been thinking about AUs lately, mostly becuase I have had so little time to write due to craziness, and I got back on my bullshit about meeting your soulmate and their first word being tattooed on your skin. And just... the implications of that?
Mare with the word "thief" tattooed on her wrist and having to cover it so as to not give herself away in the Stilts, but when/if she gets caught by officers they see it while they detain her and even if she didn't do anything she ends up locked up for the night because of that word. So she comes to hate it with a passion and tried scrubbing it off, and mutilating it as she grew up to remove it, to hide herself better as she starts to steal more and more to survive. But she would wake up with it perfectly healed. And it is in such pretty penmanship, waaaaay too nice to be a Red's handwritting, or even an officer's in the Stilts. And that scares her, so she forces herself to hold onto the belief that maybe it belongs to some Red who assists a general or something and they have to write a lot and she will meet them at the Choke. When Kilorn sees it for the first time while he is helping clean her up after a particularly bad night in a cell, he realizes he can never be hers because it was no where near his first word to her.
Cal has the word "obviously", and it is so obviously the dumbest fucking word to have. It is literally the most common word. The amount of times he has heard the words "obviously" in his life and turned around only to realize it is someone he already knows? Stupid, absolutely ridiculous. And not to mention that the way it is written on his wrist is horrific and makes him question if this person ever really learned how to write properly. The good news? He can hide it underneath his flamemaker and forget about it if he needs to. And he does, pretty much decides that he'll probably just never meet whoever it is. Besides... he has to marry a lady of a High House, and he's already met all of them and none of them said that word to him on the first go. And it doesn't really matter... it is so rare for a future king to marry their soul mate through Queenstrial anyway. His father was just lucky with his mother, and his grandfather of course met his but got away with keeping him and marrying a Queen. And maybe it's for the best if he never meets this person, it would just be a twist of the knife if he is already married and meets the person who is meant to complete him.
And then, one night, on a dirt road, in the hours before night and dawn, when the stars are still out and the world is dreaming, a thief sticks her hand into the pocket of prince, who catches her wrist, and accuses her with a surprised and confused tone: "thief", and she tilts her head to the side, her eyes sparking as she replies "Obviously". And it takes everything for him not to flip her wrist over and look for the word he just uttered, but he lets go instead, terrified that this is the girl who is meant to come into his life and complete him. And she backs up a step, her eyes darkening as she looks him over anew. Neither comments, neither admits to anything. And Mare is glad for it, because the next day she learns he is a prince, and not just any prince, he is The Prince, and she immediately is relieved because there is no way in all of heaven and earth that she is paired with this man. She didn't see her reply on his wrist... she forces herself to believe that there is a different word tattooed there. That if she were to lift up his sleeve she would see something else, some meaningless word to her, that means everything to him. She never looks though, and he never takes off his flamemaker, so she never has the chance to see.
Then, one evening, in a soldiers barrack, on a Piedmont base in the middle of a summer shower, complete with the distant growl of thunder: Mare glances at his bare arm, wrapped around her bare waist. It would be so easy for her to just, gently turn it and look, to answer the question that has haunted her since a Blackrun fell from the sky, and he held her like they were going to die. She shivers subconsciously and gently reaches down to slide her fingers through his, her heart pounding against her ribs. She can't decide if she wants to see the word there, or if she doesn't. She doesn't know which way would be better, whether it would break her heart if it wasn't, or if she were be terrified if it were. He sighs against her neck and pulls her a little closer when she first goes to rotate his wrist, she freezes, tensing for a heartbeat. He's a soldier, they sleep lightly, and this feels like an invasion even though she has now seen and touched every part of him. For some reason this one spot of skin feels forbidden. Inhaling, she slowly rotates his wrist to face up, and her entire skin erupts in goosebumps as lightning illuminates the room and thunder crashes a heartbeat later. There is her hand writing, her ugly, horrific handwriting, and there is the word she said to him with such tenacity on a dirt road and changed their lives forever. She flips his hand back over and pressed it to her stomach, knots her fingers with his as she tries to slow her breathing back to a sleeping rate. It's no use though, his sigh against her neck is no longer a gentle whisper, but is instead one of relief. "I wanted you to look first." He murmurs against the vertebrae at the base of her skull, before lightly running his lips up to her ear. "I think knew in my heart since the Bowl of Bones." He squeezes her fingers softly, and they never speak of it.
