#on the fence about removing her lashes

[innerstar-u]

Meet Evette!

Indigo had a sale for Black Friday and I couldn’t help myself and I love her and she’s so pretty.

(I’ve set a goal for myself to take toy photos every day for a month, so this is day one of the December photo challenge.)

#agig #agblr #american girl #american girl dolls #american girl doll #evette peeters #my dolls #on the fence about removing her lashes #on the one hand I want to keep her pristine #on the other hand I still think they look silly when the doll's eyes are closed #eli's december photo challenge

[starfirewildheart]

Chapter 6

Scars and Souvenirs 

Summary: Sy and his lady both retire from the army but not before tragedy befalls Sy. He slowly tries to adjust to life again on their ranch.

Pairing: Sy / OFC

Word count: 3,109

Rating: smut, smut and smut. NO ONE UNDER 18, NSFW 

Sy stretched his back after throwing another bunch of wood in the back of their old farm truck. The storm had done a number on their farm but luckily none of it was structural. They lost trees, some fence, debris had been scattered to the heavens, he didn’t think they'd ever get it all cleaned up. 

Deb walked over to the truck and leaned against the side. "Hey there cowboy. Come here often?"

Sy grinned and tipped his hat to her. "Near everyday sugar, why? See something ya like "

She pushed away from the truck and circled around him looking him up and down. "Maybe," She shrugged. "Depends," She grabbed his ass and gave it a squeeze. "Humm," nodding as she continued to explore with her hands. She ran her hands over his abs up to his chest tweaking his nipples until they pebbled then nodded once more in approval. She started to circle him again and let her hand trail down his body until she was cupping him through his jeans. He was already getting hard but he finished filling in her hand. "Impressive sir," She whispered over his shoulder from behind him. "One of the best stallions I've ever seen." She saw his eyes following her every movement, his breathing picking up as well as his pulse. Stepping back in front of him she reached for his belt and unbuckled it undoing the button and zipper. "I think I'd like to take it for a ride." She reached in and gripped his cock stroking it."

"Fuck darlin," he rasped. "You can ride me anytime."

"There is one more thing I need to test before I saddle up," purred as she knelt down in front of him and tugged his jeans halfway down his hips. Pulling him out and stroking him from root to tip. Glancing up at his face nearly undid her. His eyes were heavy with lust, his face slightly tinged pink from the heat, bare chest was and tight abs showing through his unbuttoned shirt. She ran her thumb over the sensitive head smearing a pearl of precum around the tip and over the sensitive glands just below causing him to shiver with anticipation before finally giving it several small kitten licks until he reached down and grabbed a fist full of her hair. Taking the hint she sucked him down as deep as she could, fisting what wouldn't fit each was quite a bit.

Sy's eyes rolled back in his head as his jaw clenched and flexed as she engulfed him. "Fuck, baby. I don't know what brought this on b…but damn I love it."

Deb had a tough past and was very timid with intimacy when she met Sy. It took a long time but he'd managed to gain her trust and give her the self confidence to experiment with different things. He was so glad he had. Tugging on her hair, "enough, love. I'm gonna cum if you don't stop."

She continued until he gave another, harsher tug finally letting him slip from her mouth with one last lick. Looking up at him through her lashes, "But I want you to cum."

He pulled her to her feet and against his body. "I intend to cum sugar, just not in your mouth," he promised. "I have a different place I intend to fill." Sy kissed her as he let his hands explore her body eventually undoing her jeans and slipping his hands inside to squeeze and cup her ass as he ground against her. "Do you remember our talk about safe words?"

She was so lost in sensation she didn't answer at first earning a harsh pinch to her behind causing her to squeak and jerk forward. "Y..yes. Why?"

"We are going to continue to have a very playful day sugar," he grinned gleefully. Stepping away from her a bit he placed the t-shirt he'd removed earlier in the morning on the tailgate then turned back to push her jeans and panties down to her knees delighting in her gasp.

"Sy! What are you doing?" There was a very long driveway to their home but anyone could still drive up so she moved her hands to cover herself as he picked her up and sat her on the tailgate. Her pulled her boots off the finished taking off her jeans and panties tossing them in the bed of the truck before putting her boots back on her feet. She laughed, "Why?"

"Cowgirl's keep their boots on baby," he winked at her with a wicked grin.

"Maybe I should invest in some spurs," She teased as she wrapped her legs around him causing his cock to give a very appreciative twitch.

He removed her shirt and bra quickly before devouring her mouth as he ran his fingers through her dripping folds. He was happy she was just as turned on by this as he was. Placing her feet up on the tailgate spreading her open for him he dropped to his knees and dove in like he was dying of thrust and she was the last source of water in the world. He lapped at her until she was bucking against his face then latched his mouth over her clit suckling as he ran his tongue back and forth over her pearl. Placing his hands on her hips to hold her down as she bucked and convulsed through not one but two orgasams leaving her panting breathlessly as she fell back against one of the limbs in the back of the truck, eyes lidded heavily. He placed one more kiss on her mound before raising up, "I have to go inside and get some things. I'll be right back. Do not move. I want those legs apart and I want to see that pussy glistening in the sun when I get back. Do you understand?" 

"Yes, Sir."

"Good girl" he praised before sprinting in the house. When he comes back out he's wearing much more comfortable track pants and a pair of leather chaps carrying his saddle bags over his shoulder. He saw the twitch in Debbie's  muscles as she fought the urge to close her legs. "You did so good for me sugar. I'm proud of you." He rubbed her arms and sides before moving her legs, pulling her to sit up and kissing her. He took his blue plaid, button down farm shirt and put it on her pushing her hands away when she tried to button it. "No ma'am, it stays unbuttoned and open the rest of the day." 

She took the hand he extended and held it starting toward the house only to be jerked backwards when Sy started the other way. "We're going in, right?" She questioned. 

"There is farm work to be done darlin." He bit his lip to hide his grin when her eyes got huge at the idea.

"But...I," She looked down at her very naked and exposed body. All Sy's shirt was covering really was her back and ass.

"Sugar, you're going to stay this way or completely naked for the rest of the day, whichever I want." He felt her shiver against him but was proud when she didn’t fight it and started walking with him. She was hugging his arm close to her body making his hand brush against the soft flesh on her lower stomach causing his cock throb. He was glad he'd put the cock ring on when he went inside or he'd blow his load now. 

They went to the training pen where the fence had been damaged in the storm. He pulled on some work gloves then grabbed a hammer and some nails from his saddlebags and went to work making the repairs. Once he was done he called Deb closer. "Need to make sure this is sturdy enough."

 "Ok?" She was confused until he moved her next to the fence and bent her forward with her hands braced on the section he'd just fixed. Her face burned red as he shoved the shirt up to her shoulders and pressed his cock, which he'd covered in lube when she wasn't looking into, into her. Even though they'd been together for a long while his girth was still almost too much for her and the first few thrusts were painful. As always he took it slow until she adjusted but then he railed her.

Debbie held onto the fence for dear life as his hips slammed against her ass hard enough to drive her to her toes with each thrust making a slapping sound loud enough to echo. "Fuck Sy!"

"I am sugar," he panted as he released one of her hips to reach around and rub her clit. Within seconds she was shuttering and clamping down on him milking him through a dry orgasm. He carefully slid out of her and pushed her back down when she started to stand. "Stay just like that."

"Sy," She whined, "what if someone pulls up?" She jumped when he spoke, closer than she realized.

"Then they will get a good look at what's mine." He smiled when she whimpered and trembled. God he loved tapping into this particular kink. After cleaning up the broken lumber and putting his tools away he went back to Deb. "You can stand up now, sugar. Looks like the fence will hold nicely."

She turned to him and instantly buried her face in his neck taking deep breaths of his scent as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Hey, hey sugar, are you ok?" He felt her nod against his shoulder. Hooking his saddlebags over her shoulder Sy stepped back just enough to lift her in his arms and carry her to the air conditioned office in the nearby barn. He sat down in the big leather desk chair with her in his lap tenderly rubbing her back and legs. "I need you to use your words for me darlin. Tell me what's going on." He waited a moment but when he got no response he pushed her into a sitting position so that she was looking at him and she whined, a real whine. "Debbie, did I hurt you?" He worried.

"N..no," her voice was so soft it startled even her. She had no idea what was happening but she felt, funny? Needy? Desperate? Like she needed Sy to be so close you couldn't even fit air between the two of you? She tried to explain it all to him but was struggling and when he smiled like he was trying not to laugh she felt embarrassed and ashamed so she closed the shirt tight around herself and tried to leave but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down with a growl. 

"Stop. You do not get to run away, Debbie. I smiled because I know exactly what you're trying to explain and I'm so excited that I was able to take you there because I never tried with anyone before, ever. You are the only one I ever wanted to try with but I was afraid to push you too much."

"Tried what?"

"You're experiencing sub space darlin."

Her eyes darted to him searching his eyes to see if he was telling the truth.  "So it's normal?" He nodded and she relaxed a bit. "What am I supposed to do?"

"You do nothing but trust me and let me take care of you sugar. I promise I'll make you feel good."

She curled against him again. "But you're not enjoying this."

"Why in the world would you think that?" His eyebrows shot up to his hairline. 

"You haven't cum."

"That’s intentional sugar. I have big plans, trust me."

"I do," she pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Do you want to continue? " He wanted to be sure she was enjoying it. 

"Yes please!"

Sy chuckled as he stood and sat her on her feet then went and saddled his personal horse finishing off by securing his saddlebags. He removed a soft towel from one of them and laid it over the saddle. "Up ya go, sugar," motioning for her to mount the horse. He thought for a moment that she would back out but instead she lifted herself into the saddle and he climbed up behind her. Wrapping one arm around her waist then lifting her up he slipped his finger between her folds, "Mmmm still wet for me. Good girl." He pulled himself free of his pants and sat her down on his rod making them both moan. "Let's ride sugar." He pulled her shirt back open and urged the horse forward.

Blue, Sy's mare started off at a simple walk, the sway of the horse rocking them back and forth. Deb lolled her head back against his shoulder pressing kisses and nips at the juncture of his jaw and neck while she circled her hips. 

He urged blue to a canter as he ran his hand over her breast teasing one nipple then the other while she worked her muscles clamping down on him as she bounced. "Fuck, you feel so good!" His breathing picked up and he pushed Blue to a full gallop causing them both to bounce and sway to the rhythm of the pounding hooves. It didn't take much for Sy to crash through another dry orgasm; the pain in his heavy, swollen balls nearly out weighed the pleasure. He grabbed her, lifting her free of him.

"Need, please," She didn't  know what she was pleading for but she needed more. She was so close her body was bowstring tight "Sy!"

He handed her the reins then reached between her legs pulling them up, hooking her knees over his thick thighs. Trailing his fingers back up until he reached her mound where he shoved three fingers into her fucking her hard and fast while rubbing circles and flicking her clit with his other hand until she came with a roar bucking against him and back down on his hands as she rode it out collapsing in a puddle against Sy lost in a haze of numbness and happy bliss.

Sy rode back past the barn up to the house and wasted no time jumping down and putting Deb over his shoulder making her squeal. Using his free hand he tied Blue's lead around the corner pillar and climbed up on the porch setting Deb on her feet. He kissed her desperately. "I need you one more time, sugar. Can you do that for me?"

Her entire body was sore and exhausted and she knew she was going to ache for days but she needed to feel him cum inside her. "Cum in me?" Pleading as she reached out to stroke him. His cock was purple now; the veins were sticking up as it throbbed in her hand. When she reached down and rolled his heavy balls in her hand his hips bucked and he hissed.

He spun her around and bent her over the porch rail gently kicking her legs apart. Slipping the cock ring off and tossed it on the porch then grabbed her hips slamming in and started chasing his release. "I'm gonna fill you so full of my cum it's gonna run down your fuckin thighs and I'm gonna leave you bent over right here so I can watch it. Watch that pretty pussy twitch and tremble as it starts to tighten up again and gape it right back open over and over again until you are so fucked out you can't even move any more."

Sy was hitting the spot and her body was already starting to quake but something else was happening.  Something building that she'd never felt and it erupted as she let out a strangled cry. Liquid squirted out of her covering her thighs, the front of Sy's thighs and left a puddle on the porch giving her the most mind blowing orgasm she'd ever experienced. 

Sy heard her cry and felt her body ripple around him and it was beautiful but when he realized she squirted his cock swelled impossibly bigger, his balls drew up tight to his body while he rutted into her cumming so hard it actually ached then he collapsed over her back. Once his vision cleared he pressed kisses between her shoulders. "I love you so fuckin much."

"Love you too," She panted, breathlessly. 

Sy collapsed into the rocker that was behind them and admired the view of his lovely girl and their mixed release indeed running down her trembling thighs. Reaching out and rubbing his hands up and down over her ass and legs he could feel her body twitching still. Leaning in he pressed kisses and nips to her cheeks, rubbing his scruff along her skin especially along the bottom curve of her ass leaving beard burn until she was mewling at the sensation trying to squirm away. Rubbing over the skin to sooth it he used his thumbs to gently spread her open so he could check her. His cock twitched and if he could have he would have been rock hard at what he saw. Her folds were swollen and red, twitching as the muscles were starting to tighten back to their normal size. His seed was still filling her even as some was running down her legs and he was so glad he'd chosen to hold it all back until the last because it made for a massive amount of cum that he preened proudly at. He couldn't resist taking three of his fingers and pushing it back in deep. 

Debbie squealed at the sudden stretch to her sore, swollen hole and stood straight up. "Sy! Noooo it's sore," She whined and tried to move but the fingers inside her held her still.

He stood up and gave her a deep, sensual kiss as he rubbed her inner walls. "I know baby girl but I need to to give me one more ok? Can you do that for me?" She gave him a questioning look but didn't want to disappoint him and gave a soft nod l. He lowered her down on the porch until she was laying on her back with her ass resting on his thighs and her knees bent to her chest never removing his fingers so his seed couldn't escape. "Beautiful," he was so enamored and in love with her he felt like his heart was going to explode. "You are my world Deb. Never knew I could love anyone this much til I met you." He leaned down and captured her lips in a searing kiss before she could speak, not stopping until she screamed his name when she came clinching desperately around his fingers as tears of happiness and exhaustion slid from her eyes as she lay boneless and unable to move.

Tag List

@shellyshellshell

@enchantedbytomandhenry

@mrsevans90

@summersong69

@mollymal

@warriormirkwood

@bloodyinspiredme

@kneelforloki

#henry cavill #syverson fluff #syverson x you #henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill x reader #henry cavill smut #syverson #henry cavill characters #henry cavill fanfic #captain syverson fanfiction

[zensations35]

Beckett: Adventures in Ghosting

Ready for more sneezy ghost adventures? Have more Beckett the groundskeeper with a ghost allergy!

I have a headcanon that these stories take place in the late 1800s but I haven't exactly done much research on that time period. Still. Enjoy!

Beckett wants nothing more than to burst into his cottage and throw himself on the squeaky bed. His legs ache from a day of digging, lawn care, and general mischief on the grounds. Today was…a bit different from a normal Friday.

Beckett shuffles inside, hangs up his hat, shucks his dirt-streaked coat, and sprawls on the wooden stool to remove his mud-flecked boots. 

He inwardly nags himself for making a mess of grass clippings and dirt chunks smudging the worn wood floors. But all Beckett can think about is sleep and how he wishes for more than four hours of sleep.

Alas, after a scrub down it’s already 2 AM when he finally sits on the mattress. He tucks himself under the thin wool coverlet. His lids are heavy and he feels his body relax, breath leaving him through his slightly stuffed nostrils. 

But…then…

“H-h! EGX’ieu!” 

He sniffles, blinking toward the closed cabin door with a glare. A familiar chill seeps toward him, icing the dampness in the floorboards near his boots. 

Couldn’t she have shown up a bit sooner? When I was fully dressed?

A sigh ripples through the cabin, and the wood seems to warp with it. 

Beckett groans, “I know.” He grumbles. “She didn’t come today.” He figured this would happen. But when the spirit didn’t seek him out by bedtime, he had hoped…

The wood groans for her. 

Beckett groans back. “It’s one Friday. Perhaps she had to postpone for other plans.”

No response this time but the chill clings to the air. Beckett rolls over, pulling the ratty blanket over his shoulder.

The temperature dips swiftly, a blast of icy air lashing the bare skin on his neck. Beckett shivers. His ears and nose start to grow cold as if he were out in the snow. 

His hand wanders to his face, cupping cool fingers over his nose and mouth as he sniffles back a sneeze. I cannot let her boss me around…

The window above his bed begins to spiderweb with crystals of ice. His blanket is barely doing anything. The spirit flows closer and Beckett finds himself muffling hitches into his palm.

“Hmf…Himf--HMNN--HMPFshhk! IggSHmk!! MSHHK!” 

Each sneeze causes him to squeeze his cheeks tighter, nose bumping into the flesh of his index finger. 

“Huggh…fine!” Beckett throws off the covers and swirls himself to touch his feet to the cold floor. He shuffles back to put his boots on and shoves the hat back on his head. They’re still muddy and flecked with grass and melted snow. 

A wall of icy air hovers just beside him, and he starts to shiver, the itching in his eyes, nose, and ears barely tolerable. He grabs his coat and gets one arm inside before he doubles over, “HRek-SHHH’EH!!” he stumbles slightly and wrenches the other sleeve onto his arm. 

“Give me some space, or I’ll be sneezing all night.” He peers out to the darkness. “If we are to do this, we must be as silent as possible. You know I cannot always hold them back.”

The spirit whooshes past him into the wintry air. 

Beckett knows very little about this spirit. Her grave is unmarked save for “in loving and grace", and her death date--5 years prior. Since her burial, a young woman has visited her grave every Friday, exactly at 5pm. 

Beckett does not know who it is. Friend? Family? A young Beckett once took a detour to the general store and passed her home once. It was a picket fence sort of home. The windows were dark when the woman was not home. This was the only investigation into her life that a curious Beckett had done without feeling intrusion. 

The spirit stays distant but if Beckett slows or strays from the correct path, she rushes him, throwing him into fits of stifled sneezes. “Hk-N! HNG-KX! Hek-NDT!” He pinches his nose and his fingers come away wet. 

They arrive at the walkway leading up to the house. The grass is already collecting dew, the baubles of liquid threading the lawn with moonlight.  

The spirit's presence moves away, gliding up the steps and through the closed door. Beckett waits, breath a chilly vapor below his nose.  He taps his foot, rocks back and forth on his heels, rubs hands over his arms, checks his watch. 

What’s taking so long?

A beam of light ravages his night vision and Beckett attempts to duck behind a bush but the movement pulls a yell from the approaching figure. 

“You there!” 

Beckett shudders as the man comes into view. A night officer. 

Well, biscuits. 

Beckett freezes, putting his shivering hands up. 

A man not much older than Beckett approaches, uniform crisp as if he had just begun his watch. His cheeks are long and round, eyes a light blue. He walks like someone accustomed to carrying weight. 

“I-I was-” Beckett curses himself. Why hadn’t he prepared a reason for being outside a young woman’s home after dark? “I…” Beckett realizes he’s been inching away from the house. 

The policeman stiffens and holds out his hand. 

“Step away from the home,” the officer demands. No ‘sir’, no respectful tone. Par for the course. 

Beckett moves away and the officer sweeps toward him, grasping Beckett’s arms and winding them behind his back. 

“What are--”

“Skulking about at night beneath a young lady’s window? We have been searching for the peeping tom for weeks.” The officer wrenches Beckett’s hands together. 

Cold metal encircles his wrists and Beckett’s heart speeds. 

“Th-this is a mistake. Sir, please…” his voice falls on deaf ears. “Igh-heh…” his nostrils flare wide and the brush of icy wind indicates the spirit’s return. Beckett’s eyes flutter and he squirms with the weight of need to rub the itch from his nose. “Eih-hih-heh!” 

The policeman only glares at him as he pulls out a notepad and pen. Beckett scrunches his face and drinks in wet sniffles. 

“I-please," Beckett squirms, teeth chitting with a grunt, "I n-need to…heih--sn-hhiee…” his lips seal and break apart, again and again, drizzles of air slipping into his throat. The policeman ignores his pleas. He will not be allowed to cover his expulsions. 

Beckett points his nose down, burying his chin in his collarbone. His chest shudders with gulping breaths. “Hih. Hieh. HEH-!” He grinds his chin into his neck, “IXST!" His jaw clenches with urgency, "ISZHhh! XSzz’SHUUU!” his body rocks forward and he stumbles, feet pattering the ground to catch himself before he falls. He pants, lips wet, nostrils damp, eyes streaming. He hopes the spirit will move away and give him some relief, but its presence does not waver. 

Why won’t she just…

The front door slams open and the two men swing their heads to see a silhouette standing atop the stairs. 

“Ma’am,” the officer tips his hat. “Forgive us for the commotion.”

Beckett opens his mouth, apologies flying to his lips, but his lungs fill instead. “Hih-HegxSH!” He forces his mouth to form words. “M-madam…HGSXH! I am so-HhhhSHhh-K! Sorry, I--hih-hieh!!” 

Cool cloth brushes his cheeks as it folds over his trembling nose, a delicate hand cupping his lower face. 

“HEH-MPFH!” The cloth dampens under her gentle care. “RFSH-mm’neh…”

Beckett sniffles deeply and triest to pull away in alarm but fingers grip his nose, tugging him back as they rub circles over his aching nostrils. 

He blinks away tears and sees a familiar woman. The woman who visits the grave. 

Her tawny locks are pulled into a knot atop her head with a few tendrils escaping to dress her pink cheeks. Her lips form a perfect cupid bow, even if they are pinched in what might be annoyance. Her eyes, however, are a rich brown and filled to the brim with warmth.

"M-Ma’am, I--”

“It is Beckett, no? The groundskeep?” she says, her jeweled voice keen and sharp.

He has spoken to her a few times--enough to know her name is Annis. She remembered his name, though, which surprises him considering his profession and social status. 

“Y-yes ma’am. I do apologize for--”

“Do not apologize, sir. This man has treated you unfairly.” She pinches her skirt and faces the policeman, face a stern mask. “Sir,” she snaps, jarring the officer. “This man,” Annis waves at Beckett, “is my suitor. He has come at my behest for late night relations. I simply cannot do without on such a night as this.”

Both men gape at her, Beckett flushing deep in his cheeks. 

The officer coughs uncomfortably. “Ah, that may be…ahm, yes. But--”

“I demand his release so that he may abscond with me for a good ravishing.” 

Another choking cough and now the policeman is blushing and averting his gaze from her altogether. “Yes, yes, very well,” he near whispers, tucking the notepad away. “As you…were.” 

She waits for the cuffs to release before taking Beckett’s hand. “Come,” she says, “before I lose myself to madness.”

The officer hurries away as she pulls Beckett up the stairs and into the house. Once inside, Annis glides toward the window and pinches the curtain aside.

“He is gone.” She returns to him with a ripple of her dress. “My apologies for tonight. I am prone to causing discomfort in men.”

Beckett clears his throat, face heating. “It’s quite alright, ma’am.”

She nods sharply. “I suppose you will be off, no?”

Beckett blinks at her. Does she not wish to know why he was skulking about her home?

He winds his hands, fidgeting. “Yes, of course.”

She sees him to the door and watches him descend into the night.

“Oh, and,” she calls before he reaches the street, “I do so apologize for my grandmother. She worries for me when I do not make my weekly visits.” She closes the door, leaving Beckett staring after her.

#snz #snz fic #allergies #oc beckett #zen oc #ghosts #ghost allergy #I like making these short and sweet fics #it's not usually my MO #I tend to make longer stories #but these are pretty bite-sized #and yeah Annis will totally be a recurring character

[urlocalwhumper]

caretaker hummed quietly to herself as she strolled down the halls of the pet shelter. she was surrounded by options, but to be entirely honest, none were just quite catching her eye.

she already had a pet at home, just the sweetest little puppygirl, but she knew her beloved pup got lonely when she was at work all day. so, she'd decided that she'd get her a companion, another nice animalperson for her to play and snuggle with.

but first, she'd have to actually pick one. which was where her dilemma laid.

at least, that was, until she turned the corner.

curled up in a kennel at the near end of the next hall, was a big doggirl. if she were to stand on two legs, she'd probably be significantly taller than caretaker.

but instead of putting that size to use in any way, she was curled up in the corner of her kennel, looking like she was trying to make herself as small as possible. and caretaker could pretty easily guess why.

the most striking thing about her, beyond her size, was the way her body was absolutely littered with scars. from the thick, ropey scars of whip lashes across her back, to the horrible rough burn scar taking up almost half of her face, revealing a shallow, empty indent where her left eye should have been.

this poor pup had clearly been through hell, and caretaker's heart ached for her.

caretaker knelt beside the kennel, hooking her fingers into the chain-link fencing.

"hi, girl." she said softly. the doggirl looked up, her single eye staring warily at her.

"oh, are you interested in whumpee?"

caretaker almost jumped out of her skin, whipping around to see a slightly apologetic looking shelter employee standing behind her.

"i'm sorry! i didn't mean to scare you." they said. "i just got a little excited. it's not often anyone shows any interest in whumpee."

"is that her name?" caretaker asked, turning back towards the doggirl, who seemed to have perked up a little at the sight of the employee.

"yup!" they replied. "she's the sweetest, i promise. but because she's so big, and has all these scars..." the employee sighed. "not many people want to take her home."

"what... what happened? if that's alright to ask."

the employee's face hardened. "her old owner was a right piece of shit. liked hurting her for fun." they shook their head. "the burn is from when they shoved her face into their fireplace. it was so bad the vet ended up needing to remove her eye because of the extent of the damage."

caretaker was horrified, her grip on the fence unconsciously tightening. "just... because?"

the employee nodded. "just because." they crossed their arms. "that's how we ended up with her, actually. the vet reported heavy suspicions of pet abuse, and we took her in once she was healthy enough to not need constant medical attention."

the doggirl had started to inch closer to the fence as the employee spoke, shoulders hunched and head bowed, but peering up at caretaker with a hopeful look in her eye.

"oh- here, let me..." the employee unhooked a ring of keys from their belt, fumbling with it for a moment before finding the right key and unlocking the gate to whumpee's kennel.

they swung the gate open, and whumpee froze, shrinking back as her ears flattened against her head.

"oh, it's okay baby." caretaker said in as soothing of a tone as she could muster. "i'm not going to hurt you."

she slowly moved closer to whumpee, until she was close enough to touch her. at this close proximity, she could see that whumpee was trembling, poor thing, and she braced herself to be hit as soon as caretaker raised her hand.

but instead, caretaker rested her hand on top of whumpee's head, gently massaging her scalp with her fingertips.

"see, it's okay." caretaker said, going in to scratch behind whumpee's ear with her other hand.

whumpee leaned into her touch, single eye staring at her in awe. caretaker caught the motion of her tail starting to wag out of the corner of her eye and smiled.

whumpee tentatively stepped forward, and when caretaker continued lavishing her with affection, she kept getting closer and closer until she was curled up in caretaker's lap, the constant tension and anxiety she carried starting to melt away as the feeling of finally being safe washed over her.

"aw, you're just a big puppy, aren't you?" caretaker cooed, one hand continuing to scratch behind her ears while the other moved down to rub her belly. "such a good girl, you just needed some lovin', right?"

whumpee made a low noise, almost a bark, but not quite. caretaker seemed delighted.

"so," the employee piped up, "think you'll be taking her home?"

caretaker smiled up at them. "how could i not?"

#whump #pet whump #nonhuman whumpee #female whumpee #female caretaker #institutionalized pet whump #past abuse #scarred whumpee #mine #this is just an expansion on that institutionalized pet whump prompt i wrote lol #who says i can't fill my own prompts

[tomtenadia]

Thicker than blood - 6

Hello!! Ready for ch.6? Oh yes.... there is angst...

The following morning, Rowan had offered to drive Aelin to the city centre to get her car from where she had left it the night before. She needed it for work.

She had told him she was okay to walk but Rowan reminded her it was daylight so Aelin gave up and followed him. She had woken up a few times during the night and saw him at her side. The first time she did it, her hand was on his chest covered by his. She had tried to pull away but doing so would mean to wake him up so she resigned to remain in that position. He would want to talk and she had no will power to deal with his patronising attitude.

Then morning came and Aelin pretended to be asleep for as long as she could until she gave up and left the bed and that’s when she noticed the clothes on her. His clothes.

She had stormed into the living room and accused him of removing her clothes against her will. Rowan had explained that the dress was covered in blood after she puked on herself and that he told her he was changing her and Aelin had agreed.

Her brain seemed to remember something along those lines so she stopped shouting at him and confessed she was going home.

Rowan gave her a bag with her dress. He had washed it and it just had to finish drying, then he had offered to drive her to the car and went to change quickly.

“Are you working tonight?”

Silence. Aelin stared at landscape through the black tinted glasses.

“I saved your arse last night,” he growled “ I should have put you in rehab but I didn’t so perhaps a bit of gratitude would be appreciated.”

Aelin turned to him with a murderous look “oh yes, my prince charming, thank you for risking your career for such a lowly junkie. I will take my ten lashes, my master.” Venom dripping from her words.

“Cut the crap. You are risking everything for what? Is it a way to piss off your family because they chose Aedion over you?”

The snarl that came out of Aelin had been savage “It’s none of your fucking business.”

Rowan pulled aside and stopped the car “it’s is my fucking problem when you were on the verge of slipping and almost attacked a girl. It’s my fucking issue when you come down from a high in my house.”

“You could have left me there. Let me slip and I am not your problem anymore.”

Rowan’s stare grew harder “you do not want to slip. Do not want to end up in a deviation centre,” he retorted “Have you ever seen a person who is too far gone to be saved? Ever been inside a deviation facility? Because I have,” his voice a growl. He had to make her understand “once you fully slip you become nothing but a beast. You lose all the memories and the sense of self. Convicts are constantly kept drugged because they are dangerous. I have lost friends to that. I am not loosing you.”

“I can control myself.”

Another growl “like you did last night, I assume? My friends said the same. They had it under control, until they didn’t.”

“Take me to my car, agent,” she told him in a flat tone and went back ignoring him.

“Fine.”

“Good.”

After that they rode in silence until they reached the parking area and Aelin bolted out before he could say anything.

She reached her car and drove away.

Rowan lingered about thinking about Aelin. He could not get through to her and it pained him.

After ten minutes he drove away but, instead of going to work he drove to the place he hated the most.

The centre was in the outskirts of Orynth and the closer he drove the more his anguish rose. He was afraid that one day he’ll have to visit her in that hellish hole. No one deserved that fate.

The grey walls with barbed wires fence loomed closer. At the checkpoint he flashed his police badge. It allowed him access without many questions. Rowan parked and went to the reception for the usual protocol to register as a visitor.

