#feels like an eternity as much as I’ve completed since I’ve been home

[crappycamille]

a/n: it’s hard not to be uncontrollably desperate for bakugou… minors dni 18+

Katsuki often wonders why you have such a huge influence over him. He’s often called villainous because of his unorthodox methods and his brash personality (especially when he was younger), but Bakugou has always prided himself in having a strong moral compass. Plus, he’s not easily influenced by others. But there’s something different about you. Something that brings out a sadistic side of him. It’s entirely your fault. You make him irrational. There isn’t a thing in this world that he wouldn’t do for you, and that’s scary. Without a second thought, he would become more heinous than any of the villains he pursues for you. He tries not to think about it too much. It's truly dangerous. But that strong moral compass he prides himself in quickly diminishes when the topic is you. It’s almost sick the way he feels about you. But how could he not? You do little to quell his unhealthy addiction. You do quite the opposite.

You’re just so needy… so so impatient.

There’s just no reason for you to be begging him to fuck you like your life is going to end. You are pure sin. Propped up on the bed, legs spread wide. Extra wide. Allowing him to see every inch of your sopping-wet, slightly puffy, pussy. Two fingers desperately trying to relieve the insatiable burn in your lower stomach. He can hardly blink as he watches you move rapidly, so incredibly desperately. There’s just so much for him to take in. The way your body jolts when you circle your clit. Your fingers plunging deep in your slick. Your hips grinding erratically against your hand as you try to reach deeper and deeper because it’s not deep enough. Your other hand grasping for anything you can reach: your nipples, your neck, the sheets below you, your hair.

Your body is constantly in dire need of him.

And that’s not even the worst of it. It’s that slutty little mouth of yours that sends Bakugou over the edge. It makes him question every moral cell in his body. It’s the way you beg. You’re breathing so heavily like you’ll pass out at any moment. Moaning and whining as if it’s the only thing keeping you conscious.

“K-Katsuki! Please please please please, please. I need you. Please.” You struggle to keep your eyes on him with your head rolling from side to side no longer having the strength to hold it straight up. Vision is completely hazy, blurred by tears and lust. “It’s not deep enough! It’s not enough. Only you! Only your cock can fill me! Please!”

The groan he lets out tumbles deep from within him. He can’t help but palm himself through his thick cargo pants. He's still in his hero suit. He had barely gotten home from patrol when he walked into the sight of you like this… desperate. He hadn’t even been gone for very long. Just a measly two hours since he was called in to take over the end of Kirishima’s shift. Yet, those two hours were an eternity to you. Enough to make you yearn and miss him as if he’d be gone forever.

“Ah, fuck— Plllleaseeee! I need you! Ugh, Katsuki! Katsuki, Katsuki, Katsuki!” Somehow you sounded even more desperate, chanting his name like it was the only word you could remember. He hadn’t even touched you yet and you were already writhing in pleasure for him, painfully so.

Bakugou thinks he could watch you like that for hours. His hand holds steady on his crotch to ease the throbbing so he doesn’t cum in his pants. It’s so addicting to see you like this. To see you this wound up for him and him alone. That’s why he can’t give in right away, as much as his body screams at him to. He has to savor every moment of your pain. Of your pure desperation.

But he is only so strong… “I’m coming. I’ve got you, Princess.”

#bakugou drabble #bakugou smut #bakugou imagine #bakugou x reader #bakugou thirst #bakugou thoughts

[azrielsdove]

Thank you all SO much for the love on this story!! I got a little carried away, and pt. 2 ended up being quite a bit longer than I expected. I hope you all enjoy it 💕

Read Pt. 1 Here

Warnings: Angst, Violence, Smut, 18+

The High Lords: Pt 2

You stared in shock at the High Lord in front of you. “How long?” you finally whispered out, a slight shake to your hands. “How long have you known?” Rhys looked down at the ground before answering, “Since the very first time we met.” His eyes darted back up to take in your expression, unsure of how you would react.

And you certainly didn’t know how to react to that.

“Since the first time we met,” you muttered, tasting the words on your tongue. “For over one hundred years, Rhysand, you have known this life altering information? Never once did you think to share it with me? To make a move before now?” You nearly spat out, sudden anger taking over. Rhys took a step back in surprise at your reaction. “You’ve left me here to suffer under him, knowing you could have saved me the whole time?” You practically shouted at him as your hands clenched into fists. He rose his hands in surrender, so similar to just an hour before.

Yet everything had changed since then.

“I didn’t know if it would snap for you! I didn’t know if you would even accept it. If that was what you had wanted. Tell me, would you have come if I had mentioned it that first day?” Rhys spoke, an anxious bite tracing his words. “You don’t get to tell me what I would or wouldn’t do! I let you have your way with me tonight, did I not? Why wait so long then, if you didn’t want to tell me right away!?” The heat of your anger was swirling through you, the feeling of betrayal tight in your chest. “I didn’t want you to feel forced to be with me,” He said quietly, a sadness on his face, “I wanted you to have a choice. I didn’t know if you even liked me, or if you were just being polite. I had to be sure your brothers hatred didn’t continue into you.” He ran a hand over his face. “Thats why I suggested that bargain all those years ago. I only wanted the truth between us. I didn’t want to tell you until I was sure the news wouldn’t bring all of Prythian to the ground.” Rhys caught your eyes with his. “I have not enjoyed knowing how Tamlin treats you here. I have been trying to find a way back. Him refusing to let you come tonight was my final straw. I wanted to come the second he began talking of marriage, but you seemed to handle that just fine on your own.” A smile traced his mouth as he said that last part. You felt the anger subsiding, beginning to understand why he waited. What if he had told you too soon, and you went to Tamlin immediately? What would that have meant for the state of the world? A war between courts was not desirable, and the anger of your brother was not one to cross. You understood he had to let you come into your own and trust that you weren’t completely under Tamlins wing anymore.

You let out a sigh, hands relaxing by your sides. Rhys took a cautious step towards you, trying to read your face. “We can’t tell him tonight.” You stated, locking your eyes with his. “We have to be careful how we do this. We have to create a plan. You’ll have to go home for now.” Your voice shook on the end and you felt embarrassed at your emotion. You’d survived without Rhys plenty of times before, you could do it again. His hands slowly reached out and grabbed yours. “I know. Soon you can come with me. I’ll never let him hurt you again”, he pressed his lips to your forehead as he spoke. You squeezed his hands tightly before looking up and pressing a soft kiss to his mouth. “My mate,” you murmured at him, eyes full of mischief. His matched yours, certainly thinking of all the trouble you two would get into. “Perhaps i’ve waited too long to hear those words from you.” Rhys said sorrowfully, pushing a strand of your hair behind your ear. You leaned into his touch and your eyes fluttered closed. “You have the rest of eternity to hear me say them.”

***

Rhys left shortly before the sun began to rise, knowing Tamlin would be expecting you at breakfast. You felt like a piece of your heart was breaking when he was gone, suddenly feeling empty. It was just temporary, you reminded yourself, as you figured out what to do about Tamlin. As much as you would love to just go with Rhys and let Tamlin figure it out, you knew that would only harm the people of the Spring Court. They needed their High Lord, and you didn’t want to completely abandon your brother.

Yet.

You raced back up the the manor, hoping to have time to change and look like you had just woken up from a peaceful night alone. You ran through the same back entrances you had left from hours before, making it into your room minutes before your ladies would come wake you. You tore the Calanmai dress off and washed your face quickly, braiding your hair down. You had just slid your nightgown on and slipped between the covers when the knock came at your door. “Come in!” You spoke, yawning loudly. You struggled to mask your surprise at Tamlin standing there, and not one of your ladies. His eyes were downcast, focusing on the doorknob in his hand. He cleared his throat before speaking, “I wanted to come apologize. I know how much you love Calanmai, and it wasn’t fair-“. His words halted once he looked up at you. You kept your face expressionless, internally worrying about what made him stop. He clearly didn’t know you had snuck out or he wouldn’t be here apologizing, so what had you missed?

“What. Is. That?” He hissed out between clenched teeth, practically running to your bed. Your eyes widened, having no idea what he was talking about as he grabbed the side of your face and turned your head. You felt his fingers trace behind your ear and down your neck. “Who did this?” He spat, turning your face to look at him. You shrugged out of his grasp, crossing your arms. “What are you talking about, Tamlin?” You asked, annoyance clear on your face. He gave a cold, humorless laugh. “Do not lie to me, Sister. Did you disobey my direct orders last night? Thinking it was okay to go whore yourself out in the midst of several marriage contracts!” He shouted, standing to his full height. You stood too, anger pouring over you. “Marriage contracts?! You are going to force me to marry one of those horrid men you’ve chosen, aren’t you? You’re disgusting Tamlin!” You shouted back as he rolled his eyes. “I’m not having my unwed sister waltz around my home wearing lovemarks all over her neck!” He roared, claws appearing at his nails. His words stun you into horrified silence, realizing you didn’t even think to check if Rhys had left a mark on you. You silently cursed, running towards your mirror. Your face paled as you took in the dark purple bruises on your neck, perfect bite marks littering your skin.

This was definitely not a part of the plan.

You heard your door slam behind you as Tamlin left and you sucked in a harsh breath. You knew breakfast was going to be a long and torrid affair.

***

“No! Tamlin you can’t!” you cried, a few hours after your argument that morning. He stared back at you, no emotion on his face. “It is already done.” He spoke coldly, ignoring the tears that ran down your face. “I won’t do it. You can’t force me to!” Your body was shaking, your mind unable to fully process what your brother had thrown at you. He stood suddenly, towering over you. “I can. I am your High Lord, Sister. If this is what it takes to keep you safe, then this is what I will do. You will understand me one day.” His words were harsh, unfeeling. “You were supposed to be my brother. My friend. What happened to you, Tam? What happened?” You sobbed out, heart aching as you sunk to your knees. There was a time when you trusted him with everything and loved him fully. When you were younger the two of you would run around the manor, playing and laughing. You were often in trouble with your father, and Tamlin was always there to defend you. You don’t understand what happened to him. He has become a cold and cruel man that you don’t recognize.

You saw a flash of hurt go across his face, and he kneeled down to you. He pulled your hands into his, voice softer and kinder. “I will always love you. It is that love that forces me to do this. To do anything to protect you.” You looked up into his eyes, desperately searching for the brother of your past. “If you love me, you won’t do this. Please, please Tam. Please don’t do this to me.” Your words were quiet, full of the pain you were feeling. He sighed, looking down at your hands. “You’ve left me with no choice.” Was all he said before standing up and leaving the room. Leaving you. You knew he didn’t realize this was his final betrayal against you. That this was the end of the relationship you had. As insufferable as he had become in recent years, the fact broke everything in you. He was your brother no longer. Now, he was your cruel High Lord, too caught up in his own paranoia to realize he was killing you.

It was Lucien who found you there some hours later, folded into yourself on the floor of the study. Your tears had dried up by then, leaving a soulless gaze behind. He dropped next to you and grabbed your face, pulling you to look at him. “What happened?” He asked harshly, his eyes full of panic. “What did he do?” He said so quietly you weren’t sure you were supposed to hear him. “He’s forcing me to marry. He already has it settled. He isn’t giving me a choice.” Your voice was hoarse from hours of screaming. You knew Rhys wouldn’t let this happen, but you didn’t know how to tell Tamlin of the mate bond now. You didn’t know what to do without causing a potential war between courts. Tamlin would never listen to you, he would be convinced Rhys had take control of your mind. That it wasn’t true. There was no way his sister could be mated to him.

Lucien’s whole body radiated with anger coursing through him. “He. What.” He gritted out, hands falling to hold your arms. “He would not stoop so low. Why would he suddenly decide to do this?” He spoke, mostly thinking out loud. You simply pulled your hair off you neck to show Lucien the marks that remained. You heard the sharp inhale of breath before his hand lightly touched them, cursing. Yet when you looked at him you saw a faint glimmer of amusement in his eyes. You were struggling to find the humor of this situation as you glared at him. He laughed, saying “Now don’t look at me like that. I’m just glad you were able to enjoy yourself. He will come around. Forcing you into a marriage is below him. I’ll talk to him. I’ll do everything I can, okay?” He kissed your cheek and pulled you to your feet. “Come. You need some food and a strong drink. I won’t let him bother us.” Lucien lead you from the study, ready to help you fight for your own life back.

***

It was very late on that same night when your room suddenly filled with shadows. You shot up in your bed in panic, mouth opening to yell for Lucien. “No need, My Lady.” A soothing voice stopped you, a male stepping out of the shadows. “My name is Azriel, I was sent by Rhys. I am here to help you.” He told you, stepping closer. You studied him, trying to decide if he was a threat or not. “Why could he not come himself?” You asked, still on guard. The male, Azriel, gave a small smile. “Your brother has wards set, Rhysand can not come in and out as he wishes. He was only able to come last night since Tamlin was…distracted. Otherwise he would be alerted the second Rhys crossed into this court, much less into his home.” He explained. You suppose that made sense, and were not surprised that Tamlin had such wards set. “Does he know?” You spoke in a small voice, eyes filling with tears. Azriel came closer, sitting on the edge of your bed. “He does,” he spoke cautiously, “And it was all we could do to convince him not to show up here and kill your brother.” You bowed your head, the tears threatening to fall. You did not want to cry in front of this male you just met. He seemed to notice regardless, trying to comfort you. “He will not let this happen. He would tear this whole court apart before allowing you to be wed to someone else. He knows this situation is precarious, but if you say the word he will be here in an instant.” You looked back up at him, swallowing thickly. “I have to tell Tamlin. I have to try to make him understand.” You said, even though you never wanted to speak with your brother again. Azriel nodded, standing up. “I can’t say long. If you need anything, call for Rhys. He will send me back here in an instant to get you.” He bowed his head to you before the shadows swirled again and he was gone. You laid back in your bed, mind racing. You had to tell Tamlin in the morning. First thing.

You could only hope that anger wouldn’t turn him into that beast of his.

***

You were awake before anyone else, dressed and ready. You snuck out of your room the second the sun started filling the sky, running to Lucien’s. You didn’t even knock as you went in, startling his still sleeping form. “What is it?” He asked, voice thick with sleep. “I have to tell you something.” You answered, coming to sit next to him on his bed. “Something more important than anything we have discussed before.” That sparked his interest. He sat up quickly, all sleep gone from his eyes. “You have my full attention.” He said, face serious. You took a deep breath before starting, “Rhysand is my mate.” You paused for a second, letting the information wash over him. His eyes widened slightly, but he nodded for you to continue. “I found out on Calanmai. He had snuck in, and the bond snapped.” You did not miss the way his eyes flickered to the fading marks on your neck, laughter shining there. “I have to tell Tamlin. Today. I had planned to do it slowly, to prepare him better. To hopefully find him in a good mood. This marriage contract has ruined everything. I can not stay here, Lucien.” You grew quiet on the last sentence. You didn’t want to leave Lucien, your dearest friend. He reached over and grabbed your hands, as he had done so many times in the past. “Hey,” he said softly, “I understand. You’ll never truly be gone from me. I’ll visit as often as I can.” He gave you a sad smile, clearly not excited about losing you. You brought his hands up to your face, pressing soft kisses on them. “You’re my best friend, Lucien. I do not know what I would have done all these years without you.” When you looked up at him, both of your eyes were lined with tears. You both lunged to pull the other in for a hug at the same time, holding each other close. “I’ll be by your side the whole time. I won’t let him hurt you.” He whispered into your ear before you broke apart. You nodded, not trusting your voice to speak right now. He rose to get changed, telling you he would meet you at breakfast.

***

You could melt through the floor. Your heart was about to beat out of your chest, hands cold and shaking. Lucien set next to you at the table, trying to console you. You were barely processing his words, knowing Tamlin was going to walk in at any moment. All the bravery you felt earlier was gone.

You heard him clear his throat at the doorway, catching both yours and Lucien’s attention. You stood immediately, knocking over the dishes on the table in your haste. Tamlin raised an eyebrow at you, noticing something was wrong.

“Tamlin,” you started, voice much weaker than you wanted. “I-“ he raised a hand to cut you off. “No. I am sorry, Sister. I am sorry for how I have acted. It isn’t fair to force you into a marriage contract without your opinion.” He spoke, and you felt your heart perk up. Maybe he was coming around, maybe he would be able to understand- “That is why i’ve decided you can choose whichever of the candidates you like best. I will arrange meetings with as many as you wish.” Your jaw dropped at the self congratulatory tone of his voice. Tamlin seemed to be taken aback at your lack of a thank you, eyes testing you. “That’s not really a win, Tamlin.” You seethed, nails digging into the table. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I am trying here. I am trying to compromise.” He threw his hands up, going to sit in his chair. “Forcing me into marriage is not a compromise. Besides,” your heart was going faster than you ever felt it, “I will not be marrying anyone you have chosen for me. I will be choosing my own. I know who he is already.” You said, voice gaining strength. Tamlin looked up at you, eyebrows raised. “Is that so?” His voice was sickly sweet. “Who is the lucky male then? Is it our Lucien here? Is he the one who left those marks on your neck? I always thought I let the two of you get too close.”

You felt Lucien stand next to you, slamming his hand on the table. “Enough,” he said, voice dangerously calm. “It is time you listened to your sister, Tamlin. It is best to hear what she has to say.” Tamlin struggled to hide the anger and shock on his face at the two of you directly defying him. He waved his hand, saying “Fine. Continue then.” You took a deep breath, letting the truth fall from your lips; “I have met my mate. On Calanmai.” You said slowly, watching for any reaction from Tamlin. He sat straighter, eyes boring into you. “And who, pray tell, is your mate?” You didn’t miss the quiet rage in his voice. You stood as straight as possible, forcing your face into an expression of pure calm.

“Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court.”

What happened next would be written in history books as one of the worst Spring Court fights of the last five hundred years.

Tamlin stood and roared, claws appearing immediately. “”Liar!” He yelled, digging deep marks into the table. “I won’t listen to this pure ridiculousness.” His words echoed around the room as you took a step back, hitting Lucien’s chest. Lucien pulled you behind him, sword drawn and pointing at Tamlin. “Now, Tam, let’s not act drastically-“ he began, cut off by another roar as Tamlin began changing into his full beast form. “Not act drastically?! My sister thinks her mate is that asshole!” He gave a barking laugh. You pushed back in front of Lucien, the anger at his insult to Rhys overshadowing your fear. “You have no right to insult him, Tamlin!” You shouted, clenching your hands into fists. “He’s twice the man you’ll ever be! He’s brave, he’s kind, and he would never treat me the way you do. You’re a monster, Tamlin!” You knew you shouldn’t provoke him, you knew you were in danger. You didn’t process the claws coming towards you until they ripped through the side of your face and neck. Lucien gave a yell, pushing you back behind him and swinging his sword at Tamlin. You barely heard him yelling for the guards, getting as many reinforcements to calm the High Lord as he could.

Your hand shakily rose to the blood pouring out of your face, stomach churning when you pulled your hand away and saw it painted red. You looked back up at the monster who used to be your brother, mind going blank with rage. You grabbed a knife off the table and ran up at him, stabbing him cleanly in one of those massive paws. Tamlin let out a roar of pain, the other paw coming to slash through your chest before kicking you across the room. You felt your body crack against the wall before thudding to the floor. You were gasping for air, realizing you couldn’t breathe. Your hand went to the slashes through your chest, understanding he had gone through to your lungs. You saw your vision darken around the edges, panic setting in as you realized you were dying. Your brother truly would be the one who killed you. You desperately shouted for Rhys in your mind, hoping he had heard you as you lost consciousness.

***

Rhysand burst into the manor with the rage of a thousand moons. He raced right to Tamlin, taking the beast down with a wave of dark power. “You,” he spat through his teeth, “You are killing her. In your own rage, you would murder your sister. You’re despicable.” The beast tried to fight against the dark magic surrounding him, no match for Rhysands power. The sentinels finally rushed in, enough to keep that beast to the ground. They started to point their weapons at Rhys, unsure of what was going on. Lucien stood in front of him, hands up. Blood was pouring from his hairline as he spoke, “Not him. Not him. Tamlin did this.” The sentinels looked at each other before training their weapons onto the beast trapped on the floor. Rhysand nodded at Lucien before turning to your broken shape on the floor. He ran to you, scooping you into his arms.

You weren’t breathing.

Rhysand let out a scream of pure anguish, shooting you up into the sky before winnowing straight to the Night Court. He dropped into the House of Wind, screaming for anyone to come. Azriel and Cassian came running, faltering at the broken body in his arms. “Healers. Call the healers.” Rhys gasped out, still feeling the ever fainter tug at the end of the bond. “Stay with me. Stay with me,” He whispered into your hair, holding your body close. “Do not leave me now. Please.”

***

Some time had gone by since that fateful morning. Tamlin was restrained by Lucien and the sentinels until he could control his anger enough to turn human. Lucien wanted to yell at him, curse him to the ends of the world for what he had done. Yet when he looked at the broken form of his once friend, he didn’t feel like being around this pathetic mess any longer. He informed Tamlin that he resigned as emissary, and he didn’t wish to see him anytime soon, if ever again.

The Spring Court fell to shambles for a time after that. Tamlin ended up coming back somehow, finding a way to fight to keep his people protected. It would never be as grand as it once was though. The view of the Spring Court High Lord was greatly diminished after the attack on his own sister.

Lucien came to find Rhysand in the Night Court, hoping he would find you alive as well. When he arrived, Rhys welcomed him in. “She’s not awake yet, but she is alive.” He informed Lucien, who couldn’t hide his emotion at those words.

It was nearly a month before you woke up. The healers were beginning to doubt that you ever would. When you opened your eyes you saw Lucien sleeping in a chair by you, head cocked at a horribly uncomfortable angle. You coughed, trying to speak. His eyes shot open as he looked at you. “You’re awake,” he spoke, voice gravelly. He stood quickly, running from the room. You only had to wonder for a second where he had gone before the shape of Rhys filled the door. You saw the emotion overtake him, violet eyes lined with silver. He nodded once at Lucien, who slipped out of the room silently.

Rhys walked over to you, sitting on the edge of your bed. “My darling,” he murmured, “how do you feel?” His eyes looked over you, concern lacing every feature. You moved to sit before a sharp pain went through your chest, causing you to cry out. Rhys had you in his arms in an instant, easing you back onto your pillows. “What,” you started, “what happened?” The look in his eyes told you everything you needed to know. “He almost killed you.” Rhys whispered, holding you close. “It was a miracle my healers were able to save you.” You felt your heart stutter at his words. You knew Tamlins anger wasn’t to be tested, but you never imagined he would go that low. Not to you.

Rhys sat and held you for the rest of the day, feeding you soup and giving you small sips of water. He told you that you had been out for a month, that Lucien had resigned from Tamlins court, how no one trusted Tamlin anymore. You nodded along, sinking into his arms as the day went on. You fell asleep that way, tucked safely next to the man you loved, next to your mate.

***

It was several more months before you were fully healed. You headed straight to the kitchen the second you were given the all clear. It was high time to accept the mating bond, and you were going to do it as well as you could. Growing up as a Lady in the Spring Court, cooking and baking were seen as essential skills. You were raised to be the perfect wife to a high fae male, so you may as well use the things you learned now that you had one.

You spent hours in the kitchen, working on your mouth watering meal. You placed the juicy steak, soft potato’s, green beans, and sweet sugar cookies on two plates before setting them at each end of the table. You poured two glasses of wine and lit several candles, nerves pricking at your skin. You were cleaning up the dishes when you felt Rhys come up behind you, his arms circling your waist. “Hello, darling.” He spoke, kissing your hair. You turned to him with a broad smile, placing a delicate kiss on his mouth. “I’ve made you dinner.” You say, a little shyly. You don’t know why you were so nervous about him accepting the bond. His eyes sparked and he let you lead him to the table, sitting in your respective seats. He cut into the buttery meat, a moan falling from his lips at the taste.

You couldn’t hide the shiver that went through your body at that. You began eating as well, unsure how long it took for the bond to be accepted. After Rhys took one bite of everything you had made, he politely wiped his mouth with his napkin and stood up. You felt your heart quicken as he pulled you to stand, eyes blazing. He stared at you for a few seconds, before suddenly pushing your plate farther onto the table and leading you to lay down on it. His hands gripped your hips and he leaned in to whisper, “I’d like to end my meal with you.” You arched back against his words, fingers pushing into the table. Rhys expertly pulled your underwear down, lips attaching to you. One hand settled on your stomach, holding you down. The other followed his mouth, slowly slipping inside you.

The combination of his mouth, fingers, and the newly accepted mate bond had you falling apart for him in seconds. He held you down from pulling away as your pleasure overcame you, pushing you through it. He didn’t stop when your thighs started shaking at the overstimulation of him. He didn’t stop until he had given you three back to back orgasms and you were screaming his name like it was the only word you knew.

He pulled his mouth and fingers from your shaking body, climbing on top of you. He kissed you gently, letting you taste yourself on his mouth. He slowly increased the pace, allowing the need to build back up in you. You moved a hand down to undo his pants, pulling his length out. You pushed him up, standing on shaky legs before him. Slowly, so slowly, you knelt down in front of him. You pressed kisses to his thighs, kisses to his stomach, kisses to his hips. Everywhere except where he needed you the most. “Fuck, love. Please stop teasing.” He groaned out, head falling back. You felt a smile on your face as you licked up his length, your tongue teasing the tip of him. His hips gave an involuntary thrust, causing you to tut at him. “Let’s remember our manners, shall we?” You spoke, sugar dripping from your words. He snapped his eyes back down to you as you took him in your mouth. He gave a load moan as you began licking and sucking him, his hands tangling in your hair.

