#This gets me every time. Giffed EVERY TIME. What is this enchantment

[zappedbyzabka]

Babydoll

#This gets me every time. Giffed EVERY TIME. What is this enchantment #He said I will be so sparkly eyed fat assed teeny waisted in this club tonight #I will flutter my lashes and make eye contact while sucking on a straw #ruben patterson #william zabka

[hollisxwrites]

Hi! I absolutely love your writing, I was wondering if you could write a luke castellan x reader. Where she’s been at camp for a while now and haven’t been claimed. But most people at camp think she’s Hermes daughter which Luke hates because he has a crush on her. But she’s known the entire time, just wanted to stay in that cabin with Luke and everyone else.

"you've got to hide your love away"

not my gif or my song! all credits to the original creators.

luke castellan x fem! reader (lukes POV)

word count: 1.8k

warnings: some sexual innuendos (nothing explicit though), some crude language, kissing, another song fic! i'm sorry! premise of the first little section is luke denying feeling for the reader because the people at camp think they could be half siblings, but it's nothing weird so dw!

summary: the reader is incredibly close with the kids in the hermes cabin, so close, that she lies and says she has not been claimed by her godly parents yet in order to stay with her friends for as long as possible. eventually, she admits it to her closest friend, luke, and he is relived, as he is in love with the reader.

authors note: guys! i have reached 500 (!!!!!) notes on two works so far, and that has blown me away! thank you for all the request, i'm working on getting through all of them as we speak, and i am so excited to put out what i have been working on to you guys! this is a shorter fic and just kind of cute, so i hope you enjoy! keep sending request, i'm loving reading all of your thoughts about percy and luke! i am so thankful for this community. love you all!

My friends and I, Connor, Travis, Chris, Clarisse, Alice, and {reader} sat around a dwindling campfire on an oddly cold night in September.  A gentle wind blew, rustling the leaves around us, and sending the heavy smoke of the fire into the faces of Connor and Travis, making everyone sitting under the stars laugh at their dramatic performance of a coughing fits.  Everyone, that is, except for {reader}.  She always had a soft spot for people who seemed to feel unwell, even if it was for something as small as the brothers inhaling a little bit of smoke as a joke.  

{Reader} was unlike anyone else I had ever met, sympathetic, gentle, and kind.  Every time I saw her, I felt like my world was a little brighter.  Chris said I loved her, Connor said it was just because she is my “sister” through the camp, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what the feeling was.  She had not been claimed by her godly parent, or so she says. Everyone believes that her dad is Hermes, since he is typically a deadbeat dad, and people say he is too lazy to claim her.  I guess their thoughts made sense; she had lived in our cabin for two years, so Hermes really had no reason to claim her at that point.  It shattered my heart just a little bit, as {reader} was so beautiful, a type of beauty that is unique unto her, something I feared I would never get to experience again.   I thought I would not be able to fully love her if she was my sibling.  So, I pushed back any feelings I could have for her deep down in my heart.  No one knew about them, and I hoped they never did, especially if she was my sister. I didn’t want to be seen as some kinky weirdo. 

The Stoll's finally stopped their theatrics, and I was able to look at {reader} for what felt like the first time due to the long day we’ve had.  Everything from counselor duties to training to hanging out with friends, I hadn’t gotten to spend a lot of time with her the days prior.  I watched her every move, and every moment she enchanted me.  Holding her guitar that I had gotten her from an Apollo kid for her birthday last year, she was picking out random chords, humming along to a song that I didn’t recognize.  Conversation fell silent amongst our group as {reader} started to play the chords she had been fiddling with in more confidence.  She sang along to the expertly played chords in a clean, clear voice that mesmerized me every time I heard her sing. When she reached the chorus of the song, she looked me in the eye while she sang, causing my stomach to erupt in fireworks.  Her eyes shone in the darkness, made even more beautiful by the fire reflecting off them.  

Gather 'round all you clowns,  

Let me hear you say 

Hey, you’ve got to hide your love away! 

When she completed her song, the Stoll's clapped, and then repeated her chorus loudly, skipping around the perimeter of the campfire, shouting like drunken sailors.  Typically, I would’ve joined in their antics, but in that moment, I couldn’t even speak.  {Reader} was so beautiful.  Maybe Chris was right, maybe I did love her.  She sat her guitar down beside her, and leaned up against the logs that we used as makeshift chairs. She threw her head back laughing at a joke Clarisse made, and her laughter was almost as beautiful as the song she had sung.  I could have sworn at that moment that my heart was going to burst out of my chest.  Something about the energy surrounding her made me admire her.  I couldn’t take my eyes off her.  

Eventually, when the moon was completely risen in the sky, and the Harpies were about to come out, my group retreated to our respective cabins.  After showering and changing, I laid in my bed, staring up at the ceiling that was plastered with plastic stars, there to comfort younger campers.  I fiddled with the bracelet on my wrist that {reader} made for our friend group and exhaled deeply.  I had no idea what I was going to do.  That day had solidified for me that I was in love with {reader}.  Her aura was enchanting, enticing me every time she spoke.  I stared into the plastic stars for what felt like an eternity, when all the sudden, someone distracted me from my thoughts (thank the gods). 

“Luke?”  {Reader}’s sweet voice whispered.  “Are you still awake?”  I saw her figure standing next to my bed.  She was wearing a sweatshirt from her hometown and flannel pants that made her look warm and inviting.  Her hair was slightly out of place, and she looked frightened.   

“Of course I am, you know me.  Never asleep.”  I said with a sigh, sitting myself up on my elbows so I could see her better.  “Whatcha’ need?” 

She turned her head away from me, as if she was embarrassed by what she had to say.  “Nightmares.  Again.  I can’t go back to sleep, I tried.” 

I frowned, feeling sympathetic for the girl in front of me.  “I’m so sorry.  I know that sucks.  What can I do to help you?”  

“Could I stay with you?”  she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. 

“What do you mean?”  I asked quizzically, my heart racing, thoughts jumbling together at the mere idea of her staying with me.   

She rolled her eyes and shoved me over.  “I just need to be around someone right now, and you’re my best friend, so...”   

I moved over so she would have room beside me, and automatically, I could see her body relax.  I pulled my duvet over her, making sure she was warm, and shuffled over a little more to respect her space.  “Do you want to talk about it?” 

She shook her head.  “Not really.  I do have something that I want to tell you, though.”   

I laid down so I was facing her.  “You can tell me anything, you know that.” 

 “Of course I can, that’s why I’m scared to tell you this.  I don’t want you to hate me.”  I could see the agitation on her face, so I reached out to hold her hand, hoping to ground her.  Electricity sparked where our skin met, but at that moment, I tried to ignore it.  I wondered if she felt it, too. 

“I could never hate you.  I don’t care what you tell me.  You could tell me you hated sword fighting and I would still forgive you.”  I said, giving her my best sympathetic smile. 

She giggled at this, moving to play with the silver ring on my finger.  “I know.”  She swallowed hard.  “Luke, I have been claimed by my dad, I just didn’t want to tell anyone because I didn’t want to leave the cabin.  I didn’t want to leave you.” 

Resisting the urge to let my jaw drop, I looked at her, trying to find any sense of sarcasm in her gaze.  “Are you serious?  Who claimed you?  When?  Why me?” 

“Apollo is my dad."  She said shortly.  “A year ago, the first time I played the guitar you got me. He claimed me then. Also, why you? Look at yourself.  You’re the most genuine person who I have ever known.  I love you.  So much.”  

This time, my jaw did gape open just a little bit.  She loved me.  Oh, my gods, she fucking loved me.  “I love you too, but why are you telling me this now?”  I asked, curious as to why she was letting me in on this information at two or three in the morning.  

“That’s what my nightmare was about.  The lie had gotten to me, and you started to believe I was your sister, which is a horrible thought, and you dated someone, some Aphrodite girl who said I was too ugly to be loved by someone like you.  I didn’t want that to become my reality, so here I am.”  She said, her gaze traveling down to where our hands were still connected. 

My mind ran circles around her words.  She loved me.  She wanted me.  I guessed I looked lost, maybe even unhappy, because when I started to speak, she cut me off.  “So, what you’re saying is that...” 

“If you don’t like me that’s okay!  Seriously.  I know that this is random and ridiculous.  It’s just a stupid dream.”  She said, trying to pull her hand away from mine.   

“It’s not stupid, {reader}.  I love you, too.  I wanted you to not be a Herme’s kid with everything in my heart.”  I paused, eyes moving to her lips.  “Can I...”  At this, she softly pressed our lips together into the sweetest kiss I had ever experienced.  It was so soft, and some of her honey lip balm transferred onto mine.  She pressed a kiss to my cheek, my scar, my jaw, and my neck, before her eyes drifted closed.  “I love you, Luke, but I want to sleep.”   

“I love you, too, so I will let you sleep.” I responded, pulling her into my arms. I held her close for the rest of the night, basking in her scent and her warmth.  I was coaxed to sleep by her rhythmic heartbeat that I could feel against my chest. 

.... 

“WHAT THE HELL!”  Travis shouted.  It was probably nine in the morning, due to the emptiness and light coming into the cabin. 

I jolted awake, suddenly aware of another person in my arms.  {Reader}.  She had her arms thrown across my chest, head resting in the crook of my neck.  I rubbed my eyes with my free hand, trying to take in what was happening around me, trying to comprehend that the night prior wasn’t a dream. 

Travis and Connor stood near my bedside with stunned looks on my face.  Connor was the first to speak up after Travis’s initial reaction.  “Did you guys' fuck?”    

My face turned beat red. “No, dumbass!  Go away, she’s still asleep.  She just had nightmares last night and didn’t want to be alone.”  

“Sureeeeeeee.”  Travis drew out, smirking at me.  “That doesn’t look like you guys are just friends, Lukie.” 

I rolled my eyes and pulled {reader} closer, trying to ward off the Stoll's, trying to protect her from waking up at their loud words.  “Go away, please!” 

The brothers chuckled and walked out of the room, nudging one another.  I sighed and turned back to {reader}.  She didn’t stir in my arms, surprisingly, after all the commotion.  Holding her there made everything in my life make sense, and at this moment, I believed I had finally found my lifeline, my home. I pressed a kiss into her hair and contented myself with memorizing every freckle on her face.  

#luke castellan #luke castellan x reader #luke castellan x you #percy jackson #percy jackson show #luke castellan fluff #percy jackson fluff #pjo series #pjo tv show #percy jackon and the olympians

[snowyslytherinowl]

Joyous Nightmares - Part 2

PAIRING: Severus Snape x (Professor) Reader

SUMMARY: A year after surviving the Second Wizarding War, Severus Snape begins to have joyous nightmares where he dreams of having a wife and a daughter. These dreams bring him nightmares because he doesn't believe that he'll ever get married or have a family of his own. So what happens when the wife in his dreams is revealed to be you?

Warning: Some angst again, but nothing heavy. 

Part 1 | Part 3

*GIF isn't mine

Severus reads a book resting on his crossed knees. Below him, his now three-year-old daughter plays with her stuffed toys. She drags her niffler across the floor and pretends that it’s searching for her play jewelry and toy galleons. When her niffler finds every item, she extends her hand to where the phoenix is sitting, causing it to fly across the room and into her hands. “Daddy, make it sing, please?” she asks as she tugs on the fabric of her father’s trousers.

“Of course, my Half-Blood Princess.” Slightly bending down, Severus takes his daughter into his arms and settles her onto his lap. He waves his wand over the phoenix’s chest, causing it to play a song that enchants his daughter. 

The front door scrapes open, alerting him to the arrival of his wife. “Hello, my love,” he greets after his wife sneaks up behind him and kisses his cheek. 

Right after he awakes, Severus places the palm of his hand on the cheek that his dream wife kissed. Never before has he been physical with her in any way, though he enjoys that one kiss from her. It’s almost impossible to wipe the feeling of her plump, soft lips on his cheek from his mind. 

After failing to drift off for an hour, Severus gives up and works on brewing a new batch of potions that will allow him dreamless sleep. He started brewing them shortly after his first nightmare with his daughter, but he still has these joyous nightmares since he can’t brew enough for each night. As he waits for the cauldron to simmer, he brushes his fingers against his cheek again. 

He heads to the Great Hall in time for breakfast. You quickly glance at him after he sits beside you, and immediately pour him a coffee. “Are you sure that you’re feeling all right? You’ve looked awful lately.”

“Thank you for pointing that out,” he drawls, earning a chuckle from you. Severus rarely tells an actual joke, but he likes hearing you laugh. At the last Christmas party, he told some joke that made you laugh harder than he ever heard before. He can’t remember the joke he told, but he remembers how that night, he replayed the moment when you playfully smacked his shoulder in response to the joke. 

“Maybe the Hogsmeade visit today will make you feel better,” you point out. Severus suddenly remembers how the third- to seventh-year students will venture into the village. He's always thought that setting these dunderheads loose in a public place is a bad idea.

“I do not plan to go,” he replies, which earns an exaggerated gasp from you. “Witnessing the students ransacking Hogsmeade brings me no pleasure.”

“How can you not?” you dramatically ask him. “Maybe you’ll come if I join you?”

He turns over the offer in his mind for a moment before deciding to accept. “Fine, I will meet you in the Entrance Hall.”

“Fantastic!” He enjoys the way you beam at him. 

Severus stops by his chambers to change into something more cozy (and of course, all black) for the winter weather. He wraps a fluffy black scarf you gave him around his neck and shoulders and heads out. 

He observes your outfit as you wave students out of the Entrance Hall. Your coat and dress show your figure nicely, and your scarf compliments your eyes. He catches your eye when you turn around, so he lifts his hand in a feeble wave. “I like your scarf,” you jokingly compliment as you head out together. 

“Thank you.” On your way to the village, you discuss your ideas for the outing. You agree to stop by a bookstore, then go to the Three Broomsticks for a drink. Colorful, twinkling lights and pine trees line the path to Hogsmeade. Silver and golden stars hang from the ceilings in the bookstore, and you and Severus separate to look for different items. 

Peacock and pheasant feather quills line the shelves, though Severus chooses two quills with an eagle feather. From a gap in the shelves, he notices a small child looking for picture books with his parents. He’s entranced as he watches the little boy show a book to his mother, who agrees to buy it for him. His father scoops the child up and the three of them head for the counter together, reminding Severus of his dreams with his small daughter. 

He doesn’t realize he’s staring until you tap him on the shoulder and ask, “Ready to check out?” He jumps at your touch, earning a quizzical look from you, but he nods and you buy two books while he buys the quills. 

You order a Butterbeer and Severus orders a tea with a shot of Firewhisky. When you reach a table near the back, he expects you to sit across from him. Instead, you sit next to him, and close to him at that. A little too close for what is appropriate between two friends.

“What’s on your mind?” you ask, brushing a strand of your hair behind your ear and taking a sip of your Butterbeer. 

“Nothing of importance. I am merely thinking about how there is not nearly enough Firewhisky in this tea,” he lies. In reality, he’s thinking about how if he stood up, his leg would brush against yours. 

“It’s not strong, but you can have a sip of my Butterbeer if you want.” You swish the drink around in your hand before turning to look at him. Your usual cheeriness has faded away to a serious look. “Severus, I’ve been worried about you. You look… more miserable than usual and you look like you hardly get any sleep. Is something wrong?”

Minerva has also noticed that something is off with him. Instead of pulling him aside to talk things through, she gives him sympathetic looks in the staffroom and reduces the number of days that he's assigned to patrol the corridors. You’ve been more open about your concern and Severus finds it, for lack of a better word, sweet. But he doesn’t want to talk about his joyous nightmares with anyone; he doesn’t deserve anyone’s sympathy or gentle looks. You’d probably laugh at him if he told you how he dreamt of a family of his own. 

“I… I am fine.” You quirk your eyebrow at him and he continues, “Finding the ability to sleep after the war is not hard to believe, is it not?”

You nod and soften a little, but you still look wary. “I was thinking that if you had more company, you’d feel better. With me, for example.” You shift your seat even closer to him and your legs are nearly brushing against each other. Severus looks down and becomes flustered. 

You place your hand on his arm as you continue. “After each day’s classes, we can go down to the Black Lake. On the weekends, maybe we can visit Hogsmeade again. What do you think?” 

“I… I believe…” Severus feels like a fool as he trips over his words. All he can think about is your hand on his arm and how you’re close enough to feel your breath and smell your perfume. 

He’s disappointed when you withdraw your hand from him and straighten in your seat until he notices that Professors McGonagall and Flitwick are heading for your table. “Do you mind if we sit with you?” Filius asks. 

“Not at all,” you reply and smile, but Severus notes a hint of impatience in your tone. He can't help but share your feelings of impatience.

After taking a sip of her drink, Minerva leans in and says, “I don’t know about you all, but I am delighted that the Christmas holidays are near.” She drones on about her plans, the decorations she has already put up, and her favorite Christmas treats. You enthusiastically talk about the holidays with Minerva and Filius, and sometimes give a reassuring smile to Severus while the others talk. 

Severus, on the other hand, barely participates in the conversation except for the appropriate nod and grunt here and there. All his mind can focus on is how close you were with him and why in the wizarding world you would offer to spend so much time with him. 

Thankfully (for Severus, at least), the conversation doesn’t carry on for much longer and the four of you head outside. You’re walking along the path towards Honeydukes when suddenly, you hear children screaming with delight. Snowballs fly between the two sides of the path as the children run around and duck for cover behind trees and buildings. 

Severus whips his wand out and suspends all the snowballs in midair. They fall glumly to the ground, causing the children to stop laughing and screaming at once. “What do you think you are doing?” he asks, enunciating each word. Behind him, you and Minerva are exchanging looks and holding back giggles. 

“Professor Snape, we were uhh…” a third-year Hufflepuff attempts to explain. “We were having a snowball fight.” 

“Obviously,” Severus drawls. “Five points from each of you for endangering yourselves and the residents of Hogsmeade with your reckless behavior.” When they only stare at him, he continues, “Direct yourselves back to Hogwarts before I deduct more points.” 

He turns back to find only you standing there. The other two professors left for a tea shop, so you and Severus resume your walk together. You lean into him and say, “You know, they were just having fun.”

“You would define a snowball fight as fun?” he retorts. 

You roll your eyes at him. “That seems like something that someone who hasn’t been in a snowball fight before would say. What did you do for fun during the winter as a child?”

“If you truly wish to know, I occasionally made snowmen and drank tea by the fireplace,” he explains. He stops short when he notices that you’ve left his side. 

Something hits him on his right shoulder, and he has to brush his hand over his shoulder to realize that it’s snow. He whips his head around to see you forming another snowball in your hands. You fire the snowball straight at his chest, but he uses his wand to suspend it in midair. “What are you doing?”

“Having some fun! Stop using your wand!” you shout before rolling another snowball. 

Severus has a reputation to keep up and he has no time to behave like an immature five-year-old. Quite frankly, your behavior as a professor is far from appropriate. But you look so beautiful with a large grin on your face as you raise your arm to take your aim, and the snow is falling perfectly on your hair. He looks around to make sure no students or staff are present before he allows himself to indulge in a snowball fight with you. 

Ducking out of the way, he crouches on the snowy ground and forms a snowball of his own. He sends it flying towards you and it hits you powerfully in the chest, knocking you to the ground with a little shriek. Concerned, Severus stands up to make sure you’re okay until you jump back up and throw a snowball squarely at his abdomen. 

“You insolent little-” He’s cut off when another snowball comes at him and you run away laughing. Residents of Hogsmeade watch Severus chase you into a side street. Both of you continue pelting snowballs at each other until a door opens behind you and Minerva emerges. Severus’s snowball hits the doorframe beside her and she stands there partly shocked, partly amused. 

“I don’t believe that two of my best professors should be behaving like immature first-years,” she chides. 

Blood rushes to your faces and you give her a sheepish smile. “Perhaps we would be better than first-years if Severus improved his aim.” You flash him a wicked smile when he glares at you. 

“Perhaps Filius and I should escort you back to the castle before you engage in more childish behaviors,” Minerva scolds even though there is a hint of amusement in her voice. 

