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cherrydreamer · 3 years

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It starts with Max's craft kit.

One of many plucked from a pile of old, unwanted birthday gifts from Susan, intended for the kind of mother-daughter bonding sessions promised by commercials and heartwarming sitcoms, but relegated to a dusty stack in the corner of Max’s closet. Ignored until a few weeks ago, when the freezing temperatures and howling winds of a Hawkins winter had kept Max and El inside, and they both developed a sudden passion for all things crafty.

Billy didn't know if Max was genuinely enjoying it, finally feeling secure enough to let that side of herself show around El, or whether the realisation that she was growing up had given her a desperate urge to cling to something from her childhood. Maybe it was simply the sheer look of joy in El's eyes when she poured colourful sand into a plastic dolphin shaped vase, or turned a pile of tiny beads into a lizard, that encourages Max to keep pulling out the boxes time after time.

Whatever the reason, the Hargrove kitchen table is now covered in a whole mess of beads, charms and various lengths of colourful thread, and Max and El's furrowed brows of concentration stand in sharp contrast to the smiling faces of the girls on the lid of the box; their fingers flying over strings and beads as they whip up a whole host of different coloured bracelets, only pausing to tie their creation around the other’s wrist before diving back into the pile to start again.

Friendship bracelets. Billy realises when he sees them. Cute.

He stands in the doorway for a moment and watches, nibbling at his thumbnail to hide a smile. He has no real intentions to disturb them, nothing more than a quick tug to Max's ponytail or a ruffle of El's curls before he delves into the fridge for a snack. Maybe he'll rustle up a plate of something for the girls too. A reward, because at least this activity is quiet and, unlike the Shrinky Dinks, hasn't filled the house with the hideous scent of burning plastic. For that mercy alone, Billy thinks, he might even be willing to make his signature grilled cheese.

But then he sees the charm, set aside from the rest of the chaos on the table and sparkling in the sunlight. Impossible to ignore. A gold bead in the shape of a crown. Just about as big as his fingernail and with a tiny metal clasp to fasten it securely within some woven threads. It gives him an idea.

Because his hands haven't been working all that well since…that. But they were getting better; he could manage most of the fiddly stuff now. And the nurses were always encouraging him to practise.

So despite a raised eyebrow from Max, and perhaps because of the encouraging smile from El, he sits down at the table with them.

And it's hard, but not impossible, for him to braid the skinny threads together. He’s clumsy at first, abandoning his first two efforts when they get ratty and tangled, but then it comes together nicely on the third go; the reds and browns and yellows wrapping around and around each other, a few strands of shimmering gold weaving in amongst them.

Billy huffs the few times when his fingers slip, but he's soon just as focused as the girls, brow creased and his tongue peeping out of his lips as he works. There's a low hum of music in the background and the clatter of beads when one of them reaches into the pile. The snipping of scissors as El cuts some springy yellow thread into shorter lengths, soft murmurs of chatter from the girls and a bout of hushed swearing from Max when her knot unravels and sends a cascade of beads tumbling onto the floor. It’s peaceful.

At some point, Billy finds himself feeling almost entirely relaxed; his mind fully occupied by the task so much that he doesn't even notice the girls disappearing, coming back a while later with frothing mugs of cocoa and interspersing the quiet with sips and hums of contentment. He only looks up when El pushes a mug towards him with a pointed nod, “It’s getting cold.” He takes a quick break to drink it. Spends a moment looking down at the bracelet in his hands.

It’s good. Almost finished.

But it's not quite done, not yet.

He picks up a tiny golden bead, heart shaped and so small that it takes him quite a few tries to slip it onto the dangling threads. Once it's there, it's barely visible, nestled in amongst the loose ends which twist around each other and cover the little heart unless you part them gently with a fingernail and peer inside to see it sparkling.

Hidden.

He ties a series of tight knots, securing it all in place before adding the finishing touch of the crown charm, pushing the ring of the clasp through a tiny hole in the braiding and squeezing the ends shut. It dangles, loose enough to spin around and catch the light when he holds the bracelet up.

"I can tie if for you," El's voice breaks the spell and Billy looks up to find her smiling at him, her dainty fingers already reaching out for his wrist.

"It's not for him," Max's smile is more knowing, "is it, Billy?"

And Billy can't lie to them. Wouldn't want to, even if he could, but he can't quite bring himself to say it out loud either. He shakes his head. Max’s smile grows, and she looks at right him when she speaks,

"We'll be OK if you wanna go out. We're low on milk."

They're not, but Billy appreciates it. Appreciates her. Loves her, really. He takes the hint, shoving the bracelet in his pocket as he gets up from the table. "I won't be long.”

He doesn’t quite catch what Max says in response, but he definitely hears the giggles as the door slams shut behind him.

He takes Susan's car, wanting to get there before he loses his nerve. Because Billy's not entirely sure what he’s doing. He’s not sure what they are now. Now that Harrington and Hargrove have become Steve and Billy.

Now that stilted conversations in a hospital room have become all nighters at Steve's house, and 'I'll see you tomorrow' has turned to 'Dude, just stay the night.'

Especially now that 'I'll take the couch,'' has been replaced with 'my bed's big enough for two.'

Because it's always been Steve taking the lead and Billy following a step behind, tripping over his feet and his words and his heart that's grown three sizes. But this is something more. Something concrete. Tangible. A lot of weight for some thread and a couple of beads.

Billy's aware that Steve might not get it. It's close enough to Christmas that it could easily get written off as a gift. An odd one, sure, but a perfectly friendly token and nothing more. Even worse it could be rebuffed, shoved back into Billy’s hands with an apology, if he’s lucky, and a mocking laugh if he’s not.

So Billy parks up a few streets away from Steve's and just...

Breathes.

Then he opens the glove box and takes out a pen and a stash of notepaper, sending a silent prayer of thanks for Susan’s surprising lack of organisation as he flips through the sheets until he finds one not half covered with dates and times or phone numbers or the scribbles of a shopping list.

He's good with writing. Usually. And he wants this to be clear, wants Steve to know exactly what Billy's trying to say. What he wants. What he’s asking for. Wants Steve to know exactly what he means to Billy.

It’s not his best work. The handwriting is kinda messy, not helped by the awkward way he has to lean on the dashboard, and the words aren’t really good enough, but then he’s not sure he could ever do justice to what he’s feeling, but...it’s clear. At least. Undeniable.

He folds the note into an envelope around the bracelet, wraps it up in his words and presses the makeshift package to his lips before he’s even realised what he’s doing.

He’s glad he prepared. Glad he took the time because Steve’s there when Billy pulls up. Waiting, like he knew. Standing in the driveway, shovel in hand, clearly ready to tackle the mound of snow banked up against the garage door.

And Billy doesn’t give himself time to think. To doubt or to reconsider. He barely has the brake on before he’s out of the car, crossing the distance in a few long strides and shoving the envelope into Steve’s hands.

“Billy?” Steve’s confused. Understandably. But Billy doesn’t want to wait any more. He wants to know now. Wants to take the lead for once.

“It’s for you,” he steps back. Wraps his arms around himself and then shoves them deep into his pockets.

Steve looks a little less shocked now, a faint smile on his face as he turns the paper over in his hands, "Oh! I have something for you too but it's in my room. Hang on,"

Billy manages to catch the whine before it escapes his mouth,

"No, just...open it. Now.” it comes out gruffer than he intends, the words forced around the sudden clench of his jaw, and he softens it with a, “Please.”

So Steve does. Agile fingers making quick work of Billy’s shitty folding, eyes wide as they take in the bracelet, and then widening more as they notice the writing. Billy doesn’t want to watch as Steve reads it, looking down at the snow under his boots so that he doesn’t see the moment that Steve’s smile turns to a grimace of disgust, or when his bright eyes flash with anger.

It’s the only time he hasn’t wanted to look at Steve. And then Billy feels the bracelet being pressed back into his hand. The bumpy texture of the thread against his palm. The coldness of the crown. He lifts his head, bracing himself. His chest is tightening around his hammering heart and his eyes are already stinging with the thought of what’s about to come next.

But then Steve is holding out his wrist, jacket cuff pushed back enough to reveal the pale skin and the map of veins under his skin. And he’s smiling.

“Put it on me.”

And Billy does, fumbling with the threads as he ties them securely. He’s barely finished before Steve’s hand is brushing against his, fingers flicking at the crown charm,

"You still thinking of me as your King, Bill?" And it sounds teasing, but when Billy looks up at him, his breath catches in his throat at the warmth in Steve's eyes.

"I...Steve...I…" Billy can't find the words. Can't corral his thoughts into anything resembling a sentence.

And Steve looks down at the bracelet, pressing a fingertip to the little heart bead before he slides his wrist out of Billy's grasp, only to entwine their fingers together, pulling Billy closer to whisper against his lips,

"’Cause I kinda think that ‘boyfriend’ has a better ring to it."

#harringrove #ficlet #i wanted to do something cute #and maybe kinda christmassy #and it didn't quite...Christmas #but hopefully the cute came through #steve harrington #billy hargrove #my writing #cherrywrites

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vintage-squid · 4 years

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Vulture Culture

Summary: Remus loves living in his little cabin in the woods with his two gorgeous, snarky partners. Coming home from another scavenging adventure to Virgil and Janus being their wonderful selves, Remus has a very important question to ask them.

Pairing: Virgil/Janus/Remus Rating: G Warnings: Animal bones, use of scavenged bones for art, a whole truck load of fluff

Huge thank you to @rosesisupposes for beta’ing for me!

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“Ohh honey-bunny-bums! I’m home!”

The front door slammed against the wall, echoing through the house as Remus stomped inside, a wide grin spread on his face and his backpack heavy over one shoulder. Bracing the toes of one foot against the heel of the other, he aggressively yanked his feet out of his boots, laces still tied. He haphazardly tossed his jacket and toque over the back of the nearby armchair - on top of other outdoor outfits that had already received a similar treatment. With much more care, he set his bag on the floor.

“We’re in the kitchen, Re!”

“And I swear to the gods, your boots better not be on your feet when you get in here, because I am not mopping up after you again!”

“Yeah, yeah, no need to get your knickers in a twist,” Remus snorted, grabbing his backpack by one strap and slinging it over one shoulder. He made his way further into the house, following the sound of his loved ones' voices. “I’m still wearing socks, though, so no peeping at my toes for you! You’ll have to wait ‘til later for that treat.” Coming around the corner into the kitchen, Remus gave an exaggerated wink to his partner standing on the step-stool by the window.

Virgil rolled their eyes, shaking their head and setting aside the small scissors they had been using to tend to their plants. “I offer to give you a massage one time for your sore feet, and suddenly I’m the one with the foot fetish, I see how it is.”

Smirking, Virgil turned to face Remus, but before they could hop off their stool, a pair of burly arms cinched around their middle and swept them into the air.

“Remus!” They shrieked, dissolving into laughter as their boyfriend held them close and spun them around the room.

“I’ve got a Virgil!” Remus hollered, bouncing them both as he giggled. Even in play, Remus was cautious not to spin too fast and actually upset Virgil’s nerves; it was a delicate balance, one he had perfected over the years. Both of them were snickering breathlessly when Remus finally came to a stop and set Virgil’s feet back on the floor, though his arms remained snug around their chest. The pair faced Janus, who was smirking at them with a raised brow.

“If the children are done playing in the kitchen where I am currently working over a hot stove?” Despite her tone, Janus’ smile softened fondly as she flicked her wrist to cut the heat. The fire witch stepped forward and planted a smooch on Remus’ nose, her hand following quickly to cup his face and smooth her thumb over the boisterously grinning chub of his cheek. “Welcome home, possum. I’m glad to see you’ve returned safe and sound, and not covered in pond scum.”

Remus only grinned wider and hugged Virgil a little closer, much to their grumbling delight. “The grime feels so good, though! Oozing between your fingers and squelching when you bend your knees! Come on, you have to admit that my skin was so soft for, like, a week after I fell in last time!”

“I will admit to nothing, other than that you smelled like a rotted fish for that week too,” Janus retorted. “I still think you did that on purpose; there’s no way a water witch wouldn’t be able to bathe himself properly to get rid of that odor.” Pushing up onto her toes, she pressed a tender, lingering kiss to his lips. “I, however, much prefer your natural musk.”

Leaning in to Remus again, Janus yelped as Virgil suddenly grabbed her by the front of her shirt and tugged her into a searing kiss that made bursts of colour flash behind her eyelids. Melting against their mouth, she gripped Remus’ forearm with one hand while the other ran through Virgil’s long hair over and over, dragging them back for more when they tried to pull away. When the pair finally parted, panting heavily, Janus couldn’t help the lazy satisfaction that settled over her when she was greeted with Virgil’s smile.

“What?” They asked innocently. “You gave Remus kisses, and I wanted some attention too.”

Janus rolled her eyes, thumb tenderly rubbing the back of their neck. “So needy, I swear.”

Remus snorted, gently depositing Virgil into a dining chair and scooping his bag off the floor where he had left it in favour of his favourite tiny plant witch. “You’re one to talk, mixter-”

“Ah, she/her now, darling, changed about an hour after you left this morning. I just haven’t had the mind to swap out my necklaces while Virgil and I have been working in here. Sorry, possum,” she murmured, fiddling with the sparrow’s skull resting at the hollow of her throat from a braided rope.

“Well, princess,” Remus adjusted smoothly, kissing the top of Janus’ head and petting over the buzzed side of her hair. “First off, you have no grounds to complain about me being needy, Miss clings-with-all-four-limbs-every-night. And secondly,” his voice softened, “you never have to apologize for expressing whatever gender feels best for you, ever. Okay? Do you want me to grab Trip for you?”

Laying her hand - slimmer than his, but still larger than Virgil’s - atop Remus’, Janus nuzzled into the calloused warmth of his palm. “I would appreciate that, possum. I think I left her on the smaller bookshelf in the bedroom.”

“Anything for you, dandelion. Lemme take Kee, too.”

Obligingly, Dee lifted her hair, long only on the right side of her head and curlier than a pig’s tail, to allow Remus room to remove her current necklace. She glanced up, feeling a tingle down her neck that had nothing to do with her boyfriend’s wandering fingers. Virgil was seated at the table across the kitchen, their cheek propped on one fist, a dreamy haze over their normally snarky features.

“See something you like?” Janus asked with a snort.

“Only the loves of my life,” Virgil replied, grinning wider when Dee scoffed to hide her fluster. “Ohh, you thought I meant you two? No, no, the coffee machine and a bag of chips are on the counter behind you, babe.” They cackled as both their partners squawked in indignation, hiding their wide smile behind their sleeve.

Janus rolled her eyes, stepping away from Remus and lightly kicking the leg of Virgil’s chair before sitting across from them. “Ha ha, you’re so funny, V.”

“I knew it was only a matter of time before you recognized my true genius.”

“Alright you gaggle of gossiping gophers,” Remus cut in, dropping his bag on the table between them. “Why don’t you have a look through what I found today while I get Janus’ necklace and change into something a little more cozy.” He exaggerated a wink at his partners, taking their snorting laughter with him as he swaggered off in the direction of the bedroom.

Virgil and Janus shared a look before diving for the ties on the bag. Janus worked the flap open, allowing Virgil to reach their hand in for the first discovery. Their eyes lit up, with a sparkle that had nothing to do with the green magic flowing through their veins, as they pulled out a neatly tied bundle of watercress, the pale roots intact and cleaned of any potentially parasite carrying soil.

“Ah! Where did he manage to find this!? I’ve been needing more since that doe and her fawns have started coming by,” they murmured, bringing the bundle up to their face and inhaling deeply. “Mother Earth, there is no better smell in this world.”

“And of course you’re selflessly going to plant it all outside in the pond for our little ungulate neighbours without keeping some as a snack for yourself,” Janus drawled while reaching into the bag herself.

Virgil finally looked away from the watercress to smirk at their girlfriend, plucking a plant free from the bundle and nibbling on it like a rabbit. “I never said anything of the sort.”

Heart throbbing fondly, Janus snickered and pulled out the next of Remus’ finds. Her fingers wrapped around a small burlap bag and she squealed. Pulling it out, she eagerly opened the drawstrings and carefully dumped the contents onto the tabletop: a grey, spherical rock, seven small vertebrae of assorted shape, and three colourful, river-polished stones. Janus cooed, smoothing the tips of her fingers over her new treasures, eyes wide with wonder and ideas for her latest art project.

When she looked up to share her excitement with Virgil, they were already rifling through the next of Remus’ gifts, a collection of plucked flowers spread out across their side of the table. Their wide smile softened as they glanced up and made eye contact.

“Reme really went all out today, I can’t believe some of these blooms he managed to find at this time of the year!”

“I wonder what we did to deserve such a spoiling?”

“You two were absolutely perfect, that’s what.”

Virgil and Janus perked up, turning to look at their returned third. Both seated witches felt their stomachs lurch with affection as Remus stood in the doorway dressed, for once, in a clean shirt the same colour as his intelligent blue eyes. It was buttoned up only halfway, his burly chest exposed to the warm air of the kitchen and his partners’ hungry gazes. Both hands were held suspiciously behind his back.

Virgil recovered first, trying to appear nonchalant by tousseling their fingers through their shaggy bangs. The effect was betrayed by the glowing vines that had begun to creep up their forearms like living tattoos, pulsing in time with the rapid fluttering of their heart. “Whatcha got there, possum?”

Biting his lip, Remus couldn’t stop himself from breaking out into a wide grin as he shrugged one shoulder in a not-answer. “We all know that Janus is usually the sappy one among us-

“Hey!”

“So, I’m sorry sunshine, but I’m about to borrow your role for a second.”

Virgil and Janus exchanged a glance as Remus paused again to exhale slow and deep, almost as if he were running through one of Virgil’s breathing exercises. What could have made their fearlessly boisterous possum so uncharacteristically nervous? Their attention snapped back to their third as Remus stepped forward, stopping at the head of the table between the seated pair.

“Most of the people I meet in my life haven’t been overly enthusiastic to meet me in turn. Lotsa people don’t want to put up with my magic or my brain, or really anything about me, and even among those who do, most of them just don’t really get me, y’know? But... but you two...”

Remus looked from Virgil to Janus, love welling in his eyes like the rising tide he so adored. His hands tightened on the objects still hidden behind his back.

“You two not only understand me, but you encourage me to be myself and are actually fucking comfortable being around me? Like, holy shit. I don’t even have the words to explain to you what that means to me - and I usually have no problem describing anything! Like how some sharks are so gluttonous they will gorge themselves and then throw up everything they just ate so that they can keep eating! Isn’t that so cool!?” As he got more and more excited, his shoulders began to hunch and roll in a mimicry of his usual out of control gesturing. Somehow, he managed to hold onto enough sense of mind to keep hidden his hands, and the precious cargo they held.

Janus leaned forward, tapping one manicured nail on the table to draw Remus’ attention back. “C’mon, possum, you can tell us all about vomiting sharks after you finish our surprise speech.”

Shockingly, a faint blush coloured Remus cheeks. He cleared his throat and glanced to the side with a sheepish grin. “Ah, right.” Looking back to the loves of his life, Remus set his shoulders square and dropped down to one knee, delighting in his partners’ gasps and widening eyes.

“What I was trying to say, is that I love you two so fucking much, and I wanna spend the rest of our lives together. So…” Remus brought his hands out from behind his back and held them up.

In front of Janus he presented a gaboon viper’s skull, meticulously cleaned with the top few vertebrae still attached at the jaw hinge so the mouth could remain propped open to show off the elongated upper fangs. The larger bones were intricately carved with runes for love, protection, and strength all twined together. Looking closer, the grain of the pattern wasn’t rough, as it would be if the markings had been made with a knife, but smooth and even like a stone polished by the endless waters of a river.

Cradled in his left hand for Virgil was a delicate crested gecko skeleton. Every minute bone was present, complete down to the tiny claw tips on each foot. With the tail slightly raised, and the front right foot lifted in step, the tiny skeleton looked like it was moments away from coming to life and skittering up their arm. Only the skull was large enough for the carved depictions of hyacinths to be visible - Virgil’s favourite flower. They had always favoured constancy, after all.

“Will you marry me?”

Though Virgil covered their mouth with both hands, it couldn’t hide the smile crinkling the corners of their watery eyes. Sniffling, they nodded rapidly. “Y-Yes! A million times yes!” Reaching out to cup the fragile skeleton in their hands, they brought it up to their face to briefly admire the little bones. By the time they had carefully set it aside on the table, Janus had already slid out of her chair and into Remus’ arms on the floor. She was pressing kisses all over his face, and the snake skull was resting on the countertop above them.

Quickly dropping to their knees and squirming their way up under Remus’ free arm, Virgil joined Janus in covering their third in smooches. The flurry of joyous affection softened as lips finally met in languidly. They traded off, kissing what they could of the other two when their lips were free.

Both smaller witches suddenly squealed with laughter - though they would aggressively deny it later - as Remus cinched his arms around their waists and rolled to his feet, easily hoisting them up and spinning them around.

When he finally slowed to a stop, Remus was speechless at the sight of their flushed cheeks and wide smiles.

“I love you both so much,” he whispered.

Janus smiled and leaned up to kiss his cheek once more with a loud smack of her lips. Virgil was quick to mirror her on the other side, tucking their face into the crook of Remus’ shoulder and neck afterwards with a content hum.

“We love you too, possum.”

“Always and forever, Reme.”

----

Janus' pronoun charms are three necklaces, each a different skull on a rope chain that Virgil braided. Sparrow skull - Kee - they/them Salamander skull - Trip - she/her Squirrel skull - Riz - he/him

#virgil sanders #janus sanders #remus sanders #anxceitmus #nonbinary virgil sanders #genderfluid janus sanders #witch au #squid scribbles

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voidcat · 4 years

Text

– The Calm of the Night

Characters: Bokuto Koutarou/reader

Word Count: 2k

Genre: fluff, established relationship

requested by anon, I rlly needed (to write) that ty for requesting this!!

Lying down on the bed, you listen to the silent calling of the city.

It feels quiet, too quiet. Almost like the calm before the storm. You suppose, in a way it is the calm before the storm, the nationals approaching fast and steady. The day waited by many has come already.