After a few minutes of this he was pulling you up to his face, leaving a bruising kiss on your lips. “I can’t take it,” he murmured against your skin, “I need to be inside you.” You smirked at his words, an action he took quick notice to. He quickly flipped you around, placing your hands flat on the table. He bit into your shoulder, growling in your ear. He slowly entered you, your body swallowing inch after inch. Once he bottomed out you leaned back on him and gave a loud moan. His hand came around your front to circle you in time with his thrusts. You moaned louder and louder with each thrust he gave you, whispering dirty words in your ear. “That’s it, that’s it. My good girl. My delicious girl. You take me so well, don’t you?” Each sentence was accompanied by a nip of his teeth on your neck or ear. You ground down against him, meeting his thrusts. You were moments away from coming again. “Let go, my love. Let go with me.” He whispered, thrusting harder and speeding up his fingers. You grabbed down onto the table as you felt the pleasure build, throwing your head back with a scream as it washed over you. Rhys followed a second later, filling you up. You stood like that for a moment, in blissful pleasure. Rhys slowly pulled out, turning you to face him. He kissed you again, holding your face in his hands. “My mate.” he said, before scooping you up and taking you to the bedroom, where you would spend the next week and a half.

***

The ceremony was beautiful, intimate. You had Lucien standing proudly at your side as you became Rhysands wife. Rhysands mate. Rhysands High Lady. Rhysands everything. You ended the night with a party big enough for all of Velaris to celebrate, dancing in the streets of the city until the early hours of the morning. You felt all the love from the citizens of your new home, already feeling more at peace here than you ever did at the Spring Court. As Rhys twirled you beneath the stars, you shot your head back and let out joyous laughter. You were finally where you were meant to be. You realized, as you were tucked into Rhys’ chest a moment later, that you felt truly free. That the trapped, scared girl who lived with her brother was gone. You smiled up at your love, thanking the cauldron for what it had done for you. You knew you would have to see Tamlin again at some point, due to your new position. That fact did not scare you, though. Not anymore. Not when you knew that the next time you met, he would not address you as sister, but instead as High Lady of the Night Court.

***

Thank you again for all the love!! Please keep sending requests and comments to me, I truly appreciate every single one ❤️

#acotar x reader #rhys x reader #rhysand #acotar #rhysand x reader #the high lords #lucien vanserra

[legiblyloathed]

Ain’t He Darling? (Chapter 2)

Yandere! Wally Darling x Reader

A/N: This has gone from a oneshot to a twoshot to what’s now shaping up to be at least a five chapter story and for that I apologize. The “date” with Wally was only meant to be half a chapter and now it’s a full one. I will, in fact, learn nothing from this and will continue to accidentally increase my workload in the future. Many thanks for the kind comments on chapter 1, and I hope you enjoy chapter 2!

People who requested to be tagged; @whynot5243 @tikosan @itsyellow @twerkingnutella18 @azoart Y’all keep me going, I wish you the best.

Prev ——— Next

You know, maybe it was hasty to imagine Wally killing me as the worst case scenario. I think I’d take getting murdered in the woods over the uncomfortable silence I’ve been stewing in all afternoon.

Or at least, the silence is making me uncomfortable. Ever since I dragged myself out of the house to paint with him like I promised, I’ve spent damn near every minute avoiding eye contact like it’d kill me. Not that it seems to be working, as every time I glance up from my painting, I can see him out of the corner of my eye, and without fail he’s always focused on me. How he’s managed to finish his own drawing in between these moments is beyond me, but the way the easels are laid out, I can’t see his canvas anyway. There’s every chance it’s blank, and he just coerced me out here to stare at me without interruption.

But now, the sky is shifting to a myriad of colors, and I send up a silent thank you to the heavens for the excuse to leave. “Well, this has been fun,” I start, wiping the excess paint on my hands onto the apron he loaned me. “But I don’t wanna have to walk home in the dark, so I’d best be off.”

“It has been fun, hasn’t it?” After who knows how long of complete silence, his voice makes me jump slightly. Wally takes a few slow, measured steps in my direction, stopping just a little too close to my personal bubble. His eyes glued to my messy painting of the woods, and his eternal smile seems to widen. “You’re good at this.”

I manage to let out a laugh. “Not really, but I appreciate it.” I glance over my own art at the back of his easel, morbid curiosity eating away at me. As much as I want to see what the resident weirdo drew when he wasn’t trying to burn a hole in my forehead, something tells me it’s better not to know.

Wally’s head turns slightly, following my gaze to his own artwork. “Oh, do you want to see mine?” he asks, not waiting for my answer as he walks over and grabs it off the easel. He stares down at it for a moment, as if ensuring its quality, then turns it around and holding it up for me to see. “I worked hard on it. What do you think?”

Upon examination, I think I should have chosen a different neighborhood to move into, one with less terrifying residents. Staring back at me is a portrait of none other than myself. I’m sitting on a bench, which, after a moment, I recognize as the one under the apple tree where Wally had been the day prior. I look relaxed, leaning back and resting my weight on my hands behind me, my attention drawn to something off to the right. As I scan it over, I note that I wasn’t drawn with the clothes I wore today, but the ones I had on yesterday, down to finest of details. It’s beautiful, and I hate it.

I’m left frozen in place, gawking at the perfect recreation of my likeness in silence. The man doesn’t seem to mind, content to let me take in the details of his piece as he in turn observes my reaction. When I manage to pull my attention back to his face, I stammer out, “That’s…” A hell of a red flag? My worst nightmare on a canvas? A fear I’d have deemed laughable before this moment? “…incredibly realistic.”

Wally turns the painting back to himself, looking down at it with an air of fondness. “I suppose it is. I can’t take all the credit, though.” His eyes look up at me, his head unmoving. “I had a very inspiring model.”

At this, I can feel the two sides of my brain start to feud. The optimistic side makes a good effort to insist that this explains the staring, that he just wanted to get the details right and I was wrong to treat it like a problem. The more realistic side then slaps the optimistic side upside the head and points out that no amount of staring could explain the sheer level of detail in clothes that I’m not even wearing today.

My thoughts continue to conflict with each other, the turmoil so strong that I don’t even register Wally getting closer until he’s barely a foot away from me. I jolt back, nearly falling over. He seems unbothered. “Say, neighbor, would you mind helping me carry all this back to Home? The paintings are delicate, I don’t want them getting crushed.”

Part of me really wants that painting getting crushed, but I don’t dare admit that out loud. Instead, I nod. “Alright, but we gotta hurry. It’ll be dark soon.” Already the sun is casting long shadows, obscured by the trees to the west. Wally and I pack up the paints and fold up the easels, and I balance them all in my arms while he holds the canvases to his chest. Together, the two of us set off towards the house in the center of the neighborhood.

No words are exchanged as we journey through the town. He seems content with the silence, and I’m content to not have to talk to him. It seems the rest of our neighbors have called it a day, Wally and I being the only two people out and about. The weight of the supplies makes my arms ache, but if the alternative is carrying a piece of art that feels just a little too haunted for my taste, I think I can tolerate the discomfort. I don’t know how the hell he managed to drag all of this junk out in the first place.

The sun has sunk down past the horizon by the time we make it to Home, painting the sky a myriad of purples and deep blues. It takes all I have left in me not to collapse upon the porch, made all the worse by Wally’s continued nonchalance as he opens the door and beckons me inside. I brush past him into the living room, dumping my armload of supplies onto the coffee table. With a weary huff, I throw myself down onto his couch to catch my breath, my eyes drooping shut.

“You feeling alright, there, neighbor?” The sofa sinks ever so slightly as he settles down beside me. When I don’t reply, too busy staring at my eyelids and regulating my heartbeat, he speaks with what almost feels like genuine concern, “If you were getting tired, you should have spoken up. I’d have been happy to take a break.”

I shake my head. “Fine, I’m fine. Just need a minute before I head home.”

There it is again, that damn laugh. “What do you mean? This is Home.” The sound of a door squeaking registers in my periphery, and I let my eyes open, squinting against the bright colors of his house. I take a glance out of the corner of my eye, and sure enough, his own are glued on my face with a smile that registers as a little too suspicious for my tastes.

An increasingly familiar sense of unease overtaking me, I push myself up and lean away from him, hoping he didn’t notice, yet knowing he did. “I mean yeah, it’s your home, Wally,” I say, “but I have my own home to get back to.”

He lets out a soft hum, and I swear his smile wavers for just a moment. “I suppose you do,” he murmurs, sounding like he was talking to himself more than me. Risking another glance, I’m surprised to see his eyes not on me, but focused on the paintings that he had leaned against his armchair. My portrait, with its flat, distracted gaze, seemed to be staring back at us from the angle at which it stood.

With this newfound distraction from his observation, I move to push myself up off the couch, snapping him out of whatever stupor he’d been wandering in. I make sure to speak before his mouth catches up to his brain. “Well, today’s been… fun, but I think I’m gonna head out.”

I feel a hand clasp around my forearm, and I barely bite back a yelp at the contact. “It’s pretty dark out there, neighbor. Are you sure you don’t want to just sleep here tonight? I think you’d be safer.”

Nope, nope, nope nope nope. I pull my arm away, praying it didn’t look as panicked as it felt. “I appreciate the concern, but I’ll have to pass. It’s not that long a walk, I’ll be fine.” I step away towards the door, and my stomach sinks when I hear Wally get up as well.

As I prepare to head out, the same hand settles upon my shoulder instead. “Well, if you’re sure, I won’t stop you,” he drawls, a trace of emotion I can’t quite name evident in his tone. He slips past me, opening the door himself. He tilts his head, eyes locked on mine. “Let’s do this again sometime. Won’t that be nice?”

If I didn’t know better, I’d say that was a challenge. Straightening up, I stand in the doorframe and meet his stare as evenly as I can. “I’m sure it would be.” The evening chill washes over me as I exit Home. “Good night, Wally.”

“Good night, neighbor. Sleep well.” My steps are steady and even as I walk down the porch stairs, and the light still pouring out as I walk away tells me that the door is still open. That he’s still there, still watching me. I hurry along towards my house, being sure to break out of his line of sight as soon as possible. It doesn’t help with the paranoia, but I pretend it does.

Tears nearly stream down my face in relief as I enter my own home and close the door, leaning back against it and sliding down to the ground. I don’t bother getting up, not to eat, not to shower, nothing. I just sit there, alternating between keeping my eyes closed to try and relax and opening them when I see those horrible eyes taunting me in the inky black. As I feel myself drifting off, one final thought crosses into my mind:

I never got my painting back from Wally.

#yandere wally darling #wally darling x reader #yandere wally darling x reader #yandere x reader #yandere welcome home #male yandere #tw yandere #obsessive yandere #yandere #x reader #horror #ain’t he darling

[xoxomoonlightxoxo]

P&C | Ch. 1: The Night Before I Met You

➪ Playlist (Spotify) l Series Masterlist

“Mira? Miraya? Can you hear me?” soft cries sound from the phone.  

“Hi mom … m… mom it’s a video call, you have to turn the camera towards you,” I quickly say, as my mom’s ear stares back at me. It only takes her three tries and a hate speech against the electronic world we live in until we are finally met face to face. 

“Is it working now? Can you see me?” 

I nod, giving her a reassuring smile. 

“Miraya, how are you? Why don’t you ever call us? I can’t sleep at night thinking about how you’re all alone. Your dad is getting mad at me, he thinks my worrisome would somehow bother you. Says you’re too busy.” soft cries of annoyance and genuine concern fill the room. 

Moving out of my parent's home is one thing, but moving to another country … alone … is something completely different. The world is my oyster I used to say all the time, but now that I’ve tasted that stupid oyster I feel ashamed of my poor judgement. I would rather walk across a field of legos barefoot than go through another immigration process on my own. 

See, a year ago, I would have only dreamed of living in Korea. Learning about the culture and exploring their diverse cuisine. It was all fun and games until hope turned into manifestation, which then formed a deep-rooted determination. I’ve spent all three years of high school, working my ass off, perfecting my GPA to appeal to the board of education. I guess it all paid off in the end, since fast forward to a year later, and here I am, in my one-room dorm of one of the most prestigious universities in Korea. 

“I’m sorry Mom, I truly am. I keep meaning to, but honestly, there’s just not enough time in the day.” I try to convince both her and I. 

To be honest, it has been about 2 months since I arrived, but with each passing day, I feel more and more lost. This whole time I’ve been consumed with academics, relying on nothing but my humongous brain to pull through with this mission. But now I realise that in terms of just living, functioning as one singularity in the real world, I am hopeless. Absolute noob. I’ve grown too comfortable living under my parent’s wings. Always enclosed in a bubble of security and protection, which I'm eternally grateful for if it wasn't for the fact that I'd become a complete menace to my older self. 

Nonetheless, I'm here, somehow managed to overcome the post-immigration depression, even though the state of my dorm would like to argue otherwise. This is partially why I tend to not call back home as often as I wish to or should. I never want my parents to see the behind-the-scenes of my “success”, they at least deserve to live in peace knowing that their daughter who is 8600 km away is managing everything just fine. 

“Miraya, please honey, don't make me call you out of worry. I want us to talk daily just because. I miss you so much, it feels like half of my heart left with you.” my mom's voice breaks, as she looks at the screen teary-eyed. 

“Sorry Mommy, I promise I will call every day from now on. I miss you guys as well, it's insane to think that I won't be able to see you guys for Thanksgiving.” I try to maintain my composure but fail as a tear rolls down my face. 

I'm the oldest daughter out of the three kids but my parents have always treated me like their little princess. This means that without fail, I have always taken that to my advantage. And no you can't talk to customer service about your complaints regarding moi because this main character energy has been deep-rooted in me since my diaper days. So please, respectfully, keep it to yourself. 

Anywho, back to the point. Although my two brothers still live at home, my departure has left a big mark on our family dynamic. My mom has been worried sick for the past 2 months while the men of the family try to calm down her nerves. My brothers are beginning to feel a bit offended as they feel like my mom is neglecting their presence but in reality, she just isn't used to this distance, especially away from her blood. My dad is no better, he may look all tough and composed but for the first week following my departure, he cried himself to sleep while holding on to my childhood plushie. 

“Okay, please keep that promise, honey. Everyone is sending you so much love, please take care of yourself. Are you ready for the first day?” 

“I mean, as ready as I can get I guess. I walked around campus today to get an idea of where everything is. The only problem is that have about 10 minutes to get to my physics class which is located on the other side of the main quad. But, everything else is fool so I have to make it work.” I say with a heavy sigh. 

“You're a smart cookie, dear. Everything will be just fine. You know I pray for you every day, ask God to protect my baby.” 

“Thank you, Mommy, well I'm gonna have to go now. The dining hall closes in an hour. There's always such a big lineup.” I say in a rush. 

“Of course, my love. We miss you, please stay safe!” my mom says as she waves me goodbye with a soft smile, the wrinkles around her eyes becoming more prominent. 

The sunset paints the sky in a beautiful warm orange pallet with hints of baby pink. I quickly grab my keys, ID, and wallet before heading out the door after checking that everything has been unplugged. With a quick speedwalk, I managed to make it into the elevator before the door closed, that is until I tripped over my flip-flops and stumbled upon a body. 

I dare not to lift my head, as one hand holds on to the wall while the other rests on someone's chest. I can feel my face getting red but the longer I stay like this the more it becomes less of an accident. 

“I'm so sorry, are you okay? I was trying to make it to the elevator but my flip-flops had other plans.” I quickly say, straightening up as my hand finally detaches from them. 

As I try not to make direct eye contact, I can tell that the poor fellow is a guy. He looks way more composed than I do, even let's out a little chuckle. 

“No worries, are you okay? Why are we in a rush” he asks with a boxy smile. 

“Oh no, I'm fine, just embarrassed. I was rushing to the dining hall, there's always such a big lineup.” I explain, still trying to maintain minimum eye contact as the blood from my face steadily settles down. 

“Aah, I see, well don't be embarrassed, it happens to the best of us. Anywho, this is my stop, I guess I'll see you around.” the door of the elevator closes as he waves goodbye. 

“Yeah, b .. bye” words tried to come out of my mouth before I was left alone to my thoughts. That is until I unfortunately saw my reflection in the elevator window. 

Hair? Still left in two messy space buns, after I complained of it being in my face the whole time I was unpacking. 

My shirt, you might ask? Well, it can only be the most humiliating piece of fabric I could find at my grown age, aka my Barbie merch. This whole time I was worried about my red face, while my shirt was covered in Raquelle printouts. Great.

--

I was right, the line at the dining hall was long, even more so than usual. But at least, I was able to find my friend, Jiah. She was the first person I met on campus, and even though we hung out every day since my arrival, we only realized that we were neighbours about a week ago. Women in STEM. 

“Miraya!” she shouts across the hall, waving her hands as we lock eyes. I squeeze through a literal sea of hungry students and finally make it towards her.

“Jiah, you have no idea how happy I am to finally see you,” I say, breathless from all that walking (it was a maximum of 10 steps). 

“Finally? What do you mean finally? We saw each other today in the morning,” the poor girl responds with actual concern on her face. 

“Yes, but so much has happened. First of all, look at me. I look like I just came out of hibernation.” I sigh, realising she doesn’t understand my frustration as she is also repping that Barbie merch. 

“What do you mean? You look cute,” she reassures me with a small chuckle. 

I can’t help but laugh because we both look ridiculous, but it’s less embarrassing when a 6-foot-blonde guy with a boxy smile isn’t involved in the scenario. So, we quickly grab the food and enjoy the little debrief about our thoughts regarding the first day of classes. 

“You know, I compared my schedule with my boyfriend yesterday and we only have 3 classes together.” Jiah sighed, pouting her lips. 

“Well, you know, 3 classes versus the rest of your life. I feel like you guys will manage it just fine.” I chuckle, as she smiles back at me. 

“You’re right, it’s silly. I just miss him. He has been away this whole summer, and no one warned me about how tough long distance is.”

“Where was he again?” I ask. 

“Well, he first went on a grad trip with his guy friends and then back home to visit his grandparents. I just wished he was able to come back sooner. I really miss him.” Jiah looks down on her plate, swirling the leftover food with her fork. 

“Hey, Jiah, it's just one more night, do you want to sleep in my dorm for today? We can have a relaxing pampering night, hm?” I say, as my hands reach towards hers. She looks back up and nods with a smile.

--

“What do you think of this? Or is this better?” I ask as Jiah is forced to judge the fashion show that I have created out of my possible outfit options for tomorrow. 

“Oh, number 2, 100%. Are you kidding me? You look absolutely drop-dead gorgeous in knee-high boots.” she replies with complete certainty in her judgement. 

The weather in Seoul is getting chillier so the knee-highs fit the theme, but are they not a bit too much? But also, I did not just go through all of those years to be just much. So, you best believe I will be making an appearance with those bad boys. 

“You’re right, okay well then I’m all ready. Just have to actually wake up on time.” I say, lying on the sofa and looking at the precisely organized row of necessities Jiah and I prepped for the following morning. The rest of the night was spent just talking until we both fell asleep to the sound of rain hitting the window.

Next

#bts #bangtan #jungkook x reader #jungkook x you #jungkook x yn #bts x yn #jungkook fanfic #fanfic #jungkook smut #romance #young love #college love #slow burn #jungkook angst #jungkook fluff #jungkook x female reader #jungkook #jeon jungkook #jungkook imagine

[lauriegraham01]

i'll never smile again

pairings: 40s!bucky barnes x reader, nurse!reader

summary: with you and bucky away to fight in the war, you both can't wait to come back home and begin the rest of your lives together. what's left of your plans when a mission goes sideway? could you and bucky have been born so unlucky?

w/c: 1,423

c/w: takes place in CATFA, ANGST, major character death, themes of grief

a/n: this has taken me the longest to edit, not sure if im completely satisfied with the ending but it's enough. hope u enjoy, lmk if you like :)

Time of death: 14:37

You hang your head low in defeat, the death of another soldier baring on your soul. There truly was only so much that you could do. He had come in completely mutilated from barbed wire and eyes blinded form tear gas. With limited options, you and your team of fellow nurses ensured that he could be comfortable for his passing. One of the other nurses raises the white sheet to cover his face, and you gather yourself to move on to the next patient.

You had joined the army nurse corps a little over a year ago. There was news that we were loosing soldiers faster than we could kill enemies and you decided to join the war effort, believing you could do some good for your country. Nothing prepared you for the horrors you faced daily, the chaos and death that surrounded your every breath.

However you weren't alone in your pain. Your two best friends, Steve and Bucky had too joined the war. They along with the rest of the Howling Commandos were going on missions targeting Hydra bases. There was only so much they could tell you, but the little they did still left you uneasy. It just seemed so dangerous and you worried about the both of them- especially Bucky.

Bucky and you had only been dating for two years when news of the U.S. joining the war broke out. Yet after a lifetime of friendship you felt like he knew you better than anyone else in this world. You two had agreed that when the war was over, you would finally get married. These days it was your future plans with Bucky that gave you the strength to survive the war. That, along with the letters that he sent. Writing in detail about what missions he and Steve were on and how things were looking on his side of the war.

The rest of the day had passed by in a haze. By the time you returned to the nurses quarter on base, you feel the full weight of the day in the way that your back aches. Upon looking in the mirror you wince at the amount of blood that's caked into your face and hands. A shower lifts your spirits as you feel the stress from the day drain along with the water. Stepping back into the sleeping barracks, you squeeze past the crowd of nurses until you reached your cot. As you tuck your uniform away you see a letter placed on the pillow. Lifting it up with curiosity, you flip the envelope and a smile tugs at your lips.

Bucky.

You tear open the letter eagerly, it had only been a week since you had last heard from him but it felt like eternity waiting between letters. Unfolding the pages within your hand you read each line carefully, hearing his voice with each word, imagining as though he were reading it to you. As he told you about his latest mission, fear threatened to creep its way into your heart. Yet as you got to the last page, you inhaled a sharp breath- the world around you seeming to go quiet in that moment.

“Doll, I’ve done enough thinking, and I know what I want. I’ve loved you for a lifetime. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me and I know that there's no one else for me but you, y/n. I wish I could ask this in person but I cannot go another day without you knowing how much you mean to me. When the war is over we’ll get married and I’ll grow flowers like you, and your womb will carry the most beautiful girl in the universe. Make me the happiest man alive - will you marry me?”

You fell backwards onto your bed and closed your eyes, Bucky's words burned into your mind. Tears began to well up at your eyes as your heart soared at Bucky's proposal. Bucky wanted to build a life with you. You began to imagine your wedding day. The familiar faces that would gather to celebrate your love, what it would be like to become the mother to his children, and to be able to grow old with him. As you thought about this, you couldn't contain your excitement anymore. Hastily rising from bed, you make your way to the center of the room before grabbing the attention of your fellow nurses.

"I'm getting married!" You shouted, all the nurses turned to look at you before ensuing in cheerful screams. They all congratulated you and gave you and Bucky well wishes for the future.

As you and the nurses were still caught in the excitement of the news, you were suddenly interrupted when a knock rang on the barracks front door.

As everyone scurried to stand in formation, you felt relieved when you saw that it was Steve and Peggy who had walked through the door.

"Officer y/n, would you please come with us for just a moment?" Peggy speaks up.

Stepping out of formation, you grab your coat as you follow behind the two, stepping out in the cold winter air.

"Steve!"

"Angel." He coos as he brings you in for a hug. It had been about 8 months since you'd last seen him. While you were happy to see him, you were slightly taken aback to see him here.

"What on earth are you two doing here?" You breath out as you go to pull away from his embrace. When Steve's grip on you suddenly tightens, you're slightly confused. Looking up at Peggy and seeing the solemn look on her face you know that something was wrong.

“Steve?”

"I'll give you two a minute." Peggy excuses herself, making her way toward the field to give us some privacy.

“Steve, hey, hey, what's going on?" As he finally lets you go you look up into his eyes to see that they were glossy with tears threatening to spill over.

“Hey,” you hook a finger underneath his chin fixing his gaze from the ground onto you, "talk to me. I'm here, what's wrong?"

“It’s Bucky, he’s… he’s gone.”

A dreadful weight settles deep in the pit of your stomach as Steve looks at you in a way he's never before. So full of regret and heartache. You search his face for any type of deceit, any indication that what he said had been a terrible lie and that Bucky was alright- but to your avail you could find none.

Steve went on about the mission leading up to Bucky's final moments but it fell on deaf ears as your mind was anything but tethered to this reality.

"No, no." You mumble underneath your breath as you stumble backwards a bit.

"Woah-hey," Steve grabs a hold onto you, steadying your grounding. "I'm so sorry y/n."

“He can’t be gone," your voice comes out strained in a high pitch, "he just can’t be.” Your vision blurred as the crushing weight of reality settled within your head and within your heart.

Bucky was gone- for real this time. There was no rescuing him, there was no saving him.

You felt Steve wrap his arms around you as you buried your head into his chest. That seemed to be the tipping edge as before you knew it a sob began to wrack out of your lips. You cried for all the plans you've made. For the memories and time now stolen from you.

"We were supposed to get married." You manage to choke out between ragged breaths.

