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itstheghostofmypast · 2 years

Text

Her Laughter (Modern AU)

Five x F.Reader (Modern AU)

AU: No powers + Assassin AU

Summary: Okay, so she'd laugh when she was nervous and she'd laugh when she was lying- either way, he didn't care. Being able to find someone normal to love, would probably do him some could, especially if that someone brews coffee like it was sent from Heaven. She was his morning sun, his angel, his bag of giggles- as normal as every other civilian- or so he thought.

Requested by: @rpses

The Hargreeves family was an influential bunch, each sibling had an important role to play. A family with dark secrets, with cracks and wounds, and issues that were later given down to the father's favorite child to care about. Reginald Hargreeves adopted 7 different children from around the world, the only similarity was that each child was born on the exact same date, month, year, time, and second. To the naked eye, the lot was a bunch of kids adopted by a billionaire who just needed a hobby, but in the world hidden between black and white, the people of the grey knew their real identity. The 7 children were adopted to create an elite group, each to infiltrate societal reigns, each branch of it. This is why, for a very long time the media was confused as to why the children had numbers instead of names- until of course their nanny gave them names, which each child used proudly, except for 1 of them; Number 5. Nonetheless, as the children grew older, and spread their wings, they began to choose their own path

1- Luther settled down, had a family, and owned a little book shop and library with his wife. The two would constantly be traveling the world, and his wife, Sloane, a famous author, would write about their little ventures.

2- Diego, was a bit different - the rebel. After successfully being thrown out of the police academy, his brothers (Klaus and Ben) encouraged him to open a gym or a training center for children's self-defense. Initially he was against the idea, but after he rescued a little girl from being kidnapped in broad daylight, he realised how important it was for children to learn to kick ass.

3- Allison, the only sister, the star of the family and Hollywood. All sources would tell was how she, albeit being famous, had little contact with her siblings, especially after their father's death. Perhaps due to the incident that took so much hype that a certain Hargreeves had to intervene and shut down many news outlets.

4- Klaus Hargreeves, the resident paint sniffer, was actually one of the only siblings that the 'new head' of the family got along with very well. To say that Klaus actually had a job would be...not particularly accurate, what started off as a "positive affirmations group for senior citizens ', turned into a lowkey cult- which once again led the 'new head' of the family to sort out. So now, Klaus just worked with his brother, in the family business, and stayed at the manor.

5- Five Hargreeves, the star child, the child their father had left everything to. He was titled The Commander, he held control over everything- an issue that was bounced around by the media, for he was the only Hargreeves that never got along with the press or certain controlling structures within the society of the elite. Either way, this "blessing of power" had caused the siblings to separate, especially their sister Allison. To many, Five was a sly, selfish, secretive control freak. At least his image was portrayed to be as such and somewhere down the line, the 30-year-old stopped giving a f***.

6- Ben Hargreeves, the 'nicest Hargreeves', owned a luxury restaurant of his own- the only place Five Hargreeves would eat from. To a point where his loyalty became a problem for Ben. The brother had to launch personalized coffees for the idiot-

"Dude, FINE DINING-"

"I'd like to fine dine in a place that sells black ivory brews."

"...."

7- Victor Hargreeves, the only sibling that was not political, controversial, or even chaotic (that or maybe the others were pretty good at covering his tracks). Either way, he was a normal violin instructor, minding his own business, living his life peacefully- to say.

Now, back to what the greys and shadows of the world knew about the Hargreeves. Trained assassins, especially their current commander. The last collected data showed how 4 out of 7 siblings were still active. 4,5,6 were not only close because of their brotherly love for each, but because they were still running the family business- messy things; while no.2 well, to put it politely, the man was now a vigilante, or as No.5 would describe him to be, "Imagine Batman, then aim lower." Either way, the Hargreeves were shady, filthy rich, and political.

Due to this very reason, Five had decided to not give into anything else. A normal life was never a blessing gifted upon him. His sole purpose in life now was to continue carrying on his father's work. Before the old man died, Five had begun to teach university-level physics and math, but resigned as his responsibilities grew. There was nothing out there that could change this man's pattern of living, change the way their family was broken, or the way at the end of it all, he was always alone. At least, that's what he thought.

Blinking away the sleep in his eyes he stared up at the ceiling, today was the day, the day Five completely dreaded, he was in no mood of going on with planned activities for the day- or rather the evening, but this wasn't about him. He would have to constantly tell him that, no, this evening didn't revolve around him, it was about her, it was for her, he was going to do this for her. Five Hargreeves was never one to give in, let alone listen to any god damn person, but she wasn't just anyone, she was his red rose in the middle of a scorching desert, his moon across the veil of the dark night, the sugar to his bitter coffee. And after three years of being with her, a family introduction was bound. After all, it was coffee that had introduced her to him, in one of the most unusual ways.

After the usual night of taking care of family business, the man slowly made his way down the street to his brother's restaurant. Ben was in Spain right now, but hopefully, the restaurant was open at, he checked his wristwatch- bloody 3 am. God, he was f***ed, he would've murdered anyone for a good cup of joe right now. Much to his expectant disappointment, it was closed. Now don't get him wrong, he knew this restaurant was Ben's but IF HE COULD SET IT ON FIRE, IF ONLY- slowly putting the cement block back in its place, his head whipped in the direction of a heavenly smell, eyes spotting a small light emitting from the corner shop.

His feet ran before he could process, for by the next minute he stood in front of a small, relatively new coffee shop: a cafe. He hadn't seen one here before, come to think of it, there was no other place to eat or drink around the block, especially after Ben's business took over- the man was like a shark, running the area, so how did this person grow a pair to open their business here?

Squinting, he tried to make out what the place looked like, it was still messy like the place was yet to be set up. The small ceiling lamps lit up in silence, an atmosphere of peace and calmness enveloping the things below. Confused, he tried to push the glass door, only to find it was locked. But- but- but he could still smell the coffee and

*Tap*

He slowly, lightly tapped the glass with his knuckles, hoping to gain the attention of whoever was inside. And as lady luck would have it, someone did stumble out from the doors of the kitchen, muttering curses as they kicked the boxes around only to freeze when their- her- eyes locked with his.

"You gonna let me in or what?"

She flinched at his muffled voice, the place was a mess, she wasn't supposed to open for another day. She was a mess, instead of choosing to set up first, she was busy in the kitchen, creating brews and recipes- don't get her wrong, it's not like the movers didn't offer her help with the unpacking, but somewhere deep down inside, the feminist in her called her out, "Girl, we got this". It's not like a random stranger would show up at 3 am for coffee and-

"Lady, it's a simple yes or no, though I'd prefer a yes."

"I- " scurrying over to the doors she unlocked them and peaked out at him- yes, she peeked out of the glass doors. "S-sorry sir *clears throat* we're closed"

"But do you have coffee right now?"

"Perhaps.."

"Then I'd like a mug and I'll pay whatever you want."

She looked at him, utterly confused and nervous, this was not going to be easy. She couldn't just say no to a customer on the first day- wait, what if he was a creep who had bad intentions and-

"Lady, please. I'll stand outside if you want me too-"

The roar of the clouds above thought otherwise, pouring down on him and the world around him.

"mOTHER FU-"

He stopped at the sound of the door opening followed by a chuckle, did she just, laugh at him???? Offended, he was deeply offended and- she was already gone,leaving the door wide open for him as the rain chose to enter before he could. "Shit." He muttered as he closed the door behind him, staring at the wet area, his clothes weren't as bad as he thought, partially wet is better than drenched anyway, but the place around him that was dusty was now a mixture of muddy and watery, man, she should clean up if she plans on opening this joint.

He sat on a free table, only clean table, looking around the place, eyes turning to the kitchen door opening, holding a tray in one hand- balancing it ever so delicately, the other hand holding onto a towel she walked over to him, not meeting his gaze.

"S-sorry about earlier" handing him the towel to dry his damp hair she placed the mug of freshly brewed coffee and a slice of cake.

Drying his hair he nodded muttering a 'thanks' before he heard her chuckle again, eyeing her through his locks. Before he could retort she covered her mouth, turning around, back facing him, stifling a fit of giggles.

"...is there something on my face"

"No-hoho- shit iMsorry"

Eyebrows raised he shrugged, whatever was up with this psycho- who was now running back to the kitchen- he didn't really care. He got a cup of joe that smelled wonderful and that's all that mattered. Pressing the mug against his lips he groaned at the warmth, it was the first sip however, that had him slamming the kitchen door open, causing her to squeak and throw whatever was in her hands- the later noticed cake batter on the ceiling.

"HOW DID YOU DO IT?"

"Do what?"

"The coffee...why does it taste like it was sent from heaven-"

But before he could finish, she burst into laughter, choking on her own laugh as she covered her mouth, trying to gain composure. He had no idea what was happening, but before him was a woman, losing herself to a fit of psychotic laughter on her knees as she tried to stop herself.

"Do i...call 911 or something-"

"No-hoh, i'm fine " she gasped, slapping herself lightly.

"Really don't look fine to me-"

"I LAUGH WHEN IM NERVOUS OKAY JUST STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT"

"Oh..." Staring right at her glossy gaze, he could tell she wasn't lying, the words leaving his lips sooner than he could stop them, "kinda cute."

Cue her face flushing like a tomato, giggles bouncing around the walls of the kitchen as he cleared his throat, looking everywhere but at her. He wasn't lying though, whatever weird quirk this was, it rang like music in his ears.

The same night she had asked him to not look at her directly as she explained to him about the problem of her laughter. How it would trigger every time she was nervous or super anxious- or if she was lying, she could control it usually, tonight being an exception. This was her own place, she was going to open it in two days and the coffee and cake that he had consumed were her own recipes.

"F***ing delicious.".

"O-oh..thank you."

The same night he listened to her talk about how she spent her whole life saving up for this very dream, how she wanted no one to interfere for once, which is why she thought she should unpack and set up herself. He chose not to comment on that, just watching her, it had been a while since he had seen anyone so passionate about something other than money or power. The way she would talk about her plans, how she hoped to never hate this dream she had recklessly dove into. Before they knew it the rain had stopped, the morning light peeking out from behind the grey clouds. Glancing at his watch, he clicked it tongue, standing up as he dusted off his pants,

"Well then, I wish you the best of luck for your future venture."

"Thank you- wait," she stopped him from leaving, only to scurry back to the kitchen.

Looking around with his hands stuffed in his pockets, he realized how he hasn't had a decent conversation with anyone in so long, a conversation that was filled with random day-to-day things. Perhaps he should have helped her with the setting up, or not? It's not like he'll come here every morning just for a cup of coffee, as soon as Ben's back, he'd dip- no need to form connections with someone normal, someone innocent, someone as beautiful and kind and- shit.

"Here you go."

Brought back to reality she saw him holding out a paper bag to him, it had the logo of the shop.

"I uh...it has coffee so make sure you don't flip it around..heh..alsolookintoitwhenyougohome."

"Oh...thank you, you really didn't have to- oh wait, I didn't pay you earlier " he began to take out his wallet only for her to stop him.

"It's okay, this one's..on the house."

With that he walked out, assuming he'd never really come back there. Or so he thought, for when he went home and pulled out the little cup of coffee and plastic box with a tart, he found a napkin, with something scribbled on it.

"I'm sorry I creeped you out Mr.Hargreeves I hope you like the tart, I figured out the special ingredient to add after talking to you, thank you for being my first ever customer. May you find someone you love as much as you love coffee."

Snorting, he neatly folded the napkin and placed it in his coat pocket, "Smooth for someone who can't talk without bursting into laughter."

"What are you smiling about oh dear brother" Klaus sang, entering the kitchen, eyes landing on the brown bag on the counter, "oh...this isn't from Ben's place."

"It isn't"

"And why is that, pray tell?'

"Because it was closed, now if you excuse me, I have better things to do." With that he walked out of the kitchen leaving Klaus behind with only the empty bag-

"Man" picking up the paper bag he looked at it, flipping it over, "I wanted to taste the tart- oh? What's this?" His eyes scanned over the definite feminine handwriting,

"For a special customer"

"Ohoho, there is a lady involved."

Naturally, Five did not go there the next day or the next -practically a whole week, Ben was back anyway and again, she was nice and all but she had her own dreams and work and he had his. Plus, as heavenly as her coffee was, going to her place may actually put her in danger. Hence, he sat at Ben's restaurant, sipping the slightly too bitter coffee, slamming the mug down grimacing- a few heads turning in his direction.

"Okay, this is getting out of hand." Ben sighed, pulling out a chair and sitting infront of him. "Man, it's been a week, a week of you saying the dumbest things about the coffee, it's either too bitter or too sweet or isn't brewed right....so what's it today, buddy?" He hissed, crossing his arms over his chest, leaning back against his seat.

Shrugging Five looked around mumbling; "it's too hot."

"Out."

"What?"

"I said get out you-"

"Woah woah woah, ladies, calm yourselves" the third chair screeched, as Klaus flopped down, putting a paper cup on the table, "what's this all about."

Five, who was about to retort paused to stare at the familiar cup, "Where'd you get that?"

"Oh, this?" He said holding the cup, "it's a heaven sent coffee from a little shop around the corner."

"Wait, there's no other food joint here?" Ben asked, taking his cup to taste the coffee, moaning in delight, "What the f*** is this?"

"I know right, cute little place, cute little girl too-"

Abruptly getting up, he stomped away, leaving both his brothers behind. A smug expression plastered on Klaus' face as he raised his eyebrows at Ben, "I love playing matchmaker"

"Please don't."

Opening the glass doors he entered the almost empty cafe, with little to no people around, but it looked pretty- those aesthetic-filled places his university students would tell him about, claiming he wasn't much older than them, so he should like those places too. It looked much different from the last time he saw this place, cleaner and brighter. Eyes stopping at her wiping the counter.

"Morning."

"Good morning- oh Mr.Hargreeves" she paused midway, staring at him, surprised to see him here. He had not shown up since that night, much to her disappointment, she had assumed maybe he found her note a bit too informal or offensive.

"The place isn't...packed?"

"Oh, um...it's been a slow day- i uh...haha..i kind of wanted to haha apologise..." She cleared her throat, trying to regain composure and not scare away the only few customers present.

"For what?" Eyebrows raised, he leaned closer to the glass counter, staring at the desserts.

"For whahahaha-the...haha..napkin message-"

Words caught in her throat, eyes locking with his as he frowned, standing up straight, "Why are you apologising for that? Did you not mean it?"

"Wha-idid."

"Then?"

"I um....heheh...it was..weird?" She muttered looking behind him, checking if there was another customer, but there wasn't. In fact, it had been a slow day, a slow week, she knew opening up next to a 6-star restaurant would be an issue, the whole concept of threat and weakness but, she knew for a fact that her coffees were better. Cheaper too!

"It was cute."

His words cut off her thoughts- any thought process to be accurate, face contorting, suspicious eyes landing on him, eyeing him up and down to notice any signs of lying.

"I'm serious. I thought it was sweet."

"Then...why didn't you come for a whole week?"

Shit. Good going Five, what will you tell her now? He wanted to slap himself, that was not how it was supposed to go around. For f***'s sake, he wasn't even supposed to be here! That little b**** just HAD to buy coffee from here and show up at Ben's, in a few more weeks Five would have forgotten about her- probably, probably not. WHO KNOWS - but now here he was, standing before her like an idiot. He had no intention of telling her how he actually felt- or had begun to feel after he read the note. In all honesty, he wanted to come the very next morning, order a cup of coffee and just sit in a corner, watching her peacefully. Hell, he didn't even know her that well, and she sure as hell didn't know a thing about him-

"It's fine if you don't want to tell me."

Head snapping in her direction as she picked up the crumbs off the counter and walked into the kitchen, doors closing in behind her. Was she serious or was she upset? Shit. He was about to leave before she came out of the kitchen, coming back with a smile.

"So can I get you anything?"

Nodding instantly he pointed at a pastry and cleared his throat, "coffee?"

"Same one?"

"Got something new?"

"You want to try something new?"

He paused for a moment and glanced at her, there it was, that double-edged sword. Now did he want to try something that would potentially end poorly, or perhaps it wouldn't? But would it really be bad if ...maybe for once, he could feel what love...feels like ...to have someone care for you? Keep you warm like coffee?

"What would you...recommend?"

"I'll surprise you" she giggled, trying to cover it up by clearing her throat. Leaving him standing there, smiling at his own reflection off the clean counter that one spot she kept on wiping while talking to him, was she using it as a distraction so she wouldn't end up laughing out of nervousness?

And what a surprise it was. Slowly, ever so slowly, he'd get up a bit earlier than he'd usually do. Making sure to put on a bit more aftershave than usual, hair gelled back, tie fixed, shoes shining. All to ensure that he was the first person there, the first customer there- sometimes, he'd show up before she would, not that she'd mind. She'd just tell him to sit wherever while she'd make them a fresh brew, listen to him talk about his siblings, his usual day handling family finances, his brother's wedding, his sister's movie, his other brother's concert. If one thing was clear as day, it was that this man was in love with his family, she could see that like it was written on the wall- but she noticed how his insecurities would usually get the best of him, making him bitter and distant. She never asked about things he didn't want to talk about, like his actual job or why the siblings never really met, it was more of a 'let him talk about whatever he likes' session. She'd just sit across the table and watch, smiling with a mug in her hand, watching the golden morning hue illuminate his angular face, lashes shimmering under the light, laughter ringing like bells in heaven. It was amazing to see someone so beautiful, near perfect- talking to her, spending their mornings with her.

Three months into this routine he woke up one morning, ready as ever, smiling to himself as he reached for his phone to see a text from her. She was sick and told him the cafe would be closed for the day. And just like that, his morning was ruined. The sun was too bright, the birds were too loud, the house was dusty and Klaus was just a bitch, which is why when he saw his brother coming into the kitchen he snarled,

"Why are you here?"

"More importantly, why are you burning eggs?"

"I am not." He slammed the pan in the sink, "f*** this "

"So, no Y/N today?"

