#This was a sweet commission I got to do- courtesy of Mirror!

[n-emone]

From @mirrorfalls and @urlthatsumsmeup - to the ebullient, irreplaceable @bakathief

Break that exam, Maestro!

#This was a sweet commission I got to do- courtesy of Mirror! #Good luck on your exams! #kudo shinichi #kaito kid #commission #gift commission #dcmk

[kiatkiat-tree]

Sweet Kitty

A/N: not a request, but like, here’s some romani food haha. please remember to request if you want something of your own, or commission me on my ko-fi ;o

-

Yes, it was a month before October. And yes, Ritsuka had better things to do than looking for a cute costume with the other women in Chaldea. An unsuspecting pair of cat ears were placed on her head courtesy of Mash, who commented on how cute it looked. Everyone else seemed to think the same, except for Medb. She had a strange look on her face that didn't fade until the group decided to stop for today.

Ritsuka bid the others farewell as Mash stayed behind to fix the costumes, but Medb obviously had other ideas. She pulled the poor Master to her side, already starting to ramble about the potential of cat ears. The Servant spared no details, both pure (for her Master to enjoy) and lewd (for her Master to blush and stammer at). Mash was thankfully out of hearing distance.

“Look at these black cat ears, so soft and fine to touch! A Mystic Code that can go along with this... do you have any black sets of lace lingerie, Master?” Medb asked without restrain. Ritsuka dwelled on her words, wondering if she could get a set like that to wear in the bedroom before coming back to her senses.

“W-what!? Wh-why would I have access to something like that?” she sputtered, going red in the face. While such a risque Mystic Code probably existed, she hadn't really thought about it. But this Master had normal clothes with her, and even a woman like her had bought a set like that out of curiosity.

Medb had foreseen that, as well. “The face you're making is very cute, Master. It also shows the true nature of your wardrobe! Very well, if you have a black set, I'll lend you a cape to go along with it. Attracting other men is my job, so use it when you want to wear it in public!”

“What makes you think I want to wear it in public?” Ritsuka cried out, attracting Mash's attention. The young girl finally emerged from the back of the closet, arms full of the things she wanted to bring back to her room. She joined the conversation between her Master and Medb, looking a bit puzzled.

“Senpai, what is it you don't want to wear?” she asked, eyes directly on the cat ears. Ritsuka hadn't really taken them off yet. She blushed, her hands going up to her head to cover them as Mash and Medb giggled. “It looks cute, though. I guess no one can really force you.”

“I shall take my leave then. Ritsuka, do not hesitate to call out to me tonight! I look forward to hearing your voice in my mind,” Medb said, flipping her hair and dematerializing into thin air. Ritsuka looked as dumbfounded as Mash.

“T-tonight...?” the Master whispered. Whaaat? She wants me to wear that cape so early? She thought before shaking her head, clapping her cheeks with her hands. Her cold hands made contact with the warm skin of her cheeks, repeatedly slapping them. Mash could only watch in confusion and fear.

“Have you made a deal with her, Senpai? I feel worried for you...” Mash said. The frown on her face mirrored her words. Ritsuka felt bad for Mash, but even she felt worried for herself. Medb wouldn't harm her, but it still felt nerve-wracking. They didn't speak of modelling the lingerie set, but she knew that would probably happen anyway.

“It's fine, I think,” Ritsuka reassured the Demi-Servant. Her heart was pounding in embarrassment, but she still took a deep breath to calm herself. “She won't try anything funny, I mean it.”

-

It was true. Medb didn't try anything funny, but she did suggest this walk of shame. Or as the Servant liked to call it, the catwalk. Ritsuka donned the black pair of cat ears, covering her true outfit under Medb's long cape. The cape turned out to be one of her many outfits from being such a beloved Queen, something Medb was proud of.

The fabric covered the tail hanging from her ass, held by a buttplug snugly fitted into her. No one could see the limp tail, nor the lingerie she wanted to replace so badly. It was a good thing that neither of the staff nor Servants suspected anything. If they did, they didn't say anything about it. However, the ears did turn a few heads.

The “catwalk” to Dr. Roman's office was thankfully uneventful, save for a few kind Servants who were offering their own capes to her. They thought she was only too cold, or maybe even playing the act of a snug kitten. The only problem was Merlin, who gave her a small headpat before lowering his lips to her ear.

“I'm sure the doctor would love your little surprise, kitten,” he teased, laughing as he got away with only a harsh tug on his hair. Ritsuka had half a mind to yell 'pervert' at him, but that would cause a scene she didn't want. After Merlin, the hallways connected to the office were empty.

She knocked on the door, waiting for Dr. Roman's response. Medb's words echoed in her head, her cheeks heating up again.

“Be sure to drop that big, big cape if he's alone! A man will surely love a surprise like this. The doctor may even pounce on you if you look too cute.”

“I don't even know if I want that...” Ritsuka muttered to herself before hearing the doctor welcome her in. The young woman gulped, walking past the doors as she tried to lock them behind her. Roman wasn't looking at her yet, giving her ample time to lock them while she was facing him. Her hands before her fiddled with the keypad, locking it just in time for her cute doctor to look up.

“Oh, hi Ritsuka. Da Vinci did say you were wearing cat ears today,” he greeted her, looking away for just a moment just to set his coffee down. Ritsuka used that second to drop the cape to the ground. It was just as Medb instructed and predicted. Her oblivious boyfriend turned back to her, but his eyes were zeroing in on her outfit.

“And then say, 'I'm a little cold, do you think you can warm me up?'”

“Um,” Ritsuka started, covering her body with her hands. She averted her gaze from his, glancing at the side of the office before speaking up again. She was running her hand along her waist nervously. “I-I'm a little cold, do you think you can warm me up?”

“Ritsuka, of course I can!” Roman took his lab coat off, placing it around her shoulders. The cracks in his facade were invisible to the untrained eye, but Ritsuka was too shocked and flustered to notice. Her eyes widened as she was suddenly surrounded by the doctor's scent, warmth emanating from his body as he covered her. “Is there anything else you might need?”

What!? Romani is too wholesome, I almost feel bad for doing this... Ritsuka internally panicked, trying to remember Medb's next words. She didn't know if Dr. Roman was just too soft and kind, or if he was just oblivious as hell. Either way, her lewd Servant seemed to be prepared for just about anything.

Ritsuka shuffled on her feet, fidgeting with her hands before hugging Roman. Surely, this will shock him! Or maybe I'm just too flustered, she thought. Next, she'd have to attempt to repeat Medb's words without melting into a puddle herself.

“You can also give me a little hug, Roman,” she said, rubbing her thighs together as she guided one of his hands onto her waist. The lab coat was too big for her, so she managed to place it there without any problems. The doctor was still tense, but didn't stop her. His hand started to move downward, eventually reaching the tail that was there.

The thong she was wearing didn't really provide any cover to her tail, which at least granted the long line of fur some freedom. Roman ran his arm across the first few inches, feeling the fur on it before gently pulling on it. Ritsuka would've collapsed if she wasn't in his arms. She moaned softly into his black shirt, hiding her red face in his chest.

“You have a tail here,” he commented, giving it another tug. She moaned again, bucking her lips a little into his groin as he continued to pull at the artificial tail, mesmerized with how she was reacting to his touch. “It's even connected to your butt.”

“Ha... wait, don't tease me!” Ritsuka complained. Well, this wasn't going smoothly. She was on the verge of collapsing right then and there, if it wasn't for Roman taking his hand off her tail and slowly leading the two of them to his chair. She followed with wobbly steps, clumsily landing on him as he sat down.

Roman's eyes were no longer on her chest, but rather on her face. It felt rather intense as he studied her expression, compelling her to hide her face. The doctor chuckled as he pulled her hands away, smiling at her before pushing her head down so he could kiss her. The two of them pulled away with her heart finally beating a bit more normally.

The doctor's calm and cool facade ebbed away, leaving him to be the flustered mess this time. He coughed into his hand, sounding too fake for both of them to believe. “Well, Ritsuka, I didn't know you were into these kinds of things. U-uh, what even made you act like that? You don't normally...”

The young woman sighed. “I know. I don't normally do this, but Medb said this pair of cat ears might excite you. I guess we were wrong,” she said, reaching out to them to take them off. The doctor stopped her with his hands, protecting the ears from Ritsuka's grasp. She frowned, but she put her hands down.

“Who said I didn't enjoy it? I mean, it's very... cute,” he said. The blush on his face would've been considered cute, but the straining erection Ritsuka could finally feel was even better. She'd been so caught up with her own shame that she didn't even notice until now. It was her turn to tease him, finally gaining the confidence to do so.

“W-well, am I really just cute?” she asked in a tone of false hurt. Roman bit his lip, but his gaze never strayed far from hers. She was waiting for an answer though, and yet silence merited him a grind of her hips against the bulge in his pants. A barely-contained groan escaped through gritted teeth.

“R-Ritsuka—“

Whatever he was going to say was interrupted as she gave another shallow grind. Said woman looked down to see a wet spot directly on his pants, as well as a ruined pair of thongs. Even if she wanted to be the tease here, she couldn't help but feel another surge of blood rush to her cheeks at the sight. She lifted herself up, removing the thongs herself.

The two of them stared at the drenched, tiny piece of underwear before Roman cleared his throat. “I'll t-take that. Don't want it to be a mess on the floor, right?” he offered. It wasn't like him to be so straightforward with these kinds of things. The words' impact couldn't be denied, though, as she felt herself get wetter.

The thong, as wet as it was, smelled of her natural musk. If Ritsuka wasn't mistaken, Roman's breath hitched the moment he touched the fabric. He was hasty in his motions to hide it in his lab coat's pocket. She felt the weight shift on her clothes, being the one wearing his coat and all.

“I should probably take this off,” she mumbled, but he was quick to object to that.

“Wait, don't,” he said. The woman raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation. She didn't expect him to have a thing for fucking her in his clothing, but it was welcome nonetheless. He blinked twice before continuing with a sheepish expression. “You can take it off, if you want, though. It looks really nice on you.”

“Doctor, I don't know how something a few sizes too big looks nice,” she said. The two of them laughed at their little joke, albeit his being a bit awkward. Ritsuka watched as Roman tried to not look dejected when she took it off, taking her bra with it. She didn't miss the way his face lighted up as well when she put it back on.

“R-right. Your bra needed to go,” he said.

“I didn't say anything,” Ritsuka retorted. They were finally going back to their natural, silly rhythm. Without any weird dialogue to go by, they were back to making weird jokes again. She settled on his lap. More specifically, his thigh. She didn't really care about where she was until he flexed it under her, unexpectedly stimulating her.

“It wasn't—Ritsuka, are you alright?” Roman asked, concern lacing his tone. Ritsuka realized she must've gone wide-eyed for a moment there, but she nodded in response to the doctor. She bit her lip, trying to grind on his thigh again. He reflexively tensed under her movement, eliciting a little mewl from her.

She gave it another try, but his thigh was too soft to provide anything. The woman groaned. “Mm, your thighs. T-they felt kind of good,” she explained. The friction of his pants against her clit was a different, yet pleasant feeling. It wasn't like he understood clearly, but the doctor tried flexing it again. Ritsuka's positive reaction only confirmed his theory.

He kept his thigh flexed for as long as he can. She thought it might've numbed him, but he may have been just enjoying the little show. His stare bored right into her, and that made her shiver more than she thought. She leaned against his warm body, gasping a little as she came on his pants.

A small puddle formed above the spot that was too saturated, a small line connecting it to Ritsuka's sensitive pussy. One of her hands was on Roman's shoulder, keeping her stable as her walls pulsed in the aftermath. The other traced a line along his torso and stopped right on top the bulge. Roman groaned, brows furrowed.

“A thigh kink, Ritsuka. W-who would've known?” he stuttered a little. Ritsuka knew he was just trying to act fine, even if his cock was probably leaking and hurting. She placed a little peck on his lips as she unzipped his pants. If his body was warm, his cock was undeniably burning. Even through the thin fabric of his underwear, she could feel it.