"I know, angel," he said softly. "I know."

When you returned to the barracks, it was lights out and you wanted nothing more than to go to sleep and wake up from this terrible nightmare. You found it cruel how the last time you were within these walls you were an engaged woman, and now you return a widow. Memories of Bucky plagued your every thought as your own grief made you restless, sleep evading you.

Bucky and you had shared a lifetime of memories. Growing into the versions of yourselves that both of you had come to love. Now they'll forever be a hole left where the rest of the story should have been written. When you return home, you'll return a widow. You'll never be able to hold him, to touch him, to marry him, have a family with him-

"I'll never love again", you thought to yourself. "There's no getting over you."

#40s bucky #bucky barnes #marvel #mcu #marvel fanfiction #bucky angst #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #sebastian stan #40s bucky x reader

[lightlycareless]

First, it hurts— Chapter XL

Naoya Zen’in x Fem!Reader

While arranged marriages are not uncommon in the jujutsu community, it was strange to receive a proposal from none other than the Zen’in’s, nonetheless your clan accepted and before you knew it, you were married off to Naoya.

Your new purpose was clear: to serve and submit, to be seen and not heard. To forget any sense of individuality in favor of obeying your husband.

Will this marriage ever flourish into something else? Will it change…for better or for worse?

Chapter warnings: omg this is the spooky edition.

A/N: None heheheheh. but I am going on a break!! Thank you so much for all the support!! ❤️❤️❤️ See you around!!!

Now, without any further ado, happy reading! 🥰

Masterlist ➸ Chapter 41

Ao3 link.

You were yet to begin the day, but you could already feel as if there was an eerie calmness engulfing the estate. A silence so abundant, it almost felt like you could hear what was happening on the other side of the estate if you were attentive enough…

A sensation that also seemed to extend to the staff, given the lack of footsteps heard outside your room, rushing from one side of the living quarters to the other while tending the masters. It is as if they’ve already tended to all their duties for the day, and now, had nothing but free time for themselves.

You remember the moment where you thought it impossible for the Zen’in estate to have a calm day, especially since you were the most controversial figure there, yet, here you are, admiring what is a day without much, if any, commotion.

Naturally, you wonder what could’ve happened to have such stillness, and if it was something you’d be able to use in your favor now that you’re feeling a bit better. That rough patch of sickness sure got you quite the disadvantage, both physically and emotionally, so you could certainly use a day off.

“How… calm” You’d tell Mariya while closely watching her take out your attire for the day: something warm to fight the rising winter, but adequate enough to not make you feel overcrowded. “It’s… kind of eerie.”

“Fits with the day, doesn’t it?” she says with a smile.

“The day…?” you blink—what made today so special?

“Halloween, of course” Mariya responds “The 31st of October, Saturday in fact. The end of the week.”

Oh.

How could you have forgotten that, especially after being constantly reminded of it?

But most importantly…

Has it really been that long since your wedding?

It was ironic to even say that, since you’ve always considered that time at the Zen’in estate felt like an eternity. But now, it’s been months since you’ve last seen your family, friends, and freedom—yet they remain in your mind vividly as ever.

Given the date they’re probably already working, eased into their stations as they prepared to watch over the night.

As every year, you assumed, Ren would’ve told you that he’d rather stay home watching horror movies or go out to the city and make the best of this western celebration instead of working; while Hinata thought the complete opposite, wanting to go to work because she gets to see curses that don’t come out that often, or perhaps even new ones. Always the workaholic, your sister.

And you, on the other hand… well, you just wanted to go out anywhere, really. After years and years of seclusion, you were itching to see the world and uncover all its mysteries.

But you suppose that staying inside will be good too, not that it was your decision to make, but at least you’ll have company this time.

“Oh, right” you eventually respond. “Wow, I didn't think it was today already.”

“Time flies, doesn’t it? Especially if you’re busy.” Mariya sighs. Something in her tone tells you she’s been wanting to take a break for a while now, but that is not meant to happen so easily for the prime lady-in-waiting.

“Then you’re already centuries ahead” You chuckle, she agrees with a laugh of her own. “All I’ve been doing is sleep and stay in my room… so I’m more than ready to do literally anything else for a change.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, Y/N. But it seems I won’t be able to help you this time” Mariya says, placing your clothes on the bed. “Since everybody is out of the estate for work, most of the staff doesn’t have duties to do, outside of cleaning I suppose… but what is there to clean if there is no one dirtying it?”

You nod along, she makes a whole lot of sense now that she puts it that way.

“Must be the favorite day for the staff, hm?”

“It’s relaxing, I can admit that.” Mariya adds “We can essentially do whatever we want without being constantly watched… kind of, there’s still the staff of the master’s to worry about, but as long as we don’t look like we’re relaxing too much, we should be fine.”

“Do you celebrate Halloween?”

“Not really, I mean, I would just go down to the village market and see whatever seasonal stuff they have—but even then, I don’t usually buy much” Mariya reminisces, last year, there was a particular vendor who sold a wide collection of impressive masks, proclaimed to be hand-painted by himself, ranging from silly, moderately adorable, to straight up terrifying.

Certainly, the man had talent for his craft, and it made Mariya wonder if he’ll be there this year again, maybe she should go down there and buy one just to support him.

And the year before that, the villagers set up a small puppet theater to tell horror stories, nothing too scary, just something to entertain those who wished to indulge in the seasonal ambience. It was mostly, if not completely, family oriented. Mariya found herself listening to one or two stories whenever she could.

While the people of the Zen’in clan thought these days tedious, others considered it a day of leisure—truly, two sides of the same coin.

“But outside of that, I just spend my time here. It’s essentially an extra day off so I just use it to call my family, or hang out with Tatsuro” She adds “What about you? Do sorcerers celebrate Halloween or is it just for work?”

“A bit of both” you respond.

“Shibuya?”

“Oh, no—I have never been one to enjoy that kind of environment.” you chuckle “It can get too chaotic, though I did dress up when I was younger…”

“No way!” Mariya gasps, a grin parting her lips as she tries to imagine the kind of costume your younger self would’ve worn. “At least tell me there's pictures!”

“Too many! My dad would make my mom take pictures of us all the time” you giggle, a whole… dozens of albums were probably made thanks to his bottomless need of “capturing the moment”, and that quantity was probably per child .

Thankfully your mother knew just how to control his obsession, taking out the pictures she considered less than flattering, and putting the rest into a sensible amount of… 5 albums. A far more normal amount to have instead of the thousands of before.

“We’d do it every year, but there is one I remember the most—I think I dressed up as some kind of… ghost, or something? And my sister was a cat…”

“And your brother?”

“Someone… from a girl group” you quietly say “Don’t ask.”

“I won’t—seemed like fun anyways.” she smiles. “By the way, now that I don’t have any suggestions, is there something you’d like to do instead?”

“Oh, I don’t know, I don’t want to intrude on your free day”

“Ah, you’re not intruding at all… I’m all caught up with what I have to do anyways, and Tatsuro wanted the day for his friends so, it’s just us, Haruko, Hitomi… and who knows, if Junko-san is lenient enough, maybe even the twins?”

Your face immediately lightens at the thought of seeing Mai and Maki again. God knows how long it had been since you last saw them, wanting to thank them for the lovely letter they gave you during the beginning of your sickness—a reunion was definitely long overdue.

But before you could even think of anything else, your stomach in its usual starving fashion, begins to grumble, making you blush out of embarrassment, Mariya chuckling out of humor.

“I’ll think about it after breakfast” you join her laughter soon after. “I’m starving!”

Seems that you weren't the only one with that sentiment of wanting to see the other, for as soon as you enter the dining hall, you’re tackled by your favorite twins, Mai and Maki, followed by their cheerful greetings, expressing how much they missed you and been wanting to see you, and just couldn't wait to spend their day alongside you… 

But then, their stern mother comes in, ordering them to release you and behave, for that is no way to treat the lady of the house, before looking up to you and giving you a scolding of your own.

“You ought to stay in bed until a doctor deems you healthy!” Junko says, carefully pulling away the kids from you, but the girls didn’t follow, their small grip still tight on your clothes. “You’re going to get everyone sick!”

“Junko-san, Y/N has been feeling much better since a few days ago” Mariya intervenes, having gone ahead to the kitchen to get your food, setting it next to what she assumed to be Mai and Maki’s seat. “Besides, who is left to get sick? It’s just us here at this point, and neither of us got sick.”

Junko doesn’t like how silly Mariya has become with her responses, albeit occasionally, mostly when you're around, giving her the impression that this is fsu,t of your influence…

But as foolish as her answer was, she was right, besides, Mariya wouldn't allow you out of your bedroom unless she deemed it appropriate. If there's one thing she can't deny, is her commitment to the job.

At this point, all that Junko can do is hope that your behavior doesn’t rub off on her daughters, which she's subtly caught these past few days… they’re relentless on their own, that much she can say.

"Don't cough near my daughters at least" Junko gives a final warning before retreating back to the table and continuing eating.

"Of course not, Junko-san" you reassure her. The last thing you'd want is get them sick too. Oh, how elated you were to know you were the only one sick.

After that was set, you guide the girls back to the table, sitting in between the two, giving a small prayer of gratitude for the meal, and beginning to eat breakfast.

“I wasn’t expecting to see the two of you here” you say before the first bite, them mimicking you soon after. “Don’t have much to do on this day?”

“They do” Junko intervenes before they’re able to respond “They have homework and chores to complete around the house.”

“Chores?” you ask, looking at her with disbelief. “What can they possibly have to do on Halloween?”

“Halloween?” Mai ponders “What’s Halloween?”

You gasp, Junko frowns.

“ No —Don’t tell me they don’t know what Halloween is, Junko-san!”

“They don’t need to know that” she says, “That is a western celebration, nothing my children need to know.”

“But it’s fun!” you retort playfully “You get to eat candy, dress up—”

“Or eat pumpkin!!” Haruko suddenly appears out of thin air, alongside her sister, who was helping her carry the humongous big orange pumpkin over to the table, dropping it with a loud thud that makes everyone flinch. "Whoops, sorry—but it's impressive, right? Can you believe I got it at the market?" 

“How… did you manage to find that?” Junko is the first to respond, completely hypnotized and, well, startled by the pumpkin, enough to forget scolding her, for she had never, ever seen one of its size, less be carried by someone as scrawny as Haruko or Hitomi… seems like a situation out of a dream, so she needs to be pulled back to reality.

“Let’s say I have a rather amicable relationship with a farmer… might have exchanged some goods for it too…” Haruko murmurs, Junko raises an eyebrow. “But that doesn’t matter! What matters now is that I have this huge pumpkin to literally do anything I want! But I’m also accepting suggestions.”

“We can eat it, like you said.” Mariya reiterates. “Or carve it, although it seems like a waste for something as big as that. I’d rather have Haruko prepare us something instead, I already know it’ll be tasty, right, Hitomi?”

The seamstress looks at her for a brief second, before glancing away, not even answering.

Right.

The two have yet to make up.

… Well, Mariya still hopes she’ll join the group for whatever they end up doing that day.

“Seems like the court is leaning more into eating it…” Wanting to stop the rising awkwardness between the two, Haruko sways the conversation back to her. “So.. I’ll leave it to the twins! What do you two want to do, eat or carve?”

“Eat!” the two respond in unison.

“No, you will not!” Junko interjects.

“Huh???” Haruko groans “Why are you so against them having fun?!”

“...They can have fun without eating junk food” She retorts “They are not intertwined”

“Don’t you think you’re being a bit too harsh on them?” You ask “It’s just for one day, and the food that Haruko makes is very delicious, it's a once in a lifetime experience they can’t miss!”

“I won’t be questioned by you regarding my parenting” Junko frowns. “What is done, is done. And my word is final.”

“Ah, Junko-san…” Mariya laments when he sees the round face of the girls scrunch in disappointment. They were looking forward to spending their whole day with you, or at least part of it… only for their mother to tell them it was not going to happen.

And not only that, but she was also cutting them off from things they have never experienced in their life; something as silly as celebrating Halloween couldn’t possibly do them harm… but if she already made up her mind, there really is nothing else that she could do—

“…Fine” Junko would relent eventually, not really out of her own volition, but she guesses that just as the rest of the estate is doing, they too deserve a break. To partake in a celebration, while she never understood nor liked, alongside people that actually want to spend time with them.

It’ll be a nice change of pace for the three, Mai and Maki will be rightfully distracted, and she… Well, she’ll be able to have some time for herself. Much needed time for herself.

“But they will not eat sugar, they will not go to forbidden areas, whatever you’ll do it’ll be with the utmost respect of the rest that stayed behind, and they will absolutely not go to sleep past their curfew” Junko begins to list her conditions, with such fastness that made the whole group think she intended to give them permission to be with you from the very beginning, just wanted to make you work for it.

Either way, neither will deny how elated they were that the twins will be able to stay under your care, and for the whole day it seems considering the last requirement. Because of this, the girls literally gobbled down the rest of their food, excited to start with the next activity.

“Thank you, Junko-san” you say, giving her a smile “I promise to take great care of your girls!”

Junko doesn’t say much outside of a hum, or a frown when Haruko teases “We’ll save you a piece!” before picking up her plate and exiting the hall, seemingly to take her meal in a more silent area, getting to enjoy that she won’t have to tend to her obnoxious, picky husband for the day.

Once away, the new leader of the group, Haruko , turns to see the rest of the group with a wide grin on her face.

“Who’s ready to bake some pumpkin pie?!” She hypes, the twins jumping on their spot, joining her wave of excitement.

“We are!!”

“Then let’s go!!” Haruko cheers “I will lead you through the wonderful adventure that cooking a pie is!!”

“—ok so… maybe I shouldn't have bought that big of a pumpkin." Few hours later, and a ridiculous amount of pumpkin pies, Haruko rightfully concludes, alongside noting that she could essentially open a store with how many she made…

"I told you… but you always like to go to the extremes don't you?" Hitomi sighs, shaking her head "We truly don't need a dozen pies—we can't possibly eat all of them"

"Not that I was planning on doing that… but yes, this is too much. What am I going to do?!" Haruko cries.

"I mean, we can save it for another day" Mariya suggests "Or give it to some of the staff members, I'm sure at least one of them will appreciate it"

"Why not sell it?" Maki asks "That way you can get your money back"

"Ah, quite the businesswoman there, aren't you?" Haruko chuckles, Maki blushes. "But I wouldn't sell it, I mean, I didn't spend any money for it…"

"How'd you get it, then?" It's your turn to ask, for there's no way anyone would give away for free the humongous pumpkin she got, it was like a gold mine!

"It was a favor, I did something for the farmer and the farmer did something for me—that's all." Haruko admits. "Nothing special, really"

"Something tells me you're not telling the truth" You tease with a smirk "Come on, tell me, what did you do to get it?"

"Ah, nice try Y/N, but I'm not going to tell you my secrets!" She shakes her head "It'll be something that I take to the grave"

“Sounds awful a lot like a boyfriend to me…” you murmur, Haruko gasps.

“Shut up!!” she blushes “That is not true! Whatever Y/N says is not true!!”

"Alright, alright" you chuckle, as if Haruko didn’t make herself a more of an obvious target, but whatever. "I'll find out sooner or later though" 

"I wouldn't bet on it" Haruko shoots back "There's just some things you don't know about me… Anyways! Who’s ready for some pie?"

"Let me help you with the plates" You quickly offer, but she rejects you.

"Don't worry about it, I have it all under control! How about… you help me with something else?”

"Sure, what's up?"

"Let's say… while we eat some pie…how about we tell some horror stories, eh? Ghosts and that kind of stuff" Haruko eagerly suggests, making Hitomi roll her eyes, Mariya and you chuckle, and the twins… Well, one of them didn't like the idea, the other couldn't be any more enthusiastic.

“I don’t know…” Mai eventually speaks up, making you look at her with concern. 

“You don’t like scary stuff?” You ask, and she nods. The poor girl had never been a fan of the frightening, so the idea does not allure her, not one bit, this may be due to the fact that out of the two she’s the only one who gets to see curses, and they're not known for being easy on the eyes.

This is where Maki would step in, reassuring her that as long as she ignored them, nothing would happen. Easier said than done, of course, but Maki’s confidence always managed to inspire Mai, she just knew what to do or say to comfort her.

“It’s just stories, Mai” Maki would say. “They can’t harm you.”

“But they’re real…”

“Are they?” Hitomi would ask you, their go-to myth debunker when it comes to these things.

“Um, some of them” you respond honestly, only to regret it immediately after seeing Mai’s frowning face. “I mean—it’s just like Maki-chan said, they’re just stories, things that people make up to have fun.”

“Like the one about Hanako-san!” Haruko jumps in, trying to lift the mood… although how do you do that by bringing in a somewhat scary activity? 

“Hanako-san…?” Mai repeats.

“The one about the toilet?” Maki asks.

“Exactly—it’s quite silly if you think about it” Haruko continues “You’re supposed to call her name in a bathroom stall, knock on the door 3 times and wait for a response…”

“I remember doing something like that when I was younger” Mariya confesses “I went with a group of friends to see if we’d be able to see the ghost, but of course, nothing ever happened, outside of a girl screaming because someone had turned off the lights”

“Were you the one screaming?” You tease, she chuckles.

“Ah! Obviously not, Y/N!” she scoffs, feigning to be offended—and your interaction with her manages to ease Mai a bit, realizing there could be some fun behind the fright. “Who do you think I am?”

“Oh, nothing—you just told me everything” you shrug, she chuckles and you return to the twins. “Have you two heard of the legend of Hanako-san?”

“A bit”

“No.”

Thus, the first story of the day unfolds.

“I want to tell it!” Haruko cheers “But let me serve some slices first”

Haruko could’ve given Gojo a run for his money with the speed she manages to take out the plates, cut the pie and hand each and everyone present a slice. 

But before they start to eat, the group ends up choosing to move into a more comfortable setting, such as the room Mariya suggested, one that is rarely used, but still has a warm kotatsu , and is secluded enough to not be bothered by any unwanted interruptions.

Once everyone is settled, with Haruko already done with her slice, she takes a deep breath, and begins.

“Ok, so… Imagine you’re at school, you’re bored because the classes are awful—you could literally do anything else, anything , and you’d be much better. So, you begin to talk to your classmates, wondering “What can we do to kill this boredom?” and one of them suggests… “Why don’t we talk to Hanako-san?”

You wonder, “Who is Hanako-san? Are they from another class?” but they tell you “No, it’s a girl that lives in the bathroom!” That obviously sounds so, so silly, but because you don’t want to hear Mariya-sensei go on about the same thing over and over again, you decide to check it out.’

Hanako-san doesn’t appear in just any bathroom, though. It has to be on the third floor, in the girls restroom, on the third stall. Not the fourth, or the first, and if your school doesn't have 3 stalls then you can’t do it.

Luckily, your school does have it, and once you and your friends are there, the fun begins.

Because no one else wants to do it, and technically you were the one to inspire everything, you’re the one to knock on the door. You arm yourself with all the courage you can find, take a deep breath, and knock three times before calling the girl’s name.

“Hanako-san? Are you here?”

Seconds go by, and the only thing you hear is one of your friends complaining how this was just as boring as the other things they were doing before—and you find yourself almost agreeing to it… but then, a quiet, soft voice coming from the other side of the door responds…

“Yes, I am”

It’s Hanako-san .

No one believes it, you certainly don’t, but there’s no way to prove that unless opening the door and see what’s going on, right?? So you do, you open the door and there she is, the little girl called Hanako-san! An actual ghost!!

But what do you do from there? Like, you have a ghost right in front of you!! There’s so many things you can ask her!! So many things to do!

But she doesn’t let you do any, because as soon as she sees you, she grabs you by the arm and drags you down to hell!!!”

Mai gasps, flinching by the sudden, unexpected turn of events. While Maki is… well, disappointed by the way the story ended, having hoped to get more details of the ghost itself…

“Back in my day, she’d ask for a playmate…” Mariya says. 

“You make it sound like you’re that old.” Haruko responds. “But I guess it depends on the version. There’s too many stories that talk about hell and bathrooms anyways…”

“What’s up with that?” Hitomi asks “Are people afraid of restrooms or something?”

“Oh, it’s not that per say… it’s just that restrooms, like schools, are places that most if not everybody goes to” you attempt to rationalize, inwardly laughing once realizing how similar you were to Hinata right now. You seriously doubted they wanted to know the actual reason, but it’s too late to back up now—guess you’ll have to completely take on the role of nerd for this occasion. 

“That makes sense, I guess.” Hitomi says, reminiscing on another famous urban legend consisting of a similar background. “But… Why do you have to fight for your life in the restroom? It’s like aka manto… ”

“I mean, we’ve all fought for our lives in the toilet at one point, right?” Haruko jests.

“Ewww” Mai cringed, having quickly understood what she meant. The cook just laughs.

“What is that one about?” Maki asks, eager to get her small hands on another story, the story legend of the day.

“Someone that’s supposed to appear in restrooms too, however, this one you can’t summon, it’s supposed to appear on its own” Hitomi begins to explain. “The spirit wears a red cloak, or a blue one depending on the area, and it offers you two kinds of paper, a blue one and a red one. Depending on your answer, it’s what is going to happen to you.”

“I’d pick the red one.” Maki says confidently.

“I wouldn’t pick either…” Mai murmurs.

“Mai-chan would survive, actually,” Hitomi reveals, making Maki groan.

“Why? What’s gonna happen to me??”

“You’d get—” She stops, debating whether she should tell two little girls the gruesome details of her choice… although something tells her that Maki would like to know all about it.

Perhaps another time.

“You get pulled to hell, again”

“That’s not true—” Haruko was about to protest until her sister elbowed her, letting her know to keep quiet. “I mean, who would’ve known it would lead to the same thing? Ha!”

The twins may be young, but they are not naive, and they’re quick to notice that, but before they can confront the sisters about it, Mariya steps in.

“Oh, I know one! It’s a pretty popular one, but maybe Mai and Maki haven’t heard of it!” Mariya says enthusiastically “The one about kuchisake-onna ”

“Kuchisake…onna?” Mai repeats slowly, and just as Mariya supposed, it was the first time she’d ever heard of such a character, meanwhile Maki has heard more than enough, but was eager to hear a complete retelling of the legend.

“Yes” Mariya begins “It’s the story of a woman that lurks the streets at night… whom you only get to see if alone. There’s nothing special about her, outside of her gorgeous face, which she covers under a mask. 

You may wonder, why would she hide such beauty if it’s so great?

That’s easy—it’s all because she hides a terrible secret underneath...!”

Mai’s eyes widened out of intrigue.

“What…. What is she hiding?” she quietly adds.

“A horrible, hideous smile stretching from one ear to the other!” Mariya gasps, making the youngest of the twin’s gasp as well. “ Kuchisake-onna will find you alone and ask you if you find her beautiful, if you say yes, she’ll take off her mask, revealing her true face to ask you the same thing, and if you say yes once again, she’ll cut—”

“Ugh, booooooriiiiing!!!!” Haruko groans, rolling her eyes. “You revealed the good part too quickly, and nobody likes that!”

Mai doesn’t bother to hide the fact that she’s elated Haruko interrupted Mariya from finishing the story, for out of the three, this had been the most terrifying one yet, a sigh escaping her lips soon after. Maki, however, frowns, irritated by the same reason—why wouldn’t they let her know what’s going to happen? She’s old enough to take it!

“But it’s still scary, Haruko.” Mariya responds.

“But not as scary as it should be” She counters “It’s like a joke, it’s not funny anymore if you have to explain it!”

“Well, excuse me” It was now Mariya’s turn to be irritated. “Had I known you were going to find my storytelling so dreadful , I would’ve gone somewhere else.”

“I didn’t mean it that way!” Haruko cries, caught off guard by her reaction. She didn’t think it was that… serious. “I was just saying—”

“No, you said enough” She interjects, quickly standing up from her seat and heading towards the door. “I’ll be somewhere else, preferably where my stories will be appreciated”

“Wait, Mariya!” Haruko pleads. “Where are you going?! I didn’t mean it like that!”

But her words would fall on deaf ears, for Mariya simply continued on with her path, closing the door and leaving behind a group of speechless, concerned onlookers who wondered if this had really happened.

“Is she… angry?” Maki is the first to speak, a question that while it might appear obvious, managed to instill confusion in everyone.

“I don’t know.” you say as honestly as you could, being another of the bunch that believed that her behavior might’ve been… a bit extreme. “It’s not like her to be like that…”

“Who knows.” Hitomi quietly adds.

“What do we do now…?” Mai asks.

“There’s nothing we can do.” you suppose. “If she wants to do something else, we should let her.”

The girls press their lips together and hum—silently agreeing with your words, believing that perhaps Mariya genuinely wanted to do something else, perhaps suddenly remembered a pending task or… well, wanting to clear her mind from Haruko’s seeming imprudence. Who knows.

“Either way, I’m sure we still have other stories to go through” you try to reassure them, move the conversation away from the uncomfortable, overwhelming tension surrounding Mariya, and back to their fun activity.  “Anyone wants to volunteer for a story?”

“I don’t know if I want to…” Haruko pouts, effectively shoved away from participating.

“I have one, then” Hitomi steps in.“And this one is a real one, because it happened to my mother.”

The interest of the group pikes.

“To mom? ” Haruko asks “What… happened?”

Technically, the fourth story of the evening.