More snow falls as the professors round students up to return to Hogwarts. Enchanted lights and stars twinkle as you and Severus shepherd the students along the path back to the school. You don’t talk much since you’re watching a family of deer passing by. 

A halo surrounds your head because of the golden lights wrapped around the pine trees. Severus pays no attention to the deer, instead admiring how angelic you look with the halo around you. His skin burns and he looks away when you catch him looking at you, but you only flash him a smile. 

“Think about my offer,” you tell him after you drop off the students and walk away from him towards your quarters. 

Oh, he’ll be thinking about your offer tonight in his dreams. 

#snape x reader #snape x y/n #snape x you #severus snape #severus snape x reader #severus snape x you #severus snape x y/n #baby #nightmares #reader insert #hogsmeade #harry potter #angst #fluff #winter #snowball fight #minerva mcgonagall #filius flitwick #professor flitwick #professor mcgonagall #romance #mutual pining #pro snape #professor snape #severus snape x professor!reader #dad snape

[equallyshaw]

through thick and thin, always | mat barzal

not too sure if i wanna do gif's or pictures like that above..trying something new out (:

warnings: mental health struggles and ed talk.

word count: 2.9k+

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

trigger warning: relapse in an eating disorder, but not to graphic! talks of therapy and past shame/guilt.

della's mental health struggles had been brewing for some time, long before she ever met mat. when she met mat, her mental health improved along with her self-esteem just by the sheer fact that she was dating somebody. however, this year's fall rolled around it seemed as if everyone, every situation, and herself were against her. with having the luxury of working from home 5 days a week, she was alone a lot and in turn, had oh so much time for her thoughts to feast on her self esteem. for the first time in almost 6 years she'd had the urge to restrict. she kept reminding herself that her habit got her nowhere all those years ago, but she had that hopeful optimism that it would be different this time. a few days before christmas, sydney was hosting a holiday party for the last game before christmas and she noticed something very off with her good friend. her friend drowned herself in the alcohol that was provided and not much of the food that sat out. della felt very uncomfortable, she felt like none of her clothes fit right over her bones and curves, she felt like the odd man out seeing everybody wearing the clothes she desperately wished she could, though knew she might never be able to. she thought about how mat looked at her, and what he thought of her physically. she felt like she wasn't good enough for him, even after almost three years together.

sydney watched as the girl sipped on her wine whilst looking out at the backyard as snow fell, and felt her heart fall. she made her way over, and wrapped an a soft arm around the girl's back. "you good, dells?" sydney asked and della nodded. "ofcourse, why wouldn't i be?" she mused putting on a fake smile. "well..you've barely watched the game and i just wanted to make sure you were good. that's all." sydney said and della nodded. "yeah! sorry, been busy with work and just trying to clear my head a bit." della said, the perfect smile enchanting her pale skin. sydney nodded, "well lets go to the kitchen, the girls are snacking away right now." and della frowned. "i-i think im heading out now. i have a deadline tomorrow and i wanna make sure i have it done on time." della said as the two walked towards the kitchen. "oh, okay. no worries, please let me know when you get home." sydney said pulling her into a hug. one that della needed desperately after a 2 week road trip. "ofcourse, syd." della hummed before putting on her coat and walking outside. della quickly made her way to the car, feeling her headache grow as the alcohol was continuously hitting her empty stomach. she sighed, as she got into the car and chewed on her lip. she looked at her lap, and felt the tears finally poured over onto her cheeks. she made her way back to her townhouse a few neighborhoods over and sat in the garage that seemed like an hour.

her mind and thoughts were racing with what she did that evening, how much she drank, and spoke, how many excuses she made and white lies that were said. she thought about how sydney had looked at her, with pity? remorse? concern? della did not have much more time to think before her phone began to ring. mat's name popped up and she let it go to voicemail, most likely wondering where she was. she had said she'd be at syd's for the evening and some of the guys were stopping by there afterward.

for the first time in years, she truly hated herself. hated how she looked to herself and to others. her body dysmorphia crippling her once more. she got out of the car, and headed inside and was greeted by her corgi, 'poppy' and quickly kneeled down to be on her level. she curled up into a ball with poppy and sobbed. realizing how bad it was getting again, and it made her guilty because of how much progress she'd made. "why poppy? why does it always have to come back at the worst times?" della mumbled, as poppy laid on her chest now. her phone began to ring again and a few texts came in, but della did not budge to look. she got up, ripping her coat off feeling suffocated. she threw it on the ground towards the garage door and headed towards the kitchen to grab more alcohol. as she was pouring herself some more wine, she heard a knock on her door. she sighed, walking over towards the front door saw her neighbor and now good friend lea. "saw you pull in, hun. brought some goodies over." and once della saw the dark chocolate peppermint bark, she knew she was a goner. "come on in." della hummed, and poppy quickly greeted the redhead. "whats the most expensive wine you own, doing out?" lea questioned as she walked into the kitchen and della nodded. "cuz the world hates me as much as i hate myself." she murmured and lea frowned. "is it bad again?" she questioned her friend and della nodded, looking down as her lip quivered. "have you told mat?" lea questioned softly and della shook her had. lea quickly wrapped her arms around her friend, allowing her to cry. "if i-i tell him, he'll break up with me. nobody wants to date somebody that is sick. that's so mentally fucked u-up." della sobbed and lea shook her head. "della, that man loves you. just absolutely adores you babe. you dont need to tell him tonight but please at some point.." lea trailed off and della knew she had to. "i just need to prepare myself for the chance he does though, i have too." della said pulling back just a bit and lea nodded softly. "ofcourse babes." and della eyed the bark. but instead, grabbed the wine bottle and glass and headed towards her bedroom with lea following with another glass and poppy.

_

it was the next morning, and della had the absolute worst hungover she'd had in a long while. with no food in her system, her stomach was also in shambles. lea was sound asleep on mat's side of the bed with poppy sleeping at their feet. the wine bottle sat empty next to della's side with a half bottle of tequila wiped clean. della rubbed her temples before feeling her stomach begin to churn. she quickly headed over towards the ensemble washroom and chucked the liquid coming up. she heaved for a few seconds before laying down face first on the cool tile. she growled as her phone begin to ring once more, and as it finished it began to ring once more. "fucking mat, leave us alone." lea said as she woke up, declining the call.

mat grew nervous and a bit frustrated with the call going to voicemail once more, he'd been trying all night and now morning with no luck. sydney had said she left in a hurry to finish up some work and made it seem like she wanted to be alone. mat wouldn't bother her unless she said something to him, not wanting to get in the way of her rapid deadlines. he made his way out of his condo and drove to get some coffee and a breakfast sandwich for the girl before heading over to her place. if she wasn't going to pick up, he'd be going to her.

della walked downstairs with lea, carrying the glasses and alcohol bottles down with them. the bark lay uneaten on the counter, and della had the urge to grab the tin and stuff her mouth with as much as she could. she was fighting the urge to completely binge till her heart could content, and lea noticed. "ill keep this nice and cozy until you say something. ok?" lea said taking the tin and della sighed in content. "thanks." she mumbled, leaning over to feed poppy. "ill call you later, im gonna shower and see how far i last before i need to nap." della said hugging the redhead who nodded. "okay, let me know if you need anything. i mean it, you send the word and ill come running." she hummed and della giggled. "thanks lea." she said walking her to the front door, and as lea opened it she stopped frozen seeing the 6 foot hockey player at the door, his set of keys in his mouth as he tried to open the door. "morning barzal." lea said stepping across the threshold and past the tall dude. della did not say anything but open the door wider for him to enter. he stepped inside the warm house, pressing a kiss to her temple. and in doing so, noticed her under eye circles, her face looking gaunt and her eyes red and puffy. his eyebrows crinkled, as he set down the coffees and sandwiches on the table next to the door, concern flooding his entire body.

"della rae-" he said placing his hands softly on her pale cheeks, inspecting her from top to bottom. she'd lost weight, a good amount since the last time they had spent a substantial amount of time together; which was now almost a month ago. she shut her eyes not wanting to meet his questionable eye and worrying face. it was beginning to click for mat, and in the instant he realized, he pulled her in for a bone-crushing hug. fearing that if he let go, he'd lose her even more. she felt loose tears fall down her cheeks onto his shirt, and she let out a soft whimper. that only made him pull her in tighter. things were now clicking for him, why she was barely responding to his sister's text, why she was also not responding to his texts and phone calls like she once had. and finally, the suspicions that sydney had the previous evening, were correct. "im sorry matty." she whispered against his chest, and he pulled back just a bit to look at her. he shook his head as she looked up with fear written across her face. "im sorry im a mess...and that im sick. im so sorry." she said clenching her eyes shut whilst sniffling, with mat wiping her tears away. "never apologize della, don't apologize for this. it isn't your fault- at all. i promise you that." he said as she reopened her eyes. as guilt and hunger washed over her once more, she looked to the side and saw the coffees and then looked back at mat, "can i take those?" she mumbled and he nodded softly. "you don't ever have to ask, hun." he said as she stepped out of his arms and around him. she took the coffee and sandwich, holding them close to her chest and headed into the small living room that had a small library, fireplace, and a plush couch. mat followed suit with his and followed her into the room, sitting down next to her. but leaving just a bit of room between the two.

she stared at the sandwich bag, as she held the coffee straw near her lips wanting to fight the urge but knew she needed to eat. "i need help mat.." she said defeatedly as she stared at the bag. mat looked over with a worried look and demeanor, and took notice of the staredown she had with her coffee. he set his coffee down, and took her's as well, and placed it on the coffee table in front of them. he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. she took in the familiar warmth that he had. "im sorry I've been distant recently...i just have been so consumed with it all and because of it i've been exhausted." she said softly and mat kissed the top of her head. "i noticed something was off..when we went to thanksgiving with your family. i sensed something was off because every time i tried...tried looking at you you would look away or at the ground. it hurt me. it made me feel like you were embarrassed or guilty of something and i-i should have noticed it. and im sorry, i didn't." he said biting the inside of his cheek, trying to not cry. della's heart broke hearing how much it hurt him that she was very distant at thanksgiving. she was hoping he wouldn't notice and chalk it up to the many conversations she had found herself engrossed in.

"i love you della rae... nothing is going to change that. no matter how complicated this may get." he said feeling her tense up somewhat at his confession. she nodded into his chest, feeling him tighten his arms around her.

_

christmas, new years and valentines had rolled around with anxiety and apprehension as della progressed through therapy. after christmas, mat took the week leading up to new years off to be there for della as well as all star break + by week. della was grateful to have him in the house as she returned to work and basked in his presence before he headed back on the road. when he left, sydney and some of the other girls took turns coming over and bringing her out whenever she could. she accredited a lot to those girls, and added them to her list of why she should strive for recovery.

it was now playoffs time, and for the first time in a long while she was excited to head to a home game. when sydney had let the girls know that the jackets were being ordered, she jumped at the opportunity to get one. mat's heart was all fuzzy and warm when she showed him it right before they headed out. she did a little twirl for him and a few poses, before they shared a kiss. "oh!" he said remembering to grab what he'd been saving for some time, and as della headed out to start the car; mat ran to go get it.

the two made their way down to the arena and as she was about to drop mat at the players entrance, he paused and pulled out a letter of sorts for della. "i uh..I've been keeping this for a while not sure when to give it and whatnot, but seeing you tonight and how excited you were to put on the jacket which i know is something that you've been insecure about in the past.." he trailed off pausing to place the letter in her hands. "im so incredibly proud of how far you've come in these short few months, and i just wanted to write something down. i wasn't even going to give it to you but tonight, i just have this feeling of immense pride della rae. but uh..yeah ill see you later. ok?" he said placing a peck on her cheek. she smiled, watching him open the door and hop out. "good luck hun." she smiled widely and as mat looked at her once more, he saw the genuine smile he'd missed dearly. he nodded before shutting the door and heading towards the entrance. she pulled off into the family and friends parking lot and stared down at the letter. her heart swelled, just thinking about what the contents of the letter were.

she pulled it open softly and carefully, as to not rip the letter. she smiled softly at the handwritten note and read it slowly. words of encouragement, words of pride, and love. words of sadness and words of commitment. she sniffled as she finished it, completely taken back by it. she knew mat had felt all of these things, but seeing it in writing made her heart swell. he loved her deeply and without hesitation. she got out of the car and headed towards the private entrance and once sydney saw her walk through the box's entrance, she jumped up and down. della smiled as the others all made their way over to greet her. "picture time!" one of the girls cheered and sydney pulled her friend with her towards a spot in the back. "lookin good sista." she hummed and della smiled widely. pictures were taken, food was consumed along with alcohol and the up's and down's of playoff hockey was experienced that evening.

as soon as she saw mat walking into the box, she smiled widely before he kissed her quickly. "great game, matty." she said looking up at him and he smiled widely. a hard effort was fought, with a win now accredited towards the islanders. "lets head home." he said and the two walked hand in hand towards the car. mat opened the passenger door for her, and she thanked him before he shut the door.

she saw the letter sticking out of her purse, and she turned towards at who buckled. "thankyou for the letter mat, you have now idea how much i appreciate it." she said leaning over the console, and he met her in the middle. "through thick and thin always, my love will never falter for you della rae." he spoke softly before kissing the girl passionately. she melted into the kiss, before pulling away. "lets get home, we've got a lot to celebrate." she hummed running a soft thumb over his cheek.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

no tags just because its a sensitive topic!

#mat barzal #mat barzal x oc #mat barzal blurb #mat barzal fic #new york islanders #nhl #hockey #nhl blurb #hockey blurb #nhl fic #hockey fic #hockey imagine #nhl imagine #mat Brazil imagine

[itsgrimeytime]

Magnolia in May (Part Thirty) || Rick Grimes (TWD) x Greene!f!reader Regency AU

Parts 1-20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29...

Taglist: @loliakeoghan23 @curlycarley @queenie32 @mgparker @misatmosfear

rick grimes taglist: @golden-hoax @mgparker

AVAILABLE ON AO3

Inspiration (in honor of Speak Now Taylor's Version): Enchanted by Taylor Swift.

Summary: Your town was small, not the smallest you knew, but anyone of high fortune was the gossip of the week. Predictably, Richard Grimes was a thing of whispers -rumors of a search for marriage among the grassy hills. You weren't one to buy into town gossip, but something about him... just seemed a little too intriguing.

TW: steamy againnnnnn (sorry) (just some good old-fashioned making out).

[[A/N: Just found this gif.... the lord's work. Oh my god. Y'all this might be about kissing again :)))), kinda sorta. Thanks for reading !!! ]]

The day of your proposal was a quite busy one, you'll admit. Not that you had a lot to do, but getting a portrait painted was no light work, you were to sit still for hours -the painter posed you rather eloquently, but still you were drawn to such aches and pains.

That is to say, you hadn't been properly alone with Mr. Grimes since the proposal. Your duties were far unfulfilled then, and then, the planning had started, and although you saw him frequently, it wasn't alone.

And Headmistress was nearly on your last nerve-

So, that brought you to your current predicament -a day of planning and Mr. Grimes had noticed such tensions and took you to walk through the hallways. You'd taken to asking about the rooms, what was in them, what they were for, if people were in there often-

"Mr. Grimes," you questioned, clearing your throat and pointing to the door on the left, "-what of that one?"

If he knew of your intentions, he didn't say anything.

"An old office," he hummed, "-only people who see it are those who clean it in the morning."

"Do they clean it any other time?"

"Because of lack of use, no," he answered you, looking at you a little puzzled -apparently he didn't know of such intentions after all.

"Well," you spoke with a little bit of a false chipper -only noticeable to those who didn't know you, "-I'd love to see it."

"Why?" he laughed, confused, "-it's just an old office, darlin'. Nothin' to see."

"I'd just love a personal tour," you teetered, still smiling but something in your eyes was far different than politeness -you wished to kiss him after all.

"Why?" he repeated, turning to completely face you.

"Must you always ask why?" you remarked, pulling him into your side and approaching the door with uttermost haste.

The doorknob was the kind that creaked when you opened it, truly showing the amount it was used. If you didn't believe him, you surely would have now.

It was floor-to-ceiling bookcases on every wall, and unlike Mr. Grimes's office, it had no windows, only books. If you were there to truly look at the room, you would've enjoyed brushing your fingers over the books, guessing what wood the desk was, and perching upon the couch.

But you weren't there for such things.

"May I ask why now?" He questioned once again, the door swinging shut behind him -you made sure of it, "-Do you find it worth such a tour, Ms. Greene?"

"It is-" you hummed, fingers brushed up on the couch -you were about a step away from him now, "-rather beautiful, I do wonder why you don't use it."

"The window allows me to see the children," he answered quickly, before pushing to more urgent matters, "-Now, may I ask what the purpose of stopping in here was? I have plenty of beautiful rooms for you to see, Ms-"

You merely turned to him, grabbed his face with your hands, and kissed him. Lips pushed together without a smidgen of hesitation, he simply followed your lead and the frustration of it all before melted on your shoulders. Until, it didn't.

He pulled back, grinning, laughing really, "You are quite cute, Ms. Greene."

It was spoken between the press of your lips, so it was rather annunciated by each word -you kissed him through such laughter, not without your own smile. ("You. Are. Quite. Cute. Ms. Green.")

You pulled back upon his words, watching him for a moment -his wide grin, he was rather cocky today, "Is it too much for a lady to just want a kiss?"

"No," he spoke, bringing a finger under your chin, "-Not at all, sweetheart, I just find it delightful you wish to kiss me so often."

"Often?" You hummed, "-I haven't kissed you in days, and you proposed to me! How is that fair?"

"It isn't," he hummed pressing one barely there to your lips, "-but such kissin' is new to me."

"How?" You questioned, genuinely, the man was so handsome, you had to avoid such urges nearly every second -especially when he remained so sweet to you.

"With, With Lori," he echoed, backing away from your lips for a moment, you nearly pulled him back-, "-we kissed for show, really. Especially later in the marriage."

"Well, you were unhappy, were you not?"

"Not originally," he posed, "-I supposed she just never really... liked it."

"Quite a loss," you remarked, without any extra thought -on instinct, if you will.

Mr. Grimes laughed, loud and boisterous, and you flushed a deep crimson at your lack of grace, "I am curious, however. What do you like about it, Ms. Greene?"

You sighed, flushing even further crimson at the implications of such a question, "Must you truly ask?"

"I must," he hummed, fingers wrapped around one of your wrists, and you felt something in your stomach twist. It was so embarrassing-

"I..." you huffed, "-It relaxes me. I... When I'm frustrated, it's so easy to forget about when I'm..."

"Kissin' me?"

You placed your hands over your eyes, the tips of your ears were certainly flushed now, and you couldn't bear to look at him. God, you certainly hated him at the moment.

He pulled your hands away from your face, a gentle pull of his hands -skin on a glove. Always so calm, so collected, "Is that all?"

Your hands now wrapped in his, you squeezed your eyes shut -still unable to look at him, "I like... I like feeling close to you. And- And I love you and... kissing helps me tell you that. Such as holding your arm, or your hand, or smiling at you, it's just... it's more special."

"Darlin'," he hummed, light and airy -you could tell he was smiling, "-look at me, will you?"

You peeked your eyes open, and were met with his own -he was quite close to whisper to you, a breath away really. Something in your face grew darker, especially with the soft gentle sort of way he was looking at you. You wished to hide again without a doubt.

"I am to be your husband," he hummed, fingers gently cradling your chin, "-it's important for me to know such things. I do wish to keep you happy after all."

You laughed.

"So, I imagine this, today, is from what?" He questioned, curiously, "The proposal? The planning?"

"Yes," you deflated, "-Headmistress is a force to be reckoned with, and I am simply exhausted from her. You must understand how just your presence helps but your..."

You fell rather quiet, pushing a strand of hair behind your ear -shyly.

"I understand, darlin'," he whispered, looming in closer to your face, "-you need a kiss, kisses, to feel better."

"Yes," you confirmed, quietly.

"What kind of husband would I be, if I don't make you feel better?"

"What kind, indeed," you hummed -offhanded, distracted.

