#i was sitting down with my tea so happy and she’s like what’d you get green tea? and I’m like happier than I’ve ever been like yeah :) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

justmochi · 10 months

Text

pre-birthday

series :: eunmin in busan 2023 💌

pairing :: eden x seokmin

word count :: 4.8k

synopsis :: eunmin’s second day in busan.

time :: february 16, 2023

warnings :: again, very long since it contains everything they did in the day. fluff so cute u might pukee. eunmin talking about kids.

taglist :: @cafemilk-tea @cixrosie @moonlight-additions @cosmicwintr @astraw-astro @ateezjuliet @fromfreesia @succulentmom @kimhyejin3108 @enhacolor @multiplums @meginthebuilding27 @kang-ulzzang @hybesunstone @allthings-fandoms @itzy-eve @choihaneul

Eden had just finished taking her pictures of the tray, putting their freshly brewed coffee down. She made hers how she liked it and tried her best to match his taste. She got up extra early to shower, get ready, and plan out their day to celebrate Seokmin’s birthday.

It was their last full day in Busan together and she wanted to dedicate the day to him and celebrate his birthday that she couldn’t be with him for on the 18th.

She debated what time to wake him up so he could rest fully, but she was getting impatient and wanted to treat him to breakfast. So she put her phone in her back pocket, making sure things looked tidy on the tray before picking it up and carefully walking upstairs.

She pushed the cracked door open with her back, tiptoeing in and setting the tray on the dresser. He was sleeping peacefully, curled into a ball with the blankets draping over his head to block out the sun.

She sat on the edge of the bed, pulling the covers off of him and kissing his elbow, all the way up to his shoulder. He budged slightly, but not enough to wake up fully.

“Minee…” She whispered his nickname, running her fingertips along his back. Nothing.

“Honey…” He shifted slightly, letting out a hum.

She tried so hard to bite her tongue, wondering whether this was an appropriate thing to say. She bent down close to his ear, kissing his neck before whispering again. “…Oppa,”

He finally opened his eyes, turning back at her with a hum. He squinted his eyes from the sun, stretching out his limbs as she giggled.

“That woke you right up.” She kissed the corners of his lip, then his forehead before pushing his hair out of his eyes.

“What’d you say just now?”

“Hmm? I said something?” She furrowed her eyebrows, playing dumb.

“The names.”

“Minee?” He shook his head. “Honey?” He smiled but shook his head again. “That’s all I said.”

“No I swear you said-“

“Oppa?” The couple said the word at the same time, Seokmin’s eyes bulging as he lay flat against the mattress. He covered his face to hide his blush.

“I’m not saying it ever again.” She patted his stomach over the blanket, standing up and approaching the dresser.

“Just once more? At least let me record it!” He pouted, kicking his legs.

“Nope.” She picked up the tray, walking over to him, and setting it on the mattress. “Happy birthday!”

She picked up the kazoo, blowing into it as he jumped right up. She laughed as he sat up, pulling the blankets up to cover his chest. He ran his hand across his eyes, smiling as he was surprised with breakfast in bed.

“But it’s not my-“ He tried to speak before Eden put her hand over his mouth.

“No, it’s not your birthday yet. But it is our last full day so we’re celebrating early.” Their banter from the previous day about her birthday made its way into the next day. She put her hand under his chin, massaging it like a cat. “Since you were so good to me yesterday, I’m spoiling you today.” She kissed him on the lips quickly,

“Your food is gonna get cold. Dig in.” She motioned to him, sitting back with her hands in her lap. He picked up the spoon, mixing the egg, rice, and seaweed and topping it with the kimchi. He took a big bite, closing his eyes with a look of satisfaction on his face. “Is it okay?”

“Very good.” He covers his mouth, filling his cheeks with the food and taking his time to chew. “Did you make all this?”

They made eye contact for several seconds before they both snorted. He knew she wasn’t big on cooking, but he still appreciated her going out of her way.

“I didn’t want to cook you something bad, so I ordered these this morning and plated it. I did make the coffee though.”

He sipped on the coffee quickly, nodding to himself as a smile crept into his face. “It’s very good, E. Thank you.”

“Go ahead and eat.” She ruffled her fingers through his messy hair with a smile. “Do you want me to run you a bath or start a shower?”

He smiled, chewing his food and swallowing before answering. “I’ll go for a shower. Are you gonna join me?”

She snickered, throwing her head down. “I showered earlier, so not today.”

He pouted, turning his head as he played with his food. “Not even for my birthday?”

She held his face in her hands, leaning forward and kissing his forehead. “But I have so much planned for you today.”

A grin slowly crept on his face, looking up into her eyes. He looked less bummed as she ran her thumb against his cheek. “We’ll definitely have to pick out a house with a bathtub when we move in together.”

She nodded her head, getting off the bed and going over to his suitcase. “Eat. I’ll warm your clothes up and start the water.”

So he finished eating his breakfast as she took some of his clothes downstairs to the laundry room. When she came back up, she started his shower, making sure he had towels laid out neatly for him.

While he showered, Eden took his tray and began doing the dishes. As she was tidying everything up, she was humming to herself with a smile on her face as the sun lit up the entire house. She was a bit bummed knowing their trip would end soon but she was looking forward to more happy days like these.

“I’m done.” She turned around, seeing him dressed in a loose shirt that exposed his arms and chest and his wet hair covering his forehead.

She turned back around, finishing drying the plates as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Eden threw her head back against his shoulder, wiping her hands dry as he kissed her neck.

“I don’t wanna go home.” He pouted, voice muffled against her skin. She smiled, putting her hands over his and sighing.

“I know how you feel.”

“I just wanna marry you already. And have so many more mornings like this. Everyday.” He blurted out, turning her around to face him in his arms. He snuck his hand behind her neck, kissing her forehead before her lips.

Her hands rested at his waist, smiling as they touched each other. “We just got promise rings, let’s slow down a bit.” She joked with a chuckle. “I want nothing more than to wake up next to you every day.”

Seokmin couldn’t hide the blush creeping onto his face, feeling his heart explode at her words. He lifted her up by the hips, setting her on the countertop before hugging her. He pressed his face against her chest, sighing contently as she brushed her fingers through his wet hair.

“Do you think our children will be vocalists or rappers?” He asked her with the straightest face ever. She laughed a bit too hard, throwing her head back and hitting it against the cabinet.

He gasped, looking up at her and putting his hand behind her head. “Oh my god, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry.” She snorted, covering her mouth as he relaxed just a little bit. He hated when things like this happened in fear of hurting her.

“I think they’ll be a vocal.” She smiled, pursing her lips. “How could they not?”

“You’re right. You do have such a beautiful voice.”

“I was talking about you, Minee.” She pressed her finger against his forehead, rolling her eyes.

“They’ll be born from good vocalists. But they’ll get their rapping skills from their mom.” She leaned back against the cabinet carefully, laughing at his comment. She broke their contact, looking off to the side as her smile faded.

He took note of her facial expressions, his soon falling too. He stroked her cheek, turning her attention back to him. “I think I got too ahead of myself. We can drop it.”

After all, he didn’t want to pressure or overwhelm her when talking about their future together. She shook her head, holding his hand.

“No, you’re fine. I’ve just always wondered if I would be a good mother.”

He frowned. “How come?”

“I don’t know, maybe it’s because of the way I grew up?” She said with uncertainty, being reminded of her childhood. “Some people, it’s just in their nature. It’s like they’re born with motherly instincts. I guess I want to be a better parent than what I got as a child.”

He was all ears, trying his best to understand how she felt and putting himself in her shoes. All he could do was hug her, placing his head against her chest and sighing. “For what it’s worth, I think you’d be an amazing mom. And it will be a long time before that happens, so just tell me if you’re not comfortable discussing it.”

Eden smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck and feeling her heart ache. “You will no doubt be an amazing dad. I’m certain.” She whispered against his ear, knowing that even though he had his face snuggled into her chest, he was blushing.

“So today, I was thinking we could work on one of your Lego sets.” She pulled him back, hands resting on his cheeks. “Obviously the one with fewer pieces though.”

“Oh yeah, of course.” His eyes lit up instantly, the little passionate boy in him coming out.

“And then we head to the market.” She cocked her eyebrows up with excitement.

“The market?”

“Yeah. I wanted to have a little cookout with a bonfire and s’mores.”

His eyes widened with stars in them. “S’mores?”

“Oh, and I also want to see if I can find a present for Vernon. I don’t know what he likes though.” She stroked his hair at the base of his neck.

“I can help.” He reassured her with a smile.

She nodded, pushing him back just a bit so she could hop off the counter. “I’ll go get the lego’s.” Her hand brushed his shoulder before she skipped up the stairs and to the bedroom.

Eden came back, set the box down on the table before sitting across from him. The next two hours would be a lot of trial and error.

She kept referring back to the instructions, getting frustrated when some of the pieces wouldn’t go together. She laughed like she was going insane, Seokmin reaching over the table to reassure her. Even when she thought she broke one of the pieces, all he could do was smile and fix the pieces in her hand.

“You’re doing great.” He smiled, looking up from his big piece to see her getting the hang of things. “And now we just…” He handed her his piece, motioning for her to connect hers with his.

She was careful, making sure not to break or mess up what he had already made. With a bit of force, the pieces forged together and completed the moon part.

She let out a big sigh, slamming her head against the table a little too hard. He gasped, reaching over the table and putting his hands around her head.

“This is so intense.” She snorted, feeling her sanity fading when building legos.

“You and hard surfaces.” He giggled with her but deep down he was worried about how hard she hit her head. “You need to be more careful baby.”

“I know I know.” She used her elbows to hold her face up, reaching for the instructions. “What’s next?”

“Why don’t you let me finish it and you can start making a list of everything we need at the market?” He slid the paper over to himself with his finger, looking up at her.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to let you finish it by yourself.”

“I’ll be okay. We’ve already got the hard part over with.” He held up the moon with a smile on his face. “You’re practically a pro Lego builder now.”

“No, I am not.” She rolled her eyes, standing to her feet before walking to the other side of the table.

“But you are. For someone who hasn’t built legos before in their life, you’re great.” She walked behind him, wrapping her arms around his neck as he looked up at her. She shook her head with a smirk, leaning down to kiss him on the forehead.

She observed him from behind, resting her chin on top of his head as he continued to build the legos. She asked him what kind of meat he was craving and any sides that popped into his mind. She took the seat next to him, scooting closer as she pulled out her notes app and started typing down their grocery list. Their knees were touching, never being able to get enough physical contact.

“And done.” He used the last piece, completing the building and turning the LED light on. Eden looked up from her phone, widening her eyes when seeing the bear all put together. He looked in her direction, leaning to give her a peck on the cheek “It’s cute!”

“Where are you gonna put it?” She asked him, looking down at his lips before they shifted to his eyes.

“Should I put it on my nightstand? Or what about my shelf?”

“Wherever you’d like, but it’d be perfect as a nightlight.”

She felt like she won the lottery when entering this one vintage shop that had almost everything she needed. They left the airbnb as soon as Seokmin finished building his Lego set. They had been to several shops already, only buying things for each other and Eden finding it extremely difficult to pick out a gift for Vernon.

“Are you sure he’s gonna like it?” She watched the cashier scan her items, turning to Seokmin.

“Yes, don’t worry. He will appreciate anything you get him. And these are completely up his alley.

She pursed her lips as the woman packaged the cat mug. She also got him cat socks and a coaster. She can’t remember the last time she had this much trouble picking out presents for someone. But when she thought of Vernon, the first thing that came to her mind was cats.

After paying, they exited the shop hand in hand. “Are you getting hungry?” She asked him with a smile, making their way back to their car.

“Starving.” He pulled her closer by wrapping his arm around her, stumbling as her bag hit his knee accidentally. She chuckled, putting all their stuff in the backseat.

“To the market?” She fastened her seatbelt, watching him start the car and getting comfy. He rubbed his hands together since it was still very cold outside.

“I’ve been craving barbecue so bad these past few weeks.” Seokmin held his palm open over the center, wasting no time in intertwining their fingers. “I just don’t want to buy more than we can eat and waste food.”

“We’ll just have to eat all night then.”

“But I have other plans for the rest of the night.” She mumbled under her breath, looking out the window and watching each sidewalk crack pass.

“What was that?” He smirked, locking eyes with her as she stuttered to speak.

She played dumb, raising her eyebrows. “Hmm?”

“I thought I heard you say something.” He returned his eyes to the road as he snickered. He knew what she said loud and clear but wasn’t going to pry any further.

They found the market closest to where they were staying, Eden pulling out her phone while entering. She noticed how he wasn’t by her side, turning around and seeing him grab a shopping cart. There was a loud noise as he pulled it from another cart, Seokmin flinching and steering it in her direction. He stopped, pursing his lips as his ears turned red.

She giggled, grabbing the end with her hand and leading him throughout the store. They collected all their vegetables and side dishes that they desired for tonight. Eden contemplated what type of meat to buy, looking over the selection.

He seemed to have fallen behind, getting distracted by all the meat and accidentally running over her ankles with the cart. “Oh- I’m so sorry!”

She reached for her sock, pulling them back up after he ran them over. She was being too quiet which worried him. Instead, she joined his side, insisting that they switch places.

“Here, you can run me over too.” He stood in front of the cart, turning his back and waiting for him to hit his ankles. All she did was push the cart past him.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get you when you least expect it.” She gave him a devilish grin, knowing he was in for it big time.

Almost an hour went by when they made it to the checkout. Seokmin finished putting all their things on the belt before pulling out his wallet. Just as he was about to give his card to the woman, Eden gripped the bars on the cart, pushing it forward and clashing right with his ankle. She didn’t expect it to be that rough and immediately regretted it.

She widened her eyes with a gasp, her mouth hanging open as she pulled the cart back and grabbed his arm. “I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to do it that hard!”

He pouted his lips, handing his card to the lady but never breaking eye contact with Eden.

“Are you okay?” Her hand touched his shoulder, looking down at his foot. He took his opportunity to tease her.

He nodded, not speaking as the woman handed his card back. The stranger tried her best not to eavesdrop on them but she couldn’t help the smirk on her face at how cute they were.

He was still giving her the silent treatment when walking back to their car. Now she was really

growing paranoid.

“Minee, you know I didn’t mean it.” She tried patting his back, only to be ignored again.

Eden attempted to help him load the car with all their groceries, but he beat her to it and was really worried that he might actually be mad at her.

“Hey, please don’t ignore me.” She frowned, rubbing her fingers over her knuckles to hopefully ease the lump growing in her throat.

“Seokmin-“ Once he shut the car trunk, he quickly grabbed her face and planted a kiss on her lips. Her anxiety vanished as they kissed, but when she pulled away, she crossed her arms and avoided his gaze.

“You little shit.” She rolled her eyes as he started to giggle. He pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head.

“You’re so cute when you're all worried like that.”

“There’s nothing cute about almost making me cry.” She turned her body, standing on the passenger side and waiting for him to unlock the door. He hurried to put their cart away.

He smiled at her from the other side of the car, making faces at her through the window.

“If you don’t open the damn door right now-“ He quickly unlocked the doors, sitting down and getting himself buckled in.

She stared straight forward as her fingers played with the straps on her purse. He leaned forward, trying to see if she would look at him.

“Don’t look at me like that.” She didn’t even have to make eye contact to know he was doing his pouty puppy dog face.

“Are you mad?” He reached over to twirl a piece of her hair around his finger. She sighed, ignoring his question and slouching in the seat.

Each time she tried to look away, he would only lean forward more. “Oh baby…”

“We’re not leaving till you at least hold my hand.” He held his hand open on the center console, flexing his fingers as he waited.

She didn’t want to give in too easily, but he started humming while tapping his fingers on the wheel. She was a sucker for his singing, and the big sigh he let out caused her to cave.

His hand felt much warmer now, smiling to himself as they made their way back to where they were staying. “I’m sorry for messing with you, E.”

“Yeah yeah.” She pursed her lips, putting her head back against the seat and looking over at him.

“I love you.” He filled his cheeks up with air, pleading with his eyes for her to say it back.

“I love you too.” She used her other hand to pat his wrist.

“Then can I get a kiss?”

She reached over to give him a kiss on the cheek, but he turned his head at the last second and pecked her on the lips. She flattened her lips, rolling her eyes with a sigh. He noticed her clenching her jaw from being so flustered. She looked away, Seokmin squeezing her hand tighter than before.

“So cute.”

Once they got back to the airbnb, they got straight to preparing dinner. Seokmin helped prepare the side dishes, as well as grilling the meat. She was never a good cook but she still wanted to try her best for his birthday.

After filling their tummies with their first round of meat, she asked him to coach her through grilling the meat. She caught on quickly, not needing too much guidance from him. As always, he thought it was appropriate to capture the moment, snapping pictures on his camera.

He tried her cooking first, making sure to reassure her that it was really yummy. And when she tasted it herself, she was surprised.

Once they grilled all the meat they bought, the couple was shocked that there weren’t that many leftovers. It was still a bit chilly outside, but they had the heat from the grill to warm them up.

Eden and Seokmin returned inside, washing all their dishes from dinner and neatly putting them back where they belonged. Sometime during dinner, he started the bonfire where they would roast their s’mores later.

“I don’t think I’ve had s’mores since my childhood.” Eden was putting together the crackers and the chocolates, sticking the marshmallows on skewers.

“It’s gonna be so good.” He sat by the fire, holding the skewer far from the actual flame because he feared it would catch on fire. She sat down next to him, their shoulders touching as she turned her marshmallow and letting it roast perfectly.

“Minee, you gotta actually hold it close to the fire to cook.” She gently guided his hand closer, watching as the marshmallow turned into a golden color.

“You’re a pro at this.” He looked over at her, smiling as their eyes met. She blushed, turning to face the fire when she gasped. While he was admiring her profile, he held the marshmallow over the fire too long and it caught on fire.

“Your marshmallow!”

He whipped his head forward, eyes widening as he pulled the skewer out of the fire and blowing hard to put out the flame. He pouted, fake crying as he dropped his head.

“You can have mine, don’t worry.” She snorted, taking his skewer away from him and standing to her feet. She walked over to the table where she had most of their sandwiches ready, only having to put the marshmallow in the middle and top it.

She looked back at him, taking another marshmallow out of the bag and sticking a candle into the middle of it. She had secretly snuck candle toppers into the cart when they were shopping.

“Close your eyes!” She shouted, lighting the wick as he put his hands over his eyes. On his plate was his s’more and next to it was a plain marshmallow with a candle in it. She didn’t know how to make it stick to the top of the s’more without it falling over and probably creating a bigger mess than they had already made.

She sat down next to him, holding the plate in front of his face and smiling. “Open.”

He removed his hands from his eyes, jaw dropping as he gasped. She started singing happy birthday to him, his eyes shifting back and forth from the s’more to Eden. The sandwich itself looked so yummy and put together, and then he saw the candle.

When she finally finished singing, she leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Happy birthday, my love. Now make a wish.”

He giggled, folding his hands together and closing his eyes. She focused on his features as the candle lit up his face. He really was so handsome.

A few seconds passed and he opened his eyes, blowing the candle out and taking the plate from her. “I already have everything I want.” Her cheeks and ears flushed red, Seokmin guiding her chin towards him with his finger and kissing her on the lips.

She couldn’t help but stare at his lips when they finally pulled away. They looked so tempting. But he quickly snapped her out of her thoughts as he sat the plate down on his lap, and took a big bite of the s’more. It was messy to say the least. He had chocolate and marshmallows on the corners of his lips.

“Is it good?” She snorted, standing up to get a napkin for him.

“It’s heaven.”

She sat back down next to him, turning his head and cleaning his lips off for him. “Let me have a bite too.” He offered his sandwich up, Eden holding onto his wrist as she tried to take a bite without being too messy with it.

“Even better than when I was younger.” He took the napkin from her, patting her lips off as well.

They had at least two more sandwiches before they were done eating. She told him she would clean up and put everything away, so all he had to do was sit back and enjoy the fire. She was inside for a while before she came back out, holding one of the throw blankets from the couch and unfolding it.

“May I sit?” She smiled, rotating the blanket and wrapping it around herself as he nodded quickly.

Eden sat down on his lap, covering the both of them with the blanket as she relaxed against him. He kissed her temple, wrapping his arm around her back as his other hand held her legs up.

She smiled, letting her head rest on his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Did you have a good pre-birthday?”

He couldn’t help but chuckle, patting her thigh. “Of course. Today was perfect.”

“I’m glad.” She folded her hands at the base of his neck, eyeing his lips before finally kissing him.

They both turned their attention to the fire that crackled before them. The day was finally coming to an end.

Eden looked up towards the sky, seeing the sparks that disappeared into the night and finding all the stars that were hidden behind the passing clouds. “Do you know anything about stars or constellations?”

“Probably not any more than you.” He tilted his up too, following close behind her.

She chuckled as she searched for the north star. She even tried to connect dots in her mind to complete any shape or object, but to no avail. She sighed, closing her eyes and resting against him as they enjoyed the quiet atmosphere with the fire to calm their worries.

If it wasn’t so cold outside, she would want to spend the night under the stars with the love of her life. When she finally opened her eyes, she looked back up to the night sky, finding the moon that had finally revealed itself.

“There’s the moon.” She pointed her hand up to the sky, looking at the man in her arms. Her content expression soon fell, seeing his glassy eyes watching the moon. “Baby, why are you crying?”

It seemed he didn’t even realize the tears pooling in his eyes, being snapped out of his own thoughts and looking at her. She frowned, stroking his cheek and wiping his tears away with the back of her finger. “What’s wrong?”

He scoffed at himself, patting his eyes with the blanket. “I’m okay. I’m just happy.”

“You’re crying happy tears?”

He nodded, pressing his forehead against hers and patting her head. “I love you so much.”

She smiled, holding back her own tears. Something they had in common was that they both felt like crying when seeing each other cry. “I love you more. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, I’m so happy.” He grabbed her hand, squeezing it close to his chest. “I am so happy to be here with you right now.”

Eden smiled, blinking a lot to not cry herself. “I love you. It’s okay if your head is running a little wild.” She tapped her fingers against his forehead, giggling together.

He tucked her hair behind her ear, holding her cheek as he kissed her. Her hands wrapped around his neck as she smiled against his lips.

“Your pre-birthday isn’t over yet, you know.” She whispered, brushing her fingers through his hair at his neck.

“Is that what we’re calling the time between your birthday and mine?” He snickered, his hands gripping her waist tighter.

“It’s smart once you think about it.” She chuckled, flipping her hair behind her shoulder. “We should probably put out the fire first before I give you my other present.”

He tapped her leg, signaling her to get up. She laughed loud, gripping the blanket close as she got off of him. He now had a little pep in his step.

#ficnetfairy #lmk if u hate things this long #im kinda on the fence #eunmin in busan #eunmin #eden.love #justmochi: eden #eden.writings #5th member of blackpink #blackpink 5th member #fake blackpink oc #fake blackpink member #fake kpop soloist #fake kpop idol #fake kpop addition #addition to kpop

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thekadster · 2 years

Text

we will not give up on love now (a jackcrutchie songfic)

Fandom: Newsies (All Media Types)

Word Count: 2,279

Trigger Warnings: None!

Author’s Notes: Inspired by Orpheus - Sara Bareilles. My first time writing Jackcrutchie, it was pretty fun :D

❝ Of course, Jack was happy that he finally got his dream, even more so that he got to share it with his best friend. A chance at a better life was something that kept a lot of newsies going, and for him, it was Santa Fe.

Even so, they couldn't help but reminisce. ❞

(@himbos-hotline i did the thing :0)

also read it on ao3!

After a long day, Jack and Crutchie were glad to be sitting by the fireplace. They had just finished dinner several minutes ago and were now unwinding over warm tea.

It had been two months since they’d moved to Santa Fe, and they’d been adjusting quite nicely. The two of them had new jobs and worked at a pace that was more to their liking. As such, they had more time to explore the town for leisure, rather than for selling papes.

“Say, Jack– you ever heard of Orpheus and Eurydice?”

He tilted his head at the unusual names and shrugged. “No, why?”

“They’s part of a Greek myth,” replied Crutchie, shifting on his end of the couch. “Davey told me a long time ago, and I read about it again in the library today.”

“What’d they do?” asked Jack. “They heroes or somethin’?”

He shook his head. “Not really. Maybe Orpheus, the guy was a poet. He was real good at music, too; the best anyone ‘ad ever heard,” he explained. “Eurydice was the girl – a nymph – and they fell in love. They got married an’ such, but it wasn’t long ‘til she died from a snakebite.”

Jack frowned. “Jeez.”

“That ain’t where it ends.”

“Oh, my bad. Go on.”

Crutchie smiled. “Orpheus travelled to the underworld to bring back his wife. Of course, it was dangerous, bein’ where souls go after people die an’ whatnot. But his music was so good that it made everythin’ stand still, and he gots through without a scratch.”

Jack’s eyes widened. He nodded for him to continue.

“Yeah! And it even made the king of the underworld cry; name’s Hades, if I’m rememberin’ right,” he spoke. “He and his wife Persephone agreed to let the two of ‘em get back to the normal world. But there was a catch: Orpheus couldn’t look behind to see if she was followin’ behind.”

“Hold on, but don’t that mean Hades could’ve just tricked ‘im?” asked Jack.

“And that’s exactly what he thought!” He watched the way Crutchie’s eyes lit up from both the excitement and the flicker of the fireplace. “As they was makin’ their way back, he couldn’t help but doubt if she was really there or not. Even if they’d left together, he couldn’t even feel her followin’.

“And so, just before they was about to step out, he caved and did what he knew he shouldn’t. He turned around, and Eurydice fell all the way back down to the start.”

They were silent for a while. Jack’s eyes drifted to the dancing reds and oranges of the fireplace. “Well, that sucks.”

Crutchie frowned and shrugged. “Yeah…It’s a sad story.”

“‘S that it?” He looked at the boy beside him. “Did he try goin’ back again?”

“They wouldn’t let him back in no more,” he answered.

“Damn. Poor guy,” mumbled Jack. “Why couldn’t he just hold her hand?”

“I…ain’t really sure about that one,” chuckled Crutchie. “Probably ‘cause she was a ghost?”

“But how about callin’ out Marco Polo? Or lettin’ her walk in front of him? Literally any other way could’ve saved their asses!”

“I don’t know!”

The painter sighed and leaned back in his seat. “Case in point: Orpheus is an idiot.”

“Hey–”

Crutchie lightly nudged him and the two laughed. Jack was always one to make people laugh, especially if it was his best friend. Even if they were a bit older and living in a new city, he found that some things never change.

The blonde leaned forward and raised his cup of tea to his lips. “Would you ‘ave turned around?”

Jack paused and tilted his head. “I guess not, no. If Hades was a man of his word – and he was – then I’d just ‘ave to trust him. And ‘course– I mean, it’s my wife; I gotta be strong for her. I gotta find some way to get through it.”

“You’d play Marco Polo on the way up?” he joked.

“Exactly. Or y’know, just run straight out of the underworld.”

Crutchie chuckled.

“How ‘bout you?” asked Jack, pouring his own tea. “You think you’d do it?”

The boy bit his lip and hummed. “Eh…I dunno,” he replied. “I’d like to think not, but I can only imagine what it felt like. I dunno why he doubted if she was really there or not, but I’d probably think of somethin’.”

Jack nodded. “Eh, fair. Must’ve been hard for the guy.”

The two grew quiet, taking in the subtle sounds of the evening. Even two months after moving, they weren’t used to nights this…calm. The world seemed to go by more slowly after the sun went down. They didn’t have to be anywhere else after dinner, which allowed them to kick back and enjoy a warm drink after a long day. And with a place to call their own, no one could tell them otherwise.

Of course, Jack was happy that he finally got his dream, even more so that he got to share it with his best friend. A chance at a better life was something that kept a lot of newsies going, and for him, it was Santa Fe. He first heard about it as a child from his father. His old man described it as a dusty desert town with kind folks and a wide-open sea of stars. It was a childhood fairytale that he stubbornly held on to; a promise he swore to keep to both his family and friends that he’d get out of New York and start anew. That he and Crutchie would be more than just newsboys.

Even so, he couldn’t help but reminisce.

“Say – and sorry if this is a bit weird – but you ever think of turnin’ around?”

