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pennyellee · 8 months

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CHAPTER IV - ustulation

LACRIMOSA | MYG MAFIA YANDERE AU

pairings: mafia leader!yoongi x f!reader genre: mafia!au, yandere au, historical au

summary: Their interlocking gaze served as a butterfly effect on his heart, stirring it to the core. She, in turn, only dreams to find a way to escape. But perchance, over time she might forcefully learn to love the man who has taken so much from her.

Thus unfolds a twisted tale of love and loss, of hope and despair, of life and death. The music reverberated through the dimly-lit streets. Tears of sorrow, weeping symphony - reflects the hurt, the scars that linger deep within and the wounds that never healed. Lacrimosa.

chapter warnings: minors dni 18+ | mafia au, dark!yoongi, mafia!yoongi, yandere, kidnapping, mentions of God, blood, incision wound, fictive mafia clan traditions, manipulation, possessive/obsessive behaviour, angst, mentions of death, overwhelming, violence, threats, intimate encounter, kissing

beta read by @chaoticpuff17

word count: 5,6K

disclaimer: this story is purely fictional, it does not depict real-life events or involve any actual members of BTS. This story will contain depictions of violence, blood shed, death, mentions of abuse, smoking, alcohol drinking, illegal activities, old social norms and traditions, which we do not condone.

m.list CHAPTER I CHAPTER II CHAPTER III GAME OF GO CHAPTER V

ustulation (n.) a burning lust

In the hidden embrace of a secluded mountain valley, a village of hanoks stirred to life on a tranquil winter's morning. The air was crisp, a symphony of silence. The Song of the Dead toned down for some time.

The dawn’s gentle light bathed the valley, wisps of mist from the frost-kissed earth, adding an ethereal veil to the scenery she watched carefully from the closed window.

The majestic mountains, ancient pines and stoic rocks stood as sentinels of the valley's serenity. She could see them from this side of the house. Y/N sighed, holding a cup of tea in her two small hands, warming herself up on this chilly morning.

“Is something bothering you, my love?”

Yoongi had tried his hardest the past month to get under her skin. There were times when he thought perhaps, she would welcome him into her heart one day. However, her repeated escape attempts made him think otherwise. He was giving her the space she needed with carefulness in every action he took. The young leader knew well that she wouldn't be able to escape while they resided here, in the core of the village. That did not stop her though.

As if nature herself wished to bestow a gift upon him, the first snowflakes began to descend from the heavens just as they were returning from that unfortunate, eventful day in Seoul. The snowflakes floated gently, even now, like fragile dreams.

“Are you feeling well? You spent a lot of time in the snow yesterday.” He murmured after she didn’t grant him an answer to his previous question. They had to postpone the wedding as the snow and frost reigned, making it unsafe to pass through the tunnels. The passage was being cleared by workers for more than a week now. Time seemed to stand still as they absorbed the grace that enveloped their world.

“I feel fine,” she muttered back, not even looking his way at the table.

“I’ve been good to you, haven’t I?” He asked, demanding to speak to her.

“After all the stunts you pulled, you’re still free to roam around without anyone guarding you. Not speaking of the fact that I’m letting you sleep alone—” he was going on rumble.

The young leader is patient, but he longed for her more than ever. The fact that they’re still not newlyweds, and he cannot show love to every inch of her body, make her swell with his child, was frustrating him beyond repair. She had let her guard down once and allowed him to take the chance and kiss her on the cheek, startling her yet again.

“—you’re so blinded,” she said suddenly, turning back to face him.

“Excuse me?” said he, very surprised.

“You go on about how you’re good to me, how this is God’s doing, and that I should be grateful—” she threw her hands in the air, frustrated by his demanding nature.

While the leader thought he was granting her the time she needed, Y/N felt more and more anxious every day. Her heart is still itching to be free, yet she cannot stop thinking about what her selfishness would cause if she indeed managed to escape.

“Well maybe if you didn’t run every time, I tried to show you affection, I wouldn't have to remind you of all this.” He spat angrily, smashing the chopsticks on the table, standing up.

“I’m patient—” said he, getting closer to her standing form by the large windows. “—but I swear to God, you’ll disobey me again, and that’s where my hospitality ends, Y/N.”

“I just—” she stammered, making him stop in his attempt to close the distance between them. “I’m scared,” she whimpered. Y/N didn’t know why these words came out of her, nor why there were tears. All she felt was exhaustion.

The scarred leader’s expression softened. Is she finally confiding herself to him, opening up?

“My love…” He approached her, taking the cup from her shaking hands, putting it aside and lastly taking her face into his hands, his thumbs wiping her tears away.

“I can make you happy. You just have to let me in.” He whispered, moving his face closer to hers. Y/N knows they will cross the boundary sooner or later. The winter is making it impossible for her to both run away and survive. Should Y/N listen to her mother’s words and let him make her his queen? The older female’s proclamation circled her mind at night while listening to the cracking of wood in the fireplace.

“Please let me in, dove.” He pleaded again, his eyes filled with sincerity and longing.

And once she nodded her head in approval, he didn’t hesitate to press his lips softly against hers. Time stood still, and the world around them faded into a blur of insignificance. Their hearts pounded in sync for a brief moment. She felt a warmth she couldn't admit, even to herself. Y/N wanted to hate him so much. Despite her inner conflict, she could sense the unspoken longings from his side, his desire to deepen the kiss carefully without overwhelming her. He wished to never let her go and feared that she would vanish in his hold. His lips were tender and tentative, like the brush of a butterfly's wings upon a fragile petal. Y/N knows he is holding himself back. The kiss was addictive, momentarily lifting the burden from her chest.

As he went to slide his hands on the swell of her heart-shaped bottom, a sudden cough interrupted the intimate moment. Y/N quickly pulled away, feeling shame and embarrassment wash over her caused by the sudden intrusion. She stole a single glance at the man standing by the door, grinning mischievously. Her cheeks turned crimson as she felt shy and exposed, but the young leader kept holding her in his embrace, not letting her go so soon after their first shared kiss.

Smiling like a teenager, he said: “What’s going on Hoseok-shi.” Y/N could imagine he is smiling widely as she had observed when she apologised to him for hitting his head with the stone. He waved it off quickly stating ‘I would be a fool to not forgive my new sister.’ She pretended not to be affected by his words, but it made the man she was to marry smile even more mischievously.

“I need to speak to you, and Y/N should get ready for Hyung’s wedding,” Hoseok said, his eyes gleaming with some secret knowledge.

Y/N exchanged a puzzled glance with Hoseok before nodding and extracting herself from the young leader's embrace, her cheeks still flushed from the kiss. Uncertainty hung in the air as Yoongi let Y/N go and walk away, admiring her graceful figure.

“What?” Yoongi asked, turning his attention to his trusted friend, who wore a smirk that hinted at hidden amusement.

“Nothing,” Hoseok replied, still smiling under his nose.

“Shall we?” Yoongi said, collecting himself and walking towards his brother.

“You won’t fancy what news I bring, brother.”

Silk banners fluttered in the breeze, announcing the joyous union to all who ventured near. The bride, a vision of grace and elegance, is adorned in a hanbok of flowing silk and intricate embroidery.

The groom, dressed in the timeless attire of a traditional hanbok, stood tall and resolute. His eyes fixed unwaveringly upon his beloved, as though she embodied the very essence of his being — a force that fuelled his heart.

Amidst the enchanting spectacle of celebration, the weight of tradition resonated with each uttered word.

The outside picture portrayed the unbreakable bonds of family and the beauty of two souls finding solace in one another. Y/N, however, couldn’t help but have a feeling that the poor girl the doctor was marrying did not find herself at the altar because of true love but fearful coercion. It reminded her of her circumstances — a pawn in a larger scheme.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm golden glow upon the snow-covered land, Y/N sat beside her to-be husband, observing his unusual joy. Accordingly. Today, one of his brothers was finally taking a wife and his bride in a momentary vulnerability that had allowed him to share a tender kiss with her, amplifying his joy to an even greater extent.

Her ears perked up once she heard the celebration of the union before her. She couldn't resist side-eyeing the other brothers she had encountered over the past month, and her gaze locked with Kim Namjoon, Kkangpae’s right-hand man.

Y/N remembers Kim Namjoon. His piercing, cold gaze bore into her soul, especially so during one of her escape attempts, when he forcefully brought her back to the main house, reprimanding her for disobedience.

‘I can either give up my life to save you or I can be your enemy Y/N.’ Namjoon had warned her on a night when she sought solace near the fireplace in Yoongi's office, wrapped in blankets to warm herself even more. She was rarely allowed in this sacred room unless her actions demanded attention.

That night, Yoongi was dealing with business matters. He came back to the main house to her shivering and crying form. It is breaking his heart every time he sees her in such a state but simultaneously, he wishes she would cross the border of submissiveness and obey him.

Y/N ignored his warning just yesterday when she attempted to run away again. Hence, the gaze. If she was afraid of his next steps, she wouldn’t let him decipher that.

She snapped out of her mind as Yoongi rose from his seat, taking her hand to help her up. Y/N looked at him with a mixture of confusion and concern. He gently nudged her behind him, positioning himself as a protective shield. She looked around her, seeing that everyone else was still seated. Their looks show emotions —excitement, joy, and pride.

Her confusion heightened when Yoongi began unbuttoning her fur coat that was hiding her long red qipao, and panic swelled within her.

"What are you doing?!” She whispered in distress.

“Behave.” He whispered back to her, leaving the coat open revealing her breasts and tummy.

Leaving her standing close to him, he held her hand tightly, as if afraid she might flee at any moment. Y/N noticed that Namjoon's attention had shifted to Seokjin's new bride. The bride's trembling form approached them, and Y/N observed the gleaming knife in Seokjin's hand, quickly realizing what was about to happen.

It whispered promises of power, of secrets that could be revealed with a single stroke, but it also carried the weight of consequences and a toll on the bearer's conscience. As the girl's hand was carefully sliced with the knife, Y/N couldn't help but empathize with her pain. Her father had a similar tradition; however, women weren’t involved; she was still left in the dark about her role in all this.

The girl then knelt, extending her bloodied hand toward the leader, reciting her pledge of loyalty to Kkangpae Min. Yoongi covered her hand with his other one, acknowledging her devotion and signaling for her to continue with the moving tradition.

The leader then used his left hand to guide Y/N forward, leaving her yet again puzzled and bewildered. A moment later, she gasped with shock as she felt the girl's bloodied hand touch her lower belly. Yoongi held her firmly in place, preventing any instinctual step back.

"I, with my blood, pledge my loyalty to you, Min Buin. Blessed be the fruit of your future legacy, Kkangpae Min," the girl recited, her words carrying both reverence and a touch of melancholy. The significance of the moment and the responsibility it bestowed upon Y/N left her grappling with a maelstrom of emotions.

“Well you handled that well,” a voice came from behind her, and Y/N turned to find Namjoon standing there, watching her by the fireplace in Yoongi's office. She had been curious when he would approach her, knowing that Yoongi had gone to check if the tunnels were passable.

Y/N couldn't quite discern the tone of Namjoon's remark—whether it held irony or genuine praise. Such was the enigmatic nature of this man.

“I suppose,” she muttered, hugging herself for comfort.

“I personally thought you’d slap her hand off. Such an act would undoubtedly stir up trouble,” said he as he settled down in one of the armchairs.

Her mind replayed the events of the pledge, and she confessed truthfully, “I was too shocked to do so.” The new bride's pledge of loyalty to her and her empty womb had caught her off guard, leaving her uneasy.

“Your father is not demanding newcomers to pledge loyalty?” He asked, curious about their inner circle practices. She smirked, sensing his attempt to pry.

“Yes, but not to my mother,” she revealed.

“You hold an important position within our ranks,” the right-hand man noted. “And that, my dear, is why we are having this little conversation.” Y/N looked up, finding him extending a glass filled with what she presumed to be rice wine or soju.

“I genuinely want to be your friend Y/N—” he said while passing the glass to her. “But you’re very hard to please, princess,” he exclaimed.

“By ‘wanting to be my friend’, you mean the part when you threaten me again,” she retorted with a scoff, alluding to his past warnings.

“That is a necessary evil,” he conceded. “But on a serious note, Y/N,” he drew closer, taking a seat slightly further away to grant her personal space, “Why?”

“What do you mean, why?” she asked, feeling dumbfounded by his question.

"Is life here truly so terrible that all you can think of is escape?" he sighed, genuinely curious about her state of mind.

“Not all I can think of—” she began, trying to defend herself.

"Oh, so you did not attempt to escape just a day ago, and two days before that, and so on," he interjected, pointing out her recent attempts.

“What do you want to hear from me Namjoon?” she countered, feeling the pressure of his questioning.

“Hoseok hyung overheard your conversation,” he finally gave away the one piece of information he sought to address “What are you afraid of?”

Y/N gazed into the dancing flames, his words echoing in her mind. Memories of the recent kiss with Yoongi and the ensuing events flooded her thoughts. She felt her spirit on the brink of collapse, her attempts to escape repeatedly thwarted, causing harm to others in the process. Y/N was exhausted.

“I suppose I expected my life to take a different trajectory than this,” she admitted, reflecting on her circumstances.

“I can assure you that this will be the best that ever happened to you—” Namjoon insisted, trying to be reassuring.

“And that, Namjoon, is where my disbelief lies,” she interrupted him, peering straight into his eyes. He sighed, running a hand across his face, expressing a sense of frustration mixed with genuine concern.

“You didn’t give it a chance!” He raised his voice, unable to hide his emotions. He wanted this clan to function as it did for countless years and what’s more, he wanted his hyung to be happy.

“I’m going to ask you once again, and I want the truth,” he implored, trying to get to the heart of the matter. “What are you so scared of?”

Y/N decided to remain silent, knowing that her response would likely incite further frustration from him. "Is it sex?" he suddenly asked, shocking her with his explicitness. "Are you scared to be punished for your sins?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” she returned his rage, denying his accusation.

“Am I?” he continued probing.

“Yes, Namjoon! You are! You think I’m this shallow?!” she lashed out.

“No, but all you let us see is the shallow version of you. Apart from this morning,” he declared, referring to a rare moment of vulnerability she had shown.

“And it wasn’t meant for anybody to hear nor see that,” she snapped back at him.

“I understand your reasoning, Y/N. But we’re your family now, you don’t have to shield yourself against us,” he pleaded, hoping to break down her walls.

“He loves you, Y/N,” Namjoon continued, trying to make her see the sincerity in Yoongi's feelings.

“That’s very hard to believe too.” She remarked, still sceptical, looking right through his eyes. He took a deep breath, lifting his hand to touch his face.

“Alright, let’s make a deal,” he proposed, catching her by surprise and piquing her interest.

“About?” She asked, curiously.

“Give it a year,” said the right-hand man. By making a deal with her, he is going behind the back of his leader and, even more importantly — his dearest friend. Nevertheless, he felt obligated to do this for him.

"If you're still 'scared' of whatever you say you are, and this is not the life you'll be comfortable living, I'll personally see to it that you'll be transported to America," he promised, leaving her momentarily speechless.

“What is the catch?” Y/N wasn't naive. She knew there must be some ulterior motive.

"You'll stop being a flight risk. If you attempt to run again, the deal is off, and I will personally eliminate each person foolish enough to aid you since your arrival—one by one, ending with your cousin," he stated, laying out the condition.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she absorbed his chilling words. Her mind raced as she contemplated her choices. "That's the only condition?" she asked, ensuring she understood the terms before giving her answer.

"Well, naturally, I expect you to genuinely give it a chance, meaning that you will accept Hyung as your husband, leader, and lover," he emphasized the last noun, urging her to take his words seriously. Y/N stopped for a moment to collect her thoughts together.

“This is a one time offer Y/N. I won’t be this generous again,” he added. She struggled to read him, but she couldn’t. Namjoon was well known for being unpredictable — a quality that made him a perfect fit as the right-hand man. No one could ever say with certainty what his next move would be.

“Fine,” she finally relented, her voice barely a whisper. Namjoon extended his hand, sealing the deal with a firm shake. He leaned in closer to Y/N.

“I trust that you’ll be on your best behaviour from now on.” He whispered to her. There were so many emotions in her eyes right now that she was working hard to process. She barely nodded and averted her gaze down. Y/N couldn’t bear to look into his intimidating eyes no more.

“Very well,�� he murmured, his gaze still fixed on her. “The tunnels have been cleared, and the wedding will take place this week." He told her.

Y/N's heart skipped a beat at the mention of the impending wedding. She was praying that perhaps she has more time to think of what to do with her situation. According to Seokjin, who came to visit and spent some time on occasion with her when his leader could not, the tunnels wouldn’t be cleared out until the end of December, giving her another month in total.

“Brother!” exclaimed Namjoon suddenly, breaking her train of thought. Y/N followed his gaze to the sliding door, where Yoongi stood, undoing the cufflinks of his shirt, the suit jacket already gone. "I was just telling Y/N the good news," Namjoon smiled at him.

Throughout this month, Y/N observed the strong brotherhood among Yoongi's most trusted and closest men. The deepest connection Yoongi shared was undoubtedly with Namjoon, which explained why he was the right-hand man.

Yoongi displayed a particularly protective nature towards his younger brothers. She had yet to meet Jungkook, the youngest, who had been recently assigned as captain of the front unit, as she overheard. On the other hand, Jimin was more involved in the open, managing the front business and whatever lay beneath it. The Chosen Hotel was highly popular among Koreans but was eagerly open to international guests too. Y/N suspected that the true core of the business was settled elsewhere, and she was eager to uncover it.

Seokjin, recently married, primarily served as the inner family's doctor. However, the Min clan also faced a shortage of actual medical staff like, so he had to run between the sanctuary, as she had learnt this place was called, and a front hospital.

Taehyung remained a mystery to her, despite seeing him in family pictures and hearing Yoongi mention him occasionally. He was supposed to represent the law in Yoongi's business dealings, ensuring the safety and legitimacy of their operations, including the handling of illegal earnings. Therefore, Taehyung is the safety pin of this organization. Whomever fucks up, he is there to defend them.

And lastly, Hoseok, a surprising contrast of joy and darkness. Y/N was taken aback that such a buoyant personality could be involved in such sinister activities. He was the arsonist who also took care of assassinations. Additionally, the clan engaged in money laundering, and Hoseok was responsible for collecting debts, often involuntarily.

Her eyes swelled with tears she was refusing to let out. Yoongi’s eyes met Y/N's, and she could see a mixture of concern and worry flicker across his face. A silent understanding passed between them, and they knew that they would need to have a private conversation later.

“Well, it seems you two need more privacy,” said Namjoon while he was collecting himself from the cushion he was sitting on.

“Did Tae call?” Yoongi asked before Namjoon could leave. “He did before Hyung’s wedding, to send his good wishes and—” he gazed over to Y/N who was carefully listening to their conversation, hanging on every word.

“—and?” Yoongi asked as he unbuttoned his shirt, a sight she had seen far too often for her liking. He was not shy with her; he could easily undress before her without a second thought. His attempts to walk in on her while she was changing didn't go unnoticed either, though she made sure to show her displeasure by throwing vases at him to keep him out.

Only now did Y/N remember the glass of alcoholic beverage that Namjoon had offered her, remaining untouched in her hands. She decided to take a sip, trying to ease her nerves before the conversation she was dreading.

“—and everything went well, as expected,” said Namjoon observing her as she downed the burning soju.

“Send telegraph to Wang and other families. We’re leaving for Chosen in two hours.” Y/N straightened herself, eyes wide open in disbelief.

“W-what do you mean in two hours?” She stammered. It was just past eight when she gazed at the clock on the wall. That would mean they'd depart at ten and arrive in Seoul around midnight.

"—I thought they just cleared the way. Why are we—" Yoongi cut her off abruptly. "I am waiting no more," he said firmly, locking his gaze with hers, leaving her in shock once again.

"On your way, please inform the maids to pack, and I want the cabin ready," Yoongi instructed Namjoon, who memorised every task with a sense of responsibility, seemingly disregarding Y/N's shattered spirit in the wake of this sudden rush.

“Can we at least talk about it?!” she raised her voice, causing the two men to stop in their tracks. They exchanged knowing looks, making it clear that this was non-negotiable. Yoongi clicked his tongue, biting his cheeks from inside, then turned to face his fiancée with a deceptive sweetness in his tone.

"Of course, my love," he said.

He nodded to Namjoon, who immediately took off, glancing at Y/N with a silent reminder to behave.

“What’s wrong?” Yoongi asked nonchalantly as if this were a perfectly normal scenario.

“I don’t know, do you think this is right?” Y/N kept her tone tense, signalling her discontent.

“Nothing is more right than this,” he answered, pouring himself a drink while taking her empty glass and refilling it with soju.

"Yoongi—" she began to protest, but he didn't let her speak further, having heard her excuses countless times.

“No Y/N. I’m not negotiating this time. We’re getting married tomorrow afternoon and that’s final,” he stated sternly.

"You could at least wait a day! Do you think everyone will just jump because you said it's happening right now? And more importantly, let me mentally prepare for it?!” Her frustration grew, and she gestured wildly, almost knocking over the refilled glass that Yoongi handed her.

“They are already in town. The telegraph is just a confirmation that it will happen tomorrow.” Her distress and panic were understandable; she had believed she had more time than a few hours.

“And you didn’t think of telling me first?!” she raised her voice even higher. That she was in distress and panic was very understandable. Y/N thought she had more time than a few hours.

“No, because you were finally letting me in—” said he, downing the contents of his glass in one go.

“You knew this would happen for a month, and you would have had more time to prepare yourself if running away fifteen hundred times a day wouldn’t be on your mind,” he fired back, raising his voice at her, and immediately asserting dominance.

"I'm getting very tired of this. One step forward and ten million miles back, damn it!" he cursed, slamming the glass down on his desk in frustration. The tension in the room was palpable, and Y/N felt her heart sinking as she realized that her hopes of a slower pace for their relationship had been shattered.

“I have a very easy solution to that—” she said, raising herself to stand up to him.

“—Let me go,” she emphasized every single word, her frustration boiling over, and momentarily forgetting about her deal with Namjoon.

Her emotions were running high, and she went to pull the ring off to prove her point, but he forcefully grabbed her right hand, stopping her in her tracks. Anger filled his eyes as he crossed his other hand, grabbed her by the back of her neck, and crashed his lips onto hers, pressing their bodies against the nearest wall. He didn't give her a chance to catch her breath as he passionately bruised her lips.

He let go of her hand once he was sure she wouldn't resist. With his now free hand, he lifted her leg, wrapping it around his waist, squeezing her ass cheek, making her yelp and by that creating an opening to slip his tongue into her mouth. Y/N had no idea how long their intimate encounter lasted, but she could feel her head spinning from the lack of oxygen. Just as she managed to stop his other hand from slipping under her dress, aiming for her pulsing heat, he parted from her, both of them breathing heavily.

“I’m sorry. I got carried away,” he apologised, his eyes fixed on her now swollen lips. Y/N was taken aback, her head still spinning, and she couldn't think straight. He had such a powerful effect on her, and this aspect of life was entirely new to her, having been kept away from such experiences.

"I wish, —" he started, nibbling at her lower lip while he continued to speak, "—you would acknowledge my love for you." Yoongi kissed her again, not giving her a chance to recover or speak up, moaning softly into her lips.

"We are too close. I will never give you up.” he declared, wiping her tears away gently.

“I can’t have you running though—” he leaned into lavish attention on her neck, placing butterfly kisses up to her jaw and stopping at her lips again—

"I'll overlook this lapse of senses if you keep up this good behaviour, my love, but the next time you disobey me, I won't only discipline you; someone will lose their head.”

She trembled against him, feeling lost, scared, and vulnerable. Her breath hitched as she tried to speak up. Yoongi was beyond himself for getting her into this state where she didn’t dare to oppose his words and stopped fighting him. If she won’t let him in willingly, he will force her to open up to him.