He laughed at that, a breath away from your mouth, but you let him guide you this time. You would be patient, and gentle, like a lady was supposed to be. Perhaps, it would be more appealing to do so.

And then his lips pressed to yours and such thoughts flew out the window.

You didn't hesitate to coax out his tongue, pushing on his jaw -just as you did before. You learned how to do such a thing, you knew what his reactions were like-

He pushed you forward just a little in response, hands dipped to your shoulders, and your back pressed against the desk -a sort of cool sensation through your dress, you didn't truly mind.

Your hands settled on his shirt, his vest, pulling it forward as close as you could physically be. Closer, actually, you wished him closer.

His tongue was the first to go forward, swirling around your mouth with a slow, sort of tepid pace. He was always so careful with you, it was rather sweet. You, however, were the first to meet your tongue with his -the touch made something shoot to your toes-

He pulled back a moment, breathless and not too far, "This helpin'?"

You hummed against his lips, hands reaching out and suddenly, you decided to coat through his hair -fingers brushing through his scalp. He let out a little noise at such contact and part of you craved to hear it more, but you couldn't now.

You couldn't make him look a mess, despite how badly you wished to.

He pushed forward even further and you hissed -the desk pushed into your back, you imagined leaving a mark.

Mr. Grimes immediately pulled back, eyes darting all over your face, "What's wrong? Did I hurt you?"

"No, no," you swallowed, hands now tenderly placed on his chest -you could feel his heart pounding, "-just the desk."

"Oh," he breathed out, relieved, "-here."

And then, as if it was as easy as breathing, he picked you up and sat you on the desk -hands on your waist for a mere second.

Your head swirled.

"You alright?" He questioned, turning to meet your eyes.

"You-" you swallowed, face a breath away from his, "-You picked me up as though I was as light as a feather."

"You are," he reasoned, leaning forward as he placed his hands through your arms and onto the desk, "-Is that what you're stuck on?"

"Well, I..." you started again, eyes darting to his lips -he was so close, "-I just believe that I very much liked it."

"Oh," he laughed, pressing a few gentle kisses to your lips -laughter breaking through the seal, "-well, that's certainly good to know."

"Certainly," you relented, pulling him down for a proper kiss.

The next few days were quite busy, planning and courting and watching your sisters and listening to Headmistress, but every once in a while, he'd pull you into that old room. Kiss you once, maybe twice, and pull you back out -it made your mind a pleasant buzz instead of a stressed one.

He kissed you nearly once everyday, and you were getting quite used to it; once you spoke how important it was to you, he nearly didn't stop.

In quiet moments of courting, he kissed you. In the privacy of his garden, he kissed you. In between planning with Headmistress, he kissed you -possibly a dozen times then. Until your heart was a flutter and the worries melted away, you weren't counting. You'd never be counting, ever, you decided.

It led to one of the most fruitful weeks of your life -you happily navigating everything your life pushed at you with a smile and even getting your foot in the door with planning. Including conversing with a dress designer about one of her ideas, which you were onto a meeting with her now -sat neatly in a room within the estate with Headmistress by your side, chattering away.

Well, just before it, actually.

You weren't sure how he'd done it exactly, but Mr. Grimes had snuck you into the old room mere minutes before the woman was to be meeting you -an excuse of a walk very much settled the Headmistress.

(You weren't sure she cared what the two of you were doing, as long as you stayed engaged to him.)

"Mr. Grimes-" you hissed, as he pulled you into the room -hand intertwined with yours.

The shut of the door was the next sound you heard, as Mr. Grimes turned to you with a rather twinkly sort of smile -clear on what exactly he had taken you here for. Not that you needed any clarification.

"Mr. Grimes," you started, standing starkly where you were, "-we cannot do this now, I have a pressing matter in minutes-"

"We lost track of time on a tour," he hummed out, stepping closer to you -you naturally, on instinct, leaned into him just as well.

You smiled, despite yourself -hands finding themselves within the back of his hair, combing through, "You're rather needy now, you know that?"

"Needy," he laughed, "-I do it for you, darlin'."

"Oh, no, no, no," you echoed with a laugh, he still pressing slow gentle kisses to your mouth, "-this is a shared problem now, Mr. Grimes."

"Rick," he corrected, landing a more powerful kiss on your lips -your fingers twisted into his hair.

"Rick," you repeated, just a breath away from his face, eyes dipping low to his lips-

"Wait, no," you stepped back, hands placed neatly on his chest, "-you must admit it."

"Admit what?" He breathed, ranging closer again.

"Admit you enjoy it just as much as I do," you held firm, despite his hands placed rather eloquently on your waist -it made your head swirl.

"I do," he spoke, rather frankly, "-I very much enjoy it."

You were startled and rather silent, before weighing in -teasing, "Well, what do you like about it?"

"What do I-" He kissed you again, all gentle force -slow and timid, "-like about it?"

"Yes," you exhaled, only slightly breathless, "-I'd like to know."

He laughed again, blue eyes shining a certain type of way, "Would you?"

"Very much so," you clarified, twirling one of his curls between your fingers.

"Hmm," he hummed, fingers cradling your face with a bubbling sort of affection, "-Does that it pleases you count?"

"If it's why you like it," you confirmed -eyes dipping to his lips, it was your weakness you swore.

"I like it for plenty of reasons," he smiled, eyes dipping to your own lips, "-the feelin', I feel sometimes that your lips bring me back to Earth. Like I was lost, but upon findin' yours I'm found."

"You mean that?"

"I belong with you," he breathed out, hands rubbing along your cheeks, "-I feel such a thing after every breath, but when I kiss you-"

You fidgetted, eyes flickering along his face.

"-I feel like everything is in place. Like I've found where I am to be."

"Rick-" you sighed, something building up your throat -mist in your eyes.

Mr. Grimes immediately began wiping at your eyes with a sense of easy patience, as if he would wait on anything for you, "My darlin'."

"My Mr. Grimes," you exhaled, biting back tears -you were so happy, "-you're going to kill me with all this one day, you know?"

"Hope not," he whispered, inches from your face, "-I shall tell you every day, so your heart remembers."

"With the kisses?" You questioned -doe-eyed, eyes fluttering over his face.

"With the kisses," he laughed, pulling you in for just one more. Or maybe two. Or maybe three-

You supposed Headmistress could wait.

#rick grimes #its griming time #stuff n' thangs #rick grimes x reader #rick grimes x y/n #rick grimes x you #rick grimes x y/n fanfiction #twd #twd rick #rick grimes fanfiction #rick grimes oneshot #magnolia in may

[maximoffcarter]

Enchanted.

Pairings: Casey Novak x reader.

Summary: Y/n had always enjoyed dressing up, she always got to wear beautiful dresses that her mother bought for her, beautiful and expensive jewelry, a well done makeup and hair, it wasn’t every day that she got to do this, so she enjoyed it, she just didn't like the events or parties her mother dragged her to. But then she gets to meet a beautiful woman. She had to admit that she was enchanted to meet her.

A/n: Surpriseeee! This is my own creation🫢 Yes, this was inspired by Taylor's song cause it's one of my favorite songs and I couldn't help it. It's long. I dunno if it's any good. But I really do hope you guys enjoy this aaand if you have any more requests, please don't hesitate on sending an ask or message. I'm a nice person, I promise haha you don't have to be shy or afraid to talk to me. Enjoy and leave your comments, reblogs, hearts, whatever you'd like, will be very much appreciated🫶🏻

*not my gif*

If there was something that y/n hated the most, was coming to any party or event that was related to the DA’s office or even the Police Department. But here she was. Forcing a smile and some laughs as police officers, judges, and other random people greeted here as they passed. Some people she really appreciated had seen her since she was young and now, she was somehow part of them, and her mother was a big deal in these sorts of events, so she had to be here, she had to stay. The thing she could admit that she loved, was dressing up for these events, she always got to wear beautiful dresses that her mother bought for her, beautiful and expensive jewelry, a well done makeup and hair, it wasn’t every day that she got to do this, so she enjoyed it. But as she looked around the big ballroom, she figured that every year, it was the same thing; her mother would get lost for an hour or two, get her for dinner so they sat together, and then she’d get lost again, leaving her alone and to her luck. She thought she’d spend her time outside on the balcony and then prepare to do her rounds and leave since she knew her mother liked to be the last to leave. But before she could do that, she noticed someone in the crowd, someone she had never seen.

Her eyes stayed on the woman probably longer than she had meant to, but she couldn’t help to notice how beautiful she was, the faint smile that she had on her face as she talked to one of the judges, focused on whatever she was saying. And y/n took the advantage to look at her, suddenly that annoyance that she had all night vanished as she studied the woman; beautiful blonde hair, not too short but not too long, plump lips that were tinted a shade of red, a beautiful baby blue dress that hugged her body perfectly, and she couldn’t quiet tell if her eyes were blue or another color. For a moment she had dared herself to find out, to just walk to that woman and at least say a faint hi, maybe pretend she wanted to talk to the judge so she could get closer to the woman, anything, but she was a bit shy about it, so she stood there, her eyes never leaving the woman until she heard someone greeting her and that was the start of her annoyance once again.

After what felt like forever, she got to escape the attorney that had engaged her in a very boring and annoying conversation with some other people, friends of her mother that she didn’t actually like but her mother had always said that she had to be nice to everyone, even with the ones she knew were two faced people, she had to give a good image, both for her mother and for herself. She sighed as she leaned over the bar, asking for another drink, her hand going to her forehead as she closed her eyes for a bit, trying to convince herself that she just needed to get through a bit more and then she was off. The bartender finally brought her drink and y/n offered a smile, grabbing it and turning away from the bar as she looked at the crowd again. She could swear that for a moment, her heart stopped as she saw the blonde girl from earlier walking directly to her. Or maybe the bar? She didn’t know, she couldn’t quiet concentrate as she stared at the woman, and for a moment it was too late to look away because their eyes met, and her heart again stopped. She tried to look away, pretending as if she was looking for someone, but she knew she had been caught.

“Enjoying your night?” The blonde said as she leaned over the bar and asked for a drink.

Y/n gulped as she heard her voice, it was music to her ears. She turned slightly to meet her eyes. Green eyes. Beautiful eyes. “Uh…I mean it does have free drinks, so. You could say that I am a bit.”

The blonde laughed slightly, nodding softly as she grabbed her drink and turned to look at the crowd. “I’ve noticed that the whole night you were either here or in some corner standing on your own. I’d say that the drinks are the only thing that’s keeping you here.”

It was y/n’s time to laugh as she nodded. “Can’t deny it. Guess it’s a bit too obvious.”

“Just a little.” She looked back at y/n and smiled. “Am I allowed to ask your name or…are you trying to hide your identity because you don’t want anyone to know about you?” She grinned as she took a sip of her drink.

Y/n grinned. “That’d actually be good if no one knew me, but most people here do. So, even if I tried, I’m sure someone who give me up.” She chuckled as she extended her hand. “Y/n.”

“Casey.” She grabbed her hand and smiled softly. “Have we met before?” She furrowed her brows.

“I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure to. I’d definitely remember your beautiful face if I had.” Before she could think her words, cursing in her mind as she let go of Casey’s hand.

Casey chuckled softly as she nodded. “I see.” She sighed softly. “I normally don’t come to these things, but I was dragged here.”

“By a partner?” Y/n took a sip of her drink.

“If by partner you mean my boss, then the answer is yes.” Casey raised her brow. “You were dragged here by a partner?”

“No.” Y/n smiled as she shrugged. “I actually sneaked here, I heard there were free drinks here.”

“Ah, that’s a good one.” Casey laughed as she looked back at the crowd.

Y/n stared at her for a moment, a faint smile on her face. ”Do you wanna get out of here?”

Casey looked back at y/n, raising a brow. “That forward?”

Y/n started panicking a little at the question. “I uh- no! I mean. I didn’t- I didn’t mean like…out of here. Like…the party. I mean-“

Casey laughed softly as she shook her head. “I was just messing with you. Where we going?”

Y/n breathed out as she smiled nervously. “Just uh…a place I escape to every now and then. Follow me.” She finished her drink and placed the glass on the bar.

She noticed Casey did the same and then followed her, a smile on her face the entire time. Y/n didn’t know what she was really doing, but from what she could see, Casey didn’t want to be there either, so if they could escape for at least a moment, she’d take it. She decided to take the stairs so no one would see them, a confused face on Casey’s face as she saw the stairs but still followed y/n. The last thing y/n expected that night was to meet someone and wanting to stay after all just to get to talk to this beautiful woman. As they walked up the stairs, y/n finally stopped at a door and smiled, opening it for Casey.

“You’re not gonna lock the door and leave me here, are you?” Casey grinned as she looked at y/n.

Y/n rolled her eyes. “No. I promise.” She grinned.

Casey looked out the door and noticed it was a big balcony with some chairs and a table, she could already see the city from where she was standing. She smiled as she walked out, the cold breeze hitting her skin. “It’s…beautiful.”

Y/n closed the door behind her and nodded. “It is. No one ever comes up here. I found it one time that I was bored and just needed to get out of there. I decided to make it my escape whenever I was feeling overwhelmed or done with the people in there.” She chuckled softly as she took Casey’s hand and pulled her with her. “You can see the whole city from here, somehow the noise is not as loud up here.”

Casey nodded. “I can see that.” She smiled. “It’s nice.”

“But it is recommended to bring a coat when they have the Christmas party. It does get really cold in here and one time it was snowing.” Y/n chuckled softly as she looked back at Casey. Soon after, freezing as she noticed she had been holding Casey’s hand.

Casey looked back at her and smiled, tightening her grip slightly. “I’ll remember that the next time I come up here.”

Y/n smiled. “You wanna sit here for a bit?”

Casey nodded. “Sure.”

They both sat down and started talking about the conversations they had so far throughout the night, laughing and making fun of how some of the conversations had been so boring to the point they had zooned out. Y/n was curious to ask about Casey, know why she was there cause it was for sure that she either came with someone, which was already confirmed that she was not, she was part of the police department, a judge to be maybe, or an attorney, which judging by the looks, she sort of figured out that she was an attorney. She knew the name sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quiet remember where she had heard it before. But she also liked to play all mysterious neither of them knowing what the other did, their last names, or anything at all, just their names and that was it.

Around an hour passed and the night started to get a little colder, so they both decided to go back to the crowded place for some drinks and to warm up a bit. Before y/n could overthink if it was right or wrong to hold Casey’s hand, Casey got ahead of her and intertwined their fingers, smiling softly as she pulled y/n down the stairs. The place was still very much crowded, y/n was sure that most of them were already drunk. She tried to find her mother, but it seemed like she was nowhere to be found, so she made her way to the bar with Casey. Y/n’s mind was spinning as she stared at Casey, so many thoughts running around that she couldn’t decide what she wanted to say next, too afraid that it would be too much.

“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” Casey looked back at her and raised her brow.

Y/n smiled a bit as she sighed. “I think this time I will be forward but…would you like to get out of here?”

Casey wetted her lips as she stared at y/n, a slight grin on her face. “Thought you would never ask.”

Y/n smiled as she pulled Casey to their get coats and purses, looking behind her making sure that no one was looking at them. After getting their things, they left the building hand in hand, stopping with the valet to get y/n’s car keys. Y/n looked down at their hands for a moment and then up at Casey, smiling softly as she looked at the beautiful woman, thinking it was a bit unbelievable that she would be going back to her apartment with Casey. They could probably just drink some more there, and maybe they’d keep talking; that was mostly y/n’s nerves speaking, because she knew there wouldn’t be much speaking. Casey felt y/n’s eyes on her and turned to look at her, giggling a little as she saw y/n’s cheeks going red as she had been caught. Casey leaned in and kissed her cheek, near her lips. Y/n’s breath hitched as she stared into green eyes, smiling softly. Finally, they brought her car, and she opened the door for Casey before the valet could get it.

The whole ride, y/n had decided to play some music, laughing softly as Casey sang the whole way with her, giving herself a pat on the back thinking it had been a good idea, finding extremely cute that Casey was singing happily. Somehow, this relaxed her and helped her nerves calm down a bit. She was not a person to do this, hell she didn’t even do hookups, she was just not that kind of person. And now, she was heading to her apartment with someone. With a beautiful woman. Once they got to her building, they got into the elevator and for the first time in the night, they stood apart from each other, just looking at the doors of the elevator. Y/n looked at Casey for a moment and noticed she was biting her lip, and y/n couldn’t think of anything else other than pushing her against the elevator wall and kiss, her right there, but she looked back to the door and took a deep breath.

Finally the walked to y/n door, y/n opened the door and let Casey go inside first, following right after and closing the door, making sure she locked it. And just as she was turning to look at Casey and offer some water or something to drink, Casey had placed her hands on y/n’s neck and brought their lips together in a tender and sweet kiss. Y/n couldn’t help but gasp, her body and mind stopping for a moment at the surprise but reacting soon after as she felt Casey’s lips moving against hers, her hands dropping her purse and keys to the floor and going up to Casey’s back, pulling her impossibly closer. She was not sure when their coats and shoes had come off, but next thing she knew, she had Casey pinned against the door, panting softly as they pulled away.

Y/n stared into her eyes and smirked. “I wanted to do this since the elevator.”

Casey huffed a chuckled. “I wouldn’t have minded if you had done it.”

Y/n smiled as she leaned in for another kiss, biting her lip and earning a moan from Casey. “Should we take this to the bedroom?”

“Lead the way.” Casey whispered against her lips as she smiled.

********************

 Y/n sighed as she placed her keys on the small table beside her door, taking off her coat and placing it on the rack along with her purse. She groaned slightly as she moved her head to the side, feeling the headache tensing her whole body. She had been asked to help SVU to interview some victims and be able to get some sort of information from them. When she first chose this profession, she had made sure to tell her mother that the reason she was doing this was because she heard every single day about her job, and she wanted nothing more than to help those who needed her. She had gotten her private office but every now and then, she headed over SVU to help them out, at least in the last few months. But lately she had been stressed out and not in her right mind, too many thoughts running around her mind, and even if she was a therapist, she couldn’t help herself as much as she tried.

That night had happened 8 months ago. She never heard of Casey after that day. She had stayed over for breakfast, they had talked a bit more, but she had gotten an emergency call and she left, both of them forgetting to exchange numbers. She had meant to ask around if they knew who she was, but she knew that if her mother heard about it, she would never hear the end of it. She didn’t know if she had slept with a detective, an officer, an attorney, or just a random someone that had been at the party. Hell, she could’ve been married, and y/n didn’t know about it, and maybe that was the reason why she never saw her again. Her mother had noticed the slight change on y/n but she didn’t say a thing, knowing that her daughter wouldn’t tell her anything as much as she asked. Y/n took some pills and finished all the water from her glass, placing it back on the countertop. She furrowed her brows as she heard her door opening, walking out of the kitchen and raised her brows as she saw her mother by the door.

“Did you get lost?” Y/n grinned slightly.

Elizabeth looked up at y/n and rolled her eyes playfully. “I have keys. And no power in my house. Figured I could crash here.” She raised a bag of food and tilted her head. “I brought dinner.” She grinned.

Y/n nodded. “Then you’re allowed to stay.” She smiled as she walked to her mother.

“You don’t have anyone hiding in your room, do you?” Elizabeth raised her brow as she handed y/n the bag and followed her to the kitchen.

Y/n furrowed her brows. “God, mom. What kind of person do you think I am?” She turned to look at her as she placed the bag on the kitchen island and then turned to find some napkins and forks.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe someone who left the party with some blonde girl.” Elizabeth opened the bag of food and got everything out of it, sitting down on one of the stools.

Y/n almost dropped the forks she had in hand as she heard her mother’s words, turning slowly to look at her. “What?”

“You think I didn’t see you? C’mon, y/n. I have eyes everywhere.” Elizabeth chuckled.

Y/n sighed as she handed her the fork and placed the napkins in front of her. “Who told you?”

Elizabeth shrugged as she looked at y/n. “A bird called Petrovsky.”

“Oh my gosh, are you two spying on me or something? Like seriously now.”

