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#cuz people have told me it feels like you’re floating
bjurnberg · 8 months
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Just got my first root canal done and had a bad reaction to the laughing gas. We took it off and waited for me to recover before starting the procedure, and I’m sure the only reason I kept my sanity for the next two and a half hours was my fidget cube.
The nose mask of laughing gas took forever to kick in, but the second it did was AWFUL. Felt like my lungs and rib cage were a cartoon beehive that’d been kicked. Angry bees inside me. My entire skin tried to crawl away. That’s when I freaked out and we took the mask off. Then I started sobbing uncontrollably. Couldn’t stop for ten minutes. Mentally I was clear and trying to stop, but my body wouldn’t respond to my brain. Never doing that again.
My dentist and nurse were very kind and patient the whole time, stopping when I needed a breather. I’m glad I have dental insurance now but wow does the process suck.
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neytris · 1 year
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Hey girly, what’s up???
loving the Neytiri pfp as always💕💕
Also,I just had to touch on this subject but idk about Jamie flatters unfollowing James Cameron and the cast on instagram or whateves but he’s in the cast for Avatar3. (I feel like maybe James told him to do that to not give away the plot of the movie and make it seem like he won’t come back?)
look at it on IMDb (I think that’s a more official site tbh- I hope he’ss in the next movie, Neteyam is way too popular and has created a lot of new loyal fans and I think James Cameron would lose a lot of the fan base if he decided not to add him to the next movie. I know a lot would want to stop watching or might not do as many theater repeats as with atwow. 🚨Spoiler alert for next movie(maybe)Also, there are theory’s floating around based on leaked scripts from avatar 3 and some pics of spider that spider will have a kuru and that he’ll be breathing pandora air just fine without the mask and norm supposedly asks him in the script something like “spider, you’re breathing without the mask?”(or something like that) and he’s like “yea, I’m kinda an expert at it now” and plus at the L.A. exhibition (I think it was L.A.) it showed spider in the water without a mask. I mean I know he wouldn’t need one in the water but like it kinda proves this and plus the photo floating around of spider with a kuru??? Also, the script for A3 also showed Kiri having another seizure or hearing some voices when she connects to the tree of souls(I think?) and mo’at telling her to not tell anyone about it. (Idk if that part relates to what I’m writing but oh well)
basically what I’m trying to get at is that if the next movie is really called “The Seed Bearer,” it would make sense as Kiri is so close to Eywa and it would probably show her powers growing and if she really does that to spider I feel like she’ll also eventually revive Grace(it just makes sense for some reason like Grace being revived and the whole mom thing with Grace and Neytiri-at least maybe in the future movies?? Like idk why but I have a really strong hunch about it) then ofc Neteyam will also be alive?
I hope that wasn’t too difficult to explain, it was kinda a messy but hopefully it made sense to you?🥲 lol
Cast of A3:
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he’s also in the cast for A4. I tried looking at the cast for A5 but it just showed the adults(Jake, Neytiri, Norm, Grace, Tonowari and some doctors but not Ronal?? BUT LIKE SIGOURNEY WEAVER IS THERE AS GRACE AND NOT AS KIRI??? so like maybe the movie focuses on the adults and so that obviously means that Grace is alive and has been revived and if she’s alive and revived then that obviously means Neteyam too??!! Lmao I’m freaking out cuz I just thought of this right now as I was typing and now I’m super excited. guys, we’re not delulus after all😭❤️❤️❤️
Neteyam alive and thriving as he should🤧💞
hey munchkin 🫶🏻 thank you mwa mwa !
firstly, thanks for sending me this long-ass theory omg ! a part of me truly wants to believe you but i don’t think grace and neteyam are coming back. at all. not even with kiri’s powers. i mean, maybe we’ll see them in flashbacks/spirit tree scenes but that’s it… i saw that whole spider-breathing-the-pandoran-air-without-a-mask thingy too and i’m like 99% sure kiri gave him that “power” but for some odd reason, i don’t think she’ll be able to revive people :(
what if the “script” is not real. like i’m genuinely thinking that right now… i also do think kiri won’t have another seizure because… it’ll kill her? no? that is if i recall correctly lmao.
don’t get me wrong, i wanna see grace and teyam as much as the next person but i just can’t see that happening, yknow… probably because i don’t trust imdb either lol. i do want to be proved wrong tho ! teyam’s just sleeping. he’s such a heavy sleeper 🧘🏼‍♀️🕯
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napping-sapphic · 6 months
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hey i read your latest post n wanted to know that sometimes it happen to feel like this, I know it's shitty cuz I had a TERRIBLE year last school n felt super down all the time n unloved. But there was more in me and so in you! You are an amazing person ( at least from what I'm reading in your blog) and I'm sure you'll find the love you deserve and you're searching for n it'll be worth every minute you've been waiting for that love to come, ok? But until then try to love yourself a lil ok? Give yourself that lil care you'd use for your partner: if your hypothetical gf told you or wrote you that she's exhausted n feels unloved what would you do? Spoil her a little and show her that you care. Well, you gotta do the same! Give yourself a joy chocolate or a warm bubbly bath or whatever floats your boat, and try to connect with your friends n communicate how you're feeling, I'm sure they'll help you n love you. Sometimes loneliness and isolation due to a bad mood just make you overthink and that's why you gotta meet your family n loved ones! They're the ones that tell your overthinking side to shut the fuck up cuz you're beautiful n caring n amazing n you just gotta understand how AMAZING you are
Srry for the long writing, I just wanted to help a lil n let you know that people care about you, I hope I didn't offend or sound mean...
Here, take some flowers they always make me feel better I love flowers 💐💐✨✨✨
Have a nice dayyy!
-💫
Aw, well thank you! And I’m sorry if that post came off depressing for you or anyone else, looking back it does sound pretty depressing😅 I promise I’m good though! Sometimes it’s just 5am and you gotta let out some more melancholic/existential thoughts ig. Promise I’m not THAT hopeless all the time, it can just feel that way sometimes when you’ve got a lot of other stuff going on too and truthfully most of the time I’m WAY more excited than sad about the potential of love feeling more real for me in the future :)
I’m sorry to hear you’ve had periods like that but I feel like it isn’t an uncommon thing and I hope you remember there are lots of people out there who relate and to take care of yourself too :)
Thank you for the tips and you absolutely didn’t sound mean or offensive, you’re very sweet as always <3 here’s some treats in return for the flowers🎂🍰🍪🍦🍫❤️❤️
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pnk-wasteland · 2 years
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“Are you serious?”
Her voice startled him, and for a second his blood ran cold. He turned, expected an angry expression, or at least a disgusted one. But instead her face was curious, if still a tad disapproving.
“Don’t tell.”
It was all he could manage to say, even though he hated himself for being such a wimp after being caught doing something admittedly terrible. He could only imagine how he would feel if Robin had been the one to find him. Ugh, just thinking about it could make him shiver...
“I won’t,” there was something in the lilt of her voice that let him know there was a follow up.
She came to sit down next to him, feet swinging over the ledge of Titans tower roof, eyeing the white roll of paper and tobacco between his fingers.
“But, why?”
He shrugged, “‘Cuz why not?”
“Those things will kill you, you know.”
The taste of irony is so heavy it makes her bite down on her tongue, because she thinks that out of all the things they’ve experienced, this was probably one of the most normal. Secretly smoking on the rooftop? It was probably the most teenaged thing she’d ever seen him do and it felt, ...nice. It felt nice to feel a shred of anything that wasn’t their day to day heroics. She loved being a hero, of course. Loved saving people. It gave her life purpose. But it came with a high price, and part of that was the expense of their innocence, and the freedom to just be.
His laugh filled the air around them, “Not fast enough.” He raised it to his lips, took a long drag and Raven watched it gently drift off in the light breeze and wisp away until it was no longer.
“I can blow O’s wanna see?”
She smirked, the urge to tease him to strong, “Sure, I’d love to watch you struggle!”
He grinned, “Wanna bet? I’ll prove you wrong right now.”
“I’ll take those odds.”
“What’s you’re wager, Ma’m.”
“If you choke doing your little fancy trick, then you have to agree to quit smoking.”
He looked at her consideringly, “Okay. But if I can do it, then you have to smoke with me!”
Her smile dropped, “No way, that’s not an option.”
“Aw, backing out so soon? But you were so sure of yourself.” He pouts and crosses his arms, mimicking her.
He knows this sets her off, and it works instantly, he sees a fire in those usually dreary eyes and soon she is huffing her agreements and they are shaking hands.
He proceeds to make a dramatic spectacle out of inhaling, dragging it out for as long as he can. Raven is then forced to watch as he pursues his lips, pops his jaw slightly, and creates perfect rings floating up toward the stars above them.
“Damn.” Is all she says, but not looking particularly upset about it.
“You better hold up your end on the deal, Rae.”
“I mean I could always tell Robin...”
“No! No, God no. Never mind, you win.”
“I always do.” She held out her hand, stretching her fingers toward it, “But I think I’ll join you anyways.”
He brightens, and Raven can feel the spark of energy inside him.
He hands it to her, slipping it into her fingers gently. He lingers and Raven knows he’s doing it on purpose and he doesn’t care.
She’s smoked once before, just in ceremony, but this was very different. She coughs almost immediately, handing it back to him while he hands her the water bottle on his other side. Even the taste wasn’t familiar. She gulped down water before turning to him, “What is that?”
“It’s a spliff.” His head tilting, “You didn’t know?”
“What’s a spliff?”
He looked like he was trying not to laugh, the lip over his fang twitching. “Oh god, Rae. I should have told you. I’m sorry, I guess I just assumed you knew!”
“Beastboy, what did you just poison me with?”
“It’s weed mixed with tobacco, I rolled it myself.”
“Weed?!”She was dumb struck, “You smuggled marijuana into the Tower! Under Robs nose?”
Beast boy looks like he’s fighting back laughter again, “Shh, don’t be so loud! His birdy senses will tingle.”
“Beastboy!”
“Yeah, so what?” He sighs, somber, “It’s legal here anyways, what’s the big deal?”
She shakes her head in disbelief. “I’m just amazed at your nerve. I am not bold enough to even think about trying anything like that with Robin around.”
“Yeah, that’s why I was so scared when you caught me, for a second I thought it was him and that I would have to fly off this roof and start my new life as the Jolly Green Giant before he could get his hands on me.”
She chuckles and leans to bump him in the shoulder, “Well Robin can’t phase through walls like I can, but he is a sneaky little spy.”
“And don’t I know it.”
She watched as He took another puff, gazing up at the half crescent. Waning, halfway through the cycle.
The new moon is coming.
“Can I try it again?”
He looks surprised, but happily hands it to her.
She goes gently this time, sipping it like a straw and not taking to much. When she exhales it’s smooth, and she only coughs a little.
When she turns to pass it to him, he has a big goofy grin on his face.
“What?”
“Nothing.” He slides his hand over hers to take it from her, and she raises a questioning eyebrow. She can feel a tingle in her brain and she’s sure that it must be from her second helping.
“You’re just... It’s just nice being up here with you.”
Her face snaps forward and her gaze is locked on the horizon. She desperately wants to pull up her hood. But that would be too obvious. She wonders sometimes if he thinks about how she can feel his emotions rolling off him in waves. His were always crashing over the surface, swallowing him whole from the first day she met him. It’s why she had tried to avoid him for so long. Everything about him was... intense.
“Yeah, it is nice.” She finally agrees.
“We should do this again sometime.”
“Yeah, okay.” She’s not entirely sure if it’s the smoke or the company, but she’s nervous and excited all at once.
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aetherarf · 3 years
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Hi hello i saw your requests are open!! And i dont know if this is allowed but can you do genshin boys caught cheating and they played it off and later on they started to regret what they did and when they found the reader, the reader is now happy or disappeared or idk ITS UP TO YOU TO DEICIDE HEHEHEHE IM SORRY I LOVE READING ANGST SM SO ITS OKAY IF YOU WONT TAKE IT !! YOUR WORKS ARE REALLY GREAT BTW!!! (more than great i mean *chefs kiss*)
Yes I've finally gotten to this one! I hope it's angsty enough for you 😘
[[ WARNING: CHEATING, NON-LETHAL INJURY, ALCOHOL ]]
[[ Summary: Kaeya, Childe, and Diluc end up cheating on their partner... They get caught, not by their partner, but someone else. As the days pass, they begin to regret it... only for their little secret to get back to their lover...
Note, Kaeya's is longest/wordiest cuz I didn't realize I should probably be a bit more brief... Kaeya favouritism lol.
Overall Word Count: 3'602 [rip me]
Kaeya Word Count: 1'841
Childe Word Count: 950
Diluc Word Count: 811 ]]
Kaeya
Distantly, he remembers an old saying from Crepus, in response to his question-- "Why do people drink so much?"
"Well... Alcohol doesn't solve anything, but it can make you forget questions you'd rather not think about."
He understood that as he got older. Why stress, and think about things he could not control? ... Well, maybe he should deal with them, but that's easier said than done when his entire life was on the line. Every night, in the tavern, he drank to forget. Not that he'd admit that to anyone.
And, somehow, he had forgotten more than he'd like to admit. On his lap, a beautiful woman, and he was tugged to a back closet of the Angel's Share. She tasted sweet, like wine and sugar. If it wasn't for an intruder, ( despite the fact that he was the one intruding into staff-only area ) he likely would have had a far better time, to completely lose himself in his inebriation.
"K-Kaeya!" Uh oh, as his vision focused, he could see Diluc's unmistakable silhouette, with that fluffy red hair and broad shoulders. "You," he pointed to the woman, "Out." The woman, not wanting to envoke the wrath of Sir Ragnvindr, running out immediately. But, Diluc didn't let Kaeya out, not that he was fighting to get out. Instead, he walked closer.
"What have you done?" he asked, voice low and full of rage. However, Kaeya could only smile,
"What do you mean, Master Ragnvindr?" He asked, all sly.
"You cheater," he snapped, "You do know that wasn't your partner? The one you swore yourself to? They were just looking for you, you know." He was nearly yelling, forcing his voice low...
And that, that idea, the realization of everything hit him harder than even the biggest bomb's that Klee had ever made. He... did.
"Look," The world was no longer warm an fuzzy, just a little shift away from his normal reality, everything crashing down. The thoughts that haunted him when you slept so peacefully in his arms, when he would see the knights laughing and smiling together, the ever-haunting knowledge that he was alone amongst them...
The way only you did not have that odd look in your eye, of wonder upon seeing something unique, or of something alien that terrified... You only looked at him as what he wished to be seen-a person.
And here he went, fucking it all up.
"Look," he said again, tears in his eye, "You, you can't tell anyone," He all but snapped at Diluc, who's eyes widened in shock, "I-I wouldn't tell if you did it, you have to do the same for me," he promised, desperately trying to think of what to do...
"Kaeya, this isn't about me, this is about you and-and them," Diluc didn't even need to say the name, "You're better than this, I won't tell, but only if you do."
Kaeya's brows furrowed, he wasn't used to feeling so... betrayed. Normally, it was expected, but this... but this was different! Wasn't it...?
"It has nothing to do with you, I... I can deal with it on my own, 'Luc." He insisted, straightening out his back. He was only a tiny bit taller than Diluc, but he wanted to hold it over him, to prove he wasn't going to let him use him over his... his mistake.
"Kaeya," his voice was... softer. Kaeya didn't want to hear this voice, this consoling voice. Not after everything, not... not like this!
"Fuck off, Diluc," he snapped, pushing him to the wall as he stormed out, "You made it clear you want nothing to do with me, don't try now. Not like this," he demanded, seeing Diluc look at him, eyes wide... shocked.
"Fine. Get out and don't come back." Diluc hissed, voice much lower, his eyes glazed over. Kaeya almost wanted to yell at him, to keep fighting... But, no, no, he didn't. He couldn't do that here, not when he was too desperate to figure out what to do, leaving through the front of Angel's Share, slamming the door behind him.
And he ran. He didn't know why, he wasn't headed home, but he just... he felt like he was running from his mistakes, the wind biting at his face, until he finally skidded into an alleyway, his back against the wall, his hand put up to his mouth, biting at the base of his thumb to stifle the sobs that wanted to burst from his chest. It hurt, oh, it hurt, but it felt... right, it felt like he should hurt, his teeth clasping harder onto his hand, tears rolling from his eye as he roughly breathed through his nostrils, his brain desperately trying to figure out what to do, what to say, what to think... But it all only ended up in a jumbled mess, of black and red and tears and crying.
He didn't know how long he sat there, but by the time he stopped biting his hand, it felt... hot, for some reason, and as he looked at his hand...
Red. Bite marks. His teeth had sunk in so deep, his skin was broken and reddened and bloody. He couldn't even feel the pain, like when the burning fire had turned to grey, dead embers... he felt nothing, his own bodily sensations distant in an odd way.
He doesn't even know why, but upon seeing his blood ooze from his flesh, he swing his fist towards the brick, hearing it clatter against it. He stared at his hand, pulling off his glove to stare, dazed, at his busted knuckles.
Holding his fist close to his chest, he finally walked home.
If I don't tell them, he thought, I can live with it. I've lived with worse. I live with worse.
He didn't want to.
But he did that-he cheated. He cheated on the one person that could make everything feel okay, like he never hurt anyone, like he wasn't from a distant corrupt land, like he wasn't the monster he was told to be.
Should he say it? Tell directly?
...
It wouldn't matter if he told immediately or in a week. He-he trusted you'd understand, he could... He could figure it out. He just, his brain was both sinking and floating, drunk yet sober, he wasn't in his own body right about now. He was somewhere gone, and he couldn't be making any decisions.
Shambling his way home, he opened the front door... And hesitated, listening. Looking. You weren't in eyeshot or earshot, so... He could wrap up his hand before he gave everything away, or at least, his temper tantrum of sorts. He rummaged around before finding that small first aide kit, cleaning the wounds of his own cause, and bandaged up his hand... for a second, he tensed, hearing your footsteps, but he opted to finish wrapping it before you could see.
"Kaeyaaa..." You whined, "You didn't come to bed..." You walked over, hugging him from the side, resting your head on him. How sweet you were, how cuddly... As though nothing happened.
"I'll come to bed in a minute," he said, "I just need to finish this real quick."
You peeked over to look at whatever he was messing with, and woke up in an instant, reaching over to his hand as he was tucking the end of the bandage away, so it wouldn't unravel so easily. "What happened?" You asked, tenderly holding his injured hand with both of yours.
"Nothing to be worried about," he reassured, trying to hide how his voice shook, "Just wanted to patch it up."
With one hand, you gently stroked his, and then lifted it to your mouth to give a loving kiss atop it. "Are you okay to come to bed?" You asked, still tired from the late hour.
"Of course," he wanted to kiss you, badly, but he refrained. You shouldn't, Kaeya, your mouth is dirty.
The two of you walked to bed, he undressing just enough to comfortably lie down...
Feeling how you snuggled up to him, sighing in such comfort now that he was home, and how you soon became a weight upon him as you sunk back into sleep...
However, he did not sleep that night. Or the next, or the next... Or the next.
Days, truly, passed. He did not sleep, he was not sleeping, Jean even scolded him for blacking out more than once, stunned when one second he was standing, and the next he was on the ground, no memory of having fallen, with the knights consoling him.
He started staying later, he had not gone back to the Angel's Share. Many mornings, he was not there when you woke. You knew he was busy, but... this was horrific.
Eventually, two weeks have passed. He steeled his nerves, and he was going to talk to you about it. He didn't want to live like this, with this guilt and agony upon the things he could not fix--but he could fix this. He could-he could make this better.
But, as he walked into your shared home... an eerie silence. As he looked around, it felt like... a lot was missing.
Everything that was missing, from simple objects placed about to pictures on the walls, were all yours. Of you.
Save for a single picture frame, with shattered glass, and a picture of him and you, smiling. It was one of the more coherent pictures the two of you had made.
Beside it, a note.
Dear Kaeya,
A woman came to me recently, telling me of you. Of how you kissed her, and nearly slept with her at the Angel's Share. She was unaware of the fact that you had a partner, and had finally found and confided in me about this.