Closing your eyes, you try to imagine what your friends must be feeling like right now, what they’re doing. Are they up making plans, deciding on strategy? Watching videotapes of the team they will be going against tomorrow? Hugging your Nemo plushy to your chest tighter, you wonder how Bokuto must be feeling, picture him sitting down with the others, discussing. He’s probably standing, making too many gestures as he speaks, plotting what moves to use, what strategy to follow…

The calm of the night time is disturbed with a ding. Reaching for your phone blindly, you hear a knock on the door. So you get up and walk, phone clutched in one hand, looking for another object to use for defense in case of an emergency. As you tiptoe to peep through the hole, another notification from your phone startles you. Glaring down at it, only for your shoulders to ease when you see the name, you open the door to the one and only Bokuto Koutarou.

He looks guilty for waking you up that late and opens his mouth to say something, probably an apology. Shushing him with a finger on his lips, you close the door and grab his hand, dragging him to your bedroom. Because you don’t need an apology or an explanation. Not when you see the look on his face, not when you see his eyes. They tell it all.

Silent steps in sync, he goes to sit on your bed as you put your phone down. When you turn to him, you see his gaze examining each object in your room, eyes going from one place to another, never staying still; as if it’s his first time here. Resting your hands on your desk and leaning back against it, you watch the fascinated look of his with a smile to match his. You can’t help but wonder what must be going through his head now, what memories each object must be bringing. Once he is done, his eyes land on yours and you swear you see the light in them only get brighter.

“You have made few changes since the last time I came.” He says in a whisper. Pushing yourself off the desk, you start walking to him. Placing your hands on his shoulders, you let your weight make the both of you fall back on the bed. “The last time you came, we were studying. There were books everywhere.” Before you can position yourself to rest your head on his chest, he straightens with you in his arms and lies down on the bed properly. Maybe a pillow or two to support your heads isn’t such a bad idea.

Now lying, in his arms, it feels much better. Yet his attention seems to be focused elsewhere. “You still keep him around?”

You reach for the Nemo plushy. “Of course. He keeps me company whenever you can’t.”

He mumbles a silent ‘sorry’. Placing him aside, you wrap your arm around him. “Don’t be. It’s impossible to be together all the time. Plus what would poor Nemo do if you were by my side 7/24? He would be lonely too.”

“I’d have no choice but to bring the one I have back home then.” A smirk can be heard and felt from his words.

With that you snuggle to him further and listen to his heartbeat. It sounds as relaxing as ever. It sounds like home. You can’t help but wonder if your heartbeats are as in sync as your footsteps. They must be.

As time goes and no more words are exchanged, the vague ticks of your watch reach your ears once in a while, you let yourself get lost in the embrace. Having moments like this is not rare for you maybe, but you like to savor each and every.

The wind gets quieter and your heartbeats get louder together, you try looking up to his face. It proves to be difficult from your position, all the movement you’ve made in the process gathering Bo’s attention. No more getting curious whether he has fallen asleep or not.

“What’s on your mind?”

He is the first to ask though you are dying to know how he feels. “Nothing much, just thinking about you.”

“Thinking about me?” The smile in his voice evident, you can sense him move a little. “What for? I’m right here.”

“I know. I want to find out what goes in here-“ you stroke over his heart lightly “and here.” Another light touch you leave over his head.

Reaching over to hold your hand, he plants a kiss on the back of it, then inside your palm. He guides your hands his chest, his hand resting atop yours. “If this is an alternative way of asking about tomorrow, I feel as usual as the day before any match, I suppose.” You hum back in response and listen to his breathing.

When Bokuto speaks again, it takes you a few seconds to answer. A second to realize he’s talking to you, another second you realize it’s a question and a third one to focus on the question itself, only to hear nothing. You must’ve missed it. “Huh? Can you repeat that?”

He lets out a short giggle, the vibration of his chest shaking you too. “I was asking how you were feeling. You seemed to doze off too much nowadays.” A soft smile appears on your face, even now he worries more about you than himself, his team and his game.

“I guess with time passing so fast and Nationals around the corner, I’ve grown more and more worried of the future.”

He doesn’t respond immediately and you don’t expect him to. Just laying down with him, in the dead of the night, away from everything and everyone. It feels like a getaway from life, time feels it has stopped, all your worries have flied off your head; until your boyfriend asks about them of course.

It is left unsaid but it hangs in the air. “You can talk about it if you’d like to. You can tell me what has been causing these worries and we can find a solution to them, take a first step in ending them.”

Even when he’s the one who should be worried, stressed, restless or afraid; he still puts them aside to worry about you and for you. It reminds you once again how big and made of gold his heart is. Despite the goofy air he has about him on the daily; seeing him, watching him and being in presence of him brings you hope; hope for what’s to come, hope for humanity.

He feels out of this world, a hero from storybooks and the old tales you were told all these years ago.

“It must be the people around me I’ve seen recently. How some of our friends have started breaking up because they don’t think they can make it work when they go to separate colleges.” Bokuto quirks an eyebrow at that, something you don’t need to see to know it is happening. “And some people I’ve talked to before, for career choices. How sad and miserable they’d sounded when they told me they picked something they loved for their jobs, only to grow to hate it. You should’ve seen their faces or heard them speak, it was heartbreaking.”

“Maybe it’s the thought of falling out of love with something in the future that worries me.” You add lastly, barely in a whisper.

His first response to your words is to tighten his arms around you, deepen the embrace in a ‘I’m-here-for-you’ way. You can feel the warmth spread from his chest to yours with the gesture, a temporary consolation but it works for now. You return the action by burying your face to his chest.

“If your concern includes us, please do not get worked up and worry yourself over that. Just because some people around us have fallen out doesn’t mean we will too.” You think of replying back “I know that too.” But you don’t find it in you to open your mouth, move your tongue and make the words come out. And so continues Bokuto.

“We love one another and know it too. Few meters or kilometers wouldn’t make a difference, for we carry one another in our hearts.” This time, you tighten your hold of him and nod a few times, to show that you believe and know this fully. He lets out a soft laugh at the sudden movement by his side.

“Well, maybe physical touch can become a problem. But not one we cannot work around. Our love was never physical to begin with after all.” His words providing a much needed comfort and a reminder. "And do not pay attention to those who have sulken?? within their jobs. It is never out of your hands to take the charge, to let it stay as joyful as the first day or become mundane.” After that the two of you fall back into silence, this time it’s calm and welcoming, just like his scent.

As time passes and the night grows tired, his heartbeats indicate he is lying awake still. Clearing your throat, you decide to speak up. “I will wish you good luck in formality tomorrow but not mean it, just so you know.”

As you wait for a change in his behavior or a response, nothing rises out of him. Taking it as a cue of waiting, you continue speaking.

“Because I know you will give it your all. You don’t need such a thing as luck, when you are you and have this amazing team to play with side by side.” He kisses the top of your head, as you finish your sentence. You can feel your smile get wider and feel his in the kiss.

Rolling over, you break free of his arms and open the top drawer of your nightstand. “However, this does not mean I didn’t make a little something for tomorrow.” Putting the little braided keychain in his hand, you leave a kiss on his lips. He tries kissing back a second too late as you draw back, which results with him kissing the air. This erupts a muffled laughter from the both of you.

As he raises it in the air to examine, you lean on one arm and watch his face.

Once done examining and putting it inside his pocket, Bokuto turns to face you fully. “Something tells me it’s more than just a little something ‘for my game tomorrow’.”

“It’s a piece of me too. Or, a piece from me. For the future to come, be it together or not.”

“The future we will live to the fullest, together. The only way I am accepting this is as a promise. The promise of a future that awaits the both of us. A life time to spend side by side. No ‘falling-out-of-love’s,-“ As you open your mouth to mumble a reply, he holds your free hand with his. “-no ‘but’s. Give me this one promise and let us worry for the future together. We can worry for the yeast we prepared not being good enough or for eating too many eclairs. We can worry about midterms and matches that await us and laugh them off once we are done with them… How does that sound instead?” His smile never falters as he speaks, eyes shining like two bright stars guiding the lost ones in the woods, like a lighthouse showing the way to sailors. The same caring eyes, seems to be holding the same warmth when you first saw them; yet it feels the intensity only keeps multiplying, redefining its own limits, shining brighter than ever.

“Sounds like a better worrying scenario than mine.” Leaning over to steal another kiss, one he does not miss this time, you fall back into the comfort of his arms. With the blink of an eye, you fall into deep slumber together, not even the dreams separating your minds and hearts.

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dandelionflower · 4 years

Note

Felinette where after 10 years the school reunion happens but Mari and Felix are at the hospital since Mari is giving birth. At the reunion Lila tries her lies about Mari but the birth of Mari and Felix's kid is going live since Mari is a famous designer and Felix is her model.

[send me Felinette prompts/requests]

“Hey, girl!” Alya hugged Lila, grinning bright. “Guess who got herself an interview with Jagged Stone’s son last week?”

“You mean Shatter?” Lila smiled at her, voice softening like when a mother consoles a child. “He’s such a sweetie, isn’t he?”

“It’s Shawn, but yeah.” Alya grinned at the memory.

The wedding between Penny Rolling and Jagged Stone has happened when they were all just fourteen, and Shawn was born that next year.

The year Lila told them about her lies.

She admitted that she had lied about her trips, her connections, and being Ladybug’s friend. The only truth was knowing Jagged Stone, but that was because he was her godfather, not because she saved his kitten.

She was bawling on the floor, begging for forgiveness that the class surely gave.

Alya was twenty-nine now, and her journalistic pursuits were thriving, just like everyone else.

Rose had become a highly esteemed business woman, and Juleka was modeling so much, you couldn’t look at a magazine kiosk without seeing her face.

Ivan was a well-paid bodyguard for Mylene, who had gained fame by protesting all sorts of environmental atrocities. They had broken up after they had turned seventeen, but rumor had it that those old bonds were slowly repairing themselves.

Alix had become a famous rollerblader, breaking a record for fastest cross country time and took up ice skating; she was going to the next Olympic Games.

Kim was now the most wanted stuntmen in the world, for his lack of fear and uncanny ability to not die from heights.

Nathaniel and Marc parted ways as they went to different colleges, but were still in contact. Nathaniel often called Marc when the storyline for his comic book seemed a bit off and Marc would gladly tell him that the author was just being an idiot.

Max and Sabrina, amazingly enough, got married; they completed their medical doctorates together and, once they made enough money, went back to college to get degrees in technology and math for Max and philosophy and psychology for Sabrina.

Together, they found the cure for cancer and Sabrina ended up writing a bestselling self-help novel, Henchman: just one good friend isn’t always enough. Max had patented his AI technology and Markov got his own talk show.

Adrien was working with Child Protective Services and other organizations to help children in bad situations. His father’s company took a massive tank after Hawkmoth’s reveal and Adrien did nothing to keep it afloat.

Chloe took up acting. She was well known for her amazing performances of evil queens, heinous witches, terrifying stepmothers. She, of course, took it all in stride.

No one really knew what Lila or Marinette were up to, finding out was probably the reason most of them were here.

And Nino...

Nino was living life happily as a popular song composer with his daughter Harley, the daughter Alya missed with every passing day.

She shook her head. Now wasn’t time to dwell on recent events, now was a time to look back at the past and reminisce.

“Have you seen Marinette? I’ve been wondering what she’s been up to these past ten years.” Alya commented, barely noticing Lila stiffen up. “You too. I gave you my number for a reason, you know.”

“Yeah, but I lost my phone in the trenches and you know how bad my memory is.” She laughed, batting her hand in the air.

“Yeah, I do. So tell me now; what about trenches?”

“I’ve been doing some peace talks, you know, nothing big.”

“Like Mylene was?”

“...yeah, like that. Just on a slightly larger scale.”

“Larger than stopping the Third World War? Dang girl.”

“I’ve also been doing some acting in foreign films and donating my extra time to children in need.”

“Like Chloe, Kim, and Adrien!”

Her eye twitched. “So, is Marinette coming, or is she...”

“She’s definitely coming. She wouldn’t miss a class reunion for the world.”

“Are you sure, because I saw her not too long ago today and she didn’t seem to prepared.”

“She’s coming.” Alya spoke firmly.

“Hi Alya! Hi Lila!” Rose jumped in and hugged them both tightly. “Have either of you seen Mari? I need to give her congratulations.”

“Congratulations? For what?”

“She got married a while back! I was really busy though, so I wasn’t able to go to the wedding. Her number changed too so I couldn’t call her either.”

Alya frowned. She hadn’t gotten any invitation.

“She got married?” Lila gasped. “But who was that man she was kissing in the coffee shop?”

“That was probably him; I don’t know him well, but I remember him being blond.” Rose grinned.

“Are you sure? He seemed pretty red headed when I saw them.” She pressed her hands to her face. “You don’t think...”

“Lila, come on. Mari wouldn’t cheat on her husband.”

“Yeah... we’ll just talk to her when she gets here.” Lila agreed. “If she gets here in time.”

“She will.” Alya nodded, reassuring Lila with a smile.

For some reason, she didn’t seem too certain.

—

Hours passed and everyone had given a speech on the stage, all but one.

“Where could she be?” Alya hissed to herself, texting Marinette again and again only to get a message declaring her number inactive.

“Maybe she’s just not-“ Lila was cut off when Alya held up her hand.

“Don’t. Just don’t.”

The sound of feedback filled the room and every head turned towards the stage, where Miss Bustier was standing.

She looked almost the same, with her red hair in a bun and her crisp pale blue pantsuit. The signs of time were still there, though, in the wrinkles around her eyes and the sparkling grey at her roots.

“Hello class!” She paused and listened to them cheer. “We’ve heard all of your accounts of your school years, and now it’s time for your class president to have a word.”

Chatter filled the air, each person turning to look for the blurnette.

“Oh, I can’t wait to see her!” Rose squealed to Juleka. “I need to get her new number.”

Juleka glanced sideways at her. “She’s been texting me for months.”

“What?” Rose scrolled through her phone and stopped. “Oh! Here it is! My phone is set to block unknown numbers.” She clicked a button and grinned as she made a new contact for her, with lots of emojis.

“Where’s Marinette?” Someone yelled. “Shouldn’t she be here?”

“I’m afraid Marinette had some prior engagements.” Miss Bustier clicked a pointer to a projector. “But, luckily, we are able to see exactly what it is.”

Light funneled out of the projector and the class was treated to what looked like a home movie.

It was in a hospital, but one boys face overtook the screen. He had on a blue striped shirt and a cheeky smile.

“Hey ma peeps! For those of you just joining us, I’m Claude...”

Another boy popped up in a green beret. “And I’m Mercury.”

“...and this is the livestream of the birth of a demigod!”

Sabrina and Max rose their fists and started chanting, “Elise! Elise! Elise!”

Ivan and Mylene glared at them playfully and started their own chant. “Dean! Dean! Dean!”

“What are they talking about?” Alya whispered to Rose.

“Didn’t you know? I just found out, it’s-“ she was cut off by a familiar voice coming from the speakers.

“Claude, I swear, if you don’t turn off that camera right now...”

The camera panned to a blue haired woman lying in a bed, a platinum blond man by her side.

“Sorry, Madame Culpa-Dupain-Cheng,” he laughed as Alya gasped inside the gymnasium, “you’re bedridden, so I’m not afraid of you.”

“Felix is still here.” She pointed out, leveling a finger at the camera. “Felix, get ‘im.”

The blond looked somewhere behind the camera’s field of view and made to move, but stopped as Marinette shouted out in pain.

“Felix,” she panted, after the screaming ceased, “I just want you to know that I love you, but I am never doing this again.” She looked up at him and received an amused grin.

“Fine by me.” He kissed her temple and Claude spoke again.

“You heard it here first folks! The legendary child, the only of its kind!”

She glared at him again. “Felix, if you don’t mind.”

“It would be my pleasure.” He began rolling up his sleeves and began walking towards Claude with a brisk pace.

“Uh, Claude?” Mercury, spoke with a nervous lilt to his voice.

“Well, that’s our live secret look into the birth of the legendary child of famous designer Marinette Culpa-Dupain-Chang and her photographer Felix Culpa-Dupain-Cheng!” Claude opened the door and hurried out. “Comment below on what you think the gender of the legend child will be and what the parents should name them; Claude Junior...”

“Or Mercury Junior!”

“Or the great Allegra the second?”

“Guys?” Adrien stood up from where he was sitting next to a blonde woman in a braid and a darker haired woman. “Is everything okay in there?”

“In there, fine, but out here?”

“There is a man on a mission behind us and that mission includes the removal of our tongues.”

“Better keep running, then.” The dark haired girl shouted, not even glancing up from her phone.

“Indeed.” Felix’s voice came from close behind the camera.

Both Claude and Mercury shrieked and began running down the hall once more, the other girl beside Adrien laughing while shouting, “Get ‘em good Felix!”

Alya stood stock-still, staring at the black screen.

Marinette is having a baby.

Adrien and four strangers are there for it.

She got married.

I didn’t know about it.

Lila said she saw Marinette today when she’s clearly been in the hospital all day, and is obviously in love with that Felix guy.

Suddenly, the fact that no one else but Rose, the sweetest person in class, had been talking to Lila was making a whole lot more sense.

@virgil-is-a-cutie

#request #felinette #ml felix #mlb #felix culpa #marinette dupain cheng #ml marinette #miraculous ladybug #adrien agreste #ml alya #alya cesaire #ml lila #lila rossi #future au

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kyodzuken · 4 years

Text

eunoia - nikolai gogol

college!au, fuck buddies!nikolai gogol / reader!

warnings; cussing, mentions of sex. A lil bit of angst. that’s it. (i don’t know nikolai’s personality very well so xan if you’re reading this... yeah<3)

you’d decided that around the start of the third semester is when the lines started to blur. you’d been doing this for over a year, and yet somehow you’d already broken the one and only rule - don’t catch feelings.

but who could blame you? when his hands would travel up your sides, as his lips left lingering pecks down your torso, nimble fingers playing with the buttons of your jeans - who wouldn’t catch feelings for the white-haired male?

that’s what had left you thinking, your mind trying desperately to focus on the repeated thrusts and moans elicited from nikolai, as his hands grasped your hips with urgency, clearly going to leave marks.

but that night you’d felt nothing. not even when he’d wrapped his hands in your hair as he pushed your lips against his, not even when he’d muttered dirty words against your ear as he slowly made his way to your thighs, and not even as he entered you - the feeling now familiar and boring. you wanted - no - needed, more.

‘fuck, i love you.’ he muttered, using one hand to push back the bangs that framed his face, revealing the light flush on his features - his eyebrows furrowed and focused only at the task at hand. the same couldn’t be said for you.

‘but do you?’ you uttered, yet hoping nikolai didn’t hear your words. but that’s when he stopped, his lust-filled gaze now one of confusion as he pulled out and laid himself next to you, his hand trailing to push your hair out from your face.

‘what?’ he asked, as you pondered even responding - hoping you could just get your clothes and leave, never speaking of this again.

‘god, nikolai, do you actually love me? or is it a heat-of-the-moment thing, like it always is?’ you repeated, your voice now loud and assertive. nikolai’s lips tightened, before turning his body to face yours.

‘(y/n), when we decided to do this... thing,’ he almost spat, ‘what was the one rule both you and me agreed on?’ he asked, silence quickly following after. you took your time to respond, ignoring his gaze as you stared at the ceiling, the scent of sex and nikolai’s shitty body spray crowding the room. you uttered a small ‘tsk’, before responding.

‘nikolai, we’re in college, we’re adults. don’t you think it’s time we stop playing around with shitty rules?’ you asked, voice trembling as you hurriedly put your clothes back on, giving the boy one last glance at his form, sweat illuminated by the moonlight seeping through his curtains, before turning on your heel and exiting.

‘god, (y/n), what do i do with you?’

it had been a few months since you’d cut out nikolai from your life, choosing to rather focus on the upcoming exams and assignments that had overwhelmed your schedule. your friday nights spent not at nikolai’s dorm, but rather locked into your room as you desperately tried to remember last week’s material.

you’d forced yourself so hard to forget about the white haired boy, yet somehow, at nights when you’d feel oh so alone, you couldn’t help but to slide your hand downwards, visions of his lean form and flushed face grazing your memory.

maybe that’s why you nearly broke down when you saw his familiar face in the library, on a thursday morning at 11:35, his white braid now chopped off, as his messy bangs sat idly on his forehead. you let out a light gasp, subconsciously gripping your book harder as the lone boy played with the hems of his purple sweater - one that had lived in your apartment until you returned it a few months ago.

‘(y/n)?’ a too familiar voice called out, a light smirk plastered on his face as he approached you, your head screaming out for you to just turn away, goddamnit! leave! he played with you, (y/n), go!

but your body stood idle, as you stumbled on your words.

‘hey, how’s it been?’ he smiled, giving you a wave and a smile.

‘nikolai, i seriously can’t do this right now.’ you groaned, shaking your head and attempting to leave, before the boy caught your wrist.

‘(y/n), please, let’s talk.’ you stared at him, the desperation just visible in his gaze as he plastered on a faltered smile. ‘let’s... get a coffee or something. i don’t know, c’mon.’ he asked.

you don’t know why you agreed to it, pondering as you sat in the window seat of the coffee shop, a warm mug fit snugly between your hands as you impatiently tapped the sides with your fingers. nikolai sat in front of you, his gaze unwavering as a loud sigh erupted from his mouth.

‘i don’t understand why you brought me here, if you’re not going to tal-’

‘i love you.’

‘what?’

‘i love you.’ he repeated, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks as he ruffled his white hair. you raised your eyebrow, fixing your posture as you leaned in.

‘you... jesus christ. nikolai, you don’t have to feel pity for me…’ you uttered, trying your best to hold back tears that threatened to well up in your eyes.

‘no, (y/n), i’m serious. you wanna know why i created that damn rule in the first place?’ you shook your head, leaning your chin in the palm of your hand.

‘because i liked you, damnit. i really liked you. and you… didn’t - wouldn’t - like me back.’ he scoffed, rolling his eyes as he leaned back into his seat, his frame visibly stiffening. ‘and then i just said… fuck it, y’know. i didn’t want to ruin what we had.’