Elizabeth laughed. “There’s nothing wrong with you meeting someone.” She shrugged. “I was hoping you’d finally get someone and get laid.”

“Why are we talking about my sex life? Seriously.” Y/n shook her head as she chuckled.

“Hey, did you meet the new ADA over at SVU?” Elizabeth took one of the Chinese takeout containers and took a bite.

“Didn’t get the pleasure. I didn’t know they had a new ADA. Liv didn’t mention anything. I mean…I just started working with them a few months ago.” Y/n did the same as Elizabeth and walked around the island to sit down beside her.

Elizabeth hummed as she nodded. “Yeah well, don’t think she’ll last long there. I’ve heard some things about her.”

“What happened to the other ADA?”

Elizabeth sighed as she looked at y/n. “She was suspended. It was kind of my fault for not supporting her.”

Y/n furrowed her brows. “You were close to her? Like with Alex?”

“You could say so. I did care for her but…she lost perspective. If I didn’t do anything, she’d do it again and I couldn’t risk her completely losing her license.”

“Why did I never meet her?”

“Not sure, you were too busy with your own stuff to go visit your mother.” Elizabeth raised her brow as she smirked. “You probably would’ve liked her. Novak was unique, let me tell you that. She reminded me a bit of Alex but…” she huffed a laugh. “Casey had her own personality.” She took another bite of her food, taking her stare away from y/n.

Y/n almost choked on her food at the name, looking up at Elizabeth. “Casey?”

“Yeah.” Elizabeth looked back at y/n with furrowed brows. “You knew her?”

Y/n’s heart sank at the confirmation. So her name was Casey Novak. She had been the ADA for SVU, and she never got to meet her because she had recently started working with them. She got suspended. And now she probably wasn’t even in New York anymore, and that’s why she never saw her again or heard about her. All the times she could’ve gone to her mother’s office to have lunch with her, or when she asked to leave something for her but instead told her she’d take it to her house, all those times…she could’ve run into Casey. But what if it wasn’t even that Casey? Maybe it was another Casey? Could be a possibility.

“Uh.” Y/n looked down at her food and shrugged. “No. Just…the name sounded familiar.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Well. Like I said, you’d have liked her. I should’ve introduced you at the party, but I only saw her once, after that I never saw her again.”

Yn closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. “She was…at the party?”

“I told her to go, the girl had barely been to any events, and I thought it could be good for her to go. To get someone to get home too, and-“ Elizabeth then stopped, her eyes never leaving y/n. “You do know her.”

Y/n opened her eyes to look at Elizabeth. “I think I do.”

Elizabeth smirked. “You. Took Casey home.” She huffed a laugh as she shook her head. “You did not lose time, did you?”

“Mom-“ Y/n sighed as she looked away. “I never saw her again. She left right after breakfast for an emergency and I never saw her again. I forgot to give her my number…she forgot to do so too.”

Elizabeth furrowed her brows. “You didn’t know who she was?”

“No! We- we never said our last names or what we did. We didn’t think it was important then.” Y/n sighed as she shook her head. “I should’ve asked, huh?”

“You always ask when you’re about to hookup with someone!” Elizabeth sighed as she saved her words, seeing how this whole thing had affected her daughter. She put the fork down and placed her hand on y/n’s shoulder, rubbing her back. “Last thing I knew about her, was that she was not in New York anymore.” She whispered softly.

Y/n nodded. “Makes sense.” She sighed. “When did she get suspended?”

“2 weeks after the party.”

Y/n would be lying if she said she didn’t understand why Casey has disappeared just like that, she would want to run away from the place that only reminded her of what she lost, but she hated the fact that she had not had the chance to see her again, and 8 months later she was finding out about this. She could’ve been there for Casey, she could’ve helped her in some way, but she also didn’t know if Casey had wanted that, maybe she had just wanted a hookup and that was it. But the morning they had been together…that night they spent together. Y/n had been enchanted to meet Casey, and for the first time in so long, she had been thankful that her mother had dragged her to that party. It sounded so silly, but it was the truth.

But now, she laid in her bed late at night wondering if for Casey had only been a hookup, if she would’ve wanted something else, maybe…just maybe…some dates, a coffee, some lunch, anything at all. Maybe just stay friends. She wondered so much, and she couldn’t find an answer to her thoughts, because she was never going to be able to see Casey again. As much as her mother wanted to tease her -and maybe scold her for sleeping with Casey Novak-, she had seen how her daughter had changed so much, and now that she knew who that Casey she met was, it had made things a bit worst. It broke her a little to think that maybe she would never see Casey again, and here she was…wondering if Casey had also been happy to meet her.

********************

“So, you think she’s good to testify?” Alex looked up at y/n.

Y/n nodded. “She's conscious of what she did, there is no doubt about that. She manipulates people, and she wants you to think that she’s not sane enough to sit there and answer your questions. But if you ask the right ones, you’ll get her.” She grinned.

Alex nodded. “Sounds good to me.” She grinned as she closed the file and sighed as she looked at y/n. “So…have you accepted the spot that SVU is offering you? For good?”

Y/n sighed. “I don’t know, Alex. I mean…I’m happy with what I do, and I love helping here, but that means I’ll have to spend more time here than in my own office and that makes me think if I really wanna do this or not.”

“All I can tell you is that they love working with you, you help us out a lot. I was happy to know you were helping them when I came back. I’m pretty sure they’ll love to give you your own office here.” Alex grinned.

“You mean, my mom will be getting me an office here with you guys? Because that’s exactly what she was saying yesterday over dinner.” Y/n shook her head. “I do not want to have my mother going to my office every time she’s free.”

Alex laughed. “Your mom is proud of you.”

“She’s proud that I keep the Donnelly name in high standards.” Y/n raised her brow as she smiled.

Alex tilted her head. “She’s proud of you too.”

“Right.” Y/n smiled softly as she sighed. “Well, we’ll see. I have some appointments right now, so I better run.” She stood up and grabbed her bag.

Alex nodded. “Oh, by the way. I thought I should let you know that I’ll be sharing some SVU cases, I have a load of work and since they don’t have an official ADA yet, they’re sending someone over to help me.” She looked back down at her files.

Y/n furrowed her brows as she looked at Alex. “You know who it is?”

Alex shook her head. “Not yet. They said someone we already knew.”

Y/n nodded. “Interesting. Let me know when it happens.” She grinned as she walked out of the office.

Y/n pressed the button of the elevator and looked down at her phone as she waited for the elevator to get to her floor. She had been so entranced by the text she was typing that she hadn’t noticed the doors had opened, but then her heart stopped as she heard her name, the voice too familiar and yet not too much. She looked up and her heart stopped as she looked at the person in front of her. Her hair wasn’t blonde anymore, she was a redhead and she looked…so beautiful. So stunning.

“Casey.” Y/n whispered softly as she felt her heart beat increasing.

Casey offered a small smile. “Hi.” She whispered softly as she walked out of the elevator. “Y/n, I-“

“I have to go.” Y/n said without thinking, almost jumping into the elevator to escape Casey.

Casey looked back at y/n and just as she was about to say something else, the doors of the elevator closed. She sighed as she shook her head, turning to continue her way. She got to Alex’s door and knocked, offering a small smile. “Cabot.”

Alex looked up and smiled. “Casey Novak. You’ll be helping me?”

Casey nodded as she walked into the office. “Seems like it.” She smiled as she sat down.

“This is great! I’m sure the squad will be happy to have you back.”

“I sure hope so.” Casey smiled. “Hey uh…do you happen to know a y/n?”

“Y/n Donnelly?”

Casey cleared her throat. “She’s a Donnelly.”

Alex nodded. “Yeah, you didn’t know Elizabeth had a daughter?”

“I did, but…I never met her. Or so I thought.” Casey looked down at her hands as she sighed.

“You know y/n? She was just here! I’m sure she’ll be happy to know you’re back.”

Casey scoffed as she looked up at Alex. “I don’t think so but uh…anyway. I wanted to go over the cases you’ll be heading my way.”

Alex furrowed her brows as she looked at Casey but decided to ignore it.

Y/n leaned over the wall of the elevator as she tried to catch her breath, feeling her eyes getting teary as she tried to comprehend what had just happened. It had been a little over 2 years since she found out who Casey was and found out that she had left, and now, Alex comes with the news that there will be another ADA and now Casey suddenly appeared. Was this really happening? Was Casey actually back? She was back, and she ran away. Why did she do that? She had been wondering all of these years what Casey was doing and now that she had the chance to actually talk to her, to actually figure out what had happened, she runs away, she just leaves Casey there, but it would be too weird to go back. She couldn’t.

********************

“Thanks for coming y/n. I’m glad she got to open up to you.” Olivia smiled softly as y/n closed the door behind her.

“I sure hope you get this bastard behind bars. That little girl…she deserves some justice.” Y/n sighed as she crossed her arms, looking through the window. “Will Alex be the ADA?” She turned to look at Olivia, a slight hope that she would say yes.

“No, actually Casey Novak will lead this case. I can introduce you.”

Y/n huffed a laugh as she shook her head, looking down at the floor. “No. I…know her.”

Olivia raised her brows. “Oh? And I…think that’s not…good?”

“It’s complicated.” Y/n smiled as she looked at Olivia. “But hey, I’m sure she’ll get justice for this little girl.”

“She’s good. Really good. She’ll definitely get it.”

“Hey, Liv, I-“ Casey then walked into the room and stopped on her tracks for a moment as she stared at y/n. “Hi.”

Y/n looked at Casey and gulped, having a hard time for the words to come out her mouth. “H-Hi.”

Olivia looked between the two of them and then understood what was going on, clearing her throat, and then walking to the door. “So…I’ll leave you two here for a moment and I’ll wait for you two outside.” She offered a small smile and then left, closing the door behind her.

Casey looked at the door for a moment and then back at y/n. “So…we meet again.”

Y/n chuckled softly as she nodded. “Guess we did.”

Casey sighed softly as she looked at her hands for a moment. “Y/n…I am so sorry that I never…that I left like that, and I never looked for you again.” She looked back at y/n and tilted her head.

Y/n shrugged. “Casey, it’s not like we knew much about each other. We didn’t exchange numbers. We had no way of meeting each other again.” But I was hoping for it. Y/n thought.

Casey nodded. “Yeah but…I don’t know.” She chuckled. “I should’ve tried going back to your apartment.”

“You wanted to see me again?”

Casey smiled as she shrugged. “You didn’t?”

Y/n bit her lip as she looked at Casey, nodding softly. “I did.” She said almost in a whisper. Before she could say anything else, her phone went off and she looked down at it. “I gotta go. I have somewhere to be.” She grabbed her bag and was about to open the door but before she could, Casey grabbed her hand, making her look up at her again.

“Would you maybe…want to get a drink? Today?”

Y/n felt her heart stopping as she felt her whole body going warm, missing the touch of Casey, even if it had only been one night, she could never forget the way her body reacted to her touch. “Yes. 8 pm?”

Casey smiled. “Sure.” She looked down at her briefcase and got a card out. “Text me where you wanna meet?”

Y/n couldn’t help but grin as she grabbed the card. “I will.”

“See you at 8 then.” Casey grinned softly.

Y/n offered a smile before she walked out of the room, biting her lip as she tried to hide the smile on her face as she walked away from Casey. Was it wrong that she had said yes? After all this time, thinking if she would ever see her again, and now she kept running into her, so why not? She could have some closure in case Casey just wanted to talk about what happened and tell her she didn’t want to see her ever again, or maybe she did, so this was her chance to talk about everything that happened. She went on with her day trying to ignore the fact that in just a few hours she’d meet Casey for drinks, she was nervous, and she could barely concentrate on whatever she was doing, she just wanted it to be eight. Y/n had texted Casey where they could meet, not too far from both their work places but far enough to not be interrupted by anyone they knew. And before she knew it, y/n was already waiting at the bar, sitting at a table with a drink in her hands, trying to drink her nerves away. Just in time, Casey walked into the bar and her eyes rapidly landed on y/n’s, smiling as she walked to the table.

“Hey.” Casey smiled as she sat down, putting her briefcase on the seat next to her. “Sorry it took me a bit longer. I kinda of forgot the streets.” She chuckled.

Y/n chuckled. “Don’t worry. I knew you were coming anyway.” She smiled softly.

Casey nodded. “Yes.” She smiled softly.

“I uh ordered you a drink. It’s okay if you wanna order something else.”

“This is good, thanks.” Casey grabbed the drink in her hands and looked at it for a moment. “So…you’re a Donnelly.” She looked up at y/n.

Y/n smiled as she nodded. “I am. Kinda glad I didn’t say anything back then because maybe you’d have ran away the moment I told you my full name.” She grinned playfully as she took a sip of her drink.

Casey chuckled, looking at y/n as she shook her head. “Even if I knew, I wouldn’t have been able to run away.” She then raised her brow. “Would you? If you knew I worked for her?”

Y/n smiled softly. “No. I wouldn’t have been able to either.”

“Good to know.” Casey smiled.

“Maybe the fact that you were an ADA, but that you worked for my mom? I don’t mind.”

“Hey.” Casey laughed with y/n, both looking away as the laughter quietened down.

“So…” Y/n looked back at Casey. “You’re a redhead.”

“Did you prefer blonde?” Casey smirked.

“I think you look beautiful in any way. Blonde suits you but…red it fits you so much better.” Y/n blushed slightly as she figured she was talking a bit too much, she could’ve avoided the question as it was obvious that Casey was a redhead and not blonde, but she couldn’t help but comment on it.

“Thank you. I’m happy to be back to my original color.” Casey smiled.

Y/n sighed as she shook her head. “Are we going to avoid talking about…what happened?”

Casey sighed, offering a small smile to y/n. “I guess not.” She took a deep breath. “I did think about going to your apartment. To tell you what had happened, and…maybe…be able to know you better. But I was so disappointed in myself, I was ashamed. I was so…upset. I wanted to be away from everything and from everyone. I shut down. For a whole month…I thought about showing up in your apartment, but I thought maybe you wouldn’t want to see me again. And so I left. I came back like 6 months ago but, I thought by this time you had forgotten about me.” She shrugged. “I was a coward.”

Y/n nodded. “Maybe a bit. But so was I.” She smiled. “I could’ve told you who I was back then, We could’ve meet again then. I found out who you were months after. My mother told me.” She grinned.

Casey raised her brows. “She didn’t want to kill me?���

Y/n chuckled. “For a moment she wanted to, I think, she did tease me a bit about it but…she mostly was…worried about me.” She looked down at her drink. “I just wish I could’ve seen you one more time.”

Casey’s heart broke a bit at her words, she then extended her hand to grab y/n’s hand, rubbing the back of her hand with her thumb. “I’m so sorry, y/n.”

Y/n shook her head. “It’s not your fault.” She looked back at her and offered a smile. “I wondered…every night if you only meant this to be a hookup. I wondered if you had been happy to meet me just as  had been happy. I wondered if…if you were thinking of me.” She huffed a chuckle as she felt her eyes getting teary. “I was hoping that you had not met someone else.”

Casey smiled. “I hoped for the same.”

Y/n’s face softened as she smiled. “You did?”

“Every day.” Casey smiled. “I always thought about coming back just to see you again. But I couldn’t. And I hoped that…somehow, someday, I’d be able to see you again.”

“And here we are.” Y/n smiled. “Both hoping we’re single.” She laughed.

Casey laughed. “Well, I am.”

Y/n smiled. “So am I.” She cleared her throat as she looked down at their hands. “So, Ms. Novak. What do you say we try this again? But…this time, we get to know each other. Fully.”

Casey smiled. “I like the sound of that.”

Y/n nodded. “Good.”

Casey tilted her head. “Would it be wrong if…I kissed you?”

Y/n grinned softly as she shook her head, letting go of Casey’s hand so she could stood up and move to stand beside Casey. “I was thinking the same.” She placed her hands on Casey’s cheeks and leaned in to kiss her lips softly.

Casey smiled against her lips as she opened her eyes to look at y/n. “So, tell me about yourself.” She grinned.

Y/n chuckled as she sat down in the stool beside Casey. “That’s what I ask every day, it’s weird to hear it coming from someone else.”

Casey shrugged. “You know about a little about me, so I wanna hear who y/n is.” She smiled.

“Okay, well that’s only fair.” Y/n smiled.

And so that’s how their night went, they spent around 2 hrs at the bar, drinks kept coming and the conversation was as fluid as the first time they had talked. They learned more about each other, and y/n thought back to when her mother had said that she would have liked Casey, and she was not wrong, she truly did like her, and she could really see herself with Casey. Even after overthinking over the years and the unanswered questions, she finally knew that Casey had been happy to meet her too, and their story had definitely not ended that night.

#casey novak x reader #casey novak #svu fic #law and order svu #svu

[arcielee]

Let's spread some positivity! Tag some of your fellow content creators here and let them know why they are absolutely amazing!❤️

Here is my ode to other fandoms outside of ASoiaF, as well as the collection of Ewanverse writers who I just fucking adore.

Read more to save space!

The Last Kingdom

@itbmojojoejo You are such a talented writer and I adore your new hobbies/obsessions? Your gif creations are fucking wonderful and you are just an utter gem all around. 💜

Some of my favorite TLK writers also include: @bhxrdy @gemini-mama @emilyhufflepufftlk @sihtricfedaraaahvicius

I also adore the screenshots shared by @transfinan and @dailytlk gifsets are so nifty!

@breanime is just wonderful. I enjoyed the rotation through fandoms and I always get excited to see what they are currently into. Also, their writing is fucking amazing. 💜

Stranger Things

@theold-ultraviolence I found them because of our mutual love for Aemond, but they also write for Eddie Munson and I just love them oh-so much. 💜

@runningmunson Your Aemond Targaryen stories brought me in, but I actually just adore anything you share with us. 💜

@uglypastels Your story Not Wholly Evil is what actually had me break away from HotD and dive into Stranger Things. Your prose is wonderful and I just devour it all. 💜

Other nifty writers for this fandom are @lovebugism @jo-harrington @whoahoney @word-wytch @storiesbyrhi

Misc.

@chiss-and-crackers It started with HotD, but I legit adore every fandom you touch and share. Your blog is definitely one of my favorites and you brighten my dashboard. 💜

@poetic-fiasco Thank you for rekindling my love for Loki/Tom Hiddleston. Your stories on ao3 are fucking wonderful and you have been so lovely all around. 💜

@evita-shelby Your pieces are enchanting and allow me to enjoy fandoms I am not even a part of. Also, your Tom Bennett story! Oh my. 💜

@4yvle1 art is absolutely breathtaking. Their HotD is what had me follow, but everything they create, their style is absolutely breathtaking. 💜

Other talented writers who have moved on from HotD, but I will read anything they write: @1800-fight-me @eddiemadmunson @jasonsmirrorball @annikin-im-panicin @killergirlfuria

Ewanverse misc.

@assortedseaglass I will repeat this as my damn mantra, but I just adore your prose. Your Billy Washington story is what won me over and I will read everything, anything you post! 💜

@babyblue711 You are seriously such a delight on this hellsite and your Salad Days story, Redemption, took me on an emotional ride. I am a fucking fan of everything you create. 💜

@helaelaemond You have absolutely won me over for the Helaemond ship with your writing, but the way you write other Ewanverse characters is so fucking brilliant. I just adore your prose so thoroughly. 💜

Another honorable mention for @myfandomprompts because their gif creations and their stories for Tom Bennett and Will [Salad Days] is just fucking wonderful. 💜

Same for @lonnson: your art, your writing, your weird fandoms that I cheer on every time I see them on my dashboard is just lovely. Like, I have to mention you twice. 💜

#☆ arcie's fic recs #i love my talented tumblr kindred spirits

[evita-shelby]

Can I have a Tommy Shelby x sunshine but very much badass reader where she wipes the floor with Mosley's pathetic ass, that goes back to being cute and nice and her dear husband is a mix between proud, aroused but terrified. He knows she's a bad bitch when shit gets real, but every time he thinks he knows what she's capable of, she surprises him and surpasses her self.

Okay since I'm already writing something like this for my fic but i wanna see where this goes.

