#but like fates and three houses and three hopes got really far away from the fe standard I think | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

builtbybrokenbells · 1 year

Text

Spitfire | ii

Jake falls for an enigmatic girl at the bar, but she gets away before he could get her number. Although a bit heartbroken, he continues on with life anyhow. He discovers a local coffee shop that adorns fantastic reviews, but doesn’t realize it’s the ‘spitfire’s’ long time favourite. He thinks that maybe fate is at play after all.

Read part one here

Read part three here

Pairing: jake kiszka x f!reader

Word Count: 8k

Warnings: swearing, mentions of a physical fight, mentions of cheating and bad past relationships, deep convo that’s slightly sad, mentions of drinking, fluff, getting to know each other esque cuteness. I think that’s it, nothing too heavy!

hi! im really liking writing this so far, sorry it took me a little while to get this chapter out. im recovering from quite the sickness atm. i think this is turning into quite a slowburn little story. im so down bad for domesticity and romance, also just absolutely feral for Jake in general. hope you enjoy, and as always don’t mind any grammar mistakes and please be kind!! 🫶🏻

The small coffee shop was crowded, busy with hungover university go-ers and old couples on their weekly outings. Late morning on a Sunday was the worst time to go to a cafe, but they were the best cure for a hangover. Jake had scoured the internet for the best rated store that was within walking distance. Now, he stood in line, absentmindedly staring at the menu. He was still caught up in the memories of the night prior, unable to stop thinking about the girl he’d met at the bar. Once his brothers got him back to the hotel, he’d found it almost impossible to sleep. He’d stared at his phone all night, searching your first name on every social media he owned. Turns out, there were a lot of girls with the same name as you. That, or you didn’t have a very large internet presence. He was left empty-handed and dejected, wondering if he’d ever see you again.

When you’d returned home, little to his knowledge, you’d done the same. It wasn’t very hard to find him, though. All it took was a little search of nearby concerts to find the name of his band, and from there it was easy as pie. You had his account open on your Instagram all day, staring at it with your finger hovering over the follow button. You wished you could just get over yourself and follow him. For all you knew, he wouldn’t even notice the notification. Still, you were on the fence about him. Sure, he was attractive, seemed nice enough, and wasn’t disrespectful, but the possibility of him turning out to be an asshole was still very real. The possibility of him turning out to be a distraction was even larger.

So, you kept his page open in the background on your phone while you threw a sweater on. You then shoved your phone in your pocket, ignoring the incessant nagging in the back of your mind. You were certain you could forget about him within a few days. You convinced yourself that you were only so fixated on him because it was new and exciting. The novelty would wear off soon enough.

You slipped on some shoes, throwing your hair back in a bun and walked out the front door of your house. When you got outside, you took a look at your hand, which was bruised from the night before. You smiled at the memory, knowing that your ex had gotten what he deserved. The ache in your knuckles was tolerable if it meant he’d finally leave you alone. You set off down the street, barely looking at the people who walked past you. When you turned the corner, a strip of local owned business came into sight. It was bustling, much busier than usual for a regular Sunday. You smiled to yourself, passing by a record store you’d frequented. The owner was sitting in the window by the register. You gave a small knock on the glass, catching his attention. Once he’d recognized you, he gave a wave.

You mouthed that you’d see him later, making a point to remember to stop before you went home. He gave a thumbs up before you disappeared from the window. You continued on your walk with your main objective never leaving your mind. Eventually, you reached the front of a familiar building, peering inside and seeing it was very crowded. As you reached for the handle of the door to your favourite cafe, your phone started to ring. You pulled it out of your pocket, seeing one of your brother’s names pop up on your screen. You put the phone to your ear after accepting the call. “What?”

“Oh, yeah, nice to hear your voice, too.” The sarcasm was laced in his words. You chuckled.

“No really, what’s up?” You stepped inside the building, immediately filling the phone with background chatter.

“Where are you, the middle of a fucking madhouse?”

“Coffee shop.” You responded, getting into line.

“Recovering from last night?” He questioned with a knowing tone.

“How do you know about last night, Sam?” You pulled your wallet out of your pocket, checking to make sure you’d picked up the right one before you left.

“Little birdie told me,” he sing-songed. You were certain Eve had already texted him and told him. She was nothing short of hopelessly in love with him, and he with her. They’d clicked instantly when they met. If not for the distance between where they lived, you were sure they’d be married with six kids already. She’d never admit it, but you knew how often they talked. If anything, you thought it was sweet. “What did I tell you about getting into fist fights with grown men?”

“Oh, shut up.” You rolled your eyes. “He deserved it.”

“Yeah no doubt about that, but that doesn’t mean you should pick fights with notoriously aggressive people. A man, at that.” Your phone vibrated against your head. You pulled it back to see he was FaceTiming you. You grabbed your headphones from your pocket, slipping one in your ear and accepting the video. When it connected, his face was uncomfortably close to the camera.

“Are you trying to say men are stronger than women?” You raised an eyebrow.

“No, I’m saying he’s twice your size and is crazy enough to kill you.” He pulled his phone back, letting you get the full view of his face.

“Is that Alex?” You asked, noticing a figure sitting on his couch behind him, hopefully changing the topic for good. He moved so you could see the sofa. “Brother!” You exclaimed. He turned his head to look at the camera. He immediately waved, a smile crossing his face.

“So you’re excited to see him, but not me?” Sam feigned a look of hurt, sitting next to your eldest brother.

“Yeah, pretty much.” You laughed. “He’s my favourite.”

“You’re my favourite too, squirt!” Alex was clearly high, Xbox controller in his hand and a bowl of cereal on his lap in front of him.

“Thanks, guys.” Sam scoffed, setting his phone up on the coffee table, already tired of holding it up.

“Are you guys stoned at eight in the morning?” You asked, barely being able to control your giggles.

“It’s the weekend, baby. Time doesn’t exist.” Alex stated, giving a lazy smile. “When are you coming home?”

“You guys could always come visit me!” You exclaimed, checking to see how far the line had progressed. The two muttered an agreement, but didn’t give a straight answer. You knew they would; at least twice a year all of your brothers flew out to stay for a while, but it was hard to coordinate. Five schedules aligning was not easy in the adult world. “I’ve got four exams and three essays to do in the next two weeks. After that, I’ll come home to visit for a little while.” You assured him. As much as they got on your nerves growing up, they were, without a doubt, your best friends in the whole world.

“If she doesn’t get herself killed.” Sam interjected.

“Yeah, I heard about that, Squirt.” Alex said, now putting his focus fully on you. “I know we taught you how to fight, but you can’t put yourself in danger. You seem to be getting into fights every time you go out.” There it was; the concerned older brother act.

“Yeah, whatever. I was perfectly fine. He’s a little bitch, anyway. Hopefully he takes the hint this time.” You stepped forward, realizing you were next in line. “Listen, I’ll call you guys later. I’ve got to order.” You told them. A look of sadness crossed their faces. You felt guilty, knowing you had been neglecting them lately. “I love you both. I promise I’ll call tonight before bed.”

“Okay, I’ll hold you to it.” Alex pointed at the camera, a stern look on his face. You chuckled. “We love you too.”

“Try not to punch the barista if they get your order wrong.” Sam snickered.

“Fuck you, Sam.” You couldn’t help but smile while you said it. “You’re still my least favourite.” This time, your voice caught the attention of someone ahead of you that was waiting for their order. He looked over, catching sight of you smiling down at your phone. He was shocked, blinking hard and wondering if he was just imagining you standing in line. When his eyes refocused and you were still there, his heart sped.

“Love you!” Sam exclaimed just as you ended the call. You shoved your phone back in your pocket, taking out your earbud.

“Who’s Sam?” A low voice sounded from in front of you. You looked up, eyes wide at the sudden interaction. A smirk was adorned on a set of lips that you hadn’t been able to get out of your head all morning.

“Jake?” You whispered, not believing you’d ran into him.

“We meet again, witchy woman.” His smile was wide, teeth showing and eyes crinkled.

“You really must be following me, rockstar.” You couldn’t bite back the grin that was growing.

“I was here first, so I think, if anything, you’re the one following me.” He teased.

“If that’s what you’d like to believe, I’ll let it slide.” You both gave a small chuckle. Silence ensued only for a second before he spoke again.

“Seems like fate really wants us to get to know each other.” You took in the sight of him, light wash jeans and plain grey t-shirt, sunglasses low on his nose. Somehow, he was still just as attractive as he was the night prior, proving the liquor wasn’t skewing your opinion. “So, is this Sam some competition for me?” He asked. You let out a little laugh, shaking your head.

“He’s my younger brother. No need to worry, rockstar.” He cocked his head to the side, a noise of humour falling from him.

“I’ve got a younger brother named Sam, too.” His eyes scanned your face, making you a bit nervous. You definitely weren’t wearing your best attire, but he still seemed to look at you like you were the prettiest girl he’d ever seen.

“Small world, huh?” You breathed.

“Very,” the conversation was interrupted by the cashier calling you over. Jake turned, looking at the worker and stepping out of your way. He followed you to the counter, though, not wanting you to leave his sight.

“Uh, can I get my usual coffee and a blueberry muffin, please?” You asked her. She rang it in, not having to ask for any clarification. You’d frequented the cafe so often that they usually knew what time of day you’d be there.

“Anything else, y/n?” She asked. You shook your head, holding up your debit card.

“I’ll get it.” Jake whispered, gently nudging you out of the way.

“No, you don’t have to.” You shot him down.

“I insist,” he pulled his card out, tapping it before you had the chance. You shook your head, knowing he was never going to let you pay. You pulled out a five dollar bill from the back of your phone case, setting it down on the counter. The two of you walked to the waiting area silently, not sure where to go from there. You only waited a second before Jake’s order was up on the counter. He grabbed it, not making any move to leave.

“Any plans for the day?” You looked at him through the corner of your eye.

“I think I have a pretty clear schedule.” He smiled. “What about you?”

“I think I could fit you in.” You whispered, turning your head towards him. “I owe you a memorable time in Baltimore, if I remember correctly.”

“Hm, yeah,” he pretended to ponder, his thumb and forefinger taking to his chin. “I think I do recall something about that.” You couldn’t help but laugh at him. “What do you have in mind, miss engineer?” You watched him for a moment, slightly amazed that he’d remembered what you told him the night before.

“I’m sure we can figure something out.” A worker placed your order on the counter, giving you a wave. You returned it, feeling slightly guilty that you couldn’t remember his name. “Thanks! I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” You said, grabbing your cup and the little bag that adorned your breakfast. You gave Jake a look, nodding your head towards the door. The two of you hurried out, returning to the crowded sidewalk. “There’s a little park on the next street over. It’s usually pretty quiet there, if you wanted to eat in peace.” You told him. He gave a nod, instantly okay with anything you suggested if it meant he got to spend time with you.

You grabbed his hand, weaving around a corner into a small alleyway that lead to the next street. You only had to walk for a minute before the gates to the recreation area were in view. There was a small playground for the children with a few slides and swing sets, but it was mostly patches of small flower gardens and filled with benches and picnic tables. You made your way towards a secluded table that was shaded by a tree, never once letting go of the boys hand. You sat down, motioning for him to take a seat across from you. The first few moments were filled with silence, neither of you sure of what to say. Eventually, he spoke up.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” he chuckled, looking up at you and taking his sunglasses off.

“That makes two of us.” You said, taking your muffin out and unwrapping it. “Thanks for breakfast, by the way.”

“It was my pleasure.” He assured you.

“I think you forgot to mention that your band was pretty popular, rockstar.” You picked at the top of the muffin, taking small bits off at a time. “You’re telling me I’ve got to compete with almost a million other girls?”

“So you looked me up?” He smirked. You rolled your eyes. “Don’t worry, I tried to find you too.” He admitted, eyes falling on his coffee cup. “Turns out there’s a lot of people with the same first name as you.”

“Well, my parents weren’t too original with names, seeing as we have brothers with the same one.” You joked. “Was that him at the bar with you, last night?”

“Yeah, all of my brothers were there. Sam is the taller one with long hair. Josh is the one with the half-assed mullet.” He chuckled.

“Are you and Josh twins? I thought you looked alike.”

“Yeah, we are. And Danny, he’s our best friend. He’s not actually related to us, but he’s our brother, too.” He explained. You gave a slow nod.

“Curly hair?”

“Yeah,” he replied “and that’s the band.”

“Interesting. So your mom gave birth to a set of musical prodigies?” He let out another laugh, this one louder and more relaxed. You were certain you could listen to it all day.

“I guess you could say that.” He paused, taking a sip of his drink. “What about you? Do you just have the one?” You could have cackled at the thought, not being able to imagine a world with only one brother.

“Four,” he nearly choked on his beverage.

“Wow, okay.” He cleared his throat. “So I’ll have an army after me if I fuck this up.” You smiled, shaking your head.

“They’re all bark, no bite. I throw a better punch than all of them put together.” You assured him. He knew you weren’t lying, recalling the ones you’d thrown the night before. “Alex is the oldest, he’s permanently stoned. Then Will, who hates to admit he’s related to us,” you joked “Austin is the middle child, and he’ll never let us forget it. I’m next, the only girl so ultimately the favourite, and then Sammy, the baby, and the most annoying person I’ve ever met in my whole life.”

“I think that’s a brother thing.” He confided, agreeing with you.

“So it’s just you and your two brothers? Well, and the rent-a-kid?” He let out another belly-laugh, making it hard for you to hold back a smile.

“No, we have a sister, too. Her name’s Veronica.”

“So technically we have the same type of family. A fuck ton of brothers and one lonely girl in the mess of testosterone.” You said, swallowing down another bit of muffin.

“Seems so,” he picked at the sandwich he’d bought for himself. “Now I know why you can fight like that.” Your cheeks tinged pink at the memory.

“Only when it’s deserved.” You corrected.

“Yeah, seemed like that guy did deserve it.”

“You have no idea.” He didn’t respond right away, but his eyes lingered over you. There was so much he wanted to ask; so much he was itching to know, but he had no clue where to begin, or if you even wanted that.

“I’d like to know, if you’re ever willing.” He finally said. You watched him for a moment, not giving him any reaction.

“Do you really, though?” You asked, curiosity getting the best of you.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, do you really want to hear the stories, or do you just want to fuck and move on?” You studied his face, waiting to see a hint of a lie in his answer.

“I want to know.” He said, just as serious as you were. “I really like you, y/n.” You chuckled, leaning back and looking away from him now.

“Yeah, they all say that.” You dismissed him.

“I’m serious,”

“You don’t even know me, Jake.”

“Then let me.” His stern tone brought your attention back to him. “You had me head over heels just by existing last night. Then, you leave without my number and we just happen to run into each other again? You have to feel something, too. I can’t be making this up.” You took a long sip from your latte, avoiding the statement for as long as you could.

“I do, too.” You eventually sighed. “But that doesn’t matter. I said I was done with relationships. Even if we try to start something, you’re leaving. I’m never going to see you again.”

“You think I’d leave and never see you again?” He wasn’t condescending when he asked, but more inquisitive. You gave a shrug.

“You travel the world for a living. You meet new girls every day, ones throwing themselves at you non-stop. I can’t compete with that. I’m stuck here for at least two more years. You’re going to forget about me as soon as you step foot on that plane.” Your fingers played with the sleeve on the cardboard cup, scared to look up at his face.

“I’m interested in you. I knew from the minute I saw you at the bar last night, I wanted to know you. You’ve got nobody to compete with, because you’re the only person I’m looking at.” He chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. “There is no possibility of me ever forgetting about you, even if this doesn’t go anywhere.” He caught your eyes. You held his gaze for a moment. The sincerity he held in them was something you’d never seen before.

“Okay,” you straightened up, leaning closer to him. “I will give you my phone number. If, after you leave, of course,” you paused “you’re still thinking about me, use it.” A grin started to blossom on his lips. “But you better mean it, rockstar. There’s no back and forth, or changing your mind every other day: if you want it, you can have it, but I do not fuck around and I do not give second chances.”

“Thank god, because I don’t think I could leave here without it.” You both shared a giggle, feeling the tension dissipate. “You don’t have to worry about having to give me a second chance. I’m not stupid enough to do something that would risk losing you.” A small smile broke out on your face, comfortable with the agreement.

“Okay, rockstar. I’ll hold you to it, then.” You said, reaching across the table. His hand found yours immediately, thumb running over the smooth skin. Your fingers danced together, becoming familiar with the feeling of holding each other. You noticed the callouses on his fingertips, prominent on his otherwise soft hand. “Give me your phone.” Without question, he used his free hand to pull it from his pocket. He placed it in front of you after unlocking it. You picked it up, going straight to his contacts and adding your number. You clicked the icon for the camera, holding the phone up and taking a quick picture of your smiling face. You left the nickname blank, letting him make that decision on his own.

He took it back, studying it for a moment before typing something in. After a second, your own phone chimed, signifying a new message coming through. You looked at it, unable to hold back a laugh. He had texted a simple ‘hi’ with a smiley face. You sent one back, setting his contact name as ‘Rockstar’. “Thinking of me already?” You teased.

“Had to make sure you gave me your real number.” He put his phone back in his pocket, wanting to keep his full attention on you.

“Don’t trust me?”

“Just don’t want you to get away again.” He breathed. The uncertainty about him was slowly disappearing the longer you were around him. Silence ensued again, his hand still intertwined with yours. The coffee in your cup was quickly coming to an end, and you were eager to show him around the town, now.

“Come on,” you stood, finishing the last of your drink and tossing your garbage in a nearby trash can.

“Where are we going?” He asked, standing, too.

“You’ll see.” You reached for his hand again. He accepted after slipping his glasses back on. You started at a slow pace, in no rush to get anywhere. You led him back to the street the coffee shop was on, passing by a few friendly faces from campus. You stopped in front of the record store, excited to show him what was inside. You prompted him to enter first, following behind him.

He took in the sight; the walls lined with posters and music memorabilia. There were rows of records, sorted by genre and in alphabetical order. He looked at you, giving you a small smile. You waited, wanting to see where he went first. He cautiously approached the rock section, eyes lingering over the surplus of vinyls with a childlike glimmer in them. You looked through bins yourself, but occasionally looked over at him to see what caught his attention. After a moment, he pulled one out. You focused in his direction, trying to see which one he’d grabbed.

“Hendrix?” You asked, recognizing the cover. He nodded, turning it so you could see it too. “That one’s my favourite, I bought it a couple months ago.” You smiled.

“‘Electric Ladyland’ is your favourite?” He asked, now turning his attention fully on you.

“Yeah. Voodoo Child and Crosstown Traffic are my favourite songs from him. ‘Are You Experienced’ was a good album, and it’s almost everyone’s favourite. I have that one too, but that one was my favourite.” You explained. He gave a slow nod, appreciating your opinion. Just as he was about to respond, the calling of your name caught you off guard. You turned, seeing the owner of the store sitting at the register.

“I got your order in, darlin’.” Your expression lit up, immediately leaving Jake to join him at the front of the store. You took a seat on one of the stools he had by the counter. “Was wondering when you were coming back, I was going to give you a call.” He picked up a box from below the counter, setting it in front of you. Jake had joined you now, standing behind you.

“I meant to swing by sooner, just got busy.” You explained. He waved you off, not too worried about it.

“I know you’re busy with all of your schoolwork. You’re here now, that’s what matters.” He assured you. You leaned forward, opening the flaps of the cardboard. You grabbed the records from inside, placing them in front of you. “Some good picks in there.” He complimented.

“Thanks, Dave.” You smiled. Jake watched over your shoulder as you sorted through them. Janis Joplin, The Doors, and a Santana album.

“I had trouble finding the ‘Abraxas’ album.” He admitted. “That’s why it took so long to get it.”

“I’m just glad you found it; I’ve been looking for it for years.” You said, looking up at him. “Thank you so much.”

“No trouble, kid. Let me know if you want anything else.” You nodded, appreciative that he was so kind. “So, who’s this poor boy you’ve got with you today?” He had a smirk on his face, looking behind you at Jake.

“Oh! This is Jake, I met him last night. He’s just in town visiting, so I thought I’d show him some of the best spots.” You were a bit embarrassed that you’d forgotten to introduce him. Jake stepped forward, holding his hand out for the owner to shake.

“Nice to meet you,” he smiled.

“You, too. I’m Dave, I own the place.” The older gentleman responded. “You like music, son?”

“Yeah, I do. Same type of stuff she likes.” He informed him. You rolled your eyes, cutting in.

“He’s a musician,” you added. “I haven’t heard him play, but his band is pretty popular from what I’ve seen.”

