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bbangsoonie · 3 years

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good for nothing

member: juyeon genre: angst (royal au) word count: 4,635 synopsis: despite being the first born and the kingdom’s princess, you lived your whole life in the shadow of the crown prince born to a concubine. in your plot for revenge, a fool in love comes along your path. warning(s): violence

kingdom masterlist

Princess Y/n. You were the first born of the king and queen, educated beyond societal standards for girls, and incredibly beautiful. Yet, you were disregarded and looked down on since the moment you were born. Your brother, who was born to a concubine, was the crown prince and received much greater respect. The reason? You were a girl. A good-for-nothing girl as your father called you on multiple occasions.

The king was ashamed to have his first born be a daughter. He also felt threatened by your rejection of the status quo. Because of this, he grabbed every opportunity to make you submit to him.

You were exceptionally smart but no one cared to notice. Your desire to learn was ignored and you were forced to embroider butterfly patterns instead. At a young age, you realized your place. You knew your designated fate was to be a political pawn meant to be married off at a beautiful age. To protect the royal family that never considered you as one of their own, you were to marry a complete stranger one day.

However, just because you realized your place didn’t mean you accepted it. You defied the rules at every chance you saw. You remained a headache for the king, but a small enough headache to avoid his wrath.

Unbeknownst to him, you were well versed with the dirty politics of the country. Ever since you were a little girl, you would eavesdrop into the ministers’ conversations and manipulate the eunuchs to take a peak at written grievances sent to the king. You knew about the starving peasants he ignored and the bribes he received. As you grew older, you became hungry for power. When it became apparent that the king was blocking any hope for you, you were determined to take as many people down with you. You refused to suffer alone.

The king always berated you for being greedy. Greedy for education. Greedy for acknowledgement. Greedy for a life that was more than just being a good wife. He reminded you again and again that you would never have a voice in official affairs.

Every time you left his chamber after another lecture, you made sure to humiliate the embarrassment the kingdom called the crown prince. You would outshine him one way or another. Whether it be pointing out his grammar mistakes in front of the scholars or exposing his secret palace escapes to the queen, you would dampen his mood for the day. It was the only thing that gave you a speck of joy.

There was also only one thing that gave you something to look forward to. For years, you had been conspiring against the royal family. You despised the royal family and its classist, sexist, and pretentious values. You planned on getting rid of it once and for all. The kingdom deserved a leader that would rule benevolently. Slowly but surely, you gained the loyalty of several ministers. Soon enough, you would be able to execute the meticulous coup d'état.

But until then, you had to continue to be nothing but the king’s puppet. Which included meeting your fiancé. You were introduced a week ago and wedding preparations were already in full swing.

The man you would be forced to wed, Lee Juyeon, was the first son of the Chief State Councillor. You didn’t like him the moment you saw him. He was a pretty face that grew up with his father’s full love and support. He was both elegant and masculine; he was the definition of perfect and you hated it. A person had to have flaws to be likeable.

For some crazy reason you couldn’t wrap your mind around, Juyeon was infatuated with you. He visited the palace every day just to have you decline his request for a meeting. He was persistent.

Unfortunately for you, he was also crafty. He figured out that announcing his arrival to the king was an effective way to see your face. The king was delighted to see the Chief State Councillor’s son head over heels for his daughter and thus, to your annoyance, daily meetings were arranged for you two.

“Tell me, Lord Lee, what about me is worthy of your obsession?” you asked.

You were sitting at one of the gardens within the palace walls. He had insisted on the location because of its romantic beauty.

“Then tell me, Your Highness, what about me is not to your liking?” he grinned.

“Do you wish to hear the answer of the princess or the answer of Y/n?” you raised a brow, making him laugh.

“You amuse me, Princess Y/n,” he turned his head to look at the pond.

You sighed, wondering how long you had until you could return to your residence. The man next to you was oblivious to your feelings as he rambled on about the dates he wanted to take you on. He caught your attention when he mentioned sneaking you out of the palace for half a day.

“You would really risk taking me outside of the palace?” you perked up.

He was excited to see you finally engaged in the conversation and nodded profusely. He promised to set up an elaborate plan for a smooth date. Grudgingly, you accepted his offer. Your wish to see the village overwhelmed your wish to avoid your soon-to-be consort.

The next day, a court lady secretly found you to notify you of his plans. To evade the eyes of palace maids, you were to escape through a path not commonly used. She helped you scale the wall and you froze when you saw Juyeon on the other side. You sat on top of the wall and he extended his hand for support. With a tight smile, you held his hand and jumped down.

He pulled the veil over your face to keep your identity hidden, blushing when his hand slightly brushed your cheek. He hopped onto the horse and gestured for you to do the same. Hesitantly, you held his hand again to climb on.

Using the excuse of maintaining balance, he urged you to hold on tightly. You weren’t left with an option when he sped up, prompting you to instinctively hug his waist. You didn’t have to see his face to know that he was smiling like a fool.

At last, you finally arrived at the village. Fascinated at the change in environment, you looked like a child surrounded by toys. Chuckling, Juyeon admired the view in front of him. In his eyes, you were prettier than any flower and sweeter than any candy. Feeling his gaze on you, you cleared your throat and began walking.

There was so much to look at. He caught you staring at the rows of yeot and purchased the confectionery without you asking. You immediately popped one into your mouth and he laughed when your cheeks expanded to resemble a squirrel.

“Are you teasing me?” you frowned.

“No, I am appreciating your adorable and lovely appearance,” he answered as he handed you the bag holding the rest of the yeot. His words didn’t fluster you. You simply rolled your eyes and resumed walking.

His long legs were quick to catch up with you. Enjoying your presence, he watched as you fawned over little trinkets. It was a new side of you that he had never seen.

Stopping at an accessory shop, you scanned the norigaes displayed on the table. One of them caught your eye and you held it up for a closer look. It was a beautiful pale pink color that perfectly matched your current hanbok.

“It seems a norigae is better at capturing your heart than I am,” Juyeon pouted.

“Perhaps it is prettier than you,” you shrugged.

“Is this an implication that I am pretty? To a certain extent?” he beamed.

“How do my words become that?” you exclaimed.

With another laugh, he took the accessory from your grasp and went to pay for it. You blinked at the sudden sight of his back, noticing for the first time how broad his shoulders were. When he came back to your side, he held the norigae in front of you but pulled it back when you reached out for it. He pointed at the bag of yeot and opened his mouth. Baffled, you turned around to walk away.

He caught your wrist and spun you back around. He bent down and your face stopped an inch away from his. His usual shy self was gone and he had a confident smirk on his lips.

“Does your heart not sway even at a close distance like this?” he asked. This time, he caught you off guard. When you finally came back to your senses, you hurriedly shoved a piece of yeot into his mouth and stormed off.

“Y/n, you make me laugh too hard and too much!” you heard his voice call out, making you blush crimson with embarrassment.

With your upcoming wedding looming over your head, it became increasingly difficult to communicate with the ministers. There were too many eyes to be wary of. Juyeon, of course, was one of them.

As you spent more time with him, you realized how sentimental he was. He brought you small, meaningful gifts and loved to tell you about the meanings behind each flower.

“Did you know that the plum blossom is one of the indications of spring's arrival?” he asked one day. “They can bloom as early as late March.”

“I think it is quite obvious that it is spring,” you commented, pointing at the variety of flowers surrounding you.

“My personal favorite flower is the rose of sharon,” he continued. “It is nicknamed the “immortal flower” and means “eternal blossom that never fades” because of its resilience. It regrows despite harsh conditions and even after it is damaged. Amazing, isn’t it?”

You hummed, looking for the flower he was talking about.

“I used to hope that our kingdom would take after the flower. We have survived through many tragedies and I hope that we will survive through anything else that tries to beat us down,” his words pricked you for some reason. Would your rebellion be seen as a tragedy or as a heroic deed?

“Now, I like to think that our love will be like the rose of sharon. My love for you will never fade and I will continue to pine after you despite your harsh words. Even if you hurt me, my feelings will transcend time,” he smiled. “The flower does not bloom until July. My wish is to go see them with you. Would you bless me with your presence when the time comes?”

You observed his lovestruck expression and couldn’t bring yourself to say no. Again, you were at a loss trying to understand why he was so besotted with you. His childlike innocence was almost pure to a fault in a place like the palace.

“I shall consider it if you teach me how to swing a sword,” you proposed.

He couldn’t hide both his shock and happiness. He was confused as to why you wanted to ever hold a weapon but glad that you were slowly opening up to him. Without a second thought, he agreed to your proposition.

Juyeon was full of bliss at the thought of spending more time with you. Teaching you swordsmanship would allow him to be intimate with you and he was thrilled. At your first secret lesson, his heart raced at your proximity as he guided your hands on how to properly wield the blade.

A week passed by and you quickly improved each day. Eventually, you became skilled enough to land a fake jab. Seeing your proud smile, he grinned as well.

“I guess I should be on edge now. If I annoy my princess one too many times, my life will literally be at your hands,” he joked.

“Do you regret training me?” you smirked.

“Ah, was this all a part of your plan?” he pretended to gasp. “Either to kill me off or to threaten me to obedience?”

Not finding his joke funny, you blankly stared at him. Noticing the sudden chill in the atmosphere, he awkwardly laughed.

“Do not worry, Your Highness. I will always do as you say. You do not need a sword to make me behave.” he smiled.

You hated to admit it but he had grown on you. His constant attempts to tear down your wall had finally made a crack. You had to stop before he became your weakness.

For the first time in a while, you were summoned to the king’s chamber. Expecting another reprimand, you dreaded the walk there. To your surprise, however, you were greeted with a smile he hadn’t given you in years. It kind of freaked you out.

“You called for me, Your Majesty?” you bowed.

“I hear you have been getting along wonderfully with the Chief State Councillor’s son. Finally, you are fulfilling your duty as this kingdom’s princess,” he commended.

What a back-handed compliment. You wanted to roll your eyes at his passive aggressiveness. Holding back your urges, you politely smiled instead.

“I just wanted to let you know that I will be in a hurry to complete your wedding. I need the Chief State Councillor’s support to find a suitable wife for the crown prince,” he announced.

“Is my marriage merely a way for the crown prince to find a wife with a powerful family?” you shot back.

Your question turned the mood scarily sour. You felt his anger rise as he chastised you for your impudence and disrespect.

“The crown prince is the future leader of our kingdom. He is more than deserving of the immense care, thought, and effort that goes into picking his consort. His consort will be this kingdom’s queen and will be the one to bear the next king. You are nothing but a useless girl who will belong to a different family.”

“I am still a member of the royal family, am I not?”

“You are just a good-for-nothing girl that will leave this palace soon,” he spat. “Now leave. You are dismissed.”

On your way out, you ran into the crown prince who looked at you in a way you found to be offensive. You paused your steps and turned around.

“I wish you fertility, Crown Prince. After all, the kingdom relies on your performance to produce an heir to the throne,” you said, lacing your words with venom. “I would imagine you would hate having to adopt a nephew.”

You could tell you had gotten under his skin yet again and left satisfied. You loathed and condemned your family with a burning passion. You couldn’t wait for the day it would all come to a bitter end.

While you were brooding, you didn’t notice Juyeon sneaking up on you. When you finally saw him, you nearly jumped. Your hand reached out to cover your heart, trying to calm it down. Sheepishly, he apologized for startling you.

Trying to keep you from walking away from him, he held onto the hem of your sleeve. Your heart softened at the gentle manner he treated you with. Ignoring your instincts, you let him cling onto you. Instead of making you turn around to face him, he walked in front of you.

“Will you accompany me to the garden today as well?” he asked earnestly.

Knowing that the court ladies were watching, you reluctantly accepted his invitation once again. This time, he surprised you with a bag filled with yeot. He looked so proud of himself for remembering your love for the sweet treat that it made you laugh. As a reward, he grabbed a piece for himself. Unaware of the smudge it left on the corner of his lips, he was conscious of your gaze and tried to look attractive.

“Worry not, Your Highness. You will get to look at this face every day and every night once we marry,” he assured.

Despite his wise exterior, he had a goofy side to him. He was pure and innocent—everything you weren’t. You could see why the king favored him so much.

“I do not understand why you are so eager to become my consort,” you suddenly blurted. “You know that it is just a flashy title that does not award you with much privileges. It is an empty position; you cannot hold office without a special order from the king. Do you simply see yourself as a stepping stone for your father to bring honor to your family?”

“Is my love for you an acceptable response?” he asked after some thought.

“Is it truly worth your dangerous status as the princess’s husband and king’s son-in-law? The royal family has many enemies,” you warned.

“I will be the one to protect you from such enemies,” he declared.

Was he naive or has his affection for you blinded him?

“Princess Y/n,” he said solemnly as he held your hand. “I promise to love and protect you for as long as my heart beats. No, even after it ceases to beat, I will still yearn for you. I will not demand or expect you to do the same. Even if your feelings for me are not as strong as my feelings for you, I will not blame you. But will you please give me the chance to try to win you over?”

His confession triggered an alarm in your head. He was never supposed to fall for you this hard and you were never supposed to allow him to. He had no idea how cunning and conniving you really were. Only the people in the palace knew how cold-hearted you could be. You had to be in order to survive.

You refused to give him a reply and pulled your hand away. His face fell but he forced himself to smile again. In an attempt to break the tension, he made a random comment on the weather.

After you two parted, you decided to speed things up to initiate the revolt. Once you joined hands in marriage, Juyeon would inevitably end up a target as well. If you wanted to spare him, you needed to overthrow the corrupted royal family before he became a part of it.

It was officially the day before the insurrection. To be honest, you weren’t really nervous. This was what you had been anticipating your entire life.

Yet why did you have a moment of weakness when you saw Juyeon that afternoon? He approached you with that boyish smile that did wonders to your normally rational mind. Feeling what you believed was pity, you wanted to leave him with a pleasant memory.

So you ended up convincing him to sneak you out of the palace again. This time, you were a lot more enthusiastic. You wanted to try all the pastries and insisted that he taste them too.

“You seemed to have a lot on your mind these days,” he carefully pointed out. “Has the problem that has been bothering you been resolved now?”

“It will soon,” you eluded.

You stared at the man in front of you, observing his features. He was, without a doubt, good looking. You could see why all the court ladies, palace maids, and girls of the village were so smitten with him. But you still didn’t get why he chose you to fawn over. Maybe it was because of the lack of affection you grew up with but something about having someone care for you was unsettling.

You had suitors court you before but none of them were as devoted as Juyeon. He always came off as genuine. Perhaps his sincerity was what made you lower your guard.

“I promise to lavish you with such outings if that is what makes you happy,” he proclaimed, almost making you laugh.

“Why do you make so many vows?” you inquired.

“I am a man who keeps his word and you are the only one I give it to,” he grinned. You wondered how happy he had to be to smile so often. You rarely had reasons to be smiling.

He glanced down at the table and examined the rows of binyeos. Holding one up, he held the hair pin against your hair.

“May I gift you this binyeo?” he asked.

You pursed your lips, feeling just a tad bit of guilt. You were used to being showered with extravagance but with Juyeon, it was different. There was an emotional value attached to each present.

“Only if you promise me one other thing,” you negotiated.

“Of course. I will do anything you ask of me,” he responded.

“Promise me that you will not visit the palace tomorrow,” you said sternly. He looked at you with curiosity.

“Tomorrow is… a day of mourning for me. I do not wish to see you until the day after,” you lied.

“This is the first time you have expressed your desire to see me,” he lit up at your last sentence. “I will prepare a magnificent date for when I see you over-morrow.”

You almost felt sorry for his naiveté. And you almost—just almost—felt sorry for deceiving him.

The fateful day arrived at last. You stood, taking one last glimpse at your reflection. Subconsciously, your hand reached out to touch the binyeo in your hair.

The roars of the royal guards and the clanks of combat rumbled throughout the palace. With a determined look, you left your chamber. The sword in your clenched fist dragged across the ground as you made your way to the throne hall.

When you finally busted through the door, the king sat as if he had been waiting for you.

“I should have known that this was your doing,” he scowled. “Was your luxurious life as a princess not enough for you? Could you not fight the temptation of avarice?”

“Nothing about my life was ever comfortable,” you corrected. “I always had to play along to match your mood in order to avoid being married off to an old man just out of your spite. You tried to drill your toxic mentality in me because my individuality terrified you. You made it a point to constantly tear me down. So I made it a point to see your demise.”

“You have always been this sly ever since you were a little girl. I knew I would regret your birth the moment I saw your eyes. And I was right. You are nothing but a vile bitch.”

“For the longest time, I thought I was deserving of your hatred. But I came to the realization that you simply belittled me just for being a girl. Do not forget, Your Majesty, that the womb inside me is the same as the one that bore you the crown prince.”

Mockingly, you approached the throne. It was incredible how that one seat gave its owner immense power.

“Speaking of which, why is it that only men carry on the family name?” you questioned. “Do you not realize that women are the ones who carry on the precious bloodline you always speak of? It is the body of women that conceive and grow another human inside them. It is the body of women that suffer through labor to deliver you children and nurture them to good health. The only thing you do is spread your seeds like a fruit. And then blame women for your own infertility.”

“All throughout history, it has been men who carried on the royal bloodline. What makes you think that you are worthy of special treatment?”

“Bloodline, bloodline, bloodline,” you rolled your eyes in irritation. “Do not fool yourself. It is not blood you care about but name. Men may carry on the nameline but we are the ones who give you the royal blood pumping in your veins.”

You sloppily lifted the sword to the king’s neck, smirking.

“I knew you would be the one to bring my downfall,” he glared.

“Well, how does it feel to have all your fears come true, my king?” you taunted. “You were always afraid that I would either surpass you or ruin you. Now, I will be the one to end this damned bloodline. This good-for-nothing girl will take back the royal blood that was given to you by a woman.”

With that, you slashed his neck. Blood splattered across the wall and on your face. You grimaced, wiping away the warm liquid. You were surprisingly calm in front of such a gruesome sight. That was, until Juyeon came bursting through the door.

After he had parted from you the day before, he could not get you out of his mind. Something about your eyes had been melancholic. Your words sounded like a foreshadow and it left him feeling disturbed. So he broke his promise and went to the palace to see you again. He was alarmed to see the chaos ensuing and immediately searched for you. However, he never expected the situation he stumbled into.

“P-Princess Y/n,” he stuttered, making you aim the weapon at yourself. You never intended or wanted him to witness this.

“Do not come any closer,” you warned.

“Your Highness, please. Put the sword down,” he begged.

“I cannot,” you gulped. “This is how it must end.”

“We-we can run away. Together. We can leave everything behind and I will keep you safe,” he said as he tried his best to stay calm.

You wanted to both laugh and cry. Your life was a suicidal mission. You knew from the beginning that you would not be able to survive. If you failed, you would be executed for treason. If you succeeded, you would be executed to officially end the royal bloodline.

You had to admit, you slightly wavered at one point. Juyeon’s promise to make you happy was enticing. To someone who never strayed close to emotions before, he was like a miracle. He made you feel all sorts of things that you were glad to have experienced.

“I apologize, Lord Lee,” you sadly smiled before you stabbed the blade into your stomach.

“No!” he screamed as he ran to your side.

You slowly fell to the ground with Juyeon’s arms wrapped around your body. His hands shook above the wound as he cried, knowing that he couldn’t take it out without ensuring your death. He never thought that what he taught you would be used against yourself. If he had known that this was what you planned on using your skills for, he never would have taken your offer.

“I am afraid I will not be able to go see the rose of sharons with you,” you said as a tear escaped your eyes.

Your vision began to cloud and you felt the life in you leave with every breath you took. You didn’t even realize that your hand was gripping his clothes, crinkling it. Another tear rolled down your cheek as your head fell back, your neck unable to support it any longer.

He desperately clung onto you, holding your head in his bloodied hands.

“I will bring the flowers to you,” he affirmed.

“Another promise,” you chuckled.

“This one I will be sure to keep,” he stated as his own tears fell to your face.

Next to the weapon embedded in you was the norigae he bought you the first time you escaped the palace together. He looked up to see that you were wearing the binyeo he bought you as well. He sobbed, holding onto you tighter.

“I hope to be reborn as a rose of sharon. That way, I can come see you every spring,” you whispered before you closed your eyes for the last time.

tag list: @dearseungie @cuppasunu @reverienostalgia @elcie-chxn @parfaitz @lovelyutas @mochinyu @leejaeyeons

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kiirokero · 3 years

Text

Outro: Love Is Not Over (1)

Pairing: Daycare Teacher! Hoseok x Single Mom! Reader.

Genre: Single Parent! AU, Teacher! AU, Hybrid! AU, Fluff, Angst, Adorable Kids,

Warnings: Don’t know if this counts but mentions of accidental pregnancies and shitty men.

Word Count: 1.7k

Summary: Years after a relationship goes south. You are the single mother of a beautiful 6-year-old golden retriever hybrid who you named Yunho. He is the light of your life. Yunho is everything to you, and you’d do anything for him. But you’re a human. Yunho doesn’t care, he will tell you he doesn’t. “You’re still my Eomma. No matter what.” He says. But you can’t help but feel like you will never be enough for him. You can’t be the mother he deserves. You can’t show him the ropes of being a hybrid, and you can’t teach him things the other moms can. But you try. You try your damn hardest. So, when a handsome German Shepard hybrid comes into your life, helping you and guiding Yunho in a way you can’t, you can’t help the cozy home he sets up in your heart.

Chapter Guide:

Previous / Next

“Congratulations! It’s a boy.”

“I-Is he okay?”

“Yes, he’s very healthy. Do you have a name in mind?”

“Yunho.”

“A very nice name.”

“Oh, he’s beautiful.”

“That he is. I apologize for asking, but you haven’t listed the father on his birth certificate yet.”

“I’m aware.”

“Are you going to?”

“No.”

“You’re aware what that means, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Well then, Ms. L/n, I’ll leave you be now. Press the button if you need assistance. A midwife will be coming to see you shortly.”

“Eomma, wake up!” A giggly voice called. The bed was bouncing up and down, pulling me out of my slumber. I couldn’t help but laugh along. “All right, Yunnie, I’m up.” Yunho chuckled and lent down to give me my morning hug. “Good morning, Eomma.” He sighed, his fluffy blonde tail wagging in content. “Good morning, lovely. Did you sleep well?” I wrapped my arms around him, bringing him in for a snuggle. “Yes! I had a dream about giant squirrels!” He exclaimed. I let out an exaggerated gasp, “You did?! That’s awesome.”

Yunho wiggled out of my grasp and bounded towards my bedroom door. “Come on, Eomma! I’m hungry.” I chuckled and got out of bed. “Alright, waffles or toast?” I asked while I grabbed my sweatshirt, pulling it on. “Waffles!” Yunho answered, racing downstairs to the living room. I smiled to myself, I couldn’t help the warmth in my heart every time I saw my son.

Yunho had short hair that matched mine in color. He also had my eyes. I could see little pieces of myself in his face and it always made me smile. I didn’t pay attention to the features he and his father shared, even if they weren’t many. The most prominent feature they shared being his ears and tail, but somehow, Yunho made them uniquely his.

He never like getting his fur cut, would always sulk about it afterwards, he likes to keep the fur on his tail long so either him or I could braid it. He thought braids were so pretty, so he would ask me to braid all of his hair, and eventually, he learned himself. His fur on his ears was less long because of my insistence that having heavy ears would impair his ability to lift them. He could lift his left ear, but not the right one. He’s been working on that.