Reader's daughter Florence is my OC's kid

Reader is implied to be bi

More Thorn than Rose

Gif by @retromafia

"Its only fair that I fuck your wife now that you fucked my fiance, Shelby." Mosley smirked as he drank his wine.

You had been the enchanting and vivacious Mrs. Shelby since before your husband became MP.

After all you were the work of generations, a strict governess and bewitching charm.

You had a forked tongue, a bone to pick with fascists and absolutely got a kick out off wiping the floor with Mosley every time the both of you engage in a verbal spar.

Once you made his late wife snort at Mosley's birthday dinner in 1930.

“I don’t like sharing my wife with other men, Sir Oswald.” Tommy said before you’d leave the Americans with a memorable dinner party.

“Oh, Sir Oswald,” you giggled like a stupid girl who’d find the rat faced twat in front of you attractive. Your voice is sweet and charming, as harmless as sunshine. “You’d have to share me with my husband. Lady Diana’s quite the handful, took the both of us to satisfy her.” You wink at the blonde for good measure.

The man with less people in his party than your hometown had people hated being outshone, but a candle ---even a ridiculous puffed up thing like Mosley--- couldn’t compare to the sun.

“Only fair if we make it a party of three, poor Lady Diana must be so unsatisfied with just you, sir.” And just like the sun can burn, so do you.

Jack Nelson choked on his whiskey, Gina tried to contain her laughter and the uninvited guests looked positively murderous.

And Tommy, well, Tommy only cocked an eyebrow. But you knew that look in his eyes. It was everything ---pride, horror, surprise and arousal--- at once and you knew the rest of the night would be abso-bloody-lutely fantastic.

“Tommy, I think I’ll retire early, Florence starts ballet tomorrow morning and God forbid she terrorizes another dance instructor.” You take your leave still riding that high of making Mosley eat shit.

“Flora’s just witty like you, love, it will serve her well when she takes over Shelby Company.” Tommy said not bothering to hide his pride.

#tommy shelby x fem!reader #tommy shelby fanfic #thomas shelby #thomas shelby imagine #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinders fanfiction #thomas shelby x reader #reader inserts

[cornflowershade]

bad buddy fandom getting-to-know-you meme!

Thank you for tagging me @lamonnaie!

note: i consider "fanworks" to pretty much everything people create related to a fandom, including but not limited to meta/analysis/discussion, gifs, fanvids/edits/fancams, filk, fanart, fanfic, fan food, fan crafts, etc. please include this note with the meme unless you have a different definition!

name and whatever you want to share about yourself Sonia (she/her). 24. I love getting to know people & chatting about shows so lets goooo

when did you watch bad buddy/join the fandom? I watched Bad Buddy in one week, in late October 2022. I owe it to @airenyah honestly. I think I found their blog through an SPN post and clicked over for that reason. In my scrolling, I happened upon a lovely gifset (wish I could recall who made it) of InkPa. It was the scene where they're outside and Pa says anyone taller than her is fine and hops down off the sidewalk. :) Love that scene. Anyway I reblogged it and in the tags was like WHAT IS THIS I MUST WATCH IT. To which airenyah gave me a whole blessed reply telling me the show name, giving a small synopsis/what to expect from my first thai drama & telling me where I could watch it. I immediately watched the series and adored it. I've seen it twice thus far.

favorite ship(s) PatPran & InkPa :)

favorite character(s): Okay I adore all the main 4 but I'm gonna go with Pran. I love him. There's just something so soft about him and how on earth do his eyes communicate so much?? I think I relate to his messy little overthinking and silently in love brain—very "me the first time i had a queer crush and simply wallowed the whole time bc it was impossible" lol. Also, he's always making the funniest facial expressions which gets me every time. I could go on about everything I like about his character (for instance how clever yet sometimes oblivious he is & how he gets all annoyed lol). Though I do question his sense of interior design and that smiley face obsession.

favorite episode(s) Honestly I'm not certain if I have one?? It's all so good! I do really like their "whoever falls first loses" era though. Wait actually?? My favorite ep might be the early one where Pat thinks he's hitting on the "girl" across the hall and they end up running into each other on the roof. Also both of the beach episodes.

favorite scene(s) *pastes in the entire show* Okay okay I'll try to pick a few:

~ The scene where Pat is staying over and he and Pran are lying in the dark, counting down to say in unison whether they have a crush on Ink. Idk I remember that scene having an emotional impact on me. Pran's face??? Then when Pat asks "would you like me?" and Pran says "I hate you" and then he yanks the blanket away but you saw him crying?? ahhhghrhghgh

~ The scene in the darkroom with Ink and Pa. I remember getting so emotional. Pretty sure Pa's dialogue and acting made me cry. "I do [like you being nice to me]. I like it so much that I thought I was special to you." ARE YOU KIDDING ME ASDFGZ. And then Ink says she is special to her!! And it's so sweet!!

~ OH and how could I forget. This should be at the top of the list. I realllly like the scene where Pran stands up to his mom and they have that emotional fight in their front hall. That whole thing is just. AHHHHHH. AHHH. AHIOFJEIOsdJIO. SIJDGRIOGJRIGJORE

~ And the scene at the stairs where Pat yells how much he loves Pran in front of Pran's whole faculty. :)

(Also any scene where Pat & Pran are being silly. Like their dumb little chopstick fight :p omg or the designing the bus stop at night scene)

one thing you would change about the show if you could Ohhhh I don't know! Maybe I'd throw in a few more InkPa scenes :)

what are your some of your favorite fanworks made by other people? Ahh fun fun fun. Get ready for some fanvid recs! (What else do you expect from me, a fanvidder.)

• Just My Type (Pat x Pran) by samyvids • Physical (Pat x Pran) by coldties • Enchanted (Ink x Pa) by rheaprodz • I really like you (Pat x Pran) by dkyth73 • Rebels (Pat x Pran) by coldties • Dandelions (Pat x Pran) by hylian fanvids

(if you create fanworks) what are your favorite fanworks that you’ve made? I've made two fanvids for Bad Buddy, as well as one song cover haha. I'll stick to the fanvids here. :)

• All I Need (Ink x Pa) • That dimple is illegal (Pat x Pran)

a song that makes you think of bbs (the ones in the show don’t count lol) Physical by Dua Lipa. The fanvid using that song is my all-time favorite BBS edit, so hearing the song reminds me of it.

idk anything else you want us to know? Uhhhhhhhh. I mean I could ramble about BBS and why it means so much to me for a long time haha. Should I do that? I guess I'll do that.

Okay so BBS was the first Thai drama I watched. I was still feeling a lot from the SPN-finale/confession scene era (yes that happened 2 years prior but it's SPN okay iykyk) which had me especially sad about and aware of media censorship etc. etc.

On top of that I was still working up the courage to leave this group chat of childhood friends, some of whom liked to complain about media "making everything gay" etc. (Amazing how you can not know people are homophobic for the entirety of your childhood bc the topic just never comes up lol.) Which was of course upsetting to me for multiple reasons. However the universe decided to do something nice and Heartstopper was released. That series felt really huge to me, but after it was over, I was left with this feeling of like... what else is there to watch? Where else will I ever find a queer ship this canon where they're also the main characters?

That's when I came across BBS and it gave me this realization that OH WAIT we aren't limited to western media and OH LOOK there's so many great shows that I didn't even know about!! And they keep making them! Also it was a queer story where the main obstacle wasn't being gay (Plus, Asian leads!!). And BBS itself is just such a standout show. First of all, I love a good comedy and the series made me laugh so much. It's heartfelt but full of ANTICS [like yes lets have fun! Lets not take everything too seriously!], and Pat & Pran & Ink & Pa are just such wonderful and lovable and real feeling characters—who have this lovely friendship too—and the show is just! Such a fun ride. <3 I recall watching the series and feeling like my world just got a little bit bigger. Anyway Bad Buddy goes all in for everything it does and it's such a joy.

.

Tagging @airenyah and @distant-screaming and @feralmuskyscentedhoepran if you haven't done this yet and would like to!

#bad buddy #bad buddy series #get to know you meme #mine

[robinismywife]

|ᴇᴀʀʟʏ ᴍᴏʀɴɪɴɢ ꜱᴡɪᴍ|

Summary: Sirius and Y/n can't handle the heat so they go for an early morning swim in the prefects bathroom..

Warnings: Making out? Swimming? I have no idea, please tell me if I've missed any! Enjoy loves <33

! Not proofread !

(the gif is not mine! I found it on pinterest!)

"Hurry up, Black!" Whisper-yelled Y/n, pulling Sirius's wrist even harder as they ran down the corridor

Y/n couldn't for the life of her fall asleep that night. For the first time ,in the five years she's been attending hogwarts, she was unable to sleep from the heat. To elaborate, when May rolled around the corner everybody expected the usual kind of weather, a little warmer than April but still rainy and cloudy. However, this time it took them all by surprise how hot the weather had gotten in the span of a few days. So, that's why Y/n couldn't sleep and apperantly neither could Sirius. She found him in the common room pacing back and forth with an enchanted pink fan (probably Mary's) following him around.

Y/n had the glorious idea to break into the prefects bathroom for a swim, in order to cool down. Sirius, of course, couldn't turn down the offer and went along with her.

"If you pull any harder my hand will pop off, Y/n" Sirius groaned trying to free his wrist from Y/n's strong grip

"Well, you're not moving fast enough!" She whispered back

"I told you we should have gotten Prongs's invisibility cloak!"

"Where's the fun in that? Don't you want a little adventure in your mundane life?" Y/n smirked, raising an eyebrow as if to challenge him

"If getting a month's worth detention from McGonagall is an adventure to you, then no, I don't want it!" He glowered at her

"Lucky for you, then, we've arrived safe and sound" Y/n stopped walking as they reached the fancy door

"Is-Is this it?" Sirius spoke a little dissapointed

"Yes," Y/n looked at him quizzically "what did you expect?"

"I haven't a clue-" Sirius groaned when he saw Y/n's confused and annoyed face "I thought It would be harder to find, that's all!"

"It's not the chamber of secrets, Sirius, it's just a damn bathroom" Y/n chuckled

"the chamber of secrets does not exist-"

"Yeah right-"

"You-"

"Pine-fresh!" Y/n stated facing the door, making it open

"How'd you know the password?" Sirius asked as they both walked in, taking in every single detail

"Marlene told me" Y/n said casually

"Well, how did Marlene know?" Sirius furrowed his dark eyebrows

"She must have heard Potter or something- Anyways, that's besides the point, we're here now and we might as well enjoy it while it lasts, eh?"

"Right- You're right, yeah" Sirius, all of a sudden froze. He was now just realizing that he agreed to swimming. Did he have to take of his clothes? Did she?! He was panicking, but tried to look as calm and collected as possible.

Pulling him out of his thoughts was the loud splashing sound next to him. He turned to look at Y/n in the swimming pool-like tub. Sirius looked around him quickly scanning the floor but didn't find her sweatpants and t-shirt anywhere. Thank Merlin!

"Sirius, you're taking forever" Y/n said, resting her arms on the edge of the tub

"I just- Um- I just need to pull my hair back, you know?"

"You're so overprotective of it- I bet it'll enjoy the swim, if you let it that is"

"No, it will not"

"How about you ask it?" Y/n asked teasingly, enjoying his annoyed and unamused expression

"You're hilarious-"

"I know"

"You didn't let me finish" Sirius raised an eyebrow

"Go on then- What else?"

"Impatient and annoying" He chuckled lightheartedly

"Wow, all of those things?" Y/n laughed as well "I'm very multifaceted"

"Indeed you are- Now, prepare for landing, miss!" And without much thought, once his hair was out of the way, Sirius jumped into the pool, making everything wet.

"Well, I was totally not prepared for that sort of landing"

"I know, I know- I'm frustratingly amazing at anything I do" Sirius swam closer to her, slowly closing the gap between them

"I wouldn't say so myself, Black" She remarked, feeling her stomach twist and turn suddenly

"Wouldn't you?" He spoke quieter, getting even closer and so was she

"No," She couldn't help but stare at his lips, once in a while "I bet I can beat you at many many things"

"Really?" Sirius teased "Like what exactly?"

"School? Quidditch? Dating?" She listed off, emphasising the last one

"Dating?" He smirked incredulously "Are you sure about that? You dated Amos Diggory last year!"

"Yes, I did- He is quite handsome, don't you think?"

"No way, Y/n"

"Alright, then, do you know someone better looking than Diggory, Sirius?" She objected, looking forward to his answer

"Yeah, I do in fact know someone" Sirius answered

"Who?" She whispered, the tension too much for either of them to handle

"Me-" Sirius whispered back confidently "Look, I really want to kiss you, may I?" his lips were almost touching hers

"Gladly" she spoke

At last, Sirius's lips collided with hers. Y/n was grateful they were in the shallow end. She would have drowned otherwise because of the overwhelming emotions she couldn't exactly pinpoint. Everything was going great, exactly how she had been imagining it this whole time, when the door opened and someone stepped in. Both Y/n and Sirius stopped what they were doing and hid underwater.

The person closed the door and walked into one of the stalls, turning on the shower. The student started singing and humming. Y/n and Sirius swam up to the surface once more and looked at each other knowingy. How was it 5am already? James Potter, the Quidditch captain and their best friend. was awake and having his morning shower.

"Shit"

#harry potter #hp marauders #the marauders #marauders era #sirius black #sirius black fic #sirius black x reader #sirius black x y/n #james & peter & remus & sirius #james potter #remus lupin #atyd sirius #peter pettigrew #atyd fandom #atyd marauders #marauders fandom #sirius black imagine #marauders

[ariwilder]

It’s not over until the Fat Lady sings | Part VII

Pairing: Penny Haywood x Jacob’s Sibling

Summary: It’s over. It’s your final day at Hogwarts. It’s time to say farewell to your friends and soon enough the start of new adventures.

AN: Yes, the hiatus is over after SO LONG. If only you are curious as to what could have taken me so long, just go ahead and read. All I can say for now, however, is this gif.

-------

Part I  |  Part II  |  Part III  |  Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII

-------

Not today. 

You land clumsily on the floor and fall face first. You heave a deep breath and feel the cool breeze over your bruised forehead.  The floor is wooden you take notice. 

“We live.” You sound more excited than relieved.

The tall man of very dark skin gives you a disapproving look as he offers you his big, callous hand, “you may not believe us, but we are not kidnapping you.” He says dimly. 

“You are not doing a very believable job at it,” you mutter under your breath as you stand up and divert your eyes in search of your friend. 

If Nicolau heard you or not, you do not care. 

Feeling a tap behind your shoulder, you turn to find Penny unscratched for the exception of a few stray golden hairs out of place. It kind of takes your breath away, you are not sure if it’s the intense sense of relief or not. 

“You okay?" You feel her cradle your face with one of her hands,“I think I heard you hit yourself when we landed.” 

You open your mouth to answer, while you feel a hot liquid make its way down your nose. Now that she mentions it a throbbing headache is starting to thunder your scalp. 

“Episkey.”

A hot-cold sensation goes over your forehead in that instant, interrupting the nearing headache altogether. You blink at Penny, and smile at her in gratefulness, only to realise the voice you heard had been a baritone.  

*Wait….that couldn’t have been Penny. 

A sudden cough makes Penny shriek away from you. 

“I hopee you are doing goodje , crianças , Nico,” it is Maria's soft voice smiling over you. From the corner of your eye you witness Nicolau withdraw a rather stout wand into his pocket. 

If Maria took notice of your awkward situation, she does not verbalize it. You go over your face with your hand quickly, confirming that all of your features remain unscratched in their right place. On your hand, a smear of red blood.  Marvelous. 

"Where are we?" It is Penny who asks. You both have been asking this question a lot more than you'd like. 

From the looks of it, after a brief inspection of the place since your landing, you notice you are inside an old library. Or at least that's what it looks like to you. Row over row of tall, dusty dark bookshelves  cover every wall of the two story tall ceiling room. All filled by equally old and dusty books of all sizes, colors and lengths.  In the middle is a rectangle reading table, also made of dark wood, six chairs with red tattered cushions and on the roof, suspended on mid-air, an old wooden enchanted chandelier,  which oddly enough, didn't offer much for illumination. 

"This is my família biblioteca , heirloom of the familia Oliveira  for centuries. We are stayim in minha casa for now, is probably more safe." She says this in a grave tone. It does not suit you well. 

“What is going on here and where is Rakepick?” you see Nicolau to your left roll his eyes. 

Once again, much to your distress, despite being the creator of the portkey, Patricia Rakepick is nowhere to be found in the near vicinity. 

Maria grimaces, "Paty is probably getting o’ Ministério off our backs, they almost got us down there , talvez," she  adds the last as after thought before avoiding your eyes with a sigh. Yet, you are not ready to let things go.

“What does that even mean? Are we some sort of fugitives? Why were we in the Amazonas? What is this ministerio and why are we running from them?” 

You try your best not to holler at them in anger, but being left out of the loop is making you really anxious. You are clenching your fists so tight they are starting to pale. Nicolau steps between you and Patricia instinctively, Penny puts a hand on your arm. 

The more time passes the harder it is becoming for you to trust the whole expedition, and the more you think this is a bad idea. You just can't help but to know.

“ Relaxa Nico , it is time dei know.” Maria pats Nicolaus broad shoulders softly, motherly. He untenses instantly. 

“Sit, por favor , it is long,” she signals to the chairs over the table. They look as if they haven’t been dusted for centuries, and perhaps they haven’t. 

You make your way to a chair, with Penny behind you, begrudgingly.  Over the table, you notice, several pictures both magical and inanimate reside in piles, a map of Brazil and another one of the city (you read the words Rio de Janeiro) with different floating signals. One of the maps even had several floating names over it making their way around the city. You try to gulp but you fail, finding your mouth unusually dry. 

In front of you, you watch a clearly shaken Maria Aparecida put two bony hands over the research table, her expression distraught, “Eu nem sei por onde começar, how to explain.” She opens her mouth and closes it again, a visible quiver on her bottom lip. 

You wish you could feel sympathetic with her, but you don’t. Not when you have been kept in the dark for so long. 

“Let me,” it is Nicolau this time, his face as stoic as every moment you have spent with him, “what you see over here is a map of Brazil and the city of Rio de Janeiro ." 

You raise one of your eyebrows at him with a sober stare. Your cheeky ‘don’t you say’ remains hot on your lips because Penny nudges your ribs with the point of her elbow. You owww at her, she purses her lips at you. You hiss a ‘ fine ’ under your breath while Nico pretends not to notice your banter. 

"We have been following the trail of a number of unusual disappearances, all of which have been escalating in the recent months since their start more than a year ago." Nico pauses as you see a trace of struggle surface through his impassive face. 

You dart your attention between Nico and Maria intrigued. The brief info dump had felt like a joke with a punchline that never quite arrived. You can understand why it would be important to follow the trace of several disappearances but you fail to understand how this could be related to curse breaking or why Rakepick had decided to involve herself in it. 

"Do the authorities know any of this? Don't you have a Ministry that attends to these matters?" Penny asks matter-of-factly, she probably feels as bewildered as you. 

What would a trio of British wizards be doing in Brazil to help solve an arbitrary disappearing mystery? Sounds pretty random, if they asked you. What could you do that the Brazilian ministry couldn't?

Maria Aparecida interrupts your train of thought with a banshee-like chuckle. You would've laughed after her had you not been feeling as annoyed as you currently feel. 

"Ja! O’ministério?” she points one bony finger at Penny while she looks at Nicolau, "O’ministério, menina! Ja-ja-ja-jaaaaaaa!" She hollers in fake laughter only to stop suddenly. 

"Dei have known for months, dei were the first notify of the disappearances of dise…of dise…" she heaves for a second breath, perhaps to gather herself, "....crianças!" She motions wildly in the air with her hands, “...childs!”

She had spoken so fast it was hard for you to understand.

"Dei are corrupt! The worst, porcaria ! Dei do not care. Not about childs, not about safety, not about Macumba!" She hits the wooden table with both her hands in feverish anger before muttering unintelligible words under her breath, that might have been portoguese with a swear word or two by the sound of it. 

