#they wanted to take joy in my anger? fools. i would simply be amused by their inability to affect me

[cinnbar-bun]

The Heartless Giant Pt. 5

Pairing: Crocodile x GN! Royal! Reader

Rating: SFW

Crocodile tries to discuss his dreams after getting a bit tipsy, revealing more of himself than you imagined.

WC: ~2.3k

Notes: Some mentions of abusive families (on Crocodile's end).

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 AO3

Taglist: @gingernut1314 @fanaticsnail @leafyturtle @pookiesnatcher @lolom @chaoticqueen33

You can say that since that meeting with Crocodile, he has almost infected every part of your mind. You sneak down whenever you can, you daydream of him, and, like he wanted, you begin to even dream of him. He is fascinating, so alluring, so dangerous in a way that entices you like an oasis in the desert. 

You can’t deny that part of you anymore, the desire to see every part of him, to know every bit about him- it gnaws at you. Inside and out, you feel yourself wanting to be the one who gets to be his closest confidant, the one who gets to see ‘him’. The way he dangles pieces of his life to you like a carrot on a stick makes you angered, but so, so enthralled. 

Only he can mess with you in such a frustrating yet thrilling way. 

Tonight, though, he is more sentimental after you brought him a bottle of wine, something he mentioned wanting offhandedly. He doesn’t complain about your generosity either, instead, popping the cork of the bottle with his golden hook. His dark eyes never leave yours as he begins to drink from the bottle directly. 

“Tell me, your highness, what dreams do you have?” Crocodile asks with an amused look on his face. 

“Dreams?” 

“Yes, dreams. What have you wanted for so long?” He elaborates. 

“Well, I always dream of learning more. I don’t have an easy claim to the throne, nor do I have the freedom like most people below my rank would have,” you begin. “But I’m lucky to be able to have access to things many will never have. I get to take trips and have tutors from anywhere come here to teach me.” 

Crocodile chuckles in a condescending manner and takes another sip. “That isn’t really ambitious. Not for someone of your skill. Isn’t that a pity?” 

“Well what dreams do you have, since they obviously must be so much better,” you retort. 

“Me? I haven’t had a dream in years. Not since I’ve been locked in here,” he chuckles bitterly. You glance down at your lap and recognize again that you have this luxury- the luxury to dream and walk around whenever you choose. Crocodile does not. It’s deserved, especially with his admittance to his cruelty, but it is one thing that you are afforded. 

“What did you dream about before being here?” 

“Hm, well now, let’s see if I can remember them,” he hums while another swig of wine is swallowed by him. “Now, when I was a young boy, I had dreamed of escaping.” 

“Escaping what?” You raise a brow. He gestures wildly with his index finger. 

“Everything. My family was not a good one. I was raised in poverty,” he closes his eyes. “My father would be abused by his boss and worked to the bone, and when he came home, he took his helplessness out on my mother and I. He had no filter, no joy, no love- only hatred. Besides working, all he was good for was being a drunkard.” 

Your jaw drops at this confession from Crocodile, never expecting him to have gone through such a thing. You stay quiet and listen as Crocodile continues. 

“I don’t hate my father for what he did. I simply saw the truth in why he was angry and violent. He taught me something valuable about life. Without money and wealth, you are powerless. No amount of strength, knowledge, or passion can replace what money gives you. Even the biggest fool can be on the top with just the right amount of wealth.” 

“That’s simply not true,” you attempt to argue, but Crocodile glowers at you. The look makes you freeze as he narrows his eyes. 

“You can say that quite easily, can’t you? Do you even recognize the cost of this wine?” He dangles the bottle in front of you. 

“I’m not sure.” 

“Exactly. This is vintage wine from a company that no longer exists. Do you understand that? This specific vineyard was blown to bits decades ago,” he explains, drinking more. “You have never had to worry a day about money, about suffering, about wondering if you have enough to eat for tomorrow. That is something you will never have to worry about.” 

You nervously look at your hands, away from Crocodile. 

“I don’t hate my father much anymore. He was a bastard, but I mostly just pity him.” 

“Why pity?” “Because, he may be a bastard, but he was an unlucky bastard. He probably died never knowing glory or excess. He never would have gotten to experience the taste of a fine cigar, or drink expensive wines, or even know what it was like to look at beautiful things. I am different from him. Not because I am not a bastard, but because, even for a brief moment, I got to experience the lap of luxury that few will ever comprehend.” 

He chuckles darkly, an unsettling laugh that makes shivers creep down your back. 

“And you think that was enough to ignore the pain he caused?” 

“It’s messed up, isn’t it? But it wasn’t my fault he wasn’t as lucky as me. Every limb I’ve lost, every scar on my body, every drop of blood I’ve bled-” he waves his hook around and traces a finger over the scar across his face. “That was luck. I should have been killed a million times over, but none have been able to slay me. He never would have been able to. He was beaten down and let himself stay a beaten dog to be used over and over.” 

You can’t find the words to say as Crocodile runs a hand through his hair, making his more ruffled and unsightly. It was clear through the slight trembling in his fingers and body he was becoming more inebriated. 

“But still, how could you say such a-” 

“Pity the fools below, your highness,” he spits. “They’re not worthy of your sympathy. People will take you down and eat you alive if you show a hint of weakness. You can hide in here, but out there? You are not safe. You never will be. You will never know peace. That’s how that world out there works, especially for us pirates.” 

You frown, letting his words sink in. “It’s despicable.” 

“What? What is despicable? Expecting the worst of others, or allowing them the chance to lead you like a lamb to the slaughter?” Crocodile smirks at your uneasy expression. He holds your chin and makes you face him. “You will not survive out there, (Y/n).” 

The way he says your name makes you freeze and lost in his empty eyes. He rarely ever uses your name, instead opting to call you ‘your highness’. But now he’s addressing you like an equal, like a normal person. 

You have no power here. 

You swallow. 

“The dreams the people outside have would make you hide away forever. They are like animals, starved for food and hungering, yearning for more. You are the bait. You have all this power and wealth, all the resources you can muster- yet you have the simplistic dream of ‘learning’? Let me teach you something important then.” 

He leans down to your level and snarls like a beast. “There a dime a dozen of those fools you call ‘heroes’. Those who believe they are strong, worthy, or even able to handle the weight of glory. They can’t. Your brothers, for example. All three get that chance to possibly rule before you? Hell, you may never see the throne either, since their children may inherit it before you. Are you really okay with those fools running your kingdom?” 

You clench your fists and look away, a feeling of guilt and disgust boiling within you. “No. I don’t like that. I never liked that.” 

“And why don’t you like that?” He smiles, knowing the reason. 

“Because it’s not fair- they don’t deserve it,” you admit quickly. All the years of jealousy, envy, and anger at the situation bursts from your throat. “They don’t know a damn thing! They don’t! They barely ever studied or listen to tutors and even our father, yet they get it first! I know I can be great! I can do good things for my kingdom- but I can’t!” 

You cover your eyes and try to refrain from tearing up in front of Crocodile. 

“There, there. See? It is unfair, isn’t it? But answer this for me. If they knew you felt like this, that you believed they were unfit to rule and that you wanted it more than them… tell me, how would they react?” Crocodile asks, his voice lowering. 

“They…” you try to think of what they would do. “I don’t know.” “That’s not true. You do know. You know they’d gang up on you. They know you can’t fight back. They’d maybe imprison you, perhaps fake your death, maybe even exile you at first chance. You allow them the benefit of the doubt that they do not deserve. You try to remain civil and fair, but the truth is, life is not fair. People like your brothers, my father, and I- well, we have ambitions. Some of us do not make it. But plenty of us will use any means necessary to get what we want. And when push comes to shove, do you truly think you will be able to fend them off? Or will you just continue to try and stay ‘fair’ towards animals?” 

“I…” you struggle. You were always taught to be fair, to be patient, to think of others so much- his line of thinking is sound but goes against everything you’ve ever know. You don’t know if you could ever face up against your brothers if they did decide to take you out. 

“I only tell you this so you do not end up foolish and weak like those I’ve known. You remain ‘chivalrous’ and you are easily taken down. When it comes to life, there are no rules or fair duels. Anything goes. Cheating, lying, stealing- they’re all part of life. Do not make yourself the one to be stolen from.” 

“And you think that this could stop me from being taken advantage of?” 

“It will. Stop settling and losing your ambition- use your resources to become the best you can be. Why not let yourself dream more? Go on, tell me a new dream, beyond what you said earlier.” 

“I… I would like to better my kingdom.” 

“How?” He demands. “Be more specific.” 

“I would like to be the one to lead my kingdom.” 

“That’s a start. But say more. I know you’re holding back.” 

You nod and steel yourself, clenching your jaw. “I want to be the ruler.” 

“More.” “I don’t want my brothers to rule.” 

“And?” 

“I want to stop being weak! I don’t want to be told I cannot do anything anymore. I’ve proven myself over and over!” 

“And who has taken away these opportunities from you, your highness? Who is the one who continues to praise you yet doesn’t change this unfair rule?” “It’s… it’s…” you tremble. “It’s my father. I have done so much. He knows I’m capable. Yet he continues to let my brothers have the first chance. It’s not right! I can do so much more, if only he would just let me and give me the chance to do so!” 

The excitement on Crocodile’s face is evident as he nods along. “Good. See? It’s good to be honest with yourself. You may love your father, but he has taken so much from you for the sake of tradition. Why don’t you finally do something about it instead of remaining passive?” Crocodile smirks. “So tell me again, what is your dream?” 

“I want to rule. I want my father to stop denying me what I deserve. I want my brothers to know that they had the chance, but they messed it up. I want to be the one who gives the orders, not just takes them!” You shout loudly. 

“And I know you can do just that. You’re too powerful to be made to submit like that. Are you an animal, (Y/n), or are you a true ruler?” 

“I’m not an animal!” You yell in confirmation. 

Crocodile chuckles quietly, gently stroking your cheek. “I know you won’t disappoint me. You will make a wonderful ruler. Just don’t listen to the beasts who try and tell you otherwise.” 

“I won’t. I won’t listen to them anymore. From now on, I’ll be stronger. I won’t let myself be taken advantage of, and I won’t let myself settle.” 

In the heat of the moment, you don’t feel the way his hand reaches for yours. He tugs it to get you to pay attention to him and you jump briefly, making him amused. 

“Heh, you need to work on your awareness. Always keep an eye open around you, your highness,” Crocodile begins, before he places his lips to your knuckles. You gasp at his brazen attitude while he chuckles again. “It’s simply my way of wishing you good luck.” 

“Thank you,” you bashfully reply. He lets go of your hand and shoos you away. 

“You have much to think about now, don’t you? Go. Rest up and tell me later what you have dreamed about. And don’t forget me. Your friendly jailbird, Crocodile, gets a bit lonely sometimes without you, your highness.” 

“I won’t be forgetting you anytime soon.” 

“Naturally. Now go give me something to smile about when you come back.”

#one piece #one piece x reader #x reader #reader insert #one piece oneshots #sir crocodile #crocodile x reader #sir crocodile x reader #crocodile #storyteller au #heartless giant

[chiimaera]

@silverscreengoldenpages​ asked: “Do you mean that?”

SIGYN FELT LIKE SHE WOULD CRUMBLE UNDER THE WEIGHT OF IT ALL. like her shoulders would concave and she would simply be unable to rise again, stuck under the mountain of everything she was trying to carry. her father was dying, wasting away from sickness while his mind deteriorates with each passing day. if hes not begging for the pain to stop or finally asleep from the morphine, he barely recognizes her. her brothers con-man ways had men at her door asking for money that she didnt have, harassing her and following her around town. the printing press needed new pieces and ink, she was barely keeping the shop running since her father had fallen ill.  and in the middle of everything, he came along. the man who smiled and teased, the god who seemed to give her joy as quickly as the world wanted to take it away from her. in all ways he drove her mad, he endeared her. he wanted her for her mind, her spirit, encouraged her to let go. it took awhile, allowing him behind all the walls she had put up to keep her heart safe. and yet it that sentiment, that trust, that broke her heart now. it felt like it had sunk into her stomach, disintegrating with each passing moment.  “ i wish i had never met you, ” her words were biting, punctuated by the tears she refused to let fall. she would not cry in front of him, for him. she was better than that.    “ do you mean that? ” her mind said yes but that shattered muscle inside her screamed no. no, because her loyalty would not allow her to abandon him. no because her even though it hurt to look at him, the idea of having never met him sounded much more painful. why did love have to be painful? why couldnt he have just left her alone so that she never knew what it felt like to fall for a god who thought so little of her.  “ you lied to me, loki, ” she said, never answering his question. her blue eyes were bright with her anger, her gold hair wildly falling out of its braid. every breath that left her body came out in a cloud as it hit the cold snowy air. “ you lied to my face. you played me like a fool and for what? for amusement? am i just another game? i knew you were selfish but i never believed you to be cruel. ”

#vi. answered #silverscreengoldenpages #xxviii. character ;; sigyn #no idea what he lied about #but i wanted some drama #feel free to cont. or not #this is pre-marriage/goddess

[wesimpforxiao]

Say My Name and I’ll Be There: 9.1

Author’s Note:  Short chapter.  My anxiety has gotten really bad and I’m busy so I could use some virtual hugs haha

"You dared to deceive an archon?"

The bellow hung heavy in the morning air, but Childe didn't flinch.  "Oh?  If my memory serves me correctly, you were all for my plan."  A slight excitement rushed within his chest at the thought of the possibility of fighting an archon today.  The joy he would feel! To have the privilege of testing his strength against a former god--

"Don't play games with me," Zhongli growled, his infuriated gaze sliding to the brat that was more than amused at his ill-composed state.  Archons, the consultant was trying so hard not to summon a meteor this instant--something his past self would've done without a moment of hesitation.  "You nearly--"

"I never claimed to be one of the good guys, sensei."  

Zhongli bit the inside of his lip until he drew blood and his eyes glowed a threatening yellow that was far too similar to the Exuvia.  He so desperately wanted to run Childe into the ground, to pummel him with the same spears that defeated Osial himself.  To do so would mean the complete and utter destruction of the harbor that sat below them, as they were on the hill behind the Liyue Qixing's headquarters.  The sun beat down on them harshly as if to mirror Zhongli's rage.

"I have my own agenda to fulfill, in the end."  Something somewhat apologetic flashed in the harbinger's eyes before he looked out to the vast sea, still unflinching from Zhongli's threatening aura.

"You have broken a contract.  A breach in trust.  Do you know what this means for you?"  I'll end him right here.  As a cost for the Tsaritsa to pay for breaching--No.  Zhongli took a deep breath to quell the raging tides of fury that swirled in his being.  No.  The Tsaritsa broke no contract.  I willingly gave Xiao after being played like a fool by Childe.  That's right.  Anger consumes all rational thought; Zhongli could not allow himself to make the same mistakes.  To do so would surely destroy any concept of safety for you and Xiao.

"I will fight to the death if you see it fit, Mr. Zhongli."  The corner of his lips curled slightly upwards after hearing the anger in the consultant's voice, but they downturned again as he turned to face the man.  "But, as I see it, I have learned from that...experience in Fontaine."

Zhongli's hard gaze remained unwavering as stone.

"Mezzetin..."  Childe returned to his view of the ocean.  "...has been in too dark of a place as of late.  I had deceived you in an effort to protect her from your yaksha; his presence seemed to have too negative of an impact on her.  So I thought, for her benefit, I would recruit her into the Fatui for her own safety.  From Xiao, and from the unrelenting forces of Snezhnaya.  She wouldn't have to live in fear of us as long as she was with us.

"But then another side effect showed up and I realized I had made a mistake for deceiving you, Mr. Zhongli.  I was mistaken to think that the yaksha was the problem instead of the distance between the pair.  That, dear sensei, is why I brought her here for the Lantern Rite."

While he's speaking from the heart, he is still being untruthful.  The archon stood unmoving, rage reigniting a little until a memory of Guizhong flashed in his mind.  He wouldn't bring her to Liyue without another motive.

"I'm speaking honestly, Mr. Zhongli."  Childe didn't even hold his signature smile across his lips; he was dead serious.  "While this excursion most definitely benefits the Tsaritsa, I only brought Mezzetin for her own wellbeing."

Zhongli still wasn't buying it, and he approached Childe until he was at his ear.  His low voice had to have dropped an octave lower while he maintained his composed but threatening demeanor.  "The next time you cross me or seek to harm those in our group, you will join Osial below Guyun Stone Forest."

The threat was enough to send a slight chill down Childe's spine, as reluctant as he would admit it, but the harbinger grinned darkly nonetheless.  After all, how could a measly chill overpower the thrill of battle he always got?  It egged him on, but...he did consider Zhongli a comrade more than a means to an end for the Tsaritsa.  One that he didn't want to lose, even if he was still pissed that the consultant had deceived him for being a human and not the Lord of Geo.

The archon began to brush past Childe, when the harbinger gripped his shoulder to keep him in place.  "Mark my words, Mr. Zhongli.  When the time comes, you will be relying on me once more."

What?  Zhongli rotated his head, but Childe had already let go of his shoulder and started to walk off.  He would've perceived the statement as the threat that it was, if it weren't for the different fluctuations in Childe's voice.  Was that melancholy he sensed?  Guilt?  Uncertainty?  Zhongli narrowed his eyes as he watched the harbinger scale off the mountain with his glider.

Perhaps that was enough to get through to him, Childe thought to himself without peering over his shoulder.  He didn't dare say too much.  The Tsaritsa will get what she needs for her war; what's it to her if he moves a few chess pieces across the board himself?  This is the only time he would ever allow to make such a daring exception.  As long as you and Aether didn't try to intervene down the line, then maybe he could bring you freedom...

That was a cry for help, Zhongli found himself dumb-founded. Childe's figure was now a spec in the distance and near touchdown in the plaza.

.......................

"Will you two cut it out already?!" You had thought that the subject had long passed, but apparently Aether had no mercy teasing you as he had always teased Paimon.  "We didn't do anything! How many times do I have to say that?"  You drew a deep breath to keep up with your mouth.  "Or do I have to whack it into you?!"

"Hm, dunno, Paimon thinks denial is even more suspicious than silence!"

"Ugh, why did you have to go and say we 'slept together...'"  Your head dropped into your hands in an exasperated manner, eyebrows furrowing together with the threat of an impending headache.

"Mortals make too large of a fuss over such trivial matters.  It was really nothing," Xiao scoffed at the traveler and the weird floating thing he still couldn't figure out.  It was then that he remembered your odd behavior in bed this morning, and how you were exhibiting the same redness now.  "Though...I do have a few questions.  Why do humans flush red at the most random of times?"

"EH?!"  Your hand instinctually flew to his mouth, nearly covering up--except the yaksha caught your wrist before you had the chance to prevent him from saying anything else that could be perceived the wrong way.  "What are you--?!  Just stop talking!"

"Like now," Xiao noted aloud, completely oblivious to the dumb-founded shock--or what could've been exasperated horror--on Aether's and Paimon's faces.

"Think of it as a defense mechanism," Childe approached the group, completely lacking the tension from earlier.  "Or as an indicator for lying."

"'Lying?'"  Xiao looked unconvinced as his eyes met yours.  You definitely didn't flush red when lying.

"Well, in some settings," Childe let out a chuckle before plopping his hand atop your head.  It wouldn't be inaccurate to think that Xiao nearly summoned his weapon and thought of slicing his hand off right then and there.  "Are you ready to go?"

"Go?  But you said tomorrow."  Lips pursed into an irritated pout as you turned to face him, nonchalantly pushing his hand off of you in the process.  "And Zhongli said something about a possible del-"

"The matter is settled."  Was it just you, or was his smile a little strained?

"And if we don't let you take her back?"  Aether stepped forward.  A few pedestrians glanced his way while passing the group.

"Oh? Is this your way of asking me for a fight? I'd be happy to humor you."

"You can't take all three of us at once," the boy took another step forward, this time lowering his stance as if he were ready to lunge at the harbinger.  Paimon egged him on.  

"Will you two stop with this macho contest?"  Your growl seemed to snap them out of it.  "No one is fighting.  I left with the harbingers to prevent that from happening."

"If the lady insists." Child winked at Aether, who scoffed in turn.  Then he faced you once more.  "As for the sudden change in our depart, I simply changed my mind.  Meet at the Northland Bank.  You have one hour."

.....................

"One hour?!?!" You were still fuming over the smug smile that had tugged at the corner of Childe's lips after the three of you parted from him.  "What...What am I supposed to do in an hour?!  I swear I'm gonna--"

"Paimon thinks we should take him out now!"  

"Why are you so bloodthirsty when it comes to Childe?"  Aether reminded her to keep her voice down, suddenly conscious of the stares you were all getting.

"Why aren't you?  He's lied to us, hurt us, and now he's hurting our friends!  Paimon simply can't accept that!"

Aether had long since tuned Paimon's voice out and was focused on you and Xiao instead.  The lack of eye contact between the two of you made it blatantly obvious there were some things to discuss privately. "We'll let you have some alone time."

"Huh?  Why're you leaving?" You spun on your heel with a confused expression, whirling to a stop once you faced the boy.  "Shouldn't we all be together before I--"

"You'd rather not be alone with your boyfriend before you leave?"  A confused, innocent tilt of the head sent you into another wave of embarrassment.

"B-boyfriend?!"

