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burntheedges · 4 months

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to know the light

Din Djarin x gn!reader | word count: 2.1k | ao3

summary: to go in the dark with a light is to know the light.

a/n: this is for the @pedrostories Secret Santa event! I hope you like it, ro!! @lincolndjarin It ended up way more introspective than I planned, but I think it’s still pretty fluffy. The summary is a line from a poem by Wendell Barry, which is quoted at the bottom in full.

tags/warnings: fluff, a teensy bit of angst, introspection, winter, food mention, reader has no description

...

There are times when Din is grateful for the helmet.

On days like today, when the sunlight reflecting off the snow drifts is bright enough to burn spots across your vision, when the cold is so sharp you feel like the muscles in your face are frozen and immovable, when the tips of your ears and the bridge of your nose are bitten by the icy wind, well — it’s been a long time since Din actually experienced any of those sensations for himself.

But he almost feels the ghost of them against his skin, watching you.

He watches you squint against the sun and blink away its reflection on the pristine snow, eyes watering. He stands just inside the Crest and touches your face with his bare hands, warming your skin from playing with Grogu out in the cold. He gently applies salve to your wind burns, frown hidden by the helmet as he frets about his inability to protect you from such unjust enemies as cold weather.

He watches, and he wonders. What does it feel like, to have the icy wind howl across your face? To always raise a hand to block the light of the sun? It’s been so long since he’s dealt with such normal, everyday, human concerns. It’s like he’s feeling them for the first time, every time he experiences one through you.

Din loses himself imagining it again as he wades through the snow drifts that are stacked high along the path between the Crest and the nearby settlement. He knows, intellectually, that the midday sun reflecting off of the snow around him is bright and harsh, even as his visor corrects the glare. He knows, as he feels it zip through the small gaps in his cowl and nip at his neck, that the wind is frigid and biting.

But he also knows that the landscape is beautiful. You’d said so, just this morning, as you stood on the open ramp of the Crest and shivered. You’d been bundled up in your warmest clothing and wrapped in a blanket, cradling Grogu against your neck. Din had watched as both of you gasped, awestruck by the sunrise over fields of snow and ice and frost-covered trees, all completely untouched in the morning light.

After you’d gone inside, Din had looked out over the same landscape and wondered what he might be missing.

Looking at it now, he feels the sudden desire to know so strongly that he has to close his eyes and clench his fists to keep them still. He’s becoming a hoarder, and he knows it. Recognizes it, but can do nothing to stop it. He’s greedy, gathering little moments to his chest and holding them there, protecting them. Cherishing them.

He’s hoarding the moments when he looks at things with his own eyes. Without the helmet.

It feels dangerous. It feels like testing his limits, like inviting in a feral lothcat and letting it wind around his legs. Like any moment someone will come in and catch him looking. But every time he looks at you with his own eyes, the outline of you is burned onto his retinas like the sun spots he imagines the bright snow burns on yours.

Eyes still closed as he walks steadily down the path, Din thinks back to the moment from just this morning, when he woke next to you in the bunk on the Crest. He releases the memory from his tight, protective grasp, breathing it in and letting it fill his lungs. He sinks back into the feeling of opening his eyes and finding your face in front of him. The curve of your cheek, the slope of your neck. The whisper of your breath in your sleep. He’d wished, just for a moment, that he could lift your blindfold and look at you in full.

Din’s heart races nervously at the thought, even now.

The memory of that moment, of his eyes tracing paths across your skin with no barrier in the way, glows like an ember inside of his chest. It warms him and it burns him all at once. It’s enough that he barely feels any chill at all as he finally steps around a bend in the path and the small settlement spreads out in front of him.

Din takes a moment to carefully tuck the memory away before he steps across the invisible boundary into the town, alert as always in unfamiliar surroundings.

The town, whose name he has not yet learned, is fully overgrown to bursting with blue and silver decorations for the annual winter festival. It’s the reason you and Grogu had set out without him just hours before while he worked on a few repairs, sorely needed before they could fly to the next planet. He’d watched the interest spark in your eyes and the joy take over Grogu’s face and had nodded immediately, as soon as you suggested exploring the town and seeing what the festival was all about. He can't resist you, not ever, but especially not when he can see the excitement shining on your face. He wishes, briefly, that he could add a memory of your eyes, alight with wonder, to his collection. He pushes the yearning away before he can dwell on it.

Walking through the town, Din tries to imagine what you and Grogu were thinking as you did the same. What did you notice? What drew your eye? He lets his gaze dance across the arches woven from ribbons and winterblooms, down the paths strung with twinkling lights, over the happy faces of the crowd. He knows you were probably smiling, utterly charmed by everything and everyone around you, delighted to explore something new. He can picture it like you’re walking right next to him.

Soon enough, he turns onto the main square. It wouldn’t be noticeable to most, perhaps just you and Grogu, but he is arrested by the sight in front of him, so taken aback that he pauses, just briefly, actually surprised into stillness. The fountain dominating the center of the square has five frothy tiers that reach high above all of the buildings around it. It is completely frozen — almost like they sent it cascading upwards and stopped it at its highest point, preserving it in time. It shines like clear glass in the bright light of the sun. Even the tiny spouts of water dancing in complicated patterns around the edges of the fountain are frozen perfectly, like delicate lace. Din recognizes, somewhere deep in his mind, that he would not have let something like this capture his attention before he met you. The knowledge tugs at something deep inside of his chest, and his hand twitches, almost rising to rub at the spot. He blinks, momentarily stunned, before smoothly continuing his forward motion and scanning the square around him. Looking for you.

It doesn’t take him long to find you.

You and Grogu are at the fountain — you’re sitting on its edge, framed by the graceful slopes of frozen water behind you. You're watching and smiling as Grogu dances along it, waving his tiny hands and swaying. Din notes, distantly, that he’s dancing to the music coming from the stage across the square. He watches as you laugh and play with his son, offering him your gloved finger to help him spin in little joyful circles. He can almost hear Grogu’s giggle from 30 feet away.

You turn your head, and Din moves smoothly to the right to partially shield himself behind a column of flags on the side of a booth. They’re woven from the same ribbons he’s seen decorating every building and booth (and person). He takes the opportunity to simply observe you and his son enjoying each other’s company. He realizes, once he lets his eyes drift away from your faces, that you’re each wearing crowns of winterblooms. He smiles as he imagines the looks on both of your faces when you saw the fountain for the first time.

He knows that as much as he watches you, you also watch him. And so he isn’t surprised when, only a few moments later, you look up again and look right at him, even partially hidden as he is. The smile that blooms across your face has him moving before he even realizes he’s taken a step.

Not towards you, though. Din starts to smirk as he moves, letting his instincts take over to conceal himself in the crowd. He knows you’ve lost sight of him, glances back to find you looking over the crowd with narrowed eyes. You stand, shielding your gaze against the bright winter sun with one hand, but you’re already looking in the wrong direction. He starts to grin and feels the anticipation surge down his spine as he moves slowly around the other side of the fountain.

A few moments later he steps to the side of a small group of dancers and brings his hands up to snake around your waist from behind, pulling you back into his chest. You gasp and Grogu squeals, delighted. Din knows in that moment that if anyone could see his face, they’d know exactly how he feels about you. He wouldn’t be able to hide it, not without the protection of the helmet.

“Din!” You’re laughing, head thrown back to rest on his shoulder. “How do you always do that?” He tucks his face into your neck and enjoys the feeling of you easily sinking into his embrace. He chuckles lowly in your ear and murmurs, “I’m a hunter, cyar’ika. You know how.”

You release a breath and spin in his arms. “You don’t have to hunt me, you know. I’m already caught.” You raise one eyebrow at him and bite down on your smile. He moves his right hand up to cup your cheek and gently frees your bottom lip, smoothing his gloved thumb over it.

“Maybe I just need to be reminded, sometimes.” He can hear his own tone, and notes that it’s thoughtful. Almost wistful. He knows you can hear it, too, and watches as you tilt your head to study him.

You smile again. “Then you should hunt me whenever you like.” You wrap your arms around his waist and step closer into his embrace. “I will always be happy to be caught. To remind you.” He leans forward to press his forehead against your own, briefly, just long enough for both of you to feel the kiss before he steps back.

“How’s the festival?” He looks down at Grogu, who is smiling up at both of you with his little arms raised. Din stoops to pick him up and his son starts babbling what he assumes is the tale of their day so far.

You laugh again. “Well, I think that sums it up.” He shakes his head and huffs out a laugh. “There’s a ceremony in a little while, with lights and food, apparently. We thought we might stick around for that before heading back.” He nods, agreeing with your plan. Grogu cheers.

Din sits on the fountain next to you and listens as you share what you’ve done in your hours apart, and what you have left to explore before the light ceremony. What Grogu liked and how much of the festive blue food he’s eaten (which is, as always, impressive). Where you got the crowns of winterblooms and what has been your favorite thing about the festival so far. What you’ve seen and felt and heard and tasted.

He listens, and looks over the square, tracing your path through your story. He watches in his mind’s eye as you stop at that booth, as you taste those cakes, as Grogu dances with the crowd of children by the small stage. He can see the moments play out in front of him through your eyes and your words and your memories. He’s helpless against the soft smile that takes over his face.

Din knows what he sees through his visor is different from what you and Grogu see, and a small part of him mourns that difference, sometimes. But an even larger part of him has come to understand that knowing it through you is a gift that he never could have asked for, never would have known to look for. He’d never even thought it possible to know the world through someone this way. To know anything or anyone this way.

There are times that Din is grateful for the helmet, but more and more often, lately, there are times when he wishes, with a fervor that frightens him, that he could experience life without it.

But he’s learning to see the galaxy through your eyes and through the eyes of his son. And for now, at least, that is enough.

…

To go in the dark with a light is to know the light. To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight, and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings, and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.

Wendell Berry, 2007

#din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #din djarin x gn!reader #din djarin fanfiction #din djarin #x reader #my fic #pedrostories #pedrostoriesgift23 #pedro stories secret santa

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outofangband · 3 months

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I really loved @gwaedhannen ‘s post about wanting more strangeness in First Age Beleriand and I had a post awhile back about potential strange ecology for Middle Earth so I wanted to revisit it with some more thoughts!

Following up to my speculative biology ideas for elves,

Like the last list, these are more jotting down ideas, please please feel free to give me any to elaborate on!

Mammoths on the Helcaraxë and other cold reaches. Tolkien talks of all creatures that walk or have ever walked the earth existing in Valinor and throughout Arda hence prehistoric and extinct species can also exist here. I do also headcanon smaller herds of woolly mammoths and woolly rhinos in northern Hithlum and north of greater Beleriand. Stellar’s sea cows in the frozen waters:(

Early cenozoic aquatic birds such as Hesperornis off the coasts of Balar and Alqualondë.

Enchanted orchards of Valinor; large, seemingly abandoned self containing gardens and orchards. There are fruit tree orchards hidden behind ivy covered walls; some always filled with Autumn breezes, citrus groves always kept warm and bright lined with lemon trees and deep green grass. Except for the Maia who tend them, the only beings who enter the orchards are elves who do so, usually by mistake.

There are places throughout Arda where the Music was not well, loud, enough. They can be the size of a footstep or a field and are not fully connected to the space time continuum. Those who tread on them will end up elsewhere in time or space and will never realize what had happened.

In the great expanses of unexplored Valinor, there are coves, glens, lagoons, and all sorts of other places that seem shift and change, being there one day and not the next. Even while walking through familiar, charted territory, there is always the possibility of ending up in a hidden clearing, covered in hanging mosses and with strange lights all around.

The forests of Beleriand are full of strange, sometimes dark creatures that have never been properly documented. They are the strange hybrids of Yavanna’s creations and Melkor’s corruption and a few have escaped the eyes of even the Ainur.

The underground lakes of Middle Earth, especially around Angband contain blind, hungry beings, nourished by the volcanic soils. Strange fungi and lichen stick to the walls of the caverns and passageways beneath the fortress.

There are hot springs in several locations in Beleriand South of the Ered Wethrin (there are many in the Ered Wethrin of course but these are not exactly relaxation destinations). Namely in Himring, throughout Hithlum, north of Barad Eithel, parts of Dorthonion, in the caves of Androth, and parts of the Ered Luin. Not all of these are used by residents and not all maintain safe temperatures or conditions but some do! In many parts of Northern Beleriand, they're used for bathing and communal relaxation. There are other springs throughout the March of Maedhros and I like the idea of Himring being built around a hot spring. There are hot and warm springs in both Nargothrond and Menengroth. The definition of warm springs differs from hot springs only in average temperature

The caves of Menengroth and Nargothrond allow elves and others access to the strange wonders of the underground world of Middle Earth. They are lit by lanterns and by certain bioluminescent plants. There are windows in key areas that allow sunlight to filter into some of the larger halls and though there are small gardens of species that do not require direct sunlight, some are stationed in the areas where sunlight filters in. A small tributary of the river Narog flows directly through one of the great halls of Nargothrond. Its flora and fauna remain untouched by the elves and algae and aquatic plants as well as small fish, salamanders in their early stages, and stranger creatures are visible to see for those who walk along it.

In realms with Ainur or certain Eldar rule, natural life may not follow typical laws. Melian has great influence over the biodiversity and climate of Doriath for example even without meaning to.

The horror potential of the boundaries of the girdle or of Nan Elmoth. Time and space distorting, the forest becoming a maze, bird calls confusing and disorienting unwary or unlucky travelers

The Ered Gorgoroth, the eerie, mysterious mountain range, bordered to the north by Dorthonion and to the south by Nan Dungortheb. It was said the spawn of Ungolian haunted these mountains and the valley. I have some more posts on this but I've always imagined there being many pools and meres in Ered Gorgoroth, many harmless though frigid and some completely corrupted by the powers of Ungoliants spawn and other beings. Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to know which was which until it was too late.

Chemical reactions causing glimmering or colorful water. Elves learn carefully when this has occurred due to natural phenomena and when it is the result of unnatural influence or Ainur presence.