Wait. 

"Wait, did you say they are disappearing children?" 

A powerful feeling between nausea and bemusement punches your stomach. As a persecuted child yourself, you can't help but feel sympathy–anger. It hadn't occurred to you before, not really, that outside of Britain all other kinds of terrors persecuted other children daily. 

"They are disappearing sem-magica children from poor regions of Rio de Janeiro-No maj?” He adds as an afterthought after seeing our confused stares. 

“You mean muggleborn? Magical children born from no magical parents?” It is Penny who interjects, you hadn’t heard of the term No-maj before. 

“Yes, muggleborn. We have tracked seven so far." Nico’s face is in a deep frown, an expression you hadn’t seen in his face before, and emanated a menacing aura around him.

"But that would be hard to hide, right? How can school age magical children disappear out of thin air and have no one notice? Or–" 

You can hear a clear distraught in Penny’s voice, heartbreak even. She is probably having a harder time believing something like that could happen just like that, even on the other side of the world. The thought that something like this could happen to her still school-aged sister probably bothers her more than she would be willing to admit. 

“Who say dei were school agee?” Maria’s words impale us into an ominous silence. 

The implications give you immediate goosebumps, while bile hits the back of your throat. 

"Dei are disappearing childs yet to be register in Castelobruxo . O’ministério does not care because dei are not registered ainda the Brazilian magical census,” You see Maria change her palms into firsts over the table.

“Brazilian muggles do not care because the disappearing children are poor and this is ‘normal’ in Brazilian favelas.” Nico quotes in the air with his fingers. 

“We also believe there is enough evidence to suggest this might not only be happening in Rio de Janeiro, but all over Brazil.” 

Nico’s words are so grave, neither you or Penny dare to utter a word. Not of disbelief, nor support. The matter at hand is far more horrifying than any worst case scenarios you would’ve come up with. 

Maria Aparecida hits the wooden table with fury, “And all O’ministério care about is plan the next International Warlock Convention !” She fumes.

“No cause troubawl Maria,” she hits the table with each of her sentences,” No conspiracy theorie Maria,” pum! , “ noting is wrong , noting is happening in Brazil.” pum! , “ Stop or we fire you! Pffft!” pum! , “Macumba no exist anymore!” Her hair turns wilder with every new pummeling of the table, her eyes set up in a flaring glare. Almond eyes so tight and slant you could barely recognize her irises. 

Penny reaches for your robe instinctively. You didn’t know Maria Aparecida, if at all, and she looked ready to cast an unforgivable curse at the minor provocation. 

“What is Macumba?” The question slips through your lips unconsciously. The word had shimmered at you since its first mention, for some reason resonated in your recent memory. 

“Macumba is a very old kind of ritualistic magic that developed in the early magical communities of the 16th century,” Nico pauses and moistens his lips, “you are foreigners, so you do not know but around that time a massive wave of immigration populated Brazil and sem magica, muggleborn, children were not trained in Castelobruxo. That is no longer the case, but  Brazil has a long history of misuse and practice of illegal magic, so we think the disappearances could be related.”

Maria stands up suddenly at this, “No, Nico, we no ‘tink’,” she quotes in the aire, “dei are related, we know.” 

The loud pop of an apparition interrupts your conversation, before the heavy front doors of the library open with a screech. The bloodied figure of a woman collapses before you, the first to run to her side being Maria in a rush. 

“Paty, querida, what happen?” she puts Rakepick’s head over her lap and uncovers her face from a veil, revealing Patricia Rakepick’s signature red head, blood pouring grotesquely down her eyes.  

“They have him, Maria, they have him.” She anguishes, if you didn’t know better you could swear you could hear her sob. 

Maria remains silent, her face unusually petrous. Beside her Nico kneels. 

“Who do they have?” He grabs her robes quite forcefully with intention to shake her. Such a strong reaction takes you aback. Beside you, you notice Penny rummaging through her bag. 

“Who do they have, woman?!” He shakes her for real this time, breaking Maria from the quiet reverie she had immersed into. 

“She is hurt, stop it,” you grab Nicolau’s forearm menacingly. He glares at you with a snarl, you make a quiet dash to your wand. You might not be fond of Rakepick right now, but you would not allow a stranger to hurt her. 

Rakepick brushes Nicolau’s hands from her robes taciturn but placating before speaking to Maria again, “Santos, I think they have Santos, he… he saved me, we have to go back, you have to go back, check your watch.” she orders Maria.

 “Help.” Patricia adds as an afterthought before closing her bloodshot eyes. You grip your wand beside you tightly. These last words, however, are meant for you, that much you know.

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

ah: I have no excuses, or way too many for the reason why I had been on hiatus for so long. But I have decided, I will finally give it a try and finish something for a change. The outline is done. I delayed a bit because of the world cup, but I hope to keep going forward. Looking forward for the ride, and you'd like, your company!

xoxo, everyone,

Lycopene.

You can find me in ao3 too.

#penny haywood #penny haywood x mc #penny haywood x jacob's sibling #hphm #harry potter hogwarts mystery #jacob's sibling x penny haywood #jacob's sibling #hphm mc #harrypotter

[brendonloverurie]

The best day ever!

Eras Tour movie spoilers under cut!

Yesterday (October 19th) I went to the Eras Tour movie! I dressed up as the Lover album cover, and I wore the ME! that I made.

I was a bit late and I missed most of the previews, but luckily I didn't miss any of the movie.

I was literally the only person in that theater who sang the Lover songs. I expected everyone to at least sing the Cruel Summer bridge, but no. Just me. I'm gonna tell myself it's because everybody just got settled in and nobody wanted to be the first.

Cruel Summer felt like such a huge moment for me, I can't even describe it.

I really loved The Man choreography!

The Fearless era is where everbody went wild! Everybody started singing and dancing, and they all ran to the front of the theater. (I stayed in my seat because my glasses only work far away.) It felt like a party where everybody knew everyone and we all vibed. The energy was so cute. 🥹

Willow was such an experience™️

I didn't remember all the words to Tolerate It. 🫣 the part she was knocking dishes off the table was awesome though.

the whole theater SCREAMED when the Reputation snake showed up!

1, 2, 3, LET'S GO BITCH!

Delicate was as pretty as ever.

Don't Blame Me into Look What You Made Me Do is one of the transitions of all time, except for Getaway Car into Cruel Summer on Spotify. Argue with the wall.

I was a little disappointed that there was only one Speak Now song, but ENCHANTED!!! 🤩 so pretty ahhhh.

The Red era made me so nostalgic. 🤧

22 was super fun, and her giving the 22 hat to a little girl was so cute! Immortalized forever.

Weeeeeee are never ever ever getting back together! So much fun!

I Knew You Were Trouble was super high energy!

All Too Well isn't even one of my top songs, but something about it was so POWERFUL. the Red era itself was some of my best singing, but I did my best during All Too Well. Especially "you said if we had been closer in age maybe it would've been fine, and that made me want to DIE!" I could hear the hurt and emotions in my voice. I think something healed though.

The whole theater was in perfect harmony for Betty!

She was so cute during August!

1989 was the absolute loudest of the whole night. Everyone SCREAMED every lyric, and the vibes didn't drop once. I really liked the 1989 choreography.

Surprise songs! The whole theater loved Our Song! And I cried once we got to You're On Your Own Kid. I don't think I could explain it to anyone. It's my song. I did wait ages to see him there. I did find out that he never cared. My friends from home didn't know what to say. I think something actually healed in my heart when she sang it. (Shockingly I didn't mess up my Lover heart.)

Then I wiped my tears cause LAVENDER HAZE!!! 💜

Everyone was amazingly loud during Anti Hero. It was super fun!

I've seen gifs of Vigilante Shit before, but I've never seen it while hearing it too. Mind blown. 🤯

Bejeweled! I can still say I don't remember! I polish up real nice! I had so much fun screaming "NICE!"

Everything about Mastermind was so pretty!

Karma! Yay!

And Long Live for the credits!

After everybody cleared out, the theater was empty! Me and my mom and sister were the only people in there. It felt poetic to walk around an empty theater.

And I got a bucket and cup to keep!

This was seriously the best night ever. Thank you so much @taylorswift for that experience.

#Taylor Swift #Eras Tour #Eras Tour movie #my thoughts #she speaks!

[indyimagines]

Enchanted

(Credit to the owner of this gif.)

“All I can say is, I was enchanted to meet you.”

Pairing - Atticus Cogar/OC

Warning - Fluff, mentions of deathmatch wrestling

Atticus Cogar was making his way towards the ring, the crowd roaring for him as “Heartbeats” by KING 810 echoed throughout the arena! Suddenly, those crowd roars turned to boos when Atticus was caught off guard and thrown to the ground by the vicious clothesline to the back followed up with some ground and pound! He tried to fight back, but Rickey was too much for him. Atticus was taking a beating, and he had no backup because Rickey had laid out the rest of the 44OH! before he came out here! Rickey was stomping, punching and throwing Atticus around the ringside area like a ragdoll, laughing and chuckling at the negative reaction he was getting from the crowd.

Atticus was able to slide into the ring to get away from the heinous attack of RSP but only for a few minutes. RSP threw up the ring apron skirt and went digging around before he pulled out a table, sliding it into the ring. Once he got the table into the ring, he started to set it up. Atticus took advantage of this moment and tried to hammer away on Rickey, the crowd firmly behind him, but Rickey with a cheap shot to knock Atticus down. Rickey was about to powerbomb Atticus through a table when suddenly, Rickey's little sister, Y/N, jumped over the barricade and into the ring! She chop blocked the back of Rickey’s knee, breaking his hold on Atticus! Atticus rolled away while Rickey bent down, holding onto his knee.

Y/N listened to the chants of the crowd, looking over at Atticus who was recovering in the corner before looking back at her big brother who looked shocked and betrayed once he saw who was the one to attack him. He went to say something but Y/N slapped him across the face before dropping him to the mat with a DDT! Rickey rolled out of the ring, holding onto his face while the crowd erupted into a mix of cheers and continued chants for Y/N! She rushed over to Atticus to check on him as we faded away to a commercial break. After the segment, backstage, Atticus was furious. Atticus turned to her, his eyes blazing with anger. "What were you thinking?" he snapped. "You had no business getting involved in that. You could have gotten hurt!"

Rickey's little sister stood her ground, undaunted by Atticus's anger. "I couldn't just stand there and watch you get hurt anymore," she said. "I had to do something!"

Atticus softened a bit, his rage turning to confusion. "But why?" he asked. "Why would you do something like that for me?"

Rickey's little sister took a deep breath, gathering her courage. "Because I care about you," she said. "I've cared about you since the day Rickey brought you in and started training you. I've watched you grow, and I've seen how hard you work. I couldn't just sit back and watch you get hurt."

For once in his life, Atticus was taken aback. He looked at her for a moment, studying her face. He saw determination and bravery in her eyes, and he felt a pang of something he couldn't quite identify. For a moment, they stood there in silence, both of them unsure of what to say next. But then Atticus made a decision. He stepped closer to Rickey's little sister.

Atticus's expression softened slightly, but he was still skeptical. "You barely know anything about me other than what you’ve seen," he said, his voice quieter now. "Why would you risk your own safety for someone you barely know?"

Rickey's little sister took a deep breath. "Because I see something in you that I've never seen in anyone else," she said, her eyes locked on his. "You have a fire in your heart that burns brighter than anyone I've ever met. I know that you're going to do great things in this business, and I want to be there to support you every step of the way."

Atticus was silent for a moment, the weight of her words sinking in. He looked at her, really looked at her for the first time. He saw the tears in her eyes, the fierce determination in her expression, and the hope in her heart but he couldn’t bring himself to let her get closer. He stepped back and shook his head before he looked into her once determined, now turned sad, eyes. “You’ll turn out just like the others, Y/N. You’ll stand there and claim you support me but then when I let my guard down and actually let you in, you’ll put a knife in my back. I want to trust you…but I can’t.”

Before Y/N could even have the chance to respond, Atticus simply turned away from her and walked away. Leaving Y/N standing there, tears streaming down her face before she sunk down to the floor, bringing her knees up to her face as she sobbed. Gregory Iron and Eddy Only rushed over, sitting down beside her to comfort her. Eddy held her in a hug while Gregory tried his best to make light of the situation.

Later that week, it was announced that at the next show, Atticus Cogar and Rickey Shane Page would finally step into the ring to “settle their differences” but as we all know, in wrestling, nothing is ever truly one and done. Y/N knew this match would solve nothing, she knew no matter the result of the match, these two weren’t going to be satisfied and she also had a feeling Rickey was going to have something up his sleeve. She tried to plead with the company to let her be involved but they said for her safety, it was best she stay out of it. But of course, she wasn’t going to do what they told her.

The next month, the stage is set for the long awaited, highly anticipated match between Atticus and RSP. After many table bumps, light tubes shattering, skewers being embedded into foreheads and much more violence, Atticus Cogar defeated Rickey Shane Page in a grueling match, but he was attacked by Rickey in a fit of rage! Atticus was exhausted and caught off guard by the attack, unable to defend himself. Rickey was about to deliver a final blow…but Y/N ran down to the ring! She climbed onto the apron then onto the top rope before she jumped off and leaped onto Rickey's back, wrapping her arms around his neck in an attempt to choke him! Rickey struggled to shake her off, but she held on tight, refusing to let go.

Atticus, still dazed from the attack, watched in awe as Rickey's little sister fought to protect him. He saw the determination in her eyes, the fire in her heart, and he knew at that moment that she truly did care about him, more than he ever realized. Rickey suddenly got down to a knee, losing consciousness from the choke before he stopped moving completely and passed out. Rickey lay there, defeated, while his little sister stood over him. Atticus slowly got up, Atticus looked at her, she looked at him, Rickey's little sister took a deep breath. "I need you to know that I'm not like the others in your life," she said, her voice steady and unwavering. "I love you, Atticus, and I'll never betray you."

Atticus looked at her, his heart pounding. He felt a warmth spreading through his chest, a feeling he had never experienced before. He saw the sincerity in her eyes, the depth of her love, and he knew that he felt the same way. He knew she was telling the truth. Without a word, he stepped forward and took her into his arms, holding her tight. And as they stood there, wrapped up in each other's embrace, he knew that he had found someone special, someone who would always be there for him, no matter what.

"I love you too," he whispered into her ear. "And I promise, I'll never let you down."

#atticus cogar fanfiction #atticus cogar fanfic #atticus cogar imagine #wrestling fanfiction #indy imagines #indy wrestling #defend indy wrestling #support indy wrestling

[yukihime242]

I know I haven't been updating as much but it can't be helped! School has started and I just completed my assignment, for now, and it's already the fourth week of the school semester.

(GIF Source: Gifer thru' Google Image Search)

Anyway, this is just a general update of my gaming progress on some of the games I play.

1️⃣ Death's Door

(Picture Source: IGN thru' Google Image Search)

I have been playing Death's Door during my exam period in the upper half of the year, and if there's anything I took away from the gaming experience is...

If you are feeling super stress about your exam, play Death's Door. All of that stress will be converted into gaming energy which allows you to advance the game faster than you'd expect.

Well... that is, up to the Bull Run phase for me. Yeah, I am quite stuck at the Bull Run phase. It's not the Bull Run part which I am stuck at but rather the mini boss fights with the Lord of Doors that I am stuck at. I am fine with the ones at the beginning and at the Witch's Estate, but the subsequent ones just got me. I think it will take another miracle for me to be able to advance to Phase 2.

2️⃣ Sky Children of the Light

(Picture Source: Sky: Children of the Light - Wiki Fandom thru' Google Image Search)

I got to admit that I have been extremely inactive with the game. I think I have reach the point where I want to momentarily quit the game and focus on other things.

Although the new season boast a new area and an extremely beautiful scenery, I just couldn't bring myself to log in and play the game. I think, sadly, this will have to be goodbye for now. Of course, I am not going to uninstall the game but possibly let it rest on the shelves.

3️⃣ Honkai Star Rail

(Picture Source: Google Play thru' Google Image Search)

Another game I am super stuck at... not saying that it is difficult but rather I don't have the right characters in facing off the alchemist. So I did something which made my wallet cry...

Yeah, I pulled on the gacha and lo and behold! I GOT BAILU!!

(Picture Source: GameSpot thru' Google Image Search)

LOOK AT HER! SHE IS SO CUTE! LOOK AT THAT ADORABLE FACE!! I CANNOT BELIEVE I FINALLY GOT THIS LITTLE CUTIE PIE!!

Ahem!

Anyway, yeah, now that I have Bailu who has really good healing, I thought I could try bringing her to face the alchemist and hopefully I can finally advance the game progress!

I mean, the game is kinda boring for me now because I am stuck at that part and there is literally nothing else for me to do except farm. But renewed vigor has taken over and I pray that Bailu will help me see the end of the tunnel!

4️⃣ Genshin Impact

(Picture Source: GamesRadar thru' Google Image Search)

Most of my game progress happens in Genshin Impact. There is quite a lot to talk about, but I will try to summarise.

First, I didn't know that Venti's signature weapon was the Elgy of the End... I have the bow, I have Venti, I just never equipped it on him. So, my poor soul was practically screaming at the screen every time I tried to level up his weapon because it also means I cannot touch the weapons I am building at that point. And resources are so scarce as a higher AR level player. I even wrote in to Hoyoverse asking them to provide us a better solution in getting those Mystic Enchantment Ore, like how we can easily get Mora and Character Exp Books from the Leylines on a daily basis with just the limit of our resin. Anyway, that's just my opinion about the weapon level up system.

(Picture Source: Pocket Tactics thru' Google Image Search)

Secondly, I have finally completed both Tighnari and Ganyu's character builds. What surprises me was how OP Ganyu is and how fun it was to use Tighnari. Now with both Tighnari and Ganyu out of the way, I can finally focus on building up Dendro Traveler's and Xiangling's talents.

Thirdly, I was not particularly happy with my Xiao's artifacts. I had in mind to re-farm for his artifacts since the damage could be better. For the record, I am not really a damage fanatic; my motto in game is as long as the enemy dies. But the fact that I need to re-farm Xiao's artifacts for better damage just shows how horrible Xiao's artifacts were.

Then, I noticed that the artifacts I had on Wanderer was the wrong one. Bonus for me since I could just plonk everything from Wanderer to Xiao. All I need to do is farm for Wanderer. I also noticed that I am still lacking one more artifact for Yoimiya. Thankfully, the strongbox for that artifact is available in the crafting bench.

If you guys are wondering what the heck I am trying to say, the TLDR version is: Farm Wanderer's artifacts --> Trash artifacts go to Strongbox for Yoimiya --> Remaining artifacts feed to Xiao's artifacts to level up.

(GIF Source: GIFDB.com thru' Google Image Search)

Anyway, that's all of my gaming progress. It does sound like a lot is going, but that is not even half of it. Remember that I still have my videos to edit and upload and I need to do it soon because my laptop memory space is crying at me.

#yukihime's gaming updates #death's door #sky children of the light #sky cotl #honkai star rail #genshin impact #genshin

[itsgrimeytime]

Magnolia in May (Part Twenty Eight) || Rick Grimes (TWD) x Greene!f!reader Regency AU

Parts 1-20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27...

Taglist: @loliakeoghan23 @curlycarley @queenie32 @mgparker

rick grimes taglist: @golden-hoax @mgparker

AVAILABLE ON AO3

Inspiration (in honor of Speak Now Taylor's Version): Enchanted by Taylor Swift.

Summary: Your town was small, not the smallest you knew, but anyone of high fortune was the gossip of the week. Predictably, Richard Grimes was a thing of whispers -rumors of a search for marriage among the grassy hills. You weren't one to buy into town gossip, but something about him... just seemed a little too intriguing.

TW: none.

[[A/N: He's so pretty in this gif. Girl... Thanks for reading !!! ]]

Fragrant, every time you so much as shared space with Mr. Grimes, he smelt wonderful. Tones you couldn't quite name and scents that made your head spin -some you question if it wasn't just him. Such scents followed him so closely, that you wished to replicate such a smell -perhaps spritz it on his handkerchief to remember it was his.

