#thanks again for the ask! unfortunately I am terrible at choosing things (notice how many characters I crammed into that first answer :D) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

marigold-doms · 3 years

Note

Hii! Love your stories, really good job🥺💕

I'd really like to request an Ateez oneshot based on the music video of the "Treat You Better" song of Shawn Mendes (if you have ever seen it). I actually am new to tumblr, so idk how this request thing works, I'm really sorry....Soo you can choose just one of the members, otherwise I would like to ask each of them🥺. If I have to be detailed: the plot is like, Y/N is in a really toxic relationship with a bad guy, n the boy/s are Y/N's best friend (or just friend), possibly in love with her, helps her out, with a good ending. Hope this is not too much 😖

Thank u in advance 💕💕🙏🏾

Mika🌻: ahhh hi hi!! thank sm for requesting queen!!! 😘So sorry that I’m getting this out soo late but I hope you like what I did with your request💕It would take me ages to do a one shot for each member so I decided to do a headcannon/reaction to how each member would get you out of this toxic relationship. I hope that’s okay🥺

(the gifs that I used here are so irrelevant to the reaction... oh well😂)

|| Ateez Reacts || to your toxic boyfriend

—hongjoong🌻—

He’s the first to say that he hates him.

Hongjoong right off the bat knows that he doesn’t vibe with him because this man has a really good sense of people and especially knowing that you’re getting involved with that man makes him uneasy.

You could say that his love for you was nothing short of intense and sometimes overbearing.

Of course, you had already decided to date the man so he couldn’t stop you from your inevitable heartbreak.

“You hurt her I swear you won’t be hearing from her anymore because you’ll have to answer to me.”

When he figures out that your boyfriend verbally abuses you, from hearing it across the hall, he’s so quick to find you and snatch you away.

“You have no right in talking to her like that. She deserves more than you.”

You’re crying in his arms with the studio door locked. You wanted out of the relationship and you finally felt confident with hongjoong’s support that you could escape.

He has always been there for you and in a way you’ve always known that he’s been in love with you.

“I need a new start, joongie.” You sniffle into his chest before looking up at him. “You think you could be here for me?”

Hongjoong brushes the hair from your sticky face. “Of course, angel.”

—seonghwa🌻—

Your best friend does not tell you what he really feels about your bf.

His answer to your problems have always been. “if you’re happy with him, it’s your choice to stay or not.”

Seonghwa hated being the one to figure out that your man has been play you this entire time. He regrets telling you to stay if you’re happy—your bf seemed happier in the arms of another.

And his heart completely shatters for you. He wants no part in causing your heart break.

So being the calm and composed man that he is, he confronts your boyfriend.

The man is caught red handed and he has no explanation for himself.

“you better tell y/n,” Seonghwa says, shoving his hands in his pockets to pull out his phone. “Or I might have to give my best friend a little proof photo before she has reason to break up with you.”

“She’s my cousin.”

“I’m sure you don’t grasp your cousin’s ass while making out with her in front of your car.” Seonghwa reveals the picture before shoving it back in his pocket. “You have 5 hours.”

A true king. He finds justice for you.

—yunho🌻—

Yunho’s actually stunned when you tell him who you’re dating. It breaks his heart because he knows the kind of man that your boyfriend is. And it pains him to warn you.

“You don’t know him, Yunho. He’s not like that.”

This makes things rocky between the two of you and a couple months later you’re hit with the realization that he was entirely right. Your man didn’t change and you were completely cornered. You’ve had enough of his hot and cold. Breaking up 5 times in the past few months. Who knows how many girl’s he’s been with during those breaks. You were through being thrown down after being lifted up.

Yunho catches you on accident when you’re crying in the stairwell of the library at night.

‘Y/n!” He rushes to you and automatically hugs you. “What happened?”

Tears are spilling out of your eyes while your mouth is struggling to put out the words. “I was wrong Yunho! I’m so sorry! Im sorry I pushed you away! I’m so sorry!!”

Yunho shhh’s you and he calms you by petting slow strokes over your back like he used to do when you were in high school. “It’ll be okay. You have a choice and I can help you with what ever you decide. Okay love? It’s okay to leave him.”

You nod, already knowing that he’s gonna be there through it all and you couldn’t be more grateful for having Yunho in your life.

—yeosang🌻—

Yeosang is too private to tell you his true feelings and most of the things he says to your are mild roasts, like the savage person he is.

But when it comes to seeing how you’re completely in love with another man, it breaks his heart to even call that guy your boyfriend.

“Is your thing coming today?”

“You talk about him like he’s a disease.” You narrow your eyes at him as you share your ice cream bowl.

“Because he is. Coming when he wants and leaving like he didn’t do any damage.”

You start to feel sad and Yeosang knows he’s said too much.

“Y/n... I’m sorry I—“

“No it’s okay. You aren’t wrong.” You look at your hands but the night begins when your boyfriend walks through the door.

That night you’d had enough. Yeosang wakes up to banging on his door and when he opens it, he’s shocked to see you in front of him with a sad smile on your face.

There are tears in your eyes when you say it to him. “I did it. I broke up with him.”

Yeosang mirrors your smile before letting you into his apartment. “About time, dummy.”

—san🌻—

He’s the most emotional one about this. Super pouty when you are around and you;re so used to him joking about being your boyfriend instead that somehow it’s like water off a ducks back and you kind of disregard his sincerity.

When you get a boyfriend and he realizes that he’s not the man that he’s portraying himself to be to you, he looses his mind seeing him with you.

“Are you sure he makes you happy?” San asks you for the hundredth time.

“Yes San, I’m fine.” You aren’t fine. You thought that the man of your dreams was supposed to put you first not to only call you when he’s horny.

San notices everything and he hates that he sees right through your lies.

One night he’ll just come to your apartment in hopes to talk to you about it but he’s shocked to find you crying on the floor because your toxic boyfriend has yet again left you alone to deal with the aftermath of an unsettled argument.

“That’s it, I’m tired of seeing you do this to yourself!”

San collects you from the ground and helps you into your bed. “I’m calling him.”

You don’t stop him this time because you know that he’s truly there to help you out.

In your time of need, San is there to help you mend yourself and he does his best to make sure that you are happy.

—mingi🌻—

There’s no aggression in this man when he talks to you but with your boyfriend. All offense should be taken.

Mingi wants your toxic boyfriend to know that he doesn’t like him. HE wont reflect that onto you though because mingi thinks that its only fair to treat you like a queen.

Throws him hella attitude when he is alone with him and even flat out asks you why you haven’t just broken up with him yet.

when he catches your bf bring his hand up to hit you, he sees your reaction of flinching and he instantly grabs his wrist.

”You’re out of your goddamn mind to think that I wont do anything about you even thinking that you could lay a finger on her. I never want you around her, ever.”

Mingi is just a loud teddy bear but he will not hesitate to knock out your abusive boyfriend.

“Come on y/n. Let’s find someone who’ll treat you better.”

“You think that you’ll be better?” Your ex questions.

“Better than you could ever try. At least he cares.” You defend mingi.

Mingi’s heart almost melts as he takes you into his car to drive back to his apartment.

—wooyoung🌻—

Is the first to challenge your bf

He always tries to show how superior he is to him.

one because he has the fattest crush on you and he would hate to feel like the guy you fell in love with is better than him.

You might‘ve just over looked a flaw and wooyoung was going to make sure that he figured out what it was

Terribly for you, it was that your bf was sleeping with your roommate when you were out of town.

He didn’t want to just tell you what was going on, he wanted to get revenge for you. Make the guy have a taste of his own medicine.

“You know I told her that you were sleeping around.” Wooyoung leans against the door of your apartment, right in front of your roommate as soon as your bf is about to leave. “That both of you are sleeping together.”

Ofc he hasn’t told you yet... but he wants to see the fear and regret in their eyes.

“Looks like you have a lot of explaining to do later.” He’ll then leave and quickly drive to where you are. Wanting to be there for you when he tells you the truth about your toxic partner.

—jongho🌻—

Jongho is definitely the type to keep his crush on you a huge secret.

its less of a secret when your toxic boyfriend confronts jongho about how he knows about his crush.

To intimidate him—but unfortunately for Your bf—jongho is not easily wavered.

“And what Are you gonna do about it if I am?”

“I’ll just tell her not to talk to you—afterall, she’s in love with me.”

This was when jongho realized that your bf was a manipulative/possessive person. And he wasn’t about to allow this person further into your life.

His plan? Easy. Make your bf so jealous that he ends up getting his poor little heart broken because you couldn’t take that he was being too suffocating.

And who’s there to do damage control and show you how much better of a boyfriend he is when your ex finally leaves your life???

EXACTLY. Plan well thought out and jongho is finna show you what it’s like for a real man to treat you right.

#ateez reactions #ateez fluff #mika’s works #Hongjoong #seonghwa #yunho #San #yeosang #mingi #wooyoung #jongho #ateez imagines #ateez scenarios #ateez smut #kpop reactions

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wrenhyperfixates · 4 years

Text

Love Poison

Pairing: Loki x reader Summary: You plan to take extreme measures to catch Loki’s eye. Unfortunately, things backfire terribly. Can something good come of the mess? Warnings: use of a love potion (putting this here because in case that bothers some people) but I think that’s it A/N: For @tom-hlover. Thanks for requesting and hope you enjoy!

Tag List: @lucywrites02 @frostedgiant @lunarmoon8 @twhiddlestonsstuff @lokistan @thelokiimaginechroniclesficrecs

Disclaimer: Picture not mine

You glanced out the window of Tony’s lab. In the week since you’d been promoted to his personal assistant, you’d seen more of the Avengers than you had in your almost five years of working at the Tower. In fact, you’d seen all but the one you’d really been hoping to. Loki. You had a little crush on the god, you would admit, but you had no hope of getting to know him if he never stopped by the lab. You considered asking your boss about him, but decided that the embarrassment wasn’t worth the risk. So, instead, you kept on waiting.

Your lucky break came one day when Tony sent you to the kitchen to get him some coffee. A large part of you wanted to suggest sleep instead, since he’d pretty obviously been up since you’d left the Tower last night. But you were still too new to the job to be so bold. You were in the middle of pouring Tony’s drink when a certain raven haired god came rushing in, snickering to himself. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed you.

“Who are you?” he asked sharply, as if he had been caught in the middle of something. Judging by the box of glowing vials he had with him, you supposed he might be. “How did you get in here?”

“Oh! I, uh, I work for Tony. I’m his new lab assistant,” you responded shyly, telling him your name.

“Ah, I see. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Loki of Asgard. That doesn’t happen to be Stark’s drink in your hands, does it?”

“Actually, yeah, it is. May I ask why?”

Loki peered over his shoulder before turning back to you, a mischievous glint in his eye. You were almost certain your heart would beat out of your chest if you stayed in this close proximity to him any longer, but he finally began to explain himself.

“I was hoping to slip a potion into it. I had been planning on just dumping it into the coffee pot, but it would much easier if you could help me sneak it into the cup. Do not worry, I will not let you get into trouble. I will gladly take full blame. And, before you ask, it is completely safe.”

You contemplated for a minute trying to choose between your new job and Loki. The choice was pretty obvious, though, as you always tended to think more with your heart than your head. Maybe this could even spark a friendship between you and the god.

“Ok,” you nodded. “What’s it going to do?”

“It will make him burst out into uncontrollable laughter,” Loki explained as he set a few vials on the island, looking for the right one. “A harmless prank, really, but all I can get away with these days.”

A few moments later he was saying goodbye and hurrying off to enact his next prank. So much for that friendship you were hoping would bloom. Except, he’d left a potion behind. Maybe you could return it to him, and at least get another conversation out of it. But then you looked at the label and got another plan entirely. It was a love potion.

Ten minutes later you were staring at the bottle of glowing purple-pink liquid. Tony had run out to yell at Loki, knowing immediately who had been responsible for his sudden laughter. There were blueprints to be working on, you knew, but you’d had an idea, and it was proving nearly impossible to get it out of your mind. If you could just see Loki again, find him again, you could give him a drink with the potion in it. Not a lot, just a drop. Just nudge him into having feelings for you. Then once he got to know you, maybe the potion would have worked its way out of his system and his feelings would be real.

Almost without knowing what you were doing, you were pouring some of the contents in a cup of water. You poured yourself a cup of water, too, suddenly feeling very anxious. Was this right? You hadn’t technically stolen it or anything. But deep down, you knew that wasn’t the issue. This was crazy. It was manipulative. Everything about your relationship will have started out as a lie. Maybe you just needed another sip of water to calm down.

“Shit,” you whispered to yourself as you realized you’d drunk out of the wrong cup. Your mind went into full panic mode before focusing solely on Loki.

You skipped through the halls of the Tower, looking for your otherworldly prince. He said your name in a question as he almost collided into you. Immediately he knew something was off, he just couldn’t quite put his finger on it. It would bug him until he could.

“Did Stark send you after me?” he questioned. “I do not suppose you would be willing to help me out a second time?”

“Tony didn’t send me,” you brazenly replied. “I’m here to ask you on a date, Loki.”

“And why,” he said in a sharp laugh of disbelief, “would you do that?”

“Because I’m in love with you.”

His eyebrows shot halfway up his face. Not only was that an outrageous thing to say because you hardly knew each other, it was unbelievable because he was, well, him. Plus, you seemed a lot more bold than you had earlier. He almost didn’t believe it was the same person. Maybe you had a twin running around. Or maybe it was drugs. But no. He’d seen the effect drugs had on Midgardians before, and this was different. Still, he could not figure it out.

“That is lovely, but-”

“He would love to!” Thor cut his brother off as he appeared from around the corner. “How about you get some coffee? You like coffee, right brother?”

“No.”

“It’s perfect considering how we met,” you giggled as Loki grimaced. “I know a place that has coffee and tea, if you like that better.”

Loki desperately wanted to decline, but it was the last thing he needed for his image. Besides, he was pretty sure Thor would drag him there even if he said no.

“Very well. I shall meet you in the lobby at seven.”

“See you later, Loki,” you giggled as you waved goodbye, leaving to go doodle his name in your notebook.

“Well, well, brother,” Thor said. “I had no idea you had finally realized what an eligible bachelor you are. Good for you, putting yourself out there.”

“I suppose you were not at the same conversation I was,” Loki said wryly. “You put me out there. I was about to say no.”

“Come now, it will be good for you. Why do you seem so dismayed?”

“It does not make sense that they like me. No, they said love, actually. For one, I hardly know them. For two, I am me, don’t forget. Harbinger of destruction in the Battle of New York. Something is not adding up.”

“Just enjoy this, brother. Someone has realized how wonderful you are and asked you out. It is just how things work on Midgard.”

“Perhaps,” Loki mused, wracking his brain. “But I must do some research. There may be magic involved.”

“You know what,” his brother sighed, “I am going to help you just to prove this is real.”

“If you must.”

The search proved fruitless, but Loki was determined to comb through more of his enchantment books later. Right now, however, he had to meet you. For a date. The whole thing still sounded absolutely absurd. Though, he would admit you did look rather adorable bundled in your coat, ready to go out in the cold night air. Being the gentleman that he was, he offered you his arm, which you excitedly took as you giggled. That was another thing, why were you suddenly so bubbly? It was a far cry from the shy, easily flustered person he’d met earlier. He added it to his mental list of possible symptoms of whatever was afflicting you.

About an hour later, the two of you were still seated in the small café you’d brought him to. Loki was, surprisingly, enjoying himself. He had to keep reminding himself that this was not real, that he shouldn’t get too attached, for he was sure he’d figure this out sooner or later.

“Really?” you laughed as he finished his story.

“Yes, the entire chair just gave out from under him,” he recalled, telling you of one of the many times he’d pranked Thor in their youth. “After all, he’d just said to stop gluing him to it. Everything else was fair game. The best part was father never could prove I was behind it.”

“I wish I was clever like that. Or could do magic.”

“Well, I’ve never heard of a Midgardian working seiðr before, but I suppose nothing is impossible. I fear I may not be the best teacher, though. I lack the patience a good teacher should possess.”

“You seem plenty patient to me. Loki, you’re...” you said, nervously casting your eyes down to the floor, “well, you’re amazing.”

He blushed at your words, but accepted them with a small thank you. You’d calmed down considerably throughout the course of the evening, now seemingly fully captivated in your conversation with Loki. And he even found himself thinking that he didn’t mind your company, a rare thing indeed. Maybe Thor was right after all. Maybe this was real. As much as he wanted to believe that, deep down, he still knew something was very, very wrong.

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

Loki took you out again a week later. After a dinner out in the city, he had nervously brought you back to the Tower for a movie on his couch. It had been Thor’s idea, though he seemed to have been hinting at something else by suggesting Loki bring you back to his quarters. But, thankfully, you didn’t seem particularly interested in any of those things. Rather, you were content to just sit with Loki and let the movie play. You were curled into his side, cuddling him. It took someone actually wanting to be near to him to make him realize how touch starved he actually was. It alarmed him at first, to have you so close, but he relaxed as you began methodically braiding and unbraiding a few locks of his hair. A small smile played at his lips as he thought of the domestic simplicity of it.

“Hey, Loki,” you said. “I’m really glad I met you.”

“I am too. And to think, it all started with a simple prank.”

Loki suddenly stood up from the couch, accidentally pushing you off him. He apologized as he rushed over to his bookcase. Remembering how you’d first met had made him think of something; he’d been searching for an enchantment, but he’d never considered it being the effect of a potion. Reading the page in the book, he realized you were exhibiting all the symptoms. He sighed and checked his potion box, hoping against hope that he would find nothing missing. Unfortunately, he did.

He’d packed up his things so quickly that he must have left one behind and, one way or another, you’d consumed it. And of course it had to be that one of all the options. It was more love poison than love potion, he thought to himself as he scoffed. He sat down and plopped onto the couch, burying his head in his hands.

“Loki?” you hesitantly asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, my darling, I am so sorry. It is all my fault,” he apologized, taking your hands as confusion sparked behind your eyes. “It may take a little time, but I will fix this. For now, you should go home.”

“But, Loki,” you sniffled. “I don’t want to. What’s happening? Can I see you tomorrow?”

He hesitated. He really shouldn’t let this continue, for both your sakes. “I... Yes, I will you see you tomorrow. Do not worry about what is going on, I will take care of it.”

You sniffled some more, but acquiesced. After placing a kiss to his cheek, you set off towards your flat, leaving the unfinished movie playing in the background. Loki immediately started preparing the antidote. It would take nearly a week to fully brew, and he tried to figure out what to do with you in the meantime. He feared that if he kept seeing you, you would hate him when you came to. But, if he rejected you now, you might become violent and unpredictable. Better to keep you safe. And, if he was lucky for once in his life, maybe he could have a chance with you once you were in your right mind.

As soon as the antidote finished, Loki prepared to give it to you. He’d found the bottle of love potion hidden in Tony’s lab and concluded you couldn’t have used more than a few drops. He even dared hope for a second that you hadn’t used it, after all, but then he noticed the seal had been broken. The small dosage must have been the reason he didn’t recognize the side effects as belonging to it right away. The larger the dosage, the more intense the effects.

“Hi Loki,” you greeted as he opened the door for you.

“Hello, darling.”

“Is something wrong?” you asked, cupping his cheek. “You seem upset.”

“I am fine. May I interest you in a glass of water? Tea? Anything to drink, really.”

“Oh! I guess water sounds good. Thanks,” you smiled.

He handed you the cup and waited while you took a sip. The effects were almost instantaneous, filling him with both joy and sadness at the same time. You gazed around the room with a dazed look on your face. Loki helped you to a chair as you regained your senses.

“Oh my gosh,” you gasped. “Loki, I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry for what, darling? I am the one who left the potion lying around.”

“Yes, but,” you started, wondering how much you could get away with. You decided it was just best to come clean. “I should have returned it as soon as I saw it. Not... not try to give it to you. Serves me right that I accidentally took it myself.”

“You were trying to give it to me?” Loki inquired with furrowed brows. “What would you do a thing like that for?”

“Because,” you gulped, “I really do have a crush on you, Loki. I was desperate, I guess. But that’s no excuse, so yeah, I’m sorry. I should go now.”

“Wait,” he called after you before you could run off. You were rather charming, he thought. And he did believe that he got to know a bit of the real you through the potion. Besides, maybe Thor was right, and it was time he put himself out there. “I know we did not start under the best circumstances, but I would like to take you on a real date if you will allow it. Say, tonight?”

“Really?” you squeaked in disbelief. “I would love to, Loki.”

“Just do me one favor, darling. Stay away from potions, please.”

“Believe me,” you nervously laughed, “I plan on it.”

You scurried away to text your friends about the crazy turn of events. Loki smiled after you before destroying the rest of the love potion, happy that some good was able to come out of the whole mess. But there was one thing he knew for certain; he’d be swearing off potion making for quite some time.

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captain-emmajones · 3 years

Text

love languages

Here is my contribution for CSJJ. Big thanks to @csjanuaryjoy for organizing this, to the CSJJ discourse server and its wonderful ladies, to @carpedzem for cheering me on always and to @profdanglaisstuff for beta'ing this <3

Post 4x11. During the six weeks of peace. It all starts with Mary Margaret reading a stupid article about love languages at breakfast, and before she knows it, Emma finds herself asking Hook his as they are stargazing by the docks.

Canon Compliant -- Fluff -- Banter -- Missing Scene -- Ao3 -- 1,5k words.

A veil of mist hangs low in this January night sky; it dances around a crescent moon wreathed in a halo of silver light. The moon is peering at the scene, down below, by Storybrooke’s harbour.

And what a scene, my dear...

Two figures dressed in warm clothes are sitting on a bench, wrapped up in one of those large checkered blankets that they share; the taller one seems resolute on examining the stars in the night sky, brows furrowed in a focused expression and fingers clenched around a spyglass.

That is quite unfortunate, thinks the moon, for the clouds are impish that night and stubbornly hide their secrets. His companion sits cross-legged at his side, one hand cupping her chin, eyes set on the man’s silhouette and the moon wonders what could possibly be so interesting on this man’s face for the woman not to look up at her.

There is a shift then, in the woman’s composure, and the moon sees one gentle hand grab the man’s arm as a cloud of white smoke escapes her lips.

The moon winces; she knows the silence is about to be shattered.

“Hey, what’s your love language?”

This stupid question has been on the tip of Emma’s tongue all day, tingling and burning, and Mary Margaret and the article she read aloud at breakfast are entirely to blame for it.

Emma is lucky that the rum they drank at dinner with her parents is still coloring their cheeks red, and that a flame seems to be licking up her throat, because it is a delicious burn and saves her the embarrassment.

“Sorry. Say that again, Swan?”

He does not turn around. As something mischievous stands up in Emma’s chest and pouts, Emma wants to groan that there will be no stars to be seen tonight. How dare he not pay attention to her when she let herself be lured by his talks of “star-gazing”?

Instead, she admires the hint of red coloring the apple of his cheeks and the wisps of breath he exhales calmly through his nose.

“I mean, what makes you feel loved?” she asks again, and she tries to sound more annoyed than she actually is.

Which is, actually, not at all, but he most absolutely does not need to know that.

The expected result occurs as he swiftly shifts to gaze at her, his blue eyes flashing in the dimness, and that sinful tongue licks a pattern across his lips.

“Swan, are you drunk?” he teases, smirking a bit, but with a lot of tenderness.

She chuckles as he clicks his telescope shut without breaking their gaze.

Her legs do feel heavy as lead, and her head deceptively light as a cloud, but that she won’t tell him, not on any account.

“Am not.” And if Emma’s head lolls to his side, terribly tempted by his welcoming shoulders, it must be because of gravity or something.

But she does not cave in, and she raises her eyes to see his entire face crinkling up in a delightful, devilish way and Emma wishes she could kiss each little spot of skin the moon dabbles light on.

“Yes, you are. Should have watched you and Mary Margaret’s cocktails.”

While Emma does think there is something to be said about her mother’s cocktails, she still rolls her eyes and frowns, even as stubborn laughter keeps bubbling up inside her throat and is making it difficult to keep a straight face. “Just answer the question!” And her fist gently bumps against his shoulder for good measure.

He dramatically sighs next to her, one eyebrow quirking up in that peculiar way that makes her toes curl, and she hates him for it but she also wishes that he may never stop.

“...What was the question again?”

She exhales a groan of discontent. “Killian!”

“Emma?”

Another groan. He will be the death of hers. “Your love language! What is it?”

“My love language, you ask? Well, mmmh, let me think.” And as he pretends to ponder, tapping his fingers against his red, red lips, tap, tap, tap, Emma finds herself leaning towards him, against her will, magnetized.

But she catches herself and proceeds to frown harder, hand closing around the cold wooden bench instead of the lapel of his coat. They are trying to have a conversation, for fuck’s sake.

He clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth, and Emma blinks because she cannot stop looking at his mouth.

“Ah. But Swan, we have a problem.”

“Do we?”

His lips, over hers, now. Forever, preferably. The delicate shadow dropped by his eyelashes onto his cheekbones is infuriating.

“Yes. As a matter of fact, although I am familiar with many languages, I’ve never heard of that love language theory of yours.”

It’s a miracle she hears anything he’s saying.

“It’s not my theory,” she mumbles right back, and she can tell by the lovely, lovely sparkles in his blue eyes that it is exactly the reaction he wanted out of her.

“Care to explain it either way?”

She thinks she shakes her head then. He is annoying. This is far more than she ever signed up for. She just wanted to tease him, and now she is the one being teased. Truly a terrible turn of events. That doesn’t mean she can control the smile that tickles her lips.

“Well,” she clears her throat, straightens her back, tries to appear very serious, “there are five traditional love languages.”

“Yes,” he encourages her, smiling widely, “I’m all ears, Swan.”

Her cheeks hurt from all of the smiling. It’s okay. He and his stupid big blue eyes are worth it.

“Well, first, there are words of affirmation, like a loved one telling you they are proud of you or that they lo--...you know what I’m saying.”

I’m a fan of every part of you, Swan.

And the thing is, she hears herself utter the words, and she does think that she does not sound like herself at all -- talking about love languages with Captain Hook -- but also Killian and she have been dating for the last couple of months now and this isn’t like anything she’s ever done before and maybe it isn’t so bad.

“Interesting. Do go on.”

In fact, it cannot even be remotely bad when he keeps staring at her like this, as if she is really precious and important and he cares or something.

“Then there’s quality time, like feeling loved when you’ve spent a precious and unique moment with a loved one.”

Right now, we have a quiet moment.

“Mmm, I see.”

“And then there are acts of service, and that goes without explanation.”