“I told you to not take that ring off your finger ever again.” She remembers the words he uttered to her in the garden where he proposed to her. That she agreed still feels surreal to her. Running got her nowhere, but she still had a selfish feeling inside her that he was bluffing and wouldn’t dare to seriously hurt anybody.

“Now be a good girl and apologise for disobeying me.” He tightened his grip at her waist, finally staring right into her teary eyes. Y/N felt lost, scared and vulnerable. Her lips were trembling, and her breath hitched again once she opened her mouth to speak.

“Shhh, it’s okay baby, just say it.” He cooed, lifting his hand to caress her cheek gently.

“I-I am sorry,” she finally sobbed. If there was one thing the scarred boy excelled at, it was getting his way. He smiled at her, pleased with her response.

He smiled at her. “That’s more like it, baby.”

Y/N longed to curl up in her small apartment, where she resided while studying at college. She desperately wished she could turn back time.

“I have something for you,” he said suddenly, looking for any sign of curiosity from her. Yoongi stepped away to his desk, leaving her pressed against the wall, hesitant to move an inch. He opened one of his drawers and pulled out an envelope. Y/N couldn't make out the handwriting, but her eyes widened as she recognised it.

“Your aunt entrusted me with this letter when we came to the conclusion that you should be mine one day,” he said, holding the envelope in his hands. Y/N desperately wished that the answer and a solution to her fears would be contained in that envelope. She was mulling over the platform of this match-making her aunt orchestrated.

Wang Xiaoqing very much upheld the meaning of her name in the time she lived. Blessed with intelligence. And she was a fearless mafia wife who brought pride to her late husband. There are other intriguing things about Y/N’s beloved auntie. Xiaoqing is by far the only member in her large family tree that married for love. Y/N admired her aunt and, perhaps, seeing that it was possible to marry for love, made her blindly believe she could also have the freedom to choose her partner.

She dreamt of a little house in the woods, not far from a lake or a small town. Growing some goods in the garden, by night sitting near the fireplace, the love of her life holding her. She would work in a nearby hospital, or study overseas to become a doctor were all part of her fever dream. She knew it was unlikely to come true, given her family's ties to the syndicate.

But she could least dream about it. For a moment, when she was on the ferry to Jeju Island, she thought she would make it. Y/N knew the risk she was taking once she entrusted her well-being to Chan-yeol. She knew his role was insignificant and not a threat to any syndicate and it wouldn’t certainly attract Yakuza, but she was also aware that he could have been the only one to send her to the far land. She believed that God chose this path for her instead of being an arm jewel to some Yakuza brute.

Reality snapped her back from her swirling thoughts as he put the envelope back in the drawer.

“W-what are you doing?” she asked, taking a step forward.

“I will give it to you—” he promised “and tell you everything you want to know—” locking the drawer with a key.

“—After you’ll walk the aisle to me, without any of your misfits,” he finished his sentence.

"To strengthen your cooperation for tomorrow, I'm having your cousin and her husband at gunpoint during the ceremony," he added, making her scream in protest.

"I won't do anything stupid," she pleaded, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Just let them be, please. They have little son, Yoongi.”

“I know, that’s why they are the perfect bargain to make you obedient. If this doesn't work, you still have other family members—," Y/N couldn't bear it any longer; she closed the distance between them, standing just inches away from him.

“If you would love me—” she started but before she could finish, he grabbed her waist and pulled her even closer, pressing his body against hers. She could feel his torso and lower body. He bowed down next to her ear.

“I’ll stop this necessary coercion when you’ll learn your place, my love.”

Yoongi loved making her squirm and overwhelm her. He was basking in the effect he had on her. The fact that she will be his wife in less than twelve hours was a source of satisfaction for him.

“You were my woman for a long time now, and you will be my woman till death do us apart.”

I N T E R L O G U E

“—And you’re certain that the man is on his way to Seoul.” The leader inquired of his trusted friend and partner, seated in the quiet confines of his home office.

“Yes,” Hoseok affirmed with a nod.

"Is there any additional information that I need to be aware of?” Yoongi's voice carried a hint of tension, his teeth gritted in anger.

"As of now, there's nothing more to report," the younger male replied, keeping the conversation concise.

“Do you want me to eliminate him?” Hoseok offered, waiting for his leader's command.

“Not just yet, I was hoping to have the pleasure myself.”

to be continued

author’s note: so here we are at chapter IV!! ♥ Thank you all so much for for sticking around chummers ♥ They kissed and much moreee!!! We'll see what we'll happen next. I hereby promise to post the chapter sooner than the end of Semptember, or I hope so xD Tho I have some wips to write and if I'll finish some then I'll post something new too ♥

Massive shout-out to Bex, the queen @chaoticpuff17, for beta another chapter!

Love you!!!!

Don't be a silent reader, comment, re-blog, heart, asks are more than welcome ♥

keep in mind - I'm not an expert on chinese, korean and japanese culture, but I tried to research everything realistic I wanted to add to the story. Nonetheless, take it as a fiction.

let's be friends chummers ♥

lots of love,

𝖕𝖊𝖓𝖓𝖞𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖊

taglist: @beautifulcloudfestival - @chaoticpuff17 - @honsoolgloss - @jingerbreadoutofstock - @moscow778 - @januara26 - @dinosolecito - @yoongislatinagff - @xyahrinx - @hi12345567 - @nochuel - @deltamoon666 - @bbkissme99 - @darkuni63 - @nansasa - @sazsazsaz - @missmin - @strxwbloody - @royallyjjk - @jaiuneamesolitaiire - @shadowyjellyfishfest - @bbgniecyy - @elayne321 - @seojunandsoju - @bun-27 - @whipwhoops - @wobblewobble822 - @whofan88 - @haneyyy - @lostgirlinthewoodss @secfir @btspurplesky @elleflying07 - @pamzn - @megseungmin

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areyoudreaminof · 11 months

Text

To Hell With a Reputation: A Mor Playlist

Not who you were expecting? Neither was I! Mor caught me by surprise the first time I read ACOMAF. This bright, fearless, and loyal lady was the first female friend Feyre had ever had, giving her the guidance that the males in her new fae life weren't quite able to give. "Don't Let The Hard Days Win" is probably a mantra for most of us now. Beneath that bubbly exterior, you have this complex individual who has survived terrible trauma and hides a lot of herself, to her own detriment. I think she deserves more in story. Like Cassian's playlist, I gave myself a lot more leeway with the music. Much more colorful sounds, but some darker lyrics. Listen Here! And meet me behind the cut!

PYNK-Janelle Monáe. Grimes)

Pynk like the paradise found Pynk when you're blushing inside, baby Pynk is the truth you can't hide, maybe Pynk like the folds of your brain, crazy Pynk as we all go insane

'Cause, boy, it's cool if you got blue We got the pynk

Raspberry Swirl-Tori Amos

I am not your señorita I am not from your tribe If you want inside her well Boy, you better make her raspberry swirl Things are getting desperate When all the boys can't be men Everybody knows I'm her friend Everybody knows I'm her man

Jesca Hoop-Free of the Feeling

When the ringing bell falls deaf, we go look for dark Where no flag is waving red, we look for dark Out where there's no whites of eyes, out where there's no stars Casting far and watching night, we go look for dark

To get free of the feeling Free of the feeling

Uninvited-Alanis Morissette

Like anyone would be I am flattered by your fascination with me Like any hot blooded woman I have simply wanted an object to crave But you, you're not allowed You're uninvited An unfortunate slight Must be strangely exciting To watch the stoic squirm

Same Ol' Mistakes-Rihanna

I can just hear them now "How could you let us down?" But they don't know what I found Or see it from this way around Feeling it overtake All that I used to hate Worried 'bout every trait I tried but it's way too late All the signs I don't read Two sides of me can't agree When I breathe in too deep Going with what I always longed for

Birch Tree-Foals

Come meet me by the river See how time it flows I'll meet you by the river See how time it flows And when we age Shed our skin and grow We shed our layers Spread our wings and go

Some things Cosmic-Angel Olsen

Before we draw, my dear dear friend I promise you my word If we should part, my dear dear love You know you’re in my heart And though I may be getting older Know that I'm going with you Know that I'm hanging on to the things that you said The things that you said

Laura Palmer-Bastille

Walking out into the dark, cutting out a different path Lead by a beating heart All the people of the town cast their eyes right to the ground In matters of the heart The night was all you had You ran into the night from all you had Found yourself a path up on the ground You ran into the night; you can't be found But this is your heart Can you feel it? Can you feel it?

Ocean Drive-Duke Dumont

As the sirens fill the lonely air Oh, how did we get here now, now, now, babe We see a storm is closing in Pretending we ain't scared

Don't say a word while we dance with the devil You brought a fire to a world so cold We're out of time on the highway to never Hold on (Hold on), hold on (Hold on)

Silent Machine-Cat Power

I walk on through woods and its streets every night Walk through people who walk too close Into each other they're hanging I am told there's a mother you may remember

In the name of the father but never the ghost Me I use the money for those just as hard Who hung his head for the ladies or pretended he did

The Lion's Roar-First Aid Kit

But don't you come here and say I didn't warn you About the way your world can alter And oh how you try to command it all still Every single time it all shifts one way or the other And I'm a goddamn coward, but then again so are you And the lion's roar, the lion's roar Has me evading and hollering for you And I never really knew what to do

Leave a Trace-CHVRCHES

I will show restraint Just like we said we should You think I'll apologise for things I left behind But you got it wrong And I'm as sane as I ever was You talk far too much For someone so unkind I will wipe the salt off of my skin And I'll admit that I got it wrong And there is grey between the lines

Birth in Reverse-St. Vincent

Like a birth in reverse What I saw through the blinds You could say that I'm saying Phenomenal lies On the cosmic eternity Party line

This tune will haunt me through the war Ha, ha, ha, ha ha Laugh all you want but I want more 'Cause what I'm swearing, I've never sworn before

Woman King-Iron & Wine

Blackbird claw, raven wing Under the red sunlight Long clothesline, two shirtsleeves Waving as we go by

Hundred years, hundred more Someday we may see a Woman king, wristwatch time Slowing as she goes to sleep

Rainbow-Kacey Musgraves

When it rains, it pours But you didn't even notice It ain't rainin' anymore It's hard to breathe when all you know is The struggle of stayin' above the risin' water line Well, the sky has finally opened The rain and wind stopped blowin' But you're stuck out in the same ol' storm again You hold tight to your umbrella Well, darlin', I'm just tryin' to tell ya That there's always been a rainbow Hangin' over your head

taglist: @highqueenmorrigan, @foreverinelysian, @octobers-veryown, @melting-houses-of-gold, @velidewrites, @reverie-tales, @thesistersarcheron@ultadverb, @c-e-d-dreamer, @andrigyn, @foundress0fnothing, @vulpes-fennec ,@asnowfern, @mossytrashcan , @thelovelymadone, @the-lonelybarricade, @shadowriel, @separatist-apologist , @fieldofdaisiies, @stickyelectrons, @vanserrass, @panicatthenightcourt, @krem-does-stuff, @iftheshoef1tz, @damedechance, @headcanonheadcase, @cursebrkr, @andrigyn, @mossytrashcan, @thelovelymadone, @wilde-knight, @moonpatroclus, @stickyelectrons, @kataravimes-of-the-shire, @mossytrashcan, @sunshinebingo, @filthyglamdoll, @ablogofbipanic, @corcracrow, @morweekofficial

#acotar playlist project #mor #pro mor #acotar #Spotify

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aquanova99 · 2 years

Note

Please write some Leah Clearwater headcannons or oneshots ❤️

Leah?? Say less bb

I am going to assume you meant dating Leah headcanons because I want to write and put as much as I can because I do not get enough of her and she is too good for this world. If you would like a one shot please don’t hesitate to ask for something specific 💛

It would be so hard for Leah to trust you at first because let’s be real, she’s gone through alotttt

You would have to be related to someone in the pack somehow because atm she is stuck there. So we will say Embrys cousin that’s staying with his family for the time being

You meet at and Sam and Emilys and you are immediately drawn by her and try and get as much information from Embry

However you don’t get much and when you say hello she just says hi and leaves. You are distraught 😫

You decide she doesn’t like you like that and decide to give her her space for awhile. SHE DID NOT WANT THAT.

Like initial signs of interest would be her just glaring at you and wondering why she’s constantly thinking about you

You’d have to be the first to approach her… again IM SO SORRY

And your probably fumbling about because hello it’s Leah but as your stumbling on your words she just asks “what?”

And you get intimidated and say never mind and as your leaving Leah finally speaks up

“That’s it? You’re really not going to ask me?”

And honestly she would be really hurt because she thinks that you think she’s a bitch just like everyone else and she starts to storm out of the house. You follow her because now you’re confused but once you’re both outside and away from everyone you catch up and apologize but you thought you were bothering her

She says you weren’t and then you begin fumbling again but eventually you ask for her number

And boy do things pick up from there…

You guys are talking ALL. THE. TIME. And if you aren’t calling eachother you are texting.

Sue and Seth have literally never seen Leah this happy

Leah is still part of Jacobs pack so no one else knows about it. And she doesn’t tell anyone about you.

Unfortunately because you live with Embry and he eventually stays at the house he finds out and tells everyone. Not purposefully but because of the whole wolf mind link

Sam is pissed

He starts bothering Leah like crazy and telling her that she be with someone with being an imprint and you aren’t allowed to know the secret

Leah is now also pissed but Sam told her not Jacob so she tells you anyway. She was waiting for the right time but honestly now she’s proving a point to herself and to Sam (mostly out of spite)

You obvs don’t care and it lifts the biggest weight off her shoulders. She finally kisses you for the first time. And it almost gets really steamy 😏😏

Don’t be mad okay after Emily she wanted to go slow and you respected it

After she tells you the whole story, you ask her why she doesn’t just leave and you make her realize that now she can

Things pick up even more after that. The two of you begin to be very quiet about your plans to leave and go somewhere else. Leah has to stop phasing so Seth can’t spill the beans because let’s be real Jacob would throw a fit

The two of you tell Sue and when she agrees that it’s what’s best for Leah the two of you start a long road trip around the states

Eventually the two of you get a small apartment in the city (literally pick any city) and visit Sue and Seth whenever you can. Seth is just happy Leah’s happy and he understands why you didn’t tell him

Both Sam and Jacob try to convince Leah to come back both trash reasons (Jacob just wants a good member in his pack, and Sam has weird conflicting emotions about Leah 🤢)

She’s happy she can finally say no and the two of you go on adventures together all the time

But your favorite thing to do is watch movies at home together

Leah always complains about cheesy romance flicks but she’s a big sap and always sheds a tear.

She prefers when you lay your head on her shoulder

Okay for more *ahem intimate moments you would wait for her to take the lead, which she appreciates you so much for tbh

Whenever things do happen there is always a lot of buildup and it is very very intimate, no I will not go into more detail use you imagination

I imagine that you would take the lead when it came to cooking and food and she’s more handy around the house because she always hung around and learned from her dad

I feel like she would be insecure even though she will act like she isn’t not that you mind

If she’s having a moment when it’s just you two at home she will just come up to you and wrap her arms around you.

If it’s when your out and she thinks your being too nice to someone, she will get distant and you will grab her hands a start gently rubbing the back of it and when she squeeze it back then that means she’s better and not so freaked out

You guys communicate a lot without having to say anything. So there’s comfortable silence

Eventually you guys have to move into a house because she has a soft spot for stray animals and she refuses to give them up. So you move close to Sues to finally settle down

I hope this was okay! I know I started rambling so sorry 😅

Taglist: @artaxerxesthegreat @adaydreamaway08 @aunt-pipie @imtoanonymousforyou @lacychick @quarthly @raindancer2004 @venusdelaroix @volturiwolf @xcastawayherosx @jelly-fishy-babie

#aquas asks #leah clearwater #leah clearwater imagine #leah clearwater headcanon #leah clearwater x reader #leah clearwater x you #leah clearwater x y/n

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ticklishfiend · 3 years

Text

Pure Gold (My Hero Academia)

Lee!Mina / Ler!Bakugou ⚠️PLATONIC⚠️

A/N : haven’t posted a fic in a while cause my laptop broke but hey!! i fixed it!! so here we go. i wanna make a sequel to this with the sleepover mentioned at the end, so if ur interested or have any ideas, lemme know!!

Summary: Mina catches Bakugou in a very incriminating circumstance, and of course, records it (cause how could she not). Unfortunately for her, Bakugou doesn’t think this is as funny as she thinks it is, but decides to make her laugh with his own methods anyways.

Word Count: 3084

REBLOGS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED, MWAH <33 xoxo

. . .

Mina rolled onto her right side for what had to be the millionth time tonight, nothing ever feeling comfortable enough to just loll her into the right sleepy headspace she needed to get some goddamn shuteye. She’s never really had many problems with falling asleep before, so why tonight she had to be burdened with this temporary insomnia was beyond her.

Mina threw her arm out behind her back towards her bedside table, fingers fumbling around for her phone before finding it connected to the charger. Detaching it from it’s plug, she brought it towards her, face flinching at the sudden brightness before her eyes adjusted to the light. She groaned as she scanned over the time, 1:02AM, far later than she would typically still be awake. Sure, it was Friday so she didn’t have any classes to worry about the next day, but it was still frustrating to get off her normal sleeping schedule so suddenly and for seemingly no reason. She had to fix it soon before she pulled an accidental all-nighter.

Whining and groaning the whole way, Mina threw her legs out over the side of her bed, dangling her feet for a moment before slipping them into her cute fuzzy panda slippers she kept on her bedside. The girl figured her best bet for now would be to drink one of the soothing teas that Momo kept lying around in the kitchen for anyone to use. She dragged herself towards the door, allowing her arms to stretch over her head with a yawn before grabbing at the cold metal door handle and slowly creaking open the entrance.

She was careful to be quiet, turning the handle before shutting the door as to avoid any unnecessary clicks. She’d be damned if she made any of her light-sleeper classmates go through the same sleepless night she was currently going through by waking them up so late in the night. She walked heel to toe through the carpeted hallway, finding her way to the elevator finally and breathing a sigh of relief as the doors closed without a dinging sound.

After what felt like a treacherous journey, she finally made it to the corner that would lead her to both the kitchen and common area. But, before she turned the corner, she saw a light illuminating off the walls coming from the commons. Her brow quirked, not expecting any type of light to be shining from the area.

No worries, she thought. If someone accidentally left a light on I’ll just turn it off real quick so no one gets in trouble, easy peasy! She finally made it around the corner when it finally dawned on her where the light source was coming from in the first place; the TV.

Her eyes met the muted TV that seemed to be playing a...romance anime? The subtitles were on and the volume was completely turned off, so whoever had been watching it was obviously aware of how late it was and was trying to stay quiet for the rest of the class like Mina had been.

The pink girl watched the screen for a moment, reading the subtitles to find that one of the characters had apparently just confessed their love to someone else in some heroic fashion. It was super cute, and she’ll definitely have to look up whatever this is so she can watch it in her own time. Before she could make her way towards the action to turn the TV off, however, she heard...is that…?

...sniffles?

She paused, her ears perking up at the sound just in case she had imagined it. Then, no more than 3 seconds later, she heard it again. Sniffles, this time accompanied by a little groan of what sounded like endearment. This is so cute, she thought to herself, bringing her hand to her mouth to cover up any giggles that dared to escape. Someone’s crying about a romance anime right now, and it definitely sounded like one of the boys too! There’s no way I can’t find out who this is.

As quietly and sneakily as the acidic girl possibly could, she made her way towards the back of the couch, crouching down just slightly as to not alert them with her shadow. She finally allowed her eyes to peer just above the top of the cushion aaaand…

…

BAKUGOU?!

Mina could hardly believe what she was seeing. Was she complaining? Absolutely not, this was pure gold, it was just surprising! THE Bakugou Katsuki, curled up on the corner of the couch swaddled in a fluffy All Might blanket, tears pooling at the corners of his eyes with an actual smile on his face. He stuffed his mouth with popcorn before wiping his tears with the corner of his printed blanket, muffling a small “Finally,” into the fabric.

There was no chance in hell Mina was going to miss this golden opportunity.

Like a spy, Mina quickly but quietly snatched her phone from the pocket of her sleep shorts, opening the camera before pressing record. She zoomed in on the romantic scene displayed on the screen, before slowly panning down to the still sniffling Bakugou, the light from the TV bright but his smile even brighter. She hit the off button before stuffing the phone back in her pocket with a grin, quietly making her way towards the kitchen.

She went to take a mug out of one of the top cabinets, purposefully shutting it louder than she needed to to alert the blonde on the sofa. He jumped at the noise, whipping his head around towards the girl before throwing his arm towards the coffee table to snatch the remote and turn the TV off with force.

“Why the fuck are you in here, Pinky?!!” Bakugou whisper-shouted from across the room, and though the light from the TV was now gone, Mina could just tell he had to be blushing from embarrassment. She grinned widely.

“Oh, y’know, couldn’t sleep,” She smirked, not looking Bakugou’s direction while filling her kettle with tap water. “I’m guessing the romantic buildup had to be pretty intense to make THE Lord Explosion Murder shed a few tears, huh?”

Bakugou froze before his body started to shake with anger, launching himself over the back of the couch and lunging towards Mina, grabbing her by the shoulders and digging his fingers into the flesh aggressively. He was seething, his jaw clenched and eyes white with anger, and though Mina was a little shaken up when he initially grabbed her, she couldn’t help but giggle when remembering what she had just seen moments ago.

“I WILL KILL YOU, YOU ALIEN FUCK!” He almost-shouted, and it was obvious he was still cautious of waking anyone up so Mina wouldn’t be able to tell anyone about what she had witnessed. “You keep this shit to yourself, got it?! Cause I’m not scared to fucking kill you!”

“Oh I know that, Blasty,” she smiled up at him, unable to suppress another giggle. “It’s too bad I got your little cry-sesh on camera then, huh?”

Bakugou’s face fell, his eyes wide before he squeezed even tighter into her shoulders. “You...you WHAT?!?!” Mina had meant to let out another laugh at his expense, but it turned into a yelp as she was aggressively hoisted up over his shoulder.

Mina kicked and laughed, hitting at his back to no avail as he stomped towards the couch and unceremoniously threw her down onto it, pinning her against the cushions, her hands now laying flat underneath his knees that were thrown over her waist.

“Woah, take me out to dinner first!” Mina’s eyes were wide as she let out a nervous chuckle. She tugged at her hands, but they weren’t going anywhere under his weight. She even tried kicking a little against the cushion, but yet again, nothing.

“Not into you like that, Pinky,” He aggressively pointed towards her face, the angry scowl never leaving his now wrinkled expression. “And you’re gonna delete that fucking video, got it?!”

“Are you kidding me?! I could never delete that! It’s gold and you know it!” Mina exasperated, shocked he could even consider that a possibility.

“NO IT’S FUCKING NOT!” He whisper-shouted into her face, moving his hand even closer to her face until it booped her nose, her eyes crossing down to look at it. “Delete it, Horns...or I’ll fucking make you.”

Mina uncrossed her eyes and looked up to Bakugou, whose face remained angry and undeterred. She sighed, “Ok, first of all, they’re not horns; they’re antennas. Secondly, you were too cute in the video to delete it! I’m sorry, Baku, but I can’t do that.”

Bakugou just grunted, moving both of his hands down now to grip at her waist, making her eyes widen with a sudden knowing fear. “I am NOT cute, and you WILL delete that fucking video, Pink-Fuck! You always give in to this shit,” Bakugou couldn’t help the smirk that rose on his face as he squeezed her sides once, making her jump and yelp.

“Nohoho! Bakugou, please, not thihis!” Mina couldn’t help the giggles that left her lips even if he hadn’t properly done anything yet. It was just the knowing of what was to come that caused nervous laughter to bubble from her chest and into both their ears.

