#its entirely my fault after all they will to my face make fun of. laugh at. and hate everything of me they would see in other ppl that dont | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

yawarakaizai · 7 months

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wearing beast!dazai’s big black trench coat with only undies underneath ໒꒰ྀི ܸ. .ܸ ꒱ྀི১ !! swinging legs while sitting on his lap and messing with his paperwork until he gets mad and punishes u ૮꒰/ฅ//ฅ//꒱ა

m rlly glad u’r opening nsfw reqs luv (*ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ*.ﾟ hope have fun writing angel！

ⵌ NOT A SECOND THOUGHT, OH, ROMEO

SENDER Reader (Fem) RECIPITENT Beast!Dazai (BSD) CONTENTS 17+ CONTENT NSFW, dub-con, usage of 'daddy', fem pet names, dry humping, grinding, bratty impatient reader, implied sugar daddy dazai, dirty talk, degradation, implied unsafe bindings (stay safe during bondage guys!), no lube/dry penetration, maso/sadi, jealous dazai, slight edging, orgasm denial,mean dazai but slightly sweet dazai during aftercare NOTE It's not your fault. It's not your fault there's nothing better to do. It's not your fault daddy promised to be in bed with you soon. You needed him, and he was too busy with the work he promised to have finished earlier! You wouldn't let him get away with this. But - who really has the upper-hand here? COMPANY Lolita

A/N aahh back f rom scho ol trip ;///; first nsfw fic !! h ope its okay (☍﹏⁰) i have more reqs in i nbox !!! i hope you enjoy th is fic !!!!

This was a dangerous game to play.

How you were going to go about this was a gamble, one that could either go in your favour - or horribly otherwise.

Danger thrilled you. And perhaps maybe that is why you paraded right into Dazai's office wearing nothing but his black trench coat.

" Oh? "

His pen was placed on the desk gently. Gaze eyeing you up and down with an eyebrow quirked up in curiosity. " What are you up to, bella? "

You stood there at the entrance with cockiness written all over your face. He knew what you were up to, he knew all too well what you wanted and he decided to play cruel.

Displaying yourself to him in such a teasing manner was the dangerous game. Your bitchiness that will follow will be more reason for him to punish you. You wore your favourite black-lace panties that hung low on your hips, your pretty pussy nearly peeking from the fabric as it hung loose. Dazai's coat was much too big for you, which described why the sleeves covered your hands entirely and you left the jacket unzipped purposefully, the coat just barely covering your nipples, enough to tease - but not enough to satisfy.

" I'm bored. " You hummed, as innocent as an angel, making your way over to his desk.

You twirled his signature red scarf around your hands, pulling the coats sleeves up your forearms to reveal your fingers, adorned with the expensive finger he had bought you.

" I told you I was almost done, did I not? " Dazai stifled a small laugh, sucking in a nervous breath. He wore a white blouse and some black jeans while working in his second office. There had been an incident he needed to look over and the last thing he needed was a distraction.

Dazai really did love you, but it seemed that no amount of training was able to keep a brat like you in one place.

" You're taking too long! " You pouted, hands slamming on his desk as you bent over just slightly, the coat yielding and allowing him to peek at your perked nipples. " My butt hurts waiting for you in our room, so..! "

Standing back up straight, you swayed your hips around the table and - pap! Sat right on his lap, sliding in between his legs very soon after with your back pressed to his chest. " ..This is much more comfortable. "

You emphasise so by wiggling your hips left and right before his hands clamped down on the sides of your hips to stop your ass from digging further against his crotch.

" Princess. " His shaky breath earned a grin from you. " Now's really not the time, okay? I'm almost done, I promise. " He tried to pick up his pen but you kicked your legs, your body moving with the force of so, " But daddy! Please! " You cried out. " At least let me sit down until you're finished! "

Giving in, it was probably for the best knowing you'll bother him either way. " Then I expect you to not move. " Rubbing your hips as his iron grip relented, " Am I clear? "

Of course you weren't going to behave. You deserve to act out every now and then, especially when mean Dazai left you waiting for so long!

" Mhm! " Your head idly rocked with a childish tune playing in your head, leaning back slightly to allow Dazai some movement. He picked his pen back up and began to write while you tried to focus on the fast, cursive writing but just couldn't.

The many words had your brain jumbled and you kept on yawning before daddy even had a chance to tend to you after promising he would.

" Daddy, this is boring. " You complained only to be given a small 'tch, tch' as a response.

Even you talking was enough to distract him. It made you upset, and when you were upset, consequences weren't something you worried or even thought about.

You tried singing, he'd pinch your thigh. You tried humming, he'd pinch your thigh. You repositioned slightly to get more comfortable, he'd pinch your thigh.

It was torture to be kept here waiting especially after you spent so long not only anticipating him meeting you tonight but also convincing Chuuya why you needed Dazai's trench coat and scarf.

You reached over to pick a pen from the cupholder just almost out of your reach and leaned back after. Dazai must've thought you wanted to keep your hands busy since you began to twirl the pen in your fingers. But oh, no.

Because while he was busy on yet another useless paragraph, you scribbled a small little heart in the corner of the page. He didn't seem to like that.

" Princess. " He warned, but you only giggled in the face of his growing anger. " Whaaaat? I'm not doing anything bad! " You threw your head back and looked up, Dazai's head turned down to look at your stupid little smirk. He wasn't impressed, but you both knew deep down he was enjoying this. If that hard thing pressing in between your ass wasn't any indication.

" You can keep acting like a bitch as much as you want, but you know how this is going to end. " He left it at that, knowing you well enough to expect you to continue until he has you flipped over, choking back your words.

" Mm-mm, " You shook your head, scribbling more love-hearts into corner of the page, small little doodles, " I'm only being nice. Daddy's being unfair. " Your legs kicked back and forth as you drew away on the page as though it were your sketchpad.

With Dazai's patience running low, he put his pen away to gather his sheets to read over, his head peering over your shoulder at his notes. Organising information was hard. It was even harder when he had his princess humping back into his half-erect cock.

You could swear that he was reading slow on purpose just to piss you off. You needed his attention now. In a bold move, the next words spoken would end up changing a night that could've ended on a much nicer note.

" Would've just gone to Chuuya if I knew you were gonna be this mean. "

You didn't even have enough time to gasp before your head was pushed down onto the desk, your body bent suddenly and it ached with the unprepared stretch. Your whine came late, but the palm shoving your cheek down made your words muffle until he pulled back , tearing the red scarf from around your neck and bringing it behind you where your vision couldn't see. You didn't dare move from the new position he put you into.

" Ow, ow, daddy! " Your overreactions didn't earn you any pity as he bound your wrists together behind your back securely. It was a little too tight, but that's just how you liked it.

" Can't wait at all, can you? " He huffed, your head still resting on the table, on top of a few of his beloved documents that he spent so long researching for and writing.

" My fault for spoiling you so much, isn't it princess? Lettin' you run the show how you like it. " Unzipping his fly with haste, he let his cock spring free while his other hand pulled the trench coat belonging to him that you were wearing over your bottom, pulling your panties down and letting them pool down at your feet. " Baby got too greedy, now she's gonna be reminded just what she is. "

" But you-! " Your mouth shot open in a gargled cry as he shoved his rock hard dick into your unprepared hole. You were barely wet enough for it to slide in and out comfortably. There was only so much your pussy could give when you had to go through about an hour of being denied. " Daddy! Hurts! Hurts! " You wailed, your legs kicking back and knees buckling with the horribly uncomfortable intrusion. Daddy's cock was thick and long enough for you to feel it push against that certain organ deep around your plush walls. You felt a stabbing pain in your lower abdomen that surged through your body and you thought that maybe this had not been worth it after all.

Hooking a hand under your stomach to keep you from completely falling to the floor, Dazai held your hips and began to thrust as he pleased, picking up pace into something deep but slow.

He would have happily slammed fast if he wanted to, but you only now were beginning to provide him with some self-made lubrication. " Fuck, baby. " He groaned, watching how your cute pussy would stretch around his cock as he'd slam in and how it'd return to it's small plumpness when he'd pull out to the tip only.

It was such an addicting sight, he could silence out your little begs and apologies in favour of watching your pussy instead.

" Dah-ddy! " You squealed, trying to gain his attention, to alert him of the pain.

" Hurts, it hurts, really, for re-al! " Your voice cracked with a hard thrust that made the desk inch forward.

" If that were the case, you wouldn't be getting so wet over this, would you? "

Dazai acknowledged the pain you were allegedly feeling but made no effort in helping soothe.

" Good girls get rewards. Bad girls get punished. Those are the rules. " Dazai was so, so mean. Your tears did not sway him to go easy. " No bitch of mine is bringing up Chuuya while she grinds down on my dick like a cock-hungry whore. "

" I'm sorry that I said it! " You tried to apologise but knew that ultimately, daddy's word was final.

You had no option but to stay still and take daddy's idea of a fit punishment for today.

At this point, your body had given in to the abuse your pussy was given and finally, that pain evolved into something more hot and arousing as precipitation pooled between your legs.

" Then you've learned for next time, hm? "

Dazai was grateful feeling himself slip in and out easier. His thrusts became more brutal and he seemed to care more about his table that kept moving in sync with his thrusts than you.

You were being used as a cocksleeve.

" Aah- aa-a-aah.. " Your body bounced and rubbed against the polished wood all while you tried to form coherent thoughts.

You thought that maybe, just maybe, you preferred this over daddy's usual spanking.

" G'nna..! Cum! Daddy, think I'm gonna! " You cried out, drool wetting the sheets.

" Hold it. " The command alone made your body seize up with fear. " No! " You choked on a mixture of a sob and a moan. " I'm gonna die, daddy! I'm gonna die, please, please! "

He relished in the way your feet raised to pull his thighs in closer into you, begging him to cum inside you and to give you the early orgasm you wanted so bad.

" Just be a good girl. Just this fuckin' once. Can ya do that? "

You really did sob this time.

Unsure how long you could hold back your orgasm, just before you were pushed over the edge - Dazai pulled out entirely and you shrieked.

Rubbing his cock on your soft ass, you felt thick, hot ropes of his seed squirt lines over your plump behind, wiping away any excess on your inner thigh, just about touching your neglected pussy.

" Noo.. no.. " Your voice was hoarse from shouting, small body hiccuping little sobs at the orgasm stolen from you.

" I said bad girls get punished. " Dazai replied coldly, taking a seat back into his chair after undoing the knot keeping your wrists tied.

At first, you couldn't move, and he watched his cum trickle down your thighs and onto the floor. You stayed crying quietly for a while on the desk until you pulled yourself together - enough to stand up (albeit shakily) to take the two steps forward to be held in Dazai's arms.

" Daddy, daddy, sorry, 'm sorry, I am, I am! "

You held onto his shirt with shaking fists, shivering like you were left out wet in the cold.

" Shh, shh, I know you are. I know you are, princess. "

Cheeks and nose flushed red from tears, his hand rubbed up and down your thigh, squeezing the flesh when he could.

" You can be a good girl when you want to. "

" Y-eah. " You cleared your sore throat, breath hitching every now and then with a hard inhale.

" Daddy had to be mean today, you know why, don't you, my brave girl? " Dazai cooed to you, tucking strands of your hair behind your ear so he could get a better view of your tear-streaked face.

" I was bad today, never again, not gonna be bad again. "

" That's my good girl. "

You say it and promise it. You swear it up and down and daddy will give you what you want soon after.

And even then, it'll barely be another two weeks before your next punishment.

©yawarakaizai 2023 ﹒﹒ reblogs appreciated! requests open :3

#dazai x reader #beast dazai x reader #beast dazai #bsd x reader

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sugurufic · 2 months

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What are your thoughts on the reader and teen nanami attending an improv comedy show…

Oh this is so interesting! I am not funny, like at all, so please don't judge my terrible jokes T^T as always, its not proofread

Nanami, Haibara and you had a lot of fun planned for the weekend, but Haibara had to return home to his family. His sister had gotten a bad fever and he was worried sick about her.

So you and Nanami still went about the plans, going to the mall for some shopping and to the city center to eat, and then return to your respective dorms. The two of you hadn't hung out much without Haibara, his absence weighing you down. With Haibara it was easy to ignore how Nanami's presence made you feel, but now it was practically impossible, with him walking beside you in the mall, dressed in normie clothes.

"Hey ma'am, hey sir!" an attendant at the mall greeted you cheerfully. "We have a free of cost improv comedy session going on, would you care to join us?"

You have always loved improv comedy, watching videos on the internet, but you've never seen one in person. Besides, how bad could it get? It's not like you were wasting any money this way.