Crutchie looked at him. “Well, not really; I feel like if I was Orpheus, I’d be pretty–”

“No, no, I ain’t talkin’ bout him.” Jack waved his hand. “I mean like turnin’ around. Like goin’-back-to-New-York kinda turnin’ around.”

He paused and his mouth gaped. “Oh…”

He thought about it for a moment. Their old life in the city certainly wasn’t perfect, let alone envied, but it wasn’t all bad. A part of him missed the tall buildings, the streets, the Lodging House, the fire escape. He missed the selling spots, Jacobi’s Deli, Medda’s theater. And more than anything, he missed the people who made New York so special.

He missed the newsies – both of them did. They were their siblings who somehow, someway found a family. The kids who braved through every day with a smile, or at least a little bit of hope. He also missed people like Miss Medda, who he saw a little bit of in the kind folks of Santa Fe.

The world had often been cold and cruel to kids like them. New York was no exception, but he and Jack felt like they’d found a soft place to land within its gritty, grimy walls.

Crutchie swallowed a lump in his throat. “Well…not really, I guess,” he replied, finding his voice. “I’ve thought about what’d happen if we didn’t move at all, and life would just go on like it used to. We’d still be newsies and we’s workin’ on the streets until we’re too old to. I don’t think I wanna do that forever.”

He chuckled to himself. He turned to Jack, his eyes distant as he held his warm mug of tea.

Crutchie studied his expression. “Do you…ever think of turnin’ around?”

The other boy blinked. “What– no, ‘course not!” he replied. He smiled and gestured to the house, their house. “I mean, we been dreamin’ of this for so long, and we finally got it. I wouldn’t trade it for the world, but…”

Jack grew silent, his smile faltering. He stared off as his mind searched for the right words, grasping for something that was only almost there.

Crutchie raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue. He followed his lover’s gaze and found that he wasn’t staring at the fireplace, but at the framed pictures sitting on the mantle. Pictures of their friends, of their family.

His expression softened. “Jack…”

The painter was quiet.

“You miss them, too, don’tcha?” asked Crutchie.

It took a moment for him to respond. “Just ain’t used to not seein’ em everyday,” he sighed. “Can’t stop thinkin’ ‘bout them sometimes.”

“Yeah, I hear you.” He shifted a bit in his seat. “I mean, we’s been together for pretty much our whole lives; it’s pretty hard not to.”

“Yeah, but–” The brunet sighed and gestured to the photos. “You’d think after two months I would’ve started thinkin’ of ‘em less. It’s like I’m always wondering what the fellas are up to, whether they’re okay or not.

“I miss bein’ with ‘em. Sometimes, I catch myself wantin’ to be a newsie again, like the old days. Like I wanna be there where they are, but I also don’t wanna go back, but I wanna see them again?”

He groaned and leaned back into the couch. He couldn’t pinpoint what he was feeling, for the life of him.

He wasn’t one to dwell on the past, but for the past few days, he was plagued with how things once were. Just before daybreak, he swore he almost heard the chime of the morning bell. In the bright afternoon sun, he remembered walking with his friends down familiar city streets. Memories flew back to him in warm meals and baked bread and newspapers and postcards. They lived in laughter and lampposts and paintbrushes, and the ghost of his newsies’ footsteps followed him like a shadow. It was almost as if he could turn around, and they would be right there.

Crutchie’s mouth stretched into a thin line, his finger drumming on the mug in thought. Before he could respond, Jack interrupted him.

“It’s stupid,” he mumbled.

“No, it ain’t,” insisted the other boy. “Maybe…Maybe it ain’t such a bad thing.”

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Whaddaya mean?”

“Missin’ the newsies,” he answered. “It’s normal you’d miss ‘em after all this time; you was their leader, for Pete’s sake!”

“But I kinda feel like I’m supposed to just…move on. I finally got what I wanted, movin’ here. Shouldn’t I be happier? I’m sure Manhattan’s doin’ fine, what with Race takin’ over.”

“But they miss you.” Crutchie put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “They miss us, I bet just as much as we miss them. We’s been a family for this long; I’m sure it’s takin’ em some time to get used to us not bein’ there, too. It’s…hard sayin’ goodbye like that.”

Jack's eyes didn’t meet his, still deep in thought.

“But we’re here now.”

The blonde softly held his hand and laced their fingers together. Jack looked over at him. Crutchie’s eyes were soft and warm, like the glow the fire cast on the room, tracing their features. They were familiar, like the city lights he’d always see from the fire escape.

“It’s hard goin’ back now,” he added. “But we’s here, you and me. We wanted to be here, and we made that choice. It ain’t wrong that you’re missin’ New York, and it ain’t wrong that we moved away. It’s just what we ‘ad to do.

“And maybe, right now, that’s all that matters.”

Jack’s mind lingered on those words for a while. The noise in his mind seemed to die down a little. At that moment, the world felt more quiet. He finally paid enough attention to notice the crackle of the fireplace and the subtle song of the crickets outside. Something of a warm feeling began to stir in his chest as his eyes traced the little details and dents in the walls. He looked down at his hand – his hand intertwined with Crutchie’s – and the beginnings of a smile formed on his face.

He ran a thumb over the back of the other boy’s palm. “Maybe you’re right,” he said. “Wonder if they’re thinkin’ ‘bout us right now.”

“They probably are,” replied Crutchie. “You sent ‘em a postcard this week, right?”

“Yeah. They haven’t written back, though.”

He shrugged. “Maybe they’re just busy.”

“Probably. Just hope they’s doin’ okay.”

“They’ll be fine.” Crutchie gently squeezed his hand and smiled. “We’ll be fine, Jack.”

The brunet sighed to himself and smiled back. “Yeah…I think we will.” He leaned down and kissed the back of his boy’s hand. “And, for the record, I’m glad you came with me.”

Crutchie giggled. “Just glad to be here.”

This new chapter in their life felt strange but pleasant. It was like a weight, familiar like a friend, finally lifted off of their shoulders. It wasn’t gone entirely; they still had to work, after all. Much of it was carried away by the old western breeze, but more importantly, they were there to carry it together.

Nothing was ever the same ever since they got on that train out of New York. Hell, nothing had ever really been the same ever since they both agreed to move to Santa Fe. But as they sat in silence with their heads leaned on one another, they thought that maybe it was for the best. As much as they were once newsies – and always would be, at heart – they both knew that old city couldn’t box them in for too long.

Maybe the myth would turn out different this time. They wouldn’t turn around, and instead bring along their memories like old songs. They would go into the underworld singing, and return just the same.

Maybe the present – maybe love was worth holding onto.

#newsies #newsies forever #newsies fanfiction #newsies oneshot #songfic #jack kelly newsies #crutchie newsies #crutchie morris #jackcrutchie #jack kelly x crutchie #fanfiction #oneshot #sulat ni kad

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yesokaythatsfine69 · 3 years

Text

Moments in-between

Description: HC's of aot characters that are all kinda madly in love with y/n, if only just in different ways. Aspects of Modern au.

Character(s): Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Jean, Marco, Sasha, Connie, Historia, Ymir, Annie, Reiner, Bertholdt, Levi, Erwin, Hanje

POV: 2nd, 3rd

Warning(s):

A/n: I know I said that I was ending my aot works but after the last episode's intense trauma I need some home groan therapy. Also please don't make fun of me for misspelling both Bertolt and Hange's names continually. Enjoy

Word Count: x

Song: lmao listen to everywhere I go by Hollywood undead.

*none of the gifs used are mine, full credit goes to the maker.

Y/n invites the AOT gang to a party.

You looked around for your friends, having foolish lost track of the chaotic group after you paused to hang your coat up. You warned them all to remain close, these college parties tended to get a little wild for your liking, but of course, they were all too stubborn.

"Hey you! I already said that we weren't playing Lady Gaga here!" Your ears prickled, and you turned, seeing Hanje at the DJ's box. You quirked a brow but made a mental note of where she was for later.

You moved on, searching for the rest of your friends. You opened the door to a bathroom, finding several girls hunched over, puking into the toilet, sink, and tub. Erwin was standing in the midst of the chaos, holding their hair as they drunkenly emptied their guts.

"Erwin? We've been here five minutes!" Erwin looked up at your newfound appearance. "Y/n! Quick, I think something in their drinks made them sick, you need to warn the other people at this party!" You met his blue eyes, "What?" He made a motion with his right hand, accidentally tugging on a girl's hair and bobbing her head. "Hey!" She squeaked before puking again. "Hurry, Y/l/n! They may not have much time left."

You rolled your eyes. "Erwin, they're drunk, not suffering from food poisoning." He looked down at the girls. "Really?" You sighed.

Later, you came upon Levi, who had been keeping a practiced eye on Hanje and other various members of your friend group. He had designated himself the designated driver of the group, which was admirable but you made sure not too drink too much either, knowing that there was no way Levi could possibly deal with all of you being wasted.

Reiner had challenged Annie to a drinking game, and was in the midst of losing miserably, whilst Bertholdt silently cleaned up the mess that Reiner and Annie created with their squashed beer cans.

You also found ymir and Historia cheerfully dancing to Poker face, and you marveled at the way the two seemed to be in their own world. You smiled, at the red that dusted ymir's cheeks and at Historia's hand on her cheek. A crash from the kitchen behind you caused you to cringe and jump slightly, before you rushed in.

Not unsurprisingly you found Connie and Sasha at the epicenter of the chaos. Neither were drunk but both were still idiots. A broken dish and what had been cheese fries was on the floor at their feet. "Hey! What'd I say about getting into their food?" You pointed threateningly at the duo. "If we do it don't get caught?" Sasha had a fry in her mouth and big eyes. "Clean this up, I'll go get Levi." "Oh, no don't get Levi!" Connie whined, waving his hands dramatically. "I'm getting him!"

Marco and Armin had found a old monopoly game and had sat down to play it in the dinning room of the house. You found it especially funny at the amount of girls the two had unwittingly attracted, who sat down to play with them.

"Y/n!" You perked up and turned, careful to not spill your drink. Jean smiled at you, his eyes the tiniest bit lidded. "Care for a dance?" You had actually been expecting this, since Jean's flirtiness doubled with the mix of alcohol. "You look hot, y/n!" He gently wrapped his hands around you as the two of you slid onto the dance floor. You laughed, enjoying Jean's wild dance moves. Finally he popped into a Russian dig, "hype me up best friend!" He called, and you whooped until he ran right into Eren.

"You drunk idiot! Hello, Y/n!" Eren glared at Jean, but smiled at you. "Look at this drink I made! It was clear but now it's brown!" Before you could respond, Jean hopped up. "y/n doesn't care about your shit drink!" You sighed as the two began arguing, which slowly developed into a tense dance battle between the two men.

Mikasa had been with Eren, you guessed most likely protectively watching over him. She watched with you, before you smirked and outstretched your hand. Mikasa took it, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

In the soft glow of a living room, you and Mikasa danced together to an old 80's tune, the rest of your friends giving elsewhere. It was a nice party.

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Y/n wears a skimpy outfit

You smiled at yourself in the mirror, tugging gently on your new top. Oftentimes you found it hard to truly appreciate your body, but the corseted top made you feel like a definite hot girl. You wore long black shoes, tight leather pants, dark jewelry. You just looked ready to step on some bitches.

You exited your room, and grabbed your purse, ready to head out with your girls. Eren was sitting on your coach, playing some video game. "Hey we'll be heading out soon so I left some numbers to order pizza for when you get hungry." You turned, digging in your purse for your keys. "Y/n, I'm not a child! I can take care of- holy shit, y/n!" You turned, Eren had dropped his controller, no longer focused on his game. "You can't go out like that! There are men out there!" You smiled and pulled out ur taser, flashing it a couple times. "I know."

Mikasa exited her room from the same hall, entering the living room. "Y/n, you look nice." You smiled and put your taser up. "thanks Mikasa!" "Wait, Mikasa you're going out too?" Eren stood up. "it's girls night out, Eren." You rolled your eyes. "but I wanna go too!" Mikasa opened her mouth but you beat her to it. "No."

The front door opened and Armin entered, his blonde hair flittering in his eyes. "Hey; Eren, Mikasa, and..." A blush erupted onto his cheeks. "Y/n!" His blues casted panicked glances around the room as if he wasn't sure he should make direct eye contact with you.

Eren pointed to his flustered friend. "See!" Again you rolled your eyes. "You look v-very nice, y/n." Armin mumbled before he sat down. "Thanks, sweetie." Armin's face reddened.

Suddenly the front door to the apartment flung open, allowing Jean, Marco, and Connie to enter. They were in the midst of conversation, laughing at a joke Connie had said. "Hey bitch-" Jean's words caught somewhere in the back of his throat as he saw you. His cheeks erupted into fire and he stopped, causing Connie and Marco to slam into him. "Hey!" Connie looked past Jean's frozen position, and smiled knowingly. "Bark, Bark, Bark! Y/n you look a sexy grim reaper!" Jean blinked as you laughed. Connie slid past Jean and made his way to the kitchen, giving the others a greeting as he did so.

Marco smiled at your outfit. "You look so pretty y/n!" Your cheeks were beginning to hurt from happiness and you wondered if you should wear this stuff more often and not just in your dreams. Jean seemed to snap out of it. "You...you...nice, y/n." He managed to get out, not right before Eren made fun of his stuttering.

Sasha exited her room, and to the delight of everyone gave a twirl in her little dress. "y/n! You look very nice!" She may or not have said whilst grabbing your boob. Historia admitted to helping you pick out the fit, and ymir made everyone thank her for her service.

"you should wear this more often, y/n. Or at least less more often." Annie nudged you from behind. You were amazed at her sauveness but also the blush that dusted the tips of her ears.

Reiner and Bertholdt came through the fire escape (because Reiner has been on a "parkour!" Kick recently. But Reiner made sure to call you hot, (effectively pissing off both Jean and Eren.) And Bertholdt simply blushed, quickly agreeing with Reiner.

Finally Hanje, Erwin, and Levi arrived, Levi bringing leftovers from his tea shop. Hanje had squealed and called you "hot!" Erwin was certain you were only wearing a bra and refused to look at you, whilst Levi couldn't take his eyes off of you, but said nothing all the same.

"Well ladies, I hope you all are ready!" Hanje smirked. "Who's riding with me?"

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Y/n gets a tattoo

"So...what do you think?" You stood in front of Hanje, Annie, and Ymir, your shirt raised to your underboob. Hanje clapped excitedly. "It looks great, y/n!" "I like the view." Annie said dryly. Ymir nodded. "yeah it's nice, just don't show Historia."

"Don't show me what?" Historia entered the living room via the kitchen. Immediately her eyes found your tattoo, and she smiled. "lovely!"

The others found the tattoo under different circumstances however.

Sasha had known first, since she went with you to get it originally, having helped you pick out the design. By that I mean, she mainly just agreed with whatever you said but helped you out none the less. Mikasa found out before you were training together, (she thought it looked cool).

Eren found out because he walked in on you in the shower. "Shit! Wait is that a tattoo!?" He would've told you he liked it had you not kicked the shit out of him and lectured him about coming over to your apartment constantly, blah, blah, blah.

Armin found out because you showed him, (and he promptly died a bit) but he also really liked it and you invited him to come get another one with you some time. Maybe, just maybe you had a weak spot for the blonde.

Jean and Connie found out because you sent Marco a snap of it, and they looked at it from over his shoulder. Connie laughed at Jean's sharp in take of breathe and Jean tackled Connie. Meanwhile as they fought in the background Marco sent you a video snap of his response.

Reiner found out via a training session, much like Mikasa. "Why, y/n I never knew what a sly devil you could be!"

Bertholdt knew because Reiner made sure to describe it to him in great detail, knowing that the tall fellow would get flustered.

Erwin was probably told at some point but forgot so anytime he sees in you in a bikini or something skimpy he gets his mind blown.

Levi found out because, you may or may not have sent him a snap (with much different intentions then the one you had sent Marco.) Levi thought it was badass, though.

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Y/n kisses the AOT gang

Yes, you had kissed each member of the gang. For any of these bitches, they could get it, let's be real.

You had given Eren forehead kisses many a time between he and you. This had been pretty random but regardless, it was something the two of you did often.

You often kissed Armin on the cheek, pinching them together whilst you smushed his face and pulled him in for hugs. Really, you loved Armin.

You kissed Jean on several occasions, partially because you weren't one to refuse an offer from an attractive man and also it was the quickest way to fluster the boy. He has the king of talking the talk but never actually walking the walk.

You give Marco and Connie platonic cheek kisses everytime you see each other. They also give you cheek kisses back. Marco also gives hugs!

You blow Reiner kisses all the time because that's exactly what your friendship is.

You give Bertholdt sweet little cheek kisses and he's always a blushing mess afterwards.

You give Erwin goodbye kisses and he always returns them.

You've made out with Levi. His tongue's been in your mouth. Yes, you kiss.

You give Hanje cheek kisses all the time. You seriously love this woman.

You've made out with Annie too. You also give her kisses on her neck just to hear her giggle.

You and ymir don't usually kiss, but you and Historia kiss each other's cheek.

You've kissed Sasha smack on the lips before, and you two cuddle all da time.

You give Mikasa forehead kisses because touch isn't necessarily her love language but you know when she needs it.

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Y/n gets into a fight

You don't get in trouble, like ever. You're reliable, kind, level headed. However sometimes you come across a Titan of an issue and need your friends to rally behind you.

Historia will get into an argument for you, but she isn't scary at all, nor is she very powerful when it comes to muscle might.

Mikasa will kill a bitch for you. Straight up. She may not always show it outright but she loves you.

Ymir would video tape the ass whooping of whoever dares to cross you until they tried to come after Historia. Then she's seeing red.

Annie would laugh at whoever is trying to fight you. She won't step into the fray directly until you need her though, she trusts you do take care of it.

Eren doesn't care if they haven't even thrown a punch if they even say a damn thing that he doesn't feel you deserve he will start the fight. He has no self control. He's an aries.

Jean will also fight for you. He'd be a hundred percent more levelheaded about the problem but he won't let you take shit.

Connie will at first be confused and then pull his signature "bruh" face. He'll be the one that takes the phone from Ymir after Historia gets involved.

Sasha will try to protect you the best she can. She doesn't want you hurt so she'll probably grab a spoon as a weapon and charge.

Reiner is just trying to vibe and then suddenly he's pulled into an all out war. Sigh. But at least it's for you.

Hange will find this all very funny, but she'll help out in between snorts.

Erwin will just stand there looking at your antagonist dead in the eye with the slightest raise of his brow. That's the end of it all.

Armin will go all manipulative bestie on however is bothering you.

Levi merely get in between you. He may be short but nothing scare him and he's literally willing to kick some ass if need be.

Bertolt would just take you somewhere else. Yes he's super annoyed and upset at this person, but he has better things to do with his time.

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Y/n gets a dog

To be honest, you'd wanted a pet for a long long time. Living closely with seven other women- and essentially nine men, had made that prospect rather slim, until one day approximately four months ago when you dropped the question.

The response was rather positive, so you carefully crafted a schedule and supplies.

The little puppy had been the runt of the litter, but that didn't bother you one bit (your not so secret infatuation of a certain 5'2" raven haired fellow solidified that.)

You were the first person to arrive home that day, and when you did you hurried to get the house puppified.

Bertolt came by early that day and was the first to see the puppy. At first he wasn't so sure about the little rascal. It seemed so hyper, a little too hyper, actually. But then, it licked him and he fell in love. He actually completely forgot you were even there he was so enthralled.

Levi came by with takeout, and much like Bertolt he wasn't sure about this creature. He'd always been more of a cat person, but even then he wasn't exactly an animal person. Just too messy. But for your sake he pat the pup on the head. (And to both your and bertolt's shock the puppy began to follow Levi around.

Armin loved the puppy. He immediately scooped it up and sang to it. You had never seen the blonde so happy as he cooed over the little Beasty. He raised it up into the air and swung it until Levi yelled at him for waving the animal over the takeout.

Erwin seemed a bit indifferent to the dog, almost as if the animal had just always been there. He did make sure however to share his food with it.

Hange tickled the poor animal savagely, vowing to buy it a sweater for the winter. You told them they didn't have to, but they refused. "What's a godparent for?"

Sasha vowed to help feed it and promised it that she would only buy it the best food possible.

Marco adored the tiny thing. "have you named him yet?" He had asked while lovingly scratching behind it's ears. "he looks like a sugar...or a Coco?"

Connie immediately sat down and started playing with newly named Sugar. "Connie! You're getting Sugar too riled up." Levi warned, but right then Connie was attacked by the tiny pup, and despite the small size of the dog the sheer force almost knocked Connie over. "Tch, idiot."

Jean was the first to take Sugar for a walk and you joined him. Together the two of you laughed at how cute Sugar looked as he bounced around in the grass. You made sure to have Jean clean up after him though, don't worry.

Sugar immediately fell asleep on Eren who threatened anyone that would dare touch or wake up him. Eren was extremely content with this little ball of joy.

Annie wasn't really excited for the puppy but she did promise to train Sugar when it was time, so there's that.

Ymir tried to act similar to Annie but Ymir is a total dog person, and after a bit she scoped up Sugar and put the sleeping pup on her own lap.

Mikasa was just happy everyone else seemed happy. She did sit by ymir though so she could get a few good pats in.

Later that night Historia grabbed the puppy and took him into her room, which she shared with Ymir. Really this puppy wasn't yours, it was everyone's.

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The AOT gang goes to a concert

You pulled into Eren's hand practically dragging him through the crowd. "That's the last time I'm letting you lead us anywhere, Eren!" He groaned behind you. "I thought the sign said Row one, it was an honest mistake!" You shot him a dangerous glare. "It was a sign for the bathroom!"

Finally you met up with your friends, who were all already comfortably seated, waiting for the concert to begin. "Hey guys sorry we're late, we had some...sign trouble."

You and Eren found your seats, "Good news is if anyone wants to know where the bathrooms are.." you elbowed your brunette friend.

When the concert began, it was immediately pretty damn hype. You and Jean clasped hands and danced together, shouting out the lyrics to the first song at the top of your lungs.

At the second song and Sasha took orders for food, and grabbed some grub. As you waited in the unnecessarily long line you pulled her into a hug and took a quick picture.

When you returned you stood by Reiner, but some big headed bastard had moved in front of your spot. So you climbed into Reiner's shoulders and screamed at the stage from your pretty impressive view.

Connie dared you to throw your bra on stage, but didn't actually think you'd do it. His face, and literally everyone around you, was priceless. In fact, you got a round of applause.

Hanje was video tapping about 90% of it, but they often drapped a hand around your shoulders and pulled you into the video, the two of you singing along to the musicians voice.

You and Levi held hands when a soft song came on, him pulling you into his chest at just the right note. You dipped your head into the chin, enjoying the soft thud of his heartbeat against the deep bass of the speakers. It was nice.

You face timed Bertolt, who unfortunately couldn't attend because he had "work". He enjoyed the concert better from that angle anyways.

You and Historia took a ton of pictures! So many! Some weren't even in focus! But you two didn't care!

Marco grabbed his phone light every chance he got and kept accidentally flashing it in people's eyes. He got you like seven times.

Erwin kept complaining that it was too loud, but you literally saw him full on do the sprinkler because he was vibing so hard.

You and Mikasa went to the bathroom together, and you forced her to take a picture with you. You also got lost on the way back but Mikasa helped guide you back. What would you do without her?

When you returned you ran into ymir and Historia dancing together, laughing and giggling. Damn them and their happiness.

After the show you and Armin went and met the people you watched and got a picture with them. They kept referring to Armin as your boyfriend so in the photo he looks like a tomato. He swore you to secrecy.

On the way back to the apartment you switched riders with Hanje so that she could take Eren home and you could just take Annie back to the apartment you shared. The whole way back you just let loose in the car. Annie could be very loud when with people she trusts entirely.

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Y/n flirts with the AOT gang

Unfortunately for you y/n you're not the sad drunk, clumsy drunk, dancer drunk, you're the flirty drunk. I guess there are worse things, though. These are the times when drunk you has flirted with your friends and their reactions.

One time you got blasted at a work party and Eren had to come drive you home. He was shocked at first, but he truly does care about you and is also the most oblivious person ever so he was just like "okay."

Annie was super confused at first, but she actually really liked the attention. She'd never admit that to you though. So she just kinda bumped shoulders with you and almost knocked you down, had she not caught you.

Jean actually almost shit himself your flirting flustered him so bad. But he realized that you were drunk and immediately lifted you up and took you home.

Armin blushed, squeaked, and giggled. He knew you were drunk but he just couldn't help it. He helped you to bed and you fell asleep next to each other.

Sasha took you out to eat immediately after you said you wanted to go on a date with a hot babe like her, because she just needs one reason to go get something to munch on. It helped sober you up and when you puked she held your hair. Besties.

You did have a line though and you never actually flirted with Historia or Ymir but Ymir always took videos of you drunk and Historia always made sure to help you to bed. Those two were your constant watch dogs though when you were having fun.

Reiner "pretends" to go along with your flirting. He really just likes it because your hawt. "oh really? Tell me more about my eyes." He does however makes sure no one messes with you and always makes sure you get home safely.

When you get drunk around Mikasa the Ackerman always just pats you on the head. Sometimes though she makes fun of you.

Whenever you flirt with Connie hes also drunk so he flirts back. The two of you are the most chaotic drunk duo though and always end up breaking shit.

Erwin tells you to stop. "Stop that y/n, it's weird." But he's always blushing when he says that and he acts like a parent. "No, no more tequila!"

Hange will literally just have fun with drunk you. She'd vibe and even give you her glasses.

Marco would think it's really funny, but he'd stick with you for as long as he needs to to make sure you're okay and then he'll take you home.

Levi will look so annoyed and so done but he'll blush and wrap his fingers with yours. Much like Jean, he'll try to take you home as soon as possible. He gets jealous way too easily for this and often he'll stay the night with you.

Bertolt's brain literally melts. Reiner has to drag him away from you. You've broken the poor man.

--------------------------------------------------

They walk in on you changing

Annie- She opened the door and come in without even paying attention, realized you were essentially naked when you squealed. She rolls her eyes, and mutters "look the door next time," but that's a mental image she'll be keeping for a while.

Armin- he doesn't even allow himself a second peak, immediately putting his hand over his eyes. "Oh! I'm so sorry y/n! I-i-yeah!" He practically runs out of there faster than lightening.

Bertolt- He freezes, and you have to push him out. His brain dies and he stands outside your door for several minutes still trying to process.

Connie- he doesn't even notice you, but when you yell at him he simply turns and farts at you.

Eren- "If you were changing why didn't you lock the door?"

Erwin- "I'm sorry I thought this was the bathroom. Did you get a new book shelf?"

Hanje- She comes in, sees that your changing and puts a hand over her eyes, continuing to tell you what she wanted.

Jean- he puts his hands on his hips and smiles, "you knew I was coming, didn't you?"

Levi- he doesn't really care and neither do you (nothing he hasn't seen before) but he doesn't make sure to shut the door and wrap you on the head. "you have a lock, brat, use it."

Marco- opens door. "Whoops." Closes door. "Sorry y/n!"

Mikasa- "hey y/n," just continues.

Sasha had half a donut in her mouth when she walked in on you and then immediately it fell from her mouth when she turned and saw your body. she blinked and quickly bent over, grabbing her donut and covered her eyes, but only partially.

Reiner- "Hey, y/n I- Woah! Nice ra-" you effectively cut him off by throwing a shoe at his face.

Historia- "Oh! Sorry sweetie, you're so pretty, oh my goodness!"

Ymir- after storming in she proclaims, "Historia saw you naked, I have to kill you now."

--------------------------------------------------

They find you crying

We all have those days, and this is when they find you having one.

Ymir found you in the your bedroom, completely bundled in blankets with the lights shut off. She notices that you've been crying because your sniffing loudly, but says nothing about it. "Hey, Y/n, do you have the wifi password?"

She'd leave, but tell Historia, knowing Historia is better suited to check on and deal with helping you. Historia will walk in and raise her hands, in an open hug. You'll wordlessly scootch over and allow her to slide in beside you and gently pull you into her grasp.

Sasha heard you crying and grabbed her comfort snacks, a blanket, and the puppy. All of which she carried into your bedroom. The two of you would sit, eat, and watch some comfort shows. "it's the best medicine!"

Reiner saw your car parked outside the apartments and thought he'd knock on your car window. When he got up to your window though, he noticed the tears that were streaking down your face. He'd immediately climb into the other side of the car, hopping into the passenger seat. You're shocked, having not even noticed him hanging outside your car to begin with. "Uh, Reiner?" "So," he buckles up. "Who did it?"