I knew Bae as a boy. Perhaps I could talk to the boy. It would help him come to terms with his father’s passing. And me.

“Fair enough.”

“Then there are gifts, of course --”

“Like the rose I offered you on our first date?”

“-- like the rose you offered me on our first date --,” she repeats. Before a bucket of cold water is spilled on top of her head as she realizes what he’s just said and what she’s just agreed with.

It’s a good thing the street light above their head is doing a poor flickering job because by the time Emma has pondered her own words and has reflected on how naturally Killian said that last line, well, she’s flushed a bright red.

He doesn’t mean that he, that they, that she...does he?

An alarm rings inside Emma’s head. Beware! Slippery slope of feelings ahead!

And instead of thinking one second more about this, Emma heaves a quiet breath, blinks, and exhales sharply: “-- yeah and the like.” As she looks up, she notices Killian’s smug grin.

And something very soft, in his eyes, something very soft and terrifying.

“What’s the last one?” he asks in a husky whisper as swirls of white vapor escape his mouth to kiss Emma’s lips.

She gulps. Exhales. “Physical touch.”

By the time she says the words, he is hovering dangerously close to her, and his hand is slipping into her hair, curling around the base of her neck, and the tingles it diffuses all over her skin are simply illegal.

“Like that?” he asks, his voice barely above a whisper.

She nods, lips tight, unable to breathe. What is he doing to her?

“Like that, yeah.” And if her voice is hoarse, the ocean breeze isn’t the only one to blame.

His fingers slowly abandon her hair to find her lips, and he presses them, gently, above her open mouth and Emma’s hands have found his arms without her consent.

And just as he dives towards her, heart pounding, courage roars inside of her and she dares ask once again: “So?”

It makes him stop, gaze seriously at her, eyes open wide. She swallows again.

“So, what?” he answers, and he almost sounds angry.

The lust she sees dancing in his eyes tightens each of her muscles.

“What’s your love language?” she repeats, bites her lower lip.

She isn’t flinching. She started this. She wants to win.

He smiles, fingers caressing down her neck to find her collarbone, and although she shudders she feels victory stretch her lips.

“I’m a pirate, love. I don’t choose between treasures. I take them all.”

As if to seal his words, his mouth hungrily finds hers, and he drinks her breath, and Emma lets herself be defeated in her heart only, but surely not aloud.

#cs ff #cs fanfics #captain swan #csjj 2021 #csjj2021 #my stuff #i hope i'm tagging this right please come scream at me if it isn't @the mods #cs january joy

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shoichee · 4 years

Text

Lucky Bucket

Midorima x Reader

Word Count: 2686

Submission for @knb-kreations‘s All Hallows’ Eve event!

Prompt: black cat

»»—————　☼　—————««

Midorima hated Halloween.

Why would anyone celebrate the day that is especially infamous for terrible misfortune and ominous superstitions?

Scratch that—why in god’s name does October have to exist?

He swore that every step he took provoked different unsettling breezes that whispered various taunts of a series of unfortunate events for Cancers like him.

He even tried to convince Captain Miyaji to bail out of practice for the month out of fear for his “safety and wellbeing,” promising to practice in the sanctuary of his own backyard to compensate.

“What the fuck are you on about?” the said Captain glowered, his patience visibly thinning on his face. “If this is about your horoscopes again, I’m not hearing about that shit again. Winter Cup is around the corner, and you still think you’ll get special treatment just because you’re one of the Generation of Miracles?”

“Sh-shin-chan, I think this is the time for you to run—”

“Takao. This is none of your—”

“5 extra laps around the campus.”

---------

“You 1st-years are really pushing your luck, huh,” Kimura deadpanned, slightly huffing to catch his breath after doing the extra laps.

“Yeah, thanks a bunch, Shin-chan.”

“I knew it—the horoscopes predicted that the majority of the signs would experience subpar luck today, nanodayo.”

“IT WASN’T THE PREDICTIONS THAT LED US HERE, IT WAS YOU!”

“Absolute nonsense. Why would I intentionally wish ill luck onto my teammates?”

“...”

“Can I throw my family’s pineapples at him?”

“... Maybe it’ll be better for all of our sakes if you’re out of practices just for this month.”

“That’s what I tried to tell the Captain, Otsubo-san,” Midorima sighed, disregarding the stupefying stares his teammates were giving him. “But he would not hear me out.”

“You’re such an impossible person to deal with. Takao, how are you even friends with him?—”

“I am not friends with Takao.”

“Shin-chan is just like an onion with many layers, y’see?” Takao lightly chuckles, evident that he was still short of breath from the sprinting. “I mean if anything, I wonder what (y/n)-chan sees in him.”

“Th-that is none of your business!”

“Awwwww, is Shin-chan being shy?”

“Cease this foolishness at once!”

“Oh hi, (y/n)-chan!”

“Wha—?” At the speed of Aomine’s agility, Midorima whirled around… to see nobody. Right on cue, Takao starts to struggle to hold back an unfiltered guffaw, and his other teammates had their own poor efforts of suppressing their own snickers at his moment of gullibility.

Midorima could feel his veins about to burst at his temples.

“Takao.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! It was too good to pass up!—oh? (y/n)—?”

“Are you daft? I’m not going to fall for that again, nanodayo.”

“Fall for who, me?”

At the sound of your voice taking on an irritatingly familiar teasing tone, Midorima reluctantly swerved his head to meet your eyes. He quickly turns his attention away back to Takao in front of him.

“Was this your game all along?” Midorima narrows his eyes.

“What? No! This one was a total accident!—ow!”

“Midomido,” you pouted, prying your boyfriend’s arms away from a dying point-guard. “I want your arms around me too, y’know?”

The entire basketball team is standing there aghast at what you just said in front of the ever-modest Midorima. Sure enough, he was ready to put Takao into a chokehold, and if one didn’t know better, they might think they were extremely close.

“...”

“Miiiiiiido,” you said, tilting your head to look up at his face. He was definitely red. “I want a hug.”

“... We’re going,” was all he said as he (rather harshly) tugged your hand to walk away from the team.

“Oi! Practice isn’t even over yet!”

“Leave poor Shin-chan be. Cut him some slack just this once.”

“Miyaji-san isn’t going to like this when he finds out Midorima isn’t at practice… isn’t he going to kill us all?”

“Easy… just don’t let him find out.”

“Don’t let me find out what.” Miyaji looms over with a threatening smile in a feeble attempt to hide his dark expression. No one needed to turn around to know it was their spartan captain. The immediate chills down their spines told them everything.

“Sh-shit! Run!”

---------

“Shin-chan!~ Shin-chan!~ Shin-chan!~” you called out to Midorima in a sing-song voice to get him to break his silence. You knew that his amount of patience wasn’t generous like his Teiko-manager Momoi’s, nor was he honest about his feelings like his ex-teammate Kuroko, but nonetheless, he had his own unique charm that you found extremely adoring. To tease that is.

Midorima stops walking abruptly and you softly walk into him from the back, amusedly noting that he still has your hand in a tight grip in his own despite his obvious embarrassment.

“What are you doing here, (y/n)?”

“What do you mean, ‘what am I doing?’” you said, ready to pull out your signature pouts again. “Have you forgotten that I was gonna bring you a bento box to you at practice? Like I usually do?”

Ah, that was right. You always made the time to drop off snacks and water in the middle of practice. He supposed that his fanatical fear of bad luck for the rest of October made him forget. While he’s not the forgetful type, some extreme things just make him feel completely out of sync with his mind. October was one of those occasions.

“... you don’t have to always do this, nanodayo.”

You giggled. That was just his way of saying: “Thank you, but I don’t feel like I deserve all of this.”

“If you really wanna thank me, kiss me on the lips every time we meet up! Even in public!”

“Wha—!” he sputters. “D-Don’t be ridiculous!”

“Half joking. But I want you to rely on me more. I don’t think of this as a burden or obligation. I want to take care of you. Because I want to. Because I love you, Midomido~”

“... Did you have to say the last part?”

“This time I’m not joking, if you didn’t know.”

A silence falls between the two of you before you teased him to break that silence.

“How long are you gonna hold my hand? Not that I’m complaining obviously, but this is way too out of character for you.”

“Sh-shut up,” he mumbled, his eyes downcast onto your linked hands. “I’m thinking, nanodayo.”

And you patiently stand there, relishing the warmth of his hand as you shamelessly drink in the sight of his sweaty form from practice. His hair was a slightly darker viridian from the perspiration, and miniscule droplets slid off his biceps, making him all the more tantalizing.

“... I want to ask you something.” He lets go of your hand and you reluctantly do the same.

“Eh?” You broke out of your admiring trance as you slowly made eye contact with him again. His piercing gaze, you noted, hadn’t changed at all even from the physical exhaustion.

“Could you…” he started, clearly struggling to get the appropriate words out of his tongue. “... bring me extra lucky items every day… just for this… month.” He didn’t even say it in the tone of a question, and his tense shoulders told you everything you needed to know.

Shy Midorima was too adorable.

“Of course!”

“J-just like that?! You’re not going to ask me why?”

“I know you just wanna be extra prepared, Midomido,” you grinned. “There’s nothing wrong with that.” At your words, he visibly relaxes.

“However…” Midorima perks his head up.

“My lucky items won’t be based off of the horoscopes… but they’ll be all still chosen to help you in some way.”

“... You’re not planning anything, are you?”

“Of course not! I just feel that I would be able to help you better if I was able to choose these on my own terms since I’m not so good at astrology stuff! Plus, I celebrated Halloween and know all the October superstitions since I was a wee kid… I’m an expert on this stuff, trust me!”

Midorima hesitates before he sighs. You knew that meant he gave in and was ready to accept this without a further objection.

He is going to try to rely on you after all, so he might as well start by believing your words.

“Mido! Look! Those cats have been around lately! Aren’t they so cute??”

Please don’t let it be what he think it is, please don’t let it be what he think it is—

You dash from Midorima’s side as you ditched him for the felines, making the extra effort to coo at them to coax them towards your direction. You don’t even notice the way Midorima has his back to you, stiff as a plank.

“Ne, I’ve always wanted to pet them but they’re so sneaky and elusi—Mido? What are you doing?” you turn away from the cats to peer over the petrified greenhead. A realization popped into your head. “… No way! You can’t be scared of a bunch of cats.”

Midorima quietly gulped to himself before he slowly cranked his neck to you… before he noticed the pair of black cats analyzing him behind you. Chills visibly wracked his body before he bolted behind the nearest wall.

“(y-y/n)! Get away from them, nanodayo!”

“No, dummy! Look, they’re so affectionate and cuddly!” Midorima shrinks back further in annoyance when he sees them rubbing themselves up against you and monopolizing all of your attention. While he would’ve just tugged you away to feel your touch again… the cats were a genuine problem.

He stiffly brings out his phone before dialing his right-hand man.

Ring…

“... Takao?”

Please leave a message for Takao Kazunari.

Fuck, how could he forget? He ditched today’s practice in the heat of embarrassment. They were probably at the gym ready to kill him tomorrow. He groaned before facepalming himself. Nothing seems to be going in his favor at all.

Damn it, it was all because of October.

He resignedly sighed as he put away his cell before you hopped to his side again.

“Wahhh, the cats just left,” you whined to him. “I really wanted to pet them more…” Before you reach out to try to hold his hand again, Midorima jumps 3 steps back.

“Stop right there. Not a step closer.”

“Wha? Why?!”

“Bad luck is all over you, and I will not have it be spread to me, nanodayo,” he explained as if it was the most obvious thing ever. “Wait right here. I’ll look for a lucky charm to repel the bad luck for you, (y/n).”

Had his superstitiousness really been that bad?

Half an hour passed before Midorima fully “sanitized” you with some type of water with a spray bottle and gave you a “special plushie” to ward off other misfortunes.

“Did you give me a cute stuffed toy because you felt bad for me?” you cooed at him.

“D-don’t get the wrong idea, nanodayo!” he vehemently denied. “The horoscopes said that this particular item was lucky for your sign today.”

“That’s so cute!” you giggled at him nonetheless, and you were immediately met with denying grumbles and half-shouts.

“Say, are you really scared of those cats?” you curiously turned to him.

“I am not scared,” Midorima said matter-of-factly. “They simply do not bring favorable luck.”

“... Right,” you dryly replied, but you decided to change the subject. “Do you ever see yourself ever prepared against the ‘bad luck’ to the point where you’ll never bat an eye at seeing them again?”

“If I work hard and take every opportunity I can, I don’t see why fate won’t give me a favorable outcome regardless.”

“You didn’t notice my spooky ‘bat’ pun, Mido!” you pouted at him.

“Wh-Wha—Stop that—Oi! Don’t tug on me, nanodayo!”

“I’ll see you off to your own house first, so you don’t have to go through the bad luck atmosphere here any longer, okay?”

Meanwhile in your mind, you were concocting up some ideas on how to boost his luck stat for the month…

---------

“Miiiiiiiiidohh!!” you sprinted to catch up to Midorima the next day, noticing how your boyfriend was eyeing warily at whatever you had in your hand. He wordlessly stops and turns to face you.

“I…” you heaved for air. “... have your… lucky item!” You held out a conspicuous, plastic pumpkin bucket, obviously meant to be used for trick-or-treating. He immediately had his guard up the moment he heard rattling coming from said bucket, but he reluctantly peered into it when you made the point of shoving the tacky orange container to his face.

… It was literally all the stereotypical lucky items he’d see in cartoons.

“Horseshoe… plastic dice toys… talismans?” he frowned. “... why are these papers misshapen 7’s and 8’s?”

“Ah… ehehe…” you sheepishly replied. “I may have fibbed up the cutting part just a bit because I was rushing…”

Midorima squints harder to try to discern the rest of the chaotic collection.

A random rabbit’s foot? He would assume it was faux… dirty pennies… dreamcatchers… acorns? Is that a smashed 4-leafed clover??

“... You said you had a lucky item. Singular noun,” he narrowed his eyes. “I was not aware that you garnered such a collection of multiple things in such a short time, nanodayo… unless you had these for a while now.”

“Yeah! Good catch, Midomido!” you grinned. “But it is a lucky item. It’s the bucket!”

“... I’m leaving.”

“No! Midomido!—Hear me out, I swear!” You tugged on his sleeve in a panic, and he heaved a sigh in response but nonetheless stayed in his spot.

“Okay so, any item that you put into this bucket… becomes lucky!” you explained with utmost seriousness. “Since these items are already known to be lucky, if you let it sit in the bucket, they become even luckier!”

Where the hell did you get this logic from?

“It also serves as your lucky item storage, so you can easily rummage out your lucky item for the day with total ease! Not to mention if you somehow run out of lucky items, you can just put any item into the bucket and it’ll turn lucky! You should totally…”

You’re rambling at this point, and while Midorima still cannot comprehend your flimsy logic, his eyes trained onto your bubbly face and your shining eyes, noting your most adorable smile you’d have when you were passionate about something.

… Maybe if you cared that much about his odd habits and went through such a huge extent for his sake, maybe the bucket isn’t such a bad thing. Maybe it’s lucky because you worked on this idea with love and care?

“Mido! Are you even listening?” you huffed. “Geez, I go through all of this for you and you won’t even listen! Hmpf!”

Midorima slipped out a small rare smile, and almost immediately, your angry face dissipated and was replaced by a faint blush.

“W-w-well, anyways!” you said. “Thank Takao too! He helped me put this bucket together last minute without letting out a single complaint!”

“Takao?”

“Oh! And one final, personal gift from me!” you said, ignoring his looks of confusion. You pulled something from your bag…

And it was a black-cat ear headband.

“Are you mocking me?”

“I would never, dummy!” you frowned. “I heard you say it many times during practice about how you have to know your enemies before you can defeat them!...

… What better way is there to know an enemy than to become them?”

Midorima’s smile was overtaken by the harshest frown you’ve seen in a while.

“This is Takao’s idea isn’t it?—where is he?”

“Nooooo! Midomido, come back! Let me put them on at least! Pretty please! Come on, put them on! I wanna hear you meow!—No, wait! Don’t leave me behind! I have so much fun plans for us on the actual day of Halloween! Don’t ruin the spirit, dummy!”

Needless to say, the real danger of his sanity (and his poor heart) was you.

Screw October—he has to learn how to be careful around your own devious tricks 24/7.

#knb #knb x reader #kuroko no basket #midorima x reader #midorima shintaro #midorima shintarou #takao kazunari #shutoku basketball team #knb scenarios #midorima shintarou x reader #midorima shintaro x reader #knb fic #knb fluff #knb all hallows' eve #knb halloween #event: all hallows' eve

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strigital · 3 years

Note

Do tell about Nim, I couldn’t find much info about her through your blog and I am dying to know more about this werewolf lady

well grab a pint and sit yo booty down, cause our bard of the evening tonight is Nim and she's drunk as all hell and ready to weave some outrageous stories!! 🍻

in all seriousness, thank you for asking! 😭💗 she came about back in ye oldie days of hype over the 11th of november 2011, and since then refuses to give up the title of my fav oc!!

now, a Paarthurnax would say: lets-a go!

a quick recap of the events in Skyrim:

Naali Saryn was born sometime in 4E 130 on mainland Morrowind as a result of a quick fling between an unknown Dunmer girl and Lucien Lachance and Kassandra Saryn's (The Hero of Kvatch's) son.

Sometime in that year, the baby was found aboard a ship bound for Raven Rock and when no one came forth to claim her a couple of elderly and childless ash yam farmers decided to take her in until her family was found.

The family, of course, was never found, and so they raised her as their own for the next sixteen years. They called the girl Nim - short, sweet, meaningless, and easy to shout out into the fields where the little brat is out adventuring when the house chores are yet to be done.

Nim grew up alongside her best friend Teldryn (don't believe his tales about his past, there's a reason why he wears a helmet in his hometown). For years the kids dreamt of leaving Raven Rock behind and making it big in the big city. And idea which really annoyed Nim's ol' Nana, who believed that everything needed for a simple happy life was right here on Solstheim.

After one particularly nasty fight with Nana about the ordeal, Nim gathered a bag of things and slipped out in the dead of night to catch an early morning ship with Teldryn.

They stuck together for a while then went on their separate merry ways. He - to Blacklight, she - to Leyawiin. Once in the wild, Nim had to quickly figure out her place in the pecking order. The romantic life of crime seemed to be the most attractive for her, but getting on top could never be easy. Especially for a young, inexperienced, and naive girlie. So she ended up running with the wrong kind of crew. Ended up in some truly dark places. Barely got out alive. Learned from her mistakes. Wore the scars of abuse like armor and made sure that since that day no one in this world or any other would play her for a fool, use her or put a finger on her without her permission.

By the time she turned fifty, Nim was well known amongst certain circles as the kind of scoundrel, thief, bard, and wench one should not trifle with. But her luck had to eventually run out, and so it did on the night of the fabled Umbacano Mansion heist, which failed so badly Nim had to either leave Cyrodiil or end up in a Thalmor owned torture chamber.

Skyrim seemed like a perfect place. After all, in a kingdom torn apart by the civil war, no one would even notice yet another greyskin refugee, right? Well, the Thalmor did. And so she ended up on a cart bound for Helgen to have a date with an executioner. But then Alduin showed up to crash the party before he himself got rudely interrupted by another dragon, who swooped in to save the Last Dragonborn.

After the narrow escape, Nim concluded her duty to warn Balgruuf of the dragon threat and went on to start a new career as a merc with the Companions. She and Aela became fast friends and when the prospect of joining the Circle came up she gladly accepted a sip of her new sister's blood. To never again be helpless and weak? To rip apart any fool who'd take her for just another elf wench who can't put up a fight? Well of course it was worth giving up the ability to sleep and having to get used to all smells suddenly becoming ten times worse!

After that Mirmulnir showed up and ended up as another ornament above the throne in the Dragonsreach. And Nim got stuck with a title which she would wear with great discontent for years to come.

Eventually, she ceased trying to run away and hide from her destiny, accepted her role as the Last Dragonborn, and begrudgingly began her quest to save the world. On her journey, she met and became tight friends with Yollokmir and Alasil who taught her how to speak, fight and fly like a dragon. With their help she inherited Konahrik's legacy: his mask embued with his soul, his citadel far up in the mountains - the NebenLok Zeikangaar - and the right to revive and lead the order of dragon riders sworn to defeat Alduin - DovahDein.

As she gained power and the word of her great many deeds spread across Skyrim, she managed to get quite the following of fellow men, mer, and Dov, willing to follow her into Sovngarde and beat the hell out of Alduin. Alas, she failed. Twice.

At that point, Alasil informed her of a special someone who might be of help in their quest against Alduin and who might prove difficult to convince to join her cause. That was the first time in fifty years that Nim got to visit her home. Unfortunately, Solstheim had changed. And upon arrival, she learned that her Pa passed onto the realm of Azura soon after her departure, and her Nana... well, she wasn't young anymore and suffered greatly due to all the ash ruining her lungs... and when the islanders got called to the All-Maker stones night after night by a mysterious spell, she just worked herself to death. That was the only thing Nim wouldn't forgive Miraak for, not until he swallowed his pride and sincerely apologized for being responsible for his potential mother-in-law's death.

And with Miraak's help, they finally sent Alduin back to his Maker, enjoyed a few peaceful years until High King Ulfric became a bit drunk on his power and needed a good ass whooping as well. Then Miraak suddenly found himself as the new king and Nim... she just did her own thing. As always. The end?

Oh and all the while running about, gathering forces, growing her Dragonborn powers, hunting Dragon Priests and Alduin's henchmen, she also meddled with the Thieves Guild, put Karliah in charge and became her right hand, managed to become an advisor on all things dragon at the Mage's College, ended up teaching lute and songwriting at the Bard's College (she's taking a break since Viarmo can't seem to handle her teaching tactics), earned the title of Thane in every hold and became a good friend to the Dawnguard fellas (Isran is more than happy to teach her kids the ropes of monster hunting) after kicking Harkon's ass into Oblivion. In what little free time she has Nim also manages the Lakeview Manor and leases the ash yam farm back in Raven Rock for some extra cash. All in all, a busy woman!

and some tidbits about the dovahmom:

Although Nim is perfectly aware of her real name, she chooses to use the one given to her by Nana. Both as a sign of respect and because, frankly, she dislikes both the Sarynes and the Lachances, who are, in her humble opinion, just a bunch of pricks. Somehow, the ghost of her murdered grandad finds this opinion of hers kinda funny.

Her friends sometimes describe her as "cyrodiilic brandy in a cup of tea": she's this small elf girl with pretty blue eyes and a smile on her face and you think that she'll be very pleasant and cute and shy and then... then you realize she drinks like a sailor, swears like one too, can beat anyone into the dirt (thanks, Hircine) and doesn't take shit from nobody. She openly speaks her mind and doesn't give a shit about what someone might think of her. She does what she considers the right thing to do, never plays nice with those she dislikes, never pretends to be someone she isn't. She's feisty, sassy, brassy, and, quite honestly, just doesn't give a fuck.

Nim is in almost complete control over her inner beast, partly thanks to her draconic blood, partly - to the ring she got when she and Sinding had that little party on a moonlit night in that grotto. She only loses control over herself when both moons are full and thusly will travel deep into the wilds a few days before the magical night. This way the only people that might get hurt are bandits, necromancers, hags, and the like. She and Aela also managed to get a small werewolf pack going, named the Whitemane Pack after the old man himself and dedicated to those who wish to take control over their inner beast, hunt with honor, and cause the Silver Hand as much grief as possible.

Nim is raising Blaise and Sofie as her own since they both were just wee lil' war orphans (the babes are in their teens now). She never quite really knew why... Nim was never a wifey nor a baby momma kind of woman. In fact, she can't even have children in the first place and, honestly, always thought of this as a blessing - never having to worry about contraception like all those other girls and just having fun without a care in the world! Her friends sometimes joke around, saying that she might've finally "ripened" for the motherhood, but she doesn't care. She loves Blaise, Sofie, and Sissel (thanks, Miraak, you're so good at kidnapping children!) and is content with being their famous Dragonborn mom. Post-Alduin Miraak, however, is secretly annoyed for not being able to get her pregnant. Oh well, the man can dream...

Oh yeah! Nim plays the lute and sings too! It's a skill she picked up across taverns all over the continent when she realized that bards get free drinks and a bed, as well as ample opportunity to sniff out and seduce prey. And even though her days of hunting for good-looking rich fools are long behind her, she still performs in inns and taverns across Skyrim. Firstly, it brings in a fair amount of money, and secondly, it's good for her Voice! And also just plain and simple fun.

Also, people get terribly surprised when she, a Dunmer, doesn't act like one at all! Nim might've grown up in Raven Rock, a Dunmer settlement, but she spent the rest of her life traveling the continent and then living in Skyrim. She's more Nord-ish than some Nords! And the Nords actually really love it! It's so so easy to just get plastered with the homegirl, punch some faces and pass out on a heap of hay behind the inn, just happy to be alive on this fine snowy day. The only truly Dunmer thing about her is the occasional "n'wah!" which escapes her potty mouth. I mean, she doesn't even like sujamma all that much and would rather have a pint of mead! Whatever Ancestors she has must be spinning in their graves fast enough to generate electricity.

uuuhhh I think that's all the important stuff? i might've forgotten, in which case, I'll add it later... meanwhile, have some more Nim content:

^^^ the fanfic is slow, but it's moving... at a snail's pace. my advice: don't expect updates, so that when they do come, you'll be pleasantly surprised!

#thank u for asking abt the dovahmom #i am deeply touched uwu #💞#the elder scrolls #skyrim #dragonborn #ldb #dovahkiin #konahrik #oc #naali 'nim' saryn #bethesda #ask #my art #sketch #traditional doodle #ballpoint doodle

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awesomerextyphoon · 3 years

Text

A Warrior’s Heart | Phase 1: Welcome – 3

A Hero’s Welcome?

Summary: When someone with a connection to Steve’s past dies, he’s reminded of the promise he made to Dr. Erskine and whether or not he’s failed. Can Ife help him see that he hasn’t?

Characters: Steve Rogers, Ifekerenma ‘Ife’, Abraham Erskine (mentioned), Marlene Erskine (mentioned), Nick Fury, Eliza Maza, Azeneth Ramirez

Main Pairing: Stucky x Black!OFC (Ifekerenma ‘Ife’)

Rating: 18+/Explicit

Word Count: 5,801

Warnings: Depression, Talk of Death, Slightly Cynical Steve, Politics, Smutty Thoughts

A/N: I’m sorry that this so long. I really wanted to try something different with Erskine and the time around CA:TFA. Also, I wanted to explore how Steve would be feeling right after AoU (little bit of a downer, but it will get better). Furthermore, this story will diverge a bit from MCU in terms of Steve’s and Bucky’s abilities. Feedback is welcomed and greatly appreciated. Dividers were by the lovely @firefly-graphics. Thanks to @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog for the beta!