‘what did we have?’ you asked, the boy ignoring your gaze. ‘no, seriously. what did we have?’ you chuckled. ‘a friendship? because i know damn well, no friends go around fucking each other. so tell me, nikolai gogol, what did we have?’ silence. ‘i can’t deal with this right now. Please, nikolai. Don’t make me hate you anymore than I already did.’ You uttered, standing up to grab your bag.

‘did you ever love me back?’ he asked, voice meek and quiet, barely a peep in the bustling café.

‘god, of course I did. I loved you so much, and I know you were unsatisfied with my – our – situation, too.’ You softened, pushing a stray piece of hair behind your ear as you shot the boy a bittersweet grin. ‘nikolai gogol, I loved you so much – enough to know that I had to go.’ You stated, leaving a twenty-dollar bill on the table. ‘you have my number, call me when you’re ready to take this – us – seriously.’

#angst #giggles smirks breakdances #nikolai gogol #bungou stray dogs #smut #nikolai gogol x reader

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artificialqueens · 3 years

Text

Pretty in Pearls, Chapter 2 (Jankie) - Plastiquedoll

read on ao3 💄| previous chapters

A/N: hi! here’s a little update introducing part of the ensemble and the dynamics of this story! I don’t know how to write text messages in this format so this is the most you’ll get from me ✌️ so I hope you enjoy it & thanks for reading it <3

-2-

Jackie’s little tips and advice had made Jan’s life so much easier in so many ways she didn’t even hesitate when she stood up in front of the vending machine and pressed the Snicker’s number. After submitting her papers on time –she gained the favor of the head secretary by complimenting her necklace-, she arrived at class five minutes earlier and got to pick her seat, she met a few of her classmates -including a girl that matched her energy called Rock but they couldn’t get to talk much after the professor started the lesson- it was like things were starting to fall into place for her.

Except for one thing…

She heard laughter around the corner and she recognized it right away. When she peeked into it, she found Nathan talking to the same girl he was flirting with during lunch –the girl he had been talking about, for sure- she was even prettier up close with her short skirt and mascara on.

Her heart shrunk but this wasn’t the first time something like that happened. She wondered sometimes how many times a heart could be broken by the same person; people sometimes said that wounds and scars helped to create thicker skin -and maybe- that was the case for her. Even though, it always hurt like the first time.

They walked away together and Jan was left alone, unnoticed. She cleaned her teary eyes with the back of her palm and put a big smile on her face before getting into the copy room.

Jackie was finishing some big pile of copies for a boy and a girl was waiting in line with some papers in her hand. Maybe Jan would bother her, she seemed to have a lot of work to do. She was about to turn around when the brunette spotted her.

“Jan, hey.” Jackie’s face lit up the moment she saw the other girl.

“Hi!” She moved closer to the counter. “I just wanted to drop by to give you this.” Jan slid the candy bar over the surface.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have… I was joking.”

“It’s the least I can do, you’ve done a lot for me today and I really appreciate that.”

Jackie’s heart swelled.

“You can stay if you want to hang out, I’ll be done in a couple of minutes.” She handed the pile of copies to the boy and accepted the bill he gave her. She gestured to the other girl to move forward.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to bug you.”

“You would keep me company and trust me, sometimes it’s needed.” She looked at the girl in front of her. “Simple, double?”

She shyly replied double and in less than three minutes, Jackie had her copies done.

“Have a nice day.” She then turned to Jan. “See, now it’s empty again and in other circumstances, I’d be on my phone so you’re the one making me a favor.”

“Okay.” Jan sounded relieved.

“You can come behind the counter it’s not like I have a vault full of cash or something, college students are broke.”

Jan seemed to be thrilled she could cross that limit, at least Jackie had chairs on that side of the room. The younger took a seat and since the chairs were tall she could let her feet hanging and swing them back and forward. In the meantime, Jackie unwrapped the chocolate bar and took a bite before browsing through one of her textbooks. Jan pulled out her map and some guides to access the virtual classroom as well, she needed to set it up from her phone.

Jackie peeped over. “Are you in the dorms?”

“Ah, yes! I moved in two days ago during the weekend. I’m still kind of lost there but…” She was about to say something else when someone walked into the copy room.

“Hey there, ladies…”

Jan was astonished because that woman was stunning with her braided hair, crop top, and tight jeans. She walked confidently toward the counter and pulled Jackie for a quick hug.

“Long time no see, Miss Cox. How was your break?”

“Hi Jaida, visiting the family, you know. By the way, you look so good.”

“I feel good.” She smiled at Jan. “And who do we have here? Hello, I’m Jaida.” She extended her hand.

Taking Heidi’s previous reaction into consideration, Jan shook it gentler. “Hi, I’m Jan. I don’t work here I’m just new.” She clarified.

“Oh, I see… freshman. There’s nothing to be afraid of we were all there before.” She smiled and held Jan’s hand for a moment giving her reassurance.

“Thank you.” Jan could cry any minute now and it would be the third time in the day.

“Now, some of us are having dinner at that new Thai place outside campus, are you in?” She looked at Jackie and then at Jan. “You can come too, of course.”

“Sure, I’ll be done in an hour and a half. Can I meet you there?” She turned to Jan.

“I really want to but I need to go to my dorm and settle down for a minute. I haven’t finished adjusting and I don’t even know my roommate yet.”

“Oh, you have one of the doubles.”

The younger nodded. “I’m at C dorms.”

“Wait, that’s where Nicky, Jaida’s girlfriend is, isn’t it?”

The other girl nodded. “I can text her if you want, she can show you around the installations.” She pulled out her phone. “Wait, I’ll call her, she hasn’t heard my lovely voice all day long…”

Jan chuckled.

Jaida pressed one number on speed dial.

“Babe…” She put the phone in her ear. “what do you mean who is it? Who do you think it is?” Her tone was playful. “Yeah, I’ll see you there after I’m done here. Did you have a nice day?… Oh, that’s great. Good for you. Listen, Jackie has a new friend here and she’s a freshman who happens to be in the same dorm you are, do you think you could help this little lost lamb?”

The younger pouted and Jackie just giggled.

“That’s perfect, I’ll tell her. You’re the best, babe. Love you.” She made some kiss noises and then hung up.

Jackie looked like she wanted to mock her but one glance from Jaida kept her from doing it.

“Nicky says she’s there right now, her dorm is C-10, next to the hallway. If you get lost look for a platinum blonde girl, gorgeous as hell, thick French accent…”

“Jaida is into foreign experiences.” Jackie explained and Jan had to hold her laughter.

“Listen you, Canadian bitch…” She threatened. “I’m trying to be nice here, don’t ruin it.”

“Jaida is in the same dorms as me, G dorms.” The brunette told her.

“You guys have singles?” She asked in disbelief, both girls nodded. “I wish I had a single.”

“Freshmen never get singles; part of the adaptation process or something like that. But don’t worry, having a roommate during your first year is a fruitful experience.” Jaida pointed out.

“Most of my classmates already met their roommates but there was a last-minute reassignment so I don’t know if I’ll meet mine today or tomorrow, next week…” Jan pouted again.

“On the bright side, you can experience having a single for another day.” Jackie patted her back.

“I have to go but I’ll see you later and I hope I see you around.” Jaida said at both girls after checking the time on her phone. “It was nice to meet you, Jan. Miss Cox…”

“Thank you so much.”

“See you in a bit.”

And with that, they were left alone again.

“I should go too.” Jan packed her things. “Jackie, I can’t stop telling you how much thankful I am… you’re awesome and I’ve known you for like a day but I already consider you my friend… Back in high school, I didn’t have many girlfriends so it is a big deal for me and now I’m oversharing I should probably shut up.”

Jackie chuckled. “It’s okay… I consider you a friend too.”

“Oh! I almost forgot, I don’t have your phone number…” She handed her phone with her hands like an offer. “Would it be okay if I text you and stuff?”

Jackie couldn’t handle this girl.

“Yeah, absolutely.” She typed her number and saved it as Jackie C. “C is for Cox or copy room, your pick.”

“That’s right, what’s with the girls calling you Miss Cox?”

“It’s an inside joke, they always make fun of me for being uptight… it was that or the alternative being «Anal girl».”

Jan almost choked and coughed a couple of times to hide it.

“You know, for being neat and organized.” Jackie was grinning.

“Right.” She covered her mouth. “I’m sorry.”

“I guess it’d have that reaction.” She laughed.

Jan was as red as a tomato.

“I better leave before I embarrass myself more…” She laughed nervously.

“See you later, Jan.”

“You most certainly will.” She said before leaving the copy room.

Jackie took a deep breath; she was screwed.

Jan returned to the building where her room was and dropped by Jaida’s girlfriend’s room before going back to her own. She knocked on the door on dorm C-10 as she remembered Jaida had said.

Not even two minutes later, a girl with wavy blonde hair and icy blue eyes opened the door. Nicky, as Jan assumed, was as stunning as her girlfriend. She was wearing a sleeveless turtleneck white crop top, skinny blue jeans with earrings that spelled «CHA» and «NEL», and stilettos. Jan had never seen someone with a makeup as impeccable as hers and for a moment she forgot she was supposed to say something.

Nicky raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, right! Hello neighbor, I’m Jan… Jaida spoke to you on the phone…”

“Jan.” She snapped her fingers. “Jackie’s friend.”

Her accent was very charming.

“I guess… yeah, that’s me.” She smiled, still kind of nervous.

“I was waiting for you, give me just a second, I need to finish my makeup.”

Wasn’t her makeup already perfect?

“You can come in if you please, you can sit on the bed meanwhile.”

“O-Okay, sure…”

Nicky’s room was nice -all dormitories had the same basic white melamine furniture consisting of a bed, a small desk and a set of drawers and doubles had two of each- but she had decorated the walls with framed magazine covers and polaroids of places in France; the bed was covered with a cream blanket that looked and felt expensive, the desk had a cute picture of Jaida and Nicky smiling at each other, there were makeup products scattered around and a laptop in a corner. She had a full-length mirror with which she kept retouching details of her highlighter.

However, Jan was more invested on the other side of the room which had bright colorful blankets and plushies on the bed, a blanket with a mandala painted hanging on the wall, a smiley face rug, a lava lamp on the desk, and the article she found more intriguing: a One Direction poster.

Nicky didn’t hear any noise so when she turned around and saw Jan staring at the colorful side of the room she explained to her. “My roommate.”

“I see…”

“Actually, she’s a freshman too, you should meet her later.”

“That would be fun.” Jan moved her feet unconsciously.

“So, how did you meet Jackie?” Nicky asked adding some gloss for the final touch.

“I literally met her today at the copy room. She helped me with a form and she’s been nothing but nice to me since then.”

Nicky hummed. “Ah…”

“Uhm… how long have you and Jaida been dating?” She asked trying to continue the small talk.

Nicky beamed at the mention of her girlfriend. “Our first anniversary is in a month.”

“Aw, congratulations. I met Jaida for like ten minutes but she spoke very dearly about you.”

“She may as well…” Nicky looked at Jan through the mirror reflection. “What about you? Are you dating someone?”

Jan blushed. “No… not right now… I’m single.” She said with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find someone sooner than you think.”

Jan didn’t want to say that she already had someone in mind but the circumstances weren’t ideal for that…

“Alright, I’m ready. Shall we?” Nicky opened the door and Jan jumped out of the bed.

On their way through the hallways, Jan learned that Nicky was a fashion design sophomore, that she had moved from France five years ago with her family, and that she was very much in love with her girlfriend.

Nicky was also an excellent guide. She explained to Jan everything she needed to know about the dorms way better than the instructor in the morning. She showed her the laundry room –always bring the exact number of coins because that bitch swallows all the money and never gives change-, the communal lounge –we come here sometimes to binge-watch movies or TV shows, last year we spent thirteen hours watching Love Island- and finally the shared bathroom which Jan already knew but it was part of the tour –I don’t care what they say, always wear flip flops in the showers, trust me.

It was almost the time they had set for the dinner and Nicky was supposed to pick up Jaida and Jackie from their dorm.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” She asked when they were in front of Nicky’s room. Jan had already told her she wasn’t going but the blonde still inquired in case she had changed her mind.

Jan nodded. “I haven’t been in my room in all day and… as much as I’d love to go with you guys, I just need a moment to let everything sink and absorb this like a sponge.”

Nicky smiled at her. “Alright, but next time, you must come with us.”

Jan was happy, people would invite you once out of courtesy but twice was a sign they had a really good impression of her and it was mostly thanks to Jackie.

“Absolutely. I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world.”

“Great. I’ll see you around, ma voisine.”

“I don’t know what you’ve just said but it sounded fancy so I’ll take it. Wait, let me see if I remember how to say it… Au revoir.”

“Ah, very good. Bye, Jan.”

“Bye… have fun!”

The first thing she noticed was that the door of her room was open. That could mean either she was getting robbed, evicted, or…

She peeped over the door frame, there were some boxes stacked in the middle but the opposite half of the room that didn’t belong to her was now personalized.

The bed on the left side had pink blankets, pillows, heart-shaped fur cushions, and a matching white fur rug next to it; the white desk was full of textbooks, makeup, and perfumes meanwhile the drawers seemed to be full with clothes now. A black and white picture of Barbra Streisand was hung above the bed, a Marilyn Monroe poster on one of the walls, and a star-shaped mirror with lightbulbs now enlightened the place.

Jan felt for a moment that she had been teleported to a different dimension –Barbie dollhouse, perhaps- because in comparison to her pretty standard side with striped white and blue sheets, organizers, and barely decorated walls, the other behalf looked like a Broadway dressing room. She regretted not buying those yellow Christmas lights she had told her mom were too much.

“Can I help you?” Someone made her turn around.

It was a girl with pastel pink hair, pretty green eyes and long lashes, lip gloss, a pink Juicy Couture tracksuit, slippers, and a box on her hands.

“I live here…” Jan attempted to say, still stunned by the presence of the other girl.

“Oh! So you’re Janice.”

“Yeah, I’m Jan, in the flesh…”

“I’m Rose, I’m your roommate… actually, I go by Rosé because I like to annoy people when they have to write the checkmark… and it also sounds elegant as fuck.”

“Nice.” She smiled. “Did you just get in?”

“Kind of, I guess the people from administration told you the rooms were being reassigned and everything with the dropouts and final counts. I was originally in the B dorms and then that changed but… I’m here now.”

“Oh my God, it must have been a burden to move from there to here…”

“Nah, it’s fine. My former roommate was a bitch so I’m glad I don’t have to share with her anymore. It’s a win for me.”

“I hope so… I’m not a bitch, I suppose…”

“You seem nice, we’ll get along.” She winked. “I’m sorry for the mess, by the way, I thought I was going to be done by now but I still have all these boxes sitting around.”

“Oh please, don’t. I’m sure it’s been stressful to move from there to here in a day.”

“You see, you’re already better than my last roommate.”

Jan smiled. “Let me help you with those.”

“Ah, please, don’t worry about it, there are just a few empty boxes I should take out.”

“I insist.” Jan didn’t wait for a response, she started picking boxes and putting them inside bigger boxes.

“Wait, let me change my shoes then.”

Once they were done collecting the boxes, Jan walked with Rosé downstairs, outside the building where the dumpsters and recycling bins were. On their way there, they started talking about where they were from, their families…

“…and then we moved from Houston again and now I’m here.”

“That’s so cool. So you’re the oldest of the three?”

“Shh, don’t say it aloud. But yes, I’m a big sister.”

“Aw, it sounds like you’re so close with your siblings… I only have one older brother but we don’t get along since we were kids. We barely interact during the holidays and birthdays.”

“That’s sad. I can’t imagine not having a good relationship with my siblings.”

“Yeah, we were like really competitive when we were younger and I was resentful because he always had it easier than me. I had to work twice harder to achieve the same things, you know?”

“Well, now you’re here on your own and you don’t need to compete with him to prove anything to anyone. You can be yourself.”

“Yeah, it’s a relief, I’m not going to lie.” She dropped the last box inside the recycling bin. “That’s it. We’re done here.”

“Hey, I have an idea. There’s a place nearby that sells the best pizza you’ll ever taste around campus. What do you say if we get one and go back to the lounge upstairs to know each other better since we’re stuck together?”

“Sounds perfect, yeah.”

Maybe her day had started a little off but it had been going uphill since the moment she met Jackie. Speaking of which, she should’ve texted her or something to thank her again.

“Wait, I’m just going to text a friend if you don’t mind and then we can get on our way.”

“Go ahead.”

She unlocked her phone and typed a quick message for Jackie C.

To Jackie C.: Hi Jackie, this is Jan! I just wanted to thank you again for being so kind to me since the very first moment we’ve met. I really appreciate it and I hope we can continue being friends this year! Anyway, I just met my roommate and we’re getting pizza for dinner, yay! :D

After pressing send, she followed Rosé’s lead.

They talked some more on their way to the pizza place, Rosé was a theatre major –clearly- and a sophomore like Nicky, she also sang –Jan would discover later on that Rosé liked to sing everything and even made some songs that sounded like jingles- and danced; she promised Jan she would show her some steps someday. Then they changed the subject to Jan’s day and she told the pink-haired girl everything about the chaotic mess that had been her morning, her schedules, professors, classmates…

It was very easy to talk with Rosé, they clicked right away and maybe it was because she was an older sister to her siblings but she made Jan feel like she had gained a sister on her roommate –even when it was soon to say it.

They ordered a pizza with extra cheese, walked back to the dorms with the smoky box and sat on one of the sofas of the lounge rooms –there just a couple more girls watching TV or doing homework so they had the place for themselves basically-, finally, Jan decided to open up and talk about her impossible crush on her best friend. Rosé listened carefully to each word.

“God, I wish we had some wine here… but tomorrow’s school day or whatever. Please, continue.”

“That’s it…? I haven’t done anything and I don’t think it’s worth the risk.”

“What?!” There was cheese on the corner of her mouth but she wiped it quickly. “Are you joking? What’s stopping you from chasing the guy of your dreams?”

“The fact that he doesn’t see me at all… he’s always with some other girl who’s prettier than me.”

“Baby, what are you saying right now? You’re gorgeous.” Rosé held her hands firmly. “Jan, I’m not saying this because you’re my roommate but you’re a lovely person and if he doesn’t want to be with you it’s his lost… one hundred percent.”

“Thank you.” Jan sobbed. “Are all the girls here this nice?”

“My former roommate certainly doesn’t fall in the category.” They chuckled.

“It’s only… I’m never around girls this much and you and Jackie and…”

“Jackie? Who’s Jackie?”

“Oh, Jackie is a friend… she said it’s okay if I call her a friend. In any case, she’s the girl that works in the copy room and she helped me right away with my papers and had lunch with me when I was upset about Nathan… she’s really great.”

“Wait, I might know her from the copy room. I don’t mean to contradict you but she always gave me «don’t come too close or I’ll kill you» vibes, but maybe it’s just me.”

“No… it can’t be, maybe you’re mistaking her for someone else.”

Jackie ignored everyone’s inquisitive stares and pretended to read the menu.

Jaida, Nicky, and Heidi were waiting for her to say something meanwhile Widow had no clue what was going on.

After the waiter took their order, the menu-shield she had was gone and her friends were still eager to know what was on her mind.

“What?” She finally broke the silence.

“So this girl Jan… she’s a real sweetheart.” Nicky casually commented while drumming with her long acrylic nails on the table.

“She is… She’s also very straight so don’t even try it.”

They all protested and grumbled.

“Wait, who’s Jan?” Widow finally dared to ask.

“To my knowledge,” Heidi began. “She’s a freshman from New Jersey that plays baseball.”

“And Jackie looks at her as if she had hung the stairs in the sky.” Jaida pointed out, exposing the brunette.

“Oop-” Heidi eloquently added.

“That’s not true.” She objected. “Don’t believe a word from what they say, Widow. The girl was lost and I helped her out, that’s it. She also happens to be friendly so we had lunch together.”

“Didn’t you gain a reputation for being this severe resting-bitch-face girl from the copy room?”

“Yeah, because otherwise, freshmen stick to you like ants to honey. Look at Heidi, I was nice to her once last year and now she’s here permanently.”

“Hey!” The girl complained.

“But you let her be behind the counter,” Jaida called out. “you don’t let anyone do that.”

“You don’t even let us do that.” Nicky continued.

“You can walk across the counter?” A very confused Heidi asked. “Is that allowed?”

Widow who didn’t say anything observed how everything went down while sipping her drink, amused.

“Listen, all of you, Jan is straight, repeat it and memorize it. She’s in love with some baseball player named Nathan she met when she was ten and she probably has already picked a wedding dress and the name for their children so I don’t see the point of this… suggestive… conversation.”

They remained silent, just at that moment their food arrived.

Jackie was starving but before she could taste the first bite, her phone vibrated inside her purse.

It was from an unknown number but it was the text message she had been waiting for.

From Unknown Number: Hi Jackie, this is Jan! I just wanted to thank you again for being so kind to me since the very first moment we’ve met. I really appreciate it and I hope we can continue being friends this year! Anyway, I just met my roommate and we’re getting pizza for dinner, yay! :D

Oh, thank goodness her roommate was nice.

As soon as she read her name, a smile grew on her face and didn’t go unnoticed.

“Is that her?” Widow asked Heidi who was sitting next to Jackie.

Heidi tried to snoop over her phone and carefully nodded in affirmation.

Jackie glared at them.

“She’s just saying thank you.”

“I’m not concerned about the content of the message, it’s the reaction you had to it.” Jaida looked at her friend in the eye. “Jackie, you’re one of my closest friends, I just don’t want you to get hurt for liking a straight girl.”

“You don’t need to worry about it; I’m not going to catch feelings for her.”

Her friend squinted. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah.”

“How did you save her name?”

“Excuse me?”

“On your phone. Is it Jan or is it Jan plus some cutesy emoji?”

“What’s that have to do with anything?”

“It has everything to do.”

The brunette rolled her eyes “I just saved it as Jan. Like I have you all listed. Happy? Can we eat? I’m hungry.”