"Hold up!  You're telling Paimon you're embarrassed by THAT even though you two--"

"Boy...friend...?" Xiao's face twisted in clear disgust as if he had eaten something sour, the words being carefully sounded out. You were his companion.  What is this 'boy friend' term being flung around all of a sudden?  "I've lived for a millennia and you dare refer to me as a child?  Have you no respect for the adepti?"

"U-um!"  Your stammer caught the attention of his narrowed eyes, and his gaze softened slightly.  "Just ignore them.  It's not a bad term or anything of the sort," you sent a pleading glance Aether's way so he wouldn't reveal the meaning of the word.  Boyfriend...ah, I guess he is now...!  Despite your heated cheeks, a flutter of excitement pressed against your chest at the thought and you broke eye contact with the yaksha.

"Yeah, you two need to talk about that," Aether laughed before turning serious.  "Be careful.  If you need help, Xiao can hear you, right?  You just need to pray to him and--"

You nodded, "I know," and gifted him with a grim smile.  "Don't worry about me.  Focus on finding your sister.  I'll figure out a way to deal with the Tsaritsa sooner or later."  You pulled him into a tight hug, yanking Paimon out of the air to envelope her in one too.  "I'll come back."

"That better be a promise you won't break."

"I swear it on my Granny's grave."  The three of you released one another and stepped back.  You waved them goodbye as they ran in the direction of the funeral parlor before turning to Xiao.  "So..."

Xiao crossed his arms and shifted his weight onto his other foot, closing his eyes in a somewhat pensive manner.  "Is there anything you wanted to do before you leave?"

#xiao x reader #genshin x reader #xiao genshin impact #genshin impact xiao #genshin impact #zhongli genshin impact #childe genshin impact #tartaglia genshin impact

[ecclais-fouoras]

Falling for someone like you

Chapter 9 ? What a day

Previous chapter here

Tags : fluff and slight smut warning ⚠️

The next day went swiftly, you both had a great time at the mine and then the museum, afterwards you both went out for dinner, in the small restaurant she had spotted before. Wilhemina offered to pay since you had already done so much for her those few days. "I insist baby..you've been amazing and I was the one who suggested it... Let me get this one"

"Okay fine...don't make a habit out of it you know I love to spoil you, my darling" you had responded placing your hand on her cheek. That night you had gone to bed early, exhausted from the day spent. Your lover laid by your side, your arms around her protectively and her leg draped over your body, and fingers upon your collarbones. "Y/n ?"

"Mm ?" "What are we gonna do tomorrow ? I tried to find something to vis..."

"Amusement Park"

"Huh ?"

"Tomorrow that's what we're doing"

"Oh...you do kn..."

"I checked if it was something you could do, and there are many attraction available"; "Good..." She said before yawning. "Oh baby sleep you're tried"

"I don't want this day to end"

"It doesn't have to...in your mind never" You turned slightly, putting your hand around her hip and under her head, and hers went to your neck. Your legs found the spot between hers and the one still on top of your body. On Sunday you woke up a little bit early to pack stuff in the car before traveling to the park, your girlfriend watching the landscape pass by the cars window. Your eyes fixated on the rood and right hand in hers on her thigh. You arrived and went inside. The place was kinda crowded but since Wilhemina couldn't stand for too long waiting wasn't a problem, you could easily enter attraction in another line. "I hate their faces when they see me cut the line" she said growling from anger and you caressed her hair while explaining "Hey baby... You're not cutting line, your simply taking another one. If they don't like it they can try and live all their life in a body that aches like yours. They'll see if taking that line is worth the trouble."

"I guess you're right"

"I am...if they aren't happy about it they can suck my dick"

"OH so they can but you barely let me do it ?" You playfully feigned being offended and slightly pinched her arm. "That's not even true.."

"It is. Whenever I wanna do it you don't pack"

"Well I'm not going to pack every single day love"

"Well at least some of them baby"

You giggled and subconsciously started walking towards a small Russian mountain.

"Are you up for that mina ?"

"Of course. I'm up for anything", "You Sure ? It seems pretty scary". "It's not. Besides if it wear it would say not for people with back problems"

"Okay okay... Well when you throw up just make sure it's not while the wind is in our way."

"Haha very funny"

:read more:

She said as you took her hand and leaded her to the side line, after a few minutes you got in the seats. Wilhemina held your hand a little tighter than usual, so you nuzzled behind her ear and told her she was more than safe with you. She relaxed a bit and then screams and squeals of joy were the only thing that could be heard. You both moved throughout the park, doing things left and right, pointing at beautiful landscape and designs. You stopped at a flying swing and encouraged wilhemina to come with you and do it together. But she didn't seam to keened on it. Even as you took her hand and tugged her towards it she held her ground. The mushroom tower started to rise and everyone started cheering as the chair flew around in circles and people moved in their chairs."Look it's fun honey" "It's for kids."..."No. It's not. Watch there are plenty of adults her and besides it didn't bother you in the flying elephants."

"That was different"

"Absolutely not, look if it's because you don't stand the movements it's okay, but at least tell me"

"I do stand it" you went closer to her, your hands on her hips as you kissed her cheeks "Babe tell me what the real problem is, no bullshit please"

"I don't have. Anywhere to put my cane in there."

"Well we can leave it in the entrance"

"I'd rather not"

"Why, you don't need it during the ride, and I'll get it for you at the end baby"

"Who knows what will happen during the ride. I don't want to find it broken, not only because you gifted it to me, but because it is my life, I refuse to let it be broken or lost by those incompetent people"

"Hey..hey no need to insult anyone here, baby I know that, but just like when you go to bed you leave it to the side, you can let them take care of it"

"I..."

"Baby I promise nothing bad will happen"

"How can you do that"

"I'll make sure it doesn't, do you trust me ?"

"Of course I trust you. I just don't trust anybody else"

"But you learned how to trust me, so maybe you can try and give a little trust to that"

"Fine. One session"

"Yay ! I promise you'll love it" You said as you both went to it, and as soon as wilhemina was sited you went up to the people managing the attraction and asked them to keep her cane during the ride.

"Oh and by the way. If anything happens to it. Even the slightest impact, i will make sure you all lose your job, and ruin your reputation so much no one will go to a park that is unacceptable with disabled people."

"..we..yes. well, we will take good care of it"

"You better do." You went back and sat just next to Wilhemina on the double sided chair. "Did you te..."

"It's okay baby. They'll handle it carefully"

"Oh okay..." The swing raised above the floor, and progressively your feets hanged down as they stopped touching ground and The ride began. the wind hit your face faster and faster and you both smiled and yelled as it spined. Wilhemina had to keep her hand on her skirt so it didn't lift up and give everyone else a great view and you giggled. You whispered in her ear as the world around you kept turning and turning. "Don't traumatize these children and get arrested for public nudity I'd hate to have to get you out of jail and runaway together..."

"Is it weird of it actually sounds good"

"Depends on which part"

"The last bit you fool"

"Well my anxiety could never...but keep dreaming darling" You both laughed and held hands as the chairs were turning even faster. At one point the air was to rapid through her hair and it detached her hairdo, you Heard her groan as her hair moved everywhere including her face while she looked at you. "Oh come on why"

"It's fine mina just let it go"

"It's a good thing this was not a wig"

You laughed again as You pushed the hair out of her face and saw her eyes shining with joy, you don't think you ever saw her so happy your whole life, and you thought maybe she never has been.

"I love you y/n"

She said as her hair flew behind her like a beautiful main. You couldn't help but put your hands around her face and bring her for a kiss. Your lips lingered on hers for a while, hands stoking her cheek and breathing linked and she pulled away questioning. "Why the kiss?"

"I just couldn't not kiss you right then"

"But in front of all these people ? Children"

"They won't die because I kissed the woman I love. They've seen people kiss before, they'll be fine"

"But the people here ?"

"I don't give a single fuck about them, I love you and they better get over it."

"I love you too" You enjoyed the rest of the ride, and after you got down you went to get wilhemina's cane for her, and as it took a little longer before she got out of it like the rest you heard someone tell her to get off the swing because people were waiting. You immediately turned around and went up to him, her stepped back a little "What did you just say ?"

"I..i said that this bitch needs to get off of the swing or learn to leave others their turn"

"You better shut the fuck up now, or else you really aren't going to enjoy the ride with a broken nose and bleeding face."

"Is that a threat ?"

"No it's a promise."

"It's unacceptable she ne.."

"And you need to stick your patience up your ass and fuck off. She'd be out of there in a second if you were able to keep your fucking mouth shut, now I bet you don't have any one in your life who has a disability except you because you are clearly having a stroke so let me tell you this. You say anything offensive to my wife. And I'll have your fucking ass in the floor."

"How dare you ? Telling all this in front of my kids"

"Maybe it'll teach them not to be complete assholes to people. Now your kids didn't say anything you did. So maybe you could thing about that"

"M'am you have to hurry..and keep your distance with the rest of the clients" The bold men tried to respond.

"But...i..i" ."

"we'll be out in a sec.. You. Save it. I honestly don't give a shit about your opinion, I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing it for her. Because if she weren't there I would have already been in jail for beating your ass. I'll say it once. Stay. Away. From. her. And keep your thoughts to your two inches long brain."

You went back to give her her cane and you both left the swings, glaring one last time at the men, who looked like he was about to piss his paints.

"Don't bother him, he's an ass"

"You don't always have to get in trouble for me"

"You're kidding right ? He was practically begging me to tell him off. Besides no one talks to you like this and gets away with it on my watch"

"He looked like a kid cought cheating have to admit watching you It was a little hot." She whispered in your ear

"Happy to oblige" you said as you pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and grazed her cheek. After that she bent forward a little and lifted her arms to try and do her hair back which you knew could hurt her.

"Hey hey no.. leave it" you said as you put your hands on hers.

"Let's sit over here baby"

You said while taking her to a small stair bench.

"Sir over here I'll sit on the one higher.

"Oh okay"

You settled her between your knees and asked for her hair tie.

"Do you really want to put it up again ? You know I love your hair down like this, you look so beautiful"

"I know you do, but it's our thing you know, I don't want it to become banal, I like that you're the only one who sees me like this, it makes it special"

"We have other things that are private darling, just because you go out with your hair down it doesn't mean it's not special anymore. I still get to see you in your nightwear or with a messy tee-shirt and a lazy bun."

"I know but still, I prefer keeping it up please"

"Okay baby no problem, can I put it up how I want ?"

"..fine yes, but no funny business"

"Of course" you said as you kissed her neck. You started sectioning her hair, brushing it through your fingers, huming softly. And you started breading, strands of hair between your hands, one over the other. Starting from up and then going down. Wilhemina relaxing visibly in your embrace, letting her head slightly back.

"Oooooooh, I am not the only traveler, who has not repaid His debt, I've been searching for a trail to follow again take me back to the night we met, and then I can tell myself what the hell am I supposed to do.

I had all and then most of you some and now none of you. Ooh

Take me back to the night we met.

"Here done"

"Can I sea ?"

"Let me just ..there "

"Oh..y/n"

"You don't like it ?"

"No..no i do like it.. it's different than what I'm used to"

"I figured you don't usually bread it because it's probably to painful, so I wanted to do something nice". "I love it y/n"

"You look beautiful"

She blushed softly before you kissed her lips.

Afterwards you were both a little hungry, so you took wilhemina to a candy shop, they sold many things like sugar canes and candy floss

You waited before asking Wilhemina what she wanted, and ordered a pomme d'amour for starters, and decided you would take candy floss to walk.

"It's going to be messy y/n we have to cut in"

"No..baby the whole thing is to bite it at the same time"

"I swear if you get my shirt stained"

"It won't willy"

"Oh you know I hate that nickname"

"That's why I use it willy"

She groaned and you both stood while you held the food.

"On three"

"Wait does that mean we bite on three or after three"

"Oh just bite it on three love"

"One."

"Two" you both said

"Three"

You both took a bite out of the apple, juices covering your taste buds and the sweet sugar envelope cracking.

You giggled with your mouths full  and finished the apple as much as you could, heads turning around to find a good angle and sharing the same space.

You noticed Wilhemina had sugar on her top lip corner.

"Baby you have a little something here"

"Oh..thank you"

She tried getting it off but it wasn't efficient. So you stepped closer.

"Here..let me do it" you said before setting down the rest of the dish and pressing her against you while your hands found her jaw and you kissed her soundly, she moaned a little when you bit her top lip. And grazed it with your tongue. It asked for entrance and Wilhemina granted it to you. You made out together for a little bit before parting a little and just holding each other for a while, pairs of hands around shoulders and hips.

After that you bought the candy floss and started walking around the park once again.

You both picked in each others sticks, exchanging looks, smiles and kisses.

Feeding each other bits every now and then.

After a dozen minutes you had both finished

And you kissed her again, sharing the taste of sugar between each other. Her cane pressed against her and her cheek in your hand.

"Thank you y/n"

"For what ?". "For giving my life purpose"

"Aw baby why do you have to be so damn cute ALL the time"

"I'm serious"

"Me too...and you don't need to thank me, you mean everything to me. Come here."

You said before taking her inside your arms, inhaling her sent and circling your arms around her frame. You pressed kisses in her hair and she place them in your neck.

"I love you so much Wilhemina"

She started to tear up a little bit before sniffling and hiding more inside your body.

"I mean it...baby you don't ever have to cry about that again..for I will hold you till the end of time itself. And in every one of your future life's I'll have you in my heart."

Time passed as you held each others before slowly getting going again.

You arrived at a shooting game, pushed animals were hanging from the walls and ceiling.

"Oh here let me win you something !"

"Oh come on darling these games are money black holes"

"Not if your good at it" she starting turning around and walking away

"Besides it's gun shooting you're not going to be any good at that love you don't own any. Also I think it's quite funny that yo..."

"Here m'am, ya just need to get those target over there to ya win"

"Huhh come on y/n, do you even know what I said"

"Ssh baby I gotta focus"

"Sshh? So you shush me now ?"

You ignored her rambling as your hands settled their positions and you started shooting the first few bullets hitting right on the targets, five bullets later you heard a ringing sound and the guy stunned by your performance started

"Well m'am I'll be honest I wasn't expecting ya to win on the first try. But here ya go, you can pick one of them little stuffed animals"

"Mm I'll have this one for my lady over there "

"Excellent choice...here there ya go ... have a nice day birdies"

You giggled and thanked him as you went up to Wilhemina and gave her the white furry bunny you had won.

"So since you were so supportive I'll just keep it to myself"

"...I'm sorry baby...i just didn't want you to waste your money" "I know"

You said as you handed her the toy, "it's for you baby", "Oh.. really ? Wow it's the first time my lover...well anyone wins me something at a game"

"Looks like I'm your first on lots of things babe"

"Heyy" she responded while jabbing your shoulder "Aww why do you always do that, I think I need to go check it at the hospital."

"Oh don't be A baby y/n"

"Well you're the one standing with a bunny in your arms so who's really the baby huh?" She frowned before she joined you in laughter. You walked hand in hand with her gift under her hand. The sun was starting to set slowly as you both chatted and enjoyed the rest of the day.

"Let's get married"

"...What ?"

"Here let's get married now"

"..y/n ? I don't understand...I'm not sure it's a good idea"

"Chill baby I meant there" you said as you pointed the small church in the middle of the other attractions.

"It says it celebrates unions and marriages, but nothing actually official"

"Oh .."

"So let's get married here darling. Let's have our unofficial official ceremony now"

You said as you led her to the counter

"Wait..."

"It's okay you don't want to"

"No..no I definitely want to, I'm just straddled, and what If they don't celebrate our 'marriage', baby there are no legal obligations here"

"Well I don't care if they don't celebrate 'Our' marriage. I'll find another fake church that does, but we have to try frist right ?"

She nodded and took your hand.

"Hello ladies how May I help you"

You both looked at each other and she smiled.

"We would like to get married." "Alright, are you married irl ?" "Nope"

"I have to inform you this is all outside of any actual legal union, this mariage is only valid here, and in your hearts."

"We know"

"Perfect then. Follow me" You arrived in a room filled with dressed and suits, the man asked if you wanted to pay before or after, you decided to do it now, Wilhemina didn't even notice you did. "I'll let you approximately 30 minutes to choose your formal wear and get dressed, an hour to prepare your vows and will Then accompany the... well brides walk down the aisle"

"If it's easier i don't mind being already there."

"Oh yes good. Anyway, I'll let you change, there are two different Rooms with staff so you don't see each other until marriage"

"Thank you". You both said before picking your outfits and trying on dresses and suits. After some time the man came back and took Wilhemina before letting you know where was the aisle. You waited there with the pastor, who didn't look used to celebrating marriages between women, but who wasn't mad about it. The music started and there was no one else in the church except for the few staff and you both. The doors opened and you saw your girlfriend walk arm in arm with the guy who welcomed you in. She looked ethereal, beautiful you had never seen such beauty before, her hair was in a beautiful hairdo, half down half up, a bunch of colored flowers in her hair and even a purple orange make-up.

She walked gracefully, her dress following her and a veil attached to her flower crown.

"Hey"

"Hey...wow, you...look... amazing...I'm so lucky" she blushed before being handled her cane and replied "Well...I must say You're not so Bad yourself y/n"

"Erm erm.. We are reunited today. To celebrate the union of two beautiful souls, linked together by life. Two hearts beating at the same pace, two bodies sharing one path. We are here, in the evening of this bright full day, to make the two women standing here, married, for better and for worst until death do them apart...If i may have the rings. " He took them and turned to Wilhemina "You will now exchange your vows"

"Oh..lord..sorry. this is the part I'm not going to be good at. But you already know that.

You know every part of me. Every single piece I've yet to discover. You hold them, in your arms. Steady, fierce, protective, bringing me the safe home i could have never hope to have. And yet here you stand. By my side every day. You hold my heart, and you make my sun hang, so bright yet so easy, in my sky. I didn't believe I could ever be liked. And you showed me unconditional love.

I didn't believe I was pretty, you made me feel like the most beautiful goddess in the world. I didn't believe I could feel it, but darling, you are the person I love like I would have never believed such feeling existed.. I am not good at expressing feelings, I find them to abstract, to volatile to be caught by my words. So I chose the ones of someone else that resonated with me so hard I believe them to be our own.

'You belong with me, my love. And I belong with you. We should live life side by side, In everything we do. You belong with me today, For now and ever more. And I belong with you, my dear, The one that I adore. We were meant to be, I know; It’s written in the stars. I love the way we are as one, And everything you are. Just think of all the moments Aligning for us to meet, So once we found each other, We were bound to feel complete. But this part of our story, We’ll sit and write together. Hanging memories on the wall,of the home we’ll share forever. So, both of us are certain. As we each say ‘I do’, That you belong with me, my love, And I belong with you." As she was done and the tears spilled from your eyes the pastor gave her a ring and spoke again.". "Now you will repeat after me as you place the ring on her, -I take you, y/f/n" "I take you y/f/n" ; "—to be my wedded Wife" "To be my wedded Wife"

"— to have and to hold from this day forward"; "To have and to hold from this day forward"

"—for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer''; "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer" ; "—in sickness and in health to love and to cherish,"; "in sickness and in health to love and to cherish,". "—till death do us part"

"Till death do us part"

She said as she finally settled the ring she picked out on you.

"You will now exchange your vows to your bride."

".. Wilhemina, every time I dreamed about love, it was always me finding it, searching, like a lost salior for my beloved boat.But little did I know, love would find me, it would find a way through my heart, in between the cracks of it, sunshine would bring healing. I remember when I first fell in love. The intensity, the warmth, I remember her smile, her hair. I remember how hard I loved. How wrong I may have, probably because of the youth. I remember how much it had hurt. When she was taken away from me. When I could no longer hold her body, when everything from her had immediately and indefinitely turned to dust. I remember how I cursed at the wind, yelled, screamed, cried, abused whatever God had been responsible for it, responsible for this pain love had brought. I swore, I swore to never love ever again. And I tried, I begged for love to leave me alone. I dreamed it would never hurt again. And I remember when I found you, and you found me. How utterly lost we had been. How stupid it was for me to think I would not fall for you.

For your smile.

For your laugh.

For your eyes.

For your tears of joy and sorrow. For every single beat of your heart. How stupid I had been, To think I would never fall again. But the truth is, I spent all these years climbing, to afraid, to hurt, to coward, to actually jump. But the more high you gain The longer and harder the fall. And man, did I fall. And man, how did it feel so terribly perfect to do so. And man, little did I know, you could make me fly. I wasn't scared anymore. It didn't hurt. It was the answer I had been searching for all of my life. The one I didn't know was within me all along, the one you brought to life. It was love, love was the answer. No Our, our love was the answer. I'm so completely and unapologetically in love with you. You, you, you it's always been you. And the stars are watching, they are jealous, and they talk because never in the eternal burn they experience, never did they see souls shine so bright. Our connection goes beyond speaking, you choose words to express what you want to say. I want words to choose how to express what I say.  In truth, we married each other that first night, in bed, we had been married by our bodies, but now we stand in history—what our bodies had said, mouth to mouth, we now said publicly, gathered together.