Although, you were sure it to be quite odd to sniff a handkerchief.

Which brought you to now, sitting closely by his side as you reread the same page and he shuffled through papers -he'd just requested for your company. And you, being you, eagerly complied.

Mr. Grimes hadn't said anything about it, so you hadn't either.

"Do you use any perfumes?" you echoed out before you could think about it too much.

"Perfumes?" he questioned, looking up to give his full attention -like he always did.

"Like," you stuck to such a topic, "-Like scents? Headmistress gave me one that smells like sweet citrus, but they make them for men as well-"

You were rambling, a nervous ramble -had he ever seen one of these before?

"-It's not a womanly thing wholly, and well, I was just wondering if you used any?"

He blinked at you, with a tiny soft chuckle, "Perhaps. I couldn't tell you what kind, because I'm not certain. Why do you ask?"

You blushed a certain type of crimson, admitting, "Your fragrance is quite wonderful is all. I was only curious if it was entirely you or..."

"A perfume," he finished with a small, teasing little smile -oh, he was not going to let go of this, was he?

"Do you always do that?" he questioned, in reference to the nervous ramble, you gathered.

"The rambling?" you poised, placing your book into your lap, "-Only when I'm unsure of such an approach."

"And why haven't I seen much of it, then?"

"Well," you began, carefully, "-I'm rather certain with you. I don't question my words, I know intently what I'm to say. It's... It's natural to me, I suppose."

"Such a thing is heard only by certain ears," he hummed in understanding, "-I'm rather happy you are so certain upon speaking to me, Ms. Greene."

"I'm sure you must know much more eloquent speakers," you relented.

"No," he added, "-you are quite direct in your pursuit of knowledge. You aren't afraid to get right in a reporter's face, or ask a man of his scent, it's wonderful."

"Some would say it unladylike," you echoed out, fidgeting with the pages between your fingers.

"Some would," he agreed, turning fully to face you, "-but I find it rather interesting. 'Have since the day I met you. Most women are afraid to speak to me, you know. But you are the opposite, I've always wondered why."

"Handsome men do not scare me, Mr. Grimes," you tsked, "-if they did, I certainly wouldn't have made it this far. I'd be married and unhappy, to the tune of a handful of years."

"You believe me to be handsome?"

"Oh, please-" you started with a smile, "-don't tell me you haven't heard such a thing before. The whole town of Alexandria-"

"Not from you," he echoed, a grin biting onto his lips, "-I believe it to mean a lot comin' from you."

"Well, I apologize for not saying so sooner," you smiled, "-I find you entirely too handsome. As does the rest of Alexandria."

"Too handsome for what?"

"For me," you hummed, a bit playful but something else settling in your heart,"-such a man should never reach as lowly as the eldest."

"You speak as though you aren't wonderful," he reiterated, "-do you truly not believe it so?"

"I-" you echoed, a little hollow, "-I believe you."

"When I say you are wonderful?" He repeated, "-You just believe me? You don't believe such a thing yourself?"

"Isn't it brash to believe you're beautiful?"

"No," he stood from the desk, joining you on the couch, "-entirely not. To believe you are beautiful is a thing many wish to, for their own sake. I suppose I'm askin' if you are one of those."

"I... I never thought about such a thing," you exhaled, "-I suppose, being in the prettiest dresses and with the most beautiful ribbon made me beautiful, not-"

"Not yourself," he hummed, using a finger to tilt your finger up to match his eyes, "-Darlin', you are as pretty as a magnolia in May, and one day I will make you certain of such words."

"You seem to be trying very hard now," you softened, "-What makes you certain you can do such a thing?"

"Because," he smiled, fingers still gently under your chin, "-I have the rest of our lives to do it."

The next few days were uneventful, Headmistress on her outings and Father working -it was just you and the sisters at home. You were just about to make breakfast for them when the door was knocked upon -a familiar sort of knock you knew by now.

Beth and Maggie were by your side in moments, eagerly awaiting you to open the door -like they knew such a thing was coming.

You spared a glance at them, perhaps they did.

You swung open the door with a gentle sort of swish, revealing the one and only Mr. Grimes at your doorstep. You knew so upon his knock, but it was still a delight to see him.

"Lovely to see you, Mr. Grimes," you smiled brighter -as you always did, "-What are you here for today? Did I forget plans?"

"No, no," he answered, "-This is a spur-of-the-moment gift, actually. If you shall come with me?"

"Uh, certainly," you spoke, "-but what of my sisters? They haven't eaten breakfast-"

"Allow me," he clarified, "-my chef is still in the process of makin' breakfast, and a few extra faces are certainly welcome."

"Yes certainly we are," Maggie grinned, slipping by the two of you and out the door -it was all rather suspicious. You gently guided Beth out the door, a small hand over her back, leaving you and Mr. Grimes.

"You're certain it's alright?"

"'Course," he whispered, "-the more the merrier. It was goin' to be a rather empty meal without you, anyway."

"I don't have to be there for every meal, Mr. Grimes," you laughed.

He stayed decidedly silent on that, and you were caught a bit off guard. It was quickly righted, however, when he extended his arm to you to get seated in the carriage -your hand touching his warmed you in a way only he could.

Sitting beside you, you found the familiar brush of sleeves was rather lovely -gathering a little flutter from your heart. It reminded of you when such touch was the extent of it, when dancing was what you daydreamed about.

The ride was rather short, Beth filling the silence with her newest read -all the details presented eloquently but still Beth. You enjoyed her synopsis, and always made time for them -especially when she was so openly willing.

You loved your sisters, something in your heart warmed once more. It was a day of affection, you decided.

You squeezed Beth's hand across the car, and patted Maggie's leg -smiling. It was a wonderful morning.

"Before we go to eat," he interrupted, as you gathered outside his home, "-Ms. Greene, will you walk with me?"

They didn't have to ask which one.

"Yes," you answered simply.

The walk wasn't outside, not like you had assumed -perhaps to his garden, or just away from the others. He waltzed you through the door and stopped, the girls walking ahead of you -toward the dining space, you realized.

But Mr. Grimes had stopped in the foyer. Arm tight around his, you hummed out a soft concern.

"Everything alright?"

He merely smiled, eyes lingering on the open spot of the wall -the one you'd seen before on your visit with Father. You curiously wondered what he was so lost in.

"What are you going to put there?" You asked, trying to garner his attention.

"A new portrait," he hummed, turning to you, "-once it's made."

"Oh, lovely," you echoed, smiling, "-It shall certainly be beautiful."

"Certainly," he grinned, eyes lingering on yours for a second longer, before he led you down the hall.

You'd always thought such an estate was wondrous, all billowing velvet and beautiful decorations -it was something you'd never dreamed of seeing. Never dreamed of having-

You realized he'd taken you to the ballroom, then and suddenly, you were rather confused. It was a beautiful room, certainly, with pillars of grandeur and the white marbled floors. But, you weren't sure what you would do here-

"What-"

And then you saw it, a painter. He was set up just off to the side, where the light so wondrously hit everything elegantly -canvas large, far too large. Like... Like some of the portraits out in the foyer.

You stalled in your footsteps, Mr. Grimes tripping for a moment when you didn't move. But he neatly guided you further, carefully a few steps into the painter's space, where you now saw the billowing fabric. A background, you realized, and under it a stool, one that looked rather comfortable. Foods off to the side, as if to prepare for company. It was prepped for-

"Mr. Grimes-"

He took you closer and you realized such foods to be your favorite, all little things you'd offhandedly mentioned to him. And it suddenly set in, smoothing across your shoulders.

It was for you. All of it.

"Mr. Grimes," you whispered, a bit astonished, "-I cannot believe such a thing-"

"One more thing," he hummed, guiding you into a room -where as you opened the door, Maggie resided.

In her hands, your lavender ribbon and hanging behind her-

Your lavender dress.

"Mr. Grimes-" you spoke, rather breathlessly, "-I cannot accept such... How did you even-"

"I asked if she could make one," he answered, barely behind you, "-perhaps not an exact one, but one quite similar."

"Mr. Grimes-"

"Please accept it," he spoke, tone slow and open, "-just this once."

You hummed, stopping and turning to look at the dress -it was somehow more elegant, stitching so detailed and a golden thread around the edges. The lace remained much the same color, but its uses differed only slightly -the ends of the sleeves and the bit of a ruffle in the front over your chest. You believed it to be the prettiest dress you'd ever seen.

"It's... It's beautiful," you wiped at your eyes -tears starting to form now.

"And you'll be beautiful in it," he responded from behind you, and you turned to face him -tears littered down your cheeks.

"Thank you," you curtsied, wiping ineloquently at your eyes -your cheeks certainly flushed.

"Anythin' for you."

He hummed, as Maggie pulled you into the room before he could do much else. Before you could, really-

The dress was perfect, as you glanced upon yourself in the mirror. Each strand of hair perfect and each rose of your cheek even, the lavender ribbon peeking out perfectly matching the dress. The dress-

It was as though you were wearing a piece of artwork, all stitching and details you wished to follow until you couldn't anymore. Your fingers traced them absent-mindedly, as your eyes settled along your face -the dips and curves of your jaw, your nose, and the press of your smile. You couldn't stop smiling.

You did look rather-

"Beautiful," Maggie hummed, head peeking over your shoulder, "-You look beautiful, sister."

You smiled, dabbing at your eyes with his left handkerchief -one of the ones he'd given you.

"Too beautiful," she hummed playfully, "-he's liable to faint, you know."

You laughed, a little watery and teary, but you'd have it no other way, "I don't know, I believe he believes me beautiful in anything I wear."

"Certainly," she spoke, "-but it's another to see you so dazzling. Your smile may just tip him over, Y/N."

The room was quiet then, as you looked over yourself with renewed eyes -his eyes, tried to see yourself in his eyes. Suppose he liked the slight crook of your nose, or the obvious tips of your ears, or the bags laden under your eyes -suppose he liked it all.

He loved it all, something in your head corrected.

You stepped out of the room rather slowly, eager to see him but patient enough to see such a look on his face. You'd never been in something so vivid before, nor had you smiled so wide -you were an essence he had yet to see.

Mr. Grimes didn't see you immediately, chatting away with the painter -eyes derailed from the door, but when he did, it reminded you of a day. A faraway day.

"I believe I've fallen in love with you, most completely."

Letter clutched in your hand you had been so scared, afraid he'd not feel the same as he did, the same as you did. It was such a faraway day from then, but you remembered it so clearly -even the feelings, the emotions.

You could tell he was holding back, the twitch of his hands, the dip of his eyes to your lips -he wished the present company was not rather present. His steps were slow to you, careful and measured, blue eyes hovering over you in a misty sort of way. Was he crying?

"I've never seen someone so beautiful in my life," he echoed, accent strong and voice cracking, "-You must know you're the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."

You wished to kiss him.

"You're quite handsome too," you smiled, trying to dry up the tears.

He laughed, and something in you fluttered -like it always did. But this time, something settled rather different over his face -something you hadn't quite seen before.

"Marry me," he echoed out like he was lost and you were the light.

"Mr. Grimes, I thought we spoke of this-"

"I'm serious," he spoke through tears, slowly falling to one knee -holding your hands, "-I mean every word. Marry me."

"Mr. Grimes-" you spoke, rather teary once more.

"I ask for your hand," he interrupted, fingers pressed into your skin, "-please. I shall not know what to do if you say no, I can no longer live without you, you must understand-"

"Yes," it bubbled out of your lips, tears choking up through your throat, "-of course, yes."

"I wasn't finished," he laughed, utterly delighted, still on one knee and still darting all over your face, "-I have much more to say."

"I don't need to hear it," you laughed, a sort of unbelievable sort of laugh, "-I love you."

"I love you," he laughed -watery, something shining bright in his eyes, "-more than I know what to do with."

"I'm certain we can find something."

#rick grimes #its griming time #stuff n' thangs #rick grimes x reader #rick grimes x y/n #rick grimes x you #rick grimes x y/n fanfiction #twd #twd rick #rick grimes fanfiction #rick grimes oneshot #magnolia in may

[the-archxr]

kar’taylir

din djarin x female!reader

kar’taylir [kar-tie-leer]

to know, to hold in the heart.

summary: the four times Din Djarin almost says it, and the one time he does. alternatively, the four times you almost say it, and the one time you do.

a/n: *gif is not mine, it’s from Pinterest* just imagine that trend on tiktok where people scream and cry in their shower to the bridge of enchanted by taylor swift, except it’s Din doing it. also, did I include a Princess Bride reference? yes, cause I’m trash, but I thought it fit (sidenote this may just be my most favourite thing I’ve ever fucking written??)

warnings: a FUCK ton of angst, major one-sided pining (is it though?), jealousy, broody Din, reader is fucking oblivious, Cobb Vanth being a flirty little shit, eventually a lotta fluff

word count: 6.1K (it's a long one, guys, but I promise its worth it)

🪐

i.

“Stop. Moving.” You spit through gritted teeth as you try to wipe at the bloody mess before you.

Mando flinches beneath the wet rag. “Just-“ he groans as you swipe rather harshly at the wound that traces his entire bicep. “Just use the bacta spray, dank farrik!”

“It’s called cleaning the wound first. Maker, Mando, how you made it this long is kriffing beyond me.” You squeeze out the bloody rag into the bucket placed at your feet before draping it on the side.

The vibroblade that had caused the wound had made a perfect gash—deep, bloody, and very infected.

Usually, you had a weak stomach and weren’t able to tend to wounds, especially of this magnitude. But the more injuries your Mandalorian had acquired, the more you were put in a position to take care of him. And so, here were the two of you, hunched over each other in concentration.

You pull out said bacta spray from the medical kit along with a pair of scissors. Placing your hand along the rip in his shirt, you run your fingers gently around the fraying ends and look at your friend. “I’m going to have to cut the rest of the fabric around the wound so that way the bacta can reach the surrounding areas—“

“No, I—that’s enough—“

“Mando…” you warn lowly, attracting his attention to you. “It’s okay. It’s just me.”

He lets go of a shaky breath and allows himself to lean back against the metal wall. You take that as your go ahead and begin to cut the shirt. You know about his Creed, how strictly he follows it and what he allows himself to feel comfortable with. You respect him greatly, and so you make sure to only cut away the parts of the fabric that is needed.

Splaying your hand on the curve of his armor-ridden shoulder (you had somehow managed to convince him to remove it in order for you actually heal him properly) you take the bacta and spray along the jagged edges of the now clean wound. It’s a nasty cut, but far more manageable when it’s not covered in blood and scabs.

He flinched again at the cool contact but quickly settled into you. “You need to even out your breathing. You're gonna make yourself light-headed.” You say nonchalantly, making sure you are focused on getting bacta to every exposed area possible.

He doesn’t respond, but you do hear him pause, then inhale and exhale deeply through his modulator. You’re grateful for the way it calms you down—hands cease shaking, allowing you to start wrapping his arm in bandages. “You gotta keep this on. You can take it off in a couple days, but until then…” you tuck the open end into itself and stand up wiping at your knees and the dirt that accumulated on them from the ship's floor. “Until then don’t do anything to aggravate it.”

He huffs, but you can tell he tries to hide it as a cough when you shoot him a sour look. “I’m serious, Mando. I see that thing come off before it’s supposed to and you’re a dead man. You hear me? I’ll beat your ass so hard even the New Republic officers won’t be able to find you.”

He groans as he sits up slowly. “They already can’t find me.”

His quip elicits a harsh look from you. He raises his non-injured arm up in defense. “Alright, I get it. I won’t take it off.”

You keep the glare on him until you’re sure he got the message, then slowly allow the hint of a smile to breakthrough.

Then, you hear a coo and feel two tiny hands grab at your ankle. You look down with an even bigger smile and pick up the baby. “Hi, little guy!” You sit him in the curve of your inner elbow and bounce around on your heels, waiting for him to burst into a fit of giggles. Although it doesn’t take much for your tiny green child to laugh, he is almost always overjoyed when you bounce him around or spin with him in the air.

“You wanna see your dad?” His mouth falls open in a silent laugh when you reposition him against your chest. “Yeah, he’s alright. A little stupid, but he’s okay.”

You look up to Mando mid-laugh only to see that he’s already looking at you and the kid.

Typically, it’s unnerving when he stares. After all, intimidation is his strong suit. When he wants to be scary, he is, and with a type of ease only he possesses, he parts crowds like the Geyser Sea. But right now, he isn’t like that. It’s…different, somehow.

Instead of the sharp lines of his visor being pointed down, they’re slightly titled upward—an air of softness to the minuscule movements he makes. A strange, yet familiar feeling bubbles in your stomach, but you do what you know best and push it down. You clear your throat before sitting down beside your friend and place the baby in the middle of you two.

“Tell me again why you waited almost two days to treat that?”

He shrugs, head lolling to the side as the kid plays with his gloved fingers. “You’re better at patching me up, I guess.”

You feel your face quirk up. “Well, you’re not wrong. I am an amazing medic.”

He lets out a soft laugh, picking the green child up and sitting him in his lap. “An amazing medic who passed out after seeing a blaster burn for the first time.”

“Oh, c’mon, that was one time. I didn’t have any experience yet!” You lean into him unconsciously as you both play with your adopted child. “Besides…you don’t seem to be complaining. I mean who else is gonna patch you up? Certainly, not him,” a pair of big brown eyes meets yours. “The kids smart, but he’d definitely try eating at least half of what’s in that med kit.”

He laughs harder this time. The sound reverberates off the walls of the Razor Crest and rattles your ribs.

He’s lovely.

The two of you fall into another bout of comfortable silence. The only sounds are the occasional creaks of an old ship and the baby’s soft humming.

“Y/N…?” You turn your head enough so that way your eyes catch his through his helmet. He breathes deeply, chest rising and falling until yours fall into the same rhythm. He takes one particular shaky breath and then… “thank you.”

"Anytime."

ii.

“Y/N, this is Cobb Vanth. A frien—“

“The Marshal,” you say in awe. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

The man in question shoots you a friendly smile: wide and toothy. He’s an attractive man, with dark silver hair swept to the one side of his face and bright hazel eyes that lift up at the corners. He softly takes your hand in his, cradling it like you do your child. “All good things I hope.”

You snicker, earning a wink from the stranger. He lets your hand fall at that, but never leaves your side, opting to face Mando and bump shoulders with you.

“Mando,” he muses. “You didn’t tell me how pretty your uh, friend here was. Would’ve liked to freshen up a bit, ya know.”

“No need.” Mando’s voice is low and dark and sends chills down your spine. “We’re just visiting. But we should go, it’s getting dark.” He practically stomps towards the two of you, shoulders squared out and head held up high. You quickly notice how his arms are held to his sides, fists clenched as though he’s restraining himself. It makes you nervous.

What he's restraining himself for? You don’t know. But the sight makes you gulp and want to hide in the safety of your bunk on the ship. Even the child, whose head pokes out of the brown satchel that rests on your hip, cowers back into the safety of the bag at the sight of the angry Mandalorian.

“Now wait just a second.” Cobb places a friendly hand on the man’s shoulder and points to the closest—and quite frankly, the only—cantina in Mos Pelgo. “You two just arrived. Take a break for once Mando, yeah? You’re all work and no play, it’s not healthy. Lemme buy you and the lady a drink.”

Somehow, your Mandalorian bristles even more at that notion, and before anything can escalate, you choose to interject.

“That sounds wonderful, Cobb, thank you.” Out of the corner of your eye, you see the familiar beskar helmet snap in your direction. He backs up a bit, adding distance between the three of you, and somehow that one act shows you just how tense the air had gotten.

You watch your friend as he shifts. It’s subtle, hardly noticeable if you’re a stranger—but all too familiar to you. He’s retreating. “You, you want to stay?” His voice is softer than usual and you swear you catch a hint of sadness.

It’s like a punch in the gut.

“Well, we’re just visiting, right? Might as well get a drink. I could go for some spotchka, and uh, I think you could use a break too.” You try to keep your tone as even as possible as you send Mando a comforting smile. One that you hope he accepts as an olive branch.