“I know,” her voice was small, even smaller than before. They'd have to talk about it later. For now, she focused on her doctor's stiff length, pulsing in his underwear. Roman wrapped an arm around her as he lifted himself up. His underwear slid down his thighs, letting his cock free out of its constraints.

They didn't have to wait very long. Ritsuka had come already, and drawing this out would be torture for both of them. She let herself hover over his dick, slick dripping down and onto its red tip. Slinking her arms over his neck, she carefully lowered herself, moaning at the contact. His cock made its way inside her inch by inch, making her feel full.

“Mmh, finally,” he muttered before capturing her mouth in a sloppy kiss. He waited for her to settle down, focusing on the kiss instead. It was all tongue and teeth before he started to thrust languidly, enjoying the feeling of her walls fluttering around him. Ritsuka moaned into his mouth, pulling away for air.

Her neck was somehow exposed, too. The lab coat Ritsuka was wearing made her even sweatier. She wondered if she tasted salty as Roman descended onto her, nipping and sucking at her skin as he continued to pound into her from below. She whimpered as he bit around a sensitive spot, combining it with a thrust into her g-spot.

“R-Roman! There!” she cried out. Her head lolled forward, resting her forehead on his shoulder as he thrust back into the same spot. She bit her lip, muffling the sounds that were escaping her. Her previous orgasm had made her sensitive, and she could feel her pussy twitching every now and then.

Her legs tensed as Roman started to quicken his pace, hiding his face in the crook of her neck. Low groans could be heard from him as his thrusts started to become more erratic, and Ritsuka's legs tensed for a moment before that familiar fire started in her abdomen again. A few more strokes, and she'd be able to come.

“A-are you close?” the doctor breathed out. His orgasm was imminent, and it was evident in his movement and the flush in his cheeks. He moved his head so that he could properly face her. Both were breathing heavily, but Ritsuka managed a smile on her face as the coil in her stomach threatened to unwind. “L-let's cum together, okay?”

She didn't even have the time to voice out her agreement. Another snap of his hips sent her tumbling over the edge, forcing another climax from her. Ritsuka's legs trembled, her toes curling and relaxing as Roman came as well. Her pussy twitched and pulsed, milking his shaft for all his cum.

He rode out his orgasm with shallow thrusts, earning a whine from Ritsuka. “Roman, I'm still sensitive,” she complained, but she relaxed against his shirt-covered chest. The fabric was a bit damp against her sweaty skin, but it still provided her comfort. For a few moments, the doctor ignored her, but eventually slowed down to a halt.

They first steadied their breathing, still coming down from their high. Ritsuka moved, careful to not let any of his cum drip out as she stretched her legs. The last thing they needed was cramps. The rise and fall of their chest matched perfectly, their breathing in sync as they basked in the afterglow of sex.

“So, we learned two things today,” Roman started. She gave a tired hum in reply, letting herself fall into slumber in his lap. Her head was getting attention, as well. His soft caresses were usually found behind her ears. Ritsuka wondered if he actually wanted to scratch some cat ears. “A catgirl thing, and then something with my thighs.”

Ritsuka knew she couldn't fall asleep, not here. The door to the office was locked shut, but other people would still want to come here. But she felt like an actual cat, right here in his arms. She was too tired to speak, much less dress herself again. She didn't even have any extra clothes.

Her eyes shot open at that line. She came here with little to no clothes, and with her thongs ruined, she'd have to make the real walk of shame back to her dorm. Roman noticed the change as well, making a little puzzled face. A little debate on telling him started in her mind, since Ritsuka didn't know if he could do anything.

“Is there something wrong?” he asked. The pats were momentarily stopped. While Ritsuka was panicking internally, she wanted something to at least relax her. She pouted, looking away from him. This time, it was Roman's turn to panic. “Ritsukaaa.”

“I'm a little too naked for my tastes,” she said, almost a whisper. “Also, please keep petting me...”

“Ah! You're right!” Roman said. Well, he was in full panic mode now. Ritsuka grumbled, settling back into his lap against all rational thought. She could take a break today, and that included some cuddling in some tiny chair in his office. The poor doctor struggled underneath her. “Hey, I can't move when you're on top of me! Let's find some extra clothes.”

“No, I wanna cuddle with you, a like a cute little kitty,” she said, smirking when another blush formed on Roman's confused, yet excited face.

#kiatkiat #fanfic #fate/grand order #fgo #fate/grand order romani #fate grand order #fate romani #fate romani archaman #romani archaman #romani x reader #romani archaman x reader #reader insert #romani archaman smut #roman archaman smut #romani archaman x reader smut #smut #aftercare #smut and feelings #fluff #smut and fluff #chair sex #fate x reader #fgo x reader #fate/grand order x reader #fate smut #fate grand order smut #fate/grand order smut #reader smut #romani x reader smut #romani x reader fluff

[katlyn1948]

Codename: Chapter 10: Arya

Codename

Katlyn1948

Chapter Management

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Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Arya

Summary:

Arya wakes from her night with Gendry and begins to feel things she hasn’t felt before.

Notes:

So you know how I said that this next chapter I would be covering the rest of the their time in Mereen...well I guess I lied. Next chapter will be a sort of mini time jump when we fast forward through their time together and we will even have a scene with Davos! They will say their goodbyes and then chapter 12 or 13, things should start to pick up. I hadn’t planned on staying this long in Mereen with these two, but I needed to to help move the story along and flow better. Their time together will have repercussions and shit will go down! Anyway, I hope you like! Also please take a look and my thumbnail, it is a lovely commission piece done by @dragonanddirewolf on Tumblr. It’s essentially when these two meet in this fic! Anyway, hope you enjoy!!

Chapter Text

Her palms were sweating and her heart was racing to the point where she could hear the distinctive beats slam against her head. Something was off and she couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. They were prepared; there was no reason for her to be as uneasy as she was. Perhaps the mission was a little rushed, but they were professionals and they knew what they were doing; at least she tried to convince herself of that.

No, something was wrong and she could feel it.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Arya jolted awake with sweat covering every inch of her body. She had the same nightmare for the last six months and no matter how much she talked to her shrink, she couldn’t get rid of the terrifying dream. She glanced down at a sleep Gendry and was thankful that her sudden movements hadn’t woken him. She slipped from the bed and shuffled her way to the bathroom, closing the door with a soft click.

Her body was sore, no doubt from their vigorous romp, and she desperately needed a shower to wash away the smell of sex. Thankfully, the light rays of sunshine were shining through the thin curtains of her hotel room when she awoke from her slumber, signaling morning had come. Gendry would wake soon, and if he were anywhere near as spent as her, the he would be ravenous for food. She hated to admit, but the activities of which she partook in rendered her starved. Of course, her body was too wiped to rise from the bed and munch on something before falling into sleep.

She turned towards the shower and shifted the handle towards cold.

Her body seemed to seep heat and the nightmare did little to help her already scorching body. She never minded the cold; in fact, she thrived in it. Winterfell’s winters were always harsh, and to common outsiders it could feel like a tundra. Therefore, it was a welcome relief when the spray of the cool water rolled over her aching muscles.

When she began to wash away the sweet bliss of pleasure, she couldn’t help but notice how sore she really was. They had gone at rough and there were certainly times were she felt like she would explode from the intensity of it all, but she never thought that it would render her nearly unable to walk. She also noticed the small loves bites that were scattered all across her inner thigh; she couldn’t be too mad at those, for she left a few on him as well.

Her memories of last night were seared into the deep crevices of her brain; she loved that she could relive the moments and hoped, at least for the next five days, that there were more nights like the last.

There was something different about this one. He seemed to understand her in more ways than one, which was a rarity to find. He knew the complexities of working with family and he knew the demands that it could take on one’s body; she saw the physical scars and she knew he saw hers, but the mental scars were still the same.

There were a few times from the previous night were they just laid in each other’s arms and talked about their life, or in her case a version of the truth she could tell. He asked about her scars and she asked about his. Both were vague with answers and she could only assume that maybe it was during his time in the war. He had mentioned to her that he served a few years in the military, before transitioning back to the family business, and had sustained a few marks along the way.

When it was her time to explain her marks, she was hesitant. The true memory was not a fond one and even giving a variation of the truth riled up unwanted memories.

“I was stabbed by one of the criminals we were hunting down. She caught me by surprise and dug her knife deep into my abdomen. I almost didn’t make it out alive.” She solemnly said. She tried to stop the tears that were welling in her eyes, but failed as she felt them cascade down her face. Gendry gentle took his thumb and wiped them from her face.

“I’m sorry that happened to you.” He said softly.

Arya has shrugged, “It’s fine, really. Bounty hunting is a dangerous job. I’d be stupid to think it wasn’t.”

That garnered a smile from Gendry’s lips, causing Arya to devour them. She loved the way they felt on her own and if she had a choice, she’d kiss them for the rest of her life.

But life was cruel and it would only give her the time she had in Mereen with her handsome stranger.

She wasn’t sure how long she was in the shower, but it seemed long enough and with a groan, she lifted herself from her perch in the shower and turned off the water. Grabbing one of the soft cotton towels, she wrapped herself tightly and stood in front of the large floor to ceiling mirror.

Arya honestly didn’t know what Gendry saw in her. There were plenty of beautiful women in Mereen; everything from tall blondes to busty red heads and curvy brunettes. She was just simple. Her hair was a dark brown shade that reminded her of mud, her breast certainly weren’t that of some of the Mereenese women she had ogled. Her hips were her best feature, or at least she thought they were. There were penalty of times where the complements of men were directed to her hips. Even Gendry had marveled at them.

Maybe that was why she was able to do what she did. She was normal and could blend in with a crowd; perfect for assassinating.

A hard knock coming from the bathroom door shook her from her thoughts and she scurried over to unlatch the lock, still in her towel. Gendry greeted her with a smile and Arya couldn’t help but notice his early morning rise sticking through the bed sheet wrapped around his waist. She blushed and quickly averted her gaze before he had the change to notice her lingering eyes. She pushed the door open a little wider for him to enter. She stepped to side as his broad body passed the threshold of the bathroom, making a beeline towards the shower.

Feeling as if she overstayed her welcome in her own bathroom, she quietly made her exit, crossing the room to get to her luggage. As the sun was beginning to rise and illuminate the darkness, Arya couldn’t help but noticed how disheveled the room really was. It seems they had discarded all courtesy and went straight to the fucking, which if she remembered correctly, was exactly what happened.

Chuckling to herself, she slipped on a pair of underwear; or as Sansa called them, “Knickers that our grandmother would wear” and threw a large t-shirt that had belonged to her brother Robb, over her head. She wanted comfort in this large hotel room of her and the baggy t-shirt did just that.

As she headed into the kitchenette to pull a banana from the fridge, her thoughts began to linger towards the man in her shower. Their exchange in the bathroom hadn’t been an awkward encounter, but it did leave her feeling as if maybe their late night romp was a bad idea. Perhaps he hadn’t enjoyed it as much as he let on and that had Arya feeling a little out of place. If a previous lover had an issue with, they never told her and she never got the impression from them. With Gendry, she was suddenly hyperaware of how she looked and even on how she performed. She was by no means and expert in sex, but she had a few partners and knew how to have fun.

Arya grabbed a glass of water and sat at the bar adjacent to the open bedroom; the very bar that Gendry had devoured her wet folds just hours ago. She finished her banana and sipped at her water as she waited for him to finish with his shower; the thought that she underperformed continued to nag at her brain and it made her fidgety for the answer.

A few more minutes passed before Arya heard the water turn off and Gendry stepped out of the bathroom, steam rolling behind him.

“Hey, so I was thinking that maybe we should get something to eat. I don’t know about you, but I am starving.” He said as he rounded the corner. Arya watched as he shook his head, causing water droplets to fall to the floor. He was a sight, and his body slick with fresh water did little to ease her lust, but she shook that feeling and looked at him seriously.

