#side note these birds are reALLY LOUD TODAY

[r3starttt]

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME | 04

fic M.list | read this or DNI

It had been by far the longest night you've experienced, not only in your whole life but with someone, with Abby. The longest time you've spent with her. And you'd never imagined it'll be like this. It felt weird, not like anything you've ever expected or imagined before.

She slept quietly all night, the pure expression of calmness in her face was enough to keep you calm all night. Maybe she wanted this more than you, and that took away any sort of comfort you felt around her. Maybe you misunderstood everything and this was indeed wrong.

You couldn't sleep, not properly at least. Walking up three times for long periods of time that seemed endless. You felt overwhelmed and afraid of whatever came next, when she would wake up and you had to see her straight to the eyes again.

You didn't regret but this was just more hard to take than you ever imagined.

You got lost on your thoughts, zooning out while your eyes kept focused on the birds chirping, somewhere in the huge tree in front of your window- Abby's window.

Abby had her hand resting on the side of your arm, caressing your skin, slowly. Her nails tenderly scratching at your skin. You couldn't really see her but there had to be the littlest smile on her face.

You didn't mean to but ended up pushing her abruptly, sitting in the bed. The palm of your hand travelled over your face, forcing yourself to wake up and get out of bed.

"Are you gonna hold what happened last time against me?" The wooden base of the bed crackled as she moved. You didn't want to but still looked at her "No" a sheepish smile returned on your way, trying to bring comfort to this situation. Abby thought it was way too early for this, too early yet too late for her to regret what happened.

"Let's go swimming" you proposed, desperately trying to fill the emptiness between both, the awkward silence that was too loud it became painful. Abby pouted, shaking her head "can't, your mom sent me a note to pick some pages" you just nodded, taking a deep breath before standing up and leaving to the bathroom.

-

"Abby!" You spoke behind the door. Nuckles hitting the wooden door three times before her voice was heard. She'd been using the attic as her studio. Did she notice you were there before? Maybe that could explain the sudden secretiveness after you practically fucked marzia up there.

You got inside, being interrupted before you could even close the door.

"You're not sick of me yet?" your fingers started to roam against the surface of the freshly peach you'd just grabbed. Wondering if there was any response you should give to her. "No I just...I just wanted to be with you" Abby chuckled.

"I'll... I'm gonna... I'll go" your tongue brushed your bottom lip slightly. Her eyes didn't move away from you since the moment you came in and maybe in any other moment you would've reciprocate, but not today.

"Do you know how happy I am that we slept together?" Abby spoke, standing from her chair. She knew you would wait, and you would stay if she asked. But it felt wrong to know that, because of all that was behind that statement. Abby needed to talk about it all, to stop it if possible.

"I don't know" yet, hearing your voice made any plan she could ever made completely useless. "Of course, you don't know" Abby hated to see you like this. With a lost look, like you regretted what happened, like it was all her fault for making a mess out of someone as sweet as you.

"I don't want you to regret anything. And I hate the thought I may have messed you up or... I don't want any of us to pay for this" Abby's hands placed over your hands, taking away the peach you'd planned on eating while having this conversation, less awkward and formal. You nodded back "It's not like I'm gonna tell anyone. You're not gonna be, like, getting in trouble" she laughed.

Maybe this was it, what made you hate her. No matter what you did or said you could never be on the same page with her, it made you feel stupid, like the differences between both were more than just ideas in your mind. It all freaked you out. "That's not what I meant" she brought you closer to her, walking towards her desk and finally closing the door. Taking advantage of it to feel you deescreetly.

"Are you happy I came here?" Abby nodded, sitting on top of the old desk, making you smile at how it creaked. "This f' me?" She grabbed the peach, playing with it. You replied with a 'mhm' comfortly adjusting yourself on the chair.

Her middle finger traced a round path right in the middle. You stared at her, trying your best to play dumb, but the way her eyes were locked on yours, the way her finger got more deep inside the fruit, making it sound so obscene. You couldn't.

"Fuck" Abby laughed as the liquid of the peach runned down her arms. You stood up - not completely - enough to reach for her blouse, pushing her sleeved up to her elbows. She murmured a quiet 'thanks' but kept going.

Her finger ran down the peach, up and down. You got back in your seat, sarcastically rolling your eyes at her "what? You can but I'm not allowed to?" You furrowed in reponse "what do you mean I can?" Her words came out almost as a reflex, finally breaking the peach in half "You think I didn't notice? You made a mess, I had to clean it"

There was nothing you could reply to defend yourself. Once you fucked Marzia you realized that sex wasn't exactly what you were craving. It was abby. And the nearest thing to you was that fucking fruit. You made sure it didn't stay all sticky though, or at least you thought you did.

You were a mess and she wasn't, once again it made you feel stupid, like one toy for her that she had the tiniest bit ot care about. Flickering eyes at the thought of it.

"I'm sick, aren't I?" So far it was the first time you've got any resentment towards her. If there was something you hated was when people didn't play dumb, like you. Because for your mind -sick- there was nothing more stupid than being such a traitor and speaking things as they were. She represented all you hate and no matter how hard any of you tried, things always turned awkward and weird. "I wish everybody was as sick as you"

You shocked your head "why're you doing this to me?" In less than a blink of an eye, tears were already flooding your eyes. Abby let the peach aside, immediately getting rid of that sarcastic demeanor she'd shown to you. "Hey, what's wrong?" A quiet 'sorry" fell from your lips, trying to sway her hands away.

"It's okay" Abby ran her hand through her hair, not knowing what to do. She knew you were crying for her. And it made her feel physically sick. You covered your eyes with the palms of your hands, trying to force yourself and contain the tears.

Abby moved them away, making space for her lips. Afecctionately she pressed them over yours, cupping your face with her palms. Then she kissed your temple, softly. She took her time with every inch of your face until you were calmer. "Don't want you to go" you finally confessed, digging your fingers on her skin in hopes maybe she wouldn't leave like this.

-

It was official. She'd leave tomorrow morning.

It only felt real when she spoke with your parents to thank them for everything and of course, ask permission to take you out all day to a near town.

The rest of the day just felt like a dream. Drinking to forget and having deep talks to make all clear before she'd left. Like now

"We waisted so many days. Why didn't you give me a sign?" Your legs were intertwined with each other. You have her small slaps on the chest, facking but still being honest about how offended you were by it.

"I did" your voices overlapped "You didn't give me a sign" "I did" "When?" Abby straightened, moving her hand to the sides of your neck to push your hair aside "Remember when we were playing volleyball? And I touched you?" You smiled at the emphasis she made 'touched you'. Her lips pressed over your neck "just to show you" kiss "that I liked you?" Kiss.

A laugh escaped your opened mouth. Abby pushed you once she heard it "And the way you reacted made me feel like I'd molested you" you bit your inner lip before apologizing repeatedly "Nah its fine. I just decided I should jeep my distance" you both shared a small smile before music was heard.

Abbys reaction to it was almost immediate, like a reflex. "Hear that?" You sheepishly nodded. If it wasn't because of all the alcohol in your system you would've play dumb, like usual.

You tried kissing her to keep her distracted, but she was drunk and stubborn than ever. "Come on"

-

"This... fuck, this... You are" she spoke to a man, almost the same height as her. She dragged him away from what seemed like her girlfriend, just to dance with him.

Everything felt blurry. You had to threw up. She laughed at you, excusing herself almost immediately. "Fuck off Abigail"

-

Abby send all night taking care of you. Caressing your nacked back, whispering to you how much she loved you even though you were fully asleep. She didn't want to leave.

Yet a small hug was enough to say goodbye once the time arrived.

The train blowing its horn was something nor you or her would ever forget. The end of it all.

Your mom had to pick you up, and you felt like it all couldn't get more pathetic. Even when she wasn't here she still made you feel useless and stupid, like a fucking child.

"To make yourself feel nothing, so as not to feel anything. What a waste. Our hearts and our bodies are given to us only once, and before you know it, your heart's worn out. And as for your body there comes a point when no one looks at it"

#cmbyn 𓆝ˎˊ˗ #Abby Anderson #abby anderson fanfic #abby anderson fic #abby anderson x you #abby anderson x y/n #abby anderson angst #abby anderson fluff #abby anderson x female reader #abby anderson x chubby reader #abby anderson x black reader #abby anderson x reader #abby anderson smut #abby smut #abby fanfiction #abby x you #abby fluff #abby x reader #abby tlou #abby x fem!reader #abby the last of us

[hunieday]

Momo - Idol Star Prince Stage Rabbit Chat

Please note that I am not a professional translator and I'm only doing this to share the side materials to those who cannot access it, if you notice any mistakes please let me know nicely. Enjoy!

Yuki: Momo, I’m coming over with Okarin right now.

Yuki: I think we'll be there in about 10 minutes.

Yuki: Momo?

Yuki:

Yuki:

Momo: 

Momo: Roger that~~!!

Momo: Sorry for replying late 😭 I was taking a nap!

Yuki: I got scared.

Yuki: You always contact me first, so

Yuki: Were you up late last night?

Momo: Yeah 🥺

I had the morning off today, so I went for drinks with Mitsuki and got carried away 😆🍻

Momo: Sorry for worrying you ( ;∀;)

Yuki: If it's Mitsuki-kun, it's fine.

Yuki: As long as it’s not a suspicious person who came from who-knows-where to lure you away from me

Momo: Eek! Yuki...! Your handsome levels are so high that I’m fully alert and awake now 🤩💫

Yuki: Sometimes I could be the one who wakes you up. Not bad.

Momo: Then can Momo-chan pretend to be asleep tomorrow morning so you’d wake me up with your super handsome move? 🫶✨

Yuki: Hmm?

Yuki: Your text is too small for some reason. I can’t read it.

Momo: You’re hitting it aren’t you lololololol

Momo: How about we wake up early together once in a while ~(*´艸｀)

Yuki: 

Momo: Ah! ! You're distracting me with a sticker!

Momo: I’ll have pull all the tricks i have under my sleeves to wake you up 😤

Yuki: I was really surprised when I got shoved into the car in my futon.

Momo: That’s the day I couldn’t come and wake you up right? because I had to go to another job. Okarin took drastic measures lolololol

Yuki: Isn’t Okarin too strong?

Momo: I heard that Maneko-chan was teaching him some good muscle training methods 😤

Yuki: You’re telling me that the cute Okarin is buff under those clothes? i hate it

Momo: It's funny when you imagine it so stop it lolol

Momo: Oh right!!! That day Okarin and I bombarded you with a demonic amount of rabbichats, but you didn’t wake up at all. And even after Okarin came and woke you up, you ignored my messages completely!

Momo: Just as you were worried about me because I responded late just now, at that time I was worried too !!!!

Yuki: Is that so?

Momo: Yes!! Go reread the rabbichat!!

Yuki: I don't remember when it happened so I can't find it

Momo: Try searching for "bird-brain" 💥

Yuki: Bird-brain

Yuki: It's true, you got angry

Yuki: I probably answered you out loud

Momo: But I couldn’t hear you obviously ?! ヾ(oﾟДﾟo)ﾉ

Momo: I got angry because Okarin sent me a report about your maintenance being over, but you yourself didn't inform me about it!

Yuki: What even is the end of maintenance?

Momo: A report from Okarin saying that Yuki has started service again (see: he’s awake) 😤

Momo: I can stay calm until the regular maintenance is over, but an unexpected emergency maintenance is troublesome cuz I don’t anticipate it 😤😤

Yuki: Somehow that sounds tough

Momo: A formidable enemy even😤‼️

Momo: By the way, hear me out…

Momo: Even my bedhead is too much of a formidable enemy today!!

Yuki: That’s hilarious

Momo: It looks like a japanese top knot 😆

Yuki: We’ll be there in about five minutes.

Momo: yikes~ lololol this is the kind of hair that would break even a makeup artist's spirit lolol

Yuki: Well then, today I'll wear my hair in a japanese top knot so we’d be matching.

Momo: Huhhh !? We’re not filming a variety show today, we have the Idol Star pamphlet shoot?!

Yuki: If we match, you wouldn’t feel lonely, right?

Momo: 

Momo: Yuki, so handsome,,,😭 Coming up with the concept of a japanese top knot prince out of nowhere😭

Yuki: I just proposed the idea to Okarin and he immediately rejected it.

Yuki: Are you changing Idol Star’s concept into one of a lord?, he said.

Yuki: Aren't lords and princes the same thing?

Momo: You’re right lololol

Momo: But I think Yuki can become a handsome prince even with a japanese top knot! ! (*'ω'*)

Yuki: Really? You were angry at me earlier, did you calm down?

Momo: What?! You were actually worried about that?! I’m not mad at all !!!!!

Momo: Even if you’re a sleepyhead, even if you reply out loud to a rabbit chat, Yuki really is a super handsome super darling prince ‼️😭🫶

Yuki: The super handsome super darling prince will soon arrive at your house, Okarin is parking the car.

Momo: Yay‼️

Momo: I'll roll out the red carpet and wait (*ﾉωﾉ)

Momo: 

#i7 #idolish7 #ainana #idolish7 translation #id7 #re:vale #momose sunohara #orikasa yukito #idol star #rabbitchat

[differenteagletragedy]

Drunk dial from Cove and Derek

What if you were in college and your two best boys called you up while wasted? Wouldn't that be a nice little surprise?

Different colored text to simulate multiple choices, just for funzies. Brief she/her pronouns, just because Derek has to say "hey gal" or what's the point. Ok bye!

You sighed deeply, looking over the mess of papers and books strewn all over your tiny twin bed. You had your textbook, quizzes and exams from earlier in the semester and the notes you'd taken in class.

You had a history midterm in the morning, and either you were going to take it or it was going to take you.

You were worried. You were kind of a slacker and hadn't been doing too well, but this class was part of your general education requirement so failing wasn't really an option.

You were worried. You'd been diligent about note-taking and felt like you had a solid grasp on the material, but it was a big test.

You weren't exactly worried -- you're kind of a nerd for this stuff, and felt confident that you were prepared and would do well, but was there really such a thing as being too prepared?

As you read over what your professor had said would be covered on the test, you glanced at the clock. It was nearing 1:00 AM, but your class wasn't until 9:00, and you'd definitely gotten less sleep since you started college a few years ago. You settled in a little bit, pulling your knees up to your chest and getting cozy so you could delve back into the finer points of the Revolutionary War.

Then your phone started to ring.

Curious about who could be calling so late, you reached over to snatch your phone up out of the mess of papers. You smiled when you saw your best friend's name pop up on the screen, waiting for you to accept the video call.

You answered the call, preparing a joke about how your early bird bestie would not be getting the worm in the morning after calling at this hour, but Cove had other plans.

"Heeeeey, y/n," he said, smiling sloppily. His voice was a little too loud, his tongue was a little too loose, and he let out a little giggle even though nothing was, as far as you could tell, particularly funny.

Cove was drunk. Like, really drunk.

"How are you doing there, bud?" you asked, smirking. Cove didn't drink much, but when he did it was always a sight to see.

"Good, good. I -- no, listen. Y/n. Are you -- hey. I've got a surprise."

Proud that he managed to get out a coherent thought, you raised your eyebrows, feeling a bit like you were indulging a small child and wordless inviting him to go on.

"Are you ready? I want ... no, be quiet," he said, looking off to his side. For the first time, you heard a deep chuckle. Someone else was with him, and you didn't have to put too much work into finding out who.

"Derek's back!" you said cheerfully, laughing as Cove clumsily turned his phone so you could see another old friend sitting right beside him.

"Hey, gal," he said, grinning easily. "Do you have anything you'd maybe like to say to me today that you couldn't say on another day because it wouldn't be true on another day, a well wisher, or ... wait, that's not ..." he trailed off, turning to Cove. "What am I saying?"

So Derek was drunk too.

You knew what he was trying to get at though -- it was his birthday! His 21st birthday, to be exact. You'd called him earlier in the day to chat, but it wouldn't hurt to give the birthday boy more special attention.

You realized at once what he meant -- you'd totally forgotten, but of course it was his birthday.

"Happy birthday," you told him, and he closed his eyes blissfully.

"Here's what I did, I'll tell you," Cove said, bringing the phone closer to his face but holding it far enough that you could see Derek swaying happily. "I did -- I knew it was his birthday. And I don't have to work tomorrow because I'm off ... I'm off work tomorrow."

Cove was never exactly an eloquent man, but Drunk Cove was an absolute disaster.

"So I said -- do you know what I said, y/n? I said, 'It's Derek's birthday and he's turning 21 and that means ... y'n, that means he can legally drink,"

"Does it?" you asked, content to watch your buddies be silly.

"Yeah, it's the law," he answered, and you thought you caught an eye roll. "So I said, 'I'm gonna go see Derek and take him out for his first drink.' And I did -- I did do that."

"Y/n," Derek said, grabbing Cove's wrist to twist the phone back in his direction. "Did you know people are so nice to you on your birthday? People gave me so many drinks and most of them were gross but I drank them anyway because --

"It's a rite of passage," Cove cut him off. "That's what my dad said. He said -- Derek, he said that you take your friends out on their special birthdays."

"Your dad condoned this?" you asked,

"Well, kind of, but it got -- listen, it's -- ok, so ..."

You listened as Cove started and stopped a weird string of sentences about how he'd hopped in his car and drove up to Derek's college to surprise him on his 21st birthday. Derek, ever the good boy, hadn't had any plans for debauchery, but it seems like Mr. Holden had told Cove about the tradition of getting your pals wasted when they turn 21, and your two childhood best friends found themselves at a bar near Derek's school.

They took turns telling you stories about their night out, but when Cove started going on a disjointed tangent about Long Island iced teas -- which, he complained, did not taste like iced tea but instead fire accelerant -- you saw Derek starting to look a bit sleepy, even with a smile still plastered to his face.

"You doing all right, Derek?" you asked him.

"You're so pretty," he answered happily. "You look like an angel. You don't have a wings or a halo or ... you know what i mean. Pretty."

Before you could react, Cove looked over at him and said, "I think y/n is pretty like a mermaid."

"She doesn't have a tail," he argued.

"No, I know -- obviously she doesn't -- but you know, like sea creatures, like the ocean," Cove argued, not very successfully.

"Maybe she's pretty like a goddess," Derek supplied. "Like a Greek goddess and she sits on Mount Olympus and people fight wars and build fake horses over her and she can have babies from her forehead and there are statues in museums and everyone's like, 'Wow, that sculptor forgot an arm but look how pretty.'"

"Pretty like -- like a siren," Cove said, sticking with sea creatures. "And she like sits on a rock and all these sailors want -- everyone wants to talk to her because pretty. But there's not ... is that the one with the bird stuff?"

"I don't want y/n to have bird stuff," Derek pouted.

You laughed. Your friends were too sweet (and kind of dumb right now).

You laughed, but you felt a light blush pop up on your cheeks as well. Did Cove really think you were that pretty?

You smiled. You'd always had a bit of a crush on Derek, and it made you feel good that he thought you looked nice.

You wished you were in the same room as them more than anything. Cove and Derek had both grown up pretty darn attractive themselves, and it sure would be nice to be in the middle of that sandwich.

As fun as the phone call was, you really did need to get back to studying. You also weren't sure if your friends would even remember this phone call in the morning.

After getting Derek to stop rambling and Cove to put together enough words to work for a an acceptable goodbye, you went to hang up.

"Y/n, wait," Cove said, and you paused.

"What do you want to do for your birthday?"

#olba #cove holden #derek suarez #olba derek #our life beginnings and always #olba mc #olba cove #our life

[venerawrites]

May I rq a Shino fic of him taking care of his injured s/o who has just returned from a mission and keeps trying to reassure him they are fine and can do everything :3

author's note: exams are finally over and I am back! This one is kind of short and cute, but I really hope you like it! <3 Thank you so much for requesting!

Life as a shinobi was exciting - you travelled across the nations, meeting new people and experiencing new cultures, while constantly learning new skills and techniques. It is fuelled by adrenaline, which makes you addicted to the risks from the first moment your kunai clashes with that of an enemy.

Now, as you tried to reach the book placed in the further corner of your bedside table, life felt like anything BUT exciting. Laying wrapped in bandages across your stomach and ribs, every movement felt like a new stab wound to your body. There were already a few existing on your body, a "gift" from a rogue ninja, who managed to ambush you and Genma on your way back from Suna. Thankfully, you managed to defeat him and his team, but not without making a few mistakes which left you in such a weak state, that your fellow shinobi had to carry you back.

Wounds and pain were part of the job, so despite the unwanted encounter, you considered the mission a success - the scrolls were delivered safe to the Kazekage and the preparations for the new Chunin Exams have already began.

Shino, however, did not share the same opinion.

Your partner of two years was usually a man of silence - he rarely talked, voicing his thoughts only when he considered it absolutely necessary. His behaviour remained unchanged at home - he preferred letting you talk, only offering comments on what you were saying when you either asked or he felt like he could contribute a different point of view. Never have you heard him yell or scold you... till you came home from your latest mission.

"What did I tell you about moving too much?", his tone, usually calm and monotone, was now carrying a note of worry. He hurried towards you, gently pushing you by the shoulders back on the bed, before passing you the book that you have been eyeing for the past five minutes.

A loud huff made its way out of your lips and you crossed your arms, before giving him an annoyed look.

"Shino, for a fifth time today, I am fine", the words that were meant to be comforting, came out as a groan. You tried to sit up again, but his reactions were quicker, and before you could do so, he pressed your torso down to the bed.