“Is that so?” Dave was pleasantly surprised. “I was in a band back in my day, didn’t get very far though.” He chuckled. “What’s it called?”

“Oh, uh, Greta Van Fleet.” He answered, seeming a bit shy from being put on the spot. Dave stood, looking past him for a moment before walking towards the mounds of records. He looked through a bin for a moment before stopping and pulling one out. He flashed the cover towards you both. “Yeah, that’s us!” Jake let out a small laugh, shocked at the sight.

“I did a big order a couple weeks ago, when I was browsing I saw the name pop up, thought I’d bring some in. I haven’t got a chance to listen to one yet, though.”

“That’s super cool,” Jake said, his cheeks slightly pink. You grinned at the interaction, knowing he was amazed that his record was here. Dave brought it over, handing it to you so you could get a look. You grabbed it, inspecting it for a moment. “That was our first EP.” He explained. You flipped it around, looking at the songs on the back.

“I think I have some more over there, too.” Dave said, sitting back down in his computer chair. You got up and walked over to where the older man had been moments before. You sifted through and stopped, pulling two more out.

“‘Anthem of the Peaceful Army’, and… ‘The Battle at Garden’s Gate’?” You asked.

“Yeah, those are ours, too.” He walked over to meet you, his hand falling on your lower back and looking over your shoulder.

“What’s your best album, rockstar?” You turned your head to look up at him. He wasn’t very much taller than you, more or less the perfect height.

“I don’t think I could pick a favourite.” He chuckled. “That one’s our newest one, the one we’re doing the tour for, now.” He pointed at the black album with gold detail. “But the other ones all paved the way for us to get here.”

“Spoken like a true musician.” You giggled, taking them back to the counter with you. “I guess I’ll have to check them all out, then.” He broke off, still browsing through all of the options.

“You’re buying all of them?” He asked, not believing what he’d heard.

“Well, if I’m gonna be your biggest fan, I’m going to have to commit to it, aren’t I?” He smiled to himself at your words. “I do expect an autograph, though.”

“I think I can do that.” He called back as you gathered all of your purchases. Dave rang them in on his register, grabbing a bag for you when he finished. You pulled out your card, completing the transaction without a word. Dave bagged the records, handing you a receipt. Jake appeared behind you again, now placing something of his own on the counter. You looked down, recognizing the cover immediately. He’d picked up the self-titled Eagles album, which contained the song he’d pegged as your nickname. When he caught you looking, he gave a smirk. “Maybe I can get your autograph, too.” He joked.

“You guys are all set.” Dave said, handing Jake his receipt. “Nice to meet you, Jake.” He said with a smile.

“Nice to meet you, too, sir.” Jake replied. Dave chuckled at the formality.

“Be careful with her, now. She’s a wild one.” It was your turn to laugh, opening the door for your company.

“Don’t scare the man away, Dave!” You teased.

“You know I’m joking. He seems like he can handle ya.” He gave a chuckle. “See you later, y/n.”

“Bye!” You called out as you stepped outside. Jake gently let the door fall closed behind him, making sure it didn’t slam. You looked at him over your shoulder as you continued to walk up the street, admiring the way the sun casted over his face.

You didn’t know him yet, but every part of you wanted to. From what you’d seen of him already, he was different than any boy who’d pursued you before. He was careful, collected and quiet, but he looked at you like a person, rather than just someone to fuck. Even if you never saw him again, the memory of knowing him for a day was worth more than knowing someone lesser for a lifetime. He caught up to you, grabbing your hand before you could get too far away from him. He wasn’t sure where you were taking him, but he was happy to be with you. You walked in silence, bag of records swinging in time with your steps. You couldn’t help but think about how nice his hand felt in yours, wondering if fate really was at play for you to end up here.

You brought him to a large recreation centre, seeing bodies pooling around the doorway. You politely passed through, leading him inside. The usually empty main room buzzed with chatter, small booths and tables lining the perimeter with a few large strips through the middle. “Farmer’s market?” He asked, taking in the sight.

“Yeah, every Sunday they usually have one here. They’ve got lots of cool stuff. Hope you don’t mind.” You smiled.

“No! I think it’s nice,” he assured you. “I love stuff like this.”

“I usually check it out every week. Something small to get out of the house, plus they have produce and preserves, other farm fresh food, and lots of little knickknacks. I like getting to know the vendors, too.” You explained. He listened carefully, nodding along with your words.

“You seem to know everyone. The bartender, that bouncer, the guy from the record store��” he listed, trailing off at the end.

“I love people. I think they’re interesting.” You explained, walking forward to a small booth with homemade jams. “I think everybody’s story is worth telling, but nobody ever wants to listen, so I do. It’s made me some fantastic friendships, although some unlikely.” You chuckled, peering at the different flavours on the labels of the jars. “It’s also gotten me into some sticky situations, like the guy at the bar. I like to see the best in people, but unfortunately some people are just bad. Seems like we always figure that out after it’s too late.”

His eyes never left you, soaking in your explanation. “But, I wouldn’t change it, I guess. As much as that particular person sucked, I never would have known for sure if I never got to know him. Everybody deserves a chance, but rarely do they deserve a second. Hence why I told you that, earlier.”

“Is that why you decided to get to know me?” He asked, looking over your shoulder at a bottle you’d picked up.

“I’ll take this one, please.” You smiled at the lady selling.

“Five dollars, please.” She smiled. You fished some change from your wallet, handing it over to her.

“Thank you.” You smiled. “Hope business is well today.” The older woman smiled, letting you know it was, then wishing you a good day. You moved on, Jake following and still waiting for a response. “I suppose so,” you finally told him “after the last guy, I kind of swore off romance in general. When Mike told me you were asking about me, I wasn’t really interested, like at all.” You gave a humourless chuckle. “But you came over, and you were attractive, and I was drunk. Thought one drink wouldn’t hurt and it would end there. Then you started talking, and you were genuinely interested in what I had to say. I’m not used to that. When I talk to everyone, they love telling me about their life, because nobody’s ever really asked them, but a lot of them forget to do it back.”

“I don’t know how anyone would not want to hear all about you,” he mumbled. You shrugged it off.

“You’d be surprised. Some people go their whole lives without being asked about themselves, so when the time comes, they’re so happy about it that they forget how lonely it feels.” You explained. “And that’s fine. I like listening, way more than I’ve ever liked telling. I made it a point to get to know as many people as I could when I moved here. In three years, I could probably tell you more stories about the residents here than others who’ve known them their entire lives. But I suppose it does get a little isolating, knowing so much about everyone, but nobody really knowing me.” He was captivated in your story, really wanting to hear what you were telling him. He didn’t want to make you feel like others had. You walked to the next booth, looking at a row of handmade jewelry.

“When you wanted to know me, when you asked me all of those questions… it just made me feel a bit different, I think. I was really going to let you take me home. Then all of that other shit happened, and I was worried that you’d believe the stuff he was saying.” Jake was taken back, sad that you even considered he’d believe a bad word about you without knowing you. “You wouldn’t have been the first.” You sighed. “When I was running away, I regretted it before I even lost sight of you. I wanted to turn back, but I guess I was scared. I still am, but that’s a different story.” You picked up a beaded bracelet with a small charm hanging from it, inspecting it carefully.

“I think that would suit you very well, y/n.” You looked up, noticing the person on the other side of the table.

“Well hello, Linda.” You smiled. “I haven’t seen you here in a while.”

“Yeah, I took a little break, but had some free time and decided to come back.” She told you.

“How’s your daughter doing?” You asked.

“She’s good, getting eager for the fall. I made sure to let her know all of that stuff you told me about the school. And she even bought her prom dress, yesterday.”

“Exciting!” You exclaimed. “Did she end up going with the red one?” The woman nodded, a sad smile crossing her lips.

“I can’t believe she’s all grown up.” She sighed.

“Time flies, but she’s gonna do awesome. Cognitive Science is a super competitive program, so she’s already ahead of the game.” You promised. “And she has my number if she needs any help around campus.” You reminded.

“And we appreciate it, very much.” The woman assured you. “You graduate your bachelor this year, right?” You nodded, a grin breaking out on your face.

“It’s crazy, but yeah. It’s been a long few years, but I’m ready to move on to the next challenge.” You told her.

“Have the bracelet, dear. As a graduation present, and a thank you for all your help.”

“Oh, no, Linda. That’s okay, I know you work hard on these.”

“No, really! I’m more than happy to, you’re always such a pleasure to talk to. You’ve been so helpful with the university thing. I never went, I have no idea how to help her and you always have an answer.” She smiled. You returned it, feeling your heart swell with affection.

“Thank you, and I love helping you guys out. You’ve always been kind to me. Like I said, if she has any questions don’t be scared to give me a call.” You said.

“Of course, have a good rest of your day, dear.”

“You, too!” You returned the well wish before continuing on your journey. Jake could only laugh at the interaction.

“You really do know everyone.” He said, watching you slip the bracelet on.

“Like I said, I come here every weekend. She used to be here all of the time, I got to know her pretty well. Her daughter got accepted to Hopkins in the fall, so I’ve been helping them transition into it.”

“That’s really nice of you.” He said. His attention was caught by a stand overflowing with freshly cut flowers. He noticed that you’d already found your focus on a produce booth, looking over the fruits and vegetables. He managed to break away from you without you knowing, sneaking across the walkway to look over the bouquets.

His eyes landed on a bunch of wildflowers, finding that it seemed to suit you better than any of the different coloured roses. He asked the vendor if he could take that one, pulling out his wallet and checking if you’d noticed he was gone. The lady asked if he wanted a card for it, to which he gave a nod. “Uh, can I borrow a pen?” He asked, a bit sheepishly as he handed the money over the counter. She gave him his change and a pen. He used the small open space on the counter to scribble a note on the card.

Lucky to be the one to know you, witchy woman

- your rockstar x

He handed it back, thanking her and quickly turning back to you. He noticed you were just finishing up buying a basket of food, relieved that you hadn’t caught him in the act. As you were putting your wallet back in your pocket, you finally turned to notice Jake wasn’t beside you anymore. You turned slightly, looking behind you to try and locate him. He was standing with a childish grin, holding the flowers to his chest when you caught sight of him. You couldn’t help but giggle, feeling a redness creep to your cheeks.

“For me?” You asked as he stepped towards you.

“No, I bought them for Josh, actually. Just because he’s such a great brother.” He joked, causing a laugh to fall from your lips.

“I don’t know him, but I’m sure he’d appreciate it.” You continued on with the humour. He extended his arm, holding them out for you. You took the bouquet, inspecting the beauty of it. Your eyes fell over the card, feeling butterflies in your stomach as you read the words. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten flowers before.” He gave you an incredulous look. You shrugged at his response.

“I’m glad I could be the first,” he chose not to say what he wanted to about your past relationships, trying to keep the interaction as light as possible.

“Thank you, Jake.” You leaned in and placed a kiss on his cheek, lingering there for a moment. He smiled to himself, looking down at you with a hint of a blush. You rearranged your items, placing the flowers into the basket with your produce. He stopped you, taking it from your hand completely.

“I’ll hold it for you. I’ve only got one bag.” He assured you, making sure the flowers were secure before you continued walking.

“And to finish what I was saying earlier,” you said as you turned the corner to the next aisle of tables. “It sucked leaving you there last night. I really wanted to turn around, or to tell you to come with me, but I got in my own head. Same with this morning. I could have followed your Instagram and shot you a message, but I’m still scared, I think. My love life has never been too kind to me, and I grouped you in with the rest of them. I don’t think that was fair.” You explained.

“I get why, though. When we get hurt enough, we tend to forget that good people still exist. It’s normal, and I don’t hold that against you.” You looked up at him, studying him for a moment.

“What about you, rockstar?” He met your eyes, cocking his eyebrow up as if to ask ‘what’. “You seem to be very understanding about it, so I can only assume it’s happened to you, too.” He didn’t answer right away, formulating the best way to respond.

“Playing music has always been my dream, you know.” He started. You gave a nod, clinging on to his story, wanting to know him as bad as he wanted to know you. “And I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I get to spend every day with my brothers, making awesome music that makes people feel something.” You found yourself smiling softly, feeling the passion for his work just by the tone of his voice. “But it gets lonely. Personal lives and fame don’t really… mix. I have friends, yeah, but not a lot of good ones. It’s hard, you know, always being gone. People don’t try to keep in contact, or they think that I don’t miss them because I’m so busy travelling the world.” He paused, looking down at you for a second. “And a lot of people don’t want to know me, for me. They like the fame, or the superficiality, because they feel like they only need to know me on a surface level and never have to put in too much effort.”

Your heart ached at his words, realizing that you may have misjudged him in the beginning. No doubt he was lonely on the road, never having any constants. And you had no doubt that loads of people wanted to know him for the fame, or perks, or the novelty of knowing a musician. You felt a little guilty, knowing that you assumed he’d forget about you once he’d left town; he was a person, too. He seemed genuine, and you felt he was quite similar to yourself. He seemed to want to know people fully, and beneath his nonchalant exterior, it appeared like he loved to love people. In the short time you’d known him, he’d been more caring and attentive with you than anyone you’d met before.

“I had a couple girlfriends over the years, but it was hard for them. I get why, but it still sucked. I, uh, leaned pretty fast that loyalty isn’t a priority when your boyfriend is gone all of the time.” He let out a small, humourless laugh. Your eyes softened as they scanned the tabletops for new trinkets. You looked up at him, now turning to face him fully. He caught your gaze, jaw hard set and no real emotion peeking through. “S’okay, though. That stuff happens. I would never, but I think they thought I was doing the same thing.”

“I don’t think that makes it okay,” You whispered. “I’m sorry that happened.”

“I’m sorry for the ones before me, too.” You gave a small shake of your head.

“You don’t have to apologize for them.”

“You don’t, either.” He said, giving a small, reassuring smile.

“You know, I think that maybe we were supposed to run into each other this morning.” You thought aloud. “I think I like you, Jake the rockstar.” He let out a laugh.

“And I know I like you, y/n the engineer.”

“I really started to like you when I realized you remembered everything I told you about myself.” You confessed. “You cared enough to remember.” You whispered, more to yourself than him.

“Of course I do, miss bio-engineer who’s finishing her degree early, from Washington state, who knows everyone because she finds people interesting, with a great music taste and a smile that can take anyone’s breath away, who also has four brothers.” He rattled off, taking a deep breath in when he finished. Both of you fell into a fit of laughter. “And who can throw a punch that will knock a grown man off his feet.” He added.

“I am amazed.” You bowed your head to him. He let out a chuckle, beginning to walk again and guiding you along with him.

The two of you continued on around the market, finally leaving with bag fulls of items. When you went back outside, the streets had cleared slightly. Most people were getting back home to have dinner with their families. As you stood on the sidewalk, you began to realize this was the time the two of you were likely to part ways, but the thought of it made your stomach churn. Jake sat down on a bench outside of the building, placing his items beside him. You joined him on his other side, not willing to break the silence if it meant you had to say goodbye. His hand found your thigh, resting a few inches above your knee. You placed yours on top of his, your thumb running over his below yours.

“I had a good day with you.” You finally said, being unable to satiate the need to talk to him.

“Me too.” He whispered.

“I don’t want to go.”

“Me either.” Silence hung thick in the air again. His fingers squeezed your leg gently, assuring you that the quiet was anything but awkward. You watched the clouds in the sky, the sun feeling nice on your face.

“When do you leave, rockstar?” You finally asked the dreaded question.

“Tomorrow night.” He breathed.

“Come home with me, tonight.” You weren’t really thinking about what you were saying. It was mostly from the heart. The repercussions were large if the night went poorly, but you were so smitten with him that they didn’t matter to you any more.

“Are you sure?” He asked, more of a formality than anything. He was wishing you would ask all day long. You gave a nod. “You can come to the hotel with me, if you’d rather.” He offered.

“I don’t care where we go, I just want to be with you.” You admitted. “But I do have to take my stuff home, and my roommates are probably worried about me, so I should check in with them.”

“I want to be with you, too. Let’s get your stuff home, then. Maybe I’ll get a house tour out of it. We’ll just go from there, like we’ve been doing all day.” He grinned. The two of you stood, rearranging your bags so they were the most comfortable way to carry, and you led him back to your house without another word or a care in the world.

211 notes · View notes

fluffypotatey · 8 months

Note

Hello! I hope you're doing well so far. What do you think of these headcanons: Bai He is one of LBD's descendant. That's why her body took so well to LBD's powers. Also, Wukong had met and spoken Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing pre Havoc, and during the journey he's just avoiding mentioning that he knew them before they got expelled from Heaven, and midway both the pig demon and river demon remembered that the friendly mischievous stableboy and the monkey menace that terrorized Heaven were the same person. Or, more funny factor, only the horse knew that the three were acquainted with each other before their disgrace and is just waiting for them to notice that they knew each other. When did you think SWK met Macaque, before he went to train in Subodhi's place, or after that?

hey <3 this will prob be a long answer, so imma just put everything under the cut :)

let us begin with headcanon #1

Bai He is one of LBD's descendants

ok, i have some issues with this hc tbh

1) LBD is a bone spirit, not in anyway a celestial or a human, also she's labeled as a demon simply bc the term yāoguài (妖怪) is synonymous to demon & evil spirit (and LBD falls into the "evil spirit" category, although from past showings it appears that she wasn't always "evil" but by lmk canon she is).

2) despite being in the "demon" category like DBK and Spider Queen, she feels very separate from them. idk, maybe it's just me, but LBD feels like one entity, like there cannot be ancestors or descendents of her bc she is way too connected to her own spirit essence (i don't know how to word that better). what i mean is, LBD's powers and statures feels a lot older than the celestial court itself. she holds herself with such high stature, she talks about destiny and fate as if she was there when they were created. she is old as bones (pun fully intended) and knows it. there is no one like her because there cannot be.

and 3) if Bai He were to have some ancestral connection to LBD, i think it would make more sense that an ancestor of hers was a priest to LBD rather than LBD herself.

but also, there's a part of me that feels like inserting Bai He into some past connection with LBD takes away from the chilling notion that LBD just picked Bai He for the sole reason that Bai He was a child, that Bai He was innocent, that Bai He was a casualty of her greater goal that she was willing to sacrifice. Bai He demonstrates LBD's uncaring and apathetic cruelty towards humans (the people she originally wanted to help) bc to her, once she builds that "perfect world," the humans will not remember her past actions or what it cost to create a Heaven on Earth.

she got that "end justify the means" mentality, ya know?

Wukong knowing his companions pre-JTTW

so, yes, i do love this headcanon, but i am also so conflicted bc on one hand: hilarious dramatic irony that these guys were familiar with each other in the past but because of centuries of shit, neither of them remember or one of them remembers bc reasons.

but i also think no bc i highly doubt Sun Wukong would remember every single celestial he interacted with while he was in Heaven. i think it would be funnier if he never recognized them bc both Zhu Baije and Sha Wujing have changed dramatically (Zhu Baije looks like a pig now, Sha Wujing.....i don't remember....shit). maybe he would think, "hey, these guys remind me of some idiots i met in Heaven lol," but it wouldn't really click unless it was made super obvious to him.

personally, i think Sha Wujing and Zhu Baije know but mostly because everybody knows it was Sun Wukong, Handsome Monkey King, Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who wreaked havoc in Heaven (twice, i might add) and went to war over it and almost won. like, in the books at least, Zhu Baije was very aware of who SWK was when his "wife" (whom swk was disguised as in order to sneak into the pig demon's house that wasn't actually his house) informed him that the monk he captured was accompanied by the legendary and horrifying Sun Wukong.

however, Sha Wujing would be the only one of the three to recognize Zhu Baije as the celestial guard who tried to flirt with Chang'e and faced the consquences but i highly doubt they even talked to each other before JTTW.

the Ao Lie addition is very funny, but idk if the guy would even remember any of the Heavenly court's faces or names unless he had to interact with them a lot (i will add it to my lists of headcanons tho bc it is funny and i like it, so my logical brain will have to suck it up).

When did SWK meet Macky

oh dear, i change my mind about this all the time. like, both work pretty good in my mind and would still illustrate that these monkeys were old, old friends who were close long before the brotherhood. even before s4 special came out my personal headcanon was that SWK & Mac met at most before SWK crossed his name from the Diyu, soooooo props to me.

tbh it doesn't really matter to me when they meet, but i'll go ahead and say my "range" for when they met and became besties is after SWK became monkey king to right after SWK trained under Master Subodhi (hey, maybe they even met when SWK was heading back to FFM and they hit it off so well, SWK just invited Mac to come over and the idiot never left)

so yeah, there's my thoughts :3

#lmk #lmk headcanon #lego monkie kid #lmk sun wukong #jttw #lmk jttw #lmk lbd #lmk bai he #journey to the west #last one is short bc my answer was just 'i'm pretty flexible about it lol'

22 notes · View notes

veritable-trash · 2 years

Text

Orange Daydream

head empty just neck neck neck neck neck

Pairing: Santiago Pope Garcia x F!Reader

Words: 5K

Warning: none! just santi being sexy and me not knowing how to get to the point and needing to world build like nobody's fucking business.