"Nanami, can we go, please?" you plead, batting your eyelashes at the blond man, who doesn't even argue.

"Thank you for joining us!" the attendant yells behind you.

"I really hope that it doesn't turn out to be a waste of time," Nanami says as you sit beside him. The room still has some empty seats, but it's a great news that there are people to see a new comedian.

"I don't think it will be," you say, scooting a little closer to him as the air conditioning sent a shiver under your skin.

The empty seats fill up quickly, and the lights are dimmed, waiting for the comedian to take the stage. You are unfamiliar with the man who comes on the stage, viewing his audience with a smile on his face. "Hey everyone! Thank you for being here. You really are helping me convince my parents that maybe I can pull this comedy thing off," He starts of with a jolly voice. "You know, after I wasted four years of my life on an engineering degree."

You chuckle, having heard something similar from plenty of comedians. the man looks over his audience, eyes flickering to a stop to someone on the other end of the room. "Oh, I have a young crowd with me. I really hope you don't get influenced by me. it's not my fault if your mum slaps you with a slipper for not wanting to go to college."

"How old even are you?" he asks the same person. "That young! Now I will feel guilty about making the jokes I had planned." The man shakes his head. "Anyways, you know I am not entirely upset that i did college. I now have more things to make jokes about. Anyone who did CS and now everyone is suddenly asking them to fix computers?"

A surprising number of people raise their hands, and you chuckle once again. Nanami fixes his bangs beside you, trying to hide his rolling eyes. But you know him too well to know what he's doing.

"My parents forbade from speaking to the opposite gender all throughout school. And now that I'm an engineer by degree, they want me to get married." He sighs. "You are too young to understand this. How many of you have partners?" a good number of people raised their hands. "And how many of parent's know?" most hands went down.

The comedian's eyes fall on the pair of you and he asks Nanami, "Hey, blond guy! Is that pretty lady your girlfriend?"

Your face heats up and you can barely look at Nanami, who has gone pink. "N-No," he manages to say.

"Your face tells me otherwise," the comedian laughs. "For those of you who cannot see, Mr. Blond Guy has turned red. The lady seems flustered too. You two did come together, right? Or did I just embarrass two strangers sitting next to each other."

"We go to the same school," You manage to say, despite your flustered state. "And we're friends."

"Miss, maybe you should ask blond guy. He seems very shy." the comedian chuckles.

"I don't think I'm her type," Nanami mumbles in a small voice, and you give him the biggest side eye you have ever given to anyone.

"Judging by the lady's reaction, I'd say you are wrong, buddy." the man laughs. "See people, please tell your friends I helped set up a relationship. If any of your friends need a wingman, please join me on my next shows."

When you leave the mall, you walk together in silence, not even getting the courage to look at him. But you bite down your fears and say, "What gave you the impression that you aren't my type?" You still don't look at him, but your hands are in front of you, trying to grasp the air. "Because then I'd have to fix that. You are exactly my type."

Oh no, you think. You may have spoken to much. "Please ignore what I just said if you don't like me back."

"I do," Nanami softy says, and you whip you head towards him, seeing a rare smile on his face. His cheeks are still dusted a light shade of pink and he looks so cute you could kiss him. "I never thought you could like me like that."

"OH you blind man," you sigh, intertwining your fingers when his hand reaches for yours. "Let's just do this again later, okay?"

"Okay," Nanami says, the smile not leaving his face.

#nanami kento x reader #nanami x reader #jjk x reader

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jwonsociety · 1 year

Text

another year with you ♡

yang jungwon x gn!reader est. relationship | fluff | 1.0k | no warnings!

a/n: happy new year everyone!! here's to a great 2023 🥂

You weren't sure why you allowed yourself to get dragged to this party.

Actually, that's a lie. You knew exactly why this happened. A few hours prior, Jungwon had suggested that you two go to a New Year's celebration hosted by one of his close friends. "I know parties aren't really your thing," he'd said, "but it'll be fun, I promise!" Once he had punctuated his plea by batting his infuriatingly adorable eyelashes, you knew there was no way in the world you could've declined.

Your boyfriend was right, after all. The party was a lot of fun. You spent the night laughing with friends you hadn't seen in a while and being thoroughly entertained by Jungwon and Sunghoon's abstract rendition of Born This Way by Lady Gaga during karaoke. The couple hundred videos you had of it in your camera roll were certainly proof of that.

So, yes, you were having a great time. The only issue was that midnight was in approximately one minute, and your boyfriend was nowhere to be found.

Clearly, he couldn't have gone far -- Heeseung's apartment wasn't terribly large -- but the mass of people gathering to watch the countdown on TV was making it hard to find him. Excited chatter filled the room as well as the thrum of music blasting from the stereo. You tried standing on your tiptoes in order to pick him out in the crowd but were unsuccessful in your efforts. In search of assistance, you turned to the girl standing to your left.

"Wonyoung," you asked, raising your voice in order to be heard over the commotion. "Have you seen Jungwon?"

She furrowed her brows pensively. "I think I saw him near the kitchen? Not entirely sure, though."

You nodded. "Thank you!"

She supplied you with an encouraging thumbs up. "Go find your man!"

Steered by Wonyoung's directions, you ventured towards the kitchen -- a task which turned out to require some serious evasive maneuvers. You ducked under rogue elbows, awkwardly shimmied in between flirting partygoers, and cringed when one particularly sweaty man brushed up against you. A nervous glance at the TV revealed that now only 30 seconds remained until January 1st.

Once you reached your destination, your eyes scanned your surroundings. The room was obscured by darkness, illuminated only by the sporadic flash of the nearby television. Where was he? Worry began to creep into your mind. Suddenly, the room filled with everyone's voices shouting in unison, causing you to startle.

"Ten!"

Shit. Your heartbeat began to quicken and a girl wearing light-up sunglasses pushed past you.

"Nine!"

You made it to an uncrowded spot by the window. Its glass stretched from the floor to the ceiling and offered a view overlooking the city. Lights pulsed across the skyline like a giant heartbeat.

"Eight!"

You glanced back out into the mass of the party. Somehow, Sunoo had ended up on Niki's shoulders.

"Sev--"

"Y/n!"

Your eyes widened at the familiar voice. Whirling around, your gaze landed on a boy clad in a fuzzy white sweater, chestnut brown hair falling onto his face in disheveled strands. A wide grin stretched across your face. Jungwon.

"Six!"

He grabbed your hand, leaning in close so that his mouth was right next to your hear. "I've been looking everywhere for you, y/nnie."

"Five!"

"Not my fault you disappeared," you giggled.

"Four!"

He pulled away so that you two were face to face. Fuck. He was gorgeous like a sky painted pink by a sunset -- even though you had seen it a million times, it was still just as marvelous as the first.

"Three!"

Jungwon looked at you, eyes twinkling. "Would you do me the honor--"

"Two!"

"--of being my New Year's kiss?"

"One!"

You had never nodded so eagerly in your life.

"Happy New Year!"

In one gentle motion, Jungwon placed his left hand on your waist and the other cupped your cheek, pulling you in. The moment your lips met his, the deafening cheers of your friends faded into blissful obscurity. The only sound that filled your ears was the roar of your heart as you leaned into his touch. His grasp was soft on your hips, holding you close as if to ensure that you wouldn't be separated from him again. You grinned into the kiss, hands snaking up his neck before settling in his silky hair. His cologne smelled sweet and warm and you reveled in the way it completely took over your senses. Greedily, you never wanted his lips to part from yours.

But, much to your disappointment, Jungwon lingered only for a few more moments before pulling away, his eyes settling on yours. "Happy new year, baby."

"Happy new year," you replied, voice breathless. "I was worried I wouldn't find you."

The corner of Jungwon's mouth quirked up. "I was worried about that too. There's a lot of people here, you know."

Your face flushed as you remembered that yes, in fact, there were a lot of people here, and they all definitely just saw you kiss your boyfriend. As embarrassed as that would normally make you feel, at this moment you really couldn't seem to care. Not when Jungwon was staring at you like you were the only thing that mattered in the world. His dark eyes were like their own universe, teeming with stars dazzling with supernovas. They gleamed with a sort of fondness that made your heart burst. Out of all the boys on this Earth, this one was yours. And you were undoubtedly his.

"Got any New Year's resolutions?" you asked, absentmindedly combing your fingers through his hair. You relished the way he leaned into the touch like he was completely spellbound by you.

"Just one."

You tilted your head. "And that is...?"

He softly dragged his thumb across your cheek, moving in to close the distance between the two of you. When he spoke, his breath ghosted warmly against your lips.

"To spend another amazing year with you, my love."

Midnight had come and gone, yet Jungwon pulled you in for another kiss anyways.

#enhypen #yang jungwon #jungwon x y/n #jungwon x reader #gn!reader #enhypen oneshots #enhypen x reader #enhypen drabbles #jungwon fluff #fluff #domestic fluff #jungwon oneshots

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padfootdaredmetoo · 1 year

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Hi again! Oh yeah! I guess its request time then😂 (Also I love that gif😂) also right after I sent the first ask I had an idea for another Henry Sherlock x Peaky and I can't decide which to send so I'll send both separately and you can choose which one you like better! The original idea I had was for a Shelby sister Reader and the other is a Holmes sister Reader. But the first idea is this:

What if another Shelby sister moves to London and ends up being Sherlock's neighbor but he ignores her at first (or pretends to) even when she becomes friends with Enola. Then one day a man looking for revenge against the Blinders breaks into her home and almost succeeds in kidnapping/killling her but suddenly Sherlock appears and saves her. Then right as he's helping patch her up like half of the Shelby Company Limited +Co show up because they got the call reader was threatened. And after that reader and Sherlock gee closer and like Ada and Enola are constantly working to set them up! And yeah that's the first idea I had if you were interested!❤️❤️

Hey Love,

This request is just - I'm not worthy. But I hope this makes you happy. I have three extra pieces that I'll try to post tonight. Thanks for sending this in, I'm having a lot of fun with it!

Warnings: Reader is assaulted, kissing, fluff,

EXTRAS: Little extra bits of the story that give more context. I figured they might make it too long but I'm still super attached to them.

Kissing - Additional Short about kissing

You looked around the sun bathed flat in amazement, a sound you could never recall rang in your ears. Silence. It was quiet and only the furniture was put in place. Aunt Pol and Ada insisted on staying with you for the first night, in your world that was a party so naturally, Esme was in toe with them when they showed up. You all listened to records and drank yourselves silly. Gin and dancing, laughing and gossiping, your heart was soaring high when you eventually fell asleep on a pile of cushions.

However, in the morning, it was a different feeling entirely. You woke up first wondering how on earth you all could make a mess out of a practically unpacked apartment, but there it was. The anxiety from the booze started to hit you and laying still became impossible. Your stomach turned violently and your mind started to race with unwanted memories. Time to get busy, you groaned and got up for the day.

You ran out to get some bread and eggs for breakfast. The street was brutally loud and you were grateful for the little shop as the door closed and the sound was muffled. Eggs and bread turned into a large and heavy paper bag full of all sorts of things. You managed it well enough till you got to the top of the front steps. You nestled the large paper bag in one arm and struggled to get your keys out of your coat pocket. The door swung open suddenly and a very tall man glared down at you. The paper bag fell from your arm as the man's gaze held you. He was very tall and broad, looking down at you with a displeased face.

“So-” You stopped yourself and shook your head this was not your fault. You picked the bag up and tried to hold your head high while walking around the large man, something that would have been possible if his shoulders didn't take up the entire doorway.

Your eyes rested on his collar bones that poked out of his nightshirt and you wondered how on earth someone could have shoulders so….

“221C?” His voice was deep and velvety and would have been very pleasing if he had sounded less grumpy. His crumpled hair and long sweeping robe made you wonder why he was going out at all.

You turned your head to the side as you met his eyes again, a move you regretted instantly.

“Normally people refer to me by my name.” You told him your name and reached out to shake his hand. He gave you a firm handshake and gave you another look over.

“Last night was a terrible experience. My work requires a large amount of concentration and -”

“Are you the new woman?” An overly cheery voice called out from behind the hulking man. He let out an exasperated sigh. A girl with long brown curly hair fought her way out of the doorway and bent down to grab a tin of coffee that had escaped in the fall.

“Im Enola - Holmes! This is my brother” She looked between the two of you and registered her brother's deep glare “he’s hungover - completely ignore him.” She said with a beaming smile. She ushered you past him into the hallway and started chattering. Your head was pounding but you tried to follow along with what she was saying.

“It sounded like a wild night, I don't think I’ve ever heard so much laughing.” She held onto your arm with the tin of coffee in the other hand and you felt weird being walked to your apartment by the girl. She must have been about 14 or so, something in her eagerness to speak with you made you feel she was lonely.