"Shinooo!"

"Sakura explicitly said you shouldn't move or get up from this bed for three weeks", his words were stern and you couldn't help but let a small blush cover your cheeks at how serious and dominant he was at this moment, a complete opposite of your silent and soft boyfriend.

He must have noticed the blush on your cheek, as his fingers made their way to your face, as he gently caressed it.

"Stop pouting!", he said, as he laid a small kiss at the corner of your lips, "Only one more week."

You groaned at his words, moving your head, so you faced the window. Every day you could hear the laughs of the children playing on the street and the sweet songs of the birds, that made their home in the tree right in front of your house. From time to time you could ever hear the muted voices of the merchants, who were eagerly trying to sell their "exotic new items" to the passing villagers.

Life outside kept going, while you stayed confined in your room. And it was not fair.

"Sakura doesn't know what she is talking about!", you finally said, adjusting your position and biting back a wince at the sudden pain that you felt in the side of your ribs. Tightening your jaw, you took a deep breath, before lilting yourself into a half-seated position.

This time Shino didn't stop you.

"I'm sure after years of practicing as a medical ninja, her knowledge is better than ours."

With a sigh, he laid the cup of hot tea, that he brought you earlier, and he gently grabbed your chin and turned it toward him. There was an unusual uncertainty in his gaze, almost as if he was unsure if he should say the next words.

"Hey...", he tried to grab your attention, but you stubbornly kept your eyes focused on the blooming branches outside, "Don't be like that! It is for your own good."

Fighting the urge to lean your head more toward the warmth of his hand, you clicked your tongue, finally meeting his eyes. Your lips were still pursed in a pout and a slight crease had formed between your brows.

"But Shino I have been laying on this bed for two weeks. TWO WEEKS!", your arms flew in the air, emphasizing the period of time, "And I know I should rest and all that... But I need to move a little bit too! You don't even let me go to the restroom by myself!"

Shino withdrew his hand away and you immediately regretted the way you worded your thoughts. A flash of hurt and confusion passed through his face, before his expression went blank.

"I am just trying to help..."

Closing your eyes, you nodded your head. You knew he meant well and you were more than grateful for all the care he had given you during the past few weeks. He cleaned, cooked, and did all the shopping for you, leaving you with nothing to do but relax and re-read all the books you had on your bookshelf over and over again.

The first week was fine - most of the time you either slept or dived into the fantasy worlds created by your favourite authors. However, as the second week approached, you started to feel your back and limbs aching from the lack of movement. Every time you tried to get up or even stretch, however, Shino magically appeared by the door, scolding you for not following Sakura's instructions.

"I know, I know! I just...", you let out a sigh, before grabbing his hand in yours and gently squeezing it, "I feel like my pain is getting worse the more I remain unmoving in this room! I need a bit of movement, a bit of fresh air-"

"I can open the window for you."

"That's not what I mean!", you rolled your eyes, before giving him a knowing look, "I know you only want the best for me, but I feel like I am going insane! And while I love being pampered, I want to have the freedom to do some stuff by myself, without you monitoring my every movement!"

Shino remained silent, his mind absorbing what you have said to him. He loved you more than any person in his life and while he only wanted to be of help, he could see how his overbearing care was suffocating you. You have always been quite independent and he has always respected that need of freedom, so your current situation was presenting big challenges for both of you.

"I'm sorry", he finally said, while his hand gave you a reassuring squeeze, a sign he actually meant it. You gave a small smile in return, bringing his fingers to your lips, before giving them a small kiss. Your lips automatically stretched into a grin once you saw him blush at your gesture.

"Don't be! I am thankful for all you do for me. I really am!"

He leaned towards you and pressed his mouth to your forehead, leaving it there for a few seconds before pulling away. He smiled at you, gently brushing some of the sticky hair on your cheeks with his thumb.

"You really need to take a shower."

"What, no offer to help?"

Shino laughed at your words, the melodic sound making your insides warm, before he stood up from the side of your bed and start walking toward the door.

"As tempting as it sounds...", he was already outside and was just about to close the door, when he poked his head once more, a playful spark dancing in his eyes, "I believe you can handle this one yourself."

cc artwork: Zhejiang Zhi

#shino aburame #shino x reader #shino aburame x reader #shino headcanons #naruto imagines #naruto requests

[faebaex]

Catnap

author note: hello??? not a soulmate au fic??? who thought it was possible ￣∀￣ also why specifically a black footed cat? Bc they are so cute! They are also considered the deadliest cat in the world >ω< anyway, i have some more fics in mind with this particular reader, specifically some platonic ones with a certain someone ¯▿¯

Please note that this is a female character. 

characters: Leona Kingscholar x F!Black Footed Cat Reader

“The sun beating down on you. The soft breeze tickling your skin. 

“... /N...”

You hummed, your ears twitching softly. 

“... F/N...”

Huh. The birds were loud today. Did they usually come to this part of the Savanna? Hopefully they’d buzz off soon.

“... F/N! Come on, first bell is going to ring.”

A gentle shake of your shoulder had you startling awake, squinting to see a white haired wolfman looming over you awkwardly. You groaned, moving to roll over, “go away, Jack.”

Another shake, “come on, if you’re late to class again it’ll be another detention.”

You huffed as you sat up, still half asleep as you squinted and tried to adjust your eyes to the light. You were in fact not bathing in the sun in the Sunset Savanna, but actually hidden away in the ferns of the temperate zone in the botanical gardens. Perhaps not as hidden as you thought, considering Jack still seemed to find you. 

You stood languidly, not at all in a rush, no matter how impatiently Jack frowned down at you with his arms crossed. You brushed off your uniform, shaking off your blazer that you’d been using as a makeshift sheet before sliding it back on. 

“What class do we even have?” You mumbled, fingers attempting to comb your hair back into place. “History of magic,” answered Jack as you began to leave the botanical garden, you slightly trailing behind the more eager wolf. 

“Why do you even do this, Jack? As if you care if I’m late to class. Also, I’m nocturnal, if you hadn’t noticed, so this is a major drag...” You grumbled, feeling slightly irritable at being disturbed during your lunchtime nap, even if he was only trying to help, in his own way.

“You’re right,” retorted Jack bluntly, “however, Ruggie-senpai has entrusted me with the duty of making sure you get to class, and I will not disappoint my superior!” Ruggie? Why was he bothering you? Or specifically, why had he set Jack to bother you? What an inconvenience, this was definitely getting old fast. 

“... Whatever. Can I borrow your history textbook?”

“No.”

...

You hide in the shade of the trees as you watched Ruggie hanging up his load of laundry outside the Savanaclaw dorm. You took his distraction with hanging out what looked like Leona’s uniform to stalk towards him silently, succeeding in getting behind him without him noticing you. “... Senpai.”  

You watched as he spooked, his ears and tail straightening as Leona’s uniform shirt slipping from his fingers and fell into the dirt. Ruggie whipped around, not looking any more relieved when he saw that it was you who had snuck up behind him. 

“A-ah F/N, I’m actually really busy at the moment. You know how it is, I gotta finish with Leona’s laundry and then start on--”

“Why did you tell Jack to follow me around?” You cut him off, your slit pupils honing in on him like you would pounce on him at any moment. Ruggie cringed, his cagey demeanour not making him look any more innocent.

“I don’t know what you’re talking--”

“Jack told me.”

“Aw man,” Ruggie grabbed Leona’s wayward shirt off of the dirt, throwing it over his shoulder before lacing his hands behind his head, “why does Jack always got to be such a stick in the mud...” 

You said nothing, your gaze still zeroed in on him as you waited for him to talk, quirking an unimpressed eyebrow. Ruggie breathed a long suffering sigh. “Look, this isn’t me!” he unlaced his hands to hold them up defensively in front of him, “Leona told me to do it, and well... I didn’t want to tell you what to do so... I delegated to Jack. I didn’t think he’d snitch, though...” He muttered under his breath. 

Leona? Your head tilted to the side in disbelief and you narrowed your eyes at Ruggie, wondering if he was messing with you. Did he think you wouldn’t approach the Housewarden over this? Ruggie could sense he was in danger, as he immediately tried to assuage you. 

“I’m telling the truth! Why else would I go through all the trouble of recruiting Jack of all people? With all the work that Leona gives me anyway, why would I bother you if Leona didn’t demand it? ... No offense...” Ruggie added, a tad bit nervous at the thought of facing your wrath. He certainly understood it, having been on the receiving end of Jack’s helpful nature before. 

“Why is Leona bothered about whether I go to class or not? He’s hardly one to talk.” You huffed, your brow furrowing in frustration. Ruggie shrugs, turning back to his laundry as he pulled Leona’s shirt off of his shoulder and began to hang it up. “Beats me. Maybe he’s been getting stick from Crowley about Savanaclaw’s attendance.” 

You hummed, your tail swishing in irritation as you turned to head back inside the dorm, but not before throwing a comment over your shoulder at Ruggie, “I won’t forget this.”

“Aw, don’t be like that, F/N!”

...

It had been a week since your conversation with Ruggie. And what a week it had been. You weren’t willing to let this slide, sure Jack wasn’t all that bad to be around but the constant herding from class to class got tiresome after the first time, let alone every class, every day. So you decided to give your housewarden a taste of his own medicine. 

Every day this week, you’d disturbed Leona’s naps at every opportunity. One way or another, you’d make sure that whenever he laid down to rest in the botanical gardens, something would happen that would inevitable force him up. Setting off the sprinklers, making noise - you made sure the temperate zone was no longer the best place to catch a nap. But now it was the end of the week, and you decided to confront Leona personally. 

It took a moment to find him, hidden away amongst the foliage in the botanical gardens. He was lying on his back, napping without a care in the world. You stalked silently, until you loomed over him. Pulling a small water bottle from your blazer pocket, you released the cap and held it over Leona’s face.

Drip... Drip.... Drip...

Leona frowned as the first drop hit his forehead, his brow scrunching. And then another came, followed by another... You heard him ‘tch’, the back of his hand coming up to wipe at the water as his eyes slowly opened... Looking directly into yours. 

“Housewarden.”

“F/N.”

You recapped the water bottle, shoving it back into your blazer pocket. “I have a bone to pick with you, Housewarden.”

“Don’t tell me you’re the one who has been disturbing my naps.” Leona groaned, his eyes sliding shut again.

“Annoying, isn’t it? After all, you sent Jack to ruin mine.”

Slit green feline eyes found yours again, “Jack? As if.”

“Ruggie.” 

“Tch, it’s not my problem that hyena can’t do his job properly...” Leona replied gruffly, shaking his head and languidly letting out a yawn. You leaned forward, your hair falling from your shoulders towards him, “Well, call them off. Or it will be your problem - because if I can’t nap, I’ll make sure you can’t either.” 

Leona’s eyes narrowed at you, “is that a threat, frosh?”

You narrowed your eyes back, “a guarantee, Housewarden.”

The two of you glared at each other for a long moment, a stand off between two of the most stubborn personalities in Savanaclaw. Eventually, Leona sighed and his hand shot out to grab hold of your wrist and before you could brace yourself, he had tugged you down beside him. “If you want to nap so bad, nap now.”

You glared at the lion, who simply ignored you and settled back down, his eyes already closed. Was that a yes? Would you be able to return to your nap schedule, undisturbed by the likes of Jack? You huffed, rolling onto your side. This wasn’t over. 

“Stupid lion...” You muttered under your breath, receiving a soft snore in response. Seriously?! He’d fallen asleep that quickly? How does he do that? You grumbled some more as you got yourself comfortable, your own eyes sliding shut. You weren’t going to turn down a free nap...

...

When Ruggie came to find Leona, to corral him to yet another of his make-up classes, he groaned and laced his fingers behind his head. With Leona’s arm slung around your neck, and you curled into his side fast asleep, he knew that his job just got that much more difficult...

#twst #twisted wonderland #disney twst #leona kingscholar #twisted wonderland x reader #leona kingscholar x reader #leona kingscholar x y/n #twst leona

[himeryu]

Two Birds (Diluc Ragnvindr x Reader)

CH NOTES: heavy angst, open ending, arranged marriage, gender-neutral reader, mental breakdowns, anxiety

Pairing: Diluc x Reader

Summary: A marriage between 2 friends where one leaves but the other tries to stay but fate has other plans.

A/N: a oneshot that I might continue. After this, I’m gonna finalize Love Affair 02 and fulfill requests!!

. . . navigation masterlist

Diluc’s 18th birthday was the day when everything was supposed to be amazing. He expected to blow the candle with his father, his fellow knights from the Ordo Favonious, his brother, and you– his beloved fiance from Inazuma– by his side.

Yet why did his father die by his hands? Why did his fellow knights betray and disrespect him and his now deceased father? Why did his brother– now estranged– deceive him and the nation they have sworn to protect? Why did everything fall apart on his birthday?

Devastated and enraged, he left Mondstadt– forgetting that he left someone dear to him in the place he called home.

It’s been a week since Diluc left and oh god you were a mess. The death of Master Crepus and Diluc’s absence took a horrible toll on your mental health. Not only that but the political climate in your home country is starting to eat you up. Your parents– who stayed in Inazuma– begged you to stay away from there as you are a vision user, but you can’t just leave your parents alone!

You worry about your friends in Inazuma, will the owner of Naganohara fireworks stay safe? Or the Kamisato siblings? Would the Kaedahara wanderer and his friend be okay? How about the red Oni who swore to beat you in an Onikabuto match once you return home?

And God you worry about your runaway Fiance and his now estranged brother. Will Kaeya be alright? His 2nd father just died and now his brother left him all alone.

The entire day you have just been worrying about everyone you hold dear. The more you think about your current situation, the more anxious and angsty you got. You replay the conversation you had with Diluc, which happened the night before he left.

Did he really mean what he said? Tears start to well up in your eyes as you recall the things he said to you that night.

It was the night where you both screamed your heads off, the night where your true feelings came to light, and the night where he rejected you in the most brutal way possible.

You have been worrying about others these past few days but how about you? will you be okay? Will you and Diluc be okay? Tears start to roll down your cheeks at a rapid speed, you cover your mouth with both of your hands, hoping that none of the maids check up on you from your loud whimpers.

Right now you are in a foreign land— a place where you used to call your 2nd home because of your Fiance— all alone.

Your string of thoughts was disrupted by a knock on your door, “Master [Name], there’s a visitor who wishes to speak to you”

You quickly wipe off your tears. You turn your head facing the door, “Yes Adelaide, tell the visitor to make themselves comfortable in the Drawing (living) room”. You gulp slightly, hoping that Adelaide didn’t notice your husky voice from crying.

“Understood, Master [Name],” Adelaide says, walking away from your room– sounds of her footsteps growing faint.

You ponder for a few seconds on who might be the visitor as you didn’t expect anyone today. If you did expect anyone, then you wouldn’t be crying your ass off.

You sigh, not wanting to entertain the guest, but you have no other choice. You hope the visitor is someone you know, to make things less awkward.

You walk towards your vanity mirror, fixing your appearance to make it presentable, at most– though, your slightly swollen eyes from the intense crying session aren’t making things any better. You look at your reflection in the mirror one last time before you leave your room.

You walk down the stairs and then towards the drawing room-- now the door is right in front of you. You take deep breaths to prepare yourself. You put on a smile, placing your hand on the doorknob. You twist the doorknob and then enter the room.

And are you in for a surprise as your gaze falls onto the visitor sitting on the couch. Your eyes widen as you recognize your visitor, a blonde-haired man wearing a bright red jacket with a pyro vision on his waist.

Noticing that a person entered the room, he turns his head towards the door. Realizing that it is you, he immediately stands up and walks towards you– you freeze on the spot, What is Thoma doing in Mondstadt?

Your heartbeat quickens, hoping that nothing horrible happened to the people you love. Thoma looks at you with a worried and desperate expression. You look at him– mentally preparing yourself for any news this man would bring to you.

“Hello there, Thoma. What brings you to Mondstadt?” You smile.

You observe him as you wait for him to speak. You notice how his eyes look at you desperately, you notice how his hand is shaking, you notice how he slightly opens his mouth and then immediately closes it– as if he’s having a hard time trying to break the news to you.

The more he tries to say something the more your anxiety rises. Did something bad happen to your parents to the point he ran to Mondstadt without informing you beforehand?

After what felt like forever, he speaks up, and god how everything came crashing down from the things he told you.

“The situation in Inazuma is worsening, some citizens have started to revolt, making the country split in two.” He continues, “Lord Ayato is trying his best to tame the situation but it isn’t enough”.

“What about my parents?” you ask.

“Lady [Surname] is doing well, she’s been spending time with Lady Ayaka” he says. You sigh in relief upon hearing your mother is doing just fine. A bit relaxed, you ask about your father “How about father?”

Thoma tenses at your question, which isn’t helping your now rising anxiety at all.

“Lord [Surname] is helping Lord Ayato trying to tame the situation but,” He takes a deep breath then continues, “His health is starting to deteriorate to the point he is currently bed-ridden.”

Your eyes widen and tears start rolling down your eyes. Thoma immediately tries to reassure you that everything will be alright as Ayato hired talented doctors to take care of your father but it isn’t enough. You cover your mouth with your right hand as you sob.

Slowly, you start to calm down, after all a question has yet to be answered. You take deep breaths as Thoma looks at you worriedly. Then you look at Thoma straight in the eye— determined and still a bit tear eyed. You need to do something.

“So, what brings you here to Mondstadt, Thoma?” You said in an eerily low voice, almost as if you weren’t having a mental breakdown.

Chills went down his spine at the tone of your voice. Thoma gulped as he looks at your messed up face desperately, “Please, come back home, [Name], we need you.”

bonus a/n: tbh i want to make this into another love angle but w/ ayato for the extra angst but idk,,,,, should i? hehe

#genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin x y/n #genshin x you #diluc x reader #diluc x gender neutral reader #diluc x gn reader #diluc x you #diluc x y/n #diluc angst #diluc hurt/comfort #diluc fanfic #diluc oneshot #fanfic #angst #genshin angst #genshin fluff #genshin fatui #genshin fanfic #diluc heavy angst #arranged marriage #diluc x fiance #diluc x fiance reader #diluc arranged marriage #diluc arrange marriage #diluc marriage of convenience #marriage of convenience

[kookieswan]

Nocturne of Waves - No Other

SeaCreature!Yoongi x Heiress!Reader (f)

Word Count: 1k

Genre: SeaCreature AU, Mermaid AU, Strangers to Lovers, Fluff.

Warnings: Slightly suggestive content at the end. The sexual tension is on the rise though y’all, even if Yoon doesn’t really realize he’s being a giant tease.

Summary: Fish men really are oblivious huh?

Notes: Hi hello this is to celebrate Yoongi’s birthday because I have unhinged romantic feelings for him ♥️

This is from the Nocturne of Waves series. Find the Masterlist here!

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

“… And then he gave me a kiss on the cheek and that was it. Don’t get me wrong, it was a fantastic date, I just expected more I guess.” It makes you smile a secret little smile, because sure things didn’t go Jimin’s way… But he sounds happy. And when he got back from that date, he was glowing. Sliding your sunglasses off, you glance over to where Min lays next to you on the deck.

“He seems like to romantic type Min. He probably just wants to take it slow with you… I don’t think that’s a bad thing cupcake.” You’d never say it out loud, but Jimin doesn’t have the best record when it comes to relationships. It’s never been bad per se, but they’ve never really lasted either. Jimin gives you a little pout but nods, sighing a little as he sets back into the patio chair.

It’s quiet then, the two of you soaking up sun as Yoongi spends time at the bottom of the pool. You’re never sure what he does down there, but he loves to swim down to the bottom and just sit for however long when he doesn’t feel like dragging himself out to the ocean. It was apparently a very good decision to clean it up for him so you’re happy you did.

Speaking of Yoongi, you notice his head pop out of the water a few minutes later, light eyes staring at you intently. You stare back, watching as he slowly cocks his head to the side before pushing himself up a bit more. He glances over at Jimin and then back to you, lips pursed before speaking up.

“It is the day of my birth.” Some birds squawk in the distance, waves crashing onto the shore noisily. It continues to be relatively quiet beside that as you absorb the information, mind blank and not really functioning as it should. You take a slow drink of your mimosa, kissing your teeth because- birthday…?

“… Excuse me?” You stare at your mate, unsure if you’ve heard him right or not. His birthday? The day that this beautiful fish man came into the world? And he didn’t tell you?! Well, that’s just rude. He nods his head, tentacles slithering out of the pool in a slow manner.

“Today is the day that I was born. The human said I should inform you.” Jimin let’s out a giggle finally as you spring out of the chair by the poolside, hands tossed up in the air. You can’t help but be huffy; he deserves to be absolutely spoiled for his birthday. He deserves the whole world, and now he has nothing.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!? I NEED to prepare!” You go to turn, ready to make a number of phone calls before a tentacle wraps around your ankle. Yoongi tugs on your leg lightly, keeping you in place as you try to tug away. You pout at him, but he just smiles confusedly in return in what you guess is an attempt to be reassuring.

“… Prepare for what?” The man looks genuinely perplexed, eyes wide and light as he looks up at you. Glancing over at Jimin, he’s not much help as he continues to sip on his margarita, shit eating grin on his face. What a little asshole; you’ll get him back later.