“Okay…” Jaida cut the slack. “I’ll take it.”

“You had me saved as «Heidi freshman» for over a year.”

“And now you’re «Heidi sophomore».”

To Jan 🐻: I’m glad I was helpful today and it’s so great to hear your roommate is actually nice. Know you can text me whenever you want or come to hang out with me to the copy room :)

#rpdr fanfiction #jan sport #jackie cox #jankie #jaida x nicky #s12 #college au #lesbian au #slow burn #pretty in pearls #plastiquedoll #concrit welcome

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merctrovert · 3 years

Text

Ragnvindr || Chapter 1

“I am not much but I am all I have.” ~ Phillip K.D

Four years ago.

The end of Diluc Ragnvindr's life was on a happy day.

It was his coming of age and he was celebrating at Angel's Share alongside his father, Master Crepus, to whom he worked hard to impress. You were sat in the corner, wedged between your two brothers as you watched the young man approach the table, a large smile on his face.

But he only ever looked at his father.

"Let me introduce you to my friend's sons! I know you're on duty, but this should be fine. Always hardworking, you are."

"Don't forget my daughter!" Your father had chuckled, raising a jug to clash against Master Crepus's.

"And his daughter! Diluc, this is ..."

He had looked at you then indifferently, raising a gloved hand to shake your hand. "Hello."

"Happy birthday." You had smiled and he had smiled back, red hair gleaming in the sunlight that beamed down into the room.

When you sat back down, you had to still your heart which had started thudding slightly faster.

"Did you drink something? You're still not allowed to you know, so why do you look so flushed?"

Annoyed, you hit your brother on the head with an empty cup. Your other brother slung a hand over your shoulder, nudging his twin.

"I think it's because of..." All three of them looked to the red-haired boy sitting in front of them.

You wanted to kill your brothers then, all three of them, although your third brother seemed to be enjoying the food in front of him instead.

Master Crepus and your father were good friends and being the only daughter, you had often overheard jokes of a future between you and Diluc shared between them hopefully.

You clenched your dress, looking down and away from Diluc's straight gaze.

The rest of the evening had gone in that way. Avoiding his stares consistently, all the while trying to avoid your father's attempts to get you to interact with them all more.

Eventually, you had sidled up against your oldest brother's wife, exhausted from the interaction.

"I am slightly fortunate your brother dragged me here," She quipped, sipping on some wine. "Being the only girl in this ruckus would be... difficult."

You couldn't help but laugh, looking across the table.

Indeed, everyone was happy and the joyous laughter coming from within the tavern could be heard throughout the winery.

Diluc had become a Knight and had come of age. It was a celebration and you would never forget the light in his eyes, even as he stayed quiet, smiling gently.

It had all gone so well, until the way back home.

"I remember when you were both tiny children," Your father spoke as you all headed for the door of the tavern. You mumbled a thank you to Diluc who held the door open for you last, hiding behind your brothers.

"Yeah, you were really cute as my baby sister. Now you're just as horrible as us."

You stepped on your brother's foot, letting him hop away in pain.

"You two were inseparable." Master Crepus commented, nodding in agreement as you all walked up to the carriages. "Diluc wouldn't let his hair down when you braided it that one time."

Though it was all blurred memory, you still flushed and looked away from the boy who did the same thing, turning to the side, hiding his face with his vibrant hair.

"It seems to have gotten darker quicker. We should head back. Crepus, here are the last boxes."

Helping your father load the rest of the carts onto the carriages, you hopped onto the carriage behind Diluc's, unable to restrain yourself from sticking your head out and take a peep at the boy in front of you.

However you only glimpsed his hair and you fell back, biting your lip.

"Try harder."

You scowled at your oldest brother's words as his wife laughed, patting his shoulder.

"Remember when we were still children? You couldn't even look at my face." She teased.

Still, you sighed, it was better being stuck with him and his wife whom you were fond of rather than your two other brothers who were closer in age to you.

Shivering with the sudden gusts of wind, you watched your father clamber onto the front of the carriage. You didn't even need to worry about your other two brothers— you could hear them from the carriage behind.

"It's surprisingly dark already." Your brother muttered, letting you glance out of the carriage, at the darkening sky and the trees which had started shaking violently.

"I hope everything is okay."

"It will be."

But unbeknownst to you, that was the last time you ever saw your brother smile. And the last time Diluc ever held his father.

The carriage at the front toppled first, out of the four that had left the tavern. You had heard screams, but they were cut off quickly, just as the carriage suddenly halted, the horse neighing in restraint.

"Why won't this horse go..." Both you and your brother peered out as your father struggled to control the reigns, unable to control the horse as it restlessly shook.

"Father..."

Your brother was the one that saw it first. The giant darkness falling over you all, taking the form of a creature with wings and glowing, amber eyes peering down in the darkness.

"Duck!" Your brother wrapped his hand around his wife as the darkness came down.

You barely registered your brother's yell as both you and your father were toppled to the ground, the carriage blown away.

You were thrown to the side, wincing in pain, but you were okay. Your eyes searched the area for your father, who had landed several metres away, but he too seemed alright.

The loud shouts of your two brothers alerted you to them as you ran towards them, despite your father yelling for you to stay back.

"Are you okay?"

They were shaking but nodded as you supported them to the trees, searching for your eldest brother and his wife.

Even his name was muted in the roaring winds and you couldn't shout any longer, your throat hoarse.

Fear clutched your chest as you headed towards the carriages at the front, body trembling as you passed scattered crates and strewn bodies.

"Brother?"

There was a groan from under crates and you ran towards them, knocking them off.

"Brother!"

But it wasn't him.

Wide red eyes looked into your teary eyes and Diluc forced himself up, holding your shoulders gently.

"Are you okay?"

"My brother is... your father..."

His eyes widened and he was gone in the blink of an eye, also shouting for his father.

You were about to turn back until you watched the boy freeze in position.

It was then you saw it too.

A large, dark creature with scales that glistened purple and dark magic. You had heard of them before but never seen such a creature made of some kind of dark magic.

Its firey amber stare made your knees tremble and body collapse as Diluc too fell to the ground, his hand clutching at his stomach.

"Diluc!"

You watched his father clamber out of the carriage with difficulty, throwing away an empty box, his hand covered in a black glove.

Your eyes widened.

You had overheard your father's conversation once. It was a Delusion. Dangerous, mimicking the abilities of a vision.

"Wh-"

"Wait!"

It was Diluc that shouted first, your lips parted but voice never emerging. Your hand was outstretched as you watched Master Crepus yell in a loud voice, summoning something darker than you had ever seen before.

Black chains emerged from the ground, winding around his body, but it was all in his control.

You were terrified as the chains slid towards the dragon-like creature that roared in equal fury as the black chains tightened around its body. Abyssal power radiated it off it in black flames as its eyes turned into a crimson colour.

You saw Master Crepus's fist shaking as the purple marks around his arm tightened, his knees staggering.

The creature bellowed and roared, slashing its claws at the chains until they came undone and winded back into Master Crepus, who finally fell to the floor, clutching his chest.

Diluc had crawled to his father, arms wiping away his tears that came so quickly as he took in his father's weakened state.

You could only watch as the monster growled, seemingly pleased before leaving, with a sharp gust of wind, sending you back onto the rough ground with your arm shielding your face.

"Father!"

You weren't sure if he replied, as Diluc shook his father's body, his own trembling. His hands trembled as he clutched his father's wound, the gash from the claw of that creature bleeding severely.

His own skin had turned black, corrupted and becoming consumed by the Delusion on his glove. The black flames had sunk into his body, the chains around his neck and Diluc could only watch, helpless, as his father weakened in his hands.

He couldn't even utter a single word as his father's hand dropped in midair, unable to even reach his own son's face. It fell limp onto the ground. His father's lips moved and shifted into the curve of a bitter smile. But he never heard what his father said.

Your hand came onto his stiff shoulder gently, as both of you stared down at the dead body of Crepus.

You never saw the light you saw in the tavern shining within his eyes after that day.

Diluc only stayed silent as you watched Kaeya and the other knights run onto the scene, checking for injuries across those who were injured.

He stayed silent as his father's body was taken away, head drooped, staring down at his empty blood-stained hands.

He stayed silent, even as you were all escorted away by the knights, never once moving from his position in the ground.

And you stayed and watched, shrugging off all attempts to move you.

You stayed and watched as he stood up on shaking legs and lifted his eyes up to the starless sky.

Alone, in the rain, in the silence, enveloped by the darkness. Lightning illuminated his trembling body, his fist clenched as he faced the storm.

But no tears fell from his face, not once. They never did.

The rain fell as his tears instead.

The sky, weeping its cold tears, the wind singing its grieving song as Diluc Ragnvindr surrendered himself to the storm, the blood on his hands never washing away.

And that was the last time you ever saw him again.

Good day :)

I hope you all enjoyed reading the very first chapter of Ragnvindr. I sure am enjoying writing it hehehe. For this chapter, I read the manga like 100 times and the fansite 100 times more just to make sure everything was accurate enough... even then, I hope I wrote it well.

See you next time ~ merc

word count : 1.8K

#genshin #genshinimpact #diluc #gi diluc #fanfiction #diluc genshin impact #genshin impact diluc #merctrovertfics #genshin impact fanfics #genshin impact fanfiction #diluc ragnvindr #diluc fanfic #fanfic #dilucragnvindr #genshin impact fanfic #diluc ragnivindr #genshin fanfic #diluc fanfiction #genshin fanfiction

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mahalkitajohnnysuh · 4 years

Text

Intoxicated (Part I)

Since I wrote a lot from @neoculturedrabbles‘ prompt list, I didn’t expect that I’ll come up with pieces that are connected.

Hence this mini-series – the title should give you an idea of what you’ll be reading.

Here’s one of Johnny’s iconic music video moments – who wouldn’t like to drink with this man?!

Mahal ko kayong lahat! :)

–––

Summary: Aside from what has been mentioned in the introduction, this piece is before Johnny and Essie got together but are already living together as housemates. You know, they’re trying to keep their boundaries as best friends even if they have crushes on each other.

POV: 3rd person here, peeps.

Word count: 1,200+ words

–––

Prompt #8: “Are you stuck?”

“Yes. Help, please.”

Essie arrived at their apartment at quarter to 1 in the morning. She was inebriated after drinking four glasses of craft beer, which had alcohol content above 5% per glass.

As she stumbled into her bedroom after 10 minutes of trying to open their door, she cried in pain when she hit her knee on her bed.

This got Johnny’s attention, who was just browsing the Internet in his room. He took off his earphones (which weren’t noise-canceling) and peeked at Essie’s bedroom to see what happened.

It was convenient that their rooms were across each other, so he could be discreet on checking up on his beloved housemate from time to time.

He saw her sitting on the floor and rubbing her knee absentmindedly. Okay, it looks she has managed herself, he thought before going back to his computer.

A few minutes later, he heard her crying in pain again.

The girl had taken off her boots and jewelry and was about to unravel her hair from the French braid her work seatmate did. However, her hair tie got tangled, and she tugged her hair too hard, making the knot more difficult to take off.

“Ah, the perils of having curly hair!” she bemoaned, one hand still stuck in her hair.

Johnny knocked softly at her door before entering and saw that Essie was whimpering in pain how her hair can be such a pain in the butt.

“Hey, Essie. What’s wrong?” He rushed to her side, one hand rubbing circles on her lower back. “I can’t get this off,” she gestured to her hair tie, “because of my stupid freaking hair.”

“Are you stuck? I mean, your hair tie’s stuck in your hair?” He had to clarify, so he’ll know what to do.

She nodded. “Yes. Help, please,” she whispered, her red and puffy eyes making him soft.

It didn’t take long for Johnny to unravel her braids but then got stuck at the part where her hair got tangled in the hair tie.

“Baby, your hair’s seriously tangled up in it,” he said after careful inspection, “is it okay if I hack it off?”

She nodded again as if she was already used to this outcome. “Sure, I always do that when I get frustrated with things getting stuck in my hair.”

He got a pair of scissors from her desk and painstakingly cut the part that was knotted into her hair tie. As he took off the excess hair from the hair tie, he noticed that she reeked of alcohol.

“Baby, how many did you drink tonight?” She raised four fingers silently. “Well, that’s quite a lot. Were you able to compute the total alcohol by volume of what you drank?”

“Twenty percent,” she mumbled, one hand running through her hair.

“Jesus, Essie! That’s a lot!” He pinched her cheek, which made her yelp in pain for the third time tonight. “I’m sorry! But I needed it! I was thirsty!” She whined, prying off Johnny’s hand on her face.

“Promise me you’re going to drink lots of water and eat healthy for the coming week, okay?” She shook her head and laid down on the bed.

“Aw, come on! You have to,” he pleaded, lying down beside her. “Whatever, dude. Can you get me my makeup remover and some cotton pads?” She croaked, raising her hands in the air as if she can get her items from the ceiling.

He chuckled at her action and did what was told of him. When Essie saw that he got her what she needed, she sat up with her palms open. “Please hand them to me,” she slurred, feeling the aftereffect of the alcohol she consumed once more.

“Nuh-uh,” he whispered, shaking the bottle of her makeup remover and putting some on the cotton pad, “you’re too drunk to even remove your makeup.”

He was the one who dabbed the soaked cotton on her eyelids, and she groaned whenever he applied too much pressure.

“You’re being too harsh, Youngho,” she moaned, trying to get the cotton from his hands. After her fifth attempt to grab it from him, he let her, and she gently patted it on her eye area. “This is how you should do it,” she mumbled.

“I was just trying to help, princess,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes at the supposedly correct way on how to remove eye makeup.

“Thanks anyway, but don’t press it too hard next time.” After a few seconds, she was done and threw the dirty cotton pad on the trash can beside her.

There was a moment of silence – if you count the sound of the air conditioner as noise – between the two before Essie laid down on the bed again.

Johnny did the same and tilted his body to look at her. She was wrecked – her makeup had already faded in patches, her eyes were red and puffy still, and her hair was in careful disarray.

It was a side of her that he didn’t usually see, and deep inside, he appreciated that she was becoming more comfortable showing her vulnerability to him.

It made him fall in love with her more. Not that he will confess to her any time soon, though.

“Stop looking at me,” she broke the silence with her whining, gently pushing him away with her hand. “But you’re so cute,” he cooed, pinching both of her cheeks.

A tickle fight ensued after, with Essie crying in tears at how Johnny knew all her ticklish spots. She was able to make him laugh though by tickling his sides, but he didn’t let her get to another ticklish spot by pinching her cheeks again.

“Stop it!” She cried, gripping his wrist. “Please stop pinching my cheeks. They hurt now.”

He took off his hands on her cheeks and placed them at her back. “Sorry about that, baby. You’re just too cute not to annoy,” he briefly pinched her nose before standing up. “I meant what I said. Remember to hydrate yourself and eat healthy, okay?”

She grunted in response and closed her eyes, processing everything that just happened.

She and Johnny are getting touchier these days, and sometimes, it made her feel things. There was a part of her that wished they were together but knew that it would be impossible.

Eventually, she slept in her work clothes and makeup still on her face. She awoke at eight in the morning, and frantically went to the bathroom to cleanse her face properly.

When she stepped out of her room, he saw Johnny was at the dining table. He looked like a dad scrolling through his phone with one hand while the other held a mug of coffee.

“Hey, Essie baby. Good morning,” he greeted when he saw her approach the table. She gave him a small wave and sat down at the seat beside him where a grande espresso and a chicken fajita roll was waiting for her.

“Got you these,” he said, pushing the food closer to her, “I know you’ve missed it.”

“Yes, I do. Thanks, John,” she said softly, digging into her favorite food from Starbucks with a smile on her face.

She felt so lucky to have a housemate like him and wondered how it would be like if she was his girlfriend.

–––

FIN

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angst-fairygodmother · 4 years

Text

Sing Once Again With Me: Masquerade/Why So Silent (The Witcher; A Phantom of the Opera AU)

A/N: This chapter contains the culmination of something I hit on back in “Music of the Night” because word association is fun. Also dictionary definitions/examples used in a sentence. Word Count: 2372 Content Warning: None Taglist: @ficsandcatsandficsandcats @joz-stankovich @sennextheassasinkingoflight Previous Chapter: All I Ask of You Cross-posted to AO3: here

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The right whispers in the right ears, the right stories told, and the problem would soon go away.

Over the weeks that followed, Valdo withdrew to the shadows to wait for his trap to spring. As he watched his flower grow closer to the loathsome witcher, he seethed. But he took comfort in the fact that it would all soon come crashing down, and then Jaskier would have no one to turn to but him. He would be the one to win in the long run.

“It’s obviously the witcher who did it,” the Countess snapped. “Everything only started happening when he showed up, and he’s not called the Butcher of Blaviken for nothing.”

She scoffed at the stunned and rapt audience she had gathered as she ranted.

“Strangulation. Real subtle. I appreciate the poetic nod though. ‘Gorgeous garrotter’ indeed.”

“What?” Jaskier frowned, glaring at her.

“Isn’t that what you called him in your little diddy about his lust affair with the Vengerberg bitch? I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s helping him get away with it. Never trust a mage after all.”

“No.”

“What’s that minstrel? Don’t want to believe your precious wolf is just another rabid cur?”

It took all of Jaskier’s willpower, and Y/N’s white-knuckled grip on his arm, to keep from launching at the woman as she spewed her filth.

“We’ll prove it,” Y/N said, voice far firmer than she felt. “Jaskier will bring Geralt to the Masque as his guest and while he’s out of his rooms, the guard can search it. When there’s no evidence to connect him, you’ll drop your ridiculous theory.”

“Fine.”

As the Countess stormed off Y/N leaned in to hiss in Jaskier’s ear. “You are sure he didn’t do it, right?”

“Geralt would never.”

“Good. Now let’s go. We have a party to prepare for.”

“There’s a masquerade tonight,” Jaskier said, nervously twisting his fingers as he paced. “I’m expected to attend, as the hall’s rising star, but…I don’t want to go alone.”

Geralt stared at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Now I know what you’re thinking Geralt, that you hardly have a costume for it, but it would not be difficult to go and find you one, or have Yennefer magic something up…or you could go in your armor and we would just need something to cover your face. That is the beauty of it being a costumed party, no one will know who you are and you can do whatever you like.”

“Actually I was thinking that we’ve never attended a formal event together that hasn’t ended in disaster.”

“But we’ve also never attended one together.”

Geralt hummed, hands reaching out to pull Jaskier closer until the bard stumbled onto his lap, an arm thrown around his neck as Geralt’s ensnared his waist.

Jaskier giggled, burying his face in soft silver hair. “Please Geralt? This is the first grand event the hall has put on since…well it’s been weeks since anyone’s heard a peep from Valdo and I think it might be…”

“A trap. That makes sense.”

“I was going to say fun. Maybe even a new beginning. A beginning I’d like you to embark on with me.”

Geralt sighed. “This is one of those things I’m not getting out of, isn’t it?”

“Well…”

“Fine. Unless you have some idea, and clothes that would fit me, I should go see Yennefer then I suppose.”

“Oh Geralt thank you! This will be great fun, you’ll see.” Jaskier kissed his cheek as he stood excitedly.

“Also, the Countess may have been spreading rumors that you were the murderer, and Y/N tried to defend you by offering to let the guard search your room while you were at the party with me,” he muttered quickly as Geralt was leaving.

Geralt whipped around to stare at him incredulously. “What?”

“Everything will be fine. I was going to ask you to come anyway. Trust me?”

The glare he was given could have cut glass. Jaskier smiled what he hoped was his most convincing grin. Geralt sighed.

“You had better know what you’re doing.”

“Thank you Geralt,” Jaskier clasped his hands over his heart. “Now I will meet you at the music hall, under the third lamppost from the left, at exactly eight.”

Geralt nodded and, with another sigh, went to see a witch about his wardrobe.

It wasn’t hard to find the witcher’s room or get inside. The harp string stolen from the orchestra’s stock was wrapped around a fist and pulled tight between his hands. If his rival died today, all the easier. He would see Jaskier through his grief, as he had before.

But the room was empty when he slipped through the window. He rummaged about the clothing and armor, fondling the swords for a moment, but they would be too noticeable to take. Besides, the irritating stagehand had been strangled. Any proper artist would tell you that consistency was key to a good story.

Content in his inspection of the room, Valdo carefully coiled the thin wire around his fingers, twisting the end in on itself to keep it in place. Then he laid it gently in among the strange potions the witcher kept around, knowing they would be personal enough only he would have access.

He settled the stylized ram’s head over his face and slipped back out. Invite or no, there was a party to attend.

Jaskier smiled as he saw Yennefer and Y/N walk in, hand in hand. It was not often that the wives were able to be together, the couple kept apart by the day-to-day realities of their respective positions within the company, so it brought his heart joy to see them taking the opportunity they had. It was almost enough, in fact, to distract himself from the apprehension in his heart at the prospect of stepping out, quite publicly, with Geralt for the first time. Geralt, who rumors were beginning to spread about, who more than one had suggested might be the murderer, the Phantom. His stomach roiled with nerves.

And then Geralt appeared at his side and the twisting became for an entirely different reason. He had always admired Geralt’s looks, but this…this was something special. His broad shoulders perfectly filled out the black doublet with silver embroidery, the sheen and style making it ripple and sway like a shadow mirage. Rich plum purple lace peaked out over the collar, the barest hint of a colored undershirt hiding beneath. His stunning locks were braided back from his face in a pair of thin, complex braids which flowed into the gentle waves down the back of his neck. His filigreed mask, silver with black detailing in counter to his doublet, finished out the look, a breathtaking enigma. Jaskier compared it to his own costume of reds and golds, more sultry and playful than this stylized elegance. Day and night, sun and moon. Oh Yennefer was good.

Jaskier mingled, and Geralt hovered, occasionally pulled onto the dance floor for a song or two, both of them getting handsier and more creative in their dance steps as the evening wore on and the drinks continued to flow. At one point, the witcher found himself nuzzling into the bard’s neck, no longer caring so much about discretion or carefulness nearly as much as he did about having Jaskier so close and looking so beautiful.