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Early June 2015

“What do you have to report, Ifekerenma?”

Ife pursed her lips together,”Wanda is doing well with her training. Djamila and Nazaret had some sung her praises during their first session.”

It took a few days to convince the team and Fury to let her friends train Wanda. Luckily Nat had her back and Wanda was able to show the compound how much she improved from what Ife was able to teach her. Unfortunately, Azeneth was unable to make it due to being tied up with a BNA mission and relocating to the NYC division.

“That’s good to hear. Have you made made any progress with the others?”

Ife’s eyes casted down in thought. Vision was a no-go for now. Pietro was warming up to her, but he thought she was still suspicious (wasn’t wrong). She didn’t want to try Rhodey yet (too close to Tony). Nat was..difficult; she’ll try again later.

“I’m going to try Steve next. He seems like a safe bet, even with the serum. Hopefully, he won’t catch before it’s time. I will need Erskine’s folder though.”

Eliza’s lips turned upward in a small smile, “Agreed. I’ll have it sent to you within the hour. Best of luck, Ife.”

And with that, Ife got dressed and headed towards the common room.

Steve leaned back and clasped his hands together behind his head in thought and vexation.

The 21st century must be fucking with him.

Right after Operation ‘Captain Briar Rose’, Steve went to Brooklyn. He could barely find any trace of his old neighborhood. The apartment complex where he and his mother lived was now a ritzy condominium with a Starbucks on the ground level.

All of the places he’d go with Bucky were now soulless veneers filled with empty promises of ‘happiness’ or ‘self-esteem’.

He remembered the time Bucky bailed him out of yet another beating by Arnie and his gang back in 1928. His mother berated him for getting in yet another fight while Bucky’s mom laughed and treated them to ice cream from the local sweets parlor. Bucky’s sisters – Rebecca, Rose, and Annabelle – were making a fuss and bursted out in giggles when Annabelle got ice cream in Bucky’s hair. It was one of the best days that year.

A T-Mobile now stands in its place.

All of his friends and comrades save Bucky and Peggy are dead; he nearly bawled in the middle of briefing when found out that Timothy ‘Dum Dum’ Dugan died and had a cry alone in his quarters afterwards.

Felt shitty about the current state of the country. It seemed as though everything has gotten worse. He found out about the Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Wars. How income and wealth inequality has somehow gotten as bad as, if not worse, than the Gilded Age. Corruption has turned DC and NYC into dog and pony show.

He was furious at all of the politicians and corporations that wanted him to endorse them or their actions. They wanted Captain America’s helmet and shield to mask their heinous acts. They were the same if not worse than Senator Brandt.

Some days Steve wished SHIELD let him stay in the ice. Even worse, there were days he felt that Captain America was for an America that never was.

Nowadays, he felt even more like an anomaly.

It started when he got out of the ice. He felt a lot stronger and faster; only Thor knew the extent of it and he has to hold back a lot when fighting for fear of government asking for more of his blood. Though he suspected Ife and Natasha might be onto him.

He was a lot hungrier than before he went on ice as well. Often time, he would have late night ‘dinners’ (now it's every night), To be honest, he was a bit embarrassed at how much he ate, though the thought of pinning the blame on Ife did cross his mind. It wouldn’t work due to Ife almost never eating with the team and Sam said that he would know if Ife was the culprit. Steve suspected that Ife has been using her connections to restock the food between when he retired to his quarters and before the rest of the team came for breakfast. Also, she kept leaving him fun pop culture facts and media recommendations for the night.

Steve didn’t feel he could go to Dr. Cho since he doubted she had anything to go on in his case.

He did wonder if Ife could help him. She seemed to like helping the team and she was knowledgable about Non-Humans. Wanda’s rapid improvement in her powers and control bolstered his decision.

Sighing, Steve sat up straight in his chair and picked up the letter he received that morning. Marlene Philomena Erskine had passed away and he was invited to her funeral.

It was sad to have yet another link to his past slip from his grasp.

Steve was finishing up another book to fight off his jitters. It was the night before the operation and he needed to have a few moments of respite from the war.

He was so engrossed in what he was reading that he failed to notice Dr. Erskine entering.

Erskine, for his part, was eyeing several books in Rogers’ makeshift bookshelf: They Odyssey, Of Mice and Men, Murder on the Orient Express, Tender is the Night, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Homage to Catalonia, and To Have and have Not.

“What do you think of the book?” Erskine asked as he sat across the startled recruit.

“Just finished. Y’think it wise to get buzzed before a major operation, sir?” Steve noted when he saw the bottle and two shot glasses on the bed.

Erskine chucked, “Calms my nerves a bit. What did you think of the book?”

Steve pressed his lips together for a moment, “It was a good read. The book had a lot of good points for something written eleven years ago.”

“What truths?”

“Well, for one thing, how technology is used to make the populace happy, but not better. The World Government found a way to get people to willingly trade self-expression, self-awareness, and their happiness for cheap happiness and comfort. Makes you wonder if the US was next, you know?”

Erskine was taken aback by his answer. It was much deeper than most of commanding officers gave if they even read the book.

Though that last sentence was interesting.

“What do you mean next?”

“Isn’t that what happened in Germany?”

Erskine sighed, “Yes and no. Most people here think Hitler came out of nowhere, but he didn’t. Not everyone in Germany was for WWI. There was a 100,000 person march in Berlin, but it didn’t matter since the Social Democratic Party failed to rise to the occasion and went along with war effort. Many were scapegoated for Germany failure, Matthias Erzberger for instance.”

“What about the Weimar Republic?”

Once again, Erskine was taken aback by Steve’s knowledge, “Weimar Germany was a great place to be creative, curious, and make new discoveries. I met my wife, Greta, in Berlin during that time. I made a lot of friends, friends I had to leave behind.”

Erskine frowned as his face darkened,”The terrible thing, my friend, was not that Hitler was dangerous, it was that either people didn’t take him as the threat he was or they wanted to use him for their own ends. The cops and judges sympathized with the Nazi Party to get one over the Socialists and Communists. Industrialists wanted to make money off of the Nazis getting into power. Even the German and International newspapers didn’t cover him with the urgency required.”

“That’s terrible.”

“Ja, and it almost happened here, didn’t it?”

Steve nodded in reference to the America First movement and the German American Bund. He still remembers getting the crap beaten out of him by the Silver Shirts when he spoke out against them a few years ago.

“So why did you choose me?”

“I suppose that is the best question.” Erskine admitted while glancing at Steve’s bookshelf, “What do you think of the Odyssey?”

Steve shrugged, “The adventures were fun, but they were just fantasy.”

“They may not be, Mein Freund. How old do you think I am?”

“Uh, mid sixties?”

Erskine laughed, “You’re too kind. I will be 94 this September,” he smiled noting Steve’s shock, “Things are not always as they seem. I come from a long line of ‘healers’ dating back to before Rome. One of them was able to ‘make a man more’. They inspired me to go into this profession.”

“Making super soldiers?”

“Medicine and bio-chemical engineering.”

“Oh”

“Did you know that you will not be first to undergo this?”

“Who was?”

“His name was Konrad Jager. He was a lot like you: small, frail, but had a great deal of courage and compassion. He was willing to fight Nazis in the streets knowing he’d lose. One day in 1930, his parents begged me to save him as the doctors had given up all hope.

I was woking on a serum that would make the body impervious to all diseases rather than wait for the next outbreak to occur. I thought it would propel the medical field.

The trial worked and he was healed. He became much taller and broader in size as a result.”

Erskine pulled out a picture of himself next to a tall, well-built young man.

“That’s Konrad isn’t it?”

“Yes. I was able to help eight more people through the earlier version of the serum. All but one turned out well.”

“What happened to the one?”

“Ah yes, Eren Kant. He was a shy young man before the serum, but then became more like Hodge: a philander, arrogant, and bit of a bully with a temper. He ‘grew too big for his britches’ as one would say and was arrested by the Munich police. He let his arrogance blind him and he escaped in a way that intrigued Der Fuhrer and was taken to Berlin soon after. By this time, rumors had spread of my work and the Nazis were anxious to be the ‘best of the Aryans’. They were able to get my whereabouts from Eren and sent Schmitt to fetch me, but I was already on my way to Switzerland when he reached my home.”

“How did he get you?”

Erskine slightly jerked his head to the side and back, “A year prior to my attempted escape, I met a man in Geneva who warned of the dangers that lied in Berlin. He gave me his card if I needed to escape. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have waited so long before I made the phone call. I was tipped off by an old colleague of Eren entering Nazi custody.

Everything was set. My family and I were to enter Switzerland by crossing Lake Constance. We made it to Meerburg and the lake was in sight when Schmitt and his agents cut us off.

Schmitt believed that there was a power left behind by the gods. He believed himself to be a leader of a new race of men. He wanted me to ‘perfect the serum’, make him stronger than Eren. He had my children, Klaus and Marlene, taken to the outskirts of town as insurance implying that they would be sent to Dachau if I should fail.

I stalled for as long as I could hoping Schmitt would forget about me, but it was not meant to be. A few years after I was taken hostage, Schmitt stormed into my lab and pointed a gun to Greta demanding I give him the serum.”

“Did it make him stronger than Eren?”

“It did, but it had...side effects. The serum was not ready. Schmitt’s skin turned red and his face became so disfigured that Hitler called him the Red Skull. He killed Greta with his bare hands,” Erskine wiped away a few tears, “and ordered Marlene and Klaus to be sent to Dachau while I was banished to the dungeons.

Fortunately, Agent Carter and the SOE were able to save Marlene and myself. Though Klaus sacrificed himself when the agents could only save one of them.”

“Your son is a hero.”

“I only wish I could’ve told him that myself. But, back to your original question. I chose you because, like Konrad, you are a weak man. You see, the serum amplifies everything; good becomes great and awe-inspiring, bad becomes worse and a nightmare. Men who are strong their entire lives often do not value strength and abuses it. However, a weak man who is compassionate and brave will use it to help others. You were chosen because you had the aforementioned virtues and because you use your mind.

The world does not need perfect soldiers, look where that has gotten us. No, what we need right now are good men.”

Erskine poured out two shots and gave a glass to Steve.

Steve raised his glass, “To the little guys.”

The liquor was just about to touch his lips when Erskine snatched the glass from him, “What are you doing? You have an operation tomorrow. No fluids.”

Steve chuckled as Erskine bid him farewell and good luck tomorrow.

Ife found Steve in the Common Room hunched over a chair with a letter in his hands. Emotional echoes of gloom came off in waves as she approached him.

“Whatcha looking at, Steve?”

When Steve didn’t respond, she gently placed a hand on his shoulder, “What’s wrong?”

Steve finally turned to Ife, “I received an invite to a funeral. It’s for Marlene Philomena Erskine, Dr. Abraham Erskine’s daughter.”

Ife nodded in understanding; he feels that he failed Marlene by not protecting Dr. Abraham Erskine.

But in fact, he didn’t fail her.

She lived quite the life for a human.

Not long after her father’s assassination, Marlene became a badass mechanical engineer and physicist. Her designs and schematics for transportation vehicles and energy storage/distribution gave the colonizer nations a fighting chance during the Wars Against Colonialism.

Though part of it was because the UA was a little cocky at that point. Marlene sure lit a fire under their ass! Ife can still hear her Aunt Eziamaka pouting at the news of one of UA bases nearly falling into their control.

Marlene’s assistance with the war effort didn’t last long as her gratitude towards the people who saved both her and her father wasn’t enough to overlook the Military’s treatment of some her colleagues.

Her life from there was pretty standard. She became a professor at MIT, got married and had a few kids.

BNA took her off the ‘humans of special interest’ list in 1971.

Thinking back on it, Marlene may have had a better life by her father not making it past WWII.

Though Ife thought it would be wise not to mention this to Steve.

“When is the funeral?”

Steve didn’t raise his head, “It’s in a week.”

“In that case, might I accompany you?”

“Yes...and thank you.”

“No Problem! See you later.” Ife wrapped her arms around him in a quick hug and went on her way leaving Steve slightly bewildered.

Steve didn’t know what to make of Ifekerenma.

She was always asked the team how they were feeling at what seemed to be the right moment. Shoot, she even talked to custodial staff that few of ever acknowledge. Compassionate to nearly everyone, especially the child hostages during the last mission.

She’s nerdy to the point of Sam jokingly calling her a weeb (anime lover?) when she walked around in an oversized Cowboy Bebop t-shirt once. Wanda mentioned a ‘digital friend’ in her room and caught her mentioning how slow Stark’s tech was much to the amusement of team at Tony’s expense.

Steve’s certain Nat sent Clint a video of the whole thing.

Also, she was what Sam called a ‘Supreme Chef’. He contently patted his midsection remembering the feast she prepared for the team last night. Her cooking would’ve put some of Stark’s gourmet chefs to shame. She asked the team what they liked and she ended up having to create a dinner rotation. Steve was especially touched when she went to an antique bookstore for a recipe that was close to what his mother would’ve made for him.

Furthermore, she would leave out little homemade treats/ snacks at night. Pietro and Sam would sneak some when they thought no one was looking. She even giggled when he accidentally let out a huge belch after an amazing dinner a couple nights ago saying it’s a sign of thanks on her home planet, Avlenia.

Ife always called him Steve; not ‘Captain’ or ‘Cap’ or even ‘Good ol’Century Virgin’ (damn it, Tony!). She never made light of him ‘taking an ice nap’ or asking him about the 1940s in a demeaning way like some reporters and ‘little upstarts on social media’. Somehow, Ife found out about his love of drawing and got him art supplies with a list of recommended artists

She made him feel more like a person and not a symbol or a far off figure who’s emotionless.

Steve felt warm whenever he was around her in a way not unlike Bucky or Peggy though much more like Bucky. She seemed to sense that he was desperate to truly be seen in way that only Sam and sometimes Nat has.

It also didn’t hurt that she was a total knockout. He had the, ahem, pleasure of seeing her out of her uniform and training outfits a few times. She usually wore clothes that were more on the modest side...except for that one time when she wore a Sailor Moon crop top and high-waisted shorts as a dare from Nat. Half of the compound was staring and Steve spent most of the day in his quarters nursing a hard on he was so aroused.

And yet, Ife was one of the toughest women he knew; even Nat was a little scared of her (at least, he thinks). She might be the strongest person physically and she doesn’t take shit from people who badmouth her or the team; Agent Roussel learned that the hard way.

All in all, Ife was...something else, someone he wanted to get close to.

The day of Marlene’s funeral started out well enough.

Ife spent the early morning making Sam’s request of cinnamon rolls, sausage, omelettes, waffles, and hash browns since he won the raffle of Vision’s turn as he doesn’t eat.

She was handing out everyone’s first servings (didn’t care what happened afterwards) when she felt Steve’s emotional echoes of depression, melancholy, and despair noting how his eyebrows furrowed and how tense his body language was.

She just hoped she could get to him.

Steve was walking to garage hoping his outfit wasn’t too much.

Nat somehow convinced him into wearing a Highbridge Black Custom Suit with an Eastley Dobbey Blue Shirt, a Black Solid Tie, a Navy Blue Pocket Square, and Ink Black Dress Shoes.

He ‘upped the swoon dial’ as Nat put it. Could’ve sworn he heard Sam snickering.

Steve reached the entrance hoping not to keep Ife waiting when he heard clicking of heels behind him.

He turned around to find Ife looking almost unearthly.

She was wearing a black Ankara (?) dress with a cape that was black on the outside and golden on the inside with various blue, silver, and khaki rectangle clusters. Her hair was mostly contained in a wrap with a few strands framing her lovely face. Her full, plump lips were coated in a Light Plum (?) Matte Lipstick and she wore minimal gold eye shadow.

Her outfit did a splendid job of hinting at her voluptuous curves without needlessly flaunting them like the women who throw themselves at him at press tours.

Ife smiled at him and asked which car were they taking.

Steve motioned to one of the Black SUVs and the two of them strapped in for the three hour car ride.

Ife sighed and gazed out the window at the scenery. Neither one of them had said anything in the past twenty minutes. Steve wasn’t a fan of most of the music that’s on the radio despite Sam’s best efforts. Ife had to break out her puppy dog eyes to get him to let them listen to some instrumental music from her favorite movies.

It seemed that they weren’t going to say anything until Steve cleared his throat.

Ife, not wanting to suffer in silence, decided break it, “How did you know Marlene?”

Steve raided his eyebrows for a split second, “I didn’t. I just feel like I should pay my respects, you know? I mean, I should attend the daughter of the man I failed’s funeral.”

The last sentence struck a chord with Ife. Emotional echoes of despair hit her like a tsunami.

Tentatively, Ife continued, “How did you fail Erskine?”

“I-I don’t think I’ve fulfilled my promise to him. The country has changed so much since I was on ice. It’s funny; I thought that Brave New World would only have a one of two aspects come to life, but I didn’t see nearly the whole book being right.”

Ife didn’t argue with the last two points. The US was nothing but a never-ending commercial sometimes. People were too busy being ‘happy’ or trying to get the newest thrill to realize that they were living in a sham of a republic.

Though she was concerned about the first sentence.

“What was the promise you made to Erskine? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Steve turned slightly, “To be true to who I am; a good man, not a perfect soldier. To be more like Konrad.”

Ife nodded musing on his answer. Erskine would want everyone he helped to be a good person considering the dangers of such power.

Though she wondered if she knew Dr Abraham’s full history.

Abraham Erskine came from a long line of Homo Magis who specialized in Alchemy . He turned to science when it was clear that his magical powers would never manifest (being only 1/16 Homo Magi). Erskine started working on what would become the Super Soldier Serum in 1920 after the witnessing the horrors of WWI firsthand as a medic.

He made a breakthrough in 1927 when he found what looked to be an old power cell in the attic of his childhood home. Turns out it was a modified Atlantean battery dating back to the 1600s, but whatever.

Konrad Jager was the first of nine volunteers; most of whom went on to fight in the Spanish Civil War with the International Brigades and be part of the German Resistance’s Special Forces during WWII.

Needless to say, they were recruited into BNA’s European Division.

Only Eren Kant was deemed a failure in the end.

Ife shook her head at the info in Erskine’s folder.

Eren was pompous dumbass who broke himself out jail by bending/breaking the bars of his cell after getting arrested for being a player and bully by the Munich Police in August of 1935. His show of superhuman strength got Erskine’s work onto the Hitler’s radar. BNA had to send a cleaner to ‘handle’ Eren before he could get everyone in even more trouble.

She wondered if Konrad and the others would make an appearance.

“What do mean by not staying true to yourself?”

Steve sighed, “It seemed a lot easier to do so in my time.”

Ife wanted to go further, but she couldn’t. Steve was punishing himself up for something he couldn't control and it was tragic.

She hoped that she could actually help him, not for the mission, but for himself.

They arrived at the venue twenty minutes early. Steve was trying (failing) to fix his tie while Ife was looking as glamorous and poised as can be.

Sensing Steve’s unease, she gave his hand a comforting squeeze, “You’ll do fine,” she whispered as she fixed his tie while not trying inhale his delicious natural scent like a creep (again).

“Let’s go inside.”

Everyone seemed to stop what they were doing when they entered the venue. Though Ife had to hand it to the guests; no one asked Steve for an autograph or a selfie. She noted several BNA officials and a couple of Earth-based Non-Human big wigs in attendance.

Guess Marlene was popular.

“Ife!” Azeneth shouted as she strode over to from a corner and enveloped her in a hug.

“Azeneth, how are you? I didn’t think you would be back from Mexico City so soon.”

“Well, the mission was short and they wanted me in New York to accompany Eliza here. Now, who is this fine gentleman, Ife?” Azeneth queried while Steve started shifting uncomfortably.

“This is Steve Rogers, one of my new teammates and Ca-”

“Captain America. I know, Ife. I was jesting.”

Ife sighed dramatically while rolling her eyes, “Steve, this is Azeneth. She’s one of my best Earth-based friends.”

“Kickass friend.” Azeneth corrected, “How are you liking Ife? She’s not too much trouble.”

“Stop it, ‘Aze!” Ife playfully hit Azeneth’s shoulder, “Feel free to ignore her, Steve.”

“Hmm, no. I don’t think I will, especially after the stunt you pulled on the first day at the compound.”

Azeneth burst out laughing at Ife’s shocked expression and Steve’s sly grin. She probably would’ve kept goin if not for Eliza cutting into their conversation.

“Excuse us, Mr. Rogers. I’ll have to speak with Ife for a moment. My name’s Eliza Maza, by the way.”

Once they were out of Steve’s line of sight (Azeneth was keeping him busy), Eliza activated a noise canceller.

“So did anyone die in the attack on the Magic Council?” Ife asked as she made sure Steve wasn’t looking at them.

“No one was harmed, but several books are missing from the library.”

“Shit! Okay. Well, would Dr. Strange be available to assist Wanda with her training? Wong and Nazaret are at the Sanctum and he said that he knew of some spells that could help.”

“I’ll look into it. I should have an answer in a week”

“Okay.”

“Ife, please give me a call when you get back to the compound.”

Ife eyed Konrad Jager, Gregor Eisenberg, Sonje Decker, and Lukas Denhart making their way to Steve. She hoped they weren’t going to drop an info bomb on him today.

“I will.”

The service was short and sweet as Marlene didn’t want everyone to be bored to tears on her behalf. The crowd got a laugh out that joke.

Afterwards, Marlene granddaughter, Zahara, requested if Steve could stay for a bit. She gave him a beautifully wrapped package.

“My grandmother wanted you to have this. She saw you fighting in the Battle of New York and knew you would know what to do with it.”

“It would be an honor, Miss.”

Ife thought about her earlier conversation with Steve on the say back. She realized what’s happened to Steve was heartbreaking.

Here was a man who gave up everything for a country that only wants him as a cudgel for their heinous deeds. Someone who, if he hadn’t fallen into the ice, would’ve probably been ruined by the same country he swore to protect. They would’ve labeled him as a communist and destroyed his good name for not immediately getting on board with the next war.

To be honest, Ife didn’t think much of Steve before joining the team. She thought he was just the banner boy for colonizers to feel good; he was the reminder of that brief moment when the US was totally the bad guys (totally being the operative word).

But now?

She saw the toll the helmet and shield had on him. Ife doubted he knew that he was going to be alive for awhile judging how neither Konrad or the others aged a day since they received Serum 1.0 and Steve supposedly got one that was at least 3x as powerful.

She wanted to comfort him somehow, but she was lost on what to do.

When she got back to the compound, she gave Steve a hug and went straight to her quarters to call Eliza.

“Eliza. I can’t do this by myself, and if we’re going to pull this off, I’m going to need some serious backup because the Avengers need some serious help.”

Fury was going through some mission reports when he heard a knock on his door.

“Come in.”

Oddly enough, Ife was the one to enter the room and not Maria Hill.

“Good Evening, Fury. I have someone who would like speak with you.”

“Well, give me a name and contact info and I’ll see what I can do.”

“Actually,” Ife reached in her pocket for a disc, “I can do you one better.”

Ife tossed the disc into the air and a moon-door portal formed from it. Out came Eliza, Azeneth, and Angela in her gargoyle form.

Eliza gave Ife a quick nod and turned to Fury, “Good Evening, Nicolas Fury. My name is Eliza Maza and we’re from the Bureau of Non-Human Affairs or BNA. I would advice that you lower your weapon. It won’t do you a lick of good,” Fury lowered his gun,” Good. Put Maria Rambeau on speaker, we need to talk.”

-Somewhere in France-

Maeve was enjoying her brunch while watching the footage of Eliza officially making contact with new SHIELD and SWORD.

“Well, it looks like it’s time to ‘get the band back together’ as the kids would say.” She chirped to the woman across the table.

“That expression pretty much died in the 90s. No ‘kid’ uses that phrase anymore.” Koronis deadpanned.

Maeve scoffed, “Anyone born after 1800 is a ‘child’ to me. This is what I get for trying not to sound like ‘an old hag’ as you put it.”

“Well, is everything on track?”

Koronis, or Carol, closed her eyes for few seconds, “I see nothing standing in our organization’s way. However, we should have the meeting sooner rather than later.”

“Duly noted. Anything else?”

“The new variable, Ifekerenma, will be more useful to our plans than I originally anticipated.”

“Oh, I do love surprises! I mean, I know how it will end, but I still like to be at least a little surprised. I knew it was a good idea to let Klaue be discovered by Ultron in Istanbul!”

Another woman walked up to the pair,”You wanted to see me, Mistress?”

“Yes. Svetlana, call the others. It’s time to put our plan into high gear. Hell’s Moon is upon us.”

Steve was having a shitty birthday.

The press was pestering him about the presidential election. Several outlets have called him a sellout and a coward for not endorsing anyone.

He was figuring out the best way to take a shower and hit the hay in less than 30 minutes when he found a beautifully written note taped to his door.

It said to come to Ife room wearing his best dancing clothes.

Ten minutes later, Steve knocked on her door and it instantly opened to reveal a modest dancing hall not unlike the ones he went to with Bucky before the war.

He was so lost in thoughts admiring the place that he failed to notice Ife hovering a few feet from him.

“Happy Birthday, Steve! How do you like it?”

Steve turned to see Ife in a knee-length golden yellow African Wax Print Ankara dress with cold shoulders, ruffled sleeves, and a v-neckline. He didn’t miss the modest view of her cleavage or how her legs looked oh, so smooth in the dress.

Ife, for her part, was super nervous about this. Nat said that people went to dance halls all the time in the late 1930s and 1940s and it took her five days to get the architecture, the music, and the lighting just right.

She hoped that Steve wouldn’t be angry with her.

Steve looked incredibly handsome in his simple dress shirt and slacks. His powerful shoulders, thick biceps, trim waist, and beefy thighs were accentuated by the lighting which made him look like he was glowing.

Ife would’ve drooled if she knew that he didn’t like it when most women would throw themselves at him.

“It’s amazing. Thank you.”

“I’m sorry about the dress. I couldn-”

Steve raised a hand to stop her from going off on a tangent,”You look beautiful.”

Ife felt a flurry of warmth in her core at the compliment.

“So, what would like to do?”

Before Steve could answer, Duke Ellington’s Don’t Mean a Thing starting playing.

Steve stretched out his hand, “Would you like to dance?”

Ife took his had and they glided onto the dance floor.

“Where did you learn to dance?”

“Bucky’s mom made us learn when Bucky started getting attention from the girls at school. She thought it best that we knew how to treat them to a good time.”