“It doesn’t have to be this way, moron,” Bakugou said, eyeing down at her waist before noticing the phone-sized bulge in her shorts pocket. He smirked, reaching down and pulling it from its hiding spot. He looked at the screen before huffing, turning it to face her eyes. “Gimme the code. Now.”

“No way! You’ll just delete the video!” Mina said before yelping with another jerk as he pinched at her side again. “Dohon’t!” He sat her phone down on the arm of the couch before wiggling both his hands over her belly, the sight alone making her shriek and let out a flow of giggles.

“You’re gonna wanna give me that code, loser,” Bakugou grinned, jerking his hands down towards her stomach without touching her and bringing them back up, making Mina jerk aggressively with another yelp. “I haven’t even touched you yet and you’re already freaking out! This is gonna fucking suck for you if you don’t let me delete that damn video!”

Mina just pursed her mouth shut tightly, shaking her head “no” while letting little huffs of suppressed laughs escape from her nose. Bakugou just sighed, raising his wiggling fingers just slightly higher before a wide, sadistic grin cemented itself to his face.

“You asked for this.”

Before she had time to retaliate, wiggling fingers came down to pinch up her sides and into the dips of her ribs, sending her into a cackling fit. She kicked uselessly from behind him, tugging at her trapped hands to no avail.

Bakugou used his right hand to dig his fingertips into the bottom of her ribs, while skittering his other nails over her quivering belly. She sucked her stomach in as much as possible, but with each laugh it was brought back up, practically tickling itself on his fingers.

“Bakugohohou! Plehehease! Nohoho!” She squealed, her eyes squeezed tightly shut as he continued his relentless but playful torture.

“No what?” the blonde teased, using his index and middle fingers to vibrate into her tummy. She let out a shriek at that, jerking violently while trying to smush her face into the cushion beside her. “Ohoho, that bad, huh? Pretty effective method if I do say so myself,” Bakugou then used his two fingers on each hand to vibrate into her lower ribs, a spot he knows all too well is absolutely unforgiving. She screamed at this, shaking her head side to side as laughs poured from her gut. “I always get what I want, Pinky, and this isn’t gonna be any fucking different.”

Mina couldn’t help the loud shrieks and squeals that left her body, tossing herself from side to side with no effect whatsoever. “GAHAHAHA! Plehehease! It tickles too muhuhuch!”

“Not my fucking problem,” Bakugou went back to his squeezing method from before, this time bringing one hand down to pinch at her hip. Mina jolted at the touch, screaming and cackling at his relentless squeezing. “The code, moron, lest you forget about what got you here in the first place.”

“Nehehever! I cahahan’t!” she laughed before gasping in a breath of air as his hands let go of her body for a moment. She hesitantly opened one of her eyes to look at her tormentor, who was yet again wiggling his fingers over her tummy. She shut her eyes again tight at the sight, a new bout of giggles leaving her from anticipation. “Nohoho!”

“You can never handle being teased, can ya?” Bakugou grinned, before bringing both his hands back down to lift up her nightshirt up to her bottom ribs.

“No! No no no! Please! Bakugou, let’s talk about this!” Mina spluttered out nervously, opening her eyes to see him just ghosting his fingers over her still quivering belly. She tossed her head back with a giggly whine, kicking her feet behind him like a child in a tantrum.

“Nope. You had your damn chance, and you blew it,” He smirked devilishly, bringing his fingers down to gently skitter over her now bare belly, dissolving her into a fit of high-pitched giggles. “Now you’re gonna get-” BZZZ! BZZZ!

Bakugou paused his previously wiggling fingers, his head whipping up and eyes making contact with the now buzzing phone resting on the arm of the couch. He groaned when he read who was calling on Mina’s FaceTime, resting one hand on his knee while reaching out and swiping the phone from it’s resting spot (though his knees were still pressed firmly against Mina’s trapped hands- he hadn’t yet planned on stopping her torment.)

Bakugou pressed the bright green button on the screen and stared blankly at the dark screen as Denki answered. The boy had obviously been trying to sleep, evident by the fact no lights were on in his room.

“Bakugou?” The boy asked groggily on the other end, and even though Bakugou couldn’t technically see his face, he knew he had to have the dumbest expression printed all over it.

“Yes, what the hell do you want Pikachu?” Bakugou growled at the screen.

“Can you tell Mina to quit screaming? I could tell it’s her, her laughs are always the same; just so fuckin’ loud,” Denki chuckled, and Bakugou could hear his sheets shuffling. “What’s got her laughing so hard anyway? You aren’t exactly the funniest person on the planet.”

“I’M FUCKING HILARIOUS YOU DUNCE!” Bakugou shouted angrily into the phone, gripping it tightly as Mina just prayed he wouldn’t crush it with his pure fiery rage. “And that’s none of your fucking buisness!” Bakugou paused, looking down at Mina who had a sheepish grin on her face. He sighed. “She’ll be quiet now. Just go to sleep so you aren’t dumber tomorrow than you usually are,” Bakugou huffed, hanging up without allowing the blonde on the other end to get any word in.

The explosive teen threw Mina’s phone down beside her on the couch, hoisting himself off her with a scowl on his face and a roughness to his movements. Mina couldn’t help but feel a little guilty as he jerked his blanket out from under the girl aggressively and began making his way away from the couch. She quickly sat up and snatched his wrist, pulling him back slightly and making the boy grunt, looking back at her with tense brows.

“How about a compromise?” She proposed, a small grin on her face. He looked at her through squinted eyes for a moment, questioning her request. Finally, he rolled his eyes with a huff.

“Hit me with it,” he didn’t look at her in the eyes, but she celebrated internally at the fact he wasn’t too visibly angry at her.

“I’ve got a sleepover tomorrow with all the girls, and we’ve been dying for a special guest,” She bit her lip with a cheek-tearing smirk as his brow somehow managed to furrow even deeper. “Hang out with us for just a few hours tomorrow night; you don’t even have to sleep over, just stay for the fun parts. I’ll delete the video as soon as it’s over.”

He continued to stare at her questioningly, obviously not convinced nor happy with this compromise. She needed to give him more.

“I promise I won’t show a soul the video if you promise to go tomorrow. No one will even know it existed before it’s already gone,” she said, before deciding to finally pull out the big guns. She pouted out her bottom lip and lowered her wide eyes, eyebrows piercing upwards like a sad puppy. “Pleeease Bakugou? I promise it’ll be fun!”

He paused, staring at her sad little face and feeling himself go slightly soft inside while staring at his friend. He squeezed his eyes shut tight and jerked his arm out of the girl’s grasp with a loud groan.

“Fine...as long as this shit stays between us...I guess I’ll go,” Bakugou nearly whispered the last part, as if the words had to crawl their way out of his throat while being tied down from his sheer stubbornness alone.

Mina couldn't help the shriek of excitement she let out, her mouth quickly getting covered by Bakugou's large calloused hand while his other planted an index finger on his own mouth towards her. “Shut the fuck up Pinky, we already woke Dunce up!” She just smiled behind his hand, nodding up and down quickly.

Bakugou let out a sigh as he moved his hand from her face, using his fingers to squeeze at the bridge of his nose. “You are so fucking annoying, y’know that?”

Mina just giggled, standing up and giving Bakugou a hug so quick he couldn’t pull away from it. He stood in shock for a moment, before shoving her shoulder and making the girl fall back on the couch with an oof! followed by her giggles. He just rolled his eyes with a, “Tch,” throwing his blanket over his shoulder and walking towards the hallways.

“Night, Blasty! Get ready for the night of your life tomorrow!” She whisper-shouted towards the exiting boy, who only flipped her off as his body finally disappeared into the shadows of the shared hallways.

. . .

A/N : hope you enjoyed!! i didn’t rlly proofread this so if it’s terribly written i apologize lmaoo, again if ur interested in a part 2 lemme know!!! much love <3 xoxo

#my hero academia #my fic #mha #tickling #tickle fic #tickle community #mha tickle #bakugou #mina #katsuki bakugou #mina ashido #ler!bakugou #lee!mina #bnha #boku no hero academia #ticklish

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raamyun-and-rambles · 3 years

Text

Musings of an Alchemist’s Lover

Fandom: Genshin Impact Pairing: Albedo x Reader Summary: Maybe you had a third eye somewhere you didn't know of, a horn that's grown out of you without you noticing or a tail that flicks behind you whenever you weren't looking. Whatever it was, certainly there had to be something noticeably different about you that attracted the alchemist's attention and your curiosity allowed your mind to wander.

-----------

Holding Albedo's attention for more than a few seconds was no easy feat.

Unless it was a topic that tickled his fancy or something of utmost urgence, Albedo would most likely only regard the unfortunate soul with a disgruntled hum, tuning out most of their words until he manages to somewhat catch onto the main gist of their spiel. He doesn't even do anything to hide his disinterest, eyes immediately finding purchase on anything else but the speaker in front of them, musing theories to himself that he'd sometimes let slip into a whisper. This certain trait of his has definitely gotten him into trouble more than a couple of times but Albedo could hardly care. Surely discovering the world's secrets is more important than helping the Knights look for Margaret's lost cat for the umpteenth now right?

Despite being Mondstadt's favorite person and with a reputation that precedes him, Albedo was surprisingly anti-social. He had little to no regards for social interaction and this is further proved when he made himself a makeshift laboratory in one of Dragonspine's cave.

It was quiet, deserted and had almost everything he needed for his studies. If he ever ran out of supplies then he'd be able to call for either Sucrose or Timaeus - or go down the mountain himself to make sure he'll stock up with more than the amount he needs so he can hole himself up for a couple of weeks on end. The scenery was an added bonus, if the amount of sketches he's made was anything to go by, it was safe to say that Albedo liked it as well. Thick snow carpeted the floor as far as the eye can go and streams glimmered under the light of the morning sun. The air was crisp and chilly, it nipped at his nose and made his cheeks burn red, but his cave offered a comforting warmth once he's sank in front of the hearth, nursing a cup of tea or hot chocolate.

Albedo was many things, that much you could tell.

A genius, an alchemical prodigy, a leader, a brother - and most surprisingly, even to yourself - your lover.

To be fairly honest you weren't entirely sure what it was that attracted the Chief Alchemist of the Knights to your side. You were hardly anyone special after all, simply just one of Lisa's many acquaintances who spends one too many hours in the library. You were of average height and build, with a face that you could only describe as forgettable. Neither you nor your parents were well-known within the walls of the city of freedom and you lived a mostly mundane routinary life as a baker until Klee had bounded into your humble store one rainy evening, soaked to the bone and sneezing from the cold. The poor thing was shivering and had asked to take shelter from the pouring rain. You didn't have the heart to turn her away and you were more than just a little familiar about the stories of Mond's most adorable but destructive spark knight. You allowed her into your home, giving her a fresh towel to pat herself dry and a cup of hot milk and freshly baked cookies. The child bounced in glee, thanking you and happily accepting the treats with a smile that could part the skies to make way for the rays of sun. You allowed her to phone her guardian after she had finished eating and you kept her company throughout the entire wait. You turned your attention away from Klee the moment the store bell rang and your (e/c) eyes had immediately met with bright turquoise irises.

"Thank you for taking care of her." Albedo said as he knelt down to assist Klee with wearing her infamous bright red coat and adjusted her mushroom hat so it sat snugly atop her head.

"It's no problem at all, she was lovely company. I'd be delighted to have her around again every once in a while." You chuckled, remembering how she had praised the treats you made for her.

"Albedo onii-chan Albedo onii-chan!" The spark knight excitedly exclaimed, tugging on his hand with each call of his name. "______ makes the best sweets! Her cookies are really good and the bread she makes are really fluffy! She let me help her mix the dough earlier and-"

"How about you tell me all about it when we get home Klee? It's late and I'm sure ______ has to close up shop soon."

Klee deflated a bit but was quick to understand, she turned to you immediately after and flashed you another bright smile.

"Thank you for today ______ nee-chan, Klee will come back to visit another time!"

You smiled at her enthusiasm and you couldn't resist the urge to pat her on the head.

"I'll be waiting for you here then."

Albedo stood up after the exchange and finally regarded you with his attention. "We'll be off then, have a lovely evening miss ______."

"And to you too sir Kreideprinz."

You watch them walk off down the cobbled street, Klee's joyous laughter and excited chatter filling the air despite the pattering of rain against your roof. They took a turn around the corner and disappeared from your view. A small smile tugs on your features and you immediately set to work with locking up the store for the night.

Klee had started coming over more often after that night, mostly dropping by before you close while she waited for Albedo to finish work. It was no surprise that Klee often talked fondly about her big brother, praising him and telling you stories you haven't heard from any of the other residents of Mond while you prepared for tomorrow's next batch of goods. Albedo seemed like a very busy man from the way Klee tells her stories but he always seemed to make time to pick her up, oftentimes buying some bread and sweets before leaving.

It surprised you a little when he admitted he enjoyed having something sweet while he worked. Albedo insisted that it was because it gave him a considerable boost of energy but a part of you thinks it could just be because he had a sweet tooth he just wasn't aware of.

Needless to say it was due to that chance encounter with Klee that had allowed you to meet the chief alchemist himself and your relationship had only continued to bloom from there.

He was - in simple terms - wonderful.

An eccentric, true, but wonderful nonetheless and you never would have guessed that you'd ever end up as his lover nor did you ever imagine you'd be holding him in your arms, sleep slowly overtaking him as you gently ran your fingers through soft platinum locks - much like the lazy morning you were both sharing right now.

Albedo had come home at almost 3 in the morning the other night, with a throbbing headache and eyes that almost refused to open from drowse. He had pulled all-nighters for several days now, refusing to leave his lab for even a moment as he fully threw himself into his work. Nothing could ever stop him when he was in such a state, filled with elation at the mere prospect of a new discovery. It was a side of him that you admired as much as you found it problematic, it was amazing how he could wholly dedicate all his time, effort and energy towards his research but it was a definitely a point of worry that he'd also forget how to take care of himself. The alchemist immediately headed to your shared bedroom, dragging his feet across the floor while he shed himself of his coat, letting out a long yawn before heaving himself onto the mattress' soft comfort. You stirred from your sleep as the bed dipped and knowing it couldn't possibly be anyone else other than Albedo, you immediately rolled to your side and wrapped your arms around his middle, nuzzling into his warmth as his arms found themselves around you to return your embrace. There was an exchange of sleepy mumbles before you both immediately fell back into sleep.

You smile a little bit at the memory, humming softly as you continue to softly card your fingers through his hair. It was more than just a little past the time you both usually woke, but you'll allow it for now. Surely the people could wait a couple hours more for their morning bread and the knights can surely make do without the Chief Alchemist for a moment longer. So long as Albedo was getting the rest he needed you figured a lazy morning in would be alright every once in a while especially after the sleepless hectic nights he had the past few days. The peaceful expression on his face immediately filled you with relief.

"Albedo?" You whispered, afraid you'd break the serenity of the morning.

The alchemist responded with a sleepy hum, lifting his head so he could look at you as his long lashes fluttered open.

A smile tugged at your lips at his sleepy visage before you gently pressed a kiss on his forehead.

"I love you."

He gives you a sleepy smile of his own, heart swelling at the affection before nuzzling back into the crook of your neck.

"I love you too."

His lips brushed against your pulse as he spoke and his breath tickled against your skin, feeling a little playful, you then decided to ask.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"But why?"

A question you've always been meaning to ask, brought about by a sudden spur of confidence.

"Because meine liebe," Albedo starts, once again pulling himself away from your warmth to hold you with his gaze - you once again think to yourself that his eyes has the most beautiful shade of green - "I love you simply because you are you."

"You're certain it's not because I have a third eye hidden away somewhere or some freaky mutation I somehow have no knowledge of?"

Albedo chuckled lightly.

"Certainly not love, and I'm sure if you do I wouldn't be the only one to take notice of it."

You hum, convinced and resumed patting his hair.

The alchemist assumed his earlier position and sank further into your embrace.

"Besides," he murmured, sleep lacing his words,

"I think you're wonderful just the way you are."

#genshin impact #genshin impact albedo #albedo #genshin impact fanfiction #reader insert #reader #albedo x reader #not beta read my bad lmao

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leatherglovesandbutterflyknives · 3 years

Text

Madam Spellman Snippet: Wash Away the Day

Zelda’s day had been filled with one disaster after another and now, all she wanted was a little peace and quiet. Hilda had been in a fluster all day and Zelda had considered killing her and burying her in the cain pit more than once just to get a break. Unfortunately, Hilda was also the only person standing between Zelda and the melodramatics of Sabrina and Ambrose’s new experiments which had taken over the kitchen and filled it with strange smells, noises and the occasional fire.

Eventually, Zelda had retired to her study and refused to reappear until dinner time, when most of the chaos was over and the splitting headache she had been nursing had dulled to a throbbing.

“Shall we play some games?” Hilda said, having cleared away the plates.

Zelda shot her a look.

“You are quite welcome to but I am retiring for the evening.”

“Oh, Zelds, are you sure?”

“Quite. Do enjoy yourselves.”

Trying not to feel guilty at the disappointment in her family’s eyes, Zelda headed for the stairs, fighting back the headache that was returning with full force. She would run a bath, fill it with her favourite salts and oils and relax. The tension in her shoulders, her head and her jaw would fade eventually and then she would be able to sleep.

Zelda turned on the tap, sprinkled the salts and poured in some oil, before heading into her room, removing her jewellery. She sighed, massaging her earlobes as the earrings came away, and placed each item in its rightful place.

Her dress was next, pulling the zip down and shedding the material. Picking it up off of the floor and putting it in the basket, Zelda caught sight of herself in the mirror. She prided herself in always dressing her best, more for herself than for anyone else. The red lace was one she usually saved for special occasions, but for some reason she had chosen it for today. Running her fingers over the line between her breast and lace, Zelda pursed her lips critically and then shook herself mentally.

She reached for her stockings, intending to take those off next, when movement reflected in the mirror made her start and then spin around.

“Well, what a delightful treat.”

“Lilith,” Zelda breathed, scanning over the woman’s black leather coat and back up to blue eyes that were spreading their heated gaze all over Zelda. She felt suddenly naked. “What are you doing here?”

“You’ve been taking my name in vain all day, Zelda,” Lilith purred, her eyes flicking back to Zelda’s. “I merely came to see if I could be of any assistance.”

Zelda reached for her robe, pulling it on and wrapping it around herself.

“I’m fine.”

“Lying to your Queen?” Lilith tutted, stepping forward; her fingers reaching up to play with the tie of the robe. “Well that won’t do.”

“What do you want, Lilith?” Zelda sighed, the exhaustion of the day catching up with her. She didn’t want to play games tonight; all she wanted was to wash away the day and sleep.

Lilith studied her and pursed her lips.

“You look tired.”

“I am tired, so if you would like to leave me in peace instead of teasing me, your High Priestess would appreciate it.”

Lilith dropped the robe’s belt and stepped still closer, making Zelda freeze. She was so close and suddenly Zelda’s throat was dry.

“You’re tense.”

“You’re in my space.”

“Yes,” Lilith raised a hand, her fingers stroking Zelda’s hair. Against her better judgement, Zelda leaned into the touch, her eyes fluttering shut, as Lilith’s fingers stroked, and her thumb trailed over Zelda’s cheekbone. “But you were tense before I arrived.”

“It’s been that kind of day.”

“Then let me take care of you.”

Zelda’s eyes flew open.

“What?”

“Come Zelda... even strong, capable women like yourselves are allowed to want comfort sometimes.” Lilith leaned in and pressed the lightest kiss on the corner of Zelda’s mouth, making her breath catch. “Allow me to be that for you.”

She pressed another light kiss against Zelda’s jaw, and then began trailing kisses along it, until Zelda’s breathing was heavy and her eyes were shut; her head leaning back to allow the woman better access.

Sure fingers undid her robe and pushed it off, leaving her in her lingerie again.

“What a sight,” Lilith hummed. “You would bring mortals to their knees.”

Zelda hummed, feeling lost in a fog of arousal, evidence beginning to darken the lace pressed against her centre. Lilith’s lips traced down her neck and then she was being backed against her vanity, gripping it as Lilith’s fingers pressed into her.

“Wet for me already?”

“Yes...” Zelda whispered.

Lilith rubbed at her through the lace, and Zelda gasped and hummed as the friction pressed against her clit. She could feel the material becoming slick, could feel Lilith’s fingers pressing more insistently, and then they were gone. She opened her eyes to protest and saw Lilith kneeling down in front of her.

Oh.

Lilith removed her stockings first, slowly, pressing her lips and teeth to Zelda’s creamy thighs, leaving them covered in red lipstick and the beginning of bruises. Then she pulled down her panties, depositing them to the side before pressing a kiss to Zelda’s mound.

Her tongue slid against Zelda’s swollen clit gently, and Zelda gasped, her head falling back as she gripped the vanity for support. Lilith was tender, slow and all consuming; sucking at Zelda’s clit before sliding her tongue over her folds and lapping at her.

“Lilith...”

Hands gripped her, lifting one leg over Lilith’s shoulder, baring Zelda further to her touch. Fingers slipped inside her as Lilith sucked her clit again, curling inside Zelda’s hot, wet cunt.

Zelda’s knuckles went white as she gripped the wood underneath her; the tell tale quivers of her approaching orgasm making her rock into Lilith’s touch.

Lilith coaxed her on, until Zelda was practically mewling with need. Then, with a moan that echoed deep in her throat, Zelda clenched hard around her, and came.

Lilith lapped up the juices that flowed from her, pressing kisses to her wetness, still curling her fingers to guide her through her orgasm. Zelda shivered and then sank further onto the vanity.

The sight of Lilith, kneeling in front of her, that sly smirk slick with her juices, made Zelda’s stomach flip. Her Queen stood, wiping her mouth with her thumb, before leaning in and kissing the witch, giving her a taste.

“You are, without a doubt, the sweetest witch I have ever tasted.”

Zelda moaned again, releasing the vanity to tangle her fingers in Lilith’s hair and pull her into a deeper, longer kiss. When they both separated, their heavy breaths mingled.

“That was...” Zelda swallowed, lost for words for once.

“Mmm,” Lilith hummed, reaching around her to undo her bra, gently pulling it from her and tossing it to the side. “Come now. Your bath is waiting.”

Lilith led her to the bathroom, turning off the water and dipping her fingers in to check the temperature. Then she turned, and began removing her clothes. Zelda watched as her figure came into view; beautiful lines and curves that were sinful in every beautiful way.

Lilith stepped into the tub, offering her hand to Zelda, inviting her in. Zelda stepped in, feeling the warm water against her aching feet with a sigh of relief. Lilith sat and then spread her legs, inviting Zelda into the space. She eagerly complied.

“So beautiful,” Lilith hummed as Zelda leaned back against her chest. Her nose brushed into Zelda’s hair and she inhaled, kissing her head. She trailed her fingers over Zelda’s arms, leaving trails of water over them before rubbing her thumbs into Zelda’s shoulders.

Zelda moaned softly, feeling the tension easing with each circle of Lilith’s thumbs. She felt tired, boneless and the more she leaned into Lilith’s touch, the more relaxed she became.

“It’s hard,” Lilith hummed into her hair, running her fingers slowly over Zelda’s breasts, brushing her nipples in a circle before returning to her shoulders. “Being the one in control. The strong woman in charge. It eats away at you until all you feel is tired. When you feel that, call for me. I will always answer.”

She began to comb through Zelda’s hair pulling the few pins in it loose, kissing her neck and Zelda, for the first time in her life, melted into her touch completely.

She let Lilith wash her; gently sponging over her back, down her arms, over her breasts and between her legs. She leaned back as Lilith washed her hair, scratching her nails against her head until Zelda’s little moans filled the room. She rinsed her, ran her fingers through her hair to untangle any knots and then eased her out of the bath.