I don't know what made you cheat on me like this, but worse still you've been avoiding me, and you wouldn't even tell me. If I knew... then we could have talked about it, we could have gotten counseling. We could have fixed this--fixed us. But you were gone.
I don't want to hear you say it, say that you don't love me or you don't want to be with me, so I left. I'm not in Mondstadt, I've gone to live with someone I can actually trust. Please don't look for me, I need time. Your lack of communication was enough to tell me you don't care enough to fix this.
Sincerely, Your former beloved.
Tears truckled down onto the paper, and he nearly crushed it in a single fist... But, no, he couldn't, he couldn't destroy the last connection he had to you, no matter how badly he wanted to rip out his eye, so he never had to look at it ever again. He collapsed the floor, the letter, and the framed picture falling to the ground, a broken, loud laughter rung through the house as tears fells down his face, maniacal in nature...
He wanted to be alone, and gone, for a long... long time.
Childe
Childe didn't understand the meaning of 'exclusive' as well. He loved you, dearly, but to him, love was a thing to be given more freely. Maybe it was just a lack of communication, or maybe he completely misunderstood your words, but with an old friend he slept with time and time again...
When Scaramouche saw him sending off his friend with a goodbye kiss, it being a casual commoditiy in his mind, only then did he get utterly chewed out for this.
"Are you a fucking idiot?" Scaramouche snarled at him, "You're not even shameful about this, you cheater." He snapped, as though he was truly angry for you, instead of just a generally very angry person. Childe shrugged.
"I wouldn't mind if they slept with someone else," he said casually, "Doesn't mean they love me any less, you know?"
Scaramouche tried to response, but he was simply flabberghasted. "Most people don't think that way, you airheaded moron."
Childe just laughed, brushing off the shorter harbinger, before walking off without a care.
But... in the end, the words got to him.
Maybe you didn't think that way? You two had spoken of marriage, a very possible reality that he was looking forward to... But, maybe there was a... culture clash, maybe? A clash of upbringings?
He found himself wondering these things at night, when you were snuggled up to him, unaware of the whirlwind of fear in his mind.
Silently, he resolved to simply stop--It would keep you happy, a little secret he didn't mind keeping. Maybe in many, many years, he'd mention it, but... he thought that was okay. That could be the last time he'd ever do something like that...
But, as he came home... You were sitting, waiting for him.
"Please, come sit down, Ajax," that morose tone, it made his heart ache... so he obeyed without question. You looked at him, face puffy and eyes red... "Tell me the truth," you asked, his heart sinking, "Did you cheat on me?"
He froze, but... "Y-yes, but-"
"I don't need an explanation," you admitted, a small, broken smile on your face, "I knew I wasn't loveable enough."
"Wait, no, no, that's not it at all-"
"No," you interrupted, "I don't need an explanation. I'll be out by tonight," you looked down at your lap, his heart shattering into even smaller pieces,
"Babe... please, please, let me explain, I'll never do it again-"
You stood,
"If you'd do it once, you'd do it again. Don't talk to me," you hesitated, "If you want me to be happy, don't look for me ever again."
He was trying to reach for you... but, he couldn't make himself grab you, not when you so delicately shied away...
Eventually, he gave up. No amount of fighting would stop you, and... and he... he couldn't keep seeing your pain as you cried for him to just leave you alone.
Was this love? The pain of another, the terror not of considering spending the rest of your life with them, but the terror of not spending the rest of your life with them?
Before he knew it, he was staring at a mirror, shards of glass in his fist, more than a few holes in the wall and a broken door, the shattered mirror distorting his expression...
Upon walking through the house, he saw that there was... it felt so empty, without your delicate touch and presence making it a place he lovingly called home.
"No," he whispered, hoping... were you here? Did you see... whatever he blacked out and did, the tantrum he did not remember? Did he, oh gods above, oh gods, he didn't hurt you, did he?
...
But he never got an opportunity to find out.
By the time he had sobered up from his tantrum... you were gone. Only a note, left behind, Don't look for me.
Because, you both knew, if he really wanted to find you, he could. He could capture you, trap you... hurt you.
But he didn't want any of that, as much as it hurt to have you away... to make you hate him anymore than you already did was enough to drive a man to near insanity.
Even after you had been gone, he would sit, whenever he was not forced to work, to fulfil his duties to the Tsaritsa... he would wait. He would cook your favourite dishes, read the books you liked, go to the places you enjoyed...
Only after weeks of this, did it hit him that you truly were never coming home. He knew that, but... but, somehow, his heart, his emotions hadn't caught up.
For a second time, he had destroyed your shared, no... his home.
It just wasn't home without you.
Unable to endure the idea of still being here, of a place where he had held you so many times, kissed you, loved you, and suddenly you were all but gone... He tried to do anything to avoid it, to avoid that demon that desperately tried to crawl out of him, threatening to burst from his chest.
Even the other Harbingers had noticed this, how... awful he had been, how he had lost himself. Even Scaramouche, the one most openly said to be the easiest to hate amongst them all, with an uncanny talent to bring even the most pacificistic souls to pure rage, had done well to stay his tongue, never kind, never sweet, but he would give him the isolation he craved, only speaking as much was necessary.
He didn't know what to do with himself, but whenever that happened... he'd just throw himself to the maws of death and, unluckily, crawl his way back out.
Diluc
Everything felt hot and fuzzy and...
Red.
Was red a feeling? His face was red, his body burned, and he could scarcely breathe, he definitely had accidentally drunk some alcohol, but for once, the effects of inebriation hit him. However, while he couldn't understand why people would devote their lives to this sensation, he could appreciate reality being distant, when he knew if he wasn't drunk, he would have spit up the wine and some extra blood, making it an even richer red color.
A warm feeling around his dick, he saw a pretty, if not distorted, face. It didn't take long for him to explode with sensation, his eyes shot wide... and a kiss pressed to his lips.
He almost chased that pretty face, only to see it disappear, he falling to his knees, rasping for air. Moments later, he felt hands on his shoulder's, shaking him. He shot his head up, seeing Kaeya looking at him in fear, and distantly, he heard his name...
"Diluc. Diluc. Diluc! Say something!"
Diluc stared at him, and opened his mouth to speak, but he only ended up jerking his head down, coughing into his elbow, seeing blood on his black coat... Kaeya noticed, too, frozen in shock.
"What happened?" he asked, his eye wide in shock.
"I..." Diluc rasped out, and his eyes widened in shock.
He realized what he had done.
He. He slept with someone who was most definitely not the one he had sworn himself to. Some-some random woman who was likely enchanted by the prospect of a rich man.
"Diluc!" Kaeya shouted, afraid, "What happened?"
Diluc shoved himself up, his hand on Kaeya's shoulder, already rushing to run out and all the way back to the Winery-but not before Kaeya grabbed him, stopping him, strength near equally matched.
"'Luc, I'm not letting you go anywhere until you-"
"I did," Diluc was still gasping for air, "I did something terrible." He admitted, with no small amount of pain.
"What did you do?" Kaeya asked, "Don't run, don't run, you're going to choke on your own blood-"
"No!" Diluc shouted, throwing Kaeya off his arm, running on pure adrenaline, even as his face was beet red, and his vision blurred.
But he needed to confess his sins, immediately, he needed to... now, now, now!
He heard Kaeya shout, but in the end, as he had to stop just to rasp for air again, the burn of alcohol still in his throat, he heard no shouting, nothing but the sound of his thundering heartbeats in his own ears.
Finally, he got to the Winery. You saw him, shocked, seeing his red face and how distressed he was, his hair nothing short of a fluffy mess.
"Diluc," you run over, he leaning on you, just to not collapse from the lack of air, "Diluc, what's wrong?"
"I-I..." He shuttered out, sucking in a breath, "I cheated on you."
You were reeling, "You-What?"
"I-I accidentally drank wine. I was drunk, I can't..." He was still heaving, "I can't breathe... I don't... I don't know what happened, but... She... a woman, she..."
He couldn't finish, but he didn't need to.
"You cheated on me and the first thing you did was come home and brag about it?" You asked, equal parts anguish and anger,
"No," he rasped, his knees buckling as the world tried to disappear on him, "I can't..." his hand went to his throat, "Wait..."
He didn't know what happened, but he only saw flashes after that--Your tears, his bloodied hands, you leaving.
And he was alone, on the ground, barely able to breathe, to think... to do anything.
You left him.
You were gone.
And, somehow, he wasn't mad at all. Having breathed long enough to move again, he stood... and he found the half-empty bottle of wine left on the table, the wine you adored so.
He grabbed the bottle and drank straight from it, feeling his throat and tongue swell, it crashing to the ground as he fell, unable to rasp even the slightest breaths,
I deserve this, he thought, I deserve this. This is all I deserve.
...
...?
For some reason, despite his better wishes, he woke up. He lay in bed, a cool, wet cloth over his forehead... his flesh burned, and his tongue was still swollen, he unable to wiggle it in his mouth. His breathing, still, was labored, but it seemed that he was still breathing, despite everything.
He watched as Adelinde cautiously walked over, looking down at his face, "... Master Diluc, are you alright?"
No, he wasn't, but he could not even sob and cry, for he could not breathe enough to do so.
A cruel twist of fate, but he was not deserving to cry, he was the one who hurt you. You did nothing but love him.
He didn't deserve anything right now.
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loth-wolffe · 3 years
Note
Hello hello! Congratulations on your milestone!! So happy for you!!
I really like your blog and your writing! I LOVE how you write soft crosshair.
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I wanted to know if I could request a fic with the one and only Captain Rex?
With number 9 and 39 from the lyrics prompt list, pretty please?
Something along the lines of them not having seen each other in a while, cuz you know, the clone wars.
they are kinda nervous, afraid the other doesn't feel the same way anymore :'(
BUT THEY DO LOVE EACH OTHER SO SO SO MUCH IT HURTS AND IT'S LIKE REUNION, HAPPY TEARS, LONG AWAITED KISSES AND HUGS.
I JUST- WHAT THE HELL I- THANK YOU SO MUCH??? youre so kind! *sends a kiss to a planet Earth image* for u, wherever u are. anyways this ask is FANTASTIC OMG. thank you so so so so much for requesting this.
also added my sweet @intergalactic-padawan request that was prompt 43 bc I realized I was writing pretty much the same thing so yeah.
hope you guys like it!
It's been a long, long time.
Pairings: Captain Rex x reader (no y/n)
Prompts: 9. Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips, we should just kiss like real people do. - Like real people do by Hozier, 39. I thought that I was dreaming when you said you loved me. - Ivy by Frank Ocean and 43. Kiss me once, then kiss me twice, then kiss me once again, it's been a long, long time. - It's been a long, long time by Harry James
Warnings: a bit sad I think? reader feels very anxious bc they don't know if rex loves them still. but it's fluff I swear. like, very very very fluffy.
Word count: 1,1k bc I can't control myself and make actual drabbles.
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He had been away for too long. You had begun to forget his touch, the sweet taste of his lips, the goosebumps his fingers left on your skin, the warmth of his caress. Days blurred together with the only constant thing being how much you missed him, heart longing, aching quietly, mourning for the emptiness it feels, tired, desperate, for the day Rex comes back to fill it again.
There were nights where you fell asleep with tears running down your cheeks, afraid you might never see him, trying to forget the dull ache your heart felt with every beat it gave, breaking just a little bit for him, swelling with love for a man you barely saw.
You hated him sometimes, just to justify the torrent of emotions that slowly consumed you with every day that passed, a filthy lie you told yourself to push away the pain, the tears that gathered in your eyes, how the memory of him fogged your mind and couldn't, wouldn't, let you rest. You hated how much you loved him, and in the anger of it you wished he felt the same, but then again you didn't, because maybe the ghost of you distracted him enough to make him sloppy, careless, maybe your ghost stopped him from coming back to you, took his hand and dragged him away.
It became a habit, to wake up in an empty bed, make your own caf, and wait for the day to end. The empty spot he left always following you around, and you learned to dance around it, never touching it, never moving it, but letting it be, becoming one with you because you'd rather have that than nothing at all.
It was all routine, one that slowly stuck to your nature, with him becoming a presence you that scarred you, probably, for life.
Quick texts and short conversations was all you got from Rex, unable to give you more, and for you to ask for more, leaving you both in a limbo, not knowing where you stood anymore.
Which led you to this moment, nervousness bubbling in your chest like some sort of venom, thick and foul, spreading through your body fast and corrosive.
His shuttle had just arrived, and between the many troopers you were looking for his distinctive uniform, the pauldron standing tall and the Jaig eyes making the search easier.
You feel sick at the mere thought of having him in front of you.
Does he looks the same? Same hair, a new scar maybe? Will he still like how you laugh, or call his name? Does he kiss, touch, feel the same? Do you?
Does he love you still?
It's been too long, too long.
You fidget with your shirt and your eyes sometimes find the floor, flickering through the different buckets, a couple of Jedi pass by, some pilots, a few droids. No one is your man.
Anxiety starts to make you feel dizzy, sound begins to feel too distant, and has your heart always been beating this quick? You can't breath properly.
Where is Rex? Is he–
Tears fill your eyes as a sigh leaves you, relief washing over you as find him, uniform a bit dirtier than the last time you saw it, blasters at both his sides and the kamas move matching the confidence he carries himself with as he comes to meet you. You can't see his face and the fact stirs something unpleasant in you, self doubt slowly poking it's ugly head.
Are you still beautiful in his eyes?
You always hated the way his helmet shields him from you, not letting you know what he's feeling, is he disgusted, happy, sad? Is he as nervous as you are? You can never tell.
Your head falls slightly once he's in front of you, and you're glad he can't hear the frenetic beat of your heart.
He calls your name with a formality that surprises you, you look everywhere but him, searching new scratches in his armour, finding a few stains that weren't there before.
He doesn't make any sign that he might want to hug you or touch you, and neither do you, standing at a safe distance that it might look like you're just co-workers or less.
Your hand itches to feel him.
"Rex." You let out, trying to find his eyes behind the bucket, he looks stiff, frozen, like something weights on him heavy and awkward.
Your mind wanders to the worst of places.
He lifts his bucket and tucks it under his arm, shy eyes search for something in yours, and yours searching for anything that might be different from the last time you got to see his pretty face.
No new scars –not visible at least–, same short blond hair, same irises that remind you of the sun and that matches it's warmth. He looks just the same, yet you don't know if his feelings stayed.
Maybe... maybe he met someone else, what if he–?
"Hi." He says in a breath, as if he had been holding it for far too long, and is enough for your tears to cascade down your cheeks as a smile breaks through your face.
"Hi yourself, trooper."
Rex wraps your body in his arms, pulling you flush against him, face hiding in your neck as he breathes you in. He almost cries, right then and there, you smell just like he remembered, like something sweet, something like home.
It's comforting, really, to know nothing has changed between you two in a galaxy that always seems to be.
And just like that, you know you're fine.
You whisper his name, and when he looks up he wastes no time in pressing your lips together, a tender little touch that is just a taste of what's to come, of what words can't express, and you find yourself holding him tighter, afraid he might be an illusion, a dream, a distant memory you thought forgotten. But it's still there. He is here. Kissing you like real people do, not a vision, not a wish nor a dream.
It is him in your arms, and you in his.
"I love you," Rex blurts when you pull away for air, in a whisper, as if he didn't want anyone but you to hear, scared of rejection but even more scared of you never knowing. His lips brush with yours, uncertain, timid, foreheads touching.
You feel like dreaming, like you're walking over the clouds, floating away in a perpetual state of pure love, heart feeling so full you might think it's about to explode.
"Kiss me." You plead and he delivers, pushing you to the closest supply box, inhaling sharply when your nails softly scratch the skin at the nape. It's filled with a longing that had been caged for too long, and it's messy, teeth clashing and noses bumping, tongues re-exporing and you don't think you have felt this good in a long time.
Before he can pull away properly, you connect your lips again, and again, and again, until they are swollen and you're panting for air.
It's been too long, and you have missed him so much, and you don't know how to tell him, how to let him know all and every emotion that has tormented you since you met him, so you try to summarize it in four simple, but powerful words.
"I love you too."
taglist: @foodandbooksplease @dottiechan @ladykatakuri @tacticalsparkles @lightning-wolffe @baroclinicinstability @murdertoothpick @m-o-o-n-s-g-o-o-n-s @space-girl-and-droids-art @shygirl268 @hellothere-generalangsty
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curlynerd · 3 years
Text
Just Say It
Happy gift posting day for the @starrynightdeancas gift exchange! I had two assignees, so I'm posting two fics today! My 2nd gift recipient is @deanwinchesteradjacent! She requested canon-adjacent Destiel with fluff, action, and a happy ending. I hope you like it! <3
Word Count: 7.5K Rating: T Summary: A string of violent deaths at an otherwise charming B&B was all the excuse Dean needed to drag Cas down to Florida for some fun in the sun. Things had been awkward since Cas came back from the Empty and they could finally be together, but Dean was sure that a romantic getaway was the perfect thing to help Cas get out of the training wheels stage of Angel's-First-Romance and start acting like a real couple. Just as soon as they took care of a vengeful spirit. What could possibly go wrong? Notes: Post canon, fix-it fic, oneshot, love confessions, Dean is bad at feelings, case fic, beach fic.
Also read it on AO3!
“Alright, I’m heading out.”
“Did you pack deodorant?”
“Dean…”
“Toothpaste? Mouthwash?”
“...”
“Those fancy hair products? Cuz there’s just. So. Many--”
“Dean! I’ve lived my whole life on the road. I know how to pack a damn dufflebag!”
Dean smirked, unperturbed by Sam’s whining. “Yeah but Eileen is a classy lady. She’s not gonna put up with your usual road stank.”
Sam sighed in annoyance as he readjusted the bag on his shoulder. “I’m not the one who wears his underwear three days in a row, jerk.”
“Better leave that attitude at home, bitch,” Dean said cheerfully. “It’s your anniversary, after all.”
Sam’s mouth twitched into a shy grin despite his best efforts. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be on my best behavior,” he said, letting Dean have one last bit of fun before he left. “You and Cas too. Don’t get into trouble.” He nodded in farewell before he climbed the stairs to the bunker door.
“Oh, and Sammy?”
Sam paused at the top of the stairs and turned around. Almost like he could sense what was coming, his eyebrow twitched in irritation. Dean hucked a box up to the landing, and Sam fumbled to catch it. Dean flashed a shit-eating grin as Sam read the Trojan label and fixed him with a scowl. “Make sure you wrap it before you tap it, Sammy.”
Sam rolled his eyes as he walked out the door.
Dean laughed to himself as he turned back to his laptop, scrolling through news articles looking for a hunt. He was still at it an hour later when Cas came shuffling into the room still in his pajamas, two cups of coffee in hand.
“Mornin’ Sunshine,” Dean crooned cheerfully. Cas’ hair was in wild disarray, and between that and his worn, brown sweatshirt and loose pajama bottoms, he looked more like a bear stumbling out of hibernation than a guy just waking up. “Sam already left.”
Cas set a mug down in front of Dean before slumping down into the chair beside him. “I hope he and Eileen have fun this week,” he mumbled as he hunched over his coffee.
Dean smiled at how adorable Cas looked, all grumpy and sleep-ruffled. He was still an angel...somewhat. He had Grace, if only a little. So close to mortality, Cas often needed mundane human things like sleep and food. He wasn’t particularly thrilled about it. In fact, he was so irritated about the whole thing that Dean hadn’t been able to work up the nerve to invite him to sleep in his room, instead of alone. Dean chewed on his lower lip. Maybe after this case, things would change.
“Are you looking up a case?” Cas asked, tilting toward Dean’s screen.
“Uh...yeah.” With forced casualness, Dean turned the laptop so Cas could read a headline from last year: “Gruesome Death at Bed and Breakfast Leaves Locals Worried.” “Over the past forty years, there’ve been six deaths at this B&B. All either heart attacks or a brain hemorrhage. All without a scratch on ‘em. Always a couple. Always on the same night: this Friday. That sure screams ‘ghost’ to me.”