“Is something wrong?” He asked as he noticed her face. Her brows were scrunched and her lips were pursed, indicating that something was bothering her.

“Was I good? I mean…last night…was it good?” She asked rather shyly. She shifted on her feet uncomfortably as she awaited his answer. It was stupid really, that this man that she has only known for all of twenty-four hours has made her insecure about her abilities to have sex.

She looked up at him then and noticed his eyes widen in concern, “Arya, are you serious? Of course, it was good. In fact, it was bloody amazing! I haven’t had that much fun in…gods only know.”

This eased Arya’s concerns and she let out a rough laugh, “I’m sorry, I thought…well when you didn’t say anything back in the bathroom, I thought you didn’t have a good time.”

Gendry chuckled, taking three steps to close the distance between them. Without hesitation, he pulled her into a hung and Arya instantly melted into his arms.

“I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to make it awkward. I guess I unintentionally did.” He confessed.

Arya smiled and pulled from his embrace, “Well good. I’m glad you-we had fun. Now, what were you saying about food?”

“Mmm, only that I’m ravenous and could eat anything…including you.” He jabbed.

Arya scoffed and lightly hit him across the chest, “Get dressed. We’re getting waffles.” She turned on her heel and pulled on a pair of shorts from her duffle. She heard Gendry shuffle behind her as he slipped into his clothes from the night before. He was remarkable talented and dressing down a dress shirt and pants, even going the lengths of rolling up the hems of his pants. She shot him a questioning look at his choice.

“What?” He shrugged, “I’ll change after breakfast. I wasn’t planning on spending the night, you know.”

“Yes you were.” She replied as she grabbed her room key from the countertop in the kitchenette.

The two exited the room and walked hand in hand down towards the onsite restaurant. It had a different vide than from the night before; now instead of the hustle and bustle of young couples, there were families gathered around table enjoying the morning meal.

Luckily, for breakfast, a reservation was not needed and the pair found a table hidden in the corner of the facility, nestled away from the growing crowd.

They ordered their food and ate in silence, stealing glances at one another. Arya couldn’t help the heat that rose to her cheeks whenever Gendry flashed her a cheeky smile; she also couldn’t ignore the feeling of butterflies in her stomach whenever his deep blue eyes lingered on her gray ones.

“So,” she managed to say after indulging in a hefty breakfast, “how are we going to do this?”

“Do what?” Gendry countered.

Arya sighed, “This. Us. We have...what? Four more days before we each go back to our respective lives, never seeing one another again. Do we just stop now and save ourselves the heartache, or do we continue whatever this is?”

She studied his face as he contemplated the question. There was a mixture of true contemplation and maybe a hint of sadness. She knew her answer and she could only hope that his matches hers.

“I don’t want to stop whatever this is. I like you too damn much for that.” He chuckled. He let the small linger on his lips for just a moment longer before his demeanor changed to a serious note. “You’re a hell of a woman, Arya, and I’d have to be the stupidest person to let you go so easily. So, if you’re up to it, let’s just have fun together these next few days. Just you and me...well, maybe dinner with my uncle, and thank the gods that we had this week. What do you say?”

Arya bit her lip trying to contain her ever growing smile, “I would very much like that.”

“Then why don’t we start my working off this big breakfast?” He jabbed, not expecting her to be so eager.

“I’ll race you to the room.” She laughed as she threw her napkin onto the table, knowing full well that Gendry would have to pick up the tab. She pushed her chair back and farted out of the restaurant, leaving a trail of giggles behind her.

#arya stark #gendrya #got #gendry baratheon #arya/gendry #gendry waters #gendry x arya #gendry/arya #modern arya and gendry #modern au #spy au #assassin

[pengiesama]

I Wanna Be Yours (Fic, TGCF, HC/XL, Modern AU)

Title: I Wanna Be Yours Series: Heavenly Official’s Blessing (Tian Guan Ci Fu) Pairing: Hua Cheng/Xie Lian

Summary:

Xie Lian wants to make Hua Cheng's birthday a special one. Luckily, this is achievable as a simple four-step plan:

Step the first: go to his place. Step the second: take off your clothes. Step the third: you're wearing lingerie under your clothes. Step the fourth: tell the birthday boy to unwrap his present.

Link: AO3

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What was he doing. What was he doing. Oh, this was so foolish. Oh, this was going so wrong already.

Xie Lian was currently undergoing a crisis in the bathroom of Hua Cheng’s apartment. He’d had crises in much worse settings, certainly – at least here there was a lovely view of the city skyline from the window, and a nice big bathtub to sit in and reflect on one’s actions. But the – setting of it all only reminded Xie Lian of why he was having this crisis.

Xie Lian again caught a glimpse of himself in the bathroom mirror, and let out a miserable groan. He retreated to the tub for some of that aforementioned reflection time.

--

 It was Hua Cheng’s birthday, and Xie Lian had been at a loss. What do you get the man who has everything, especially when you’re a man who emphatically does not? He’d asked him, of course, what he wanted, and Hua Cheng had assured him that the pleasure of Xie Lian’s company would be a precious gift to last him through the year. And Xie Lian had flushed, and Hua Cheng had smiled, and kissed his knuckles, and – satisfied that he had properly flustered Xie Lian enough for the day – had walked Xie Lian back to his apartment. And.

And.

And that had been it.

Hua Cheng was charming. He was smooth, and suave, and a complete gentleman. This much had remained the same over the years. They’d had…well, there was something there between them, when they were attending university together. Something big and mysterious and so, so tempting and so, so scary – something they’d never had the nerve to act on, back then. They’d lost touch after Xie Lian dropped out, though not through any fault of Hua Cheng’s. Xie Lian had packed a bag and walked out of the dorms without so much as a goodbye to anyone – too ashamed of everything that had led to this to give even the slightest courtesy to the few people who still gave a shit about him. It wasn’t a proud time in his life. But years later, years later, he’d found himself staring at a familiar figure at his apartment doorstep, and welcoming him in for tea.

It was a second chance that Xie Lian didn’t think he deserved. But Hua Cheng still wanted to give it to him – still felt the same about him as he did when he was a silly, lovestruck kid barely out of his teens. And oh, Xie Lian could relate, could relate to the way his skin burned when Hua Cheng offered his hand to help him out of his seat, could relate to the way his heart felt as though it would burst from his chest when Hua Cheng kissed him goodnight at his apartment door. Could relate to the way his spirits soared whenever Hua Cheng caught a glimpse of him and smiled, smiled so warm and wide no matter what they were doing. Could relate to the frustration he surely felt when they were kissing on the couch and Xie Lian’s body froze up whenever hands began to wander too far.

He wanted to give Hua Cheng more than just – handholding and forehead kisses. He himself wanted more than that. But here was the thing: he was a thirty-year-old virgin with a whole lotta baggage to unpack about intimacy. What was a lovestruck idiot such as he to do?

His first mistake was seeking the advice of Shi Qing Xuan.

“You are in the presence of a gift-giving guru,” Shi Qing Xuan assured him. “Remember what I got Ming-Xiong at our joint party last year?”

“I do,” Xie Lian said politely, hoping that Shi Qing Xuan wouldn’t force him to re-live the memories of an evening that had traumatized everyone witnessing it.

  A giant cake, being wheeled out of the kitchen. Ming Yi’s eyes going glassy and dark at the sight of it; the eyes of a shark, overcome by the smell of blood. Shi Qing Xuan, popping out of the cake in a sexy bunny-suit, only managing to sing a few notes of his birthday serenade before Ming Yi lunged in and—

And—

Overcome, overcome by the smell of blood and fondant, and the terrible sounds of screams—

  Xie Lian shivered and tried to bring himself back to the present. He’d survived that night, as most other restaurant patrons had, and that was all that mattered in the end.

Shi Qing Xuan leaned in, giving Xie Lian a too-bright, too-manic smile. Xie Lian had half a mind to excuse himself and escape out the nearest window, but found his wrists seized before he could put that plan into action.

“We’re going lin-ger-ie shoppiiiing,” Shi Qing Xuan trilled in a sing-song voice.

 --

 And that was how Xie Lian wound up in the tub, dressed in something vaguely resembling underwear.

The plan, as Shi Qing Xuan had outlined it (on pink, perfumed stationery), had been so simple on paper.

 Step one: go to your San Lang’s place.

Step two: excuse yourself to the bathroom!

Step three: take off your clothes!!

Step four: you’re secretly wearing your sexy new lingerie under your clothes!!!

Step five: strut your whole self out of that bathroom!!!! Pose also!!!!!

Step six: tell your birthday boy to unwrap his present!!!!!!

 Step one had been simple. Hua Cheng had welcomed him warmly at the door; pressing a kiss to his forehead, the tip of his nose, and finishing with a sweet, chaste kiss to his mouth. At the sight of the love in his expression, at the curve of his lips as he pulled back and rested his forehead against Xie Lian’s…Xie Lian immediately initiated step two and ran off to the bathroom, locking himself in.

Hua Cheng had immediately called after him, concerned, and Xie Lian had begged his pardon, his patience – he’d just – he’d eaten some bad yogurt, that was all, and he needed a few minutes. He’d be out soon.

Step three (which was also step four, honestly; Shi Qing Xuan got a little too excited to pay attention to numbers when plotting was afoot) was simple enough. It was easy to hide the…birthday surprise…under the oversized sweaters and shapeless thrift-store jeans that made up the majority of his wardrobe. The lingerie was gauzy, lacey; gleaming pearl-white and nearly translucent against his skin, such a contrast with the ever-present black choker around his neck. He slid his jeans off easily, and tried to adjust his garter belt the way Shi Qing Xuan had shown him, without ripping his thigh-high stockings in the process. He gave up after a few attempts, snapping one of the straps against his thigh irritably.

This was the point where he had first glimpsed himself in the mirror, and noticed that his panties – the ones that Shi Qing Xuan had spotted in the store and instantly insisted he wear – had a heart-shaped cutout in the back, framed with a big silky bow, showcasing his butt for the world to see. The lace was so thin, the fabric so sheer, that touching him here would hardly be any different than touching bare skin. This began the crisis that drove Xie Lian into the bathtub, preventing all hope of going through with step five in the foreseeable future. He would remain in this tub, in what passed as underwear by some bizarre standard, and proceed to ruin Hua Cheng’s birthday; just as he always knew he would.

Xie Lian heard whimpering at the bathroom door, and the sounds of pawing. This proved to be catalyst enough to prod him out of the tub. He bustled over to the door and bent down, peering under the gap between the door and the floor. A single, blood-red eye stared intently back at him. There came more whimpering, and then a pink, slobbery tongue questing under the door to swipe Xie Lian’s face.

“It’s alright,” Xie Lian soothed. “Good boy, E-ming. I’m fine, I’ll be out to pet you soon.”

The thought of having to wait a moment longer for Xie Lian to pet him seemed to only upset E-ming more, and the whimpering and crying redoubled in force and volume. Xie Lian moved away before that tongue got him again, and took a deep breath. He really had to come out, now – E-ming was the size of a direwolf and had the emotional neediness of a toddler, and Xie Lian doubted Hua Cheng’s bathroom door would be able to withstand much more pawing.

Xie Lian spotted a red silk robe hanging on a hook and took it down to shrug it on over his not-really-clothes. Hua Cheng probably wore this when he was fresh out of the shower. He was probably usually naked under it, considering the shower thing. Wet and naked. Xie Lian needed to stop thinking about this.

The moment he opened the door, E-ming’s long black snout poked through the crack, and he was able to project the sounds of his crying directly into Xie Lian’s face. Quite literally, considering he was a very big and tall boy. Xie Lian made comforting noises, and scooped him up, cradling his massive body in his arms as if he was a wee puppy.

“I kinda wanted to get you some like, lacy opera gloves to wear,” Shi Qing Xuan had said, squeezing Xie Lian’s bicep. “But I don’t think anything’s gonna fit over this gun show you’ve got going on.”