“You know I love parties, I know lots of jokes, and oh- do you run your own business. Your mail here has a company stamp with your last name. That’s really something, I’m excellent with numbers if you ever need accounting - not that you aren't good with numbers if you own your own business- ”

“Enola” The man called from their door across the hall.

“Sorry!” She gave you another big smile.

“Do you want a cup of coffee or tea?” You don't know why you asked her, caffeine was the very last thing that girl needed. But her eyes were lonely and you remembered what it was like at that age.

“No”

“YES!” they answered at the same time. The man looked at you almost apologetically.

“She wouldn't be any trouble. My sisters are here with my aunt, ah tonight was sort of a one-off. Sorry about the noise and everything.” You fumbled and your face flushed.

“No,” He said awkwardly. “ Not a problem I just - as long as it's not every night. I’m sure we can be just as loud.” You gave him a nod and then opened the door to your apartment.

“Behave Enola” He called out before stepping into his flat with his mail in hand. She made an exasperated face and rolled her eyes.

_________________________________________________

You laughed as you came into the kitchen to see all three of them sat at the table in various positions that showed their hungover-ness.

“Everyone this is my neighbor Enola.” Esme didn't lift her head from the wooden table but a groan of acknowledgment rang out from a mess of dark curly hair.

Polly looked the girl over and lit a cigarette, then her eyes looked to you with a question.

“She bumped into me in the hallway. Enola this is my Aunt Pol and my sisters Esme and Ada.”

She gave them a wave and whispered a soft hello. Aunt Pol looked at her for a long while then gave a kind smile.

“So you live across the hall then?”

“Yes with my brother Sherlock Holmes - he’s a detective and I’m technically in training but I am taking clients,” Enola said proudly.

Sherlock Holmes, you thought to yourself for a moment brain foggy as ever. The detective from the papers? You didn't know what to think of the information as you put the kettle on the stove.

“A detective eh?” Pol gave her a nod. “Do me a favor and keep an eye on this one for me?”

“Sure thing. She can count on us.- You mentioned it’s just you living here now?”

You nodded as you started to unpack a box of mugs.

“I live in the neighborhood, but we are all from Birmingham,” Ada answered with a small smile.

“Birmingham! Holy - I haven't been before but I read this article once -” And off she went quietly rattling on and on. You got some eggs, ham, toast, and coffee on the table. Pol took Enola’s mug and filled it with milk before she could grab some coffee.

“It’s a dreadful habit dear. Have some milk.” She said knowing full well that she didn't need anything to wake her up.

The morning passed into the afternoon and eventually, Esme raised her head and ate up her breakfast. They made Enola laugh loudly and you felt she fit in with your girl gang well enough.

“You have a boyfriend then? How old are ya? Should call Finn over if not.”

“No” You and Pol answered at the same time. Finn was a good 3 years older than her and the last thing you wanted was her caught up in whatever he was working on these days.

“He’s my litter brother but he’s a hell of a troublemaker and a good few years too old for you.” You gave Esme a look and she shrugged.

“I do as it turns out. Well - Erm - don’t mention that to my brother if you don't mind?” You gave her a big smile.

“Secret is safe with me.”

“As long as we get to meet him of course,” Ada added sensibly.

Soon enough the day passed by and you were left with a messy apartment to clean and many boxes to unpack. You said your goodbyes and enjoyed watching Enola light up as the women hugged her goodbye, with promises of saying hello the next time they came over to stay.

You closed the door and looked at the girl who jumped slightly.

“You probably want me to leave - sorry!” She looked flustered.

“Stay or go, I’m going to do some unpacking then start on dinner. You are welcome to stay if you like”

Enola took that invitation as a welcome to come over whenever she pleased. You thought it would start to bother you, but coming from such a big and loud family you found it comforting.

You watched her interactions with her brother closely the few times you happened to run into him. They would fight over all sorts of things and you weren't happy about it. It was one thing to argue with family but he was an adult and she, whether her family liked it or not, was still just a girl.

“Love, what happened to your parents?” You asked on a spring evening when you were both absorbed in books. They had been shouting at each other all morning and the question was burning a hole in your mind.

“Ah, do I annoy you?” She asked in a voice you rarely ever heard her use.

“No, you and Sherlock argue often I just - It’s none of my business but I -.”

“We argue a lot because we're both too smart.” She sighed like it was a heavy burden. “We see equally important things, but different things when we assess situations and whatnot. He hates it when I get involved in his cases, hates it even more when I’m right but deep down I know he doesn't mind all that much.”

You thought about her words and she let out another deep sigh.

“My mum felt it was her time to be on her own again, my father died ages ago. My other brother Mycroft - he’s a real twat. Tried to put me in finishing school - but you know about that from my first case.”

You gave a nod remembering the story. “Your mum felt you were okay to be on your own?” You looked at the girl and shuddered. London was a big city, and she was incredibly smart but she was still obviously more of a girl than a woman.

“Yep,” She said it firmly like she was trying to be proud but there was a sadness etched into her posture that you couldn't unsee. You thought of your own mother and something sank in your stomach.

“Well, I think you are entirely too much fun to be left alone. The world is big and lonely. Better to stick together with those who are worthy.” You said watching her face light up slightly. “Aunt Pol was calling to see if I’d met your fella by the way.” Pol had not mentioned it in her phone calls, but you said it anyway to make her feel like she was a part of things. She beamed.

“I’ll take you and Ada to see him.”

“Excellent. Baking cookies tomorrow, if you want to help?” she gave you a big smile.

“Despite my extensive knowledge of chemistry, I’m awful at baking.”

“Eh, you just need to learn.” You shrugged. “One more chapter then we best be off to bed.” A lie that was told frequently in your house. You both read until the wee hours of the morning, multiple cups of peppermint tea made and drank.

You jumped out of your chair when a hand lightly nudged your shoulder. Out of instinct, you threw the book at the man. Sherlock was there and Enola was happily asleep on the couch open book resting on her chest.

“Sorry!” You whispered. Sherlock only picked up the book you were reading and then gave you a long look. A thick flush covered your face as you accepted the book back from him. He always made you feel embarrassed and with both of them having all that fancy pants knowledge you really wished he would have caught you reading something of substance.

“Erm-I” You fumbled. “What time is it?”

“Round six,” He said, still staring at you intensely.

“Ah, sorry I told her one more chapter - “ You looked at the stack of books “Two books ago - Sorry”

“It’s alright. I should be the one to apologize. Thanks for spending time with her. If it’s too much-”

“She’s not a problem.” You said with a finality that showed too much emotion. “I - things are complicated with your family - I only know because I also come from a complex family. But really she’s not a burden or someone that’s better left behind.”

Sherlock gave you a strange look and you found it impossible to look away from his deep blue eyes.

“Complicated is a good way of describing it.” He looked around your apartment and you felt extremely uncomfortable. “She’s going to be smarter than all of us soon enough though, I guarantee you she won't be forgotten.”

“Oh, I’m sure she’ll make it into the public’s eye sooner or later. I’m referring to your mother leaving her-”

“I won’t,” He said firmly and with his full attention turned to you. “Our mother had her own business to attend to, but I assure you Enola is safe with me.” His eyes held you in place and you hated how he made you feel like he could see everything that you were thinking and feeling.

“You shouldn't shout at her so much.” The words toppled from your mouth as you held his stare. This made the corner of his mouth stand up slightly. He looked like he was debating whether he wanted to start an argument with you or not.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He kept looking at you and you were surprised at his response. You knew deep down Enola’s situation reminded you of yourself a great deal. Mother gone, and many fights with Thomas, but you had Pol to back you up, and the rest of them looking out for you all the time.

“Here - she can stay the night no point in moving her.” You got up and grabbed the thick blanket you left on the edge of the sofa for her. You expected him to already be out the door. He often abruptly ended conversations that is if he didn't ignore you completely.

“Why are you in London?” His voice made you jump.

“Wanted some space from the family.”

“Your sister lives here and your Aunt calls frequently? Space from your family or from your brother?”

“What do you know about my brother?” The hair on the back of your neck shot up.

“He gives my bother a hard time in Parliament. Really his arch rival of sorts.” Sherlock said and you wondered if he had been drinking.

“That pleases you?” You smiled at his unusual expression.

“Very much so. Although I know you lot had to struggle to get to where you are now.” His voice was back to its usual neat grumpy tone. “I don’t think it's a lifestyle you engage in?” He looked around your colorful apartment again.

“No. It’s not.” You said hoping he believed you. Sure you had gotten into your fair share of grim situations but the company had been legal for a long while now.

“Good.” He cocked his head towards you and his tone was light again. Something deep inside you wanted to do just about anything to keep his attention on you. With a small smile, he made his way out of your apparent closing the door softly.

____

Enola was gone to stay with her mother for the night. You knew that something inside you had run over the boundaries of a friend or neighbor when you lay in bed tossing and turning. You knew she was perfectly capable of protecting herself and it really wasn't your place, but something in your mind wouldn't rest.

Ada had gone back home to stay with Pol for a while, no one was answering the phone today. Now that you thought about it that was probably the main reason you felt worried. You thought about walking across the hall to see if Sherlock wanted help with whatever he was working on.

In the last case, Enola insisted on your help as all the clues were in Romani. This was probably a normal case that would be over your head but maybe he’d have you for tea anyway. You sighed and got out of bed grabbing your thick robe and wrapping it around yourself.

Opening your bedroom door you looked across the small flat and could see that the front door was open. Your first instinct was to move back into the bedroom but dark eyes fell on you before you could move.

“Just come with us quietly love, no fighting” two men made their way towards you. Your fingers wrapped around the poker for the fire and you made careful notes of their appearance before the fighting started.

You thought about the bedroom window behind you but the drop would guarantee your death. The front door was the only option. You held the iron poker in your grip tightly then the most sensible idea floated into your mind. If fighting didn't go as planned you were sure that screaming your head off would alert someone in the building.

The two men came towards you and you got the first one across the side of the face before jabbing him in the eye. The second man proved harder to smack no matter how determined you were. Eventually, he got the upper hand and a hard smack landed across your face. You took a deep inhale but his hand closed around your neck before you could scream. You tried to scratch and hit his face but your arms became too heavy before any substantial damage was done.

Your vision went hazy just as the man let out a loud cry. His hand released you and you watched a hulking figure pull screams from his body. Blood was spilled before the beast made his way toward you.

You tried to move away unsure of anything, still unable to see or hear properly. Big arms gathered you up and lifted you into the air.

“Calm down.” His voice was rough and you wondered how your body could switch from so panicked to letting go entirely.

He carried you across the hall and into his flat. It was the complete opposite color scheme but just as cluttered with books. He placed you down on the countertop in the bathroom. He switched the lights on and you let out a groan covering your eyes.

You watched him look you over for damage while your voice was stuck somewhere deep inside you. His rough hands traced the bruise on your neck and you let out a soft hum. He didn't move his hand and you looked up into his piercing blue eyes. A different type of tension settled between the two of you one that caused your bones to ache. Without further thought and with no one but God to judge you, you leaned forward and pressed a small kiss to his lips.

A part of you expected him to recoil in disgust or offense, but he pulled away placing his thumb over your lips. He pressed a soft kiss to the top of your head, and you struggled slightly. You wanted him so badly it hurt to breathe.

“You’re in shock.” He whispered with a softness you didn't know he possessed.

“So?” You mumbled against his thumb.

“So, see how you feel in the morning then try again.” He smiled slightly and you noticed how much blood had splattered up his arms. He got you settled in his bed and gave you some tea. He made some phone calls and after a long while, he came back.

Without any questions or stress, he started reading the book that he must have grabbed from your night table.

You thought you should tell him to stop but enjoyed the way his nose crinkled and how he started to argue about the character's motives.

“Men don’t think that way - surely you must know this?” he said looking down at you curled up in his blankets. The sun was just starting to come up and you were wishing there was a way for you to keep stuck in this moment.

“I have no idea how men think” You whispered up at him. Right then there was a commotion in the hallway.

“Oh, NO.” Enola’s voice had called out and you both shot up. You winced in pain as you followed him out of the room.

“Who are you lot? You need to tell me where she is right now.” Enola commanded in a voice that would have made the average person crumple.

Thomas, the man standing across from her was not the average person. His eyes flicked from her to you standing behind Sherlock. You caught the relief flooding his features and Arthur let out a deep breath from the living room.

“There she is. Tough girl.” Arthur came towards you and you let him pull you into a big hug.

Sherlock and Thomas stood still staring at each other in a way that made you worry.