“Prisoner 871.” His heart clenched. Almost nine hundred vampires had been held there over the years. It was a huge number considering that there were around twenty thousand of them in Orynth. They had become the minority and the humans allowed them to co-exist with them with some rules. restriction that he was happy to follow if it meant avoiding the genocide of the great fire. 

In silence he walked the familiar corridor and stopped in front of a cell.

The guard opened the door for him “he is sedated, it’s okay to go in, agent.”

The guards knew him. He was the only one who visited.

Rowan entered and saw the man, his friend chained to a wall, his hair short and his skin paler than usual. He looked worse than last time. So much worse.

Rowan kneeled in front of the unconscious man “Hey Con, I am back. Sorry I haven’t visited in a while.”

Connall was Fenrys twin. The three plus another man called Vaughan had been good friends. They had their wild younger years together. His dark years. Until the night that changed everything. The night when the feeding had gone too far. He Fen and Vaughan had just fed too much without slipping, but Connall did not listen and went further. He drank until he slipped and killed humans. That’s when Lorcan found them. Apparently he had spotted them at the last club and followed them. Rowan, Fen and Vaughan had been arrested and sent to a rehab facility. Connall was sent away to a deviation centre. During rehab the three of them had been offered a second chance at working in the paranormal unit. Rowan still had no idea why Lorcan did that but he was grateful. The three of them all accepted and were now work partners together with Gavriel.

Connall never had that chance and he had promised himself he’d go and visit. Fenrys still could not manage to go and see his twin in that state. It had been painful enough to watch him dragged away.

That had been thirty years ago. A minuscule amount of time in the life of a vampire, but for Rowan felt like eternity.

“Fen is okay, he changes girls once a week but he is fine and he misses you. Every day.”

Rowan looked down at Con’s wrists were the shackles were and saw the injuries. Why was he not healing? He had bruises and cuts and that was not normal. He grabbed the hand and lifted the long sleeve and gasped. Long blue lines covered his arm. He looked at the other and it was the same. They were starving him. Rowan moved closer and saw the same lines starting to appear from under the collar on his shirt. Fuck. Prisoners were meant to be fed and kept sedated if situation called for it. Being starved was not in the plans.

Anger rose and all of a sudden he wanted to break free his friend. He did not deserve that. Were all the prisoners treated that way? Panic started to rise quickly. Damn he had arrested junkies, how many people were in that facility because of him? He felt sick.

He stormed out of the cell and reached the guard “he needs feeding. When was the last time he was given blood?”

“Agent Whitethorn, I am just a guard.”

“This does not end here.” He left the facility and drove away.

That was not over and he would get to the bottom of it.

*

Aelin crawled back in her flat and groaned when she scented her friend “Lys I gave you my keys for emergencies.”

“I just wanted to check on my best friend.”

Aelin snorted and walked to the bedroom to change her clothes.

“Why you have a guys clothes on? Did you get lucky last night? Is he hot?”

She ignored Lysandra’s comments and walked to the kitchen and from the fridge she grabbed a bag of fresh blood. She was ravenous.

“Fine, keep your sexy secrets to yourself but you look like shit.”

“Gee, Lys, you are such a good friend.”

The woman stood from the couch and joined her in the kitchen and grabbed Aelin’s face studying it “You overdid it last night,” anger in the woman’s voice “your eyes still have the marks and are darker than usual. Aelin, please…”

“I am fine.”

“The hell you are,” Lysandra voice was coated in anger “you need to stop this. I do not want to see you in a rehab facility. I can’t. Aedion is worried too.”

Aelin groaned “oh yes, golden boy is worried more about his reputation.”

“You know that is not true.”

A scoff from the blonde woman “surely. Imagine if the media found out that the lead scientist and protege of the almighty Galathynius has any contact with me? Oh they would have a field day if they knew I am against my family’s research.”

“You parents and Aedion love you.”

Aelin dropped her empty bag in the sink “My mother maybe, Aedion… but not my father.” She was far too tired for such conversation. She wanted to just crawl in a corner and fall into oblivion “Rhoe made it clear when I told him I was not following the path he had chosen for me. The only reason I am not officially disowned is because he wants us to appear as the perfect family for the papers.”

“You are painting Rhoe as a monster.” Was Lysandra’s remark.

“He kicked me out. He told me that I either followed my role as fucking heir of the Galathynius fucking clan or he was done with me.”

Lysandra was silent.

“Reputation, honour, family and his fucking clan, that’s all it matters.”

“You are part of that clan and family.”

“I am pretty sure the only reason I was allowed in the mansion last night is the usual. My mum convinced him. He only agreed because it would be bad for the image. The mighty Rhoe Galathynius and his estranged daughter. Damn, that would be a grand cover story.”

Lysandra groaned “that does not allow you to throw your life away going club after club and human after human, damn it Aelin, you are playing a dangerous game.”

Aelin shrugged “no one will miss me anyway.”

Lysandra was struck by those words. She would miss Aelin very much, same for Aedion. He was mad with worry for her but Aelin could not see it.

“You have me and Aeds.”

“Aedion needs to stay away from me and you too. I will not mess up your life.”

Lysandra took Aelin’s hand in hers “I do not want to get married without my friend at my side.”

Aelin pulled back “You can’t always have what you want, Lys.” Her gaze focused on a point on the wall.

Lysandra was terrified. Aelin had lost all the fierceness and fire she had. The woman in front of her was a shell and it hurt so much. 

“Rhoe told me that my life was a stain in the clan that had to be removed. He told me that I had no respect for him. Having a daughter who is just an ME is such a crime for him,” she confessed in a flat voice “he told me I spent my life earning a lot of medical degrees and then chose the most useless branch. He accused me of not caring about society and the vampire race, of being selfish and spoiled. How can I forget that? My father would happily drag me to a deviation centre himself just to finally have the chance to remove the stain from the genealogical tree.”

“Talk to your mum?”

“I am not setting foot in that house ever again. I am done. He wants me out of his life? He has his wish. He can tell society whichever sick lie he wants, about me. I don’t care anymore.”

Lysandra hugged “are you kicking me out of your life too?”

Aelin stood “it’s the best option. You’ll be okay without me.”

Lysandra sniffled “you are my friend.”

“I shouldn’t.”

Lysandra stood and walked to the front door “I love you and if you need me, I will always be there for you.”

As soon Lysandra left, Aelin sat on the floor exhausted and cried, until her body was spent.

TAGS: @rowaelinismyotp​ @swankii-art-teacher​ @courtofjurdan​ @whimsicallyreading​ @bruiseonthefaceofhumanity​ @acreativelydifferentlove @mis-lil-red​ @thegreyj​ @sailorsassley​ @leiawritesstories​ @clairec79 @morganofthewildfire​ @sv0430​

@heartlessaromantic @autumnbabylon​ @rowanaelinn​ @backtobl4ck​ @susumaus98​ @gracie-rosee​ @mybloodrunsblue​ @tanvee1231 @avenrebekah​ @whoever-you-choose-to-love​ @theywillnotsingforme​ @universallytreepost @black-daisy-water @goddess-aelin​

#rowaelin #rowaelin fanfic #rowaelin fanfiction #rowan whitethorn #rowan x aelin #aelin x rowan #aelin galathynius #aelin #angst

[shokuto]

Do you think MJ and Peter are bad for each other? I always figured they had a good fit not because MJ is a “hot redhead” but because they get each other. I don’t think they “deserve” to be together or whatever, but I think they both had some important character growth by being close, and ripping them apart or making it seem like some sort of shallow thing is drastically flattening and ripping away the nuance of their relationship. I think Peter could eventually learn to give more as Peter, learn to balance Spider-Man and civilian life, especially if he had people who held him accountable. Without that he just becomes so engrossed in his own issues that it becomes more and more impossible for him to balance his life out, giving more to Spider-Man. Meanwhile MJ benefits from being with Peter because it prevents her from isolating too hard, wearing her mask 24/7, learning to trust people and take risks. Having someone who knows who she is underneath all her layers, someone who she can talk to and be real with, someone who taught her to start reaching past her comfort zone. I don’t think they should have or even could have some sort of “white picket fence” idealized marriage, but like. that’s not realistic even if Peter wasn’t Spider-Man. Hell I don’t think they have to be married, either. But I think those two are at this point the closest person the other has ever had, and diminishing that to act like Peter can’t have just because she’s pretty or MJ should hate Peter because Peter struggles with being honest about his double life is removing the nuance of their relationship. I don’t think Peter and MJ are without flaws that would be roadblocks in any relationship, but I don’t think it means they’re bad for each other. I certainly think, if not Peter, MJ deserves someone better than “aided in genocide and has zero personality”

Anon. You’re great. But someone’s gotta smack you upside the head even implying I prefer her with PAUL NOLASTNAME because I pointed out Peter being a shitty partner. Which is like, a casual observation for anyone familiar with his material.

But to answer your question, no, I don’t think Mj should hate him (because for better or worse, she absolutely made her bed with him. More than half of their pre-romantic history is her creeping on him while they’re both dating other people and it arguably begins with Mj choosing to console him about Gwen even when he lashes out at her), I just think Petermj by nature means Mj gives more than she gets. A lot of their post romantic history is Mj being Peter’s rock and/or suffering the consequences of being with him, and over time I feel it came at the expense of her fun personality. Which I can’t say is completely his fault because context is a thing and their relationship is still nuanced, but yeah. That’s how I feel. Mj over the years time because the Responsible One because at a certain point she had to represent the stability in his life when she should’ve been permitted to be as reckless, irresponsible, and fun as him, let alone as she used to be

#ask

[crowtrobotx]

Hi! Can I ask where Lottie’s mom is??

Sorry this took a while, nonny - I’ve been sooo busy. But thank you for asking! ❤️ and uh…. Enjoy? 😈

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

Papa’s lantern barely made a dent in the suffocating darkness that blanketed the grounds, made impossibly worse tonight thanks to the persistent rain. He’d removed his shades - the dark circles under his eyes one of the only visible cracks in his all powerful facade. He squinted toward the forested mountains, just beyond the safety of the perimeter, and rolled his cigar from one side of his mouth to the other. The orange glow it cast on his face made him look even older, more exhausted than normal.

“She was over here somewhere… know I saw her…”

Lottie tightened her grip on his thigh. Papa wasn’t talking to her, not really. Whenever she appeared, he entered into a trance-like state - kind of like how Lottie herself had felt the first time she’d seen the giant forge in the factory’s depths flare to life. Only instead of awe, her father always seemed… despondent.

She didn’t blame him.

“There.”

Papa gestured gently to a spot on their right. After banishing a few stray droplets clinging defiantly to her lashes, Lottie saw the jerky, slow movements of a beast making its way into view. The crisscross shadow from the chain link fence made it look imprisoned - fitting, perhaps - its hesitation to move entirely into the light forcing her to hold her breath so as not to startle it.

The vârcolac snuffled cautiously closer, and at last the slight curl to its hair and the faded remnants of what had been tattoos on its human body finally positively identified it. Its reflective eyes landed on her small form, darting between her and Papa, and Lottie swore there was a spark of recognition there. It came as close as possible, an almost mournful sound emanating from behind the row of yellowed, jagged teeth.

Lottie swallowed. At least this time it hadn’t brought any friends.

Papa, as usual, stood rooted to his spot as if he’d been glued down. Normally this was when he’d regretfully - and always unnecessarily - form a protective magnetic barrier between them and the monster, just in case it got any funny ideas. But this time he just stared, heartbroken, the almost imperceptible electric charge in the air indicative that there was a righteous anger brewing beneath it all.

Lottie wondered if it might be because it looked so gaunt - nothing like the person she’d seen in the pictures that Papa tried so hard to hide out of sight. And it seemed to be getting worse. He’d gently scolded her the first time she’d tried to feed it, something about it biting her hand off and not wanting it coming around more often, but after Lottie caught him hauling a deer carcass out to the part of the forest it seemed to frequent they had come to a quiet truce.

Speaking of food - Lottie untucked the small lunchbox she’d packed from inside her oversized coat. Within were three sandwiches - she really hoped vârcolacs liked peanut butter and jelly - and a new book the Duke had dropped off earlier in the week. She wasn’t entirely sure it could understand her when she read to it, but dammit she was going to keep trying.

She left her father’s side and trudged up to their side of the fence, the sight of the huge wolf anything but frightening to her now. It had, on occasion, growled at them, but nothing more serious than that. Papa followed at a distance, his eyes never once leaving their guest. His hammer, usually perched proudly across his shoulders, was unceremoniously dragged through the mud behind him.

He said it was his fault - Lottie didn’t understand, and the one time she’d pressed him had been the only time he’d ever raised his voice at her. He’d disappeared into the bowels of his domain for three days afterward.

They never spoke of it again.

The vârcolac pressed its odd face against the cold metal, eager to investigate. Lottie extended a cautious hand toward the beast and giggled when its hot breath puffed across her skin. After a thorough sniffing, it sat back on its haunches, seemingly placated for the moment. Lottie crouched down to set up their unconventional picnic, rain-soaked curls sticking to her cheeks. Abnormal, perhaps, but so was everything in this godforsaken place.

“Hey, Mama. Hope you’re hungry.”

#there’s obviously more to it than uhhhh this #but suffice it to say she is Not having a good time rn #this was done very hastily and I can expand on it if you or anyone wants! #asks #🦋 #my mediocre writing

[blackfire-fanfiction]

Part 1: The proposition  {I’ll release  the next part after you start answering asks again} 

[Set a bit Early and Raph's first trip of murder. enough to stew But he still has most of his basic functioning and has yet to get smashed]

___

The Handler has a proposition. 

“Big Mama, I, formally request that my current charge - that is this current championship- can be allowed to be inside a kitchen in order to bake “

Big Mama pauses. These ‘requests’ have been becoming more frequent… And far more unconventional in regarding this particular charge… But well…. Being lenient in regards to that hardly ever actually matters as long as it improves the turtle boy’s matches …. Something that this bird is obviously going to connect it with (The now Handler never request something unless it's tied directly to their job. Something that they genuinely think would improve functionality, that's just how they operate. And that's what makes them so good at their job because that level of thinking and dedication is nearly impossible to find naturally.)

“Baking you say? “ the Spider Inquisites out loud 

“Yes. You heard me correctly Miss Big Mama. Baking. It is something that people engage in when they are stressed and as a means to relieve stress... May I also request a private kitchen? I'll be sure to remove any and all knives beforehand.”

 “Oh. I don't care if he gets a knife. It's more fun, however, it is a bit more dangerous for you and our staff though.... Ummm I am a bit on the fence… Perhaps a test run?... I get to try what he's baking.

“...I will be sure to leave the best piece for you.” They thought she would be needing some more convincing. Pleased that it seems to be working out and is just a little bit suspicious about it. (they dont want to tell their charge about this

They speedily discuss more -Since she is seemingly in a good mood- Such as when this little 'relaxing detour' can be scheduled so as to not conflict with any of the matches that he has to undergo Perhaps when he is supposed to be ‘asleep’?

“Wouldn't that be cutting into your sleep schedule?” She questions not sure 

“I suppose it will” They don't even hesitate to answer.

“That lack of sleep might impair your capabilities as a Handler” she twirls around.

“ As you already know that my Charge ‘technically’ has been missing out on dozens of weeks of sleep. I'm sure I can manage cutting into my own schedule for one day.” (They wince deep inside mentally. They let the bitterness out. The anger that they should not have.)

‘Ooo~ what is?’ Big Mama is paying uncommon amounts of attention due to the oddities that her best handler is displaying from the typical formulaic Norm And continues to think.

 ‘That Bird's sleeping schedule is something they always seem to favor over. Stating that “Sleep is imperative for a job well done” Always forcing themselves to get the proper amount of sleep. Something to be of note but they always outperformed.’ 

 “Huh... You are correct. You can go now. I approve of the kitchen time.” The spider dismisses them Glancing up from her lashes and plans. 

 ‘....Tweety Bird is getting really invested in this one… I should probably check up on this… When I have the time of course. The two of them are the biggest Investments I have Ever had… Ever since….’

___

Raph gets to bake! (He's going to associate baking with the Nexus. Not in a terrible way, will probably make him think about the kindness his handler had shown him)

The Handler knows that their proposition is a risky move. If Big Mama thinks they have grown too attached there's a high chance that she'll assign them to someone else (and they know that the other handlers can be cruel if assigned to those who can't fight back). Luckily for both The Handler and Raph, Big Mama thinks that the attachment they have is interesting, and it shakes up the usual humdrum that the inner Nexus workings have.

#same raph au #same raph au crossover #kidnapped arc #raph's handler #asks #rottmnt oc

[abbatoirablaze]

SDAU-Engineered For Love, Chapter 1

Word Count:  655

“Come on Tony…I need it…”

“If you needed it so badly, you would have come to me in the first place,” Tony scoffed, taking another swig from his beer while he kept an eye on the party that was surging around him, “I don’t push that shit you find downtown…I have the high-grade stuff that every shifter needs straight from the labs.”

“I know Tony,” the freshman said quickly, hoping to score, “come on…just one dose of the quick heat and I’m out of your hair.”

“No can do,” he shrugged, “not here, anyways.  My frat is a safe space and I’m not going to give you a dose so you can put it into an omega’s drink.”

“Tony, I-“

“I know you and your girl broke up,” Tony responded quickly, cutting the man off.  The guy paled and Tony smirked as he pushed himself away from the wall of the house he leaned against, “you’re not going to be sneaky with me man.  She already warned me that you were looking for some quick tail because your rut’s coming up.  You want a rut bunny so bad, find one without my help.”

“Come on, Stark.”

“Get out of here before I beat the shit out of ya,” Tony grumbled, finally shooting the kid a glare.  He frowned but didn’t fight him on it.  No one wanted a fight with Tony.  Not only was he the only reliable supplier on campus, he got his product straight from Stark Pharmaceutical’s labs where he helped out.  His vice president and best friend Ari came up to him a knowing look on his face as he watched the young alpha shifter walk away, “don’t worry, Levinson…I didn’t do any business.”

Ari’s jaw ticked, “I know, but I don’t like that you even bring it to the house, Tony.”

“Don’t worry, it won’t ever come back on the frat, Levs…”

“You say that now.”

“No, I say that all the time,” he reminded him, “and I’ve been servicing our lovely school since I was a senior in high school…it won’t come back on us.”

“Hey Tony…Ari…”

Tony smiled at the young omega who came around the corner with her friend.  Both girls seemed more than pleased to see him and he knew why.  He knew their drug of choice.  The parrot shifter pair giggled excitedly at him.

“Ladies,” Tony smiled, his arms instantly going around them, “What are you two beautiful girls doing all alone?”

“Came to find you,” the first giggled as she leaned against his chest, “you know…it’s been a while Tony.”

“That it has,” he smirked, “that it has.”

“And we-“

But the words all faded to background noise.  A scent hit Tony like a freight train.  If he hadn’t already been leaning against the wall, he would have fallen to the ground.  His knees shook as the smell of Jasmine and cinnamon hit him.  He felt a rumbling in his belly as his eyes began searching for anyone in his vicinity. 

It was odd that someone’s scent affected him, let alone this one.  He was a beta, and not super in-tune with the scents of the other designations.

“Do you guys smell that?”

Ari’s brow raised, “What are you talking about Tony?”

“Maybe it’s me,” the second girl smiled, batting her thickly lined lashes at him, “I am wearing my scent enhancer perfu-“

“No,” Tony said quickly, cutting her off.  He removed his arms from both women and stalked down off the porch and through the throng of people.  The scent was getting faint, and he knew that whoever it was, was walking away from him. Another girl tried talking to him as he neared the back gate and he shrugged her off, “sorry…not interested.”

And as he hopped the fence, rounding the corner with another girl was a woman.  One that he instantly felt the pull towards.  One that he knew was his mate.

#marvel au #marvel #iron man #beta tony stark #tony stark #a/b/o fic #a/b/o au #a/b/o #werefox #engineered for love #school days au #school days #college

[robynlilyblack]

Changing Colours

Fred x fem! Werewolf! Reader

Summary: Y/n has had a crush on a certain redhaired boy since 3rd year, what happens when the same redhead makes it his mission to understand why she’s started avoiding him

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of sex and nudity, violence

a/n: Reader is Wolfstar’s daughter you can decide whether they are Sirius or Remus’ biological child or adopted, no Voldy au where everyone lives, reader is a Hufflepuff in the same year as the twins, Sirius and Remus are professors, you’re a werewolf with a twist x hope you enjoy I’m really happy with this one

Masterlist | Fred Weasley Masterlist

They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul, that had never been truer for you...

It happened when you were 13, nearing the end of your 3rd year, exploring the forbidden forest with your best friends Cedric and Jess, however at some point you got distracted walking off and losing them. You heard some kind of cry so you headed towards it, as you neared the sounds you found a wolf trapped in some kind of wire fence. It was whimpering in pain, you knew this wasn’t a werewolf but it wasn’t a regular one either, it was a Lupine wolf.

Your father had told you about them, there was a pack that roamed the forbidden forest, they weren’t dangerous in the slightest, in fact they were highly intelligent. They were the product of two werewolves mating during a full moon whilst transformed. You approached it slowly, it seemed to continue struggling in pain but acknowledged your presence. You grabbed the wire pulling it as gently as you could in an attempt not to hurt the animal any further, while removing the last bit of wire you accidentally cut the wolf, causing it to lash out, biting your hip in the process. After you fell backwards yelping in pain, the wolf seemed to calm down, realising in some sense it had hurt you. It then proceeded to howl before curling up next to you, licking the wound as you laid on the your back paralysed from the pain.

A while later another wolf showed up, next to him a very concerned Cedric, Jess, and Hagrid. The wolf sat up but stayed next to you as Cedric ran over first to try and calm you. Hagrid knew right away the animal didn’t mean it, seeing the bit of wire fence and small wounds on the wolfs side, he put together quite quickly what had happened. He carried you back, taking you to the hospital wing, along the way you passed out, you woke to your dad sleeping on a chair beside your bed, along with James and Lily cosied up sleeping on the other side of the room.

Your other dad, Remus, looked incredibly upset as he was talking to Madam Pomfrey, he looked over, noticing you were now awake his face softened muttering something to the women before heading to your bed. It was then he told you something that changed your life forever. Due to the bite being from a wolf born of two people with lycanthropy, you had been infected with it as well. Although, no one had ever been bitten by a Lupine wolf before, so it was unclear what your transformations would look like, due to this it meant you would have to go through your first one without any wolfsbane potion.

During your first transformation you headed to the Whomping Willow with your dad’s, Uncle James and Aunt Lily. Lily had become an animagus later in life after Peter had moved off to America, if it wasn’t obvious enough she and James where soulmates by their Patronus’, her animagus form being a doe was further confirmation.

Lily shifted, staying in the Shrieking Shack with you alone while your parents and James remained outside down by the willow. When you transformed you felt strange, it wasn’t at all how your dad had described, sure, it definitely hurt like hell, but after the transformation part was over, you realised you still felt like you.

You looked up at Lily who seemed to be assessing if you were showing any signs of aggression, she shifted back for a moment as an experiment, allowing you to approach her slowly. She reached out her hand, you moved forward nuzzling your head into her arms. 

Lily shifted back as you approached the exit to the willow. As you walked out of the passage, you saw your dad in his form, you wondered if that’s what you looked like too, you saw both your other dad and James’ heads tilt much like Lily’s did when they seen you. The rest of the night was spent running around, before you went back and slept for a while, when you woke up you were naked, Lily draped a blanket over you, giving you some fresh clothes before you headed out of the shack, greeted by your uncle and parents.

Remus despite looking a little rough was smiling brightly at you, walking over right away engulfing you in a hug. He was still upset every month you had to transform like him, but he was happy you weren’t infected with the same kind of lycanthropy, turns out something about the Lupine wolf strain allowed you to keep your senses, meaning you were respectively just an animagus wolf that could and only shift during full moons. Your other dad and uncle James told you how beautiful your wolf form was, saying it looked awesome.

Dumbledore told you since you were no threat to anyone you could spend full moons running around the outskirts of the forest near Hagrid’s. Over the summer before school started again, you told Jess and Cedric. They even snuck out to meet you on the last full moon before you headed off to Hogwarts. You told them since you shared a dorm with Jess, and she and Cedric where your closest friends, it was safer if only a few people knew, despite being virtually harmless there was still a sigma that surrounded those with lycanthropy in the wizarding word

During the next few years things were pretty normal for you, you got used to the transformations, Cedric and Jess even became animagus so they could run around with you on full moons. Cedric becoming a fox and Jess a dove. On one particular night, the three of you ran into the wolf that had bitten you, the wolf appeared to walk around you, after sniffing you it realised exactly who you were, as well as who the dove and fox which accompanied you were. After that night every month you were joined by that wolf along with the other that had gone to get Hagrid that night.

Your furry little problem didn’t hold you back, of course no one knew, even Hermione had no suspicions, she had figured out your dad was one but she was never suspicious of you, because a) you didn’t have scars (minus the one on your hip but no one could see that), b) you didn’t need days to recover after full moons and c) she didn’t notice you gone every full moon because you were a Hufflepuff

The twins and Lee eventually found out when you were in 6th year, because the full moon happened to fall on the night of the yule ball. Cedric felt awful he couldn’t join you both due to being a champion, but you and Jess reassured him it’ll all be okay. Fred had really wanted to ask you but you and Jess always seemed to be running off before he got the chance. 

On the night of the ball, he and George were on their way down to the Great Hall with Lee, when they saw you and Jess sneaking out of the castle. Of course, them being them they followed you, watching from afar as you approached the edge of the forest.

“Where in the name of sweet Merlin are they going?” Lee asked

“I don’t know Lee, maybe they decided instead of going to a once and a lifetime event, they’d go a jolly around the forbidden forest ” George said sarcastically, although he was half confused himself

“I don’t under…” Fred voice trails off as he sees you starting to take off your clothes

George and Lees eyes go wide immediately turning and falling to the ground, backs against the log they were just hiding behind, George looks up to see Freds still staring

“Fuck me” Fred breathes out, he couldn’t see much just the outline of your figure in your underwear, as you began to unclasp your bra he realised he really shouldn’t be looking and dipped down joining his brother and friend

“Grand, now you’ve finished being a pervert, why do you think she’s stripping?” George looks between the two even more confused than before

“Maybe Jess and Y/n are shagging?” Lee suggests casually

“Nah Jess likes Sam” George replies as if it was obvious

“Hold on a minute, how do you know that?” Fred looks at his brother, Lee joins him sitting up a bit “I concur how does George Weasley know gossip I don’t?”

“You know Freddie boy if you spent less time goggling at y/n, and you less time at my handsome mug you’d both notice that Sam and Jess have been making eyes since half way through 5th year, not to mention Jess looked heart broken when that Vella chick from Beubaxtions asked Sam to the ball”

“I don’t goggle, wait” Fred realises what George said about Lee “Hold on a minute when did you two…”

Their conversation is ended abruptly by a scream. The boys look up to see Jess was now gone, and you were bent over curled into a ball on your knees, clutching the grass as you cried in pain

“What the fuck…” George breathes out as the three boys watch you shift into a wolf

“Y/n’s a werewolf?” Lee states, his mouth wide open in shock, the boys turn to look at him before back at you, their expressions matching Lees

Fred watches at you’re joined by a dove flying around grabbing your attention as you follow it into the woods, he stares at your receding form, she looks beautiful. He knew he should have been scared but he wasn’t, how could he ever be scared of you.

“We need to leave now” George pulls his brother back trying to make him come back up to the castle

“What why?” Fred protests

“You remember nothing from last year, werewolves attack humans Freddie. She won’t mean to, but I don’t fancy being her late night snack”

The next day, the boys approached you, Jess and Cedric. You panicked a bit at first, trying to explain it away along with Jess and Cedric, but when they seemed to not care even offering to help you you relaxed. You told them Jess and Cedric were enough but if they could keep your secret, you would be forever thankful.

You felt relieved that Fred knew, now you didn’t have to build up the corage to tell him, your heart fluttered when he told you he wasn’t scared, even commenting in private that you looked beautiful in your wolf form.

When they asked how it happened you told them you were bitten near the end of 3rd year, you left you that you were a Lupine wolf, it didn’t seem relevant and it would only confuse them. After that things returned to normal, yours and their trio began to merge into one.

Things started to change a little the now you were in your final year. Your dad talked with you over summer that now you were 17 and growing up, your senses would become heightened along with your emotions as well. You both also had a really awkward conversation that Lily had to finish about how you would become more aroused during certain moons. All of that you could handle, but as your crush on a certain Weasley twin was growing with each passing day, something occured that neither you nor your father would have suspected.

“Your staring again” Jess whispers, breaking you out of your current gaze on the eldest twin

“Am not” you mutter, scrunching up your face, taking a bite out of your dessert

You look back up at your friends who seem to be giving you a look that screamed ‘really’

“Okay, okay maybe I was, but I can’t help it he’s just so handsome, and just look at the way his…” you sigh as you being to stare at him through the space between Jess and Cedric again, getting lost in a not innocent daydream as you get distracted in the way Fred’s muscles were flexing through his shirt

Cedric looks up from his meal at you, ready to tease you for getting lost in your little own little Fred bubble. As he does his eyes widen, nudging Jess to get her attention, she nudges him back before Cedric nods his head at you. Jess’ expression mirrors Cedrics, the both look around to making sure no one else has noticed as they grab your attention

“Y/n, y/n” Cedric grabs your wrists shaking it gently making you look at him

“What?” you snap before noticing the concern in his face “What’s wrong?”

Jess pulls out a small compact from her robe, handing it to you “Gal, your eyes”

You take the compact opening it, your eyes widen as you see them glowing yellow, before it slowly begins to fade. You slam the compact shut, causing most of the hall to look over in your direction, including both of your dads who are sitting at the head table. You were too caught up in your confusion over why your eyes were glowing to care, you look up to see Harry, he mouths ‘you okay’, you shake your head slightly. Harry nods his head towards the door, you stand up muttering ‘meet me by our spot later’ before heading out of the Great hall

Sirius was ready to stand up but stopped when he saw Harry get up and follow you out, meanwhile Fred, George and Lee stare in confusion

“You think she’s okay? Maybe I should go see if…” Fred started, standing slightly but George pulls him back down

Lee chuckles “Calm down lover boy, Harrys away after her I’m sure she’s fine mate”

“You think?” Fred asks staring at the exit to the great hall, usually he would tell Lee to knock it off when he teased him about you, but he was too worried to care in that moment

He’d had a crush on you since Ron had invited Harry over for Christmas during his and your 4th year, Harry brought you with permission from Molly as you were practically his sister being brought up together. After he learned of your secret, you started to hang out with the twins more, he had even gone to the library researching everything he could so he could understand how to help you. He noticed that before the full moon you were more irritable, but you would also blush more as well. He blushed himself when he read in some book werewolves tended to be more aroused before certain moons and how it could be worse for females when their ovulation syncs up.