“Key West?” Cas asked as he scanned the article. “Florida? That’s quite a drive.”
Dean shrugged. His fingers tapped against the tabletop. “It is, but hell, why not? Sam gets the week off with Eileen, why can’t we have a little vacation too?”
Cas narrowed his eyes. Suspicious. He was suspicious. Was a little time off really so bad? “You haven’t taken a vacation the entire time I’ve known you.”
“Yeah, well…” Dean struggled to come up with a good excuse. “That was, ya know. Before.”
“Before,” Cas repeated stiffly.
Dean rolled his eyes. “Before everything.” He gestured around his head. Before Cas told him he loved him and immediately died. Before Dean rescued him from The Empty. Before they wound up in this awkward, stilted Angel’s-First-Romance training wheels relationship Dean found them in.
That seemed to placate Cas. He nodded and took another sip of coffee. “The beach would be nice…”
Dean broke into a grin. “Better than nice! Toes in the sand, drinks with little umbrellas… That’s better than paradise.” He gave Cas’ shoulder a friendly pat. Then--because he could, couldn’t he?--Dean let his hand run along the broad expanse of Cas’ shoulder and gently cup the back of his neck.
This was okay, right? He’d held back on any sort of real PDA because of how uncomfortable Cas would act. And that was okay. He understood. Angels and intimacy...Well, angels just worked differently than humans. And it was all new to Cas! It took him over a decade to say he loved Dean. It would probably take awhile before he was ready to hold hands.
But this wasn’t very much, right? Just a light hand on the back of his neck. This was about as innocent as things got!
Except Cas went stiff under Dean, and Dean took the hint and pulled his hand away as he bit back a sigh. So much for that.
His eyes trailed back to his laptop. Hopefully this getaway would change things, help Cas loosen up and finally see that they could act even a little like a couple now. A romantic beach, warm sunshine, half-naked romps in the water, a cozy and only slightly haunted bed and breakfast…
What could go wrong?
----
Three days and one slightly terrifying highway over the ocean later, Dean and Cas pulled into a parking space for a charming bed and breakfast painted in a lovely pale--
“Lavender?” Dean balked at the decidedly dainty color of the siding. “I know they like their pastels here, but geez…”
“It’s just a paint color,” Cas said as he crossed around to the trunk and started unloading their bags. The duffle full of salt, shotguns, and various iron weapons clanked ominously. He shouldered it carefully so it wouldn’t make so much noise.
“This whole street is like friggin’ Candy Land.” Dean eyeballed the canary yellow house across the street suspiciously as they made their way to the front door.
The inside was clearly the result of a scandalous love affair between a Jimmy Buffet concert and a Hallmark store--All tacky tropical themed furniture and a dizzying array of porcelain figurines.
Dean grinned from ear to ear and elbowed Cas. At Cas’ inquisitive eyebrow, Dean nodded his head to a shelf full of long-haired, sad-eyed blonde angels. Cas rolled his eyes while Dean laughed to himself.
“Hello! Can I help you?” An older woman sat behind a small reception desk, smiling warmly at them in the glow of her ancient computer.
Dean put on his best people-pleasing smile. “Yes you can. Hi, I’m Dean, and this is my, uh…” Dean glanced over to Cas and his eyes crinkled in delight. “Cas. This is my boyfriend, Cas.” Just the word caused a giddy bubble of effervescence to float inside Dean’s chest. After all this time, they were really here. This was real.
Cas offered the receptionist a small, tight smile before turning his studious gaze to the figurines on the wall shelves. The woman furrowed her brow, so Dean charged forward with the conversation before Cas’ awkwardness put her off. If they were going to pry into the case here, they needed her to be friendly with them. “I booked a reservation for this weekend. It--Are you guys still open? It’s kinda quiet in here.” Dean glanced around the empty living space. There weren’t any other cars parked outside either.
The woman waved off his concerns. “Oh yes, it’s just the off season right now. Some weekends are like that.” She spoke a little too quickly as she clicked through her computer. Dean suspected all the news articles about bloody deaths had something to do with it. “Not hard to find your reservation. You’re our only guests tonight.” She grabbed two keys off a hook and held them out for Dean. “You’ll be in room 4, down at the end of the hallway upstairs. It’s the largest one. If you need extra towels or anything, let me know. I’m Susan.”
Sensing they were about to be dismissed, Dean swerved into a distraction. “You know, we’ve been on the road for ages. Do you have any coffee or anything like that? A little wakeup before we hit the beach?”
Susan pushed back from the desk. “Oh of course! I was about to get some for myself, actually. I’ll be right back.”
“Keep an eye out for anything suspicious, Cas,” Dean muttered as Susan disappeared down a hallway. “Anything out of place or really old. You know, haunted stuff.” Cas nodded, and Dean covertly pulled his EMF reader out of his jacket pocket and flicked it on. It was silent. They both made a pass of the room, pretending to look around.
“Here we are!” Susan said brightly, expertly holding three coffee mugs in her hands. Dean jumped a little and hastily put his device away before turning around. “I hope cream and sugar is okay.”
“Any caffeine is fine,” he assured her as he and Cas took their mugs. “So Susan, what is there to do around here? You know, other than what Yelp says. The insider’s scoop.” Dean winked as he took a sip of his coffee.
Susan smiled. “Well, if nightlife is your thing, there are some great spots within walking distance.”
Dean chuckled. “C’mon, Susan. Does this guy look like much of a dancer?” He grinned fondly at Cas as he draped his arm over his shoulders. It was ridiculous how much his stomach fluttered from the small action, but dammit, after all they’d been through to get here, Dean had earned a few butterflies. He squeezed Cas’ shoulder even though Cas didn’t really react. Dean was definitely going to have to clarify that the personal space rule didn’t apply anymore.
“Well, the restaurant down the street also does an excellent brunch,” Susan offered instead.
“Now that’s more our speed.” Maybe if the hunt went well they could actually stay the night, instead of getting the hell out of Dodge before the cops chased them down. Keep their salt and burn quiet and enjoy a nice night in. Dean tried not to get his hopes up for sharing a bed with Cas.
And he did mean sharing a bed. Things were moving so slowly between him and Cas he’d be thrilled just to spoon, nevermind anything else. Dean bit back a sigh as he swept over all of the knick-knacks and decorations, hoping for some sort of clue as to the identity of their ghost. “I’ve gotta say, I love the decor. Is all of this your collection?” Maybe a haunted object? Or a cursed one?
“Most of it.” A faint twinge of wistfulness colored Susan’s words as she looked over the porcelain figurines. “My Marcy liked to collect the angels, but that was years and years ago.”
On a high shelf was a large urn next to an oil painting of a young woman that immediately pinged Dean’s hunter’s instincts. “That’s a lovely painting over there,” he said, catching Cas’ eye meaningfully. Cas turned around to look too.
Susan’s face melted into a quiet, sad smile. “Yes, that’s my Marcy right there. A self-portrait. She was such a talented artist.”
Cas tilted his head. “She was your...wife?” he guessed.
Susan’s face crumpled. “No. No we were never…” She took a deep breath and continued in a steadier tone. “She was my business partner, but I loved her. Very much. And I knew she loved me too. So I suppose you could say we were almost together. Should have been together.” Her lower lip trembled.
“If you don’t mind my asking, what stopped you?” Dean felt bad for pressing her for information that was clearly upsetting, but people’s lives were at stake. Possibly Susan’s own.
Susan curled her hands around her mug, staring into the steaming coffee with a far off look in her eyes. “I was afraid. Of my own feelings. Of opening myself to getting hurt. So I...When Marcy needed me to be honest about how I felt I...I let her down. She got mad...We fought...She ran off. There was an accident, and...Well...” Susan took another deep breath. Her eyes were glassy with tears and heavy with regret. “Today is the anniversary of the day she died.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Dean said, injecting even more sincerity into his words even though he expected as much. Marcy was the best lead so far. Was she attacking people on the anniversary of her death? She was obviously cremated, but perhaps there was something keeping her tied here?
“Not your fault,” she said with the heaviness of one who had heard those words hundreds of times. She shook her head. “You’re not the reason she--” Susan cut herself off and swallowed down her tears. Despite her best efforts, a single tear trailed down her cheek.
“It sounds like you loved her very much,” Cas said, his voice infused with genuine sympathy.
“She was my world. I loved her more than she’ll ever know...” Again Susan fell silent, this time lost in thought.
Then, with a deep, resettling breath, she wiped at her eyes with the edge of her finger and forced a cheerful expression. “But enough of that. You’re my guests. You don’t need to hear all of that! Do you need anything while you get settled in? More towels? Recommendations for restaurants?”
Dean shook his head, “Appreciate it ma’am, but we’ll probably just grab whatever’s convenient around here.”
“Well, would you like to eat here? Usually I don’t serve dinner for guests, but since it’s only the two of you, I can cook up something if you’d like. I honestly wouldn’t mind the company.”
Sensing another opportunity to interview Susan, Dean smiled his very best ‘comforting the bereaved’ smile. “We’d like that very much, Susan. Thank you for offering.” Then, carefully timed almost like an afterthought, he added, “Oh, and what’s the wifi password?”
Upstairs their room was somewhat small but airy. The walls were a crisp, breezy blue, the linens bright white. There was even a gauzy white canopy draped around the four-poster bed. Dean grinned. One bed. Surely that was cause for some optimism about tonight.
“I dunno about you, but I’m gonna sleep like a log tonight,” he said with the most casual tone he could muster as he grabbed the weapons bag off Cas’ shoulder and deposited it on the duvet. “What about you? Think you’ll need a couple z’s?” ‘Please say yes.’
Cas eyed the bed. Something strange flickered across his face. Something heavy, even sad. Dean immediately felt like a jackass for reminding Cas about his weak Grace. “I mean, who knows how you’ll feel tonight,” Dean added hastily. He started digging through his bag for his laptop. “Get some sea air in your lungs, and you might wake right up.”
Cas pursed his lips. “I suppose so,” he said, his voice carefully neutral. He turned away from Dean and started roaming the room, looking over the artwork on the walls and the little beachy decorations on the furniture. He came to a stop.
“This looks like Susan and Marcy,” he said, letting his fingers trail along the frame of a painting over the dresser.
“Yeah?” Dean looked up from his booting laptop. It was an oil painting like the one downstairs, with a young couple in bright dresses making each other laugh in front of a backdrop of a stormy gray ocean. One was undeniably a much younger Susan. Marcy looked the same as she did in the painting downstairs.
Cas frowned a little and pulled his hand back from the frame. He glanced around the ceiling and only relaxed when he saw an air-conditioning vent gently humming nearby. Dean shrugged it off and turned back to his laptop. He set right to work searching through the local newspaper archives and breaking into the coroner’s office servers. Finding their ghost was only a matter of time.
“Got it. Marcy Daniels. Died forty-three years ago tonight.” Dean flipped his laptop around so Cas could read the news article. “Hit by a car. Right outside this house. Died before she even got to the hospital.”
Cas squinted at the screen. The photo attached to the article looked just like the woman in the paintings. “And you think she’s the ghost?”
Dean shrugged. “Seems as good a guess as any. Violent death. Susan said they were fighting right before. Probably something happened between them that left Marcy pissed off enough to stay in the veil.”
Cas nodded. “We should ask her about it.”
“Nah, she’s not gonna let us grill her about her dead partner like that. We’ll strike up a conversation at dinner. That should give us enough time to figure out what’s keeping Marcy here before she attacks tonight.”
Cas deferred to Dean’s hunting experience. “Well then what should we do until then?”
Dean grinned from ear to ear. “What do you think we should do? To the beach!”
---
Dean shut the trunk of the Impala and straightened his back, lifting his face to the breeze blowing in from the sea. He breathed in deeply. “God, smell that salt air…” he said with a wistful smile. When he turned to Cas, the angel was looking at him with fondness, warmth making his blue eyes brighter. Dean’s smile grew, and he lifted up his sunglasses to flash Cas a playful wink. Cas quickly ducked his head and started walking.
Dean bit back a groan as he followed behind him with their beach bag. What was he doing wrong? He was trying to be gentle, to give Cas enough space to adjust to the idea that they were together now on his own. After all of the crap they’d been through together, after so many things keeping them apart, he understood why Cas was struggling. Hell, he’d been squashing down his feelings for so long, Cas probably didn’t know how to let himself have this happiness.
At least, that was what Dean kept telling himself. Deep down, though, he was afraid that Cas’ feelings were changing.
“There’s a good spot,” Dean said, jogging up behind Cas and forcing down his depressing thoughts before they could meet up with his self-loathing and really cause problems. He grabbed Cas’ arm and tugged him toward an unoccupied part of the sand. The weather was a little too temperamental this time of year to attract huge crowds, but there were still plenty of people out enjoying the sunshine.
Cas let himself be led, his flip-flops flapping awkwardly over the sand. Dean laughed a little, even though his footing wasn’t much better. When they’d walked far enough away from the boardwalk, Dean unceremoniously dropped their bag and dug out a large blanket to lay out.
“Perfect,” he declared as he tipped up his sunglasses to survey his work. He plopped down on the blanket and shucked off his shirt. A quick glance up let him catch the way Cas’ eyes widened for a fraction of a second before his expression smoothed over. Dean wiggled his eyebrows at Cas, but he didn’t see because he turned around like a friggin’ Victorian lady in order to pull off his own shirt before he sat down in front of Dean, facing the ocean. Dean’s gaze swept down the broad, muscular expanse of Cas’ back, and he could barely contain the heat in his eyes and in his grin.
Only then did Cas glance over his shoulder and catch Dean’s eye. Dean bit his lip suggestively, his grin widening, but Cas’ cheeks turned lightly pink and turned his head away. He rubbed at the back of his neck. Nervous, huh? Well that was alright. Dean could lighten the mood.
He held up the bottle of sunscreen. “Alright, let’s spackle your back.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary, Dean,” Cas said, not turning around. His voice sounded even more gruff than usual, which was certainly saying something.
“Nonsense!” Dean was already squirting a healthy dollop of sunscreen in his palm. “You can get sunburned, same as the rest of us.”
Cas sighed heavily. His shoulders twitched, tense, but he didn’t protest when Dean slapped his hand at the middle of his back.
Dean set to work rubbing the cream into Cas’ warm skin. “See? This is nice. It’s like a mini-massage.” He made sure to move slowly, almost caressing him. His stomach fluttered with the faintest whisper of excitement. This was the closest thing he’d gotten to action in months, after all. And Cas’ back was nice. Broad and firm and far more muscular than Dean would have guessed. His heart did a little tapdance at knowing that he was allowed to freely ogle now.
“I like seeing you out of the trenchcoat,” Dean said, now using both hands to stroke up and down Cas’ skin. Cas tensed again. “I mean, you look good under all those layers,” Dean said hastily, afraid that the reminder of his waning Grace was too painful. “When did you get so beefy?” Dean slid his hands up to Cas’ shoulders and then down his thick arms. He squeezed them playfully as he shifted closer, letting his knees bump against him.
He leaned in close so he could almost whisper, “Wish I could see it somewhere other than the beach.”
Cas’ back became hard as marble. He lowered his head. “That’s enough, Dean,” he said softly. His voice trembled with some barely contained emotion Dean didn’t understand.
Disappointment rose up Dean’s throat like bile. “Seriously? I’m almost done!”
Cas twisted around, his face pulled into a scowl. His cheeks were flushed. “Dean! I’m an angel! I don’t need this!”
Dean pulled back. “What? I can’t even put sunscreen on you now?” he demanded.
Cas didn’t have an answer to that. He only glared, his eyes flickering with something Dean couldn’t quite figure out. Pain? Longing? Regret?
Knowing Dean’s penchant for screwing things up all the time, it was almost certainly the latter.
Cas breathed out a long, frustrated breath and rose to his feet. “I’m...going for a walk,” he said. He folded his arms over his bare chest.
“Cas,” Dean pleaded. What had he done wrong? Why was Cas so mad?
Cas shook his head. “Please, Dean.” With one last glance filled with that strange, heartache-inducing emotion, Cas turned and started walking down the beach alone.
Dean stared after him as he left. “What the hell?” he said under his breath. The sting of rejection quietly throbbed in his chest as he turned his gaze to the ocean. What had he done to piss Cas off? Had he really crossed a boundary, or was something else wrong? Cas had been so weird since he’d been back. Shouldn’t he be happy? Hell, telling Dean he loved him was the happiest Cas had ever been, right? That was part of his deal with The Empty!
Did he regret it? Did he change his mind? Maybe Cas really didn’t want to have Dean. Not for real. Maybe that was why Cas never told him how he felt before. He had to have known Dean loved him long before his deal with The Empty came along. Maybe there was a reason Cas hadn’t said anything about it before.
Maybe Cas knew that Dean would screw things up if they got together. Maybe he was trying to pull away from Dean, make it easier to break things off when it all came crashing down.
Dean stewed in his thoughts, his expression dark as he watched the waves. He lost track of time until a pair of children came racing past him, screaming in delight and startling him out of his thoughts. He pulled at his phone to glance at the time. Cas had been gone over half an hour. Way too long. Dean looked down the beach, almost expecting to see Cas trudging back up the beach back to him, but he didn’t see any sign of him. But Cas couldn’t have left left. Dean had the car keys! Quietly cursing, Dean pulled out his phone and dialed Cas’ number.
...And heard a familiar ringtone coming out of their bag.
“Dammit, Cas!” Dean growled as he hung up. He stood up, but he still couldn’t see Cas. Had something happened? What if he’d gone in the water? What if he’d gotten pulled out to sea by a riptide? Despite knowing Cas didn’t even know how to swim, worry dripped ice cold down Dean’s spine, and before he knew it he was walking down the beach along the path Cas had taken.
“Cas!” he called out, but he didn’t see him. Dean started walking faster. He scanned the beach for a familiar dark head of hair and the bright orange swim trunks Dean had picked out for him. “CAS!” He was beginning to fear the worst.
“You lookin’ for someone?” a concerned voice called out. Dean whipped his head around to a small family sitting underneath an umbrella.
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, my buddy Cas.” Dean jogged over to them. “You see him walk by? Kinda beefy, kinda dorky. Dark hair, orange trunks, about yea high.” He held his palm flat about eye level.
The woman who spoke nodded. “Yeah, I think so. I saw him walking back toward town, though.” She pointed over her shoulder.
Dean furrowed his brow. Did Cas walk back on his own? Irritation flared in his chest as he forced a cordial smile and thanked the woman before jogging back the way he came. He didn’t see any sign of Cas back at their blanket either.
Dean scowled. Maybe he had walked back. Running off without a word was infuriatingly in-character for him. Dean cursed under his breath as he hastily packed up their things and started stomping up the beach toward the car.
What was even such a big deal? If Cas supposedly loved him so much, was rubbing his back that bad? Dean was trying to give him space, he really was, but the way Cas was acting, it was like he didn’t even like Dean, nevermind love him!
The thought clenched tight around Dean’s heart as he drove back to the bed and breakfast. Maybe he didn’t anymore. Maybe Cas was getting sick of him. Twelve years in each other’s lives, it was bound to happen eventually.
Maybe what angels considered love and what humans considered love was just different.
Dark thoughts still swirled in Dean’s head as he returned to the bed and breakfast and marched up the stairs.
“Dude, what the hell?!” Dean charged into their room, anger burning hot as his glare zeroed in on the angel sitting in a chair. “You can’t just go running off like that! You left your phone behind!”
Cas carefully closed the book he was reading. He was fully clothed again. “It’s not a long walk back here. I assumed you’d know where I’d gone.”
“I was worried sick about you! What if you went in the ocean and something happened?”
Cas narrowed his eyes. “I wouldn’t do that. You know I can’t swim.”
“You can’t just go stomping off whenever you get mad!”
Cas closed his eyes. “I’m not mad,” he said, though the growl in his voice suggested otherwise.
“Like hell you’re not!” Dean shot back. “So what is it? I can’t touch you now? It’s freakin’ sunscreen, Cas. Is it really that big of a deal?”
Cas’ eyes flew open. “Yes!” he said, deeply pained. “Dean, does it really matter so little to you that you’re okay with just ignoring it?”