“This going to be a regular occurrence?” Sherlock asked in a cold tone. John had squared up his chest when you noticed Ada seemed deeply pleased about something as she looked at you from your bedroom doorway.

“No,” Thomas said easily. “This is for you.” He pulled out a folded piece of paper.

Sherlock accepted the paper and sighed when Enola grabbed onto his forearm angling it so she could read it better.

“Moriarty!” She gasped. “Oh, Sherlock this makes perfect sense! The last case was in Romani, he must have known we had her help. We never ask anyone for help so -”

“So we put a gigantic target on her back.” He looked down at her with an icy expression and you hated the way it hit her.

“I take partial responsibility for that,” Thomas called out taking some of the blame off of the girl's shoulders. Not something you would have expected from him. “Moriarty has been pestering me for a meeting for a long while now. I assume this was his way of grabbing our attention.”

“Can she stay with you?” Ada asked in a sweet voice.

“Of course.” Sherlock and Enola both said at the same time in very different tones.

“She should come home, Tom,” Arthur said tightening his arm around your shoulders.

“She would be more help on the case here,” Enola said in a quiet voice.

“She won't be any safer back home. Plus she’s the only one Alfie enjoys working with. Lord knows we will need his help.” Ada added.

“If it's not any trouble” You looked at Sherlock. “I’d rather stay here and help.” You added moving your gaze to Tommy.

“Fuck.” he sighed. “You stay here, deal with Alfie.”

You smiled at the thought of how much it bothered your brother that Alfie would always keep his word if you asked him to.

“If that’s settled I should be off.” Thomas gave you a quick hug then Arthur and John followed him out with glances of warning to Sherlock.

“Alright, two of you go do your thing - with less shouting than usual. We will start on the mess in here.” You looked at Ada and she nodded.

“No, It’s technically a crime scene or whatever?” Ada looked at Enloa.

“Yes, she's right you should just move over to our side and leave everything as is.” Enola gave a serious nod and you couldn't help but think they were up to something.

“We will have to review the last case to see how it relates to this. You need to rest.” Sherlock put his arm around out and gilded you towards his apartment.

“Don't.” He said before you could start arguing. “Please just rest a bit for me.”

“Did you just say please?” You said caught off guard by his choice of words.

“Go to sleep.” He turned on his heel and left you to curl up in his bed. You got up for a while before falling asleep again on the couch listening to him and Enola go back and forth with different theories.

You felt him carry you back to bed and felt a moment of guilt realizing you shouldn't have made him carry you. He placed you back on the bed and you mumbled thanks. There was a moment of complete silence before you felt the bed dip under his weight.

“My brother has guards covering the building, I don't think there’s any more evidence in my flat if you want me to -” You said realizing there really wasn't a reason for you to stay in his space.

“I want you to stay.” He murmured into your hair and you felt his arm wrap around you. A heavy peaceful weight crept over you and you were very grateful to give him what he wanted.

“Then I’ll stay.” You whispered and he pulled you tight against his chest. You thought about that kiss, but you felt his breath even out. With sleep washing over you, you made a note to revisit that kiss in the morning.

____

I feel really nervous about this one so let me know what you think <3

#Sherlock Holmes #Peaky blinders #Peaky blinders sister #Enola holmes #Sherlock Holmes fic #Sherlock holmes request #Peaky Blinders one shot #Peaky blinders request #Peaky blinders imagine #Sherlock Holmes x reader

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monsieur-kazzle-dazzle · 8 months

Note

For the Zutara prompt:

Riding a rollercoaster for the first time.

“Come on, Zuko, it’ll be fun!” she called after him, running towards the machine. He hesitated.

“I don’t know Katara, are you sure it's safe?” he eyed the strange contraption suspiciously. Katara rested a hand on his arm.

“Don’t feel any pressure to go. You can always wait here and watch our things if you really don’t want to go on it. But I’m sure it's safe, or they wouldn’t be allowed to put it up.” he opened his mouth to answer, when he was nearly knocked over by Aang and Sokka who were wasting no time getting in line.

“This’ll be just like Omashu!” They could hear Sokka exclaiming excitedly as they hurried to get a good seat. Toph sauntered up, making a show of looking between the two of them in mock curiosity.

“Sparky, don’t tell me you’re scared?” Zuko sighed.

“I’m not scared, I just-” Toph cut him off, lowering her voice to an oddly accurate imitation of his voice.

“Oh I forgot,” she rasped. “Dying on a whatchamacallit,”

“A rollercoaster?” Katara offered, quirking her lip in that way that always made him soften. Toph nodded.

“Yeah that thing.” She resumed her Zuko impression. “Dying on a rollercoaster has no honour! I must die with honour!”

“Very funny.” Zuko shook his head, smiling. “I’ll go on it, but we’re sitting as close to Aang as possible.” Katara chuckled slightly, squeezing the hand he’d slipped into hers. They began walking towards the coaster.

“Aren't you coming, Toph?” Katara asked, turning to see the younger girl kicking it back in what was practically a throne made of earth.

“Nah, are you crazy? I don’t wanna die! Even with my metalbending, I’m staying right here, where I can see.” Zuko facepalmed, and Katara laughed gently.

“C’mon guys! It's about to start!” Aang called from the front of the coaster where he and Sokka were sitting, eagerly awaiting the start of the ride. Grumbling loudly, Zuko allowed himself to be dragged by the hand to the last two available seats, right in the middle. As the ride began, Katara slipped her hand into his, and he squeezed it gratefully, scowling down at where Toph and Momo relaxed in identical stone thrones. The ride unexpectedly jolted into action, causing Zuko to let out an involuntary gasp. Katara giggled as the coaster began its climb.

“You’re adorable.” she laughed, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. “If we fall, I have enough water to ice-slide us back down to the ground. And who knows? Maybe Toph would catch us.” She seemed to notice his worried face, and hastily added “Not that I think we’re going to fall. Listen, Zuko. I’m so sure this is safe that if we do fall or something goes wrong I’ll eat an entire pouch of your fire flakes. That's how sure I am.” Zuko laughed, clutching her hand even tighter as the roller coaster neared the top of the track.

“You and your weak little taste buds,” he teased, and she laughed.

“It's not my fault you hotheads over in the fire nation like to put so much spice in your food that smoke comes out of your ears!” she retorted, nudging him in the side. He opened his mouth to respond, when all of a sudden the coaster reached the top of the hill and began speeding up and down the track with what Zuko considered not enough regard to gravity. He swore, gripping Katara’s hand so hard he could hear the waterbender beside him gasp slightly. He loosened his grip, mumbling an apology as the ride began its slow ascent to the second and final loop of the ride. She squeezed his hand back, pressing another kiss to his cheek. “That bad?” she asked, peering over at him with a slightly guilty look in her eye. He shook his head.

“No, I think I may have overreacted slightly.” he admitted sheepishly. “It really isn't much different from riding Appa when he’s tired.” Katara laughed, and Zuko felt a familiar fluttering in his stomach, which was quickly replaced by a large swooping feeling as they hurtled down the track. Zuko forced himself to open his eyes, allowing himself to appreciate the view. The rest of the festivities in the surrounding town, Toph and Momo surrounded by small children, Sokka and Aang up at the front with their arms in the air, and finally, Katara beside him, her hair billowing behind them as she whooped. He enjoyed the second loop much better, once he’d gotten over his initial skepticism. That didn’t stop his legs from shaking as he stepped off the ride, or the rush of relief he felt as his feet made contact with the ground. “That was actually kind of fun.” he admitted to Katara as they made their way towards Toph and the small crowd she’d somehow drawn.

“Does that mean you wanna go again?” Katara laughed, as he shook his head firmly.

“Absolutely not. Never again.” Zuko chuckled, leaning down to steal a quick kiss.

#zutara #zuko #katara #zuko x katara #avatar the last airbender #atla #avatar #zutara fanfiction #rollercoaster #fanfiction #fanfics #fic #toph beifong #sokka #momo atla #aang #hope you enjoyed!

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crimsonredfeathers · 9 months

Text

Leaving

~*~ Chapter 3 ~*~

Hawks x fem!Reader

Warnings: smallest bit of fluff if you squint your eyes hard enough

Word count: 1.3k

Notes: This is an ongoing series for now that will probably include fluff, angst, and smut at a later point. Reader is a few years older than Hawks.

Prologue * Chapter 1 * Chapter 2 * Chapter 3 * Chapter 4 * Chapter 5 * Chapter 6 * Chapter 7 * Chapter 8 * Chapter 9 * Chapter 10

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Knowing you all too well from working with you on a daily basis for the past six months, Hawks immediately recognized your form on the street. "Hey, y/n!" His cheerful voice took you by surprise when he flew up beside you. "Hawks," you replied, stopping in your tracks, "what are you doing here?" His boots made contact with the pavement, as he landed right in front of you. "I was just wrapping up patrol and saw you walking all by yourself," he smiled as he folded his wings behind his back. "Guess you made it out of the agency on time for once." Hawks scratched the back of his head, knowing full well that it was usually his fault, that you barely left the office on time. You chuckled at his behavior. He definitely felt bad for making you stay after office hours, because you had to help with the reports or reschedule the entire upcoming day, considering the HPSC had decided that they'd need to see him first thing in the morning on short notice once again. But, honestly, you didn't mind at all.

"I hope your patrol went well, and I don't have to turn around to go back to the office," you joked while raising an eyebrow at him, an amused look present on your face. "No, y/n, you go and enjoy your evening," he laughed. "What about you?" His golden eyes widened in surprise. "I, uhm..." Hawks moved his hand to rest on his chin, just like he was contemplating what the actual answer to that question was. It surprised you that it took him that long to figure out what to tell you and triggered a whole new train of thought in your brain.

Comparing the life of a young pro hero who has been climbing the ranks as fast as Hawks had since his debut to his sidekicks sure wasn't ideal, but at least they would talk about joining friends for dinner or spending some quality time with their families. Hawks did not - not once. Didn't he go home after work to spend time with his loved ones or maybe go out to meet up with some friends? Did he just not want to talk about it? Or maybe, just maybe, there wasn't anyone waiting for him at all.

Come to think of it, you yourself didn't have any connections to anyone in this city, except for your work relations. Sure, you kept in touch with your friends back in your hometown, sending over a card whenever one of their birthdays drew close or calling them from time to time to see how they were doing. But ever since you'd moved over here, you were kind of lonely. An idea popped into your mind, and you did the only thing that seemed right to you. "You know, if you don't have anything better to do... Maybe you'd like to come over to my place and have a coffee with me?"

~*~

Luckily, your apartment wasn't that far away, and while you could see other people staring, you didn't run into any real trouble. A few "uhs" and "ahs" accompanied you on your way from people who, of course, recognized the hero walking next to you. "Is she your girlfriend?" The both of you froze. Now that question took you by surprise. "It's a secret," Hawks winked at the girl with a cryptic look on his face. Instead of entertaining his mischievous behavior, you shook your head. "I'm his secretary," you clarified. Hawks pouted, reminding you of a kid that didn't get its way. "No fun, y/n," he whined. "Let's go, boss," you laughed heartily and continued your walk, motioning him to follow.

~*~

You unlocked and opened the door to your apartment, inviting Hawks in. "Make yourself at home," you smiled, the both of you discarding your shoes at the entrance area. Walking over to your living room, you watched him take in every detail of his surroundings while maneuvering through your apartment with utmost care so he wouldn't knock anything over with his feathers. With anyone else, you'd have felt a little weirded out, but during the past months, you'd learned that Hawks was very observant. "Take a seat," you nodded towards your sofa, "I'll be back with some coffee." Smiling, you left him in your living room.

~*~

With two cups of coffee and a hell of a lot of sugar cubes in a small bowl on a tray, you entered your living room again, only to see Hawks still standing in the room, right in front of a framed picture. "Who are they?" You placed the tray on the sofa table and walked over to stand next to him. "That's my former boss." You pointed at a middle-aged man standing on the right side of the picture. Moving the tip of your index finger over the glass that covered the photograph in the frame, you introduced Hawks to the people in the picture until you pointed at a younger version of yourself. "Well, and that would be me, just... younger. We took that photo only a few weeks after I started working at the office." A soft smile grazed your lips, as Hawks side-eyed you. "Do you miss them?" The tone of his voice was oddly low. "Sometimes I do miss the time we had together." You turned your head to look at him. A bittersweet expression was plastered on his face. Your eyes softened. "But then again, I wouldn't be working for you right now if things went any differently, and," you nudged his shoulder in an attempt to lighten up the mood, "working for you is something I really enjoy." Hawks' features relaxed visibly at your confession. "And now," you walked over to your sofa and plopped down, "let's enjoy our coffee before it's cold."