He tested the water a couple times to see if you felt the same, like when he put his arm around you during the Hogsmeade trips to which you leaned into, or when he gave you his sweater to wear when it got a bit chilly up in the stands during the Ravenclaw vs Slytherin match, the same one he saw you wearing when you stayed in Ginny and Hermione’s dorm with Jess when you had a girls night a few days later. He was almost certain you liked him back, and he had decided that this year would be the one he finally made a move

“Y/n” Harry asked as he approched the spot in the library you always went when you were worried or upset

“Hi” you smile sadly up at him

Harry takes a seat next to you, giving you a small side hug, rubbing your back

“You want to talk about it?” you shake your head “Is there anything I can do to help?”

You look over at him, contemplating something for a moment

“Do you have your cloak on you?” he nods a little confused, yet intrigued at the same time “I need you to sneak me into the restricted section”

Harrys eyes widen at your request, “I mean…yeah sure, can I know why?”

“I need to find a book on Lupine wolves, I need to figure out what’s happening to me, my eyes they were…” you hesitate for a moment “…they were glowing yellow earlier”

“Wow, really?” he smirks a little, you nod “That’s so cool”

“Thanks, Harry” you chuckle a little before continuing “It is kinda cool, but…I can’t have my eyes glowing randomly, people will figure out pretty quickly somethings up”

Harry nods, taking out his cloak from his bag “Let’s go break into the restricted section then…we’re definitely marauders children” you giggle as Harry throws the cloak over you both

“Oh Helga!” Jess exclaims, as she and Cedric were unable to control their laughter

The three of you were currently sitting by black lake, showing them the books chapter, which described what was happening to you

Cedric was holding the book and his giggles as he recites the passage “A Lupine werewolves eyes change colour depending on the emotion they are feeling, it usually only occurs during the days prior to full moon or if the emotion is incredibly strong…” he starts breaking down in giggles so Jess takes over

“The colours represent different emotions, blue represents sadness and/or grief, red signifies anger, yellow…” she tries to hold in her giggles “yellow represents attraction and…lust during which the wolf in question desires to…mate!” She bursts out in laughter

“Guys shut up!” you bury your head in your hands, face going bright red

“Oh Merlin, I can’t believe Harry was there when you read it” Cedric laughs, clutching his stomach

“Poor kids not gonna be able to look at you for weeks knowing you were eye fucking Fre-”

“Jess!” you throw the grass you had been picking at towards her “It was so embarrassing, it was worse than when my dad tried to explain that once every few full moons I’d get…you know”

“…Extra randy” Jess winks, wiggling her eyes brows

“Alright, alright, enough teasing” Cedric moves next to you, wrapping an arm around you

“What am I going to do, I can’t control it! What if it happens again, I’ll freak him out”

“You could always tell him” Jess suggests

“Oh yeah! I’ll go right up to him and say…” you stand up gesturing to the air acting out your next sentence “Hi Fred, you know how I’m a werewolf well I’m not just a regular werewolf I’m a Lupine werewolf with magic eyes that tell you I want to mate and have all of your puppies”

“Puppies?” Cedric gives you a knowing look

“Oh...shut up” You sit back down burring your head between your legs, hands on your head groaning, “Seriously though what am I going to do?”

“The book says it’s only happening because it’s a few days before the full moon so just stay away from Fred during that time, we’ll help don’t worry. I think you should think about telling him though, don’t mention what your eyes mean just say it happens sometimes it’s a wolf thing, it’s not like we get taught that in class, he’d probably love it anyway” Jess has joined your other side now giving you a hug

“I’m not going to tell him it’s too embarrassing, plus Georgie told me that when he first found out I was a werewolf he did a bunch of research on how to help me. I’ll just avoid him until I find a way to control it”

“Maybe we could find a potion or something that could help hide it, that way you can still see him? Plus, the book says it’s all emotions, sure, they’ll probably be more sensitive to Fred but you could still get angry or nervous” Cedric suggests

“You really think we could find a way to hide it?” you look up at them with hope, they nod smiling at you as you all move in for a group hug

“No more teasing?” you ask your best friends

“Oh, little wolf, you know we can’t promise that” Cedric winks at you, you roll your eyes beginning to smile a bit

Over the next months you avoided Fred as much as you could, problem was something about the distance from him made your inner wolf cry. Jess and Cedric didn’t want to mention to you that when their latest potion to hide your glow failed, your eyes started to glow a faint blue. The longer you avoided Fred the more your eyes began to glow blue constantly during the days of the full moon, even when you had transformed.

Fred was growing worried about you, ever since that day in the hall you had ran out you had been acting weird. You started avoiding him like the plague, his heart ached when he saw you still spoke to everyone but him. At first, he thought maybe it was a bad transformation but it had been just over two months, he decided he had to get to the bottom of why you were avoiding him.

You were currently picking at your food, sitting with your back to Fred. Cedric and Jess were growing concerned, especially after she told him that last night you had been crying and your eyes had started glowing blue even though it was nowhere near a full moon

Fred stared over at the back of your head, almost as if he was trying to read your mind, figure out what was wrong.

“You alright?” George askes, he and Lee noticed your behaviour, it killed them to see how upset Fred was with your absence and as well as your own depressed mood.

They had tried to talk to Jess and Cedric, Fred had even approached them multiple times but they wouldn’t reveal anything, they just said it wasn’t their place to tell

“Yeah…I just wish I knew what was going on” Fred sighs putting his head on the table

“Hey guys…” Harry raised an eyebrow as he sits down “…what’s wrong with him?”

“Your sister from another mister has been avoiding him” George answers as Fred looks up at Harry

Fred had pin pointed that you had started acting strange after that day you ran out, he felt stupid for not asking Harry sooner, although Harry was a bit preoccupied pinning after his sister.

“What happened that day when you followed her out? It must have to have something to do with that, she’s been avoiding me since then”

Harrys cheeks heated up remembering what he read that day, he was so mortified. His mouth formed the shape of an ‘o’ as he realised Fred had been the cause of her problem, to which his face then formed into disgust, I really wish I had the courage to go sit with Gin now.

“What’s that face?” Fred looks at him almost matching his expression except his is laced with a mixture of concern and confusion “You know something, spill it” he points at him

“I…I know nothing” he stutters as he tries to rush the words out

“You so do know something. If you tell me I’ll put in a good word with my sister and you can have our blessing to date her” Fred bargains, in truth Harry always had their blessing and he knew for a fact Ginny already like him, but Harry didn’t know that

Harrys eyes widen as he thinks for a moment, damn it, they know she’s my weak spot

“Fine” he takes out a bit of parchment, writing the section the book was in, handing it to Fred “You are the only one who gets to see the contents, you two stay away” he points at George and Lee

“87, 88, 89…bingo” Fred pulls out the book from the shelf, sitting on a nearby desk he brushes off the cloak Harry lent him, Lupine wolf?

Fred reads the book, it was just on some kind of wolf that he had heard lived in the forbidden forest. As he finished he wondered why Harry told him to look as this book, why this was relevant, then it hit him, she was bitten by this kind of wolf. 

Fred then remembered Harry’s disgusted face from earlier as well as the way you wouldn’t even look in his direction anymore, or the way you would hide your face from him. Flicking back through to the chapters, he stopped on the passage about eyes, he started to blush as he read it again

A lupine werewolves eyes change colour depending on the emotion they are feeling, it usually only occurs during the days prior to a full moon or if the emotion is incredibly strong. The colours represent different emotions, blue represents sadness and/or grief, red signifies anger, yellow represents attraction and lust during which the wolf in question desires to mate, green symbolises the wolves love and adoration for their chosen mate, purple displays fear…

“She likes me” Fred breathes out, his face morphing into a cheeky one “She really likes me”

You were currently headed back from your last class of the day, you were able to leave early since you finished everything there was to do

“Y/n!”

You didn’t even need to turn to know who it was, it was then you realised there was nowhere to run this time. There was no one else around, you couldn’t run and lose him in a crowd like you usually would, and physically running away wouldn’t work considering you were dealing with a giant that could easily catch up

You sigh turning around, the full moon wasn’t for a couple week so your eyes shouldn’t act up, but seeing him after so long made your heart flutter, something inside you felt warm and fuzzy.

“Hi Freddie” you say shyly, fiddling with your hands

“Hey love” he smiles brightly at you, “How you been, it feels like forever since we spoke”

You bite your lip, looking down at the ground, you felt guilty avoiding him now “I’m doing okay” you answered although both of you knew it was a lie, the tone of your voice was low and broken, it made the boys heart hurt for you. He understood why you were avoiding him, he didn’t blame you in the slightest, he just wanted to let you know he felt the same way.

“What’s that?” your eyes widen seeing a very familiar cover poking out of his bag, you start to feel short of breath, he knows

“Oh…emm” Fred scratches the back of his neck, he freezes as he sees your eyes start to glow faintly, she’s scared, fuck say something, for the love of Godric Gryffindor himself say anything, don’t just stare at her

You look up, noticing his stare, turning your head to the side, you catch your reflection in the glass of the window, your eyes were purple, fuck fuck fuck

You stumble backwards a bit, as you do Fred notices your eyes are glowing brighter as you both can hear people starting to move about in the classrooms nearby. Fred launches forward grabbing and pulling you into a nearby broom closet.

“Hey you’re okay, you’re safe now. Please don’t be scared love” he pulls you into a hug, you tense up as he wraps his arms around you before you burry your head into his chest, breathing in his scent you relax instantly

After a few minutes you pull apart “You feel better” he places his hands on the sides of your shoulders looking down at you, “Yeah” he smiled seeing your eyes were no longer glowing

“Umm…Freddie…I” you struggle to form a sentence, you had absolutely no idea what to say

“Is this why you’ve been avoiding me?” you nod “Why didn’t you just tell me, you know I’d never judge you for anything” one of his hands move to push some hair out of your face

“I know you wouldn’t, it’s just I was embarrassed and I...I thought maybe it would freak you out. I mean it’s bad enough I’m a werewolf without having freaky magic eyes too” you let out a breathy laugh as you look anywhere but Fred’s eyes when you finish

“Look at me” he guides your face to look up at him “I love everything about you y/n, I love the way your nose scrunches up when you think, I love that you spent over a year perfecting the ability to mess with Pusey and his friends across the room using non-verbal magic, I love your smile, your laugh, Merlin I could go on for days if I you wanted me too. I love you just the way you are, wolfey powers and all”

He cups your face, “For what’s its worth...your eyes are beautiful darling” his eyes filled with love and adoration

As you look up at him you realise why he’s so happy, you could see the glow in the reflection of his eyes, they were glowing green

“I’d really like to kiss you now”

You nod, his smile widens before he dips down, capturing his lips with yours. You melt into the kiss, bringing your arms up around his neck. After a while you pull apart, panting a little as you both catch your breath.

He gives you a cheeky grin “So when do I get to see the famous yellow ones” he wiggles his eyebrows

“Fred!” You whine as you bury your head into his chest

a/n: I really like my lupine wolfs ability to change eye colour so I might use it in other stories, what do you think yes or no?

#fred weasley and reader #fred weasly x reader #fred and reader #fred weasley x you #fred weasley x y/n #fred weasley #friends to lovers #harrypotter #werewolf reader #werewolf #harry potter fanfiction #fred wealsey fic

[ragingbookdragon]

The morning sun is warm as it comes through the windows. The stained-glass portions paint the bedroom of the small cottage in a kaleidoscope of blues. The cozy room is nestled in the back of the cottage, the home tucked away from miles of traffic, the only living beings in the area are the cardinals sitting outside on the old iron fence and the deer grazing across the field yards away from the front.

There’s a pretty blue and black butterfly floating like cotton on the wind, dancing between the rose bushes in the garden and she watches as it settles on a deep red rose, its wings fluttering open and closed with ease, like it’s found the most comfortable landing.

The sleeping man beside her shifts and she freezes with the mug of apple cider in her hands, the steam billows as he settles once more with the turn of his head, facing away from the ever-brightening sunlight streaming in though the windows. The flannel sheet hugs his waist and practically traps him on his stomach, body stretched out with his arms dug under the pillow. The inky hair paints a stark contrast against the cream-colored pillowcase and his lashes brush the tips of his cheeks. She can see his eyes moving beneath his lids, he’s still dreaming about something, though it seems a rather calm dream as he breathes deeply and practically melts into the mattress and cushion.

The blues of the glass and the black lines that make the shadows cross over his amber shoulders and she can’t help but smile as it reminds her of his suit that’s been left behind in the manor miles and miles and miles away. He must’ve felt the bed shake from the quiet laughter she tried to hide because a single, striking, sky-blue eye cracks open and a lazy smile comes over his lips as he let’s one arm come from the burrow underneath his pillow to reach over and wrap around her thigh. He pulls himself, more like shuffling, until he can shove his face into the outside of her leg, warm breath rolling over her bare skin.

She removes one hand from the mug, ignoring the hurrying chill as the lack of heat fades away, in favor of carding into his inky black hair. He lets out a fond noise from the back of his throat and begins to settle once more, fingers brushing against her skin. His breathing evens out moments later as she sips the mug of cider in her hand, the other laid carefully at the base of his skull, comforting and safe.

The morning sun is warm as it comes through the windows and as the light shifts, crossing the bed and the floor to the wall, a cool sense of hope washes over her. The morning comes, a new day dawning, a new hope for the world.

#dick grayson x reader imagine #dick grayson x reader imagines #dick grayson x reader #dick grayson imagines #dick grayson imagine #dick grayson #nightwing x reader imagines #nightwing x reader imagine #nightwing x reader #nightwing imagines #nightwing imagine #nightwing #batfamily x reader imagine #batfamily x reader imagines #batfamily x reader #batfamily imagines #batfamily imagine #batfamily #dc imagines #dc imagine #dc comics #dc

[specialagentlokitty]

Mr Evershed x Student!reader - Let me help

Purely platonic!Mr Evershed or Mr Bell x student reader who takes them in when they realise their home life is shit and helps them cope? - Anon 💜

A/N: this will contain mentions of an abusive parent, please read with caution!

Standing in front of the school gates, you had you hands stuffed in your pockets as you stared at the teacher in front of you.

“Move.” You grumbled.

“I’m afraid I can’t Miss (L/N), you know it’s against the rules to leave school without permission before 3pm.” Me Evershed said with a smile.

You rolled your eyes at him and walked to another part of the fence, all the while he followed along the fence.

“Can we at least talk about it?” He asked.

“Fuck off!” You yelled.

No matter which way you tried to get out he blocked your path. Finally you gave up, and settling for sitting on the floor behind the school.

Mr Eversehd sat next to you, resting his arms on his knees.

“Oh my god go away!” You weakly pleaded.

“Not until you tell me what’s going on Miss (L/N). You’re usually a well behaved student, so seeing your recent behaviour is a huge red flag.”

You frowned, pulling your phone out your pocket, you picked up.

“What?... fuck off! No I won’t get lost!... do it then I dare you!”

You hung up, Mr Evershed watched as you stood up and paced before grabbing your phone, throwing it into the wall.

In a fit of rage and fear, you lashed out, and punched the wall. Instantly pain surged through your hand but you didn’t care, you let it limply drop by your side, blood trickling between your knuckles.

“Now, we’ll have none of that.” Mr Evershed said gently.

He walked over to you, placing his hand on your shoulder his eyes shot open in shock when you slapped his hand away, gazing at him in pure fear.

“I’m sorry...” you whispered.

You quickly ran, leaving the teacher unsure what to do.

You hid for the whole day, hiding in the bathrooms. As the final school bell came, you took this as your chance to try and sneak out, making your way through the crowds of people you kept your head down.

“Miss (L/N), can we have a work please?”

You stopped, not only was the very teacher who contfronted you earlier there, but there was also a police officer, the principal and a another woman you didn’t recognise.

“We just want a chat (Y/N), that’s all.” Miss Carter smiled.

You frowned heavily, backing away a few steps, pretty much all students had left now, so thankfully no one had to see this.

While looking around you tried to find anybskrt of escape route that you could.

“(Y/N)!” You jumped, staring at the gates in pure fear.

The same man who plagued your nightmares was storming his way towards you. Frozen to your spot in fear, you stared at him as he stood right in front of you.

“Sir! You can’t be here!” Miss Carter yelled.

“Fuck of!” He yelled.

He turned to you, a sneer on his face.

“You dare speak to me that way you little fucking brat!?”

He raised his hand and you squeezed your eyes shut waiting for the impact. But it never came, you heard the smack, but never felt the pain.

There was a lot of shouting, and you finally opened your eyes and you fell to your knees, tears streaming down your face.

Mr Evershed turned around, blood dripping from his nose. He knelt down and smiled warmly at you.

“It’s okay now, you’re okay.” He said gently.

You cried ever harder and he looked to the others for some indication on what to do, but they weren’t paying attention.

After what felt like hours you were pulled into a meeting where they were trying to decide how to go about this.

“Is there anywhere you can stay for now?” Miss Carter asked.

You shook your head, rubbing the dried blood from your skin.

“There’s a foster house out of town we place her in for now.” The officer replied.

“No, I’ll take her if that’s alright.”

Everyone including you snapped your head towards Mr Evershed.

“It’s a bit inappropriate isn’t it?” Miss Carted asked him.

“I don’t mean for it to be, it’s simply a lot has happened, (Y/N) is in the middle of doing her GCSE’s and removing her from her whole support network won’t help.”

“That makes sense I suppose. Are you sure you want to take her on? We aren’t sure how long it’ll be for.” Miss Carter sighed.

“I’m sure. It’s not right just to abandon a student in the middle of something like this.”

“Well, I don’t think it should be a problem. She is old enough to decide for herself, is that okay with you?” The officer asked you.

“I... guess yeah...”

It was settled, the officer went to your house to grab your things and you were taken with Mr Evershed.

You sat on the floor of the room he gave you when there was a soft knock on the door and it was gently pushed open. He held up a bag and a medical kit.

“Got some fish and chips, want some?”

You didn’t speak and he sighed, coming in he sat against the wall opposite you.

“Are we going to clean up that hand?”

Again you didn’t reply, it was like you were in a total mental breakdown, you were completely shut off.

“(Y/N), I know you’re scared. I can’t pretend to understand what’s going on in your head because I don’t, but I’m only here to support you, to help you.”

You briefly met his gaze and reached out, taking the medical kit, you wordless began to grab everything you needed with one hand, but it was a struggle.

Mr Evershed could do nothing else but watch, he wouldn’t intervene unless you asked him too.

He watched as you expertly tended to your hand, as if you’d done it a thousand times and it made him hurt.

“How often have you done this?” He asked quietly.

“Far too many...” you mumbled.

“I won’t force you to tell me anything, I also won’t force you to go into school for the next few days. But remember I’m here for you, when you wanna talk, I’m all ears.”

You watched him stand and leave the room, you found it weird how quiet the house was, there was no loud noises or anything.

It wasn’t a feeling you were used to. You didn’t dare leave the room, but finally you worked up the courage too, quietly making you way around.

Of course the teacher knew you were padding about, but he said nothing, simply left you too it because he was hoping eventually you would open up to him and let someone help

#ackley bridge #Martian evershed

[ao3komorii]

Lost Love’s Ruination (Viego/Reader)

Done at last! Was desperate to get this one out before Isolde was released for obvious reasons, so glad I got it done xD Once again, I tried to make it that you don't need any lore knowledge to get what's going on, though I would recommend maybe watching Ruination (the league short). Also no apologies for all the Senna because I love herrrrr

As a warning, there is smut at the end. Hope you enjoy it :) ----

A woman’s body, her beauty spoiled in apparent death, was lowered into beautiful crystalline waters. You couldn’t see who was lowering her into the water, or who stood around viewing the scene. You never could.

As it always did, the water grew poisoned with death as the woman revived from the dead, her features twisted with anger and confusion. Like a caged animal that had been freed, she lashed out, ripping a great blade out of someone’s grasp, and before you could react, the blade was plunged into your chest.

With a gasp, you woke up, your body broken out in a cold sweat, like it always did when you had that particular dream. You had had that dream many times before, but it never got any less terrifying. Long ago, you had considered visiting a dream reader to decipher what the horrifying nightmare meant, but you were scared that you would be told you were cursed and gave up on ever knowing.

It was a relief that most days you didn’t have much time to worry about your nightmares. You had been working on a farm in rural Demacia ever since you had been taken in at age four. You had been told that you were the only survivor of a fire, but you had been so young that you had no memories of the fire, or of your parents.

The owner of the farm had given you a home, but he was far from being family. You were given enough food to survive, but no more, and it was always contingent on you working on the farm seven days a week. You were grateful to have a bed to sleep in at night, even as hard as it was, but couldn’t help but feel some envy watching the other girls in your town go about their lives without the responsibilities that you had.

You might as well get up, even with how early you had woken up. Today was sheep shearing day, the longest day of the year for you. The sheep liked you more than they liked the owner, so that meant that you were stuck shearing all the sheep by yourself while he went to the town bar all day.

Putting on your old and worn boots with a sigh, you wished you could find a way out of this life. But you had no skills besides farming, and no money. The only way a girl like you could get out of this life was to marry a likely-older man, and that was something you wanted to avoid at all costs. The owner’s brother had previously expressed an interest in you, but luckily for you the owner hated his brother, or you would have likely had to live on the streets to avoid that marriage made in hell.

The owner was out in the field feeding the sheep when you exited the farmhouse. He glanced up at you, but you knew better than to expect a good morning, instead heading towards the small shed to fetch your shears.

Only when you returned to the field did he finally speak up. “Have some buyers comin’ for the wool tomorrow, so make sure it’s done today.”

“Right,” you answered. He was always the gruff, no-nonsense type, so you knew by now that talking back would get you nowhere. You had learned that lesson soon after you had come to this place twenty years ago. He was your employer, not your father, and he made sure you never forgot that.

“Alright, I’m off then,” he said, giving the field of sheep one more look over before heading inside to change out of his overalls.

You finished setting your things up as the owner left for the bar. You watched as he headed down the road, knowing that he wouldn’t be back until late. You didn’t really mind when he was gone, even if that meant you had a larger workload; he never seemed to have any interest in you other than what you could do on the farm, so he wasn’t one for long conversation. Without him around, you were at least able to relax and work without feeling like you had someone breathing down your neck to finish faster.

Luckily, the sheep were more than willing to listen to your worries, even if they didn’t understand what you were saying.

“I just want to stop having that dream,” you said as you began shearing one of your favorite sheep, Tulip. The owner had no interest in naming his livestock, so the job was left to you. Names didn’t make a difference to the owner, but it made a big difference to you, even as sad as it was to have your only friends be farm animals.

“I just wish I could make them go away,” you told the uninterested sheep. “Things would be much easier if I could dream about grass like you probably do, Tulip.”

Tulip turned her head to face you and you sighed, petting her freshly-sheared back. You always felt silly talking to the sheep, but it wasn’t like you had any better options around here.

Every time you had dreamed of a more exciting life, you had backed down and given up on your plans. Beyond your lack of money or skills, you knew very little about the world outside your small farming town. You had only been outside the town once, many years ago when you went with the owner to help pick out some new livestock from a larger town.

As your life stood right now, you had very little idea of what your future would be like. Would you eventually get tired of this life and set out on your own, get married off, or stay here until you were old and gray? None of those options seemed particularly appealing to you, but for now, all you could do was sit here and talk to sheep about your nightmares, wishing you could have a chance to see more of the world than your small town.

It was already a pretty warm day, and handling heavy sheep’s wool wasn’t helping. You had sheared about half the sheep by midday, but your work had been slowing down, likely due to your poor night of sleep. You would have to pick up the pace considerably if you wanted to finish in time to get any sleep tonight.

You had been pushing through your increasing thirst for at least an hour in the name of finishing on time, but had finally given in and headed inside for some water. Your dry throat ached, but the water was still nice, as you knew the owner would be upset if you passed out from dehydration before you finished your day’s work.

As much as you didn’t want to go back out there, you knew you had to work to earn your keep. It was a little harder to stay focused on work when you were dirty, sweaty and covered in balls of wool, but you had to push through and just look forward to a nice bath after the day was done.

You paused to stretch as you stood before the front door, knowing it would be back to work as soon as you were back outside. Stretching only served to emphasize how sore you were feeling after several hours of tedious work, with many more still to go. That was the same reason why you hadn’t bothered to pick the excess wool off of your clothes; why bother when you would look like a patchy sheep by the end of the day anyways?

Saying goodbye to your brief moment of rest, you opened the door at last, reluctantly ready to get back to work. Looking out over the area, you were surprised to see the field in more chaos than you had left it.

Your stool had been knocked over, but that was easy enough to fix; your real problem came from the sheep. You had expected them to wander around the field while not under your supervision, but the scene before you was something you had never experienced before.

The sheep were all crowded along the fence that faced the way into town. Walking closer, you could see nothing along the road that led past other farms and into town, at least nothing that would catch the attention of the entire flock of sheep. The dirt road was clear, the only noise around drifting over from the other nearby farms, but that wasn’t unusual.

You walked closer to the sheep, still unsure of what their problem was. You had never seen them act like this before, not even when large carts would pass by them travelling on the road. Could they see something that you couldn’t? You had never heard of sheep having supernatural senses, but were having a difficult time coming up with any other explanation for their sudden strange behavior.

Approaching the sheep, you tried to gently pry one away from the fence, but it wouldn’t budge, digging its hooves into the ground with an indignant bleat. You tried the same tactic with several other sheep, but were met with the same stubborn refusal to move. Even Tulip rebuffed you, regardless of any pleading on your part. What was wrong with these sheep?

You covered your eyes with your hands, taking a deep breath to try and calm yourself down. You really didn’t need this right now. You had a job to do, and a limited amount of time to get the job done or the owner would surely be upset with you. You would have to do whatever it took to get the sheep to comply with you, even if the owner was unhappy with you using extra hay as a bribe.

Before you could return your focus to the sheep in front of you, you were interrupted by a loud bleating from all around you. Removing your hands from your eyes, you looked around you to the flock of loudly-bleating sheep, and then back to the still-empty area ahead of you, still utterly confused as to what was happening.

All of a sudden, the sheep were desperate to be anywhere but where they were as they all turned and fled away from the fence. Unfortunately, you were unable to move in time and were sent falling to the ground, which was not helping your already-sore back. Sitting up with a groan, you lamented how rough your day was going, at least until you looked out at the scene beyond the fence.

Where there had been nothing out of the ordinary before, now you could see something that was not there before. Far off in the horizon, so far that you had to squint to see it, was a patch of dark black-green in the sky.

Standing up, you leaned over the fence, trying to see what it was when suddenly the patch grew bigger, or as you realized with a gasp, it was getting closer. The horrible black-green sky got closer still, close enough for you to tell that it was not sky after all, but a thick, dark mist, and it seemed to be closing in on your small town.

And then your world was swallowed by black.

Senna sat in the small boat, watching as the black-green mist began to dissipate, knowing that its creator had vanished as well. She could feel nothing but guilt and dread; she had failed not only herself, but all of Runeterra. Now that the ruined king had the memories, he was one step closer to achieving his goal, and then his focus would turn to the world that he felt had let him down.

“We have to find the girl,” Senna said suddenly, watching as the last of the mist faded from the cliff they had just been on.

“The girl?” Lucian asked.

Senna turned to face her husband. How often she forgot that Lucian hadn’t seen what she had seen, didn’t know what she knew. But this was no time to get lost in the past, not when so much was at stake.

“His wife died a long time ago,” she began as Lucian took hold of the boat’s steering wheel. “I’ve held her memory within me since the mist came to my island when I was a child. Now that he has her memory, he will seek out her body to reunite the two.”

“He’s looking for a thousand-year-old corpse?” Lucian sounded dubious.

“No,” Senna sighed ruefully. “His wife was reborn, but she has no memories of her past life. He thinks that he can force her memory into her new body and return her to his side.”

Only when it got closer did you realize the true amount of trouble you were in. The dark mist began to swallow the land, the sky, covering everything in its path as it headed straight towards your farm.

As it got even closer, you began to see more detail in the ominous mist, taken aback when you noticed ethereal green streaks in the mist that crawled along the black mist as if they were alive. This was no ordinary storm, no, this mist looked downright sinister. You stared, frozen with terror, until the screams from one of the neighboring farms snapped you out of your petrified stupor.

You had to run. Now.

You backed up a few steps, knowing that you had to leave but afraid to take your eyes off of the rapidly-approaching deathly black mist. Turning around at last, you ran across the field and towards the woods beyond the back gate of the property, hoping to find some safety within the dense forest.

The sheep had already got there first and were trying to break down the back gate to escape. The field was large, as you also had many crops growing, sections of which had been trampled underfoot by the terrified animals as they fled.

You were halfway across the field when the sheep scattered, bleating loudly as they gave up on the back gate, running instead to cower in their pen. As they moved away from the gate, you noticed with horror that the black mist was now rolling out from the woods as well. Stopping in your tracks, you looked around you, only to see that the mist was coming at the farm from every direction. You were trapped, and the mist was only getting closer to engulfing you.

Desperately looking for any way out of your impending death, you caught sight of the farmhouse. If you couldn’t escape this mist, then maybe you could delay its effects by hiding in the cellar of the farmhouse long enough for help to arrive. It was the only option you could see other than waiting here to die, so you took it.

Your legs were burning from all the sprinting you had been doing in the last few minutes, but you couldn’t stop, not when it was the cellar or certain death. You were almost to the farmhouse, so close you could almost feel the temporary safety within your grasp, when the looming mist beat you there, swallowing the house into its depths just as you were about to reach the door.

Jerking back with a scream, you backed away from the writhing mist, not wanting it to touch your skin. By now, the mist had surrounded the farm, so close to you that you could no longer see the fences that surrounded the property.

You stood still, having nowhere to run as the mist surrounded you on all sides. Shaking with fear, you were surprised when the mist stopped advancing, leaving you in the middle of a circular patch of field.

You watched with wide eyes, waiting for the mist to swallow you, but it didn’t come any closer. You weren’t dead, but it wasn’t like this situation was much better. You couldn’t fight off a supernatural mist with sheep shears, and even if you could, they were on the ground somewhere in that mist.

The farmland was deathly silent; you could no longer hear the screams of your neighbors or the bleating of the sheep. Now that it was so close and with nowhere to go, you had nothing to do but stare at the mysterious fog that surrounded you.

It was dark, so dark that you couldn’t see through it, the sickly green streaks running around the edge of the mist like circling sharks. Following them with your eyes, you struggled to figure out what they were. You had a very limited worldview to draw on, the only comparison coming to mind being like a ghoul described to you in stories when you were a child.

You weren’t sure what was happening; the mist had swallowed everything else without mercy, so why were you a different case? You weren’t left waiting long, as the mist gave way to a tall figure who entered into the open section of field.