"No, she's sick- how do you know her?"

"Oh well if she's sick-" before he could finish his statement he was slammed into a wall as his brother looked at him with that psychotic look in his eyes.

"Klaus, she is a very normal and a very nice person-"

"Which is why you should totally tell her you like her Five. Man, you're smitten, whipped, head over heels, aching in the core for her- look you forgot how to fry eggs just at the notion of not being able to see her today." He pointed at the pan in the sink, not really bothered by Five's outburst.

Grip loosening he sighed, groaning as he walked over to the counter. "It's not as easy as you think...I'm not..you Klaus. People just don't...like me, let alone fancy me." He muttered, busying himself with making an omelet this time.

"And why do you think that? You tend to think the worst of yourself in every given situation, Five." He taunted, sitting on a barstool, elbows pressed against the counter, face in his palms as he noticed how dressed up his brother was- man, this lad was ready like it's a date. This was one of Five's nicest suits, he knew that for sure.

"I don't think Klaus, I know. I couldn't even keep the family together. Look at us, you and ai are the only ones here- hell if you didn't have issues with your job you wouldn't be here either." Slamming the bowl on the counter he walked over to the other end, grabbing salt and going back to his bowl, "Ben and Vanya are too nice to say anything to me- that and I have shares in his business. Diego is...just Diego, I haven't seen Luther since the wedding, and let's not talk about Alison, shall we?' he said as he gently tipped over the salt, eyes widening as the cap fell off into the bowl, followed by the entire contents of the salt shaker.

"FOR F****'S SAKE I'M JUST-"

"Well, have you ever tried talking to any of them? Minus Alison, of course, we don't want to go back there again."

"No, Klaus. You know why?' he turned around glaring at Klaus who looked oh so happy, "Because I know they don't care. I wouldn't either," he pointed at himself with his thumb, "if I knew me. Especially after Reggie dear left me with all this shit! Why, why would you assume I would like to kill and clean up after that- "

"What is Y/N like that?"

"What?" He paused, staring at Klaus who smiled at him menacingly, "I mean, I know what she looks and sounds like, she also makes delicious coffee to kill for but...what about you makes you like...." He pointed at his brother who was visibly shaking, "Like this. The man that can kill almost ten men in under two minutes, loses the ability to make breakfast at the thought of a woman."

"She's ...nice" he sighed, deciding to give up on cooking and just sitting in front of Klaus, "This entire thing was her dream, I appreciate she actually pulled through, unlike any of us. Pretty straight forward too, " he stared at the white marble under them, "Honestly is smarter than she gives herself credit for, I've met world renowned chefs, culinary artists and all this shit Klaus...but everytime I see her, she has something new for me to try, it tastes different each time too and it's not the bad different - never is."

"Five, I've never seen you talk about someone like that."

Shrugging he tapped the counter, "well, I haven't had a decent conversation for sometime. She listens...really well. And" he chuckled, stretching his arms over his head before sighing, "laughs when she lies or is nervous"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"What? I said she laughs when she's-"

"YOU IDIOT."

"Okay, Klaus, no need to ruin our moment here-"

"IF SHE LAUGHS WHY DON'T U JUST ASK HER IF SHE LIKES YOU/"

"because I- '' words caught up in his throat, brows furrowed in confusion before he hummed. It's not like the thought had never occurred to him, but he wasn't sure why he never asked her. Perhaps he was too afraid, afraid to know the answer. What if she didn't laugh? What if she didn't like him-

"Listen to me." The paler man slapped his hands on the countertop, "ASK HER. I've SEEN the way she looks at you when you speak to her, or how she leaves you notes on napkins- ask her or someone else will and you'll be too late!'

"Great speech bucko, but I don't know where she lives".

"I do"

"Why."

"Oh, Ben wanted to buy her business so he got her details, then I was like :Nu-uh Benerino, this girl gonna be our sister-in-law soon-"

"Okay, you know what, just give the address."

In a matter of minutes, he stood there, fist an inch away from the wooden door. Well shit. All that big talk in front of Klaus and now he stood there wondering what to do, as usual. His knuckles barely caressed the timber when the door was yanked open, only to jerk away at the sight of a fist.

"O-ohhahaha, sorry Mr.Hargreeves, I thought you were a creep or something." She mumbled over her mask. The giant hoodie cap making her seem even smaller- the hoodie looked familiar though.

"Thought the same the first time you saw me too." He smiled at her, bending to take the trash bag from her, lowkey forgetting why he was even there in the first place, "Feeling any better?"

"Mmmkay..." Her words were a soft mumble as her fingers played with the material of her hoodie, "why are you here..."

"Why am I here?" Repeating after her he nodded to himself, clearing his throat as he looked around, trying to peak over her head to look into her apartment- ironic how she lived above the cafe she owned.

"I'm here because I had to ask you something, may I come inside?"

She took a moment to think then answered, closing the door a bit, a gesture he noted, a gesture that broke his confidence a bit more, "I'd prefer...you ask here."

"Very well. We'll talk later." He looked around before nodding at her, gripping tightening on the trash can as he turned to leave, maybe this was a bad idea-

"W-wait Mr.Hargreeves, let's talk downstairs...heheeh..gimme 10 minutes I'll be there " she chuckled, groaning right after, this was no time to laugh, throwing the keys of the place at him, which he caught easily, eyeing her. She was nervous, he could tell but about what?

Either way Five had been sitting near the window, the other lights of the cafe were off, but a spotlight at the counter. He had turned up the heat, wanting to ensure that the place wasn't cold when she came in. That's the thing, he didn't understand why he felt the urge to do that. She had just flatly refused to let him in her apartment, well, that isn't partially rude- it is sensible but she's known him for 3 months already. Why didn't she trust him? Or perhaps she never saw him as more than a loyal customer, perhaps those notes about finding love and happiness were just friendly advice. Or maybe they were hints, she was hinting that she wished him the best, but she wasn't the best for him-

"Mr.Hargreeves?"

She didn't look sick- well, she did look tired, even under the dim light and change of clothes, he could tell that much. A chuckle passed her lips as she placed a tray on the table, cleared her throat, sitting down across the table, rubbing her hands together, "Thank you for turning on the heat...hahaha...i uh...haha..forgot to ask you to."

"Why don't you call me Five?"

Nodding at the question she looked at the tray, noticing how he hadn't even reached for his coffee, it was still on the tray. Reaching forward, her hand hovering above the cup, only for him to grip her wrist, eyes locking with hers, "Y/N, I asked you something."

"Because..."

"Because?"

"I...hahahah- shit stOp" she covered her mouth with her other hand, frustrated, of all the moments this horrid curse of a quirk could take over it was now. Pulling her other hand away she got up only to bump into him, she wasn't even sure when he had come up to her. Gently pulling her hands away he sighed,

"Feel free to slap me away."

"Wha-" she was cut off by a soft pair of lips crashing against hers, hands cupping her face as he pulled her closer. Her hands gripped his dress shirt, trying not to fall from the rush of emotions. Pulling away, his lips brushed against hers, admiring her features, how her eyes were still closed, face warm in his hands.

His hands fell off her face, only to find themselves back on her body, this time on her waist. Her eyes sparkling - or so he thought- looking up at him with a look that made it oh so hard for him to control himself.

"I take it, you fancy me?"

"Doesn't take a genius to figure that out."

"Oh, snappy, huh?"

She only giggled in response trying to push him away, only to pull her closer, "wai-heh-t your coffee?"

"Can wait, you taste better."

"What are you thinking about? You have been for a while."

Sighing he turned his head to look at her, her body was completely turned towards him, covered by the sheets, only the sheets. She was much more confident now, much more comfortable around him.

"I was thinking about how we met."

"Oh?" She gasped, scooting closer to him, snuggling into his side only for him to wrap his arm around her waist, "which part? The one where you said I taste better than the coffee I make."

"I said that last night though too."

"You did." Booping his nose she tried getting up, only to be pulled back down into his chest.

"Stay."

"I have work, Five, so do you hahahaa"

"How about we don't go anywhere-"

"What about tonight's dinner?"

"Yeah, about that, how aren't you a laughing mess by now?"

"Why do you think I was laughing last night?"

"Oh, i thought it was because of the blindfold-"

His words were cut off by her phone ringing, pulling away as she picked it up. Got off the bed as she took the sheets with her, to the washroom talking about how she'll be downstairs in 20 minutes. He sat up confused only to smirk at how the washroom door was slightly ajar- might as well shower, before starting their day.

He came into the cafe, fixing his tie, giving one of the employees a nod, "I'll have my usual." He said as he looked around, the place was busier now. Three years of coming here regularly, three years of his relationship and tonight they were going to meet his family.

"For our usual customer."

He glanced up at her and snorted, taking the cup out of her hands, "shouldn't you be in the kitchen?"

"Well, they said the resident old man was here, so I had to deal with him myself- hehehehe"

"No love, the laugh ruins the effect", he smirked at her pout, waving at her before walking off,muttering, "I'll pick ya up at 8."

Chuckling to herself she groaned, she was really not ready to meet them, all 6 Hargreeves. Especially since she had seen how anxious he'd get, irritable as well. She had a bad feeling about tonight, she was sure.

Just as he had said, he was at her doorstep by 8 pm, giving her that dashing smile when she opened the door.

"Well look at you, looking all edible."

"Pffft-"

"Come on my little giggly bean, the sooner this night is over with the better. If it ends well, I'll pat Klaus on the back, if not, I'll kill him."

"This is where you LIVE?"She gasped, staring up at the building, the pointing at the building on either sides, "All of this ohohohomygod." She hissed, gripping his arm, moving closer, if that were possible.

"Yeah, well there were almost nine people here before- anyway" his hand reached for the door which opened before he could only to see Klaus.

"Brother- Oh You must be Y/N!" He opened his arms wide, wrapping her in an embrace, smirking at Five who was growling.

Patting his back she giggled and pulled back, "You must be Klaus, Five talks a lot about you."

"Oh~ pray tell? All good things I suppose?"

Another voice cut her off as a smaller, paler man came into view, coming out of the living room with a smile, "Hello there, it's lovely to meet you Y/N" smiling in return she walked over to the man following him inside the living room.

"By the way" Five stared at her walking away before glaring at Klaus, "I dont talk about you- she was only being nice." Stuffing his hands in his pockets he stomped away as Klaus burst out laughing.

Upon entering the living room he saw that she was chatting and laughing with Victor, but that wasn't her nervous laughter. He was glad he decided to call Victor earlier, at least he'd be able to control the situation. An hour in and more people came through the door,

"Hey Brother." Luther waved awkwardly at Five who snorted, shaking his hand and raising his glass at him. "Been a while Luther, how was Paris?" He asked casually, leading his brother to where Victor and Y/N were standing near the fireplace.

"Y/N, this is Luther." Five lightly brushed his hand against hers, eyes gazing at her softly, as she looked at Luther and smiled, giggling- there's that nervous laugh.

"It's very nice to meet you, I know Five can be a handful." The big boy smiled, proud he made his brother's girlfriend laugh and comfortable around them. Actually, he hadn't seen Five like this before, he was calmer, tamer, at first glance you couldn't even tell that this man killed for a living. Here he was, staring at the woman he loved in the most affectionate way possible- and that is exactly why he knew Five could easily kill a room full of people for her.

"Hey, hey, where's the star of the night- oh! I know you, I've seen you at my gym!" Diego entered the space, putting down a gift bag on a table as he threw his jacket in a corner, "I'm Diego, you were...in my class once, right?" He asked not noticing Five's body stiffening, face contorting into displeasure as he glanced at Y/N.

"O-oh hahaha yes...I uhh .my friend asked me to join it for a day hahah."

"Oh who was your frie-"

"OKAY KIDS, BEN IS HERE, LET US GO HAVE DINNER!" Klaus broke off the interaction making sure everyone was going to the dining room.

She was the last one left with Five who glanced at her, she knew that look, he looked at people that way when he didn't trust them. Shit. "Five I-"

"That's where that hoodie was from?" He whispered, remembering the hoodie she was wearing the day they finally got together.

"Y-yeah..."

"Why didn't you tell me?'

"I-it was just one class, hahah"

"Yeah but I would've preferred being informed about you knowing one of my brothers beforehand and- would've preferred you telling me than him."

"I-"

"Five, you guys coming?" Klaus peaked in, eyes lingering on Five, having some form of mini stare down. Fortunately for her, he won, causing Five to sigh and nod. Turning to her with a small smile, "Come on...we'll talk later."

"What took you guys so long!" Ben gasped, sitting across Klaus who shrugged, "Lover's quarrel."

"You guys fighting?" Victor asked only for her to laugh, "n-ohono..."

"We aren't," he said as he poured her a glass of water, "We were talking and Klaus can't keep his nose out of shit."

Ben just nodded and raised a glass, "To the girl that popped our brother's cherry and is a great rival business"

She choked on her drink, snorting and gagging as the rest of the Hargreeves laughed at how their brother was patting her back, trying to calm her down, "IgNore them- THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR BEING NORMAL"

"HAHAHA"

"Normal, well I wouldn't use that word to describe this family."

All heads turned at the new voice, causing Five to groan, Luther gulped, Diego raised a brow and Ben exchanged a look with Victor.

"Allison" klaus stood up, clapping his hands, "So glad you could come, you're a bit late though-"

"Wait, you invited her?" Five cut him off, angry- no, scratch that he was pissed. He knew Allison had it out for him and she would do anything to f*** things up for him again, it took him 2 years to get out of the heat of the press. He could feel Y/N's hand on his, trying to calm him down.

Allison looked at Five and raised a brow, "Oh? And everyone can meet you new plaything and I can't?"

"Dont.call.her.that." he stood up, only for her to pull him back down to his seat. Countless nights, he had spent countless nights talking about how the issue with Allison had made the situation between the siblings worse- he would say she had a talent on "find you weak spot and making sure to press it ". And from the looks of it, she had found Five's weak spot, sitting right beside him.

"Please, I come with no ill feelings." She said as she sat down across Y/N, taking Klaus' chair. "Nice to meet you Y/N, I'm Allison."

"Nice to meet you too." She smiled, gripping onto Five's hand from under the table.

"Well, how about we have dessert? Huh?" Ben stood up, going to the kitchen to bring back a cake, "Since you're part of the family now Y/N, we thought why not celebrate it properly?" He looked at Y/N who was almost in tears, clearing her throat as she looked at Five. Five looked at her with a small smile, he had to owe it to Ben for making things a bit easier for him everytime. "Only if you want to..." He whispered to her, as Ben handed her a knife.

Not long after that, a bottle of champagne popped open, a few glasses down and most of them were at least tipsy. Standing near the fireplace as the music played around the room, Five was still a bit tense with Allison around, but the sight of Y/N laughing with Klaus and Ben made him feel a bit better. Maybe things would just flow smoothly- or so he thought.

"I'm going to the washroom," she whispered to Five who nodded after giving her the directions to it. With that all seven of them were in the room alone, drinking quietly.

"Nice girl Five." Diego smiled at him, "I'm really happy for you." He raised his glass at the raven-haired man who gave him a tight-lipped smile, "Thanks, Diego."

"Oh, she's a real sweet gal," Luther chimed in, sitting next to Victor who nodded, "Don't be yourself around her- at least not too much."

"I'll try not to be." he snorted, eying Allison who was quietly drinking in a corner, not really pitching in her two cents. She had been fairly decent after the first five seconds of the dinner.

"I'll go check up on her-"

A range of shots rang across the house, glass shattering around them as they fell to the ground. Victor was covered by Luther as Diego pushed Allison to the ground and covered her, "WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?"

"HOW WOULD I KNOW?" Five yelled back, crawling away followed by his siblings.

Scampering into the kitchen in the basement he looked at all of them, taking a head count. "Where's Y/N- SHIT" he was almost out the door when Luther gripped by the arm, "Are you out of your mind, you can't just go out like that-"

"I appreciate the concern Luther, but there is a civilian in danger, and WHICH ONE OF YOU BROUGHT THIS UPON US" he yelled at them, going to the kitchen cabinet and pulling out a briefcase, unzipping it. Spilling its contents out he tossed a gun to each one of them, stopping at Allison who sighed in return, "I know how to use a gun Five and no I did not do anything tonight."

"I know, I want you to get Y/N somewhere safe." he said as he loaded his gun and looked at the rest, "Klaus you're with Allison, the rest of you are with me, we'll split up after these two are out of the way- understood?"

"Got it."

Y/N was washing her face when the vibrations across the wall shook the mirror in front of her, hand instinctively going to her purse, Shit. Had they followed her here? Or were these people here for the Hargreeves, not that it mattered to her, at the moment the only person she could care about was Five.

Kicking the door open she aims her gun, taking a quick glance before walking down the hallway, the gunshots had stopped, but she knew they were here. She was unsure of how many people there were, or how loaded they were. She was about to turn the corner when the gun was kicked out of her hand, a man in a mask pointed his own gun at her, only for her to snort and dodge his aim with ease. Fighting in tight hallways was always fun, especially if you were as athletic as her, bouncing off the opposite wall she landed a hard kick across his face, watching him grip his jaw in pain as she picked up his gun, "Cute." she giggled before aiming at him, shooting more than once, knowing this would get the attention of those nearby. Just like that three more men came running down the corner yelling at her, honestly she didn't have time to process what they were saying, this was taking too long, and the longer it would take the more Five would be worried and the last thing she wanted was him to find out about her. "Okay, hahahaha, let's make this quick, yeah?" she asked, grabbing a baton off the body of the man on the floor as she ducked down when her assailant tried to punch her, kicking him in the shin and smacking him across the face with the baton. Giggling at the other two she groaned afterward, whacking the man's knee with the baton, taking the gun off his belt, and shooting the other one in the head, "HAHAHA I am so f****ed" she laughed hysterically, "He's going to dump me for sure- and IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT" pointing at the last man on the ground, her foot choking him.