“I see,” Ife giggled, “Then she was wise to make take the lessons. Though I’m more familiar with the jitterbug.”

Steve chuckled as they resumed swinging. He hummed a bit as they danced to Ella Fitzgerald, Caro Emerald, Jo Stafford, Billie Holiday, and Gene Krupa.

Ife was impressed with Steve’s dancing skills. What were those women thinking passing him up like that?!

After a couple more rounds of dancing, the music shifted to something more modern but not (it was Howl’s Moving Castle’s Main Theme) , the colors on the walls and ceiling brightened, and several chandeliers formed on the ceiling.

Steve gave Ife a slightly confused look and asked her if she would like to try a waltz this time.

The song lasted a little more than five minutes. Steve was somehow able to lead their movements in sync with the song.

Ife felt her body was aflame with gentle yet commanding touches Steve was giving her. He even lifted her a few times making her feel as though she was flying with how gently he held her.

They were absorbed in their own world they either failed to notice or ignored Nat and Wanda entering Ife room to see if they could have another spa day. Nat even got a few pictures of the two dancing.

Steve gave Ife one last life during the climax and pulled her in when the music came to a close. They were about to come in for a kiss when Ife pressed her lips together and back away.

“We should probably retire for evening. Goodnight, Steve.”

Steve’s shoulders slumped in defeat, but left Ife’s room with a simple goodnight with Nat and Wanda in tow.

Ife frowned. She knew Steve wasn’t in the best place for a relationship and her conscience wouldn’t let her take advantage of that.

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fanmoose12 · 4 years

Text

Once upon a time, there lived a young woman. She was kind, caring and so very smart. She was also stubborn and careless, as her friends often described her.

Her greatest passion in life was knowledge, and so once upon a time, during a ball at the King’s palace, the woman decided to sneak into the royal library to steal a very important book.

And then, unfortunately, she was caught by a Prince.

“Mike, please.”

“No.”

“Pretty please?”

“I said no.”

“Pretty, pretty please?” Hange batted her eyelashes, staring at Mike with an endless implore.

Mike shook his head. “Hange, no. I’m sorry, I really want to help, but I can’t. I can get beheaded for this. You will certainly be beheaded.”

“That’s only if I get caught,” Hange answered cheekily. “And if I do, you know I won’t tell anyone that you were involved. So don’t worry about this.”

“I don’t worry about myself,” Mike sighed heavily. “I worry about you, Hans.”

“I’ll be fine,” she rolled her eyes. “No one will see me, I promise.”

“There is no way I can persuade you to change your mind, right? What is so important about that book anyway?”

“I’ve heard it has information on some undiscovered herbs. And if I find them, I can use them to make a better medicine. Just think how many lives I can save!”

“And why can’t you just ask Erwin to get this book for you?”

“Didn’t you hear me?” Hange glared at him. “This book contains forbidden knowledge. Erwin doesn’t have a permission to go into that part of the library. Or so he claims.”

“And the best idea you’ve come up with is to sneak inside the palace during the ball to steal that stupid book?”

“Hey, that book is not stupid!” Hange protested. “And my plan is awesome! During the ball, all guards will be patrolling the entrances and the main room. No one will think of guarding the library! I will walk in and out completely unnoticed!”

Mike scratched his chin. Hange’s plan actually sounded well-thought. It also sounded way too easy. And that’s what concerned him the most.

“So what exactly do you need from me?”

Hange beamed. “I only need one thing!” she assured. “Only your invitation to the ball and that’s it! I know that as a guardsman, you’ve received it!”

“I was planning to give it to Nanaba…”

“Well, you can give her Erwin’s invitation,” Hange shrugged. “It’s not like he will invite anyone.”

“Then why can’t you just ask Erwin? Why come to me?”

“Em…” Hange looked to the side, avoiding Mike’s eyes.

“Hange…” he said lowly, glaring at her. “Did you tell Erwin about your plan?”

“Heh,” Hange nervously giggled, fixing the glasses on her face. Still refusing to meet Mike’s gaze.

“Goddamn it,” Mike rubbed his forehead tiredly. “Why didn’t you tell him?”

“You know Erwin!” Hange threw her hands into the air. “He wouldn’t have listened to me! He’d say that my plan is stupid and reckless, and that I should just forget it!”

“And he wouldn’t be wrong,” Mike noted.

Hange scowled at him. “It’s you who are wrong. My plan is good, and it will work. Erwin won’t even know that I was in the palace. Please, Mike, you’re the only one who can help. I’ll be careful, I promise.”

“Fine,” Mike finally conceded his defeat. When Hange looked at him like that, with fire passionately burning inside her eyes, her resolve as strong as steel, he just couldn’t refuse.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Hange jumped onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You’re the best friend in the world, Mike!”

“That I am,” he smirked, hugging Hange back. “But no word to Erwin about this.”

“Of course,” Hange agreed.

“And try not to run into Nile. He’ll throw you into a jail the moment he sees you.”

Hange grimaced. “I almost forgot that this asshole will be attending the ball as well.”

“He’s the Captain of the royal guard,” Mike reminded her. “Of course, he’ll be there.”

“Alright, I’ll keep an eye out for him. Well, thanks for your help again,” she fondly smiled at her friend. “But I need to go now!” Hange rose to her tiptoes and swiftly kissed Mike’s cheek. “I’ll see you around!”

Before Mike could say anything, Hange was already gone, probably on her way to run into another trouble.

***

“Have you been in the palace before?” Mike asked, as he, Nanaba and Hange stood in the corner, watching the nobles swirl around the ballroom.

“No, I haven’t,” Hange said, taking a sip from her glass. The corners of her lips slightly lifted, as she swallowed the wine. As much as she liked to bitch about royals, they certainly knew how to pick their alcohol. Maybe, she should have followed in Mike’s footsteps and become a member of the guard, as well.

“Then how are you going to find the library?” Nanaba questioned.

Hange shrugged. “I have never been to the palace. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t know how to find a library.”

“Of course,” Mike shook his head in exasperation. “You stole the palace’s blueprints from Erwin’s study.”

“I didn’t steal,” Hange huffed, offended. “I borrowed. I intend to return them.”

Nanaba giggled, throwing her arm over Hange’s shoulders. “Oh my goodness, you’re something else.”

“That’s a huge understatement,” Mike muttered under his breath.

“So, why the King decided to throw a huge ball now?” Hange asked, ignoring Mike’s words. “Today is not some holiday, right?”

“You don’t know?” Nanaba raised her eyebrow. “Prince Levi is going to become King soon, and King Kenny wants to find a wife for him.”

“Oh,” Hange took a better look at the crowd, gathered in the ballroom. Indeed, most of the guests were women. Young, beautiful and rich, they looked so much different than Hange.

Well, she mused, as she took another sip from her glass, it wasn’t like she came here to seduce the Prince.

“I take it the Prince hasn’t shown up yet,” she noted.

“The King isn’t here either,” Nanaba said.

“And that’s good,” Mike concluded. “That means that as Prince’s advisor, Erwin isn’t present as well. And Nile will surely be accompanying The King.”

“So you’re saying I shouldn’t stay here for long, when they enter the ballroom,” Hange nodded. “That’s what I was planning to do anyway. I’m actually waiting for the royal family to enter, so I can quietly sneak out, using the commotion.”

“Be careful,” Nanaba reminded. “I really don’t want to come to your execution.”

“I think my head will look great in the basket,” Hange joked. “Or maybe, they’ll even put it on a stick!”

“I take my words back,” Nanaba gave her a hard gaze. “You’re terrible, and so is your humor.”

“Aw, come on!” Hange laughed. “I know you love me, Nana!”

“Unfortunately,” she rolled her eyes, hiding a fond smile.

“Ladies, get ready,” Mike jerked his head in the direction of the big doors. “The King and the Prince are here.”

And in the next moment, the doors opened and the music stopped. A tall, proud man with a golden crown on his head and a wide grin on his face entered the room.

“That’s King Kenny,” Nanaba whispered in Hange’s ear. “And that’s,” she pointed to a shorter guy, who followed him. “That’s Prince Levi.”

Hange cocked her head, curiously regarding the young man. He had black shiny hair, his skin was almost white as a paper and his eyes were narrow. He regarded his guests with a displeasured, almost annoyed expression.

Hange huffed, as she turned away from that man. All those people traveled through the whole country just so they could meet him, and that’s how he greets them? Why even organize the ball, if you don’t enjoy it?

Truly, she would never understand those royals.

But there was no time to dwell on it now, she had an important job.

“It’s time for me to go,” she whispered to her friends, briefly squeezing their shoulders.

“Good luck,” Nanaba kissed her cheek.

“Don’t get distracted,” Mike advised, softly patting her hair.

Hange saluted to them with a crooked smile, and then disappeared into the crowd, heading to the side doors of the ballroom.

***

Levi lazily regarded the crowd of guests, gathered below him. Nobles from the whole kingdom sent their offspring to the capital, all of them hoping for one thing – that one of their daughters will be lucky enough to become his wife.

It disgusted Levi. Looking at all those young girls, who gazed at him with so much hope and who cared for nothing more than a crown on his head, he felt sick.

“See someone you like?” his uncle whispered into his ear, placing a hard hand onto his shoulder.

“No.” Levi curtly replied, shaking off Kenny’s arm.

“Too bad,” Kenny hummed. “Because if you don’t have at least one dance until midnight comes, I’m picking your fiancé myself.”

“Have you lost your mind?” Levi hissed. “Don’t you think that I should choose my future wife myself?”

“Then fucking choose already, Levi,” Kenny said seriously. “You are almost an adult and I can’t keep organizing those stupid balls for you, if you don’t even talk with those women. Get your ass off that throne and go to them. Talk, drink, dance. You won’t be able to find someone, if you continue watching them from afar.”

“Alright, alright,” Levi rolled his eyes. “I got your point, now leave me alone.”

“Good luck,” his uncle patted his shoulder. Then he granted Levi his wish and went to mingle with the nobles.

“The King decided to share with you some of his wisdom?” Levi’s advisor and his only friend, Erwin, said with an amused smile.

“Something like that,” Levi grumbled, his eyes once again scanning the ballroom. Trying to find a woman, who repelled him the least.

And as he kept looking, Levi noticed a figure, which walked away from the crowd. A woman in an awfully bright green dress separated from the rest of the nobles and headed towards the side door. Levi narrowed his eyes, watching her movements.

“Is something wrong?” Erwin asked. He followed Levi’s gaze, but before he could see that woman, she already disappeared behind the door.

“I need to check something,” Levi said, starting to move. That woman was definitely a thief, and Levi had to stop her. What kind of King he would become, if he lets some strangers rob his palace? “I won’t be gone for too long. Stay here and watch Kenny. If he asks where I am, tell him I went to the bathroom.”

“And where are you really going?” Erwin furrowed his eyebrows.

“I’ll tell you after I’m done,” there was no time to waste, after all. The thief could disappear with her booty any moment.

***

Levi slowly made his way through the palace’s corridors, straining his ears to hear something, except the muffled sounds of music from the ballroom. As he continued to wonder around, entering each room and finding nothing, Levi started to regret coming here all alone. Maybe, he should have taken Erwin with him. Or better yet, he should have asked Erwin’s friend, the guardsman named Mike, to accompany him. Everyone in the palace knew about Mike’s exceptional ability to pick up the faintest of smells. He would have come in handy in this situation.

And then, when Levi almost lost all hope of finding the thief by himself, when he almost turned back to return to the ballroom, he saw it – a faint, flickering ray of light beneath one of the doors. Levi raised his head. He was standing in front of a library.

So that woman decided to steal a book? That was something new.

Carefully, he laid his palm on the door’s handle, trying to open it as quietly as possible. A moment later, he walked inside the room, stopping in the middle and looking around. He was surrounded by rows and rows of bookshelves, but there was no sign of the thief. Levi’s eyes darted from corner to corner, trying to locate the intruder.

He walked further into the room and there, he finally found her. The woman was standing inside the small section of a library, which was separated from the rest of the room by heavy, tall gates.

So she was looking for the forbidden books, huh?

However, the gates didn’t seem to be much of an obstacle to that woman, as she successfully managed to get past them. Now she was facing away from Levi, shifting through book after book.

She was so absorbed in her task that she didn’t even notice Levi’s arrival.

Well, he couldn’t just miss the opportunity to scare the shit out of her, right?

So Levi cleared his throat. “What the fuck are you doing?” he asked and watched with amusement how the woman instantly froze. Her shoulders shook slightly, and Levi almost smirked, as he waited for her to scream in panic.

But she didn’t.

Instead, the woman turned around, an innocent smile on her lips. “I’m sorry,” she said in a sweet, slightly confused voice. “It seems like I’ve turned the wrong corner. It’s not bathroom, is it?”

“Really?” Levi crossed hands on his chest, his cold grey eyes boring into that woman. He took another look at her – she had a long nose, large forehead, thin lips and messy brown hair that reached to her shoulders. There was also a big, round glasses on her face. Fucking four-eyes, Levi thought to himself. “Do you often shit in the library?”

And then, that four-eyes shocked Levi again – she started laughing. Loudly and boisterously, with her head thrown back.

“Alright, alright,” she raised her hands in a placating gesture. “You’ve caught me, I was actually trying to steal a book.”

“You don’t say,” Levi deadpanned.

Four-eyes giggled again, as though not realizing that Levi could say one word and that pretty head of hers would instantly appear on a spike. Not that Levi found her head, or anything about that woman, to be pretty.

“So now what?” four-eyes cocked her head to the side. “Are you going to call the guards?”

Yes, Levi almost said. That was what he had to do. Even if he had caught her before she managed to steal anything, four-eyes still was a thief. And thieves had to be punished. By cutting their hand or their head, it all depended on how much annoying the criminal was. And that woman… she was extremely annoying.

But then Levi got an idea.

“I won’t tell anyone about your sorry attempt, if,” he paused, carefully regarding her. “If you do me a favor.”

“Anything,” four-eyes replied without hesitation.

Levi nodded, satisfied with her eagerness. “I need you to dance with me.”

It was an amazing idea, and Levi mentally congratulated himself on his quick wit. Kenny’s condition was that he had to dance with at least one girl until midnight. And if he dances with four-eyes, who was obviously a commoner, Kenny would never agree to let Levi marry her. And that meant that Levi would get another few months of peace and quiet, without boring tea-parties and lengthy walks through the gardens with annoying foreign princesses.

Yes, excellent idea.

Although, the bespectacled woman obviously didn’t share his opinion.

“You want to dance with me?” she asked, completely dumbfounded.

“Weird. I saw the glasses on your faces, and thought you were blind. But it turns out, you are actually deaf, huh?”

“Oi!” four-eyes glared at him. “I’m not deaf! Or blind! I just don’t understand what you want from me.”

“And you don’t have to,” Levi shrugged. “All you need to do is to have one dance with me, and then you’ll be free to go.”

“You promise?” she looked at him suspiciously.

“I swear.”

“Alright then!” the change in four-eyes was instant. One moment, she was carefully regarding Levi, and in the next, she grabbed his hand with a wide, almost wild grin. “Let’s go and dance, shorty!” she exclaimed, dragging him out of the library.

As he followed that strange woman, Levi couldn’t quite understand one thing. Four-eyes was at the ball, she had to know who he was. But she acted like she didn’t care in the slightest. She behaved around him like he wasn’t a crowned Prince, but a simple commoner.

And, surprisingly, Levi liked that. A lot.

Maybe, this girl wasn’t as annoying as he initially thought.

***

Their hands were still linked, when they entered the ballroom. And as soon as they appeared, all eyes were on them. The guests, who were previously dancing, now stopped, staring at them with unmasked surprise.

“I don’t like all this attention,” four-eyes whispered.

“Don’t mind them,” Levi whispered back, dragging her to the center of the room.

There, he stood and laid his hand on four-eyes’ waist. As he turned to face her, Levi realized that she was taller than him.

Annoying, Levi mentally tsked. Good thing he wasn’t going to actually marry her.

The scowl on his face deepened, as everyone still continued looking at him like he had grown a second head. Even the musicians stopped playing, too shocked by his arrival. Levi sent them a vicious glare, and, thankfully, they got the hint, resuming their work.

The guests started to dance again. Levi and his mysterious companion joined them.

“Is it a good time to tell you that I don’t know how to dance?” four-eyes asked, that infuriating grin still plastered on her lips.

“It’s fine,” Levi grumbled, turning his face away to hide his wince, when she stepped on his toes.

However the discomfort, Levi was somewhat pleased by this fact. He was sure that Kenny was starting to go insane, as he watched them dance. Yes, he couldn’t have found a better dance partner, Levi was sure of it.

“This dress is terrible, by the way,” Levi commented, as he spun her around. “And your hair is awfully messy.”

“Oh, forgive me,” four-eyes snapped. “I couldn’t have known that I’ll be dancing with the Prince himself. If I had, I would have taken more care about my appearance.”

“So you know who I am?” Levi gasped. “Then why do you act like—”

“Like I don’t care?” she cut him off. “That’s exactly why. I don’t care. You may be a Prince and a fucking heir to the throne, but that doesn’t mean you’re in any way better than me.”

Levi didn’t know what to say to this, staring at her with wide eyes like some kind of an idiot. This woman in front of him… however, annoying and infuriating she was, but she amazed him. She was the first one to treat him like this, like he was just a human being, like the crown on his head was nothing more than a piece of useless jewelry.

“What’s your name?” he asked, a little breathlessly.

She smirked, her eyes glinting with mischief. “That’s a secret.”

“That’s unfair!” Levi frowned. “You know my name.”

“Life isn’t always fair, your highness.”

Oh goodness, that four-eyes was so annoying! To call her infuriating – that was definitely an understatement. Levi had never met a person who pissed him off so much. Even his uncle didn’t have that kind of effect on him. Although… Levi couldn’t deny it – she also intrigued him. He wanted to know more about her, to untangle all of her mysteries and enigmas, to find out the meanings of each of her smiles.

“Alright then,” Levi huffed. “How should I call you?”

She shrugged. “I don’t care. It’s totally up to you, your highness.”

“Don’t call me that,” Levi hissed. “My name is Levi. And if you don’t care how I address you, then I’ll be calling…” he trailed off, studying her expression, “then I’ll be calling you four-eyes.”

“Four-eyes?” the woman laughed. It was a loud, completely unladylike sound. Levi liked it.

“Yes,” he nodded, his arm reaching out to touch the side of her face. “Because of those stupid glasses.”

That seemed to catch four-eyes completely off-guard. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly. She looked completely ridiculous, and Levi mentally patted himself on a shoulder for surprising her. He imagined it was a rare look for her, and he was glad to wipe off that cocky grin from her face.

However, before he could really relish in this sight, the song ended. Four-eyes took a step back.

“Well, we’ve finished our dance. It’s time for me to go,” and maybe, it was just Levi’s imagination, his stupid wishful thinking, but she seemed reluctant.

“No,” he didn’t mean to sound so desperate.

He also didn’t mean to grab her palm once more, squeezing it tightly in his own.

Four-eyes looked at him in confusion, her gaze darting to their joined hands. “You promised that you’ll let me go after this dance.”

“And I will,” Levi assured her. “But I… I want…” what exactly he wanted? Levi didn’t yet know the answer to this question. But he knew that he didn’t want to let go of her just yet, that he couldn’t say goodbye to her right now.

“I want to have a walk with you. Please, just ten more minutes,” he hastily added, when a hesitant expression appeared on four-eyes’ face. “And then you can go.”

“All of you nobles are so demanding,” four-eyes shook her head. “But if you want it so much, then fine.”

“Thank you,” Levi said sincerely.

Then, ignoring the stares of his guests, Levi led four-eyes out of the ballroom and into the palace’s gardens.

“I have to admit,” a smile bloomed on four-eyes’ lips. It was so beautiful, so sincere and happy that Levi’s breath hitched in his throat. “Your gardens are amazing.”

“You should see them in spring,” Levi said, ignoring the beating of his heart. It was so loud he was sure that four-eyes heard it, too. They still held hands, and Levi caught himself thinking that he didn’t want to let go. Not now, not ever.

“Maybe, I can sneak into your palace then,” four-eyes chuckled.

“You don’t have to,” Levi blurted out without thinking.

“Huh?”

“I mean…” Levi stuttered. “You don’t have to sneak in. You can visit. Anytime you want.”

That same surprised expression returned to four-eyes’ face. But this time, she quickly masked it with a grin. “Are you giving me a royal permission?”

Levi felt a smirk tug on his lips. Four-eyes’ mischief was contagious. “Yeah, something like that.”

They reached a small bench, hidden behind two large trees. Levi sat down on it and four-eyes joined him, sitting so close that her shoulder brushed against his. She raised her head to stare at the sky, her eyes sparkling as bright as the stars above. Levi couldn’t look away.

“I guess asking you about your family will be pointless?” he quietly asked.

Four-eyes shrugged. “I don’t really have a family. I live with a friend.”

“Just a friend?” Levi wondered why he suddenly got so nervous.

“Just a friend,” four-eyes replied with a smile.

“And what do you do? Or is it another secret?”

“Not really,” she said. “I am a scholar. Of sorts.”

“Of sorts?”

“Well, you won’t find my books in any libraries.”

“What do you study then?”

“Herbology.”

“Oh,” Levi breathed. “That’s why you needed that book.”

“Yeah,” four-eyes twirled a stray lock of her hair. “I wanted to find if there are any plants I haven’t discovered yet.”

“You left the book at the library,” Levi remembered. “You should go back and take it.”

“What?” her brows shot up. “You want to give it to me?”

Levi shrugged. “It’s just lying there now, gathering dust. I’m sure it will be more useful in your hands.”

“You know,” four-eyes softly chuckled. “You are very different from the others nobles I’ve met. I have never thought that Princes are so kind.”

Levi stared at her, not sure what to do next. He wanted to say something, to tell four-eyes how wonderful she is, how different from everyone Levi knew. He was still thinking on how to translate his feelings into words, when they’ve heard an unmistakable sound of the dangling armor.

“The guards!” four-eyes immediately shot to her feet. “They can’t see me! I need to go!”

She almost turned around, ready to run, when Levi grabbed her wrist. “Wait!” he was surprised by the desperation in his own voice. “Will we ever meet again?”

Four-eyes smiled, leaning in to kiss his cheek. “If you manage to find me, Levi.”

She winked at him and then ran away.

The sounds of the dangling armor were getting closer. Soon the members of the royal guard reached Levi.

“Your highness,” Nile bowed to him, panting heavily. “We were looking everywhere for you!”

“The King was worried,” Erwin added, coming to stand next to Levi.

“I’m fine,” Levi grumbled. “Just wanted to get some air.”

“The woman who was with you,” Nile said, “Where is she now?”

“Why do you ask?” Levi crossed hands on his chest, regarding him coolly.

“I think I’ve seen her before,” Nile answered. “And I—”

“You’re mistaken,” Erwin cut him off. His usually calm voice now sounded almost angry. Levi cocked his head to the side, watching his advisor. Did he know something Levi didn’t?

“No, Sir Erwin, I’m sure that it was—”

“You. Are. Mistaken.” Erwin repeated. He and Nile glared furiously at each other.

Levi observed their exchange with interest and confusion. Something definitely was up, but he couldn’t outright ask Erwin about it. Not yet, not until Nile was nearby.

“Captain!” the voice of one of Nile’s subordinates interrupted the tense silence. “I think I’ve found something!”

Nile immediately started moving, but Levi was faster. In several quick strides he reached the knight and snatched the object he had found from his hands.

It was glasses, the same glasses that were on four-eyes’ face. Levi stared at them for a long moment, the events of this night replaying in his mind.

“What’s this?” Erwin asked, standing behind his shoulder.

“The glasses!” Nile exclaimed. “They probably slipped from her face, while she was running. Good job, Marlo,” he nodded to his subordinate.

“We don’t know if that’s hers,” Erwin instantly protested. “They could belong to anyone.”

Levi felt like they were going to continue arguing, so he just turned around, heading towards the palace. As he walked through the gardens, he carefully hid the glasses inside his pocket.

***

As soon as Levi entered the ballroom once more, Kenny immediately came to his side.

“So my eyes didn’t betray me?” he asked, elbowing Levi in the side. “You were actually dancing with someone?”

“Maybe, you should go to the healer, old man,” Levi said, “Ask him for a pair of glasses, if your eyesight is so shitty.”

“Glasses?” Kenny guffawed. “Like the ones that girl was wearing?”

Levi gave his uncle an unimpressed look.

“Alright, alright,” Kenny raised his hands in an apologizing manner. “Tell me about her. What is her name? Where is her family from? How much land do they have?”

Levi looked to the side, pointedly ignoring Kenny’s eyes.

“Oh no,” Kenny gasped. “Please don’t tell me that she is some commoner.”

“I won’t,” Levi shook his head. “I don’t really know if she’s a commoner or not. She refused to talk about herself. I don’t even know her name.”

“My goodness,” Kenny closed his eyes and sighed. “Please don’t tell me that you want to marry her.”

“Fine,” Levi agreed. “If you don’t to want to hear it, then I won’t tell you.”

“Levi!” Kenny lamented. “You’re killing me! You’re killing your own uncle!”

“Good,” Levi retorted. “Then die.”

“How could you choose her?” Kenny continued, ignoring his nephew’s cruel words. “Why didn’t you fall in love with some nice girl from a noble family or a rich princess from a faraway kingdom? Why her?”

“I don’t know,” Levi replied simply. “I don’t know why I like her so much, but I do.”

“So what? You don’t even know her name, how are you going to find her?”

“I’ll think of something,” Levi shrugged. “I’m not going to give up so easily.”

“You’re as stubborn as your mother, gods rest her soul,” Kenny’s voice was unusually soft. “Fine, if she is the one you want to marry, then so be it. You’re a big boy, I can’t tell you what to do anymore.”

“Thank you, Kenny. That means a lot.”

Kenny sadly shook his head, his eyes watching the ballroom. “All those pretty ladies came here just for you,” he said quietly. “And you’ve chosen some commoner over them. Poor things.”

“They’ll get over it,” Levi mumbled, remembering four-eyes’ smile and laughter.

He wasn’t regretting his choice in the slightest.

***

The next day, Levi burst in Erwin’s study. He walked up to his desk and slammed his hand onto the hard wood, right next to Erwin’s face.

“You know something, right?” Levi asked, glaring at him.

If Erwin was surprised by his sudden arrival, he didn’t show it. When he raised his face to look at Levi, there was an innocent and slightly confused smile on his lips. “I am your advisor, your highness, it’s my job to know a lot of ‘something’. I’m afraid you need to be more specific.”