“A long time ago, she used to work in a hotel as a housekeeper. Her responsibilities were simple, she’d clean after the vacated rooms, make them presentable for whichever guest is next, or do whatever other cleaning was needed around the building.

She’d always tell me that her time there was mostly uneventful, quite boring if she was being honest, but it was a good pay and that was enough for her to stay.

However, all would change the day she was assigned the night shift—apparently the receptionist had called in sick, and mom, wanting to take on bigger responsibilities for a while now, was quick to offer herself to cover them.

Since the night is usually calm, and it was just her that shift, mom decided to go around cleaning a bit of things while something happened. Just checking if everything was in place, reading some magazines for time to pass by quickly, that kind of stuff… until the phone began to ring.

Mom wasn’t unsettled by the call in the middle of the night, for she was informed that someone might do that to check the availability of a room, usually a backpacker hoping to rest a bit before moving on with their trip…

What unsettled her was the person on the other side of the line.”

“Who was it?!” Haruko suddenly frets, slicing through her story and making her frown. The cook gets the silent message which makes her apologize immediately after.

“Anyways, as I was saying….

She responded with the customary greeting, expecting to be asked about room availability, fares and prepared for it… but instead, she was received with silence.

My mom would insist again, believing it was a problem with the phone service at first, but when there was still no response, she thought it was a prank and hung up.

She’d move on quickly after, back to whatever she was doing prior… until the phone rang again. 

It was the same procedure as before, greeting, waiting to be asked for prices… and be received with silence. Mom didn’t take much longer after that to hang up, but by the third time, she finally decided to check the caller id, find out if it was a friend of hers or something wanting to pull a prank on her…

Only to receive the most frightening realization.

It was coming from the inn, from one of the rooms… where no one was staying.

Naturally, my mother was deeply concerned and wanted to check the room, but she couldn’t just leave her post due to safety measures, so she stayed, attempting to talk to the person on the other side and tell them to stop whatever it was that they intended to do, to no avail…

She hung up once more. Wanting to believe it was nothing but a mistake, but as much as she wanted, that wouldn’t make sense—no one can use a phone unless they were physically there, right?

An hour or so would pass before she received another call, one she’d greet as any other…

But this time, when she put her ear against the phone, hearing the same white noise as before… She felt different. She felt as if the reason behind these calls weren’t to prank her, but rather… to talk to her.

She didn’t know why she did it, but once inundated with this feeling that the person on the other line desperately wanted to have a word with her, she said:

“Everything is fine. We’ll be ok. Don’t worry about me—you can rest.”

And then, the call ended, but from the other side.”

“What… happened after that?” You asked what everyone in the room wondered once Hitomi went silent.

“A few hours later my mom would come back home to the awful news that her sister, my aunt, had passed away—and just around the same time she received the last call.”

Everyone’s heart sinks.

“My mom thought it to be a coincidence at first, but after reflecting on that sentiment… Well, it made sense. She took it as my aunt trying to say goodbye one last time. And while it was a bit eerie at first, she’s now glad that she didn’t just ignore the calls and got to bid her a peaceful farewell.”

“That’s… wow . I… Well— I don’t know what to say, it’s both scary yet… sad.” you say, the twins agree.

“I know, but if it’s worth anything, mom looks back at it with fondness. I’m not going to deny that this did make me wonder if things like the afterlife and such exist—Although I’m sure I can at least say that the paranormal does, thanks to you.” Hitomi chuckles.

“I guess so” you give her a tight smile “Well, I’m glad that at least your aunt was able to pass on without regrets.”

“Me too.” Hitomi responds.

“I didn’t know this.” Haruko admits. “It must’ve been awful for mom. How long ago was that?”

“A few years before moving in with dad so… probably when she was 14, 15?” Hitomi guesses “She was pretty young when it happened.”

“Thank you for sharing this story with us.” you add.

“Thank you for listening” she responds with a smile “But I didn’t want it to be taken as something melancholic! It’s still kind of creepy, right? So let’s keep the scary stories coming—Haruko, you’re next.”

“Huh? Why me!” she gasps “I just told one, and I’m not in the mood after what happened with Mariya-san…”

“You’re the one that asked for scary stories” she frowns “You ought to know a few!”

“I want to hear some, not tell them!” She retaliates “There’s a big difference in that…”

“Ugh, I guess so…” Hitomi rolls her eyes, before looking back at you. “It’s your turn then. Y/N”

“Me?” You blink, startled. “Ah, well… I don’t really know many stories, outside of the popular ones I mean”

“Now that is a lie if I ever heard one!” Haruko scoffs “Are you going to tell me that you , a sorcerer, don't know any scary stories?! Of all of us, you’re possibly the one who had the most chance in actually seeing a ghost!”

“I mean if you put it that way…” you murmur “…Let me see…”

You had a vast variety of stories to tell, obviously, but you didn’t want to settle for something they’d consider boring or predictable— you wanted to make an impression!

But what could you say…? What kind of story could leave them in awe …?

And then, it comes to you. After a quick recollection, you eventually settle for something a bit more… different, so to speak, something that shocked you the first time you heard about it and now, had no doubt in your mind that they’d have the same reaction.

“There’s one legend that I like in particular” you eventually begin “I read about it at school, when studying curses from other countries.”

The sisters perk their ears, eyes solely focused on you—you now had their undivided attention for the fifth story of the day.

“It happened a long time ago, during the colonial era of a distant country.

You know how any song with a particular catchy tune would become popular? Enough for everyone to sing it until becoming tired of it, repeating the same cycle when the next tune comes along and so on?

Well, that’s exactly what happened back then. Nobody knows where the melody came from, only that it was a beautiful tune that everyone liked to dance along to.

The song had no lyrics at first, but its popularity would soon fix that, with someone anonymously writing them.

But don’t think they were nice lyrics to match the tune, no. The words were very explicit, more so for the very religious society that it was. It was so barbaric, that singing or dancing the song would send you to jail!

Because of this, the song's popularity eventually diminished… or so they thought. 

One day, a group of people were having a party in one of the most dangerous areas of the city. Everything was going on as normal, as expected of a party, until a horrible, terrible lament was heard from a nearby ally, just when it became midnight.

Their voice was indistinguishable, unable to figure out if it was a woman or a man speaking… only that they were singing the forbidden song.

This succession would go on for days, in the same place, at the same time, to the point where the alley began to be completely avoided.

No one dared confront them… until a group of valiant, yet drunk people, decided to do so.

They made a bet, and whoever lost would be the one going to see who the mysterious voice was. Once the loser was chosen, the group of friends told them they’d be waiting as they went on to see who the voice belonged to.

Nothing happened much at first, with even some believing the loser didn’t even go. But a few seconds later, loud yells for help were heard.

The desperation behind the voice was so chilling, that it kicked the alcohol out of their system and forced them to rush towards their friend, finding him completely unconscious in the middle of the street.  

They took him to the doctor, where he’d remain under supervision for hours, until he finally woke up.

His friends naturally asked him what happened, why did he scream for help? And so, he tells them:

At first it was difficult to see, for the alley was completely dark at that time of the night, however, upon walking deeper into the alley, they were able to make out a figure, which he presumed to be that of the mysterious voice.

He was still too far away to make out their face, but he was able to see that the figure would sway from one side of the street to the other, with such speed that it made it seem they were floating. 

He tried to take a closer step, regardless of how eerie this looked, but before he could do as much, the figure had suddenly closed in on him, enough to finally see its face!

And what he saw… oh, what he saw was horrible!

It was a disfigured face, torn apart and complete bloodied, with the socket of its eyes completely empty and a presence so overwhelming, he could only assume that he had seen none other than the devil himse—!”

Boom!

Without further precedent, the lights suddenly go off and everyone screams. With Haruko being the loudest one, letting out a blood curdling screech that would make anyone think someone was being murdered and unwittingly scaring the rest even more. Mai and Maki quickly hug you for comfort, you hug them back, and Hitomi… well, she jolts, before smacking her.

“What is wrong with you?! Calm down!” Hitomi scolds “Compose yourself! You’re scaring everyone!”

“I’m—I’m sorry!” She frets, heart already thundering and ears ringing. It takes her a few seconds to process the darkness in which they are in, as well as to disconnect it from your frightening story. “I just—that was scary!!”

“Yeah, sure. Really funny, Haruko. Now turn on the lights.” Hitomi frowns.

“What do you—What makes you think that was me?!” Haruko gasps.

“Well, who else! Anyone else here look like they can shut down the power?”

“First of all, I can’t see, second of all, how am I supposed to do that when I’m also here with you, idiot!”

“ Language ” you murmur, Haruko quietly apologizes. “But then… who was it?”

If the girls could look at each other, they would do so, yet everyone knew they were on the same page. The mystery makes everyone remain speechless, their minds galloping a thousand miles per second in attempts to figure out if this had been intentional, or just an accident.

Until the door begins to rattle.

Everyone’s eyes shot wide open, quickly swirling at the origin…

“Who’s there?” You were the first to ask, tightly holding onto the twins as they lean further into you.

Once the question flew past your lips you felt incredibly silly, for there really is no reason to be this frightened about someone standing on the other side of the door—but call it an effect of having told nothing but horror stories, you can’t help but feel like there’s something beyond it.

As if by pure coincidence, you actually summoned something.

No, of course not. Perhaps it’s your worry for the young girls that has you thinking like that, alongside Haruko’s comically scary scream, and the shock of being in complete darkness—

Or the fact that your question remains unanswered, while the door continues to rattle… 

“Go check, Hitomi” Haruko eventually urged, but even the seemingly fearless seamstress must have her weaknesses…

“What? Why me ? You do it!”

“No, you do it! Where’s the all-mighty Hitomi?!”

“Maki… I’m scared…”

You need to act fast then. Even if it’s a prank, you don’t like how the rest of your entourage is acting—it’s not even funny anymore.

So, you proceed by carefully peeling yourself from the twins, standing up from the seat and then reach for the door. 

“Y/N!” Haruko cries. “No! Careful!”

“I’ll be fine…” you tell her, before whispering “I think…”

You seek reassurance by reminding yourself that this is just another person, maybe wanting to check if everyone was alright after the power outage—wait, was it just this area, or was it the whole estate?

Either way, the tension in the air is undeniable, thick enough to make you feel as if you were sinking on the spot, trying your hardest to move but nothing would come out aside from trembles, and the sensation of your heart dropping further into your stomach the closer you got to the door.

Yet, you pushed forward, for the sake of Mai, Maki, Haruko, and Hitomi. You had to.

But just as you were a few feet away from the door, the rattling stops abruptly, and so do you.

You know the rest of the group to be pondering, fearing the same thing as you, until the noise suddenly ceases, giving all a false sense of relief, as if they managed to escape unscathed this time–only for the door to slowly slide open.

The smallest rays of light come through the slit, but not enough to reveal the culprit behind the scare… only their clawed hand, sternly gripping the edge.

By that point the whole group is tightly holding onto each other, doing silent prayers for the gods to be merciful enough so that whatever is about to happen, does so quickly and painlessly.

But it’s a hope that soon diminishes when a horrifying face peaks over the door, a devilish red skin face, a twisted darkened smirk baring long yellow fangs, two horns coming out from the top of its head, intently staring at nothing but them, it’s new prey—it’s safe to assume that a this point, everyone was beyond petrified.

You tried to move, tried to react for the sake of your survival but no noise would come out from your throat. Only a whimper when the mysterious, frightening figure took a step inside, slowly raising its arms to what you could simply assume was your end.

The one making a noise, however, would be the mysterious figure before you, taking a deep exhale before loudly yelling:

“ BOO! ”

“AAAAH!!”

It was Hitomi screaming this time,

“Happy Hallowe— what in the… what?!” The creature says with an oddly familiar voice, which upon removing what turned out to be a mask, reveals it was the previously-gone Mariya all along. 

What used to be excitement for a prank well done, was now replaced with concern, and a bit of guilt too, given the way she was stared back in pure fright, with some even harboring tears in the corners of their eyes! "What… what happened?"

“What do you mean what happened?!” Hitomi shrieked. “You’re out here scaring us after the light went off, how imprudent can you be Mariya-san?! What if we’ve just lost electricity for the rest of the day?!"

“Oh. Oh . Ah, about that…” Mariya nervously adds, scratching the back of her head. “I don’t think that’s going to be that big of an issue…”

“Why?" Haruko adds, the thought of being in complete darkness for the rest of the day doesn’t seem appetizing to her, at all .

“Let's say… I was the one that… did.. that…” Mariya explains, and the rest gasp. “I mean! It was only for a moment, and here only of course, all part of my prank.”

“Prank” Hitomi repeats “A prank ”

“Just something for Halloween! Thought it would be nice to do something a bit more fun , that’s all… didn’t expect to see you girls like this though… Well, fortunately, I have something to make up for all the sorrow I’ve put all of you through!” Mariya beams, stepping aside to reveal Tatsuro, who carried a box.

“Hey…” the man nervously greets, intimidated by the negative response from their part, as well as the tension between him, Mariya, and Hitomi. Tatsuro didn’t want to appear as affected by it, but it was hard to not crumble beneath Hitomi’s icy gaze.

“What is it?” you manage to ask once your heart calms down. Now that it was finally revealed to be nothing but a prank, you’re able to relax. Although you still worry a bit for Mai and Maki, who upon quick glance seemed to be a bit more relieved—still startled, but enough to place their interest somewhere else.

“It’s going to be a very sweet apology—that I hope will compensate for the scare” Mariya says as her hands dive into the box Tatsuro was carrying, soon taking out a few small fabric bags. “Do you have any idea of how hard it is to get these? Thankfully, Tatsuro here knew just the right person for that!”

Being the closest one, Mariya gives you the first bag.

“Here, for you” She says with a smile. 

“Thank you” You nod, soon opening the bag and grinning when seeing its contents: they were a wide variety of candies, from all kinds of well known brands, to even international ones… Mariya did seem to put a lot of effort into getting them—and for that, you’re grateful.

“This one is for Haruko” she hands another. “I tried to get you a bit more variety… but there’s only so much I could find. Still, I hope you’re able to like them”

“No way… you did this all for me?!” she breathes upon seeing the contents.

“Of course! Knew you’d like to extend your palette” Mariya then turns to the twins, who were eagerly looking at her, like children during Christmas morning.

“And I hope you two are not tired of sweets just yet, because I got you the most out of all, because kids your age should eat more sweets!” She says, the girls swiftly grabbing their respective bags, a grin on each of their faces. “But you need to promise me something”

“Anything!” Maki responds 

“Don’t tell your mom about this—she won’t be very happy with me if she figures it out. If you need to hide them, I can do that for you too” 

Mai and Maki giggle, giving her a nod as well as a unanimous “Promise!” before diving into their gifts.

And now that they were set… the only person left was Hitomi.

Mariya didn’t intend to leave her last to further isolate each other, no, of course not. No matter what happens between the two, she’ll always hold her dear in her heart.

However, she’ll have to admit that the one that got the best gift out of the 4 was her, and all because she hoped… This would finally help her obtain forgiveness.

“I… didn’t get you—I mean, I did, but it’s not the main thing” Mariya begins, hand reaching in for the box and taking a box , instead of the expected bag. By the way she holds it, you assume that the contents are heavy.

“I remember you saying how much you wanted to buy these books about patterns, I recently saw them at the market again and I thought… well, might as well get them.”

She nervously hands the box over to Hitomi, who receives it seemingly without emotion. She'd only stare at it, as if trying to remember which book she was referring to, before glancing up at her in complete silence.

Mariya begins to feel regretful, desolate at the impression that her gift had fallen from her graces and that this relationship had completely ended.

“I just want you to know that I’ll be here for you, whenever you need someone to talk to, or guidance, whether professionally or personally… I’ll always try to do my best to be there for you, because no matter what happens, you’ll always have a special place in my— oh! ”

Hitomi doesn’t let her finish before she tackles her with a hug, a gesture so quick that Mariya is initially startled by it, frozen as she tries to process what just happened, but before she could say anything, the seamstress wins her to it.

“I’m sorry.” Hitomi murmurs. “I… should’ve never acted the way I did with you. It was unprovoked and without good reason. I just allowed my feelings to get the best of—”

“No, I get it. I really do, Hitomi” Mariya says “It’s nothing, really. You don’t have to apology—”

“But it is” she interjects “Because I made you responsible for something I haven’t dealt with in my personal life. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you, and I shouldn’t have waited this long to make amends… but, I was ashamed how big I allowed this to grow that I… I just thought it was best to leave it like that.”

Mariya gives her a soft smile, hugging her back.

“I understand, and I forgive you. Not that you needed my forgiveness, because I never took offense to your actions. I was just worried, that’s all.” She goes on. “Never forget I’m someone you can trust with anything—regardless if it’s good or bad. I’m always there for you”

Hitomi smiles back, happy that this is all in the past now.

“Thank you”

“Don’t mention it—I hope you like them!” Mariya says.

“I will, there’s just one small problem… ‘ Hitomi cautions.

“Oh no, don’t tell me I got the wrong ones!”

“No, you got the right ones.. However… I already have them” she chuckles.

“What?! Ah, I should’ve known!!” Mariya laments.

“It’s fine! I can send them to my mom, maybe she’ll teach my baby sister a thing or two, continue on with the family tradition”

“Very true”And you smile, too relieved to see that the two have finally reconciled.

“By the way… where did you get that mask and… gloves?” Haruko asks. “They’re…. Super creepy”

“I know, right?! Got them at the village a while ago, they’re from the same vendor from last year. Tatsuro was the one that suggested the prank, actually. But I did the whole planning.”

“Ah, did you?” you tease.

“Guilty as charged.” Tatsuro laughs.

“Wait… so what was the whole angry thing about?” Hitomi blinks. “Are you angry, I mean?”

“Nope! I just needed the perfect excuse to put my plan in motion, and that was it! But… I apologize if I made anyone upset”

“You worried us there for a bit” You admit. “We were debating whether to follow you or not…”

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t!” Mariya chuckles “Because my surprise would’ve been ruined! But enough of that, let’s continue enjoying Halloween! I hope you’re still telling scary stories, ‘cause Tatsuro here has some pretty creepy ones!”

“How about it, Mai, Maki? Do we keep on telling scary stories?” you ask, looking at them—but they were far past the point of listening to stories, already gobbled down through their fourth candy by this point. But even when deep into their candy trance, one of them still manages to lift their face from the bag, looking at you with a chocolatey grin before declaring:

“This is the best Halloween ever!”

It was way past midnight when Naoya eventually made his return to the estate.

There’s no one to receive him at the door, except the cold, silent ambience of the night, and the only poor souls still awake during these hours, those in charge of keeping guard, who were surprised to see him this early in the day, and back already. Like always.

Naoya knew he’d be received with such a reaction, since it usually took a few days before any of the sorcerers deployed during this time to come back, either because the mission was lengthy, or because they decided to make the most of their stay wherever they were.

He was that kind of person too—he’d do his job, enjoy the city, and come back home fashionably late. 

This time, however, there’s nothing he wanted more than to come back as soon as possible. In fact, he had rushed to finish his mission —in record speed as eventually noted by others— simply because nothing from the outside world allured him, not when there’s something, or someone, far more important home.

“Welcome back, Naoya-sama” one of the staff members would say upon seeing him. It’s the most heartwarming thing he’ll get for a welcome, he supposes. “I hope your trip was enjoyable. Would you like me to call your sta—”

“How is my wife?” Is the first thing that Naoya comes out of his mouth, not a request for something to make his return more tolerable, he doesn’t care about that right now.

“I—I heard she was doing fine.” The man stammers, unsure how to proceed considering their turbulent past… he hopes that his answer is adequate enough, at least for now. “Much better than before, she just stayed inside the estate, accompanied by her staff… and so.”

Of course you would, Naoya notes, why wouldn’t you? He went through great lengths to ensure that would happen. A quick way to ensure your misery.

“I see” Naoya responds, and without further precedent, he dismisses the man, heading off to the depths of the dark halls with nothing but his solitude.

That’s how days are usually nowadays, he thought he’d get used to them by now, but he isn’t.

He doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to this loneliness—he was always accompanied, either by the superficial words of his family, or the jealous glances of others, there was always someone to keep an eye on him. 

Now he feels like he couldn’t be any more irrelevant, hell, not even his own staff waited for him. Not that they would, considering he came back unannounced… but he’s seen that sense of loyalty from others, and it makes him realize just how unlikeable he truly is.

There’s no denying that he’s tired, exhausted from exerting both his mind and his body beyond their limits these past few days. A good night’s rest is well deserved at this point.

Nonetheless, there’s still something bothering him in the back of his head that won’t let him rest, and it’s this thought that guides him to your room.

Even when there’s another voice telling him that he shouldn’t visit you like this, that he should respect your wishes and leave you alone, his heart can’t be that far from you, he doesn’t want to be stranded from you anymore .

Through careful steps and watchful eyes, Naoya eventually arrives in your room. He stares at the door for a few seconds, as if still debating whether to proceed or not, before making his decision by placing his hand on the edge and sliding it open.

If not by the moonlight, your husband wouldn’t have been able to see inside—but there you were, laying on your side, peacefully sleeping in your bed. The sight is enough to warm his heart, almost to sway him away… but he steps inside, closing the door behind him soon after.

He silently walks over to your side, hoping that you wouldn’t notice his presence, and stops at the edge of your bed. Naoya then kneels down to your level, stays like that for a few seconds, pressing his lips in deep thought before taking a chance and laying down to your side.

It had been so, so long since he had you this close, it almost felt like a dream, so he couldn’t hold himself back from draping his arm over you, nuzzling as close as possible, taking in your scent which always calmed him down, checking you hadn’t woken up… before beginning.

“I’m home, Y/N” he whispers. “After days away… I’m finally home.”

…

…

Silence.

“It’s good to be back. Even if it was just for 2 days, it felt like an eternity for me. I really didn’t want to leave, but you know what they say— duty calls .” He chuckles. No response. “I loathed this year’s mission, mainly because I was paired up with someone I don’t really like. The work is already tedious, imagine doing it with someone obnoxious? And that’s without considering I had to cover for them most of the time”

He sighs.

“But I guess that doesn’t matter now, not when I’m finally here.

This time I was deployed to Nagoya this time because celebrations were expected to be a bit bigger. And they were— there were a lot of people dressed up stupidly, drinking even more stupidly too.

Can you believe I was called because of a silly costume? Apparently, someone was so frightened by it, they caused a whole commotion, to the point some “windows” thought it was an actual curse. The look on their faces when I told them it was just a person in tasteless makeup is one I’ll never forget! Ah, well, at least I won’t be stuck doing that case’s paperwork.

…Either way… I’ve been told that you’re feeling much better. I’m… glad you are— I was worried that when I was away your condition would worsen, and I wouldn’t be there to help you. Not that my presence here would make any difference, but… I could still do something, call someone if you need it, you know?

I hope the weather didn’t bother you that much either—it was pretty cold out there; and I know how ugly it can get here in the mountains… But I don’t worry too much because I know your staff will keep you comfortable, they’re very diligent with you. I've seen it and I’m glad it’s that way.

…

…

I can’t imagine how boring today must’ve been too. I don’t celebrate Halloween, but I imagine someone as fun like you must… right? Although… I don’t really know what you like. Either way, I’m sure you would’ve enjoyed going out, visiting some stores or something. 

…

…

I wish I could’ve taken you to do that. Like a… compensation for getting you sick, now that you’re a bit better. Get you to see the city, a change of scenery from this boring place. We don’t even have to do that, you know? Anything will do fine.

But…

But I know you won’t want to. I know you wouldn’t like to go with me because you…”

He inadvertently holds you tighter against him, trying to hold back the tears that have been forming in his eyes the past few minutes.

What would Naoya blame now?

Would he blame his brother for the rift between the two?

Or your sickness, the hindrance it brought?

Perhaps your inability to get along with his family’s costumes, because you were a so-called stubborn woman, stuck in “modern ways”?

…

…

…

No.

Not anymore.

Not when he finally knew why .

“Because… I… Because I frighten you”

You can’t even stand the sight of me without cowering in fear—because more than hate me, you fear me. And I have no one to blame but myself ” he sobs. 

“I was the one that made you feel that way towards me, I was the one that hurt you, humiliated you, and I still had the nerve to blame you for all of it.

Instead of helping you, I put myself against you. I acted as if you were the one to wrong me and allowed my family to further hurt you. I couldn’t even stand against my own father when he ordered you to be killed , because I was so angry you didn’t play along with the stupid joke I made! One I should’ve never done in the first place! How pathetic could I have been?!

How could I preach I care for you, how much I wanted you to be here, being my wife, when the first thing I did after exchanging vows with you is terrorize you ? When I should’ve been the one to protect you from any harm, I became that danger itself; ignoring how you were in pain, how you told me to stop, and yet I continued because I could only think of myself!

How could I even call myself your husband … when all I’ve ever done is keep you away from your family, allow my family to torment you… and then turn my back on you when you needed the most comfort?

No wonder you found solace on my brother. No wonder you wish to be with literally anyone else but me.

Because I’ve always been the one to hurt you. I've always been your tormentor…

And no one else but myself is to blame ”

It was a hard pill to swallow for Naoya. To finally admit what your actions had been screaming to him since the moment you married him.

But it was harder to admit that he always knew. That he always, deep inside him, knew he was the one responsible for the rupture of this marriage.