"You're *wheezes* the crazy lady who laughs alot"

"Yeah...heheh..noho- shit I need to stop laughing- GOD WHy'D you havE to show up hEre? Huh?" she yelled at him, pressing onto his neck harder, "HHAHAHA Oh MYGOD- I GAVE 20 YEARS TO THOSE A**HOLES AND THE GOVERNMENT CAN'T LET ME LIVE A SIMPLE LIFE pfff" to anyone watching, she looked insane, like a woman straight out of a DC movie (Harley Quinn, minus the red and blue hair colour, laughing and killing off men with ease).

"They're coming for yo-"

*Bang*

"Oh f*** off...bloody bastard.* she tossed the gun aside, after shooting him in the head, turning around to yelp. Staring directly at her biggest fear, the man that she was very much ready to give everything up for. "F-Five...hahaha, what are you doing he-ehheeh here?" She asked, taking a step closer, only to stop when he pointed his gun at her. Expressions hardened, eyes cold and empty, she had never seen him like this- correction, he had never looked at her with this look. One filled with doubt and pain, with a hurtful pinch of disgust.

"Y-you're hurt." She whispered, raising her hands to show she was unarmed, eyes glued to his bleeding side.

"Well, my ego is a little bruised. I let you play me like a fiddle for over a year-'

"I wasn't playing anything Five-"

"BULL SHIT." He hissed, aiming right at her head, "That's why you went to Diegos's didn't you, and that day you didn't let me in your apartment, there was a body behind you, wasn't there? All this time. All this time with you and you've been lying to me? Who hired you?"

"No-" she whimpered, shaking her head as she lowered her hands, "I -I wasn't I swear- yes there was a body there and yes I went to check on Diego but-but it jahaha wasn't like that- pfffft- please Five, you have to believe me" she giggled, only to slap herself to stop. This is not how she wanted him to find out about her. "I- I'm sorry, okay! I wanted to tell you but I didn't know how- PLUS I'M SUPPOSED TO BE RETIRED- AND YOU NEVER TOLD ME ABOUT YOUR FAMILY EITHER, I FOunD oUT MYSELF AND-" she gasped covering her face with her hands and groaning.

"Who else knew?"

"W-what?"

"WHO ELSE KNEW?" His voice boomed across the hallways as if everyone else was completely silent- or just dead.

"Klaus..." She whispered, staring at her feet, tears threatening to fall at any given moment.

"Of course he did." the man hissed, before lowering his gun and looking around the hallway, "Leave."

"What?"

"Leave, it's over."

"N-no Five wait, please-"

"Five, wait, listen to me." Klaus cut her off, running up the hallway, honestly, he was supposed to come to her earlier, but Allison and he got caught up on the lower flower when they were circled by the enemy. Of course, he had known about Y/N, his job was to be Five's eyes, the family's guardian angel- so yes, he knew about her little secret, kept it safe until she was ready to tell his brother.

"Not a word out of you" he looked at Klaus then at her " and I didn't tell you because I thought I was keeping you safe- whatever." He said walking down the opposite direction, only to be stopped by her, she was gripping onto his hand as if her life depended on it, "Please" she whispered with a tear-stained face if he could just hear her out.

"Don't make this harder than it already is." With that he yanked his hand away, crossing Allison by the corner, glancing up at her with a, "Guess you got your share of entertainment."

"What does that supposed to mean?" she yelled at the man who shrugged while walking away, before going to where Klaus was holding onto a sobbing Y/N. "What the hell happened Klaus? Y/N? Are you okay- oh shit, you really did a number on these people huh?" she sighed, looking around before turning to Klaus who looked at her with guilty eyes, mouthing, "I don't know what to do."

Two hours in, with everything a mess, Y/N was already out of the manor he stood by the fireplace, sighing at the burning sensation left by the scotch. He had told everyone to 'get lost'- even when Diego tried to argue with a 'just listen to her man' he responded with an 'I will shoot you, don't tempt me.' So here he stood now, on top of the rubble and the mess, somewhere between the shattered ornaments and glass, lay pieces of his heart, the heart that he had hidden away, oh so well- until she pulled it back out to the surface with her warmth.

"You know." Klaus entered the room, kicking a block of cement that must have fallen off a wall, "She really wasn't lying. She did retire."

"And you're telling me why?"

"Because I know you'll never ask her, block her out when she will tell you and choose to brood for the rest of your life."

"What d'ya want from me, Klaus?" He turned around staring at his brother who was sprawled on the dirty couch.

"To listen!! What did you expect? Five! God would somEhow juST SEND ANGEl your way? No scratch that- you really thought someone normal, someone not like us would be a good match for you? Like dude, if she couldn't do what she did tonight, you'd be brooding here over her DEATH!"

"She LIED Klaus"

"Well no duh! Look at you! It took you three months to even admit you like her! And the worst thing is, you have HORRIBLE TIMING."

"And you know all this?" He asked to walk over to the one seater across from him, sitting there with his legs crossed.

"Listen okay, so the day you brought in the coffee right, I read that little note and I was like nahh gurrl, you don't wanna play with this man's balls-"

"Okay, we're done-"

"NONON wait" he stopped him from leaving, "I'll tell you properly okay? So, yes, what I meant was that a civilian should not be involved with our family, so I went to check her out the next morning. Meanwhile, I had told Ben to get intel on her, I won't lie, it wasn't easy to get information on her, but when we did, turned out she worked for the government for a very long time, she just took early retirement. And that got me thinking, hey, maybe if Five does like her, it won't be such a bad thing cause she'll be able to put up a fight- if needed. Thing is, a day before she texted you that she was sick- I saw her snooping around our siblings, so after she left Diego's gym I approached her. She told me she was only suspicious that you were using her and the government had hired you to take her down- because word got around that she had retired and there had been incidents recently. I assured her that you were just weird and a little cray-cray in general but you liked her. So when you went to see her, and she didn't let you in, she was probably being well- assaulted at that time, which is why she called me right after she sent you downstairs."

"Okay, seriously, this is the seventh guy this week Y/N"

"Klaus, just get rid of the body okay, Five took the bag with the bloody clothes, I PRAY he doesn't check it."

"So, we burying or burning-"

"Do whichever, I have to go talk to him"

"Alright, I'll bite your hideous cake, why didn't she tell me hmmm? We'd been together for three years now?"

"Well, Five, I think you should ask her that yourself, no?"

"F*** you."

"I love you too"

To say she wasn't losing her mind, would be an understatement. Her laughter-filled sobs echoed around the empty kitchen as she took out various pans and pots. Chopping stuff as she chuckled, only to whine in frustration-

"You sound insane"

Instantly swinging the knife in the direction of the voice, the loud clang of it sticking tip first into the wooden kitchen door silenced the place. He opened the door slowly, peaking at her then turning his head to glance at the knife sticking into the door,

"Nice aim, would've actually killed me."

"Five what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to talk to you, that is if you want to tell me the truth this time," he said glancing around at the mess, had she been baking this entire time, what the hell? Sure, it smelled great but at this point, he was unsure if she was just stressed or lowkey insane.

"What do you hahhahhah- wanna know"

"Everything, from the start."

"Well, I was born, normal family, great and all you know." she said, chopping a giant block of chocolate in half, "Then one day, boom house is on fire, turns out we were just caught in the middle of a gang war- anyway, I survived, and let me tell you how kids are horrible bullies HAHAHA i mean heheh I know I have this laughing thing but hHAHHA hohohorible kids-"

"You're derailing."

"S-sorry. Anyway, at 10 I was approached by a lady who offered me a deal, a life of full luxury in return for my services- at first I thought she was a bad bad lady y'know, but turned out she was a government lady-"

"Even worse."

"I.KNow. anyway, 20 years into service, I finally retire, all's good until you pop up at night. And let's be honest, I thought you were here to kill me right." she pointed at him with the knife, "In the suit and all, but then you just wanted coffee and then I gave you coffee but for some reason, you just wouldn't get out of my head and-"

"Again, derailing love."

Slamming the knife down she glared at him, "NO. I'M NOT. BECAUSE THOSE F***ERS THINK WE'RE COLLUDING OR SOMETHING AND EVERY OTHER BAD GUY THINKS I'M AN EASY TARGET AND ALL I WANT TO DO IS BAKE AND MAKE MY COFFEE BREWS IN PEACE BUT NOOOOO IF I HAD TO FALL IN LOVE WITH A MAN, IT HAD TO BE YOU! FIVE F****ING HARGREEVES, THE SAME MAN WHO WAS LYING TO ME LIKE I WAS LYING TO HIM."

"....Are you?"

"Am I what Five?" she sighed.

"In love with me."

"No, I was baking an apology cake for my deceased parents- OFCOURSE I AM"

"You could've just brought me a coffee you know," he muttered, taking his coat off, rolling his sleeves up as he came and stood next to her. "What are you doing?" she asked, peering up at him confused.

"Well, I'd like to help you bake, I don't really have any experience, but I can assist you." he smiled down at her, watching her let out a nervous giggle.

"So, I'm forgiven?"

"Was never really mad at you...was mad at myself for having such poor skills to not see the signs before."

"Yeah- you're preeeettty slow heheh"

"Okay, no need to test the water, hmm love? Anyway, this cake isn't for me anymore, I want to bake an apology cake for Allison?"

"Oh, why is that?"

As Five stared at Klaus, telling him to go to her, he shook his head, muttering a no. He was in no mood of going to see her right now, or ever again- fk everything man. That is until a third person joined them, "She wasn't lying you know, I'm an actress I can tell."

"Thank you for your expert opinion, sister mine, but I don't care."

"You know Five," she began, sitting down next to Klaus, "I don't you're mad at her, no, I think you're mad at yourself. The great Five Hargreeves, Reginald's favorite child was duped by a government agent for three years in a row. I bet, if tonight didn't happen, you still wouldn't have figured it out-"

"Allison" Klaus hissed, "you're not helping."

"Aren't I Klaus? I mean, we always have to cope with him, no? Make sure everyone meets his expectations, catch up with Five, and for once, someone out there actually outraces him and this little bitch can't handle it?"

Klaus looked at Five who was glaring at Allison who was merrily glaring back at him.

"What do you want Allison?"

"For you to accept the truth Five, I'll be gone by morning and won't see you until one of you die or gets married. But Y/N, well you won't see her ever after tonight if you don't go to her now."

"And that's why I came tonight- hard to say I can't stand her, but she was right." he shrugged, grabbing onto the pipe of frosting, staring at it as she took the cake out of the oven. "That's very sweet of her...twisted, but very sweet. She wasn't wrong though, I was just planning on leaving you the cake and disappearing." Placing it on the rack to cool down she side, wiping her hands with the apron, looked up at him staring at the baby blue frosting pipe.

"What's wrong?" she asked, confused.

"I've known you for three years, yet, we've never used frosting."

"Not.in.my.kitchen."

"Upstairs?"

"....Hahaha- the cake needs an hour to cool down anyway" she wrestled with her apron, leaving the kitchen as he followed suit, throwing his apron somewhere in the process, going upstairs as they let the cake cool down.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A/N:

Okay, so this is a bit different from my usual writing, it's a different AU- please go easy sobs (I'm sick- yes im using that card)

HOLY SHIT THIS WAS LONG HAHAHAH - I WAS DONE WITH THIS THREE DAYS AGO- but everyone took away my electronics due to Covid. ANYWAY- @rpses I really really hope you like it. It's a bit different from my usual ones, as it's a different AU.

TUA Taglist: @imaginesfire , @placidpluto , @achingwoundforaheart , @esmaada , @samyourneighbor , @xuenihao , @whoreofscience , @navs-bhat , @yuuki4646 , @simpformoonkight , @crowleysqueenofhell ,@anapotatowriter @sibsteria , @ryugujitr , @imherefortea thank you, you lovely people for choosing to be part of my taglist ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ✩‧₊˚)

#five hargreeves #five x reader #five hargreaves x reader #five x y/n #five x you #ben hargreeves #diego hargreeves #tua x reader #klaus hargreeves #vanya #allison hargreeves #tua five #tua fandom #five fluff #fluff #angst #modern au #assassin au

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blacknailsandheartbreak · 1 year

Text

Imagine you’re walking around the local market with Zuko, but you’re completely happy and oblivious while he’s nonchalantly protecting you

Ok ok so, an imagine w Zuko, an innocent x protective trop we love. Super fluff... ONE OF MY FAVS SO FAR!!!

This gif really represents zukos demeanour and yours through all of this LOL

Word count 1300+

Ok so imagine...

The Gaang had decided to set up camp early this afternoon, they found a good spot and started to unload all their stuff. Katara asks you to head into the nearby market to pick up some food for the next day or so, you happily accept her request and grab your stuff, ready to head into town. Zuko’s helping Sokka set up some tents and sees you getting ready. Katara walks by with a basket of dirty clothes heading to the river to do some washing. He stops her and asks where you’re heading, she tells him the plan and he stares at you for a moment, she hands him a list and says he’s more than welcome to tag along with you. and that's exactly what he did.

On the walk into the market Zuko was on high alert, while you, not so much. you paid no attention to your feet, where you were walking, staring off into the sky or trees. A few times, Zuko had placed his hand on your waist and gently guided you from holes and branches, you aimlessly followed, completely unaware and in your own world. You smiled at his seriousness and insisted you would be fine, Zuko agreed with you but kept close behind.

Upon entering the market, Zuko knew his work was cut out for today. It was packed, busier than he had ever seen. He was a bit taken back and grabbed the bridge of his nose, spirits help me. He took a glance over his shoulder at the amount of people walking in, Zuko began to tell you to stay close, but when he looked back to where you were standing, you were gone. His eyes instantly widen and let out a curse, he does a quick scan and finds you at the first shop looking at flowers and chatting with the female running it. Zuko grabs his face and lets out an exasperated breath, taking note on how easily you move. He begins to walk over to you and catches other men taking second looks at you, elbowing his buddies and smirking with remarks. Heat begins to boil in Zuko as he makes his way to stand beside you. He towers close to you, making it super clear he is with you. He puts a hand on your shoulder, motioning you to keep moving, you thank the owner as she hands you a flower for free. You move along so happily, flowing as if in a hot spring, chatting to Zuko about how sweet the lady was. Meanwhile, half listening, he follows close behind, making sure nobody disrupts your flow.

As you made your way through the market, things were going relatively better than Zuko expected. Many people offered you free stuff, you were much too kind to walk by and ignore them so you always stopped to talk. Zuko would stand and wait with you but had to usher you on eventually when they got a bit too friendly for his liking. Men still stared and as much as Zuko wanted to confront them, he didn’t want to upset you. But, for the most part, they kept their distance, and whenever a guy got a little too gutsy, Zuko would glare at them and gently guide you by the waist into a different direction, and you always followed, unaware but just happy to be out.

You and Zuko stood in line for the fish market, you smiled and chatted with many passing people and people in line. Zuko, still standing close by your side, keeping a watchful eye on everything happening around you guys. You looped your hand through Zuko's arm and talked about birds flying overhead and the many flower stands you guys passed, wishing for a garden of your own. Zuko was half listening as he noticed a group of guys standing a little ways away. You handed Zuko the flower you were holding, he took it aimlessly, and you let go of him. One guy pointed at you and they all smirked, in an obviously distasteful way. Zuko looked back at you, and it caught him off guard to see you were bent over, helping an older woman pick up some of her stuff that she dropped. Zuko instantly looked back at the group of guys making inappropriate gestures, he stepped into their line of sight, and watched their faces of amusement from looking at you, and as they met eye line with Zuko, he pointed at the flower he was holding and burnt it, ash falling over his hand. The group looked away and sauntered off. Zuko was angry, he shook his head and dusted off his hands. You were still crouched down and chatting with the older lady, Zuko offered you a hand and helped you up, the lady thanked you and walked off. Again, you looped your hand through Zuko's arm and offered to take the flower back, realizing what you were waiting for he had come up with a little white lie of a passing young girl who wanted it. You smiled and poked at him, saying he did have some soft spots, and he wasn’t as serious as he led himself to be. Zuko rolled his eyes and let her go on about whatever came to her mind.

Finally leaving the market, you skipped a head a couple of feet and smiled, the sun was setting and the early night was so beautiful. Zuko walked a steady pace behind, holding the basket of food and supplies. Your innocence was so terrifying yet refreshing to him. You turned around with a couple flowers in your hand that Zuko had gotten for you to replace the one he ‘gave away’. Your smile was always so bright, never a frown showing through. So much light and joy radiated off of you, it seemed to spread to the people around you. Everyone you talked to, every person you hugged and shared a laugh with, just lifted their day. Zuko was forever in awe of how you presented yourself and kept such a positive demeanor all the time. But he knew you would learn the world one day, learn the cruelties and unfairness of it all. But that didn’t have to be right now. Right now, you were dancing along a path, in the sunset of nightfall with flowers in hand, smiling as if all the colours in the world were made for you.

You guys made your way back to camp, a fire already lit with everyone around chatting. You both joined the circle and Katara came around with tea and a blanket for the two of you. You sat close to Zuko, pressing your shoulder into his arm, holding close your flowers and a big smile on your face while explaining the wonderful afternoon at the market. Unbeknownst to you, Zuko could have told a completely different story, but he just nodded along with your words. Let you relive the beautiful afternoon at the busy market, keeping the raunchy events he saw unfold in the back of his mind. Katara smiled as you told your story of the flowers Zuko gave you in replacement, you poked at his arm and insisted he was nicer then he played out to be. Everyone laughed, but Katara gave Zuko a small knowing smirk, he quickly looked away waving her off.

There wasn’t much innocents left in this world, if it was, it was hard to find. Zuko lost his so long ago, faced the world in its blunt cruelties and took it as it was. But you held on so well, it seemed effortless. In all of his strength and power, he would make sure you held onto it as long as you could. But when the ugly truth of the world began to set in, he would be there to protect you, by your side, like always. Ready to burn down whoever steps in your path.

#Zuko #prince zuko #fire lord zuko #avatar zuko #zuko fanfic #atla #atla fanfic

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aussiepineapple1st · 1 year

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What is Happening to Me (Part 9)

Leon x F!Reader

Words: 2,178 Contains: Blood, Angst, Injury.

