ladle into the cauldron and carry it over to the mirror. With a flourish, Claudia took the ladle and splashed the glass with the dark magic brew. The liquid sizzled against the cracked glass, glowed, then evaporated….and did nothing. Claudia waited a moment and Soren watched, bemused. The sorceress let out a groan of frustration and set the cauldron back onto the table. “I was sure that would work.”

“Well, too bad, let’s go Claudia.” Soren said in a hurry. He took one last bite of his apple and swallowed. “We’ve got more important places to be.” The young knight took the apple core and spitefully threw it at the mirror. Every time he saw it, he heard his father’s shouts of anger, and the sooner he could get away from it the better.

The core flew through the air, and both siblings expected it to bounce off the mirror and fall to the floor harmlessly. But no apple core hit the floor. No core hit the mirror either. In fact, there was no core anymore. Soren and Claudia watched with amazement as the apple core disappeared into the mirror, the cracked glass rippling like still water being disturbed. Claudia let out a long, slow gasp of amazement.

“Soren, you did it!” Claudia shouted and took Soren by the arm to drag him to the mirror. Soren himself was dumbfounded as they both watched a mirror that was simultaneously cracked, yet rippling. “This isn’t used to spy or talk, this mirror is a por-!”

Claudia was cut short as, without warning, the mirror’s cracked surface fell inward, and within the frame was now a starry sky…and empty space. There was a moment of calm before both siblings felt themselves being sucked into a vacuum. They cried out in shock as they were pulled in by the rush of wind. Soren and Claudia both instinctively reached out for one another, grabbing each other’s arms as they went tumbling through a star filled voice.

“Claudia, don’t let go!” Soren shouted over the gusts of wind pushing them. His sister clung tight to him with one arm, while he other hand went to her satchel to pull out a dried crab claw. Claudia crushed it in her hand, and a lavender liquid formed around the two of them into a bubble. The two of them steadied as they rode the wind. Soren stood up and looked into the direction they were heading. There was a star ahead, growing ever brighter. The closer it came, the more it looked like a doorway.

“Soren, I think we’re about to exit!” Claudia stated. Soren nodded as it was clear where they were going. Their bubble reached the light, and the siblings shielded their eyes as they passed through. The bubble popped, and Soren and Claudia fell back to earth.

Viren’s children landed face first with a thud onto a red, carpeted floor. Soren shook his head as he got to his knees, still blinded and disoriented from the light. As his vision returned, he looked around to see where he was. The walls were red, covered in ornate patterns of gold depicting long, serpentine dragons. Lining these walls were dozens of different ornate items and artifacts, not unlike a museum, but very lustrous. Exotic, spiky sets of armor that were definitely not from Katolis, treasure chests, wall scrolls, tables of books and maps all filled the great hall which Soren and Claudia found themselves in.

What caught Soren’s attention the most, however, was the striking figure standing before him. Clad in red and black armor with gold trim, a teenage girl about the same age as Claudia, with dark brown hair tied up into a top knot with a gold hair pin shaped like a flame. Her sharp features were framed by two long bangs. Soren’s blue eyes met the girl’s golden ones, and for a moment they gazed back at each other with shock and wonder. Then the girl shouted.

“GUARDS!”

Soren and Claudia had a second to react before the girl extended her palm and an intense blue jet of flame shot from it. Soren grabbed Claudia and pulled her out of the way just in time as the flames singed the carpet where they had landed. It was then that they saw the guards coming through the doors, wielding spears and wearing the same type of armor as the girl. They blocked the exit, but Soren charged forward. Drawing his longsword, Soren cut through the wooden spear shafts, their points falling to the floor harmlessly. The guards blinked in confusion before Soren bulldozed his way past them, knocking the men aside with his own armored body and clearing the way for Claudia.