So, even if he was his father's child, he was still just Yunho to me. That man didn’t matter. It didn’t matter that Yunho has his button nose or freckles. It didn’t matter because Yunho was Yunho, and Yunho was the light of my life. He would run around the house non stop, bring me little rocks he found in the yard, draw pictures that had a special place on the fridge. Yunho was sunshine incarnate, and I couldn’t ask for a better son.

Downstairs, Yunho was sitting in front of the T.V, watching his favorite cartoon. It was about this hybrid boy and his best friend, who was human. Yunho said it was like him and I, that we were like the characters on screen, going on adventures every day. The sight made me smile yet again, and I went to the kitchen to get started on breakfast.

I could see Yunho from the kitchen since it was an open plan. Which wasn’t surprising because we lived in a small house. 2 bedrooms, 1 and 1/2 baths. It had a very large backyard that merged into woods. The area is pleasant, a little secluded, but that just gave Yunho more room to explore. The house got a lot of natural light with the large windows, and the air was always refreshing.

When I first saw the house, it was like a blessing. It was a little run down, but nothing I couldn’t handle, and it was cheap. A house being cheap should be a red flag, and it was, but it was worth it. The worst problem the house had was the hot water that ran out pretty quickly. In no way was it a luxurious mansion, but it was home, and that was all that mattered.

“Yunho! Come get your breakfast!” I called, placing his bright blue plate on the small dining room table we had. I heard his feet patter on the hardwood as he ran to the dining room. “Woah! Slow down, bub.” I chuckled. Yunho gave me a shy smile and sat down, immediately digging into his breakfast. “Is it good?” I teased, wiping away some stray syrup that threatened to end up in his hair. Yunho nodded enthusiastically, giving me a thumbs up.

We ate together with comfortable banter. Yunho was telling me about the latest episode of his cartoon, and I was more than happy to listen. The way his eyes lit up whenever he talked about something he loved was enough to make the toughest of men smile. “Eomma, can Hajun come over today?” Yunho asked in a hopeful tone. I thought about it for a bit, “I’ll call Aunt Hyejin and see if he can, okay?” Yunho brightened up and gave a little “okay!” In response.

After we were done eating, Yunho put his plate in the sink and went back to watching T.V. I washed up the dishes and dialed Hyejin’s number. “Hey babe!” She answered in her usual cheery voice. I chuckled, “Hey sis.”

In reality, Hyejin wasn’t my sis or babe, but we were close like that. Hyejin was a Siamese cat hybrid that I met back in college. We were roommates, and we just clicked immediately. We were there with each other through everything. Shitty professors, family issues, breakups, shit men that make your life a living hell. She had her son, Hajun, a bit before I had Yunho, and helped me whenever I needed.

She and her husband, Yoongi, a Persian cat hybrid, were there with me through it all. They were the family I never had. Yoongi was like an overprotective older brother, and Hyejin was no different. They even helped me find Yunho and I’s home. We normally went on family trips to amusement parks or aquariums which the boys never seemed to get bored with. We were all one big happy family.

Yoongi and Hyejin were like polar opposites. Yoongi was chill while Hyejin was a bundle of never ending energy. Yoongi was quiet Hyejin loved to talk. Yoongi was an introvert, and Hyejin constantly dragged him out to parties that Namjoon, one of our mutual friends, had mentioned to her. It was funny to witness. Especially when Yoongi begged me to go in his stead, which worked 50% of the time.

“So, what d’ya need? I’m all ears.” She snickered, and I could practically see her gray ears twitch. “Haha, hilarious. Yunnie wants to know if you guys can come over.” I answered. “Yeah, sure! We’re not doing anything today and I’ve been dying to talk to you about something.” She gushed. “Ooo, exciting.” I chuckled. “I’ll see you soon, babes. Love you!” I said I loved her back and hung up the phone.

Soon, Hyejin and Hajun arrived and the boys immediately began playing together. “Hey! So nice to see you!” Hyejin smiled, giving me a hug. “You too!” I was equally just as happy to see Hyejin since she and Yoongi had been a bit busy lately. We walked over to the living room where the boys were playing on the floor with their toys. Hyejin and I sat on the sofa and she immediately began talking.

“Okay! So, I’ve been dying to talk to you about this,” She started, already bouncing in her seat. “I can see that.” I teased, poking at her shoulder. “You know the job I was looking into? The daycare one?” She asked, and I nodded. “Well~ I got the job!” She exclaimed. My jaw dropped, a smile made its way onto my face. “No way! Congratulations!” I got up and squeezed her in a bone breaking hug, which she reciprocated.

“I know! I’m so excited!” Her tail was flicking behind her. “So, when do you start?” I asked, moving back into my seat. “Next week! I’m going to be the second teacher, helping someone named Mr. Jung.” She explained, and she went on to tell me how she got the job and how Hajun had asked if he could go, only to pout when Hyejin told him that he was too old. “I’m happy for you, Hyejin.” I smiled, excited that she was pursuing her dream of working with kids.

Hyejin, like me, got pregnant young and unexpectedly. But she was super thrilled. She didn’t care if she was only 20, she always wanted a child. She wasn’t married at that time, but Yoongi stepped up pretty quickly to raise Hajun with Hyejin. Yoongi was a cool dad, pretty laid back. Usually snuck the kids out to go get ice cream or pizza. Not that Hyejin or I minded, he treated both boys with the utmost care. He treated Yunho like his own son.

“So, have you met this Mr. Jung?” I wondered. “Not yet, but I had a phone call with him. Guess what? He’s our age.” She whispered, like what she was saying was some big secret. “Hyejin, we’re both 26, it’s not like a young teacher is unheard of.” I pointed out. “I know! But... What if he’s cute~?” She raised her eyebrows in a teasing manner, leaning closer to me. “I could be cupid.” She winked and I rolled my eyes.

“No thanks, Hyejin. I appreciate it, but love for me ended a long time ago.” I sighed and Hyejin huffed, dramatically slouching in her seat. “Y/n, just because... he... broke your heart doesn’t mean you should give up entirely.” She pointed out, looking at me with eyes full of undecipherable emotions. “Any man I date would have to be okay with being a father-like figure to Yunho. I’m 26 Hyejin, no guy my age wants kids yet.” I monotoned.

I had come to terms with the fact that most men didn’t want to date someone who already had a child. Not saying that it didn’t dishearten me a bit, but it was a revelation I made early on. If someone wanted me, they were going to want Yunho too. It either both of us, or neither of us.

Yunho was my light, and he deserved a father that could be the things I couldn’t.

#bts fic #bts one shot #jung hoseok #bts hoseok #hobi #hoseok x reader #jhope #jhope x reader #bts hybrid au #hybrid

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heli0s-writes · 4 years

Text

Artichokes

Summary: A peek into the beginning of Bag of Tricks

Pairing: Chaotic Dumbass!Reader/ Exasperated! Bucky

A/N: ~2k words. Written for @sunmoonandbucky‘s challenge! So sorry it’s late! Congrats on your milestone, you deserve it and so much more! ✨ My prompt was “Even artichokes have hearts”

Warnings: Canon-level violence, cursing. StupiT stuff.

“Hey.” It’s not a greeting.

The flight is still long, at least another two hours until the destination is reached. Behind his seat, you poke with your foot, other leg stretched over Natasha’s knee as she dozes off.

“What.” It’s not a question.

Fifteen minutes since the last time you opened your mouth and Bucky knew he wouldn’t make the half-hour mark; it was too good to be true.

“If you were an animal, what would you be?”

“Don’t like animals.”

A huff as you glare out the window and into the clouds, cross that he’s decided to be cross first.

“Okay. If you had a kid, boy or girl?”

“Don’t like kids.”

Natasha chuckles, eyes still closed, hand gently rubbing your knee in consolation because sometimes Bucky just gets this way, and he often gets this way in prolonged flights or car rides—when he’s showcasing his most winning personality trait: patience. Ha-ha.

And he gets this way, especially, with you.

The new addition, after a disastrous mission where you almost blew everyone’s cover by getting into a near-scuffle at the bar. It’s not your fault you were dragged into that impending train-wreck on your day off—never even having met the Avengers to begin with, and then immediately being thrust into an asinine high-profile mission requiring you to wear an evening gown with heels.

And if the situation couldn’t get any worse, as you were stuffing yourself into spanx and tacking fake eyelashes to your lids, you were informed that you’d be Bucky Barnes’ date for the night. Discomfort in itchy and too-tight, clothing, a room full of strangers, remanded to being someone’s mute eye-candy. It was the perfect cocktail for fisticuffs with the very man assigned to be your date.

Moving on.

With a heavy roll of your eyes, you lean right, let your shoulder press up against Nat, trying to find a comfortable position. “It’s probably a good idea,” she soothes, cracking her neck a little and the light flickering through the window makes her wince before it’s cut off by her hand closing the shutter.

“Stop looking at the squirrel,” Bucky shoulders his rifle. You’re sprawled out on your stomach, eye pressed against the scope, as he clocked—looking at a squirrel. It’s just so damn cute, stuffing that acorn into its cheek where the nut joins about three more. Beady little eyes flit back and forth before it takes off and you retreat from the show, crawling back on your elbows and lifting yourself up.

“You scared it!”

“Shut up. Let’s go.”

Nat crackles in your ears, “Stop arguing.”

You do, because Bucky yanks you away by the back of your suit, and because you (kind of) listen to your superiors. Might as well, you’ve only been a part of the team only two months and Bucky’s been here since the goddamn Stone Age, it seems, with the way he struts around so fucking stoic and grim. Me Bucky Barnes. Me Crush Newbie Into Dust. Me Don’t Like Fun. More Hulk than Winter Soldier. You snort.

Even Natasha will spend a little bit of time with you, watch a movie or do something that doesn’t require staring into the eyes of the same people every. Single. Day. She’s glad to have another woman around, anyway. You’ve been told Wanda and Vision (a robot, or something) have taken a sabbatical from the life.

Steve will go on runs and let you tag along for the first twenty minutes. Tony will let you put on the booster boots and clap when you careen yourself into a table because it warms his little troll heart to see you nursing a welt on your eyebrow. Sam? Sam will tear it up at a club; he will dance on top of the goddamn bar. Sam Wilson is a riot and a half, but Bucky?

Nothing. Looks at you disparagingly from across conference room tables. Rolls his dead-eyes at every opportunity when you open your mouth. Granted, your mouth doesn’t have a lot of helpful information and most of it is a deflection from true answers because that’s your stupid coping mechanism for when people get too close—but everyone else laughs.

Bucky Barnes doesn’t laugh. Bucky Barnes doesn’t like jokes.

Doesn’t like animals. Doesn’t like kids. Doesn’t like fun. Doesn’t like you.

Doesn’t help that you tried to strangle him with an evening gown two months ago, but, pish-posh, past is in the past.

“What’s the timeline for when I can graduate from newbie-status?” You ask breezily, inflecting your tone just the right way so that he knows you’re not that invested in this conversation.

“Whenever you can run a solo.”

“I can.”

An exasperated huff as he sticks his arm out in front of your collar. You look at him in irritation, ready to swat it away until your feet trip over a loose root and Bucky catches you by the shoulder.

“No,” he says calmly, setting you on your feet, “You can’t. You were on probation for a reason. Still on it, even if you moved jobs.”

Okay. So maybe calling it a “day off” was giving yourself too much credit. Fury was – haha—furious with you after The-Mission-That-Will-Not-Be-Named (lots of explosives, your boredom, paranoia, and inclination for entropy) and took you out of the field. Desk duty was the only apt punishment, until your immobility spiraled out of control and led you down the rabbit hole of hacking into your co-workers e-mails. He put you on probation after that. Took all your toys. No laptop. No badge. No gun.

Smartly, you shut up, letting Bucky walk ahead in case any more errant roots might make you eat your words again.

The path to the hideout is thick, full of stupid twigs and branches and you repeatedly brush spiderwebs from your face. Keeping close to Bucky, you let him shoulder most of the burden, only putting your hand up when a branch he snaps off with his hand flies too close to your eyes.

“IF—” You start loudly, and Bucky bristles at your volume, “If you had to go back into a burning building to sav--?”

“I wouldn’t.” He retorts, “And you’re being annoying.”

Three bullets whizz over Bucky’s head. He ducks immediately, snatching your arm and taking you down, too. If only this were one of those moments in the romantic comedies where he cages you in with his arms and you have a brief and blessed second of staring into his blue eyes where the world goes quiet and he realizes maybe you’re not that bad.

“ROLL--” He yells, instead, as he ducks behind a boulder. “--OUT OF THE GODDAMN WAY.”

Alas, not meant to be.

His gloved hand pushes into the air sideways, like he could push you, too, across the bed of fallen leaves and to safety. You’re quick enough to flip on your side, but not quicker than a third bullet and it streaks through the top of your forearm, carrying a fast stream of blood with it.

Your reach into the side holster on your thigh, pulling out your knife and launching it past the barrel squeezed between two trees. A clink as it misses and ricochets off the gun. Bucky does the same motion and it goes right into a shoulder with a firm squelch. He’s up on his feet, rushing across the leaves in a blur. Throwing the rifle down, you start sprinting right as an elbow jabs itself into Bucky’s chest and he stumbles. Then, a quick turn and you hurtle your weight across the air, spinning both feet into the man and landing on top of him. Bones crack beneath your weight.

There go the shoulders.

The agent gurgles again as you roll your sleeves up, ignoring the blood that splatters onto your knee.

Bucky steps back when you grab a fistful of dirt and throw it into his face, “Pocket sand, motherfucker.” Then, the butt of your handgun meets his temple with a loud pop. “Goodnight, ya dumb bitch.”

More rustling ushers in more lackeys and Bucky is dodging behind tree trunks, weaving knives and dodging bullet hailstorms. He warily looks around the bend of a tree, breathing through his mouth, assessing the situation. There are about four guys, armed to the teeth, well-trained as far as he can tell. Bucky should be able to take them out, and it would go easier with yo—Where the fuck are you?

Your shriek makes him flinch and he dashes across the way behind another trunk, heels digging into the dirt ready to charge. Guns are firing off, grunts and yells, and not even one second after Bucky comes out from behind the tree, he watches you punch a goddamn grenade into the thicket before shooting its previous owner in the neck.

The explosion rocks the ground slightly, but you’re unfazed, instead, focused intently on your hand. There is something wrong with your left arm. You hold it close to your side, fingers curled gingerly under your rib.

You look up at him, eyes brimming with tears.

Dread boils up from the pit of his belly. Bucky calls out to you, asking if you’re okay. You turn around and he hisses at the sight— shot through the bicep, cut over your cheek, but your gaze keeps falling downward.

Inside your cupped hands is a hedgehog, nose frantically twitching like a tiny rotten gumdrop. A sniffle as you slowly set the creature down, waiting for it to scurry away, but it never does.

Bucky groans. Shoulders his rifle with a disappointed sigh, exasperated that you tricked him into being concerned for your well-being, “Fucking-- you’ve got to be kidding. You got shot for that rodent?”

“He’s helpless! Look at him! Little baby! He could have a family! A hedgehog wife and hedgehog kids!” A wilted blubber, and good God, you’re completely serious about it, “Even artichokes have hearts, Barnes!”

“I’m about to artichoke you,” Bucky retorts, irritated, and the first comeback that pops into your head isn’t ideal for a family setting, but your mouth moves faster than your brain and there aren’t any kids around anyway.

“How’d you know that was my kink?” And then you brace yourself for the moment when Bucky Barnes annihilates your entire life, but there is only silence. Then, a snort. Then, finally, a series of low chuckles before he gasps, “Jesus Christ.”

You’re stunned into silence, and it’s a wonder, since he’s never known you to be silent for anything. Two months of no-filter commentary that makes him physically ill at times, and you’re shocked quiet.

“Holy shit,” you murmur, “You laughed. You don’t like anything. You don’t like kids. You don’t like animals… I don’t really know if you like to even laugh. God knows you don’t like me very much.”

“I like you just fine,” Bucky grins, and-- it’s a little blinding. His eyes shine brightly, midday sun in a mischievous blue sky, framed perfectly with those dark, long eyelashes. For a second you regret almost pummeling that nice-looking face in the first time you met it.

“You can’t keep that thing. I can see you.” Your hands freeze, one opening a pocket on your thigh, the other halfway sliding the creature in. Bucky glares when you continue, pretending he’s not there.

“Barnes, I’ve decided,” you declare, hoping it would throw him off, “This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

A beat passes as he chews on his next response, deep in contemplation. Bucky’s not sure what being your friend would entail— his annoyance, at the very best. His literal death, at worst.

“Hm,” he grunts softly, edge of his voice giving way to amusement, unable to fully keep his stoic demeanor. One eyebrow raises your way, corner of his mouth lifting ever so slightly when your forehead furrows in wait.

“What?” You ask.

“Don’t like friendship.”

Taking a note from your book, Bucky punches the back of your hand, launching the hedgehog into the thicket, cackling at your screech all the while.

tags: @whothehellisbucky @serpentbaby @badassbaker @alagalaska @cake-writes @crist1216 @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan @infinity-saga @jamesbarnesthighs @pinknerdpanda @xoxabs88xox @imsoft-barnes @momc95 @typicalangel @wretchedgoddess @readeity @iwannasail @ya-lyublu-tebya @geeksareunique @wildefire @satanxklaus @jhangelface0523 @wkemeup @ixcantxdecidexwhosxmyxfave

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #reader insert #fanfiction #marvel #5kconstellationswc #bag of tricks helios

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hanniiesuckle17 · 4 years

Text

Their Child’s First Word

Stray Kids Reaction

A/n: requested by the lovely @sannie-san-shine!

Requests are open for imagines, scenarios, whatever you want my lovelies!

Warnings: Swearing (sorry)

C/n= Child’s name.

Bangchan:

It was an early morning for the Bang family. You had been up since four in the morning. C/n had been crying and wanting to be fed and then wouldn’t go back to sleep. Chan had gotten in late so you took care of it. Now about seven a.m, your daughter and you were in the kitchen making breakfast. She sat in her high chair with a little bowl of fruit as you cooked breakfast for you and your husband.

You smiled as you felt strong arms wrap around your waist. Chan nuzzled his face into your neck, eyes still closed. “I need coffee.” You smiled and continued to cook. “It's brewing. Go sit at the table.” With a sleepy nod, he trudged over to the table and sat across from your daughter. A quick glance behind you showed his head already slumped on the wood, catching a few extra seconds of sleep. You returned to the stove and focused on not burning the eggs. “Coffee!”

You chuckled at your husband’s whiny voice. “I know, hold on.” A few seconds later he called out again. “Chan, just give me a minute, babe!” You said with a laugh. “What? I didn’t say anything.” He looked at you with half-closed eyes. Your eyes went wide as you placed the pan on the cool side of the stove. “If you didn’t say anything...”

“Coffee!”

Slowly the both of you turned to look at your daughter who was brightly smiling and patting her hands on the highchair’s tray. “C/n! Look at you, baby girl!” Chan said picking her up and spinning her around, eliciting a laugh from your daughter. “Do it again!” “Coffee!” You laughed and stood in disbelief as your daughter giggled with your proud husband.

Minho:

Rain poured down outside the window of your apartment on a Saturday afternoon. A random cartoon was playing on the TV, but neither you or your son were paying attention. Your back rested on Minho’s chest as the two of you sat on the floor near the couch. Your son, C/n, was babbling and playing with your hair. “Hi, baby!” He crawled over your leg and pushed himself up as best he could to get better access to your hair.

Minho giggled as his son tugged on a strand, making you yelp. “Ow!” C/n giggled and babbled in his own little language. He clapped his little hands and fell over onto his butt. “Your son is a devil, just like you.” You said elbowing Minho. He laughed and kissed your cheek.

C/n had wandered over to the coffee table and Minho had started talking to you about something. Doongi hopped up on the couch and rubbed up against the back of Minho’s head distracting him momentarily. “Mommy!” Your head turned to the sound to see your son wobbly trying to walk over to you, a remote in his hands. “Did you just-” “Mommy!” He said with a loud laugh. Before you could reach out to your son Minho got out from under you and grabbed your son who let out a happy shriek. “Da-ddy. Da. Dy. Repeat after me, Dad-dy!”

“Mommy!” Your husband let out an aggravated sigh and walked off with your son, “No. Da-ddy. Me. My name. Daddy.” You couldn’t help but laugh and follow your two favorite boys. “Minho, babe. It’s not gonna work.”

“Shut up, woman. My son loves me more. Come on, C/n! Say it! Dad-dy!”

Changbin:

Changbin was a good dad. You trusted him alone with your son. However, that didn’t stop your new mother instincts from making you worry the whole time you were visiting a friend. So, you sipped on wine and tried not to check your phone every two minutes for a message from your husband.

You came home at the end of the day, carrying a bag or two of groceries and a present your friend had given for C/n. You had barely set a foot in the door when you heard Bin scream your name. “Y/n!” Dropping everything in your hands you rushed through your apartment trying to find your husband and your possibly mortally injured child. Slamming the door open you found your husband laying on your shared bed with your son raised in the air, a huge grin on his face.

It took you a minute to realize there was in fact, nothing wrong. “You fucking asshole. I thought someone was hurt or sick or dead.” He chuckled and stood up, resting a perfectly fine C/n on his hip. “Nope. All good here!” “I’m gonna murder you.”

Nervously, he brought his lips over to your cheek and placed another chaste kiss on your lips. “Look what I taught C/n!.” Your husband said wrapping his free hand around your waist. “C/n, show mommy your new trick.” With a cute smile, your son opened his mouth and said, “Dark,” It was a little mispronounced, but Changbin looked so proud. His smile faltered when you weren’t smiling.

“Seo Changbin, I had eggs in those bags!”

Hyunjin:

Hyunjin was still at the studio, but he texted you he was coming home very soon. Your fiancee said he asked to leave early to spend time with you and his daughter. C/n was still young so she needed to eat every couple of hours. About a week ago she was finally able to start eating harder foods. “How about some fruit, honey?” She babbled cutely in response as you placed her in her highchair.

Walking over to the fridge you pulled open a drawer that held a lot of the fruit you had. You pulled out an apple, an orange, some blueberries, and a kiwi, which for some reason happened to be C/n’s favorite. She just really liked kiwis. You prepped the fruit as your little girl entertained herself a few feet away. You texted Hyunjin a cute picture of her, telling him to come home quickly with a heart. Almost immediately you got a response back from him saying he missed his girls. You quickly chopped up the fruit and put it in a bowl for your daughter.

She clapped her little hands as you placed the bowl on her little tray. With a cute giggle, she picked up the green fruit and shouted, “Kiwi!” “C/n! Your first word! Kiwi!” You said picking up another piece of green fruit. “Kiwi!” She repeated. You heard the sound of the front door opening and Hyunjin setting his bag down on the couch. He came in with a smile gave you a sweet and long kiss. “C/n said her first word.” You said as he pulled away. “No, really?” He turned to his daughter, eyes bright and sparkling with excitement. She showed him the green fruit and said, “Kiwi!” He laughed and kissed her forehead. “Can you say Kkami? It’s kind of close.” He said with a smile. Hearing its name the dog rushed over and Hyunjin picked him up showing his daughter. “Kkami? Kka-mi.”

You laughed as she simply patted the dog’s head like she normally did.