Dean was brought up short. “Does what matter?”
“Me!” Cas plastered his hand over his chest. He almost looked like he could cry. “I told you how I felt and you insist on acting like nothing happened!”
Dean blinked. “What? That’s...that’s not true, Cas!”
“Dean! You didn’t say anything! Not once since you brought me back, have you said anything about the fact that I love you! And you may think that by ignoring it and trying to force things back the way they were before that you can lock up that Pandora’s Box again, but you can’t! I can’t. I can’t…”
Dean took a step forward, his expression darkening with confusion. “Cas, what’re you talking about?” He didn’t understand. Why did Cas look so hurt? So heartbroken? Cas loved him. Dean loved Cas. So why wasn’t he happy? What had Dean done wrong? “Cas, I--”
Cold mist curled up from Dean’s mouth.
They both went tense and still as they noticed just how cold the room had gotten. The lamp on the bedside table flickered.
“Shit,” Dean muttered under his breath. His eyes darted to the open dufflebag on their bed with all of their weapons.
He made a move for it, but a figure flickered into being in front of him. She was wearing a torn, bloody sundress. Her long, straw-colored hair was plastered to the half of her gaunt face where it was smashed in, blood staining it crimson. The ghost took a step toward Dean. Thick, dark blood dripped from her head but never reached the floor.
“Marcy,” Dean breathed. Guess she didn’t need to wait for nightfall after all.
“Coward,” the ghost menaced as she took another step closer. Dean carefully backed up. “Can’t even say it. Even when you’re hurting him. Coward!”
Dean’s eyes flickered to Cas, who was edging toward their weapons bag. He tried to make the movement quick, but the ghost noticed. With a vicious growl she flung out her hand and Cas went flying into the far wall.
“Don’t worry,” the ghost said to Cas, and the venom in her voice dropped into twisted sympathy. “I’ll take your pain away soon.”
Cas struggled to his feet as the ghost rounded on Dean again. Her outstretched hand aimed directly at Dean’s head, fingers curled into a wicked claw. But before she could touch him, Cas made another attempt at the duffle. She shrieked in fury and sent it spinning through the air toward the window. A single iron poker tumbled out of the open zipper as it flipped over and smashed against the glass, shattering it. The bag tumbled to the ground below.
Cas lurched for the poker. “Dean!” he called as he tossed it through the air, directly through the ghost. She howled and dissipated into smoke while Dean barely managed to close his fingers around the weapon. Cas and Dean stood back to back as they circled the room, Dean holding the iron poker at the ready.
“Salt,” Dean barked. “We need salt!” Except all of theirs was now two stories below. Dean silently cursed. “The kitchen! Go! I’m right behind you!”
Cas nodded and made for the door. The lights were flickering again. He and Dean narrowly made it into the hallway when their bedroom door slammed shut behind them. They raced for the stairs and nearly collided with Susan.
“Cas, Dean, what’s going on?” Her eyes were panicked, taking in the cut on Cas’ temple and the iron poker in Dean’s grip. Mist followed her words out of her mouth.
“Look out!” Dean reached for Susan, but he was flung backward by an invisible force. Marcy flickered into existence over him again. “Salt, Susan! We need salt!” he cried out before the ghost clamped its cold hand around his throat. Dean scrambled from his poker, but it had fallen just out of reach. His other hand grappled with Marcy’s, trying to pull it away.
He couldn’t see with the ghost pinning him down, but he was pretty sure he heard Susan’s footsteps racing away. Good. Even if she didn’t come back, at least she was somewhere safer. Black dots started to swim in Dean’s vision.
“Hey! Marcy!” A ceramic angel went flying through the air and smashed into a framed photo on the wall next to them, shattering the glass. Marcy snarled and whipped her head around. Her grip on Dean’s neck loosened a little, and Dean sucked in as many painful gasps as he could get.
“This is what you’re about, huh?” Cas goaded. He stood next to an accent table full of figurines, another ceramic angel in his hand, fat load of good that would do against a ghost. “Exacting revenge against shitty lovers?” Dean stretched his arm until his muscles strained. He could barely feel the length of the iron rod brush against his fingertips. If Cas could keep stalling for just a little longer... “I think anger has clouded your judgement.” Cas’ lips twisted into a bitter smirk. “You have no reason to attack Dean. Can’t you tell? He doesn’t love me.”
The statement caught Dean completely off-guard. His hand stilled as he gaped at Cas. “What?” he rasped around the ghostly hand on his throat. Didn’t love him!?
The ghost growled at Cas. She raised her arm as if to psychically toss him toward the stairway, but right at that moment, Susan barreled up the stairs, a blue canister of salt in her hand.
“I have the salt!” she said, and with panic and desperation in her eyes she blindly flung the open canister at Dean and the ghost. Salt flung in a wide arc and rained down on Marcy, who screamed and disappeared instantly.
Dean rolled onto his side, coughing weakly as he grabbed onto the iron poker and clutched it against his chest. Cas ran to him, only stopping to grab the canister of salt. He hastily drew a circle around them, draining the last of the salt on their protection ring. “Susan, get in the circle!” he commanded as he knelt beside Dean.
“You don’t think I love you?” Dean choked out between gasps for air. His head was spinning. Cas’ hand on his shoulder helped a lot, but when Dean asked his question Cas quickly yanked it away. “How could you think that?” he said, genuinely confused.
“What’s going on? Why did that...that thing look like my Marcy?!” Susan nearly flung herself into the circle with them. She clutched at her chest, casting her terrified gaze around the room.
“Her ghost,” Cas said, though he didn’t take his eyes off Dean. His brow furrowed. “Dean, you haven’t--”
“Ghost?!” Susan screeched. “Then what the hell are we doing standing here?!”
“Salt repels ghosts,” Cas replied with way more patience than Dean would have had. “She can’t come into the circle.”
“What’s going on?” Susan’s eyes went huge, her face going pale. “She...She killed those people last year, didn’t she? How do we stop her?”
“Usually burn her remains, if anything is left,” Cas said, “but she was cremated, wasn’t she? So something else is tethering her here. Perhaps a locket? Something she cherishes.”
Susan frowned, panicked eyes darting around in front of her as she mulled it over. “Her painting,” she said with a gasp. “The one in your room. She finished it right before our argument! Right before she ran out into the street and was hit by the car. It was precious to her. She put her everything into it, tried to use it to confess her love for me, and I...I was too much of a coward to say it back. That’s why we fought.”
Cas and Dean’s eyes met, and they both nodded. Dean grunted as he pushed himself to his feet, poker still clutched to his chest. “Susan, stay here. Whatever happens, don’t leave the circle. Cas, I’ll keep her busy. You burn the painting.”
As one unit Cas and Dean left the salt circle.
Immediately the hallway burst into chaos. Doors slammed shut everywhere. The knick-knacks and travel guides on the accent table went flying through the air. The lights flickered until their bulbs burst, leaving only the light of the window at the far end to help them see.
They ran.
“You don’t think I love you?” Dean demanded, because a deadly ghost hunt seemed as good a time as any to have this conversation. Some things were too damn important to wait for downtime.
“Because you don’t!” Cas snapped. He threw himself at the shut door of their room, but it was supernaturally sealed. He grunted and tried again. Marcy appeared at his side, a ghostly hand reaching for his chest, a snarl on her lips.
“Cas, of course I love you, you idiot!” Dean swung at Marcy, forcing her to disappear again. Cas slammed himself against the unmoving door. “How could you think I don’t?”
“Dean, I died--” Cas slammed into the door again. His eyes glowed faintly with his weakened Grace. “Telling you how I felt. And you said--” Another crash; the door cracked ominously. “Nothing about it since I’ve been back!”
Marcy flickered into being next to them again. Dean knocked her away with the poker.
“I thought you knew! I thought you didn’t love me and that’s why you never said anything!”
“I told you!” With one final crash, Cas burst through the door and into the room, Dean hot on his heels. They ran for the dresser. “I told you the one thing I wanted, I couldn’t have! That thing was you, Dean!” Cas yanked the painting off the wall and threw it on the ground, shattering its glass and exposing the paper.
Marcy screamed in fury and appeared in front of him. She flung him at the dresser just as Dean dispersed her with a forceful swing. He flipped the poker in his hand, readying himself to strike again while Cas scrambled to his feet, lighter freed from his pocket and held at the ready.
“Because of the Empty!” Dean insisted. Marcy’s form materialized again, and Dean raised his weapon as she approached. “You couldn’t have me because of the deal with the Empty!”
Cas fumbled with the lighter. “I can’t have you because. You. Don’t. Love me!” It finally lit. Cas threw it onto the painting, sending it up in flames.
Marcy howled in agony as her body sparked and burned. She raised her head skyward as if to escape from the rising flames, but in a flash of heat and bright orange light, she was gone, and Cas and Dean were left standing alone in the room.
They stared at each other in the sudden, violent silence. Cas’ face was a mask of frustration and pain.
“Dean, I’ve been back for months. Months. And you have said nothing about how you feel. Do not lie to me now because you feel sorry for me.” With one last heartbroken glare, Cas stomped out of the room, leaving Dean behind to stamp out the flaming remains of the painting.
Once Dean didn’t need to worry about burning the house down, he went looking for Cas. He found him outside, loading up their scattered weapons into the trunk of the Impala.
He looked shattered. His face was crumpled with pain, his eyes dull, deep furrows in his brow. It brought Dean up short. Guilt welled up so intense that Dean almost couldn’t say anything at all. Except, well, that had gotten him into this situation in the first place.
“I thought you knew,” Dean called across the distance between them. Cas stopped and turned to look at him. The bitterness in his eyes made Dean’s stomach churn. “I thought you knew,” he said again. He took a step toward Cas. “For years I thought you knew. But, you know, you’re an angel. I thought you didn’t...I thought you couldn’t…” He trailed off. Cas’ forehead was furrowed in confusion, but he was at least listening, so Dean swallowed down his discomfort and barreled forward. “I thought angels couldn’t fall in love. Except...then you died telling me you did. Telling me that the reason you couldn’t even tell me how you felt was because being happy would trigger your deal and…” He shrugged.
“You thought I was deliberately keeping us apart?”
“Because if you told me you felt the same, then we’d be together and you’d be happy and you’d die.”
The bitterness had faded from Cas’ eyes, replaced with something that Dean was loath to acknowledge looked a little bit like pity mixed with profound frustration. “So when I came back, you thought there wasn’t anything left to talk about?”
Dean scratched the back of his neck and took another step forward. “Yeah well…What else was there to say? You said you, you know, loved me. And I thought you knew that I, you know…” He trailed off.
“Dean.” Dean had never heard Cas sound so pained just saying his name. “You.” Cas scrubbed at his face. His mouth twitched as he struggled to find words for all the ways Dean had screwed up. Was continuing to screw up.
“The hoops that you jump through to avoid talking about your feelings astound me,” Cas finally said. He dropped his hand with a sigh of defeat, and Dean’s heart sank. This was it. The death rattles of a relationship that hadn’t even really started. Dean never had what he truly wanted, and he never would.
Dean ducked his head, unable to look Cas in the eye. “Right. Yeah. That’s me, alright.” He swallowed around the hard lump in his throat. The long drive back to Kansas was going to be awful.
“Say it,” Cas said softly. His words were a command, but when Dean looked up in surprise, his eyes were pleading. “Please,” he breathed, almost like he didn’t deserve to even ask, and something inside Dean cracked.
“I love you, Cas.” One step, two steps, he crossed the distance between them and threw his arms around Cas’ shoulders, clinging to him the way he wished he could have before the Empty took Cas away. “It’s you, Cas. It can only be you. It’s only been you for years. I promise.”
Cas’ next breath stuttered in his lungs. His arms wound tightly around Dean, desperate. “Dean,” he sighed, this time like a prayer.
“I’m right here, buddy.” Dean held him tightly, the way he should have when he first got Cas back from the Empty. The way Dean wanted to all these months when he thought...Well, when he was an idiot. “You can have me, you know. You already have me.”
Cas pulled back enough to look Dean in the eye. His eyes were glassy. Dean’s didn’t exactly feel dry either. ‘I wonder if I can kiss him,’ Dean thought, milliseconds before Cas did just that.
Cas’ lips were warm against his own, and Dean gasped softly as his hand wound through Cas’ thick hair to cradle the back of his head. His kiss was eager, if not clumsy, and Dean smiled a little as he let Cas take the lead anyway. When they finally pulled apart, Cas’ normally pale lips were flushed pink, and Dean’s soft smile morphed into a huge, affectionate grin.
“Hey,” Dean said, his voice surprisingly husky after a largely innocent kiss.
Cas smiled back. “Hello, Dean,” he said, and Dean couldn’t help it. He laughed. God, how he loved this angel.
“So whadya say, Cas?” Dean said when his laughter quieted. “Ready to get the hell outta Dodge?”
Cas’ hands slid down Dean’s back until they were resting on his hips. “Actually…” His gaze turned wistfully in the direction of the distant beach. “I had a different idea.”
---
“You sure this is okay, Cas?”
“Dean…”
“Cuz I mean, I want to respect your boundaries.”
“Dean!”
“And I totally understand if I’m crossing a line here.”
Cas twisted around and gave Dean and his closed bottle of sunscreen a baleful look. Dean couldn’t help but laugh. “If I get sunburned, you can get your own room tonight.”
“You’re probably not even going to sleep anyway,” Dean shot back.
“I’ll sleep just to spite you.” Cas scowled, but Dean could see the corners of his lips twitching playfully. With a rush of affection, Dean shifted so that Cas’ bare back was pressed against his chest and Dean could rest his chin on Cas’ shoulder. Cas went stiff against his body, but it only lasted a second before he practically melted into Dean’s hold. Dean wrapped his arms around him as he watched the waves.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Dean said with a sigh.
“Yes,” Cas breathed, but he wasn’t looking at the sea.
Heat rushed to Dean’s cheeks. He cleared his throat and kept his gaze solidly on the ocean. “You’re such a sap,” he grumbled weakly.
“You’ll get used to it.” Dean could see Cas’ smirk in the corner of his eye. Dean tightened his embrace.
“I dunno if I ever will,” he said quietly, a soft smile on his lips as he finally got to hold his angel.
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lilover131 · 3 years
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Chapter 56 Analysis+Theories
AHHHHHH CHAPTER 56 AHHHHHH!!! <--Chrissy every time a chapter comes out
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I wasn’t as hyped up about this one as I was for the last one thankfully, seeing as we didn’t have a super long wait, but I certainly don’t want to diminish in any way the importance of this chapter!!!
I won’t waste any time and will get right to it, so buckle in, cuz’ the theory train is coming! More under the cut!
 So I’ll start by saying that when I first read the chapter, it was 2 AM where I was. I had been sleeping and just kinda magically woke up right when the chapter just came out, so I like to think there was some fate there. But when I opened that chapter on my phone and the first thing I saw was that Syaoran color spread, I audibly gasped and instantly woke up a bit.
 I woke up not because it was absolutely stunning to look at, or even at the fact that we haven’t had Syaoran in a color page for a while. No, the thing that caught my attention was the serious atmosphere it contained and the tone that it seemingly set. To me, this was one of CLAMP’s subtle ways of saying “Prepare for the final battle”. I could be reading into it too much, but I was right about what I believed the Syaoran and Kaito color page insinuated, so I’m gonna stick to my guns here.
 We start off the chapter without a moment’s pause where we left off last time. It continues right from the last point of the conversation where Sakura dropped the bombshell that she had seen Kaito use magic. She seems to think that they may not believe her at first, but Syaoran interrupts her to affirm that he 100% believes her and that he even already knew. Sakura is naturally confused by this, but he finally FINALLY gets to tell her what he’s been dealing with this whole time, and it definitely seems to be an uncomfortable topic for him. But at least this time he got to tell Sakura truthfully that he hadn’t ever intended on keeping this from her but was physically not able to. Despite not needing to feel guilty about this, Syaoran seems uncomfortable for the simple fact that someone else had that much control over him, and he was unable to do a thing to stop it. It’s also important to keep in mind that Kero and Suppi were hearing this for the first time themselves as well (about the silencing at least).
 Not much time passes after this before Kero and Suppi fess up to also knowing about Kaito, but they admit that theirs was a conscious decision rather than force, but that they believe they too would have been silenced like Syaoran was had they attempted to speak. One could say that since they didn’t know Syaoran was silenced in the way he was that this is not entirely truthful or was just a bad decision, but in reality it still makes perfect sense why they thought to be more careful. They saw Kaito’s magic first hand violently take down Eriol, and if he could shut down a magician of that caliber from halfway across the world, then he could easily do the same or worse to the guardians. And since they also weren’t yet aware of his true intentions with Sakura, it would have been likely seen as dangerous to provoke him and possibly put Sakura in harm’s way. I guess the only thing that doesn’t make much sense to me is why Syaoran and the guardians didn’t collaborate and put together what they knew sooner. Even when Yue went to Syaoran’s apartment, the topic of Kaito or Eriol never came up, and since they both clearly had Sakura’s best interest in mind, I’m not sure specifically why they chose to keep their information to themselves when they both knew they had the same goal. This, I would say, was actually a bad decision on their part, but when it comes down to it, they’re not perfect and everyone makes mistakes (I think Cinzia made the same point here, so I apologize if it seems like I’m copying here! I just also agree when it comes to this).
 I’m actually going to pull in a little thing I learned from my counselor not long ago when I felt guilt over a particular decision I had made long ago, and that is that you can only work based on the emotions and information you have at the time. And because we don’t know the future, it is not possible to always make the right decisions, but there is also no telling if our decisions would have changed things for the better, so it is best not to dwell on them. I believe truly that based on what they knew at the time and through the experiences they had, they were likely only trying to protect each other, but missed that they could have probably helped each other. It’s easy to miss things when you’re on the defensive.
 What I love about Sakura after this is that she forgives them immediately. This is not the first time she’s had things hidden from her for her protection, and naturally it’s upsetting to not feel like you can be trusted to deal with the serious information. When Syaoran told her how he’d been hiding what he knew before, she was upset but more because she thought he suffered as a result. This time around though, they concealed things from her not because they were worried about how she’d handle it, but rather out of fear from what Kaito would do if they tried, so it’s a completely different reason and much easier to forgive. Sakura is able to differentiate this, because she is a very emotionally intelligent girl and a lot more observant than she gets credit for when it comes to reading people. She’s grown a lot and isn’t as ‘dense’ as she was in Elementary School.
 Then we get a precious gift of seeing Syaoran show off how smart he is, working out how Kaito managed to make them forget about said confrontation at the botanical garden. He’s probably thought about it a lot already, considering he mentioned before that he felt like someone made him forget something. But this time, he had additional information that Sakura was able to provide, and this was the final piece of the puzzle he needed. The most important detail that Sakura gave him was the location in particular, the botanical garden. He knew that that was where they intended to go, but that they had yet to go there. This prompted him to check his phone and see how much time might have passed without them realizing, and because he knew what time he had arranged to meet Sakura, 9:30 AM, he was able to observe that it was impossible for them to meet, go to the botanical garden, have this encounter with Kaito, and both get back to their houses in only 16 minutes. This meant it was not just a mere meddling of memories but rather time magic as it was the only explanation for the time discrepancy issue and memory loss. I can’t say how freaking proud I was of Syaoran for working this out. He’s such a smart boy, but I know that Sakura also would have been able to come to the same conclusion had she had more knowledge about the magical world. Sakura is running on pure instinct right now, which is super strong, but Syaoran really helps fill in those gaps where things don’t make sense for her, making them the perfect magical team!  
 The scene changes to Momo, who appears to be keeping tabs on the conversation (though it’s unclear if Kaito is aware while they are under Siege). And this part is perhaps the most worrying of the entire chapter, and I’m not talking about the line where the English translation says “Into the final act of your story”. That line in particular is a gross mistranslation cleared up by @meimi-haneoka​, who graciously gives us translation notes each month in comparison to the Japanese version. The actual line in fact says “Into the final act of THE story”. This changes the entire tone of that page as the first translation implies it is leading to Kaito’s death, whereas the Japanese translation actually more implies that we’re nearing the climax of the story. Momo’s facial expressions also match the wording of the Japanese translation better, as we know she does not seem to want Kaito to die, so she would certainly look more upset here if she were speaking of such a thing. Also, I have to speak up about how pretttyyyy Kaito looks in that panel. The way CLAMP designed that page is just stunning as always.