Part 1 | Previous | Next

Swimming to shore, you pull the raft up onto the grainy sand. There was a small cove that you could lay Leon down and get a fire started, you were freezing cold from the icy water. The sky was very overcast and threatening to rain at any moment. Stepping into the raft you kneel down beside Leon and place a hand on his chest, feeling it rise and fall unevenly. He's probably broken a rib or two, you can't imagine the force he took from the crash landing. Sitting Leon up you move around to be behind him, wrapping your arms under his pits and pull him out of the raft, dragging him to the small cove. Gently laying him down on his back you stand up and go to find some sticks and leaves you can use to build a small fire.

You keep your eyes on Leon for a moment before walking out of the small enclosed area. Walking to where there were some trees and grass you start to scavenge enough materials, making your way back. Kneeling down you place bark on the sand first, adding grass and dead leaves you turn to Leon, rummaging around in his pockets you knew he had a lighter here somewhere. Ah! Got it! Using the lighter you burn the leaves and make sure it catches before placing the sticks and more bits of bark to start building it.

"(Y/N), Are you there?" You hear Hunnigan's voice in your ear.

"Copy.."

"I managed to track your location, it seems you're on a coast near Whitbeck, England."

"England?!" You were shocked, you were almost to Germany, but not quite. "Damn it!" You say frustrated and pull your legs up to your chest, burying your head in your knees and arms.

"How is Leon?" Hunnigan asks as you could hear her typing.

"Alive, but still unresponsive." You say turning your head to look at him laying on his back, the fire lightly illuminating his features. Blood now dried and crusting around the corners of his mouth and left nostril.

"Alright, just hold tight, I'm going to get in contact with the UK branch and see if they can get a helicopter to your location." She says frustrated at this turn of events.

"Thanks, Hunnigan.."

"Don't mention it, you're both going to be just fine. Keep Leon warm and alive, that is your current mission." She says then hangs up the line.

You sit there in silence, watching the flames dancing around as the cold breeze sometimes blows through the covered area. You felt your eyes beginning to water but you blink the tears away, shivering you huddle closer to the fire, holding out your hands to warm them up. Every so often you would glance over to Leon and watch his chest to make sure it was still rising and falling, your brain then starts to think about what happened. Only the flight staff had been turned, the Men giving you the info were dead, but only because they were being eaten. You didn't even hear them screaming for help when they were taken down. Does that mean they were killed before the zombies got to them? It was hard to tell with how mutilated they were. The pilot's were dead then turned, meaning they got infected after they died. The flight attendants were the only ones who turned without being dead first, from what you saw in the quick moments before shooting them that is.

You scratch your fingers on your scalp as you groan in annoyance, this was a set up. Someone knew Leon and you were coming to help, hoping to get rid of you on the flight to Germany. You were so tired, you had swum for a good hour before making it to shore, the current kept pulling you out to sea until you managed to get closer. You were frozen and couldn't feel certain parts of your body from the water, your drenched clothes with the cold wind blowing on your back wasn't helping. Looking over to Leon's chest you watch as it is still rising and falling, looking away then quickly double taking back to him as you see his head turned to you, ice blue eyes staring your way. "Leon!" You say moving to your hands and knees, crawling over to him.

"Hey.." He said weakly, his face contorting into a pained wince. Yep, he's most definitely broken something.

"Where does it hurt?" You ask going into immediate medic mode.

"I think I've just broken a rib.. nothing too bad." He grunts, trying to adjust his body to get more comfortable.

"Can you breathe alright? Do you think you've punctured a lung?" You ask, the blood on the corners of his mouth giving you the thought.

"Could have.. I can still breathe though. I've got two." He jokes trying to make light of the situation. "Do you know where we are?"

"Hunnigan got back into contact when I had you on the raft, she said we are on a coast near Whitbeck, England."

"England.." Leon repeats, a hand lifting to rest over his temple, he had a massive headache. Most probably a concussion. You give a nod as you watch him, He had come home from missions a little bruised, but you had never seen him in this state before. You reach down and take his hand, laying down beside him, allowing the fire to be next to Leon as you press your wet body against his side.

"Hunnigan is contacting someone to come get us in a helicopter." You inform. "There's nothing we can really do apart from wait." You explain. Leon gives a nod and wraps an arm around you to hold you close, feeling your trembling body.

"You're all wet. How come I'm not?" He asked curiously.

"Oh.. To get us to shore I had to push the raft." You explain. "It took me about an hour but I got us here." You say with a tired chuckle.

"An hour?! That water has to be almost frozen, Are you okay? You could have Hypothermia!" You wave off his worry as you stay snuggled into him, you hadn't thought about that.. Damn it.. You're both not doing the best right now.

You both lay there beside the fire, keeping warm as best as you could, discussing what could have gone down. Finally you come to the conclusion that someone else was on that Jet who either was working for the person causing these outbreaks and heard you were coming, the staff were unknowingly infected while on the Jet or some other cause making the staff turn. Everything had happened so quickly it was hard to even process details. Leon was talking to you when you suddenly stopped replying to him, you had fallen asleep, your body entering repair mode. Leon sits up and checks to make sure you are okay before removing his leather jacket and laying it over you. He gets up allowing the fire's warmth to touch you and hopefully warm you up as he goes to have a look around where you were.

A good half an hour passes and you wake up, feeling the weight of a leather jacket laying over you as you hear the blades of a large chinook in the distance. Leon was standing out on the beach, a hand raised up to shield his eyes from the rain now falling. You hear Hunnigan responding to Leon, but not able to hear what Leon was saying, he was too far away.

"Alright, I'm taking a note of that now... Hmm, I'm not sure... Yes, she is." There was a little pause. Leon looking towards you, seeing you were now sat up dropping sand on the fire to extinguish it. "Understood. You can get there with this chinook, it's ready to take you to Erfurt." Leon walks over to you, now able to hear him responding. "Thanks, Roots. I'll contact you once we are on the ground. Condor one out." He kneels down in front of you, his wet, navy shirt hugging his body as water drips from his hair. "Hey.. You okay? The chinook will be landing her in a moment." He says offering a hand to help you to your feet.

"And it's going to take us to Erfurt?" You ask, Leon nods and stands up. You hand his Jacket back to him and he puts it on, sighing at the warmth now hugging his cold body as he looks out to the beach seeing the large chinook landing.

The back opens and a male walks down the ramp, a familiar figure to both of you. "Chris?" You both say in unison as you hurry to the cover of the chinook.

"Hey! Heard you needed a lift to Germany!" He said smiling brightly at the both of you. He hands a blanket to the both of you as well as earpieces so you could communicate while in the air.

Once in the air you were both seated beside each other, dripping wet and warming up from the blankets you had wrapped around you. "So, what happened?" Chris asks, his gaze staying on you as he was wondering why you were with Leon. Had you gone back to work already? He had popped in last week to see the two of you before heading to England himself.

You clear your throat before speaking. "Our Jet ended up having infected staff. Leon crashed the Jet into the water, Don't worry.. I saved his butt." You smirk looking to Leon with a cheeky grin.

Leon's eyebrows just raise and he leans forwards from resting against the back of the seat. "That's basically what happened, yeah. It seems someone knew we were on our way to Germany to deal with their work and tried to get rid of us." He elaborates.

Chris just shakes his head, eyes flicking between you both, a small smile on his face. "You two always get yourself in these types of situations, don't you?" Leon just sighs and gives a defeated nod.

"I wouldn't know." You chuckle and look up to Chris who's gaze was still on you, you could see a look furrow his brows before he turns away from you. "Chris.. I'm fine. This is my first mission. Well.. You know what I mean."

"I'm just surprised.. It's only been 2 months."

"Well I was going to have to get back to work eventually, couldn't let Leon have all the fun." You smile and look to Leon on your left, he doesn't look to you as he felt a fair amount of guilt at Chris' words.

"Hold on.. Are you (Y/N) (L/N)?" One of the females in Chris' crew ask. You give a nod, surprised eyes looking to Chris who gave you a proud smile and leans back against the seat he was on. "No way!! I never thought I would actually meet you. You inspired me when heard about what you did in California!" She says seeming to be excited to be talking to you.

"Oh.. I'm glad." You smile, looking to Chris once again. "What did I do in California?" You asked.

"What do you mean?" The same lady asked you. "It's just ONE of the many cool things you've done!"

"I'm sorry." You shrug. "I can't remember anything from before 2 months ago. I apparently hit my head and woke up after a week not remembering anything." You explain to her.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. And you're back in business? Impressive." She said gloating once again. You sit there in silence, feeling a little bad that you couldn't remember, hoping you didn't let her down. But unbeknownst to you, you had just inspired her even more.

"I don't think you should be on duty yet." Chris spoke up. "Leon, why is she doing such a big mission on her first day? Why not do some work in the office or something?" You could tell in his tone he was slightly annoyed that you were on the field. "It's only been 2 months."

"You think I don't know that? I can't control who gets dragged into jobs. Not with the DSO." Leon snaps back, his own frustration on the situation coming forwards.

"Guys!.. Guys, it's my choice. I accepted going on this job, so drop it.." You say feeling a little overwhelmed. "I don't know why, but deep in the back of my mind I just felt like I needed to get back to work.." Both Leon and Chris look at you with a little sorrow in their eyes as well as a hint of guilt. "What?.. What are you both not telling me?" You asked knowing that look in their eyes.

Leon shakes his head. "I'll tell you when we're alone." He explained. You give him a frown, you had been alone for 2 months at home. Why look guilty now when you had mentioned the reason why you accepted so early?

Part 1 | Previous | Next

🏷️: @phoenix666stuff @maehemthemisfit @greywardensaywhat @growingupnrealizing

#angst #blood #chris redfield #fanfic #fic #injury #leon kennedy #leon s kennedy #leon x f!reader #leon x fem!reader #leon x female reader #leon x reader #what is happening to me #wihtm

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mercymaker · 6 months

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𝑾𝑰𝑷 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓

i was tagged by the lovely @katsigian & @ruinbringer to drop some of my WIPs here and surprise surprise i am actually working on things!!!

i am tagging all the lovelies to nudge nudge them: @everlong1997 @kelemvorr @grymforge @voerman @rigaudon @visceralwit @lord-woolsley @yaviyavadoo @dameaylin @vinghen-tmblr @mrdekarios @dameayliins @alistairs & a bunch of people i absolutely forgot but brain's melting as you'll see.

1. First is mal/astarion fic that's sucking all of my soul out (in a good way) and the first few times i sat down to write it i ended up with tears in my eyes. it's sweet and hurty at the same time. i haven't touched it with neither proofreading nor editing so it might be a bit yikes but it is what it is:

“I was never very good with a bow,” Maleane sighed as soon as the arrow jumped away from the string, flying straight past the tree, through the branches, to land in an embarrassing thud on the ground.

Her father had tried to teach her when she was little, lining up a row of sacks filled with hay along the edge of a fence. Yet no matter how hard Mal tried, no matter how many hours she poured into loosing arrows into the targets, the bow proved as unyielding as it had been the first time she’d tried. While the drow followed instructions better now that she was older, Astarion’s efforts proved to be just as futile as those of her father’s.

Yet, the spawn’s intentions didn’t come from the same altruistic need that Lathorien had been known for. He didn’t approach her with the clever proposition to actually teach Maleane some of his fine archery tricks. It was an entirely different set of skills that he intended on using, a technique much more covert and insidious, the rest of the performance was nothing but a decoy. Astarion wanted to get close to her, and as she stood there, bow in hand, fingers pulling on the string, he swiftly shifted behind her. Just another one of those games they used to play with each other. Lies, manipulation, guile. The rogue adjusted her hold on the metal grip, his other hand pulling her hips to the side. He thought himself so subtle and clever. Yet, as Astarion moved away to give her enough space for a shot, something inside him shifted uncomfortably. A notion that sent worry down his esophagus, to fall into the pit of his stomach with an unsettling thump. He didn’t want to let go.

(he's such a boyfail to mal's girlfail lmao)

2. i am still working on those little moodboards, although very slowly. they are taking me much longer than i'd anticipated somehow. but mal's folder is getting there.

3. i have the layout of this gif set that's been sitting in my wip folder since early september, but in order to get the footage for it, i need to finish the game. it's an uh.. possible ending for my sweet lil bun maleane

#life #tag meme #i honestly don't know how to tag this i need to get a better tagging system dsfdsgf #but thank you so much for tagging me in this both of you i am smoochin

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weirdsideblog · 6 months

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Jesus Was Vored, But Not in Communion

Yes I’m being serious. So serious that it’s actually silly, but- just hear me out.

Thesis: The Communion jokes, while funny, are theologically incorrect- but not because Jesus wasn’t vored

(Symbolically speaking)

- “Haha, Christians have a ritual where they pretend to vore Jesus” well. Yes. But actually no. Well- it depends on which branch of Christianity you’re talking to, but. Anyway-

- BUT communion actually has very little to do with actual vore or cannibalism in its symbolism; by comparing his body and blood to basic foods, Jesus was making the point that he’s the source of true (perfect, everlasting) life. We eat bread and drink wine to remind ourselves that our souls need Jesus the way our bodies need food and drink. (Also looking forward to when we all get to eat and party together in heaven with Jesus later, and unity with him and all our fellow believers past, present, and future because we’re all symbolically at the same table)

- My church denomination and many others see this as symbolic only- because it is. However, some churches believe that once blessed by a priest, the bread and wine somehow literally become the literal body and blood of Jesus. I’m not sure where they got that idea, because Jesus sure didn’t say that- he was talking about doing this in remembrance of him, and it was pretty clearly a metaphor at the time when he said it because it was really just bread and wine that he was showing to the disciples. But anyway. I’m not a theologian, and churches can disagree on weird details like that and we’ll look at each other kinda funny, but like it’s fine because that’s not the point (is what a lot of people in church history should have said, but I digress)

- Anyway. Communion isn’t really about vore. Okay like a little bit because there’s also the theme of Jesus having given himself up so completely for our salvation, but literal eating isn’t the point. Even if it were, it would be a lot more akin to cannibalism than vore, which is sometimes a shaky line, but. That’s not the point.

- But you know what really is about vore?

- Other things.

- Jonah, obviously (tl;dr, guy gets thrown off a ship in a storm, and God sends a giant fish or maybe a whale to swallow him, in which he stays safely for three days before being thrown up on shore) #safe vore

- Now we get to the actual part about voring Jesus

- The story of Jonah takes place in the Old Testament, before Jesus came to Earth. Everything in the Old Testament is a setup and explanation of what would eventually happen and be fulfilled by Jesus.

- In the Old Testament, death, Hell, and the grave are often surrounded by metaphors of an open mouth or of being swallowed. Jonah was in the fish for three days before being thrown up… Jesus died and was buried in a cave for three days before being resurrected

- But it gets better. The whole reason Jonah got into the situation with the storm was because he turned away from God. Humanity as a whole turned away from God when Adam and Eve chose to turn their backs on God, essentially (which was a big deal because he created the whole everything and thus has authority over it like an artist has authority over their own painting), and we all continue to do that when we do bad things that God doesn’t want us to do and don’t do good things that God does want us to do. Jesus came to cover that offense so we don’t bear the punishment for it and can be in perfect family relationship with God again, because God’s desire isn’t ultimately to punish us for our sin but to bring us back to him because he loves us. But because God is infinitely perfect and infinitely just, he can’t just allow all the evil that’s ever been done to just be… basically ignored. SOMEone had to be punished, and Jesus (who is also God- they’re like three people but also the same person at the same time, nobody really understands it)

- Thus, Jesus had to die

- Remember death and the grave being compared to being eaten? And Jonah, as a result of his disobedience, being swallowed for three days (this wasn’t a punishment, just a weirdly symbolic method of protection from what would have been the outcome)? And then Jesus, bearing the outcome of our disobedience, died and was buried for three days?

- Jesus was vored by death itself

- Then he escaped (didn’t just escape- defeated death, but that’s a layer of theology I won’t get into here)

- So yes, Jesus was vored, but not in Communion

- Also sometimes New Testament writers like Paul talk about being “hidden in Christ” so maybe…

- Jesus kinda vores us, too

- NOT REALLY- I said I was being serious but that was silly, it’s just that some of the language has those #safe vore, #protective vore, #extreme cuddling kinda *vibes* y’know?

- Anyway.

- I’m not going to hell for this because if I sinned by writing it, I’m safe in Jesus because he was already vored by death in my place. But I really don’t think this is a bad thing to do at all.

- Go forth in this knowledge and make theologically accurate-ish Jesus vore jokes

- If you want

- Lol

#v.ore #soft vore #safe vore #religion

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sariahsue · 10 months

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Let Me Count the Ways

Chapter Fourteen - Missed You

[Ch 1] [Ch 2] [Ch 3] [Ch 4] [Ch 5] [Ch 6] [Ch 7] [Ch 8] [Ch 9] [Ch 10] [Ch 11] [Ch 12] [Ch 13]

Sunday mornings were some of Adrien's favorites, mostly because it meant he could easily slip out of the house. Try as hard as he might, Gabriel Agreste could only bully so many tutors and photographers to work early on a Sunday, so Adrien's schedule was usually free and the house was often quiet. No one was looking as Chat Noir stretched to his full height on Adrien's windowsill and cleared the mansion's high fence in once graceful leap.

Morning runs were a common thing for him, but today there was a bit more purpose behind it. The Ladyblog was reporting that Ladybug was out. And okay, he saw her a lot, but he missed her. How could he pass up an opportunity to "bump into her"?

In only a few minutes, he strolled through the park toward their statue. Ladybug sat there, staring at their stone faces, tapping her lips and lost in thought. His steps stuttered to a halt at the sight. Images bubbled up in his mind. His fingers at her lips, tracing their shape, only to replace them with his mouth.

He shook himself and kept moving.

"Ladybug! Fancy bumping into you here!" he called when he was close enough.