He was tall and ethereally pale, clothed all in black, which contrasted sharply with his short, wavy silver hair. Looking at his well-defined torso, you realized that he was too pale; his face and shirtless torso were gray-white, like all the life had been drained from him.

His outfit was simple, a black pair of pants and dark cropped jacket, obsidian armor covering his arms and legs. More than anything, your eyes were drawn to two unusual features; on his head was a sharp three-pointed crown the same color of the ghouls still circling you, and on his chest was a black triangle, so dark that it seemed like it was a bottomless hole.

His eyes glowed with a supernatural light, a shiver running down your spine as your eyes met his. Immediately, he began to stride towards you, sending you into a panic.

There was nowhere to go but into the mist, and that wasn’t an option, but that didn’t mean you wanted the ghostly man anywhere near you. You clutched your hands to your chest, backing up as far as you could without entering the mist, but the man would not be deterred.

His eyes never strayed from yours, his gaze so intense that you felt it hard to look away from. With nowhere to run, he was quickly upon you, but to your great surprise, he came to a stop before you.

He raised one gloved hand, and you flinched as he reached towards you, stunned when the hand came up to gently cup your cheek. Shaking with fear, you stared at him, scared to even breathe and attract his ire.

“My love,” came his voice, gravelly and in an accent that you did not recognize. “Finally you return to me.”

“Who are you?” you whispered, shivering from the cold of his armor-tipped fingers against your skin.

His head tilted slightly to the side, as if he was appraising you. You wanted to shrink away from his gaze, to remove his hand from your face, but you were terrified of upsetting him and risking yourself. As stagnant as your life was, it was your life, and you didn’t want to die here.

“You do not remember me,” he spoke softly, voice laced with disappointment. “A shame. But you will soon.”

You were scared to ask him what he meant, but felt relieved as he finally pulled his hand away from your cheek. Your relief was short-lived as his hand instead went to lay over the deep black triangle on his chest. Now that he was so close to you, the triangle truly did look like it was made of endless darkness. You could see no flesh in the black space; it looked like a keyhole to a dimension of utter black, the sight of it reminding you of the black mist that swirled around you.

There was also the fact that he had spoken to you like he knew you. You had never seen this man before, that you knew for sure. The only part of your life that was hazy was your life before the fire that had claimed your home and parents, but you couldn’t imagine meeting this ghoulish man back then and not remembering him.

You inhaled sharply when out of his chest materialized an orb of wiry light. The strands of light that made up the orb buzzed with energy, and seemed to act as a sort of cage for a small white light in the center that looked like a flickering flame. You knew that it was not natural; but no matter how long you stared at it, you would not be able to place its origins.

The orb was so bright, and felt very out of place in the void of darkness that you were currently trapped in as its light helped to illuminate the face of the stranger before you.

Even with how deathly pale he was, his face was still handsome, jawline sharp and free of even stubble. No matter how much you stared at his face, you couldn’t tell how old he was; he looked around your age, but also had the aura of someone or something much, much older. He looked down at the thrumming orb with a strange fondness in his eyes before he turned his attention back to you.

“I have missed you so dearly, Isolde,” he said as he began to bring the orb towards you.

“No, please!” you cried out in response.

You weren’t sure what that orb was; all you knew was that you didn’t want it touching you. He didn’t seem to hear your desperate pleas as the orb got closer and closer to your chest. You had nowhere to run, and nobody to save you from this ghostly lunatic.

The orb was almost at your chest, a tear dripping down your cheek as you stared down at it, and then everything was light.

You closed your eyes against the bright light, but were surprised to feel no pain. Hearing a male grunt, you opened your eyes as the light beyond your eyelids faded as quickly as it had come.

Looking around you, you saw the stranger across the field, the orb on the grass nearby. Immediately, you noticed that the area was better lit, looking over to see a large split in the dark mist that led across the field to a figure holding a large metallic device.

“Hurry!” Came the call from the figure, too far away for you to see them in much detail.

A snarl from behind you had you looking back to see the strange man getting up, the sight spurning you into action. You made a mad dash for the gap in the mist, ignoring the stranger’s angered calls for you to stop. You didn’t recognize the figure in the distance, but you would take any help you could get as you sprinted towards them.

As you got closer, you noticed that the figure you were running towards was a woman. She was dressed in black and white, gold-accented dreadlocks hanging out of one side of her white hood. You couldn’t place the large metal device that she held; you had never seen anything like it before.

“You will not interfere!”

You glanced behind you, seeing the stranger following behind you, now holding a sword that was longer than he was tall, aglow with supernatural energy. The sight of him, of the fury in his eyes tripped you up, sending you tumbling to the ground.

You scrambled to your feet, but the delay was enough that he was rapidly catching up to you. The look in his eyes froze you in your tracks, only able to manage small steps backward until your arm was suddenly grabbed from behind.

You yelped as you were picked up and then quickly deposited back on the ground a short distance away from where you had been. Looking over, you saw a man in white standing protectively in front of you, twin pistols raised and pointed at the silver-haired man with the sword.

He quickly turned his head back to face you. “Go.” When you hadn’t moved after a few seconds, he barked the order again, his deep voice loud and commanding.

You nodded rapidly before turning to run, hoping that the man would be okay. You knew that you wouldn’t feel confident facing that ghoulish man down, but the man that had come to your rescue seemed to exude a quiet confidence, so you had to trust that he would be okay as you desperately sprinted towards the woman and her strange weapon-like device.

As soon as you were in her reach, she pulled you behind her. You saw the man who had saved you facing off with the sword-wielding stranger, rapidly firing bolts of light at him while narrowly dodging blows from the giant sword.

“Is he okay?” you asked, consumed with worry.

The woman nodded. “He can handle himself. We need to get you out of here while Viego is distracted.”

“Viego?” you echoed, turning your gaze from the fight in front of you to meet her startlingly green eyes.

“I’ll explain everything when we’re away from this place,” she answered, resting her large weapon against her shoulder. “We need to go.”

You were reluctant to leave the man fighting alone, but you had no power to help him. You couldn’t insist on staying here when it would doom all three of you.

As you and the woman ran towards the road, your thoughts turned to the owner, your neighbors… your whole town. Hopping over the fence, you found yourself facing down a wasteland.

The nearby farms looked like they had been hit by a tornado, fences broken and chunks of wood gouged out of houses. You couldn’t see anyone around but you and the woman at your side. Just an hour ago, those farms had been full of life, and now, nothing.

You were led around a bend in the road, where a metal cart waited with two large creatures hitched to it. One of the creatures turned its head to look at you and you stared back, trying to figure out what exactly it was.

“Greathorns,” the woman answered your unspoken question. “They’re very reliable.”

You nodded your head slowly; you felt like you had heard the owner mention greathorns before, but you knew that you had never seen one in person. They were bigger than any horse you had seen, with beige beardlike tufts of hair under their chins and large jagged horns that almost looked like a dragon’s wing sprouting from their heads.

The woman looked like she was about to say something, but she was interrupted by a horrible guttural screech from the direction you had just fled from. You met eyes with the woman, feeling unnerved when you noticed the worry in her expression.

Your momentary panic was shattered as a figure zipped around the corner. You were relieved to see that it was the man in the white jacket, though his clothing looked considerably more scuffed up than it had a few minutes ago.

“Is he–” the woman started to say.

“He’s down for now, but we have to go,” the man answered, running over to join you at the cart.

They both sprang into action, the woman placing her weapon into the cart before jumping in herself and helping you in while the man took his place at the reins, spurning the greathorns into movement.

You turned back to try and see what had become of the farm you had called home for most of your life. The dark mist still lingered over the farm, but it was getting thinner by the second. You didn’t see the strange man, the owner, or even the sheep. It was almost unbelievable how quickly your entire way of life had been decimated; as you watched the ruined farm get farther and farther away, you wondered if you would ever return.

You hadn’t realized that you had dozed off until you were being gently nudged awake. You weren’t surprised you had fallen asleep after the day you had, combined with the long cart ride.

You opened your eyes to see the woman who had rescued you, who offered a kind smile your way when she noticed that you were awake. “We’re here.”

“Here…?” you replied sleepily, before your attention was drawn to the scene around you.

You felt like you were in a world straight out of a fairy tale. Tall buildings made of polished white stone surrounded you, much more extravagant than anything you had ever seen before. The roads were paved, people in fancy dress and armor milling about. You were in awe of the fashion, suddenly feeling like a country bumpkin in your wool-covered overalls.

“Welcome to Demacia City,” the man said, steering the cart to a waiting stable.

You got off of the cart with shaky feet, feeling overwhelmed by the reality of the big city you had always dreamed of visiting. Looking out at the beautiful architecture of the city, you only wished you could have come here under better circumstances. The beautiful city instantly dulled in your eyes when you thought back to the state of your hometown, desolated by the dark mist.

“I thought it would be better to let you sleep,” the woman’s voice broke through the fog in your brain and you turned to look at her. “Now that we have a moment to breathe, I thought we should introduce ourselves. My name is Senna, and this is my husband Lucian.”

Lucian nodded to you when he was introduced, and you shyly gave your name back. Once the introductions had been made, you followed Senna through the streets after she had insisted that it would be safer to explain everything once you had arrived at a more secure location.

The more secure location ended up being a large building at the edge of town, the inside of the building a large circular chamber. You could see a few doors on the other side of the chamber, but didn’t get to see where they led as Senna stood in the center of the room, the light from a glass panel far above her bathing her form in a gentle glow. Lucian stood close to his wife, and you came to a stop a few feet away, nervous for what you were about to hear.

“Alright, so the start of this all goes back over a thousand years ago,” Senna started, the sheer amount of time involved stunning you. “That man… Viego… he was a king back then.”

“He was the king of Demacia?” you blurted out. It was hard to imagine someone so ghoulish and cruel being the king of Demacia, even a thousand years ago.

“Not here,” Lucian denied with a shake of his head. “A long-dead empire on a continent east of here.”

Another continent? You had never even heard of another continent; the farthest your geographical knowledge went were the other kingdoms that bordered Demacia. But if he was from another continent…

“…then how did he get here?” you voiced your sudden thought, watching as Senna’s expression hardened, as if your words hurt her to think about.

After a pause, she answered. “Viego was a poor king who instead focussed all of his attention on a peasant girl he had made his wife, Isolde.”

An unsettling feeling made its way into your stomach as Senna spoke her name, but you kept your feelings in, not wanting to interrupt her story.

“With his attention on Isolde, Viego did not govern. Wanting to be rid of their useless king, assassins came to take Viego’s life, but their aim was misplaced. Their poison dagger sliced the arm of the queen, who fell deathly ill from the toxin.”

As her story went on, the bad feeling got worse and worse. It was not at all helped by the knowledge of your mystery scar, the one on your arm that you had no memory of ever getting in the first place. Still, you kept quiet and listened.

“To cure his wife, Viego brought her to the Blessed Isles, but she didn’t survive the journey and was brought as a corpse,” Senna explained. “The elders refused him entry, as the blessed waters could not bring back the dead, but Viego forced his way through.”

You were beginning to have a hard time breathing, terror seeping into your skin as you thought about that dream, the same dream you had been having most of your life. You felt compelled to listen to rest of Senna’s story, even if you suspected that you knew how it would end.

“Isolde was angry and confused after being ripped from death. She stabbed Viego with his own sword, the touch of the ancient sword to the blessed waters turning the whole island into unlife. Viego’s death is what created the Shadow Isles.”

The Shadow Isles? You had thought they were just a myth. Everyone in your town had heard of the terrifying land that was said to be cursed with unlife, its residents thralls to the terrible curse. It had been said that anyone who ventured to the Shadow Isles would lose themselves to death and madness, but you had only heard the place mentioned by parents trying to discourage their children from behaving badly, telling them that the monsters from the from the isles would come and get them if they didn’t behave themselves.

You knew what was coming, but you couldn’t bear to say it out loud, feeling like the words were too horrifying for you to speak. Thankfully, Senna decided at last to get to the heart of the matter.

“Viego took Isolde’s memory from me, and now he intends to reunite her memory with her body,” Senna said, her eyes tinged with regret. “And that is why he’s after you.”

“So then that orb…” your voice trailed off as you thought about the ball of light that had nearly been forced upon you.

“Isolde’s memory from when she was alive,” Lucian confirmed. “Senna has had it with her for a long time.”

“And you think that I’m…” You couldn’t bring yourself to say it.

“Yes,” Senna confirmed gently. “You are the reincarnation of Isolde. Viego would not have come after you if you weren’t.”

“But I’m not… I’m just a farmhand…”

You knew that she was right. There was no other explanation, but you still didn’t want to believe it. You were a farm worker, not a long-dead queen. Yesterday you had been pulling carrots out of the ground, and today you were on the run from a demented king who believed he could use your body to bring back his dead wife. You didn’t have an exciting life, but it was yours, and you didn’t want to lose it to fulfil Viego’s twisted obsession.

Senna and Lucian had stayed silent, giving you a moment to try and calm yourself down, which you appreciated. You would probably cry about it tonight, but for now you would stay as strong as you could. You were used to talking about your feelings with the animals on the farm, but felt uncomfortable with being overly emotional in front of other people, considering the main person you talked to was the owner, and he was not one for heartfelt conversations.

“We won’t let him have you,” Senna promised.

“And besides, after what I did to him, he’ll need a few days to recover his strength,” Lucian added.

“Thank you both,” you said, bowing your head low. “If it wasn’t for you, I don’t even want to think about where I’d be.”

“Raise your head,” Senna said gently. You looked up to see her with a smile on her face, which made you feel a bit better. “Don’t go thanking us yet. Not until we send Viego back into the darkness for good.”

“Can we really stop him?” you asked.

“We’ll sure try,” she replied as you silently wished you had the confidence that she did. “But first, we have something else to do.”

You bit your lip, unsure of what she meant. What could be more important than dealing with the looming threat of Viego’s return?

“You’ve never left that town, have you?” Senna asked with a raised eyebrow, and you nodded. “How would you like to see the city?”

“But don’t we have to–”

“I’ll handle the work for now,” Lucian cut in. “We haven’t been back here in some time and Senna might aim her gun my way if she doesn’t get some downtime.”

“Me?” Senna replied with mock incredulity. “You were the one going on about missing Demacian sugar rolls.”

Lucian didn’t look bothered by his wife’s sass, staring at her with a pout until she relented with a smile and a shake of her head. “…we’ll get you some when we’re out.”

“Thank you kindly,” Lucian replied fondly.

After giving Lucian a quick kiss goodbye, Senna turned back to you, gesturing towards the door. “Ready to get a look at what the city is really like?”

You had thought the streets of Demacia City were big, but found yourself thoroughly blown away by the sheer size of the grand plaza in the center of the city. It was mostly empty now, but according to Senna, the entire space was packed with people when they held special events. It was hard to believe that you were standing in a place where wars had been declared and kings had been crowned.

The marketplace was less spacious, but no less overwhelming. Merchants of all types lined the streets, selling wares you could only dream of before today.

It was in the market that you got to try one of the sugar rolls that Lucian was so fond of, the crystalized sugar melting on your tongue. With so many new sights and smells, you were having a hard time deciding where to look, at least until you laid eyes on a colorful stand selling various types of clothing items.

Walking a bit closer while Senna perused some metalwork from a nearby shop, you found your attention drawn to a dress hanging on one of the racks in front of the seller. It was short, probably knee-length at best, and the same light blue as the sky. The dress was simple, with long sleeves and an a-line skirt, but it was the finer details that had caught your eye; sewn into the hem of the skirt and collar of the dress were little white birds in flight across the fabric.

You had never seen such intricate design work; in your town, people wore practical clothing for working; there was no need for a nice dress when you were just going to get mud all over it anyways. The more you saw of this place, the more you began to feel dissatisfied with how you had been living up until now. But then again, you may not live at all beyond the next few days, not if the ruined king got ahold of you. What a mess you had made of your own life, and Senna and Lucian’s as well.

“You know you’re not a burden, right?” Senna’s voice right behind you snapped you right out of your thoughts and you turned to look at her, her green eyes piercing right through you.

“I, uh…” You weren’t sure how to answer her as you processed her words. It was hard to think of yourself as anything but a burden; your existence itself had caused your town to be invaded by a long-dead king from the Shadow Isles, and now Senna and Lucian had to protect you or face the destruction of the entirety of Runeterra. You were an incredible burden.

“No, none of that,” Senna said, shaking her head with a smile, before her voice turned serious. “You’re a person with feelings and desires. You don’t deserve to be used in Viego’s plot to bring back his queen. You are worthy of being helped, so don’t you dare think otherwise.”

You were stunned speechless. You wanted to refute her words, but the look in her eyes was telling you that doing so would be a bad idea. Instead, you nodded reluctantly, and her stern face finally relaxed back into a smile.

“Good, then we’re going to practice being confident,” she said. “If we don’t work on your confidence, then you’ll never be able to stop fearing those who reside in the dark.”

She was right. You knew she was. “…okay.”

“See that dress over there?” Senna asked, jerking her chin towards the blue dress with the white bird trim. “You like it, right?”

You stiffened. You thought that she had been perusing the metal works being sold, but clearly she had been paying more attention to you than you had given her credit for.

“…it’s nice,” you admitted at last. “I’ve never owned a dress before. The owner of the farm said they would just get ripped and dirty.”

“I think we should get it then,” Senna replied, voice quieting so the seller couldn’t hear her next words. “Sometimes we all need a reminder that we’re not trapped in the dark. This dress can serve as your reminder that you’re brighter than the darkness that chases you.”

You were reluctant to accept the dress, but Senna paid the seller before you could properly object. Handing the dress to you, she looked pleased as she watched you marvel over the soft fabric and beautiful design. Looking back up at her, you were about to thank her, but stopped when she held up a hand.

“If you want to thank me, you can help me set the wards around the house. Besides, we’ll both get an earful if Lucian has to wait any longer for his sugar rolls.”

You thanked her anyways as you both turned to head out of the market, arms full of dress and sugar rolls.

The next morning found you outside with Senna, helping her set up complicated devices around the outside of the building while Lucian worked to set some of the same devices on the roof. You watched carefully as Senna demonstrated how each ward had to be placed in order to work properly, not wanting to mess up when you set up the next one yourself.

“Will these keep him out?” you asked as you bent down to place a ward against the wall.

“A little to the left,” Senna corrected, and you moved the heavy metal device to the left until she nodded with satisfaction. “Nothing can keep Viego out, but these should weaken his strength enough to give us a chance.”

You winced; you had anticipated her answer, knowing how powerful Viego had seemed from your short interaction with him. Hoping to defeat him seemed like a futile effort, but you wanted to believe it was possible. You knew so little about the world outside of your farming town, so at this point, anything seemed like it could be possible. You had no choice but to hope anyways because if you failed, you would be lost forever, at least if Viego had his way.

Your life had become infinitely more precious now that it had come under threat; you wanted to help Senna and Lucian, the people who valued you for being you, not a dead king who looked at you and only saw his departed wife.

“The roof’s all set!” Lucian called out from above you.

“Good!” Senna called back as she heaved another ward into her arms. “Then you can test the wards when I finish setting this one up.”

“On my way, dear,” came Lucian’s lighthearted reply.

The rest of the afternoon was spent finalizing the ward setup. You had never seen them before, and were surprised to see them light up as Lucian ran by them, leaving him looking exhausted by the contact. You had been even more shocked when Senna had told you that the wards had been set to their lowest setting for the test. If Lucian had been that tired on the lowest setting, then maybe you could have hope that the highest setting would have a significant effect on Viego.

“But are we sure he’ll set them off?” you asked Senna as she turned the wards back off.

“I’m sure,” she replied confidently. “Anywhere you are, he’ll go, except now we can use that to our advantage.”

The only problem being that you didn’t know exactly when he would come. Lucian’s guess of a few days was just that; a guess. He had explained that the day they had saved you was only their second time fighting Viego, the first time being when Viego had stolen Isolde’s memories from Senna. But it had been a few days without any sign of the dead king or his black mist, so you figured that Lucian’s estimate had been accurate.

By the fifth day with no sign of Viego, you began to prepare for the worst. He could come for you any day, at any time, so you were confined to the home with either Lucian or Senna with you at all times. You were disappointed that you could no longer explore the city, but you couldn’t make yourself an easy target for Viego to snatch from the streets.

There were some back rooms with beds to sleep in, but you spent most of your time in the circular chamber that made up most of the building, talking with Senna and Lucian or helping them with tasks. The time going by was wearing on you all as you wondered when Viego would come. By the seventh day, you were unable to relax, constantly worried that every noise you heard denoted the return of the ruined king.

It was late into night of the seventh day, but none of you could sleep, all finding yourselves in the chamber room. You were sitting against the wall, watching Senna as she cleaned one of Lucian’s guns, her own large gun resting on the floor next to her. Lucian had been pacing for a while, and you could tell it was beginning to wear on Senna’s nerves.

“Lucian, if you need to–”

Senna’s quip was cut off by a loud chime sounding from outside. The wards.

Immediately, Senna was on her feet, tossing the gun she had been working on to Lucian before picking her own gun up as they both turned to face the hallway, which was the only way in and out of the building.

“Hide yourself!” Senna called hurriedly to you before turning back to face the hall, Lucian at her side with his guns trained on the hallway.

You quickly heeded her words; you couldn’t see any sign of the dark mist yet, but you knew it would only be a matter of time. You dashed over to an ordinary-looking panel on the wall that you would have found otherwise unnoteworthy, if it hadn’t been for Senna showing you how it worked a few days ago.

Pulling the panel to the side, the secret door slid open to reveal a small nook, just big enough for a person to stand inside. You looked back to Senna to see her staring at you, giving you a quick nod when you looked worriedly back at her. Not wanting to trouble them by ruining the plans, you got into the nook, closing the door carefully behind you.

You were largely in darkness, the only source of light being the small eye-level slit that gave you a one-way view into the chamber. You were glad there was a wall directly at your back, because the lack of space was the only thing keeping you standing right now in the face of the onset of terror you were feeling.

Viego didn’t leave you waiting long; Senna and Lucian jumped back as mist flooded the chamber, retreating to the center of the room.

“There!” Lucian called as a figure suddenly appeared through the mist.

Viego moved quickly to the side, dodging a bolt of light from Senna’s gun. He emerged fully from the mist, eyes scanning the area, assumedly looking for you. You knew that he couldn’t possibly see you, but it didn’t stop you from shrinking back.

“Where is she?!” Viego demanded, the anger in his voice sending a cold shiver down your back.

“Nowhere you need to worry about,” Lucian answered.

“I can feel her,” Viego snarled back, his mystical sword appearing in his grasp. “Where is she?!”

“I think you have bigger concerns right now,” Senna replied smoothly, and then she and Lucian jumped into action.

Lucian quickly moved to one side of the ruined king, firing bolts of light at him before backing out of Viego’s range. Meanwhile, Senna sent several strong blasts of light from her own gun Viego’s way, the two working together to try and take the king down.

Viego let out a frustrated growl as the bolts hit him, but didn’t appear to be injured like you certainly would be if you had been on the receiving end of the might of Senna and Lucian’s weapons.

Now that you thought about it, he didn’t seem any less powerful for someone who had triggered a series of wards that had winded Lucian on their lowest setting. Your theory was confirmed when he didn’t seem affected by anything Lucian or Senna threw his way. You would be frustrated, but neither one of them wavered, sending shot after shot at the ruined king.

“Enough!” Viego shouted, waves of mist pushing Senna and Lucian back. “You will surrender her to me or you will drown in my mist!”

As Senna and Lucian recovered their footing, the mist grew denser as it swirled around the room. You gasped as demonic green figures made of mist rose from the haze of black, and at the same time that Viego vanished into mist, they charged.

Lucian was firing bolts of light at the mist creatures left and right, but they were endless; as one was struck down, another one rose from the mist to take its place. As Lucian tried to fend off the creatures, Senna was forced to fight off Viego himself as he appeared before her, attempting to strike at her with his sword. It was a strange image, the two and their oversized weapons locked in combat, each trying to overpower the other.

The fight was quickly going bad for your friends; Viego was holding back nothing, his creatures aiding him by swiping at Senna, backing her into a corner as Lucian tried desperately to fight his way closer to her as she continued to shoot the creatures that tried to grab at her.

“You shouldn’t have the strength–” Senna growled as she fired at Viego.

“Your feeble wards cannot harm me,” Viego jeered as he swung his sword towards her. “Nothing will keep me from my queen.”

Viego stabbed his sword forward, but Senna was able to swerve out of the way, causing his sword to imbed into the wall opposite from where you were hiding. Viego then was forced to pull the tip of his sword from the wall, and Senna used that time to send a wide blast of light Lucian’s way, destroying the creatures that had surrounded him. Shooting Senna a grateful smile, Lucian began to fire at more creatures around the room, but his efforts still didn’t seem to be making a dent in the influx of creatures that filled the room.

Senna and Lucian’s luck ran out as Viego’s impatience reached a boiling point. With an angered grunt, he swung his sword at Senna, missing her body but striking her gun. The impact set Senna’s balance off, sending her falling to the ground, her gun spinning out of her grasp and onto the ground a few feet away from her. She made a desperate grab for her weapon, but was again stopped by a warning strike from Viego’s sword narrowly missing her arm.

Senna’s moment of weakness was quickly capitalized on by the mist wraiths as she was immediately swarmed, her body held down by many ghoulish creatures while Viego stood over her.

“Senna!”

Lucian’s desperate shout pierced the air as he charged forward, but was unable to get to Senna, his way blocked by the mist creatures. He shot bolt after bolt, but the demons pressed onwards, only growing in number. Soon he too was overwhelmed, pushed against the wall by the wraiths, his twin guns knocked to the floor. You watched with horror as they both struggled under the grasp of the wraiths, but were unable to break themselves free. The hope in your heart that this fight would be the end of Viego was snuffed out entirely as you watched Viego stand over Senna.

“Your life matters little to me, but I will offer one final choice. Give her to me or die,” Viego threatened, his voice cold with fury.

Senna glared up at him, struggling against the wraiths’ hold even as Viego loomed over her. “You will destroy this world.”

“I will destroy you,” Viego corrected. “And all of those who stand in the way of my love. I hope your impudence was worth your life.”

Viego raised his sword to strike Senna down, and you knew that you would only have seconds to act.

Senna and Lucian were willing to give their lives to protect you, but you couldn’t let that happen. You were not worth the lives of two strong, kind people; people who had rescued you and treated you with more care than the owner ever had, despite only knowing you for a week. One thought rang out loud and clear in your head as you watched Viego prepare to take Senna’s life; I can’t let her die.

You would only have a moment to save her life, so you didn’t waste a second, noisily shoving the secret door open.

“Stop!”

The attention of the three people in the room was drawn to you as you stepped forward, dark mist swirling around up to your knees. Viego’s eyes widened upon seeing you, but behind him, Senna was shaking her head, her eyes begging you to run. But you couldn’t run, not if you wanted to save her and Lucian.

“Please stop,” you implored the ruined king, forcing your legs forward even if the thought of moving closer to him terrified you. You had to do this for Senna and Lucian. You couldn’t allow your fear of what would happen to you to still your steps.

Viego’s sword dissolved into mist as he turned to face you, but the wraiths did not loosen their grip on your friends.

“My love,” Viego called as he began to approach you. “I knew I felt your soul call to mine.”

Ignoring his flowery words, you stopped a few feet from him, scared you would lose your nerve if you got any closer. “I’ll go with you, just please… please let them live.”

You stared into his otherworldly green eyes, trying to stay firm despite a desperate cry of your name from Senna. This was the only way, you reassured yourself. This was the only way to save their lives, even if it meant losing your own. You thought of the time in the marketplace with Senna, of listening to Lucian’s bad jokes, allowing the memories to keep your soul warm against the onslaught of dread you were facing down.

“You’ll come back to me?” Viego’s voice was kinder, softer than you had ever heard it sound as he continued to approach you.

“If you let them live,” you repeated. You could not see your friends beyond Viego’s broad form, but your voice still cracked with a sob as you addressed them. “Senna, Lucian… I’m sorry. And thank you for helping me.”

Viego raised a hand to wipe your tears away, ignoring the protests of Senna and Lucian behind him. “I knew I would find you again, my love.”

You knew it was coming, but you still let out a whimper as he once again materialized the buzzing orb of memories from the dark triangle on his chest, but unlike last time, there was no escape for you now.

“Together at last…” Viego whispered as he pressed the orb to your chest.

The orb felt cold, and then warm, too warm, as it pressed into your skin, absorbing into your body. You collapsed into Viego’s arms with a silent gasp of pain, the last thing you heard before passing out being Senna screaming your name.

There was a beautiful girl, her fingers delicately working a threaded needle through soft fabric that lay in her lap. You had never met her, but you knew who she was; after all, you had seen her corpse in your dreams. It was undoubtedly Isolde… you, from your past life.

You were surprised to find that you were watching the scene as yourself, not through her eyes. The realization brought you some measure of relief; maybe you were not lost entirely to her memory, at least not yet.

The scene around Isolde was blurry, but her figure was clear as day as you watched her gently sew along the fabric, and then it all blurred again. When the scene reformed itself, you watched a man approach her, young and handsome, his brown hair falling in waves to his chin. He was easily recognizable, but a far cry from the figure of unlife that he had become. Viego.

You couldn’t hear their voices, or the scene around them, but you watched as Viego bent down on one knee before Isolde and felt the shock and happiness that Isolde felt, and then the world around you warped once more.

Now you were in a magnificent castle, Viego and Isolde dressed in beautiful wedding clothes, figures leaning towards each other as they kissed. You could not see the faces of the crowd that watched, nor hear the vows exchanged; all you could feel was Isolde’s joy, which left you feeling warm, as if it was you there on your wedding day. It made sense; since it was you, the past you.

You felt the next scene before you saw it; a slow sadness appearing in your chest that left you feeling confused. Then the figures appeared; it was Viego and Isolde in a huge room together, his arms around her. Viego looked happier than you had ever seen him in unlife, but your eyes were drawn to Isolde. On her face was a small smile, but you knew she was sad, you could feel the quiet sadness radiating from her. But what did she have to be sad about? You followed her gaze, looking out a window to see a garden outside, birds flying around and flowers swaying gently with the breeze, but before you could get a closer look, you were gone again.

Now you saw Isolde standing behind Viego, her smile dimmer than before. Viego was wordlessly shouting at a faceless girl in servant’s clothes, a messy assortment of wildflowers crushed under Viego’s feet. Isolde was clutching at her skirt, and you felt a sense of powerlessness from her, along with that same sadness that held tight to her chest.

And then the scenes began to go by faster. Viego, blocking the way to the garden, sending Isolde back to their shared room. Viego, refusing entrance to the castle to an older woman who had the same eyes as Isolde while she watched the scene from a window high above in the castle. Viego pulling Isolde back to him when she tried to leave the room.