Salt lakes and landlocked waters mimicking ocean conditions. I’ve always imagined there being a lake like lake Baikal in the March of Maedhros

More Bioluminescence

The realms draped in dragon reek especially around Nargothrond. The pools of Ivrin are ruined by Glaurung and they are the source of the river Narog, the largest tributary to Sirion. The entire land could be poisoned. I imagine that plants wither or lose color, birds and frogs stay silent, animals are thrown off of their natural cycles, The orchards in the hills barren or producing foul fruit, strange happenings resulting from drinking from the river Narog or even eating animals that drank from it…

Alternatively the effects of the water where the power of Ulmo is still strong such as in Nan Tathren or the Twilit Meres

#the silmarillion #beleriand #musing and meta #Valinor #Doriath #ered gorgoroth #I hope these are ok I’m very tired

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short-form-whump · 2 months

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The night is hot and quiet as the Whumpee sits in the passenger seat of a parked car. They hold their one arm stiffly with the other, their elbow bent beneath the tight grip of their bloodied hand. They are quaking with every breath but also frozen in place, undoubtedly in shock. Next to them, the steady hand of the Whumper reaches forward and turns the keys to stop the engine. A warm wind blows through the open windows as the two sit in silence. The Whumper stares ahead at the dark farmland in front of them, scanning acres of fields with wild tree lines and blemished by abandoned trailers and barns. “When I was young my brother beat me up so bad I thought I was gonna die, and I practiced in my head the story about what happened,” the Whumper says. “We were kids so I thought about how I was gonna tell our dad. I told myself over and over what happened, how it happened, every last detail about what he did to me. But when I finally saw my dad, I couldn’t say it. I couldn’t tell him I lost, how bad I lost, even though it was written all over me. And now, all these years later and after all that effort to remember it all, I can’t tell you much about it outside of it having happened in a beat up old barn like one of those.” The Whumper looks over at the Whumpee, a gesture that’s enough to agitate the Whumpee’s quivering even more. “So if you’re thinking of how you’re gonna go telling some little story, I wouldn’t.” The Whumpee looks at the Whumper through shaking pieces of sweat-drenched hair. “This your way of saying that time heals all wounds?” they manage to ask their captor. The Whumper shakes their head. “It’s my way of saying that nobody’s gonna care what happened to you. Not even time. Your whole self will become some broken down place nobody goes to. And although the crash is loud now, someday I will just be the broken window of your whole rotten barn.” The Whumpee closes their eyes, torn between whether to pledge to themselves to remember or to forget.

#whump #whumpblr #whump writing #whumpee #whumper #whump scenes #whump blog #captured #beaten #psychological whump

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rowniebow · 9 months

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the gift | newt scamander x male!reader

summary: bits of a love that began at hogwarts

pairings: newt scamander x male!reader

cw: fluff

word count: 1.7k+

an: this was supposed to go in a long, long, fic but im rewriting it so take my shlop of a rewritten prologue

masterlist

⭒

december 1912

a large pine tree protected you from the harsh winter, leaving your seats dry as could be. layers upon layers of chilled colorless cotton covered the grass before you two.

you sat next to a boy that had the stars written in his skin. he hunched over a family of mice: two small mice and a larger one.

you hid together, running away from the world as always.

you watched your friend. your knees curled into your chest and your eyelids hung over your tired eyes. the cold hammered the urge to cough against your ribs but you refused.

your friend's cold fingers were the only thing peaking out of his school robes that engulfed him. he used his trembling bones to scoot the apple slices he had brought towards the family, silently encouraging the tiny nibbles.

your eyes drifted to the white landscape surrounding you. you sighed, and brought yourself to your feet. the brown sweater that covered your school clothes hardly did enough to keep you warm, but you disregarded that.

the crystals crunched under your feet as you made your way through frozen field. snow slowly fell from the clouds. they mixed with the color of your hair. a smile painted your lips dry in the stabbing cold as you twirled, eventually falling in the soft bed of ice.

the boy you had abandoned under the tree with the mice and stars had been watching you dance under the clouded day. he gnawed on his lip before standing and making his way over to you.

the mice ran off, carrying a single apple slice with them.

he followed the footsteps that you left in the sea of white. once he arrived, he came to find you smiling up at him as you rubbed your hands and legs over the snow.

"what are you doing?" the lighter haired boy nearly whispered, not wanting to completely disturb the silence of the loud world.

"i'm making a snow angel," you continued smiling from the ground.

"a what?"

"a snow angel! do wizards not have that?"

the only response you received was a furrowed brow of confusion.

"come on," you dragged the lighter haired boy down next to you.

a chilled huff escaped the fallen's lips. the visible air exploded into the clouds.

"now, it's really quite simple. you just spread your arms - like this! then you move them up and down,"

your friend participated.

"then, you move your legs out real wide and move them side to side,"

he participated once more.

"than you've done it! a snow angel!"

the starry skinned boy furrowed his eyebrows in focus. he bite his lip and moved his arms once, then legs once, then arms once more, then legs again.

"can you-" you sat up, fighting the urge to laugh at your friend. "is it difficult to do both?"

the lighter haired boy only nodded, still trying his best to participate in the new activity.

"that's alright, it's enough, anyway. come on, step up!" you ushered. you stood together, side by side, looking down at your angels that laid so close they nearly held each other.

"and ta-da! you have a wonderful little angel that you've made." your grin was stupidly big.

a smile pulled at the corner of the starry boy's lips as well.

⭒⭒

january 1913

you made a beeline for your destination during lunch one winters day. christmas and new years had gone and passed. now, the most important day to you was coming up: your starry skinned friend's birthday.

you pushed the heavy doors to the transfiguration classroom open with ease, but hastily shut them soon after. the professor of the class quietly sat at his desk, quill in hand hovering over a parchment filled with notes.

"ah yes," the older man grumbled. "please do come in." the sarcasm weaved it's way through every syllable but you refused to acknowledge it.

"professor, please, this is no time for jokes."

the older gentleman sighed, placing his quill down gently on the desk. ink dripped quietly off of the sharp tip. "what is it?" despite his appeared annoyance, the professor uttered your name with expectance.

"so," you began pacing in front of the professors desk as you spoke. "as you know, a peer's birthday is coming up rather soon."

the professor sighed once more, but an amused smile played at the lips between his thick beard.

"well, i've finally come up with the perfect gift after all this time!"

"go on then,"

"i want to give him a memory."

"that's - alright, how are you going to do that?" the professor suppressed his laughter at the thought of his student, who has never been the most studious, attempting something as complex as any spell that has to do with a memory, or even enchantment.

"that's a good question, now, isn't it?"

"are you going to give him a pendant or something?"

"oh, now that's smart!"

the professor rolled his eyes at your lack of thorough thought. "you know, that's very advanced magic."

"i'm well aware. but, that's where my helpful, caring professor can come in and teach me!" you flashed a large, pleading smile at the older man who only sighed in response.

he eyed you up and down, "are you sure you want to do that? after everything-," the professor began to voice his worries over you: a student that he has taken under his wing to a personal level.

the smile on your face fell rather quickly at the words. "it's for newt, i can get over myself for him." your immediate tone change had the professor internally scolding himself. "will you help me or not? i can always go ask-,"

"no, i'll help you. if you're going to learn it you might as well learn it from someone who actually knows what they're doing." the professor stood with a grunt, mentally preparing for the hours of after school lessons he was committing to.

"great! that's lovely, professor, thank you so much!" you practically shook with excitement, running out of the door in a hurry before the man could take back his promises.

⭒⭒⭒

february 24, 1913

you two curled up together on the top bed of your shared bunk under a blanket: your bed.

candles littered their desks, causing the room outside of your blanket haven to glow a warm orange.

pools of wax surrounded the candles on your desk. the warm wax leaked onto the many papers of homework that you would later see and simply roll your eyes over.

newt, however, kept his candles in their holders or settled in small bowls. the wax dripped down and collected neatly all together, far from any papers or books.

under the blanket, newt held his wand similar to a quill. instead of ink, light dripped out. the light washed over the page and splashed onto your giggling faces.

the soft chiming of a clock sliced through the quiet laughter, immediately sparking your memory. you let out a soft, but extremely excited, "oh!"

you hurried from under the covers, newt slowly following after you.

you dug through the pockets of your school robes hanging over a chair muttering and cursing to yourself about where "it" could possibly have gone. a small breath of relief escaped the passages of your nose as you felt the tiny felt box in the midst of your pockets filled with nonsense.

you turned around shoving a small box into newt's hands. "happy birthday," you whispered. your eyes struggled to look anywhere but the single stripe on his sleep shirt.

a gentle smile played over your lips, though. one that enchanted newt and kept him staring for longer than he needed to. "y-you really didn't need to," he stuttered, finally taking the box from your hands.

"i wanted to." despite your appearance, your heart bounced against your ribs as loud as a it physically could.

newt hands shook lightly as opened the cream box with a gold ribbon around it to reveal a metal pendant that looked to have been poorly bent in the shape of a heart. it hung off of a small chain to make a necklace.

"what's this?" he tugged the necklace out of the box, inspecting the hand made heart.

"here," your voice shook as you gently took the necklace into your hands, pulling the heart in half to reveal the projected memory you had spent weeks working with your professor to get in to the pendant (that you also made and bent all by yourself. you were very proud of the funky heart).

"you've enchanted it," newt whispered under his breath, bewildered at the sight.

he watched the memory play out before him: one that had been pushed to the back of his mind but was revitalized as soon as he saw the familiar sight.

it was the your first trip to hogsmeade together. the day newt showed you everything and anything there was to show about the enchanting town he had been raised to know. the town itself didn't affect him much at all anymore, but he knew you'd find it absolutely stunning. he was so excited to introduce you to the magical world when you two were little.

you sipped on your butterbeers together. you loved the overly sweet drink, and newt made a face at the sugar that bit at his teeth. newt offered his drink to you with a frown at the taste. one that you laughed at, eventually pulling a laugh out from newt.

"did you do it?" newt's voice could hardly be heard. the fear of disturbing the silence ached within him.

"hm?" you hummed equally as quiet.

"did you learn the spell?"

"'course i did." you replied as if it were nothing, but newt was well aware of how it was a big something. "is it-, do you like it?" your whisper was shockingly shy and insecure. a rare vulnerability that newt understood he was privileged to hear.

"yes! i-i love it," newt's hasty response cut through the comforting silence between you two. but you only smiled.

"here, let me put it on,"

newt stood still while you raised yourself on your toes to reach around the tall boy's shoulders to his neck. newt, very aware of the proximity between the two of you, looked down at the quickly dying candles that were providing the only light in the room.

you leaned back down onto your heels, "there." you played with the pendant over his chest between your fingers, finally letting it fall against his clothes.

"t-thank you," newt stuttered your name, struggling to get anything more than a mutter our.

you smiled.

and the candles finally went out.

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ramblingoak · 1 year

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The Cardinal’s Bride, Chapter 3: Promises

~ A Romantic Adventure in the Old West: After being forced into a marriage with Mr. Saltarian by your father you are sent west to his estate in Nevada. Along the way you end up meeting one of the cowboys you have always fantasized about... ~

Previous Chapters: 1 / 2 ~~ Pinterest Board ~~ Spotify Playlist

As always, thank you to @tasty-ribz for the amazing wanted poster of The Cardinal! Another thank you to @meowsaidmissy for doing some gorgeous art of our smug cowboy here and here And thank you to @kissingghouls for holding my hand (and everyone else in the discord chat yeehawwww)

~ Cardinal Copia x Female Reader: slow burn romance, adventure, violence, Copia in chaps, NSFW, MDNI, this chapter is 9,250 words ~

Chapter 3: Promises ~ After The Cardinal continues to be a smug bastard you both end up making promises to each other after having to confront the past.

The Cardinal was far more gentle than you expected him to be.

You were both lying in a field of wildflowers, the sun warming your skin. He was leaning over you and looking into your eyes with such affection you almost had to look away. Goosebumps followed his fingertips as they traced invisible patterns on your skin. Your body shivered when he pressed featherlight kisses on you, his mustache tickling at the same time.

“So beautiful, my Principessa. So beautiful.” You blushed at his complement and slid a hand into his hair, watching as his eyes closed when you ran your nails along his scalp. He reminded you of a cat, especially the way he pushed against your hand. “Mmm Principessa…”

You smiled up at him and let your hand slip out of his hair to rest on his cheek. “Yes, my Cardinal?” His mismatched eyes opened and you felt frozen in place as he gazed at you.

“Principessa…” His voice whispered around you, like it was coming from everywhere all at once. “Principessa, Principessa…”

“Cardinal?” You felt your heart start beating faster as his words seemed to vibrate through your head. He continued to stare down at you, but his lips had stopped moving. It was like he was frozen in place and even when you tapped his cheek his eyes remained steady and unblinking.

“Principessa…”

“Cardinal!” You started to panic as the whispering got louder but now you couldn't move either. A scream was beginning to build in your throat but it stayed stuck there no matter how hard you willed it to come out.

“Principessa!” You finally managed to squeeze your eyes shut but a cold sensation on your face made your body jolt upright. Your face was wet, water dripping into your eyes and you brought your hands up to try to clear it away and look around. The field of flowers was no more. Instead you were back in the camp The Cardinal and his Ghouls had made last night amongst some trees.

Speaking of The Cardinal, he was standing over you holding his canteen with that stupid grin on his face. You had come to learn that when he was looking at you like that he was mocking you in some way. Clearly he was enjoying waking you up from your dream. You had been hoping that after meeting the bastard your dreams featuring him would’ve faded away. Your fantasies about him were clearly way off the mark.

No such luck.

It had been a week since they’d attacked your stagecoach and taken you. A week of being drug around the countryside and stuck on a horse behind one of his Ghouls. You were tired, filthy and desperate to get away from all of them. They had mentioned heading towards a place called The Ministry but otherwise they remained tight-lipped on their plans. You weren’t even really sure what The Ministry was and no one had answered your questions about it yet.