'I don’t love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz, or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:i love you as one loves certain obscure things, secretly, between the shadow and the soul. I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom but carries the light of those flowers, hidden, within itself, and thanks to your love the tight aroma that arose from the earth lives dimly in my body. I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where, I love you directly without problems or pride: I love you like this because I don’t know any other way to love, except in this form in which I am not nor are you, so close that your hand upon my chest is mine, so close that your eyes close with my dreams... We, unaccustomed to courage exiles from delight, live coiled in shells of loneliness, until love leaves its high holy temple and comes into our sight to liberate us into life. Love arrives and in its train come ecstasies, old memories of pleasure, ancient histories of pain. Yet if we are bold, love strikes away the chains of fear from our souls. We are weaned from our timidity, In the flush of love’s light, we dare be brave. And suddenly we see that love costs all we are and will ever be. Yet it is only love, which sets us free.'.. Today i stand here, as i will stand for as long as my fragile body allows me to, perhaps then I will sit, or lay, by your side my dear, always. And love within me blooms, and makes flowers from every cell in me grow. I will choose you over and over again love, I will hold you close, I will give you peace, I will bring you home. In me. In my heart."

"Now, for the ring.."

He gave you the one you'd picked for her, a thick golden string with amethyst, and Carnelian.

"-I take you, Wilhemina venable"

"I take you, Wilhemina venable"

"-to be my wedded Wife"

"To be my wedded Wife"

"- to have and to hold from this day forward"

"To have and to hold from this day forward"

"- for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer

"for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer"

"-in sickness and in health to love and to cherish,"

"in sickness and in health to love and to cherish,

"-till death do us part"

You finally slid the ring on her finger before saying.

"Till death do us part

"Perfect, you may now kiss the bide."

You turned to Wilhemina, picked the veil covering her face, lifted it and placed it backwards before taking she took her face in her hands and yours grabbed her hips, bending her slightly backwards before stealing her lips in the most beautiful and delicious kiss you both had the chance to share, oxygen wasn't even needed as your whole body experienced full Bliss, during the embrace you heard, no felt her mumble 'i love you' to which she know you replied by kissing her harder tumbling a little before parting away, faces close, smiles on both of your lips. You walked down the aisle tightly pressed together her hair darked than usual with the dim candle light. And as you went through the door, bells rang and you felt rice being thrown at you from somewhere you couldn't spot. Eventually you got outside, turned to your wife and spun her around before kissing for what would most definitely not be the last time of the day, body pressed together like it will be during your Wedding night.

When you came back home both of your touch yas tender yet urgent, you took no time to

Set your things, just immediately riding her of her day clothes and coat, slamming the door with your feet and taking her upstairs. Before the bedroom door you lifted her up over the threshold, "tradition is sacred my darling"

"Shut up and just make love to me"

Shortly you were both in your underwear, your body on top of hers, cradling her with kisses and caresses, your lips all over her body.

You began to take her nipple in your mouth and play with the other one, her back arched and she moaned loudly, you were starting to kiss your way down her body but she stopped you.

"I..I..want us to cum...together"

"I can't refuse my baby now"

You dragged down her body before teasing her inner thigh and kissing her clit, making sure she was wet enough, you went up her body again, your hand between her legs stating to work her up. Your own hand finding yourself, toying with your panties before sitting back and touching yourself for her to see. Once you were both ready you aligned both of your centers, and lowered yourself on her. Hearing a moan from both of your throats as the contact was a delightful bliss. Your moans filled the room as you rubbed your clitorises faster, wet sounds coming from the friction. "Uh..uH baby I'm getting close"

"..wait a bit for me.. can you do that ?"

"Uhh..yeah..yeaH" You doubled your efforts and before you knew it she was cumming all over you which triggered your own orgasm. You fell on her body, legs intertwined as your bodies sank into each others. Still catching her breath Wilhemina couldn't stop herself from laughing.

"...We got married...in an amusement park";

"We did baby...".

".....I love you";

"I love you too baby"

A/n: the italic pieces are bits of different poems, I couldn't settle for one, if you think cutting a poem is sacrilegious I'm sorry but I believe that Words and art is ment to be movements, live and change though our experiences of then, pieces of structure that you can use to build. your own.

#wilhemina venable #sarah paulson fanfiction #wilhemina venable x reader #sarah paulson characters #wilhelmina venable #soft!mina #ms venable

[amesstm]

Like A Movie

Characters: almost all of Class 1-A. Almost.

AN: Hello! I decided to venture to BNHA/MHA because this has been on my mind for a bit as of late. And I have some ideas for more AOT in mind! :)

You never expected that Bakugo Katsuki - aka that explosive hedgehog inside a human body - would ask you out on a date. Sure, you two had been on team building exercises together and survived several villain attacks with each other’s help, but there was also the rest of Class 1-A there. Yet, as you two spent more time together, you slowly began to admire him.

So, when Bakugo timidly asked you out, you were just as nervous. “U-uh, wait you’re asking me?”

Like a light switch, his mood changed to his common anger, “Yeah, you got a problem with it?”

“No!” You said, raising your hands slightly to show you weren’t upset by it. “I’m just taken aback by it.”

“Well, get used to it. I’m taking you to the amusement park since I’ve heard you’ve never been.” His eyes turned away, a clear sign of hiding something.

Your eyes widened as you took note of the subconscious mannerism. You’d only told... Kirishima. Gosh darn it, you’ll have to smack him later. But this also meant they had talked about you, which neautralized what could’ve been possible damage. “When will this be?”

“Tomorrow.” Then, class started soon after he said that, leaving you in a dazed state.

Since you all lived in the dorms, word spread fast. You were carrying out your Friday night ritual of self-care, when you heard a knock on the door. A face mask on your face, you had to withhold a sigh as you opened the door. Immediately, all the girls started swarming you with questions; they ranged anywhere from which amusement park; what you’d wear; if you wanted to kiss him on the first date. Overwhelmed, you became a blushing, flustered mess.

“Okay, okay. I think we’ve all overwhelmed Y/N enough,” Jirou muttered. You wanted to kiss her in that moment, but then remembered the last question. Once again, your face reddened.

“You’re right; we’re sorry, Y/N. But we’d love to help you get ready for your date!” Momo added, ever the voice of reason.

Mina jumped with a fist in the air, “Yeah! We want you to look as cute as possible to make that Bakugo blush!”

Through the face mask, you sputtered out. “Ah, thank you all. But that won’t be necessary since I already chose something to wear.”

Ochako’s face lit up, “Can you show us?”

You smiled with a nod. Opening your closet, you pulled out a short, white dress. It would look especially nice since your skin was beginning to tan and it’d compliment your hair.

After several nods and compliments, you felt much more confident for your date with Bakugo. Then, the morning came. Your skin was glowing, your hair was shining, and everything was amazing. Thank goodness. You slipped on your dress, some comfortable shoes, and gathered some money just in case.

~

To say you were nervous around Bakugo was an understatement. Some elderly woman, around Ochako’s height, complimented you two as being cute together. All you could do was stutter out some alien language. Beside you, Bakugo was blushing. Was it the sun or were you just hot from embarrassment? Did Bakugo even like your dress? Well, he blushed so that was a sure sign.

As you two entered the amusement park, there were shops for candy and food everywhere. Some rollercoasters and rides could be seen in the distance, with the water park in a separate space. “What do you want to do first, Bakugo?”

He smiled, “I want to get on some rides first. Have you ever ridden a rollercoaster?”

When you gave a slight shake of the head, Bakugo basically picked you up and ran towards a rollercoaster. It was called the Diamondback and it was the tallest one there. As you looked at where the top practically reached the sky, you gulped. Bakugo was excitedly looking at you, but you could only pray for your safety.

“Hey, you don’t need to be scared,” Bakugo reassuringly said. His usually fiery eyes were demure, soft, and concerned. “You’re one of the best students at UA; you’ll be able to make it out safe if anything happens.”

You gave a soft smile, happy to see a softer side to his rough edge. “Thank you, Bakugo.”

A blush rose to his face and then he laughed it off, “Plus you’ll be with me. So nothing bad will happen at all.”

Before you knew it, you were locked into the ride. The ride started slowly, and then took a fast, wild turn. You screamed and yelped, “Bakugo, hold my hand.”

His sweaty, caramel-smelling palm took yours instantly. He smiled as you screamed. When you reached the top, muttering “no, no, no” under your breath, he started laughing. Once the ride was over, Bakugo had to nudge you so you both could exit. Your legs were jittery and you were still shaking from the thrill.

“As much as I loved it, we don’t have to do more. I don’t know if you’ll be able to take it,” Bakugo challenged. You didn’t want to take the bait, since you were already wobbling as you walked and clutching your stomach.

But you took the bait. “No! We’re getting on the next one!”

“If you need to hold my hand again, I won’t mind,” he said, standing next to you as you held onto him to stay standing.

You blushed and whispered, “When did you get so flirty?”

After a few hours of rollercoaster riding, you should’ve stopped. Your body was no longer having fun but mentally, the excitement of the drop grew on you. No longer were you screaming in fear, but from enjoyment. No doubt, you still had that shaky feeling after getting off, but it was now seen in a different light.

You laughed, having conquered all the rides available. Bakugo smiled, his hand still in yours, just watching you beam. It was a few hours before they would have to return to the dorms - unless they wanted Mr. Aizawa to murder them - so they started walking back towards the entrance.

“Bakugo, I want to thank you for this,” you grinned ear to ear.

“Katsuki. You can call me, Katsuki. And of course, it’s about time.”

An initial look of surprise turned into a small smile, “Okay Katsuki, thank you again.”

The two of you were towards the entrance now when you eyed a cute stuffed (favorite animal). In fact, you slowed down to look at it. Katsuki, who had a quick pace, noticed. His eyes followed yours to where the stuffed animal was, hanging above a basketball game. “Do you want it?”

“O-oh, it’s fine. We need to get goi-“

“I’m getting it for you,” he declared and stepped towards the little game. The person in charge of the game provided Bakugo with three tries to get at least two through the hoops. If he could get three in, he could get the big stuffed toy you were eyeing.

With a confident “tch,” Katsuki threw the balls with ease. Each ball landed in perfect sequence one after the other. An impressed look reached the host’s face and he asked Katsuki which prize he wanted. The best student at UA pointed to the animal you wanted like he was simply going down the aisle of a grocery store. Aka, he acted like this happened easily and all the time.

A stranger screamed, “Whoa! So manly!”

Katsuki smirked from that comment. He lifted the big stuffed animal and offered it to you with pride. Eagerly, you took it in your arms and squeezed it with joy. You didn’t notice but while your face was buried in the softness of the toy, he smiled at how lucky he was.

The two were waiting at the train station, sitting side by side. “Thank you again for this, Katsuki. I loved it!”

Your happy face made him blush. He averted his eyes, “Tch, don’t mention it.”

“I mean it. It was like a movie,” you smiled, looking at his flustered form.

“Really?” He sounded unsure, like you’d make a fool out of him at any moment. But when you nodded, a small smile graced his face. “So do you mind if we end our date like one, too?”

Now you were red, “I-I mean, if you want to.”

He didn’t say anything, but responded by leaning in. His eyes were beginning to close and so were yours. You met each other’s lips and it was like his quirk was working on its own. It was explosive. Once you retracted, you heard a small gasp.

Looking around, you both saw the rest of your class in poorly dressed costumes. It was Mina who did it, as made evident by her wide eyes and hand over mouth. You facepalmed, embarrassed by being watched. Next to you, crackles of tiny explosions made themselves known.

#bakugou imagine #katsuki bakugo imagine #mha bakugou #bnha bakugo katsuki #bakugou x reader #bakugou x y/n #bakugou x you #bakugou katsuki #my hero academy fanfiction #my hero academia #bnha bakugou #bnha imagines

[icecreamsundayonajulyafternoon]

Alcina Dimitrescu/f reader

+some well meaning Chris

I also posted this on my ao3 account Homoeroticmicrowave as a part of my resident evil oneshots book the link to which is : https://archiveofourown.org/works/32351686/chapters/80202100

For context in this the reader works with Chris but got kidnapped by Alcina and ended up bonding with her

Anyway behold My dignified shit post:

Alcina tilted your head up by your chin with one of her claws with a gentle sort of care “I might just be enamoured by you my little maiden” her voice had a certain air to it as the power she carried held strong though the coldness it had been coddled by withered away.

“And I am just glad to have met someone as truly brilliant as you are you make my heart feel like it’s faltering” Alcina’s tensed muscles and rigid posture seemed to deflate as her claws retracted.

“My little human girl you truly are one of a kind you are too good for this world and it’s cruelty that it afflicts you with”

Her hands incased yours as she held them so lightly ”Stay with me” Alcina’s eyes steadily gazed into your own “I want you to stay with me in this castle forever with me. I want you to marry me and be mine and let me be yours”

You almost thought she was joking but Alcina Dimitrescu would never make such a joke and to claim that she had would be ludicrous it was simply not in her nature to be so brash with her humour. However, declarations received a treatment that was a far cry to how her delicate words of amusement were handled

“I can give you a life worthy of living for you. I’ll have you adorned in whatever clothes you would see fit to clad your body and express your beauty in all of its forms, I’ll have you living a luxurious life that would make a deity envious, your every desire would be fulfilled if you only ask and I promise you I will give you everything if only to see you relish the world you live in” there was a certain warmth to her tone that she never previously expressed to you.

”It’s a pitiful world full of devastation and tyranny and I will not have it harm you from hence forth”

You released one of your hands from her gentle grasp so that your hands could reach out

“You make me feel pink and small and like I’m fluttering like my feet could rise from the ground and I’d float in the air like some sort of silly, little cartoon character when they’re smitten by someone” you felt overheated and uncomfortable as you spoke but you continued

“I would stay with you whether or not you had riches to offer me. Castles and gowns and jewellery is all very lovely but it’s not what keeps me yearning. I want you Alcina, I want you and I want to spend every moment that I can with you” you smiled despite your inability to even glimpse her face. A coward you were and yet a lovesick fool you were all the same.

“I found a home with you Alcina.” Your eyes finally reunited with hers and as she looked at you, you had never felt more loved than in that moment. “Let me be your home too….let me marry you” the words caressed her heart and she moved your arms so that they fell around her neck and she lifted you up by your waist. “I treasure every moment I have with you my love” she whispered. “Let this world we’ll build last forever”

When you had a moment alone while getting ready you radioed into whatever members of your team were still alive and had their radios still working and on them “So I’m not gonna be able to go back with you guys but everything’s pretty good so uh yeah I don’t really know how to explain the predicament- no that’s too negative a word- situation- no, no this is not a situation that makes it sound like there’s some kind of situation- what I meant to say the events that preceded my current happenings can be perceived as a little odd however everything is fine, goodbye forever”

You threw your radio out of the window and into the snow and presumed it had broke. Chances were your teammates would not have heard your message but it was still polite to let them know you were alive and well and would simply just not be joining them on their way home or anything at all again ever because you were about to be married to a giant, homocidal lady. They could be angered by your supposed ‘disrespectful’ tone concerning how you address everyone and didn’t go over formalities but you were gifted with this thing known as manner which influenced your decision to inform them of your lack of presence on the return journey before hand.

You were just considerate like that.

You gushed over the dress you had been so graciously gifted. It truly was a work of art tailored just for you. Each detail of it was made with a passionate precision that had you gawking with glee as you admired every segment of material woven into the fabric.

It was a true marvel and you felt like a piece of artwork yourself that would be displayed with great care in an art museum. You looked like a glamorous painting that was created with such integral beauty that the expertise of the artist could not be measured by any title or prideful words.

A sense of pride ghosted your senses and you found your fingertips brushing the mirror with such a light touch that you couldn’t br sure your skin had made contact with the mirror at all. You were so subconsciously convinced what you were looking into was glazed with deceit and if you touched the mirror you would break the illusion of beauty and your true form of much lesser looks would be restored. But that didn’t happen and for a moment you could sympathise with narcissus as much like them you found yourself fawning over the being of beauty that you weren’t entirely sure was yourself.

You were truly a bride who’s beauty was beyond befitting of any title that could be bestowed upon you and you thought yourself to be belonging with angels of artwork, your place was dancing with the muses who were worth more than simple adoration and worship.

You weren’t a god but you were blessed by Aphrodite’s touch and you were sure simple folk could not help but be too mesmerised to experience jealousy at your envious appearance.

If it were a sin to be enraptured in revelling in your own appearance than you would relish the hellfire that rained down to scorch your flesh and soul. You’d paint such a pretty picture dancing in the misery of hell gifted by sins. Lucifer had treated you well and you thanked them for gracing you with what God couldn’t.

Alcina’s voice rang out like a dove from behind the door and lulled you away from the mirror your attention had been stolen by. “Perhaps you could be so gracious as to adorn me with your presence”

You turned to face the direction of her voice “of course anytime my love” you said earnestly.

“I won’t look at you now nor do I want you to see me just yet but I couldn’t help but to speak to you just for a moment beforehand…I want it to be special my dear and I won’t want for it to be any less special than either of us want for it to be because you deserve everything you want and yet lover I find myself needing to be selfish and needing to hear your voice”

”Alcina it’s okay” you couldn’t help but to let a giggle escape you “I can’t help but feel nervous to see you and yet I can’t wait to I love you and tonight is special because it’s our night it’s special because it marks the first day I get to be with you forever”

You head Alcina let out a small laugh tainted by an agitating anxiousness. “So do I”

You felt breathless as you stepped out into the night. Donna your apparent personal seamstress and now flower girl guided you to where it would take place.

Alcina stared as though she had witnessed something that couldn’t be explained by any science or rationality. While she herself was a sight to take in when she saw you she felt as though her childhood dreams were coming true as you seemed mythical.

When your eyes met her you felt like you were falling and you didn’t want to stop. Not for a moment. She was gorgeous. A wedding dress perfectly fit for her graced her elegant features. She looked ethereal and you wanted to reach out to touch her. Each step you took seemed so slow. Far too slow for your liking. You wanted to be in her arms and soon.

When you did finally meet her while tradition forbid you to kiss her just yet you at least reached out to hold her hands. Your eyes glistened with joy all of the love you had barely fit in your body as it threatened to burst out of you in bounds of laughter and tears. You felt so much and you wanted to feel like that forever. You wanted for this moment to last forever. You wanted to be held by her forever.

Your hair seemed so gorgeous and lustrous in the glowing moonlight. Fairy lights decorated the trees surrounding you and fireflies twirled in the breeze. To think you would see such beauty and wonder in what had once been a placed that had brought you such terror and havoc.

Alcina held you tenderly as though she couldn’t quite believe this was happening. She wouldn’t be isolated in that feeling as you were swarmed by disbelief, you didn’t shun all of the conflicting emotions you were feeling. Not for a moment. You welcomed them and you couldn’t help but tingle with the relief of any negative thoughts or surprise being overwhelmed with ecstatic delight. You had thought of marriage in the general sense before when considering where the events of your life might lead you and while it wasn’t conventional not anything close to what you could have ever expected you would gladly spend the rest of your days residing in Dimitrescu castle with Alcina. She really was one marvellous woman.

You had insisted on certain songs being played at your wedding from fun songs you had once joked about being played at your wedding to irresistibly romantic guilty pleasures that you would have been teased mercilessly for an infinite amount of times had you ever admitted you would want played. But that was in another lifetime and while Alcina may not always understand certain aspects of your interests she was always glad to watch you indulge in them.

You two danced, chests pounding with a romantic joy you had never thought existed in the way you felt it. As your arms wrapped around her neck as she lifted you up you couldn’t help but think how a much younger version of yourself would feel giddy at knowing how in love you were. Though knowing your child self the word ‘gross’ would also most likely make an appearance as the topic of love.

You admired every detail of her face and when you kissed her you thought about how you couldn’t wait to spend the rest of your life with her. However long you had would be amazing as long as it was spent by your side whether it be one day or one hundred years you wanted to spend it all with her. You had been bewitched by her and you couldn’t be happier.

Then your moment was interrupted by the sounds of gunfire. Violence and stubborn hatred truly had a way of ruining even the most kindest and beautiful of moments.

Alcina scooped you up and ran, throwing you over her shoulder and quickly moving so that you may escape the presence of aggression and be safe in the sanctuary she made for you.

Over her shoulder you saw Chris running, bullets blazing as he ran with a determined rage. You thought he would have been long gone by now. You had convinced Alcina to give up her part in aiding Miranda’s plan. Surely you could convince her to let these people leaves unscathed.

You moved in front of Alcina, attempting to quell her anger and bitter bloodlust with promises of trust and hope. You begged her to at least let you try to form some kind of truce so that you would not have to live knowing people you cared about destroyed each other. Hesitantly she let you go. Though her reluctance was apparent and she looked so eager to snatch you up and lock you far from those who put your life at risk.

You left the castle and approached the direction you were adamant Chris and probably his team would soon be.

Geez he really went to the effort to risk his life searching for your and stealing you back with him all so he could lecture you on your lack of formality and far too casual tone when you had radioed in as well as your blatant disrespect, poor execution of the mission and your inconsideration of the expense of the property you had been given. Sounds about right. It was a mistake to attempt some kind of means of communication really. And now look what happened your wedding was ruined.

You raised your hands up to show you meant no harm when Chris and found and approached you.

There was a moment between Chris properly processing you were there and him first catching sight of you where it felt like everything had been put on pause. He eyed you suspiciously as though you were some sort of distraction, a part of a malicious scheme Alcina had made in order to proficiently destroy any hope of Chris’s rescue attempt and mission succeeding.

”Hey” you waved awkwardly in a hopeless attempt to break through  the immense pressure and tension of the situation “nice to see you’re still alive and stuff that’s cool” your voice rang out through the silence. “I’m alive too which is fun looks like we have that in common”at that point you were just throwing dumb words at him in a blatant attempt to get him to respond in a way that wouldn’t suck.