“I’ve got your back Soren!” Claudia shouted as she took out a green bundle of vines from her satchel. Her eyes glowed as she whispered the incantation, “tpure seniv,” purple magic flowing into the bundle before she tossed it at the doorway. The bundle burst into a web of vines that covered the doorway, buying the siblings some time as they began running down the halls of this strange, new palace. The vines would not last long though, as they were engulfed in blue flames and burned to ashes. The girl who had called the guards walked past the smoldering plant life and looked down the halls where Claudia and Soren had run, squinting her eyes with intrigue.

“Claudia, where on Earth are we?!” Soren shouted as they ran. A young servant girl squeaked in fright as the two of them ran past her, almost dropping the bowl of cherries she was carrying.

“I don’t know Soren, I don’t think we’re in Katolis anymore,” Claudia answered while she tried to keep up. “I’d say we’re in Xadia, but nothing here looks like an elf!”

“Well they’re still trying to kill us anyway!” Soren retorted as they rounded a corner. By now the commotion had alerted the entire palace, and more guards were beginning to swarm and chase after them. Some of them began to shoot fire from their hands like the girl did, but these were orange flames instead.

“These people, they’re doing fire magic like it’s nothing…” Claudia observed as she pulled out a glass globe filled with water and a tiny, floating clam shell. She recited yet another incantation, “doolf tnerrot,” and threw it onto the floor. The small globe broke and unleashed a torrent of water that rushed down the hall and swept away the fire mages. That gave the siblings some breathing room, and both ducked through an open door to catch their breath.

“Claudia, wherever we are, this is really, really bad.” Soren began. “Not only are we surrounded by hostiles that can do magic, but dad is going to kill us for messing with the mirror. And worst of all, I’m going to miss my knighting ceremony!”

“Calm down Sore-bear,” Claudia said reassuringly. “We can still get back, we just need to get to the portal we came out from. Makes sense, right?” Claudia smiled at Soren, hoping her logic would cheer him up. Her brother took a deep breath and sighed.

“Okay, but that means having to get past that scary lady with the blue fire. Kind of hot though…” Soren smirked as he rubbed his chin, before Claudia gave him a light smack on the head.

“Focus Soren. We have to find a way back to that museum-y looking room. How’s your sense of direction?” Claudia asked. Soren shook his head.

“Sorry, kind of hard to get your bearings when you’re fleeing like a scared bunny.” He answered.

“Why don’t I show you,” Came a voice. Soren and Claudia looked to the doorway to see a grim looking young man with dark hair and a horribly burned face standing there, wielding two curved swords. “We can start with the prison...” The young man rushed at the two and brandished his swords. Soren blocked Claudia as he raised his own sword and the blades clashed.

“Claudia, move! I’ve got this!” Soren shouted as he and the boy with the burned face locked blades. Claudia moved out of the way as the two sword masters began to duel. Soren’s longsword had the range advantage, but the burned one could attack and defend at the same time. Claudia fumbled through her satchel trying to find the right spell to use. Soren swiped at the dual wielder, who blocked and swung back with his other curved sword. Soren thought he was out of range, until a wave of fire shot out from the sword tip.

Soren was blasted back by the fire and stumbled. Fortunately, his armor was resistant enough to negate the worst of it, as Soren regained his posture and stance. The burned swordsman began to swing his swords once more, throwing wider arcs of fire at Soren. Soren blocked, parried, and dodged the fire as best he could, but took another hit. Meanwhile, Claudia found the item she was looking for, a short chain bracelet in the style of twin snakes.

“Got it! Soren, snake chains!” Claudia signaled to her brother. Soren grit his teeth as he stood his ground.

“Okay ugly, block this one.” Soren growled before charging at his opponent. The burned boy took a defensive stance, but was surprised when Soren gripped his longsword by the blade instead of the hilt. Soren swung the sword at the burned one hilt first. He tried to block it, but extra weight of the blow broke through, and the cross guard of Soren’s sword struck the burned one in the shoulder. He dropped his guard and stumbled back, gripping his shoulder in pain.

“Meht dnib leets nirehtyls!” Claudia shouted. The chains in her hand grew long, and transformed into large snakes that quickly slithered towards the enemy. The burned one gasped as they wrapped themselves around his body, trapping him, before changing back into heavy chains. The burned one fell to his knees and grunted as he struggled to break free.