The Cardinal crouched down in front of you and you scowled at him. He was always getting into your space, teasing you about something. Typically it was a comment directed at you being a “city girl” or something about you choosing to marry Saltarian. As if you actually wanted to marry that man.

“Buongiorno, Principessa. Did you sleep well?”

“I’ve been sleeping on a dirty horse blanket on the ground. What do you think?”

“I think it sounded like you were having a nice dream. Not the first time I’ve thought that actually.”

“What I dream about is none of your business.”

“Si, si you’re probably right.” He clicked his tongue and cocked his head while he regarded you for a moment. Then he slowly began to lean in until his mouth was near your ear. You stayed frozen in place, not sure what he was getting at. “But…you have been whispering for me at night. So. It makes one curious, eh?”

Your mouth fell open but you had no idea what to say. He pulled back a little until his face was mere inches away from yours, that smirk on his lips. This was absolutely mortifying. He hadn’t mentioned the poster at all since the day of the attack. Honestly you’d been hoping he had forgotten about it. And here you were, despite how horribly he had treated you for a week, still dreaming about him like you used to do at home. He had to know at this point.

Oh this was not good.

“I think, Principessa, I know why you had my wanted poster.” You shook your head in denial but he started nodding his own, his smile getting wider. “I must say, I’m flattered. Really. There you were surrounded by clean, respectable city boys and you spent your nights dreaming of me. It warms my heart to know this. Also warms a few other things to be hon–ai!”

He was able to dodge the kick you aimed at his shin, laughing as you growled at him. You started to hear the others rustling around and getting up so you quickly glanced around to make sure none of them had heard The Cardinal. When you looked back up at him he winked at you and then held a finger to his lips when Aether walked by with his cooking supplies.

“Can whatever this is wait until after breakfast?” Aether didn’t seem to have much patience for his boss’s teasing of you and for that you were thankful. He gave you a small smile as he walked by and you smiled back before glaring up at The Cardinal again.

“Yes of course Aether, le mie scuse.” He reached out and slapped the Ghoul on the shoulder before walking off towards the horses. When he was a few feet away he turned and caught you staring, smirking at you again before turning back around. You heard him whistling a jovial tune into the morning air like he didn’t have a care in the world.

Bastard.

It had been a week of this. A week of being stuck on a smelly horse behind an equally smelly cowboy. For the most part you had stayed quiet, most of the Ghouls didn’t seem to want to talk to you anyway. The only one you had enjoyed riding with so far was Swiss. He had been friendly and talkative, telling you lots of stories of the gang’s exploits together. You had noticed The Cardinal shooting him increasingly annoyed looks and after watching him argue with Swiss that night you hadn’t ridden with the man since.

After that you were usually either behind Mountain or Aether. Both men were fairly quiet, but at least they were nice to you when they did speak. Rain was usually off scouting ahead so you hadn’t interacted with him very much. The other two, Dewdrop and Sunshine, had made little effort to hide their disdain for you. You understood why Dewdrop didn’t like you, he would probably never forget the bite. You weren’t sure of Sunshine’s reasoning, but she always seemed ready to follow along with the smaller man.

Why was everyone following The Cardinal anyway? He would switch from being in a dour mood, glaring at everyone and barking orders to being a smug bastard in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately you were the one he directed his smugness to the most. All he had done since the stagecoach attack is tease you mercilessly.

It was always ‘Principessa this’ and ‘Principessa that’, he was intolerable. There had to be something wrong with your mind to make you keep dreaming about the man. You shivered as your thoughts wandered back to last night’s dream. Well, you needed to just forget about it. Besides there was no way The Cardinal would act that sweet with you. Or anyone for that matter.

“Are you going to try and run away again today?” Aether’s voice startled you from your thoughts and you glanced at him. He had paused in his breakfast preparation and was looking over at you. Besides Swiss, Aether had definitely been the kindest one here. He seemed to be the voice of reason whenever any of the Ghouls got in an argument. Or anytime The Cardinal became angry.

“I haven’t decided yet.” Aether snorted and shook his head.

“Fair enough.” You both looked over to the horses when you heard Dewdrop shouting. He was gesticulating wildly in front of The Cardinal and he then pointed at you while shaking his head. Aether cursed under his breath and jumped up to head their way, he turned and pointed at the pot he had set up over the fire. “Hey, can you keep an eye on that?”

You nodded and crept over to the fire, watching as Dew continued to rant at his boss about something. The man had a worse temper than The Cardinal. Thankfully he hadn’t spoken a word to you since you had bitten him. You couldn’t help but smile thinking back on that. The whole lot of them seemed to have expected you to be some meek girl the whole time. In a way you were, you didn’t see any way to get out of being the main part of their plan.

Didn’t mean you were going to make it easy on them though.

The shouting had died down and you looked up from the pot to see Dewdrop stalking your way, The Cardinal hot on his heels. When he got by the fire he spun around and stabbed a finger in his boss’s direction.

“She’s not riding with me! Has everyone forgotten that she bit me? And you want her at my back all day?! She’d take a chunk out of my neck.” Dew looked over at you and you just sniffed and looked back down into the pot.

That wasn’t a terrible idea.

Aether walked up and got between the two men, “She can ride with me. It’s not a big deal.”

“No, I need you up ahead until Rain comes back.” The Cardinal had his arms crossed and turned to look at where Swiss and Sunshine were just rousing themselves from their bedrolls. They were the last two to wake up, Mountain and Rain had left a few days ago to head to the nearest town and get a message about the ransom sent to Saltarian.

“Just let her ride with Swiss!” You hoped The Cardinal would listen to Dewdrop. Riding on a horse all day was almost torture for you, but at least Swiss would make it somewhat bearable.

“Yeah boss, princess is always welcome to ride with me.” Swiss gave you a wink as he walked over and you couldn’t help the small smile you gave him. At least one of the cowboys had some charm.

“She’s not fucking riding with you Swiss.” The Cardinal was glaring at the man and you watched as Swiss rolled his eyes. Why did he have such a problem with you riding with Swiss? The Cardinal got in your line of vision and you let your eyes trail up his body to land on his face. “She’ll ride with Sunshine.”

“The fuck she will!” Sunshine leapt up from where she was still sitting and glared at her boss. You started shaking your head and looked back at The Cardinal.

“I’d rather walk!” You yelped when he leaned down and grasped your elbows, pulling you onto your feet.

“We’d be dragging you in minutes. Those pretty shoes of yours wouldn’t last very long.” His eyes raked down to your toes and then back up again.

“I had other shoes in my things, you should have let me bring them.”

“Oh yes of course, la Principessa needs all of her pretty things with her at all times.” He let you go and spit to the side, smiling when you scrunched your nose up in disgust. “You’ll ride with Sunshine and that’s final.”

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

For the first few hours, Sunshine was pretty quiet. She seemed a little annoyed after it took a bit to get your skirts arranged so it was comfortable for both of you, but otherwise neither one of you spoke. Sunshine tended to trail behind the others with Dew, but since you were with her Dew was riding up front to avoid being close to you.

It was starting to feel a little odd just riding in silence so you had been trying to rack your brain to think of something to talk about. Didn’t they belong to a church? Or they did at one point. You had overheard The Cardinal bring it up a few times with some of the others. Maybe this would be a way to fill the silence.

“So you all belonged to a church?” You felt Sunshine stiffen in front of you and you worried you should’ve just kept your mouth shut. She just sighed though and then when she started to talk you let out the breath you had been holding.

“Yeah, more or less. Although it’s pretty much been disbanded since what happened.” So they did have someplace to worship, why would Saltarian destroy a church of all places? “Now we’re just The Cardinal and his band of Ghouls. Although I prefer Ghoulette.”

“Ghouls?” What an odd thing to be called, it sounded like a creature not a job.

“It’s what our title was in the church. As Ghouls we helped with pretty much everything. Cleaning, building, assisting with rituals. Lots of stuff like that.”

“And The Cardinal?”

“Oh he was one of the upper clergy members. He’d basically grown up in the church, since it was first started in Italy. Him and his family immigrated to the states and were able to buy a nice plot of land to start over. His brothers were also members of the church, but they were called Papas.” You had guessed The Cardinal was Italian based on his accent, you had met a few Italians around St. Louis. But what were Papas? How many brothers did he have? You shook your head to try and refocus. You wanted to know what happened with their church.

“Sunshine, what about the church though? What happened to it?”

The Ghoulette grunted and was quiet for a moment before she continued. “A lot of folks were uncomfortable with our church. Not anyone in the surrounding town though, but plenty of people around the area.” Sunshine shook her head. “It’s ridiculous though, we’re more peaceful than any of the other religions you’ve probably been around.”

“What do you mean? And why were people uncomfortable?”

“We follow the Olde One. Lucifer.” Lucifer? Was she being serious?

“You mean the devil?”

Sunshine laughed and continued, “Yep! The Morningstar himself.”

“But…but how? I mean, he’s the devil. He’s evil!” Wasn’t he?

“Trust me kid, Lucifer is a kitten compared to whatever God you’ve been introduced to. In our church everyone is free to do what they want.” You felt her hum as you leaned against her back, still trying to wrap your head around what she was saying. “Well, as long as you’re not hurting anyone.”

“Well that’s not…wait, do you sacrifice animals? People?” Sunshine laughed again and you ducked behind her back when you saw Dewdrop turn to glare at her.

“Only if they’ve been very very bad.” Sunshine turned her head and winked and you couldn’t help but smile. This was one of the strangest conversations you’ve ever had. You’d never really heard of devil worshippers beyond just spooky stories or the occasional sermon at your church.

“So Mr. Saltarian kicked you all out and took over?”

“He didn’t take over, he destroyed it. He showed up in the middle of the night with a group of thugs and burned our church into the ground. They murdered anyone that got in their way.”

“That’s horrific! How did he get away with it?”

“Because no one gives a fuck about a bunch of evil Satanists. Which is hilarious because Saltarian is the evil one here. Him and all his cronies and business partners.” Sunshine had stiffened in front of you and you could almost feel the anger vibrating from her. “So congrats on choosing him as your husband, I’m sure you’ll be one big happy family. Well, briefly I guess. We’re definitely still killing him.”

You felt sick. This was the man you were being forced to marry? No wonder everyone here hated you, they thought you were willingly marrying this monster. “I didn’t choose him.”

“What, really? Then why the fuck are you even out here?”

“I didn’t have a choice. My father owes Saltarian money and he wasn’t paying it back quickly enough. They apparently worked out a deal that the debt would be forgiven as long as I married him.” You brushed some tears off your cheeks and rested your head against Sunshine’s back.

“See this is what I don’t get, you god fearing folk are supposed to be kind and loving to everyone. But here you are basically traded off by your own family without a second thought.” You couldn’t stop the tears now, the whole situation with Saltarian and being kidnapped…it was so overwhelming. None of this had been your choice, you hadn’t been able to make a choice for yourself in so long.

“I- I don’t know what to say. I’ve never really been given a choice in anything. No one really bothers to ask what I think, they just tell me what to do.”

“That’s bullshit. You should be able to marry whoever you want. If you belonged to our church you would be able to.” You looked off to the side and let your mind wander as you watched the scenery. It would be amazing to be able to marry anyone you wanted. To marry for love and live your life without stupid rules and limitations. You brought your head up again to look at the side of Sunshine’s face.

“Who would you choose? Since you can marry anyone?” Sunshine laughed at you again and you couldn’t help but laugh a little too. “The Cardinal?” The woman made a very unladylike sound and looked back at you.

“Cop–The Cardinal?!” She let out a huge belly laugh before answering. “There’s no fucking way, I’d kill him within the first week. None of these guys could handle me. Besides, The Cardinal has a type and I ain’t it.”

You couldn’t read the expression on her face as she looked back at you again with the last comment. Her eyebrow was quirked up and it seemed like she was teasing you. “Well, that’s still amazing. I’m happy you have that choice, that anyone does.”

“You can have a choice too, kid. And you won’t be married to that man for long, trust me.” So everyone kept reminding you. It was strange to hear people talk so casually about murder. Even if it seemed as if someone like your future husband deserved it.

“I suppose I won’t be, but I won’t be alone for long. My father will find someone else for me.” Killing Saltarian wouldn’t save you from a future with a man you didn’t love. Your father would just find someone else to sell you too and maybe someone even worse than Saltarian. In the end it would be whoever benefited your father the most.

You both quieted down then, the rest of the day spent mostly in silence. When everyone stopped to make camp that night you stood quietly off to the side and let them do their duties. The Cardinal had dismounted and was waiting a little further away from the campfire looking towards a ridge in the distance. The camp itself was set up against a small forested area. There was a stream you had passed over earlier in the woods that Swiss was currently at to refill the canteens.

Aether called your name and you jumped a bit before looking over at him. He pointed towards a blanket he had laid out near the fire and you gave him a quick smile before going over. Right when you sat down though you heard The Cardinal let out a shrill whistle and you froze at the sight of two riders cresting over the ridge and heading your direction.

Everyone exploded into action around you, grabbing their guns and readying themselves. Sunshine came over to your side and dropped something into your lap. It took you a moment to realize that it was a small knife. It wasn’t very long, the blade was encased in leather with a small strap keeping it inside. You looked back up at the Ghoulette and she gave you a quick smile.

“Just in case, ok? Keep it on you.” You nodded up at her but stayed seated, watching as the riders got closer. When The Cardinal let out a different whistle everyone instantly relaxed and you let out the breath you hadn't realized you were holding. You looked back up at Sunshine and she nodded towards the riders. “Rain and Mountain are back.”

It was easy to recognize them now. Mountain was a towering figure when standing, but mounted on his horse he looked like a giant. You watched as they stopped by The Cardinal and the other horses, dismounting and approaching the man. Rain handed something over, shaking his head as he did so. Maybe they weren’t able to send word to Saltarian?

The look on The Cardinal’s face as he turned and started walking towards you told you something different though. He was smirking and you took a deep breath trying to prepare yourself for whatever was up his sleeve. When he stopped in front of you he put his hands behind his back and rocked on his heels as he looked down into your face.