“Cut the bullshit!” Levi growled. “You know that girl. The one I’ve danced with.”

The smile didn’t leave Erwin’s face. He sat back in his chair, his posture relaxed. However, his eyes were hard as he watched Levi’s every move. “And what makes you think so?”

“Don’t take me for an idiot,” Levi narrowed his eyes, his scowl deepening. “I’ve seen your face when I’ve shown you those glasses. And I’ve heard how you were trying to protect her from Nile.”

“Excellent observation, your highness,” Erwin spread his hands, admitting his defeat. “But I still don’t understand what you want from me.”

“I want you to tell me about her.”

Erwin’s jaw tightened. “No, your highness. I’m afraid I cannot do that.”

“You’re protecting her,” Levi noted. “Again. Why?”

“Why do people protect anyone?” Erwin lifted his shoulder in a half shrug. “Because they care.”

“So you don’t just know her! You care about her.”

“She’s a friend,” Erwin finally admitted.

“And you won’t tell me about her?” Levi asked, sitting on a chair across from Erwin.

“I won’t.”

“Even if I order you?”

Erwin chuckled. “I’m sorry, your highness. But there are some things that are more important than duty.”

“Shit,” Levi rubbed his forehead. “Not that I actually expected you to tell me anything, but… I’m still disappointed.”

“Well, if you tell me why are you looking for her, then maybe I will help you.”

Levi gave him a flat look. “Why do you think I’m looking for her?”

“I don’t know,” Erwin said. “That’s why I’m asking.”

“Asshole,” Levi muttered. He knew that Erwin was doing this on purpose. But well, Levi really needed his help.

“I want to see her,” Levi felt how a blush immediately appeared on his cheeks. He lowered his head, avoiding Erwin’s amused gaze, and continued. “I want to talk to her, and… get to know her.”

“You…” Erwin stared at him in disbelief. “You like her?”

“Yes,” Levi replied, lowering his head even further.

“And do you… do you want to marry her?”

“Yes,” Levi repeated. “If she accepts, of course.”

“You’re not sure?” Erwin chuckled.

“How can I be sure? Four-eyes is unpredictable as hell.”

Erwin’s chuckle turned into a laugh. “You don’t even know how accurate you are.”

“So?” Levi glanced at him beneath his fringe. “Do you agree to help me?”

“I… will assist you,” Erwin said.

“Alright,” Levi nodded. He wasn’t hoping for anything better, anyway. “Then organize the search.”

“The search?”

“Yes, I’m sure four-eyes lives somewhere nearby.”

“So?” Erwin asked, not exactly following where Levi was going with this.

“So I’m going to visit every house in this goddamn city until I find her.”

“And how will you know that’s her?”

Levi smirked, putting the glasses on Erwin’s desk. “I have this. Whoever those glasses fit should be my wife.”

“Should I spread this message?” Erwin said, already preparing his quill and a paper.

“Yes,” Levi nodded, getting up. “And be ready, Erwin. We’ll start our search tomorrow morning.”

Erwin barely acknowledged his words, as he already started writing his message.

***

Levi was starting to regret his plan. Maybe, he should have asked Erwin harder. Or torture the information out of him, because, as it turned out, there were a lot more young girls in the capital than he thought.

He had spent his entire week, going from door to door, looking for that damned four-eyes. And still, there was no sign of her. Levi had lost count how many women he had seen in the last seven days. But none of them resembled his four-eyes even close. And none of them had eyesight as shitty as hers.

It was hard for him to admit, but he was beginning to lose hope. What if she didn’t actually live in the capital? What if she was from another kingdom? What if she had heard about his search and decided to hide, having no interest in marrying him?

Those questions plagued Levi’s mind every time he visited yet another house and saw another girl with bright hopeful eyes. Another girl, who would try on the glasses and then try to convince him that she could see something through them.

“Let’s visit another house and then call it a day,” Levi announced, his voice weary and quiet.

“As you wish, your highness,” Erwin nodded.

Levi decided not to use a lot of people in this search. He didn’t want to make a lot of fuss out of it, so, as a result, his only companions were Erwin and his friend, guardsman Mike.

The three of them turned the corner and appeared on a small, narrow street. There were only five houses there, and Levi scanned them carefully, trying to decide which house they should visit. As he continued to think, he noticed that Mike and Erwin were strangely nervous. Mike even fidgeted with his sleeve. However, Levi ignored it, too tired to wonder about their weird behavior.

“This one,” Levi pointed to the house in the middle. “Let’s enter this house.”

Beside him, both Erwin and Mike loudly exhaled, although they were holding their breaths for too long. As he glanced at them, Levi saw that both men were smiling ever so slightly.

Levi shook his head, he could ask them about it later.

He came up to the chosen house and loudly knocked on the door.

“It’s his highness, Prince Levi,” Erwin shouted. “Please open your door.”

A young man appeared on the doorstep. He was tall and had light brown hair. Levi almost opened his mouth to apologize for disturbing him, obviously, four-eyes couldn’t live here. Even if there was some girl, who lived here, she was probably married to that man.

Levi didn’t know what possessed him to do it, but he rose to his tiptoes and looked behind the man’s shoulder.

She was standing with her back facing him, but Levi recognized those brown messy locks instantly.

Heart was racing in his chest, as relief and happiness threatened to overwhelm Levi. He wanted to shout out to her, to grip her shoulders tightly, shaking her and asking why the fuck she made everything so complicated. He wanted to look at her face and get lost in her eyes. He wanted to take her in his arms and never let go.

But still, he had to do everything properly.

So Levi bowed his head, trying to keep his composure. “Good sir,” he addressed the man in front of him. “I hate to disturb you, but do you live alone? Or are there any young women living at this house?”

The man was obviously a little confused, his eyes darting from Levi to Erwin and Mike behind him. His gaze stayed on Mike for a little longer, and when Levi glanced up, he saw that Mike was mouthing something to him.

So Mike knew four-eyes as well? Motherfucker, Levi thought annoyingly.

Thankfully, whatever Mike had told him seemed to work, as the man took a step back, allowing them to enter.

“My lady,” Levi said to four-eyes and bowed again, this time with a purpose of hiding a smirk on his face. “Would you be so kind and try those glasses on?” Erwin came closer, handing them to her.

“And why should I do it?” four-eyes asked, and Levi almost growled. If he had any doubts that it was really her, now they were gone. No one annoyed Levi like she did.

“Because I’m a Prince and I say so!” Levi exclaimed, glaring at her.

“Oh really?” four-eyes raised her brows, putting hands on her hips. “So just because you’re a Prince I should do everything you say? If that how it works in your world, your highness?”

Somewhere behind him, Erwin and Mike started laughing, but Levi paid no mind to them. He could get angry at them later.

“Just come here already and take those stupid glasses, so I can finally marry you!”

Four-eyes instantly deflated. Her hands fell limply at her sides and she stared at Levi with utter incomprehension.

“Well, I think we’ll leave you alone for now,” someone awkwardly said. Levi didn’t know who it was, it sounded like Mike’s voice, but he wasn’t sure, he was too busy staring at four-eyes. “Hange, scream, if you need me!”

“Hange?” Levi whispered, taking a tentative, small step towards her. He wanted to take her by the hand, but he wasn’t sure if she wanted the same, so he remained in one place, standing not too far, and not too close to her. “That’s your name?”

Four-ey— no, Hange nodded timidly.

“That’s a stupid name,” Levi slightly smirked, trying to ease the uncomfortably tense atmosphere. “It fits you.”

For a moment, it seemed like Hange wasn’t going to rise up to his rouse. She continued to stare at Levi with wide, unbelieving eyes. But then she shook her head slightly, a mirthless laugh coming out of her throat.

“It is a stupid name,” she rasped, her voice husky. “It is also a commoner’s name.”

“I don’t care,” Levi protested fiercely.

“But you should!” Hange replied just as passionately. “Look at my house, look at my clothes and my face! I’m not rich or pretty, o— or any of those things you Princes need! I’m messy and weird and I know nothing of the court’s etiquette or som—”

“Hange,” Levi took another step forward, until they stood so close their chests touched. He stared deeply into her eyes. “I don’t care.”

She blinked a few times, surprised at their sudden proximity. Levi watched her every move, searching for any sign of her discomfort. If Hange was disturbed by his actions, he was ready to let her go, to walk out of her house and leave her alone. For now, though, she didn’t seem repulsed by him. It filled Levi with hope.

“I don’t care if you’re not pretty like all those girls, or that you have no money or castles,” Levi began, his voice steady and calm despite his wildly beating heart. “I only care about you. Since that night… at the ball… I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I constantly wondered what you were doing or who you were doing it with. I tried to imagine your room or what books you like to read or what you eat for breakfast. I want to know more about you, Hange. I know I’ve said that I want to marry you,” Levi ran a hand through his hair, suddenly flustered. “But I didn’t mean that I want to do it right now. We can spend some time together… hang out and get to know each other.”

“That sounds nice,” a smile suddenly appeared on Hange’s lips. Levi didn’t even realize how much he missed it. “I would like to do that, but… let’s take it slow, alright?”

“Of course,” Levi nodded. “I don’t want you to feel pressured. If there is something that makes you uncomfortable, please tell me immediately.”

Hange’s smile slowly turned into a smirk. “You know,” she drew out. “I was really wrong about you. You’re not nearly as arrogant as I first thought.”

Levi gave her an unimpressed look. “Unfortunately, you’re just as annoying as I expected. But… I like that.”

“And you’re very rude,” Hange winked at him, grinning from ear to ear. “But lucky for you, I like that too.”

“C’mon,” Levi took her by the hand. “Let’s get out of here, or your friends will think that I’ve murdered you or something.”

“Mm,” Hange nodded. “I think Moblit’s been panicking all this time. And Mike is probably two seconds away from breaking down the door.”

“Erwin will stop him,” Levi said, having complete faith in his advisor.

Hange burst out laughing. “You don’t know Erwin like I do. Believe me, if something’s happened to me, he’ll be the first one to run at you with a sword in hand. Well, technically,” she twirled her hair, smiling innocently. “Technically, Moblit will be the first one to do that. But fortunately for you, he doesn’t have a sword.”

“Tch,” Levi scowled. “I’m their Prince and they’re my subjects. Why are they more loyal to you?”

“Because you’re a grumpy and rude monarch,” Hange giggled, ruffling his hair. “And I’m cool and funny!”

“Yeah, I got,” Levi rolled his eyes. “I’m a sore loser, and you are so very awesome. The gods have smiled down upon me, when they decided for us to meet.”

And despite his harsh tone, Levi actually meant it. And judging by Hange’s soft smile and the way she squeezed his hand tighter, she saw right through him.

#that was such a good prompt!!!#i was so excited to write it!!!!#i've written 6k in like one evening? definitely a new record for me #maybe you'll enjoy it too ;)#levihan #levi x hange #levi and hange #levi x hanji #rivahan #levihan fanfiction #levi ackerman #levi snk #hange zoe #hanji zoe #snk fanfiction #shingeki no kyoujin fanfiction #Shingeki no Kyoijin #aot

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blackfemmecharacterdependency · 4 years

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BFCD Reviews by Nesha: Grace Monroe & The Infinity Train on HBO Max

Disclaimer: Post includes spoilers and also, this viewer does not deem Infinity Train as a children's show and my views are not subjected to the idea that this is a children's show, but I do regard the characters as children.

I’m not a psychiatrist. I haven’t taken a psychology class in many years. My work with children has been primarily trauma centered children, and I haven’t worked with typical children for a decade, so most of my opinions are from my personal life experience, my work experience, my children’s rights advocacy and activism, and the guidelines from my childcare specialist work for children in the system in the state of Texas. I don’t have a lot of information these days on typical children and I don’t know the culture of children all over the country or world, but I basically know a little something about traumatized children.

And as always, be nice, because I can be mean too (and will). 😉

Special thanks to @i-am-a-passenger for listening to me and being a SOUND sounding board for my thoughts through this experience that was season 3 of Infinity Train.

To be honest, I thought that it was extremely brave of the creators to go the route that they did with the story line. Not everybody can be saved is a take that we don’t see nearly enough, and whenever we do, usually a POC, oftentimes a Black girl is on the losing end of the tale. That didn’t happen here and despite some problems with some of the way that things played out in front of us, it was STILL a monumental moment for many fans and Grace’s redemption arc was valid and reasonable, so I loved it and I live for it. Now, I’m gonna give my review of the season and what I noticed about the characters...

First off, I think that the writing of this season was phenomenal. The style of the way the story was told impressed me from start to finish. There were moments that I didn’t expect, but I understood from a writing standpoint and for the characters presented. I’m not a professional writer, but it’s been a passion since I was 7 years old, so I have some experience with passion for writing and stories and a great narrative is my WEAKNESS, and I do believe that Infinity Train provides great narratives.

This season has been my favorite thus far. I would have appreciated it for the story content, even if they had switched the characters’ arcs or went in a different direction with the redemption arc, but the fact that I was able to see an example of a Black girl being able to BE HUMAN, at my age - 38 - is still such new content that I was honestly overwhelmed by the simple fact that the creators decided that this Black girl was worthy of not only redemption, but the attention to detail and consideration was enough for me to love this season.

The girl in question: 18 year old Grace Monroe, whose been on this train for something like 7 years.

It’s rare to see a dark skinned, brown skinned, Black girl with natural hair be shown in anything but stereotypes and/or plot devices for other characters. This character has a story of her own. A beautifully written and fully realized story of a child who got confused, made bad decisions, did terrible things, learned the truth, and sought to change.

Whenever we first meet Grace and Simon, she’s announced as the leader of the Apex, and Simon is announced as her second in command and given the credentials from her, “I trust him with my life.” Something that is later a bittersweet thought as he becomes the biggest threat of her life since she got onto this train. They’re clearly very close and only seem to disagree on how they respond to negativity.

One of my favorite things about Grace was that she was given layers. One of my LEAST favorite things about Grace was that she was given unfair head canons by the fandom extremely early on (all of which nobody ever proved but remained diligently devoted to believing).

In this season, when the two are taken out of their comfort zone and traveling with outsiders, Grace and Simon are faced with lives that they haven’t thought about previously and wind up choosing very separate paths. Honestly, these paths they went on made perfect sense to me. I see both of them as traumatized children without any guidance and while one of them is very careless and reckless (Grace), the other is deliberate about what he does and has goals and plans.

The biggest influence, I think, was their interactions with denizens prior to forming the Apex. Grace admittedly never got to know any while Simon was betrayed by one whenever she left him behind to potentially die. Simon carried this rage inside of him while Grace had nothing but apathy to guide her attitude of the denizens. Grace needed attention and she was able to get that from Simon and the Apex, so she made a life built on what that gave her.

While Grace tends to seem to try to sweeten the issue or charm people. Simon is more short with others and a bit rude. They handle things much differently, though they have created a lifestyle together and formatted a society of children that they lead.

All too frequently, if a character looks like Grace, she is there as fodder for whoever her (usually white) counterparts are. But Grace has a unique situation in which she shares center stage with her white male counterpart and we watch them develop together from two peas in a pod to mortal enemies. It is a sad separation, but one that felt necessary for the direction of the story. But here’s why Grace matters so much, despite the fact that she and Simon built a child army and killed we don’t even know how many denizens:

Grace changed for the better. When both of them met and got to know a denizen, she began to change. She didn’t understand it at first and took some time to admit to herself that she was even changing. She thought that something was wrong with her because her number was going down and that wasn’t supposed to be how it was. What she thought was that it made her look weak and she didn’t want Simon or the Apex to see her that way.

And saying that Grace changed for the better is sort of shaky, too. Because Grace wasn’t a bad person to begin with. She was a child who got on the wrong track. Going from being extremely alone to having one friend to having hundreds or however many Apex kids of followers changed her for the worse, but she was a good kid at her core. She was lonely in the real world and she acted out, then wound up on this train, had a life changing event by having to see “The Conductor” and translate what happened to her as someone saving her, and she went on to help save others, or so she thought, to some degree.

Whenever she saved Simon, she had literally no reason to, other than she saw a kid in trouble and she knew she could help.She had just as little life skills and social skills as this kid in front of her, but... he was crying and she reached out to try to make him feel better, reminding him that even though life on the train was hard, he was alright now. Then, another life changing thing happened - Simon noticed that her number was higher and asked her how she got it so high. She knew just as much as him, and said that she was really good at life on the train, and the way she took that ghom out - she wasn’t completely wrong, but them being children and having only time and their limited views started a cult.

What I found interesting about this memory was the fact that Simon was telling Grace’s story for her. She tagged her charm onto it, but Simon (the writer of their laws and apparently a trilogy that not even Grace, who likes to read things wanted to read while they were besties) is telling the story to the kids. Probably embellishing, and Grace loves to be noticed, so she keeps this up until they’ve formatted an entire belief system. It was basically just I presumed whenever I questioned the reputation this fandom gave Grace as a manipulator who filled Simon’s head with hatred for denizens and Apex theology.It confirmed that people were wrong about her, which unfortunately didn’t make them change their minds, but they ain’t gotta. Grace lived and Simon died and that’s how this turns out sometimes.

I was able to at least acknowledge that his death was atrocious and it’s very unfortunate that he didn’t change for the better. He wanted control. He wanted power. He wanted to reign. Those things were more important to him than believing anything that went against his ideals. They were more important than Grace and his relationship with her. Meanwhile, Grace, up until even after he was gone cared about him. She defended herself whenever he attacked her, but she tried not to hurt him. She even tried to talk to him and he once again refused to listen. She saved his life AGAIN, and he still tried to kill her. Despite it all, when he was gone, she cried. Her friend was gone. Another life had been taken, and life meant something else to her now.

Even paper birds mattered now, and thanks to that difference inside of her, she didn’t die. But, I expected her to. Not even because it would’ve made sense or helped the story in any way, but because that’s how it usually goes for characters like her, characters who LOOK like her. The fact that it didn’t brought tears to my eyes. This season was amazing. This ending was amazing. This character was amazing. I’m so pleased with it and it was more than I expected, because instead of setting expectations, I let them tell me the story. They did an excellent job.

I've been asking people since she first appeared in season 2 why they thought that Simon was some helpless and she was this dominating figure that bossed him into this lifestyle and mostly it came back to her higher number. i didn't think we were being shown that, so I've been suspicious every time someone has suggested that Grace got Simon started in this or taught him this and now that it's been debunked, I'm even more irritated with the suggestion that her redemption doesn't make sense or wasn't right.

The thing about Simon was that he seemed fine. He seemed innocent, at times. He seemed like someone to sympathize with... What a lot of his fan base doesn't seem to realize is that is the case with every abuser. That is the case with many killers. Bad backgrounds and hard times coming up don't make for an excuse. Just because I GET his personality, doesn't mean he deserves respect or consideration. But then, we have Grace, on this other end who can't even get the recognition she earned through her decision making when she literally had the same childhood as him whenever they got there. Idk. Shit feels suspicious to me to not acknowledge Grace's redemption as well written. And the idea that Simon was doing these things for or because of Grace was proven as untrue, so there should have been a shift in her favor and there wasn't and my god that's some top shelf bullshit to me...

People frequently speak of Grace's manipulating Simon, possibly because they haven't had to try to use what you have to smooth someone over. The fact that Grace has been consoling Simon since they were children (THEY WERE CHILDREN), Because I see "Simon is a child" everyday, and always speak of his trauma, like Grace had none and like she's not the same age or near it. But, that's another thing that gets done to Black girls - they're aged up in people's prejudiced minds and expected to be more accountable than their peers. This GIRL has been repeatedly blamed for the issues of her friend.

And her "betrayal?" A lie she told to preserve life.

Simon proceeds to use her tape against her, leave her trapped inside of it (knowing it was dangerous, because the cat told him), sow lies about her in the Apex, pressure children that she knew to kill her, literally tried to beat her up and murder her, and kicks her as hard as he can after she saved his life AGAIN... He still gets more grace than Grace from the audience. I don't think people see Grace's humanity. People even assumed that her number was higher because she killed so many denizens... Like literally every wrong move doesn't affect numbers. And when faced with the story, which gives us a vulnerable Grace with flaws but also compassion, she's still been sidelined by fans of the show and nobody has given me any good reason as to why, so you already know, like we been knew. 😒

People have even tried to downgrade Simon's toxicity towards her because she led the Apex (and these people pretty much had similar things to say as people who didn't believe that my ex sexually abused me because of some examples of me being strong while arguing with him)...

THIS was triggering as fuck, but I've barely seen a PEEP about it. I'm going to presume that problematic takes of Grace are from a place of discrimination and dehumanization against another Black girl character like fandoms usually do.

But that just makes her matter more.

Good job, Grace. I knew there was good in you all along, and I didn't have to make up anything about you in my brain. ♥️♥️♥️

*Grace mourning a man that just tried to destroy her multiple times for telling a lie to keep him from killing a small child...

SPEAKING OF... The man double kicked her off that damn train in front of the kids AFTER they all saw her rescue him. Them kids might be messed up because of the Apex, but you can't tell me that Simon ain't further fuck them up with his reign. At least we know Grace was always nice to them. I'm glad they'll have each other to figure it all out.

#BFCD Reviews by Nesha #Infinity Train #Nesha Watches Infinity Train #Grace Monroe #Nesha Watches

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shutupandshipit · 3 years

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Sharpen Your Blades - Ch.15

Summary: “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

The thinning of Aizawa’s patience was evident in the twitching of his brow. “If you stop asking questions, maybe I could finish explaining.

”With a huff and roll of his eyes, Katsuki glanced away from their coach.

“City Hall and the SC want us to give them more variety. We are a team solely made up of single skaters. Every year, we dominate the rankings for single skate while Shinketsu dominates the pairs, so this year both cities are being required to split their skaters evenly between singles and pairs with at least one pair coming from out top five.” There was a collective intake of breath, but no one commented, choosing instead to remain silent. “Unfortunately, for us, it’s a lot easier to switch from pairs to singles. With our male to female ratio, alpha/beta/omega ratio, and those of you actually experienced with pair skating, we’re at a disadvantage. So, I’ve decided to choose your partners for you.”

…..

Or where Katsuki and Izuku are forced to be partners so they can continue to compete, but the blood in the water may be thicker than anyone realized.

Pairing: Bakudeku

Rating: T

Chapter: 15/20

Previously <- Chapter 14: Fighting

Chapter 16: Heats and Ruts -> Next

Chapter 15: Gross Holiday Activities

Izuku was lying in bed staring up at the ceiling. He was exhausted, had been exhausted for the entire week. No one had warned him just how much presenting would take out of him, let alone just how terrible going through heat would be. That’s not something they talk about in school. They talk about the biological mechanisms of why secondary genders exist. About how wonderful and beautiful heats and ruts were. ‘They help us create life,’ he remembered his teacher intoning.

After this first heat, he didn’t think they were all people had made them out to be.

The only good thing that came from presenting was that if Katsuki wanted to return to partner skate one day, they could still be partners. Izuku could only hope that one day Katsuki would want to.

A soft knock tapped at his door.

The person didn’t wait for him to reply before pushing open the door. Cinnamon and star anise and sugar wafted towards him, and Izuku knew without looking who had entered his room. His scent had never been so strong before, but it was so very familiar.

“Kacchan?” he mumbled, turning to look at the newly presented alpha where he stood in the doorway. “What are you doing here?”

“Get dressed,” he said as answer.

“I’m tired, Kacchan,” Izuku said even as he slowly pulled back the covers and slid his feet to the floor. He felt weak like even if he stood up his legs wouldn’t be able to hold his weight. Sighing heavily, he scrubbed at his eyes. “How did you get in? I didn’t think Mom would let you in since…” He trailed off, eyes on his toes as he curled and uncurled them.

“You really think Auntie would let me being an alpha change her opinion of me?” Katsuki crossed his arms, leaning against the very noticeably open door. Normally, when he came over, Katsuki would come in and immediately close the door. Either Inko had talked to him, or he was already conducting himself in a way that wouldn’t make Inko’s opinion change.

It made Izuku sad. Things would never be the same for them from here on out. Everything was going to change no matter how hard he fought against it.

Izuku shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just surprised.” He didn’t move.

“Are you going to get up or am I going to just go on my own?” Katsuki snapped, impatience in his voice, but also the same exhaustion Izuku was harboring.

“Where are we going?”

“The outdoor rink opened today. You hate missing the first day.”

Katsuki didn’t have to say anymore. Izuku heaved himself out of bed with a groan, and hurried to find something clean-ish to pull on. Something that didn’t smell overwhelmingly of his heat. On their way out, Izuku’s hand trapped in Katsuki’s, he called, “We’re going to the outdoor rink, Mom!”

Inko shuffled out of the kitchen with a small bag, handing it to Katsuki. Miso soup or green tea that she always gave them before they went out on cold winter days. “Be safe, you two. Mitsuki is coming with you?” she asked, chaffing her hands together worriedly.

Katsuki nodded, face looking more severe than ever with the deep black bags beneath his eyes. “She’s waiting in the car.”

“Okay, well, I’ll see you two in a little bit. Call if you won’t make it back for dinner, baby.” With that, she hugged Izuku tightly and pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

When they slid into the backseat of the car, Mitsuki and Masaru turned to smile at Izuku. “How are you feeling, Izuku?” Masaru asked conversationally as Mitsuki turned back around to watch the road, “You’ve had a long week just like Katsuki, haven’t you?”

Izuku nodded, tightening his fingers around Katsuki’s. “It was really tiring, but I’m happy to be out of the house.”

“We’re glad to help. Katsuki missed you.” Masaru smiled at his son, but Katsuki had propped his chin in his hand to stare out the window. He turned back around, leaving the boys to their solitude.

There weren’t as many people on the ice when they got there than Izuku had expected. Probably it had to do with how early in the holiday season it was and maybe even that it was the first day the rink was open. Silently, they shoved their feet in the shitty skates that the rink offered while Mitsuki and Masaru wandered off to check out the stalls close by.

When Izuku finally stepped out onto the ice, it felt as if he hadn’t in months. It was a relief. Being on the ice was easy. Being on the ice was uncomplicated. Being on the ice meant being with Katsuki, and Katsuki was one of the few constants in his life.

They skated together for hours. Round and round and round despite the eyes that found them, tracked them. Children who were newly presented had a stronger, more pungent scent. They received more attention, especially newly presented omegas. Over the week, Izuku had dreaded having to go back out in public remembering all of the omegas on the team who had presented before him and the unrelenting, mostly unwanted attentions they’d received. He worried about the eyes that would follow him and the noses that would catch his scent.

But being out with Katsuki made it easy. After a while, the feel of those eyes fell away, and it was just the two of them.