He just… he just didn’t want to admit it. Naoya didn’t want to accept that he had turned out to be just like the man he hated the most in his life—like his father . As if history were repeating itself.

Yet, the only thing that pains him more out of this situation is that while he remained in his delusions, he just hurt you even more, and more…

But never again.

Never again will he instill you the same pain he’s suffered.

Naoya will never, ever hurt the woman he considers to be the love of his life.

“I’m sorry” he breathes. “I’m sorry for everything I’ve done to hurt you. I’m sorry for the times I pushed you away and made you pay the consequences for my actions , when I should’ve defended you.

I’m sorry for allowing others to humiliate you, to stomp over your persona… and myself being one of them too.

I’m sorry for the awful lonely way I’ve made you feel, making you believe you’re worthless, when in fact, you are the most precious person in the world to me…

…

I promise to never hurt you again. I promise to mend all of my mistakes and become a husband worthy of your affection. A man you’ll be able to see without feeling fear.

Even if it takes me my whole life—I will stop at nothing to fix my mistakes and make a place where you can be happy, where you can be safe.

Even if… I’m not part of it. I will do it because it’s the right thing . It is my duty to you as your husband—as someone… that cares for you very much.”

Naoya kisses the top of your head before peeling away from your body, pushing himself up from the futon and heading towards the door. He gives you one last glance through his teary eyes, knowing well this is the last time he’ll ever be this close to you.

“I’m sorry for everything, Y/N. Goodnight.”

And then, he leaves.

Even when he knew it wasn’t perhaps the best moment to say them, he still meant them very, very much. 

Promises without actions are only empty words, that much he learned now, and it’s perhaps why he decided to meet you like this—because he knew that first, you’d reject any intention of conversing with him, secondly, because this is work that must be done in the background, things that must be realized without the acknowledgement of others, simply because it’s the right thing.

Yet, he still wished you to know, wanted to show you how much you mean to him… once again, a selfish act from his heart.

Naoya knows that the path of forgiveness will not be an easy one, if even accomplished, but it is something he’s willing to traverse. It’s his promise to you to mend all of his mistakes, to give you what you truly deserve.

A promise he intends to keep, a promise he meant .

So, he goes to his room and onto the bed, managing to get whatever little rest he could get after exhausting, endless days of work, preparing for whatever is to come next, leaving you alone, in your room, to do the same…

Only that you were now wide awake, had been since he started going on about his promises, intently listening to his sorrows and how much he regretted his actions—giving you the words that your heart has longed to hear for so, so long…

And instead of going back to sleep, all you could do is cry.

#naoya zenin #naoya zen'in #naoya x reader #naoya zenin x reader #naoya zenin x you #jjk naoya #naoya zen'in x reader #jjk x reader #jjk fluff #jjk x you #series: first it hurts—

[peterjakes]

Katniss x Peeta - ‘you said I have to trust more freely’

It's been months since Katniss and Peeta found themselves back in District 12. As the district builds itself back up after the War, so do the victors, healing together. Something is missing however, something unspoken, something that has always been there. They just can't quite admit that.

I have missed these two so damn much recently. the hunger games resurgence is back and I'm so here for it. I've wanted to write something about Katniss and Peeta for a while but just never got around to doing it. I feel like this might be a series but not 100% sure. thank you as always for reading x

also posted on ao3; https://archiveofourown.org/works/44714848

It was midnight, or at least Katniss thought it was. The moonlight had managed to escape through the small gap of the curtains, finding its way up to Katniss. It hadn’t disturbed her; in fact, she was glad of it. Glad of the company. She was alone, like most nights. Her body still hadn’t gotten used to that. Those days spent in District 13, everyone packed in so tight, everyone together. Before that, she’d often fall asleep in Peeta’s arms, protected by that kind, warm shield. Before everything, before the War, the Quarter Quell, the first Games, Prim would often take up space, along with Buttercup watching the two of them closely.

But now it was just Katniss.

Peeta was just across the path, it couldn’t be more than 100 metres from Katniss’ front door. But it felt like eternity. She didn’t dare leave her home, didn’t dare disturb him. She couldn’t bring herself to do that. After everything. The two of them had both come home, they both found each other again. But Katniss didn’t know if they could let each other in. It wouldn’t be like before, of course, it wouldn’t. It couldn’t. But Katniss couldn’t deny she missed him, missed how things were. She wouldn’t admit certain things to herself, let alone Peeta. But the War was over, it was done, and Katniss had to live again. No matter how hard it would be. Katniss didn’t want to do that alone.

Knowing she couldn’t lie in the darkness any longer, Katniss forced herself out of her bed, brushing the bedclothes off her frail body and moved out of her bedroom. She found herself walking towards the front door but made a quick change at the last minute and followed the natural light in the kitchen. The blinds were not drawn, allowing a direct view of the house across the street. The baker’s boy, her once star-crossed lover, the Capitol mutt, so many names occupied that house and yet it was only one person she yearned to see. Peeta, her Peeta. Peeta who had burnt the bread on purpose to feed a starving girl. Peeta announced to the world his love for a girl who paid him no attention. Peeta who joined the Career pack for Katniss. Peeta, who begged Haymitch to save Katniss when the Quarter Quell was announced. Peeta, who agreed to no allies, just the two. Peeta, who didn’t care for his own wellbeing, only Katniss. Peeta, who suffered and endured so much at the hands at the Capitol. Peeta, who had lost himself entirely. Peeta who had come back home, for many things and for Katniss.

Katniss was angry with herself. Angry for letting it get this far. It had been months since they’d arrived back home. Months, and yet it was as if it was only yesterday that she found Peeta planting those Primrose flower he’d found. It wasn’t as if things hadn’t changed because they had. The three of them – Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch, had learned to heal together. But that didn’t mean it was like before, it could never be like that again. Katniss had understood that, and she was sure Peeta too. He’d kept his distance, almost like the time after their first games and Katniss hadn’t wanted that. She didn’t like it.

It wasn’t as if the two of them were ignoring each other completely. There would be times when the three of them, Haymitch included, would spend those long, dark evenings together trying to fill the void. Panem was moving on. The Games were over and of course every single detail had to be televised. Katniss had seen far enough of the Capitol, but it wasn’t just there. Buildings were being rebuilt, houses, hospitals, memorials – all in the districts. Katniss wondered when it would be District 12’s turn. She’d have to make a mental note to avoid the town. It was unlikely that they would want Coin’s killer around for the show.

And those evenings, those times spent together, the three victors, weren’t as bad Katniss had imagined. It could get lonely in that big house, and she missed their company. Katniss would make sure to hunt during the day, wanting to do something with her time and not wait about all day. Peeta, Katniss assumed, spent time trying to remember. He’d sometimes paint, maybe bake, read. Haymitch would always smell like a brewery, so it was obvious what he was doing with his day.

But things were different. It wasn’t icy, but there was a definite barrier between the two. Katniss had to admit she hadn’t made the best effort to overcome that. But how could she? What would she say to him?

Knowing there was no point trying to get some sleep, Katniss decided to do what she did best – hunt. It was still relatively dark outside, but that didn’t matter. The morning light would appear soon, making it easier and clearer for Katniss. She couldn’t stay cooped up in her home, all alone with her thoughts and her nightmares. She found her bow hidden in a corner in her bedroom; it was well-used but still good. Her hunting boots were hanging by her bed, only being washed a few days ago. She had spent so much of her time out hunting these days, trying to ignore the inevitable. The days were long, the nights were longer, and Katniss needed something to occupy her time. Peeta had his baking, his painting or at least he had. Katniss knew he was learning again, trying to learn, trying to remember. Haymitch had his drink, though it seemed a little less often than before. Perhaps the ‘prohibition’, as he once called it, in District 13 had worked.

But for Katniss, she needed to hunt, to keep busy, to have a purpose. She’d hunt a few rabbits, maybe a squirrel, like she used to. She’d still go down to the market but not to sell the animals, but to feel some kind of familiarity. District 12 had started to build itself back up. Some who had survived and were taken to 13 had come home, others stayed. The population was few, but it was enough.

Changing into her hunting clothes in front of the long mirror, Katniss noticed how thin she looked. She was always thin, always skinny. That’s what spending 16 long years growing up in the Seam did to you. But becoming a victor, she’d changed. But now? Well, her fingers were bony and slender, her thighs barely touched, her jacket almost engulfed her. If her mother was here… But she wasn’t. It was just her, alone in the big house. Her mother and Prim’s room had stayed untouched. Katniss hadn’t dared to enter them, not wanting to accept that it was just her now. The house itself was almost the same; Katniss hadn’t many possessions left to bring. The photo of her father, Peeta’s pearl, her Mockingjay pin, Peeta’s medallion.

By the time Katniss left the house and hopped down the stairs, the moonlight had disappeared, allowing room for the looming sun. Good, she thought. She knew Haymitch wouldn’t want her to go walking into the darkness and she didn’t exactly want to. She knew Haymitch didn’t like her hunting, not as often as she did. But how else would she occupy her time? What else would she do?

Katniss hadn’t expected to see anyone on her way back. The sun was barely rising, and the Victor’s

Village felt so far away from the rest of 12. But as she walked through the fallen gate, there it was, that familiar figure. Peeta had stepped out of his own home, wrapped up warm in his trench coat and scarf.

He was carrying something in his hand and was making his way towards the house across the path.

Peeta had almost made it up the steps when he noticed a shadow behind him.

“Peeta,” Katniss gasped out his name, as if she wanted to reach out to him but didn’t dare.

“Katniss,” Turning around the see Katniss watching him from below, Peeta moved down a few steps, so he was level with her. “I, er, came to see you.”

“Oh.”

“To give you this.” Peeta shrugged as if his gift was hardly worth leaving the house for. But Katniss didn’t feel that, not one bit. Slowly passing over the small gift, Peeta’s fingers lingered against Katniss’ for a moment before retracting them, carefully watching, and waiting for Katniss’ reaction.

It was warm and you couldn’t deny that smell, God, it smelt good. Katniss knew exactly what this was even before unwrapping the paper. “You’ve been baking again?”

“Yeah,” Peeta nodded, his eyebrows were furrowed as if he was thinking. “Or trying.” Laughing awkwardly, Peeta, moved his hands into his coat pocket. “I can’t quite…”

“I understand.” Katniss started to nod. “I’m sure-“

“Try it, and let me know, OK Katniss?” This seemed a little abrupt, maybe not intentional but Katniss couldn’t help but feel like Peeta was trying to get away.

“Of course,” Peeta moved to leave before Katniss managed his name again and stopped him. “Peeta?”

“Yeah?” Peeta turned around, looking expectantly. And there it was. It was as if she was back on the

train. The train that seemed to lead nowhere. That look, why did he have to give her that look? Her

heart felt stiff, it felt like it could break at any moment. It was as if it was Peeta, her Peeta staring back at her.

“Join me? Later. I have dinner.” Katniss motioned towards the animals she was holding in her hand. It would be nice, she thought. Just the two of them. Maybe she would be able to fill that gap that was keeping them apart, move the barrier. Katniss just wanted to talk to Peeta, to spend time with him. It was lonely, too lonely. She could feel herself falling and there was no one around to catch her.

Peeta smiled at Katniss, it was one of those little smiles he would often give her. “OK, OK Katniss.” Katniss could sense Peeta was thinking about something, just for a slight moment. Was it a memory?

“What is it?”

“The squirrels. My father bought them sometimes. Real or not real?”

“Real.” Katniss nodded, but turned quickly towards the steps, not wanting Peeta to catch her faltering. It’s like a game, every time. Peeta would have a memory, something would trigger it. It could be something small like the smell of bread or something big like Katniss’ repeating something Peeta had once said to her. More often than not, Katniss would answer ‘Real’. It was as if what the Capitol had done to Peeta, what they had made him believe, was slowly disappearing. That the old Peeta was growing stronger. But then there would be a memory, something horrible, something harsh. Katniss knew Peeta still had nightmares, just as she did. But the two were too far to comfort each other, even if that was exactly what she wanted.

Recently, her nightmares were filled with Gale. It would start with him, start with the bombs, with that explosion. But then he’d disappear. She’d search for him in the woods, but he wouldn’t be there. She would go around and around in circles, until the voices appeared. They would be loud, they would be screeching, she couldn’t get away. That was until she would feel those arms around her, that soft touch. The one thing that could always bring her back, comfort, protect her. It was Peeta.

Katniss hadn’t thought of Gale often, she didn’t want to. That last day, when she said goodbye, she knew it was for good. She had accepted that; she’d wanted that. She didn’t want to see Gale again and she knew she wouldn’t. That part of her life was gone. She didn’t need his fire or his rage. She had enough fire for himself. What she needed was calm, kindness, the dandelion in the spring. But he seemed so far away, untouchable. Katniss often wondered what Peeta had thought. Before the rebels won. Peeta had understood, he knew how Gale felt about Katniss. How she felt about him. But Katniss didn’t feel like that, not anymore. She wondered how Peeta felt about her. Whether some of those memories had some effect on him. She knew she couldn’t ask and didn’t want to. But it made her think. Sometimes Katniss thinking like that wasn’t necessarily a good idea.

Later that evening, the two sat in silence for the best part of the meal. It was nice, just enjoying each other’s company. The conversation was polite, nothing too deep. They spoke about their days, what was happening in District 12 and the rest of Panem. It seemed there was an unspoken agreement to not mention anything else, anything that had happened a few months before.

Katniss spoke of her time in the woods, in the Meadow. How quiet it seemed now, how peaceful. She knew she could delve further than she had in the past but didn’t want to admit that to Peeta. She didn’t want to worry him and turn the conversation into something else. Peeta asked about what she’d shoot, what she’d hunt, her favourite time to go. It seemed like he was making light conversation, but Katniss didn’t mind.

Peeta wanted to bake something new next. He’d tried the simple loaves, like the ones Katniss would often trade for the squirrels or simple game with Peeta’s father. The cheese buns would be next, which brought a smile to Katniss’ face. Peeta mentioned how they were her favourite, without the need of reassurance that this was a real memory. He wasn’t sure when he’d be able to get the right ingredients but wanted to try. Katniss asked about whether he’d make something more elaborate, something that needed to be decorated. Peeta didn’t want to get too ahead of himself but promised to try eventually.

Like most of the district’s, 12 was building itself up once again. More people had come home, though the population was far from the 10,000 it had before the bombs. The town was hit the most, but most of the rubble had been cleared. There were plans of rebuilding some houses, but other buildings too. Katniss wasn’t that interested in any of that, she would spend most days hunting out in the Meadow. Only sometimes would she walk through the market but couldn’t stay for too long. The memories. They were always there.

Peeta seemed quite enthusiastic about it, however, so she played along. Asking questions and wondering aloud about the plans.

Peeta had also received a letter recently from Annie. Katniss understood why she’d written to Peeta and not her. She hadn’t a lot to do with Annie during the War and even afterwards, it wasn’t as if they spent a lot of time together. Katniss was far closer to Finnick that she ever was to Annie. But Peeta… Johanna once said she and Peeta were neighbours in the Capitol. Katniss imagined Annie’s cell wasn’t too far along. They had something shared that Katniss would never understand.

The letter contain some general stuff, Finnick’s son was growing up so fast now. She’d sent another photo along with the letter which Katniss thought should have been nice, but it just caused an immense wave of sadness. The child had Finnick’s eyes. His cheeks were far less squishy now. He was definitely growing.

As her and Peeta mused over the letter and photograph, Katniss thoughts drifted to their ‘baby’. It was only ever a ruse, an attempt to cancel the Quarter Quell. Not that it worked, not that it was ever going to work. But what Katniss wanted, what she tried to achieve. She just wanted a world that would be safe, for Peeta and his child.

The Games were over. That meant any child would never have to suffer the pain, the horror, the guilt that came with the Games. One thing Katniss noticed about District 12 now was how little children she saw. She knew what happened to most of them. She knew what happened to many of the Capitol’s child. It was almost too raw to think about.

Peeta had somehow acquired a yellow sauce and decided to drizzle it all over his food. Katniss clearly couldn’t hide her disgust. All that hard work and it had been reduced to yellow messiness. Noticing Katniss’ expression, Peeta placed the pot of sauce in the middle of the table and motioned towards his place.

“You have to trust me, Katniss. This,” Peeta pointed towards his plate, a mischievous smile appeared on his face as he did. “This is good.”

Katniss shook her head, and a small smile forced itself out and started to creep along her face. How did Peeta manage to do that to her? The scowl had gone. She didn’t want to scowl at him, not ever. “I don’t believe you.”

“Suit yourself.” Peeta shrugged, focusing his attention back on his plate. “This is great though, thank you.”

“Thank you. You made the bread.” And it was delicious. Katniss had forgotten how good the Mellark bakes had been. “Have you baked much else?”

“Bits and pieces.”

“And you didn’t let me try?”

“Well, this is the first that’s been good and properly good.”

“Such a perfectionist.”

Peeta smiled and a small chuckle escaped his mouth. He finished his last bite of the loaf before speaking again. “My mother was. Real or not real?”

“Real, I think. I’m not completely sure. From what you said…I guess so.”

“I remember one time; my father was at the market with my brothers. It was just me and mother.

She…she was angry about something. The way I was kneading the dough. Said I wasn’t strong enough. She was right; the whole batch came out wrong and we had to eat it for the next three days. I was always doing things wrong, especially in the beginning.”

Katniss hadn’t heard this one before. During their first games, the two spoke about their childhood. A lot of it was for the cameras, but not all. Then those long nights on the train when the two would find each other to protect from the nightmares. If they couldn’t sleep, they would talk.

It was at 13, when Delly and even Prim would try to help Peeta remember. Childhood memories, memories of his home, of the bakery, of school and then of Katniss. But this one never appeared.

“And then there was that time with you. When I burnt it on purpose. For you.” Another memory. A special one, at least to Katniss. It had a different feeling now, though. That Peeta, the one who burnt the expensive bread on purpose, the one who took a beating from his mother, he gave a starving Katniss the bread, he was gone.

Katniss could feel herself getting teary, and this time she was too tired to stop it. She would have to let Peeta see this. See these feelings.

“Katniss…I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Don’t…don’t apologise.”

Leaning back in his seat, Peeta sighed, furrowing his eyebrows. Katniss couldn’t gauge when he was thinking, let alone what he was feeling. How could she have experience so much with someone and feel like she didn’t know anything about them? She felt almost useless in that moment.

“How did we get so messed up?” There was something different about Peeta’s voice. A sense of resentment, but also laughter. It was as if he didn’t laugh, he’d end up crying. Katniss hadn’t seen Peeta cry since the end of the War, and that wasn’t something Katniss wanted to see. And yet here she was, allowing herself to cry in front of Peeta.

But it was like she thought, things had changed. Maybe she could be vulnerable than she had before. It was always a little different with Peeta. There had been so much acting, and yet sometimes it felt as if Peeta was the only person Katniss could be her true self with. It was true that in a way they’d grown closer, along with Haymitch. But before today, Katniss had the feeling that they were growing apart, almost to the brink of no return. But she was wrong. There was still something there, there had to be. It was just something different.

“Peeta…”

“Yes?”

“Will you, will you stay here, tonight?” Katniss moved her plate away as she spoke, as if she didn’t want Peeta to hear her request. “Just…nice to have company.” She knew she couldn’t look in his eyes, couldn’t see that sadness. Instead, Katniss decided to watch Peeta’s hands. Those hands that created such beauty, those hands that were so delicate, those hands that were so kind.

“I’m sorry, Katniss.” Peeta kept his eyes locked with Katniss’, the sadness in his eyes was still there. But it was more subtle this time.

“Why?”

“I should have realised…after everything. It gets pretty lonely, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah…”

“I’ll stay, of course I’ll stay.” Peeta’s arm moved across the table and his hand finds Katniss’. They touched for a moment, before they interlocked with each other. Katniss didn’t want Peeta to let go.

There was something unspoken between them, Katniss could feel it. Soon after, the plates were washed up, the table was cleared and the two of them made way for bed. It was as if Peeta knew, he made sure to not touch Prim’s bedroom door, finding solace in the sofa planted in the middle of the room. Katniss knew it was stupid to think for one-minute Peeta would follow her into her bedroom, even though she longed for it. They said their goodnights, polite and distant once again and then Katniss was alone, as she always seemed to be.

That night, the nightmares came to visit Katniss once again. It seemed that she had only closed her eyes for a minute when her face appeared in the darkness. It was only for a moment, and then she was gone. This happened almost every night. It was as if she herself couldn’t bear to stay a moment longer. The last thing Katniss saw of her sister was her lips mouthing her name. And then poof.

The next image is one she expected. Gale visits her in the darkness, his words were all jumbled and messy. And then he left.

Peeta was the last face she saw. Not the Peeta lying on the couch, but the Peeta that she remembered from the first games. the innocent, kind Peeta. but he soon disappeared, being replaced with the Peeta Katniss met after so long apart in 13, the Peeta who attacked her.

But then it’s all gone. Katniss lay awake in her bed. She was being woken up by that kind, familiar face. Peeta, clearing hearing the screams like he has so many times in the past, had come to her. To save her.

“Katniss! Katniss!” Peeta was knelt down between the bed and the bedside table. His left hand was rubbing Katniss’ shoulder, trying to soothe her. That concerned look he often wore had appeared as his eyes searched for something to reassure him. “Hey, hey…It’s OK. It’s me, It’s me.” His hand moved away from Katniss’ shoulder to his cheek, allowing his fingers to slowly caress the redness in her cheeks away.

“Peeta, Peeta, I’m sorry. I’m so-“ Realisng where she is, where she truly is, Katniss focused her eyes onto Peeta who was right beside her, his breath almost touched her nose. That warmth, she didn’t want to let go of it.

“Hey, it’s OK. I’m here.”

Katniss’ breathing was still fast and harsh. Peeta had now moved on to the bed as Katniss shifted over. His arms found a way around Katniss and the firm grip of his fingers forced their way onto Katniss’ shoulder. Feeling more at peace, Katniss burrowed her head into his chest, listening to calmness of his heartbeat. It brought her back to reality, back to her room, back to her bed where Peeta is lying beside her.

“That was bad one, huh?” Peeta whispered this, as if he didn’t want to stir Katniss. The softness of his voices reached Katniss’ ears and it calmed her. He always knew how to do that. “It’s OK, it’s not real. It never is.” Katniss had forgotten what it felt like to hear Peeta’s reassurance. He’d so often give it, especially during those hard nights before things changed. But the past few months, it was as if he wasn’t quite able to, as if he’d forgotten. Peeta had to relearn and re-remember so much. Katniss had tried to reassure him, tried to help but she never seemed to quite manage it the way Peeta did. He was too good.

“I know, I know.” Katniss barely managed to speak this, she sounded muffled, with her lips touching the fabric of Peeta’s shirt. Peeta doesn’t need her to repeat this, he can hear perfectly. Moving closer, Peeta allowed his firm grip to loosen a little, but kept his arms tightly wrapped around Katniss’ body, not wanting to let go. He could clearly sense the stillness in Katniss but made sure to stroke the top of her forehead. Katniss remembered this so clearly from before, something Peeta would do whenever she had a nightmare. He clearly remembered too, knowing it works.

“Peeta.” Katniss spoke louder this time, wanting to be head. Her head moved closer towards Peeta’s, finding his eyes in the darkness.

“Yeah?”

“You’ll stay? Just tonight, for a little bit.”

“Always.” There’s no hesitation in his voice, just certainty. Peeta had no intention of leaving Katniss alone that night, none. Sliding his head down to the pillow, Peeta moved closer to Katniss, the closest he could get. The two lay like that until Katniss drifted off to sleep, knowing she was safe in Peeta’s arms.

Katniss awoke that morning to find herself alone. She could still feel the indent of where Peeta’s body lay in the night. She wondered how long he had stayed there. But this wasn’t a good thought. Of course, Peeta had stayed the whole night until he’d woken up himself. She’d imagined the couch had no company that night.

Finding the strength to move, Katniss pushed herself out of her bed and made her way to the kitchen. She could smell…something. Not food, but something. Peeta had his back to her, clearly focusing on something in the kitchen. Katniss didn’t want to rush in and interrupt him. She watched as Peeta’s arms moved across each other. It was a rare sight to see Peeta alone, really alone. She didn’t want the moment to end. But clearly Peeta could sense he was being watched and turned to find Katniss standing by the edge of the kitchen table.

“Morning.” Peeta nodded, a sullen expression appeared on his face as he passed a warm mug to Katniss. “For you.”

“Thank you. Did you get back to sleep?” Katniss already knew the answer to the question before it even escaped her lips. Peeta hadn’t slept after Katniss drifted off. In the past, during those long, dark nights on the train, both Katniss and Peeta would find solace in each other’s arms and would find some peace in their sleep together. The best night sleep that Katniss had were always with Peeta, when she knew he was there, ready to catch her. She wondered if it was the same for him. It had to be. But maybe not now. The Capitol, Snow, everything had taken that away.

“Er, no, I didn’t. But it’s fine, I don’t sleep most nights. Better than the nightmares.” Katniss could tell. The dark circles under Peeta’s eyes were more vivid that morning and something felt different. Was he angry? Was he upset? Katniss couldn’t tell. She felt sad, sad that the peace they had the evening before had seemed to have vanished. And she didn’t know why.