Zelda reached for her towel but Lilith took it, drying her off and then herself, before leading her back into her room. Zelda slipped on her robe and then began to moisturise herself; a habit formed over many years. Lilith watched, slipping into Zelda’s spare robe; her eyes never leaving the woman for long. When Zelda was finished she turned.

“Will you stay?”

“Yes.” Lilith stepped to her and tangled her fingers into her damp hair, pulling her in for a kiss. “Lie down. I’m not quite done with you.”

“I’m too tired to-”

“I know. Lie down.”

Zelda did as instructed and Lilith took up the bottle of moisturiser and sat at the end of Zelda’s bed. She squirted some into her hand, spread it over them and then took Zelda’s foot. She began to massage it, deep into the arch, soothing away the stubborn aches from a day spent in heels with too much to do. Zelda sighed. Somewhere, in the part of her mind that was too tired to focus, she wondered why she was accepting this. She normally hated sweet softness, or someone trying to take care of her.

But Lilith did not make her feel weak for being tired.

Lilith shifted to the other foot, rubbing up Zelda’s calf as she did so, summoning another pleasant moan.

“One day, darling, I shall do this properly. I shall have you on your front and get into that lovely back of yours, and those shoulders. But for now...” She rubbed into a particularly tender spot and Zelda arched into the touch. “Let’s just make sure you feel relaxed enough to sleep, shall we?”

Zelda was so relaxed that it felt as though the bed underneath her might never let her emerge from it again. Her eyes were closed, and she could feel sleep pulling at her. Lilith’s thumbs soothed her and then gently lowered her foot to the bed.

She heard her moving, putting back the moisturiser and then the bed dipped again. She felt a blanket being placed over her and then Lilith was pulling her into her; Zelda’s back against Lilith’s front.

“Sleep, my Priestess.”

“I...” Zelda was so close to sleep, her voice husky and tired. “Thank you, my Queen.”

“Hush, darling Zelda. No need for that.”

Lilith’s lips brushed against Zelda’s cheek in a soft kiss and then Zelda had slipped into sleep, wrapped up in the arms of Lilith, her Queen, who listened as her breathing evened out, before closing her own eyes, and drifting off too.

#soft #aftercare #zelda x madam satan #zelda spellman #lilith caos #madam spellman #wash away the day #massage #yes this post is targeted #MGAS server

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fiddlepickdouglas · 3 years

Text

Viva Las Vegas, Pt. 10 - Clean This Up

Summary: Sunset Curve Alive AU, Willex, who is he really?, 2.9k

@trevor-wilson-covington is the bestie who makes these lovely edits, we stan supportive friends

WARNINGS: abuse, mild violence

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9

Alex had said to check the diner, so Victoria opted to have dinner there and asked to see the owner. She was aware of the vigilante-style work she was doing, but with everything else going on in her life, this couldn’t possibly hurt any worse. Folding her hands, she breathed calmly as she peeked at the menu. It was important not to act as authoritative as she usually did, she reminded herself. A portly man with short gray hair and a mustache came over and took the seat across from her.

“Hi there,” the man said, shaking Victoria’s hand. “What can I do for you?”

“Hi, I’m Victoria Molina,” she introduced herself. “I was actually trying to find someone and I was told you could help me.”

The man raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Oh, alright. Who are you looking for?”

“I’m looking for a young man of about seventeen, he goes by Willie? I was told he works here. I just have some questions for him. Would he happen to be in at all today?”

“We don’t have anyone named Willie here anymore,” the man told her. “I actually just bought this establishment along with the hotel about two weeks ago and a few of the staff followed the previous owner to a different business. You might want to talk to him instead.”

“Oh,” Victoria sat back in slight disappointment. “I take it you’re not Caleb Covington?”

“No, he’s the guy I bought it from. I’m Frank Wolfe. I can give you his contact information, though.”

Nodding, she smiled politely.

“I would appreciate that. Sorry I had to come bother you, though.”

“Not at all,” he said. “I apologize that I can’t be any more useful. If you like, I can take your order.”

“Oh, thank you. I’ll actually have the carne asada.”

“Perfect,” he smiled as he took her menu away. “I’ll have that information for you in just a minute, too.”

Taking a gulp of water, Victoria sighed. It certainly felt just like any regular case. The fact the business had recently changed hands made her want to be suspicious, but she fought to remain level-headed. It was enough that she was going off the word of a teenage boy and an old poster. If it was a dud, if this trip led nowhere, she would buy Carlos a gift and head home safe and sound.

After finishing her meal, she returned to her hotel room and pulled out the business card Frank Wolfe had given her. Something about the dark purple design and the old-fashioned lettering he’d chosen made her feel like Caleb Covington was at least a little pretentious, if not flashy about his business. Picking up the phone and dialing the number, she held her breath waiting for an answer.

“Caleb Covington, who may I be speaking to?” a baritone voice chimed on the other end. The touch of sing-song in his tone was unexpected.

“Hi, my name is Victoria,” she introduced herself for the second time that night. “I was told you were the guardian of a young man named Willie?”

“Are you with social services?” he asked.

She furrowed her brow. “I’m sorry?”

“I usually only get a call when we have a hearing scheduled, but our last one was just a couple months ago.” His tone had gone from happy to serious at such a jarring speed it took Victoria a moment to process his words.

“No,” she said finally. “No, I’m not with them. I didn’t mean to confuse you. I’m actually reaching out on a personal favor. See another young man I know says they met a while back.”

“Oh, is it the band that came through a few weeks ago?” Caleb immediately picked the cheer back up.

“Yes, I’m glad you remember,” she responded, surprised.

“How are those boys doing?”

“Oh, they’re just fine. I think they’re gonna be a success.”

“Good to hear it,” he said. “Listen, no harm done. I own a swanky little club just in the south of town. I would be delighted if you gave me a visit, and I’d be happy to chat.”

“Sounds great, thank you,” Victoria smiled, unable to believe how easy that felt. “I can stop by tomorrow evening.”

“Wonderful. If it isn’t too much, I’ll make you a reservation.”

“Well, I can’t say no to such generosity!” It had been a long time since Victoria had gone on a night out. This was a much needed vacation, and if it killed two birds with one stone, all the better. She said goodbye and decided since she was practically getting everything she needed at the club, the rest of the day would be spent treating herself for once.

Willie skateboarded up the driveway and only just remembered Caleb’s rule about the pool in time to hop off before pulling off his helmet and going around the back. He took the back route into the house and dropped a number of grocery bags on the counter. One of these days he would age out of the foster system and not spend the morning being Caleb’s errand boy, but for now he just laid Caleb’s credit card on the table and went outside toward his shed.

Opening the door, he saw Caleb standing in the middle of the room, looking around at all of his drawings. Paper covered most of the walls now. Faces with no names to them, locations with no map to their destination - only snippets of a past life. Willie couldn’t stop drawing them. There still weren’t many memories returning to him, but any detail was an important one. He hadn’t drawn this much in ages, since before he found Sheldon. The backwards dream had become a recurring one by now, and there was still very little that he understood about it. Still, he had so many scenes made out of it that he could almost recreate the dream in a very rough animation.

“Hi C-Caleb,” Willie stammered. This never happened. It made him immediately nervous.

“What a collection, William,” Caleb said, not exactly sounding like an awed patron in a museum. “I mean, the sheer volume of work that went into these is absolutely mind-blowing.”

A small pebble of pride rose in Willie’s chest.

“Really?.... Um, thank you.” He couldn’t suppress his smile.

Caleb held up a hand and looked down at his well-manicured nails, and then back up.

“I just don’t understand why I look so hostile in this one,” he said, pointing to the picture in question. “And that one. And all of these in this corner.” His gaze returned to Willie with unprecedented menace.

Willie immediately shrank away, his mouth gaping open.

“Well...I..they’re from a dream.”

“A dream?” Caleb repeated, not liking what he was hearing.

“Yeah, I think it was a memory.”

Willie watched the man straighten his posture, a calculating expression on his face.

“Are these all memories?” Caleb asked after a tense moment, casting his eyes about the room.

“I think so,” Willie said hesitantly.

Caleb lifted a hand and grabbed the bottom of one. It was the first one WIllie had done of his dad sitting inside the truck and smiling at him.

“Hm,” was all that he said for a second.

And then he tore it in half.

Willie made toward the picture in alarm, feeling a part of him inside being torn just the same, but was stopped as Caleb held a hand out.

“Ah ah,” he said. “What have I told you about becoming your own person regardless of the past?” He took a handful of another drawing and ripped that one too.

Ignoring what Caleb said, Willie lunged forward to try stopping him anyway. Caleb was faster, grabbing his shirt and tossing him backward into the wall. He couldn’t help but begin crying.

“But these are my memories, why would you - ” he sputtered, lost for words.

“Because, William,” Caleb continued loudly, pulling as many as he could off the wall and shredding them into smaller pieces. “Your history? The one full of loss and being shuffled here and there? That is all that awaits you. You know it’s the truth; that’s how you ended up here. I offer you the opportunity to become a new person, and I can’t allow you to spoil yourself with reminders. And besides, those little friends you not-so-secretly made a few weeks ago have started snooping around in my business, and I can’t have that.”

He didn’t even pick anything up, he just left paper strewn all over the floor and walked all over it. As he made for the last wall, Willie made one more attempt to overpower him. He leapt onto Caleb’s shoulders and tried to pull him back with all his weight. A fist landed in his eye and he slacked his grip. Caleb wrestled him onto the bed and held him down, a crazed look in his eye that Willie swore he’d never seen no matter how familiar it felt.

“I don’t understand, what do they have to do with it? Why can’t I have friends?”

“I’m doing this for your own good,” Caleb hissed at him. “You” - he reached up and touched the scar on Willie’s head with his finger - “You got a reboot and you know how many people are lucky enough for that? You should thank me. Unfortunately, you can’t have friends when they send someone asking me questions about that little past of yours. That’s just asking for trouble.”

All Willie could do was hold his eye and lay back as Caleb tore up the last of the drawings. Once he finished, Caleb patted himself off and made his way out the door.

“Clean this up,” he told Willie. “And don’t bother doing any more art.”

As the door shut behind him, Willie scrambled onto the floor to search for just one of the drawings. Shuffling through smudged pieces of paper, he saw a few tears drop onto his ruined work. Eventually, he held the picture of his father in two pieces in his hands. Sobbing, he tried to hold them together evenly, but Caleb’s work had made that hard to do. His only hope was to try drawing it again, but he was already terrified of what Caleb’s reaction to that would be if his first one had been this.

A piece of another drawing caught Willie’s eye from underneath. He recognized Caleb’s snarling face from the dream and was surprised at how well it captured what he’d just witnessed. His mind went back to the way he knew the look in Caleb’s eyes. Suddenly, the awful realization dawned on him: he finally understood the dream.

Victoria walked into the club that evening, glad she had taken the time to look and feel fresh. This place was clearly up to snuff and then some. A live band played with dancers scattered throughout, all in bright, sparkly, feathery getup. A tall man with neatly styled dark hair was mesmerizing the crowd as he sang, keeping the energy high. As she was led to a table, Victoria simply sat and watched, greatly impressed with the talent.

Once the man’s solo finished, he bowed, gestured at the band to play on without him, and exited the stage. To Victoria’s surprise, he took the seat directly across from her.

“Ms. Victoria, you look so lovely, how are we this evening?” he asked with a charming smile. “I’m Caleb Covington.”

“Are you kidding me?” she started. “That was you up there? You’re a man of many talents; I’m already dazzled.”

“Oh, well, I hope that remains a constant while you’re here,” he said. "But you came to ask me about some other things, what were they?”

“Yes, I had some questions about Willie.”

Willie sat outside the bodega, unwilling to move for a while. He felt like everything inside of him was empty, as if Caleb had possessed claws and dug everything out until he was left hollow. The many ideas that had risen in his mind in the past few hours were all too much, all at once. If he dared, was he sure he could handle everything that might come his way? Every time he’d heard that ridiculous speech about starting over, becoming his own, yada-yada, he hadn’t considered any of the options he was now contemplating.

He’d already done some things. Already bought some things. Now he got up to collect Sheldon and held him tightly as he nodded to Escobar, who saluted him back. The man had said he didn’t want a dramatic thank you. Stuffing the items he purchased in his bag, he kept a hold of Sheldon as he skated off into the darkness.

“So, you see, Willie isn’t missing. He was abandoned,” Caleb was saying to Victoria. “Poor thing has struggled to adjust. I’ve dealt with some handfuls in the past, but I really have been doing the most for him, and he’s been with me for more than three years. I think it’s really sweet of those boys to raise a concern, and I hate to be a dead end, but that’s the truth of it.”

Victoria sat, nodding in acceptance.

“That makes a lot of sense, Mr. Covington, thank you for providing that for me.”

“Oh, call me Caleb. We’re all friends in here.”

“Okay, then, Caleb,” she corrected. “What got you into foster care?”

He put a hand over his heart and a fond look came over him.

“The youth are just full of so much magic, and I hate to see that their parents have chosen to lay it to waste. I’m the one who takes some of the tougher cases so I can bring out the best in them. You see that young man over there, Dante?” Caleb pointed at one of the dancers. “Classic rebel when he was young. You wouldn’t even know, he’s turned into such a gentleman. There’s a few more here and there in the club. I call them my graduates.”

“Well, I will tell you,” Victoria said. “When I first talked to you on the phone I wasn’t expecting you to be so generous. But now I can see that it’s just how you are.”

Caleb shot her a playful smile.

“Victoria, no need to butter me up. I do have some tight business practices to keep up.”

Fluid poured over every inch of the shed. Willie had made sure it was more than enough to get things going. He’d made sure to get the essentials: food for himself and Sheldon, a few changes of clothes, and a stash of money he’d taken from the safe in Caleb’s bedroom. The man shouldn’t have given him the combination in the first place.

Stepping out of the shed he looked at it one last time. What a sad, lousy existence. Living to perform for this man who shut him up inside this little thing and he had actually called it home? The further he was into his plan, the bolder he began to feel. He remembered when he had missed getting into the Pearl and that feeling of wrongness that had made him so frustrated. This feeling he had right now? It was so right. It was so right it drowned out anything scary about this whole idea.

He looked back at where he had put Sheldon on a small leash and tied him along the fence around Caleb’s backyard. It was definitely a safe distance. Then Willie pulled a box of matches out of his pocket, lit one, and looked at the flame for a minute. He held it just over the threshold of the doorway so it would land inside. It was so weak, like he had been ever since his accident. But he knew it was going to become so powerful, and he desperately hoped that he could retain some of that power for himself.

“Clean this up, Caleb,” he said, and he let his fingers go.

Victoria had stayed just a little longer to enjoy more food and music before standing up and heading toward the door. Caleb saw her on her way out and made her stop for a moment.

“It’s been a lovely night, and I’m grateful for everything you told me,” she said to him.

“Well I’m glad you took the opportunity to see what I have here,” he replied. “If you’re ever in the city again, please stop by. We’re always partying and putting on the best show.”

“Oh, I most certainly will,” she said, smiling as she made her way outside.

Someone tapped on Caleb’s shoulder from behind. Wordlessly, he turned to see who it was and why it was important.

“Sir,” one of his servers said. “You have a phone call. It’s the fire department.”

“What?” Caleb spat as he went to pick it up.

Willie sped along on his board the best that he could with Sheldon in his arms. He carefully made it down the ramp onto the freeway, controlling his speed as well as he could. He could picture Caleb now, just getting back to his home, eyes wide as he came upon the blaze. It was a very strange feeling, but right now Willie chose to focus on his newfound freedom. The cost wasn’t the matter right now. Freedom was all that was going to take him and his cat as far as they could go. The destination for now was Los Angeles.

#julie and the phantoms #jatp #fanfic #jatp fanfic #willex #alive au #alex mercer #willie #luke patterson #reggie peters #bobby wilson #aunt victoria #caleb covington #tw abuse #tw mild violence #viva las vegas #clean this up #fiddlepickdouglas

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starr-fall-knight-rise · 4 years

Text

Humans are Space Orcs, “Fighting with Aliens”

So I wrote this to address a very interesting difference between humans and aliens because I realized it could potentially cause serious conflict if an outsider would to look on. Has fight scenes in it obviously, and blood, so there is that. I can foresee some of you not liking the outcome, so if you are easily bothered, probably don’t read this one.

Where was that man! She swore, every morning he was somewhere different. Like what kind of person has a schedule THAT erratic. She wondered how he even survived as a person without structure in his life. But then again, that’s what she was here for, to bring structure, and he very much desperately needed it.

She was determined that by the time she was done, he would have a schedule predictable to the minute.

That was, of course, if she could find him.

She swore that one of these days she was going to have to lojack that man, fit him with some kind of tracking system in his sleep so she could find him every morning.

Unfortunately, right now she was on her own, and was forced to start from the top down starting with the bridge then moving down to the administrative deck.

She rather hoped he might already be in his office, but when she found nothing she definitely kicked herself for being that stupid. Admiral Vir was NEVER in his office. In fact, he was notorious for avoiding it whenever he could.

Then again, Admiral Vir was notorious for a lot of things, and that was included but not limited to avoiding his office, wearing heelies on the job, making horrible dad jokes, blasting music on the bridge, and eating all the popsicles.

Simon herself was notorious for almost the exact opposite, her perfectly pressed uniform, her ability to be one time down to the minute, her tendency to get stressed when things didn’t go to plan, and her surprisingly frequent inability to understand the Admiral’s jokes.

It made her feel sort of bad considering that Even the little alien doctor Krill seemed to get it, and if there was anyone on the ship that she could understand, it was him. He had a schedule like a rock solid wall of dependability, a mind like a steel trap, and a sense of humor so dry and clever it ALSO went over her head.

She turned the corner brooding her face pulled down into a frown nearly running into a figure rushing in the opposite direction. She had to leap out of the way in surprise as Dr. katie, the dark haired bespectacled attending physician, yelped in shock.

“Dr Katie!”

Dr. katie put a hand over her chest, “Simon, you scared me half to death.”

Simon rubbed the back of her head a bit, “Sorry, um, do you have an idea where the Admiral is?”

“Oh Adam, yes I know where he is. I was actually headed down there right now if you want to join.”

Simon nodded and fell into step beside the tall doctor.

“I can never find him in the morning.”

“Yeah, no that does sound like Adam. If it helps, just head down to krill’s office one of these days, and we should be able to give you administrative access to his tracking system.”

“Wait, you-”

“Yeah sort of a precaution after he kept getting kidnapped so much, plus he has a habit of hiding when he gets stressed, which isn’t so much a problem these days, but in the past it was a real bitch to find him.”

Simon shook her head in near amazement as she followed Dr. Katie down a set of stairs and onto the crew deck.

They walked for a few meters when the sound of metal ringing on metal reached her ears.

She trailed after Dr. katie as they came around the corner into the massive Rec room at the center of the crew deck. She didn’t come here much and so would never have thought to look. She was rather awkward around people and didn’t know how to talk to them in a normal manner outside work related topics.

She had always been horrible talking to people, getting to know them, or bonding with them in general.

Humans weren’t exactly easy to understand.

So she tended to spend most of her time locked away in her office or in her room, or sitting on the bridge where she could work, where things were procedural, and memorizing notes and lists was a strength. When it came to work there were always protocols, measures to get things done, and a strict adherence to he rules. When it came to people, there was no telling what they were going to do: the Admiral being the prime example.

Generally Admiral Vir was not the kind of person she would like to spend time with. He was extroverted, outgoing, erratic, and high energy, but he was a very empathetic man, and he made up for most of the other things with patience and kindness towards her even when she didn’t allow it for herself.

In return, she had put all her effort into trying to understand him. She had observed, and watched and made lists and taken notes. She knew what he liked and what he didn’t like. She knew what people on the crew were his closest friends, she knew his favorite places to spend time.

She had a detailed profile written up about him in her personal log -- which never occurred to her could be misconstrued as being super super creepy.

Those were the reasons why she knew he was a science fiction nerd, he had a collection of old movies from the information age, he liked a mix of alternative, hard rock, heavy metal, and punk, when he ate his food he insisted on eating the items in order from least favorite to most favorite, he benched 270, and he talked with his family every friday night at six.

Of course that wasn’t exactly a comprehensive list, but just things she knew off the top of her head to better understand the man that she was working for She hoped that the more that she knew one day she would be able to understand him and work well with him without forcing him to hold her hand when it came to running his daily routine.

However, when she stepped into the rec room, she received a shock that she had not expected or really appreciated.

She wasn’t a big fan of surprises.

Yet this was, indeed, a surprise.

The rec room was large and circular inhabiting the very center of the fourth deck. The outer ring contained chairs and tables and TVs and pool tables, all of the sort of recreational things that normal people liked to do in their downtime, but in the center of that there was another large ring, bounded by walls on all sides and with benches looking inward.

Simon hadn’t been sure what that was for when she was first brought aboard the ship, though now she was getting a first hand demonstration as to its use.

Admiral Vir stood in the circle, lightly dressed and wearing hard leather padding on his head, shoulders, chest, arms, and upper legs. In one hand he was holding a metal staff just a little taller than he was.

His knees were bent in a low crouch, and the staff was held at a low forward angle.

On the other side of the ring stood one of the Drev clan members.

Flipping through her mental notes Simon remembered her name as Sunny or Chalan in her native language. She was the Chief weapons officer aboard the ship, was a mechanic, and rather short of a Drev. her and the Admiral tended to spend a lot of time together, and so she assumed that they were close friends.

However the part of this that surprised her tended towards the fact that, she didn’t know that Admiral Vir knew how to use a quarterstaff.

She froze in her place just as one of the watching drev -- a large red one named Cannon pronounced Kanan in his native tongue, slammed a metal spear against the ground to mark the beginning of the round..

Simon yeled in shock and surprise as the two charged at each other with roars, of what seemed to be rage -- though she had never been good at divining emotions.

Metal slammed against metal as the two crashed into each other. Sparks shed out to either side as they exchange a flurry of blows. He struck to the right, she parried to the left, she brought the right side of her spear up to try and catch him off guard, he spun away ducking under and jabbing forward. She blocked the jab to glance off to her right, and kicked out at him with one of her feet.

He dodged to the side and aimed a sheering blow at her head, which she caught last second on the shaft of her spear.

The fury of their fight left Simon reeling in shock and surprise. They didn’t pull their punches, they didn’t aim for the body only. This was full force, full speed, real weapons no holds barred combat!

In the stands Drev cheered them on with great enthusiasm. The humans that were watching had mixed feelings. Ramirez and Maverick were standing with the Drev screaming at Adam to get his head in the game and not be a wuss. Other humans were grimacing and wincing.

Dr. Krill st to the side looking exasperated at the same time he appeared at least sort of worried.

The Celzex onlookers were cheering with the frenzy of the Drev, yelling insults and encouragement to their favorite contender. A few of them were sitting on the shoulders of other enthusiastic, or, in some cases, concerned humans. THe FInnari huddled together around one specific human who looked to be having the time of her life comforting the tiny creatures.

And the Tesraki were nowhere to be seen, probably hiding or run away somewhere to count money.

Adam ducked under a cything blow that would have sent him straight to the emergency room and cut upward quickly, catching Sunny hard on the lower arm. She backed away showing no sign other that the blow had managed to phase her.

From there the fighting only grew more intense. From across the room Simon could hear the swish of the metal as it cythed through the air.

The clattering of steel hitting steel was practically deafening. SHe had no idea how the two of them were still fighting without their hands hurting.

And then Sunny feinted to her left passing into his blind spot where the epatch was.

He turned to face her, but she had already been moving.

A loud THWACK rent the air.

Admiral Vir’s feet left the ground as he was pitched back violently a good three feet before slamming into the ground. The metal rod was jostled from his hands and went clattering across the ring.