“Come on.” Soren took his sister’s hand and they ran out of the room. More guards were closing in on them once more, and neither sibling had time to gain their bearings, turning any corner that seemed safe and dispatching any guards that got in their way. They ran for minutes, not stopping to rest or catch their breath, until finally they came to a long hallway leading to a large doorway with light shining through the cracks. Soren and Claudia both instinctively knew it was an exit, and made a beeline for it. Two guards moved in to halt them, but Soren easily knocked them out with quick blows of his pommel.

Claudia readied another spell as Soren began to push open the heavy double doors, and they ran outside into the palace courtyard. The light of the sun shined down upon them, and for a moment they felt relieved to be out, until they saw the rest of the guards and fire mages swarm in on all sides. The siblings stood back to back, guarding each other as the hostiles closed in.

“Claudia, if you’ve got something big and flashy you wanna throw out, now’s the time…” Soren said to his sister as he brandished his sword. Several of the fire mages held fire in their hands, ready to unleash.

“Then it’s time to bring out the big magic…” Claudia replied as she reached into her satchel and pulled out one of her most powerful relics, the Sky Primal Stone. A small thunderstorm raged inside the tiny sphere, and Claudia drew the power of lightning into her hand before raising it skyward. “Fulminis!”

The lightning shot up into the sky, and all the soldiers surrounding them stepped back in fear and awe. Soren grinned triumphantly. Claudia always came through, and now was their chance to escape. Soren was about to make a path for them, when suddenly, another bolt of lightning struck the sky, only it was not from Claudia. Everyone turned to the palace’s entrance to see the girl from before, her two fingertips smoking as she stood in a low stance.

“Whoa…” Soren could only say as he gazed at her. After a brief pause, the soldiers quickly moved in, pointing their spears and readying their flames. What opportunity the siblings had to flee was gone. Soren kept his sword held high, but he knew it would do them little good. Claudia held more lightning ready in her hand, but they were too close now for her to manage another casting. A guard had a spear now pointed close to her throat. Soren growled as he switched places with Claudia and knocked the spear tip away. “Don’t you touch her!”

“Stand down!” The blue fire girl shouted to the soldiers as she began to approach. Running up behind her was the burned swordsman from before, having freed himself from his chains. “Good of you to join us brother. Guards! Disarm these two so they can’t cause any more trouble!” The soldiers did as they were ordered, pulling Claudia’s satchel away from her and taking the primal stone, leaving her powerless. Two more guards took Soren’s sword and forced the siblings down on their knees. The rest of the soldiers cleared a path as the other pair approached.

“Don’t underestimate them,” The burned one began to say, his dual swords sharing one sheath at his back. “The boy is strong, and the girl has powers like a spirit.”

“Yes, I see they gave you trouble,” The girl replied dismissively. She stood before Soren now, looking down at him as he looked back up defiantly. She tilted her head as she studied his features, then reached down to tug at his dirty blond locks, making him grunt in pain.

“Ow, hey! Watch the hair!” Soren snapped at her. The girl let go and squinted at him.

“Golden hair and blue eyes…” The girl said. She looked over to Claudia to study her features next. “Green eyes too, with strange clothing and equipment…” Her gaze shifted back to Soren, and they met eye to eye. Soren did his best to match her gaze, but it felt like her eyes were piercing right through to his soul. “Who are you? What nation are you from?” She demanded.

“I’m Soren, Crownguard of the Kingdom of Katolis!” Soren shouted out for all to hear, loud and proud. “And this is my sister, Claudia, a master of magic. Who are you?!” He hoped that would get them some respect. The burned one crossed his arms. The girl’s face was blank for a moment as she gazed at the blond boy and processed the information.

“…Soren…?” The girl asked, then smirked at him and leaned forward. Her face came dangerously close as she met Soren eye to eye, and for a moment the Crownguard felt a sense of unease at his personal space being invaded.

