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mermaidgirl30 · 5 months

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Look for the Light

Chapter 26

- Summary: Aly finds herself trying to escape the Boston QZ. What Aly doesn’t know is Tess is pairing her up with Joel to go on a dangerous mission to find Tommy. Will Aly survive the brooding, moody Joel or will she find herself falling hard for him? (18+ Only)

Joel’s POV

When you stepped out into the crisp morning air, the sunlight shined brightly through the grey clouds and the brisk wind blew through your untamed hair. The snow under your boots crunched with every step you took as more golden leaves fell from the trees, making small piles along the ground. December was just a couple days away, so winter was in full effect.

As the cold breeze hit your face, you hugged your tan jacket closer to your body, covering the exposed skin from the chill. You wished you were still inside that cozy house with Aly, cuddled up on the couch with her legs sprawled over your lap, running your hands through those silky waves that smelled like lilacs. You hadn’t even been gone for a few minutes, so why the hell were you already missing her?

You still couldn’t believe what just happened mere minutes ago. How you had her up on the kitchen counter, kneeling between her legs, how she smelled, how it felt to be inside her, how she tasted like ambrosia and the nectar of the gods. Something so immortal and divine that surely you must be dreaming that it all happened. She was real though, and she was yours. You had her, truly. And you’d continue having her for as long as you could.

You cleared your mind and focused on the task at hand. Tommy. You needed to go find Tommy, and you knew exactly where he’d be at. You pushed your way through the busy community. There were people of all ages every which way you looked. Some were busy tending to the gardens, some were feeding the community animals, kids were running up the street with fits of laughter coming from their mouths, and some were doing mundane tasks.

You still couldn’t believe Tommy built this place. Your little brother. It was quite something. People seemed friendly enough. Nobody was giving you dirty or glaring looks. In fact, no one paid too much attention to you. There were the few occasional curious glances, but nothing out of the ordinary. It was kind of nice. Being in a new place and not being hounded for being the new face in town.

In just a few short minutes you were walking up to the Tipsy Bison, making your way through the open doors. It was quiet, only a couple of people sitting and eating breakfast at a small table in the far corner. You spotted Tommy in an instant. He was sitting at the bar, talking to the bartender who was carefully cleaning off some glass cups.

Tommy must’ve heard you come in because he turned around on his barstool and glanced in your direction, smiling as he sat down his glass on the bar top. “Joel! You made it. Just at the right time too. I was about to head out. How was your first night here? I trust the house served you well?” he asked as he came around and wrapped an arm around your shoulder, giving you a solid pat on the back.

“The house is great, Tommy. I can honestly say that I haven’t slept that good in a long time. That’s the most sleep I’ve gotten in months,” you said honestly as you grabbed one of his shoulders in thanks for the hospitality.

“Well good, good. Come on. Let me show you my little hideout I have behind here.” He led you outside to the back of the Tipsy Bison and into a small, remote building that was made of steel. The color was an off brand shade of white with a red roof.

He opened the steel door and held it open for you as you walked in behind him. The room was small and cozy, but still big enough to have a private bar and place to build small projects. “Welcome to my humble abode. I call this my man cave.”

There was a small wet bar that had a cabinet full of clear glass cups and bottles of liquor that were stashed high in the cupboards. There was a smooth barstool table with two swivel stools that sat in front of it. Low hanging lights encased the ceiling as the dim lights lit up the room. An old wooden workbench sat in the back of the room with a saw, tape measure, and hammer laid on the table. And on the wall sat some other tools that could be used for projects.

“This is a nice little place you got here,” you said as you looked around the room while you pulled back one of the barstools, making your way to a sitting position on the cool padding.

“Not too shabby of a place. I can get a lot of thinking done here. You’re welcome to it anytime. You want a drink?” Tommy asked as he turned to open the cabinet, grabbing two glasses out and a bottle of vodka.

“You have any whiskey?”

“Now how’d I know that’s what you’d ask for. Still not a vodka guy?”

“Can’t say that I am.”

Tommy laughed at that. “I’m not surprised. Got a whole bottle right here that has your name all over it,” he said as he took out a sheen bottle of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey and set it on the barstool table. He took one of the glasses and filled it with ice cubes, pouring whiskey to the halfway point in the glass. “On the rocks, enjoy.”

You lifted the glass cup to your lips and took a sip as the smooth liquid ran hot down your throat. You felt a slight burn at the back of your throat as you chased it down with another sip, pounding the glass back down on the table. “That’s smooth, Tommy. Real good. I can’t even tell you the last time I had any alcohol.”

“Well, we’ve got plenty,” he said as he took a swig of vodka, leaning up against the hardwood table. “So, it’s been awhile, brother. Been a long damn time..” His voice came out quiet, hushed. Almost in a whisper as the last word came out quieter than a mouse. There it was. The elephant in the room you couldn’t avoid any longer.

“Why didn’t you reach out, Tommy?” Your voice was raw as it came out in a rasp after the alcohol ran down your throat. You were looking at him warily, waiting for an answer. And he’d better give you a fucking good one.

“I…” he choked out. You leaned your elbows against the table and stared at him with calculating eyes. “I was scared to. After what went down, after everything that was said. I just didn't know how that’d go. And after I left the fireflies, I ran into Maria and I just got busy with her and building the community. I didn’t know if you were still in Boston or if you left. I’m sorry that I didn’t reach out…I was being a coward.” His eyes looked sad as they stared into the glass of vodka, liquid blending in with the ice.

You took a minute to compose yourself and then snapped, standing up out of your chair. “You’re damn right you were being a coward! I thought you hated me all these years.”

Tommy’s eyes went wide as he stared up at you, bracing himself against the smooth hardwood. “Joel, I’m sorry…I never did hate you. No.”

“Then why didn’t you fucking try, Tommy?” Your breathing was ragged as you threw your fists on the table, trying not to lose control. You wanted to throw your glass across the room, watch the liquor run down the walls as the shattered glass engulfed the ground.

“All those people we killed and tortured, I didn’t want to go back to that. I thought…I thought you were going mad most days. It was getting too dark for me. The nightmares I had.”

“You think I don’t have nightmares too? Every goddamn night I fight those nightmares off, I see the faces of those people we killed and for what?! What was it all for, Tommy? To survive!”

“We could’ve gone about it another way. We could’ve survived without all the killing and robbing. You could’ve..”

“I could’ve what, Tommy?! Don’t pretend for one second that you didn’t kill as much as I did! Don’t you fucking dare.” Your nostrils were flared, anger coursing through your body. Your hand was gripped so tight around the whiskey glass that you thought it’d crumble under the weight of your hand. You could feel your pupils getting larger, your eyes becoming darker as you fought the urge to swing at him.

He stood in silence for a moment, grinding his teeth together as his jaw clenched tight. “There’s not a minute that I don’t regret trying to reach out. Believe me. If I could go back and do it all over again, I would. But Joel, take a little responsibility. You went off the rails as soon as Sarah died. You pushed the boundaries. You changed and…”

You cut him off quick. “I died as soon as Sarah did, Tommy! I’m not the same person that I was before then. But do you know what? I changed. I changed for the better. Do you know how insane I was going in the Boston QZ? How fucking tired I was seeing those soldiers day after day when they were the reason why my life got turned upside down? How irritated I was of the smuggling, the stealing, the goddamn deals I had to make with those low life soldiers? You gave up on me, Tommy. You gave up just like everyone else, and I did what I had to do to keep surviving.”

“Joel, I…”

“No, listen! Do you know who didn’t give up on me? Aly. She is the only reason I came all this way. If it wasn’t for her then I might’ve just given up entirely. She’s been the only thing that’s been holding me together lately. The only thing that's brought me this far. And sure, I put her through some tough days. I tested her, I pushed her limits, but she never left! She never gave up on me.” Your voice was broken, hoarse as a single teardrop fell down your cheek. Your eyes were heavy, wet, red. You could see in the reflection of the glass window on the cabinet that you were wrecked, defeated.

Tommy came around the barstool table and slammed into you, arms embracing you in a tight hug as the smell of vodka surrounded you. “Forgive me, brother. I should’ve never given up on you, especially after Sarah. You were never a lost cause. I should’ve reached out, and it’s all my fault that I didn’t. Please, forgive me.” The words were barely audible as his words were choked back with tears too.

You stayed in his strong embrace as you wiped your eyes on your sleeves, fighting back anymore tears that tried to come. “You were the only thing that was left in my life, Tommy. Family. You’re the only brother I got.”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry.” He released you from the embrace and sat on the barstool across from you, taking a good look at you as you blinked back tears. “Family comes first. I know that. I messed up. Look, we’ve both made mistakes. I should’ve reached out after I left the fireflies. I shouldn’t have expected you to try. Hell, I was the one that said I didn’t want to ever see your face again. I remember that day like it was yesterday. That awful rainy day..”

You remembered it as clear as day. The shoving of one another, the hateful words, that deep pain that cut across your chest when Tommy said he never wanted to see your goddamn face again. It was the next worst thing that happened after Sarah died. The thing that’d been haunting you for years. That anger, that remorse, that gut wrenching torment. Something you wanted to forget.

“We can fix it. Fix our relationship. This here is a new, fresh start. This all has been weighing heavy on my heart over the years, and I never once went a day without thinking about you. I really want to try, Joel. I want my brother back.” He was looking at you with remorse in his eyes, a sorrowful look on his face.

You wanted nothing more than to have your brother back. This was your chance. “I’d like nothing more, Tommy.” Tommy gave you a strong pat on the back and smiled, relief showing in his eyes.

“I’m glad you’re here, Joel. Really. I can’t tell you how shocked I was to see you yesterday. I thought I was hallucinating.”

“You definitely weren’t. I can say the same though. It felt like a fever dream seeing you after all those years.”

“Yeah…it really did,” he said as he gripped his glass of vodka, shaking around the ice as it slowly melted to the bottom.

You took a gulp of your whiskey as it burned down your throat before you asked the next question. One of the ones you’ve wondered for so long now. “What happened with you and the fireflies, Tommy?”

He looked distraught, like he’d seen a ghost. He took a hand and ran it through his slicked back hair. “Oh, them. You know they promised freedom, liberty, and justice? They talked so highly about finding peace, bringing the world back together. That’s not how they really were though. They basically started going to war with FEDRA. Bombing QZ’s, hurting innocent people, promising for better times. Well, those better times never came. And I never made it all the way to Salt Lake City. I left long before I got there.”

He was quiet for a minute as he turned the cup in his hands, rotating it as you heard the liquid slosh around the sides. You knocked your hand against the table as you spoke. “Marlene had said you left. She never mentioned exactly when though or really explained why. It was just vague. Her men are something else too. Didn’t much care for them.”

“How long were you there?” Tommy asked curiously.

“Less than a day. Her men knocked us out cold, about gave us concussions. We just stayed long enough to get information on where you might be.”

“Damn. Well, I’m glad you found us. And I’m glad you didn’t stick around there long.”

“You know they’re trying to find a cure, right? For the virus.” The air turned colder the moment you spoke those words.

Tommy turned around in his chair and looked at you square in the eyes, muscles twitching in his face. “I heard talks that they were trying something like that, but never was told much about it. Did you see anything while you were there? Anything out of the ordinary?”

“I saw enough to know that they were up to no good. They’ve been doing…trials. Vaccine trials.”

Tommy’s eyes went wide as he set his glass on the table and leaned forward, closer to you. “No shit. Are they working?”

You shook your head no, the anger returning to your eyes as you thought back to how many people were killed in those trials.

“What are they using now? I thought they already tried vaccines in the past. What’s different now that they think they’ll work?” he questioned curiously.

“They found...well, I’m not sure. They wouldn’t tell me.” Lie. You just lied to him. You were about to spill about Ellie, how they were using her blood to try to make a cure. You couldn’t risk exposing her. You weren’t sure how Tommy would react. You didn’t want him kicking her out of the community, sending her back to the lab or risk other people finding out about her…condition.

You didn’t know why, but you wanted to protect her. Keep her from being taken back to a place where they’d kill her, protect her from being torn apart by a pack of clickers, protect her from other people who might harm her. You didn’t know if it was just your protective father side that was coming out or if it just meant that you were starting to bond with this girl. Dare you say care about her. You didn’t want that weight on your chest. Didn’t want to get close to her. But here you were lying to Tommy to try to protect her. What a fucking shit show this was.

“Ahh, I see. Well, I’m just glad you got out of there alive, and hopefully we’ll never have to see any fireflies again.”

“Hopefully not.” You couldn’t help but let your mind wonder to the possibility of seeing a firefly this way. What would you do if they stormed in here and ransacked the place till they found Ellie? Would you fight? Would you let them take her back? No. You’d fight. You’d fight for her. Even if that meant having to leave this place when Tommy found out.

You put your hand up to your wrinkled forehead and pressed at your temples, trying to calm all the racing thoughts that flew through your mind. You’d get a damn migraine if you kept this up.

“Enough about the fireflies. Let’s talk about you and Aly.”

You dropped your hand from your forehead and placed it in your lap, cautiously eyeing Tommy. “What about me and Aly?”

“I saw the way you were looking at her yesterday. You couldn’t keep your eyes off her. And the way you were just talking about her? Sounds to me like she means a lot to you.”

You stopped and ran your fingers against the cold whiskey glass, thinking hard on what Tommy just said. “She does mean a lot to me.” You stared into the amber color of the liquid, your eyes getting lost as your mind went to Aly. Aly. You let your thumb trace over the foggy glass, letting the condensation drip down your fingers.

“Holy shit,” Tommy laughed as he sat back in his stool and crossed his arms.

“What are you laughing at?”

“You’re in love.”

“What?” Your head shot up at the foreign words. “No.. I…”

“Don’t you dare try to deny it for a second. It’s as plain as day. I could’ve told you that yesterday. The way you look at her. How she looks at you. It’s obvious.” He was staring at you with a stupid grin plastered all over his face.

“Now hold on just a minute, I…” You were struck speechless. You couldn’t think straight, and your head was pounding awfully hard against your temples. You tried again to speak, but you were at a loss for words.

“I’d know that look anywhere. That’s exactly how I looked when I realized I loved Maria. Maybe you just haven’t realized it yet, maybe it hasn’t even crossed your mind. But deep down inside you probably knew all along. I see it in your eyes, Joel. It’s not something you can put a mask on and pretend doesn’t exist.”

You sat there tongue-tied as you scratched at your jaw, fingers trailing through your scruff. You set your jaw as your eyebrows furrowed together, deep in thought. Love? A word that was extrinsic and unparalleled to you. Were you even capable of that again? Love. A word that hadn’t existed since Sarah.

Tommy finished off his drink and leaned forward so you could hear him. “Let me ask you a question. Could you see your life without Aly in it? If she decided to just get up and walk out right now, how would that make you feel? Could you deal with her being gone?” He was staring at you with a serious look in his eyes. You just looked back at him blankly as you got lost in your absentminded thoughts.

No. You couldn’t picture it at all. Your chest tightened up as if someone was squeezing the air out of you the more you thought about it. You thought you had lost her before when she was lying on that table almost lifeless. You were almost too late, and that itself nearly killed you. So no, you couldn’t imagine her out of your life.

When you didn’t answer, Tommy stepped in. “You don’t have to answer me, but that’s just something to think about. I don’t know much about her, but she seems good for you. If what you said was true, she’s made you stronger, a better man. But I will say this. The way she was looking at you yesterday in the bar, that wasn’t just a look of endearment. You could see it in her eyes, her body language she was giving off towards you. That my brother was not nothing. That was something special. Something unspoken.”

You wrapped your hand around the wet glass as you flexed your jaw, contemplating your racing thoughts. The truth was that she did make you a better man. She’s exactly what you needed all along. You were a blank case, a dark hole that was about to spiral into the unknown. She pulled you out of the darkness with the light she carried around her. A luminous lamp that could light up even the darkest corners of a deep pit. She was your light. She saw you drowning in the darkness, almost consumed by it. She heard you crying, gasping for breath. Desperate to claw yourself out of that pitch black space. You needed a light, so she set herself on fire. For you. Nobody else would’ve done that, but she did. She did that for you and you alone. Your saving grace.

Your eyes went wide at the realization. Tommy was right. Whatever this was was something eccentric, special. That’s what she was to you. Exceptional. Maybe you did love her. Maybe, just maybe he was right. It had to be just that because there was no other distinction for how you felt all those times you almost lost her. And the bridge. When you thought she would surely fall through the cracks and end up in that river of impending doom, you were ready to throw yourself over too if that meant you didn’t have to live without her. It all made sense now.

“Ahh there’s that look. That wide eyed stare after the realization hits. You are in love.”

You took another big swig from your whiskey and watched as you emptied the glass, pouring every last burning drop of alcohol into your throat, easing your chaotic thoughts from deafening screams to whispered words. Your hand carried back to your face as you went over your coarse beard multiple times, lost in thought.

You spent the next couple of hours catching up with each other, bonding as brothers like no time had been lost. It was nice being able to laugh again with Tommy. Being able to throw jokes out and tease one another. Just like old times. But it was finally time to go back home, back to Aly.

Tommy gave you another long hug as he held tightly to your back, giving your shoulder a firm squeeze before you exited the building. “Hey, Joel,” Tommy yelled before you could walk off in the opposite direction.

You turned around and faced him as the wind blew gently against your face. “We’re having a get together tonight at the Tipsy Bison. It’s something we do every month. There will be food, music, maybe dancing. I can introduce you to some of the other folks. It’s always a good time.”

“We’ll be there. Sounds like it could be fun.”

Tommy smiled at you and nodded. “Alright, see you tonight! Don’t forget what I told you.” He pointed at you and raised one of his thick eyebrows, giving you a slight wink. At that he turned and walked off in the opposite direction.

As you headed back to the house, thoughts quickly shifted back to Aly. Your heart started racing, your head feeling dizzy with each step you got closer to the house. To her. And then the questions started brewing. Would you be enough for her? Could you be enough? Was what you were feeling really real? Were you good enough? Surely not. She was way too good for you. Way too…

Suddenly you were in front of the house, standing just at the edge of the yard where the grass began. That’s when you saw her sitting on the porch swing with a cup of coffee in one hand and her legs criss-crossed over one another. Your breath hitched as you saw what she was wearing. A red plaid button up. Your plaid shirt.

The sun was catching her at an angle where it was casting down a beam of light directly on her. It was like she was angelic, something the gods had sent down just for you. You ran a hand through your hair as it blew in the wind, taking in her beauty from across the lawn. And then she saw you standing there watching. She smiled at you then. A shy, warm smile that seemed to glow. God, her smile killed you. Could knock you down as it took the breath right out of you.

As you stood there staring blatantly at her with her diamond eyes staring back at you, you knew. You knew right then that you were in love with her. There were no doubts, no apprehension. You knew without a shadow of a doubt now. She was the one. The one thing you had been missing all your life. It was her. It was always her…

“Are you just going to stand there staring or are you going to come sit with me?” Aly smirked.

You closed your open jaw as you nervously ran your hair through your locks and moved through the yard, towards her. You made your way up the sturdy steps and came to stand in front of her. You smiled as you motioned towards the plaid shirt she was wrapped in. “Now that looks familiar. It looks good on you.” And it did. She was marking her territory, letting you know just who she belonged to. You. She belonged to you. Just as you belonged to her.

She blushed and pulled a lock of brunette hair behind her ear. A nervous habit she had, but she was adorable when she was nervous around you. Those pink cheeks that would grow a deep red when she was trying not to meet your gaze with her long eyelashes that batted up towards you. A real angel.

“I hope you don’t mind. It was just really warm, and soft, and smelled like you.” She looked up from under her thick eyelashes as her ocean eyes stared up at you, and a faint smile painted across her face.

“I don’t mind at all. Wear it anytime you’d like.” You gently caressed her cheek before you sat down on the swing to join her, pulling her towards you as you put an arm around the back of her. She leaned against you as she rested her head on your shoulder.

“You were gone for a while. I assume you and Tommy had a good talk then?” She wrapped her hands around your arm and pulled you closer. It made your spine tingle.

“Yeah, I think it went well. We covered a lot of lost ground. Even tied up some loose strings.” You sighed as you remembered all the yelling. All the screaming that took place before the weights set in, planting you back on firm ground where you could talk like civilized brothers.

And then there was that sentence. That one shocking, astonishing line. You’re in love with her. You could still hear Tommy’s joy, see the look on his face as you were awakened to your own blinded feelings.

Aly squeezed your arm in response, bringing you out of your distant thoughts. “I’m so glad you two made up.”

“Trust me, I am too.” You responded as you kissed her on top of the head, brushing your hand through her long silky waves. “And what about you? I trust you enjoyed the rest of your morning? Your bubble bath?” Your voice came out deeper at the mention of the word bath.

“It was wonderful. Quite relaxing. I just kinda wish you would’ve been here with me. I missed you.”

“Oh, is that right?” you smirked as you pulled her into your lap, wrapping your arms around her waist. She squealed in response as her bright smile took over your vision.

“Mhm,” she breathed as she stared up at you with those drop dead gorgeous eyes.

“I missed you too.” And then you were pulling her in, your lips consuming hers. She tasted like her fresh cup of coffee. Sugar and sweetness coating your tongue. She smelled refreshing, the scent of her bubble bath surrounding you as you dipped her head lower.

She pulled apart to look at you, and her face was glowing as bright as the sun. “You’re in an extra good mood today,” she beamed as she raked her fingers through your thick beard. You groaned at the sensation.

“Well, I am. This place, this house, Tommy, you. Mostly you. I mean look at us sitting on a porch swing with a huge house that comes with it. It almost doesn’t feel real,” you said in a daze.

“I know exactly how you feel. This place is nothing like I’ve come across in all these years. I can finally stop and hear myself think. There’s no loud noises, no FEDRA, no rundown apartments, no ration cards. It’s wonderful.” You watched her as she talked with wonder filling her voice, her fingers still scraping softly against you.

“It almost feels like a home.” She felt like a home. She was home.

“It is a home.” She was looking at you like those words were meant just for you, and it made your eyes ease as they gently gazed across her soft features.

You sat there for a couple minutes in silence just running your fingers through her waves, taking in the moment. She gently grazed her fingertips up and down your arm, leaving goosebump trails behind with every trace she left on you.

“What’s your favorite color?” she asked gently.

You thought for a minute. No one had ever asked you such a simple yet complex question before. You had to think a minute, running through all the colors you might pick. But as you looked at her more, one color stood out from all the others. Midnight blue. The color of her eyes. Your favorite shade. A color you could get lost in. “Blue. Midnight blue to be exact. What’s yours?”

“Violet. I always liked the purple colors that looked like lavender.” You could see that. It was the same color as her flannel she liked to wear. A color that made her eyes pop.

“Asking me my favorite color huh? Ya know, I don’t think anyone has ever asked me that before.”

She laughed at that. A contagious laugh that could carry through a room, turning every head in her direction. It was infectious, something you could get lost in. “Really? No one’s ever asked you?”

“Not that I can remember.”

“Well, I asked you. So now you can’t say no one’s never asked you,” she laughed, and then you laughed along with her.

“Hey, Joel?”

“Hmm?” you hummed.

“I like seeing you like this. Happy, laughing.”

She was the reason for all of that. Her. “It’s all cause of you, darlin’.” She gave you a sentimental look as she stared up at you, her fingers running along your chest. She gave you a soft kiss and then she laid down with her head in your lap. You took the opportunity to graze your fingers along her scalp, in that thick mound of hair.

“Tommy said they’re having some kind of get together tonight at Tipsy Bison. Said there’d be food and music, and the whole community will be there. You wanna go?”

“Absolutely. I wouldn’t miss it,” she replied with a broad smile.

You gave her a tight smile and continued enjoying the relaxing moment. You watched as more yellow leaves fell from the oak tree in the front yard, making small crunching sounds with every leaf that fell. It was quiet on this street. You could faintly hear the buzz of people a few streets over. It was a bit euphoric. The peace this place had. You were so used to having hell and chaos around each corner, but this place didn’t have that. It was so different. Were you finally at peace for once in your life?

“Joel?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you going to let Ellie stay with us?” she asked quietly.

The question caught you off guard. You hadn’t really thought about it since you made it to Jackson. You thought she was just cargo at first, a burden you’d have to carry on your back. But maybe you didn’t quite think that way anymore. Maybe she wasn’t a burden after all. Maybe she was growing on you a little.

You had to admit, she could be annoying as hell and she asked so many damn questions all the time. But she was just a kid. That’s what they did, right? Maybe you would let her stay. You didn’t really want to take on the responsibility of her, but you had already done that the night you had picked her up and given her shelter. She was a responsibility. Your responsibility now, and you had to accept that.

And then there was that other distant ringing noise in your head. The fireflies. There was no way you were taking her back to them, and they sure as hell weren’t coming into this city and taking her away. You wouldn’t let them. Not a chance in hell. You’d have to kill them first.

You sighed as your jaw clenched as tight as a fist before answering. “I guess she can stay.”

“Really?” She sat up with an excited look on her face, her eyes wide with elation.

“Really,” you stated in finality.

She threw her arms around your neck as she hugged you tightly. You couldn’t help but laugh at her excitement. She was thrilled to say the least. She sat back and looked at you with big blue eyes. “What changed your mind?”

You took a hand and scratched through your scruff, taking a moment to get your words together. “You were right this morning. She has grown on me. And I just can’t see myself throwing her out. Even if she can be an annoying little brat. Guess she’s stuck with us now,” you laughed quietly.

“Joel Miller!” she squeaked in surprise.

“What?”

“You’ve changed so much.”

“Yeah…guess I have.”

“What happened?” she asked as questions ran through her head.

The truth was it was her that changed you. Her. “You,” you answered blatantly.

Her eyes grew wide at the realization. “Oh,” she answered almost silently. And then she smiled. A warm, infectious grin that could melt every ounce of stress from your body.

You smiled back at her and pulled her in for a long, warm embrace. Yeah, you could definitely get used to all of this.

The bar was bustling with people. Every which way you looked people were conversing, laughing, eating, dancing, and having the best time. Music rang through the building as a small band played their instruments in the far corner of the room. The middle of the room was filled with dancing couples on the shiny wooden floor.

Christmas lights were strewn up around the walls, spilling over the bar table, and wrapping around the building. Tinsel hung over the tables and encased the light fixtures. Christmas was just around the corner, and the snow outside just added to the decorations.

Ellie was off at another table, eating with her new friends she had made. Dina and Jesse. They were close in age and seemed to bond quickly. You could hear Ellie’s loud voice carry over to your table as her laugh echoed through the room. Something Dina had said made her bellow which in turn made a small smile creep up to the corners of your mouth.

Tommy had introduced you and Aly to a few of the town folks, and some came up and introduced themselves. You took a swig of apple cider as Aly sat next to you with a cup of hot chocolate. Tommy and Maria sat across from you, tossing back their own drinks.

“So, you guys planning on staying here long term?” Tommy asked casually as he slicked back his greasy hair.

“Think that’s the plan. If you’ll have us, that is,” you answered.

“Of course! There’s always room for you here,” Maria chimed in, a warm smile on her face.

“I know this isn’t like a QZ, and there’s no ration cards. So, how can we help out? I assume everyone has some job they do here,” Aly asked as her cream colored sweater rubbed against your arm.

“Yes. Everyone has something they do here. We’ll find you two something. Is there anything in particular you’re interested in?” Maria asked as she leaned against the wooden table.

“Animals. I was a vet tech when I was going to college, so I may be able to help out in that area.”