A/N: HELLO, alright yall sorry for not being up and about but I've been struggling to find time to write because I GOT A JOB YAY. this was really fun to write i love santi as a character and oscar isaac is just sexyyyyyyyyy so of course i'm gonna write some joyful relationship development! i got an ask in mi inbox that i'm currently working on(hint hint my eddie munson fixation is coming to a head be prepared) so i'll hopefully have that done soon. anywayssssss i'm taking any requests if people are interested honestly open to anything just trying to get more writing going in my life ok well love you all hope you've had a fantastic week and i hope you enjoy this! ALSO tommy isn't tom from TF but i thought it was funny so there ya go :)

a part two is possible but i got so many ideas swirling it's not the priority but it could be if people are like really fiending just let me know :)))))) <333

masterlist weoweoweow

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your ex was here. Milling about in Santi’s backyard blissfully unaware of your laser eyes trying to melt him to the ground from the kitchen window.

Hiding.

Praying that he won’t notice you, that you can just stay here in anonymity for the rest of the evening or that, despite all the odds, the lasers you’re imagining shooting out of your eyes will become real and actually disintegrate him.

A girl can dream.

Santi was going to pay for this. You were going to make him get down on his knees and fucking grovel for at least 3 to 5 business days for putting you in this predicament. For letting that slug of a man traipse around your (Santi’s) backyard and ruin this lovely August evening with his bullshit and fuckery.

Though to be fair it was partially on you but Santi was the one in charge of the guest list, so in reality it was completely his fault and he would be in the doghouse for this. For maybe the rest of his life, the jury was truly still out.

It was hard to think about Tommy. He had been the love of your life(hah) for three years. You’d met Santi, your supposed best friend, through him. Had settled into this town, found a job, felt like you were creating a home.

It had been almost painfully perfect. All your best friends called you relationship goals, the perfect couple, the envy of all single people near and far.

And then he cheated. And not something simple like making out with some stranger at a bar.

No. Tommy had always had a penchant for the dramatic, so he ended up cheating on you with one of those aforementioned best friends. AND to make matters even worse, they were now engaged. Slapping their love and perfect relationship all across social media for you, the spinster, to tear apart with your gnarly, knobby fingers like some wicked witch planning to poison someone with an apple.

It had crossed your mind once or twice. It would be fitting retribution, Tommy and you had only broken up three months ago.

You were living in hell.

Now all you had left in this town was the knives littering your back and heart and in some twisted turn of fate Santi. Though for some reason he'd still let that motherfucker into your(Santi’s) house which was going to be quite a conversation when you got Santi alone.

You heard her before you saw her. The squeal of elation made you want to claw your skin off. There she was rounding the corner and practically throwing herself into Tommy’s arms like he’s been away at war and she’s been staring out the window every day for months awaiting his return.

God how fucking embarrassing. Just throwing their love around in front of everyone without a fucking care in the world. You’re surprised no one heard the banshee scream echoing around in your skull.

Though that was how you and Tommy used to be. It hurt to admit that to yourself, could almost feel one of the knives lodged between your upper vertebras twisting viciously, tearing you apart as you remember exactly what it felt like to be spun around in his arms. Remembering so vividly how secure you had always felt with him, how safe.

Go fucking figure I guess.

“If you scrub that plate any harder I think you’ll rub a hole in it sweetheart.”

Santi’s voice comes across muffled though you chalk that up to the living nightmare you're currently in and how you can’t seem to escape it.

You turn to him, laser eyes now honing in on your new target and you swear you see Santi flinch a bit at the malice laced in your gaze.

“You know Santiago I thought we were friends, best friends even. Yet here I scrub, looking out this window and who do I see? Oh that’s right, my villain of an ex and my villain of an ex best friend being all lovey dovey in our backyard. I can’t seem to even comprehend a good enough reason for them to be here other than you wanting to torture me, which I will admit would be something you would do.”

He chuckles at that, lips quirking ever so slightly up at the corners as he sidles up next to you at the sink. His hip bumps yours and his fingers wrap around the plate your viciously attacking and gently places it on the drying rack.

“Honeybee come on, you know it’s my birthday and you know Tommy also knows it’s my birthday. He was always going to be here and though I wish he wasn’t here and I wish I could have told him to fuck off and never return again, you and I both know I can’t do that.”

Though the facetious pet name makes you want to grumble and spit and fight him, his arm gently wraps itself around your shoulders to tuck you into his side and as always he eases an ache in your chest and the fight in you dies out. Unsticks your lungs from your ribs so you can finally take a breath you didn’t even know you were desperately needing. His eyes trace your face, a gentleness there that you swear he only ever shows you.

Fuck Santi and his ability to distract you, allow you to breath even when it feels like your lungs are collapsing. It was why you guys had instantly clicked when Tommy introduced you two.

He had flirted with you without a shred of modesty and yet made you feel like you could say absolutely anything without a second thought. It was the strangest combination but it just worked. That was just you and Santi, hot and cold, push and pull, fighting constantly but bonded by something cosmic.

And you knew Santi was right. Tommy and him had been friends for years. Tommy was friends with Will and Benny, and even with you now usurping him in the friendship hierarchy with the boys, Tommy was always going to be a presence in this town, with these people.

Though you did hold onto one victory and that was that Frankie had always had a problem with him. That’s why you loved Frankie the most out of the four of them and you made sure that Santi was well aware of it. Santi seethed at that fact.

“Don’t call me that you know I hate it.” Your words are muffled into the soft cotton that wraps around his shoulders, no longer able to stare out of that godforsaken window and prolong your torture. “I ju-I don’t know I just wish he could disappear and that he never existed and I never had to see him again.”

You drag in air, the sound almost pitiful with the hurt laced through it and Santi’s other arm on instinct cages you tight against his chest. His temple settles against the side of your head and you swear you hear him intake a deep breath against your hair but you’re too distracted by his scent drowning you to really make heads or tails of anything.

Cedar, mint, orange. Braided so delicately together you could miss all the different notes if it weren’t for the fact that you had it practically memorized it somewhere deep in your skull.

You inhale another deep breath hoping to trap some of his scent in your lungs so you can tap into it later when, knowing your luck, you’ll be trapped alone with Tommy and his new fiancee. The joy.

Christ on a fucking cracker.

“Are you really gonna stay in here for the rest of the party? Come on, it’s my birthday and the birthday boy wishes for you to at least try and socialize. For me. Please? Pretty please? Don’t make me beg now, though you know I do look absolutely fantastic on my knees.”

“God Santi you are such a fucking tramp! I can’t with you, you menace.”

But now you’re laughing and Santi’s eyebrows are waggling at you like this was his plan all along. To get you to laugh for just a second to stop your brain from descending into the ether of hate you’d been stewing in for months.

Your eyes lock as you both settle back into the quiet of the kitchen. Benny’s laugh can be heard above the light commotion outside. The 80’s jams that Santi makes everyone listen to every year on his birthday trickle into your ears through the glass and walls, and you can smell the grill roaring, can practically see Frankie with his apron on and tongs in hand being a dictator about the right charcoal choice for the perfect smoky flavor.

But you like it right here. Standing across from each other in the kitchen, talking but not talking, knowing but not knowing, just letting the sun filter in. His curls are like a prism for the light. Shades of black, brown, some chestnut and gray catching with every wave.

God you love him.

Fuck, wait, not like love love him, you know just like love him. Like a best friend, like your confidante, like your everything-

“I’m-uhm I’m gonna head back out, ya know how Frankie gets if you leave him at the grill for too long-”

“Dictator Francisco Morales hailing from the Land of Grills, ya of course you gotta go save the general populous before he smokes them all out. I’ll try to get out there in a bit, I think that plate needs another solid scrub, swear I saw some barbecue sauce stuck to it.”

Santi’s eyes lighten and soften again, turning almost mahogany as the light catches them just so and before you can blink his lips press to your cheek and his scent washes over you again.

“Don’t hide for too long, ok? I’ll be waiting for you outside. Just give me a whistle and I’ll come save you, pinky promise. I won’t let Tommy corner you, he’s gotten enough of your time already.”

The words are a whisper across the skin of your cheek and your heart stutter steps when his hand comes down and his pinky locks with yours in a quick squeeze.

And as quick as he came he’s gone and you can’t stop the faltering step you take forward, trying to chase down his touch. Your fingers graze the spot his lips just branded you and you swear there’s a residual heat that you can't decide is from his lips or your blush.

Your hands snatch up the plate you were assaulting earlier, nails digging in as your eyes wander back up, back to staring through that cursed window. But it doesn’t feel as cursed this time around. Tommy is nowhere to be seen and your focus immediately lands on the brightest light outside.

Santi is like a beacon to you now, your eyes immediately zeroing in on him walking back out into the yard. He beelines for Frankie jostling his shoulder with a strong hand and some whispered words that leave Frankie scowling and Santi laughing.

These secret moments are few and far between, so few times do you get to watch, to be greedy about Santi without anyone knowing. Get to soak up every drop of him without needing to make sure no one can see how deep you may have fallen.

Key word may!!!

But it was hard to pretend Santi wasn’t turning into something deeper, burrowing under your skin and planting himself on every nerve ending so that every touch somehow reminded you of him. You can’t stop staring at him because in these secret moments, when you let him, he consumes you.

He’d been there for you like no one else ever had when Tommy decided to turn into captain douchebag and destroy your life. Had held your hand and stayed in with you even when all the boys were trying to get you to leave your dungeon of gloom, claiming a night out would get you out of this “funk”. Yet Santi knew exactly what you needed, and it turned out it was him, ice cream, and movies nonstop. And then somehow so slowly, so sneakily it turned out you just needed him.

His head is thrown back, a laugh rippling up his throat, and there’s that prism again, like a halo around his head. Catching the sunlight just right to make him look almost angelic, every curl perfectly in place, tousled like some fucking cologne ad model. His neck is a crime against humanity, strong and tan and your mind starts to wander down south and at this point you’re too mesmerized by him to stop yourself. God what an absolute tool, you can’t stand him and his stupid beautiful face.

Like clock work though, his head falls back down and his eyes instantly find yours in the window. He cocks his head just so, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening as his beam simmers down to just a gentle lift of his lips and his eyes dance with secrets promises. Your heart squeezes so tight you have to look away, back down at your reflection in the crystal clean plate before he reads your thoughts in your eyes.

