#PRESS JADE IS BACK PRESS JADE IS BACK AFTER NEARLY A WHOLE YEAR PRESS JADE IS BACKKKKK

[iristhedeadflower]

all press is good press chapter 16 out now

#WE DID IT WE DID IT #😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨 but we did it #and now it’s all yours. enjoy #PRESS JADE IS BACK PRESS JADE IS BACK AFTER NEARLY A WHOLE YEAR PRESS JADE IS BACKKKKK #violetta #jade lafontaine #my writing #apigposting

[chronicallybloodless]

Heavy to Hold - Chapter 22

Weight

Pairing: Astarion x enby!tav Status: in progress Rating: Explicit (18+ only) Genre: angst/comfort | slow burn Alternating second-person POV Contains spoilers for the whole game basically TW: it's an astarion fic: descriptions of trauma, abuse, sexual violence, etc. | smut | full tag list on AO3 Read from the beginning: AO3 | Tumblr Listen to the Playlist

You were completely enamored with them, which put you in an uncomfortable position. To want someone the way you wanted Tav—wholly and completely—was something that you had tried to avoid over the past centuries. It was risky, leading only to heartbreak as you ultimately lost them to Cazador, one way or another. However, free from his influence, you encountered another kind of risk. What if Tav doesn’t want you in the same way?

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Astarion's POV

Sunlight warmed your exposed back as you sat in the forest, your body pressed against your companion's soft flesh. Tav draped their arms casually over your shoulders as they gazed at you with heavy-lidded eyes. A gentle smile crossed their face as they ran their fingers through your tangled curls. They looked contented, and perhaps a little sleepy.

There was something about seeing them like this that made your heart ache. They trusted you, felt safe with you. Their guard was completely down. They were so kind-hearted and….young. Gods they were young. Normally, you never would have believed that they were a mere 30 years old. The way they carried themselves and interacted with the world revealed a confidence—and a level of hurt—that normally came from centuries of elvish life, of seeing generations’ worth of pain and betrayal from the perspective of a short-lived species. Perhaps living in Baldur’s Gate and doing the kind of work that they did had made them jaded past their years.

But here, like this, you believed them. They sank into you without a hint of hesitation, blissfully unaware of your capacity to hurt people. They let you drink their very life’s essence, trusting you not to seriously harm them. They didn’t understand how much control that took for you. If they did, perhaps they wouldn’t be here with you like this. The thought made your stomach fall.

Because I….feel something, for you.

That was perhaps the understatement of the century. You were completely enamored with them, which put you in an uncomfortable position. To want someone the way you wanted Tav—wholly and completely—was something that you had tried to avoid over the past centuries. It was risky, leading only to heartbreak as you ultimately lost them to Cazador, one way or another. However, free from his influence, you encountered another kind of risk.

What if Tav doesn’t want you in the same way?

Sure, they act like they want you now, but what if they change their mind or get…disappointed? Or bored? What if you can’t be the kind of person they want? With all their do-goodery and hope for humanity?

After everything you’ve been through, are you too broken to keep them happy?

All the times you tripped over yourself and upset them or nearly gotten yourself killed because you couldn’t think straight, to say nothing of how the prior night had gone. You frowned and furrowed your brow as the weight of your concerns weighed on your mind.

“Is something wrong Astarion?” Tav noticed your expression and placed a hand on your cheek. Your face softened as you leaned into their hand, the comfort of their touch relaxing your troubled thoughts.

“No, I’m fine. I’m just….still a bit upset about how things went tonight.” You sighed. “I….wanted to do so much better.”

“We’ll have plenty of nights to try again.” They purred as they pressed themselves a bit closer to you. You ran your hands along their sides, finding your way to the soft skin of their hips. You wanted to grab them and pull them onto you, to see their face lit up with pleasure as you filled them. But you weren’t sure if the same thing would happen again. You couldn’t bear the thought of disappointing them—and yourself—twice in a row.

“Gods this is hard.” You muttered.

“Already?” Tav smirked. They bucked their hips against you, bringing your attention to the fact that you were quite hard. You let out a soft moan. “Do you want to?”

“Gods yes.” You breathed. “I’m just….I suppose I’m scared.” You cast your gaze down. “Of letting you down, of embarrassing myself, again.”

“Well, is there anything we can do to make you feel more relaxed?” You could sense their rapid pulse as the eagerness spread through their body. You weren’t the only one left unsatisfied by the night before. Perhaps it was time to make up for that.

“I think an orgasm or two should do the trick.” You mused. Tav's crimson eyes met yours as they leaned in to kiss you. It was brief, almost chaste, in a way that made you ache for more when they pulled away.

They turned around and pressed their back against your chest as they laced their fingers with yours and guided your hand between their legs. Their back arched as your fingers brushed against their skin.

You placed your lips on the crook of their neck as you explored their heat with your fingers. Tav's hips moved against you as you curled your fingers inside them, searching for the spots that would drive them mad with pleasure. You felt their body jolt when you found it.

“Gods Astarion.” The sound of their breathy moans urged you on. You were determined to see this through to a blissful climax.

But a sound rustling in the nearby forest was breaking your focus. Tav whined their displeasure as you slowed. The rustling soon gave way to faint voices and footsteps.

“Oh for fuck’s sake….” You muttered.

Wyll and Shadowheart emerged from the forest, and they were distinctly more clothed than you and Tav. You scrambled to find your discarded clothes.

“Gone all night and still at it in the morning?” Shadowheart mused as the pair approached. Wyll politely kept his gaze downward as you draped your coat over Tav.

“And what business is that of yours?” You snarled. You hastily threw on some of your clothes.

“Unfortunately, it became my business when the two of you didn’t show up for breakfast.” She crossed her arms and shot a look at Tav.

“Our um….our new druid friend wants to talk to you, Tav. About the cult.” Wyll offered. “Our apologies for the…interruption…..”

“Gods, I forgot all about Halsin.” Tav groaned. They turned to you with an apologetic look. “We really should get back.”

You sighed.

“If you insist.”

#baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #astarion #astarion x tav #astarion ancunin #bg3 astarion #bg3 spoilers #astarion x oc #astarion x mc #astarion fanfic #bg3 tav #bg3 fanfiction #astarion baldurs gate #astarion angst #astarion romance #bg3 fic #bg3 fanfic #astarion fanfiction #fic: heavy to hold

[maccreadysbaby]

i just binged the logan fam au pls im so invested 😩 there’s not a lot of works with logan and i’m so so happy i found it !! it’s so amazing and i love how you write ❤️

Thank you so much this makes me so happy! Unfortunately this is going to be the last part. I think fifteen is a good number to end on. Also this goes into the futures of Logan and y/n’s kids as well!!!

< prev part

HERES TO THE FUTURE™︎

y/n was absolutely livid Logan wouldn’t let her go to Houston with him

Elliot and McKade were absolutely livid Logan wouldn’t let them go to Houston with him

Y/n never got many descriptions of that night. Only that Finn’s first ever mission was saving his brother

y/n stayed at home with McKade, Elliot, Jade, and Sadie. They stayed up nearly all night waiting for any kind of communication

there was nothing until, three days later, Logan got home with Diego

and he still wouldn’t tell y/n what happened. Not that Finn had a nervous breakdown in the middle of the mission and that Gaz practically had to carry him. Not that Keegan and Hesh both got shot multiple times for Diego. Not that Rorke had the barrel of a gun pressed against their son’s head. Not that Rorke’s brains were splattered on the wall from a bullet that came out of Logan’s gun. Not that Diego had watched him kill Rorke. Not that Diego cling to Finn the entire way home, that he wouldn’t look at Logan, wouldn’t even get close enough for Logan to touch him

Diego was different when he got home. Traumatized, almost. He didn’t cry, didn’t have much of a reaction at all other than the fact that he wanted to sit on the couch with his whole family and not move

Sadie tried to get him to say something, but he didnt

And the eight of them, including Finn who’d returned home, sat there with him

They all fell asleep in the living room, in the floor, on the couches, in chairs

And the next morning, Sunday morning, they woke up to more silence from Diego

deep down Logan knew he’d scarred the kid for life, but what was he supposed to do? Let Rorke shoot him?

everyone was so gentle with Diego. They handled him like glass. Like porcelain. It broke y/n and Logan’s heart that, after they got home, when Logan moved toward Diego, Diego would back away

he slowly started talking again, but not to Logan. He started smiling again, but not at what Logan said. He started to laugh at jokes, and play games, and go back to normal

all except for the fact that he was avoiding Logan

it was absolutely heart shattering for Y/n and Logan, but what could they do? Forcing him to interact could cause more harm than good, and they weren’t therapists, they didn’t know how to handle this

it was one Wednesday, after Diego had gotten home from school. Y/n was in the kitchen and Logan was working at the dining table. McKade and Elliot were in their rooms, Sadie was playing with Jade in the living room, Finn was on-base with TF141

Diego got home from school and dropped his bag. Sadie greeted him but he didn’t say anything

he bee-lined through the living room, through the kitchen. Upon his arrival, Logan stood, ready to give him his space, but instead, Diego walked straight into him, wrapping his arms around his father so tight he nearly couldn’t breathe

“I’m sorry. I love you, dad,” was all Diego said

Logan made eye constant with y/n and hugged Diego back. “I love you too, buddy”

and then, just then, their family clicked back into place. Everything shifted, everything felt, right. y/n felt, for the first time, that their future wasn’t so uncertain, that their family wasn’t so strange, that everything might just be okay from that point forward

and it was

McKade made it through medical school and became a children’s doctor, working mostly with kids that had to board at the hospital for hereditary diseases or cancer

he wasn’t one for romance. Not until one day, when he was twenty-eight, when a woman and her one-year-old son who’d just beaten cancer got transferred into his care

her name was June, and her son, Julian

he tried not to fall for her because doctor and parent was so taboo, so unnatural, so forbidden, but he couldn’t help it

after they got released, he started hanging out with her, spending time with them, and oh God, he loved them

and he married her when he was twenty-nine. They had three kids, including Julian. One was born when Julian was three, a daughter, Bailey, and then another daughter a year after that, Evie

Elliot ended up with the most oddball job out of them all. He became an underwater welder

sounds strange, but they get paid extremely extremely well

he opened up his home to house foreign exchange students when he was twenty-nine and eventually takes up fostering as a single father

he only fostered one child, a ten year old boy named Ezra, and he fell so in love that he adopted him

he never got married, he didn’t have much interest in women after what his mother did to Logan. he had a few girlfriends but Ezra was his main priority all of the time

he and Ezra had a father/son only life like he and Logan did for a bit, but it was happy as opposed to the messy divorce that caused theirs

Finn spent almost fifteen years in the military before finally settling down after losing his second leg when he was 35

he took up working business deals, being a salesman, so he got a remote job leading a team of salesman under a company that supplied car dealerships with advertising and such

he’d pretty much written off getting married until he met Alluria (uh-lore-ee-uh), a beautiful girl from Slovakia that had moved to America as a baby. He met her because she worked at the local coffee shop he spent, like, half of his life in

they got married when Finn was 36 and never had any kids, but they have a beautiful marriage and live to spend time with their nieces and nephews

Diego graduated high school and college at the top of his class, but settled on the culinary arts

he started working as a cook in someone else’s kitchen

then a manager / cook

and it spiraled and spiraled until, suddenly, y/n and Logan were watching on as he opened his own Brazilian restaraunt

he met a girl, Lacey, when she applied to work there and long story short they ended up married when Diego was 22

they had five kids. The first was a boy, Noah, when he was 23, then a girl a year later, Haven, two years after that a boy, Dallas, then a year later, female identical twins, Callie and Emma

Sadie decided not to go to college, and instead, lives, at first, by picking up odd jobs. She’d auditioned for shows and movies but never made it

She finally settled down and ended up being a freelance photographer

She married a guy named Hudson after meeting him in a theater course she took once

they had one kid, a girl, and they named her Y/n

Jade grew up with so much love and support she didn’t know what to do with it all. She played sports throughout all of her school years, but she finally settled on being a soccer player

she played through college, where she met Avery, a boy that also played soccer

and eventually they got married. Jade was 24

they had two babies, both boys, named Roman and Leo. Leo was born when she was 25, Roman when she was 26

and Y/n, Logan, and their massive family lived happily ever after

(Oh yeah; and every single one of their kids made sure to have pancake Saturdays with their own kids)

#logan walker x reader #call of duty logan #logan walker

[dgcatanisiri]

“If you want to romance [same sex love interest], just roll a[n opposite sex] PC! You’re so greedy to want [additional romance option] when you already have [singular same-sex romance option]! Some people are just straight and you should just deal with it! You should respect the WRITER’S VISION!”

Not that it’s news, but dear. GOD. do I hate it when people start arguing this shit. Because really. Do you think that it’s news that “some people are just straight”? How the fuck is it greedy to want to have even the little bit of a crumb that ONE more same-sex romance option would offer, when the slice of pie that heterosexuals get is 99% of the whole damn thing? Why do I have to give up a part of my identity to play the romance that connects to me?

And you know, sometimes, that really is the kicker for me. That so many people just don’t seem to get the power and importance of experiencing a story in a way that validates your identity is. And it’s generally because they don’t NEED that validation.

I mean, I think back to my first play of Jade Empire, the first game I played that even HAD a same-sex romance option. And looking back on it from nearly fifteen years after that first run, I can tell you, it is VERY flawed as a result of that whole “the game came out in 2005, same-sex romance is still something that inherently gets the M rating” side of things. But despite all the reason I have from today’s perspective to say “this isn’t as good as it could have been if it had been released a few years later,” it’s still one of those things that just inherently makes me feel SEEN.

So why do I have to sacrifice that, just to get the romance option who fits right with me? Straight people ALWAYS get to be seen - hell, usually, they don’t even QUESTION when a romance is default into the story. I’ve never seen the straights argue that, say, Ezio’s relationship with Sofia is shallow, or that we don’t know enough about a character like Randvi. Straight people didn’t argue that there really wasn’t much reason for Starkiller to fall so in love with Juno that he’d just automatically go back for her on the Ecliptic. Mario’s motivation is so often Princess Peach, and no one asks for the relationship to be developed, it’s accepted as just a default THING. To say nothing of how many games offer optional flings, but, if they even allow same-sex encounters, which is no guarantee, the male options are significantly fewer, so it’s clear that the expectation is that a male PC is taking every woman around them to bed, not that gay people are playing.

Or, sticking to BioWare, the straights don’t mind that Liara is shoved at Shepard every chance BioWare can arrange, her relationship with Shepard emphasized over all others. Leliana has a romance mechanic so obtuse that offering her kind words can get you locked in. Both have instances of bugs where there’s an assumption of romance, and no effort has ever been made to fix them (leading me to want to put the word “bugs” in quotes...). Peebee sits on Ryder for an uncomfortably long time and unless Ryder’s played a romance through to its conclusion beforehand, will explicitly offer a hook up with Ryder.

Or we have a game like Cyberpunk, where Panam has no real, clear cut “I’m not interested” option, with a lot of assumption that a male V is romancing her from everyone around them. Meanwhile, the one gay romance in that game is not only gated behind so much in the way of progression barricades, you could be forgiven for missing him entirely, AND is framed in a way that has him still hung up on Johnny over anything else.

And there’s the fact that it’s ALWAYS same-sex romance content that gets cut. How many times have we heard about “[character] was going to be a same-sex romance, but we had to make cuts for time”? Saying nothing of things like Jacob and Jack’s same-sex romances getting cut in ME2 because of negative press from freaking Fox News...

But no. It’s always us gays who are being greedy, being demanding, being ungrateful because we didn’t HAVE to be included, and it’s just... You people just can’t seem to conceive of the fact that people not like you have to fight and drag every moment of representation we get on screen.

And they don’t listen, either. All the explanation I just poured out here, if I repeated it to any of the people who hurl this shit at any of us angry queers complaining, they’d tune out before I finished my first paragraph.

This is all just so EXHAUSTING.

#dg rants #another angry queer rant #dg gets pissed

[robininthelabyrinth]

A continuation of NHS invites WWX to JYL's wedding, and what happened there? Perhaps about how the estemed Hanguang Jun ended up running off and eloping with the Nie sect heir's intended?

continuation of that short fic, now it’s own fic on ao3

Plus One - Chapter 2

“So,” Nie Huaisang said, sidling up to his brother and his two sworn brothers now that they’d finally gotten to the party part of the wedding and they could all huddle up in a corner to be anti-social together.

Or, well, for Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen to be anti-social and for Jin Guangyao to be forcefully restrained from attempting to perform hosting duties, which he incessantly tried to do - it was like he had no idea what servants were for. Which Nie Huaisang supposed was understandable, given everything, but the way Jin Guangshan encouraged him to do it certainly wasn’t.

“So,” Nie Mingjue said, his voice only mildly ominous in a way that suggested, to Nie Huaisang at least, that he was still finding this whole thing incredibly funny.

Accordingly, Nie Huaisang ignored him. “How much do you think I can milk being horribly dumped?” he asked. “Because I think I’m about to be horribly dumped.”

“By your new ‘intended’?” Lan Xichen said, looking amused. “Really, Huaisang, I don’t know what you were thinking by bringing him.”

“Uh, that he deserves to attend his shijie’s wedding? Obviously?”

“But to bring him to Lanling…”

“He’s my guest,” Nie Huaisang said haughtily, bringing out his fan and doing his best ‘rich young master who is better than this and is most certainly above your petty questions’ Jin sect impression. “You aren’t suggesting that the Jin sect would take back an invitation they freely issued, would they? Or breach the rules of hospitality?”

“Huaisang, Xichen didn’t mean it that way and you know it,” his brother said, sounding annoyed, but in his relaxed run-of-the-mill ‘I hate parties’ type of annoyance, rather than specifically about his behavior. “Obviously the Jin sect won’t do anything about it. Regardless of any other considerations, anything they did would be refusing to show our Nie sect face, and then I’d have to make an issue of it.”

He sounded wistful. Probably thinking about how he could use it as an excuse to storm out and go home early.

“We’re only worried about you, Huaisang,” Jin Guangyao murmured, looking remarkably calm for someone who was definitely (if unobtrusively) being blocked from leaving by two very tall men with excessive mother hen tendencies. “You’re all grown up now, not a child – you need to think about the political implications your actions might have. Aren’t you concerned about your brother’s reaction?”

Huaisang was about to explain that he’d gotten his brother’s permission, but then he remembered that they were in Lanling, full of spies, so he decided to tell Jin Guangyao about that later.

“It’s not my problem that Sect Leader Nie has to think about politics at what should be a happy family event,” he said instead, nose in the air, and Lan Xichen frowned even as Nie Mingjue sighed, probably at Nie Huaisang’s total lack of caring about even the basic obligations of etiquette. Or possibly his reference to their little inside joke, but these were his sworn brothers, so they’d have to figure out sooner or later that Sect Leader Nie and Nie Mingjue weren’t always the same. “Besides, that isn’t what I asked. I asked about how long I can milk my terrible heartbreaking break up.”

“I thought you were getting dumped?” his brother asked, passing him a jar of wine. A good brother, even if he was mocking him.

“Getting dumped leads to a break-up,” Nie Huaisang insisted. “Wei-xiong is a thankless white-eyed wolf who was just using me with absolutely no consideration of my tender feelings.”

“You have tender feelings?” his brother said. “Why wasn’t I informed of this?”

Nie Huaisang kicked him in the shin.

As usual, it had no impact whatsoever on his brother and only hurt his own toes, but it was the principle of the thing.

“Huaisang,” Lan Xichen said, his voice oddly gentle, even softer than normal. “Did you – really – for Wei Wuxian –”

Nie Huaisang, who’d been taking a drink of wine, nearly choked. “Er-ge,” he said, mildly horrified. “Please. Wei-xiong is a very handsome gentleman, fearless and dashing, with all the skills one might ask for in a son-in-law –”

“Brother-in-law,” his brother muttered, as if he hadn’t been Nie Huaisang’s de facto father figure for years.

“– and, yes, I suppose we have similar tastes in drinking, carousing, and pornography –”

“Of course you do,” Jin Guangyao said, looking up at the ceiling as if it would hide how his lips were twitching.

“– but let us not forget: he lives in a trash heap. With Wen sect. I have standards!”

“I thought he was marrying in?” Lan Xichen asked, smiling again now that he had confirmed that there was no actual heart-breaking occurring in the vicinity. “He’d live in the Unclean Realm that way, wouldn’t he?”

“He would not,” Nie Mingjue put in. “I don’t care if they’re all enlightened saints that do nothing but charity all day, no one surnamed Wen is living in my home.”

“You see what I’m up against?” Nie Huaisang said, holding out his hands in appeal to his brother’s sworn brothers. “My da-ge doesn’t understand, he’s only good for swinging a saber! How cruel and heartless must a man be to stand in the way of true love?”

Lan Xichen covered his smile with his sleeve. Jin Guangyao pressed his lips together in such a way that made his cheeks especially round and quivering with suppressed laughter, like a mouse stuffing its face to bulging with rice.

“Er-ge, you wouldn’t be nearly this cruel if it were you, would you?” Nie Huaisang asked, reaching out and tugging said sleeve. “You’d be kind and generous about it – I bet you’d find them a nice little place to live, maybe next to those foothills you’re always saying you want someone to use but that you’re not willing to sell…”

“Were you planning on moving in with er-ge after your marriage, then?” Jin Guangyao asked. He looked much more amused and relaxed now – maybe he’d been stressing over this being some sort of scheme and was feeling much better now that he realized it was actually just Nie Huaisang’s nonsense. His paranoia had always been deeply endearing. “I don’t think your brother will like that.”

“Not me,” Nie Huaisang said, rolling his eyes at him. “But if it was Lan Zhan sweeping him away, er-ge would definitely support him. Right, er-ge?”

“I always support my brother,” Lan Xichen said with a smile.

“Good,” Nie Huaisang said, taking another swallow of wine. “Because he and Wei Wuxian just had a very intense conversation in a secluded corner that ended with them kissing and running off together, so it’s about to become your problem.”

Nie Mingjue choked, Jin Guangyao’s jaw dropped, and Lan Xichen’s eyes got really big.

“Not joking,” Nie Huaisang clarified cheerfully. “Totally serious.”

“Excuse me,” Lan Xichen said, getting up very quickly. “I need to – go see –”

He didn’t even bother finishing the sentence before rushing off.

“Go with him,” Nie Mingjue said to Jin Guangyao, who blinked owlishly at him. “It’s going to be a shitshow, isn’t it? Politically, I mean.”

“Uh,” Jin Guangyao said.

“Really, da-ge,” Nie Huaisang said. “The notorious ostracized-by-the-cultivation-world demonic cultivator Wei Wuxian, the Yiling Patriarch, is abruptly reintroduced to society as my intended bride, only to be stolen away by the Lan sect’s Second Jade, the second most desirable bachelor in the cultivation world, in the middle of a wedding party thrown by Lanling Jin? I have no idea why you think this would so much as raise an eyebrow.”

“That’s a lot of words to say ‘shitshow’, which is why I didn’t,” Nie Mingjue said. “Meng Yao – Jin Guangyao – oh, fuck it, A-Yao, someone is going to need to keep their head about them and think about the political implications long enough to keep Xichen from getting himself into serious trouble, and you’re better at it than I am. Go help him. I’ll cover for you two here.”