“That’s perfect! We have plenty of animals, and we’re always needing more hands on deck. A vet tech huh? What were you studying?” she asked as she placed a hand under her chin, propping herself against the table.

“Marine biology.”

“Wow, impressive. That’s something I could never do. The ocean kinda terrifies me. You must be pretty smart then,” she stated curtly.

“Aly here is real smart,” you confirmed as Aly gave you a small smile, squeezing your arm.

“Sounds like it. And Joel? Maybe you could help around town with things that need fixing? I know you must miss that. You always had your hands tied with some project back in Austin,” Tommy said as he took a drink from his glass cup.

“I could do that, and you’re right. Just give me some tools and you’ve got yourself a deal.”

“Excellent. Well, cheers! To the return of my brother and good company.” He held his drink high over the table as the rest of you clinked your glass cups together in celebration.

After you took a long drink of the warm cider, you had one more question to ask. “What about patrols? You guys have a set schedule you go out or?”

“We split it. I go out every Tuesday and Thursday morning. I have a partner that joins me, but maybe you could be his replacement?”

Your eyebrows raised in response, thinking about his proposition. “I could do that,” you responded.

“Excellent! It’s settled then. Tuesday we’ll go out early then. I’ll fill you in on all the details later.”

You nodded your head and then looked out to the dance floor. The song went from an upbeat fast tune to a slow, composed melody. Some of the couples cleared the crowded floor, making vacancy as bodies spilled into chairs and into small huddles along the sides of the room. You rose your eyebrow as you surveyed the floor, looking over at Aly. “You wanna dance?” you asked as you turned your body towards her.

“Joel Miller asking me to dance? What has gotten into you lately,” she laughed as she leaned into you. Tommy watched you carefully, a knowing look displaying over his face. He smirked up at you and crossed his arms. His voice came back into your head loud and clear as if to remind you again. You’re in love. And he was completely right.

“Just want to dance with the prettiest girl in the room, that’s all.” She blushed at the comment as she pulled at her sweater nervously. You extended your arm out to her, turning your hand out for her. She took it without hesitation as you stood up, leading her out to the middle of the dance floor. You heard Tommy whispering to Maria, catching him saying something about love birds, and Maria turned and smiled brightly at the two of you.

The music carried through the building, a slow beat that surrounded you. A few pairs of dancers moved around you as they twirled and spun in circles. You brought your left hand against her hip and grabbed her hand with your right, bringing her close to you. Then you started moving, making slow circles around the center of the room.

You let the music sway through you as you focused all your attention on the gorgeous girl that stood in front of you. Her lips were a deep red, sprinkled with a tad bit of glitter in the tint, enticing you to bring your lips down to hers. There it was again. That feeling like the two of you were the only ones in the room. All other noises were muted as you focused on her slow breathing, her glowing smile, her gazing eyes. It didn’t matter if anyone else tried to talk to you in this moment. You wouldn’t hear them.

“You know, you’re a pretty good dancer,” Aly said as she looked up at you, swinging to the slow beat of the song.

“I can guarantee you I wouldn’t be out here if it wasn’t for you. You’ve got a way of swaying my decisions.” You looked at her intently, a sly smirk marking your face.

“Oh, is that so? So I made you dance, is that it?” she laughed casually.

“You didn’t make me do anything. I wanted to. That’s why I asked you.”

“Mmm okay. Well, I’m glad you did,” she beamed up at you.

“Me too,” you said quietly.

The song came to an end, but you kept her in your embrace for three more songs, not ready to let go of her. Sure, some people stared at the two of you, stealing glances and making assumptions in their heads. But you didn’t care. The only thing you cared about was having her snug in your arms as the music carried around you softly.

You finally broke apart after the dances and walked back to the table hand in hand with Aly. Tommy gave you a hard time as he gave you knowing looks, and you just shook your head at him. You spent the next couple of hours talking amongst yourselves at the table, finishing your hot apple cider, and feasting on hamburgers. It was almost like the apocalypse didn’t happen. This felt like a normal life, not one where you had to fight to stay alive every day. This place felt secure, safe. A place where you could settle down.

As people started shuffling out and heading home, you thought it was time to head back to the house too. You said your goodbyes and headed out the door with Aly and Ellie following along next to you. The wind outside was brisk as light snow fell from the sky. The only thing that felt remotely warm was your hand in Aly’s.

Before you reached the front yard of the big two story house, you heard Tommy yelling down the street, running after you. “Joel! I forgot to give you this. I was going to tell you back at the bar, but it just slipped my mind. I found something the other day while I was out on patrol duty that I think you’d like. She’s a real beauty, if you still play that is.”

You turned around to face him, and your eyes went wide. No fucking way. In his hands sat a Taylor 314ce acoustic guitar. The woodwork was sleek and tan and had a Venetian cutaway around the edges. “You’re fucking kidding me. Where the hell did you find this?” you asked dumbfounded as you grabbed the slick guitar from his hands.

“Found it in an abandoned shop. It’s almost in perfect condition, just like new. I thought of you when I found it. And then out of the blue you just showed up a few days after. Almost like it was calling you,” Tommy laughed as he pulled his leather jacket tighter against him, sticking his hands in his pockets.

You ran your hands over the smooth strings, and the guitar strummed to life. It sounded amazing. “Sounds tuned, strings are all intact. Thank you, Tommy. This is…great,” you said, thanking him with sincere eyes.

“It was nothing. Enjoy it. Just wanted to drop that by to you, but I’m gonna head back home to Maria. Glad y'all could make it tonight. See you tomorrow.” He waved goodbye as you, Aly, and Ellie said goodnight to him.

“Whoa, a real guitar! Hey, do you think you could teach me to play?” Ellie asked as she came over and ran her hand against the edges of the guitar.

“Hey, be careful! This right here is a classic. And we’ll see about that,” you replied as you brought the guitar out of her reach.

“What about me? You gonna teach me to play?” Aly asked quietly so Ellie wouldn’t hear her question. She was giving you those big, pleading eyes. Eyes you couldn’t say no to.

“If that’s what you want,” you said as you automatically agreed to her request.

“That’s what I want. I already know how amazing those fingers are, so let’s see what else you can do with those hands,” she teased as she ran her fingers along one of your rough hands, sliding her index finger down your thumb and ending it along the edge of the guitar.

Her eyes were flirting with you as flames were kindling in them, stirring up desire in your core. You smirked down at her, giving her a silent promise to do exactly as she asked. You bent down to her eye level and put your lips right up against her ear so Ellie wouldn’t hear. “Trust me, I’ll teach you more than how to play.” You blew softly against her ear, slowly teasing her before you took a step back. She was blushing hard, her cheeks turning crimson as she bit her lip. God, you wanted to tackle her right now and ravish her in the snow. You’d have to wait though.

“Are you guys flirting? Because it kinda looks that way,” Ellie asked in disgust, her nose scrunching up.

“That’s just what happens when two people like each other. You’ll understand one day,” Aly responded as she walked next to you, entering the front yard of the two story house.

“Maybe one day, but that’ll be a long time from now. You two just do it a lot. It’s kinda gross. Are you two like in love or something?”

“Alright kiddo, that’s enough questions for tonight. Why don’t you get ready for bed?” you asked as you opened the front door, holding it open for Aly and Ellie. Aly was still blushing, maybe even harder now. Damn. You must’ve got her good.

“I’m not tired though,” she fought back as she shrugged her shoulders, slumping forward.

“Oh yes you are. You keep rubbing your eyes and yawning. Now go get cleaned up and go to bed.” You shoved her lightly towards her room.

“Alright, alright. I’m going,” she huffed.

“Goodnight, Ellie,” you called as she shut the door, saying goodnight to Aly before she disappeared behind the white wooden door.

“That girl is a mess,” you laughed as you turned to face Aly, laying the acoustic guitar against the wall.

“She’s definitely got a way with words,” Aly responded as she came closer to you, slightly biting her lip as she seemed to be nervous from the encounter outside between the two of you.

“Mhm. Now come here.” You reached out your hand and grabbed her wrist, pulling her towards you. Her hands rested against your chest as yours circled around her waist. “Now, what were you saying? Something about my hands?” you asked with thick sultry dripping off your vocal cords.

“I was saying you could show me what else those hands do…” With that you pulled her face to yours and sunk your lips against hers, tasting her cherry flavored lipstick. You wanted to drown in that taste.

“I can hear that!” Ellie yelled from the closed door.

You quickly pulled apart as the two of you laughed. “Guess we should go get ready for bed too,” Aly said as she took your hand, pulling lightly so you’d follow her upstairs.

“That sounds like a good idea.” You hit the light switch as the living room lights went out, then you followed her upstairs, trying hard not to think of all the things you wanted to do to her. They’d have to wait. For now..

Chapter 27

Series Masterlist

#joel miller #joel tlou #joel the last of us #tlou fanfiction #joel x female reader #joel miller smut #joel miller fic #joel x oc #protective joel #joel miller fanfiction #look for the light

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prismatoxic · 2 months

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Thoughts upon finishing dungeon meshi? I didn't expect to fall in love with this series and about to reread it all over again cause I know there's tons of details I missed on the first time around

many thoughts... head full...

i was spoiled for a lot of the stuff in the end because that's what happens when you jump headlong into a fandom without finishing the media, but there were some things that took me by surprise, which i was grateful for. i was shielding my partner from spoilers the whole time as well, because they actively upset him and i didn't want any of the stuff i knew to ruin the reveal for him. outside of one thing (laios becoming king), he actually avoided it all!

but, like, on the whole? fuck, man. there aren't many medias i hold in such high regard.

i loved every single character in the entire story. yes, even the ones who sucked; they sucked in compelling and well-written ways. i fell hard for kabru and mithrun, and love them so much, which surprised me. like, i could write essays about kabru, i fucking love the guy. don't let the chilaios posting fool you. but i also fucking adore namari and shuro, who seemed so insignificant in the very beginning. i loved every break we got to see them, or the canaries, or kabru's party.

and our main cast... izutsumi exceeded expectations in every possible way and i can't get enough of her. senshi's backstory was heartbreaking and added a depth to him i hadn't anticipated at all. falin, despite being fridged for the majority of the story, was such an important part of it all that she permeates every inch of the tale, and her survival by the end is an emotionally momentous occasion--and she's so incredible in the moments we get to spend with her!! marcille is so richly complex and amazing to watch, whether she's struggling or dominating the scene, and her love for those close to her is beautiful; we all know she loves falin, but the depths of her affection for the others, especially laios, was amazing.

and, like, you know how i feel about chilchuck and laios. but i will say laios's arc by the end of the manga blew me the fuck away. the things he had to sacrifice to save those he loved... the way he was revealed to hate humanity, yet we know he's always kind? that the people he loves most are humans? the way he did, in the end, accept his role as king, to guide and protect people?

laios doesn't get fixed by the narrative. much like falin, he merely changes, and whether it's for the better or not isn't always clear. but his friends love him, and he's respected, even though the oddities that have been pointed out about him the entire time have gone nowhere. and i think that's fucking incredible.

ryoko kui is a master at showing and not telling. from the small actions characters perform that are never brought up in the text to the things you can trace back through the story as having always been implied, the story remains deep and compelling all the way through, building an entire world and the lives of its characters up as it goes. there was not an inch of this work that wasn't given thought and care.

i loved dungeon meshi from start to finish. nothing i've been into in the past long, long while has been so consistently well done. i'm excited to see what trigger does with it, and what else ryoko kui might do post-canon, and perhaps most of all, where the fandom takes it. it's been such a blast to engage with and i'm so glad i gave it a chance.

#tox answers #dunmeshi spoilers

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voraciousvore · 7 months

Text

Big Corp Inc. (27/43)

Chapter 27: Honest Love and Filthy Lust

The clouds congregating overhead began to splatter cold drops of rain over the land. Candy was already chilly, but the rain made the cold worse. She was sheltered by the overhang of the station, so she didn’t get soaked, but she was still miserable, especially with freezing gusts of wind blowing past her. She wanted to be warm and dry and protected with Martin, not abandoned outside. She didn’t blame him at all, because he wasn’t aware of her situation, but that fact didn’t make her feel any better or change her reality.

When the next railcar arrived at the station, she boarded it and rocketed away toward the Big Corp building. She arrived to find the building dark, and the rain pouring down over the human walkway. She didn’t feel like journeying out into the inclement weather only to find the doors locked. She settled down on one the metal benches at the station, huddled up in a feeble attempt to stay warm, and tried to sleep.

While she did drift in and out of slumber through the night, she didn’t sleep restfully at all. The biting wind blew some of the rain into her shelter, forcing her to move to another bench. Her skin was perpetually peppered with goosebumps from the chill in the air. By the time the sun graced the earth again, Candy was exhausted, sore, and half-frozen. The metal rails on the bench made her back and limbs ache. She needed to freshen up, so she entered the Big Corp building early. The rain had mostly stopped, so she didn’t get too wet on the way into the lobby, except for a couple of ill-timed droplets. She had to yell up at one of the Giants to push the button for the third floor for her in the elevator, which made her feel puny, pitiful, and socially awkward, but she made it to her destination unharmed.

Candy fetched her necessary grooming implements from her luggage in the closet and headed over to the human bathroom to make herself presentable. She washed herself the best she could with water from the sink. She wished she could rinse down her work clothes, but they wouldn’t dry in time for her shift. She threw her stuff in her backpack, exited the bathroom, and went to her cubicle. She was hungry for breakfast after her long night, but she figured she could survive until lunch. Maybe, if she ate all her leftovers, Martin would share some of his pizza with her.

Candy was so preoccupied with her myriad problems she forgot about the whole incident yesterday with Mr. Hardon. She inhaled sharply and ducked into a nearby cubicle when she spied Ronny clomping toward her at the end of the hallway. Serendipitously, he failed to spot her and stomped past, oblivious. Candy shuddered and scurried away, hoping to reach her desk before he returned.

She finally made it to her cubicle, but before she could use the capsule launcher Mr. Hardon showed up, bleeding a minacious aura. Candy panicked and scampered under the desk, but she was cornered. Her Giant boss blocked the only way out of the cubicle with his immense mass. He lowered himself to his haunches and peered under the desk with a malevolent grin. Candy sidled up against the wall, shaking with fear.

“Candy,” he said in a low voice. She whimpered and crunched herself into the corner, as much as she could. “I really ought to punish you for what you did yesterday.” His expression darkened.

“N-no, please don’t!” Candy choked. “I’m sorry, sir, it won’t happen again!” Mr. Hardon could see her little chest moving up and down with frantic breaths. He reached his enormous hand under the desk towards her, blocking out the light as he coiled his fingers around her in an enclosed handful, causing her to shriek. A slight squeeze silenced her. He removed her from her hiding spot and sat down in the giant chair adjacent to the desk. He shifted her around in his hand and brought her up close to his face, with the express intent to frighten her more, and glared at her sternly. His pale blue eyes, frigid as glaciers, chilled her like ice.

“If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I will make you regret it,” he snarled through clenched teeth. “No more heels. From now on, you wear those ratty old sneakers of yours. Understand?” Candy gulped and nodded. “Now, as far as punishing you goes…” Her eyes moistened with tears as she braced herself for the worst. “You’re in luck, because I need you to come with me to the manager meeting on the sixth floor on Monday. The CEO specifically requested you. That was the primary reason for his phone call yesterday.”

“M-me?” Candy stammered with consternation. “Why would he need me?” She had never met the CEO.

“He wants us, you and me, to do a product demonstration together. It’s a product intended for human use that Big Corp Inc. will be marketing and selling,” Mr. Hardon explained. “So I need you to be there.”

“O-okay,” Candy agreed. While she was intimidated by the thought of being in a meeting full of higher-ups in the company, especially in a room full of Giants, the task didn’t sound too bad as a punishment. Mr. Hardon wouldn’t be able to do anything disgusting to her in public with others around like he had attempted in his office.

“Now get to work,” Mr. Hardon demanded, placing her in front of her computer and turning it on. He stood over her for several minutes, supervising her as she typed, before returning to his own office. He continued to watch her from his own desk. His lips curled into a smirk. She probably thought he was letting her off lightly, but she had no clue the infernal hell she was about to experience come Monday.

Candy was relieved. Somehow, she had miraculously escaped another nefarious torture from her boss, despite angering him. Maybe he realized he had overstepped his bounds. She was naively optimistic. She threw all her effort into typing. Stretching her limbs out felt nice after being huddled up on a bench all night in the cold and rain. About an hour into the workday, Mr. Hardon checked on her again before wandering off to harass some of the Giantesses in the office. Candy felt like she could finally breathe freely without him staring her down, just out of her sight as she worked.

Candy was pleasantly surprised to get a visit at her desk from Bianca. The Giantess had waited until Mr. Hardon was gone before approaching. After a year of working on the third floor, she had become skilled at avoiding him. “Hi, Candy!” she greeted, bright and chipper.

“Why, hello! It’s nice to see you, Bianca. What’s up?” Candy replied.

“Actually, Candy… I need some advice,” Bianca admitted. She sat down in the giant chair while Candy listened intently. “Um… so… I’ve been talking to this guy. On a dating app. Want to see?” She pulled out her phone and held it in front of Candy. She examined the picture of a lanky, nerdy guy with sandy blond hair, a toothy smile, and tawny eyes.

“He looks nice,” Candy remarked. “Wait… I recognize that park in the background. That’s on the small side of the city. He’s a human?”

Bianca nodded. “Yeah. That’s why I’m asking you for your opinion. Um… I’ve been talking to him for a few days now, and he wants to meet up in person. Thing is… um… he doesn’t know I’m a Giantess.”

Candy gaped. “You didn’t tell him?”

“No,” Bianca confessed sheepishly, fumbling with her glasses. “He assumed I’m a human woman. After what happened in my last relationship, I was scared to tell him. I really like him, and I don’t want him to run away.”

“But, but, Bianca! You’re going to have to tell him! Especially if you meet in person!” Candy expressed. “He needs to know what he’s getting into, at least! That’s not a trivial detail you can just spring on him at the last second.”

Bianca wilted. “But what if he doesn’t want to date me then? What if he’s scared of me? I don’t think I could take that kind of rejection…”

“Then it wasn’t meant to be,” Candy asserted firmly. “You have to tell him. You can’t withhold something important like that.” She exhaled. “Most humans are terrified of Giants. You understand that, don’t you? I was too, but I came to work here because I was desperate. I’m still afraid, around certain people.”

Bianca patted Candy on the head with her fingertip. “I’m sorry,” she said, looking at her with sympathy.

“Don’t worry about it. But anyways… tell him. That’s my advice,” Candy reiterated.

“Do you think… it would make it easier for him if you met him at the railway station on the small side and guided him to me?” Bianca inquired. “Would you be willing to do that? That way, you could sort of… prepare him for the sight, you know what I mean?”

“Of course, Bianca. I’d be happy to. When do you think you’ll be going out?” Candy asked.

“He wanted to set up a date today, so probably after work,” Bianca answered. “Assuming he doesn’t freak out when he learns the truth.”

“I could do that. Just keep me updated, okay?”

“Okay.” Bianca appeared nervous, but firm in her resolve. She retreated to her desk and thought about what she would say to the human man she wanted to court. Since she was preoccupied with this dilemma, she failed to dodge Mr. Hardon coming her way, and he spotted her. With a lascivious grin, he sauntered over to Bianca and blocked her path forward.

“Ah, the lovely Ms. Bernoulli! Darling, how are you? Where have you been hiding all this time?” he flirted, pressing his large body uncomfortably close to her.

“Piss off,” Bianca grumbled, pushing past him. Mr. Hardon laughed, brushing his hand over her breasts and slapping her on the butt. She flamed up with anger but held her tongue as she marched away. She knew from experience that the more fiery and confrontational she got, the more lecherous and hands-on he would be. He seemed to revel in conflict and controversy, particularly when he could exercise his authority. He enjoyed the power he had over all his inferiors in the office. She hated him with a passion, and she hated the scummy CEO for letting him get away with his harassment.

She felt terrible for Candy. She couldn’t imagine having to occupy a cubicle directly across from his office. Plus, Candy was so small and fragile. Candy admitted earlier to still being afraid of some Giants, and Bianca had no doubt she was referring at least in part to Mr. Hardon. She wouldn’t be able to fight back at all if he went too far. Bianca had heard rumors that some of the Giantesses had been pressured into having sex with him, but she didn’t know how much was true. Most quit within a few months or made efforts to transfer. She knew one new intern had quit immediately after he forced himself on her. After that, he had been less aggressive, in an effort to retain the hottest women, since turnover of his female employees was extremely high. Since Candy had come into the picture, however, he seemed to be more preoccupied with her than the Giantesses in the office. Bianca worried about Candy’s wellbeing in such an awful, toxic environment, but there was little she could do to remedy the problem.

Mr. Hardon continued on, chuckling to himself. He had satisfied some of his horny energy prancing around the office and groping some of the Giantesses, but ultimately he desired Candy. He so badly wanted to shove her in his pants and rub her on his big cock, but he needed her for the meeting on Monday. He could be patient. Besides, he was excited for the product demonstration. Ridiculously excited. He would be able to fulfill at least one of his wild fantasies. And, if Candy couldn’t take it and quit, the CEO couldn’t blame him for that!

Chapter 28

Chapter 1

#g/t writing #g/t #giant/tiny #giant #tiny #size difference #g/t fluff #giant tiny #big corp inc #giantess

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m-feline · 1 year

Text

To adapt, to survive, to live - Ch 16

Silco x Freader

Tags: talk of relationships, trauma, mention of rape, new clothes, fluff;

Masterlist

Previous ->

Soon I went with Silco to visit Signed, so I would get a full check-up. Signed had time to read my journal and he had some ideas as to what new "quirks” I might have gotten. So he began to make some tests, despite Silco's displeasure. So we figured out some of the effects. Turns out that I do "taste the air” but only if the scent is fresh enough. Besides that, I can build immunity against any kind of poison. Silco didn't like it, especially when suddenly Signed made me drink poison without a word. Yes, it made me feel bad and sick but after several minutes it went away. And after getting Silco from threatening Signed, we figured out that I also heal faster than normal. Not superhumanly, more like my cells began the healing sooner than normal. Again, Silco almost attacked Signed when he made a cut to my hand. It bled but only for a couple of minutes, but for a wound of that size I thought it would take more time to stop the bleeding. Signed explained that despite my faster healing if the wound is too deep or serious it will still kill me. There were other tests but not so… drastic as the other two. Some blood tests, eye tests, reflexes, and so on. All and all Signed said that I'm alright. And if something does happen I should sleep it over.

So some days went by, and soon we would return to the Last Drop. During that time I spent my time either with Jinx and her new projects or taking over the kitchen of the inn and cooking up something delicious. But most of the time Silco was one way or another always keeping an eye on me. When he had work to do, it was Sevika keeping an eye. Others were acting the same. They said they wanted to see my signia but Silco always gave them a menacing look and they would drop the topic. I managed to show them my signia when I moved it to my face or hands but to show it on my back required me to remove clothes. And that is when Silco would butt in.

His act recently reminded me of jealous boyfriends I have heard coming to Babette’s and causing trouble. That always ended with Vander visiting the guy and "convincing” him to talk it over with his girlfriend, instead of busting the place and making a scene. I tried asking Sevika about what's his problem, but she simply said that I should figure it out myself. But I wasn't ready for that, at least in my opinion.

One day, I was outside with Jinx testing her newest creation. It blew up nicely but not as big as the question she popped at me.

“Are you and Silco an item?”

“Wha-what?”, I asked in shock when I picked up the remains of the blown-up project, and almost dropped it again.

“You and Silco, are you two together?” Jinx asked innocently.

“We… no… not that I… where did that come from?” I asked trying at the same time to collect my thoughts.

“Others talk about it,” Jinx said.

“Others who exactly?”, I insisted.

“Dustin, Matt, Ran, that new guy, Thieram, Sevika,” Jinx said as she counted her fingers.

“Seriously? Practically all the regs,” I sighed.

“So, are you?”

“We… aren't. I mean… not like that. Do you even know what being an item is?” I asked.

“That you and Silco are together and that-sort-of-stuff,” Jinx said.

“That-sort-of-stuff?” I repeated her words.

“You know, that-sort-of-stuff,” Jinx with a bit of emphasis as she moved her hands. I didn't know what she meant with her hands but the way she spoke and changed her face, told me enough.

“What? No! No, we haven't… I didn't mean... He doesn't… We haven't slept together!” I shouted as all the blood rushed to my head.

“I didn't say anything about sleeping together, although if we’re honest you have slept in his bed. With him,” Jinx reminded me. My hands came to cover my face and I could feel the heat on my cheeks and forehead from all the blushing. This was so not okay.

“I think it would be great if you two are together,” Jinx said innocently and picked up one of the pieces of her blown-up project.

“You do?” I asked peeking through my fingers.

“M-hm, I like Silco. And I like you too. You two together would be fantastic,” She said. I know she likes Silco. In fact, I think she sees him as a father figure. Maybe even more than Vander. When I was sick Silco spent many days with Jinx and always made time for her. He encouraged her to try things and to improve her skills. When I was healthy, I saw many times Jinx sneaking into Silco's room and asking his opinion on things. I could tell, he liked her too. Whenever she came to ask something, or simply wanted to hang out, Silco dropped all his work or found a way to continue his work and still keep company for Jinx. When I saw those moments it warmed my chest and I felt happy.

“It's at your neck now?” Jinx said and brought me back to reality. She had come very close to peek at the snake that was indeed coiled around my neck, its head almost at my chin. "So it goes to your neck when you are blushing.”

“Blushing? Me?” I asked stepping a bit away from her.

“Yup, you're as red as a tomato now,” Jinx said smiling.

“I'm not!” I shouted embarrassingly.

“Are too, are too,” Jinx sang happily. "So, I'm right. You like Silco, don't ya?”

“I-I… I don't h-hate him,” I said looking away.

“Come on! What's so hard about it?” Jinx asked. "Even I think you guys are so good together, and I'm a kid. How come it's so hard for you?”

“I… I have never been with anyone. In any… way,” I said.

“Yeah,” Jinx sighed. "All you ever did was look after us, clean the bar, and cook for us, and blaa blaa blaa.”

I scoffed at her dramatics but she got the point at least. She was soon a teen so it shouldn't come as a surprise that she may sometimes be the "adult” of the two of us. Despite her trauma that causes her to sometimes revert to a kid again.

“But still, I would love it if you guys could be together,” She said kicking some dust with her feet.

“M-hmm,” I hummed looking at her. I get what she meant but I was still a little… not sure. As I said to her I don't hate Silco, I don't dislike Silco. But… I was not sure of him. Jinx cut my thought again as she rushed behind me and pulled up my shirt.

“It's back to your back again,” She said happily as if the awkward conversation never happened.

“Do you have to check it every time?” I asked pulling my shirt back down.

“I wanna know where it is. It also tells me your mood,” She said happily.

“Really now?” I asked. "Alright, when the snake is at my back what is it?”

"You are happy, calm, or bored,” Jinx said mimicking the emotions she mentioned. "When it's at your stomach, you're all giddy and excited.”

"When did you check that?" I asked.

“When you were changing before going out on your own for the first time,” Jinx said.

“You saw me change?” I asked in shock.

“Yeah,” Jinx admitted. "I was bored and there was room at the ceiling at the support poles so…”

"We have to talk about giving others some privacy, missy,” I told her. "But if you're going to keep peaking at my signia, I need new clothes.”