As the scenes flashed by, you could feel Isolde’s sadness grow. Time went on, and Isolde stopped smiling; you were watching her soul wither away a little more each time Viego cut another person out of her life. She was not allowed to see anybody but him, not allowed to leave his side even for a second… she was not a person anymore, but a doll to be moved at Viego’s whim.

She felt powerless, trapped by the man she had once loved. Your chest hurt, feeling like you were slowly being suffocated by the loneliness she felt; she was caged, shackled by his love, knowing there would be no escape.

But Viego still looked the same, no matter how many scenes passed by you. It was like he didn’t notice her pain, or maybe he didn’t care; didn’t care for anything but himself. You wanted to make it all stop; Isolde’s deep pain had nearly brought you to your knees, tears rolling down your cheeks as you desperately wished Viego would see her pain, but he never did. He always smiled that contented smile, never noticing that Isolde’s own didn’t reach her eyes.

The days finally slowed down and you were left standing in a large chamber room. The scene was tense; men in black swarmed the chamber, purple-tipped daggers poised to take the life of the king. Viego’s soldiers fought back valiantly, but one enemy broke through their ranks, dagger aimed at Viego’s heart, but their aim was put off course by a clever swipe from a spear. The poisoned dagger missed its target, but sliced Isolde instead, cutting through the sleeve of her dress and into the flesh of her arm.

Isolde knew as soon as the poison pierced her flesh that she would die. But while you expected to feel fear, worry, panic… all you felt was calm. The poison would slowly take her life, but that was what Viego had been doing over years with his possessive grip. At least at the end of this, she would be free in death, free of the iron grip Viego had on her in life. But alas, even death would not free her from his grasp.

The scene shifted one final time, and you knew what was coming. Viego held Isolde’s body, cold and dead, in his arms. The scene should have been upsetting, but the feelings that rushed through you were anything but. Isolde was dead, but her spirit was free at last, no longer a prisoner to Viego’s will.

But Viego would not allow her to be apart from him, even in death. So she rose, her anger finally unable to be contained, and stabbed him with his own sword. You watched the scene with no pity for the mortally-wounded Viego; Isolde had killed him, but she had been dead for many years before she had been poisoned. His love for her was more poisonous than any toxic dagger; he had been killing her slowly from the moment they had met, and only in death did she find the courage to return the favor.

Isolde had wanted a loving husband, but had ended up with a loving monster. This was nothing like the tale of true love Viego had spun, but he was the only one delusional enough to not see his marriage as what it was.

The scene faded to black at last, leaving you hurting body and soul, Isolde’s pain and sadness making your body feel numb from the inside out. You felt her emotions as if they were your own, and you supposed that they had been yours, a very long time ago.

The memories faded, and were quickly replaced by a soreness all over, like you had fallen from a decent height. Opening your eyes with a pained moan, you realized that you had beaten the odds; you had confronted Isolde’s memories, but you had not lost yourself to them. You were still you.

But with that good news came a lot of bad. You woke up in a bed, in a room that you had never seen before. The room was ornate, but looked dilapidated due to time. The gold posts of the canopy bed you laid in were speckled with dust, the blanket you laid under severely wrinkled.

Sitting up, you were relieved to see that you were still in the blue dress you had been wearing back in that chamber when you had given yourself up to Viego to save Senna and Lucian. You had passed out before you could ensure Viego kept his word, the memories too much for you to handle. For now, you chose to believe that they were alive, because knowing that you had done everything you could and they had still perished would crush what was left of your spirit.

You doubted you were still in Demacia, and one look outside the half-scratched window was enough to confirm that fact. The outside of the castle was even more depressing than the inside; the outside walls were cracked, the stones covered in black vegetation that you would have thought was ivy if it weren’t the color of tar. Angel statues on raised platforms stood tall in the outside courtyard, looking extremely out of place amidst the sinister green mist that seemed to hover over the whole area.

The supernatural layer of mist confirmed it; you had been taken to the Shadow Isles. The realization made your chances of escape nearly nonexistent. The Shadow Isles were filled with undead creatures hungry for the souls of the living, if the stories you had heard about this place were to be believed. And looking over the land that seemed to radiate unlife, you were certainly inclined to believe them.

Footsteps from outside the room broke your focus away from the view outside. Looking quickly around the room, you did not see anywhere to hide. With no other option, you began to back up to the far wall, staring at the large ornamental door as terror burned in your chest.

The door creaked open slowly, revealing the figure of the man you least wanted to see right now. While your mood dimmed upon seeing him, a smile lit up his face when he caught sight of you.

Viego wasted no time striding over to you while you stayed still, back against the wall both physically and metaphorically. Strangely, as he approached you, your fear began to morph into disgust. This man would not let you go, no matter how many lives you lived or places you went. As he took you into his arms, one word repeated in your head like the beat of a drum. Selfish.

He had stolen Isolde’s happiness, locked her away like a bird in a cage, and now he was doing the same to you. Letting out an internal sigh, you wished that you could go back to your boring farm days, which felt like they had been years ago, not weeks. But Viego did not give up his possessions easily, and that’s what you were now. A doll for a selfish king to keep by his side forever.

You hadn’t realized you were crying again until Viego had pulled back, his fingers sweeping across your cheeks to catch the tears.

“You’re safe, my queen,” he whispered, his words doing nothing to comfort you. And besides, you were clearly not safe if the biggest threat to your safety was standing before you, oblivious to all he had done.

You didn’t know what to do now; he wasn’t going to let you go, but you would rather die than live the rest of your life trapped in this place, pretending you were still the dead king’s dead wife.

“I have waited so long for you to return to me again,” he said, his jade green eyes staring into yours, ignoring your plight, just as he always did with Isolde.

You were tired, you were sad, and you were angry. But Viego only saw his own reflection in your eyes. He only saw what he wanted to see; you wondered if he even saw your features when he looked at you, or just superimposed Isolde’s features over yours in his mind’s eye.

It was a strange feeling; you wanted to be anywhere but here, but at the same time, you wanted the man before you to at least see you as you were now, to know your name even if he addressed you by another. Your mind was a mess, your heart even more so, but you would find no comfort in Viego’s arms, nor in his words.

“Isolde–”

“Don’t call me that!” you shouted, ripping yourself from his arms as you could no longer calm your rising anger. “And don’t call me your wife either! You have never cared about me, not back then and not now. You have never cared about anyone but yourself, Viego! You should have let Isolde stay dead!”

Viego looked shocked and hurt by your words, his silver eyebrows raised high on his forehead. You were expecting him to yell back, to tell you to know your place, but he just stood there, and then like the mist, he vanished.

His form turned to mist, and as you watched him flee, you couldn’t help a desire to have the final word.

“My name is–”

He was gone before you could say your name, but you shouted it anyways. Even if he didn’t use your name, it felt good to say it, even just to remind yourself that you were not the person you had been in your past life. Whatever happened, you would not allow this place to steal your identity from you.

You waited in silence, but Viego did not return. After some time, you reluctantly sat back down on the bed, your feet tired of standing, but Viego still did not come back to the room.

You were unsure what to make of what had happened. The Viego you had seen flee the room contradicted everything you knew about him. Could your words really have reached him? It was the only conclusion you could come to, but it sounded so unbelievable; an all-powerful dead king fleeing a room after being called selfish by a small town farm girl.

The encounter had been short, but you found yourself already tired. With no sign of Viego returning, and not much else to do, you slipped back under the ruffled covers, laying your head on the same pillow you had woken up on.

Maybe it was owing to your trip through Isolde’s memories that you were so tired now. Closing your eyes, you were relieved that you were still you, though you were still having a hard time reconciling how to see yourself with your time as Isolde. You had been her a long time ago, but she still felt like a different person, like a character in a story. You looked different, and lived different lives, but you were still weighed down by the possessiveness of the same man.

You had been surprised to see Viego look so hurt, but you refused to feel bad about what you had said. It seemed like everyone around him, including Isolde, had been too afraid to confront the king on his faults, at least that was what you assumed. You didn’t know where you got the courage yourself; maybe it was Isolde’s sorrow and frustration finally boiling over from a lifetime of being controlled that emboldened your tongue.

Either way, what you had said could not be taken back, so there was no point in ruminating over the situation, not when you were already having a hard time focussing on anything with how exhausted you were. There would be time to lament your situation when you woke up, you decided, consciousness drifting off at last.

You were surprised to feel so well-rested, but your mood was brought back down when you opened your eyes to the same dusty room you had fallen asleep in. It was just as empty as it was before, save for your body under the covers.

With how dedicated he had been to capturing you, Viego’s sudden absence was surprising. You weren’t sure how much time had passed, but everything in the room looked the same as it had before you had gone to sleep, so you had to assume that he had not returned while you were sleeping. It was probably for the best; you wouldn’t know what to say to him even if he was here.

Upon waking up, you were confronted with a new problem; your empty stomach. Come to think of it, when was the last time that you had ate something? You still had no idea how long you had been unconscious after Viego forced Isolde’s memories into you, but you had a vague recollection of eating some steamed buns Lucian had brought back from the market a few hours before Viego had attacked. But clearly that had been a while ago, if the gnawing emptiness in your stomach was any indication.

You were reluctant to leave the room and risk running into Viego, fearful of his anger after what you had said to him, but your stomach was so empty it hurt. Maybe you would get lucky and find a fruit laying around and scramble back to your room before you were caught. With that hope in mind, you walked quietly over to the door, prepared to do what you had to in order to survive for the rest of the day.

Unfortunately for you, the rest of the castle was just as dusty and dilapidated as your room had been. It was clear that this place was very old; anyone who had lived here in life was long dead by now. Eventually, you located the closest thing to a kitchen you thought you would find in this place, but instead of food, you found dust, cobwebs and the occasional brittle rat skeleton, which crumbled to dust under your touch.

There was no food here, that much was obvious, which led you to a new dilemma. You couldn’t ask Viego for food; for one, he terrified you, and there was also the fact that you had no idea where he even was. The castle was too large for you to check every room for him with any great speed, and so far you had not heard or seen any evidence of anyone else in this place but yourself.

So what were you supposed to do now? The thought of walking out into the Shadow Isles terrified you to your core, but what alternative did you have? Stay here and starve to death, a prisoner to a man who seemed like he had no further use for you if you weren’t the same person you were when you were Isolde?

It seemed that Viego avoiding you was a blessing in more ways than one, because now he wasn’t here to stop you from leaving the castle. It was easy enough for you to find the front door, following the patchy red carpet until it led down a long staircase that took you to another ornate door. Whoever’s castle this had been must have either been royalty or obscenely wealthy to live in a place this grand. The entryway alone was almost the size of the entire farmhouse back in your hometown. As grand as it was, you hoped that you would never see this awful, lonely place again once you exited the door.

The door was a lot heavier than it looked, but you managed to pry it open, the chill of the outside air telling you immediately that you were about to do something very dangerous. But it was this or starve, you reminded yourself as you took the first step outside, and it was better that you tried to find your way off of this island before you were too weak from lack of food and water.

Sinister green mist clung to the land, thick enough to obscure the far away, but just thin enough for you to see twenty or so feet around yourself. You remembered hearing as a child that the mist of the Shadow Isles was made up of the souls of the damned that had once lived here, but seeing it now, you hoped that it wasn’t true.

The stone angel statues were even more unsettling up close, standing on either side of the pathway like guards, their stone eyes seemingly staring down at you as you passed. Every step you took, you were scared the cracked ground would give out under you, but it held fast. It was a miracle that this awful place didn’t just crumble and sink into the cursed waters that surrounded it.

You quickened your steps, eager to be rid of this place as soon as possible. That, and the faster you were out of here the better a chance you had of getting off this island before Viego noticed you were gone.

The angel-statue-lined pathway opened up to a network of crumbled stone walls of all different heights that looked way more worse for wear than the castle behind you. It looked like this might have been a city over a thousand years ago, before the isles had fallen into this eternal darkness. But now you were the only person here, likely the only living person on this whole cursed island, at least until you got yourself back to civilization.

You picked up your pace even more as you entered a forested area, though the forest itself consisted solely of long-dead trees, their branches black and thin. What you hoped was wind howled, shaking the spindly branches, leaving you to duck and weave through them, their thorns scraping against your clothes and skin. You kept moving onward, pressing on despite the pain from the new cuts on your body, unwilling to turn back now that you had come this far.

You pushed through a difficult thicket of branches, panting from the effort as you looked down at your dress. The once-beautiful blue fabric now bore many tears, stained by your blood where the branches had cut you. You couldn’t imagine your face and hair looked any better, but you could worry about that later.

Taking in your own sorry state, you failed to take in the threat that was quickly closing in on you. You looked up from your dress, expecting to see more branches in your way, but jolted back with a gasp when you noticed the large figure standing fifteen feet or so in front of you.

The figure before you was giant, easily the width of several men, its gray flesh packed with bulk and muscle. It was bald, and wore no shirt, wearing only spiked shoulder armor on its upper half, while its lower half was covered by a large loincloth and equally-spiky leg armor.

It must have been human at some point, but it was far from that now. Its eyes were the same spectral green as the mist that hung over the island, that same green dripping out of his mouth in a drool-like fog. Its skin was tough-looking, like it was halfway between skin and rock, two large chipped horns made from craggy stone jutting out from the sides of its head. It had a manacle on each wrist; broken chains hanging from both of them. That gave you one more terrifying insight; while it was alive, it had clearly been some kind of criminal. And now it was here in front of you, unchained, its focus solely on you.

You turned to run, but the creature was faster. Its gaping maw opened wide with a horrible roar, and you were forced to grab onto a branch to try and resist the sudden pressure you felt pulling you back towards it. Looking back, you saw even the spectral mist being sucked into its sharp-toothed mouth, but you knew that you were its target, not breaking its focus as it stared you down with empty, dead eyes.

You couldn’t escape, you couldn’t even move an inch farther away from the monster’s supernatural pull. You tried to reach for a farther away branch to pull yourself to, but were forced to bring your hand back to the branch you held onto as holding on with only one hand made it much harder to keep yourself from being dragged further back.

Your fingers were hurting, the pressure pulling on you becoming more and more intense, and evidently the creature was done waiting. Not letting up on its pull, it began to move closer, and the pull got even stronger. Shaking from the effort of keeping your hold on the branch, you had no way of escaping it.

Was starving to death really a worse option than this? You had been so stupid, thinking that you had any chance of escaping this island; now this creature would ensure that you would never leave.

With a pained cry, your grip gave out at last, the branch slipping from your fingers as you fell to the ground. You tried desperately to grab at the cracked earth, but your hands could not find purchase in the ground no matter what you did as you were pulled closer and closer to the creature’s open jaw.

The closer you got to it, the weaker you felt, as if the monster was draining your very soul from your body. As the thought came to you, you realized that it was very likely to be the truth; the Shadow Isles were a place of eternal torment, it would not be out of place for this island to be filed with soul-sucking monstrosities.

You were almost within the creature’s grasp now, no more than five feet away from its razor-sharp teeth and black clawed nails. You were feeling more and more drained as it pulled you closer, your vision getting fuzzy as you tried to focus on anything other than your impending death, but it just wasn’t happening. It wasn’t like you had been expecting to see your life flash by your eyes like you had heard happened to people when they were about to die, but right now you would welcome any sight other than the one you had right now of the creature pulling you in, his eyes aglow with sinister satisfaction.

Just as a clawed hand reached down to take hold of your leg, it was sliced clean off at the elbow, stone skin clattering to the ground next to you. The creature let out a pained howl, which turned out to be the last sound it would ever make as it was then cleaved in half by a sword longer than you were tall, one you had thought you had left behind in that castle along with its wielder.

Freed from the monster’s pull, you scrambled away from its dismembered parts, wanting to be as far away from the horrible creature as possible. Shaking from your ordeal, you stared at Viego’s back, then at his face as he turned your way, letting his sword turn into mist as he caught sight of your quivering form.

You went still, afraid of the king’s wrath at your escape from his castle, but were surprised when he rushed over to you, pulling you to your feet and wrapping his arms around you.

“I thought… I thought I would lose you again,” he spoke into your hair, his words full of sorrow and pain as he held you to him.

You weren’t sure what to make of his behavior; it almost sounded to you like he was crying as he spoke, but you were reluctant to pull back and check. Instead, you reached up with sore arms and wrapped them around his waist, closing your eyes and leaning your head against his chest. A day ago you could never have imagined embracing this man, but he had saved your life, and right now you just wanted to feel safe, even if that safety came in Viego’s arms.

“Why did you save me?” you sniffled, voice muffled by his jacket, but loud enough for him to hear in the now deathly quiet forest.

Viego pulled back from the embrace with a sad exhale, his red-rimmed eyes telling you that he had indeed been crying as you had thought. Resting his forehead against your own, he stared into your eyes, brushing some stray hairs away from your face.

“I saved you because I love you,” he answered, voice quiet and hoarse. “Now tell me… why did you leave?”

“I…” You pondered how to answer his question, but decided there would be no point in lying to him, not when he hadn’t made any moves to harm you despite having good reason to be upset with you. “I was scared… and hungry.”

“…hungry?” he echoed, looking perplexed for a short moment before his green eyes went wide.

“Please forgive me, my love,” he spoke, sounding genuinely panicked. “It has been so long, I had forgotten–”

You couldn’t help yourself. “…you forgot that people need to eat food?”

“I haven’t… not since I became…” He was lost in his own world for a moment, before something seemed to come to him. “You’re…”

Without another word, he raised an arm, summoning one of his mist ghouls, who took off ahead of you, passing harmlessly through the mess of thorned branches along the forest path. You weren’t sure where it was going, but if it wasn’t after you, you found yourself lacking the strength to care about the ghoul’s mission.

Feeling drained, you leaned more of your weight into Viego, having a hard time keeping yourself upright. Viego’s eyebrows furrowed in worry as he looked down at you, but your eyelids were already drooping. You felt strong arms lift your body up as your eyes closed, head resting against cold skin. You could only hope that the creature hadn’t drained the life entirely out of you, but for now you had no consciousness left to worry about anything as you drifted off again for the third time since Viego had taken you.

“I pushed her to this…”

Waking up, your stomach was no less empty, but your head felt clearer. You had never considered yourself a lucky person, but you weren’t sure how else you could still be alive after all you had been through recently.

Your eyes didn’t want to open, not yet, but you were immediately aware of a feeling on your head. It took you a few groggy seconds to realize that it was a hand, slowly petting your hair. You had never had anyone stroke your hair before, but found it comforting; maybe your parents had done this before the fire, but the owner had never coddled you like this, even as a child. Absently, you mused that it had been a long time since you had anyone in your life that cared for you, when you were used to an existence of being merely tolerated.

Opening your eyes, you finally remembered where you were as you looked up at the man whose lap your head rested in. Viego’s hand stilled when he noticed that you were awake, but resumed petting your hair when you leaned your head into his now-gloveless hand, seeking out his comforting touch. Neither of you spoke, and you closed your eyes again, deciding to accept the comfort this moment offered you.

“…I was scared,” Viego said at last, and you opened your eyes again to look at him. “I felt that you had gone, and then I felt your terror… I thought that I had lost you again.”

You weren’t sure what to say, but it worked in your favor as Viego was not finished. “I have done awful things, committed atrocities, all to return you to my side. But I never realized that I was only thinking of myself. Your pain… it is all my fault.”

You felt overcome with the need to deny his assertion as you stared at his sad eyes, but you couldn’t. It was true. He had done terrible things and caused you pain not only in this life, but in your life as Isolde.

“I do not deserve your forgiveness,” he said, sounding like the words were hard for him to say. “But I will do anything to earn it. I…”

His voice trailed off as he removed his hand from your hair. You looked away from him and towards the same door you had exited when you had thought you had been leaving this room behind for good, as you considered his words. With those words, the power dynamic was shifting between you for the first time; he was willing to do whatever you asked of him in order for you to forgive him. And while you weren’t sure what it would mean for you to forgive him, you couldn’t allow this chance to pass you by.

“I want you to call me by my name now, not Isolde,” you said, sitting up and staring into his eyes, trying to silently communicate to him how serious you were with your stare. “And I would like some food and water.”

“Your… name,” he spoke softly, looking down at the bed sheets.

You repeated your name, and he still didn’t look up, but you weren’t quite done. If he was offering anything, you were going to see how far you could push your luck.

“…and I want to go back to Demacia.” You saw the alarm in his face and quickly made to soften the blow. “I want to tell Senna and Lucian that I’m okay. You can come with me if you want.”

“…if that is what you want,” he said eventually.

You could tell that he likely felt rejected by the stiffness of his shoulders and his refusal to look at you, but you would not back down, not when you had gotten him to agree to take you back to Demacia. You weren’t sure how Senna and Lucian would react to seeing you show up with Viego at your heels, but you knew that it was likely the only reason you had gotten him to agree to your request.

Your eyes had been wandering the room again when a soft call of your name had you turning back to face Viego, surprised that he had actually called you by your name. He was looking at you at last, but looked uncomfortable, like a fish thrown onto land.

Reaching down beside the bed, he picked up a simple stone bowl, handing it over to you. Inside, you found some circular objects that looked like oranges that were well past their prime, the orange of their rind mixed with patches of gray.

“Are those… tangor?” you asked. Demacian tangor were a mix of orange and tangerine grown all over Demacia. They were a little sour for your liking, so you hadn’t had one since you were a child.

“I had my servants fetch them. They are the only thing that grows here that will not poison you,” Viego replied.

His voice had hitched at the word poison, but you didn’t mention it, not wanting to draw attention to it. That was how Isolde had died, from a poisoned dagger. Even though you were with him now, it wasn’t like your presence erased the wounds of his past. You were just grateful that he had stopped being so domineering, at least for the moment. You weren’t sure what this was, or what you wanted this to be, but you knew that you were stuck with him at least for the foreseeable future.

Viego left the room to prepare for your journey back to Demacia, leaving you to eat in peace. The tangor were even more sour than you remembered them being, but you happily ate them, relieved to have some food at last.

With Viego gone, you allowed yourself to relax, free of his stare and his unstated expectations. He didn’t have to say it for you to know that he still wanted you to be his wife, or lover, or however it was he saw you in his mind. You hated yourself for even considering being with him in any capacity after the things he had done, but at the same time, you found yourself reluctant to fully close the door on the idea.

He had shown to you that he could do good things, even if they had only been for your benefit. You didn’t have to agree to anything right now, you reminded yourself, at least not while he wasn’t pressing the topic. But as of right now, you wanted to see if you could help Viego, even if you weren’t sure exactly how.

You stared at the bowl of tangor rinds, wishing an answer to your problems would come to you, but you knew that it wouldn’t be that easy. At least you would get to see Senna and Lucian soon; you wanted to make sure they were both okay, and you knew they were probably worried about you.

Placing the bowl back on the floor, you decided to take a look into the large closet in the corner of the room. Your own outfit was a mess; barely hanging together in places after running through the thorned branches. As much as you loved this dress, it was not in any shape to be worn. Hopefully the closet would have something passable to wear in it.

There were quite a few old-fashioned dresses, but they were too gaudy and frilly for your tastes. Sifting through the clearly upper-class clothing, you eventually came upon a dark green hooded cloak that looked out of place with all of the fancy dresses. Pulling it out, you realized that it would probably make a good disguise for Viego; Senna would likely shoot him on sight before you could explain, and you didn’t want Viego to have any reason to try and harm your friends.

Setting the cloak on the bed, you leafed through the rest of the closet, finally settling on the simplest dress you could find, a non-corseted, non-frilly purple dress with long sleeves and a scoop neckline with a hem that went to your ankles. The dress was a bit long for your liking, but it wasn’t covered in frills up to your neck, so it would have to do.

You changed into the purple dress, laying your old one on the bed, and had been running your fingers over a tear in the skirt when Viego re-entered the room. Sighing, you turned away from the dress, mentally apologizing to Senna for ruining the beautiful dress.

You waved Viego over, and he approached immediately, face stony and uncertain. Picking up the cape, you just hoped he would agree to put it on.

“So you won’t stand out in Demacia,” you said, holding the cloak out to him.

“If this is what you desire,” he answered. Though he didn’t seem to understand your concerns, he dutifully wrapped the cloak around his shoulders.

Reaching up, you fastened the clasps at the front of the cloak, trying not to feel shy being so close to his intense stare that you was pointed right at your face. You couldn’t avoid his eyes as you pulled the hood over his silver hair, careful not to let the fabric get caught on the metal bands that tied off sections of his hair into low ponytails. With the cloak fully closed, the black triangle on his chest was also no longer visible, which would definitely invite suspicion if left uncovered.

“Promise me you won’t hurt my friends,” you said, needing to hear him say it.

His glare was deadly. “If they harm you…”

“They won’t,” you replied quickly. “Haven’t you had friends before?”

That was evidently the wrong question to ask, because Viego looked like you had hit him in another sore spot, like back when you had yelled at him. Come to think of it, you didn’t remember really seeing him with anybody else when you had watched Isolde’s memories. No wonder his world had collapsed when Isolde… when your past self had died; she was his world, as sad and lonely as that was.

“How are we getting to Demacia?” you asked, figuring you should be merciful and change the subject, feeling bad as you looked up at Viego’s awkward stare.

“The mist,” he answered, and you turned your eyes to his chest where you knew the triangle of black lay hidden under the cloak you had forced him into. “It will carry us over the waters.”

You weren’t thrilled with the prospect of being surrounded by the black mist again, but the unknown waters that surrounded the Shadow Isles were even more daunting; at least you were confident that the mist would not harm you now.

You followed Viego to the cracked window, standing behind him as he opened it, revealing a clearer view of the dark, desolate isle. You were too far inland to be able to see the ocean, your view out of the window largely consisting of millennium-old rubble and patches of dark forest that must have been where you had run into that creature. You stared outside the window, wondering why he had led you here, at least until you noticed the mist that had begun to seep through Viego’s cloak.

“We’re not going to… jump?” The thought horrified you. There was no way you would survive a fall from this high up, mist or no mist.

“I will carry you in my arms,” Viego corrected you. “And then we will travel in the mist.”

You shivered as you considered his plan. “…you won’t drop me?”

You were half-joking, but Viego didn’t seem to pick up on that, one hand cupping your cheek as he stared down at you, voice deathly serious. “I will not allow any harm to come to you. Not again.”

You were once again taken aback by the intensity in his green eyes, even under the shadow of his cloak’s hood. You were still getting used to his devotion to you; it was a weird feeling having someone care about you after so many years of being without anyone who even cared enough to ask you about how your day had gone.

You weren’t sure what the owner’s fate had been, but you were confident that if he had seen you with Viego that day at the farm, he would’ve turned tail and ran, unlike Senna and Lucian, who came to your aid even when you had been a stranger to them. Maybe you should stop thinking of the farm as your home; because if you really thought about it, the only thing that tied you to the farm in the first place was your own fear of not being able to make it if you left.

You allowed Viego to take you into his arms as the mist surrounded you, pressing your face into his shoulder in order to avoid seeing just how far below you the ground was. You felt Viego move, likely exiting the window, and braced yourself for the drop that didn’t end up coming.

You could feel that you were moving, like you were in the arms of someone who was walking on solid earth, even if you knew you were walking through the sky and not the ground. You weren’t sure if the mist blocked your view of the ground entirely or not, but you were too scared to look.

“You were never this afraid of heights back then,” came Viego’s teasing voice from above you.

You doubted that Isolde had ever seen heights like this from the sky, but you welcomed his attempt at conversation, desperately needing a distraction from your growing curiosity to look away from Viego’s shoulder.

“How are you not scared?” you mumbled into his shoulder.

Viego let out a soft, sad laugh. “After what I have seen, what I have lost… there are more horrifying things in this world than heights.”

That was true; he had over a thousand years of life experience on you. Even if you had lived back then, your only memories from that time were ones you had seen flash by you when you had been exposed to Isolde’s memories. You couldn’t pretend you had experienced the hardships that he had; you had died, and he had been left behind, stuck as an undying mist wraith.

“…I’m sorry I yelled at you,” you said quietly as you listened to the sound of the wind whipping by.

“They were words I should have heard long ago,” he replied. He was silent for a long time, so long that you thought he was done talking, but then he spoke up again. “I led your life to ruin back then, and I was about to do it again.”

You let out a soft exhale against the soft material of the cloak. You couldn’t deny his words, you knew you couldn’t, but you also didn’t want to give up on him entirely. Right now, here in his arms, it really felt like all you had in this world was each other. You knew that you also had Senna and Lucian, but you didn’t have the history with them that you had with Viego. That, and while you considered them your friends, they would always be each other’s most important person; you didn’t want to admit it out loud, but you really wanted what they had, to be the most important person in the world to someone.

You both seemed content to let the conversation drop as you adjusted your face against Viego’s shoulder, the ends of his silver hair brushing against your forehead. Opening your eyes at last, you stared at his hair as it swayed with the wind. If you hadn’t seen it yourself, you would have found it hard to believe that his hair used to be a rich brown, a far cry from the silver it was now. But he wasn’t the same person he was then, both physically and mentally.

You couldn’t deny that you found him attractive; his eyes were deep-set, his jawline sharp and lips soft-looking. You immediately regretted observing his face when he looked down at you just as you were staring at his lips. You hurriedly looked away, not wanting to be caught staring. Viego did not say anything, but you could feel his eyes on you, even after you closed your own eyes again, leaning your face fully back into his cloak.

The trip to Demacia felt very long, and you had been drifting in and out of sleep, with little else to do, when you felt Viego’s feet touch down onto the ground. Opening your eyes at long last, you watched as the mist that surrounded you faded away, returning to Viego’s chest and revealing the area around you.

You were standing on a cliff, the beautiful blue waters of Demacia at your back. Demacia City stood before you in all its pearly glory, looking exactly the same as it had the last time you had been here.

It looked to be mid-afternoon, the sun shining high in the sky. It was nice to see light again instead of the dreary permanent dark of the isles.

While this was not your first time here now, you still had a difficult time figuring out the way to Lucian and Senna’s place from your current location. You looked over the paths that led into town, trying to figure out if any of them seemed familiar, finally settling on a small stone path that led along the coast. You remembered that their house had been close to the coast, so you hoped that you would eventually find it if you kept on the path.

You turned back to Viego, making sure his hood was down over his head before you two set off on the path. The last thing you needed was for anyone to notice Viego before you got to your destination; you were just lucky he had let you put the cloak on him or else you’d be much more worried about your chances of going unnoticed.

Viego walked at your side, sticking fairly close to you, eyes casually but tactically scanning the area as if searching for threats. There were some people milling about the area, but not many, and none that looked like a threat to you, not unless Viego threatened them first.