“Principessa, I wanted to apologize for how we first met. That was rude of me, si?” You stayed frozen for a moment before giving him a slight nod. If he was being sincere this would be a first during your time together. After staying quiet for a moment he pulled his hands out from behind his back and held out a worn piece of paper that was folded in half. You slowly reached out and took it from him, opening it with shaking hands. You felt all the color draining from your face as soon as you saw what was on it.

It was his wanted poster.

“I felt bad for ruining the one you had brought with you. Clearly it meant a lot to you, so I wanted to replace it.” You finally looked up from the smug look he was wearing on the poster to the smug look he was wearing now. The bastard was laughing at you, like he had been almost every day now. His eyes were on yours and you glared up at him. The black surrounding his mismatched gaze was smudged and faded, but it still made his eyes pop.

You wanted to scratch them out of his head.

“So Principessa, no hard feelings, eh?”

A growl built up in your chest and you launched yourself at him, not even really sure what you planned on doing but as long as it caused him pain you’d be happy. You aimed your hands at his face but he managed to grab you around the waist and avoid your nails. Instead you started beating on his back with your fists and kicking as much as you could in your dress.

The bastard was laughing, right in your ear. He easily turned your body so your back was against his chest and you felt his laughter rumble into your back. There was more laughter around you and you looked around as his Ghouls took in the scene. Even Aether was laughing! You tried to dig your nails into The Cardinal’s arms but his leather jacket was too thick.

“Alright, alright Principessa. Let’s relax for a moment, si?” You took a deep breath and let yourself droop a little in his arms. He leaned down and made some shushing noises into your ear, then patted you gently on your head like you were his goddamn horse. You leaned forward a bit and hung your head, letting your body go limp and he grunted softly as he was pulled forward. You took a deep breath before gripping your skirts and bringing your foot up, waiting for the right moment to strike. He muttered something in Italian and you slowly let your breath out.

“Principessa?” You’d barely let him finish before lifting your skirts up and slamming your foot back into his crotch as hard as you could. The Cardinal shouted out and immediately let go of you. “Merda!”

You stumbled forward as he fell down behind you, groaning as he clutched himself. The Ghouls were still laughing but now it was at the sight of their fearless leader on his knees in pain. With everyone distracted you decided now was as good a time as any. You lifted your skirts once more and took off towards the trees. You heard The Cardinal shout behind you but you didn’t stop, you couldn’t stop this time. Maybe you could follow the stream to a town, maybe you could try to go the direction Mountain and Rain had come from, it didn’t matter. You needed to get away from these people, away from him.

“Aw fuck, not again.” Dewdrop’s voice followed you as you passed him, finally making your way into the woods. You stumbled a few times but you didn’t let yourself slow down. The sound of boots stomping through the underbrush came from behind you and you pushed yourself to go faster.

“Principessa! Get back here right now!”

“Fuck off!” You almost laughed, if only your parents could see you now. Racing through the woods, dirty beyond belief and cursing at probably one of the most wanted men in the country. The cursing alone would have made your mother faint. The Cardinal’s angry muttering continued to get closer despite you running as fast as you could. Up ahead you could see the trees thinning and figured you were getting close to the creek, maybe you could lose him after getting past it.

As you pushed through the edge of the woods you stopped briefly, your eyes widening at the sight of the creek. It was a lot wider than you had expected. You couldn’t let it stop you though, it couldn’t be that deep. Your shoes started sinking into the mud along the edge immediately and you struggled to pick them up and move forward, nearly shrieking when the cold water started seeping into your dress and weighing you down. When you were ankle deep your shoe sunk down too far into the mud and became stuck. You started to struggle to lift your shoe back up, hearing The Cardinal getting closer to you.

Right as he burst through the trees you yanked your foot up but your shoe stayed stuck in the mud. The momentum caused you to lose your balance and you fell forward into the creek onto your front. The scream that left you was probably heard across the valley. You pushed yourself onto your knees and tried to get up but your feet caught on your dress and you fell back down again. You turned and sat in the water, pulling your knees up to your chest. When your eyes met The Cardinal’s you groaned and dropped your head down onto your knees.

Of course he was laughing at you.

“Aww Principessa, did you need a bath?” You took a deep breath and looked up again. He had crept closer, his boots right at the edge of the water. You watched as he reached down and pulled your shoe out of the mud before tossing it behind him. His hand reached out towards you but you ignored it and glared at him. “Come on, fun’s over. Let’s go back to camp.”

“No! I’m tired of you dragging me around. Of you ordering me around!” You couldn’t remember the last time you’d been this angry. It was like a living thing clawing its way out of your chest. He narrowed his eyes at you, but continued to hold his hand out. You threw one of your down into the water and sent a splash in his direction.

“Principessa, take my hand. Now.” The tears began to well in your eyes and you didn’t bother trying to wipe them away. What did it matter trying to hide anything from him, his opinion of you was already so low. You didn’t want to be here anymore, you didn’t even care where you went. As long as it was away from all the men trying to push you into something you didn’t want you’d be fine.

“Please let me go. Please.”

“You have a role to play in this. I’m not letting you go until I have that ransom money.” He had pulled his hand back but he stayed crouched down in front of you.

“Isn’t there another way? I’m begging you, just let me go. Take me to the nearest city! I won’t tell anyone what happened, I’ll pretend I’m someone else!”

“And do what, Principessa? Live in some dirty town out here for the rest of your life? A city girl like you wouldn’t be happy with that.” You growled and sent another splash his way.

“You don’t know anything about me!”

He cocked his head as he watched you rant at him. “Oh I know all about girls like you. You’re all the same. Unable to take care of yourself in the real world. Just changing from pretty dress to pretty dress waiting for some rich husband to throw money at you the rest of your life.” He clicked his tongue at you. “It’s too bad I have to kill Saltarian, he certainly has enough money to keep you entertained.”

“I don’t want to marry Mr. fucking Saltarian!” Your outburst surprised even you, but The Cardinal seemed extremely surprised at your words. He rocked back briefly on his heels before letting out a confused laugh.

“You don’t? Then why the fuck did you come out here?” His question echoed Sunshine’s from earlier in the day and you didn’t want to have to explain yourself again.

“Because I didn’t have a choice!” The water splashed around you both as you slammed your fists down at your side. “My father owes Saltarian money. A lot of money. Apparently he got tired of waiting for it so he is making my father pay him in another way. I’m the bargaining chip.”

The Cardinal had a look on his face that you couldn’t read. He looked almost confused at what you were telling him. “Everyone always has a choice, Principessa.”

A delirious laugh left you, apparently cowboys could be just as stubborn as the men you were used to in St. Louis. Men like your father. Men that didn’t listen to you, that didn’t respect you and men that were stubborn in their beliefs. You shook your head and laughed again.

“I don’t. Have. A choice. I never have! I’ve been told my whole life what to wear, what to say, what to do…I’m a doll. The only thing I’m meant for is to sit quietly and look pretty. That’s all I’ll be to Saltarian.”

The Cardinal stood up then and threw his hands up at his sides, “Then you should be happy I’m going to kill him! You’ll be free to go back home.”

“Yes! I’ll go back home and wait around for my father to find someone else to basically sell me to!” You were soaking wet now, your teeth starting to chatter, but you kept going. “I’m not free to do anything else.”

“Who says you have to go back to Missouri?”

You looked at him like he was an idiot. “What else am I supposed to do? I have no money, no other family, no friends…I have no skills! Am I supposed to just tag along with you idiots for the rest of my life?”

That smirk of his appeared on his face and he crouched back down. He held his hand out again and waggled his fingers. “Well, it might not be so bad having something pretty to look at.” Your mouth fell open in surprise and despite the cold you could feel your cheeks heat up. “Well maybe not so much right now, you look like a drowned rat.”

He just couldn’t help himself, but what else could you expect from him? You sighed and slipped your hand into his, the leather of his glove felt so warm against your cold hands. He easily pulled you up out of the water and mud and helped you hop on your one shoe back onto the bank. Your poor dress had already been in horrible shape before the creek, now it was definitely ruined beyond repair.

When you were out of the water and steady on your feet he let your hand go and leaned down to pick up your shoe. You expected him to hand it over but instead he crouched down again and lifted up the bottom of your dress.

“Hey!” You kicked at his hand as he reached under the layers of fabric but he just grabbed your foot and held it still. One of your hands reached out to grip his shoulder so you could stay steady as he lifted your foot up to the shoe. A tiny gasp left your mouth and he slid his hand from the arch of your foot up to your ankle and delicately helped you slide your foot back inside.

He let go of your foot and then smoothed your skirts down before standing up to look into your eyes.

“No more running away Principessa.” His eyes were intense as they looked into yours. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, but you hoped he no longer thought as ill of you as he did before. You nodded your head and looked down but he clicked his tongue and placed a finger under your chin to tilt your face back up. “Promise me.”

You took a deep breath and gazed into his eyes for a moment before answering. “I won’t. I promise.” He gave you a brief smile and dropped his hand.

“Okie dokie, let’s get back to camp.”

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

After rejoining the Ghouls you went straight for the fire and got as close as you safely could. Everyone was pretty quiet as Aether handed dinner out, just a few low conversations as they ate. You finished yours quickly and then immediately wrapped yourself in your bedroll. The nights hadn’t been too bad but with the wet fabric of your dress barely having dried you felt like an icicle. Still, you were so exhausted from everything that had happened today that you felt sleep creeping up on you. With the blanket wrapped as tightly around you as you could get it you finally let sleep claim you.

Sometime later you found yourself blinking awake. At first you weren’t sure what had woken you up, but you froze when you heard singing from right next to you. As you woke up a little more you realized that you no longer felt cold and you looked down to see a red blanket had been draped over you. You blinked a few times before it dawned on you that it wasn’t a blanket, but The Cardinal’s red duster.

Your eyes drifted back closed briefly while you snuggled yourself into the heavy fabric. It was a lot warmer than you thought. You took a deep breath and let yourself think about The Cardinal of your dreams for a moment. The duster smelled like how you thought it might. A mixture of the outdoors, smoke and a hint of something metallic.

In reality it also smelled like a man that hadn’t seen a bath for a few weeks.

“They didn’t spare anyone.” You jumped at the sound of the man’s voice. A hand entered your line of sight and you watched as he pulled his coat a little further up to cover your neck before resting it on your shoulder. “Women and children, to them it didn’t matter. We were all evil devil worshippers.”

You wanted to move, to either sit up so you could watch him or just to get a little closer to him but you stayed still and let his words fall over you. It felt like this was a story he didn’t tell very often. If at all.

“The screaming was the worst. Not the fire or the pain, it was the screaming. So much of it that I couldn’t tell who it was coming from.” The Cardinal was silent for a moment before continuing. “I remember running through the chapel, trying to get to the dorms that were next door, but the ceiling collapsed and I barely got out of the way in time.”

His hand left your shoulder and rested on the ground near you, he wasn’t wearing his gloves and you found yourself fascinated by the sight of his bare hand. Your own hands twitched a little wanting to reach out and touch him, to try to soothe him in some way, but you didn’t want to interrupt his train of thought.

“When I made it outside, everything was in flames. The dorms…the building we held classes in…the gardens. It didn’t even matter if it was affiliated with the church or not, the whole town was on fire.” He let out a sound then, it was like a cross between a sob and a laugh and it made your heart ache. “I couldn’t hear the screams anymore but somehow that was worse.”

You couldn’t help yourself then and you slipped an arm out from under his duster and let your hand grasp his. His skin jumped under yours but when you squeezed his hand he gave it a little squeeze back and didn’t let go.

“I remember Aether and Swiss running up and grabbing me. I can remember the others too, trying to get whoever they could to safety. They were taking them into the woods nearby, taking them as far away from the fire as they could.” You heard the sound of rustling fabric and he shifted a little closer to you. “I couldn’t see my mother, Imperator, anywhere. I tried to get away from the Ghouls, screaming that I needed to find her. And not just her! My brothers too, I hadn’t seen any of them.”

He squeezed your hand again and then turned it so he could swipe his thumb back and forth across the back of yours. The calluses on his fingers felt strange against your skin.

“But when I saw him everything stopped. I couldn’t feel the heat from the fire anymore. I couldn’t feel the pain or the overwhelming sense of loss that had begun to seep in. All I felt was rage.”

You turned your head to look up at him, watching the firelight dance across his face. “Who did you see?” It seemed like a silly question though, you knew deep down who it was.

“Your future husband, Saltarian. Him and his associates and however many mercenaries he was able to hire to help his cause.” The Cardinal glanced down and looked into your eyes. “I could feel it then, the wrath taking hold of my heart. All I wanted to do was march into that field and pump his body full of bullets, but Aether and Swiss wouldn’t let me go. They practically dragged me into the forest. I only stopped screaming at them to let me go when my brothers took over for them.”

“You have brothers?” Copia snorted and looked back towards the fire.

“Yes, three of them and all of them are assholes.” He smirked and gave you a sideways glance. “Like me.”

A very inelegant snort burst out of you and you jerked your hand away from his to slap it over your mouth. Well, at least he could admit it.

“After a few days of running my brothers decided to head south, if anything just to lay low and regroup. Think about rebuilding.” He sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. “But I couldn’t let it go. I let what happened build and fester within me. Aether and the others, they stayed with me. We’d known each other for so long I think they felt obligated to stick around.”

“I’m glad you had them at least.” The Cardinal hummed before continuing.

“We gathered as much information as we could. Looking for names of who was there with him, anything that we could exploit. I want him to suffer exactly like I had suffered. Like we had suffered. But we needed to wait for the perfect opportunity. A time where Saltarian and everyone on his payroll would be in one place.” You felt a shadow hover over your head and then the briefest touch over your hair. “And then we saw the engagement announcement in a local newspaper.”

You did feel his hand then, he tucked a few strands of hair behind your ear. Goosebumps broke out on your skin where his fingers lightly brushed against you.