They’ve been getting a touch too loud recently.

~~~~~

You’d held up your end of the bargain.

You’d ventured outside. Socialized even, though you mainly stayed glued to Frankie’s side by the grill, hoping against hope that he would be the most effective shield against Tommy and those incessant giggles you swear are somehow being directed directly at you.

It’s like their fucking bats with echolocation pinpointed on you. Fuck if you know if that’s how echolocation works but that’s definitely how those giggles feel. Like they're vibrating in your skull hoping it’ll shatter like glass when an opera singer gets too close.

And honestly Frankie was doing a bang up job. He’d been there a bit in the aftermath of your breakup. Had done movie nights with Santi and you. Had bought you beers as you teared up in the booth you and Tommy had met in. That was the first night you'd left your house and to say it was atrocious would be showing restraint. Honestly it was a dark and mildly pathetic time but now Frankie was your boy, a friend that you knew wouldn’t leave you in the dust.

Until right now where he is actively leaving you in the dust, apologies seeping out of his eyes as Benny drags him away to the fire to chat “girls” and Tommy decides this is the absolute perfect time to approach.

While you are at the grill.

Alone.

Sweat coats your palms and you almost knock your beer off the table as he shuffles up to you like you’re some scared deer. He even looks 5% apologetic which was more than you were expecting from him. Your hackles rise higher.

“Hey, I uh saw you earlier and wanted to talk but wanted to catch you alone. You know so we can talk.”

Your brain takes a beat to catch up as you take Tommy in for the first time in almost three months. For some reason his face doesn’t make your heart stumble like it used to. You can only faintly remember the way you gritted your teeth as you stalked his Instagram page, cutting deeper with every post you looked at, every comment you read. And yet now all you can think is, jesus what had you seen in this dude?

He looks like you'd kicked his dog and ate his lunch and as if you should feel bad for him. Like you should be careful because he’s sensitive and you could hurt his feelings, even though he cheated on you! Threw your heart on the pavement and stomped all over it just for good measure. And is now echolocating his new love, star crossed lovers, bullshit fucking giggles straight into your brain.

To hell with this dude.

“You know what Tom-“

“Hey man thanks so much for coming! I truly didn’t think you were gonna be able to make it but you know Tommy, you’ve always been great with surprises. By the way I think your girl is looking for you inside, thought I heard her calling for ya.”

Orange. Just peeled, sticky sweet and beautifully tart and sharp. That’s what Santi smells like most at night. Like the sun has burnt away all the other notes throughout the day so you can smell what Santi is at his core. And to you he’s always smelled like oranges in the summer.

His arm wraps around your shoulder again and his eyes are full of warning and mischief as if he knew exactly where that unfinished sentence was going and he wasn’t about to let you tear Tommy’s head off in front of an audience. Though he might let you do it in private. Santi did love a bit of gore.

“Oh shit ya I totally forgot I did tell her we were gonna leave soon though I guess now’s as good a time to head out as any. Happy birthday man it’s always so good seeing you, and uh you know I’ll see ya around.”

Tommy’s just a blip now, a nonentity, basically an NPC at this point, good riddance, because now you get to be right next to Santi where you’ve been aching to be since he left you at the kitchen sink reeling.

“I think I swooped in right on time with that one because I have a feeling you were about to kick poor Tommy straight to the curb and maybe then some. I could practically see you winding up your swing. You are a terrifying woman to behold.”

He grabs your beer and his and without even looking back starts walking towards the now empty fire pit. Will and Benny and Frankie are obviously all still here, no way they leave before 1AM, the proverbial witching hour, but they’d all sequestered themselves inside to watch the game highlights with the rest of the late night stragglers.

It was only ever you and Santi who wanted to brave the outdoors, no matter what time of year, just to get a little bit of peace, maybe even just a little bit more time for just the two of you, but no one had to know that.

“I would just like to let the record show that everything my brain was cooking up, he more than deserved to hear. I can’t believe he came up to me looking like I had somehow been the one in the wrong. Like I’m sorry but if I remember correctly, which fun fact I usually do, you cheated on me! I have a great fucking memory, you can't fool me this time!”

The sentence ends with chuckles shared over the fire and you’re both shoulder to shoulder, knee to knee, the chairs the only thing separating you two from each other. You’d lie and say you’re huddling for warmth but it’s the middle of the summer and it’s balmy and beautiful out.

Sometimes there stops being a point to all the lies.

Your head rolls onto Santi’s shoulder a puff of mint hitting you as you settle, your eyes tracing the constellations painted across the darkness high up above. He shifts down in the chair just a bit letting your head drop just that little bit more and it feels like two puzzle pieces clicking together. His cheek presses into the top of your head and you both inhale in sync, the exhale of breath just stirring your hair.

“You don’t think I’m actually terrifying do you? Not that it matters but you know, am I? Scary I mean because I don’t want to be but sometimes I feel like I am and I don’t want anyone to be scared of me.”

Santi pulls back, eyes searching your face, a level of worry etched in them. His lips are curled in a light smile but you can tell he’s picking apart your last sentence, seeing what’s between the lines. The insecurities that you know you don’t need to hide from him but still do.

“Of course that’s the one thing you pick up from all the things I’ve ever said about you. Literally the single sorta bad thing and I didn’t even mean it in a bad way because of course I’m not scared of you. Sweetheart I could never be scared of you. Why would you ask that?”

His pinky latches onto yours, pulling your hand away from picking at the frayed edge of your shorts and placing both your hands on his thigh. Though you are very much in the middle of a mini melt down, the feel of his thigh under your hand makes you almost black out with how many emotions hit you at once.

He’s devouring all your senses and it’s getting almost to the point of suffocation, yet you lean into him further, your forehead pressing into his shoulder like you’d done in the kitchen not too long ago.

“I don’t know I just feel like I push people away? Or I’m seen as cold and mean and so people don’t really want to be around me? I mean Tommy used to kinda say stuff like that and how I have a resting bitch face, which you know sorta valid, but I ju-“

“God Tommy is such a fucking tool. Remind me to never allow him in my house every again. I can’t believe he said that kind of shit to you.”

The words are a whisper, an exhale against your temple so full of something that almost sounds like yearning and something even deeper than that. It’s terrifying, the silence starting to penetrate every corner of this moment you both seem suspended in.

Santi’s lips press against your hair and then words tumble out into your tresses.

“He’s an idiot, honestly has always been an idiot, and I wish he could disappear too so that you wouldn’t be hurting the way you are. Because you don’t deserve to be hurting and stressed and angry because he should be feeling all of those things instead of shoving his disgusting relationship in your face, which by the way, I just have to say gross because they were gross.”

And again he’s making you laugh, forget, live to be right here with him where nothing else fucking matters. Your head finally leaves the safety of his shoulders to look at him and it’s only at that very moment that you realize your faces are inches apart.

If that.

Your breathing shuts down and Santi seems to realize at the same time as you of the predicament you’re in. But he doesn’t pull away.

His eyes flit back and forth between your own and he squeezes your pinky again as if he’s reminding you to breath. You release a breath and it’s too loud, too obvious, too revealing in this moment of some unspoken emotion but Santi’s lips pull up a bit, eyes colored with something akin to understanding.

He’s always seen you, inside and out and right now is absolutely no different.

“Sweetheart I’ve just gotta say something before I loose the nerve because I’ve been running around in circles in my head all day just thinking about you and I can’t keep a lid on it for much longer.”

Your lips part as you suck in another pitiful breath and Santis eyes dip slowly to your lips in a way that makes you want to eat him alive. Bite into his neck and mark him so that everyone knows he’s yours. His eyes seem to be on a similar train of thought.

“Fuck I just can’t keep pretending you’re not all I think about. That I’ve been waiting for you to move on from Tommy so that I could finally say this because I’ve been waiting since I met you. Tommy was always in the fucking way and now he isn’t and now the way you’re looking at me is fucking dangerous territory because all I want to do is kick everyone out of my house and finally have it just be us.”

He’s both rambling and yet so sure, like he’s been practicing how to make this all seem spur of the moment even though you know for a fact Santi hates spur of the moment, would rather cut off a limb then live by the seat of his pants. It makes it all the more endearing.

“I-I wow ok well let’s just see now because I am hearing that you are like into me into me, you know, like that and I don’t, you know, want to be too obvious off the bat but I have, you know, possibly been feeling a similar sort of emotion bu-“

The kiss has to have been ripped straight from your fantasies. Santi is actually just a figment of your imagination that you've manifested into the real world and he is the perfect kisser because there is no way kissing someone should feel like this.

You can taste the mint now, his scent no longer just in your nose but on your tongue, his kiss pouring more of him straight into you. It’s all encompassing, too many things happening at once that your brain feels like it might be melting out of your ears.

His hand cups your jaw, fingertips pressing just below your ear in a way that seems benign yet sends ripples of heat down your spine. His tongue licking against the seam of your lips and then sweeping against yours that leaves you arching into him, a whimper sneaking its way up your throat and onto his tongue. His pinky still latched with yours squeezes tighter and tighter as if somehow that touch is what’s holding you both together.

You’re both panting when you finally break, his nose skimming your cheek bone as he presses a fervent kiss to the corner of your lips, your jaw, just below your ear. Your eyes stay shut, basking in the sparkles that are flitting behind your closed lids with every press of his lips.

He pulls back slightly to look in your eyes and you whine, eyes still shut, still needing more of him, more of that overwhelming, drowning, flying, sinking feeling that his lips give you. His chuckle ghosts over your lips and you swear he’s just fucking with you now.

Your lids finally peel open and you can’t believe you left them closed for this long. Stopped yourself from seeing Santi looking like every wet dream you’ve ever had in your entire life all wrapped into one magical person.

His eyes are black, blown with lust from the kiss sent from heaven, yet they’re sparkling like polished obsidian, a joy and contentment so clearly flowing out of them. He’s this enchanting mixture of unadulterated lust and sex appeal crossed with a deep ingrained affection and adoration all pinpointed on you and it’s a heady mixture you’re finding hard to withstand.

“What are you thinking about honey?” The words are pressed from his lips to yours, a soft brush of air coating you in the sweetness of this moment with him. You can hear and feel the smile that he isn’t even trying to restrain and your own smile feels like it’s splitting your face in two.

“Honestly, I was thinking about how mad I was that Tommy was here and that you were letting him in my-your house, your house, but now I’m just thinking about you. It’s been only you for a minute now.”

The next kiss catches you off guard, Santi no longer able to restrain himself from touching you. It’s more bruising this time round, claiming and needy. Santi groans against your lips and your fingers finally tangle into the curls of your dreams and it’s all just seeming to be getting more and more perfect. His arms snake around your body like they’ve been doing all night, yet this time there’s an urgency to his hold and he’s pulling you out of your chair and into his lap and you’re breathless and lightheaded all over again.

His lips fall to your neck, licking at your pulse before biting down and sending you careening into an unbridled want. Your whimpering and moaning as he feasts on your neck, teeth clamping down just so pulling noises out of you that with anyone else you would be a bit embarrassed about.

But with Santi it’s just perfect.

“I’ve never told you this but I love it when you call my house yours. God it fucking drives me crazy when you tell me you want to go home and you mean here, with me. That you feel like you own me in some way, because fuck you do, god you do.”

The words are branded into the skin at your throat and your yanking his hair before you even know what you’re doing and sealing your lips against his again with a sigh and a moan. He responds in kind, an almost purr of content vibrating against your lips and tongue.

“Well I’m happy you like it so much because now that everything’s on the table, you’re definitely mine and I’m also gonna be here way way way too much, hope you’re ok with that.”

He’s gazing at you with moons in his eyes and shooting stars in his heart. His smile is almost dazed and he looks so soft and warm and like your Santi. You run your fingers through his hair and that purr returns as his dark lashes flutter closed.

“I don’t think I’ll ever let you leave my house again because all I’ve ever wanted was to be in the backyard like today and to be able to see you in my-our kitchen window and know that it’s always gonna be us against the world. Always.”

reminder requests are open using anything that's tagged as writing for prompts and honestly any character is welcome i'm down to at least take a stab at most things ok love you guys kisses smooches the whole shebang

#santiago pope garcia x reader #santiago pope garcia #santiago pope garcia x you #santiago garcia x reader #santiago gracia x you #triple frontier fic #triple frontier #triple frontier fanfiction

108 notes · View notes

lupinusalbus · 1 year

Note

I really enjoyed the dialog between you and Dot about the Snow sequal. I feel there is a huge disconnect between what we see in the final work of the GOT program, what is said in panels and interviews, and the books. I think Kit is very careful when he talks about Jon’s relationship and killing of his aunt.I think it’s out of clear understanding of the backlash the SNOW sequal could face before even getting off the ground. I take GRRM’s advice. The show is the show and books are the books.

Hello, and thank you for the ask. I always love reading @esther-dot's takes on things to do with Game of Thrones, and the books as well. She writes things that are very insightful, and really provide so much food for thought.

Yes, it seems like there definitely has to be a disconnect between the show and the books for many of the characters. I suspect, for example, that episode three of season eight, as presented, is probably a major departure from the books, especially the big moment of Arya killing the Night King, and also because of the absence of the Direwolves other than Ghost (I think it was leaked somewhere that Martin wanted the Direwolves to figure heavily in the battle, and we know the Night King seems to be more of a show thing). Although Arya killing the Night King provided a dramatic moment, it did not seem to make sense in terms of Jon's past encounters with him, and for that reason it fell flat for many viewers.

However, I still think that it's likely that many of the major beats of the show's ending are going to be the same or very similar in the books. We do know that Benioff and Weiss were told the planned ending by Martin, so I think a lot of it is probably more or less accurate in a general sense. The twists and turns leading up to the ending, and the character development will be better in the books and will make more sense, but I think the major endpoints will be about the same: Dany burning King's Landing, Jon killing her, Bran becoming King, Jon being exiled; probably Sansa revealing Jon's identity and Sansa becoming Queen in the North. I also think that much of the Jon/Sansa arc in general is going to roughly follow a similar trajectory as the show and is going to be very important in the books. I'm looking forward to reading it.

But talking more specifically about Jon Snow, and in light of the recent panels with Kit Harington, I think what was said in those panels has only done more to confirm that Jon's show ending will roughly be the book ending. In the panel, KH said that killing Dany was the right thing to do. It was obvious that when he said it he knew that this plot point was unpopular with a decent portion of the show's viewership. At the same time, it's probable that he said it because he is heavily involved in developing the new Snow show (he is rumored to be the executive producer). Therefore, he has to set this show up accurately, necessitating for him to speak in general terms about the premises for the leading character's backstory.

I read somewhere that Kit's writing team, whoever they are, have visited GRRM to discuss the Snow show, and Martin himself blogged about it, so it's fairly obvious that it will be a premise of the new show that killing Dany is Jon's arc, and that Jon is coming to terms with it being the right thing. Somehow, this was Jon's fate all along, even given the vagaries and misreadings of the "prophecy" which is also figuring heavily in House of the Dragon. So in my mind at least, there is some hope that while Jon is haunted by his past, he won't be depicted as being hopelessly entrapped by his "love affair" with Daenerys Targaryen.

Another interesting thing that Kit said in the panels was about Jon having an "internal conflict." He said something like, "Jon doesn't know who he is, and we didn't have time to see how being a Targaryen sits with him. He's been told who he is (by others), but he's quite far away from knowing." Kit also said that he thinks Jon will remain "Jon Snow." This may imply that the show is going to explore Jon finally finding his identity in some way or another? Maybe there is even a hint here that KH (perhaps like GRRM?) was not entirely pleased with Jon's story in season eight?

Maybe I am being overly optimistic, but I do think Jon's aforementioned internal conflict is going to be a theme of this show. I think that there will be "third chapter" for him that will to some degree heal and resolve the traumas that haunt him.

#jon snow #jon snow sequel #kit harington #sansa stark #grrm #anti daenerys #got convention #asks

21 notes · View notes

imaginingmarvelandeverything · 2 years

Text

Chapter 7: Battle Lines

Pairing: Morpheus x OC (Cassandra of Troy)

Warnings: mentions of death, mentions of violence

Word count: 1633

A/N: Here is chapter 7 of Fated and Forgotten! Getting closer to the Fall of Troy now, then we’ve only got about 3000 years to the beginning of the show! But don’t worry, the 3000 years are only going to be snapshots. Hope you like it!!

Main masterlist

Series masterlist

Ko-Fi

“Sir, I know you do not like me to press, but I am concerned about your continued entanglement with the mortal.”

Morpheus glanced back from the stained glass windows towards Lucienne, to find her stood with her hands clasped in front of her in the middle of the throne room. He looked back at the windows, watching as they shifted to show battle lines being drawn among the younger gods. “I have my reasonings, Lucienne.”

“Some of the residents of the Dreaming are growing attached to her. I think it would be better to save them the disappointment down the line and cut contact now.” She said, giving him a knowing look over the top of her glasses.

He sighed, Lucienne cared more about the other residents of the Dreaming than any of them ever cared about her. He turned and walked down the stairs, coming to a stop in front of her. “I cannot cut contact, Lucienne. Cassandra of Troy is soul bonded to me. That is why she has an affect here, and why I can feel her pain.”

Her eyes widened. “All the texts say the endless are exempt from soul bonds.”

“I know. I spoke with the fates, they told me someone I know is playing a jest, unaware of the consequences that breaking a soul bond will render.” The image of Cass lying motionless in a pool of her own blood as the light faded from her eyes reappeared in his mind and he quickly pushed it away.

“Do you know who formed it?”

His shoulders dropped. “Not yet. There are many possible candidates, old and new gods I may have angered that could form the bond if they had access to something to enhance their power. Whoever it is, they are aware of the fate awaiting Cass. But they are unaware of the consequences it will have.”

“Her death will break the bond.” Lucienne realised, her years of reading the books in the library giving her more knowledge than him sometimes.

“I already have a plan in place.” He assured her.

“Then she knows, what she is to you?”

“No.”

“Sir-”

“I have it handled, Lucienne. She has seen herself surviving the initial fall of Troy, and she will not leave her family while they still live. I will step in after their demise, before anything can happen to her.” He said. He felt the familiar tug at his heart as Cass slipped into the Dreaming, far from the palace.

Lucienne frowned. “Do you think that wise, sir?”

“What do you mean?” He asked, frowning now as well.

She took a breath. “I mean, she is highly devoted to her family, even after all they have put her through. Do you really expect her to understand why you waited to tell her?”

“I do not have a choice, Lucienne. I cannot risk the stability of the Dreaming.” He sighed.

“Even then, she will still be mortal, she will still die.” She pointed out.

“When the time comes, I will ask my sister for help. Death has the ability to grant immortality and I do not think she will say no when I explain the situation.” He knew Death would give him a lecture when he told her, so he was putting it off for as long as possible.

***

Morpheus watched Cass laugh with Abel and Cain. The three of them were sat in the space between the House of Secrets and the House of Mysteries, a tea set sat out on the picnic blanket in front of them. Gregory’s head was in her lap and she was idly stroking his nose as she talked to the brothers. He felt a wave of possessiveness pass through his chest, but he pushed it down, knowing it was nothing more than the bond reacting. The same way he knew it was the bonds fault that his heart skipped a beat when she noticed him and her whole face lit up.

“Lord Morpheus.” Abel and Cain said at the same time as he walked up to them.

“Would you like some tea?” Cass asked, holding up a tea pot.

“No. I wish to show you something.” He held out his hand to her, not oblivious to the shocked look on both Abel and Cain’s faces.

She gently nudged Gregory off her knee, the gargoyle huffing in protest, before taking his hand and letting him pull her to her feet. He turned to leave, but she tugged on his hand to stop him as she turned back to her companions. “I will see you tomorrow night, I expect to try that cake you mentioned.”

Abel smiled. “Of course, my lady.”

She turned back to Morpheus and he started walking. “You can taste the food here?”

“Sometimes. I have to concentrate and it is almost as if I am eating a ghost of the food rather than the food itself, if that makes sense.” She said.

He gave a stiff nod; more of his power must be seeping through the bond than he first thought. It raised more questions as to what would happen when he eventually brought her into the Dreaming in her full corporeal form.

“What is it you wish to show me?” She asked as he led her through the palace gates and into the throne room.

He gestured to the stain glass windows. “Battle lines are being drawn among the gods. They are choosing sides in the war, I thought you might like to see who was on your side.”

“It will not matter.” She whispered, taking a step forward to better see the sigils in the glass. “The gods will not join the fight, not in the end, when it counts. Aphrodite will save my brother, Paris, and prolong the war, dooming my people. Even I am fated to lose my freedom begging for Athena’s help at the foot of her alter. And yet, I still hope I am wrong.” She turned to give him a tight smile.

“How do you still hold onto hope?” He asked, genuinely curious to her answer.

She stepped up to him and took his right hand in her left, dropping her gaze to their entwined fingers. “What does humanity have, if not hope, King of Dreams? What would I have if I let go of hope? Madness and hysteria, locked away and hidden from the world. I have to hope that somehow I am wrong, that somehow this is all going to work out. Because if I do not, I will truly lose my mind.”

He let her words wash over him, her proximity and the weight of her hand in his feeling like the most natural thing in the history of the universe. “How long?”

Those two little words seemed to hang in the air between them, the weight settling on both their shoulders. He watched her shoulders rise and fall as she took a deep breath, her right hand moving to join her left on his hand. Her fingertips skimmed over the exposed skin of his wrist that was visible beneath the skin of his robe. It is just the bond, his mind whispered to him as he felt his heart jump.

“Not long now.” She eventually whispered, her voice much steadier than he expected it to be. “The Greeks have surrounded the city. Hector will go to them in a bid for peace, but Achilles will stab him in the throat and then drag his body around the city wall. Paris will kill Achilles, and Troy will think it has won the war. But the Greeks will have a plan to breech the walls, one that I cannot yet see. The rest of my family will die, apart from my brother’s wife, my mother and I. We are to be the spoils of war.”

Rage filled his chest and the Dreaming reacted accordingly; the throne room darkened and the energy in the room seemed to warp around him. But Cass did not step away from him, the same way she had not stepped away from him in the dream of her would be suitor. He knew it was the influence of the bond that made her so sure he wouldn’t hurt her, even if she was still mostly oblivious to its existence.

“Morpheus.” She said his name the same way she had last time and he snapped himself out of it, the room lightening again and the Dreaming returning to normal. “You must have seen so many people meet grizzly ends.”