“Your… friends,” Viego spoke up, sounding as if the word itself was foreign to him. “Are you certain they will not welcome me with weapons drawn?”

You frowned. “I hope not.”

“They would not be the first,” he sneered bitterly.

“Viego.” You grabbed onto his arm and he looked down at you, staring first at your hand on his arm and then up to your face. “I will make sure they won’t attack you, but you have to be nice as well. No mist, and no giant sword.”

You felt like you were lecturing a child, but hoped Viego wouldn’t feel like you were treating him like one. You swallowed nervously as you stared at him, pleading with your eyes for him to agree to play nice with Lucian and Senna.

His eyes seemed to soften as he stared at you. “I can deny you nothing.”

“Thank you,” you replied happily, letting out a small noise of recognition as you spotted the building that you were looking for in the distance.

Leading Viego over, you signalled for him to wait behind you. He half-obeyed, but stood much closer than you had meant. You let it go, knowing you weren’t likely going to be able to convince him to leave your side, instead knocking on the door.

The wards that you and Senna had set up still lay scattered around the outside of the building, the lack of glow about them telling you that they weren’t activated. You knocked again after no response, shifting your weight from one foot to the other as you waited. Just as you were about to knock a third time, you heard movement from inside at last, stepping back slightly as you waited for the door to open. You felt Viego tense up behind you, but had to focus on the door in front of you as it opened to reveal a frantic Lucian.

He called your name with relief in his voice until he noticed the figure behind you, his features turning grave instantly.

You raised your hands up in front of you, desperate to stop the incoming fight. “Lucian, wait! He’s not here to hurt anyone!”

Lucian looked very skeptical, but paused his hands reaching down to his guns. “Y’know, I can probably activate those wards from here.”

“It’s fine,” you replied, relieved by the joking tone in his voice. “Can we come in?”

Lucian sighed, stepping away from the door to allow you both to enter. “Senna’s not gonna be happy when she gets back.”

“She’s not here?” you clarified.

“Nah,” he answered. “She went out earlier to get some supplies for, uh, findin’ you…”

“…oh,” you replied guiltily.

Lucian led you down the hall and into the large chamber that you had been in when Viego had ultimately captured you. But now there was no mist filling the room, and no weapons drawn, at least not for now.

Lucian stood awkwardly in front of you, picking at invisible lint on his jacket while you looked between him and Viego, who had taken off his hood when you had entered the room.

Nobody was saying anything until Lucian finally broke the oppressive silence. “So how have you been?”

“Good,” you said, desperate to latch onto Lucian’s attempt at conversation.

“Dead,” Viego answered at the same time.

You and Lucian stared at each other for a short moment before you were interrupted by the sound of the door opening down the hallway. Lucian sprang into action immediately, quickly dashing into the hall, likely to warn Senna about what she was walking into.

Once Lucian’s figure was out of sight, you turned to Viego, knowing you had to keep him calm.

“Please don’t hurt her, Viego,” you pleased. “She doesn’t–”

You were cut off by a loud exclamation from the hallway.

“He’s where?! Lucian, get out of my way!” came Senna’s enraged voice from the hall.

You heard rapid footfalls coming your way, Viego stepping in front of you before you could think to stop him as Senna entered the room.

“You–”

You began to panic when you saw dark mist trickling from the front of Viego’s cloak as Senna stormed towards the two of you.

“I won’t let her harm you,” Viego hissed quietly.

“She won’t hurt me,” you insisted quickly, grabbing onto his arm.

You stepped in front of Viego as Senna came over to you and quickly had your wrist snatched by Senna, who pulled you behind her.

Viego stepped forward, but Senna wasn’t having it, pinning him with a fierce glare. “You can stay there, ruined king. You’re lucky you’re still breathing in my home after what you’ve done.”

Viego didn’t look happy at her words, but kept his eyes on yours as you desperately shook your head at him, pleading silently for him to back down. You stared into his green eyes, hoping he would listen to you, and slowly, he backed down, fists unclenching but face still tense. You let out a quiet exhale, relieved that he had listened to you, although a glance at Senna told you that she was no less angry.

Lucian slowly stepped forward with an overly friendly smile on his face. “How about we have a conversation while the ladies talk?”

Viego stared at Lucian, face blank, but Senna didn’t hesitate, pulling you with her to the other side of the chamber and out of earshot of the boys. Once she had felt you were far enough away from them, she stopped, letting go of your wrist and pulling you into a short hug.

“You had us so worried,” she scolded, pulling back from the hug.

“I’m sorry,” you said, guilt pooling in your stomach.

Senna sent you a hard look. “Why would you do something so dangerous?”

You bit your lip as you thought back to that moment. “It was the only thing I could think to do. I couldn’t let you and Lucian get hurt.”

Senna let out an amused breath, shaking her head. “I can’t say I didn’t appreciate what you did, but it was stupid.”

“I know,” you agreed. “I thought I was going to die.”

“But you didn’t,” Senna countered. “Though I can’t say I understand why. What did you do to tame him like this?”

“I, uh…” It felt weird to say out loud, but you had no other explanation that made any sense. “I called him selfish.”

Senna stared at you for a second, and just as you were starting to think that she didn’t believe you, she surprised you by bursting out in laughter. She took at least a minute to calm down, and you just stared at her in confusion, not sure what you had said that was funny.

“Well that’s been a long time coming,” she said at last, before noticing you staring at her in shock and shrugging. “Never thought I would see the day.”

“I may have been a bit mean,” you admitted, voice dropping to a whisper. “I told him he should have let Isolde stay dead.”

Senna’s eyebrows raised in surprise before she let out another small huff of laughter, glancing briefly over at Viego. “Can’t say he didn’t deserve it. Probably deserved worse.”

“It was just… after seeing how he treated Isolde for so long… I couldn’t stop myself,” you said.

Senna nodded. “I’ve thought the same things myself, but the difference is Viego actually seems to listen to you.”

“Yeah, it’s weird,” you replied, sneaking a quick glance at Viego, only to find him already looking your way. You looked back to Senna, feeling awkward locking eyes with Viego like this in front of Senna. “I was so mad at him, but now I’m just confused about what I want.”

Senna didn’t reply, merely raising an eyebrow as a prompt for you to explain. You swallowed nervously, resisting the urge to look back at Viego as you explained your thoughts. You told Senna about Viego fleeing the room, about escaping the castle and running into the soul-sucking monster, and then Viego coming to your rescue.

“At first, I just thought he was scary, but after that… I don’t know. After going most of my life without anybody who cared about me, I…”

“…you want to give him a chance?” Senna finished for you, her voice frustratingly neutral, not giving you any insights on how she was feeling, but it wasn’t as if she was off the mark. You didn’t want to lie to her, so you nodded, unable to help but feel like you were letting her down.

Senna sighed a slow sigh, but didn’t look angry. “So have you told him?”

“Told him?” you echoed.

Senna rolled her eyes at you. “Told him that you want to be with him?”

You averted your eyes, staring at the stone floor. “…no.”

“He won’t know unless you tell him. Men aren’t always great with that kind of stuff,” Senna joked. “I had to spell it out for Lucian, and he’s one of the smart ones.”

“Right,” you agreed. She was right; you couldn’t just hope that Viego would somehow understand what you were thinking, though the thought of opening yourself up to him like that made you nervous.

“We have a smaller place just outside the city for when we need to lay low,” Senna said, fishing a key out of her pocket and handing it to you. “It should have enough supplies to sustain you while you figure things out with him.”

“Thank you,” you replied, stunned by her generosity.

“Come back and see us when you’ve got things sorted,” she replied with a smile. “And make him earn your forgiveness. If he does anything, just let me know and I’ll make him regret it.”

“I will,” you promised with a smile. You really didn’t deserve a friend as good as Senna.

Senna seemed happy with your response. “Then let’s go and save Lucian. He never was great at making small talk.”

You both turned your attention back to the two men across the room and their conversation.

“…so the mist, does it come from inside you or something?”

“The mist flows from my black heart,” Viego answered in a monotone.

“Oh, uh–”

Lucian was saved by Senna’s approach. “Alright boys, we’re done.”

You stifled a laugh at Lucian’s obvious relief at being rescued from his attempted conversation with Viego. Viego, on the other hand, seemed to forget Lucian existed the moment you came close, which was both flattering and embarrassing.

“How about you come with me to return the armor I bought and we pick up some sugar rolls on the way back?” Senna proposed to Lucian.

“Huh? But–” Lucian looked tempted by the offer, but looked back at you with a concerned frown.

“They’re fine,” Senna insisted. “They have somewhere to be anyways. I’ll explain it to you on the way.”

Lucian finally relented, allowing Senna to drag him towards the front door. But before they got too far, Senna turned her head back to you.

“Keep down the road for about an hour. It’s the one with a sun on the front door.”

You nodded and Senna wished you luck before pulling a still-confused Lucian with her out the front door. You really owed her; you would have to try and make it up to her and Lucian after you sorted things out with Viego.

Once they had left, you turned your attention back to Viego, knowing you had to have this conversation with him whether you wanted to or not.

“I was talking to Senna about what I want… with you,” you said, cursing yourself internally for how shaky your voice sounded.

Viego looked like he had been forced to swallow a Shadow Isles tangor, his posture rigid. “Now that I see how happy you are here with those two… I know that you were never truly happy being at my side.”

You were shocked speechless, the words you wanted to say fleeing your mind, your lack of a reply prompting Viego to continue.

“The Shadow Isles is a place for monsters like me. I won’t make you return there with me,” he said, sending you a sad smile before his body began to turn to mist, starting with his legs.

“No!” you cried out, grabbing his arm. You hadn’t expected him to let you go, but you found yourself not wanting him to leave you, even though that was all you had wanted only a week ago.

The moment you touched him, he turned fully solid again, looking down at you with furrowed silver eyebrows, uncertainty plain on his face.

“Don’t leave,” your voice came out quiet and weak, but you kept your hold on his sleeve. “Please don’t leave.”

You were trying not to cry, and it must have been obvious, as Viego quickly brought you into an embrace. Being alone with him again, you finally felt like you could say what you wanted to say, even if you were partially fueled by desperation to make him stay.

“I want you to stay in Demacia with me,” you said, pulling back to look at him, placing a hand on his cheek like he had done to you so many times. Viego seemed mesmerized by the contact, leaning into your palm as he stared at you with hopeful eyes.

“I will go wherever you are,” he replied softly.

“But,” you said, steeling your nerve. “I want you to see me as me, not the me I was when I was Isolde.”

You felt relieved that you had finally gotten out what you wanted to say, but were nervous at how he would take it.

“You are much stronger now than you ever were a thousand years ago,” he replied. “No matter what form you take, you are still my only love.”

You couldn’t help yourself. “Even if I was reborn as a sheep?”

“I would become a sheep myself if I had to,” he responded, and you giggled at both the seriousness in his voice and the mental image of Viego as a sheep.

Staring up at Viego, who seemed puzzled by your laughter, you were struck by just how much your opinion of him had changed since you had watched Isolde’s thousand-year-old memories. It was hard to believe that you could feel like this about someone who had brought you such sadness in the past, but as you stared at Viego’s handsome face, all you could think about was how much you wanted to kiss him.

But Senna had given you the key for a reason, and you didn’t want to trouble them by still being here when they returned, so you decided to be brave like Senna, taking one of Viego’s hands in yours and pulling him towards the front door. Viego’s hand was cold in yours, but his fingers held tight to yours. You found yourself wondering what kind of look Viego had on his face, but you were too nervous to look back at him until you got outside, taking the walk down the hallway to gather up all of your courage before turning back to him.

“Senna gave me–”

You were cut off by a gentle tug on your hand by Viego, pulling you back to him. Faster than you could comprehend, his other arm wrapped around your back, pulling you against him as he leaned down to kiss you.

You were shocked, Viego’s arm behind you being the only thing keeping you upright as his lips pressed against your own. You closed your eyes, hoping your inexperience wasn’t too obvious as you tentatively tried to kiss back, wishing your face would stop burning so hot; there was no way he wouldn’t notice the heat in your face, not with how cold he always was. Just as you were getting worried that you were too stiff, Viego pulled away, touching his forehead to yours.

He looked too pleased with himself, his jade eyes glowing with the same mischievous aura as the smirk he now wore on his lips. “You were saying something, my love?”

You sputtered, face red, trying to catch your thoughts. You hadn’t been expecting the kiss, and had also never kissed anyone before, so your brain was struggling to work again as you stared at Viego’s sly grin.

Closing your eyes, you took a deep breath and forced yourself to focus. Right, the key.

“Senna gave me the key to a place of theirs we can stay in,” you explained. “It’s about an hour’s walk out of the city.”

Viego raised an eyebrow. “It would take much less time to travel there with the mist.”

“No!” you exclaimed hurriedly, noting the few people who were still out since it was only early evening. Your face only flushed more as you realized he had kissed you in front of other people, even if it was only a few. Noticing two women staring at you and Viego, you quickly pulled his hood back down over his head from where it had fallen askew, taking his hand again and pulling him with you in the direction Senna had indicated.

“People are already staring… if you use the mist, they might call the Demacian guard!” you explained as you pulled him with you down the road.

“They can try,” Viego scoffed. “No power in this world will take you from me again.”

You sped up your pace, desperately hoping the two women hadn’t heard Viego’s not-so-veiled threats against the Demacian guard as you pulled him along with you. While you didn’t doubt that Viego was likely strong enough to take on the whole of the Demacian military, it was a confrontation that you desperately wanted to avoid.

For his part, Viego didn’t seem bothered by your increased pace down the path; rather, he seemed to be in too much of a good mood for someone who had just threatened to take on a kingdom’s entire military force. Part of you wondered if he was just talking like that to keep you holding his hand to pull him along, but the notion was too embarrassing to possibly be true, so you dismissed it from your mind, choosing instead to focus on the scenery around you as you walked.

The path out of town was not too different from the roads you had walked back in your hometown. Once you were out of Demacia City, the path of finely-cobbled stone became a simple dirt path lined occasionally with simple houses on either side. The people who lived just outside the city didn’t seem to conform to the fanciful beauty standards of the city, instead dressing more like the people you had known back in the Demacian farmlands. Seeing the more ordinary people go about their lives brought you comfort; as nice as Demacia City was, you had a hard time feeling like you really belonged among its finery.

“I have never seen how the peasants live,” Viego commented from your side, the lightness in his voice making you feel like he didn’t quite get that most people took the word peasant as an insult. “They look happy.”

“I’m a peasant too,” you mused. “I lived on that farm most of my life.”

Rather than looking displeased, as you secretly feared he might, Viego let out a quiet hum. “I cannot help but wonder, if we were both peasants back in Camavor… could we have lived happier lives?”

“Viego…” You looked over at him to see him gazing sadly your way, and for a second you could have sworn you saw the Viego of his youth when you looked at him, tan skin and rich brown hair instead of the pale, silver-haired man you had come to know in this lifetime.

“I led us to ruin, and I almost lost your beautiful smile for good,” he added with downcast eyes. “I will not allow myself to be so foolish again.”

While you were trying to think of a response to his words, your eyes caught sight of a small house in the distance, a golden yellow sun painted on its front door. The house itself was fairly isolated; the last house you had passed had been a while back, and you couldn’t see any other houses in the distance ahead.

It was a relief; while you were still feeling awkward around Viego after that kiss, you knew it was better for everyone for Viego to not be around anyone but you for now. You pulled out the key Senna had given you, overly conscious of Viego at your back, fumbling a few times before getting the key slotted in correctly and unlocking the door.

Stepping inside, you were surprised to see how well-furnished the place was, despite it just being an out of town hideout for Senna and Lucian. The home consisted of a combined kitchen and entryway area with a simple bathroom down the short hallway. Opening the last door, you found a small bedroom containing no more than a bed and a small chest of drawers.

As you were looking over the room, you were surprised by Viego’s arms circling your waist, his chin resting against the side of your head.

“I have missed this dearly,” Viego’s low voice in your ear sent a noticeable shiver down your spine, which he definitely noticed. “It has been over a thousand years since I have felt your body against mine.”

His tone was sultry, and accompanied by a gentle nip at your ear, your cheeks were feeling incredibly warm. You had to assume that you had been with Viego like this, back a thousand years ago. But you hadn’t seen any of Isolde’s more suggestive memories, so you had no idea of what to expect from Viego. That, and you were as inexperienced as they came; it wasn’t like there were many boys around your age in your small town for you to do anything with. You were nervous, but glad it was Viego, and not someone like the owner’s brother who always hit on you whenever he visited the farm.

Viego withdrew from you, a metallic clang sounding out in the small room as he released the clasp on his cloak, allowing it to slide off his shoulders and hit the floor. Chancing a look back over your shoulder, you made eye contact with a once-again shirtless Viego, the black triangle on his chest bared once again.

Approaching you again, he took hold of your wrist, bringing your palm to lay against the spectral-green lined dark triangle in the center of his chest. You inhaled sharply, surprised when your hand was not swallowed by mist or sucked into the black void, but instead pressed against the triangle of black as if it were normal skin.

“The mark you gave me,” Viego said, voice surprisingly soft for someone talking about the wound that had ended their mortal life. “The mist is a part of me, so it will never harm you.”

“It feels warm,” you murmured. How could it feel so warm when the rest of his body was so cold?

“Only ever to you,” he replied, leaning down to kiss you again.

It was a short kiss, Viego giving you several short pecks as he slowly backed you up to the bed. He pulled away as the back of your knees hit the bed, and you opened your eyes as you caught your breath, only to see Viego with a wicked smirk on his face. Before you could question him, you were sent backwards onto the bed with a yelp as a rush of mist from Viego’s chest blew over you.

You found yourself on your back, the sheets a lot softer under you than you had expected. Realizing that the mist had left you feeling a lot colder than you had expected as well, you let out an embarrassed squeak when you discovered that the mist had somehow done away with your clothing, leaving you completely naked against the sheets.

The mist faded as quickly as it had appeared, revealing Viego at the foot of the bed in nothing but his tight black pants, which were noticeably tighter at the front. His gaze was smouldering as he took in your now-fully-revealed form, and while you were overtaken with the desire to shy away, but you were not given a chance as Viego quickly joined you on the bed.

He gently cupped your breasts in his hands, thumbs rubbing against your nipples, the cold of his fingers only heightening the jolt of pleasure that heated your face. Viego stared down at you, looking awestruck, strands of his silver hair falling over one of his eyes. He was so handsome that it was hard for you to believe this was real as you looked up at him, fighting the urge to run your hands through his hair as you let out a soft moan.

“You make it hard to focus when you sound like that,” Viego admitted as he leaned down. “It has been too long since I have heard your sweet voice moan.”

Crawling over you, Viego tilted your chin up with a hand on your cheek, allowing him to lock your lips together again. Unlike the previous kisses, this kiss was heated and intense, your tongue meeting his as his other hand laid next to your head, supporting his body closely above yours.

His body caging yours in should have felt cold with how frigid his skin was in unlife, but all you could feel was warmth as Viego kissed you like his life depended on it. Deciding to act on your earlier thoughts, you slid your hands into Viego’s soft hair, your nails running along his scalp. Viego groaned into your mouth, hips rutting into yours, letting you feel just how hard he was under his leather pants.

Viego’s hand strayed lower, your back bowing slightly off the bed when he began to move his thumb over your clit. He continued the passionate kiss as he kept up with the movements on your clit, the sensations making it hard for you to concentrate on the kiss. Finally, the pleasure got so intense that you jerked back against the pillow with a breathy moan, your face flushed with heat.

Viego pulled back from you entirely, spreading your legs and grasping your thighs, pulling your legs over his shoulders. Startled, you realized what he intended to do, staring at him with wide eyes.

“You don’t have to…” you trailed off, fingers grasping the sheets at your side as you stared at him.

Viego’s mouth turned up in a sly grin, looking up at you with his mouth inches away from your naked pussy. “There is nothing I want more in this world right now than to hear you cry out for me, my love.”

Before you could reply, Viego surged forward, tongue licking against your clit while his fingers pressed inside you. He seemed energized by the noises you made, fingers moving faster against you as you closed your eyes, moaning his name as his tongue brushed against you at a spot that had you seeing stars beyond your eyelids.

He was relentless, determined to get you to reach your peak, not slowing down until you cried out his name, nails raking against the sheets as you came.

Viego withdrew, looking very proud of himself as he stared down at your wrecked form. You laid flat against the bed, panting as you tried to catch your breath. As you took in Viego’s disheveled hair and satisfied smile, you let out a soft exhale, still not fully understanding how he was able to make you feel so comfortable with him after all that you had been through. Or maybe it had been because of everything you had been through together, the thousand years you had been apart and the short time you had been together again.

He didn’t make any moves to remove his pants, despite the fact that they looked painfully tight by this point. You stared at him from under your lashes, not knowing what to say as you slowly came down form the high of pleasure he had given you.

“Your form has never been more beautiful,” Viego said, leaning down to kiss you. “Now if only your lips were as honest as your eyes.”

“What?”

“Your eyes are telling me what you want me to do to you,” he murmured into your ear, voice low and sultry. “And I cannot find it in me to deny my queen what she desires.”

Viego sat up as mist flew from his chest, sweeping over his lower half and turning his pants to mist before dissipating entirely, leaving him just as naked as you. His cock was just as pale as the rest of his body, but clearly was still functioning just fine; in fact, you were slightly worried about the sheer size of him.

Viego took his place between your legs, his cock so close to where you wanted it. He took himself in hand, slowly lining himself up with you, looking down at you appraisingly before his cock was sinking into you.

You let out a soft sigh as you felt the stretch of his cock, surprised that it was nowhere near as painful as you had imagined. Once he was fully inside you, he leaned down, caging you in with his arms as he began to roll his hips into yours.

Sliding a hand into his hair, Viego happily allowed you to pull his lips back to yours, groaning into your mouth when you clenched around him after his cock hit a particularly sensitive spot inside you. While you had struggled to focus amidst the pleasure you were feeling, Viego had no such problem, easily able to kiss you breathless while maintaining a slow and gentle pace with his hips.

But as you continued to move against each other, slow and gentle began to be too little for you. You pulled back from Viego’s lips with a whine, looking at him with pleasure-hazed vision as he continued to move against you.

“Viego… faster, please,” you whined, watching him swallow as you spoke.

With a deep groan, Viego picked up his pace, each thrust of his cock hitting exactly where you needed it. Viego seemed to be as lost in the feeling as you were, eventually trading speed for increased intensity as you clung to his biceps.

Viego came first, slowing with a groan, but kissed you hard, rubbing at your clit until you joined him over the edge, feeling your energy drain from you as Viego pulled out of you before pulling your body to his, wrapping his arm around you.

“My heart, my body… they have only ever belonged to you,” Viego spoke, his words sending fondness blossoming in your chest.

Closing your eyes, you leaned against his chest, feeling happy but drained, at least until the reality of where you were came rushing back to you. You were in Senna’s house… in Senna’s bed. What had you been thinking?!

Noticing your panic, Viego lifted your chin, tilting your face up towards him with an eyebrow raised, quizzically speaking your name.

“Senna’s going to kill me,” you groaned in embarrassment.

“What?” Viego hissed, voice flat and dangerous, some mist tricking from his chest.

“No!” you exclaimed, placing your hands over his chest in a futile effort to keep the dark mist in. In your embarrassment, you had forgotten about Viego’s tendency to react against any threats directed towards you. “I just meant she would be upset with me for…. getting intimate… in her bed.”

Your words didn’t particularly seem to ease the severity of Viego’s misinterpretation of your words, but that would have to something to work on over time. With how harsh his life had been for so long, you shouldn’t have been surprised that hyperbole was largely lost on him. For now, all you could think of to do was distract him, quickly pulling his lips down to yours to hope you could make him forget about his current dangerous intentions, at least for the moment.

#x reader #reader insert #league of legends #league of legends viego #viego #lol x reader #league of legends x reader

[rocorambles]

Chemistry Puns

Pairing: Kuroo x Female Reader

Genre: NSFW, College AU, Smut, PWP, Honestly just filth

Warnings: Underage drinking, rough sex, degradation, slight pain kink, terrible chemistry puns, mildly dub-con

Summary: How about we go back to my place and form a covalent bond?

Prompt courtesy of @nyxdelanuit “Jump, just trust me and jump!”

You could feel the bass thumping in your chest as you slipped through the sloppy mess of college students grinding in the living room. Usually the stickiness of sweat and spilled alcohol mixed with wandering hands groping you would be your cue to hightail it out the door, but the relief of finally being done with midterms combined with the three glasses of spiked punch spreading through your system has you winking flirtatiously at the boys and girls who try to dance with you as you make your way to the kitchen for a refill. There’s only a few people by the drinks and you take a second to enjoy the cooler air and quiet as you pour more liquid into your cup.

“Do you have 11 protons? Cause you’re sodium fine.”

You snort as you look up and see a familiar face grinning at you. “Do those pickup lines ever work for you, Kuroo?” The messy haired boy continues smiling as he shrugs his shoulders. “When you have a face and body like this, you can be speaking gibberish and still get laid.” You roll your eyes at his cocky words, but you smirk, amused by the banter, and you can’t deny that he’s right as you appreciatively scan over his figure. Long lean legs are encased in black skinny jeans and his black t-shirt only makes his tanned skin and hazel eyes stand out even more. Deciding to play along, you look at him from under fluttering lashes and slyly say, “If I was an enzyme, I’d be DNA helicase so I could unzip your genes.” His grin grows even wider and, for a moment, you’re reminded of the cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland, but your thoughts come to a screeching halt as someone screams that police officers are here.

Chaos ensues as college kids begin running in every direction, jumping out of windows, and pushing each other to escape as the sirens blare. Kuroo and you freeze for a second before he’s grabbing your wrist and pulling you with him. You run out the backdoor of the house, sprinting through the backyard until you’re halted by a tall metal fence. “Hurry and climb, Y/N!” Any hesitation you had vanishes as you hear the voices of police officers in the background and you are quickly clambering after Kuroo, but when you reach the top, your face pales. You’ve never been good with heights and all of a sudden the ground on the other side looks so far away. Kuroo’s already hopped down and looks up at you expectantly, waiting for you to join him. “What are you waiting for? Hurry up!” You really want to, but your body feels frozen as you cling to the top of the fence with all your strength. Taking in the fear on your face, Kuroo suddenly holds out his arms to you. “Jump, just trust me and jump!” Maybe it’s the panic of hearing footsteps drawing closer behind you or maybe it’s the way cat-like eyes look at you reassuringly, but you let go and shut your eyes as you feel yourself free falling, waiting for the impact of the harsh ground. But it never comes. Instead you find yourself encased in warm arms and when you open up your eyes, Kuroo is softly smiling down at you as he stands you on your feet and begins pulling you with him again. The two of you run for what feels like ages until you’re now in an entirely different part of town, panting for breath and laughing in nervous exhilaration. 

You both plop yourselves on the nearest sidewalk curb as you try to get your breathing and heart rates back to a steady tempo. A comfortable silence fills the air and you quickly check your phone to see what time it is. You sigh when you see how late it is and figure it’s time to call it a night. Just as you’re about to say goodnight to the boy beside you, Kuroo’s voice breaks the silence. 

“How about we go back to my place and form a covalent bond?”

You stare incredulously at him, but then both of you are braying in laughter at the terrible pun. When your cackles subside, he nervously runs his hand through his hair as he looks at you questioningly and you giggle as you sidle up right next to him until your mouth is right next to his ear. “Sure, we have such great chemistry, I think we should do some biology together,” you purr into his ear and he growls as he captures your lips in a hungry kiss, hands already hastily calling for an Uber on his phone.

The next few minutes are a blur of messy kisses and self-restraint as you hold yourselves back from jumping each other in the backseat of a stranger’s car, but soon enough your bodies are crashing through Kuroo’s front door and he throws you on to the empty table in the dining room. You grunt as your body roughly connects with the hard surface, but you hardly have time to register any discomfort as Kuroo’s mouth nips and bites along your jugular vein. Through breathy gasps you tease him as he continues his assault. “You couldn’t even wait until we got to your bedroom? What if your roommate sees us?” Your taunts are cut off by a loud moan as Kuroo bites down harshly on the sensitive junction of your neck and shoulder before pulling away to mockingly stare you in the eyes. “Chemists do it on the table periodically, sweetheart. Plus, Bokuto’s away for the weekend, so it’s just you and me.”

You don’t even have time to comment on the newest pun he spouted before Kuroo is making quick work of your clothes, practically clawing at you in his haste to rid you of your shirt. You hiss at the red streaks his nails leave behind, but the slight pain only fuels the fire building inside of you. Kuroo’s mouth roughly latches onto one of your hardened nipples as his hands work to slide your pants and panties down just enough to leave your most intimate parts exposed. You hiss when he teasingly bites the sensitive nub. “Aww, does the little kitten not like pain? I think you’re lying because your body is telling me differently.” He brutally thrusts two long fingers into your already sopping cunt and without even waiting for you to adjust, he begins to move at a rapid pace, curling his fingers and furrowing his brows in concentration as he searches for that spot...Bingo. 

Your back arches and your arms fling out to grip the sides of the table with clenched hands as he finds the spongy bump inside of you that has your eyes rolling back. Kuroo relentlessly continues rubbing against your g-spot as his cock twitches at the sight of you sprawled out before him, holding to the table for dear life as you let out a litany of beautiful cries. “Fuck, you’re absolutely dripping, darling. Look, your juices are running down my arm.” You sob as he rips his fingers out of you and brings his glistening forearm to your face and you flush a deep red at the sight of your juices coating his fingers and trailing down his hand and wrist. He forcefully sticks the drenched digits into your mouth. “Be a good kitten and lick me clean.” Kuroo watches you go to work with lust clouded eyes and he begins to unbutton his jeans and lower his boxers with his free hand, pushing the fabric obstacles down until his cock is released. You’re being so obedient, so good for him and he begins to slowly rub his throbbing length as he watches you suck his fingers like they’re the most delicious thing you’ve ever had in your mouth. His jaw clenches as you moan around his fingers and when those are clean, you lewdly lick every inch of his hand and wrist that’s coated with your fluids without any prompting. 

He cruelly chuckles at your whine when he removes his arm from your mouth. “Yeah, yeah. I know. A cumslut like you needs something in her mouth. Don’t worry, we’ll get to that later, but right now I need to be inside you.” He mercilessly grabs your hips, dragging your body down the table until your drenched heat is practically hanging off the surface. There’s a short pause and then you are wailing as Kuroo rams his entire cock into you in one swift motion. You feel so full, so stretched out, and the tiny tinge of pain lacing the forceful intrusion has you immediately cumming even before Kuroo begins to move. Kuroo stares at you, astonished, before he starts laughing. “Did you cum just from having my cock inside you? God, you’re such a fucking whore. I’m not letting you rest until I finish, so just hang in there, babe.” And all you can do is brokenly scream with tears and drool decorating your face as Kuroo savagely rearranges your insides. 