Jin Guangyao still looked torn.

“Don’t listen to da-ge, he’s worrying too much,” Nie Huaisang volunteered his own opinion. “How much trouble can the Lan sect really get into over a matter of love?”

“I’m going at once,” Jin Guangyao said, and ran after Lan Xichen.

A moment later, Nie Huaisang handed the jar of wine back to his brother.

“Well done,” he said, voice much more neutral than it had been a moment before. “Assuming your goal was to deprive Sect Leader Jin of san-ge’s assistance while we define the situation to make it come out the way we want.”

“Couldn’t have done it without your timely assist,” Nie Mingjue said, pinching the bridge of his nose. He did so hate politics, and he hated being good at it even more. Truly there was nothing better, in Nie Huaisang’s opinion, than forcing his brother to relent and give in to the sneaky bastard half of his heritage. “Anyway, Sect Leader Jin is drunk and his heir is the groom, and thus occupied. It’s only reasonable that I, as the person with the next highest status, take charge of dispersing the news.”

“And by ‘dispersing the news’ you mean rehabilitate Wei-xiong’s reputation, get him reinstated in the Jiang sect, and arrange an appropriate marriage between him and Lan Zhan before anyone can complain about an inappropriate elopement, of course.”

“It’s called being efficient, Huaisang,” Nie Mingjue said.

“It’s called creating a countervailing alliance to the Jiang-Jin sect connection, getting both the Jiang sect and the Yiling Patriarch to owe our sect a favor – not to mention the Lan sect, too! – and conveniently also undercutting Sect Leader Jin’s authority just at the moment he’s trying to install himself as the new ruler of the cultivation world.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Huaisang,” Nie Mingjue said, finishing off the jar and putting it down. “I’m far too stupid to be considering any of that. Only good for swinging a saber, remember?”

Nie Huaisang sniggered.

“Yes, I remember,” he said. “You won a whole war against a much stronger, more numerous, and more unified force on Baxia’s strength alone, no brains required. How can I help? You want me crying or excited?”

“Whatever you think is best, Huaisang.” His brother solidified his scowling angry face, just the sort of thing a dumb brute might wear when dealing with politics that he was far too ignorant to understand. “Let’s go right some injustices, shall we?”

#mdzs #nie huaisang #nie mingjue #jin guangyao #lan xichen #my fic #my fics #plus one #mentalcarebear

[vrishchikawrites]

Story

@rynne

All the fluff I can throw at you, enjoy <3

“Shall I tell you a story?” Wei Wuxian asks, running a comb gently through Lan Zhan’s hair. The Jingshi is quiet save for the sound of his voice. His husband is relaxed, his head tilted back a little and pressing against Wei Wuxian’s hands in a silent demand.

“Mn.”

He smiles and combs, making sure the long locks resting on his palm are glossy and straight, fragrant with the scent of sandalwood. He sets a combed section aside and picks up another, his mind drifting, “There was a Prince, once.” Wei Wuxian begins fondly, “He lived in a remote mountain kingdom, far removed from any ordinary village or town. Though he was rarely seen, tales of his beauty spread far and wide. They said he was like white jade; perfect, serene, unstained by the wretchedness of this world.”

“Hm,” Wei Wuxian chuckles at the unimpressed tone. Unable to help himself, he leans forward a bit and cups Lan Zhan’s face to kiss his cheek gently. The scent of sandalwood penetrates his senses and Wei Wuxian feels momentarily hazy. Golden eyes peer back at him, soft and warm in the candlelight. He is lost; still helpless against the power of that gaze.

Lan Zhan pulls him closer and he doesn’t resist, letting his husband steal a few light, lingering kisses. “Story,” Wei Wuxian whispers, pulling away a little. Lan Zhan flashes him a look but lets him go and returns to his previous position.

“So, one day a group of young boys is invited by the Emperor to visit the palace. Strong and righteous lads from prominent families arrive shortly after.” Golden eyes flash at him, already knowing where this story is heading. Wei Wuxian just grins back and continues in a playful tone, “Among them is a particularly lively boy; bold and mischievous as they come. This boy is quite handsome too,” Wei Wuxian says loftily and Lan Zhan huffs, “For he too possesses fair features quite like jade. Some would say he was quite equal to the Prince!”

Lan Zhan leans back a little, pressing against Wei Wuxian’s legs, “The Prince would agree.”

Wei Wuxian bites back his smile and shakes his finger at Lan Zhan, “Uh uh- no interruptions please!”

“Mn.”

Wei Wuxian cheerfully switches to a different section of Lan Zhan’s hair and continues, “One night, under the light of the full moon, the handsome boy happens to meet the beautiful Prince. For a moment, he’s startled!” Wei Wuxian gasps, pressing a hand against his chest, “For the Prince had caught him by surprise.”

“Hm, unkind of him.”

“Aiya, Lan Zhan,” He protests, “Don’t ruin the mood! The Prince isn’t unkind! Far from it!”

Lan Zhan says nothing so he continues, “So, our handsome boy is quite startled. But soon the surprise gives way to interest. For this Prince is indeed beautiful - clad in pure white robes, blessed with fair skin and jet black hair. He looks like some deity descended from the heavens under the full moon’s light. The boy is almost overcome,” His voice drops low, “His heart races even as he smiles and teases for he has never seen something so otherworldly.”

Lan Zhan’s ears are red.

“But the handsome boy is young so he mistakes the agitation of his heart for something else. He teases, prods, and bothers the Prince for weeks to come. He wishes for friendship, feels a sort of compassion for the Prince who never seems to smile.” He presses his own smile to Lan Zhan’s head briefly, “He wants to ease the stiffness of the Prince’s shoulders and make him laugh. For you see, the handsome boy considers laughter an expression of happiness. If one does not laugh, can one be happy? The Prince doesn’t laugh or even smile, can he be happy?”

Wei Wuxian collects Lan Zhan’s hair and places it over his shoulder before leaning forward. He rests his head on Lan Zhan’s nape, feeling his lips curling into a smile. Lan Zhan is still, barely breathing. It is thrilling to see how much he affects Lan Zhan sometimes. His husband is still the stoic man he has always been, but he lets his guard down in the privacy of their home and shows what he feels.

“So the handsome boy teases and prods some more,” His fingers dance over Lan Zhan’s shoulders and his husband hums in amusement, “His mind is like the wind and the sky, Lan Zhan. It is always in motion, jumping from this to that, fluttering from one thought to another. But his heart, Lan Zhan,” He says softly, kissing the pale skin under his lips, “But his heart is like the earth; steady, unshakable, stubborn. Unknown to him, love has been carving fissures and raising mountains on the fertile landscape of his soul.”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan’s voice is a near shattered whisper. They have been married for nearly a year but their love - it still feels like an overwhelming cosmic force that they don’t have any power to deny.

Wei Wuxian swallows, his eyes fluttering close, “His heart is steady. It bears scars and it remembers better than his mind does. So this fertile earth quietly nurtures his new affection and his agile mind continues to be distracted by worldly matters. Life, it seems, has no patience for the love of a simple boy. There is no time for the handsome youth to ponder over the changes occurring in his soul.” Wei Wuxian shakes his head with a rueful smile.

“But strangely, the Prince is always on the youth’s mind. His name often falls from the boy’s lips. Something in him yearns but he doesn’t recognize it. How foolish of him!”

“Not foolish,” Lan Zhan denies immediately, “Never foolish.”

Wei Wuxian kisses him in gratitude, amused by his stern and quick defense, “The Prince remains dignified and composed, and the handsome youth can’t help but bother him. Their youthful banter is full of prickly words, but how could they have known the potential of their love so young? The handsome boy definitely didn’t understand it! All he knew was that when the Prince’s eyes were on him, he felt a strange sort of thrill. Aiya, how silly he was! Dancing around the Prince like a wild bird trying to enthrall a mate!”

“Wei Ying!” Wei Wuxian laughs at his husband’s tone and wraps his arms around him, snuggling close.

“Lan Zhan! How come you’re so flustered by ordinary words? You torment your poor husband in bed with such a straight face!” Lan Zhan’s fingers curl around his forearms and he leans back into Wei Wuxian’s chest, “So our handsome little bird continues to live without knowing his heart and the Prince continues to live in his beautiful mountain kingdom.” He pauses, turning his head slightly to press his lips against Lan Zhan’s temple, “Tragedy rips the handsome youth away from his Prince,” Lan Zhan takes a hold of his hand and presses a desperate kiss to his palm, “Fate becomes a cruel mistress. Unknowingly, the handsome youth hurts his precious Prince, causes him great harm.”

Lan Zhan makes a small noise of protest but doesn’t interrupt.

“They remain separate for many years and suddenly the handsome youth hears a voice. He is awoken from a deep, dark sleep and drawn unwillingly to the light.”

“Not unwillingly,” Lan Zhan protests, his grip tightening, “He had too much waiting for him in the daylight to remain asleep.”

“Just so,” Wei Wuxian agrees quickly, peppering a few kisses along Lan Zhan’s cheek, “Far too much! He sees his Prince again and would you believe it, Lan Zhan? The man has grown in beauty! The audacity! The Prince is even more majestic, with broader shoulders and more elegant air. The youth’s poor heart trembles with unknown emotion at first sight! He is nearly overcome.”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan reprimands with a huff.

“The youth only remembers the Prince he had once known. But the man before him has grown. He isn’t as easy to tease and fluster, much to the youth’s dismay! But for all he has changed, the core of him, the very heart of him remains the same.” He feels an unknown emotion well up in his chest, “The Prince is admired by all, considered noble and just by even the poorest peasant. While the Prince’s peers remain on their mighty thrones, he chooses to leave the comforts of his palace and roam the lands. He helps people with his whole heart, expecting nothing in return.”

Wei Wuxian moves around Lan Zhan and settles on his husband’s lap, cupping that beautiful jade face with a besotted smile, “And the poor youth is so overwhelmed, Lan Zhan. He has lived through many strange, difficult, and wondrous times, but nothing compares to the feeling blooming within his chest. The Prince is cruel indeed! So willing to protect, to stand against the world, to offer shelter and affection. It gives the youth hope-” He presses two quick kisses on faintly smiling lips and continues, “Oh, the torment he suffers! To have the beautiful jade Prince so close and yet so far. How many nights he sleeps thinking, ‘oh how wonderful it would be to belong to the Prince.’”

Lan Zhan pulls him closer, dipping his head to nuzzle his jaw, “The youth belongs,” He says and Wei Wuxian’s eyes flutter close, feeling the brush of Lan Zhan’s lips against his neck, “He has always belonged with the Prince.”

“Does he now?” Wei Wuxian asks with a knowing smile.

“Mn.”

He laughs wryly, “The world continues to be cruel and no one has patience for the youth’s love,” Wei Wuxian presses close, soaking in Lan Zhan’s warmth, “But the world has taken enough from the youth and his Prince. It has no power over them anymore.”

“No,” Lan Zhan agrees, turning their bodies to press him against the floor, golden eyes gleaming with a familiar light, “Not anymore.”

“The Prince has loved the youth for a long time, Lan Zhan,” He whispers, “But the youth has loved the Prince for a long time as well.” He smiles and nuzzles his husband’s neck, “The Prince is one for deep ponderous thoughts, the youth is a flighty creature! It’s little wonder that the Prince knew his heart before the youth kne- ooph!” He chuckles helplessly against Lan Zhan’s lips before his husband grabs his hair and kisses him properly.

“Isn’t interrupting someone against the rules,” Wei Wuxian pants after a while, his lips sore and body warm. He grins up at his husband cheekily, “How rude!”

“You talk far too much,” Lan Zhan says bluntly in reply, dipping his head to nibble at Wei Wuxian’s jawline, “Be quiet.”

“Aiya! I am telling you such a romantic story and you insist on being a brute! Don’t you want to know how the story ends?”

“It doesn’t end,” Lan Zhan says and Wei Wuxian looks at him in surprise, “There is no end.”

“Lan Zhan...?”

“The Prince doesn’t smile or laugh,” Lan Zhan says softly and Wei Wuxian feels his heart race at the expression on his face; so intensely loving and so painfully peaceful. Wei Wuxian can barely find words to describe Lan Zhan’s beauty at that moment, “It is not because he’s unhappy.”

“No?” Wei Wuxian combs his fingers through Lan Zhan’s hair, tucking a falling strand behind his ear, “Not unhappy?”

“There’s a precious face,” Lan Zhan speaks gently into the air between them. Wei Wuxian swallows as his husband cups his cheek, a thumb caressing his lips, “Always smiling and laughing up at the Prince.” Wei Wuxian feels his lips tug up at the corners in response, “As long as the Prince is allowed to protect this smile, he’ll never be unhappy.”

“Never?”

“Never.”

“Aiya,” Wei Wuxian breathes, charmed into submission. He pulls his husband closer and lets him taste that smile he so loves, “That’s all this Wei Ying wants,” He melts under the weight of Lan Zhan’s body, “For his Lan Zhan to never be unhappy.”

#wangxian #wei wuxian #lan wangji #fluff #post canon

[forever-rogue]

Honeyed Whiskey

A/N: This was not called for at all, but I was so inspired by THIS dress from yesterday. It’s just a little soft, gentle fluff. Enjoy! xx

Pairing: Jack Daniels x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: references to sex, but nothing graphic

Pedro Character Masterlist

»»————-　♡　————-««

By the time he's lulled from sleep, far later than he normally would have preferred, the first thing he notices is the golden sunlight streaming in through sheer curtains and open windows. Instantaneously, a smile is tugging on his features and he shifts onto his back, stretching limbs made stiff by sleep. He's content and comfortable, already enjoying his days off, knowing they'd be spent with you. 

As soon as the thought of you crosses his mind, honeyed brown eyes slowly open again and he's blinking away the bleariness while reaching over to your side of the bed. But you're gone already, he notes with a light huff, finding nothing but cool emptiness where you normally laid.

Before he can get too lost in his own thoughts, he hears you. Its faint - soft and barely audible over the steady stream of the shower, but it's there. Crystal clear and beautiful, at least to his ears, he hears you singing softly under your breath along to whatever you had playing on the speakers. Rubbing away the remaining sleep from his eyes, he pulls back the soft, warm blankets and slides out from underneath. 

He's still naked from the evening before, but he doesn't even bother to dress or reach for even a stitch of clothing. He already knows you'll just strip off in seconds anyway. A beaming grin crosses his features at that; you certainly knew what you wanted and when you wanted it.

Almost as if you could sense him, you stopped singing for a moment and he hears the tell-tale rustle of the shower curtain, "Jack? Honey, is that you?"

"Hi Sugar," he poked his head and found you staring back with excited eyes and a head full of shampoo lather, "you're up early...need a hand?"

"Its the Farmers Market today," you reminded him with a crook of your finger as he stepped into the warm bathroom, "I don't want to miss it, besides you're taking me to brunch and everything!"

"And just who decided this?" his tone was teasing as he stepped into the shower and pulled the curtain closed. You grinned up at him, pressing a kiss to his plush lips and batting your lashes innocently. He huffed in jest before reaching up and tenderly cupping your face, "I suppose I did, huh?"

"I'm sure that's what you were saying last night," you couldn't help but beam at him, "when I was on top - somewhere in between telling me how good I was and how much you love me."

"Well now, I definitely can't say no to you, Sugar," his hands slowly went from the side of your face and into your scalp as delicately massaged it to help wash the shampoo out.

"Jack, you don't have to wash my hair," you insisted but you definitely wouldn't have minded if he did. Showering with Jack was always an experience; something so intimate and sacred, especially when you took the time to wash and explore each other's bodies. You took the opportunity to shower together whenever you could, especially on lazy weekend days.

"I know I don't have to, baby," he insisted softly as he started to tender wash the lather, "but I want to. Let me take care of you, Sugar. You always take such good care of me, its my turn to love you."

"Well, who am I to turn down an offer like that?" a contented sigh left your lips as you keened into his gentle touch, "I am no fool. I love you, Jack."

"And I love you, honey."

»»————-　♡　————-««

You spent a long time in the shower, and by the time the two of you got you were both pruned. Jack's towel was slung low on his hips as he went to his side of the closet to grab some clothes for the day.

A sly little smile found its way onto your face as you dashed down the stairs and to the laundry room. You'd gone shopping yesterday and found something you'd planned on wearing today. As soon as you had seen it, you knew you had to have it, and you were positive that Jack would love it too.

"What happened?" Jack called down the stairs as you quickly slipped on your undergarments and the item of clothing.

"Nothing!" you promised as you bounded back up stairs to surprise him. Jack was standing in front of the full length mirror, buttoning up his shirt. The simple sight was still enough to take your breath away as you watched him for a few moments. His dark mop of hair was still damp and unruly, and you couldn't wait to run your hands through it.

You leaned against the door frame and cleared your throat in order to garner his attention. Jack slowly turned around, and when he was fully facing you, his jaw almost dropped. He slowly walked over to you, that look of adoration and devotion in his eyes that you were so fond of.

"You look beautiful, Sugar," he drawled as you slowly twirled to give him a look good at the beautiful yellow sundress you were wearing. It was breathtaking, and you had known from the moment you spied it that it was the one. Stopping just at your knees it was a beautiful, golden yellow with flowers all over it, with simple thin straps. The bodice hugged you just right and the little flare was perfect. You had a feeling Jack would like it too, "what a gorgeous dress on the most gorgeous woman in the world."

"Now you're just flattering me," you laughed lightly and put a hand on his broad, pushing him back ever so lightly, "do you like though? Really? I-I saw it and fell in love and couldn't help myself."

"Its not flattery if it's true," he insisted as he grabbed your hand and pressed a gentle kiss to your knuckles, "I love it - not nearly as much as you, of course, but it's beautiful. And you make it even more so."

"You really do know just what to say, don't you, my love?" you couldn't help but steal a quick kiss as you flounced past him to finish getting ready, "still up for brunch?"

"And then the farmer's market," he reminded you with a soft smile, "I couldn't think of a better way to spend my day."

»»————-　♡　————-««

Brunch was a slow, fun affair as the two of you ate and drank your way through probably too much food. You'd insisted that Jack could pick the place since you were technically forcing him to brunch. He'd agreed, but that quickly turned into him driving to your favorite spot regardless. A silly old fool you had lovingly deemed him.

By the time you'd reached the farmer's market, it was warm and everything was bathed in brilliant sunlight. Jack had quickly reached for your hand and laced your fingers together, as you walked around and looked at all the various little stalls. It was busy and bustling, and everyone seemed to be in a good mood today; funny what the first nice day in the spring could do.

Jack was the type of man that loved to show you off, but there was also a part of him that was fiercely protective, never possessive, over you. It comes from years as an agent; a tried and practiced thing. 

Whenever someone would stop the two of you, he'd always make sure you were front and center, getting all the attention you deserved. Today, in your new yellow sundress, that was no exception. There was something about today, how radiant and happy you looked, how kind and gentle you were, that set something off in him. Suddenly, as he watched you pick out some fresh oranges and apples from one of the stalls, he knew he had the answer to the question that had been on his mind. 

“Honey?” you turned back to him, finding him watching you with a dopey little grin on his face. You held out your hand to him, and Jack wasted no time in coming over and taking, effortlessly entwining your fingers, “what’s wrong, Jack?”

“Nothing’s wrong at all, Sugar,” he pressed a kiss to the side of your head before taking the large tote filled with fresh fruits from you, ever the gentleman. You used to try and fight him on little things like that, insisting that you were more than capable of doing things on your own, but it was always useless. Eventually you learned not to argue with your cowboy. 

“You’re just awfully quiet today is all,” you squeezed his hand in a sign of reassurance to let him know that everything was okay, “you can tell me anything, right?”

“Of course,” he stopped suddenly so he was facing you, a half smile on his handsome features. After studying your features in his aviators for a moment, you gently pushed them to the top of his head before leaving in to give him a gentle, saccharine kiss. When you pulled back, you found a light tinge of pink creeping into his cheeks, “whatever was that for?”

‘Just because,” you shrugged lightly before taking his hand again and tugging on it for him to follow, “I love you, Jack.”

“I love you too,” he shook his head at your playfulness but both knew the words were true. You’d both been jaded in different ways throughout your lives, but this was the one thing you were sure about. You really did love him more than anything - and he you.

»»————-　♡　————-««

You clutched onto your drink, or rather what was left of the smooth, honeyed whiskey, before turning to Jack and setting the glass down. You found Jack staring into the roaring fire across from you, his expression suggesting that a lot was going through his mind. 

You were across the small fire pit from him, the one he had lovingly built in the background for cool nights just like this and let out a small sigh. His drink wasn’t even touched and he’d hardly said more than a word or two the whole evening, leaving you to do most of the talking yourself.

“Alright, Jack, this is enough,” you stood up and flounced over to him, and sat down next to him, “what’s going on, Jack? Ever since this afternoon at the market, you’ve gone practically silent. It’s not like you, honey. I-is it something I did? Are you upset with me?”

“No, no, no it’s nothing like that at all, sugar,” he promised as he turned to you, a worried expression on his own face, “I am far from upset, or anything else for that matter. I’ve just had a lot on my mind today - lately.”

“What’s going on? I can help…” you watched with worried eyes as he stood up and moved in front of you, a thoughtful expression on his face as his hands dove into his pockets, “Jack?”

“We’ve been together for a long time now,” he started as you swallowed the lump in your throat, “honestly, it seems like there wasn’t any time in which I didn’t know you. It feels like we’ve always been together…”

“Oh my God,” you looked at him with pouted lips and a worried expression in your eyes, “you’re breaking up with me, aren’t you?”

“What on earth...how...no, Sugar, I am absolutely not breaking up with you or anything of the sort,” he quickly insisted and you relaxed at his reassurance. Then why was he so...off today?

“Then what’s…”

“I love you more than anything,” he reminded you, and your heart fluttered in your chest as you nodded slowly, “and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and only you. I don’t know a lot, but that is one thing I do know.”

“I want that too,” the corners of your mouth turned up into that brilliant smile that still made Jack weak in the knees. Radiant and golden as ever as nervous butterflies fluttered about his stomach; he was sure you would be able to hear the nervous beating of his heart, “you’re my one, Jack.”

“And you are mine, Sugar,” he slowly kneeled, almost eye level with you as he got down on one knee and reached back into his pocket. Suddenly you knew - all the quiet moments, the little secret he seemed to be hiding, all the extra declarations of love, it all made sense now. Your lip trembled with effort as you tried not to cry then and there. He reached for your left hand and gently held it in his, “I have never been more sure of anyone or anything, but I want to spend the rest of my life with you, I want to build and grow our family together, all of it - I want it with you.”

“Oh honey…” you looked into those soft brown eyes and found that they were glossy with tears as well, “I...love you so much. I want everything with you too. Only you.”

“Well then I just have one very important question to ask you,” he slipped his free hand into his pocket and pulled out a black velvet box. He made quick work of displaying the beautiful ring inside. You looked between the ring and him, hardly able to believe this was happening, “Sugar, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife and allowing me to be your husband?”