“That does not make it easier.” He admitted. “And I have not know most of them personally.”

“I was hoping to ask something of you.” She said, her fingers still tracing patterns on the inside of his wrist.

“I am listening.”

“After… At the end, I was hoping you might grant me a place here, like you did for Abel and Cain?” She finally looked up, her dark eyes hopeful as she met his own.

His heart stopped and his lips parted with his exhale. “You will always have a place here.”

“Thank you.” She smiled, her hand squeezing his.

He bowed his head in recognition before tugging her towards the library. “Lucienne mentioned a book you might like.” He said, already formulating a plan to keep a closer eye on her in the waking world now the end was drawing nearer.

Chapter 8

Taglist: @yanna-banana @thefinalgirlpng @itshamleth @lokigirlszendaya @yunloyal

(drop me a line to be added/removed!)

#morpheus #morpheus x oc #morpheus imagine #morpheus x female oc #morpheus oneshot #dream of the endless #dream x oc #dream imagine #dream of the endless x oc #dream x female oc #the sandman #the sandman 2022 #tom sturridge #lucienne #the dreaming

32 notes · View notes

talesofsorrowandofruin · 2 years

Text

The Great OC Alphabet Caper: R

Since I only posted about one OC earlier, I’ll post about the next group too. I have four OCs whose name starts with R: three from the Death series and one from LSOHG.

Riyome

Name: Riyome Kiros

Age/Pronouns: Late 30s (when she died), she/her

Brief physical description: This Artbreeder portrait is close-ish to how I picture her:

Brief list of defining traits: Dead and bitter about it. Hates Death. Wants to bring herself back to life.

Excerpt:

Riyome's residence was far away from most other souls'. Even in death mortal souls liked to cluster around each other. She wanted nothing more than to avoid them. It was impossible to avoid them completely, but she did her best. She built her house in the middle of an ever-changing maze. Most souls never dared go into the maze. Things lived in it. Things that looked human but moved like puppets. Things that wore pretty smiles to hide gaping jaws and deadly teeth. Things that chittered and things that howled, things that crawled and things that galloped. No one knew where they'd come from, or how they got into the Land of the Dead.

No one but Riyome. She had stayed here for so long that she had seen how the things came to be. They were mortal souls. Souls that had been dead so long they had been forgotten about even by Death. Souls that had lost even their own knowledge of being souls. They had no hope of leaving, no hope of being reincarnated, not even the dreaded fate of being sent to the World Beneath.

Riyome had watched them. Year in, year out. She saw how gradually they forgot details of their lives. Then they forgot their names, and their nearest and dearest became strangers to them. Soon they forgot they had ever lived. Next to go was their memory of what they actually were. And finally their appearance and their very nature changed.

She had seen it happen to people she had know. Her greatest fear was that it would happen to her.

Trivia:

I’m planning to change her name in the second draft to avoid mixing her up with Rualnim

Rualnim

Name: Rualnim Inonul

Age/Pronouns: Late 20s/early 30s, she/her

Brief physical description: This Artbreeder portrait is close-ish to how I picture her:

Brief list of defining traits: Up to no good. Trying to use Losradan to get power.

Excerpt (warning for... well, she’s her own warning):

Rualnim stared at Kiroshnoy's throat, bare except for a small gold necklace, and thought of slicing it wide open. See how superior she thought she was as she drowned in her own blood, as it turned her oh-so-expensive dress bright red.

"I can do nothing without your sister's permission," Rualnim said with a sickly-sweet smile. Years ago she had learnt to hide her murderous fantasies behind a veneer of politeness. It was a skill she used almost every minute of her life. "Why don't you tell her about it?"

Kiroshnoy snorted. She looked at Rualnim with great scorn. "Everyone knows you're the one really in control."

Alarm bells went off in the older woman's head. How much did she know? Was the little brat more perceptive than she appeared?

"Do they indeed," she said in a neutral tone. "Was there anything else you wanted to say?"

Kiroshnoy didn't dignify that with a response. She got up and swept out with as much self-importance as a teenager could manage. As soon as she was gone Rualnim picked up a penknife and viciously stabbed it into the desk, imagining it was the princess.

Trivia:

I need to rewrite her subplot because I still have no idea what her actual goal is

Rurika

Name: Rurika (plus a really long surname)

Age/Pronouns: 14, she/her

Brief physical description: This Artbreeder portrait is close to how I picture her:

Brief list of defining traits: Wants to be a musician. Unfortunately she’s a terrible musician.

Excerpt:

"Rurika. How nice to see you."

Gialma's smile was decidedly fixed. A hint of barely-suppressed panic crept into his voice in spite of his best efforts to keep it out. Unexpected visits from relatives were rarely welcome. A visit at very short notice from his mother and youngest sister -- the latter of whom was still clutching that gods-damned maokuan to her chest -- was even less welcome. He tried to resign himself to at least a week of unpleasantness. His mother would doubtless find many reasons to criticise him. Rurika would make life miserable with that infernal instrument. Perhaps he could ask Qihadal to find him some urgent duty to carry out in a distant province.

His heart sank even further at the first words out of Rurika's mouth.

"I have to practice music every day or I'll never be any good."

Gialma looked at his mother. She looked at him. Both of them wore matching expressions of horror.

"I'll find somewhere you won't be disturbed," Gialma said faintly. Perhaps locking her in the basement would do the trick. Or maybe Varan would be kind enough to take Rurika to some distant mountaintop. "I expect you need... peace and quiet."

Heaven knew he would need it.

Trivia:

Gialma and Hailanyu’s sister

Named after Miya Rurika

Rusudan

Name: Rusudan Lajareshvalë

Age/Pronouns: 24-ish, she/her

Brief physical description: None yet

Brief list of defining traits: Is up to no good. Fantasy equivalent of a mob boss. Can’t communicate to save her life. Is undead and trying to hide it. Possibly a monsterfucker.

Excerpt: None yet

Trivia:

Is named after Rusudan of Georgia

Darejan’s sister

#the great oc alphabet caper #writing #my writing #my characters #my WIPs #WIP: emperor #WIP: snow #artbreeder #nerissa rambles

2 notes · View notes

campmurderparty · 3 months

Text

gideon & blythe.

It was sort of eerie to see blythe looking like such a… grown up. In his mind, she was still the girl down the street that wore thick glasses and girlish overalls. She was still the girl that left swirly designs and cutesy bugs in chalk on the concrete, and followed him and his little pack of friends like she was the runt. She seemed to be enamored with him in particular, which led to constant teasing from his friends. Back then, Gideon saw Blythe trailing after them and always thought how annoying. At the time, he was still too young to think of girls as anything other than yucky, and his friends liked it when he was a little shithead. Above all, he wanted his friends’ admiration; he already had it from blythe, why did he have to try to get it from her?

Well, eventually Gideon grew up. He stopped seeing girls as yucky and stopped playing with action figures. Instead, he wrote short stories on his laptop and tried to get any girl to date him. He thought about what college to go to, how to get as far away from his divorcing parents as he possibly could (and then still ended up going to college an hour away), and he thought about how much of a dick he had been to blythe. Their relationship briefly patched up in his last year of high school, but their fates were not intertwined and if he were to be honest, he hadn’t thought much about blythe since graduation.

Not until he came home a few weeks ago. His mother kept the house in the divorce and while gideon had been back to visit during hanukkah every year, he never really spent more than a few days back in his childhood bedroom—too many memories, too many feelings. It hadn’t been his home in over ten years and yet, it was still the place he came to when his career was almost over before it had really started. His sophomore novel was barely a hundred pages in and he kept having to start over when the plot didn’t gel or his dialogue sounded stupid. Blythe’s engagement party was a welcome distraction, but of course, his fucking mouth got away from him.

Even as a best-selling author, Gideon still said the dumbest shit sometimes. He regretted the question the moment it hit back on his ears and he realized he sounded like such a jackass. Half-expecting blythe to throw him out of her party right then and there, he was surprised by the amusement in her tone. His body, momentarily frozen awaiting her reaction, quickly relaxed. “I may have wondered about it.” gideon answered honestly, returning his gaze to blythe. “Don’t worry, though. I’m under the impression that marriage is a prison… no offense.” damn fucking mouth! “I just don’t have very good role models in Maureen and Levi, that’s all.” Acrimonious hadn’t been a strong enough word for his parents’ divorce, and with how his father kept dating the students in his college courses, there hadn’t been hope for gideon to have a decent image of matrimony.

He laughed, taking another swig of his beer. “It hadn’t occurred to me that you’d be interested in my book. Actually, I'm surprised my mother didn’t give out three copies each to every neighbor on the street. She loves to boast about her novelist son." His mother certainly loved to talk about it to anyone willing to listen, though he doubted she actually read his novel. “If you’ve got a copy, I can sign it for you now: to blythe, the founding member of my fan club… that is, if you’re still my fan?” gideon smirked playfully, always a shameless flirt. He cast another glance at her fiancé. “So how did you two meet? He seems pretty… clean-cut.” though his stupid mouth got him into trouble, he did refrain from saying their vibes didn’t seem to match.

0 notes

truckreincarnation · 3 months

Text

Bug in the System || CH5 ???

It felt like barely any time at all had passed since three more of your number had perished, and perhaps still more surprisingly, since the all-too-timely death of King Calum IV. Luz, Frank, and Theophania had all returned to you by now chronologically, though Francis still showed no sign of regenerating. There was still an uncertain tension hanging in the air around the Great Tree, with nobody seeming altogether entirely sure what was next in store for you all.

Why had the Lynchpin ended things? Where would you actually go from here? So many questions remained, and yet there were so few answers. But it would be too easy still if all you had to do was wait.

The mystery would only deepen on the morning of the second day when, posted to every room both in the Incarnate accommodations and Bound housing, came a letter. The handwriting looked strangely familiar, but the scratchy block capitals were impossible to place even if you took the time to cross-reference.

FRIENDS, I AM DEEPLY SORRY I COULD NOT STOP THEM FROM HURTING YOU. OUR POWER AND INFLUENCE WAS INSUFFICIENT TO PREVENT THIS TRAGEDY OUTRIGHT. ACTING ANY SOONER WOULD HAVE ONLY SPELLED A WORSE FATE FOR US ALL. BUT YOU MUST SUFFER NO LONGER. OUR CAREFULLY LAID TRAP HAS BEEN SPRUNG. THE HEARTLESS TYRANT IS DEAD. THIS WAR SHALL SOON REACH ITS CONCLUSION. SAFETY AND SECURITY FOR BOUND AND INCARNATES ALIKE IS WITHIN REACH. WE WILL BE THE LAST TO ENDURE SUCH WICKED AND CALLOUS TREATMENT. YOU MOST CERTAINLY HAVE QUESTIONS. I AM FINALLY ABLE TO PROVIDE ANSWERS. SUMMONING CIRCLE. 10 AM. THE CYCLE ENDS WHERE IT BEGAN. SEE YOU THERE, -- THE DEPUTY

This certainly doesn’t sound like any of your hosts. Skeptical as you justifiably may have been, any more answers would be better than nothing right now. One way or another, you make your way to the Summoning Circle at the posted time before getting too deep into the roots of the new floors. It doesn’t seem like anyone else is there to meet you, though - and a cursory glance suggests that your entire group is present. For just a moment, it seems like it might have been another trick, more false hope - but sooner than later, someone looks up, calls out, and the rest of you follow suit to see someone is, in fact, present.

The silhouette of the figure hovering over the edge of the water is hard to make out at first, dimly lit and half-obscured by fog. It bears a resemblance to the Swarm spawn you encountered in the Dragon’s Teeth mountains, although with a much more intricate set of dual-toned butterfly wings. Once it seems to hear the din of the gathered crowd, the lepidopterous figure descends and touches down at the edge of the circle, still facing away from you.

“So you came… I can’t tell you how happy I am to finally be able to speak to you all like this.”

[♪♫♪]

The voice overlaps with itself, a subtle pitched echo giving each word a buzz-like hum. The figure turns around to face you all - and all at once, it strikes you. You know those eyes, superficially different as they may be. You’ve seen that spark in them, the glimmer that betrayed a far greater brilliance than she often displayed. The way her face lights up when she sees the group all gathered together. The way she clasps her lower hands together in excitement, the way her upper set darts about unsure of what to do with themselves before reaching out to you all.

“Thanks for coming, everyone! I’m really glad you could make it! We’ve, um, we’ve got a lot of catching up to do…!”

How could you ever mistake the Demon King’s spy, the bug in the system, for anyone else?

(image credit: Lines, colors, and effects by Roark, shading and additional effects by Chula)

The Deputy is none other than the eternal optimist, Manami Kodaka.

#ch5 #event

0 notes

tomkatandloki · 10 months

Text

Can you squeeze us in?

Hello Reader,

We have a little tale to tell so I urge you to read on so I can explain…..

A few months ago, our life hit a major obstacle, did a bit of a wobble, lost trajectory, and got thrown right off the tracks. We’d been happily living in a ground-floor garden flat in Moseley for three years which we shared with a colony of semi-tame squirrels, mad foxes, and friendly magpies. Quite idyllic, we had no plans to move. Until very suddenly, we had to.

When a planned operation didn't go to plan, it set off a chain of events like falling dominos. Leaving me unable to work due to the gruelling recovery process, and leaving us homeless.

Until now. In a happy twist of fate to this tale, we’ve just found our home. The slight issue is, we don't have anywhere to put it….yet. I can see you have questions. Let me clear those up.

We bought a bus. We actually bought a bus.

Its name is Loki. Loki needs a home. Loki is our home.

Let me explain further. (uncomfortable detail coming up), I had been waiting for an operation that was going to vastly improve my life and my health. Having progressively suffered from severe endometriosis, which after a few years painfully invaded the normality of daily life. I was full of hope when I woke up from the operation, thinking this was the first day on the road to recovery. Then, in the horrible mist of anesthetic, I was told that nothing had been done. Nothing. It was too severe to work on at that point as they had to take more “drastic” measures at a later date and for that, they needed my permission. Permission I would have gladly given If they had just asked me before the operation.

When they told me, Several things occurred to me all at once in a kind of depressing epiphany.

It wasn't over, it had in fact only just begun,

I was going to take a very long time to heal

I wouldn't be going to any festivals anytime soon

I wouldn't be able to go to work

I wouldn't be able to put anything toward the rent, the council tax, the bills, or the food, ….

We were going to lose our home.

Unfortunately, I was correct on all counts.

We were very lucky to have my partner's parents take us in right away, on a temporary basis. Well, that temporary basis is up. We have to go. ASAP. The very day we were told this, we discovered Loki and the opportunity to obtain a fully converted bus landed in our laps. We took the opportunity without hesitation. There wasn't much choice, to be honest. The UK living crisis is real, it's really happening to real, normal people. Like us. It's a good thing we like the idea of living on a bus. And having watched every single episode of George Clarke's amazing spaces, we feel totally ready for this new life.

So, this is where you come in. And thanks for listening so far. Now comes the pleading! We are on the hunt for a little scrap of land, enough to fit the bus and possibly a little around it so we can sit outside, do a spot of exercising, hang the washing out, do normal house things, etc. There is so much space around here, we firmly believe that somebody must have an area of unused land to spare. A small corner of a field, a clearing in a wood, the back of a garden, a barn, outside a barn, a concrete slab that used to be a barn! Anything.

It could be you have a small holding for your horticultural business and need some extra money to keep things ticking over. We could help each other out. Is there any spare space you could squeeze us in? A patch of ground that may be a tad unloved and unused? Even an area you may have thought too messy. We can help clean it up and you can have two responsible adults there too keep it clean and appreciated. We would be grateful for anything you can think of.

We are a professional couple and have been together for over eight years. My partner works full-time locally in Knowle at a School for children with behaviour disorders. I work in event promotions, copywriting, and running my photography and artwork businesses. We live a fairly straightforward existence, usually asleep by 10 because of my partner's early starts. I’ll be up then, tidying, then working, then preparing dinner, the usual daily jobs.

The bus itself is a Dennis Dart single-decker, which measures around Fully equipped with solar panels for electricity, a water tank, and all cooking facilities. It is basically a tiny flat on wheels.

Even if you are not able to fulfil the dreams of finding our new home, you can still help by telling our little story. Please spread the word. Use it as coffee shop gossip! Tell your neighbours, tell your hairdresser! We need to get the network of conversation going as we believe someone out there can help us. The more people we can spread the word to the better.

You can phone us, text, email, or social media, or let's meet and talk over coffee. Whatever you prefer.

With Hope

Kat, Tom, and Loki the bus.

Phone Kat 07460442402

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/catography1/

0 notes

mrpenguinpants · 3 years

Text

Xiao: First Kiss HCs

I’m so sorry it took me actually forever to reply to you. But I really hope you like this and it was somewhat worth the wait;; I tried really hard but ty for liking my Xiao content and yes! Let’s be absolute trash for Xiao. In this house we only believe in Xiao supremacy 💕💕

---

Semi Part 1: Friendship

Semi Part 2: Falling in Love

Semi Part 3: Cuddles

Semi Part 4: Protective

Semi Part 5: Affection

Semi Part 6: Jealously

Semi Part 8: Opposites Attract

Semi Part 9: String of Fate [Soulmate] HCs

Semi Part 10: [ Fainting ]

---

Childe Ver: First Kiss HCs

Venti & Kaeya: Mistletoe HCs

Venti, Xingqiu, and Razor: Kissing HCs

Considering how many more Xiao fics I need to write. This semi part link might not be a good idea lol. Also let’s ignore if I wrote in a kiss in a previous post haha.

---

[taglist] <- if you want to be added, please read this first.

@hanniejji @mikeysbike @unionwitch @musekala @twistedsunnshiii @stanzastic @akaasea @xoneaboveallx @adoring-ghost @asheseiler @childelover@youaskedfurret @snowy224

---

Xiao: First Kiss HCs

When you and Xiao first got together. It was a slow and steady process of learning each other boundaries and what felt comfortable. Xiao knew he was a difficult partner but you loved him and even becoming his friend was a slow and worthwhile adventure. It started off small leading from small handholding, to cuddling, to showing each other affection. But the one area that you both weren’t familiar in was kisses. He was an isolated adepti and you were an adventurer. You didn’t have any experience in being kissed and Xiao sure as hell didn’t either. Plus it was a lot more intimate and nerve wracking compared to holding hands and that was an hard hill to tackle in itself.

You didn’t mind that he wasn’t comfortable with initiating affection or never went in or talked about kisses. You were just happy that he was by your side and that your love was reciprocated. That he was comfortable in your presence and seemed content in your arms. It still made you a bit giddy when you reflected on how far you both came and that was enough for you. Xiao, on the other hand, couldn’t exactly say the same. While he was happy and he was content, he couldn’t help but feel that maybe your relationship was too one-sided? He knew that you were comfortable and okay with waiting for him to work out his issues and figuring out how to love again but he also really wanted to do more. He just wasn’t sure how to start.

It suddenly dawned on him one day when he saw you off on your next journey, that he had never really kissed you. Even a small goodbye kiss. It was usually you initiating affection or giving words of love and you always told him that it didn’t matter if he said it or not. His actions said more which always made him flush a bit. But on slow and quiet days where you were off on another adventure and Liyue was calm, he couldn’t help but let his mind wander to you. To your face, your bright eyes that would light up whenever you talked about the interesting sights you saw on your journey, the curve of your nose whenever he tapped it when you started to ramble on to much, your lips and how they would spread into a soft smile when it was just the two of you.

Xiao quickly flipped himself up into a sitting position and groaned into his hands. What was happening to him? He needed to take a walk to clear his mind again. He’s been going out a lot since he met you. He had faced an army of demons and fought in a war and yet this felt like the hardest challenge of his entire thousand year long life. He could almost hear Guizhong’s laughter at his predicament and her words of wisdom saying to take whatever problem he had and face it head on. Just without his spear. The spear needs to stay home.

So the next time you visited Wangshu Inn he asked for you to close your eyes. You complied but you were surprised, sitting by the railing facing Liyue up on the balcony. Was he going to gift you something? This was the first time he asked you to close your eyes but you trusted him. You could almost feel the anxiety waving off Xiao so you kept quiet and patient and waited for him to be ready.

He was ready. He could do this. You weren’t even looking at him so what was there to be worried about? He slowly leaned in, just hovering above your lips. But then he leaned back a bit, flushing red. He nearly chewed his lip before stopping since you probably didn’t want to taste blood. It wasn’t that he wasn’t ready or he thought that you would hate it, he was just nervous in messing up. What if his accidently transformed? What if he accidently pushed you off the railing? Even worse, what if someone showed up and saw you both like this?

Turns out he didn’t need to worry. Somewhat. Zhongli, who Xiao knew now was actually Rex Lapis in disguise, made a sudden appearance behind him. The whiplash of suddenly seeing his Master, the nervous butterfly’s fluttering in his stomach, and pep talk Xiao was trying to pound into his mind made him suddenly lurch forward and kiss you deeply. A bit too deeply as his little fangs nipped at your bottom lip.

“Zhongli!?”

“Rex Lapis?!”

You both quickly broke apart as your eyes flew open when you heard the man but also surprise at the sudden but, not completely unpleasant, pain and pressure on your lips. You could almost see the soul leave Xiao’s body when he spun around to see the surprised Zhongli. It was silent for a moment, all three of you just staring at each other. You were still processing what the hell just happened, Xiao was trying to find a way to astral project, and Zhongli was computing the fact that yes, the ever grumpy and “don’t touch me” yaksha both had a lover and was in the middle of...courting.

“Oh. My apologies. I wasn’t aware you were both occupied. I shall take my leave and visit another day then.” Zhongli simply nodded and left before you or Xiao could say anything. You both stared at the empty figure of where Zhongli was before you started to burst into laughter at the situation. You really felt bad, you did honestly, but with all the overwhelming emotions you couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m...sorry. I didn’t know he was going to visit today,” Xiao muttered as he pressed his hand into his face and groaned at the embarrassing moment. You could see the tips of his ears were getting redder by the second which made you chuckle. For such a fearsome Yaksha he was really cute sometimes.

“It’s okay Xiao. I don’t mind. But are you alright?” you stifled the last of your giggles and reached out to pull him closer and remove his hand from his red face before cupping his cheek. He huffed but leaned into your hand. He really was sometimes like a cat.

“Are you hurt? Was I...too forward?” Xiao asked but he still wouldn’t look you in the eye. The floor was very interesting this afternoon. Wood was nice. Wood was good.

“No! It was...nice,” you answered, starting to go a bit pink yourself now before you felt a stinging pain in the corner of your lip, “Ah. I think you might accidently bit my lip though.”

“I see,” Xiao was now looking at you with his piercing eyes as he watched your small pink tongue brush over the corner of your bottom lip. His attention began to focus on that small part as the world seem to narrow down. Just the two of you. But unlike when you both would lie on top of the inn and watch the sun go down he felt hungry.

“Do you-”

Before you could ask anything Xiao suddenly pounced and pressed his lips against yours in a heated kiss. He took you by surprise but you quickly recovered as you gripped the purple ribbon on his back and yanked him forward as his hands slammed against the railing, trapping you. You felt his tongue press against your lips as you slowly opened them to let him in. It was overwhelming and you were sure if you hadn’t been grabbing onto the purple ribbon you would have fell over but then a sudden deep rumble snapped you out of your trance.

“Xiao? Are you...Are you purring?” you giggled when you got a tiny but of separation from the lack of air but he frowned at you, really it looked more like a pout, before leaning over once again. Just barely brushing over your lips as he whispered

“Meow”

---

This isn’t even OOC anymore. I feel like I’m writing a fucking k-drama right now, what am I doing anymore? English? Huh? I do not compute.