"What are you thinking of wearing?" Jinx asked curiously.

“I thought I’d switch to a backless look,” I said pondering.

“You? Showing your whole back? Oh, Janna, what did you do to (Y/n)?” Jinx said all dramatically.

“Hey, manners,” I chided her.

“Come on, all the time I've known you, you have never shown more than your wrists or your arms on the best day,” Jinx said. "And now you're going backless?”

"Okay, I admit, I have been hiding for a long time but I had good reasons,” I defended myself. "One, the mark before looked like I took a beating, and I couldn't let people see me as a punching bag. Two, since I don't need to worry about being pure for the ritual, I don't need to worry about getting too much unwanted attention.”

"I think Silco is doing that for you, Jinx said. "Haven't you seen how he looks at others when they want to approach you?”

"No, how does he look at others?” I asked.

“Like he will kill them if they say the wrong thing in the wrong way,” Jinx said. "One time he almost had one guy thrown out for looking at you the wrong way.”

“When was that?” I asked.

“You were cleaning the tables, it was the late shift, not so many people around, and this creep really ate you with his eyes,” Jinx explained.

“Really?”

“Yup, and I saw Silco walk past him and make him fall back to his seat when he tried to get up to stand. Silco said something to him, couldn't hear what, but the guy remained still in his seat, finished his drink in a rush, and went out through the door.”

“You’re sure you didn't imagine that?” I asked raising one eyebrow.

“Absolutely,” Jinx said. "Because I heard Silco ask Lock to go after him and 'remind’ him.”

“It could have been business,” I said.

“I'll quote what he said,” Jinx said clearing her throat and making her best impression of Silco. "Lock, go after our little friend and remind him what happens to those who disrespect my people.”

“Aha, he said my 'people’, not necessarily me,” I said holding down a grin from the acting Jinx did as Silco.

“Oh, come on~,” Jinx groaned. "He did it for you. Why don't you get it?”

“The people who did things 'for’ me are dead,” I said with a hint of seriousness in my voice.

“My point exactly,” Jinx said almost losing her patience. "Why make yourself a hermit when a nice guy is willing to care for you?”

“Silco? A nice guy?” I asked chuckling.

“You know what I mean,” Jinx said.

“Alright, alright,” I sighed and rubbed my neck. "I'll talk with him. I will also ask permission to go visit Lottie for new clothes. And if you can come along.”

“Okay,” Jinx said happily and pulled out from her bag another bomb. "Now let's blow up this one.”

I was nervous as I walked to the room that was now Silco’s bedroom and his office alike. It's like an unspoken rule, not to go in unless you were called, or you had important news. Asking permission to go shopping didn't fit either category. At least, Sevika wasn't here. I understood she had a job to do. Though maybe her presence would have meant that I could ask her and avoid facing Silco altogether. But I had said that I would talk with him, and that is what I must do. I came to the door and knocked a couple of times. If I'm lucky he will be too busy to see me.

“Enter.”

Guess not. I opened the door and stepped in. Silco’s room was bigger than mine yet it felt smaller with all the papers at the table and him behind it all. To fit an office and bedroom into one space did make it look a bit… chaotic.

“What is it?”

I set my eyes on Silco who sat behind the table facing the door yet his eyes were glued to the papers in front of him. He must have not seen it was me coming in.

“I…” I began and I stopped when his eyes raised to look at me. I swallowed and continued. "I c-can come back later when you aren't busy.”

"Nonsense,” Silco said and pushed the paper to the side of the table. "I have always time for Jinx when she comes to me. It's only fair that I give you the same privilege.” Why? Why give me that privilege? I felt small pressure in my chest. Why was I so nervous?

“I… wanted to ask if it's okay for me and Jinx to go to Lottie’s? I want to get new clothes and at the same time see if there is something new that Jinx might like,” I said.

"That's all?” Silco asked. Why do I have a feeling he was expecting something else from me?

“Were you expecting something else?” I asked. Silco sighed and got up from his seat. When he began to walk around the table towards me, I felt my chest tighten again as I turned to face him.

“I thought, you might now address the situation between us,” Silco said as he came to stand right in front of me.

“Do we have a situation?” I asked. I either missed the point completely or Jinx was right for many things than just what others were talking about.

“You tell me, do we?” Silco asked.

“I… don't know,” I said defeat.

“You don't know?” Silco asked in confirmation. "Is this because you really don't know… or you are playing coy with me?”

"I don't know,” I sighed. "I don't even know how to play coy.” The look Silco gave me could have been of surprise but I thought it was of shock. Of all the people in the Lanes, I was truly oblivious to all-that-Jazz that people considered normal in relationships. I simply ignored it as I tried to find a way to survive and remain pure. Now that there was no need for it… I had no idea how to even approach that topic. And with who.

“To be honest I know enough as to where it leads in the end,” I said trying to save at least some of my pride. "And I… I'm not eager to do it.”

"By that you mean…?” Silco invited to continue.

“I know it leads to fucking, okay,” I said, feeling annoyed that I had to spell it out. "I'm not completely an idiot.”

“M-hmm, and you know that, how?” Silco asked.

“Milo, one of the kids I had to watch after, managed to get his hands on a book which wasn't exactly child-friendly shall we say,” I explained. "I confiscated it quite fast from him. But…”

"You took a look at it, didn’t you?”

“I was curious and… Yes, it was very explicit,” I admitted. "However, the reason why I'm not eager to do it is because… of what happened to my mother.”

"Right,” Silco sighed. "Your mother was violated. I'm sorry.”

"No need to apologize,” I said and leaned against the desk. "That sort of thing is both hard to forget and the first thing you try to ignore.”

“You witnessed it happen?” Silco asked.

“I didn’t see it happen. My mother hid me in a cupboard so I wouldn't be hurt. But those bastards did it to her in the next room,” I said. "I wanted to cover my ears but my hands were occupied silencing my cries so I wouldn't be found. So yeah, that left me with an ever-lasting impression on… you know.”

“Yes, I know,” Silco said softly and leaned to rest his forehead against mine. It made me a bit tense but it didn't feel bad. "I also understand that it was hard to tell me that.”

"I just... I don't know what to do,” I said. "And I'm sorry for what I did… back then. I didn't know I was… arousing you.”

“No need to apologize, dear,” Silco chuckled. "I'm glad you didn't do it to anyone else. Unlike me, they may not have understood that you were… not quite yourself.”

“So… we have now addressed the situation?” I asked.

“Most of it,” Silco said. What did he mean by most of it? "As for your visit to get new clothes, I'm coming too. I believe I should have a say about what you are going wear.”

Silco had much to say at Lottie’s. At first, he just came along quietly and watched in silence as I explained to Lottie why I had come. She was over the moon when I told her I was now willing to try new types of clothes. Before she could begin to gush over any particular style I told her it had to be backless. After that, she made me try many tops, tunics, and dresses. And to most of them, Silco said no the moment he saw them on me, either for real or inside his head. Some he didn’t even let me try on.

“Your man is pretty possessive, isn't he?” Lottie whispered to me as she helped me with another tunic. I didn’t care to correct her this time unlike before. Though we weren't together for real, it looked like that to many. For some reason, I wasn't too eager to correct them.

“Absolutely not,” Silco said the moment he saw the tunic on me. I should have expected that. If he didn't like the top with a low neckline in the front he wouldn't like this tunic with the front open right in the middle showing my chest.

“It isn't that bad,” Lottie said. "This shows even less skin than the other one.”

“It shows the wrong kind of skin,” Silco said ending the conversation there.

“How about this one?” Jinx asked as she showed another top.

“No,” Silco said when he took a look at it.

“Because the only thing it does cover is the front?” I asked.

"Precisely,” Silco said. Figures. I did ask for backless but if it showed beside the back too much of my neck, my sides, my chest, my stomach, my shoulders, Silco said no to it. That was almost everything Lottie brought up. Except for that one shirt but I didn’t like the color.

“But I like it,” Jinx whined.

“Maybe you can have it once you are big enough to fit it. Or I could customize it for you,” I said. Jinx was beaming when she went to set the top on the counter despite the sour look on Silco’s face. "What? She likes it.”

“Really?” Silco asked sarcastically.

“Hey, she is growing if she wants to wear something who am I to stop her?” I said.

“Careful what you say, sweety. I had to raise you and three others, and this is the first time I hear you want to wear something this nice. You shall regret that in the future when this girl wants to wear a new look,” Lottie said as she set the last piece of clothing to the pile of rejected clothes. "But thanks to your man, I believe you can't even wear these. The only thing approved was those two shirts and the corset with matching pants.”

I gave a tired glance at Silco. Despite our little chat, I still don't get why he doesn't want me to appear wearing the clothes I have tried on. Why was he fixated on what I wear? He wasn't going to allow me to were my old boring clothes, but the new choices were also off-limits. But I had decided to boast about my signia and I will do just that.

“Do you have any fabrics to see? Maybe I could order a custom job,” I asked Lottie.

“Well, in that case. I got some very nice choices,” Lottie said. And she didn’t lie. I bet some people at Piltover would kill someone to get their hands on the fabrics Lottie had. How did she get them was beyond me? Many were gorgeous but one particular caught my eye.

“I should have known you would choose it,” Lottie said.

"How did you get this? And don't tell me you found it behind the boutique,” I inquired.

“Even better I was given that in exchange for a piece of dark velvet,” Lottie said with pride. "See the little scorch mark here? Some sewer in the boutique made a mistake and the whole fabric was thrown away.”

"You're kidding me,” I said.

“No. Apparently some high noble had ordered a long fancy dress and this fabric had to be used in all its length. With this mark it became useless to them,” Lottie said. "What do you say? A nice suit of this to highlight your snake?”

"What did you have in mind?" I asked.

“Well,” Lottie said as she walked behind the counter and pulled out the design catalog she had made as her employer made clothes. She set out an empty page, took a pencil, and began to draw the design. "Since you want it backless, and he doesn't want you to show much skin, I thought something about figure hugging design for the top and a frock design for the bottom.”

"Sounds good,” I said as I watched her sketch. “How long the hem?”

“Depends, do you want sleeves, short or long?” Lottie asked.

“Long, she has a habit of pulling the sleeves over her hand,” Silco said as he too came to watch the sketch. Jinx also came to see it. She climbed over the counter to get an extra close look at the design.

“Cool! Does it have any pockets?” Jinx asked.

“For what?” I asked.

“For treats, for me,” Jinx said innocently.

“We could put a pocket here and here,” Lottie said as she drew. "Collar will be low turtle neck. And I could ask another girl to make you some dark leather pants to go nicely with the suit. For a special occasion, a long skirt with an open seam.”

"Again, how long the hem of the suit?” I asked.

"About this long,” Lottie said as she drew the line to show the hemline. It looked great. Maybe even a bit fancy. I don't think would wear it during the bar shifts. But on special occasions, maybe.

“Put your best workers for this one,” Silco said and placed a pouch of coins on the counter. "We shall take the clothes that were tried with us now. I'll pay more when we come for the finished product.”

And soon we were out of the boutique and heading back to the inn. Silco had work to do in his room. While Jinx and I began to play with my new clothes. Later in the evening I went to the kitchen and made dinner for everyone.

Next ->

#silco #silco league of legends #arcane #silco x reader #silco fanfic #jinx powder #Jinx

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orowyrm · 2 years

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brooo do you have a laz lore master post i wanna see more about this guy . blorbo from my person i follow on tumblr

waaa im so glad u like him!!!!!! his lore is kinda.....scattered all over unfortunately hdsjnkfdjkfn im very unorganized. the main big posts that ive made about him in recent memory that i havent accidentally retconned are here (eternalism bullshit and how the his drifter and operator selves tie into the version we know and love) here (answering a bunch of questions about him) aaaaaaaaaand here (explaining a little bit about how his oculus and void echolocation works)

his tag is kinda sparsely populated cuz a lot of his character building has been happening behind the scenes and i havent shared much due to being forgetful as hell and for the longest time sorta just assuming nobody cared about him but me lmao BUT i can give you a rundown of everything ive got so far: (it's gonna be long, sorry in advance)

on the zariman, he was separated from the other kids and ended up hiding in a ventilation shaft to avoid the adults. he hid so well, in fact, that the orokin actually almost missed him entirely and nearly left him there when they were collecting the tenno after the void jump. he was so paralyzed by fear and pain that at first, they had assumed he was a corpse, and only realized otherwise when he freaked the hell out and blew a massive hole through the poor bastard they sent to go drag him out of the vents.

in the aftermath of the zariman and for most of the old war, he was sort of just... squirreled away and treated more like a feral animal than a kid. he was jumpy and uncooperative, his connection to the void was strong enough that he could do some serious damage when startled, and he didn't remember most of his life before the zariman incident at all, so he was difficult to reason with and in their eyes a waste of time. he didn't even remember his own name, so they called him 'Lazarus' as a reference to the fact that he was assumed to be dead when first recovered, and seemed to be pretty good at surviving against the odds. eventually he just accepted this as his name.

im not entirely sure if margulis knew about him or not... i feel as though she would want to help him, but he probably wouldn't trust her one bit. ive been tempted to go all in and say he couldve been the tenno who accidentally blinded her, which would lend credence to why the orokin felt the need to isolate him so thoroughly from everyone else, but i dont know if im gonna commit to that. as far as being a 'weaponized' tenno, he was treated as sort of a last resort.

he only had the one frame during the old war - he was paired off with a particularly uncooperative umbral ash that they weren't sure would even be able to be 'controlled', but despite most of the handlers assuming theyd tear eachother to shreds, they ended up sharing a really close bond. This ash is his primary frame, Styx! styx is like a father to him, really. they only ever had eachother for a very very long time.

he only ever saw combat once before the war ended. the orokin were getting desperate, and threw pretty much everyone they had at a particular area-- including laz. he had no idea what to do with himself, but he was suddenly outside of his 'room' (more of a holding cell, to be frank) for the first time in years, so he did what any sensible scared kid would do-- he ran for his fucking life. before his handlers realized where he'd gone and tried to interrupt his transference to his frame, he transferred out of his chair completely and essentially escaped for good. they assumed he wouldnt survive on his own and marked it down as a loss, but he was ultimately forgotten. one less little void demon to deal with, really.

he ran for a long time, just sorta trying to get as far away from anything and everything orokin as he possibly could, but too afraid of being recaptured to dare trust anyone he met along the way. at some point before the end of the war, he had a run-in with a lone sentient that cornered him, and he had no choice but to try and defend himself.

he lost this fight. the sentient very much killed him, but in his final moments, all of the void energy trapped inside his body was released like a bomb going off, which killed the sentient pretty much instantly. the implosion also created a weird little pocket void of sorts that pulled in his body and the bits and pieces of the sentient that were left behind. slowly, over the years, the void pieced him back together, replacing whatever was destroyed with pieces of sentient technology, essentially creating the first amalgam.

the entire time laz was in his void coma, styx was helpless to retrieve him. he knew he wasn't gone - he could still feel his presence - but he couldn't get through to him.... so he waited. and waited. and waited some more. eventually, the ruined old building they'd been in all but collapsed, plants began to grow through the foundation, his joints began to rust and his blades tarnished. grineer and corpus and infested alike discovered the place over the years and all were promptly slaughtered in fits of protective rage. by the time another tenno stumbled across his resting place, the old war was ancient history, and the lotus had already located and awakened most of her children-- but laz had never had a chance to form that connection with her. he barely knew margulis, let alone natah.

the tenno who eventually found him and woke him up was none other than @helmofhades' specialest boy Rigel! they have a very special relationship. i love them both deeply. by the time rigel had found him, he'd been mostly put back together-- but the somatic scars on his face had progressed to the point where his eyes were damaged beyond repair. rigel and the other tenno who eventually made up their little clan helped him get back on his feet and adjust to this strange new world he found himself in.

laz and rigel are basically married if it wasnt obvious already. they are boy best friends <3

he went through the main story quest more or less the same as happens in the game, although he never really had a very close connection with the lotus and was more wary of her and confused by her for than anything for a very long time-- at least until the new war, anyway

the drifter and the operator are two separate entities - but there's also a third, completely separate laz who is basically a conglomerate of all of his alternate selves. i call this special third guy 'laz prime' to make life easier for myself, but neither of them are any more 'real' than the others.

operator laz is him but in babymode. nothing much else to that. hes just a little guy, and its his birthday, hes a little birthday boy!!!

drifter laz i uh... kinda havent touched on much. im waiting for duviri to drop so i can really get into the nitty gritty of all the time loop bullshit. hes kinda a bitter asshole though. not that i blame him.

laz prime is the funny guy i post about so much!!!! after the cutscene in the new war where the drifter and operator meet, neither of those two actually LEAVE that dormizone, at least not in the version of reality we see-- their meeting causes laz prime to just sorta... start existing! he remembers being both of them, although only vaguely. it's him who finishes the quest, and it's him who eventually returns to the zariman for the angels update and all that fun stuff. im sure driftlaz and oplaz are still out there, doing their own thing, but i havent the slightest clue what that may be.

laz prime is more severely amalgamated than either of his counterparts-- while theyve got the horns, hooves, and claws, laz prime takes it up a notch with an extra set of arms and a tail! he's also absurdly huge.

he has a cane to help with the mobility issues caused by having to balance on those teeny tiny itty bitty stick legs-- it's actually a little sentient! he calls it a mobilyst. it's his little buddy. i really like it

laz prime can't really use amps in the traditional way, considering his sentient parts react very poorly to large concentrations of void energy. he pieces together makeshift weapons with cores and fragments he scavenges from other sentients or amalgams that he kills to make up for it. he can also breathe void-fire, but he doesn't do that very often because it singes his scruffy little beard :( love loses

his lack of ability to effectively channel amps makes him VERRRY very interested in traditional weaponry. he's especially fond of incarnons-- JUST because theyre cool weapons. no other reason. none at all. unrelated, but do you think cavalero likes men? asking for a friend.

#TUMBLR YELLED AT ME FOR MAKING THIS POST TOO LONG LMFAO SO I HAD TO CUT IT SHORT #OOPSIES!!!!!#anyway i hope this doesnt break i poured my heart and soul into it. thank you anon for caring about him #long post #ocs #laz

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ophelia-jones · 1 year

Text

Rendezvous chapter 9

(Reference season 6 episode 11 when Jesus brings the Alexandrian crew to Hilltop for the first time. Everything between chapter 8 and chapter 9 was what happened in the canon series. This is where we diverge)

610 days since CDC declared the Wildfire Pandemic.

597 days since Daryl and Merle found Adalia's letter.

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

Daryl needed some air after being introduced to Gregory; that building was stifling. It was a relic of a life best forgotten. The world wasn't going back, and maybe it shouldn't. He was tired of the struggles and he was damned tired of all the death, but if they were rebuilding he would do plenty of things differently.

He walked about looking at what they had done with the small space they had, and admired the efficiency. They were definitely better off for food than Alexandria. Maybe not literally more food, but far fewer people to spread it amongst.

He hated to admit the fact that he would've tried to take the truck full of supplies from Jesus too if the tables had been turned. They had so little ammo to protect the people living here, and now this Negan character was extorting them; kidnapping and murdering people on a whim. Bullying good people and taking things he hadn't worked for.

A trade agreement and alliance between their colonies would be good for everyone, and Jesus had said there was another colony nearby as well, in an old military base which had been kept up for historical purposes, and they called it the Kingdom, apparently. Pretentious; but these days? People did what they needed to to get by.

He sat on the grass with his head back against the wall, a cigarette dangling from his lips. He closed his eyes and blew smoke rings, so many things running through his mind at once. The past, the present, and the future all competed for his attention. He did his best to focus on the present. The past made his heart ache - longing for places and people he would never see again. If he thought about the future too much his chest hurt with fear of how many more losses were inevitable. He was not the man he had been 600 days ago, and he had no idea who he might be 600 days from now. If he were even alive.

"You're gonna be the last man standing, Daryl Dixon. You are." Beth had told him, her words bounced around in his head all day every day. She was right about one thing, he did miss her. So bad.

"You were built to survive, go do what you do best." He was good at it because he'd never had a choice. He'd been fighting for survival his whole damned life. He sighed and pinched off the burning end of the cigarette to save for later. Hard to say how long he'd be able to find tobacco. People thought he was surly now, just wait until he went through nicotine withdrawal, he thought with a little smile.

These people. These people had no idea that this was what the world was really like, outside of their cozy homes and fancy cars. Away from their etiquette. Away from the fairytale they had built around themselves so they felt safe and didn't have to look at the reality of the world. They didn't want to see what it was like for the people who didn't fit inside that fairytale; the people who had been living in the real world all along.

Well, it was time now for them to learn if they wanted to survive. Some of them were. Rick was learning fast, Michonne knew how to do it. This guy they called Jesus, he was a survivor - but even then, the survivors were dying to protect the other ones, the innocent ones. They didn't understand that they were only prolonging the inevitable.

He stood and stretched, and looked around again at the pretty little community, at the FEMA trailers beside the mansion. The world had always been this way, hadn't it? There were the people who lived in the big house, and there was the rest of the world grateful for a dry place to sleep.

Over at the chicken coop, the door opened from the inside and a young woman stepped out with a basket. Her hair was the same shade as Adalia's and for a moment -just a moment- he thought it was her. He couldn't see her face for the way the wind was blowing her hair. She was slender, though, the way only a teenage girl could be.

He took a deep breath to calm his heart which had begun to race as his mind had mistaken an old memory for the present. He sniffed and looked everywhere but at the girl to find something else to occupy his mind.

He heard his name from the opposite direction and turned to see who needed him, it wasn't Rick's voice.

It took him much longer than it should have to recognize the man, but he had not been a man the last time they'd met.

He was as tall as Daryl now, all lean muscle and hard edges. His head had been shaved, but the outgrowth was nearly black and he would know those green eyes anywhere. They were Adalia's eyes.

"Remy?" Daryl muttered, almost as if saying his name too loudly would make him disappear.

"Daryl!" the young man called out, jogging up to him, wrapping one arm around him, their hands clasped in greeting between their chest as men do.

"I fucking KNEW you would be okay!" Remy declared happily. Daryl's eyes burned with tears as he clung to the boy.

"I went to your house, at the beginning. It took too long in all the got-damned panic, you were already gone. How? How did you…" he was asking when they were interrupted by someone approaching from the house.

"Hey, dumbass! Where have you been? Jesus is back with a bunch of people from another settlement!" a girl's voice called as she came toward them. It was the girl he'd seen leaving the hen house. Jenna looked so much like her mother now that he could see her face, his chest grew too tight to breathe for a moment.

"Daryl?" she stopped and stood where she was, mouth open in shock, before breaking into a sprint and running to him, hitting him so hard she nearly knocked him down, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Oh my God, Daryl!"

"Jenna, I can't believe it! I thought you were in Athens when they dropped the bombs," he told her as he squeezed her so tightly he might have hurt her, but neither of them wanted to let go.

"Daryl?" Rick called from the porch. He, Glenn, and Maggie were gawking at him and these two beautiful young people. He'd never seen anything more beautiful than the sight of these two safe and well.

"Come with me," Daryl told them leading them up to meet his friends.

The question was in the tip of his tongue but he could not speak it. Things were good right now, he was happy to see them and he didn't want that to go away yet. He didn't want to ask just to lose her again.

"Remy, Jenna, these folks were the ones that got through it with me, got us to where we are," He told them. "Rick, Maggie, and Glenn."

"Nice to meet you, Rick said politely, curiosity clear in his eyes but he knew it wasn't the right time to ask who they were. Daryl had never mentioned anyone from his life before. He certainly hadn't let on that anyone from then might have survived.

"So you knew Daryl before?" Glenn asked with a hint of surprise in his voice. In his mind -and several of the others- it was as if Daryl had simply sprung into being the day they'd met him. Other than Merle, there had been no mention of his life before. No stories about experiences or loved ones.

He'd told Carl about his mom's death after Lori had died, but Carl had kept that to himself. He knew, even at 12 years old what a special thing it was to have been entrusted with that bit of Daryl's life.

"Yeah, he saved our lives, actually," Jenna replied with a sweet smile.

"More than once," Remy added turning to Daryl. "I've still got that crossbow you gave me that last Christmas. Saved our asses more times than I can count." Glenn and Maggie smiled, happy to hear something about Daryl's life before.

"That sounds like Daryl," Rick told them with a smile of pride in his friend.

"Naw, man, you did that. Give yourself the credit," Daryl told him. "Both times." As silence fell, the question loomed. He had to ask.

"What about your mom?" Daryl asked quietly, bracing for the worst. Or, rather, what he thought would be the worst. It would turn out there was a third option to what he thought would be a yes or no question. Did she live, or did she not?

They glanced at each other, having known the question had to come up. It was not an easy answer to give, but for the two of them, Daryl's surprise return to their lives brought a glimmer of hope where none had been before.

"She got us through a lot, I mean a LOT of stuff. She found this place. We were doing alright, you know?" Remy replied and Daryl's heart fell. He'd come so close and missed her once again. "Then Negan came, looking for tributes that we didn't have. He took her instead."

"What? What do you mean he took her?" Daryl demanded.

"Has he found your community yet?" Jenna asked, ashamed that they had been unable to stop him from taking her mother after everything else they had been through.

"No, but we met some of his people. We took out one of his outposts," Daryl told them with all the confidence of someone who had not yet encountered the man himself.

"Oh god!" Jenna declared, covering her mouth in horror.

"Maybe, with their community, if they took out the outpost… maybe we could actually stop the bastard," Remy suggested to her.

"Or he'll be so angry he just starts killing because he can," Jenna countered.

"Listen," Rick said. "We won't just stand by and let this happen. We'll get your mom back, and we WILL beat this Negan."

Jenna looked at him sadly, as if she knew without a doubt that Rick was wrong.

"What do you know about where they operate from?" Daryl asked, ready to go in guns blazing right this minute.

Adalia was alive. He had a second chance to save her, and he wasn't about to lose her again now.

"They call it the sanctuary, but I don't know where it is," Remy informed him.

"I do," Jesus said from the doorway.

"Show me," Daryl demanded.

#daryl dixon angst #daryl dixon fanfic

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snakeskins-world · 2 years

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Encanto thief au!

After pedro died alma turned to a life if crime, her children joined and used their gifts to either scam or help steal, julieta would bake one arepa as pepa made the rest, she would use the single arepa to heal her or her sisters injuries from cooking, you had to eat the arepa's at midnight or it wouldn't work! Pepa would make bets on the weather, when they pulled however they were paying shed snatch it and run to her mother who had a coat and hat to hide her. Bruno would use his gift to predict when the best time to Rob something or someone was.The villagers djd and nothing happened. When they went to complain the next day the family were gone with a wagon and horse they stole. They never kept the same horse, they sold the old one for money, they would steal a new one. When one of them got pregnant thye would drop something, when someone got it for them one kf the family members would walk behind them and steal their wallet/purse, they did skme big stuff aswell, they once blew up a village after stealing everything! Dolores wouldn't listen for police or anything valuable or bragging, isabella would use her plants and make outrageous deals for them, when the people argued she made a vines and stole the money from them, luisa would make bets saying "bet you all your money I can lift this" she would get multiple people betting, camilo would transform to people and steal their stuff by passing by, jf he got caught he ran and transformed to a new person so they didn't know here he went, antonio would cry and say he lost his family, when the person came to help he would tell them a realy tragic story about how they were 'poor' and they had to eat their pet cat to survive as he had parce look weak and injured., he would lead them to the family, whilst they thanked the person antonio would steal from their pocket. Mirabel wasn't given a chance to prove herself, once they did let her she would walk tk the person and offer them a lesson on embroidery, you had to pay when she asked, once they did and they went to meet her she never showed up and they lost their house keys along with any valuable possessions and money. The casita is a wagon instead, it's normaly sized on the outside but is like the casits inside. The casita could turn into something else like a building or different wagon to disguise itself.