“Yeah.” Understanding completely, Katniss moved to sit down next to where Peeta was still standing. She watched him as he followed her lead, taking the seat opposite her. She took a sip of the tea; it was warm, soothing. Just like Peeta. Peeta watched her for a while, ignoring his drink completely. The steam rose up and above him as the morning lights reflected from the kitchen window. Sitting there, on a quiet morning, with Peeta sat just across her, Katniss wished she could just freeze time. It would make things a lot easier.

After a while, Peeta spoke, which almost made Katniss jump. She was lost in a trance of her own thoughts. “Katniss, I think…I think we need to be honest with each other.”

“What do you mean?” Katniss questioned the boy sitting across from her. Peeta’s expression had changed since the two sat down together. It softened slightly, that almost sulky look had disappeared now. It wasn’t exactly concern, but there was a seriousness to him. It was as if what he was about to say is the reason why he seemed different that morning.

“I think, you know…Things…things aren’t going to be like before. But... we’re here, it’s over.” Over. Will it ever really be over? The War has ended, the Games are no more. Katniss, Peeta; they both came home. This is supposed to be the time for, what was it that Dr Aurelius said, ‘healing’? How could Katniss ever heal? How could she ever forget?

Katniss knows what Peeta is trying to say, she understood what he wanted. After everything that he went through, after everything that happened, he wanted it to be done, wanted it to be over. It was the only way he could ever live a life, a decent life. Katniss wanted that for him, she truly did. But wondered if he’ll ever get it. “We have to move on.”

“We do.” Nodding along, Peeta gave Katniss a small smile and his hand found hers once again. This time, it was Katniss who moves closer, allowing her fingers to stroke along Peeta’s knuckles. She doesn’t want to stop, but eventually placed her hand into Peeta’s, feeling that warmth once again. The hunger wasn’t quite there, it wasn’t ready, but Katniss could feel it growing, blooming. It was almost ready to pounce. Almost.

“Together?”

“Together.”

#katniss x peeta #peeta x katniss #everlark #thg #the hunger games #thg fic #the hunger games fic #everlark fic #thg fanfic #the hunger games fanfic #everlark fanfic #you said I have to trust more freely #mine #my writing

[aquanova99]

Remember your Roots

Felix Volturi x Reader

Final Part

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A/N: I’m back!! I am trying to put everything that’s sitting in my drafts but I’ve been visiting family so it took a while. I will be rewriting many of my original fics I wrote as I feel like I have somewhat improved lol, I hope you guys enjoy the final installment and sorry a million times over for taking so long!

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Felix’s POV

You almost rushed past her. You were shocked at careless speed at which she walked. As if she didn’t just completely jeopardize her well being. Perhaps she had merely hidden any confidence in what she and Sulpicia created, but the amount of pressure in that room… how dare she risk her life like that?

“Why would you do that?”

“Because I can.” She shrugs as she continues walking past you. Intentionally bumping into you and effectively surprising you. Your reflexes are faster, however and you find yourself latching onto her arm.

“Let. Go.”

“No. What if what you just drank kills you? What if it—”

“So what if it does? I lose nothing. At worst… Then Sulpicia is back to the drawing board. Its not any of your concern.”

“Of course it is! How can you say that? Do you have any idea what would happen to me—if you—god!” You try to take a deep breath and calm down. As quiet as you both may intend to be, everyone’s damned hearing would ensure a less than private conversation. “I was wrong…happy? You win. I’m worried.”

She shakes your hand off of her arm and you immediately look for any cracks or indication that you were too harsh. You start to mumble out an apology but she quickly interrupts, “Stop. Just—stop. I need to focus. This needs to work.”

“I—”

“We can worry about each other after this works…” She quickly retires to her quarters and closes the door. You stand frozen for several minutes trying to decipher exactly what she meant. Not exactly acceptance towards any sort of amicability, but no outright refusal. You stew over the words ‘we.’ Was that intentional? Could this have possibly been the first step in mending what you broke. You feel your body more or less shoved towards your own chambers, probably Demetri’s doing.

You spent the next few days waiting for some kind of adverse effect on Y/n. You kept silent. At this point you knew everyone had known how… protective you were over the covens newest addition. It was something you had tried to avoid. In the long run, you knew Marcus had probably long since told the other leaders how much you cared for her. The only problem is now, there was no denying it. It was leverage the volturi had never had over you. The closest relationship they had to be able to take advantage of was Demetri and even then…he wouldn’t keep you here. You were now stuck. An eternal life was meaningless without some sort of purpose, why else would he concern himself with the coven he had called home? They certainly hadn’t ben able to control him as a newborn, even now the strength had never faded. He was an asset he knew that much, the only way to stop him would be Jane or Alec, he would win against Dmetri and Caius if it came to it. Not that he wanted it to come to that. Not that he even wanted to leave. It was just something that had simply never crossed his mind. At least not before Y/n. If she left…would he follow her? Would she want him to?

“Felix.” Demetri interrupted his train of thought, “Seems we have a visitor.”

~●○°●○°●○~ ~●○°●○°●○~ ~●○°●○°●○~

Y/Ns POV

You wondered if your abilities would actually help at all. Apparently the entire volturi was needed for this. Everyone assuming a battle would be incoming, you seemed to be the only one wary of the informant. Why would she rat out her closest friends and allies? While it was no secret some of you may not make it, most everyone seemed confident this would be over quickly. You hated it. If this coven had gifts equaling your own, this arrogance could be your downfall. Everyone was gathered after the meeting with the leaders. Only Santiago was missing since he was more or less guarding Irina. In case she ran off, I guess. Not like her family wasn’t aware of the news at this point. The only one who seemed worried was, well…Felix.

You supposed there was a chance he wasn’t. You stood back behind everyone half listening to Demetri and Heidi. Demetri was debriefing on who all would be there, and what we knew about them. Felix was the only one sat, you knew everyone would keep their distance. He could be prepping himself, but as much as you wanted to speak to him you couldn’t. Partly out of spite, and partly because you were never sure where you stood with him. He seemed furious at you when you tried the tonic, genuine concern was etched over his face. The worst part is had been right. Sulpicia had grown bored of the same companions and quickly explained how everyone fit into the coven. You had come to know it was a warning, how Chelsea could force almost anyone to stay with their coven. How she could find what made some vulnerable to persuasion and others break apart over the most miniscule things. Sulpicia’s stories made you wary. How they could find who you cared about most and hurt them in ways unimaginable to you. You understood why Felix had warned you not to worry about him, not even for his own protection but yours. He would hate himself if anything happened to you because of his own account, so you did what you could do. You stayed away. As much as you could from everyone really, though as much as it would hurt only one person could break you.

To be fair, its not like you had anywhere else to go. You still had no memory of your life, and unfortunately for you, any snippets you may have had started fading more and more the longer you were stuck like this. Its partly why you were careless, the isolating was getting to you. You knew it was crazy the second Felix grabbed you, but admitting you were wrong was not your forte. Still, you didn’t want to go into this fight without clearing the air…

Fuck it.

You sat down next to him, you weren’t even sure he noticed. He seemed concentrated, every part of him seemed tense. His hands were crossed in front of him, his usual stance at trials. You tried to be as quiet as possible and avoid anyone trying to listen in on your conversation, which no doubt they would be.

“Felix.”

He stiffened, blinking at the sound of your voice cutting through the air. “…yes?”

“Will you walk with me?”

He nods and stands up, he offers his arm out to you. Out of habit, I think. He starts to apologize but you link your arm through hi before he can say anything and walk out towards the gardens. The snow is barely coating the courtyard, its beautiful. It’s a shame you have to worry about the law at a time like this. You should have worked on the garden earlier. The original plants you managed to grow were wilting, you try to not think about that as a sign and will yourself to grow plants that seem to thrive in the winter: snowdrops, camelias, hollies and anything else you can think of soon decorate the garden. You wish there were brighter flowers that could bloom but you enjoy some of the pinks that shine through.

“They’re lovely.” Felix says softly.

“Thank you. And thank you for coming with me.” I’ve missed this, you say to yourself.

“Is everything all right?”

“How are you feeling? With this fight?”

“Fine.”

“Are you really going to keep lying to me?” You didn’t mean to snap but if you were going to clear the air he needed to work with you. He looks surprised…and hurt and you quickly decide you would rather not bring up another argument. “Just forget about it—”

“No. I apologize. Its habit. I forget you always seem to see through it. Please.” He gestures to a bench and you sit. Still irritated at this whole situation.

“You can say you don’t want to talk about it. I would rather hear that honestly.”

“Yes. Except that isn’t exactly true, I just…I think somethings off.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Cullens and the Denalis…their whole thing is they don’t want to fight. Why would they protect an immortal child. And why would all of those other covens risk what their safety? I don’t like it…”

“Do you think they have an advantage?”

“They’d have to.”

“Okay. Why do I feel like that’s not everything?”

Felix sighs, “If they do have an advantage. With their gifts…I’ll be useless.”

The thought of them targeting him, him being at a disadvantage. You feel your stomach turn to lead. And then guilt gnaws at your heart for waiting for so long to have a conversation,

“Abilities only go so far. You are not useless.”

“If they have someone like Jane I will be. I wouldn’t be able to protect…anyone.” He becomes still again, its like you can see him thinking of every possible way he could fail. You hesitate and try to tell yourself to stop, but your body moves on its own accord. Your hand intertwines with his and you sit. Sit and wait. He returns your gesture but before you can say anything you hear the footsteps approaching you. Your heads snap towards the leaders and you know they cannot be bringing any good news. You notice you both aren’t moving, you know he’s anticipating something too.

“Y/n. We’ve been looking for you.” Caius starts

“I don’t imagine this is a good visit.” You feel Felix eyes glare at you.

“We have informed the others, they are all to think of the most absurd things possible. Songs, stories, rumors, anything. What we haven’t told them my dear is why. We need you to be ready to use your gifts, before any of the others realize whats happening.” Aro starts

“That’s why you’ve kept me in hiding? Whats the distance?”

“How close do you need?” Caius asks

“Depends, if I can dig my hands into the dirt its faster. I can visualize where everything needs to grow better. It would be obvious but with so many vampires I may be able to hide somewhere further. I would just need a clear visual.”

~●○°●○°●○~ ~●○°●○°●○~ ~●○°●○°●○~

Felixs POV

Away? As in away from the guard? What if they had someone waiting on the outskirts, you’d have no way of knowing. What if she needed you? You open your mouth to protest but Marcus jumps in.

“Theres too many variables. We cannot send anyone to scout out the area without calling attention to ourselves, it would give it away.”

“I’ll practice to see how quick I can grow them if I focus. But you realize I wont be able to think about anything else?” You want to shush her, warn her to be careful of who shes dealing with. You know you are likely on thin ice after staring down the leaders instead of standing up and acknowledging their presence. But she remains unphased.

“Its why we are hoping to distract them.” Aro smiles

“You don’t want them to think about random things. Assign them a person. And have them focus on how they plan on taking them down. The mind reader needs to think I’m the least of their worries. Have them think of the worst they can do, the stronger ones should focus on the mind reader, his mate, and child. So long as they know their actual target it should be distracting enough to at least confuse him.”

Caius grins, “I like the way you think, child.”

You didn’t. If they realized what was happening she would be the first one they were after. Which means you are already going against their plan, all you are going to be able to think about is her safety. You refuse to let go of her hand.

“Well, then I should start practicing. I trust you will tell the rest of the guard the plan?”

“What they need to know.” Caius answers.

She only nods and the leaders leave without so much of a glance in your direction. You could hardly form a singular thought. Your mind racing to try and find a favorable outcome. Would the leaders force you to hang back, far enough away you wouldn’t be able to run to her if something happened?

“So. This will be fun.” She starts. You know shes trying to calm you down but you can still hardly form an articulate sentence. Not now. “I’ll be fine, Felix. We both will be.”

She squeezes your hand, signaling its time for her to practice. To leave you. “Lets go out to the fields. You can practice the distance there.”

“Okay.”

You practice until its time for you to depart. Y/n was a fast learner. And she had settled several of your worries. Not all, but several… well at least enough to know she could in fact handle herself. You both silently seem to agree to start over. And, frankly, you couldn’t be happier. The flight over was silent, but you refused to leave her side. Even if you didn’t say anything you needed to know she was still there. You would both make it out of this somehow. You weren’t one to back out of a fight, but if it was really hopeless would you run? Make sure Y/n got out of there? You had told her once you would ensure she made it out… and you always were a man of your word.

~●○°●○°●○~ ~●○°●○°●○~ ~●○°●○°●○~

Y/n’s POV

Felix was right. They were hiding an advantage. As the blond vampire swore everyone was a witness, the wolves descended. If these were children of the moon, they had been somehow subdued, maybe ready to take out the threat that almost eradicated their kind. You can hear several people step back. Demetri usual smirk is dead serious. Caius looks more furious than ever. And Felix…while his expression is neutral you cant help but notice his hand graze the scar that had still painfully reminded him of his past. You fight the urge to go over to him and grab his hand. You would not show any weaknesses here. You take a deep breath and refocus on the new hurdles your coven may have to jump. You decide you’re glad Felix chose against the tonic.

The application had proved to be difficult, Sulpicia had several people hold Caius down as she reopened some wounds before lathering your creation on it. You would never forget his screams as his skin broke like porcelain. You couldn’t imagine the pain. After cursing you and Sulpicia everyone had noticed how much happier he seemed. Heidi told you shed over heard how it felt as if the pain was slowly diminishing day by day until it was gone. It worked.,,but you knew it was something Felix would rather live with. And truthfully, no one would have volunteered to hold him down anyway. Now, the pain surely radiating from his arm would hopefully garner him to be more careful. Maybe even hesitant, it was better than him willing to sacrifice himself in order to fulfill his purpose or whatever.

You are snapped back to attention as Alec grabs Jane. Her gift, always useful in negotiations was ineffective. Meaning they had a shield. Not good. However, shields you’ve learned, are always either mental or physical. You notice the vampire with almost golden eyes, different from the the others up front. You can only assume that’s Bella. You focus as hard as you can sprouting the tiniest blade of grass through the snow. One of the wolf creatures twitched but disregarded it. Perfect. You force a vine to begin growing behind you, it wraps around your ankle and continues growing. You feel it climb up your back and then wraps around your arm. When it reaches your fingertips you know every dormant root in this field. The leaders had been right. Your gift would be useful. You are not going to let anyone go through what Felix endured, what Caius endured. No one would make it across this field. Not without permission. You would make sure of that. Now you wait.

And luckily you don’t have to wait long. Two vampires give a statement and then leave hurriedly. Your eyes scan every huddle. Separating themselves into their respective covens was a stupid mistake. You see a man and woman clutching a small girl. The irish. Demetri had told you how defensive they had been. One. You look at the wolves, one of them almost eager to start an actual fight. Two. You notice the big black one, he had growled at them when they first joined the clearing. Three. You wait a little longer. The child whose heartbeat becomes clearer with every step they take closer makes you pause. Irina had been so sure… but your new coven came first. After they head back to their group you Caius has run out of patience. You and Felix lock eyes for a moment as Irinas life has come to an end. Then you hear the screams. And Edward makes the mistake of letting you know who has the ability to blind them. Four. As you see the blonde ones mate fall to the floor with her you decide she will be your last target. Five.

You choose a combination of Foxglove, hemlock, and devils breath for the first three. For four and five you decide to go with a mixture of nightshade, poppies, and peyote. The Irish are the first to back away. The scream is unlike anything you’ve ever heard of.

“Maggie? Maggie!!” Her eyes have no hatred in them, only fear. Fear of losing her child due to her own decisions. Fear of losing what she holds most dear. Welcome to the club, you think.

“Wait! NO!” Edward growls.

The two wolves fall, one twitching and the other immobile. The bigger one in the front begins snapping some kind of order but the two wolves are picked up and their pack disperses.

Then the screaming comes from four and five. You’ve heard the hallucinations you can give off are no joke. They really should have picked their battles more wisely. You are almost surprised how detached you seem from all of this. Except for the little one in the Irish coven, everyone chose to be here. Had they wished to be witnesses a phone call surely would have sufficed. The blond tries to step forward again.

“Aro, please. Lets settle this calmly.”

“Oh I have no idea what you old friend, I gave no orders for this to happen.” His voice is laced with sarcasm, although technically he wasn’t lying. He told you to be watchful, I doubt even he expected this. “Siobhan, Liam please bring Maggie, we can assure you she will be fine.”

The man hesitates, but Siobhan only shakes her head at Carlisle before rushing over. You look at Aro and he waves a finger in a circle. The vine retracts and both hands extend out to your sides, no use hiding it now. The field is surrounded by flowers of different colors, but it is winter so you have to focus to ensure the cold doesn’t kill them off. Sulpicia holds her arm out towards the irish coven and they quickly follow. Desperate to help their loved one, not caring if it meant certain death for themselves, you decide to like them. You can apologize later. Aro asks Bella to return with them to Volterra, just to ensure her and the child wont be an issue. She looks around panicked, the remaining Egyptian covens have fled, the Denali are trying to fix their blonde friend without getting too close. Senna is almost cradling Zafrina as she tries to clear her head. There isn’t much of an escape route now.

“B-but…”

“Bella darling, lets go.”

“Oh no, Edward. Just the two.” The brown wolf seemed ready to lunge, and you decide to knock him out for safe measure. Bella grabs the child but her eyes are looking for any way to escape. Not a likely option without risking her child’s fate. You make it a point to have a vine rise up to the childs height. Harmless, but I doubt she would know. As she takes the tentative steps forward you can feel the flowers wilting. You focus on their growth, just a little longer…just until the leaders come to a conclusion… You can barely hear Carlisle and Aro speak. Something about this never intending for everything to turn out like this. You can hear the screaming from the other blonde who was still furious at the inability to regain control of her mind. Carlilse explains something about the giant creatures who had stood beside them. Aro and Caius agreed to leave them alone unless they cause anymore trouble. Apparently everyone was done with this stupid meeting.

 You try not to buckle when Aro finally gives you the signal.  Your vision is spotty and you feel like you could collapse any moment.

“You did well, Y/n.” Aro smiles, “Felix.”

He immediately appears next to you, “Yes?”

“You two take up the rear, just in case. Make sure Bella is following.”

“Of course. We’ll have a good time.” He smiles at Bella and slightly bows his head. You try and stifle the chuckle that escapes you. He certainly knew how to play his role. Athenadora comes and scoops Renesme from Bella.

Before she can protest Athenadora smiles, “Sorry, cant have you running off though.” She turns to the child and continues, “Come on, sweetheart, you’ll see your mommy soon I promise.”

As this is happening Felix gets closer offering his arm in case you need it. You shake your head and squeeze his hand before setting it back down at his side. You try and focus on the woman joining you on your flight. She looks back at her coven, as if debating whether she would rather be with her mate or her child. You follow her eyes, noticing how the bigger vampire in their coven and Carlisle continue to hold him back. They try and get him to calm down but you can see him unraveling. Bella takes a step forward him and he starts screaming for her. Felix steps in front of her arms crossed and shakes his head. She takes the same step back.

“Bella! No! Let go of me! BELLA!” He’s growling when suddenly everyone stops and looks towards the other vampire suddenly appearing at the edge of the clearing. She’s a small thing with another taller man behind her. She looks like if she could cry she would. Wherever she was she’s too late. Bella seems to realize some kind of betrayal because her face turns to stone, she hisses under her breath and turns around towards her child. You and Felix only look at each other for a second before deciding to make sure she goes towards the rest of the coven. They could deal with her later. You can hear the commotion behind you confusion, anger, demands to know their location. The diet must slow the others down because your on Bella almost immediately, she doesn’t try to escape, in fact she is silent the entire way to Volterra. Only rubbing the back of her child in a meek effort to comfort her. Sulpicia gave the Irish coven a “cure” for their daughter. She will probably wake in less than a day, you made sure she was the least affected.

Felix sits next to a window, he leans over as close as he can to your ear and says “You did well.”

After that its silence. He only stares out the window, pensive. You would think he was mad at you if his hands weren’t firmly intertwined with your own. You can only hope this is only because of the many vampires around. You hate when he lets go upon descent.

Everyone disperses when you land. The leaders decide to speak to Bella immediately, they instruct Heidi to get her a room read, for Demetri and Santiago to stand guard during their meeting, and dismiss everyone else. Thank God. You’re tired of playing the bad guy today. You start to make your way to your own room when Felix reaches out for your hand and gestures towards the direction of the sanctuary you once found. You agree and head over there. While mostly empty now it is still remains eerily peaceful. Like your presence alone would ruin its beauty, like any disturbance could turn this paradise into a waking nightmare. Seemed to match the energy after today.

You barely had time to ask Felix what the matter was before he enveloped you. “I’m glad you’re safe,” he whispers.

You don’t hesitate to return the affection you finally allow yourself to admit you were craving. When he does pull back he just as quickly scans your face before his lips lock onto yours. You return that too, trying to convince yourself you hadn’t thought about doing this for months. His lips were soft against yours and warm oddly enough. You push against him, not wanting this moment to end. He allows it, only breaking it once.

 “I’ve missed you…so much.” He groans in between breaths

“Me too…” Because you have. It was ridiculous to think that you would simply not worry about one another, you two were linked together somehow. The only thing staying away from each other did is cause unnecessary amounts of pain. You needed to control your pride, handle your ego. Apparently you both did, but at least Felix had come to the realization sooner. You pull away, the very least you could do is tell him you were wrong.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have shut you out like that.”

“Don’t. I was the one who started all of this, you were still acclimating and I only made things worse.”

You chuckle, “Yeah our communication needed some work.”

“I think you’re right. But we do have time to get better.”

“That’s true.” You smile at him

“Y/n… you should know uhm—I think I should tell you. Theres a reason we feel so… drawn to eachother. I think theres a chance—”

You shut him up by kissing him again, “I know. Heidi told me all about it. She says its up to us to reject it or not.”

He sighs deeply, “I’m going to kill her.”

You cant help but to laugh, “You thought she’d be able to keep it a secret? I Figured you would tell me when you were ready…or you rejecte—”

Its his turn to shut you up, “I just want to make sure you’re okay. That…we’re okay now?”

You nod. “Of course.”

And you mean it. Any lost memories you mourned seemed unimportant when you could focus on making new ones. Especially now that the two of you were back on speaking terms. The two of you find a spot and sit in silence for hours. Just soaking in eachothers company.

“Y/n?”

“Yeah?”

“What if we didn’t go back?”

You freeze, “Felix. That’s your home, your family.”

“I know. But you would be happy there? Truly?”

“Is that what your actually worried about?”

“ Partly. Today was a lot. You shouldn’t have to expend yourself like that, and you’ve frankly painted a large target on yourself. What if…what if we don’t get so lucky next time. I’m supposed to protect the leaders. I don’t know if I can do that.”

“Felix, if Aro finds out…no. You’ll do your job, okay?”

“If it were only that simple…” You both snap towards Caius’s voice, Felix threw you behind him a low growl coming from his throat. “Oh honestly, Felix. You think Marcus wouldn’t tell us about the bond between you two? Not that it wasn’t glaringly obvious.”

Felix didn’t move. The thought of anything happening to him because of you makes you want to hyperventilate. They wouldn’t get rid of you, you knew that but to force him to stay or hurt him to convince you broke you.

“Both of you relax,” he continued, “Nothing is going to happen to either of you. I know all about how strong this mate bond is, obviously. You two will be called upon, often I assume. But we have enough with Jane and Alec to get the information we need, and if we get Bella to cooperate…”

“I don’t want to leave. I think everyone could maybe rotate some time off? You guys have been working seemingly nonstop. You can still call upon us of course, but… this coven is where we both belong. I’m not worried about any other fights. I think I’ve proven I can be useful.”

“Yes, that is true. You shouldn’t worry about protecting your mate Felix. We would all do it if it came to that. I do, however, suggest not trying to just avoid your duties?”

You have to nudge Felix to get him to relax, this was not a conversation he was expecting to go well. You can see him analyzing everything, thinking of every possible outcome. “I don’t know what to say…”

“You don’t have to say anything, Bella mentioned something about the mind reader so wait a few days and you can go.” He turns to head back to the castle, “and lets not have anyone know about this conversation. I have a reputation to upkeep.”

“Of course,” You answer and grab Felix’s hand. Still, Felix doesn’t relax until he’s sure Caius is gone, “You can breathe now, Felix.”

“That was too easy. Why would they do that?”

“You really think that after years of being with them they wouldn’t be even a little sympathetic towards you? I told you before. You’re more important to this coven than you realize. I’m sure they’ve noticed more than you think.”

“Hm.” He still seems pensive… sad

“Lets go home, we can decide where we want to go after the mission is truly done. It’ll be an adventure.”

“Okay.” You take your time, worried about what other news the youngest vampire had brought them and excited for the new life they had in front of them. But your first and biggest obstacle might just be having to explain to Heidi and Demetri exactly what just happened over the last couple days. It was going to be a long night.

~●○°●○°●○~ ~●○°●○°●○~ ~●○°●○°●○~

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

#aquas works #felix x reader #felix x y/n #felix volturi x you #felix volturi imagine #felix volturi x reader #felix volturi

[softlystarstruck]

✩ softly reading: june 2022 ✩

welcome to softly reading, in which i list every single drarry fic i’ve read this month in hopes that you, dear reader, find a fic you like too!