Chris grabbed you and pulled you into a vice-like hug. You felt him lift you up “It’s good to see you….Where is that thing? What did that bitch do to you?” He seethed.

”Nothing she actually had a pretty good sense of hospitality-did you come here on your own without anyone-“

He had you back on the ground but his grasp never left you as he shifted his grip so that he now had a steady hold on your shoulders. “This isn’t the time to act like nothings wrong if you’re injured or you’ve been drugged with something you need to tell me” his hold on you was just as secure as it was when he hugged you even if he no longer had you squished against him.

“I’ve not been hurt really I’m not lying to you Chris” you looked him in the eyes and tried to communicate with your facial expressions that you were telling the truth.

Chris sighed slightly but nodded “good, we need to leave we can continue this conversation when we’re safe-“

You put a hand on his chest to put some distance between you both “look Chris I’m- I’m not leaving. I’m staying here” Chris looked a mixture of perplexed and horrified.

He stepped closer to you so he was practically leering over you “what are you talking about! We’re going. Now.”

“No Chris I’m not. I love Alcina and I’m not leaving her. I won’t. You can leave I’ll make sure she won’t come after you just as I made sure she no longer interfered with Ethan finding Rose but I won’t go with you”You stared defiantly at him as you stood as tall as you could despite him towering over you.

”Alcina? Is that what that bitch got you to call her!You think you love that thing! Jesus Christ what did she do to you!” Chris looked disgusted at your words.

“Hey man I don’t ruin your weddings do I the least you could do is let me go back to her-“ Chris held your arm tightly preventing you from leaving as he radioed into someone.

”I’ve acquired S/n. Clearly they’re under some kind of influence- they must have been brainwashed or put in some form of hypnotic state!” Chris hypothesised to the person on the other end of the radio upon your immediate reluctance to leave. The moment you suggested you had no interest in leaving he stopped talking directly to you. “We’ll meet you there soon we’ll need a medic and possibly some means of restraint for them” he tucked the radio back into his pocket and turned his attention back on you.

“I’m all here I’m just genuinely okay to stay here” you implored him to recognise that you were in fact all there.

Chris ignored your attempts to defend your sanity and slung you over you shoulder. “Fuck are you doing!” You yelped at his sudden action.

“I don’t know what that freak did to you but I won’t let you suffer! I won’t leave you in this hell hole! We can fix this I promise!” He seemed so genuinely concerned and you understood why but you just needed him to listen. You knew how ugly this was going to end up if he didn’t.

”Stop calling her that! You know nothing of her! There’s nothing to fix! She’s been nothing but kind to me! Please just put me down and leave!” Your pleads were wasted as he stopped responding to you.

Panicking you thrashed in his stone like grip even going so far as to try to bite and scratch him. He grunted in response to your little attack and repositioned you so that you couldn’t easily hurt him and if you did you wouldn’t do much damage.

Your fears were ignited when you heard Alcina’s voice rampaging through the wind. Chris cursed and you began begging you to put him down and leave you. Unfortunately, he interpreted your words as an attempt to sacrifice yourself for his sake, which he refused to go along with.

He didn’t let go of you as he began running and quickly grabbing a gun which he fired at Alcina with a precision you wish he lacked. You started screaming begging for them not to fight but your words crumbled as your weeping shouts were overpowered by the insatiable violence that inevitably occurred due to both parties refusal to attempt any form of reason.

While you understood the motivation both of them had and if you heard one perspective by itself you could easily side with it if the other one remained unknown to you.

Chris set you down by a tree after tying you to it. You blubbered through your messy tears that he needed to stop and listen to you for just a moment. You were desperate for them to stop before it was too late but just as always you were ignored as Chris left you to fight Alcina.

Your thoughts flurried as paranoia and fear truly sunk in and you were sure one or both of them would die. As you were sure you would lose everything to the cruelty of bloodshed. Time seemed to drag on and you struggled to release yourself from the rope that held you securely. You were so sure that one of them were dead as horrific sounds seeped into the cold night air.

Your fears proved true when you heard Alcina’s screams rattle throughout the air. Your breath hitched. What just happened-

Your head snapped at the sound of footsteps and your whole body felt like it was burning as you saw Chris’s weathered face.

He untied you and lifted you up into his arms that seemed to tremble ever so slightly. “What-what just” you could barely get the words out of your mouth. It couldn’t have possibly meant what-no there had to be some other explanation. Any other explanation.

”She won’t hurt you anymore” with those words you fell a part.

Chris remained silent as you sobbed. He just kept walking. He was sure you were just experiencing some kind of false mourning as the result of whatever Alcina had done to you. And yet guilt threatened to creep at the doubt that teased the back of his mind. He held back his thoughts and focused on getting you home.

#lady dimitrescu x reader #lady dimitrescu x y/n #lady dimitrescu resident evil #resident evil 8 #resident evil village #resident evil #biohazard #chris redfield #alcina dimitrescu #lgbt girl #resident evil fanfic #angst #wlw #lgbtqia

[rochiomaru]

Destiny

I am on the Numancia, sailing towards Mariejois. Just the thought of that place causes bile to burn the back of my throat. I spit over the side of the boat and grimace in distaste. If there was ever an epitome for the tragedy that has befallen me in my lifetime, it is found within its walls. I swing my head back and roll my shoulders as a wide sneer plasters itself on my face. I begin to laugh as I think of the fools living there, and the Marines I am on my way to meet within its gates.

Despite the bitter taste in my mouth, a smile finds its way on my face while I consider the events of the last couple of years since Rosinante’s betrayal. I still cannot stand to be in the snow to this day, but do manage to find my way to Minion island at the same time each year since he died. I can feel that wretched heat that always threatens to fill my eyes when I think of my broth… of the traitor lying on the frozen ground. I try to tell myself that my chest tightening and the sudden tightness of my throat is simply anger. I know it’s a lie, but that will have to be sufficient until I return there next time.

As my ship comes closer to the harbor, I can see that other ships have already docked within the walls surrounding the city. It surprises me that they would allow so many pirates into such proximity to such a supposedly holy place. I realize that these pirates are essentially held out as dogs on leashes, but even a trained dog can still bite its owner, should the mood strike it. The thought of the shichibukai turning on the marines makes me laugh as I picture bloody corpses and gore splattered along the pristine walls of Mariejois.

Once the Numancia has properly anchored and I give word to my crew that I am disembarking, I use my strings to fly the last few hundred meters to the shore. I see no need to entrust my family to the marines, even if I do hold all the cards in this particular game. I have been burned once by these bastards; they shall not get the chance to do it again. Until I know more about what being a warlord entails, my ship will stay outside of the walls.

Once I land on the dock, I see Sengoku and Tsuru standing there with about a dozen marines. I stop to stretch my arms over my head and crack my neck. I want them to realize exactly who it is they are up against, if they are planning an attack. I am fairly certain this was not a trap, as the invitation to join the warlords did not come from this loser. I have spoken with people, much higher up the ranks than Sengoku. He is, after all, simply their puppet. I begin to laugh at the thought and walk towards them slowly. If they are in a hurry, they can come to me.

The one they call “the Budda” confronts me first. He has the same look of hatred that Rosi...the Commander had that day as he stops me from getting closer to the entryway. I stop and look down at him, though I must admit the jackass isn’t that much shorter than me, but enough that I can smirk and allow some haki to push against him. Since submerging myself more into the underworld after that incident, I have found even greater information about my enemies. It’s quite useful what power and intimidation can buy. Now that my bloodlust is fully unleashed, no one is willing to stand against the Joker. Several marines were more than helpful in giving me details as to how my former brother came to be raised by this man and set against me.

I lean forward and speak, “Greetings, Fleet Admiral. How thoughtful of you to come and welcome me.” I cock my head to the side and let my tongue fall out as the sarcastic words practically drip with venomous undertones. My mind is beginning to scream and my thoughts are hard to control, but I have come to accept my own madness these past couple of years. Though I plan to burn the world, and these fools with it for what they have done, I can bide my time.

His face turns a beautiful shade of purple as anger wells within him. A vein becomes visible on his temple and he grits his teeth while he slowly begins to speak, “Captain Donquixote, of the Donquixote Pirates. Welcome to the Royal Shichibukai…”

I watch in amusement and he appears to begin choking somewhat. A half sobbing noise comes from within the man’s throat before he coughs and forces out the next sentence. “Your bounty of 340,000,000 is hereby exonerated.” 

I spy a solitary tear in his eye and cannot control the laughter that comes from my chest. I am so enraged that I want to slaughter everyone on this damned island. How dare he act like the victim?! This is the fucking bastard that set my precious brother against me and forced me to remove him from this life! I have no biological family to speak of due to this piece of trash in front of my face! And he has the utter gall to consider himself the one wronged?

The laughter comes louder and deeper from within me and soon I am doubled over with it. I have to laugh to keep myself from flying into a murderous rampage. The time to massacre this vermin has not come yet. However, I do not think Sengoku appreciates my benevolence. The harder I laugh, the more outraged he becomes.

Finally he screams and begins to shimmer. His body is morphing as he grows and turns golden, and his men take arms against me. My laughter stops instantly, as if cut by a blade. Quicker than anyone’s eye can see, I engage my strings and every man he has is strung in the air by their throat. My smile is gone, and I hold my right hand outward with slender fingers extended. Tsuru keeps calm and steps between myself and the Budda, all of our eyes look upwards to the struggling soldiers as blood begins to drip softly from the wounds digging into their tender flesh.

“Do not test me. I did not come here to fight, but I will finish this,” I inform them coldly, leaving no room for doubt as to my power. The voices I have come to live with and that own my soul are screaming to end the lives of the men hanging from my strings. They push me to make an example of these rats for having attempted to strike out against me without provocation. My teeth are grinding tighter and faster as I lose myself in the chaos within my own tormented mind, and my fingers begin to curl which causes the threads to tighten their hold on the men.

Tsuru puts her wrinkled hand on my arm and I hear a slight gasp come from her lips, but suddenly everything goes quiet within my mind. I search for the demons that haunt me every moment, but they seem to have withdrawn from my consciousness. Slowly I meet her eyes and she says softly, “You are not what I imagined you to be, brat.” I swallow a lump in my throat as a warm feeling settles in my chest. Though they really look nothing alike, there is something in her brown eyes that reminds me of my mother. 

The moments seem to tick off endlessly as we consider one another and she then admonishes in a louder voice, “Maybe you should quit with these games and we can get to business, eh?” The fearlessness of this old woman as she looks me in my face amuses me greatly and I smile at her. I drop my hand, causing the soldiers to fall from the sky. I can’t help but to chuckle at the sounds of them moaning while trying to stand and see to the superficial cuts and bruises on their worthless necks. It isn’t like I did any permanent damage.

"Anything for you, grandmother,” I chirp while blowing the older woman a kiss. She grunts and rolls her eyes at me, but I am sure I see a small smile in the corner of her mouth. I cannot help but to like her, and offer her a smile in return. She is so very interesting, and I think these meetings may not be nearly so dull if she is involved. 

Sengoku, on the other hand, still looks like he wants to kill me. The smile fades from my face and I clench my hands at my sides. She notices my change and quickly turns towards him. “Come on, you old fool! It’s time to start the meeting,” she snaps while grabbing a hold of his collar, causing him to bend forward. She then drags him behind her and into the building, the marines staggering after them.

I watch the door they disappeared through and continue to stew about the confrontation with that bastard. If it wouldn’t be so damn inconvenient to my plans, I would use my strings to strangle the life out of Sengoku here and now! However, I know that with this meeting to officially make me one of the Royal Shichibukai, I will have to have more interactions with him similar to the one we just experienced. 

The only joy I get is knowing the influence I hold over the Elder Stars. To watch that piece of shit have to bow to my whims simply because of who I can make a call to if he displeases me, almost makes all of this worth it. I cannot help but to laugh at the thought of him pissing himself in fear at what the Stars may do to him or his underlings if the Elders are pushed too far, or pressed with the right information. Perhaps Sengoku shouldn’t have turned the Commander against me, hmmm? Fucking bastard.

I take a few more deep breaths and close my eyes. I notice that the voices have returned to my mind, and though the reprieve was amusing, I revel in the chaos beginning to swarm in my mind. I have lived with it for so long, that I honestly don’t know how to react to life without them now. After a few more breaths, I realize it’s time to move on. I head into Navy Headquarters.

In the time it takes to enter the building and walk the hallway to where I am to meet the others, I prepare myself for whatever may come once I enter the room with the Warlords. Though I fear none of them, I know they are all powerful pirates and need to be on guard for any possible plots against myself or my family.

With a wide grin in place, I enter the room. It is time to step into the next phase of my destiny.

#donquixote doflamingo #tsuru #my demons #drabbles #sengoku the buddha #doffy #love that flamingo #donquixote rosinante #shichibukai

[lokidrabbles]

The Trouble (Loki x Reader)

Loki comforts reader through an intense episode

A/N: I’m always just a sucker for couples who comfort each other through this type of struggle. As always, Gender Neutral Reader!

Warnings: ANGST, implications of a depressive episode (this does not explicitly mention depression, but does have a lot of symptoms associated)

“They’re not in today, what are you needing Rock of Ages?”

Loki raised an eyebrow as Stark appeared from behind. Normally he’d be irritated with his insistent snooping. Loki was very aware of his lack of welcoming in New York, which he didn’t argue with at all, and aware of how his brother’s new entourage would go out of their way to make sure he wasn’t up to anything.

His focus wasn’t on them today however. He sought out for your companionship, hence his prying into your empty office.

Tony popped in, almost too conveniently, picking up some documents left by you the day prior. “Called in sick today. I know how much you both like to ‘hang out’ and talk shit about everyone.”

“Do you often keep watch over (y/n) as well?” Loki asked mockingly.

“No, they keep an eye on you for me.” Tony responded. “But I gotta admit, I’m also a little worried about them. It’s really out of character for (Y/N) to call me up like that.”

Again, Loki’s first instinct would be irritation at your relationship with Tony. He abhorred how connected you both seemed and the deepened trust you had in him. This time, his first instinct grew in worry over you.

“Care to elaborate, Stark?” He asked hesitantly.

“Uh, no.” Tony said as a matter of fact, scanning through your work. “Firstly, HIPPA, and secondly, if it had anything to do with you, then you’d know.”

Loki gritted his teeth, but urged himself to step back and avoid an altercation with Tony, despite how much of a fool he was. “Why do I even waste my time here with you?”

“Because you love me.”

Loki promptly stormed out of your office, not even allowing Tony to retort back with another snarky snide. However he knew there was some truth to his words. Indeed, if something were wrong, experience showed Loki would be the bearer of news immediately. Whether it’d be through a series of relayed messaged from people to people, or his brother attempting to decipher a ‘text’ from you, Loki would be priority.

This time he wasn’t. And a wave of resentment hit him in the worst way possible. The only logical reasoning behind your choice, or lack of, involved him. Were you upset with him? Did you grow bored? Disinterested? Or indeed, was your relationship with your boss much more intimate than he imagined it to be?

As a man of action, Loki soon found himself at your door. The nagging thought would only continue to pester him until he would crumble under the doubt and self-deprecation. His resentment only grew, but not towards you. His resentment would be directed at himself for being so stupid to have allowed himself to be vulnerable with a mere Midgardian.

He pounded aggressively at your door, thinking how easily it would be for him to tear it down in one swift kick. But that would probably upset you, and he genuinely wanted to have a conversation with you about why he was left out of the loop. And not Tony Stark.

No answer. But he sensed you on the other side, that familiar energy he would grow fond of. Lord, were you avoiding him? He pounded again, this time calling out your name as sternly as he could. He waited for a second, but still no answer.

Resentment now turned into panic. He couldn’t fathom you purposefully avoiding him. And if you were, what did he do? He again, resisted against the temptation of breaking your door handle and entering without your permission.

He called out for you again. “Stop avoiding me. I know you’re there. I simply wish to speak.”

Loki jumped a bit when he heard the locks from the inside slowly beginning to open up. Your door opened slightly ajar, allowing Loki to peer in through a small crevice. He caught you through the small space, wearing an oversized hoodie, big enough to almost fall over and cover your eyes. You looked different, nothing he had ever encountered before.

“Loki.” You spoke out to him, but your voice sounded so distant. It was frail and weak. Your usual enthusiasm or amusement was gone, replaced with a heavy, monotonous touch.

Panic now turned into heartfelt concern. Loki’s eyes slightly widened at your presentation. There was something completely off, something missing, an all too familiar state.

“Tell me what’s wrong.” He commanded.

“Nothing.” You responded flatly. “Please leave. I don’t want to see anyone today.”

The door began to slowly close, but Loki strategically placed his boot in between, to prevent you from wanting to fully close it. “You are not in any position to be telling me that, human. Especially after you failed to tell me of your absence at Stark’s.”

“Loki, please. I don’t want to talk right now.” You said, your voice beginning to break.

He snarled, now using his hand to push to door fully ajar, knowing full well you would not match his strength at all. “You will not push me aside (Y/N). I will not be cast away like some rusted piece of history.”

Loki observed you stepping away from the door, possibly in fear of his demanding tone. Your eyes remained hidden, but he could tell your distress from your quivering lips. He cared not, if this was what it took for him to assure himself of your well-being. He fully stepped inside, kicking the door close behind him.

“Now,” He began, stepping closer towards you. “Speak.”

But you didn’t. As if you were stuck in place, you remained in the same spot, your gaze clearly avoiding his. Now more than ever, you appeared much smaller. He observed your rocking back and forth, as if you were disconnected from the world. This wouldn’t do, especially without him getting a good look at your face.

He stood directly in front of you now. “Let me see you. I need to see your eyes.” You remained silent, but still allowing him to reach over the hood to pull it down. He cupped the side of your jaw with both of his hands, pulling you upwards to directly connect your eye contact with his.

Part of Loki’s skill set including being able to observe and read people through non-verbal language. It was a useful asset that always allowed him to peer into anyone’s hidden intentions. He could easily asses whether someone would be lying, when someone would be scared, or when someone was hiding any valuable information. A simple dilation of the eyes, or flared nostrils could detail a lot about a person, and would of course allow him to take advantage of. But perhaps his best deciphering skills would not prepare for him for the sight.

Tears. Cheeks stained with trails upon trails of salty tears. Eyes so bloodshot and weary, he could see how it even pained you to look up at him in the faint light of your home. Your eyes, once full of light and joy, now appeared hollow and empty. His mouth fell agape, encountering that same familiar feeling from long ago. This was turmoil. This was anger towards your own self. And this was the loss of purpose. Never did he think he would find you in the worst of positions, one he was much too intimate with long ago.

But he knew he didn’t need to ask why.

Loki wiped away the remaining moisture from your cheeks, his gaze now falling soft onto yours. “Oh, my love. You’ve been through a treacherous battle, haven’t you?”

 “I don’t know whats wrong with me. It just keeps coming, and coming, and it doesn’t stop. Why am I getting like this?” Your breath became shallow as you spoke and your voice still remained weak and frail.

“My love, you don’t need to understa-”

“Loki, I’m so scared. I’m scared I’m just going to get stuck like this. Am I just fucking broken?” You became agitated, your eyes beginning to pool again.

“No, you need to stop saying that. You are not broken.” He said, holding you firmly at your shoulders. “You will be able to get through this, and you won’t be alone. I will be here with you.”

“No, I can’t.” You began to break down, now pulling and tugging at your hair. “Just leave me, I’m so fucking useless and stupid-”

“(Y/N). Stop. You will not hurt yourself like this.” His voice boomed, now pulling your wrists away from your hair.  “What you are going to do is listen to me.”

Your breath hitched, staring at Loki with fully leaking eyes. Loki felt his stomach twist as he continued to grip at your trembling wrists. You were so frightened at yourself. He knew the feeling all too well. He connected with your current sense of hopelessness, wanting to completely disappear from reality just to avoid disappointing those close to you. In his previous years, he would have taken this as a blatant sign of weakness. Loki used to be harsh in that way, and especially towards himself.  The notion was absolutely disgusting, and he imagined himself hating it even more coming from a human.

But not with you. All he could think of was wrapping his strong arms around you, keeping you close to him to ensure your safety and your happiness. He followed with his instinct, and the pulled you close towards him, one hand caressing the back of your head and the other promptly over the small of your back.

He allowed you to melt with him, feeling your smaller arms wrap around his torso. You began to spasm, releasing the full force of your sadness onto his chest. He was not bothered by the wet feeling, but content with your transparency with him.

“Listen to me.” He said tenderly, placing his chin at the top of your head. “I know it’s hard. It’s horrendous, but you cannot allow it to control you. Everything it’s telling you is a lie. You are not any of those things.”

“L-loki-”

“You’re wonderful. You’re so kind, and gentle. You are the only person I look forward to seeing every single day I am in this city. No one else matters, it’s only you (Y/N).”

Loki also didn’t care if he was being transparent with you. He knew his feelings for you were reciprocated as well.

“I am sorry if I came off too strongly earlier, but I couldn’t fathom not seeing you today.”

He felt your body becoming slightly relaxed, still allowing you to push your full weight onto his chest. You rubbed your eyes on him, hiccuping in the process.

“I’m sorry Loki.” You said muffled.

“Don’t apologize.”

“I didn’t mean to push you away. I just, didn’t want you to see me like this.”

“Do not hide yourself from me, please.” He said. “It would pain me to not be here by your side.”