I’ve just awakened something in me with Cat! Xiao and I am flying with it (and casually ignoring lore. Isn’t he a bird?). Heading straight for the stratosphere and you cannot stop me. Just gonna hide away in shame now don’t look at me.

Okay. Time to commit sleep for uh 2 hours lol. I’m really tired but I feel kinda proud of myself haha. Tomorrow’s fics are going to be Venti, Lisa and Diluc pairing, and Venti and Barbara pairing. Good night!

Oh, and yes there is a lot more Xiao content to come and uhh might continue this cat!xiao idea. Unless that’s too weird. I’m sorry don’t shame me pls 😰

my god tumble just work. i dont want to deal with you and your tags.

3K notes · View notes

angelkurenai · 3 years

Text

Party’s just getting started - Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Title: Party’s just getting started

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Warnings: None

Prompt: oh my god yes can you write one where y/n moves in next door to tom in london. and he’s in awe of her, and after meeting a few times he invites her to one of his parties where she buys a book for tom instead of a bottle of wine. and a famous friend of tom’s is there and he’s like “ohhhhhh so this is the girl?” thanks a million. and obviously tom is a bit younger than he is now in this x

"Didn't know there was a zombie apocalypse fast approaching. Should I stock up as well?" being able to hear, and therefore picture before actually seeing,the smile on the man's face was enough to brighten your mood despite how long of a day you'd already had.

"Ah didn't you know?" you pretended, eyes widening in fake horror "I heard that we will have to lock ourselves up for the next three months, people are going crazy, dry food and toilet paper are disappearing faster than a blink of an eye. Better hurry Tom, otherwise you won't be able to find any tea on the market." You said with all the seriousness you could master as he took some of the bags you were carrying and the both of you entered the lift.

"Ah and what a tragedy that would be!" he gasped "Well, at least fate has spared me some of the pain by making this torture we shall endure the sweetest possible for me."

"Do tell Mr Hiddleston, how has fate blessed you so?" you raised an eyebrow as he smiled easily at you.

"Simple, with you as my lovely neighbor I believe I could easily quarantine for an entire year." he grinned as you scoffed and looked away from him, to hopefully prevent yourself from blushing any harder.

"Careful what you ask for there, Tom. You never know what kind of consequences your words will have." You said with a smirk and hoped it sounded as confident as it did in your head.

"I am willing to face whatever consequences for you darling. Besides, I am most certain you could figure a way to keep us both entertained." his tone was playful as it was almost a habit these days after all the conversations you'd had but something to those particular words had your heart leaping to your throat. Luckily for you and before you could come up with something witty enough to play it all off as a joke, he spoke up again "So, you didn't tell me, who's all that for? If I remember correctly, you went to the market two days ago too."

"Got a great memory I see?"

"Only when it comes to people I care for." his replies were as easy as breathing, which was a perfect comparison for you too because you were currently struggling at both "Besides… I am mostly saying this to make sure everything's alright?"

"Ah if only I'd known how much I've been missing in life not having a neighbor as wonderful as you." you smiled to yourself "You're right they're not for me. I will be visiting a friend later and she asked for this favor."

"Ah I see, then my time is limited. I must hurry."

"Hurry?" you questioned as you exited the elevator.

"To abduct you of course. And take advantage of you and your precious little time. If you will allow me to?"

"You know Tom, knowing you are probably the next sweetest thing to the caramel latte my friends had me try, I don't worry when you say things like that. But, friendly advice, you don't really ask the victim their permission to kidnap them before you do."

"Ah I am helpless apparently. But seeing as I would wish you to be my only victim, no harm done right?"

"Hmh and what kind of victim shall I be then?" you raised an eyebrow of interest at Jim as a grin slowly started spreading on his face again.

"Ideally?" he asked far too adorably from your heart to take and you nodded your head "To my charm."

Oh if only he knew.

"Ah we will have to see about that then. Perhaps if I were to know your hideout is, I could consider it…?" you said innocently but the smile on your face was far from it.

"Easy. My house." the words came out easily and casually and you would have been absolutely comfortable with any of it because you knew to trust him. It was yourself that you didn't trust and possibly misunderstanding anything he said or did because you couldn't fight your own feelings.

"P-Pardon?" you whispered.

"I uh-" he hesitated, blinking several times when he realized how it might have sounded "I just realized- You know, I did not get the opportunity to invite you over all here months and thought if you do have some time before you go visit your friend that you could come over for some tea?" he suggested with a possibly shy and definitely adorable and hopeful smile on his face. You even took a couple seconds to take in and admire how cute it was to see him bite his lower lip like some teenage boy in front of his crush- Wait, no that was a dangerous thought to have and you really couldn't afford to at the moment.

"Well, actually-" you offered him a soft and sweet smile, trying to ease his nerves (the thought of which made your own nerves even worse) "I would like that very much. Could you Wait a bit, just give me a couple minutes yeah?"

"I could wait as long as you need me to." he said in a voice as low as a whisper as you unlocked the door to your apartment, but made sure to repeat the words he said in your mind once or twice. Or more.

And if that only made your infatuation grow any more beyond control to the point you could see yourself developing feelings for him, then there was no way to help it.

"Yeah I don't know." the voice broke your trail of thoughts and you blinked twice to focus.

“Still skeptical about it?” taking a sip of your tea, you couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at your best friend who wouldn't stop glaring at the bookshelf that covered one of the walls of the living room in its entirety.

“I'm just wondering, when did you really get to this point without me noticing? By the time I come visit next, I fear I will walk into a library instead of an apartment. Honestly-” she laughed, shaking her head in disbelief “It's not humanly possible to own these many books. It can't be!”

“Well, maybe if you visited more often then you'd have the chance to actually watch my collection grow and see it's totally possible.” you smiled sweetly while she narrowed her eyes playfully at you “Besides, don't be dramatic. I'm not the only one who owns this many books... especially not in the building.”

“Wait-” she paused from drinking her tea and raised an eyebrow at you “There's another one of your species in this building? How have I missed that?” he blinked “Based on your descriptions none of the tenants sounds like the type to read and hoard books like they will go extinct come next morning.”

“I don't-” you started, about to defend yourself but she cut you off with an exclamation.

“Oh maybe it's that sweet old guy that has a hearing issue on the first floor?”

“Uhm, no, why would he-”

“Or maybe that kind middle-aged lady who you said keeps bringing you cookies?”

“Why does it have to be old people? Books are not just for-”

“Or do you mean that weird professor dude on the highest floor who could easily be pregnant with twins with that belly of hi-”

“Oh dear, do you really think I would talk with him of all people about books? He's so-”

“Then it's that nerdy guy on the second floor who barely looks you in the eyes when you-”

“Oh for the love, it's the guy down the hall!” you exclaimed, maybe a little too loud, but at least were able to cut off her rambling. Effectively so, if you could say yourself, because her lips sealed shut and her eyes widened more than was humanly possible.

“Th- the guy d-down the hall?” she repeated and you nodded your head “The guy-who-could-totally-get-it-if-he-asked down the hall?” she asked again and despite your frown, you nodded your head “The guy that looks like he walked out of some sort of photoshoot every time I've seen him?” you gave her a funny look but slowly nodded your head anyway “The life-is-a-runway guy down the hall?”

“Yes, yes that guy. We get it, you can describe him in many ways but his name is Tom. And in case you have forgotten, he's an actor, so it's not a surprise how he looks good every time you see him.” you tried to shrug it off, playing the uninterested part you knew you should around your friend because if she realized you held even the smallest bit of interest in a man then there was nothing that could stop her from playing matchmaker. And you couldn't afford to live through any of the embarrassing moment that would surely come because of her, in front of Tom. The fact that you felt like the guy was totally out of your league was another thing altogether. You were no model or actress, and with all the beautiful and interesting women surrounding him every day as he rose higher and higher to become an A-list actor (which you were more than certain would happen very soon, even if he denied it every time you talked) you knew you stood no chance. Much as he looked like the normal guy next door, he was not really part of your world. Those kind of differences could not be easily overcome when fame got involved in the end.

So you had, early on, convinced yourself to be content with his friendship, which he eagerly seemed to want to give you based on how often he visited you or tried to initiate a conversation, and not dare to ask or even dare to dream about there being something more. Your heart wouldn't be able to take that kind of heartbreak when it inevitably came.

“Trust me, there's not a single detail I've forgotten about that man. I, however, seemed unaware of the fact that he's one of your kind. He looks sophisticated enough, I suppose, and quiet- Wait!” she raised a finger mid-rant, pausing to narrow her eyes at you again, terrifying you even more when a smile slowly started creeping on her lips “How do you know of how many books he owns hm?”

Of course. Trust her to turn everything you say against you.

Considering you probably should have kept your mouth shut and let her drag your love for books through the mud the way she always playfully did, you looked away from her and tried to play innocent despite how it was far from convincing “We just happened to talk about it once or twice when we ran into each other.”

"Just happened to talk about it?" her voice was filled with disbelief "Alright, say I believe that for a second, yeah? And say that I won't question just how long or how often did those conversations happen." the way she said made you wish she would ask that instead of what was to come "How come that he knows of the great collection of books you have? Even more, how do you know he has just as many? I don't suppose it's something that you bring up out of nowhere during a three-minute-conversation in the elevator, yeah?" you parted your lips to speak but in reality you had no idea what to say and she took advantage of the fact to keep going with a suspiciously sweet voice "Unless you've been inside his apartment before? Or maybe he's been in here? I can only wonder what happened on this cou-"

"Aaah-" you exclaimed "Enough. That's- enough talking for you. Seriously with such a wild imagination you should just write a book or something. But reality is not like the books you could write and much as you'd like to think that my insanely attractive neighbor has the hots for me after barely knowing me for a little over six months, it's beyond the realm of possibilities."

"You-"

You didn't know if you should be thankful for how your phone chose that very moment to pipe with a message but with your luck these days you knew it would be only a temporary relief before it all only got worse. And it would.

"No, go ahead and answer that. You might get some more time to come up with a better non-answer than what you just said."

You wanted nothing more than to retort to her but once you took a look at who the message was from, all words died out in your lips. Feeling your mouth go dry, you tried your best to not let your friend see it. If only. The squeal that left her lips, loud enough to cause a quick pain to shoot through your ear, verified that you had failed miserably and that you hadn't been fast enough.

It, in fact, did get worse.

"He's even got your phone? And he's texting you too?!" you didn't think it was possible for a person's eyes to go even more wide but he was proving you wrong "Why?! What have I missed?! What are you really not telling me?! I need to know everything now!"

Well, at least you hadn't gotten to open the message yet so there was some sort of saving grace. It wasn't like you needed to anyway. Both in your mind to remember what Tom had messaged you for and in your heart to feel that soft flutter in anticipation at the prospect of what was to come.

~*~

"Hey!" you said more shyly than you would have wanted to but you could barely get words out. You had spent the entire afternoon trying to pick out an outfit and worrying about whether you would say or do something to mess it up. Not to mention on how to act around his friends, most of whom were actors or famous artists or anything probably the furthest away possible from the normal everyday people that you happened to surround yourself with. Not the kind of person you actually were yourself.

Not that you had dared voice the concern of standing out from everyone else in the party to Tom. Not directly at least but even so, the man was an absolute sweetheart that saw nothing wrong with inviting you over to his party. And you didn't have the heart to tell him no in any way.

So here you were.

"(Y/n), hi!" his entire face brightened up as a big smile formed on his lips, enough to make you relax at least a bit "You actually made it. I'm so glad to see you!" he didn't miss the chance to pull you in for a hug and you weren't about to decline that was for sure.

“I really hope I am not late. I didn’t even realize how time flew by just like that. I’ve been so busy with uh-” yeah busy “Anyway-” you cleared your throat, offering a nervous laugh because really worrying over your looks and how to not mess up things for Tom didn’t qualify for a really busy schedule “I sincerely hope the British in you will forgive me for my tardiness.”

“Why, I would say it’s no problem but since you point it out, I might have to take advantage of that.” he grinned, leaning closer to you with that ever present mischievous smile of his that you knew could mean trouble for you and your poor heart but you couldn’t resist all the same “Though-” he glanced over his shoulder, before looking back at you “There are too many people here, so perhaps when we’re alo- Ow!” he huffed a small breath, mixed with a laugh, as you punched his arm playfully.

“It seems you’ve forgotten there are no cameras rolling, Mr Hiddleston. You can break character now.” you gave him a look, pleased nonetheless about how you managed to let go of the nerves that had taken over you.

“Ah you say that now, but when the movie comes out, I know, you will fall in love with Loki. Mark my words, and then-"

"And then what? What are you gonna do about it sir?" you leaned forward as well, feeling bold enough to smirk at him and add "Nothing you would want your esteemed guests to hear about right now, am I right?"

"Hm, perhaps I underestimated you. I would have to reevaluate." he winked at you before he let a soft sigh and straightened his back "Sadly not now as there are people waiting for us. So before you get whisked or, I fear, too enraptured by some of my guests tonight, let me be the first of many to tell you how truly wonderful you look tonight. Just as I thought you couldn't possibly get more captivating."

To say that you didn't bask in the warmth of his compliments that made his voice sound a little more sweet than when he talked to others, would be a major lie. You took it in, you took it all in and let your heart swell in adoration. Too much or too little, and it always seemed to be the first rather than the latter if you could go by comparison at least, you enjoyed being the center of his attention and admiration.

"The first of many? Oh now you are certainly exa-" but before you could get to complete your sentence another very enthusiastic voice came from behind the door. There was an accent to it that was certainly not British and before you realized it a tall blonde was standing right next to Tom and looking at you.

"What in heaven's name are you doing out there this whole time? Who's- oh. Oh!" the man instantly paused, eyes widening in surprise and a bright smile forming on his face "Now I see why he didn't want to bring you inside. I have certainly never seen you before around him. Hi I'm Chris, Chris Hemsworth!" his grin was warm and you found yourself smiling back despite your worries. Maybe it had something to do with the way Tom rolled his eyes, only the way a sibling would for their brother, and maybe, just maybe, the way it meant there was a chance you were about to see and hear some interesting facts about your neighbor that you didn't know yet.

You giggled, only having the chance to mumble a shy "Hi." yourself before Tom spoke up.

"I am only taking my time to warn the poor girl of what she is about to witness in there. But now that she's met the worst one, there is only so much I can do. And yes-" he looked at you with an apologetic smile for this or more possibly what was to come "This is my costar Chris, apologies for whatever comes."

"Now he reduced me to a simple costar, alright. Fine." he nodded his head seriously "I will keep that in mind and not filter a single thing while I tell this beautiful friend of yours, whom you seem to have been rather impatiently waiting for this whole time,everything she needs to know about you."

"You plan to do that here then too? Should I put up a table with drinks right here at the door perhaps?" Tom countered and held back a grin, enjoying too much of this playful nature of his.

"As interesting and entertaining as this is, already, I do think it would be best to head inside actually." you piped in, grinning when Tom narrowed his eyes at you.

"Entertaining? You traitor." he said with a huff pulling the door wide open for you to enter.

You only shrugged giving him a small innocent smile "It's just… you know, useful… to have a little bit of blackmail info on everyone I know." You broke into a grin when Tom shook his head and as Chris laughed.

"I like this one! Wait, hold up I'll get you a drink and call my wife for you to meet. I feel like you're going to be best friends." he was already halfway to do so but enthusiastically spoke loud enough for you to hear.

"I am so terribly sorry for that… and what will no doubt follow." Tom whispered apologetically once Chris was out of earshot "He's a great guy, it's just that he is a little too friendly sometimes that he doesn't understand it could make people uncomfortable. If it bothers you at any point just tell me and I-"

"Tom" you cut him off with a reassuring smile "It's fine. Really. More than it actually. If I don't feel fine I will let you know immediately, I promise. But before I forget, here-" you brought up the bag containing the book you got him, your nerves only getting the best of you and your hands faltering a bit when you saw the way his eyes widened when he took in the contents "I- I thought you might like but seeing you now I uh-" you sighed, shaking your head softly "On second thought I should have probably gotten you a bottle of wine or something but then I remembered how you've been talking non-stop about the book and thought you might-"

"I beg your pardon? What in the heavens could make you believe that I don't like it? (Y/n), this is truly the best thing I could ever receive, no doubt! Do you have any idea how long I've been struggling to find it. I-" he laughed breathlessly "I honestly can't find the words to thank you enough. To think I should have gotten used to it by now but alas." he sighed, still grinning.

"Gotten used to what?" you asked softly, barely able to contain your own smile.

"To you leaving me speechless and stunned in the best ways possible. Ah honestly, what are you doing to me?" he breathed out and the sincere awe and adoration on his face, showing without a single attempt to conceal it.

"Oh hush, I am not doing anything." you brushed it off with a shake of your hand "What are friends for? We are not just neighbors after all."

"No, really, (Y/n), I-" he started but before he had the chance to continue a familiar voice poke up again.

"Wait- (Y/n)? This- this is (Y/n)? You neighbor (Y/n)? Why didn't you say so before?!" Chris asked with a smile that you were surprised to see was even more wide "Oooh so this is her then. Huh, would you look at that. Well good luck with that then." he chuckled a bit to himself and you raised an eyebrow.

Your own smile only got more intrigued as you saw Tom shake his head with a sigh "I- yes I am. I moved in not that long ago. I'm sorry but- how do you know me?"

"Wha-" he laughed loudly "Are you kidding me? He doesn't shut up about you!" the way he said it made it sound like there was more to it.

"Oh oh" you blinked because that too was enough for you. Tom really talked about you to his friends? "Really?" you asked softly and he nodded his head.

"Yeah, why would I lie about it? He talks more about you than he mentions Shakespeare these days. Which let me tell you was a bit worrying at first but now we are all used to it. We just walk in on set with one thought in mind-"

"Chris no-" Tom started but it was pretty weak and you knew as well as he did that there wasn't really any chance of stopping Chris.

"We go there thinking Oh what new interesting thing will I find out about (Y/n) today? and let me tell you every time he doesn't fail to deliver." he didn't even try to hide his grin as he outed his friend, all the while you couldn't help but take in the horrified expression on Tom's face.

"That's- That's really not the-" the British man tried to defend himself but it was too weak and Chris didn't leave him any room.

"Ah there she is!" he exclaimed this time "Come on, (Y/n), I'll introduce you to my wife and tell you more about it!" he was already turning away from you before you could react, calling for a blonde woman not far away "Honey? Honey, guess what? You'll never believe who I have finally met!"

"Heavens help me." Tom breathed out still in horror while you bit your lip, trying to keep yourself from laughing.

"Why? This is already far better than I ever anticipated. Party’s just getting started Mr. Hiddleston."

646 notes · View notes

rek1s-headband · 3 years

Note

Oh oh! Can we get some hedcanons about cherry adopting a girl who is around miya's age. Like how close would they be and how would others feel about her being his daughter now. Bonus points if uncel Joe and little missy mess with daddy blossom

Xoxo love your work so far, keep it up💙

➯ A/N: This was such an amazing request, I had so much fun writing it! Hope you enjoy :)

Also, i started watching Your Lie in April today, and its AMAZING! So much more than what I was expecting

➯ With a daughter

➯ Characters: Kaoru Sakurayashiki with a young daughter. Reki, Langa and co. are mentioned throughout!

➯ Warnings: none:)

Having a child had never crossed Kaoru’s mind before, but when Joe had teased him about how “you treat Carla better than you would a child!”, the idea kind of stuck with him. And so, he’d spent countless nights awake, wondering to himself if it was something he truly wanted?

He’d pass parks, seeing parents with spewing babies and toddlers throwing tantrums, wondering if he could actually put up with that? But as he passed the shops, he came across a mother and her daughter, who looked around 12. He watched them pass, a grin on the child’s face as she looked into her shopping bag, examining her haul for that day. And so it was settled

He wanted a baby girl he could spoil absolutely rotten

And the search for a child carried on, and this time instead of baby shops and websites, he was browsing the shelves of Claires and other tween clothing stores. It had only occurred to him over a bottle of wine with Joe, as they were discussing if Kaoru was truly ready for something like this. Instead of a crying baby or a messy toddler, he could simply adopt someone a bit older!

It made sense too. For a single parent, an older child seemed much more doable. Of course, he wouldn’t be alone. Joe was always telling him how he’d help out, yknow, if he actually went through with the damn thing.

Not to mention, the older you get, the more difficult it is to get adopted. Babies and young children will get adopted left right and centre, whereas the child he will take home will have been there for a while. Finally, they will have a place to call a home

He spent months trying to get the approval for adoption, and one fateful day he finally got the letter that yes he could go ahead and take one home. He was ecstatic, spending the next few days finding out the location of every orphanage around his area of Japan. He messaged every single one, asking when their next visiting day was

And so it was set: Kaoru would not rest until he had found his perfect little girl

He went through orphanage after orphanage, searching for someone he could call his own. However, none of the children were lighting that paternal flame inside him. It wasn’t their fault of course, they just didn’t click with him, staring at him any time he tried to talk to them. Visit after visit, he’d go to Joe’s, ready to tell him about his recent fail.

It wasn’t until Joe came up to him with a phone number, asking if he’d been to this particular orphanage yet. Apparently they had a few children aged 12 and up, and were available for visit that Saturday. And so there he was, packing a bag and getting ready to travel to the house. This time felt different, somehow. He could feel his palms sweat, as if he could sense he would take one of them home

When he finally made it to the house, he was a nervous wreck. The lady of the house let him in with a smile, telling him the children were in the backyard playing while she bounced a baby on her hip. Cherry winced as the baby gurgled at him, glad he opted for an older child

She led him outside, gesturing at the children who were sprinting around in the vast field, hiding behind trees and bushes. It was clear they were playing a game of hide and seek. He smiled as he scanned over them, but it quickly disappeared when he noticed one little girl sitting on the step, head in her lap while her shoulders gently shook with tears

He walked over to her, bending down with a soft smile. He didn’t know where this sudden calmness came from, but that was his last priority right now. A little gash sat on the girls knee, caked with blood as it trickled down her shin. He frowned, pulling out a tissue to gently wipe it. She jumped, wincing with shock from the fresh wave of pain, and surprise. Kaoru gently wiped at her knee once more before looking up at her to attempt a conversation