The cr4owd had taken to their feet as a chorus of sympathetic noises rose from both sides.

Simon stood in shock for a half moment as Admiral Vir groaned and crawled to his hands and knees.

Sunny approached quarterstaff raised.

Simon raced forward and jumped into the ring, hands held up, “STOP!”

Sunny pulled to a halt looking confused.

The crowd booed.

“What are you doing!” her voice went up a few octaves, not sure what was going on. Why was no one trying to stop this. Admiral Vir sat back on his heels, wiping blood from his mouth and chin, which was dripping down from his nose, “Simon.”

The Drev above her were frowning, “Get out of the ring lieutenant.”

“No, what-”

“You're interrupting a duel, get out of the ring.”

Simon turned in a confused circle, “But-”

Admiral vir stood, holding his nose waving a hand at the Drev, “Timeout guys, she’s not familiar with Drev war practices, so give her a break.”

The Drev backed down a little but still looked a little miffed as Admiral grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of the circle, “May I talk to you for a few minutes.” He marched her out of the circle, a hand on her arm, face still bleeding. Katie offered him a gauze pad, which he held to his face as he walked her oer to a table and sat her down.

“Simon, I may have failed to mention this rule to you, but it is highly improper to intervene in a drev dueling match.”

Simon shook her head still reeling with confusion and horror, “But, Admiral, she hit you! Under section two subsection b of the UNSC manual it describes an act of violence on a UNSC ship as domestic battery.”

He coked an eyebrow, “You think Sunny just committed domestic assault, like punching your wife or husband or something.”

“Well yeah! Since we live on a ship, the UNSC classifies any aggressive action as domestic in nature.”

He sighed, “Simon, I am the leader of a Drev clan, I was adopted by two, which means I am a Drev and I must abide by their customs and rules.” He went to place a hand on her arm, but drew back after a moment knowing that she didn’t like to be touched, “Look, Simon, I know this is hard to understand, but the Drev aren't like us. To be Drev, to be friends with them, to be in a relationship with one if that were the case, means letting go of some preconceived human notions.”

“But hitting each other is not ok! She insisted

Admiral Vir shook his head in a long suffering sort of way, “Simon, you're looking at this through the scope of being human. If it were a human that hit me, by all means lock them in the brig. Because when humans are aggressive it is attached to anger, or frustration or aggression. But when Drev fight it isn’t attached to emotion, in fact their mating practices require them to duel each other. Drev relationships seen by humans are often violent and aggressive, but it's part of who and what they are. To them something like this is a sign of trust and friendship. You cannot judge them based on human standards any more than they can judge us based on our human ones.”

“But I-”

“Simon, I agreed to this. I walked in here this morning and I said, hey sunny want to beat the tar out of me. To them an offer like that is a good thing, its….. Well it means much more than what it means for humans. Besides, once upon a time I lived in a Drev village for a few months and was beaten up by pretty much everyone I Came in contact with. From their language and their culture, I have since gained a much different understanding of fighting. I have a different relationship with it now.”

Simon shook her head, this was difficult to compute. People hitting each other was bad, that was a rule, that was something that was black and white to her. She didn’t understand how this man could consider it a good thing, or even as a sign of friendship. It didn’t make sense in the framework of everything she understood.

He sighed, “Look, how about this, you trust me to know what is right and wrong when it comes to the Drev. Working with them I expect things to be aggressive, I expect them to be violent. Assume that everything they do is a low level of aggressive. A lot of people would look at my friendship with Sunny and think that something is wrong with it based on how it looks from a human perspective, but both of us have made compromises, and it is actually a very healthy thing we have going. Honestly if she pulled her punches and didn’t hit me in the dueling ring I would be offended.

Simon still wasn’t sure about this.

He tapped his fingers on the table, “Ok, this might help, the Drev society is based on a very specific set of rules. You should go talk to Cannon about it. Sunny isn’t going to hit me outside of a duel. To strike someone in anger is considered to be bad as well. As far as outside the ring, Drev are expected to be bossy, pushy, stubborn, and mildly aggressive, so Anything they do that falls within a scale of mild is alright.

He stood, “Now if you'll excuse me. I have a Drev’s Ass to kick.”

Dr. Katie took the gauze from his hand as he clamberted back into the ring, blood still staining his mouth and chin.

Simon watched nervously as sunny spun her staff around.

“Done taking your little break.”

He cracked his neck, “Done taking my break, and to make it even, I’ll start from the ground.”

She snorted and Cannon slammed his spear into the ground once again.

Admiral Vir rolled to the side, picking up his spear on the way as Sunny charged after.

She cut down towards his face, and he caught it on the flat of his spear kicking upwards and catching her in the knee.

She scrambled back.

He lept to his feet.

The fight went on like this.

Sunny got caught in the face once a shallow cut bleeding orange down her cheek, but instead of growing angry her eyes seemed to brighten with excitement. Admiral Vir took hits on the shoulder and the leg. Sunny got hit in the stomach and chest.

The fight continued, Admiral Vir was thrown to the ground. The Celzex were screaming in delight.

Sunny charged, but the admiral rolled forward thrusting the spear to roll along the ground before him.

Sunny was to late, her foot landed right on the shaft of the spear, and the spear rolled. Her leg slipped out from underneath her and she went crashing to the ground.

Admiral Vir leaped forward spinning the spear behind his back.

The room went quiet.

Admiral Vir Sat stradling Sunny’s chest one end of the quarterstaff to her throat.

He leaned in a little, “Better luck next time.”

The crowd Cheered.

Sunny raised her hands, “Good fight for a puny runt.”

“I could say the same about you he teased, rolling off to the side.”

Simon wasn’t really sure what to make of any of this. She still hadn’t managed to reconcile the fact that hitting wasn’t necessarily a bad thing because when Admiral Vir came out of the circle he was limping and still wiping blood from his face. If she had seen that on the street down on earth she would be very worried about him. She would call the cops.

But he was also smiling walking with Sunny as she limped right along with him.

The way they looked at each other was…. strange .

She couldn’t place it.

She would need to rework her profile of him just a little. And she would have to rework her profile of the Drev. it seemed as if she was going to have to learn a whole new set of social rules for the different alien species.

She sighed in frustration.

She hadn’t even figured humans out yet and now she was expected to do more.

This was going to be a very long deployment.

314 notes · View notes

just-dreaming-marvel · 4 years

Text

Love Is Not Forced ~ 26

MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 1,925ish

Summary: An unwanted ceremony is planned.

Warnings: unwanted touching, suicidal thoughts

The next day, a servant came in to help clean Y/N up. Numbly, the Princess let the woman help her. She had this far off look in her eyes. In her mind, she was imagining being back in Alexandria, or even Brooklyn, doing anything else. The ladies that had come to measure her the day before, came again. And she allowed them to measure her. As a reward for her compliance, she got an actual meal for dinner. Unfortunately, Brock joined her.

As they ate, he insisted on always having a hand on her. He sat right beside her and moved his hand to various places. It rested on the small of her back for a little bit before moving to hold her hand, then he moved it to her knee and, from there, it slowly moved up her thigh. The Princess tried to keep from squirming under his touch, fearing what consequences might come of it.

Brock talked most of dinner, sharing about his life with Hydra and how much he despises the kingdoms. When he was ready to leave, he insisted that she see him to the door. Upon arriving at the door, Brock pulled her face to his, forcing a kiss from her. He stuffed his tongue in her mouth, causing her to have to hold back to vomit creeping up her throat. He smiled a wicked grin before kissing her cheek and leaving, locking the door behind him.

Y/N couldn’t even take a step before she collapsed on the ground in a puddle of tears. She needed to find a way to end this and soon. It had barely been a week, and she was already ready to die in order to be free of this.

The purple bags under King Steven and King Anthony’s eyes grew with each passing day. With the number of tears they shed and the amount of sleep they were getting, no one was all that surprised that the Kings looked so depressed. King T’Challa and King Odin had sent groups out looking for sign of where the Princess might be kept.

King Steven was standing in the waves, wishing that somehow the sea would answer all his questions. He wished to know where Y/N was, if she was alive and if she was fighting. He choked on a sob that tried to escape as the clenched his eyes shut and bowed his head. He never thought that the Princess would take his heart so quickly. And he never thought that love could hurt this much, and he never wanted to feel this pain again.

“Steve!” He heard Bucky yell in the distance. “Steve!” The King turned to watch his friend sprinting to him. “T’Challa sent a messenger,” Bucky panted. “Him and Odin have found where Hydra has been hiding.”

“What? Where?” A shred of hope blossomed in Steven’s chest.

“In the mountains behind Asgard. They heard news though. Hydra’s gathering for a celebration. A marriage.”

“No,” Steven whispered. “When?”

“Tomorrow night.”

“Do we know if it’s her?”

“There’s no one else it could be. But, Steve, in order to get there in time we need to leave now. Tony’s working on gathering the rest of the troops from Alexandria to meet us there. Odin and T’Challa are already forming a plan.”

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go.”

Y/N could hear all the hustle and bustle outside her door and windows, all night. She hadn’t gotten a minute of sleep, due to all the noice and because she was trying to find a way out. But Hydra had been smart, and there wasn’t even anything in the room that she could fatally injure herself with.

In the morning, she watched as people arrived, all nicely dress, and servants were bringing large amounts of supplies. The amount of guards seemed to have tripled over night. She wondered what they could be celebrating. Her answer came almost as soon as the question crossed her mind. The Princess spun around as the door opened. Alexander walked in, with two guards behind him. He shook his head as his eyes scanned over Y/N, shaking his head in disappointment.

“Oh darling,” Alexander muttered as he walked over to the Princess. “I warned my son not to be so hard on you until after today. Seems like he just couldn’t listen.” The man walked around Y/N, studying her. “We will just have to try our best to hide them for this afternoon.”

“This afternoon?” Y/N repeated. “What for?”

“Your wedding of course.”

Y/N immediately tensed, stepping back. Alexander nodded to his guards, who let a few servants in, one holding a white dress. The dress was practically all see through, leaving little to the imagination.

“The seamstresses designed it to Brock’s specifications,” Alexander stated, running a hand down the dress. “I warned him not to do too much harm to you, since the dress… well, you’ve seen it. But it just might remind you of who you belong to.” He walked up to her, pressing a long kiss to her forehead. “I’m so excited for you to be a part of our family.” He turned heading for the door. “Do rest before the big event. You’re going to have a long night.”

He left, cackling and shutting the door behind him. Y/N was frozen to her spot, trying to wrack her brain for a way out. Slowly, her breathing became labored. The women in the room tried to calm her, but to no avail. The servants guided her to the bed, ordering her to rest, in the midst of her panic. Tears cascaded down her cheeks with her noticing. She silently pled to whoever ruled over the heavens and created the earth, that they would send someone to save her or guide her to a way out. But as the closer the time got to the wedding, the more she came to realize that there was no way out. She was going to be trapped here. For good.

Y/N was out of it for a majority of the day. The servants had let her rest for a while before getting her up to get ready. She wasn’t really aware what was happening, she was a doll for them to dress up. Before she knew it, she was dressed for the wedding, standing in front of the large mirror they brought in. The Princess could barely look at herself. She could see all the bruises that Brock at given her. They were all on display for everyone to see.

“You look beautiful,” a rough voice came up from behind her. She came back to reality as Brock entered the room. “I know that it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride, but I couldn’t resist.” He came up behind her and set his hands on her hips. She watched his every movement from the mirror. “And I know my father had warned me about being to hard on you but,” he pressed a kiss to where her shoulder met her neck, “I like that everyone can know you’re mine.” His lips trailed up to her chin. Y/N cringed as she closed her eyes. “I can’t wait for after the ceremony,” he whispered, nibbling at her ear. “I can’t wait to officially make you mine.” He moved so that he was standing in front of her. “I’ll see you then” He pressed a quick kiss to her lips before leaving.

Y/N looked back at herself in the mirror. This is never how she imagined her wedding day would go. For more obvious ways than one. It was suppose to be a happy day, where she’d be showered with love by friends and family who were there to celebrate with her. And now… Now she was being forced to marry someone she could never love. Y/N thought back to when she got mad at her Father for making her get to know the suitors. She would gladly marry anyone of them now. Well, besides Loki.

As the servants led her down the hall to where she would wed Brock, Loki suddenly appeared at her side, linking their arms together.

“Get off me,” she said, trying to force her arm out of his. Loki kept it there with his free hand.

“Alexander wants me to be the one to walk you down the aisle,” Loki stated. “He’s performing the ceremony, and he felt like it would be symbolic. I brought you here, it only makes sense that I see you to wed your groom.”

“You ruined my life.”

“You trusted too easily.”

“I can only hope that, if I am to be stuck to Brock forever, that he listens to me when I tell him that you are a snake. And that you should be killed.”

Loki chuckled darkly. “He will never give you even an ounce of respect. You will be nothing but his play thing.”

When they reached the large doors, they could hear chatter and music playing behind them. Y/N was struggling not to throw up as they waited for their queue. Loki held onto her tightly, in case she tried to make a run for it. The doors opened all too soon for her liking. There were many people in there, already staring in her direction. There were so many eyes boring into her, too many. How could Hydra have all these followers and none of the kingdoms noticed?

Y/N tried to slow Loki’s pace down, but he edged up practically dragging her down the aisle. Brock and Alexander were both grinning wickedly as they eagerly watched Y/N go down the aisle. Loki grabbed Y/N’s hand, setting it in Brock’s outreached one. Brock immediately latched onto it, causing her to wince at the pressure. Brock led her up a few steps, so that they were standing a step under Alexander. He quickly grabbed both of her hands.

“We are gathered here today,” Alexander started, loudly, “to celebrate a union long awaited.” He smiled down at Brock and Y/N. “This union will spark a change in all the kingdoms. Things will never be the same again, and Hydra will rise because of it.”

Y/N tried not to squirm at the feeling of everyone’s eyes on her. She could feel them noticing every spot that Brock has marked. Brock kept his focus on Y/N. She had to hold down the vomit that wanted to escape due to the sinister way is was looking at her. The Princess hadn’t even realized that the vows had started until Brock’s nails were digging into her hands, so much that drops of blood were breaking through the skin.

“I guess the bride is nervous,” Alexander chuckled, causing the crowd to follow. “I will repeat myself then. Will you, Y/N Stark, have my son, Brock, as your husband? Will you defend him and obey him? Love him and cherish him? Until your last breathe?”

Y/N’s heart pounded inside her chest. Everything inside of her was screaming at her to say no. But she knew that she would never make it out of here alive if she did. But maybe that would be a blessing. She took a deep breath and readied her response. But before she could say anything, the large doors swung open and a booming voice yelled,

“STOP!”

next chapter >

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smol-and-grumpy · 4 years

Text

Sky Full Of Stars - CH11

Sequel to Something Just Like This

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: He’s Dean Winchester, ex mobster boss, still a little cocky, less ruthless and not at all short tempered anymore. Instead, he thinks he’s hilarious (she doesn’t agree, though). They both try to live a quiet life. And Dean hopes, very hard, that his former life won’t come knocking at their door.

Warnings: Angst, mention of depression, fluff

WC: 3205

A/N: This is the end, guys. I’m sad. I hope you enjoy the last chapter and thank you for letting me take you on this fabulous ride ❤️

SERIES MASTERLIST

...SIX MONTHS LATER…

Dean’s sitting on their terrace in the big rocking chair. It’s already dark and cold. Ella’s sitting on his one thigh, cuddling close to him and Neo’s on his other side. Dean has a big blanket draped over all of them, so they would stay warm.

It’s only a little past 8pm but it’s the weekend and Ella doesn’t have to go to school the next morning so he spoils her by allowing her to stay up past her usual bedtime of 7pm. They finished roasting marshmallows in their fireplace in the backyard and they have now brushed their teeth and changed into their pj’s.

He’s doing that a lot with the kids now. He wants them to see the privilege of living so far out, wants them to see the beauty of being able to see stars. A view one shouldn’t take for granted. They’re outdoorsy, both of them love to be outside and play and he’s glad they have the chance to do that with their big garden and a treehouse by the creek.

Neo clasps his hand over Dean’s eyes while Dean looks up to the night sky.

“See? See?” The little guy says and Dean has to chuckle.

“Buddy, I ain’t seeing a thing. Where are the stars?”

And then Ella joins in, her little hands on his face, squeezing at his cheeks and then she covers his nose.

“And now I can’t even breathe,” He gasps, plays along.

The kids are giggling and Dean likes that, likes to hear them happy.

He begins to tickle them both, and both of them are writhing in his lap.

“Daddy, stop!” Ella’s still giggling like crazy.

“Stop doing what?”

“Tickling us!”

“Only when you guys will let me look up at the stars and it'll be nice if I could breathe,” Dean’s still tickling.

“‘K!” Neo says, the little boy still laughs wholeheartedly, and Ella seems to agree with her brother for once because they settled next to him again, both trying to catch their breath.

Dean stares up, the sky is full of stars tonight, that’s why it’s so cold out. Their breathing fog up but they’re warm underneath the blanket.

“What do you guys see?” He asks his children, sometimes their imagination run wild and they would see all kinds of things in the star’s constellation.

“Mommy,” Neo says.

“Mommy?” Dean asks and he squints his eyes, trying to see what Neo sees.

“Ah, I see her too,” Ella joins in.

“Yeah, now I see mommy too. Her nose is a little big, though,” The children are giggling again and Dean kisses the top of both their heads, “Come on, what else,”

“Princess!” Ella calls out.

“Dinosaur!” Neo tries to be louder than his sister.

Dean smirks and he just leans back, bathing himself in the momentarily joy.

They get interrupted not even fifteen minutes later, when Linda comes to stand next to him. “I think it’s time for bed now,”

Linda had moved in to help him take care of the kids and that woman still gives him the creeps sometimes. Dean would never admit it to her, though.

He gladly took the offer at that time, although he’s probably never going to get used to it. He even had another room built right above the garage so that Linda can live comfortably while she helps him. Dean didn’t want to employ a real nanny, didn’t see the need when he can rely on people he already knows and trusts. He has a hard time trusting anyone new lately.

“You heard Linda, guys,” Dean kisses his children good night and lets Linda take Neo from his lap. The little boy started to walk yesterday. Another milestone reached.

“Night daddy,” Ella whispers and pulls him down by the collar to give him another kiss.

“Night, El-baby,”

“The physical therapist just left,” Linda balances Neo on her arms. The boy is already so big, it makes Linda look even smaller than she already is.

“Okay,” Dean answers, and watches Linda go in with his kids.

Y/N can hear the chatter in her children’s rooms. Her room is black, only the light from the stars shining through the window. She looks up at the night sky, knows that Dean has spent the evening with the kids outside while she had her physical therapy session. Futile therapy sessions. With a private therapist who probably wants way too much money for the little progress they make.

“Hey,” She hears Dean slip in and he closes the door behind him, “You okay?”

He walks over, leans in to place a kiss on the top of her head.

Dean knows not to talk too much. She’s always frustrated and sad after a therapy session. If she can avoid it, she’d like to not see anybody at all.

She doesn’t answer him and Dean knows why, he’s used to it by now and it makes her feel even more guilty.

After Dean shot Crowley, Crowley’s finger managed to pull the trigger, shooting her in the back. Unfortunately it went through her body in a weird angle, injuring her spine and puncturing her lung, too. She’s been in the hospital for almost a month, half of the time was spent in an induced coma.

Waking up, Dean was by her side and it was a long road to get where she is now. Which is not really far and she doesn’t really know if she has the strength to go on. It’s frustrating when she works so hard without feeling or seeing any progress at all.

Dean kneels down and starts to massage her legs. He’s doing a daily range of motions exercises with her to help her along, not missing a single day since he started.

She watches him work on her legs, doesn’t feel a fucking thing at all and she’s tired, exhausted as hell after the therapy. Y/N doesn’t want to come across as ungrateful but she can’t help but wonder why he does all this. Why does he keep on going when everything seems so lost?

And maybe she shouldn’t have let her mind wander to the dark place but she’s there now and she’s angry at herself, at Dean, at everything.

“Why are we doing this, Dean,” It’s not really a question, more a fact. “Why are you still here?”

Y/N told him when he brought her back to the house that she’d get it if he wants to leave, maybe it’s still the effect of the words Crowley planted in her head. In fact, she even wants him to. Wants him to leave her and the children here and go live a quiet life somewhere without the burden of having to take care of the kids and her.

Because that’s what she’s become. A burden that Dean has to carry, with being the only one who can take care of the kids — because she doesn’t have the strength to do it yet — on top of everything else. He didn’t sign up for this life and she gets it, because she didn’t either but she’s unfortunately still here and she has to somehow make it work. There’s no need for him to stay with her.

Dean looks up at her, the crease between his eyebrows deepens. He looks hurt.

“It’s true. You’re doing so much but you don’t have to. I told you that I can manage. We’re going to be fine. Go have a boys week, I don’t know,” She’s tearing up and she actually doesn’t want to. Her grip on the arm of her wheelchair is tight, her knuckles are turning white. Dean’s unfazed, keeps on massaging the muscles in her legs, pretends he didn’t hear her, “You can still get out, you know. I don’t want to tie you down. I don’t want you having to take care of me. This is not what I fucking want!”

“Jesus Christ, Y/N! We’ve been through this, didn’t we,” Dean growls, he’s angry, she knows but she is too, so.

“And you know it’s fucking true! You’re always present. You’re taking care of all of us but who’s taking care of you, huh? We both know that it ain’t me, Dean! I can’t even take care of myself! You don’t deserve this! You deserve something better,”

“Shut up,” Dean snaps, but his hands aren’t stilling, he continues to knead at her muscles.

“You tend to our needs but what about you? What about your needs?”

“Fucking Christ, Y/N, shut up!” He gets loud and it makes her flinch.

She’s biting back at him though, “Tell me, what do you want, Dean? It sure as hell isn’t this fucking life! Tell me, what do you really want?!” She’s shouting and she can’t stop crying.

Dean places her leg back and rubs over his face with both his hands. Her heart thumps in her chest, she knows that she’s being unreasonable but she’s really not doing great at the moment.

“I need you, alright?” Dean’s loud and he’s shaking, “I fucking need you! How do you not get that?” He’s slowly breaking. She can see the tears pool in his eyes, see his shoulder trembling, “I FUCKING WANT YOU!” He screams before he lays his head in her lap, his arms hugging her middle when he begins to sob with his face buried in the cleft of her thighs.

She’s sobbing with him, strokes at his hair, her hands wandering down his trembling back as far as she can reach.

Dean’s breakdown was long overdue. She heard from Cas that he didn’t shed a tear once. Didn’t let himself show any emotions at all except for when he’s around his kids.

All Y/N said was true though. She doesn’t want that for him. Dean didn’t deserve that. But she might have gone overboard as well, triggered by her own frustrations and insecurities. And maybe she did use that to get him to break. She needed to get it out somehow. Maybe they all need to break in order to be able to put the pieces back together again and make it better.

He comes up, sniffs and brushes at his face with his hands before he takes his wet hands and cradles her face with it. He brushes at her tears with the pad of his thumbs and leans his forehead on hers, “I fucking want you to come back to us, alright? It physically pains me to know that your mind makes you think you’re worthless. I want you to see that life’s fucking worth living for, I need you to see it! Even this life is worth living for! I love you. We all do! I want you to be able to see our kids grow up, I want you to find joy, I fucking want to see you happy. I want you to come back to me!”

She cries some more and he kisses her. Their faces, their lips, it’s all wet.

“This depression is a bitch but I won’t give up, I refuse to give up,” Dean brushes his knuckles along her cheek as he lays his forehead back on hers, “I want you to come back to us, and I’m gonna be here waiting for the day you’re ready to come back. I’m not gonna fucking give you up. I fought too hard to be where we are now, I’m not letting a goddamn wheelchair stand in the way of what we can be. And you shouldn’t either.”