✩ - a fave | 🔥 - hot | 🌼 - gentle read | purple - reread

longer reads

✩ To Vanish Into Something Better by @m0srael [E, 35k]

Harry Potter thought he could outrun the burden of infamy by isolating himself in the Muggle world. Draco Malfoy hasn’t been seen or heard from since his trial. Will a top-secret Ministry project, a beautiful garden, and a little heat carry them both home? [H/D Erised 2021]

Dirty Little Secret by @writcraft [E, 22k] 🔥

When someone threatens Harry’s life, Kingsley decides to send him to a safe house with only Draco Malfoy for company. As the two men are forced together, memories of the past resurface and secrets are discovered. [Harry/Draco Erised]

The Seventh Life by @corvuscrowned [E, 18k] 🔥🏳️‍⚧️

If Draco had looked the other way, he may never have seen him again. But Draco turned, because he always would have turned. He found him, because he always would have found him - in life, in death, or in Paris. OR: Draco is an immortal vampire. Harry is trapped in eternal cycles of life, death, and reincarnation. They meet again in Paris, and the seventh life isn't any less complicated than the first. [HD Fangfest 2022]

✩ Where I see things right by InnerLilith [E, 15k]

When Harry finds himself unexpectedly pregnant after a one-off with Draco Malfoy, he knows he isn’t keeping it. But when actually getting the abortion turns out to be more complicated than Harry expected, he finds himself turning to Malfoy for help through the process. And that’s actually much less complicated than Harry expected.

✩ embrace the deception by @swoontodeath [M, 13k]

Draco Malfoy shouldn’t feel like the stable one, not when he spends his days pretending to have clairvoyant powers and solving mysteries with Neville Longbottom. Harry Potter, however, seems to be on the edge of a breakdown, and he’s growing increasingly obsessed with his former rival. [Lights Camera Drarry 2022]

Harry Potter: DILF Hunter by @vukovich [E, 11k] 🔥

Auror Potter doesn't know what a DILF is, but if Malfoy's one, then Harry's gonna be the Ministry's best DILF Hunter ever! Or, five times Harry heard Draco was a DILF, and one time he found it to be pleasantly true.

the complete idiot’s guide to losing your entire mind by @oknowkiss [E, 10k] 🔥

A primer, by Harry James Potter, age 34. Qualifications: lived experience. OR: Draco Malfoy, Ministry of Magic Being Resources representative, accidentally invents No Nut November.

shorter reads (< 10k)

✩ Glowing by @cavendishbutterfly [T, 9.7k] 🌼🏳️‍⚧️

Harry's lived alone and vampiric in his cottage for ages, until a long-lived Draco Malfoy suddenly shows up to answer an advertisement Harry had practically forgotten he'd put in the Prophet. Cue soft blood drinking, quiet nights of reading and crocheting, and Harry thinking that maybe--just maybe--he might not be so alone anymore. [HD Fangfest 2022]

Perfect for him by anxioussquirrel [T, 8.3k]

Draco Malfoy is getting married. In a turn of events he’d never have believed possible, he is getting married to a man who’s perfect for him. Absolutely perfect.

✩ First Week of Eternity by InnerLilith [E, 7.8k] 🔥

In which Draco tries desperately to hide that he’s recently become a vampire, and Harry tries desperately to feed him. [HD Fangfest 2022]

let me be your sun by @owl-of-fandom [M, 7.8k]

“Tell me you love me.” / “Oh, darling.” The endearment falls from Harry’s lips as if the affection was his own. As if it wasn’t planted in his mind, in his heart, by me. / “I love you." [HD Fangfest 2022]

Sweet Like Candy in my Veins by @shah-writes [M, 7.6k]

In which Harry is a magical theorist with a penchant for catching vampires for the Aurors and Draco is the vampire who’s in love with him. [HD Fangfest 2022]

The First Taste by @maraudersaffair [E, 7.1k] 🔥

After being ostracized by nearly everyone after the war, Draco says yes when Harry offers him a place to stay. Perhaps he should have looked the gift horse in the mouth, however, when he discovers Harry is not all he seems. [HD Fangfest 2022]

Conversation In Café Cygnus by @ladderofyears [M, 6k]

Draco falls pregnant unexpectedly and breaks off the secret love affair that he's been having with Harry Potter. When Draco decides to keep the baby, Harry and he spend the remaining months of the pregnancy getting to know one another.

light as the sky above by @candybarrnerd [E, 5.6k] 🔥

Harry notices Draco leave. Harry’s always had one eye watching Draco, and old habits die hard. [H/D Erised 2021]

Harry Potter and the Half-Guard Prince by @swoontodeath [M, 4.4k]

Banished to the Muggle world by the conditions of his parole, Draco Malfoy is forced to learn how to protect himself without magic. The Half-Guard Prince might never show his face in his videos, but that low, seductive voice is strangely familiar… [Quidditch Fest 2022]

✩ Catch Midnight by @tackytigerfic [E, 4k] 🔥

They're the Auror/ Unspeakable team of Robards' nightmares. They're madly in love with each other, but also blindly oblivious to the fact. They can feel each other's magic. They jump out of windows. And Malfoy does a lot of watching Harry wank.

✩ Take You Made by @tackytigerfic [E, 3.9k] 🔥

"Draco didn’t believe in soulmates, but Harry Potter was the closest thing he had to one, so he was just going to keep pushing those inconvenient loving thoughts aside until one day he could learn how to get rid of them for good."

✩ Let Me Count the Ways by @thebooktopus [E, 3.5k] 🌼

Intimacy comes in many forms. Draco wants to explore them all with Harry. [HP Pride Secret Santa 2022]

Di sotto in sù by @vivantesopales [E, 3.4k] 🔥

Draco thinks it's best they stop seeing each other. Harry disagrees. [HD Fangfest 2022]

Harry’s Flower by @potteresque-ire [M, 3.2k]

Draco had always received one flower—no more, no less—from Harry every day. He never thought the flowers would run out, until Harry was critically wounded… [Harry/Draco Owlpost 2016]

Face Me (And I’ll be There to Hold You) by bluemermaid54 [E, 2.2k] 🔥🌼

They only have sex facing away from each other. Tonight, Harry wants to change that.

✩ Willing Blood by @lqtraintracks & @the-starryknight [E, 2.1k] 🔥

Seven days together, years ago; seventy-four hours and thirty-eight minutes trapped in this house alone; and now one chance to stop himself from draining Potter dry. Will Draco take it? Will Harry let him? [HD Fangfest 2022]

✩ all the small things by @tryslora [E, 2k] 🔥

Harry is not hung and Draco loves giving him head because of that. If it happens to be a way to silently say I love you that’s just a coincidence.

Fanged Delight by DrWhoIsGinnyHolmes [E, 2k]

Recently turned vampire Draco just developed his special vampiric skill: mind reading. It was now time to discover everyone's dirty little secrets, starting with Harry Potter himself. It just wasn't what Draco expected and now he has to deal with the consequences. [HD Fangfest 2022]

Painted Me Golden by @purplehotmess [M, 1.4k]

Each time I was with you, though, the chasm of yearning widened like a maw of a predator ready to chomp on my bleeding heart.

✩ What You’ve Come For by @nv-md [E, 1.3k] 🔥

It doesn't matter that Draco's a bloodthirsty vampire, Harry can't stay away from him, and they come together night after night in the Astronomy Tower. [HD Fangfest 2022]

✩ Serenity by Rasborealis [E, 953 words] 🔥🌼

After the war, Draco is broken. Harry attempts to fix him any way he can.

art gallery

✩ The flames are part of us by @pato-roldnart [G, digital art]

Harry has never had any doubt to stop and extinguish the flames and their fire wielders. After his first encounter with their leader Draco Malfoy, Harry is starting to get suspicious of the Ministry and their intentions to catch every witch and wizard that can control fire. [LCDrarry 2022]

Hidden Away by @celilasart [T, art & poem]

Your sweet blood on my red lips, / your soft skin under my fingertips. [HD Fangfest 2022]

non-drarry

✩ Best in Blue by @cavendishbutterfly [Teddy/James Sirius, E, 11k] 🏳️‍⚧️🔥

James shouldn't have messed up his knee in a Quidditch game. And he shouldn't have come back to London before it healed. He also definitely shouldn't be wandering around Teddy's flat looking that fucking attractive and lovely, but that's a different problem entirely.

previous softly reading lists

#FINALLY. BE FREE OF MY DRAFTS #only four months late #softly reading #softly reading june 2022 #drarry #drarry fic rec #drarry fic list #drarry rec list

[jilyarchive]

OCTOBER AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: MISSGRYFFIN

Q: Where can we find you and your stories?

A: @missgryffin​, AO3

Q: How would you describe your writing style?

A: Intense, sexy, snappy, and fast-paced. I have a rampant imagination and love a good sexual tension build-up, so my fics usually include a lot of plot, drama, and (of course) smut.

Q: How do you come up with ideas for your writing?

A: It’s such a grab-bag. A pretty substantial number of my fics have originated from prompts, actually! I also draw a lot on TV shows/movies I’ve seen, novels I’ve read, tropes I see that I’m inspired to try, etc. Also, I find that a lot of my ideas actually form while I’m writing. I’ll go in with a sense of direction, but it’s not until I’m writing and really in the thick of it that the details take shape, and then new ideas begin to spout off from there, based on what I learn about what the characters and story need.

Q: When and why did you begin writing fanfiction?

A: Technically, during the two-year wait between the releases of books 5 and 6, because I was utterly HP obsessed, my imagination was in overdrive thinking about what could happen in the final two books, and I had discovered MuggleNet fanfiction / FFN by that point, so I’d been devouring all of that early era of HP fanfic. I actually have a giant binder of my own fanfic writing from that period; I would type up stories in Word, format them with fun fonts and fan art covers I found online, and print them out for myself. (Which, I still do this!) Fun fact: there’s even a Marauders story in there that I had completely forgotten about that has a striking resemblance to the bones of Eternal Summer. It genuinely freaked me out a little when I found it, ha! 

 But even though I wrote creatively through most of my childhood/school phases of life, I had taken a pretty substantial break in early adulthood and didn’t “return” to writing until the pandemic in 2020. Life was bizarre, Netflix had gotten boring, and I was craving a creative outlet or hobby that could make lockdown bearable. I randomly stumbled my way back to fanfic / fandom, and here we are!

Q: What’s one thing you’d tell someone who is considering reading one of your fics?

A: Buckle up! 🎢 Also, I hope you are either i) at home, or ii) have a really great NSFW poker face 😅 But to give a more serious answer, I’d say that I write a wide range of tones, and I really lean in to what that tone is. If a fic is tagged for fluff and crack, it will be so adorably sweet and cringe-funny that your face will hurt from smiling. If a fic is tagged for angst and darker themes, it will feel like a knife to the gut. (If it’s tagged for all of the above—cough Eternal Summer cough—you’re at the front of a line for a wild rollercoaster, my friend!) Since I write both extremes, I’m never offended when readers skip fics or prefer one “genre” to another. But please know that Jily is always endgame in all of my stories—that’s the whole reason why we’re here 💗

Q: What are some of your favorite Jily tropes?

A: Enemies to lovers is my #1, even if it’s more of that “enemies-ish” rivalry at the beginning. There’s just nothing more quintessentially Jily to me than the process of them discovering more layers to the other person and slowly realizing that the other person is so much more than the antagonist they’d built up in their head. (And that they -gasp- actually…like them! Worse, they like them like them! A lot!) Gets me every time. 

Other favorites include There Was Only One Bed, Hurt/Comfort, and Forced Proximity/Stuck/Trapped. 

Q: What do you like most about the Jily fandom?

A: That we celebrate how much of a power couple Jily is. I’m going to quote @jilyss’ answer for this because it’s so true: we understand James has an arrogant streak but grew up, we celebrate Lily for the intelligent, strong, cool, bamf woman she is, and we appreciate how they’re true, complementary equals finding real, raw love with one another. (And also all the wonderful reader and fellow-writer friends I’ve made! 😘)

Q: Pick a favourite Marauders era character.

A: My man JP. From only the few hints we get about him in the books, we know he’s such a dynamic person, and I really love bringing him to life. Also, his growth/redemption story deserved more air-time, so I’m glad fanfic is here to fill that gap.

Q: Self-promo time! List the fics that you are most proud of writing.

A:

Eternal Summer – My first born! Even though it’s far from being finished and needs a lot of work, I’m really proud of the world-building I’ve done thus far. 

Vindicated – This was thrilling for me to write because it’s a total departure from what I’d previously written: second chances, canon-divergent AU, American settings, original characters, more adult relationship, etc. I have more planned for this universe and I’m really excited for it. 

for the hope of it all – My latest completed fic. I challenged myself to write a softer, friends-to-lovers, mutually pining kind of summer fic, and this came together in a flood. But what makes me proud is that with this fic, I could really see how much my writing has evolved and improved from those early ES days. 

Q: Fic rec time! Could you recommend a few of your favourite Jily fics?

A:

Of Chrysalism by @maraudersftw​ – It’s only a short one-shot, but the way this fic haunts me!! Exquisite. 

The Wedding Ring by @mppmaraudergirl​ – Lauren is the Nancy Meyers of Jily, and this fic is the epitome of that. A total comfort fic for me; I want it to be a movie that I can play in my living room over and over again until I know it by heart. 

Eighteen Again by @scriibble-fics​ – If I didn’t know scriibble was getting her PhD in History, I’d think she was a screenwriter. The world-building in this fic is like no other—I’m in a constant state of chills when I read it. The emotional depth, the heartbreak, the romance, the political intrigue…it’s one of those fics that never leaves you.

Thank you @missgryffin​ for letting us ‘interview’ you and for sharing your fics with us! ❤️

#october author spotlight #author spotlight #thank you!! #its requested author month #next will be another random selection :)

[lanayru-the-water-god]

Gifts of gratitude

In this fourth installment of “All for the maiden,” Lanayru returns to her best friend’s spring to reunite with Ivory.

Word count: 1471

Slowly and steadily, Lanayru’s footsteps echo against the shiny surface. In front of her is Nerin’s spring, which over the centuries has become her second home, and today she comes to receive a gift from the eternally grateful swan maiden.

The one she sacrificed her life once more to save.

Memories of her sacrifice dwindled away as she slept, leaving only tiny fragments of a blurry haze. But still she can see the fallen maiden, close to her final breath, the blood pooling against the tiles. She can feel the glow of her hands, and soon her entire body, overflowing with the healing magic as she thrust every last inch of it out—

And then…nothing.

Several days after her awakening, Lanayru is still slightly fatigued, but finally strong enough to travel to her best friend’s domain. Her heart flutters with a mixture of relief and excitement, eager to reach the sweet maiden.

As she makes her way around the quiet, serene spring with its pure waters and soft swan feathers, her eye catches on two figures close by. One of them is the Swan Goddess, her fluffy shawl wrapped around her body and loose white hair framing her face. And the other one…the dainty being is strikingly familiar—

Ivory.

“Lanayru!!” the swan maiden shrieks, bolting toward the Water Goddess and throwing her arms out. “Oh my gosh, hi!!”

Before she can respond, Ivory’s head is already resting against her chest, arms wrapped around her frail body in a tight squeeze. Lanayru grunts in surprise, chuckling as she glances up at Nerin. The Swan Goddess simply smiles.

“This one has not been patient, waterdrop.”

Lanayru runs gentle fingers through the maiden’s soft hair. “Are you alright, my dearest one? I know you’re still recovering.”

“What do you mean?” Ivory slowly loosens her grip on the Goddess, glancing up at her with a frown. “I’ve been good as new for a while now. You’ve just been out for-“ She pauses. “…a long time.”

“I know, my apologies. If only saving you hadn’t taken such a toll on me…but I digress. You’re doing well, sweetheart, and you have no idea how delighted that makes me.”

Ivory steps back, her smaller form glancing up at Lanayru. With her limited memories of the maiden, it’s as if she is meeting a stranger. But Ivory knows her now; so much more time has passed than she can grasp.

“You look so, uh…so…different!” The maiden’s cheeks flush pink as she speaks. “Like- your hair!”

The Water Goddess runs a finger through her short bob of blonde locks, cutting off above her shoulders. Days before, it had reached all the way down her back, having not been trimmed in several years.

“Yeah, it’s a little shorter, isn’t it?” she replies with a chuckle. “I was thinking of chopping it before I healed you, but I just never got around to it.”

“Well, it looks absolutely stunning.” Ivory fidgets with her white dress, seemingly a bit nervous. “So…Lanayru, are you feeling okay? Were you in pain at all?”

“Well, I don’t really remember…but it was painless, my dearest one. It felt almost like a nice, long nap.”

“Aw…thank goodness, I am so glad to hear that…I mean, I was there when—when you…”

Lanayru’s heart sinks. “When I—?”

…died?

“Yeah, when you lost consciousness…I saw it all…” Ivory mutters, breathless. “Oh, my heart couldn’t take it, Nerin was so devastated…she explained a bit to me, how you were gonna be gone for a while.”

That’s right. Nerin told her to keep the death a secret, worried that it would upset the troubled maiden even further.

The guilt still pangs in her chest, just as it has each day since awakening…Nerin knew. The Swan Goddess watched Lanayru fade out, and she knew. Soon her darling waterdrop would stop breathing, her body shutting down completely, anywhere from seconds to minutes of a lifeless form lying where the Water Goddess once stood…

“It was very hard for her, yes,” Lanayru confirms, careful to not let out the truth. “Ivory, I am so sorry…I never meant for you to go through that.”

“Why are you apologizing? You- you saved my life.” The maiden stares at her with pleading eyes. “I owe you everything, Miss Water Goddess, far more than I could ever offer.”

Lanayru sniffles. “Ivory, please—“

“Lady Nerin, give it to her,” Ivory turns toward the Swan Goddess, who grins with delight.

“You’re gonna like this one, waterdrop.” Nerin tells her with a smile. “A lot of thought went into it.”

To Lanayru’s confusion, Nerin takes off the fluffy shawl around her shoulders, stepping forward and holding it in outstretched hands.

“But…isn’t that yours, little one?”

“No, silly, it’s for you. Take it.”

The Water Goddess carefully obeys, gasping in awe as the large shawl drapes over her wrists and arms.

Oh my Goddesses.

The assortment of white and gray swan feathers, with even tinges of baby blue, blend together on a neatly cross-stitched base pattern, one that clearly took an immense amount of time and care.

“Ivory, this is…beautiful,” she gushes, eyes beginning to water. “Did you make this?”

“I sure did, my darling. That was the one good thing about you being unconscious for that long…I had time to really create something memorable.”

A pleasant warmth washes over Lanayru’s body, bringing her a sense of peace and calm…each one of the delicate feathers seems to have a life of its own, glowing in the daylight.

“Wh-what is this? Is it a shawl?”

“Not quite…it’s a blanket, made from my own thread and magical swan feathers. Each of us offered a few of our feathers and Nerin helped gather some too…when you sleep with it, a bit of our swan magic will come to you. I bet you’re even feeling it right now.”

Oh.

Oh my—

“I-I can’t accept this! Please- this is far more than I ever need—“

“You must, Lanayru.” the maiden interrupts, gently touching the blanket with her hand. “I know that someday, you’ll save an innocent soul once again. When you’ve slipped into a deep sleep, I will come to drape this across your body, and your… slumber, should I call it that, will be as peaceful as the waters you give us.”

Tears roll down Lanayru’s cheeks; as both her hands are occupied from holding the blanket, she is unable to wipe them away.

“This was far too sweet of you,” she states, sniffling again as she holds the blanket close. “I-I can’t believe you…you did this for me…”

“I wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for you!” Ivory shouts. “Goddess, please, stop all this. You did the most selfless thing any of us could have imagined, something that I’m sure half of us wouldn’t have the guts to do—“

“What choice did I have? It was either to save you, or just stand there and watch you fucking die—“

“Lanayru!” Nerin’s firm voice startles her. “Don’t.”

“Oh…sorry,” she mutters. Her friend has never been too fond of her profanity. “It-it’s just that…I will never expect a reward for my actions. Always remember that.”

“I know.” Ivory reaches a hand out toward Lanayru’s tear-stained face. “Here, is this okay?”

The Water Goddess nods, letting the maiden’s cool, dainty hands wipe the tears from her cheeks.

Nerin steps closer to the two, beaming with delight. “Save your tears, waterdrop,” she explains. “This isn’t the only gift for you today.”

“H-huh?” Lanayru chokes out. There’s…more than one?

“The other maidens know everything, we couldn’t possibly hide it from them…Lanayru, I still don’t think you really understand how grateful we all are. Every one of our maidens is extremely special to us, and you care so much about our well-being.” The Swan Goddess gestures to the stunning front entrance of her residence. “Come inside with us, waterdrop.”

Ivory turns back to Lanayru, touching the blanket once more. “RuRu, why don’t you wear this around your shoulders?” The maiden pauses suddenly, brow furrowing. “Oh…is it okay if I call you that?”

“Of course,” she replies, nodding slowly. “You have my permission, darling.”

She has reserved the nickname RuRu only for those close to her, but for Ivory it just feels…right. And perhaps they can indeed become close friends as the months and years go by. She may have Nerin, and all the Dwellers…but she can always open her heart for another companion. With her devout kindness and joyful spirit, Ivory is a perfect one.

Lanayru wraps the soft blanket around her shoulders, just like how Nerin wears her feathery shawl, and begins to follow them along the path. Embracing the warmth of the swan magic from the blanket, she listens to their soft footsteps among the peaceful sounds of the spring.

#the goddess lanayru #bailey writes #nerin the swan goddess (by the amazing trippy!) #ivory the swan maiden (also by trippy) #tw death mention (temporary and near-death experience)

[dari-ede]

In the Middle of the Night: Chapter 1

Chapter 1: “Cada noche el silencio es un mar”

Chapters: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30

MASTERLIST

Summary: As Bangtan prepares for a new chapter in their lives, they head to their private property in the forest for a songwriting workshop. As a songwriter and producer they have worked with for years, I’m asked to tag along. I was ready for the heavy workload and small amount of sleep during the workshop week. However, I wasn’t ready for the storm that came that changed my friendship with Namjoon forever.

Genre: Friends to Lovers, Fluff and Smut

Pairing: Idol!Namjoon x Female Reader

Rating: M (mention of sexual assault, explicit language, future explicit sexual scenes)

Status: COMPLETE

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

-Late Summer 2019-

Malibu, California, USA

I felt like a fat lady was pressed against my chest, keeping me from properly breathing. My palms started to feel clammy. The air surrounding me was having difficulty entering my airwaves.

It had been a while since the last time I had this kind of episode. But after the shitty year I’ve been through, it made sense my body had had enough. Even if I wasn’t fully in love with my ex, hearing his last words to me and watching him leave my house with his stuff had broken something in me.

I was broken. I was in shambles. And I was alone. ....I didn’t want to feel alone.

I reached for the phone in my pocket. I was so glued to my spot that if the phone had been in any location in my house, I wouldn’t have been able to reach it. My legs would not have had the strength to take me there.

I sent a quick and short message to the person I always could lean on my aunt Jia.

Even though my emotions were out of whack, my brain still functioned enough to remind me that my Tia Jia had a busy day today. And because of this, I made the message I wrote her sound like I wanted to have a casual conversation with her. Knowing she was busy with other stuff made me feel guilty. I hated to feel like a bother—thank you, childhood trauma.

As I waited for her response, I tried to remember the methods she would use to calm me.

I took a breath, held it for a few seconds, and let it out slowly. I repeated the process a few more times.

After what seemed like an eternity, I received a response from my Tia Jia, telling me she would call me once she got home. That would be hours from now.

Keeping the phone clutched in my hand, I took another breath and tried to settle down. I had managed to get myself to the living room and to the couch. I was able to regain some calmness, but I desperately wanted to talk to my tia.

I didn’t know how long I had been sitting down, but eventually, my phone rang. I was certain it was my tia. Without looking at the caller ID, I picked up, “Hey.” My voice sounded weak.

But the voice on the other end was much deeper than my Tia Jia’s. “Hey, I just finished listening to the track. Sounds great.”

“Who’s this?” I asked, confused. I looked down at the phone, then I noticed the Korean app logo on top of the call.

“Namjoon—RM,” the voice responded.

It clicked. I was cowriting a song for some friends of mine who were in a Korean group, BTS. RM was one of the members and one of the other cowriters. I sent him an email earlier today on the latest version of the track. He was simply calling me regarding it.

“Sorry,” I said.

“It’s ok,” he responded but didn’t say anything else. It was as if he was waiting, listening intently.

I wanted to hang up—I felt the need to lie about being busy and that I could call him later. But I didn’t have it in me to do so. Somehow, a part of me wanted to stay on the phone with RM. Over the years, we mainly had been colleagues. When I first met him, I developed a crush on him. However, I quickly learned how serious and private he was. Unlike most of his team members, who were more open and playful, RM was more reserved and kept a distance from people. I had always been quite the social butterfly and befriended people easily. I learned the hard way that RM took a while to break through. Today, after many years, I could confidently say we were friends. And I knew that’s what I needed right now: a friend. Someone to ground me.

After several long moments of silence, RM spoke. “Maya? Everything ok?” he asks, his voice full of concern.

I wanted to spill my guts, but once again, feeling like I didn’t want to be a burden, I lied. “I’m ok,” I said with a strained voice. But saying this lie out loud was bringing forth the emotions I had been avoiding lately. My breathing became uneven again. I was having difficulty getting the air through my lungs and I was certain RM heard it.