~*~

The two of you sat there for the better part of an hour, talking about whatever came to mind. You told him a little about your life, how you'd realized early on that being a hero yourself was out of the question as you'd been born quirkless, but you did admire the hard work heroes put into making sure that everybody was safe, and how your mind was set on helping the heroes so they had more time available to help others. You spoke briefly about your time at U.A., where you had joined the business course since it didn't require a quirk at all, and how you had secured the job at the hero's agency back at home after graduating. Hawks listened carefully to everything you had to say. Even if he didn't tell you, he was deeply impressed by your dedication.

Hawks revealed a few snippets of his life himself, how he never went to any high school with a hero course, but was instead privately trained by the Hero Public Safety Commission for years. He didn't elaborate in detail on how he got there or what exactly the people at HPSC had taught him, and, quite frankly, it seemed rude to you to ask, but he did tell you that they had discovered him when he had saved a few people after a car accident when he was still a child. Hawks continued by telling you about how excited he was when he could finally open his very own agency once he had turned 18, but how overwhelming the workload could be sometimes. He was thankful that you'd done your best every single day since you'd joined the team and always had their backs. And, unexpectedly, taking your hand that had been resting on your thigh into his gloved one and squeezing it gently, he added: "I knew you were the right choice right away."

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Taglist: @claratakami @chrisrue15 @mysideeffectsofyou

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A huge thanks to everyone who's reading and supporting this story! See you next chapter ❤️👋

#mha x reader #bnha x reader #hawks x reader #takami keigo x reader #mha fluff #bnha fluff #mha x reader fluff #bnha x reader fluff #hawks fluff #takami keigo fluff #hawks x reader fluff #takami keigo x reader fluff

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waltwhitmansbeard · 1 year

Note

"I don't know what I would do if I lost you." with vaxleth? Whatever AU comes to mind <3

7. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you." oh this is definitely going in vamp machina, after shit goes down w the clasp. tw for descriptions of bodily injuries.

For three days and three nights, Vax does not leave her bedside. The curtains stay drawn, keeping the sunlight from coming in and his shame from leaking out, viscous and sticky, like blood. He counts the bruises, memorizes their shapes and colors, and maps them onto his own misery, surprised that after all this time, he is still discovering new ways to hate himself.

She sleeps, and it falls onto poor Pike to keep the tensions in the apartment from boiling over. Through the closed door of Keyleth's bedroom, he can hear Percy, the venom in his voice, insisting that Pike let him kill Vax. (She should.) He heard him refuse Vex entry, heard the door slam and shudder in its frame, and there's a new injury he'll never be able to heal, a new slight he'll never be able to make up to her.

Of course, Percy is right to want him dead. (More dead than usual, at least.) Half of Keyleth's face is mottled and blue, and when Pike lifts up her shirt to apply poultices to the myriad half-circles of teeth marks across her torso and arms, Vax forces himself to sit, to watch, to witness the consequences of his countless sins. He has been a vampire for longer than he'd been a mortal, and he knows what it looks like when one of his kind feeds not for sustenance or even for fun. They tore into her like a dog into a bone, vicious and barbarous, aiming not for her blood but her pain. So much suffering, and all of it his fault.

For three days and three nights, he stays, one of her hands in both of his. He does not drink, does not move except to help Pike with her healing. (There was no way they could take her to a hospital, not without questions and police and tests that would lead innocent people down treacherous paths of inquiry. Vex, before being unceremoniously ejected from the apartment, at least managed to hand over a large box of supplies pilfered from the urgent care, because his sister may be a monster, but she's not a monster.) He stays, and time becomes something more of a suggestion than a fact, and when each minute stretches into eternity, one green eye creaks open, and a low, throaty groan rips him from his internal maelstrom. "Keyleth?"

"Vax?" It is a rasp, a whisper, and Vax scrambles to pour a glass of water from the pitcher Pike's been replacing for her every few hours, just in case. He slides a hand behind her head—there is a bump there the size of his palm, fuck, he's so lucky she's alive—and tilts it up just enough for her to be able to sip from the glass he brings to her lips. She drinks as much as she dares before closing her eye again, and Vax sets the water aside. He brings her hand up to his mouth, kisses each knuckle one by one. The eye opens after a few moments. "You're here."

There is a fragile hope in the words, as if she's surprised by his presence—as if there was anywhere else he'd ever be. "You're here," he whispers back. "Thank you."

She attempts to give what he thinks is a shrug, but as soon as she moves, her entire face scrunches in a wince. "How...long...?"

"Three days." He knows that he needs to call for Pike, that Percy should be here to see that his best friend is alive and speaking, but this delicate moment, quiet and still, feels too precious to break. "Kiki...I thought I'd lost you."

A tear tumbles out of her good eye. "I'm sorry."

"No, Key, fuck." He reaches out to gently, so gently, thumb the tear away. "You're sorry? This—" He gestures to her entire body. "—this is my fault. They did this to you because of me. And if I live a thousand more years, I'll never be able to make it right."

She huffs out a laugh. "Vax..." Her free hand comes up to gesture limply at her face. "They did this because of me. Because I fought back."

Gods above, she really doesn't get it. "Keyleth, you wouldn't have had to fight back if I hadn't pissed them off in the first place." He brings her hand to his lips once more. "And I can't let it happen again."

It's difficult to see the realization creep into her face under the watercolor bruises. "Vax..." She says his name slowly, like a parent about to scold a child.

"Don't." His throat is thick, so many things to say all threatening to spill out at once that they choke him. "I am an undead thing, Keyleth. An abomination. An affront to the gods. And I am a scourge upon your life. Being with you..." His eyes slide closed. He is so fucking tired. "Being with you has allowed me to fool myself into thinking that I'm alive. Because I am alive when I'm with you." When he opens his eyes again, she's crying. Add it to the list. "But it's a lie, Keyleth. And that lie almost cost you your life."

She shakes her head vigorously, far too vigorously to be safe. "It's not a lie. You are alive, Vax. You laugh and you cook and you braid my hair and you love your sister and you whisper to me in the night, and those are not the actions of a dead man. A dead man could never save my life." He opens his mouth to argue, but she cuts him off. "I don't mean from the Clasp. I mean...you brought me to life, Vax. Brought me out of my shell, showed me the beauty of the night that I never would have seen if not through your eyes. And I don't wanna go back to how life was before. Because I wasn't living then. Not really."

His breath is caught in his throat. He doesn't want to believe her, can't afford to believe her, not when believing her will lead to him staying when he needs to be far, far away from her. "Your life will be better without me in it."

"I don't want better, I want you."

Fuck. Fuck. He leans down, gingerly rests his forehead to hers. A tear slips down his nose. "I'll never forgive myself for what happened."

"I'll never forgive you if you leave," she whispers. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

He presses the softest of kisses to her lips, careful not to aggravate any bruises. "If anything else happens to you..."

"Can't really get worse than this, can it?" she jokes weakly, but he doesn't laugh, because they both know that yes, yes it can.

There's a tiny knock at the door, and a moment later, Pike is there, her questioning expression melting into elation when she sees that Keyleth is awake. "Well hey there, sleepyhead!"

Vax hears a sudden clambering from the other end of the apartment, and he knows it's time for him to go. He stands, moves out of the way for Pike to take his place, and before Percy can round the corner into the room, he's gone, out her window and into the darkening twilight, where, if he knows what's good for him, good for her, he won't ever darken her doorstep again.

#ask #Anonymous #critical role #critical role fic #cr fic #critical role au #cr au #vox machina #vox machina au #vox machina fic #tlovm #tlovm fic #tlovm au #vaxleth #vaxleth fic #vaxleth au #vamp machina au #my fic

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fanichus · 8 months

Text

FANfic cap 6

I could only heard Demian voice *Gorgeous* Oh boy my face is red just... shake it off... ask something else

*Didn't I tell you that no dressing like some of your... fetish?, and red really?* I said in a mocking way pointing at myself, the red doesn't look bad in me but I prefer blue

*Ángel I didn't buy any of this, but... you really look good* he smiled at me I walked towards him, returning the smile, take his hand and internally thinking that this felt too much like a real date, Demian ask *Roulette who bought that?*

*Don't know Boss, I just know that Mousquet and Colt were the ones in de center when you call* when he answered they turn to look at Colt

*What... are you implying that I... na doesn't sound like me boss* Demian left my side and gets in Colt face like if he was dering or treating him but after a few moments both of them started to laugh *Ok, no one fault, so time to leave*

Roulette and I just looked at them confused but follow behind, does they Do they have a secret language or something? they look kinda close now that I think about it.

Outside was a WAGONEER 2023 black, the car was huge, beautiful, and super comfortable, I was looking true the window and all the time I could feel Demian's gaze on me, my heart was racing and my my mind started flying with ideas... what would you do if I went to touch you now?, What would you do if they never found us out? and What would you do if we never made a sound?... if I don't get my mind in other things I may do something stupid, so I ask

*Hey...Devil I have a question about the rules for tonight* he look at my eyes and began to explain how I should act in front of those people, wait, I thought there would only be one person and no one else, I think it's making me... very nervous, I started to get closer to him as if I wanted him to protect me and I guess it showed on my face.

*I recognize that expression, don't worry, nothing will happen to you* He put his thumb on my chin making me turn to look at him *I promise* he almost whisper, but I didn't answer, I didn't move and neither did he. We both stared at each other, his eyes on my lips and mine on his, I wanted to get closer just a little... a little... more

*And we are here* Colt turned to look at us and we separated, Demian made a strange sign that I couldn't see since I was admiring the restaurant through the window *Wow* Roulette came down first and opened my door helping me out while the ballparking get the car, Demian offer me his arm to hold and I did.

The name of the restaurant was Olympus, was enormous, it seemed that its walls were made of marble, with golden details, The most striking thing was the entrance, it looked as if it had clouds floating around it, I'm sure I could almost touch them. Arriving the hostess asked if we already had a reservation, Demian only gave his name and they mentioned that they would accommodate us immediately, I could see how she looked at me, was like If he disliked me just for coming with him I guess my clothes make me look like a girl who is an escort, I mean... I do know that he is one of the most important people in the entire world, like his brothers, but actually that made me feel guilty for being by his side like if I didn't deserve that .

They took us to the roof of the place from there you could see all the lights of the city, at our table apparently was already a man that was well dress like Demian. He seemed to be our age but I wasn't sure, he could be older, but he was very attractive with a single scar on one eyebrow, red hair, light blue eyes and somewhat tanned skin, he had some company, a beautiful woman that looks much younger than him, she was wearing a tight yellow dress in which she looked completely divine her dark skin made her stand out in the best way, with honey-colored eyes, long brown hair and thick, juicy lips. They seemed to be having fun together. Demian greets them and... I supposed it's time to pretend.

Hope you like it

@battlemaiden13

#fanfic #battlemaiden13 #house next door #little ref a Taylor swift

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the-girl-who-sold-the-wxrld · 2 years

Text

I am 5 yo. A boy in my school hits me everytime he sees me. The teachers tell me to ignore him ; he does that for fun. Don't take it seriously.

I am older. A boy asks me to kiss him and I refuse. So he hits me violently in the face, I fall to the ground and my glasses fly away a few meters from us. Another boy jumps on it, my glasses break in two. When my parents come to pick me up in the evening after class, the teachers tell them that it was simply an accident, that it is not the fault of the two boys.

I am 13 yo. I have been bullied or hated for nine years now. Two boys pick up nettles behind the schoolyard and take me by surprise to rub them against my arms. my skin burns and is bright red. I defend myself and push them away abruptly. The teachers tell me it's nothing, they just do it to annoy me. Be mature and don't start a fight for that.

I am older. A group of boys in my class spend the day spreading horrible rumors about me and making fun of my hair, my back, my appearance. A director hears about it and comes to see me. I explain everything to her, and get yelled at by my teacher for it. Why did you do that ? Do you really want to ruin the atmosphere of the class ? Finally, the director does nothing. You understand, they are not really bad boys. They're nice. We're not going to get them in trouble for middle school stuff, are we ?

I am 12 yo. This time, one of the adult of the school trip decides to bully me himself during the trip. We can’t do nothing. He can’t lose his job. He has a family.

I am older. A group of boys yell sexual things at my female friends and I. A teacher hear that and tell us that we just shouldn't dress like that. They let them harass us for the rest of the day.

I am 10. I still have the scar from when they hurt me that day. they put a bandage on me. stop complaining and get back to playing.

I am older. They followed me in the town just to make fun of me, to imitate me in a cruel and mean way, to insult me. . I don't tell anyone. What for ?