Xie Lian would pass on the opera gloves and keep his muscles, thank you very much. They were hard-won, and far more useful than some flimsy decorative gloves – for example, he would not be able to carry around three hundred pounds of crying dog otherwise.

“Gege? Are you alright?”

He heard Hua Cheng shifting around in the living room, and swallowed hard.

“I’m—I’m fine! Don’t come in here, just…go sit on the couch and close your eyes. Don’t peek.”

There was a pause as Hua Cheng processed the request, but he made no protest.

“Of course.”

Shy and awkward and completely unappealing as he felt, Xie Lian still didn’t want to spoil the surprise. And if Hua Cheng saw him wearing his silk robes, carrying his giant half-wolf-half-bear-half-horse-half-shadowbeast-probably-a-dog around like a baby, well…well, that would probably spoil the surprise? Maybe.

Xie Lian settled E-ming onto his dog bed, and stroked his head a few times before bidding him to stay put for a while. Exhausted from his emotions, E-ming sighed and settled his enormous head onto his front paws, and was asleep in seconds. Xie Lian patted him once more, smiling. Such a good, sweet boy. He couldn’t understand why more people didn’t see past his exterior – his exterior being an enormous black dog with blood-red eyes and a booming bark that could shatter glass, but still.

With E-ming tended to, there was to be no more dawdling. Xie Lian clutched at the breast of his borrowed robes and breathed deeply. Even if – even if Hua Cheng didn’t like this “present”, maybe they could at least have a good laugh about it, and Hua Cheng could tell him what he really wanted. Xie Lian could try to bake him a cake, maybe.

Hua Cheng’s penthouse apartment was large, but comparatively little of it was lived in. Hua Cheng scoffed at the idea of entertaining any guests other than Xie Lian (and occasionally Shi Qing Xuan and Ming Yi, when the former insisted on dropping in and the latter was bodily dragged along), and any guest receiving rooms seemed to be decorated with this disdain in mind: stylishly decorated with the most obnoxiously expensive and outrageously uncomfortable furniture, with unnerving and aggressively surreal artwork lining the walls. It seemed to serve less as a home, and more as a symbol of Hua Cheng’s self-made business empire.

When he and Xie Lian had first reconnected, the only room in the house that had any signs of life was his own bedroom – as if he’d never really felt the need to grow out of the art-student-in-a-rundown-studio-apartment mindset. It evoked a sort of warm nostalgia in Xie Lian, but still – he did feel the urge to suggest some…expansion. Hua Cheng’s art supplies and the fumes that accompanied them were moved to a proper studio room, his gaming equipment was hooked up in the living room, facing the couch, so Xie Lian could sit next to him and watch in polite confusion while he talked to Ming Yi over his headset and engaged in relentless trolling campaigns against foulmouthed players who had the same lack of maturity and emotional control that Xie Lian associated with his cousin. It already felt like a more comfortable place to live – and Hua Cheng deserved a comfortable, welcoming home.  

Shyly, Xie Lian peeked into the living room. True to his promise about waiting patiently, Hua Cheng was seated on the couch, hands folded politely in his lap. True to his promise about not peeking, he had swapped his eyepatch over to the other eye. Xie Lian felt a laugh bubble up from his chest, relieving some of his tension.

“San Lang.”

Hua Cheng tilted his head and twiddled his thumbs. “Hmm? I hear a lovely voice calling for me.”

Xie Lian stepped into the room properly.

“You—you can look now.”

Hua Cheng moved his eyepatch back over, opening his good eye just in time to see Xie Lian slide the robe off his shoulders; letting it pool on the ground around his feet.

“H-happy birthday.”

He’d never really noticed how chilly Hua Cheng kept his apartment. He supposed it was usually because he was dressed in more layers than…this. He shivered, and wrapped one arm around himself. Hua Cheng wasn’t saying anything, and Xie Lian couldn’t bear to look at him. He really should’ve just tried making a cake.

“It’s…it’s okay if you don’t like it, or if you don’t want to—”

“No! No, I…gege. This is…”

Xie Lian nearly jumped out of his skin at Hua Cheng’s exclamation, and finally looked over at him. His face was so, so red. He was staring at Xie Lian, jaw tense and lips just slightly parted. He looked – embarrassed, and eager. And like he was only seconds away from swooping in and pinning Xie Lian to the nearest wall.

It was encouragement enough to walk forward, and sit next to him on the couch. Hua Cheng’s molten gaze didn’t leave him for a moment. Xie Lian might be a thirty-year-old virgin, but he knew Hua Cheng, and he wasn’t stupid.

“…Shi Qing Xuan helped me pick it out,” Xie Lian quietly said, breaking the silence. He continued, trying to figure out a topic of conversation – what did you even talk about when you were about to…do this kind of thing? “And helped me figure out how to put it on. The stockings kept rolling down my legs, so we had to buy the rest of the…architecture…to keep them up. These garter things are a pain, so fiddly to get hooked up…”

Xie Lian snapped one of the garter straps against his thigh again to demonstrate, making an audible noise as the strap connected with his skin – pa! Hua Cheng swayed, glassy-eyed, and briefly looked like he was going to pass out on the spot. Xie Lian grabbed onto his shoulder to steady him, and they locked gazes for a long moment.

That was all it took. They both started laughing, helplessly, melting into each other’s arms for support, for warmth, for no reason at all other than that the other person was there to be held.

“So gege has been plotting with others!” Hua Cheng swooned dramatically backwards, sprawling on the couch with the back of his hand pressed to his forehead. “A plot most devious!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Xie Lian said. He’d allowed himself to be pulled along with Hua Cheng as he toppled himself over, and was laying across his chest. He wasn’t in any mood to move – this was a wonderful way to warm up from the chilly apartment. “There was no way I would’ve been able to figure this out on my own. Shi Qing Xuan buckled me in before I came over, and…”

Hua Cheng peeked his eye open. “…you came wearing that underneath your clothes?” he managed, after a moment or two. “You took the bus like that?”

“Well, yeah. It wasn’t very comfortable, but it wasn’t such a big deal. I might just go without underwear on the way home.”

Hua Cheng’s expression was unreadable. “…tomorrow morning, I’ll call a cab to get you home instead.”

Xie Lian instantly started to protest this generosity. “San Lang, there’s no need, I have a bus pass, I can just…”

The rest of the sentence died in his throat. Tomorrow morning, Hua Cheng had said. Xie Lian supposed that meant he’d just been invited to stay the night. Xie Lian supposed he knew what Hua Cheng wanted to do, tonight. Xie Lian certainly knew what he wanted to do. He squirmed, and buried his reddening face into Hua Cheng’s broad shoulder.

“Gege.”

He felt Hua Cheng’s hand on his back, felt that hand and its long elegant fingers trace down, down his spine. Xie Lian’s face only burned hotter when Hua Cheng’s fingers reached the hem of his panties, and that big ridiculous silk ribbon atop his rear end.

“There’s a bow,” Hua Cheng said aloud, high-pitched and almost hysterical. “Gege, at this rate I won’t make it until my next birthday.”

Xie Lian squirmed and reached back to grab Hua Cheng’s wrist, guiding it even lower until his fingers could brush the outline of that silly heart-shaped cutout, until the palm of his hand was properly settled on the curve of his backside. He could keenly feel the heat of his touch through the gauzy material.

“…look at me.”

Face tucked into the join of his neck and shoulder, Xie Lian felt the rumble of Hua Cheng’s request more than he heard it. Slowly, he picked himself up, and managed to look Hua Cheng in the eye. It…wasn’t as difficult as he thought. Xie Lian was nervous, of course, and unsure, and shy, and completely out of his element. But he was with Hua Cheng, and there was nothing but love and adoration and care in his expression.

Hua Cheng cupped Xie Lian’s face in his hand, and Xie Lian nuzzled into his palm without even so much as a second thought.

“You don’t have to do this if you’re not comfortable.” Hua Cheng’s hand slid back into his hair, and tilted his head down just so, enough for Hua Cheng to press another kiss to his forehead, his brow, his cheek. “Do you want this?”

He wanted. He wanted, and Hua Cheng made him feel like he deserved to have it and so much more. He made him feel like he was something precious, something worth treating gently, something that belonged here, in Hua Cheng’s arms. It was a difficult sentiment to put into words.

(Though, honestly, he thought he’d made himself clear when he marched out of the bathroom in lingerie and put Hua Cheng’s hand on his butt. Maybe he wasn’t being the shy one here.)

“I do,” Xie Lian breathed, turning his face so those roaming lips properly met his own. “San Lang…San Lang!”

The squeak of Hua Cheng’s name that came out of Xie Lian’s mouth sounded almost affronted. Hua Cheng had scooped him up and clambered to his feet with him in tow without so much as a warning – they were having a Moment and they were kissing and now they were not. Xie Lian pouted at Hua Cheng, expecting an explanation for this. As always, Hua Cheng thought his pouty face was just the funniest thing, and he leaned in to press a loud, wet, smacking kiss to his cheek.

“My prince. This San Lang begs your forgiveness for his presumption. Being as I am a hopeless and completely irredeemable romantic, I wish to unwrap my present in the privacy of our bedroom.”

Xie Lian eyes went wide, and his cheeks beet red. He tucked his face against Hua Cheng’s shoulder. Hua Cheng made a low noise that reverberated and shivered its way into Xie Lian’s bones.

“Does my prince accept such a proposal? May I carry you off? Throw you onto my sheets? Put my hands and mouth all over you?”

“San Lang,” Xie Lian whined desperately. The apartment definitely wasn’t chilly anymore. His whole body felt like it was prickling to life with a thousand tiny embers. “Please. Please.”

Hua Cheng was a man who kept his promises.

Alas, a bit too well.

“San—ah!” Xie Lian gasped and clutched at Hua Cheng’s thick, silky hair. This did nothing but encourage him to keep mouthing Xie Lian’s erection through the lace of his panties. The thin fabric was damp from his tongue, and clung to Xie Lian’s skin uncomfortably. “I…oh, please…please, i-it’s your birthday, I should be…I should be…”

Hua Cheng made a savoring noise, and pressed his face more insistently into Xie Lian’s crotch. He breathed in deeply, then cracked open one eye to stare at Xie Lian; his gaze wild and blazing under the mussed fall of his bangs. It made Xie Lian want to cover his face, want to hide in the red silk sheets, want to melt away into Hua Cheng’s mouth. But it was so rude of him! So rude! It was Hua Cheng’s birthday, and he was the one – p-providing service, taking care of Xie Lian. Xie Lian should be the one with his mouth on Hua Cheng; should be the one touching him and making him feel good.

Hua Cheng’s grip was relentless on his thighs; his fingers tangled under the garter straps and under the flimsy stocking fabric. His mouth climbed higher until his lips were pressed to the line of Xie Lian’s hipbone. And oh, those were his teeth –

“Gege. So beautiful, gege. I’m—” Hua Cheng shuddered into silence, and his hips jerked against the mattress. His hands twisted in the straps and lace covering Xie Lian’s body, clutching hard enough to bruise. Xie Lian’s mind raced at the thought. “—I’m sorry. I’m sorry, you deserve more, I wanted…I wanted to—”

“San Lang.” Xie Lian stroked that lovely head of his, and waited until he looked up at him again. “Lay on your back? Against the pillows.”

Stiffly, as if he could hardly control his limbs, Hua Cheng clambered into position as requested. Xie Lian crawled to him, slowly, taking in the sight before him. Pale skin, midnight-black hair, muscles shifting under Xie Lian’s touches. He was just so lovely, his San Lang. Xie Lian reached out to trace up his long legs, bidding him to bring his knees up and apart. He’d managed to get Hua Cheng’s shirt up and off his head before Hua Cheng had dove in between his legs, but hadn’t gotten the chance to free him from his trousers quite yet. Xie Lian eyed the – rather large tent in the fabric. He thought of Hua Cheng flipping him on his stomach, yanking his panties to the side, and sliding that big thing into him. His thighs shifted against each other, seeking friction to relieve the rush of want.