He kissed the top of your head, still holding his tight embrace over you. Your smaller frame seemed to fit just as well along his larger frame. He relished in the moment, taking into account your arms also still tightly clinging onto him.He would continue to protect you in any way he could, even if it was against yourself.

#loki #loki x reader #loki x you #loki x y/n #loki fanfic #loki fanfiction #loki oneshot #loki laufeyson #loki odinson #loki (mcu) #loki pov

[capri-ramblings]

Yikes,I know there's bound to be questions but trust me, chapter 3 will answer most of them. Aha,I'm sorry if this chapter is kinda confusing at first,I'm not good at planning out thoughts or stories systemically,it kinda makes it harder for me to write whenever I try to. But here,the second chapter of Raptured! Thank you for reading! ( ꈍᴗꈍ) ♥️

[ R a p t u r e d ]

Chapter 2: Banter

In the moment Riddle had finished telling his brothers what conspired with their human captive, the first to speak up was Azul.

"They offered what?" His words were a mix of shock and amusement, gaze fixated on Riddle who seemed almost flustered from how red his cheeks were.

The red haired sighed, sending him a narrow eyed glare before crossing his arms.

"The head of their own brother"

"By their own hands?" Kalim asked aloud, his features scrunched up worryingly. "Isn't that bad? Why would anyone want to kill their own brother so suddenly?"

From the chaise across the room,Leona let out a scoff, lips upturned into a smirk.

"What are you? A five year old? If you give a herbivore the chance of freedom,they'd leave their entire fleet open to make sure they survive. Humans aren't so different."

"Indeed" Vil joined in with a smile of his own. "Humans are very fickle things, they live out their life struggling and as a result they stink of repulsion."

"They can barely even stand on their own.." Idia added thoughtfully and as the gazes of his brothers turned to him, the flames on his hair flickered and he looked away.

"Maybe the isolation's got to their head?"

Riddle let out a scoff, his lips upturned in a sneer almost too vicious to be formed on such a delicate looking face.

"The cottage they were in was secluded from the rest of the village,they were already a reclusive. Why should it bother them now?"

"Maybe Idia has a point" Kalim interjected then "Before they were on their own by choice...and they weren't exactly trapped in a tower either"

"It's all the same" Leona snapped " Damn herbivores will always be too fragile."

"Though, our soft-shelled brothers have a sound reason" Vil's lips curled in an effortless smile,his ever sharp gaze glinting like jewels.

"At this rate our small hare is going to die before the homage from her brother, and that makes all of this pointless."

The room went silent then. Each males having their own thoughts wrapped around the situation.

When they came to a decision to face the hunter who killed their family beast, he was nowhere to be seen and left tending to his cottage was none other than their captive human, a young sibling unaware of what their fool brother had committed. They opted it was easier to simply kidnap them and have their brother come looking since neither one of them wanted to wait around. There was also the fact that the death of the beast had affected their Mother's health greatly, and all seven brothers fumed with rage.

"Our methods doesn't matter anymore" Riddle spoke up, "What's done is done. We can't exactly just put them back where we found them."

"I agree" Azul said "Though if the human dies in our care now, when we're fully able to change their situation, I fear the price of that loss would be great."

"What? Are the humans going to chase us around with pitchforks?" Leona sneered,his sharp fangs visible as he leaned back into the chaste. "You saw how further in their cottage was, chances are the herbivore doesn't even go down to the village often enough for people to notice them missing."

"They can't die." Idia drawled the words out this time,his gaze sharp and harsh as he stared down Leona who all but grinned at his brother.

"Why? Because you like them?" The laugh that barked out from Leona was cruel and Idia flinched.

"Go ahead and save the poor herbivore then,Prince Idia of the lands of burrowed moles. You think they'd ever look at you fondly?"

"Enough." Riddle came between the fight with his own ire and before he sent a glare towards Leona, he let Idia catch the solace in his.

The situation was getting worst. They needed a decision quick.

"You're not a five year old as well,Leona, so keep that tongue of yours tamed"

"What are you? Suddenly playing the role of the Eldest when you can't even reach his height?" Leona scrutinized Riddle with an aggression that seemed ready to claw him in the face, but Riddle kept his own spite and promptly choose to ignore his brother.

Instead,he turned to Azul.

"The hunter should've came back and see his sibling gone, you even sent those eels of yours to make sure he got the hints. Why hasn't he made a single move? It's been two months."

"Maybe he's forgetful?" Kalim chipped in, eyes glowing. Riddle wanted to tap the side of his face and gently tell him to shut up but Vil patted his head instead.

"A forgetful hunter managing to kill a wild beast is unlikely, mein bruder"

Azul crossed his arms,gaze narrowing.

"They've sent word that they have information regarding our human and the whereabouts of their brother"

"And?" Vil prompted.

"I told them to come meet us as soon as they can, which shouldn't be long."

The moment those words were uttered, a dull thud came from the would-be-entrance of the tower, and a familiar voice calling out.

"My Princes! Open the door please!" The urgency of the voice had all the present Princes turning their head, though the one who seemed genuinely surprised and concerned was Kalim.

"That voice..." He said, turning to Azul "Is that who I think it is?"

Azul's lips curled into a knowing smile and with a flick of his fingers, the sound of a door being swung opened then slammed shut could be heard within the tower itself,followed by light rapid footsteps approaching them.

Out of breath and desperately panting, a young girl made a hasty bow as she came before the Princes, though the way her legs slightly trembled suggested that she was near collapsing.

"It is her!" Kalim's eyes grew wide with familiarity, the worry in his voice replaced with joy as he came up to place his hand on the girl's shoulder.

"The last time I saw you, you were still learning how to walk!" Kalim's loud voice seemed to make her flinch but the girl met his gaze with warmth before she bowed her head again.

"Pleasure to meet you again,Prince Kalim." She's heard stories of him, the Prince Fae known to give out bits of his treasures to those who come wishing at his well. It seemed odd to act as if she's known him, but she knew better than to put logic before courtesy. He was one of the seven Princes after all. Acting too smart with them was a fool's mistake.

Before Kalim could say anything else, Azul stepped forward and the girl promptly met his side with a suddenly serious demeanor.

"I'd ask you for the information I had you fetch but I wonder why you were running in the first place?"

The girl laughed dryly if not nervously.

"Floyd wanted to see who could win in a race in getting here,your Highness."

Azul frowned, internally sighing.

"Why on Earth did you agree to that?"

Again, the girl laughed. "He terrifies me,my Prince."

Riddle couldn't place where he's met her, but hearing her words had him internally sympathising her. Azul's leeches were a pair he'd gladly avoid for eternity as well.

"So,you got a changeling to be at your beck and call as well,Azul?" Vil sounded amused as he turned to Azul, but the degrading glance he gave the girl bellied the smile coyly sitting on his lips then.

"She's indebted to us anyway" Azul stated simply "Why not put her to work?"

His gaze returned to the girl.

"What do you have about our human then?"

It took a full ten minutes for the young changeling to inform them of what she's managed to compile on their human and hunter. Turns out they aren't related by blood but by marriage. Apparently most of the villagers knew of the hunter but rarely saw the younger sibling as they took more liking in staying indoors. There was also talk that their relationship with one another was never close and answered Riddle's question as to why he hadn't showed up yet.

"So, he's just going to leave his sibling at our mercy?" Kalim asked,he had his expression scrunched up with worry and pity again but Leona shared none of it and only growled with distaste.

"There won't be mercy if they're left with us a second longer"

Riddle caught the flicker of Idia's flames and instantly reacted.

"Threaten to murder our captive one more time and I'll have your head,Leona."

"Hah, you're trying to scare me,Riddle?" Leona sneered,fangs glistening with malice. He's been irritated by the whole situation since the beginning. Taking in a human in hopes that another would appear to save them, it was all a damn fairytale. Leona knew humans were selfish, his brothers should've had that piece of common sense drilled into their heads as well. No one was going to play hero for their captive.

Riddle gritted his teeth and again instead of lashing out senselessly, he swirled around to face the changeling. Every bit of his anger flaring in his grey gaze.

"Where's the hunter now?" He asked,though it sounded painfully like a death threat.

The changeling bowed her head.

"He's at the human King's palace,Prince Riddle. King Aothor ...of Nostorne"

The words sent the entire room tilting, and Riddle would've gripped her by her neck if Azul hadn't stepped forward.

"King? Since when did the humans have a King?" The last time they came to the world,their mother's shrine was built almost everywhere to acknowledge her ruling. Had times changed so drastically since their absence?

"Yes. It's been this way for years now. A dukedom raised after Her Most Divine's departure from the human realm and ever since then a lineage of human nobles have taken the throne as the Human ruler."

"My, how futuristic, and here we were in the guise that we still sat on the top of their world" Vil was laughing but his words cut into the tension of the room like a blade coated in venom and the changeling girl shifted uncomfortably.

"It seems like the order of the slaughtering was made by him and ultimately fulfilled by the hunter. His name is Cyril and he's being celebrated by the King for his bravery."

Leona heaved a heavy sigh,leaning once more into his chaise. He looked ready to fall into a deep slumber already but his irritation kept him awake.

"So,we have information. Now what's the plan?"

***

Jade and Floyd,two of Azul's trusted companions came into the situation while the Princes were sorting out their thoughts and opinions (Which all greatly contradict one another) and brought word that their hunter had refused to save their sibling in a conversation Jade overheard him had with another hunter right before he was called on by the King.

"He said he knew of the Fae's trick and that by taking something of theirs as his own, he'd gladly give anything they took from him as compensation." Jade explained in his usual matter-of-fact tone,his mismatched gaze still and knowing.

Riddle clicked his tongue, brows furrowing. Idia's was the most sympathetic along with Kalim while Leona and Vil seemed ready to send a fleet of their army to storm into the human villages.

"I'm not really surprised though" Floyd spoke up lazily "He seems like a guy who'd do that kind of thing anyways"

"But now the Princes are stuck with keeping a human captive in their care", Boe,the young changeling from earlier, pointed out grimly.

"What if we sent you to negotiate with him in our stead?" Idia suggested which earned a rather hasty look from the girl.

"Human royals don't take too kindly to my kind,Prince Idia. I doubt he'd even let me enter"

Leona let out a menacing growl. One that reverberated through the tower walls.

"This is going nowhere. Riddle, go up to that damn herbivore and have them beg their brother come and pay his homage so we can give them back."

Riddle frowned.

"You heard the changeling,Leona. If their relationship with their brother is as bad as we've heard, do you really think they'd beg for him to come save them?"

"Couldn't you talk some sense in them?" Azul had eyes turning once more to the young changeling who all but reluctantly slumped her shoulders.

"I don't see how me being the one talking will get them to cooperate..."

"Clamshell,you should at least try,right?" Floyd's smile was sickly sweet and when he attempted to sling his arm over her shoulders, she avoided the outcome by shifting close to Jade.

"What would you want me to say to them?"

"The offer they gave" Riddle said "Have them elaborate more on that. I'm not going into a deal without knowing why it was proposed in the first place."

There was hesitation in her eyes but it was swiftly changed to a silent resolve as she nodded her head.

"I'll see what I can do."

#twisted wonderland #twst #twst wonderland #twisted wonderland fanfic #twst mc #twst wonderland yandere #twst riddle #twst azul #twst idia #twst kalim #twst vil #twst Leona #twst jade #twst floyd #twst fanfic

[vampiregirl1797]

Hopeless: Epilogue

Klaus Mikaelson x OC

GIF Not Mine

Warnings: this is over 10,000 words, so get some snacks and a hot cup of chocolate!

Click Here For Masterlist 

Five years after Evangeline returned from the 15th century.

 ‘Bekah, really this is completely unnecessary.’ I tried to reason with her, but I wasn’t surprised when my protests seemed to fall on deaf ears.

 ‘It may not be necessary but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening.’ She winked, turning back to the owner of the cute little clothes store we’d found in the centre of the city. She was compelling her to let us have free run of the store, seeing as clothes were limited and she didn’t want to lose out on the perfect outfit to someone else.

 While she did that, I wondered around, absentmindedly looking at the different clothes she had to offer. I had to hand it to her, everything was beautiful and all one of a kind, seeing as she made the clothes herself and only ever made ten of everything. Once they sold, that was it.

‘Find anything?’ I asked Elena when I reached her.

 ‘Oh my--,’ she cut off with a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart.

 ‘Sorry.’ I grinned, amused that after so many years of me being a vampire I could still startle her.

 She shot me a look, clearly not believing my apology but she waved me off anyway.

 ‘You know, I’m surprised I can still startle you with your newfound heightened senses.’ I teased.

 Elena had become a vampire a few years ago, after she had turned twenty. She had given it a lot of thought beforehand, and was content with her decision when she asked Stefan to turn her so that she could spend an eternity by his side. The younger Salvatore had been hesitant, but after my sister assured him that she had done nothing but think about it since she met him, he followed through with her request.

 ‘Well I was too busy wondering if this top would look cute on me.’ She protested, holding up a white and baby pink lace crop top.

 ‘It would not.’ Bekah interjected, sliding up next to me and holding out a similar style crop top but in red, ‘this colour suits your skin tone better.’

 ‘Thank you, Bekah.’ Elena smiled gratefully and put the reject back on the rack before adding the new addition to her basket.

 I smirked in amusement when I realised that Elena had already gathered enough to fill half her basket, while Bekah had enough to warrant moving onto a third while I had nothing.

 Bekah seemed to notice that too, ‘why haven’t you got anything in your basket yet? We only have another hour until we need to be back for dinner and the barbecue is tomorrow!’

 ‘I know,’ I sighed, running a hand through my hair, ‘I’ve never been good at picking out clothes for myself Bekah. I hate shopping.’

 Elena and Bekah gasped dramatically, as if this was news to them, which of course it wasn’t. I rolled my eyes at their dramatics, but a small smile still found its way to my lips.

 ‘Well that’s easy enough. I’ll pick something for you.’ Bekah smiled, already wondering off to the back wall—I imagined she already had something in mind.

 A few years ago, I would’ve tried to stop her, but I knew that she would only pick something that would compliment my figure and my personal tastes. She had a gift when it came to styling people, in any other time she could’ve been an amazing personal shopper. But then again, owning her own clothing line seemed more Bekah’s style.

 ‘So when are Stefan and Damon getting in?’ I asked, following Elena around while she browsed through the other options.

 ‘Tonight after dinner, which sucks but we can all probably watch a movie together.’ Elena replied, the excitement at the prospect of seeing her love leaking into her voice.

 ‘True, though it is Kol’s turn to pick this month. Probably means we’re gonna be stuck watching some gory horror movie.’ I rolled my eyes fondly—the younger Mikaelson loved watching scary movies to mock and point holes in the stories.

 ‘Better than Elijah’s documentary obsession.’ Elena joked. She wasn’t wrong, though. Elijah was fascinated with watching documentaries on anything—the last time it had been his pick, we sat through a two hour movie on how cans were made.

 ‘No arguments here.’ Bekah laughed, adding an armful of clothes to my basket.

 I knew there was more than one outfit choice there, but I also knew better than to argue—she liked to add options for me to choose from, plus anything I didn’t want to wear tomorrow I could just wear some other time.

 ‘Thanks, Bekah.’ I smiled offering her a side hug, ‘you’re a godsend.’

 Bekah snorted, commenting on the fact that no one had ever called her that in a thousand years. She offered me a kind smile though and I knew she was grateful for the compliment.

 ‘Well if everyone’s finished, I’m craving something sweet.’ Elena mused.

 ‘I know just the place.’ Bekah smirked; I could already feel my mouth watering at the prospect of pastries.

 //

 ‘So, how’s being newly married?’ Bekah asked my sister just as I’d taken a huge bit of one of the beignets from the centre of the table.

 My eyes closed in pleasure and I couldn’t help the small moan that formed at the back of my throat from the taste. Heaven.

 ‘Great.’ Elena’s expression visibly lit up, as it always did when she spoke of her relationship with the younger Salvatore, ‘we’re actually thinking about moving to New Orleans permanently. Stefan wants to talk to you guys about it first, just to make sure it’s alright, but hopefully there won’t be an issue. I’m ready to move on from Mystic Falls, and I want to be closer to my second family, seeing as the only ones really left back home are me, Stefan, Damon and Bonnie.’

 It was true; Jeremy and a few of his friends from school had decided to travel the world before committing to a college, and Jenna had moved back to Denver after Jeremy had graduated. The old house was currently being rented out by Jenna being as none of us had the heart to put it up for sale.

 ‘I don’t think that will be a problem, Elena you’re family.’ I assured her with a smile, honestly the thought of her moving to the city filled me with joy, ‘the Mikaelson’s love you like a sister, and Stefan and Nik have the biggest bromance going on, there should be zero issues.’

 ‘She’s right, Lena.’ Bekah assured her, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement—I imagined mine looked the same. The prospect of us all living in the same city all the time was just too wonderful to comprehend. Usually we had to made do with one weekend a month—that was the mandatory minimum for the whole family to meet up, no matter where they were in the world they had to be back for family weekend. Though to be fair, Elena, Stefan and Damon were the only ones who didn’t live in the city permanently, so that rule only really applied to them.

 ‘Do you think Bonnie will come to the barbecue?’ I wondered, sipping my caramel latte as I waited for an answer.

 Bonnie was a somewhat touchy subject for the group. When I’d gathered the courage and will to go back to Mystic Falls to tell my family the truth about what had happened, Bonnie and Katherine were the only two who had an issue. Bonnie because she believed I’d defied the balance of nature by helping break a curse that had been in place for so long, and Katherine because she’d lost five hundred years bound to paranoia and fear.

 It had taken some time, but eventually Bonnie realised that if the curse shouldn’t have been broken, the means to break it wouldn’t have existed. Katherine was more stubborn and even attempted to gather enough firepower from witches, vampires and werewolves to take Klaus and Elijah down. Of course, when they found out whom she wanted them to go up against they immediately backed out, a few even coming to New Orleans to warn the Mikaelsons of the potential threat—they didn’t want to go up against the strongest supernatural army in the world. Which was of course what the Mikaelson’s had built in New Orleans. It was the place that any species could come and live with different supernatural creatures in harmony. They did such a good job ruling it, fairly and with a genuine care for each and every person, that the loyalty they earned from each member of the city was unwavering. That was something Katherine hadn’t realised, until it was too late.

 Klaus and Elijah had sent a few werewolves and vampires for her to “recruit.” Of course, it had been a ploy to lure her to New Orleans and once they had her, they gave her three options:

-       Give up her ploy for revenge and start living her immortal life without a thirst for repentance

-       Let herself be compelled to once again forget why she wanted vengeance

-       Or die.

Her rage had inevitably made the decision for her. After she had been given her options, I had returned to the compound after meeting Cami for a drink at Rousseau’s. My appearance reminded her of her hatred and she’d attempted to attack me immediately, before she could however Elijah had removed her heart while Klaus had flashed to my side, prepared to aid me should I need it. We had both stared at the elder Mikaelson in shock, but he simply dropped her heart and ordered for her body to be burned to ash.

 I still remembered the conversation I’d had with him that night.

 A few months after Evangeline returned from the 15th century.

 I took a deep breath, trying to build up the courage to knock on his door, but I found myself shuffling from foot to foot. I was just about to bolt and return to bed with Nik when the door opened of its own accord.

 ‘Evangeline, is there something I can help you with?’ Elijah’s calm voice tampered a little of my anxiety, as did the absence of anger or sorrow in his eyes. But I didn’t let that fool me completely—I knew just as well as anyone that he was the best at withholding emotions from those closest to him.

 ‘I- I just wanted to apologise.’ I said, clearing my throat as my voice broke.

 ‘Whatever for?’ he gestured for me to enter his bedroom and I took a seat on one of the armchairs he had opposite his bed. Elijah himself perched himself on the foot of his bed, rolling his shirtsleeves up to his elbows as he awaited my response.

 ‘For Katherine. I know you cared for her once, and it’s my fault that nothing happened with her.’ I murmured, suddenly finding myself enamoured with the sleeves of the Henley that I was wearing that happened to belong to my hybrid.

 ‘If I ever cared for Katarina, it was because she reminded me of another life.’ Elijah said, the softness of his voice caused me to look up to him, ‘she reminded me of a time where my biggest worry was competing with my brother to win the affections of a woman who looked a lot like her.’

 ‘Tatia.’ I said, familiar with the story.

 ‘Indeed. When we were human my biggest concerns were trying to win Tatia’s hand in marriage, and protecting my siblings from our brute of a father. Katarina reminded me of that, and as a result caused me to yearn for that simplicity.’

 I nodded, somewhat understanding.

 ‘Of course, that changed when I realised that Niklaus was finding his humanity, due to a mysterious girl from the future.’ Elijah smiled knowingly at me, and I couldn’t help but look down, grateful that I couldn’t blush, ‘you see Evangeline, your appearance in our lives made me yearn for my life in the present. It made me yearn for a time that we could all sit down together as a family and be happy. Happier than we ever were when we lived in that small village in Mystic Falls over a thousand years ago. For the first time in a long time, I was excited by what the future would bring, rather than being consumed with dread over the prospect of witnessing my family commit heinous acts before my very eyes. You saved this family. And for Katarina to come along and try to inadvertently tear that apart, well you know by now… no one hurts my family and lives. And you, Evangeline are just as much a part of this family as I am.’

 I knew that my cheeks were wet with tears but I didn’t care. In a flash I was hugging Elijah and unconsciously soaking his shirt with tears. He hugged me back and I found myself grateful and lucky to have been accepted into the Mikaelson family.