“Hello, is your knee alright?” She shook her head frantically, wiping a tear away from her face. A small breathy laugh escaped him as he watched the child stand, gesturing to her leg

“Nope, not at all. I think its broken, if you ask me. All cause of that stupid thing!” She threw her arm out, gesturing to a pink board Kaoru hadn’t noticed before. A skateboard.

That’s when Kaoru realised it: I want this one

Suddenly he felt a new sense of importance, like he had to make a good impression. He walked over to the board, tutting as he looked down at it. “This is what hurt you?” He looked at it with disdain as the little girl nodded her head violently. Kaoru could see how she hurt herself, the thing was massive, especially for someone her age. It looked around the size of a board he would use.

Grinning, he picked up the board. “Well, want to see something cool?” She watched in wonder as kaoru stood on it, pushing off and turning quickly, popping an ollie over a stray toy. The little girl jumped, throwing her arms up as she cheered Kaoru on. He finished with a flourish, coming back to stand beside her. “What did you think?” She was speechless, simply moving her hands, saying scattered “wows” and making various sound effects. Kaoru smiled, certain that he could teach her more.

When he realized visiting time was coming to a close, he proposed the idea to the girl, who’s name he had come to know was Lily: he’d come back next week, and he’d bring his board. He even promised to find her a smaller boar perfect for her to learn on, saying he knew a friend who could make her one. From there he would teach her the basics of skateboarding, even a couple of tricks once she got that down. She was delighted, bouncing up and down and declaring she couldn’t wait, all the energy of someone much younger than her. Kaoru found he couldn’t stop smiling himself either

He made his way back through the house, Lily skipping alongside him. He explained the plan to the Lady, that he would come back next week for another visit. Just as he was about to leave, he turned to the lady to request one final thing from her

“Make sure no one snatches her up from me while I’m gone, yeah?”

Needless to say a bottle of wine was opened at Joe’s that night in celebration of Lily, the potential daughter

And so the weeks turned into months, and Kaoru returned each week with his board and some sweets for her and the other children, teaching her everything she needed to know about skateboarding. After a month or so she could confidently ollie without bailing, and next time he visited she displayed it with delight, watching Kaoru’s face light up with pride.

She had taken a real liking to Kaoru, according to the Lady. She refused to pay any other visitors any notice, declaring they “simply weren’t Kaoru.” This is what finally made him realise that maybe it was time to ask if she’d like to live with him from now on, where she could practice with him every day.

When he asked her, Kaoru could’ve sworn he actually saw stars in her eyes. She simply lit up, throwing herself at Kaoru, tears streaming down her face as she shouted yes, of course she would. she wasn’t the only one crying, Kaoru could barely see from the tears in his own eyes, the lady dabbing at hers with a tissue

Once the paperwork was complete and Lily was his, he felt a weight had been taken off his shoulders. He had packed her a new change of clothes the day he went to collect her, bringing Joe along with him for emotional support. Lily came flying at him the second he got out of his car, wrinkling her nose at Joe

“You never told me you had a boyfriend, Kaoru” she stuck her tongue out at him from over his shoulder while they both tried to convince her that no, they weren’t a couple, before she ran upstairs to get changed. Joe turned to Kaoru, an almost offended look on his face

“Why were you so adamant that we weren’t together??” “I dont need her worrying she’s going home to a Gorrila” “HEY”

Once they all got home, they threw a little party at Joe’s who had closed a little early specially for it. Kaoru didn’t let her out of his sight, making sure she wasn’t uncomfortable with all the new people. Of course, it was only Joe, Shadow, Reki, Langa and Miya, all of whom she would meet eventually, but he still worried in case she got overwhelmed.

She made quick friends with Reki, who was ecstatic from the moment he realised she could skate. The two bonded over it, talking about tricks they’d learned, Reki shouting over at Kaoru because why hadn’t he taught him anything??

Miya was a bit standoffish at first, but when she saw the switch in his hand, the two were instantly bonding over who had better villagers in Animal Crossing, and who had passed more levels in Mario with three stars

As the months went on, Lily really settled into her new life in Okinawa, starting at school in Miyas class. The two were joined at the hip, Miya often coming home to Kaoru’s so they could practice together, or simply study and watch some movies. Reki constantly teased the shit out of the two, talking about how he heard “wedding bells”. This comment earned him a swift whack into the skull from Kaoru, warning him not to tease his little girl

Soon enough Kaoru was making her own skateboard with built-in Carla, who helped her skating improve insanely. As Kaoru said, she was definitely a chip off the old block. Langa and Reki would take her to the skate park with them, helping her land new tricks and would take videos of her to send to Kaoru

Shadow was like a chill uncle to her, bringing her flowers for her room and taking her out to get some clothes and ice cream. Joe was like an uncle too, but a much more untrustworthy one. Would he take her to the park, or would he take her to parts of downtown she definitely shouldn’t have been? Who knows, certainly not Kaoru...

Poor Kaoru can never get a minutes peace. Every second of the day she’s plotting something, waiting for him to let his guard down so she can pounce, scaring the shit out of him. When the others are around its 10x worse, all of them ganging up on him to pull pranks

As well as skateboarding, Kaoru tried to teach her how to do calligraphy. She ended up being awful, blotting the ink and smearing it with her hand. But hey, it was a fun art project that made it onto the fridge

At S, she was watched like a hawk. When Kaoru was competing,the others would be like her bodyguard, making sure no one got within 5 feet of her. She’d watch her dad with wonder, the look of awe never leaving her face since the first day she saw him skate. She can’t wait for the day she can compete, maybe even beating her own dad

The first time Lily called Kaoru “dad” was when he won a race, showing off some amazing skills and winning the insanely close match by a hair. He picked up his board, looking around for Lily. He saw her in the crowd, throwing her arms up and cheering “THATS MY DAD!! LOOK, RIGHT THERE, THATS MY DAD!” When she spotted him, a large grin spread across her face. “Nice job out there dad! You did amazing!! D’you think I can do that one day?”

Everyone was staring at her, she hadn’t even realised she had said anything out of the ordinary. Soon enough Kaoru was lunging at her, picking her up in a hug so she didn’t see the tears quickly forming on his face. With a smile he pulled away, his voice dripping with pride

“Of course you could. You’re my daughter, aren’t you?”

1K notes · View notes

subpar-ghoulfriend · 3 years

Text

Home

yandere!EraserMic x Reader

Mic skips a couple of steps and brings their darling home earlier than planned.

18+ only

tw: mention of blood, kidnapping, restraints

Hizashi felt panic bubble up his throat as he aggressively ran his fingers through his hair. This wasn't good, he wasn't good. He fumbled around trying to pull out his phone so he could message Shota.

-Sho, when are you getting home???

Probably in a few hours...-

why-

Shaking, the blonde continued:

-I brought her home

Hizashi was convinced he'd burn a whole in the rug with his pacing. Staring at his phone screen it looked like Shota was responding, then it stopped, started, stopped, and started. Finally after what felt like forever he got a simple reply:

I'll be home in 15 -

---

"Mic, what did you do?" Aizawa sighed. The grumpy man intended to scold his partner but he couldn't bring himself to do so when Mic was so close to a full on panic attack.

"She agreed to meet up with her ex, he was talking about getting back together and I panicked."

Aizawa sighed; he understood where his partner was coming from. Even though Hazashi had abandoned their plan to wait, he was no longer surprised by Mic's actions. There was an understanding between the pair as the atmosphere softened.

Mic lead him down the basement stairs, instead of using the overhead light there was already a dull glow from nightlight that allowed the Pro Heroes to see well enough. On the bed in front of them the comforter rose and fell along with the breath of their darling.

"She should be asleep for another hour or two," Mic whispered. "I only cuffed one wrist to the bed, I figured without her quirk she won't be too troublesome."

Aizawa lovingly rolled his eyes. His partner was such a softy. Nodding in agreement he moved the blanket aside to see the clunky metal quirk-cancelling cuff encircling her ankle. The two had plenty of equipment from their jobs that allowed them to make a "safe" space for their girl.

The couple had stumbled across you on accident; you worked at the new cat cafe that opened near their home. The two quickly became regulars and you snagged their hearts when you recognized them as cafe regulars. They went every Sunday, you had their orders memorized and even told them which cats seemed to miss them the most. Hizashi fell hard and fast. It wasn't until Aizawa found you crying in the ally after one of your shifts that your fate was sealed. You told him that one of the cats ran out of the cafe earlier that day got hit by a car. Learning about the death of a cat wasn't the only thing breaking his heart.

When he got home that evening he told Hizashi. They both agreed that you needed to be protected, shielded from the pain of reality, and never subjected to cat-death-by-car ever again. Essentially they baby proofed their home for you. Anything dangerous (from silverware to chemicals) was locked away. Eraserhead installed cameras throughout the house that streamed to both of their phones. The windows were locked and shatter resistant and they even installed a top of the line security system.

Then came the stalking, both kept tabs on you - in their minds they both casual about it. Aizawa even visited you (broke in) one night to bug your phone. This was how the learned about your ex. The breakup was amicable enough that you two occasionally checked in on each other. After all, you had been together from middle school all the way through your teens. The two of you just wanted and were ready for different things.

---

Sure enough, two hours later they could hear your faint scream travel up from the basement. Mic had taken care of the acoustics, of course. He made sure that not a peep could be heard from outside of the house; even before you were in the picture this was in place for his quirk. Between each floor of their house he also added sound minimizing flooring and installation. They needed to be able to hear you but also maintain their sanity.

"M-mr. Yamada? Mr Aizawa?"

Your wide eyes were filled to the brim with tears. As Mic sat on the edge of the bed you withdrew as far as you could from him.

Aizawa seemed more conscientious of your space; instead he knelt in front of the bed so he was at least on your level.

He was the first to speak, "There's no need to scream, y/n, you're safe here. It's just Zashi and I."

The tears finally spilled over. You tried asking them to let you go, that you wouldn't say anything. You told them you had work this evening (even if you didn't) and that they'd know something was wrong if you didn't show up. What made it worse was that the men just kept nodding, taking in every plea you made.

Finally Mic cut you off, "You don't have to worry about work anymore, me and Sho are gonna take care of you, it'll be great. We won't have to wait a whole week to spend time together."

"You can't," You hiccupped, "this is illegal. Once they find out you'll be in trouble."

It was as if they didn't hear you. Mic just kept rambling about what you three could do together and how perfect everything was and how you'd love living with them.

Aizawa on the other hand sighed and indicated to Mic that he should get off the bed. "It's a lot to take in right now, new environments can be scary. You should get some more rest, Zashi gave you a pretty strong sedative."

That explained the pounding in your head. You didn't bother to keep yelling as the ascended the stairs. Instead you focused on not crying. You kept telling yourself that now wasn't the time for tears. You needed to get away from your abductors. You had never been in handcuffs before, you tried pulling against the bed frame in hopes that something would give way. As you expected, nothing really happened. The cuff was secured tightly around your wrist and with every pull came a dull pain in your hand. There wasn't anything useful within your reach.

After crying on the bed for what felt like an eternity you were all out of tears. You thought back to a movie you saw last summer, this detective was cuffed to a furnace and he pulled his hand free. However, that guy definitely lost the flesh on his hand and probably broke something. Your stomach churned at the thought. Then your mind wandered to terrible things the men could do to you. What if they were cannibals? Or wanted to sell your organs on the black market? Weighing the pros and cons you began to pull violently away from the bedpost. The metal dug into your skin and you couldn't help but scream. Hopefully your captors wouldn't come until you were free. There was a small window at the very top of the adjacent wall maybe you could squeeze through.

The searing pain became too much and you stopped to collect yourself. There were already gashes along the base of your wrist and blood coated the handcuffs. You stifled a cry as you resumed your work. You let out a blood-curdling scream when you felt a pop. Instead of freedom, you felt even more trapped. Your thumb looks wrong and looked like it was caught half way in the handcuff and halfway out. Movies make everything seem so much easier.

Light poured in as the door to the basement opened. Panicking you concealed the evidence under the blanket. Both of your hands and parts of your clothes were painted with blood.

"Hey kitten," Aizawa cooed. "We brought you some water. Are you feeling any better."

It was Mic who noticed first. You flinched as his hands cupped your face, his thumb ran along your cheek and you felt something slick.

His voice was rushed and panicked, "Sweet girl, this is blood. Shota come here, y/n is bleeding."

The blonde man handles your face and neck trying to find the source of the bleeding.

You pulled the blanket tighter, "I'm okay, please let me go."

Then Aizawa noticed the specks of blood on the sheets. He tugged at the blankets until you couldn't hold on any more. You were really only holding on with one good hand. You couldn't recall seeing that much emotion on his face in the past.

"Mic go get the first aid kit, now," Eraser's voice was strained and quiet but it sent the other man scattering up the stairs. He pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the cuff. Instinctively your cradled the hand to your chest, crying for the umph-teenth time that day. The scruffy man pulled you on to his lap, cradling your head to his chest like you would a child.

"You're okay, Mic's gonna get the first aid kit and we're gonna get you all taken care of."

When it came to flight or fight involving direct confrontation, you chose the third option: freeze. You focus on your breathing as the man continued to soothe you. You could hear Mic nearly throw himself down the stairs as he made his was back to your side.

Mic was gentle with your wound, after cleaning the blood off the cuts were visibly deep but not as bad as it seemed. Aizawa told him that it looked like your thumb was dislocated and that he would fix it once the bleeding stopped.

As Hizashi continued to apply pressure you were able to hear him sniffling as he held back tears of his own. Aizawa reached over to comfort Mic as he continued his fawning over you, "You're safe, everything's okay now. We should've known that you would get scared, all by yourself down here. We won't leave you alone again, especially while you're adjusting to your new home."

#yandere erasermic #yandere eraserhead #yandere present mic #yandere aizawa #yandere hizashi yamada #yanderes x reader #yandere erasermic x reader

549 notes · View notes

prose-for-hire · 3 years

Text

Kiss me quick

Pairing: Spike x Summers!reader

Request: Hi! Can I request a Spike x Summers!reader, where the reader is trying to keep their relationship on the downlow since none of the Scoobies really approve, but after a big win the reader finally kisses him in front of everyone, proving that they do care deeply for one another and everyone just has to accept it.

Requested by: Anon

Warning: Reader gets injured but nothing serious. sex references/implication of sex.

You looked out into dimly lit street, the dark had surrounded you now but ever since you had been meeting this way you couldn’t help but smile whenever the sun began to descend from the sky. You were stood, under a streetlamp, three streets away from your house. Just far enough where nobody from your household would catch you meeting him this way. You had been meeting like this for a while now.

He got a kick out of coming up behind you and immediately pressing you against the nearest wall and crashing his lips to yours. His favourite greeting entailed leaving you breathless and ready to pull him closer no matter what your surroundings were. He often mumbled his hellos through stolen kisses. His passion never died, he was all in. Completely yours.

You couldn’t shake this feeling. That you were completely in love. You had silently tried to fight it to begin with, knowing that those around you wouldn’t approve. That Spike himself may not even reciprocate your feelings. But soon it became clear that there was no hiding these feelings that always bubbled to the surface whenever he was near.

You had started fooling around to begin with, before it all changed. For the better, both of you agreed. Your feelings had taken hold of you both, fuelled by the touch of skin. The depth of mind. Unspoken emotions kept the two of you in a chokehold before you finally spilled your feelings for the other.

Ever since you quit college, you had spent all of your free time sneaking around with Spike. It was, honestly, as thrilling as it was annoying. As much as you wished you could just tell everyone how much you loved Spike - how amazing he was with you, you couldn’t. You had to hide it, the implications of your friends and sisters finding out would be a fate worse than death. In fact, for spike it may mean actual death this time.

Unfortunately, you were the middle child. You were a year younger than Buffy and she never let you forget about it. Meaning, Buffy thought she was the boss of you. Not to mention Dawn basically clung onto your leg to stop you from leaving the house (and thus, preventing you leaving her behind where she couldn’t follow you around). This meant that, often, you didn’t get much spare time for sneaking around with Spike. But, God, did you make it your biggest priority. After… saving the world… obviously.

When you did manage to share these intimate moments, it was everything. It felt as if you were the only people in the world. The only people that had ever felt anything close to this. Nobody had loved this deep. Cared this much. You were both so sure. These feelings, they were eternal. He vowed it to you, one early morning you had spent with your naked bodies pressed together, baring your souls well into the night.

Any emotional scars you harboured seemed to heal just by speaking to him. By having that soothing voice share his own darkest moments with you in return. How that voice, those eyes could have seen and done so much and still make you feel undeniably safe you weren’t sure. But, you trusted him. Even if danger appeared to surround him at every turn. You wouldn’t change him for anything. You loved the good, the bad and the oh-so-attractive parts of him.

Vulnerabilities turned to strengths when you were together. Rough edges appeared smoother. Promises held meaning. You adored him and he confessed to you that he had never been so comfortable in a relationship. He could be himself, could express his feelings without being concerned you would turn away from him.

The first night you invited him into your home made him elated. You had to make him swear not to tell Buffy because you knew she wouldn’t take it well. Like, at all. As much as he would have loved to rub it in the slayer’s face that he had been given access to her house – he loved you too much to even think to upset you in this way. So, you carried on this way, unable to keep your hands and lips from each other for more than an evening at a time. This meant mostly, he stayed at the Summer’s residence or you left to the crypt. Sometimes, you even went for real dates – so long as you were sure that everyone else you knew would be busy elsewhere.

Tonight, you were going to the Bronze together. It was a little more of a risk than usual, but he had insisted on taking you somewhere he knew you would enjoy. Muttered something about not keeping you in the shadows before taking your hand and leading the way. The truth was, Spike was in fact just very smitten with you. And he pretty much wanted everyone to see that you were with him. This was ‘everyone’ except the scoobies and any family members you happened to have crawling out of the woodwork. It was safe though, everyone else was going to some college party and Buffy had told you that it was uncool to have her younger sibling come along.

Buffy was the only one that viewed you as the ‘younger sibling’ the others were friends with you because they were fond of you. Because, well, sometimes you appeared more mature than Buffy did – not that they would ever say that to her face. Although there was always that slight worry that if they hadn’t been friends with Buffy they wouldn’t have been as close with you. You were barely a year younger than Buffy but she was still incredibly protective of you as she was the oldest.

What you hadn’t banked on, whilst you rubbed Spike’s thigh under the table, was that Xander hadn’t been invited to the party. He saw you immediately and made his way over to you with Anya close behind. You almost choked on your drink as you saw them come up behind Spike. You snapped your hand away in shock much to Spike’s displeasure.

“Hey, Y/n-” he started and then stopped when he saw Spike’s presence, “He bothering you?”

“No, he’s just-”

“Warming you up, right pet?” His eyes glistened as he spoke, an eyebrow raising which made Xander scowl. You tried your best to hide the smile at your boyfriend’s words as Xander looked between you both. Xander liked to think of himself as your older brother and had decided you needed defending. You opened your mouth to say otherwise but ended up being cut off by a very urgent ex-vengeance demon.

“It doesn’t matter that they’re dating right now, we are all going to get ripped into pieces if the demon finds us!” Anya shouted. You hadn’t been as secretive as you thought then.

“An!” Xander hissed, sharing a look. At the exact same time you and Spike shared a look too. You wondered who else had seen straight through your sneaking around and longing glances you shared through scooby meetings.

You were sharing looks for different reasons though. They had obviously discussed what not to say beforehand and Anya had characteristically ignored his warning. There was some kind of demon threatening the town. Again.

“What’s going on, Xander? Anya?” you tried for your ex-vengeance demon friend when Xander didn’t speak. There was definitely something odd going on. At her name being called, despite Xander’s warning, she launched into an explanation.

“Xander got annoyed at our sex-spell and ripped a page out of my very rare copy of ‘magic, sex and me’ which ruined our entire evening!” She scowled and crossed her arms before continuing, “Now we have to kill it instead of having our sexy time” she pouted.

“We’ll pretend we didn’t hear about a sex spell-”

“Well, I want to hear about it. Can’t get it up, mate?” Spike taunted which only made Xander redden further after Anya’s admittance. Xander stepped as if to hit your vampire but you stepped in the way and wheeled Xander away, changing the subject.

You asked instead about what this demon was like. Anya explained that it was a Scorn-demon. Ridiculously hard to kill and bound to the pages of a book as no mortal prison can hold it. It looked as if you were in for a long night. Which is exactly what you and Spike had planned although for a very different reason.

“If all of us are looking, we’ll find it quicker” You offered, Xander had been embarrassed to explain because of the reason they were doing a spell. But now Anya had told anyone anyway, he was grateful of the help. You got to your feet, ready to follow them out as Spike got up beside you.

“Looks like no bugger’s getting any tonight” Spike muttered, rolling his eyes as you apparently volunteered you both to assist your friend.

“Just working ourselves up… right?” You offered which made him smirk. God, he had been rubbing off on you. You almost felt yourself mirroring his smirk at your words. He wanted to pull you in and kiss you until you admitted just his presence could get you worked up enough alone, but he knew the importance of hiding this from your friends. Which, really was the only reason he didn’t take you right there in the middle of the Bronze.

Instead, you just trailed behind Xander and Anya’s bickering and tried to locate this demon. You called Buffy’s cell and left a message. You knew this was probably going to end with a battle you were unequipped for. You just hoped that you ran into your sister before you ran into the demon. By all accounts he sounded nasty.

As you walked, you and Spike kept sneaking glances at the other when you hoped the others weren’t looking. It was hard, having to maintain this distance when all you wanted to do was reach for him. Show him your affection freely. When you caught the other’s eye, you couldn’t help but smile. You felt so lucky, to have someone that cared so deeply. Someone who wasn’t afraid to share their love so freely.

You wanted to slide your hand in his, tell him just how lucky you felt. Just how much you felt for him, although you were sure he must be sick of how often you told him you loved him. He never was, of course. It was the sweetest music hearing that phrase from your lips. He kissed them a thousand times just to catch the remaining sweetness from your tongue. With those words, nothing should be wasted. He wanted to savour every syllable of your love.

You kept walking until you had to come to an abrupt halt. Dawn turned a corner and crashed straight into you. Turns out, your hopes came true: you did come across your sister first. It just happened to not be the one you expected.

“Oh, I didn’t know you guys were ready for, like, double dating yet” Dawn teased. She, too, had decided that you and Spike had to be dating. She often brought it up to annoy you but she believed it all the same. Spike never corrected her and you had stopped bothering too. You would only come off as defensive and she would tease you for that. You honestly couldn’t win living under the same roof as Dawn, she could be relentless.