Then he choses a crown, a crown over what those words on their wrists' mean. And that betrayal is so much worse than it ever could have been.
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in your latest piece of the receptionist au thena feared that gilgamesh would fall in love with somebody else one day. what if gil has a business meeting with a woman who wants to lay a hand on him. and one day thena wanted to grab something from her desk and has to see how this woman is kissing gilgamesh and Thena runs upstairs, tears in her eyes. and after gil is done with his crime business for the day he wants to spend some time with thena but she's avoiding him. he tries to talk to her but she's so angry and sad and so scared. she thinks gil has enough and doesn't want her anymore. some angsty fluffy drama :)
Thena taps her pen on the desk. Gil is in a meeting with some woman who runs casinos...or something. They have profit shares to discuss, and Thena has no reason to barge in on them.
No excuse, really.
She doesn't want to feel this way. It's not as if she would have any reason to feel insecure with someone as wonderful as Gil. For a hardened criminal, he really is the most wonderful partner she could imagine having.
Maybe that's it, though--the criminal part. Maybe she worries that he misses this life. He's been thriving since they came back to Korea to do some business again. So much so, that they extended their visit. And Thena can see some of the worries that settled into him since moving to London lift off of him.
Does he miss being a crime boss? Does he feel too suffocated in London, stuck in her flat all day, playing househusband for her?
Thena stands abruptly, determined to just...just...just ask if he needs anything before she runs out to the store. It's a lame excuse, but he's been a meeting with that woman for an hour, now. And Thena saw clear as day the way she looked at Gil.
Thena knows very well that Gil is a desirable man. She doesn't expect other people to be ignorant to it, after all. But it would be nice if she hadn't seen the woman literally lick her lips at the sight of him.
Thena opens the door, ready to ask if he wants a convenience store drink or something. But what she sees - before the door is even all the way open - is that woman, freely and happily leaning over Gil in his chair. Her hands are on his arms, and she's...she's kissing him.
Thena turns. She walks towards the elevators, practically sprinting the second half of the way. She slams her fingers against the buttons, desperate to escape what she just saw.
It's burned into her mind, though. That woman's silken black hair, the perfect ivory of her skin, her petite and willowy form. Her lips on Gil's. Her lips touching Gil's lips. Her hands on his arms--arms he uses to hold her every night, after work, after dinner, in their shared bed-
She storms off the elevator into the penthouse above his office. She feels absolutely sick, her breath coming in short gasps and her tears stinging her eyes. Her hands are shaking. She walks through the penthouse and directly to their bed, throwing herself onto it and pulling the covers up over herself. She curls herself up into a ball, trying to ignore Gil's half of the bed with his scent still clinging to it.
She doesn't know how long she lies there for. Obviously she's not doing a very good job as his receptionist, but fuck that. Fuck all of this. And fuck that woman for kissing her Gilgamesh like she has any fucking right.
She used to think about this, she reminds herself. She used to feel like such a lost little fawn when she first moved to Korea, literally trying to rebuild her life from the ground up. And then as she fell in love with her boss, her life got...rebuilt around that--around him. And the thought of having to see him fall in love with someone would plague her when she was harbouring those quiet feelings from afar.
She wonders if it would be as painful as this is now.
"Naekkeo?"
Thena sniffles, staying wrapped up in her cocoon of sheets and duvet. She could have left the building, she supposes. She could have locked the bedroom door and told him to go fuck himself. But why didn't she?
"Thena," Gil calls out softly as he walks into the bedroom. He takes cautious steps, trying to gauge how she's doing. "Sweetheart, will you look at me?"
She stays closed off. She doesn't hear him walk away, though. "Why?"