 ‘Thank you, Elijah.’ I murmured against his chest.

 ‘Always and forever, sister.’ He murmured back, placing a chaste kiss to the top of my head.

 Back to five years after Evangeline returned from the 15th century.

 That had been a few months after I returned from the past, and Elijah and I had only grown closer. He was like the big brother I had always wanted, and being accepted into the fold meant that I was also gifted with the huge family I’d always yearned for. I was immensely grateful, being as I’d given up on the idea of a big family when I’d been turned into a vampire. I was lucky, and a day didn’t go by where I wasn’t reminded of that.

 ‘No. She’s accepted everything and I know she understands, but she doesn’t want to be a part of it.’ Elena said, her bright expression dimming considerably at the reminder of her absent ex-best friend.

 ‘I’m sorry sweetie.’ I murmured, squeezing her hand comfortingly.

 ‘It’s okay. It’s her life to live, and she doesn’t want to live it immersed in the supernatural world like we do. That’s her choice and she’s well within her rights to make it.’ Elena murmured, her eyes conveying the sincerity behind her words.

 It sucked, of course it did, but Elena was right. Bonnie was living her life like she wanted to—without vampires, hybrids and werewolves. Elena and I still loved her, but we knew it was just a part of life; some people are only meant to be in your life for a certain amount of time before you drift apart and they leave you with the memories you created together.

 //

 ‘Aren’t you ever going to tire of painting me?’ I murmured, partially amused and fond from where I leaned against the doorframe.

 After lunch with my sisters, I’d returned to the compound and after placing my newly acquired clothes into our room, I went to find him. Where I found him wasn’t a surprise; he was in his art studio painting yet another portrait of me. My heart fluttered every time I saw him taking the time to put me onto another canvas; I’d been so overcome with love when he’d shown me the ones he’d painted in my absence that I’d been reduced to a puddle of tears. Nik still had yet to let me hear the end of that.

 ‘How could one ever tire of capturing such beauty?’ he grinned, his eyes sparkling with adoration as he turned to face me. In a flash I was at his side, my arm wound around his waist as I placed a chaste yet passionate kiss to his lips.

 ‘How was your day?’ he asked, pulling me against his chest and winding his arms around my waist.

 ‘Fine. Bekah picked out some clothes for me to wear tomorrow.’ I told him, my hands resting against his chest and my head against his shoulder.

 He chuckled, ‘I don’t know why you go; you hate shopping.’

 I hummed in agreement before adding, ‘but I love spending time with my sisters.’

 ‘Forgive me, I find it hard to imagine why anyone would enjoy Bekah’s company.’ He deadpanned, but broke out into a laugh when I lightly slapped his shoulder in reprimand.

 ‘Elena mentioned that her and Stefan were thinking of moving here.’ I grinned, my hands moving to his shoulders as I leaned back to meet his gaze.

 ‘Is that so?’ he said, his hands falling to my hips as a smile formed on his at the sight of my happiness.

 I nodded, ‘she mentioned Stefan wanted to run it by you all first, but it you’re okay with it then they’re gonna come.’

 ‘Why would we have a problem?’ he mused, his eyes dancing with mirth.

 ‘I think it’s Stefan’s idea to be honest. Just to make sure they’re not stepping on any toes.’ I shrugged, not really understanding the need for permission myself.

 ‘Well I’d never deny them residence here and I doubt anyone else would either, lest they incur your wrath.’ He teased, grinning when I playfully glared at him.

 ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ I said innocently.

 It was true, of course. Over my time with the Mikaelson’s I’d gained a reputation. My temper was known to rival Nik’s when someone threatened or hurt my family. I’d always been protective, and that instinct had only become heightened when I’d become a vampire. And now I had a family that ruled New Orleans, we were bound to attract trouble, which led to my protective instincts rearing their head more often than I was used to. The Mikaelson’s, Nik especially, thought my ability to go from calm to a force that the devil himself would be intimidated by was hilarious. But I couldn’t help it. And I was happy to have found a family that understood and even rivalled my over protective tendencies. I thought back to the first time we’d incurred a threat after Katherine.

 A year after Evangeline returned from the 15th century.

 I woke up to the sun shining on my face, which wasn’t unusual seeing as Nik and I had a habit of forgetting to close the drapes. I smiled when I felt his arms still wrapped around me, his warmth seeping through the shirt of his I was wearing. I rolled over to face him and was unsurprised to see his eyes already open; it was rare that I awoke before him, but even though he woke before me most days, he preferred to stay and hold me until I woke up before he even thought of getting out of bed. I’d asked him about it before and he’d admitted to taking the time to bask in the gratitude he felt for finally being able to wake up with me in his arms. I’d held him tight after that.

 ‘Good morning my love.’ His voice was husky with sleep, and I couldn’t help the small shiver of desire that shot down my spine.

 ‘Good morning my hybrid.’ I murmured back, placing a kiss to his cheek, a wave of adoration washing over me at his bashful smile that always followed me calling him that.

 That became my nickname for him not long after I found him again and he was able to finally reveal that he had broken his curse. At first, the reception had varied from fear to acceptance. Unfortunately the latter opinion was rare; Elena and everyone from back home had accepted it fairly quickly, though I assumed that Elena not needing to die for the curse to be broken was the main reason for that. It took a while for the factions of New Orleans to realise that Klaus being part werewolf as well as vampire made no difference to who he was as a ruler. When they did, the criticism, fear and disgust had dissipated. Though Nik liked to joke that my attitude towards those who criticised him was the main reason for that. I’d started calling him “My Hybrid” because I wanted him to know he had no reason to be ashamed of who he was, and to remind him that I loved every single part of him.

 ‘Do we have any plans today?’ I wondered, nuzzling into his neck, his scent keeping me in a state of contentedness. My eyes were starting to flutter shut again, and I found myself not wanting to fight it.

 ‘Actually, Sophie has contacted Elijah and informed us of a potential threat coming to New Orleans.’ Nik murmured, his lips against my hair.

 ‘Hmmm.’ I said, not really processing his words and placing a kiss onto the side of his neck.

 He chuckled kissing my hair and pulling me tighter against him, ‘I should tell you of all potential threats after you’ve just woken up my love.’

 ‘Hmmm.’ I sighed as his hand starting to move back and forth across my lower back.

 I thought I heard him chuckle again and it made me smile as I fell into unconsciousness.

 //

 Kol and Bekah were doubled over in laughter where we were gathered in the courtyard of the compound. Klaus was laughing a lot less rambunctiously, while Elijah was a lot more reserved, though his amusement was still obvious on his expression.

 ‘I don’t bloody believe this.’ I muttered, shaking my head in exasperation, ‘are you having me on?’

 ‘No my love, we’re not.’ Nik’s dimpled smile eased my embarrassment a little, ‘I told you of the threat three days ago after you woke up. You must have still been half asleep.’

 ‘That’s cheating!’ I complained, slapping his shoulder, ‘you should’ve told me again when I was actually awake.’

 ‘Technically you were conscious.’ Kol pointed out, seeming to have recovered enough to add a comment.

 ‘Obviously not enough.’ I rolled my eyes and ran a hand through my hair, ‘now tell me about this threat.’

 ‘The De Martials are on their way to New Orleans.’ Elijah said solemnly and I nodded, familiar with the story.

 The elder Mikaelson had informed Niklaus over what he had done a few centuries after I’d returned to the future, and Nik had told me a few months ago. Nik had definitely been furious but his rage had subsided when he realised why his elder brother had done what he’d done. It had been around that time that Nik had told his siblings the truth about what happened to their mother. The reactions to that news had varied. Kol hadn’t had much of one, Elijah had already known but Bekah had taken it the hardest. But after some time, she came to forgive him.

 ‘So they want revenge for the time they spent pretending to be you and leading Mikael astray.’ I summarised, the wheels in my head turning.

 ‘I’d imagine so.’ Bekah mused, coming to sit by me on the sofa and stretching her legs out over my lap. Kol came to sit on the other side of me and rolled his eyes at the intrusion of Bekah’s legs on his lap as well, but he didn’t protest.

 ‘Do you think Aurora might have other motivations?’ I asked, internally wincing at the insecurity in my voice.

 ‘If that psychotic bitch comes anywhere near you darling, I can assure you she will be torn limb from limb.’ Kol patted my shoulder for reassurance.

 ‘That’s not what I’m worried about.’ I rolled my eyes and then frowned, ‘why would she be interested in me? I doubt she even knows who I am.’

 ‘Over the years you were not with us, we were subtle and discrete over your existence, but evidently rumours did get out about you.’ Elijah explained, smiling at my wide eyes, ‘your name along with your importance to this family made you somewhat of a legend. Though, no one knew why, or even knew of anyone by the name of Evangeline, so it’s often been dismissed as a rumour.’

 ‘Until now.’ Nik murmured, his eyes on me and shining with concern.

 ‘And Aurora always was the jealous type.’ Bekah sneered.

 ‘I don’t care about me.’ I muttered; my only concern was with my family, ‘you’re basically invincible. If they’re coming for revenge now after all this time, that must mean they have a plan, one that they’re confident will work.’

 ‘We’ve faced many people over our thousand years, all of which intended to end us all, and yet we’re still here.’ Elijah murmured, smiling in assurance, ‘I assure you, this time will be no different.’

 I wished I had his confidence, but I had a bad feeling about this and Nik must have sensed it because he held his hand out to me from where he was sat on the armchair. I shifted Bekah’s legs off me and moved to sit on his lap. His scent soothed my nerves like a balm—I’d always be grateful for how safe Nik’s arms made me feel. Especially in that moment because the absence of anxiety allowed me to think clearly and I had a plan.

 //

 Nik: They’re here. Aurora left a body surrounded by lavender and a scavenger hunt for me to follow.

 Kol: Tristan has made himself known; he’s already got the strix out looking for vampires descended from Elijah.

 Elijah: The witches are preforming the spell now.

 Me: Lucien has just walked into Rousseau’s.

 Bekah: This is an insane plan; I just want that on the record.

 Nik: Now is not the time. Focus.

 Me: If anything bad happens, I just want you to know I love you all.

 I slid my phone into the back pocket of my high-waisted jeans, subtly watching Lucien from where I sat at the bar, while Bekah was blending in with the crowd thanks to a glamour spell a witch had placed on her. My hair was down and wavy, cutting off at the bottom of my spine and offering me some comfort as it covered up the most of my back. The crop top had been Bekah’s idea, it was white, lacy and entirely too revealing but I was looking to gain the attention of Lucien.

 A small smile formed on my lips as I noticed a family of tourists sitting by the window, a mother and father sat across from their twin daughters. They were all laughing and talking, enjoying their meal together. I felt a small wave of homesickness wash over me in that moment. I hadn’t seen my family in almost a year—not since I’d told them the truth about everything. We were still in touch, but I hadn’t seen them in the flesh for ten months, and I realised in that moment that I missed them. It wasn’t as bad as it could be, as I was already surrounded by family, but I found myself wondering if Elena, Jeremy and Jenna would be up for a weekend visit. Though it would be difficult to organise now; Elena was coming up to the end of senior year, Jeremy near the end of Junior, and Jenna was in the middle of writing her thesis. Though I’d heard from Elena that she was thinking of moving back to Denver after Jeremy was done with school. As the youngest Gilbert had already mentioned his desire to travel after he graduated, and with Elena potentially going to collage, Jenna would be in Mystic Falls all by herself. It wouldn’t be the same not having Jenna back home, but I understood her desire to move away being as the life she had before our parents died was in Denver.

 ‘Hello there darling.’ An arrogant sounding voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked to my right to see just the man I was looking for, now occupying the empty seat beside me.

 ‘Hello.’ I forced a smile and hoped the disgust didn’t show on my face. He was sitting far too close and his scent was overwhelming me. He smelled like he’d bathed in cologne and whiskey, it was so bad that I had to make due with breathing through my mouth. A pang of longing to be encased in my Hybrid’s scent overwhelmed me, but I forced myself to focus.

 ‘Now what’s a pretty thing like you doing in a place like this?’ He smirked, his breath fanning over my face. If I were still capable of vomiting, I would have in that moment.

 ‘You’ll have to be more specific. In this bar or in this city?’ I was being evasive, but I couldn’t help it.

 ‘This city, of course.’ He said, taking a sip of the drink in his hand.

 ‘I like it here.’ I shrugged, downing the shot of tequila Cami placed in front of me. Apparently seeming uninterested was a sure way to garner his attention, which was exactly what was needed. I leaned forward over the bar to grab the bottle of liquor that Cami had purposefully left within reach.

 ‘I’m starting to as well’ I rolled my eyes when I realised he was checking out my ass and when I fell back into my seat his eyes trailed over my chest. I fought the urge to cross my arms to try and cover up as I poured myself another shot.

 ‘How would you feel about coming back to my place later?’ he asked, his fingers trailing up and down my arm. I assume he mistook my shiver of disgust as pleasure, because his hand moved to my back, trailing up and down my spine and lightly tugging my hair.

 Quick as a flash I held his wrist in mine, before he could react I snapped it like a twig, ‘I think I’d rather set myself on fire.’

 ‘You’re feisty I like that.’ He bit out as he reset his wrist with a click.

 ‘I’m leaving now.’ I huffed placing a hundred on the bar to cover my drinks and tip.

 I shot Bekah a reassuring look before I left. I didn’t have to turn around to know he was following me; his pungent scent assured me he was.

 It shouldn’t have been so simple, but it was. I led him into a trap; witches bought him to his knees while I turned and snapped his neck. After that, he was trapped in a basement with chains and boundary spells, where he would be bled out until the vervain was out of his system. Which shouldn’t take long for how fast the selected vampires were working on him. One down. Two to go.

 //

 ‘Nik?’ I called out as I entered the compound—he should have been back by now and I’ll admit the fact he wasn’t had me feeling both worried and insecure.

 I was about to call him when the scent hit my nose—blood. Most importantly Nik’s blood. I followed it to his art studio—he was in the centre of the room a circle of salt hinting at the boundary spell that was around him. He was shirtless and the dried blood on his torso hinted at how much he had lost. Despite the overwhelming urge to go to him, I forced myself to focus, someone had obviously done this to him, but where were they? I didn’t have to look far. She had her back to me, which hinted at her arrogance—she clearly didn’t perceive me to be a threat. She was staring at one of the portraits Nik had painted of me and hung along the back wall. Her fingers were pressed against the canvas gently at first, and in the blink of an eye her fingers tore through with such force she created a hole in the brickwork. That was when she turned to face me. Her eyes is what stood out to me at first, they were a striking green, seeming to shine brighter due to the red curly hair that draped around her shoulders and down her back. She was dressed in a short and low cut black dress; clearly she’d been intending to impress my Hybrid.

 ‘Aurora I presume.’ I said, unable to keep the venom from my voice.

 ‘You’ve heard of me?’ she seemed to preen with the knowledge.

 ‘Yes, when Nik was recounting his psychotic exes you were the first name out of his mouth.’ I smiled, inwardly cheering when her expression transformed into fury.

 ‘I cannot understand what he possibly sees in you.’ She sneered, walking around me like a shark circling its prey.

 ‘That makes two of us,’ I shrugged.

 ‘I’ll admit I’m disappointed. I expected more fire.’ She said, coming to stand in front of me again, and that was when she revealed a stake, ‘white oak seems a waste on you, but it’ll kill you just the same and to be honest, I rather enjoy the poetry of Nik waking up to see you dead beside him. The pathetic abomination will be so overcome with grief that he’ll be powerless to falling into my awaiting arms. As soon as that happens, I’ll be able to easily convince him to dagger his other pathetic siblings and we’ll live happily ever after as King and Queen of New Orleans.’

 My eyes flashed and before she could comprehend it, the stake clattered to the floor as the snap her wrist made when I twisted it behind her back echoed throughout the room.

 ‘How dare you.’ I growled, unbelievably enraged, picking the stake myself and plunging it into her stomach. She fell to her knees with a cry of pain, her hands moving to the wound when I yanked the wood out.

 ‘How dare you come into this city and threaten my family. How dare you call my Hybrid an abomination? The way I see it, the only abominable creature in this room is you, you psychotic, ignorant, pretentious bitch.’ I snarled, too far-gone in my fury to notice my Hybrid stirring behind me.

 ‘This isn’t your family.’ She protested, albeit a little weekly as I drove the stake through her chest, a mere inch from her heart.

 ‘Yes it is. I love each and every one of the Mikaelson’s, and I’d be damned if I let you threaten one of them, but all of them, including the man I love more than anything? Well you just signed your death certificate.’ With that, my hand punctured her chest cavity, clenching around her heart and tearing it out. I watched with relief and satisfaction as her corpse turned grey, before dropping the organ to the ground.

 I pulled my phone out of my back pocket to send a text to the group chat; pleased to see everyone else had achieved their goals without a hitch.

 Me: Need a witch back at the compound. Aurora has Nik trapped with a boundary spell.

 Elijah: Will bring Sophie now.

 Me: Thanks, Lijah. Glad everyone else is okay.

 Elijah had been with the witches to lure those of his sire line and trap them. Those who already resided in the quarter had been given a remedy that granted them immunity while the spell was being cast. When the strix arrived they would be given the chance to leave Tristan’s leadership or risk death. Tristan himself was trapped much like Lucien in a separate space secured with chains and witchcraft, which is where he would remain until the vervain had been drained and his plan had been compelled out of him. Either way, after that was discovered they would both be dead. The same had been planned for Aurora… before I’d gone AWOL.

 ‘Evangeline.’ I jumped a mile at the sound of his voice, having not heard him come around. When I faced him I was surprised by the intense expression on his face.

 ‘Are you okay?’ I asked, my fingers pressing against the boundary in vein as I tried to reach him.

 ‘I’m fine. A little hungry, but otherwise I’ll live. I managed to secure the location of the white oak from her mind before she incapacitated me.’ He smiled softly, ‘I already sent the location to Kol, I’m sure he’s taken care of it by now.’

 ‘Then why do you look so… astounded?’ I wondered.

 ‘Because watching you defend our family, and defend me has got to have been one of the most erotic things I’ve ever seen.’ He told me honestly.

 I blinked in surprise before letting out a laugh, him joining me. Though I knew he was being sincere due to the lust in his eyes, which seemed to grow as his eyes roamed over my outfit.

 ‘I’ll take it your part of the plan was successful?’ he wondered.

 ‘Yes, though I feel like I need to scrub every inch of my body. Lucien is a pig.’ I informed him honestly. There were no secrets between us.

 ‘What did he do?’ Nik growled, his eyes flashing protectively.

 ‘He touched my arm and back, pulled on my hair and leaned way too close. Not terrible when you say it aloud but he made me feel really uncomfortable. But it doesn’t matter now.’ I waved it off, ‘once he’s had the vervain drained from his system and whatever plan they had in place is revealed he’s dead. At the rate they were draining him, I can’t imagine it would take long.’

 This seemed to soothe him somewhat, but I could see him itching to hold me, his wolf needing to make sure I was indeed okay. Thankfully in that moment, Elijah walked through the door, Sophie following closely behind him. The elder Mikaelson raised a brow at the dead De Martial on the floor in confusion, looking over and pursing his lips in amusement when I hid my bloodied hand and the stake behind my back.

 ‘I don’t remember killing her being a part of the plan,’ Elijah commented as Sophie got to work.

 ‘I know. My temper might have gotten the best of me.’ I winced like a child about to be reprimanded by their parents.

 ‘She defended us brother. Aurora intended to kill her and use my grief to manipulate me to dagger you all and allow her to rule beside me.’ Nik explained, amused by my timid behaviour.

 ‘I couldn’t help it. I’m protective of my family, and of Nik, she threatened all of that.’ I pursed my lips, glancing down to her body, ‘she was one crazy bitch.’

 Nik laughed loudly and the sound bought a smile to my lips, relieved that at least he wasn’t pissed at me for messing with the plan. A glance at Elijah and the amusement on his expression assured me he wasn’t all that mad either. I felt the tension in my shoulders ease.

 ‘She had white oak though,�� I revealed the stake and handed it to the older Original, ‘Nik sent Kol to collect the rest.’

 Elijah nodded, some tension easing from his expression. In that moment Kol entered the room, grinning so widely I was surprised when his face didn’t split in half.

 ‘The white oak is gone. Apparently they gathered it from the wood made to construct a bridge and sign in Mystic Falls. Ironic, but alas I has all burned to ash.’ He said, practically bouncing with happiness at his success.

 ‘Excellent. Well done brother.’ Nik said, his expression conveying the sincerity behind his words. Kol’s expression softened under Nik’s praise and I couldn’t help but smile at the strong bonds they all now shared—My Hybrid had told me of Kol’s feeling of being left out of the family and so moments like this reminded me of how much they’d all overcome.

 Kol nodded, a soft smile aimed at his older brother before he accepted a hug from Elijah and then me. When I pulled away, he frowned at the dried blood on my hand and forearm.

 ‘Don’t ask.’ I said before he could inquire.

 Kol looked over to Nik who grinned and nodded in answer to his silent question: he would tell him later.

 ‘It’s all done.’ Sophie announced, but before she could even get up from the floor I found myself surrounded by Nik’s warmth and his scent.

 All of the tension eased of my body, and I felt Nik relax too as his face nuzzled into my neck and took in my scent, now assured that I was in fact okay.