Mikasa could hear you crying when she was up late at night, (your door had been open a crack.) So she grabbed some ice cream and two spoons, and wordlessly walked into your room. She said nothing and didn't press you for information, and the two of you shared Sasha's favorite ice cream.

Marco witnessed you go full on break down mode after a ROUGH day and immediately gave you the greatest pep talk known to man. You were so amazed at his genuinely kind words you stopped crying, but Marco had become so touched that he had started.

You had actually went to Levi's apartment, and sat with him. He made you tea and listened silently as you told him about what had happened and how sad you felt. He didn't press any advice on you or dry your tears with grandiose words, but he genuinely listened and acknowledged your feelings. Then you cuddled, and it was more than enough.

Jean said something flirty to you and for one reason or another it set you off and tears were aflowing. At first he panicked because he thought he made you cry. When he realized it wasn't him, he gently brought you into him and held you as you cried into his shirt. Finally you looked up at him and he wiggled his eyebrows mischievously, "Would sex make you feel better?"

You called Hanje and told what happened after a particularly rough day, so she and moblit went and grabbed you some takeout and spent the day with you. They even took you to egg the offenders house. Revenge is sweet.

Erwin thought you were sick, so he left after finding you crying in your room, bought you soup, made it and just acted like you were sick. You didn't have the heart to tell him the truth.

Eren saw you crying and then flicked you in the head and promptly left. You were stunned, but also found it funny and confusing, so you stopped crying.

Connie facetimed you and by the end you weren't crying because you were sad, but because Connie's really fucking stupid.

Bertolt noticed you were in your room for a while so he checked on you. He gave you a hug and then asked you very nicely to "stop crying."

Armin literally sat his ass down and stayed with you until the two of you fell asleep. He's a top tier friend who cares deeply about your emotional health so he does everything he can to sort you out. He holds your hand, nods, listens, gives you advice, and agrees with you.

Annie calls you a crybaby but she sits down beside you none the less. She doesn't press nor did she speak. But she wants you to know that's she's here in her own special Annie way.

--------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading! Remember, requests are open!

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fireinmoonshot · 3 years

Text

SPIDER | BUCKY BARNES x READER | PART FOUR

CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER.

PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE Summary: Bucky doesn’t know what to make of you when he meets you. You’re friends with Sharon, and you seem pretty easy to read on the surface. But the more time he spends with you, the more he seems to uncover, and the more he becomes tangled in the web you unwittingly weave. Pairing: female!Reader x Bucky Barnes Fandom: Marvel / The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Word Count: 2,769 Warnings: SPOILERS FOR THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER. A/N: Thank you all for the lovely response yet again! I really appreciate it. We're getting into Episode 4 now, so if you've not seen it yet make sure you don't read this chapter or you'll spoil yourself! Please let me know your thoughts, though. I really liked how this chapter turned out and I tried to make it so it didn't read like I was just writing the episode out word for word so I hope it's okay!

Zemo’s apartment was, at least, comfortable. As soon as you’d arrived Sam had settled in and gotten himself a drink and Zemo had excused himself to shower. You’d gone for a wander around the place, trying to get your bearings. It’d been a while since you’d been out of Madripoor and it felt a little like the ground had just been ripped up from underneath your feet. It was undoubtedly going to take some getting used to. Then, with what Bucky had said in the street. You were overthinking and you knew it, but he’d been right. You hated that he’d been right.

A change of clothes and freshening up in one of the bathrooms the place had done at least some of the job in helping you feel settled in, and by the time you re-enter the living room Bucky’s back, the Dora Milaje is after Zemo and the news that Karli bombed a GRC supply depot has broken.

You settle on one of the seats beside Sam with a glass of water and a heavy heart. Zemo is talking about how he personally believes Karli is a supremacist, but you can’t get your mind off of how three people had died and eleven more had been injured at the GRC supply depot bombing. You have a feeling that more people are going to end up dead if you don’t act soon, and fast.

“She will not stop,” Zemo says. “She will escalate until you kill her.”

You zone back into the conversation, taking a long sip of your drink.

“Or she kills you.”

“How unbelievably morbid of you,” you mutter.

Bucky glances at you and Sam even huffs out what you think could be a laugh.

“Maybe you’re wrong, Zemo. The serum never corrupted Steve,” Bucky says.

“Touché. But there has never been another Steve Rogers, has there?”

You can’t disagree with him. These people – Karli, her super soldiers. You know that they’re not trying to be Steve Rogers. They’re anything but. But you also know that John Walker, where-ever he is, whoever he is, isn’t qualified for the job either.

Bucky sighs and makes to walk away from the three of you and head toward the couch, looking for a well deserved seat. “Well, maybe we should give him to the Wakandans right now.”

“And you’ll give up your tour guide?” Zemo replies, staring into a cabinet and not even bothering to give Bucky a glance.

“Yes.” Bucky doesn’t hesitate.

Sam rolls his eyes, clearly irritated by the both of them. He says something, you vaguely hear something about his ‘TT’, though you don’t listen to the words. Instead, you stare into your drink, swirling the water around in the cup.

It’s not the first time you wonder if you’ve made a mistake my coming along with Sam, Bucky and Zemo. It’s not like Sharon gave you a choice, but you know that you could have insisted that you not come along. But now you’re wondering even more as you sit in Zemo’s living room, listening to the three men concoct a plan without even needing to consult you. Three men – a criminal, one that doesn’t trust you and one that you just don’t understand at all. You feel out of place among them.

You push yourself up and out of your chair, leaving your water behind on the table, and head towards the hallway that’ll lead you to the room Zemo told you that you could use. Bucky watches as you go, wondering if he should call out and ask you where you’re going, though he hesitates for too long and by that time, you’re out of sight. Sam watches him with furrowed eyebrows.

“What was that?”

“What was what?” Bucky looks at him.

“You, staring at her like that. Are you in cahoots or something? I saw you talking on the street. Hell, you stopped to talk to her. What’s that about?”

Bucky scoffs. “In cahoots? Are you being serious right now?”

“Deadly.”

“Yeah, you know what else is deadly?”

“What?”

“Karli if we don’t hurry up and get some information on Donya Madani.” Bucky stands up and heads towards the bathroom. “As soon as I’m done, we’re heading out.”

Sam shakes his head and mutters “Who made you boss?” under his breath.

Bucky hears him. “I did!”

***

You’re not quite sure what you expect to find, but it’s certainly more than you’re leaving with. Bucky is standing and staring at Zemo and a group of children when you and Sam rejoin him. You’d gone upstairs with him, having decided on the journey there to at least try with him, and if he still refused to trust you, you’d give up. Or perhaps you wouldn’t. You hadn’t quite decided yet.

Bucky looks at you as you stand beside him, hands tucked firmly into the pockets of your jacket to shield them from the cool breeze. You hadn’t said much to him since he’d joined you at Zemo’s apartment after your talk on the street, and honestly he didn’t expect you to. He didn’t even really know what to say to you, so he’d figured he’d not even bother breaching the topic. If you wanted to talk about it, you would.

You stare ahead at Zemo, eyes narrowed. He’d been a little anxious about you going upstairs with Sam alone, even though he knew deep down that Sam wasn’t going to do anything, especially to Sharon’s friend.

“Someone needs to teach those children not to talk to strangers,” you mutter.

Sam snorts.

“No, seriously. If I was their age and someone that looked and acted like Zemo came up and started talking to me like that, I’d probably want to punch him and run.” You pause and then spot the Turkish delight. “On second thoughts…” You make to walk towards him, suddenly feeling rather protective over the children unknowingly speaking to a criminal like Zemo.

Before you can even make it two steps, a hand closes around your wrist and pulls you to a stop. You look back, irritated, to find Bucky shaking his head at you.

“Don’t. He’s not going to hurt them. They’re giving him information.”

“They’re children and he’s a criminal.”

“Yeah,” Bucky says, tugging you back to his side and letting go of your wrist once you’re there. “And I’ll punch him in the face if I have to.”

Sam chuckles. “Don’t tempt him, or me, for that matter.”

“Now you’ve just made me want to watch him get punched in the face.”

Bucky and Sam share a look.

“I will if you will,” Sam shrugs.

Zemo finishes speaking to the children and walks back towards the three of you. “Cute kids,” he says, smiling a smile that makes your skin crawl. He walks straight past you.

“Yeah, I hate that man,” you mutter.

***

The journey back to Zemo’s apartment is quiet and uncomfortable. You feel worried for the children and are contemplating various different ways you could physically injure and maim Zemo. Whatever Sam and Bucky are thinking, you don’t know or particularly care.

What you do know is that you didn’t find what you came for

You close the door of the apartment behind you.

“Well, I got nothing,” Bucky says, heading straight to the couch. “No one’s talking about Donya.”

“Yeah, it’s because Karli is the only one fighting for them,” Sam replies, settling down on the couch opposite Bucky. “And she’s not wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

You find a spot on the couch by Bucky and kick off your shoes so you can put your feet up. All of the travelling around was certainly taking its toll and honestly, you were beyond exhausted. If you had the time to sleep for more than a few broken hours, you’d take it. You rest your head on your arm, laying your head down on the top of the couch, and look between Sam and Bucky.

Sam sighs and elaborates. “For five years, people have been welcomed into countries that have kept them out using barbwire. There were houses and jobs. Folks were happy to have people around to help them rebuild. It wasn’t just one community coming together, it was the entire world coming together. And then, boom. Just like that, it goes right back to the way it used to be. To them, at least Karli’s doing something.”

“You really think her ends justify her means?” Bucky says. “Then, she’s no different than him,” he motions to Zemo, “or anybody else we’ve fought.”

“She’s different. She’s not motivated by the same things.”

You find the courage to speak. “Just because she’s not motivated by the same things as Zemo or the people you’ve fought, it doesn’t mean she’s not unlike them,” you sit up a little straighter as they look at you. “I haven’t fought people like you have, but I’ve fought. I’ve seen what regular people can do with a following. Karli is different, but she’s the same, too. She’s making change, but at what cost?”

Bucky looks at you, eyes narrowed. “I like you,” he says. “You get me.”

Sam rolls his eyes and looks like he’s about to reply when Zemo comes over holding a tray with tea and several tea cups. It almost makes you laugh, the sight of him with the smallest, daintiest pieces of China, but you hold it back, knowing that all eyes in the room would fall on you if you did laugh.

“That little girl. What’d she tell you?” Bucky’s amusement over you is long gone.

Zemo looks at the three of you for several moments before finally giving up the information he’d been holding hostage. “The funeral is this afternoon.”

Beside you, Bucky huffs in annoyance. “You know the Dora’s coming for you at any minute? In fact, they’re probably lurking outside right now. Keep talking.”

“Leaving you to turn on me once we get to Karli. Hmm. I prefer to keep my leverage.”

You watch as Bucky stands up from the couch and walks towards him. Something tells you that he’s not just standing up to talk, but before you can so much as think of anything else, Bucky grabs a tea cup and throws it against the wall behind Zemo. It shatters with a surprisingly loud crack.

“You wanna see what someone can do with leverage?”

Both you and Sam are on your feet in seconds, stepping in-between them. You press a hand against Bucky’s shoulder and try to move him away from Zemo, but it does nothing. He doesn’t move and instead keeps shooting daggers at Zemo over your shoulder.

“Take it easy. Don’t engage him. He’s just gonna extort you and do that stupid head tilt thing,” Sam says, warning Bucky off. “Let me make a call.” He leaves the room, but not before tapping on Bucky’s other shoulder in an attempt to snap him out of it.

Zemo gets on your nerves by asking “You want some cherry blossom tea?”

“No, you go ahead.” Bucky is seething.

You push on his shoulder again and finally he steps back.

“What, you think we can afford to start fighting amongst each other now?” You ask, directing Bucky out of the living room and down the hall, figuring it’s probably for the best if he and Zemo aren’t in the same room right now. Zemo can enjoy his cherry blossom tea all on his own.

Bucky lets out a long, shaky breath. “Told you I wanted to punch him.”

“When I said I wanted to see it, I didn’t mean today.”

You tug him out of the hall and into your room, closing the door behind you. It’s the first time the two of you have been alone since the street where he’d called you out for contradicting yourself all the time. Strangely, he’s the person out of the three of them that you’re the most comfortable around, yet you also know he’s definitely the one that’s the most rash in his decision making. Hence the broken cup.

Bucky sits down on the edge of the bed and runs his hands over his hair.

“I know that helping him get out was for the best considering everything with Karli and the Flag Smashers, but I’m really regretting my decision right about now,” he admits, eyes focused firmly on the floor.

You walk over and settle down beside him on the bed.

“He has his uses, but just because he’s useful doesn’t mean he’s any less of an ass.”

He laughs briefly and the sound makes you smile.

“We all have regrets, okay?” You continue. “I have plenty of them, you have them, Sam has them, I bet even Zemo has some. Buried deep down. I try not to focus on mine. Maybe you should try the same with the Zemo thing.”

Bucky lifts his head and looks at you. “Yeah, it’s that easy, is it?”

For some reason, you want him to trust you even more now. Having felt disconnected from them all day, but also having felt the thrill when one of them laughs at your joke, or even Bucky just telling you that he likes you… the part of you that wants trust wins out, so you decide to tell Bucky one of your regrets.

“I regret leaving Madripoor and Sharon,” you admit. “She’s the only home I’ve known for the longest time. Madripoor – however messed up it is there – felt like some kind of home because of her. It’s the first time we’ve been apart since the blip, I suppose. Part of me wishes I was still there with her. But the other part of me focuses on the fact that she thinks I’m of more use here, with you guys. So I’m trying to be of use to you guys. I’m trying not to shut myself off. I’m pushing down my regret in favour of trying to be helpful.”

“And how’s that going?”

“Well, I haven’t contradicted myself yet, have I?”

Bucky smiles properly for the first time since you’ve met him.

“And listen, if it makes you feel any better, you entirely have my permission to punch Zemo before we finish all of this. I don’t know Sam well, but I have a feeling he’d be on board, too.”

He chuckles and leans back until he’s laying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

“I meant what I said in there before,” he points in the direction of the living room. “That I like you. That you get me. I don’t know how, but you do.” He looks up at you, sitting up and watching him. “You’re making it annoyingly easy for me to trust you right now, you know that? I feel like I shouldn’t trust you because of the contradictions you make about yourself. But now you’re sitting here, being open and honest with me. Making sure I don’t punch people. And now I feel like I could trust you.”

You’re smiling. “Maybe that was all part of my grand plan.”

Bucky furrows his eyebrows. “Don’t do that.”

“I’m joking. It was a joke,” you huff out a laugh. “Learn to take a joke, James.”

He pushes himself up, sitting straight again. “James?”

“That’s your name, is it not? Or do you not like being called James?”

“No, it’s… it’s fine.” He blinks. Lets your words settle with him for a moment. “Bucky, James. I don’t care what you call me. Unless it’s offensive.”

“Well, you’re safe there,” you laugh. “I’m not mad at you, by the way. About what you said earlier. You were right. I do contradict myself, and I do it to protect myself.”

Bucky frowns. “You don’t have to protect yourself from me.”

“Then I’ll try not to,” you say honestly. “Now, have you cooled off enough to go back and see who Sam was calling, or do you wanna stay here for a few more minutes?”

Bucky thinks over your question for a few moments, thinking ever so briefly about staying here with you for a little bit longer simply because he thinks he likes being around you, before nodding. “I think I’m good.”

You nod and stand up, intending to head to the door, but Bucky reaches out a hand to stop you. He means to grab your wrist, but unintentionally ends up grabbing your hand. You whirl, eyes a little wider than you realise, and look at him.

He doesn’t let go.

“Thank you,” he says. “For getting me out of there. For calming me down.”

You smile. “Anytime, Bucky.”

***

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itsthemoofacewriting · 3 years

Text

It’s heaven in your arms

Well, this is just a clusterfuck of emotions. Let me lead you down the path of grief and mourning only for it to end with a bed sharing trope.

I have no idea if there are even people that like the original trio together romantically, but I was really vibing, so hopefully I can convince some of my regular readers to take the plunge.

If any of my ZoNami readers are here, I’m doing the requests you all sent in – I swear!

I’m not sure what to expect from posting this, so I’ll say this once pre-emptively: if this isn’t your cup of tea, you know where the door is, please leave quietly.

Summary: It may have been two years since Ace’s death but, for Luffy, sometimes it still felt like just yesterday. Or, sometimes, something beautiful can blossom from a place of hurt. Rating: T

You can also find this on AO3 and FFN.

Nami awoke, eyes burning from lack of sleep and mouth dry. It was still dark outside, and she grumbled to herself at waking up so early, but it was no use. She wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep until she had a glass of water. She swung her feet off the bed, clumsily trying to find her slippers before getting up. It was warm outside, so she didn’t bother with anything other than her pyjama top and shorts.

As annoying as it was to be awake so early, it was peaceful. It was a quick shuffle across the deck and into the kitchen, where she filled her glass hastily, already thinking about getting back into bed.

That last thing she expected when leaving the kitchen was the sight of Luffy sitting on the railing, facing the ocean with his feet kicking over the edge. Reckless as always it seemed.

“If you fell, no one would be around to save you,” She lectured.

His shoulders hunched; she’d surprised him it seemed, but he didn’t react as she’d expected. There was no carefree laughter or beaming grin as he told her not to be a worry wart. Instead, she received a muffled, “You’re up.”

Without looking at his face she didn’t know how to take that but his whole attitude was off, and it had alarm bells going off in her head. The comfort of her bed a distant memory now as she walked over to the railing to join him and settled her glass of water beside herself.

The words on the tip of her tongue vanished into the night air when she finally caught sight of his face. His eyes were red and puffy, his face pale despite his constant tan and drawn. It was an expression she’d never seen on his face. He looked defeated.

He looked tired.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He shook his head, just as she’d expected him too and uttered out a quiet, “No.”

“That’s okay, but I’m going to sit here,” she told him. He could sit in silence if that was what he wanted, but she wouldn’t leave him, that wasn’t an option.

She took his hand in hers because whilst he may not want to speak, he’d always been a tactile person and she couldn’t just sit here and not do anything when there were tears still running down his face.

They sat in silence, only the sound of the waves hitting the ship could be heard with their thighs pressed snuggly against the others and his hand clasped in hers, a thumb absently roaming over the skin of his wrist. His tears had resided for the time being, only the stray one falling every now.

She felt like she was sitting with a deer, trying not to spook it because it felt like any wrong move would have him scampering away.

Well, that was until he pried his hand from hers and she was going to say something until his head feel heavily against her shoulder and an arm wrapped around her body. That was all she needed to let herself relax, no longer worried about scaring him away as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders to pull him closer.

It was another long moment of them sitting like that until he whispered in her shoulder, “It hurts.”

“What hurts?”

He was silent but the tears were back as she felt them soaking into her pyjama top.

“I had a bad dream.”

“Yeah? What about?” She encouraged softly.

“About him.” His voice cracked as he said it and his shoulders shook.

There was only one him she knew of.

“It played in a loop, and I couldn’t do anything.”

Although she was being fed the information in dribs and drabs, it wasn’t hard to piece it together. She waited for him to continue but the long pause told her he wasn’t going to.

She thought about what she’d want in that moment, if their roles were reversed, what she’d want from the other person sat with her, so she settled on, “I only met him briefly, tell me more about him. What was it like growing up with him?”

He was quiet and for a moment she didn’t think he was going to respond, that maybe that wasn’t what he wanted at all.

“He hated me when we were younger,” he said wetly, fighting through tears to talk. “I caused trouble, couldn’t fight and cried a lot. He called me cry baby all the time.”

“He didn’t when we met him in Alabasta though.” She remembered how he’d looked at Luffy, eyes full of adoration and voice warm as he asked the crew to look after Luffy for him.

He huffed out a laugh at her words, such a stark contrast to his normal boisterous laugh.

He told her everything. How Ace had gone from despising him to accepting him as a brother along with his other brother, Sabo, how they’d caused trouble together and had the best times together. How he’d made Luffy’s childhood a happy one.

It made her ache. Because as he talked, selfishly she thought about her own sister. How devasted she’d be to lose her, someone that felt like her other half since before she could remember, knew her better than anyone else, who she could talk to about anything. It was hard to explain a sibling relationship to someone without one, there was a different feeling to, you felt it in your core.

Mostly, she thought about how hollow she’d feel.

It felt like an unspoken rule that siblings were for life. You knew that parents were older and that they’d pass at some point in your life, but not your sibling. It felt like they were meant to be with you for life, that you’d grow old together and have each other’s backs no matter what to the very end.

She supposed that was part of the grief.

Although she didn’t know the ins and outs, even now Luffy was edging around his dream and what’d happened back then, she knew the key details - how Ace had jumped in front of him to save him. How Ace had died before his eyes. Even if she suspected there was more to that moment than what she knew, it was traumatic enough.

Another tangled chain to unwrap from the knotted ball of necklaces that was grief.

Ultimately, she didn’t need to know what the dream was about or what’d happened back then, because the picture she had in her mind was vivid enough and she knew how he felt. Watching someone slip away before your eyes, helpless as you watched them go and wishing you’d done something different.

Her heart bled for him as he spoke, words blurring into his tears, she could feel her own eyes prickling as sadness overflowed.

Hands clumsily wiped at her face and belatedly she realised Luffy had stopped talking. “I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he said.

Without thinking, she wiped his face in return. “It’s okay, I’m glad I get to share this with you.”

She cupped his face and she meant it as a soothing gesture, yet it seemed to have the opposite effect. Watching his face crumple before her eyes was so much worse than how she’d imagined it when his face had been buried in her shoulder. He was so expressive all the time that she shouldn’t really be surprised, his lips quivered and those big eyes scrunched as he tried to hold back his tears.

“I know I still have so much, and I should focus on that…”

“But that doesn’t make that little part feel any better?”

“Yeah.”

“I know. It’s not going to either.” He nodded glumly at her words, staying silent and she suspected it was because he couldn’t form words. “You love him. That’s not going to disappear no matter what happens.”

She continued because she needed to say it, to let him know this was okay before she the moment passed, and he locked this all away to deal with another night. “You’re allowed to mourn him, you’re allowed to feel sad without feeling guilty, but when it overwhelms you, tell one of us, okay?” She paused, thinking over her words, before adding, “And even when it doesn’t overwhelm you and you just want company, come find us.”

“Okay.” He sounded choked up, more so than before.

She brought him back into a firm hug, running her hands up and down his back, letting her words sink in and giving him a chance to speak or cry more if he wanted to.

His next words told her they were done for the time being.

“I don’t want to go back to sleep,” he said.

She didn’t have to ask why. She still woke up sometimes in the middle of the night, tears in her eyes as she relived all different versions of Bell-mère’s death, each worse than the last. She knew that he feared having to relive his worst nightmare over again or catching even a whisp of his brother behind closed eyelids, taunting him over the fact that that would be the only way he’d ever be able to see him again.

“I don’t either,” she lied smoothly, “We could raid the fridge-” Sanji would understand- “or I could show you a new card trick or we could go draw on Zoro’s face. He’s probably up in the crow’s nest and he sleeps like a log.”

Luffy grinned, it didn’t reach his eyes like it normally did but that was okay, it was an improvement on the solemn expression from before. “Usopp just bought new markers!”

They both turned at the sound of heavy footsteps and the very person they’d been planning to mess with was stood only a few steps away.

“Why do you two look guilty?” He looked suspiciously at them both.

Neither of them answered, but she saw the moment Zoro noticed Luffy’s face and took in his red, puffy eyes and worn expression. His demeanour changed instantly, he looked serious, and he didn’t say anything more as he joined them on the railing, pressing up to Luffy’s vacant side and taking his other free hand into his- he could probably feel that it was wet from Luffy’s tears.

The ocean lapped silently against the ship and whatever plans her and Luffy had made seemed to be put on hold as he stayed sat on the railing, but that was fine with her, she was happy to sit there with him in silent support.

“It should’ve been me,” Luffy finally spoke, voice sure but only a whisper.

Those were heavy words, she imagined how often that thought circled around in his head and how hard it must have been to finally say it out loud.

“That’s stupid,” Zoro said.

“Zoro,” she hissed. For his blunt words and because Luffy looked on the verge of tears, it made her heart crumble all over again.

“Ace loved you a lot and he didn’t do it for you to think that; he wouldn’t want that. It was his choice and he made it and he’d do it a hundred times over.”

He made a good point, she knew that, but a tough love speech felt too soon.

“Zoro’s not stupid all the time,” Luffy defended weakly, smile wobbly.

Maybe not.

“Oi.”

Nami shook her head, smiling slightly at their antics. “Unfortunately, I have to agree with you. Shall we agree it’s a 10% smart and 90% stupid?”

Zoro tried to look miffed, although it was betrayed by the smirk tugging at his lips. He knew what she was doing, trying to lighten Luffy’s spirits, so he let it slide.

“Well, we can’t draw on Zoro’s face now-” Zoro glowered at her- “but if you want an extra challenge, we could get Usopp or Sanji.” They were light sleepers; she knew he’d be up for the challenge.

Luffy smiled, nodding tiredly and stifled a yawn that had her and Zoro sharing a quick look between them.

“You can sleep with me if you want,” Zoro offered nonchalantly and Luffy perked up at that.

She should leave them to get on with it. They’d made their arrangements already and in the back of her mind, she knew she should, but Luffy’d told her so much, it felt callous to just palm him off. And maybe, somewhere deep down she didn’t like the thought of being left out. Maybe.

The words were out before she’d properly thought them through.

“You can both sleep in my bed.”

“Like a sleepover!” Luffy said and his eyes brightened, a shimmer of what normally resided there returning.

“It’s a one-time offer and no one tells Sanji!” Nami warned even though Luffy looked considerably lighter and Zoro was smirking at her. She didn’t doubt Zoro would store that away to use against Sanji later, but she’d deal with that then. And if he decided to blab, she’d then have the perfect opportunity to charge him, and he wouldn’t be able to say a thing.

The walk to her room was quiet, only the sounds of their shoes thumping against the deck with every step, getting louder and louder as they got closer to her room. She wondered if she’d regret this. What if she’d made it awkward? She should’ve just let Zoro and Luffy bunk together.

Opening the door felt heavy, like something awful would be waiting for her on the other side. Instead, there was just a dark, muted room to greet her and the awkwardness she felt doubled to the point she wondered if the other two felt it too. She wasn’t sure if she was thankful or not that Robin was still asleep, facing away from them.

All those thoughts were put to rest as Zoro and Luffy moved past her, seemingly more than comfortable with this arrangement than her. Zoro shucked off his boots and settled against the far side of the bed so his back faced the wall and Luffy kicked off his flip flops, his hat already sat safely on her bedside unit.

“Absolutely not,” Nami whispered fiercely, hands on hips and they both peered up at her quizzically. “I’m not sleeping on the edge only to wake up on the floor. Zoro, swap.”

“What, so I can wake up on the floor instead?”

“You can sleep anywhere!”

Luffy had snickered at their bickering, watching them go back and forth until he seemingly grew bored of that and stretched his arm out to wrap around her waist. As his arm snapped back, he dragged her with it, she collided with the both of them in her bed. Like a true rubber man, Luffy looked unbothered although she was fairly sure she’d kicked him, but Zoro wheezed behind her as she’d winded him with her elbow.

“That hurt!” Nami moaned.

“Think before you do that!” Zoro grouchily whispered.

“There we go, now we’re all cosy.” He ignored them both, nestling down into the bed as his arm reached across Nami to rest over onto Zoro.

“Luffy!” She squawked, rosy faced. “Move over! You have all that space!”

This was not what she’d had in mind when she’d invited them… into her bed. Although she didn’t have a massive bed, she’d thought they’d at least try to keep their distance, she hadn’t expected this. Luffy was so close she could feel his breath on her face and his hair brushed against her forehead, no doubt mingling in with her own strands. She could feel Zoro spooned behind her, his own arm outstretched across them both and she was only now just considering how appropriate her pyjama shorts were. Which was ridiculous, it was only those two.

All of this didn’t feel right, they were there for Luffy, he should be the one in the middle not her. He should be the one squashed between them, safe and warm and feeling supported, not her. Yet one look at his face put all of that to rest. You could still tell he’d been crying; the puffiness would take a few hours to go down, but he looked relaxed, the tormented and weight in his expression gone.