She jumped, and her eyes found him, only to flick back to the statue of him immediately.

Something was wrong. She grinned at the statue like it would answer her, her hands stiffly in her lap, her face tinged pink.

"Oh, Chat Noir!" she answered belatedly. "I kissed– MISSED you! How have you been?"

Chat Noir moved into her line of sight and she glanced away again. "Fine," he said. They'd only been separated for 10 hours and he'd been sleeping most of the time, and she probably knew that. The question made no sense.

Plus, why was she out here already? Everyone knew Ladybug wasn't a morning person, and they'd been out late last night. Had she been feeling lonely and unwanted at home? What about her friends? Had they told her they'd all found better things to do than spend time with her today?

Movement in the corner caught his attention, and he turned to watch the skyline. Branches swayed in the breeze, but nothing else seemed out of place.

"Good," Ladybug said. "That's good. I'm glad." She gave him a thumbs up while staring at a spot just next to his head.

"I wanted to ask you before, but when are we planning on meeting next time?" Truly, it had slipped his mind after he'd made an awkward fool of himself last night. But if she was feeling unwanted, then he wanted to give her something to look forward to. He would always want to spend time with her, even if it wasn't the way she wanted to spend time with him.

Ladybug's pink-dusted cheeks darkened at his question. "I hadn't actually thought that far ahead."

He laughed. "You? Not have a plan?"

"What was that?" Ladybug sat up straight, scanning the area in front of her.

He thought he saw something too, another flicker of movement like before. Closer this time. "I don't know." Everything seemed normal now.

"A big bird?" Ladybug asked, sitting back.

"Probably. Hey," he said, hoping to regain her attention. "Why don't you pick? Name a time and a place, and I'll be there."

Ladybug shyly caught his eye with half a smile. "Okay, sounds perfect."

"I think you mean purr-fect."

"No, I definitely didn't."

Behind their statue, a building disappeared. And then the screams started.

---

Tag list: @clawsout83 @trippingovermyfeet @tbehartoo @yoonjae20 @random-cartoon-fangirl @jasvalka

#ml #mlb #miraculous #miraculous ladybug #ladynoir

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fluorescent-fungus · 1 year

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Hi tumblr I'm back with more Xiao. *proceeds to pretend that I didn't procrastinate this update for like 3 months*

Xiao x child!reader Pt 5

Masterlist

Tw/cw: hurt/comfort, liiitle bit of angst, slight gore, mentions of blood and injury

“Where's Xiao?” You leaned over, eyes narrowed in an intimidating show of defiance.

“...And good morning to you! Did you sleep well?” Ignoring your question, Verr Goldet flashed you a radiant smile, her impeccable conduct no doubt a product of years of her hospitality experience. After all, dealing with unruly customers did fall directly within her line of work.

“Yes, I did. Where. Is. Xiao?”

“He's probably out on a mission... and please don't stand on the counter, dear.”

Catching sight of the menacing twitch at the corner of her lips, you relented, hopping off the countertop. “Ah, sorry... When will he be coming back?”

“Care to join me for breakfast? You can have anything you want.”

“Really... anything? Hey! Answer me lady! And don't dodge my question!”

“Oh he'll come back when he does... In the meantime, why not help me run some errands today? I heard the kitchen has a terrible mushroom shortage... Or maybe you could lend a hand with the laundry?”

You attempted to scoff at her remark, until you were interrupted by a loud grumble that rang through the corridors of Wangshu Inn. It wasn't Verr's.

“Fine! Let's talk breakfast.”

---

“Liar! The next time I see you, you're deady dead dead!” You grumbled, shoving another steamed bun into your mouth.

“Achoo-” Xiao rubbed his palms together as a cold breeze raised goosebumps over his skin.

Was he... getting sick?

“Weak.” he mumbled.

It didn't matter. After a few days of your absence, he was reveling in the peace of mind he had so craved before. Inhaling deeply, relief flooded his chest as he scanned the area for signs of unusual activity—to which there was none. Good.

But what was this... quietness? He'd need to start getting reacquainted with this feeling.

Yes... This familiar silence, it had always been that way—up until you came along, barging into his life like an elephant on rampage. However, now that the so-called ‘elephant’ had been taken care of, a lingering uneasiness clung to his chest.

Brows slightly furrowed, he brushed it off, piercing gaze zoning in upon the sun rising between the distant mountains of Jueyun Karst.

Why was he thinking so much? How unbecoming of a seasoned adeptus.

People would come and go, whether or not they died or just got up and... left, it didn't matter. A new day would come, and they wouldn't be there. It was always the case. And he'd continue watching over liyue as he'd done for thousands of years, a lone figure roaming the plains for as far as duty took him.

Yes. That was his sole purpose for existing, to fulfill his contact with Morax till the end of his time... Alone. Without it, he would be a deity without purpose. How could he allow himself be distracted by a petty human, even for a moment? Pathetic.

---

You had decided to take on Verr's mushroom gathering request. Besides, you would much prefer wandering around the area than scrubbing away at someone else's dirty laundry. At least you could keep an eye out for Xiao's return while scavenging for mushrooms.

And so you spent the rest of the day pouncing on every slight rustle of every bush in sight, desperately hoping to find a certain vigilant yaksha crouching behind it.

I swear I saw something... You scoffed, gnawing away at your inner cheeks, growing more agitated with every minute that passed.

You practically flipped over the entire forest trying to find your guardian adeptus, obnoxiously calling for him from time to time and thus disturbing the peace and tranquility of wildlife in the vicinity.

Little did you notice that up on the tree branch right above you, a pair of gleaming golden eyes watched. They watched as you as you struggled to pry a particularly stubborn mushroom out of the ground, all the while whining and cursing away at every archon in existence.

“I SWEAR TO MORAX, XIAO!” You heaved in a deep breath, tugging and pulling with all the strength you could muster up.

“IF YOU DON'T SHOW YOURSELF-” You stumbled backwards on your ass as the stem finally gave in.

Can he not hear me? He said he would come if I called did he not? Liar!

“Tch”

That was definitely not a bird.

You whipped your head up towards the source of the sound, eyes squinting up into the thick layer of leaves that shrouded the sky from your view.

But there was no one in sight. Huh.

---

He sighed, ripping his spear out of the beast's heart. That's the last of them.

He tuned out his thoughts from the final fading screams of the slain, only to be met with your grumbling thoughts that echoed through his head— threats of what you would do when you found him... He would much rather keep all his hair thank you.

Maybe it was time he made his presence known again. He couldn't take much more of your incessant whining.

He lifted his gaze and caught sight of something. Squinting through the darkness of the forest looming behind, he barely made out the faint outline of the tiny figure in the distance. Speak of the devil.

“Heyy!” You bound towards his direction, ecstatic that you were finally reaping the fruit of your laborious search, unaware of an even bigger shadow emerging from behind, its oversized form towering over you.

“I was looking all over for—” you cut short, catching sight of the mitachurl's shadow on the ground, big burly arms raised high above.

“Get out of the way!” Eyes widening in shock, he lunged for you.

Frozen in panic, you fumbled about with the words dancing around the tip of your tongue.

Just as a giant fist came swinging down in one swift motion, you heaved in a breath, blurting out the first thing that came to mind.

“Xia—”

Instantly, he materialised in between you and the beast, polearm ripping through flesh and bone.

With a roar, the beast fell, crumpling to the ground with a thud, blood and innards splattering out on the grass.

“Ugh.”

“Are you hurt?”

Slightly shaken, you let out a squeaky “N-no”.

He scanned your figure up and down, pupils blown slightly wide with worry.

“Yes, you are. Sit up.”

“Huh? I said I wasn't– Oh.” It was then that you noticed the small gash that had plastered itself into your left thigh.

He swiftly removed his sleeve, lifting your leg and sliding it underneath.

“Wait don't use that! It'll get... dirty.”

“Considering how often you use it to wipe your snot, I don't see the problem here.”

“That's even worse!”

He ignored your protests as he wrapped your thigh up, fastening it with a knot.

“Hmph! Why are you even here?” You mumbled, suddenly remembering that you were supposed to be mad at him.

“I'm not obliged to answer that question.” he deadpanned, turning his back towards you and signalling you to climb on.

With a grunt, you latched on to his back, wincing as you finally felt a slight pinch from the site of the injury– which didn't go unnoticed by Xiao.

He glanced around, catching sight of a sharp-edged rock jutting out from the surface of the ground. Maybe he should return in the morning to file the spot down... y'know to avoid any future accidents (dude probably just wanted revenge on the floor).

---

“Does it hurt?”

Nope, not at all.” you smiled cheerily, giving your thigh a light slap.

“Idiot– Don't do that! If it doesn't hurt now doesn't mean it won't later.”

Was it the adrenaline? Was the gash wider than he had imagined? Or was his mind just exaggerating every little thing that had to do with you? After all, humans were indeed fragile.

“I didn't know you could teleport. Oh my god. Did you make me walk all the way here to punish me? Do you hate me that much?” You pouted.

“No, I don't hate you. And that ‘teleporting’ you're yapping on about is the act of passing through the adepti realm.”

“Human bodies weren't meant to withstand the side effects of such concentrated adeptal energy. You would disintegrate the moment–”

“Ok shut up. I get it.” You reached forward and squished his cheeks together with your grubby fingers. “I wished you would talk more, but not like this. Now I'm sweaty, bloody and hungry, so carry me back! I wanna go back!”

“Such a foul mouthed child... And the mere audacity for you to think that I would entertain feelings of... hate. You have no respect. The adepti model themselves off of duty, not emotion.”

“Also... I would never hate you.” he continued, lowering his voice to a whisper. A part of himself hoped that you wouldn't hear.

But you did.

Burying your face into his back, you hid a sniffle as the corners of your lips curled upwards slightly, which drooped back down at the realisation of a certain something.

“Hold on, go back.”

“What is it?”

“I forgot the mushrooms.”

---

“Haah...” You groaned, fingers hovering lightly over your freshly bandaged thigh as you tried your best to soothe the burning sensation tingling beneath your skin.

“I told you it would hurt,” he sighed, leaning against the doorframe.

“Hmph! Y’know, I'm still mad at you for leaving without telling me!” Adjusting your leg into a more comfortable position, you shot him the stinky eye as he plopped down next to you.

“Next time, don't stray too far from the inn. It's dangerous out... There's no telling how close those mindless beasts would wander. What would happen if I wasn't there to save you? You'd be mitachurl mulch by now.”

You crossed your arms and whipped your face away from him.

“Right... I'm sorry for leaving.” he mumbled lowly.

You were stumped. “What?”

“Sorry.”

“Say that again?”

“You little piece of—”

“Hehe... Just joking. I'm sorry too, Xiao.”

“Hmm, now go to sleep. I'll be here if you need me.”

As he watched you get settled under the covers, his thoughts drifted. What would happen if he didn't get to you in time? No... That would never happen. What a silly thought... If it was you, he'd always be there in time.

“You're not sleeping.”

Shit. He's learning. You swallowed the lump in your throat in horror, ignoring the bead of sweat sliding down your neck.

“I am,” you whispered, clamping your already shut eyes tighter while barely holding in a grin.

“Go. To. Sleep.” He heaved in a sigh, before bringing his hand to rest over your back. It took him a bit of shuffling to get it right, but he eventually got to the patting part. Was this how humans did it?

“Too hard,” you giggled.

“Ah, sorry. Is this better?”

“Can't feel anything now.”

“Do it youself then,” he mumbled, adjusting his pats to a more comfortable pressure.

The rhythm was still wrong though, it was awkward and stiff. No matter, he could learn that skill tomorrow.

As long as he was in it.

#xiao #xiao genshin impact #genshin impact fanfic #genshin impact xiao #genshin impact xiao x reader #xiao x reader #xiao x child!reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact #genshin impact hurt/comfort #genshin impact angst #oli tries to write stuff #genshin impact fluff

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gravity-barbie · 2 years

Text

Being a social media star and dating The Sparrows HCs

Request @fantasyfiction-net

Masterlist

The Sparrows dating a famous singer HCs

Marcus Hargreeves

-Between Marcus’ extensive fanbase, and your smaller but strong one, you two are quite the it-couple, your relationship receives a lot of attention from the mainstream media and is typically trending online

-He uses social media to keep an eye on or know when to tweak the sparrows brand, aside from that he’s pretty indifferent to it but he respects the fact that you’ve earned your own fanbase and is proud of any of your accomplishments there

-He’s more than willing to let you show him off for the camera or indulge in a bit of pda to your audience, he encourages it actually, always one to enjoy attention

-He’s not above asking you to promote the sparrow academy or it’s merchandise, but to be fair your viewership definitely increases thanks to him so it’s a two-way street

Ben Hargreeves

-Ben definitely isn’t against your social media usage, it’s not his medium of choice but he can relate to chasing fame, granted in a less healthy way than you

-You’re actually pretty good for his image, being associated with your more modern, relatable brand taps into a whole new market and gets him back some of the fans Marcus stole, which Ben is pretty impressed by, making him more invested in your whole career

-He is more supportive than you may expect, sure he completely recognises that you’re success can’t measure up to his but he respects the fact that it’s still success

-He occasionally cameos in your videos when he needs to promote something or boost your numbers and he doesn’t threat about the press catching your pda, but for the most part you still keep the details of your relationship fairly private

Fei Hargreeves

-Fei isn’t big on social media but she’ll make an account for whatever platform you’re on to support you

-Marcus wishes she would market any of the sparrows products as hard as she markets you, she constantly name drop your username to her fans or the press

-She doesn’t have the most natural camera presence in the world but she’s willing to cameo in your videos if you want her to and could definitely have fun with that

-If you ever ask for her advice or opinion on one of your videos she’ll take it quite seriously and be eager to help

Alphonso Hargreeves

-Alphonso is actually pretty interested in your online fame, he thinks it’s a cool hobby/job, but he kind of missed the social media train since back when Reginald was in charge he didn’t have a lot of internet access

-He binges all your content as soon as he finds out, out of the blue sending you texts about videos you made a couple years ago

-He’s quite the zealous commenter, and will get in vicious online fights with any haters he encounters

-He is not opposed to featuring in your videos, particularly in smaller glimpses but his humour and charm shines through regardless of how long he’s on screen

Sloane Hargreeves

-Sloane thinks your career choice is really cool, she doesn’t know that much about social media culture but she’s intrigued and wants you to tell her all about it

-She’s super supportive, she likes and comments on all your videos, hyping you up, it’s like she forgets she’s the more famous one

-She’d absolutely love to feature in your videos, especially for things like couples Q&As or challenges, which she is stellar at

-She has a lot more fun helping you with your job than doing her own and she’s pretty damn good at it too, so if you ever wanted to branch out into a couples account, she could be really into that

Jayme Hargreeves

-If you’re open and extroverted enough to be a social media star, this is probably an opposites attract kind of relationship, but even though Jayme has never imagined being with someone like you, she’s humoured and endeared by your quirks

-She doesn’t hide your relationship, and she’s fine with taking the occasional photo with you but she draws the line at participating in any of your videos, which you respect so you keep mentions of her to a minimum

-But it doesn’t really matter because the paparazzi has documented your relationship well and you still get asked about her often, if anything your relationships privacy just draws shippers to you

-Even if you’re content isn’t really her thing she’ll watch whatever you produce more religiously than your biggest fan and offer you her support however you need it

#marcus hargreeves x reader #sparrow ben x reader #fei hargreeves x reader #alphonso hargreeves x reader #sloane hargreeves x reader #jayme hargreeves x reader #sparrow!ben x reader #ben hargreeves x reader #the umbrella academy #tua #the sparrow academy #tua x reader #tua x you #the umbrella academy preferences #the umbrella academy imagine

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tiannasfanfic · 2 years

Text

Edge of Seventeen: Part 1

Eddie Munson x fem!GothReader (Angst)

[Masterlist] [Crossposted to AO3]

Summary: Sometimes change can be a good thing. Not for you, it seems. You change one thing and suddenly all of Hawkins High School is gunning for you.

Rating: Teen & Up

Author Note: Femme presenting Reader, she/her pronouns. Inspired by an interview with Ally Sheedy where she admits she absolutely hates her character's makeover from The Breakfast Club. I always hated it too, and have had my fair share of this as a goth, so I wrote this in vindication.

CW: Outright bullying (comments about clothing, makeup, who Reader is dating); passive aggressive bullying (backhanded compliments, gaslighting); crying; self-doubt; self-esteem issues; self confidence issues; cussing; ditching school.

Word Count: 1,736

You were nervous.

So very nervous.

It was the start of the day. You were just finishing getting your bag with the stuff you didn’t need at the moment stored away in your locker. After locking it up, you turned to head for your first class and caught a couple of jocks checking you out as they passed by. It made you feel self-conscious again and you tugged at the fabric around your legs.

You’d been wanting to branch out with your style a bit, shake things up some. That’s what you had finally decided to do today. And of all the days you had to pick to do this, you had to pick the one day that Eddie wasn’t going to be here until lunchtime.

You weren’t sure about the exact details yet, but when Eddie called you this morning, he had promised to fill you in later. Something had come up last minute he needed to do with Wayne. He assured you everything fine though, and he didn’t sound stressed or worried. Eddie had felt terrible about the short notice since he always picked you up for school, but you easily found a ride from one of your friends that lived nearby.

Now you wished you had changed after getting off the phone with him. The idea had occurred to you, but you thought it’d be okay without Eddie there. He was always telling you it was okay to be adventurous and branch out of your comfort zone, so you thought you would for once. You knew if you did, he would be very proud of you.

Over this past weekend while at the mall helping your best friend shop for a prom dress, you’d found a skirt you liked. It was plain black, of course, so it ticked off two checkboxes on your normal style checklist. But, unlike your normal style, this skirt was extremely short.

Well. Maybe not extremely short, but knee length was still way shorter than what you were used to. From your hips to about mid-thigh it almost fit A line style, but then started flowing out a bit so it was a loose and hung down. It not only showed off your lower legs, but also a bit of your figure around your hips and upper legs.