Jisung:

Your boyfriend, Jisung, walked beside you with a mask and hat covering his face. You adjusted the hat you were wearing while continuing to push your son in his stroller. It was too nice of a day for you not to go out and the fact that Jisung had the day off made it even better. Jisung’s hand was resting securely on your waist as you walked through the almost vacant park. Every once in awhile C/n would babble and giggle if he saw something that caught his eye.

A couple of older women jogging stopped to greet you and compliment how handsome your son was. Jisung was very proud and thanked them generously. The two of you found a shaded spot and laid a blanket down under a tree near the path. Jisung placed C/n in his lap as you settled down next to him and laid your head on his shoulder. C/n’s little hands pulled at his father’s mask, pushing it down to reveal his handsome face. You couldn’t help but kiss the corner of his lips, marveling at the perfect moment with your family.

A dog barked as he and his owner passed by and C/n jumped at the sound. “Puppy!” Jisung looked down at his son in shock, a smile growing on his face. “Puppy,” C/n said pointing at the happy animal growing farther into the distance. With a laugh, I picked C/n up and sat in him my lap facing Jisung. “C/n, can you say squirrel?” Jisung made his cute little squirrel face at his son making both you and the boy in your lap giggle. His happy eyes glanced at you and then back to his son as he continued to make squirrel faces at his little boy.

“I love you,” you said with a bright laugh. “I love you too.” Jisung leaned forward and kissed you, his hand resting on your cheek. “Da Da,” C/n said latching onto the fabric of Jisung’s shirt. He looked shocked for a second and then looked back at you. “Now you aren’t the only person who calls me daddy.”

“I hate you.”

Felix:

You were running errands all day so you left your boyfriend Felix at home to watch C/n, your son. JYP had given the boys the day off so Felix asked Jisung to come over to your shared apartment for the day. Jisung loved hanging out with C/n almost more than he liked hanging out with Felix. Felix placed his son in his lap on the couch as he and Jisung hung out talking and playing video games. C/n had already been fed and taken a nap before his uncle Han had arrived so he was awake and excited when Jisung came.

C/n reached out for the controller in Felix’s hands trying to grab it. “Hey, monsta,” Felix said in his deep voice. You had given the nickname to C/n because of his rambunctious personality. So, you and Felix called him your little monster, however with Lix’s accent it always came out ‘monsta’. “You wanna play bud?” He handed the controller to his son who threw it on the ground with a laugh. Felix chuckled and picked it up continuing to play the game with Jisung.

The two boys had gotten rather intense as the game proceeded to harder levels. Felix still held his son in his lap, but his focus was now completely on the game as he had given C/n a toy to play with. “Felix get the damn door open already,” Jisung said as he shot several enemy characters on the screen. Felix stared intently at the screen as he tried to open the locked door in the game.

“Fuck!” He exclaimed in English as his character was taken out from behind, getting rid of his last life. “Fuck!” Felix’s eyes widened as he looked down at his son, who looked up at him with an innocent smile. Jisung burst out laughing as Felix panicked and put his hand over his young son’s mouth. “Y/n’s going to kill you!” Jisung laughed so hard he fell off of the couch and onto the floor.

“Okay we are going to tell her that his first word was ‘cat’ and I will murder you if you tell her otherwise.”

Seungmin:

this is the cutest fucking gif of seungmin oh my god

Your daughter loved baths. You gave her a bath every other day, usually towards the evening before you and Seungmin (if he was home by then) had dinner. Seungmin was in the kitchen starting on dinner while you bathed C/n. She giggled and splashed around the bubbles you had put in her bathwater. “Aren’t you cute, sweetie?” You said with a smile as she played with one of the toys.

You took a sponge and washed C/n gently as she played with things in the tub. She babbled and splashed you with water occasionally. You laughed and adjusted yourself on the bath mat next to the tub. C/n’s tiny hands reached up and pressed bubbles all over your cheek and hair. “Oh thank you.” You said with a smile as she giggled at your partial soap beard. “Bubble,” she exclaimed splashing more of the water. You froze. That was her first word. She said her first word. “Seungmin! Seungmin!”

You heard a small clang and footsteps thundering down the hall of your apartment. Your boyfriend burst through the door and looked down at you in a slight panic. “What’s wrong?” He kneeled next to you and checked his daughter for injuries and then turned to see if you were okay. “She said her first word.” He blinked a couple of times before a soft smile came onto his face. You turned back to C/n and wiped bubbles from her cheek. “Baby, what’s this?” You said holding up the foamy soap.

“Bubble!” He laughed and pulled you to his chest as he looked at his daughter. You smiled and adjusted so your back was to his chest as the two of you sat on the bathroom floor. “C/n, can you say dad-dy?” You said pointing at Seungmin. “Da-” She stated, cocking her head to the side. “Good! Da-ddy. Daddy.” “Dada.” Seungmin grinned and kissed you on the cheek, staring adoringly at his little girl.

Jeongin:

Jeongin was not happy about leaving you for three whole months to go on the US Tour. The both of you were still young and still very new to being parents. He hated the idea of leaving you all alone to take care of his daughter. You knew being the girlfriend of an idol was hard, and you knew being the mother of an idol’s child was going to be even harder. To be honest you were more worried about Jeongin than you were about C/n. You got up early with Jeongin and helped him finish packing. The two of you carefully woke up your daughter and set her up for a car ride.

You walked hand in hand through the airport with your daughter in a sling across your chest. The airport was almost deserted this early in the morning but both of you still wore masks just in case. Soon a loud commotion of reporters and photographers could be heard near the gate Jeongin was supposed to meet the boys at. He stopped and turned to you brushing a strand of hair behind your ear. “Call me okay? I want texts and picture updates every hour.”

You laughed and nodded. “We’ll miss you. So much.” You had dropped Jeongin off at the airport before, but it was different this time. This time a part of your family was leaving. “I love you,” he said softly. You pulled down his mask and yours and kissed him while you knew no one was looking. He gave you a sad smile as he pulled away leaving a small space between you. “Okay, you better leave before I start crying.” You said with a shaky laugh.

“C/n, say bye-bye to daddy,” You expected her to wave but instead in her small voice, she said, “Bye-Bye,” Jeongin immediately turned around covering his face with his hands before turning back to you. He had tears in his eyes. “How am I supposed to leave now?” He let out a breathy laugh and took his daughter in his arms. “I love you,” He kissed her forehead earning a smile on her lips. Jeongin kissed you one last time before finally turning to leave and walking to the gate.

You heard the sound of reporters calling Jeongin’s name as he got closer and you turned away so not to put you and your daughter in the background of a shot.

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3pirouette · 3 years

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Fic: Roughing It

Title: Roughing It By: TriplePirouette/3Pirouette Disclaimer: They're not mine. Word Count: 1601 Distribution: AO3 Anyone else please ask first :)

Story Summary: This was no place for the love of his life.

Satisfies the “moonlight” square on my Steggy Bingo, also for a tumblr prompt “I wish you would write a fic where Peggy and Steve are both Cap in modern times (or 40s)” Set Post Civil War

A/N: Totally 100% inspired by Outlander quote from season 1

~*~ Inspired by the following Outlander quote:

Murtagh: I’ll saddle the horses; you take hold of Claire. We’ll be away from here this very night. Jamie: And how would we live? Horrocks was my best chance, now I may be an outlaw for good. Murtagh: We’ll live off the land. Or has castle life made ye soft? Jamie: Would ye have me sleeping under a tree, come winter, with my wife?

~*~

This was no place for the love of his life.

It was dirty, and rat infested, but they were down to their last few dollars and until they managed to figure out how, exactly they were going to make money and stay off the US radar, it was all they had.

That, and each other.

He watched her from the flimsy folding chair across the room, eyes glued tight to how she carefully brushed out her hair, how she rolled and set it with strips of fabric from a face cloth she’d cut up. The artist in him wished he had a book to sketch in or a phone to take a picture. The moonlight flooded around her, bathing her in a silver glow as her fingers separated out the long, wet strands of hair and deftly rolled them up and tied them tight.

He could draw her for hours the way the moonlight settled on her, making her look like a goddess made of platinum, strong and soft, beautiful and tender… It was a familiar look, but he never tired of it. Even in just his oversized shirt, she was beautiful to look at.

They kept the lights off in the small studio apartment as soon as the sun went down, and it reminded him more than he wanted to say of those days back in London when they’d hear the sirens and turn off all the lights and just wait for the moment something exploded around them.

He felt like he was always waiting for the other shoe to drop, for something to explode figuratively or literally, and it kept his heart pounding in his chest.

They had a little, thanks to T’Challa and Shuri and a quick, undetectable wire. Peggy had been squirreling away money in a little hidden account she called her ‘rainy day fund’ and had always just smiled and winked and said “Once a spy, always a spy,” when he asked why she’d been putting the money away.

Steve was thankful for those few thousands they were able to get and split up between the group of them. It wasn’t like they’d actually thought about anything besides doing the right thing in the heat of it. They certainly hadn’t thought about bringing silly things with them like ID and bank cards or thought about how to survive while on the run. It was enough to get started, and enough to get by- especially if they were careful.

They’d split the money and gone their separate ways, planning to meet up in a few months. He’d been nervous, separating, but knew that out of all of them, he and Peggy would be the easiest to spot and the hardest to hide. They were giving Sam, Natasha, and Wanda a shot at relative anonymity. He and Peggy would get by… they always had.

He hadn’t minded sleeping rough during the war, but this wasn’t exactly the same. On the run, hiding in abandoned buildings and sneaking into empty hotel rooms was necessary but harsh. Holding her close at night while her teeth chattered made him want to scream. But she always smiled up at him in the morning, ready for wherever the day might take them.

The little apartment they’d finally landed in wasn’t much, barely more than enough room for the old mattress on its rusted springs and a half kitchenette with a stove that didn’t always work and a sink in the bathroom that dripped endlessly. It might have been less than ideal, but the landlord took cash and didn’t ask any questions.

“I can feel you watching me,” she murmured, rolling up her last curl and tying the ends of the piece of rag tightly. She smiled up at him. “You’re thinking so hard you’re going to give me a headache.”

He gave her a half smile and shifted back in his chair, not at all embarrassed that he’d been caught.

Peggy stood, moving in and out of the shafts of moonlight like a mythical creature until she straddled him, sitting back on his knees. Steve settled his hands at her hips, fingering the threadbare cotton of the undershirt, thinking that she looked like a dangerous Medusa with the rags in her hair to set her curls. He looked her over, his fingers moving with his gaze, thinking of the softness under them, thinking of the power under them, and how he’d been lucky enough to see both.

Peggy tired of the toying after a minute and took both his hands in hers, sighing. “You’re swimming in the melancholy again, my darling.” She kissed his knuckles and held his hands tight. She waited a breath as he looked at her, but finally could take the quiet no more. “Talk to me, Steve.”

He almost laughed at her earnestness. He shook his hand and wrapped his arms around her, wanting to fold into her as he held on tight, wanting to fall within her and forget all of this was happening. He buried his face in her neck, breathing the scent of her sun kissed skin in as she wrapped her arms around him, fingers running through his hair and massaging his scalp.

Her nails weren’t red anymore. They couldn’t afford the time, money, or the visibility, to go looking for something as frivolous as nail polish.

At least, that’s what she told him when he mentioned it one night.

He owed her something, at least, if he couldn’t give her cozy beds and proper curlers and bright nail polish. Words. He held her tighter for a moment before lifting his head. “This isn’t what I wanted.”

His words were soft and gentle, but the meaning was sharp and harsh. He knew neither of them had wanted this, had wanted any of it from the moments when he held her close, tucked under his shield tight as the Valkyrie dove from the sky, splashing down in the cold water beneath them.

She waited, face open and unjudging, for him to continue.

He shook his head and kissed her forehead, still trying to turn the jumble of feelings into sentences. “You deserve—”

Peggy pressed her finger to his lips, stilling them. “Now don’t you go on with all of that ‘what if’ and ‘should be’ nonsense again.” She shifted, taking his face in her hands and forcing his eyes to hers. “Neither of us could have imagined that this is where we’d end up. But we’ve both always stood up for what we’ve believed in, no matter how difficult, and that has brought us here.” Peggy leaned forward, kissing his forehead gently.

Steve closed his eyes, relishing the feel of her lips on his head, before taking her hands in his, lifting them from his cheeks, and kissing each in turn. “This place, Peg…”

She smiled softly. “Would it have been all that different after the war? A little apartment in Brooklyn on a soldier’s pay while we try to decide what’s next? Pipes that rattle and rickety furniture and you and me against the world?” She kissed his lips this time, soft and sure.

“A house,” he whispered as he chased her lips for another kiss. “With a yard and a porch and a—”

Peggy kissed him quiet before leaning back, serious. “We’ll never know.” She shook her head and ran her fingers through the scruff on his cheeks that was slowly turning into a full beard. “We will never know what might have been. But what I do know…” Tears gathered in her eyes as she looked at him, pushing his growing hair from his forehead. “What I do know is that I’d rather be anywhere, anywhere, with you and a clear conscience, than in some warm fuzzy bed and having sold my soul for something I don’t believe in.”

He squeezed her hands tight, looking away for a moment before finding her eyes again. “And if we never get out of this little shit hole?”

She chuckled at him. “Then it will be our little shit hole.” She stood, pulling him up with her and tugging him towards the bed, pushing him down on it before crawling in next to him. “I don’t know what will happen tomorrow,” Peggy whispered, sliding up against him as he arranged the rough blanket over them. “And I know that that eats at you.”

Steve tugged her tight against him, the moonlight falling on her skin again, making her look like a beauty out of a silent movie. “It would be nice to plan, just for once.”

Peggy settled against his chest, kissing the bare flesh there. “I plan on being with you,” Peggy breathed softly, “today, tomorrow, and however long the two of us have left in this world.” She hummed melodiously, eyes fluttering shut. “Dripping bathroom faucet and all.”

Steve shifted one of her knotted curls over from where it was digging into his shoulder as she relaxed into sleep. He watched her breathing slow, her lips part as she fell deeper away from consciousness, and felt a warmth rise up in him at the thought of holding her, just like this, for the rest of his days.

Tomorrow he’d try to fix that faucet. Then maybe he’d head down to the docks, see if there were any jobs that would trade a day’s wages for a little muscle and heavy lifting. Maybe, if they were going to be here a while, he’d try to make their little shit hole a little less shitty.

For now, Peggy and the moonlight would have to be enough.

#Steggy Bingo Bash #Steggy Fic #3P's Fic

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heathenarmyimagines · 4 years

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Title: A Different Time (Final)

Summary: Now that they know how to go home it is time for the Vikings to go back to their own century.

Pairing: Ivar x Reader

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve, Part Thirteen, Part Fourteen, Part Fifteen, Part Sixteen

Taglist: @ubbesgirl, @shewolf2000, @tis-itheapplepie, @atequila, @demoncrypt1066, @greennightspider, @badbitsh13, @fireismysaftey, @minarawr, @laketaj24, @hvitserksgirl, @blahblahcookiesdoma, @fabulous-peasent, @sforsammmmmi, @minmiin1d, @courtrae89, @letsloveimagines, @tomarisela, @titty-teetee, @beyond-the-ashes@elenawrit, @mblaqgi, @whenimaunicorn, @chuflisworld, @mystruggledlife, @moose-squirrel-asstiel, @syreni-dea, @trashqueenbitch, @alykatv, @mbaku-babygirl, @perfectus-in-morte, @beyond-the-ashes, @neeadinghugs, @readsalot73, @triumphantreturnofpies, @anarchy-is-coming, @tephi101, @alicedopey, @ivarslittlebadgirl, @jtrstp, @nejijjeoroo, @charlylama, @ivartheblessed, @captstefanbrandt, @fabulouschrissi, @ivarsrideordie, @3x5gurl, @the-writer-appreciation-blog, @lolabee9, @captainfoxy22, @young-ugly-god, @im5ftbutmythroat66, @bribyyy, @irishhiggins, @cadetomlinson, @keclleon101, @slutforragnarssons, @ltkeke, @meeeeeeeeeps, @lille-kanin, @opalscarab, @ssraven7, @ivarandersen, @concretewaywardangel, @funmadnessandbadassvikings, @sharon-is-tired, @cadetomlinson, @mystruggledlife, @chuflisworld, @justmarissa97, @lol-haha-joke, @weirdly-randomly-awesome, @inlovewithmakeupcomicsanim, @idonthavehusbandsihavelovers, @alexa040004, @buckythetinman , @burntmythroatskullingmytea,@jorunnravenslayer, @two-unbeatable-beaters, @buffy-the-vampire-blogger, @arses21434, @ltkeke, @captainfoxy22, @chinduda @letsshamelessqueen-m @my-soul-is-the-moon @we-are-transcendent, @sparklemichele

To say that the mood had been ruined by Sigurd last night would be a massive understatement.

Neither you nor Ivar even had the energy to speak about what had just happened, even if you did what would you say?

“I love you and we are perfect for each other but you need to go back to a land before toilet paper.”

Yeah right.

So you both just went to sleep.

Now you were waking up and Ivar was gone, but you knew last night hadn’t been a dream because your laptop was open with all kind of nonsense typed into the Google search bar. It didn’t take a genius to realize that Ivar had woken up before you and messed with your computer.

With a small sigh you closed the laptop and got out of bed to take a quick shower and brushed your teeth.

Dressed in pajamas you walked into the den and found everyone sitting around, looking very deep in thought.

‘I take it Ivar told you all about Sigurd.’ you guessed.

‘He did, he is also spouting nonsense about wanting to stay.’ Bjorn said with a scowl.

‘It is not nonsense, we have been for three days and nothing seems to have changed. Why leave if there is no reason?’ Ivar argued.

‘We all have reasons! I have a wife and children, and an entire country to raid! Not to mention that if we are all here what will happen to Kattegat? Hmmm? Our father’s kingdom, King Finehair has been waiting for years to take it over. What will keep him from doing so if we are here?!’ Bjorn shouted.

‘I do not care about Kattegat! What is it to me?! What was it to Father?! He was never there! All he wanted to do was get away from that barren place, so much so that he found England and Paris.’ Ivar spat.

‘You knew your father a short while Ivar, I knew him most of my life. Yes, Ragnar hated ruling, but he knew it was his home. Its where his family was, it’s the world he built for his sons.’ Lagertha said.

‘Why are you so keen on returning Lagertha? Are you really so eager to face me in combat?’ Ivar growled.

Lagertha smiled softly before she stood from her seat in the armchair.

‘I may not be eager, but be assured I’m ready.’

‘Hey! None of that! Not here, save all of that for when you are home. Ivar...you all are going home, I don’t like it either but Bjorn is right. You all have big roles in history as well as lives to live, you can’t just stay here.’ you said with finality.

Ivar looked visibly upset but said nothing back, and the others all seemed to take that as Ivar agreeing.

‘Good, now take the ax and send us all back.’ Bjorn said impatiently.

‘Wait.’ you said before you could stop yourself.

‘What is it?’ Ubbe asked.

‘Let’s go out, one last time. We could go to a park, get in one last good memory together before you go back.’ you said.

Sure you were procrastinating but you couldn’t help it, you really didn’t want them to leave. You didn’t want to go back to waking up alone and only having the television to keep you company.

‘I agree with (Y/N), I do not wish to have our time with her end on a sour note.’ Hvitserk said as he moved to stand between Ivar and Lagertha.

Ivar scowled at Lagertha one last time before he nodded.

‘Good, let’s go and get dressed. We can get you all ready to leave when we come back.’ you said.

The air in the room was still heavy but everyone moved to their rooms.

As you picked out your clothes you kept having to tell yourself that you were doing the right thing, but it was hard to feel that way when all you wanted was for them to stay.

Nonetheless, you pushed your own emotions to the side and finished putting on your sundress and white sandals.

While you were putting on some lotion someone knocked on your door.

‘One second.’ you called before standing up and opening the door, revealing Ubbe.

‘Is everyone ready?’ you asked.

‘Not yet, but I wanted to tell you how much we all appreciate you doing this. I know it is not easy, but it is necessary.’ he said.

You nodded, keeping your eyes closed to keep them from watering.

‘Yeah, I know, but let’s not talk about it. I want to enjoy the last day with you all as much as I can.’ you smiled.

The two of you left your room and went to wait on the couch for everyone else.

While you were going through your purse making sure you had everything you needed you got a good idea.

‘Hey Ubbe come here.’ you did, motioning for him to sit closer to you.

He looked confused but did as you asked, once he was close enough you held up your phone.

‘What is this?’ Ubbe asked in wonder as he looked at his own image on your screen.

‘A picture, I want to have a few things to remember you all by, just look at the phone and smile.’ you explained.

Ubbe smiles and you do the same, once you were satisfied with angle you snapped the pic.

‘Yay, you are very photogenic.’ you comment as you showed him the picture.

‘What does that mean?’

‘It means you look good.’

‘Well I could have told you that much.’ he said smugly.

For the next minute or so you and Ubbe take more selfies and once everyone else came out you got one with each of them, all of them being fascinated to see their own image.

‘I really am quite handsome.’ Hvitserk said.

‘So humble Hvitserk.’ you smiled.

‘Come on, we can get breakfast at a diner, one that I don’t work at.’ you said.

You all moved out and loaded yourselves into the car.

As you drove the car was filled with joyous conversations, the vikings were speaking of all the things they would miss from this time and all the things they missed from their own.

While it was great to see that they were all excited in the backseat you couldn’t help but notice that Ivar was not participating in the conversation at all.

You reach over and put a hand on his and gave it a squeeze, if only to show that you saw that he was upset and you cared.

Once you arrived at the diner and got out you all headed inside, you were glad it wasn’t busy right now so you got a good table.

The server got everyone’s order, just the usual breakfast plates for everyone and orange juice for you.

‘So...this is it for us, our last meal together.’ you said.

‘It is, I must say that we will all miss you (Y/N).’ Lagertha said.

‘Aw I’ll miss you guys too.’

‘I’m going to miss this world, I wish I could have seen more of it, especially those sex toys. It would be amazing to have a mouth in my satchel for long journeys.’ Hvitesrk sighed.

Bjorn hummed a noise of agreement.

‘What are you whining for, you grab a girl on every raid, more than that if you are overly excited.’ Ubbe teased.

‘Been a little busy if you hadn’t noticed, not been on a raid in ages.’

‘You’ve got girls all over York too.’ Ivar said as he took a sip of water.

‘It gets boring having the same six girls.’ Hvitserk shrugged.

‘Six? You have that many?’ you asked.

‘Not that much.’

After that the rest of breakfast was spent chatting, laughing and teasing; it was as if the gloomy cloud had temporarily vanished and left everyone to enjoy their time together.

Even Ivar was laughing and making jokes with Ubbe and Bjorn, you imagine this was how they all were before everything happened.

Eventually everyone finished their food and you paid and tipped the server before you all headed to the park, you made sure not to go to the popular spots like the new playground or the lake.

You parked in the older play area, nothing was wrong with it, but a few years ago the city had built a bigger and better one closer to the lake so parents could watch their kids play while fishing.

‘What is this?’ Ubbe asked as he helped Ivar into his chair.

‘A playground, little kids used to come here to play, no one comes to this one anymore.’ you answered.

‘Did you play here?’ Hvitserk asked as he moved toward the swing set.

‘Yeah, here sit here and keep your feet off the ground.’ you smiled as you ran over and placed the viking in the swing.

Confused he followed the directions and once you were sure he was situated you began pushing him on the swing.

‘Swing your legs but keep your feet off the ground.’