 HOWEVER
 Back to what I was saying before! The most concerning part of the chapter for me is the page right before that, where Momo says “Once a spell’s been seen for what it is, it all comes crumbling down. Particularly, where time magic is concerned. And that’s to say nothing of your target’s considerable power. Now everything you’d turned back time to undo. Everything you’ve succeeded in freezing…is beginning to move again”. So here comes Chrissy’s big crazy theory and possible overthinking, but bear with me here!
I think…that what they are saying here is that these moments that were frozen in time and turned back were cut off from the timeline and now floating in a separate space. And now these scenes, which were all intense in their own way and incredibly frustrating for us, are about to move forward.
….all of them….
….at the same time….
This concept isn’t exactly new in CLAMP series. It happened with Tsubasa where Syaoran turned back time to go back to a moment where he could take Sakura’s hand and keep her from being cursed, and to keep that moment ready until he could return, it was in its own separate dimension, cut off from the rest of the universe. Eventually, once he got there, time started to move forward again. Turning back time is a taboo in the magical world for a reason, and Kaito has done this over and over and over again. But also, wouldn’t it be so like CLAMP to say “Hey, we know you’ve been frustrated that all these scenes were seemingly amping up to a big confrontation, but then Kaito rewound time over and over, so how about we give those back….ALL AT THE SAME TIMMMMEE?”. Can you even imagine the consequences of such a thing? At least three of the occasions where Kaito turned back time, Akiho went into what I call ‘book-mode’, where she is no longer herself and tries to absorb Sakura along with her magic (and even succeeds on one occasion). Then there is also Syaoran and Kaito’s battle and Syaoran having his outburst about Kaito being a magician right in front of Akiho. It would be absolute utter chaos, and honestly I’d be living for it. Lmao.
If you believe that this line Momo said was simply to state that his time magic won’t work anymore and that things will continue to progress in this timeline, that would make perfect sense as well, so I don’t want to discount that. I’m just throwing out theories here based on what I know about CLAMP and concepts that are not out of the realm of possibility.
The scenes from here on out bounce a little bit back and forth from a continuation of the conversation with Syaoran and the guardians and present time with Akiho at school. I kinda like the way they did the transitions here, and it didn’t really feel awkward at any point but rather pulled up the relevant information when it was needed.
When Akiho comes in to the classroom, Sakura recalls how the topic of Akiho came up in the conversation from the day before. It’s natural for everyone to question at this point what she knows and if she is someone to be concerned about too. Syaoran mentions that he can’t detect any magic from her, which was something he had looked into from the very first day Akiho arrived at Tomoeda Middle (he knew literally nothing about her, but you know how transfer students go in this town. Lmao). Sakura drops another bombshell here by saying that she actually senses something in Akiho, but she is unclear of what that is and why she feels that way. It’s completely likely that she’s strong enough now to sense the suppressed magic spell the association and her clan put on her. I also noticed Syaoran seemed to tense up when Sakura said this, and I’m sure that this new information probably made him feel very uneasy. Sakura’s instincts are never wrong, and if she feels something, that means there is something, but to think that it’s something even Syaoran can’t sense would definitely be concerning.
 It is then that Syaoran decides to approach the idea of addressing Akiho directly about Kaito’s magic to see what she knows. Maybe at this point in time he is thinking “If she possibly has some sort of magic in her, then she might know already about Kaito”, but like Sakura, he has seen Akiho’s behavior as a person and probably believes that she is not doing anything malicious of her own accord. Perhaps he thinks that Akiho might be able to talk some sense into Kaito and put a stop to things. But the way he goes about it doesn’t push Sakura, but rather just offers it as a suggestion as something a bit more direct.
 Before we see Sakura’s response to this, we are back to Akiho in the classroom and she is very cheerful from having gone out with Kaito the day prior, and OMG CAN I JUST GUSH FOR A MOMENT ABOUT HOW FREAKING PRECIOUS SHE IS? She is seriously adorable, and the more I see her smile, the more it makes me want to burn her whole clan down to the ground for being so awful to her. But also, it reminds me how strong she is to have gone through everything she did and still smile and hold no hatred in her heart. I can’t honestly say I would be the same in her shoes, so it’s really admirable. For those My Hero Academia fans out there, remember Eri’s smile? You know the one I’m talking about. That’s how I feel every time Akiho smiles.
Anyways, back to Sakura’s response. She decides, in a very Sakura-like fashion, to avoid the subject with Akiho for now. It is true that they don’t fully understand who Kaito is and what his intentions are, but the one thing she does know is that he is considered precious to Akiho, and that at least says something about his character. Akiho herself also isn’t an idiot and is perceptive to Kaito’s feelings. Even when he’s smiling, she can tell when he’s actually hurting inside, so if he had bad intentions at all, that likely wouldn’t go unseen either, so Sakura decides that she’ll wait for Akiho to come to her first if the discussion between them needs to happen. I think this is a very mature decision on her part but also continues to show how much she considers the people around her and cares for them.
Back in the present, Akiho apologizes for talking so much, and Sakura tells her that she doesn’t mind and will listen to whatever she has to say. More than just trying to show good will as a friend, I think this is also her way of opening up the door to tell her “If you want to talk about more serious things, I’m here to listen as well”. That way, when the time comes, Akiho will feel comfortable having that conversation with her.
The scene moves on to Yukito’s home where all the guardians are having a nice little get together in their true forms. It’s not entirely necessary for all but Yue to do this, but I love it as we haven’t gotten to see much of them in these forms in the series so far, especially Spinel and Ruby Moon. Ruby Moon is surprised that they decided to go along with what Sakura said, which I suppose makes sense considering they’ve been kinda doing their own thing up until now. But it turns out that it was Syaoran who made the final decision, and the others just took his lead.
 I love that Syaoran was so comfortable just trusting Sakura and realizing that this time, they needed to let her make some choices, especially since it concerned her the most. Moreover, I love that Kero, Suppi, and Yue just basically caved when Syaoran agreed. This shows how much they respect the opinion of not just Sakura, but Syaoran too. They could have easily gone off and continued to work secretly without Sakura, but they didn’t do that. It obviously didn’t work well for them before anyways.
 I cracked up when Ruby Moon mentioned how much Syaoran has grown a lot and used to be a ‘pouty brat’ back when they were in Japan the last time (in his defense, Eriol was screwing with him a lot, so he had a lot of good reasons for the bratty attitude. Lmao). But Kero and Yue’s responses are just precious. They both have the same expression initially, but their actual responses seem to differ quite a bit. Kero states that he will always be a brat to him and that he’s only grown ‘a little’. This is classic Kero essentially saying he agrees that he’s grown a lot, but he won’t admit it yet, hence why Spinel calls him childish. Hahahaha.
Yue’s response however makes me absolutely melt. He states he’s not upset about the mention of Syaoran’s growth, but that that he doesn’t think they “should be in such a hurry to grow up”. He sounds just like a freaking dad here who is happy to see his children grow up, but is also wanting to them to slow down and stay children simultaneously. I am absolutely living for it, and I love seeing how soft he gets when it comes to them. -squeals-
Despite how lighthearted this scene is, I’m gonna put out another theory here that might seem like I’m overthinking and perhaps makes this appear a bit darker than possibly intended. My thought was “Why did CLAMP put such focus on this subject right now?”. They could have simply stated that they decided to go along with Sakura and been done with it, but the made a point to talk about the children’s growth as human beings, particularly Syaoran. Now where am I going with this you ask? Perhaps it’s the Tsubasa PTSD speaking, but when CLAMP has dialogue like this, it usually it done quite purposely at times, because it is meant to enhance our emotions when a particular moment comes later on. So when I thought “Now, why would they be talking so much about how Syaoran’s grown emotionally and how much Kero and Yue care about him?”. I think they are trying to emphasize how much people in general care about him. CLAMP showed it again recently with Touya, who threatened Kaito and purposely included Syaoran in his statement, and again when Kaito pointed his staff at Syaoran and Sakura reacted. CLAMP is pointing out right now how much people care about Syaoran, and I think this is once again a signal that something bad is going to happen to Syaoran, and I think it’s going to be soon.
 Now, Cinzia actually recently found my reaction to spoilers of chapter 1 of Clear Card (that’s right, chapter 1 from all the way back in 2016), and from the very beginning, I have been screaming at the top of my lungs that I had the worst feeling that something bad was going to happen to Syaoran. I imagine some of you are probably tiring of hearing it from me. Lmao. So here we are, 55 chapters and numerous bad dreams later, and I finally feel like that time is really really close. I’m calling it right now that it will probably happen within the next 4-5 chapters, and if I’m wrong, I will eat my words, but them even putting Syaoran on the color page all by himself for this chapter gives me more reason to think that “that time” is approaching.
 That is a good transition for me to talk about the last part of this chapter. We are finally getting some progress on this play Naoko has been writing, and the moment she mentioned it was about “Twin Alices”, I thought to myself “this is going to be where the climax happens”. The pieces are coming together for it, and we’ve finally gotten to hear the premise of this play. We all knew Naoko would ask Sakura and Akiho to play the main roles, but it’s unclear what the role she wants for Syaoran will be when she inevitably peer pressures him into it. Lol. But I’m telling you, I really think this play is where shit is going to hit the fan and we’ll finally get some real answers.
I can’t wait to see what happens from here on out, but it’s very clear to me that things are just going to get more and more intense from here on out!!
41 notes · View notes
asmo-ds · 3 years
Text
a/n: Ok this is a self indulgent fic that I wrote last night when I wasn’t feeling well and it is lowkey dark and just kinda stupid and stuff idk
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Seventeen Steps
Warnings: Suicide attempt, drowning, pining, other stuff I cant think of cuz my mind is everywhere
I AM NOT TRYING TO ROMANTACIZING SUICIDE I LITERALLY BLACKED OUT WHEN WRITING THIS I WAS SIMPLY WRITING WHAT I NEEDED TO BE COMFORTED AND WANTED TO SHARE IN CASE ANYBODY ELSE MAY NEED IT
Description: MC desperately longs to be with Leviathan. To be completely surrounded by his love and presence. The Ocean is the perfect place to do so
Six steps in. The salty water leaves transparent bubbles covering my shins, the coolness of it a stark contrast to the salty water that streamed down my burning cheeks.
Seven steps. Long strides. My knees are under now as well.
Eight Steps and my thighs begin to feel the waves that gently crash and push me slightly back every time. My bare toes curl underneath the surface, digging into the sand and feeling as underwater plants scrape against the soft skin of my heels.
Nine steps. My shorts begin to soak in the saltwater and I can feel the cool liquid kissing my hips.
Ten steps and my shirt begins to float upwards, slowly rising as the cold water nips as my torso.
Eleven. Twelve and Thirteen. The water is above my breasts now, covering a majority of my body in the salty substance.
Fourteen and Fifteen bring the water to my chin. I stare out into the distance. My mind wandering to distant and insignificant memories as I continue to breathe heavily.
I suck in a deep breath and duck into the ocean floating under the surface for a few moments before I rise again.
He is hugging me, I think to myself, Leviathan is surrounding me and I will be with him soon.
He told me so. He told me that anytime I go swimming in the ocean I could consider it as if he is hugging me. He said the water engulfing me would be his own body. I want him to completely have me. I do not think this is what he wanted. But my sorrowful mind had twisted his words into those of malice.
My brain tells me he wants all of me and that the only way I can do that now is to drown in the ocean, his domain and completely under his control.
I swim out further until my toes no longer feel the sand and the land I came from appeared distant.
They look like ants, I think as I observe the few people who were taking late-night strolls near the water.
I look around one last time. I take notice of how cold I have become. No surprise seeing I’ve submerged myself in a large body of water mid-winter. 
My vision turns hazy and I feel my arms and legs grow tired of kicking. This is it. I will see him soon and we will be together forever. I will be at his complete mercy the second I fall beneath the surface.
My body completely submerges and I hold my breath, waiting for it all to end.
I hear a distant splashing and think it is the waves crashing onshore. But waves don’t have strong arms that can link underneath my own, they wouldn’t pull me up to save me, they’d only be trying to drown me. So who. Who is this presence swimming quickly towards the surface?
As we come out from under the water I hear gasping and slight sputtering as I am quickly brought back to shore. How dare this stranger keep me from my Leviathan.
“L-l-let go…” I rasp out, coughing up the salty water as the person places me on the ground.  My eyes are too heavy to open and I feel myself falling unconscious as they respond. The muffled sounds barely register in my head and I simply tell the man, “I want to be with him. I want to be with my Leviathan and stay with him forever. How… dare….. You”
-------------------------------------
I woke up in a familiar bed, though it was not my own. I hear soft snores coming from the side of the bathtub and look over to see my favorite demon sitting beside me sleeping.
“Leviath-” I cut myself off with painful coughs that bring more and more water out from my lungs.
“Easy there,” he rubs his eyes with one hand while the other pats my back. “What in the Devildom did you think you were doing out there?! If I hadn’t sensed you were in trouble through our pact then you would be….” He trails off, the harsh reality of what my intentions were too hard to say.
“It was… you, you were the man who saved me,” I say, the memory of being pulled out by strong arms being my last.
“You’re my best friend, MC,” He says, brushing damp locks of hair away from my face, “so please… please don’t ever do that again okay?! I don’t know if you had thought I felt nothing towards you and you felt that was the only way to be with me but it is not! I want you to be by my side every day you stupid normie! I want to hug you and play games with you and-and-and,”  A blush rises to his cheek, “to hell with it, I want to kiss you.”
“Leviathan…” I stare into his orange eyes searching them for any signs of dishonesty but find none.
Slowly we both move closer, breaths mixing together as his lips hover above my own. He closes the gap and his slightly chapped lips meet my own. We stay there for quite some time, kissing and finally expressing the emotions we had set aside for so long to save our friendship. 
He pulls away and looks afraid, to which I grow confused.
“D-did you not like that?” He uses his thumb to wipe a tear away from my cheek that I hadn’t even noticed had fallen.
“No-NO Leviathan I loved it so much… I love it so so much it’s just…. I’m not worthy of you,” I sob lowering my head so he can’t see my red eyes.
“MC listen to me,” He lifts my chin so I gaze into his eyes once more, “those demons in your head, they don’t know me, I’m not sure why they think they do but they do not. I love you and think you are very worthy so please… believe me not the demons in your mind,” He stares into my eyes with honesty and adoration laced in his gaze.
I give a teary smile and lean forward once more, surprising him by initiating a kiss.
I took sixteen steps into the ocean and yet here I am, alive and breathing. My brain no longer screaming. Now it is just me and Leviathan, Forever.
236 notes · View notes
whorefordazai · 3 years
Note
Can I request how Dazai, Chuuya, and Atsushi would react to you coming out if the closet?
I’ve been waiting for this one ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) also, finally a request for Atsushi!!
s/o coming out of the closet
ft. dazai | atsushi | chuuya x gn! reader
genre: fluff
warnings: none
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Dazai
He would already know.
This mf knows everything🤨
But he wouldn’t confront you about it. He would wait until you’re comfortable telling him.
When you finally get the guts to tell him, he’s like “I know ◕ ◡ ◕”
“...of course you do ó‿ó”
But don’t worry, it doesn’t really matter to Dazai. He’d act like the same bubbly idiot like before you told him.
Even though he doesn’t show it, he gets jealous of others talking to you even more than before.
He knows you would never cheat on him. It’s just that he thinks anyone you talk with, will catch feelings for you. And no one can have you but him😡💗
Guess who you’ll see at pride😏
Yup! He’ll probably somehow manage to drag Chuuya with him too.
He’ll go to pride for one sole reason other than supporting you:
Jumping off pride floats ^o^
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Atsushi
This guy would be so supportive.
After all, he is a furry. So who is he to judge?
When you first tell him, he’d be kinda nervous; like the ‘what should I say?!’ type of nervous.
Cuz he definitely doesn’t want to make you feel unloved and unwanted 😔✨
“Y/n, I’m so glad you told me!” He’d say with the biggest smile and then bear hug you. (my heart went💓)
He’d be a little nervous around you cuz what if you suspect he’s a little fruity?! (he is, but only for Aku🤫)
Would definitely take you to pride.
I can just imagine him having so much fun and cheering on with the others. Atsushi is the type of guy to love it so much when others support each other. It makes him feel like life is truly worth living.
He hates discrimination❌
So that being said, he would definitely rip apart homophobes with his tiger claws💗
Atsushi loves you for you, and he would feel so special and surprised that you chose him out of all the people in the world.
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Chuuya
When you first tell him, he’d be like “uh, okay?”
“Ծ_Ծ??”
Let’s just say you weren’t expecting that. Actually, you were expecting more of a reaction?
It’s not that you minded, you just thought: Chuuya+any news=big reaction.
“You don’t care?”
“Wha-should I care? I still love you no matter what.” He mutters the last few words, sinking into his coat.
“( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)”
Other than that, he doesn’t treat you any different. In any case, he’ll sometimes feel a little scared that you’ll leave him for someone else (he always thought about that, even before you told him).
He can’t help it, he has attachment issues and major insecurities🙁
But don’t worry, when he sees that you only have eyes for him, those insecurities kinda disappear🥰
This man would do anything to not go to pride LMAO
It’s not that he doesn’t want to support you, big parades full of rainbows just aren’t his jam, y’know?
In any case, you don’t force him. You don’t really mind as long as the both of you are happy. But knowing Chuuya, he’d feel guilty and suck it up🙄
You’ll both go to the next pride😏🤝
I just imagine Chuuya standing there holding a flag like 🕴🏳️‍🌈
254 notes · View notes
palbabor-writes · 3 years
Note
I know you said you only might accept pregnancy requests depending on what it is so I wanted to try 😅 how about shigaraki and reader break up while she’s unknowingly pregnant with his child and he bumps into said child years later and connects the dots that it’s his? If you don’t like it feel free to ignore this request 😊
I liked this nonnie.
I am terrified that by saying that I’m going to be inundated with pregnancy HC’s, lol. But, this request I really leaned into. Plus, it’s more about a kid than a pregnancy. 
So, thank you for asking and letting me slip out of my comfort zone. It’s always good to do that every once in awhile and this ask was a great reminder of that.
It’s a bit melancholic, but I think it fits with Tomura, at least, in my mind.
Now, this is not in canon. This is not like, pre-war arc, or post-war arc. If anything, it’s more of an AU. I’d put Tomura in his late 20s to early 30s.  
warnings: none really, just some sweet, sweet interactions and mild angst 
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Hestia Hestia, in Greek religion, is the goddess of the hearth, a daughter of Cronus and Rhea, and one of the 12 Olympian deities. When the gods Apollo and Poseidon became suitors for her hand, she swore to remain a maiden forever, and Zeus, the king of the gods, bestowed upon her the honor of presiding over all sacrifices. 
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The shouting noise of children set his teeth on edge.
Toga had insisted that the bus stop by the school was the best place for the information exchange.
They won’t look for you there, she’d assured him. It’s like hiding in plain sight. Yeah, it’s patrolled, but it’s only an old security guard who does the rounds. Besides, he’s retired from the police force, she qualified, and was more like a lazy cat than an attentive scent hound.  
It’s the best place, really.
So, Shigaraki had made the long trek across Tokyo.
He kept to the shadows as he weaved his way through back alleys and streets. Although the dominance of the League had waned some over the years, he was still a wanted criminal, responsible for countless death and threats on hero society.
He was still the King of his slice of the underworld.
Besides, he reassured himself as he loitered by the bench under the bus stop, he could trust Toga.
She had improved in leaps and bounds as she came of age; deadlier, sleeker, more attuned to the ebbs and flows of the world around her. She wasn’t that girl who chattered about blood anymore.