I am 18. I remember all of this even if all the others probably don't. My school years have all been marked by bullying, mockery, rejection, humiliation. I think it impacted me deeply. I could tell a lot of examples. It really hurt me and left its consequences on me (anxiety and many more).

My point is that 1) School bullying would be much easier to stop if the teachers actually did something about it instead of just ignoring it and 2) since childhood, boys and especially white boys have no trouble for the bad things they do. girls are taught that their safety and well-being is worth less than boys' egos. Okay, he really hurt you, but we're not gonna get him into trouble for that huh ? He's just a kid. Be mature and ignore it.

I'm 18 and I've been bullied or hated and rejected for literally my entire life. I am lucky to know perfectly well that I was not responsible for how people treated me, because many believe it is their fault. And given the behavior of those who are supposed to help us, I understand why. People said horrible things about me all day, they laughed at me in the corridors and during the class, people were sometimes violent with me, and no one did anything about it. No matter how i tried to get help (that was an accidental ref). And at the end of the day, you just don't tell anyone anything anymore. What for ? That's what you think.

Note : i haven't been bullied only by boys. but I noticed that people had a special behavior when it was boys. They were always like, "don't say anything, they have a life too". It was different with girls.

in short, i just wish teachers would really fight school bullying, and would stop acting like that with boys.

#personal #school #school bullying #bullying #sexism #harcelement #harcelement scolaire #there is so much worse in term of bullying #i know it #i really do #but still #my point is the same #society

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melodyschaos · 2 years

Note

Cruse Ship/Redson/ They/Them

Y/N decided to go and see how Red Son was doing, and he was found...absolutely stomping Mei and MK in 2-vs-1 volleyball. There was a currently a time-out as Red Son had gotten over-excited and slammed a flaming volleyball so hard into MK's face he was knocked out on impact.

"I wasn't trying to hurt him, but you mortals are so squishy!"

"You know what? Mayyybe we should just all take a break until MK wakes up from his nap. Oh, hey Y/N!" Mei waved at Y/N as she picked MK up and slung him over her shoulder, taking him to wherever the infirmary was on the ship.

Red Son, rolling their eyes at mortals and their inability to take balls of fire to the face, turned to Y/N. "Just so it is PERFECTLY CLEAR, NO it wasn't my fault."

"Hey man, I just got here." Y/N held their hands up.

"Well, seeing as my opponents will be out for an unknown amount of time, I have never been on a "cruise" before. Volleyball has its perks, but destroying my enemies seamlessly round after round gets a bit dull. Do you know of any fun cruise activities?"

Y/N thought for a moment. "We could hit the outdoor snack bar, grab some milkshakes."

"What's a shaken milk?"

Y/N puts a hand to their heart and gasped dramatically. "Red Son, you mean to tell me you have never sipped the milk that is shaken in all your time living in the mortal realm? You've never tried the shook milk?"

"No, but I am assuming the key ingredient is milk."

Y/N took Red Son's hand. "That's it, we're getting you a milkshake right this very instant."

Red Son looked like she was about to protest, but instead replied, "...okay. ONE milkshake, then I'm going to drag Noodle Boy back out there to kick his-"

Before she could finish, Y/N began dragging him along. The ship really was huge, the Mayor probably spent a fortune on it. Where did he get all the funding? Taxes, probably. Going over to the designated pool/dining area, Y/N dragged Red Son to the sweets bar. Slapping down their cash moneys, the vendor was told to give them 2 milkshakes, one (favorite flavor) and one mint chocolate chip. While they waited, Y/N did a double take at what Red Son was wearing.

"Red Son, are you wearing a women's one-piece with a skirt?"

"I just bought it last week. I find that women's wear flatters my figure better than the atrocious and ill-fitting men's "trunks"." Said swimsuit with a skirt had a hot-rod design, it should be noted.

"You look smokin' hot!"

"Yes, I always am, what's your point?"

Y/N laughed. "No silly, I mean gorgeous! You look absolutely fabulous, I wish I could pick you up and twirl you around!"

"OHHH-" Whether his face was red from embarrassment at his misunderstanding or the compliment was hard to tell. "Well- thank you...I mean- OBVIOULSY I look beautiful, both in casual and beachwear!"

They were saved from further embarrassment by the milkshakes being done. Trying to hide her embarrassment, she took the straw and took a huge sip of the milkshake.

"WAIT RED SON YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO-"

Too late, the damage had already been done. The demon clutched their head, hissing in pain. "What is this utter agony?!"

Y/N began rubbing his back soothingly. "There there, it's just a brain freeze. You're supposed to sip slowly so it doesn't make your brain feel frozen solid."

After a few more back-rubs and shooshes, Red Son was able to take a much slower sip this time. "Mint tastes much better than an assault on my brain. Alright, I'll admit it, I don't entirely hate shaken milk. So..." They glanced at Y/N. "I feel like resting for a bit. After all, to mop the floor with my enemies, I should build up on my strength. What do you think of sun-bathing with me for a bit?"

"Sounds great!"

Milkshakes in hand, the two began walking to the ship's sun deck. Cautiously, Red Son took Y/N's free hand with one of her own. Y/N looked over, but Red Son was determinedly looking at the sky, which was looking very blue today. Smiling, they gently squeezed his hand, earning a little smile from the flame demon.

#lmk #legomonkiekid #lmk cruise ship #lmk red son #lmk reader x red son #lmk reader x red son fluff

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siribear · 2 years

Text

"Twin! I need your help with something."

The door to the war room swings open hard, cracking against the brick wall. Amell and her three advisors turn to stare at Alistair, who stares at them sheepishly. Leliana covers a laugh, Josephine grins, amused, and Cullen pulls away from just handing her a report. Amell rolls her eyes with a sigh and leafs through it. "Cullen, have your people keep travelers away from the valley."

"Of course, Inquisitor."

"Really," Alistair draws out the word to the brink of annoyance, "need your help."

"If you made Elissa mad somehow, that's your own fault."

"I didn't! Well, okay, maybe, but not really?"

Amell finally looks up from an update out of the Hinterlands: a high dragon has moved in to the valley near one of the Inquisition camps. Alistair shifts on his feet nervously, as if he'd rather face that dragon than have this conversation. With another sigh, she calls the council to a close. Cullen leaves with a kiss to her cheek.

"You two are adorable," Alistair says dryly.

"Don't start with me." She tucks the report under her arm. "Are you okay? I heard about Fiona."

Isolated as Skyhold is, gossip travels quickly within its walls. That, and Elissa hadn't exactly been quiet with her dressing down of the former Grand Enchanter. She and Vivienne heard it all fun the upstairs balcony.

Alistair ceases his fidgeting and closes the door only to lean heavily against it. "Oh." He stares at the floor. "Yeah."

Amell jumps up to sit on the edge of the table. "I know you've been hurt, Alistair." She remembers Goldanna, a handful of hungry children, their arms open for coin and not comfort . "But Fiona's a mage, and we don't... you remember Wynne telling us her child was taken from her? That's the only thing we've ever known, until the war happened."

"So you want me to just forgive her?"

"If my mother showed up now and asked for forgiveness, I wouldn't give it. But she had options. Fiona... mages don't usually get a future, Alistair."

She touches her cheek. If it weren't for the Grey Wardens, the war, and the Inquisiton, she wouldn't have one. And not everyone can be so lucky.

"Future..." He blinks. Suddenly his entire demeanor shifts as he goes from contemplative back to buzzing with nervous energy. "Fiona isn't why I wanted to talk to you."

She cants her head sideways. "What then?"

"I, uh." Alistair runs his hands through his hair, the sun catching the highlights in the blonde. One of the more superficial reasons they call each other twins. "I want to ask Elissa to marry me. You're her best friend, and her sister, and I wanted to ask you first."

Amell throws herself at him in a hug to rival his in the smuggler's cove. "It's about time. I was beginning to worry."

"I know. I don't want to wait any more." He pulls her off him by the shoulders. "So that's a yes?"

"It is. But remember," she presses a finger gently to his chest, right over his heart, "I loved her first. If you hurt her, there won't be enough left of you to sweep off of the floor. Am I clear?"

Alistair takes her hand and twines their pinkies together. An old ritual, not forgotten. "If I hurt her, I'll deserve it."

"Good. Now, what do you have planned?"

Cullen stands next to her, after the ceremony, his fingers barely touching hers. They're still feeling their way around how affectionate to be in public, even if everyone here knows them. Old habits that need to die hard. She laces their fingers together and leans into him.

"You did well," Cullen says, and she watches his gaze sweep across the crowd of guests to land on the arch.

"It wasn't all me. Josie put a lot of it together." Really, all Amell did was hand her a guest list vetted by Alistair. And stop Josephine from making it a huge affair instead of the small garden party it is. "I'm happy for them."

Cullen clears his throat. "Have you ever thought about...?"

"After a few nights in the Tower, I dreamed a prince would come rescue me on the back of a dragon and we would get married and live in a castle." Amell rests her head against his shoulder, thankful he decided to forgo his full armor. "Then I met Alistair and now I think princes are overrated."

Cullen laughs, and Amell thinks she could listen to that sound forever.

"What about you? Do they even let templars marry?"

"Some do, yes, with Chantry permission. But me? Ah," he grows quiet. Across the garden, Elissa laughs loud at a crude gesture from Sera while Alistair turns a furious shade of red. "I hadn't considered it."

"That decides it then," she says, and he looks down at her, confused. "We're doomed to die unwed, together."

"Ah. Poor us." He hums a contented sigh. "I wasn't going to ask if you would, by the way."

"No?"

"No. I want to do this right."

"Are you going to court me, Commander?"

"If you would have me, Inquisitor."

This is why she's glad she's never been to a wedding before now, she thinks as she settles more heavily against Cullen. He shifts to accommodate her. It would have broken her to know it was something she could never have.

"I'm sorry to interrupt Inquisitor, Commander."

Cullen chuckles. It's their own inside joke, at this point. "Cassandra."

Her eyes are still red rimmed from tears. Worse than Amell's, she thinks. How far Cassandra and Elissa have come from drawing steel at Haven.

"Could we speak, Inquisitor?"

Amell pulls away from Cullen's shoulder reluctantly but nods. Thankfully, Dorian sweeps in to take her place. The last she sees is the two of them sitting down at a chess table before Cassandra leads her around the corner of a hedge row.

Cassandra invites her to sit next to her on a bench, shaded by the trunk of a large tree. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to start a scandal."

The corners of Cassandra's mouth twitch into a smile. "Don't think I haven't grown used to you and your friend's teasing." She folds her hands in her lap. "I believe I have been... unfair to you."

Amell needs more than two hands to count the number of times Cassandra has saved her life. "Unfair?"

"I've been chasing Elissa and Hawke for years, hoping that maybe they could have done something to prevent all of this."

Not unreasonable, Amell thinks. People are more likely to listen to Heroes and Champions in times of strife.

"After the Conclave, I wondered if they were there they could have saved the Divine. But you were there. If you could have saved her you would have. I know that now.

I am trying to focus on what I can change, instead of dwelling on what I cannot. The Maker chose to send you when we needed you most, and you answered. I could ask for no more."

Where there was doubt, Amell feels something else begin to replace it: worthiness. "Thank you. I... That actually means a lot, coming from you. I just hope I can live up to the title."

Cassandra claps her on the back, and they rise. "You are."

"Cassandra and Inky sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. Better watch out, Cully-Wully!" Sera dances away when Amell half-heartedly swipes at her.

"Oh good," Dorian says from the chess table. "Distract him for me, would you?"

Amell wraps her arms over Cullen's shoulders and places a kiss to his temple. "I'm afraid you're a lost cause, Dorian," she tells him as she inspects the board. "Two moves, tops."

"Commander, have you been toying with me?"

Cullen chuckles, and she feels it rumble against her chest. "I had to kill time until she returned."

Dorian throws up his hands after Cullen moves his last piece. "Alright, alright." He points to Amell. "You're going to help me beat him one day." At her nod, Dorian finds and follows Bull out of the garden.

Cullen absently traces a finger along her arm. "You and I should play some time."

Elissa calls the both of them over. Almost everyone else has left, and those that remain only do so to enjoy the garden. "I owe you a game, and you owe me a dance." She draws him up from his seat. "Let's go see what the newlyweds want, hm?"

There's no time for a game, or even for them to spend much time together, with her lessons in etiquette and dancing and learning exactly how to speak to the nobles without giving anything away.

It's exhausting. Worse than tiptoeing around templars. It's a relief when she's called to clear a rift or deal with an offshoot of Corypheus's army elsewhere, but even that comes to a stop the closer they come to the ball.

And then there's the dress.