When they finally left the ice, sweaty and red faced and shaky from exertion, Mitsuki handed them food to share and Izuku said, “Thank you, Kacchan.”

“For what?” Katsuki grunted, cheek stuffed full with takoyaki as he looked out over the crowd. His eyes were flat, not as shiny as they usually were. Lacking his excitement for life.

“Asking me to come out. I was… I was scared about being in public again,” Izuku whispered, holding the food tray in both hands, but not taking any for himself. He couldn’t look at Katsuki, his blush moving from exertion to embarrassment.

“Yeah, well, I was just tired of being inside,” Katsuki muttered, but even as he spoke, his scent told another story. It would take some time before he learned to control his scent enough that his emotions didn’t scream out through his scent.

For now though, it was nice to know exactly what he was really feeling, what he would refuse to say. Izuku smiled. “Thank you anyway.”

…..

"Deku, you should just talk to him," Ochako told him sternly.

Izuku pointedly did not look at her, focussing on his breathing as they jogged along somewhere in the middle of the team. Ochako wasn't a slow runner, but she wasn't as fast as Katsuki. Since their argument three days ago though, Izuku hadn't even looked at Katsuki with the insurmountable guilt he was harboring. He shouldn’t have let Katsuki’s pre-rut get the better of him, but his body seemed bound and determined to no longer be his friend. The same went for his omega who had been sulking the entire time.

Neither of them had even showed up to practice the past two days and yesterday's practice had been the most strained it had ever been, much to Aizawa's irritation and Toshinori's disappointment. Both Izuku and Katsuki had separately refused to touch the ice with the other on it, and had been relegated to floor work in separate studios. Toshinori had apologized to Izuki for making things worse which had only served to inflate his guilt.

The anger had eventually evaporated, and now the rational part of Izuku's brain had come back online. That didn't keep every other part of him from moaning that he'd royally fucked everything up. There was no way Katsuki would ever forgive him for what he’d said.

"Ignoring me isn't going to stop me from talking about this," Ochako warned, still keeping stride beside him even as her breath started to falter and grow heavier, "You two are being absolutely ridiculous."

"You have to admit, this is par the course for them," Todoroki murmured on Izuku's other side.

Izuku sighed. "Not you too, Todoroki."

Todorki somehow managed to shrug while still swinging his arms. "I agree with her. You should just talk."

Again, Izuku sighed, but heavier this time. Heavy enough to interrupt his breathing and force him to adjust his breath again. "You didn't see or hear how he reacted. It'll be a miracle if he ever even looks at me again."

"Well then, you have a fairy godmother because it's going to happen sooner than you think," Uraraka huffed, "Especially if you just. Talk. To. Him."

Finally, Izuku snapped his eyes to her, frustrated and feeling like garbage and she was just making it worse. "You don't get it, Chako! You don't know our history! It's not that simple!"

"Because you don't talk to us about it!" she shouted back, glaring at him fiercely. Far ahead of them, Iida turned a glance over his shoulder and began to slow.

"Because it hurts to talk about!"

Uraraka grabbed his arm, jerking him to a stop and pulling him away towards the side of the trail. Ahead of them, Todoroki kept running and grabbed Iida’s bicep to keep him moving. For several long moments, both of them caught their breath and stared at their feet. Only when the last of their teammates had passed did they speak.

"I'm sorry," Izuku whispered, eyes downcast and tear filled, "I didn't mean to yell at you."

"Well, you did," Uraraka said, voice still sharp around the edges, but normal volume now, "We're friends, Deku, but no one gets a pass for yelling at me. Not even you."

The tears spilled over, dripping off the tip of his nose. He shielded his face from view with a hand and scrubbed at his tears with the other. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. Please don't hate me. I can't have another friend hating me," he gasped.

Uraraka's sigh ruffled his hair. "I don't hate you and neither does Bakugou, but you were yelling at me when I'm trying to help you. Not only that, but you're holding stuff against me that I don't know about because you've never talked to us about it. I'm going to be blunt here, both you and Bakugou clearly have a lot of unresolved trauma from when you were younger that's still fucking up a lot of stuff for the two of you. You would be so much better without all this extra baggage. You two are terrible at communicating, and whether you talk to me or not, you need to talk it out with him. That time on the podcast doesn't count as talking it out. That was just Bakugou being vulnerable with you for once, but there's way more than just that going on. And you know it."

Izuku was crying harder, using the tail of his scarf to mop up his tears. "I know, it's just so hard. I caused so many problems for Kacchan when we were younger. I was just so thankful to be able to skate with him again, but now… now… Now he won't even look at me because I threw everything back in his face. I'm a terrible person, and Kacchan deserves a better omega. An omega who can cook and clean and doesn't have to rely on suppressants to get him through life. Who didn't ruin two years of his life when we were kids."

Uraraka gripped his shoulder tightly, waiting until he raised his eyes to her to begin. "Talk to him. I truly believe the two of you think more alike than you realize. I'm sure he wants to talk to you too."

"What if he tells me to go away."

"He won’t."

"But what if-"

"He won't, Deku, trust me."

With a shaky nod, Izuku accepted the hug Uraraka offered him before they started back towards the rink. They walked the trail instead of running, allowing Izuku to get his tears under control. When they exited the trail, the rest of the team had already disappeared into the rink to change for their day.

Only Katsuki and Kirishima remained standing near the rink entrance. Kirishima was whispering to Katsuki, but stopped when Katsuki's eyes snapped to Izuku.

They stared at each other, Katsuki's eyes trailing over him before scrutinizing his face. After several long moments, Katsuki turned and disappeared into the rink.

Kirishima waited for them to draw closer before speaking. "I think I managed to convince him, but I'm not sure what he's planning," he said, speaking directly to Uraraka instead of Izuku.

Sighing, she nodded. "Good. The same goes for me." Looking to Izuku, she smiled and said, "Talk to him. I'm going to get changed and head to work."

…..

"Bro, Katsuki, just talk to him. Watching you mope is making me sad. Like, come on now. You're better than this." Kirishima jogged beside Katsuki, the only one managing to keep up with him out of his group of friends. Mina and Kaminari loped along behind them, their panting desperate breath loud on the quiet trail. Only Sero was further ahead of them, his long legs carrying him easily. The only reason he was ahead was because Katsuki wasn't putting any effort into the run. He was just too tired.

"No." His reply was flat, almost monotonous. After the fight with Izuku, all of his pre-rut anger had ebbed into something aching. All day, every day, his chest hurt with the sheer level of pining he was allowing himself to engage in. He’d even allowed his alpha to start constructing the nest for the omega that he’d been fighting against. Not that any omega needed an alpha to create a shitty version of something they had the instinct to build well, but it put Katsuki at ease knowing it was there if Izuku so-ever needed it. So, he wallowed and pined and didn’t cave to the desire to go knock on the omega’s apartment door just down the hallway from him.

"Man-"

"No. You didn't hear what he said to me. He doesn't want anything to do with me. I'm not going to force him to talk to me."

Kirishima sighed, turning his eyes towards the sky. "You don't know if he does or doesn't if you don't talk to him. He was angry. People say stuff they don't mean all the time when they're angry."

Katsuki glared at him out of the corner of his eye. "Everything he said was true."

"That doesn't mean he meant it."

"It does for Deku."

"You're being ridiculous," Kirishima said sternly, eyebrows furrowing, "You don't know if he regrets what he said or not. Sometimes I think you don't know Midoriya at all." He turned his eyes forward again, and Katsuki got the distinct feeling that his best friend was disappointed in him.

"I've known him way longer than any of you extras!"

"Which makes you biased. From the little you told me, a lot happened when you were preteens, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that your perspectives on each other are seriously skewed," Kirishima told him honestly, and Katsuki knew his best friend was frustrated with him because he hadn't looked at him. Not only that, but his ever present smile was missing. “It’s like you two hold each other on some insurmountable pedastals, but don’t realize that you’re just people.”

Katsuki didn't reply, seething under the truth of his words. But the thought of rejection made him nauseous. If he talked to Deku and the omega told him to fuck off, he wasn't sure what he'd do. Probably find another team all together.

He didn't want to do that though. He wanted to stay with Izuku even if the omega never looked at him ever again.

"How do I even start a conversation like that?" Katsuki muttered.

"Apologizing would be a good start." At the look on Katsuki's face, Kirishima sighed again. "You need to verbally talk to him, hash out everything between the two of you, but I guess you could start by getting on the ice with him. Maybe take him to do something that he'll really enjoy that he hasn't gotten a chance to do yet."

Several things popped into his head at once, but still he asked, "Like what?"

"I don’t know. You two have been seriously busy. Maybe take him to Downtown and go Christmas shopping and to see the lights. The Christmas tree is up, and they've opened the outdoor rink. He always gets excited during the holiday season."

Several distinct memories of making a day out of going to the outdoor rink on the first day of opening flitted through Katsuki’s mind. He scowled. "I hate all that gross Christmas shit. People are always way too loud and happy."

Kirishima laughed. "I know that, but this isn't about you. It's about him."

‘Fair point.’ Letting out a noncommittal grunt, Katsuki lengthened his stride and Kirishima whined as he started to fall behind. When they finally made it to the end of the trail, Katsuki waited for Kirishima, but also kept an eye out for Izuku to make sure the omega made it back.

Slowly, their teammates exited the path and started towards the rink. Izuku didn’t appear.

Kirishima shifted his weight from foot to foot, glancing between Katsuki and the path. After ten more minutes, he started talking, chattering without stopping.

Crossing his arms, Katsuki clenched his fists against his sides to keep his growing panic known. Kirishima’s neverending chatter was doing nothing to help him. Mostly, it just pissed him off.

Long minutes pass, and it was only when Katsuki was seconds away from plunging back into the forest and Kirishima was saying, “I’m sure he’s alright, man, this trail is really safe. All the trails are. And it’s Midoriya. I think we would have heard something by now if he was in trouble,” that there was movement at the trail mouth.

Izuku and Uraraka stopped as they spotted Katsuki and Kirishima.

He dragged his eyes over Izuku, looking for any signs that he’d been hurt and allowing his panic to subside, before looking over the omega’s face. His nose, lips and eyes were red, and there were clear signs that he’d been crying.

‘Omega sad. Comfort omega. Omega should not have to cry,’ his alpha said, and while Katsuki agreed, he couldn’t just go up to Izuku and hold him.

Instead, he met Izuku’s eyes pointedly again before turning and heading into the rink. From there, he turned towards the ice instead of the locker rooms where the rest of the team was. It had been three days since he last set foot on the ice, and he hadn’t realized just how much a deviation from his usual schedule would affect him. Sleep had been scarce, and frustration had been high. Not frustration at Izuku, but at himself. Because after everything, he was still somehow managing to fuck things up. Not to say he hadn’t been upset with Izuku, but it hadn’t lasted. Everything he’d said had been the truth.

Katsuki pulled on his skates with purposeful, quick jerks. By the time the three stragglers made it in, he was already taking off his guards to step onto the ice. He paused, glancing over his shoulder to catch Izuku’s gaze before stepping out. He found his way to center ice before coming to a stop and turning to wait for Izuku to join him. If he was going to join him.

He hoped the invitation was obvious. He wasn’t good with words. Never had been and had the sneaking suspicion never would be.

Uraraka and Kirishima were smirking, and together, pushed Izuku towards the rink. He glanced back at them, but they just waved him forward again. Only when he stepped away did they scurry away themselves, heads bent close together.

Katsuki waited patiently as Izuku slowly pulled out his skates. Every few seconds as he pulled them on, he glanced up as if to make sure Katsuki hadn’t gone anywhere.

Finally, standing at the entrance to the rink, he simply stared at Katsuki with trepidation written all across his face.

Instead of opening his mouth, worried something nasty and venomous was just going to come tumbling out as it so often did, he held out his hand.

Izuku’s face opened with relief, and he scrubbed at his eyes before hurrying out to meet Katsuki. They didn’t stay on the ice long, silently gliding around the rink a few times without any purpose, just contenting each other with the others presence.

As if following an unspoken signal, they stepped off the ice together, gathered up their belongings and went outside.

Izuku waited beside Katsuki, bouncing from foot to foot and breathing into his cupped hands as he locked the doors to the rink. When Katsuki turned, Izuku handed over Katsuki’s bag, a small cautious smile evident over the top edge of his scarf. The scarf Katsuki had given him.

For the first time in days, Katsuki spoke to Izuku. “Put on your fucking gloves, dumbass, that’s what you’ve got ‘em for. Fuck.” He stepped in close to Izuku, rummaging around his coat pockets despite the omega’s sudden stiffness and stammering and red cheeks. Pulling out the gloves, he pulled them onto Izuku’s hands with quick efficiency. He clasped Izuku’s hands between his own. “Where’s your hat? I swear, you’d be dead without me.” He reached around Izuku, and this time easily found his beanie in the outside pocket of his bag.

All the gifts he’d given Izuku on his person all at the same time. Katsuki smirked, self-satisfied, after he jerked the hat down over Izuku’s ears, flipping the bunny ears out of the omega’s face and over the top of his head. “Better. Let’s go.” He turned, striding away before Izuku could answer.

“What? Where are we going? Our building is the other way.” Izuku scrambled to catch up, falling into step beside Katsuki and stepping close as the sidewalk began to fill with bodies. The closer they got to Downtown, the more crowded it became. The signs of life grew exponentially, and it wasn’t long before the streets were filled with lights and holiday music and the sound of people living and loving together.

Katsuki glanced over at him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders to pull him close so they took up less space on the sidewalk. Izuku didn’t react to the sudden proximity like Katsuki had expected him to, eyes darting from one store front to the next. His eyes were wide, colored lights reflecting brightly off his corneas.

Glancing away as heat built along his collar, he said, “We’re not going home just yet.”

“What are we doing then?” Izuku asked, and he caught the glance the omega sent him.

He also caught the bright red of Izuku’s cheeks. ‘It’s just the cold. It’s just the cold. It’s just the cold,’ he chanted to himself.

‘Omega still responds to us. Hope!’ his alpha retorted.

On a whim, Katsuki steered them into a store front so frilly and lit up that his eyeballs actually throbbed in his head. The store was familiar, one of his few haunting grounds that made coffee exactly to his standards. Warmth and the heavy scent of coffee greeted them, and he unwound himself from Izuku to usher him through the double doors. “We’re getting hot chocolate to start off.”

As soon as Izuku had a chance to scan the coffee shop, his arm shot into the air. Jovially, he called, “Hagakure! Ojirou! I didn’t know you worked here!”

Neither did Katsuki, and he silently cursed.

The woman with her pale skin, pale blue eyes and the palest blonde hair on the planet waved back from behind the counter. “Midoriya! And Bakugou! What are you doing here?” She rounded the counter with a quick whisper to Ojirou who was sporting a baby blue apron. “Wow! It’s so weird seeing your guys off the ice.”

Izuku laughed. “It is, isn’t it? It’s nice though.”

“Yeah,” she cooed before stacking her gloved hands on her hips and smiling widely. “What can I do for you guys? Looking for a late night pick-me-up?”

“Kacchan said something about hot chocolate?” Izuku turned to Katsuki who would have been happier being ignored.

He hadn’t been expecting -realistically- to see any of their teammates that night. Had banked on it. He should have planned for the eventuality. It was the holiday season. Everyone was doing their Christmas shopping and enjoying the lights and shit.

He should have planned for it. Instead, Hagakure had a knowing smile playing across her mouth. Heat bloomed along his collar to crawl up his neck. Gruffly, he said, “Yeah. The Aztec spice for me and whichever the nerd wants.”

“You have multiples?” Izuku whispered reverentially as he whipped back around to look at Hagakure.

“Sure do! There’s a whole list for the holidays over there by Ojirou if you want to take a look.”

Izuku all but bounced over to the counter, greeting their other teammate with a bright chipper smile.

Hagakure and Katsuki didn’t move. “So…” she stared.

“Stop.”

She laughed, throwing her head back. “What? I haven’t said anything!”

Katsuki could feel his pulse in his cheeks, and he glared at her. “I know what you’re about to say. So, stop.”

“I just wanted to say that I’m happy for you. Just don’t fuck it up again, you know? And maybe get him something nicer than clothes and blankets? Just a suggestion.”

Katsuki didn’t even want to know how she knew about all of that, especially the blanket. He wanted to slam his head into a wall. Who was this beta trying to give him advice? They barely ever spoke, and he’d only ever thought of her as a teammate, even all these years later. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he ground out. But he allowed his eyes to remain glued on Izuku and for the warmth in his cheeks to fill his chest.

Hagakure pursed her lips. “You know, the one thing about basically being invisible is that people forget to check when they’re doing sketchy shit.” When he didn’t react, she simply said, “You’re courting him. I’ve seen you put a couple of those gifts in his bags. And don’t get me started on the lunches and snacks that I’ve seen you share. Just because he’s a dummy, doesn’t mean the rest of us are.”

Except that Izuku wasn’t actually a dummy, not in this sense. He’d known Katsuki’s intentions for a bit, eventually figured them out at least. It was just that he kept fucking shit up before actually getting the balls to properly ask Izuku to formally court him. Well, publicly at least. Katsuki hated that tradition dictated they go public. While he didn’t mind the idea of people knowing, the way he actually felt for the nerd was his and Izuku’s alone. If Izuku didn’t care about being public, he felt like that should have been good enough. Still, he knew how both of their parents would feel if they didn’t.

Working his jaw, Katsuki tried to find the words to reply that weren’t ‘fuck off’. If he really wanted to court Izuku, he couldn’t go alienating the nerd’s friends even if he wanted the omega all to himself. In the end, he muttered, “He wouldn’t like expensive shit. He’s not that kind of omega. The only non-functional things he owns are his skating memorabilia.” Before he was forced to endure whatever else she had to say in response, Izuku hopped back over with two takeaway cups and a smile cutting from ear to ear.

“Here you go, Kacchan!”

Katsuki took the cup with a grunt before grabbing Izuku’s hand and tugging him towards the door. “Let’s fucking go before more meddling happens.”

“Okay, bye, Hagakure, Ojirou!” Izuku called back, unperturbed by the frozen air just outside the door.

“Bye, sweetie! Have a good time! Make good choices!” Hagakure waved back enthusiastically before rounding the counter again.

Izuku waved for a few moments longer before bringing the cup in his hand to his lip. He hadn’t pulled his other from Katsuki’s, and instead used it to drag Katsuki into his side as they started to walk again. “So, what are we doing?”

“You haven’t gotten a chance to come down here this season, right?” Katsuki asked, keeping his eyes forward as he steered Izuku around a group of merry carolers. He felt more than saw Izuku shake his head, his curls sending up a cloud of sweet smelling mint and rain. “So, whatever you want.”

Izuku jerked them to a stop just as Katsuki was lifting his cup to his mouth. Hot liquid sprayed across his mouth, and he suppressed a curse. He thought the omega was about to really give it to him. Instead, when he looked at Izuku, he was met with wide sparkling green eyes and astonishment. Maybe the tongue lashing would have hurt less, but he knew he deserved every little twinge that spiked through his chest.

“What’s that look for?” he grumbled, glancing away from Izuku.

“Are you being serious?”

Katsuki snapped his eyes back around, indignation rising. “Why would I have said it if I weren’t being serious?”

Still, the astonishment stayed. “It’s just… it’s not like you, and after what happened at the beginning of the week…” Izuku dropped his eyes and then his hand, curling into himself. “It’s unexpected. I know you let me back on the ice, but I haven’t apologized. I don’t deserve your kindness.”

Considering what course of action to take, Katsuki eventually chose to reach around Izuku and pull his ponytail forward. He kept his fingers tangled in the supernaturally soft curls as Izuku shyly lifted his eyes to look at him.

“I haven’t apologized either. You’re not the only one at fault here. We’re both idiots.” Izuku’s eyes grew impossibly wide, but he didn’t speak. “So, what do you want to do?”

A smile grew quickly on Izuku’s face, and he pushed in close, wrapping his arms around Katsuki’s waist tightly. His cup was warm against Katsuki’s spine even through all of the layers he was wearing. “You’re going to regret asking me that,” he said, voice muffled in Katsuki’s jacket.

He sighed heavily. “I already knew that.”

Izuku pulled away, but not completely. Instead, he resumed their earlier position pressed shoulder to shoulder. “We have so much to do tonight,” he chirruped.

Katsuki grimaced, but went along without complaint.

For several hours, they peaked into packed stores strung from end to end with brightly colored lights and lengths of tinsel. Ate samples that said stores were handing out. Izuku did some actual Christmas shopping, picking up gifts for his mother, Katsuki’s parents, Uraraka and the rest of his friends. The entire time, he kept up a constant stream of chatter and singing.

And he never pulled his hand from Katsuki’s.

“The outdoor rink is open!” Izuku cried as they found themselves right in the middle of Downtown, the rink acting as the epicenter of the festivities.

The Christmas tree towered on the opposite end of the square as music played over the mass of bodies. There were so many lights strung around that there was no need for the usual street lamps or floodlights, and all stood dark beneath the Christmas lights. There weren’t actually that many people on the ice at the moment as Katsuki thought there would be, just a couple of kids and couples sticking close to the walls. Only a few brave souls had ventured out towards center ice, feet braced awkwardly and hands held out for balance.

“Let’s skate!” Izuku said emphatically, turning to completely face Katsuki, “Please, Kacchan! It’ll be closed for the season before I get to!”

“We skate every day, dumbass, what makes this rink different from ours?” Katsuki grumbled, beginning to feel the weight of his bag and the dragging of the day. It was well passed his usual bedtime, and he felt like an old man. An old man who needed a nap. “If you want to skate, we can just go back. At least there’s no people at our rink.”

“But that’s why I want to skate here.” Izuku was pulling him gently towards the booth renting out lockers and skates as if he moved slow enough that Katsuki wouldn’t notice what he was doing or something. “I love being on ice with so many people, all the excitement and energy they give off. I love being around people enjoying something I love just for the pleasure of enjoying it.”

Izuku’s words sounded extremely close to the reason Katsuki coached his students, and that more than anything unstuck his feet. He followed along behind Izuku, and waited by the wooden benches set up for the skaters to change into the skates while he got them skates and a locker to shove their things in. When he came back, he grinned and held up two pairs of ratty, ugly, abused skates.

“Why don’t we just use our own skate?” Katsuki asked, lip curled up in disgust as he stared at the sorry excuse for skates the omega was offering him. He hadn’t worn a pair of those skates since he was ten-years-old, but he was 99.9% sure they had never once been replaced in those twelve years. He didn’t even want to think of whose disease ridden feet may have been in them prior. “I’m not putting those on.”

Izuku pushed them towards him more insistently. “Come on, Kacchan, it’s part of the experience. Also-” His eyes darted towards the ice, completely ruined by hundreds of other people and the poor condition of the blades they were skating on. “I don’t really want to have to sharpen my blades after being on this ice. My current blades are probably still the most expensive things I’ve ever owned.”

Following his gaze and grimacing, Katsuki muttered, “Fine,” before taking the skates and sitting down heavily. He laced them up just like he would his own, and his grimace deepened when he stood and realized just how wrong wearing someone else’s skates felt. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, for sure, but Izuku looked pleased as punch when he stood up beside Katsuki.

He toddered over to the lockers with their belongings and shoes, unceremoniously shoving everything into the locker’s depths before forcing it closed. When he turned, he was still grinning both a little smuggly and proudly. “Come on, Kacchan! Let’s skate!”

It took them several long minutes of trying to find a space between people to dart out to center ice, but once they were there, Izuku held out a hand. He smiled cheekily. “May I have this dance?”

“Gross,” Katsuki spat, but he was fighting back a smile as he grabbed the omega’s hand and dragged him in against his body.

Instead of following the routine for their programme, they just let their bodies move with the music. Still, they were in perfect sync. Laughter stayed on Izuku’s lips and a smile eventually broke out on Katsuki’s as they moved. It had been twelve years since they’d allowed themselves to be silly with each other, to just enjoy skating for the sake of skating, to forget about skill and technique and just skate.

They were planets orbiting a star where the other was the sun and they were the hapless, helpless planet caught in the sun’s gravity. Time became a distant construct as they spun and jumped and crashed together and flew apart.

At some point while holding Izuku’s hand above his head to spin him around and around and around, Katsuki realized that people were watching them more than skating. There were phones pointed in their direction and the holiday music had gotten louder, but nothing could really secure his attention like the sound of Izuku’s raucous laugh and teeth as he smiled helplessly.

Tackling Izuku around the waist and lifting him off his feet, he spun them around until the world was a blur of colors and Izuku’s face was the only thing in focus.

“Kacchan!” Izuku screeched, clutching onto his shoulder. His grip was for balance rather than out of fear, and after a moment, he flung his arms out to the sides and allowed Katsuki to hold him steady. Through his laughter, he called, “I’m getting dizzy!”

‘Me too. Dizzy on you,’ Katsuki thought nonsensically as he slowed to a stop. He let Izuku slide back to the ground, and together, they stumbled towards the wall while the assembled crowd clapped and crowed.

Katsuki leaned back against the wall, working to catch his breath even as it continued to escape in little puffs of laughter. Beside him, Izuku was still giggling, clutching onto the wall as if for dear life.

“Kacchan?”

Lifting his head from where it hung between his shoulders, Katsuki turned to look at Izuku. There were fingers there on the back of his neck, soft material warm against his skin, and before he could wonder what they were doing there, Izuku pressed his lips to Katsuki’s.

Katsuki went stalk still, brain struggling to connect the dots of what was happening to how he’d imagined kissing Izuku.

“Sorry, Kacchan,” Izuku was whispering as he pulled away, cheeks rose red and smile small, “I just couldn’t hold back anymore. I-”

Bracketing Izuku’s face between his palms, Katsuki pulled him back in, unable to handle even the short distance he’d put between them. He kissed him again, hungry and wanting and desperate, sliding his hands back into those perfect curls and holding on tight.

Izuku hummed against his lips, opening to him easily.

They melted into each other, and only virtue of being in public kept them from following their desires further.

When they parted, putting only enough space between each other to allow for panting breaths, Izuku whispered, “Why didn’t we do that sooner?”

Katsuki huffed out a breathless laugh. “Because I’m an idiot.”

#my hero academia #mha #bakudeku #dekubaku #decchan #bakugou katsuki #midoriya izuku #a/b/o dynamics #omegaverse #omega!izuku #alpha!katsuki #figure skater au #no quirks au #my writing #sharpen your blades

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intelligentdumbass · 4 years

Text

My Sweet Prince

It was a morning like any other, or at least, it was supposed to be.