“Yes - yes,” you nodded as he slipped the ring onto your finger. He studied your face for a moment before delicately wiping away your tears, after which you put your hands on the sides of his face and pulled him in for a gentle kiss, “of course I’ll marry you, Jack. Yes, yes, yes, a million times yes.”

“And just like that, you continue to make me the happiest man in the world,” he scooped you up in his arms and spun you around as he held onto you tightly, “I love you so much, Sugar.”

“I love you too, Jack,” you whispered against his lips, “tell me what finally made you ask? Was it the dress? I always knew yellow was your favorite!”

“Of course not, darlin’,” he laughed lightly, “it was all you - the dress was just an added bonus. How lucky I must be to have the privilege of getting to gaze upon such beauty everyday.”

“And what about me?” you asked in response, “I must be pretty lucky as well. I get you all to myself, the best man, and soon I get to call you my husband.”

“I suppose that makes us a pair of lucky fools,” he mused as you beamed at him, “what do you say we do inside and grab some champagne to celebrate? Just the two of us for now, before we tell the world.”

“I love the sound of that,” you agreed, “this is perfect.”

»»————-　♡　————-««

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#jack daniels x reader #jack daniels #agent whiskey #agent Whiskey x reader #pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader #fem!reader

[1dmonthlyficroundup]

1D Monthly Fic Roundup 

Hi, and welcome to the 1D Monthly Fic Roundup for April 2021! Below the cut you’ll find 17 One Direction fics that were all published this month in the order they were submitted to the blog. We hope you’ll check out these new fics! If you would like to submit your own fic, please check this post on how to submit or visit our blog @1dmonthlyficroundup​. 

To Begin Again by @chloehl10​ / lovelarry10 

[Harry/Louis, 23k, Teen and Up, tumblr post] 

“I, uh, I’m really sorry for yelling at you like I did.”

“Hey, I deserved it and more. I’m lucky you didn’t come and deck me on the nose,” Louis said, holding his hands up as if to surrender. “Seriously, you went lightly on me. If a crazy dog was leaping around me and my kids, I’d have lost my shit long before you did, and it would have been a lot more sweary than yours as well.”

Harry laughed at that, quite liking the man now he was getting to know him. This Louis seemed to have a good sense of humour, and his dog was fairly likeable too, laying there sound asleep, sunbathing.

“Well, I don’t usually lose my temper, so I just wanted to apologise.”

“It’s me who needs to say sorry. My stupid dog ate their bloody eggs, and on Easter Sunday at that. It’s a good job we don’t go to church, Cliff, or we’d both be going straight to hell. Nice ears, by the way. I meant to say earlier.”

*＊✿❀○❀✿＊*

Harry’s ready to spend a fun Easter morning with his two children at the park, but it’s thrown into chaos when an over-excited dog and his owner come barrelling into their lives…

A Small Matter (A Matter of Trust) by @kingsofeverything​ 

[Harry/Louis, 18k, Explicit, tumblr post] 

Harry knows he and his Grindr hookup would be perfect together, if only he could convince him to give a relationship a chance. 

Or Harry has a thing for jock straps. Louis likes to wear them. 

Are you proud of me? by @sadaveniren​ 

[Harry/Louis, 2k, Explicit, tumblr post] 

Louis was completely naked, except for a silk scarf that Harry had never seen before. It was tied around his neck like a bow. His lithe body was cast in dramatic shadows as he descended the stairs and all Harry could think was holy shit, mine, mine, mine.

“Well this is a shame. I was hoping you’d keep the boa.”

Harry blinked in surprise at his voice. He was too caught up in his perfection. “What?”

“I guess the leather will do. I do love you dressed in leather.”

aka I show up 2 weeks late with Grammy Fic

Right Back Home to You by @behindmeday​

 [Harry/Nick Grimshaw, 4k, Teen & Up, tumblr post] 

It wasn’t the first time Harry and Nick were cut off before they really got started talking. In fact, it seemed to be happening more often than not. Nick had an insane schedule that no rational person would choose, but Harry’s was even worse. Between the early mornings on The Breakfast Show and the never-ending time zone changes of tour, it seemed that Harry and Nick weren’t really meant to have any real conversations these days. 

Or, Harry writes Nick a song. 

take my hand (my whole life too) by @beckydoesthings​ / beckywritesthings

 [Harry/Louis, 44k, Explicit, tumblr post] 

“You’re famous?” he asks, deciding to dive straight into the heart of the issue.

Harry winces, dropping his gaze to the table. “Erm… famous is one word for it.”

Well, that’s reassuring. Louis raises an eyebrow until Harry heaves a sigh and continues.

“How much do you know about the British monarchy?”

His stomach drops to the floor in a heartbeat, jaw following suit. There’s no way that what Harry’s insinuating is possible. But as the time ticks by, there’s no change in the deadly serious expression on Harry’s face, fingers twitching steadily on the table as he waits for Louis’ answer.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

Or a Crazy Rich Asians AU with a royal twist where Harry is a prince, Louis is most definitely not, and there’s a royal wedding to attend.

Forever Is In Your Eyes by @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed​ / we_are_the_same 

[Harry/Louis, 126k, Teen & Up, tumblr post] 

Harry looks fragile in the moonlight, and Louis stands there, pondering, not even sure what it is that he’s thinking of. It’s all just noise in his head, a mix of melancholy and desire, of longing for something that he doesn’t even have a name for.

He wants-

He wants love. He wants to be held and cherished and have a home. Not just a place to lay his head down at night. He wants to be loved the way that Louis had loved creating Harry. He wants his perfect man, but he wants him to be real. He wants Harry to be real-

His lips press against marble, against something cold and unforgiving, and it’s not until his hand comes up to rest against a sculpted neck that his eyes fly open and he stumbles backwards, nearly falling off the stepladder that he’d stood on.

“Jesus Christ.” He whispers, shaking his head and resisting the urge to brush the back of his hand against his lips, erase evidence that isn’t even visible to the naked eye. Harry stands there, as though nothing’s changed, and of course he does, because he’s a statue.

A statue that Louis has just kissed.

Stuck in an eternal spring by @chrysopon​ / flamboyo 

[Louis/Zayn, 4k, Teen & Up, tumblr post] 

Louis is about to go crazy in the silent solitude of London’s lockdown. The only breach into the grey monotony of his days is the hope of catching a glimpse of the dark-haired guy who lives in the building across the street. One night they have their night cigarette together while both in their flats, twenty meters and an empty, quiet street between them. It becomes a habit, but maybe there’s hope for it to become something more. 

It’s Been So Long by @elsi-bee​ / elsi_bee 

[Harry/Louis, 31k, Teen & Up, tumblr post] 

Harry Styles’ first crush was one of his sister’s best friends, a certain someone named Louis Tomlinson. And Louis? He just vaguely remembers Gemma’s younger brother from back in the day. 

A lot can change in ten years. 

Featuring Niall and Liam as Harry’s friends, flirting, fluff, and flashbacks to the awkward days of high school. 

This Dream Lost by @zanniscaramouche​ / zanni_scaramouche

[Liam/Louis/Harry, 5k, Mature, tumblr post] 

It’s a dangerous game to play his Alpha like this, and it gives Harry a thrill through his spine he’s not sure he likes. It’ll be worth it, but he doubts he’ll be pulling any surprises on Louis for a while after this. He can’t fucking stand it as is and it’s not even really for Louis, it’s for Liam. 

Mercy by @zanniscaramouche​ / zanni_scaramouche 

[Niall/Shawn Mendes, 5k, Explicit, tumblr post] 

“I-” Shawn licks his lips, eyes bright and wide with the shock. 

Balls in his court now. He could refuse, step away from the line they’re toeing and laugh it off. But he doesn’t, just like Niall knew he wouldn’t. Because Shawn wants this. They both do, and that’s what makes it so fucking insane. 

Blind Faith by @2tiedships2​ 

[Harry/Louis, 18k, Mature, tumblr post] 

“Harry?” Liam prompted.

“I’m blind,” Harry eventually said, trying his best to keep himself from crying.

Liam was silent for a few moments, before responding, “That’s not exactly news, H. You were blind when I met you a year and a half ago. Have you been in denial this whole time or something?”

“No, Liam,” Harry cut in. “This is different. I’m not legally blind like I used to say. It’s not just my night vision. The tunnel from my tunnel vision has closed. I’m fucking blind! I moved halfway around the world in the hope of finding my soulmate and it’s obviously not happening now. Not even a soulmate is going to want to put up with a blind alpha.“

The Journal by @wait4ever​ / RecycledStardust & @evilovesyou​ / 4ureyesonly28 

[Louis/Harry, 14k, General, tumblr post] 

When Harry finds himself purchasing an antique journal in the ancient bookshop of a town he’s never heard of, he doesn’t exactly want to admit that he has no idea how he got there. A myriad of odd coincidences and a few kind smiles from the shopkeeper have the two of them working hard to solve the mystery of this strange journal that seems to have been waiting for Harry for almost a hundred and thirty years. 

But I’m the Quarterback by @evilovesyou​ / 4ureyesonly28 

[Harry/Louis, 52k, Explicit, tumblr post] 

Harry Styles is the quarterback of Sunny High’s football team, dating the beautiful head cheerleader, and determined to enter his senior year with focus and discipline. That is, until a strange man shows up at his home, makes his girlfriend break up with him, and convinces his parents to send him off to a “reparative therapy camp” over the summer. 

At True Directions, Harry meets four other boys and five girls, all there to be cured of their homosexuality. He has to find a way out of this place as soon as possible—Christ, he isn’t even gay! 

Know a Trick or Two by @sadaveniren​ 

[Harry/Louis, 45k, Explicit, tumblr post] 

The night before Louis is scheduled for a Portkey to begin training with the Vratsa Vultures in Bulgaria he heads into Muggle London for one last night of fun. A few months later he finds out he’s having a child. 

Eleven years ago Harry had a one night stand and now there’s a strange man on his doorstep telling him his daughter is something called a wizard and she’s got a place at the British wizarding school Hogwarts. 

Aka the one where Muggle Harry and Wizard Louis have a one night stand and get more than they bargained out of it. 

Until That Day by @kingsofeverything​ 

[Harry/Louis, 44k, Explicit, tumblr post] 

Harry Styles is days away from walking down the aisle when his previous failed weddings are turned into a public spectacle by jaded London journalist Louis Tomlinson. Hoping to witness Harry leave another groom at the altar, Louis heads to Holmes Chapel, where nothing goes as planned, and he finds himself falling for the serial heartbreaker. 

A Runaway Bride movie AU 

Caught In Your Gravity by @lululawrence​ 

[Harry/Louis, 63k, Not Rated, tumblr post] 

It felt like the blood froze in Harry’s veins even as he got a bit lightheaded. He hadn’t even made it two practices, only one of which he was remotely in charge of, without giving it all away and now he and Liam were both absolutely fucked.

“Shit,” Harry breathed out. “Who all have you told? Does everyone know? I thought I covered it better than that…”

“No, no,” Louis said quickly. “They’ll figure it out soon enough, though, because they’ll get used to you changing things up, but you’re only going to trip over your so called Americanisms for so long before they realize it’s because you don’t actually know fuck all about football.”

Harry sighed. “Yeah. I figured. I just need to bullshit for long enough to allow Liam to get the situation figured out from his end.”

“Right, which brings me to my entire point. I think we can find a mutually beneficial arrangement with all of this.” Louis leaned forward. “You need to learn the ins and outs of the sport incredibly fast. I can help you with that.”

“What do you want in exchange?”

Or, an AU inspired by a 30 second trailer of Ted Lasso that doesn’t actually have much in common with the show at all.

Passing By by @larryyouknow​

[Harry/Louis, 48k, Explicit, tumblr post]

Sometimes, people are in each other’s lives just for the briefest of moments. They meet and then go their separate ways because being vulnerable is scary and it might be easier to not let anybody else in. But some people aren’t meant to be just passing by. Maybe when they open their eyes, they can learn things about themselves they haven’t known before. If they let their hearts speak they will find a way to be together.

Or the one where Harry doesn’t even know he’s into guys until he meets Louis on a boat trip. There’s something more to their friendship but it ain’t gonna be smooth sailing.

#28th appreciation #tracksintheam #1dsource #trackinghome #april 2021 #april masterpost #sorry if you got notified for the first post #tumblr destroyed it and it had to be redone

[movedyourchair505]

Dolcezza

I see everyone on my wattpad reading Submarine, ‘tis the season, so this year, a little continuation of the last NN post, the Italian summer couple in autumn x

- chapter navigation -

It was like the warmth of the bitterness on her tongue spread through her entire body when she swallowed, leaning back in the burgundy velvet armchair, momentarily closing her eyes to savour the taste of the only cup of coffee that day. On the other side of the glass to her right, there was a drizzle, unlike what she was used to, but the pleasant smell of gentle rain that mixed with that of coffee and the sweetness of cakes and pastries was much more enjoyable now that she was sat contentedly in the warm upper floor of the coffee house that offered a view of the opera and the now crowded streets, umbrellas concealing most of the pavement.

She licked her lips, her gaze wandering from the street back to the closeness of her table, a shuffle indicating Alexander's return. She raised an eyebrow as he sank back into his seat, his hand instantly on the table and reaching for, then covering hers.

"They'll deliver as maneh slices of cake of yehr choice as yeh like teh our 'otel room later," he declared with satisfaction, his lips curling into a smile and he shook his head back slightly, running his fingers through his hair to brush it out of his face. "Weh choose on the way out, doll."

"Thank you, baby," Jade whispered, adjusting her position in her chair as she watched him take a sip from his own cup of coffee, his plate almost as clean as if it'd already been washed, the enthusiasm the large slice of chocolate cream cake had instilled within him having not quite faded from his face yet as he shifted to make himself comfortable, scratching at the back of his head before adjusting the collar of his black turtleneck, then his well-fitted grey suit jacket. Up until she'd really begun to feel hormonal impact, she'd thought it impossible that she could be any more attracted to him than she already was, but he was irresistible, the gentle expression in the sharp features of his face and the softness of his hair as inviting as the continuous promises and luxury he offered.

Not a full week had passed since the first test, Alexander had scheduled multiple appointments for her then, had come with her to most, and soon she'd found herself sat by his side on their way to Vienna, his excitement to take her away for the weekend ignited the moment they'd landed, his arm around her protective in the car on the way to the hotel just a couple of hours ago, now she sat comfortably with one of the best cups of coffee she'd ever had, anticipating another slice of the exquisite cream cake she'd just had for later. As desperate as she was, ached for him, she also could not wait until she would be able to lie down by his side on the king size bed. She'd felt uneasy the night before, back in Napoli and worrying about the changes, but Alexander had been nothing but reassuring, had tried everything to ease her, her favourite record, desserts from Venere, ultimately had begun to read aloud from the poetry book on his nightstand that he was reading at the time and she'd found herself soothed by his voice like never before, watching him lovingly as she thought back to it now.

She squeezed his hand. "I adore you, Alexander," she said.

He pressed his lips together, blinking before his eyes opened again to lock on hers, contentedly, confident, reassuring. "Darlin'..." he drawled, admiring her sat opposite him, her hair shiny, her lips bright red, her skin glowing. In the leather skirt and tight shirt she was wearing now, the neckline low, the material velvet, he could hardly see evidence yet of what she'd told him the week before, but just this morning, he'd once again noticed, could hardly contain his excitement. "Yeh're at ease, yeah?" he asked softly, ready to do whatever it took.

She smiled back at him, nearly broke his heart with the happiness the joyful expression evoked within him.

"Very much so," she told him, looking around for a moment, letting her gaze wander. "This is lovely."

He beamed. "Are yeh tired or can I take yeh out later? After a lil' rest at the 'otel, 'course."

Jade's eyes lit up. "Where are we going?" she asked, could not resist, her curiosity peaking.

Alex chuckled. "I mean, I do luv the opera at 'ome, but..." He nodded to the large building they could see from where they sat. "This is a whole different fing, eh?"

Her lips parted slightly. "Well, I..."

"Obviousleh I'll get yeh a dress for it, if yeh like," he added, his thumb stroking over her wrist, could feel her pulse under his touch. "Weh won't get back too late, I promise. I do want yeh teh relax this weekend as well. But I also want teh show yeh the best time yeh can 'ave 'ere, all the city 'as teh offer."

"When we stop at the hotel before we go out..." she said slowly.

His lip twitched, the corners of his mouth curling into a smirk. "Yeah, doll?"

She pushed her bottom lip forward, watched him with wide eyes. "I want you."

He chuckled. "'course, doll," he hummed, leaning towards her over the table, lowering his voice, the depth of it making her head spin. "Promise I'll eat yehr cunt for as long as yeh can take."

Her eyes fell shut and she took a moment to compose herself, swallowing hard. "Alexander..."

"And when weh get back tonight I'll read sum more for yeh, if it 'elps yeh relax, doll."

She nodded slowly. "Please," she whispered, her voice merely a hint.

He brought her hand up in his, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand, his eyes remaining on hers. "I swear I'll give yeh wha'ever yeh need, cara mia," he coaxed. "Anehfin'."

#alex turner #arctic monkeys #The Last Shadow Puppets #alex turner fic #alex turner fanfic #alex turner fanfiction #adt #writing #chaptered fic #alex/jade #mafia au #mafia!al #arctic monkeys fanfic #alex turner fluff #nn #napule nights

[moeruhoshi]

Lucy sighed as she let her hair out of her tight bun, groaning and falling to sit on her couch.

The day has been filled with meeting after meeting, hours of sitting in a chair placed in the corner of the room.

Her father insisted that she take part in every one, otherwise how was she supposed to know how a company was run?

Between that and private tutor sessions that lasted all morning, she was tuckered out.

She kicked off her heels and unbuttoned the top of her shirt, feeling fatigue claim her body.

Lucy wasn't sure she could go on like this much longer, but her father wasn't keen on giving her breaks. The only time she got was the few hours for sleep alone in her apartment. There were no weekends, no sunshine, no amusement.

The gray colorscheme of this life was never the one she wanted. The money, the business, it meant nothing to her.

But where was she going to go? Without her father, she had nothing. There was nothing for her outside of this world, he made sure of that. His business would be succeeded, that was the only care he had.

Another groan passed through her lips as a heavy knock fell on her door. The ache in her legs carried her to answer it, assuming Jude sent a secretary to deliver papers for the next day.

She opened the door with a polite smile, her breath quickly stolen as they made eye contact.

"Hey, Luce," The thick, burly, voice of the man who stood before her sunk into her bones like a well-lit fire. He stood with his hands in his pockets, that familiar white scarf, and his hansomly wide grin. "It took me a while to find ya, sorry I'm late,"

"Natsu," His name was so distant on her tongue, like a dream she had when she was younger.

It felt like that at times, her world before she was forcefully yanked out of it.

She had friends, happiness, a real life any teenager would want.

Every day was eventful, always different and full of laughs. They did everything together, the whole gang inseparable. They were her first real family.

Levy, Erza, Gray, Gajeel, Juvia, and...Natsu. He was more than a friend, and it was too late by the time she realized it.

They were closer than close, together whenever they could be. She remembered the nights where he snuck into her room, bringing in junk food and video games that her father would never allow through the front door.

They called each other if they couldn't meet up, texted in the middle of class when the teacher wasn't looking. She tutored him in the classes he nearly failed, had her maids sneak her into the kitchen so she could make him lunch. She snuck out of the house to meet him, Natsu taking her around every inch of town. They even saved a stray kitten together, his fur an odd blue shade.

When they held hands, hugged, or he slung his arm around ger shoulders, it just felt right. His whole presence seemed to light up her life, warmed her to the center of her soul.

She lost him, them all, when Jude caught the two kissing on the front porch.

They had been out the whole day, on a picnic and watching the cherry blossoms fall. She made a big lunch with Virgo, packed with Natsu’s favorite things. She always loved the way he got so excited over the things she cooked for him.

It was a day like any other, as they spent so many of them together. But his demeanor seemed off when they got to her front door that night. Suddenly he was shy and quiet, blushing and fidgeting.

His words kept getting jumbled and tugged on his scarf at least a hundred times.

In the end, he settled his confession with an abrupt kiss. His hands wrapped around her waist, the sudden movement making her drop the basket.

And for a first kiss, it was a pleasant embrace. His lips were soft and adorable, puckered against her own. Her eyes closed, a dream-like feeling overwhelming her. Maybe that's when reality took its rightful place, maybe it was always just a dream.

Jude opened the door, yelling at Natsu to let her go. He pulled the pink-haired boy off of her, angrily punching him in the nose.

Lucy screamed as she was dragged inside, not able to make sure Natsu was okay.

Her father had him thrown off the property, barring him or anyone else she knew from coming back.

He moved them out of Magnolia before she knew it, before the school year was over, before she could say goodbye.

And just because of a kiss? Surely that was an overreaction for any parent, but this was a special case.

Natsu came from a jaded family, the Dragneels known for their very shady business dealings. His two older brothers stood by his father's side, and ran things on the street. Though no one could ever prove what they were really doing.

A Dragneel would never be good enough for a Heartfilia, he made sure to drill that in her head.

A scandal with that seedy family could mean ruin, it was already bad enough that he allowed them to be friends.

"Natsu," She said again, his name filling up her heart. It took away her soreness, blew away the dark clouds that shrouded her life. His wide spread grin made butterflies rise in her stomach; she never realized how much she missed this feeling.

"Natsu..." He closed the door as he stepped inside, wrapping her up in his arms.

When was the last time she felt so relaxed? Those few years ago when he kissed her, she assumed.

"You still smell so good," He mumbled into her hair, nuzzling his nose against her cheek.

"I missed you so much," She teared up slightly, giggling as he lifted her off her feet and walked them further into her home.

"I missed you too," They both laughed as they fell onto the couch, still tangled in each other's arms.

"What's with the suit?" She asked, smirking as he rolled his eyes.

"Really? Thats your first question? Not how I am or anything normal, weirdo?"

"You always wore hoodies and jeans, don't blame me," She smacked his arm with a small pout.

"It's for work, okay? Duh," He sighed. "Dad insists that I gotta look nice."

"It looks nice on you," She pulled playfully on his tie, Natsu leaning his forehead against hers.

"Its like you never left," He groaned. "Dammit, Luce, its like you never left,"

"I never wanted to leave you," His hands held her face, thumbs rubbing calm circles on her cheek.

"Everyone's been worried sick since, you never called,"

"Father tracks my phone bill," Her chuckle was fitted with annoyance, her fist slightly balled up. "I wanted to,"

"Damn bastard, he's lucky my nose healed," Lucy giggled as he looked away, the blonde gently kissing the ridge.

"What took you so long?" Her lips felt tingly, Natsu's eyes boring into her, as if he could see her soul.

"I had a lot to do before I could come get ya," His voice was suddenly a bit rough, his hands a bit more steady. "I'll take you away, I promised myself I'd come save ya,"

"Really?" Her heart clenched as he nodded, both of them leaning forward.

"I never got to hear what you thought of my kiss," She gulped as he now spoke in a husky whisper. "Do you remember it?"

"Mhm," She felt smothered in a pool of honey, all of her previous worries vanishing with each passing second. Had it felt like this the first time? She only remembered the pain of watching the bloodied Natsu being dragged away by their security team.