“Don’t you know?” The girl asked, keeping eye contact with Soren. “I’m Princess Azula of the Fire Nation. This one here is my brother, Prince Zuko,” She motioned to the burned one, who simply glared in silence. The girl, Azula, stood up straight and put her hands on her hips, asserting her authority. “And the two of you just managed to storm out of the royal palace of the Fire Nation, making it past hundreds of guards and firebenders.”

“Firebenders? Is that what you are?” Claudia asked, her curiosity piqued. There were spells that controlled fire, but nothing on the level that these firebenders seemed to display. Azula raised an eyebrow at the question.

“Yes, that’s right. You two really aren’t from around here, are you?” Azula asked, holding her chin as she studied the siblings. “You come stumbling out of a mirror without warning, no idea where you are, and you managed to get this far…I’m impressed. Just a little.” A small smile formed on her lips as she stroked her chin. “Still, I’m afraid we’re going to have to detain you, for now. Guards, take them to the treasure room and keep them there.” Azula turned and began walking away, with Zuko following suit. “I need to speak to father first.”

The guards lifted Soren and Claudia up and placed shackles around their wrists. With their weapons confiscated, they had no choice but to obey as they were led back into the palace. All the servants and staff watched with curiosity as the two outsiders were led back down the long halls to the treasure room, the place where they had first appeared. Meanwhile, Azula and Zuko took a different direction, to the throne room where Fire Lord Ozai was seated. He had a look of annoyance as his two children approached and kneeled, heads bowed.

“What is this disturbance?” Ozai asked hotly.

“There were two intruders Father, a boy and a girl. They appeared without warning within the palace.” Zuko answered, keeping his head bowed.

“Intruders? But the day of Black Sun is weeks away.” Ozai retorted. “Was your intel incorrect?”

“No, never, Father, these two are different,” Azula began to say, and raised her head to meet her father’s gaze. “They’re unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, from an unknown kingdom they call Katolis.”

“They’re not benders, but they possess great skill and strange powers. One of them can even control lightning.” Zuko explained. Ozai’s eyes widened, and he furrowed his brow.

“I want these intruders executed,” He said as he stood, the flames surrounding his throne intensifying. “I’ll not have would be assassins thinking they can come for me and live to tell about it.”

“Actually father, I don’t think they are assassins,” Azula said. “They came through a mirror, that large one which the late Admiral Zhao brought to us from the hidden library he found in the Earth Kingdom. It must hold some kind of spirit magic. I saw the whole thing happen, and judging by their reactions, these intruders came by accident.” Ozai turned his nose up as he sat back down.

“They came through a mirror? That sounds like some preposterous spirit tale, strange people traveling from another world through a looking glass.” The situation had rattled Ozai. He did not let his children see it, but he had been on edge ever since he was told about the Day of Black Sun and the coming invasion. “So? What is your point, my dear?” The Fire Lord asked, and Azula smiled at him.

“Father, I think we have an opportunity to gain new allies, and new power,” Azula stood to her feet, while Zuko eyed her suspiciously from the floor. “Even though there were only two of them, our strange visitors fought their way past our imperial firebenders from the treasure room to the courtyard. They even managed to subdue Prince Zuko,” Azula shot a smug smirk down at her brother, who scoffed and rolled his eyes. “The day of Black Sun will be here soon, taking away our bending and leaving us vulnerable. While we have a foolproof plan for the invasion to come, a little more insurance would not hurt.” Ozai stroked his long beard as he considered Azula’s words.

“So, you believe that convincing these…aliens to join us is worthwhile?” Ozai asked. Azula nodded, her smile growing larger as she could already feel her father’s approval.

“Yes Father, and not only that, but we could learn how they wield this magic,” Azula answered. “The boy is strong and resilient, but the girl, his sister, holds the real power, to control elements without bending, to use real magic like the spirits can.” The Fire Lord smirked back at his daughter, amused by her choice of words as his son stayed silent. Ozai nodded to them.

“Very well then, if you can turn this…incident to our advantage, then do so,” Ozai commanded. “Keep our visitors here as our new guests, make them feel right at home for as long as you can. We will show them the glory of the Fire Nation, and they will come to us in our time of need to tell us their secrets. You two are dismissed.”