“Dean,”

“Shh, baby,” He hushes her, kisses her again, “Let's get you to bed.”

...ONE YEAR LATER…

Dean’s having one of his campfire nights with the kids, and they’re grilling marshmallows by the fire.

It’s a clear night, they’re lucky with the weather this year. Summer wasn’t too hot and it seems like this Winter’s going to be a mild one. It helps with the wheelchair when there’s not too much ice and snow around whenever they need to go somewhere.

Linda’s still living here but Y/N’s doing better so he thinks that Linda can go home if she wants to but he also wouldn’t mind if she’d stay. He’s warmed up to the woman, and he can see that she’s warming up to him as well. Maybe she changed her mind about him, she must have. She even starts to cook now too, with the false pretense that she doesn’t really like the food Dean’s cooking. Her plate’s always empty, so he guesses that it’s Linda’s way to tell him that she’s ready to be involved more.

Dean never told her to, though. He even said that she can go back whenever she likes but she has stayed and he thinks with Linda being here, Y/N has more reason to fight either. Maybe it’s also because Linda’s a cold hearted bitch when it comes to sorry excuses. She pep talks and drills Y/N until Y/N’s exhausted. Linda’s worse than a physical therapist, which they stopped calling in after the breakdown they both had. Linda’s more reliable, Linda knows Y/N’s limits. She also doesn’t get paid to crawl into someone ass and pretend that everything’s looking fine and Y/N made progress when the progress is zero and everything’s, in fact, not fucking fine.

He’s sitting around the campfire, Neo’s on his lap, and Dean has one arm secured around the toddler. He’s afraid that Neo will fall into the fire if he isn’t holding him.

When Dean looks away from the fire, he sees Linda wheeling Y/N into the backyard. They must have been going around the house because Linda couldn’t carry Y/N and the wheelchair down to the yard from their terrace.

Inside of their house it’s a whole different story. They have two wheelchairs on both levels, so it’s easy if they can just carry her up and down and sit her right back into a ready wheelchair. Maybe Dean needs another one especially made for the terrain of their garden.

Y/N’s smiling and so does Linda. Dean wonders what they’re up to.

Seeing her smile makes his heart leap and he smiles back.

Her smile’s a rare sight, it’s absolutely rare seeing the genuine smile on her face. It makes him realize how much he misses it. How much he’s missing her. She’s slowly coming back and they’re nowhere near where they want to be, or rather where he wants them to be, but they’re slowly but surely taking baby steps into the right direction.

She keeps on fighting and so does he.

Y/N’s around more either. Sometimes she would come down to sit around the couch with the kids. She’d read them stories, and Dean would listen too. And in those moments, it feels like they have gotten some normality back. In those moments, he can feel that she’s slowly accepting that her legs might never work again, accepting that she might be bound to a wheelchair to the end of her days.

Dean’s also happy that she doesn’t doubt herself anymore, and by proxy, doesn’t doubt him. She can finally accept and wrap her head around the fact that he’s here to stay. Wrapping her mind around the fact that he’s not backing out just because something becomes uncomfortable. Just because something doesn’t fit the norm. He’s too old and too tired to give up on all that they’ve built up. He couldn’t leave this life, mainly also because all other lives don't seem worth living.

He’s got his children, he has her. There’s really nothing else for him to wish for.

“Mommy!” Ella abandons her stick with a half burned marshmallow and skips towards Y/N and Linda. Neo’s getting restless in Dean’s grip. He watches as Ella runs to her mom and sits on Y/N’s lap, letting Linda push both of them forward.

Linda comes to a halt about three yards short of him and Ella gets out. Dean watches with raised eyebrows as Y/N grabs one leg after another, sets it on the cold solid ground.

And then, Dean can’t believe his own eyes when Y/N pushes herself up from the chair.

Linda comes around, gives Y/N a hand to help steady her while Ella holds on to her mommy’s other hand.

Dean can’t stop the tears even if he would try. He brushes at his eyes to be able to see better.

“Daddy why are you crying?” Neo tilts his head around because of course he couldn’t hide that from the kids. Ella’s by Dean’s side now too, as she weaves her arms around Dean’s neck to kiss at his cheek.

“Daddy, mommy can walk!” Ella shouts out, her tiny voice’s full of excitement.

“I can see that, yeah,” Dean chokes out but he’s smiling, and he still watches her, watches how her face frowns in concentration.

“Why don’t cry,” Neo says again and Dean doesn’t really want to? He just really has to.

“Why’s daddy crying?” Ella asks Neo, as if her brother knows the answer.

“Daddy’s just really happy,” Dean whispers, has to compose himself as not to break down in front of his kids, and then he stands up and lets Neo walk around, the little boy speeds to his mommy and Dean follows.

When he’s close enough, he takes over from Linda and Linda takes the kids, walks with them back to the campfire as Dean steadies Y/N around her waist with one arm. His other arm trails along her cheeks. It has been more than a year since they saw each other eye to eye like this, with her being able to hold herself up on her own two feet.

She’s sweating and her cheeks are flushed. It probably needed more strengths than Dean could ever imagine.

He kisses her, holds her a little tighter, “You can walk,”

“I can,” She breathes, “I mean, I won’t run a marathon tomorrow but I’m getting there.”

Dean has to chuckle, “You’re doing much better, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Y/N answers, “I can’t believe how patient you were.”

“It was worth it,” Dean whispers, kissing her again, “Come on, let’s get you back into the chair before you collapse.” She lets him scoop her up and place her back into the chair. Dean takes his time to place her legs right, he massages the muscle a little, too. “You feel that again?”

“I do, it’s strange.”

Dean smirks, “Can’t believe you were hiding that from me.”

“Wanted to surprise you.” She smiles and it’s truly the most beautiful thing he’s seen in a long time. “Thanks for waiting for me to come around.”

“I would have waited a lifetime if that’s what you would have needed,” He whispers and gets up, places a last lingering kiss on her forehead before he gets behind the chair and wheels her to the campfire.

And yes, Dean’s happy.

Happy that after all, they can start to be a family again. Because this is it for him. This is what he always fucking wanted. This and nothing else.

..The End

#sky full of stars #dean winchester #dean winchester fic #dean winchester fan fic #dean winchester fan fiction #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester x you

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cordonian-literature · 4 years

Text

The Aftermath - Ch. 8

The Day Before the Tea Ceremony

Summary: After five years, Hana returns to Cordonia

Word Count: ~3.1k

Warning: Mention of depression

*All characters belong to Pixelberry, except those that are unique to my story (I’ve also used some characters and fictional instances from Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch”)*

Catch up here!

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- Hana -

Very soon, waking up in the mornings became a challenge. At first, it was her body that refused to obey her alarm clock. Then, Hana simply accepted it and would wake up by herself around half past eight — almost two hours later than she had been trained to start her day.

This morning was particularly difficult. She had silently cried herself to sleep the night before, and the tears had yet to disappear from her cheeks, nor was her pillow dry. The air was thick as it went into her lungs, though when she opened the window, a delicate breeze embraced her, flowing through her hair and fingers. She could feel the hint of the approaching summer through the signs of the persistent cold.

The dent on the other side of the mattress told Hana that her husband had been awake for hours. She didn’t care. Before Neville used to yell at her and say that it was improper for her to sleep in (“Does not a lady of your status have better things to do than lay around like a pathetic commoner with nothing better to do?” he would shout at her during breakfast). Eventually he stopped, but he would still give her cold looks if he knew that she had been in bed longer than eight hours.

He added to the difficulty of waking up, and Hana suspected that one day she would be too weak to get out of bed entirely.

Today should be better than other days, she told herself as she went to reach for a dress in her closet. Mother and Father are here. There are still a few days left in their visit. Perhaps Mother would want to spend some time with me?

Every step down the stairs and towards the breakfast table increased her level of anxiety. That was nothing new; it was all a part of her daily routine. As was the sound of her heart hammering in her ears. Next was the sight of Neville’s atrocious side-profile. Xinghai and Lorelai were laughing at something Hana had not heard, but she knew that it wasn’t remotely funny — nothing Neville says is ever funny. Her parents greet her, and Neville spares her a glance and says, “Is that the same dress from yesterday morning?”

The room falls into silence.

“You’ve a letter, Hana,” Lorelai informs her as her daughter sits down.

A cream colored envelope with their address smoothly written sits in front of her.

“I hope it is not from that Beaumont boy again,” Neville comments.

“Well I don’t think there’s anything wrong with friendly correspondence,” Xinghai begins.

“I beg to differ, sir,” Neville starts. “It would be best if you saw it from my perspective. An unmarried lord sending monthly letters to my wife asking her to return to Cordonia. That is highly improper. I would ask him directly to respect the difference between my own status and his, but Hana says there is no need apparently.” He scoffs.

All he asks is for me to come and help find Lady Riley, she wants to say. He writes about His Majesty’s depression. Lord Maxwell requests that I come to help him cheer everyone up. Not to worry though, I would never willingly go back without Lady Riley, because without her I am alone, just as I have been everyday for the past decade.

Hana flips the envelope over, expecting to see the Beaumont Family Seal, but instead comes face-to-face with the Royal Seal.

Everyone at the table stares down at what is in Hana’s hands.

“A royal invitation?” Lorelai cries.

Of course Liam would do this, Hana thinks to herself. I had told him that I didn’t want to return. He knew pestering me over the phone wouldn’t work, so instead he sends an invitation, knowing that Neville would see it and would accept it on my behalf.

Hana opens the envelope, taking out the letter and reads the contents aloud.

“Dear Earl Cormery and Countess Cormery,

The honor of your presence is requested by the Queen Mother at the Annual Cordonian Tea Ceremony on the evening of May 24th.”

“Goodness!” Lorelai exclaims. “From the Queen Mother herself?”

“Ah, what terrible timing!” Neville cries, snatching the invitation from Hana. “I’ve an important financial project that requires my attention in London. I planned to leave this evening.”

“Oh,” Hana looks down at her empty hands. “You… you never told me.”

“Didn’t I?” Neville does not look up from the letter. “Perhaps I forgot about it. Forgive me, dear, you know how busy I am.”

She nods, but cannot hide the sorrow on her face.

“Well, Neville,” Lorelai says. “If you are indisposed and do not plan on bringing Hana with you, then it seems as though she is free to attend the ceremony.”

“Perhaps… but what will she say when her husband is absent?” Neville argues.

Xinghai chuckles. “The truth, of course. That you are away on an important financial project and could not attend.”

After a few seconds in which Neville does not respond, Lorelai speaks up and says, “Wonderful, then. Hana, I will help you pack later tonight.”

No thank you, Mother, she wants to say. I do not wish to return to Cordonia. There are too many painful and empty memories. My life already consists of lonely, aching days. Please do not subject me to more.

“Yes, all good.” Neville tucks the paper into his breast pocket. Hana hoped that he would reject the idea. But since her mother suggested it and he has allowed it, there was no chance of her getting out of it. “Now, how much longer until we are served? Staff! I demand to know what is taking so long! If we are not served our breakfast within the next five minutes, by the end of today you will all be left unemployed!”

...

Neville left for London before dinner and did not say goodbye. Lorelai reprimanded Hana for being so distant with her husband, saying that the hard work in securing a marriage doesn’t end after the wedding. Hana had excused herself to go and pack without her mother.

She took the earliest flight to Cordonia, and was in the capital right before noon. She walked into the palace, where she showed her invitation to a servant and was led towards her room.

On her way up the stairs, she bumps into Olivia.

“Hana?” she exclaims. “What are you doing here?”

“Olivia! It’s been so long!” Hana leaves her bags and goes to hug Olivia — who does not hug her back — overcome at the sight of a somewhat friendly face. “I was invited to the tea ceremony tomorrow. Did you receive and invitation as well?”

“No, actually. I’m here on business.”

“Oh, well, sorry to bother you. Do you know if His Majesty will be attending? Or… Maxwell?”

Olivia frowns a little. “Liam and Drake are in New York,” she tells Hana. “As are the Beaumonts… didn’t they tell you?”

Her face falls. “No. After I left, I severed communications with them... for the most part, at least. I only answered His Majesty’s phone calls, which were rare….”

“So… you don’t know anything about Riley’s condition? Liam told me that he was going to tell you and Maxwell.”

Hana’s eyes go wide. “What about Riley?”

“She—.”

“Lady Hana is that you?!” calls a voice. Hana turns to see Madeleine walking towards them, with an unfamiliar cheer in her tone. “It is wonderful to see you back at court! And Lady Olivia….”

“Yes, Maddy, it’s always a pleasure to see you.” Olivia rolls her eyes.

Madeleine puts an arm on Hana’s shoulder. “How is the Earl?”

“He is well,” Hana manages to say, and is glad that Madeleine doesn’t ask more about him.

“I’m glad.” She glances down at the watch on her wrist. “Now if you two will excuse me, I’m on my way for lunch with the Queen Mother.” Madeleine regards Hana for a moment. “Would you like to join, Hana?”

She agrees before she even realizes that she doesn’t even want to go. “And… perhaps Olivia can join us?” Hana was itching to know more about Riley’s condition. Olivia had a tendency to vanish and re-emerge when it suited her, but Hana was not going to let Olivia get away. She had information about Riley.

Madeleine sighs. “I suppose.”

Hana gives her luggage to the servant as her and Olivia follow Madeleine down the hall.

“Don’t worry, Maddy,” Olivia comments. “I hate your presence almost as much as you hate mine.”

“Oh, I assure you—,” Madeleine begins, but they’ve already reached the dinning hall, and the Queen Mother is already seated.

“Lady Hana” she exclaims. “A pleasure to see you. And I see Lady Olivia has also arrived for the ceremony tomorrow.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Olivia says, but Hana wonders what business Olivia was talking about before.

Each of the ladies takes a seat as servants serve them plates of different fruits, breads, and meat. Hana is reluctant to eat; she barley eats at home, but could not sit in front of her plate aimlessly in front of the Queen Mother. She takes small bites and manages to force herself through the meal.

“I imagine that King Liam will be attending the ceremony tomorrow?” Olivia asks, not looking up from her meal.

I thought Olivia said that Liam was in New York? Why is she asking the Queen Mother of his whereabouts when she already knows where he is?

“Unfortunately His Majesty will not be attending,” Regina responds. “He’s away on business.”

“Oh?” Madeleine remarks. “I do hope the issue with the Spanish ambassador goes through. If not, King Liam risks looking desperate and the entire ordeal could shed a negative light on Cordonia.”

“The ambassador had to return to his country due to a personal issue,” Regina states, then goes back to her food.

Both Olivia and Madeleine look expectantly over at Regina, but she continues eating and acts as if she doesn’t notice the ladies’ eyes on her.

“Then… what else keeps His Majesty from being in attendance?” Olivia questions carefully.

Hana shoots her a look. Why does she keep asking questions she already has the answers to?

“He is abroad, I believe.” Regina answers apathetically.

“Do you not know where he is, ma’am?” Madeleine looks up from her food.

Regina chuckles. She takes a sip of her wine and says, “Oh, I know where he is. The king is in New York.”

Madeleine gently puts down her fork. “Ma’am I believe it would best if you advised His Majesty that taking too many trips to America sends quite a scandalous message to the press.”

“Scandalous?” Hana asks.

“They remember Lady Riley and his relationship with her. She was from New York, and his constant visits have led the press to believe that he is having an affair with her!”

The Queen Mother scoffs, taking another sip of her wine.

“We all know that’s utter nonsense, Maddy,” Olivia says. “Lady Riley disappeared after he ended his engagement to you. Don’t you remember? That was one public incident that you couldn’t twist in your favor.”

Madeleine stares back at Olivia. “Incident isn’t what I would call it—.”

“Please, Lady Olivia,” Regina interrupts. “None of that was Countess Madeleine’s fault or even His Majesty’s fault. Lady Riley is the one to blame. I remember that silly investigation she led with Drake Walker and Lord Beaumont. But in the end it amounted to nothing.” She scoffs again. “She knew all along that court life would be too much for her, and with everything that happened to her with that Tariq fellow, it was simply proved that she was not fit for such a life.”

How undiplomatic, Hana thinks. She wouldn’t say that in front of Liam. He would forbid her from speaking about Lady Riley like that.

“Yes,” Madeleine comments, going back to her food. “I tried to warn her of it in the beginning, but she was so… stubborn. No wonder she ended up in such a situation.”

Hana doesn’t understand why Olivia keeps quiet. They share a look. Hana wishes she had the energy to defend Riley, but deep in her heart, Hana is still angry with her best friend. Riley had motivated Hana to choose a life beyond her parents’ expectations. Once she had disappeared, Hana could only hold off her parents by herself for so long.

“I’ve done the best I can for my country,” Regina comments after another few bites of her food. “Of course, I’ve never done anything as controversial as my late husband, but I’ve… done my best to refocus the king’s attention and efforts.”

“Even without a queen, His Majesty has done a wonderful job—,” Madeleine begins.

“Yes, yes,” Regina waves Madeleine’s words away. “He’s done his duty to his people in the sense that he has provided for them and helped them thrive, but he has not secured his throne. Stability….” She trials off.

“I am sure King Liam is doing the best he can,” Olivia begins. “Simply because he does not wish to focus on finding a queen—.”

“Simply because he does not wish to focus on finding a queen doesn’t mean that he has to chase after a disappeared waitress!” Regina exclaims.

The ladies say nothing, and Regina goes for another sip of her wine.

“I’ve done my best to steer him away from her,” she begins again. “But he does not listen to me. I managed once to deter her away from him, and that seemed to have worked for the past eight years. Now he’s after her again.” She calls for a servant to refill her glass.

“You mean to say that he is in New York for Lady Riley as we speak?” Madeleine asks, and Hana notices an irritation in her eyes.

“What do you mean you deterred Lady Riley?” Olivia asks.

The Queen Mother looks towards Olivia and chuckles, ignoring Madeleine’s question.

“If you do not know what I am referring to, then that means that I succeed.” She turns back towards her plate. “She attempted to attend the Duke of Ramsford’s wedding. I saw her at the entrance. In a disguise of all things! I had my guards take her aside and I spoke with her. She said she needed to speak to His Majesty about something important.” Regina scoffs again and frowns. “The audacity of the girl… I noticed a wedding band on her finger, told her that all she had done for Cordonia was put it on a path towards ruin. She had corrupted King Liam’s heart, and her next aim clearly was to corrupt the monarchy… to taint it with another scandal. I had my guards escort her to the airport, and I made sure that there was no chance Liam saw her.”

Riley’s married? Hana wonders. Her heart aches.

“The press labeled her as a crown-chaser once,” Madeleine comments, a smirk on her face.

Regina turns to her niece and laughs. “Perhaps during the social season it did not seem so. But imagine that… she came back for Liam as a married woman. Merely to break his heart even further.”

“Did you know what she wished to speak to him about?” Olivia asks.

“No,” Regina states, deep in thought. “It may have been something she believed was of great consequence, since she came halfway across the world to tell him. I believe it is for the best, though, that she never told Liam. Whatever she had to say would have made him stray further from being a responsible king.”

“But if she never told you what the topic was, then how did it become something for you to decide whether it was crucial enough for his attention?” Olivia frowns at the Queen Mother, who is taken aback.

“I hope I am mistaken, Lady Olivia,” Regina starts, glaring at her, “that you wish to side with Lady Riley, who has done no good for Cordonia or her king?”

“I think,” Hana jumps in, “that Lady Olivia means that if Lady Riley is what makes His Majesty happy, then allowing their relationship would have allowed him to refocus more effectively.”

“If Lady Riley and His Majesty were allowed to continue their relationship,” Madeleine focuses her words towards Hana. “Then afterwards his efforts would be towards keeping Cordonia from international scorn.”

“You know, Maddy,” Olivia takes another bite of her salad. “You always did have a hard time hiding your jealousy.”

“Excuse you?” Madeleine spits.

“Enough!” Regina throws her fork onto the plate. “This has been a very stressful meal for me. I shall go rest in my quarters. Madeleine, walk with me?”

“Of course, ma’am,” Madeleine offers the Queen Mother her arm, helping her get up and walk out of the room.

When they’re out of sight, Olivia puts her head in her hands.

“Poor Riley and Liam,” Hana says. “There’s always someone working against their happily ever after.”

Olivia leans back in her seat, and Hana watches her.

“Do you have an idea of what Riley wanted to tell Liam?” she asks.

Olivia sighs. “Yes, actually, I do.”

“What was it?”

Olivia looks around the room. “This wouldn’t be the best place to speak about it. Perhaps we can go to Lythikos after the ceremony tomorrow, and I can tell you all I know.”

Hana had booked a flight back home the morning after the ceremony. A part of her told her to refuse Olivia’s offer, but another part, the stronger part, told her that this was something that could bring her one step closer to happiness — something that was dreadfully lacking in her life. Hana knew a little excitement would do her health some good. She could call Neville and tell him that she was staying for a few more days. Hana knew he wouldn’t care, though, and for the first time she’s glad for his lack of concern for her. “That would be lovely,” Hana states.

They stand and go their separate ways for the evening. Though Hana is a little less upset that her group of friends never told her about Riley, she still wants to cry in pity for herself. For Liam. For Drake. For Maxwell. For Riley.

If they’re already with Riley, then I’m the only one missing. Wasn’t I helpful during the Engagement Tour? Don’t they want my help or my company? Have they given up on me? Of course they have. In their time of need, I left them alone. What a terrible friend I was. It’s just like Neville said, that my pathetic demeanor would bury me in a life of miserable rejection. I guess I only have myself to blame for all of it. What a terrible friend I am.

#theroyalromance #liam x mc #hanalee #olivia nevrakis #choices fanfiction #trr fanfic #trr fandom #the royal romance fanfiction

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ejzah · 4 years

Text

A/N: The next chapter of the Agent and the Lawyer. Loosely based off of Absolution. I’m trying something a little different with the structure and not following the episodes so closely.

***

The Agent and the Lawyer, Part 18

“We should run together every morning,” Deeks said as he and Kensi rounded a bend in his favorite beach side path. “There’s this great little convenience store where we can grab coffee and a mostly fresh donut. The coffee’s not great, but the owner is super nice.”

Beside him, Kensi was matching him stride for stride, her breath even despite the pace. She smiled at his description, shaking her head.

“It’s not a good idea to follow a particular routine. It’s too easy for your movements, habits, and location to be tracked,” she explained. He knew how important it was for the team to maintain relative anonymity, but sometimes he thought they all took it a little far.

“It’s just coffee Kens. I’m sure no one suspects me of being a big bad fed or cares where I go.”

“Don’t let Sam catch you saying that. He’ll rip you a new one.”

“So does that mean no coffee?” he asked. It was definitely a part of his routine and gave him the energy to run all the way back home. Kensi groaned and tossed her head back, but didn’t put up any further protest when he led them to Sandune Convenience store. “Hey Frank!” he greeted the owner, heading for the canisters of brewed coffee.

“Hi,” Kensi said, looking a little uncomfortable as she waited for Deeks to fill a paper cup for her. Frank shot them a curious look, but didn’t comment.

“I ran five miles today, Deeks told Frank. Kensi snorted at that and said,

“Uh, that’s a big fat lie, he ran three.”

“So rude,” he said, amused at how quickly Kensi had abandoned her reservations when given the chance to make fun of him.

“I thought you were buying me a donut,” she reminded him.

“Of course, my lady.” He grabbed two Boston Creams and an apple fritter because he knew from past experience that when Kensi finished hers, she’d likely try to steal part of his.

After chatting with Frank for a few more minutes-his oldest daughter would be graduating from high school soon-they headed back on to the path. Their pace was leisurely now as they munched on donuts and drank coffee. It was significantly more enjoyable with Kensi beside him.

“Hey Marty!” A woman called out as she ran by. Deeks waved back without thinking.

“You know, if I was the jealous type, I might be worried about all the women who know you, wherever you go,” she said, gesturing with her cup.