Instead, he just stands there for a couple seconds as your pulse pounds. Then, he bows his head. “…As you wish.”

“Great!” Cobb says as he leads the three of you up the steps of the cantina. He walks in ahead, calling to the bartender with a loud laugh.

Mando goes to follow him to the bar until you stop him in the middle of the room. You’re both extremely exposed, but that thought doesn’t concern you right now. As a matter of fact, not much does. The only thing that concerns you is him.

It’s always been him.

You open your mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. The air is thick and heavy but it’s not from the Tatooine heat, rather, the sudden coldness between two friends. You don’t know what to say to him, but you can’t leave it like this. You can’t pretend that something didn’t just happen, regardless of the fact that you don’t know what that something is. But he waits. He patiently stands there, but he never looks at you. You realize you can’t look at him either.

It can’t just be you…

The kid pushes himself further out of the bag to greet his father, probably picking up on the weird silence. That action alone gives you strength. “Are you okay?” You whisper. You meant to sound stern, but your throat is dry and scratched. You chalk it up as a side effect of being surrounded by sand, but you can’t rule out fear either.

“I don’t know what you mean,” is his response.

Your heart drops…maybe it is just you.

He’s far more composed than you: with his hands on his hips and visor trained on the baby gurgling at your hip. You take a quick once-over of him to make sure you’re not hallucinating, but he remains relaxed. There’s still something wrong. Something feels off with his words, and it hurts to analyze. To worry. To hope that everything’s okay when it definitely feels like it isn’t. “Look,” he sighs and goes to reach for your arm in a way he’s done countless times before. But he stops. He stops mid-air, and you wait for something to happen, but it never does. Simply, you watch him retreat for the second time in ten minutes. “You’re right. We need a break and Cobb’s good company. Seems to like you a lot. Let’s just enjoy ourselves.”

You step closer to him and wish more than anything that you could actually see his eyes. You want to see the colours that flicker in his iris’; the way you imagine they soften at the sight of his son, and how they glow when he laughs. You want to pinpoint the different emotions he feels through eyes alone, but he doesn’t give you that. He just nods politely and walks inside the cantina leaving you and the little green guy to fear the worst.

iii.

He feels stupid.

Like, really kriffing stupid.

Cobb had picked the table furthest from the bar, smack dab in the corner, providing an ample view of the entire cantina. Though there weren’t that many patrons, Din still liked to be in the corner. He was an observer after all. It was where he had the most control because he didn’t have to worry about anyone sneaking up on him. It also allowed him to see everyone in a more subtle way; one where he wasn’t blatantly staring and would likely rile up a drunk who wanted to pick a fight.

He could monitor things and still be able to enjoy what little amount he allowed himself to partake in.

But he feels stupid. Because that’s not the case right now.

He could have a group of raiders walk right up to him and he would never notice. Not when he’s staring at you. It isn’t that this is a rare thing he does because it happens more often than he’d care to admit—when his attention drifts to the one thing, the one person, that somehow constantly invades his mind.

He tells himself that it’s for safety. He’s keeping an eye on you, making sure you’re alright and that no one’s bothering you (although he’s the first one to say anything whenever anyone does). But even he knows that’s a lie.

It’s not uncommon for him to steal subtle (or what he hopes are subtle) glances at you, but it is uncommon for him to be this angry when looking at you.

Usually, he’s at peace when it comes to you. But he wasn’t anticipating Cobb to invite the two of you for a drink. He wasn’t anticipating Cobb to take such a liking to you, nor, to offer to go with you to the bar to get said drinks even though you’re more than capable. But out of all the surprises he’s had today, the one that shakes him the most is you taking such a liking to Cobb.

The two of you are talking wildly to each other as the barkeep prepares your drinks. You’re smiling at him and he’s smiling right back, and you’re doing that thing where when you get excited you talk with your hands.

Din finds it endearing, but right now it’s different. Because he’s just watching. He’s not the one you’re excited about. So, he can’t bring himself to join you two. He knows that he wouldn’t be able to handle seeing you look at him like he’s a burden, a buzzkill who only knows how to follow you like a lost pet. But he wants to. Maker does he ever. Because maybe at the end of it all he’d get to keep you. You’d choose him after realizing that he’s always chosen you.

He forces himself to look away at that. Why would you choose someone who you can’t even see return your smile?

He’d never disobey his Creed. It’s a part of him, it’s what he stands for. And yet, he can’t count the number of times he’s second-guessed himself just to show you that he does in fact smile, that he’s alive, that he needs you more than anything. He’s a breathing man with a bleeding heart that wasn’t made for you but can’t live without you. And he hates it.

“Here we go,” Cobb sits down gently on the chair and places the drinks in the middle of the table.

Din keeps his arms crossed over his chest as he watches you take the seat beside him. The kid notices your back and immediately grasps for your attention. Which you give to him every single time because you love him.

Din would give anything to be him.

You sit the child down in your lap and grab at your glass of spotchka when a look of realization hits you. “Oh, we forgot his broth.”

Cobb, in what Din sees as a chance to impress you, is already up before you can ask. “I got it. You sit tight little guy.”

The man saunters off and when he’s out of earshot, you turn to look at him. Din feels himself start to sweat. “So, I know you said everything’s okay, but I call bullshit.”

Din’s eyes widen at the blunt statement. Not that she can see, but he’s very aware of his reactions to her (maybe the fact that she can't see is for the best). “Mando, what’s going on?” She lifts the baby up so that he can see him clearer. “We’re both worried.”

He sighs and shifts in his seat. Quickly, he weighs his options.

He could ignore her, wait until Cobb gets back, and then interrupt their little date. Cobb would get the hint and she’d be back with him and their kid on the Razor Crest. But he realizes that’s selfish of him and she’d be even angrier with him…possibly even hate him, which is the last thing he wants. Ever. So he scraps that thought. He thinks that he could bluff his way out of the situation: tell her his mind is once again on his abandoned covert and that he’s just having an off-day. It wouldn’t be the first time, and if he was convincing enough she’d probably believe him. But then he thinks of something different. He considers, for a very brief moment, what it’d be like if he just told her. He could tell her everything. How she’s all he can think about most days and nights, how he imagines what it’d be like to actually hold her hand without reason, and most importantly, how his biggest fantasy involves him taking off his helmet and kissing her. Actually kissing her like he’s longed to do since the first week of having her stay with them.

She doesn’t long for you, though.

He realizes she’s still looking at him and so he makes his decision. “It’s just an off-day for me, cyar’ika. I’ll be alright. I’m sorry if I worried you and the little one.”

She pauses, her face turned downward in sadness. His heart twists painfully. But soon she smiles. It’s faint and fake and nothing like her usual self, but it’s something.

“Okay.”

Cobb comes back to the table with a small bowl of broth and places it before the kid. The conversation returns to normal and Din is thankful that the noise is just loud enough to drown his thoughts. Even if for a short while.

iv.

“Oh, Mando look at this!”

You show him a large green and blue textile with intricate designs along its edges. It was knitted with care and looked impossibly comfortable, as far as Din could tell. “It’s beautiful.”

You smile widely and lift it up to properly look it over. “It reminds me of him.” You look down to the child that this time Din was now holding. He lifts him out of the bag in order to show him the blanket, which he immediately grabs onto. The baby coos at you, which elicits a giggle and smooth knuckles to run over his cheek. “He likes it,” you say. “We should get it for him. It can be his new blanket.”

“He has lots of blankets, cyar’ika.” He knows you know this. You're both a sucker for the little guy, but at some point Din reasons, he will have to stop spending so many credits on blankets. Though, if it keeps his cyar’ika and his ad’ika happy, he figures it can’t be all that bad.

It seems though you’ve already beat him to that realization. “Yeah, and who gets him all those blankets? Us. ‘Cause, we’re the best parents in this kriffing galaxy.”

His parents. Din preens at your words. “I’ll buy it. You go look around some more, we’re gonna have to leave soon.”

You frown playfully at him but take his advice and skip off to another booth filled with hand-made items.

Din smiles at you beneath his mask then looks down to see his child already looking up at him. The baby, who knows far more than he lets on, looks at him and then looks at you, only to look back at Din. It’s then his turn to follow the kid’s line of sight before it clicks. “No. Not happening,” Din mutters, pulling a couple of credits out of his pocket and passing them to the vendor who gives him the folded blanket.

He tucks the blanket under his arm then walks in your direction. You had moved on to a new vendor, touching anything you could get your hands on. This particular display though seemed to have you preoccupied as you proved to be too distracted to notice him come up beside you. “Find anything you like?”

You don't respond, but Din sees how your eyes were fixated on one particular piece of jewelry. The necklace was strung up on the stand closest to the woman who he assumed made them: a beautiful, long silver chain with a small moonstone attached to it. You admire it, but eventually back away from the display. You take a quick glance at all the pieces one last time before smiling at the lady then looking up to Din.

“No, it’s alright. Let’s go home.” Home. Our home.

He looks at the table and then at you. He’s not really good at the whole surprise thing (in all fairness he’s never had anyone to surprise) but, he thinks, as Cara always tells him ‘there’s a first for everything', he might as well start now.

“You go ahead, cyar’ika. I’ll catch up. I just need to finalize some things with the bounty.” Din passes you the child and the blanket and he pretends he doesn’t notice his pulse quicken when you look at him like he’s the kindest person in the galaxy.

He’s not. But he hopes he’s enough for you.

You touch his shoulder, the same shoulder you healed only weeks ago, then walk away to the loading dock with your child in tow as Din heads back to the market.

v.

You don’t think you will ever get used to hyperspace.

Colours, the kind you imagine even the queen of Naboo is envious of, rush past you in a mosaic of light. Your heart drops to your stomach as you lurch forward into what always seems like another dimension. It’s a visceral experience. It’s addictive.

The Razor Crest is a big ship, but in hyperspace, it’s weightless. And maybe that’s why you love it so much because you can’t get that kind of weightlessness anywhere else.

You’re invigorated by it at all.

Unfortunately, not everyone on the ship is having as good of a time as you are.

Below the cockpit, down the stairs, and to the right is where Din paces back and forth. The child watches from the corner, eyes going back and forth, stopping, then going back and forth again as he tracks his dad's nervous movement.

Din then stops and sits beside the kid with his back against the wall. “I don’t think I’ve ever given a gift before.”

Mandalorians don’t get nervous; they’re not supposed to. They’re supposed to be composed warriors, the soldier everyone relies on. But right now, Din can’t even rely on himself.

It’s really nothing special, simply a necklace. A piece of jewelry that you eyed, but eventually dismiss—

Wait. Did you even want the necklace?

Maybe Din read the situation wrong and you had actually decided you didn’t like it. Maybe you were simply looking at it because it was ugly, like how you study something you don’t understand.

Great. Now he’s going to give you an ugly necklace that you don’t want.

Maybe he’s not as observant as everyone says he is. As he likes to think he is.

“Dank farrik.” Din slams the back of his beskar covered head into the metal wall. This wasn’t exactly how he planned this to go.

In hindsight, he wasn’t exactly sure of how it would play out anyway, but he liked to believe giving you the necklace would lead to you giving him some amount of attention. No matter how little or how much, as long as it came from you he’d do anything for it.

Maybe he’d give it to you and you’d smile in the warm way only you can. The kind of smile that even the most beautiful of moons cry over because they’re nothing compared to you. Maybe you’d touch his face through his helmet and he’d soak into your embrace the way he’s done thousands of times before. Or maybe you’d laugh, take the gift and never think about it again.

Yeah. That sounds more probable.

“I don’t know, buddy… Do you think she’ll like it?” He goes to reach for the necklace in his pocket but it’s not there. And quite frankly neither is his kid.

He’s frantic in his search for the child and the jewelry until his eyes catch him on the ladder.

Since when did he—

Damn it.

He jumps up, as quickly as his body will allow, but the baby’s already at the top with the necklace in hand.

Your little green child coos. Your turn your head to see him shuffling over to you, a huge grin on his face with something stuck in his mouth.

“Ugh,” pushing yourself off the captain's chair, you nab the kid and sit back down with him. “How do you find this stuff, I swear to Maker, kid.”

His teeth clamp harder on the object as you try to pry it out of his mouth until you finally get your fingers around it and pull it out. It’s wet from his saliva and he laughs at you as you wipe it on your shirt in disgust. Lifting him up so he’s above eye level you give him a stern look. “Stop trying to eat everything. Especially when you don’t know where that thing's been.”

Your scolding just makes him giggle harder, forcing you to roll your eyes. You swear you’re going to roll your eyes right out of their sockets one day.

You both then turn your heads to the sound of shoes pounding up the ladder, and then the door opens to the cockpit.

Mando stands there breathing heavily, as his helmet scans the entire room before landing on you two.

“Are you…are you doing okay?”

Even under his helmet, you can tell he’s flustered, and then as quickly as he came up the steps, he focuses on you. “Sorry, I just…he had a thing in his mouth and I didn’t want him to swallow it.”

“Oh yeah trust me, I already fought with him over it.” You laugh while picking up the object you set to the side.

You swear you actually hear Mando’s breath stutter as you finally take a look at the object. At first, you don’t recognize it, concern flooding your mind at the thought of your little baby choking on something as dangerous as this.

But then you realize what it is.

Din’s shifted his weight to his other leg and he can feel his hands flex nervously—compression gloves not enough to stop him from wanting to grab the object right out of your grasp.

But he knows you. He knows you well. And he can see you’ve already figured out what you’re holding.

Your eyes meet his through his helmet. “This is…this is the necklace.” It dangles from your fingertips, and the child swats at it—the jewelry becoming his newfound obsession. “The one from the market I was looking at…”

“Yes.” He cringes at how he sounds. So quick and robotic and awkward, and so very unprepared. He’s never felt this nervous before, and yet he can’t back away. He has to deal with it. “You didn’t buy it, but, I thought maybe you still wanted it. So I got it for you. As…as a gift.”

You look down at the pendant and smile softly, running your thumb over the cool, smooth stone. “If you don’t want it, I can trade it for something else when we land. Something more desirable—“

“What’s that word…?” You both speak at the same time.

“Sorry,” you chuckle out. You’ve caught his attention though, caught him off guard on his needless apology, so you clear your throat. “How do you say beautiful in Mando’a?”

He’s stunned beyond words. Beyond thoughts. And yes, he’s acutely aware of the fact that he knows he probably looks like an idiot—a man who doesn’t even know how to talk to the woman he loves, much less surprise her with something so heartfelt. But the way you look at him, sincerity in your eyes as you await a response, his brain short circuits and he somehow gives you one.

“The word is mesh’la.”

“Mesh’la,” you repeat softly. He feels his knees buckle at your voice speaking in his mother tongue and he curses every deity for putting him in such a foreign situation.

But then you’re putting the necklace on without a second thought. As though it’s routine and the necklace is already part of your being. And then his nervousness melts away. It de-escalates into something different. Something that propels him further, closer to you.

You’re a magnet and he’s the piece of metal flying through the air, willed by a force he cannot control. “Do you…like it?”

“I wouldn’t be putting it on if I didn’t like it, now would I be, Mando?”

“Din.”

“…what?”

He hadn’t even noticed that it slipped out. And he’s surprised his covert haven’t already started to beat down the walls of his ship. A confession of a gift is one thing, but Din telling you his name is just purely reckless. He should stop while he’s ahead, but the dam has been cracking beneath the weight of his feelings for a long time. So it seems that it’s time he gives them a chance.

“My name,” his voice shakes, wavers with each syllable. “My name, cyar’ika, is Din Djarin.”

You stare out, eyes wide with shock and disbelief. But then there’s a calmness that shines through. You look down at the kid, who has been watching the two of you closely for a while now.

He hears his heart pounding in his ears so loudly he’s positive he's going to pass out. “Din…” You repeat the name slowly, unsure of it as you test out the way it feels as it rolls off your tongue. “Din. I like that name. It suits you.”

“I like your name, too.” You laugh loudly. If it were out of context, he would’ve panicked at your laughter, but after realizing how ridiculous he sounded, he finds it easy to laugh right along with you.

You hold the kid in the crook of your elbow as you stand in front of the man with a permanent smile on your face. “And uh, cyar’ika…” Din’s heart drops to his stomach and his blood runs cold. “What does that mean? I figured it meant friend or something like that but…” you’re hesitant to voice your thoughts, worried that maybe you’re overthinking it; anticipating and expecting something only for it not to be there. Wishful thinking. “I’m just curious.”

Of course, you are. Why wouldn’t you be? It was only a matter of time before you were going to ask him. Only a matter of time before you put all the signs together. Before you realized you didn’t want him that way.

Cara once told him he wasn’t subtle. At first, he had no clue what she meant, but he knows now. And he wishes he didn’t.

He takes a deep breath and tries to ignore the welling up in the corner of his eyes, but understands that it’s pointless. His time is up.

“Cyar’ika…” his tongue swells up his mouth. He’s never felt this breathless before. “It means sweetheart.”

Even from behind his helmet he feels exposed. Everything is out in the open and nothing he can do, or say, can fix it. And the fact that this is the first time since he met you that he can’t read you? It truly terrifies him.

He tenses up, waiting for the moment in which you say goodbye. When you kiss the forehead of your child, pack up your things, and give your awkward thanks to Din for allowing you to stay with them.

He waits, and waits, and waits. But it never comes. Instead, you slowly bring your hands up to his. He holds his breath, or rather, his breath holds him. Your hands gently glide on his arms until they reach the broad expanse of his shoulders, and then the edges of his helmet.

He hesitates, but you don’t stop there. Eventually, your hands stop on the sides of his helmet, where you assume the sides of his face would be if you were to hold him without his armor. He can’t help but lean into the contact you provide him. Even through the impenetrable beskar, he can still feel the warmth of your hands on his skin, imagines how it would feel to place his skin on yours. It may be temporary, but if this is all he’ll get for the rest of his life, he’d die happy. “What should I call you then?”

He…wasn’t expecting that. Actually, it was the last thing he expected you to say. You take his silence as a good sign to keep going. “Well, if you call me sweetheart…what should I call you?”

“I…” Din almost cries. He’s tired, stressed, and feels like he’s on a tightrope. But the more he thinks about it, the more he realizes you aren’t running away. You’re staying here. Touching him through his helmet and looking at him the way he’s wanted you to for what feels like forever. You're looking at him the same way he looks at you. “Din. I just want you to call me Din.”

You smile at that. At him. “Din…” he melts underneath you, relishing in the way his name sounds in your voice. And then you're reaching up to him, hands still holding his helmet firmly as you ever-so-gently pull him to meet you. And then…

Then you kiss him. You plant a feather-light kiss to his helmet, one that lingers and permanently takes ownership of his breath. You pull away from him before pressing your foreheads together and Din swears he just died.

The two of you stay like that for…you aren’t too sure how long. It feels like it’s been both seconds and minutes. Although you really aren’t keeping track, the dizzying feeling rattling around in your skull makes your brain feel like mush.

You can feel Din’s breastplates move slowly, letting you know that he’s calmed down, coming down from the shared high of two friends who’ve finally collided. He inhales deeply and his hands rest over yours. Your fingers intertwine on the sides of his helmet, but then he’s lifting up the beskar, and you panic.

“Din, stop.” You don’t realize how breathless you’ve become and you’re shocked that even with the lack of oxygen to your brain, you’re still aware of his creed.

But he cuts you off and presses his forehead to yours again. “It’s okay, just…just close your eyes. Please.” It's almost a whimper, and the sound ruins you (you take mental note of that sound for later). So you close your eyes.

You’re eager to feel him. To touch skin rather than just beskar. You don’t know what he looks like, might not know for a long time, but you’ll know what he'll feel like. And right now that’s the only thing keeping you going.

Your hands feel him first. Smooth and warm and a hint of stubble. You begin to map out his face with your hands, all while he holds you. It’s the most intimate you’ve ever been with someone…the most intimate you think you’ll ever be. Then, he’s kissing you. It’s firm, yet gentle. Soft, yet hard. It’s everything you both imagined it to be, and more.

It’s so beautiful it hurts. But at least now you two don’t have to deal with the pain on your own.

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