Azula and Zuko bowed to their father before turning to leave. Zuko frowned at his sister.

“You think it’s going to be easy to convince them to join us?” The prince asked. “I have a feeling they might not be too thrilled about it if they knew why we’re being invaded.”

“Don’t worry so much Zuzu.” Azula replied, her smirk still present. “What our guests won’t know won’t hurt them, right? Besides, I’m sure these poor lost souls would appreciate the infinite hospitality that the Fire Nation has to offer. Just leave it all to me…”

Meanwhile, Soren and Claudia were taken back to the treasure room where they had arrived. The two of them were seated down at one of the large tables, side by side. Claudia’s eyes scanned the room until she spotted what she was looking for, a large mirror, though this one was different from the one in Katolis. It was a large circle, with a grey stone frame lined with runes, and a winged dragon perched on top. The glass was not cracked, but perfectly smooth and reflected the rest of the room.

“Soren, there it is…” Claudia whispered to her brother. Soren followed her gaze to the mirror and smiled excitedly.

“Clods, all we have to do is make a break for it,” Soren whispered back. Claudia gave him a worried look, but he did not notice. “I can overpower these guys easy, then we just bolt for the mirror and we’re out of here.” Soren took a deep breath and readied himself, tensing his legs to spring into action. “On my mark….one….two…th-“

“I’m so sorry about that,” Came a female voice from outside. The guards made way as Princess Azula and Prince Zuko entered the treasure room and walked up to the siblings. “Guards, please take these shackles off, these two are our guests and we should treat them better than prisoners.” The guards did as they were ordered and unlocked the cuffs from Soren and Claudia’s wrists. Soren was taken back, his plan interrupted before it could begin. He and Claudia watched as Azula walked up to the large mirror, studying it inquisitively, before pushing her hand towards it. The glass stayed firm, as glass normally does. Claudia and Soren were surprised by this, and Azula turned to them. “You both came through this, but it seems that you can’t go back.”

“What!?” Soren exclaimed as he walked towards the princess. Two guards moved in his way, and Soren glared at them. “You mean we’re stuck here?” Soren stomped his foot and huffed. “I had places to be…” Azula put on an expression of pity. She had already known the mirror would not work, having tested it before pursuing Claudia and Soren earlier. Azula just needed to make sure they knew they were stuck, before one of them tried to do something rash. Azula motioned for the guards to move, and she put a hand on Soren’s shoulder.

“I know this must be difficult for you, being stranded in a strange new world,” Azula said, her words coated with honey. Soren looked back at Azula, he and Claudia oblivious to her intentions, and began to feel more at ease. “But not to worry. The Royal Family are generous hosts, and we will gladly let you stay at the palace until you find your way back home.”

“Really? Oh, thank you!” Claudia said as she got up from her seat and went to give Azula a hug. Azula did her best not to shove the sorceress to the ground and set her long hair on fire for her insolence, and she managed to keep her composure.

“It’s nothing, you’re more than welcome,” Azula replied as she pried Claudia off of her. Zuko watched from the edge of the table, glowering at the spectacle. Lying always did come easy to Azula. While the prince did not trust these outsiders, using them the way Azula did made him uncomfortable. Still, it was better than executing them, as long as they truly were not assassins. Ozai had restored his honor, and Zuko would not shame himself by disobeying his father again.

“Okay, so, what now?” Soren asked impatiently. It did not look like he was going to be home in time for his ceremony. He still considered himself a Crownguard though, regardless of if he was officially sworn in and took the oath. Soren would make sure no one forgot that. “What do we need to do?”

“I’ll have to create a new spell to try and reopen the portal home,” Claudia said, scratching her head. “Some of those ingredients I used were not easy to get either. You wouldn’t happen to have any unicorn mane lying around, would you?”

“What is a unicorn?” Zuko asked incredulously. “Is that like some kind of tiger monkey?” Claudia sighed and rubbed her temple, causing Zuko to shrug in confusion.