Hyacinthus had set off with his dogs to go hunt in the nearby forest, but the trees were silent; not a single prey in sight. Wondering where they had all gone, he trekked deep into the woods until at last, the silence broke. However, it wasn’t because of the roar of a bear, the trot of a deer or the howl of a wolf. Rather it was a song, but the voice was not of a bird’s. He had walked into a small clearing, and wow was it a sight to behold.

In the middle, there was what he perceived to be a young maiden strumming on their cithara; their golden hair shimmering under the sunlight. A wide range of animals sat around them, eagerly listening to every note, and so did he and his hounds. Hyacinthus couldn’t help but stare, he was entranced.

Eventually, the musician had noticed his arrival, and the music stopped, but before they could speak, Hyacinthus snapped out of it and spoke first.

“I’m sorry miss, but who the hell are you?” He slowly approached, cautious of all the critters around them. “What in Zeus’ name is a lass like you doing here, playing in the outskirts of my kingdom?”

The stranger raised an eyebrow, but decided to play along. “Nothing, just bored and passing the time with my lyre.”

“Ah. I assume your father’s somewhere close by, then.” He looks around, but they only laughed in response.

“Oh no, I came here to have some me time with myself.”

“Wait, myself?!” Hyacinthus seems dismayed. “No one accompanied you here?! Not even a brother, cousin, or a friend?”

They shook their head; he frowned.

“Look, it’s not safe to be all alone out here. As a prince, it is my duty to protect you-”

Unfortunately, it was at that moment that he had accidentally stepped on the tail of a sleeping lion, causing it to wake up and it looked very pissed. Luckily, a silver arrow had rushed by; just barely missing the prince and piercing the cat’s heart. The rest of the animals took this as a sign to scram.

Hyacinthus blinked, and looked back at the musician, who was still sitting down on the ground, unfazed. He muttered a silent prayer of thanks to the archer god before speaking up again.

“See! I think it is best we get out of here.” He reaches out, offering his hand for them to stand up. The stranger only sighed when they realized that the mortal didn’t put two and two together.

Before he knew it, Hyacinthus felt someone’s fist punch him square in the face, causing him to stagger back. It was then that the stranger spoke again, except they sounded very different this time.

“What is it with people thinking I’m some sort of forest nymph or mortal maiden?”

Hyacinthus froze; their voice was much lower than he remembered. Gazing into their sapphire eyes, he suddenly understood. The being that stood in front of him was no mere mortal. He hastily tried to get his shit together, smiling in embarrassment.

“A-” “Apologies my lord. I suppose you’re just… that enchanting.”

“Oh?” The god raised an eyebrow, his mood slowly shifting when his instincts told him that he was telling the truth; it wasn’t merely empty flattery. “Why, thank you.” He scanned the boy from head to toe. “I suppose you’re not that bad yourself.”

“Oh, um, well of course! I’m Sparta’s heir after all!” He proudly exclaimed. “Still though, I am, uh, terribly sorry for interrupting your song.”

“No need to apologize for that.” Apollo sat down, and placed the cithara back on his lap. “In fact, you’re welcome to stay if you want. I won’t mind.”

“I thought you said you wanted some time alone?”

“Away from the other gods, I mean.”

Hyacinthus was reluctant, but as the immortal started to strum on his lyre, the offer was tempting; even his dogs seemed like they wanted to listen. He did have nothing else to do.

“…alright, only for a bit, if that’s really okay with you my lord-”

“Please, just call me Apollo.”

Unbeknownst to Hyacinthus a ‘bit’ was quite an understatement, for while listening to the god’s music it was as if time itself ceased to exist.

Now the sun was setting, and the prince had already left to go back to the palace; Apollo choosing to remain in the clearing. It was then that the west wind had materialized before him.

“I was just passing by, so here’s a quick tip.” Zephyr murmured. “If I were you, I’d try not to spend too much time with him. He’s already caught the eye of two other gods and one mortal.”

“And you’re telling me this because?” Apollo couldn’t help but have a sympathetic smile.

“…what’s with that look?”

“Well, my friend, it’s a little too late for that advice. He had already invited me to go out hunting with him.”

Zephyr frowned as he fizzled out into thin air.

--------------

On the day of their hunt, as expected, it had gone exceptionally well. However, Apollo wasn’t the only one that had his gaze fixed on his new friend. Even as they ran through the trees, he could sense the eyes of someone else, but who could blame them? The mortal was a fit and handsome young man that much was obvious. Plus, in the short interactions that they’ve had in the week before this, the prince was quite the charmer; his banter witty and entertaining. Still, he was curious. So, when they had stopped to take a break, he asked him this,

“Has anyone ever made a move on you before?”

Hyacinthus froze. He was sitting on the ground next to him, and was about to try subtly holding his hand. “At least three other men have, but I’ve rejected them all.” He realized what that sentence might’ve implied. “That isn’t to say I’m only into women though!”

Apollo laughs. “I suppose you merely haven’t found the right one yet.”

“Who knows, perhaps I already have.” Hyacinthus beamed. “Do you know why?”

“Because I’m smart, talented, and very hot?”

“Maybe.” He inched closer. “But it’s also because of your smile, or rather, how you smile.”

The god was a little flustered, and couldn’t help but give that signature dazzling grin; thus further proving Hyacinthus’ point. Before he knew it, the prince had already leaned in, a hand holding his chin; faintly muttering something under his breath.

“May I?”

Apollo answered it with a kiss.

Thus was how they met; the beginning of the tale of the golden god and the Spartan prince.

And it didn’t take long for the news to spread.

--------------

Everyone was just going about on their daily routine when Hyacinthus had showed up to his training with hundreds of flowers intricately woven into his hair. The soldiers were too scared to comment, but Thamyris wasn’t.

“Okay, what in the actual fuck?”

“Short version is, I fell asleep during the break after the hunting trip, so now there are a bunch of flowers in my hair.”

“Out of all of your suitors, you chose a god; hell, not just that, one of the fucking Olympians.”

“Who wouldn’t?”

“Marpessa wouldn’t.”

Hyacinthus sighed. “Look, we all have our own preferences. I’m dating him and that’s final.” He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous?”

“As if.” He turned around, about to leave; probably going to hang out with Marsyas. “Just don’t come back crying to me when shit goes downhill.”

The prince just ignored him, or at least he tried to. His words were awfully persistent.

A few days later, among the immortals, Hermes was one of the first to discover.

“Oh and Hermes,” Zeus said, when he saw his son enter the room. “If you happen to run into Apollo, please, tell him we need to talk.”

“Is it urgent?”

“…just tell him to come to me whenever he’s free.”

So that’s what he did, flying as swift as a morning breeze until he stopped in front of the studio’s door. He carefully pushed it open, but despite being the lord of communication, he couldn’t utter a single word.

It was late in the evening, and his brother wasn’t alone.

Apollo was sitting down writing notes on a scroll, most likely for researching purposes, and behind him was a mortal curiously peering over his shoulder. Then the boy moved closer, and wrapped his arms around the blonde’s waist; tenderly whispering sweet nothings into his ear. To Hermes’ surprise, Apollo allowed him to pry him away from his work with zero complaints.

At this point, he just slowly closed the door. His message can wait. Meanwhile, the two lovers hadn’t noticed a thing.

However, now Thamyris wasn’t the only one with a complaint.

Hyacinthus was sitting under a cypress tree; trying to practice playing on the lyre his lover gifted him, when the breeze whispered into his ear.

“Look at it.” He said. “Your reflection in the water.”

The prince raised an eyebrow, but he glanced into the stream in front of him anyway. The top of his head was adorned with all sorts of flowers, no doubt due to the breath of the west wind.

“Hm… I think I liked it better when Apollo did it.”

Zephyr frowned; materializing seated down on his left.

“You’re not giving me a chance-”

“Except he already did.” Apollo sighed, suddenly appearing on Hyacinthus’ right. “For fates’ sake, take a hint and go blow someone else.”

The other god glared, but gave in, once more disappearing into the wind.

--------------

Days turned into weeks and months of bliss. Now that isn’t to say that they didn’t have their own little problems of their own, but what did it matter?

“Those laurel wreaths you wear; they mean a lot to you, don’t they?”

“Well, of course; there are many reasons as to why I care about them, one of them being that they remind me of something I shouldn’t ever forget because I don’t want to make a mistake like that ever again.”

There was a brief moment of hesitation before he continued.

“Hyacinthus?”

“Yeah?”

“Never doubt my feelings for you, okay?”

“I never did.”

“…even so, you really must know that, because of you, right now is the best I’ve ever felt in literal decades.”

“Oh don’t flatter me, sunshine.”

“You know I can’t lie. So really, trust me when I say that I’m here to stay.”

Hyacinthus’ eyes darted around the room while the god’s head rested on his lap; the prince’s fingers twirling around in his golden locks. The floor was littered with paintings and marble statues of varying shapes and sizes scattered all over.

“Something caught your eye?” Apollo said as he saw his boyfriend look at a painting of Crete. “You can take one of them home if you’d like.”

“Oh-” “Oh no it’s fine, really! I was just… enjoying the scenery.”

“Hm, you know I could just take you there myself, right? Oooooh, imagine! A tour around Greece with yours truly.”

Hyacinthus smiled. His gaze shifted from a painting of Delphi to some art work of Leto, then Artemis, then Zeus, Athena and the rest of the other heavenly gods. What he stared at the most though, were the ones next to those paintings of the Muses and the Thriae.

The names were many, Admetus, Cyrene, Branchus, Hecuba, Helenus… then there was Cassandra, Daphne, and an unfinished Coronis, and as he continued to look, the prince could’ve sworn he felt the god gently squeeze his hand.

“Everything alright, Apollo?”

The god smiled. “I’m just… tired.”

The prince leaned in to give him a small kiss. “Well, just remember that, whatever happens, I’m not going to run away.”

And he really didn’t, or at least, not willingly, but you already knew that, didn’t you?

--------------

Two years, or at least, about two years, their laughter almost lasted for about two years.

“Athena, Apollo still hasn’t showed up for the talk.”

“Father, just give him a little more time. He’ll come eventually. On the bright side, at least he seems to be faring much better now.”

“I know, I know… but he’s neglecting his duties.” He sighed. “When was the last time you saw him walk into Olympus?”

“Fear not my lord.” His messenger, the west wind, suddenly exclaimed. “He’s already here.”

And indeed he was, fingers dripping with crimson red; purple petals falling out of his hair.

Zephyr couldn’t help but have a sympathetic smile. “You’re welcome.”

Ai, ai, ai…

…

It was a morning like any other, or at least, it was supposed to be.

Hyacinthus loved to spar. The god was a fierce opponent and he could never truly win, but man did he love seeing him panting and drenched in sweat. Another favorite sport of his was the throwing of the discus; he especially loved to try to run and catch it once his lover had sent it hurling into the air.

Crack

Apollo could’ve sworn that sound had echoed across the fields. Before he knew it, cradled in his arms was the stem of a poor flower that had broke its neck; all due to the breath of the west wind. All of his knowledge in the arts of healing was useless; by the time he tried it was already too late. So he just, sat there until a concerned Artemis tried dragging him back over to Leto in Delos, but he unknowingly slipped away.

It was like time itself ceased to exist.

Ai, ai, ai…

…

It was an interesting sight to see. Apollo had a blank look in his eyes and Athena was standing in his way; Zephyr a little further down the hall behind her, curiously peaking over the corner.

“Athena, move.”

“Apollo,” The goddess was perfectly calm. “Father has already retired him as his personal messenger, and he is now going to serve under Eros to repent for the very stupid thing he did in ‘the name of love’.”

“It’s not enough-”

“I know, and it’s never going to be enough.” Then she muttered. “Look, what happened with Pallas was much more justifiable than what this idiot wind bag did and even then, even if it was our father, to this day a tiny part of me is still pissed even if I knew he did it because he was worried about me.”

For a moment, the god was quiet. “Zephyr isn’t nearly as important.”

“But still crucial enough; I think it’d be best if we didn’t lose the west wind. Listen to your head, you know this isn’t worth it; it’s never going to be worth it.”

After a few seconds of silence, in the blink of an eye, Apollo was gone.

--------------

Olympus’ garden was huge; its depths filled with paths most don’t even know of. It was here the two gods sat down on top of a small hill, right in front of a giant crevice that overlooked all of their creations.

“I really am unreasonable, aren’t I, Hermes? Crying over beings much lesser than myself…”

“You had your eyes and heart set upon a mortal, so I guess it does sound foolish to grieve over their mortality but… I think we’re all a little unreasonable sometimes.” His friend paused for a moment, to think. “Is there anything you want to say? To Hyacinthus, I mean, when I guide him down to Hades.”

“…”

“If we should ever meet again

No matter how long the wait

No matter how many lifetimes it takes

My arms will be glad to welcome you in an embrace

Until then, just know

That even when man has forgotten my face

And I roam the world as nothing but a shade

Your memory will continue, forever living on

In all the flowers that the earth will cover itself, bearing your name

Goodnight, my sweet prince”

#Apollo #Hyacinthus #hyacinth #hyapollo #greek gods #greek mythology #Thanks to some peeps in discord for the hcs #MyWritingShit

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saturatedworld · 3 years

Text

The Green and the Grey

Loud and low knocks, sing a song of what shall come to pass. The door opens, and the green-eyed youth enters. Only then he noticed the man opening the door for him, many-layered veils covering his upper half. “Oh, you are… Mr Chizuru’s husband.”

“Greetings.”

“Wait, it’s only you here?” asks Robin as he takes off his cap. “I thought Wren would be here before me.”

“Chizuru-han still has work to do,” replies the veiled man as he gets back to his chair and folding papers. “I haven’t seen Wren.”

“Oh, I see. Probably forgot about the meeting today, then,” replies Robin with a pout, now standing by the counter at the back of the small room. His hands reach for a cup and sugar jar. “Corn probably will be late too; the dockers have been rowdy lately, brawling over shipment crates again.”

“So I heard.”

“Did you hear about the incident at Flowerdene Street too? Awful, what happened to the factory workers. Not that Mr Fires would do anything to prevent it from happening again, though.”

“Unfortunate, indeed.”

For once, Robin regrets coming to the base-camp early. Never before he guessed he would be alone with this person – terse, unopinionated, difficult to approach. It’s difficult to imagine he is a spy like his husband. Aren’t spies supposed to be more socially flexible? Robin’s hand stops stirring his tea as something comes to his mind.

He turns toward the veiled man, who is in the middle of folding paper cranes. “Er, this is a little rude, but what is your name again? I thought it was something else, but this morning I saw someone called you ‘Yuri’...”

Did that question make the man’s veils thicker? A moment passes before he finally lifts his veils, locks eyes with Robin, and says, “I can’t decide if you are wise or foolish.”

“Sorry?”

“That question could’ve gotten you permanently killed for knowing too much in a different situation.” He continues, “You are not the kind of person who would forget.”

“Well, what if I… did forget….” Robin’s voice trails off as his face and ears turn red. The man is right; he asked out of mere curiosity and let it show in his words.

“I hope you have learned your lesson,” says the man, returning to his paper cranes.

“D-Don’t tell Mr Chizuru about this. Please,” asks Robin, his voice still low in embarrassment.

Silence envelops the room. Robin sips his tea, any thoughts about engaging in a conversation with the person before him evaporating along with the steam. Awkward, terribly so. When will the others show up?

“Why do you want to learn about espionage?”

“Huh? Me?” Of course it was directed toward Robin, but he didn’t expect to receive that question. He can’t see the man’s face, but he can feel the expecting gaze coming from behind the veils. “Well, I… I just want to be useful.” His eyes shy away from contact. “Not sure if you already knew, but I have a weak constitution. I grow tired easier than most people. I’m not athletic like Wren, and I’m not good at making and fixing things like Corn. So Mr Chizuru asked me if I want to learn how to collect, process, and put information to use, and here I am now.”

“Has he ever said why you?”

Robin winces at the question. “I asked once. He just said he ought to make himself useful too. Looked sad about it, but he always has that air about him.” The youth stops, frowns, lets a buried thought out, “I think it was just convenience. I get the feeling from how he acts that he doesn’t intend to be always here, but doesn’t want to leave the cell shepherdless either. And I was the only one without a defined role.” His expression softens. “A convenience, but I still feel glad that he cares.”

No more questions, but no more folding paper cranes either. They just sit in silence together, until Robin taps on the table. “Well, is that all you want to know? Mr Chizuru is really the only thing you’re interested in, huh? Isn’t he the entire reason you’re here?”

“I’m just thinking….” A pause, then a sigh. “Maybe Chizuru-han made the right decision in choosing you. You see, he calls me a bad spy sometimes. He can see through how everything about me was faked.”

“Ohh, is he that good?” He dodged the question, but Robin has no particular need to hear the answer from him – not with how he wanders into talking about his Chizuru-han.

He shakes his head. “He’s simply more in touch with his humanity than I am. I’m here because I still need to learn. But someone like you might be able to understand what makes his approach, and perhaps one of his regrets will be no longer. As for the question of my name….” He lifts his veils again – some even fall off like old feathers. “I am ‘Yuri’. I also have been ‘Aaron’, ‘Nikola’, and ‘George’, among other names. But more importantly, I am ‘Aleksei’. Does that suffice?”

“And ‘Aleksei’ is what he calls you by. I see.” Robin hums. Wait, what did the veiled man say just now again? Something about humanity? “Hold on, hold on. Are you telling me that when you’re not faking an identity you’re just awful at being a person?”

A hesitating, quiet nod.

“My Lord, I thought you were just being rude.”

For a moment, his veils appear to look denser than before. “Perhaps I should have brought a crafted identity when I first entered this room. It would’ve made getting along with everyone easier,” admits the man. He takes a paper crane, turning it around in his hands. A couple more of the veils fall off to the floor. “But I want to make something of the name he calls me by. Not something scripted by convenience, but something that will always belong to me.” Another pause, then a frown. “I really am a bad spy.”

“Surprisingly adorable, aren’t you?”

“Mmhm, I will take that as a compliment. Thank you.”

***

“By the way, I noticed you pronounce his name well.”

“He wants me to read and write his codes. In Japanese. Please tell him to reconsider.”

#robin blackwood #aleksei guskov

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medicatemedrmccoy · 4 years

Text

Check-up

For the anon ask yesterday, again, thank you for the ask! :) I think my fluff machine might be broke at the moment but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Why am I incapable of writing short drabbles?

1885 words - Leonard x Reader

You walked slowly through the corridor, down the familiar hallways towards medical. You had put off going to medbay for as long as you could physically stand it.

Unfortunately your simple runny nose had turned into a full blown, bone rattling cough that you could no longer ignore, especially at night while it kept you awake, accompanied by a low grade fever that was giving you the chills.

Your steps got slower and slower as you approached the bright lights of medbay along with the beeping of various machines. You could feel your heart begin to beat faster as your stomach churned and your throat start to go dry, only irritating it further as you gave as much of a muted cough as you could into your sleeve, trying not to draw attention to yourself.

Your courage had all but faded as the doors to the medbay suddenly opened wide, startling you as you caught a glimpse of various doctors and patients milling around.

You quickly ducked into the closest hallway, hoping to get away and hide before anyone saw where you were headed. You thought you had made a clean getaway since no one seemed to notice you, except for one sharp pair of hazel eyes you hadn’t realized had caught you at the last second.

“Dammit!” You muttered to yourself, leaning back against the cool wall, you closed your eyes and tried to steady your breathing. You tried to take some deep breaths but your lungs wouldn’t let you as you began to cough once more, leaning over with your hands on your knees as your eyes watered.

“Well now, that doesn’t sound very good.” A quiet voice said from closer than you were expecting. Your eyes shot open as you started quickly, standing up straight as you stared into the hazel eyes of a very concerned Leonard.

“Len.” Was all you managed to choke out as another round of coughs racked your frame from the sudden movement.

“Y/N? What’s going on? Why don’t you come inside so we can get that looked at. You sound terrible!” Leonard began to fuss lightly with a slight huff at how far you had let this ailment go before coming to see him. He went to put his hand on your elbow to gently usher you into medbay.

As soon as you felt Leonard’s touch, you froze stock still, feet firmly planted on the floor so that not even god himself could’ve moved you. You tried to speak but nothing came out, not even a cough, which surprised you.

Leonard misstepped slightly as he went to help you into medbay, not expecting to meet your sudden resistance. Quirking and eyebrow at you he gave you a once over and before he spoke, he met your eyes. He’d seen that look of fright in a certain blonde haired captain before.

“Tell you what. Meet me at your quarters in ten minutes, alright?” Leonard said as he moved his hand from your elbow to your shoulder, squeezing gently. You briefly wondered if Leonard could read minds and that was how he knew everything.

You swallowed slowly, as you looked up at Leonard, wincing slightly as your raw throat protested. You gazed into his eyes and his frustration that was apparent with his former outburst was all but gone from his eyes that were now gentle and held concern.

The only thing you could do was nod. You knew Leonard was being nice so he didn’t scare you off, you knew all too well what might happen if you refused. You remembered many times when Jim would come running into your quarters, trying to hide from the hypo wielding doctor and it never turned out in the blondes favor. You still remember the red welts on Jim’s neck and the hours of wincing and grumbling that followed.

You quickly did an about face, not looking back as Leonard made his way inside his medbay, no doubt to gather some supplies. Your feet carried you defeatedly back to your quarters. You hated the one on one attention but you hated the medbay more.

Sighing as you punched in your keycode, you prepared yourself the best you could as you sat on the sofa, bouncing your leg and coughing into your elbow as you waited for Leonard to show.

The doctor didn’t keep you waiting long, you could hear him punching in your code and you sat up a little straighter in your seat. The door quietly swished open and Leonard stepped inside with his medkit and stethoscope around his neck.

He gave you a small, reassuring smile as he sat his medkit on your small coffee table before taking a seat himself next to you. You started to feel warm, and you didn’t think it was the fever.

“I’m sorry.” You blurted quickly as Leonard looked up from adjusting his tricoder, not interrupting you but encouraging you to continue as he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

You gave a breathy sigh as you continued. “Normally I’m not like this, I come to my physicals and everything but sometimes with more invasive stuff it comes back up and I can’t help it.”

You realized how confusing you sounded as the words seemed to tumble out of your mouth and probably figured it needed even further explanation as you saw the slight confusion flit in Leonard’s eyes for a brief moment at what “it” could be.

Taking a small breath, you continued before Leonard could interrupt your small moment of bravery. “I’d rather not go into details but let’s just say that my doctor I had while I was growing up lost his license for malpractice on his younger patients.” You winced slightly as you finished, thinking back on the memories.

Leonard sat still for a moment, his hands frozen in place on his tricoder as the implication of your words sunk in, the space between his eyebrows narrowed as his face flashed a brief scowl of disgust before smoothing out once more.

“You know I’d never do anything you don’t want me to right? And neither would any of my staff if I have anything to say about it.” Leonard said gently as he took your trembling hand into his that you didn’t even realize was shaking and gave it a small squeeze of reassurance.

“I know.” You wheezed out slightly, trying to suppress a cough as you tried to keep your emotions in check. “I know no one on board here wouldn’t, but I still can’t get past it sometimes.” You replied quietly, your voice small.

Leonard pursed his lips for a moment before patting your hand gently and grabbing his tricoder.

“We’ll talk more about that later, alright? Let’s get you feeling better first.” Leonard said as he squeezed your hand again gently. He then angled himself to better be able to run his tricoder over you. You nodded your permission, wanting to get this over with.

Your previous confession had seemed to exhaust you even further. You were glad that Leonard was choosing to wait for the discussion, you were too tired tonight.

Leonard worked quickly, seeing the tiredness in your posture. He ran the tricoder over your chest and along your back. His expression got more grim as he checked your lymphs and used his stethoscope to listen to your lungs.

“So how long have you been sick Y/N? You’ve passed a simple cold and gone all the way straight to pneumonia.” Leonard’s expression set in a slight scowl as he replaced his stethoscope around his neck with a quiet click.

“Uhm, maybe last week? The cough only started a couple days ago.” You said softly, trying not to encourage the doctors anger, you could see the vein in his forehead starting to bulge slightly.

“Dammit, Y/N. You should have said something sooner. We could have gotten to it quicker, so now it’s going to take longer… where did you even get pneumonia?” Leonard started to rant quietly as he fixed up a couple hypos.

You knew he was trying his best not to get upset, and you really couldn’t blame him. You’d probably be angry too if you had to deal with people dodging medical attention on a constant basis and making their symptoms worse on top of it.

You also knew where you got the pneumonia, and that person had sworn you to secrecy. So now you risked the wrath of the doctor if you lied or letting down a friend and you were debating on which was worse.

Unfortunately for you, or fortunately, depending on how you looked at it, Leonard was too good at his job. Before you could even answer, he knew by your hesitation.

Leonard sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Jim. I’m gonna kill him. I should have known when you two canceled movie night. You never pass up an opportunity to torture me with old movies.”

“What can I say?” You smiled softly and shrugged. “Torturing you is half the fun of movie night.”

“I’m going to let that slide on account of your being sick.” Leonard said with a small sigh. “Now let’s get this started.”

You eyed the hypos warily and Leonard seemed to sense your unease.

“I wouldn’t give you anything without explaining it first. You know that right? I’m going to take care of you.” Leonard asked as he looked over at you, watching you nod. You knew he never would but shots of any kind still made you nervous.

“This one is a steroid and this one is an antibiotic. It’ll be a good start for now and hopefully help you breathing a little easier.” Leonard said as he rubbed your neck softly with his thumb before pressing the hypo gently to your neck.

Leonard was done almost as fast as you could blink and was then pulling you over gently across the couch. You didn’t protest, you felt exhausted down to your bones and happily laid across the warm spot that Leonard previously occupied.

“You rest here for a bit and I’ll be back soon to make you something to eat. I have another quick matter to attend to.” Leonard said with slightly narrowed eyes as he put a pillow behind your head and covered you with a blanket from the back of the couch.

You knew that matter was Jim and you couldn’t help but smile softly as you watched Leonard pack up his medkit. He kissed the top of your head gently before making his way out the door.

You quickly dug around in your pant pocket for your communicator, making yourself cough in the process. You quickly flipped it open and sent a 911 message to Jim. He’d know what it meant and you could only hope that he would read it in time before Leonard reached the bridge but you doubted the warning would do much good.

Taking a deep wheezy breath, you settled on the couch, already thankful that you could already breathe a little easier, you settled into a light doze, waiting for Leonard to return.