The others were fascinated and curious to see what other wonders your favorite childhood play place had to offer. Within ten minutes Ubbe and Hvitserk were on the swings, Bjorn was spinning Lagertha on the merry go round and you were running Ivar all over the wheelchair track.

Everyone was having a good time and you felt like a little kid again, except you were not in that great a shape as you were back then so you had to stop to catch your breath.

‘Hold on...whew!’ you panted.

‘Are you alright?’

‘Yeah, totally...just need to a second.’

‘No more running for you.’ he suggested.

‘Thank you.’ you said as you began to push his chair again, walking this time.

‘Father would have loved you...Mother too.’

‘I would have loved to meet them.’

‘Do you think your mother and father would like me?’ Ivar asked.

‘My Mama would be thrilled that I let her meet you, if only to tell you embarrassing stories about me, my Dad? He’d try to kill you...if he doesn’t kill me first.’

‘Why? Because I’m crippled?’

‘Because you’re a boy, I’m his first born and he seems to think I’m still too young for anything involving a boy. Eventually he’d back off enough to drink a beer with you, and I’d have to remind him that I’m an adult.’ you replied.

‘What do you think would happen if I did stay?’

‘Ivar-’ you sighed.

‘I know that I can’t, but what if I did? What would happen between us (Y/N)?’

For a minute you didn’t reply, thinking it over in your head, what would happen if Ivar could stay here.

‘Who knows, maybe we would be together and everything will be amazing, I’d find a way for you to be able to go out in public and we’d live happily ever after.’ you hummed.

‘Or I would one day let my anger get the best of me and push you away, like I do with everyone I love.’ Ivar said.

You saw an old bench under a tree and placed Ivar beside it before you took a seat.

‘Maybe it would be my religion that pushes you away from me, Ivar you would not be the only one at fault if things went bad.’

Ivar took your hand and placed a kiss on your knuckles.

‘Want to know what would happen if I could take you with me?’ he asked.

‘What would happen if I could go with you to Kattegat?’ you asked with a smile.

‘I would make you my wife, and I would plan a grand wedding so massive even Freya would attend to bless our marriage. Then I would make it my mission to fill you with as many children as possible.’ Ivar said.

You chuckled, not at all surprised by how large Ivar’s dream already was, he was very famous for his ambitions.

‘How many kids, all boys?’ you asked, placing your head on his shoulder.

‘At least seven, and of course a man needs daughters to spoil.’

‘Nothing is worse than a spoiled little girl.’ you scoffed.

‘You would keep her humble...just like you would have kept me sane.’ he whispered.

‘You are not crazy Ivar, you do not need me to tell you that. You are no different from any other man, except in the fact that you are the greatest man that I have ever met in my life.’ you said seriously.

Ivar looked shocked to hear such kind words spoken to him and seemed too stunned to even speak, so he just squeezed your hand gently as he looked away.

The two of you sat there in comfortable silence, listening to the birds and bugs, just enjoying each other’s company while you could.

Eventually Ubbe came to find the two of you to tell you everyone was ready to go home.

His words held a deeper meaning, it was not your home he was talking about.

The ride was filled with silence this time , as everyone seemed to take in the fact that they were really about to leave. No more discovering all the new technology, learning all the new customs or trying new foods; once they got back to your house they would say their official goodbyes to you and your world.

While they came to terms with that you were dreading going back to living alone in that house again. Once they were gone you would go back to quiet mornings, shopping and cooking for one, and spending a majority of your time either on the couch or in your bed.

More than anything you were feared seeing Ivar leave, you knew in your heart that you would never find another guy like him. A guy who would make you feel the way he did emotionally.

It was something you noticed while you were comforting him during his panic attack, sure at the time he was clearly not feeling his best but you had remained calm in the situation. Something you had been trained to do since your brother did have seizures often when he was younger, keeping calm is important in that situation. While whenever you had to deal with that type of thing you acted composed, but inside you were always panicking.

With Ivar you were genuinely calm, you knew he would be okay and had no worries. It was as if you knew nothing would ever break him, he was Ivar the Boneless. A man who would become history’s most notorious viking, he would conquer an entire world when he went home.

You could not keep him from that, no matter how much it broke your heart to let him go.

Soon you were parked in your driveway and there was no more time to take it all in, it was time for them to leave.

Everyone got inside and you told them to gather all of the things you had bought them that they wanted to take with them. As they did that you went to the garage and got all their weapons and the bag filled with the clothes they were wearing on when they first dropped into your pool.

In less than half an hour you were all in your living room, they were back in their battle clothes with their weapons and holding a few things they’d chosen to take with them.

Hvitserk had a small necklace with a cute crown charm, he said it was for Ubbe’s wife, a woman called Margrethe. Lagertha had a ceramic owl that she said reminded her of a pet she had back home. Ubbe was holding an hourglass and he was also holding Ivar’s snow globe. Bjorn had taken a ship in a bottle that he claimed to only be taking to assure himself he hadn’t gone crazy and imagined all of this.

Ivar sat in his chair, with his eyes focused on his bound legs.

‘OK you guys please just remember that before you die you have to burn these things to ash.’ you told them.

‘Why?’ Hvitserk asked.

‘Historians spend years and years digging up things you guys left behind, it would be weird if they found a necklace that was made in China in twenty eighteen with a bunch of viking swords. Don’t leave any evidence of this stuff, swear it to me.’ you begged.

‘We swear it on our rings.’ Bjorn said honestly.

‘Good now there is one thing left.’ you said.

‘Saying goodbye.’ Hvitserk said sadly.

‘I’m going to miss you guys.’ you managed to say as a lump formed in your throat.

Hvitserk and Ubbe stepped forward and pulled you into a group hug, you ignored the stink of their clothes and how rough the armor felt against your skin, you just held them as close as you could.

‘We will never forget you (Y/N), you’re the one we lost.’ Hvitserk said as he pulled back.

‘No matter what happens when we get back home I want you to know that my first daughter will have your name.’ Ubbe smiled.

‘Oh that’s so cute.’ you smiled as you wiped your tears.

The two of them stepped aside and allowed Lagertha to pull you into a hug all her own, she held you tightly in a way that only a mother could.

‘You will always be a daughter to me, I am sad to leave you.’ she said before pulling back and placing a kiss on your forehead.

Then Bjorn stepped forward and kept his eyes on anything but you.

‘We are all thankful to you for housing us and feeding us in our time of need, none of us will forget your kindnesses, this I swear on both my arm ring and my life.’ he said formally.

You rolled your teary eyes and hit him in the chest.

‘Shut up and give me a hug you mean old man.’ you said as you wrapped your arms around him as best as you could, certain that you looked like a child next to such a large man.

‘I will miss you too Bjorn.’ you said.

Now came the last person you wanted to say goodbye to, Ivar; and by the way he was still looking down you assumed he didn’t want to hear it either.

‘Ivar.’

Before you could say anything past his name Ivar had suddenly grabbed your arm and pulled you down into his lap.

‘Don’t say it. Let me imagine that I will see you again one day...please don’t say it.’ he whispered into your ear.

You tried closing your eyes to keep the tears from falling but it did not work; you hadn’t actually stopped crying since you started but now you were all out bawling into Ivar’s shoulder.

He wrapped his arms around you and held you as you sobbed, and you were sure that you felt a few tears on your shoulder as well but Ivar didn’t move an inch or make a sound.

With all the willpower you had in your body you pulled back and placed a kiss on his lips, not a deep or lustful, but you tried to bid him farewell this way since neither of you could handle it being said out loud.

‘I will see you again.’ he said.

‘Yeah, and we’ll have that big Viking wedding you promised me.’ you said, trying to smile through your sobs.

‘Then you will give me many children.’

‘Dozens of them.’ you said as you stood up and turned away from everyone, if only to give all of yourself a minute to regain your composure.

Once you had finally silenced your sobs you turned back around and found Bjorn holding the ax.

‘It is time for us all to go home Ivar.’ he said as he held out the weapon.

‘Finally.’

Everyone jumped as Sigurd appeared, standing by the fireplace.

‘Sigurd.’ Ubbe said in awe.

‘Did you miss me brother?’ Sigurd asked with a smile.

‘Of course I do, we all do.’ Ubbe said.

‘It has been chaos since you died, as you have noticed.’ Hvitserk said.

‘It couldn’t have all been avoided, but some of it could have been.’ the ghost said passive aggressively.

‘Why are you here Sigurd? Is me making the sacrifice not enough, do you need to see it too?’ Ivar spat.

‘I am only here for one thing, and is none of your concern, you’ve said your goodbyes to the woman you love, now take the ax and make your sacrifice.’

Ivar looked ready for a fight but Ubbe’s hand on his shoulder let him know that this was not the time to lose his temper.

Bjorn once again held the sword to Ivar.

You dug your fingernails into your palms to keep yourself from knocking the ax out of Bjorn’s hand.

‘Take the ax.’ you forced yourself to say.

Ivar looked over at you and he just looked deep into your eyes, before saying the one thing you needed to hear from him before he left.

‘I love you.’ he whispered before he put his hand on the ax.

At first you thought you were imagining the sky blue glow that seemed to be coming off of all of them, but after you blinked and it was still there you knew it was real.

They were all glowing, and the brighter that beautiful blue glow became the harder it was for you to see the vikings. Eventually the light was so bright you had to close your eyes to shield them from the glow.

Soon the light dimmed enough for you to open your eyes again, but there was nothing there.

The only thing left in front of you was an empty wheelchair, and as much as you thought you had been prepared for it the wave of absolute loneliness knocked the wind out of you.

You barely recognized the wrecked noise that clawed its way out of your throat as you broke down literally to your knees.

It felt as if you were going to be physically sick from how hard you were sobbing, but you couldn’t stop.

‘Do not cry Miss.’ Sigurd said, his voice softer than it was before as he placed a cold hand on your shoulder.

‘Leave!’ you snapped at the ghost as you stood up and turned on him.

‘I will, but not before I put you at ease.’

‘How can you put me at ease?! I just met and lost what may have been the love of my life because of some stupid siblings rivalry from centuries ago!’ you yelled.

In anger you pushed him back, mildly surprised when your hands actually make solid contact.

‘Believe me I understand a broken heart and I know that right now you curse me and blame me for the ache in your chest, but allow me to put some of your worries to rest. Let me tell you how Ivar lived his days without you.’

You did not want to hear that right now, you were still trying to cope with the fact that Ivar was long dead now, but you knew that later on you would go nuts wondering what happened to Ivar.

‘Tell me.’ you said as you sat down on the couch, taking the time to wipe away your tears.

‘Ivar had many great victories in battles and war, and many failures in love. He never forgot you, and he never found a woman he could love as much as he did you.’ Sigurd said

You felt like a shit person for feeling any amount of comfort in those words, but you were a little glad to know that Ivar didn’t forget you.

‘Was he happy?’ you managed to ask.

‘...No, Ivar could never truly be happy without you by his side, but he tried to be for your sake. He died in his bed an old man in one of his many kingdoms, with his wife and children at his side.’

Your eyes watered at that bit of information, and you were unsure if you were sad or happy about it.

‘He had children.’ you repeated.

‘Yes, and he left you a message...here.’ Sigurd said as he held out the ax to you.

At first you had no desire to touch it, but you did notice carving all over the handle that wasn’t there before.

Reluctantly you took it and saw that it was in fact writing, it was the English alphabet but you didn’t understand the language. You remembered Ivar wanting to learn to read and write in English, but you never got the chance to teach him so this was most likely Old English or Latin.

‘What does it say?’

‘It says, To my love, I’ve missed you everyday since I last saw you. It has been thirty four years since that sad day, and I am on my deathbed. My wife is sleeping beside me, I must say that in a way I do love her, she gave me many children, but it is not the love I have for you. I sometimes deep in my mind curse myself for not being a filthy Christian, if I were I could see you in heaven one day and be happy with you.’ the ghost read.

Your knuckles were white from how hard you were gripping the ax, you were determined to stop crying this instant.

‘Ivar was better for meeting you, and so was his personal life with our brothers, and because of you I can finally dine with father in Valhalla. For that I am thankful to you, as are the Gods, they will not forget your sacrifice. When you are ready, they will bless you, farewell Miss.’ he said before he vanished just as he had last night.

Now alone, you began crying again, the sound of your sobs seeming to echo through the empty house.

It felt like all you did for the next two weeks was cry as you moved around the house cleaning the rooms the Vikings had used. The last room you did was your sister’s, the room that Ivar used.

You slept in there until Ivar’s scent left the sheets.

Eventually you had to return to work after your vacation was over, but your boss was still very upset about the altercation that had happened during your last visit. He had been cutting your hours and giving you dead shifts that required a lot more work with less tips.

After a month of this you were fed up and got a job at the buffet with your friend, the pay was better since it was hourly and you were also given tips.

Your finances were greatly improved but your mother needed a very expensive surgery and you couldn’t afford to throw all your money into that without putting your siblings allowances at risk.

So you figured the best thing to do was to list your home on Air B&B for extra money. It really killed two birds with one stone, you were able to afford the procedure and the house was alive again.

The guest kept you busy and some were real cheapskates but it was better than doing nothing all day and crying.

One afternoon you went to your email and saw that someone wanted to use your home for the next two months while he and his friends looked for more permanent homes in the city.

You emailed back and you both agreed on the price and time period before you finalize everything.

At last came the day and you were making sure everything was ready for your guest, the bedrooms were clean and the fridge stocked.

Like usual you took off the day of your guests arrival so you could give them the tour and you always like to prepare them dinner on the first night to introduce your guests to Texas.

There was a knock on your door and you went to open the door with a smile like always, but your polite smile quickly became a dropped jaw.

It was Ivar!

Standing right at your front door, your mind was filled with a million questions. How was he here, how is he standing, what the hell is going on?!

None of those questions could fall from your lips because before you could catch yourself they were on his.

You had thrown yourself into his arms and kissed him, overwhelmed by a flood of joy to be seeing him again after all these months.

He pulled away and looked at you awkwardly.

‘Um excuse Miss.’ he said with a stunned face.

You backed away and looked at him, taking in his jeans, muscle shirt and the headphones around his neck.

This was not Ivar, not your Ivar anyway.

‘Is this how you greet all your guest or am I special?’ he smiled nervously.

‘I-I uh… oh my God I’m so sorry I thought you were someone else entirely.’ you apologized, completely mortified.

‘No no, it is fine, I can think of worse greetings.’ he smiled.

You shift your feet nervously as an awkward silence fell over you two.

‘Anyway, I am Alex Høgh Anderson.’ he said, mercifully breaking the silence.

‘Of course, I’m (Y/N) (Y/L/N) welcome to Dallas.’ you said.

Before he could reply you heard a car door close, causing you to look behind Iv- Alex and you saw Ubbe and Hvitserk.

This time you refrained from running up to them, not wanting another awkward moment.

‘Let me introduce you, these are my buddies Jordan and Marco, guys this (Y/N) she will be hosting us.’ he introduced.

The two of them greeted you politely with waves and short hellos.

Jordan was wearing sweats, while Marco was in straight up pajamas.

You step aside and let them all in to begin showing them around the house.

As you walked around you were struggling to keep calm, but you managed to get through it.

Of course Alex was the last one to be shown to his room while the others began unpacking.

‘Ok this is the master bedroom, the bathroom is stocked with towels and toiletries let me know if you need anything. I’ll be in the kitchen cooking if you have any questions.’ you said.

‘Thank you and um...whoever you thought I was must have been a very lucky guy.’ Alex smiled.

You blushed as you left the room to scurry into the kitchen to start on dinner.

The second you entered the kitchen you nearly ran back out.

‘I take it you did not miss me.’ Sigurd smiled.

The ghost looked much better than he had last time, his clothes were no longer bloodied and he appeared to be brighter now.

‘What the fuck are you doing here? And what the hell have you and your Gods done to Ivar, Ubbe and Hvitserk?’ you whispered angrily.

‘Nothing, my brothers are all feasting in Valhalla, those are regular men that the Gods lead to you. What happens now is all up to you.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘I told you that the Gods would not forget what you have done, nor would they leave you heartbroken.’ he said.

‘A replacement?’ you asked.

‘Who are you talking to?’ Jordan asked as he came into the kitchen.

You looked back to where Sigurd had been literally a second ago but of course he was not there now.

‘Just myself, trying to decide what to make for dinner.’ you lied.

‘Oh yeah Alex said you would make dinner some nights. I was just coming to ask for the WiFi password.’

You gave him the password and also took the time to ask him if any of them had any food allergies, thankfully none of them did.

‘Great, I’m sure you and your friends are all tired after getting off the plane, you can all chill out in the rooms while I cook.’

He thanked you and headed out, leaving you alone once more, for a minute you waited for Sigurd’s ghostly self to pop up again but he didn’t.

As you began cooking you think back to when you first developed feelings for Ivar, and how strong they were. It had taken you so long to even begin to move on and live day to day without crying at the thought of him.

You did not think you could ever feel that strongly about another man again, and a small part of you didn’t know if you wanted to.

Nearly two and a half hours later you were done with dinner; the chickens were baked, potatoes roasted, broccoli buttered and steamed and rolls were glazed with sweet honey butter. For desert you thought ice cream would do fine, since you were not sure if they would be still be hungry after dinner.

After you set the table you got out a simple bottle of champagne and put on ice, once you were satisfied that everything was ready you went to get your guests.

You never opened the bedrooms if the door was closed, it just seemed like a rude thing to do, especially if the person was a paying guest.

Jordan got right up when you knocked and told you he would get Marco, since apparently he was a heavy sleeper. Which you knew to be true when he burst into Marco’s room and you saw him straight belly flop onto his friend.

You tried not to laugh as you knocked on Alex’s door, telling him that the food was ready and he opened the door wearing sweats now.

‘Thank you, I was starving.’ he yawned as he stretched.

‘Good I cooked plenty, should put you all right back to sleep.’ you smiled.

‘Already trying to get me in bed?’ he teased.

‘You are not going to let that go are you?’ you asked.

‘My first kiss in a new country? Nah I’m going to hold on to it for a while.’ he smiled.

‘Whatever, lets just eat, hopefully Marco is up.’ you said as the two of you walked down the hall.

‘The foods ready?’ Marco said as he finally came out of his room, wide awake with a completely exhausted Jordan behind him.

‘Yes it is.’

Finally you were all seated at the table eating and drinking while you all got better acquainted with each other since they would be staying here for two months.

‘Wait so you guys are opening a shop?’ you asked.

‘Sort of, we design and build custom furniture, the company we work for decided to go international and opened a location out here and sent us to start it off.’ Jordan said.

‘That is so dope, I actually was looking to redo the front room, maybe I’ll be customer number one.’ you smiled.

‘And we would make sure your furniture was our best work, least we could do after this amazing meal. I don’t even eat broccoli but this is delicious.’ Marco complimented.

‘Aw thank you so much.’ you smiled.

The night went on and not a crumb was left of anything, you all were full and ready to go to bed for the night.

You all got up and headed to your rooms, your room was right across from Alex’s so you two were the last ones left in the hall.

‘Um, Alex.’ you said before he could go into his room.

He turned back to you and you inwardly cursed because a small part of you hoped he hadn’t actually heard you.

‘I just wanted to say thanks, for not telling the others about...you know.’

‘Why would I? You don’t tell too many people when you find such a great treasure.’ Alex smiled down at you.

You were so (pleasantly) surprised by his straightforward flirtation that you couldn’t think of what to say.

Luckily Alex took mercy on your awkward self.

‘I was wondering if you would like to go out for coffee and a walk tomorrow morning. The other two will no doubt sleep until two in the afternoon if we let them.’ Alex suggested.

He had just asked you out for a date, like a real date! You hadn’t been out with any man since Ivar and the rest of his family had left, in fact you hadn’t been thinking about romance at all.

Maybe Sigurd was right and it was time to change that. Ivar would have wanted you to be as happy as you could be.

‘I would love to.’

‘Great, um is eight a good time?’ he asked.

‘It’s perfect, I will see you then, good night.’ you said before you finally went into your own room.

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm your racing heart. When you opened your eyes they fell on the ax on your bedside table.

With a sad sigh you walked over to it and ran your hand over the carving.

‘He’s not you Ivar, I could never expect him to be, but I will try to be happy with him. Just as I’m sure you tried to be happy for me.’ you said softly.

#ivar the boneless #ivar lothbrok #ivar x reader #ivar imagine #alex hogh andersen #alex x reader #vikings imagine #modern!vikings #Ubbe Lothbrok #hvitserk lothbrok #Bjorn Ironside #lagertha #final chapter

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artificialqueens · 4 years

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If You Ever Wanna Be In Love (I'll Come Around), Chapter Two (Branjie) - Athena2

Summary: After a mix-up at work leads to Vanessa pretending she has a wife, she uses this fake wife to get out of work events. But when she runs out of excuses and needs a wife for a party, Vanessa finds herself turning to Nina’s friend Brooke, who just so happens to need a fake girlfriend.

Previously: Brooke and Vanessa agreed to a fake dating arrangement Now: Brooke pretends to be Vanessa’s wife at a work dinner.

A/N: Thank you all so much for the amazing feedback for chapter 1! It really does mean so much to me that you enjoyed it and are excited for more! I hope you like this chapter and leave feedback if you’d like! Thank you so much to Writ for betaing, you’re the absolute best <3 <3 <3.

Brooke dumps half her closet on the bed. She hasn’t done this in a while, hasn’t stalked around her room in a robe and makeup, trying to pick an outfit. Sure, she goes to work everyday with fierce eyeliner and sharp suits and silk shirts, but this is different. She’d been extra steady with her eyeliner, blending her contour until it was perfect, but she’s not sure why. Maybe she just wants to take advantage of the night and an opportunity to look nice. Maybe she wants to impress Vanessa–who’s definitely prettier than she remembered–and show her that she’s going to be the best fake wife she can be, good enough to turn heads and have them be the perfect couple at the party.

Whatever the reason, it has her rifling through every dress and pant suit she owns, trying to decide if purple or black or red is the right color, if she should go stripes or plain, form-fitting or loose. She and Vanessa exchanged numbers after coffee, and Brooke has a text asking what to wear half-written before deleting it all. No need to bother Vanessa over this. Eventually she pulls on the plain black dress that pops against her pale skin, figuring a classic will work.

Vanessa is smiling hesitantly when Brooke gets in her car, shooting out apologies for the mess. Brooke moves aside an old magazine advertising fun kids’ activities and settles in, legs bouncing as she gets a good look at Vanessa, soft waves tumbling down her back and dazzling teeth giving the sun a run for its money.

“You look nice,” Brooke says, hoping it’s okay to say. Vanessa does look nice, and she figures compliments should be part of their fake marriage. Her dad always complimented her mom whenever they went out, leaving Brooke and her sister with their grandma whose cloud of old-lady perfume almost dissolved their lungs.

“Thanks. So do you.”

“Thanks.” Brooke looks at her lap, panic growing as blocks pass in silence. She knows almost nothing about Vanessa, and somehow she has to convince people they’re married for the night. Can they really pull this off? This could be one of the worst situations she’s been in, aside from the time she and Nina tried to dye their hair pink after finals and spent the night scrubbing the dorm bathroom clean, pink staining their hands for days.

Vanessa peeks over at her when they hit a red light. “Hey, Brooke? Thank you for doing this. You really saved my ass.”

Brooke blushes. “You don’t have to thank me, it’s not any trouble. I would’ve just been watching Gilmore Girls with my cats for the third time.”

“Gilmore Girls?”