He looked content.

And that was enough right now for her brain to shut off, thoughts pushed to the back for another day, and have her burying into the warmth from the two bodies next to her with the knowledge that everything would be okay for now.

----------------------------------

This was meant to be a one-shot, but it’s now a two parter at no one’s request. I’m writing/editing the second chapter right now; it’s on its way.

I used to ship LuNami hard when I was younger, but I think I’ve lost my ability to write them romantically nowadays… unless you throw in Zoro and then it’s back on apparently.

I write and edit all my pieces by myself, so if there’s any errors, please excuse them.

Thanks for reading.

#zoluna #Luffy/Zoro/Nami #LuffyxZoroxNami #LuNami #ZoNami #zolu #opwriting #opfanfic #One Piece #Luffy #Zoro #Nami

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bakugohoex · 3 years

Note

Soft boy Jean trying to bake a cake for his s/o but he stuffs it up and tries to hide it, but in the end his s/o helps him remake the cake together

“make a wish”

paring: jean kirshctein x female reader

cw: kissing, language, fluff

word count: 1700+

a/n: i wrote this at 2am, i need sleep but we move, if i don’t wake up for my lesson then i’m fucked (morning me tell me if i do wake up on time right here - i woke up on time but im lying in bed) hope you liked it i needed to write some attack on titan shit and jean’s is my fave

summary: in which jean finds out it’s your birthday and decides to make a surprise cake, with limited resources, he tries but ultimately it turns into you finding out, in your oblivious state you end up helping him make a cake for yourself

↞ back to attack on titan masterlist

Your voice was cold as you spoke to your class, you were all nearing the end of the training corps. It had taken a toll on a lot of people, but you had remained strong and resilient to what would occur.

You knew you had worked hard enough to reach the top ten, but you were always going to join the survey corps. You would kill the titans and even to your friend Jean’s reluctance you would give your life defeating them all.

What nobody had really expected was to see Sasha smiling as she walked towards the group that you would call your friends. She had a piece of paper in her hand and you were confused at the girl. She was never normally this happy after training she was always bitey for food so what had made her go all nice.

“I finally found it Y/n.” You tilted your head in confusion as Jean looked between the two of you. “Y/n, your birthday’s in two days, why didn’t you tell us?”

You rolled your eyes, “I just don’t think birthdays mean that much in the grand scheme of things.”

“But cake.” Sasha seemed more upset about the lack of food than anything else. You rolled your eyes walking back to the garrison, you wanted clean clothes due to the sweat that encased your current clothes.

Jean’s obvious crush for you was known, they watched him as he admired you walking away. He didn’t care if you were sweaty you were still the prettiest girl he had ever seen. Even with his obvious flirting you were oblivious still believing the boy had feelings for Mikasa.

“I’m making her a cake.” Marco looked at the boy confused.

“You do realise you don’t know how to bake.” Connie spoke out loud what Marco and everybody else had been thinking.

“I’ll work something out.” Sasha seemed to be the only happy one as Mikasa hadn’t paid attention only irritating Eren to make sure he didn’t get too dirty.

Later on, after everybody had had dinner, Jean snuck out he knew how to bake a cake, he’d watched his mother, how hard could it actually be?

Careful of not waking anybody up, he creeped outside knowing where the kitchens were. He prayed there was everything he needed not wanting to have to try and found it anywhere. He walked towards the building, seeing a battered canteen it was silent and hopefully nobody would catch him.

He rolled his sleeves having still worn the uniform they were made to wear, as he got to work trying to remember what his mother had done many years ago. It wasn’t working as he put it to bake he sat on the counter wondering if he had done it right, he had all the ingredients but having a theory and no practically experience was a recipe for disaster.

Once the cake had finished he looked at the sunken cake already knowing it had failed, he had hope that it might’ve just sunk and tasted better, it’s what’s on the inside that counts, kept going through his head.

His mother would know what to do, he cut into it taking a bite before instantly spitting it into the bin. Not only having wasted the ingredients on a shitty cake but he had no idea how to make you something to show his feelings.

He signed lowering his head before he heard a cough. You were standing in front of him, his eyes widened as he removed his hands from his face. “Y/n what are y...you doing here.”

You always thought his stuttering was cute, it happened a lot around you, but you always assumed it was because Mikasa was nearby. The embarrassment Jean felt was heavy and you could sense it from a mile away. He tried hiding the cake, but you had easily spotted it as soon as he covered it with a tea towel.

“I heard Sasha in her sleep talk about you making a cake, I wanted to help.” You cheerily smiled at the boy; you didn’t know who it was for, but you assumed his mother due to visiting the Trost District in a couple days.

Jean had a sense of relief wash over him, at least you didn’t hear the frustration he had. A small brush crept along his face as you came closer leaning against the counter taking the same fork he had used to eat the cake. You cut a bit with the side before eating it, “that’s fucking gross.”

He laughed as you went to go spit it out, “what the fuck did you put in it?”

“I...i just remembered what my mother did.” He spoke out the ingredients and how much he put in it before you heard the last part. “...and about 200grams of sugar.”

You looked at the container that held the ‘sugar’ opening it before dipping your finger in it, you tasted it the salt making your mouth scrunch up. He tilted his head confused, before you bought a different finger into the salt bringing it to his mouth.

“Taste it then.” You mutter, he obeyed opening his mouth as he sucked on your finger, it would’ve been flirty if his face didn’t instantly turn sour.

“I added 200grams of salt.” You nod laughing.

“Come on let’s bake another one.” You washed your hands getting rid of both your saliva’s face your fingers.

Setting out the ingredients you showed him how to make a cake your mother had taught you how to make. She had always wanted you to marry someone from the inner walls but instead you turned and signed up for the training corps.

Making Jean help you along the way to make sure he was a part of it, you showed him how each part did different things. He listened intensively asking questions when needed and doing what he was told.

It finally went into the over as you saw some icing on the side, something somebody probably left by accident. You passed it to Jean, “write a message on top, I’m sure your mother will love it.”

“My mother?” Jean’s face fell in confusion.

“Oh, I assumed it was for her.” He looks down as he doesn’t say anything.

You didn’t know what to say to him, he was silent thinking hard, you noticed how his face would scrunch up or how a blush would erupt. He was probably thinking about Mikasa to even care about you.

You had been licking the spatula and Jean stared imagining so many lewd thoughts he wanted you and needed a way to confess properly.

The timer went off as you yawned, grabbing the cake you both waited for it to cool before he looks at you intensively.

“Turn around.” You knit your eyebrows before doing so.

You heard as he signed before he touched your shoulder, you turned back around seeing Jean holding the cake, the icing writing a message you had never expected.

‘happy birthday y/n

i love you

jean’

It was simple and caring, his name barley fitting on the cake but he had tried. He had been thinking all along about what to put on the cake before realising he should just admit he liked you.

The love part was true as well and not realising he had wrote it his face went into a heavy blush. “Y...you love me.”

You were the one stuttering now, Jean put the cake down, “I do.”

“I thought you liked Mikasa.”

“It was a crush that I got over as soon as i saw you.” He admitted, he looked directly at you as you tried to not meet eye contact.

A silence grew as you didn’t know what to say the words finally falling from your lips, “i love you too.”

That’s all he needed to hear to walk towards you bringing you closer to his body, he cupped your face, your breathing heavy at the excitement you were feeling. Your hands went to cup his nodding to tell him to go for it. His lips attached to yours, the taste of the batter lingered in your mouth.

He pushed you against the countertop, his hands moving from your face as it moved to your legs lifting you onto the counter top. Your heights becoming the same, your hands remained on his face bringing him closer the way you moaned making his tongue travel inside of your mouth. Spit and saliva mixed as you craved more, his hands on your back making you arch forward.

He wanted your body on his own and as the kiss deepened, your breathing became heavier, the consistent kisses between trying to get air before going at it again with the long passionate kisses were repetitive. You didn’t want it to stop, but as your breathing got heavier he finally let go. You were both out of breath having not kissed someone in a while.

The kiss had felt new almost as if it was long awaited, he watched and admired your breathless state, your dishevelled hair and tired eyes. “Let’s have some cake.”

You nodded as you remained sitting on the counter top, you had already put everything away and washed up the only thing left being the forks you would use to eat the cake. He held the cake standing in front of you, he brought a box of matches out. “I haven’t got a candle.”

You laugh as he lit the match putting it up to your face, “make a wish.” You blow softly as he feels your breath on his finger, cutting up some pieces he brings it to you, smiling as he eats the cake you both made.

“Now this is a cake.” You laugh as his salt cake had gone in the bins. You both had been relatively quiet so didn’t expect anybody to come in.

“What’d you wish for?” Jean asks after finishing the cake, it had been a small cake so you both ate it easily without any hesitation. Knowing you’d end up losing it from training anyway.

You both walked outside watching the moon, Jean’s hand creeping into your own as you entangled your fingers together. He smiles as you finally answered, “my wish already happened.”

He understood as you smiled up at the boy, you gave him a small kiss on his lips, filled with happiness of a future. He smiled back walking you back to your room, he’d never admit it, but this was probably the best nights of his life. He had finally gotten you and it was as if everything had fit into place, you were together and not even the Titans could ruin that for you.

i’d really appreciate if you guys could leave a like, reblog or comment, thanks x

if you guys want to be a part of a tag list, just reply to any post and i’ll add you xx

@samusimp @alaina-rose13 @crispychannie @underratedmage @jennammaee @cathy8taffy

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isthisthingeven0n · 4 years

Text

nothing left to give : s.r

just wanted to put this out there. it’s been a while since i’ve posted, and this is something.

you’re worn out, unsure whether the bau is your home after all. but the resident genuis won’t stand for that, especially when there’s things still unsaid between you both (2.5K)

It wasn’t as subtle as you hoped it to be. Then again, you should have known better working with a team of profilers who you consider family. Meaning in some sense, this wasn’t something that would’ve stayed hidden for long.

Initially, you just felt your eyes losing focus on case files. You’d been in California for two weeks on a case, resulting in a hefty amount of paperwork and the time difference combined threw you off, but it was meant to pass.

Except it didn’t.

You were beginning to get restless, waves of tiredness hitting you like a brick wall during office hours and Spencer was the first to catch on. Whenever you would leave your desk and later return you’d find a new mug of coffee, freshly brewed for you along with a small smile from across the room as you looked over in appreciation.

Convinced you had simply caught some kind of bug, you took a day off to rest. Yet, one day turned into three and once you returned, Spencer’s eyes widened at the sight that greeted him.

“Is that any way to greet your best friend, huh, Spence?” JJ chuckles, walking in behind you as she rests her hand on your shoulder, catching your gaze. You could tell JJ was profiling you with her soft Mom smile. “How’re you feeling, Y/n?”

Avoiding various glances from the rest of the team, you quickly nod. “Better.” You respond, wanting to carry on as if nothing were wrong as your glow began to flicker and fade.

“If it isn’t my angel, having returned from her duties in heaven.” Derek speaks up, happily walking towards you as Penelope remains in tow.

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re back. I don’t know if you got the-”

“The animal videos and relaxing music tracks,” You smile as Penelope nods, Derek rolling his eyes. “I did, thanks, Pen.” You rise to your feet, blocking out the blurred vision as you lean into a tight hug.

Whilst in Penelope’s embrace, Derek shoots Spencer a look, motioning him to follow.

“Just take it easy, we can’t have half of our favourite duo going on us.” Penelope jokes with you as you watch Spencer walk sheepishly behind Derek into the conference room, the door closing behind them. “Well, if you need me, I’ll be in the Batcave.”

The Batcave had never appealed to you more than now. The dark walls, few visitors and all of Penelope’s fluffy things to play with. Maybe you’ll find a reason to stop by later if the headache that looms over your thoughts returns.

Over in the conference room, Derek leans against the table whilst Spencer tries to stand tall, his hands resting in his pockets. “Kid, what’s going on with Y/n?”

A heavy sigh escapes Spencer’s lips as his eyes fall to the ground. “What’d you mean?”

Derek shifts, his eyes hardening as Spencer lifts his head back up. “Reid,” Derek starts.

“She, she won’t tell me,” Spencer states, taking Derek by surprise. “I, I want to ask her, but I’m worried she won’t take it well.” Spencer sighs as he turns his head, looking out from the blinds to see you talking with JJ, a tired smile wearing heavy on your face. “We made an agreement a while ago to always be honest with one another, but I don’t know if that still stands.”

“Is she struggling with things?” Derek questions, resting his arms against the table as Spencer opens his mouth, but words struggle to follow.

“I, I know I’m a profiler, that’s my job but with Y/n, I, I hate doing it. She’s supposed to tell me these things, I don’t want to figure it out.” Spencer stumbles, but he knows exactly what is wrong with you, and that’s the issue.

“Judging by the guilt in your voice, you’ve already figured it out, huh?” Derek comments as Spencer nods in response. “You gotta talk to her, Reid before it gets worse.”

Another nod follows as Spencer remains lost in thought, barely registering the quick pat on the shoulder from Derek before he exits the conference room, leaving him alone until Penelope enters, announcing there’s a new case.

It was a long case, one that dragged out with several victims and a blur of family members cross your mind as you curl up in your seat on the jet.

Closing your eyes, all you can picture are those screams and violent sobs from the victim's families. You promised them you’d bring their child/sibling/friend/niece/nephew/grandchild home, but you couldn’t, you didn’t.

“Hey,” Lifting your head up, you’re greeted by Spencer holding a mug of green tea. “Did you know that Green Tea contains epigallocatechin-3-gallate, or more commonly known as EGCG. It’s a natural antioxidant, and that’s only one of the benefits from drinking green tea, did you know,”

Holding your hand up, Spencer pauses before sitting down beside you.

“I’m glad you stopped him before I did.” Rossi comments from across the jet, nursing a glass of scotch along with Hotch.

“Thanks, Spence.” You mutter, grasping the mug closely as the burning sensation trickles through your skin, but you refuse to let go. “Sorry, my heads just thumping.” You smile weakly to your best friend who wears that uncomfortable tight-lipped grin. “Don’t do that,”

Spencer pauses, his lips parting. “Do what?” He asks, shuffling in his seat so his body is facing you, closing off everyone else who is asleep or drifting on the jet.

“Treat me like I’m ill or tiptoe around things.” You sigh, releasing your hands from the mug as you rub your temples, the warmth from your fingertips soothing you momentarily.

“Then tell me what’s going on, Y/n.” Spencer states quietly, trying not to raise his voice as JJ stirs in her sleep across from you both. “Please,” He whispers, and the mere plead breaks your heart.

Closing your eyes, you shake your head. “I don’t know if I can Spencer,” You tell him, opening your eyes and focusing on his, how big the universe looks through his hazel gaze. “and it hurts to admit that because I care about you and, and everyone so much.” You never get overly emotional after cases, but with everything else, it’s just hit you.

Reaching out, Spencer rests his hand on yours, his thumb gliding over the back of your hand. “I just, I don’t like seeing my friends in pain and I just want to stop it happening.” He admits, his eyes fixated on yours as a tear falls down your cheek.

“Well,” A scoff leaves your lips as you take your hand from Spencer’s as you forcefully wipe your eyes. “not everything can be fixed that easily, Reid.” You remark before rising to your feet, shuffling past Spencer and over to the bathroom.

In a state of shock, Spencer registers JJ opening her eyes opposite him. “If that was your best attempt at comfort, I’ve seen better effort from serial killers.” JJ jokes as she sits upright whilst Spencer’s brows remain deeply furrowed.

“Y/n never closes herself off like this, JJ.” Spencer sighs. “We’ve been friends for nine hundred and twelve point five days. And during all this time she’s been honest with me, never once has she hidden something.”

Memories from late nights watching Doctor Who reruns, attending book signings or being Spencer’s plus one to obscure foreign films when no one else would go, you both were happy just to be in one another's company. Even if you had no idea what was happening during a film in Russian, Spencer aided as a translator, much to the others attending annoyance. All Spencer wanted was for you to be happy.

“There are some things you can’t share with your friends, Spence.” JJ reminds him. “Y/n might not have figured it all out yet, just give her some time.”

Spencer nods and his ears perk up to the sound of your footsteps approaching.

“Thanks,” You mumble as Spencer rises to his feet, allowing you to slide back against the window as you close your eyes in an attempt to sleep or avoid the inevitable conversation with Spencer. For now, it remains to be the latter.

Since you returned from the case, you only felt worse in every sense.

You wanted to carry on, you wanted to make this work because you loved this. No, you love this.

“Y/L/N?” Hotch calls out, catching you by surprise as you turn around. “Do you have a moment?”

Nodding in response, Spencer’s eyes follow you as you walk up to Hotch’s office, the door closing behind you and the blinds being drawn.

“Someones in trouble.” Derek sings, causing JJ and Penelope to laugh. But Spencer only tenses, wishing he could be in there with you, hoping you’re alright.

When you walk out, it’s been thirty-two minutes and twelve seconds, and during that time all Spencer has been able to focus on is the door of Hotch’s office.

Hotch gives you a curt nod before he shuts the door to his office, retreating back to his desk whilst you walk toward yours. “Everything okay sugar plum?” Penelope asks, wrapping her arms around you as you weakly hug her back.

“Yeah, I’m just going to take some time off. I’ve got a few things to sort out.” You explain, trying to avoid the concerned glances of your friends at the anonymity of your statement. “I’ll be back before you know it, guys.” You force a small laugh. “And I’ll only be a phone call away. I don’t wanna miss out on the action.”

“Like we’d let you.” Derek remarks.

“Rest up, okay?” JJ comments with a small smile as you grab your bag and coat.

As you lift your head up to wave, you focus on Spencer. You know you’ll always focus on Spencer in a room, no matter how many or few people there may be; Spencer is the first person you’ll notice.

More specifically, your focus lands on the solemn expression he is wearing. One you’re aware of but not well accompanied with.

“Take it easy, okay?” Penelope calls out to you as you walk through the glass doors.

Once out of sight, everyone turns to face Spencer who lifts his head up, forcing that tight-lipped smile. “What?”

JJ crosses her arms whilst Penelope steps closer. “Why are you just standing here? You’re our resident genius and you’re clueless!” Penelope groans, gripping onto Derek’s arm. “How can he be so naive?”

“I’m right here, Penelope.” Spencer speaks up. “But I don’t follow, for once.” He remarks, and JJ laughs quietly at Spencer’s attempt at humour.

Rolling her eyes, Penelope lets go of her favourite man and reaches over to Spencer. “Y/n, our sweet, loving agent with the heart of gold and the mind of a thunderstorm.” Penelope begins, and Spencer nods along, not wanting to interrupt about how a thunderstorm isn’t the best use of a metaphor to describe your mind when in reality it’s more like a-

“Spencer?” Derek waves his hand in front of Spencer’s face, bringing him back to reality.

“What about Y/n?” Spencer clears his throat, but the change in his pitch doesn’t favour him as Rossi raises an eyebrow as he approaches the rest of the team.

“He’s figuring it out, isn’t he?” Rossi comments as a series of nods follow. “About time, kid.” Rossi raises his mug to Spencer who leans against the edge of his desk.

“Just give him a moment,” JJ speaks up as Spencer fixates on your desk, your absent desk.

How every morning you’re the first person who makes him laugh from across the room. You bring him coffee or he’ll bring you one. You always try to persuade him to eat out, or go on a walk or try riding a bike after work instead of the subway. Spencer will sing along to cheesy songs with you just to hear you yell at the top of your lungs and dance in your apartment. Spencer gave up a chess tournament to go on a bike ride with you at sunset, just to see the warm glow against your face, knowing how soft your skin would feel against his.

And that’s when it hits him. Every single moment over the past two and a half years.

“I, I have to go,” Spencer mumbles, pushing himself from his desk and quickly walks out from the BAU, rushing to the elevator as the team quietly celebrate.

Spencer is running, and it isn’t a flattering sight to witness as he breathes heavily, bursting through the doors of the parking lot.

“Y/n?” Spencer calls out, running toward the far block F where you always park your car, hoping he isn’t too late.

“Spencer?” Your voice falters as you exit your car, wiping your eyes as Spencer pants, but still walks closer toward you. “What’re you doing here? Why aren’t you working?” You want to laugh as an attempted smile crosses your lips as Spencer’s hair clings to his forehead, his lips remaining parted as he breathes shallowly. “Okay firstly take a breath, you need it.”

Nodding in response, Spencer takes a deep breath before composing himself. “I had to talk to you before you go.” Spencer speaks smoothly as you step away from your car, standing in front of him as tears line your cheeks.

“Is something wrong, Spence?” You ask sweetly, despite your current state, your attention remains fixated on Spencer as he shakes his head.

“Y/n, I,” Stuttering over his words, Spencer exhales deeply. “I know I can’t make you better overnight, but I also don’t want to lose you- none of us do, but I guess I especially don’t.” Spencer begins to explain. “All I ask is that you let me in, let me help in some way, even if it’s just opening your car door or sending you those memes Garcia finds, I’ll do it.” A smile graces Spencer’s lips as you chuckle softly.

“I feel so lost, Spencer.” You admit, your eyes glazing over. “Of late it’s just all too much, I can’t, I can’t take the pain and sorrow of those who’ve lost loved ones.” You wipe your face, taking a shaky breath as Spencer steps closer.

“But think of how many lives you save, Y/n.” Spencer interrupts. “Statistically, those outweigh the lives lost.”

“I was expecting a statistic I’ll admit.” You joke, and Spencer shrugs his shoulder. “I know it’ll pass, but it just hurts.”

Spencer places his hand on your shoulder, his eyes scanning yours for any uncertainty before he wraps his arms around you, holding you close against his chest as silent sobs leave your lips.

“I’m always here, Y/n. We all are.” Spencer mutters as his lips press against the top of your head, lingering as he closes his eyes, not wanting to let you go.

Pulling away from his embrace, you cross your arms over your chest. “Thank you, Spence.” You smile sweetly. “I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

“I’ll keep you to that, Y/n.” Spencer chuckles before you lean forward, kissing his cheek softly before retreating to your car. “Don’t be a stranger, Y/n.” Spencer mutters under his breath as you reverse out from the parking space, exiting the parking lot as those words linger on his tongue unsaid.

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kaimelia · 3 years

Text

enough for you (ch 8)

The scissors made a soft clink against the ceramic of the sink as Amelia set them down, her hands steady as she ran her fingers through her hair, smiling at her reflection in the mirror.

Her hair was a few inches shorter, the longest strands reaching down to her chin, and she felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Quite literally, it was only a small amount of hair, but the change was needed. She had gotten tired of staring at the same sad woman in the mirror, the one whose eyes looked so tired and whose jaw was constantly clenched. Now, that same woman looked relieved.

She grabbed the broom from the wall and swept up the pieces of her hair on the floor, into the dustpan, and then into the trashcan without a second thought. She beamed once more at her reflection in the mirror before leaving the bathroom.

"Amelia?" Meredith furrowed her eyebrows as her sister walked into the kitchen. "Your hair."

"I needed a change, and I might regret this tomorrow, but right now, I'm happy with it," she ran a hand through the shorter locks, smiling when her hand hit the air.

"It looks great, although Scout might be upset that he can't pull it as easily." Amelia smiled and looked to the living room, where her nieces and nephew were spread out on the couch with bowls of popcorn, watching a movie. Her son was beside Ellis, running his toy car down the seams of the couch cushions. "Is this a post-breakup haircut?"

"I don't-I don't know. We've barely talked about where we stand, other than being there for Scout." Meredith folded a towel and added it to her growing pile of laundry. "He'll be here to pick up Scout in about an hour."

"Did you do it to make him jealous? See what he's missing, how we'll you're doing without him."

"I told him about the depression, so I'm pretty sure he doesn't think I'm thriving without him," she muttered, picking up one of Scout's shirts and folding it. "I don't know. I just needed to be able to control something about myself, and cutting my hair was the easiest way I could do that."

"I get it. Alright, you wanna help with laundry or braid Ellis's hair?"

------------------

"Woah," Link muttered under his breath as he stepped out of the car. "Your hair."

"Yeah, I wanted a bit of a change." She felt a slight flush on her cheeks, and she looked at the ground.

"Mama hair!" Scout pointed excitedly. "Mama nice hair."

"Yeah," Link laughed, taking Scout into his arms. "Mama's hair looks really nice, hm?" The heat in her cheeks was now evident, and she rolled her eyes in an attempt to hide it. Her arms crossed over her chest, and a shaky hand tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Alright, I'll drop him off on Thursday?"

"Yup." She handed him the bag, watching as he threw it into the backseat and sat Scout down in his car seat.

"Uncle Link!" Bailey screamed from the doorway, running out to where they were standing. "I missed you!" He wrapped his arms around Link's legs, and the man sighed and ruffled Bailey's hair.

"Hey, bud, how're you doing?"

"You have to come to play baseball with us, please? Mommy and Auntie Amelia can't pitch, and I wanna practice my swing." Link put a smile on his face and kneeled to Bailey's level.

"Maybe some other time, alright? I've gotta get Scout home."

"You could stay if you're not in a rush," Amelia shrugged, stepping towards them. "Bailey's been offending my pitching for the past week now, and my feelings are a bit hurt." Link raised his eyebrows.

"You sure? I don't wanna-"

"It's fine. It'll shut him up for the next week."

"You can't say shut up! Mommy says that's a bad word!" Bailey pointed up at his Aunt, his mouth wide in awe.

"Okay, well, if you don't tell your Mommy that I said that, Uncle Link will come and play baseball with you now." Bailey nodded quickly and ran back inside, shouting about his new baseball glove.

"I can come up with some excuse to leave; I won't stay."

"No, I'm serious, it's fine. Bailey's been asking when you'd come by, he's been working on his swing for a while, and he wants someone good to practice with." Link lifted Scout back out of his car seat and set him down on the ground, holding both of his hands as he found his footing.

"Alright, Scout, let's go to the yard." They slowly walked towards the back gate, with Scout glancing between them as if he had never seen them together before. "Woah, we're all playing?" Link exclaimed as they walked in, seeing Bailey holding the bat and the other two setting bases down on the ground.

"Uncle Link!" Ellis yelled, running up to him. "I wanna hug," she tugged on his pant leg, holding her arms up and grinning as he lifted her. "I missed you."

"I missed you, Elle," he smoothed down her hair, giving Scout's hand to Amelia. "You ready to play?" He set Ellis down, and she nodded eagerly. Zola tossed him a ball, and he walked into the middle of the make-shift field. "Alright, Bailey, you ready?"

"Ready!" Link tossed the ball, and Amelia settled on the picnic table with Scout sitting on her lap, both of them clapping as Bailey hit the ball across the yard.

"Dude, nice swing!" Link called out, grabbing another ball from the ground. "Keep your feet farther apart, okay?" He threw the ball, and Bailey groaned as he missed.

"What'd I miss here?" Meredith came outside with a steaming mug in her hands, sitting across from Amelia at the table. "I thought he was just picking Scout up, but now Scout's in your lap, and he's practically fathering my children," she muttered, sipping her tea.

"Bailey came outside right as he was leaving and wanted him to play, and I didn't wanna say no and make it awkward, and Bailey was so excited, and I-"

"It's fine. I'm glad; it means I don't have to throw that ball for a week. Are you okay with it?" Amelia shrugged, watching as Bailey dropped the bat and Link began to walk over to them, taking Scout into his arms.

"Scout, you wanna hit?" Link set his son down and grabbed the helmet from Bailey's head, carefully dropping it on Scout's and holding it back so it wouldn't cover his eyes. He kneeled to the ground, the one hand holding the helmet, the other guiding Scout's hands on the bat. "Stand still, okay? And Bailey, throw it gently." Bailey tossed the ball, and as it approached, Link helped Scout push the bat forward, the ball falling to the ground in front of them after making contact with the bat. "C'mon, Scout! Run!"

Amelia watched as Link held Scout's hand and ran with him towards the base, lifting the boy into his arms as Scout's steps slowed down, his cousins cheering as they ran through each base. She sighed as she watched, feeling her pulse race when Link walked towards them, smiles on everyone's faces. "One home run and this guy's all tired out," he muttered, passing Scout back to Amelia. "I'm gonna throw some more to Bailey and then head out."

"Thank you for doing this," Meredith added, nodding her head. "There's barely any testosterone in this house anymore, and I think Bailey's struggling with that." Link picked up a baseball that had rolled towards them and tossed it between his hands.