“There was actually a picture of you. Well, a sketch.” You could hear the smile in his voice and you wondered what he was thinking. “I knew a man as vain as Saltarian would want to invite everyone he could to show off his pretty new bride.”

Did he…did he like your picture? You pushed the thought out of your mind, it was absurd to think that a silly sketch of you would have any effect on a man like him. Your father had insisted you sit to have your portrait drawn, something to add to the engagement announcement in any newspaper that would run it. Anything for attention.

“So that’s how my plan formed. We found out when the stagecoach was going to pick you up and waited along the trail for it to come back with you. The rest you mostly know.” The Cardinal’s voice darkened a bit when he spoke again. “We’ll let you say your I do’s and then we’ll rain unholy fire onto every single evil bastard there.”

You took a few shuddering breaths at the thought of being caught in the middle of that. Saltarian was evil, you knew that now. Far more evil than any of the actual devil worshippers that you had spent the last week with. He deserved what was coming to him and The Cardinal and his family deserved to live their lives in peace.

But what would happen to you? How would you stay safe during The Cardinal’s onslaught? You could feel yourself beginning to tremble at the thought of being caught in the middle of a shootout, in the middle of anything! You only started to calm down when you felt his hand rest on your shoulder and give it a brief squeeze.

“I won’t let anything happen to you, Principessa.” You looked back up at him and froze when his mismatched eyes were already gazing at you. “I promise.”

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

After The Cardinal made his promise you had fallen back asleep, waking up when the Ghouls started rustling around camp. You still had the duster draped over you and you let yourself have one last moment enjoying being tucked inside its warmth before you got up. When you looked around your eyes ending up landing on The Cardinal almost immediately and you blushed when you saw he was already looking at you.

He was standing next to his horse, a big white beast that you had tried to stay away from. You really weren’t fond of any of the horses but this one seemed to have the same attitude as his rider. The Cardinal held up a hand and waved you over. What could he possibly want?

You stood up and let his duster fall down onto the ground. Thankfully your dress seemed mostly dry, but it was filthy. At least it helped you fit in more with the Ghouls, none of their clothes were in the best of shape. The Cardinal watched you as you made your way over to him, he was smiling but thankfully it wasn’t his usual smug one.

“Principessa, I want you to meet someone.” You looked around but didn’t see anyone close besides you and him. He reached out and patted his horse's shoulder and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes.

“It’s a horse, how are you going to introduce me to him?” He held his hand out and you placed yours in his after a moment. After a gentle tug you moved closer to the horse, standing just a few steps away from The Cardinal. He placed your hand where he had just patted it and slowly moved it back and forth. The muscle underneath your hand jumped and you yelped and jerked away muttering a ‘very funny’ when the man started laughing at you.

“Meet Brizio, he’s a good friend of mine.” He grabbed your hand again and pulled you back towards the horse. You sighed and let him place your hand back on the animal. “I think it’s time you learned how to ride one. You can use one of the horses we took from the stagecoach.”

“No, absolutely not. I’d rather wa–”

“Si, si. You’d rather walk, I know this. What do you have against horses, Principessa?”

“Nothing in particular, these ones are just…big. Also I’ve never ridden one before this week! I have no idea what to do.” You tried to pull your hand away again but he kept it in his grasp and pulled it up to rest on the front of the saddle where he had the reins resting.

“This is the horn, I want you to keep your hand here.” You nodded and gripped your fingers around the top of it. He crouched down in front of you and started reaching under your skirts like he did yesterday. When you tried to nudge his hand away with your foot he just grabbed it and you had to grip the saddle harder to not fall over. “Alright I’m going to give you a little boost and then you’ll swing your leg over.”

“I’m not getting up there by myself.”

“Principessa, I’ll be right here the whole time, nothing is going to happen. You’ve been riding one all week!” You shook your head and pulled away from him.

“Yes I’ve been riding with someone all week. Not by myself. Just let me ride with Swiss again! He didn't seem to mind me sitting behind him.” The Cardinal growled and muttered something in Italian before he reached out and pulled you back to him again. You groaned when he placed your hand back on the saddle. When he got your foot in his palm again he lifted you up and you reluctantly swung your leg over. You gripped the horn tightly as you tried to rearrange your skirts so it was more comfortable.

Well, as comfortable as you could get on this thing.

“Bene, are you comfortable?” You glared down at his smiling face.

“No.” The Cardinal growled again and you yelped when he was up and behind you in a few seconds. “What are you doing?!”

“Just trying to show you a good time, Principessa.” You yelped again when he reached down to pull your feet out of the stirrups and replace them with his own. His arms slid along either side of you and he unwrapped the reins from the horn. “Okie dokie, are you ready?”

“Ready for wha–, Cardinal no!” You gasped as Brizio started forward, just above a walk but it was still faster than anything you had experienced in the last week. The Cardinal urged him forward towards where the trail entered a small group of trees. When you made your way under the canopy he snapped the reins again and Brizio started moving a little faster. “Can’t we slow down? This is too fast!”

“Faster, eh? Good idea, Principessa!” He snapped the reins and the horse somehow sped up. A scream erupted out of you as you burst out of the trees and into an open field. You dug your nails into the arm around your waist and couldn’t help but turn your head into his neck. You hated being so vulnerable around him, but maybe after yesterday things would be different between you. It certainly felt that way already. The Cardinal was definitely treating you differently today and it wasn’t so bad being this close to him.

Not that you’d ever tell him that.

“Open your eyes, look around! We’ve got the whole prairie to ourselves!” His lips on your ear sent a shiver running through you. When the hand on your waist gave you a quick squeeze you finally opened your eyes to look around and the sight around you made you gasp.

It was beautiful. The sun was casting a golden light along the waving grasses as Brizio raced over the plain. There was a thick forest further in the distance, the trees covered in deep green leaves. You found yourself settling against The Cardinal and your grip on his arm got a little less tight.

“Hang on, got a little jump up ahead.” His arm tightened again and pulled you more firmly against him, making you gasp.

“Wait, a jump?!” The only response you got was a deep laugh that reverberated from his chest into your back. You couldn’t help but gasp again when his fingers spread out where they pressed into you to get a firmer grip. Up ahead you could see a break in the grass and a small stream and you squealed as Brizio leapt over it at the last minute.

The Cardinal was laughing again, but it wasn’t the cruel laugh you had heard during the last week. His laughter was genuine, he was having fun with you, not at your expense. You hated to admit it after the big deal you had made over it, but you were having fun too.

You couldn’t remember the last time you had felt so free. The wind was whipping against your face and your cheeks were starting to ache from how hard you were smiling. The Cardinal brought the reins in closer then and peeled one of your hands off his arm.

“Your turn, Principessa. Steer him to those trees over there.” You looked where he was pointing and snapped the reins like he had done before. The Cardinal’s thighs pressed against the back of yours and you froze in the saddle. You knew he was using his legs to help encourage Brizio to turn where he had pointed, but it felt so strange having a man this close behind you. Now that you had relaxed a bit you were becoming more and more aware of the man that was holding you so close.

This was not going to make those dreams go away.

His one arm remained snug around your waist but his other rested lower on your hip and it felt like a hot brand, even through the layers of your dress and his glove. You took a deep breath to try and steady your breathing but it was like he knew what you were thinking. His hand squeezed you there very gently but it was enough to make you jump and drop the reins in your hand.

The laughter from behind told you that he knew exactly what he was doing. You huffed and refused to snap back at him. You knew by now that he enjoyed getting you riled up way too much. The hand on your hip reached forward and snagged the reins where they laid across the saddle and you watched as he pulled back on them gently as the trees got closer.

“There now, that wasn’t so bad was it?” His mouth was right by your ear again but you didn’t try to move away. You didn’t want to despite how much it burned you to admit it. He had been so honest with you when he didn’t have to be, maybe you should do the same for him. You had no idea how much longer he was going to keep you so there couldn’t be any harm in enjoying yourself, could there?

You didn’t try to hide your smile at any rate and let yourself lean back against him slightly. “No, that wasn’t bad at all.” His answering hum felt good against you and you found yourself closing your eyes at the feeling. He was steering Brizio into the woods now, weaving between the trees slowly. “Thank you, Cardinal.”

One of his hands gently gripped your chin and you opened your eyes as he turned your face up to his own. His cheeks were red as well, a soft smile on his face. “Thank me for what?”

“I haven’t had this much fun in a long time. So. Thank you.” You tried to look down, a little embarrassed at your admission but he kept your chin in his grip. His smile grew a little as his eyes glanced over your face.

“In that case, Principessa, I’m sure we can think of more things to do together.” His eyes had landed on your lips and you held your breath. It seemed like everything was moving in slow motion and you found yourself leaning close to him. Despite what had happened in the last week, despite what he had done and what he still planned to do, you couldn’t stop yourself from wanting this.

From wanting a kiss from The Cardinal.

At the moment your lips were about to touch a voice rang out from nearby and The Cardinal burst into action. He gripped both reins in his left hand and tugged Brizio around so he was blocking you from harm. His right hand had brought out his revolver in just a few seconds and it was pointed directly at whoever had spoken.

“Howdy Cardinal!”

You snuck your head to look around his body and took in the man that had surprised you both. They were leaning against a tree, a horse nearby munching on some grass. They were dressed entirely in black, gloved hands hooked into their gun belt as they looked over at you. You could see a few revolvers at their waist and a rifle in a holster on the horse’s saddle. Despite the weaponry they seemed friendly and were wearing a bright smile on their face.

The Cardinal muttered something in Italian and spun his gun back into its holster. He pulled on the reins again and brought Brizio around so you were able to get a better look at the man. The Cardinal didn’t exactly seem happy to see him but at least they weren’t about to shoot at each other. His hand left the gun handle and snuck back around your waist. You watched as the other man tracked the movement and somehow their grin grew even wider.

“You gonna introduce me to the wife?” The Cardinal snorted behind you but you felt it was more in annoyance than humor.

“Principessa, meet Mary Goore.”

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Chapter 4: There’s Something About Mary

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#my fics #my writing #the cardinal's bride #cowboy copia #cardinal copia x female reader #copia x female reader #cardinal copia fanfiction #copia fanfiction #the band ghost fanfiction #ghost fanfiction #the band ghost #ghost #cardinal copia #copia

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delopsia · 8 months

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Thinking about autumn in Wabang.

When the sweltering heat subsides into chilly afternoons and crisp breezes that nip at your skin. The crickets chirp a little louder, and the tree in the front yard transitions from vivid green to warm yellows and reds. Delicate leaves falling from sturdy branches and landing in the driveway, crunching beneath the tires of an old blue GMC Sierra.

It's that time of year when Rhett comes home with furrowed brows and frigid hands, grumbling about how "it's 'bout time we get them damn shirts outta the attic again." And gradually, his wardrobe begins to shift to thick flannels, cozy hoodies, and hefty jackets that insulate heat a little too well.

Those rodeo nights grow colder, and the adrenaline-laced kisses that follow get a little warmer. Festivals pop up in the fields around town, pumpkins mark the corners of Wabang streets, and corn fields are converted into twisting mazes. Fragments of broken leaves cling to the wild curls that rest on the back of Rhett's neck, picked up from wrestling with farm dogs and napping beneath trees.

Saturdays are consumed by venturing to neighboring towns to visit festivals, buying decor that you don't need, and sharing treats that you've never heard of before. The house perpetually carries the warm scent of the season. Rhett's lips taste like caramel apples and cider.

"Rhett," your palms roam across those thick, broad shoulders as you sneak up behind him, "is that apple cider or beer?"

His head tilts backward, messy hair bumping into your cheek, peering up at you through thick lashes, "You'll have to kiss me to find out."

You already know that it's cider.

It's always cider.

But you kiss him anyway.

Cowboys are the first to notice the change in the seasons. Can detect the first golden leaf of the season simply by the scent of the air. Overly familiar with the sight of extravagantly colored leaves and the musky, sweet scent that they bring. Seeing it so often that such a sight should be boring.

Yet, Rhett insists on those cheesy nature walks anyway. Content to hold your chilly hand in his as your shoes crunch through a leaf-littered path, marveling at the beauty of the season.

Sometimes those walks are filled with endless conversation, laughter loud enough to rattle leaves off trees, so wrapped up in your stories that you hardly recall what you saw. Others are quiet. No need for words as you sit on a frigid bench, unable to shiver because a warm arm has long since wrapped around your shoulders.

Sometimes the days are too cold for just an arm.

Those days end in a heavy jacket resting over your shoulders instead. Your hands tucked into pockets filled with hard candies and an oddly shaped rock that he found. And it's like the first days of your relationship all over again, giggling, bickering about who needs the jacket more, and rubbing cold noses together.

There are things that never change.

Just as the forests change color every year, Rhett brings you his jacket during every frosty rodeo. Always seems to come wandering over when the temperature drops and your skin has begun to go numb from the sharp bite of the wind.

"Y'look awful cold, darlin'," he hums, his breath like smoke, puffing past his lips in thin, wispy clouds.

"Aren't you supposed to be getting ready to ride?" The crowd erupts into a roar of cheers as you speak, nearly erasing your voice entirely.

That big arm slides around your waist, drawing you up to his burning chest, frozen lips stealing a kiss, "I got a couple minutes to spare."

He leaves you with a heavy coat draped over your shoulders, a lazily scrawn note hidden in the left pocket.

'Everything s'more fun with you :)

Archie's having a bonefire tonight. Wanna go?'

And, of course, your answer is yes, because Archie's bonfires are nothing short of spectacular. His speakers always softly hum the tune of indie artists you've never heard of, and though there's alcohol, it's never the center of the event. His wife ventures out in her pajamas, sleepily making conversation with you as Rhett and Archie argue over their idea of a perfect roasted marshmallow.

"Y'aint got a fuckin' lick of sense 'n you know it, Rhett!" If Archie's hands weren't preoccupied with crafting his wife's obligatory s'more, they'd be waving in the air. "What kinda fool chooses to char the shit outta their marshmallow?"

Rhett's head shakes, fumbling with a graham cracker, "I do!"