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dottielovegood · 2 years

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IKEA (elriel)

About this fic: Elain and Azriel go to IKEA. And then they eat semlor. Words: 8850 Content warnings: none

So, I’ve been in a writing slump for a while but then I just sat down and wrote this in a day. This is basically just Elain and Azriel going to IKEA and Azriel teaching Elain about the concept of fika (a very important Swedish tradition). This might be a one shot, but there might also be another chapter in the future if I feel like returning to this fic. Honestly, I’m just happy that I wrote something, even though it’s kind of slow paced and mostly just banter and yearning. Also, I didn't feel like editing this so if you find any mistakes, try to ignore them.

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Azriel was sitting in his car, hands tightly gripping the steering wheel and forehead leaning against the back of his hands. He blew out a long breath. This wasn’t his usual reaction to going to IKEA. Granted, he had never been particularly fond of the place, but this time was different. This time, he was going there with Elain.

Elain, the girl he had secretly had a crush on for years.

Elain, the girl who, apparently, had broken up with her asshole ex-boyfriend since he last saw her.

They almost never hung out together. They had known each other for years, but Azriel had always made sure that they didn’t get too close. And now here he was, about to pick her up and take her to IKEA. He wasn’t even sure how this had happened.

Well, actually, that was a lie.

It had happened because of his stupid friends meddling in his life. As usual.

After living on the other side of the country for two years, Azriel had decided to move back to Velaris. He told his friends that he was moving back because he was offered a great job here, but that was only half of the truth. The main reason for wanting to move back was that he had felt lonely. Azriel wasn’t exactly friendly and talkative. Making friends had always been difficult for him, and even more so as an adult. Sure, he had met some colleagues that he hung out with sometimes, but most of them had their own lives and families and Azriel often felt like the fifth wheel when they spent time together.

Most of the people he met outside of work were girls that he casually hooked up with. Somehow, it felt easier for Azriel to find someone to spend the night with than to form any sort of friendship with people. Maybe because he knew exactly what was expected of him when it came to dating and fucking. It had always been easy for him. Yet, he always made sure that the girls knew that he wasn’t looking for anything serious. He never slept with the same woman twice because if he did, she would think that he wanted more and that would only complicate things.

His friends often asked him why he never dated anyone. In almost all the years they had known each other, Azriel had never had a long term relationship, unless you count one girlfriend in High School. Azriel didn’t mind, but his friends seemed to think that it was weird.

Every time anyone made a comment about Azriel being the eternal single, he just shrugged. He didn’t want to be in a relationship just because he was lonely. If he was going to be with someone, she had to be very special. And she had to be able to stand to be around him for more than a few hours.

Azriel was pretty certain that he had met the person he could see himself build a life with. Unfortunately for him, another man had met her first. So Azriel would stay single. Not that he minded. He was used to being alone. And now that he was moving back to Velaris, he wouldn’t be alone. Not really. He had his friends there, and his mother only lived an hour away. It would be fine. Just fine.

He just needed to survive the two weeks that he had to stay with Cassian while his own place was being renovated, and then he would have his normal life back and everything would be fine.

The two weeks went by quickly. Azriel spent most of his time at work and only came back to Cassian’s place to crash. The last weekend before Azriel could move into his own place, Cassian announced that they were going to Rhys and Feyre’s place for dinner.

“Who’s going to be there?” Azriel asked while buttoning his shirt. He had tried to sound casual, as if he didn’t actually care about the guest list.

“Oh, you know, the usual. You, me, Rhys, Feyre, Nesta” Cassian paused, “I think Elain will be there, and so will Mor. Amren couldn’t make it because she is traveling with Varian.”

Azriel didn’t hear a single word after Cassian had said her name. Elain.

Elain was going to be there.

He hadn’t seen her since Christmas. Azriel thought back to Christmas and how sad she had seemed. Sure, she had smiled and laughed along with the rest of them, but the happiness and holiday cheer never reached her eyes. Graysen had been by her side all night, which meant that Azriel hadn’t been able to ask her what was wrong. Not that he would have even if she had been alone. It was none of his business, and it was easier to just stay away. She had a boyfriend and that was that. But if he found out that Graysen had hurt her in any way…

“Az!” Cassian’s voice brought him back to reality.

“Yeah?”

Cassian regarded him for a moment before saying, “I was asking if you could drive tonight?”

Azriel nodded quickly, “Sure.” He sounded way too happy, and Cassian was now looking at him suspiciously.

“What’s going on with you?” he asked.

“Nothing, I was just…thinking about work,” Azriel lied.

“Mhm, sure. Work…” Cassian said under his breath as he disappeared into the bathroom.

Feyre greeted him with a warm hug as soon as he stepped through the door.

“That’s it. I forbid you from ever leaving Velaris again,” she said and hugged him tighter, which was a bit difficult since her stomach was so big now. The last time he had seen her, he had barely been able to tell that she was pregnant. But now, she was glowing. And she was also quite big. Not that he would ever tell her that.

“I can’t make any promises,” Azriel chuckled.

It felt good that his friends had missed him. Sometimes, he imagined that they just lived their lives and never thought about him, but every time he returned home, he was reminded that he was as important to them as they were to him.

In the kitchen, Cassian had found Nesta and was deep in conversation with her. Or, maybe it couldn’t be called a conversation when Cassian was talking and Nesta mainly answered by rolling her eyes. Azriel never understood Cassian’s interest in Nesta. Most of the time, they seemed to hate each other, but still, Cassian wouldn’t give up.

Not that Azriel was one to talk. Even though Nesta and Cassian seemed to hate each other, they were both single. They could actually be together if that hate could somehow turn into love. But the crush he had on Elain would forever be one-sided and unrequited.

Azriel sighed and went to the refrigerator to grab a beer.

There was a knock on the door and without waiting for anyone to open it, Elain walked in. Azriel tried his hardest not to stare, but it was difficult when she was just so goddamn beautiful. She was wearing a dusky pink dress that reached her knees and white sneakers. Her hair was a bit shorter and the spring sun had made her freckles come out. She was breathtaking, Azriel thought to himself. But he was definitely not starting.

She was holding a giant bouquet of flowers and the smile she gave Feyre when she greeted her at the door was like sunshine and rainbows and every other silly, happy thing Azriel could think of.

Azriel held his breath while waiting for Graysen to walk through the door behind Elain, but he didn’t. When the door closed behind Elain, Feyre walked into the kitchen, carrying the flowers Elain had brought. She walked up to Azriel and whispered, “They broke up,” as if she had been able to read his mind. Not that he would have been particularly surprised if she could. There was something about those Archeron sisters….

Azriel made sure that his face showed no trace of emotion but on the inside, his heart was doing somersaults.

A while later, when they were all seated around the table, Azriel asked Cassian if he could go with him to IKEA on Monday. Azriel obviously needed to pick up a few things for the new place since he hadn’t been able to bring any of his furniture with him when he moved.

Cassian burst out laughing and didn’t stop until he noticed that Azriel wasn't laughing with him.

“Oh, shit. You’re serious?” Cassian asked.

“Yeah, why would I joke about going to IKEA?”

Cassian shrugged, “I just thought you knew me better than that. I hate that fucking place.”

“I think most people hate IKEA, Cassian. But I thought my friend might want to go with me and share the misery. You know, misery loves company and all that.”

Cassian grinned and leaned back in his chair. “Nah, you can suffer on your own. Think of it as punishment for moving away for two years.”

“I was promoted…” Az started to protest but Cassian interrupted him.

“Yeah, I’m still not going with you to that Swedish hell-hole.”

Azriel opened his mouth to reply, but from the other end of the table, someone said, “IKEA is not a hell-hole.”

Not someone. Elain. “I love IKEA,” she continued, a modest smile playing on her lips.

Azriel could do nothing but stare. She was so beautiful, especially when she smiled. He knew he should say something. Anything, really. But he just looked at her and her smiling face. What could he say? I’m glad you like IKEA seemed like maybe the most stupid response he could give her, yet that was the only sentence in his mind right now.

Thankfully, Cassian started talking and saved Azriel from his own awkwardness.

“Great, then maybe you can go with Azriel, Elain?”

On second thought, maybe he should just murder Cassian?

“I’m sure she had better things to do than go with me to get furniture,” Azriel said and threw Cassian an icy glare, to which Cassian seemed completely oblivious.

A faint blush spread across Elain’s cheeks. “I don’t have anything better to do. My shop is closed on Mondays and I would never say no to a trip to IKEA.”

“Oh, well then. I guess, well,” Azriel stammered and he felt himself grow hot. God, he was making a fool of himself. Elain averted her gaze and looked down at her plate.

Someone kicked Azriel under the table and he had to bite back a groan. He looked up and met Feyre’s fierce stare. Swallowing, he looked back at Elain who was still blushing. “Well, if you’re sure you don’t have anything better to do I would really appreciate your company,” Azriel said and even as the words left his mouth, he wanted to take them back and come up with something better to say. But then Elain looked up and met his gaze and every single thought in his head vanished. “We should go early to avoid the worst crowds,” she said.

And that’s how Azriel found himself here, outside Elain’s apartment building. He had told her that he would pick her up at 9.30 so they could make it to the store just when it opened. It was now 9.24 and Azriel had started to tap the steering wheel with his fingers just to have something to focus on while he waited. The minutes seemed to go by in slow motion and Azriel asked himself for the hundredth time that morning if this was a good idea. They had never spent much time alone together and he had no idea what to talk to her about. Sure, it had never been difficult to talk to her before, but they had always been surrounded by people then. Now, they would spend hours together, just the two of them. What if he couldn’t come up with anything to say? What if there would be hours of awkward silence?

Maybe he should have looked up conversation topics online?

Just as he reached for his phone to do just that, a door opened and Elain stepped out in the sunshine. Azriel froze as he took her in. She was wearing a light blue skirt with a white floral pattern that reached her mid thigh and a matching light blue cardigan. Her hair was up in a messy ponytail, showing off her slender neck. Once again, Azriel squeezed the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. She crossed the street quickly and waved at him as she walked up to his car.

Azriel shook himself and remembered his manners. He got out of the car quickly and opened the door on the passenger side. Elain gave him a big smile. “Good morning,” she greeted him.

“Good morning, Elain.”

Instinctively, he wanted to tell her that she looked lovely, but that’s not what friends did. And that’s what they were, right? Friends? Just two friends going to IKEA.

Elain stepped into the car and Azriel closed the door behind her. He blew out a long breath before going back to his side of the car.

“So, are you ready to go to the greatest place on earth?” Elain asked, her voice full of excitement.

Azriel chuckled, “I didn’t know we were going to Disneyland?”

She hit his arm playfully. “Something tells me that you would probably enjoy Disneyland even less than IKEA.”

She wasn’t wrong. He had only been there once, and all the people and queues and smells had made his head ache. At least IKEA only smelled of furniture and meatballs.

Azriel started the car. “So, it should take us approximately 30 minutes to get there.”

Elain nodded. “I know. I think I went to IKEA every Sunday for like a month when I moved into my apartment,” she said.

Azriel wanted to ask if she meant this apartment and if this was a different apartment than the one she had lived in with her ex, but he refrained. It was none of his business.

Instead, he asked, “Every week? You must really love that place.”

Elain laughed, and the sound was like music to Azriel’s ears. “Sure, I like it. But I just needed so many things that I had to make multiple trips. I also had a difficult time deciding on what to get. It’s hard moving by yourself when you’re so used to sharing a space with someone else. You kind of forget what you like and have to re-discover your own taste.”

And there was his answer.

“So, you live alone now?” he asked, pretending as if Feyre hadn’t told him about the breakup.

“Yes. I broke up with Graysen a few months ago.”

“I’m sorry,” Azriel said, even though he wasn't. He just didn’t know what the appropriate thing to say was, but he was pretty certain I’m happy that I never have to see that douchebag again wasn’t it.

Elain turned to him slightly in her seat. “Why? I’m not. We had grown apart.”

“Oh. Okay. In that case, I’m happy for you.”

Very, very happy, indeed.

“Thank you,” Elain looked down and played with the hem of his skirt. Azriel was happy that he was driving or else he would have stared at those hands and that skirt and those thighs and…

“So, what do you need at IKEA?” Elain asked, clearly ready for them to change the subject.

Azriel slowed the car as he reached a red light and looked at her. “Everything,” he answered.

“Everything? Didn’t you bring anything with you when you moved?”

Azriel shook his head. “No. The place I rented came fully furnished. I wasn’t allowed to take anything with me.” He paused, and then continued as the light turned green. “I do have a dining table and a bed, but I probably need everything else.”

Elain bent down and reached for the purse she had put on the floor of the car. She pulled out her phone and tapped it a few times. “So, a couch, chairs for the table, a coffee table, bedside tables, if you want any that is,” she said and continued tapping. “Do you need a bookshelf?”

“Uh, I guess?”

“You guess?”

“Yes?”

“Do you own books, Azriel?”

Azriel smiled at her. “Of course.” He loved reading. Even though he mostly used his e-reader, he did have quite a few books.

“Okay, so you need a bookshelf.”

“I guess I do.”

Elain bit her lip as if to hide a smile.

“What’s so funny?” Azriel asked. His eyes were focused on the road, but from the corner of his eye he could see Elain’s cheeks turn pink.

“Oh, I was just reminded of this quote I read once. It’s silly, really.”

“Well, now you have piqued my interest. What is this silly quote about bookshelves?”

“It’s nothing. Forget I said anything.”

Azriel dared a glance at her, and her cheeks were a bit redder now. It was adorable. Now he really needed to know what she was thinking about. “We have 20 minutes left of this car ride, please indulge me.”

“Okay,” she took a deep breath. “The quote goes ‘if you ever go home with someone and they don’t have books, don’t sleep with them’, but I forgot who said it.”

Azriel couldn’t stop the grin from spreading on his face. “Sounds like a good rule to live by,” he said. He didn’t comment further on the quote since he didn’t want to embarrass her, but he was genuinely surprised that Elain knew a quote like that by heart, and that he had reminded her of it.

“I think so too,” she said quietly.

A few minutes passed without any of them saying anything and Azriel cursed himself for pushing her. Had he ruined everything now?

But then Elain spoke again. “So, do you need smaller things too? Like towels and pots and pans?”

“Yes. To all of the above. And I really need plates and utensils. And coffee cups.”

Elain beamed at him. “Okay, great!” she tapped on her phone again.

“What are you writing on your phone?” Azriel asked.

“A list. So we don’t miss anything.”

Azriel smiled, “You’re very organized. I guess it’s a good thing I brought you instead of Cassian. He would just have spent all day complaining and we would probably have left without half the things I need.”

Elain laughed softly. “Well, you are very lucky because I am an IKEA expert. Trust me, you’re in safe hands”.

Azriel didn’t doubt that for a second.

They arrived just a few minutes after ten but the store was already full of people. They took the escalator up to the second floor since Elain had insisted that they should start by looking at furniture. There was a family in front of them and their child was already crying his heart out.

“Is that what you feel like on the inside when you go to IKEA?” Elain whispered in his ear and gestured to the child. Her shoulder was pressed against Azriel’s arm and her hot breath on his neck sent shivers down his spine. For a second, his brain stopped working.

“Uh, no. I can’t say I love this place as much as you do, but it’s not that bad,” he answered. “Although, the kid does remind me of Cassian when you force him to do something he doesn’t want to do.”

Elain giggled and straightened again. “I guess Cassian feels like that quite often when he’s around my sister.”

So Elain had noticed the way Cassian looked at Nesta, too. Cassian thought that he was so smooth, but clearly, everyone saw the longing glances they gave each other when they didn’t think anyone was watching.

They followed the fixed path of the store that took them through the different areas. They walked through the little fake living rooms and looked at different couches.

“So, what kind of couch are you looking for?” Elain asked him and sat down on a hideous couch with a vulgar floral pattern.

Azriel pointed at it, “anything but that.”

Elain put her hand to her heart and gasped, “You don’t like this?” she patted the soft cushion. “It’s my favorite.”

Azriel panicked. Had he offended her? He really did hate the couch and he would have never guessed that she liked it. Sure, she liked flowers and gardening, but Azriel had always thought that she had good taste.

“I..uh, I mean, it’s not my style and..”

Elain laughed, “Calm down. I’m just kidding. It’s awful. But it’s quite comfortable,” she patted the seat next to her. “Come sit.”

Azriel let out a breath and joined her. It was way too soft for him and his weight shifted the cushions underneath them, making Elain lean toward him again. Azriel tried to think of anything but her proximity.

“So, is there a certain color you like?”

Azriel shook his head, “Not really. But I’d rather not have anything super colorful.”

“No flowers and no color. Got it.” She stood up and started to walk away, leaving Azriel sitting all alone on the ugly couch. He could still feel the warmth of her body against his arm. Elain looked at him over her shoulder. “Are you coming? We are going to try every single gray and black couch in this place.”

Azriel stood up. “Every single one?”

Elain nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. Every single one until you find one you like.”

And that’s just what they did. He let Elain lead the way and she reminded him of Goldilocks everytime she commented on a couch. Too soft. Too firm. Too big. Too small. Too ugly. Too pricey. Azriel agreed with her on everything. She was, after all, the IKEA expert.

When Elain sank down on the ninth couch, she smiled. “This one is quite nice.”

Azriel sat down next to her and…yes. It was nice. Firm, but not uncomfortably so. Big enough to lay down on. An image of Elain laying down on the couch flashed through his mind. He tried to blink it away, but instead his mind conjured up another image where he was hovering over her, his lips just…

Azriel shook his head. “You don’t like it?” Elain asked.

“What?”

Elain looked at him with her big doe eyes. God she was pretty, and he was fucking disturbed. She had recently broken up with that asshat and now he was imagining doing… things to her. Fuck. This was going to be a long day.

Azriel gathered his composure and tried to smile at her. “It’s nice. Definitely better than the last one.”

“So, is this the winner?”

Azriel looked at the other couches they had tried and this one was definitely both more comfortable and better looking. “Yeah. This will do.”

Elain scrunched up her face. “This will do?” she mimicked. “That’s not good enough, Azriel. You are going to have this couch for a long time. You should find something you really like.”

Azriel raised his eyebrows, the corner of his mouth curling up in a small smile. “Elain, this is the best couch I have ever seen. My ass has never been happier to sit on something and the color reminds me of tarmac, which is great because I love roads. Is that better?”

Elain laughed, “Your ass has never been happier? Well then I guess you have to buy it.”

“I guess so.”

They made their way through the store. It took them at least two more hours to pick out a coffee table, chairs for the dining table, a desk and bedside tables. Elain was checking the items of her list as they went and took photos of all the notes attached to the furniture so they knew where to find everything later. She really had it all down to a science.

Elain reached for a note attached to a chair and took a photo. She looked at the note for a few seconds before saying, “I have always wondered why the furniture has such weird names. I mean, what does even Bjurån mean?”

Azriel couldn’t help but smile at the way Elain had tried to pronounce the Swedish word.

“I’m pretty sure that quite a lot of the things are named after places in Sweden. And if I’m not mistaken, Bjurån is a river or a creek or something.”

Elain raised her eyebrows in surprise. “How do you know that?”

“Well, å in Swedish means river, I think. So Bjurån should translate to something like The Bjur river.”

Elain stared at him. “You know Swedish?”

“Yes. But I’m not as fluent as I was a few years ago.”

“And why do you know Swedish? Do you have relatives there?”

Azriel shook his head and scratched his neck. He wasn’t used to talking about himself. “Well, I studied abroad for a year when I was nineteen, and I chose to go to Sweden.”

“Why Sweden? Isn’t it like…really cold?”

Azriel smiled at Elain, “Yes, it’s very cold and dark for like six months of the year, but I didn’t mind. I just wanted to go somewhere far away, and Sweden was one of the options. I didn’t really think much about it.”

Elain returned his smile and started to walk again. “I didn’t know that you had studied abroad. You never talk about it.”

Azriel shrugged. “I don’t like talking about myself. I’m not really that interested.”

“Hey, don’t sell yourself short. I think you’re interesting,” Elain said and shoved him playfully with her shoulder.

Azriel turned away from her to hide the blush that was spreading across his cheeks. Never in his life had he been called interesting. At least not in a positive way.

“Thank you,” he murmured.

As if Elain could feel his uncomfortable energy, she quickly pointed at one of the nametags on a table. “What does that mean?”

Azriel read the note quickly and said, “Danderyd is a part of Stockholm. From what I’ve heard, it’s like the rich part of town.”

“Huh, I always imagined that the names had some sort of deeper meaning. It’s kind of disappointing that they’re just named after places.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” Azriel chuckled.

Elain looked up at him with a serious expression, “You never disappoint me, Azriel.”

Something warm was growing in his chest, just next to his heart.

They continued their journey, making small talk and casually joking with each other. Azriel realized that their conversation hadn’t been awkward at all. The conversation just flowed naturally which he wasn’t used to. Usually, he had to force himself to talk to people. He always had to really think in order to come up with new topics to discuss. But with Elain, it was just easy. And she didn’t bore him. Even when she talked about kitchen set ups, Azriel found her fascinating.

He knew that he probably shouldn’t feel like that. She didn’t like him in that way so he should probably stop hanging on to her every word like some love sick fool. He hoped she couldn’t tell how much he liked her, and he really hoped that she couldn’t read his mind.

Elain walked in front of him and made her way over to one of the “kitchens”

“I like this one!,” she said and leaned her hip against the counter top. “When I don’t live in a rental anymore, I want my kitchen to look like this.”

Azriel knew that he should be looking at the kitchen but all he could see was Elain. If anyone had asked him, he would probably not even be able to tell them what color the cabinets had been. God, he had it bad.

He was fucking pathetic.

Elain turned around and grabbed a bowl that had been placed next to the sink as a prop. “The counter is a really good height,” she declared and gave him a cheeky smile over her shoulder.

Azriel stared at her. “A good height for what?” he blurted out before he could stop himself. He wanted to take back the words as soon as he said them but the image of Elain bent over that counter had him flustered and unable to speak.

Elain changed her expression into one of pure innocence. “For baking of course. What did you think I meant?”

Azriel only mumbled something incoherent in response. He was pretty certain that she was teasing him but he couldn’t understand why.

After way too many hours and way too little caffeine, they sat down in the dining area for lunch. Azriel told Elain to pick anything she wanted and she chose the most Swedish alternatives on the menu; meatballs with potatoes and a cinnamon bun for dessert. Azriel got the same. And coffee.

“Did you know that Sweden has a day when they celebrate cinnamon buns?” Azriel asked Elain when she had just taken her first bite of the warm pastry. She shook her head and chewed quickly.

“No, I did not. Do they really?”

“Yes,” Azriel thought back to his time in Sweden and how seriously the Swedes were about their baked goods. “They actually celebrate quite a few deserts. They have one day for cinnamon buns, one day for mudcake, one day for waffles, and one day for something called semla.”

Elain gaped at him. “Are you serious or are you just trying to fool me?”

Azriel fixed her with a serious look, “I would never joke about fika.”

“About what?” Elain laughed.

“Fika. It’s like religion in Sweden. They’re not much for organized religion, but damn you if you interrupt their fika.”

“What on earth is fika?”

“Fika is basically when you take a break during the day and sit down with a cup of coffee and something sweet to eat.”

“And all Swedes do this?” She still looked at him as if he was lying.

“Yeah, most of them do. You even get fika-breaks at work sometimes. It’s great.”

Elain finished her cinnamon bun and gave Azriel a big smile, “I think I might be a very big fan of this fika religion you’re talking about. Where do I sign up?”

Azriel chuckled and gestured to her empty plate, “If you like that, wait until you try a semla.”

“Okay, that sounds made up. Now you are just…”

“No,” Azriel interrupted her and reached for his phone. “I promise, it’s a thing. It’s like a sweet wheat bun that is filled with almond paste and whipped cream. Here,” Azriel did a quick google image search, “this is a semla.”

Elain looked at the picture and then back at Azriel. “I need to eat one of these.” She was dead serious, which Azriel found adorable. “I’m serious Azriel. My new life goal is to eat a… what did you say they were called?”

“Semla.”

Azriel knew that Elain enjoyed baking, but he had never imagined that she was this into baked goods. Maybe he had met someone that could match his sweet tooth? He would gladly buy her all the semlor in the world if he only knew where to get any on this side of the Atlantic ocean.

“Can you say something else in Swedish?” Elain asked when Azriel had finished his coffee. He looked at her and took in all of her beauty. The golden hair, the brown eyes, the freckles and that smile he couldn’t get enough of and said the first thing that came to him.

“Du är så otroligt vacker.”

Elain watched him patiently, but when he didn’t speak, she asked, “and what does it mean?”

Azriel gathered their plates and cups just to have something to do with his hand. And to hide the blush on his face. He couldn’t tell her what it meant. Not now.

“Maybe I’ll tell you later.”

Thankfully, Elain accepted that.

Their easy banter continued for the rest of the day. Elain asked Azriel to translate the names of at least twenty items and was disappointed by most of the translations. The only one she actually liked was that “gosa”, which was the name of a pillow, meant “cuddle.”

Azriel didn’t look at the time once, but when they made their way to the registers, it was already afternoon. Azriel made sure that he could get the bigger pieces of furniture delivered and then they made their way to the car with all of the paper bags full of smaller things.

“Can we listen to Swedish music?” Elain asked Azriel when they started driving back to the city.

“Like ABBA?”

Elain shook her head, “Though I do love Mamma Mia, I was thinking if maybe you know of some songs I haven’t heard before. I think I have a new appreciation for the language.”

Azriel plugged in his phone to the stereo and found his Swedish playlist on Spotify. He handed the phone to Elain.

“Pick anything.”

“I have no idea what any of these words mean,” she said and scrolled through the list. After a while, she just picked the song at the top.

Jag kommer by Veronica Maggio started playing.

“Interesting choice,” Azriel said, smirking.

“What? What is the song about?”

“The title translates to I’m coming.”

Elain blushed. “Oh.” She cleared her throat. “In like a normal way or a more, you know, sexual way.” She whispered the last words.

Azriel smiled but kept his gaze on the road ahead of them. “I guess it can mean both. But if you translate the chorus, it’s ‘I’m coming, I’m coming, I’m coming, I’m almost there.’”

“Oh,” Elain said again and stared straight ahead. She was still blushing.

In a desperate attempt to lighten the mood, Azriel asked Elain if she wanted him to drop her off at her apartment.

Elain turned toward him slightly. Azriel dared a glance at her and noticed that her skirt had ridden up a bit. Her thighs looked so soft. Azriel had to bite his tongue just to get his mind out of the gutter.

“Oh, I was thinking…Well, don’t you need someone to help you carry all of the things to your place?”

“I’ll manage.”

Elain seemed to consider what to say next for a few moments. “I would like to help, if you'll let me. I understand if you want to be alone, I know that I can be a bit much. Graysen always said that he needed time alone after spending the day with me. Apparently, I talk alot.”

The sadness in her voice made Azriel’s heart ache. Had that asshat actually said that? Luckily for Stupid McIdiot, Azriel didn’t know his address.