“Maya, slow breaths,” I heard RM say on the other end of the call.

I listened to his voice, feeling like it could be used as an anchor. I followed his instructions.

“Ok, touch each of your fingers as you count them slowly,” he instructed.

I pressed my thumb and pinky together. “One.” I moved my thumb and ring finger together. “Two.” I counted my remaining fingers at the same pace and felt myself feeling a little lighter.

“Good.” RM’s deep voice sounded clearer and I was positive it was due to regaining clarity. “How you feeling?”

“Better.” The emotions were still lingering, but they weren’t too uncontrollable.

“What happened?” Technically, it was a question but the tone in his voice made it sound more like a demand.

And I did. With all the buildup of the last months, having RM as an ear allowed me to lift some of the burden I felt off my shoulders. I spilled everything out. I admitted to my contract ending, my fear of an unclear future, the countless arguments I'd been having with my mother, my breakup with Jerry (I didn’t tell RM the reason we broke up), and the shittiness I felt for not being more upset over my breakup with Jerry—we had been together for years. Why was I not more upset??

RM let me let it all out for a good hour, giving out simple “yeahs” here and there, but mostly listening intently. And it felt good. I was never one to vent but knew I needed to. I was grateful RM allowed me to do this with him.

When it seemed as if I was done, he didn’t give advice but seemed to validate my feelings. “It’s only natural you’re going to feel stressed. All of that going through your head is bound to make your body react the way it did. I’m sure it was a panic attack you had?” It seemed more of a question than a statement.

“Yeah. I’ve had them a few times before. Usually, my aunt Jia is the one who calms things down a bit,” I said.

“Is she your Korean aunt? The one who taught you the language?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“How often do you get panic attacks?”

I thought about it for a moment. “Not very often. Just when things are too stressful, I think.”

“You think? You’ve never looked into it? To know what the cause is?”

“No, I don’t like medication. And I hate going to a doctor.” I didn’t want prescribed medication. There was too much of a history there.

“Well, you might not have to take medication. Perhaps a therapist can help figure out the root of the problem. They could assist in figuring out methods you could use to balance things to prevent the attacks from even happening—notice the signs before it gets too out of control.” He wasn’t the first to suggest therapy.

I wasn’t sure what it was about this time hearing I should see a therapist. Maybe it was because it was right after an episode had occurred or maybe because, in the past year, RM was the third person to suggest professional help. I knew about RM’s mental health struggles and knew he had sought assistance as well.

“Maybe I should see someone,” I said, surprising myself.

“You should,” he said gently.

~~~~~

Three weeks and two therapists later, I found myself sitting in the waiting room of my third therapist, feeling a combination of nerves and slight pessimism. The previous therapists I had met with didn’t seem to fit well—I had felt disappointed both times.

As much as I wanted to give up on finding the right person to help me, I tried to keep optimistic about getting the help I knew I needed.

Being a good support system, RM checked on me often. It felt as if we spoke every day, whether it was through messages or on the phone. He wanted to ensure I kept looking for the right person to assist me.

I was currently messaging RM as I sat in the lobby of my third therapist. He had sent me a paragraph of words of encouragement when the lady at the desk called my name. “Dr. Rob is ready for you, miss,” she stated.

I made my way over to the door, sending a quick response to RM to tell him I was about to meet my third (and hopefully last) therapist.

“hwaiting!” he responded.

I took a breath and reached to open the door.

But someone beat me to it. The door swung open and standing on the other side of the door, was a tall redhead. An easy smile was on his face as he said, “Welcome Maya."

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

AN: Thank you to whoever is reading this. I appreciate you giving this story a shot. I have been working on it for close to a year, not wanting to start posting until I had the majority of the story finished. I want to release a chapter on a weekly basis and I know myself well enough to know I get writer's block every once in a while; I don't want it to get in the way of a regular posting. 🥰 Also, I posted this as "reader" to bring in more audience. I'm doing my best not to be too specific in Maya's look. I gave her a name because it works better for me as a writer. I find "Y/N" too much of a distraction. I always end up calling the reader "Yoon" or "Yuna" in my head to make it easier. There WILL be smut, but it will be many chapters from now.

Chapters: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30

MASTERLIST

#bts #bangtan sonyeondan #rm #rm x reader #friends to lovers #friendship #eventual smut #eventual relationship #panic attack #InTheMiddleOfTheNight #Spotify #rm x maya #namjoon fanfic #namjoon x reader #idol!oc #idol!namjoon #idol!rm #idol!rm x idol!oc #idol!female oc

[day6source]

Young K deals with change in new album 'Letters with notes' — a track-by-track guide

by Franchesca Judine Basbas

Young K is back home. 

Since completing his military service last April, the Korean singer and DAY6 member has wanted nothing more than to be make music again, to get back on stage and be with his fans. "As a musician, I believed that was the most important thing to do," he told Bandwagon.  So, in the last couple of months, Young K has been working endlessly piecing his comeback together and before he knew it, he had a full-length album in his hands. Letters with notes is a heartwarming record recounting all that's changed and everything he's wanted to share during his time away. "I didn't initially aim for a full-length album; I just tried to write good songs and explore new ideas," the singer shared. "Undoubtedly, time has passed. My voice has changed, and I'm sure my thought processes have changed too. These changes have probably influenced the results I’ve achieved in my music." Learning and growing from his debut album in 2021, Eternal, Young K wanted every track on Letter with notes to contain bits and pieces of his heart and soul, emedding all the experiences that has inspired and influenced him over the last couple of months.  "The thought of wanting to create an album came from the wish to come back as fast as possible. All the recordings started after I was discharged, but been having ideas coming up in my head, so I can't really define it exactly," said Young K.  Bandwagon caught up with Young K to learn about the stories on and behind Letters with notes, track by track. Check it out here. 

WAITED (오늘만을 너만을 이날을)

I imagined what it would be like to get back on stage. The song starts off with me saying I feel nervous and asking how all of you were. In the chorus, I sing about how much I waited for this moment.

NOTHING BUT (이것밖에는 없다)

Singing about how it's hard to let go of love even as it fades from view. The song underwent several adjustments, and the title of my first mini album, ‘Eternal’, became the very first lyric of this song.

LET IT BE SUMMER

Talks about how I never want the summer to end, symbolizing summer as youth and the most passionate season, and drawing a comparison to life. I was glad this song was released at the end of summer, just before autumn arrived.

DREAMER (꿈꾼)

I envisioned an image of a person who has been through tough times but still dreams and sees their reality becoming brighter. Stars being drawn, a story of a dreamer.

BUNGEE JUMPING

It was the very first song I performed at a festival before its official release. I wanted to put a refreshing vibe, so I imagined a first-time bungee jumping experience, something I still haven't tried.

NATURAL

The word 'natural' caught my attention for some reason. I thought of what's natural: breathing, having meals, and the flow of time. It’s a very upbeat track with a rhythmical melody, making it quite enjoyable to perform live.

STRANGE

After watching Dr. Strange, the word 'strange' resonated with me. I began thinking of what the norm is. If I'm surrounded by strange people, would I still be considered strange? This led me to the idea that a concert is a place where you can liberate yourself and be free, so I wanted to create a song that asks people to get strange with me. I then brought the melody and lyrics to Park Mun Chi, and I loved how the song took shape.

SOUL

Doesn’t everyone have moments where you have to put on a smile even when you don't feel like it? The track itself already had enough soul in it, so it started off with the word 'soul'. I thought of soulless smiles and made a song looking for the soul that's lost.

PLAYGROUND

When I was editing the song, I was actually sitting at a playground, watching kids play. I came up with the concept first, but seeing them with my eyes made me take a closer look into how we've grown but the life we live isn't so different.

BABO

An English song but has a title with a Korean word. The word was chosen due to pronunciation, but I was pretty satisfied with the result. ‘paulkyte’ who I worked with was introduced by another musician named Eldon, who I enjoy listening to and a good friend of mine.

WHAT IS..

One of the fastest tracks written out of the entire album, I was able to write up to the first chorus the day we started both melody and lyrics. I loved the line and the tone of the piano, so I guess that helped me come up with an idea quickly.

#young k #day6 #day6 even of day #kang younghyun #brian kang #album: letters with notes #young k: interviews #[sorry this got posted a bit late skz at the vmas had my attention lskdjgdklsg]

[fair-dinkum-mechanic]

I know this will just be. Read and ignored. And I don’t mind. I know it seems like I expect people to have the answers but I really truly don’t.

So I had my 30th birthday last night. I spent months planning it. I spent thousands of dollars on it. I wanted everyone I’ve ever cared about in my life to be in one place just for one night. Just to see them and be with them. And I was, for the most part, and it was incredible and meant a lot. But there was drama. No matter what choices I make they’re the wrong ones. I hurt someone. I try so hard to let people know how much I care about them and how much I love them and how much they mean to me I try so hard. I never can though. I never ever can.

So last night was amazing. But the thread of sadness was still there

So much in my life is wrong. It’s wrong. I’m 30 and never lived away from home, but I choose that, I can’t leave mum all on her own. I can’t. And I don’t have a partner to move with. I’d be on ky own. I’d kill myself.

I work so much. I make money, but what for? I try so hard to smile and treat customers so pleasantly like I’m a friend but I still get abused and pushed around and then I go home to more of the same.

I’ve been itching so much since December. With rashes and fear that I have scabies or something else contagious even though nobody else has any symptoms. And the doctors and specialists refuse to help me they refuse to even examine me properly. So I feel like I can’t even cuddle or hug people.

I’m on the outskirts of all of my friendships and I have nobody to blame but myself.

I really truly am only alive because I can’t imagine how confused and distrssed my cat would be. If anything happens to her I have my plans in place.

It’s not a matter of if anymore it’s just a matter of when. When am I going to take the next logical step and end this terror that I feel on a daily basis. When am I going to finally leave the silence from others and give myself completely to an eternal silence.

I don’t want to be alive anymore. I don’t.

[thefaiao]

    About two months ago my laptop’s HDD died. I couldn’t really recover anything in the moment, and just left it unplugged inside the case until I could take it somewhere to check if it the files were truly unsalvageable. I wasn’t that annoyed by it. I had backed up most important files relating to game work, and I didn’t care too much about drawings that I already posted. I wouldn’t mind backing them up, but I wouldn’t lose sleep over it since they are posted somewhere already.     This HDD actually had been on a long journey with me. It, together with the laptop, carried me through a whole year of living alone and isolated for everyone I knew. It had been having problems since forever but it soldiered through most of it. It’s actually impressive how long it lasted, to be fair. But any times it would show hints of death then, I’d have a nervous breakdown. My anxiety and isolation were at a critical level. Drinking some Monster sent me to the hospital for pure anxiety. So all the bad stuff blended together at the time, and I couldn’t bother to fix all of it. When you are living day by day and hanging on by a thread on all sides, every loss can feel very major.     It only died after I moved back home. The worst part about losing the HDD was having to reinstall all the programs, and relearn my routine. When working on long-term projects, routine is really the only thing that can carry you further. Games are composed of so many different pieces. The amount of programs you have to use really incentivise terrible habits, like leaving the computer on eternally, or having multiple programs open at all times.     When I got my first drawing tablet, my thought process was: “If I put this in front of me, eventually I’ll draw on it, even if out of boredom.” This actually worked. I think that by leaving all the different programs open, I am hoping to finish the game out of boredom. But it doesn’t work as well when you are on your mid-twenties and the weight of life starts creeping up your back. It just feels like you are stuck in some sort of hell, and if you aren’t using those programs or drawing, you aren’t really doing anything. I wasn’t a teen trying to teach myself how to draw like those cool internet artists; rather, I was an adult, with a faulty income source, alone, in the middle of nowhere.     I think moving out of my Mom’s apartment was a form of attempted suicide. I think I just wanted to leave the world, make the game or die. Games take longer than it’d take me to die. Maybe I didn’t know this consciously, but deep down I think I understood. It’s hard not to feel like a failure.     My parents always let me follow my whims. My Dad supports me, but I feel he sees me as more of a symbol. I don’t think he could describe my interests in detail, or the person I am. I am similarly distant to him, but I know he likes Blade Runner, and records, and running, and pretending to smoke big cigars. I like Blade Runner too. I wish he saw that I’m happy he likes Blade Runner, because I got to like Blade Runner because of that.     My Mom does understand me, and is able to describe who I am. But I don’t ever feel she is happy with my choices. She doesn’t mention it actively, perhaps out of tiredness, but she wishes I had a normal job, or had chosen another subject that not games. I don’t think the drawings or the commissions I’ve done mean anything to her. I don’t think they mean anything to anyone outside of my circles... I managed to support myself with them, but I wouldn’t say it was a completely successeful endeavour. I think she sees the game as a waste of time and energy, especially if it doesn’t make any money. It might not make any money.    It’s understandable. She won’t be here forever. I need a stable source of money, not just enough to pay some bills, sometimes. I feel I almost got tricked by the world into following my dream. I felt everything was telling me I should be honest with myself, and that I should chase after the things that mattered to me. So that’s what I did, and what I’ve been doing still. I’m not sure where I’m going in life. I think I just heard what I wanted to hear, and I always wanted to chase after a dream.    Two days ago, my new SSD died. I had used it to boot the laptop back up after the HDD died. I had already gotten into the routine again. It was brand new, and gifted by my friend to me. I didn’t ask for it, she just did it because she knew I needed it. I often complain about life, but thinking back now, this is truly something not everyone gets. It was brand new.    It died suddenly. I lost a good chunk of work on the game. We are getting closer to finishing the demo, so each part is major. I may have lost a model of the boss. This time I did have a nervous breakdown because of the loss of the laptop. The truth is that this past year has been setbacks after setbacks, and I feel my time ticking down.    Money worries from both my parents. Dog getting a tracheostomy, and all the medical care surrounding it. Having to live apart from my girlfriend, which I am dedicated to being with as long as I can. Having to constantly move to other places, without any certainty for the future, for reasons internal and external. And death, death everywhere.     I’ve gotten the habit of looking at my dog knowing he is living on borrowed time, getting sad, and petting him just a bit. I think that through all of this, I do a similar thing to the game. I look at it. Wonder how much time I have left to keep working and polishing it before moving on. Be happy about how far its come. Notice how much needs work on closer inspection. Get back to work.     When I spend a few weeks away from the game I noticed how much I care for it, and how much I like what it is. I don’t think everyone will notice why this matters to me, but maybe that is fine. And similarly, I feel like this about my dog. He may pass away soon, but he came so far, lived fifteen years and had many adventures. And I got to take care of him. So it’s not so bad. And he still barks everyday, and he still takes sunbaths. He still thinks, and decides.     The people who’ve been with me despite all of this puzzle me. My girlfriend has stuck with me through these decisions, and always says I am destined to make great things. The programmer, whom co-develops the game with me, has stuck with me and this game, and is willing to keep going as far as we need to make it complete. Things like this make me wonder if my dream is actually possible and real. And that I can brave through all these setbacks.    Is the game really that good? Is my work that good? Does it even matter if it is? I often show it to people and they don’t understand what’s good about it. All I know for now is that despite everything, I want to work on it still. I want to make this weird dream come true. I won’t get to play a game like the one I’m making, but maybe someone else out there will get to play it the way I wish I could.

[bluemoonfantasiesiii]

Surprise voice lines for Raiden AU Scara!

Hello

“I am Shiden, the Tenno of Inazuma. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to properly thank your for aiding Inazuma, but at the very least, allow me to return the favor by aiding you on your journey. It’s not like I have any major political responsibilities. That’s all my mother’s job.”

Chat: View

“The world outside the confines of Inazuma City… I want to see it all.”

Chat: Interest

“Hmm… Could that possibly be something of interest over there? Let’s go see!”

When it Rains:

“I’ve rarely gotten to experience rain without thunder accompanying it. It’s so peaceful.”

When Thunder Strikes:

“Th-that wasn’t me, I swear!”

When it Snows:

“There’s always something so calming about seeing everything covered in pure white. But also…something very melancholy…”

When the Sun Is Out:

“Even the most devastating storms must eventually rest.”

When It’s Windy

“Gah! Please don’t let me get blown away!”

Good Morning:

“Good morning~! Did you sleep well? Waking up in a sour mood can ruin your whole day.”

Good Afternoon:

“I was just about to head out for some tea. Care to join me? Even the most bitter of brews always taste better when you have someone to share it with.”

Good Evening:

“*sigh* I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of watching the sun set. It feels like two worlds are connected at this time of day.”

Good Night:

“You should get some sleep. You’ve still got a long journey ahead of you. Who knows what you’ll face next? A sharp mind will keep you prepared for anything.”

About Shiden: Blacksmiths

“I’ve always been fascinated by the art of blacksmithing. I’ve gotten a few chances to visit the workshop in Inazuma City in my time, and there’s just something about it that makes it feel like home. The warmth of the furnace, the rhythmic clank of hammer on blade, the friendly chatter between colleagues. Blacksmiths just have this air about them that makes even a complete novice like me feel welcome.”

About Shiden: Family

“My mother has made many poor decisions ever since my creation; probably even before that. And my sister had no choice but to follow her whims. But family is supposed to call each other out when we do something wrong, right? I don’t regret confronting them the way I did. I only regret that it took me so long to do it…”

About Us: Mutuality

“I believe relationships should be based on mutual understanding and equal footing. That’s why I’ll do my best to protect you as much as you may need to protect me.”

About Us: Transience

“Eternity is an endless cycle of things beginning and ending. Even your time here in Teyvat will eventually come to its conclusion. That’s why I’ll treasure every second I get to spend with you and learn as much as I can before you inevitably move onto the next world.”

About the Vision:

“I’m aware that Electro Visions stopped manifesting during the Vision Hunt, but I couldn’t tell you why. Could it be that the Heavenly Principles intervened? Or is the Fatui really so powerful that they were able to quash the ambitions of the people that much…?”

Something to Share:

“It truly is a shame what happened to the Raiden Gokaden. I’m glad that at least some of their craft still survives to this day. Maybe I’ll head to Tatarasuna at some point and see if anything there can be salvaged. Would you mind helping me with the fundraising when the time comes? Hm? No! I don’t want them to just give me money just because I’m the Tenno!”

Interesting Things:

“Did you know there are several legends about the origins of the Thunder Sakura? Some people even think they’re fragments of the Electro Archon. Hehe~ It’s always so funny thinking of Mother turning into a tree. They’re not too far off, though. The Shogun Puppet and I were crafted from wood.”

About Ei: Relation

“While we may not be related by blood since we have none to share, I do consider Beelzebul my mother. I know it probably sounds like a strange sentiment considering the way she’s treated me all these years, but…mothers make mistakes, too. Her mistakes just happen to have heavier consequences since she’s a god.”

About Ei: Puppet

“I don’t resent Mother for bringing me into being. Though my existence hasn’t always been a happy one, I am glad I exist. Deep in my chest where my heart would be, I knew her delusions and her grieving would eventually come to an end.”

About the Raiden Shogun:

“I’m not sure why I developed emotions while she didn’t. You would think it would be the other way around, right? The prototype is more robotic and the final draft is more refined and human. Maybe Mother wanted her own vessel to be a blank slate because she herself lost her own identity acting as her sister’s kagemusha.”

About Yae Miko:

“For a long time, Lady Miko was the only one I felt I could confide in about my opposition to Mother’s Eternity. She agreed with me that Mother was taking the completely wrong approach to the loss of her sister. She held nothing back when expressing her concerns about my existence. Hm? Why are you looking at me like I’m crazy? Yes, even someone like Lady Miko is capable of being honest every once in a while.”

About Kamisato Ayato:

“That’s the current head of the Kamisato Clan and the Yashiro Commission, right? It must have been awful, having to take on so much responsibility at such a young age with no warning. I just hope he was given an opportunity to grieve properly. I would hate for him to shut himself out like my mother did.”

About Kujou Sara:

“She’s fiercely loyal to the Shogun, for better or for worse. I don’t mean to speak ill of such a distinguished General, but that kind of blind devotion can be scary in the wrong circumstances.”

About Sangonomiya Kokomi:

“My mother owes the people of Watatsumi great reparations for what she did to their god. Doubly so knowing that they were hit the hardest by the Sakoku Decree. I commend their Divine Priestess for her bravery in standing up to the god that slayed her own. I hope she never loses that spark. We need more leaders like her, who will fight for what’s right even with the odds stacked against them.”

About Kaedehara Kazuha:

“Ah, right, the last practitioner of the Isshin Art of blade smithing. It saddens me to hear that he has no plans to continue his family business, but far be it from me to stop him from living the life he wants. I can only hope that he’ll teach someone his craft before he dies.”

About Arataki Itto:

“I haven’t had many opportunities to talk to him yet, but he seems like a good guy. Y-yes, I know he’s the leader of a gang, but that’s more of an arbitrary definition of ‘good’ and ‘bad.’ Despite his…occupation, he has a strong moral code and a terrific sense of humor. That’s the kind of thing that matters to me.”

More About Shiden I:

“Despite my seemingly luxurious existence, my life has actually been fairly uneventful. I can’t promise I’ll have anything interesting to share, but I’ll be happy to answer your questions!”

More About Shiden II:

“Although my official title is Emperor, I don’t actually hold a lot of political power in Inazuma. However, I still garner quite a bit of respect from my people. If anyone tries to give you any trouble within our borders, call for me, and I’ll set them straight.”

More About Shiden III:

“A lot of people find Chinju Forest eerie, but I personally think the rippling stream reflecting the glow of the flowers is rather soothing. It makes for a perfect meditation spot. The bake-danuki that still live there are pretty cute, too, even if they can’t communicate very well.”

More About Shiden IV:

“Can you keep a secret for me? One time, when I snuck out to see the blacksmiths, I forged my own blade. It’s not very good, but I was so happy to have something to truly call mine, something that I made with my own hands. For a brief moment, as I held that sloppily put together sword in my hands, I felt like I had my own identity. I still have it stashed somewhere. I could show you sometime if you’d like. Haha, of course I’m embarrassed at the quality, but we’re friends now, right? You can make fun of it all you want. I don’t mind, really.”

More About Shiden V:

“I don’t know what exactly the Tsaritsa is planning the do with the other Gnoses, but I was relieved to finally be rid of that thing. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t an easy decision to make, but now I understand how even a god like Morax could be persuaded to bargain his away. A Gnosis is nothing more than a tether. Now that it’s out of my hands, I finally feel I have the freedom to stop trying to be like my late aunt. It was never truly mine to begin with.”

Shiden’s Hobbies:

“I often used to occupy my time helping out the attendants in Tenshukaku. My favorite activity was assisting the chefs, and I’d like to think that over 500 years, I’ve gotten pretty good at cooking.”

Shiden’s Troubles:

“I’m sure you can imagine how spending most of my life locked up in Tenshukaku has left my social skills a bit lacking. I hope you don’t mind teaching me as we go. My status means nothing to you, so you’re the only one I can trust to correct me if I accidentally say or do something rude.”

Favorite Food:

“This may come as a surprise, but I actually prefer bitter things. Too much sugar or spice can overwhelm the dish and conceal its true intentions. That’s why you’ll never see me putting anything in my tea. Some things should just be left as they are.”

Least Favorite Food:

“I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. Especially when the sweets are also sticky like honey or caramel. It makes me feel like my teeth are fusing together. It’s a rather unpleasant sensation…”

Receiving a Gift I:

“This is perfect! Not too much, and not too little. Well done!”

Receiving a Gift II:

“Would you mind sharing this recipe with me? I don’t want to have to bother you every time I’m craving it.”

Receiving a Gift III:

“Urgh…! Well, it’s better than Mother’s cooking at least…?”

Birthday:

“Happy birthday! I’m not super familiar with the typical conventions of birthday celebrations, but I do know you’re supposed to give the person a gift, so here! Now that I’m not trapped in Tenshukaku anymore, I was able to learn blacksmithing more seriously, and I made these twin daggers with you in mind. You can give your sibling the other one when you’re reunited. I hope that’s not too forward of me.”

Feelings About Ascension: Intro

“I happily embrace this change.”

Feelings About Ascension: Building Up

“The future is looking brighter with each day.”

Feelings About Ascension: Climax

“The beauty of time is that we never know what’s coming next. So just take it moment for moment.”

Feelings About Ascension: Conclusion

“At last, I have a power that I can call my own. I never could’ve gotten here without you. I hope we can continue to grow together in the future.”

Elemental Skill:

“Eyes up!”

“A storm is brewing!”

“Strike twice!”

Elemental Burst:

“You can’t run from the future!”

“The future is now!”

“For Inazuma’s future!”

Sprint Start:

“Quickly now.”

Opening Treasure Chest:

“What are these used for?”

“Is this a good find?”

“It’s all yours.”

Low HP:

“You can’t get rid of me that easy!”

“The future looks bleak…”

“You’ll pay for this!”

Ally at Low HP:

“Let me handle this!”

“I’ll make them regret harming you!”

Fallen:

“Every storm…eventually…ends…”

“My future ends here…”

“Time will go on…without me…”

Light Hit Taken:

“Hardly a scratch!”

“Was that it?”

Heavy Hit Taken:

“Lucky shot!”

“Not bad…”

Joining Party:

“Finally, a chance to see the outside world!”

“I wonder what the future has in store for us.”

“You need my help? I’d be honored!”

#moon writes shit #voice lines #genshin impact #raiden scara au #genshin scaramouche #tenno shiden