Oh, she still held a strange fascination with the fluid. But she had more control over those impulses that drove her. If she said it was the best place, well, who was he to argue? Toga had been with him from the beginning, a vital ally. Hell, at this point she was close to being a friend.
Shigaraki is still musing when the ball taps its way to his feet.
It clatters against the pavement; the rubber shuttling it along the loose rocks and leaves. Unthinkingly, Shigaraki lifts his shoe to balance against its unbound movement, stilling its lulling bounces.
Must be from that schoolyard, he thinks, his red eyes flashing up at the low chain-link fence that separates the school grounds from the busy street.
There’s no child dashing their way to retrieve it, so he lets his gaze slip from the teeming masses of giggling youngsters. It’s a pretty blue. The ball looks new. Hardly a scuffed and battered thing.
He keeps it under his sole, toying with it, rolling it meditatively as he slips back into his thoughts.
“Hey! That’s mine!”
It’s a small voice that calls to him and he turns his head back to the fence, looking for the source.
It’s a girl.
She’s leaning against the metal, her hands clutching into the links, cocking her head inquisitively at him.
Her nose wrinkles at his silence, and she shouts another demand.
“Mister, that’s my ball. Toss it back.”
“Aren’t you supposed to say please?” Shigaraki taunts, his lips lifting in a quick grin. He’s not sure why he’s bothering to engage with this kid, but something about her plucky attitude resonates with him.
She leans away from the fence, that scowl deepening on her soft features.
“Aren’t grown ups not supposed to steal things?”
He laughs at her snark. He can’t help it. Oh, this kid’s fun.
Carefully slipping the ball into his hands, he moves closer to the fence. He can see her a little better now.
She’s still got that deep frown on her face and her dark hair is gleaming in the afternoon sun, some strands catching the light, reflecting a deep, auburn, hue. He’s just about to chuck the ball to her when he catches sight of her eyes.
They’re red.
Not that red eyes are unusual. There are plenty of people milling around Tokyo with them. But hers are different.
No, these eyes are like looking into a mirror for Shigaraki. They flint and glare with the same sheen as his own. It’s a prefect reflection.
His feet suddenly feel heavy, leaden, and he can’t lift his arms. Who is this child? Why does she-
“Ok, ok, mister. Can I please have my ball back? You’re still stealing it if you don’t, so I’m not apologizing for that. I might... if you give it back to me, cuz’ it’s my ball, not yours. And, stealing makes you a thief.”
She’s rolling those uncanny irises at his stiff form, and a huffing sigh escapes her small mouth.
“What’s your name?” Shigaraki asks, hands trembling over the rubber of the ball.
“Not supposed to tell that to strangers, mister.”
He smiles again, bemused. Well, he thinks begrudgingly, she’s a clever little thing. Whoever she is.
A sharp bell echoes across the yard and she turns her head at the sound, her dark hair tumbling around her shoulders.
“Here,” Shigaraki relents, gently flipping the ball over the fence, bouncing it to her feet.
“Thanks,” she murmurs, quickly snatching up her prize. Those red eyes of hers meet his own, and he can feel a low shiver echo up his spine. What’s up with this reaction? It almost feels visceral, like some sort of otherworldly pull on him.
“Sorry I called you a thief,” she apologizes, quickly bowing her head, ducking those eerie eyes from view.
He’s not sure what to say, so he continues to watch her. She doesn’t seem perturbed by this, opting to giggle at him as her little head lifts.
“You’re weird,” she assess, a smile finally spreading over her lips, her cheeks rounding and softening. 
Tch, she’s rude, but she’s also cute, Shigaraki thinks, snorting at her frankness.
She turns, dashing away from him, her dark hair flowing around her back as she goes.
Shigaraki shakes his head, trying to dislodge those lingering questions that keep floating to the back of his mind.
He’ll never see her again, he reasons, wandering back to the bus stop. Trying to tamp down the urge to look for her again, to pinpoint her from the other giggling and shouting children on the playground.
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But he did see her again.
He comes back to the stop a few weeks later.
There’s no information pickup this time. There’s no real reason for him to even be on this side of town.
He just can’t get her out of his mind.
This little kid had shaken something within his psyche. He kept dreaming about her. Well, not her, really. No, there was someone else haunting his dreams.
He hasn’t thought about you in years.
But now? Now, he can’t get you out of his head. He even feels like he can feel you some nights, warm against his side. He sulks in the memories of the familiar touches that the two of you shared, the love that you’d pressed into him, so, so long ago.
He saw the girl in those moments. Resting in your arms as you looked up, your eyes bright against her dark head. The girl would laugh and run to him, those reflective red eyes shining with mirth. 
It was fucking strange.
He both hated, and loved, the repetitive nature of these illusions. They made him feel safe and warm, but they also chilled him to his very bones. It was unsettling.
Unsure what else to do, he’d back come to the bus stop.
It’s early afternoon. Close to the time he’d visited it before. He waits on the lonely bench, his hands pressed together and that strange tremble races through his veins.
This is stupid, he thinks, his eyes lowering from the sea of kids, all twisting and turning in a heap as they play. It’s an impossibility, really. The chances of that girl losing her ball again is minuscule. There’s no way he can call to her either. It’s a waste. He shouldn’t even be here.
He’s standing to leave, when that small voice reaches him.
“Oh! You’re back.”
His head whips around, his long white hair glowing against the sunlight.
There she is.
She’s gripping the fence again, and she’s staring right at him.
Shigaraki smiles. It’s a gentle lift and he can feel his heart tapping a rough tattoo against his ribs. He steps toward her, kneeling when he gets close, careful to not overstep his bounds.
He’s not wanting to startle her.
No, he’s wanting to talk with her. Maybe she’ll drop some kinda clue why he’s so drawn to her. Or maybe she’ll morph into any other child again. Plain, uninteresting. Slipping from that odd ghost that she’s become to his subconscious. 
He hopes it’s the latter. But part of him also longs for it to be the former.
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She’ll hop to the fence around 3:15.
She looks for him now, used to the routine of his presence.
He told her to call him Tomura, and the name falling from her lips made his heart ache.
Tomura stopped by on Fridays. Careful to not stay too long, to not draw too much attention to himself.
At first, he’d sneak her little trinkets. 
A little plastic toy of his, one that he had since he was a kid. She’d squealed with delight and clutched it to her. He’d grinned at that, remembering how he’d once held onto the thick plastic himself. 
Once, he’d just plucked a nearby flower as he walked to the school, presenting it to her outreached grasp. He’d watched proudly as she tucked it behind her ear, the color glossy beside her hair.
She’s still a sassy little thing. But she’s softened a little, too. Her voice losing that early, untrusting, edge.
He didn’t ask her much. Sometimes they both just sat in silence as she sketched designs into the dirt. Sometimes he would listen to her chatter about her day. Her classmates, her teacher. Once, she’d even pressed something over the fence to him.
It was a drawing.
He’s not sure if it really was all that well done, or if it’s just his heavy bias toward her. But he loves the mix of color and lines. He’d asked who the people were.
One was her friend, Kenji. One was her teacher. One was him.
He’d pinned it to the wall in his room. Displaying it, flaunting the gift. He looked at it every morning, admiring her work.
He’s late one day, and she scolds him, her small arms draping over the fence.
“I didn’t think you were going to come,” she chatters, her red eyes lingering against his, the two colors casting back the same hue.
“Was running behind,” Tomura replies, leaning against the low concrete barrier, resting his back against the fence.
Her little hands reach for his hair, playing with the pearlescent tendrils, weaving some into knots and braids. 
He doesn’t mind.
“Hey, Tomura,” she says, working a tiny hairband into her creation, her voice curious.
“Hmm,” he hums, careful to not shift his head, not wanting to disrupt her hard work.
“You didn’t ask my name again. At least… not after that one day.”
“Do you want me to ask?” He queries, his pulse lifting.
He’d wanted to ask her again, but he didn’t want to startle her, to shatter these innocences that they shared.
“It’s Beryl,” she answers. She says it confidently, and he turns to face her.
She grins at him, wiggling one loose tooth playfully at his serious expression, trying to tug a laugh from him.
“Beryl?” he repeats, unable to keep that awed hush from his raspy tones. It’s a pretty name. It suits her, really. But it’s strange. It’s not Japanese. 
You hadn’t been Japanese. 
“That’s a good name,” he assures her. “But, it’s not… you don’t hear that name very often.”
“Yeah,” Beryl concedes, her vermillion eyes roving over his face. “My mom’s not from here.”
His nostrils flare at that.
He hasn’t asked her about her mother. He’s unsure if it’s a general disinterest on his part, or trepidation. He fears it’s the latter.
Gulping, he tilts his head at her, feeling that soft braid she’s plaited into his hair shifting.
“Who’s your mother?”
“Who is she? She’s my mom, silly.”
“No,” he pauses, ignoring that creeping tremor that’s working its way to the top of his skull, his skin prickling and cooling. “I mean…what’s her name?”
“Oh! Her name is-”
“Beryl! Beryl, it’s time to come inside.” A teacher is calling for her. 
Tomura startles away, drifting to his feet and pacing quickly back to the bus stop. He can’t help the snarl that etches its way across his lips. He’d been so close. So fucking close…
He chances a glance back at the fence and catches sight of Beryl. She’s dashing across the playground, her dark hair waving in the sun.
Japan is about to slip into summer. School will come to a close, moving into a long break. He won’t see her again for almost a month.
His heart sinks at that realization and he grits his teeth. Slipping his hands into his dark trench coat, he steps across the street, away from the bus stop, away from the little girl that’s feeling more and more like his own.
Edit: oh hey. so, i couldn’t stfu about this and created a sequel: Materfamilias 
hahaha & part iii
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buckstaposition · 3 years
Text
Don’t wanna miss a thing
Birthday song challenge for @din-damn-djarin (prompt 37)
Marcus Moreno x widowed f!reader, Missy Moreno & reader 
1999 words
summary & warnings: Just days before your wedding to Marcus, your emotions are going a bit haywire. Starts angsty but turns fluffy I promise! Themes of loss and grief, loss of a spouse/family member
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Sobbing in the bathtub a couple of days before your wedding was not where you thought this evening was going, but here you were. Bawling your eyes out. You had just meant to take a quick shower to freshen up before bed, as your day had been mostly filled with last minute preparations and you were sweaty from hauling around decorations. Maybe not hiring a wedding planner had been a mistake, in more ways than one.
“Honey? You in there?” Marcus’ voice sounded after a hesitant knock on the bathroom door. You knew you should answer him, but you just didn’t have the strength to at this moment.
“Sweetheart?” He tried again, and you could hear the worry in his tone and it only made you feel worse.
“I’m coming in.” Marcus warned after another two minutes or so. It was endearing how considerate he was of your privacy even though you’d told him it was okay to come into the bathroom with you on numerous occasions. If you really didn’t want anyone to come in you’d lock the door and he was the man you were going to marry in less than 48 hours.
The door creaked open and Marcus padded across the bathmat, slowly pulling aside the shower curtain.
“Darling?” Hesitantly, he reached out his hand to you, gently nudging your shoulder. Still sobbing, you gripped it and held it to your face, kissing his palm between tears and hoping he’d understand. Even if you didn’t.
“Is this about Sean?” He asked softly, thumb caressing your cheekbone. You nodded. Marcus sighed; he hated seeing you upset. Just like Sean had. Marcus nudged your chin up and pressed a kiss to your forehead, not caring that the water got on his glasses.
“If you want to be alone for a bit longer that’s alright, but please let me get you out of the shower? You’re shivering.”
It was true enough. The water had gone cold a while ago and now, taking stock of your body you realized you were freezing. You nodded and let Marcus help you up and wrap you in the big fluffy towels he’d bought the two of you as a house-warming gift when you’d moved in together. You leaned on him as he dried you off, suddenly exhausted from your outburst of emotion. You let him help you dress yourself in your fluffiest pyjamas, the shivers slowly subsiding when he pulled your extra fluffy socks onto your feet.
“Okay?” He asked, kneeling on the ground between your feet while you were sitting on your shared bed. You nodded absently, catching his hand and bringing it up to your face. The tears had stopped but the deep sadness lingered.
“Please stay?” You whispered. He kissed your knee, then your free hand.
“I’ll just tell Missy good night, okay?”
A noise from the hallway drew your attention. Missy stood in the doorframe like summoned, and your heart broke at her anxious expression.
“Hey bunny.” You tried to smile, but it didn’t quiet reach your eyes. Missy looked between you and Marcus in concern, her lip starting to quiver.
“Bunny, what is it?” You patted the space next to you, inviting her to sit. After a look at her father, she rushed over, instantly wrapping her arms around you. You exchanged a worried glance with Marcus, and he rose to sit down at his daughter’s other side.
“What’s wrong, bunny? You know you can tell me.” You coaxed again, your own undefined sorrows forgotten in face of her obvious anguish.
“Diyouchangeyourmindaboutthewedding?” It rushed out of her in one breath and she clung to you harder. You hugged her back, squeezing her smaller frame tightly and caressing her hair.
“Oh sweetie, no! Why would you think that?”
“Cuz I heard you crying and-“ she hiccupped a sob into your shoulder, her voice small when she continued. “Please don’t leave us!”
“Oh bunny!” Your own eyes were starting to water again. “I won’t! I won’t ever leave you! You two are my whole world!”
You squeeze her tightly to you, feel Marcus’ arms enveloping you both and look up briefly to see how he’s doing with all this. The look on his face is heart-breaking, and you lean over quickly to press a reassuring kiss to his lips.
“Then why are you so upset?” Missy sniffled. You sighed and ordered your thoughts, mad at yourself for causing anguish to this girl you’ve grown to love so much.
“It’s sort of a silly thing really.” You began. “You know how I was married before?”
“Yeah.” You’d taken her to see his grave once, just like Marcus and Missy had taken you to meet the previous Mrs Moreno. It felt only right. “You still miss him?”
“Yes. Yes, I do. I always will, but that’s not what made me cry. It was… I feel guilty for being so happy, with you two. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah…no… I don’t know.” Missy scrunched up her nose in thought. She was a smart girl, very mature for her age, but in the end she was still only a twelve-year-old girl.
“You see, when you lose someone you love very much, that grief never really goes away. Like you still miss your mom, right?”
“Every day.” She sniffled a bit less now, and looked up at her father, who nodded silently. “But I’d miss you, too!”
“I know, bunny.” You kissed her forehead, wanting to soothe her. “You won’t ever have to choose between us. Your mom is your mom and that will never change.”
“I don’t want to have to choose.” Missy whispered, wiping her tears away. “But I still want her back.”
“I know, bunny, I know. I want my husband back all the time, too.” You exchanged another glance with Marcus, glad to see that he understood and let you take the lead in this discussion. It warmed your heart to know how unconditionally he trusted you with his daughter. “It’s so unfair, isn’t it? It makes me so angry sometimes that it happened to me.”
“It does?” Missy’s eyes went wide. She turned to her father to confirm and he nodded, mouthing a soft ‘yeah, me too’ to her.
“The point is, it’s okay to feel all these conflicting things. And sometimes they might overwhelm you, like they did me today, and that’s okay too because I have people who are there for me when that happens.”
“You know you can always talk to me, us, about anything. Or grandma. Or your friends.” Marcus hugged her close and wiped away her tears, like he had yours earlier. “And if that’s not enough we will do anything to help you, okay?”
“Okay.” Missy smiled a watery smile, snuggling into her dad while holding your hand close. The three of you huddled together for a few minutes, giving everyone the chance to settle. Missy, being a kid, bounced back fastest.
“Can we have a movie night?” She looked at you both with the big puppy eyes she had inherited from her father and perfected over the course of her young life. You didn’t even need to look at Marcus to know the answer.
“And what movie were you thinking?”
“Mulan!”
“Okay, you prep the TV, I’ll get on the popcorn.” Marcus prompted, motioning for her to go ahead downstairs. She was out of the room with the speed of lightning.
“You sure that kid doesn’t have any powers? Super speed maybe?”
“Positive. You okay, honey?” He cupped your cheek and looked deep into your eyes, gaze searching.
“Positive. This actually really helped.” You smiled and leaned in for a small kiss. “So, I think we’re not too bad at this parenting thing, huh?”
“Are you kidding? You’re amazing at it!” Marcus hugged you close, kissing your forehead and then your cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
---
The reception was in full swing and everyone was enjoying themselves. There had been no mishaps save for the kind that would make for funny stories later and the cake was almost gone. Almost being the operative word. You were in your seat, relieved to be sitting down for a while and re-braiding Missy’s hair where the decorative ribbons and flowers had come loose during the day. Marcus was weaving his way through the guests back to your table, grinning triumphantly.
“Swiped the last slice of cake while Colin wasn’t looking.” You looked behind him to see Miracle Guy frowning at the now empty cake stand.
“Oh darling, you shouldn’t have!” You protested insincerely. It was your wedding after all. You felt you were entitled to some cake.
“He’s already had two!” Marcus put the plate down in front of you and produced some clean cutlery from his pocket. “Besides, anything for my girls.”
“Awww, you’re the best husband and dad!” You pulled him in by his bowtie to press a kiss to his lips.
“Gross.” Missy commented, snatching up one of the small fancy forks and starting to dig in. The two of you paid her no mind, too engrossed in your new marital bliss. You took turns feeding each other cake in between kisses and whispering sweet things, but really Missy got most of it. You didn’t even notice the band switching to a new song. Or the announcement they had made just before that, apparently. At least not until Anita planted herself right in front of your table and brought her cane down hard on the ground.
“You two! Stop canoodling! It’s time for your dance!”
“Mom!” Marcus whined, mostly for show as he was already pulling his tux jacket back on in the same motion, then holding his hand out to you. “May I have this dance, Mrs Moreno?”
“Gladly, Mr Moreno.” You smiled and rose, letting him lead you to the middle of the dancefloor. The band had been stuck playing an intro to your chosen song for several long moments now and launched into it one last time as you took your positions. Aerosmith – I don’t wanna miss a thing. Your song. Marcus took your hand, smiling softly, and when the vocalists started so did you, twirling around the dancefloor. You felt like you were floating, a moment of near perfect happiness.
“I love you so much.” You mouthed to Marcus as he led you across the dancefloor, his hand warm at your waist. He smiled, spun you out and then reeled you back in, closer this time to press a kiss to your temple.
“I love you.” The song ended and you paused for a moment to receive the applause from your guests. The band faded into another song and people started filling the floor around you while you swayed in place for a moment.
“You know, there’s only one thing missing.”
Marcus’s brow furrowed. “What’s that?”
You nodded towards the table where Missy was still sitting, chin in her hands and looking out towards the dancefloor, a picture both wistful and yet a little forlorn. You waved to get her attention, then motioned for her to join you two once that was accomplished. She started, her brow furrowing in the exact same adorable way as her father, then stood hesitantly.
“Come on, bunny!” You called, letting go of Marcus just enough to make space for her. Her whole face lit up and she came running over, long hair swooshing after her. She all but crashed into the two of you, throwing one arm around your waist and the other around Marcus.
“Wanna dance?” You smiled at her, drawing her as close as the volume of your skirt allowed for a little side hug.
“Yes!” She exclaimed, already starting to sway to the music. Marcus surreptitiously wiped at his eyes before hugging the both of you close. It took you all a moment to adjust your footing, but you managed it soon enough. This was truly, absolutely perfect. You could stay lost in this moment forever.
- - - 
author’s note: I started this whole thing over like five times, with different concepts and characters, and somehow landed on this. It turned more into bonding with Missy than the pairing, but hey. Hope you’ll still enjoy it. 
and yes, I named Miracle Guy Colin. He just looks like a Colin to me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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uzumaki-rebellion · 3 years
Text
“Black Boys Bloom Thorns First: Volume 3, Chp. 9″
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"Black Butterfly, sail across the waters Tell your sons and daughters what the struggle brings Black Butterfly, set the skies on fire Rise up even higher So the ageless winds of time can catch your wings"
Deniece Williams – "Black Butterfly"
Disa spotted Pamela in the middle of the floor.
The moment the beat hit her ears, Pamela threw her head back and tossed her ass in a circle letting Disa know it was good to go.