“What can I say, I’m a friendly guy,” he said with a shrug, grinning around the rim of his cup. It was adorable when she got jealous.

“Mm, be careful you don’t friendly yourself into singledom.” He rolled his eyes at her warning and nudged her with his shoulder.

“Oh, come on, Kensalina, you know I would never cheat on you.”

“I would hope not,” Kensi said, looking a little uncertain. “You would certainly regret it if you did.”

“I would never,” he repeated seriously. “You have my promise. I’m not that kind of guy.” He saw her cheeks flush a little and she glanced away as an awkward silence grew between them.

He felt his phone buzz in his pocket and Kensi reached for hers, seeming grateful for the distraction.

“Hey Eric,” she said. “Uh-huh. Ok, we’ll be there in a bit.” Deeks heard the faint sound of Eric’s voice raise in a question. “Oh, yeah, I promised Deeks I’d pick him up.” She forced a laugh and hung up quickly.

“Smooth,” Deeks teased.

“Shut up. Hetty wants us in OPS. Something to do with a dead antiques dealer.” She tossed her trash in a nearby can and then bent down to tighten a shoelace. As she stood back up, she turned to face Deeks, her expression playful. “I’ll race you back.”

Not waiting for him to respond, she took off at a sprint, her delighted chuckle floating behind her.

“Man, you are so whipped,” he said with a smile as he tossed his own cup and followed after.

***

“Where’s Deeks?” Callen asked when Kensi walks into OPS about an hour later. After they got back to his house, they’d made out in Deeks’ garden for several long minutes. Kensi had been highly tempted to call off work and finish what they’d started a couple weeks ago. Common sense had prevailed and she’d reluctantly left before she took Deeks up on his offer to join him in the shower.

She didn’t mention that to Callen though and shrugged.

“He got called into the office for a last minute legal emergency,” she explained.

“What exactly qualifies as a legal emergency?” Sam asked.

“He mentioned something about a CPS case that isn’t going well. He’ll come as soon as he can.”

She found herself turning to make comments to Deeks more than once while Eric, Hetty, and Nell explained who Sebastian Renner was. It felt weirder than she expected without Deeks by her side. She’d grown used to his comments and, often, inappropriate jokes, as well as his unique insight into cases.

***

Kensi smiled involuntarily when she walked back into the bull pen a couple hours later and saw Deeks sitting at his desk.

“So what’d I miss? he asked.

“Our victim, Sebastian Renner, was an arms dealer, a bunch of spies from other countries are now vying for his black book, and Hetty has an ex-German Police officer named Branston Cole, who might have pertinent information,” she summed up. Deeks looked a little stunned for a second and then nodded.

“Wow, this is the last time I take a morning off. You guys bring out the fun cases when I’m gone.”

“Well, now you get to join the fun too,” she said with a smile, grabbing her gun and slipping it into her waistband. Deeks hadn’t passed his firearms training yet, so he just watched. “Callen and Sam got chased out of Renner’s home by his dogs earlier. Now that they’re gone, Hetty wants us to see if we can find anything else.”

“So did you make it here on time this morning?” he asked, smirking at her. “You seemed a little disorganized and, uh, distracted when you left my place.” She smiled sweetly, pretending she wasn’t currently remembering the feel of his chest, damp with sweat, pressing into hers.

“I made it just fine,” she answered. “How was your shower?” Her voice was innocent, but she let her eyes drop a bit lower than was strictly polite.

“It was cold. Very cold.” Kensi snickered at that as they walked out.

***

“M-O-U-S-E?” Kensi said scathingly as she finished cuffing the two men she and Deeks had just fought. She rifled through one’s suit pocket and found a DGSE ID.

“What was I supposed to say?” he asked. “I’m not and Agent and I’m not LAPD. You guys were shouting out your little acronyms and I felt left out. Which, reminds me, why the hell did you kick an NSA Agent in the groin?”

Kensi let out an irritated sigh and showed him the ID.

“He’s French Intelligence, Deeks. He was lying.”

“You couldn’t have possibly known that though.”

“I had a hunch,” she said with a shrug. Deeks made an outraged sound.

“A hunch. You don’t kick a guy in the nuts over a hunch!” He felt a little nauseous at the thought and resisted the urge to cover his crotch.

“I recognized his accent. It’s not American.”

“He didn’t have an accent,” Deeks said, horrified for the agent who was slowly gaining consciousness.

“I’m trained in linguistics, Deeks. I know the difference between French and English speech patterns,” she insisted.

“You’re insane.”

“Deeks, you’re acting ridiculous.” He ignored her, shaking his head.

“Sometimes it’s like I don’t even know you.”

***

Kensi watched Deeks from a few feet away. She couldn’t tell what he was saying, but his lips were split in a wide smile as he chatted with Sam and Callen several seats away.

They’d successfully apprehended a German spy named Matthias and the FBI and NSA were looking for the rest of the spies. They’d had to leave Deeks behind since he wasn’t authorized to carry a weapon.

Now they were at a nearby bar, per Deeks suggestions and on his dime. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. After a few drinks, Nell challenged Eric to a pool game and had even shed the little sweater she wore of her think strapped dress. There was definitely something going on there.

The combination of Deeks’ considerable charm, which he was working to it’s full limits, and large amounts of alcohol both had even Callen and Sam more at ease than she’d seen them in a while.

Deeks noticed her watching and headed her way. He looked ridiculously pleased with himself.

“Nicely done,” she complimented him.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said innocently.

“You know that once they sober up, they’re still going to ride you.” He groaned, dragging out a stool to sit next to her.

“Yeah, well, unfortunately I can’t use the same methods I used with you,” he pointed out. Kensi rolled her eyes.

“Oh, you are way too full of yourself,” she said. He chuckled, resting his hand on the middle of her back. He probably did it without even thinking, but Kensi tensed immediately. She roughly pushed his hand away, glancing around to see if anyone had caught Deeks’ slip.

Fortunately they all were occupied and she let out a slow breath of relief. Beside her, Deeks had gone silent, making her belatedly regret her hasty actions.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. He scratched at jaw, not meeting her eyes, which always a bad sign. “I just didn’t-“

“No, it’s ok. I get it.”

“The team is here and we agreed not to...” she trailed off awkwardly as Deeks filled in.

“Yeah, no, we agreed to keep out relationship quiet. I just forget sometimes.” He sighed, the sound heavy. Kensi looked down for a second, pressing her lips together as she tried to think of some way to brighten the mood again.

“You want to come over tonight when we’re done here?” she asked as a form of peace offering. So far she hadn’t let him past her living room and that was only after she hastily straightened everything. Deeks allowed a tiny smile, clearly realizing her attempt to apologize without actually apologizing.

“I would, but I have to work on that pro bono case. It’s a mess,” he said. Kensi wasn’t sure if it was a convenient excuse, but she felt a small sinking in her stomach.

“Ok,” she said in a small voice.

“Maybe tomorrow.”

“Sure.” She tried to tell herself she was overreacting, but couldn’t help notice the distance Deeks kept between them for the rest of the night.

***

A/N: Ooh, unexpected drama. Don’t worry, I don’t plan to have anything terrible happen.

#ncis la fanfiction #marty deeks #kensi blye #sam hanna #g Callen #au #the agent and the lawyer #part 18 #densi #absolution #ejzah fanfiction

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jenovahh · 3 years

Text

A Long Fall - Gaius x OC

Rating: T Pairing: Gaius x OC A quick lil bit an art trade with @faunna! Hope I captured your OC well! =========================================================== It is well past midnight (or rather it feels like it) and though Yanelis would never admit to anyone, not even herself, she is filled to the brim with worry.

She has long since been changed for bed, her usually free flowing hair now neatly tucked in french braids so that her tresses will curl on the morrow. Though she is not in her usual day wear, her pajamas are no less finer than any of the dresses in her closet. With slippered feet she had tried to find different kinds of busy work to occupy her mind: pulling weeds in the garden, preparing dinner, cleaning the bathroom twice.

And still he has not returned home.

She resolves that as soon as the bell does strike twelve to shed her night wear and don her usual healing robes and march right out to Ala Mhigo to see what is taking that man so damn long. Her tail whips in agitation, fast like a whip as it accidentally thumps against a nearby cabinet. Her eyes are trained on the door despite her best efforts, praying to any of the Twelve that listen, that he just comes home.

The hour grows progressively late, topaz eyes glaring at the door almost angrily, as if willing it to open and have her lover on the other side. Glancing at a nearby clock, it is barely fifteen minutes past ten, but unfortunately her concern outweighs her reason. Kicking off her slippers, she angrily stomps her way to her bedroom, stopping only as she hears an untimely thud against the front door.

Freezing in place, her preternatural eyes dart around for any potential weapons, but stops as she hears the sound of a key being clumsily shoved into the whole. The latches flip and the door flies open, revealing a handsome, but haggard looking man.

Relief floods through her chest immediately, nearly tripping over her forgotten slippers in her haste to greet the imposing figure at her door. With skin as dark as the earth that gives life, he bumbles through the door, looking seemingly okay until he falters, grunting in pain as he crashes down to one knee.

“Gaius!”

Yanelis is at his side in an instant, falling to her knees with little disregard for her silken bedwear. “Are you well? Should I fetch my robes--”

Gaius gives a soft chuckle, more to himself than anything as he tries to stand back to his feet, pride lending him strength.

Unfortunately all pride lends him is embarrassment as he crashes back to the floor.

Fussing over him like a mother hen, Yanelis quickly checks for any external bleeding, glad to see any lacerations and wounds are not too deep and can be mended with a few healing spells. He’ll sport some deep purple bruises in the morning, this she can tell, but she needs to help him survive until the next morn.

“Clothes off. Now.” She demands, grabbing him by his right arm. He groans in protest, a mixture of indignation and pain but acquiesces all the same as he leans onto her for support. Despite her petite frame compared to his lean build, she has all the strength needed to help him limp into the bathroom. Sitting him on the privy, she leans over to start the water to running, setting it to a nice hot temperature to help soothe his aches and wash away any evils.

“How are you this beaten up?” Yanelis finds herself asking, turning around to immediately reach for his tattered coat, wrenching it off nigh forcefully given her frustration. Gaius groans mutely in protest but shrugs his shoulder and arms out of the dirty garment, allowing her to begin working on his shirt next. “I demand an answer.”

Gaius’ lips move but whatever he says comes out in a grumble, only serving to further incite her ire.

“Has the Black Wolf grown so meek that he cannot answer a simple question?” She huffs, hands on her hips as she bends closer, minding her horns. “Speak up, lest I nearly impale your head trying to hear you.”

“I had told you this morning why I had left, had I not?” Gaius finally speaks, his voice scratchy and worn.

“Yes, you had told me you would be heading to examine the Emerald Weapon; not fight in a godsdamned war. Or at least, come home looking like you did.” Try as she might she cannot hide the concern in her voice, and she can tell by the glint in his eyes that he’s picked up on it too. However, this seems to make him even more embarrassed, turning his face away like some sort of petulant child. “Gaius. What. Happened?”

He is silent a few moments more before grumbling again, standing to his feet. Stumbling backward from his sudden movement, Yanelis’ face goes scarlet as his hands reach for his breeches and begin tugging them downward. “By the Twelve-” Spinning on her heel, she quickly exits the bathroom, closing the door shut behind her.

Heart racing, she takes a moment to breathe, before hearing the lock click shut behind her. She turns the knob but the door won’t budge, and she stamps her foot in anger. “Gaius van Baelsar!” She shouts, realizing she’s been had.

“I will be out in a moment.” His voice carries under the door, along with a blissful sigh coupled with the sound of sloshing water.

Pleased for now, Yanelis pads up the aged stairs to gather her supplies. She would need her staff to heal the larger cuts and could most likely bandage the rest. Worry still niggles the back of her mind, but he is home and safe and for that she is already grateful. Supplies in hand, she realizes she spaced out longer than intended and heads for the stairs.

Just as she rounds the corner, she spies Gaius there in a towel wrapped somewhat loosely around his slender hips, his expression looking caught. Yanelis feels herself flush red seeing the last few droplets of water running down his brown skin, his skin still maintaining a slight moisture from his bath.

Clearing her throat, she pins him with her most indignant look. "And where do you think you're going?"

Frowning, Gaius avoids her eyes. "I was going to get changed, madam." He drawls sarcastically.

Huffing, Yanelis descends by one stair. "Since you're feeling so cheeky, then you're clearly well enough to sit awhile longer so that I can bandage your wounds. Stay down there, I will return with a change of clothes."

Fixing her with a withering glare, Gaius sighs knowing the battle already lost, but he must say his piece. "I am not a child."

"Then don't act like one. Down. Stairs. " She orders, grinning as he turns around and trudges back down the stairs. Turning on her heel she heads into their bedroom, immediately heading for his dresser to retrieve a loose nightshirt and some pants, she hustles down the stairs with her arms bursting with things.

She finds him in the kitchen shoving his shirt and pants at him before turning to head into the den, back turned so that he may have some semblance of privacy. “And don’t even think about sneaking back upstairs or I’m putting you out.” She calls over her shoulder, walking around the couch to set her things down on the coffee table. The scratches and dents stick out to her most often during these times, the poor table used as a makeshift operating table more often than not. She often joked to herself that Gaius got himself banged up on purpose knowing she could heal him.

“Let’s get this over with.”

His rough voice jolts her from her thoughts, nearly jumping out her scales as Gaius rounds the wide couch and plops himself on it rather unceremoniously. His face is contorted in a way that looks as if he is trying not to pout, eyebrows pinched together in what is pure annoyance and thinly veiled pain.

“Well if you want to sleep and bleed all out over the ground outside, do be my guest.” Yanelis huffs, crossing her arms petulantly as Gaius cuts her a withering glare.

“Just...heal me you stubborn woman.” He groans, sitting forward, releasing his tension so that she may move him how she likes.

Having gotten her way, Yanelis hums happily as she reaches for her staff and immediately seeks out the deepest cuts, the top of the staff glowing a healthy green in tandem with her hand over his skin. She winces as he does, holds herself back from hissing with him as the skin knits together beneath her palm, eyes closed in complete focus as she feels magic flow through her.

“That will...never cease to be strange. And yet it also amazes me.” She hears him murmur, his voice having lost its jagged edge. She grins to herself as his hand rests on her knee, fingers rubbing small circles there.

“You know, I joke to myself that you get so beat up because you come home so that I can heal you.” Yanelis teases, placing her staff down now that she’s ensured the bulk of the wound will mend properly. Reaching for bandages, she unrolls a strip in her hand as she meets his dark eyes. “Really, Gaius. How on earth did you get hurt this time? You told me you were going to talk with Raubahn.”

His head hangs immediately at hearing the worry in her voice, pout returning as he finds himself unable to look her in the eye. She grumbles as she wraps his wounds with gauze, cinching tighter than needed as he chooses to keep quiet. “Gaius van Baelsar,”

“I fell.”

The statement is so simple, yet so shocking, she stops her wrapping to stare blankly at him. Were his skin not so dark, she swears his face would be red as a beet. “You...fell?” She repeats.

Groaning loudly, he flops back against the couch. “I hadn’t lied when I said I had gone to visit Raubahn and discuss how we will continue to address the threats of more potential weapons from Garlemald.” He sighs, slapping a hand over his face in shame. “But...seeing us there, a few rookies had wanted to see the Brazen Bull and Black Wolf in action...I humbly declined but Raubahn thought a friendly spar would be good for morale.”

She watches as he hazards a glance at her, but her face has frozen in mild shock.

“It had started off completely normal...until I had lost awareness of my surroundings, and took a nasty tumble down the side of a small incline.” He huffs, running a hand through his silken hair. “Raubahn insisted I see a medicus before returning home, but I declined and made the trek here instead. I was...expecting you to be out on business.”

It is silent for a few moments more as she continues to stare at him.

And then she laughs.

Twelve above, it is probably the ugliest laugh she has ever released in a good while, but she cannot help herself as she drops the gauze from her hand and nearly keels over from laughter.

From the corners of her eyes, tears spring and she can see Gaius’ pout become more pronounced as he yanks the gauze she dropped and continues to wrap his wounds himself. “I’m glad you find it so amusing.” He drones as her cheeks begin to hurt.

“Oh goodness,” She practically wheezes, a giggle slipping out here or there. “Oh your poor pride. I hope they didn’t laugh at you too hard.” She titters, smacking his hands away so that she can bandage him up properly.

“No. Unlike you they were actually concerned for my well being and didn’t laugh.” He snaps, throwing her an angry look, but she’s known him long enough to tell it has no bite to it. She can see that while embarrassed, her laughter has at least redirected her concern from thinking he had gotten into some terrible battle without telling her.

“I am concerned!” She snickers, reaching to peck his cheek. His resulting grumble only amuses her further as she feels his skin heat up beneath her touch. “How about I make your favorite tea, hmm? I’m sorry for laughing at you.”

Fixing her with an unamused expression, he rolls his eyes. “Very well.”

Yanelis reaches to give him another kiss on the cheek but Gaius quickly turns his face to where her lips meet his. Flushing red, she sits back down, hands flying up to her petal soft lips as she takes in his bemused expression. Chuckling, he gives her a solid pat on the thigh before standing and heading toward the kitchen.

“There. Now we’re even.”

#Gaius van Baelsar #FFXIV #Final Fantasy XIV #ff14 #Gaius #faunna #drabble

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thronesofshadows · 3 years

Text

Rebound || Lydia & Evelyn

TIMING: Shortly after Lydia’s wing heals PARTIES: @inspirationdivine & @thronesofshadows LOCATION: Evelyn’s home, Harris Island SUMMARY: Lydia is a good friend.

Her back was still pink tinged. If she was entirely honest with herself, it still hurt, her skin prickled under the shift of every piece of clothing, but it was all worth it. Everything grown back, everything healed. She was whole again. So Lydia was dressed in a figure hugging skirt that glittered like emeralds and sapphires, with large puffy shoulders and a drop down her back. She looked incredible, and while her security guards were waiting in the car parked outside Evelyn’s home, she also felt invincible, for a moment, as she rang the doorbell. “Hello darling, it is ever so good to see you again!”

She was quite pleased that Lydia was coming over. Not only because it had to mean that she must have been feeling better, but because she was another someone who Evelyn had found herself growing incredibly fond of in the months that the two knew one another. Besides, it gave her another excuse to dress up - in a deep red dress that accentuated her waist before flaring out in the skirt. As if on cue, she heard the doorbell ring and she breezed over, opening the door, a smile crossing her lips. “I could very much say the same about you. You look absolutely beautiful as well, if I do say so.” Moving to the side, she motioned for Lydia to follow her inside. “I am so pleased to have you over. Is there anything in particular that you would wish to do first? My sitting room is often a popular spot to be, but I have many other rooms and would be happy to show you anything you would like.”

“Thank y-” Lydia faltered, because she really ought to know better than to speak thanks so easily. “It has been lovely to have an excuse to dress up too. I haven’t been out much as of recently.” That was no secret. As she stepped into Evelyn’s home, she shed her glamour. Her ears extended up to the crown of her head, and her wings unfurled like bright sunflowers, her firefly shells yellow and brown, her fresh wing fluttering weakly. “Oh, I'd love to have a tour of your home, if that’s what you’re offering. Anyway, my dear, most importantly, how are you?”

“Not a problem.” Evelyn replied with a wave of her hand. “I certainly could never fault anyone for wishing for an excuse to dress up.” She watched Lydia transform as she entered Evelyn’s home, and she had to admit that she was more than a bit transfixed. “You are beautiful.” Her hand flew up to cover her mouth and she offered Lydia a sheepish grin. “I am offering. I do not need to show you everywhere, as that might take up far too much time and it seems useless to spend time together simply showing off my home.” She gave a small shrug at the question. “Complicated. I mean - better?” She bit her lip. “Not totally better, clearly. However, better than I was before.” She began to walk down her hallway, taking a turn and pointing toward the kitchen. “That is the kitchen. It is stocked with some basics, but I do not use it very much. I have been told it is to die for. Makes some people jealous.” She looked over towards the other woman again. “I am very glad you have the time to spend with me. Truly.”

Lydia smirked at the compliment, preening. She flicked her wings playfully, affection bubbling out of her as Evelyn looked sheepishly back at her. “I dress to impress, my dear. That said, you’re rather breathtaking too.” She shook her head. “There is no such thing as time wasted when it is spent with friends. “ All the same, she followed Evelyn into her kitchen, looking around as Evelyn described how she was feeling. Or rather, didn’t describe it at all. “Not totally better, but improved. And might I ask why you needed the improvement in the first place? You can talk to me, you know. I wouldn’t divulge anything said in confidence.”

The kitchen was to die for, that much was true. Lydia looked around, but her gaze just kept drifting back to Evelyn. “It is beautiful. Although I don’t eat this kind of food either, I have always enjoyed preparing it for guests and the like. It is a beautiful kitchen.” Lydia smiled at Evelyn, and gave her arm a soft squeeze. “Always, my dear. Always.”

“Well, I suppose I ought to have not expected anything else.” Evelyn grinned. “Well, that means a lot, coming from you.” She let her lips pucker for a moment as if in thought before glancing down. “Well, it is still appreciated, and I am glad to be a friend, continuously and constantly.” At Lydia’s question, she shrugged. “Break up.” She glanced up at the other woman, eyes growing wide. “I apologize, that was blunter than I intended. I was seeing someone and we are no longer seeing one another, and apparently break ups do more for my self-esteem than I would have previously imagined. Which is why I asked if you cared about me.”

She could feel the other woman’s gaze on her and it did, for a moment, allow her to relax. “I used to watch my cooks prepare food, though I am not much of an expert. I do find that making certain things can be satisfying, particularly for those who can actually eat.” Evelyn shrugged. “Besides, I felt as though I ought to show you my place, and I am pleased you were able to feel safe enough to come by. Unfortunately, given my species, I cannot have any sort of guard animal, though I am rather effective at dealing with would-be intruders, should the occasion arise. It - it has not, though. At least not in years.” She wrapped her arms around her torso as she made her way out of the kitchen, turning in the hallway to the dining room. “Another room that I often have no use for, but it does make for a nice space to read or do work, on occasion, when I do not wish to do so in my office at the bar.” She unwrapped her arms and reached out briefly, brushing her fingertips against Lydia’s arm. “My sitting room and the rest of my house are rather a bit more exciting than these, I must say. Shall we?”

“Break up?” Lydia repeated, sympathetically. “I am ever so sorry to hear that. Was it your decision, or theirs? Break ups are difficult regardless, but if they weren’t worth continuing then they aren’t worth letting affect your self esteem. Which is easier said than done.” For a brief moment, she wondered if this was why she had been invited over, as a replacement for the break up. Lydia looked at Evelyn appraisingly and concluded she wouldn’t have an issue if that was the case. Quite the contrary. Much more likely, the mushrooms were making her more enthusiastic towards such activities than she normally was, as they did every year. “You remain worthy of love irregardless of the circumstances.”

“Oh, certainly. There’s something wonderful about feeling like you’re nurturing someone else, both body and soul. It was one of the jarring things of growing up catholic, where feeding people is so revered, when we don’t eat food as a family.” Lydia replied, reminiscing on her childhood. She was under no illusions that humans enjoyed nurturing her, but that was their lot, regardless of whether they liked it or not. “If you can treat people like you did that painting, I’m not worried in the slightest.” Lydia laughed airily, as if it didn’t bother her, but it far too airy, put on to convince herself. She leant into Evelyn’s brief touch, brightening back up into a genuine in a smile “Let’s. That said, you could show me the phone book and I would still be interested. I’m thoroughly enjoying the company.”