“Presents! Cake! Dinner! Everything?! I need to get you everything. Maybe a fish cake instead…? A human cake? I’m not a murdered but-” You know that he likely has zero clue about human customs when it comes to birthdays, but it doesn’t matter to you. He needs all of these things and you’ll be damned if he doesn’t get them. Plus, it would be a fantastic opportunity for another mating gift.

Yoongi pulls himself out of the pool fully then, his inky hair sticking to his pale skin as water drips down his torso. You’ve always acknowledged that the fish man is attractive (how could you not), but lately… Lately it’s been quite the distraction. Especially as he wraps himself around you with his tentacles, his hand grabbing yours as he strokes the skin there softly. Your wonder passively if he knows he’s such a distraction.

“I do not need all those things, I already have you.“ Quite the distraction indeed. Your determination to throw him a birthday party falters as you fluster, face heating up slightly at his words. The urge to kiss his cheek is strong, and you nearly lean in to do so without a second thought before an annoying voice interrupts you.

“And me! You have me!” Ah yes, you have Jimin. You love him, you do, but wow is he turning into a giant cockblock. Perhaps contacting Taehyung to take your annoying bestie for a nice week long date is something you should look into. Yoongi’s affectionate smile turns into a sort of strained smirk, eyebrow twitching noticeably as his eyes cut over to Jimin.

“I could eat him for my birthday, although I do not think he would be nearly as sweet as you, my treasure.” This makes you gape as the other man gasps dramatically, muttering about how he is in no way shape or form a meal. You both watch as he gets up and stomps his way into the house, his trunks not leaving a lot to the imagination. There’s no way he meant something else. No, of course not. Clearing your throat, you turn back to Yoongi, poking his cheek and giving a small smile.

“You think I’d taste sweet?” He nods before licking your finger, making you shriek out a shrill laugh. He draws closer, face nuzzling into your bare stomach almost like a cat. The man speaks lowly against the skin there, his breath warm against your tummy. It makes you shiver, something in your stomach clenching hotly.

“Yes, the sweetest. I desire no other.” He nips the skin there before drawing back, just enough to gaze up at you with unreadable eyes. You run your hands through his hair softly, tilting his head back just enough so you can lean in and leave a lingering kiss against his forehead. Only pure thoughts for now, there’s no time to jump into his-

“Good, because you’re mine. Now- Let’s go make that cake sweetheart.”

#nocturne of waves #yoongi x reader #yoongi x you #yoongi x y/n #yoongi fluff #yoongi thirst #bts x you #bts x reader #bts x y/n #bts fluff

[the-al-chemist]

On This Wild Night — Part Five

Notes: there are five consecutive lines of this chapter that reduced me to tears whilst writing. They’re not even sad or happy or anything, I’m just an emotional mess. A warning for drunken dad dancing and an incredibly lightly described intimate scene. Anyway, thanks to all who’ve been reading, especially those who have liked/commented/reblogged along the way. Means the world as always. Lots of love x

Previous — Masterlist

Arthur Weasley was drunk. Artemis had never seen him this drunk before. She might have actually preferred drunk Arthur to regular Arthur. Drunk Arthur was definitely more fun to dance with.

“Muggles call this one ‘the sprinkler’,” he informed Artemis, demonstrating a dance move.

“That’s a great one,” replied Artemis, copying him. “Arthur, what actually is a sprinkler?”

“I have absolutely no idea!”

Artemis laughed out loud as Arthur stopped ‘sprinkling’ and started to bob up and down, pinching his nose with one hand and wiggling the finger of the other hand.

“Where did you learn to dance like that?” she asked him.

“At a wedding, of course! Muggleborn friends. Excellent fun.”

“As fun as this wedding?”

“No, this is the best wedding I’ve ever been to,” said Arthur. He suddenly stopped dancing, and leaned in towards Artemis. “Don’t tell my wife I said that.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.”

“It’s not that I didn’t enjoy my own wedding. But, as a rule, weddings are more fun when you're not the one getting married. Less stressful, much less pressure.”

“Even if you’re making a speech?”

“Ah, that’s nothing,” Arthur said, swiping each of his hands across in front of his eyes with the two first fingers extended in a V-shape. “Just do what Ron and I did before ours.”

“What was that?”

“Drink.”

Artemis grinned. No wonder Arthur was dancing so flamboyantly.

“No, I love weddings,” Arthur continued. He put his fists in front of his chest, stuck his elbows out to the sides, and flapped them like a bird. “A whole day dedicated to people being in love with each other, and bringing their families together. What could be better than that?”

It was lucky, really, that the music was so loud. It meant that Artemis was able to get away with not saying anything in response to Arthur’s question. She forced a smile, and nodded her head in time to the music.

“Of course, today is a bit different,” said Arthur, not seeming to notice Artemis’ discomfort with where the conversation was heading, “because Harry’s been a part of our family for so long. It’s just that it’s all above board now. Official.”

“Yeah. Right,” said Artemis, her smile slipping from her face.

“It’s funny, him being my son-in-law. You know, I already thought of him as a son, in some ways. Molly, too. Adding the ‘in-law’ bit seems formal. Legal. I think it’s a bit of a downgrade, don’t you?”

“I dunno.”

“I think they need a new word. For sons and daughters that aren’t technically yours but might as well be. Maybe out-law. That would definitely suit you.”

“What do you mean, me?”

“Well, you’re already part of the family. Have been for years, haven’t you?” Arthur started to walk backwards without taking his heels off the ground between steps. Artemis had stopped dancing. She might have stopped breathing. “Maybe we should start calling you our daughter-out-law. I’ll suggest it to Molly later. I think she’ll like having a name for what you are to us. Naming things makes them less complicated, I’d say.”

Artemis threw her arms around Arthur with such force that he stumbled slightly, and almost toppled over.

“Sorry,” she said, letting go and using her arm to steady him. “I just… Thank you for saying that, Arthur.”

“What?”

“That I’m family.”

“Why would you not be?”

“Well, I’m not married.”

“Doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, all that comes down to is a signature on a piece of paper. Family is more than that. It’s not about blood, or paperwork, it’s about love. Just love.”

“You know, Muggles say that love is all you need,” Artemis said, within a smile that she didn’t even have to force.

“I’m not surprised. They’re ingenious, Muggles are.”

Artemis giggled as Arthur started to dance away from her, his daughter-out-law, and towards Fleur, his daughter-in-law, who regarded him with a look that was made up of amusement, endearment, and disdain, each in equal measure.

The music changed abruptly, and became slower. Artemis smiled as she recognised the song, and looked to see who she would need to congratulate on their superior taste in music.

She turned towards the gramophone and saw Charlie stood next to it, pocketing his wand and looking straight at her. She sighed, and crossed her arms in front of her chest, though she felt considerably less angry now. At some point in the last two hours, her burning rage had given way to a mild niggling annoyance without her even realising it.

Charlie walked over to her and held out his hands.

“May I?” he asked, and she looked at him sceptically.

“Depends. Are you still planning on moving to New Zealand?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Then yes, you may.”

“Thank you,” said Charlie, smiling so that his dimples showed and fine lines crinkled at the corners of his eyes.

He took her hands in his, and led her to the doorway of the marquee, where the music was a little quieter, and there was less bustle and noise from the party guests. The cool air of the garden brushed Artemis’ skin, a welcome change from the cloying heat that had built up inside the marquee, and the crescent moon could be seen hovering over the outline of the house. Charlie placed Artemis’ hands on his chest and slid his own around her waist so that they came to rest on the small of her back.

“So,” said Charlie, stepping slowly so that the two of them swayed ever so gently from side to side, “I spoke to my mum.”

“And?”

“I told her the score, and she’s going to stop hassling you now.”

“Thank you,” Artemis said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

“You’re welcome. I also did a bit of thinking, and I came to realise that I’ve maybe not been the best boyfriend in the world today.”

“How so?”

“Well, I’ve neglected you a little. I mean, I left you at the church so I could… ush, and again at dinner with Percy and Audrey so that I could suck up to Kingsley. Then I was mucking around with my brothers after the speeches, and I didn’t take you back to the house after you fell over, which would have stopped the whole fiasco with Mum.”

“Charlie, none of those things are bad.” Artemis frowned. “We are our own people, we don’t have to be together all the time. And I didn’t need you to take me anywhere, I was fine.”

“I know you were. If I’m being honest, I mainly came over because I didn’t want to look like I didn’t care as much as the others,” Charlie admitted. Artemis nodded; she had guessed as much. “Still, I feel bad about it now. Not just that, but... It’s just that today was always going to be kind of difficult emotionally for everyone, and I’ve been trying to make sure things are okay for everyone, and I forgot that maybe I should’ve been making sure things were okay for you. That today was going to be difficult for you, too.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, like at dinner. I was trying so hard to impress Kingsley that I didn’t really think how hard it must have been for you to be there opposite Teddy. I know how much he reminds you of Tonks, and I just stole Kingsley away from you and left you to deal with that on your own.”

Artemis said nothing. Charlie moved his left hand off her waist and used it to push a strand of hair back from her face, and she felt some of the tension that had risen in her when he mentioned Tonks’ son dissipate.

“And I acted like a total arse when you were upset about what Mum said to you.”

“It wasn’t your finest moment,” Artemis agreed, and both of them grinned. “But it wasn’t mine either. I shouldn’t have threatened you or shouted at you like I did. I overreacted a bit. I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted, but I shouldn’t have needed you to shout or threaten me to talk to Mum about it. It was obvious that she’d upset you, I should have gone to her voluntarily to sort that out for you. At the very least, I should have been more sympathetic about it. And I don’t think you’d have reacted that badly if I had been a bit more… attentive to you earlier in the day. I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted.”

“Thank Merlin for that,” said Charlie, and he lifted Artemis’ hand to his lips. He kissed the heel of it, then closed his own hand over it. Artemis smiled.

“Why weren’t you being more attentive?” she asked him. “You normally are. Even your mum and Ginny said so.”

Charlie paused before answering, “I think… I think my head’s just been a bit all over the place today.”

“Because of Fred?”

“Mainly. And Tonks. And Ginny.”

“Ginny’s right there.”

“I know, but it’s weird. She’s the youngest of all of us, and… I don’t know. She’s meant to be the baby, and now we are at her wedding.”

“Yeah. I understand.”

“And I don’t know why, but as soon as all of us siblings get together, we all suddenly revert to being like we were when we were kids.” Charlie grinned sheepishly. “I know that’s not really an excuse, but…” He swallowed. “Like I said, I’m sorry. Are we alright now?”

Artemis nodded. “More than alright.”

As she rose up onto her toes to kiss him, Charlie smiled hopefully.

“So, does that mean you’ll try and catch the bouquet for me?” he asked her.

“What’s the prize money?”

“Ten Galleons, including the two I put in.”

“That’s not bad,” said Artemis. She considered it for a moment, her eyes narrowed with scepticism. “You’re not going to spend all that money on dragons, though, are you?”

“No, ‘course not. I was thinking that I’d take you out for dinner.”

“Dinner?”

“Fancy dinner. One of those places with all the tiny little portions. I’ll buy you the world’s smallest ever Bakewell tart.”

Artemis pursed her lips and cocked her head.

“Will you wear that suit?” she asked.

“I will if you wear that bra.”

“Deal.”

“Just remember, this place is going to be really classy.” Charlie raised his eyebrows. “You can’t go taking your knickers off at the dinner table.”

“I probably just won’t wear any.”

Artemis gave Charlie a mischievous smile. He chuckled as he placed a kiss on her forehead, before resting his chin on top of her head.

“I love you.”

“You too.”

The song ended, and another started, faster and more lively than the one before. A broad smile spread across Artemis’ face as she recognised the tune. Judging by the way Charlie’s lips had twitched into a near-smirk, he’d chosen that one, too. He really was attentive. Either that, or he just knew her far too well by now.

As the tempo of the music increased, so too did the rate at which they swayed side to side, their feet dancing them to the centre of the room. Charlie lifted her arm above her head, and pushed her gently so that she spun underneath it, before catching hold of her waist once more.

Artemis’ smile grew wider still. He was more fun to dance with than anyone.

“Weasleys, assemble!”

Charlie and his brothers gathered by the gramophone as the female guests made their way into the middle of the marquee, ready for Ginny to throw the bouquet. Charlie could just about pick out Artemis’ bare feet amongst the high heeled shoes, stepping lightly as she moved restlessly through the throng of women.

“I don’t understand why I ‘ave to join in,” Fleur was saying to Bill. “I am already married!”

“It’s just a bit of fun,” Bill replied, kissing her on the cheek. “And I think that you’d be good at it.”

Once Fleur was in the crowd and out of the way, George brought out the bag of Galleons.

“This is it, lads,” he said. “Only one of us can win all the gold.”

Ginny closed her eyes, and threw the bouquet backwards over her head. A split second later, it was carnage.

The little crowd of women turned into a mob, a mosh, a scrum, scrambling and tackling each other to try and grasp the bunch of flowers. The brothers laughed and cheered them on from the sidelines, and after a minute or two of jostling, a hand appeared, rising from the rabble, clutching the now-crumpled bouquet. Each brother strained to see who that hand belonged to.

“YES, AUDREY!” bellowed Percy, throwing his fists into the air.

Somewhat begrudgingly, George handed Percy the bag of Galleons, and Percy shook each of his brothers’ hands in turn.

“Thank you, gentlemen,” he said pompously. “Pleasure doing business with you all.”

“What are you going to spend your winnings on, Perce?”

“Well…” Percy sniffed, and adjusted his glasses. “I'm thinking I might use them to purchase an engagement ring.”

Ron looked stunned, and Bill clapped Percy on the back. George hugged him, and Charlie shook his hand again, before Percy ran to Audrey, his arms outstretched.

“Well, fancy that,” a deep, reverberating voice said behind Charlie. He turned to see Kingsley Shacklebolt watching the women mingle in the centre of the marquee.

“I know.” Charlie shrugged. “All those Quidditch players, and not one of them caught the flowers.”

“I really thought it would be Tiny.”

Charlie followed Kingsley’s gaze to where Artemis was standing on one leg, rubbing the arch of her bare foot, as she chatted with a couple of women Charlie recognised from the Quidditch matches at school. Her eyes were still lit up from the exhilaration of the chase, her untameable hair had come almost completely loose, and there was a dark scuff mark on her shin. He smiled.

“At least she looks happy,” Kingsley said. Charlie wasn’t sure if he was addressing him or just thinking out loud, but he nodded anyway. “That’s what matters.”

“Yeah.”

“For a long time, I thought I’d never see her this happy.”

“So did I.”

“I should‘ve known that she would be. She might have had to fight for it, but she always was a fighter.” Kingsley chuckled, a rich, melodious sound. “She was such a tough little thing. Wild. But you know that.”

“I do,” said Charlie, his eyes still on Artemis. He laughed quietly to himself. “She still is.”

“No, that will never change.”

“I wouldn’t want it to.”

Kingsley patted Charlie on the shoulder, slowly and just once, and Artemis caught sight of them watching her. She ran towards them, holding one side of her dress up so she wouldn’t trip on the hem. As she approached them, Charlie shook his head in mock-disappointment.

“What was that?” he asked her. “Pathetic attempt at catching a bouquet. And you call yourself a Seeker!”

“Tell you what, Charlie, next wedding we go to, you can have a go. I doubt you could do better, especially against that Audrey.” Artemis looked over her shoulder at Percy and his soon-to-be fiancée, a dark look on her face. “That woman is feral. You have no idea.”

Charlie and Kingsley exchanged glances over the top of Artemis’ head.

“I’ll take your word for it,” Charlie said, trying not to laugh. “I’ll add her name to the list of women who scare me.”

“Is my name on that list?”

“I think it might be on there twice.”

Artemis nodded, clearly satisfied with that answer.

“I actually came over to say goodnight,” Kingsley told them.

“Are you off?”

“I am. It’s tiring work, this politics. But I’m sure I’ll see you soon, Tiny. You look beautiful tonight, by the way.”

Charlie stepped backwards and averted his eyes so that Artemis could say goodbye to Kingsley in private. When he felt her return to his side, he held his hand out for Kingsley to shake.

“It was good seeing you again.”

“You too, Charlie,” said Kingsley, shaking the hand Charlie extended to him. “Perhaps you would like to go for a drink next time you are in the country. You can tell me more about those dragons of yours.”

“Yes, that sounds great. Thank you, Mr…” Charlie stopped mid-sentence and corrected himself. “Thanks, Kingsley.”

The Minister for Magic bowed his head, and walked off to find the bride and groom. Charlie turned back to Artemis and put his arms around her shoulders.

“No fancy dinner for us, then,” he said with a sigh. Artemis smiled as she leaned against him, playing with the ends of his loose bow tie.

“That’s a shame. I was really looking forward to you wearing the suit again.”

“I can just wear it around the house some time. You can feel free to do the same with that bra, if you like.”

“I dunno.” Artemis took her hands off Charlie’s tie, placed them on her ribcage, and started to wriggle. “It’s actually not that comfy.”

Charlie watched her as she squirmed.

“Is it not?” he asked. She shook her head, and her nose twitched. She was lying. “Should we go home and take it off?”

A wolfish smile played on Artemis’ lips. Charlie took her right hand in his left, and they went off to say their goodbyes before they left the marquee.

Outside, the night had grown colder still. Charlie let go of Artemis’ hand and draped his jacket over her shoulders. She held out her arm, and he took hold of it, and with a sound like a firecracker, they disappeared from the darkened garden of the Burrow, and reappeared in the hallway of Artemis’ old house.

It was strange, the way things changed, Charlie thought, as he kicked off his shoes, and she pushed his jacket off her shoulders, letting it fall to the ground. She’d lived here when she was a child, before he even knew her. Before the first time he ever saw her, eleven years old and tiny and dishevelled and lost and all alone.

She’d lived here when she was thirteen, the age she was the first time he hugged her, he thought, as he held her in his arms. She unbuttoned his shirt and let that fall to the ground, too. He took hold of her wrists to reposition her hands, the way he had when she was fourteen, and he taught her to ride a broomstick.

She led him up the stairs, and he followed her — he always followed her — hand in hand, like they had been at sixteen, clinging to each other for comfort in the middle of a storm. At the top of the stairs he unzipped her dress, and she stepped out of it, almost bare, and so vulnerable, as vulnerable as she had been at just seventeen, when she was going through the unimaginable. He’d been there then. He’d seen it. He’d seen her through it. She got through it. She always did.

Her hands were at his belt, and his trousers were removed, exposing his legs. He’d tried to run from his feelings, he really had. He’d managed it for years, but… she placed his hands on his chest — the chest that held his heart, the heart that beat for her — pushed him into the bedroom.

His lips met hers, the way they had that very first time, as adults, on the edge of the forest whilst the world burned and raged around them. He’d thought that it was all over, that it was the end for both of them. But it wasn’t the end. It was just the beginning.

And as they sank down onto the bed — they’d had that first time in this very bed, too — and their bodies melted together, he knew that this was a beginning, too. Every moment, every single moment, was the first moment in the rest of their lives.

He’d loved her for half his life. He still loved her. And she loved him.

And that was enough.

It was enough.

“You know, after that I think I might be pregnant.”

At the sound of Charlie’s comment, Artemis lifted her head from his chest and stared at him. She was going to say something sarcastic, but at the sight of his boyish grin, she laughed instead. She lowered her head back down and felt his hands running through her hair. Placing her hand on his torso in front of her, she started to let her fingers dance over his skin, tracing patterns in his map of freckles like constellations. There was still one small doubt at the back of her mind.

“Charlie?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you say that I’m a part of your family?”

Charlie’s chest rose and fell as he took a deep breath.

“I would, yeah,” he said, quietly. Artemis’ eyebrows stopped knitting together. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, no reason. Just something your mum said earlier, when she was trying to marry us off.”

“What was that?”

“It’s nothing really. Just that if we got married I’d be a real member of your family, that’s all.”

Charlie shifted his position so that he was propped up on his elbow, and Artemis moved off his chest.

“She said that to you?”

“It’s fine, Charlie.”

“No, it’s not.” Charlie shook his head, and brushed her cheek with his thumb. “That’s not okay, Artie. I’ll talk to her.”

Artemis blinked at him.

“What?” he said, and he raised his eyebrows at her. “I can do that now.”

“Do you want me to make you a certificate?”

“Very funny.”

“I mean, if you really want to talk to her about it, you can. You can do it when we go back to help take down the marquee tomorrow.”

“See, the thing is, I was thinking that maybe we don’t need to help. I mean, how many people does it take to put down a marquee, really? Maybe we just shouldn’t go.” At the look on Artemis’ face, Charlie grinned sheepishly. “I’m only joking. If you want me to mention it to her I will. Promise.”

“Nah, don’t worry. I actually spoke to your dad, and he said marriage was just a signature on a bit of paper and didn’t matter.”

“Definitely won’t be mentioning that to Mum.”

“Best not,” said Artemis, and she shuffled so that she and Charlie were lying face to face. “I just wanted to see what you thought, that’s all.”

“Right. Well, I’m with Dad on this one. You’re definitely my family.”

“I know that. I was thinking more about your actual family.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I always thought that I was kind of one of you, like I belonged. But after your dad’s speech about loving us because we love you, and especially when your mum said that, it made me think that maybe the only reason they think I fit in is because you do. That they love me for you, and not for myself, if you see what I mean.”

“I do see what you mean, but that’s not how it is at all. I don’t come into the equation. They love you. Just you. How could they not?”

Artemis didn’t say anything. She rolled over to look up at the ceiling, where through the skylight she could see the moon but not the stars. She felt the mattress move, and knew that Charlie had done the same.