Cobalt blue, like Elissa suggested, with a neckline that plunges down to her navel. A leather band cinches it at her waist and hips, with cords to keep the light, sheer fabric defined around her legs. A shawl, powder blue, drapes over her shoulders, held in place by more leather cords, to flow down almost to the floor with the rest of the dress. The back of it is wide open, an easy target for an arrow or blade, metaphorical or otherwise.

"Josie, what if we're drawn into combat?"

"Don't," says the ambassador as she pins up half of Amell's hair. The rest tumbles down between her shoulder blades.

Her mask, the top fashioned to look like Andraste's crown, hides the blush on her cheeks but the cut of the dress gives the rest away.

"Even speaking at Halamshiral will be like combat, my dear." Vivienne adorns Amell's hair with sapphires. "This will be your armor. The rest of your accoutrement we will have ready should you need it, of course."

When they're finished, Amell turns to look at herself in the mirror. The shawl hides the scars from Redcliffe still lingering on her arms, and the faded white on her hand without the Anchor she can pass as defensive scars. Without those, she hardly recognizes herself.

Leliana sweeps the dress away from her slippers, strapped at the ankles and the only practical part of the ensemble. "These should be easy to move in. And a small dagger can be slipped in here," she points at a small sheathe hidden in the straps, "and here," another sheathe tied around her thigh and anchored at her hip. Both hidden in the waterfall of blue fabric, even if she does have to dance.

"And you were worried." Amell looks over her shoulder, back to Elissa in her own formal dress. "You're gonna knock them all dead before they even get to Celene."

Amell takes a deep breath, watches her chest rise and fall with it. "Right." She steps down from the short stool in front of the mirror. "One dance in this thing, Josie, just so I know how it'll move?"

Josephine smiles and takes her hand while Leliana counts her into the steps. By the end of it, she feels only slightly lightheaded but, honestly, from the quick glimpses she caught of herself in the mirror, beautiful. In the mask, she can pretend she's someone else entirely, and maybe that's the point.

Though she still feels most comfortable in her casual tunic and pants that makes up her Skyhold attire.

Elissa claps her hands together once they're both changed and all the jewels have been removed from their hair. "Great. Varric's hosting a game of Wicked Grace soon, and I'm not missing it."

His idea of preparing their poker faces for The Game, he said, but sometimes she thinks he just misses everyone he met in Kirkwall. He and Leliana share in their big hearts and using their connections to watch over those they care about.

Or maybe he just wants to have a good time and take everyone's gold while doing so.

Elissa grabs her hand. "Come on. Varric said he talked Cullen into playing. Let's go!"

"The poor recruit ran out into the dining hall in nothing but his knickers," Cullen laughs at the memory. The poor man standing in shock as mage and templar alike turned to look at him. The slow roll of applause as everyone began to realize exactly the kind of dare he had taken on and fulfilled.

"What did he do after?" Elissa asks with a wicked grin after Alistair coughs heavily into his drink.

"Saluted," he continues. "Turned on his heel and marched out like he was in full armor."

The table bursts into laughter. Alistair tries his best to hide behind his mug, and Cullen grins. It grows into a full blown smile when he hears Annwn laughing harder when she puts together exactly who the recruit was.

"Now there's an idea," Dorian posits, eying the dwindling piles of silver around the table. "We can always bet our clothes when the coin runs low."

Cullen shouldn't have agreed to play Wicked Grace that night. Should never have agreed to Varric's "lesson in deception and trickery and maintaining a poker face while getting shit-faced."

He realizes this after he's down to only his breeches, staring at yet another terrible hand through his fingers. Two knights. The lowest hand anyone could possibly have. He sneaks a look around as the others add their gold to the growing pool, drawing and discarding as each turn passes.

Varric, Elissa, Josephine and, surprisingly, Solas haven't lost a hand yet. Blackwall, Bull, and Alistair have split wins and losses. And Annwn...

Annwn has spent the last few hands staring determinedly at the wall.

In the distraction of another round of drinks bought, Cullen feels the light tingle on his skin that can only be a mage pulling at the Veil. He looks up from his hand that hasn't gotten any better to see Amell holding a conversation with Varric and the barmaid while also bending the light around a second card she isn't supposed to be pulling. He finally catches her eye when she discards two cards, again against the rules.

Her wide eyes tell him she forgot that he'd notice that little use of magic. It's up to him then. Call her out on it, force her to fold so she's forced to lose an article of clothing, or...

"Pay attention, Curly. Your turn."

She smiles, resigned. No one else noticed, apparently, Alistair too preoccupied with Elissa and the others concerned with their own hands. If he doesn't call her out on his turn, he'll surely lose. One more lost hand would put him out in the cold, more than half naked.

Cullen calls and says nothing.

Annwn's surprised gaze goes from his face, to his chest, and back to the wall as they both turn a matching shade of red. Elissa whispers something in her ear, staring at him the entire time, her malicious grin not entirely hidden behind her hand.

"I will hex you. I'll find a way to turn you into a toad, I swear."

"You wouldn't. That would be proving Alistair right."

Cullen, unsurprisingly, loses quite badly. Elissa whistles sharply when he's forced to divest himself of his pants. Annwn can no longer look at him.

"I believe that's me out of the game for the night," he says. Cullen stands, using his discarded clothes to cover what he can of himself. He isn't as embarrassed as he thinks he should be. Not after telling his earlier story and remembering the equally embarrassing things he had to do himself. And the failing way Annwn pretends not to look at him between her fingers only bolsters his confidence.

That is, until Bull rumbles, "Why? You've still got one more piece to lose."

Elissa and Bull high five when Annwn begins to choke on her drink. "Okay, enough. Let him - "

Sera, quicker than he can react, snatches the clothes from his hands and flees the tavern. He nearly trips over his chair chasing her out. Light blinded, he can hardly see into the night. But he can hear Sera cackling and tripping over crates in the distance.

He won't be able to look his people in the face once this gets out.

It's a few minutes he spends stumbling through the dark, searching through crates and barrels, that a lone wisp comes to his rescue. The little mote lights the way and even directs him to his clothing, haphazardly stuffed into storage crates. Once he gets his shirt back on, it bobs up and down excitedly.

"Uh. Thank... you?"

It bobs up once and flies away, toward a woman walking in his direction. "A little spirit of curiosity. It thought it might be fun to help you search."

Annwn, with the little wisp in her palm, approaches, smiling. "Oh. Thank you. Did-did you leave the game just to come out here?"

"Actually, I lost after you did. I just found my clothes a lot sooner." She strokes the core of the wisp, and, like a cat, it leans into the touch.

He never thought he'd be jealous of a wisp, of all things. "Really?"

"You shouldn't have lost first, then you'd know." She takes his hand and walks with him back to his tower.

A quick drink is all it was supposed to be. They're to be leaving early in the morning for the ride out to Halamshiral. But when she puts her cup down on the edge of his desk and asks him why he didn't call her out for cheating all while worrying her bottom lip, he finds himself more interested in that than the time.

"Not that I minded the view after you lost, though."

He coughs. "Maker's breath, that's not how I wanted you to see... well."

She stands, leans forward with her hands on the arms of his chair, bracketing him between them. "Cullen," she breathes, and his heartbeat increases enough to make him lightheaded. "How did you want me to see?"

He doesn't know how he got them up to his loft, only that she's there beneath him, cheeks flush in the moonlight streaming in through the hole in the roof he doesn't know if he'll ever get patched after this. Not when it highlights the blue of her eyes, what little there is with her pupils blown wide as she stares up at him. She calls to him and he answers in the only way he knows how.

He's felt something like this before. Tainted and twisted, and every time he woke he felt sick with it, stomach roiling until he'd empty it on the bloody floor. Demons taking what little he had left, scraping his insides when he thought himself long empty, to find the scraps of his soul he'd hid away. And then the cycle would continue until she finally found him and saved him, and her reward was he barely thought she was human.

Cullen opens his eyes with a gasp and an empty bed beneath him. He buries his face into his pillow and thrusts forward in a desperate beg for friction. When he finishes, it's with a groan of relief and a sigh as the sky above him grows light behind the clouds.

He's exhausted, but it doesn't feel like the same bone-tired emptiness it used to be. The only sickness he feels in his stomach is from hunger, and the following headache doesn't pulse behind his eyes. It's a welcome change from the usual nightmares and their after effects.

Compared to those, the pit of vipers they're about to throw themselves into seems, at least, survivable.

Once they reach Halamshiral, Cullen doesn't see Annwn until the ball. Josephine has them stop in the High Quarter before heading into the Winter Palace proper, both for them to change into their formal wear and for him to begin moving his people into the Palace before the others arrive.

Sera, along with a Red Jenny contact within the city, helps to sneak most of his men into position to watch for any sign of Venatori. "No hard feelings, yeah?" She twirls an arrow between her fingers. "About your clothes and stuff. You found them eventually. Know that. Also saw you walking with Inky. So - maybe some Hard feelings."

"Have you seen anything yet?" he asks, ignoring her comment.

She blows a raspberry that he has to cover with a heavy cough when the nobles in the courtyard turn their way. "Been five minutes. Calm down, Cully-Wully."

"Sera, this is serious - "

She swings her feet from the branch she's perched in, narrowly missing the back of his head. "I got it, sheesh. Hey, Briala's the other one here, right? Ambassador or whatever." Another kick whiffs next to his ear. "Whatever. But there's a lot of elves moving around here. Too much purpose to just be serving people, yeah?"

"Keep an eye on it," he advises. One of Gaspard's men begins to move his way, and already he sees Josephine and Leliana heading into the vestibule.

"Sure, Cully. More fun than watching these snobs," she says and disappears into the tree just as the other soldier makes it to him.

"They're waiting for you inside, Ser."

He nods, pretends he doesn't notice the shadow crawling along the garden wall, and heads inside.

Cullen has just enough time to wonder what's taking Annwn and Elissa so long to enter before the Grand Duke swings open the ballroom door. Behind Gaspard is Elissa - beside Cullen, Alistair's breath catches - and then...

He understands now why Josephine and Leliana ensured he never saw her before the ball. Alistair nudges him and points, as if he hadn't been watching. As if his eyes weren't drawn to her the moment she entered the room.

He could be walking the gilded streets of Val Royeaux, its buildings adorned with golden statues of the prophet Andraste, and he would always notice her first.

"I believe our commander needs help picking his jaw off the floor," Josephine whispers behind him.

"Breathe," says Leliana.

He does, clearing his head in time to remember to greet her with a polite, "Inquisitor," when she passes by him on the stairs. And the back - his mouth goes dry and he prays to the Maker he makes it through tonight from that dress alone.

"Lady Inquisitor Annwn Leigh Amell, of the Ferelden Circle of Magi. Daughter of Lady Revka Amell of Kirkwall. Veteran of the Fifth Blight. Seneschal of Soldier’s Peak."

She steps down onto the floor and approaches the Empress with a grace he didn't know she possessed. Perhaps the nights away with the others were worth it. He can barely turn his gaze away from her to watch the balcony for any signs of a threat.

"Vanquisher of the rebel mages of Ferelden, crusher of the vile apostates of the Mage Underground."

Her hand twitches. Alistair leans once more to him and says, "You saw that right?" The warden grins. "If we were anywhere else, he would have gotten a face full of fireball."

"Champion of the Blessed Andraste Herself."

She turns the twitch smoothly into a bow once she reaches the platform below Celene. From this distance, he can't hear their conversation, but something must have pleased the Empress because she smiles and waves her further into the party.

Elissa is announced next, and Alistair leaves his side to join her. Then he and the other advisors, followed by the remainder of Annwn's inner circle. Sera and Cole's names are absent, even though Cullen can see the boy wandering the vestibule.

When he reaches the top of the stairs after greeting the Empress, Annwn and Leliana are gone.

"You're telling me Morrigan's here? As Empress Celene's... occult advisor." Alistair and Elissa are not going to be happy. "Leliana, you have to start telling us these things sooner."

"I didn't suspect her until we arrived. Amell, she has powerful friends now. I'm not sure if we can still trust her."

Morrigan always hated when Elissa chose to help someone when she thought it was unnecessary, but to assassinate the Empress on behalf of an old Tevinter Magister? "I won't believe Morrigan would be subservient to Corypheus."

"Maybe not Corypheus, but perhaps she or one of her allies would benefit from Celene's death."

They still know nothing of what she could do with a child with the soul of an old god. If that child is even still alive and the soul not within her. But with the worry she came to her and Elissa with, when she suspected Flemeth would possess her... it doesn't add up. "Have you seen her at all tonight?"