Hua Cheng made a small, desperate noise when Xie Lian went for his belt and zipper, carefully and gently tugging the fabric down until he could get a good hold on his erection. It was…well, it was intimidating, sure, but it was also just so cute. Xie Lian brushed his fingers against the tip, experimentally, and Hua Cheng gasped aloud and scrabbled for purchase on the sheets. Cool on the outside, but just as cute as can be on the inside. Just like all of Hua Cheng.

Xie Lian didn’t really know exactly what to do next, but, well, he was creative, and he thought it would be rather nice to have a taste of Hua Cheng. He smiled up at Hua Cheng, stuck out his tongue at him, and before Hua Cheng could try to be a gentleman and tell him he didn’t have to, he dove in and swiped his tongue across the tip of his cock.

“Gege!”

That didn’t sound like a shout of pain, so Xie Lian figured he wasn’t doing too badly so far. He looked up at Hua Cheng, trying to carefully judge his reactions as he put his mouth more properly on his cock. Hua Cheng looked like he was – about to ascend to the heavens, about to die. About to cry, even. Xie Lian made a concerned noise, and stroked his free hand against the back of Hua Cheng’s own, where it fisted white-knuckled into the sheets. It was nice to know that he wasn’t the only one nervous, here. Xie Lian smiled up at him, lips curling around the tip of Hua Cheng’s cock—

Hua Cheng gasped, and one hand flew up to grab at Xie Lian’s hair and yank him back. Something hot and salty flooded his mouth and spilled over his lips as Hua Cheng’s cock slipped out, dribbling down his chin and onto the red sheets. Xie Lian lifted a hand to catch any further mess, only belatedly realizing that he could probably swallow instead of drooling all over himself. He gulped down the remainder of the stuff, feeling it slide thickly down his throat and into his belly. Not bad. He knew his palette was…questionable, but he didn’t hate the taste of it, not at all.

Xie Lian swiped his thumb across his chin and lower lip to try and clean himself, and was turning over the idea of licking his fingers clean before Hua Cheng lurched forward and collided into him, knocking him onto his back on the bed.

“You are going to kill me,” Hua Cheng croaked out, sounding half-dead already.

“Hmm?” Xie Lian tilted his head to the side. “Did I not manage? Should I try again?”

“Oh, please, let’s,” Hua Cheng purred in his ear. “Though I think I’d like to return the favor.”

Xie Lian had always thought his San Lang had lovely hands. Long and elegant fingers, a strong and warm grip to hold Xie Lian’s hand in turn. Those long pretty fingers proved to be talented and gentle and relentless, sliding into Xie Lian and working him open until he was ready for him, so ready, so ready, please, San Lang, put it in me, I need you.

Once he was fully seated inside him, Hua Cheng heaved a sigh that was at least partially a sob and rested his forehead against Xie Lian’s. He was such a gentleman, so kind to Xie Lian, so kind and patient, waiting until Xie Lian adjusted to that thick, hard cock of his instead of just grabbing onto his hips and fucking him inside-out.

“San Lang,” Xie Lian breathed into his ear. He squeezed down on him, and tilted his hips up, insistent. “San Lang.”

Such a gentleman, such a gentleman. He tried so hard, his sweet San Lang, to go slow, afraid of hurting him. Xie Lian kept squeezing on him, kept tugging his hair, kept crying out his praises until Hua Cheng’s patience and remaining composure finally broke. He was such a gentleman, until he wasn’t. Xie Lian found himself being nearly bent in two; his legs over Hua Cheng’s shoulders, in the perfect position for Hua Cheng to fuck him deep and hard and desperate.

His San Lang was so pretty. Xie Lian couldn’t imagine a lovelier sight than this: Hua Cheng’s furrowed brow, his eyes wild and intense and fixated directly on Xie Lian, his mouth open and wet and panting out praises, exhalations, panting Xie Lian’s name. It didn’t take long for Xie Lian to reach his own release, with the feeling of Hua Cheng’s body on his, in him. Distantly, as he was riding on the last waves of it, he felt Hua Cheng’s warmth spread inside of him, filling him up. Ah. No matter what hole he took his San Lang into, the results were so wonderfully sweet. He could get used to this.

Xie Lian cradled Hua Cheng’s head against his chest, stroking his hair and allowing him to gather his senses. After a moment or two to catch his own breath, Xie Lian turned his head to the side, frowning at the nagging sense that someone was watching.

E-ming stood at the side of the bed, waiting patiently, holding his favorite butterfly toy in his massive jaws. His tail began to wag once Xie Lian’s attention was on him, stirring up a small tornado in the room. He delicately put a paw on the bed, indicating his intent.

“E-ming,” Xie Lian said firmly. “Wait.”

E-ming began to shake and whimper, putting more weight onto his paw, pushing the issue.

“Not right now. No cuddle time. No bedtime yet.”

Hua Cheng grumbled and tried to get up. “I’ll take care of him, gege. It’s my cuddle time.”

Xie Lian cunningly distracted him with a kiss, and slipped out from under him and off the bed to escort E-ming out of the room and back to his dog bed. He heard the shower start up on the way back, and was intercepted and stripped of the lingerie that had survived the bedroom before being bustled into the shower alongside Hua Cheng to clean up.

“Was this…was this enough?”

Hua Cheng hummed happily. “The loveliest and most precious gift I have ever received. The heavens themselves could not bless me more.”

Xie Lian’s cheeks reddened, even after everything. Honestly, he’d hoped he was going to be less easy to fluster after this.

“I thought—I thought I could bake you a cake, maybe? A birthday cake.”

“That sounds delicious, gege. Did you have a recipe in mind?”

Xie Lian squirmed off the couch, straightening out the oversized shirt he was wearing that he’d borrowed from Hua Cheng to keep himself decent. “I did! You can just – you can stay in here so it’s a surprise?”

Hua Cheng smiled sweetly at him, and folded his hands on his lap like a patient schoolboy. “Of course. I can’t wait to see what gege bakes for me.”

And he had a broom closet full of fire extinguishers, just in case.

--

#天官赐福 #tgcf #heavenly official's blessing #tian guan ci fu #hualian #a tenderly crafted fanfiction

[yukiwrites]

Their Clumsy Dance

Thank you so much for commissioning me again, @arod7293​! This got so big, but I hope you like it either way ;D

Summary: Years after the war, the rebuilding was finally over. Valla, Nohr and Hoshido decide to hold a festival in commemoration to that and, of course, Azura is the main performer. But her partner isn’t Felicia. Takes place between Clumsy Family Time and A Clumsily Perfect Wife.

Commission info HERE and HERE!

Felicia had started to get used to work again -- mostly by courtesy of her loving wife, who always welcomed her back with open arms and a warm kiss. It seemed that being away from work for almost one year made her a bit rusty in some areas, but nothing that a good scolding from Jakob and a kind embrace from her wife couldn't cure.

Soon, a month passed, though not less eventful.

The war between Hoshido and Nohr, as well as Valla, had been over for years, and their rulers could finally focus their attention away from rebuilding. All three kingdoms could barely remember the scars of war, and that called for a celebration between all of them.

Queen Corrin of Valla, King Xander of Nohr and King Ryoma of Hoshido busied themselves with meetings and peace accords so as to hold an international event, composed with their combined cultures and strengths.

The event would take place nowhere other than in Cyrkensia, the capital of the Grand Duchy that had been destroyed during the war. The event would serve not only as a grand opening of the renovated theatre (its reconstruction funded by all three kingdoms) but as a multi-cultural festival.

Representatives of each kingdom would perform a wide variety of spectacles over the course of three days: dance numbers, singing contests, food stalls, folk tales and dancing among others would be showcased throughout the city.

The first day would be Hoshido's, with the presence of its royal family at the end for a musical performance. Nohr would take the second day, and each nohrian royal would make a speech regarding this or that cultural trait, ending with an ode for their late possessed King.

Valla would close the event with the third day, and no one other than Azura could perform the closing ceremony dance, though, of course, Corrin, Xander and Ryoma left the decision for herself only to take.

"Will you not perform with me, sweet Felicia? I would be thrilled to dance our choreography with you to the world!" The princess asked as they rehearsed their personal steps, the same ones Azura taught Felicia long before they married.

Surprised, the maid missed her step, blushing furiously. "I-Wha? Me, Azura? I can't, no way! I don't think I can perform in front of everyone..." She fell on her wife's arms, quickly pulling away to hide her face in embarrassment. In truth, she still didn't feel compatible with her perfect wife, and to shame her in public by tripping? The horror! "B-besides, I'll be working during the event anyway, s-so..."

Azura smiled softly, lifting her wife's chin with one hand, slowly pulling down Felicia's with the other. "I thought you'd say that, and I'll respect your decision, my love." She pressed their foreheads together. "Although, I'll still think it'll be a shame."

"I-I'm sorry..."

"Oh, Felicia, don't be!" Azura cupped her wife's cheeks with both hands. "I simply want to scream, nay, dance to the world about our love! But I understand that the stage is not where you like to be."

Felicia bit her lower lip, her heart in a conflict of feelings -- it felt so very much loved, but so ashamed for not being able to stand proudly beside her wife. "T-thank you, dear. I'll do my best in everything else, though!" She puffed her chest, stealing a giggle out of her wife.

"Haha, truly? Every little thing?" She raised one eyebrow, kissing the maid's cheeks, trailing down so their lips could meet.

Surprised, Felicia widened her eyes and blushed deeply, her body receiving the lustful signals Azura was sending. "Mmph... I... I mean e-everything..." She said between kisses, her hands inadvertently gripping her wife's waist.

"Oh, Felicia... You are so adorable." Azura said before once again diving into her wife's lips, deeply kissing her.

Nothing could stand between them.

Nothing!

Over the course of the days, as the meetings got busier and busier, Felicia actually saw more of Azura during her own work, though that also meant that they had to leave the twins under the care of the royal wet nurse.

Both of them would come back with exhausted smiles, though simply looking at their little bundles of sunshine took away all their worries.

However, Azura and Felicia's time together was about to be cut short.

After most arrangements were finished, it was decided that Azura would perform a Pas de Deux with a male dancer from Cyrkensia.

The princess didn't think too much to it -- after all, it wasn't uncommon for dancers and singers to perform in duos or even in groups. And Azura had been getting a lot of one-on-one practice due to her usual dances with her wife, after all.

It was still a bummer that her partner wasn't going to be her wife, but she was looking forward to the rehearsals nevertheless.

Once Felicia heard about the arrangement, she felt mixed feelings once again.

"I'm happy they picked the best dancer for you! You two will look great onstage, dear!" The maid smiled, feeling bad about the ugly feelings she locked inside.

She wanted to dance with Azura, she wanted to step on that stage and tell everyone to get away from her wife! Azura had chosen her and her alone!

But... being possessive was such an ugly thing. What if Azura discovered the dark thoughts festering inside Felicia's mind and decided to leave her? What if she started thinking that Felicia was a creep for wanting to gaze upon her wife only? To not let anyone else touch her lean waist or to breathe close to her ear?

Dancing involved all of that! She was so very jealous already!

An unknown man would touch her wife, lean his body against hers and even... rub himself on her! Oh gods, that made Felicia feel so awful it was a surprise she could still smile as Azura commented on the steps she was thinking for the performance.

Felicia tried her best to listen, to share her wife's excitement, but... all she could think of were the hours that random man would spend touching her wife and that made her skin crawl.

She wanted to ask to be introduced to him as Azura's rightful wife and mother of her children, but she was afraid that even mentioning it could tip Azura off. The princess has always been much more attentive and observant than Felicia, after all.

A warm brush of Azura's fingers on her wife's made Felicia snap out of it, suddenly opening her eyes. "Are you feeling unwell, my love? You've been squeezing your eyes really hard for a few moments..."

Panicking, Felicia turned around, burying herself under the bed sheets. "I-uh, I think I'm more tired than usual today, haha... Jakob was strict with me as always..."