At first, it’s too much and you’re weakly pawing at his arms, unsure how else to handle the overwhelming sensation of being abused so soon after an orgasm, but Kuroo ignores you and something inside of you refrains from explicitly telling him to stop, so you lie back and take what he gives you. But soon enough, you feel a familiar stirring in your loins and your sobs turn into wanton moans for more. Kuroo feels the way your body tenses and the way your tight snatch clenches against him. His grip on your hips tighten even more as he shoves himself even harder, deeper, and faster into you and it’s too much. You’re screaming as you peak again. Kuroo continues to harshly thrust in you as he chases his own end and you lay there, brain mushed with pleasure as he uses you as a glorified sex toy. Nearing his end, Kuroo abruptly pulls out of you and he stands over your broken body, furiously rubbing his shaft until he’s painting your stomach with milk white strings. 

Exhausted, he leans over and places his hands on the table on either side of your head, hovering over you as he catches his breath. But any intent to rest vanishes in an instant as he watches you scoop his cum from your stomach and lewdly slurp down his essence between your pretty pink lips. You let out a surprised shriek as Kuroo throws you over his shoulder and carries you to his bedroom. “I hope you didn’t think we were done, kitten. I did say I’d make sure my little cockslut’s mouth is filled and it would be so ungentlemanly of me to not make good on my promise.” You exasperatedly smack Kuroo at those words, but a smile tugs its way onto your face as he tosses you onto his bed. You suppose you can put up with his terrible chemistry puns, you think to yourself, before you brace yourself for whatever else he has in store for you.

#haikyuu!! #haikyuu fic #haikyuu #haikyuu smut #kuroo x reader #kuroo tetsurou x reader #tetsurou kuroo x reader #kuroo #haikyuu x reader #kuroo tetsurou #tetsurou kuroo #haikyuu writing #haikyuu drabbles #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu scenarios #kuroo smut

[jimlingss]

Until Yesterday

➜ Words: 10.4k

➜ Genres: 75% Fluff, 22% Angst, 3% Smut

➜ Summary: You and Taehyung are hopeless as you are hopeless romantics. But five months after tying the knot and saying "I do", you're hospitalized after a car accident with him. But upon waking up, the doctors tell you that you don't have a husband.

➜ Notes: Inspired by the movie The Vow (2012) and a bit of The Notebook (2004). This is purely an indulgent fic for all my hopeless romantics out there, so it’s a bit different from my usual!

cr.

Marriage was nothing like they told you.   It’s true that not much has changed from when you were dating or engaged, that merely the title of your relationship has slightly altered, but you have no regrets doing it at all. They always told you to wait until the honeymoon phase was over — that you'll find yourself tired and driven crazy by him. They told you to wait a few years down the line when you’re not having sex anymore and you’ll be so sick of each other, it’ll be like living with an awful roommate-child than being a couple in love. You’ll be bored when something becomes a normal routine, they said.   But it isn’t like that at all.   If anything, you’re more in love with Taehyung than ever.    “We should put the couch right here.”   “Well, we need to buy a couch first, Tae.”   “Didn’t you like the leather one we saw today?”   “I mean...I didn’t love it and it’s a bit pricey, don’t you think?”   “It’s fine. Leave it to me and the bank account!” The blonde grins and pats his own chest and it only garners your scoff. “I’ll take care of you. It’s the least I can do.”   “I make the same as you, idiot.”   It took years of hard work and dedication for the two of you to get to where you are, to have landed your dream jobs and built your dream house together. But of all the sweat and tears, you wouldn’t trade the outcome for anything else.    The house was newly built in a developing neighbourhood, the scent of cut wood and paint still lingering in each room. The white picket fence surrounds the seashell home with the dark brown roof, glass windows large and bringing light into the open concept structure along with the skylights. It has the cherry wood door reminiscent to that of your old dollhouse and a swing out back tied to the tree that Taehyung wanted. It was all the two of you could’ve ever dreamed of and you’re eager to move in, to bring in your furniture and allow this home to grow with you.   “Why is the master bedroom larger than I remembered?”   Taehyung’s laugh echoes down the hall and you hear footsteps becoming louder against the wooden floorboards. “Maybe the construction team came in during the middle of the night and expanded the room for us for free.”   “Yeah maybe,” you playfully quip back at him. “Maybe they’ll consider expanding our backyard too, so we can put that marble fountain in. It might cost more than this house, but you said I could trust in you and the bank account, right?”   Taehyung peels you off of him when you glue yourself to his side and giggle. Batting your lashes at him has little effect. “Fountain is still a no-go, sweetheart.”   You grin at him and waltz to the adjacent room, peeking your head into the modest space. “We still need to decide what to do with this spare room, Taehyung. If we want to turn it into another bedroom for when your mom visits or maybe an office.”   Suddenly, arms wrap around your waist and you ease as your husband props his chin on your shoulder. It’s one of his many habits of his that you love. “How about we save it for a nursery?”   The corner of your mouth quirks and you turn your head. “Are you sure?”   “As sure if you are.”    You spin around in his arms to plant a kiss against his mouth — one where Taehyung steals the opportunity and deepens it, catching you off guard. He pulls you in by your waist when you threaten to pull apart and he smiles at the whimper that comes out of you.   When the pair of you finally part, you’re unable to resist the smile that spreads into your cheeks and your arms loop around his neck. “Kim Taehyung, aren’t you blessed? There’s no one I’d rather have a baby with than you.”   His mouth forms into a rectangular grin. “You shouldn’t tempt me when we’re going to be late for our reservations already.”   “Late?” Your lips fall and you check your watch before your eyes grow wide.    Taehyung laughs and strolls behind you as you rush out, grabbing your coat and screaming at him to get the car started.   It’s another one of those date nights. One where intimate conversations are shared over a candlelight dinner. Until Taehyung accidentally catches the tablecloth on fire and the candlelight is removed by an exasperated waiter and the intimacy in your discussion ends up with him doing something dumb and water nearly spewing out of your nose from laughing, and the other patrons are glaring at the ruined atmosphere.   Still, with a generous tip paid, you leave full and happy.   “Anything you want to watch tonight?” you ask as he’s driving. It’s peaceful with the roads emptier at this time of night and the radio playing some generic pop song in the back. You count the lamp posts that pass by.   “Hmm...how about we do something else tonight.”   Your head turns. “Like what?”   Taehyung steals a glance at you and smirks. “I was thinking that we would drive back to the new house and break in that mattress we just got. Maybe get that kid you were talking about.”   You scoff, looking straight out the windshield as you feel your face heat. Even after so many years with him, he still knew what to say to affect you. “It’s not that easy, you know, and that mattress is still wrapped in the living room.”   “It’s fine. Better start now than later. And it’s our house, we can taint it however we want to.”   It doesn’t take much for you to agree — and you do so in the midst of laughter.   You shamelessly stare at Taehyung’s profile, the strands of his blonde hair that desperately needs a trim, his long lashes that you’ve always been envious of, the slope of his nose and his thin lips that always knows how to kiss you right. Taehyung’s thick brow cocks when he notices your blatant staring, but you don’t care. You’re just filled with joy and at a loss for words at how he’s with you.   He’s yours.   The two of you are too wrapped up in one another to pay mind to the car behind you. To the piercing beam lights. The wheels that screech against the asphalt. The sheer speed of the vehicle and recklessness of the intoxicated driver.   So when the rear of the car is slammed into and you both lurch forward into the intersection of the road, it’s a shock.    //   The white fluorescent burns your eyes.    It’s hard to see and you can’t feel your body. Not even your fingers that begin to twitch. You’re disoriented and delirious, not sure what day it is, how long you’ve been out, where exactly you are. It’s all muddled in your mind. All you can discern is a constant rhythm of beeping beside you and the odour of disinfect filling your senses. You’re scared — but you’re overwhelmed with the thought of Taehyung.    Taehyung.   You jolt in your spot and the rhythm of the machine quickens until it’s like an alarm, sounding aloud and making you panic even more. But then there’s a rush of people entering the room, white coats and scrubs checking the machines and lines hooked up from you.   “Ms. Y/N, I am doctor Jeon.” There’s a man looking down at you and you blink blearily at him. “You’ve been in a coma for three days now. Is there anyone we can call for you?”   “M-My husband,” you cry out with a parched throat.   The doctor looks to the nurse but she frowns and shakes her head. “The patient doesn’t have a husband.”   You don’t have a husband?   At once, sobs wrack through your entire body and you thrash despite the aches in your bones and your ankle wrapped in bandages. The doctor and nurse are alarmed and you choke out the words— “I-Is he okay? Is he dead?”   “Ma’am,” the doctor calmly says, “you were the only one injured on the scene.”   Before you can utter a word, a man comes from the doorway. His hair is dark, matching the hue lined underneath his exhausted eyes. His features are soft and evidently tired like he hasn’t slept in the past few days. You don’t know who he is but he stares right at you — and then a relieved smile draws upon his features, one that is too comfortable and familiar.   “Y/N?” His voice is deeper than expected and he closes the distance. The nurse is visibly confused, but he quickly introduces, “I’m her partner, Min Yoongi.”   You recoil back before he can touch you, even when the hurt comes across his expression.    “I-I’m sorry.” You don’t know who he is. “I think you have the wrong person.”

It’s hard to cope — your entire universe has been flipped upside down and you don’t know what to think. Suddenly by opening your eyes, your entire life has been swept from underneath your feet. Everything that you loved and cared about is gone. And you’re left alone to deal with it.   “I-I remember being with my husband. We were driving back from dinner and planning to take a detour to the new house, but then a car rear-ended us and we were brought out into the intersection,” you recall.   But the doctor’s brows furrow. “I see. Well, I can tell you that you weren’t in a car accident, Ms. Y/N. You were injured after falling down the flight of stairs at the subway station. You’ve been in a coma for three days.”   It doesn’t make any sense and you squeeze your temples. But it hurts. Everything feels like a dream, like you’re floating and not truly grounded in reality. Your surroundings are hazy and you wonder if this is just a hallucination — a very frightening one, a world where Taehyung doesn’t exist.   “What year was the car accident?” the doctor asks suddenly and you exhale, trying to remember the date.    “It was late January of 2016.”   “Ms. Y/N, it’s 2020 right now.”   It’s a shock through your system. At first, you sputter, choking on your own spit. The doctor is kind enough to give you a moment but when you press your hand to your chest, you wince at the bruises around your wrist. Then you open your mouth and close it, finding yourself rendered absolutely speechless. Your brain is melting into itself and you have an urge to get up and scream.   “What?”   “It looks like you have a four year memory gap,” Doctor Jeon says as if he’s prescribing you with cold medication and if you weren’t bedridden, you might just throttle him to the floor. “It’s okay, these things happen with your sort of injury. It should be fine and only temporary. You can get your memory jogging again after looking at mementos, pictures, or talking to the right people.”   “Anyways, we’ll keep you here for a few more days just to monitor that head injury, but it looks like your ankle is healing nicely. There’s no cause for concern, really.”   The doctor ends up leaving and you repress the urge to cry again.   You don’t know where Taehyung is and you miss him.   //   Your so-called partner appears days later to help with your hospital discharge and pack up your belongings. You learn his name is Min Yoongi and that he’s two years older than you are. He works as a car mechanic in a shop and you’ve apparently been with him for a whole year.    Yet, you can’t help but stay guarded, watching him from the corner with your arms crossed while you try to decipher his impassive expression. The man is quiet, but not in an angry or frightening way. He never asks you questions, makes demands out of you or once appears exasperated with your distant behaviour. He seems gentle somehow.    You wonder what your relationship with him was like.   “T-Thank you,” you murmur as he packs the slippers he had brought for you into the duffle bag.   Min Yoongi turns his head and the corner of his mouth pulls into an oddly warm smile. His voice is husky when he says, “You don’t need to thank me. I’m just happy to see you walking around again.”   You’re taken aback.   You aren’t used to receiving this kind of love and affection from someone other than Taehyung and from a stranger no less. It makes you unsettled. Conflicted.   The car ride is smooth. Yoongi helps you into your seat and buckles you in without making you speak much of a word. You’re not sure where you’re going, but you spend your time looking out at the window and taking in what you’ve missed for four years, or rather what your mind no longer recalls.    Luckily, it seems like the world hasn’t changed too much.   The streets are familiar, lined with lamp posts and bike racks. There are different billboards and some buildings you don’t recognize, but it looks like many things have stayed the same. The street names, avenues and boulevards, the people jogging and walking their dogs — it hasn’t changed.   “Hey, Tae—”    Except for the person driving beside you.    You turn your head and blood drained from your face, realizing that it’s not your husband you’re sitting beside. “N-Never mind.”   There’s a moment of quiet.   Then Yoongi’s lips part. “It’s okay.” He glances at you and your eyes meet. “It’s okay,” he repeats with a small smile that makes you even more burdened.   The apartment is modest yet cozy. A living room with cushions out of place and souvenirs on the shelves next to the television. The kitchen is to the left, cups in the sink and refrigerator haphazardly filled with take out boxes. It’s lived in, full of memories that you don’t have. But above all, you notice there’s only one bedroom and there are male belongings assorted with yours.    Shaving cream. Gel. Cologne.    “You live here?” you ask Yoongi, coming to the living room where he was giving you a chance to look around for yourself, perhaps hoping that you would remember something.   “We live together,” he corrects with a tiny smile. “But it’s okay. I’m planning on staying at a friend’s place, so you don’t have to worry about me being here if that makes you uncomfortable.”   “You…” Your mouth opens before closing, startled at how considerate he is. “You don’t have to. I mean, this place is yours too. It seems unfair if I kick you out. You should...stay.” Yoongi smiles and you shy away from his attention. “I...might not be comfortable sharing a bed with you though…”   “Okay.” He nods. “I can take the couch.”   That night, you lay awake in the foreign bed, unable to sleep and staring at the ceiling. It feels like you’ve been asleep for four years anyways, although it’s technically only been three days.    Your brain is swimming in confusion. You’re not sure what to think. One moment you were with Taehyung and the next, you don’t have him beside you anymore and you’re with someone else.   Taehyung….   You reach over to the nightstand and switch on the lamp. A dim yellow light softly fills the room and you begin to truly investigate your surroundings. On a pinboard near the door are pictures of you and Yoongi, selfies taken where you’re both smiling with one another, one of you at a carnival and another at an aquarium. The vanity drawer holds jewelry that you don’t recognize, perhaps ones that Yoongi had bought for you. Your phone contains grocery lists and miscellaneous notes that make no sense. There’s nothing on your social media, no connection, nothing once you search his name up. All you discover is work-related things in your calendar, more pictures of you and Yoongi and affectionate texts between the two of you.    There’s no trace of Taehyung whatsoever.   But when you dig into the closet and find a box at the top shelf hidden away, your answer is found. It’s inside a box of paperwork — school awards, certificates of achievements, evidence of your first paycheck, your birth certificate, social security papers, and divorce papers.   You and Taehyung got divorced in April 2018.    Two years and eight months after getting married. And it’s been a year and ten months since.   The paper crumples underneath your hands and you gather your knees together on the floor as quiet sobs break through you once again. You don’t know what happened. Where it all went wrong.   //   When morning comes, you hope the swelling and redness of your eyes from crying so much isn’t noticeable. If it is, Yoongi doesn’t say anything and only regards you with a gentle smile.    “I was going to stay home today, but I thought it might be overwhelming for you,” he says before you can protest otherwise, “so I’ll be at work. Take it easy, okay? You can call me anytime you want for anything. My number is in your phone.”   You nod. “Thank you, Yoongi.”   His smile is sweet. “I already told you, it’s not a problem.”   But half an hour after Yoongi leaves, you prepare for your own departure. Hobbling with your weight on one foot and off the one with your injured ankle, you grab a coat and the car keys laying on the counter. It takes a moment to figure out which one is your vehicle in the lot but you find it after pressing the panic button. It looks brand new — apparently recently repaired and the reason why you had to take the subway and how you got your head injury in the first place.   It might be wrong to leave without giving a warning to Yoongi, especially when he’s so worried about you, but you can’t stay idle at the apartment. You can’t sit still. You need answers.   You drive to the house — turning down the familiar streets and roads before coming into the neighbourhood that feels like you had been in just a week ago when it’s probably been years.   But you don’t recognize it anymore. It's more developed than you last remembered. What once were empty lots have other homes built. All the sidewalks are paved, there’s an elementary school down the avenue, a new playground that shines, neighbours that have moved in.   What hasn’t changed is the house itself.    There’s still the white picket fence that surrounds the seashell white home, a shade you had personally picked yourself when building it. The roof is a dark brown and the front door cherry wood. The glass windows are large with baby blue curtains and you wonder if there’s still the swing in the backyard….   You get out of the car, feeling your emotions swell up to your throat and your eyes becoming watery as you gave upon the house. This was the place you had built with Taehyung. The place you both had planned to live in for years. The place you wanted to raise your kids, grow old and retire in.    It was perfect. The combination of your dreams.   Where did it all go wrong?   You close the distance, limping up the path to the door and knocking on it. After a moment, you ring the doorbell properly. But even then, there are no answers and you notice that the Kim nameplate under the mailbox is gone.   Of course. It’s been over four years after all.   You cross the street back to your car again, but not before catching sight of a woman bringing groceries up her driveway and towards her own house.    “Um, excuse me.”   She turns at your voice, brows lifted.   “Do you happen to know who lives there?” You point to what was once your home.   But unfortunately, she shakes her head. “Sorry, I don’t. I know that house has been sold a few times and the owners have recently changed again.”   “Oh. Thank you.”   It’s hard to leave the house behind you, but you keep your foot on the gas pedal and drive, never glancing out the rear-view mirror in fear of bursting into tears again.   You still have more questions than answers, so your next destination becomes downtown where Taehyung’s engineering firm is. The two of you had met in school, back when you were awkward and chasing after your ambitions of being a chemical engineer like your aunt while for him, he wanted to take his childhood lego dreams to the max and become a civil engineer.   Your neck hurts to look at the top of the skyscraper, the many windows reflecting the bright sunlight into your eyes and blinding your vision. If there was any place where you could find Taehyung, it would be here.    It’s his dream job. What he had wanted for so long and legitimately cried when he found out he got a position at. You remember that day, how proud you felt of him for achieving such a goal.   But when you approach the receptionist at the lobby’s desk, her response only fires the confusion further.   “Sorry. We don’t have a Kim Taehyung working here. Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”   You miss him. And you wonder at what point, he wasn’t a part of your life anymore.   //   In an attempt to find Taehyung, you contact your friends and work your way down your list of contacts on your phone. They’re happy to hear from you, some even knowing about your accident and asking if you’re alright.    But when you ask about Taehyung, they tell you that they haven’t spoken to him since the divorce. That they’ve lost contact. That the months leading up to it, the two of you were distant from them and they’re unsure of the reasons for what had happened. It was frankly unexpected.   “You always told me it wasn’t any of my business, dear,” your mother says over the phone. “You actually got quite upset when I asked, so after a while I didn’t anymore. Do you want to talk to your dad? He’s watching the news right now.”   “No.” You press your temples, holding in your sigh. “It’s fine.”   Frustration overwhelms you.    No matter where you turn, you can’t seem to get the reasons for yourself.   You can’t find him.   “Is the take out okay?”   At once, you’re snapped out of your thoughts and you lift your head to meet kind, cat-like eyes staring at you.    “It’s good,” you try to smile and nod.   He seems to sense how disconnected you are. “I’ll learn how to cook. I know you like carbonara, so maybe I can find a recipe this weekend and try to make it, so we don’t have to eat out all the time.”   You stare at the man across from you.   How tired he seems, his dark hair shagging in front of his forehead, his downcast head facing his food as his fork scrapes against the bottom container, never quite taking a full bite. Yet whenever your eyes meet, his plump lips always tugs into a small smile and his eyes crinkle.   “I’m sorry.”   Yoongi’s brows lift at the sudden apology. “What for?”   “For not remembering you.” Even if Min Yoongi is a stranger, you can feel how intimate the pair of you used to be by the photographs you’ve seen, by the way he still regards you. You feel guilty for not being able to return his affections.   “It’s fine. It’ll come back with time, right? Don’t stress out about it too much. It won’t do you any good.”   “Yoongi.” You have his attention by the way you say his name like he hasn’t heard it uttered from your lips in quite a while. “I went searching for my...ex-husband today.”   It’s foreign to call Taehyung that. It’s unsettling and makes you uncomfortable.   But your eyes never divert from Yoongi’s. “I need answers.”   “I know,” he murmurs in a low voice, still playing with his food. As intimidating as he might appear on the surface, you’re quickly learning how considerate and soft-spoken he really is. “And I want you too. I don’t want you to have any regrets. I want you to know you’ve made the right choice by being with me.”   Your heart squeezes at his thoughtful nature and you sigh lightly before stuffing your mouth with some of the noodles, trying to alleviate the tension. “You’re a good man, Yoongi.”   He chuckles, gummy smile emerging for the first time that you can recall. “Maybe that’s why you chose me in the first place.”   //   The avenue is nostalgic, a street that you and Taehyung spent many dates at with its cheap street food and cute stores. And when you were both working, it was the halfway point between your workplaces and where you’d meet to have lunch on those special occasions. A few things have altered from when you remembered them, the stationery shop closed and that ice-cream parlor changed into a pancake café instead. But for the most part, it remains the same.   You aren’t sure what you’re doing here.    Of all your ways and methods in searching for Taehyung, even you know that it’s unlikely you’ll find him on a Tuesday morning at such an obscure location. But it’s where you’re drawn too, where your body told you to go and your mind followed.   Otherwise, you’re not sure what to do anymore or how you should contact him. You wonder if it’s too drastic to drive hours away to visit his mom on the off chance that she’s still living in the same place after four years. If she moved, the journey would be for nothing. But even then, if you somehow found him and reached out, would he even be willing to talk to you?   A sigh escapes your parted lips. You tilt your head up to the sky, wondering where on earth he is. And in your reverie, you fail to notice the strapping brunette humming to the music he’s listening to. Not until your shoulder collides with his as he’s walking the opposite way.    But instead of an apology spilling from your mouth, you’re interrupted by a call of your name—   “Y/N?”   It's shock that has taken hold of his expression. His hand rips out his earphones and the loud music becomes silenced from his world. With the way he looks at you, it would be like he’s seen a ghost. A stranger from his past.    In your mind, it’s only been a week since you’ve seen him. And you’ve been missing him so much.   On sheer instinct, you wrap your hand around his wrist, afraid to let go. “Taehyung.”   //   It’s awkward, the stiff air almost suffocating your lungs. You’re sure that the first date wasn’t even as bad as this. But you don’t mind whatsoever, even if he’s shifting uncomfortably at the intent way you stare and how it makes him break out into a sweat. Even if Taehyung hates you now, as long as you can see him like this, it’s enough to bear.   Taehyung clears his throat, diverting his vision elsewhere. “So….you look like you’ve been well.”   “Not really,” you murmur.   Taehyung is still a man of intense habit. His drink order hasn’t changed, a cappuccino with extra whipped cream and chocolate shavings. At the same exact coffee shop since you were dating. And he’s taken the same table in the corner of the shop too, the spot of your many study dates.    It’s these habits that have led you back to him.   “I heard you weren’t working at the engineering firm anymore,” you say after another tense pause.   Taehyung’s brows curiously raise. “I haven’t been working there in years. You knew about it.”   “Did I?”   He’s wary that you can’t recall. “Yeah….”   “What are you doing now?”   “I’m in animation.”   Your eyes widen, surprised. “I never knew you could animate— well, I knew you could draw, but you never even watched much animation.”   Taehyung shrugs. “It’s a good fit. I didn’t know I’d like it either until I tried.”   Your expression softens, a tender smile pulling into your cheeks. Taehyung’s gotten older but in a refined way. His hair is back to its natural colour, a few wrinkles set into his skin but his features are sharper and less rounded and boyish. He seems less mischievous and irresponsible too, a little more mature and quiet. Or maybe he’s reserved because you’re his ex-wife.    The thought makes you nauseous.   He sips his drink. “So...what have you been doing?”    “Not great. I recently got into an accident, Taehyung.” That seems to grab his attention and his eyes become rounded while you brace yourself. “Apparently I fell down a flight of stairs at the subway station and I was in a coma for three days.”   “Oh shit. That...must’ve sucked. I...I’m sorry to hear that.”    “I’m fine now.” You pause, clear your throat. “But the last thing I remember is us, Taehyung. We were planning to spend the night at the new house and we got hit by that car…”   “I remember.” He nods slowly and murmurs, “But the accident wasn’t that bad, Y/N. We were only bumped.”   “I don’t remember that,” you tell, earnest eyes connected with his that makes him believe you. Even after all this time apart, Taehyung can still tell when you’re lying and telling the truth.    Your voice raises in pitch, in frustration and exasperation. “And...and I’m trying to understand how this happened. I’m trying to understand how we…..how we ended up divorced.”   Taehyung’s brows furrow and he fiddles with the paper cup. “What’s there to tell? We fell out of love.”   “That doesn’t make any sense!” Your shrill voice garners the attention of other patrons, but you don’t pay mind to them. “We got married and were planning to have kids and we just built a house in a new neighbourhood—”   “We lost that house.”   Taehyung doesn’t look at you. His downcast head allows his eyes to stay on the floor. He looks small — shoulders slugging and frame slumped.   “I lost my job and then we lost the house. It went downhill from there and one day, you couldn’t do it anymore and packed your bags. You were the one who divorced me, Y/N.”   You’re stunned, unable to get a single word out at the revelation he’s given you. An answer to your questions that you had never expected. That you didn’t want to hear.   Taehyung’s eyes are saddened and he never once meets your gaze. “You’ll remember sooner or later. I’m sorry this happened to you, Y/N. I really am. But it was still nice to see you.”   He gets up before you can protest, leaving as fast as he came into your life again.   //   Yoongi arrives home visibly tired, his hair in a disarray and his navy workwear stained with oil and grease. Still, he greets you with a warm, sleepy smile that you still aren’t used to.   “I saw my ex today,” you tell him during dinner, breaking the silence by deciding to be open and honest. It at least alleviates some of the guilt weighing on your chest. “I found him coincidentally.”   Yoongi’s eyes flicker up, peeking at you. “How did it go?”   “It didn’t help. I’m still confused.” You can’t understand why you would ever leave him, even if you lost the house and he lost his job. It didn’t make any sense. “Do you know anything about the divorce, Yoongi? Did I….ever tell you anything?”   “You told me that he was pathetic,” he informs but without any malice like he’s simply stating facts. “He was unemployed for two years and didn’t get off his ass to find a job. Hey, your words, not mine.”   The corner of your mouth curls even when you’re still stupefied.   “Are you alright, Y/N?”   An exhale leaves your lips. “I’m not sure.”   That night, you find another box in the closet while alone in the bedroom. There are pictures of you and Taehyung from when you were younger and just friends, small mementos like movie tickets and keychains won at arcades while you were dating, and photographs of the wedding day, the two of you with enormous smiles and swollen cheeks.   But they’re buried underneath your belongings with Yoongi.   //   His expression is one of repulsion, like he bit into a lemon or something bitter. But you don’t pay any attention to it.   “What are you doing here?” Taehyung is incredulous to see you in the morning, standing in the same café as if you own the place.   “I’ve been waiting since eight,” you complain and he repeats his question with increasing skepticism. You suppose it’s not everyday your ex-wife is waiting to run into you, so you don’t blame him for his apprehension. “I’m trying to understand how the two of us got divorced. I know this is probably really weird since for you, I’ve shown out of nowhere after two years.”   “You think?”   You ignore his playful quip. “But for me, my last memory is still going on that date night and getting into that car accident.”   Before Taehyung can utter a word, the barista is calling him as the next person in line. “Can I get—”   A cappuccino with extra whipped cream and chocolate shavings.   “A cappuccino with extra whipped cream and chocolate shavings,” he says without missing a beat and your mouth tugs into a smile. Lots of things may have changed in the time that you no longer remember, but the fact of how constant he is comforts you greatly.    You wait with Taehyung at the counter, feeling his eyes glancing at you every so often. When your eyes meet, he realizes he’s been caught staring.    “Once I remember again and make sense of the situation, I’ll leave you alone,” you say even if it hurts, but the last thing you want is to be burdensome to Taehyung. “I just want to understand and get over it and move on like you have.”   Taehyung sighs, never saying a word.   He picks up his drink and you follow along with him, quietly as to not disrupt the comfortable silence between the both of you.   He walks down the street and enters the modest grocery store, beelining to the deli to pick up a ham sub. But he notices your quirked brow. “What?”   “No.” You shake your head. “Just reminds me of uni. You used to eat those too. Same brand and everything.”   The man scoffs lightly, but he knows. You’ve pointed it out to him many times in the past that he has a tendency to stick to specific habits — the odd quirks that you once said you loved about him.    “Like what?” he had once asked when you mentioned it.   “Like you always put your beverages on your left side and you chug half a glass of water before going to bed and you always close the entire toilet when you’re done going to the bathroom and you have the same brand of cereal every morning and after you sneeze, you always scratch your nose every time,” you had said in the midst of giggles and then lifted yourself up to plant a kiss on his cheek. “Don’t worry. They’re cute and it’s part of why I love you.”   The two of you walk together down the street. The early morning air is crisp and chilly, slightly nipping at his nose. He grips his drink still steaming to warm his hand and Taehyung can’t help stealing a glance at you, wondering if you’re cold too.   “How’d you get started into animation?”   “Huh? Oh. Well, if you really want to know then after you packed your bags and dumped me, it was a pretty good wake up call.” Taehyung laughs as if he’s recalling a funny memory, but then his expression softens, touched with sorrow. “I decided to get myself picked back up and get a job. They liked my personality enough at the interview to give me a chance. At first I didn’t know what I was doing, but I learned and I like it a lot.”   He turns his head when your silence is prolonged.    But his eyes widen when he finds your tender smile. “I’m happy for you, Taehyung.”   And you really are — even in spite of him not technically being a part of your life anymore.   //   The next day, Taehyung is not any more impressed to see you there at the café.    You enthusiastically smile and wave at him. And when the barista calls the two of you in the line, you have no hesitation. “Can I get a cappuccino with extra whipped cream and chocolate shavings? And just an iced americano for me.”   Taehyung eyes you when you pay and stroll to the other counter to wait. “Don’t you have a job to go to?”   “I’m still technically in recovery and it’s not like I can work if my head’s a mess.”   Taehyung scoffs lightly. “What do you want to know this time?”   He can tell by the look in your eye that there are questions on the tip of your tongue. And when you take out a whole laundry list like it’s things you need to buy at a grocery store, a rectangular grin plasters on his face. Taehyung wouldn’t expect any less of you.    “Hey, I was thinking about it all night, alright? I was afraid I was going to forget so I wrote it down.”   He leans over to look at the list but you move away. “Don’t peek.”   “Okay, okay.” He laughs and gestures for you to start.   “First question. What did I say before I left?” You look at him, eyes meeting his. “What were my exact reasons for the divorce?”   He hums a low note, staring off into the distance. “I don’t remember well. You called me a motherfucker though,” Taehyung chuckles and becomes solemn. “Probably something along the lines that I’ve stopped trying and that you were leaving. There was a lot of crying and screaming. I…..don’t really like to think about it.”   There’s a pause and you clear your throat, paper in your hand crinkling and forgotten.   “Why didn’t you ever do anything to stop it?”   A sigh leaves his lips and he runs his hand through his hair. “I don’t know. Maybe because I’m an idiot. But it’s not like I could’ve forced you to stay with me.”   “I’m sure if you had said something, I would’ve stayed.”   Taehyung’s smile is meek and sad, not at all like how it usually is. You wonder just how much you hurt him, how much you hurt each other. “A lot can happen in two years, Y/N.”   A lot can happen in the two years they were apart too.   “Have you been seeing anyone?”   “No. I haven’t,” he says.    It’s a question that tumbled out of you, one not on the list.   //   The evening comes and you hear the front door open and shut. Immediately, you call out from the kitchen, “Hey!”   Yoongi emerges from the hall with another tired smile. “Hey.”   “I got takeout for us,” you say while heating said food up. “How was work? Busy again?”   “A little.” The man comes closer to see what you’ve bought but before he’s able to assess, he mindlessly leans in and plants a soft kiss against your cheek. You instantaneously freeze, the muscles in your body becoming rigid and tense, and Yoongi realizes. “I’m sorry. It’s a bad habit.”   He pulls away, disheartened and guilt wells up in your throat. “It’s okay.”   Yoongi nods and he shrugs off his coat, walking back towards the hall to hang it up, but you stop him before your conscience can berate you, before you hurt him further—   “I saw him again. This morning.”   He halts. He stands still as you watch his backside.   The both of you know who you’re referring to.   “How was it?” Yoongi inquires hesitantly as if he’s not sure if he even should.    “It was good,” you murmur. “I got a few more answers.”   His head turns, the black strands of his hair sweeping against his forehead. Yoongi’s gentle eyes are glossed over, his tone low and husky as he quietly asks, “Can’t you get answers without seeing him?”   “I…..I’m sorry, Yoongi.”   You divert your vision, but from the corner, you can see the way his mouth curls gingerly.   “It’s okay.”   But you know that it isn’t. It’s unfair to him to wait for your memories to return, for you to continuously see someone of your past as he waits for you to come to love him as you once did.   The man retreats into the darkness and you feel guilt overwhelm you.   //   When Taehyung wakes up, does his daily routine and heads to the café, he opens the door and expects to see you. Standing there, waiting for him as if you were the owner or a barista working full time.   “Are you sure you’re not healthy enough to go back to work?” He grins, brows lifted and almost impressed at how adamant you are.   “No.” You loll your head to the side. “I’m still feeling tired.”   Taehyung scoffs lightly, noting that you always show up earlier than he does. “Tired, huh?”   “You must be tired too. Your shirt is inside out.”   “What?” His line of sight follows to where you’re pointing and Taehyung looks down to see that his shirt is indeed inside out. He groans in embarrassment as you laugh.   “Did you not notice?”   He doesn’t answer, grabbing his drink from the counter once the barista calls his name and he books it out of the shop. But not without you following behind him and still giggling.   “Are you sulking?” You quickly catch up to him and quirk your head almost to his shoulder. “I’m just teasing, Tae. It’s not that noticeable.”   “You noticed it.”   “Well I’ve always noticed everything about you.”   He clicks his tongue in feigned annoyance and stops, making you halt on your heels. “Don’t flirt with me, woman. Didn’t you say you were seeing someone?”   You scoff, continuing to walk and this time, he’s the one who follows after you. “Who says I’m flirting with you? I think you’re terribly mistaken and quite frankly, full of yourself.”   Taehyung grins. “It’s not my fault I was born this handsome and have so many people regularly flirting with me.”   “Uh-huh. You’re beginning to sound like Seokjin.”   “He’s not half as handsome as I am.”   You burst out laughing, knowing that your old friend would probably throw a fit if Taehyung openly fought him for the position of most handsome in your group of friends. “I beg to differ.”   “Then why didn’t you marry him back then?”   “Should’ve,” you sing-song much to Taehyung’s chagrin.   The pair of you stop in front of his building, the destination of every morning journey. You know this is where you’ll have to leave him off and see him again tomorrow, wait for just these ten minutes of conversations and banter. But unusually, Taehyung doesn’t bid you farewell right away. He doesn’t run away with his tail in between his legs, shooting you a playful glare over his shoulder.   Instead, he stops with you and smiles. Taehyung lingers on the sidewalk with you.   “Y/N…” He gazes at you.   Your eyes connect with his warm irises and something lodges in your throat, an emotion that only seems to come with him. “Hmm?”   There’s held silence—   “There’s a bug in your hair.”   “What?!”   His palm slaps your forehead before you can flail, not enough for it to hurt, but enough that you’re stunned. You lift your hand to rub the spot and at the same time, a rectangular grin spreads into his face. Taehyung laughs childishly. “Kidding.”   “Are you five years old?!” you shout but it only eggs him on more.   “Sorry, sorry.” He bats your hand away and his fingers come to rub the spot for you instead. “I’m pretty sure it was your face cream and not a bug.”   The proximity is closed. You can feel his breath against your face, count his thick lashes, draw constellations through the tiny freckles around his nose.   You swallow hard, feeling the heat rise into your cheeks and Taehyung catches it. For a moment, his eyes linger against your lips and yours follows down to the dip of his cupid’s bow to the corner of his mouth. There’s a thick tension between the two of you, a kind of intimacy not found between a pair of old friends on a normal morning. It’s a kind of longing that you recognize in Taehyung’s gaze as it’s similar to your own…   You lean in to close the distance completely. But then Taehyung abruptly pulls away.   His vision is diverted to the ground.   All traces of mischief are gone. His mouth has fallen into a straight line, brows knitted together as if he’s in physical pain. “What are we doing, Y/N?”   He doesn’t wait for a response. Taehyung turns and walks away while the knots in your chest constrict you. But you run after him. You take three strides before he can vanish from your life — like what you found when you woke up in that hospital bed. The thought of that returning is terrifying.   “Taehyung!”   “No!” He turns around to face you, shutting you down before the way you call his name can affect him. You’re taken aback by the hurt etched on his expression. “It took me two years to get over you and even now I’m still not over you,” he declares angrily and your eyes widen. “And then you come out of nowhere to make a mess out of my head, playing these games.”   Your brows furrow, upset at his accusations and you shout back at him, “What games?!”   “I know that the moment you remember again, the moment you get over your stupid fucking amnesia, you’re going to dump me!” Taehyung swallows hard. “You’re going to make me go through all of that again. It’s downright cruel, you dense woman!”   “Don’t call me dense!” Without conscious decision, tears begin to shed down your face and you shake your head. “You know that that isn’t my intention.”   “I know.” Taehyung sighs. “But it’s going to happen anyway.”   The pair of you look at one another and then the doors to the building open. A tall man with dimples comes out and is absolutely bewildered at the ruckus. He’s seemingly familiar with Taehyung, perhaps a colleague of his. “Is something wrong, dude?”   “It’s fine.”   “Who’s this?” the stranger asks curiously, smiling at you.   “She’s my ex-wife.”   The man is caught off guard, eyes becoming rounded. “I didn’t know you were married.”   “Yeah, well, I used to be.” Taehyung peeks at you in a silent farewell and you watch his backside leave.