“Would you ever want to do all that?” he said, speaking into the darkness. “Get married and have babies and everything?”

Artemis frowned. She didn’t really like babies. As much as she loved Victoire and Dominique for the simple reason that they were Bill’s children and her goddaughters, she wouldn’t want to have to be the one with them strapped to her all day, every day. Not to mention that she still struggled to even look at little Teddy Lupin, the way her own mother had struggled to look at her. If that was any indication of what she’d be like as a parent, she was better off not being one.

And if Arthur was right, and marriage really was just a signature on a piece of paper and weddings were less fun when they were your own, what was the point? Especially if it meant sacrificing a part of yourself, like Ginny had been worried about, she wasn’t sure she wanted that either.

Yes, it would make Molly happy, but it wasn’t really Molly’s choice, was it? It was hers. She made her own choices. She did what she wanted. She was free.

“No,” she said eventually. “Never. What about you?”

“I don’t know. I kind of always thought that one day I’d get married and have children, but I’m not sure if that’s something I actually want or whether it’s just because that’s what everyone else does, and what they all expect me to do as well.” Artemis felt Charlie shrug beside her. “Maybe one day. Definitely not now, though.”

“But one day you might?”

“Maybe. I really don’t know.”

“And if you do, what then? What about me?”

There was a pause, and then Charlie sat up. He turned so that he was facing the headboard, and pulled Artemis upright so that she was sitting facing him. Keeping hold of her hands, he ran his rough fingertips over her palms.

“Artemis, I don’t know what I’m going to want when it comes to getting married or having children, but I do know that I’d never want to do all of that — any of that — with anyone but you.”

“But I don’t want to do any of that.”

“I know. Listen,” he put both of Artemis’ hands into his right, and placed his left on the side of her face, his thumb resting on the small scar on her right cheekbone. “If it comes to the point where I have to make a choice between having none of those things with you or having any one of those things with someone else, I’m going to choose you. I will always choose you.”

“You can’t know that for sure.”

“I’m more sure of that than I am of anything else in the world.”

Artemis raised her eyebrows at him.

“Even dragons?”

“Even dragons.”

She leaned forward and kissed him, slowly, and deeply, and lovingly. When their lips parted, they stayed with their foreheads resting together.

“You know, I don’t like babies, but I do like kittens,” Artemis whispered. “Maybe we could have some of those instead.”

Charlie pulled his head away from hers and frowned.

“How?” he asked, his expression of disconcertion growing more pronounced by the second.

“You can just buy them, Charlie.”

“Oh,” Charlie exhaled. He looked suddenly relieved. “I thought you meant as in…”

“Ugh, no!” Artemis recoiled from him. “How would that even work?”

“I don’t want to know,” Charlie muttered. He shuddered, and then composed himself again. “What about dogs? You like dogs, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but I’d prefer a cat.”

“You already have Fergus. Let’s get a dog.”

“No, a cat.”

“Dog.”

“Cat.”

“Baby?”

“Dog.”

Charlie smiled triumphantly.

“I’m glad we agree,” he said, and lay back down with his head on the pillow. Artemis stayed seated.

“Wait,” she said, twisting around to look at him. “So, does this mean we’re actually getting a dog, or was that a hyporhetorical thing?”

Charlie laughed, not unkindly, and reached out to stroke her arm.

“You know, I’m actually being serious. Let’s get a dog. A really big one. One I can train to pin you to the ground when you’re being annoying.”

Artemis batted him gently and he laughed again.

“You really want us to get a dog?” she asked.

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?”

“I heard. This just seems like a very laid back way to decide to get a dog, that’s all.”

“Do you want it to be more formal?”

“No, I just—”

“I can make it more official if you like,” Charlie sat back up. “Do you want me to get down on one knee?”

The daring look in his brown eyes and the smile causing his freckled cheeks to dimple were obvious, even in the very dim moonlight. Artemis reached up and pushed his red hair back from his ever-so-familiar face. That boy. That man. That person she’d grown to love. She smiled, as much to herself as to him.

“Yeah. I do.”

THE END

#artemis hexley #charlie weasley #on this wild night #harry potter fanfiction #charlie weasley x oc #hphm fic #hinny wedding #the weasleys #weasley family #arthur weasley #bill weasley #percy weasley #george weasley #ron weasley #audrey weasley #fleur delacour #kingsley shacklebolt #charlie weasley smut

[recentadultburnout]

bad buddy fandom getting-to-know-you-meme!

Got tagged by @telomeke at this post here. Thanks!!

name and whatever you want to share about yourself

You can call me Radish if you want. My @ of this blog is something I randomly put in without much thought, and now I have too many links to change it (I hear that if I change the @, all the links would be gone. I never tested it, but the risk is there, and I don't hate my @ yet so ¯_(ツ)_/¯) Reading is my soul-consuming hobby since I can read. Recently, I have gotten into writing fanfic, and while it is not the best and I would still prefer someone else to write it, there is a weird satisfaction in reading a story that goes exactly as you think.

when did you watch bad buddy/join the fandom?

I have been very excited since it was announced. I'm Nanon's fan from The Gifted, and to see him suddenly accept a BL role is a big, pleasant surprise. Bad Buddy is probably the first thing I've watched live in years, and it's also the first thing I've rewatched even before it ended. The first (and only) thing that got me to watch the reaction clip too. I've been hooked since the first episode. Each small expression Pran makes has me in chokehold.

Favourite ship/s

PatPran

Favourite character/s

Pran. I love all the characters, but Pran is my baby. My cute little blorbo💕💕💕💕

Favourite episode/s

I feel like my answer changes each day. Let's say Ep. 3 for today. PatPran sneaking around is cute, the comedy is exactly to my test, and Pran's face that shows in this episode is doing something to my heart.

Favourite scene/s

The scene that I feel is most memorable is the one after the music contest. Yes, the "ma ni di" scene—I don't think I have to tell you why.

The first time I see the rooftop scene, I don't know what I feel. After that scene, I felt like crying. It's an impactful scene for sure.

The scene where Pat and Pran go to market together is definitely one of my fav.

I love Pran's face in the scene where he gets ขนมจีบ(Dumplings?) and a note from his mystery admirer. I keep rewatching that.

Every lighthearted moment between Pran and Wai. I do think Pran shouldn't let Wai get away from being a bad friend, but other than that, I love them together.

The ending scene felt extremely nice.

basically every scenes

One thing you would change about the show if you could

I would like to know more about Pran and Wai's relationship. Nanon said that for him, it makes sense that Pran would be that pushover (?) when it's Wai, and I really want that piece of information.

what are your some of your favorite fanworks made by other people?

I'm grateful for anyone who makes any type of fanwork, but my favorite type of fanwork is definitely fanfic. I think "When did all my friends become so loud?" by fangurks is my fav bbs fic.

Do we count the reaction from ศูน��์วิจารณ์(Soon Vijan) as fanwork or official?

What are your favourite fanworks you've made?

The only piece that is specifically for bbs fandom is my name's meaning(with some extra info) post here. It's the only one, so it's automatically my favorite.

A song that makes you think of BBS (not in the show)

คู่กัด(rival) by Bird Thongchai

It's about two people who keep fighting about everything, and while they know that both parties care about each other and that the thing they fight over is just a small matter, they still want to win.

Very PatPran

เขียวกับแดง(Green and Red) by TaitosmitH

Red and green are OhmNanon fandom colors, and they did sing this song at an event or smt. I've now associated it with bbs fandom.

อย่าทำอย่างนี้ไม่ว่ากับใคร(Don't do this to anyone.) by Bird Thongchai (im Bird's fan, sue me)

a song about one-sided love that the one who has the feeling knows (thinks?) the other doesn't reciprocate but feels like if other people get treated like this they will probably misunderstand that the feeling is mutual and so they tell their crush not to treat someone who they don't like like that.

It's not that in line with PatPran's story, but I feel like Pran probably vibed with it before Pat cleared things up between them.

B Team by Marianas Trench

solely because of this edit below. Before this, I exclusively listened to the Nightcore ver lol. I discovered this song in my Nightcore and Vocaloid era, and I left it there until now.

Onward tagging:

I don't know who to tag lol. Anyone passes by and feels up to it, I guess.

#bad buddy the series #tag game #bad buddy fandom getting-to-know-you meme #bad buddy #bbs tag game #bad buddy getting to know you #Youtube

[strbymacaroon]

please give us a teaser i cant stay in place for the chapter😭😭

Sure!!!

The first 1.1k words of the chapter!!

Hope you enjoy the teaser! 🩷

You flutter your lashes open, a soft moan leaving your lips as you adjust yourself in your bed. You can feel a soft stream of light on your face, waking you up from your relaxing sleeping. You instantly shove your face into your pillow, groaning at the sound of cars and birds chirping. Jesus, what time is it? As much as you don’t want to, and how warm and soft your bed is, you decide it’s probably time to wake up. You stretch your arms over your head, and sigh in contentment. You look to the side, noticing that the bedside counter is next to your head.

You furrow your eyebrows, shouldn’t there be a wall right… Wait.

You blink a few more times, adjusting your eyes into your situation. Instantly, you remember where you are, and why you’re here. It feels like your stomach is bursting with butterflies now, but you try to ground yourself.

The counter is holding all the things from the day before. Computers, notebooks, textbooks, pencils, and even the sticky-note Sukuna wrote on. You’re tempted to look at the note again, but you catch the sight of the clock on his counter. You feel your heart drop to your stomach, all butterflies evaporating into thin air..

You sit up straight, twisting your head to look at Sukuna, “Shit! Sukuna why didn’t you—“

If possible, your stomach twists even harder. The space next to you is empty, void of any form of existing life other than a messy pillow. You feel your eyebrow twitch, before punching his pillow.

That fucking lying ass son of a bi–

Wait, what day is it?

You feel a rush of nauseous and guilt flood your all at once, when you remember the day. Wednesday. “Shit, I have my club today!” You push his blanket off your body and rush towards the door. You halt on your heel, patting your hips for your phone, only to see it still resting on the dresser, right next to the sticky note and your computer. You pause for a second, moving back and forth before deciding to leave it behind.

Whatever, it’s not needed. You can always borrow a phone and call Nobara, even if you don’t know her number, or anyone other than your mother’s and a good 3/4ths of your father’s. So, pfft, you’re good.

You shove your Converse on, running towards your school with halftied shoes. You’re wearing your pjs from the night, and your hair is a tangled mess. You didn’t even have time to wash your face, or your makeup from the previous day.

Wait, why didn’t Sukuna say anything about your messy makeup when you went to his–oh my god, stop thinking about Sukuna. You mentally yell at yourself, pulling a tight corner and continuing to run.

Your chest is hurting, not only from running, but from Sukuna’s absence. Yet, you don’t feel like you’ve truly been able to let his actions sink in, but the moment they do, you know you’re going to be a weeping mess. Which is something you really, really want to avoid.

That backstabbing asshole, such a fucking liar.

You can feel the gaze of many, passing you unfathomable looks before going back to their mundane activities of life. Fuck them for judging you, and fuck them for having nice cars to take them anywhere they want, whenever they want.

Okay, calm down. You mentally tell yourself. Not everyone that is glaring at you owns a car, nor are they even looking at you. Most likely. Hopefully.

The moment you reach the campus a few happy tears stream down your face, your feet feel heavy and hard to move, your throat absolutely burning with pain, it’s dry and scratchy. A happy sigh leaves your mouth, before you twist yourself into the direction of the library.

Pushing open the library doors, and entering with a loud huff. Gaining a rude “Shush!” From the librarian, which you don’t even pay much attention to. You’re rushing to the club room, topping over a small stack of books, which garners you a ring of explicits from the studier, before reaching the club room door.

You feel another sigh of relief past your lips, and despite how much your body absolutely hurts, you feel a bit better. Even if it’s a tiny, tiny bit. In all honesty, there’s no point in even coming at this point, the club meeting ends in a few minutes.

Until the door smacks you in the face, opening right into you. You stumble backwards, cupping your nose. “Ow.” Your bag’s straps fall down from your shoulders. What is up with doors hitting you?

The person gasps, reaching for your shoulders. “Oh! Madame president, I didn’t mean to-“ They pause, “Madame president?” They sound less worried, and more concerned and surprised now. “I thought you weren’t–”

You place a hand out while keeping one firmly pressed against your nose, cutting them off. “Please stop calling me that.” You shake your head slightly, trying to move into the room. “I have to—“

“I thought you weren’t coming today?” They ask you, adjusting their glasses, and placing their hands behind their back. “Are you feeling better? You don’t… look to goo–” They cut off their sentence, not wanting to offend you.

“I have to come in.” You say exasperated, placing your hands on your hips to try and catch your breath. “Or, no one’s going to fill out the paperwork.” Despite how fucking simple it is.

“Well, isn’t that why you got a sub?” They tilt their head to the side, “He’s already done everything for you, he’s even learning a few things in sign language as we speak.”

You feel your eyebrows furrow, “Wait. What?” You tilt your head to the side, trying to look into the room, but you can’t see anything, unfortunately.

They roll their eyes, “Yeah, next time you have a sub, at least don’t make them obnoxiously attractive.” You watch as they cross their arms over their chest, huffing a small bit. “All the girls have been at his feet trying to teach him simple words like hi, or you’re cute.” They huff, “It’s kinda’ pathetic.”

You laugh despite your confusion, “Someone sounds jealous.” You ignore their glare, “But, I don’t remember asking for a sub?” Is it Yuuji? “Uh, what’s his…” name? You finish the sentence in your head, but quickly realize where it’s most likely not a good idea to ask the name of someone who you allegedly appointed as a sub. Which… you didn’t even know it was a thing for club presidents.

They give you an expecting look, fixing their glasses.

“Uh, I’m just here to make sure things are working out.” You push past them, and immediately you pause at the door’s frame. Your lips part in a silent gasp, a bit shocked by the man standing inside.

No way…

Now, you don’t know whether to be mad, or touched by his absence earlier today.

#angelanswers✨⭐️🌸 #honestly #this is where I struggled the most to write #so it may be a bit slow #ignore that 😍 #hope you enjoy anyway!!

[linksthoughtbrambles]