"Please, Gongjunim?" he tries again, with a different petname for her. He moves closer, sitting on her side of the bed at her feet. "I don't know what you saw-"
Thena stretches out her legs, giving him a bony kick right in the hip. She hears him grunt and finally pokes her head out. "You mean that associate of yours kissing you?"
Gil nods, and she wonders if she expected him to try and deny it or not. She wonders if she wishes he had at least tried to deny it a little. "Before I kicked her out?--yes, she did kiss me."
Thena throws herself against her pillow again.
"Baby, please," Gil sighs, leaning over so he can push the duvet down and brush her hair away from her face. "You know I don't want anyone but you."
She does know that, but she doesn't feel any less stupid over it.
"I told her to get away from me," Gil whispers, pressing light kisses wherever she'll let him. "That I'm very happy in my relationship with you."
Thena slowly turns over to look at him.
He sighs, more able to see now that she's been crying. He pulls her up to him, brushing his thumbs over the reddened corners of her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Thena. You know I would never do anything to hurt you."
She does know that.
"I love you," he whispers, kissing her softly, one hand on her waist and the other tangled in her hair, just the way he likes it.
Thena pulls away from him, and the devastated look on his face is almost enough to wipe away the vision of that woman all over him. "I can still see her, leaning over you-"
"I'm sorry," he whispers again, obviously prepared to keep on apologising as many times as it takes. "It came out of nowhere!"
Thena levels a look at him that makes the hardened crime lord shrivel. "Nowhere, Gil?"
He catches her meaning and offers her an impish smile, "come on, Sweetheart. You know what I'm like with that kind of thing."
Yes, she has extensive experience with how dense he is to someone having feelings for/being attracted to him.
"You really didn't notice," Thena glares, crossing her arms at him. He rests his chin on the hand on top of her knees, looking like a dog being scolded. "The hand brushing, the light arm touches, the eyelash fluttering?--none of it?"
Gil stares right up at her with those big dark eyes of his, "no. You think I can notice anything about her while you're in the room?"
Thena rolls her eyes in a huff, determined to stay strong and not get all charmed and fluttery over his cute little remarks. "You're terrible."
He winces, drawing up his shoulders, "a terrible boyfriend, maybe. But I'm telling you the truth, Naekkeo. I had no idea that woman was going to come onto me. Because I only have eyes for you."
Thena leans back against her pillows again, still crossing her arms and now pouting. He's so good at making himself at home in this heart of hers. She gives him a frosty side-eye. "You know, most women wouldn't care for your explanation. They would see you kissing another woman and that would be it."
Gil looks at her with hope in his eyes. He keeps his arm wrapped around her knees as he holds up a finger, "y'know, I don't consider it a kiss. She...put her mouth on mine."
Well, it does sound a little better when he puts it that way.
Thena takes in her loyal, devoted househusband, looking at her with puppydog eyes and a pouted lip. He knows she won't make him sleep on the couch. The only other time she'd tried it, she just brought him back to bed - because she couldn't sleep without him - anyway.
Gil senses her defrosting and leans forward, "I'm all done work for the day--what do you wanna do? Anything you want, baby. Are you hungry? D-Do you want me to take you to the spa?"
Thena cracks half a smile, if only at the sight of Gilgamesh - a major crime lord of Seoul - suggesting cute little things he can do to earn his forgiveness. She's going to make him work for it, but still.
"You name it," he smiles eagerly as she sits more upright against her pillows.
Thena maintains her right to withhold kisses from him, crossing her arms again and raising a brow. "I suppose I am hungry. I was about to ask if you wanted to order something when I walked in on you-"
"Okay, you got it!" he rushes, scrambling to stand off the bed and lean down to kiss her cheek and pull his jacket on all in the same second. "I'll get your absolute favourite, baby, you stay here--relax! Why don't you get into your comfy clothes? I'll bring food, and some wine, and we can spend all night here, okay?"
"Mm-hm," she smirks at him as he dashes out the door.
"I love you!"