"Not yet." Leliana smiles behind her mask, a less intricate version of Amell's own. "But with the entrance you and Elissa made, I don't doubt she'll find her way to us soon. Until then, all our leads point to the guest wing. Start there."

She finds Sera - or, rather, Sera finds her - and directs her up the trellis to the second floor. The presence of Alistair and Elissa in the courtyard provides enough distraction for Sera to scramble up without drawing attention. The nobles are too invested in their recent nuptials and why, oh why, didn't they have a grander party, and why wasn't this person and that invited.

Three ladies representing Empress Celene inform Amell that the Empress will support her once Gaspard is dealt with. Amell simply smiles and acknowledges the offer, promising nothing.

A low whistle sounds across the courtyard. Amell pretends not to notice, speaking in nonsense to Dorian, and watches Sera motion for her to meet her back in the vestibule.

"Well, she certainly got the fun part of the job, didn't she?" Dorian retrieves another glass of wine from a passing servant. "I suppose I'll be here, drinking the night away. I almost expect my mother to appear."

Amell laughs. "Don't drink too much or I'll just have Bull drag you out of here."

Dorian takes a too-long sip. "Do not tempt me."

Easy to find in the ballroom are Varric and Josephine, stood with the ambassador's younger sister and one of the members of the council of heralds. Leliana and Cassandra are with their own group of attendees. Vivienne stands on the other side of the ballroom, pointedly ignoring Cole who has been tasked with listening to Celene, Gaspard, and Briala. Solas trails behind her, playing the part well of the elven manservant he was so poorly announced as. But it works for him, apparently, moving through the crowd as invisible as their boy-spirit.

Everyone accounted for, except...

"Are you married, Commander?"

There, stuck in the middle of what she can only describe as a murder of nobles, is Cullen. Arms folded, creasing the formal suit in the way Josephine warned the rest of them not to, looking as unapproachable as he possibly can. Not that any of the nobles surrounding him seem to notice, or care.

"Rescue him," Solas says with a discrete touch to her arm to get her attention. "I will meet Sera."

Thankful, she nods, and watches him disappear into the ballroom.

"No, I'm not married."

"Oh, then are you single?" A woman reaches for him, and he flinches away from the contact. It doesn't stop her from trying again.

His roiling sea of admirers parts at her approach, with only a few hangers-on vying for his attention. He doesn't give it, relaxing by degrees the moment she comes to be next to him. Close, but never touching per decorum.

"Inquisitor." His is a sigh of relief. He turns his attention fully toward her, much to the annoyance of the woman that reached out. With a scorned huff, she storms away, leaving them alone as they can be in the crowded ballroom. "How are things going?"

"Sera might have found something. Solas went ahead to meet with her." She stops a passing servant with a polite excuse me and thank you as she retrieves a flute of wine from the tray. It's sweet on her tongue. "How are you? That was quite the crowd of admirers you had there."

Again, that defensive posture, but her hand on his arm brings them back down. "It's frustrating. I don't know where they're coming from."

Oh. He has no idea, does he? "You're handsome, of course." She very deliberately reaches past him to put her half-full wine flute on the table behind him. "Very distinguished titles. Is it any wonder?"

This close, she watches his eyes rove down her dress. He leans toward her before he stops himself. "Maker's breath, that dress," he sighs.

She curtsies, and his gaze follows the movement. "You can thank Josephine and Leliana. I'm beginning to like it, myself."

His voice drops an octave lower when he says, "As am I. You look... You are beautiful."

"Thank you." She turns away, conscious of how little her dress hides of her growing blush. "As for your admirers, I could always place a glyph beneath you. Make sure they don't get too close?"

Cullen laughs, still a little throaty. "Don't think I'm not considering it. I can bear it, however."

She wiggles her fingers. "If you're sure. They're already aware I'm a mage." How none of them were aware before, she has no idea. Denial, likely.

"No need to scandalize the court on my behalf, my lady."

My lady - Maker’s breath is right. Though, it’s too late for that, by the looks his former crowd is giving the both of them. "Save a dance for me, then? You do owe me one."

His face goes hard behind his mask. "No."

"Oh." She tries not to visibly deflate. "I'm sorry."

"No, I - " He tries to pinch the bridge of his nose, but the mask prevents it. "I'm sorry, I've been denying requests all night, I'm doing it automatically. If-if there's time, maybe."

"If there's time. I should go find Sera and Solas - "

He takes her hand, brings her knuckles to his lips. "Please be safe."

Before she leaves the ballroom, she whispers in Leliana's ear, "Look after him for me?"

"Jealous, Amell?"

Amell eyes the lords and ladies slowly creeping closer in her absence. "I wish that was all it was."

From Solas, she receives a handful of missives. Some scandalous secrets, others negotiations between Gaspard and Celene. Servant movements to Briala. A letter to Morrigan. Blood on the marble floors, and all anyone can say about it is someone else isn't playing the Game very well.

Shoes click down the stairs above them. The first bell chimes, beckoning them all to the ballroom. "Take these to Leliana. She needs to see them."

Solas bows and departs, and Amell can't help notice he seems to be enjoying himself more than she thought he would.

"Must I always catch you snooping around places you don't belong?" Amell looks up at the stairs to see Morrigan descend. She hasn't bothered with a mask, herself, but her dress mirrors the Empress's. "It's good to see a familiar face here, Annwn."

Amell takes her hand and leads her the rest of the way down the stairs. "If it was somewhere I didn't belong, I wouldn't be there, now would I?" She squeezes her hand before releasing it. "I'm afraid I might be the only friendly face here."

A sadness crosses her golden eyes. All of them became close over the course of the Blight, but Morrigan's deal was a shock. And a profound betrayal. The wedge between her and Elissa paling in comparison to the valley now between Elissa and Morrigan.

"I understand. Know my duty is to protect the Empress, just as it is yours. And take this." She presses a key into her palm. "I cannot leave Celene's side, but it seems you have people enough to investigate."

Another bell chimes.

"Enjoy your dance, Inquisitor. Grand Duchess Florianne has been waiting for you all night."

Amell survives the dance, just barely. She only stutters near the end when Florianne suddenly switches to lead. But she learns that Florianne suspects her brother of planning something, and that Amell doesn't trust Florianne at all.

Lelianna suggests perhaps they should let the assassination take place. That all Orlais needs is a leader to subvert that dark future, and as long as that leader is willing to lend them troops, does it matter if it's Celene or Gaspard? It does, because Amell won't stand idly by and let someone die.

Bull, Sera, Solas, Dorian, Vivienne, as well as the new Cousland-Theirins meet her at the entrance to the servants' quarters. Vivienne helps Amell out of her dress, and Dorian carefully strips Elissa of hers, to be even more carefully stashed away once they're back inside the Palace.

"Could you guys, I don't know, turn around... or something?" Alistair whines as he not so subtly steps in when Dorian tries to help Elissa with her armor.

"Alistair, I've seen you both in your undergarments before," Amell reminds him. Though all three of them were mottled with bruises and near-broken bones from torture. Still. Solas clasps the last buckle on her breastplate before she turns and helps him with his. "We don't have time for modesty right now."

"Yeah, but - " he pouts. Quieter, "It's not you I'm worried about."

The emissary to the council of heralds lies dead in the garden, blood pooling in the grass and a dagger sticking out of his back. The fountain next to him runs red, a servant caught in the crossfire floating face down in the water.

"Gaspard isn't dumb enough to leave his weapon right here to implicate him, right?" Elissa turns the dagger over to reveal the Chalons crest. "That would be too easy. Who tipped you off?"

Amell sighs. "You aren't going to believe me."

"If you say Gaspard, I might just. It's ridiculously Orlesian enough." Alistair grins.

The Venatori sneaking through the gardens are unorganized. Uncoordinated compared to the three that once spent a year straight fighting assassins and worse. It makes talking while they chase a masked harlequin through the gardens easy.

"It was Morrigan. She's an advisor to Celene."

Alistair strings together a colorful series of curses he could have only learned from Oghren. Elissa gets that same sad look in her eyes before calming Alistair. "We'll deal with it later," she says, though Amell knows there's more on her mind.

It's with brutal efficiency that they cut down the remaining Venatori. When Briala arrives the assassin is already dead and she points the finger once more to Gaspard.

They don't bother returning to the ballroom. Briala already knows they're moving about the Palace, and Florianne already told her about the royal wing. It's their last place to check.

"I found these." Cole holds up an armful of decorative halla statues. "They missed their herd. I wanted to bring them back together."

They place them in little nooks around a locked door and find more blackmail in the form of one of Gaspard's men tied spread eagle on a bed.

"That's too good," Sera snickers. "Idiot."

"He didn't want to be tied up, so why...?" Elissa covers Cole's eyes while Sera works on the man's bindings. "He would say yes if you asked."

She looks to Alistair. "I'm not going to."

He sighs with relief. "Oh, good."

Amell groans. "This is far more than I need to know about the two of you."

"C'mon, boss. It's all good fun."

Cole turns to her, his head shifting under Elissa's hand. "He wouldn't like it."

"I know!"

They follow the sound of a man yelling further into the royal quarters and the Jardin de Rêverie. Through a door, a man in a mercenary’s outfit tied to a pillar, and a dozen archers all with their arrows pointed toward the party. On the upper balcony, Grand Duchess Florianne walks out to greet them.

“I had no idea if you’d taken my bait. The others in your Inquisition hid your absence well, but I have been watching.”

Solas takes one step toward her. A Venatori draws his arrow back in warning. It’s close enough. “Do you see it?” he whispers in her ear. A weakening in the Veil, a precursor to a rift, shimmers in the air between them all. None but he and Amell seem to notice it. She nods, slightly. “The chaos could be what we need.”

“You made it too easy to place the blame on your brother. What’s your game here?” The Anchor sparks in her palm. Amell makes a subtle gesture to Elissa - be ready.

“Celene’s death is a stepping stone on a path to a better world.” She grandstands up on the balcony, spreading her arms wide. “You have no idea what Samson and Calpernia have planned, do you? Poor you, if only you could be there to see it.” Florianne snaps her fingers, and the other archers pull back their bows. “I keep you out of the ballroom long enough to strike, and Corypheus gives me the world.” She turns, takes two steps away from the balcony, and snaps again. “Kill them.”

“Now!”

Chaos erupts in a quick flick of her wrist. There’s a scream - pain, rage - then more as demons tear through the Venatori archers. From her place where she threw herself down to the ground, Amell spares a second to think, in horror: I did this. I summoned demons into the world.

Solas pulls her up to her feet in time for her to see Elissa rip an arrow from her shoulder. Alistair goes to his wife, but Elissa waves him off and continues to fire arrow after arrow at the demons. The Venatori are dead, body parts scattered across the grass and blood splattered on the white marble pillars. The demons finally defeated, she closes the rift just as easily as it opened.

The mercenary promises to testify against Gaspard if necessary, and, with the elven servant she sent to Cullen for safety, it leaves them with enough evidence to implicate everyone in tonight’s attack. “Politics,” Solas says, almost to himself, with something like a fond smile.

Amell presses a healing spell into Elissa’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“She ripped it out of her shoulder!” Alistair’s pitch rises high enough for his voice to break. “Right out of her shoulder. Did you see it? She was…”

In that moment, she understands Loghain all too well. Amell rolls her eyes. “Can you please let me heal her before you forget yourselves again?” He restrains himself for a whole thirty seconds, enough for her to heal most of the damage, before she considers them a lost cause.

“Come,” Solas holds out his hand and once more helps her to her feet. “Sera and The Iron Bull have cleared the way forward. Now, all that is left is to save the Empress.”

There’s something in the way Cole stares at Solas and Solas at her. “You’ve been… comfortable here.”

He drops her hand and walks forward, hands behind his back. “I have seen many of these events in the Fade. It has simply been interesting to experience one myself.”

In her dress once more, hair only slightly tousled, Amell walks full into the ballroom and stands just long enough for Florianne to notice her entrance. Against the white powder of her makeup, Florianne goes ghostly white.

“You’re safe,” Cullen breathes, approaching her at a jog. “I - you were gone so long.” He looks to Elissa nursing her arm and Alistair hovering around her protectively. “What happened?”

“It’s Florianne. She’s the assassin.”

“What? The Empress is beginning her speech soon. What do you want us to do?”

Amell takes a steadying breath. Just one last thing, and then it’s over. “Be ready. I’m going to have a word with the Grand Duchess.”

“There’s no time!”

She turns to him with a tired smile. “Trust me."

#siri drabbles #series: homeward bound #otp: the one thing i always wanted #diredwolves #same exact thing i just included one scene i somehow snipped in the middle?#why i didn't just add it in the original post i dunno it's 10 pm

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