Not buying it, Azura narrowed her eyes to the large bump her wife made herself into. She then touched Felicia's shoulder. "Would you like to come with me to the dancing room tomorrow? I will be introduced to Ka'lik and I would dearly love you to be there with me."

Felicia squeezed her eyes even more. Were her thoughts THAT transparent?! "C-can I really?" She slowly lowered the cover from her face, pouting slightly.

Azura had to place one hand over her cheeks to contemplate her wife's adorableness before clearing her throat. "Of course you can, silly! You will be gone just for a moment, so I'm sure Corrin won't mind."

Embarrassed with herself, Felicia once again turned her back to Azura, almost hugging her knees. "Thank you, Azura..." She bit her lower lip. "G-good night."

Azura sighed and kissed the general area her wife's head was. "Good night, sweet wife."

The following morning, the princess was much more touchy-feely than usual, making Felicia's ugly feelings slowly melt away before they left their room.

They held hands as they walked through the corridors, a silly sense of pride filling the maid's chest. She knew that it was a petty feeling -- to raise her chin high to a random stranger and show him that SHE was Azura's chosen one, but she couldn't help it. She was already insecure as it was, let alone when confronted with the reality that her wife was someone so wonderful and desirable by many people. People better than Felicia.

The maid slightly squeezed her wife's hand, her thoughts once again turning dark.

Noticing that, Azura opened her mouth to speak, but someone at the end of the corridor spotted them.

"Ah, Lady Azura! Well met!" Jakob bowed beside the open door he waited by. "And Felicia? Aren't you supposed to be by Lady Corrin? Surely our master needs her aide."

"Please, Jakob. I simply wanted to bring my wife to meet my new dancing partner." Azura lifted a peaceful hand to aplacate the butler's mood. "Is he inside?" She peeked through the open door.

"Indeed he is. And eager to meet the distinguished dancing princess, as he so painfully told me over and over." The butler groaned, taking a step back so the couple could enter.

The man they found inside was nothing like the soldiers they were used to, though his body was no less impressive.

Shirtless, he was practicing a few rotating jumps, his well toned body responding perfectly to all the bold movements he tried. He wore a light blue pair of pants -- the color of Azura's hair to boot! -- which matched quite well with his bright blonde hair and soft blue eyes.

Felicia scrutinized the man the very moment she went inside, pressing her lips into a thin line.

"Oh!" He noticed the duo through the mirror and turned around with a bright smile. "Lady Azura! I've longed to meet you!" He ran to them, droplets of sweat already visible through his face and body. How long had he been training? It was barely after dawn!

Azura was taken aback with the young man's skill in dancing, her inner performer eager to test their compatibility. "Ka'lik, I've been told?" She took a step forward, her hand slipping out of Felicia's.

Immediately did the maid retract her hand to her own chest, wanting to keep her wife's warmth with her for as long as she could.

But Felicia felt cold, very, very cold. It was as though a dark cloud was hovering over her. She raised her gaze to the two of them and felt her chin tremble.

Look at how well they matched! Her blue hair went well with his eyes, as did his golden hair with her eyes. Their dancer bodies had complementing muscles toned -- his arms were strong enough to keep her strong legs off of the ground for a long time during a performance... And her slender body fit perfectly on his.

"Indeed, my princess. Ka'lik is my name." He took Azura's hand and placed a kiss on it -- the very same hand Felicia held not a heartbeat ago! How could he?

"A pleasure, Ka'lik." The princess nodded in response, taking her hand from his and gesturing to the woman behind her. "As you already know, I am Azura. And this is my wife, Felicia."

"Hah, a maid? Truly you jest, my lady." He snorted, looking down on Felicia.

"I will thank you to never refer to my wife in such manner again, Ka'lik." Azura immediately cut him off, but the deed was done.

Felicia didn't hear anything after what Ka'lik had said.

A maid.

A maid and a princess.

Truly the biggest mismatch in the entire world.

And yet, how could he even talk down on her like that? What sort of awful person judges someone by their profession?!

Felicia had so many words trapped inside her throat it getting hard to breathe.

Ka'lik coughed at Azura's cold response, but immediately regained his composure, smiling disdainfully at Felicia. "Forgive my manners, er... Flitza, was it?"

"It's FELICIA," the maid said with difficulty, her voice barely getting out. Her bangs covering her face, she had to press her lips into a thin line lest she screamed. "It's Felicia... Ka'lik." She managed to lift her gaze to him, picking the unspoken letter of challenge he was throwing at her.

Narrowing her eyes at how poorly the man treated someone with a status lower than his, Azura simply turned her head away from him, towards her wife.

But Felicia turned back. "Lady Corrin is waiting for me, so, um... See you later, Azura..." She said, almost running away from the room, leaving a princess with a helpless extended hand behind.

"I'll treat this as an unfortunate slip of your part, Ka'lik." Azura said, looking at the now empty doorway. "Do not act that way towards my wife ever again, understand?"

Ka'lik gasped, placing one hand over his chest. "F-forgive me, lady Azura! I meant no disrespect, I swear it. I was simply surprised! After all, a fair lady such as yourself could have anyone in the world."

"Indeed. And I have just who I wanted." She turned to him, sending chills under his spine.

"Once again, I beg you find it in your heart to forgive me..." He smiled shyly, scratching the back of his head.

Sighing, the princess tied her hair into a tall ponytail. "We should first check our compatibility, yes?"

"Ohh yeah!" He smirked.

Meanwhile, Felicia couldn't shake away the feeling of disgust directed towards not only Ka'lik, but herself. He judged her for choosing a profession that served people? And Felicia was supposed to let her wife get physically close to him like that?!

"Felicia... you're freezing my tea... and my hand with it." Rhajat cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry." The maid said curtly, not entirely realizing where she was or what she was doing.

"You are still freezing my hand..."

"F-Felicia, snap out of it!" Corrin waved her hands in front of the maid, worried about her wife getting frostbite.

"I-I'm sorry, Lady Corrin, I'll be... over there if you need me." Felicia let go of the cup and left the room, heading to the pantry.

Blinking, both Queens looked from the open door to Rhajat's frozen hand. "A-are you gonna be okay? Do you want me to help?"

"It's fine." Rhajat simply blew her hand and the ice evaporated, heating the cup in the process. "Now, where were we?"

Smiling, Corrin sat back at the tea table, but soon she frowned again. "I wonder what got into Felicia? She never acted that way before..."

I suppose I understand, Rhajat thought to herself, gazing upon her wife's beauty. Feeling unworthy of someone so lovable and bright is part of my daily life, after all. She'll have to learn how to cope with it on her own.

The ugly thoughts spiralled out of control throughout the day, making Felicia feel so awful with herself she didn't realize she was actually doing her job quite well, apart from freezing this or that object.

Once dusk approached, she started to feel even more uneasy: she was to meet her wife again soon and she... was not yet ready. She wouldn't be able to stand looking at her wife and smell that rude man on her. That rude and perfectly matched man for her wife.

Felicia wondered about taking a bit more work to delay her arrival, but she missed her babies terribly, so she decided against it. Squeezing her eyes, she quickly opened the door with a bang, surprising the twins and the wet nurse taking care of them.

"O-oh, Felicia! That gave me a scare." The woman got up. "Do you want me to stay with them while you get changed or can I go?"

Blinking, the maid looked around. "Azura?"

"Nope."

Felicia exhaled deeply, almost crumpling to the ground. "Thank the gods..." She whispered. "It's okay, Nanna, you can go if you want. I'll take care of them."

"Okay, then. Good night and see you tomorrow." Nanna smiled, gathering her things. "Nighty, cuties." She winked to the babies and left.

A not-so-empty room to come back to. The fruit of their love waited for her, and yet she was feeling so awful about everything.

"Aguh..." Linnea cooed uncomfortably, feeling her mother's upsetting thoughts. Shigure kicked his feet.

"Awawa!" Felicia triped to the crib. "Mommy's okay now, see? Haha!" She smiled foolishly, stealing a few laughs from the twins. "It's gonna be okay! Yep!"

Just seeing her children put her mind back at ease.

It was going to be fine.

After a week of constant rehearsing, Azura scarcely came back to their room at the same time as Felicia. They missed each other during the mornings since Felicia worked early, and during the evenings since Azura stayed up until very late.

There was also the matter of the measurements -- Forrest and Oboro joined forces to sew the costumes of the main attractions for all three kingdoms. For some reason Felicia couldn't understand, they also took her measurements, but her wife's absence soon made her forget about it.

The few moments they could be together, Azura spoke about how wonderful their dance was going to be and how many tiny details she had to work with the court mages and orchestra.

Felicia stayed silent most of the time, afraid she would spout hurtful words to someone who was simply having a good time... Her ugly feelings were hers only to deal with.

And yet, the more Azura spoke of Ka'lik, the less important Felicia felt in her wife's life.

It had been over a month since they shared a meal! They barely basked in one another's warmth!

All because Azura was too busy befriending such a shady guy like Ka'lik.

As the grand day approached, Felicia's anxiety skyrocketed.

The hoshidan day had been so very busy, she barely had time to sleep. Her legs and arms hurt from all the walking and heavy lifting; even her head hurt due to her usage of her icy powers (they asked her to use them as a theatrical effect here and there).

The nohrian day was even busier -- being a nohrian herself, she was more aware of where things should be and how they should go. There was also an entire hour dedicated to the Ice Tribe, and although neither her nor Flora were active part of it, they still had to use their powers for demonstration.

Felicia was at her limit.

After finally doing her last chore for the night, she passed by the rehearsing room and saw how swimmingly well Azura and Ka'lik were getting along. He spiralled her over his head, then had her slip through his body towards the floor as they exchanged heated glances and smiled.

A sudden chilly wind covered the both of them, the source none other than Felicia.

"My love? What's the matter? Are you unwell?" Azura quickly let go of Ka'lik and ran to the door. To her threadbare wife, who had a messy hair, messy clothes and was dirty all over.

It was such a busy day.

She was so tired.

She just wanted to be with her beloved, but even that was being taken away from her.

"Felicia?" Azura approached tentatively, slightly touching her wife's shoulder.

But it was immediately slapped away. The maid lifted her angry and teary gaze towards her wife, the male dancer watching everything in the background.

And then she ran.

"Felicia?!" Azura quickly ran after her wife. "My love, what's happened?"

"Don't touch me with that hand that was all over Ka'lik all day! Why are you even running after me? Go back and be with him! He's a much better match for you!" She yelled atop of her lungs, sobbing her frustrations away.

Azura stopped on her tracks, offended. "What was that? Are you letting your jealousy cloud your words, my love? Truly you do not mean that."

Felicia also stopped a few meters away, drying her face as more tears fell. "Of course I mean it! Go back to be with him! You two match so well, anyway."

The princess lifted her chin. "Ka'lik and I are simply coworkers, Felicia. Do not offend me in saying that I feel anything towards him! This is your last chance to take that back."

The maid sniffled, her heart beating as fast as her mind spiralled. "Why should I take back the truth? You should be with someone like him, anyway." After saying that, she kept walking back to her room, the tears streaming down her face.

Azura felt her eyes burn with unshed tears, but lifted her eyes so as not to let them fall. "I see. So that's the kind of woman you thought of me all this time." She turned around, intent on going to sleep in the guest room.

No!

No, no, no! It wasn't!

Oh, how could Felicia be SO dumb like that?!

She just wanted her wife to be with her, to love her! Was that too much to ask? Why did her sullied heart had to say all these hurtful things?!

Sobbing, Felicia went back to running, quickly entering her room.

The twins were crying their lungs out.

"Felicia!" Nanna stuttered, holding Shigure while patting Linnea's belly by the crib. "I don't know what happened, but these two started crying out of sudden! Do you think they have- Felicia?"

The maid sobbed by the door, sliding down to the floor. "It's over, oh gods, it's over now..."

Shigure cried even louder, sobbing so much his little body reddened.

They could feel their mothers' bond wavering and it hurt them almost physically.

Felicia knew that, and it made her cry even more. Were the babies sensing hers and Azura's bond severing? Would they end everything like that? Oh, gods...