“Okay, I have to make a new spell using all new different ingredients then…” Claudia grumbled for a moment, and Soren was worried until Claudia put a bright smile on her face. “But hey! That just means I get to experiment with a whole new kingdom of animals! Imagine all the new spells I could invent!”

“We will assist you in any way we can, Claudia was it?” Azula said, her words still sweet. “I would love to learn how your spells work, but first, I think you both need some rest after such a harrowing experience. Come, we’ll show you a tour of the palace and where you’ll be staying. I’ll make sure the guards and staff know you are our most esteemed guests in your time of need.”

Azula snapped her fingers, and the guards stepped in line as she led Soren and Claudia out of the treasure room with Zuko not far behind. Things were already starting off even better than she planned, and Azula loved every bit of it.

#Azula #Soren #Claudia #Zuko #Ozai #avatar the last airbender #the dragon prince #White Knight Red Queen #fanfic

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bwbeedubs · 6 years

Text

Worst Day

It was the day that every girl dreams of:

Her wedding day.

Or, at least, it would be if it were real. And not in a barn. In the middle of nowhere. To a supposed dead man that she did not know nor particularly care remotely for. If it was actually her wedding day and not a day that was just a show for the fake married life they were going to lead for who knows how long.

It was more like a day that no one would ever think - let alone- dream, would happen but was. And it was happening to her.

How lucky...

The air smelled like hay and manure, which was just a polite way of saying it smelled like shit. Even in the bridal suite of the house they were in while she and her “bridesmaids” were getting ready for the worst day of her life, the smell penetrated the house and seemed to get on everything. She wondered how long would the smell cling to her.

“People actually pay for this?” Raven drooled as she sat while Starfire took the 20 large curlers from her hair.

She nodded with great enthusiasm. “Oh yes! I believe the trend is called country rustic chic!”

“I call it too fucking expensive,” Raven replied, dryly. “Why couldn’t we just do a small beach wedding? That would’ve been just as convincing.”

“Nope,” Cyborg said as he snapped a picture of Bumblebee and Argent. “The big trend is DIY country rustic chic and we are trying to run as normal and basic as possible. If that means Christmas lights, mason jars, and giant spools of burlap on a farm, then that’s what we have to do. We have to-.”

“Try to make it convincing,” Raven trailed with a roll of her eye. She heard that phrase so many times over the past two weeks since the start of the assignment, it barely sounded like a sentence anymore. It sounded more like random noise. “I know…”

Cy gave her a look of sympathy. “Hey… it’s only temporary. And after this mission is done, you’ll get all the vacation days you want.”

She hummed. “At least, one good thing will come out of this marriage.”

“Atta girl,” he smiled back as he lifted the camerato his eye. “Now look at Starfire like you’re having a good time.”

With a heavy breath, Raven looked to Star as she pulled a false smile on her face and pretended for the camera. Pretended she was happy, pretended she was okay with this, that she was strong enough for this weird sort of burial.

Her cheeks stung and the split of her lips felt like a knife slicing through her face. Her body a skeleton city that only echoed the shallow beating of her hollow heart. She felt so empty about this day. This day that was made up to be hers but it wasn’t. No, this day was for the very-soon-to-be Mrs. Rachel Todd. Not only was it her wedding day but it was also her birthing day. What a strange feeling it was hosting such a stranger who was nothing like her but made up of everything her.

Looking up at Star, Raven couldn’t help but feel envy. How happy she seemed plucking out the curlers from her hair. Just as happy as she was planning the wedding and caking the makeup on her face. How easy it seemed for her to pretend that she was happy for this new person. Or maybe it was just that: Easy.

After all, she was the easiest one to explain away.

Her eyes drifted away from her friend to the large hanging white dress in the window. There she was in all her chiffon and lace appliqué and feathery glory. Waiting for her first breath of life with Raven’s last. Rachel’s dream wedding dress...

Raven’s feathery, chiffon, lacy bleach white coffin.

—-

“Where did you get this suit? Men’s wearhouse?” Jason muttered as he crossed his bow tie over his neck in the mirror.