The beginning was always the difficult part of her sets when she was trying to create a montage of feelings through sound. There were peaks and valleys she had to hit in order to hold the audience hostage. She almost lost it halfway through Zana High Life when the host shouted out DJ Geechee Dan standing on the side of the stage. Disa had been trying to find him up in the VIP section and he was right there, less than twenty feet from her watching her cut up a live mix.
It was Erik that saved her from bumbling her set as she focused on him moving instead of Geechie Dan being so near her. He came out of nowhere and she had no idea he could dance so well. The boy showed out and Pamela tried to keep up. It brought a smile to her lips to see him grab her homegirl and dance Pamela around. No one had ever been able to hang with her, and Erik pushed the woman to go all out.
Disa reeled everyone back in when she let Erik's voice quote "Beloved" over the music. He matched the tone of the syncopated beats. It sounded romantic. Dreamy. She took a respite and let the mix play as she watched him dance. So fluid. Like water. She knew he practiced capoeira and decided to go off script and freestyle her set. Dragging down some berimabau sounds, she cued up a Brazilian jam and dropped it on top of her own drumming in time to the stringed instrument. It struck like a thunderbolt on Erik and it shocked her to see him backflip and hold his body in a handstand as his legs moved in slow motion before he crouched on the floor low and swayed to the ancient sounds.
The boy was bad.
Loose hips and expressive arm movement fooled everyone into thinking he was just jamming instead of showing off a martial art. Disa was in awe and almost missed her next transition cue because she was so mesmerized by him. How could that brainy, standoffish, and arrogant man-child turn into a snake-hipped God of the dance?
Pamela jumped back on him and Disa played with them both by skipping her planned closing and taking the two of them to the Black Queer spaces she roamed with Pamela and friends. Punching up the voice of the icon Selvin Mizrahi, aka MC Debra, Disa brought in ballroom beats.
"That shouldn't have been the question," echoed about the space and Pamela stopped dancing with Erik and pointed a finger at Disa.
"Don't play with me, bitch!" Pamela shouted before she dropped to the floor and duck walked like the diva she was. This attracted their other homegirl Tatum who dipped several times making Yamilet stand aside with weak knees. Pamela played with Tatum in a simulated ballroom battle over Erik's attention until Tatum pushed Pamela aside and twirled around the youngster capturing his attention. The audience roared when Erik dropped into his own duck walk challenging Tatum. Erik's friends howled and the entire venue lost it when he dipped three times in front of Tatum making her storm off in a pretend huff as he duck walked after her before spinning on his back and shoulders. He grabbed Tatum's hand and ground on her ass with the closing notes of Disa's set. Loud whistles and claps erupted, and she waved to the crowd before the lights switched over to the next DJ who looked frightened at the prospect of following up after her.
Tatum rushed over to her swiping back long strands of crimped and twisty hair.
"Girl, your lil man was out here giving what he was supposed to give! Is he…?"
"Erik? No, I don't believe so."
"He was putting that thang on me like he wanted a piece of the good, Sis. He grab on me again like that and I'll let him get a taste."
Tatum's dark brown eyes were glossy from drinking and she followed Disa as she carried her crate of vinyl to the green room.
"He's not the type to turn mean if he knows….y'now…" Tatum said.
"He's very open. I don't think he'd trip to know you're Trans."
"Good. Cuz he could get it from any of these women out here. Did you see him move? I know Pamela is butt hurt that she was not the center of the dance universe tonight."
Tatum watched her tuck her crate under a covered table and push them far back with her jacket on top of it with her computer bag.
"I liked how you closed out your set."
"People liked it, yeah?"
"Yeah, but I worry cuz you know how these niggas be wildin' if you bring in the Fam in hetero spaces. Everybody turns into homophobe and kills the vibe for everybody."
Disa's cell buzzed. She pulled it from her back pocket.
"Yamilet and them. She's out by the car now."
Disa dragged her crate back out and Tatum carried her computer bag for her. They headed outside to the parking lot. Yamilet was there with Pamela, and Essie. She opened her trunk and Disa dumped her stuff. The women gave her joyous hugs and high fives before they traipsed back in to catch the other DJs.
Erik ran up to her breathless.
"Hey! I thought you were leaving!"
Disa patted his arm.
"No, just putting my gear away. Erik, these are my friends…"
She introduced everyone, and Erik shook their hands. Tatum and Pamela gave him big hugs and Yamilet snapped her fingers at him.
"Geechie… Hey! Geechie Dan, hold up!" Erik shouted.
Disa's heart dropped in her belly. Erik shook her idol's hand and brought him over to Disa.
"This is Disa Abdullah-Woods, your biggest fan," Erik said.
"My dear, sweet, woman, you are a master class of gifts. That set was-"
Geechie Dan kissed his fingers to end his praise.
Disa held out a trembling hand to him.
"No, that's not gonna do, Buttafly. Bring it in," he said opening his arms wide.
Disa burst into tears.
"Hey, I'm nobody to cry over," he whispered.
Geechie Dan gave Disa a big hug, and she stood there like a blubbering baby. The years that she spent practicing what she would say to the man if she ever met him in person went straight out the window. She used to laugh at people who became overly emotional meeting celebrities, but now she totally understood the overwhelming feeling that surged through her.
She wiped her eyes and Erik rubbed her back with gentle circles.
"I've been a fan since I was a little kid," she stammered out.
"Erik here told me. I told him how much I enjoyed his dancing and he just went in about you."
A crowd surrounded Geechie Dan, but he ignored them, his twinkling eyes on her.
"It has been a long time since I've seen a DJ create a set with so much intention behind it. You have something special in you, young lady. Never lose that gift."
Disa's mouth seemed to lose all ability to work. All the things she wanted to say stalled in her throat. He was there in the flesh. Standing in front of her.
"Disa has a radio show you should go on," Erik suggested.
"Oh yeah? Give me your number. I'll call you up and we can chop it up."
Geechie Dan pulled out his cell and Disa gave him her number, her voice a soft shell of its usual assertive tone.
"When I get some free time, I'll hit you up. Excuse me, they want me back up on stage. Amazing set, Disa. Keep spinning!"
The man shook her hand with both of his and his entourage and promoters swept him away.
"She's still in shock," Yamilet said waving her hand in Disa's face.
Erik's bright smile attracted her attention. Had he not spoken to the man, Disa may very well have missed her opportunity to meet him, let alone remember to ask the man for a radio interview. Her mind floated with the surreal nature of the experience. Her cell buzzed.
Here's my number. I'll be in New York in a few weeks, would be open to an in-person radio interview.
Geechee Dan's personal cell number. She had it. In her palm.
Disa reached out and grabbed Erik's shoulders. She planted a big fat kiss on his lips.
"Damn, what was that for?" he said.
"Being here," she said.
He wiped his lips and smiled.
"Erik…"
Chloe slinked up and slipped her arm in Erik's, tugging him towards the dance floor. Disa watched him enter the thick crowd of swaying bodies to dance once more.
###
Her night was a dreamy success.
Disa stayed in a popular hotel with her friends, and they hung out in the bar. Erik strolled into the lobby with his friends. In a tipsy stupor, Disa walked over to him with a fresh drink in her hand. "Didn't know you were staying here too," she said.
He took the drink from her and sipped it down.
"Hey… you can't drink this here out in the open, you're underage!"
She snatched it away from his lips.
"Nah, it's after midnight… I'm twenty-one now," he said.
"Oh, shit. It's your birthday? Today?"
"Yep."
"Happy Birthday, Erik!"
She hugged him tight and gave him the glass of liquor.
"Enjoy," she said.
"What room are we in?" Jace asked.
Erik's dorm companion looked sleepy along with two other guys.
"301," Erik said handing Jace a key card.
Disa's friends called for her to return to the bar counter.
"Come celebrate with us," she said pointing to her group.
"I'm beat, to be honest. Thanks for asking me though."
"If you change your mind, we'll be down here."
"Good to know."
"Thanks for everything, Erik. Tonight was really special and meant a lot to me. Especially with you hooking me up with Geechie Dan."
"Glad to make your dream come true."
His eyes penetrated hers.
"Okay grown-ass man, go to bed," she said pushing on his arm playfully.
"You're drunk," he teased.
"A happy one at that," she said stumbling off to join her girls.
Three more drinks later, after a heated discussion with a group of men who hovered around them trying to interject their unwanted opinions about dating, Disa leaned over the bar counter and asked for a special birthday cocktail for Erik. She went to the lobby restroom, collected the drink afterward, and excused herself from her friends. She took the elevator to the third floor and found Erik's room. The fruity exotic drink had a lot of strong liquor in it. Knocking on the door, she waited for someone to answer. She could hear a tv on and talking going on inside.
Kelvin, a cute nerdy string bean answered the door.
"Is Erik up?" she asked.
Kelvin's eyes nearly popped out looking at her.
"You were so good," he yelped.
"Thank you… um… Erik?"
"He's not here."
"Not here? Did he go out?"
"No, he's in that room," Kelvin said pointing across the hall to room 302.
"Thanks," she said.
Kelvin closed the door and Disa did a one-eighty and rapped her knuckles on the new door. She toyed with the blue umbrella and pineapple garnish on his drink. Erik answered. Shirtless and wearing tight gray boxers.
"Hey," she said.
"Um… Hi. 'sup?"
"Birthday drink. A proper one."
She thrust it out to him and tried to brush past him, but he held an arm up in the door jamb blocking her. Her brain failed to register that he didn't want her inside, and she bumped against him, her breasts touching his chest.
"I can't come in?"
"I have someone here," he said.
Her eyes cut behind him. Chloe was draped in nothing but a sheet, the tops of her breasts threatening to spill over her arm that clutched the covers.
"Oh, snap. I'm sorry. I thought you were staying with the guys over there. Didn't realize you had your own room. Here, enjoy the drink," she said.
Erik took the bulbous glass, and his expression was full of embarrassment. He stepped into the hall and closed the door behind him. Disa stepped back from him and fumbled with her hands.
"Handle your business. It's time for me to get to bed myself… get some sleep. Have fun!"
She tried to sound jovial, but something in the back of her throat made her voice accusatory. As if she caught him doing something behind her back. For months she thought of Erik as her little pet. He was her loyal puppy, and she had to admit she enjoyed all the fawning he did over her. But he was also a young man with needs. She tried not to look at the package that was hanging in his underwear. The outline of it was showing off. God forbid if he was a grower too.
"Me and Chloe kinda got this thing going on now…"
"New girlfriend and good birthday sex is a blessing. Night Erik."
She turned to leave and pivoted back to him.
"Can I put on a birthday dinner for you and your family? I know you're planning on eating at Toulouse, but I would love to host your birthday party at my place."
"That's too much Disa. I have a lot of people coming in from all over."
"How many?"
"Fifteen—"
"Pfft, boy, you've been to my dinner parties, you know how I get down. Fifteen is nothing for me."
"The cost alone will be crazy—"
"Let me handle that. You deserve a special day. You made my night amazing, let me show my appreciation. What would you like to eat?"
Erik's eyes grew thoughtful, they dropped to look at his drink.
"I love your Confit de Canard,"
"Aw, I see. I finally got you to give in to duck meat."
"It's gonna be hella expensive."
"Don't worry about it. Let's say six sharp on Saturday, three courses and Turkish coffee with a birthday cake."
His eyes lit up.
"I'll let my people know."
"Tell them to dress up. I'll plan a splendid evening with games afterward."
Erik grabbed her hand and pulled her in close.
"Thank you," he said.
"Better get back to Chloe. Don't want her chewing my head off for keeping all of this out of the bed."
She smirked at him and wandered down the hall.
###
Chloe had a frown n her face when Erik walked back into the hotel room.
"What did she want?"
"Birthday gift," he said holding up the fancy drink.
He sipped it, and the liquor was too strong for his tastes. It would knock him out before he had a chance to smash Chloe. He put the glass on the nightstand and pulled off his boxers. His dick was already at half-mast.
"Why is your dick like that already?"
Chloe sat up, and the frown on her face deepened.
"Looking at you gets me excited," he countered.
Hopping into the bed, he pulled back the sheets and swiped her nipples with his tongue.
"You're attracted to her."
"Disa? That's my homegirl—"
"Everyone knows you have a crush on her. You turn into a puddle whenever she's around."
Chloe folded her arms over her breasts blocking his access.
"If your dick is getting hard for her, maybe you should get some birthday sex from her instead!"
"Chloe. Stop trippin'. I'm giving this dick to you."
He rubbed the hardening length against her thigh. She slapped it.
"Wanna play rough?" he said.
"Was your dick hard for that Trans chick too?"
"What?"
"Disa's friend. The one with the long fluffy hair. You didn't know?"
"No. She fine as fuck though."
"You'd fuck a Trans woman?"
There was disgust on her face.
Erik sat up. He'd been around Trans women and Trans men all his life, especially in Brazil. He had a Trans play uncle in Sao Paulo who used to babysit him and his play cousin Marisol.
"A woman is a woman. She got titties I can play with and a hole I can fuck, I don't see a problem—"
"Ohmigod! You really would fuck her."
"That ass was amazing."
"I can't believe you're serious!"
"Are you a queerphobe? Cuz if you are, that's not gonna work for me."
"No… I just… I can't picture you being like that."
"Like what?"
"Accepting. You're like a man's man—"
"A Transphobe? I wasn't raised like that. My mother would never let me treat people like shit who didn't deserve it."
Chloe stared down at her hands.
"I'm glad to hear that, actually."
"Yeah? Why?"
Her eyes welled up.
"My sister… she's transitioning… he's becoming my brother and I worry about him going up against guys like you."
"Guys like me?"
"Y'know overly masculine. He's coming to visit me in a few weeks and I wanted you to meet him since he's interested in capoeira."
Her eyes met his.
"I didn't mean to be accusatory about Disa's friend. She's beautiful. Prettier than me."
"You're the prettiest woman in this room right now."
She slapped his hand and smiled.
"But you do like Disa. Right?"
"She's my friend. I had a big crush on her when I first arrived on campus, but now… she's like a mentor… a big sister. We're close and she teaches all kinds of cool stuff. I probably do act all goofy when I'm around her—"
"It's cute… really. I just… let's forget about it."
He kissed her. With guilt. Disa meant more to him than just a big sister or a mentor. She was the ultimate woman. But she would never see him as a man.
Chloe wrapped her lips around his dick and rolled a condom on his shaft after she plumped him up to complete hardness. She presented her backside to him and he sank into her walls and pumped, enjoying her soft sighs and cries of passion. He took off the condom much later as she allowed him to fuck her raw in the ass and dump a hot load in her anal walls. She kept his mind off of Disa and those lush breasts that truly made his dick thicken and visibly tell Chloe the truth. Disa was his dream girl. Everyone could see it.
###
The large package arrived at Disa's house the day before Erik's birthday party. She called him on his phone to tell them that a big box with a D.C. return address and B. Dunduza written in black block letters was sitting in her living room.
He drove over to her house, and Disa watched him tear it open. There was a note on top of the bubble wrap.
"Kept these in storage for you. We wanted to wait until you turned twenty-one to have them. Cherish them as we cherish you."
Uncle Bakari and Auntie Shavonne both signed it.
Erik removed the layer of bubble wrap and his heart nearly stopped.
He fingered the old dark brown leather, and a breath shuddered out of him.
"Erik? You alright?" Disa asked.
She put a hand on his shoulder as he lifted the leather-bound journal from the box.
"These are my father's journals," he whispered.
Opening the first journal, he recognized the careful Wakandan script written by his father's powerful hand. They taped a small piece of bubble wrap on the page. Erik unraveled it and gasped before falling on his backside.
"What is it?" Disa asked, rising concern coloring her voice
Opening his fingers, Erik stared at the wondrous gift.
His Baba's ring. Attached to the chain his mother bought for him as an anniversary gift. The chain his father wore the night he was killed by King T'Chaka.
His family birthright.
Now his.
Chapter 10 HERE
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wyverian-lady525 · 3 years
Note
Aaaah~, thanks for the Kyle family fic...
...and I kinda wanna ask for another one, if it's alright. This time, Rider is in Lulucion for a bit and Kyle or Tsukino or Dad or someone invites them over for dinner. Coincidentally his brothers have all (or some) visited so it's kinda a big family thing. At first, his brothers are a little skeptical of Rider but then Rider (and maybe Navirou too cuz why not) starts innocently gushing over Kyle's skills and how they enjoy doing quests together with him and how they look forward to when he visits Mahana and Kyle is off on the side, sinking in his seat like PLZ STAHP and his brothers (and Tsukino...maybe Dad too?) are smirking cuz they're getting lots of ammo to tease Kyle about later 😂
...poor Kyle 🤣
YES! I luv writing stories where Kyle gets teased...XD
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Kyle’s Family: A Tragedy Written By Me
Kyle knows he can never escape the teasing clutches of his family members, he just wish you could stop making it worse for him.
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Kyle is always hesitant when his dad tells him that the family is getting together. After all, being the youngest of five brothers leads to a lot of teasing and berating. And if Kyle dared tried to stand up for himself, they would ALL gang up on him (and our boy can’t emotionally stand that).
So, Kyle decided to walk around the city with Tsukino before the swarm arrives. The last thing the hunter expected to see was you. You and your own felyne companion were browsing the smithy’s new selection of goods. Not noticing him, you continued your little shopping excursion. Kyle himself was debating if he should go and say hello, however, before he could come to a conclusion on that, Tsukino was already talking to you. Kyle quickly rushed over before she could say anything embarrassing.
“So what brings you to Lulucion?” Was all that he heard from her when he arrived. You waved when you saw the hunter, and then answered the palico’s question.
“I’m just browsing for some new gear. Nothing exciting.” You told her while Navirou tried to get into your bag for some donuts that you stashed in there. 
“Sooooo, then you’re free tonight?” Tsukino asked with a mischievous look on her face. A look of fear slowly went onto Kyle’s face when he saw where his palico was going with this. 
“I guess not.” You said with a shrug. Kyle froze. All he could do was stand there as Tsukino asked the dreaded question.
“Want to have dinner with us?” She said with a glance towards Kyle’s direction. He could kill her. 
“Dinner?!” Navirou finally tuned in when he heard food was mentioned. Kyle decided now was the time to intervene.
“Actually, now’s not-” He was interrupted by the talkative felyne again.
“Count us in!” He exclaimed while hopping on your shoulder. You smiled sheepishly, but agreed to his statement. 
“Great! See you tonight!” Tsukino said with big grin. You waved goodbye while Kyle wished the ground could swallow him up. He was about to berate Tsukino, but his palico already disappeared. Good, she knows she ensured his wrath. He would get after her later.
Now he was just dreading tonight.
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When he arrived back home (probably just moments before dinner is suppose to ACTUALLY start), he saw that everyone was here. His dad, Tsukino, and all his brothers. Great, now he couldn’t chew out his palico. 
Apparently she had just told them all about you coming for dinner. His dad seemed rather okay with it, but his brothers all seemed a little skeptical.
“Someone who bonds with monsters? And then rides them? I don’t know...” One of his brothers said to him while scratching his head.
“Sounds dangerous to me.” Another added with crossed arms. 
“And stupid.” The one closest to Kyle’s age stated while sitting down.
“Listen,” Kyle started with clenched fists. “I know it sounds super weird, but please just be nice to them. Don’t make them feel uncomfortable.”
“Oh...” The one sitting said while leaning forwards with a smirk: “And why’s that?”
Before Kyle could smack him, there was a knock on the door. All his brothers quickly fought to answer to door, but the man of the house beat them to it.
You were surprised to be greeted by Kyle’s dad instead of Kyle himself. So, you politely introduced yourself.
“I’m Y/N, a friend of Kyles. It’s nice to see your doing better.” You started, but then his dad started to laugh.
“I know. He’s mentioned you once or twice.” His dad said. Kyle was mortified when his father winked at him. Thankfully, you missed that and just smiled. Navirou jumped on your head to introduce himself, but Kyle’s dad already walked away. You laughed and followed inside. You looked more shocked to see all of Kyle’s brothers.
They blinked simultaneously while Kyle glared at them, daring them to speak.