Their kiss was gentle at first, like an old memory rising from the dirt of the past. Natsu laid back against the couch, pulling her along with him. His hands stayed cupped on her face, their lips moving in slight sync.

It was a warm embrace that grew as their hunger for more was ignited.

Their kisses became deeper, their hands began to wander and explore each other.

He pulled her tongue into his mouth along with a soft moan, his hands fondling her hips.

"No one taught you how to kiss, right?" Natsu grumbled as he pulled away for a brief moment.

"You're my first and only kiss," Lucy let out a happy gasp as Natsu flipped them over, a slobbering kiss pressed against her cheek.

"Damn right I am," She rolled her eyes and bit her lip as he began to unbutton his shirt, revealing a dragon tattoo that wrapped around his torso.

"I wanna be sure, Luce," She frowned as he stopped at the last button. "I know I showed up outta the blue, but you know what I want. So if you can't come with me, I'll understand. Just know that I'm gonna give you the whole fucking world if you do. I fuckin' love you,"

"You're my soulmate," He purred happily, grinning his signature grin as she began to unbutton her own shirt. "Take me wherever you want, Natsu,"

#fairy tail #nalu #natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #natsu and lucy #natsu x lucy #lucy and natsu #lucy x natsu #nalu fanfiction #fairy tail nalu

[flautistsandpeonies]

Reformation Part 4

Read the Previous Chapter [Here]

Word Length: 3,101

Summary: You have to succeed no matter what. If you don’t, the loss would be devastating.

The day after the next, the Lan Discussion hall was filled once again; however,  this time, a ruckus was occurring in every corner of the room.

“This is outrageous!, “Sect Leader Wang cried, a sentiment echoed by many leaders within the hall, “We have to do something about that foul beast!”

After the hunting party returned, the Lan Sect went into lockdown; the guards tripled, all armed with banishment tools and blades freshly sharpened. Visiting disciples were told to lessen their departures from the Cloud Recesses as a safety measure. With the events of the other night, guards were placed around the Jingshi, and no one but sect leaders were allowed to see Wei WuXian in his worsened state.

“We are taking a-Xian home, “Jiang Fengmian stood toe to toe with Lan Qiren

“That is unnecessary, “Lan Qiren said tersely

“What’s necessary, “Jiang Fengmian replied, “is making sure that my head disciple is no longer in danger. That creature may come back for him.”

“Which is why he should stay here, “Lan QIren challenged, “How can you be sure it won’t attack as soon as you leave the Cloud Recesses?”

“It’s a being of the night is it not?, “Yu ZiYuan huffed, “It won’t come in the day; if we leave right now we’ll be safe in our home soon enough.”

“And is Wei WuXian safe in your home?, “Sect Leader He challenged, “How can we be sure that the Jiangs won’t cause him more harm?.”

Yu ZiYuan glared at the man, “Does He Zongzhu believe that we are more dangerous than some unknown creature?”

“Seeing as you are the cause of this whole situation, I can firmly say “yes”, “Sect Leader He returned her glare

The noise within the hall grew louder. Sect leaders were doing their best to hush their disciples, but the room was slowly descending into chaos.

A disciple in the back hollered, “None of this would’ve happened had you just controlled yourself, woman!”

“What was that!, “Madam Jin thundered while Yu ZiYuan grew purple at the accusation

“Say that again!, “Jiang WanYin challenged the hidden cultivator

The disciple was brave with their anonymity, “The Violet Spider is insane! Wei WuXian would’ve never been in Gusu if she hadn’t attacked him at the banquet! That creature would have never shown!”

Minor sect disciples nearly screamed in agreement. Yu ZiYuan looked ready to unfurl Zidian against the crowd while Madam Jin braced her palm against her blade.

Wen Ruohan slammed his hand down against his table; the action silenced many.

“That’s quite enough of that, “the man looked vaguely annoyed, “Squabbling like children will get us nowhere.”

The Wen disciples were the only ones other than the Lans not kicking up a fuss in the hall. Sitting diligently beside their sect leader, they could only differ to him and keep quiet unless spoken to.

“Wen Zongzhu, “Jiang Fengmian turned to him, “It’s best if we leave with a-Xian immediately. The creature seems to favor forests and mountains, our lake-fronts may deter it.”

“And will Jiang Zongzhu be able to keep Wei WuXian safe from the other beast after his life, “flicking a hand in ZiYuan’s direction, Ruohan was unaffected by her anger

“I won’t allow her to harm him anymore, “Fengmian replied, though no one believed him, “I can send my own hunting party after the creature.”

“And who will lead it, “Sect Leader Wang questioned, “Yourself? Your son? The last hunt had Nie Zongzhu and Gusu Lan’s Twin Jades, and the creature fought them easily. What hope do you have? What hope do any of us have?”

Sect Leader Wang’s words sent a wave of depression over the crowd. With the Cloud Recesses in lockdown, it was as if they were prey animals trapped in a pen, and the creature outside was a fox waiting to devour them.

“What will we do?!, “a minor sect disciple cried, “What if it tries to consume us all?!”

Jin GuangShan stood and walked towards his fellow sect leaders, “Perhaps, we could try using Wei WuXian again?”

“No, “Lan WangJi said with an icy air around him, “Another attempt only endangers Wei Ying.”

“Second Young Master Lan, “Jin GuangShan implored, “Let’s not be unreasonable. What else could we possibly do? Wait until the creature tries to break in?”

“Having Wei WuXian there in that state is too dangerous, “Lan XiChen said in his brother’s defense

“We need a solution, “GuangShan replied, “We can’t all stay here waiting for something to happen.”

“We will not risk him again, “Lan WangJi said tersely

“It may be necessary, “the Jin Sect Leader pressed, “For the moment, the creature seems to be focused on him. This may be our only chance to kill it.”

“You are all so very incompetent, “a chill went up in the air, Wen Ruohan tapped his hand against his chair impatiently as he interrupted the ensuing argument again

Unlike before, Wen Ruohan didn’t seem to find satisfaction in the other sects arguing. The man was slowly releasing his spiritual power throughout the room; some people found themselves falling to their knees from the pressure.

“Wen Zongzhu, “Lan XiChen was choosing his words carefully, “the Lan are very capable of attending to Wei WuXian’s needs.”

“Are you?, “the near-immortal replied, his tone neither pleasant nor placating, “That’s twice now a hunt by the Lans has injured him.”

“This creature is new to us all, “XiChen said as finely as he could, “Now that we know what it’s capable of, we can deal with it better.”

"Still, the Cloud Recesses is no safer than Lotus Pier with that creature around, “Jiang Fengmian spoke, “I don’t see why he has to stay here.”

“We cannot be blamed for..., “XiChen started but was stopped by Wen Ruohan raising his hand

“I will say this clearly..., “the Wen Sect Leader was out of patience, “The Jiangs have damaged a perfectly good disciple for no reason. The Lans took him in, only for him to be bewitched by some unknown creature.”

The pressure in the room got even stronger. More experienced cultivators grit their teeth, forcing themselves to stay upright.

“Who should care for him now? The Nie? The Jin? A minor sect? Will we cycle him through all of your healing pavilions before the year is out?, “Each question came with the cultivator’s ever-darkening tone

Everyone in the room flinched as Wen Ruohan slammed his hand down once more.

“Plan another hunt. A better hunt, “it wasn’t a suggestion, “If there’s no change after this next attempt, if he is damaged again, then I’ll be taking Wei WuXian back to Nightless City with me. I’m certain my Xu-er can hunt this creature while a-Qing watches over him.”

Wen Ruohan’s eyes were a deadly fire, “Are there any objections?”

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

For the next couple of days, sect leaders met and prepared for the next hunt. Limited in what disciples they could send, they couldn’t be as choosy and particular as they normally would when vetting their disciples. Too scared that a courier would be eaten by the looming creature, they had to choose from what little reserves they had.

The Jiangs would send Jiang WanYin, heading all the disciples the Jiang clan brought to the discussion. The Lan would be sending their Twin Jades along with several senior disciples. The Nie would bring their sect leader along with the disciples he carried along. The Jin would send their heir, his cousin, and their retinue. The Wen were sending all the disciples Wen Ruohan brought with him. The minor sects were sending their strongest disciples they had with them at the time.

Everyone was both nervous and excited about the hunt. The idea of fighting an unknown creature no doubt gave them a lot of anxiety, but, on the other hand, the fame and glory that would come from defeating it was enough to solidify their resolve.

Back in the Jingshi, Lan WangJi sat in the guestroom, sharpening his sword and preparing for the hunt.

“Master.....”

To his right, Wei WuXian lay in bed, a disturbed look upon his unconscious face. Uneven breaths came out of his slightly open mouth.

“Calling me.....Master...is...”

Not pausing in taking care of his blade, each word from Wei WuXian’s mouth made WangJi press the wet stone down a little bit harder, the sparks flying high.

“WangJi, “looking up, Lan XiChen, Nie MingJue, and Nie Huaisang stood in the doorway

“Xiongzhang, “WangJi nodded in greeting, “Nie Zongzhu, Second Young Master Nie.”

MingJue nodded back, “Huaisang wanted to see him, so I called a break from our night-hunt planning. Apologies for intruding.”

“No need, “WangJi shook his head as Nie Huaisang stepped into the room and quickly went up to Wei WuXian

“He says it during the day now, “Huaisang sat down gently beside his friend

Placing his hand on Wei WuXian’s forehead, the enchanted man tried to shake him away.

“Master....”

Huaisang sighed and removed his hand, “Wei-Xiong, you have the worst luck”

“He’s still alive, that’s at least something, “Nie MingJue said, trying to console him

“Calling me.....Master...”

“The meeting?, “WangJi asked while flipping his blade over

“It’s more arguing than planning, “XiChen replied, “People aren’t as worried about the hunt as more as who has a claim to Young Master Wei after all this is over.”

“No one does, “Was WangJi’s succinct reply

“Calling me....calling....calling.....”

“True, but they’re all talking  in possibilities. Everyone’s claiming Young Master Wei would be more comfortable with them than anywhere else, “XiChen spoke

“That’s for Wei Ying to decide, “giving a quick glance to the man, he said, “after he wakes.”

“Jiang Zongzhu still advocating to take him back to Lotus Pier, “Huaisang frowned, “I don’t trust Madam Yu around him, nor Jiang WanYin.”

“And Ruohan seems determined to take him to Nightless City, “MingJue added, crossing his arms

“He won’t have reason to after the hunt, “Lan WangJi’s stern tone matched the scrape of the wet-stone against Bichen

“WangJi?, “XiChen questioned, giving a look to his little brother

Lan WangJi’s eyes were alight with resolution as he set the wet stone on the floor.

“I will take off its head.”

...

“Calling me.....”

Standing in the middle of the clearing, Wei WuXian stood slouched, the moonlight shining down upon him. Glossy pink eyes seemed to be looking for something as he chanted on and on.

“Master.....”

Hiding in the trees, cultivators had swords, arrows, and talismans at the ready. It was only a matter of time before the creature appeared.

Their plans had changed dramatically from the last time, instead of trailing the enchanted man to the clearing, they simply brought him before his nightly wake and set up traps along the way.

“Calling me....Master...is...”

“Nothing is showing on the compass, “Jin ZiXun complained staring down at the cultivation tool

“Perhaps the compass doesn’t register it as a resentful being, “a Wen disciple thought aloud

“Then how will we track it?, “a minor disciple questioned, “This will be even harder if it escapes again.”

A ways away, Lan WangJi stood listening. Thinking back to the hunt that started this, his eyes narrowed in contemplation

“Calling me...., “Wei WuXian chanted on in the center of the clearing

The cool air blew about them as the night went on. Insects of the night, trilled on as they waited and waited.

“Calling....call-”

All of a sudden, Wei WuXian grew silent. The cultivators tensed, knowing what was coming.

"SCREEEEEAAAAAH!“ 

The sound was the same as last time, nightly creatures vacated their homes in fear as the monster drew ever closer.

The cultivators shifted into battle-ready positions and a large silhouette was seen arriving in the sky.

The beast slammed down on the ground, wings expanding for a second before retracting.

“It’s you, “Wei WuXian sighed dreamily at the monster

The beast disregarded Wei WuXian for a moment. Glaring at the trees, the cultivators realized it was looking for them to appear.

“Huh, “Nie MingJue grunted, narrowing his eyes, “It’s smarter than we thought.”

Wei WuXian started to walk to the monster, speaking again, “Master, I’m here.”

Narrowing its eyes, the beast finally looked to its prey. Spreading its arms, it invited Wei WuXian with a rumbling hum. Closing its eyes, it breathed deeply as it savoring the cultivator’s scent.

“Now!, MingJue ordered, “rushing out with his fellow Nie cultivators

Brandishing his blade, XiChen sent it straight at the unaware monster just as it was about to embrace Wei WuXian, piercing deep into its arm.

The beast howled, hand striking out to throw Wei WuXian far away. The enchanted cultivator gasped in shock as he landed in a nearby bush.

“SCREEEEEAAAAAH!, “the beast howled as its tongue darted out and claws elongated, shaking its head wildly

Cultivators charged from all angles, sword glares flashing out at the beast. The creature charged and swung, knocking back cultivator after the cultivator and even tearing into many of them; their blood coated its claws as the battle commenced.

Jiang WanYin quickly engaged the monster with Zidian. The electrified whip slashed against its broad wings, cutting deep. The beast tried to get at him, but he was quick on his feet, dodging the clawed nails as they danced.

“Tch, “throwing Sandu out, it pierced the monster’s wing, throwing it back

Several cultivators jumped backwards, drawing their arrows, and fired. Spiritual binding ropes were attached. Firing into the beast they began to run around trying to entrap it.

“SCREEEEEAAAAAH!, “Grabbing the ropes with its claws, the tore the ropes to pieces

Ripping his sword out of the beast’s arm, XiChen aimed for the other, striking down hard, blood covered his face as he hit a vein.

“Switch, “Nie MingJue called to him, jumping forward

Striking at its torso with his saber, a deep gash was left on its stomach. Clawing back, MingJue was thrown backwards and flipped to land on his feet.

Lan WangJi darted forward, slashing with his blade. Uncaring of the clawed hands coming for him, he pressed on the beast, his golden eyes blazing at they stared one another down.

Going for wounds already inflicted, he made sure to widen each and every gash, blood rushed out and covered his white robes.

“Second Young Master, “a disciple cried out as a claws hand came dangerously close to his face

Grasping its wrist, WangJi twisted it as hard as he could until he heard the bone snap. The beast hollered, snatching its hand away in pain.

Summoning as much spiritual power as he could into his sword, he brought his blade up high, jumping as he charged forward. The beasts neck was unprotected as he slashed down.

The beast’s eyes widened at the sword glare coming for it; it tried to slide away as fast as it could before-

"SCREEEEEAAAAAH!“ 

Dark red blood pooled on the ground, the creature’s clawed hand flew up to its wound; shaking its head, the thick dark red liquid flew all around.

Lan WangJi raised his blade to strike again, sword glare bright and powerful. Charging forward, he slashed again and again. The beast was disoriented and forced the back away bit by bit.

Rapidly taking out a tracking talisman, Lan WangJi rushed forward, throwing his sword, the blade pierced the monster’s arm. Thrusting his hand out, he quickly shoved the talisman into one of the beasts gaping wounds. Taking out another, he jammed it into an adjacent gash.

“RAAAAHHHHH!!, “The monster howled in agony

Twirling in place, WangJi kicked up, foot hitting the monster’s chin and making it bite its own tongue. Then, with a bone-shattering punch to its chest, the beast flew back.

The beast struggled to stand back up, blood gushed out of varying would on its body, yet they were slowly starting to heal.

"SCREEEEEAAAAAH!, “the monster howled at Lan WangJi, black and red eyes were searing in anger

WangJi stood his ground, raising Bichen once more for another assault.

The creature growled as it was surrounded, cultivators from all the sects ready to charge at it. It knew it was at a loss.

"SCREEEEEAAAAAH!, “rapidly flapping its damaged wings, dust and blood swirled into the air

“Dammit, no, “Jiang WanYin lashed out with his whip, attempting to hold it down

The beast was too quick! With a loud rush, the beast burst high into the air and out of Zidian’s reach. Screeching once again, the monster zoomed through the sky.

Taking out a compass, Jin ZiXun grinned in glee as the needle started to throb from the talismans from Lan WangJi’s attack

“After it!, “Jin ZiXuan ordered his fellow Jin, all of them mounting their blades and following after the fleeing beast

Following behind them, the clearing soon became empty of cultivators except for a few. Sheathing his blade, WangJi walked to the puddle of blood the monster left behind. A pointed ear lay discarded on the ground. Picking it up, Lan WangJi quickly stowed it away in his qiankun sleeve.

“Amazing, Second Young Master Lan, “a senior Lan disciple rushed over to him

Rushing over to the bushes on the edge of the clearing, Wei WuXian sat, still bewitched, in the bushes. Wide-eyed, his pink pupils were actually glistening with tears.

“Master....left, “he mumbled, “Master...calling....left....”

Gently taking the man by the arms, Wei WuXian didn’t fight him but continued to mumble.

“Master....calling me...., “he said, “Master....left?”

“WangJi, “Looking up, XiChen was high upon his blade, “Take Young Master Wei back. Show the ear the Wen Zongzhu so he doesn’t try and take him.”

“Xiongzhang , “WangJi wanted to protest

XiChen smiled, “He’s your priority. We have it now. Go.”

XiChen flew off, leaving no room for argument. Nodding at the senior disciple, WangJi let go of his blade and let it hover for a second before mounting it. Grabbing Wei WuXian by the waist, he held him tightly as the enchanted man slouched against him.

“We will return, “he said, “do not lose it.”

“Of course, “the disciple replied as WangJi rose high in the air and set off towards the Cloud Recesses

He had a sect leader to talk to.

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

The light of the afternoon sun shined through the windows of the Jingshi’s common room.

Lan WangJi sat at his table, flipping through a journal of songs. Title after title passed before pausing on the one he was looking for.

On the top of the page, in neat, what many would consider perfect, calligraphy was the piece’s name: WangXian.

Placing the journal in his lap, WangJi quickly summoned his guqin and sat it down on the table. Giving a cursory glance down at the piece, he began to play.

Lan WangJi’s nimble fingers, plucked at the silver strings of his WangJiQIn, a soft sound filling the bedroom. The melody was pleasant and pleasing to the ears; disciples walking past outside even stopped for a second before continuing on their way.

In the Jingshi’s guestroom, Wei WuXian lay peacefully. The sounds from the common room soon drifted in and filled that room as well.

Even in his unconscious state, Wei WuXian could still be affected by music. The man gave out a slight gasp as the music filled his ears. However, instead of fighting against the tune, the man actually relaxed even more, letting out a pleasant sigh.

In the common room, Lan WangJi continued on with his playing. Even when he got to the end of the song, he restarted, playing over and over again.

In the guestroom of the Jingshi, Wei WuXian smiled.

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

Author’s Notes:

-I really tortured myself by having two fight scenes two chapters back to back lol

-This and the previous chapter were once one but I separated cause I felt that it flowed better

Read my Prompts and WIPs [Here]

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation #grand master of demonic cultivation #gdc #founder of diabolism #founder of demonic cultivation #the untamed #wei wuxian #wwx #lan wangji #lwj #lan xichen #lxc #lan qiren #oc #original character #nie mingjue #nie huaisang #nmj #nhs #jin zixuan #jzx #jin zixun #jin guangshan #jgs

[crimsonblackrose]

Tagged by @wicked-jade Thank you!

Current time: 12:01

Current status: Single

Favorite food: ice cream, hotteok, jajamyeong, japanese curry, a simple grilled fish or eel with rice, salmon, lasagna, pizza.

Song stuck in my head: I’m listening to a playlist so what’s currently playing is “Claudia” by FINNEAS

Favorite colors: blue, purple, teal, black

Last thing I googled: Avanti 1984 convertible/ Avanti timeline. Not sure if this would interest anyone, but it got cut from my article so I’ll put it here.

I’m a little wordy on the rest of this so I’m sticking it under a read more

There was a Avanti II red convertible prototype used in various film productions in the 80s including like one scene of the karate kid. The idea I assume was that it’d promo for the expected release of the first ever Avanti convertible slated to come out in 1984, I found press releases for this. So if you google like red car karate kid you get Avanti 1984 convertible, despite that not being what the car actually is and there being little information about the actual car. Which is weird. After days of research I realized that the 1984 production of Avanti’s all had to be recalled. They were supposed to use a very special racing paint, and I don’t know if it was the resin bumpers or the fiberglass parts, or just a new paint not used on this type of car before, but the paint just refused to stick. And like this issue happened fast, leading to a mass recall of all the produced 1984 models because they were under factory warranty. Which meant Avanti had to foot the bill. And subsequently went bankrupt for like the models 3rd or 4th time. When it passed over to new ownership, again, they finally picked up the convertibles and actually produced them in 1987.

All of this meaning that the convertible from the movie and a bunch of other random things is one of a kind and the advertisement for the models you suppose it was meant for don’t actually exist, or if that character owned that car it would’ve started peeling and turned pretty ugly fast and thus would’ve had to be sent back to the factory/Avanti in 1984/1985. It also means, for some bizarre reason despite being like a famous film and TV car, you can’t find it anywhere.  Or at least I couldn’t.

So what does this mean? This means in the world of the movies, if he has this brand new 1984 Avanti convertible and not the prototype, as most people assume it’s meant to be, then shortly after his sensei tries to murder him and he loses pretty much everything and falls apart due to trauma, his nearly $40,000 car (that’s how much they were expected to go for according to the press release) also starts to chip and fall apart on him.

Something I want to do right now:

Get everything that is on my creative back burner and to do list off of it. I have 2 fanfics that are close to being done that I’d like to finish and get off my plate. One is much closer to being done then the other.

I have the audio of one podcast episode sitting on my computer and that has been for a year that a friend has very patiently been waiting for me to edit, transcribe and upload, but I’ll need to record new audio explaining that it’s the last episode and a year old due to reasons and check with the friend I interviewed if they’d like to add any changes since it’s been a year.

I have a series on Italy that needs to be written up from my notes, the photos need to be pulled from my storage and uploaded to my travel blog/portfolio. I have 3-4 different novel first drafts that are sitting unfinished on my computer in various states of revision. I have a partial started butterfly needlepoint I need to finish, a whole bunch of yarn I was going to turn into scarves, a bunch of kits for making little crochet ghosts that I need to learn how to do. I need to find a violin repair shop and guitar repair shop and take both instruments in and see what the estimate for the repairs would be and then sign up for lessons. I need to revise my resume and update everything and apply to the job I have open in a tab. I need to start job hunting. I need to start some sort of financial planning so I can move out or like start that process. (No one has asked me to, but I miss living on my own)

I need to figure out how to find a local array of doctors because I’ve lived here now for 2ish years and with my insurance is being a pain I haven’t been able to figure out or find a basic primary care doctor, eye doctor, dentist ect and get overwhelmed every time I try because the system is a mess.