“Yup,” Dick replied with a definitive pop.

“Yeah, I can feel it. The material is so… cheap,” Jason sneered. “Y’know, you could’ve let me have one of my Tom Ford suits that wasn’t rigged with anything for today.”

“Had to go full out basic for this,” Dick explained, securing his last cuff link. “Tom Ford is far from basic.”

He huffed. “I guess that’s true… it’s just all so…”

Plain. Boring. Unimaginative. Cheap, and not in financially savvy good way. It was so…

“Vanilla…” Nothing like what he envisioned.

Dick let out a small chuckle. “Then, we’re doing something right.”

Turning to his “Best Man,” Jason raised a quizative brow. “Well… that sounds cryptic. And I’m the one getting the ball and chain today.”

“Don’t say that. Raven’s not that bad.”

“I’m unofficially getting married to a woman I hardly know for a mission with no end date and under the circumstance that I “behave” myself, lest, I be sent to jail. All so that I don’t go to jail and I get my wrap sheet wiped clean,” Jason replied, dryly. “I’m not exactly marrying out of choice here. She’s my literal ball and chain.”

“She’s still not that bad…” Dick paused. “Once you get to know her.”

Jason snorted, turning to the dresser for his cufflinks. “Do you see us getting along?”

“Hmm… if I remember correctly, you did have a small crush on her back in ‘03 when you guys first met,” Dick mused with a smirk.

Jason rolled his eyes, trying to hide the slight blush that started to creep on his cheeks as he fiddled with his link. “I was a kid, then. That was back when I thought I had a chance with Wonder Woman too.”

Dick shrugged. “To be fair, so did Bruce.”

“True. He with the Cat again?”

“Y’know, he can’t seem to quit her for too long.”

“Ugh, how long has this round of the merry-go-round been going this time?”

“For a while now this time,” Dick mused, watching Jason struggle with the link. “About 10 months, I think.”

“Well, I owe Alfred $40 now,” Jason laughed as he continued to fumble around with the accessory. “Damnit.”

“Let me,” Dick muttered, coming over to him and taking the link out of his hands.

A weird and tense sort of silence passed between the two as Dick worked the link on his sleeve. It was so strange how easy they could talk but then, memories of how everything went down would slam into them. Rendering them silent. Debating if now was the time to hash things out. If now was the time to apologize. If they should apologize…

Jason cleared his throat, looking at anything in the room. “Didn’t get to ask earlier - how is Alfred?”

“He’s good,” Dick nodded, moving onto the next sleeve. “Still Alfred. Patching everyone up, giving Bruce shit about his life choices… He’s upset that you didn’t tell him you were back. From the dead.”

“I know…” Jason sighed, “I’m not looking forward to that phone call.”

“Less or more than the call from Bruce?”

“Less. Bruce will just brood disappointedly at you through the phone. Alfred will send you a care package full of poisoned tea and biscuits when you’re low on groceries… And you will thank him for it,” Jason snorted as Dick secured the last link.

“Ha! True,” Dick laughed as he stepped back and looked at the mirror, both doing last minute primping before they were called down to the Long Walk Down the Aisle. “Robin rule number 1?”

“Never piss off the Butler,” they said in unison before breaking out into another shared laugh.

“How could I forget that rule?” Jason, jokingly, criticized himself.

Dick’s laugh trailed off, letting the intensity from earlier seep back into his bones. He sighed as he straightened out his suit jacket again. “Y’know, we’re going to have to talk things out at some point, right?”

Jason’s smile faded away into a look of mild annoyance as he fixed his tie again. “It’s not enough that you’re marrying me off to someone I barely know?”

“Nope,” Dick answered before clapping a hand on Jason’s shoulder with a playful smile. “You shouldn’t have died - but all things considered… it can wait for another day.”

“Thanks…”

Dick made a strange noncommittal noise, walking over to the door of their suit to head outside to the impending long walk of doom. “Don’t thank me yet… I didn’t send Alfred an invite.”