“It’s a really good show. Really soothing, too,” Brooke says. She doesn’t add anything else, doesn’t add whether Vanessa would like or not because she doesn’t know the kind of things Vanessa likes. Vanessa could be a horror movie fan for all she knows, but from the way she jumped out of her seat when a squirrel ran in front of the car, Brooke’s thinking that’s a no.

Vanessa nods. She cranks up the radio when Beyonce comes on, chattering about work, and as they drive further away, Brooke almost forgets her nerves.

—

Vanessa’s hands are stuck on the wheel as they pull into the restaurant parking lot. Brooke looks nice–a lot nicer than Vanessa expected. Her sleeveless dress reveals strong arms that taper into clever hands and long fingers, and Vanessa has to stop looking.

Brooke fidgets with her gold bracelet, and Vanessa knows she’ll have to take the lead to get them through this. She notices her own hands are sweaty, and she dries them on her dress, forcing herself to stay calm. Paul and everyone else already bought the fake wife story, Vanessa reminds herself. All she has to do is turn up the charm until they’re completely sold.

“We got this, right?” Vanessa meets Brooke’s eyes with a hopeful smile.

“Right. We go in, we act married, we get out,” Brooke says.

Vanessa laughs. “You’re making us sound like spies! Just relax, okay? Follow my lead and we’ll be fine, I promise.”

Brooke nods, and Vanessa hands her the second fake ring she’d gotten from the thrift shop. It shines in the dim parking lot lights, gaining its second life through Brooke.

Brooke opens her door then slams it, turning back to Vanessa. “Wait. How did we get engaged?”

“What’s it matter?”

“If I’m playing a part, I want to do it right. And what if someone asks? Our stories have to match so we don’t get caught in the lie.”

Vanessa takes a breath of awe. As absurd as this whole thing is, she clearly has the right person for it, someone careful and dedicated enough to make sure they succeed. Vanessa thinks for a second. “You proposed to me on the beach, at sunset.”

Brooke scoffs.

“What?”

“That’s so lame! That’s something a boring straight guy would do for his girlfriend he knows nothing about. If I’m gonna propose to you, it would be better than that!”

“It’s not even a real proposal!” Vanessa argues, though part of her is touched that even if it is fake, Brooke wants her to have something nice.

“Still,” Brooke insists.

“Got any ideas?”

“What would your dream proposal be?” Brooke asks. “Not some generic beach thing. Something special.”

Vanessa’s pictured her wedding before—gold sun streaking through red and orange leaves as her dress flows behind her on the walk to her wife, the fall air crisp as an apple-—but hasn’t considered all the exhausting details and planning that would get her to that point.

“Well, don’t laugh, but I had a pirate thing when I was little. My mom would put coins and toys in the sandbox and give me a map and I’d dig for them. So let’s say you did a little treasure hunt that ended in the proposal.” Vanessa never knew how much she wanted something like this, something to show her wife knows her like no one else, but as she speaks, she can see it happening. Her breathlessly flipping over a tattered map to see neat lines and bright red X. Her going through each step, faster and faster as her excitement builds, until she reaches the end and Brooke is on one knee with a box—

Vanessa shakes her head to clear out the image.

Brooke smiles. “I like that. It’s nice.” She leans in closer, like she’s sharing a secret. “I had a dinosaur thing, so I won’t laugh.”

“Seems like you still have a dinosaur thing, Miss Museum Head,” Vanessa teases.

Brooke blushes, and Vanessa’s heart leaps. “I guess I do.”

There’s a beat of silence, and they both realize this is it. Doors slam, locks click, and they give each other one last nod before entering the restaurant.

The small restaurant room Paul reserved is packed with disgruntled library employees eager for a night off, and every single head spins toward her and Brooke. A few mouths drop open, and Vanessa grins. They do look impressive, Brooke’s black dress flowing down her long frame, a perfect match for Vanessa’s red dress with tiny black stars, one of her favorite thrift store finds.

But beyond the outfits is something Vanessa can’t quite describe. She gets a look at her and Brooke in a mirror on the wall, and something about them looks right, like they could be on opposite sides of the room and you would still know they were a couple. Maybe it’s the way Vanessa leans into the space around Brooke, or the way Brooke slows her pace for Vanessa’s matchstick legs, but there’s some sort of magic bubbling around them.

Couples cling like koalas and Vanessa throws an awkward arm around Brooke’s waist to look more couple-y. Brooke stiffens slightly before relaxing into it.

Paul runs over. “So you’re Vanessa’s wife,” he says to Brooke, pumping her hand up and down with no sign of stopping.

“That’s me,” Brooke agrees. “I’m Brooke, if Vanessa hasn’t told you.”

“Actually, she hasn’t,” Paul says, giving Vanessa a look. “We’ve been wanting to meet you for months but Vanessa says you’ve been sick a lot lately. I hope you’re doing better after your stomach problems last week?”

Brooke shoots Vanessa a death glare, but she still answers warmly. “I’m much better now, thank you.”

“Glad to hear it.” Paul ushers them over to the table, and Vanessa quickly pulls her arm back.

“Sorry,” she whispers. “Just thought we needed a little touching.”

“It’s fine,” Brooke says, sighing in relief as they slide next to Nina at the table.

Vanessa quickly makes the introductions to her coworkers. Silky smiles devilishly and A’keria and Yvie narrow their eyes, serving as her test panel for the night, to see if she and Brooke can really sell things for the admins.

“Now, about those stomach problems?” Brooke demands. Her eyebrows are furrowed and Vanessa has to consciously stop looking at how adorable the expression makes her.

“Well, when I don’t want to go to parties, I use you as an excuse sometimes,” Vanessa says sheepishly.

Brooke pinches the bridge of her nose. “And how many times have you said I was sick?”

Vanessa shrugs. “I kinda…lost count?”

Brooke groans, heaving a mighty sigh. “I really hope this food is better than slightly-above-average.”

—

The food, it turns out, is actually better than Vanessa expected. She makes her way through fish in lemon butter, but Brooke’s lasagna came with garlic bread that’s calling her name. They’re supposed to be married, after all, so why the hell not? She reaches over and grabs a chunk. Brooke then asks for a bite of fish, and Vanessa knows from her friends’ approving nods and the calm behavior of the others that they’re completely selling the wife thing.

Vanessa doesn’t know what exactly makes a marriage look real, but she follows stuff her parents did—sharing food and joking with each other, letting their hands brush every now and then, each one making her whole arm tingle.

Brooke does her part wonderfully, no question about it. She maintains her calm all through dinner, answering question after question about herself and work. Even though Brooke seems to hold back when she talks about her job, like she’s afraid no one is interested, Vanessa finds herself really engrossed in what Brooke does, no acting required.

Brooke does a lot more than look at bones all day, Vanessa learns. She supervises the museum’s dinosaur collection and has been working on a special summer exhibit for months, getting permission to borrow a T-Rex skull from another museum. She’s also started more kids’ programs, special events and days just for them. As she speaks, Vanessa can see it. She can see Brooke strutting across the museum’s stone floor in a sharp black suit, opening up a crate of fossils and grinning like a little kid, staying at the museum long past closing to set it all up. It makes her smile, and the smile doesn’t leave.

Vanessa also learns that Brooke likes hiking on the weekends, and she’s grateful they’re not really married, because if she ever had to tag along on a hiking date she’d probably pass out.

When they walk back to the car amidst Paul shouting his hopes to see Brooke again, Vanessa feels sad somehow, like the thrill of tonight is fading.

“I, um, I had a nice time tonight,” Brooke says quietly, after Vanessa starts driving. “I haven’t been out in a while. I’ve been focusing on the T-Rex exhibit since January. Haven’t had time for much else.”

Vanessa nods. “Yeah, I get it. We get a lot more kids in the library for summer, I’ve been pulling crafts out of my ass to have more activities. But I love it, you know?”

“Yeah,” Brooke says, grabbing her purse as they pull up in front of her apartment. “Um, I’ll text you about the party at my mom’s, okay?”

“Okay. Good night.”

“Good night.”

Vanessa almost wishes the night didn’t have to end, that they could still buzz with that same magic that overtook them in the restaurant. She wonders if she’s getting her wish when Brooke releases the door and turns back to her.

“Your ring,” Brooke explains, and it hits Vanessa again that this is all fake, just an act. Brooke’s face falls as she tries to twist the ring off. “It’s stuck.”

“What do you mean,stuck?”

“I mean it’s stuck!”

“But it went on okay.” Vanessa shakes her head. “I bet you crack your knuckles. My mom made me stop, said I’d get big knuckles—“

“That’s a myth!” Brooke shoots back, tugging harder on the ring.

“Let me help.” Vanessa twists it with her, trying not to hurt Brooke.

“If I lose my finger, I’m mailing it to you so it can haunt you forever,” Brooke says, a hint of panic creeping into her voice.

“No one is losing a finger! Hang on, I have lotion.” Vanessa grabs the mini bottle of Aveeno in her purse and rubs it into Brooke’s hand, trying not to think of how soft—albeit sweaty—her skin is. Vanessa gives one last tug that sends her flying into the door, ring triumphantly in her fist.

Brooke massages her hand, then meets Vanessa’s gaze. Suddenly, they both erupt into laughter so fierce it brings tears to Vanessa’s eyes and makes her stomach hurt. I’m that moment, Brooke becomes more real to her, shaking and snorting with laughter, her face stretched into a grin. Brooke isn’t just someone who passes dishes at Nina’s without being asked, but someone Vanessa thinks she might want to know more, and she’s suddenly grateful for the birthday party coming up, grateful for more time with her.

“Okay, okay,” Vanessa wheezes. “Good night, for real.”

“Good night.”

Brooke gracefully walks into the building, and Vanessa finds herself staring at the empty space Brooke occupied long after she’s safely inside.

—

Brooke can’t quite believe it, but dinner with Vanessa was fun. Even with the number of questions Vanessa’s coworkers threw at her and the answers she had to keep spitting out, things began to feel less like a contest to prove their fake relationship and more like a real dinner party.

Vanessa is funnier than Brooke had remembered, telling story after story about the library’s chaos, from the time a grown man got stuck in the bathroom to the woman who almost went over the library desk when she found out there was no vending machine in the children’s room. Vanessa acts her stories out like she’s on stage, changing her voice and making exaggerated faces and swinging her arms all over the place.

She and Nina meet for their weekly breakfast the next day, and it’s nice to be around her warmth, nice to be around someone who knows the previous night was fake, freeing Brooke from pretending to be someone else. Even so, all Nina can talk about is how well Brooke and Vanessa did.

“I’m just saying, you really pulled it off,” Nina says around a mouthful of toast. “And she took some of your food! That was so cute, did you plan that?”

Brooke shakes her head, turning to the waffles she won’t have to share with anyone today. Not that she had really minded Vanessa’s slim wrist darting to her plate. “We didn’t plan it. She literally just stole my garlic bread.”

“Well, it worked. You looked so natural. I know A’keria, Silky, and Yvie were impressed, and they’re hard to win over.”

Brooke smiles a little at that. You can’t assign grades for being someone’s fake wife, but Brooke likes knowing she did a good job.

“Yeah. Vanessa’s gonna be my fake girlfriend at my mom’s in two weeks, and then I guess that’s that.”

“You’re really just doing the two things and that’s it?” Nina stares at her in surprise.

Brooke looks down, suddenly self-conscious. “Yeah? I mean, that’s what we agreed to…” she trails off. After last night, she was starting to think that more time with Vanessa could be a nice thing. Vanessa is funny and kind and charming, almost like Nina in a way, and Brooke was sucked into her personality in the dim restaurant lights. But now, in the cold morning light, the effects have worn off. They’re just two people who barely know each other, pretending to be in a relationship a few times. They might keep in touch after, talk at Nina’s parties, but there’s nothing more than that.

“Well, maybe you could stay friends after and do things,” Nina says. “You seemed like you had fun.”

“Yeah.” Brooke shovels some waffles into her mouth, because Nina is right and they both know it. Luckily, Nina moves the conversation onto the library carnival they’re having, and Brooke can forget all about last night.

—

That night, Brooke’s phone buzzes while she’s curled up with the cats, watching TV. Her heart flutters a little when she sees the sender.

Vanessa Mateo: So how long do I have to wait for Lorelai and Luke to get together?

Vanessa Mateo: Is Rory gonna end up with this Dean guy?

Vanessa Mateo: I need answers!

Brooke’s fingers hover over the phone. It’s been a while since she’s texted someone besides Nina or her mom, and she’s not sure how to approach this. Just as friends, she tells herself, and begins to type.

Brooke Lynn Hytes: You’ll just have to wait and see ;)

Vanessa Mateo: Brooke Lynn Hytes did you just winky face me???

Brooke Lynn Hytes: ;) ;)

#rpdr fanfiction #brooke lynn hytes #vanessa vanjie mateo #nina west #yvie oddly #silky nutmeg ganache #akeria davenport #branjie #lesbian au #fake dating au #s11 #fluff #if you ever wanna be in love #athena2 #concrit welcome #submission

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falseroar · 5 years

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Dark Laughter Part 9: Storm Warning

((Hi! Here are links to Part 8: Studio Time and Part 1: What Dark Saw if you want/need them! Quick warnings for gunshots and a brief mention of blood.))

“Hey there Chica Beeka, who missed me?” Mark said as the dogs ran around him and Amy back at his house. They acted as if their people had been gone for days not hours, and when Mark patted his chest and called, “Up! Up!” it took several tries before Chica listened and he could catch her front paws and gently swing her back and forth.

“I’m never sure who’s more excited when we come home, you or Chica,” Amy teased as she pet Henry.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mark said, grunting a little as he picked Chica up and spun her around a few times before putting her back down. He kept up the baby talk for the dogs a little longer, but they were soon distracted by the new toys Mark and Amy had brought home with them.

“Thank you,” he said, again. “I think getting out of the house was good for me.”

“Sunlight will do that to you,” Amy said, smiling as she went to put her bag down on the couch. “Good thing we went out when we did, it looks like it’s going to start pouring any minute now.”

“Yeah,” Mark said. He pulled back the window curtain to look up at the darkening sky. “It’s just supposed to rain, right?”

“I can check,” Amy said, already pulling out her phone.

Chica walked up to Mark with her new rope toy in mouth, and he managed to distract himself for a second trying to pull it away from her before Amy said, “Oh.”

She showed him the new storm warning on the weather app and he immediately said, “I should call Y/N.”

Amy nodded, and Mark could feel her listening as he called up your cellphone, only to swear when it just rang and rang before going to voicemail. Without bothering to leave a message, he hung up and had to dig through his contacts to find a number he rarely used.

“What’s it to you?” Abe answered his phone.

“What kind of—” Mark stopped himself. “Abe, it’s Mark. Can I talk to Y/N?”

“Y/N? Oh, right, I forgot to tell you,” the Detective said. “I dropped Y/N off at the other guys’ house. Doc said they were running a little fever, but it wasn’t anything serious.”

“What?” Mark said.

“What?” Amy mouthed from the other side of the room.

“Something wrong?” Abe asked.

“Y/N’s with Dr. Iplier, they’re not feeling well,” Mark said to Amy. “I should go over there, if the storm gets bad…”

He trailed off and Amy nodded. She had seen you jump even at the sound of thunder on the TV, and knew what it meant to you and the others who had been at the house that weekend.

“I can stay here with the dogs and keep them calm,” she said and Mark hesitated. As much as he didn’t want to leave them, he didn’t want to drag her or the dogs out into bad weather.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he promised.

“Wait, you’re going over there?” Abe asked, and Mark could hear the rattle of blinds on the other end of the line. He could imagine the Detective peering out at the sky overhead as he heard a sharp inhale before Abe said, “My place is on the way. If something’s wrong, then I’m coming with you.”

“What? Nothing’s wrong,” Mark said and heard the disbelief on the other end. “I’m going to check up on them, that’s all. Besides, you can’t just invite yourself along. I am not stopping to pick you up.”

“Then I’ll drive over there myself,” Abe answered. “This is my partner we’re talking about—”

“That has nothing to do with anything!” Mark heard the rattle of the Detective’s keys and sighed. “You know what, fine. But you better be ready to jump in when I drive by, because I’m just going to slow down and open a door. Last thing I want to do is be caught out in LA traffic in the rain.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time I jumped into a moving car,” Abe said. “Or out of one.”

Mark didn’t bother with responding to that and just hung up on the Detective before giving Amy a real goodbye. Out in the van, he popped his phone into the holder on the dash and had it call Dr. Iplier as he backed out of the driveway and took off.

Almost immediately, he heard, “You’ve reached the office of Dr. Iplier. If this is about how you’re dying, please—”

Mark ended the call and told the phone to call Dr. Iplier’s cell, but that also went to voicemail. He was halfway to Abe’s house before his phone rang with a Google G in place of the caller’s image.

“Hey Google, are you with the doctor?” Mark asked.

“That is correct. We have only just now found a signal in our current location,” Google answered.

“Your—Aren’t you at the house?”

“Incorrect. This unit accompanied the doctor and the so-called King of the Squirrels into the woods, where the cell signal is entirely inadequate. Even here at this cabin, we only have a minimum connection to the other units.”

“Cabin?” Mark felt a bad taste rise in the back of his throat and swallowed it back. “What are you doing there?”

“The Host is incapacitated. Dr. Iplier has only just been able to bring him around, and he is babbling—”

“What?” Mark had to swerve back into his lane and forced himself to focus on the road and not on his phone. “What was he doing at the cabin?!”

“Unclear. The King of the Squirrels says that one of his… ‘subjects’ saw him enter this place, and when he arrived, he found him bound and incoherent. My words, not his.”

Straining, Mark could hear the doctor’s voice, clear and professional, and below that a raspy, rambling murmur. He pulled the van into a parking spot on the street in front of the low, run-down building the Detective called home and just stared at the phone, trying to let this sink in.

“Someone attacked him?” Mark asked.

He guessed that it was the King who answered, judging by the tone of his voice as he said, “He just kept saying he wasn’t infected, that he was in control. Over and over again.”

Silence fell on the other end of the line, and by straining Mark could hear the Host’s voice, faint and strained past recognition.

“Mask…is back.” A rasping wheeze. “It looked like…Y/N.”

Mark stared at Abe’s house as silence fell on both ends of the call before Dr. Iplier started barking orders and Google spoke about protocols, directives. Their words fell on deaf ears as Mark just kept hearing the Host’s words over and over again.

Suddenly, he swore, and then swore three more times in quick succession before jumping out of the van without bothering to end the call or even shut the door behind him.

Because it just sank in that the door to Abe’s house was standing wide open despite the rain already starting to come down, despite the fact that the Detective would never forget to lock the door behind him. It creaked in the wind as Mark ran toward it, and made a deafening crack as he pushed it out of his way and went in.

Only to come to an abrupt stop in the front hall, frozen at the sight of Abe standing with his back against the wall, both hands on his gun but unable to point it directly at the person standing opposite him.

It looked like you, except its eyes were two black holes that revealed nothing underneath and its mouth was turned in a horrible slash of a smile as it stared at the Detective. As if waiting to see what he would do.

“Abe, get away from it! It’s not Y/N!”

“You think I don’t know that?!” Abe yelled, a vein showing in his forehead as his eyes kept flickering toward the bloodstain on its chest and then back up to those empty eyes. He tightened his grip on the gun, but it only seemed to tremble more as he tried to raise it. “What is this thing? Why does it look like Y/N?!”

“Shh, it’s okay, detective, we’re not here for you,” it said, the Mask wearing your face. Its voice was like yours, but just slightly distorted, as if just a pitch higher or lower than it should be while putting the emphasis in all the wrong places. “Hahaha, that would just be silly. Our business is with the man with all the masks. Of course, you could always shoot me, if you wanted to. This wouldn’t be the first partner to die at yours hands, would it?”

“You’re not my partner,” Abe said, but his eyes flickered toward Mark.

“No, this is the thing that attacked everyone last year,” Mark said, keeping his eyes on it. “It ran around looking like me, taking over most of my egos and trying to kill the rest of us until we got rid of it. That thing is just a mask, Y/N is—"

He stopped short and the smile on its face got just that much bigger.

It had possessed the others before, making them all look like it with those empty eyes and rictus smiles.

What if this really was you?

Abe looked from him to the Mask and back again, eyes too bright as he demanded, “Well? Is this them or not?”

“I…” Mark trailed off.

“How do we snap them out of it?” Abe said, voice growing louder with every question. “What did you do last year?”

“I didn’t do anything; we could barely do anything to it! Y/N did something, dragged it back into that place they were trapped in inside the mirror—”

The mirror, which was now completely shattered.

“So long in that mirror, in that nothing, so long being nothing without even a face to call my own. Heh, you have no idea, do you? Oh, not when you have so many faces to choose from.” It laughed, its mouth not quite matching the sound, and pulled a wallet out of its pocket. Abe shouldn’t have been able to tense any more than he already was, but that vein in his forehead grew bigger at the sight of his gift to Y/N in the hands of this thing. As it spoke, the Mask opened the wallet and began tossing cards out of it and onto the ground. Mark recognized them as the cards the egos had given you back at the beach on your “birthday”, each of them a promise to spend time with you. Cards of Bing, Dr. Iplier, Bim Trimmer, one ego after the other clattered to the floor as the Mask tossed them aside as if they meant nothing. “One, two…There’s just so many to choose from, and that’s just the start when so many of your lovely fans want to be just like you.”

The last card fell to the ground and the Mask tossed the wallet aside with a laugh that made both of the men shudder.

“Not going to happen,” Mark said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. “What’s it going to take to get rid of you again?”

“Silly. Haven’t you been listening? Only thing we want is to just make everyone happy. Once we’re through, there’ll be so many lovely smiles, so many people who look just like me, like us. That’s why we have to take care of all those people who ruined our fun last time!” The Mask laughed and then tilted its head at an angle your neck shouldn’t have been able to go. “Maybe we can take care of all that pesky unfinished business by the time you join us. Even if we have to make them smile.”

The Mask wearing your face moved for the first time, stepping on the fallen cards as it suddenly broke into a sprint toward Abe, empty eyes trained on his as its smile opened.

Mark called out and winced, hands going to his ringing ears as one shot then two rang out.

“Abe! Abe, put the gun down,” Mark said, and repeated it before prying the weapon out of the Detective’s unresisting hands.

The moment the gun left Abe’s hands he pressed them to his head and slid to the ground, eyes clenched shut as he began to hyperventilate. “No, no, no…”

“No, Abe, look, there’s nothing there,” Mark said. He shook the Detective’s shoulder. “It’s gone, you didn’t—It’s gone.”

Abe opened one watering eye and stared at the empty hall in front of him. There wasn’t even a sign of where his bullets went in the opposite wall, but his ears still rang with the sound of the shot and his hands wouldn’t stop shaking no matter how many times Mark tried to tell him it was okay.

“I could have…” The Detective inhaled, his breath breaking on the words.

“Abe, I can’t stay here,” Mark said. “I have to get to the house, if that wasn’t Y/N…I have to make sure they’re okay, warn the others—”

He stopped and swore, remembering the call. It had already attacked the Host, if it went after the others looking like you—

And then he swore again.

“Dark saw it, he saw it last night, so it can’t be Y/N.” And he would keep telling himself that to keep from thinking about the alternative. He patted himself down and realized his phone was still out in the van.

Abe grabbed his arm as he started to stand and said, “I’m…I’m going with you. Just, just give me a second.”