Shortly after, a familiar scent of lilac and gooseberries floated over the couple as another couple approached to cut in, the two women claiming their partners for a chat as they looped about the floor.

“You look happy Geralt,” Yennefer purred, blood red lips curled in a smirk.

“I am,” he admitted, looking at her earnestly from behind his mask. “You do too, you know. Marital bliss is a good look on you.”

“I owe you that. I would never have become the woman that deserved Y/N, or been lucky enough to meet her, without you.” She smiled, glancing over his shoulder to watch Y/N and Jaskier as the ever-graceful pair claimed the center of attention. “I’m happy for you.”

“Really?” his lip curled up in a teasing smile. “The way you’re keeping me from him right now, I thought you might be jealous.”

“My beloved wife wanted a moment with her friend.” She quirked an eyebrow. “And you looked about ready to strip him down and devour him right here. I do have an interest in maintaining a degree of…decorum around here.”

Geralt stammered, flustered and unable to find a reply before Jaskier was swept back over and gracefully deposited into his arms and Yennefer stolen away, a partner trade made into a dance move. Y/N smiled smugly and murmured something in Yennefer’s ear, too low for even his witcher senses to pick up, and Yennefer laughed again.

Suddenly someone screamed, and from seemingly nowhere, a figure appeared. Great curling black horns rose back from a skeletal face; shadows cast and lights danced on the beading of the caped black costume, creating the illusion that flames licked up around him. Standing where he was at the top of the stairs, he towered over the crowd which fell hushed and still with fear.

“Terribly sorry that I’m late,” the figure drawled, arms thrown wide, a performer before a captive audience. “My invitation appears to have been lost.”

He chuckled, the sound vibrating through the listeners. “Do not fear. I have…missed you all.”

Yennefer moved to stand in front of Y/N, arm curled protectively to keep her back as the figure leaned over the banister to cast his eye over the crowd.

“I have written a performance.” He held something up in his gloved hand before casting it down to the ground below where it, a folio made of pale leather (a few close by noted that it looked sickeningly close to the color of flesh) spilled open at the managers’ feet.

“For it to be quite right, there are of course a few specifics to take care of.” From his sleeve he drew a long, thin knife and he began to make his way down the stairs, speaking as he went.

Geralt squeezed a hand on Jaskier’s hip reassuringly before slipping away into the crowd and shadow, hoping to reach his swords, checked at the door, in time.

“The Countess, first. She has her use but must be reined in, not allowed to undeservedly dominate the stage.” Valdo gestured at the woman in question with the tip of the dagger in a motion that less than subtly suggested the slitting of her throat. Her mouth opened and closed wordlessly before he waved dismissively and turned to the next on his list.

“Her counterpart, Piangi,” he thrust forward, not quite making contact with the large man, who made a weak attempt to stand his ground defensively. “A romantic lead needs gravitas, not buffoonery.”

“And my managers. You have been given several chances to do what’s right and stay out of my way. Do as you’re told, count your coins, and let those with proper knowledge run the show.” This time the dagger was swift and came close enough to graze the tip from Firman’s mustache and the two men cowered.

“And our star. Sweet songbird. Jaskier.” Valdo stepped down slowly toward where Jaskier stood, frozen as he always felt when he appeared. The dagger remained pointed at the ground, and his free hand came up as if to caress Jaskier’s face. “His talent is good, but he knows what he must do if he truly wants to succeed. Come back to me, his beloved tutor.”

Valdo’s eyes fell to the medallion which Geralt had given to him, normally worn tucked under his shirt for protection but now slipped through the loose laces of his collar to sit openly, almost a challenge. He snatched at it, breaking chain and jerking Jaskier forward.

“You belong to me.” Valdo hissed, face close enough that Jaskier could feel the air that passed between clenched teeth and count the flecks of gold in those haunting green eyes.

Then, as suddenly as he appeared, Valdo had dashed back up the central stairs and was gone in a puff of smoke.

Geralt and Yennefer both ran to inspect where he had gone, reaching it just in time to catch the edge of a trapdoor settling into place, invisible in the pattern of the floor.

He looked up at her, eyes full of confusion and rage. She returned his glance with sorrow. Partygoers began to scatter, and Geralt went to Jaskier’s side as the bard bent to pick up the now damaged token.

“Why is this happening Geralt?” Jaskier’s voice was so small and an icy hand of fear, and of shame that he hadn’t been there to when Jaskier needed him (again), clenched over the witcher’s heart.

Before he could answer, a number of the city guard burst through the entrance, shouting for everyone to remain calm and stay where they were. They approached Geralt.

“Witcher,” the captain of them said. “You are under arrest for the murder of Master Joseph Boquet. Please come with us peacefully or we will resort to deadly force.”

Geralt frowned in puzzlement but knelt to place his sword on the ground and stood quietly, hands raised in a show of peace.

“On what evidence?” Y/N snapped, stepping forward before Yennefer could catch her.

“This wire, covered in old blood, found among the witcher’s personal belongings. He is a known killer, so the presence of what is obviously the murder weapon raises no question.”

Geralt frowned. He had never seen such a wire before in his life, but he knew better than to try and argue once someone had decided he was responsible. And so he surrendered to the guard and was marched out, to the jeers and murmurs of the remaining crowd, head hung low and heart sunk even further. Yennefer stood silently beside Jaskier who watched him go and waited until he could no longer catch even the slightest glimpse of silver before he let himself collapse, sobbing, into the mage’s arms.

“We’ll fix this,” Y/N said, “Right?” She glanced at her wife, but she remained silent, unwilling to make false promises.

#Sing Once Again With Me #The Witcher #Phantom of the Opera AU #Act 2 #Jaskier x Geralt #Jaskier x Valdo Marx #Yennefer x Reader #Jaskier #Valdo Marx #reader insert #Geralt of Rivia #Yennefer of Vengerberg #*cue ominous organs*#*cue malicious laughter*#it wasn't the piano...

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glasyasbutch · 4 years

Note

Stella: 13 Roona: 22 Gent: 30

prose boys part one! prose boys part one! under a readmore bc its almost 2k words! thanks for sending them in rebekah i did full scenes for each prompt bc im a whore. bolded are the actual “things they said”.

Stella: Things you said that were important to you (set about six months after her clan’s home in the wood is razed to the ground, and she’s just found herself fully indoctrinated to the nearby city’s criminal ring as an assassin)

Her hands are small, even relative to the rest of her, which as a gnome, is much tinier than most people walking these streets. It's usually an advantage. Makes it all the more simple to just slide her hand into someone's pocket while they were preoccupied at the food cart. Snag a coin while they ordered, snag a hunk of bread while they paid.

She isn't proud of it. She doesn't like having to penny pinch other people's pennies to get by between jobs. But she likes starving to death less, so she swallows her damn pride and got down to it.

The problem is that the figure she’s trying to rob is also a gnome, which means her hands are not nearly as relatively small as she’s used to them being, and she manages to get her thumb caught on the edge of his pocket as she pulls away. His hand is around her wrist before she has a chance to react, grip terrifyingly tight.

"Pardon me, but I don't believe anything in my pockets belongs to - Ester?"

The fake tears she's been trying to push out begin to well up for real, turning her into a breathless, glassy-eyed mess, and she looks into a face she thought she'd never be seeing again. "Gray?"

Gray drops his grip on her wrist, only to clasp her hand between his protectively. "Ester, what are you doing out here doing this?"

She finds her knees start to buckle, and she pushes her weight into Gray's hands a bit to stay standing. "The fire, Gray, I barely made it out, I just ran in the first direction I saw. I ended up here, and when I looked back it was nothing but smoke. I only had my bow with me and I - I thought I was the only one who made it out. I didn't know what to do. I'm just trying to survive in a world I wasn't raised to live in."

Gray's eyebrows furrow, his expression sinks. He reaches his other hand out to grip the side of her face. "There's at least three of us who made it out. I left with Reddy, but he took off from this town a few weeks ago. I was starting to get lonely, but ... then I find you." He smiles, in the crooked sort of way that happens when loss starts to slip through the cracks of joy. "You can do better than this, Es. We're still clan. My house is still your house. Come back with me, at the very least 'til you get on your feet."

"Gray, no, really, I couldn't," she starts, but gets cut off as he begins to tut and takes his hand from her cheek to grip her other hand.

He pushes back her sleeve with his fingers, unintentionally, ever so slightly. He isn't even looking, but it's still enough to make her gasp and stiffen. That, he does notice, and gods damn it, he glances down.

Their clan is from the woods. They don't know a lot of city culture, but the symbol tattooed on her wrist, still slightly red from its freshness, is one of the things they have to recognize. Its something they know damn well to avoid, because these men who take shelter in the woods some nights, with these symbols emblazoned on their wrists and sword scabbards and coin pouches, setting off their hunting traps for fun and leaving their empty booze bottles behind when they go and not putting their fires out properly, are the kind of men who know no rule or law or code, and show no mercy when they feel they've been crossed.

"Ester," he says, voice darkening. "You can do better than this."

She tears her wrist away, tugging her sleeve back down. "My business is my own, Gray."

"As is my home, if you've chosen to turn your back on everything we lived for so quickly."

"I was hungry. I was going to die out here. I don't have many marketable skills, but they saw something worth a paycheck in me."

Gray says nothing, but drops her hands from his with a sharpness that can only indicate disgust.

"You can do better than this," he repeats. Then, for a brief moment, his gaze softens. "I hope you do."

She makes no move to stop him as he turns to go, walking with as big a stride as his gnomish legs can let him, vanishing into the crowded streets. She rubs at her wrist, letting the sting of pressing on the fresh tattoo distract her from the sinking feeling in her gut as one of the last survivors of her clan willingly turns his back on her. She had always figured she had no one left, but now she’s looking right at him and she knows it.

"I'm gonna," she whispers at the space where he has been standing, making up her mind to get back what scraps of her family she still has left. "I'm gonna get out of there, eventually. Swear on the trees."

*****

Roona: Things you said after making a bad decision.

"Vinny Vinny Vinny Vinny Vinny!" Roona pants, running so fast she nearly trips over her feet, "Pouch pouch pouch pouch please please please!"

They tug at the loose piece of leather fixed around their traveling companion's waist, barely waiting for acknowledgement of their presence before scrambling up the leg into the pouch and pulling the flaps closed, trying to look as much like a lute as possible.

Now, most lutes arent quite so lumpy, because they don't have knees to tuck in, and they don't swell and sink because they don't have lungs that are heaving from the mad dash they've just undertaken. But, however much like a lute she doesn't look, Roona supposes the ruse has worked, because no one sticks a sword straight into the flaps and the shrill complaining voice eventually huffs its way out of earshot.

"Is the purple dress lady gone?" she whispers, pulling one very small peep hole open in the mouth of the pouch.

"Yeah," Vinny sighs, still debating whether or not she wants to know what happened this time.

"Okay, good." Roona's head fully emerges from the pouch now, braids more mussed than usual and face still flushed reddish from exertion. They flash a forced smile up at Vinny. "So, don't get mad but. Um."

It seems, whether or not Vinny wants to know, Roona's gonna be telling her anyway.

"You know that really fancy dress shop down the road? I was over there window shopping, you know, like you do. And, well, I went inside, cause they had this really nice yellow thing and this other dress with lilac trim, and I wanted to know how they'd look together? Um?"

Vinny's lips press together, knowing exactly where this story's going.

"So I, uh, I grabbed a pair of shears, and I took a little bit of the trim off the back of the skirt? I mean, it's the back right, no one's gonna see, and it's not like they ever sell the mannequin models anyways, but. For SOME reason, the dress lady didn't like that."

"Roona. C'mon."

She sighs, brushing a few loose hairs out of her face. "No, no. I know. I ... I know. Like, actually. Sometimes people are just stuck up dickheads about their stuff, but like, this one I get. I'll go apologize in the morning, probably. Once she's had the chance to forget where she's left the fabric shears again."

They begin to pull themself out of the pouch, but stop with one leg dangling out over the lip. "On a totally unrelated note. Can I pitch you on a mix and match dress shop?"

*****

Gent: Things you said when you should've been quiet

"Gods," he huffs, flipping over what he's pretty sure is the third page of sigils for what he's significantly less sure is the fifth time. "You really think an archmage with a lifespan like his and absolutely no friends to hang out with would be able to find the time to write a damn key for his notes. Wenceforth! C'mere. Do you know what the fuck these double lines are supposed to be mean?"

The goblin starts at the mention of his name, trotting over on creaky joints from the post he'd be standing by the door. He slips on a pair of glasses, and peers over the piece of paper being held out for him. He spends a good minute tracing a finger across the ink, grumbling and mumbling to himself before turning to face Gent and announcing, very definitely, "No!"

Gent groans and slumps even further in the chair than he has been.

"You've known him forever, Wenceforth, has he always been this illiterate? I mean, god, for all the griping he does at me about penmanship making the difference between a Dancing Light and a Flaming Sphere, you'd think he'd care literally at all about how his own fucking notes look."

"Well, Master Errenis is quite a learned mage, you know, he's really quite skilled, but uh. Between you and me. He's always been a bit more meticulous with his notes since. Well."

Gent immediately shoots up, leaning over the arm of his chair to stare down Wenceforth. "Since what, Wence? You can't just leave me hanging here, man."

"Oh, you know, I don't really want to embarrass him or anything," he mumbles, anxious grin twitching onto his face.

"Oh come on! Please? I'll pay you the rest of my weeks stipend, Wence, I need to know what could've possibly embarrassed Yussah bad enough to change his wizardly ways."

"Oh, all right," he chuckles, leaning in, "but you didn't hear it from me. One time, good few years back, Master Yussah was studyin' this little ball thing, and got himself stuck inside. Had to call in a bunch of his wizard friends to get him back out. And they, ah, barely made it too, I heard, 'cause his map notes were just ... unintelligible."

"You're kidding, Wence? He got stuck. In a ball."

"Sure did, sure did! Had to call that pretty Taldorei lady myself to fix it all up."

"You had to get Arcanist Vysoren to get Yussah out of a ball?" Gent reaches for the goblins shoulders and gives them a good hard squeeze. "Thank you so much for telling me, Wence. You are truly the only man I have ever cared about in my life."

"Come now, surely he's not the only one." someone drawls from the doorway behind Gent.

Gent spins around in the chair, placating grin half way through stretching across his face. "Master Errenis, hello, how are you doing, did you need a hand with something, hope I haven't kept you waiting?"

Yussah gives a wry laugh. "I've been waiting in this doorway long enough, Ms. Avoris. Gossiping about my handwriting won't get those wards copied any faster."

Gent presses his lips together, turning (relatively) apologetically back to his work. Yussah motions for Wenceforth to follow him out of the room, starting to describe some spell components he needed dug out of storage. He stops in the doorway, just to be sure Gent is still in earshot.

"I have got to get that kid to see some other wizards. Let him study with someone really old and crazy, like Waccoh. Then see how he feels about my damn notes."

*****

#bros if you thought This was long get ready morgan sent me one for every single character #stella #roona #gent #asks

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thisuserhasoriginalideas · 4 years

Text

(Still nameless project) Character and Species master post

Soo how some might have noticed I am working on an original Idea for a comic and this will be my Character master post which I will add to whenever I got a new addition for the cast.

The premise of the story basically some aliens going on an adventure to find earth and join a supposed interplanetary peaceful conglomeration because they caught a transmission of an old cheesy and corny scifi series (ala star trek or well early Perry Rhodan when you actually know that novel series you get a free smooch from me)

The Lophorel and the Narlaha

Those are the first Species to be introduced and well the ones where the original three crew members will start off .

For demonstration purposes I include a pic of the parents of the first three bc I still need to make a general species guide for them lol

(From left to right: Shejeren, Noroph'a, Uruphija'l, Charalah I will give some short specific info about them later lol)

Both species share one planet which is the second in their solar system and has three moons orbiting around it.

The Lophorel are native to surface of the planet and usually have a skin color ranging from very light blues to dark purples. They have gem like growths on their heads which is surrounded by a skin covered bone structure which either is build like an ark or a row of lill spikes. They have pointy ears and their bigger eyes have octagonal pupils which form a cross when constricted. Usually their Iris has the same color as their gem and their Sclera is black, in rare cases there can be mutations of color tho. With their eyes they can perceive a wide array of colors and even some elektro magnetic phenomena in their environment but they are pretty much blind in low light situations. They usually wear longer hair (short hair is seen as obscene in their culture) in different braided styles. While white hair is the most common hair color in their species there are also variants of reddish browns that can occur. They aren't very strong however but do to their legs agile and good at jumping. Height wise they can get from 1,60 m (5' 2'')up to 1,90 m (6' 2'') They are generally hermaphrodites and don't have naval due to laying eggs. They use the terms Eren (Seedgiver) and Ophat (shellcarrier) to adresse their parents and it occurs that siblings from the same parent pair use diffrent terms for addressing the same parent. They also number their children with the last sibille of their name so for example having 'rel' at the end of a name means that it is the first hatched child YEP I gonne write a language guid later someday lol . While being omnivore they have developed a distaste to eating meat and as a culture live mostly vegetarian.

The Narlaha are used to live mostly under the surface of the planet and are often called Nipht by the Lophorel which is similar to calling someone and earthworm. In turn the Narlaha call the Lophorel Kar'alarf which literally means stone-head. They are significantly smaller than their surface dwelling neighbors and only get around 1,50 m (4' 9''). They have four arms and are significantly physically stronger. Due to their carnivore nature and history of hunting they have sharp claws and teeth and usually a very dark grey skin completion mixed with red markings which makes them blend in with their stone surroundings. Their four eyes are one tones and most of the time their eye colors range from white grayish to red. They may only see the world in reddish and green tones but they have excellent vision in dark areas. The bone structure on their head helps them sensing vibrations from their surroundings. They are more like us humans when it comes to their genders and sexualities soo no big explanation here. But they don't really have their own names instead a family name is given from the chosen parent to the child with either a 'lah'(born female), 'ren'(born male), 'len' (born intersex) at the end depending on the biological sex they are born with. Also they tend to have brown to black hair only sometimes they mutate blond hair. Also there are albinos I'm the Species

In the history of their species they obviously didn't get along very well most of the time so after a view wars the Lophorel sadly established a trend of enslaving the Narlaha bc the Lophorel (having the advantage of not limited airspace) were technology more advanced than the Narlaha, who due to limited space couldn't build respected deferenses against the most of the time vibration based attacks of the Lophorel. While the violent ages of this planet are now gone both their cultures got so accustomed to the practice of slavery that there are barely any objectors on both sides of the coin. Still during the events of the story there some thing about to be changed lol.

And now off to a few words to the named characters above. They are as stated the Parents to the first three crew members of the story. Noroph'a is a rich space miner that makes his living with deploying mining ships to other planets of their solar system. They married the way less fortunate Uruphija'l due to practicality and the wish to produce taller offspring (They are a little insecure about their height). Both of them are rather strict and caught up in outdated social rules. After they conceived their first egg they bought Shejeren and Charalah bc they also were expecting a child and Noroph'a wanted their offspring to grow up with an always present play buddy bc he also grew up with a Narlaha play mate. After Charalah gave birth to a little baby daughter (Shejelah) She and her husband were kept as bodyguards for the two Lophorels while a third Narlaha took care of Shejelah and the now also hatched Ala'phrel.(Charalah and Shejeren already had a older child Chararen who at this point already worked in a diffrent household [Narlaha children get independent pretty quickly]). In general where the two Narlahas pretty happy to have landed in Noroph'a's household because their new daughter now had the privilege to get the basics of a good high tier education together with Noroph'a's offsprings which would mean that she could later find a home as a home preschool teacher which is considered a honorable position for a Narlaha. Noroph'a and Uruphija’l had one more child (Nirlaph) and even tho Shejeren and Charalah tried to also conceive again Shejelah stayed the only young Narlaha in the household.

On to the important peeps

(From left to right Nirlaph, Ala’phrel, Shejelah)

Growing up together the three established a strong bond and even tho it was planed to send Shejelah away as she got old enough to be sold off again Ala’phrel and Nirlaph both protested against their parents wishes and kept Shejelah around. This is partially because when they were younger and first got to have tech based toys the three of them build a simple signal receiver which accidentally lead them to catch an old transmission of a show called "Captain Jacks search through the stars" which depicted a utopian society without racism and slavery. They didn't understand a word of what was said in the show but the depiction of different races (even tho they were suspiciously similar in general looks) working together seemingly without race hierarchy fascinated the three kids to such an extend that they from there on strived to one-day be able to meet Captain Jack and his Crew and join their ranks. They over time established a translation of the alien language and made it their own. Learned all principles which Captain Jack resided as foundation of the peaceful planets conglomeration and started studying all skills need to actually fly a space ship.