Jason paused, staring blank face at his older brother who just stood there with the door open and a semi-guilty grin on his face. He blinked. “I already died once, Dick! I’m not exactly looking forward to dying again!”

Dick shrugged. “Sorry.”

—-

It was a beautiful day.

The warm southern breeze carried the melodic songs the birds sung in time with the soft notes of “Ava Maria.” The green grass gleamed in the golden early afternoon, still wet from the morning dew. The white country rose covered gazebo stood proudly as the pair stood within it’s archway, staring down their “pastor” as a gang of “witnesses” sat behind them.

It was so picture perfect. Sickeningly so perfect. God, it was such a beautiful day for a beautiful wedding.

What a shame it was wasted on them.

Raven pressed her lips as she felt a trickle of sweat at the back of her head, her somehow near to 200 pound dress weighing down on her. How did women do this, she wondered as she straightened her shoulders, trying to hoist her dress up. Her head was itchy from the pins pressing against the back her head, making sure the half up part of her hair stayed high and tight, while the hairspray on her perfectly spiraled curls crunched from the slightest movement she made. Her feet were killing her, certain that she had lost feeling in her three smaller toes on both feet from her too tight heels. She could feel her pores clogging from the 5 layers of makeup painted on her holographed face from the obscenely large rose gold “engagement ring” resting on her left hand. The corset she was wearing underneath squeezed too tight on her ribcage, making it hard to breath…

Why would women put themselves through this torture for just one solitary day? She wondered again.

Letting out a breath, she batted her eyelids open and tried to focus on the “Ceremony” which was really just a photo opportunity to really sell the story that she and her very-soon-to-be-fake-husband were an average, everyday newlywed couple. All in the name of justice.

God, she wanted to gag at the thought… but she was already too busy trying not to faint.

“Okay, now you guys face each other, hold hands, and look like you’re saying your vows,” Cyborg said as he wandered around them for another shot.

They had avoided looking at each other up to this point, neither of them fully ready to face exactly what they were signing up for. As if locking eyes with each other would make what they were doing just all the more real, and they couldn’t run. Not if they wanted to catch the guy they were after and not if he wanted a clean slate.

But lord, did they want to just run.

With heavy sighs, they decided it was time to face the music and turned to each other. Raven handed her country rose and baby’s breath riddled, lace wrapped bouquet to Starfire as she slowly placed her hands in his. Why did they feel like handcuffs? Emerald green eyes meet deep blue, and at that moment, they both had sealed their fate.

Such a wonderful day for a wedding… Tragic, it was a funeral.

“Look at each other lovingly. Say some words like these are your actual vows.”

They both rolled their eyes and let out a low groan of annoyance. “Haven’t we been degraded enough?”

“We’re not degrading you.”

“She’s wearing feathers, for god’s sake,” Jason replied back as he pulled out a handkerchief and gently patting down her cheeks of sweat whilst looking sweetly at her whilst his tone read indifferent. For a guy who didn’t seem to want this as much as she did, he was doing a good job of acting for the camera. “And she’s dying in it. You’ve got your shot. Let’s move on.”

“Just a few more shots… Raven, you say something,” Cyborg said, clicking his camera again. “And look like you actually like him.”

Raven sighed as she looked up at him, feeling absolutely nothing but tired. Not even angry or sad anymore. Just tired. And hot. Say something? She wanted to say so many, many things. How dare her friends just sign her off? How dare they fluff and primp and beautify her and celebrate her going away? How dare they turn her into someone who is nothing like her? Erase everything her? How dare they tell her to smile for the camera while she was dying inside? While the man who she was chained to held her hands and wiped her cheeks, acting like he was the only one who cared. And he very well could be as it was his funeral too.

She pulled a soft smile on her face and hoped the rest of her features will fall in line and said the one thing she could think of that wouldn’t turn her face sour.

“It’s...such a beautiful day.”

Jason paused for a second before allowing another smile to grace his face but unlike his first smile, it was more genuine. It was more.... sad. “Let’s not start this off with a lie, Raven... It’s the worst day.”

“And got the shot. Let’s get the rings.”

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