Regardless, you’d fallen in love with this skirt. It had only taken a little encouragement from your friend before you bought it. You had proudly showed it to your parents, and they thought it was adorable, but also you.

That was the only thing you had changed today. You still had on your normal t shirt with a cardigan over it, and your normal dark sneakers on your feet. You’d swapped your calf length socks for dark ankle length socks, but that didn’t count in your mind since you never wore anything short enough to show off your socks. Most of your skirts almost dragged on the floor. The rest of your skirts DID drag the floor. Close to half of them were a bit frayed around the hem as a result.

First period went by okay, as did second period. You got some looks, but they didn’t bother you much after the first couple. Both of your teachers complimented you, as did a few of your classmates, including Chrissy Cunningham who sat next to you in Algebra. The Hellfire Club all whistled at you and cat called you good naturedly, which made you grin. You expected that since you were the only girl in the group. Even though you weren’t technically in Hellfire Club, you were in Hellfire Club.

But then after second period, the comments started.

“Why don’t you dress like this more often?”

“You clean up well when you actually put some effort in!”

“Look who decided to be cute today!”

“Now if you’d just smile more, you might actually be pretty!”

By fourth period, a couple of the popular girls whose names you didn’t know decided you were completely redoing your image and you desperately needed help with it. They swarmed you in the restroom at one point and were actually mad when you wouldn’t let them wash your face and redo your makeup.

Right before the lunch bell, a note came to you. You didn’t know who it was from. It wasn’t signed and whoever wrote it did so in block lettering so you couldn’t recognize the handwriting.

KEEP IT UP! MAYBE SOMEONE WILL WANT YOU ASIDE FROM THE FREAK! :)

When the lunch bell rang, you didn’t even bother to stow your items away in your bag. You just swooped everything off your desk into your arms and hightailed it out of there, immediately going into the girl’s restroom next to the classroom. By the time you were in a stall, shoving your books into your backpack, tears were streaming down your face.

No one bothered to think before they spoke. That was the main problem here. You felt some of your classmates may have been trying to be nice and funny at the same time. But it didn’t land right. Not with you, at least. No one realized exactly how backhanded these sorts of “compliments” were. After a little while, you couldn’t tell the difference anymore between the sincere compliments and sarcastic ones.

That note though? That killed you. Not what it said. You didn’t care what it said. But the fact that someone was actually cruel enough to think it was a clever idea to pass a note like that over to someone.

All this over a skirt. A fucking skirt.

A skirt which you now decided was going on the grill and burned when you got home.

As much as you wanted to openly weep and just let it all out, you couldn’t. Other students were in and out of the restroom on their way to lunch. You didn’t want anyone to hear you, so you sat quietly on the toilet, waiting until you had been alone for a while until you came out of the stall. You took a moment to fix your smudged makeup, which was a bit tricky with all the black eyeshadow and liner you wore, but it turned out good enough. Then you quickly went to your locker, stowed everything you always kept at school and took out everything you brought with you every day. After lunch, you fully planned to ditch. While you’d always gotten some bullying since the change from normal to goth, this was a new level of cruelty Hawkins High School hadn’t shown you yet.

You regretted coming to the cafeteria as soon as you stepped in there.

It started out as a couple of whistles, then a cat call or two. You did your best to ignore them, keeping your head down and your eyes to the ground as you tried to hurry to the safety of Eddie and the Hellfire table.

Eddie. If you could just get to Eddie, he would be your anchor, and everything would be okay. Eddie always wanted you to be comfortable and happy, neither of which you were right now, but you knew he could calm you down and make you feel better.

But then you passed the jock tables, home to the basketball team and cheerleading squad, and the whistles and cat calls turned to jeers. They didn’t bother trying to disguise their teasing as compliments.

“Look who woke up on the normal side of the bed this morning!”

“Holy shit, she has legs!”

“Should’ve swapped the rest of her wardrobe, too.”

“Get rid of the black shit on your face next!”

“Aww, looks like our baby girl freak is finally blossoming into a nice young woman.”

That last comment made you feel a slight crack of anger in your head. You shoot a look in the direction of whoever spoke it and were completely unsurprised to see it was Jason Carver. He had that smirk on his face he always gets when teasing or bullying somebody. You glanced next to him at Chrissy and saw she had a mortified look on her face, looking close to tears on your behalf as she watched this go down.

That actually hurt your heart to see more than Jason’s words did. Chrissy was such a sweet person. She had been one of the few to really go out of her way to genuinely compliment you and be interested in your style choices. She had even offered some styling tips that fit your personality and you had been excited about her suggestions.

Your gaze shifted quickly back to Jason, your eyes narrowing into sharp slits. Now you weren’t only hurt and upset for what happened to you today, you were also angry on behalf of Chrissy that she didn’t have a good man at her side like you did.

Your emotions quickly walled themselves away in self-preservation mode so you wouldn’t do anything silly, like show anger or cry in front of these piranhas.

“I am a nice young woman,” you told Jason, your voice cold but loud enough so the tables around you could hear. “Which is more than can be said about you, Jason Carver. Do us all a favor sometime and pull that basketball out of your ass, yes? Maybe, just maybe, relieving that significant pressure might actually turn you into the nice young man you only pretend to be.”

With that, you spun on your heel, ignoring the look of slack jawed surprise on Jason’s face, ignoring the few cheers that burst out from the other tables, and strode out of the cafeteria with your head held high. You vaguely heard someone call your name, but you were done and completely ignored it while you were still holding yourself together.

No anger or tears from you. You were proud of yourself for that. That’s two “weaknesses” they wouldn’t be able to clock you for. But you knew what WOULD be sad about you after today. Now that, on the other hand, definitely did not bug you. You were okay, from time to time, with being known as That Bitch.

On the outside, at least. The dignified composure lasted until you were out in the hall, around the corner and were out of eyeshot of everyone else. You took off running for the door, your vision wavering as tears spilled out of your eyes once again.

#eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson blurb #eddie munson x goth reader

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amporella · 1 year

Text

SOUTH PARK TATTOO STYLE HEADCANONS

I got into Ink Master recently and have since been obsessed with tattoos, SO here are headcanons as to what tattoos the SP characters would get. VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU to @sn33z3s both for getting me into Ink Master and for helping me (and probably doing more work than I did tbh) come up with these <3

Most of the example links here for tattoo styles are on Instagram, and link to the pages of artists who do these styles!

Stan - Definitely either American Traditional or Neotraditional; either way, bold, thick lines and saturated color. Some specific designs he’d get would probably be traditional wolves, flowers, and/or neotraditional dogs: he would get a memorial piece for Sparky!! Would get full sleeves, but is also prone to getting funny sticker-type tattoos on a whim depending on what he likes at the moment.

Kyle - VERY MUCH a fine art tattoo kind of guy. His tattoos would look like paintings and are generally based off of them, but would also get fine line black and gray occasionally. Very delicate tattoos with very dainty lines, and he takes impeccable care of them.

Kenny - Has a huge variety of stick and poke tattoos (tattoos done by hand instead of with a tattoo machine) that he did himself. Would be very into the DIY and punk elements of stick and poke, and would also do them on request for his friends. Has ‘sleeves’ but they aren’t cohesive, and are actually just a bunch of very different tattoos kind of vaguely in the same place. Gets tattoos on a whim; if he dies, it’s not like they’re sticking around anyway!

Butters - Mostly has stick and poke tattoos that Kenny did for him (they are not very good), but occasionally branches out to get different tattoos. Other than the stick and pokes, I can see him primarily getting abstract and watercolor tattoos, mostly using the color blue? I don’t have a good reason for this. It just speaks to me.

Craig - Gets only black and gray geometric tattoos, and is extremely anal retentive about them. Turns up his nose at the idea of getting color in his tattoos, and is obnoxiously smug when his tattoos look good years in the future.

Tweek - Flowers!! He would be a flower tattoo guy, and his tattoos would have a lot of dotwork/stippling so he could get away with twitching; he wouldn’t go for fine line designs out of fear he would twitch and fuck it up. Mostly black and grey, but could definitely go for yellow if he was getting sunflowers.

Clyde - Has the WORST tattoos out of everyone. Mostly gets New School, but not the good kind; he gets memey tattoos that are old and cringe in two years time. He also has a ton of them and none of them are cohesive at all, because he tells his artist to do whatever and then hits on them during the whole tattoo.

Tolkien - Doesn't necessarily go with the typical iconography of American Traditional, but definitely goes with the style: bold lines and very saturated colors. His tattoos sit kind of in the middle between simple and complex, and they're always the cleanest tattoos out of the group.

Jimmy - Also gets New School, but actually does his research and gets cool tattoos. They all look sick and hold up super well. All of his tattoos are extremely colorful and actually do look like stickers. Leans very heavy into the cartoon style and it works for him.

Wendy - Kind of settles somewhere between Neotraditional and New School; her tattoos are all very clean, but not overly graphic or cartoony. Has a minimalist color palette and bold lines, so you can tell what her tattoos are from across the room. Often includes feminist iconography.

Bebe - ALSO FLOWERS. She could go either black and gray or color, but if she did go for color, it would definitely be red. Her tattoos are all very flattering and fit her shape well; they have a lot of flow and motion to them. Would get one of those flower tattoos on her hip.

Nichole - She doesn't have a set style, so she has a little bit of everything! She essentially treats tattoos like a scrapbook, and mostly gets new ones to celebrate events in her life, even if they're small, or to match with her friends. Most of her designs are silly and cute, and she doesn't take it too seriously.

Heidi - ANIMAL TATTOOS. She gives off that vibe to me, with deer in particular. She's mostly a Neotraditional animal type of person, but could go with realistic given the right artist. Her tattoos are always in color.

#cartman isn't here because i don't like him <3 #south park #kyle broflovski #stan marsh #kenny mccormick #butters stotch #craig tucker #tweek tweak #tolkien black #jimmy valmer #clyde donovan #wendy testaburger #bebe stevens #nichole daniels #heidi turner

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elvisabutler · 1 year

Note

1k angst prompt “Did you really think it’d be that easy?” With your Elvis! Selkie au please

and never again i'll go sailing

fandom: elvis presley | elvis ( 2022 ) rating: t with brief implications of sex pairing: elvis presley x female reader word count: 4069 warnings: mentions of seal skin. me playing fast and loose with selkie myth. jerry is a werewolf. mention of gambling. mentions of the colonel. mentions of elvis's poor health. mentions of implied violence against other people. the reader briefly being concerned about violence against her. elvis's anger issues. fights in pools. author’s note: thank you for this anon! i apologize for how long you had to wait because i had a whole issue trying to write this. i do enjoy how it turned out and i hope if you're still reading this that you enjoy reading it! this was done for my 1k gala that's been closed since march, based on angst line “did you really think it’d be that easy?” this is based on/in the same universe as the selkie au i wrote. not required to read it but it makes things make a lot more sense. y'all know the drill, real elvis or austin elvis works fine for this despite the moodboard. also seriously anyone who likes this au earns my undying adoration. i truly never thought anyone would enjoy this let alone multiple people so it delights me to see it. i also thrive on comments as usual and welcome them into my askbox.

As it turns out detangling a man who signed away his life under what you feel were dubious circumstances at best was harder than it looked. It's a fact you shouldn't be surprised about, you figure, after all, since the very moment you laid eyes on Colonel Tom Parker across the table with your eyes peering at him over your cards. You knew he wasn't perhaps the most honest of men. You know that carny men were always slippery as snakes when it came to business. Once upon a time you had run into a lawyer who- while a piss poor poker player was actually quite competent at his job. Problem was that you never had quite clarified with him what branch of law he specialized in. His business card didn't even help on that front either. A voice inside the back of your head reminds you to point that out to the man. Partially out of the goodness of your heart but also in the interest of keeping the man practicing and under gainful employment, just so you could use of his services if need be beyond this particular day.

"His contract- it's- it's not ironclad, there's some wiggle room but it's a tricky one to get out of." You end up opening and closing your mouth several times before the lawyer- Aiden, you think his name is, takes pity on you. "You didn't think this was going to be easy did you?"

Your face hardens just slightly, a fact both Elvis and Aiden pick up on before Elvis lays a comforting hand on your shoulder and squeezes.

"Down, darlin'," he says before leaning closer so that only you can hear his next words, "down my yittle seal wife. Ain't gonna do us any good to have get angry and start barkin'. Leave that to me."

Your chest shrinks down from the puffed out position you were in as you side eye him, your words coming out a harsh whisper, "Hard to bark if you haven't been able to shift."

It's a cruel comment that you at least partially regret the moment it leaves your mouth. Elvis's face had fallen, hurt coloring his features before he plasters a smile on his face and looks over at Aiden. "Can ya help me though? Get me outta this mess- this lil trap he's got me in?"

Aiden looks between the pair of you and the papers in front of him and exhales. "I can but you have to give me a bit of time. Especially if you want it done right."

"I'm supposed to go on a tour in a month," Elvis frowns, "that too tight of a timeframe for you?"

"Depends, is your girlfriend going to be the one I'm having to tell that to or you?" He tries to quip but you aren't as good at gambling as you are without recognizing a person's tells. There is no way he can do this in a month but he isn't about to admit it to both of you.

You manage a hint of a smile before shaking your head. "Oh no, you'll be telling Elvis that all on your own. I won't have a thing to do with it."

Aiden looks at you suspiciously but manages to compose himself well enough to make it so Elvis doesn't notice- or doesn't care to pay attention. You figure he can sense that you know what he's saying is complete horseshit but for the sake of everyone involved it's best to just let it sit for now. It's best to let things sit and not press lest something blow up in everyone's faces.

The meeting goes for another ten minutes but it feels almost closer to an hour before you find yourself walking out with Elvis, his arm around your waist pulling you close enough that his nose buries itself in your hair as he murmurs to you. "Ya think he was lyin'? Think it's gonna be that easy for him to get it done that quick?"

"We'll see," you answer as you step into the car, not wanting to crush his hopes just this once, "we'll see."

In hindsight, not telling Elvis might have done more harm than good as you come to realize after the fourth argument in less than two weeks between him and the Colonel. You figure it's about the fact that he wants to be let go from the contract without paying an arm, a leg and Graceland to this man but tonight you realize the real reason. You realize that yes it's partially about that but it's also about you. It's about the skin.

"I told ya we've got it safe. She's keepin' it safe like she's supposed ta. Like ya were supposed ta, ya goddamn toad." Elvis's words are muffled through the door but you don't dare walk in to your shared room just yet. Perhaps it's because you want to spy a little or perhaps you're worried about his mood being taken out on you, not that he's necessarily given you the indication that he ever would do that. Normally he might somehow sense you're on the other side of the door but today he doesn't. It's silent for a moment except for Elvis's breathing and you almost make the move to enter before you hear another yell.

"Jus'- jus' lookin' out for me. That's fuckin' rich. Might've started out that way but keepin' the damn thing away from me damn near killed me. Ya would've fuckin' killed me if she hadn't-" There's a brief pause before he launches back into his tirade again. "No, I don't care that she lied 'bout it. Hell, she was gonna come clean. She- it ain't like 'Cilla, she's it. She's it and I wouldn't've known if she hadn't won it from ya. Jus'- Stop goddamn actin' like ya care. Stop actin' like my daddy."

The slam of the phone makes you jump on the other side of the door and finally has you turning the doorknob to get inside. Elvis is angry, it's clear as day from the tension in his shoulders, the way his chest- his glorious chest- heaves up and down with heavy breaths. It's clear as day and makes you feel surprisingly a little skittish as you walk up to him and place your hand on his shoulder.

"Calm do-" you start to say before stopping yourself, and making it so Elvis turns to face you, "breathe."

There's something fascinating in the way that Elvis relaxes at the request. You've known he doesn't take orders from anyone, truly and that if he doesn't want to do something and it doesn't involve his fans and performing? Oh, he won't do it. He is the quintessential ideal of you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. But this time, in this case he relaxes so quickly that you can't help but smile and move to give him a kiss in a show of thanks.

You open up your mouth to ask him what that was about before he cuts you off, seemingly reading your mind. "I knew he wasn't gonna wanna let me go. Knew he'd hate ya 'cuz even when- even 'fore I knew ya had my skin he wasn't a fan of ya. Made it worse when I took my skin back from ya," your eyes tighten and water at the memory as Elvis continues, "and he told me that it wouldn't be easy. Told me comin' back that bein' wit' ya'd be hard as anythin' 'cuz I wouldn't know if ya wanted me even if ya couldn't control me. Didn't have my leash. And he jus' won't let it go. Won't admit to himself that he ain't gonna have me footin' his gamblin' bill and lifestyle much longer. I- I'm real thankful for everythin' he did but-"

"You want to be free. You want to do what you want with your career." You finish off his thought for him and move to cup his cheek. "You know you're going to get that, right? You know I'm not going to let him drag you back here. We're gonna get you untangled and we'll make plans to go to let you tour and I'll come with you. You'll get to swim in the Northern European waters. Get to swim in the Mediterranean."

Elvis's jaw tightens as he grips your wrist. "Yeah. If I can 'member how t' shift. Mama'd be embarrassed to see me strugglin' this bad."

A laugh, a small little chuckle leaves your lips as you shake your head. "From what I've heard she'd probably be more mad at the Colonel for keeping you from your skin for so long to cause it. You- You're putting too much thought into it."

Elvis hums before moving away from you. "Ya- Baby, Darlin', ya don't get it. Ya my yittle seal wife and ya got a goddamn seal who can't show off. Wanna let ya have me swim beside ya, wanna have ya watch me swim circles 'round ya. Without that- I ain't a very good selkie am I?"

You want to tell him that's not why you're with him. That the skin doesn't mean anything to you. You want Elvis no matter what he is or how his body betrays him. You want him mind, body and soul because he's already captured yours wholeheartedly. It's hard to explain that though, hard to explain that even if he wasn't a seal you'd still have fallen for him. You're so lost in your own thoughts swirling around your head that you miss some of his words and only catch the tail end of his last words.