 ‘You two are too cute.’ Bekah commented, I noted that she had her own voice back, which meant the glamour had been removed, but I didn’t lift my head to look.

 I hummed in contentment as Nik’s hand moved back and forth at the bottom of my spine, while his other hand rested at the centre of my back, his thumb moving back and forth comfortingly. The warmth his arms and hands emitted would never fail to make me feel safe and home. One of my hands were moving through the curls on his head, while the other rested against his chest, playing with the collection of necklaces that laid there. I was so contented and relaxed that I almost forgot where we were and what had happened when—

 ‘Why is Aurora dead?’ Bekah asked.

 Nik laughed and I hid my face in his chest, embarrassed and already aware that I would never live this down.

 //

 Back to Five years after Evangeline returned from the 15th century.

 ‘Come on, Kol!’ Bekah complained from one of the love seats—Nik and I occupied the other.

 ‘It’s my choice, Bekah. You think I wanted to watch that god-awful romance movie you picked last month? No. But did I complain?’ his question was intended to be rhetorical but I answered anyway.

 ‘Excessively.’ I deadpanned, chuckling with the others.

 ‘Well—I didn’t complain as much as I wanted to.’ He said, as if that were a solid argument. I rolled my eyes and settled further into Nik’s side, my head resting on his chest. His arm was wrapped around me and he was tracing random patterns on my arm. I sighed in contentment, knowing that if he kept that up with how warm and relaxed I was, I wouldn’t see ten minutes of this movie.

 ‘Then Bekah can complain just shy of how much she wants to, and you’ll have to take it.’ Marcel pointed out, laughing at Kol’s affronted expression.

 ‘Can we just get this over with? The sooner it’s on, the sooner it can be over.’ Elena mumbled, a blanket wrapped around her, that and her husband’s arms around her providing her with protection from the zombies that Kol was subjecting us to. She was sat on the far end of the couch, Stefan to her right, Kol to his right and Damon on the other side of him. Bekah and Marcel were sat on the armchair; the female Mikaelson basically sat on her husband’s lap.

 ‘Come on, you’re a vampire. If zombies were running around in this world, they’d be no match for any of us.’ Damon smirked smugly from his seat next to Kol.

 ‘You don’t know that. What if a zombie bite affected us? If we also became zombie’s I’d hate to spend an eternity like that.’ Elena argued, pointing to the zombie that was now on the screen.

 Instead of arguing, Damon shushed her, reaching for a handful of popcorn where the ridiculously huge bowl rested on Kol’s lap. I busied myself with the chocolate Eminem’s I’d commandeered, occasionally feeding some to Nik as I munched away.

 I reached over to the arm of the chair for one of the blood bags we’d bought over to sustain us through the movie. I opened the cap and drank a few sips before offering some to my Hybrid, when he was finished I recapped it and placed it back where I’d grabbed it. I sighed softly, not interested in the movie in the slightest. But I knew this was the whole point of movie night, it wasn’t simply to watch; it was an opportunity to spend time together. Glancing around I noticed that Bekah and Nik were also unimpressed, Elena was terrified, while Kol, Damon, Marcel were overly amused by what passed as a horror movie.

 I shifted in Nik’s arms so my head now rested on his shoulder, I faced his neck, not bothering any further with the terrible acting on the screen and started to play with the collection of necklaces around his throat. A small smile always formed on my face when my fingers connected with the only metallic one he wore—the locket I’d given him all those centuries ago. He’d tried to return it to me, but I insisted he wore it, liking that a part of me was always with him on the rare occasions I couldn’t be. In return he’d gifted me with his necklace that bore the Mikaelson crest. It had originally hung from a leather cord but he’d had it transferred to a silver chain and I wore it around my neck, happy to have something that reminded me of him for always.

 ‘Bored there my love?’ He murmured, to quiet to be heard by anyone else over the T.V.

 ‘While I’m in your arms? Never.’ I grinned as his chuckle, placing a kiss to his pulse point.

 ‘Do you ever think about getting married?’ Nik asked and I blinked at the question.

 I leaned up, my hands resting against his face so I could take in his expression. He looked curious, yet slightly nervous.

 ‘I used to all the time when I was human. Had my perfect wedding all planned out. But it was something I gave up on when I became a vampire.’ I told him honestly.

 ‘Why?’ he wondered, reaching up to brush some hair behind my ear.

 ‘Because I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to spend an eternity with me. I could barely imagine sixty years, but forever? It just seemed impossible.’ I murmured.

 ‘What about now?’ he seemed tentative, which was rare for him and I couldn’t help but instinctively move a hand to his hair, knowing that it soothed him.

 ‘Is that your way of proposing?’ I teased, trying to ease his nerves.

 He grinned, leaning up and pecking my lips before falling back to the love seat, ‘I’ve been thinking about it for a while now.’

 The sincerity in his expression caught me off guard, but my surprise quickly faded to delight, ‘really?’

 He nodded, relieved by my excitement, ‘I even have a ring. I was planning on a romantic dinner with just the two of us, ending with me asking you.’

 ‘That sounds like quite the proposal.’ I commented, my hand gently moving back and forth against his jaw, ‘why mention it now?’

 ‘My love, patience has never been my strength. I’ve waited so long to have you back in my arms and I can’t keep putting off making you mine because I’m waiting for a perfect moment. Every moment with you is more perfect than I ever could have imagined, and certainly more perfect than I deserve. I love you Evangeline, with everything that I am. Spend an eternity with me. Marry me.’ He said, softly wiping away the tears that had fallen down my cheeks.

 ‘Okay,’ I was sure my tears didn’t dampen the pure happiness that I could feel radiating from my face. Nik captured my lips, kissing me with a softness and tenderness that made my heart flutter in my chest.

 ‘I love you.’ I told him, my voice barely above a whisper, but his soft smile assured me that he’d heard me.

 ‘I love you too.’ He replied as I settled against his chest again.

 I drifted off to sleep there, surrounded by our oblivious family and in the arms of the man I loved.

 //

 Five years and six months after Evangeline returned from the 15th century.

 ‘You look beautiful.’ Jenna said, dabbing away the tears in her eyes with a tissue.

 I smiled at her from where I was sat, getting my hair curled by one of the professionals Bekah had hired for all of us.

 ‘Thank you Aunt Jenna.’ I winked.

 ‘If you’re this emotional now, you’re gonna be done for when she puts on the dress.’ Elena teased, winding an arm around Jenna’s waist.

 They had all gotten ready before me so they (mainly Bekah) could assure everything else was going to plan everywhere else. The female Mikaelson was currently checking on the boys and making sure they were finished, honestly I was so grateful for her. If it hadn’t been for her input, I doubt we could’ve pulled off the wedding I’d been dreaming of since I was a little girl.

 ‘I know, I just keep thinking about your Mom and Dad and how proud they would be right now.’ She said, barely squeezing out her words before the tears started streaming again.

 ‘They are here, Jenna. Maybe not in body but definitely in spirit.’ Elena assured both our aunt and I. I offered her a grateful smile, my eyes flicking over to my bouquet of red and white roses I would be holding while walking down the isle—my mom and dad’s favourite flowers. It had been Nik’s idea and I’d loved it.

 ‘You’re right.’ Our emotional aunt nodded, seeming to steel herself as she dabbed her eyes one last time before securing her tissue in her bra. Elena and I shared an amused glance.

 ‘You both look beautiful by the way.’ I complimented them.

 I had chosen Elena as my maid of honour, with Bekah and Jenna being bridesmaids. Each wore a deep purple A-line styled dress made of chiffon material. This colour matched the ties of the groomsman, aside from Nik’s—his would be white. The dress cut off just below the knee, revealing the black platform shoes each of them wore. I had encouraged them to choose how they wanted to wear their own hair and was surprised when they’d all agreed on one hairstyle for them all. Their hair had been curled, with the front being pinned back to the backs of their heads with a jewelled clip that matched the deep purple of their dresses. They looked stunning.

 ‘Not as beautiful as you’re going to look.’ Bekah commented as she re-entered the room, looking moderately relieved.

 ‘What’s up?’ Lena asked.

 ‘Nik’s pacing a hole in the floor from his room. It amazes me how quickly his paranoia grows the longer he’s separated from you.’ She shook her head in amazement, moving over to the mirror to unzip my dress.

 ‘Well maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if someone hadn’t made us sleep apart last night.’ I muttered, already reaching for my phone.

 ‘It’s bad luck to see the groom before the wedding!’ Bekah protested, frowning when she saw me walking towards the bathroom, ‘what are you doing? You need to put your dress on, the ceremony starts in ten minutes!’

 ‘I’ll be two, I promise.’ I smiled reassuringly and closed the door behind me, finding Nik’s contact and clicking it before bringing it to my ear.

 It rung once before he answered, ‘Evangeline.’ He murmured; his voice already sounding a little more relaxed.

 ‘Hello my gorgeous Hybrid and soon to be husband.’ I answered brightly, smiling at the sound of his chuckle, ‘what’s this I hear about you being paranoid?’

 ‘It’s nothing, my love. Just my self depreciating voice rearing it’s ugly head and telling me that I don’t deserve you.’ He said, his voice more sombre now.

 ‘Nik, you are the strongest, sweetest, smartest, funniest, sexiest and most talented man I’ve ever known. So you tell that voice inside your head to shove it because you’re an amazing man and I promise to keep reminding you of that fact for eternity.’

 ‘Thank you, my love. You always know what to say,’ he said, his voice soft.

 ‘You’re welcome, we all need reassurance sometimes, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of.’ My voice was as gentle as his.

 ‘I can’t wait to marry you.’ I could sense his smile on the other side of the phone.

 ‘Right back at you my Hybrid.’ I grinned, ‘speaking of I should put my dress on before Bekah has an aneurism. I’ll see you soon.’

 ‘That you will, my love.’

 I hung up the phone and exited the bathroom, handing my phone to Jenna while Bekah and Elena helped me step into my dress. I had surprised everyone with my determination to choose my own wedding attire, which was fair seeing as any other clothing trip ended with me leaving it to Bekah. But I’d had a very specific dress in mind for my wedding day and I was overjoyed with the end result. It was a ball gown dress with a three-foot train; the bodice had a lace overlay that extended on sheer material to my arms. There were hundreds of diamonds scattered all over that twinkled when they caught the light just right. The veil that was clipped into my hair was also decorated with lace and hung all the way down to the floor. I was wearing my Mikaelson necklace, which I’d been sure to pull from underneath my dress, displaying the crest proudly where it rested on my chest. My hair was curled; the front pinned back similarly to the girls’ but mine was secured with the clip of my veil. My made up was natural; my lips painted with a deep red lip stain that matched the roses I’d be carrying perfectly.

 ‘You look radiant.’ Bekah said, tears forming in her own eyes.

 ‘Don’t, you’re gonna make me cry.’ I warned.

 ‘We can’t have that, you’ll ruin your make up and you look perfect.’ Elena nudged Bekah playfully.

 A knock on the door broke us out of our conversation; Elena answered the door to reveal Elijah. His expression became soft when he saw me, his own eyes glassing over as emotion overcame him.

 ‘Sister, you look… wonderful.’ He murmured.

 I hugged him, ‘thank you Lijah.’

 ‘Well, it’s time.’ Bekah announced, shooing the other bridesmaids out of the room, ‘remember walk down the isle when you hear the wedding march.’

 ‘We know Bekah.’ I chuckled, my arm linking through Elijah’s as we followed them.

 I had asked him to walk me down the isle because I couldn’t imagine anyone else doing it. Elijah had become the best big brother I could have ever hoped for, and it seemed wrong to be given away by anyone else. Of course, Nik had also asked him to be best man, so after he’d delivered me to the end of the isle, he would take his place in between Nik and Kol. I took a deep breath as we reached the entrance to the ballroom; we were getting married at a house Nik had built in Mystic Falls long before I had even been born. He wanted to have a house where we could live when I wanted to visit my home, and a place that he could stay in to reminisce about the village he’d lived in when he was human. He’d built this house on top of the same place he’d resided all those years ago. When he’d told me that, it seemed to be the perfect location; the town where I’d grown up, where my parents were born and buried, and the village he’d spent time with his family before they’d become vampires. It held a lot of nostalgia and meaning for the both of us, and I knew then that this is where we could become husband and wife.

 ‘Are you ready, sister?’ Elijah murmured, turning to me as the march started.

 I nodded, unable to keep the smile off my face as I followed Elijah’s lead down the isle. I’ve never felt more love and happiness than I did in that moment, surrounded by those I loved, and the man I loved more than anything. Those invited had been kept to a bare minimum. Nik had most of his friends as groomsmen: Marcel, Stefan, Kol and Elijah were all stood up there with him, while on my side stood Jenna, Bekah and Elena. Other than that, Damon, Jeremy, April (he’d asked to bring her as his guest), Sophie, Josh, Cami, Finn and Freya all sat in white wooden chairs as the audience.

 Freya had been a surprise to the Mikaelson’s not long after Nik had proposed. She’d popped up explaining that their aunt Dahlia had kidnapped her and cursed to spend a hundred years sleeping to every year of life. That had been a close fight that involved another time travel spell for Esther’s blood and a few other ingredients, but we defeated her and Freya was free and connecting with the family she’d yearned to know for centuries. Finn was a different story. He’d been undaggered after Nik had tracked down Sage, who’d been his long lost love nine centuries ago. After their reunion, they’d departed and we hadn’t heard a word from him until Freya popped up and he came to the compound to visit her. Even during those visits he’d only really spoken to his eldest sister. Still, we’d extended a wedding invitation to him seeing as he was technically family. But I’ll admit I was stunned by his attendance; I suspected Freya had something to do with it. Though I was unsurprised that Sage hadn’t come; her and Nik had apparently never gotten along.

 After my eyes had quickly glanced over those present they fell and remained on the most important one of all. My Hybrid was positively beaming with happiness, the same kind that I was sure he could see on my face. The kind of elation that you felt at the prospect of marrying your best friend, your confidant, your lover… your person. His gorgeous blue eyes were glassed over as he fought to hold back his tears, I want as strong however, my tears having long fallen onto my cheeks. Bekah would have a fit, but I didn’t care. Elijah took my hand and placed it in Nik’s and just like that, I was home. My fingers entwined with his as we faced the man we’d chosen to officiate our marriage.

 ‘We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in matrimony.’ I couldn’t help but tune out what he was saying, too lost in Nik’s eyes to worry about anything else.

 ‘I believe you have written your own vows?’ I startled at the question, and nodded.

 ‘Nik, before I met you, I had given up on the idea of marriage, of finding someone to spend the rest of my life with. When I was human, it seemed plausible, as sixty years doesn’t seem as daunting as an eternity. But suddenly faced with the prospect of forever, I couldn’t imagine finding anyone who would love me enough to want to be tied with me for eternity. Then I met you. We might have first gotten of on the wrong foot,’ we all shared a chuckle at that, ‘but I fell in love with you so fast that it scared me. I’d never felt so much so fast before, but before I could get too lost in my own insecurities, you told me that you loved me too. Not with words at first, but in the way you protected me, the way that you touched me and the way that you looked at me. From that moment all those years ago, I couldn’t picture a future without you in it, and now I can’t wait to spend eternity with you as your wife.’ I gently wiped away the tears that had fallen onto his cheeks before grasping his hands in mine again.

 ‘Evangeline, I’ve been on this earth for a long time, and for a majority of it I was a man I’m not proud of. As a human, I was berated and beaten for no reason other than my father’s unexplainable hatred of me. When I became a vampire and my werewolf side was revealed, I was more of an outsider then I had ever been. I learned to be ashamed of who I was, because that is what my mother inadvertently told me when she cursed my werewolf side into dormancy. This created a man whose insecurity and fear manifested itself as anger and aggression. I believed I didn’t deserve to be loved by anyone. I became a monster, pushing away those closest to me until I believed they hated me too. I belittled anyone who showed emotion, when deep down I envied them for being brave enough to love, to adore, to laugh, and to be happy. I spent centuries taking the fate of my sibling’s into my own hands, because while I knew they hated me, I loved them and I couldn’t tamper my protective instincts when it came to their safety. They perceived it was out of spite or superiority and I let them believe it because it was easier to accept their hate than their love. But then I met you. You came into my life and within two minutes you’d already, albeit unwillingly, revealed your plans to kill me.’ I chuckled with him, my tears falling steadily down my face, ‘but despite the obvious threat, I couldn’t bring myself to hurt you. When you offered a plan to help me I was grateful that it meant I didn’t have to come up with an excuse myself. Your light, your kindness to a man who you only knew to cause you pain drew me in. You bought out my humanity without effort and I found myself overcome with my love for you, with my protectiveness and adoration. You accepted me for who I was, you made accepting your love and returning it effortless. You made me realise that I deserved to be loved.’ He took a breath, gently wiping the tears from my cheeks and smiling when I leaned into his touch. ‘I vow that for the rest of eternity, you will never doubt how much I love you, Evangeline.’

 My hands squeezed his gently as we shared a smile.

 ‘The rings?’ The officiate asked.

 I turned and took Nik’s ring from Elena, while Nik retrieved mine from Elijah.

 After we exchanged ‘I do’s,’ Nik pulled me in for a passionate kiss and just like that, we were married. The idea of an eternity with one person may have scared me once. But that was before Nik. That was before I’d met the one person in the world who seemed to understand me better than I understood myself. He was my rock, my Hybrid, and as long as he was by my side the prospect of forever was anything but daunting.

#klaus mikaelson #klaus mikaelson imagine #Klaus Mikaelson x OC #the originals #the vampire diaries

[ghafahey]

@mdzswomen Appreciation Week 2: Day 5 — Repentance

Rated:

 G

Pairing:

Lan Yi/Baoshan Sanren

for you: repentance.

Lan Yi sits and waits, her knees cold and her mind a thousand leagues away with the one she loves, even after centuries.

i.

It’s so cold all around her that sometimes she forgets who she was, who she is, who she may never be again.

In the darkest nights, when all around her there’s nothing but a deep pit of emptiness, all she remembers is a pair of dark eyes and a mouth set in a determined line and the silent call to please stay, stay stay stay.

ii.

There’s Lan set into every single frame of his bones. Lan Yi can tell from far away before he even enters the cave she’s been stuck in for centuries. There’s a deep sense of duty, a commitment to justice, a grief that seems too old for his young body. The other one, laughter and smiles and teasing stitched into his skin, is so different that she can’t help but chuckle to herself when he falls into ice-cold water, emerging spluttering and soaked to the bone. But then, her great-great-great-great-something takes off his headband – the sacred headband no one is supposed to touch, well unless… - and binds their wrists together so they can approach her guqin. It makes her falter for a moment, her mind recalling, trying to reach out to someone – far away and still breathing and missing from her like a limb. She doesn’t think they realize the full extent of their fate which has been intertwined so irrevocably now.

  iii.

“Don’t you think,” Baoshan Sanren says, the comb halting on a particularly stubborn knot in the long dark waves of Lan Yi’s hair. Fingers brush her shoulders, clad in pale blue robes, shuddering from the touch. “It’s a bit ridiculous to need a piece of cloth to practice self-restraint.”

Lan Yi raises one eyebrow at her friend in the mirror.

(Friend seems, she muses, too little a word. Not nearly enough, not even right in her mind, no less on her tongue. There’s another, one dripping with a meaning that leaves her lungs empty when she thinks of it and so, she hasn’t dared to voice it just yet.)

(One day, she promises herself, she’ll look Baoshan Sanren in the eyes and tell her, drenched in all the heaviness of her heart. She’ll tell her: “You’re the one I was looking for before I even knew. You’re the one my soul recognized upon our first meeting, down in the forest so close to midnight, your mouth smiling around some fruit and my own tipping up involuntarily. You’re the one I know will understand my every word and doing because I would understand yours too.”)

(But not tonight.)

“I mean, simply, that if that is all it takes for you to practice restraint… does that not in itself deem you weak.”

The knot loosens. Lan Yi turns, eyebrows still raised, and mouth curled in amusement. Their shoulders knock and Baoshan grins down at her, her eyes two pools of mystery it could take a lifetime and more to decode. Their breaths mingle in the small space between them; growing smaller each time, Lan Yi notices, they’re together at night before both retiring to their respective beds.

“Maybe I am,” she muses, her voice a teasing whisper through heavy nighttime air.

Baoshan's eyes flicker, just for a moment, and her mouth twists as if there’s something else to say, something else to do. The moment passes. There’s still a handful of distance between them.

“Personally…,” she rises from where she's been sitting behind Lan Yi, stretching until the joints of her bones crack with a loud pop. “I would like to see you unrestrained.”

 iv.

It’s still cold. Not unbearably so. Not after centuries. But the ice has never been the problem. The problem is hundreds, thousands of leagues away, on a mountain, hidden by green and secret passageways and shrouded in mystery. Still alive, still breathing, still warm from the blood in her bones while Lan Yi herself is a shred of who she once was. Her power fades each day, drains and leaves her more and more a shell unable to reach out towards the mortal realm.

The problem is: there are so many things left unsaid.

The problem is: she had the chance to make a different choice but was too blinded by ambition to listen.

The problem is: the day Lan Yi went against her soul’s mate she left part of herself with her and never got it back. Until then, how will she find peace? Until then, does she even want to?

The problem is, the problem always has been: Baoshan’s laughter and the crinkles that come out around her eyes and her head thrown back in joy and the image of it branded like fire into Lan Yi’s mind.

  v.