I need to reach out and respond to friends who I haven’t talked to since before my dad got sick. I need to read the books on grief my aunt gave me and dig around in the EAP while I still have access to it to look at their grief files.

I accidentally invited myself to a wedding and I need to see when that is and talk to the bride and either determine that I’m not going or make plans to go.

(Leaning towards not going because I just don’t have the energy but I owe a gift, and feel awful.)

I need to figure out a routine that gets me moving and out of the house, yet I’m so overwhelmed with everything on my to do list that are like indoor in front of computer things that I just don’t. One of my friends I think started rollerblading so I kind of want to reach out and see if she wants to meet up and try doing that together. I’ve asked my aunt to do archery and kayaking with me but there’s been no movement on either front yet.

I need to read the ten chapters for book club on Friday.

So essentially I want to sleep and do nothing because this list is overwhelming and maybe play the video games I haven’t.

Dream trip:

I have many. I’ve been wanting to do a cruise. When I was little we did Disney cruises with my grandparents and I’d kind of hoped to do one after getting back but *gestures vaguely*. I want it to be one that goes to other countries, so like the one that does Europe and just knock a whole bunch of “famous sites” off my list in one fell swoop. But I’m not going any time soon.

I want to go to House on the Rock and do a road trip with friends. I want to do a trip of the west coast and east coast. I want to see the parks. I want to go to Hawaii and Alaska. I want to visit my friend in Peru, and visit another friend in Canada. I want to make up the trip to New Zealand that I had to cancel. I want to do another trip with my aunt and uncle (not the speedy ones my last trip was with) and one with my cousins, I want to go somewhere with my sisters. I want to see my friends.

Tagging if you want to:

(I apologize if you’ve already been tagged)

@hatethatoneguy @zerrah @kellmeo

#mumblings #long post

[pappydaddy]

Opposites (s.h.)

  A/N: This is for the request asking for a Steve x Reader where the reader was like Jade West from Victorious (also known as one of my bi awakenings). I am sorry for the delay, this Thanksgiving was crazy (I’m Canadian) and there was so much to do! I tried my best to write the reader like Jade without having her not vibe with the kids bc we all know that the kids come first with Steve. Now, without farther ado, here is the request! Hope you like it lovely Anon!!

Edit: I changed the name bc there are so many fics under the name Opposites Attract😅.

pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader

show/movie: stranger things 

requested

warnings: fluff??

masterlist | taglist | wips | navigation

- not my gif -

  Opposites attract. Something everyone has heard before. It can be applied to magnets or to relationships. While there was no denying that when it came to magnetic pulls, opposites did indeed attract, but Steve was never too sure about it in a relationship sense. He had always gone after girls who fit his lifestyle. Parties, the popular crowd, the girls who fit in to societies expectations. It wasn’t until he had met Y/N that he had realized that maybe everyone was right. Just like magnets, opposites attract did apply to relationships as well. He could not think Robin enough for introducing the hard headed, sometimes (all the time) scary girl who Steve would have never approached. A goofy guy such as Steve paired with the rocker chick who intimidated nearly everyone? Steve had never thought that would be possible outside of the movies. 

 Now, here Steve sat on Dustin’s couch as he bounced his knee, the party bickering all around him as they tried to figure out what they were going to do today. “Why would we watch movie’s all day, we always watch movies, Dustin!” Lucas exclaimed from where he sat on the floor next to Max. Dustin looked up from the pile of VHS tapes he had already selected before hand. 

  “Because movies are awesome and clearly the best option right now,” Dustin answered as if it was obvious. “Nobody can agree on one place, so the logical solution is to stay here and watch a movie.” He shrugged, shuffling through the tapes once again, ignoring Lucas’ groans of protest. Steve tuned them out the best he could as he watched the front door, willing for it to open revealing the two missing members of the party. 

  “Dustin has a point, Lucas.” Max piped up, not even looking up from watching the titles of the movies Dustin was debating on. 

  “Why,” Lucas asked simply, turning his head to face her in an exaggerated fashion. “Just why,” He repeated. “Why do you think it’s better to sit here and watch movies all day as opposed to going to a bowling alley?” 

  “I’d rather watch movies than go to a bowling alley, but we are clearly forgetting the best option brought up,” Mike inserted himself into the conversation again, banging his pointer finger against the coffee table before continuing. “The Arcade. There is a huge re-opening deal and a ton of new games!” 

  “We’re not going to the Arcade, it’ll be too crowded to have fun as a group!” Dustin turned Mike’s idea down once again. 

  “And sitting in a dark living room all day watching movies will be a fun group bonding experience?” Mike snapped back, sending the three boys into a tailspin of bickering. Steve and Max both heaved out sighs at the same time just as the front door opened, Robin walking in first followed by Y/N. The two girls ceased their previous conversation, blinking at the chaos ensuing. 

  “Finally, what took you two so long?” Steve leapt from his spot on the couch, rushing over to the pair, his eyes wide with relief. Instantly, he wrapped Y/N in a tight hug. The girl tensed for a second before melting into his hug, patting his back with one had. She wasn’t much for hugs, not being an overly affectionate person in general, but she couldn’t help but to lean a bit closer to Steve whenever he was affectionate towards her.           

  “Sorry, Stevie-boy,” Robin apologized half-heartedly, plopping herself down in the spot he once occupied. “Y/N got caught up trying to decide which Stephen King book to buy and then she saw the Stephen King display they had put up.” 

  “Ended up getting Cycle of the Werewolf, it came out a few years ago, but I was too wrapped up in the release of Cujo to focus on his book releases,” She told him, not even waiting for him to ask. She pulled out of his grasp, reaching into the bag she carried to hand him the book. Steve shivered slightly, not understanding how she could read or watch Stephen King’s books without getting the slightest bit scared. “But I couldn’t pass on the great deal they had on, they had Danse Macabre for half off so they could get make room for another shipment.” She pulled the second book out of the bag, walking passed Steve who read over the back of the book he held, eyeing the words as if they would jump off the page at him. 

  “That’s great, Y/N, but we need you and Robin to help us decide what to do for the rest of the day,” Dustin interrupted the girl, earning a glare from her (which he ignored). Y/N sat on the middle cushion beside Robin who dug through her own bag to retrieve her own book: Dark Companions. “Lucas wants to go to a bowling alley-”

  “I would rather stab my eyes with rusty scissors then go to a bowling alley.” Y/N cut him off, flicking through the pages of her new book. Dustin laughed in victory as Lucas gave Dustin a warning look in return. 

  “We didn’t get to hear what Robin thought.” Lucas pointed out, hoping that Robin would be his saving grace, but his hope was quickly shot down. 

  “I’m with Y/N,” She stated, looking up from her book. “I hate those places, they are a cesspool of germs. Kids pick their noses then use their booger covered fingers to pick up a ball.” She turned her nose up at the idea. Lucas slumped back in defeat, Max sending him a sympathetic smile despite her internal happiness that she didn’t have to go to the bowling alley. Steve hid his own excitement as he sat down on the other side of Y/N, slinging his arm over her shoulders as she began to read her book. 

  “How about the Arcade, huh? You guys can watch us play awesome games and not touch anything!” Mike brought up his idea, trying to sell the girls on it. Robin shook her head instantly. 

  “Arcades are my personal hell,” Y/N grumbled, flipping the page. “Kids running around screaming and the noises from the games. It’s nauseating.” She cringed at the thought of it. 

  “So that leaves watching movies here then.” Dustin smiled brightly, showing his still missing teeth. Mike and Lucas groaned, flopping back on the floor dramatically, missing the way Y/N’s face twisted into a scowl and Robin’s nose turned up once again. 

  “Sitting here all day watching movies?” Robin asked. 

  “I would rather stuff myself into a wood-chipper.” Y/N commented once again, her eyes never lifting off her page. This prompted Lucas and Mike to shoot back up, smiling widely at Dustin’s defeat. 

  “Hey, isn’t there that band stopping by to preform a little outdoor concert, super low-key and free?” Max finally brought up the idea she had been sitting on the whole time. She knew that Robin and Y/N would have backed her up, but the boys would have shot the idea down immediately. Y/N and Robin slowly lifted their heads, intrigued by Max’s idea. 

  “So? What band would be coming to Hawkins to play a free show? Are they even worth seeing?” Mike lifted his upper lip in a grimace as he got ready to shoot the idea down. 

  “Yes, they are,” Max narrowed her eyes at the boy. “It’s a relatively new rock band, kinda like Def Leppard meets Guns N’ Roses meets AC/DC. They are playing free shows in smaller towns to build a name for themselves, all their earnings come from their merch sales.” 

  “Now that,” Y/N finally closed her book, setting it on the coffee table as she uncrossed her legs. Leaning her elbows on her knees, she clasped her hands together and pointed her pointer fingers at Max, a smirk playing on her dark painted lips. “That sounds awesome.” She unclasped her hands to high-five Max, the red-head beyond happy that her idea was chosen.             

  “It does sound really cool,” Robin nodded, sharing a look with Y/N and Max. “I’m down.” 

  “You know what,” Steve finally spoke up, bobbing his head, a goofy smile on his face as his eyes gazed at Y/N as she leaned back under his arm, looking up at him. “I’m in too. I could use a good concert.” 

  “You’re just agreeing because your girlfriend wants to go!” Mike accused, earning two glares from Y/N and Steve. He shrunk back under Y/N’s hard glare.

  “Come on, guys,” Steve encouraged. “You guys could actually like their music, you might even find a new interest or meet some new people,” He tried to sell the reluctant teen boys. They hummed, actually listening to him. “There really isn’t any harm in going.” They nodded, muttering their lack-luster agreements in choosing the concert. 

  “Forget all that mushy, positive shit,” Y/N waved her hand at Steve’s sappy selling of the concert. “Just go and live outside of your comfort zone, taint your innocent, pure souls. You will thank me later, trust me.” 

  “Are you corrupting my kids?” Steve asked her as the boys all hollered ‘yeahs’ and hopped around the room as if they were tough. Max and Robin rolled their eyes at them, but Y/N looked back up at Steve, a sparkle in her eyes. 

  “Yeah, someone had to undo all the goofiness you instilled in them - make ‘em cooler.” He smiled down at her, pressing his lips against hers softly as the boy’s continued on. The roudiness melted away as they shared a loving kiss. As their lips pulled away reluctantly, parting the sweet kiss. Steve was never more sure that they were living proof of opposites attracting.         

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington imagines #steve harrington preferences #steve harrington imagine #stranger things #stranger things imagines #stranger things x reader #stranger things preferences #max mayfield #lucas sinclair #dustin henderson #mike wheeler #robin buckley #pappydaddy's requests #has your request been received? see here #how is the progress on my request going? see here #Steve Harrington request #Steve request #stranger things request #requested

[themockingcrows]

Faint

Chronic invisible illness sucks. Sometimes we stay quiet. Sometimes we cope by giving our favorite characters our condition to get some comfort. This fic is the latter case, wherein Rose Lalonde has Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and deals with everything that brings in order to spread a bit of awareness.

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31556225

She’d thought it was normal, till she brought it up to the others. The chest pain, the exhaustion, the dizziness. The sense of running on an internal timer so precise that if she overstepped its bounds it would be time to collapse into the void itself. The darkness at the edges of her vision when she’d been upright too long, when she was stressed, when she was running, dancing.

She’d thought it was normal, that everyone just had more stamina than she did before they had the same symptoms occur.

“That’s not normal. You should maybe see a doctor!” they’d unanimously said. John had been concerned, Dave had been flippant with jokes but the worry was easy to detect, and Jade was forceful with her reasoning.

Rose had finally told her mother something was wrong, to spur a visit to the doctor. It was hard to explain at first, but when her guardian further questioned how she felt, how long she’d felt that way, it had nearly turned into a shouting match.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner? What if something is really wrong, Rosie! This isn’t something to just keep quiet!”

If she’d known it was abnormal, perhaps she would have mentioned it sooner. If she’d known. If she’d had a reason, she might have even been able to keep up with ballet instead of having to quit, feigning disinterest when it still made her heart sing. Violin was hard enough to deal with, with her arms raised the entire time. But ballet was just a no go anymore.

To the doctor, then, after a few weeks of edge of seat waiting. The family physician, who they’d known for years. Who didn’t believe her. Not at first, at least.

He’d checked her weight first thing, and finding her normal range, asked about her habits. While he spoke, he checked her joints and how stretchy she was, keeping her moving while talking till she was reeling on her feet before he let her lay down. Stupid old man. Her problem felt like it was in her chest or her head, not her joints! She’d always been plenty bendy, able to pull off poses ahead of her ballet class with minimal effort, the stretches never quite feeling like enough to really pull in her body in a satisfying way.

Head swimming till she lay flat on the exam table, arms crossed over her stomach absently, Rose continued to answer questions.

She was doing okay in school. She was just more tired than usual.

Yes, this had been happening for quite some time.

No, she’d fainted before, but only once. And only because she’d been up too long dancing. She didn’t miss the curious look the doctor gave her mother, the raised brow. He checked her abdomen, he checked her glands, looking for distension or rigidity, looking for clues. Nothing. Nothing that she could see, at least. Nothing that felt any different from normal. He continued to talk, keeping her lying down for a while, and checked her blood pressure while she rested, the pulse oximeter being placed on her opposite finger.

75bpm, 120/80. Everything normal, everything fine. He left the devices in place, however, and then did something strange.

“Could you stand up for me, Rose? Nice and straight, right here by the table.”

There were no questions this time to keep her occupied. Just two sets of eyes staring at her in the small room, watching as she felt the cold sweat start up on her forehead, the shake beginning in her limbs. It was stronger when she stood still, when she couldn’t prowl around. She felt nauseated as the sweat turned to a hot flash and started to soak into the fabric of her shirt, and with it came the panic as she saw the darkness at the corners of her vision.

“Can I sit down please.”

“Not yet, try to hold out a little longer,” the doctor coaxed, inflating the blood pressure cuff once more. She focused on the discomfort on her arm instead of the pounding in her chest and head, the increased breaths. Nausea rose in her throat, bile, bitter, salt from excess saliva.

“Can I sit down. Please,” she said again, not caring that it sounded like begging.

“Nearly there, just a moment longer.”

She didn’t have a moment. She felt her knees quaking, felt the floor rushing up to meet her, but gratefully felt her mother’s hands hurrying to catch her waist and balance her till the doctor finished his data gathering.

80/50. 145bpm.

The monster had a name now. Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. There were hopes she’d just grow out of it, but there was a chance it might be long lasting. In her case it seemed to be at least partly linked to how bendy she was, how loose her skin felt, how stretchy it was, how easily she bruised. That, too, had a name. Ehlers Danlos Syndrome.

What had been a slow appointment was suddenly moving very fast. Referrals were being made, appointments with different doctors at the big hospital in town, and paperwork was being handed to her mother in a thick stack. Informative pages, recommendations for diet, for exercises, safety precautions, warnings, risks. A whole new world was opening up below her and swallowing her whole, and Rose didn’t know how to feel about it.

One thing was certain, however.

She didn’t plan on telling her friends. Or anyone, for that matter.

It would be her little secret.

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

“...Is it going to hurt?” was Rose’s only question. She felt very small, much smaller than she’d felt at the clinic with her mother. The room here was bigger and more sterile, with strange looking machinery and electronics. She’d asked the same when she had her first EKG earlier, and had been relieved that the most painful part was having the gummy electrodes pulled back off after the painless test was performed. Something about being in a hospital gown and swinging her legs on a different looking exam table just made her feel even more fragile than the long walk through the building had. At least her mom was there with her.

“No, not at all. It might be a little uncomfortable, or a little cold, but there’s no pain,” promised a technician with a smile. She smiled back a little uncertainly, unconvinced. “All we’re going to do is get some pictures of your heart. I promise, an echocardiogram doesn’t hurt. It’s just a paddle with cold jelly, you’ll hold your breath when I tell you to and stay very still, and we’ll see how things look from different angles.”

“And you’ll tell me if I’m going to die or not.”

“No,” he said with a smirk. “I’ll be telling you if you have any issues with your heart valves or not.”

“Same difference.”

“You underestimate just how much the human body can handle before needing intervention,” he chuckled. “C’mon, legs up on the table and get laid back. I’m sorry for having to keep the shirt open, I know it’s embarrassing. Mom, you can see everything, yes?”

“Yes. Rosie if you need to hold my hand, I ca-”

“I’m fine, Mother. Thank you.”

“Well. If you change your mind, I’m right here.”

“Can you see the screen?” he asked Rose. She nodded, then went very still to watch the technician lift a bottle of gel and squeeze a splurt onto the paddle's end instead. “Right. Sorry this will be chilly, just try to bear with it. And-”

“Stay very still,” Rose finished for him as he opened the front of the gown and pressed the paddle to her chest. She hadn’t been watching the screen at first, but when it lit up with a fluttering white and gray form it was hard to ignore. She knew what it was, of course, though not what the technician was looking for. Seeing your own heart pushing blood around, flaring and calming as it cycled pulses, was kind of amazing. There it was, the only thing keeping her alive, and they were checking to see if any potential defects inside of its valves from the EDS were making her sick.

The procedure was quick enough. A roll here or there, a drop down section of the table for him to do further measurements underneath of her as she lay on her side, and soon enough she was done.

“What’s the verdict, am I dying,” Rose said, voice carefully calm and face deadpan. The papers from the physician had said this was a non-deadly condition, that neither of them would kill her, but the concept of damage to a heart valve of all things being real had brought out the morbid part of her brain.

“There’s a bit of a leak,” he admitted. “But your measurements are just fine and within normal ranges. I wouldn’t be too worried about it, but if you start feeling worse or new symptoms we might recheck within the next few years.”

Rose wiped off the gel with the offered cloth and covered back up while the technician spoke with her mother, the words flowing quick and easy as she asked questions and they discussed the findings. Rose herself stared at the blank screen for a moment before setting her hand over her heart, feeling the pulse, remembering how it had looked.

She was fine then.

All the more reason not to make anyone she knew worry.

She informed her friends that it had been a vitamin issue and that she was going to be just fine before changing the subject, getting swept up in conversations about games and comics and music all over again. Same as ever.

Same as always.

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

Treatment wasn’t much. Increased water consumption, and a stupid amount of salt. Compression stockings, when that alone wasn’t enough. Rose drank gatorade till she could smell it in her dreams, ate pickles and pretzels till salty foods lost their amusement and her mother had to get creative in the kitchen and with the ordering in catalog. Everything was salt and fluids, compression stockings just tight enough they gave her the will to live back. Thankfully they came in black and she could just pretend they were normal stockings, and for anyone just looking in passing, they would be just another part of her wardrobe.

Yet none of it was enough. The weakness persisted, the fatigue, and through it all that awful, stupid racing heart. If the sound of a beating heart could drive a man mad from beneath floorboards then, surely, the persistent throbbing in her ears and the pain in her chest from her own rushing tempo would be enough to drive her mad. Going to the grocery store made her sweat through her clothes, made her vision blur even as she clung to the cart for balance. More than once, she had to go find a deserted aisle to sit down on the floor in, legs stretched out in front of her, waiting for the worst of it to pass as she debated just how much she might regret laying down flat to hurry it along.

Rose assumed this was just how life was going to be. Stockings, salt, water, constantly living on an internal timer to get things done. Annoying, but not much of a burden. She could imagine living her life like this, one way or another. Others did it every day.

Then had come SBurb.

Fire from the sky and the end of the world, rushing, hurrying, breaking the bottle. She hadn’t been wearing her stockings for the day, but was grateful for the opportunities to sit, few and far between as they were. There was plenty reason for her heart to be beating out of her chest then; plenty of scary, inexplicably stressful things were happening. She had entered the medium with grim determination, and set about the task of destroying imps with a bit of glee.

She had to be quick in dispatching them, there was no alternative. Fainting around these things was unthinkable, and she had plenty of stress to get out with her knitting needles. Rose combined aggression with ballet and her own trained limberness for maneuvers that, in a normal situation, she’d never have reason to use.

It was thrilling.

It was-

Gasping and out of breath, Rose settled on her knees and held her chest after her latest kill, needing time to recover. To rest. It was like she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t open her lungs enough. Like she was drowning on dry land. She gagged, saliva thick and sticky from exertion and, somehow, early dehydration. Slowly, she flopped onto her back and threw her legs up against the wall, feeling the ache and throb as the pooled blood rushed back towards her torso and brain.

Maybe she should get her stockings before continuing, given she had no idea what to expect going forward…

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

The game up through getting to the meteor had been quite the experience. She’d been able to pace herself somewhat, exerting herself in bouts that she could control better once she’d gotten some thoroughly upgraded weaponry in hand. Now, godtiered and being able to fly, she found she was able to handle being upright longer than usual.

Well.

Mostly.

She still had an affinity for walking normally. Maybe it was because it let her track her internal timer better, a long ingrained pattern she was comfortable with. Maybe it was the fear of falling from height, knowing it wouldn’t kill her but that it would still hurt unless someone caught her. There was also the setback of getting enough fluids and salt.

Gatorade was too much to hope for, but water was doable at least. Salt as a base was also available, but drinking straight salt water would have been anything but subtle.

...Maybe it was time to be honest. Rose was fairly certain that Dave already had an idea something was up, having been around her for some time by then. He always seemed to be watching her carefully, and after a few conversations with Kanaya she’d walked in on, even Kanaya had begun to have a more cautious air in their interactions.

Would that just get worse, if she told everyone?

How would Vriska react to such a thing? Such a weakness? The Seer of Light, waylaid by darkness brought on by standing for too long, she could hear it now. Brought on by sitting upright too long, sometimes. It had progressed in ways that she was frustrated about, spending time reading and trying to figure out how to make compression stockings of the right elasticity out of her god tier outfit in her down time. A dress? Sure! Simple! A garment that would help her out without cutting off all circulation to her legs or being useless? Bit more difficult.

At least Kanaya was content to let her recline whenever she wanted. She never asked, never brought it up. Instead she welcomed the blonde head to her lap, the subtle tug on her hand that meant she was going to slide to sit on the ground against the wall for a time to watch the vast space they were traveling through.

Maybe she would just keep it quiet forever. Or, at least, till after their final battles were done. When there was time to rest, when there were doctors again, Gatorade or something similar, she could get this under control and go back to her plans of dealing with it like she had imagined on Earth. Whatever lay ahead of them could be handled.

She’d keep it quiet. It would be her little secret.

Till she’d fainted in front of everyone, at least.

Another argument had broken out between Karkat and Vriska, Terezi egging on from the side and Dave adding the occasional beatbox for effect much to everyone’s annoyance and amusement in equal measure. Rose and Kanaya were observing and commenting for the most part, following them all up the stairs, but the growing intensity of the clog meant that the foot traffic had come to a stop.

Moments ticked by, then minutes.

Rose felt the shake in her knees, the cold sweat on her brow starting up.

“Dear, are you quite alright? You look pale.”

“I’m fine,” she promised with a smile, looking ahead at the group who took up the stairwell. Surely they’d move any moment. Any time now. Any second. They couldn’t argue forever, not even Karkat and Vriska on a bad day, it would end any time. She just needed to hold on, and then she’d be back upstairs with her book on the sofa, feet up, recovering stealthily yet again.