"Can't have ya leavin' me for someone else."

Your heart threatens to break in two at the implication, at the mere idea of leaving him for someone else. It's never been about the skin even if it might have pushed you two together in ways you're both so very unsure of. It's been about him wiggling his way into your heart through talking and kissing and coming back after he was given back his skin. It doesn't take you a minute before you're practically forcing your way into his arms, your arms wrapping around his torso and pulling him in tight. He needs to feel how your heart beats for him and how you may have never figured you'd fall for him of all the people but God, you have fallen so irrevocably in love with him that there's no turning back. He doesn't speak and doesn't move for a long while before you feel him nuzzling at your hair and hear the inhale of his breath as he murmurs a few words.

"Promise me you won't take home away."

Promise you won't take you away is what he means you think and you can't help but nuzzle into his chest, his chest hair tickling your nose just a little as you whisper back. "They'd have to drag me away."

"I can't do it like this. Ya know how many people are goddamn watchin' from their rooms?" Elvis manages to keep his voice down to not attract more attention but all it does it aggravate you more.

"Do you have a better idea that works? You told me you don't think the bath works and it's not like we can just go off to Lake Mead. There's a finite amount of options, Elvis." You mutter, running your hand across your face. "You want to practice trying to shift and tomorrow's shows are canceled. It's the perfect time to do it."

Elvis hates how nervous he sounds when he speaks again. He's a man who doesn't get embarrassed, who's been in the spotlight for damn near two decades- there's no reason for him to be so shy about this but it's different. Shifting isn't supposed to be done where other people can see it unless he trusts them. Only Jerry and you and maybe some of the Mafia are supposed to see. Family is supposed to see, not fans who want to catch a glimpse of Elvis Presley. "They're gonna see and it's gonna be-"

"It's gonna be what? Elvis, it is 11PM, I don't know who you think is being nosy and looking outside their window but it's just me here. It's just your goddamn seal wife trying to help you shift." Your anger and frustration are starting to get the better of you and you can feel your body heating up the angrier you get. "Just relax, Elvis."

In a flash Elvis is in front of you, his wet hair sticking to the sides of his face and the top of his head. Another time and you'd think this was the most attractive you've seen him for a while but right now all it does is frustrate you. "Can't relax with ya tryin' to yell at me. It's- goddammit, Y/N, ya don't- it's supposed to be easy. Like breathin' for me. And here I am struggling to even get one part of my body to turn the way it should."

Your first instinct is to push back at him, to remind him that you're not trying to yell at him but he's pushing every single one of your buttons and the two of you are far too alike when it comes to that. But you hear the frustration in his voice and the hurt that his body won't cooperate. He's been able to halt the damage caused by not having the skin for so long but he can't seem to reverse this damage. His body is still betraying him even after he gave it the one thing it was missing. Your chest twists a little at the realization as you watch Elvis tread the water with you in the pool. Looking at his face you're reminded of the little boy he must have once been learning how to shift from his mama and in that moment you swear you feel a cold breeze wash over you that has you shivering loud enough for Elvis to pull you close to him.

"Ya alright?" He asks, but there's this pleading edge to it, a desire for you to answer yes even if you're not.

"Just a little wind, E," you answer simply before moving to cup his face. "Did you really think it was going to be that easy to relearn how?"

His face is bashful when he answers and if you weren't still at least a bit frustrated with him you'd have laughed at how it turns him into what feels like a sixteen year old boy in trouble with his mama. "I did. I learned it once from mama. Should be able to 'member how."

A hum leaves your lips as you shake your head. "You also didn't shift for over a decade. You forget things, bury them down when they aren't useful to you any more. Just- breathe, Elvis. Relax and take a deep breath and try again. Picture you and I in Hawai‘i when this is all over. You swimming around me, nuzzling at me. Showing everyone I'm yours."

The pair of you shut your eyes together, just swimming next to one another, treading the water and breathing until you hear a splash that has your eyes shooting open. The pool is darker than you'd like but you had been able to see Elvis up until now. Your breath quickens as you quietly call out his name. You can't see him and there was that splash and the panic threatens to wrap around you before you feel a nudge against your leg. You feel a large nudge that's only able to be done by something not human against your leg and you look down to see what looks like a seal in the water. The only response that comes to mind is a squeal as you see him, delight overwhelming you before Elvis manages to peek his head above the water. The bark he makes at you sounds so much like his laughter that you can't help but laugh and pull him into a hug, ignoring just how slippery he is.

He shifts back quicker than you think he'd like but it's progress. It's a step in the right direction.

You were right about Aiden not being able to make it so Elvis didn't have to go on the tour and Elvis's reaction isn't pretty to say the least. He keeps himself in check purely because you're there reminding him that Aiden is trying and it's just one more tour. It's just one more grueling tour before he can take easier ones. Before he can take his time spending days at a time in cities if he wants. The reminder helps but once you're back to the hotel and the Colonel is knocking on the door you know what you're destined to deal with is Elvis's anger and depression over the matter. You have pressing issues you have to attend to and it's the only reason you don't stay up there during the meeting and why Elvis doesn't press.

Two hours later and you enter a dark room with Elvis reading something in the low light of a lamp by the bed. Any other time and you'd slink out of your clothes and climb in next to him but you choose to remain in your clothes and sit on the edge of the bed. "That bad?"

"That bad," he answers simply, turning a page with pursed lips. "Ain't gonna get a wink of sleep. Added one more date to make up for my foolishness and- I jus' wish ya were comin'. Know ya can't 'cuz there ain't a damn thing in our life that can be easy but- ya'd have made it better. Made it easier to handle. Ya gotta make him work harder, darlin'. Can't do another season like this. I gotta get outta here."

The aggravation and hurt seep into your voice despite your best efforts. You've known Elvis expects a lot from the people he cares about but you've been trying harder than anyone else to make sure he can run free. To make sure he can swim whenever and wherever he wants. You're the one in charge of his skin, you're his seal wife and he's damn near treating you like an actual one. "E, you don't think that's what I've been trying' to do? That's all I want for you. I don't want you tied down like you have been. I don't think you have many years left in you if you are. You need to be able to get out of this city permanently. Sure, you can come back if you want but not- you need to not be tied down and be forced to come back year after year. You deserve freedom."

Freedom to do whatever even if it means running off from you and finding someone who doesn't know about him being a seal. Who he can count on being in love with him without a skin binding them together. You don't necessarily want to be his legal wife but getting called his yittle seal wife hurts sometimes. As if all you're there for it to be another bodyguard for Elvis Presley. "I'm trying."

Elvis looks up from his book and notes the hurt on your face before setting it down on the nightstand and opening up his arms as a hint for you to cuddle up to him. When you do he presses a kiss to your temple. "'m just angry, darlin'. Keep havin' things get in our way and I- I felt like this with 'Cilla. Felt so in love and I don't feel like losin' that again. Wanna make a life wit' ya. Travel the world. Have ya meet my lil pup." His words trail off as he moves his hand down to your torso, not saying another word for a moment. "Wanna build a life that we can both enjoy, ya know? Don't wanna push ya away. Don't wanna- I jus' want things to be a lil easier for us. Ain't we been through enough already? Jus' need a break from God. Been askin' him for one."

You're not nearly as religious as Elvis but you've been praying for God to do it too. He deserves it and you like to think you do too. It's a simple request that just hasn't been fulfilled yet. You bite your lip before you speak. "Maybe it's coming soon. It's like your shifting, Elvis. Just give it time."

"Darlin', like ya said, I ain't sure I got a lot of that left."

It's funny how something about that night changes things. He goes on tour and gives brilliant performances and you hear about the articles and the reporters talking about how he's more invigorating than he has been in years and it fills you with warmth. He's showing off the man you fell for. The man who has all the energy in the world for his fans on the stage and off it. He's a man with a new outlook on life and it does something to you. It reminds you that all this is going to be for naught if he has to come back her to wilt. Aiden is more a little terrified of you after the second time you come by in less than a week, demanding an update better than he's working on it.

A judge has to get involved and you have to get Elvis's permission to use funds to keep things hush hush and out of the papers. This is a private matter for now, it doesn't need to be plastered everywhere, tarnishing his reputation and tarnishing the goodwill he's receiving. The judge as it turns out takes one look at the contract and the circumstances surrounding it and throws it out. Doesn't make the Colonel pay anything back and lets him keep small residuals of Elvis's income- a fact you're not a fan of but will concede to just as much as Elvis does. But they free him.

Elvis has to get a new manager and asks Jerry to step in at least for a little bit, just to smooth over a transition unless he wants to balance him and the Beach Boys. Jerry does and it's- it works better than you think it will as you watch the two men work together with an ease you almost envy. A world tour is planned faster than you think was possible until Jerry tells you everyone's had it in their back pocket without Elvis knowing. They only realized it might become a reality when they saw how you and him interacted. They saw a hope that they thought was gone for good.

The first night at Graceland is calmer than you think it would be and you find yourself against Elvis's chest, playing with his chest hair as you both bask in an afterglow that rivals the best of shows or the best of poker hands. Elvis voice rumbles in his chest as he speaks. "Finally get to do what I want when I want. Think it's gonna get easier now?"

"Maybe," you murmur, kissing his chest. "But, there's a quote, I think, that goes something like nothing worthwhile in life is easy. And I like to think all of this qualifies. Figure you and I do too." You pause. "I wouldn't complain if it did get easier though. It's been an exhausting time."

"Mhmm," Elvis hums, "think we oughta take a vacation after the new tour. One where I don't work. Hawai‘i and the two of us with Cilla and Lisa sounds-"

You cut him off with a kiss. "Sounds like perfection and like the easiest thing in life for us to do. Four months traveling the globe and stopping there for another month."

The smile that crosses his face is brighter than any sun and you can't help but smile back. "That- That's why you're the perfect seal wife for me. Goddamn brilliant woman."

"Goddamn charming seal." You quip back before he lets out an mock offended gasp and rolls on top of you as you both laugh until you're breathless.

It might not have been easy but it's worth it.

#elvis presley #selkie!elvis #elvis presley x reader #elvis presley x y/n #elvis presley x you #austin elvis x reader #austin butler elvis x reader #elvis 2022 #elvis ( 2022 )#austin elvis #austin butler elvis #ally writes #ally's 1k gala

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toomanyrobins2 · 2 years

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From My Tower

Summary: An orphan all her life, Y/N is simply too old to remain at The Bowery Home any longer. That is where an anonymous patron has swooped in to send her off to college and all he requires…a monthly letter of her academic progress.

Based off the book and musical “Daddy Long Legs”

Pairing: Bruce Wayne x Reader

last part // series masterlist // next part

JANUARY

On the Eve

Dear Batman,

You should see the way this college is studying! We've forgotten we ever had a vacation. Fifty-seven irregular verbs have I introduced to my brain in the past four days--I'm only hoping they'll stay till after examinations.

I’ve been told some of the girls sell their textbooks when they're through with them, but I plan on keeping each of mine. Then, after I've graduated, I shall have my whole education in a row in the bookcase, and when I need to use any detail, I can turn to it without the slightest hesitation. So much easier and more accurate than trying to keep it in your head.

Harriet Kane dropped in this evening to pay a social call, and stayed a solid hour. She got started on the subject of family, and I COULDN'T switch her off. She wanted to know what my mother's maiden name was--did you ever hear such an impertinent question to ask of a person from an orphanage? I didn't have the courage to say I didn't know, so I just miserably plumped on the first name I could think of, and that was Montgomery. Then she wanted to know whether I belonged to the Massachusetts Montgomerys or the Virginia Montgomerys.

Her mother was a Rutherford. The family came over in the ark, and were connected by marriage with Henry the VIII. On her father's side they date back further than Adam. On the topmost branches of her family tree there's a superior breed of monkeys with very fine silky hair and extra long tails. They’re one of the founding members of Gotham City (please read in the most condescending tone possible). I meant to write you a nice, cheerful, entertaining letter tonight, but I'm too sleepy—and scared. The freshman's lot is not a happy one.

Yours, about to be examined,

Y/N Abbott

Bruce surprised himself by laughing out loud at the sarcasm with which Y/N portrayed about the way the his cousins’s eldest daughter bragged about their family.

His mother had been a Kane before she married Thomas Wayne and Bruce wished he had something pleasant to say about his extended family. Unfortunately, Y/N was right on the nose about Harriet Kane and the girl had learned her behavior from all those around her. The founding families of Gotham were a limited bunch and Bruce was stuck with them even if their genetics were shared.

SUNDAY

Dearest Batman

I have some awful, awful, awful news to tell you, but I won't begin with it; I'll try to soften the blow with good news first. Y/N Abbott has commenced being an author! A poem entitled, `From My Tower', appears in the February Monthly--on the first page, which is a very great honor for a Freshman. My English instructor stopped me on the way out from dinner last night and said it was a charming piece of work except for the sixth line, which had too many feet. I will send you a copy in case you care to read it.

Let me see if I can't think of something else pleasant-- Oh, yes! I'm learning to skate and can glide about quite respectably all by myself. Also, I've learned how to slide down a rope from the roof of the gymnasium, and I can vault a bar three feet and six inches high--I hope shortly to pull up to four feet.

This is the sunniest, most blinding winter afternoon, with icicles dripping from the fir trees and all the world bending under a weight of snow--except me, and I'm bending under a weight of sorrow.

Now for the news--courage, Y/N!--you must tell.

Are you SURELY in good humor? I failed in mathematics and Latin prose. I am being tutored in them and will take another examination next month. I'm sorry if you're disappointed, but otherwise, I don't care a bit because I've learned such a lot of things not mentioned in the catalog. I've read seventeen novels and bushels of poetry-- really necessary novels like Vanity Fair and Richard Feverel and Alice in Wonderland. Also, Emerson's Essays and Lockhart's Life of Scott and the first volume of Gibbon's Roman Empire and half of Benvenuto Cellini's Life--wasn't he entertaining? He used to saunter out and casually kill a man before breakfast.

So you see, Batman, I'm much more intelligent than if I'd just stuck to Latin. Will you forgive me this once if I promise never to fail again?

Yours in sackcloth,

Y/N

17th FEBRUARY

Dear Batman,

This is an extra letter in the middle of the month because I'm rather lonely tonight. It's awfully stormy. All the lights are out on the campus, but I drank black coffee and I can't go to sleep.

I had a supper party this evening consisting of Barbara and Harriet and Diana--toasted muffins and salad and lemon cakes and coffee. Harriet claimed she'd had a good time, but Babs stayed to help wash the dishes.

I might, very usefully, put some time on Latin tonight but, there's no doubt about it, I'm a very languid Latin scholar. We've finished Livy and De Senectute and are now engaged with De Amicitia (pronounced Damn Icitia).

Should you mind, just for a little while, pretending you are my grandmother? Babs has one and Harriet and Diana each two, and they were all comparing them tonight. I can't think of anything I'd rather have; it's such a respectable relationship. So, if you really don't object--When I went into town yesterday, I saw the sweetest cap of Cluny lace trimmed with lavender ribbon. I am going to make you a present of it on your eighty-third birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's the clock in the chapel tower striking twelve. I believe I am sleepy after all. Good night, Granny.

I love you dearly,

Y/N

Bruce was surprised by the anger he felt at this girl. He had an overwhelming urge to write a letter back admonishing her. To be throwing a dinner party after failing her exams was the definition of youthful pride. And yet, when she pretended she was writing to her grandmother, Bruce felt his heart twinge. He was very familiar with the wish to have a family member. While he always wrote to Alfred when he had been away at school, it was not the same.

Bruce shook his head. NO! Y/N knew better! She had one job and that was to be the best student she could be. He was not paying for her to throw a dinner party. As his anger started to grow, a piece of paper fluttered to the floor. Bruce picked it up and realized it was the poem that she had written. His anger started to melt away with each line he read and he fell back against his seat, rubbing a hand down his face. This girl was a wreck on his emotions.

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nightqueen1221 · 2 years

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Kokushibo with a reader who used to obsess to be his wife when he is a human and even risked their life but to no avail and reader and kokushibo become a demon they go to diffrent paths kokushibo feelings just crashed and few years later he and reader met and asked reader to become his wife and reader reaction is dumbfounded and offended because he just purposed just now and definetely rejected him

Btw oneshot please this one is sligthly based of manhwa I read

This was a bit hard to write, but enjoy!

*THIS CHARACTER IS A DEMON SLAYER SPOILER*

"Kokushibo!" You called. It was a nice spring day, the Sakura were just starting to bloom again. The air had a sweet smell to it and the quite buzz of bugs was creating an atmosphere. His head slightly turning to look at you. You always followed him around. He told you many times to not follow him around because it was dangerous. Still, you followed him.

"What do you need?" He asked. He never really cared for the fact you wanted to be his wife. He more or less ignored that fact. You've tried to put your life on the line countless times. Yet to him, it was just an inconvenience.

"Please, just let me be your wife. I promise I'll take good care of you." You pleaded. He said nothing, and not even really taking note of the fact you just asked him that question. The question of being stuck together for the rest of your lives. It was something you were sure you wanted to spend it with him. Now, it was for his turn to answer.

"Please?" You cried. "If it's not to much. I'd make sure you got what you needed, I'd make sure you have love and affection everyday."

"I don't need that." He spoke calmly. "And why do you insist on following me. I don't need anyone to be right next to me and by my side constantly. Therefore, I don't need a wife."

It was true he was a demon slayer, that job required the ability to move around quickly. You knew this because you were one. Really all you wanted was to stay with him. You felt like he really was the one for you.

You two stared to walk into a forest that was full of thick and beautiful trees. So thick you could barely see the daylight of spring. The branches just touching the top of your head. It was quite but it was concerning with how much it was. The breeze wasn't a breeze anymore, it wasn't there.

You both saw something move in the distance. Something big and most defiantly not a woodland animal. It was a demon. It had to have been. Kokushibo drew his sword as soon as possible, you following close at hand. You tried running to the demon first. You could prove to him you were strong and could protect him. Right?