“Elain, that’s not it. I…I like spending time with you. But you don’t have to…”

“I want to,” Elain said quickly. “I spend most of my time at home anyway. I could need the company.”

Did she feel lonely too, Azriel wondered. She had always seemed like a ray of sunshine, but maybe that was just a facade? Azriel knew that she didn’t have many friends, though he couldn’t understand why. They were both introverts, but where he was the sulking, brooding type, Elain was just kindness and grace incarnate. Who wouldn’t like spending time with her?

“Well, I could need some emotional support if I’m going to build all of these things. It usually only takes thirty minutes of building IKEA furniture before I’m cursing like a sailor. You have been warned.”

With a warm smile, Elain said, “I don’t mind. I cursed and threw the screwdriver at the wall when I tried to assemble my bed frame. It made a dent in the wall,” she lowered her voice, “but don’t tell anyone that.”

“Your secret is safe with me.”

They listened to a few more songs, everything från Håkan Hellström to Melissa Horn, whom Elain seemed to like. A few minutes before they reached Azriel’s apartment building, Elain asked if Azriel had anything to eat at home. Azriel thought about his empty fridge and shook his head.

“Well, we should pick something up. We will need the energy.”

“Sounds good. What do you want?”

With a big grin on her face, Elain said, “Semla.”

Azriel laughed. “Yeah, that’s one of the few things we can’t get since nobody makes them here.”

“Do you have a recipe?”

“I could probably find one. Why?”

“If you build the furniture, I can try out your new bowls and make us this Swedish delicacy.”

How could Azriel say no to that tempting offer?

It took them five trips to get everything from Azriel’s car to his apartment. Azriel had never been happier about the fact that the building had an elevator. He checked his watch and noted that the IKEA delivery with his couch and a few other things would arrive in two hours.

He gave Elain the tour, which didn’t take long since it was a one bedroom apartment. The apartment was pretty much a blank canvas with white walls and dark, wooden floors. Elain seemed to like the place, and she especially seemed to like the view. He was on the eleventh floor which gave him a pretty spectacular view over Velaris.

Elain seemed right at home actually, and without a word she started unpacking everything she needed for baking. She washed the bowls and spoons and a few plates before she lined up the ingredients on the counter in front of her. She had rolled up the sleeves of her cardigan and kicked off her shoes, ready to get to work.

Azriel had found a recipe and put his laptop next to the stove. Elain read it carefully and Azriel realized that he was staring. He cleared his throat and she spun around to face him.

“This will take a while since the buns have to rise for more than an hour, but other than that, it seems pretty straight forward.”

“Good. I guess I’ll build some chairs then so we have somewhere to sit when we eat.”

In the living room, Azriel unpacked one of the chairs and got to work. He was happy that Elain had offered to bake instead of helping him with the furniture. Even though he hated to follow those stupid instructions, it was even harder to do so when you did it together with someone. Rhys once told him that if anyone wanted to test their relationship, they should build IKEA furniture together. Apparently, building a crib with your pregnant wife wasn’t the easiest task in the world.

When Azriel had finished all four chairs and placed them around the table, he just stood there in the middle of his living room and listened to Elain in the kitchen. She was humming one of the songs they had listened to in the car. Azriel recognized the distinct melody of “Kärleken väntar” by Kent.

Love is waiting, Azriel translated in his head. Oh, how he wished that that was true. Love didn’t seem to wait for him at all.

Azriel had just started to build the bedside tables when Elain walked into the room.

“The dough has to rest for an hour,” she announced and sat down next to Azriel. “Can I build the other table?”

“You don’t have to…”

She sighed. “I know I don’t have to, Azriel. But I want to. Why is it so difficult for you to accept help?”

No one had ever asked him that before. Thruth was, he had always been the person who would help others but he never asked anyone else to be there for him. He managed just fine on his own. As a child, when he had lived with his drunk dad and his new family for a while, he had learned to not ask for things. If you asked for anything, even if it was for some help to reach the cereal on the top shelf, you would come to regret it. So he learned early on to just figure things out on his own. But here Elain was, looking at him with those eyes that seemed to be able to look right through him and offering him help. Not only help, but she had offered him her time and energy too. It meant alot to Azriel, though he didn’t know how to tell her that without sounding silly. So he decided to just accept the help and leave it at that.

Azriel gestured to the flat, unopened package. “Have at it.”

They both worked in silence for a while, carefully concentrating on the instructions. And not once did Azriel feel like swearing.

“I like spending time with you,” Elain said suddenly. The words caught Azriel off guard.

“I– I like spending time with you too, Elain.”

“You are very easy to talk to,” she continued. “But it’s also easy to be quiet with you. I appreciate that.” She wasn’t looking at him, but there was a gentle smile on her lips.

“You’re probably the first person in the world that has told me that I’m easy to talk to,” Azriel chuckled. “Usually people think that I should talk more.”

Elain picked up a screw and inserted it in one of the holes. “Nonsense. You’re perfectly you.”

She said it so casually. Azriel wondered if she understood the meaning those words held for him. The warmth that had been spreading in his chest during the day had reached his heart and he knew that he was totally fucked.

When Elain had finished building the small table, she went back to the kitchen to finish baking. Azriel found comfort in the sounds emanating from his kitchen. The sound of the oven door closing. The sound of Elain grounding some almonds. The sound of his phone ringing.

Shit, his phone. He had barely registered the sound. He fished it out of his pocket and answered. “yeah?”

“Hello, this is David from IKEA. We are outside with your things.”

Azriel had almost forgotten about the delivery. Quickly, he got off the floor and told Elain that he was just letting in the guys from IKEA. He had paid them extra in order for them to carry everything upstairs, which he was immensely happy about when they realized that the couch didn’t fit in the elevator. He didn’t want to have to call Cassian and ruin his time with Elain. He didn’t want Cassian to stay over and have fika with them.

He wanted Elain’s fika all to himself.

When Azriel closed the door Elain peeked out from the kitchen.

“Perfect timing,” she said and hurried over to him. She had flour on her cheek and Azriel had to curl his hand into a fist to resist wiping it away with his fingers.

“They’re done!” Elain walked around him until her chest was pressed against his back. Azriel was pretty sure that he stopped breathing. “What are you…” the words died on Azriel’s tongue when Elain stood up on her toes and reached up to cover his eyes.

“No peeking until I tell you that you can look.”

“Have you ruined my kitchen? Is that why I can’t look?” Azriel joked.

“No. Your kitchen is completely fine. I just want you to get the full effect.”

Chuckling, Azriel said, “I have seen a semla before, Elain”

“But you haven’t seen my semla,” Elain answered in a low tone. Azriel wished that he could see her face because if he wasn’t mistaken, she had sounded…flirty? No, that couldn’t be.

“That sounded dirty,” Azriel muttered under his breath.

Elain just laughed, which made him acutely aware of her breasts pressing against his back.

Oh, shit. This was torture.

Elain guided him into the kitchen. “Tadaa,” she said and stepped away from him. He instantly missed the heat of her body.

“I hope I made them correctly.”

On the counter Elain had placed two semlor. They looked just as perfect as any semla he had eaten in Sweden. He smiled down at her. “There’s only one way to find out, but they do look wonderful.”

She beamed at him. “Thank you. You didn’t have a piping bag so the cream is a bit messy.”

Azriel reached for one of the buns and lifted the lid. “You should always eat the lid first, it’s the law.”

“Is it the first law in this religion you call fika?” Elain mused.

“Yes. And the second law is that the person who baked has to have the first taste.”

Elain narrowed her eyes, “Now you’re just lying.”

He held out the second plate to Elain. “Humor me. I want to know if you like them.”

“Don’t lie. You just want to make sure that I didn’t poison them.”

Azriel threw back his head as he laughed. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had made him laugh like that. “Yeah, there’s that too.”

Elain took the plate and picked up the lid. “I think I’ll be a rebel and save this for last,” she said with a wink.

“Who knew you were such a bad girl?”

“Oh, if you only knew, Azriel.”

He didn’t have time to react to her flirty response because Elain raised the pastry to her mouth and took a big bite. Her tongue came out to lick off some of the cream off her upper lip and Azriel stared at her, transfixed. She had some cream on her nose too and before Azriel could even register what he was doing, he had reached up and swiped the cream off with his index finger. And then he just stood there, staring at his finger. What now? Should he go find a towel to wipe it off, or…

He met Elain’s gaze, and she wasn’t smiling anymore. No, she was staring at his finger too and when she looked up and met his gaze, Azriel couldn’t breathe. He could have sworn that there was heat in her eyes and he was certain that he was looking at her with that same intensity. Without thinking, he started to guide his hand toward his mouth with every intention of licking the cream off, but Elain caught his wrist.

“That’s mine,” she said, her voice low and full of something Azriel couldn’t wrap his head around. Elain stepped closer, still holding his gaze. Usually, he hid his hands around people. They were scarred and awful and absolutely not worthy enough to touch something as delicate as Elain. But Elain didn’t seem to mind them. Just as she hadn’t seemed to mind that when they first met a few years ago and she had called them beautiful. Azriel remembered it vividly, mostly because he was quite sure that he had fallen for Elain that very day. That was before he even knew that she had a boyfriend, and he had suffered since then. But this was far from suffering.

Slowly, almost achingly so, Elain drew his hand closer. He wasn’t breathing anymore. He couldn’t. He just looked at Elain’s lips as they parted.

“Wha…” the rest of the word caught in Azriel’s throat as Elain’s tongue came out to lick the cream from his fingertip.

Time stopped and the world fell away. They were the only people in the universe now and nothing could have made Azriel look away.

“Elain, what are you doing?” His voice was husky and full with want.

The corner of her mouth quirked up in a mischievous little grin. “Making the first move.”

And then she took another step. And another. In reality, it had only been a second but everything was happening in slow motion for some reason. Azriel looked at her as she wrapped her arms around his neck and stood up on her toes. He could feel the warmth of her breath on his lips.

“Do you want this?” she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper. The words woke Azriel from wherever his mind had gone and brought him straight back to reality. Elain was standing in front of him, her breasts pressed against his chest. He could practically feel her heartbeat and for a second he wondered if he was dreaming, because this was just like a scene from one of the many dreams he had had about her. But she was real, and so was this. Azriel’s hands went to her waist, not only to make sure that she didn’t step away, but to hold himself steady too.

“I’ve never wanted anything more.”

He leaned in and closed the remaining gap between us. The small gasp that escaped her lips was more erotic than any dirty talk Azriel had heard in the past.

Elain’s lips were soft against his and she tasted of cream and sugar. She was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted. Elains fingers twisted in his hair and pulled him closer so she could deepen the kiss. A groan escaped Azriel when he felt her tongue lick his upper lip playfully. With a firm grip on her hips, Azriel walked her backwards until her back hit the kitchen counter. Without ever removing his lips from hers he lifted her up until she was sitting next to the forgotten plates and dirty dishes. Elain spread her legs so he could come even closer and Azriel took the opportunity to stroke her thighs. They were just as soft as he had imagined.

He knew that he should stop. That this was wrong.

He didn’t care.

He placed one hand on her neck and stroked her jaw with his thumb. Elain let out a low moan that shook Azriel to his core. Elain was pressing herself even closer now, her hand tugging his hair as if desperate to get him as close as possible. He was hard and he knew that Elain could feel it. He should probably care. He should probably take a step back. But he couldn’t. Whatever kind of magic spell Elain had put him under, he was unable to break it. And he really didn’t want to.

Yet, after what felt like both an eternity but also not long enough, they had to come up for air.

“Fuck, Elain,” he groaned and trailed kisses down her neck which made Elain whimper. She placed her hands on his cheeks and forced him to stand up and look at her. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes were glazed over with lust.

“I’ve wanted to do that for so long,” he murmured and caressed his cheeks with her thumbs.

“I think I’ve wanted to do that since the day we met,” Azriel said.

Elain looked up at him, an expression on her face he couldn’t decipher. “Really?”

He nodded and scratched his neck. “Yeah, I might have had a crush on you for a while.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because you were unavailable,” Azriel answered truthfully and leaned his forehead against hers.

“Good thing I’m available now, then.” He could hear the smile in her voice.

“Good thing indeed.”

Without missing a beat, Azriel kissed her again. This time, the kiss was slow and gentle. Searching. Exploring. He kissed the corner of her mouth and her cheek. When he kissed that sensitive spot just below her ear, Elain let out a soft moan that went straight to his cock.

“Azriel,” she whimpered when he reached her collar bone and he knew that he would do anything just to hear her say his name like that again and again and again.

“Azriel, what was the thing you said to me earlier? When I asked you to say something in Swedish?” she asked, her voice breathy.

Azriel had almost forgotten all about it and he had to really focus in order to remember exactly what he had said. With his lips still pressed to her skin, he murmured, “Du är så otroligt vacker.” He placed a soft kiss on the corner of her mouth again. “You are so incredibly beautiful.”

He could feel Elain smile against his lips. He never wanted this to end.

Visst känns det som att kärleken väntar?

One semla, many semlor

Translation: Visst känns det som att kärleken väntar = Doesn't it feel like love is waiting.

#elriel fanfiction #elriel #elriel fanfic #elain x azriel #elain archeron #dottielovegoodfanfiction

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moonbaby26 · 3 years

Text

Title: First Meeting

Pairing: Peter Maximoff x Reader

Summary: Set during X-Men: Age of Apocalypse, you were with Scott, Jean, Jubilee, and Kurt on their fateful mall run, returning home just in time to meet the speedster who saved all but one from the destruction of your home.

Warnings: None really except minor violence with you also being around for the subsequent Stryker mutant-nappings.

Chapters: Next Chapter Here

Peter Maximoff x Reader Masterlist

————————

Yes, it’s true you’d been under a decent amount of stress lately. Mostly self inflicted, because you had such high expectations of how you wanted to finish out the semester. But as Jubilee rolled her eyes for the second time, you realized you were now wasting your breath trying to explain the amount of consistent studying it took to maintain the high GPA your teachers had come to expect from you.

“We are going to the mall, (Y/N).” Jubilee breathed, as if reiterating this one more time was about to take all the life from her.

Your younger friend could have a flair for the dramatic. You now looked to Jean as the last voice of reason. But you could see by the smile she was barely holding back, that you had already lost. You suspected rightly that this new student, Scott, had had a lot to do with why Jean was suddenly so eager to skirt the rules and leave the grounds without permission.

You relented, but crossed your arms all the same as you gave your terms. “Fine, if Kurt wants to see a mall, then we’ll take him. But I’m driving.” Scott deflated slightly at that, but you didn’t miss a beat. “At least that way if anything goes wrong, I’ll answer to the Professor, not you all.” Of this group, you were the oldest (though not by much), and there was no sense in them getting in trouble over something like this.

Besides, it wouldn’t kill you to get a couple new outfits. You rarely if ever bought anything nice just for yourself. But it wasn’t like you had anyone around here to impress anyway...right?

——————-

You weren’t really sure how long you’d all been gone at the mall. Long enough to grab some lunch at the food court together, and waste a decent amount of time and change in the arcade. You hadn’t bought any clothes after all, nothing had struck that right chord with you. But you just remembered a smile on your face all the same, one hand held confidently on the gearshift and the other loosely on the steering wheel as you’d rounded past the mansion’s tree line, beginning to slow the car.

You’d just pushed in the clutch, and then-

You slammed the brakes, only gasps rather than laughter erupting from your friends beside you then as you all took in the scene at once. Debris and bits of ash still floated down gently from the sky as you’d ripped off your seatbelt, jumping from the car and breaking into a run. Your heartbeat had been in your ears as you’d entered the stunned crowd.

You picked out Hank, the first staff member you’d clearly seen, grabbing his arm as you found your voice again. “What on earth happened!?”

His head turned towards you, but his mouth just started to open and you could see in his eyes that he was trying to answer the same thing in his own mind. You’d never seen the brainy “Beast” at such a loss for words.

“Um...it blew up?” A new voice sounded off so matter of factly, then suddenly beside you as you turned to look at a person you’d never seen before.

A boy? No, a man? He seemed about your own age, that kind of in between really. His silver hair framed the sides of his face as he stared back at you, his hands on his hips. It was a surreal moment, your adrenaline still in full bore as you’d looked down to a weathered RUSH band t-shirt and a cool leather jacket that at any other time you may actually have been jealous of. You looked back up to his dark eyes in astonishment.

The stranger raised an eyebrow as your eyes connected again, him seemingly still waiting for some kind of response from you.

All the while, the X-Mansion that had been your home, your refuge for so many formative years just sat smouldering in rubble behind you.

“Where’s my brother!? Where’s Alex!?” Scott’s cry had finally broken the silence as you’d turned yet again.

“Pretty sure I got everyone,” The guy with the silver hair said almost defensively.

And that’s when it first hit you, the building was in complete ruin, but you knew about how many people were there on any given day. The crowd around you, that would be about everyone. But how could they all be outside? All be alive? An explosion that large would have been instantaneous. The building wasn’t just burning, it was leveled.

Scott ran from you all, and your heart felt heavy, knowing surely not everyone could have survived. But you saw Jean and Kurt run with him, helping him, so you again looked back to the stranger.

“You got them out?” You asked incredulously, unsure what that could even mean for this person’s true abilities as you gestured to the survivors standing in equal confusion all around you.

“Of course.” Again that matter of fact tone from him, now almost bordering on smug. But the surprises just continued as he abruptly outstretched one hand to you. “Peter,” he said, grabbing your own hand before you could even react and shaking it awkwardly.

“What?” Was all you could manage, possibly hearing your own brain seize internally at last as you looked down to this stranger’s hand still clasped warmly around your own.

You were done. Really, it was already too much before the unmistakable pulse of helicopter blades broke over the treetops and the downdraft of several of the craft then circling around you began whipping your hair into your eyes.

A woman screamed in warning somewhere behind you. Her voice sounded familar, but you didn’t look back. You just felt Peter’s hand squeeze tighter around yours, why hadn’t you let go?

But you were falling now. No, not metaphorically you hoped, but maybe you would have laughed about that thought if there’d been any more time before your knees hit the ground.

The paramilitary type men now streaming from the helicopters had launched some kind of pulse over the crowd.

Reflexively your mutation flared, your own energy field trying to shield yourself and Peter, but not well enough. Not fast enough as you only succeeded in keeping him conscious just a few moments longer than your peers.

Peter was still holding onto you, the surprise in his eyes quickly fading as they closed.

But your eyes were still open, fear surely in them though as you realized you could not will yourself back to standing. Whatever weapon these men had used was clearly designed to target those of your kind, taking your energy, blocking your powers.

“Her.” “Him.” You heard distantly, but forcefully as the darkness finally began to overtake the edges of your sight. A man was now walking through the fallen mutants with authority, pointing and calling out to who he wanted his men to collect.

And within moments that man’s boots were then inches from you in the soft grass. Your free hand clung to the earth, the other still holding Peter’s hand as if that grip could somehow hold your consciousness to you.

“Resistant to the pulse? Haven’t seen that in a while.” The man commented coldly from above.

You could still just make out his features as he paused, his boot rising up suddenly to kick you solidly in the ribs. It made a sickening sound, a crack as you collapsed the rest of the way down, the air leaving your lungs with the hit.

You buried your face into Peter’s jacket with the pain, stifling whatever pitiful sounds you didn’t want the man to hear. You could smell cheap cologne against the leather then. You tried your best to focus on that scent as you closed your eyes. This wasn’t over. You were going to get out of this. Somehow, some way you were going to help Peter as he had already helped so many of you. You owed him this.

“Take both of these two.” The military man said, then stepping over you both as if he’d done nothing more than vanquish a couple insects that had crossed his path.

——————

(Continued in next chapter here)

#quicksilver x reader #quicksilver #peter maximoff #peter maximoff x oc #peter maximoff x you #peter maximoff x y/n #peter maximoff x reader #peter maximof x reader #x men apocalypse #quicksilver x y/n #quicksilver x you #x men fanfiction #x men

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five-rivers · 3 years

Text

Home

The building that housed Fentonworks had never been normal, no matter what neighbors and real estate agents might profess.

Things had happened there. Deaths. Wild twists of fate and shocking coincidences. People who lived there heard noises, saw things, felt things. Experienced sicknesses with no cause. Were cured of sicknesses without cause. Survived things that should have killed them.

It was a thin spot between worlds. Reality was a rippling membrane, frayed enough for things to shine through.

The construction of the neighborhood itself had been… strange. It happened much faster than it should have, as if there was a whole extra shift of workers on the project.

The townhouse that would one day become Fentonworks had stood out even in that mystery. Extra rooms, a basement deep enough to cause a nasty fight with regulators, features not approved by the architect.

It was a wonder they hadn’t hit any of the water lines or the sewage systems. A wonder- and an impossibility. So, the matter was ignored and dropped.

Then the next owners expanded that impossible basement, building another, secret basement and putting things in the walls- They were criminals, of course. It was expected for them to do illegal things. (Although exactly what they had done was… oddly uncertain.)

(Drugs, perhaps.)

Then, the lunatics. Then, the tiny cult that collapsed in on itself. Then the empty years, dozens of transient ghosts trying and failing to pass through, and the ghost hunters. So many ghost hunters, none of them particularly successful.

Then, the Fentons.

Then, little Jazz.

Then, little Danny.

Danny with wide eyes that saw too much.

And all the horrors that the Fentons could dream up, from living hotdogs to weapons that burned like stars and doors to places that should not be visited.

And this was Danny Fenton’s home.

The Manson estate was an odd case, even for Amity Park. Save for the basement, the entire building they lived in had been transplanted, brick and beam, from Germany.

Rich people were bizarre.

Even the Mansons couldn’t explain it. The man who had done it hadn’t been a Manson. The Mansons, who were relatively new money, all things considered, had purchased it from one of the man’s children. Anything to boost their prestige.

It was fancy, and it was old, a gothic and statuesque mansion worthy of its name. Still, it wasn’t quite fancy or old enough to merit the kind of expenditure moving it had to take.

Hence the rumors, squelched by the Mansons, that the place was haunted.

It wasn’t.

The rumors, however, were enough to get one Samantha Manson interested in the occult. Especially given how hard she saw her parents working to hide the rumors from her.

No. The mansion wasn’t haunted. For all it’s oddities and quirks – which only multiplied as the Mansons added more and more features to it – the building itself was mundane.

(The land it was built on might have been another story.)

And this was Sam Manson’s home.

The Foleys didn’t want to know what Tucker got up to in the attic, but liked to think that, with that one exception, their home was a nice one. It was on a nice street, in a nice neighborhood, just far enough away from Fentonworks to keep both sightings of the Ghost Assault Vehicle and resultant property damage and property taxes to a minimum. Within walking distance of the high school, a supermarket, and a park.

They kept the fridge and pantry stocked. Their food might not have always been healthy – red meat was an element of almost every meal – but it was always available and filling. They made an effort for the dietary restrictions of Tucker’s friends of course.

All the rooms were kept clean and neat. Even Tucker’s, by way of bribes. Everything was organized, everything had its place. Except, perhaps, for the stray shoe or piece of schoolwork.

But that attic.

It really hadn’t been anything, before Tucker asked if he could move his computer stuff up there. Just a storage space, one too difficult for either Angela or Maurice to climb up there often. They didn’t consider themselves old, but they couldn’t call themselves young either. Not with a son Tucker’s age.

Once Tucker had realized the attic was there, he had been fascinated. And, well, once he was old enough for them to not worry about him falling off the ladder, they let him go up.

Some days, it seemed, he didn’t come down.

Better than his faintly disturbing Ancient Egypt phase, where he kept bringing pictures of mummified corpses to the table. Or, worse, the werewolf phase.

And this was Tucker Foley’s home.

Amity Park had claimed the distinction of ‘most haunted town in America’ long before the Fentons opened their portal. In fact, that was the reason the Fentons had set up shop there, in the first place.

No haunted town was complete without at least one haunted house. Amity Park had several. Not to mention a haunted hospital, a selection of haunted schools, a haunted museum, a haunted pool, a haunted crosswalk, a haunted mall, a haunted football field… The list went on, essentially ad nauseum.

Of course, that list mostly consisted of places that became haunted after the Fentons built their portal. But even before then, some places offered their dubious charms to tourists.

Mostly gullible ones. More than half of the claims of hauntings before the portal opened were fraudulent in their entirety. These places quickly went broke and got abandoned when real ghosts started showing up.

One of these was the ominously named Raven House, which stood in the hills on the west edge of town.

The story the tourists of years gone by had been told was that a widower had lived out here, all by himself and that one day, he stopped coming to town, or paying his bills, or even getting his mail. When the mailbox at the end of the long driveway was full, the mailman decided to go check on the widower. What he found was a flock of ravens and a skeleton, entirely picked clean of flesh.

No such death had occurred there, nor in any part of Amity. No such person had ever lived in the house, either. The last owners, before the company that decided to market the house as haunted, were a couple with two children.

It wasn’t until months after the portal started up that it became haunted in truth.

“This place isn’t haunted,” said Danny, panning his flashlight over cobwebbed corners on the ceiling. “I don’t think it ever was.”

“That’s what, strike five?” asked Sam.

Danny shrugged. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Four, actually,” said Tucker. “We counted the hospital as inconclusive, since we don’t know if anyone was there before Spectra.”

Danny nodded. “It’s weird, though, isn’t it? That no one lives here, I mean. It looks like a perfectly nice house.”

“Décor’s a bit… eh. Trying to hard to be haunted,” said Tucker, poking a raven decal on the wallpaper.

“I like it,” said Sam. “Needs cleaning, though.”

“Hey,” said Tucker, “you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking, are you? Because I’m pretty sure that’d be illegal.”

“It isn’t as if anyone else is using the place,” argued Sam. “It could be a great backup hideout, if we ever had to… you know.” She glanced at Danny. “Plus, we’d be doing them a favor, really, keeping things clean and lived in.”

“I think it’s an okay idea,” said Danny.

“Yeah, but you think lots of dumb things are good ideas. Like showing up at a party hosted by people who publicly humiliate you on a regular basis.”

Danny grumbled something about trauma responses that sounded like a direct quote from Jazz and something else about that incident being ages (aka weeks) ago. Then, he brightened.

“We could get one of the little ectoplasm generators to power everything,” he said. “Remember all that stuff we lifted from Skulker and Technus? We could actually use it. Study and test things without worrying about whether our parents will walk in. I mean, your attic is great, but still.”

“Plus, we can have actual lab safety protocols. No offense, Danny.”

“I am the one that half-died in a lab accident, so… None taken.”

Tucker rubbed his chin. “Alright. I suppose I can see the appeal… But if we have stuff that can trace back to us, we could get in serious trouble."

“We’ll be careful, then,” said Sam.

“Anything I take from Mom and Dad has plausible deniability. They’ll assume ghosts stole it.”

“We also need to clean if we’re being serious about this. And get a fridge. And figure out the pluming situation.”

“Fridge is on the list. We have to be careful about the outside, too. If this place is suddenly well maintained, people will notice.”

“Sure, but that isn’t something they’d call the cops over,” said Danny. “They’ll just assume new people are moving in. If anyone sees it at all. We’re pretty far away from anything. But pluming won’t be too hard. We just need to bring our own water. Like, toilets flush using physics. If you dump more water in, they’ll go, no electricity required.”

“How do you know that?”

“I can’t even tell you how many time Mom and Dad blew out all our breakers with stuff in the lab,” said Danny. “You pick up a few things.”

“Well,” said Tucker, swinging his flashlight over to examine a discolored spot on the ceiling. “Then… Home sweet home, I suppose.”