The argument dragged on, and the pain in her chest started up. Vision blurring, Rose turned her head to glance down the stairs, half turning. Maybe she could go back downstairs and use the restroom or something instead, buy time for them to move while having an excuse on hand so nobody would be suspicious.

“I’m-” she started to say.

Her legs buckled beneath her, and she knew no more.

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

“See, if you’d just moved your ass instead of backing up into the wall like a cornered meowbeast, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“It’s not like I pushed her! I don’t know who pushed her!”

“Nobody pushed her, she just collapsed, I was right there. We’ve been over this.”

“Well, why did she collapse then!”

“Has she been drinking or something?”

“No, not that I’m aware. She ate earlier, too.”

“Sleeping?”

“Plenty.”

Rose slowly opened her eyes and stared up quietly at the ceiling, the view from the floor at the bottom of the staircase. The argument had a new source now, the squabble more contained than before, but still lively. Kanaya was watching Terezi pull Karkat and Vriska physically apart like she wanted to jump in and do it herself, but she kept her cool hands on Rose’s arm instead, immobilized. Dave had a notebook he was using like a fan over her face, cooling her off, drying the remaining sweat on her brow. He stopped when he realized she was awake, setting it aside and pushing his shades up the bridge of his nose.

She knew that look. Worry. Suspicion. It made her stomach ache a bit with guilt.

“You good now?”

“...Yeah. I fell?”

“Swan dived face first for the concrete, more like.”

Kanaya’s head jerked her direction and she smiled broader, leaning down to hug Rose tight around the shoulders.

“I was so worried! You’re not hurt, are you?”

“No,” she admitted, surprised. “How-”

“I’m quick,” Dave shrugged, glancing to the side. Kanaya pressed a kiss to her cheek before carefully helping her to sit upright. “Hey, yo, shut the fuck up, she’s awake now. Everyone can stop the blame game, new topic after a quick five.”

“Lalonde, what was that about!” Vriska said immediately. “Did you just trip over your own feet?”

“Kanaya said she collapsed,” Terezi sighed. “Not tripped.”

Karkat glowered, but crossed his arms and was quiet for a moment before speaking. “Thanks for not painting the floor with your thinkpan, we’ve got enough problems around here witho- UGH” he grunted, Terezi’s elbow making swift contact with his side, halting his contribution to the subject.

“Are you sick or something?” Terezi asked.

Rose furrowed her brow, looking around at everyone. Looking back to Dave, looking to Kanaya, both of whom briefly exchanged knowing glances. It appeared the jig was up. Now to just let the cat out of the bag properly so it would stop suffocating.

“I fainted,” Rose said.

“No fucking shit,” came Karkat’s helpful response.

“It’s. ...I’ve done it before,” Rose said, trying to measure her words, trying to figure out how to explain quickly not only to Dave but to members of an entirely different species. “On Earth I was sick. I’m still sick.”

“So we just need to get you medicine or something, right?” Dave said.

She shook her head.

“I’m already taking my medicine best I can.”

“Man, if you know how to make meds can you whip up some pepto or somethin’, because I think I’m gonna die if I don’t get hold of some before the next time we eat makeshift Alternian shit,” Dave said. Rose shook her head again.

“Water and salt.”

“What about it?” said Kanaya, rubbing Rose’s upper back when she still looked a bit woozy. Rose accepted the invitation and leaned into her shoulder, hugging her with one arm to give herself a bit more courage.

“That’s the medicine.”

“...I don’t follow.”

Rose groaned and dropped her head against Kanaya’s neck for a moment before sighing and straightening once more.

“I’ve got a condition called POTS.”

“Like-”

“No, not like fucking weed. It’s Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.”

“What the fuck does all that mean? Are you contagious?” Karkat asked, getting another sharp elbow from Terezi, hard enough he slapped at her arm afterwards a few times in annoyance. “Will you knock that the fuck off?!”

“Don’t you think she would’ve mentioned something if she was?”

“SHE’S A FUCKING ALIEN! How do we know if it’s not contagious to US?” he argued, taking a quick step back to avoid yet another elbow coming his direction. Vriska caught him around the neck and scrubbed her knuckles deep against his scalp till he cringed.

“Preeeeeeeetty sure she would’ve said something that important before no- YOW!”

More than a little annoyed, Terezi yanked a section of Vriska’s hair till she released the thrashing Karkat, then quickly slapped a hand Karkat’s direction to keep him at bay.

“What’s it mean,” she said simply.

“It means my body is stupid and my brain doesn’t get enough blood to it when I’m upright. It all goes to my legs and can’t get back up to my head fast enough,” she said. “My heart races very badly and I feel like I’m dying and I get very weak. I get tired. I get sick. And if I’m not careful, I faint.”

“So it wasn’t a vitamin problem,” Dave mumbled. “Fuckin’ knew it.”

Kanaya frowned a bit, lifting a hand up to stroke a section of Rose’s bangs away from her face, to stroke down the side of her cheek with her thumb. “Why didn’t you tell us sooner? We could have watched out for you.”

“I didn’t want to hold anyone back,” Rose shrugged. “I thought I could handle it. And I didn’t want-”

“UGH great! Now we’ve got a whole person who’s useless to cope with!” Vriska shouted, rubbing her eyes with one hand.

“That,” Rose said flatly, more than a little annoyed.

“She’s not useless, she’s sick,” Dave said.

“SAME DIFFERENCE! It’s a weakness! A BIG weakness! We’re heading towards a huge fight and we can’t count on you at all now!”

Rose set her jaw. “I can handle myself. I just have to be quick an-”

“You can’t handle yourself, you just fell down the stairs from standing still! What if you collapse during battle, huh? What then? I’m sure as shit not sweeping in to save you, and we need all the god tier powers we can get to be FUNCTIONAL during a fight!” Vriska continued, yanking her hair free from Terezi’s hand to stalk closer, staring down where Rose sat, arms crossed. “What can you do? Ranged attacks while sitting down?”

Releasing Kanaya, Rose stood up quickly, immediately regretting it when her vision swam again. She braced herself and bent her knees before locking them in a wider stance for balance. It was a weak spot. A point of pride was that she’d come this far just fine as it was, and now that the cat was out of the bag her worst fears were coming true.

“Hey, easy, don’t go down again,” Dave said from behind her.

“Shut up, I’m fine!” Rose insisted. “What do you want me say, Vriska! That I promise I won’t collapse? You don’t know what I’m capable of in a fight! You don’t know what options I have on hand! Don’t discredit me just because I have this bullshit to deal with. If I can work around it, so can you. If you can’t then which of us is weaker in the end, me or you?”

It was spoken as a challenge, pure and simple. Tension was thick in the air as they stared each other down, Rose with her hands balled into fists, Vriska with crossed arms. Everyone was waiting for something to give, for the other shoe to drop.

“...Whatever,” Vriska muttered, the first to break position. She turned around and lifted her arms behind her head to stretch as she went up the stairs. “Humans are so fragile and booooooooring! Terezi, come help with dinner, I don’t know what to aim for this time.”

A collective breath was released. Terezi smirked a bit.

“That was pretty good, Lalonde. Normally she’d have kept going, but I think you got her in a corner now.”

“TEREZI, COME ON, I’M HUNGRY!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming, keep your rumble spheres tethered!” she shouted, before turning with a laugh like broken glass to run up the stairs after her friend.

Karkat, alone with the trio, watched Terezi run off before looking back towards Rose. She shuddered, then quickly sat back down on the ground and flopped onto her back with a heavy sigh.

“I’m fine!” she was quick to say. “Just. Need to be down for a second. Just a second. Holy shit.”

“What, think you were gonna get into a catfight?” Dave asked, picking up the notebook again to sway over her face a few times just in case it was useful again.

“Yes!”

“Would’ve been funny,” he admitted.

“Would’ve been hilarious if this is what finally got us at each other’s throats,” she said sarcastically.

“How do you feel now that everyone knows what has been wrong?” Kanaya asked, stretching her legs out before scooting closer to Rose’s side and laying back as well. “Relieved?”

“Yes. ...Though. What if she’s right…?”

“First time for everything,” Dave shrugged. “Here, lift your heads up,” he instructed as he dropped the notebook and instead lifted his cape, scooting it in a wad beneath their heads. He settled opposite Rose and stretched out as well, one knee bent up so he could tap his foot occasionally, arms splayed out.

Karkat waited for a moment before Dave patted the open space in the circle, then came closer and flopped down as well, hands on his stomach.

“...So you’re SURE you’re not contagious.”

“Dude, with how often she swaps spit with Kanaya I’m pretty sure you’re safe just breathin’ the same air if she’s unaffected,” Dave pointed out.

“Well, good. ...Sorry for asking earlier,” he muttered. “I just didn’t know what to think! Lalonde being sick out of nowhere is-”

“It was rather obvious, if you watched her closely. Something was wrong even if I didn’t know what,” Kanaya said. Dave nodded as well, making Rose groan and cover her face with her hands.

“How obvious was I?”

“Real obvious,” Dave snorted. “Don’t worry about it. We’ve got your back now, and we’ll have your back durin’ a fight. You know that.”

“I’ll slice anything that comes for you if you go down,” Karkat said helpfully. Given how much work he’d done hoping to be a threshcutioner before,

Kanaya reached for Rose’s hand as it came away from her face and gave it a squeeze. “We all do.”

“Yeah,” Rose sighed. “Yeah. I know. You’re right.”

She had backup now. And a while to think of how to explain everything to the others when they met up with them.

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

It felt like years ago, that final battle. Maybe because it had been years by then. It was kind of hard to keep track sometimes, really. She’d held her own, had backup, and they had all come out on top. They’d made a new world, populated it, let it grow and come back to live amongst everyone. She’d been hopeful that after all that, after all the advancements, there would be progress in her own disorders. Treatment options beyond salt and water, beyond stockings.

The fact there wasn’t, that it was still a chronic illness, that there was no magical cure in a special pill to take even after all of that, felt a bit like a slap in the face. Somehow, despite everything, having that bit of hope crushed had been enough to send her into a depression deep enough that it took months for friends and family to help pull her out of it.

There was no ‘better’. There was just coping. And she had to be okay with that.

She had options at least, thankfully. She could fly to get places faster than walking, even if she was on a harsher timer than before. She could drive. Her home was comfortable and easily accommodated a wheelchair that she could use outside of the home as well, half the time pushing herself along and the other half of the time being pushed by Kanaya when she got too tired. Life was good in many ways, even if there was no miracle to be had.

She was alive, married to the love of her life. She had friends and family surrounding her. She had aspirations for a long future, and hobbies that kept her plenty busy. It was enough for her.

When Kanaya leaned down behind her to kiss the side of her neck, sharp fangs barely there on her skin, Rose pulled the brakes on her chair and reached back to stroke Kanaya’s hair fondly. Her wife sat down beside her on the dock, overlooking the vast lake, and squinted out over the shimmering surface to make out where their friends were. A boat was heading this way and that trailing a water skier behind on a tow line, while two people flew above it keeping an eye on whoever was below kicking up wake behind them.

“Are you sure you didn’t want to participate?” Kanaya asked, amused when the skier went down into the water and was pulled up by the two flying lifeguards. “They said they had an innertube as well. You could sit and be towed.”

“Mmm. I’m fine,” Rose said with a smile. “Maybe next time, I don’t much feel like getting wet today. What about you? It looks plenty safe. Roxy and John wouldn’t let anyone drown.”

“I’d rather be near you,” she shrugged. “Perhaps we can have a turn in the boat instead later. We could take a tour around the lake without getting wet.”

“I love how your mind works,” Rose chuckled. She stretched a bit, then pushed the legs of her chair straight out, propping her legs straight out in front of her with a grateful sigh, pooled blood circulating somewhat easier again.

The skier was, apparently, Karkat. At least that’s what the shouting and cursing indicated as he struggled in the air with the duo holding him up safely. He dropped back into the lake with a splash, only to be carefully fished out again and deposited on the boat. Rose snorted a laugh before giggling at just how silly the situation looked from a distance, knowing she’d hear all about the details of it later from everyone involved. Kanaya looked at her with a soft smile before leaning against the side of the chair, nudging Rose’s leg till she stroked at her head and horns as one would pet a cat.

“I’m so glad to hear that sound…”

“Laughter? I’ve laughed a lot recently, haven’t I?” Rose asked, a little confused.

“Yes. You’ve been in such a good mood lately, compared to before. Every time I hear you laugh or see you smile it’s like sunshine.”

Rose leaned forward to press a kiss between Kanaya’s horns, making her wife hum softly, blissfully.

“You know just what to say to make an already good day better.”

Somehow, Rose felt, every day was just more proof that everything was going to be okay now.

((If you would like to learn more about POTS please visit this website for information!

http://www.dysautonomiainternational.org/page.php?ID=30))

#Homestuck #Rose Lalonde #chronic illness #pots #postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome #EDS #my fic

[nikki-writes-stuff]

Straight Lines and Sharp Angles (Tony Stark x Reader)

Summary: After finding out that Tony Stark is your soulmate, you spend the next several years avoiding the wild, cocky playboy. But when he shows up on your doorstep one day asking for you to give him a chance, you start to reassess your assumptions about the man with your matching soulmark. 

Pairing: Tony Stark x Reader, Soulmate! AU

A/N: I still don’t know if this is going to be a oneshot or not, but for the moment there aren’t any warnings here! Maybe just fluff if you squint; I didn’t realize I was so soft for Tony Stark before writing this! I hope y’all enjoy. Let me know if you think I should write a second part. 

Tony Stark – it was a household name, one that everybody had heard of, no matter what country they lived in, what language they spoke. Nearly every person in the world had heard of the famous billionaire, and you’d grown up hearing his name on the news.

Up until the day you were 16, he was just another celebrity, albeit one that you looked down upon. Nearly every month, he was in the papers for doing something reckless and stupid, but at least it made for good entertainment. However, that all changed after one of his more drunken interviews on Access Hollywood.

When your mother had called you into the living room that day to watch it, you’d been confused by the shocked, almost horrified look on her face.

“Mom, what is it?” you’d asked, furrowing your eyebrows. “He didn’t blow up a country, did he?”

“I… No,” she’d said carefully.

“Screwed the first lady?”

“No. But-“

“Skinny dipped in a public fountain again?”

“Honey, just… Just watch.”

Picking up the remote, she’d gestured for you to sit down beside her before pressing play. Perplexed, you’d dropped down onto the sofa, watching as the famous philanthropist swayed drunkenly on his feet.

“Mr. Stark,” the reporter started, “Is it true that you broke a world record for the amount donated to UNICEF in one year?”

“Oh, please,” he slurred in response. “The point in giving to charity is to do it out of the, the goodness of your heart. So I will by no means confirm the fact that you just stated. It just wouldn’t be, be ethical to mention the literal billions myself and my company have given to charity in the past couple o’ years.”

The reporter had smiled at that, but you couldn’t help but roll your eyes.

“Asshole,” you muttered under your breath.

“So are you out celebrating tonight, then, Mr. Stark?” the reporter carried on.

“Oh, yeah; Playboy called and said their models are eternally grateful for my contributions to humanity.” He winked at young man beside him, who only grinned and nodded. “So I’m headed over to the mansion to let them thank me in person, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh, I have a pretty good idea.”

“Mom, this guy is a complete douchebag,” you said, “but I don’t see why you wanted me to-“

“Shh! Just watch.”

With a sigh, you did as she said, watching as Tony seemed to sober up a bit, looking into the camera.

“Sorry - I’ve been told it’s not good for business to talk about banging supermodels. Plus, I mean. I can only imagine how pissed my soulmate is by now.”

For a minute, the reporter froze, his eyes darting to the cameramen in surprise before turning back to the billionaire.

“I’m… I’m sorry, Mr. Stark, but I wasn’t aware that you had a soulmate.”

“Oh, yeah,” the young man laughed. “Shit, my bad. I’m not supposed to talk about that on tv. Fuck, Obadiah is gonna kill me-“

“Are you and your soulmate together, Mr. Stark?”

“What? No. Fuck, you think I’d be out right now if I had a hot piece of ass waiting for me at home?” He stumbled on his own feet for a second, and he reached out to stabilize himself on one of the cameramen. “Shit- Nah, I haven’t even met her yet. At least. I mean, I think it’s a she. Might be a he, who knows? But, I dunno, I just have a feeling that they’ll have tits.”

All of a sudden, Tony looked as if he’d just come up with a brilliant idea, and before anyone could say anything to stop him, he was reaching down and pulling his t-shirt off, flinging it somewhere behind him. And, all of a sudden, you realized why your mother had made you watch this debacle of an interview.

Tony Stark had a soulmark that sprawled from his left shoulder down to his right hip, and it was made up of a geometric pattern. The mark contained crisp lines and sharp angles, all coming together in unique shapes that stretched across his torso. Your mouth went dry, and you felt the blood drain from your face as you stared at it and the man who it belonged to as he pointed at the camera.

“If you’re out there,” he started, but a hiccup shook his entire frame before he could continue. Blinking his eyes a few times, he shook his head and tried again.

“If you’re out there, and you have my matching mark, please, just…please contact me. Send me a letter, shoot me an email, fuckin send a carrier pigeon – just let me know you’re alive, at least.”

From there, he made to say something else, but he suddenly looked as if he was going to be sick. His face took on a greenish tinge, and he covered his mouth and turned away from the camera, stumbling away by a few feet. Your mom paused the tv at the first sound of his retching, and for a long moment, you just sat there in silence, feeling the weight of what had just happened settle over your shoulders.

Your eyes trailed down to your thigh, to the geometric soulmark that had been painted across it since you’d been born. You’d always liked to think about who your soulmate was, what they would be like and how the two of you would meet. But never, in all of your years of fantasizing, had you ever imagined you would be bonded to a celebrity. Much less an arrogant, loud-mouthed, entitled playboy.

“…Sweetheart, I… I’m so sorry. He had no right to speak about you that way-“

A bark of laughter escaped your mouth, and you looked to your mom incredulously.

“He has no right to do any of the shit he does,” you fired back, and your mom didn’t even try to correct you on your language.

You’d stood up, pacing the length of your living room, feeling a cold dread start to settle in your stomach.

“…He’s not my soulmate,” you eventually declared, eliciting a sharp exhalation from your mother.

“Sweetie, his mark looked just like yours-“

“Well, I don’t care,” you interrupted her. “He doesn’t get to be my soulmate. And not just because he talked about my tits on national television. It’s because he makes his billions off the suffering of others. He manufactures weapons, for God’s sake. And he thinks that a few donations to UNICEF is gonna make up for it?

“I would rather die than be with Tony Stark.”

_____________

Years passed after that fateful day when you were sixteen, and you went to painstaking lengths to make sure Tony Stark remained unaware of your existence. Even after he hung up his weapons development and turned into the beloved, lauded Iron Man, you couldn’t find it within yourself to reach out to him. In your mind, he would always be the same spoiled, drunken brat you’d watch humiliate you on Access Hollywood.

Ever since then, you only ever wore pants that covered your whole leg, even in the summertime. You didn’t have any social media profiles, and if anyone asked if you had a soulmate, you would lie and say you were one of the many who’d been born without a mark. Even when you moved to Massachusetts to start college at Harvard, you did your best to stay out of the limelight, instead choosing to throw yourself into your studies. And despite the temptation, you avoided all news that pertained to Tony Stark.

But, despite all of that, you still had a social life. You had a good, tight-knit group of friends, and you were mostly happy with where you were at. You were in your second year of college, and you were living on your own in a tiny, matchbox apartment just three minutes from campus. And you had grown comfortable with what you had.

Too comfortable.

Because one day, when your good friend Jade asked you for the millionth time to hang out at her parent’s pool with her, you’d said yes. She’d worn you down with promises that it would only be you, her, and a few of your mutual friends, and you’d reasoned that it wouldn’t hurt if the people who were closest to you knew about your soulmark.

And, sure enough, the pool day came and went without incident. You went, you swam, you dodged any questions they had about your mark, and you quickly forgot about the entire day within a week of it happening.

But on the seventh day after the pool, you heard a knock at your door.

_____________

“Coming!”

You put down your textbook and rubbed your eyes, glancing at your phone. It was 6:45 in the evening, and you’d once again gotten carried away with your homework. With a sigh, you stood up from your bed and stretched your arms above your head, listening to your joints pop with the movement.

Once again, a firm knock came to your door, and you let your arms drop to your side with a huff.

“I said I’m coming!” you called out, crossing the small living space.

Unlocking the door, you went to pull it open, but it barely moved an inch as you tugged at it. It wasn’t the first time that had happened; in fact, every day you told yourself that you would get one of your friend’s dads to come help you fix the door jam, but over a year had gone by without you doing anything of the sort.

With a grunt, you pulled on the doorknob with all your might until, finally, it popped open. You huffed, pushing some hair out of your face as you straightened up.

“Sorry about that. It sticks someti-“

Your words died on your tongue when you saw who was standing before you. You blinked, wondering if you were dreaming as you stared blankly at Tony Stark, who was looking between you and the door with arched eyebrows.

“…Candy gram?”

You huffed, looking down to the large bouquet of red roses he held in his hands. His hair was slicked back, and he was sporting his usual impeccably-sculpted facial hair. Plus, you knew next to nothing about men’s fashion, but even you could tell that his charcoal-gray suit had to have cost him thousands of dollars, if not tens of thousands.

“Um… Hi,” you greeted, shifting on your feet. “Can I help you, Mr. Stark?”

Once more, his eyebrows twitched, and he took a step forward.

“You know… For most of my life, I’ve been preparing a little monologue for whenever I finally got to meet you, but for the life of me I can’t remember a single word of it,” he admitted, a ghost of a smile spreading across his lips.

You nodded your head, still unimpressed.

“Does any of it include how you found me?”

The smile faltered on his face, and he shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

“I have my A.I. routinely check the internet for any image matches to my soulmark,” he explained. “Your picture popped up this morning, so I flew over from Malibu and-“

“Wait, my picture? I don’t have any pictures of myself up on the internet. Not any that have my soulmark in them, at least.”

Tony furrowed his eyebrows and made to reach into his jacket pocket, trying to juggle the large bundle of flowers for a second before giving up.

“Uh… Here, hold these for me,” he said, all but shoving the roses into your arms. You scrambled to accept them, immediately getting hit by a wave of their scent as you watched him pull out his phone.

After unlocking it, he turned it around to face you, showing you his home screen background. Your eyes widened as you looked at the picture of yourself in your swimsuit, smiling at something off camera with your soulmark in plain view. You hadn’t even remembered seeing anyone take your picture, but there was no denying that it was from Jade’s pool party.

“I… I didn’t post that,” you stammered. “How did you-“

“Someone named Jazzi put it on her FaceBook,” he explained, shoving the device back into his pocket. “Friend of yours, I’m guessing?”

“Yeah…” You trailed off, frowning. “But, wait, you set it as your phone background?”

He didn’t even have the decency to look sheepish.

“Well, yeah. I mean, my soulmate turned out to be a smoking hot college girl. Why wouldn’t I have you as my screensaver?”

You felt your cheeks heat up, and you shook your head, not knowing what to say; your world had suddenly been tilted on its axis, and your brain couldn’t keep up with it.