"He just wants to get ready. Little league's gonna open again soon; you don't want him to be behind everyone else."

"I'm ready!" Bailey shouted after fixing the helmet on his head. Link jogged back over, collecting baseballs on his way.

"It's not as uncomfortable as I imagined," Meredith murmured while nursing her cup of tea between her hands, blowing away the steam. "You'd think after you basically rejected-"

"Shut up, okay?"

------------------

"Thank you for staying," Amelia whispered, holding Scout's hand as they walked out. "Bailey really appreciated that."

"Of course. Hopefully, I tired him out enough that he won't bother you tonight." He picked up Scout, opening the car door and setting him down in the car seat. "Alright. I'll see you on Thursday."

"Bye, bye," Scout waved, grinning at his mother.

"Bye, Scout." Link closed the door and opened the driver's door, pausing before he got in. "See you on Thursday," she whispered, waving softly to him.

"Thursday. And Amelia?"

"Mhm?"

"I really like your hair, for the record." She blushed and looked down for a moment, biting her lip as she brought her gaze back up.

"Thank you."

#amelink #amelia shepherd #atticus lincoln #amelia x link #amelink fanfiction #grey's anatomy #amelink fanfic #greys abc #greys fanfic #scout lincoln #scout shepherd lincoln #meredith grey #my fics

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darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 4 years

Text

A Place Like This 1

Warnings: this short series will include dark elements including noncon, possible violence, mentions of mental illness, and other explicit content. I’m not your mother, curate your own consumption.

This is dark!Lumberjack!Andy Barber and explicit. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: Your new boarder isn’t who he seems to be.

Note: So I wanted to do a lumberjack!Andy and got a bit carried away but let me tell you, somehow Andy always turns into an ultimate creep with me.

Thank you. Love you guys!

As always, if you can, please leave some feedback, like and reblog <3

It wasn’t often you found a stranger in Heron Creek.

The small town was barely more than a single street; most residents lived further out. It was more a marketplace than anything. Townsfolk came to shop and socialise amid the limited stretch of businesses and not much else. The lumberyard fueled much of the economy and was closer than any home.

After weeks of arguing with your mother, you’d finally resigned. You needed a boarder to see you through the winter. Money was tight since your mother’s diagnosis; pills, therapy, reduced income. Your own job was just enough to see to the bills but not for the groceries or any incidentals. Even if you did some odd jobs around town, you wouldn’t be able to scrape enough to get by.

You’d never seen the man before. The message had been expected and a last hope. You agreed to meet at the town’s only cafe and were surprised and slightly disappointed.

He greeted you by name as you looked around. You expected a woman; the advert had requested only females but, you supposed, that beggars couldn’t be choosers.

“Andy,” He introduced himself as he offered you his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too,” You lied as you sat.

“You want a coffee? I’m headed up for a refill,” He grabbed his empty mug.

“Sure,” You reached for your wallet. You could tell by his accent he was from the city; if you were to guess, one far from Heron Creek. “Thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it. I can get it.” He waved you off as you fumbled with your purse. “I’ll be back.”

He returned with two cups and slid one over to you. You added cream from the table.

“I know you advertised for women only but… I’m kinda running out of options and judging by how long your ad’s been in the paper, I think you might be too.” He began.

“Uh huh,” You sipped from your coffee. “You’re new around here.”

“I am.” He confirmed. “But you’re not so you should know there’s not a lot to choose from.”

“Why would you move all the way up here?”

“Tired of the city.” He said evenly.

“You have a job?” You asked.

“At the lumberyard.” He replied. “Been there two months now, living down at Harry Brennan’s but he’s ready to have me out.”

“Hmm, yeah, he can be a bit prickly,” You remarked. “My mother, too. She’s sick. Moody. You sure you wanna trade in one for the other?”

He looked at you. He sat with his shoulders back, his head held up proudly. His gaze was discerning, as if he was measuring your every word and move.

“I can pay more than you’re asking and I’ll help out around the house.” He said. “Well, I won’t decide until I see the place, of course, but I’m optimistic.”

You tasted the bitter coffee. You preferred your own brew. You nodded as you set down your mug.

“They don’t have many lumberyards in the city. What’d you do before?”

“I was a lawyer.” He said. “And what do you do?”

“A lawyer? You’d give up that to live in the middle of nowhere and chop wood?”

“It’s quiet up here. Peaceful.” He tapped his fingers on the table beside his gloves. “A few more months and I should be able to afford my own place. At least a plot to start building.”

You considered him and held your palm to the warm porcelain. Your mother was wary of men. You couldn’t make the decision without her.

“You didn’t tell me what you do.” He said.

“I’m a writer. Mostly pieces on the local species and whatnot. There’s not many jobs to be had around here but on the internet…”

“So?” He asked as he shifted in his chair.

“I’ll have to talk to my mother.” You answered. “Then maybe you can come check out the room. It’s a big enough place for three. Probably too big but there’s a lot of work to be done in the winter.”

“Right,” He said. “As I said, I’ll help out with anything I can.”

You squinted and gulped the coffee even though it burned your throat. You stood and gathered up your purse.

“I don’t mean to run out but I have to hit Marla’s.” You hooked the strap of your bag over your shoulder. “I’ll let you know before the end of the week, but… well, my mom isn’t an easy person to deal with. Not unless you’re related.”

“Got it,” He watched you placidly as he rose. “I look forward to hearing from you.”

🍂

You heard voices from the front porch. You blinked and set down the basket of warm laundry on the kitchen table as you sighed at your mother’s mug. There was still tea in it which meant she had taken her first chance to chase her innate stubborn streak.

You’d argued for much of the morning as she accused you of inviting a strange man into her home and you countered that you’d merely agreed to a look at the house. No decision had yet been made, though the only reason your mother entertained the notion was the desperately needed money. And that had been your only winning point of contention.

You didn’t want the strange man living in your space anymore than she did but you also realised that you couldn’t possibly go on as you were. You went to the door, the thicker one open as the screen door was the only shield from the bitter late autumn air. You heard the creak of your mother’s rocking chair and the deep voice of a man. You recognized it even after a single meeting.

“...hauling wood, ma’am.” Was all you caught as you peered through the mesh.

“So you work at the lumberyard? My husband worked there before he tucked tail,” Your mother ranted. “That was almost twenty years ago.”

“Just like every other man in the county,” You opened the door. “Ma, I’d be down there too if I hadn’t lucked out.”

“I’m sorry about your husband, ma’am.” Andy slipped in as he stood on the bottom step.

“Don’t call me, ma’am,” Your mother rebuked. “I’m not that old just yet.”

Andy glanced at you and you touched the back of your mother’s chair and stilled it.

“It’s a nice looking house,” Andy broke the silence. “Big property.”

“All that bastard left me,” Your mother swore and leaned on the arm of her chair. “Well, aren’t you going to show the man around.” She pushed back so you were forced to let go of the chair or else sprain your wrist. “Take your shoes off, sir.”

You nodded and waved him up the steps with a wry smirk at your mother. You held open the door as he passed and your mother looked pleased with herself as she rocked again. You let the door clatter behind you as Andy bent to loosen his work boots. He stood as he kicked off his boots and you rubbed your forehead.

“I’m sorry about my mom.” You said. “She’s… stubborn.”

“Don’t you apologize for me, girl.” Your mom called through the screen door and you quickly closed the thicker one.

“Well, nothing too fancy,” You stepped past him into the front room. “Living room, dining room,” You waved your hand back. “Kitchen in the back, bathroom as you walk through and the laundry room just on the other side.” You lowered your arm and neared the stairs. “Your room would be up here.”

You turned and he followed you up the noisy old stairs. The carpet at the top was faded and tattered and did little to cushion the hard wooden floor as you walked along the hallway.

“My mother’s is at the end. Mine is to the left and yours is right here,” You opened the door next to yours. “Looks out onto the yard, so not the worst.”

“Mmm, okay,” He paced around the bed and went to the window. He felt the lace curtains as he gazed out through the glass.

“I’ll empty out the closet. Probably why it smells like mothballs.” You explained. “Pretty simple, we share the common spaces and clean up after ourselves.” You shrugged. “My mom will leave you alone as long as you don’t get in her way. She usually stays in her room if she’s not out front.”

“That’s fine. I won’t be here much.” He said. “Just really need a place to sleep.”

“There is one other thing. My mother...she has some issues. She gets manic and sometimes… well, I can take care of her but I don’t want you to be blind-sided. She’s on medicine but she’s still adjusting and--” You gulped. “It took me a lot of convincing but if you want the space, it’s yours, at least until spring.”

“I don’t have a lot of choices but I’d be happy to.” He said. “And don’t worry so much about your mother. I was a lawyer, I saw a lot worse in the courtroom.”

“Mmm,” You tucked your hands in your pocket. “Well, anytime after Sunday the room will be ready for you.”

“Sunday,” He repeated. “Okay, that works for me. Should I call ahead?”

“Uh, yeah, you have my number,” You replied and paused as you heard your mother hollering. You huffed and rolled your eyes.

“I really hope it’s a squirrel and not a bear again,” You swept out of the room and stomped down the stairs. You went outside as your mother was tossing a stone and shouting at it, the wind chime tinkling and swaying from the porch. “Ma, it’s just a bird.”

“It damn nearly tore the chime off,” She sneered. “Your grandmother made me that.”

“I know, I know, just sit down.” You nudged her back to her chair. “You forgot your tea inside, do you want it?”

“My tea?” She blinked. “Oh, I forgot. Again.”

“It’s okay,” You patted her shoulder as you went back inside. Andy knelt as he pulled his boots back on.

“Everything okay?” He asked as he looked up at you.

“It’s fine,” You assured him. “Sometimes her meds make her a little jumpy. And forgetful.”

“Anything I can do?” He asked as he stood.

“Keep clear of her if you can,” You advised. “I’m not going to sugar coat it. She’s a lot to handle and she’s not very keen on men.”

“The latter I guessed,” He chuckled. “I’ll get out of your hair and see you next week.”

“Next week,” You confirmed as he pushed open the door. “Drive safe.”

“Thanks,” He called over his shoulder as he stepped out onto the porch. “I’ll be seeing you.” He said to your mother as he passed. “When I come back,” He stopped on the second step and you got closer to listen. “I can fix that feeder.” He pointed at the broken bird feeder under the tree. “If you like?”

“Oh,” Your mother grumbled. “Well, I think that… might be nice. As long as it keeps ‘em away from my chimes.”

“I think it will,” He smiled. “My-- I used to have a feeder just like that.”

Your mother was quiet as she stopped rocking. Finally she cleared her throat. “You have a nice day, sir.”

“You too,” He nodded and continued down the steps.

You watched him go to his pick-up before you spun back and went to fetch your mother’s cup. You returned to the porch as he was backing out and you gave the lukewarm tea to your mother.

“Friendly,” She commented and took a sip. “The ones from the city usually don’t have such good manners.”

“Mhmm,” You grumbled. “Do you need me to warm that up?”

“Go on, girl,” She brushed you away. “I can stomach cold tea.”

🍂

Andy showed up on Monday. He called you the night before to let you know he’d be there and so you planned a trip into town with your mother to let him get settled. You waited until his truck pulled up, his tires crushing the pine cones and twigs as it neared. He got out and you handed him the spare key you had made. Your mother wore a parka and shivered in the car.

“We’ll be gone for a few hours,” You crossed your arms as you resisted the chill that nestled over the top of your scarf. “So you should be able to get settled in.”

“Thanks,” He turned the key over in his hand. “I’ll be discreet.”

“She’s in a good mood today. Well, until she starts complaining I left her in the car so long,” You rubbed your gloved hands together. “I’ll go. There’s logs by the fireplace in the living room. Heating downstairs isn’t so good but it makes a difference.”

“I’ll figure it out,” He assured. “You ladies have fun.”

“Ladies?” You arched a brow but he was hardly bothered. You nodded and left him.

You got in the jeep as your mother played with the radio and bemoaned the downfall of modern music. You shifted out of park and backed up as you tuned out her and Patsy Cline fizzling from the local station.

You went to Gerry’s, the only proper restaurant in town. Breakfast was often better than the evening’s affair and you showed up just in time for the lunch menu. Your mother gabbed with the waitress a little too long and you resisted apologizing on her behalf, knowing it would only sour her already brittle mood.

You ate and grabbed a pie from the display at your mother’s behest. She stopped by Geraldine’s thrift shop and bought another figurine for her collection; the porcelain wolves decorated her room and even some of the front room. You grabbed a few books you hadn’t read before and checked the time. You were certain you’d wasted enough time for Andy to get figured out.

As you drove back, the pale sky made the trees seem bleak in comparison. The first snow was imminent.

“You should make a nice dinner tonight.” Your mother said.

“Oh, I should?” You asked.

“I’m pooped. I gotta lay down.” She huffed. “But you always made a good chili. You can send that man off with a good lunch tomorrow if you make a big pot.”

“Mom,” You looked at her briefly. “You know his name.”

“I do. And that’s it.” She crossed her arms. “He seems nice enough but you never know. He’s not from around here.”

“No he’s not. But no one around here would pay what you want for that room.” You argued. “You’re lucky he’s from the city, they’re used to paying a fortune for shit.”

“Watch your mouth.”

“You said it was alright, ma. You agreed to it. It’s too late to send him off now.” You muttered.

“I like him,” She sneered. “I don’t like the way you look at him.”

“What?” You scoffed. “You’re ridiculous.”

“If I was younger, I wouldn’t turn my nose up at him. He’s handsome but I do wonder how he ended up here. You said he was a lawyer.”

“All sorts end up here, ma,” You countered. “Kenneth used to be an ad exec and now look at him; he sells sod and salt.”

“Still,” She rubbed her chin. “You’re young. When I was your age, well, if I had been alone all the time like you are, I’d be rearing to go.”

“Ma,” You were almost laughing. “You’re crazy.”

“That’s what the pills are for,” She retorted. “But I’m not blind.”

“Okay,” You said dryly as you rolled your eyes. “I think maybe I should be keeping my eye on you.”

“Ha, maybe I should give you a few pills,” She chuckled. “I’m not that mad.”

“Alright,” You gripped the steering wheel. “I’ll make chili but don’t go on about this in front of him. It’s gonna be weird enough.”

“Sure,” She harrumphed. “I’ll be good.”

🍂

As you took the lid off the deep pot, a billow of steam went up and the front door opened and closed. Your mother sat at the table after her nap and sipped on a hot tea. You listened to the floor groan as Andy stopped by the door and proceeded with lighter footfalls into the kitchen.

“I fixed the bird feeder,” He clapped his hands together. “Your chimes should be safe.”

“Oh, thank you,” Your mother beamed. “So sweet of you, Andy.”

“Not at all,” He said. “Simple work. Didn’t realise how much easier life is when you don’t have to think so much.”

He neared the table and grabbed the back of an empty chair. “You mind if I sit?”

“Go on,” Your mother was unusually chipper. “So how’d you fair? Got all your stuff unpacked?”

“Yep,” He answered, “Mmm, whatever you’re cooking smells good.”

“Chili,” You answered as you replaced the lid. “Twenty more minutes at most.”

“Chili. I remember--” He stopped and cleared his throat. You turned and watched him as he smoothed the front of his shirt, his fingers grabbing at the tie that wasn’t there. “I knew someone who used to make chili but it wasn’t chili chili. White beans and turkey… good but, I don’t think I’ve had real chili in forever.”

“You go down to Gerry’s on a Thursday and you’ll get some,” Your mother intoned.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Andy gave a small smile. “How was your day in town?”

You didn’t answer and looked to your mom. She frowned at you but quickly wiped it away.

“It was nice. You know, me and my daughter live together but we really don’t spend too much time together.”

“That’s great,” He said but barely seemed to see your mother as he watched you lean against the stove. “Well, hopefully I can help out some more and you can find more time for each other.”

“Uh huh,” You muttered. “Hopefully.”

🍂

That night, your mother went to bed and you retired soon after her. Andy had been quick to hide after dinner and you were thankful for that. You told him you’d set aside a container for his lunch and he was almost sheepish at the gesture.

You climbed up the stairs and slipped inside your room. The night was quiet and no moon floated above to shine in the windows. It was almost eerie. You changed into your pajamas and climbed into bed with your laptop. You turned off the lamp, content to type in the dark and eke out a few more paragraphs for your latest commission.

As the night wore on, only the tapping of keys filled your ears and you found yourself slumping lower against the headboard. You flipped onto your stomach and hugged the pillow as you tried to keep going, yawns blurring your vision as your body resisted your determination.

You didn’t recall falling asleep but it was a haze of visions. Your head swirled with your mother’s voice and Andy’s deep blue eyes. A blizzard turned the landscapes white and a wolf’s howl made you shiver.

You woke, still on your stomach, an arm beneath your pillow, and your laptop dead. You groaned as you rolled over. The grey light of dawn filled your room and the frigid air raised bumps on your skin as your blanket was twisted around you.

A floorboard creaked along the hallway and you sat up. You blinked at the shadow that flitted away through the crack between your bedroom door and the frame. You had closed your door; you were sure of it. Entirely certain as your door always stuck terribly and was quite a pain in the ass.

You drew a blanket around your shoulders as you stood and went to the door. You blinked and peeked out into the hall. There was nothing, no one. You sighed as your eyes froze on the closed bathroom door. You heard the sudden whine of the shower and the rattling of the pipes. Andy must have woken up to get ready for work.

You always wondered how the lumberjacks could handle the early mornings, especially in the winter. You turned back and closed your door. Your feet were cold on the floorboards and the rug was just as unwelcoming as you crossed to the window. Snowflakes blurred the horizon and shrouded the dawn.

Winter had come and you sensed a storm brewing.

#andy barber #dark!andy barber x reader #dark andy barber #dark!andy barber #andy barber x reader #dark andy barber x reader #defending jacob #fic #short series #series #dark #dark!fic #dark fic #lumberjack au #au

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5-seconds-of-bucky · 3 years

Text

🐠🐟

A/N: *Emoji title because I have no clue what to name this* I got so many comments on this blurb about the fish and I felt legally obligated to write something about it so here ya go :) It was supposed to be a small blurb but I got carried away 😉

Summery: Your son gets his fish

Word count: 1.7k

Warnings: None

“Daddy, can I open the really big one first?” Jack asked as soon as he laid his eyes on the large object wrapped in shiny paper next to the Christmas tree. He ran over to the gift, placing his hands on the top and leaning in close to it. There were plenty of gifts for him and Lilli in the living room, but he was of course enticed by the largest one.

“Hold on, bubs. Let me take your picture in front of the tree,” you said, grabbing your phone from the coffee table and snapping a few pictures of him. He moved back towards the gift again as Shawn walked in with a tired looking Lilliana on his hip. “Let’s take another one with Lilli.”

Shawn sat Lilliana down next to Jack, letting you take a few more pictures before scooping her back into his arms.

“Can I open it now?” Jack asked hopping up, antsy to see what could possibly be under the paper he wanted so badly to rip away.

“Let’s start off with some smaller gifts, kiddo,” Shawn suggested as he sat down next to you.

“Why don’t we start with this one?” You grabbed a smaller one from beneath the tree and handed it to him, watching his eyes light up as he saw what was inside.

It continued like that for a while: you and Shawn handing out gifts to Jack and helping Lilli open some of hers After nearly 45 minutes of unwrapping, you were almost done. The only unopened gift was the big surprise Jack was adamant you let him open soon.

“Alrighty, last one, bubs.” You held up your phone, wanting to get what you knew was going to be a very excited reaction on tape.

Jack didn’t need to be told another word, quickly getting to work and tearing the paper off like his life depended on it. He paused once the top was visible, immediately screaming with excitement and jumping around. Lilli got excited too, wiggling around and squealing even though she had no idea what was going on.

“What’d you get?” Shawn asked through his laughs.

“Fissssh!”

“Well let’s see it. Take the rest of the wrapping paper off.”

He went over to fully unwrap the present, revealing a fish tank with various fish furniture in it. There was obviously no fish in it, but that did nothing to deter Jack’s excitement. He’d been asking for a fish for so long. It was a five year old’s dream come true.

“We’re getting a fishy!”

As happy as you were that he was excited, you didn’t hear about non-fish related come out of his mouth for the next three days. Every day, at least six times a day, he’d ask when you were going to go get the fish. Santa brought the fish home but he wanted Jack to pick out the fish himself so Jack was going to have to wait until you could drive him to the store to get one.

“We’re going to go on Sunday,” you kept telling him. You and Shawn both wanted to be there when he picked one out, which meant that you had to wait until both of you had the day off. Jack was growing more impatient by the day and you did your best to distract him from the topic by talking about anything else but fish, but it only worked for so long before he was thinking back to it and asking you when you were going to get it.

You woke up before everyone else on Saturday morning; a rarity in the Mendes household. You were usually woken up by someone accidentally being too loud at 7 a.m. but it appeared that everyone was worn out from the night before. You had a family game night that got intense when you played Candy Land and you and Shawn got to the end before Jack. Jack was not too happy about that so you ended up playing about seven rematches and everyone was hyped up the whole time.

You were able to sit on the porch for forty-five minutes or with your mug of tea before Lilli found you, pulling you inside to pour her a bowl of cereal. She was telling you about her dream as you put a small bowl of Cheerios in front of her when Jacked skipped in, barreling into you to give you a hug.

“Good morning, mommy!” he said rather loudly, making you cringe just the slightest. It was too early for yelling.

“Morning, bubs.” You bent down to kiss the top of his head. “What’cha want for breakfast?”

“Cereal!”

“Alright, go sit down with Lilli.”

He let go of you and jumped into a chair, swinging his feet and humming some random song he made up while you made his breakfast.

“Mommy?”

“Hmm?”

“Are we getting the fish today?”

“Jack, I’ve told you enough times. We’re going-”

“Today!” Shawn announced as he entered the kitchen.

“Yeahhhh!” Jack screamed as he jumped down from the chair, running straight into Shawn’s legs to give him a hug. Shawn picked him up and peppered kisses all over his son’s face, then tossing him slightly in the air, causing Jack to burst out into loud giggles.

“Daddy, me too!” Lilli chanted from her highchair, stretching her arms out to her father. Shawn put Jack back in his seat before taking Lilli out of hers and tossing her a few times as well.

“That’s enough yelling,” you said, happy that everyone was excited but wanting to spare your ears. “Thank you.”

“When are we going?”

“Once everyone eats breakfast and gets changed.”

Jack practically snatched the bowl out of your hands as you put in front of him, eating as quickly as he could before racing to his room to pick out some clothes.

“Morning, baby,” Shawn said after placing a kiss on your lips once Jack went to his room. “How’re you feeling this morning?”

“Feeling alright,” you replied. “Don’t you have to go to the studio today?”

“Nah, took the day off. Thought we’d surprise Jack.”

“He could’ve waited until tomorrow, you know. He needs to learn to be patient.”

“Yeah, but I think if you hear him ask when we were going to get the fish one more time you might explode so I thought I’d divert that situation.” He placed his hands on the side of your baby bump as he smiled down at you.

“You know me so well.”

“I am your husband.” He leaned down for another kiss, squeezing your sides to elicit a giggle from you. “Now, get some food in that belly and get dressed so we can go get that fish.”

An hour later, everyone was dressed and ready to go. You buckled the kids in their carseats and drove to the pet store, letting Jack talk himself to death about how excited he was. He was ready to jump out of the car the second it was in park but Shawn stopped him, telling him that the fish weren’t going anywhere and he needed to be safe if he wanted to get one.

Jack grabbed Shawn’s hand as you unbuckled Lilli and placed her on your hip. You walked across the parking lot, having to remind Jack that he needed to be holding someone’s hand as he walked into the store. Shawn had to jog to keep up with the energetic toddler.

You walked through the doors together and Jack looked around to find the fish section. He spotted it pretty quickly and tugged on Shawn’s arm so they could go over there. The four of you made your way to the wall of tiny fish tanks and Jack jumped up and down at the sight of it.

“Daddy, look at all the fish!” His grip left Shawn’s hand to get closer to the tanks with various colorful fish. “Look at this one! It’s eyes are so big!”

You both laughed as you shifted Lilli to your other hip, walking closer to look at the fish with eyes too large for its head. Before either of you could make a comment about the fish, Jack was already moving to the next tank to see what was inside.

“This one is rainbow!”

“Me see!” Lilli said. You put her down on the ground, following close behind as she toddled over to Jack. “Fishy!”

The two of them walked across the wall, Jack telling Lilli what color each of them was as they stopped to look at each tank.

“We did a good job,” Shawn commented as he came over to stand closer and wrap an arm around your waist.

“With what? Driving our kids to the pet store?” You kept your eyes on them, not wanting to look away in case they wandered off.

“I mean making and raising them but that too I guess,” he chuckled, resting his head atop yours.

“Well we got one more coming so I wouldn’t say anything quite yet.”

“Oh stop, you know they’re going to be just as great as these two.”

“I know.” You turned your head to kiss his shoulder. “Three’s a lot though.”

“We’re going to be fine. No stress, it’s bad for the baby.”

You rolled your eyes at that, pushing him off of you playfully.

“Mommy, daddy, I want this one!” Jack said eagerly, pointing to a tank full of red and blue fish.

“Ooh, that’s a pretty one, Jack,” you said as you made your way to him, crouching down to get a better look at the fish swimming around.

Shawn found an associate to get the fish into a bag as Jack blabbered to the fish about what the outside world is like.

“We live in a big house. And there’s a playground near it! Daddy takes me to it all the time. Maybe you can come too!”

The associate handed the plastic bag to a beaming Jack, who took hold of the bag like it was the most delicate of babies.

“This is my little sister, Lilli.” He proudly turned the bag so the fish was facing his sister. “Lilli, say hi!”

“Hi, fishy!” Lilli waved at the fish.

“Wait, mommy, can the fishy get a sister too?”

You looked at Shawn.

“I don’t see why not,” he said with a shrug.

So now you were a family of six, and soon to be seven.

Taglist //add yourself//masterlist

@fallinallincurls @lonelyreputation @musicalkeys @voguesir @shawnsreputation @drayshadow @otaculo @mendesficsxbombay @aelingathynius

(Strikethrough means I couldn’t tag you)

#Shawn Mendes #Shawn Mendes imagine #Shawn Mendes fic #Shawn Mendes fanfic #Shawn Mendes fanfiction #Shawn Mendes one shot #Shawn Mendes blurb #Shawn Mendes writing #Shawn Mendes x reader #Shawn Mendes x Y/N #Reader insert #Y/N #Dad!Shawn #Husband!Shawn #Shawn Mendes fluff #Anna writes

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youvebeenlivingfictional · 3 years

Text

A Grave Life Part Fifty Eight

Previous Part | Next Part | Masterlist Notes: I hope everyone has a good week 💖 Warnings: Uhhh none Summary: Percival said that I was worrying far too much, but Eugenia admired my attempts to be prepared.

For the most part, besides the occasional tea, Eugenia stopped prodding me to join the presence of her society counterparts. I was grateful for this reprise, but I did know that a time would come when I would be expected to make a showing in earnest at her social events.

Her Christmas festivities were no different.

Having only previously attended her Christmas ‘party’ (that was the term she preferred; the scale was, in my estimation, much nearer to a gala) once before, I had some idea of the pleasantries I would be expected to make. I made it a point to drill names with Percival and Eugenia when I had the chance— occupations, relations, jobs (if any).

Percival said that I was worrying far too much, but Eugenia admired my attempts to be prepared.

“She’s as focused as she was prior to the Owen case,” Eugenia told Percival one evening, after he’d walked in on her quizzing me for party attendant names and relations.

“Perhaps,” He conceded, lowering himself into the seat beside mine, a nervous furrow in his brow, “But this is not a case, Mother.”

Pressure-wise, it felt like one. There were so many facts to remember, so many ways I could slip up. --

“You’re worrying me,” Percival muttered against my hairline later.

“What’d I do?”

“You’re studying for a party.”

“Just to be on the safe side.”

“My mother was quizzing you.”

“I asked her to.”

Percival sighed, tipping his head down and brushing his lips over my forehead.

“I don’t want these events to feel daunting.”

“Didn’t they to you, ever?”

“Yes. When I was younger.”

“As you were being introduced to them?”

“Yes, but--”

“I’m only just being introduced to them, Perce. I went to one, but it was a long time ago. I’m...Out of practice,” I grumbled, tipping my head up to peer at him in the darkness. He was quiet for a moment, fingertips brushing along my jaw.