There was a house in the hills in the west hills of Amity Park.

And this was the home of two and a half humans and half a ghost.

#danny phantom #dannymay2021 #dannymay 2021 #dannymay #dannymay day 2: home

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xwing-baby · 3 years

Text

I Don’t Trust You (Din Djarin x gn!Reader)

for @propertyofdindjarin - sorry its so late but i hope you enjoy this!!

Characters: Din Djarin x gn!reader (i dont think i used any gendered language in this but let me know if i did and ill change the tag)

Word Count: 8k (this really ran away with me lol)

Warnings: enemies to lovers, description of injury, canon level violence, little steamy (kissing, insinuated smut), threat of death, like one swear word, pre show! Din

Summary: The Mandalorian killed you two years ago, yet here you are alive and well on a different planet. The Mandalorian is called in to help you and your team of royal guards find a missing princess. Things go horribly wrong and you are left to journey home with your worst enemy...

A/N: shout out to the random radio 4 play that gave me the idea for the plot of this and to @propertyofdindjarin for the request for enemies to lovers! i’ve never done this trope before and im not sure if i really did it justice but i enjoyed writing it at least hahah i hope you like it too darling and thanks for requesting!

“The Master is calling in reinforcements from a bounty hunter for this mission,” The general in charge of your squad spoke as the team dressed.

“Who?”

“A Mandalorian,” The general answered.

“We don’t need a Mandalorian,” You spoke up bitterly, looking up as you finally pulled your boots on. The general sighed, used to your defiance and vocal hatred of The Mandalorian. He rolled his eyes at your attitude.

“We need all the help we can get on this,”

“I don’t need a Mandalorian,” You corrected yourself.

“I don’t care about your opinion. My word is final. And besides, there is nothing you can do he is arriving… now,”

A knock at the door turned everyone’s heads. The general nodded and it was opened to reveal the shining armour of the Mandalorian. You scowled as you watched the Mandalorian swan into the room, newly polished armour glinting in the light. You frowned and turned your attention away from him, just the sight of him made you exasperated.

You didn’t understand why The Master would want to bring him in, he was expensive and more importantly an asshole. All the hard work you and your team would put in on this mission would undoubtedly be overshadowed by him. He would be praised no end and paid a handsome fee while you would probably be berated for not meeting his standard and not get any reward for returning the princess.

It was the second attempt to get the Master’s daughter back from her kidnappers. The first time had been a complete failure and caused the gang to go into deeper hiding. It had taken weeks to locate her new location, there was no room for error this time. The princess had to be returned.

The Mandalorian had noticed you the moment he entered the room. He was surprised to see you alive at all, he’d assumed you were dead, having killed you two years prior. But here you were in a brand new system, alive and well. He didn’t say a word on the matter, he’d been paid for your bounty already, it wasn’t his fault you had miraculously survived.

You sat in silence, glaring at the Mandalorian across the room, while the General spoke about the plan for the mission. You grumbled and rolled your eyes when he made suggestions. The nerve of him. Coming here invited and not trusting your plan. The grumble earned you a sharp elbow in the ribs and a hiss to shut up.

With the plan set, you began the long trip out to the location. It was far, a days trip by speeder at least. Across plains, over mountains, through valleys and finally to the destination. A small building atop a large hill. It was strangely open, considering how long it had taken to find. The sun was going down by the time you arrived. You were apprehensive to approach so quickly, wanting to wait out but you had no power amongst this group, especially with the Mandalorian validating the plan there was no way you’d win. The group dismounted the speeders mere feet from the entrance, loaded their guns and went inside, barely stopping for a second once their feet touched the ground.

You however did not follow. Ordered to stay outside, they didn’t trust you. You were to keep watch, not that there was anything to watch for. Two years on the planet and you were still considered an outsider. Your reputation had not preceded you but it quickly caught up. Within two weeks of your arrival, whispers of your real name had floated across the galaxy until it landed into the mouth of the Master. You were allowed to stay, only if you joined the royal guard to put your skills to use.

The royal guard didn’t trust you, used you as a scapegoat on any occasion and sent you in many suicide missions purely because you were expendable. But as even the Mandalorian knew, you were very hard to kill. You came back every single time with nothing more than a scratch. Instead of your action gaining their trust it bred jealousy and mistrust.

You scuffed around the site, listening out for signs that the mission was complete or anyone was in trouble. The moon rose slowly into the sky, stars appeared with it giving you some entertainment as you tried to spot the constellations familiar to you. A twinge of anxiety cut your stomach, they should have been out long ago. You should have followed to help

Suddenly, a bone-breaking thunderous sound erupted from below and the ground began to shake. You were frozen to the spot until your spot began to fall away. The ground beneath you shook and collapsed inwards. You scrambled out the way, moving to where the ground was stable again. The building your squad had gone inside had collapsed, screams and cries of terror could be heard from inside. The building fell, then fell further. All you could do was watch in horror as where the building once stood, a crater appeared. Dust plumed from the wreck, filling your lungs and scratching your eyes. You coughed and spluttered, shielding your face from it.

Soon the dust settled and things became clearer. The devastation was all that was left. And the Mandalorian. Stood alone on the opposite side of the great crater, he looked down into the hole for a moment, thinking, before making his way around to where you were. He didn’t stop to talk to you as he passed, simply readjusting his vambrace and walking away. Disturbed by his lack of reaction it took you a moment to react, you watched him walk a few paces ahead before running after him.

“Hey!” You called after him, “Where are you going?”

“There’s no speeders. We’ll have to walk,” He said, not stopping.

“They’ll kill us if we return without the princess!” You protested.

“They’ll kill you when you don’t return with the girl,” Mando corrected you, “Unless you want to walk climb in there and search through rubble, the only thing to do is walk back,”

“It’ll take days! There’s no way you’d make it back to the city in one piece,”

“Who said I was going back there?”

“You have to finish the job,”

“The job is finished,”

“You arrogant son of a bitch,” You scoffed as he continued to walk away. He picked up his pace, “I told Illana that we didn’t need you,” You shouted angrily. Din didn’t reply, trying to block out your whinging. “You’re a waste of money, everyone knows Mandalorians don't work well in teams. There’s a reason you all got wiped out,” You snarled. That comment bristled Din. He knew you were only baiting for a fight, angry your squad had died and he wasn’t going to give you what you wanted. It wasn’t advantageous for anyone, “What happened in there? You blow it up to make the job easier? You killed them all,”

Din ignored your questioning. He hadn’t killed them, he had barely made it out alive

“She was just a child and you killed her, for what? Tell me!”

He turned when he heard the load up of a blaster behind him. Your blaster, loaded and waiting in your hand was pointed at his back while he walked ahead. He whipped around just as fast, his blaster pointed at you too.

“Really?” He asked.

“Talk,”

“It was a trap,”

“Liar!” You shouted.

“The girl was tied to some kind of trap that blew up the mines below the building. I was not in the room when the extraction happened. I didn’t do anything,” He explained, you didn’t reply, grinding your teeth as you tried to get your head around it. “Why would I kill them? I needed her alive,”

You hated that he was making sense. There was no real logical reason for him to kill the princess. He needed her alive to get his payment just as you did. You glared at him, fingers twitching over your blaster.

“Keep walking,” You said sternly. You turned the safety back on to the blaster though never lowering it. Din lowered his weapon. “I’m not having you anywhere out of my sight. Can’t trust you as far as I could throw you,”

Din huffed in agreement and turned to continue walking. Your blaster wasn’t going to do anything more than scuff his armour, he didn’t worry about you attacking him from behind. If you’d wanted to kill him you would have tried by now. Whatever made this whole ordeal go faster was what he was going to do.

You walked across the grassy plain for hours in total silence. At least outwardly silent. In your mind, you were cursing his name in every language you knew to any deity you could think of. Cursing him, his stupid armour and his stupid helmet. You cursed the planet, you cursed the city, you cursed the entire universe for forcing you to be stuck with the one man you hated most. You wished you had followed the squad and died with them, it would be more pleasant than this. At least with the pace the Mandalorian kept, you were going to be back to the city in record time, this nightmare could end.

Soon the grass gave way to shrubs and weeds, trees that were rare before now crowded around you. You came to a path, well-trodden and open, surprisingly. If it was this clear it was only a good thing, you were on the right path back.

“Stop,” You ordered as the path forked out in two directions. Din had chosen one path already, a few paces ahead. He stopped and turned around to see what the problem was. You were facing the second path, motioning with your blaster to cross over. “There’s a shortcut,” You said, “That forest opens back up in the West of the city. If memory serves me correctly it’ll cut our journey in half,”

“I don’t trust you,” Din said warily.

“Never said you had to trust me. If you carry on that way it’ll take another three days to walk around a huge lake and a ravine. This way cuts that out and we’ll be back in the city in two days,”

You walked forward into the break of trees, turning back when you didn’t hear him follow. He hadn’t moved, still calculating the decision. “Not scared are you, Mando?” You taunted him. “We don’t have much sunlight. Move,”

For a moment Din contemplated shooting you right there. You were rude and arrogant, nobody would question your death at all if he did it. His hand hovered over his blaster, before finally deciding against it. He needed the payment and with you alive at the end of it he would have proof he didn’t slaughter the entire garrison.

He followed you into the forest, walking in front of you as before. The trees were so dense, a few minutes of walking cut out all light. Spotlights of dusty yellow light broke through the canopy providing enough light inside to see your footing directly in front of you but nothing more. Roots covered the floor, winding around your ankles trying to pull you in so your body could supply nutrients for the plants. Branches caught on the Mandalorian’s shoulders, snapping back into your face often when they released. You learnt quickly to keep a few more paces back to stop the attacks.

You had heard stories about these forests. Fables told to the children in the city warning them of the dangers of the expansive green land. Most of them you knew to be just stories, but like most legends in the universe, there was truth to some. That knowledge kept you alert as you continued the walk.

Suddenly, the Mandalorian stopped in his tracks. You nearly crashed into him, not looking where you were going you were met with metal.

“Keep walking,” You ordered. He didn’t move, turning his head to look up at the canopy. You frowned, growing impatient. “What?”

“Quiet,” He hissed. You paused as you heard another shuffle you had thought to be Din moving. It was above you, beside you and behind you. Then you heard it, a shrill echoing cry from above. A cry you had been told to fear since day one on this planet.

They descended from every side. Five or six strong and lean warriors armed with metal spears and knives swarmed you and Din before you even had time to run.

A flurry of metal and blaster bolts occurred. You were quick on the draw taking two warriors quickly before another knocked your gun from your hands. It was immediately lost to the undergrowth. Dodging one strike then another you grabbed hold of one of the warrior's weapons, forcing it back on them to push them back. Pull, push, slash. A splash of blood as the spear cut into his skin and another dead.

You had one left. Flipping a small knife in his hand, the warrior snarled at you before pouncing. Taking out your own, you threw yourself at the warrior. Each attempted strike on your part was blocked effortlessly. Your advance became a backwards pace as you were slowly overpowered. The knife scraped against your vambrace as you blocked yet another strike creating sparks.

The warrior growled something in a language you didn’t understand as you stepped backwards again, finding yourself cornered to a tree. You growled and surged forward again, catching a slice to his cheek and shoulder before being pinned to the bark.

You cried out as a sharp bite pierced your skin, the warrior slipping past your armour and plunging their blade into your side as your hands came up and used your knife to slice their throat. A spray of blood hit your face as they fell to the ground. You fell backwards leaning against the tree for support as your head went light, you watched Din take out the remaining warriors. One on their spear, another with his blaster. He was surrounded by bodies but looked like he’d barely broken a sweat. He surveyed his area before finally noticing you. The ambush had happened so fast he barely had time to spare a glance in your direction to see how you were.

You grimaced as he walked over. He didn’t come close, not helping you, just watching. He saw the leather strapped blade on the ground beside you and the body next to you. You hissed as you tried to push yourself up, even minimal effort was aggravating the wound.

Your hand let go of the injury, revealing the blood to Din. You wiped it on your pant leg, laughing dryly as you looked up at him. You could barely see him, eyes hazy, even speaking was an effort as your throat was stinging with the threat of vomit. Din lurched forward holding out his hand. “I don’t need your help,” You garbled, trying again. This time you were successful, only for a moment as your world spinning and went black for a moment., “Stars above,” you gasped, falling forward into the Mandalorian. He caught you quickly before you fell to the floor.

“Where are you hurt?” He asked urgently.

“Under there,” You slurred, waving your arm weakly at your side. Your eyes were dropping, skin pale. It was the end, killed by a forest warrior’s blade with the Mandalorian by your side. Not how you wanted to go.

You came too in the dark. You startled, immediately on guard. The sudden movement made you cry out as pain overtook your body.

“Don’t move,” Came a gruff reply. It was the Mandalorian. Ignoring his request, you slowly pushed yourself to sit up, wincing at the pain but you couldn’t just lay there.

You then realised your armour was gone, top feeling practically bare in your undershirt. A bandage was wrapped around your ribs, soaked in blood. He had saved you.

You looked at him across the fire, confused. You had expected him to leave you for dead. You certainly should have died. Either the gods were playing a horrific joke on you by drawing out this quest with your supposed enemy or he had cared for you. You wondered how long you’d been out for. Could have been a few hours, a few days. You doubted he would care for you for that long but evidently, the bounty hunter was full of surprises.

“You should have left me,” you finally spoke. Your voice was coarse and you coughed to clear your throat. “Why’d you do that?”

He shrugged. You frowned but decided not to press the matter. You preferred living over being dead.

“How long was I out?” You asked.

“A few hours,” He replied, “Nice to have you quiet for so long,”

“Where’s my armour?”

“Here,” He said, patting the pile of metal next to him. You watched him carefully now. You needed that back if you were going to make it and didn’t entirely trust he would give it back. Parts were beskar. You knew he would try and stake a claim to it despite the fact he knew where you’d gotten it from. He’d tried it before and that had ended with you at the bottom of a rocky gorge, “I’ll give it back in the morning. You need to rest and you can’t in that,”

“It’s very important to me,” You stated.

“I know,” He said.

“How do I know you won’t take it?”

“You’ll have to trust me,” Din said. You were not about to do that. You pushed yourself to stand up, grinding your teeth to not let out the sharp pain that was splitting through your side, “Sit down,” Din ordered.

“Give me-,” As you stood up your vision went blurry, you stumbled forward into the fire pit. Luckily the Mandalorian had quick reflexes and caught you before you fell into the flames

“I didn’t save your life for you to fall into a fire,” he scolded you, helping you back to the ground. Sit,”

You shoved his hands off you and shuffled away from him. “I’ll kill you if you take it,” you grumbled.

“You would try,” Din agreed. Both of you knew you would not be a threat. While the Mandalorian had managed to flush out most of the poison some of it remained in your system. Not deadly in dosage but enough to weaken you significantly. You wouldn’t be able to get real help until you returned to the city.

Silence fell over the camp again. You stared into the fire, watching it spit and spark. A physical manifestation of your rage and embarrassment. Not only were you weak and wounded, but you were also stuck with the one person you swore would get revenge on if you ever crossed paths again. Now the only revenge you could manage was maybe to scratch his armour. You had slaughtered people, entire towns had met their end through your hands. Now your life lay in the Mandalorians’s. You hated it.

You glared at him for what felt like hours. Neither of you was going to give in to sleep, too suspicious of the other to succumb to the vulnerability. The three moons travelled slowly overhead, animals scratching around the clearing of the forest none would dare to venture into the foreign light of the Mandalorian’s fire but you could feel a thousand eyes in the darkness watching you intently.

Suddenly he stood up. Suspicious you watched him walk the short distance to you. Without warning, he passed a silver packet of food to you and walked behind you. You looked dumbly at the packet and turned your head to see what he was doing. You had barely looked over your shoulder before his gloved hand came to the side of your face, pushing you away.

“Turn around and I’ll kill you,” Din warned you.

“Ok! Kriff, calm down I don’t want to look anyway,” You scoffed at him. Somehow, his insistence that you didn’t see his face only made the idea more enticing. You heard a scuff of metal and the sound of something heavy on the grass, his helmet was off.

You kept your head straight forward, moving only to look at what you were eating. It was very similar to eating next to a wild animal, any movement you made while he ate could be your last. You knew enough about Mandalorians to know it wasn’t him being territorial but to do with his ‘creed’. They could never remove their helmets, never show their faces to anyone except family. It didn’t seem like the Mandalorian behind you had any family, there was barely a caring bone in his body. Except he had saved your life, though that was more an act of self-preservation than anything else you thought.

Din wouldn’t usually risk eating like this with someone like you nearby. There was no privacy, no guarantee you wouldn’t turn and catch him but his hunger was overtaking his logic. It had been days since he’d eaten, he was the lowest on credits in his life the small amount he’d earn from this bounty was desperately needed. If he was going to be paid at all now.

He ate quickly, wolfing down the scraps he had found in your pack. It was bland and chalky but it was food, nutrients, and that was all that mattered. He had to survive until the next. Once he finished, he picked up his helmet and placed it back on his head. Safe inside his metal shell he stood up and walked to his previous spot on the other side of the fire.

He watched you while you ate. He took in the way your skin glowed in the firelight. Wisps of unruly hair caught the light giving you a halo over your head except there was nothing angelic about you. You knew murder and destruction just as well as he did. You’d killed many and cursed more to the haunting image of your destruction. You were one of a small few in the galaxy who had survived the Mandalorian.

There was something oddly satisfying at the fact you couldn’t get away now. You couldn’t do anything if he tried to kill you again now. All your power, all your strength, was in his hands. It was a dark feeling he wanted to avoid, he didn’t think about it too much. If he’d wanted to kill you he would have left you to die.

Once you finished your food you threw the packaging into the fire and settled back. You watched the Mandalorian pick through your pack, pulling out whatever he could find useful for the rest of the travel. You knew we wouldn't find much, the thing had only been packed for a two-day trip maximum. You ached from head to toe, tired and more hungry than the nutrients bar could stave off you longed for your bed. Soft and warm it was the only good thing in this place, the only thing that had kept you here for so long. Comfort was never something you had been given freely, you were going to hold onto this one for as long as you could.

Soon you couldn’t fight sleep any longer. You lay down next to the fire, watching the Mandalorian until you could no longer keep your eyes open.

—

The next day something had shifted in your dynamic. The fact he’d saved your life had changed things. You weren’t so angry at him. He was careful with you, helping you up from the ground and you didn’t miss the way his helmet stayed on you for longer than needed as you pulled your armour back on. He’d cleaned it too, wiping off the blood and dirt from the metal.

You walked mostly in silence, Din still in front of you. You may not hate him anymore but you didn’t entirely trust him yet. He was on neutral ground as far as you were concerned. He'd tried to kill you once, he’d saved you once, They cancelled each other out and now all was left as to gain any opinion either way about who this man was. Was he a killer or was he kind? His actions thus far, surprisingly, offered the latter. Despite that, your hand never left your blaster, though not drawn it was ready in its holster if he decided to turn on you.

Every time you hissed or groaned as you walked, he would stop, look at you and check you were okay before continuing. If it wasn’t for the cold nature of his helmet it would have been endearing.

You travelled together through forest and fields, over a small mountain and down a ravine. Your legs ached, back sore from carrying your pack but at least your stab wound had gone numb. Your pain receptors were so fried now your brain was trying to forget it all together so you could survive.

You flagged behind Mando, gritting your teeth and forcing yourself forward until you couldn’t take it anymore. You let out a small cry of defeat before calling for the Mandalorian to stop. You sat on a rock above a reed bed, leaning on it with one arm while the other pried your armour from your body. Din stopped walking as soon as he heard you.

“I need to rest for a bit,” You admitted, struggling with your straps. One-handed it was impossible to get them off but if you didn’t you couldn’t breathe. You pulled and tugged at the buckles until you were stopped by the Mandalorian’s gloved hand on yours.

“I’ll do it,” He said quietly. You moved your hand, turning a little to let him have better access to the buckles holding the metal to your body.

You didn’t say a word, knowing you couldn’t do it by yourself. His skilled fingers worked the buckles open and pulled the chest pieces away from your body. There was care in his touch, his fingers momentarily gracing over your exposed skin for a moment. The light touch sent shivers down your spine. You turned your head for fear of showing just how affected you were by his touch. You sighed in relief when the weight was gone and the strain on your muscles was decreased.

“Thank you,” You mumbled.

“We can set up camp here for the night,”

“It’s not even dark,” You protested, “Give me a few minutes we can keep walking. It’s not safe out in the open like this,”

“You’re in pain,”

“I’ll be in pain wherever we are,” You said, “There are caves just over there, it will be safer to stay there,”

“That’ll be two hours walk,”

“I can do it,”

“I’m tired too. We’re staying here,” He said, “You can bathe in the river, clean the wound again,”

“Mando-,” You protested.

He wasn’t listening anymore. He’d set down the weapons on his back and set to creating a fire. If it was going to be as cold as last night you were going to need one.

You were silently relieved. Your entire body was screaming for a break, the wound throbbing so much you could have thrown up. You needed to rest. You knew you weren’t far from the city now, it was on the other side of the pass, you could see ships land and take off in the distance, specks leaving white trails in the sky. You would be back by the next evening, you predicted. Only one day left free of consequences.

As the decision had been made to stay by the river for the night, you decided you could get out of your armour again. You sat up slowly, leaning to one side to avoid putting pressure on the wound on your side. You piled the pieces up next to the rock.

Din was still busy searching for suitable wood, a good distance away from you you decided it was safe to strip off and explore the water you could hear behind the reed bed. You pulled aside the plants, creating a path for yourself and revealing a beautiful stream. The water was crystal clear, reflecting the sunset colours above you.

You waded into the water, holding up your tunic so it didn’t get wet. The current wasn’t strong, stones were stable under your feet and you let yourself walk further into the river until it got to your hips. Creatures in the water scattered as your legs invaded their home. You pulled your tunic over your head, throwing the fabric back onto the riverbank, then untied the Mandalorians bandages leaving them with the tunic too. The cool water soothed your aching muscles, washing away the sweat and dry blood as it passed over your skin. You groaned at the heavenly feeling before dipping down under the surface, letting the world melt away in the stream.

Din returned to find you missing. He dropped the sticks he’d found and looked around for you. He hadn’t heard a struggle, he’d have seen someone if you’d been taken. He spotted your armour in a pile while you’d been lay, too neat to be stripped of you in a hurry you must have taken it off. None of his weapons missing either. Then he heard your voice from behind the tall reeds surrounding the lazy river, a pained groan. He was quick to action fearing you’d fallen and been hurt again. He barrelled through the reeds, nearly falling down the riverbank into the water until he saw you. Entirely naked, facing away from him, standing waist-deep in the cool water. Every scar, every bruise, every lump and bump was on view under the golden sun instantly transfixing Din.

He didn’t want to stare but he couldn’t bring his eyes away from the view. Drenched in golden light, your wet skin sparkled. His eyes fell slowly down your body, his own body was fighting between leaving you alone and joining you in the water. Your shadow cast on the opposite bank of reeds showed a broken image of everything you had hidden.

“Can you pass me my clothes when you’re done staring please Mando?” You spoke up suddenly, looking over your shoulder with a smirk on your lips. Din startled, snapping himself out of the trance he’d fallen into, nearly falling in the water. He coughed and spluttered, the sound coming out strangely through his vocoder, which made you laugh. He nodded, muttering something you couldn’t hear before disappearing back through the reeds to retrieve your clothes.

You were used to washing with no privacy. Being in the places you’d been, privacy was a luxury. You could ignore the lustful stares men gave but something about Din watching you set you on edge, it excited you. You couldn’t see his face, couldn’t tell where he was looking but his vision bore like laser’s into your skin. You felt electric. He could have watched forever and you wouldn’t mind at all.

You dunked under the cold water, cleaning yourself and cooling off the heat of your body. You found your clothes laid out on the bank, where Din had been standing before. You smiled, dried off and dressed before re-emerging from the reeds.

The sun was going down now, barely a sliver above the horizon. Stars came out, colouring the night sky with constellations. The Mandalorian had a good fire going. A field rat hung over the flames cooking away.

“Sit close to the fire so you can dry off properly,” He said as you approached. You smiled and nodded, feeling brave enough to sit next to him rather than across as you had done the other night. He was opposed to your decision and didn’t move when you settled down next to him in the grass. “The wound looked like it's healing well,” He said after a moment of quiet.

“That’s all you were looking at?” You asked with a smirk.

“I didn’t mean to pry,” He apologised, a little ashamed at his voyeurism.

“I didn’t say I minded,” You smiled, sweet on the surface but the wicked fire in your eyes told him exactly what he wanted. He shivered under your gaze and moved quickly to get away from your scrutiny, turning his attention to stoking the fire again. You laughed to yourself and settled back onto your elbows to watch the stars.

This night was so different from the one before. You didn’t watch him so intently, trusting that he wouldn’t suddenly try to rob you or kill you. You were relaxed, as much as you could in the circumstances. Your earlier question of the character of the Mandalorian was slowly being answered. He was a mixture of good and kind, and cold and calculated. You couldn’t forget how viciously he had attacked you all those years ago, how bloody and raw those warriors had been left in the forest. But simultaneously you couldn’t forget his kindness in saving you, his care for your wellbeing as you walked today. How bashful he became when you confronted him about his peeping. You could hear the embarrassment in his voice. If he was a cold and heartless killer like you thought him to be, he would not take your teasing. He wouldn’t be embarrassed. No, this Mandalorian much like everyone else was complicated. Under that beskar somewhere lay a man, who unfortunately you were starting to like.

You couldn’t hate him. Not when he had found and cooked food for you to share. Din had pulled the field rat off the spit, opened it up and pulled out the cooked meat. He passed you half before collecting his own. You initially curled your lip at the charred remains in your lap but there was no other choice. It was that or starve.

Din opened his mouth to speak, to tell you to stay put as he sat behind you but was astounded at how quickly you’d turned your back on him giving him the privacy he needed. Metal hit the ground with a thud, you stayed perfectly still. Din noticed instantly, his chest becoming heavy as he saw your fear. You had been friendly all day, talking as if you were friends but the way you sat in front of him like caught prey reminded him that wasn’t the case.

You surprised him, it was rare for people to understand so quickly, let alone someone like you. Someone who hated him, had tried to kill him, usually, they’d mock him and refuse unless he threatened them, like he’d done to you last night. You didn’t say a word. You respected him.

So, he ate slower. Taking the time to enjoy his food, as much as you can enjoy slightly burnt field rat. He picked at the meat, pulling it apart with his fingers. His quiet groan of pleasure at the taste of his food made your ears prick and hair stand up on edge. You’d teased him for watching you in the river, but if he sat behind you and made sounds like that you were going to have to do something. Call it Stockholm syndrome, some kind of weird lapse of judgement due to the stress of your predicament but you found yourself liking the Mandalorian. He had tried to kill you before, he should terrify you, but the fact he was such a mystery, and a dangerous one at that, made him all the more enticing.

Din didn’t miss the way you’d pricked up at the noise he’d made. He didn’t mean to, it had just slipped from his lips. A new kind of hunger took over him as he finished his meal. He wanted you. The memory of you in the river cast over him. He wondered how soft your skin would feel, fresh from the mineral waters you’d bathed in. You smelt so fresh from where he was sitting, how much better would it be with his nose in your hair. He’d been hungry for days, but this hunger had gone unsolved for months, he could hardly remember the last time he’d held someone, kissed someone, fucked someone.