When Taehyung wakes up, does his daily routine and heads to the café, he opens the door and then his breath catches in his throat. He doesn’t know why disappointment seems to overwhelm him when you’re not there and he wonders since when he expected you to be in the first place — standing there, waiting for him.   He stands in line by himself. Makes his order by himself. Picks up his lunch by himself.    Taehyung walks to work alone.   And every so often, he unconsciously glances to his side and then sighs when he catches himself. He’s not sure why he keeps anticipating you to be with him. Why he allows himself to feel frustrated when he remembers you’re not here.   You’ve become Taehyung’s habit.   And now you’re gone.

There’s a timid knock at the door.   A moment later, it cracks open. “Hey, dinner is ready….” Yoongi’s puzzled to find you standing on a stool, reaching to the top of your closet but he smiles, glad to see you lively again. “What are you doing? Do you need help?”   “It’s okay.” You grab the album you were reaching for and wipe off the layer of dust that covers it. “I just remembered I kept old albums up here. Jeez, it’s so dusty.”   Yoongi’s brow lifts. “You remember?”   You nod, smiling at him. “I do.”   The album is flipped open and you step off the stool to sit on the edge of your bed. Yoongi watches you for a moment and exhales softly. “Well, I’ll leave your food on the table.”   You thank him and he takes his leave, shutting the door.   You guess no matter how bad your relationship with Taehyung got, you never had the heart to throw away or burn the photographs. And you’re glad. The photographs of your wedding day are still in tip-top shape, images showing the pair of you glowing in the sunset with his arms wrapped around you. You remember that wedding dress and that suit of his that had to be tailored twice. You remember being late to the ceremony and having to run with Taehyung who snuck out to see you beforehand even though he wasn’t supposed to...…   There are also photographs of your honeymoon, a vacation to the Caribbean, and another trip of Europe that you went on during your university days. But above all, there are photos of the pair of you in front of the newly built house. Proud and ecstatic. The seashell white home with the dark brown roof and large windows and skylights standing tall behind you two. Ready to house your future.   Some things change but these memories won’t.   //   The sprinklers spritzes across the freshly mowed lawn, a sputtering hiss that leaves a mist in the air. You step up the stone path to the cherry wood door, noticing the golden nameplate under the mailbox, but you don’t dwell. In your haze, your closed fist comes to steadily knock at the door.   It swings open.   Inside, you find someone with warm eyes, brunette hair and a boxy smile. He encapsulates the sunlight itself, so bright that it’s hard to discern who exactly it is. But you feel like you know. Like you had known before you even knocked and the door opened.   The man calls your name.   And you’re shaken awake from the beautiful dream. And you wake to an empty bedside, tears welling up in your eyes. It’s the middle of the night, darkness surrounding you and weighing heavily against your body. But you fight against it and rip the covers off of your body, grabbing a cardigan off your chair and rushing down the hall.   Yoongi is stirred from the noise and gets up from the couch.    “Where are you going?” he asks in a husky voice, running a hand through his hair that’s sticking in all directions. But the sleepiness leaves the man as he watches you shake your head, struggling to put on your shoes with tears in your eyes.   “I-I need to go, Yoongi.”   But for the first time, he reaches out.    Yoongi’s hand clasps around your wrist to stop you, having an inkling that you might never return. “I won’t let you.” His foot is finally placed down, but the decision has long been made.   “I’m sorry, Yoongi.”   “Don’t say that,” he desperately pleads.   “But I am. It’s unfair to you. That I’ve treated you this badly while all you’ve ever been is patient and considerate and understanding. But I don’t want you to wait for me anymore.”   “You’re not going back to your asshole of an ex-husband. He was horrible to you.”   “Yoongi, what do you expect me to do?” It’s a genuine question that you ask. You’re at a loss and the words choke out of you, but you had these feelings the moment you had awoken in that hospital bed. “I love him.”   The pause draws on and you lower your gaze.   “It’s not fair for you to wait for me to love you instead. I’m in love with Taehyung.”   Yet in spite of your words, Yoongi still pulls you into him. He wraps his arms around you and squeezes you tight as if you might vanish between his fingertips. You come to realize that you never gave Yoongi a chance to express his love to you — you never kissed him or held him despite how long he waited.   You feel him tremble against you. The man who you had woken to presses his face to your shoulder, his quiet tears staining your thin clothing. You return his hug, arms lifted around his torso and grasping him close. You remember who he is. You know well.   He’s Min Yoongi, the man who you loved.   After a moment, he releases you. “Go.”   You nod. “I’ll always be thankful to you, Yoongi. More than you’ll realize.”   //   The car door slams shut.   You cross the street, approaching the house that still stands tall on the quiet suburban street illuminated by lamp posts. You’re not sure what you’re doing here at this time of night and you know you’ll just be disheartened when you see another family inside, living in the space that was meant for you and Taehyung. But you needed to see it.   It’s your home. What you made with Taehyung. Physical proof of your planned devotion to one another.   The house is dark and you assume that the people inside are long asleep. So you take a moment to gaze at it, heart aching inside your chest, and after ten minutes, you turn to walk away and leave your home behind. But then a car drives down the road. It’s a modest vehicle and as you wait for it to pass to cross the street, it instead pulls into the driveway of the house.   The headlights turn off. The engine dies. The car door opens.   And you freeze, watching the person emerge.   “Taehyung?!”   The strapping brunette man is unmistakable. He’s dressed in his work clothes, casual sweater and black trousers, his leather crossbody bag slung across his torso. He looks tired from what you can see with the glow of the many street lights, his hair messy and eyes weary. But he still has the energy to be shocked at your sudden presence.    Shocked as if he’s been caught in the act. “What are you doing here?”   You speak on an exhale. “Y-You bought the house back again?”   He bought it after the two of you lost it. Even when there’s no reason to.   Not unless it still holds sentimental value. Not unless the memories held in there were ones he still cherishes. Not unless he still loves you.   Taehyung murmurs your name, “Y/N…”   You run to him, closing the distance, throwing your arms around his neck. And you kiss the silly man breathlessly, pressing your mouth against his and swallowing the groan that leaves his lungs. His arms wrap around your back, holding you close and quickly reciprocating. His head tilts and his tongue slips into your mouth, drawing noises out of you like when you were young and still exploring one another.   But it’s a kiss of sadness and longing — yet still sweet even after so much time has passed.   After a handful of seconds, Taehyung pulls away.   “W-What are we doing?” He shakes his head, letting go of you.   But you grab hold of his hand. “I still love you, Taehyung. I love you.”   His earnest eyes search yours. “How….how do I know you won’t just remember why you wanted to leave me. How do I know it won’t happen all over again? We’re still the same people, Y/N. It didn’t work once.”    “I don’t care,” you spit at him desperately. “To me, it feels like it was until yesterday that we were still married and in love. And right now, right now I still love you, Taehyung. I miss you. I don’t care what happened, that you lost your job, lost the house and started to feel bad about yourself and gave up on us.”    Taehyung’s eyes are rounded and his lips part. “You….remember?”   You nod. “I have gradually for a while now.”   Bits and pieces had fallen together the longer you spent with him, the more you looked at pictures and mementos, and searched your memories. They were loose puzzle pieces, moments of time, until you fit them together to create a whole picture. To finally understand why things happened the way they did.   And you can finally recall the downward spiral of Taehyung all those years ago. How he abruptly got laid off, losing his dream job that he had worked so hard to obtain, how the two of you lost the house when your sole income was no longer enough and how depressed he became about losing that home. How he sat at his desk for two years in the dark, playing games and wasting time, giving up on searching for a job and refusing to get himself help in his poor mental state.   You remember how he ignored you until you felt like his mother and couldn’t take it anymore. How he pushed your sanity enough that you had to walk away before you were damaged.    But in spite of all that has happened…   “I still love you.”   He’s an absolute shit, but you love him.   Without being able to blink, Taehyung tugs you in by your waist and he presses his lips against yours, holding you close to him. You smile against his mouth before your hands lift to cup his cheeks, cradling his face as he deepens the kiss. It’s desperate, hungering to make up for lost time, fulfilling the yearning that has dwelled between the pair of you each time you spoke.   Taehyung kisses you like he’s missed you more and the pair of you barely manage to break apart to stumble into the house.   “I can’t believe you bought this place back.” It’s a whirlwind, nostalgia slamming into you as you step into the foyer. You’re overwhelmed with emotion, feeling a staggering urge to start crying.   “Had to do a lot of negotiating, but I did it,” he murmurs proudly, happy to show you how he’s picked himself up, how he found another passion and followed the path, that he’s no longer so pathetic. “All on my own too.”   “Taehyung…”   He kisses you again, less gentle than before. He’s merciless, hands placed on your hips and your back arches into him until the force of his body causes the two of you to fall backwards onto the floor. Taehyung catches your head so that it never hurts and he hovers over you, leg between your knees while he peels off his coat.    “I’m sorry,” he says softly, gazing into your eyes. “I never got to tell you that. I’m sorry for hurting you.”   You nod, grasping at his forearms that’s next to your head and he takes the opportunity to lean down. Taehyung lay pecks against your cheek until he moves his way down to suck bruising kisses into your neck. You cry his name, writhing against him as he palms your breast and leaves his marks all over you.   Taehyung eats you out on the cool tiled floors of the foyer entrance, filling the house with obscene sounds that make you embarrassed. But you can’t complain, not when you’re sobbing his name and your fingers are sinking into his hair.   You end up cumming all over his swollen lips and chin, and you bat at him when he grins and says it’s delicious. Before Taehyung can completely ruin the mood, you grab him and with little warning, his cock sinks into your cunt, head poking right at the entrance of your cervix. You feel full and he begins to pound into you, satisfying that itch you’ve had for so long.   Taehyung makes you look at him the entire time and as you hold him, it hits you just how much you missed him. Tears leak from your eyes and it only eggs him on to be rougher. His fingers sink into the meat of your thigh and his mouth leaves hickeys down the valley of your breasts to admire later. You cum again and then he presses his pelvis into yours and cums in you as well, painting your walls in white.   Despite being sweaty and sticky, Taehyung kisses you again and the two of you hold one another. He’s sweet and affectionate until he starts to push his cum back into you with his fingers when you begin to leak.   “Now you’re not even trying to hide the fact you want me to get pregnant.”   The man mischievously grins. “Last I checked, it was yesterday that we wanted kids.”   You burst out laughing, unable to argue with that but…. “We’re not even married anymore. What would your mom think?”   “She would probably cry tears of happiness if she knew we were together again. And marriage…” He interlaces his hands with yours. “We could make it happen again. If you want.”   You nod. “I do.”

It’s another chance. Another do over.   You wonder if you had never lost your memories and tried to chase them down, if you would’ve ever reached out to Taehyung again and reignite the spark between the two of you. Had you not found him again, you wonder if you would’ve known that he’s picked himself again and returned to the man you fell in love with. It’s hard to say but those things are yesterday’s problems.   Today, you look towards the future.   “Wake up, sleepy head.”   On any other day, you might kick him in the knee for waking you up on a weekend, but it’s been so long that you don’t mind whatsoever. Taehyung’s mischief is world’s better than waking up to an empty bedside or to someone you can’t genuinely love as much.   “Ugh.” You open your eyes and immediately slap a palm against his mouth. “Don’t kiss me. Morning breath.”   Taehyung peels your hand off, grins and smooches you anyway. You laugh and quickly reciprocate.   When it’s all done and over, he snuggles into you. “You know…” You’re wrapped in each other’s arms and you slowly blink awake, glad that you’ve finally woken up with him beside you. “...those brown walls in this room are going to have to change.”   Taehyung laughs. “Happily.”   There’s nothing been more certain of. You want to spend tomorrow with Taehyung and the day after that and the day after that.   Until eternity.

#bts fanfic #bts scenario #taehyung fanfic #taehyung scenario #taehyung fluff #taehyung smut #yoongi angst #yoongi fanfic #throw away your logic y'all #and indulge in some hopeless romance

[fandom-------queen]

Kurt x reader

Notes: your mutation is the ability to read people's fears and traumatic memories. You can also produce illusions for everyone to see or put an illusion only in one person's head. These illusions can be based on their fears or memories. Also since it's based off of Wanda and more of the mind stone your power will be yellow and your eyes will glow yellow.

Warnings: intense description of fighting and invading people's minds, using past trauma in fighting maybe one curse word I think, a broken arm, passing out. Please tell me if you find any other trigger or content warnings I should include!

*maybe spoilers for first class

*Not proof read

*Also I love Eric and Mystique but I needed someone for them to fight against and this made the most sense to me.

You were very nervous as you sat next to Kurt on the jet. You, Kurt, Scott, Jean, Peter, Storm, Charles, Hank and Logan were all on your way to prevent Eric and Mystique from wreaking havoc on humans in the name of mutants once again.

Kurt was holding your hand while you stroked your thumb up and down it. He was nervously wiggling his tail around by twisting between your legs and sometimes using the tip to stroke your leg. You would cast him small smiles and give him gentel hand squeezes just to help ground him since he always got nervous when it came to this.

You were getting close to the outside of the city were you would land as to not alert Eric that you were there. Charles spoke up telling people what roles they would be playing in order to stop Eric.

Your job would be to distract Eric's followers and him if nesessary, to allow your teachers to gain control over the situation. You knew you probably wouldn't only use your illusions since they took much concentration and could leave you open to attacks so you figured you would also use your hand to hand combat that all mutants were taught in case it was more useful or nesessary.

Kurt was also going to be distracting Eric's followers but with hand to hand combat so that Logan, Charles, Hank and Storm (even Peter I'd it came down to it) could focus on stopping Eric. When Kurt did hand to hand he more teleported around to confuse his opponent and would lash out at their feet with his tail to knock them down and tire them out. It was different but effective.

You were going to be landing soon and you felt Kurt's hand start to lossen around yours and quickly unthreaded your fingers. You knew Kurt was going to want to pray and you were happy that Kurt always had and always will have something to ground him, besides you of course.

Just as you touched down you heard Kurt murmur and Amen and then he turned to you "Please be carefully meine liebe, check in with me if you can just so I can feel better knowing you are safe" he pleaded as his hand game to rest on your face.

You pressed your hand on top of his and gave him a reassuring smile."I love you too miene liebe and I promise to stay safe and check in as long as you do too' you quickly kissed his cheek and started to unbuckled your seat belt as Kurt did too.

Charles gave you directions to go in so you could surround Eric. You, Scott and Logan were going left around the base Eric set up and Kurt, Jean , Peter and Storm went around right. Hank and Charles were going directly through the middle of the town in an attempt to talk things out with Eric.

You made it around Eric's perimiter and got a visual on Eric and a few of his followers. You watched as Charles attempted to stop Eric, and Hank stood next to him as beast to protect him from Eric, Mystique and their followers. Once Eric began to raise metal and the other mutants started to braise for a fight. Logan gave you the signal and off you all went. You started with the girl closest to you who's mutation was elastic like limbs. Your eyes turned yellow as her motors flossed your mind yellow energy surrounded your fingers as you found a memory of her parents berating her for being a mutant. You almost felt bad for her but her parents actions shouldn't be the reason for everyone's punishment. You twisted your hands in front of you using your magic to invade her mind and cast the illusion. Before you got too involved you backed yourself against a wall to give you some protection since you would be to focused on the details of the illusion. You replayed the memory but you made it more intense. You knew that once she snapped out of it she would be confused and upset but other wise fine so you didn't feel to bad. Your goal was to tire her out so she wouldn't be as big of a threat and now that you had done it emotionally you made her believe she snapped out of it and was fighting you. She swung punches and extend her arms and legs to trip you up. However, you were actually fine, close enough to manipulate bit far enough to be safe. You could feel her growing tired and in the illusion landed a blow to her temple. Her brain thinking it was real knocked her out and you fell out of her brain once it gave in to the exhaustion.

Blinking around you looked to see if anyone was in trouble and saw Scott fighting a winged man who wouldn't stay down your eyes turned yellow and the energy flowed around your fingers as you saw his fear of cages. He had been kept in one and forced to fight and as much as you disliked bringing up trauma you also couldn't leave Scott in a position where he didn't have the upper hand. You sent an illusion that everyone could see of the winged boy being stuck in a cage. Scott looked over and saw you as you held your hands up manipulating them around and it's the yellow energy covered your eyes and swirled around your fingers. You focused your gaze and you brought the cage down making him land on the ground. You saw Scott found some wire from a fence and you saw a three walled pile of debris with more debris on top acting like a roof. You moved him back into there by moving the walls and he kept backing up untill he was secured in there. Scott found some wire, removed his glasses and melded it to some metal structural beams in the debris to make the fourth wall. It was enough space for him but not enough to spread his wings so he wouldn't get out. You stopped the illusion and he looked around confused he saw you and tried to break out of the wire, but that wasn't something his fluffy angel wings were good for. Scott gave you a nod of thanks and the two of you headed into the fighting to find other in need of assistance.

You saw Logan doing fine on his own, Beast and Storm as well. Charles was focusing on distracting Eric and Peter was zipping around sending blows to people to knock them down. You saw a women not far from you with finger lazors, no longer down and about to hit Peter as he stopped to take a quick check of the field and you quickly raced over to her. Before she had the chance to fire you slid onto the ground and kicked her feet out from underneath her. You used your momentum to jump back up as she to came back this time her attention on you. You didn't have time for an illusion so hand to hand it was. She prefered to throw punches and kept close enough to you that neither you nor her could give a strong enough kick. You instead blocked and give the occasional elbow until you eventually saw a sloppy punch, grabbed her arm and put her in a wrist lock effectively snapping her arm, this time she we stayed down. Peter of course came by and high fived you.

You finally saw Kurt and the person he was fighting against seemed to be growing more and more irritated with Kurt and how he couldn't hit him. You didn't like how this man (who's mutation seemed to be super strength) was getting more and more irritated with Kurt. Since he couldn't physically hit him he was getting angrier and taking out by emotionally hurting him. He hit Kurt closed to home by calling him a freak and you were ready to unleash hell. You felt like a highlighter with how brightly yellow you were glowing as you snuck into his mind and fed him visions of pain. Visions of him flying through the air and getting hit by debris plagued his mind as you unleashed your anger on him for daring to insult Kurt. You were so overcome by anger you didn't realise how Eric was getting annoyed with you incapacitating his mutant followers and he hurled metal at you. He want hoping to kill you only injur you enough to knock you out of the fight, Eric wasn't one for killing his mutant brothers and sisters. Kurt was watching you in awe feeling so loved at how protective you were of him when he quickly caught on to the shard of metal aimed to imbed in your legs. He quickly grabbed you and you heard the signature *BAMF* and you fell out of the brutes mind since you were on the other side of the chaos and too far away to slip back in. You looked at Kurt and held him tight whispering a thank you in his ear. He held you tightly to him and mumbled out "liebe you made me a promise to not get hurt, I will be very unhappy if zhat promise iz broken"

"You come before anything, even promises I made to you, but I assure you miene liebe I am perfectly fine" you reassured him pulling back from his chest to smile at him. "And as much as I love being here in your arms we have a job to finish" you kissed him on the cheek and gave him a wild grin he smiled back and *BAMFED* you to the other X-men who had regrouped in front of Eric and his group in the classic sign of unity within the two groups before an awesome battle scene breaks out. Eric lifted himself up along with more shards of metal.

"Time after time, Charles have I bent to your rules and wishes, I am tiered of never having change, of being taken advantage of. They underestimate and underappreciated us Charles and the only way for them to learn is to show them, the only way left is that hard way"

"Eric the more you revert back to anger and desperation for revenge the less they trust us and the harder we must work to show we mean no harm and we can all live together peacefully. We need an ear of peace now then ever, and peaceful wishes from you may be just the thing we need to make our coexistent wishes a reality."

"Your aspirations will never be a reality Charles, they will only ever be wishes, and if I have to show you the hard way as well then so be it." As Eric raised more metal to girl at you all, you developed a potentially dumb plan or potentially great plan.

You worked to invade Eric's head, and despite his helmet preventing telepaths from getting in his head, you weren't a telepath and made it in with as expected quite the amount of resistance. You knew of Eric's past and you knew exactly what memories to use, however, you would have to be careful, after using so much energy especially on that brute you were getting a little to tired for the stunt you were trying to pull. You found the memory of Eric at the camp and losing his mother. You could feel his grief and it only made it harder to consentrate. Your breathing was definetly laboured by know as you pushed that memory to the front of his brain and had him relive it. Watching it horrified you and you could feel tears of exhaustion and pity leak down your face as you trembled with both exhaustion and the pain this memory was bringing, both emotional and physically demanding. You could feel his resistance weakening but his helmet only attempted to push you out more. Your legs you were sure were on the verge of giving out. You could hear Charles telling everyone to stand back, with a protest from a familiar German accent, that crowding you and touching you to keep you from collapsing would only distract you. The memory got to the part were his mother was killed and his powers started to surge. You could definetly feel his power surging now, Eric felt as if he was back there and this time he was determined to save his mom. You knew that you only had to keep the memory going a little while longer and let him build his power up so the sudden surge would use enough energy to knock him out. As the memory progressed and Eric's power grew. You all of a sudden felt his power reach the point to knock him unconscious, and it just so happened to take you too.

Kurt kurt kurt kurt kurt kurt kurt kurt

You woke up to three fingers strumming through your hair and the sound of the jet. You looked up and saw Kurt's face light up at the sight of you awake. "Liebe" he grinned pulling you up gently and resting your head on his shoulder as he pulled you close to him and you wrapped your arms around him.

"What happened?" Was the obvious question on your mind.

"Well" Charles began from behind you " you prevented Eric from showering us with metal debris, you invaded his mind and successfully knocked him out. However, you over exerted yourself and past out along with him. With Eric down Mystique and the others tried to flee, however, but with much assistance through Peter, we managed to keep them from leaving fast enough to esacpe custody. We are almost home, where you can all take a well deserved rest and have the next few days off of classes to recouperate. How does that sound!"

Scott and Peter let out whoops of joy while Jean grinned and you and Kurt gave each other gentel smiles. "Get some rest miene liebe, you deserve it" Kurt said smiling down at you. You snuggled into his shoulder and managed to get a quick nap in.

You managed to wake up just in time for landing. You got many praises for the stunt you had pulled when you came back to the academy. Eventually Kurt got tired of people keeping you away from the rest you so clearly needed, so when people weren't looking he *BAMFED* you two to his room. Too exhausted to get your clothes from your room you slipped on one of Kurt's tshirts and snuggled up next to him.

"I'm so proud of you liebe" he cooed quietly in your ear. "I can't thank you enough for loving me so much and protecting me so vell even vhen you do put your selv in unnecessary danger "Kurt said a goofy smile covering his face and love filled in his eyes.

"Well I can't promise never to be in danger, but I can promise to never stop loving or protecting you." That night you got the best sleep ever as you drifted off to the love of your life planting butterfly kisses all over your face knowing the next few days off would be spent in bed with the love of your life!

Hope y'all enjoyed!

@selemercy(I hope you don't mind that I tagged you it's just that you encouraged me to write this fic and your comment ment so much to me!)

#kurt wagner x reader #X-men #wolverine #storm #professer x #Magneto #Peter Maximoff #fluff #kurt wagner x mutant reader