Even tho the three kids treated each other as equals the older they got the more Shejelah had to oblige to the house rules, meaning she had to adapt to the servant clothing, had to learn formal speaking rules and wasn't allowed to speak without spoken to in general. While she did conform to those rules to some degree the suppressed aggression against them lead to her having a very strange relationship with human swear words. She really likes to sprinkling them in when she has the opportunity to speak freely. In general she seem to be a rather reserved individual (despite the swearword occasionally slipping out) but that's just as long as she doesn't trusts you. At times she seems to be just a tad sassy which is a way for her to handel her insecurities about her social status and her struggle to actually come forward with requests regarding herself, bringing her ideas forward or just simply saying ‘no’ to a request. It is very important to her to be able to choose her own clothing and she often will change her outfits as she sees fit just because being forced to wear a unified and dull outfit for most of her life evoked a desire of outward expression of herself in her. So even tho she dawns a version of the uniform they have seen the crew members of captain Jack wear she will take her own spin on them and proudly wears her own creations. She wears an open nose ring to honer her upbringing as slave and symbolize her now found freedom. Shejelah is often called just Jelah by her two friend after seeing the crew members of Jack using Nicknames for each other, while this is a shorter version of her name it also means ‘brain’ in an ancient language of the Lophorel. And indeed a brain she is, not just having the strength of her species Shejelah is quite smart and has a high interests in quantum physics and chemistry. She will often work together with Nirlaph, who has a interests into engineering to invent and upgrade all sorts of gadgets and knickknacks. Speaking of Nirlaph (Nick: Nor translatable with ‘fluffy chicken’) they are non a less brilliant but suffer a severe case of being skittish and uncertain. As the younger sibling they often had to live to the standards the older one leid down first and while they are in many aspects superior to their sibling the stress of being held up to already high standards got to them at a young age. So while they are capable of being brilliant and an absolute genius their anxiety and stage fright often hold them back. So more often then not they tend to overthink decisions and either screw something up in the execution do to the anxiety or just not doing it at all even tho deep down they know they should have. They still don’t hold a grudge against their older sibling to the contrary they heavily rely on the fare more outgoing and intuitive Ala’phrel to pull them for Support and to just pull them against through it. But other than Ala’phrel and Shejelah they prefer to keep to them selves often working in the dead of the night and in secret on their projects to avoid the awkwardness that brings working under the public eye. But also he refuses to give their and Shejelah’s brilliant invention to a society that wouldn’t even acknowledge Shejelah’s part in them which they think is way greater than their part in them. So even if both of their work could have revolutionized the space travel of their society they keep their inventions a secret which will later be to their advantage. But well without Ala’phrel the trio wouldn’t get to the point where they will find them selves. Ala’phrel is bold, charismatic and understands how to get their way. They are the driving force behind the whole story dragging the other two further into the right direction. While lacking the brilliant and deep understanding of the scientific backgrounds their bordering on delusional positive attitude and admiration of the concepts they have seen in the show keeps them all moving forward. Ala’phrel isn’t shy of justifying controversial actions ( like stealing a ship from their parents) with the greater intention behind them which sometimes leads to further trouble they need to deal with together with their friends which more often than not build the perfect contra weight to Ala’phrel ‘s at times insane schemes. They definitely are a bit too much obsessed with captain Jack and his crew and them being real so you could say they are a super fan. But in the end they have good intentions even tho they lack the experience they always try to do the best for their friend and for themselves.

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erikismybitch · 5 years

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Waiting In Vain: Chapter 11

First Base.

Erik was coming over tonight . It was a spontaneous matter. He was coming to help her install her security doorbell. He told her he wanted to give her a gift , turns out it was just that. “You live alone , you need to know who’s at your door... people prey on women” he told her . She let him know that he probably needed to Install it for her . That was like music to his ears , he just wanted her to invite him over . Erik insisted that she let him do it . “You ain’t gotta pay nobody , I got you”

It was the end of the afternoon. Erik told her he would swing by late night , he was busy. It would be the first time she seen him since that eventful night at the strip club. She was dwelling on how it might be when he came , so instead of letting her anxiety get the best of her , she tried to occupy her time . She was on her living room floor . Watching youtube trying to find out how to add fake braiding hair to her natural style . Marley was a do it yourself type of girl , and never backed down from a challenge. Her living room was full of free strands of kaneklon . Her wild blow dried hair was pinned with every metal clip she could find. She took a deep breath and blew the hair out of her face , this was harder than she thought . This was only braid one .

“Oh my fucking god” frustration overtook her as she un-did the the braid for the third time . Marley started from the beginning , just as the chipper girl on YouTube showed her . Then there was a knock on the door right in the middle of the braid. Marley thought it was a part of the video, until she heard it again. Then it sounded like her door .

“Who is it!” she made her voice aggressive, a tactic she followed ever since she was a child . It always made her feel safe when she was home alone . Like the voice would scare the unwanted away. Silly, she knew that . Nobody responded . She figured it was another one of her elderly neighbors welcoming her . They had been bringing food and plants all week. One woman told Marley she reminded her of her grandchild, and spend the afternoon showing her pictures of her. They looked nothing alike , but Marley wouldn’t dare tell her that .

The knocks continued. She crept to the peep hole and looked out . Erik, who wasn’t supposed to be there until later was standing at her door. “Erik, I thought you were coming later” Marley observed him through the peep hole . He stood back with his feet facing out and apart . His hands held at his front holding the doorbell in a package.

“I’m here now, so open the door” he looked right at the peep hole , as if he could see her . Marley quickly moved to the side and tried her best to lay her big hair down. She really didn’t want him to see her like that . “Marley, what the fuck” Erik was growing impatient.

She opened the door slowly, but stood behind it . Erik walked in, a bit puzzled because he didn’t see her . She shut the door and prepared herself for his lude comments about her hair. He stared at it with big eyes, then began to laugh .

“Don’t laugh at me , I’m in the middle of doing my hair” she ran her hands through it and held it in a ponytail.

“What are you doing to it?” Erik was being sarcastic , he made sure to bug his eyes out for emphasis .

“I’m trying to braid my hair” Marley walked back to her living room and sat down in front of her laptop . Without saying anything , she pointed to the small tool box on her kitchen counter . Along with her power drill that she never really used . “Thank you for doing this”

Erik nodded and grabbed everything he needed to install the security doorbell. Marley continued to do her hair as Erik worked.

He kept the front door open , his glare reverting back and forth from Marley and the doorbell . She was so focused on what she was doing. It was pretty obvious to Erik that this was something she wasn’t good at . She kept cursing, huffing and starting over . He cut on the drill and it made Marley jump, that made him laugh again. But it only frustrated her further more , she tossed her fake hair across the floor .

Erik finished the doorbell with lightning speed, then came inside . Since she had no furniture yet, he sat on her kitchen counter . Marley decided to give up. Her arms were getting tired and her fingers were slightly sore. She took a deep breath and rested her arms behind her . Marleys soft face looked at Erik. He was already staring at her .

“All you need to do is connect your phone to the camera ”

“I feel safer already” she joked.

Erik hopped off the counter . He circled the living room and looked around. “Give me a tour” Erik held his hand out for her to grab, when she did he pulled her up with ease . She pretended not to be phased at how strong he was. Or how cute he was , or how good he smelled or how his dimples made her heartbeat speed up.

“A tour?” Marley asked , seemingly distracted by him. She even forgot that her hair was still a mess.

“Of the apartment”

Marley showed him every room except for hers, that was last . She made sure to give him the excuse that she’s working on getting more stuff . Marley was embarrassed at the fact that her place was so empty . Although Erik didn’t feel she had anything to prove . They stopped at her bedroom door . Marley gave this exaggerated speech about her exuberant room. She told him she didn’t let many people inside of her room. So it was a privilege for him to witness it.

It was light and airy. The wind from the open windows made her sheer curtains flow freely . On her floor was a huge lilac shag rug that made Erik want to take off his shoes and rub his feet on it . It was neat and organized, down the the matching vases full of flowers that sat on her dresser . Right below her flat screen . Erik fought the urge to ask her who molded her TV for her . But that wasn’t his place yet . Ironically, just like her , Eriks found his favorite part was her bed. Big fluffy and white . He thought she had to have at least twenty pillows on it . She plopped herself on it. Erik couldnt help but watch her chest bounce lightly .

“You hungry?” Marley questioned casually but her words lit him up.

“For you, always”

“You real corny”

“You like it though”

Erik was cocky , it had always got him far. He was mysterious to many , those who didn’t know him could literally see the guard he held up . But to know him, was to love him. Erik had a kind heart that he only revealed to a few. Most knew his other side . Erik could be cold , his emotions had the ability to cut off like a switch .

There was a light in Marley the first time he saw her . She smiled and said “Hi” to him. For the first time in his adult life, Erik found himself unsure of what to say. He was always quick and ready for any thing . That night he was stuck, so he decided to move onto something easy and familiar. Tiana.

Back in those past times, Erik admired how Marley was always working and busy . Coming in late all crabbed and tired . While he was fucking Tiana, he wanted to know everything about her day. That’s why he would catch her in the middle of the night in the kitchen. But that unfamiliar emotion would take over him and he always said something to offend her . As if he was punishing her for making him feel a way . It didn’t stop there . Erik enjoyed eating her good left overs when she didn’t come home at nights . He always ate everything she cooked, subconsciously pretending as if she made it for him. One night after he’d Put Tiana to sleep with the power of his penis, he went into her room . It was an oasis and seemed to be displaced in this apartment. It smelled so good, she always smelled so good. Marley had a big bed that was made perfectly. Her closet was filled with shoes like his . On her nightstand laid her iPod, he didn’t even know people still used those . It was connected to a mini speaker . Erik pressed play . Music began to play softly, Stevie Wonder Golden lady . He went home that same night , because he never spent the night . Erik shamelessly played Stevie wonder with thoughts of her . He tried to invade her privacy again the next night . Tiana caught him in her room . He played it off as if he was searching for condoms . Erik laughed about that often . It was amazing to him that she lived in a different apartment , and in such a short time she had managed to make it smell exactly the same.

“We can’t go eat with your hair like th-”

“I’m gonna fix it” She cut him off and went into the bathroom. While she used a spray bottle and some product to form a slick low bun. Erik told her he’d be waiting for her outside in his car. Marley found a hoodie that semi-matched her joggers . She slid on some sneakers and went outside.

Marley didn’t see him at first until he honked . “Of course that’s your car” she spoke to herself . A fancy sports something she didn’t know the name of . It was loud and white . He reached over and opened her door from the passenger side, which was a big step up from him honking . Erik took off down the road , driving past the speed limit . Marley didn’t fret because she drove fast too . He got on the freeway , Erik didn’t say much . Just mentioned that he wanted Mexican food, and he could only eat from one spot . Marley thought it was a little dramatic , it was a bit far from her house . Then again, looking at it as a person who loved good , maybe it was that good .

Erik exited at a part of the city that Marley didn’t frequent . He was taking her to the hood. Not that she felt too good to be here, she just didn’t have a reason to . Marley didn’t have a stuck-up bone in her body . If anything , places like this humbled her . Same with Erik . He wanted to see if she’d be comfortable in the setting , humility was important to him.

He parked in front of a hole in the wall Mexican restaurant. There was an unnatural amount of litter on the sidewalk and a middle aged homeless man who was asking for change . Erik ignored him , while Marley promised to take care of him on her way back out if he was still around.

For the place to be so run down. There were quite a few people eating inside . There were small booths with pepper sauce and napkins on the tables . Erik told Marley to sit down while he ordered for the both of them . Marley liked how he had taken charge, but warned him not to get her anything too spicy . She was easy like that . Erik ordered and stood at the pick up window for a long while . He scrolled through his phone casually, sometimes glancing at his surroundings and checking Marley out . They called his order number and he brought it back to the table . A platter of tacos with different meat, and sides of rice and beans. Two Mexican Cokes and pickled carrots. Marley was impressed , and wasted no time telling him so . He flaunted because he knew she’d like it .

They began eating , and conversing about everything under the sun . She spoke with food still slightly in her mouth and when she drank her soda she burped . Giving Erik a small look at the real her , without even knowing it. Erik thought she was so pretty , without even trying . It was the small things . Especially her loud laugh. She was laughing at something he said about a movie that they both had recently seen. Some super hero flick that they agreed wasn’t that good .

“Would you rather be a hero or a villain in a movie?” Marley asked him . She would bet her money that Erik wanted to be a villain . Erik played the villain in her life for a little while.

“You go first” he licked the salsa off his fingers and awaited her answer . Marley shrugged her shoulders slowly , she had asked that question without coming up with an answer of her own .

“I’m always somewhere in the middle. I’d probably be the hero’s love interest who died and he avenged my death” Marley took a sip of coke and began eating another taco , even though she was getting full .

“Damn girl”

“You’d be a villain huh?” Marley cheesed because she knew she was right .

“Definitely a villain, who wins”

Marley clasped her hands together and sprung her grand idea into action. “You would be the villain who killed me and the hero had to kill you” she stared off into space imagining the visual.

“Or I was in love with you and killed the hero for not protecting you from death”

Her eyes cut straight back to him , she was stunned. Especially with those words “love” and “you” formed together in a sentence .

“Did we just write a blockbuster smash ?” .

“We did, Marley”

The little smile she let out after he said her name left him curious . So he said her name again making her smile ever harder . Her version of blushing ,she tried to hide it with the bite of a taco . He found it adorable that he could make her nervous . But she could also be herself too. Erik was learning that Marley had these soft spots . When he got close to her , looked in her eyes too long , or said something provocative. And now , it was the way he said her name .

“What exactly do you think about me?”

Erik was also learning that he didn’t have her all figured out the way he thought . He didn’t know exactly what she meant with that question.

“What kind of question is that ?” Erik diverted with another question because he was unable to answer it .

“It’s a valid one” Marley’s tone was a little more straightforward now.

“Well...” he looked heavenward then back down before he spoke again . “That’s not a question I’m ready to answer right now”

“Judging on how we ended up in this situation, I need to know that I’m not making a mistake by entertaining you”

“So I’m just entertainment ?”

They both took a step back , not a literal one but just a moment. Marley thought she could have phrased that better . Considering that dealing with feelings head on may not be his strong suit. Erik didn’t want to make her upset, based on how he treated her in the past he understood the conflict. She opened up her mouth to speak, but Erik thought his response was more important. He interrupted her.

“Im here with you cause’...I want to be” it was plain and simple just like that .

Markey didn’t know if it was the itis that had kicked in and relaxed her . But that was actually enough validation for her . Right now. It was enough to get them started on whatever journey they were taking.

They finished their food , and since Erik paid , Marley cleared the table before they left . They both walked the garbage filled pathway to his car . The homeless man from before had gone . In his place an intolerably drunk man was approaching Marley’s side . Erik casually gripped her waist and moved her out the way , closer to him. The drunk man mouthed a few unrecognizable words but they just ignored him. And when he got too close to Marley again, Erik wasted no time threatening him . She felt protected in that moment. It was ironic though . In a sense Erik was the one who put her in the face of harm, but he wouldn’t let anything harm her.

He opened her car door from the outside this time . She got inside , and he soon followed . Strategically, Erik turned the volume up on his car audio. To Marley’s liking, Stevie wonder was playing . She stared out the window and hummed the melody to Visions ... she found it funny. A song she listened to when things weren’t going well . Visions, a song that asked the question, will things be better as if I imagined them. Maybe it was a sign that things were looking up for her .

He padded her thigh and let his hand remain there , she snapped out of Wonderland and turned to him. “You good?” He noticed how she had zoned out. She nodded.

“I just really love this song, that’s all”

Marley glanced at his hand, and fought the urge to slide her fingers in between his . Holding hands was one of the ultimate signs of affection to her . But if he pulled back , she couldn’t handle that rejection. So she did nothing , just allowed him to rest his hand there . Affection wasn’t the only thing she wanted to feel , Eriks hand was at the top of her thigh signaling her blood to rush to the pleasure points of her body . She cleared her throat and released tension .

“You liked the food huh” He basically told her .

“Hella good” Marley joked about how that might be her new Taco spot . Erik said it was cool, as long as he was with her every time . That was a deal she happily made . He soon pulled up to her apartment complex and found a spot right in front of the fountain . The water was all they could hear on account of the cars silence. Marley wanted him to come inside badly . She wasn’t sure if sex was the right thing to do so soon, but her body said otherwise. He wasn’t moving .

“Alright then” he hit her thigh softly , in a “be on your way” type of manner . Then placed it back on the wheel .

“Bye, thanks” The look disappointment she could not cover. He could tell too. Right as she opened the door to exit, Erik grabbed her back inside by her left arm.

“It’s not that I don’t want to come in” he gave her a once-over . “Trust me ,I do... I do for real I do” he repeated himself .

“It’s okay” that look of dissipointment was still there.

“I put some stuff off to see you early, it can’t wait” Erik didn’t want Marley to feel like he was pushing her away.

“ I said it’s okay” she sounded as if she was trying to convince herself as well as him.

“You had that look on your face , I just had to let you know” her face crept into a smile . All Erik did was make her smile this day . A big change from how they used to be. Erik intertwined his fingers with hers and kissed her palm . “Bye...be good, answer when I call”

“I promise” she took her hand back . He melted at the innocence in her voice. Marley shut his door and let him go. She walked to her complex entrance , Erik waited until she shut the lobby door to pull off .

“Promise , who says promise !” She palmed her face in embarrassment. A few tenants were in the lobby staring at her oddly for talking to herself . But she didn’t care , all she cared about was Erik .

#erik killmonger fanfiction #erik killmonger imagine #sorry it took so long #i got yall #i want a tuna melt #somebody order me one

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ughyoongis · 5 years

Text

We Both Know Hearts Can Change

a slytherin!calum au

chapter 1

dedicated to the #1 slytherin!calum stan @notoriouslyhood

A/N: I tried to make this a one shot but it's gonna be a multi-shot

word count: 8.3k (grab a snack & relax lol)

warnings: mentions of violence

The first years of Valerie's life were spent side by side with her family, and even more than that, her best friend Calum. A boy with a lisp and big brown eyes and crooked teeth who taught her nearly everything she could possibly know about quidditch and muggles. They were inseparable. Their parents laughed and praised the bond they had formed, swore they were the cutest little kids to roam the wizarding world.

She remembers when they were finally given letters to attend Hogwarts, how she heard him burst through the door out of breath and climb up the stairs and then heave his way into her cluttered room.

"I've got one!" He exclaimed, waving the letter triumphantly. Valerie peered up from the book in her hands and felt the blood in her veins pump faster and faster, she threw the covers off of her body and jumped across the room, feeling like she was on cloud nine, and plucked her letter off of the dresser she kept it on.

"Me too!" Her eyes lit up at the idea of going to Hogwarts with her best friend, giddily jumping up and down as he flung his weight onto her mattress to exclaim for the whole house to hear.

"It's gonna be terrific." He pumped a fist into the air, and Valerie felt her grin widen some more (if that was even possible).

They had giddily spoke all day, in hushed, childish whispers behind her closed door. The excitement in the room was palpable, and they had a week to exult it before they get to 9 and 3/4, then it's off to classes every day.

"I wanna be a gryffindor." She had daydreamed out loud, "Mama thinks I'll be one. What about you?"

She can remember the intensity of his locked gaze, wide, naive eyes that were so uncanny to his mothers it should be criminal. The uncanny resemblance of his parents at such a young age made it hard to not tell who he is. The Hood household, known for their unstoppable generations of fierce, determined-

"Slytherin, for sure." Calum whispered, fingers going to trace the quilted patterns on Valerie's duvet. He had no doubt in his mind his family's long line of green and silver would justifiably suit him.

Valerie was only eleven at the time, but she could see the resilience prodding through his tone, he had a lovely family, but she knew for a fact he would be different from them. Slytherin, yes, but not the kind that can still keep civil around others. He was austere, already, and he hadn't even enrolled yet.

There was also another worry in her mind, something unspoken between them that needed to be discussed.

"What if we're not in the same house?" Her eyes trained on his finger still tracing the delicate stitchings of her covers. Watching his fingertip dance across the outline of an owl.

"We'll still be friends." He answered within a heartbeat.

"Good." She had hoped he would say that, and her worries vanished just like that. They had stayed up late once he was given the right to sleepover, their adolescent imaginations running haywire as they created lists of supplies they'd need and drew out what wands they hoped to get. Valerie even let him take the good pillow that night, having to keep fluffing her own to try and get comfy. He slept right beside her, passed out and snoring as she lied on her side, gazing out her cracked open window. The subtle breeze fluttering the curtains as the stars twinkled behind wisps of clouds.

That was their last night spent together as friends.

The second they had boarded the Hogwarts Express Valerie was ditched for two boys and found herself her own cubby to retreat to. Alone in solitude, spare for her cat, Dinah, who curled up in her lap for the ride ahead. She had felt betrayed, scoffing to herself at how he jumped so feverishly at the opportunity to make new, better friends. Was she that embarrassing?

"Is this seat taken?" A girl had entered bashfully, owl in it's cage practically covering half of her figure. Her faint greyish blue eyes were inviting and near enchanting, wavy auburn hair unlike Valerie's chestnut brown. Voice meek but showed her nerves of the day ahead, Valerie liked her. Thought of her as, honestly, a potential friend.

"No." She smiled softly, a gentle curve of her lips.

The girl got herself situated after a minute or two and huffed when she sat across from her.

"I'm Josephine," She introduces herself with an outstretched hand. Valerie jolts hers into it. "You can call me Josie."

"I'm Valerie." Her eyes glance across to let the girl sink into her memory, knowing this won't be the last time they speak. "Val, for short."

Things with the trip to Hogwarts were as nervewracking yet adrenaline pumping as one may expect. An uneasiness brought upon her as she waved her family goodbye through the window, as did Josie, and the reality of it all sunk in. There would be no more goodnight kisses, let alone her favorite dinners of homemade soup and biscuits.

She had nervously twirled her aspen-wood, white-river-monster-spine-cored wand as they approached the glorious school, tall towers and intricate architecture in the afternoon sun that shone down upon the castle like a blinding spotlight. She had never been there before, and the descriptions of it did not do it justice in the slightest. That was when the anxiety had bubbled into excitement.

Josie had walked beside her the entire time they were entering the school, each student lugging suitcases and creatures in cages, she had just nearly forgotten about Calum until the school's opening banquet had begun. The four houses all sat at their designated tables as first year students huddled up for the sorting ceremony. It was beyond riveting to see strangers get sorted, and as she heard a familiar name, she grew all too interested at the results.

"Calum Hood," Dumbledore had called out, and up the boy went, the sorting hat placed upon his head of unruly, raven brown curls, it had spoke softly to itself for a moment. And in that split second of a pause, time stood still, and Valerie even stiller.

"Slytherin!" It had chosen, nay declared, and the table erupted into whoops and hollers as he trotted his way over to take a seat.

She spent the rest of the ceremony digging her nails into the palms of her hands, the fists she had balled them into formed crescents into her skin. Hiding her disapproval in a pity smile he shot her way when passing by, she merely twirled a strand of her brown hair and pretended not to notice.

"Valerie Scott." Her name echoed down the grand hall and she made her way up to the center with a bashful grin, two excited thumbs up from Josephine, who sat as a new, proud Ravenclaw.

She took a glance at Calum, who was already befriended by an upperclassman, not even looking at her. And the hat on her head had been placed, murmuring wickedly.

"I'm sensing some apprehension against a house- Slytherin?"

She had burned red in the cheeks, praying nobody could hear the hat speak.