Blindsighted

A short story for Zelink Week 2022’s ‘Sparring’ prompt (see end for notes). 5886 words.

~~~~~‿ ‿~~~~~‿ ‿~~~~~

Link wouldn’t be nervous.

He would not.

He’d just eaten a meal that had probably been delicious.  He’d rushed it too much to be sure.  Usually, he could both rush it and be sure, but today his mind was on those hallways and the training yard outside.  He had to keep his cool.  He had to stay knightly (he wasn’t actually a knight yet, just a lowly trainee, and technically not even that since he hadn’t set foot in the yard yet, but he’d be there within the hour).  He especially needed to not make strange faces at that guy who kept eyeing him in the barracks.

He also had to keep his wits about him. He was almost entirely sure he’d win any sparring match today, but it would be a bad idea to humiliate people.  If he was going to win, he’d try to win gracefully, and he wouldn’t brag about it.  He wouldn’t even tell his father (not unless he asked, and he probably wouldn’t).

“Right, newbies, that’s it, up and out, up and out!”

Sir Mardec’s voice, punctuated by loud, dome-handed claps, set benches scraping, feet stomping, and plates clattering as all the “newbies” (Link among them) deposited their used breakfast-ware on the long table near the kitchen door.

“Fall in, fall in, fall in, fall in, come on!  You do not want to keep Sir Greggan waiting!”

Link knew the name, but not the man.  He’d heard some guys talking a few beds away from him the night before—about how Sir Greggan once bit the head clean off a pigeon and swallowed its beak, and that’s why his voice was so rough.

Link had fallen asleep trying not to imagine what it would be like to have a bird’s beak hooked onto your vocal cords.  Then he dreamed about tweeting every time he opened his mouth—the bird wouldn’t fly out!

He dreamed lots of stupid things, and those also needed to stay under wraps.  Not talking would definitely be best.  Maybe he really would tweet if he opened his mouth.  Considering his heart and stomach were rising toward his throat, anything was possible.

The mini-throng of new recruits finally flocked into the hallway, Link amidst it.  So far, so good.  He was just one of these people.  Nothing… weird or… shameful… or… short about him at all.  He wasn’t the shortest one here.  Liliata was definitely shorter.  She was a 15 year-old girl, but still…. shorter.  He wasn’t the shortest.

He was second-shortest.

“MOVE IT, newbies!”

The shuffling became much more shuffly but also a good deal faster.  Link concentrated on avoiding the heels of the guy in front of him.  He couldn’t see past his back (which Link’s face was roughly in the middle of).

Non-newbies went about their business, hurrying past them on the other side of the hallway, some heading toward the yard and others down to the mess hall they’d just vacated.  The wee-hour shift needed their breakfast (dinner? Maybe breakfast was dinner if you were about to sleep all day).  A few people seemed to be carrying some kind of equipment around—didn’t look like any weapons Link knew of, though.  When a pair of men passed the newbie-line carrying some unholy-looking cross between a clawshot and a giant worm, Link couldn’t resist—he leaned way out from behind the man-with-the-thick-back to watch the grapple-like thing dangle with a few careless rap-taps on the flagstones.

Then someone’s plate-armored chest smacked the back of Link’s neck and pivoted his whole body so Link’s nose became firmly entrenched in thick-back-man’s armpit.  Link spluttered and regretted it in the space of the same instant (never a good first impression to spit into someone’s folding-parts).  Thick-back-man made a unique sound (something on the order of “huwahuah-ehfth!”), and whoever’d just spun Link grabbed him by both shoulders and yanked him right-way-around.

For a split second, Link stood there, wide-eyed, while the man he’d just nosed wiped at his now-grosser underarm with a bewildered half-scowl.  Then the laughter started.

A deep flush crawled up Link’s neck, finding its way all the way to the tips of his ears and the top of his head (not that anyone could see through his hair, but Link could sure feel it).  He willed iron into his shoulders to stop them from making their way to his ear-tips, too.  He didn’t dare look at the person holding his shoulders, and while he was still fighting with his own instinct to cringe in mortification, Sir Mardec stomped metallic clangs toward him with eyes zeroing in on Link.

“What the hell’s this about?” he said with his face crumpled on one side.

Link spent a little too long trying to figure out if the half-wrinkled face was amusement or the exact opposite.  Sir Mardec barked at him next.

“I said, what. The. Hell’s. This. About. Soldier?”

First day out, not even at the training yard yet, and Link already had his first conundrum.  He wasn’t supposed to talk.  He was supposed to keep his stupid mouth shut!  He-

“Sorry, Mardec.  I barreled right into the kid.  He ended up with a face full of underarm.”

“Him?!  I’ve got an underarm full of short-pants’ snot!”

Now that was not fair.  Link hadn’t blown his nose in there.

He… shouldn’t say that, of course…

The laughter’d only gotten louder, but a few claps from Sir Mardrec shut it down for the most part.  “Alright, alright, what’s your name, half-height?”

That seemed unfair to Link, too, but he tried to ignore it.  “Link, sir.”

The knight gave Link a few hesitant blinks.  “Link.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Sir Lyle’s son?”

Link repressed a groan and an eyeroll.  He’d been outed already!  He’d hoped not to just be the royal guard captain’s son—not yet.  “Yes, sir.”

The older soldier stared at him a long, appraising moment, looking him entirely up and down, head-to-toe.

Link would not shuffle his feet.  Absolutely not.

“Well, s@$% me,” Sir Mardec said.  Then he turned on his heel and stomped back to the head of the line, which started moving again with more than a little sniggering.

“Sorry, kid,” said the non-newbie beside Link.

“…It’s okay,” he replied.

“I’m Bernes.”

“I’m Link.”

“Ha!  Yeah, I heard.”

“Oh.  Yeah!  Right.”

The older man chuckled.  It made his short red beard crack like a carved pumpkin.  “Nice to meet you.  And you’ve already met this guy, but do you know his name?”

Thick-back-man sighed and turned his head sideways to eye Link.  “I’m Kurst.”

“Cursed?”

“That’s right.”

Link supposed that was reasonable.  Not too many people get spit in their armpits.

“So, first day,” Bernes said.

“Yeah.  You?” Link asked, then kicked himself internally.  He was supposed to be quiet, not ask questions.

“Me?  Not at all.  I’m headed to the yard, but I’ll be training you.  Some of you, at least.”

“Oh.”  Link wasn’t sure why Bernes was still walking next to him, but at least he couldn’t make the collision-hazard mistake this way.

“Nervous?”

Oh boy.  To tell the truth or not to tell the truth?  Maybe if Link was quiet long enough, he’d stop asking questions.  Or maybe-

“Heh.  Nervous, then, huh?”

Crap.  “I…”

“Everyone’s nervous at first.  Nothing to be ashamed of.  Trying to live up to Sir Lyle can’t be a big help.”

A puffed laugh left Link before he had a chance to think about it.  He wanted to say ‘No, it’s not,’ but that would’ve been absolutely the wrong thing to say.  He was already short and awkward and thought about food way too much.  He didn’t need anyone gossiping about his inadequacies even more than they already would.

So, Link settled and said, “My father’s a good teacher.”

He wasn’t sure what the long pause was about after that, but he didn’t mind it either.

“Well, he didn’t teach me.  I’m too lowly for that,” Bernes said with a small chuckle.  “Sir Greggan taught me.”

Link supposed that meant he was lowly, too, since he was about to meet Sir Greggan, but that was to be expected.  He’d just arrived.

“He teaches everyone.  Every soldier’s first stop.”

“…Oh.”

“He can sus out a weak parry or a lazy eye, or a tell, or a bad grip, a dropped shoulder, or pretty much anything from a hundred yards away.  He’ll know where to put you.  In a week, you’ll be better at this than you’ve ever been in your life, and better than you would’ve been without him for another five years.”

Link didn’t think that description matched very well with the story of a man biting the head off a pigeon, but he kept that to himself.

The hall opened to skies more-than-half clouded, silvery outlines reflecting diminished light across the grass and grey stones.  Link didn’t mind clouds—they meant it’d be less hot.  At the same time, though, having a nice, sunny yard to walk into might’ve brightened his outlook.

The line turned rightward against the yard wall, and Link followed but Bernes split toward the yard’s center with an easy wave, joining a group who must be their trainers.  Link swallowed.  Bernes seemed nice, at least.  Better to get bonked by him than bonked by that guy who’d been ogling him.

And PRAISE HYLIA he had NOT said that out loud.

What was WRONG with him?

Keeping his mouth shut was clearly of major importance—he had to keep it the frick shut.

“ALRIGHT, YOU MUCK SPOUTS!”

The most gravelly voice Link had ever heard yanked him out of his invisible anxiety attack.  Its owner’s face, grizzled and bespeckled with uneven stubble that seemed to grow in fits and starts, moved in a strangely exaggerated, asymmetrical manner, but maybe that was from straining to shout so loud.

“WELCOME TO THE TRAINING YARD!  NOW YOU MIGHT THINK BEING HERE WITH ALL THESE SWORDS AND SHEILDS MEANS YOU’RE A SOLDIER.  YOU’RE NOT!  NO ONE HERE’S A SOLDIER UNTIL I SAY THEY ARE.  IF I HAVE TO KEEP YOU IN THIS YARD WITH A TRAINING DUMMY FOR FIFTY YEARS BEFORE YOU’RE READY, THAT’S WHAT I’LL DO!  AND DON’T EVEN THINK THE RUDDY WORD KNIGHT!

“EACH END OF THE LINE—APPROACH THE RACKS!  TAKE ONE TRAINING SWORD AND ONE SHIELD AND GET OUTTA THE WAY!  CIRCLE TOWARD THE OTHER HALF OF THE LINE AND PAIR OFF IN ORDER!”

It took a minute for cursed thick-back-man to start moving, but once he did Link followed promptly.  He didn’t want Sir Greggan to have a reason to shout at him.

“KEEP MOVING.  ONE.  I SAID ONE.  ONE OF EACH, YOU MUCKSPOUT!  YES, YOU!  PUT IT DOWN!”

Link couldn’t really wonder why that guy tried to pick up two shields.  Sir Greggan was still shouting too much to let him think.

“YOU ARE TO DISARM AND PARRY ONLY.  YOUR PARTNER IS THE TRAINEE ACROSS FROM YOU IN THE OTHER HALF OF THE LINE.  IF YOU GET LEFT IN THE MIDDLE, FIND SOMEONE ON THE OUTSIDE!  IF THERE’S NO ONE ON THE OUTSIDE, I’LL ASSIGN YOU A PARTNER!  YOU’RE NOT GETTING OUT OF THIS!

“AGAIN!  YOUR AIM IS TO DISARM YOUR OPPONENT AND PARRY THEIR STRIKES. MY MEN AND I WILL WALK THE FIELD AND WATCH YOU!  BEGIN!”

The fellow who ended up across from Link was gangly, freckled, and had a slightly crooked nose.  “Hi.  I’m Jessrel.” he said.  Then he sniffed, looking expectantly at Link.

Uh oh—challenged already.  Link and his father had wholeheartedly agreed he needed to stay quiet.  Link was way too silly and much too weird to be allowed to speak in public.  But as the silence stretched, it became more and more uncomfortable to the point at which Link finally blurted, “Hi!” as little more than a squeak.

“Huh?” said his sparring partner.

Mistake number one in training already: check.  Link cleared his throat and tried again.  “Hi.”

Now the other man was blinking at him and shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.  He didn’t appear at all interested in beginning the sparring exercise, and he kept the point of his blunt sword resting tip-first on the dusty ground.

Link had to say something else, didn’t he?

Surely he could introduce himself.  There was no harm in that, was there?  The other guy had done it.

“I’m Link,” he said.

“Oh,” said Jessrel.  “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, sure.” Shut up, Link.  “You, too.”

“Well… should we start?”

Link managed a curt nod (finally!) rather than words, but Jessrel made a funny sort of face at that, kind of a half-a-wink on one side and a pout, and Link really had no idea what the heck that meant.

It became apparent immediately that if Jessrel had ever held a sword before, he certainly hadn’t tried to use it for anything.  There was a particular rice-farmer in Hateno who regularly used an old sword to hack at weeds (and nothing else), and that guy was way better at it than Jessrel was.

At first, Jessrel tried to hold the short-sword like a knife, which some people do the first time because they’ve never really seen people use swords but they figure you’re supposed to stab with it, and they think of stabbing as an up-to-down motion because they’ve only ever stabbed with a knife, or they’ve seen Sheikah who hold their very different blades very differently (sometimes).

When this didn’t work out well for him (Link didn’t even have to parry him, Jessrel couldn’t figure out how to get a blow to land and sort of ended up trying not to stab his own knees a lot), he tried to copy Link’s grip, which was smart, really, because Link was good at this, but Link hadn’t demonstrated anything other than grip yet, so Jessrel was still in the dark.  He just sort of… thrust his fist toward Link’s shield, as if he was trying to punch it, and he hit it alright—along with his own knuckles.  He yelled and dropped the sword to shake his fingers out.

Now, Link didn’t have to be a master swordsman to beat Jessrel.

A quick glance around the yard told him anyone here could beat Jessrel.

So… that wasn’t an issue at all.

Nope—Link’s issue was simply the next speech conundrum.  It was obvious Jessrel needed a little help.  Link could give him that, but he’d have to talk in order to do so without being a total jerk.  Jerk-Link would just keep letting him lose to figure out where he’d gone wrong.  Nice-Link would give him advice first.  Jessrel would still lose, but maybe he’d lose without feeling like cucco droppings.

He’d never been good at resisting the urge to be Nice-Link.

His father was going to roast him.

He’d say it was arrogant of Link.  He wasn’t a trainer.

He’d also say Link should keep quiet, because he wasn’t so good at saying the right things.

But Link did know how to swing a sword.

He’d just have to keep his instructions minimal.

Jessrel picked the sword back up, copying Link’s grip again, but Link spoke (softly) before he could swing.  “Can I give you a tip?”

“Huh?”

“Can I help a little?” Link tried again.

“Oh.  I thought you meant rupees.”

Well, Link had picked the right person to talk to—Jessrel wasn’t any better at not being socially awkward than he was.

They spent the next half-hour incrementally improving Jessrel’s ability to perform a simple parry.  Link thought it made sense to start there since Jessrel could do almost anything with that sword and Link would just parry it… better for him to learn how to deflect a blow (sort of… he got a little better at it, but not much).  Maybe seeing Link do stuff with his sword would help, too.

Link did notice the footsteps of pacing soldiers behind him—he wasn’t sure whose, though.  Jessrel could see them, but not Link.

“ALRIGHT, MUCK-SPOUTS!  TRAINEES TOWARD THE NORTHERN WALL, MOVE TO YOUR RIGHT!  YOU ON THE END, YOU CIRLCLE ALL THE WAY OVER HERE!  THAT’S RIGHT, YOU!  SAME THING, NEW PARTNER!  GO!”

Link’s next opponent was a little more experienced but had no idea how to parry and swung his sword like an axe.

The next time Greggan stopped them, it was to switch them to longswords.  Then they swapped partners again, then moved on to spears.

It occurred to Link that no one had tried to teach them anything yet.  The trainers were sizing them up.

Link felt a little silly, then.  He hadn’t been trying very hard to beat his partners.  He’d been trying to help them instead.

Sir Greggan called a quick break for water.  Link took a few gulps, and then a hand was on his shoulder.  He nearly choked.

“Looks like it’s you and me, Link.”

It was Bernes.  “You and me?”

“Yep.  I’ve got you next round.”

“Oh.  There aren’t enough trainers to spar with all of us, though.”  Link twitched.  He just… kept… talking.

“We’ll make the rounds,” Bernes said with that beard-cracking smile.

Of course, they would—Link rolled his inner eye at himself.  The trainers didn’t have to spar with all the trainees at once.  Of course, they didn’t.  Everything didn’t have to happen instantaneously.  Hylia, he was thick.

So, Link accepted the shield and training longsword offered to him—a little surprised they were going back to that, but sure, why not?—and joined Bernes on a particularly dusty patch of ground.  The grass around them was so trampled and dust-coated it was more grey than green.  Link spied a plum-sized stone sticking up more than enough to give someone a sprained ankle if they landed on it wrong.  He pulled it out of the dirt quick and shoved it in his pocket.

Bernes made some kind of face at that—not a bad face, at least Link didn’t think so, but he’d been wrong before—then raised his weapon and came at Link without warning.  The languid front-swing wasn’t a problem for Link.  He parried it and followed through with a closing step, nocking his own crossguard in Bernes’ with a twist that forced him to release his grip.

“Got my sword already, huh, Link?”

Suddenly Link started sweating more.  Was he being a show-off?

Bernes was smiling, though.  “Let’s try another one.”

Bernes attacked.  He swung low, high, middle, up, down, sideways, and every other kind of way and Link parried them all.  Then Bernes started getting clever, countering Link’s parries, and Link countered back.

Soon, Link was smiling, too.  This was much better than watching Jessrel suffer.  It was better than sparring with his father, too (there was a lot less criticism and a lot less thinking—Link just let himself move naturally).

At one point, Bernes called a quick halt to take a swig from his canteen.  “Need any?”

Link shook his head.

Then Bernes huffed and pointed at the rampart.  Link turned to see a tall, robed man with a very thick, very white beard… and a crown.

The king was here.

The king’s eyes were on him.

Oh, s@#$, Link.

“Yeah.  That’s what happens when you’re the royal guard captain’s son,” Bernes said, screwing the cap back on.

Link gulped and tried not to think about it.  It’s not as though he’d been doing poorly.

When Bernes raised his sword again, Link was ready—and resolute.  He would not show off.  He would not show off.  He would parry and counter, and disarm Bernes if the opportunity arose, but it hadn’t (Link figured that first lazy front-swing had been intentional on Bernes’ part).  They simply went about their business, and Link didn’t really notice that a half hour had easily passed with no more halts called.

Bernes picked up the pace and Link kept up.

He picked it up again.  No problem.

And again.

“Damn, kid,” Bernes panted.

A small, “Sorry,” escaped Link’s mouth before he even realized he was going to say it.  He paled a little, and very nearly said ‘sorry’ again in order to apologize for the first ‘sorry,’ realizing just in time how inane that was and shutting his unwise, open mouth.

“Sorry?!  Don’t be sorry.  It’s a breath of fresh air.  Let’s see what—oh.  Hey.”

Bernes relaxed his stance and turned his head half-toward the rampart where the king was standing.  He reached out without taking his eyes off something and backhanded Link’s shoulder, pointing up.  “Look who’s looking at you, now.”

Link looked.

And a silent Sun-struck thunderclap rooted his feet to the ground.

Link couldn’t move.  Not one millimeter in any direction.  He couldn’t even breathe.

There was this woman—staring at him—looking right into his eyes—beaming at him like a shaft of sunlight through clouds, grinning so hard her cheeks made a heart-shape, her hair such a shining gold it might as well be made of strands of light itself.  She had it pulled up into a super-messy Sheikah-style bun, and Link slowly noticed everything about her said she’d just been toiling hard—her rugged work clothes, the dirt and possibly grease staining them (and a diagonal smear of the same stuff right between her eyebrows), the many wisps of hair that had escaped their binding and fluttered about in the breeze, her sturdy gloves, her flush and heavy breaths (she seemed like she’d just been running), and the thing she was holding in her hand—maybe something like a book for notes.

Link looked harder and harder, trying to make sense of the nagging feeling he knew her from somewhere while also desperately trying to keep his composure.

He wanted to smile at her.

He wanted to reflect that beaming grin of hers right back at her.

He wanted to leap right up onto the rampart and ask what her name was and if maybe she liked paellas, because he liked paellas and he made a mean seafood one himself thanks to their cousin who moved to Lurelin a while back, and he would totally cook her the best paella he’d ever made and watch her eat it (that is as long as he could find good ingredients here, since you got different stuff out of the Hylia river than the ocean at Hateno Bay, and he needed to wait a minute and think because he really shouldn’t say, ‘watch you eat it’ because that would be weird, wouldn’t it?  Yes it would, it would be weird, no one cooks dinner for someone and then just stares at them while they stick it in their face, that would be creepy, especially on a first date, and holy s#@% a date?!  He’d never cared about dating anybody!!  Why did he want to stuff this woman full of tasty seafood-and-veggie-rice?!)

More images started coming.  Images of what they might do if she did indeed like Link’s paella.  Part of him thought maybe he should be ashamed of himself (because it sounded to himself like he wanted to bribe her with tasties, but that really wasn’t true, he’d be ecstatic just for the excuse to ask her a thousand questions about herself while they eat), and part of him began to panic because he didn’t have his own kitchen or even his own room anymore, which meant he’d have to take her somewhere he could light a campfire and use a cookpot, which he knew from experience he could do and do well and in fact was the proper way to make paella (well, with a huge flat pan, but he was unlikely to find one of those fast enough)—but actually doing that might creep her out (‘strange guy making me leave civilization just to eat paella?  Seems weird’)—but holy crap he wanted to meet her!

Link heard it, but just barely—the motion of air as Bernes’ sword swung at him.  Link spun (he’d turned to squarely face the woman on the rampart) and tried to parry, but he was too late, and Bernes forced the tip of Link’s sword into the dirt.

“Couldn’t resist,” Bernes said.  “You can look again.  I won’t attack.”

Link wasted no time, his eyes seeking her of their own volition.  It’s like he could feel her there!  She was still smiling at him. He tried—he tried so hard—not to smile back, not yet, he couldn’t let himself look like a crush-smacked schoolkid.  This time, he noticed the way her nails were just a little bit chipped, and in all the surface’s green fields, he’d never seen eyebrows with such a lovely arch, not that he’d ever cared about people’s eyebrows before, and maybe he’d never even bothered looking, so what he was comparing them to, he wasn’t sure.

And wow—holy Hylia—the way she kept looking at him—did she feel this, too?

“Hey.  Kid.  …Link?”

Link tore his eyes from his paella muse and blinked a little at the half-deflated smile on Bernes’ face.

What did that mean?

“You don’t know who she is, do you?”

Of course not.  They hadn’t even met yet!  He hadn’t gotten a chance to find out whether she’d talk to him, much less eat his unknown-river-fish paella!  (He hadn’t found out what her hair smelled like yet, either, and that suddenly seemed high-priority).

“No,” Link said.

“Aw.  Well.  Kid.  Look at her hair.”

“…It’s a Sheikah bun.”

“Yeah, not that part.”

Link had seen the braid, and it was pretty cool, set just above her hairline like a-

Oh no.

No.

Please, no.

It was set like a crown.

He’d heard about this.  The Princess was famous for it—for forgoing gold and jewels in favor of a crown of braids.

All the heat that had entered Link’s face at the sight of her drained, leaving him cold, strangely frightened, and a lot less hungry.  “She’s the Princess?”

“…Yeah.”

Suddenly, Link didn’t feel like pulling his next breath in.  He tracked the dust clouds on the ground.  It was always neat how those rose up and fluffed around when the ground was very dry and people’s boots smacked it a lot.

He knew he shouldn’t look again.

If his father heard about this, he’d be furious at him.

He heard his father's voice in his head already--he didn't even need to hear the actual words. He knew what he'd say.

It would be so arrogant of him to approach her.

So arrogant.

It was ridiculous, really.  Link had never ogled anyone in his life.  It figured it would be the Crown Princess.  Why was she so dirty?

Link tried not to look again.  He just breathed.  He’d started to smell phantom-paella, and he had to at least try and get it to dissipate. The Princess of Hyrule already had the best cooks around for sure, right? She did not need him to make her anything. His very best would probably end up unpalatable by comparison.

“Sorry, Link,” Bernes said.  He kept his voice mercifully down.  “I… I mean, she’s pretty, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen her hit someone like that before.”

“H-hit- no, no, there was no hitting-“

“I’ve been training recruits for almost a decade.  I know what it looks like when beauty punches a man in the gut.”

Link had absolutely no idea what to say—especially since beauty wasn’t it.  That wasn’t it at all.

He didn’t need to look again to know she was beautiful beyond any doubt—the most beautiful person he’d ever seen.  But that… hadn’t been what locked him in place.

What did lock him in place?

It hadn’t been how she looked—he hadn’t seen her, checked out her shape, and then been struck still.  It was this feeling like nothing he’d ever felt before—something inside him.

If he felt free to talk, he’d say it was love, full-force-one-hundred-percent—but even he knew that was silly.  He’d never even spoken to her.  It just… seemed like the right word.  It resonated in his deepest core.

Instantaneously smitten.

It… really wasn’t fair.

He just got here!

"Link?"

"Yeah?"

"There's no rule against you talking to her. You could find her once you're off."

Link blew a soft huff. "She... doesn't need me to waste her time."

Bernes wiped some beaded sweat from his forehead. “S$@%.  I in no way meant to ruin your first day.”

Bernes was really nice, wasn’t he?  “No, no… you… you didn’t ruin it.”

“Ehhhh, you say that, but it isn’t true.”

Link had no defense.

“Look, let’s head out of here for a few minutes. Ah- don’t worry about Greggan.  He has eyes in the back of his head and they’re sharp as an islander hawk’s.  I guarantee you he’ll know why we’re breaking off.  Ten minutes, just to be in a different spot.  Okay?”

Link nodded.  He didn’t think he had words in him, anyway.

Link was supposed to be keeping quiet and learning how to not make a fool of himself at the castle.

He couldn't think of many better ways to look like a dumbass than to walk right up to the Princess and offer to make her paella.

Especially if she turned him down.

Which she would.

Of course she would!

Not a single Hateno girl had shown any interest in Link at all. Even Coraa hadn't, and she was interested in everyone.

The Princess of Hyrule had far, far more important things to do than indulge Link's fantasies, too, right?

She probably had a ton of guys who wanted to marry her already.

Granted, some of them were probably stink-faces who just wanted to be king, but some could be legitimately nice fancy people who actually knew things about politics and economics and stuff.

Link didn't know about those things.

He imagined how horrendous he would be at managing a negotiation table considering he was a total sucker. His sister pretty much always had to tell him when someone was lying to him. Link would end up giving away half the kingdom in crap-ass trade deals.

No. No, he wasn't going to go find her. He was an idiot. He did not belong on a throne. At best, he belonged next to the throne so he could make sure no one hurt her.

That, he would do.

No question.

...She'd been smiling.

He wished he knew why.

~~~~~‿ ‿~~~~~‿ ‿~~~~~

“Well. That young man seems to have to caught your eye, daughter.”

Zelda was too transfixed to argue—filled to overspilling with an inexplicable joy, a warmth at first she thought was the light of the Goddess herself when she’d sighted the sky-eyed (and clearly talented) new swordsman—and that warmth turning to utter saturation of all her senses when he laid his eyes on hers.

She entirely missed the mirth on her father’s face.  He teased her so rarely—he did little other than push her toward more prayer and less of everything else, so she had no expectation of him meaning such words as anything but reproach.

She ignored him in favor of watching the young man be near-blindsided by his trainer’s blade, parrying very poorly at the last moment with a painfully-embarrassed grimace—he’d been caught red-handed it seemed.  Zelda giggled without taking much notice of the sound herself (though her father did—his smile broadened).

When the young man's eyes alighted on her a second time, it was as though some tether had been stretched between them, and she felt its tension as a weight pulling her toward him.  She wanted to run into the yard—to ask his name—to set a time to talk later if he agreed.

She knew she under no circumstances should do that.  It would be highly irregular, and the gossip would be far ahead of whatever might actually occur between them (and she would also disrupt the training session).  She would find some other time—perhaps she could frequent the hallway near the barracks.  She’d very much like to find out what his voice sounded like.  She could ask him about his bright blue earrings.  Were they ceramic? Metal? Were they a family tradition?  Did he purchase or make them out of his own sense of aesthetics?  Did he intentionally match them and his hairband to his eye color?

Of course he did.  Just looking at them made it evident—though he was young enough, it’s possible an older family member had done that part at some point and he simply wore them.

She rather hoped it was the former.  It would be more interesting.

She found that hope in herself odd, for she never much cared for her own state of dress.

He looked away.

They hadn’t returned to sparring.  They were talking.

The way he’d looked at her—like he’d been examining the soul within her body—he-

With a jolt, Zelda realized he hadn’t returned her smile.

Not even a little.

He’d been smiling while sparring.

He didn’t smile at her.

That glow of joy within her ebbed.

Could she have been mistaken?  She’d thought—the intensity with which he’d gazed…

Perhaps… perhaps he had simply been trying to keep composure.

Or perhaps he’d looked only because his trainer pointed out her shameless staring, and his attention had nothing to do with any attraction he might feel toward her.  Perhaps it was simply interesting to see the Princess and her foolish grin aimed at him.