“So,” he continued on, oblivious to your inner turmoil. “I thought that we could have some dinner together tonight. You know, wine, dine, get to know one another. From there, I can have your things moved to my place – you’re gonna love Malibu. It’s so much nicer than Massachusetts – summer, all year long. Beaches, palm trees-“

“Wait, wait, wait,” you said, holding a hand up. “Just… Pause for a second. Pause. You want me to move in with you?”

“Well… Yeah. I’m on the wrong side of 40, hon – I’ve waited long enough, I think. Now, I’m starving. Do you like Italian? I know a place close by-“

“Tony!” you interrupted.

He stopped in his tracks, his mouth still open as you shook your head.

“I’m not… I’m not going to move in with you,” you told him incredulously. “I can’t just put my life on hold at the drop of a dime. I have my own home; I’m in college. I’m not going to leave that behind just because you showed up at my doorstep saying you want to make up for lost time.”

Tony sighed, sliding his hands into his pockets as he chewed on his bottom lip for a second, thinking over what you’d just said.

“…I get that,” he finally conceded. “I guess that would be a little too fast. …Alright, well, I can buy a place up here, I guess. We can live there until after you’re finished up with university-“

“Ok, you’re…clearly still not getting this. Tony, has it occurred to you that maybe, just maybe, there’s a reason why you haven’t found me until now?”

At that, he was left speechless, and for a second you wondered how many times in his life someone had managed to leave him without anything to say. You could practically see the gears turning in his mind as he tried to fathom the idea, and you used his silence as an opportunity to speak your mind.

“Listen, I get that you’re a big deal. I mean, you have your own action figure for crying out loud. But I’m perfectly content with where I’m at right now. I don’t need a reckless, arrogant billionaire showing up in my life thinking he owns me just because we happen to have the same pattern on our skin.

“Now, if you want to get to know me, I guess I can live with that. And maybe something will one day come of it. But if I do ever move in with you, that’s gonna be years from now. And any kind of relationship we do go into is going to have to move slower than what you’re clearly expecting.”

As you spoke, you could see Tony’s face start to grow more and more somber, and there was an edge to his stare that made goosebumps spring up over your arms. His hands were balled up into fists in his pockets, and once you were done speaking, he ran his tongue over his teeth as he considered his next words.

“…You don’t know a thing about me,” he started off. “Reckless? Yeah. Arrogant? Maybe on a bad day. But there’s a whole different side to me that you would be able to know if you just gave me a chance. Do you know how much it’s hurt? To watch the years tick by, knowing you have someone out there that the universe hand-picked for you, but still not able to do anything about it except sit and wait with your thumbs up your ass until something turns up?”

“Not as much as it hurt me to hear you objectify and humiliate me on television when I was sixteen years old,” you fired back. “And, yeah, my heart bleeds for you. However hard it was for you to wait for me, I’m sure the women, booze, and drugs did more than enough to numb the pain. I’ve been meaning to ask you, how did that evening at the Playboy mansion go, hm?”

“…I had no way of knowing you were only sixteen,” he tried to defend himself. “And that was one time; it was a drunken mistake, and I don’t even drink like that anymore. And, for the record, I haven’t touched drugs in years; I’ve gotten better-“

“And yet you show up here, thinking a bouquet of flowers and a fancy dinner will be enough to get me to move in with you? Even if you’ve gotten better, I can’t just look past that arrogance, Tony. If you want me in your life, you’re gonna have to prove it.”

With that, you turned on your heel and walked back into your apartment, slamming the door shut behind you. The last thing you saw before it closed was the look of hurt on Tony’s face as he watched you walk away, and you waited by the door until you heard the click of his footsteps as he walked away. As soon as you were sure he was gone, you felt the dam inside of you burst, and tears started leaking down your cheeks as you lowered yourself into one of your dining room chairs.

You sat there for a while, crying and clutching the flowers, watching as your tears dripped down onto their blood red petals. Because even though you’d been avoiding Tony for your entire adult life, and despite the fact that you’d meant every word you’d said about his arrogance, you still couldn’t deny that there had been a small, treacherous part of you that had wanted to go with him to dinner. That was the part of you that whispered to you, saying that he was still your soulmate, that there had to be a reason why he was your chosen one, even if you couldn’t see it.

But, as you dried your tears and stood up to find a vase for your roses, you snuffed that voice out. Whether or not Tony would get his chance with you was now completely up to him. If he was willing to show you that he would be able to put away his pride and work with you towards the relationship he wanted so desperately, then you would give him a chance.

But miles away, soaring through the air, Tony was developing his own plan. He’d spent enough time waiting. And now that he’d found you, he was gonna make damn sure that you didn’t slip away from him again.

_____________

You’d worked at the campus coffee shop as a barista for about a year, now, and you’d grown to enjoy it. It wasn’t your favorite among the three jobs you kept to afford rent and student loan payments, but it definitely wasn’t the worst. You’d gotten to know your regular customers, and your coworkers were generally cool people, easy to get along with. You were used to the little routine you had at the café, and that was why it was so jarring when, in the middle of your shift, a UPS delivery man walked in with a large package, claiming it was for you.

“I… I didn’t order anything,” you’d tried to tell him. “And even if I had, I wouldn’t have given my work address.”

“Look,” he’d sighed, “your name is on the package, and I had very specific instructions not to leave until you’ve accepted it. Can you please just sign for it?”

With an annoyed huff, you’d done as he asked, taking your 15 minute break to open it in the back room. Your coworkers had all watched the scene with piqued interest, but you’d shrugged them off when they asked any questions.

Cutting through the tape and cardboard, you sliced across the top seam of the box and opened it…only to find three more boxes. Shoe boxes, to be specific. One was labelled from Miu Miu, one read Christian Louboutin, and the third was from Louis Vuitton. You gulped, opening them each up to find the most stunning pairs of high heels you’d ever seen.

You jumped when you heard a gasp sound from behind you, and you turned to see your coworker Anna staring over your shoulder.

“Oh. My. God! Those shoes are to DIE for,” she squealed. “Ohmygosh, can I hold them?”

Arching an eyebrow, you handed her one of the Miu Miu heels, which were encrusted in glittering gemstones that you were sure couldn’t be actual diamonds. No one would be able to bring themselves to wear diamonds on their feet, right?

“Holy fuck, I think these are real diamonds!”

Well, shit.

“How in the flying fuck did you manage to afford these?” Anna demanded, handing the shoe back to you reluctantly. “Did you get yourself a sugar daddy?”

“No,” you immediately answered her. “No. This is just… It’s a long story. But I’ll tell you one thing – I will not be keeping them.”

“What? Girl, are you crazy? …If you’re going to get rid of them, could I have maybe just one-“

“I’m giving them back to the asshat that sent them here in the first place, Anna,” you informed her. “I’m 99% sure I know exactly who it is, and if he thinks he can buy me, then he’s got another thing coming.”

There hadn’t been a return address on the package, and so at the end of your shift and before your American History class, you dropped it off at your apartment and told yourself you’d get them back to Tony later, not even thinking to wonder how in the world Tony had been able to guess your shoe size perfectly.

The next day, though, while you were working your shift at the campus bookshop, yet another package had come for you. This time, it was a Chanel purse with a note attached to it that simply said, ‘I’m sorry.’ You’d simply snorted and thrown it into the box with your unwanted shoes that night when you got home, only mildly concerned that Tony had found out A) where you worked, and B) your work schedule. But, you reasoned, if he’d been able to find out where you lived, it wasn’t that surprising that he knew the rest of it, what with the resources he had at his disposal.  

The third gift, though, went above and beyond the others, and it crossed a line that you hadn’t even thought Tony Stark would cross.

That night, you’d come home from your day of classes, feeling relieved that no other delivery men had tracked you down to give you an insanely expensive package. You’d changed into your pajamas and snuggled into bed, ready to watch some Netflix and get a head start on homework.

And, of course, that was when you heard the doorbell.

With a sigh, you’d stood up and marched over to the door, ready to tell Tony that it was too late for him to bother you and prepared to force him to take back all of his gifts. But, instead of your soulmate, a delivery woman was standing at the door, holding a package in one hand while a crate rested at her feet.

“Are you (Y/N)?”

With a sigh, you nodded your head and signed for the gifts, not even wanting to fathom a guess at what Tony had in store for you this time. After accepting the crate in her hands and setting it down on your couch, you watched in surprise as she picked up the crate, cooing to whatever was inside of it before holding it out to you.

“I hope he’s able to find a good home with you,” she said, smiling, and your heart clenched when you heard a soft whimper come from inside.

“Wait, wait, wait,” you said, shaking your head. “Please tell me there isn’t a living organism inside that box. Please, tell me he didn’t-“

You were cut off by a sharp, high pitched bark, and you backed up a step.

“I can’t accept this,” you told the woman, and you watched as she pursed her lips.

“Well, whether you want it or not, there’s a dog in here for you. And I was told that, if you didn’t take it, it’s going to the nearest pound.”

“I…”

You trailed off, watching as a small, wet nose poked out of one of the thin slots in the crate. You didn’t have a dog, nor did you want a dog at the current point in time – you could barely afford to feed yourself, much less a pet.

But you weren’t heartless, and you couldn’t bare to send an innocent animal to a pound that, for all you knew, could be a kill-shelter. And so, with a heavy feeling in your gut, you took the crate and closed the door behind the delivery woman, setting it on the ground and kneeling down to open it.

Inside was the most beautiful puppy you’d ever seen. It was a Samoyed, and its fluffy, pure-white fur offset its big, black eyes and its dark, button nose. It squirmed in your hands as you lifted it from the crate, and your heart all but melted when, after you sat it down, it climbed into your lap and rose up on its back legs to put its paws on your chest.

“Well, hey there, little guy,” you murmured, reaching down to the collar on its neck. It had a circular pendant hanging from it. On one side, there was a phone number listed, one that you didn’t recognize, and on its other side there was a name printed on its gleaming silver surface.

“…Ozzy, huh? Nice to meet you, Ozzy. I’m so sorry that you’re just a pawn in a rich man’s game to win my heart, but…at least you’re cute.”

Ozzy panted as he looked up at you, and you found yourself scratching behind his ears as your eyes fell onto the other package that had come with your new household member. You leaned over and pulled it to you, peeling off the tape as Ozzy waged war against one of your slippers.

Inside of the box, there were all the supplies one would ever need to take care of a dog. There was a black harness that came with two matching leashes, and further down you found two marble bowls for food and water. There were also more toys for Ozzy than you’d ever owned cumulatively during your childhood, and beneath it all there was a small, embroidered dog bed that had “Ozzy Stark” embroidered on it in gold thread. You huffed at the last name, wondering if it would be too petty to use a pair of scissors to remove ‘Stark’ from it, but you reasoned that you wouldn’t resort to that just yet. After all, you didn’t even know if you would be keeping little Ozzy.

That night, you took Ozzy outside to walk around for a little bit, and after he did his business, you went back in to set up his supplies. Luckily, Tony had included puppy food in his doggy care package, and so you served up a bowl of it for Ozzy to chow down on. From there, you put off your homework and played with him, watching his antics with a smile on your face; he really was adorable.

Despite the fact that his bed had probably cost more than yours, Ozzy slept curled up against your side all night, and you had to admit that you slept sounder than usual with him tucked against your hip. And when you woke up to him laying sprawled out against your stomach, you couldn’t hold back the happy grin that had come over your features. Luckily, it was your one day off during the week, and so you were able to sleep in, watching the little puppy slowly wake up.

As he lifted his fluffy white head up and yawned, your eyes caught on the tag hanging from his collar. More specifically, the phone number printed on the back of it. You chewed on your lip, weighing the pros and cons of giving Tony a call, but you reasoned that it was your only day off during the week – if you were going to return all of his pointless gifts, then it would have to be today.

And so, after taking Ozzy outside for a short walk, you took a seat on your bed and pulled him into your lap, dialing the number and waiting with bated breath as the phone rang.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Tony said, having picked up right after the third ring. “How’s our son doing?”

“He’s not…” You huffed, letting yourself fall back against your pillows. “Tony, c’mon. You can’t just get me a dog.”

“Why? You allergic? ‘Cuz Samoyeds are actually hypoall-“

“Tony, you know why! This isn’t a pair of shoes or a purse – which I’m fully planning on giving back to you, by the way. This is a living being! I’m too busy to take care of a dog. And he’s going to grow up to be big; he’ll need more space than I can give him.”

“I know. I’ve thought about all of that,” your soulmate assured you. “And I have a proposition for you.”

“Tony, I’m not going to move in with you-“

“So you’ve said. Look, just… Can I come over? I’d kinda like to be able to see your face again. It’s a nice one.”

“I…”

You groaned, pinching the bridge of your nose.

“You’re the most difficult human being on the planet.”

“Aw, love you too sweetie. I’ll be over in five.”

With that, he hung up, leaving you just barely enough time to get dressed. You threw off your pajamas and pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt before frantically arranging your hair into something mildly presentable. You studied yourself in the mirror even though you told yourself that you didn’t care about what Tony thought about your appearance and straightened up as much as you could, throwing dirty clothes from your floor into your hamper and washing as many dishes as you could before a knock sounded from your door. Your heartrate jumped when you heard the tap-tap-ta-tap-tap, and you hurriedly dried your hands off before walking over to let him in.

Once again, the door jammed as you tried to pull it open, but with a bit of finagling you managed to pry it away from the frame. There Tony stood on its other side, holding a box of donuts and wearing, this time, a burgundy button-up with a black tie.

“I brought breakfast,” he announced. “But you have to let me in to have one.”

You rolled your eyes but, wordlessly, stepped aside, closing the door behind him as he took a seat on your old, threadbare sofa. You crossed your arms as he turned his head, taking in the small studio, his eyes lingering on the chipped paint on the walls and the water stains on the ceiling.

“…Well, this certainly is an apartment,” he deadpanned.

You were about to say something snarky back, but Ozzy chose that moment to jump into Tony’s lap, prompting a wide grin to spread over the man’s face.

“Well hey, there, buddy,” he cooed, scratching behind his ears. “You been wearing her down for me?”

“No,” you answered for the dog, taking a seat on the opposite end of the sofa as your soulmate. “I know I shouldn’t be surprised that you bought me an entire-ass dog, but I am.”

“What can I say? Chicks dig puppies.”

You let out a sigh, shaking your head as you reached for the donuts; you were hungry, after all.

“I can’t keep him, Tony,” you reminded him. “I mean, he’s really sweet, but it just wouldn’t be responsible for me to have a dog right now.”

“Oh, I agree,” he replied, arching his eyebrows. “At least, not when you’re living here. With not one, not two, but three jobs. Fuck, how you’re not exhausted 24/7 is beyond me.”

“I am exhausted, Tony,” you sighed. “All the time. But some people weren’t born rich geniuses.”

“But some people are born as their soulmates,” he pointed out. “And you haven’t heard my latest offer yet.”

“A relationship isn’t a transaction, Tony-“

“I will buy you a house,” he spoke, stopping you dead in your tracks. “One that’s not too far from your campus. And I’ll give you a weekly allowance so you don’t have to work so much; all you’ll have to focus on is your classes, Ozzy here, and yours truly. And before you say anything, I won’t be living with you in this deal. I mean, I’m totally going to buy some property really close to you so I don’t have to fly up from Florida a couple times each week, but you’ll have your own space.”

You gulped, turning his words over in your mind; if this were anyone else, you’d tell them that they’d have to be a fool not to accept this offer. And Tony had clearly thought a lot about this a lot.

“Oh, I do have some conditions, though,” he added, as if it were an afterthought.

“…Ok. What are they?” you asked warily.

“I wanna see you at least two times during the week,” he started. “And I want to be able to spend at least one day out of the weekend with you – Saturday or Sunday, take your pick. And one other thing.”

At that, he leaned forward, scooting closer to you on the couch, and you noticed that his face had gone stone-cold. There was no joking whatsoever in his eyes, and there was no hint of a smile on his features. Your own eyes widened; you’d never seen him look like this, not even during his famous ‘I am Iron Man’ press conference.

“I want you to give me an honest chance,” he said solemnly. “I know I’ve done some stupid shit in the past, but I meant it when I said that you don’t know me. Not yet, at least. So no more of this ‘arrogant billionaire’ bullshit – I’m asking for a clean slate in return for a full-ride through the rest of your college career. And a shot to make it work with the person you’re destined to be with.”

You bit your lip, looking away as you processed everything that he’d said. If you said no, you knew, without a doubt, that you’d spend the rest of your life wondering what would have happened if you’d said yes. You would still have your pride, sure, but you would also have a student debt that you’d never even be able to dream about paying off. And the sentimental, optimistic side of you whispered that you would lose your chance of getting to know the person behind the mask Tony wore, the person who shared a destiny with you.

“…Deal.”

Relief settled over Tony’s features, and he closed his eyes as his wide, joyful grin returned to his face.

“…Thank you,” he murmured, almost under his breath. When he finally did look back up at you, he leaned forward, his hand planted on the sofa cushion beneath him.

“Would a celebratory kiss be too much to ask for?”

“Yes, Tony,” you chuckled in spite of yourself. “Yes, it would be.”

“Damn.”

__________________

Moving day came only a week later. Tony had emailed you several listings that were within five minutes of Harvard’s campus, and you’d at first balked upon seeing that not one of them was below one million dollars. You couldn’t say that you were surprised; the location alone was enough to drive any property’s worth up by a considerable amount. But you’d still felt guilty as you looked them over.

“Are you sure this isn’t too much?” you’d asked him over the phone.

“Hon. I could buy all of the homes on this list and still have enough money to live comfortably for over a century. Pick whatever you want.”

You’d eventually picked one of the more modest listings, comforting yourself by forcing Tony to take back the shoes and purse he’d bought for you. From there, you’d packed up all of your belongings and posted your furniture to Craigslist; your over-zealous soulmate had already hired an interior designer for your new townhome before you’d been able to warn him not to do such a ridiculous thing.

And now, the day had finally come to move your little life from your ratty studio apartment to a three-story brownstone on the other side of campus. Truth be told, everything was moving so fast that the week had gone by in a blur. Tony had left you alone for the most part, busying himself with getting your house ready for you, and you’d put in and worked your one-week notice at your three jobs. Anna had known right off the bat that your quitting had something to do with the mystery man who’d bought you the shoes she so coveted, but she surprised you by not saying anything about it, merely telling you on your last day that she wished you luck and happiness.

Now, you were dressed in an old pair of overalls and a Rolling Stones t-shirt you’d stolen from your dad as a child, and your hair was pulled back as you lifted your boxes into the moving truck Tony had hired. He’d had a meeting that morning in New York, but he’d assured you that he’d be able to make it back in time to help you with moving them into the new place.

You’d assured him it was alright, but he’d still insisted on hiring movers. After about two minutes of watching the men carry your boxes down the stairs and into the moving van, though, you’d insisted on helping them with the work. And now, here you were, shoving your last box of books into your van as Ozzy barked from the front seat. You’d asked the movers to crack the window and blast the A/C for him, but he was still anxious from being away from your direct line of sight.

“Alright, I think that’s it,” one of the movers said. “You all set to head out, young lady?”

“Just a second! I need to leave my key under the mat for my landlord.”

“Okey doke. Well come on down to the truck when you’re ready to. We’ll keep it running for you.”

“Thanks so much!”

After dashing upstairs and leaving your key, you turned to walk back out of the old apartment building. But you paused for a moment, turning back and taking one last look at the space. So much had changed in such a short time, and you couldn’t quite believe you were leaving this behind. But despite where you were going, despite how uncertain you were of the future, you knew that you would always be proud of the person you’d worked to become while living in your tiny, broken down apartment.

Taking a deep breath, you turned around and walked out to join the movers, and you offered them small smiles as you climbed into the backseat of their truck.

From there, it was only a twenty minute drive to the other side of campus, and you watched as the buildings along the way started becoming nicer and nicer, dissolving from worm apartment buildings popular with the students to sophisticated brownstones favored by the wealthiest of the university’s professors. You couldn’t believe that you were going to be living among them, in a house with three floors and a small, fenced-off backyard.

A suspicious voice whispered to you in your head, saying that it felt too good to be true because it was, but you pushed it aside. Today, you were solely focused on the move, and you’d be damned if you let your anxiety ruin your day.

Part of your optimism faded, though, when you saw a sleek sports car parked in front of your building, with none other than your soulmate leaning against its hood, a pair of gaudy sunglasses perched on his nose as he tapped away at his StarkPhone. You fought against the urge to roll your eyes when you saw that he, too, was wearing a Rolling Stones t-shirt under his black blazer, but it was too late to change now; hopefully, your overalls would cover yours up enough for him not to notice.

After the movers parked the van, you picked Ozzy up and exited the vehicle with him tucked under your arm, squirming with excitement as Tony walked over to greet you, a wide grin parting his lips.

“What took ya so long?” he asked, eyes darting up and down your figure in a way that brought heat to your cheeks. “And one of us is gonna have to change.”

Damn.

“Hello, Tony,” you sighed, finally letting Ozzy down while keeping a firm grip on his leash. “How did your meeting go?”

“Boring – painfully so. But the rest of the day looks promising.”

“What do-“

“Holy cow, is that Iron Man?”

You were interrupted when one of the movers approached you, jaw slack in disbelief as he looked between you and your soulmate. You watched as Tony’s smile dropped into something plastic and practiced, indulging the mover by striking up a conversation with him as you turned to unlock your new home’s front door. The other mover, bless him, seemed unaffected by the superhero’s presence, and so the two of you began unloading boxes as Tony took a selfie with his enthralled fan.

“Woah, hey,” he suddenly interjected, gesturing for you to put down the boxes in your arms. “These guys got that covered; I thought we could go get lunch while they finish up.”

At that, both of the movers started working in earnest, and you glanced between them and Tony, arms still full.

“I mean… I feel bad just leaving it for them,” you reasoned. “And there really isn’t a lot to move – shouldn’t take more than ten minutes. You can wait for me inside, if you want to.”

A bemused huff escaped the billionaire, and he quirked an eyebrow at you before starting to shrug out of his jacket. You watched as he threw it onto the hood of his car before brusquely taking the boxes from your hands and starting to carry them inside.

“You know, I did hire them to do this so we wouldn’t have to,” he grumbled, but there was a fond gleam in his eyes as he glanced over his shoulder at you on the way in.

Pleasantly surprised, you couldn’t help but smile to yourself as you grabbed the next box from the van, making sure to put Ozzy in the downstairs bathroom so he couldn’t escape through the open door. With the four of you working together, it only ended up taking five minutes to complete the move; you really hadn’t owned a lot of things, a fact that Tony was clearly unsettled by.

“So, is that it?” he asked once you were done, a light sheen of sweat breaking out on his brow. “All of your things? Clothes? Kitchen stuff? Books?”

“That’s it,” you confirmed, turning towards the movers as they started towards the cab of their truck. “Thank you guys, by the way. I appreciate the help.”

“No problem, miss,” the one who wasn’t Tony’s fan assured you. He, on the other hand, had been making moon-eyes at your soulmate the entire time, and if you’d been more invested in your relationship with him, you might have even felt jealous.