“I want you to enjoy yourself.”

“I will,” I reassured him, “I’m certain it’ll be different when I'm there but… But I’m not there yet. Besides,” I leaned up, pecking his lips, “I know you will not leave my side.”

Percival hummed, leaning down and capturing my lips in a gentle kiss.

“Not for a moment,” He swore.

-- I was considerably more tense at the party, it turned out— afraid to say the wrong thing, call someone by the wrong name. The tension did do wonders for my posture, though: I was terrified of slouching.

The people that Percival and I spoke to were polite, spoke about their New Year’s Eve plans and asked us about our own. We had none, frankly— it was possible that we would spend it with Eugenia and her set. But, revealing that we had yet to set anything in stone opened the door to a slew of invitations.

Maybe Eugenia was right: a lack of planning was ruining our generation. --

“Are you awake down there?” I heard. I grunted in turn, and heard Percival chuckle as he lifted the covers away from my head. I turned away from the light coming in through his curtains as he set the covers back. I heard the sound of something being set on the nightstand and cracked an eye open to see a cup of coffee.

“Bless you,” I sighed, pushing myself to sit up. Percival chuckled, taking hold of my hand.

“Did you sleep alright?”

“Mhm. Did you?”

“Yes,” He nodded, leaning in and pecking my lips gently, “Merry Christmas.”

I smiled, murmuring, “Merry Christmas,” In turn before I reached for my cup of coffee.

“When shall we open gifts?” He asked. I shrugged. We had Christmas dinner to attend with his mother, but that wasn’t for hours yet.

“Whenever you like.”

Percival nodded before he reached into the pocket of his dressing gown and produced a small wrapped gift.

“Would you like to start, then?”

I raised a brow at the mischievous look in his eye.

“If you’re insisting,” I teased, setting my mug aside and taking the gift from him. It was immaculately wrapped.

“Should I bother shaking it?” I asked, “Or is it, indeed, a puppy?”

“A very small one.”

I chuckled, unwrapping the box with the same care it had been wrapped with. The flimsy paper gave way to reveal a small velvet box. I arched a brow at Percival before I opened it.

My heart stuttered in its beating.

There, nestled in the box’s plush lining, was an oblong platinum ring. There were three stones: two diamonds, one above and one below a twilight sapphire, the shade very near to the scarf I had given Percival all those Christmases before. The larger stones were flanked by single round diamonds along the band on either side.

I lifted my eyes to his, stunned and silent. He reached out, gently cradling my hand with his.

“I know that we have...Discussed this, and this question has been on both our minds for some time,” He said softly, “And I know that my life and work and...And family can deter you at times, but--” He shook his head as I opened my mouth to argue, “Dearheart, please,” He implored softly, “It is alright, I am not blaming or upset, I do understand. But when I tell you that I will do everything in my power to make you happy, I mean just that. I have spent many days and nights without you by my side, and while it is possible for me to go on that way, I would prefer not to. So,” He reached into the box, carefully prying the ring from its satin perch, “Would you do me the honor of allowing me to be your husband?”

I let my eyes drift down to the ring again, to where it was clutched carefully between his thumb and forefinger.

Were there things about our future that made me nervous? Of course there were. But— but at every turn, since he and I had gotten back together, Percival had made an effort to communicate, and to ensure that I knew how important I was to him. Things had changed since our first go at this.

I reached out, sliding my hand over Percival’s as I met his eyes, nodding, as I did not trust my voice yet.

Percival’s grin prompted my own, and as he murmured, “Are you sure?” I scoffed.

“Of course, I’m— Perce, don’t be ridiculous, honestly! Yes, yes, I will marry you--”

I’d hardly gotten the words out before Percival was drawing me in for a kiss. I slipped my hand up to cup his jaw, fingers skating over the stubble that was beginning to grow there. He would shave before we went to his mother’s, but I would savor the sight and feeling for as long as I could.

My pulse was pounding in my ears as Percival slipped the ring onto my finger. I peered down at it as he peppered the side of my face and neck with kisses.

“...I didn’t get you anything near as nice,” I mumbled. Percival shook his head, slipping an arm around me and drawing me into his chest.

“This is exactly what I wanted," He murmured. Tag list: @myplaceofheavenorhell ; @britishfajita ; @terrainhead ; @thatkidofwarandpeace ; @rvgrsbrns ; @maaaaryx ; @remmyswritings ; @flostvs1508 ; @fantasticcopeaglepasta ; @mylittlelonelyappreciationtoo ; @paintballkid711 ; @knightsimp; @hypnobananaangelfish

#A Grave Life #percival graves imagine #percival graves x reader #percival graves/you #percival graves x you #Percival Graves/Reader

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leossmoonn · 3 years

Text

chemistry part tweleve

part eleven | part thirteen | masterlist

zuko x fem!reader

avatar: the last airbender

includes - you, zuko, suki, katara, toph, sokka, and aang

special appearences by - iron, azula, and appa (mini sky bison,,, he’s like the size of a shihi tzu)

warnings - language, little suggestive lol

you poured the chips onto the plate, putting all of the dips in the middle. you set it on the island table with the rest of snacks you and the girls had picked up for the christmas party. you were excited, but nervous for this year’s party. ever since you girls went to college, which was three years ago - well, toph just started this year - , you had made it a friend tradition to have holiday parties. you had friend-giving, friend-mas, friend year’s and galentine’s day.

you and the girls always had aang and sokka there. you usually were the one with no date. toph had a few guys come over sometime, but they never really stuck. since this was your first time having a boy over, one that was really hot, really smart, and seemed really into you, you were beyond nervous. you were terrified. sure, you had hung out with him before, but not when you were gonna drink a few glasses of champagne. so, you decided to just be light on the drinks tonight. otherwise, you would probably end up laying on zuko’s lap, either making out with him or telling embarrassing childhood stories.

“this looks great, guys! ooh, salsa,” sokka said, his mouth watering.

“yeah, i can’t wait to eat the nachos,” toph said.

both of their hands went to pick up a chip, but you slapped their hands away.

“no one eats until zuko, katara, and aang are here,” you said.

sokka frowned, “you suck. suki, tell y/n i can have one chip.”

suki chuckled, “no, y/n’s right.”

“can you let me have a chip? i’m your best friend! and i’m blind,” toph begged with a sweet smile.

suki rolled her eyes, “nice try.”

“i haven’t eaten since this morning!” toph exclaimed.

“get another snack then. these are for our guests,” you said.

toph scoffed, “yeah you mean for your boyfriend zuko.”

sokka smirked, “yeah, you wanna make sure everything is perfect for him.”

“no, i don’t! it’s just polite to wait,” you glared at them.

sokka smirked, “suuuuure, y/n. keep telling yourself that.”

you frowned, “i literally hate you.”

“love you, too! where are katara and aang, anyways?” sokka asked.

“they’re picking up some gingerbread house kits for us to make,” toph said.

“yeah, and that takes 45 minutes? i’m sure that’s what they’re doing,” sokka rolled his eyes.

“i’ll text katara and see if they’re coming back soon,” you said.

“good. text zuko and ask when he’s coming. make sure to tell him if he doesn't come in the next 15 minutes, i will start eating the counter,” sokka said.

you rolled your eyes. “what a baby.”

you went into the living room, pulling out your phone. you texted katara, hoping for a quick response. you then texted zuko, suddenly getting anxious again.

you set your phone down next to you. suki, toph, and sokka came over to sit down.

“so, when are they coming?” sokka asked.

“uh, zuko said 10 minutes and katara hasn’t responded yet,” you answered.

“ugh! next time, one of you go with katara for shopping,” sokka said.

“yeah, cause we are faster than them,” suki chuckled.

the front door opened and there revealed katara and aang. they had grocery bags in each hands.

“hey, guys!” katara smiled.

“god, finally! what took you guys so long?” sokka asked.

“we couldn’t find the special sprinkles you like, sokka,” aang said.

“oh,” sokka said.

“and we had to get appa,” aang said. appa flew out from behind aang, landing on your lap.

you squealed, “hi, appa!” you ruffled his hair softly, earning a lick on the nose from him.

“appa, come here boy!” sokka smiled at him. appa just looked at sokka, turning back to you.

“appa, come here!” toph said, patting her lap. appa walked across your lap to toph, licking her cheek.

“haha! that sucks,” you laughed at sokka’s frown.

“sokka, you can redeem yourself by helping me with these groceries,” katara said.

sokka sighed and got up from the couch, taking a few bags out of their hands and going over to the kitchen. as they set up the treats, you looked at the door, your leg bouncing up and down as you waited for a knock from zuko.

“you okay, y/n? i can feel your leg bouncing,” toph said.

“yeah, what’s wrong?” suki asked.

you kept your eyes on the door. “i’m fine,” you shrugged.

suki put her hand on your knee, stopping it. “take a deep breath, okay? zuko was so happy to receive an invitation. and isn’t he gonna wear a matching ugly sweater with you for the ugly sweater contest? it’ll be perfect.”

you sighed. “yeah, but what if i spill guac on him. or worse, i trip and fall over on him.” you shivered as you thought of the cringe that would come from those moments.

“if you fall, i will make sure to take a picture,” katara said as she walked into the living room.

you rolled your eyes. “really supportive, kat.”

katara smiled and sat down next to you. “you’ll be fine. like suki said, zuko wants to be here and plus, he really likes you. go and drink some water, take a deep breath, and go be the badass, hot girl i know.”

“yeah, and if he hurts you tonight, i’ll make sure to crush his bones,” toph smiled maliciously, cracking her knuckles.

you smiled at your best friends. “thanks guys, you guys are the best.”

“we know,” toph smiled.

you laughed at her comment, but fell silent once you heard a knock on the door.

oh, god. that’s him. that’s him that’s him

“are you gonna get that, or do i have to?” sokka asked, walking towards the door.

you jumped up off the couch, pushing sokka away. “i got it.”

“alright,” sokka said.

you took a deep breath, combing your fingers through your hair, and pulled your sweater down. you put your hand on the door, slowly opening it.

zuko appeared in front of you, a big grin appearing on your face.

“hey, zuko!” you said excitedly.

“hi, y/n,” he smiled at you.

“come in,” you said, stepping out of his way.

“thanks,” zuko said and stepped in. he took his shoes off and coat, revealing his matching christmas sweater.

you gasped, your eyes lighting up. “you actually wore it!”

“well yeah, it’d be lame not to,” zuko chuckled.

“true. we so have the best sweaters on,” you smiled.

appa flew over to zuko, licking zuko’s cheek while still in the air.

“hey, buddy,” zuko smiled. “i would pet you, but i have my hands full,” he said, gesturing to the gift bags he had.

“oh, let me take those for you,” you said. zuko handed the presents to you, you walking over to the christmas tree.

“thank you,” zuko said, walking over with appa cuddling in his arms.

“no problem,” you smiled.

“hey, man!” sokka exclaimed as he walked into the room.

“hey, sokka!” zuko smiled, giving sokka a hug.

“hey, zuko. long time, no see,” aang smiled.

“yeah, sorry, holiday times at the JD get busy,” zuko chuckled. “we can hang over break.”

“awesome! gram-gram bought katara and i a vr headset, we can all play on it when you come over!” sokka said.

“oh, cool! azula’s friend, ty lee, has one, too. i played on it a little,” zuko said.

“is it fun?” you asked.

“very. maybe you can come over to my place sometime and i’ll have ty lee bring it over,” zuko smiled.

“yeah, i’d like that,” you grinned.

you and zuko smiled at each other for what seemed like forever before toph coughed.

“i can feel the sexual tension between you two, please stop. can we eat now?” she asked.

you and zuko looked away from each other, pink tainted both of your cheeks.

“yeah, we can eat now,” you said.

“alright! let’s get this party on!” sokka exclaimed, running to the kitchen.

you chuckled, walking over to the kitchen.

“zuko, you want champagne or beer?” you asked.

“beer is fine, thank you,” zuko smiled.

you got out a bottle from the cooler, handing it to him. “you’re welcome. so, what’d you get everyone?”

“well, i got sokka a new wallet. i bought aang a new messenger bag, he mentioned he needed one since his old one is practically falling apart.” “yeah, he's had that thing since high school,” you chuckled.

“exactly. anyways, so i got suki a $50 gift card to sephora, katara a hoodie that says ‘riding the waves’. i got appa a little ball you can put hay in so he can exercise and eat. i got toph some airpods, and your present is a surprise,” zuko smiled.

“wow, you are an awesome gift giver. and i am very excited about my gift. i can’t wait to open the ones every gave me, not to be greedy or anything. i heard sokka got me my own personal smoothie maker,” you smiled.

“don’t you already have a nutri bullet?” zuko asked, pointing to the machine that was on the counter.

“yes, but apparently this one can make milkshakes, too. definitely gonna sell the nutri bullet on craigslist,” you smiled.

“wow, sounds cool. i wish i had one of those,” zuko said.

you scoffed, “you literally live above a tea shop, you don’t need a blender.”

“hm, true. it’s great being me,” zuko joked. “i bet it is,” you giggled.

“guys! wanna do the ginger bread house making contest now?” katara asked.

“yeah!” you nodded, going over to the kitchen table. you and zuko sat down across from each other, grabbing one of the kits.

“alright, we have an hour do to this. the judges are toph and appa. toph will judge taste, appa will judge construction and decor,” suki smiled.

“what? you trust a sky bison?” sokka asked.

appa grunted, slapping sokka with his tail. you laughed, “you deserved that.”

sokka rolled his eyes. “yeah, whatever.”

suki sat down next to sokka, pecking his cheek. you looked at zuko, wishing you could do that to him. zuko gave you a small smile, wishing the same thing.

toph held up the timer. “alright, ready… set.. go!”

you tore the box open, setting out the walls, roof, and decorations. you worked quickly, opening all your materials. you started to glue the walls to the bottom with icing. you looked up for a second to see zuko doing the same thing.

“ready to go down?” he asked, noticing your stare.

“nah, i’m ready to win,” you smiled.

zuko mirrored your grin, going back to focusing on his house.

you quickly built the rest of the walls, everything surprisingly staying up.

“aw, damn it!” katara exclaimed. you looked over to see two of her walls falling down.

“it’s okay, baby, you can do it,” aang said.

katara groaned in frustration, “i held them together for 5 minutes! how are you and y/n’s walls staying on?”

“it’s called having ‘the magic touch’,” you snickered.

katara frowned, “shut up.”

“hey, mine is falling, too,” zuko said. you looked over to his, seeing one of the walls tipping over.

“well, not mine! i’m awesome!” sokka exclaimed. “and suki is, too!”

you looked over to suki, who already had her roof on.

“up top, babe!” sokka said, holding his hand up. suki high-fived him, “yep. we are legendary.” “nope,” you said, glueing on your roof.

“face it, y/n, you’re gonna lose. suki and i are gonna win,” sokka said.

“hey! no teaming!” katara exclaimed.

“oh, you’re teaming with aang. you can’t talk,” you remarked.

“you can team with zuko,” aang suggested.

you looked at zuko, seeing him already looking at you. he shrugged at you, “you want to?”

“yes,” you smiled.

“how do you all team if you all have your own houses?” toph asked.

“well, we can add our points up,” suki said.

“ah, okay. well, grading will be extra hard, then,” toph smiled.

“fair,” aang said.

“no, not fair!” sokka exclaimed. “yes, fair,” you said. “therefore, you will lose, and zuko and i will win.”

“nope, aang and i will win,” katara stated matter-of-factly.

“you sure, kat?” sokka smirked, looking at her gumdrops who were falling off of the front of the house.

katra glared, “you don’t even have any decorations on yet!”

sokka scowled, “yeah, well, suki does! and she’ll help us win all the points.”

“sokka! get to work,” suki ordered.

“yes, ma’am,” sokka said and started decorating his roof.

you turned to your own house again, resuming decorating the front of the house.

“yours looks really good,” zuko said.

you looked up and smiled. “thank you. yours do, too. i like the flowers on the side.”

“thanks. garden are very important for a nice house,” he said.

you chuckled, “i agree.”

“15 more minutes left!” toph exclaimed.

“what? how do you know that?” sokka asked.

“i set a 45 minute timer so i would know, genius,” toph rolled her eyes.

“right, right,” sokka said, turning to back to his house.

“ten more!” toph said.

“damn,” you muttered.

“what?” zuko asked.

“i haven’t finished my snowman,” you frowned and turned your house over so he could see the snow man you made out of marshmallows.

“i think he looks perfect,” zuko smiled.

you giggled, “thank you. i think we’re gonna win this.”

“me, too,” zuko smiled.

“3…2…1, stop!” toph shouted. you put your hands in your lap, waiting for the judging to begin.

“alright, first up is aang and katara. aka kataang. aang, give me a piece of your room, a wall, and a piece with candy. katara, do the same. appa, go ahead and judge,” toph instructed.

appa flew around the houses, looking at every inch, nook, and cranny.

“he can’t even talk! this isn’t fair!” sokka exclaimed.

“do not disrespect the sky bison,” you glared at him.

sokka scoffed, “he knows it’s true.”

appa grunted at sokka before going back to look at katara’s house.

“hm, a good amount of sweetness. nice use of the gummy worms. very good, aang,” toph said.

“thank you,” aang smiled widely.

toph then judged katara, going to appa to talk over the points.

“alright. we give you guys a 8.5 out of 10,” toph said.

“alright, that’s good!” katara high-fived aang.

“good job, babe,” aang smiled and leaned over to kiss her cheek.

“next up are suki and sokka,” toph said.

suki and sokka gave toph pieces of their houses, appa flying around to observe. after 10 minutes after judging, toph gave them the score.

“8 out of 10,” toph said.

“what! that’s like a low b!” sokka eclaimed.

“hey, it's higher than a c,” suki said, putting a hand over his.

sokka pouted, “fine. let’s see how team (you and zuko’s ship name) did.”

you cut pieces of your gingerbread and handed it to toph. zuko did the same. you bit your lip in anticipation. you knew it was a silly game, but the winner - or winners in this case - got a free dinner to the middle ring or a 2 free drinks at the JD. you wanted the JD coupon so bad. you loved the tea, but also, it gave you an excuse to see zuko randomly.

“hm, alright. i give you two 9 out of 10. you guys are the winners!” toph smiled.

you jumped up in excitement, going over to zuko and pulling him in a tight hug. zuko wrapped his arms around you, giving you the feeling of warmth and safety.

you pulled away, a bright smile on your face.

“which do you choose. free dinner at the middle ring, or two free drinks at the JD. one of you can get each since there’s enough for both of you,” toph said, holding out the coupons.

“i want the coupon to JD!” you said, but looked to zuko quickly. “unless you do.”

“you can take it,” zuko smiled.

“yay!” you squealed and plucked the ticket out of toph’s hand.

“alright, ugly sweater contest! the prize is money,” sokka grinned.

“alright, appa will be the judge again!” suki exclaimed, walking over and putting a $20 bill in appa’s mouth.

“okay, since zuko and y/n are wearing the same sweater, they can each have $10,” katara said.

“alright, fair,” you nodded.

“stand in a line,” aang instructed. you went in-between zuko and toph. you all watched in excitement, waiting for appa to hand one of you the bill.

after five minutes, appa went to toph.

“alright! you all suck!” toph pumped her fist up in the air.

“you have to be kidding me,” sokka said, face palming.

you chuckled, turning to zuko. “maybe next year.”

“yep. i don’t know why we didn’t win. all these sparkles and diamonds give me a headache,” zuko said, looking at his sweatshirt.

“same. you can change if you want,” you said.

“nah, i’m good. i wanna be matching,” zuko smiled.

you chuckled, “yay! i was hoping you said that.”

zuko’s smile widened at your excitement. you felt giddy inside and found yourself staring at his lips. you felt a sudden urge to lean up and kiss him, and go back into your room and make out. zuko must’ve noticed your stare, cause he licked his lips seductively. your face warmed up and you looked away quickly, coughing awkwardly and going to pour yourself another glass of champagne.

zuko smiled at your retreating figure, looking to your other friends.

“so, what's next on the agenda?” he asked.

“present opening!” aang exclaimed, running over to the tree.

you walked over to the living room, sitting down on the bean bag. zuko sat across from you.

“alright, i wanna go first!” aang exclaimed.

“alright. here’s mine,” katara said, picking up a big present and handing it to him.

aang opened it and pulled out new sneakers. “oh, this is awesome! thank you, babe. i love you.”

katara smiled. “you’re welcome. i got them custom-made so they’re your favourite colors and on the logo, it has appa and my name on it.”

“my two favourite things in the world. i love it,” aang smiled, leaning over to give katara a kiss.

suki then handed her his gift. he then opened one from sokka, toph, and zuko, then you. you ended up getting him a new gaming headset that has boosted sound system.

“thanks, guys. you are all awesome!” aang grinned.

“you're welcome, buddy,” sokka smiled. “my turn!”

“alright, here’s mine,” suki said, handing him a banana-shaped present.

sokka ripped it open, holding it up in all its glory, it was a dark blue boomerang that had a small heart on one end with suki’s name in it.

“this. is. AMAZING! oh, i love you! we are so doing it tonight!” sokka exclaimed, kissing suki.

you all groaned, telling sokka to shut up.

sokka opened everyone else’s present. you had got him a skateboard.

“thank you, guys. especially suki,” sokka smiled at his girlfriend. “you’re welcome, baby,” suki smiled, planting a kiss on his cheek.

“my turn!” katara exclaimed.

she opened her present from aang first, which was new makeup brushes, which apparently katara need a lot. suki got katara a humidifier, toph got her a new smoothie/coffee cup, sokka got her a $50 gift card to jc penny, zuko gave katara the sweatshirt, and you got her a polaroid camera.

“i love all these! thank you,” katara smiled at each of you.

“you're welcome,” you all spoke.

suki went next. sokka had gifted her a 365 day jar, katara gave her a new makeup pallet, toph gifted suki a new curling iron, aang gave her a new fluffy pillow, zuko gave her the gift card, and you had bought suki a new silk robe.

“oh, these are sick! definitely gonna have fun with these,” suki held up the jar and the robe.

“you’re welcome,” katara smiled. “alright, toph, it’s your turn.”

“alright, tell me what is it after i open it,” toph said. katara handed her a gift from her.

katara had given toph a new pair of hiking shoes, suki had given her new guitar picks and a new guitar strap, sokka had given her a new gaming chair, which obviously wasn't there, but he said he it would be delivered to the apartment tomorrow. aang gave her a 5 candle set, zuko had given her airpods, and you had given her a turtle duck stuffed animal where she could warm up in case of cramps or stress.

“these are awesome. thanks guys,” toph smiled.

“you’re welcome! alright, zuko’s turn!” suki exclaimed, handing him a gift.

“thanks,” zuko smiled.

suki had gifted him a sweatshirt with his favorite basketball team, katara had bought him a new phone case, aang gave him a new gaming headset, sokka had given him a new watch, and toph gave him new sneakers.

you nervously gave him your gift, which was pretty huge. zuko smiled while opening it, his eyes lighting up once he saw it.

“woah, this is awesome!” he exclaimed.

you had gotten him a new skateboard that had his name written on flames.

“i know you mentioned you hadn’t had a skateboard since you were in high school and you wanted to get back into it,” you said bashfully.

“thank you, i love it,” zuko smiled.

“you’re welcome,” you smiled. “alright, well, my turn!”

“open mine first!” katara exclaimed, handing you her gift.

you took it from her, opening it gently. she had gotten you a google home.

“oh, katara, do you know how much i adore you?” you said.

“i know, don’t worry,” katara giggled.

you had opened the next gift, which as from suki. she had gifted you crocs that said ‘super swag’ on each one.

“oh, you are feeding my narcism,” you chuckled.

“you deserve it,” suki smiled.

you then opened aang’s gift. he had gotten you a new hoodie from your favorite show. “this is like $70! thank you!”

“you’re welcome,” aang smiled.

you opened your gift from toph, which was a poster with all of the girls and you.

“how did you get this one made?” you asked, staring at it in astonishment.

“i know people,” toph grinned.

you chuckled, “thank you.”

“you’re welcome,” toph said.

sokka handed you his gift, which was the blender

“yes!” you squealed.

“i knew you would like it. no need to tell me, i already know i’m the best gift giver,” sokka smirked.

“hm, i can’t say that until i open zuko’s gift,” you said.

zuko had handed you his gift. “thank you,” you said.

“you’re welcome,” zuko said.

“i’m goanna go and order pizza,” katara said.

“yeah, me too!” sokka exclaimed, getting up.

you furrowed your brows. “what?”

“yeah, i need to make sure katara orders the right pizza,” toph said.

“i need to pee,” aang said. “i have to take appa out,” suki said.

they all got up and left the room, leaving you speechless.

“what just happened?” you asked, turning to zuko.

zuko was blushing hard, which made you even more confused.

“i don’t know. go ahead and open your gift,” he said.

“alright,” you said. you opened the gift, which was a small, black box. you took the top off, your eyes widening and your mouth agape. zuko had gotten you a silver charm bracelet. the charms were an otter-penguin, the first initial of your name, your zodiac sign with your zodiac gemstone, and a small circle.

“this is so beautiful, thank you,” you smiled.

“you're welcome. read the text on the small circle,” he said.

you looked at it, reading the words out loud. “will you… go on… a date… with me?”

you paused for a moment, lowering the bracelet and looking at zuko.

“so, what’s your answer?” zuko asked, nervously playing with his fingers.

“yes,” you nodded and smiled.

zuko’s worried expression went away immediately, and was replaced with glowing, big grin. “really?”

“yes!” laughed, leaning over and giving him a hug.

“YES!” you heard everyone shout from kitchen. they all came back into the room.

“you guys are gonna make an awesome couple!” sokka exclaimed.

you pulled away, blushing. “shut up.”

“alright, wanna watch ‘home alone’, now?” suki asked.

“yeah,” you nodded.

“zuko and y/n, you can sit on the love seat,” sokka smiled, wiggling his eye brows.

you rolled your eyes, “so immature.”

“i don’t mind,” zuko smiled and shrugged.

you smiled up at him, walking over to the couch with him. you sat down right next to him, putting your head on his shoulder with no hesitation. zuko wrapped his arm around you and rested his hand on your thigh. your heart pounded against your chest, and warmth shot down from your stomach to between your thighs.

“do you mind my hand being here?” zuko asked.

you took a deep, shaky breath. “nope.”

zuko moved his hand, “you sure?”

you grabbed his hand and shook your head. “i’m sure.”

zuko smirked a little, putting his hand back. you sighed contently and leaned into him more, enjoying the warmth he provided.

aang turned on the movie and you all watched it in silence. during the movie, you had moved over to zuko’s lap. you were stretching and ended up on him. you were going to move, but zuko grabbed your waist gently, setting you back down. the gesture had you grinning from ear-to-ear, snuggling into him.

the movie ended, which signalled the end of the party. everyone but zuko was staying, which made you sad, but you knew you weren’t ready for him to stay the night with you in your room. not just yet.

so, you just walked him up to the front door.

“thank you for the skateboard,” zuko smiled.

“you’re welcome. thank you for the charm bracelet. when is the date, again?” you asked.

“ah, right, sorry,” zuko chuckled. “are you free tomorrow?”

“i am,” you smiled, clasping your hands in excitement.

“great! i’ll take you out then. make sure to dress warmly,” he said.

“will do. see you tomorrow, zu,” you smiled.

“see you,” he smiled and went on his way.

you closed the door, looking down at your charm bracelet dreamily. you were falling hard for this boy.

note - hope you guys read and enjoy this as new parts are added! if you wanna be on the taglist, message me and/or reply to this post :))

taglist - @sorrythatspussynal @theblueslytherin @charlenasaxen@akiris @the-paintedlady @thatarthistorynerd @freckled-and-daydreaming @fi-chanwrites

#atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar: the last airbender #prince zuko #zuko x reader #zuko smau #zuko x reader smau #atla smau #smau #fire lord zuko x reader #atla zuko x reader #atla sokka #atla aang #atla suki #atla katara #atla toph #atla appa

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reinerispretty · 4 years

Text

rotations. (zuko x f!reader) pt20

HELLO and thank you for reading!!! i appreciate you very very much :D

pt1

pt19

pt21

It was exhausting to put on a beaming smile and cheerful attitude to interact with others, but (Y/N) had learned at a very young age that first impressions were everything. If the leaders of other nations liked her, their chances of working together with the Fire Nation to rebuild the world were doubled.