#star trek #star trek 2009 #star trek aos #star trek alternative original series #Leonard McCoy #Leonard Bones McCoy #leonard x reader #reader x leonard #mccoy x reader #leonard mccoy x reader #reader x leonard mccoy #reader x mccoy #leonard McCoy drabble #bones mccoy

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marshmallow-phd · 5 years

Text

Midnight Hours

Part of The Untamed - EXO Wolf Universe

Genre: Wolf!AU

Pairing: Sehun x Reader

Summary: For you, being a good witch was easier said than done. Something dark was lurking inside of you and the others knew it. When you’re forced to tag along with Soomi and help a local wolfpack face a coming evil, you’re sent on a path that breaks into a crossroads. While you struggle with your inner demons, could the wolf Sehun be the key to your ultimate fate?

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I 11 I 12 I 13 I 14 I 15 I 16 I 17 I Final

“W-wha… what!” You stared at Sehun like he’d just taken his head off his shoulders and started playing basketball with it right there in the kitchen.

“Ha-ha, Sehun, very funny,” Tao scoffed with absolutely no amusement in his voice.

“It’s not a joke.” His face was flat, only the tiniest bit of scrunch between his eyebrows showing his frustration.

“Sine when was the witch your mate?” Baekhyun questioned.

Jongdae shook his head. “If she was your mate, we would have noticed by now.”

“I don’t know, I think it explains a lot,” Harper said with a shrug.

Luhan frowned at her. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on. I’m not the only observant one here, am I?” When everyone just continued to stare at her, Harper rolled her eyes. “Sehun was disappearing more and more after she showed up, he always made sure to eat on the opposite side of the kitchen during meals, and he was aware of the fire before anyone else on the second floor even smelled the smoke.”

Glances were exchanged between the pack members, epiphanies widening their eyes. You, however, were still trying to process the confession. Though you weren’t too familiar with the process of mating in the wolf world (it wasn’t exactly a heavy topic that was squeezed in between herbal antidotes and natural energy), you were starting to connect the dots. Could that really be the explanation for how Sehun’s presence and touch made you feel?

“Sehun, you aren’t just saying this so we don’t make them leave, right?” Junmyeon asked. The younger wolf stared him down, his other arm crossing over to hold onto your shoulder as if you might be snatched away from him at any moment. Taking that as the answer, the alpha side and turned to the other leader. “This changes things.”

The struggle was written all over Kris’ face. He still didn’t trust you and with his daughter to protect… well, you couldn’t entirely blame him. You’d scared yourself with the fire. Lsoing control in that aspect was not normal. The vision was making even you doubt yourself and where you were headed. But for some reason, leaving this place terrified you more.

“Kris.” Reluctantly, he turned to his mate who’d called out so gently to him. Evie gave him a half smile, her eyes soft and warm enough to make all the tension in Kris’ shoulders melt away. She adjusted her child on her hip to a more comfort position as she said, “It’ll be okay, sweetheart. She belongs here.”

Your breath hitched in your throat as those last three words. Belonged? How did she know that you belonged here with them? Sehun could say you were his mate over and over, but that didn’t automatically give you a place amongst them. Her words were breaking you.

Reaching up, you gently removed Sehun’s hand from your shoulder. He didn’t fight you, but a muted whine in his throat told you that the action was indeed hurting him. Not physically, of course – you weren’t strong enough to really hurt a werewolf – but it was hurting him inside. “I need some air.”

“But, (y/n)-”

“Give her some space, Sehun,” Junmyeon said.

Grateful for the insertion, you took the opportunity to slip out of the kitchen and through the house until you were outside again.

It was still raining, the droplets coming down hard enough to create a curtain between you and the forest, blurring the trees and field as if you were looking at it through warped glass. Considering you just showered and weren’t really in the mood to be soaked all over again, you stayed on the porch, wandering over to the swing that hung off to the side. You pulled your feet up and focused on the slight back and forth motion of the swing. The sound of the rain against the overhang was enough of a distraction that you weren’t completely overwhelmed by what had just transpired.

Mate? Really? You? Were you even worthy of such a title? You thought over each and every girl tied to the wolves and concluded that there had to be some sort of mistake. You didn’t fit in with them. They all melded together cohesively – even Harper with how well she got along with Hae In and Lottie. There couldn’t be a place for you. Perhaps Sehun really was only trying to help stop Kris from kicking you out and the truth would come out eventually.

The squeak of the swing made you look up. Soomi sat down in the empty space, placing a hand on your knee. An expression of sympathy decorated her face, but you could see the smallest hint of sadness behind it.

“How are you doing?”

Lowering your eyes, you picked at a piece of wicker that was sticking up from the seat. “I… don’t really know.”

“It’s not something to be scared of,” Soomi insisted. You wanted to scoff, but you held it back. Yes it is. In her motherly way, Soomi caressed your temple with her delicate fingertips. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”

“Why can’t I choose anything?” you blurted out to your own surprise.

Soom’s hand stopped. “What do you mean?”

Frustration starting to boil over, you looked up at her with a hard expression. “Everything that I’m supposed to get to choose in my life, I can’t. I never got to choose what branch of magic I wanted to study, the mothers did. I didn’t choose to come here, you did. And now? Now the person I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life has been chosen for me by Mother Nature herself? What did I ever do to have all of that taken away from me?”

“But Sehun isn’t a bad guy,” Soomi argued. “Out of the people to be mated to, he’s-”

“Don’t! Don’t try to sell me some crap about how I should be thankful that at least he’s a good guy. I’ve seen that. It doesn’t make this feel any less unfair.”

Soomi nodded. “So, are you going to tell me that you didn’t have any sort of feelings for him before you knew you were his mate?”

You opened your mouth, but no argument was to be found. Because, sure, you were developing feels for him. But did that matter? You didn’t even get to choose to have those feelings….

Sehun pushed off the doorframe, deciding that he didn’t want to hear anymore. He wasn’t exactly sure what your reaction would be in that split second that he decided to spill out his secret there in front of the whole pack, but… well, this was the opposite of what he was hoping for.

Of course you needed space to process. His plan had been to tell you at the construction site, but then he took the sudden rain fall as a sign to wait. The kitchen was the first time that the wolf had completely taken over and the words were out before he could think it through. He should have told Junmyeon as soon as he’d realized the connection between the two of you. He should have told you by the river or earlier today or in the garage. So many times. So many could haves, should haves, and would haves. But he couldn’t change anything now. He’d simply have to lie in the bed that he made.

“Sehun.”

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Junmyeon was standing in the living room waiting for Sehun to reemerge from the front parlor. He had that look on his face: the stern, get-ready-for-a-lecture type face.

“If you’re going to tell me that I should have told you sooner,” Sehun grumbled, “you can save it. I’ve already given myself that speech.”

Exasperated, Junmyeon rana hand down his face. “That’s kind of important information, Sehun. Why didn’t you say anything earlier? If not to me than at least to (y/n)?”

Sehun snorted. “You’re one to talk.”

“I would have hoped you learned from my mistake.”

Okay. Well played. Sehun sucked in his lips, mulling over his terrible excuse before finally releasing it. “I was kind of hoping to… ignore it.”

“Ignore it?” Junmyeon didn’t look like he was about to start yelling, but looks could be deceiving. “What made you think you could ever ignore something like this? Especially after Jongdae?” He shook his head with visible disappointment. “You know, as the last one to find their mate, I’d hoped that you’d learned from the rest of us on how to avoid it being a mess. How to not screw up and hurt your mate.”

“That’s all I ever do,” Sehun said in a quiet voice. “I make dumb decisions. I try so hard, but I’ll never be like the rest of you guys. I’m not as fast as Kyungsoo and Minseok or even Luhan. I’m not as strong as Chanyeol and Kris. I’m just average in everything. Even in this.”

“Now, Sehun, don’t-”

He didn’t want to hear it. “I’m tired. I’m going to go lie down.” He managed to dodge Junmyeon as he passed and escape down to the basement. He ignored the stares of the others that were gathered down there after the end of the “meeting”. It was painfully obvious that they’d been whispering about him, but he didn’t care. With a hard tug, he threw back the blanket that covered the pullout couch, dropped onto the lumpy, thin mattress and closed his eyes. He wasn’t actually trying to go to sleep, but this seemed like the best way to sulk without too much risk of interruption.

Several hours later, Sehun was cursing at himself as he ascended the stairs. He’d fallen asleep after everyone else had left the basement and leaving behind silence in the small space. It hadn’t taken too long for his mind to drift off, giving him the tiniest taste of peace.

Unfortunately, he’d slept through dinner and no one had bothered to come get him. It was probably safe to assume that they were trying to be nice and give him time to recover from the meeting, but that didn’t mean he had to like missing out on fresh food. Now it was well past midnight, the house pitch black. It didn’t take long for his wolf eyes to adjust to the darkness, but his mind was still sleepy and too preoccupied with the notion of finding food to pay too much attention to where his feet were going.

Eyes still half closed from the blinding light of the fridge, he fumbled through the shelves to find any remnants of food that didn’t require to be cooked or heated up. In the middle of his search, his ears caught the sound of slight shuffling and soft, sleepy moans. Curious, he closed the fridge door with as little sound as possible and snuck into the living room.

Lying there on the couch, sprawled out still in yesterday’s clothes, you were sleeping away, although not so peacefully it seemed. A frown formed harsh lines on your forehead and you continuously tossed and turned. What were you doing down here? Sehun knew from personal experience that sleeping on the stiff couch cushions would make you sore in the morning. Releasing a heavy, but noiseless sigh, he bent down to scoop you up – then he hesitated.

The notebook that you’d been carrying with you since you’d arrived was haphazardly laying on the floor, pages bent and scrunched under its own weight. You must have fallen asleep with it still in your hands. Fully knowing that it was an invasion of privacy but still unable to help himself, Sehun picked the notebook up and flipped through it. Even by skimming, he could tell that the rambling scribbles were of your visions. It was hard to decipher in the dark at first, given your half sentences and random descriptions. But one particular vision was not like the rest. The details were more cohesive, as if a story were being told. You spoke of a white wolf and a clearing near the river. You even describe your emotion: happiness. No fear was in your words as you spoke about the wolf approaching you and the softness of the fur against your fingers. Sehun couldn’t help the smile on his lips. If your visions were true, perhaps there was a chance after all.

Finally content, Sehun carefully closed the notebook so all the pages were flat once again. It was difficult to do so without waking you, but he managed to scoop you up from the couch before heading for the stairs. Your features smoothed as you clung to his shirt. The wolf in his chest purred at the proximity. He tried to push the euphoric feeling down, but when you buried your face into the space near his collarbone and sighed contently, it was useless. His arms tightened around you, not wanting to enter his bedroom and let you go. You could spend the rest of the night in his arms with him standing out there in that hallway and he’d be happy, completely gratified. However, come the morning, you might not be.

So, he gave in, managing to open the door with one hand while keeping a steady grip on you, and shuffled over to his bed to put you down. Shoving his hands in his pockets to avoid the temptation of caressing your face, he stared down at you for another minute or two. Creepy? Yeah, most likely, but he couldn’t help himself. Seeing you so… relaxed and void of tension was comforting to him. He wanted to make you this way all the time, even when you were awake.

“Sehun?”

He jumped, at first thinking it was you who had called out his name. But you were still fast asleep, which only meant…

Turning around, he cringed at being discovered by Soomi. He thought he had been quiet enough, but the witch must have been a light sleeper. “Sorry,” he whispered. “I just thought she’d be more comfortable up here.”

“I’m sure she will be,” Soomi agreed with a nod.

With an awkwardness now hanging in the air, Sehun pressed his lips tightly together and started for the door with a mumbled, “G’night.”

“Wait.”

He held back a frustrated groan before glancing over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

“She’ll come around eventually,” Soomi said.

Sehun nodded, but gave no other verbal response. That was always the answer, wasn’t it? Give the mate time. They didn’t have the same understanding of the pull, of the desire that the wolves did. But hearing that didn’t make things any easier.

Confusion was a normal mental state whenever you’d had a long, hard sleep. However, this morning it had been more than just a deep slumber that caused the confusion. You were sure the last thing you remembered was being on the couch in the living room, reading over that vision with the wolf for the millionth time. And yet, when you opened your eyes, you were in the second floor bedroom, your notebook placed nicely on the nightstand next to you. Someone had to have carried you….

Cheeks heating up with the possibility of who had moved you to more comfortable sleeping spot, you threw the covers off and got out of bed as slowly and quietly as you were capable of. Soomi was still fast asleep on the other side of the room and you wanted to keep it that way. Boots in hand, you snuck out of the room, going down the stairs before making it out the door to the safety of the porch.

The rain had stopped by now, but the grass was still visibly wet and the soil was a thick, sticky mud. It didn’t stop you, though. With the rest of the house still soundly asleep, you were taking the opportunity to get some air and really think through your current predicament. The trees created a nice cover in which to lose yourself to the inner workings of your mind.

The truth was… you liked Sehun. A lot. And the fact that the want from yesterday had turned into a truth was giving your stomach a strange, bubbling feeling. Maybe it was just the magic behind the mate pull, but the more you thought about it, the more you were okay with the idea. At least you’d have someone on your side at all times. And he’d never looked at you once like you were a freak or abnormity the whole time you’d known him. He’d fully accepted you, just as you were.

You’d been walking for while along the river, watching the sun rise higher as you came to terms with the new card life had dealt out to you. It wasn’t a bad draw, just another event that you could deal with.

This was what Soomi had meant by time in your conversation by the swing. You only needed time to work out the situation and you’d be fine. It wasn’t the end of the world. And, despite what you’d said yesterday, you were appreciative that Sehun did seem to be a good guy. He hadn’t shown you any reason to hate him. Not yet, at least.

A howl ripped through the air, startling you and causing you lose your footing.

Splash!

You landed right on your backside in the cold water. Immediately, your teeth began to chatter. You tried to push yourself back up to your feet, but only managed to lose your balance again and landed forward on your palms. Now your legs and arms were soaked. Fantastic.

To add insult to injury, a wolf emerged from behind the trees, howling once again as he trotted down the hill and sat in front of you in the trench that contained the river. He watched with amused eyes as you climbed out of the river and rung out as much water from your clothes as you could.

Huffing, you put your hands on your hips. “Thanks for the help.” The wolf simply stared at you, even cocking his head to the side. It was embarrassing to be caught like this and frustrating to no end. “What, Sehun? What are you staring at?”

“Actually, that’s Luhan.”

Minseok – obviously holding back a laugh of his own – came carefully down the slope and stopped next to Luhan. “It’s easy to get them confused. They look the same in human and wolf form. Kris can’t tell them apart if he’s just woken up.”

After clearing your throat, you said, “Oh, Sorry. I just-”

“(y/n)!”

You cringed. Oh, great. More of an audience.

Sehun now became visible as he came over the hill. He wasn’t as graceful coming down as his pack mates, but he still made it over to you, cupping your jaw in his hands as his eyes search for any sign of major injury. “Why are you all wet?”

“I tripped,” you said. You couldn’t see your own face, but you were sure that you were blushing with how warm your face felt. Or maybe it was just Sehun’s palms against your cheeks. Either way, you were no longer shivering from the cold water and that was nice at least.

He shook his head. “What were you even doing out here so early?” He frowned, biting on his bottom lip. “You weren’t… running away, were you?”

You scoffed as you rolled your eyes. “No. I just wanted to go for a walk. By myself. Thinking tends to be easier that way.”

By the way his mouth twitched, it was evident that Sehun wanted to argue against you coming into the woods by yourself, but the smart boy kept it to himself. He dropped his hands from your face and took a step back.

“Look, can we talk?” You asked. After a quick glance over his shoulder, you added, “Alone?”

He nodded eagerly. The other two didn’t need to be told.

“Come on, Luhan,” Minseok patted the wolf’s back. They hiked back up the hill and were out of sight. Sehun waited, head cocked as he listened to their retreating footsteps.

“Okay,” he sighed, “we’re alone now.”

In a swift motion, you turned on the balls of your feet and head back in the direction that you’d came.

“I thought you wanted to talk?” Sehun said.

“I do. But I’m also wet and need to change.” You held up your arm for emphasis. “I just thought we could walk and talk.”

“Oh.”

However, there wasn’t much talking between the two of you as you moved in the direction of the farmhouse. The words were right there, whirling around in your head, trying to make their way to your mouth so they could escape, but nothing made it out. You’d come to a decision, so why was it so hard to tell him so?

“So, I’m your mate,” was what finally came out. The worst choice, really, in stating the obvious.

“Yes.”

“And you’ve known since you first saw me.”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Your mind drifted back to the garage and the other time by the river. “So, have you just been playing with me to see how far you could take it before you finally told me?”

“What? No!” Sehun looked hurt that you would even suggest such a thing. “It’s just… hard to control sometimes, being around your mate. Our instinct is to be near you. To be as close as possible.”

“Ah,” you nodded. “I think an ex-boyfriend used that excuse once, too.” It was meant as a joke, but the look on Sehun’s face told you that he didn’t take it that way.

“Have you dated a lot? In the past?”

You stopped mid-step. While you were never the popular girl in the coven, there were still a few who’d asked you out. Nothing ever lasted, but you still had a history. “Yeah. You’ve got a problem with that?”

“No. Not at all.” He didn’t look at you, keeping his hands firmly in his pocket. It was kind of cute to see him pout.

“What about you?” you asked. You didn’t care all that much, but you thought you should return the favor.

His reply was a shrug.

You huffed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He glanced at you in the corner of his eye. “It means I’ve never had anything serious.”

“But you have dated?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

“Jealous?”

“Not in the slightest.”

“Too bad.”

You rolled your eyes, not giving that the dignity of a response. The farmhouse came into view much sooner than you’d expected and you broke through to the clearing.

“I know you said you weren’t running away earlier,” Sehun said as you came to the porch, “but are you still running from me?”

Fighting the smile on your lips, you turned to him, stopping just short of the steps. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I think… I think I’ve accepted that I’m your mate. I was starting to like you anyway and this – well, it sort of uncomplicates things.”

Sehun frowned. “Uncomplicates?”

“Well, yeah. I saw what Soomi went through with Junmyeon and I didn’t want to get attached just to get my own heart broken.”

“I’d never do that to you.” There was nothing but sincerity in his voice and eyes. “I will never hurt you.”

You swallowed back the tears that were building behind your eyes. “Promise?”

“Promise.” Reaching out to you, he gently took your jaw in his hands, the pads of his thumbs gently caressing your cheeks. He pulled you in close and met your lips with his. There was no hesitation on your part. You gladly returned the kiss, wrapping your fingers around his hands in an effort to bring you closer to him. If you thought his touch brought you warmth and comfort… it was nothing compared to the feeling of want and belonging his lips conveyed to you.

Only a few seconds went by before Sehun stopped. You opened your eyes to see why and followed his gaze. That’s when you spotted them.

Several bodies were scrambling away from the door, but it was too late. They’d already been caught. Your first kiss with Sehun had had an audience.

“So that’s what that feels like,” he mumbled under his breath.

So privacy was not going to be an option here. Smiling a bit mischievously, you looked back at Sehun. “Wait here.”

An actual whine left his throat as you ascended the stairs. He had a grip on your sleeve when he asked, “Where are you going?”

You held up your other arm again to remind him. “I’m going to go change. My clothes are still wet and it’s freezing. After that I thought we could go back… to the other house?”

Something flashed in Sehun’s eyes and you didn’t need to be a genius to figure out the cause. He let go of your sleeve. “Okay. But hurry.”

You snorted. “Down boy.”

Sehun rolled his eyes. “Just hurry up.”

You ran into the house and headed for the stairs, barely paying attention to the group of people pretending to be busy and “natural” in the living room. Thankfully, your room was empty and you made quick work into changing to fresh, dry clothes before bouncing back down to your wolf waiting for you below.

#exo #exo wolf au #exo wolf!au #sehun x reader #oh sehun #exo werewolf!au #exo werewolf au #exo fanfiction #exo fanfic #exo supernatural au #exo series #Midnight Hours #untamed wolf universe

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luvdsc · 3 years

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hi miss cat!! I was just wondering if there’s any advice you would give to a high school freshman/rising sophomore?? sorry I know I’m a bit young to be interacting on your blog but I’m just,,, so lost.

my freshman year ends on May 28 and I just realised how fast this year flew by, and I’m never even gonna get it back…

I didn’t get off my ass and run for an officer position in the clubs I’m in even though the opportunity presented itself many times and I can’t stop beating myself up over it (metaphorically that is)

the only thing unique I did this year was run for student council and um that didn’t work out too well HSDMGFK no surprise there

but on a more serious note I just don’t really have the motivation to do anything right now and this is gonna sound really funny but it’s giving me such a hard time even though it’s self imposed ://

I don’t know why I can’t find motivation to be involved at school

maybe I would be more active if I knew what I want to major in or be in the future?? I used to want to be a biochem major but then I realised I wouldn’t be happy with that lifestyle or salary and now I really wanna major in business but I also feel pressured to major in econs because my dad is an econs major and my brother will be entering college as an econs major this fall so like ;;;;

thankfully my family wasn’t as affected as other families or people during lockdown because I fortunately live in Singapore and the lockdown was a bit less than two months, and the situation here was taken care of quite well. some of my relatives live in Seoul and I also have some relatives emigrated to Washington DC way before the pandemic so I was a bit worried but they seem to be doing fine!! which is again why I don’t understand my slump

because I was in a slump I had shitty grades and ended semester one with such a shitty GPA and such terrible grades that I literally didn’t qualify for APUSH next year which idk if I wanna take or not but still, it would’ve been nice to have the option…. and I literally got a b in biology which is so fucking terrifying because if I had done worse I wouldn’t have even qualified to take AP bio or chem

I mean I am putting effort but not enough for me to get better grades than I do right now so I genuinely feel so lost :// I’ve no idea what to do after high school and my grades aren’t good no matter how hard I try :// like, I’m not even kidding I have tutors for my hardest classes but I’m still not;;; getting good grades…

I honestly feel the urge to start cultivating hobbies that I stopped doing but idk if i should.. like I could spend that time studying, you know?? I’m scared that the rest of my high school career will fly by just like my freshman year did and I won’t even notice it… and my finals are literally in 2 weeks….

and as I’m typing this I realise I have a Chinese test tomorrow and another Chinese test next Tuesday so ummm I gotta go study sorry about all that rambling!! I just don’t have anyone else to tell sorry if this burdened you!!

miss cat if you have any advice to offer I would really really appreciate it!! also I’ve sent like 2 other tells rambling about your fics and idk what to feel rn cuz a few weeks ago I was crying about p*ssy blocked on your blog and now I’m sitting here pouring my heart out:;; but anyways thank you for reading!!❤️

- 🥰

hi, sweetpea 💕 oh gosh, it’s been... almost 8 years since i was a rising sophomore asjhdflkasflkhsakl i feel so old rip and it’s ok, you don’t have to apologize! my blog is sfw, so it’s alright, lovebug :’) i’m gonna give my two cents / advice in regards to each part of your message, instead of my usual numbering, so i hope that’s ok! 💓

i’m sorry to hear that this past school year has been tough for you, honey bee, and that you’re having a hard time ): i know what you mean with motivation... some days, i just don’t wanna try anymore and it’s just like... what’s the point? i worked this hard and didn’t get the results i wanted, so why am i still doing this? it’s disappointing, i know, but i suppose the thing that pushes me forward is that, well, it has to get better at some point, doesn’t it? if i keep going, if i keep pushing myself, if i keep trying, my efforts will be rewarded one day. one day, it’ll all be worth it, honey bee 💛

and while you regret not running for a club position this year and how your freshman year went, make sure to not regret it next year and go for it during your sophomore year, lovebug!! run for a position!!! you’re still so young, and you have so much time ahead of you, sweetpea. enjoy the moment, spend time with your friends, join more clubs that interest you, etc. you got this 🥳 please don’t end up regretting next year as well - become more involved next year and run for an officer position like you wanted to this year 💘 i believe in you, lovebug 🌷🌷

and running for student council was a big step! you should be proud of yourself for trying and putting yourself out there, honey bee 💗 even though it didn’t work out in the way you hoped, you gained experience, and that’s important too!

also, heck yeah for majoring in business, sweetpea 🤩🤩 as a double business major, i support you :’) askljdhfkals ngl econs was my least favorite business class though, so big props to your dad and brother for majoring in it 🤧 i felt that pressure too because my dad and sister both majored in engineering, but in the end of the day, you have to remember that this is your future and your happiness, not anybody else’s. choose what you want to do, honey bee. this isn’t your dad’s choice nor your brother’s choice, it’s your choice. they’re not the one that’s gonna have to study all your classes and do your job in the future. it’s you, and i know it’s hard, but you have to block out what everyone else says and choose what’s best for you.

if you aren’t sure what you want to study, is it possible to take classes for different majors? perhaps, that’ll help you decide! or you can talk to upperclassmen who are in the majors that interest you, and you can see which one appeals to you the most 💕

i’m so glad to hear that the situation there for you is going well though, lovebug! 💛 and i’m happy that your family and relatives are doing well too 💞 sometimes, slumps just happen, honey bee unfortunately ): it’s like i don’t want to feel this way, i’m in a decent place in my life, but why do i feel this way? it has to do with mental health, and my best advice would be to talk to a therapist or psychiatrist. they truly are really helpful and can help you understand better why you feel this way and help you reach a better state of mind.

i’m sorry to hear your grades didn’t end up as what you expected, lovebug ): (and as someone who took apush, it is not fun rip i do not recommend aksjhdflkas you dodged a bullet there) but as a positive way of looking at it, what class can you now take instead of apush? is there another class that you’re excited to take? and a B is still good!!! forget the what if scenario, you still made it to AP bio and AP chem, and that’s what matters, and i’m proud of you, honey bee 💖

personally, i think there’s a healthy balance between cultivating hobbies you like and studying. i don’t think you would want to look back on your sophomore year and have all your memories be of you sitting at your desk and memorizing ionic bonds and plant cell organelles. yes, it’s important to study, but it is also important to have fun and have hobbies that help you destress and relax and make good memories 💗so i’d say go for it, lovebug!!! indulge in your hobbies and find something you love doing! maybe that’ll inspire you to find a major in a similar subject?

best of luck on your upcoming chinese test, honey bee, and i hope your last one on tuesday went well 💜 aaaa i kinda put my advice here and there throughout my response, and i hope it all makes sense for you, sweetpea :’) also omg alksjdhlfakshjdf thank you so much for sending in asks about pussy blocked and for reading it, too 🥺💗💗💗 that means so soo much to me, so thank you, lovebug 💛 i hope life treats you kinder, and that you’re doing better this week! i’m sending you all my love, support, and well wishes, honey bee 💌💌 (also that’s such a cute emoji anon !!! 🥰🥰)

#asks #anonymous #🥰 anon

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