Mark offered a hand to help the Detective up to his feet, but without a word Abe stood and picked up the wallet the Mask dropped, along with all of the scattered cards. He lagged behind as Mark ran out to the van in the downpour that had really started to come down while he was inside and picked up the phone. In his haste before, he hadn’t ended the call and voices were still talking on the other end.

“Google,” he said.

“You left me,” Google said, accusing.

“Yes, but it was important—”

“I was still speaking, and we registered gunshots on your end—”

“We saw it, we saw that…demon or whatever it is,” Mark interrupted. “It’s gone now, but we think it’s going back to the house. You need to send a warning to the others, now.”

He looked up as Abe got into the passenger seat and the Detective nodded and said, “It said it had unfinished business with the people who stopped it before.”

“I have already initiated the lockdown,” Google answered. “My other units have gathered the egos and are keeping them in their current locations until it is determined to be safe to leave or take other action.”

“What about Y/N? Are you still in the cabin?” Mark asked as he pulled the van out into the street, its windshield wipers struggling to keep up with the rain rushing down in torrents. At this rate, the roads were liable to start flooding.

“We can’t go anywhere,” Dr. Iplier answered. “The Host is in no condition to be moved, and Google can’t make it back to the house in this storm without risking a short circuit. But we left one of the other Googles with Y/N, they’re not alone.”

“Interfacing with other units,” Google said, and there was a beeping sound on the other end of the line. “The storm is interfering with my reception. Please hold.”

In the van, it was silent except for the rain pounding against the roof and the steady rhythm of the wiper blades across the windshield as they waited for what seemed like forever before the android spoke again.

“Red unit is in the studio with Bim Trimmer, Yandereplier, and Eric Derekson. Yellow unit is in the kitchen with Chef Iplier, Silver Shepherd, Ed Edgar—”

“You don’t have to list them all!” Mark shouted at the phone.

There was a pause and then Google said, “Green unit is in the infirmary but not responding. Y/N, Wilford Warfstache, and Darkiplier are currently the only ones unaccounted for.”

“What do you mean, he’s not responding?” Mark said, feeling his foot pressing harder against the accelerator even though he was already going too fast. Beside him, Abe tightened his grip on the handle above the passenger door but said nothing.

“The unit is receiving messages, but has yet to respond. Location indicators place it in the infirmary, and last directives it acknowledged included taking care of Y/N.”

“The Host,” Mark said, desperately. “He’s there, ask him.”

Dr. Iplier answered again, after a long pause. “Mark, the Host is in bad shape. I don’t know what they did to him, but judging by his bandages and his overexertion this morning I suspect he’s in need of a blood transfusion that we can’t give him here. He can barely speak, and even if he could narrate, he’s confused and delirious.”

“What about one of the others, back at the house?” Abe asked. “Can’t you send one of them to check?”

“Lockdown was initiated for a reason,” Google said. “Based on previous data, this so-called ‘Maskiplier’ prioritized infecting those who were alone and vulnerable. Splitting up the others would only put them at risk.”

Alone and vulnerable.

“Dark,” Mark muttered, his voice lost in the sound of the rain. Of course it would show itself to the one person no one would listen to or trust.

He remembered last night, the doubt and whispers and the sense that he hadn’t been alone in the hall and sped up again, his grip so tight on the wheel that his knuckles were turning white.

It could have done something last night, attacked him or Dark like it did the Host. But it chose to mess with their minds instead, and as lightning flashed across the sky Mark realized that it was still playing with them. Why else would it show up at Abe’s house, just when Mark was supposed to arrive? It wanted to taunt Abe into shooting “you”, and it wanted Mark to know exactly what it was doing.

As the others continued to talk and argue about what to do, as thunder shook the van and the rain continued to pour down, Mark stared at the road ahead and kept driving, even though he knew they would never make it to the house in time.

((End of Part 9. Thank you for reading! Google also forgot to account for the many, many squirrels, who are weathering out the storm in the living room and maybe a couple of the bedrooms. The King of the Squirrels was pretty sure no one would mind.

Here’s the link to Part 10: You Look Like Me.

Tagging: @silver-owl413 @skyewardlight @withjust-a-bite @blackaquokat @catgirlwarrior @neverisadork @luna1350 @oh-so-creepy @purpstraw @weirdfoxalley @95fangirl @lilalovesinternet-l @thepoolofthedead @a-bit-dapper @randomartdudette @geekymushroom @cactipresident @hotcocoachia @purple-anxiety-blog @shyinspiredartist @avispate ))

#markiplier #fanfic #angst #wkm actor mark #peebles #wkm y/n #wkm detective #maskiplier #dr. iplier #googliplier #the host #king of the squirrels #dark laughter #Poor Abe was never ready #His gun held so unsteady #What could he do #When it looked like you?

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allaboardtheincubus · 6 years

Note

This Halloween AU is so interesting! Ugh and my heart breaks for Sam :'

((Hi! We are happy to hear that you’re enjoying the AU the muns have set up so far. I hope that you enjoy the following fic below! I apologize if its a bit long, Sam is like one of my favorite boys, and when I get super immersed and into my writing, I tend to drag on for hours and hours. ^^” BUT I managed to stop myself before going too far! So once more, I hope you enjoy~!)) Part 1 of Unchained!Sam: Run Away! Screams of terror filled the entire village as smoke floated up and dissipated into the sky. Everywhere your eyes turned to you were met with the sickening sight of friends and family burning, and it was all the new King’s doing, Matthew. Your area of the Kingdom had refused to accept Matthew as the new Demon Lord, and for that, he ordered his men to burn anyone who opposed him down to the ground. You gritted your teeth tears stinging your eyes and anger wreaking every inch of your body. He did this he killed everyone you loved and cared for…You jumped as a sadistic voice roared over the flames,

“HAHAHA! Kill every single one of them, anyone who doesn’t bow to their rightful ruler doesn’t deserve the obligation to breathe~.” You stumbled back knowing the voice belong to Matthew. You had to get out of here, you had to get out of here! You turned around and broke out into a full on sprint your heart pounding in your chest as images of what Matthew and his men would do to you if they captured you ran through your mind. No, you couldn’t think about that you had to focus on running!

But where would you go? You didn’t want to stay under the rule of a madman who had just so ruthlessly killed those you loved. Your mind suddenly clicked together an idea your eyes lighting up. That’s it, the forest that sat on the edge of your village! You quickly rounded right and ran down an alleyway. The screams of people nearby echoed out causing your teeth to grit and your hands to fly up and cover your ears. You couldn’t stand listening to the noises you needed to get out of here!

You focused back on the road ahead of you seeing that the vast forest was looming tall before you. You were almost there, just had to go a bit-Suddenly you felt a hand grip tightly onto the back of your shirt. A gasp escapes you as you quickly began to thrash about the person behind you calling out that he captured a survivor. You shook your head pleading, “No, please stop! Let me go!” You were cut off for a moment as you heard what sounded like a squeaky evil laugh.

Something small had scurried up your leg and body and jumped onto the face of your captor behind you causing them to lose their grip. You stumbled forward a bit before spinning around seeing a small white squirrel poking a toy knife into the man’s eyes. You blink trying to process the sight you were witnessing before you heard voices call out, “OVER THERE!” More guards and Matthew himself were all heading your way. You scooped down and grabbed the squirrel that saved you before sprinting into the forest without looking back.

Matthew and his men came to a complete stop upon seeing you were running into the forest. Matthew scowled before he snapped his fingers, causing five knives to appear and stab through the person who had grabbed you previously. “Simon, IM GOING TO KILL YOU ONE OF THESE DAYS, YOU HEAR ME YOU RAT!” The men who stood around Matthew stood uneasily one gulping before finding the courage to speak up, “Sh-Should we go after her my lord?” Matthew scoffed turning his back on the forest, “Nah, don’t worry about it…” He smirked chuckling to himself, “I’m sure the beast will finish my dirty work~” He began walking back into the village laughing out loud to himself as his guards followed behind him, relieved that they wouldn’t have to step into the beast’s territory…

The sound of your feet hitting the ground was all that filled your ears, as you tore through the trees. Uneven and harsh breathes wheezed past your lips as your lungs began to burn and beg for more air. You finally came to a stop before your legs buckled from underneath you and fell to your knees. Images of your parents and loved ones screaming for you to escape filled your mind. Your stomach gave a sickening lurch before you threw up out the contents of your stomach.

There you sat the taste of bile lingering in your mouth feeling alone and scared. “I…lost everything…” A weak shaky sob left your lips, as the squirrel who had saved you jumped out of your pocket. Your gazes met as you sniffled smiling weakly, “I…guess I have you. Thank you for saving me.” The squirrel did another squeaky evil laugh in response while you sat back and pulled your legs to your chest. “Do you have a name?” The squirrel nodded its head before stabbing its toy knife into the dirt, slowly carving out the letters S-I-M-O-N into the soil.

You laughed gently, “Simon? You’re quite the smart squirrel. It’s nice to meet you! My name is Y/N.” The happy glow in your face quickly fleeted however as you returned to wondering what would become of you now. You couldn’t just sit here forever feeling sorry for yourself. As much as you hated to admit it, you knew you couldn’t do anything now to change what had happened. All you could do was keep pressing forward and fight to avenge your village.

Releasing a deep breath you slowly stood up to your feet, “Let’s go, Simon, we have to keep moving.” The squirrel gave you a look of concern but climbed back up into your pocket before you began to walk deeper into the forest. You have heard countless stories and rumors about this place. No one would dare step foot in it ever since rumors of a bloodthirsty beast started up. At first, you didn’t believe in the rumors seeing them as far-fetched. But then mighty roars had begun to erupt from within the forest every day quieting all skeptics.

You had received countless warnings to never enter the forest. They had felt that the beast was a dangerous creature just looking to tear into its next victim, but you felt it was nothing to be afraid of. Whenever it roared it sounded more hurt and lonely than it did dangerous to you…You wonder if you would run into the beast while you were here. That thought didn’t linger long however as the sound of wolves suddenly erupted across the air. The hairs on the back of your neck standing on end as you realized their calls were steadily coming closer and closer to you.

Once more you began to sprint as fast as you could the wolves quickly gaining on you. “Shit, shit, shit!” You cussed and came to a stop realizing that running wasn’t going to work. You quickly look left and right before your sights landed on a thick branch that lay upon the ground. You picked it up and held it defensively as the pack of wolves surrounded you. Your heart thumped fast in your chest, and your breathing turned sporadic in fear. “STAY BACK!” You screamed before you swung your club at a wolf getting close. You landed a hit right across its head, causing it to whimper and fall back.

You kept the branch clutched tightly as you step by step attempted to back away from the wolves. Each one snarled and snapped its teeth threateningly towards you. This was it, you weren’t going to make it out of this! You were going to die! One of the wolves finally grew impatient and pounced towards you, your reflexes helping you instantly swing towards the wolf. However, it was prepared this time and caught the stick in its teeth.

A scream ripped through your throat as you tried to pull the stick out of its mouth. It only resulted in you losing your grip and your balance however as your head went hurling towards a big rock on the ground. You felt a harsh jolt of pain, and then sudden darkness clouded your vision…

Patience. That was the first rule the beast had to learn when it came to hunting. Sure it had the power to easily just overtake the prey and tear into it. However, prey was much more fun to ingest when it spent a couple days stalking it and finding the perfect moment to strike. This particular prey the beast had been hunting for a few days now, and it grew quickly bored with following it. So it slowly began to crawl closer and closer towards the oblivious, pathetic creature.

Its tongue slipped out of its mouth and swiped across its lips in hunger before he snarled showing his sharp teeth. Just before it could pounce however an earth-shattering scream tore through the air. The beast flinched and blinked a couple times the glow in his eyes disappearing along with the prey. “God DAMN IT!” The former incubus roared and punched his fist into the ground before he stood up to his full height.

He flicked his head towards the direction where he had heard the scream come from and snarled, “Oh, whoever screamed is a dead man….” He swore to himself before he sprinted quickly towards the source of the scream, his super speed making it hardly take any time at all.

When he had reached the area he was met with a pack of six wolves advancing on a woman who was unconscious on the ground. He wasted no time as he released a growl and stepped out, “You fuckers ruined my dinner for the night! Now I’m going to have to settle for eating all of you instead!” He cracked his knuckles as the six wolves turned and faced him releasing howls into the distance before the seven animals broke out into a fight.

It didn’t take long for the beast to maul down every single wolf, not leaving a single one alive. He stood in his spot for a moment as soft pants left his lips, and fresh blood ran down his arm. He slowly turned his gaze back on the unconscious female, his bloodied hand reaching up to run through his brown locks of hair. He sighed deeply and raised his brow, “Now what the hell do I do with her…? …Is she even alive?” He crouched down beside the female and held a finger under her nose.

He groaned annoyed rolling his eyes when he felt air hit his skin, “Great, she’s still breathing…That doesn’t help me any.” He jumped slightly as an evil laugh filled the air. A white squirrel stood on top of the females chest and stared at Sam. He blinked and eyed the squirrel down, “Don’t I…know you from somewhere?” He questioned before scoffing as he scratched the back of his neck, “No Sam, couldn’t be…You’re just going even more fucking nuts.”

His gaze turned back on the face of the female as he continued to contemplate what to do with her. “Guess I could always just throw her into a ditch.” He snickered to himself before suddenly feeling something stab his leg. “OW!” He exclaimed and looked down to see the squirrel stabbing him. “Hey, cut it out-” He began to say before his orbs lit up, “Wait…SIMON!?” The squirrel released its signature laugh the male feeling memories of the human world come flooding back to him. His eyes filled with near tears, “S-Simon…” He quickly blinked the tears away, however, and shook his head.

“What are you doing here?” He quickly snarled as he turned cold once more. “That fucking pipsqueak send you here to spy on me?” He snapped raising a brow. Simon replied with a shake of his head before he pointed at the female he stood on. “Huh? Spare her? No, why the hell would I go and do something like that?” He questioned Simon only giving him a pleading look in return. He groaned loudly and stood from his previous crouched position. “Fine, but only because I don’t really feel like killing a girl today!” He grumbled before he picked the female off the ground and walked off.

#all-aboard-the-incuBUS #allaboardtheincubus #halloween event #unchained monster #Seduce me otome #Seduce me the Otome #Seduce Me Incubus #Seduce Me Otome Sam #Seduce Me Otome Matthew #sardonic-at-heart

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sammy-moo · 6 years

Text

Growing Family

Characters: Sam x Reader, Dean x Kate (OFC), John x Mary, Kenton (OMC)

Prompt: Opening Gifts

Words: 1,176

Warnings: It’s the most, fluffiest time of the year

A/N: Sorry this is late. Busy and going back to a previous statement of I suck. This is day 12 for @thing-you-do-with-that-thing and @like-a-bag-of-potatoes 12 days of Christmas challenge!

December was always a crazy month with buying gifts and keeping them a secret, but it had been even harder this year with a baby on the way. You were six months swollen with your first child, which left you a nervous and excited wreck.

You and Sam were buckled in the car driving to his brothers to spend Christmas. Presents were piled in the back seat while a few small ones took the space in your lap. Stress still seemed to weigh you down as you feared everyone’s reactions to their gifts. You began feeling one of the gifts in your lap, making sure the feel of it matched the name.

Sam’s hazel eyes darted towards you upon hearing the rustling, “What are you doing?”

You looked towards your husband as he focused on the road, stealing glances every now and then while he waited for your answer. “I just hope that I put the right names on these.”

Sam chuckled, “I’m sure you did. And if you didn’t we can always correct it later.”

A sigh left you as you glanced back down to the gift with Sam’s name, “I hope so….”

Sam’s brows furrowed as he stole another glance, “Hey don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s something we can fix alright?”

You nodded and turned your attention to the window, watching as the snow covered rooftops passed by.

A snowman decorated Dean and Kathleen’s front yard. You knew their son Kenton had to have made it with the help from his dad. It brought a smile to your face as Sam pulled the car into the driveway, John and Mary’s car already parked in front of your’s.

When you unbuckled, Sam practically lept from the car and hurried to your side. He opened the door and helped you out, holding your hands gently until you were fully standing.

“Don’t worry about the gifts. Let’s just get you inside okay?”

“I can help--”

“Please? I’d rather you not slip and fall.”

You sighed, knowing that if you tried to argue with your husband it would only end in him winning.

You made your way into the house, an aroma of food hitting you in the face as you walked into the living room. Kate met you with a warm smile.

“Dean, Sam and Y/N are here!”

Dean smiled as he rounded the corner from the hallway, pulling his coat on, “I’ll go help with the gifts.”

Kenton ran after him, “I’m gonna help too!”

You laughed as the five year old hurried out.

Mary and John ventured out from the kitchen to give you a hug; Mary complimenting how beautiful you looked.

You smiled as you thanked her, hanging your coat up and finding the tree glittering with lights and ornaments. It was surrounded by a mountain of gifts.

“Man that’s a lot of gifts. And Santa already came?”

Kate laughed, “Yeah it would’ve been worse had Kenton not opened his from Santa this morning. He’s really excited for you and Sam to see what he picked out though.”

Sam smiled as he came in with Dean and Kenton, gifts in their arms as they set them down near the tree.

“It smells amazing in here.”

“That’s because Mom and Kate have been slaving away in the kitchen,” informed Dean as he came to wrap an around around Kate.

Kate’s eyes widened as hurried towards the kitchen with Mary to finish cooking and check on food.

Kenton stared at you with wide green eyes, taking notice of a small gift in your hand that they missed. “I’ll put that one under the tree for you Aunt Y/N! I know it’s hard for you to bend down since you’ve got a baby in there. At least that’s what Mommy said.”

You chuckled and handed it to him, “Why thank you sweetheart, but it’s not too difficult yet.”

Kenton snatched the gift and frowned when he saw it was to Sam, turning his excited expression back towards you, “When is she gonna be here anyways? I want someone to play with.”

Sam laughed and rustled his dark blond hair, “Well it’ll be awhile before you and your cousin can play together. She’ll be too little for that.”

Kenton whined and placed the present under the tree before falling to the couch face first, “This isn’t fair! I already have to wait a year for her to get here! Now a bajillion more!?”

“Just two,” you corrected through a small laugh.

“Two is too long! Can’t she just come out now and be my age!”

“If I deliver a five year old I’m questioning life and what drugs they gave me….”

John chuckled as he sat down with his coffee and bailey’s, “Considering how tall Sam is, you might deliver what looks like a five year old.”

“Hey,” Sam defended.

“And with all that hair too? Man you are in for a fun one,” he teased.

Sam groaned and shook his head as he took a seat, “Very funny.”

You chuckled and shuffled for the kitchen, “Want anything Sam?” He shook his head and you went into the kitchen.

“Food is almost done if you want to set the table.”

Soon everyone was done eating and piled into the living room, taking places on the chairs and couch while Kenton took the floor.

Kenton decided to pass out presents, tearing through his in a flash and screaming over some of his toys. He didn’t seem to pay any mind to everyone else as he was focused elsewhere.

You and Sam opened many gifts for the baby, and some for the two of you as well. Mary and John had gifted you with candles and gift cards, while Kate and Dean got stuff to pamper yourself with. Sam had gotten you a few decor items that you had been eying for a while.

Sam opened his to find new stuff for his office and things to relax and wind down with. Then he grabbed the gift from you. His fingers danced around the box, pulling wrapping paper away until he was left with the white, rectangular box concealing his gift. He pried the top away to find a collar sitting inside with a tag that read Milo. His brows knitted together as he looked up to you, sitting next to him.

“What’s this?”

You smiled warmly, “It’s the dog that I adopted. I know how you love dogs and I thought it was time. I know we have our daughter on the way, but he’s very well behaved.”

Sam’s eyes glistened as he pulled you into a hug, gently kissing your lips, “Thank you….”

“It’ll be our happy little family.”

“When can we get him?”

“Well, he’s currently at your parents so that’s up to them.”

John smiled, “You can get him on the way home.”

And later on that night, you and Sam drove home with a trunk full of gifts, a golden retriever in the back seat, and your hands intertwined on the middle console.

Tagging: @sleepywinchester, @hay-yo-its-jo, @timeforsmut, @goldenangelbloodcastiel, @because-imma-lady-assface, @growningupgeek, @abbessolute, @keelzy2, @wideawakeandwriting, @super-not-naturall, @babypieandwhiskey, @wi-deangirl77, @ilsawasanacrobat, @becs-bunker, @inlovewithbja, @squirrel--moose--giraffe, @mistressofallthingsgeeky, @theoutlinez, @samwinjarpad

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kevins-meth-bag · 7 years

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I finished the script, now to put this in a play

In early spring, three kids walk out of their pig shack and began picking corn out from their family farm. One of the three kids,willie hopped into the corn bushes to play hide in seek with his two siblings. The two other children though did not know willie was playing hide n' go seek so willie waited and waited hours, days, weeks, soon enough time started to lose meaning.Willie wandered through the corn bushes,and came across a very very very old man with giant hands named cameron. The boy since then has lost sanity ,he didn't know right from wrong, he hadn't had meat in such a long time, this is his time to attack, to feed, to grow, to destroy .Willie launched at cameron and bit into his flesh,the man screeched like goat, the man wasn't cameron cuntbell the man was a man named flof who has curly red hair who had noodle arms like no other. Flof and Willie died because 5 minutes before this a plane was flying in the sky not a huge one just a toy plane but it still was able to kill them because it smashed into some cattle, those cattle ran into a bolder, that bolder ran into a cactus farm and the cactus farm fling a cactus onto a hay bale that was stacked to high and made it fall onto them. Flof was dead and so was willie but there was a way to bring them back,their dream selves were still alive. But for them to come alive they would need to possess a body and and sacifice 100 children before their corpse rots and becomes unusable, if that were to happen the people they where possess will revert back to their original state of being and time would reset for everything except for the bodies, also the bodies can't be seen, felt, heard smelled, or any kind of sense to find them. A person from the heavens was sent to sacrifice the children with a secret cult-aid,as flof was a very important piece of the puzzle of life with his noodle arms. But for the fact that he was already dead the world, no the universe was falling apart and they had not time to waste, even if time were to reset it didn't matter because the universe is bigger than time. The angel was named fluf and looked very close to flof but with all white features,the angel went down near the dead body of a tree. The tree slowly healed like though a magic force feeding it energy, but as that was happening the angel was slowing losing its power as if something was eating it, the tree was not a tree but a demon was was cursed into that spot waiting for a force with enough energy and power to be able to free him, he was feeding of squirrels and birds before and no human would ever go near it, but now was the demons chance with its little power it stole and stole the angels power until the angels got drier and smaller, than the angles turned into grass, for angels can't die but be trapped to never escape, unless it turned to the dark side but if it were to do that it would also become such a demon and then demon would have won no matter what, The demon had a new chance, a new chance a revenge that his, he would go around and kill all the children he can a steal their souls because only children souls with their purity can give the demon enough power to escape this dieing universe and go into his own new universe with hookers and blackjack.

Reed:Oh boy i really miss willie

Timmy:It has been 5 years reed,get over it

Reed sighed and walked off into the corn bushes to get some corn for dinner.

Jim the pig: Oink Oink Oink

Reed: what is it boy

Jim starts running in circles

Timmy: Damn pigs I think it's time to put him down

Reed smacks Timmy in the back of the head

Timmy: What?! You know it’s true

Reed: Shut up you idiot and check your phone to see what's wrong

Timmy looks it up

Reed: So what does it say

Timmy: I can’t get any service

Reed: How? Where right next to it

Timmy: Maybe it's busted down or maybe my phone is just broken, it's a old phone

Reed: I’ll check the tv, their a chance, even if small, that it can explain what's going on

Reed goes to the tv and turns it on

Reed: That's weird

Timmy: What?