(Y/N) was having a miserable time. The night that was supposed to be the biggest celebration in over a century was now soiled. She had spent so hard working on it and making sure that everything was absolutely perfect, and now she wasn’t even enjoying herself.

She sat at the large rectangular table before the crowd. Zuko was to her left, Katara to her right. On Zuko’s other side sat Mai. The two were engaged in casual conversation that (Y/N) was trying her best to drown out. It was hard to maintain a pleasant expression on her face when her heart had been broken just hours ago, but she was managing. The purpose of this night was more than a celebration after all, it was a political step forward in the right direction and (Y/N) wouldn’t let her sour mood get in the way of that.

Still, Katara’s constant worried looks weren’t helping her mood either. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Katara whispered. (Y/N) nodded and gave her a tight smile.

“Just great,” She said, picking at her food with her chopsticks. She had lost all appetite for the night. She couldn’t wait until she could go to her room and break down in tears, or set something on fire, or both. But she had a long night ahead of her.

After everyone ate, she made her way through the crowd, exchanging pleasantries with everyone she passed. It was exhausting to put on a beaming smile and cheerful attitude to interact with others, but (Y/N) had learned at a very young age that first impressions were everything. If the leaders of other nations liked her, their chances of working together with the Fire Nation to rebuild the world were doubled.

The moon was high by the time the crowd dispersed, leaving only (Y/N), her friends, Zuko, and Mai. Zuko walked up to (Y/N) with Mai in tow. She put on her best smile, but it faltered as she saw their hands intertwined. “I’m going to go to Mai’s house for a little while.”

She nodded, crossing her arms. “Don’t forget you have a reparations meeting in the morning.” Zuko smiled.

“I know, I know.” He said goodbye to his friends and the couple walked out of the palace gates.

(Y/N) turned around to find her friends solemnly staring at her. “I can show you guys to your rooms,” She said softly, before leading them into the palace. Their rooms were on the same hall as hers, and she let them know this and said that if they needed anything, to just knock on her door.

Sokka paused with his hand on the doorknob to his room. His blue eyes met (Y/N’s) and he gave her a small smile. “You did a really great job today, (Y/N).” He hugged her tightly and (Y/N) tried her hardest to suppress the tears that were forming in her eyes.

“Thanks, Sokka,” she said as they parted. Hurriedly, so no one would see her cry, she walked to her room and slammed the door shut behind her. Wringing her hands together, she shook them out and lifted her head up to the ceiling, furiously blinking them so the tears wouldn’t fall out. She had promised herself that she wouldn’t cry over Zuko anymore and while she felt her resolve slowly breaking, she was trying to let this moment pass.

(Y/N) changed out of her clothes and into a silk pajama set. She brushed out her hair and scrubbed her nails clean to distract herself. She almost felt fine again until she heard a knock on her door.

“Come in,” She called, and Katara walked in quietly. The Water Tribe girl didn’t even have to say anything, but (Y/N) saw the sympathy in her eyes. She turned her head away quickly so Katara wouldn’t see the tears that flowed freely down her cheeks.

“Oh, (Y/N),” Katara sighed, sitting next to her friend. She wrapped her arms around (Y/N) and held her close.

“I don’t even know why I’m crying,” (Y/N) said, wiping furiously at her eyes. “It’s not like he owes me anything. I should’ve known that just because we were betrothed as kids doesn’t mean anything now.” She sniffled loudly. “I shouldn’t be crying. I should be happy because we’re friends again.”

“Whatever you’re feeling is how you should be feeling,” Katara said. “You’re crying because you’re hurt, (Y/N), and that’s okay. Don’t try to minimize your emotions.”

“I just feel so stupid and ridiculous, Katara. And it makes me mad that I’m crying over him again.”

“(Y/N), you have the biggest heart out of everyone I’ve met. You might make yourself seem rough on the outside, but on the inside you’re just as soft as unfried dough. You care a lot about Zuko, but that doesn’t make you stupid or ridiculous. The fact you held it together for as long as you did just shows how strong you are. And, for the record, we were all surprised when they came out together.”

“Really?” Katara nodded.

“Yeah! Anyone with a brain can see how good you guys are together. If Zuko doesn’t see that, it’s his loss.” (Y/N) smiled softly at her friend. Her words didn’t completely convince her, but they did make her feel a lot better about the situation. She wrapped her arms around Katara’s middle and hugged her.

“Thank you, Katara. I don’t know what I would do without you.” Katara squeezed her tightly.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you, either.” They pulled away from the hug, both wearing a smile on their faces. “Want me to stay with you tonight?”

“Yes, please,” (Y/N) sighed. “I’m going to need someone to listen to me analyze every interaction between Zuko and I.” Katara laughed, which in turn made (Y/N) laugh too.

---

(Y/N) woke up late the next morning. The night’s events had completely exhausted her, so she figured she deserved a day to sleep in. She didn’t wake up until the sun was high in the sky, and didn’t leave her room until much later than that. She searched all over the palace for her friends and eventually found them all sitting under the big tree beside the turtle duck pond.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Toph said. The small girl lay in the grass, her eyes closed as she pointed her face toward the sun.

“Really, it’s good afternoon,” Aang grinned. (Y/N) chuckled.

“A long day of planning wiped me out.”

“You did an amazing job, (Y/N),” Zuko said. He was propped up against the big tree. His eyes looked up at her as if he was expecting her to sit beside him, but instead she chose to sit next to Katara and Sokka.

“Everything alright?” Sokka asked. “Your eyes are kind of puffy.” Katara elbowed him in the ribs. “What? What’d I say?”

“I’m just tired, Sokka.” To emphasize this, she let out a yawn.

“I can ask the servants to get you tea,” Zuko said. “Maybe some green tea to help you wake up?”

“That won’t be necessary,” (Y/N) said. Zuko was taken aback at how she refused to look at him when she spoke.

An awkward silence fell over the group, but it was quickly broken by Katara. “I can’t believe you both grew up here. It’s so lavish!”

“Sometimes I forget about it too,” (Y/N) admitted. “Things were a lot different the last time I was here. You won’t believe how many portraits of Ozai we had to take down. The man only got more vain as the years went on.”

The group giggled before diving into a conversation about their upcoming plans for the future of the world. Zuko and (Y/N) planned on removing the Fire Nation colonies from the Earth Kingdom, to keep the nations separate like they were before. It was named the Harmony Restoration Movement and had been something that Zuko and other government officials had the task of coming up with.

Zuko and (Y/N) also had the tough job of handling those in the government who remained loyal to Ozai. Having a government that sided with hate and imperialism would not do well with the plans they had for the future.

Their talks ended as the sun began to set, which signaled the departure of their friends. They all walked together to Appa and said their goodbyes. (Y/N) hugged each of her friends tightly and leapt onto Appa and hugged Momo before they departed. She and Zuko watched sadly as their friends flew away.

“I really like all of them,” Zuko said. “But it’s also nice when it’s just you and me.” (Y/N) gave a grunt in response and walked back into the palace.

“I’ll be taking dinner in my room tonight, please,” She told one of the servants.

---

Few months had passed since Zuko’s coronation and much had changed. The Harmony Restoration Movement was an effort to remove the Fire Nation colonials from the Earth Kingdom that was heavily supported by the Earth King and his men, but not so much from Fire Nation officials. (Y/N) and Zuko had to take their time figuring out which of Zuko’s cabinet members were still loyalists to Ozai’s cause and relieve them of their duties. It resulted in many threats of harmful action, but after surviving war, (Y/N) found that there was little she feared now.

After a particularly long meeting between her and Zuko, (Y/N) walked down the lantern-lit halls of the palace. Ever since he had started dating Mai again, (Y/N) had chosen to distance herself from him. While she was happy that he was happy, she found it far too painful to watch the two be together, and she did not want to intrude on their relationship by any means. So, she decided to take a break from Zuko. Their friendship had suffered because of it, but (Y/N) figured that it was best for right now. She still remained his closest confidant and his trusted advisor. It hurt to be so close to Zuko yet feel so far away, but she was no stranger to pain.

She rounded the corner to the hallway that led to her room and hummed an old Fire Nation lullaby as she approached her door. Entering her room, she readied herself for bed and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the soft, fluffy pillows.

When (Y/N) awoke, it was not to the rising sun shining through her windows, but rather the sound of glass breaking. Confusedly, she blinked the sleep from her eyes and peered around the room. It was hard for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. “Zuko?” She called out.

She leaned over in her bed to light the lantern on the nightstand and immediately felt a strong hand twist itself into her hair. She shouted in pain, contorting herself to kick at whoever was grabbing her. Her feet found purchase on the person’s chest and kicked them back into the wall. (Y/N) freed herself and quickly lit all of the lanterns in her room with firebending.

There, on the other side of her bed, stood a masked assailant wearing all black. In each of their hands was a sharp dagger that glinted in the firelight. (Y/N’s) eyes widened in fear. “Who are you?” She demanded.

“I was sent here to punish you for your crimes against the Fire Nation,” The assassin said. (Y/N) furrowed her brows.

“Crimes? What crimes?” One of the daggers was flung at her head. She had just enough time to dodge it before it sank into the wall beside her. She felt the anger rise in her. “Guards!” She shouted before blasting fireballs at the person. They dodged them with ease, flipping out of the way of her attacks.

The assassin darted to the window to escape, but (Y/N) was just as quick. She ran across the room and launched herself at them, tackling them to the ground. The two rolled around the floor, kicking and punching at each other. (Y/N) hissed as her arm was cut by the sharp dagger. Eventually, the assassin over powered her and sat on top of her. (Y/N) used every bit of strength she had in her to hold onto their arms and prevent the dagger from piercing through her chest. Just as she was about to lose her grip, a blast of fire knocked the assailant off of her.

(Y/N) turned to see Zuko standing in the door. A few seconds later, guards flooded in after him and apprehended the person who had tried to assassinate her. Zuko ran to her side as she stood. “Are you okay?” He asked urgently. She shook her head and removed her hand from the cut on her arm. It bled heavily, droplets of blood dotting the hardwood floors of her bedroom.

Zuko took off his shirt and ripped it down the middle to use as a makeshift bandage. He tied it tightly around her wound and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Come on, I’ll take you the the physician.” He turned to the guards. “Throw them into prison. I don’t want them to ever see the light of day again.”

---

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clanoffetts · 3 years

Text

someday. | paz vizsla x fem!reader

Chapter II

masterlist

synopsis: Paz Vizsla finds himself stuck on Dantooine with a broken ship and no credits. Luckily, he finds you, a mechanic that will fix his ship for passage to Hosnian Prime. Over the course of your time together, a courtship blossoms.

warnings/things to note: star wars swear words; reader has hints of PTSD that will be expanded on in further chapters (and those will be tagged with stronger warnings); no use of ‘Y/N’

word count: 7.3k

also I guess this is now an AU where Grogu becomes a foundling and Din and Paz are besties.

You woke the next morning fairly early but nowhere near as early as yesterday. The sun was already high in the sky.

You showered and dressed for the day, and then began deciding what to pack. You had a fairly large backpack, and decided that’s what you’d pack in. You shoved the few shirts you had into the bottom, followed by a pair of leggings, then your coveralls. On top of those went the holopad and a few holo photos of you, Aliria, and a few of your friends you’d made on Dantooine. That was all you cared to bring, really. Everything else had no importance, and you didn’t have the room to bring it.

“Whoever you sell it to can have the stuff that’s in it,” you tell Aliria over breakfast. “Or you can have it. I think I’d prefer it if you have it.”

Aliria wasn't going to sell your stuff, even if you told her to. “I’ll keep it, dear,” she said as she poured you some tea. “I’ve been eyeing that sofa since you got it.”

“Oh, trust me,” you said. “I noticed.” She laughed, her eyes lighting up with almost as much life as her voice.

You looked at her, taking her presence in. “I’m scared, Ali,” you said. She cocked an eyebrow and put her hand on yours, asking why without words. “I forgot how scary it is to start a new life.”

“You’re strong, dear,” she squeezed your hand. “Your General Organa will take care of you, not as well as me, of course, but I’m sure she will.”

You rolled your eyes. “Always so confident, Ali.” You sat in a gentle silence while you ate, lost in thought.

You said goodbye to your mentor in private, embracing her tightly as she reassured you that you were strong, you were capable. When you emerged from Aliria’s house it seemed like the whole town was waiting for you, even the Mandalorian, though he stood quite far off.

“We’re going to miss you, you know,” Tom, the mechanic, said.

You smiled at him. “I’ll miss you too, Tom.”

“What about me?” Zenith said.

You pulled him into a hug. “You’re a good kid, Zen,” you tell him. “Keep it that way, yeah?” He nodded. You felt your eyes well up as you pulled some of your closest friends into hugs.

Eventually, you’d hugged everyone at least twice, and there was no way around leaving. It was time to go. “Alright, Mando,” you called to him, trying to keep an air of happiness in your strained voice. “I’m ready!”

You slung your bag over your shoulder and he came to walk beside you. You couldn’t bring yourself to look back, knowing everyone was standing there. The Mandalorian put a big hand on the top of your back, some kind of gesture of comfort, you thought.

He cleared his throat under the helmet. You’d been walking a little while, the town was no longer in view, and the ship was starting to take form in the distance. “You ok, kebiin’ika?”

“Not really, Mando,” you say. “But I will be.” His hand had not wavered from your back, and you were glad. His touch was soft, despite the thick gloves and his intimidating demeanor. As his touch burned into your back, you thought of Aliria’s words: I’ve always thought you’d like a warrior husband, she’d said. Maybe she was right, you’d thought, allowing your mind to wonder what it’d be like to come home to the Mandalorian. This is silly, you scolded yourself. You don’t even know his name. Stop it.

The Mandalorian was thinking about the same thing. Wondering what’d it’d be like to introduce you to the covert, to court you in the proper Mandalorian way, to watch you meet the foundlings. He, too, stops himself. He isn’t naive.

Finally, the two of you arrived at the ship. The Mandalorian’s hand hesitantly left your back, and he motioned for you to board ahead of him. “Go ahead, kebiin’ika.” You felt your feet leave Dantooine’s soil and felt your heart get heavier. Still, you pushed forward onto the ship. It wasn’t the biggest craft, but it had a refresher, a bedroom, and one bunk out in the open.

“The bedroom is through there,” the Mandalorian said, gesturing towards the back of the ship. “You’ll sleep in there, I’ll sleep out here.”

You shook your head. “I’m not taking your bed, Mando.”

“You are,” he said. “I don’t mind the bunk. It’s really not that bad.”

You sighed. “I have a feeling you won’t take no for an answer.”

“You have good instincts, then, kebiin’ika,” he replied and made his way to the cockpit. You went the opposite direction, towards the bedroom. The door slid open with a woosh to reveal the room. Room was a generous word for the bed that was shoved into what was probably a storage compartment. The bed took up most of the space but there was one little nightstand that was no wider than a foot. It was just large enough for a chrono and a glass of water.

The bed itself had a quilt on it, made with all different colors and different sized blocks, and was obviously hand sewn. It reminded you of the quilt in Aliria’s living room that stayed folded on the back of her chair. Another pang of sadness in your heart. The pillow was flat and bare, you’d probably have to fold it in half to get some semblance of comfort from it. You dropped your backpack onto the bed, and left the room.

Entering the cockpit, the Mandalorian was pressing buttons on the ships dashboard, and you silently prayed to whoever was listening that the rust bucket of a ship would get off the ground. “Everything look ok?” you asked.

“So far so good,” he said. “Now sit down and buckle up, we’ll see if it’ll fly.” You obeyed, sitting in the chair next to him and fastening the clasps of the seatbelt. When you looked back up from the clasps, the blue helmet was staring right at you. “Are you sure about this, kebiin’ka?” he asked. “I’m not trying to break my end of the deal, but you don’t seem like you want to leave.”

You nodded. “Yes, I have to do this. It’s important,” you told him. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t be sad.”

“Alright, then off to Yavin IV,” he said, and began initiating take off protocols. You lifted out of the clearing in the trees slowly, and as you got higher up you could see the town. The people were still congregated in the middle of town from the good-byes.

Eventually, you were out of the atmosphere and into space. The journey was going to be short, especially with the hyperspace jump. Just under 12 hours and you’d be on Yavin’s fourth moon.

“Jumping in 3, 2, 1,” he said and the ship jolted and the ship became shrouded in the swirling blue light of hyperspace. “Have you ever been to Yavin IV?” he asked.

You nodded. “Yeah, I lived there for awhile.” You loved Yavin IV when you’d lived there, despite the circumstances of your residency. The forests were beautiful, the climate was lovely. You remember watching Leia presenting medals to the newest heroes of the Rebellion.

“Oh,” he said. “Why’d you leave?”

You looked at him. “You ask a lot of questions, Mando. And I’d answer if I knew you’d answer my questions.” Why were you even trusting him? You knew nothing about him, but there was just something in the way he carried himself that made you believe he would never harm you and would never let anyone else harm you, either.

“I don’t mean to offend you, kebiin’ika,” he said, hardly phased by your hostility. “My religion, kebiin’ika, it’s binding. I don’t want to break the resol'nare.”

You cocked an eyebrow. “Resol’nare?”

“The tenets of Mandalorian life.”

You nodded, trying to understand. “That’s why you can’t tell me your name?”

“Kind of,” he nodded. “We have to be strict with the Resol’nare. A big part of it is our armor and protecting our tribe. We keep the armor on, we protect our tribe. We keep our secrets, we protect our tribe.”

You remembered hearing about the Purge of Mandalorians. That’s probably why they lived all the way out on Yavin IV, and why he was having to get so many supplies before he goes back. “I’m sorry,” you say. “For getting hostile. It’s just...hard. You want me to open up to you but you won’t do the same,” you say. “I’m not saying you have to open up to me. I just want to explain myself.”

“No, I understand,” he said. Then his visor turned back forward, staring into the blue blankness of hyperspace. “Would…” he began. “Would it help if I told you my name?” He was still staring straight ahead, hands gripping the arm rests of his chair.

You looked at him, shocked that he’d offer this. “I wasn’t trying to guilt you into telling me about yourself, Mando,” you tell him.

“I want to tell you my name, kebiin’ika. I’m asking you to trust me and you don’t even know my name,” he said, finally looking over at you. “That’s a bit unreasonable I think.”

You took a deep breath. He was right. It was unreasonable. “Alright then, Mando,” you say. “If that’s what you want, then I’ll happily learn your name.”

“Paz Vizsla,” he said. “Clan Vizsla.” After the fact he realized that his clan wouldn’t mean anything to you, but it felt weird to introduce himself without saying it.

“Paz Vizsla,” you repeat. “I’ve heard the name Vizsla before, I think.”

He nodded. “Vizslas were important on Mandalore. But that was a long time ago.”

“I like your name,” you say. “Paz Vizsla.” Paz smiled under his helmet. He liked the way his name sounded coming out of your mouth. He hadn’t heard his name spoken without a vocoder since he donned his helmet all those years ago.

“I like when you say my name,” he says before he can stop himself. Maker, you must think he’s strange. But you smiled a toothy smile at him, and said his name again. “You know, I haven’t heard my name in awhile,” he says.

This made you sad. He hadn’t heard his own name in Maker knows how long. “You don’t speak your names at home? On Yavin?”

“Sometimes. But often the kids just call me ba’vodu and the adults call me vod.” He noticed the confused look on your face. He wasn’t used to speaking this much with people who didn’t know Mando’a. “Vod means sibling or close friend. Ba’vodu means uncle.”

You smiled. “That’s sweet, Paz,” you say. “I like Mando’a. It’s pretty when you speak it.”

His heart swelled with pride for his people. This was what the Resol’nare instilled in him, a pride for his people and his language. And the fact that you loved it was amazing to him. “We’ll have a long ride to Hosnian Prime, maybe I can teach you some?”

“I’d love that, Paz,” you say. You could tell he loved talking about his people, you wished he was able to tell you more. He seemed so happy.

You now sat in your room. His room? Your room? You weren’t sure. But you were sitting on the bed nonetheless, reading on your holopad. You had a few more hours of your journey, and you felt like you were in Paz’s way if you weren’t in this room.

Your thoughts had long drifted from the article you were reading. They’d drifted to Paz. You thought of how happy he was that someone was interested not only in Mando’a but interested in him. How willing he was to share his name if it made you more comfortable. There was something in the pit of your stomach that started to swell. Those feelings you’d felt when his hand guided you to the ship. No, you scolded yourself. Not him. You can’t start crushing on him. But he was just so kind. So gentle despite being so utterly terrifying with his height and his armor.

Paz sat in the cockpit, staring into hyperspace. Mandalorians were a patient people, they had to be. Especially now, living in the shadows. Waiting their turn to be the one who emerges from their hideouts. But, truthfully, Paz wasn’t utilizing his Mandalorian patience, the meditation that all the young children are taught. His mind was racing with thoughts of the girl who lay on his bed right now. Thoughts of how kriffing interested she was in the little bits of Mandalorian culture he’d introduced her to.

Paz had never really thought what his ideal riduur was like. He knew he wanted her to be smart and to be able hold her own, but that was as far as he had gotten. But now, now he saw the shape of his ideal riduur begin to form in his mind: the shape of you. When he was younger, he’d imagined marrying a Mandalorian, but with so much of the Tribe gone now...he just didn’t see that happening. He still couldn’t believe he was this entranced by you, a shopkeeper turned mechanic from a village on Dantooine, of all places. He didn’t like the feeling of not having control over these emotions, no matter how hard he tried. He didn’t like how he didn’t know if you felt the same way, and if you did he had no idea how to go about courting you. You’re getting ahead of yourself, Vizsla, he thought. She just learned your name a few hours ago.

“Kebiin’ika?” He called gently from the other side of the door. He knocked as gently as he could and repeated, “Kebiin’ika?” A sleepy hmm? came from the other side of the door. “We’re almost there. Just dropped out of hyperspace.”

The door wooshed open, and you were standing right in front of him. Close in front of him. You rubbed sleep from your eyes and stretched in the doorway. “Already?”

He wished you could see his smile under his visor. He usually cherished the blankness of the helmet, but in this moment, he wanted nothing more than to smile at you. “Yeah,” he said. “Surprised the drop didn’t wake you.” He was staring down at you, something that normally intimidated people, but you just stood there, looking up.

“I’m a deep sleeper,” you say. “Do you have any food? My breakfast has worn off.”

He nodded. “There’s a little kitchenette through here.” He led you through another a little farther up on the ship. It certainly was small, a tiny conservator under one of the cabinets that you doubt housed much, a stove, and a microwave. “There should be some stuff in here. It might not be the best, but it’s something.”

“Do you want me to make you something, too?” You ask.

He shaked his head. “I’m alright, kebiin’ika.” He made a mental note to ask you what foods you wanted so he could pick up groceries on Yavin IV, but for now he needed to land the ship and you needed to eat.

When the ship landed, you were both in the cockpit. You were munching on a ration bar, as most the things in the kitchen were expired and the things that weren’t wouldn’t make a meal. You’d told Paz just to get whatever for the kitchen, that you’d eat just about anything.

“Ok, kebiin’ika,” he said as the ship’s main systems shut down after the landing. “I’ve got to get these things back to the covert, and you’ll have to stay here.” He saw the flicker of disappointment on your face. Maker, how he wanted to take you to the covert and introduce you to everyone, but that couldn’t happen. While he trusted you, he knew not everyone would, and it would be frowned upon to bring an outsider to their secure location.

“Ok,” you replied. “Do I have to stay on the ship?”

“You don’t have to, but I’d prefer it. It’d be safer, and the town is a good hour’s walk from here,” he told you.

You nodded. “Ok, I’ll stay here.”

About that time, you heard the woosh of what you thought to be jetpacks. You followed Paz to the ramp, stopping in the doorway as he continued down. There was one Mandalorian down there, on a speeder bike, towing another behind him. His armor was unpainted, just pure, bright beskar. He greeted Paz with a hug and followed him to the cargo hatch. The visor of the new Mando’s helmet met your eyes with what you thought was probably suspicion, but he continued on.

They’d expertly tied all the goods onto the speeders, and the new Mando sped off, and Paz turned around and gave you a wave before following his friend.

“Who’s the girl, Paz?” Din asked as they stopped in the bay of the covert’s new home.

“A new friend,” Paz said. Din wasn’t satisfied. “My ship stopped working back on Dantooine, and I didn’t have any credits. She said she’d fix it if I took her to Hosnian Prime.”

Din was shocked, but with his helmet on Paz couldn’t tell. “Maker, Paz, we need you here. Not on kriffing Hosnian Prime.”

“I know. But we needed these supplies, too, and if it weren’t for her I don’t know what I would’ve done,” Paz said. Eager to change the subject, he said, “How’s your foundling?”

“Grogu?” Din asked. “He’s good. Eats all the vermin. He’s like a Loth-cat, Paz,” Din laughed and Paz joined him. The little green toddler had made a big impact on the covert, specifically with how adorable he was. Grogu was Clan Djarin, but he was everyone’s family.

Paz was greeted in the hallways of the covert almost immediately, his vod emerging from the rooms they were working to make their homes, and the young children coming from the school room. Shouts of “Ba’vodu!” filled the halls. Paz was beaming under his helmet as he knelt down to hug all the children.

“You’ll have to excuse me, everyone,” he said. “I’ve got some business to attend to.” The children groaned, wanting fun Uncle Paz rather than the stern man in front of them. But they got the hint, and backed off back to the schoolroom. Paz went to the workshop first, where he knew he’d find Bezza. And he did.

“Bezza?” He asked, walking into the almost empty room. She sat at a workbench, hunched over something. “I’ve got something for you.”

The young girl looked up. She had a helmet on. She hadn’t had that when Paz left. “Paz? You’re back?” She jumped up from her seat and rushed into a hug. Their beskar sang when they collided. “I walk the way of the Mandalore now,” she said when she backed away.

“I can see that,” Paz laughed. “The armor of your clan?” He asked. She nodded. Paz couldn’t see her face, but he knew it was solemn at the memory of her fallen buire. He pulled the journal out of his pack, “I got you this on Dantooine.”

Paz wished she had waited to don her helmet, just so he could see the way her face lit up when she saw the leather journal. “Ba’vodu,” she was breathless. “It’s gorgeous. On Dantooine? Why’d Dantooine have this?”

“It’s a long story, Bezza,” he replied. “One with crazy old ladies and me making friends with pretty mechanics.”

Bezza’s head tilted. “Uncle Paz finally smitten? Wait until Armorer hears. The whole covert will be on the edge of their seats.”

Paz immediately regretted the ‘pretty’ remark. “Bezza, you wouldn’t dare,” he said. Gossip traveled fast, especially amongst the older members of the covert who ached for their best warriors to bring more younglings into the tribe.

“No,” Bezza said. “Especially since she's on Dantooine and not here.”

Paz spoke without thinking. “Well, she is here.”

“Here? At the covert?” Bezza looked behind Paz frantically searching for the pretty mechanic.

He shook his head. “No, Bezza, not here,” he laughed. “Armorer would kill me if I brought her here. But she’s on my ship.”

“Uncle Paz...I know you didn’t leave a girl you have a crush on alone on your ship,” Bezza said.

“First, I don’t have a crush on her. Second, should I not have?”

“Kriff, men really can be clueless,” Bezza sighed. “No, Paz, you shouldn’t have. Not if you’re thinking about courting her.” Bezza's voice drifted into a singsong for the last bit.

Paz tilted his head down in a stern manner that Bezza recognized from her days as his student. “I'm not thinking about courting her,” he said. “Besides, I’m an old man compared to her.”

“Maker, ba’vodu, you’re not old. And, that doesn’t matter,” Bezza said. “But what does matter is that you left her on the ship alone in the middle of the forest. Poor thing.”

Paz rolled his eyes beneath his helmet. It couldn’t have been that bad.

It’d been three hours since Paz and his friend rode off into the dense forest. You were bored. There was no service for your holopad to pick up on, and you’d walked the layout of the ship a million times. You were mad at yourself for napping when you did, because if you hadn’t you’d still be on Dantooine time and would be fast asleep. But you had napped, and now you’d be on Yavin IV time, and it was midday here.

You were back on the bed, unpacking your backpack. Your credits jangled at the bottom. I could go get some clothes in town, you thought. Maybe some nicer shoes. You definitely had the credits for it, and you didn’t want to meet with Leia in your old, tattered clothes.