And that's all it takes before Archie's attention turns to you, defiantly ignoring Rhett. "Yer boyfriend's got more teeth than he does sense."

Despite the warm, crackling fire, these nights always end the same. Tumbling through the front door, all cold noses and frozen hands as you both make a mad dash for the shower, each vying to be the first to hop beneath the hot water. Limbs awkwardly tangling and bodies bumping into one another because this shower wasn't meant for two.

Then comes the honorary plaid blanket as you snuggle on the couch, not ready to sleep yet, but getting there. Your head against Rhett's chest, heart thumping in your ear, his unshaven chin scratching at your forehead.

You don't recall falling asleep, but the next time you open your eyes, you're in bed. Wrapped up in the arms of a snoring cowboy, flakes of snow pitter-pattering off the windows, listening as he sleepily asks for just five more minutes.

#rhett abbott x reader #rhett abbott #outer range #delgato's warmups #delgato's thinking #x reader #outer range amazon #rhett abbott fluff #rhett abbott outer range #fluff #tw food #tw alcohol mention #very very brief #like one sentence brief lmao

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leviathans-watching · 1 year

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the brothers as seasons

includes: the brothers x/& gn!reader (no pronouns mentioned)

wc: .4k | rated g | m.list

a/n: i loved writing this sm u don't even understand. and this was brought to you by someone who gets the full scope of all four seasons in america lol. anyway, my inbox is open to chat, request, or leave feedback, so come talk to me!!

please reblog

➳ lucifer is the coldest of the cold days in winter. pale blue skies, icy winds, sharply pointed icicles… his cool demeanor reminds you of a frozen lake, still in its beauty. there’s something ethereal about him, something fragile and wild and so, so dangerous

➳ mammon is the heat curling off the sidewalks, the sticky feeling of ice cream melting down your chin. his smile is brighter than the summer sun, almost blinding and his hand in yours is hotter than the inside of a car. he’s flip flops and beach towels and every day with him is sure to be an adventure, fun and free.

➳ levi is the determined flower buds and the sweet smell of spring. he’s the rich soil, the days warming sweetly, and the pale sun only now beginning to regain its strength. his touch is light and gentle, faintly trembling like a fawn just getting its legs under it, and you bask in his care.

➳ satan is the transition between winter and spring, the cold mornings and warm afternoons. in like a lion and out like a lamb. he, like the earth, thaws as you get to know him better, defrosting with a regal slowness that’s completely worth the wait.

➳ asmo is the vibrant colors of fall, bright and full of personality. he’s the apple orchards and pumpkin fields, sweet but not without a bit of spice. his witty personality feels like the first hint of cold weather, the leaves whipping about in the wind, and every moment with him is picturesquely perfect, much like the foilage that litters the land.

➳ beel is the lazy summer days, where the sun’s not quite so hot and the air’s got a nice breeze. he’s playing frisbee at the park, or the buzzing of the honeybees, and when you’re with him you feel this sense of perfect peace you doubt you’d ever feel anywhere - or with anyone - else.

➳ belphie is the cold rain of fall, when the swirling grey skies are warning you that snow’s almost here. he’s staying inside with a mug of tea, listening to the wind whip the trees, and the sense of security and comfort gleaned from that. his hugs are like a warm blanket, and you know no matter how bad it might get outside, with him you’re safe.

leviathans-watching's work - please do not copy, repost, or claim as your own

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writeious-hand · 1 year

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Holding Out for a Hero: Part 1

"Fine, I'll do it myself"

After watching the D&D movie yesterday, I have had *brain rot* for Xenk Yendar. And no fic has been posted. I want romance. And you know what they say - If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. Probably will be multiple parts if the writing bug bites again.

Please be kind, I haven't published fanfic in years, and never on Tumblr.

After defeating Sofina and saving Neverwinter from the Wizards of Thay, the Thieves did try to lead a normal life.

Honestly.

However, it wasn't a surprise when on more than one occasion, Thay assassins showed up to try and kill them. So often in fact, that they had to constantly travel in order to stay ahead of their hunters, who would reanimate within hours of being killed, no matter how bloody Holga or Doric made the scene. They had made an enemy of Szass Tam after all, and he was not the forgiving sort.

Finding a letter on the corpse of their last assassin (they had taken to "liberating" all of their would-be killers' belongings before they were able to revive, as it really delayed the next time they would meet) showed that the tide of undead assassins would not be slowing any time soon. By order of Szass Tam, they were to be killed in the most painful ways imaginable with a mighty prize to whoever was successful.

So Edgin and the troop once again tracked down the illustrious Xenk Yendar to find a way to put the assassins in the ground, permanently. You couldn't always count on an overfed dragon to do the job for you.

"What do you mean, a cleric? Clerics are healers!"

Xenk turned to face Edgin. "Clerics are the holy warriors of the gods. They can use the light to perform miracles, yes, but they also can harness the gifts they have been given against the undead in ways unparalleled by even the mightiest warrior or wizard."

"For the record," Simon spoke up from behind Edgin, "I also thought they just stayed in their temples healing people. So do we just stay at one until they catch up with us again?"

While it would offer the party safety, as temples are normally built or given hallowed ground and no undead can step foot there, it was decided (mainly by Edgin) that they would have to set a trap if they wanted these assassins gone for good. And they would need a cleric. The only connection they had to a holy order was the Emerald Enclave, who supposedly had dealings in the past with a traveling cleric.

There had been a small faction of the Church of Eternal Winter which had frozen a swath of land in their forest. This cleric had come through and removed the taint of Auril and in return was given a seedling of their largest oak tree and a promise of a place to rest whenever they passed through the area. According to Doric, the cleric was an elf, though she didn't know which god she was in service to. The last time they had passed through was before Doric was born.

Their journey brought them to Loudwater, the city of grottos. In searching and questioning in the section of the city populated by elves, they did not receive a warm welcome. Asking around at the many temples of Lathander and other woodland gods, there were no clerics who traveled or were willing to leave on such a dangerous quest. The party upon exiting was stopped by an orcish man.

"Sounds like Lyra. Why are you looking for her anyway?" He looked the party up and down with suspicion. "She hasn't done anything wrong."

Edgin served his role as face of the party. "No, of course not, it's just that-"

"We heard she can kill our enemies."

"HOLGA!"

After the misunderstanding was cleared, the orc who introduced himself as Zedroar Brittlebone brought them out to the Forestview Gate and into the town of tents and other less permanent structures where the orcs who labored in the fields had lived for a long time.

"Lyra's been here for a while now, keeps saying she'll leave soon but always finds a reason to stay. Says there are stories left to be told but I think she'll just miss us."

As they passed through the camp they could see the relaxed atmosphere of the community that had been built. Ahead on the path, there was a whole crowd of children orcish, human, and a few mixed in of other races and combinations. They were all sitting around on blankets or each other, listening to a woman tell a story.

"And the mighty warrior let out a fierce roar, saying You'll never get her, fiend!" The children squealed with excitement and laughed at her attempt at a deep heroic voice. She was elven, most likely a sun-elf with her golden complexion. At the sight of her, Xenk began slowly backtracking but was caught by Edgin.

"What are you doing?"

"I never should have come here." His eyes never left her.

"What are you talking about? Do you know her?"

Xenk was able to pull his eyes away, and look into Edgin's soul. "If she sees me with you, she will never agree to help."

"Now wait just a minute."

"It is high time for me to return to Mornbyrn's Shield"

"You are afraid of her." Edgin knew he was right, when Xenk stopped struggling to get away.

"i am not afraid," Now Xenk wouldn't look him in the eye, "I just don't wish to reopen old wounds."

"Come on, man. We need both of you if this is going to work. Take it from someone who has had to deal with their past catching up to them almost constantly for the past few years. The only way to get closure, for whatever happened, is to face it head-on." Edgin reached a hand to where Xenk had taken cover behind one of the wooden buildings. "I'm sure she's probably forgotten about it, since you both have been around for a long time."

Approaching the group, their other companions turned to face them.

"Where were you guys?" Holga looked them both up and down suspiciously.

"Good news," Simon smiled, "Lyra agreed to help us, right?"

The elven woman turned around from gathering her things and saying goodbye to some of the children. The casual smile on her face fell as she locked eyes with the paladin.

"Xenk"

"Alariel"

#xenk yendar #xenk the paladin #honor among thieves #dungons and dragons #fanfic #OC #dnd hat #non canon #szass tam #multiple parts?#delete later maybe #xenk x oc #hofah hat 1

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fkmarrycill · 3 months

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One Shot: The Promise of Spring

1505 words

Tommy Shelby x Lizzie Shelby

No smut; all ages

AU-ish, with creative liberties taken, but there are 🚨spoilers🚨

File this under better late than never ☺️. It's my contribution for @runnning-outof-time ’s 4K follower celebration. Congrats again! Thank you for sharing your creativity with us. ❤️

The idea of putting the characters in situations that deviate from the norm sounded like fun. What I came up with is probably not fluff for the average character, but it's certainly a departure for Tommy, and it does leave him more vulnerable than usual. Lizzie seemed like the perfect love interest for the idea I had in mind.

I'd like to return to this and write another part in the future, but I can't promise when. ☺️

Thank you for reading. ❤️

Tommy strode across the lawn briskly, gloved hands balled in fists, toward the woods of his estate. He couldn't sleep, and he couldn't sit in his office for another minute.

It was just after dawn. The cold air of late winter sliced at his cheeks. He'd hoped the fresh air would wake him up and bring him to his senses.

He needed to be alone, and that time of day gave him quiet, if not also peace. There was no nagging from Lizzie, even though he knew that it came from a place of love and justified concern. No squeals for playtime from the children. Getting lost in their joy right now would only make him lose focus. No muddled big brother advice from Arthur, or sisterly tough love from Ada. And Polly… just like John, he'd never speak to her again, and not because of an argument. None of them, dead or alive, could help him or console him. He needed time, and quiet, to think of his next move.

It was always the same when it felt like the walls were closing in, like the next invisible threat was coming for his throne. There was something about being in nature that enabled him to do his best thinking. In these moments, he felt closest to his ancestors. They knew there was freedom in movement, wisdom in the wind, power to be gleaned from the majesty of the earth and the trees. Like them, it was the wellspring from which he replenished his inner strength. If it wasn't so cold, he probably would've slept outside that night, like he'd done so often when he was younger.

He approached his favorite spot, a clearing near the ribbon of creek that meandered through his property. He contemplated the creek, noticing that it wasn't completely frozen over, like it was the last time he'd gone out that far, for a similar reason. The last time, he'd gotten the answers he needed. This time? He was not so certain that he would find them.

He fished his cigarettes and lighter out of his coat pocket. “What the fuck am I going to do…” He muttered out loud after the first pull of nicotine. Like the tendrils of smoke wafting from the cigarette, his words hung in the air briefly before fading away, without a good answer.

He scanned the field and woods beyond, and then he looked to the sky, watching the occasional bird swoop and soar, then alight in a tree. He continued to smoke and think. He closed his eyes, inhaled and exhaled deeply, and listened to the rustling of the wind.

He was tired of living two lives, as a rising MP, in addition to still being a kingpin, albeit one relegated to the shadows more and more every day. Tired of always having to be on guard. Tired of keeping so many secrets from Lizzie out of what he considered to be protection. He opened his eyes. No ideas were forthcoming. Not yet. As his problems got bigger, the solutions were harder to come by.

He decided to go back to his office and tend to the day’s phone calls and mail, to clear his desk of mundane tasks so there were fewer things to think about.

He dropped his cigarette and stamped it out. While watching the embers die on the ground, he saw a familiar flash of yellow and walked over to it.

Daffodils. Just three flowers so far, but more would come as the weather warmed. They were Lizzie's favorite, and he'd had them planted throughout the property. He remembered how excited she was, during their first spring at the estate, to see a large patch of them on the lawn outside their bedroom window, a sea of flowers in one of the happiest colors. He was pleased to give her a bit of joy after all the pain he had caused, all the pain he was still causing.

Lizzie… Blessed, loyal Lizzie. She deserved better, he thought.

He knew what he needed to do.

***

He stood in the dining room doorway, watching her. He'd removed his outerwear earlier and warmed himself by the fireplace in his office, gathering his thoughts before seeking her out.

Lizzie was reading the newspaper and picking at her soft-boiled egg, toast, and tea. She was alone in the large room, and her expression was weary. The look was far too familiar these days. He couldn't remember the last time she'd smiled with the same happiness as when their world was simpler, like when he'd bought her a typewriter to practice on a few years before. No, he'd never wish for simpler times when his family was so much better taken care of now. He knew wishes would be pointless, anyway–a naive and misplaced use of energy. But he hated the way she'd given so much of herself–to him, and to the business, as it grew–while only getting the occasional fragment of joy. Normally this feeling was locked away in the depths of his heart, but it surfaced today, and he needed to address it. For both of them.

“Oi, Lizzie.” He cursed himself silently when she startled at the sound of his voice. He crossed the room quickly and stood by her side.

He tried again, softer this time. “Lizzie. Hey. We need to get away this weekend.” He gently rested a hand on her cashmere-covered shoulder.

She didn't bother to look up at him. She just dropped her heavy silver cutlery on the Wedgewood plate and sighed. “What is it this time, Tommy? A mass execution here, led by Arthur? Or did your spirits tell you bloody Nosferatu is coming for the children?” With that, she looked at Tommy, rolled her eyes, and waited for his next order, an exhausted soldier in a never-ending battle.

“No.” He sat down next to her. “You and me. We need to get away. Us. We need… We need something different. For a few days, eh? Away from this,” he said, gesturing to the grandeur of the room. “It won't change this,” he said, gesturing again, “this new, fucking world, with all its fucking problems, but… You need a break. I… I need a fucking break. I can't sleep. Can't think. Can't fucking think right now, Lizzie. And this?” He looked around, settling on the large family portrait on the wall. “This world of ours, that's supposed to be so much fucking better than Small Heath? This isn't safe when I can't think.”

His stare never wavered from her eyes, but his chest rose and fell rapidly with his ragged breath. He closed his eyes to compose himself, then took Lizzie's hands into his.