Azura barely slept a wink, her heart in a turmoil. Still, she was a professional.

She would perform with a smile on her face.

"Are you alright? I... don't know what happened after you ran after your wife, but it seemed pretty bad..." Ka'lik mentioned as they waited for Oboro and Forrest at the dressing room.

Azura knew that her dress was a dark blue and golden variation of her white vallite dancing dress, which matched with Ka'lik's loose pants and bolero.

"Oh, Ka'lik... She was consumed by jealousy! How could she even think of me as a base woman like that? I never felt anything towards you!"

"Ouch," he joked, placing one hand over his heart, taking a step towards his princess.

"Hah, no offense intended. Forgive me." She shook her head, the lack of sleep and stress taking a toll on her.

"None taken," he looked down at the frail and vulnerable woman before him.

He had held himself back for over a month, but surely now was the best time to strike. Imagine! Ka'lik and Princess Azura, the most successful married dancing couple in all continent!

He had to make her his. "So, are things finished between the two of you, then? If she has such shallow confidence in you, maybe you can look somewhere else for a partner..." He placed one hand over her shoulder, which ignited the first alarm inside Azura's chest.

"Never! I will not allow things to end like this." She took his hand out of her shoulder, turning her back to him. "I suppose I did neglect her all this time... Perhaps I should apologize first. I cannot stand this sour air between us..."

"Nonsense! She's the one who called you a cheater." Once again he touched her shoulder and once again she slipped away from him.

"She does need to apologize, of course. However, so do I. Perhaps, if we had talked it over, this would have never happened..."

"And who guarantees it won't happen again? She's been hostile towards me ever since our first meeting! Isn't she way too possessive for someone who married a dancer?" He took very light steps towards Azura, making her turn away from him at every turn, going towards a table without realizing.

The princess placed one hand over her pounding heart. "Isn't she lovely? I keep telling her she's all I need, and she can't stop putting herself down. I must go see her!" She turned around with conviction, but ran right into Ka'lik's chest instead. "Forgive me, but could you-"

As she tried to walk past him, he blocked her way with one leg, trapping her between him and the table. "Hm? But you're free right now, aren't you? Why don't we have some fun as your wife thinks we do?" He lowered himself to her, and her last alarm ringed inside her chest.

She screamed loudly inside her mind, her entire body rejecting the very idea of being close to that man. He slid one hand over her waist, pulling her towards him.

"Let me go this instant, Ka'lik!" She tried to push his chest away, but his arms were much stronger than her. "Let me go!"

He smiled derisively. "Why now? We're just doing what your wife said we are! Nothing but truth here," he slightly pulled her hair from her back, making her lift her chin.

She could feel his warm breath on hers and felt her stomach turn.

"I told you to let me GO!" She breathed in before quickly and strongly hitting his nose with the carpal bone of her wrist.

"Grh- ouch, that hurt! You broke my nose!" He stumbled backwards, his face swelling as blood flowed through his nostrils. "I was being nice before, but now you made me angry!" He meant to throw himself over her, but as she was about to scream her wife's name, a blast of ice hit him dead in the chest.

"STOP RIGHT THERE, YOU CREEP!" Felicia panted, quickly making another ice blast, making him fly across the room and break a few tables. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY WIFE? I WON'T LET YOU LIVE THIS DOWN!" Possessed by the soldier inside her, Felicia was out for blood.

She stomped inside the room, making another ice blast with her closed fists, but Azura threw herself on Felicia's arms. "Felicia, oh, Felicia!"

"Azura! Are you okay? What did he do to you?!" She quickly held her wife as people started to gather due to the commotion.

"Nothing... Nothing, he didn't DO anything, b-but..." She trembled.

Azura was a trained dancer, a trained soldier, a hardened royal.

But the dark thoughts that creeped inside her mind as Ka'lik touched her waist... Azura for the first time felt the fear of being a woman.

"Oh, Felicia...!" She sobbed in her wife's arms, digging her face into the familiar chest.

The maid squeezed her wife with everything she had, slowly walking backwards to hide behind the countless costumes hanged around the room.

Flora and Kaze had heard almost everything and were the first ones to the scene after Felicia.

"How dare you harm my sister's wife!" Flora roared, freezing Ka'lik's hands behind his back, not wanting to cuff him the usual way.

Kaze followed closely behind, more to Ka'lik's own safety than Flora's.

Hearing the familiar voices all around made Azura calm down, the sobs turning to sniffles.

"Are you okay? He really didn't touch you, right?" Felicia dried her wife's tears with both thumbs.

"Oh, my sweet Felicia! Forgive me for not being more open with you during all this time! If only we had spoken about your feelings towards him, perhaps all of this could have been avoided!"

Felicia immediately felt her eyes itch with tears. "P-please don't apologize, Azura! I'm the one who wants to say I'm sorry! Please don't leave me, please stay with me forever! I was just so jealous and angry and tired and stressed, I took it out on you! And I shouldn't because I- I just love you so much..." She sniffled.

"Oh, Felicia... I love you so very much as well. Thank you for saving me." Azura caressed her wife's face, noticing how unkempt she was. "Did you run here, my love? I-"

Before she could finish the sentence, both of them started hearing faint crying getting closer and closer.

"I recognize these voices..." They said in unison, quickly leaving the room.

"Felicia! How could you run and leave me alone with them? They were crying so much, nothing I did calmed them!" Nanna brought the twins over.

They were restless because of the strong signal Azura inadvertently sent earlier -- Felicia felt dread seep through her bones and quickly ran towards her wife's direction, leaving the twins to feel everything through their bond and cry.

"I-I'm sorry, I had to run-"

"There, there, Mother's here now, darling." Azura picked Linnea up as Nanna handed Shigure to Felicia, both twins' tears immediately stopping.

"How do you two even do that? I spent almost half hour trying to make them stop." Nanna crossed her arms as the wives shared a bashful glance and cooed to their babies.

"What are you gonna do now, Azura? The performance... can't happen now, right?" Felicia nudged Shigure's chubby cheeks, glancing at her wife, who did the same with Linnea.

"I actually have a wonderful idea regarding that."

Back at the changing room, Forrest and Oboro waited for Azura’s arrival. “Actually, the ones who have wonderful ideas about this are us!” They said in unison, each taking a wife’s hand towards opposing corners of the room, hidden behind the hanging clothes.

“Oh?” Azura giggled as she was being led by Forrest. “I was about to suggest-”

“Oh, darling, we know!” The young man winked. “Let’s get you in that dress, hm?”

At the other side of the room, Felicia tripped over her heels. “Awawa, why am I the one getting a dress? I’m just going to watch-”

“Oh, shush, you.” Oboro turned Felicia around and undid her zipper. “Let’s just get on with this, yeah?”

“O-okay?”

“Sweet Felicia? Is Oboro bullying you?” Azura asked through the room, and although they couldn’t see each other, the acoustic was wonderful in there.

“I-I’m fine!” The maid said, being stripped by Oboro and quickly being turned around to be dressed again.

Giggling, Azura felt giddy.

It was as though that awful experience never happened.

She was preparing a surprise for her beloved wife and was having so much fun by simply listening to her being bashful around Oboro. So cute! She couldn’t wait to go back to her wife’s arms already!

Forrest helped her inside her dress as well as fixed her hair and make-up. He then placed a dark blue veil covering her face, complementing the mysterious air around the princess. “Perfect! Honestly, you’re already so pretty, Lady Azura. I was barely necessary.”

“You flatter me, Forrest. But do tell… why was Felicia taken away as well? I didn’t get to say my idea yet…”

The young prince winked once again. “Why don’t you see for yourself?” He opened the way back to the center of the room.

In there Felicia stood: she wore a dress of similar design to Azura’s, but with a dark purple glow, matching perfectly with her pink hair. Even though she also wore a veil, Azura could see the blush covering Felicia’s entire cheek and nose.

How wonderfully lucky Azura was to have married such a stunning woman. “Felicia…”

“A-Azura…” Felicia stuttered, inadvertently licking her lips. “You’re so beautiful…”

“You are wonderful as well, my love.” Azura walked towards her beloved, taking her hands. “Will you dance with me, my sweet Felicia? Our dance? Let us show the world the power of our bond.”

Trembling, Felicia so very much wanted to yell to the world that Azura was her wife, that they loved each other! “I-I…” She sniffled.

“Hey, no crying! You’re gonna ruin your makeup.” Oboro patted Felicia’s back, making the maid choke and smile.

“Let’s do it! We can do it! Let’s do this!!” She puffed her chest, making Azura laugh.

“I’ll be with you all the time, my love.” The princess whispered, holding her wife’s hand. “Shall we go?”

Felicia gulped. “Y-yes!”

Being onstage really wasn’t what Felicia was used to, but somehow -- somehow being with her wife made all the beseeching eyes fade away. Azura whispered all the steps to Felicia as they went up, but their dance, it ran perfectly, like a river through its course.

Their love overflowed through their steps, the power of their bond so strong it brought tears to the audience’s eyes. Many people who were with their loved ones shared a kiss as the dance ended, feeling such a great atmosphere.

They had a standing ovation as the curtains closed and shared a hug as Felicia jumped around in excitement. “I didn’t mess a single step! We did it!”

“Indeed we did, my love!” Azura smiled, being led back to the dressing room by her beloved.

In there, their friends and family waited -- Nanna stayed back with the twins so they could welcome their mothers right away. And how well they did!

The babies laughed loudly, the strength of their family’s bond so strong they kicked their feets with excitement.

“Thank you so much for looking after them, Nanna.” They said in unison, not realizing how well they synchronized. “We can take them back now.”

They held hands as they pushed the baby carriages, their hearts beating in unison.

Barely were they back at their room, they turned to each other and fell in love all over again. “I love you so much.” They declared, reaching out to one another’s veils.

They exchanged passionate looks before sealing their love with a kiss. They closed eyes to enjoy their wife’s taste and whispered: “Forever.”

#feliciazura #felicia #azura #fire emblem fates #fanfic commissions #my writings

[shirlleycoyle]

The Rise of the Highly Unlikely Twitch Streamer

“If I’d known at the start of this year that I’d be paying a queer artist in Germany to draw a horse wearing clothes for Twitch, I’d have been like: what the fuck is going on?” says British musician Shura. The horse in question has become a regular character in Shura’s lockdown life, a shared joke that grew from a story told to fans on Twitch, where she now streams three times a week. 

The streaming platform, which emerged in 2011, is still mostly known as a place for gamers. But during lockdown, creatives from music, comedy, TV and so-called “variety streamers” have taken to Twitch to share their talents and engage with fans. 

Back in spring, Shura was in New York when festival performances and tour shows for her latest record forevher were abruptly cancelled. Other musicians began regular Instagram Live gigs – many unpaid. Shura did a few, but: “It was not satisfying – you’re literally performing to a wall.”

Instead, she played videogames to relax. “I knew what Twitch was, but never understood why you would want to watch anyone on Twitch,” she says. 

But while researching The Last of Us Part II, Shura browsed Twitch. She came across American gamer ChellOAG and loved her stream: “I was like, maybe I should do this? There were a lot of videogame references in my first record, so by chance I set myself up really well to become a gaming musician on Twitch!”

Her followers and subscribers are, she estimates, 95 percent prior fans of her music. Twitch has offered Shura a surprising way to forge a closer bond with them: “It was like making this giant sofa on the internet where you can hang out and still have some connection with your fanbase.”

While the music industry has focused on mailing lists to reach fans, Shura feels she’s found a more effective route through Twitch and the associated Discord server many streamers use as a place for followers to chat: “It’s been weird to realise there are these other tools that musicians have previously neglected.” She’s also determined to create a welcoming environment for fans in the gaming world, which still has pockets of misogyny, racism and homophobia: “It’s important to make this safe space where people who are queer can go and not have shit thrown at them.”