They were leaving—about to enter the hallway toward the castle’s innards.

“H-he hasn’t looked at me again,” she said to the air.

If she’d been watching, she’d have seen her father’s face soften.

The young man and his trainer disappeared into the wall.

She wanted to hurry that way herself, but perhaps she needed to compose herself before further investigating this situation.  The Sheikah slate was shaking in her arms despite her hugging it tight across her chest.

“Are you well, Zelda?”

“Yes, father.  I- I ought to clean up.”

Zelda hurried toward her chambers without another word, and without glancing at the training yard.

A young trainee stuck his sandy-haired head back out from the doorway, his eyebrows drawn up and together, rather retriever-like as he searched the rampart—but he retreated quickly, eyes downturned on stone.

Later, Zelda scrubbed her skin with a ferocity she’d never employed—a self-cleansing to match her self-originated frustration.  She had been such a sight.  That blackish streak had run from the bridge of her nose to near the center of her forehead!  She knew just when she’d given it to herself, too—they’d been digging around one of the guardians at the excavation site, she’d been sweating profusely, and she'd wiped carelessly at her own moisture with a grease-and-dirt-coated wrist.

Her clothing had been utterly filthy.

It was no wonder anyone might stare at her in such a state, truly.

Well, she wouldn’t allow that to happen again.  She’d not parade herself—any man who wished her to behave so could find some vapid creature who better suited him—but she’d at least keep herself clean when she tried to bump into him.  At least then she could be sure his eyes were on her, and not on her failures.