"Wait! That's a bad idea!" He yelled to you. You turned to look at him with a smile. "It's ok I got i-" you were close to finishing the sentence until you got hit. It wasn't fatile or a major injury, but it sure hurt like hell.

Kokushibo, being calm and cool, he was able to easily kill the demon in a single hit. He went over to you were alright.

"You ok?" He asked

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a few bandages and it should heal in time." You whimpered. "Look, that really didn't look all the good for me on my part, I all ready know that. But, trust me I can take care of you and help you. I promise to be with you every step of the way. Please just say you'll be there too." You pleaded with desperation in your eyes.

He simply looked at you, his eyes and mouth said nothing in response. He just handed you some bandages, got up and left. There was nothing you could do about it. You were to hurt to stand at this point.

Turns out the wound was worse than what you thought. You couldn't move, you stayed there overnight. You couldn't find anything to eat or drink. You stayed there like that for days. You were on the brink of death. Yet, it felt like something saved you. Something that was healing your wound.

That something, or someone, was you becoming what you swore to destroy. A demon. You could now stand at this point, you walk, talk, hell you felt like you could do anything at this point.

This feeling stayed this way, for years and years to come. In those same years, you never saw Kokushibo. In those years you realized, maybe he wasn't a good choice for a husband. Your last moments together was when you were in need and he just left you, barely even helping. You dicided if you ever saw him, you wouldn't ask to be his wife, you wouldn't even help him if he needed it.

"Y/N." Was all you heard in a familiar voice. You turned to see. It was someone you never thought to see again. It was him. He didn't look like how he used to. He was obliviously a demon now, with six eyes and, he was even part of the Twelve Kizuki. You didn't know what to say or how to act.

"Y/N, I'm sorry, for the way I acted and treated you. Please let me repay you in being your husband." He spoke with disappointment in his voice. But not at you, oh no, not at you at all. He was disappointed in himself.

"This is your way of forgiving me?" You said. "This? Something you could have done so long ago. I asked you so many times, yet you say it now? It's pathetic honestly. I chased you around, telling you how much I could help, I chased you around telling you that we could be there for each other. Well, I guess we can't because you never said we could." You spat.

"If you really care for me, than leave."

And just like the last time you two saw each other. He just looked at you. The only thing to change, was you weren't the one left hurt.

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nuagederose · 10 months

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As the Seasons Grey | Chapter Twenty-Seven: Verisimilitude

ao3 link

Christine hunkered down in the front seat next to Nelly as they made their way back along the highway. The car was warm and dry, the safe space away from the cold blustery hostile environment outside there. It would be some time before they reached the outskirts of Ithaca, there at the southern rim of Finger Lakes, but she knew that she could enjoy the ride the rest of the way out there. Before they left the Catskills, she had indulged in that Boston crème donut that Alex had gotten for her, and all the while, she never broke her gaze from him.

He and Eric leaned up against the side of Nelly's car with their donuts with the bright pink frosting on top, simply because they needn't leave the frosting on the sleek upholstery inside. Those deep eyes locked onto her as they contrasted against the gray sky overhead: he ate his donut at a rather slow, deliberate pace, complete with his tongue on his fingers to rid of the extraneous pink frosting on the sides. Eric, meanwhile, was completely oblivious as to what was happening as he slowly ate his donuts, whereby Alex had gotten two for him.

She hoped that he would gorge on more donuts in the future, especially when she dropped her gaze down to his belly and she wished for it to return back over his belt again at some point.

When they returned to the road, she caught a glimpse in the side view mirror and watched the two of them indulge in more donuts. So much for the upholstery, but she couldn't help but chuckle at the notion of them eating like that, a couple of little piggies, one with glasses and the other was already quite chubby. It was so deviant of her to think of them as nothing more than a couple of pigs, but they were eating those donuts as if they were going to be without food for a while.

The light shifted from the middle of the sky to the horizon off to the left, and more and more clouds filtered in overhead: snow was upon them, but Christine wondered if it was nothing more than a mere fluke as the big bright green signs for Ithaca emerged out from the tender dark trees which lined the sides of the road. A fine layer of hoarfrost lined the branches, and given they were moving along at a quick pace, Christine made a joke to herself that it was actually snow instead, rather the precursor to the incoming front from the blackest heart of Lake Ontario further up the road from there.

Once they showed up to the turn-off right outside of Whitney Point, Nelly took the next left down the narrow two lane road through the forest: for Christine, it almost felt like going to visit her grandmother in the woods, and she anticipated the wolves to skulk out of the shadows and into the graying light throughout the land. She shivered once Nelly switched on the defroster to rid of the fine layer of condensation which formed on the inside of the windows.

“Quit breathing so hard back there, you two,” she teased the two of them, complete with a quick glimpse into the rear view mirror.

“The donuts were just so good, though,” Eric confessed.

“Yeah, we had two of them,” Alex added. “So warming and comforting that it was actually arousing.”

Christine inwardly chuckled at the notion of donuts being an erotic food. But then again, she and Alex locked eyes as she was eating her Boston crème one, as her tongue lapped along the sweet milky white cream inside and she closed her eyes to relish in the lush taste and decadent sweetness of the donut. She chuckled to herself once again, satisfied by the fact that she had potentially done something for him right then and without her own intention, and she hoped that they would have a chance at some point over the course of their little stay there at the lakes.

Within time, the forest cleared out a bit and the road widened into four lanes. They rounded a bend in the road, whereby they were faced with the cozy college town of Ithaca, nestled down in the woods as it overlooked the cold black waters of Cayuga Lake. The clouds hung down even lower as they passed a sign which pointed the way up to Cornell University, the brick buildings of which were posted up there in the eastern side of the city in the trees: the way that Christine saw it from the road made her think of a big castle, and the only it lacked was a series of dragons to protect the strong and high scrubbed brick walls.

“Imagine going to Cornell University, you three,” Alex remarked as quaint little cottage style houses jutted up along the sides of the road.

“God, if only,” Nelly declared with a chuckle. “Talk about prestige!”

“Get a Rhodes scholarship and a degree from Cornell,” he continued. “The world could rightfully kiss my ass if that were the case.”

Christine thought about his home life, and the fact that he stayed silent that whole time. The whole thing nagged at her, and she wondered if there was anything more that she could do to uncover the truth with him. The tall pointed turrets at the campus, the high pale points which showed through the scraggly, barren trees, only further made her think of a castle in the forest. She had to fight the dragons and overcome his walls to find the truth as it was, as it lay behind the bricks. The bravest, strongest armor that she could possibly garner for herself as they wound their way through the eastern side of town, all the way over to their cabin which overlooked the harbor and those cold black waters.

Nelly brought them into the parking lot, and she climbed out so as to check them in. Alex and Eric both climbed out to relish in the cool crispness which came from the shore of the waters about five hundred yards away from there. Christine lingered back in the front seat with her hands on her upper arms as if to keep the warmth inside: given they were right near the water, she could tell that it wasn't nearly as cold as it had been, especially back there at the Catskills. But she still shivered and rubbed her upper arms with her hands as a chill shot up from the base of her spine.

“So much I want to do, my god,” she heard Alex remark from outside of the car. The way that he said it reminded her of all the times he spoke to her while they were in bed together, that soft intimate tone of voice as if he whispered a secret to her. She peered out the window to the campground off to the right, at all the cabins and little yurts which stood in long lines against the scraggly dark trees; behind that was a touch more forest, followed by the road to the northern edge of town, followed by the beginnings of the harbor.

And it was right then she remembered to call Wendy, as she promised to do so once they arrived at their cabin. She took out her phone from her jacket pocket, flipped it open with a flick of her wrist, and pressed the number her mother. She held the phone up to her ear and waited three rings before she reached voicemail. She closed her eyes as she waited for her cue.

“Hi, Mom—it's Chris. I just wanted to say that we made it to Ithaca in one piece. It might snow up here, I don't really know, but I'm gonna bring back some souvenirs for you and Dad. And, hopefully, we'll be home before the ball drops on Time Square. Love you.”

She pressed the red button to hang up, and then she closed her phone and tucked it back into her pocket. Nelly surfaced from the building before the car with a smile on her face and a rubbing of her hands together.

“Alright, boys and girls,” she started as she opened the driver's door again, and she climbed inside. “We're all the way down the line here, down by the showers and the bathrooms—in case of it snowing, we won't have to go very far.”

“Perfect!” Christine declared; Alex and Eric climbed back into the backseat, and Nelly started up the car once again. They rolled past the yurts near the front of the campground: around halfway, they turned into cute little log cabins straight out of a storybook.

“Here we are—” Nelly pulled up to the one at the very end of the line, which had a small porch and a picnic table under a tall leafless elm tree. At the center of their campsite stood a large metal drum which Christine could only assume was for a fire during the spring and summer. They pulled up to the parking space at the right of the front porch, and Christine was first to climb out that time around. She raised her head to the sky, and she wished to feel the rain on her skin.

Eric climbed out right next to her, to which he gave his long jet-black hair a toss with a flick of his head. Alex and Nelly followed suit on the other side of the car; the former then rubbed his hands together.

“Shall we consider a fire?” he offered.

“Once we get inside, yes,” Nelly pointed out in a singsong voice.

“But of course!”

Christine and Eric then glanced at each other; the latter stepped out from behind the car door and came closer to her.

“Want me to help you with your—purse, Chris?” he offered.

“Huh?” But Christine was cut off by Eric moving his face in closer to her own, to which he missed her by a few inches.

“Whoa, what're you doing?” she asked him in a low voice, taken aback.

Eric shook his head. “I'm sorry, that—I don't know where that came from. I guess it was just a spur of the moment thing, like our trip out to Monterey this summer.”

Christine nibbled on her bottom lip and then she rested a hand on his shoulder.

“Eric, if you want to kiss me, just kiss me,” she told him.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked her in a small voice.

“Maybe when the adults in the room aren't looking, I could give you a little peck or two—or three,” she vowed to him. He then bowed his head and set a hand on his arm.

“You're not in trouble,” she assured him with a little shake of her head. “You have to remember that you and I both have boundaries.”

“Dudes do it in movies all the time,” he pointed out. “You know, the unlikely guy gets with the cool girl when no one's looking.”

“This ain't a movie, though, Eric,” she assured him, and she reached up to touch his face and that smooth, creamy skin that felt like porcelain. “You're so sweet and cute, though.”

“Sluggo!” Alex called out from the side of the car, to which he fetched up a sigh and stepped away from her right then. Christine chuckled to herself and shook her head once he made his way over to Alex. Eric inadvertently called her a “cool girl” as well, a compliment that she had never really heard before in her life. She recalled a time in which Chris had come close to saying something like that to her, especially when she prepared to tell him of her feelings for him the few days prior to his death. There were moments in which she knew what he was thinking, and when she prepared to tell him the truth about her feelings for him, she could see it in his eyes. It was one of those unspoken things, where she thought about it and he thought about it, and they could finish the sentence together once the moment came.

Once the four of them were settled into the cozy little cabin, with the big front room with the potbellied stove and the tweed couch and two bedrooms which meant they had to either share a bed or crash on the couch, they began dinner for the evening followed by a round of grasshopper pie which Nelly packed up, but Christine knew that they were going to have more than one pie for the second half of the weekend, especially after how Alex and Eric once again resembled a pair of piggies over their slices. By ten thirty, Nelly made her way out to the showers, and Eric followed suit behind her with his towel slung over his shoulder. Alex and Christine, as a result, were alone in the front room to relax a bit.

“God, you're just... you're so real, Christine,” he remarked as he took his spot there on the couch, to which she shrugged her shoulders.

“I try my best, Alex,” she confessed to him as she took off her jacket and hung it up in the closet on the other side of the room. She returned to him with a tug on the hem of her white long sleeved shirt, which was a bit snug on her full, curvy body. “I really do.”

“Hey. The key is to be the very best you that you can be, right?”

“Right!” She paused for a second when she realized that he had his eyes on the hourglass shape of her body. He then ran his fingers through his hair, albeit at a slow deliberate pace, and then he rested his hands on his soft little belly.

“Phew. I'm full.”

“You and Eric sure do love to eat, don't you,” she teased him as she tucked her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and cocked her hips to the side.

“You bet, we do,” he remarked, and he showed her the tip of his tongue. He then nudged his glasses up his nose.

“Would you like to be cuddled here on the couch, baby?” she offered him as she stood over him. “Eric and Nelly are in the showers right now, so I may as well give it to you.”

“I'd love to be cuddled.”

Christine sank down on the couch next to him with her hands on his thigh, at least until she moved her face in closer to his own. She gently pressed her lips on the side of his face, to which he cracked her a little smile.

“I want to give you everything that she can't give you,” she whispered into his ear.

“And it's a lot, too,” he assured her. “Believe me when I say that there's a lot that you give that she can't for one second.”

Christine then kissed the side of his neck to which he treated her to a soft whistle, followed by a gentle groan in his throat.

“Mmm, that's good stuff right there,” he remarked. She put her arm around his waist, still very soft despite his weight loss, and she gently kissed him on the same spot on his neck. She moved his hair out of the way so she could better feel his smooth skin.

Alex then wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. Christine moved her lips up onto his to unleash the feeling, and he fell onto his back there on the couch.

“Ah, you're already feeling it, aren't you?” she teased him.

“Okay, but... we have to be very quiet, though,” he said to her in a near whisper. “You know. Cabins in the woods and everything.”

Christine had another idea as she lifted his shirt to reveal his belly to her, still soft and smooth with a love of eating but much smaller at that point. She moved her head down to the spot above his belly button for a series of soft little kisses to get him going. She ran her fingers down his sides as she moved down towards the top of his belt.

He never moved as she undid it for him and revealed his length to her. She lightly kissed the skin in between there and his belly button, as smooth and soft as ever. She could feel him firming up from the feeling of her lips on him.

Christine then pressed her lips to the very tip of his head just to taste him again.

“Sweet like candy,” she said with a slight chuckle.

“Must be the work of the donuts,” he joked, and he showed her his tongue once again.

“I want you—” she begged to him. “I want you all to myself.”

“What, you can't share me with the Sundaes?”

“They can look, but they can't touch—and they can't touch like me,” she teased him, and he raised his eyebrows at that.

“Ho boy,” he breathed out, and Christine moved her lips up towards the base of his shaft, all so she could engulf him. Alex pinched his eyes shut and parted his lips, but no sound emerged. She clasped her hands onto the sides of his thighs to steady herself, but she was most comfortable when he relaxed the muscles in his belly: she could have something soft to hold onto once she inched up his legs a bit. Though he had lost a good portion of that weight, she could still feel that he was soft there. Soft like a little pillow for when she needed lay her head down against the pains of the world.

She moved her head back up towards the head as if she was sucking on an ice cream cone. She then brought her head back down towards the base, and she could feel the tip just touching the back of her tongue.

It was the first time she had ever deep throated before, and as soon as she reached the halfway point on his shaft, she could feel something liquid on her tongue, and she swallowed as a result. She then lifted her head and gasped at the feeling, but she couldn't care less if she had a streak of it on the side of her mouth. If anything, she wanted Nelly and Eric to see it once they came back from the showers. She then crawled up towards Alex's face as he looked on at her in a daze.

“Whoa,” he breathed out.

“Do I have any on my face?” she asked him.

“Actually, no,” he said, and then he sniffled and showed her a smirk. “I do smell it, though.”

She let out a low whistle as she suspended herself right over him.

“It's snowing, dear Christine,” he told her in a broken voice and with a nudge of his glasses up his nose. Indeed, she glanced over at the window on the other side of the room: through the glow of the city lights and the fluorescent lights at the campground outside, she made out the wispy, light shapes of the snowflakes against the blackness of night. “I feel like we're gonna be here for a while.”

“I could lay here forever,” she confessed to him as she pressed her lips on the side of his neck again.

“My goodness, you're in a mood tonight,” he chuckled.

“I just want you,” she whispered into his ear. “I want you.”

He cracked her a little smirk.

“I want you forever,” she confessed to him as she nestled down next to him with her arm around his waist. “I want you forever—”

“Huh?” he asked her, perplexed. She lifted her head for a look into his diamond shaped face: his deep eyes were pointed and serious at that point.

“I mean Alex,” she corrected herself. “I want you forever, Alex.” He squinted his eyes at her, and she backed off of his body so he could sit up. He nudged his glasses up the bridge of his aquiline nose with the back of his thumb.

“I'm so confused,” he confessed. “Chris? You want yourself?”

She closed her eyes and sighed. He said it himself: she was so real, the realest of the bunch.

“When I was a kid, I had a crush on a boy named Chris,” she explained in a single breath. “Chris Pereira.” She opened her eyes to find him raising his eyebrows.

“Jewish boy,” he followed along, and she nodded.

“Even though we were kids at the time, he looked just like you, from the long dark curly hair to the cute little chubby tummy: he had brown eyes, though. We were both thirteen, but... the feelings were real.”

Alex then gazed off to the side. “Something happened to him. I can feel it.”

“He was killed in a rollover car accident,” Christine replied, to which he gasped and then closed his eyes. “I never had the chance to tell him that I love him, either.”

“Did you?” he asked her, reluctant.

“He was the love of my life,” she said, and then she turned her attention to him. “I was going to convert to Judaism and marry him once we were eighteen and everything. He was my best friend and I knew I wanted him forever. And... if I'm honest, every time I look at your face, I see him.” Alex's deep eyes widened at the sight of that, and he treated her to a tremble of his bottom lip. Christine moved back into his face for a soft kiss on his lips.

“I want you, forever and always...”

That sentiment rang through her head as it did all those years ago, those final quiet hours as that young boy slipped through her fingers and without her knowledge on top of it. She knew that she had to tell him at some point, and the opportunity never came for her.

She thought about it over and over again as she lay cuddled up next to Alex there on the couch, and while she was glad she never said Chris' name into his ear, and that scene itself never came to fruition, she knew she would have to tell him the truth about her past at some point.

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