Without realising it Din had moved closer to you. His hands ghosted over your hair, wanting desperately to run his fingers through it. He wanted to touch you, to feel you. He leant over, just outside your peripheral vision and placed a kiss on your cheek. It was short, shorter as you startled at the sudden touch. Din retreated quickly, your sudden movement startling him too.

“What was that?” You asked sharply. Din frowned, instantly regretting his action. To his surprise, you didn’t make a move to look at him.

“Wh-what do you mean?” He stuttered, all confidence draining from his body.

“Kiss me properly if you’re going to kiss me,” you said confidently. A simple touch of his lips to your cheek had set you alight, you were startled but didn’t want him to stop.

Din grinned in the dark and surged forward to kiss you properly. The sharp scratch of stubble surprised you as he kissed you. His lips were soft as passion dripped into your mouth as your mouth opened to him in a gasp. The Mandalorian pulled you closer, turning you to face him properly. You hissed in pain when his hand brushed over your wound. He whispered an apology, moving down to your jaw. His nose brushed along your jaw taking in the clean and earthy scent of you.

His kiss travelled down your neck. The burn of his stumble on your soft skin made you sigh and open up to him more. Din could feel himself falling into you, your scent and taste, the noises that you were making just from his kisses were driving him insane. He could stop if he needed but he didn’t want to. He could trust you.

His hands stroked down your arms, taking your wrist into his grip. He continued his assault on your neck as he lifted it. He placed your hand over your eyes, holding your wrist tight to keep it in place. His warm hand over yours was oddly comforting.

“Move your hand and I stop, yes?” He whispered in your ear, his hot breath tickling you and sending a shiver up your spine, “I don’t want to kill you, but I will,”

“I understand,”

If there was any way you could have predicted the ending of your adventure with the Mandalorian there would be no way you could have predicted the events of the previous night.

He was good. Surprisingly good. You were a little shocked, having thought he was some celibate mercenary monk type character, but he knew what he was doing. If there weren’t stars above you, he’d made you see more. He was careful not to hurt you but didn’t hold out. Edges of your previous hatred for one another dipped in, adding so much to the event. You woke up sore in a completely different and entirely satisfying way.

You set out for the final stretch of the journey with a smile on your face. Your blaster was left alone in its holster and the Mandalorian walked beside you. You trusted him.

The final stretch was the most challenging. Through a rocky ravine, you had to climb over boulders and through tight passes. If you could have gone over you would, but the hundred-foot sheer cliff faces took that option away from you pretty fast. The Mandalorian walked slower to allow you to keep up, taking hold of your chest armour when the weight became too much to take anymore. You still couldn’t understand the reasoning behind his kindness but accepted it easily. He wouldn’t leave you more than ten foot behind, despite your insistence on leaving you to catch up on your own he refused and waited for you before enforcing a rest stop so you could catch your breath and continue. After hours of walking through the rocky pass, red stone finally gave way to green grass and blue sky once more.

You saw the city gates on the horizon and your heart began to ache. You had almost forgotten what you were walking back to. You had to tell the Master that his daughter was dead, that your entire team was burnt alive and you were the only survivor. You were dead for sure. Being the outsider anyway put you on rocky ground, this would be the final straw.

Din could sense your nervousness. Even if you didn’t express it verbally, he knew you were anxious to return. He thought you were brave for doing so, but you didn’t have a choice. If you ran you could never stay hidden from the Master. You were dead either way, at least if you brought yourself in you could argue your case.

Citizens lined the wall of the city, flags waving and cheering songs danced on the breeze as soon as you and the Mandalorian were spotted. You walked through the outlying villages with heads hung low as the people ran up to you expecting their princess in tow. When they saw the two of you alone their cries of joy turned to silence.

You reached the city gates and it seemed nobody had noticed, bells rang out and drums echoes from inside. Children waved from the wall, happy and excited to see you. The whispers started, turned into murmurs and soon the yells of praise and joy were spitting insults and exclamations of pain. People yelled out questions, what had happened to the princess, where was she, who’d killed the princess. Why hadn’t you saved her? Your heart sunk, you couldn’t lift your eyes from the ground as you and the Mandalorian were escorted to the palace.

Din always hated a failed mission, letting targets getaway in mistakes was what kept him up at night, but this was so much worse. He didn’t have any personal connection to the girl but the vitriol spat at you and him as you walked through was tough to take. He kept his head up, trying to think of a plan for what might happen next.

The news of your failure had spread fast, arriving at the Master’s feet before you did. You knelt at his throne, the Mandalorian standing beside you.

“What news do you bring?” The Master asked. He didn’t need your answer, he just wanted to watch you squirm.

“I am afraid we were unsuccessful Master. An accident occurred at the camp and we two are the only survivors of the event. There was no way of recovering your daughter, I apologise,” You said finally looking up at him. Your voice was calm, collected and confident. There was nothing you could do now, it didn’t matter whether you were visibly upset or not.

“Mandalorian? Do they speak the truth?”

“Yes. Charges were set in the mines beneath the location and set as soon as we arrived,” He elaborated.

“I appreciate the aide Mandalorian, however without a successful return of my daughter I cannot pay you,” The master said. Din nodded, having expected as much, “Guards arrest L/n,”

“I assure you we did everything we could to get your daughter, none of this was their fault,” Din insisted.

“You are dismissed, Mando,” The Master ordered. Din didn’t move, his blaster raised at the guards approaching, standing between you and them to protect you.

“Stop it,” You hissed at him, alarmed that he was putting his survival at risk for you.

“Put the blaster down, Mandalorian. You are far outnumbered here. I suggest you leave me while you still can unless you would like to join L/n in front of a firing squad,”

“It’s not worth it,” You whispered, as you pushed yourself to stand up. You gritted your teeth as pain shot through you. You both knew this was how it would end, there was no other way, “I accept my fate,” You spoke loud enough for everyone else to hear. Din didn’t accept it, he refused to. He had only just got you into his life, whatever the relationship was between you two he wasn’t going to let you die for something that wasn’t your fault.

You were surrounded inside the palace. Din’s defiance was only drawing more soldiers in. The chances of either you or Din coming out alive were drawing in. You knew the Mandalorian was worth more, something inside you told you he had a great destiny before him. While our crossed paths had arrived at a pleasant spot you would like to continue, if that was the final destination of your lives then you wouldn’t be the one pulling him to a halt with you.

You stepped into the Mandalorian’s vision, soldiers drawing closer, and you placed your hand over his blaster. You looked directly into his visor, staring directly into his eyes. You didn’t have to speak, he knew it was over. Slowly, Din lowered his weapon and stepped back. With his hands up he nodded to the Master who smiled smugly and gave you one last look. As soon as the Mandalorian walked away the guards were on you, hands roughly tugged behind your back and into harsh cuffs.

Din didn’t look back. Couldn’t. If he did he would do something he would regret. The Master’s voice echoed out of the Palace doors relaying your sentence. You were to be executed at sundown. Din pulled himself into a comfortable stoic calm, and indifference forced upon himself to allow him to carry on. He walked out of the city with nothing. Penniless, hungry and alone.

The Razor Crest provided some comfort as it always did. No matter what changed around his outside could always be corrected inside the silver confines of his ship. He had enough fuel to get him to the next populated planet, hopefully, he would find work there to get food. He settled into the cockpit, flicking through maps for a while to see where he could go. After a while, the exhaustion of not sleeping properly for three days caught up and Din fell asleep in the pilot seat.

“Oi! Mando! Open up!” Hard rock being thrown at the front of the Crest and the sound of your voice startled him awake. It was dark now, the moon high in the sky above him. Din’s heart sunk, it was just a dream. You were gone now.

He let himself wonder for a moment if he could have done more, knowing that probably wasn’t true. The galaxy had a way of making things work out the way they should no matter what he did. He settled back against his chair again, head resting on his chest when something slammed against the side of the ship and shouted for him again and he knew he wasn’t dreaming.

He did a double-take when he saw you at the door. Dishevelled and breathing heavily, you grinned up at him. “I thought you were dead,” He said.

“I will be if you don’t let me in in a minute,” You looked over your shoulder as speeder lights approached over the brim of the hill. Din had barely stepped aside before you barreled into the ship.

He stared at you in the low light of the hull. confused by the image you presented. Your armour was half missing, only your chest plates and one thigh plate remained and you were covered in blood. You were not only alive but you had fought well for it. Considering the state you had been in just hours before, barely able to stand up unaided, he was astonished.

“What? It’s not my blood if you’re worried about that,” You wiped your face with the back of your hand then wiping it on your pant leg. “Hurry up and get this ship in the sky. We need to go right now,”

A blaster shot ricochet off the side of the Crest, the sound of bikes coming closer, setting Din back into motion. He raced back up to the cockpit to set off. You followed quickly and watched as the Mandalorian set to getting the ship into the air while under attack. You jumped into the seat behind him, giddy with excitement as the weight of what you had just done inside the city walls had not yet settled in. You were high on adrenaline. The engines roared into life and suddenly the Mandalorian turned back to look at you.

“I’m glad you’re not dead,” He said.

“I’m glad I’m not dead too,” you smiled, warmth spreading through your body at the sentiment, “now please can we go,” A shot hit the front window making you duck instinctively. “Go!”

happy may the fourth guys!! omg i missed writing din so much!!

tags: @beskar-falcon @peterssweetpea @beskarbabs @wille-zarr @this-cat-is-dea @dameronology @fandom-blackhole @artsymaddie

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multifandom-girlie · 3 years

Text

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐨𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟓

Imagine: “Could I request a Daniel Gillies smut like they are both at the comic con(they are both in the originals) and he is teasing her while he answers a question ? Or makes fun with Joseph and he says some dirty things.” Requested by @elijahspersonalwifeyyy .

Pairing: Daniel Gillies x Reader

Warnings: Smut

Words:

Edited: Yes

A/N: I apologise @elijahspersonalwifeyyy for the incredibly long wait. I’ve had this lined up to post but with coursework and writing so much at the same time, it’s made it difficult but I refuse to quit. I’m not a quitter. I’m also not a person to announce a hiatus. Either way, hope you enjoyed ! There is a lot to read I know but we needed a build up and this is one of my favourite comic cons ever, I wanted to do the before hand scenes either way so. Don’t forget to check out my new story “On The Way” !

All of us at the current moment in time were stood backstage waiting to be called on. I couldn't tell you how irritated I was when I went on after Joseph and then Daniel followed. They were both irritating enough to me together anyway but they were in a particularly annoying mood today and I was not prepared for it.

“The man who will break your heart and then rip it out and then probably eat it. Joseph Morgan.”

The whole audience cheered as he walked on and he waved quite casually as he did.

“The women who brings all men to there knees but still can't find anything better to do than drink wine. Y/N Y/L/N”

I giggled as I walked out and I saw the audience screaming and Joseph giving me a mischievous look.

“The brother with a suit for every occasion. Daniel Gillies as Elijah.”

He walked out, threw me a quick smirk and blew a kiss to the audience as they screamed. He pulled his chair out and smiled at everyone.

“Nice jacket.”

“Yeah. Give it up for this jacket ! Huh ? Out of a suit and into a smoking hot jacket.”

“I know right, the one time he's not wearing a suit.”

“Thank you. It was actually a gift from Y/N.”

“Aw that’s super sweet Y/N.”

“Thank you. It was actually a gift for our anniversary.”

“Really ? How many years ?”

“Seven.”

“and very sweet.”

He called the rest of our costars out and we continued on with the panel.

After the host had started the panel with a question for Julie and Michael, it was now a group question for me, Joseph and Phoebe.

“Uh now going to the show, we've seen Klaus and Lily and Klaus and Hayley kind of trying the uh co-parenting thing and it did not really go so well as we all saw. How is Klaus going to be as a parent now that Hayley isn't around and Lily and Elijah have reconciled ?”

As soon as the question was asked, we all turned to Joseph.

“Uh you know, before he alienated his whole family by toasting Elijah's girlfriend, sleeping with his wife and and and cursing the women he thought he was in love with um Klaus survived under this sort of umbrella of Elijah's protection and forgiveness I suppose and so Elijah was always a voice of reason and Hayley was always there to battle it out with him. So, I would say badly. He's gonna do badly as a single parent you know and I think he knows he's kinda messing it up but he's trying. At least he's trying. You gotta give him that. Even if he's warping the minds of his two daughters, one before she's even uttered a syllable and the other before she get's old enough to realise that Klaus and Lily aren't actually together you know like she’s thought for years.”

“Geez. So uh how are are Lily, Elijah and Klaus going to tell her ? Who's going to be the one that does it or will they all do it together ?”

I decided to answer this questions, being more involved with the story line of my children.

“I think that Lily will have to be the one to tell her and whilst doing so will definitely have to be quite cautious when telling Sofia, you know not only because she's only 7 years old but also because she’s thought of Elijah as her Uncle her whole life- and although that hasn't changed it's still going to be difficult since this latest revelation is that, her Uncle Elijah that she adores oh so much is now also 'mommy's boyfriend' or in more formal terms her step-dad. So I think she's going to be confused and it might be quite difficult for her at first but I think she’s mature for her age and that she will understand quite quickly that, Mommy and Daddy aren't together and that despite realizing that her mom was married to her uncle I think she will quickly appreciate the fact we told her because of her understanding personality. “

Daniel quickly leaned forward and spoke before the host could ask another question.

“The moral of the story is, don't sleep with your husband's brother. Especially when not using protection and then deciding to get back together with your husband before trying to force him to sign the divorce papers.”

The whole room suddenly echoed with loud laughter and I couldn't stop giggling myself despite being offended for my character. I hit his arm playfully. He grinned at me and rested his hand on my leg as the room calmed down and he slouched back in his chair a little.

“Very true. So, I mean he can always just compel a few dozen nannies but he does have Elijah there to help him co-parent you know not just with Sofia but with Hope. I'm thinking like shared schedules, late night feedings...Whose doing what ?”

“It’s like we both wake up and the baby is crying and it's like, are you going to get her or am I ? Alright, I'll get her.”

“Yeah no it's gonna be me. I'm gonna do the graveyard shift, I know that all to well. But we gotta remember too, Lily and Freya are going to be doing a large share of the work.”

“Oh yeah, they can do it. There you go.”

I giggled and hit Joseph in the shoulder for the comment.

“Sexist.”

“No, come on. Lily's already been through this twice she knows’ what she's doing and Freya's Switzerland at this moment in time, I think for both of us to be in there...I’m gonna stop talking.”

We all chuckled at Daniel's comment.

“Now we're going to go to audience questions in just a little bit but first I wanted to do something fun. I know it's not the holiday's and I know we don't have a big ass bonfire in front of us but I thought it would be quite fun if everybody kinda thinks about a wish for their character for the future, just throw it in the imaginary bonfire.”

“Well, I'm a human....so I just want to stay alive.”

“Good answer.”

“Oh I forgot you weren't a character.”

“I have wishes for everybody but I don't have a character.”

“I do wish for Julie that Supernatural Judge Judy becomes her next spin off and Exploding Ovaries is the title of Daniel Gillies' next memoir.

“A wish for Hayley would be that Hope can live a normal, happy existence. I think would be what she would want the most.”

“That’s very sweet.”

“Thank you. That's it, I'm done.”

“Uh, I think for Elijah...I mean other than wishing that his girlfriend's wouldn't be incinerated or his wife doesn't sleep with his brother again...”

I giggled at Daniel's comment, despite his comment towards my character and spoke with Joseph, simultaneously.

“Oh, come on.”

“I'm not letting that one go easily. So, uh...I would wish for him. Oh man. I wish for him, I’m actually wishing for something dark, like I sort of would wish for...a great division between the brothers before reconciliation.”

“So that's how it's going to be.”

“So, my wish for Lily is um...to finally find that bloody fertility spell that she's been looking for, for centuries. So that her and Elijah can have children of their own which they want more than anything and move somewhere outside of New Orleans in a nice family home, away from the drama.”

“That’s very sweet.”

“Uh, I wish everyone would just do what Klaus says because he's always right. He knows what he's doing. It's for the greater good. Come on. Get on board with his plans. Everything will be alright in the end. Not everyone will be alright in the end but everything will be alright in the end. Right ?”

“Um, I wish Marcel would cross over. No.”

“I wish for more of your cleavage.”

I couldn't help but laugh a little when he says comments like that. Even though it wasn't directed at me, I knew the double meaning behind it. Daniel has not taken his eyes away from my chest today. That's what breast feeding does to you, I suppose. When Daniel picked my outfit this morning, I was glad. I was going to wear some leather pants and a red blouse with some heels but he somehow convinced me to wear a dress. God was I glad, I actually listened to him. It was hot in San Diego summer heat and I underestimated a little when I decided on leather pants.

“Yeah. We gonna get some dollar bills. Let's see some ones. Tryna make some money out here. Somebody, put on some Usher. Slow jam. Uh yeah...”

“I have a twenty. What can we get for a twenty ?”

“Break it up. Break it up.”

“Make it into ones and let's make it rain.”

“If I throw loose change at you, can I make it hail ?”

“Alright, moving on. Next subject.”

“Um, Davina is a witch and I think it would be really cool if she could fly. So, whether it's a broomstick or something else...I still think it would be really cool.”

“That’s a good one. Um, mines pretty selfish. I hate shaving, so I wish we could work something in so Vincent could have like a huge beard.”

“I changed my mind, I want superpowers as well. Three one foot long, retractable adamantine claws from each hand please.”

”Why is the camera on me ? I wanna fly. I wanna see these guys fly. I want them charging up walls and...we don’t have the budget for that. I wanna see more vampirey stuff. Why am I wishing again ? I exhausted my wish.”

“You guys can make as many wishes as you want. This is your made up tradition.”

“It’s raining wishes on you.”

“Raining for your wishes.”

“God this is embarrassing.”

“T it up.”

“T what up ?”

“What do your need for a rain of wishes ?”

“What happens when it rains ?”

“An umbrella.”

“What ?”

“An umbrella, sweetheart.”

He closed his eye in frustration and dropped his upper half into my lap, whilst we all laughed at his slow mind.

“Oh shit. Umbrella. So sorry, so sorry.”

“The rain, the umbrella...”

“Dropping hints. Awesome, alright well let’s turn it over to some audience questions.”

“Hi, my name is Julia and first I'd like to say, I love you all. Especially Joseph Morgan and Danielle Campbell.”

“Thanks. Thanks a lot.”

“Don’t worry, I love you Daniel.”

He squeezes my thigh and leans in to kiss my head. Before deciding to move his arm around my shoulders and hugging me into his side. I rested my hand on his thigh as I hugged him back.

“I love you too, beautiful.”

I blushed and smiled, whilst the audience all awed. Which prompted the red in my cheeks to darken. I sat back up straight and he returned his hand back my thigh, yet this time a little higher up and whilst stroking the fabric of my dress up my thigh.

“My question is for the whole cast and it is, if you were able to play another role...who would you wanna play ?”

“On our show ? Or just in general ?”

“Yeah. On The Originals.”

“I..I think I would choose Hayley. The Hyrbid female. She's a pretty cool character. Your welcome.”

“Um, I would play...Klaus. Mind you probably better but...”

“I don't wanna play anybody else, I wanna play Elijah.”

“I would play, Elijah....purely because it would be an absolute blessing to wake up that hot everyday and he's a pretty awesome character.”

He smirked at me and moved his hand further up my leg, his fingers now resting at the hem of my white lace thong. I gulped a little but held my composure. It seemed hat every time I complimented him, he got further up my leg and closer to my core. Like a game...and I was more than happy to play.

“If...If I had to absolutely play someone else uh, I would play Oliver because I just think he needs to be brought back to the show...and uh #saveollie. Bring him back !”

“Uh, I would play Elijah because I think I look damn good in a suit.”

“Yeah, you do.”

“Buttoned up to the naval.”

“There we go. I know it's distracting for you, my body.”

“I cannot concentrate. I refuse to continue.”

“Um, I would play Genevieve. I thought she was a really cool character. She was a lot of fun to work with.”

“I see some Genevieve fans in the house, awesome.”

“Um, yeah I think I might choose Elijah too. I think uh, it's a really cool character that Daniel has created.”

“They both quietly believe they can bring more to the role, is what they’re saying. Not quietly, they're saying it to an audience of like three thousand.”

“Only because of what you've done with it Daniel.”

“Hi Guys, wow that's loud. I'm so sorry, my name's Marissa. First, I want to say Daniel I watched saving hope and your death killed me. I'm so sorry that you died.”

“Yeah, tell me about it ! I was gutted.”

He squeezed my thigh a little more and started making circles with his finger on the spot closed to my core.

“Oh my goodness.”

Yeah, oh my goodness indeed. He really knew how to make a woman feel good, without hardly doing anything...quite literally.

“Um, so my question is for Julie and Michael. Um, I was wondering...there’s so much violence on the show and so much adult stuff and I was wondering if the network or the studio has ever told you, 'No you can't do that’ ?”

We all started laughing in reply to the questions.

“Oh, we have a story about that don't we...Leah.”

“I don't wanna tell the story again.”

“There's things that we did that couldn't be shown.”

“So here's the thing about broadcast television is that, apparently you can decapitate someone, you can drive a knife into a vampires skull, you can rip out their heart, you can shove a pencil up their nose, you can stab them a million times with glass but when stimulating a sex scene...if there's any movement at all that one would define as thrusting...”

“No thrusting. Pull back on the thrusting.”

“A motion that originates from the hip.”

Charles decided to get up and share a demonstration of thrusting and everyone on stage started laughing and the audience started to scream. Daniel gripped my thigh a little harder, due to jealously. I didn't have to ask him what the reason was, I already knew. At the best of times, he was not a jealous person. He loves and trusts me and Charles a lot and he knows nothing would happen but when he's horny and in need of some attention...he does get jealous. Understandably so, I know because we both do. His pinky finger then started to stroke me, through the lace of my pants.

“It’s difficult because I don't actually remember thrusting being in the script. That was something the actors chose.”

“It was a creative choice. I mean, look at Charles...you would do the same thing. Also, let's not forget the originators of this little problem.”

The audience stayed silent, indicating that they weren't sure how to react to her last sentence. I leaned into Daniel and rested my forehead against his bicep in retaliation to Leah's comment. I couldn't stop giggling, despite the finger rubbing against my wet thong and the blush rising on my cheeks. Daniel was using his other hand to pinch his forehead, whilst chuckling.

“Come on guys, explain it.”

“So, what happened was we were doing the flashback sex scene of Elijah and Lily's wedding night. Daniel got a bit too excited and started to thrust a little and I tried hiding it by opening my legs a bit more.As I did, my underwear snapped because it wasn't as flexible as I thought. So, I had to pay a fine for showing too much skin because the sheets had come off of me a little and we hadn't realised. Not that it was much it was just a little side boob, still.”

“So, it wasn't the thrusting ?”

“No, ironically it wasn't.”

“Let me tell you. There was some excellent, simulated thrusting in those scenes. That was cut, per broadcast standards. While, I think in the same episode seventeen people got brutally massacred. It is what it is.”

“Some of the best thrusting. I hope it makes the special features.”

“Charles called Leah, for some extra rehearsal before hand.”

“Hi I'm uh Skylar. Um, I know that between you there has been a myriad of different supernatural creatures. Uh, Phoebe...I think you've been a werewolf, a witch and a mermaid. Uh, in really life...What would you wanna be ?”

“Well, I would say witches because witches don't have to turn on a full moon and they don't have to be like plagued by vampire...the demon’s of vampires. They can just have all the power and really cute outfits...and if I can look more like Danielle Campbell. I'll take it.”

“H20 rocks!”

“Thank you ! Well actually I-Im gonna say a mermaid then. Like, life is better under the sea and I think I would be a mermaid.”

“I don't know-"

“Merman ?”

“Merman. No, I...um. I'm pretty pervy...so I'd say like invisibility.”

“Um, so I'm not pervy at all unlike Daniel. I do think that Heretics are soooo cool though. Like, they can do magic and they are vampires but still have all those human capabilities...like procreation. So, yeah a heretic.”

His hand stopped stroking me through the lace of my panties suddenly and I instantaneously felt a cold gush of air race up my well-shaved legs and punching me in my core. I felt the frayed edges of my lace tickling my upper thigh, where they shouldn't be. Hinting that my favourite pair of thongs had been snapped. I turned to Daniel and narrowed my eyes at him whilst he just continued the panel, like nothing happened. His hand when back to it’s original position resting on my thigh, clearly in punishment for making a comment about his pervy answer.

“Nah, I'm happy where I am. You know, Hyrbid. Definitely not, invisibility. When I joined the show, I thought I was only gonna be a vampire so I was thrilled when I was a werewolf-vampire. I'm sticking to my guns.”

“I like being the token human. I'm just gonna like stay there. Create more mermen.”

“Season three, season of the mermen.”

“The next spin-off.”

“That would be so cool, let me be a mermaid. I would kill it .”

Joseph put his arm on the back of my chair, looking at me after I made my wish known to be a mermaid.

“You better not cum in the water.”

The entirety of the room ruptured into fits of laughter. Even Daniel, who had now moved his hand closer to my core again. Letting his fingers stroke my entrance. Meanwhile, I continued laughing...ignoring the feeling of my husband’s gentle and sensual touch.

“I’m blushing.”

“Hi, I'm Katie. If you were to go to Comic Con, on the floor. Is there anyone you would dress up as ?”

The first thought that came to mind was pleasing Daniel. If I said him there was no doubt he'd give in. The problem was, was it a risk I was willing to take...at a comic Con in front of three thousand fans and some of my closest friends.

“Daniel Gillies.”

Every one repeated my answer and whilst doing so I was discovering that I was unequivocally correct with my thought process. Sure enough, Daniel plunged his fingers straight into my entrance leaving me to deal with the resounding squeal that ripped from my throat. Causing Daniel to laugh at me, influencing Joseph to join in.

The final question had just been answered by Daniel and I was leaning my head into Daniel's shoulder to help with controlling the moans erupting inside me. The warmth in my stomach has just appeared as quickly as it vanished again, Daniel had stopped and chuckled at my irritated expression. Nevertheless, I got up and shoved my now broken thongs in Daniel's jacket pocket and waved at the fans with a bright smile on my face as we all walked off. We had just got out of the fan's eyesight when a hand delivered a hard slap to my barely covered assume cheek as this dress was so short. I span around and grabbed his wrist before dragging him further backstage, behind a screen next to the dressing rooms.

“What do you think your doing ? Playing around like that during a panel and then not even letting me finish ?!”

I didn't even let him reply as I dragged his face down towards mine and kissed him lustfully. His hands wandered down to my waist and clutched the already tight fabric tighter around me. The other unoccupied hand drove down to my ass and clutched it, allowing the skirt to rise up. Exposing the bare skin of my cheek. I used one of my hands to undo his zipper before pulling his dick out and stroking it. Clearly, he was eager because before I knew it. I was pressed up against the wall, sticking my tongue down his throat and moving myself up and down on his already hard cock. What we hadn't realised that the screen had moved, as Daniel had knocked it with his foot when walking to the wall. He pulled away and smirked at me.

“You told me we wouldn't have public sex after last time.”

“This is the last time Mr Gillies, I'm promising you.”

We smiled at eachother and kept going against the wall. His tip caused some tension when arriving to a depth he hadn’t before but it was a pleasurable one most definitely. The lips of my pussy enveloped his tip and he ran it through my drenched folds before deciding to plunge into me once again. I was about to scream and he knew I wasn’t good at being quiet when he fucks me so good. I clung onto him hoping it would relieve tha ache he’d created by filling me so good. He sat down on a chair that was sat in a chair of the little area backstage. Sitting down, allowed his thrusts to speed up rapidly and his face to rest in between my smooth and nearly covered beasts. He bit my hardened buds through my dress and caused a shive of please to shoot down to my core and promoting me to burst.