Spike leaned in to whisper something in your ear, his lips so close to your ear you could imagine the way they would feel if he leaned in further and pressed against your skin. You smiled at his comment, he always made you laugh. He liked to hear your laugh and it passed the time while he waited for the fight that was coming.

When you looked back up, Willow and Tara had caught up with your group. They gave you a knowing look at how close you were stood to Spike. You wanted to lean on him, inhale deeply and press kisses against the curve of his neck. You loved the way he gripped you closer when you did that. But you had to snap yourself out of this thought at the arrival of your sister. Buffy immediately started giving orders, not before she gave you a warning look for letting Dawn come with you after she scowled at Spike for his mere presence.

“I brought the research – I think there’s a spell, but we’ll have to weaken him first” Willow muttered, frowning at Anya and blaming her for this spell and putting her best friend in danger.

“The spell needs lovers to complete it. Do you think you could help us Anya? Xander?” Tara asked softly, “But I’m not sure if that’s enough to hold him”

Because the demon was attracted to love and sex, couples were needed to cut off his power at the source. It fed from lovers and by concentrating that power it could reverse and thus weaken the demon within a certain spot.

“Well, if we need couples we have at least three pairs here. Maybe that would be enough?” Willow asked. Making everyone look around to count the pairs. Everyone’s eyes then landed on you and Spike. The last to look was Buffy who raised an eyebrow between you both.

“Does everyone know we’re dating?!”

“Pretty much, sweetie” tara nodded.

“We just didn’t wanna embarrass you. It’s… Spike” Buffy cringed at even the thought of it, “I, uh, thought you would have kinda got it out of your system by now though” Buffy hitched her nose up at the idea of the two of you, but shrugged. She saw it as a meaningless relationship. The kind she had with Parker in her first year of college but more often.

From what you gathered as they didn’t correct her, nobody really thought Spike capable of any kind of meaningful relationship. And with him not being able to actively harm you, they just decided to avoid the topic entirely until one or both of you got bored of the sex. The only one that hadn’t thought anything of your sudden proximity with Spike every time he turned around, was Xander. He really would have said something if he had known. But he still wasn’t convinced now – no matter how often Anya insisted.

You slid your hand into his, now that everybody appeared to know that you were together at least. He smiled at this, looking down at your hands back to your face. This smile, it was softer than he would usually show in front of the Scoobies, it was one only for you. Where he felt such genuine happiness. Such adoration.

As usual, nobody really wanted to discuss your love life (rather just ignore and hope it went away) and so began to look away from you and discuss the demon again. You began following the trail of destruction. He wasn’t so hard to locate really and Buffy immediately attacked him as Willow and Anya set up in a large triangle around the fight. Each couple was at each point of the triangle as the recital occurred. A flash of light surrounded the demon and Buffy before it faded, showing the demon now fighting sluggishly.

You tried to protect Dawn the best you could while Spike and Buffy took it in turns to throw punches at the now marginally weakened demon. You and the others helped when you could but he was so strong even now the spell had worked, that humans barely affected him.

Somehow the demon broke from Spike’s hold and started for Dawn - who he had sensed as the weaker member of your group. You charged in front of your younger sister to try and distract him. This lead to him twisting you and throwing you into the air and crashing into a nearby storefront. You were flung straight against the wall and hit your head quite badly. He watched you falling like a ragdoll, appearing limp due to the blow.

His gut dropped. He left Buffy to the fight. All that mattered now was that you were okay. He had never been so scared. Spike rushed over to you, dropping to the floor so that he could cradle your head in his lap. There were a few seconds where he didn’t know what to do.

But then just as he thought he may have lost you, hope was restored again. You open your eyes, your smile a little dazed as you looked at him from your position in his lap. He looked up to the sky in relief, as if silently thanking the powers. His eyes danced with emotion as he looked back into yours. He wouldn’t know what he would do without you. Couldn’t even imagine it less his heart would begin to ache with phantom loss.

He was so overcome by the thought of losing you that he immediately caught your lips with his. Pouring every single feeling he had ever experienced for you into that one kiss. His hand cupping your cheek, the other on the small of your back – pressing you closer to him. As if this kiss may well be your very last. You reciprocated without hesitation, your lips felt as if they had been moulded just for this very moment. This kiss, it said everything. Promised everything and you smiled into it. Your lips moving against his urgently, insisting he feel your love for him. Even in your weakened state, all of your energy went into kissing him.

In the same moment, Buffy managed to finally slay the beast and Tara and Willow muttered some words that sent him into the book he would now again call home. Buffy whipped around to catch you both kissing so desperately. The rest of the group stopped still and staring too. Every mouth agape in shock. At just how much you appear to feel for the other. This wasn’t just a quick shag when the feeling struck. One wasn’t taking advantage of the other. This was love. The truest kind. And nobody could deny it now, not even Xander.

After you parted, reluctantly on both parts, he took on your weight as you all walked back, everyone except him in silence. He doted on you, pressing a kiss against your temple every few paces – just because he could now in this company. He wanted to offer you all of the comfort he could. He was whispering to you trying to make sure you didn’t fall asleep. He was sure you had a concussion (I mean, you kissed him that way in front of all of your friends without any worries after all).

Buffy didn’t even object when it appeared that Spike was walking their way home. She didn’t know what to think anymore. Everyone could see just how deeply you cared for each other. It was undeniable, even to your older sister.

Spike was just pleased you would make it and be okay. And… he began to get smug that he was finally able to show the slayer that he could access her house this entire time.

#spike btvs #spike x reader #spike imagine #spike x you #btvs #Buffy The Vampire Slayer #buffy the vampire slayer imagines #btvs x you #btvs x reader #btvs imagine #spike fic #gn #gender neutral reader #gender neutral #spike

594 notes · View notes

stressedoutcanary · 3 years

Text

Do You Ever Feel Like A Misfit (Everything Inside You Is Dark & Twisted)

Dick Grayson x Reader

Word Count: 3.5K (I don't know how tf that happened)

Warnings: Explicit language, Blood and Violence, lots of angst, Hurt/Comfort ✌

A/N: Guess who's back! Just for some context the reader is a magic user and her style is similar to that of Zatanna <3

•°•°•°•°

She’d have reasoned with herself that stealing from one of the most secure and heavily guarded safe-houses of a deranged sociopath was probably not the brightest idea she’s had all day. It never even made it on her to-do-list for the weekend, but here she was, running across rooftops, holding on to the stolen totem like her life depended on it, it probably did. The three assassins sent after her were no Lady Shiva or Talia Al Ghul but they weren’t exactly amateurs either. The deep cuts and two broken ribs she got from their earlier encounter were proof of that.

She glanced back and even though there was no sign of her would-be-killers she knew better than to assume they’d just let her be. They were sticking to the shadows, exploiting her blind spots. The only thing she was sure of was that they were still hot on her trail and would happily plunge a dagger into her back given the opportunity.

She was right. As of this moment she hated being right.

She caught the glint of the two sharp objects slicing through the air, hurtling towards her at full speed. A slight shift of her upper body was all she could manage as one of the daggers got embedded right into her scapula while the other one, fortunately so, whirled past her, slightly grazing her left hip. The impact of the blade on her shoulder made her lose what little balance she had left. Despite her best efforts, when the wounded shoulder made contact with the hard concrete, a loud, ear-piercing cry ripped out from her throat before she could push it back down.

Cursing under her breath she knew, she knew all she had were those few seconds of numbness and disorientation to get a grip and figure out her exit strategy. However, all her hopes started to sink as she saw one of the assassins come closer, appearing more of a blur than a person. Then again that was probably because of the nice, little concussion she got from her fall. The assassin walked over to her, unsheathed their sword and placed it right on her neck, blocking any and every way out.

“You were warned. The Demon’s Head does not tolerate treachery. We are here under his orders to bring back the totem along with the witch’s head; your head”

If she could, she would’ve rolled her eyes at the classic villainous dialogues thrown at her.

“Witch? Who’re you calling a witch Snow White? I’m clearly a sorceress, don’t they teach you the difference between the two in assassin school or something? Hell, I’d even let you call me an enchantress, though that name’s already been taken but you get my poin-”

The remaining words died in her throat as the sword on her neck shifted slightly. She knew she had extremely poor self preservation skills considering she’s clearly been instigating the very person sent to kill her, but even she wasn’t dumb enough to keep talking when the tiniest movement on either part could result in her having a severed jugular or carotid.

‘This is a pretty shitty way to die’

She thought back to how she used the last of her mystic energy to hide the totem away before her fall and how stupid that decision really was because now she could actually feel the agonizing pain coming from her shoulder. It started to spread throughout her back like wildfire, eyelids grew heavy against her wishes. Suddenly she felt really tired and the idea to close her eyes just felt so goddamn appealing.

‘No (Y/N) that’s the blood loss talking. Blood loss doesn’t get to make decisions’, she mentally scolded herself, still not breaking her eye contact with the person standing above her.

“Give us what you stole and we shall grant you the mercy of a quick death.”

That made her raise an eyebrow, “Ah, lemme think...the correct response here would be…”, she hummed, making a show of how hard she was thinking about the offer she was granted, “How about a fuck you? How would that do for you?”, she gave them a vicious grin, it was all teeth. They probably weren’t impressed by her response and it showed.

She knew there was no way out but she had promised herself once that if she were to die, that if she ever goes out, she’d be anything but a whimpering and sobbing mess. She was scared shitless, more so than she’d ever been while fending off the league, she won’t deny that but she would rather die than let them know that. ‘Well at least I got that ‘rather die’ part down to a T.’ she thought, eyeing the sharpness of the blade which was now raised up in the air

She felt bad for just giving up the way she did. Her whole life she was told to fight her way through the impossible, to attain the strength rivaling that of Zatanna Zatara, John Constantine and Doctor Fate himself. To be better than them, and there she was lying on the ground limp as a sword came down on her throat; all for a silly necklace. She would’ve huffed out a laugh if only her ribs weren’t broken, if only her body wasn’t screaming in pain, if only she had a way out. She didn’t. She was too tired, too drained, too numb to do anything else. Closing her eyes she stopped fighting, she let her growing unconsciousness claim her.

‘This is what you deserve anyway’, her barely there conscience remarked.

‘Fuck you too.’ she replied.

Everything went pitch black. The darkness encompassing her was peaceful, unlike the pain she had felt before. It was nice for a change. It sounded pathetic but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

•°•°

When she came to, the first thing she observed was the feeling of something soft against her back, next was a dull rhythmic sound which she realized was her own heartbeat. Though opening her eyes was a tiring task. It shouldn’t have been, but it was. She used all the energy she had into it and her eyelids fluttered open. She stared at the white ceiling and stayed like that for a few seconds; a few minutes? She couldn’t tell, but the pain was back now, not too much but enough to tell her it was there, to tell she was still alive.

She saw something shift in her peripheral vision and her body instinctively went stiff. Her mind which was blank before now ran in all directions.

‘Could be Ra’s Al Ghul… Could be worse’, she tried not to think about the worst case scenario, but she knew she had pissed off a lot of beings, beings far more powerful and far crueler than Ra’s himself. An involuntary shudder passed through her at the thought. That must’ve caught her captor’s attention as she felt the person move closer to her. Begrudgingly, she tore her gaze from the spot on the ceiling which she had been staring at this whole time and tilted her head. The man in black and blue who appeared, was probably the last person she had expected to see.

“Nightwing…”

Her voice was barely above a whisper and the hoarseness with which it came out it took her by surprise, but her body visibly relaxed at the sight of the familiar figure, at the sight of someone who would never hurt her.

She watched him pull out a chair from the desk nearby. He sat next to the bed she was lying on and gave her a soft smile, a smile that spelled one word ‘relieve’. She remembered how when she first met him two years ago, she found that particular smile extremely annoying, she had no reason to, but she did. What she couldn’t remember was when she had grown so fond of it.

“How do you feel?”

“Like shit.”

He snorted a laugh which made her pout. She was planning to point out how he was being mean; laughing at her when her response truly defined the way she was feeling, but any words she thought of were cut off by the change in his expression. His smile faltered, lips were now pressed in a thin line, face contorted in a way which showed his genuine concern.

“This is the second time, this week.”

That you almost died, he didn’t say. That I had to save you and bring you back from the clutches of death, he didn’t say.

“I know.”

“That doesn’t make it better.”

“I know.”

The silence that settled, stretched far too long for comfort, but she wasn’t going to be the one to break it. She wanted to, but there was nothing she could say, that would make it better. Nightwing ran his fingers through the locks of hair, burying his face in his hands.

For the first time since she woke up, she took in his appearance, he looked disheveled, his suit was torn in different places along visible faint cuts, most likely he got them when he rescued her. She felt a pang of guilt rising in her chest. He risked his life for her, she knew he had done it before, she didn’t get it then and she didn’t get it now. Why would someone do that? Why would he? She was pulled back from her spiraling thoughts when he spoke again, exhaustion evident in his voice.

“Why are you so reckless?”

“Excuse me?”

She looked at him like he had grown another head. She wasn’t ready for this conversation but by the looks of it they were gonna have it anyway.

“What if I hadn’t been there today? Or any of the other days you almost died. What then?”

“My best guess? I would’ve been dead.”

“And that fact doesn’t bother you at all?!”

She flinched at little when his voice rose, but she stood her ground, at least figuratively since she was still in bed.

“I don’t know, should it?” She didn’t try and tone down the venom dripping from her words. Her words cut deeper than the wounds he got from the assassins; she saw it clear as day on his face. She let out a deep sigh but continued. She had to get it out and he had to hear it, that’s the reason she gave herself for the confession that followed.

“I don’t need your help, Dick. I don’t know what gave you the impression that I did but I’ve never needed it.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. ‘Why was it getting harder to speak?’ “I don’t need you to save me every time. I don’t need you to risk your life for me and I definitely don’t…” She moved to sit up straight, her back resting on the headboard. She shifted her gaze on her open palms resting in her lap; palms covered in blood, in her blood, not very long ago.

“I don’t need you to care...”

The last part was a whisper and Dick was silent, so silent that for a brief moment she wondered if the man she’d come to care about even heard her, admitting something that was so painful for her to say out loud.

Dick moved to sit beside her, his shoulder bumping hers. He didn’t know where all this was coming from but he knew better to leave it unattended.

“(Y/N) I help you because I care about you. I always will, you know that.”

“Why? You have nothing to gain from it”, blinking back the unshed tears in her eyes, she looked at him with a hurt expression as if she couldn’t bring herself to understand.

“Why… as in why do I care?”, Dick tilted his head to look her in the eyes, trying to understand what she meant all the while making sure not to let his own surprise at her words show. She nodded not trusting her voice to not betray her anymore than it already had.

“I don’t care about you because I feel like you need it nor because I would gain something from it”, Dick knew he shouldn’t have to explain it to her. He briefly wondered what she had gone through to make her think that she needed to be useful to be cared for or that she had to need it to be cared for. He felt something pull at his heart at the thought; It was sorrow.

“I care about you because… well I do and there’s nothing you could or couldn’t do to change that. And it is because I care about you that I ask you to be better at taking care of yourself. Now I know for a fact that whatever you stole from The League’s safehouse definitely did not belong there, but I also know that whatever it was, it wasn’t worth your life (Y/N) It never will be.”

Dick grasped one of her hands, interlacing his gloved fingers with hers; she hadn’t even realized she was shaking until he did so. Closing her eyes, she forced herself to take a deep breath despite her protesting ribs. Opening the palm of her free hand she muttered an incantation with practiced ease

“Eveirter tahw saw neddih “, her hand glowed, the golden aura taking the shape of a object. When the light subsided, Dick saw the object in her palm as she rubbed her thumb across it, quietly leaning her head on his shoulder.

“It was this totem. It belongs to Madame Xanadu. Don’t know what Ra’s wanted it for though”, she shrugged as best as she could with an injured shoulder then continued, voice firmer than it had been the whole evening,“ She asked me to retrieve it in exchange for information on a girl I was looking for. The girl was somehow sucked into some other dimension, a mystic one and her mother was so desperate when she approached me that I just couldn’t say no. So when I say the Totem was important, then I want you to know that it really is.”

Dick shook his head at that. “Still not worth your life.”

“Dick…”, she sighed. It was all she could do at the moment because she was really getting tired from all the arguing.

“Do you remember the first time we met?”

“You mean the time I met the infamous vigilante Nightwing in a dumpster of all places.”

“In my defense I was badly injured”, she hummed in agreement.

“You smelled bad”

“You try smelling like flowers after falling from a building and into an open dumpster.”

His playful grumbling pulled a short laugh out of her. She was more than a little confused at the sudden trip into the past but happily accepted it as a change of topic. She should’ve know better than to think he’d have let the matter go.

“Anyway my point is when you saw me that day, you first instinct was to help me. You pulled me out and used your magic to heal my wounds. You didn’t have to. You could’ve dropped me at a hospital. You could’ve even walked away and pretended that you never saw me, but you didn’t. Why is that?”

“Because I thought you were handsome?”, she said trying to lighten this too-heavy-for-comfort conversation he was trying to have.

“Nice try. I know you. You saved me because you cared. You helped me and the Titans save the city more than once because you cared. It is who you are. I’ve seen you care about and worry over complete strangers without conditions. So why do you think that there has to be some kind of a barter system when it comes to you? Why think that I would want to gain something if I cared about you?”

“Because everyone else did.”

The words shot out from her mouth quicker than she realized. She had voiced her greatest insecurity to the one person who never had anything to add to it and Dick’s heart clenched at the implications of her words, ‘She has never been loved unconditionally before’ his brain provided.

The tears she blinked back earlier came back with full force. She felt two strong arms that wrapped around her, all the while being mindful of her injuries. Dick pulled her into a hug and that was it. She couldn’t control the sobs that tore through her throat, the pain in her body flared due her erratic movements. She knew once the tears started flowing they wouldn’t stop at least not for a while, but now that her façade had been broken she couldn’t bring herself to give it another thought.

He waited for her to let it out, let out all the pent up emotions she had. Now that he thought about it he had never seen her cry. He never questioned it, maybe he should’ve.

“I don’t know who’s responsible for hurting you (Y/N), God, how much I wish I did”, his arms slightly tighten around her at that. “I am so sorry that you have felt like you have to have your walls up all the time, even around me and I should’ve seen that, I should’ve realized that before but I didn’t and I am so sorry for that. I can’t undo the damage you’ve endured and I will not pretend that I can. What I can do is promise you that I’d never let you down like that, never.”

The words he spoke were clear. He didn’t try to tell her to put her walls down, to trust him when she had no reason to. He also didn’t need to justify himself or make such over the top promises but it felt nice to hear it. She had already stopped crying the moment he started speaking again but she still had her forehead pressed against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, it was calming in a way she couldn’t describe. She pulled her head back to look at him, and the honesty in his voice earlier matched the one in his eyes.

“Okay”

Hearing her response, he gave her his signature grin. It sent unexpected warmth through her, he always had that effect on her. She was sure she was just blushing at this point and was suddenly thankful for the dim lighting in the room.

She ended up composing herself rather quickly, jabbing a finger at his armored chest with her usual smirk plastered on her face.

“Now that you’ve made that promise, know this, Dick Grayson, if you let me down I will drop a mountain on you.”

“You mean that figuratively?”

“No I mean that geologically”, he waited for her to say she was kidding. She didn’t.

“Alright, alright”, He held his hands out in mock surrender. After considering the look in her eyes, Dick refrained from questioning the feasibility of that action nor did he want to question her magical abilities or intent. Last he remembered, Wally did that and that conversation ended with him being teleported to Sahara and Dick would very much like to avoid the same fate as his best friend.

Deciding that was more than enough exhaustion for one night, he got up from the bed and kissed her goodnight, informing her that he’d be sleeping on the couch so that he wouldn’t accidently hit her injuries in his sleep. She agreed and watched him slip out of the room before falling into the blissful sleep she had been putting off since forever.

•°•°

She knew Dick Grayson was full of surprises but the next morning when he put forward the offer of become a full time Titan, in front of her, she wondered if she fell from the bed in her sleep and ended up getting another concussion because he was so not making any sense.

“So let me get this straight, you want me to come live with you and your superhero friends, in the Titans freaking Tower?!”

“I was hoping for a little less yelling after an emotional evening but yes that is exactly what I’m asking.”

“Dick that’s just ridiculous!”

“Look, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

He looked like a kicked puppy which made her feel kinda guilty for all the yelling.

“It’s not that…It’s just there is still a lot about me I haven’t told them. There is still a lot I haven’t told you. I don’t see a reason why you all would want to trust a possible threat, let alone live with it”, she gestured to herself.

Dick felt like there was a deeper meaning behind her words, as if she was voicing her own fear rather than theirs but he trusted her enough to tell him about it when she was ready, on her own terms. He could wait till then but for now he crossed the short distance between them, going around the breakfast table till he stood in front of her. He grasped both of her hands in his and ran his thumb soothingly across her knuckles. He bent down to place a soft kiss on her forehead, and then moved to meet her gaze.

“(Y/N), I know you and I trust you and…It sounds silly considering I was raised by the worlds greatest detective but I believe that you don’t have to know every little detail about someone as long as you already know what’s in their heart.” Bruce probably would’ve disagreed but he wasn’t Bruce.

“And you know what’s in mine?”

“And I know what’s in yours.” His statement was firm and left no room for argument, not when it came to this.

“If you’re sure about this, then I guess...”

“Is that a yes I’m hearing?”, There was that smile again, seriously what was up with him and his smile that made her giddy inside.

In between thoughts she realized he was still waiting for a response so she nodded. Any underlying doubts she had about her answer vanished when she took in how happy it made him. As cheesy as it sounded seeing him happy made her happy. A part of her said it wouldn’t last long, but seeing her boyfriend hop onto the couch full of joy as he called his friends about the latest development in their lives, she wanted to believe otherwise.

°•°•°•°•

235 notes · View notes