She’d grown so tired of that.

~~~~~‿ ‿~~~~~‿ ‿~~~~~

[Notes: Google doesn't think blindsighted is a word in the dictionary and definition sense, though there is at least one unrelated book of that title. 'Blindsight' is a real term for the ability to respond to visual stimuli unconsciously even if unable to consciously see the stimulus. That's pretty much what Link and Zelda do in this story--but this title also came about because they both get blindsided by each other, and Link gets blindsided by other people a few times, too, and Link in general is somewhat 'blindsighted' - he can see, but has trouble interpreting what he sees in regard to people/social situations.]

[Note: This fic is part of the Adventure Log+ AU which you can find on my fic masterlist. It's a prequel to Link's Thought Brambles.]

Here's my Zelink Week 2022 fic post list.

@zelinkweekofficial

#zelink week 2022 #sparring #botw #zelda #zelink #loz #breath of the wild #legend of zelda #fanfic #first sight #love at first sight #or is it the first sight #it's not really #adventure log+ au #prequel #botw link #botw zelda #king rhoam #original loz characters

[whatstruthgottodowithit]

Can I request a fluffy Ben Hardy x fem. reader oneshot where it’s his birthday and reader and their 2 year old daughter celebrate Ben’s special day with him?

My Girls

Fandom: RPF, Actor RPF,

Pairing: Ben Hardy x Fem! Reader

Characters: Ben Hardy, Female Reader, Original Female Character, Reader

Word Count: 1036 // Rating: Gen

Summary: Ben gets a birthday breakfast in bed

Tags/ Warnings: Fluff, Requested, Ben Hardy x Reader, Ben Hardy x Fem!Reader, Established relationship, Marriage, Married Life, Long Distance Relationship, Kissing, Kids, Toddlers, Original Child Character

Notes: Hope you like it. I'm looking through my requests and doing some asap. I've been focused on TOEG for a while. @borhapgirlforlife19 [updated 9/22]

As the cup slipped to the edge of the tray Y/N grabbed it wincing as hot tea splashed over her hand. Amelie didn’t seem to notice or care about her mum’s minor burns as she burst into the room screeching, ‘Happy bird-day dada!’ she said walking forward and putting the tray on Ben’s legs which were under the cover on the bed. Ben was sitting watching as his wife muttered what sounded like a swear word under her breath. He held back a chuckle.

‘Thank you, sweetheart,’ Ben said grabbing his daughter and heaving her up into his lap peppering her face with kisses which made her giggle. ‘Dada,’ she giggled as Ben started to tickle her, ‘stop it!’ ‘I thought you were asleep,’ Y/N said sitting down on the edge of the bed and sliding the tray onto the flat side of the bed where she put the tea back on the tray. Ben looked up from tickling Amelie and smiled at her, ‘what I was supposed to sleep through the racket of you two making breakfast?’ ‘It wasn’t that loud,’ Y/N chuckled as she passed the plate to him. ‘I was roused by you two walking downstairs. And then completely up at the sound of the electric whisk,’ he said cutting a slice of pancake with the side of his fork with his free hand, ‘how much mess am I walking into?’ ‘Not much, besides I should hope it’s worth it,’ Y/N said as Ben took a bite. ‘Mmm, that is gorgeous,’ Ben mumbled. ‘You like it?’ Amelie said, ‘me and Mumma made them.’ ‘I know you did. They’re very yummy. Thank you, princess,’ Ben said kissing her head. ‘Amelie have some?’ Amelie asked her fingers already grabbing at the raspberries on the side of the plate. Her pink pyjama shirt was covered in batter splashes which made Y/N thank the lord she hadn’t changed her before they made breakfast. ‘Amelie, let Daddy answer before you take one,’ Y/N said. Amelie turned her face up to Ben her blue eyes as large as a Disney Princess’. ‘Of course, you can,’ Ben said, ‘Mumma can even have some too if she plays her cards right.’ ‘You say that like Mumma’s not already had the test pancakes we couldn’t bring up,’ Y/N smirked. ‘Oh like that is it?’ Ben said. ‘Birthday boy deserves the best right?’ Y/N said. ‘Right!’ Amelie giggled making her parents smile.

‘So come on, what’s our plans for the day?’ Ben said. He’d been working up until yesterday and had a long train journey back home that only got him into London near midnight. By the time he had gotten home Amelie was tucked up in bed as was Y/N though she had roused a little when he had slipped in beside her. ‘Um, about that,’ Y/N said, ‘we haven’t really got anything planned. I knew you’d be knackered and I didn’t want to make a big list if you didn’t feel like doing anything. Sorry-’ ‘Don’t apologise,’ Ben chuckled. ‘I mean I should’ve arranged something,’ Y/N said. ‘Honestly babe, it’s not a big deal. I don’t wanna do something big and fancy. Just spending the day with my two favourite girls will do,’ Ben said. ‘You’re a star you know,’ Y/N said. ‘I know,’ Ben smirked, ‘so what should we do?’ ‘I don’t know. You pick,’ Y/N said. ‘Hmm,’ Ben said, ‘what can we do? Amelie, what should we do today?’ ‘Monkeees,’ Amelie said right off the bat. ‘Monkeys?’ Ben said. ‘Monkeeeees,’ Amelie repeated, ‘like George.’ ‘George? Who’s George?’ Ben asked looking at Y/N for an explanation. ‘Nawty Georgie. He’s silly like you Dada,’ Amelie giggled as she oohed and ahhed showing Ben her monkey impression. ‘I think she means Curious George. It’s been on repeat all week. It’s been the only thing she’ll fall asleep to,’ Y/N said with a yawn. ‘More bedtime standoffs?’ Ben sighed. Y/N nodded. Amelie was always the same whenever Ben was away. The longer it was the worse she seemed to be. ‘Yeah,’ Y/N sighed but before she could say anything more Amelie repeated herself, ‘monkeeees Dada we go see the monkeeeeeees.’ ‘I think you mean the zoo baby. That’s where the monkeys are,’ Ben said. ‘We can see George?’ Amelie asked excitedly. ‘Yep, now come on you. Let Daddy eat his breakfast in peace while we get ready for the zoo eh?’ Y/N said standing up and scooping her daughter up and placing her onto her hip. As she turned to leave Ben grabbed her spare hand and kissed it. She allowed him to and then she placed her hand on his cheek and stroked it for just a moment. That was until Amelie started tugging on her top her excitement about the monkey’s not waning the longer she was made to wait.

‘Okay Ami I’m coming,’ Y/N said rolling her eyes as she walked to the door. ‘Guess I better eat fast eh?’ Ben said. Y/N turned for a moment to look at him. ‘Can’t keep the monkeys waiting,’ Y/N said, ‘besides faster we go faster we get back. And faster you can open your present.’ ‘Oh? Can’t I open it now?’ Ben said. ‘You’re as impatient as her,’ Y/N chuckled before she lowered her voice to a whisper, ‘and no you can’t. Let’s just say your present isn’t suitable to be unwrapped in front of just anyone.’ ‘No?’ ‘No and you better hope this kid of yours goes down easy tonight,’ she said and then she carried her daughter out of the room. Ben smiled as he watched them go even more so as he heard his daughter's babbles trail off as they got to their room.

He didn’t need a birthday fuss. He just needed his girls.

#Fluff #Requested #Ben Hardy x Reader #Ben Hardy x Fem!Reader #Established relationship #Marriage #Married Life #Long Distance Relationship #Kissing #Kids #Toddlers #Original Child Character #my writing #my girls

[squigglywindy]

Whumptober Day Four

Title: Dead On Your Feet

Prompts Used: Hidden Injury

Warnings: There's an injury, and maybe a lil bit of self-deprecation in an 'ah no I'm better than this grr' kind of way

Whumpee(s): Legend

Whumpometer: I dunno like a two for both

General Notes: This one's pretty chill, I wrote it early on before I gave in and started hurting them for real. Also! If anybody knows what sort of thing these guys would actually carry water around in, hit me up in the comments. I drew a blank and went with the first thing that popped in my head given my very limited knowledge on water-carrying-containers

The fight hadn’t even been that bad - and that was the worst part. Three lizalfos, a bokoblin that was definitely lost, the fight had been over in twelve minutes tops. Any one of them could have handled it single-handedly with one eye closed and one arm tied behind their back.

On any other day, at any other time, everything would have been absolutely fine. But today? Today, Legend wasn’t paying attention. He had seen what they were up against and made the foolish decision to let his guard down. He’d gotten in a stupid, pointless competition with Twilight to see who could take down their lizalfos first, and he’d turned to laugh at the rancher because the poor guy was losing, and that was all the opening the lizalfos needed to jump forward and jab its spear right into Legend’s leg.

The injury itself wasn’t that bad. It was more a slice than a stab, really, and the position and color of his tunic hid it well. In the moment, all he had done was gasp. A sharp intake of air that went completely unnoticed by the others, who were either occupied with their own fight or gathered around to watch Wild, who had insisted on fighting off the stray bokoblin with the branch of a tree he’d found on the side of their makeshift path.

And that’s how he found himself alone by a river after making some excuse about refilling everybody’s waterskins, said waterskins forgotten on a nearby rock as he wrapped his leg up with a scrap of material. It would heal in an instant if he had a potion, but he didn’t, and asking the others for one would mean admitting that he’d been stabbed by a lizalfos. It was worth a little extra pain to avoid the sheer humiliation of it all.

Once he was satisfied that he was sufficiently bandaged so as not to bleed and give himself away, he gathered up the waterskins and started back toward the group; loud recounts of the battle carrying easily through the trees.

“Hey, the loser's back!” Warriors cheered with that special teasing voice he reserved almost exclusively for the veteran.

Legend wrinkled his nose and didn’t grace that with a response even though he had technically lost in his friendly competition with Twilight. Losing to Twilight was something he could stomach, if he gave himself some time to digest. Losing to a lizalfos was another thing entirely, and so he focused all of his attention on ignoring the knives of pain shooting up his leg in an effort not to limp and give himself away.

“Oh come on, the real loser was that boko,” Wind nudged Legend playfully in the side, but he was gone before Legend could retaliate. He snatched the famous branch away from Wild and waved it around like the absolute menace that he was. “I’ve got to get me one of these.”

“It’s a stick,” Four scowled, jumping back to avoid a poorly aimed branch-slash. And thus began the ongoing ‘what constitutes a weapon’ debate, and Legend took the opportunity to fall into the back of the procession and bask in the lack of attention.

Sky was in the middle of his rehearsed-sounding pitch for birds having weapon-like capacities when Legend noticed that he was being watched. For the second time that day, his guard was too far down. Too focused on watching his own feet as he fought to keep them steady, one in front of the other, nothing to suspect. He couldn’t say how long Time had been watching him before, but when he finally noticed the stare, it was concerned enough that the answer was probably a while.

“What?” Legend snarked. He could still play it off like he was just tired, or bored, or concentrating really hard on Sky’s ridiculous ramble.

Time’s eye narrowed and he got that foreboding look of concern that never ended well for anyone. “You’re pale.”

Legend scowled. “I’m cold,” may not have been the most feasible excuse, but it wasn’t exactly warm, and it was better than the truth.

A delighted gasp was all the warning Legend got before Wild was at his side, flipping frantically through his slate before producing a vial of orangish slime. “Here,” he held it out eagerly.

Legend took it reluctantly. “What is it?”

Wild wrinkled his nose in thought and took the vial back, holding it up to the sun and squinting. “I think this one is dragonflies and moblin guts? Might have used a hinox toenail for flavor. Here; it’ll warm you up.” He held it back out and grinned.

Legend pushed it back toward him. “Thanks, but I’ll be fine.”

Wild’s face fell and he tucked the elixir away. “I have a coat?”

“I said I’m fine,” Legend growled between gritted teeth, a particularly sharp throb from his leg lacing more venom into his tone than he’d intended.

“I’ll try the guts!” Wind popped up beside them and snatched the slate, and Wild gave Legend one last helpless look before chasing after the sailor before he could figure out how to access what was essentially dragonfly and guts stew.

Legend turned hesitantly back toward Time, and that cursed look of skepticism had only deepened. “You’re bleeding,” Twilight’s voice made him jump and jerk around, which hurt more than it had any right to, and he was grimacing by the time he met the rancher’s worried eyes.

“Thanks for the heart attack,” Legend tried to glare through the pain, and he hoped it was more convincing than it felt. “And what are you talking about? I’m fine.”

Time and Twilight exchanged a look, and whatever conversation they had with their eyes led to Time stopping in his tracks. “Break time,” he called, and the others, who had left them in the dust by this point, turned around in confusion.

“We just had a break,” Warriors protested. “Don’t we want to make it to the inn by nightfall?”

“Legend’s hurt,” Twilight ruthlessly destroyed him for the second time that day, absolutely mindless of the fact that maybe Legend didn’t want everyone to know everything all the time.

Hyrule gasped, a panicked little sound, and sprinted the short distance until he was at Legend’s side. “Where? What happened? Why didn’t you tell us? Legend we have potions. I have magic. Who’s got the poti...”

“I’m fine, ‘Rule,” Legend placated, and he felt like a broken record of assurances that he already knew nobody was going to believe.

“What happened?” Wind was at his side in an instant, looking him over at the obnoxious distance of about six inches away.

Legend put a hand on his head and pushed him away. “It’s barely a scratch, you guys can stop fretting.”

“I have an elixir for that,” Wild popped up, arms full of mushrooms he’d started gathering when they stopped. “Here, let me just...” he shuffled the mushrooms around, several falling to the ground as he produced a vial of red slime. “Here,” he held it out eagerly.

“Really not bad enough for a potion,” Legend shook his head.

“Is that why you’ve got blood on your tunic?” Four pointed, and Legend’s eyes flicked down to the offending piece of cloth. It blended in well, but alas, he was surrounded by observant people.

“Just take the potion Legend,” Hyrule pleaded, taking the vial from Wild and pressing it into Legend’s hand.

“Fine, but just so you’ll get off my back,” Legend glared and brought the potion to his lips, shuddering only a little at the absolutely vile flavor induced by...whatever Wild had seen fit to brew.

“Tell us next time, tough guy,” Warriors clapped him on the shoulder before walking on ahead. “We’d be at the inn by now if you had.”

And that was it. No jabs or teasing or long monologues about how he’d been bested by a lizalfos.

“Need any more?” Was all Wild asked, and when Legend shook his head, Wild actually believed him and scampered off; dragging Wind behind him toward a small pond that he was definitely going to bomb.

Legend watched them go and allowed hyrule to tug him down the path, toward the inn and away from the nightmare that hadn’t actually turned out to be all that bad.

#Whumptober 2022 #No.4 #Story Time With Squiggles #Linked Universe #Hidden Injury #LU Legend #LU Everybody else but briefly

[lady-vixen-17]

Clarity - {Chapter 1 - I See You}

Master list

Description: She really should have thought this through more, but she didn’t really have much room to think when Antonio spoke about Y/n so positively.  And she fit so perfectly into her family’s dynamic it seemed so natural, so… meant to be.

Dolores could hear it again.

Her head tilted as she focused on the sound. The sound of gentle strumming, it was always so quiet.

“Dolores” The 21 year old jumped in surprise, her attention quickly being captured by Antonio, who stood curiously on the stairway. “Are you okay?” Dolores smiled and nodded at the question. “What are you listening too?” Dolores hummed and tilted her head once more and smiled. “I’m pretty sure it’s a guitar, who ever is playing it is being so… gentle and quiet.”

Antonio smile and hopped onto the floor and reached forward, his hands wrapping around Dolores’ hand. “I know who’s playing” Antonio spoke quietly as he leaned into his older sisters side. Amused Dolores hummed and looked down to Antonio as he led her towards the front door.

“And how do you know who’s playing and I don’t?” Antonio looked up with a bright smile as he held back a giggle. “My animals” Dolores hummed once more and allowed Antonio to lead her in the direction of the forest. “The birds like to listen to her. She’s in a clearing by the lake”

“She’s really nice.”

Dolores hummed quietly to herself before looking back to Casita as it waved a window as the two departed. “We should probably tell mamí where we are going Antonio” The five year old nodded before he jumped on the balls of his feet excitedly. “Mamí knows, she took me to see Y/n the first time my birds told me about her.” Dolores nodded slowly as the two continued to walk quietly.

The walk was mostly quiet, save for Antonio greeting a few animals as the two continued their trek. “I think you’ll like Y/n” Dolores stayed quiet a moment, ears strained on a few sounds. One being Pepa and the other the guitar that grew louder the closer the two got to the lake. “Y/n Perez?” Dolores question as she looked down to Antonio.

Antonio nodded quickly before he released Dolores’ hand and ran ahead, an eager and excited smile present as he rushed towards the lake.

“Y/n!” Dolores flinched back slightly at Antonio’s unintentionally loud voice, she smiled to herself though as she watched Antonio run ahead to the clearing and out of view, her ears strained carefully on the boy as he ran.

The h/c haired girl stopped strumming and looked up as the five year old ran towards her. She smiled and moved her guitar to the side and reached her left arm forward. Antonio quickly threw himself into her arm and wrapped Y/n in a tight hug. “Hola Antonio, Como estas mi amiguito?”

Antonio smiled brightly at the question as he released Y/n from his hug. “Soy muy bueno!” Y/n smiled at the reply and moved her guitar to rest on her lap properly once more. “No Parce today? Or your mamí?” Antonio shook his head and moved to sit next to Y/n. “Nope I brought Dolores today” he pointed to the entrance of the trail to the lake before turning back to look at the guitar in Y/n’s lap.

“What were you playing?” Y/n turned to look at the trail before looking back to Antonio as he leaned against her side. “I wasn’t really playing anything today, just practicing some note sequences I was struggling with” Antonio nodded and held out his left hand, Y/n without hesitation lowered her hand slightly, and watched quietly as Antonio placed his fingers on a few strings.

“This was C right?” Y/n nodded and strummed the cords with her right hand. “a C note played perfectly” Antonio giggled quietly and leaned forward, looking at the strings intensely, focused, as he tried to remember a few more notes Y/n had taught him. “D?”

Y/n strummed quietly and nodded. “Right again. Do you remember E?” Antonio looked to Y/n and shook his head. “Like th-“ a branch cracking caught Y/n’s attention and she’s quickly looked back, her eyes narrowed. “Dolores you finally caught up?” Antonio teased, he turned back to Y/n and smiled “you know my sister right?”

Y/n looked down to Antonio a moment before she nodded and turned to look in Dolores direction. The 21 year old was stationed a few steps from the entrance, curious gaze on Y/n. “Dolores is your older sister” Y/n spoke quietly to Antonio as she observed the older female. “Y/n Perez, but you probably already know that” Y/n smiled as Dolores nodded at the information. “I know, I didn’t know you played guitar though.”

Y/n nodded and lifted a finger to her lips. “It’s our little secret” Antonio giggled and moved his gaze from Y/n back to Dolores. “Mamí knows too!” Although the excitement in his voice was clear Antonio kept his excited tone quiet and hushed for Dolores’ sake.

“That still doesn’t explain how I didn’t know it was you playing…” Dolores trailed off and stepped closer to the two. Antonio smiled brightly as Y/n spoke. “I’m a secret agent with my ways of privacy”

“She just doesn’t talk when she’s practicing!” Y/n huffed quietly in amusement and mock betrayal. “You can’t be giving all my secrets away to the enemy Toñito!” Y/n leaned closer to Antonio as she spoke, betrayed as the 5 year old giggled.

“I guess I’m seeing you in a new light then” Y/n turned her gaze from Antonio to Dolores and hummed quietly. “It would seem so”

The two stayed with Y/n a majority of the afternoon. Y/n playing tunes softly as she sang quietly to Antonio. She quietly encouraged Dolores to join in with songs she was certain the older woman knew. When the afternoon came closer to evening Y/n smiled shifting at Antonio’s dropping head. And extra weight on her side.

“Toñito, it’s home time” Dolores moved to Antonio’s side and smiled at the tired eyed look she received from the boy as she reached forward and held him up right. “Come on Toñito I can carry you back to Casita, and you can nap at home.”

Antonio shook his head and held onto Y/n’s arm, eyes closing as he struggled to fight his sleep “I can carry him Dolores, can you take my guitar?” Dolores looked to Y/n before nodding and allowing the younger girl to pick up Antonio. He quickly settled into her, arms wrapped around her neck and head nestled into her shoulder.

“Do you normally take him home?” Y/n glance to Dolores as she pulled the strap of Y/n’s guitar over her shoulder. “If he is tired like this I’ll walk him home, normally Parce will carry him and I just make sure he makes it home safe if Señorita Pepa isn’t with him.” Dolores hummed quietly and followed after Y/n quietly.

When dinner came around Antonio had long since woken from his afternoon nap and was helping around the kitchen, carrying a few cups. He paused a moment. Hesitating before she spoke quietly.

“Mamí can Y/n come to dinner today?” The normal ruckus within Casita halted a moment as Antonio asked his question, pleading wide eyes directed up at Pepa. “Who’s Y/n?” Camilo was jabbed in his side by Mirabel before she shoved him forward gently. “We have a table to set ‘Milo, we can figure out who this mysterious Y/n is at dinner.” She lifted her shoulders in a shrug , head tilting as she smiled in amusement at the look she received from Camilo.

“I don’t see why not, but you’re sure you want Y/n over? You could have any other friend come over” Antonio stood up on the balls of his feet and beamed happily up to Pepa before nodding his head. “Yeah. I want Y/n to come over!”

Pepa crossed her arm and smiled softly before nodding. “Alright. Let’s go get her then” Antonio quickly turned towards the front doors, and started running, briefly waving to Casita as the doors were opened for him.

He would stop every few turns, talking quietly to a few animals before he was off running again. When he reached the Perez household he stepped up to the door pausing short of his knock before turning to make sure Pepa was still with him. When he did know the door was answered fairly quickly by Y/n herself.

“What do I owe the pleasure Toñito and Señorita Pepa” Pepa waved Y/n off with a smile and gently urged Antonio forward. “Pepa is fine” Y/n smiled at the friendly gesture before she turned her attention to Antonio who was smiling bright up at Y/n. “Can you come to dinner with me?” Y/n hummed quietly in mock thought as she kneeled down to Antonio’s height.

“I could probably squeeze dinner with you into my busy schedule” Antonio giggled before he pointed behind Y/n, she followed his finger and smiled. “Can you bring your guitar. Papí and tío are really good singing and playing the piano! We could have a show after dinner!” Y/n nodded quickly and turned back to Antonio. “Of course mi amiguito” Y/n pushed herself to stand up and smiled brighter at the excited look that crossed Antonio’s features.

“Don’t you think I should change? I should be looking my best for dinner with the Madrigals.” Antonio shook his head and grabbed Y/n’s hand, allowing her a moment to grab her guitar and close the door before he started walking excitedly, gaining little resistance from Y/n as she was pulled along.

“You look pretty already! Let’s go! dinners almost ready!” Pepa was heard laughing quietly behind the two as Y/n allowed herself to be dragged towards Casita by Antonio.

“Hola Casita” the front door and a few windows waved excitedly and Y/n tilted her head with a smile. She was quickly whisked into the house, tiles rumbling happily beneath her feet as Antonio pulled her towards the back dinning room. “You can sit next to me!” Antonio quickly pulled out a chair, standing beside it as he smiled excitedly up at Y/n.

“Of course. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Antonio nodded and pat the chair. “Sit!” Huffing out an amused breath Y/n decided to amuse the boy and moved to sit in the chair, prepared to help him move the chair if he did what she thought he would. But as she sat she wasn’t prepared for the chair to be pushed forward by both Antonio and Casita.

Antonio quickly moved to his own seat and sat down with a proud smile. “Gracias mi amiguito” the Madrigal family filed in quickly, and plates of food were placed in the middle of the table. And seats were quickly filled. Silence met Y/n’s ears a moment. “So you’re the one Antonio’s been talking nonstop about” Y/n perked up and looked to her left, passed Dolores to a set of green eyes already looking back at her curiously with a smirk.

“Camiloooo” Y/n sat back at the voice next to her and looked to Antonio who sat with a pout as he looked at his older brother with annoyance. “Y/n Perez, and I guess so.” y/n closed her eyes as she tilted her head back in Camilo’s direction with a smile.

Camilo hummed quietly and tapped his finger on the table in thought, her opened his out but quickly shut it when he noticed Y/n had turned her full attention to Antonio when he tugged at her arm and started telling her about his day. Camilo smiled at the excitement shimmering in Antonio’s eyes as he spoke and he leaned back in his chair and turned his attention to the conversation his cousins were having across the table.

Y/n filtered quickly into the family dynamic, chatting quietly when conversation turned to her, although for a majority of the dinner she sat with most of her attention on Antonio, helping him get his servings of food, and entertaining him with story’s and listening to his own story’s.

“You know I normally do this? You don’t have to” Y/n’s ears perked up at the quiet hushed voice, and she looked to her left and smiled at Dolores. “I don’t mind. Who am I if I don’t help out mi amiguito” Dolores sat back in her chair slightly, eyes scanning Y/n’s features closely before she slowly turned her attention back to her own plate of food. Her attention on the interactions the younger girl had with Antonio through out the night and how she kept the 5 year old easily entertained.

Dinner continued without much else, followed by a few songs from Y/n, Félix and Agustín. The three laughing in amusement as the faux seriousness they started with as it ended when they ended up looking at each other a second too long and cracked up.

As they finished singing, Y/n sighed in content, her eyes scanning over the family before she felt a weight being thrown into her legs. “Can you stay a little longer?” Y/n nodded without a second thought, her hand affectionately ruffling Antonio’s hair. “Of course” Antonio beamed with happiness up at Y/n before he grabbed her hand. “Parce missed you!”

Together the three ran around, and although becoming tired from chasing a 5 year old around Y/n continued to do so with a bright smile. Squeals of excitement coming from both Y/n and Antonio as Parce danced around the two, bumping and pouncing playfully on them before Antonio stifled a giggle with his hand and Parce ran off. Y/n raised a brow in amusement before Antonio took off in a sprint. Y/n quickly followed, picking him up when she caught him and tickling him.

She would quickly stop before he screamed out in laughter and would let him run off again with an amused huff. Acutely aware of Dolores in the background.

“I haven’t seen you flinch once” Dolores sat straighter, eyes wide as she turned to the voice that startled her. “That’s new” Camilo smiled in amusement before he pulled the chair next to Dolores out, and sat down on the chair backwards. His arms came up to rest on the back of the chair, his eyes lingering on Dolores a moment before he turned to look at Antonio and Y/n; Parce faintly hidden in the background, crouched and ready to pounce.

“You okay hermana?” The teasing tint Camilo spoke with previously was gone, and in its place concern. Dolores stayed quiet a moment, eyes turning back to the two as a scream of delighted surprise pierced the air. Instead of flinching or moving to cover her ears Dolores turned to Camilo.

“Lo siento Dolores” the voice was quiet and Dolores had to resist the urge to turn to look at the owner. Instead her confused gaze settled on Camilo. “I’m okay… just…” she turned to look back at the scene of Y/n laughing happily while being pinned playfully by the large cat and Antonio giggling as he climbed onto Parce’s back. “Confused” Dolores looked back to Camilo, surprised to see his sharp observant gaze already on her.

Next chapter

#Encanto #Encanto x reader #Encanto x female reader #x reader #encanto dolores madrigal #encanto dolores x reader #encanto dolores #Encanto dolores Madrigal x reader #Encanto dolores x reader #Dolores Madrigal x reader

[nicktremblaywayfu]

Persistence

Prompt : "I'm not sick, I'm only slightly ill. There's a difference. I can handle today."

Warning : Injuries, Blood

Rating : 15+ (no smut)

Author Note : This was a quick ficlet that i did in one sitting. I'd like to explore the alternate story where he was Ammit's avatar but like The Moon Bois did, rather than just being her avatar in one night like in the show. The prompt was randomly generated from here.

---

One major flaw from the power Ammit had bestowed was the lack of healing ability. It was not like she didn't want to, nor she didn't care. That was just how she always had been, a keen fighter. Continuously fighting and beating down her opponent, without having or needing a chance to heal. And so was her avatar. 

It was 2 am the time Arthur finally home from his duty. He was bleeding, bruised, injured. The feelings you had were mixed. Anger, sadness, worries, all into one inside you. He slumped into the sofa, not having much energy to take care of his wounds. You hurried to take warm water and some towels to clean up his wounds. 

"I'm fine, my love. Those wounds would go away within days"  Of course Arthur didn't have the heart to see you worried about him, yet he can not fully lie to you. 

"Sometimes I wish you would care about your injuries even just for one day." You sighed heavily while wiping the blood on his temple

He just smiled at you. His mouth showed the warmest smile, yet his eyes could no longer hide how tired he was. Penance was the perfect word to describe how he saw his wounds. But what was the point of empty punishment ? 

Ammit was just staring in the corner of the room, hidden in the shadow of the unlit part. She was ruthless, that's how the Gods saw her. But there was a reason why Khonshu was the worst ennead for an Avatar, not her. Unlike the old bird, she knew the words of "enough is enough". You didn't like her that very much, but at the same time you didn't particularly hate her. You only talked to her when it was really needed, the rest was you tolerating her existence on your lover's side. She didn't say anything as she was merely an audience as you finally finished and decided to sleep on the couch, alongside already-sleeping Arthur.

You were abruptly awoken with the harsh sound of Arthur coughing, spitting mucus from his throat with blood mixed in it. 

"Go to the bed now, Arthur. Enough of your avatar stuff today." Your voice was a bit firm, decisive as you wanted Arthur to obey.

"I can't. The world needed me to continue our Goddess's judgement." He was persistent with his duty, like usual. 

"Listen to her, Harrow. You know well you couldn't fight with a body like this." The crocodile goddess's voice was loud, enough to startle you. At the very least she was on your side.

"I'm not sick, I'm only slightly ill. There's a difference. I can handle today." He wiped the blood trace on his mouth corner.

"Slightly ill with blood coming from your mouth? Were you doing your job or you wanted to kill yourself?" You hated every time you had to argue with him, but you had no choice. 

Arthur closed his eyes for a moment, then sighed.

"Very well. I shall rest this morning, but if I'm fine in the afternoon I will continue my duty." He walked to the bedroom, limping with the cane supporting every movement of his leg. 

You sat on the couch, head resting on your hands. You glanced at the goddess, eyes meeting each other. You both knew well he would insist on getting out of bed before the sun set. But what was important is that he got a proper sleep this morning.

#arthur harrow #Ammit #Moon Knight fanfiction #mcu #moon knight #ficlet #reader insert #x reader #sorry for the image but Ethan Hakwe covered in blood is my religion #arthur harrow x reader

[darkhymns-fic]

A Transgressor’s Threads in the Making

It’s winter and it’s cold, but no matter what, Vicious wouldn’t be caught dead in a bad winter outfit. Not even Aegis and his bargain-bin coats could change that.

But when darkness falls, a hero of light will rise—and that hero has the fashion know-how and passion to make some of the best and trendiest winter outfits ever made. Once again, Kanata must save the day!

Fandom: Tales of Crestoria Characters/Pairing: Vicious, Kanata Hjuger, Misella, Aegis Alver Rating: G Word Count: 6389 Mirror Link: AO3 Notes: A fic I wrote for a Crestoria Secret Santa. Kanata gets to live his fashion designer dreams!

--

Vicious was already pestering Misella barely an hour into the day.

“You’re not gonna start a fire for us now?” He groaned, frustrated. “Where’s the crazy arsonist we all know and love?!”

“Um, hey, maybe don’t say that out loud in public, alright?” warned Orwin, furtively glancing around them at those who turned a few heads. His words came out slightly muffled with the puffy hood wrapped around the back of his head, and a little over his mouth. “He’s just, just kidding, folks! Heh, just a good old jokester.”