I then decided to let go and couldn’t help but let out a gratifying scream for him. I was coming down from my high and the screen pulled back. A man that looked about 40, eyed us disgusted and told us to move it.

“Well atleast I won the deal ?”

“Remember the deal we had ? If I was right about is having sex in public again no matter how much you denied that we wouldn’t. Your were very adamant.#

MASTERLIST

#imagines #the vampire diaries #the originals #to imagine #tvd imagine #tvd #the originals imagines #elijah mikaelson #daniel gillies x reader #daniel gillies has ruined me #daniel gillies smut

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fanfics4all · 3 years

Text

Lioness And Her Lion

Request: Yes / No So the reader is Daryl’s younger sister and with soulmate marks Glenn and the Reader each have half of a tattoo please? any season is @julia-potter626

Requests are closed <3 Have a nice day/night

Glenn Rhee x Fem!Dixion!Reader

Word count: 2645

Warnings: Nothing really I think

Y/N: Your Name

PLEASE DO NOT STEAL MY WORK, I WORK HARD ON MY FICS AND IT’S NOT COOL TO STEAL SOMEONE ELSE’S WORK!

If you want to be on the tag list for anything (My series fics, specific character fics, or just all of them) All you have to do is send me an ask and I will add you!

Masterlist

(Not my photo, credit to whoever made it!)

My two older brothers taught me all about soulmates when I was growing up. They each had a different tattoo. Merle’s was a deer on his hand while Daryl had a really pretty cherokee rose with two arrows.

They each got theirs when they were fifteen, so when it was my turn I was so excited to see what I would get! As soon as I blew out my candles I searched my body for the new tattoo. I found it quickly on my arm and smiled.

“That’s pretty badass, little lady.” Daryl said with a smile.

“I don’t know little lamb, seems you’re stuck with some asshole.” Merle said and Daryl smacked him.

“Fuck off, don’t scare her.” Daryl growled and I rolled my eyes at my brothers.

“Can you two please not fucking fight on my birthday?” I groaned. They always seemed to be at each other’s throats, but I was the only thing that seemed to bring them together. If anyone ever messed with me they would come together and take care of the problem. After I got my tattoo, they seemed to be extra protective of me. So when the world ended they took me with them and made sure I was always safe.

A month into the apocalypse, I had become really depressed. I gave up hope of ever finding my soulmate and my brothers noticed how crushed I was. Daryl always tried to keep my mind off it, or tell me that my person was still out there, but it was just so hard to believe that with the way things were going. It was especially hard to believe his words when I had Merle telling me that he was wrong and I should just give up like he did. Eventually the three of us found a group and joined them in surviving. Daryl had met his soulmate Carol, which went roughly, but turned out alright in the end. Merle had turned into more of a druggie and Daryl kept me away from him. I was honestly distant from everyone in the group. I was still so broken up about never finding my soulmate that I would just spend most of the time in my tent or out hunting with Daryl.

One day I was sitting alone in my tent, just staring at my lioness tattoo. That's really how I spent a lot of my time. How could something so beautiful bring me so much pain?

“Hey! Y/N!” I heard Daryl call for me. I sighed and pulled down my sleeve, then made my way outside.

“What is it bubba?” I asked, walking over to him. I noticed he was standing with one of the guys in the group, Glenn I’m pretty sure his name is?

“What did I tell ya about using that damn nickname around other people?” He growled and I rolled my eyes.

“Get over it. If you can call me little lady around everyone then I can call you bubba.” I said crossing my arms and he sighed.

“Whatever. Kid, show her your arm.” He said to Glenn.

“Uh, alright?” He said and extended his arm towards me. My eyes widened and I looked down at my covered arm.

“D-Do you think?” I whispered and looked up at my brother for confirmation.

“Only one way to find out.” He said and I pulled my sleeve up. I placed my arm next to his and our tattoos started to glow softly. Both our eyes widened and we looked into each other’s eyes.

“It’s you…” We whispered at the same time.

“Told ya you’d find him.” Daryl said and I smiled.

“But, if you even think about hurtin her, you’re gonna deal with me!” Daryl threatened and I groaned.

“Way to ruin the moment!” I said and my brother shrugged, but walked off.

“I was honestly starting to lose hope.” Glenn said, making me look back at him.

“I already lost hope, that’s why I’ve been so distant.” I blushed. Glenn placed his hand on my cheek, making me look into his brown eyes.

“You don’t ever have to worry about losing me.” He said and I smiled.

“I really hope so.” I replied.

Our group had grown, which meant we needed a bigger place to keep everyone. We had found a prison that we were all living in, it was a nice little community. Everything was great, until the Governor attacked us with a tank. I was grabbed by Maggie during the attack and she helped me get to safety, along with Sasha and Bob. I had no idea where Daryl or Glenn were, and I had no idea if either of them were safe or dead. The four of us were in the fog and walkers were growling all around us. We all stood back to back killing any walker that made their way to us. It was hard and I was almost bit, but Sasha shot it.

“You ready?” Maggie asked once we were all safe and recovered from the attack.

“We should wait till the fog clears.” Sasha said.

“We’ve been waiting a while.” Maggie said.

“You see all this? We got lucky. We need visibility. And we’ve got six bullets left.” She sighed.

“She’s right. We’ve been doing good following the plan. No need to get sloppy now.” Bob said and I rolled my eyes.

“I am a tracker, I could just lead us away from the walkers.” I pointed out.

“No, if we don’t keep you safe Daryl will have all our heads on spikes.” Sasha said and I sighed.

“Glenn wouldn’t be too happy either.” Maggie said and I nodded.

“Fine, whatever.” I said as Maggie pulled out a compass.

“What is it?” Sasha asked. Maggie tossed it to her and sighed.

“It’s broken.” She said and Sasha sighed in defeat.

“We don’t need it. Sun comes up in the east, sets in the west. We’ll keep an eye on it in between. We’ll be fine, right Y/N?” Bob asked and I gave a small smile.

“Yeah, we’ll be fine.” I agreed. The two women didn’t seem too convinced, but didn’t say anything.

Once the fog cleared we all headed out. We found some tracks and I sign that read.

‘Sanctuary for all community for all those who arrive survive Terminus.’

“Terminus. When we were out on the run to the veterinary college, we heard a message about this on the radio.” Bob said.

“They were broadcasting?” Maggie asked.

“What did it say?” Sasha asked.

“Couldn’t make it out. I only know because I’m seeing it now. “Those who arrive survive.”” He answered.

“We should go.” I said. Maybe Daryl and Glenn are there.

“I thought we were looking for your brother and Glenn.” Sasha said.

“What if they saw one of these? They would go looking for me looking for them.” I said and Sasha sighed.

“Look at this map. All these tracks from different directions, all leading to the same place!” I said with a smile.

“It’s far. And we don’t know if there are other signs.” Sasha said, thinking with her brain rather than her heart.

“You don’t think this is the only one?” Maggie asked and I smiled slightly.

“This is the best lead we’ve had so far. It says sanctuary. That’s just another reason to try. Others from the prison could be there. Tyreese.” Bob tried convincing Sasha.

“If it sounds too good to be true… Maybe if Glenn or Daryl saw one of these, maybe they’d feel the same way.” She said.

“Glenn wouldn’t. He’d believe, I know it.” I said.

“And Daryl?” Sasha asked and I sighed.

“Daryl would probably agree with you.” I answered and she nodded.

“Look, what do you want to do, Sasha? Keep making these circles from the bus? Or are you talking about us starting to do something else?” Bob asked and she looked at him.

“We’re not splitting up. That can’t happen. You want to take a vote or something?” He suggested.

“We don’t need to vote.” She said and walked away. I smiled at the other two and followed behind them.

After a while we set up camp in the woods nearby. Bob and Sasha stayed at the little camp while Maggie and I went to get firewood. Maggie had become the older sister I’ve always wanted. When we first met, she had become protective of me almost instantly, said I reminded her of herself when she was my age.

“Sasha isn’t gonna go through with it ya know.” I said with a sigh.

“Yeah, I know.” She also sighed.

“I’m goin’ with or without them.” I said and she gave me a small smile.

“Then I am too. I promised your brother and Glenn that I’d keep you safe.” My eyes widened.

“Really? You’d risk everything for me?” She nodded with a smile.

“Of course, I need to see my sister too.” She said and I nodded.

We decided we weren’t gonna actually tell them we were leaving. Instead, while the two of them were asleep, we left a note.

‘Don’t risk your lives 4 me good luck’

The two of us were off to Terminus. Trying to find anyone from the prison. Our siblings, my soulmate. We followed the tracks and ended up finding another sign. We ran up to it and I went to write on the box it was on, but a walker growled behind me.

“I got it.” Maggie said, but I stopped her.

“No, I got this.” I said with a smile. I walked up and kicked it in the knee, then stabbed it in the head. I cut its stomach open and used some blood to write on the box.

‘Glenn and Daryl go to Terminus Y/N, Maggie’

Maggie gave me a smile and nodded for us to continue. She handed me a rag and I cleaned the walker blood off.

“That was a smart idea.” She said and I smiled slightly.

“Thanks, Daryl taught me use what you got.” I said and she chuckled.

“Smart man your brother is.” She said and I nodded.

“It came in handy when the world ended.” I said and she sighed.

“The worlds not over.” I looked at her confused.

“What’d you mean?” She smiled.

“The worlds over when all the good people are gone.” She said and I thought about that for a moment. Maybe she was right.

When we passed another building with a walker near it I did the same thing.

‘Glenn and Daryl go to Terminus Y/N, Maggie’

I needed to leave a trail. I needed to be with them again. I needed to know they were alright. Not knowing anything was killing me, more than anything that’s happened before. I refused to believe either of them were dead. But I had to be strong like Daryl and even Merle taught me. Dixions were strong right till the very end.

Maggie and I reached a town. The two of us decided to see if we could find anything. It was abandoned like most places were nowadays. There ain't nothin’ safe out there anymore. Terminus might not even be safe, but it could be safe enough for a while. Maggie might have wanted to look for supplies, but I needed to find another walker.

“We need to rest for a bit.” Maggie said and I sighed, knowing she was right.

“Ain’t nothin’ looks safe enough.” I pointed out and she gave me a small smirk.

“We got walker blood all over us, we could just lay in the small pile over there and blend in.” She said and I thought she was crazy, but it was the best idea we had. So, the two of us laid down and rested for a bit.

We woke up to a sudden crash and walkers coming out from all their hiding spots. Maggie grabbed me and we went to grab some weapons. Maggie grabbed a sign and I pulled my bow from my back. We heard someone else fighting them and found Sasha on top of a car. The two of us joined in the fight.

“Where’s Bob?” Maggie asked.

“Out looking for you two.” Sasha answered.

“What are you here?”

“Supplies and rest.” Maggie answered and I bit my lip.

“I was looking for another walker.” I said and Maggie looked at me with slightly wide eyes.

“Obviously, we found more than I wanted…” I blushed slightly in embarrassment.

“Y/N, we didn’t need to go into town to leave another message.” Maggie said, grabbing my shoulders.

“I know, but what if they came through here before they saw any of those damn messages! I gotta leave as many as I can!” I said and She sighed.

“We’ll find them.” Sasha said and we both looked at her.

“We can make it there.” Maggie said.

“I know, so let’s find Bob and let’s make it there.” She said and I smiled.

It really wasn’t that long before we found him. All we had to do was follow the tracks, but at a faster pace. We saw him walking along the tracks and we all smiled.

“Bob.” Sasha called and turned to face us. He smiled and the three of us hugged him. After the short reunion we followed the tracks to another sign.

‘Glenn and Daryl go to Terminus Y/N, Maggie, Sasha, Bob’

We walked a while and made it to a tunnel. Another perfect spot for a message.

‘Glenn and Daryl go to Terminus Y/N, Maggie, Bob, Sasha’

We all tried goin’ through the tunnel, but we heard walkers. We couldn’t go through. We had to go around, I only hoped my boys would do the same. During our trip we found some people in a car. They had been with Glenn! We all heard shooting from inside the tunnel and quickly drove in.

“Get down!” Abraham shouted. Each of us took aim with our guns and killed the small hoard of walkers. When they were all dead I walked up to Glenn and hugged him crying.

“Oh my God.” He whispered. We pulled apart and I kissed him more than once.

“Hi.” I whispered.

“Hi.” He whispered back. My heart felt fuller than it did before and we kissed again.

All of us were clearing the walkers to the side, deciding to stay the night here.

“God, you are so beautiful.” Glenn said after we just dropped a walker on the ground. I smiled and laughed. He was adorable as ever.

“How’d it go?” Glenn asked Rosita as she walked back with the girl Glenn had been protecting.

“End of the tunnel’s secure. If anything tries to come in, we’ll hear it in plenty of time.

“We ain’t get to officially meet.” I said to the girl.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Tara, this is Y/N. Y/N, Tara.” Glenn said and she shook my hand.

“Hi.” She said.

“Hi.” I replied.

“He’s a big fan of yours.” She said and Glenn gave a small chuckle.

“I met Tara on the road. Couldn’t have made it here without her.” He said and I pulled her in for a hug.

“Thank you.” I said.

“When she heard what I was doing, she said she had to help me. She’s just that kind of person.” He said, smiling at her. If it was any other situation I would probably be jealous, but he was my soulmate and based on what she said, he talked about me a lot. Glenn grabbed my hand and I pulled him in for another kiss. My other half was back and I felt happy for the first time since the prison. Now all I needed was Daryl and my world would be perfect once again. But for right now, this was enough.

Tag list: @les-bio-lie @tashy-bear @ashwarren32 @hollie-blogs-blog1 @schisbro87 @lover-of-books-and-teas @nerdygaloresposts @teenwolfbitches2 @genius2050 @drw0301bieber @lady-of-lies @ravenmoore14 @ravenempress101 @cillianchamp @rowanthomasknapp @rachelxwayne @lover2448

#The Walking Dead #the walking dead imagine #glenn rhee #glenn x reader #glenn x fem!reader #glenn rhee x reader #glenn rhee x fem!reader #glenn x dixion!reader #glenn rhee x dixion!reader #daryl dixon #daryl dixion x sister!reader #daryl x sister!reader #fanfic #request #soulmate #soulmate au #soulmate tattoo au #the walking dead soulmate au

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jeromesxreader16 · 3 years

Text

Such a Joker (53)

Part 52 Here!

~o0o~

I pack two sandwiches in my purse and proceed to cover my hair with the large silk scarf. "Where are you sneaking off to?" Babs asks walking past me and downing a drink. "Secret date? I figured you would get sick of the pale faced clown." I smile at my hands. I could never tire of my boy. I'm as crazy as him, maybe more, but he would never turn me away, and I could never leave him.

"I'm married." "Even better." I narrow my eyes at her. "Babs, I'm going to see my dad." She widens her eyes. "Now you're asking for a death wish." I walk out the door, my heels clicking every step. "If you say so."

I walk into the GCPD and can sense the chaos and tension thickly canned in the air. Not seconds later two individuals start brawling over bread. "Hey! Break it up!" My father pushes them back. "For all the new people here... everyone is welcome in Haven, but there are rules. And one of them is we leave the fighting outside. Government already thinks we don't deserve help. We have to show otherwise. Gangs want to tear themselves apart outside, that's their business. In here, in Haven... we help each other survive." I hum with a slick smile as the two dispute the issue and the tension falls. Saved for another day.

I walk up to him nudging his arm. "Nice speech. I think it worked." He turns to me and gasps, but recovers quickly. "(Y/n). You're so big. No... Just-" "Pregnant, dad." He nods smiling. "So what happens when they find out the government abandoned them?" He sighs, shaking his head. I pat his back. "Come on paper man. You need some real food." I pull him into his office and remove the disguise. "Italian sub for you, and tuna for me." "You hate tuna." I smile sitting down. "They don't." I pat my swollen tummy. "So there are two of them?" I nod smiling.

"And you're happy? He treats you well?" I nod again smiling at him. "Of course he does. He's not a monster, dad." He grabs my hand over the desk and squeezes it. "I don't... like him. You know this. He destroyed the damn city for christ's sake, but he is the father of my grandchildren, and the husband of my only daughter, so I can promise you... I will never kill him." I kiss his hand and smile. "Who knew that'd be so comforting to hear."

I walk into the elevator with the smile ghosted over my lips. Crackling from the speaker erupts my mind causing me to shake and grab the wall in fright. "Aw, honey, I'm sorry." Ecco's voice pipes up from the speaker. I wave my hand in front of the camera with a smile. "No worries. All good here." I laugh placing a hand on my stomach. "Where is Jerimiah?" "Working down below. Would you like me to get him?" I smile up at the camera. "Let me go down."

"Uh... Miss, I think we should wait. He doesn't want you around the-" I press the button to the bottom floor faster than light. "Oops," I smirk up to Ecco as the elevator skips the main floor and descends below.

The two doors slide open revealing a steamed room with the funk of hard labor. I step on the uneven ground and see Jerimiah fanning himself as he watches his workers. I rest my hands on his shoulders and kiss his cheek. "You're working hard." He spins around with a glare. "And you're not supposed to be here." He grips my hips pulling me towards him.

"I missed you." I nuzzle into his chest. He hums as we rock back and forth. "I missed you, my love. Come on. No lady should be exposed to this heat." He places his hand on the small of my back leading me to the elevator.

Holding me the entire way up and then carrying me to our bed, never letting us go. "Are my darlings all suggled up?" He asks resting my head on his chest. The icy colored flesh proving wrong to the touch of fire on my fingers. "Yes, Jer." I mumble feeling my eyes draw to a close. "Never will I go a day without my family... even your father." He kisses my head before I can ask the question.

Jeremiah POV:

My workers work endlessly day and night to break the walls of the under the earth. Slowing down each day, getting on my nerves in the end. You're pushing my men way too hard. "We're not gonna break through for at least a couple more days. There is absolutely no way to make it on schedule." The leader of the pack of sweat cogs comes in.

My wife doesn't need to be kept in this filth any longer. How dare he disrespect my future. "Well, not with that attitude, you're not." I slice the man's throat, as he falls to the ground, blood flowing on the dirt.

"Now... everyone... let's reach inside and dig... a little deeper, shall we? 'Cause that's the only way you're all making it out of this hole." I hum watching their fear thicken.

Two taps on my shoulder break my gaze from the project. "Oh, Echo. Are these all the recruits?" Skinny, no brains, slim Whitted. These are my soldiers?

"Well, I thought you would want quality over quantity. Not everybody can pass a .38 caliber test of faith." I smirk thinking of the trials and tests they've suffered. "Yes... you certainly have set a very high bar for devotion."

"Oh. Almost forgot. Bruce Wayne and his sidekick Curls... Or is he the sidekick? Anyway, they tried to infiltrate our little operation here."

"Oh?" " Oh. And Curls can walk, really well, especially... for a paraplegic. Ah. And she wants to kill you." I glare at her with a snarl. This doesn't help that my wife is being cared for in the same building.

"A lot, FYI. If I see her, I'll give you a shout. Oh... and kill her." I nod rolling my eyes. Finish the job and move on for the better of my wife and children.

I walk into the GCPD questioning room with my scarf wrapped around my head, and my belly protruding out. Quite the look I must say. I open the door to see Victor Zsasz pushed on to the table by Harvey.

"Ow. This is a really nice table." I snicker and take my glasses off. "You do realize her thrives on the pain." The three pairs of eyes look at me. "We got a dozen witnesses that saw you walk out of that building before it went kabooey."

"Yeah. I heard some gangs had taken over." Zsasz says turning his eyes to me. "Figured, with you guys occupied, I might help myself to some of your supplies. Hey, do you guys have any canned peaches? Man, I'd trade an arm and a leg for that right now. Not mine, somebody else's. Maybe little baby Maniax's." He laughs reaching for my stomach before Jim swats his arm down.

"If you're innocent, why shoot up a city block full of cops?"

"Because it was full of cops." Zsasz and I say at the same time.

"Who were also trying to shoot me. And, guys, those were warning shots. I mean, if I really

wanted to kill you... you'd be dead. You got a pen? I want to write this guy a thank-you letter. Do the math. If I blew up a building full of people, I would have covered

every inch of my body in sweet, sweet scars. Mrs. Valeska... want to do a strip search?" He winks before my father punches him. "She's married, pig."

I lock arms with my dad and walk through the station. "Got Lucius on the horn for you, Cap."

"Lucius, talk to me." I grab the phone holding it close enough for the both of us to hear. "Haven wasn't destroyed by a bomb. It was an RPG, like the one that took down the chopper."

"You sure?"

I'm holding what's left of it in my hand right now. We found pieces of it in the rubble. It was fired through the basement window, detonated the fuel oil tank. And we're still trying to figure out exactly which rooftop it was fired from.

"Rooftop?"

"Yes."

"Dad, the only angle you could hit this place from is above. Zsasz was on the ground. Looks like you need a new suspect. I think we need to-"

"Jim! Ah. I know the wheels of justice turn slowly, so I'm here to provide- a modicum of grease."

Rushing up towards the front, Oswald, the Mayor of fallen Gotham, stands tall and proud.

"You need to leave right now."

"Still claiming he's innocent, is he?"

"Yes. And as much as I hate to admit it, the evidence is backing him up."

Harvey busts out, "What the hell's going on?" "Harvey, according to Lucius, Zsasz couldn't have done it."

Oswald huffs with a smile. "I did not expect you to go soft, Jim. Actually, I did. Behind a grandpa and all must've changed your ways. Which is why I didn't come alone." Several gunmen come out armed and ready to fire. My father huddles me close and shields me from the view of guns.

"Bring me Victor Zsasz!"

"Leave, (Y/n). Go home!" Jim pushes me away towards the doors.

Jeremiah POV:

I wave my hat fanning my pale skin placed upon the crippling bones. It's so damp and hot in here, but I'm freezing. My heart has gone cold without her scent around. Not a touch, not a wiff, not a glace for days it seems. Where is my angel with my bundles of joy?

"You see, a river cuts through rock not because of its power, but because of its persistence. So what do we do when we feel like giving up? Dig a little deeper. And what do we do when we can't possibly go on any longer? Dig a little deeper. And what do we..." A sharp blade stabs into my side crippling my speech. I look down seeing the masked figure in the striped coat. I gasp feeling my footing slide as the attacker shoves the blade into my stomach further.

"Deep enough?" The individual removes the mask revealing the little pussy of them all. "Well, Selina, I must say..." She pulls the blade out plunging it back in sharply.

"Don't say anything." Over and over again the blade is shoved into my side. The light dimming, the hot steam hitting my brow, the devilish laughter of my brother. This is near my end? Maybe so...

"Selina!" The rat is stripped away from me causing me to fall to the ground barely clinging to the life of happiness I have.

"Selina!" Bruce Wayne holds the fierce kitty back. "Stop. It's done! It's over."

The building is quiet. The entire place is quiet... Not one swing of an ax hitting limestone, making a light clink sound. Not the ring of my husbands voice calling to his men. Not even Echo meeting me at the door with my slippers and milkshake. Something is not right.

"Jeremiah?" I call out as if he could hear me from below. If not him then someone. One of the members at least, but no one came. I proceeded to enter the elevator only to see blood on the buttons and floor. They were having the graduation today, not everyone makes it.

The doors open to the pool room and I could almost drop to my knees at the smell. Thick scent of blood coating the walls. I walk out of the elevator and down into the pool counting the dead. No Echo or Jeremiah. Good so far.

I make my way down to the tunnels where silence has taken over. Just a simple lone man sitting in a chair. "Where is Jermiah?" I panic pulling my jacket closer. Could he have left me?

"Mrs. Valaska!" "Where is my husband?" "He's off in the tunnels. He's got injured. I'm supposed to take you to him." "Well, go on!" He shuffles his feet in a pace of nervousness, tripping over rocks and pickaxes. "How did he get hurt?" "Someone came in and just stabbed the boss. She was taken away by Bruce Wayne." I feel fire ignite in my blood. Selina and Bruce. What a treat. Trying to kill my husband in my own home.

Down the tunnels I hear him. Groaning in pain as Echo stitches him up. "How could you let this happen?" I shout at her. "She was fast." "And you're supposed to be faster." I glare at her as she cowers at my words.

"Don't stress, darling. It's not good for the babies."

"Jeremiah." I kneel down next to him grabbing his face. "Are you alright?" He places his hands over mine, kissing them each. "I'm still alive. One thing I've still got on my brother. How are you, my love? I'm sorry. You must've been wrecked with worry." Jeremiah pulls me into his lap. I nod with my bottom lip out. "Yes, I was. I was so scared, Jer." He pulls me to him. "Aw my darling. I know. I know."

I shift my weight slightly causing him to jet in a sharp inhale. "Oh, honey. Stitches still sore?" He nods. "Never would have happened if you wore that armor I prepared." Echo hums, causing me to roll my eyes. "That bullet makes you sentimental of the wrong things." I huff out pushing her out of the view.

"Why would you not check who was working? You always do. You're always prepared." Jeremiah places his hand on my cheek again. "I had to let Selina thrust the knife into my flesh at least once. Verisimilitude trumps precaution, you see." "They think you're dead." I think putting everything together.

Echo stands to the side bouncing with information. "What is it?" She giggles jumping on her heels. "All systems go." Jeremiah lifts himself, placing a hand on the small of my back and leading us along behind Echo.

"You could've died." I whisper looking at the dirt. "I didn't." "But you could have, Jeremiah. That's my point. You have two children growing, and soon they'll be out in this world. They need their father. You've kept me safely away, but that won't mean shit if you're not around to protect your children." I move ahead of him in a fit of fire.

A hand grabs my shoulder spinning me around. Jerehimah dips me and pushes our lips together. His grip on my arm and hip so tight, keeping me pulled to him with no fight. He pulls away only an inch, looking at my eyes, looking into the soul. "Now, you may not understand everything I do, but I do it for you and these two kids. I think and I plan for hours. You sit up in the bed resting your feet like I tell you. When you start questioning if I'm going to make it, that's when this will fall apart. You're my darling. You've been mine for thousands of years. Never doubt me, (Y/n)." He places his hands on my stomach and pecks my forehead. "Come along now. We have things to do."

Leading me through the tunnels I start to see less of the dirt and more solid grey rock already formed into tunnels. "Where are we?" Jeremiah giggles pulling me alongside.

"Doctor. I'm hearing good things." Jeremiah says holding in laughter.

What is he up to?

The Doctor nods. "The bandages are ready to come off. Your assistant thought you'd like to see the results." Echo shakes her head in praise like a dog while Jer nods his head. "Indeed, I would."

He turns to me. "You won't want to miss this, (y/n)."

The Doctor unravels the bandages on the individuals faces revealing a profile built from professional lifestyle and diets. This is Thomas and Martha Wayne before my eyes... ALIVE!

"Oh, you two look beautiful." I smile looking down at her pearl necklace. "Down to the very detail with you." Jeremiah kisses my cheek. "I love family reunions, don't you?" "More than Christmas!" I cheer and giggle.

#jerome #jerome x reader #jerome valeska #jerome valeska imagine #jerome valeska x reader #jeremiah valeska imagine #jeremiah valeska x reader #jerome valeska smut #Gotham #Gotham City #gotham cast

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