However, the oldest one did not care about his little brother’s hollow threat, and asked, “So, what’s it like to ride monsters?”
You sat down and hesitantly answered, “It’s fun, but a lot of work as well. However, I enjoy the thrill of riding.”
“Aren’t you ever worried they might turn on you?” Another brother asked. You should’ve expected questions from them and gently folded your hands on the table.
“No. I’ve raised them all since they hatched. We have a strong bond.” You told them. Then the older one spoke again.
“But don’t you think you’re intruding on nature? I mean, stealing monster eggs and raising them yourself?” He asked. You were quiet at that question. Navirou was ready to jump to your defense, but Kyle beat him to it.
“Who’s hungry!?” He yelled nervously. Tsukino shook her head with a smile.
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Everyone was now seated at the table eating a wonderful meal that one of Kyle’s brothers whipped up. The questions about your profession were all put behind them as lightheartedness floated about the room. The hunter brothers were all telling tales of their quests as Kyle’s dad nodded proudly. You were listening with enjoyment, and Tsukino and Navirou were sharing some donuts.
Kyle, however, felt dread in his stomach. He felt it the moment he saw a humorous glint in his brother that was born before him. His taunting eyes went from Kyle to you, and then he oh so innocently leaned on his elbows and asked, “What do you enjoy about this dork?”
Silence filled the table and all eyes were on you. You, however, smiled and said, “That’s easy! Kyle’s very reliable, and super skilled with a bow! I mean, I could never do anything like that.”
“Oh really...” Kyle felt a pair of eyes burn into him.
“He’s also super smart about monsters! And good at finding nests, tracks, you name it!” You continued to gush.
“Go on...” Another pair of eyes.
“Kyle is also fun to have on quests!” This time it was Navirou who dimed in. Kyle didn’t even dare look at Tsukino.
“Anything else?” The same brother inquired.
“I love when he visits Mahana Village. It makes me feel like he enjoys having me as a friend!” You finished while glancing in the young hunter’s direction. 
“You guys...’good’ friends?” His dad then asked. Kyle felt all his brothers stare at him with smirks (some of them chuckled), and he could practically feel the oncoming storm of teases and suggestive jokes. 
Also why did his dad, of all people, have to phrase the question like THAT?
“Of course they are!” Navirou said with a grin. Tsukino couldn’t contain the little snort she did and used her paw to cover her mouth so no one could see all the laughter she was containing.
“That’s good to know...that’s really good to know...” The brother who asked the first question at the table said slowly while leaning back in his chair. Then his gaze slid over to his little brother (who was resisting the urge to slam his head on the table till he forgets everything). 
“Pawtner, we gotta go feed Ratha.” Navirou said while jumping on your head. You nodded, not noticing the impending doom for Kyle, and waved goodbye. 
Once you were gone, all eyes were on Kyle. The young hunter had begun to feel very small as he slumped in his seat. He felt like a wounded kelbi in front of a starving pack of velociprey. Then one of his brothers got up, stood behind him, and placed his hands on Kyle’s shoulders.
“Ok, little brother, it’s time for a talk.”
Kyle felt like he just had an out of body experience. Now he was hit with reality as his senses were wide awake. Faster than a kirin, he was out of his brother’s grasp and out the door. He knew he would have to come back eventually. He was in the eye of the storm right now.
Maybe if he hurried, you could feed him to Ratha and save him from his misery.
However, that’s not how this tragedy ends. Kyle would have to face their teasing questions while he sat there with a red face. He wanted to blame you for being so positive about him.
Maybe he should’ve been more of a jerk to you. Then this whole situation could’ve been avoided.
But that’s not how Kyle’s luck worked. He could act like a jerk all day, and yet, you would still have nice things to say about him.
If only he could say the same for his family.
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hit-me-with-a-ladle · 3 years
Text
Ch. 8 Creepypastas x Fem! reader
Sorry I've been gone for so long. My grandfather died a month ago and I wasn't in the right mindset to write. But I'm back and ill do my best. Thank you all for your patients. Anyway, enjoy<3
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As the week progressed, the girl found that it was the slightest bit easier to read through Masky's facade. Though that did not mean that she could thoroughly read him quite yet, she made it a challenge that eventually she would. Masky himself became lenient at first as to mind her injuries. But the moment she started to heal, it was all back to the ruthless nature of his work. Finally, when the week ended, she got informed that someone else was going to teach her. That person turned out to be Ben, the blond-headed boy that seemed too eager to meet her.
An early sensation lurked in the air the moment she woke up, groggily walking to the bathroom and taking a well-deserved shower. The feeling of all of the previous days' dirt and grime washing off her punctured flesh was refreshing. Her mind was finally clear, able to freely think and dwell on her current predicament without any outside interference. The hot water trickled down her naked body, soothing her as she thought of any way she could escape. But no matter how hard she thought, deep down she knew that the only way she could truly leave was to stay a little longer to devise a plausible plan.
Sadness overtook her body, hot tears streaming down her already wet face intertwining with the water droplets from the showerhead. She'd been able to withhold her tears for a while now, not wanting to give those bastards the satisfaction. But as her current position set in her mind once more, she couldn't hold it in. It was like a never-ending loop. After being rudely introduced and forced to spend a week being trained to the bone by two different killers, she had to repeat the process with another. It felt like her own personal hell.
Feeling the scalding hot water turn cold was an indicator that it was time to get ready. Not giving a damn if she was late. Stepping out of the shower with a huff, she looked at herself in the full-body mirror. Steam covered its surface from head to toe. Though, no matter how blurry, the rough outline of all the large scars, cuts and a few red bruises that littered her body were still very much visible. The feeling and texture of her once somewhat clear skin was now a distant memory in her mind. Slowly tracing all of the scars with the tip of the rugged fingers she winced when she made contact with a few of the most recent injuries.
Getting dressed in the same greyish jump-suit she has been washing and wearing for the last few days, she went to eat breakfast. But before leaving her bedroom she looked at the nightstand, there laid the old pocket watch he gave her. For some reason, he didn't want to take it when she offered it back. Shrugging her shoulders she put it in her right pocket and headed downstairs. Reaching the kitchen, noticing that Masky must have left early. Not paying any mind to his disappearance she carried on with her day. Eating the meal she prepared for herself. Sitting there on the dining table, in total silence, patiently staring at the clock. Ben still hadn't arrived. He was already ten minutes late, to begin with, which was a significant tonal shift from Masky, who was extremely punctual and despised tardiness. After what felt like hours, a loud crash was heard that made the girl's ears perk up as she ran to the living room. Their laying spread eagle, on the front of the old television, was none other than Ben.
" What happened, how did you get in here?" The girl quickly said while helping him up. " Dammit, forgot how small the damn television was." He said under his breath, ignoring her previous question. Getting on his feet he brushed himself off giving the girl a better look. Unlike the other two men, he was significantly shorter, 162 to 165 cm or 5'4-5'5 feet tall. Medium length golden hair under a long green hat and sharp pointy elf-like ears. His pale white skin looked ceramic, almost like a doll's and thin lips with a button nose. He seemed considerably young, but she assumed that he most likely was about eighteen years of age. Though, what caught her attention were his round black eyes that had a speck of red in them that acted as pupils. He was dressed as an elf, with his bright green tunic, forest green pants and leather belt neatly tied around his waist that held a small satchel type bag.
Looking in her direction he flashed her a creepy smile that showed off his white teeth. The girl didn't know how to react to his sudden action, as she felt discomfort all around her body, shifting her weight awkwardly she chose to ask him again. " How the hell did you manage to get in here without me hearing you?" " Well, I did the same thing I'm gonna' be teaching you today. Sorcery or magic. Whatever word floats your boat." " Magic? As in witchcraft, like spells and potions?" " Yup. I mean I know Jack already told you this so I don't know why you're so shocked." He snickered, it sounded distorted. " Yeah, I remember but I didn't actually expect-not that I didn't think that it would be magic-it is just that this is all so strange, I can't believe it." " Believe it, cuz I'm gonna' be teaching ya some spells. Follow me now out the back door." He spoke loudly, shaking his hands in a flamboyant manner.
Walking swiftly to the kitchen towards the back door. The girl was visibly confused as she followed suit. Why did they have to go through the back door, it was all quite strange. Stepping out, she noticed the rather large, wooden table a few meters in front of them. Its surface is covered in all kinds of trinkets, herbs and plants. " What's all of this for?" She said, approaching the table. "I got Masky to set it up before he left, we're gonna be needing some of this stuff so I can show you the ropes and basically help you understand the basics of making potions. A skill you'd need for survival." He answered while picking up a bunch of the items off the table and stuffing them in the bag. " Oh, what do we have here?" He said excitedly under his breath " Is it Raskovnik? My god it is. I know what i'll be teaching you first now, don't I. '' He started with a laugh as he made his way towards the trees. " Where are we going now?" " To the brewery. Do you really think you will be making risky positions in front of the cabin? You humans are actually the dumbest creatures."
The girl's face scrunched up in annoyance but still kept her mouth shut. She knew better than to try and argue with these people. Biting down on her tongue she got drawn in by the scenery like most times she was out in the forest. Autom was soon approaching so the wind had started to pick up the past few days, it made the multicoloured leaves on the trees dance as it passed. It calmed her as it passed through her body. Taking in a large breath she smiled and carried on behind Ben. Dogging trees and branches as there was no pathway in this part of the forest.
" Did you get the plant?" Ben spoke up after a while, cutting the calm silence. " Sorry, what?" " Were you the one that got the Raskovnik?" He repeated the question louder. " Oh, well yeah. I got it a while back as a part of my training with Masky." She replied quickly walking to his side. " Figures. Maskys is the type to make others do his dirty work." He muttered bitterly. But the girl was still able to hear it. " So you have a bad relationship with him?" " You could say that. Most of us do. The scumbag." The air started to tense. " I guess you could call him that. But he's not always that bad, he has his moments I guess." " Not that bad? Tell me, how did you manage to get that big ass gash on your neck." He harshly replied, pointing his leather-gloved hand to her neck. She quickly covered it and looked to the side. Not responding. " As I said, he's an absolute scumbag." " Well if it isn't stepping over a boundary, mind telling me why he's so bad." " Well, to begin with, he's a sadistic prick that only cares for himself. He broke into my house and stole some of the VERY rear herbs that took me YEARS to collect. And worst of all, he's the dog of The Operator." His face darkened when he mentioned The Operator's name. " The Operator? Whos that?" The girl quickly asked, lowering her hand and looking at him with a confused look on her face. " He's one of the most powerful beings to even exist. The embodiment of evil." " So like the devil?" " No, he's not the devil, the devil is a different being, but he's still terrifying." " Why do they call him The Operator then?" " Well, like. I don't really know how to explain this to you but, imagine this forest being a very large city. Y’know how every city has a mayor or someone in charge that leads it. Well, that's what The Operator really is. The Operator isn't his real name but a nickname given to him."
With that they finally stepped into a small grass filled clearing where in the middle, was a very small cottage covered in vines, plants and flowers. The old wood that it was made of was held up the multitude of plants, securing it firmly. The half-rounded door was nicely placed in the front, a yellow brick pathway leading to it, with a square window to the side. They quickly approached the door, the girl's breath taken by the beauty. The inside itself was small, shelves were on every side of the walks, each holding a plethora of books, trinkets, herbs and plants. It was relatively messy but still easy to walk in. A cauldron was in the middle of the room with a desk stacked with papers, pens, and scrolls.
Placing the Rascovnik and emptying his bag on the desk, Ben looked at the girl. " So let's begin I guess." He said walking to the medium-sized cauldron. " What are we going to do exactly?" She quickly asked as her eyes followed him, as he walked around the cottage collecting different ingredients and placing them on the desk. " Well, you're not going to be doing anything, just taking notes." Tossing a notepad at her. " While I prepare something and explain the different things you'll need to know." " Yeah that's great but am I going to be quizzed the same way Masky quizzed me because I need to know what I should expect." She said frantically, firmly grasping the notepad to her chest. " Nah, you're not. I don't do quizzes or tests, I like doing things spontaneously y'know. And plus taking notes will help you understand things more, so just write down herb and spell names, important details and whatever else will help ya remember. K?" " Ok, I guess." Anxiety began to dwell in her mind, as she looked around. " Readdy?" He said walking in front of the cauldron, giving her a slightly crooked reassuring smile.
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wandas-sunshine · 3 years
Text
Free Falling
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Summary: You’re nervous about Tony’s annual Christmas Ball, but Bucky is there to help ease your nerves, or maybe make them worse. Either way you’re happy to spend your time with him.
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader
Word Count: 1,690
Warnings: Minor alcohol mention, reader is pretty anxious
A/N: This doesn’t specify the reader’s gender, but the reader does wear a dress so I apologize if that ruins it for you guys. Let me know what you think! Happy holidays my dears
Tony Stark’s parties were legendary. His annual Christmas Ball was the event of the year. A live orchestra, the best chefs in the world, and decorations that probably cost more than your house. Or at least that’s what you’d heard. Even after years of working with the Avengers, you’d never gone to one. You received an invitation every year, and every year you’d stare at it, but never once did you attend. You just didn’t have the confidence, or a date. Fancy dance parties weren’t exactly your cup of tea. But this year there was a new variable being tossed into play.
You had just been given your invitation. The words were printed in swirling silver script that reminded you of freshly fallen snow. You were so focused on the looping print that you didn’t notice Steve joining you in the kitchen.
“Are you thinking of going?” He asked. You nearly jumped out of your skin, whirling around to look at him. He gave you a sheepish smile.
“Oh, um...yeah, maybe. I don’t know, it’s not really my thing.” You shrugged and put the invitation back on the table. Steve hummed and picked it up.
“Buck is going this year.” He stated. You bit your lip. To most anyone who had known you for any length of time, your feelings for Bucky were  common knowledge. The only person still in the dark about it was Bucky himself, and you were happy to keep it that way. “I think he’d like seeing you there.”
You wanted so badly to ask why he’d care if you were at Tony’s stupid ball anyway. Nevertheless, the promise of seeing him was enough to convince you to face your fears and RSVP.
The next issue came with trying to find something you could get away with wearing. One look at your wardrobe was enough to make it clear that formal situations were not your usual environment. So Natasha decided to take things into her own hands. She argued that you didn’t know how to dress yourself up properly.
One shopping spree later and she had you dressed to kill, though not literally for a change. Of course you were insecure, staring yourself down in the mirror and picking out all of the flaws and insecurities. You probably would have backed out if it wasn’t for how excited your friends were for you to finally join them.
So there you stood outside the looming doors with Steve by your side. You clung to his arm with trembling hands, just praying that your knees wouldn’t go weak when you tried to walk inside. He’d been awfully sweet when you’d asked him to stay with you for a moment. You hadn’t expected to be so terrified, but nearly all of the most influential people in the world were beyond those doors. You could hear the music, and the excited chatter on the other side.
“Maybe I should just go home,” You decided, smoothing your hands over the skirt of your dress. Steve’s hand rested against your shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze.
“Come on, you’re gonna have a good time.” He guided you gently through the doors.
The room was stunning, vaulted ceilings and wide open space. The bar was on the far end, and it was already crowded with people and lined with silver garland. The walls were lined with trees bigger than any you’d ever seen, all decorated in red and gold. There were shimmering silver snowflakes that looked like they were floating in midair. It was breathtaking really, more beautiful than any of the other parties Tony had thrown you were sure.
You didn’t get to admire the view for too long before you felt the familiar prickle at the back of your neck. You looked up to find several pairs of eyes on you, a few people even swapping whispered comments that you could only imagine were about the two of you standing there frozen at the entrance. You felt your stomach drop as the panic set in. You were no good at being the center of attention. You mentally scrutinized your appearance, but your attention was caught once again.
“Are you alright?” Your eyes snapped up, immediately meeting the steady gaze of one James Barnes. He looked like a model standing there. His black suit jacket covered his red vest and white undershirt. He’d tied his hair back into a bun at the base of his skull, and a few rebellious locks had fallen out into his face. You couldn’t help but think about how well the look suited him, what with the way it accentuated his stubble jawline.
“Everyone is looking over here,” You answered, your eyes drifting down to look at your overpriced shoes. He chuckled, and hearing that sound, you thought, may have been the closest to heaven you’d ever get.
“Let them look. You’re stunning.” The conviction in his voice made your chest fill with nerves until there was no room for your breath. You could have sworn that the floor had fallen out from beneath your feet. You were freefalling. You weren’t often on the receiving end of such compliments. Especially not from him. “Come on, everyone’s over by the bar,”
He offered your arm, and Steve gently pulled away from you. Even with your nerves, you knew it would be impolite to decline, so you rested your hand in the crook of his elbow. With two super soldiers flanking you, the crowd parted like the red sea. Unfortunately that also meant that a surprising amount of attention was turned to the person they were escorting. Everyone was looking at the three of you like you were royalty, but you were too preoccupied to notice, too distracted by Bucky.
When he left your side, you had found solace in the company of Sam and Natasha, both of whom looked stunning enough to make you a little insecure. Not that either of them were going to have any part of you talking badly about yourself. A few compliments later, and Bucky was back beside you, pressing a drink into your hand. You didn’t know what it was but you could use a little something to help you calm down. So you sipped it.
Once you had settled in with all of your friends things didn’t seem so terrible. But the whole time Bucky stayed glued to your side. You didn’t complain one bit. You were a couple of drinks in, joking with Wanda and Bucky until she was stolen away for a dance. Then there were two.
The two of you both fell quiet after only a moment. You sipped your drink and scanned the room. Everyone seemed to be having fun, but you were still pretty sure you stood out like a sore thumb.
“You need to stop thinking so much. Come on,” He took your drink out of your hand and set it down with yours. You quirked an eyebrow at him as he held his hand out for you. “Dance with me,”
You shook your head frantically. You were having enough trouble functioning just standing beside him. He still took your hand in his.
“Bucky, I don’t know how to dance.” You blurted out, pulling your hand from his even though you liked the way they fit so perfectly together.
“Don’t you trust me?” He took your hand again, this time more firmly so you wouldn’t pull it away again. “Just follow me lead,”
“I still don’t know about this,” You whined. Once he had led you to the floor, he carefully showed you what to do with your hands. With so many bodies closing in, you had no choice but to gravitate closer to him. He held you so gently, and the light scent of his cologne was dizzying. Lucky for you he had a hand pressed warm and firm against your lower back.
“You look like you’re gonna pass out,” He joked, leaning down to whisper directly into your ear. You shivered at the feeling of his breath tickling against your skin.
“I’m just nervous.” You laughed nervously at the confession. You hardly noticed how easily he was leading you to dance alongside the other couples on the floor. It was easy to follow his lead. You would, after all, follow him to the ends of the earth.
“Why are you nervous? You’re a natural,” He complimented, and you felt your body flush hot.
“It’s stupid,” You shook your head. The long silence between you told you clearly that he wasn’t letting you off the hook so easily. “I always get nervous around you,”
“Is that why you always avoid me?” He smirked, but there wasn’t the edge of disappointment or harsh amusement that you had expected from him. You nodded, your laugh fizzling into flustered giggles. This was pathetic. 
“When I’m around you it’s like my brain forgets how to work.” You confessed. You weren’t sure why you were spilling all your secrets to him, but once you started talking to him it was just so easy to keep going.
“You don’t seem to be having any trouble now.” He laughed, bright and bubbly like that thought alone made him happy. You wondered if that really did make him happy, but wasn’t that just wishful thinking?
“Really? Cuz I feel like I’m dying. Guess it just takes practice.” You were joking, sort of anyway, but Bucky grinned. He gave your waist a little squeeze and leaned down again, lips brushing the shell of your ear as he whispered.
“Then you should spend more time with me. You should let me take you on a real date.” Your heart stuttered in your chest as his words sunk in. Maybe Christmas miracles were real, because Bucky Barnes being interested in you had to be thanks to some sort of holiday magic.
“Do you mean that?” You asked. He nodded a silent response, eyes locked with yours. “Yeah, yeah we should give that a go.”
That was the moment you finally admitted that maybe attending this stupid ball wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
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