“Mine.” Evelyn bit her lip. “Which, well - it gives me a certain sense of power over it, but it does not mean that I feel any less sour about the fact, however childish this must make me seem, Lydia.” She looked over to the other woman kindly, readjusting her posture as she felt Lydia's eyes on her. For whatever Lydia might have wanted, Evelyn found that whenever she was in the other woman’s presence she always wanted to make the very best of impressions. Even if she already believed that Lydia thought highly of her, she wished to remain in the other woman’s good favor. “I appreciate that. I was informed that I believe nobody could love me. Which is admittedly perhaps more true than I might wish to believe.”

“I agree - I grew up in the Church of England, though I was made to be as human as possible. All credit to my father, who was human himself. Forgive me if I am repeating myself, I have found myself growing closer with more people than before, and rather alright with telling them about my past.” Evelyn glanced down at her feet. “I can indeed.” She felt herself blush at Lydia’s comments, “well, I could say much the same of you. However, I do not plan to read the phone book.” She wrapped her arm around Lydia’s and led her over to the sitting room. “I find it nice to come here and read when I am not in my bedroom, and the doors open right onto my beach.” She turned back over to Lydia, her body continuing to relax in the older woman’s presence. “It is a nice space to spend one’s time. Shall we move along? Unless you find yourself wishing to rest, which I would be more than happy to do. Whatever makes you feel at your best.”

“It doesn’t make you seem childish at all,” Lydia replied, putting her hand on the back of Evelyn’s shoulder. “Love is as fickle as a mushroom. You don’t realise how deep and far it stretches until it is gone, leaving the rest of the soil all the poorer for it.” Lydia thought back to her last love, the bright moments where her world had burned like a furnace with the heat of their passion, and the dwindling cold that eventually grew as icy as death itself. “By that point, it doesn’t really matter who said the final words. Especially when its followed with barbs like that one. Ouch. They really didn’t deserve you, my love.”

“Oh, at least I was raised as a catholic fae. Our bible looks rather different, you’d be surprised,” Lydia said with a smile, “You aren’t repeating yourself, and you don’t have to apologise for telling people about yourself, my dear. You can act like you’re the most interesting person in the room, because you usually are.” Lydia teased, following Evelyn into the sitting room. “This is beautiful, you must have the most amazing view. I’m sure you impress all your guests like this.”

“Well I am ever so grateful to hear that.” Evelyn nodded. “I should quite hate the idea of ever being childish. I am not certain I was childish even as a child, so it would be quite a bit odd to be so now, I think.” She shrugged at Lydia’s next words. “I am not certain I understand love, if I am to be honest. Perhaps that is why I was told that I believe nobody could love me. It was quite a terrible sort of barb, I think.” It still made her skin crawl, particularly given that those words still wouldn't leave her mind. “You are far too kind to me, Lydia.”

“Oh?” Evelyn looked at her companion again. “I imagine that I would be, though that sounds - well, it sounds sort of nice. I was, as previously stated, raised as human as could be. Made me bedridden, sometimes. I may have a human father but a lack of subsisting on fear does not go over well for me in the long run. Not at all, really.” She sat down. “Well, I take your words to heart and I appreciate them incredibly. I am indeed often one of the most interesting people in the room, though right now that may be ever so slightly up for debate.” She brushed her hand against Lydia’s arm. “It is a wonderful view, and it is a handy method of impressing others, but I do not always have tons of guests. I am a bit selective. I only prefer the company of those with whom I properly enjoy my time.”

“I’m so, so, sorry. No matter how valuable the connection with your human family, there is always something left to be desired. No one I know raised only by humans has found this easy.” Lydia squeezed Evelyn’s hand, thinking about Remmy, and Regan, and all the other lost souls she’d picked up over the course of the year. She really did think her words were comforting, even though they were not. But as the topic turned to easier, funner things, she followed with a smile and a flirty laugh. “Then that is something we should let lesser mortals debate. I will just stand here and enjoy your presence,” Lydia teased back. Sometimes, one had to be bold. She could handle a little rejection, and Evelyn could use the confidence boost, whichever way she replied. Lydia smiled, looked down at Evelyn’s hand on her arm. “That I can believe. Although, I imagine the view from your bedroom is nicer. If you would like to share it.”

“I would agree - and you know more people?” Evelyn’s eyes widened for a single moment. She’d met a few people who had experienced that since moving to town, but it still felt few and far between. “I - if they ever wish to meet me, I might like that.” She knew that sometimes people looked down on her for having a human parent, though she consistently reminded herself that this was through no fault of her own. She had enough people - Deirdre, Miriam - who knew where she had come from and who still accepted her for who she was. “I mean, I am never opposed to having others enjoy my presence, if I am to be quite blunt.” She used her free hand to brush a strand of hair behind her ear. “Certain views are, very much so.” She let a small, teasing smile cross her lips. “I think that we can end there, as a matter of fact. I might have some ideas that could well keep us occupied for at least a bit of time.” Evelyn stood up for a moment, letting Lydia follow suit. “Follow me.”

#wickedswriting #c lydia #chatzy #rebound #// this is old but we both had hiatuses and other things #pls enjoy soft times #i love lydia and i love immo so so very much

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mareebird · 4 years

Text

a wee fic for sunday night

By request, from @diggerkaren: “"How about a side trip in the Relic universe - where Nebula and Rocket come to visit Thor.... Has Loki met Nebula before?"

So this takes place in the Relic universe, but Relic isn’t totally Infinity War or Endgame compliant, so I’ve taken a few liberties. Nebula has never met Thor, but Rocket still has. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but I don’t think it’s going to hurt anyone’s brain too much.

Rated: Teen and Up, TW: Serious physical injury; Wordcount: 3977

Read on Ao3, or below here on Tumblr...

The Relic is also on Ao3

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

I Got Better (by Mareebird)

As usual, they needed to make a side trip. “Needed” to make one. Nothing could ever be over and done when traveling with her sister’s friends. Rocket tried Nebula’s patience sometimes. There was always some item the small creature needed to buy (or steal) or a person he wanted to see (or rob). She did not care, not in any moralistic sense, but there was never anything quick about it and she hated wasting time.

They had been in New York for a day, dropping off equipment to Tony Stark. It was what they had come to do. It was a regular delivery, one they made every few months, in Rocket’s modified Class-M. Nebula did not typically come along, because she did not like Earth, but Rocket needed a co-pilot, and all of the capable members of their team were otherwise occupied. Not even the Flora Colossus had come along. He was shedding leaves and needed privacy. Nebula suspected that it was code for something and she did not want to know what.

It was her first time seeing Tony. Nebula was glad the man had lived. He seemed happy. He had a wife and child. She told the softer, organic parts of her brain not to think about what might have been, had she needed more oxygen and food while the two of them were adrift on the Benatar. Tony was fortunate to have been trapped with her, of all possible companions, although it would have been easier to survive had he been alone. Nebula could have lasted for months on her own, if she cared to go on that long. Tony had kept her alive in his own way.

She enjoyed hugging Tony and his family when they said hello and goodbye. She did not hug any of the other humans they encountered. Perhaps they thought it might offend her. They would not have been entirely wrong. No one dared to touch Rocket at all.

After one night of sleep, it was time to depart, but not for home. Unfortunately. They needed to make their quick side trip first.

“Where is this Norway?” asked Nebula. “And is this absolutely necessary?”

“I just want to see how an old friend is doing,” said Rocket.

Nebula scowled. Rocket did not have old friends. He barely had new ones. They were similar that way, but she strapped into her seat without comment. Arguing was merely a waste of time on top of what was already going to be a waste of time.

And she hated wasting time.

Norway, as it turned out, was on the same planet as New York, to the east and slightly north. The flight was short, but the star Sol was straight overhead by the time they touched down. They landed in a remote field, at coordinates which Tony had given. It lay several miles from where Rocket’s friend had been conducting...whatever it was he that was doing here. Apparently, this friend was not native to Earth. That he happened to be here at the same time was fortuitous, if only for the fact that it saved time. Nebula made peace with letting it play out. Interference would only lengthen their stay.

They had arranged to meet Rocket’s friend at a safe distance from the city, so as not to cause alarm. Earthlings were embarrassingly skittish. The field in which they landed was pocked with rocks and patches of snow. It was pretty, in a barren, naturalistic sort of way. There were mountains in every direction. It could not have been more different from New York. Nebula had not been aware that places like this still existed on Earth, unruined.

Rocket unfastened his flight restraints. “You coming?”

Nebula shrugged. Her intention was to stay inside and let Rocket take care of whatever this was on his own. “Is it necessary?”

He rolled his eyes. “Suit yourself, friendly.”

Through the view-shield, she watched him march steadily through the field, frowning to herself. Sometimes, Nebula wished she was not the way that she was. Then again, someone would probably die if she allowed herself to become as easily distracted as the rest of them.

Rocket’s friend was not alone when he appeared on the horizon. They were so far off that Nebula first mistook the figures for a ripple in the wind. She honed in on the pair with her artificial eye, curious as to what sort of deplorable miscreants Rocket considered his buddies. They were two males, Terran in appearance. Both were tall, nicely-built specimens. Nebula wondered if she wanted to say hello to them after all. Her remaining organic parts still appreciated the company of attractive people. One man had light hair, the other, black.

And he was familiar.

The black-haired one, fox-faced and angular and...

Her bald brow furrowed like a cabbage as she leaned closer to the view-shield and a chill rippled down her spine. Her organic parts, it seemed, could also still react to shock.

Nebula threw off her flight restraints and ran outside, tearing through the dead grass at full speed.

“You’re alive!” she cried out.

The black-haired man’s eyes sharpened on her while she was still far away. He leaped backward and, for a flash, appeared as though he might bolt, like he was laying eyes on a predator, which was fair enough.

The other man simply looked confused, as did Rocket, but he raised a hand to hold her off, positioning himself in the center of it all. He was ruddy and muscular and effortlessly in command.

Nebula halted. She did not blame the man for attempting to run, nor did she underestimate him. He was Asgardian. (Well, really he was Jotun, that was detail.) He was an Asgardian prince. But more importantly, he was one of the finest fighters she’d ever sparred against, if you could call her father’s predilections training. They were more...exercises in survival.

She had to stop calling Thanos that. Father. He was not her father.

“Loki?” She uttered his name cautiously, but she knew it was him. Those eyes were unforgettable, deep-set and haunted. She knew that he recognized her, too, the way that the harrowing memories of their time together splintered in his gaze like broken glass. The face that surrounded them was a little different. Older. His youth was utterly gone. When they met, he had almost looked like a boy.

Nebula wondered if her face would ever change, or would parts of her simply fall off as time passed? She tried to be pragmatic about such things, because what was the alternative? But that Loki had aged at all, that he was alive, that he was actually standing before her -- it was almost more than her brain, sharp as it was, could process.

How was this possible? Thanos had hunted Loki like a cat after the last mouse in the universe. And by the story he told after leaving the Asgardians behind, he might as well have come home with a tail between his teeth.

“Hey, you know Nebs?” This came from Rocket, who sounded more concerned than impatient for once. Slowly, Loki nodded.

“Norns…” breathed the other man -- the taller, thicker, fair-haired one. “She’s one of Thanos’s daughters, isn’t she?”

Nebula grit her teeth. The other man was Thor -- Nebula realized it all once. The other Asgardian prince…the older one...was he the Allfather now? Loki’s brother.

Thor had been a mark. He had been part of the reason why Thanos wanted to train Loki in the first place, rather than kill the poor boy straight away, when he first arrived at Sanctuary. It was surreal to see him on the flesh, standing before her. He looked so different than the person she had been shown, and nothing at all like Loki, but there was no reason to expect that he would.

What were the two of them doing in Norway?

Except for the fact that Asgard no longer existed.

Loki cleared his throat. He put on a smile, of all things, and returned to the group. “Forgive me for reacting as I did. Old habits.”

“I don’t blame you,” she said coolly.

Rocket snapped his fingers until everyone looked down. Being the size that he was, it was necessary for him to be rude to get attention -- or at least, that was his excuse. “Hey, I’m dying to know the story. Really, I am. But is there any chance we could catch up, I don’t know, indoors? And not in the middle of a frozen wasteland.”

Nebula was vaguely offended. She blinked at the mountains in the distance. It was beautiful here. But Thor waved a hand and ushered them forward. “Right. The portal is at the bottom of the hill.”

With a glance over his shoulder, Rocket jogged ahead. Nebula lingered, standing very still, as did Loki, as though he expected her to wait. “I was told you were dead,” she said. “Thanos told everyone about what happened on that ship.”

Loki’s eyelids fluttered. And then, with a wry smile, he patted his chest, proving how solid he was. “Surely, you think more highly of me than that.”

Nebula did not laugh. There was nothing funny about this.

He gestured that they ought to catch up. “I’ll explain once we get into town.”

---

The next few minutes of their journey would remain a blur in Nebula’s mind. Loki brought them through a portal, one which he may or may not have created himself. Passages through magical doorways did funny things to her non-organic parts. It never lasted very long, and she had only traveled using them a handful of times, but It always left her feeling staticky and dull until the effects faded. It was an annoyance, but she couldn’t do anything about it.

All she could recall was following everyone, like the runt of a litter, as the mountains transmuted to a seaside street, until her fleshy brain and cybernetics synced up with one another. With a jolt, Nebula realized that she was sitting in a hard chair, indoors. There was a table in front of her. There was a cup of something hot in her hand.

She tilted her head.

She was in...a coffee shop?

Two tables had been pushed together, around which, in addition to herself, Loki, Thor, and Rocket were seated. At the counter, a human man and woman were buying drinks. They finished, turned around, and offered polite smiles as they passed.

Nebula anxiously flexed her blue hands and vaguely recalled Loki saying something about casting a spell on her and Rocket, so that they would appear Midgardian. Human. Apparently, it was not something she could see with her own eyes. Pity. She was curious what sort of disguise Loki would choose to paint on her.

But not curious enough to ask. The longer Nebula thought about it, the less she wanted to come face-to-face with a flesh-and-blood version of herself, free of the metal that held her together.

A bell jingled as the door closed. The woman behind the counter circled around and locked it. Apparently, she was an insider to their meeting. She was a woman of average height and build, for a human. She sat down next to Loki and Nebula noted the way he leaned ever so slightly into her presence at the table.

So, not only was Loki alive, but he was apparently doing well for himself. It still boggled her mind.

Though it did make her feel slightly less guilty for what had happened between them. That horrific moment. Involuntarily, she shivered. She hoped no one noticed.

“All right,” said Rocket, “now that we’re alone, time to tell the story.”

“There isn’t much to say, other than the obvious,” said Nebula. She lifted her coffee to her lips and took a sip and hoped no one had noticed just how dazed she had been seconds ago. “We trained together. Briefly. All of Thanos’s children did.”

It was not the whole truth. That wasn’t hers to tell his people.

Across from her, Loki lifted his heavy brows, but he did not comment. Rocket shifted in his chair, trying to get a little more height at the table. “Right,” he said, “but training with you was top of the class, wasn’t it, Nebs?”

Was that a compliment? She shrugged. “Thanos wanted Loki trained quickly.”

“I think I learned more from you than a thousand years on Asgard,” said Loki. She noted a tightening of his throat, as well as his fist around his drink. He looked to be drinking tea, not coffee.

Nebula remembered pitying him when he’d first arrived, even though there had been no logical reason to care about a fallen Asgardian prince. Pity was a dangerous thing. She knew that far too well. “But how are you still alive?”

Whatever was left of Loki’s thin smile vanished, like a shadow blotting out a little sliver of sun. The woman beside Loki turned ashen, as well. Nebula wondered if she had been given her name. She did not remember.

With gravity, Loki turned his eyes upon his brother.

Thor shifted his weight against his seat. “I brought him back using magic, I suppose you could say.”

Nebula lifted her brows, or what sufficed for them on her face.

“And not to forget,” said Loki, “there are times when one benefits from having a sister who guards the gates of Hel.”

“So you were dead?” Nebula asked.

“I got better.”

Everyone chuckled. Everyone except her. She did not understand why they laughed.

But she was not one of them. And they were not her. And they had not been there the day Thanos shipped her off to Ronan. Only Loki had been there. Only Loki knew.

So why did he laugh, too?

Her organic parts felt numb.

----

Nebula never finished her coffee. She’d never cared for the drink all that much. Mild stimulants were fairly useless. What she really wanted was strong alcohol, but it was clear she wasn’t going to be offered any. Rocket had a supply on the ship. She would help herself to it later. He would get pissed off, but he wouldn’t get in her way.

She didn’t divorce herself from the rest of the conversation, not completely; she tried her best to focus. She was good at that, focusing on two things at once; the others probably couldn’t tell that her mind was elsewhere. She suspected Loki could tell, though. His mind was probably stuck on the same thing as hers.

His eyes were glassy.

It was Rocket who rose first, signalling their exit. He was satisfied to hear that Thor was doing well. Nebula did not fully understand his concern, and she assumed she would never hear the full story. Once they left, Rocket would move on to other things and so would she. Thor seemed well enough, aside the missing eye. She knew what that was like.

Rocket tried to make a trade for the eye, but Thor didn’t accept.

Rocket was disgusting sometimes. Nebula didn’t know why she enjoyed traveling with him so much, except that he was the least idiotic member of their little crew. Except for her sister, of course, but that was a given.

She pushed her mug aside and stood. Good-byes were said. Thor hugged Rocket, which was a sight to behold. Maybe the little beast was a niche interest.

No one hugged her, not even Loki, though she hadn’t expected he would. They weren’t old friends; they had briefly been in the same place at the same time. Nebula dipped her head in a formal farewell. Chances were slim they would ever run into one another again. “It was good to see you,” she said.

Loki bowed. Stiffly. When he rose, his face was drawn, and he looked somehow older still. He lifted his eyes over Nebula’s shoulder, to the door, through the tiny window. “Actually, would you mind if we spoke in private? Just for a minute.”

Nebula blinked. She did not want to waste time. She glanced over her shoulder at Rocket and Thor, still chatting outside. Laughing loudly. She wondered what on earth Loki was doing to shield his non-human appearance, because Thor was still looking at the ground when they spoke. Was Rocket playing the role of a foul-mouthed child?

The blond woman whispered something in Loki’s ear and shuffled outside. Their eyes met. The door shifted into its latch with a click and Loki locked his hands behind his back. She remembered that stance and how his limbs went rigid when he was frightened. Was he frightened now? What did he intend to say?

Nebula tilted her weight from hip to hip. “Your woman seems nice,” she said.

Loki made a funny sound, losing some, but hardly all, of the tension in his jaw. “I’ll tell her you said so.”

He stared at her, then, taking too much time. Slowly, he drew a breath in and out of his nostrils. Nebula’s chest tightened.

“I wanted to say thank you,” he said. Nebula felt the floor tilt beneath her feet. Thank her? For what? The corners of Loki’s mouth twitched, as though he had felt the little earthquake himself. “You’re surprised.”

“I…” Nebula opened her mouth to discover it had gone dry. She tried to clear her throat. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Isn’t that the point?”

The image of Loki suddenly wavered before her, like water over a pane of glass. “I…”

“You could have finished me off,” he said.

“Your back was broken.” She sent it bluntly, like she was finding her voice, like it was an excuse. It was. But Nebula had never spared anyone else during Thanos’s training sessions.

Loki unclenched his hands long enough to massage his right hip. The fated moment flashed in her mind, not for the first time today. His blood curdling scream, his bent body.

“I was the one who broke it,” she said.

Loki shrugged, as though he disagreed, somehow. “I tripped.”

“Hardly.” She swallowed, and then she whispered. “But it was not intentional.”

“I know. Just as I know you could have finished me then and there, but chose not to. You could have impressed your father. I’m sorry. Thano--” Loki’s voice wavered before grinding to a halt. His Adam’s apple lifted high and fell.

“He was not my father,” she said quickly. “And nothing I ever did impressed him, anyway.”

Loki nodded, his eyes taking on a far-away glint. He blinked and it vanished, like one of the tricks that he’d shown off before every playful impulse had been beaten out of him at Sanctuary.

What happened that day felt as though it had taken place in another lifetime, but it had not been so long ago. Still, it seemed like someone else’s life that she’d been living, a person without freedom, without control over her own mind. She had jobs to do; occasionally training her father’s latest acquisitions was one of those jobs.

She’d been fucking fed up with it. She’d known all about Thor and about Odin, or as much as Thanos had wanted her to know. She'd known Loki was the younger brother of the future Allfather, the son of the current Allfather -- and she'd known he was no Asgardian.

She'd had every intention of proving that.

Loki’d spoken of impressing Thanos, but he’d gotten it completely backward. She was sick of the game, sick of her father, sick to death of herself. What was Loki to her, but the latest in a long, long line of challengers to her fly-speck of a purpose in this damned galaxy? Another thorn in what remained of her hide. He was a threat. Nothing but a threat.

He’d proven a more worthy opponent than his meager, hungry look suggested, but Nebula underestimated no one. She remembered it was raining that day. Thanos preferred they train in real conditions, real settings. He obsessed on being one with nature, which was why it was such cruel punishment to cut her up after every failure and, piece by piece, slowly turn her into a machine.

If she killed Loki, she would at least be spared that. For only a day, perhaps, but her life was a day-by-day existence, minute-by-minute. She numbered her small victories and her even smaller rewards.

Loki tripped that day, but in reality the water-logged ground beneath him had given way. The earth swallowed him. The fall alone should have been his end. Perhaps he would have been luckier to die, but Nebula suspected the man had never possessed a lot of that. Luck. Neither had she. People like them scraped through life without luck.

The sound that erupted from his twisted body was the most agonizing noise she had ever heard, minus her own screams, when Thanos spliced her into pieces.

He never bothered to dull the pain. He always made sure it hurt, that it was flame and agony. He made sure everyone heard her scream until she begged for release. Until he was satisfied that everyone knew that the Mad Titan could make a machine weep real tears.

Nebula remembered tearing down the wet hill, over the rocks, through the mud. She’d been shocked to see that Loki was still alive, but he was a retching, shivering, gnarled mess. She remembered her hands shaking just as much as she stupidly reached for him. Stupid, stupid girl! She remembered the blood and snot and mud slapped across his youthful face.

Her heart exploded. And then came the frigid snap of numbness, shock, and disbelief.

Loki was nothing to her, nothing except a threat. Thanos had plans for him, plans he did not have for her. She ought to have ended Loki, thwart her father and remain blameless, because it was her job to weed out the weak.

Loki was nothing. Nothing.

The poor boy was nothing...

Nebula recalled the shouting of her father’s footsoldiers in the distance, racing toward them to assay the damage. Loki drew a sharp breath and held it, lifting his eyes, not blinking as the rain pelted them.

He knew. He knew he was nothing to her, to anyone. He was a prince who would never be a king, a son without a father, without a family, and now he was physically broken. Nebula had every right and reason to put him out of his misery. He wanted her to do it.

But it was too late. Loki had already become something to her.

She could not kill him.

That night, her father tore out what little flesh still remained in her left hand.

Loki went on to do terrible things. So had she.

There were years behind them, now. Thanos had bragged about finally catching the younger Asgardian prince. She’d made peace with his death, because what else could she do, but apparently Loki had more luck that she realized. If she had not spared him that day, perhaps his brother never would have been able to ultimately revive him.

And now, as she stared at his gently lined face in a Norwegian coffee shop, she was happy to see that he’d had the opportunity to leave his youth behind.

“I wish you safe travels,” said Loki, “wherever you’re off to next.”

“Back… Back to where my sister is.” Nebula dipped her head, bowing her farewell and blinking quickly, before she teared up. It wreaked havoc on her cybernetic parts. “What happened to Asgard was...unfortunate. I’m sorry.”

“Yes, well, I have my brother. Sometimes that’s all the home you get.”

Nebula almost laughed. She turned toward the door. “How is your back, by the way?”

“Honestly, it was never quite the same, but it could have been far worse.”

She nodded. “Yes. It could have been much worse.”

#I Got Better #nebula #loki #thor #relic universe

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