He swallowed hard before continuing. “What I need most is you. Love, honor, and cherish, eh? That's what the vows were, what I promised, for you, in front of everyone. I know you don't feel very cherished by me. But that… It changes now. It changes now, Lizzie. You are too fucking important to me.”

He looked away, cleared his throat, and trained his eyes on her again. Her expression had softened the tiniest bit. It would be imperceptible to anyone else, but he knew. This is what she'd wanted to hear for so long now.

“I know, Tommy,” she murmured. She squeezed his hand. “I know. I've always known, but I've wanted to hear it from you. But not just hear it,” she said, tears forming in her eyes. “I've needed to feel it, too. I haven't felt it in a long, long time from you,” she said, as her tears started to fall.

“Oi.” This time, he said it softly, before cradling her face with his hands and wiping away her tears. “Lizzie. I know. And like I said, that changes now. After breakfast, I want you to find a place. Find somewhere, away from here, that we can go and have a weekend. Alone. This will be the first, but it won't be the last. I promise you that. I'll put Ada in charge, have her spend the weekend here. The children will be in good hands. And we'll have some time alone. And you can ask me any questions you have. About anything. And I will tell you everything. I can't… I won't shut you out anymore. I do love you, Lizzie, even when it feels like my body is here and my mind is everywhere else but with you.”

They kissed, and Tommy relaxed. He'd never remove all the weight of his duties off his shoulders, but he was confident that he could do better for Lizzie. And maybe, after the weekend, he'd have a better sense of what to do with all the other problems piling up.

Lizzie held his face with one hand, tracing his cheek with her thumb. “All right, Tommy." She smiled the smallest of smiles. She was still wary of his promise, but she was more hopeful than she'd been in a long time. "I’ll look into it. Is there anywhere you had in mind?”

“No. Just… Anywhere but Margate. And before you ask, I will tell you why.”

#tommy shelby #lizzie shelby #peaky blinders #fan fiction #tommy shelby x lizzie shelby #fkmarrycill library #one shot

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rinbowaman · 11 months

Text

S E 7 E N : P R O L O G U E - P A R T T H R 3 E

Warnings: MDNI18+ Sexual assault, sexual harassment, religion, angels and demons, mentions of hell, angels are bad guys, demons are good guys, sinful pleasures, dry humping, fingering, making a deal with the devil.

Your mouth partially closed as your eyelids grew heavy.

‘No….no……no……why?.....What is this?....what?....how?’

With a tiresome look, you felt all of your strength and energy zapped out of you as you stared at the blood-stained message.

‘How did this get here? Who wrote this? How did they know I’d be here?’

You beat yourself down with so many questions mentally, yet you were beyond scared. Your body wanted to jolt out and start running yet you found yourself stagnant, still staring at the message. You wanted to cry hysterically, yet your body was frozen, your emotions were frozen, everything about you was….frozen.

Unsure of how long you stood there, you finally peered away once you realized that no one was around. No one was present. Only you. Yet this message with your name is on this wooden board, and it was fresh.

You walked, no longer found the need or desire to run. Thinking back on how Lily had conducted herself days before her execution, you now understood why she had been so hopelessly stale. You have become the same as she was.

You walked, for nearly three miles as you took notice of the wooden signs, display landmarks of the miles and paths that you took.

Coming across a trail that had an open field to the right of it, the moon directly hovering over the large widen open space as it stationed itself in the night sky, you offset your path from the trail and cut through the tree line and into the field.

If it had been daylight, it would have been pretty to see, since all the flowers and the surrounding trees provided a wide variety of structure and colors.

Taking off our low-heeled shoes, your gazed remained on the ground as you walked, in pitiful motion, across the field and into the neighboring tree line.

‘Why should I even bother going home…I should just die right now….it’s better than those things killing me brutally.’ Once you crossed the field, you submerged yourself deep into the forest as you heard the trinkle of a creek nearby. In one area, there was a spot that wasn’t dense with foliage, it was a nice area that was clear, manicured even as the fluffy moss covered the ground versus grass. It had wild floral bushes growing around, and the moonlight’s rays shined through from above. Fireflies appeared at random against the surrounding bushes and trees. It looked tranquil, peaceful…it looked like a good place for you to die.

Dropping your shoes carelessly, you calmly took in the sensation of your sore feet comforted by the thickness and softness of the moss beneath them, it was bright green and felt like velvet. Laying down on it, you unbutton the remainder of your shirt, folding it, you placed your head on it as you laid in a half circle. Your thigh high stockings torn from the run; you looked like a mess. But it didn’t matter, for now, you were relishing in the feeling of the warm air hitting our skin, as you lay tired, drifting off into sleep.

It felt like you had just barely closed your eyes and re-opened them, when the chirping of the birds woke you. It wasn’t even daylight yet, but the red hue in the dark sky indicated that it was early morning.

Propping yourself up, you remained in just your skirt and bralette as your hair drapes over your frame, the dewy air felt good.

‘Where should I go?....What do I do?....’

You felt like you wanted to cry, yet you remained as strong as you could, taking in the comfort of nature that surrounded you. However, after a moment of your thoughts reflecting back to Lily, and that horrible message that was on the map with your name on it, you felt the intense burn of moisture coating your eyes.

‘Don’t cry….dont cry…..’

As much as you tried to suppress it, it became harder for you to not sob.

‘When I die…I wont be able to enjoy moments like this…I wont be able to see such beautiful nature…I wont be able to….’

You’re not sure if you began crying out of fear or because you felt sorry for yourself…maybe both. You stood up, taking deep breaths with your hands on your waist, trying to calm yourself. But nothing worked.

Standing with your arms loosely wrapped around your bare waist, you sobbed harshly, taking advantage of being alone in the forest while it was still dark, in the early morning, and cried your heart out. Your voice was all that could be heard as it bounced off the trees, interrupted the morning song of the birds nearby, and silenced the tranquil sound of the creek.

……………………………………………………………………

“Why are you crying?”

Your head snaps up at the deep and calm voice that startles you out of your sobbing state.

Looking over to the direction of the voice, with the look of sadness and beauty drenching your face, you watched as a young man, dressed in red and black with a mask hovering over his eyes, takes in our sight as you directly look his way. A slight gasp escapes his lips the moment you look at his face, as if he was just star struck by something that greatly pleased his view.

“…Pretty….” He calmly murmurs out.

“Who….who are you?”

He slightly tilts his head as he pauses his steps. Crossing his arms, he looked as if he was studying you, though it was hard to tell exactly as you couldn’t make out his eyes beneath the black strip of lace that laid over them.

With a slight chuckle, he gives off a dashing half smile.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes…you know that?”

You ignored his words of flattery; you were in no mood for anything. Not after the night you’ve been through, as well as the horrible fact that you were going to die…soon.

“Who are you?! What are you doing here? Leave me alone! Stop talking to me I’m not in the mood to listen to your stupid pick-up lines!” you tearfully lashed out. The moment you finished, your breathing started to escalate again, as if you were hyperventilating and the urge to sob hard was breaching you.

“just please…leave me alone….” You looked away and began to softly sob as you tilted your head, your arms remained loose around your waist as you stuck out a hip, trying to ease your stance as you felt like you were going to collapse any moment.

“Hmm…you’re even prettier when you’re mad….or crying.”

Looking back up at him with a harsh look on your face, your hair surrounding your frame, the man continued to breathe slow and deep each time you faced him.

Licking the inside of his mouth, with his arms remained tightly crossed, he pokes the inside of his cheek with his tongue and leaves his mouth open, appearing rather suggestive in his countenance towards you.

“Oh geez…when you look at me that way…you’re making it harder for me.” He slightly smirks as he tilts his head more.

‘What’s with this guy?...why is he saying these things?

“Who…who are you?” You trembled with slight hesitation in your voice as the man was consumed by the elaborate decoration of his attire.

“Why are you crying?….”

You shook your head, tears building back up in your eyes as you felt the burn from the coating of moisture glazing over your eyeballs. His voice was as smooth as fine liquor and burned like fire.

“G-get away from me. Please! Don’t come any closer!”

Ignoring your pleas, he continues to walk softly and steadily your way.

“Oooh….I don’t think so. Those tears….they’re beautiful-you’re….beautiful. You’re unique. You’re fearless even when fearful, and I want to do something about it… I want to do something about….you.”

With his eyes hidden beneath the mesh of the lace mask, hiding his identity completely, you couldn’t be entirely sure but from what you could make out with his other features, he didn’t look to be anyone you recognized.

With a bright red blazer jacket, adorned with black crystals and elaborate stitching, his satin shirt rested against his broad chest underneath it, paired with black trousers. Not only did he appeared to be well dressed, but he was lavishly adorned as if he was going to a special event.

What is a man like him dressed like this, doing in the middle of the woods of all places?

“Please…please st-stay away….”

You pled in a near whisper as you succumbed to a tearful fall, landing on your knees as your mind becomes tatted by the harsh reality, that in seven days from now, you were going to be brutally executed, all in front of the eyes of the world.

Up until this point, it had always been preached that only sinners would die by the hands of the angels….but what sin? What sin have you committed? What about those children or newborns that were selected? Some of them hadn’t lived for a while day and were marked with the stained label of ‘sinner’ and were thrashed before their own parents by those terrible creatures, known as the ‘angels’.

Sure, you weren’t overtly religious. You never went to church, and you weren’t a virgin, but was that truly a sin worth you dying over? What about the rest of the world? There were so many others that came to mind, people who had done far worse than you could ever imagine, yet they were allowed to live? Longer than you?

“Please….” You sobbed…hard. Your mouth gaped open as you dipped your head low, covering your eyes with your hand as the squeaky tone of breathless gasps utter out past your lips, all from the overwhelming sense of despair of facing death in a week’s time.

‘I….I’m going to die…and no one cares….I didn’t do anything wrong.’

You hear his footsteps pause right before you, a long exhale released through his nostrils as he squats down, taking a knee and props himself in front of your pitiful state. His hands stroke and caresses your arms as your hair lays, draping over your back and shoulders while you cradled yourself, trying to find solace in your despair.

“Please…won’t you tell me why you’re crying? Look at me for a second…please…. look at me…I’ve never seen eyes like yours before. They mesmerize…and right now, that’s all I want…is to be mesmerized…by you.”

His voice was calm, smooth, and deep with a slight bit of high tune when he expressed excitement in his words.

Raising your head up, you come face to face with the man. Still wearing the lace-wear over his eyes, but up close and out of the shadows, you could tell he was devastatingly handsome.

“Theeere….that’s better. Hmm?” He tilts his head as a sweet and soft, yet faint, smirk forms on his lips, showing just a bit of his teeth.

“Now tell me…what’s wrong?” Even though you couldn’t make out his eyes, it was evident that he was heavily gazing into yours. He leans in, his nose barely touching the tip of your own as he releases a single, hot, and lengthy breath against your lips.

“I…I am to die in seven days….and I don’t know why…I….”

His head reverts the tilt he displayed. Raising his eyebrows, he licked his lips and scoffed out another smirk, only this time, more teeth were exposed in a slight grin. The smoothness and handsomeness in that smirk was…devilish.

Watching as you frowned your brows together, confused as to why he smirked upon hearing that you were going to die in a week, he reassures you that the matter wasn’t at all funny to him.

By slightly squeezing your arms together, he pulls you into him.

“Hey…heeeeeeeey…..” his tone was deep. His voice croaks at the last bit of his dragged-out tone. Whispering, he bids to you. “Come here….sit on it.”

He places a firm grasp on your hips and pulls you atop of him as he leans and lays all the way back, gently guiding your form to straddle him as he raises the hem of your skirt just a tad to expose more of your thighs.

“Better….” He merely utters as he grins and releases a short bit dark chuckle, biting down on his bottom lip.

With his hands gently, and softly gripping your waist, he starts to motion your movements to softly grind on him. Despite the both of you being fully clothed, your thin panties did no justice in obscuring the sensation of being dry humped.

“W-what are you….mmmm…..uugghhhh…” you moaned out as the tightness in your core starts to pulsate. It had been so long since your last sexual encounter, yet, even though there was no penetration, the feeling of the man beneath you taking control and watching you through that lace mask as he slightly lifts, pulls, pushes, and dips your hips in diverse motions, it was weakening you in the most pleasant way possible.

The lace eyewear remained on the whole time, hovering his identity from you. Whispering, his deep tone barely present as he tells you, “Yeah…good giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrllll.….just like that. Move with me.”

For a moment, you forgot about your untimely fate that would take place in just a matter of days. Each time he slightly lifted you and admits strength in his lift while also softly bucking into your barely covered slit, it caused you to moan and whimper out. Your voice bounce off each tree as it echos throughout the forest setting.

“Now…tell me more about this whole dying nonsense. What’s with that?” He issues, as he continues the movement of his hands by waving your hips against his groin.

You whimpered out your words as your eyes remained winced shut, your head tilted back as your hair extends its reach along his finger tips.

“I…..got selected to die…by the angels…”

“Oooooh….those guys…” he nonchalantly states. The second he finishes his words, he begins to pick up the pace, just slightly, causing you to start bouncing rapidly at high momentum.

Underneath you, he watches your body absorb the impact of his thrusts as he bit down his lip. Moaning out, your breath and vocal cords hitch at random each time your covered clit slightly pelts against his groined attire.

“O-oh! Oh my…..ugh! What are you…??” Your words were stuttered out as you couldn’t manage to form completely sentences. He kept up the movement and pace, yet kept speaking as if you both were talking business.

With his hands rotating your hips and popping them, a lightning bolt of heightened tingle travels from your crotch to your stomach, and chest. You slap your hands over his, desperate to grab on to something.

‘Who…I don’t even know this man…why is he doing this? My God what is happening to me? It just…..it feels so good…oh my God he feels so good.’