"Perhaps it's because of the cowardice you radiate. Or the lack of, hm, ill intentions." The gruff voice mutters before taking a moment to gather it's thoughts.

Valerie's heart was pounding in her chest, watching the way Calum looked up at her, silently apologizing in advance, because they both know she isn't a slytherin.

"Ravenclaw!" The hat announced at the same time Josie bounced out of her seat to victoriously celebrate her placement. And her eyes shifted off of Calum and to her new table, her new life, no longer attached at the hip to Calum Hood.

That was six years ago, from where Valerie currently resides. Comfortably relaxing in her shared dorm with Josie. They have books open on their desks, abandoned for now, as they find themselves reminiscing on their many years at this school, now in their final one.

They cut the discussion short and head down to lunch for the third time this school year, only in their first week of classes. All too giddy to be the eldest of their class. Eighteen years old and now superior to the lower class kids.

Not that they're barbaric enough to tease those underneath them, unlike others they've seen.

"First quidditch match tomorrow, you excited?" Josie peeps her head up from the plate in front of her. The blue eyes she has are still shining bright, and her red hair is slicked back in two tight french braids.

"Maybe if our house was playing I would be." Valerie quirks her lips into an unamused expression. Her eyebrows furrowing as her pout falls at the remembrance of who's playing. she absentmindedly stirs her hot cocoa.

"Yeah, but Gryffindor versus Slytherin is as legendary as one could expect, you can't miss it."

"I won't, I won't." Her words soothe the girl across from her, extinguishing any doubt in her mind that she'd stay in her room rather than miss something so revolutionary. Two head to head rival houses.

"Not to mention Luke requested me to be there." Josie grinned childishly, a little shimmy in her seat as the thought of that doofus makes her heart swoop and soar.

Valerie adores Josie, she's her closest friend, but she does not approve of the fling she has going on with Luke Hemmings. A fairly new concept, only a month or two, but they keep things strictly private due to her being muggle-born and his parents being strictly pureblood. Not to mention this school's blatant judgment for odd couples such as that.

Not that Josie can't choose who to be with, but the fact she had chosen someone who's very close to Calum- practically clings to him- is a little agitating. Josie runs off every now and then to sneak kisses with the blonde boy, then burrows under her covers late that night gushing to a half asleep Val about how cute yet sexy the blue eyed boy can be. It's kind of sickening, how in love she is.

"Luke, huh?" She has no other words to say. Just skims the premises around her to find the Slytherin table beside them, to the right. Her view near exact with Luke's posse of certified jocks. There's Michael Clifford, an astonishingly ignorant and loud character to say the least, who finds joy in messing with the younger students and some of the gullible instructors. Luke Hemmings himself, star keeper with criminally blue eyes and all too charming features that he uses to his advantage when need be.

And last, but certainly not least, Calum Hood.

A much, much different Calum from who she once knew. His dark curls once a mop on top of his pudgy face have been shaved on the underside and styled on the top in a messy fashion. His bone structure somehow sharper and sharper with each passing year, jaw set in a permanent chiseled position, cheekbones defined and drop dead gorgeous. Calum's eyes are devilish and so, so cunning. They bring most girls to their knees, without him even caring, since he spends most of his time either on the quidditch field as a seeker, or hiding out somewhere unbeknownst to others. He's private, isolated, but purposely keeps himself hidden despite all the attention he gets from those around him. He is infamous, enigmatic, and unfairly handsome.

Valerie doesn't recognize him from the boy she once knew. He's a proper man now, with stoic features and a persona unlike any other. He's a mystery that many people fail to solve, and he walks these halls like the champion he truly is.

"Who are you staring at?" Josie turns around entirely to try and pinpoint who she's been ogling for the past minute or two. Her lips part in a silent gasp, hands flying across the table to grab Valerie by the wrists. "Are you staring at Calum Hood?"

"No, I just- I zoned out." Lie. Just one fat lie to try and act like she wasn't viewing the guy across from her as the sexiest man alive. His body is slouched but tense as he talks to his friends in low, but elated, conversation.

"Merlin's beard, you were looking at him." She shrieks, all too excited to hear her friend fancies a boy for once instead of slumping in the library.

"I can tell Luke to talk to him about you, he'd do it, you know."

"Please don't." Valerie huffs, standing with a new proposition in mind, "I'm gonna go study, I'm not that hungry."

She wasn't staring at Calum in a way that was obvious, or so she hopes, because when her body rose from her seat she could have sworn he lifted his head up to look at her. Even if that was for a split second, she felt goosebumps prickle at her skin and a sharp chill run up her spine.

"You're going to that game tomorrow, Val, whether you want to or not."

The words resonate with her the rest of her stroll out of the dining hall, busying herself with the urge to scream at what just happened. Out of nowhere Calum seems to be all her mind can focus on. Maybe it's the fact they actually share most classes this year, or possibly the newfound buzz of popularity he has in these halls after carrying the quidditch team all last year. He's the man to be, the one girls swoon over, and she's not blind- she can see why they all fall for him- his charm and laidback 'I don't care' reputation is as accurate as it gets. Not to mention how easy he is on the eyes.

Valerie catches herself in the tangent of Calum Hood and huffs out loud, the corridor she's in is empty, thank Merlin, but she feels paranoid that people might see her going so insane. Over a boy, too.

A boy who left her in the dust after ten years of camaraderie, they had been best friends, and now he's taken a different path of life full of social celebrations and sports, and she's a bookworm with a heart of gold.

Sometimes she wonders what would've happened if she was put in Slytherin, if he had stuck by her side, if he would've ever befriended Luke and Michael instead. She knows she wasn't unimportant to him, but she felt used, like a stepping stone to get to where he is now.

"Hey," A voice speaks up alongside her, and she nearly jumps out of her skin at the sight of Michael Clifford, holding something out to her. "You dropped this in the cafeteria."

She trails her gaze away from his emerald eyes and pale features, all the way down to his palm that grasps her wand.

The breath she didn't realize she was holding in falls out in a sigh, "Oh, thanks."

"You're Josephine's friend, yeah?"

Great, more conversation, she groans internally. Her eyes set on the wand she's taking from his hand oh so delicately. As if touching him will result in a curse of some sort.

"Mhm." She decides to bite, "Why?"

"Just, uh, heard a lot about you." He gives a tight lipped smile, his eyes flicker away from her to the left and juts his chin out to point at something. His subtle actions worry her, and when her gaze follows his, she feels her throat grow dry and nearly collapse on the spot.

Calum. He pointed out Calum. Who leans against the entrance of the cafeteria, one hand loosening his school's uniformed tie, the green and silver glimmering against the chandelier above him. His eyebrows thread together in frustration as he rolls his eyes at what Luke can't stop babbling on about.

"Oh," Her voice is a whisper, and she didn't mean to sound so feeble but her eyes are glued on the raven haired boy across the corridor, seemingly miles away as her blood runs cold. He talks about her? Good things or bad things? How often? She should've never found out this information because now it will drive her mad.

"Valerie, right?"

"Yeah." She feels frozen. Despair in her tone as he drops his hand at his side, robes flowing with his motions.

He swings his body sideways and shrugs, "I'll, uh, see you in potions class."

"O-Okay." She utters, now in disbelief.

Because she never noticed him in potions class, she didn't even go there today. So, why did he notice her on the first day?

Michael strides away with his hands in his pockets, and she stands dumbfounded, wand clutched in her clammy hand as Calum stares up at her for the faintest of moments. His brow arches up, and his lips purse in deep thought, almost studies her from afar. Then he does something so infinitesimal, yet so overwhelming she wants to scream.

His right eye falls, and he winks at her before turning back to his friends with a smug, knowing look on his stupidly handsome face.

Valerie finds Michael in her potions class the next morning, and she's not surprised to see him in the far back, half asleep as the book on his desk lies untouched. A guy partnered with him, Ashton Irwin, seems a little too awake to be in school, he's nice, from what she can remember from their few limited encounters.

And it seems that suddenly, her days are filled with signs of Calum, whether it's hearing girls whisper and giggle about him in the halls, or just the occasional glance she gets of him walking past her in the halls. It's as if, out of the blue, Calum's silence the past six years has erupted into a deafening uproar.

"It's gonna be cold, wear some layers." Josie tosses a Ravenclaw scarf to her friend across the room, letting her borrow it for tonights game. Her body bundled up for the cold autumnal afternoon ahead, she walks side by side with her trusty sidekick, their blue and silver attire mixes with the other students in their house, everyone bustling out to the field to sit in their designated seating area for the game.

Her hands clutch a styrofoam cup of hot chocolate, sips from it every now and then to keep herself warm.

She never hated the sport, despite Josie's obvious taunting, she just doesn't quite understand the significance of these games. Why do students go nuts at such a barbaric sport? Why do girls find the Slytherin seeker attractive despite his blatant egotistical tendencies and shameless flirting he does with any girl? Ugh.

So yeah, quidditch is a bore to her. Not exactly what she wants to spend her afternoon doing. She'd much rather be under her covers with Dinah curled up on her lap while she eats some candy and writes letters to her family back home.

So it's no surprise she zones out a good ten minutes into the game, quidditch players zoom by on their broomsticks and nearly give her a nosebleed when one ventures far too close for her liking, and then she's in her own little world.

Josie jumps up and down whenever Luke breathes, and it's cute at first, and she watches her best friend fondly, but by the fifth swoon she's at the brink of losing her mind.

That's why she decides to focus on something else– or someone else.

He's focused and intent, only takes a break to search for the golden snitch before taking off again with a determined look on his stoic face. Brown eyes near black with focus as he whirs through other players, dodges any hits, and takes down opponents in the process.

Her eyes can only follow him for so long before she feels dizzy, he's fast, definitely too fast for Gryffindor. She smiles a little bit, remembering how he used to idolize star quidditch players when they were young, he always wanted to be a quidditch player, and now he's one of the best at Hogwarts. She wouldn't be surprised if he set school records.

"Close your mouth, or you'll catch flies." Josie teases, and snaps her back into reality, eyes rolling back at her friends antics. She's just interested in the game, that's all. She wasn't drooling over Calum, just waiting to see if he'll catch the golden snitch.

Right as she stares at Josie there's a strong wave of wind that surges them back, her gaze dead set on the broomstick a few feet from her face as a Slytherin player leans over the field to meet Josie's awestruck expression.

Luke. She watches in utter surprise. The blonde's golden curls ruffling through the breeze as he tilts a gloved hand under Josie's wind-bitten rosy cheek and brings his lips to hers in an Earth shattering kiss.

"Lu," She whispers, startled at his PDA, especially because their relationship was strictly private.

He smirks, "See you after the game."

He goes back to the main purpose of the game and plays with ease, almost too casual about the spectacle he just caused. Josie still sits, fingertips grazing her lips in shock, reminiscing in the tingle she feels across them.

Valerie sits beside her, mouth agape, as she lets what just happened sink in. The crowd around them is already bombarding Josie with rapid fire questions on what that was and what it means. She knows. Luke just put their relationship in the public eye. The whole school will know by morning, and she's still red in the face at the mere thought.

"Wow." Is all Valerie can say.

"Yeah." Josie mutters back, speechless.

The game around them feels underwhelming after that, but Luke is as much of a star as before, scoring some points, meanwhile his other teammates seem just as flustered and confused at what they saw him do. Since when was he with a ravenclaw?

The only person who's unfazed by this is Calum, who uses this spectacle to his advantage and relentlessly chases the snitch now that the Gryffindor seeker is backtracking.

"Slytherin's seeker, Calum Hood, has caught the golden snitch!" The young announcer exclaims as the man being praised with roaring applause and celebratory whoops and hollers sends a victorious fist in the arm that holds the snitch in all it's glory. His fellow teammates swarm around him and do the same, some send encouraging back pats his way, others ruffle his curly hair.

"Come on," Josie pulls Valerie out of her seat once the game is officially over, and races her down the stairs until they reach the side of the field.

"Why are we-"

"Lu!" Josie shrieks when the boy comes walking out of the stadium with his broom in hand, now in his regular school uniform of a robe, button down, sweater, and tie. She latches onto his front in a hug that lasts far too long.

"You did great out there." Valerie tenses at the awkwardness in her voice, feeling uncomfortable at the blatant PDA these two are in the midst of. Kissing each other with silly giggles and whispers in between, she feels like she's intruding.

Luke eventually pulls away, a goofy, crooked smile on his lips. "Thanks, didn't think you'd actually show up."

She burns vermillion, her lips in a tight line as she hugs her own body for warmth. The sun is a sliver on the horizon as the subtle warmth of the day decreases and is replaced by cool winds. She really wants to go back to her room.

"Gonna join us for the celebration? The lads and I wanna have a bottle or two."

"No, I'm good. Tired." She takes a few slow steps back, "I have homework to do, classes to study for and-"

She stops her sentence when her back juts into something behind her, a low humph falling from her lips as she spins around in surprise. A very unimpressed Calum stands in her wake, taller than she remembers, eyes giving a quick skim of her body before assessing who she is. Her heart that thuds with chagrin only amplifies. She bets others can hear it if they listen closely.

"Y'alright?" His voice. She never really heard it, not since year one when he actually spoke up in classes. Not since they were actual comrades. Not since he actually acknowledged her existence. It's darker, full of a thick rasp and yet still smooth like honey. She drinks in the sight of his jawline, how his adam's apple bobs when he asks her if she's alright. Y'alright? That's what he has to say after years of silence?

"Yeah," She whispers, a little too meek in her tone, feet wobbling as she steps back and tries to fix her appearance, wants to drown in the knitted scarf that feels like it's suffocating her neck all of a sudden. "I'm great, actually."

He piques an amused brow to question her not-so believing tone, but doesn't say anything about how polar opposite her words are to her actual physical expression. Something in between terrified and ashamed.

"Congrats on the win." She stammers out in one hearty breath, slowly gaining her composure. Still captivated on the way he seems so unfazed with his victory.

She despises the way her heart turns and twists at the sound of him humming to reply. Hates the way she missed the brown in his eyes.

"Not my best game, to be fair, I was kind of distracted."

At that she's confused. He seemed pretty focused, if not entirely focused on the snitch the whole game. Not that she watched him like a hawk or anything.

"Oh?" She inquired for more explaining. "Why's that?"

"Nice joke, Val."

She feels herself bristle at the nickname. She never gave him the right to call her that, he can't just waltz his way back into her life as if the past six years haven't happened. As if he didn't leave her in the dust– and for what? A group of mediocre idiots who find nothing better to do other than mess around in class and in the halls. He used to have so much more potential before them.

"Am I supposed to know what's bothering you?" She muses, a little smug in her sarcasm, hands hugging her torso as another especially harsh wind blows by and tosses her waves of brown hair around.

He gives her a look, concerned, eyes falling to hers to try and read if she's joking or not. "You really don't know?"

She shakes her head, because as much as she hates him, she wouldn't bother herself with his life in her spare time. When girls giggled about him in the halls she zoned out and focused on the book in her hands or the test she's about to take, never bat an eyelash at the boy who somehow sat in her classes, always to the far left of her, back corner if not assigned somewhere else. She refused to take a minute to think of how he might be doing. Since he never bothered to do the same with her.

Luke and Josie burst through their space, breaking them apart as the blonde tugs Calum away from her. "C'mon, they'll be pissed if we aren't there soon."

She wants to stay here, even though it's windy and cold, but she needs to find out what Calum's talking about. What has him distracted? Is it bad? Good? Anything to do with her? She knows it's not the last one but she can't help but worry he has an issue with her.

"I'll see you around, alright?" Calum doesn't turn around to look her way as they wander back to the school halls. Her eyes longingly watch him leave her in the dust, anticipating an explanation that will never come.

"But what's wrong?" She asks, desperate to talk to him.

Now he looks over his shoulder, eyes dropping to her for a split second before he shakes his head.

"I can't tell you." His voice is low, "Not right now."

And what the actual hell is she supposed to do until he can tell her? After giving her something to stress about, one would think he should resolve her worries as soon as possible.

He doesn't even associate himself with her for the next four days, avoids her stare in the hallway, busies himself in the dining hall by constantly reading the same chapter on potions making. She feels tempted enough to cast the legilimency spell to read his mind, to delve into his thoughts and just get the answers herself, but knows she'd get caught for using it outside of the classroom. Besides, she's not that skilled in legilimens. She probably wouldn't be able to pull it off.

It takes all the strength within her to confide in Josie for help. Sitting criss cross on her bed as Josie lies on her stomach beside her, the two of them are studying together.

"Do you know anything about Calum?" Her eyes refuse to stare at her, glued on the pages of the book, as if Herbology is the most interesting subject in the world. Her lips mouth the words to herself as Josie's stare burns holes into her skin.

"Not much, why?"

"He just–" Merlin's sake, she despises boy talk yet here she is. "He's confusing."

"What else is new?"

"No, but, he and I were talking after the game and he said he was distracted during it then got all offended when I asked why– as if I should know. Now he won't even look at me but said he'd tell me later."

"And you think I know anything about the most mysterious man in Hogwarts?" Josie smirks, "I mean, I'd say ask Luke, but you don't like him."

Valerie tilts her head, "I never said I don't like him." They just have absolutely nothing and common therefore fall short on every conversation, ending it on simple farewells and forced smiles. She doesn't understand how Josie and him somehow have chemistry.

"He thinks you do, so,"

Now with another burden on her shoulders, her newfound tension with Luke, she huffs. This conversation is just tiptoeing around what she wants to her. Who is Calum Hood? Why won't he talk to her in public? Or glance at her, as a matter of fact, why does he act like he's better than anyone else when he's just an enigma wrapped up in a stone cold personality?

"I like him, he's nice." She can't say much else, only ever talks about the weather with him, or to ask him where Josie is. Now that she thinks of it, her and Luke have only conversed a handful of times.

"We can go ask him then, they're friends. He'll know what's going on with Calum more than anyone else."

Which, yeah, that makes sense. But wouldn't it be a betrayal of trust if someone tells her without Calum's permission. He said he'd tell her, he wouldn't lie to her. Maybe he's waiting for a specific time to stop her in the hall and ask her if they can talk. Maybe he wants to make sure she's alone when he says it. Or maybe he's just toying with her in some sort of sick game. Either way she's annoyed.

"Let's go. I know where he is." Josie throws her legs over the bed and tightens her auburn ponytail.

They're outside. After curfew. Having snuck through corridors in order to slip through the doors and into the quidditch field where distant conversation grows closer with each nervous, slow step. She can feel paranoia claw at the nape of her neck, keeps whipping her head over her shoulder to check that nobody is following them. But each time it's just the foggy gloom that circles the school and dewy grass below their stumbling feet. She's a decent student, she doesn't sneak out, hasn't done it since year three when she nearly got caught. Scared her straight, and now she's repeating old tricks.

Josie swishes her wand to the quidditch stadium gate, taps the lock, and proudly states, "Alohomora."

There's a subtle click before she grips the handle and opens the door for Valerie to enter first. She declines, pointing for Josie.

"You go first." Valerie insists, hushed in a whisper.

"You're the one who needs to talk to Luke."

"You're the one dating him." Her words make Josie relentlessly sigh, done with their childish antics and enters the stadium so Valerie can follow.

The quidditch field feels bigger when it's empty, the stadium seats abandoned, the flags for each house wave ever so slightly, almost lifeless. In the center of the field, Luke sits. One leg propped up, the other straight out as he uses his knee to rest his arm on. Michael is lying on his back beside him, casting harmless charms to amuse himself as he sips from a beer every minute or so. It's just them, and she thanks Merlin that Calum's not here.

"Look who decided to show up," Luke smirks, twirling his wand in between his fingers nonchalantly. He has a curl to his lips, effortless and charming. His robes abandoned to sit in jeans and his button down. The tie is loose, buttons undone. He seems so relaxed compared to the cold, shuddering Valerie who stomps in.

"I've brought Val, if that's alright, she's just got a question for you."

"I've got an answer." He coolly replies. His bright blue eyes drink in the sight of Josie and pats his thigh when she approaches. Let's her accompany him on her lap.

"I need to know more about Calum." She stands, too anxious to sit down and stay awhile. She just wants an explanation and then she can leave.

Luke barks out a laugh, shoulders bouncing as he glances to Michael. Almost to say 'do you hear this?' like she just asked him to kill someone for her.

"I get it. I sound crazy." She crosses her arms, "I'm just worried about him."

"Should be." Michael voices his opinion, swirling fire on the end of his wand, watches it flutter in the air before flicking his wand and extinguishing it. She pretends she's not impressed at his ability to cast spells without reciting an incantation. Now is not the time to applaud him. "Guy's getting into some bad shit."

"Like what?"

Michael hesitates. Even looks to Luke to see if it's okay to say it, the blonde shrugs. They both seem worried.

"I won't tell anyone, I swear." She has no one to tell, only Josie, who's here right now.

That seems to open Michael up a bit more, he heaves his body up to sit, knees bent as he cracks his neck then continues.

"He's he put his name in the Goblet of Fire to enter the Triwizard tournament."

Her blood runs cold, stills all of a sudden. She never went to that assembly, she was bedridden in the nurse's quarters trying to recover from a stomach bug.

"He said he talked his parents into letting him." Michael frowns, sighs as if there's nothing they can do about it. He can only hope things don't end horribly.

"Fuck." Josie breathes out, the silence too still for their liking. They stand there for what feels like hours but is only mere seconds, Luke's eyes peer up at Valerie and instantly worries they've said too much. Her eyes drill into Michael.

"Why didn't you try to stop him?" Her voice is stern, the ravenclaw within her jumps at the opportunity to be right. She could've prevented it, she knows for a fact she could've sat him down and told him it's not meant for him. He's intelligent but the tournament is deadly. "He's your friend, you can't just- he can't do that. He could die."

Valerie can't wrap her mind around the mere idea of it– Calum's not one to throw himself in the spotlight, but he does love a good competition. He's strong and hench, he has tons of support from friends and just about any girl with eyes, maybe he wants the attention.

"He could win, too." Luke mutters under his breath in spite of her concern.