Reed: It's not working

Timmy: Damn it, that's just bad luck

Reed goes to the door to ask the neighbors, 1 miles from here if their internet works

Reed:The doors stuck

Timmy: Pull the door

Reed: I am

Timmy: Let me try then

Reed back away as Timmy tries to open the door, what the heck

A voice is sounded as the door got knocked on

???:Knock knock,children

It was the tree demon who came to life,the kids felt chills go down their spine as they were paralyzed in place.The tree demon hummed a little tune before opening the door

TD:“Ready or not here i come~”

The kids shook in fear as a sudden plant poked out of the ground

TD:“Ugh not again stupid angel”

The demon stomped up to the plant and kicked it over

TD: Just stop already angel, you already lost

Reed:Timmy quickly while he's looking away get the axe from the closest

Timmy: …

Reed: TIMMY QUICKLY!!!!

Timmy drops to the floor

The demon smirks

TD: come on, an axe won’t work on me, but it’s not like you're gonna get a chance to even try now

A axe hit the demon in the back and the demon falls over

TD: What?! How?!

Behind the demon was a random man with a slightly glowing axe, handle made out of mahogany, and the sharp part made out of steel with a hit of the angel plant from early

Random Guy: Brothers it’s so good to see you guys again

Reed: Do I know you?

Random Guy: It's me willie

Reed: How, we thought you died 5 years ago

Willie: No i was surviving on corn until recently were I tried to eat a old man, I must have gone a little crazy

Reed: But you don’t look at all like you used to

Willie: I had to possess some ones body to try to come back to life

Reed: Where did you go Willie

Willie: What do you mean? I was playing hide n’ go seek

Reed: By yourself

Willie: No with you guys

Reed: You have to tell use first, you can’t just hide without our knowledge

Willie: Now I feel like an idiot

The demon grabs Timmy by the leg and drains him from all of his lifeforce

TD: HaHaHaha…

The demon stops, it is dead, the demon had too much energy for his body to contain, not even the “immortal” demon can handle it

Willie grieves his losses and then walks out the door

While Willie is walking for the closest place with the most kids he thinks to himself

Willie: It said if I don’t kill them time will reset but i’ll die, but if I come back to life will time reset or will all these death be on my guilt. Why would I want to live after that, this guilt, this pain that i’ll go though I don’t think anything is worth that. Maybe I should stop.

Then a thought goes in his mind

Willie: But if time resets then the demon will be alive and that wound I give him won't weakened him and he might adapt to the power.

No matter the choice it is bad

I gotta kill the children

After that days have passed

Willie has been been pretending to be a clown and going to birthday parties, a lot harder job now that clowns are scary

But at night he set up a little club and put fliers everywhere so that they could join his club or I should say clubs since he set up all different kinds of clubs. Sadly people learn stuff from the internet nowadays so it's not that easy to kill children. And now pesky people are looking for him, trying to find the murder of all traits.

Over the next few days he's given up on trying to hide his murdering, even time he sees a lot of kids he murders them. Which has been working in his favor because the people there don’t know the difference of a homicide and a suicide.Time and time again until he reached the big 100. He reverted back to his body. He went back home and watched tv where the guy who he possessed was sentenced death right away.

Willie: this was not an easy task to do

Reed was not their nor was Jim

Willie was by himself

He lost himself while he wa in the corn field.

And life will never be the same

End

#Kevin-meth-bag

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sheps-shepherd · 7 years

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Title: Intuition

Rating: G

Pairing: None (but lots of brotherly AschLuke and Guy being a good friend)

A/N: And here we go! This year’s Lorelei Day spectacular, featuring the return of what I’ve been lovingly referring to as the Brothers AU. I was originally going to write some sort of sequel to Traditions - last year’s story - but I decided to take the baby route this year in honor of my new nephew being born yesterday! I’ve had baby on the brain ever since. Enjoy!

[Modern AU/Canon Divergence]

Dedicated to Baby Ayden! <3

It was a beautiful night to be awake at two in the morning. The sky was a rich inky black, with faint purple puddles of wispy clouds streaking out overhead. Small dots of twinkling stars were scattered throughout the mass, like sprinkles atop a black frosted cake. A perfectly round full moon completed the picture. A spot of bright white in the sea of darkness. And it was quiet. Practically silent, save for the occasional chime of a cricket or rustle of leaves as the wind whistled by.

Guy took his key from the ignition, tipped his head back, and yawned for all he was worth. His eyes watered from the strength of it. What he wouldn’t give to be back in his apartment, cocooned warmly in his blanket, fast asleep in his bed like he had been just twenty minutes before. He glanced up at the house standing in front of him, the only house on the block with windows tinted orange with light, and sighed heavily. Surely he wasn’t the only one thinking along those lines. Rubbing his hand over his face, Guy clambered out of his car and headed up the driveway.

The door was unlocked, just like he’d been promised. Guy stepped inside, wincing as the sound of a crying child assaulted his ears, a sharp contrast to the previous tranquility of the front yard. He was in the middle of shedding his shoes and hoodie when he caught a movement at the edge of his vision and lifted his head. Asch was standing at the top of the steps, his black nightshirt hanging off of one shoulder and his crimson hair mussed from what clearly was not sleep. The boy’s emerald eyes were hazy and his lips were pulled tight. He looked as tired as Guy felt.

“How long has he been up?” Asch sucked in a large breath, held it, and let it whoosh back out of his lungs.

“Too long.” He turned sharply and stalked back down the hallway from which he’d come. Guy climbed the staircase and followed behind him. The crying became louder and stronger as he walked, and he wondered just what had little Luke in such distress.

Luke was a good baby – or at least, as good as a four month old infant could be. He ate most of his food when he was fed. He didn’t fuss much. It wasn’t hard to put him to sleep. And while he cried his fair share, just like all babies did, he was easily appeased and quieted back down after being given what he wanted. So why the younger Fabre child was awake and crying at such an early hour was beyond him. Guy was actually surprised Asch had even called him. He was by far the best at dealing with Luke, potentially better than their mother even. It was normally no problem for the redheaded boy to figure out what was upsetting his little brother and taking care of it. Guy hoped nothing was seriously wrong; he didn’t want to be the one making a phone call to Suzanne at two in the morning and explaining why he and her sons were currently at the hospital.

Guy poked his head into the nursery. Luke’s room was painted a soft blue, with a white stripe on the wall behind his crib where his name had been carefully spelled out. Stickers of white trees decorated the remaining empty space on the other three walls. More stickers were used for splashes of color: red, green, and yellow birds sitting in the branches of the trees. There was a wooden dresser doused in white to match the room and complimentary shelves filled with small toys and framed photos. A mobile hung over the crib from the ceiling; a ring of birds, squirrels, fawns, and leaves that spun in a slow circle to the clicks of a child’s lullaby. The tune was inaudible tonight. Guy only knew it was on because he could see the animals “running through the leaves” above the child’s mattress. Asch was standing at the crib, peering down at his baby brother as he wailed.

“How long has he been up?” Guy asked again, stepping into the room. The redhead glanced over his shoulder at the clock on the wall behind him.

“Two hours. I heard him start around midnight.”

Luke was apparently not pleased that his older brother’s attention had shifted to something that wasn’t him. He wailed out again, and Guy could see his feet pounding the air through the thick bars of the crib.

“You tried feeding him?”

“Yes.”

“And changing him?”

“Yes.”

“Did you try giving him his pacifier–?”

“Yes!” Asch suddenly whirled to face him, cheeks pink. “Do you really think I would have called you if I hadn’t already tried all that? I don’t know what else to try!”

He was screaming. Guy was pretty sure it was frustration gradually leaking out of him and not an attempt to be heard over the also-screaming baby. Asch’s shouting most likely wasn’t helping much, and was instead only serving to terrify the infant and cause him to cry harder. Guy kept this thought to himself. “I fed him, I burped him, I changed his stupid diaper twice! I tried giving him his pacifier but he won’t keep it in his mouth, he won’t pay attention to his rattle and he won’t stop crying!”

A particularly loud burst erupted from Luke. Asch groaned and clamped his hands over his ears, head bowing so his chin touched his chest in defeat. Guy could see all the signs of an exhausted ten year old boy, who was tired and desperate for sleep and whose last desire was to be up at two in the morning taking care of his pain-in-the-butt baby brother. Asch looked like a college student who was up all night studying for an exam early the next morning, when he should have been looking more like a well-rested fifth grader.

The blonde stepped forward and placed his hands on Asch’s shoulders. “Okay, just calm down. You freaking out is making him freak out more, so take a deep breath, and relax.” Asch huffed, still annoyed and frustrated, but obeyed and inflated his chest with air. He repeated his actions from earlier: hold the breath and let it out slowly, the air forcing its way through his half parted lips and emitting a faint whistling sound. Guy gave his shoulders a rub. He could feel the muscles hidden beneath his fingers tense and contract whenever Luke released a howling reminder of his unhappiness. Crouching down to the older redhead’s level, he asked, “When did you feed him last?”

“Almost two hours ago,” Asch offered, more mindful of his volume this time. “I fed him before he fell asleep, so when he woke up crying I thought he was hungry. He drank about half of his bottle.”

“And you remembered to burp him, you said?” An affirmative nod. “All right, and you changed him twice?”

“After he finished eating and before I called you.” Asch found something interesting on the wall to his left and shifted his attention there. “…I didn’t know what else to do. I thought it would make him stop crying.”

“You did fine.” Guy patted the boy’s shoulders a few times before straightening his legs and heading over to the crib. He peered down at the wailing infant inside. Luke had his little hands stretched above his head, fingers closing and opening repeatedly. His feet, tucked warmly away in little red booties, were flailing and kicking, pounding against the mattress and tangling the blanket around his small legs. The baby’s cheeks were as red as his tuft of hair, and his big green eyes were shining with tears. A pale green pacifier and a matching rattle had been shoved into the corner of the crib above Luke’s grabbing hands. When Guy placed the rattle into his hold, however, Luke only offered another scream and dropped it.

“Tried that,” Asch muttered as he padded up to the crib and stood beside the blonde. “He doesn’t want to play with it, and he keeps spitting out his pacifier. I even tried holding it to his mouth to get him to keep it in, but he just cried around it.” The redhead sighed, crossing his arms and leaning against the edge of the crib. “What do you want, Luke?” More crying. More grabby hands. “What, do you want Mother? Mother’s gone. She left with Father and they won’t be back until tomorrow, so you might as well stop crying about it!” He was all but snarling towards the end, and Asch turned away, retreating back to the center of the room. Guy left him alone, knowing that his parents’ frequent leaves for business trips upset Asch more than he would ever admit. The blonde was pretty sure it was Asch himself who truly wanted their mother home.

As the boy walked away, Luke emitted another blood curdling screech. He raised his hands straight upwards, fingers nabbing desperately at the air above him, tears overfilling his eyes and cascading down his cheeks. Guy blinked, and then smiled as he realized just what Luke was so unhappy about.

“You silly little kid.” He undid the latches on the side of the crib and lowered the guard down. He made sure it clicked into place at the bottom before reaching inside. “All right, c’mere, Luke.” The infant’s wandering hands instantly latched onto the cuffs of Guy’s sleeves as he bundled the redheaded child into his arms and lifted him from his wooden prison. Almost immediately, the wails quieted down to sniffles and whimpers. “There you go. All better now, hmm?” Guy turned to face Asch, who was watching the scene wide eyed. He smiled. “He just wanted to be picked up is all.” Asch’s face flushed red, embarrassed that he hadn’t thought of such a simple solution.

“Maybe he just wanted you,” he mumbled bitterly, no doubt nursing a now bruised brotherly ego. “Maybe he was just being as loud and annoying as possible knowing I would call you eventually.”

Guy gazed down at the baby nestled in his elbow. While much calmer, Luke was not yet appeased; tears still ran down his face and his fingers were going haywire, grabbing once more at something that wasn’t there. Or, more accurately, grabbing towards something he wanted.

“Actually, I think you’re the one he wants.”

Asch blinked owlishly. “Me?”

Guy crossed the room to where the redhead stood and bent forward a bit, offering to hand the infant over. Asch hesitated for only a moment before he held his arms out and allowed the blonde to place his younger sibling into his hold. As Asch brought him close to his chest, Luke finally stopped his feeble noises. His big green eyes stared up into those of his older brother. The tears were turned off. His little hand reached up and caught hold of Asch’s shirt, clinging to it tightly. He inhaled deeply, and the two older occupants of the room watched the little body give a slight tremor as the child then exhaled what was presumably the remains of his sour mood. The nursery was almost unnervingly silent now that the crying had stopped. Watching the siblings fondly, Guy smiled and said, “He just wanted his big brother to hold him.”

The older sibling lifted a finger, and gently wiped at the baby’s cheeks, clearing his pinkened skin of moisture. Luke gave a soft coo of acceptance. Asch looked up incredulously. “You mean, babies know that kind of stuff?”

“Of course they do.” Guy chuckled. “He knows you’re his older brother, Asch. He knows who you are. He loves you. He wanted you to love him back.”

The boy’s gaze went back to his little sibling, still tenderly stroking his cheek with the tip of his finger. “…Idiot. Just cause I’m not holding you, doesn’t mean I don’t love you, okay?” Luke raised a chubby hand and grabbed Asch’s finger in a small fist. He offered a quiet cooing noise, but other than that paid the statement little mind. He recognized his big brother’s voice, and that was good enough for him.

“Something might have scared him when he woke up,” Guy suggested as he watched the siblings. “You should probably wait until he falls asleep again before you try putting him back in his crib. In case he gets scared again.”

“Yeah, I will.” Asch looked up at the blonde, and again Guy couldn’t help but notice how exhausted he looked. “…Sorry I called you for something so stupid. I should’ve thought to just pick him up.” Guy reached out and settled his hand atop Asch’s head.

“Don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t have told you ‘call me any time’ if I hadn’t meant it. But.” He crouched down so he was eye level with the redhead. “While I’m old enough to be up at two in the morning and still be all right, you’re not. So after Luke falls asleep, you better get back to bed yourself. Even if you don’t have school tomorrow, you need rest. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Guy smiled, ruffled the boy’s fluffy mess of crimson hair, and stood up. “I’ll let myself out. Stay here with him. Is the spare key where it normally is?” Asch nodded confirmation. “I’ll lock it behind me then. Night, Asch.” He gave Luke’s forehead an affectionate rub with the pad of his thumb. The baby blinked, pausing in his tugging of Asch’s finger, and craned his head back to try and see the culprit. Guy smoothed down the tuft of hair on his head. “Night, Luke.”

“Goodnight, Guy.” The blonde gave Asch a pat on the shoulder before turning and making his way out of the nursery.

Asch watched Guy’s silhouette disappear from the room, watched his shadow bop along the wall until that too disappeared from his sight. He listened as sock-covered feet padded on the wood flooring, the steady sound suddenly halting just moments before the hallway was shrouded in darkness. More footsteps, and then a clicking sound as the living room light was shut off as well. The creaking of the stairs, the scuffling of shoes on the landing, and finally the front door opening and shutting.

He waited until he heard the sound of the lock sliding home before he finally moved. Still carrying Luke, Asch walked back out to the living room, moving to stand in front of the large windows that opened up a view of the yard. He could see the driveway, could see Guy trudging down it to where his car was parked at the bottom. The house was quiet and still and dark. A soft buzz echoed through his head and fizzled in his ears, his auditory senses still not quite caught up with the fact that there was no longer any screaming to be heard. Luke was tucked in his arms, pleased and pacified, entertaining himself with gnawing on his fingers. Asch reached up and gently pulled the tiny hand away from the equally tiny mouth. He let Luke revert back to holding onto his finger, unfazed by the warm feeling of saliva beginning to coat his skin.

Guy had reached his car and climbed into the driver’s seat. Asch heard the hum of the engine starting, saw the headlights light up orange. The blonde peered through the windshield and met his gaze. He waved with a smile. Asch didn’t have a free hand to wave back, but he kept his gaze trained on the figure of his friend as the car backed out of the driveway. Seconds later, the outside of the house was just as dark as the inside, and just as quiet, too.

Asch stood at the window for a while longer, staring out at the empty street, rhythmically rocking the infant in his arms. He felt the grip around his finger loosen and pulled free, positioning Luke’s little hand on his stomach. His brother’s willingness to comply let Asch know he was getting tired once more. “I’m sorry for not seeing that you were scared,” he said, voice silky soft so he wouldn’t startle the child. “I’ll remember for next time, as long as you promise not to scream so loud.” Luke’s eyes fluttered sleepily, his head lolling against Asch’s chest as he melted into the warmth of his big brother’s body. Asch adjusted his hold. “C’mon. Let’s go back to bed.”

He carried his brother back down the hallway and into the nursery, where the gate of the crib was still down. Asch went to place his brother inside, then stopped himself. What had even scared Luke in the first place? What if whatever it was scared him again? He glanced down at the bundle in his arms; Luke was staring back up at him, eyes glazed with drowsiness. “…All right.” Asch straightened up and settled his baby sibling back in place. “Father doesn’t have to know.” He left the nursery, turning the nightlight off with his foot as he passed it.

Luke was fast asleep in his arms by the time Asch walked back into his bedroom. The blankets on his mattress were spilling halfway to the floor, kicked aside in his rush to get down the hall when he’d first heard Luke start crying. Balancing his baby brother carefully against one shoulder, he crouched down and gathered up the fallen covers, throwing them back onto the mattress. Luke snuffled into the crook of Asch’s neck, but didn’t wake up.

The first time Asch had slept with Luke in his bed, he’d been terrified. Terrified that Luke would roll over or shift somehow and fall off the bed. Terrified that he’d roll over and end up accidentally crushing his younger sibling without even realizing it. But nothing had ever happened. Luke always stayed relatively still when sleeping, and somehow Asch did too. He was convinced that being around babies brought out some kind of hidden intuition in people that helped them do things like not roll over in their sleep and crush the baby next to them.

Asch knew how this worked. He set Luke, still wrapped in his blanket, down in the middle of the bed. He grabbed the throw-pillows from under his bed – where he stored them at night when he didn’t need them – and used them to form a wall around his little brother. That done, Asch climbed in himself, careful not to dip the mattress too close to the infant and disturb his slumber. He pulled the blankets back up, only as high as Luke’s chin so his face wouldn’t be covered in his sleep. Luke turned his head to the other side and fit his tiny fist into his mouth, still sound asleep. Watching him made Asch smile.

“You know,” he murmured, reaching out to gently set his hand on the baby’s stomach. “I think I’m getting the hang of this ‘big brother’ thing.”

Luke was silent. Asch pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

He still had some learning to do, but he would get there. Someday, he would be the best big brother ever.

“I promise.”

#talesoffanfic #tales of the abyss #luke fon fabre #asch the bloody #guy cecil #gailardia galan gardios #brothers au #aschluke #aschguyluke

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heathenarmyimagines · 6 years

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Title: The One He Chose

Summary: Ivar gets better acquainted with his bride to be.

Pairing: Ivar x Reader

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Part One

Your loud pleading cries eventually dies down to sorrowful sobs as you were lead through the woods to the Heathen camp.

‘Please...my Christian brothers I beg of you to let me go.’ you begged your voice sore from your previous cries.

While neither had stopped pulling you forward the one on your left at least had the decency to respond to you.

‘We are sorry Sister (Y/N), but if it is either you or one of our wives or daughters then we have made our choice. May God have mercy on us for it, but if protecting our families is sinful then I will sin for as long as there is life in me.’ he said.

‘There is no sin in protecting family, but handing over a fellow Christian to a hoard of Heathens is not holy.’ you tried.

This time the man didn’t reply, only kept his eyes forward, he would not let you persuade him; and the other had still yet to say a single word.

As the tents and came into view you lost your last bit of hope of getting away.

There were large animal pins in the center of the large field surrounded by tents and other things you had never seen before.

As you looked around the camp the soldiers lead you to a tent closest to the woods.

‘Get in, and stay put.’ the silent one finally spoke as he pushed you inside so hard that you fell to your knees.

You knew already they would be guarding the tent to make sure you didn’t escape, not that you really could anyway. You had no clue how to get back to your kingdom and you couldn’t outrun those men if you tried.

So all you could do was sit on the ground and pray.

You prayed for your Lord’s mercy and asked him for the strength to survive this horrible fate; but mostly you asked why.

Why had you been the one chosen to sacrifice? Why had this been your fate and what had you done to deserve such a thing?

You lived only to serve your God and your church. You were not sinful and you lived as godly as you possibly could; you were a good nun.

Soon you realized you were crying as you clutched onto your cross, unsure when you had stopped praying and began crying. You weren’t even sure how long it had been.

You figured it must have been very late since you soon heard the return of the army returning; loud and drunk.

They were cheering, or so it seemed to you, you didn’t speak a word of their language. They could be cheering about killing you right now and you were clueless.

You were snapped out of your own head by the sound of someone getting closer to the tent.

Filled with the strongest fear you’ve ever felt you scrambled to crouch in hid in the darkest corner furthest away from the entrance.

‘Is she in there?’ you heard Ivar’s voice.

‘She made no attempt to escape.’ one of the soldiers replied.

‘Well that’s too bad, I was looking forward to killing you both had you failed.’ Ivar laughed loudly.

The soldiers didn’t respond to that, not that you could blame them, they were probably making the same horrified and disturbed face as you.

You held your breath as you watched Ivar open the tent entrance and crawl in.

His eyes searched the tent for you and by some miracle it appeared he didn’t notice you.

After a second he chuckled.

‘It seems I will be killing you after all.’ he mumbled before he started to yell, no doubt calling the others to kill the two soldiers.

In a second you watched a large group of viking men begin to pull the two Christians away from the tent.

‘WAIT!’ you shouted, jumping from your hiding place.

You ran right past Ivar who was sitting on the ground at the entrance as you hurried to try and stop the Heathens from killing the soldiers.

‘I’M HERE! I’M HERE! PLEASE STOP!’ you yelled running after the large group.

The men all stop and turn to look at you, making you the center of attention for the second time that day.

‘Please...stop.’ you said slowly, praying they would understand.

Ivar’s smooth voice came from behind and the warriors all groaned in annoyance as they let go of your fellow Christians.;

You sent the men a cautious look as you moved closer to the soldiers who had been thrown onto the ground like abandoned toys.

‘Are you hurt?’ you asked as you kneeled beside them.

‘They are fine, the question is will you be.’ Ivar said from where he was sitting just outside the tent.

You looked at him nervously.

‘Do you want me to let them go?’ he asked with his eyebrows raised in teasing.

Yes! You wanted him to let these men go, you wanted to be let go as well. However; just before you went to voice your answer you remembered how you ended up here.

A look at Ivar’s challenging face confirm your suspicions, this was a game, he wanted you to choose if these men lived or died.

He wanted you to gamble with these men's lives at stake.

If you said you wanted them to live then he’d kill him for sure, but what if you said kill him and called your bluff? You had to make a decision.

‘No...kill them.’ you said as you stood and took a few steps back.

‘Kill them, why?’ Ivar asked with a smirk.

‘They practically delivered me to my personal hell on earth, so why should I spare their lives when they didn’t spare mine.’ you said as convincingly as you could.

Ivar watched you for a moment longer so you kept your indifferent face on him as well; finally he barked an order at the men and the soldiers were helped up and sent off.