Vicious scoffed, arms folded behind his head. The Great Transgressor looking a bit worse for wear than usual today as they passed through the marketplace. His hair was a frizzy mess, his vest only half buttoned so that it threatened to fall off his shoulders. Also, he was shivering, barely brushing aside the snowflakes that got caught on his eyelashes.

Decorative lights of numerous colors stretched across the storefronts, with snowmen of varying quality lining the streets, some with the usual pair of eyes while others sported a dozen. Crowds were more or less packed for what must have been a winter festival currently underway. So, not really a place for one to start any fire mishaps in what would have certainly been a dangerous situation.

Vicious didn’t care.

“It’s snowing like hell out here!” he complained again. Louder this time, probably an octave up or more. Just the right exact pitch to even make Orwin flinch as he walked by his side. “Look, just make a little fireball for us or something. You do it every other week!”

Misella walked ahead, ignoring the ravings of the older, half-naked man behind her. She shifted deeper into her jacket until it seemed only the tip of her head poked through, her pink hair all but swallowed up by her jacket’s own hood. She walked mittened hand in mittened hand with Kanata, the other also wearing something very similar. “Then you should have gotten a coat like the rest of us if you’re cold. Kanata was smart to do so.”

“Y-yeah…” Kanata meekly added. He scratched at his cheek, taking a bit of effort to turn around in his big coat to look at Vicious. “It’s very warm in here! At least…”

Vicious paused, then said blankly, “I would literally rather die than look like that.”

“Vicious, you know you are being quite ridiculous right now.”

Aegis, who was not far behind, tried to catch up to Vicious through the fresh snowbanks on the streets. He was also wearing the same type of puffy coat – along with a few extra layers packed underneath so that he waddled right up to the Great Transgressor. They were a strange combo of one who showed too much skin and one who showed virtually nothing except for half of his face. “There were some reasonably priced coats at that last store that you could have gotten with us. Catching pneumonia would be a risk to the entire group! Do you understand that?”

Vicious rolled his eyes. “If I were any drunker, I seriously would have thought you were one of those weird Penguinist guys we ran into the other day and shoot you right now.”

“Drunker? Have you already been drinking?!” Aegis flailed his coat arms, the way a certain bird-like, yet flightless creature might do. “It’s only morning!”

“Who are you, my dead mom? Lay off!”

Further to his left, Yuna giggled, one of the few in their group who didn’t wear so much bulkiness, her own coat tied around the waist with a red sash, buttoned all the way up to a high collar. She even had on a fur cap, its outside polka-dotted by the falling snowflakes. “If you wanted, I could have gotten a designer coat for you so that we could match!”

Vicious grimaced. “I don’t need any of that expensive crap. Is it that bad I just want something to be set on fire?”

“Yuna, where did you get this?” Aegis waddled up to her furiously. “Please tell me you didn’t spend any of our funds on that! We all agreed to get the coats that were on clearance!”

“Oh Aegrouch, do not worry your pretty little head.” She smiled, then poked at his nose with a leather-gloved finger. “I merely chatted with ‘ze store owner, and he was very kind to ‘and it over to me. I zin’t pay a dime!”

“…Are… are you saying you stole it? That’s much worse! Don’t add shoplifting to our transgressions!”

Yuna hummed thoughtfully. “Hm, or is ‘zat just a lie I made just for you?”

“I am going to have a heart attack.”

Vicious then sneezed, quite violently. Enough that his guns appeared in his hands at the very force of it. “Agh, hell! That freaking hurts!”

“Vicious, put those away right now!!”

--

This town was one of the few places without a Vision Central (convenient!), so few people paid much attention to a man with his stomach showing. In fact, Aegis wondered if they had ever heard of the Great Transgressor…

“Achoo!”

Though, of course, the man certainly liked to announce his presence whenever possible.

The inn they chose to stay the night at was already crowded. Garlands, peppered with red bows, decorated the ceiling rafters, and a lavishly ornamented pine tree was in the corner of the room, lights perched on its needles. The bar counters also held small figurines of a red-dressed man, but even with Aegis’ scholarly interest in the fabled sorcerer, Christma Sparking, he was doing all he could to not cringe at another of Vicious’ violent sneezes.

…And how a row of heads would occasionally turn to them at the sound. Trying to be indiscreet was more and more becoming an impossibility.

“At the very least, use a tissue!”

The fact that they had managed to even secure an inn table was lucky, including some extra seats for their friends. Vicious was happily doing that part of the job himself, stretching out both feet to lay them against the chairs, effectively ‘occupying’ them. But the chairs would rattle from another sneeze attack.

“Hey, my clothes are good enough!” Vicious sniffled again, wiping his nose with his black sleeve. Aegis grimaced.

“Ugh, now look at yourself, you’re already getting a cold. What did I tell you about actually dressing up for the weather?”

“Blah blah blah. The Great Transgressor doesn’t get a cold!”

“Oh, so you simply just sneeze and have a runny nose for fun?”

“Yeah?! Maybe I do! Don’t judge me!”

“Stop yelling!”

“No!”

Aegis rubbed his temples, which took him a few seconds to do due to his puffy sleeves. The layers of his jackets did their job of keeping him well-insulated, though his ease of movement, he admitted, left a lot to be desired. “I cannot believe we are still having this argument. You are literally behaving like a child right now. There was a perfectly acceptable jacket at the store. It was even in your size! And yet, you refused to get it out of some idiotic fashion sense?”

“Hey,” Vicious started, slamming the table with his fist—and sniffing loudly once again. His cheeks were red, as was the tip of his nose. Whether that was because of his cold, or the three beers he had just chugged down, Aegis wasn’t sure. “Do you know how hard it was to get myself to look this good? This,” he gestured at his torso, exposed to the bright lights within the inn’s dining room. “I ain’t hiding it under some goofy-looking bed comforter like the rest of you! If there’s a sin of looking bad, it’s that!”

“What? This is perfectly in season right now!” Aegis tried to gesture as well, and nearly fell right out of the chair, threatened by the weight of all his jackets. “It may not be the most on-vogue but we certainly don’t have the funds for such frivolous finery!”

Vicious’ other fist met the table, shuddering it from the force. “I ain’t gonna look like some weak-ass loser!”

“Uh, everything okay?”

At the voice, both Vicious and Aegis turned, finding Kanata in his oversized jacket. He…more or less was trying to carry a tray in his hands, but struggled to hold it in balance. Multiple drinks, bottles, and bowls of stew were dangerously close to teetering right off the edge, due to all the extra baggage his very person was already encumbered in. His entire head was still bound tightly in his hood, a pair of bright eyes blinking from its depths.

At the sight, Vicious laid his head back and groaned. Loudly. “See?! Look what the hell you did to this idiot. Now he looks lame.”

Aegis huffed. “I think you mean smart. He was very astute in realizing we must favor effectiveness over appearances.”

Kanata blinked, then lowered his head slightly. “Yeah…”

Vicious tsked, lifting his legs from the other chairs. “You know what? I’m heading to bed early. Need to sleep off all this embarrassment.”

“Certainly not because you’re drunk yet again,” Aegis intoned.

“I’m too depressed to even drink another drop!” The Great Transgressor announced… then quickly swiped away two bottles from Kanata’s tray. “Later, nerds!”

“That wine was for the whole group!” Aegis shouted, effectively getting even more eyes on them. Well, like it mattered anyway! Might as well announce to the whole world they were Transgressors while they were at it!

Kanata cleared his throat. “Vicious seems a bit grumpier than usual.”

“Hadn’t noticed,” Aegis sighed.

“Really? I would think it would be quite obvious to anyone that he’s much more-”

“I am being sarcastic. I am not that dense.”

“Oh!” With a nod, Kanata tried to reach for one of the glasses on the tray. “Well, this one’s your drink, I think. The lemonade one, was it?”

“Kanata, you’re going to drop it!”

It took more time than Aegis cared to admit for the two of them to finally, and safely, put their drinks on the table. There had been a lot of flailing, a lot of near spillages, and Kanata’s own puffy arm accidentally hitting Aegis in the face a couple of times.

Alright, maybe these coats were proving to be a tad problematic.

Kanata sat at the inn table, trying to squeeze into the seat with his outfit. How Aegis was able to sit down himself with his multiple layers before was anyone’s guess. “Hey, uh, why are we still wearing these anyway? It’s already plenty warm in here…”

“If you noticed our seats right now, we’re just by the door. When it opens, it will a bring a gust of wind on us, chilling us once again. It’s only good to be prepared.” Aegis nodded at his reasoning, all as he tried to grasp at his drink with a hand that was half-swallowed by his jacket(s) sleeves.

“Oh right. You always have an answer to these things…”

“Thank you. At least someone here appreciates the decision-making I do for this entire group…which I suppose has effectively abandoned us.”

“Well, Misella wanted to watch the chicken being roasted, so she insisted on being in the kitchen for it.” Kanata tried to turn his head but could barely manage more than an inch. “Orwin’s also chatting with some random old men at the bar…and I have no idea where Yuna went.”

“I probably don’t even want to know.” Aegis finally got his cup close to his mouth and attempted a sip. He got a few drops of lemonade! At least that was satisfactory. “We’ll need to leave first thing in the morning, so hopefully people will at least remember to rendezvous by then.”

“Already? But we barely spent any time in this town, and wouldn’t it still be really cold?”

“We must always keep moving, Kanata. And yes, it will be. That was why I got us these coats! The winters are especially egregious in this region. Of course, we’ll have to deal with that man who will mostly likely catch pneumonia on the way.”

“Wow, Aegis.” Kanata smiled, one that was half-hidden by the hood. “I had no idea you were so worried about him! Like a parent that is trying to care for their very reckless child. If you ever do have children, I’m sure they will be lucky to have such a protective father that won’t shy away from pointing out their mistakes.”

Aegis blinked. “…Where are you even…? Y-you know what, never mind. I don’t need to know how you picture my future skills as a parent, thank you.”

“But I just told you…”

As the crowd in the dining room continued to get lively, and Kanata struggled to even lift a spoon from his stew bowl before finally giving up, the boy spoke again.

“I think…I have a way,” he said to Aegis, moving his head free from the thick collar of his jacket. The hood was lowered, and a mess of golden, frizzy spikes framed his face. “To help Vicious not get sick, I mean!”

“If it’s to force feed him medicine,” Aegis said, munching on a breadstick—one of the few things he could reasonably eat while still wearing the coat. “Don’t bother. I tried and he bit me.”

“…Okay, I’m not gonna dig deeper into that then.” Kanata shook his head, making his hair frizzier in the process. “I mean, Vicious just doesn’t want to look like a fool, and I understand what he means! We need to have a makeover!”

This time, Aegis was truly lost. “Pardon?”

At that, Kanata finally unbuttoned his jacket, letting out a gasp of relief as he did so. His other clothes underneath was damp with sweat as he tried to catch his breath. “Because Vicious is right! We do look like… I’m sorry, Aegis. But we look like losers! And we’re not even wearing what’s in trend right now! I understand that we have to save money, but not at the expense of being left back in the times!”

“I don’t-”

“I mean, these coats were made nearly five years ago! Five!” Kanata held up the puffy coat that had more or less deflated now that it was Kanata-less. “That’s a death sentence in the fashion world. I know we’ve already been judged in town, and judged harshly I might add.” Kanata closed his eyes, reliving such stares that he would never fully forget, before he opened them once more. “Vicious knows that! But I think we can find a way to redeem ourselves and have people forgive our horrific sins.”

“Are we still talking about the coats?”

“I’m gonna need access to some tools!” Kanata barreled through, like a solider heading for the front lines of war. He had the same kind of fervor in his eyes that Aegis had to admire at least somewhat. “And if I get started tonight, I can have everything ready by the morning.”

“Tools?” The former knight tilted his head in confusion, or tried to. It was a bit difficult to move anything that was more than an eyeblink. “Do you mean you need new weaponry? Or like blacksmith tools? Or…” His eyes went distant. “The limited-edition tools for the latest Avalanche Silver Mechaknight edition?! I did see that on my way here, and they’re the latest models on the market. They also come with the most recent novel of the series, and only the first twenty copies have the author’s signature…”

“Um…” It was Kanata’s turn to be confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Sorry, what was the question?”

“…Never mind. I meant, tools for tailoring. You know, like for sewing and stitching? I’ll also need the right threads. Oh! A sewing machine would be perfect! I know a store that has exactly what we need. It would only cost a bit of our gald-”

“How much?” Aegis interrupted.

“…Well, okay, more than a bit, but fashion is no small price to pay.”

“Absolutely not. The jackets we got were a fraction of their original price. It’s better to shop for bargains then for superficial notions of trends!”

Typically, he expected Kanata to back down, to see sense as it were. But to his surprise, the boy only stared back at him with more fervor in those eyes. Those same eyes that had stated he would try to change this world of judgment and those sentenced unfairly to their crimes…

“No, Aegis. We must do this! I must do this! At least let us leave this town in dignity than in embarrassment.”

It took Aegis a while to process what was being said to him.

“You truly think these coats look that awful?”

“I do.” Kanata stood up, clenched his bandaged fist, and faced Aegis with fire and determination. “I believe that with all of my heart!”

It was now Aegis’ turn to bow his head, sinking further into his coat, so that he was more fabric and padding than man.

“I was only thinking what was best for everyone.” The defeated knight slowly reached out to the coat that Kanata had discarded. “I suppose I could always return this and recoup the losses-”

The coat then began to tremble.

Aegis may have given a small shriek, and he may have fallen off the chair and onto his back, wobbling as he did so like an overturned turtle. Kanata’s coat continued to shiver and shudder before a tiny furry head poked out. Brown fur shook itself before a little squeak erupted cheerfully. That same head then burrowed back into the coat.

“Ah, sorry. I was keeping Meakyu in there.” Kanata chuckled softly, looking towards the tiny animal. “He seems to really like it! But, I think he might have bit into the padding so I’m not sure if we could return it… Uh, Aegis?”

Kanata looked to the floor, seeing Aegis flail his thick arms and thick legs (he wore extra layers of pants as well) while inn customers quietly circled around him to get to their tables.

“Kanata, help! I have fallen and I can’t get up!!”

--

Just a few hours that passed into the night, but after much scrounging and searching, Kanata finally, finally had what he needed.

Now came the ultimate test.

“Kanata, where have you been? You missed dinner.”

Misella walked into Kanata’s rented inn room, the fireplace in it already stoked to a well-done heat as she munched on her well-done chicken leg. She no longer wore her puffy jacket, pink hair once again free from its confines. As she chewed, she looked on in wonder at the ‘tools’ that Kanata had so needed, spread out over a large table—a smorgasbord of thread spools that spanned a whole spectrum of colors, of scissors with varying sizes, of knitting needles, a few pincushions, and even what looked to be some sort of measuring tape…

Oh, and a strange mannequin that Kanata was using to measure a very green piece of fabric right now.

Misella narrowed her eyes. At the very least, it didn’t appear to be a feminine-shaped mannequin…maybe.

“Ah, Misella! Perfect timing! Aegis went to get Vicious. We’re going to be making him a whole new outfit for the weather.”

She chewed thoughtfully, careful to not get any food juices on her precious Kanata’s tools. But hearing Vicious’ name gave her pause. She bit off more meat from the dripping bone. “That man does not deserve your talents, Kanata. And I doubt any new clothes would cover up the fact that he is a vile monster that deserves to be buried underneath the rubble. Surely, you could have chosen someone else.”

“Oh, who?”

Misella smiled gently, tossing the chicken into the fireplace. The flames sparked and hissed, as if eagerly devouring the bone. “Someone who will wear your wonderful outfits with grace and poise. Someone who understands you and your passion.”

Kanata scrunched his forehead as continued to measure the fabric, picking up one of the scissors as he pulled at a corner. “Um…do you mean Aegis?”

But before the room could be set on fire then and there, the door flew open, with Aegis rushing through. He was faster now, having finally shed off the coats for his usual blue coat vest.

“I already told you, Vicious! I don’t have any money! Kanata spent it all!”

“Bullshit!” Vicious sauntered in, guns held in his hands, their reddish tint coating the floorboards. “I’m still only buzzed! I need more booze to actually get drunk!”

Misella stood next to Vicious, her hand held out, palm facing upwards. A spark ignited, slowly coalescing into the familiar flames she controlled. “Vicious, let me help you. This man has betrayed me.”

“Now that’s what I’m talking about!”

“Misella, why are you mad at me!?”

Somehow unmindful to the threat of oncoming violence, Kanata rushed out to the middle of the room, waving his arms. His smile was as bright—no, brighter than the sun itself. “Vicious! We got a surprise for you!”

There must surely be some magic that was held in the smile of a fourteen-year old boy (specifically, a fourteen-year old boy who still held the sin of patricide in his heart) as Vicious visibly calmed down then. He lowered his guns, and Misella’s fire was suddenly extinguished, her face a picture of contentment once again.

“I ain’t exactly a fan of surprises, kid,” Vicious said, his guns now vanished from his hands. “Unless it’s booze. You got me more booze?”

Kanata shook his head happily, then gestured to small sewing studio he had set up in his room. “We’re going to give you a makeover!”

Aegis blinked, staring at all the tools, the fabrics, and the assortment of accessories on the table. “You…you spent all of my money, didn’t you.”

Kanata didn’t answer him, his attention fully on the Great Transgressor, who was at least a little drunk. “Well, what do you think?”

Vicious took a breath—and then he turned around, heading for the door. “See ya. Don’t touch me.”

But not such a request from the most wanted man alive could ever dampen Kanata’s own excitement.

“Come on, it’ll be fun!” He grabbed Vicious’ arm, pulling him to his little makeshift studio. “I already have an idea for you!”

“What did I say about touching?!”

It took some convincing, which included letting Vicious curse for as much as he wanted, and promising, and really promising you better not be lying!! that they would get him some more alcohol right after this. The good kind, too!

“But I don’t have any more money,” Aegis weakly protested to an attentive audience of zero.

“Now, I’ve been thinking of making you a new jacket. One that will let you breathe a little easier, but just warm enough so that you don’t get cold!” Kanata led Vicious near the mannequin that wore a few clothing accessories, including what looked to be a bright red cap, a white pom affixed to the top. “I was thinking green because…well, it fits the season right now!”

Vicious narrowed his eyes. Then tried narrowing them again, swaying a bit on his feet. Okay, maybe he was a bit more drunk than he thought he was earlier. "What's with all the bright crap?"

"Oh, do you mean this? That's the wool!" Kanata nodded vigorously as he unhooked one long piece of scarf from a clothes hanger, this one tinged a violet shade. "This is a shawl. It's a very vital accessory to one's outfit. With the right color and even how someone might wear it, it can really bring out one’s sense of style!"

Vicious scoffed. "I thought shawls were like, I dunno, some kind of girl thing."

"Not at all! It's actually very chic for men to wear shawls during the winter too! See?" Kanata draped the fabric over his shoulders, then pulled on one end to be further up his arm, before wrapping the other loose end just around his neck. The result was much like a bundled-up scarf, but one that brought out his smile even more.

“Oh, and the finishing touch!” He plucked one of the red caps, fitting it over his head. Somehow, red and purple mixed well when he wore it. “And there you have it!”

"Huh. Not bad, I guess.” Vicious nodded. “I was just saying what Yuna told me…"

"Well, no offense to Yuna, but unless she's a reporter for fashion shows, I would have to question her knowledge!"

“Also, she was probably lying,” Misella interjected. But for the most part, she remained quiet, happy to watch Kanata in his element, with only her gaze turning slightly bitter when they ran over Vicious.

The man scratched the back of his head. “You know, I guess it won’t be too bad. I have been wearing the same thing this whole time… Also it’s always too damn cold now!”

“So you really do want the makeover?” Kanata whooped, already going to the table with the needles, the scissors, and all other manners of sharp, pointy objects. “Okay, let’s get started! Aegis, please help me!”

“What? Why me?”

“You have very delicate fingers, so you’d be perfect for the job! Now let’s go ahead and measure Vicious.”

The Great Transgressor smirked at Aegis, before it turned into biting laughter. “Better make me look good, knighty boy!”

“Ugh, I can’t believe this…”

“It won’t be too difficult,” Kanata reassured as he pulled out a small roll of measuring tape. But his once gentle smile now became just a tiny bit more manic, maybe even a bit too gleeful. “I already have so many ideas that I think will fit Vicious perfectly! Can you get the needles, Aegis? Use this fabric, too.”

The look was enough to make Vicious halt in his laughter. “Uh, okay you seem way into this, so it’s creeping me out—Ow!” He snarled at the knight who had just stuck a pin in the Great Transgressor’s arm. “Watch where you’re sticking that!”

“S-Stop fidgeting then!” Aegis countered, then said softly. “Could we not just use the mannequin… We paid for it…”

“You need to hold the fabric in place better than that! Here, let me do this one.” Kanata took the pins from Aegis’ hands, while still holding the measuring tape. “Unless you want to make Vicious look like a porcupine!”

“Yeah! You want to make me look like a porcupine, huh? That what you into?”

“I’m not—what do you even mean by that?!”

And the next few resulting hours passed that way, curses flitting through the room—but joyfully. Fabrics left both table and mannequin. Needles and scissors were used to their utmost extent. And Aegis had pricked his fingers quite a few times that he had to wear some bandages.

But Kanata’s fervor for the work was infectious.

Only Misella had ever seen Kanata hard at work when it came to fashion design. Color coordination, stitching, sewing, and even looking over the right accessories to add to an outfit… Back in Dalchia, Kanata had always shown such passion for it. He’d promise to make her a new blouse, or a dress even, once his skills had finally improved.

But with everything that happened in-between, she had imagined such promises had passed from his mind. Yet instead, it had been sleeping dormant inside of him, waking up once he had to endure Aegis’ own terrible fashion choices. (Yes, she hadn’t liked the coats either.)

And so, just before the sun rose, they were finished.

“Well?” Kanata stood back from Vicious then, hands on his hips. He still wore the red cap on his head, though he had affixed a little star charm to hang off from the pom sometime in the middle of his mad designing phase. “What do you guys think?”

Now here was where she was in conflict. Anything that Kanata made was beautiful and perfect. And Vicious himself was awful, evil, and just a curse on all of humanity. She did not want to compliment Vicious, but to not do so would be to deny Kanata’s hard work and talent.

“Hey, so do I look good or what?!”

Among the mish-mash of sewing tools and kits, (alongside the now fallen-over mannequin, which also had some bullet holes on its front. No one remembers why) Vicious stood. The green that Kanata had been busy cutting and fitting had indeed become the man’s new jacket. Though, it was much looser than his usual one, the sleeves oversized, as well as how it draped off his shoulders overall. Yet the white fur trim at the collar was warm and soft (“And it’s faux-fur, too!” Kanata assured). Vicious also looked strangely proper now that he was wearing a shirt that covered his chest. It’s black dye, along with the white tie he wore, was very appealing.

Aegis placed a hand against his chin. “Huh. You look…very trendy, I must say. Even with you not wearing the jacket correctly, it seems to suit you…”

Vicious flicked back his hair, his new boots, fashioned from brown leather and laced along the front, stomping on the floor. “Well, it’s still weird feeling all covered up,” he admitted. He poked at the red suspenders hanging from his new pants. “But…you’re right. These digs ain’t half bad. Kanata’s got some taste! No lame puffy coats!”

A sigh came from the knight. “Can we stop talking about the coats already? Meakyu has already made a fort from all of ours and they’re so riddled with bite marks that I can’t ever return them, let alone even use them.”

“Yeah, whatever. But look at these ornament thingies!” Vicious held up the small, familiar-looking figures that were tied around his waist with a chain-link. “Heh, a mini-me! And even that little rat thing!”

Kanata scratched the back of his head. “Hehe. I’m glad you like it, Vicious. I wanted to try my hand at crafting a little bit too. And you have the pouch there to put them away if you wanted to.”

“Nah, they staying out. Next time, carve me some tiny guns. Or better yet! A booze bottle! Actually, make it a real one that I can drink out of.” Vicious grinned.

“The figurines are fine as they are,” Misella said firmly. But, she could not deny Kanata’s work, nor did she want to. Also, it was very good that Vicious appreciated it as well. “Kanata’s talent is truly the only thing that can make you look decent.’’ Then she narrowed her eyes. “But you should have worn the hat.”

“Hey, look, hats aren’t my thing. I can’t cover up these locks!” Vicious gestured to his hair. “Why don’t you wear it instead?”

“Oh, well, I already made her one,” Kanata said, a flush rising on his cheeks. “I, uh, kinda made new outfits for all of us! Misella, would you like to try-”

She rushed over to Kanata, grabbing at his shirt. “YES.”

Aegis looked at them expectantly. “So…me too?”

“Yeah, of course, Aegis! I had outfits for Yuna and Orwin, but they still haven’t come back…I’m beginning to wonder if we’ll ever see them again…”

--

Vicious was not really a fashion kind of guy.

Like, sure, he looked the part. He knew how freaking amazing his threads were, which had taken a little ingenuity from himself to get the exact look that he wanted. Threatening, dangerous, unhinged, and plenty sexy. If the Great Transgressor wasn’t all this, then what would be the point?

But what Kanata made for him… Well, he liked it. It wasn’t something he would think of himself. After all, this new outfit covered him up! And the little figures hanging from his pants were a bit too cutesy…

Still, he actually felt warm. And not like, the dying in the summer heat warm. Or the I-drank-way-too-much-beer-and-now-I’m-getting-flash-sweats kind of warm either. Like, the good warm. The nice warm that Yuna sometimes talked about when he pretended to listen.

Vicious wasn’t the only one that left the room decked out in a whole new outfit. Misella and Aegis followed close behind, the former wearing a red suspendered-skirt along with her green, fur-trimmed jacket, while the latter matched her in color, his kinda-tight pants a far cry from the multiple-layered monstrosity he had been trying to make happen.

…There were a lot of similarities in all of their outfits, Vicious noticed. Like as if they were a part of the same musical group. Eh. Still better than the coats.

“I will treasure this forever,” Misella whispered as she clutched a tiny Kanata ornament in her hands. “It’s beautiful.”

“How did Kanata have time to make all of this in one night?” Aegis questioned aloud. His own red cap was just a bit oversized, hanging tilted on the left side of his head. “It doesn’t seem humanly possible.”

“Some people have purer, more passionate souls than others,” Misella quickly reasoned. “It’s only natural.”

“That doesn’t really explain anything at all…”

Vicious was sneaking in a drink from a small wine bottle he had kept tucked away in his new jacket, until he saw Kanata approach. With the way the boy looked sheepishly to the side, Vicious had a feeling he knew what he wanted.

He nodded knowingly, and handed him the bottle. “Here, you earned it. Just one sip though, and no backwashing!”

Kanata stared, his mouth hanging half-open. What, did the kid want him to dump the bottle in there? “W-wait, that’s not it! I’m underage!”

“Right. Too young to drink, but not to kill people. I forgot that’s how it is.”

“No, that’s not…” Kanata waved away whatever weird conversation they were having to move onto something else. “I just wanted to check if…you really do like the new outfit? That you’re not just saying you do to make me feel better. I know I got carried away in there when I was making it…”

“Listen, if I actually hated this new outfit, you’d know. Extremely. And I’d chase you down the street guns blazing for making me look bad.”

Kanata gave a small blink before chuckling good-naturedly. “Haha, thanks, Vicious. I think I needed that joke.”

“I wasn’t kidding—”

“WHAT IS THIS?!”

A shout from Aegis usually wouldn’t startle most people. The guy would shriek at their cutlery not placed the right away, even when they were eating straight from the ground. But just near the inn’s open front doors, Aegis stood outside, his head raised toward the sky and his eyes frantically searching.

“Aegis, what is it?” Kanata asked as he rushed over. Vicious walked slightly faster, and Misella still remained inside so she could pet the Kanata ornament a little bit more. “Are…are there enforcers coming after us?”

Vicious groaned, already summoning a gun. “Typical of them to show up just when I finally got something good to wear!”

Aegis rounded on them both, fists clenched. “Do you two really not see it?!”

Kanata was careful, taking a good moment of consideration before he spoke. “If this is about your pants being too tight, I can still make some adjustments-”

“For the last time, this is not about the pants! Just look!” Aegis flailed, once again looking like he was trying to take flight.

Vicious and Kanata looked around at the calm city streets. The lamplights were still on, but the sun was just making its way over the horizon, draping over the wet cobblestones with a red-tinged light. It was both beautiful, yet so terribly lonely in its own way. The sight of such light, in an empty street that had been just filled with so many people only a few hours ago, was enough to even make Vicious feel a bit somber. Maybe, truly, the fragility of life could be just like this weak sunlight and barren roads—

“It’s the snow! There’s no snow! It’s all gone!”

Vicious shook out of whatever weird daze he had just been in. Man, maybe he was still half-drunk somehow. “Hey, I knew that! Don’t go saying I didn’t!”

“Did you? Because with all the snow already melted, winter is over! It doesn’t even feel cold anymore. We got these new outfits for nothing!” Aegis placed his head in his hands, looking bereft and forlorn. “And we barely have any gald left!”

Misella finally followed them outside. She was now holding the figure of a mini version of herself now, cradling it with her Kanata figure. “You’re so dramatic. Just eat the snow and you’ll be fine.”

“What does that have to do with anything? I just said there’s no snow!”

“Then eat the grass? You are so whiny.”

Huh, Vicious thought, looking at his surroundings. No more wacky-looking snowmen, and no more drizzly snowflakes to mess up his hair. No snow.

Freaking finally.

With a laugh, Vicious wrapped an arm around Kanata, who squeaked slightly at the contact. “Oh! Uh, are you okay? Are you too drunk to walk again?”

“Hah! Not yet!” Vicious clapped a hand on top of Kanata’s head—which still wore that funny hat of his. But even with that in the way, he was still able to ruffle the boy’s hair, light golden locks turning every which way. “Let’s head out and show these off. Maybe get some suckers to buy us free drinks.”

“Well, I still can’t drink… but if you mean for us to model these outfits to people, then I’m in!” Kanata grinned wide, while at the same time gently nudged Vicious’ hand from his head. “That kinda hurts though.”

“Where is Yuna and Orwin already? Did they leave us?!” Aegis was still shouting hysterically, then paused in horror. “I’m going to have to pay for Yuna’s stolen outfit too. I just know it. I am in hell.”

“Eh, loosen up. You look good for once!” Vicious slapped Aegis on his back, probably making him fall, but he was too high up in the clouds himself to notice. “Let’s just go and show off already!”

He didn’t even mind that he wasn’t blackout drunk by now. How funny that just a shiny new jacket and some clean pants could make him feel this way.

#tales of crestoria #vicious #aegis alver #kanata hjuger #misella #fanfiction #one shot #i keep forgetting to post this so here it is!!