“Oh, before I forget,” Tony suddenly startled, reaching into his back pocket. He pulled out a black leather wallet and fished out a few hundred dollar bills, causing your eyes to widen as he handed it to his still-enraptured fan. “Divvy this up between the two of you; thanks for helping my soulmate out.”

Now, their eyes widened, and even the more chill of the two men stared between you and Tony. You felt as if your cheeks were going to catch on fire as he smugly smiled and turned towards you, placing a hand on your lower back and spinning you around to steer you towards the house.

“Now, about lunch…”

___________________

The two of you ended up going to a boujee outdoor bistro for lunch, located smack dab in the center of the nearby shopping district of town, and you were already deeply regretting your decision not to change into something other than your paint-stained overalls. The menu didn’t even have prices listed, for crying out loud, and there were things like ‘herbed Israeli couscous with preserved lemon’ and ‘brunch galette with spring greens, herbs, and feta’ on it. You couldn’t even pronounce some of the items, but Tony looked right at home as he ordered a bottle of champagne for the two of you.

“Starting to drink early?” you asked, arching an eyebrow, but he’d just grinned and shrugged.

“Champagne hardly counts as drinking,” he defended himself smoothly.

As the two of you waited for your drinks, you fell into a silence that was, at least for you, supremely awkward. To distract yourself from it, you stared down at Ozzy, who was curled up at your feet with his leash looped securely around the armrest of your chair. The bistro apparently not only allowed dogs, but actively encouraged them, if the bowl of whipped cream your waiter had brought out for him earlier was any indication.

“So… How’d you like your new digs?” the man across from you suddenly asked, and you turned to find his eyes locked onto your face, his chin resting atop his fist as he rested his elbow on the table.

“It’s…nice. Still entirely too expensive,” you added, at which he playfully rolled his eyes, “but it’s nice. …Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” he immediately fired back. “It was part of our deal; I’m getting something out of this, too.”

You glanced up as the waiter suddenly appeared to pour the two of you champagne, and despite your initial protests, you found yourself gulping down half of your glass as soon as it was filled. When he asked for your orders, you just blandly stated that you’d have whatever Tony was having, but your soulmate seemed immensely pleased with your words before launching into his order.

Once the waiter had retreated to the kitchen, he turned back to you, tilting his head slightly as he took in your features.

“Has your opinion about me changed at all?”

You were momentarily taken aback by such a sudden question.

“…Tony, it’s going to take more than just gifts to get me to like you the way you want me to.”

“Oh, I figured. You wouldn’t be the one for me if they were. But what will?”

You bit your lip, tracing the lip of your champagne flute with the tip of your finger.

“…You said that there’s a side of you that you don’t let people see,” you started. “Tell me about it.”

The man smiled, mischief gleaming in his eyes.

“Only if you show me yours, too.”

You nodded, and he leaned back in his chair, snatching up his flute and taking a quick sip of the bubbly booze.

“What do you wanna know about the ‘real’ me?”

“Whatever you think is important.”

He paused, considering that as his eyes flickered between you and the puppy at your feet.

“…You make me incredibly nervous,” he started, taking you off guard. “I’m used to people pandering to me at least on some level, either because of my money or fame or their sense of ‘gratitude’ for me, you know, saving the world on a few occasions. But not you. And I like that about you, I do. I hardly know you, and I already love your sass. But I’m not used to it in the slightest.”

Unexpected warmed bloomed in your chest, and your lips twitched up into a smile to match his as he carried on.

“I got you the gifts because that’s what I’ve always done in relationships in the past, but I was secretly glad when you gave back the shoes and the purse. …Not enough to stop buying you things, obviously, but most girls I’ve met took the presents even if they insisted they weren’t in it for the money.”

“So you have tried to date other girls?” you asked, not feeling surprised or offended that he’d date people that hadn’t shared a matching soulmark with him.

“Jealous?” A mischievous glint sparkled in his eyes, but you only raised your eyebrow at him, prompting his smile to fall by a few centimeters.

“I wouldn’t call it dating,” he eventually sighed. “But it’s been, uh…lonely. I would swear off relationships for a year or two at a time, saying I was gonna just buckle down and wait for you, but then I would meet someone and feel that spark and think, what the hell? Might as well.

“But they, predictably, never worked out, and then I was back to waiting. And the cycle would repeat itself.”

You felt a pang of sympathy for him, seeing the earnestness of his words in the set of his shoulders and the depths of his eyes.

“…I have to admit,” you murmured, “I’ve never pictured you feeling lonely before. The possibility hadn’t even come to my mind.”

He shrugged, trying to make light of something you knew weighed on him.

“Well. Now I have you to bother, so I don’t expect to feel that way much longer.”

For the rest of your lunch date, the two of you made easy conversation – easier than expected. All of Tony’s comments were laced with carefully constructed humor, but you quickly realized that it was just a coping mechanism, a way of protecting himself from sounding too vulnerable when discussing matters that hit a little too close to home.

During that first deep conversation, you found out that, though his relationship with them hadn’t been perfect, Tony still missed his parents deeply, and that a lot of his actions stemmed from a place of wanting to make them proud, even in death. He was also a genius, but while he was very much aware of that fact, he didn’t flaunt his knowledge nearly as much as you thought he would.

He briefly touched on the Avengers, but it was still too soon after Captain Rogers’ defection for the subject to not be painful for him, so you steered the conversation back towards lighter matters, noting the grateful look on his face after you did so.

In return, he asked you question after question about your life, proving to be a better listener than expected. He soaked up everything you had to say, learning about your family, your hobbies, your preferences. As it turned out, both of you enjoyed art, and while you didn’t consider yourself a gifted artist by any means, you enjoyed listening to his opinions about different genres and classical painters.

By the time your food arrived, you were so in deep with your conversation that the waiter startled you as he arrived with two artfully arranged plates.

“Here you are,” he gushed, his voice filled to the brim with pride as he served your famous counterpart. “Creamy oven risotto with crispy roasted mushrooms and lemon-pepper chicken.”

After placing the food in front of you both, you noticed a small bowl tucked into the crook of his elbow, and you smiled as he knelt down in front of Ozzy, presenting him with it as if he were a patron at the table.

“And some frozen strawberry yoghurt for this little one,” he cooed, giving the pup a pet behind the ears before straightening up. “Can I get anything else for you three?”

“No, thank you,” you assured him, picking up your fork.

The food, predictably, was delicious, and both you and Tony were quiet as you dug into it with relish. Ozzy, too, gorged on his food, getting pink yoghurt all over his face as he dived headfirst into his bowl. The two of you laughed at his antics, and by the time you were finished with lunch, you realized that you felt…content.

Tony really was different than what you were expecting. He was still slightly full of himself, aware of his own accomplishments to a fault, but he was also considerate of yours. You’d always pictured him as the type to talk over others while flaunting his superior intellect, but he was more down-to-earth than you’d ever hoped he’d be. After the two of you finished and the check was paid (all of your offers to help cover it had been met with eye rolls and pseudo-glares), you didn’t even hesitate to take him up on his offer to stroll through a nearby park before heading home and starting to unpack.

The weather was bright and sunny as the two of you watched Ozzy run down the sidewalk, his tail wagging so fast that it was just a little white blur as he sniffed at everything that crossed his path, and you walked and talked until Tony got a call at 4 o’clock. F.R.I.D.A.Y., his AI that, as he put it, ‘ran his life’, had informed him that it was from someone named Happy, and he’d apologized before stepping to the side to answer it.

As you took a seat on a nearby bench and watched him talk, you felt your own phone start buzzing, and you pulled it out of your pocket to find that it was your mother calling.

“Hi, Mom,” you said as you accepted the call.

“How did moving go?”

Your mother, when you’d first told her about your deal with your soulmate, had been apprehensive, to say the least. She’d never forgiven Tony for the way he’d unwittingly spoken about her daughter, and she’d made it clear that, while she would support your decisions, she didn’t trust your soulmate as far as she could throw him.

“It went well,” you assured her. “He actually carried boxes.”

“I know,” she sighed, and you could all but picture her rubbing her forehead in exasperation. “There are already pictures of the two of you floating around on the internet.”

You bit your lip, unconsciously darting your eyes around the park if you could see anybody sneaking pictures. It was mostly empty, though, with the only person in your range of vision being Tony, but you were still nervous about what you would see when you searched for yourself on Google later that evening.

“He’s…been really nice,” you admitted lamely. “Today has been really good, so far. He took me and Ozzy out to lunch-“

“I still can’t believe he mailed you a dog.”

“…And now we’re walking around a little park close to campus.”

“Has he said anything rude to you?”

“No, mom. I promise. If he does, I’ll slap him just like you said to.”

“Kick him in the balls for me while you’re at it.”

You huffed out a laugh, perking up when Tony hung up his phone and started making his way over to you.

“I have to go,” you told your mom. “But I’ll call you as soon as I get home.”

“You’d better.”

“I will! Love you.”

You hung up after she echoed your last two words back to you, and you watched as Tony lifted one sculpted eyebrow, glancing pointedly at your phone.

“Should I be jealous of someone?”

“Not unless you see my mom as competition.”

A relieved smile came over his features, and he held out his hand to help you up off of the bench. You didn’t comment when he kept it in his as he walked you back towards the entrance of the park, but you did let go when a couple of joggers did a double take while passing you on the trail. For a second, you thought you saw disappointment flash over his features, but he made no comment as the two of you made your way back to his car.

“So, what did your mom have to say?” he asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“…Well, she started by asking how moving went,” you began, wondering if you should tell him about her distrust. “I told her you were very helpful.”

The corner of his lips quirked up at that, and he shot you a glance from the corner of his eyes.

“She’s not a fan of me, huh?”

You were puzzled by his deduction, and it must have shown on your face.

“I figured. I wouldn’t be a fan of me, either, if I were in her shoes.”

“I find it hard to think of you as being anything but a fan of yourself.”

A hiss of laughter escaped from behind his teeth, but his expression was surprisingly devoid of a smile.

“Your soulmate ended up being a self-righteous playboy who’s nearly 20 years your senior,” he deadpanned. “Not really the type of person you bring home for Thanksgiving.”

“…If it makes you feel any better, I’m probably going to end up hosting my family’s Thanksgiving this year. And I’ll invite you.”

At that, he did smile, and a part of you was relieved to see it.

“It does, actually. Thanks.”

The rest of your walk was done in silence, with both of you watching as Ozzy became less excited and more sleepy with every step. At his first yawn, you bent down and scooped him up into your arms, and by the time you’d arrived back to Tony’s Lamborghini, he was fast asleep with his nose tucked against your chest. The sight was enough to make your heart melt, and you jolted when your soulmate reached over to rub his upturned belly, his fingers just barely grazing against your breast as he did so. Even though you knew it was unintentional, your cheeks were once again enflamed as he opened your car door for you.

The two of you only spoke next when you were stood on your doorstep, whereupon Tony hesitated as he stared up at you from his place at the bottom of your steps. Neither of you knew how to say goodbye, and neither of you knew whether or not you should address the instant connection you’d made over lunch. You didn’t regret giving him a chance, and while you were still apprehensive of the man you’d been avoiding for the past several years of your life, you couldn’t help but wonder, almost hopefully, if he’d kiss you goodbye.

“…I had a good time today,” you started, clutching your puppy even closer. “Thank you for lunch. And, um…the house.”

The both of you chuckled at that, and Tony kicked his heel, digging it into the concrete beneath him with something resembling bashfulness; the sight was endearing, as was his honest smile.

“Thanks for giving me a chance,” he replied. “It’s…probably more than I deserve.”

Your heart squeezed at that, and after a moment of deliberation, he determinedly rose up onto the second step of your small porch and leaned closer, pressing a chaste kiss to your cheek. It was over in a moment, barely as long as a heartbeat, but his lips were soft and warm against your flesh, and you’d been able to smell his warm, spicy aftershave as he leaned close.

“Call me,” was all he said before turning around and climbing into his car, leaving you with a fluttering heart as you walked into your house and closed the door behind you.

Something had blossomed somewhere behind your ribcage, and it took you a second to identify it as your thoughts swam and spun around Tony. It was hope, you realized, and a small smile spread over your lips.

It was hope, and it was beautiful.

#tony stark #tony stark x reader #tony stark imagine #soulmate #soulmate au #marvel #MCU #fluff

[nillegible]

[Deleted* Scene from Stay, the Meng Yao time travel fic. Because I decided that the trope is a little Too Much for this particular story, but I do like cheesy things, so here it is. (*as in, I dismissed the idea almost instantly, but it wanted to be written, so here it is)]

“Da-ge,” says Nie Huaisang and Nie Mingjue looks up. The words ‘why aren’t you at saber practice?’ die on his lips when he sees the expression on Nie Huaisang’s face.

“Huaisang, what happened?”

“Da-ge, I got a. Wangji-xiong wrote me a letter.”

Nie Mingjue tenses. Last he knew, Lan Wangji was collaborating with Wei Wuxian. “If he wishes you to experiment with demonic cultivation, the answer is no. You are forbidden from attempting any-”

“It’s not that! It’s Xichen-ge, he- He’s fine! Da-ge nothing happened to him!” the last part is nearly yelled out, and Nie Mingjue does not know what his face had done to prompt the quick assurance, but the sheer icy terror for that one moment, when he thought that Xichen had died has his heart clenching painfully still, even with Huaisang waving his hands apologetically.

He sits back down, heavily. “Just tell me what it is, Huaisang.” Anything would be better than learning that his best friend was dead, or injured.

“During a night hunt, they found the half-eaten remains of a rogue cultivator,” says Huaisang. Nie Mingjue doesn’t like how this is going. “Xichen-ge.. from the hair ornaments, and the handwriting on the talismans – there was not much else to identify him with – he thinks that the cultivator was Meng Yao.”

Oh.

“What could have…” he trails off. It does not matter what sort of monster had finally killed Meng Yao, not when Huaisang just shrugs, lips pressed together the way he does when he’s trying not to tear up. Meng Yao had been one of Huaisang’s dearest friends once.

Nie Mingjue holds his arms open, and his brother accepts the hug, throwing himself into his arms silently. He doesn’t say a single word, but the silent tears against his shoulder are accusing.

Why didn’t you check up on him?

Why didn’t you invite him to come back?

How could you let him die, all alone?

“Wangji says that Xichen-ge is taking it very hard. He asks if you would go to him,” says Huaisang, voice thick.

Nie Mingjue nods against his brother’s hair. He will go, and he will apologize to Lan Xichen for counseling him against accepting Meng Yao into his own clan, or claiming him as a sworn brother. Not because he thinks that it was the wrong decision, but if he takes responsibility then maybe Lan Xichen would feel less guilt.

“I will visit him,” he says.

“I want to come too,” says Huaisang.

“Huaisang?”

“I know you were angry with him, but he didn’t… I want to say goodbye. They’re holding a service for him.”

“He did terrible things,” Nie Mingjue says. This is not the first time his brother has pled Meng Yao’s case in his absence. The words feel off this time, knowing that he’s no longer speaking ill of a wandering cultivator and ex-Nie… but a dead man.

“And some really great things, too,” Huaisang says firmly. “I want to come with you.”

(Huaisang always gets what he wants.)

*

The memorial is held at the place where Meng Yao died. Someone – the Lan, most likely - have cleaned up, have brought flowers and lamps to light the way of a spirit that could have gotten lost in its final moments of distress.

Nie Mingjue can see remnants of the battle, anyway, in the felled trees, gouges in the wood of several others. A broken Lan arrow that was not retrieved, shining with its distinctive fletching from where it lies discarded on the ground.

While the elders set out a soul-calming array, others leave offering at a small memorial. Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang approach that small cluster of people, intending to leave their own offerings there, and to light some incense for Meng Yao.

When people make room for them to approach, Nie Mingjue finally sees the painting that forms the center of the memorial.

It is in Xichen’s hand, Meng Yao’s likeness brought perfectly to life, warm and smiling, cheek dimpling with mirth. Nie Mingjue’s hand shakes faintly as he forces himself to move. The bottles of expensive Nie perfume suddenly feel cold and impersonal, as he lays them down among the other offerings.

It has been… years, since Nie Mingjue remembered his ex-deputy this way. He’s been remembering him in Wen-flame robes or in Qin-sect blue, even though he knows that Meng Yao had been a spy, and then banished from Qin sect. He’s been remembering him with an unnaturally fixed smile and aged eyes that seem to pass over everything, like Meng Yao was no longer here.

What didn’t I see? he wonders, faced with Meng Yao as he had been. Before the war, before the Wens, before Langya.

The Meng Yao on this memorial is not the one who had died here, he’d died long before… but Nie Mingjue realizes he’d not cared to see it, at the time.

Nie Huaisang tugs his sleeve lightly, and Nie Mingjue allows himself to be led away. Of course. There are more people to leave offerings for Meng Yao. He watches politely as strangers leave offerings. A regretful looking Qin Cangye and his daughter, as well as several of their disciples light incense, and then form a small group of just themselves, at the edge of the gathering.

Apparently Nie Mingjue is not the only one who feels guilty, today.

The air of the congregation tenses when Jin Zixuan and Jin Zixun arrive to pay their respects, but for once the latter does not pick a fight, and Jin Zixuan is perfectly polite even though he’s visibly uncomfortable about being here. It was no secret that Jin Guangshan had resented his bastard turning his offer down.

(Why? Meng Yao, your ambition… why didn’t you join Jin sect? Nie Mingjue knew better than to believe that nonsense about feeling it disloyal to reject Sect Leader Qin’s generosity. But he had never challenged it, had never asked Meng Yao what changed. And now he’d never know.)

Once the crowding at the memorial thins out, Lan Xichen kneels before it, guqin out, and everyone falls silent as the haunting notes of Inquiry begin.

(Nie Mingjue recognizes one repeating series of notes, can hear every time that Lan Xichen plays Meng Yao, because Meng Yao had played it for him and Huaisang one evening, shortly before the battles turned for the worst. Back when they could afford an evening to themselves, to comfort Nie Huaisang before he had to be hidden away in the Cloud Recesses again, he’d shown them what Sect Leader Lan had taught him, while he was hiding him. “See? This is Meng Yao,” he’d said, and played it quickly, Meng Yao, Meng Yao, Meng Yao, Meng Yao, making Huaisang giggle, and try it out for himself, while Nie Mingjue watched in amusement.)

Every time that Xichen’s fingers still on the guqin, there’s only eerie silence, no spirit taking the chance to fill in, to answer Lan Xichen’s call. Nie Mingjue watches in silence until Lan Qiren sets a hand on Lan Xichen’s shoulder, bringing his music to an end.

“The Soul-Calming array is complete. If he does not wish to answer us, we should proceed,” he says. There’s something gentle in his usually stern voice, something edged with fear. Once this is over, Nie Mingjue has to find Lan Xichen. He must be taking it even worse than he appears, to frighten his uncle so.

He’s relieved when Lan Xichen looks up at them and rather than react with anger, joins them. He’s carefully sandwiched between Nie Mingjue on one side and a dutiful Wangji on the other, while the calming ritual is completed. For once, his face is as jade-like and expressionless as his brother’s beside him.

For Xichen’s sake, at least, Nie Mingjue mourns Meng Yao’s passing.

(He’s lying to himself. There’s just something about this, about knowing that Meng Yao, that bright workaholic with plans upon plans for every contingency, could be felled like this. Alone, and with no back up, that makes the whole world feel off-kilter.

The Nie die alone in the raging madness of qi-deviation, but even then they are not alone.

He’s never had backup, a voice like Huaisang’s chimes in his head. Da-ge, no one’s ever had his back. Not even you.)

*

He leaves Huaisang in the care of the other Nie disciples, and spends the night at Lan Xichen’s, letting him play piece after piece, and never pointing out that these are not cultivation scores but Gusu-Lan story songs. Nie Mingjue can guess why Lan Xichen is playing these today. Guess who heard them last, from Xichen’s clever fingers.

*

Lan Wangji is missing the next morning, and Nie Mingjue feels a stab of irritation that he would leave when Lan Xichen is so fragile. In his place, though, Nie Huaisang sticks to the Lan Sect Leader’s side, never allowing him a moment’s peace.

Xichen accepts the coddling with a faint smile that doesn’t reach his eyes, and by sneaking an extra sweet onto Nie Huaisang’s plate when they take tea, later.

Nie Mingjue’s tentative, “Can we talk, Xichen?” is met with a tired, “There’s nothing to say, Mingjue-xiong. Please. I cannot say it aloud again,” and Nie Mingjue doesn’t try again.

*

Three weeks later, an aide rushes into his office to tell him that Sect Leader Lan had arrived without warning. Worried, Nie Mingjue rushes to the entrance to meet him.

There’s pure unbridled joy on Lan Xichen’s face, but it’s the smaller figure at his side that stops Nie Mingjue in his place.

“Meng Yao?”

“I’m not dead, Sect Leader Nie,” he says, smiling.

“I am glad,” says Nie Mingjue, and it’s the absolute truth.

He ushers them into his office to speak in private, after sending an aide to fetch Huaisang, and hears a quiet, “Did Sect leader Nie always have dimples?” behind him, that makes Lan Xichen laugh out loud before he stifles it. Nie Mingjue throws them an injured look over his shoulder, but at the matching laughing grins that face him, he can’t help but smile, and turns away quickly so as not to give them proof.

*

It turns out that it was a case of mistaken identity. The man was a rogue cultivator, one that Meng Yao had traded talismans and a hair piece, for a small, deadly dagger that he now shows them.

“Imagine my surprise when I hear that I had died,” he laughs, but Nie Mingjue thinks there’s something weary within it.

“I am glad that Wangji and Wei Wuxian found you,” says Lan Xichen. Then, softer, gentler, “I’m glad they knew to look.”

Why didn’t you come to us? he means, though he does not say so outright. Why would you let us think you had died?

“I did not know you cared,” says Meng Yao, answering the unspoken questions. “I thought it would be easier to let you think me gone. That we would all get new beginnings.”

“Where would you have gone?” asks Nie Mingjue.

“Dongying,” says Meng Yao, eyes bright like it’s significant. Nie Mingjue doesn’t know why that makes Meng Yao laugh so hard, but it takes him a moment to compose himself.

“Meng Yao, Lan Xichen,” says Nie Mingjue before he can change his mind. “Would you be my sworn brothers?”

He gets two surprised looks, one more so than the other. “Sect Leader Nie,” he says. “Why? What do you want from me, that you’d? I don’t…”

“I don’t want you to go,” says Nie Mingjue honsetly. “You don’t have to do anything for us, but…” Don’t just vanish, for months at a time. It’s unsettling, when you’re missing. “Please stay,” he says.

Meng Yao turns to Lan Xichen, as if asking him to disagree. “I have already told you my mind on this, Meng Yao. In my mind, you were already my younger brother,” says Lan Xichen.

There’s a long silence, in which Meng Yao’s smile turns brittle again. He’s going to say no, thinks Nie Mingjue, and didn’t expect to feel as disappointed as he does at that.

“Okay,” says Meng Yao, smiling. “Okay, Da-ge, Er-ge. This time, I’ll stay.”

#alternate universe: time travel #au of my jgy time-travel au #meng yao #nie mingjue #nie huaisang #lan xichen #cw: temporary suspected character death