You barely held back a sigh of relief.

‘Lucky for you I don’t like doing as I’m told, get inside.’ Ivar said as he crawled back into the tent.

You reluctantly followed behind him and kept your distance while he pulled himself up onto the cot.

He sighed tiredly as he looked at you.

‘Come closer, I want to get a good look at my soon to be wife.’ he said.

You followed his order, this man was clearly crazy already, you were sure disobeying him would result in disaster.

So you stood in front of him, trying not to shake in fear.

Ivar looked up at you and brought up his hand to your waist, making you nearly jump back in disgust.

You didn’t want to be touched that way by this man, or any man for that matter. Your mind, soul and body belonged to your Lord and Savior.

‘Keep still, what happens next will determine how you will spend the rest of your life.’ Ivar warned.

You went from practically shaking to frozen stiff as Ivar continued to run his hands over your hips, thighs, and even your bottom.

‘Tell me...what do you think of me, and I do advise you to be honest. I hear you Christians think lying is ungodly.’ he said as he continued to violate you.

‘I think...you are the most frightening man I have ever met. I see the bloodlust in your eyes and terrifies me, but...its not barbaric. You seem smarter than the others, you alone learned speak English, so you must be intelligent.’

‘Is that all you think of me?’

‘Is there anything else I should think?’ you asked.

Ivar studied your face for a second, before he lowered his gaze.

‘And what are you afraid of right now?’

‘I fear you...and what you and your people will do to me…’ you started, taking a breath to calm yourself.

‘But I am not afraid of death, for I know it is only temporary. My life would be martyred and my God will be pleased I was willing to die for him as he did for me.’ you answered honestly, finding comfort in your own words.

Ivar nodded keeping his head low.

‘I have decided.’

‘What?’

‘Help me take down my braids.’ he said as he began taking down his hair.

You quickly moved to follow his order, despite your confusion, moving your fingers through the intricate braids.

‘What have you decided?’ you asked once you were done.

‘Isn’t it obvious...I’ve decided to keep you.’

#The one he chose #ivar the boneless #vikings imagine #ivar x reader

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artificialqueens · 5 years

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Diamonds In The Rough, Chapter 1 - Fannyatrollop

a/n: So this is the first chapter of an rpdr AU that @sayakamagika and I came up with, inspired by Mary Poppins and the works of Frances Hodgson Burnett. Very sweet, very cute, small children and magical nannies. Have a read, and we hope you enjoy it! Fic under the cut

Granny Liaison-Mattel was always very nice to the girls, really. She always came bearing sweets and pretty words for her little twin granddaughters.

“What pretty ribbons you have on today, Beatrice!” she’d say, giving the little girl’s chubby cheeks a squeeze and earning a grimace. “And Pearl! My, but you never stop growing, do you?”

It was the same every time she visited. Pearl only ever received a pat on the top of her head, and was always the first to lean in and give Granny her kiss when she requested it. Trixie always had to stop rubbing her face to kiss Granny. Old as she was, Granny’s eyes had remained sharp enough to chide Trixie about what an unattractive quality it is to rub one’s face as much as she does.

The trouble with Granny, though she was nice, was that her hands were always clammy and cold. Trixie would go even farther to claim that Pearl never understanding what a problem this was only added to her own suffering.

“Why is it that she only grabs my face and not yours?” she moaned, once Granny was out of earshot.

She was soothing herself with the chocolate Granny had slipped into her hand before sending the girls back to their nursery, so she could talk with their father. Trixie, of course, had no qualms about taking her sweets, even though they came from those cold hands she was complaining about just then. Children can be that way.

“Because your face is fat, and mine is not,” said Pearl, primly. Her greatest trouble at the moment was the fact that there was nothing to do in the nursery, and yet they had been banished there indefinitely. They’d spent so much time in that dull little room, filled with toys they had played with long enough to have grown quite bored with them, and the injustice of this grieved Pearl like nothing else.

Trixie frowned, puffing up her cheeks so that she resembled a squirrel with two little acorns stuffed in each of them. She stomped over to the side of her bed, and knelt down as if to pray, her little brows furrowed in concentration.

Pearl stared at her for a moment, since all she had to do was watch her sister be ridiculous to be entertained. Making Trixie act ridiculous was one of the few amusements that never quite lost its shine for her.

“What are you doing?” she asked, since Trixie was not being very animated in her ridiculousness.

“I am talking to Santa Claus,” she said. “I am telling him that if it isn’t too late, I should like to have a new sister for Christmas instead of the doll I asked for.”

As Trixie carried on “praying,” looking rather pleased with herself as she did so, Pearl strode over to her own bed, crouching down onto her knees and staring at Trixie with contempt.

“Well I shall ask Santa Claus for a new best friend that I can spend all my time with and make you so incredibly jealous.”

She smirked in satisfaction as Trixie shuffled in discomfort, clearly not happy with the idea of being replaced despite threatening Pearl with the very same thing no more than a minute ago. Having finished her message to Santa Claus, Trixie hopped onto her bed, the soft mattress covered by the frilly pink sheets Trixie was so fond of.

“I’m never going to be jealous of you, Pearly, because I’ll have my new sister to play with instead - and she’ll be so much nicer than you.” Her tone of voice suggested she was trying to not sound put out, but her folded arms and her pouty lips did nothing to hide her displeasure.

Deciding she wasn’t finished with tormenting her sister, Pearl carried on with her message to Santa Claus. “And I should like a puppy too, for us to play with. Oh, and a kitten of course. And a new dollhouse so we can have something to do when it rains!”

“Now you’re just being silly. Santa couldn’t possibly deliver all those presents!” Trixie protested, her round face reddening from frustration. “And not to someone as nasty as you - all you’ll be getting for Christmas is coal!”

Pearl gasped, the insinuation that she’d be receiving less than what she’d asked for thoroughly disturbing her.

“That’s awful of you to say! I’m telling…” Pearl trailed off, her rage dampening the moment the thought entered her head. “… Mother.”

Trixie fell silent, sucking on her lip and staring blankly at her bedsheets. She took one of the frills in her hands to fiddle with it, and when the tears started to slide down her rounded cheeks, Pearl was at her side in an instant. Guilt about bringing up their late mother sat like a rock in her belly, and the grief she thought she’d long since put to bed brought tears to her own dark blue eyes.

Mrs. Liaison-Mattel had been a wonderful woman - surely she was the kindest woman in all of London, in all of England! But apparently she was too good for the world, as she disappeared on a trip to heaven at the start of the new year. At least, that’s what Granny had told them. Trixie had believed it at first, eagerly anticipating the return of her mother, wanting to know what heaven was like and whether there really were angels up there. Pearl knew better than that - she wasn’t thick, she could tell when Granny was telling lies. Her mother was gone, and she was never coming back.

Trixie learned eventually, and she’d cried bitterly for weeks. But even as the twins sobbed their little hearts out, their father was never there to comfort them. He grew distant from them, isolating himself for days, and the only thing either sister ever heard from him was quiet sobbing drifting from his study. Odd - Pearl didn’t think it was possible for men to cry.

Although months had gone by, the ache in their hearts was still fresh, and not a day went by when Trixie and Pearl didn’t think of their lovely, sweet Mama up in heaven with all those angels.

“I’m sorry, Trixie,” Pearl murmured as she pulled her sister into a hug, the girl’s chubby form soft in her arms. “I… I forgot she wasn’t here anymore…”

“I don’t want another sister,” Trixie sobbed. “I was only teasing, I’m sorry Pearly, I’m sorry. And I miss her so much, I don’t want you to go away too…”

The girls sat in each others arms and cried, knowing that they could only rely on each other for comfort because there was no sense in seeking it from their father.

***

“Really, Michael, you should find a nanny for those girls,” Granny said. She’d set herself up on her son’s favourite chair, and requested a cup of tea (no sugar, but some cream) to help her get through the task of lecturing him. “How long has it been since the old one… left?”

Michael sighed. A man his age never likes to be nagged by his mother, but as a son he had no choice but to bear it.

“Miss Jenkins left us in late July,” he said, “left” being a softer word for “suddenly and tragically died”. It would have been more considerate of her to refrain from doing that, when the girls had lost their mother so recently, but when the reaper calls one has no choice but to answer. What a mad year it had been for his family!

There hadn’t been a day since his wife died where he didn’t feel her absence. When their mother was alive, he used to pay regular visits to the nursery, and the sound of his daughters’ dear little voices calling out for their Papa was the sweetest of all. Now, as lovely as it was to hear them putter around their room, the very sight of them reminded him of their mother. It was far too much to bear.

“And it’s been five months since, yet still no replacement in sight.” Granny took a slow sip of her tea before shaking her head and tutting. “The girls need a woman in their lives, Michael. It’s a wonder I haven’t stepped in myself…”

“You’re welcome to do so,” Michael grumbled, softly under his breath.

Granny took a moment to consider before shaking her head once more. “No, no, I couldn’t - I’m not as young as I once was, and the children require a nanny just as spry as the children themselves.”

“You don’t happen to have a spry young nanny up your sleeve, do you, Mama?” Michael wasn’t fond of all this talk of nannies and childcare - it was too painful a reminder that he hadn’t been the father his girls needed. He’d promised dear Isabelle he would do well by them, and he hadn’t kept to it, not in the least.

Granny’s motherly intuition told her that it was a difficult subject for her son, so she resolved to be patient. That did not mean she would let up - as a parent, one must understand that it is one’s job to endure difficulty if that is what the children need. It simply would not do for her granddaughters to be deprived of a nanny, when there is no reason a banker could not provide one for his daughters. Pearl and Beatrice must have everything all the other girls of their station should have.

“Michael, we’re not searching for precious stones in the yard,” she said. “A nanny is not something one has to mine from deep within the Earth. I’m certain that if you exerted yourself but a little, you would find one quickly enough.”

Shuffling uncomfortably where he stood, Michael admitted something he was rather ashamed of. “I must say, Mama, I wouldn’t know where to start. I happened upon Miss Jenkins quite by chance - I’ve no idea where to look for nannies.”

“Goodness gracious…” Granny tutted. Sometimes she wondered how her son had made it as far in life as he had. “Well, there’s a newspaper on the coffee table, you’d do well to have a look through the advertisements.”

Michael removed himself from the wall he was leaning against and took the paper from where it lay, the sheets crisp in his hand. Exchanging a skeptical glance with his mother, he flipped his way through to the back pages where the advertisements awaited him. He considered himself quite lucky that night, for the largest, most decorative advertisement promised exactly what he was looking for.

Miss BenDeLaCreme - The Creme de la Creme of Childcare

Families in need of care for their children must look no further than Miss BenDeLaCreme, an expert in her field. Available every day of the year, provides both education and companionship for children of all ages, will care for no more than fifteen children at a time. Expects no wage, but a roof over one’s head is always pleasant.

Details of how to contact Miss BenDeLaCreme followed, and Michael had to admit that she sounded rather perfect. There was certainly room for her to stay with them - the Liaison-Mattel house had more bedrooms than anybody knew what to do with - so providing her with a roof over her head would be no trouble at all. Expecting no wages struck him as rather odd, however, as he distinctly remembered Miss Jenkins asking for quite the princely sum.

“Well? Any luck?” Granny ventured after draining the tea from her cup and setting it gently on the saucer.

“Yes, actually,” Michael crossed the room and handed the paper to his mother, pointing the advertisement out to her. “Miss BenDeLaCreme sounds quite promising.”

Granny raised her eyebrows as she lifted her glasses to her eyes.

“I certainly hope she doesn’t expect the children to call her that - it’s awfully difficult to pronounce.” Michael was glad to see a twinkle of approval shining in his mother’s eye as she read over the page. “Well, she does have the qualifications - and I do enjoy a lady with a sense of humour.”

Glad that his choice of nanny hadn’t been a complete misfire, Michael spoke with a firm nod. “I shall contact her in the morning. It’s getting rather late - you should be off to bed, Mama.”

“Oh stop fussing. I’ll go to bed when I decide to go to bed. No sooner, no later.”

Nevertheless, she stiffly rose from her seat, with Michael’s help, and started out of the room. As she made it to the doorway, she turned to face her son. “I’m going to bid the girls goodnight. Will you join me?”

As she expected, Michael shook his head.

“No, Mama. Not tonight.”

***

“So, we’re branching into newspaper advertising now, are we?”

“We mustn’t be afraid of trying new things. Besides, the newspaper is where many families in need of a nanny turn to. It’s a perfectly logical decision, but of course, you like to operate with as little sense as possible to guide you.”

“Not all people have access to the newspaper, I do hope you realise. And I’ll have you know, Miss Dela, that my instincts are accurate every time - one doesn’t need logic to find those in need, one simply needs to look carefully.”

“Well, Miss Tammie, I’ll have you know that my goal is to find myself some spoiled children, the more spoiled the better. Families with spoiled children would have access to a newspaper. You should have seen the impact I had with that sad little girl out in the moor! One would hardly recognize her.”

“I believe that those poor, sweet things without pennies to their names are in far greater need of help then spoiled little children who want for nothing. I can’t tell you how many urchins and workhouse children I’ve found in dire need of love and care while you were off frolicking in the moor!”

“I’ve explained my reasons many times, and yet you refuse to understand. It is not only those who have nothing who are impoverished. A child may have a roof over her head, and plenty of warm clothes and good things to eat, but if she is left too much alone she will never turn out right. Suffice to say that there is value in my work, just as there is in yours. I do not wish to spoil my tea arguing with you again, it is not too much to ask to have a quiet evening for once! Don’t you have work to do, anyhow?”

“I think you’ve known me long enough to know that Tammie Brown does not participate in ‘quiet evenings’. And as a matter of fact, I do have work to do - taking care of children who actually need it. I’ve heard tell of a little Russian princess who has fallen on misfortune, and I do believe she’ll require my services.”

“So you’re not above serving royalty after all? I would have - forget it, this is ridiculous. I wish you all the success in the world. Now, I shall concern myself with my own little princesses. From what I’ve seen, there is plenty of work to be done!”

#trixie mattel #pearl liaison #bendelacreme #tammie brown #1910s au #mary poppins au #child au #fannyatrollop #diamonds in the rough #rpdr fanfiction #historical au

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heathenarmyimagines · 6 years

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Title: A Different Time

Summary: (Y/N) has a little sit down with Ivar

Pairing: Ivar x Reader

Part One, Part Two, Part Three

After the hot mess that was your break up you were in no mood to cook so you decided to get something delivered.

Which proved to be difficult as Vikings don’t actually know what pizza or Chinese food is.

Eventually you decide to spend even more money than usual and order from a steakhouse on Ubereats.

Again you kept it simple, steaks, mashed potatoes, green beans and dinner rolls.

This time you didn’t force them into guestroom.

They all mildly freaked out when the doorbell rang, but you assured them that it wasn’t a warning bell.

Still the poor delivery woman looked thoroughly frightened by the large men behind you.

‘Here you go ma'am.’ she said nervously as she handed you the bags.

'Thank you so much, and sorry for them.’ you apologized.

Thankfully this time atound there wasn’t too much skepticism over the food.

Once everyone was fed you went about assigning bedrooms.

Ubbe took the guestroom, you offered Lagertha the master bedroom so she would have a bathroom to herself, Bjorn went with one of your brother’s room while Hvitserk took the other and Ivar took your sister’s room so he wouldn’t have easy access to the bathroom.

If he needed the toilet you could help if he needed any.

You had explained to them all about toilets when Bjorn said he “needed to piss” and went to go outside.

It was as awkward as you would imagine potty training fully grown adults to be.

As you laid in bed ready for the impossible and exhausting day to end, but sleep was an evasive mistress.

You tossed and turned before you huff and sit up.

Clearly your brain was on insomnia mode so you might as well be productive in the mean time.

You got on your phone and started making a list of things you’d have to show the Vikings before you let them out in public.

The list was long as hell, but thank the lord for educational youtube videos.

Deciding to go on ahead and make a playlist on youtube you grab your laptop and go to the kitchen.

You nearly dropped everything in your hand when you saw a tall shadow move, you hated seeing shit move in the dark.

Thankfully when you hurriedly turned on the light it was only Hvitserk.

With a relieved sigh you put down your phone and laptop and hit the Viking on the chest.

‘Don’t scare me like that!’ you scolded as your panic level went from red to green.

‘Sorry, I was hungry.’ he said.

You sighed.

‘Sit down I’ll make you a few sandwiches, I get the feeling you have a bigger appetite than the rest.’ you said as you went to the fridge.

‘What is that?’ he asked.

‘This is a refrigerator, it keeps your food cold and keeping a cold keeps it fresh longer.’ you said as you pulled out the cheese and lunch meat.

‘Amazing.’ he gasped.

‘Not really, but I guess it is pretty impressive for you all, coming from so far back in time. It’s incredible, everything is so different now, almost nothing is the same.’ you said as you worked.

‘Is anything the same, do people still hunt?’ he asked.

‘Well yeah, but it’s not really necessary, if you want meat just go buy it and most meat is farmed.’ you answered.

‘Is sex the same?’ he asked as you sat down the plate of sandwiches.

You stopped mid-step.

‘What?’

‘Is it the same or has that changed as well?’ Hvitserk clarified.

‘I mean...well yeah I guess the basics are the same I guess, there are a lot of ways to switch things up...make them more interesting.’ you blushed.

‘More interesting how?’

‘Like...sex toys and stuff.’

‘What kind of toy can be used for sex?’

‘OK, I cannot explain this, its too weird to just be openly talking a sex toys with a guy I met yesterday and has no idea what we are even discussing.’ you said, throwing up your hands before you sat down and grabbed your computer.

‘Fine, but I will ask later.’ he said.

‘I can deal with that, but can I ask you a question first.’

‘You can ask anything, but I cannot guarantee I know the answer.’ he replied.

‘You said you wanted to fix your family because there was going to be a war, but to my knowledge there was no war between the Sons of Ragnar.’

‘There shouldn’t have been one, but things went from wrong to horrible.’ he sighed sadly.

‘What was the war over?’ you asked carefully.

‘Something...so stupid, a childish argument at best.’ he said.

‘Explain it to me...I want to know and understand.’ you said honestly.

‘When my father died and Ivar returned with the news our mother had just been killed by Lagertha. And in killing our mother she took control of Kattegat.’

‘Kattegat?’ you repeated.

‘Our kingdom, you see once we avenged him with the use of our great army Bjorn went to explore the Mediterranean and after a stupid argument Ivar lost control of his anger and killed our brother Sigurd-’

‘Sigurd Snake in the Eye, Ivar killed him?’ you gasped.

‘Threw his ax at him, those two were never close. Grew up fighting each other, Sigurd was jealous of the attention mother gave Ivar and would mock his legs.’

‘Amazing so he was also a son of Ragnar.’ you whispered.

‘Yes, how do you know the name I didn’t believe that he did anything too amazing before his death beside being a Son of Ragnar.’

‘Well he didn’t really but he did have a really interesting name, anyway, you said Ivar killed him.’ you said, getting back on track.

‘After we buried Sigurd and Bjorn left me and Ubbe agreed Ivar was not fit to lead, but still Ivar has a strategic mind like no other, and we went along with his plans. Everything was fine, we had taken a town a called York, but Ubbe didn’t want to just raid, he was like father and wanted to settle.’‘ Hvitserk continued as he pushed his plate away.

It seems the topic affected his hunger.

‘We had won a battle and Ubbe wanted to talk with the Christians about setting up an settlement and Ivar told him there was to be no negotiating, Christians were liars. Still Ubbe convinced me that we should go behind Ivar’s and meet with the enemy, and like fools we went alone.’ Hvitserk sighed.

‘They beat us, so outnumbered we didn’t bother to fight back, and when we returned Ivar shamed us and demanded complete control of the army. Ubbe refused and in the end he and I decided to return to Kattegat, knowing Ivar planned to return there to kill Lagertha and avenge our mother.’

‘If you both left why do I see Ivar speak more to you than Ubbe?’ you asked in confusion.

‘Because I didn’t leave, last minute I jumped off the boat and Ubbe left and joined forces with Lagertha and we all met for war. Brother against brother, youngest verses oldest.’

‘And you are right in the middle, not sure who to support and not wanting to fight either of them.’ you guessed.

Hvitserk nodded.

‘I love my brothers, all of them, and I don’t want to bury another one. I sacrificed the horse and begged the Gods to save my family.’ he finished.

‘He means I destroyed his family.’

You and Hvitserk jump as Ivar rolled into the kitchen.

‘Ivar.’

‘Do not fret brother, I know it is what you think and what you feel. I am the one who aided father on his suicidal mission and I did nothing to help or save him. Then I killed Sigurd and my taunts sent Ubbe away and into Lagertha’s confidence. I did not want peace I wanted war, and because of me you had to chose between us. Poor Hvitserk.’ Ivar said.

How could he go from sounding so guilty to so condescending so fast? All you knew was you didn’t like how it made Hvitserk lower his head.

‘Hey.’ you said snapping your fingers and getting Ivar’s attention.

‘I don’t know if you are getting so I will it explain it, he was trying to help. He doesn’t want Ubbe or you dead...because he gives a damn about you. He sacrificed and begged his Gods so that you and your brother could get away from all the war long enough to pull you heads out of your asses.’ you explained.

‘He was disloyal.’

‘All he was trying to do is be loyal, he left Ubbe probably because he wanted to avenge his mother same as you, but he wasn’t ready to kill his brother.’

Ivar tilted his head at you and grinned.

‘What do you know about us and our ways, our meaning of the word loyalty?’ he asked.

‘Loyalty has the same meaning now and Hvitserk was loyal.’

‘So loyal that he stood over me and watched me drown this morning?’ Ivar challenged.

You were to ask what the hell he was talking about when you remembered how all the Vikings were just looking down at him in the pool when you found them.

‘Now try and tell me how strong his love is for me.’ he said.

You looked back at Hvitserk and realized his head had been low since Ivar began talking to him.

‘You scare him.’ you whispered.

‘He should be afraid, and so should you.’ Ivar warned.

You arched your brow at this and walked until you were in front of his wheel chair, you bent down to meet him eye to eye.

‘I should be a lot of things...but scared of you is not either of them.’ you said seriously before standing up straight.

‘Hvitserk, take your sandwiches to your room, I would like to have a private conversation with Ivar.’ you said.

The man looked from you to his brother and after a subtle nod from Ivar he followed the direction.

You sat in the chair in front of Ivar.

‘You shouldn’t treat him like that, he is your brother not a pet.’ you said.

‘If he has a problem he would say so.’

‘He won’t and you know why, you terrify him Ivar. That was why he hesitated to save you in the pool, because he cares too much for you kill you but he wants to be free of your torment.’ you said.

‘I do not torment him.’ Ivar denied.

‘You bully him, you make him feel small and worthless, and I can only assume that was why Ubbe left your side.’

‘Ubbe left because he was a coward and didn’t want to admit he was wrong.’ Ivar said getting upset.

‘He left because you treated him like nothing, over one stupid mistake. You’re a bully Ivar.’

‘I am not! How could I be?’ he said raising his voice.

‘Hvitserk told me about Sigurd, how he would speak down on you about your legs. How he made you feel that’s what you do to your brothers...and you saw what happened to him.’ you said before you stood up and left.

You felt Ivar’s eyes on your back but you did not look back, he needed to sit with his thoughts.

#ivar the boneless #ivar x reader #ivar imagine #hvitserk lothbrok #sons of ragnar #sigurd lothbrok #A Different Time

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