Thena curls up under the blankets again. She will get changed into her comfy clothes, and she knows he's going to come back with a massive floral arrangement, and chocolates, and probably even more than that to go way overboard. She pulls out her phone, laying it on his pillow as she types.
I love you too. Hurry back xo
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Any headcanons on what would life had looked like if rhea told jeralt to piss off and she raised the baby herself?
Ooh!
I think Rhea would have come clean to Seteth (who still returned with a sleeping Flayn) earlier, still being shocked about everything and the "sin" she committed by creating homonculi, but Sitri asked her, from her own will, to look after her child - can she really continue creating people instead of creating vessels for the Progenitor God?
But Billy's here, and they're born from Sitri's will and actions, so whatever she wanted before or whatever Sitri was supposed to be, it doesn't matter anymore, and she's going to look after them.
Seteth thus understands how desperate Rhea is and tries to support her, to the best of his abilities, and maybe help her move forward and abandon her dreams of meeting Worst Mom again.
Billy grew up with the most ridiculous handsewn uniforms, but they still had difficulties to emote. Rhea didn't really care, and they could often be spot eating zanado fruits on the star terrace, whenever Rhea had free time from her duties.
Rhea's actually reluctant to let them learn how to fight, because she doesn't want them to be hurt. But they can learn how to heal if they want, and Billy's kind of happy to heal people around, and help around the Monastery, being the Archbishop's "ward". Seteth'd teach them how to ride a wyvern too, and actually impart wisdom from Saint Cichol or something.
They fish together, and Seteth sometimes takes them out for "fishing trips" outside GM.
One thing leading to another (maybe the 15th assassination attempt against Rhea), Billy wants to learn how to fight to "protect" their family, they get in their first argument with Rhea, but when they tell this is what they want to do, to protect their family, the monastery and all the things they love, Rhea relents.
When Cyril is brought to Garreg Mach, Billy takes upon themselves to help them settle here, and isn't bothered the least when Rhea expresses satisfaction at how nice it is that they are getting along like good siblings. Cyril is still completely puzzled, but he still has a lizard fam like in canon. Flayn calls them "cousin" and they try to discover the "modern" world together, rather, Billy tells her all about they know, and Flayn coaxes them to learn more about "romance", asking them to borrow books for her.
Rhea told Billy the truth about their mother - part of it anyways - how she died in childbirth, how Sitri was her daughter and how she wished for them to live and to be happy. She lies about Jerry, saying he was a most formidable knight, a legendary captain of the knights, who tragically died while rescuing people from a disaster - she asked Alois and the rest of the KoS to "lie" to Billy about Jerry, and they agreed because it's better for them to believe their Father died than to learn their Father "ran away" from parenthood because his baby was "not normal".
Sothis wakes up and Billy immediately tells Rhea about that weird gremlin in their head - discussions happen and Rhea tells them more about "the truth", how Seteth, Flayn and herself are called Nabateans, and are from a race of people who were created by Sothis, different from humans. And how she created Billy's mom to be a vessel for Sothis, but Sitri was her own person, and then she fell in love with a human, and Billy was born from their union. Rhea then apologises, because it was her desire to meet Sothis once again that led her to create Sitri, and which ultimately brought Billy, but Billy cuts her, she has nothing to apologise for - no matter the reasons why Sitri or they were born, they're happy to exist and live in this world, and want to help everyone, Rhea herself, included.
Billy thus enrols in the Officers Academy, but as a teacher, to gain more experience about the world and help the various nations, with Rhea's blessing - she thinks that with enough experience, if of course they want, Billy could take over her role and guide/help the people.
Sothis doesn't want to get the job, but wonders what her host will do, and she found it very interesting how they the product of human-nabatean breeding, and wants to see what they will do, can they build a peaceful world or not?
Jerry returns to the Monastery, and while Billy at first thought he was a poor soul who needed counselling, they come to realise this person is the father who abandonned them - Rhea lied, yes, but they understand why - and might decide, or not, to have some sort of relationship with Jerry.
the end
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