Shura has done some music streams – on the one-year anniversary of foreveher’s release, she played demos, did a Q&A and piano performance. Yet even while gaming, she’s found streaming replicates the on-stage experience: “You get that same adrenaline rush. You’re performing – if you want people to enjoy themselves, you have to find ways of engaging beyond the game.”

Sean Morley. Photo: courtesy of subject

Comedians also saw their schedules wiped during lockdown. Scottish comedian Limmy has streamed for years, but announced his retirement from TV to focus on Twitch. Others joined him there – Josie Long and Richard Herring, while Bilal Zafar has thousands watching him in character as a PES football manager.

Sean Morley, standup and co-host of Mandatory Redistribution Party podcast, also moved comedy onto Twitch during lockdown. At first: “I had friends do guest parts, I’d write loose plots – like a comedy play.” 

But after committing to twice-weekly streaming, he realised Twitch demanded a different approach. He introduced more audience interaction to two solo streams, Meme Machine and King Morl, and recently started an interactive game, Escape the North, with comics in Manchester. 

“The premise of Meme Machine is: I’m making an image for Twitter, I want to go viral, but I have no ideas,” Morley explains. “So I ask people to donate ideas, then we make memes based on that.”

Fans have immersed themselves in unexpected ways. Morley plays Creative Commons-licensed music during streams – fans made their own albums containing shared jokes and posted them on Creative Commons for Morley to find. The Meme Machine community also received a commission from composer Ben Gaunt for a video to be played at a Nottingham University symposium. “It’s one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen, let alone made,” says Morley.

King Morl is a little different. It uses an existing game, Crusader Kings II, but the audience can modify the world. “We let the chat choose a long-form objective. They learned early on that there were non-human characters in the game. They all said: make the pope a bear.”

Months-long storylines developed. Morley uploaded past streams to YouTube so anyone could catch up: “Even when there was 30 hours to get through, people started doing it.”

King Morl recently had its cinematic finale where a bear was finally crowned pope. “People were quite emotional – they said it helped them through a really horrible year. It was sweet. You can’t get close to that vibe with an hour-long [stand-up] show.”

Claire Lim (AKA Wee Claire) on Twitch. Photo: courtesy of Claire Lim

It’s this collaborative, community aspect that Scottish TV presenter Claire Lim loves most about streaming. Lim, known as Wee Claire on Twitch, has presented for the BBC and NME and joined Twitch in 2018. She started streaming videogames, but soon tried new formats, chatting and playing interactive games – guessing someone’s age based on their teenage crush or drawing followers’ portraits.

When she got a PC, she decided to make slicker TV-style formats: “It’s a big learning curve in terms of production, but I started to go: what can I do that’s always been a dream in my little nerdy head?”

Lim now hosts various chat shows, including the Top 10 List of All Lists and How I Met Your Streamer. There’s also the Wee Marbles Federation (“by far the most popular show”), a WWE-influenced programme that layers soap opera-style storylines onto a game called Marbles.

The pandemic encouraged Lim to learn new skills – she’s improved her editing and branched into music-making, creating a Christmas EP with input from her community, the Wee Squad. “People come to watch me, but it takes on a life of itself,” Lim says. “It’s 50 percent community, 50 percent streamer. The Wee Squad have helped me through the pandemic – economically in terms of subbing [subscribing], but also in terms of belief. The power of community is incredible.”

Like Shura, Lim also works hard to create a welcoming space for fans: “I have friends from the LGBTQ+ community, different backgrounds, ethnically and otherwise, so for me it’s important that my stream reflects my values.” Moderators (Lim highlights her “dad mod” DW who’s been with her since the start) uphold these values.

While streaming helps Lim hone presenting skills, it could one day be a career in itself. “I’ve had struggles trying to get agents and producers into what I’m doing on Twitch,” Lim says. “But if you’re looking to be an entertainer, be hugely creative and not just play games… I do think Twitch could be an alternative route. As long as you know that it’s just as hard.”

Morley has also turned Twitch into an income-maker. While streaming twice a week doesn’t equal his normal comedy earnings and there’s a battle with the algorithm to be seen, the in-stream tipping function mirrors “pay what you want”, his favoured comedy payment model. “You try to make people feel they are wilfully contributing to something they want to succeed,” Morley says. “Twitch has that from the start.”

Unlike Spotify and Apple Music, “the culture around Twitch is to support creators,” Shura says. “I’m also making significantly more from my merch than if I wasn’t on Twitch. It does help support all the other avenues at a time when your job basically doesn’t exist.”

All three artists plan to continue streaming when their industries return to normal. There’s also shared hope that Twitch will continue to diversify beyond gaming. Lim’s been watching more music streamers, such as The Village Ruse, while Shura’s given Ladyhawke tips on setting up her own channel.

Lim says: “There are so many amazing people on Twitch that are way funnier, more creative, dynamic and interesting than people I see on television. Twitch is a more diverse place if you go and find it. It’s not perfect, but the more people that come to it, the better it will be.”

@ohrhealy

The Rise of the Highly Unlikely Twitch Streamer syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

[nofomoartworld]

Hyperallergic: The Japanese American Architect Who Was a Disciple of Frank Lloyd Wright

The Lurie House, designed by Kaneji Domoto (photo by Thad Russel)

When a Columbia University architecture professor signed the contract for her new house in Usonia — the historic community near Pleasantville, New York, that was planned by Frank Lloyd Wright — its previous owner handed her four of its original blueprints. They’d been drawn up by the late Kaneji Domoto, a little-known Japanese-American architect from the Bay Area. Having inherited one of his homes, Lynnette Widder decided to learn more about Domoto and his practice. Her journey led her to rediscover one of Wright’s students through oral histories from his family members, who’d also saved his sketches, photographs, and blueprints.

Kaneji Domoto’s Bier House (photo by Thad Russel)

The culmination of her research is a small exhibition she curated at the Center for Architecture that celebrates the career of the only Japanese American to leave a mark on the famed Usonia. Kaneji Domoto at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonia examines Domoto’s contribution to Wright’s suburban community, where the houses were meant to be affordable, beautiful, sustainable, and unique. Of the 47 homes built on the 100 acres of land, Domoto designed five that came to fruition.

The exhibition features mostly drawings by Domoto that are difficult for the untrained eye to understand, but they’re accompanied by clear explanatory texts and contemporary as well as period photographs of the buildings’ exteriors and interiors. There’s also an original model of Domoto’s first and largest Usonian house, the Bier House, an 1,800-square-foot structure built in 1949 and set into a sloping site. Its layout recalls one of Wright’s most famous works, Fallingwater, with a spacious living room wrapped around a large hearth and open ceilings with skylights.

Widder had procured the Lurie House, another one of Domoto’s earliest homes at Usonia. Built the same year as the Bier House, it exemplifies the architect’s reputation for listening carefully to his clients and responding to their needs — traits that made him stand out. For Mrs. Lurie, who was less than five feet tall, he built a kitchen with counters as high as tabletops; the two young girls in the family received separate rooms that mirrored each other identically, with a folding plywood door dividing them. The living space was intended to be bright yet cool, featuring windows that stretch from floor to ceiling and a cantilevered eave that faces south. A display of the house’s construction documents on the Center for Architecture’s mezzanine level offers a closer look at its anatomy, using it as a case study to consider how one might preserve a Domoto home today. It features reproductions of the blueprints Widder inherited.

Kaneji Domoto, blueprint of the Lurie House, elevation view

The Lurie House (photo by Thad Russel)

Meanwhile, at the Harris House, which was built around the same time as well, Domoto put an enameled kitchen sink in the bathroom so his clients, an orthodox Jewish family, could keep kosher. The large Bier House features a formal dining room unlike those of the other four homes, since its original owners, an exuberant doctor and his wife, liked to entertain. Their living room was a dramatic split-level space that boasted high ceilings.

Domoto was also known for respecting his client’s budgets — something Wright himself did not always manage to do. The three houses the renowned architect built at Usonia all ended up costing significantly more than they were supposed to, Widder said.

“If you look at Wright’s Usonian houses, the premise of these houses is that they were accessible for the middle class,” Widder told Hyperallergic. “They were lower cost, easier to build, and easier for contractors to understand. But there are a lot of indications that those actually weren’t Wright’s foremost concerns … If you were really trying to make something affordable, you would constrain yourself to the industry standard. Wright does not do that.”

Domoto, however, was strictly economical, using low-cost materials and techniques that were relatively new to the market. He embraced plywood as an interior finish, illuminated spaces with strip fluorescent lighting, and used steel pipes to make the handrails of staircases.

“Domoto embraces a whole bunch of readily available industry products and bends them to his will,” Widder said. “You see him taking an idiom that he learned that he credits Wrights with having taught him, but moves it into a kind of construction that’s completely different.”

Kaneji Domoto relaxing at Usonia (photo courtesy Jack Holme)

Domoto also stood out from the other Usonian architects for his strong identification with Japanese traditions, particularly the Japanese landscape. The exhibition features a large timeline that summarizes how his particular life experiences influenced his practice. Born in 1912 and raised in northern California, Domoto spent years working as a nurseryman in his family’s landscaping business, which was the largest in the Bay Area. The job taught him about Japanese environmental culture, which he integrated into many of his projects. At the same time, he was distant from other aspects of his heritage. He didn’t see woodblock prints or hear Japanese poetry until 1939, when he arrived at Taliesin, Wright’s school of architecture. Tellingly, Domoto was adamant about referring to himself as American Japanese.

In 1941, he was among the tens of thousands of citizens interned as part of Executive Order 9066. He became a member of the construction crew at the camp in Amache, Colorado — work he credited with having taught him methods of building. Two years later, he was released and moved to New York, where he found work as an architect and draughtsman.

Kaneji Domoto, sketch of the entrance to the Harris House (1949)

The Harris House (photo by Thad Russel)

Domoto was part of Usonia’s building committee for about two years, until he and Wright had a severe falling out. Claiming that Domoto’s work was derivative, the American architect vetoed one of his projects in 1950; Domoto broke off from the community. His response, measured yet heavy with frustration, is on display in the exhibition. It includes the lines: “An Idea is never born fully grown. You have given me an Idea but at the same time would kill it before it can grow.”

Wright “got on the wrong side of all [the Usonian architects],” Widder said. “For whatever reason, Domoto was the one who took it most to heart and the one who walked away from Usonia, until after Wright was no longer on the building commission.”

When Domoto returned a few years later, he served as a landscape consultant and built two houses, which both feature very literal references to Japanese architecture. The Silson House recalls a shogun temple, with its axial symmetry and steep roof overhangs; the Siegel house features sliding Shoji screens and a koi pond in its garden.

The Siegel House (photo by Thad Russel)

Interior of the Siegel House (photo by Thad Russel)

Nearly all of the houses at Usonia have been expanded in the last few decades, but the exhibition offers a chance to study the original spatial and material efficiency of some of Domoto’s homes. Featuring deep overhangs and radiant floor heat, and typically oriented to the south or southwest, Domoto’s relatively small houses represent early testing grounds for environmental design measures we might easily recognize today.

“There are enough studies that show it’s not just the amount of stuff we own and the decreased cost of stuff that have a huge environmental impact,” Widder said. “It’s totally facilitated by the size of houses we live in now and their environmental implications.

“There’s a sweet spot in this moment that these modest houses are being built, and I find that very compelling.”

Interior of the Harris House (photo by Thad Russel)

Lurie House under construction in 1949 (photo courtesy Walter A. Slattery)

Kitchen of the Lurie House (photo courtesy Jack Holme)

Interior of the Lurie House (photo by Thad Russel)

Kaneji Domoto, elevation view of the Harris House

Interior of the Harris House, c. 1950 (photo courtesy Jack Holme)

The Bier House (photo by Thad Russel)

The Bier House (photo by Thad Russel)

The Bier House (photo by Thad Russel)

The Siegel House (photo by Thad Russel)

Kaneji Domoto at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonia continues at the Center for Architecture (536 LaGuardia Pl, Greenwich Village, Manhattan) through August 26.

The post The Japanese American Architect Who Was a Disciple of Frank Lloyd Wright appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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