Making your body pop continuously, your chest grew sore from the heavy weight that formulated from this man’s discretion. You lost all structured pose as you fall forward, quickly shifting your hands next to his ears as you prop yourself from falling flat against him. Yet the position you just rendered yourself into didn’t make the situation much better as he continued to display the amount of leverage he had with your movements, not to mention, your face being this close to his. It allowed him to shift over and kiss in your ear and nuzzle against your neck.

“So…I take it you don’t want to die?” Continuing his movements, he converses so calmly once more, meanwhile your moans and whimpers pick up pace, volume, and pitch.

“Uuuuggghhh…..mmmm ah!…God!…what are you doing to me?”

“Mmm…your moans are the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard.” He softly speaks against your ear, causing a sensitive tickle as he kisses it with tiny, loving pecks.

“I’m about to give you an ultimatum…you can take it or leave it, will you hear me out?” He whispers against your ear once more, followed by a sudden lick over it, from lobe to helix, and ended with his exposed, row of teeth pressed up against it, gritting against each other as your skin barely surfaces them.

“Y-yes….mmmm…please….please I-I can’t…”

“I know baby…oh I fucking know. You’re so perfect…. let me continue while I give it to you, yeah?”

Picking up the pace once more, he continues the act of intense dry humping, thrusting, bucking and grinding, as he takes in the delight of hearing the increase of gasped moans that escaped your pursed, glossy, Cherry-stained lips.

“O-oh!” Was all you could vocalize out repeatedly as your breasts continuously tapped against his chest from the heightened pulse of each buck his hips commit.

“First off, you can call me Helel…can you say it? For me? I want to hear your voice call out my name.”

“He-Helel!” You yelped out as your hips and clothed core succumbs to the rapid series of taps from the bulging hardness that laid under his trousers, yet it didn’t deter from the immense sturdiness as you felt every bit of his hard-on while he continues.

“Yeah…you sound even prettier than I imagined…I want to hear it…. eternally…”

Kissing your ear once more, he shifts his face right below your chin as he takes his hand, reaches for the back of your head and pushes you towards him, committing you into a lengthy and passionate kiss.

His silver stands that were swooped to the side presses against your cheek as he practically eats the inside of your mouth. With harsh and yet, sensually pleasing motions of gaping his mouth wide, then closing them just to smack them open as he massages his tongue against yours, you moaned into his mouth and melt right on top of him. You wanted more. It felt too good…he felt too good.

It was strange though…. the kiss was…

The moment he slipped his tongue inside your mouth and massaged the inside of your cheeks, you could have sworn you tasted something…it was sweet and juicy…you recognized it, though it took you a second to put your finger on it. It was very similar to that of a common fruit…

…………..

‘Apples?…’

P A R T F O 4 R

#heeseung x reader #heeseung scenarios #heeseung smut #heeseung hard hours #heeseung hard thoughts #enha x reader #heeseung fanfic #enhypen smut #enhypen hard hours #enha heeseung

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singularattitudeofasafetypin · 1 year

Text

Merry Christmas Sweetheart

Masterlist

Summary: Christmassy fluff! Getting a Christmas tree with Eddie and decorating it later with him and Wayne. Just some feel good fluff for the holidays!

Word Count: 2.2k ish

Warnings: reference to Eddie's mum having died, other than that, pure fluff!

A/N: It's been ages since I wrote stuff! I was really struggling with this but as I've read it through today for a last edit, I actually feel really good about it! It might not be my best work but I like it! I hope you guys do and I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

Please don't steal my work!

Sharp winter air hit your face the moment Eddie opened the door. He helped you down from the van by the gloved hand, rewarded for his chivalry with a kiss. A fleeting smile crossed his mouth before he tucked his hands under his armpits and cursed under his breath, “I still don’t understand why we had to get here this early!”

His complaint turned to fog in the cold. He groaned and stamped his feet on the frosty ground, trying to conjure warmth. You rolled your eyes and reached for the coat and scarf still resting on the front seat. “Because,” you answered, reiterating for the tenth time, “If we don’t, all the good ones will be gone!” Eddie grumbled through your explanation. Your playful slap made him pout like a toddler as you forced him into more layers. “Besides!” you tied his scarf in a knot and pulled a navy-blue hat down over his chestnut curls, “Look how beautiful it is!”

The morning sky really was a sight to behold. A pastel ombre, orange fire on the horizon fading through white to an icy blue overlaid with the merest hint of pink. Eddie followed your outstretched arm but the landscape did little to impress him. Instead, his eyes fell back to you. The soft curve of your smile, cheeks and nose tinged rose by the cold and the dawn light bathing your face in warm light, sparkling in your eyes.

“Yeah,” he gave in, “It’s beautiful!”

You turned your smile back on him; he dropped his gaze like a schoolboy caught staring at his crush. You took his hand, laughing a little, “Come on!”

Frost crunched under your welly boots but as you reached the field, the sound muffled. Tarmac gave way to soggy mud. You skirted around half frozen puddles, holding onto each other to keep from slipping as you explored the maze of evergreens.

The Christmas tree farm was all but deserted.

“This one!” Eddie called, a few rows over. You followed his voice to find him staring up some ten feet in the air. He turned, a grin spreading across his features as you took in the summit of the colossal pine and burst into a fit of giggles.

“Eddie, it’s three times the size of your trailer!”

He shrugged like he couldn’t possibly fathom the issue. “We could set it sideways? Or Wayne could drill a hole in the roof!” The clueless act began to drop at the last syllable and he too dissolved into laughter.

“You are ridiculous Eddie Munson!” you managed between hiccups.

“Okay! Okay!” he wiped the tears from his eyes, “What about that one?”

He pointed at a sapling that barely reached your knees. The pair of you lapsed into hysteria again.

The morning drew on, echoing your gleeful laughter. The sun rose, washing the sky a deeper blue and chasing the faint wisps of cloud while the trees seemed to sparkle with fairy dust. A magical spell cast just for you.

Eddie managed to find every misshapen tree to put forward as a contender Too tall, too short, branches stuck out in all directions. There was one almost entirely bare on one side and Eddie had to bite his lip to keep composed while he pleaded its case.

It took an hour and a half before you found it.

Teeth chattering, the icy temperature was beginning to see through your gloves and boots. You were almost ready to give up when you rounded a corner and stopped dead in your tracks.

“Eddie!”

A nearby groan answered. He trudged through the line of trees, welly boots dragging through the sludge. The cold was getting to him as well, he always felt it terribly, but the grumbling stopped abruptly. Behind you, he drew a sharp breath.

It was perfect.

Lovely and full. Just the right size, the needles thick and the deepest shade of green.

You didn’t speak, just smiled at the little tree. Eddie’s arms snaked around your waist from behind as he perched his chin on your shoulder. “This one?”

When you didn’t answer, he pushed his nose against your cheek, and you squealed at the sudden cold, “Yes! Yes! This one!”

He laughed, pulling you closer and kissing you everywhere he could reach.

In moments, your tree had been cut and packaged. The two of you stumbled across the rapidly thawing parking lot toward Eddie’s van

“Here, set her down!” He leant the exquisite fir against the side of the van while he fumbled with the keys.

“You sound just like Wayne!” you teased as he pulled open the back doors and hefted the tree inside with a roll of his eyes.

Eddie flicked the heating on as soon as you were safely tucked in the front, warming his trembling, red fingers over the grate and blowing air into his palms.

Other people were only just starting to arrive. Cars full of excited families with restless kids slid past you.

“See!” you pointed out the window triumphantly, “If we’d waited, our tree would already be gone!”

“Fine!” he sighed, “You were right! What do you want from me?”

“She’s a beauty!” Uncle Wayne exhaled heavily as he straightened; his aging knees ached with the effort. He smiled at the little Christmas tree, now perfectly situated in one corner of the Munson’s living room.

Your heart swelled with pride. “You like it?”

Wayne hugged an arm around your shoulders, pulling you in and pressing an affectionate kiss to your temple. “You did a wonderful job!”

You beamed, snuggling your face into the warm, familiar knit of his jumper and throwing your own arms around him.

“Hey, I helped too!”

Eddie’s indignant voice grew louder, and he emerged from the hallway. His arms were laden with Christmas lights.

“More like hindered!” you quipped, shooting a mischievous smile from your safe haven. “What have you done to those lights?”

Your boyfriend tugged on a tangled string with an affronted huff, “Hey, don’t look at me! Wayne put them away last year!”

Nearly a half hour, it took to unravel them and wind them around the tree. You stood on a chair to reach the top and Eddie hovered inches away, keeping track of your balance, feeding you the next section of lights.

Next came tinsel! Tucked between the branches in halos of scarlet.

‘We used to have gold,’ Wayne explained, setting down a small cardboard box filled to the brim with decorations. “‘til this one decided to chop it all up to make costumes when he was seven!”

“You did not!” Your head whipped round to stare at your boyfriend, jaw-dropped, at the guilty expression spreading over his face.

Wayne nodded. “He did! I found bits of it scattered all over the floor and the rest tied round his head like a nativity angel!”

“I was being creative!” He protested, then looking to you for mercy, “I thought you liked that about me!”

Your smile softened, “I love that about you!” You opened your arms and Eddie leaned in to your comfort with a mumbled,

“Thank you!”

You smirked at Wayne over Eddie’s curly head, “So, were you supposed to be a wizard or a dragon?”

He snorted and Eddie groaned, “Obviously, a wizard!”

Baubles were divided between the three of you and scattered over the green boughs. Then came the special decorations!

Some had been collected on Wayne’s travels. Before Eddie, he’d made a point of compiling an ornament for every city he visited. Most had been broken over the years, adopting a toddler one year out of the blue had come with its fair share of accidents, but a precious few still remained. A glass blown statue of liberty for New York, a plaster image of the golden gate bridge from San Francisco, a wooden cityscape of Atlanta, and a hand-painted postcard from Phoenix. These were hung meticulously above the rest, Wayne telling the stories behind each one.

The others had all been made by Eddie in elementary school. Every year he asked his uncle why they didn’t just throw them away, a dark red flushing his cheeks at the sight of his younger-self’s handiwork. And every year, Wayne would act offended, launching into a speech about how precious and important they were to him.

This year, you got to see the assortment of delicate decorations, clay and cardboard and pipe cleaners fashioned into different types of dragons and other monsters. You couldn’t help but smile at the idea of little Eddie proudly presenting his gluey, glittered projects to his teacher. They couldn’t have known what to say!

While the two men argued, you fished the last ornament from the bottom of the box. It was wrapped in bubble wrap, more neatly than any of the others had been. Secured with sticky tape you now carefully slipped your nails under and peeled back.

A small plaster-cast circle fell into your hand, connected with a baby blue ribbon. Eddie fell silent when he saw what you were holding. Wayne laid a hand on his shoulder, gentle but full of firm reassurance.

You turned it over in your hand a small gasp escaped your mouth. On the other side, a photograph of a woman holding a red-faced infant, grainy and slightly faded, stared back at you. Underneath, the words, ‘Eddie’s First Christmas’ were written in the same blue.

The woman in the picture was smiling, dimples creasing at the sides of her mouth and though the flash had distorted the lighting, you could make out her warm brown eyes, the colour of melted chocolate.

You looked up to see those same eyes gazing back at you, filled with vulnerability. With a small smile, you reached out and pressed the ornament into his palm. His fingers closed around yours. Eddie mirrored your smile. If he had been anyone else, you might have missed the tears he blinked away so fast. He spun on his heel and hung the little plaque in pride of place.

The moment was over as soon as it had begun and Eddie was on his knees, presenting you the star with pomp and circumstance, then lifting you up to place it atop the tree. Wayne smiled and applauded as your feet hit the ground, dropping to his knees and crawling under the tree for the light switch.

Eddie snuck a quick kiss and made you giggle.

The tree burst to life. Brilliant golds, reds, pinks and blues warmed the dim living room, illuminating the shadows and sparkling in Eddie’s awe-filled eyes. All those colours reflecting in their bottomless depths; you couldn’t look away.

He caught you staring. Your mouth was hanging half open and he laughed. “You like what you see?” he teased, breaking the spell and earning a playful shove.

“Who wants hot chocolate?” Wayne announced. He checked his watch, “I’ve got a half hour before I gotta head out to work!”

Before long, the three of you were settled on the couch, laughing and talking, steaming mugs in your hands. Wayne had put on a tape of old-timey Christmas songs in the background. Their brassy melodies serenaded warm conversation. Wayne glanced at his watch, drained the dregs, and left to fetch his work bag.

You snuggled closer into your boyfriend’s side. His chest rose and fell in steady, contented rhythm as he hummed along to the music. His arm settled around your body, inviting you closer still.

Your eyes travelled over the tree, watching the lights twinkle and admiring the fruits of your combined labours. Once again, you found the precious photo ornament on the blue ribbon, suspended among the needles.

“You look just like her!” you murmured, nuzzling against Eddie’s shirt. He stopped humming and for a second, you worried you’d overstepped, but he tightened his arm around you and pressed a kiss to your crown.

“I know,” he said softly, leaning his cheek against your hair, “Wayne tells me all the time!”

You shifted to look up at him. His eyes were shining again. Was it tears or just the lights? He sniffed and glanced at the tree, then back at you. “I really wish you could have met her!”

Reaching up, you traced your fingers over his cheek. They came back damp with the ghost of a tear. “Me too!”

Eddie smiled and sniffed again, his own hand coming up to cradle yours. You nestled together again, sipping the last bits of hot chocolate in comfortable silence, resting in each-others love.

Wayne came back in, said his goodbyes as he shrugged his coat on and smiled at the pair of you before making his way into the cold December night. The sound of his car starting up and the headlights along the wall faded into the dark leaving you alone together.

Outside, a few flakes of snow began to fall, carried about on the silent breeze. They spiralled and floated like dancers on a shrouded stage.

You sat there for hours, enjoying one another’s company and basking in the warmth. The lights began to blur as your eyes drooped closed. You leaned closer into Eddie’s chest and sighed. “Merry Christmas, Eddie!”

He smiled sleepily, “Merry Christmas, Sweetheart!”

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Taglist: @sadbitchfangirl, @neewtmas, @ladymunson, @idathereader

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