Valerie finds feeling in her legs again, then turns around, "I'm gonna be sick." Her head spins, and she bolts to leave, clutching her stomach as she feels the ground turn underneath her heavy feet. She doesn't know why she sprints into the corridors, can't fathom the rational choice of quietly tiptoeing back to her room. Because this isn't good. Far from it. Why would he put himself in something that could end with him dead? What is he supposed to gain from this other than pride? His parents would never let him put his life on the line for a trophy.

She hears heels click down a hallway near her, her feet pick up their pace, moving in time to the frantic thud of her heart. Her hands clam up, her robe flies behind her as the dim halls provide barely any light to guide her. She feels like she's going in circles, because since when did it take this long to find her dorm?

"Hey, you there!"

She's about to turn around and face the consequences when she feels a hand grasp her wrist and pull her into a pitch black room. Valerie yelps at the feeling of a body being smushed up against her chest. She can hear their irregular breathing, feels it fan across her forehead. It's a guy, she can tell, the strong chest up against hers and the broadness of their body helps her decide.

The clicking comes closer and she squeezes her eyes shut when it nears the door, holds her breath, and prays she doesn't get caught.

When the clicking fades in the distance, her hands unclench from the fists she hadn't even realized they formed.

There's silence, and then he utters.

"Lumos."

A ball of light glows in between them. Her frantic eyes peel open and trail down the wand to find a hand, then the classic uniform robes, all the way up to their face. She's stunned into an inaudible gasp. Calum.

"Why are you shaking?" He whispers, low and concerned. His hand finds the back of hers but she flinches at the contact. A little startled to see him here, after just talking about him and his issues.

"Are you insane?" She barks out, still speaking in a whisper, but presses her hand to his chest so he moves back. Her bitter tone only proves how mad she is, but her face is pouty and her eyebrows are strung together while whisper-yelling to him. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

She tries to assess where they are, and it seems like they've crammed themselves into a storage closet full of potion bottles and old cauldrons, they must be near the potions class.

It's one thing to find her obvious fear concerning, it's another to watch his worries morph into amusement at the way the color washed away from her face and a pout formed on her lips. Calum brings his wand to her face and smirks.

"Stop acting like I just threatened to kill you." He laughs, quiet and low, he sounds even hotter when he's murmuring to not get caught. She feels her skin flush at the thought. "Why are you roaming the halls after curfew?"

"I could say the same to you." The wand between them illuminates and reflects in his dark brown eyes, makes them glow a sweet caramel color instead. Softer than his usual burning stare. She interrogates him with her glimmering green eyes.

He smells like pine and mint, his lips full as he bites down on his bottom lip to rack up a legitimate answer.

"Couldn't sleep." He answers, "Needed some fresh air."

"And you'd risk getting caught for some fresh air?" She grins a little, happy to find a flaw in his stance as her hand goes to the doorknob. "I need to go, so excuse me."

She flings the door open with a huff, ready to head back to bed and just sleep. Her eyes are only met with Professor McGonagall, her glasses on the brim of her nose, her wand held up for possible defense only to jut out to the side with a stern, professional tone.

"You two are in big trouble." She gestures for Valerie and Calum to step out and when they do she clicks her tongue in disapproval. "These halls are not a vacation spot, once curfew strikes you are meant to stay in your rooms until classes the next morning. Although, I can tell you two are old enough to know the rules around here."

Calum doesn't speak, just cringes as he tries to ruffle a hand through his hair out of embarrassment.

"Mr. Hood, I'll be notifying Professor Snape of your antics with this girl of yours."

"We're not-"

"Don't make excuses." She quips up, leading them down to his common room, the click of heels and pursed lips as she comes to a conclusion. "I believe we'll be deducting points for each of your houses."

She gives Valerie an especially pointed look, checks the color of her robes then tsks. "Miss Norwood, I find it hard to believe you are such a delinquent."

Calum approaches the Slytherin common room and gives Valerie one last glance before he heads to bed, an unspoken farewell on his lips as he sluggishly makes his way back to his dorm for an even more restless night.

She feels a little guilty, having caused this, but McGonagall is nice to Valerie, she respects her professors and Calum's not exactly the best at speaking to them with inferiority as opposed to his usual laidback, snarky responses. She just has intelligence and poise here, and professors seem to admire that in her.

They walk down the halls alone, a quiet night in the castle, and Professor McGonagall sighs. "Boys like him will only get you in trouble, dear."

"We're just friends, promise." She hopes that can clear the air for gossip that will surely rise with sun in the morning.

Besides, saying they're friends is already a long shot. No one would be stupid enough to believe they were fooling around in the potions closet.

"Does he kiss like a God?" A girl squeezed her way through the halls to nearly tackle Valerie in a spine crushing hold of her shoulders. The girl had to be a year five or four, too young to be in her classes. Her hufflepuff robes shine as bright as the naïveté in her eyes.

"What?"

"Calum Hood," She giggles, "You two snogged in the potions closet."

Valerie laughs hysterically, suddenly unable to feel any bit normal when the girl stares at her wounded, confused. She can't help herself and brushes the girl aside to carry on with her day.

"Snogged in the potions closet..." She giggles to herself. "As if." Her feet rush through the corridors as her mind runs wild. Who could've said anything? Nobody else was there.

Her body weaves through the crowded corridors and tries to find Josephine for the ceremony about to take place. Her eyes skim from student to student and once she catches a glimpse of deep red hair she grins.

And then that grin falls upon seeing the hoard of slytherin boys around her with laughter bubbling out as she entertains them with a story. Calum Hood stands amongst the group, attracting attention from most as his broad posture with his arms across his chest cast a spotlight through the many lackluster students. He's far from mundane, he stands out in crowds like this. Despite the uniforms, he manages to catch anyone’s eye once they walk into the room.

Does he know his magnetic pull is so strong?

Valerie slips into the circle with her eyes trained on anything besides the brown eyed boy.

"-trying to write an essay while this idiot," Josie points to Luke, "Is throwing things across the room to prevent me from getting my actual work done. And not just crumpled up pieces of papers, no he managed to levitate a book and nearly hit me right in the head." She exclaims, as Michael bursts into laughter and Luke shrugs while she smiles. She may be irritated while ranting, but she knows Luke's just bored whenever they try to study together.

Valerie feels goosebumps rise over her skin, and a chill trails up her spine ever so slowly when someone decides to lean into her ear.

"Can I steal you for a second?"

The other three have been laughing too much to notice the fact Calum just invaded her personal bubble with no care in the world. She jumps a little at the warmth of his body, how his cologne invades her senses, the once cold room now flooded with heat.

She nods, softly, and follows him out of the dining hall, a few paces behind as her feet stumble down the corridors where every student walks in the opposite direction, sending odd glances her way. She ignores it, focuses on settling the nerves that unravel in the pit of her stomach at the conversation ahead. She knows exactly what this is about. And still the knowledge of what's to come does not soothe her rampant mind.

He finds an empty hall to discuss important matters in. Although, this doesn't ensure much privacy since people can still walk down and stumble upon this mess.

"Y'gonna explain yourself?" He starts.

"Me?" Valerie gapes. "I was gonna ask you the same thing."

"That's funny, Val. Cut the bullshit." He waves a nonchalant hand away, his eyes land on her for the first time. Dark, unwavering. She challenges his look with a just as intense, fiery stare.

"You're the one who said we snogged in the potions closet." Her finger juts into his chest, "That's sick, Calum. Why would you make up something so preposterous? Does it fuel your ego, huh? Get you some 'cred' in the halls with the guys?"

"Snogging, huh? That's what people said we did?" He chuckles, lowly, worrying her a little bit. "That's far better than what people said to me."

Her eyes widen, less powerful, but maintains her composure through a tense jaw, "What did you hear?"

"Apparently we did far more than kiss, sweetheart." His tone is sickening, clearly upset with the rumors spreading like wildfire throughout the castle. This school can turn into such a dingy place when students open their mouths and say such insulting things.

Valerie grimaces in disgust, eyes rolling back as the anger residing in her starts to settle at a rather peculiar sight. His hands. And the very prominent redness to his raw knuckles.

"You hit someone, who?" Her gaze flickers to his within seconds of asking, strictness in her tone as she jumps at him for doing for something so juvenile. His brown eyes merely observe the concern in her wary expression.

"Doesn't matter."

"When?" She picks up his hand without thinking, feels him flinch at the contact and retract his hand immediately. Her heart sinks at the look of confusion on his face, she just wanted to check his fingers, they could get infected if he leaves them split open like that.

"After practice." He mumbles, dismissing her from treating any of his cuts. "M'fine, you don't have to-"

"Just let me look, okay?" She holds an upturned palm out, a part of her wants to slap him for being so irresponsible. Another part of her cares about his wellbeing for some unknown reason.

He scans her, like he can read her true motives through her expression, and when he finally deems her as safe, his right hand lands on top of hers.

It's warm to the touch, yet calloused. He even rolls his eyes to show how dumb he thinks this is, he always has to be the ignorant one in every situation.

She brings his hand closer, studies the raw splits in each knuckle, the deep purple and mossy green bruises that creep around the wounds.

"Did you get in trouble?" She whispers, because who knows who's listening right now. The paranoia creeps around the corner at the thought of last nights events repeating.

"No, he swore not to tell after I threatened to knock his teeth out."

And now it's her turn to roll her eyes in disapproval.

"I know a spell, if you want them healed now. That way no one will know." She already slips her wand from the inside of her robe, let's the delicate wood land in her hand and points it his bruised hand.

"Go for it." Is all he mutters.

Her wand strikes down on the back of his hand, "Episkey." Her voice stays diligent, strong as ever. He envies her confidence in spell-casting, but would never admit it.

His hand flushes with heat all of a sudden, then turns cold just as fast. He flexes his hand to test it, splays his fingers out before clenching a fist, there's no pang of pain anymore.

"Thanks." His eyes trail to her hand, still delicately holding his wrist, she hasn't let go yet. Calum can feel her thumb run along his skin. Part of him doesn't want her to let go.

"Don't do this again," She releases her grip, then turns around to find Josie. They have classes to go to and things to discuss. Before she can turn the corner, she pivots to look at Calum. "Beat someone up to defend me, I mean."

The dumbfounded look on his face, the way his eyes widen a little bit but relax soon after. His hands that smooth his robe and run through his curls, that's answer enough.

A/N: pop into my ask or message me to be put on the taglist for this or any of my other fics! xx

#my writing #calum #calum 5sos #5sos #calum au #calum hood #calum fic #calum hood fic #ashton 5sos #Michael 5sos #luke 5sos #hogwarts!au #5sos Hogwarts au #calum hood au

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soullessfeline-blog · 5 years

Text

Princess Charming and Kaynderella // AU

Pairing: Zoe/Kayn (Zoyn)

Rated: PG13 (Following content contains profanity)

Source of Characters: League of Legends

Alternative Link: ao3

|Note: His name is just “Kayn” not Kaynderella in case you’re confused, it’s just the title.|

The party’s opening ceremony ended just when the sun is entirely set, now it’s time for the real party to begin.

The princess yawned in boredom, “finally! The introduction, and speech are all done. That was hella boring, no one even caught my eye. I guess I’ll observe for now.” Zoe said and relaxed her back. She might just jump around and trample all over everybody’s business but it’s too crowded for her to do so. Almost half of the night, all she did was sit down on her throne, while guests will invite her for a dance.

On the other hand, no one noticed that a scheming thief has entered the palace. He is dressed in a formal suit after all, makes him a non-suspicous looking guy in that attire. He blends in the crowd perfectly, he looks like someone who comes from one of the royalties. Splendid hair, charming—yet not-so-charming to the point everyone will eye on him—you can just say he’s not that perfect looking although he doesn’t look like a bad guy at all. Though he wasn’t even invited! His name wasn’t on the guest’s list, he couldn’t also enter without being called out from the lists, now how did he even enter the palace? Such a strategic guy.

The thief acts like he’s nobody’s business, trying to be lowkey as he keeps peeping on a certain someone. Nonchalantly observing, without anyone noticing his doings; except for the princess who is also observing no one but the crowd.

The princess will gladly dance from time to time— if not she’ll just look at the crowd, though this time she politely declined. Because someone caught her eye in the mere flock of people, and she’d rather watch him subtly for a moment. She waited no more, deciding to make an approach.

“Hello there! Name is Zoe, a.k.a. Princess Charming,” The princess sneaked behind and poked the guy’s shoulder as he flinched and looked at the girl’s way, then looking back at the princess’ throne.

“Wait... what? You were just...” His voice turned the volume down on its own, “sitting there.”

“Yes, I know. I was like a ninja huh? Just like you.” She said and winked.

“How much do you know?” He said and stepped back, he had his guard down but putting it back up.

“How much you asked? As much that you want to steal something?” She answered with a bit of a tone that puts it into a question, fixing her crown on her head. Which is what the thief was eyeing on for a while now. “But not that much I guess, I don’t even know your name! Do you mind if you tell me?”

“Yes, I mind. You’re gonne tell on me and get me locked up, I’m not that dumb.”

“I guess you are that dumb...” she laughed, “because I won’t tell anyone about you sneaking in here and trying to steal something. I was paying attention to everyone who gets their name called. I didn’t see you walk down the aisle.”

“How can I be sure that you won’t tell anyone? You are funny, thinking you are that smart. I shall flee-”

“And name your mission as failed? Your dad will be so disappointed at you.” Zoe sighed as a sign of mockery.

The thief took a deep breath to keep himself composed and speaks, “why do you care?”

“Aren’t you even honored to be talking to the princess herself? Try to be... I don’t know? Polite, even a little bit? Oh well, but I have an offer for you! How about we play a little game?” She started walking backwards, “I’ll let you get what you want—and I won’t tell anyone that’s a promise—but you have to chase and get it from me.”

Ah, she started running.

Though no one even noticed, no one even cared.

The thief sighed, “how did she even know about my father? Just how much did she know? How did she figure out that I was after that? Was I that obvious? Can I even take her promise seriously? Why should I play her stupid game?” He rained himself with questions, knowing that they won’t be answered by themselves. “It’s a do or die I guess, rather than my father being disappointed at me.”

He started sprinting through the terrace, as he jumped off landing on the lower ground hall, “perfect.” He commented and smirked, his pace began to get faster, from a sprint to a run, he noticed that the hall is empty and no one would see him. Therefore, he started running after the uncanny princess, who he just saw walking aimlessly in that specific hall. “Now let’s get this over with, and get that damn thing off her.”

“Not so fast cutie!” She said and dodged as she looked back at him. “I never thought you would really take that offer, I’m surprised!”

“Urgh!” He wasn’t that enraged, but that surprised him, she was able to dodge him.

“You’re as fleet-footed as your father, I see. I better level up my game then.” Zoe giggled, running away from him as she entered rooms.

“Cutie? Was that a fucking compliment? Ew.” He shook his head in disgust, going back to his target; chasing after her. “This damn palace sure is huge, a lot of doors like a goddamn puzzle.”

“Having a trouble finding me?” Zoe giggled teasingly as she showed up behind from one of the doors.

“You little-”

“Ehem,” she fake coughed, “manners pretty boy.”

“Pretty boy? Are you insulting me?! I’m not up to your annoying little game.”

“Then why are you still chasing me?” They started running again.

“Just give me the goddamn thing if you are aware of what it is.” He hissed.

“Aw, there’s no fun in that if I just give you what you want in an instant! Are you out of your mind?” Zoe asked without even turning her face back to look at the thief who is still chasing after her.

“Are you?” He returned the question.

“No, just bored! The party is lame, eugh!”

“Aren’t you the princess? Why don’t you do something to make it less boring?” He asked as he jumped through the fence following the princess, leading them outside to the garden.

“Because it will be improper of me, duh?” She rolled her eyes even though he won’t be able to see it.

“What kind of fun are you even thinking of?”

“Well... this maybe? I don’t know but anything with competitions, challenges and... explosion!” Zoe laughed menacingly, “it’s a joke... the explosion part.”

“How about I make your head explode instead? And see if it’s anything fun? Because this? This thing, chasing you or whatever is nowhere near fun.”

“For you, it might not be fun. This is fun for me though!-- Heh, as expected of you, make my head explode huh?” She laughed it off, no trace of fear in her voice.

“That doesn’t scare you? And as expected of me? What do you even know about me?”

She stopped from running and finally looked at his way, saying “That—doesn’t concern you,” with her tongue out and eyes winked.

“Finally, gonna be in my grasp-” His speech was cut off as the princess just smiled at him. “Wait... is this some trap or some sort?”

“What? Of course not! I made a promise, didn’t I?”

“Then why did you stop from running? Oh, perhaps you’re finally at your limit and giving up now.” He guessed.

“Wrong!” She grinned innocently, “I just wanted to see how you look up close once more.”

“W-wha--” Heat rising up at the thief’s face as he stood still in front of her, body froze from the sudden turn of events, “n-no, you’re trying to remember my face so you can get me caught the next day— that’s right!”

“What crazy assumptions are you getting in your head? Your third hunch might be more accurate, plus you even blushed!” She teased, reading from his facial expressions, she thought that the flustered thief was thinking more and still has a third guess.

“S-shut up!”

“Your third hunch was... you think, that I was thinking your face is fairly attractive, right?”

“What? No?... No.”

“Well you’re right about that, that’s my reason.” The princess chuckled not minding his dishonest answer, as she examined his face once more, but now closely.

“Hah?! I just said no!” He said in denial, moving his face away from hers.

“That scar on your face, around your eyes... it actually looks good on you, as if it is something meaningful.” She grabbed his hand, “and your hand... it has some sort of burn, though your hand gives me some kind of... comfort—was it?”

The thief pulled his hand away, “w-what are you blabbering about? You’re insane!”

“And you’re funny, I’m just admiring you, you know? You should be honored. Cool braid by the way, braid me sometimes, 'kay?” She went off running again, going back inside the palace.

“Dammit! She was already in front of me, why didn’t I just grab it?” He talked to himself as he covered his cheeks with his palms, feeling the warmth of his face. He isn’t tired yet but he feels some kind-of fatigue, overwhelmed and all. So instead of running, he just walked slowly as a little rest. “She’s a little fast too, I can’t even pull her longass hair.”

He quietly peeked in each room to see where she’s hiding, but someone poked at his back again, making him flinched. “Hey!” He looked back, finally he found the princess, rather the princess found him.

“You got tired huh?” She asked.

“No, I still have full energy but... this is just lame. And even if my time is also up, I couldn’t care anymore less.”

“You must be faking...”

“Faking or not, there’s no much time and I have to be back before midnight.” He sighed, “I’ll be fleeing, see you never, princess.”

The thief started to walk out, but she called him, “wait! Was it really boring for you?”

“Not really, I guess you can just say I got tired of your shit.” He said without looking back.

“Please stop walking for a second!” And so he did, still not looking back, instead she walked around his fit body to face him.

“What now?” He said looking down at the princess, with dead eyes.

“Yeesh, lighten up will you?” Zoe grabbed his hand as she placed something on it, not allowing him to see, hence she closed his hand on her own. “Also, don’t ever say never.” She winked at him again, finally walking away but before she does, she gave his back a slight tap.

He glanced back to her direction, noticing that her crown isn’t on her head, but it’s hanging on her pocket without the gem in it. Thus, he opened his hand, only to see the missing gem that was on her crown, now laying on his own hand. His lips formed a little smile on its own accord. “So she did know I needed the gem and not just the crown huh? What a keen lady.”

He decided to walk back home, as he put the gem securely in his pocket. But he felt a piece of paper in his mere pocket, “what’s this? I don’t remember putting something in here.” He pulled out the paper, and uncrampled it.

Hi Kayn! Just a little letter from the dear princess! That gem you have in your hand is nothing but a replica, hehe. It completely doesn’t have any value. Sorry for tricking you but maybe you want to attend my next upcoming party and give you a little something? Something real this time of course! As a reward for keeping everything fun for me. Please don’t be mad at me! You’re absolutely invited to every party that I will be hosting in the future. You’re damn attractive by the way.

Sincerely yours,

Princess Charming, Zoe ♥

Kayn opened his hand once again, looking at the gem. “No value huh? You gave this to me— the princess did; ergo, replica or not, there’s a value- wait, what the fuck am I saying?” He shook the thought off his head, he decided to keep the gem though, putting it and the letter back to his pocket. “Might as well attend...”

“But wow, she was able to slip the letter in my pocket like thin air, that girl really doesn’t stop from surprising me... dammit here I am again talking to myself like crazy.” Kayn scratched his head trying to knock off those silly thoughts. “That trickster... how am I still not mad from getting tricked? Was it because she called me attractive? No, that doesn’t make sense, why did I even think of that as a possibility? Ugh!”

“Who called you what?” That deep voice made Kayn jump and throw all of the thoughts away. Not even aware that he’s already near his place.

“Z- Zed... father, haha! I- uh,” Kayn panicked.

“Hold that thought, I told you it’s not necessary to call me father, considering I am not even your real father. Anyway, did you get the gem?”

Kayn took a long pause, hesitant on answering. “No... I’m sorry.”

“Eh, whatever, you tried.” Zed let it pass, he didn’t show any sign of disappointed.

“Why?”

“I found an alternative way to seal the book while you were away, so it’s fine, I can just do that instead. Just go back inside and go to bed.” Zed ordered, “it’s already late.”

“Then why did I have to get it before midnight? Weren’t you in a hurry?”

“Eh? No, I am not in a hurry, boy. I just didn’t want you to stay up any more late. Now hurry up and go to bed.” Zed calmly answered, Kayn did as he says.

"Going back to that letter, it says Hi Kayn— weird, how did she know my name? Does she know all along?... She really was trying to fool me huh,” Kayn went back into talking to himself as soon as he entered his room. “Nevertheless,” he continued as he placed the letter and the semi-precious stone in his so-called treasure box, “she may have tricked me, but I’m not gonna lie, I did have fun for a moment.” He hid the box where no one else could’ve guessed.

“Heh. It was such a pleasure, Zoe.” That was Kayn’s last words as he entirely drifted off to sleep.

#kayn #zoe #zoe x kayn #kayn x zoe #zoyn #league of legends #my writing #soullessfeline #fluff #alternate universe #profanity #fan fiction #shieda kayn

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