You figured out how to engage ground protocols from outside the ship, and then slung your backpack onto a shoulder and set off walking. You realized you should’ve tried to leave a hint to Paz that you’d gone into town, but it was too late for that now. Surely he could figure it out.

The town came into view. It wasn’t a big place, and it was fairly new. It hadn’t been here when the Rebellion had. A few chain stores and restaurants were littered between mom and pop places. You entered the chain fashion store, knowing their prices would be the most reasonable for the budget you’d set.

All kinds of clothing were scattered over the store. A section of jackets and headwear for Togrutas and Twi’leks, shirts with varying numbers of sleeves, and pants for varying numbers of legs. You got yourself to the two-arm and two-leg section fairly easily, picking up solid colored tees and a sweatshirt of dark green. Just the staples. These were softer than the t-shirt you had on now, and thinner than the coveralls in your bag. Good for Yavin’s climate, and easily layerable for whatever Hosnian Prime had in store. You picked up some jeans and sweatpants as well, might as well build up a wardrobe here. You knew the prices on a popular planet like Hosnian Prime would be outrageous.

“Can I take those up to the counter for you?” A teenage girl asked. She had blindingly neon pink lekku that caught you by surprise when you turned around.

“Sure,” you said, handing her your goods. “Thank you.” She turned to walk away, and you continued looking around. There were gorgeous dresses towards the back, most likely for the local teenagers to buy when school dances came around. You ran your hands over all the different fabrics, your eyes taking in all the colors. They looked utterly expensive. You caught a glance at the price tag and yanked your hand back. You couldn’t risk harming one of these gowns, or you’d have to tell Paz you ran out of credits and needed to go back to Dantooine instead.

You paid for the items, the Twi’lek girl giving you some kind of discount since you were a first time customer, and then walked out with the bag of clothes at your side. You wandered around for a bit, eventually finding yourself in some tech store being held up by a protocol droid. You’d made the mistake of telling it you were visiting from Dantooine, and now you were getting an extensive history of Dantooinian/Yavinian relations. Anything beat being bored on that ship, though.

Paz sat alone in his quarters, sipping on a broth. His helmet stared at him from the other side of the table. The chrono on the wall indicated he’d been gone from the ship for almost five hours. Then he thought back to what Bezza had said. He felt guilt, similar to the guilt he had felt when he realized he should’ve offered to walk you home after your first day of working on his ship. But this was more intense. He cursed at himself for not realizing how rude that was. He needed to get better at that, he decided. I’ll go meet with Armorer, he thought. She can advise me.

Paz’s heavy knocks landed on the door of the armory. Seconds later, the door opened, and Armorer allowed him in. They sat at her meeting table together. “Tell me about your mechanic.”

Paz groaned like a frustrated child. “Bezza tell you?”

Armorer shook her head. “Bezza told one of her friends, who told their father, who told a member of the council, who told me.” Of course. Everyone here was a gossip. They had to be, after all, because where else would their entertainment come from? “Tell me about her, Paz. Bezza said you seemed quite smitten.”

“I am not smitten,” Paz said, and then proceeded to tell the Armorer how you became a passenger on his ship.

“You left her alone on the ship? For all this time?” Armorer asked.

Paz sighed. “Why does everyone keep saying that? She’s a grown woman, she can take care of herself.”

“I’m sure she can,” Armorer replied. “But that doesn’t mean it isn’t rude. Especially if you want to court her.”

“I never said I wanted to court her.”

“You didn’t have to,” Armorer replied. “I have counseled members of this tribe for many years. I can just tell.”

Paz leaned back in defeat. “Well it’s not like I could bring her here.”

“You don’t trust her?”

Paz sat up, quickly, defensive. “Of course I trust her. But I didn’t think you would be too happy.”

“I wouldn’t be,” Armorer replied, voice unwavering.

Paz’s face contorted in confusion under his helmet. “Then why is me leaving her on the ship alone such a big deal? What was I supposed to do?”

“It’s a big deal because we want more children running around, Paz,” Armorer said, humor ringing through her voice. “But seriously, Paz, you’ve been gone for how long? Five hours? That’s a long time on a foreign ship alone. You won’t be leaving until tomorrow, you can come back then for supplies and fuel. For now, go be with your mechanic.”

Paz obeyed, standing from his spot at the Armorer’s table. “Thank you, Armorer.”

“We care for each other,” she said. “This is the Way.”

“This is the Way.”

Paz had said his goodbyes for the evening and walked with Din back to where they left their speeders. Grogu, clinging to Paz’s chest plate, was saying something that neither of them could understand.

“Is that so, kid?” Din cooed at the foundling. Grogu laughed. “So, Paz,” Din’s voice had returned to its normal pitch. “You gonna court this girl?”

Paz sighed. “Why does everyone think I’m going to court her?”

“You don’t usually act this way towards anyone, especially not an outsider,” Din replied. “And we all know you’ve been looking for a riduur.”

Paz’s eyes rolled under his helmet. “I don’t know, Din,” he said. “Maybe. She’s nice, a hard worker, but she probably sees me as an old man. She’s probably still in her twenties.”

“Maker, Paz, you’re not old,” Din told him. “Just think about it. You seem quite...taken with her.”

Paz nodded as they neared the speeders, handing Grogu back to Din. “Trust me, Din, she seems to be the only thing I can think about.” Din gave a smug laugh and sent his vod on his way.

Paz wasn’t a reckless driver per se, but he certainly was fast. He neared the ship in half the time it took him and Din earlier. Secured safely on the back of his bike was a thermos of broth for you. Dusk was on its way to Yavin IV, it was dinner time.

When Paz got to his ship, he was confused. Everything was shut down, and locked up from the outside. Once he was able to get in, he called for you. No answer. Surely you didn’t just up and leave him, right?

“Kebiin’ika, this isn’t funny,” he said as he opened the door to your room. But there was nothing there. Not even your backpack or your holopad. He feared the worst, that you’d been taken, but he knew it was irrational. Still, he rushed back to his speeder bike.

The townspeople of this particular town of Yavin IV had never seen a Mandalorian arrive in a fury like Paz did. Or, at least what they thought was fury. The dirt of the ground kicked up beside him as he stopped and dismounted. He scanned the town, people were going into shops or homes, fearing this was an attack of some sort. Everyone, all over the galaxy, had heard stories of Mandalorian warriors.

Paz sometimes forgot how terrifying he looked, and in this moment he wished he didn’t. He went into the first store. No luck. The diner. No luck. He began thinking you’d been taken. He stood in the middle of the town and bellowed your name.

“Paz?” A voice behind him said. Your voice.

He whipped around to see you, shopping bags in one hand, ice cream in the other. “Maker, kebiin’ika,” he said, walking up to you, looking you up and down to make sure you were ok. “Thought you were gone. I thought you were hurt.”

You winced at his words, wishing you had turned back to leave a note. “I’m sorry, Paz-”

“Don’t call me that in public,” he said, his voice taking a bit of a mean tone. But then he said, softer, “Sorry, I shouldn’t be rude. You didn’t know. It’s part of my religion. Don’t use my name in public.”

You nodded, and then moved on. “I’m sorry, Mando, I just got so bored and figured I could use new clothes and here I am. Ice cream?” You offered the unlicked side of the cone.

He pointed at the helmet. “I think I’ll have to decline.”

You nodded. “Can we go back to the ship now? I don’t like all these people looking at me.” Paz hadn’t noticed, but you were right. Everyone in town was looking at the two weirdos in the middle of the town.

“C’mon,” he said, placing a guiding hand on your back. “Got a speeder bike over there.”

You got on the speeder behind him after he’d secured your shopping bags to the front. One arm wrapped firmly around his waist, the other holding the half-eaten ice cream. “Go slow, Mando, I paid good money for this,” you told him, and he did. You cruised back down the path towards the clearing in the woods that held the ship. “How was your family?” you asked.

“Good,” he said. “I gave a girl in the covert that journal, that candy to the kids, I love to see their reactions. Makes me happy to make them happy.”

Your heart warmed, you could tell that he enjoyed making others happy. That’s what he seemed to live for. “I didn’t know people even used journals anymore, especially not younger people.”

“She’s sixteen,” Paz told you. “She lost her parents recently, and she’d been talking about a journal since she knew what they were. It felt right to buy that for her.”

You laid your head against his back, and brought both hands around his waist, as you’d finished your ice cream. “That’s sweet,” you said. “I’m sure she’s strong, after going through all that.”

“She is,” Paz agreed. “I told her about you.”

“Good things I hope?”

He laughed. “Of course. But everyone told me I shouldn’t have left you on the ship alone. That you’d get bored.”

“What do you mean ‘everyone’? Who all did you tell about me?”

Paz wasn’t sure if he made a mistake. “W-well, you know, just my close friend and Bezza, and of course I told Armorer. That’s all though.”

“Who’s Armorer? I mean, besides the armorer.”

Paz stopped the speeder as you got to the ship. “She’s our leader, our counselor, and our armorer. She’s the backbone of the Tribe.”

You hopped off the back of the bike, hands leaving Paz’s chest. “She seems important,” you said and Paz hummed in agreement. He was untying your bags, and the soup from the back. “Why’d you tell her about me?”

“Needed to know if my friends were right about leaving you alone on the ship,” he laughed. “Seems like they were.”

“You weren’t wrong to leave me, Paz. I understand that Mandalorians are very secretive,” you say. You hated to think he felt bad about a protocol that kept his Tribe safe. “Don’t feel bad.” You took the shopping bags from him and then followed him up into the ship.

“Still, I’m sorry,” he said. “Wasn’t very...gentleman-like.”

You let out a loud laugh, and he turned around to face you. “Sorry,” you said between laughs. “You just don’t strike me as someone who cares about being a gentleman. Not that you aren’t one, of course,” you cringed at yourself. You didn’t want him to think you didn’t like him or found him rude. Kriff, he was a caring Mandalorian, and those were rare.

“I usually don’t,” he said, motioning for you to sit at the table in the common area of the ship. “But I’d like to be a gentleman for you.” Maker, Paz, could you not be more subtle? he thought. Not wanting to give you any time to respond, he continued, “This is some kind of broth they had for dinner tonight. Brought you some back.” He poured the soup into the lid of the thermos and handed you a spoon.

You took the spoon slowly, looking directly into the black of his visor. Somehow, you knew he wasn’t looking back. He was looking above you or over your shoulder or something. “What do you mean you’d like to be a gentleman for me?”

Paz sucked in a strained breath. Suddenly, the beskar that had always made him feel free and safe felt like a prison that suffocated him. “I just care about you,” he said. “You know, like, you’re trusting me and so I care about you. I should protect you.”

“I can take care of myself,” you said. “And I think you know that. That’s not what this is about, is it?”

His head shifted slightly. Now you knew he was looking at you. Then it was your turn to avoid his gaze, looking down into the soup and taking a bite. “No,” he said. “It’s not.”

“Then what is it, Paz?”

Now or never, he thought. “When I was back home, everyone was asking me if I was going to court you,” he started. “I thought about it. A lot. All day.”

“And?”

“And I think I’d like to, if you’d let me,” he said quietly. You had a Mandalorian wrapped around your finger.

You looked up from your soup at him. “What even is Mandalorian courting? Is it like normal dating?” He noticed the lack of answer, silently cursing himself for bringing this up too early.

“Well, kind of. Lots of symbolism,” he said. He pulled a vibroblade from his belt. “Like, I would give you this, as a gift, an offering, if you said yes to a courtship. To mark me giving a piece of myself to you.”

You looked at the blade in his hand. “I don’t have a weapon to give you.”

“That’s ok,” he said. “You don’t have to give me anything. It’s my tradition, not yours.”

You smiled, he was so willing to accommodate you. But you knew this was a traditional man, deep down. “But you’re giving me a piece of you, I should give you a piece of me.”

“You don’t have to kebiin’ika,” he insisted. He sat the vibroblade down on the table, and he watched with wide eyes as you picked it up.

“You’ll have to teach me to use this, Paz,” you said. “But yes, I will court you.” You swore you could feel the relief that washed over his body as you spoke. “But I do want to give you something.” He tilted his head, questioning. “I don’t have anything like this to give you, but I can still make myself a little more vulnerable, like you have.”

Paz smiled under his helmet, glad that you picked up on the message of the blade. He was giving one of his weapons to you, one of his ways to defend himself, and that was deeper than the surface level for a Mandalorian. “How?”

“Ask me all those questions you’ve been dying to ask,” you said. “I’ll answer them. Besides, you should know what you’re getting into with me.”

He nodded. “Where are you from?”

“Alderaan,” you reply. You wanted him to move on to the next question quickly, so you didn’t have time to think about it.

But he didn’t move on quickly. “I’m so sorry, kebiin’ika,” he said, a gloved hand reaching out at one of yours that lay on the table. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. It’s not like you blew it up,” you said dryly. An attempt at humor that usually only worked with other Alderaanian survivors. “Any other questions?”

“What’s on Hosnian Prime? Who’s the friend?”

You smiled at the thought of Leia. “Princess Organa is my friend on Hosnian, or I guess she’s Senator Organa now. When the Rebellion became the New Republic, she told me if I ever needed work I could come see her and she’d find me something.”

“You were a part of the Rebellion?” There was some surprise in his voice, but he’d had an inkling that you’d been involved. Something hardened you, something gave you your skills.

You nodded. “I was here on Yavin when Alderaan was blown up. Fixing up an X-wing when a pilot ran in and told me.”

“Maker,” he said. “I can’t imagine.” He’d known what it was like to lose a lot of people, but never your entire homeworld. Yes, he’d lost Mandalore in some ways, but at least it was still there.

“I thought about abandoning the Rebellion after that. I thought we couldn’t win,” you said. “But when Leia came back with the plans for the Death Star and Luke blew the damned thing up, I couldn’t leave. I was doing the bare minimum, I was just fixing ships.”

“But without you to fix the ships, the Rebellion would’ve been done for,” he said. “Armorer always says that the Tribe is a machine, and we’re all the parts. If one of us is gone, we wouldn’t function,” he says. “I’d bet that’s how the Rebellion was.”

“I guess so,” you replied. “But, kriff, some of those droids I had to fix were annoying.”

He chuckled. “We don't have droids in the covert.”

“Then count your blessings, Paz,” you said, remembering a protocol droid that talked your ear off while you fixed an astromech. “But, if we’re courting, are you coming with me to Hosnian Prime? Your part of the machine would be gone.”

He hadn’t thought of that. “Well, I don’t know. Are you still wanting to go to Hosnian Prime?”

“I kind of have to, right? If I can’t live with you in the covert,” you said. And that was part of the reason, but the other part was that you deeply missed Leia. As daughters of Alderaan and daughters of the Rebellion you’d formed a strong bond. One that you had cut yourself off from when memories of the war became too much.

He nodded, thinking. “You don’t have to, but I think you want to. If not to stay, but to at least see your friend.” Was this man a mind reader?

“Yeah, you’re right,” you agreed. “I want to see Leia. I’ll comm her in the morning, tell her we’re coming.”

“You haven’t told her? You just planned on showing up on a Princess’s doorstep?”

You nodded and shrugged. “Haven’t spoken to her in a long time. Thought it might be best to just show up.”

“You’re very smart, kebiin’ika, but that’s not the brightest decision you’ve ever made.”

You two sat at the table talking for a few more hours. The conversation came with ease as he told you stories of his bounty hunting and of Clan Vizsla’s greatest warriors. But when you yawned, he said, “You’re getting tired. You should go sleep.”

“What about you?” He pointed to the tiny bunk. “No,” you said. “You’d hardly fit in that thing! You’re too long for it!”

He laughed. “I told you earlier, I’d manage.”

“I don't know if this goes against any of your courting rules,” you started. “But you could always sleep in the proper bed with me.”

He thought about it for a moment, he really did, but he shook his head. “Gotta keep the helmet on, kebiin’ika. This is the Way.”

“It gets pitch black in there and I have a sleep mask. I wouldn’t see your face even if I tried,” you said. “And I wouldn’t try.”

Finally, after a lot more convincing, he gave in. You took a shower in the tiny ‘fresher, and came out in pajamas you had bought earlier that day, matching eye mask in hand. “Your turn,” you said, gesturing him into the ‘fresher.

When he emerged, you weren’t ready. The woosh of the door startled you and you clamped your eyes shut, slapping your hands over them. A low chuckle rang through the room. “I’ve got the helmet on, kebiin’ika. Open your eyes until I tell you to shut them.”

You obeyed, and you took him in. He was in a sweatshirt and sweatpants, and even without the armor, he was one huge man. His helmet still sat on his head, looking out of place with his loungewear. He made his way to the other side of the bed, and situated himself next to you.

“Alright, kebiin’ika,” he said. “Time for lights out.” You nodded, shutting off the lamps and then placed the mask over your eyes.

“Ok, I can’t see,” you said. And then you heard the helmet hit the floor on the other side of the bed.

It was a bit awkward at first. Both of you, just laying on your backs in what was relatively a small bed. But eventually, his hand found yours under the covers. “I wish I could show you the covert,” he said. “Introduce you to my family.”

“Is there any chance you could?” you asked. “I mean, before we leave for the Hosnian system?”

He pondered for a moment, not wanting to make an empty promise. He thought of what Armorer and the council might say. “Maybe,” he replies. “Maybe not before Hosnian. Someday, though.”

“Someday.” you repeated, and then you drifted off, hand in hand with your gentle warrior.

#paz vizla x reader #paz vizsla x reader #paz vizla #paz vizsla #the mandalorian

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90slevi · 3 years

Text

Loneliness {Levi Ackerman x Reader}

TW: a bit of gore? a LOT of angst, more of me venting lol

Levi ran his hands through his hair as he flopped down onto the old, crusty sofa.

It'd been a tough day for him and his squad, the group of them only just surviving as they frantically dodged a mass of titans and tried their best to weave through the pounding rain that was so heavy it almost left marks on the scarred bodies of the soldiers. Thank god the group had found a small, secluded cabin, or they might've frozen to death - if they hadn't been eaten first.

The number of people Levi had seen get mutilated in front of him in the past few hours alone was enough for the average person to see in a lifetime. For him, it should be normal. He should be used to it by now, maybe even desensitised, but every time he watched a person get split in half by the gaping jaws of a titan, it felt like a fresh, stinging wound on his skin. It was painful, yet all he could do was watch with his stern expression to hide the way he truly felt. To keep the confidence of his squad high.

Now, he and his crew were safe. Physically, maybe, but certainly not mentally.

Levi missed his wife. His head pounded in pain as the blood-stained bandages began to unravel and his headache increased, but all he wanted to do was think about her. He held her letters close, and he held the small oil-painting of the two of them close to his heart, something that'd been made by one of the higher-ups as a gift for Humanity's Strongest. The letter was one of the first things Y/n had written to him and the pretty yet smudged handwriting along with the cute curls of her Gs and Ys made his heart feel warm.

It'd been about a month since they'd both left Wall Sina to go on this extremely long, drawn-out expedition, and how much he cared about her was beginning to dwell on him. His heart and body ached, and he wished she was there with him to comfort his pains, even if he acted like he wasn't listening.

That was what Levi liked about her; she knew how much he cared about her without him needing to express himself. Something he wasn't... the best at.

Levi didn't realise his eyes were welling up with tears until he felt a small, fresh droplet appear on his upper cheek, and his eyelashes felt sticky. Quickly, he wiped it away with his sleeves, but it was unlikely anyone would see. Everyone was supposedly asleep, while he stayed up due to his unfortunate insomnia. Y/n was always there with him in their bed at home, someone he could hold onto while he tried his best to sleep. Her fingers running through his hair, leaving small little pats on his scalp, and tiny kisses on his forehead were all things he missed dreadfully, and he gulped a little as his heart pounded slightly.

Love was never really a thing Levi had believed in. He just went about his life, trying to survive and find a better life for humanity. But when he met Y/n, everything changed. Of course, he disliked her at first, just as he did with most people. Her bubbly, caring personality with too much sympathy and love for other people were things he, unfortunately, despised, mainly because they were things he seemed to lack. Yet... he couldn't help but be drawn to her, giving her extra chores such as cleaning his office and bringing him tea just so he could see her. Often he'd ask Y/n to help him with his paperwork so he had some sort of company, once even choosing her over Hanji to fetch him food.

He slowly began to realise over the months that it wasn't hatred he felt for Y/n. It was... fear. He was scared of loving someone, especially someone like her. Someone who was part of the Survey Corps, and someone who could die within a week and not have the chance to say goodbye. It hurt him way too much to love someone, yet he couldn't keep his feelings to himself.

When he found out she felt the same way, the two discussed their options. One being totally ridiculous and one being... more reasonable and sensible.

The first? Choosing to leave the Survey Corps and get married, far away from the life they'd been leading.

The second? Staying in the Survey Corps and going separate ways, never to speak of this again and to drop the feelings if they could.

But of course Y/n managed to merge the two together. Staying in the Survey Corps and getting married.

But... they were in different squads. While he led his own, Y/n was under Hanji, and he currently had no idea where her squad was or IF they'd even survived. They'd been seperated for three weeks now, and the questions that filled his mind felt like psychological torture. Levi tried his best to block that thought out of his head, not wanting to be plagued with the thoughts of his wife's death instead of focussing on the mission at hand. At that moment, he needed to prioritise his own Squad's safety, but he couldn't keep those thoughts at bay.

A sniffle escaped his nose as he felt his eyes well up again, and Levi had never felt so lonely. His free arm reached upwards as if he could magically touch fingers with Y/n and know she was okay, but it was pointless. His arm flopped back down as he tried to find a comfortable position on the absolutely awful-excuse of a sofa, but struggled. Crying was not a very-Levi thing to do, but at that moment? He just couldn't help himself.

Tears streamed down his cheeks, and he felt almost like a baby. He was not only upset about not having his wife near, but extremely embarrassed too. He was hyperaware that someone could see him, even though nobody was there, and he knew that as a captain, it was highly irresponsible to be sobbing like this. He'd only cried twice in front of Y/n; the first was when he thought she'd died, and the second was the aftermath of his original squad dying. If only she could see him now, looking pathetic and weak.

But he should've known she didn't think of him like that. Y/n knew him as the strongest person she'd ever met in her life and believed that crying was not a sign of weakness, but a sign of holding it in for too long. Holding in those negative emotions and putting on a strong facade only she could see through. Only a fool would think Levi was brave all the time, because even the strongest get scared.

"Fuck," Levi muttered shakily, noticing that one of his tears had merged two words together on one of the letters, creating an inky black blob. He placed the pieces of parchment onto the table beside him, making sure not to ruin them anymore, and balled his fists into his eyes to stop himself from crying anymore. He didn't want to feel this; he wanted to go home and spend the rest of his days with you, blissfully unaware that the titans even existed. Maybe he'd be a dad.

But no. The world just liked to cruelly torture him and watch him suffer. The world wanted him to watch everyone he ever knew die in front of him in ways he didn't want to experience. The world just wanted the worst for him, and he wondered what he'd ever done to deserve it.

When he heard a knock at the door of the cabin, he completely ignored it, not wanting to get up and answer. His eyes were red and puffy, while teardrops hung in his eyelashes. It was clear as day he'd been crying, and for some reason, it didn't exactly register in his mind that there was someone at the door until he heard footsteps.

"Captain Hanji!" a voice from downstairs exclaimed, one Levi recognised as Armin Arlert's. Levi almost shot up in his seat at that name, and his heart almost dropped to the pit of his stomach. He held his breath, the pain of not knowing whether his wife was alive or not becoming too much to bear. And now, he'd be told what'd happened to her. "It's so late, where have you been?"

"We took a detour," Hanji chuckled, and Levi groaned quietly at her poor taste in jokes. It was somewhere around 2am and everyone was filled with so much anxiety that it really wasn't the right time for her 'comedic expertise'. "No, we got ambushed by a ton of titans and we had to hideout in this abandoned castle until it was safe. We used the night to kill the ones that were resting before coming here."

"But we got lost," a male's voice said, and Levi heard Armin physically face-palm. The captain kicked his legs over the sofa and his ears pricked up, his heart racing against his chest for any sign of his wife. He was completely frozen in place, unable to leave the room and confront the group, never mind help them. Thank goodness Armin was there. "Hanji went way too far East instead of West."

"Hey! I was listening to your directions, Heinrich," Hanji sighed, and he heard the door close behind them as the whole group wandered inside. A few members of his own squad seemed to be leaving their temporary bedroom, greeting Hanji and the others with a fake display of delight. Not that they weren't happy to see Hanji's squad; they were delighted to know the group was alive and well. They were just... tired, and too mentally traumatised from that day alone to give a proper smile.

Footsteps echoed around the house to the point that Levi had no idea if people were coming up or going down the stairs, and he finally stood up when the door to his room opened...

And his heart skipped a beat.

Standing in the doorway was Y/n, her eyes swollen from tears and her wrist in a temporary bandage. Cuts and bruises littered her visible skin, and she dropped her cloak to the floor as she rushed over, flinging herself into her husband's arms. Levi fell backward onto the sofa, his eyes wide with surprise as the woman nuzzled her face into his neck and chest, unable to get enough of him. A strangled breath left her as she pressed a lingering kiss to his lips, and he returned it. His hands roamed her back, gently taking off her brown jacket and examining her broken wrist.

"Y/n," he said quietly, looking up at her as she straddled his legs, hugging him with her free arm. "What happened?"

"I went to rescue Lorena Engel and fractured my wrist in the process," she said softly, sitting up and wiping her eyes as she attempted to look him in the face. "She was grabbed by a titan and I went to slice at the wrong angle... it was purely an accident."

"I'm glad to see that other than that, you're okay," he said, a small, strained smile on his lips. It wasn't that he wasn't happy to see her. In fact, he was completely overjoyed to see his wife again. It was just... really difficult to smile at that point in time, and thankfully, she understood. Then, he wrapped his arms around her waist once more and held her tightly, his face against her chest as he listened to her racing heartbeat. Tears began to escape again, and when she noticed, she planted soft kisses across his head, her hands running through his hair just as he liked. "God, I missed you so fucking much."

"I missed you too," she answered, the goosebumps that'd prickled on her body due to the cold eventually disappearing. The dim candlelight in the room was barely exuding any heat, but the warmth from her husband was enough. Just Levi being there, safe and sound, was enough.

After a while, Levi's voice entered the silent room.

"Did everyone in your squad make it?" he asked, and it took a few moments for Y/n to reply.

"Everyone except Marcus Karsten" she whispered, choking slightly. "He... lost his life a week ago. What about... you?"

"Everyone made it," Levi answered, gently rubbing her back comfortingly. He wasn't best with words, so he made sure to make up for it with actions. She seemed to like that, anyway. "I'm... thankful for that."

"Yeah, that's good," Y/n said, a genuine smile on her lips. She was grateful his squad had no fatalities. They were a good bunch of kids, and she got along with most of them. "Levi, why is there a bandage on your head?

"Little accident," he answered, amused that she was worried about the little things. His injuries didn't matter to him, but to her they were incredibly important. "I misjudged where I was going and banged my head, but it's okay."

"It better be," she chuckled quietly, even the tiniest bit of laughter meaning the world to him. He hadn't heard it in so long that he hadn't realised how desperate he was for it. "Now, I can see those little eyebags creeping onto your face. You've barely slept."

"So?" he muttered, burying his face further into her chest. "What about it?"

"God, your stubborn," she sighed, ruffling his hair. "Now that I'm here, will you try your best to fall asleep?"

"But you've only just arrived-"

"So?" Y/n answered, teasing him and brushing his forehead with her thumb. She then planted another yet smaller kiss onto his lips, one Levi tried to push further into but was denied. "You'll be seeing me all day tomorrow. Just a couple hours rest won't do any harm."

Levi knew there was no winning against his wife. She was incredibly persistent when she wanted to be, so he sighed in annoyance before falling onto his back, lying on the sofa. She lay on top of him, his arms tight around her body as she snuggled into his shoulder. A tiny sigh of relief left his lungs and he took a deep breath in, filling his nose with her scent (and the unfortunate smell of dirt and blood, but he didn't care).

As happy as he could get, Levi eventually fell asleep, holding his dearly beloved in his arms.

#levi ackerman #attack on titan #levi #shingeki no kyojin #snk #aot #anime #levi fanfiction #one-shot #angst #hurt/comfort #fluff and angst

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