He sits and reads and stares, frost between his brows, at the wall.

“We could carve him from stone and put him in a courtyard. He has the face for it.”

Sometimes Baoshan visits her. It’s a hallucination, of course, Lan Yi is a smart woman who doesn’t fall for simple tricks of the mind baked in hope and loneliness. She knows it can only be a hallucination because she hasn’t had the courage to seek her out herself. She makes excuses for preserving energy, for guarding the Yin Iron – yet she knows the familiar feeling of dread and shame pooling in her stomach.

Still, it’s nice to see Baoshan perched on the ice altar next to her guqin, much like the boy one of her disciples gave life to years ago now. In contrast to Wei Ying, no one scolds her for so carelessly sitting down next to the powerful heirloom. In fact, the sight is welcome. She looks exactly like the day Lan Yi last saw her, not a single wrinkle around her eyes or a grey hair in the waterfall of black flowing down her back. Maybe she hasn’t aged after all or maybe Lan Yi’s imagination just doesn’t like to be realistic.

“He is in mourning,” Lan Yi replies gently.

It’s a feeling she knows too intimately herself. But while the boy – a man now, not the young soul who stumbled into this cave years ago and bound himself without thinking, now hardened by war and loss and heartbreak – mourns for the love he lost to death, Lan Yi mourns for the love she lost to life.

“Tell me,” Baoshan says from her place at the altar, not taking her eyes off Lan Wangji and the stiff set of his shoulders while Lan Yi can’t seem to take her eyes off her. “Do those descendants of yours truly think sitting in an ice cave for unbelievable amounts of time will cure one of love?”

Lan Yi had gotten a glimpse of said descendant once, a man set in his principles and beliefs and pride dripping off his mustache. She’s also heard the story that the very same mustache once got shaved off by one of Baoshan Sanren’s disciples, the mother of the man being mourned in these halls. It would not surprise her if that man thinks solitary confinement in the hidden cave of a mountain, blood and scars on your back and your heart in shambles, was the cure to heartache and grief.

"They have not gotten much smarter with the centuries, I fear," she replies after a moment and Baoshan Sanren's lips quirk in a smile she misses more than sunshine on her skin and the smell of flowers. Centuries locked in this place seem suddenly bearable at the sight that once greeted her every day - sometimes mischievous, sometimes gentle and sometimes, dare she hope, loving.

"This one though, I think... he'll be fine." And then the smile dies on the hallucination's lips and suddenly, finally, her eyes meet Lan Yi's across the cave, her gaze so intense that for a few short moments she's fool enough to believe Baoshan is truly here. "He won't have to mourn forever."

  vi.

“Lan Yi,” a hand shakes her awake, not too gently. When she blinks her eyes open, morning light greets her first, then Baoshan’s furrowed brows. Her back and neck ache from the position she fell asleep in, her head on the desk between books and scrolls.

“Oh,” she winces when she straightens again, her back making a painful sound. Baoshan’s hand is still on her shoulder, gripping a little too tightly.

“You fell asleep over this again?” She eyes the contents on the table, then huffs out a breath. Her hand falls from Lan Yi’s shoulder and Lan Yi swallows down the sound of disapproval that forms in her throat. “I should have never told you about the Yin Iron.”

It’s not the first time they’re having this argument, not the first time Baoshan has found her in the library at an early hour, not the first time her eyes have clouded with anger and disappointment like that.

Lan Yi rises, shakes out her shoulders as if that could also shake off her friend’s glare and the cold grip around her heart at having disappointed the most important person in her life.

“I am simply researching a bit,” she says but doesn’t meet Baoshan’s eyes. “There has to be a way to neutralize the Yin Iron, to use it for good.”

Her friend is silent, maybe run out of arguments against her because they keep going in an endless cycle of back-and-forth, neither of them ready to budge, to admit they might be wrong. It’s been weighing on them for months now, slowly carving an abyss between them that has never been there before.

When once they would sit together at night, brushing each other’s hair, sharing stories and laughter and wine, now Lan Yi retires to the library instead and avoids Baoshan’s judging eyes and harsh words.

“Even if there is,” Baoshan admits after a moment, her voice lowered and no longer angry. When Lan Yi looks up she finds the other woman moving closer, her eyes pleading even before she reaches out a hand to grip Lan Yi’s elbow. “Have you even spared a thought to what it might cost you?”

She has. Of course, she has though she has pushed it all away to not be distracted from her goal. This has to work, has to go well, and earn her the respect among the other clan leaders she has always deserved. No matter the cost, she is willing to pay it, she thinks. Has to trust in her own abilities and mind to see this through and come out of it victorious and unscathed and a legend for the future generations to marvel at.

So, she raises her chin and stares Baoshan down. “I am willing to pay that price.”

Her friend swallows and as her eyes lower, so does her hand, falling from Lan Yi’s elbow and once again opening up the chasm between them she was trying to bridge with a simple touch. One that had once brought so much comfort.

“I am not.” She turns as if defeated though her words prove the opposite. “So I hope you will forgive me for praying every night that you never find the Yin Iron’s true location.”

 vii.  

Sometimes, when she curls around herself on the ground and lets the rabbits settle next to her as if she had a need for sleep, her mind flicks through memories like pages of a book. It stays on the good parts often enough, on laughter with wine on her lips, on the comfort of arms wrapped around her, on her name whispered against her neck one night when they had gotten too drunk and lost themselves; on the bright eyes of her disciples when she had instructed them, the girls especially, on the respect some had paid her; on days even longer past when she would be surrounded by her mother and father and brothers for dinner.

Most times it makes her relive the bad parts too, death upon death, insults whispered behind her back but just loud enough for her to hear, the sneer of men thinking themselves above her.

And then, Baoshan’s sword raised against her, the one thing she never thought to live through. It still hurts just as much as that night, no matter her intentions. She’s unable to say anything but her mind screams I thought we were bound for life and death. I thought you would never raise your sword against me. I thought we were destined to stand and fight and live side by side.

It was an illusion perhaps, a dream she had crafted of a reality that could never be true just to console herself that maybe, some version of them had gotten to that part they had always dreamed of.

They didn’t in this life.

In her dreams, which aren't dreams at all because she cannot sleep, a hand runs through her hair and a familiar voice whispers her name, followed by apologies she is so eager to return but can't because she has no voice.

When Lan Yi opens her eyes, still tired, her face wet from snow and tears, it’s to the same cold walls as the last thousand days.

  viii.

There is a wedding happening. Something tells her, maybe a whispered prayer or a flow of energy filled with a particular shade of happiness.

“You were right,” she tells Baoshan Sanren's illusion, who has her head in her lap and her dark hair spread out like a fan. Lan Yi cards her hands through it slowly, gently, savoring the moment that seems so real she feels it pricking behind her eyes. “He did not have to mourn forever.”

Baoshan looks up then and raises a hand to the corner of Lan Yi’s mouth, her thumb gliding over it like a kiss she never dared to press there.

“It was supposed to be us.”

  iv.

Her biggest regret, her biggest dream lives thousands of leagues away on a mountain, secluded and centuries-old and Lan Yi hopes selfishly that she has not been forgotten. That maybe Baoshan Sanren too wakes up sometimes and aches for the love they never spoke but knew too well, for the future they could have had if only, if only…

Locked away in an ice cave is as much repentance for playing at power, for not listening, for breaking the seal on an object that once more has caused so many deaths as it is for taking a knife to the thread that connected her to Baoshan and cutting right through it. She's sure she deserves this.

So, Lan Yi sits and waits and fades slowly and thinks that maybe, once she has gone from this world entirely, she’ll be given another chance.

I’ll get it right this time, she promises.

#mdzswomen #lan yi #lan yi x baoshan sanren #the untamed #my writing #oops?

[sillylittlelouie]

If This House Could Talk - Raizel’s House - Part 2

Raizel sat with his back against the closed door, staring at the ruins of his brother's study. Caul's grandfather clock stared back at him, forlorn and disgrace etched into its roman numerals. Its hands, which must have stopped weeks ago, hung in as perilous a frown a clock could wear. It, much like the room below, was dead.

Just like his brother.

His breath caught in his chest, but no tears came. He'd cried an impossible amount earlier, when he'd finally seen what remained of his brother's beloved space, in the aftermath of the hurricane of time.

Books had been torn from their shelves and strewn across the floors, while the shelves themselves lay in pieces. Beneath it all, the moldy scraps of a once lavish carpeting peered through, like a body beneath the rubble. 

The crystal chandelier, his brother's pride and joy, was in pieces barely large enough to be called shards. And his brother's desk.

Raizel wasn't certain that some of the pieces of wood on the floor weren't part of what was once the desk.

Caul would be furious, if he saw the state of disrepair that the room had fallen into.

A grim chuckle slipped past his lips. Then another, followed by yet another. Soon, he was laughing uncontrollably, till tears began to slip down his cheeks. He laughed and cried, until there were only tears, and he was back to sobbing uncontrollably again.

As he knelt there, pounding his bruised fists against the filthy, moldy carpets, Raizel found that he had something else to laugh at.

His brother, the worst tyrant that he had ever known - the only tyrant that he knew - was dead. The only family that he'd had was gone, and the only tears that he had shed so far were tears of relief. Where was his grief? His lamentation, his bereavement, his tears of sorrow?

When their parents had died, Caul had laughed, and Raizel had thought him a monster for it. As he got older, he understood through his studies that it took a particular level of sociopathy to be able to inflict such pain, while never feeling it for oneself. 

He had noted that his brother had most certainly carried that level of sociopathy.  

Of psychopathy. 

And now here he was, laughing and just being happy that his brother was gone. He was a monster, just like his brother. Just like Caul had always told him he was.

Now Caul was gone, and with him, the only monster that would put up with him.

A single tear rolled down his cheek and Raizel gasped. His chest, overworked from his hysterical laughter, ached terribly. But, despite himself, despite his desire to shed tears, he didn't want to cry. 

Or did he? It was all so confusing and just-

"I'm losing my mind." His voice warbled, teetering on the edge of what he imagined insanity sounded like. "That's all there is to it." He pressed his back up against the door and propped his left arm atop his raised knee. His right hand wormed its way into his hair and he tugged, relishing the pain in a way that only few could appreciate. "That's all there is to it."

"The word 'grieving' seems a more appropriate description to me."

At the sound of the voice, Raizel gave a start, scrabbling to his feet, even as his shoes slicked and slid in the mold. Then he was falling backwards, sliding against the shredded surface of the door. He landed on his rear, legs splayed in front of him.

It may have been a disgraceful display, but...

Raizel somehow managed to swallow past the lump of terror in his throat without choking.

The floating pair of red eyes simply bored into him, the only solid thing in the mass of black that encroached on his vision.

When Raizel woke next, he found himself in his bed, with no memory of taking himself there. He slipped out of bed, taking note of his pajamas, and vowed to never again watch movies with Muzaka.

Walking barefooted down the corridors, he most certainly did not even glance at the study door.

  Raizel kept his back to his room as he closed his bedroom door. He leaned his head against the mahogany paneling and resolutely refused to turn around. There was a monster, an honest-to-goodness, straight-out-of-the-movies monster standing behind him, in the center of his room. 

"Raizel," the monster growled, "we need to talk." 

He shook his head slowly. 

"You've been breaking one of my rules, every single day, for this past week." The monster shifted, somewhere behind him. Raizel could almost feel its hot breath, going down the back of his neck. "You've never been one to break the rules before, boy."

That was before he'd become aware that he'd traded the devil that he'd known, for a different one.

"There's a reason I gave you those rules, Raizel." 

"Aren't they there because you're trying to lure me into a false sense of security?" he blurted, unable to hold his tongue.

"Lure you into a false sense of security for what?" The monster was right behind him now, hands raised, poised to deliver a killing blow.

"Aren't you a monster?" Raizel sunk his teeth into his tongue as soon as the words were past his lips, lest it betray him any further and upset the creature behind him. 

An oppressive silence fell over the room. It hung so heavy, so cloying that his shoulders were weighed down by the magnanimity of it. His lungs were filled to capacity and just about ready to burst.

Raizel's lips parted of their own accord and a raspy breath escaped him. That single action seemed to be some sort of trigger, because the room got brighter, and Raizel could breathe easier.

"Don't be late again, Raizel," the monster growled, its voice strangely faint. "I won't be able to guarantee your safety if you are." Then, with the sound of heavy drapes being whipped about in a storm, the creature was gone, out the window that Raizel knew he hadn't opened. The window that he could never recall opening, but always closed when he got up in the morning.

Wordlessly, he turned around, walked over to the heavy window and slammed it shut. His fingers trembled as he fought against the stubbornness of the ancient, neglected latch. They were a painful sort of numb by the time he'd managed to achieve his goal, but it was worth it.

    The window was open again, the next morning. 

The window was open, and the dresser that Raizel had shoved and tugged and pushed until it sat in front of his door last night hadn't been moved an inch.

Taking a deep breath, Raizel grabbed his book bag and an armful of clothes.

    Muzaka raised a bushy brow when he saw Raizel sitting on the doorstep of his side of the duplex, in the dim light of the pre-dawn.

"People usually hold sleepovers at night, y'know," the brash boy yawned. Still, he bent at the waist and picked up Raizel's luggage. "If you come in now, I can  convince my old man that I snuck ya in last night."

That gave him pause. 

It was ludicrous, to think that Muzaka did not have parents. But, he had never heard him mention his parents.

Had he left behind one beast, only to run afoul of another? 

But, he left now, where would he go? Who else would be able to bear his presence long enough to shelter him from the demon in his home?

Who else would be able to shelter him?

Raizel raised his eyes and let them focus on Muzaka's increasingly worried, searching face.

Moreover, was he putting his only friend at risk of the wrath of a monster?

Caul's voice, which had made itself known as Raizel had forced himself through his bedroom window, had mercilessly taunted him as he picked his bruised body off the grass after he had fallen from the roof of the porch below his window. It had grown in intensity as he made his escape across town towards Muzaka's home. Now, after having fallen dormant for a blessed few minutes, Caul returned to life.

He stroked Raizel's cheeks, chuckling in that wretched sadistic tone, voice dripping with malice and poison. 

"Oh, my sweet little brother, you brought this on yourself." His hands quit their mockery of a caress, turning instead to reaching for Muzaka. To drawing him closer. "You went and had me killed by your new protector, and now you seek a new dog to do your bidding."

Muzaka stepped forward, brows furrowed, but not a trace of anger in his face. "Y'kay Raizel?"

Caul gave a full, throaty laugh at that, curling an arm around Muzaka's shoulders. "Yes, little brother, are you 'okay' with the thought that you'll be leading death to your new friend's doorstep?

His brother was correct. 

Caul was correct, and Raizel was a fool for believing that this was possibly a good idea.

He looked away from his brother's form, and focused on Muzaka.

There was anger in Muzaka's face now. It roiled just beneath the surface, turning his friend's face red.  

The same red that was usually the precursor to one of Caul's violent acts. Raizel swallowed, muscles tensing as he readied himself for the feel of a blow. 

"Only because you deserve it, my dear, sweet Raizel."

One, two - he began to count the seconds as they ticked away.

One, two, three, four.

 Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

Click.

"If I ever see whoever it was that has ya shaken up like this, I'm gonna put my fist in their face." Muzaka's voice, despite brimming with anger, held no water in the face of his gentle grip on Raizel's arm. He pulled him forward, holding him as if he were porcelain. 

Caul, who'd begun chuckling in his cold, calculated manner, fell silent.

Raizel blinked, but the stinging in his eyes refused to lessen. He blinked again, and his vision blurred.

"Wait, Raizel, y-you're crying." Muzaka's grip tightened slightly as his voice rose an octave. "Shit, no, I...I didn't mean it! I won't punch 'em, I swear on my old man's grave!"

"Boy, what did I tell you about killing me before my time!"

Muzaka cupped Raizel's cheek with one hand, using his thumb to wipe the tears from one of his eyes. Now, Raizel could see the fond grimace on his friend's face. "Your time came when the dinosaurs died, ya ancient relic!" 

"You're not too big for me to turn you over my knee, Muzaka S. Carr!"

Raizel froze when Muzaka snorted in amusement. To do that in the face of one of Caul's tirades would have earned him a smarting cheek, at the very least. He would have had to grovel, at this point.

But Muzaka was staring at him now, and-

"Made ya laugh," he chuckled, using his other hand to wipe the rest of Raizel's tears. Then he brought their foreheads together. "Now quit crying before my dad sees ya and thinks I made it happen."

Oh? Raizel touched part of his cheek that wasn't completely covered by Muzaka's rough palm, and felt the slight bunching of muscle. The laughter had been his.

He'd almost forgotten that he knew how.

"Yeah, ya dingus," Muzaka insulted him, smiling.  

It didn't go through him, like one of Caul's insults would have, burning red and hot as it stabbed through his heart. Instead, it settled, soft and warm, keeping the chill of the early morning out.

"You laughed. Now let's go inside."

"He won't be this friendly forever, little brother."

    Muzaka lay back on the floor, staring up at his ceiling, long after his window had been eased open. 

The neighbours were fighting again, but that was an everyday occurrence. Shadowy masses from hell dragging themselves out from under his bed to swear undying loyalty to the person lying on his bed, on the other hand, was not.

That was something straight out of a movie.

He eased himself into a sitting position and glanced over at Raizel. The poor guy had hardly even slept last night.

He probably wouldn't have slept tonight either, if his dad hadn't slipped a bit of whiskey into that cup of tea that he'd given to Raizel. 

Yeah...

Raizel was going to have a bitch of a headache, come morning.

Still...

He eased himself onto his knees and crawled forward, rising to rest his elbows on the bed. He poked his friend's cheek. Yep, he was still fast asleep.

Muzaka bit his lip.

Raizel was still thrown off by whatever it was that had made him decide to spend a few days. He didn't need  to know that there was some sort of monster underneath Muzaka's bed, making it its business to ensure that both of them caught a cold because of that open window.

A cricket sounded, closer to his ear than any of them had been before, and Muzaka scowled.

That was why civilized people in this neighborhood kept their windows closed at night. 

"Damned monster better start paying rent, if it's gonna be leaving windows open," he grumbled, forcing his tired legs to lift him from his crouch and over to the window. "Leaving the window open like that. Does it help chase the fricking bugs out after it lets 'em in? Does it help to pay for the heating in this crapshot place? Must've been raised on a farm..."

#noblesse #shadows of the past #cadis etrama di raizel #muzaka

[artificialqueens]

Galactica, Chapter 12 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Hey all! Thank you so much for your amazing enthusiasm for this story. We love you. Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Last Chapter: Raja and Raven made their new engagement known, and Violet left for her much-anticipated date with Pearl.

This Chapter: Tears, misunderstandings, and a handsome stranger.

***

Violet had never felt more humiliated in her life.

The evening had gone so well at first, the two of them arriving at the red carpet, Pearl walking it while Violet had stayed behind. The prize ceremony had been amazing, their seats front and center which meant that Violet had had the chance to really see the winning designs, but then, everything had started going to hell the minute the after party started.

Violet had volunteered to go get drinks for them, thinking that it was a date, an actual real date, but then when she came back Pearl had been dancing with a girl that Violet recognized as a manager from the Calvin Klein store, the two of them making out on the dance floor.

The girl was tiny and curvy, her dress showing off her breasts, her short red hair framing her face perfectly. She was gorgeous, and suddenly Violet felt completely disgusting in her own body, too tall, too mannish, too thin. The girl was everything she was not, which made the fact that Pearl had chosen her even worse.

Shame had made Violet’s entire skin itch as she dropped the drinks, quickly making her way to the lounge, desperate to get away.

***

Violet was sitting in the corner of the main bar, doing her very best not to let anyone know she was crying.

She had stormed to the wardrobe, only to realise that Pearl had their number and that she couldn’t get her coat, the little clutch she had taken with her barely even containing her phone and a few dollars for tipping.

Violet could go to Pearl, should go to Pearl and demand to be given her coat, but there was no way she could look at the other woman without making a complete fool of herself.

“Hey lovely eyes-” Violet felt someone sit next to her. At first, she thought it was a mistake, that the stranger hadn’t actually been talking to her, but then, he continued, “how come you’ve got such lovely eyes?”

Violet snorted. She knew the stranger couldn’t see her eyes, her hair covering her face. “Did you come up with that all by yourself?”

“I did, thank you for noticing.” He replied, his voice dry but humorous. “Here.”

Violet saw a handkerchief making its way into her field of vision. It was a square of dark green fabric, but what Violet really noticed was the faded tattoos that swirled all over the strangers dark skin.

“Thank you…” Violet took it, their fingers touching for just a moment. She quickly dabbed her eyes, hoping that her mascara hadn’t run everywhere. “Not many people carry Frank Leder handkerchiefs.”

The stranger laughed, notes of surprise clear in the warm tones, and Violet felt a little bit better. It was nice to know that even though her evening had gone to shit, she had at least managed to make this kind stranger feel a little bit better.

“Can I-”  She put the handkerchief down, not yet ready to look up, but she did want to do something for the man who Violet felt like was saving her. “Can I buy you a drink?”

“How about I get you one instead?” The warmth was still there, amusement playing just underneath the deep rumble of his voice, “and when I get back, you can tell me what’s wrong?”

Violet didn’t want to talk about her problems, didn’t want to let anyone in, but before she could protest, the man had already gotten out of his seat. Violet straightened her back, pushing her hair behind her ear. She took a deep breath, readying herself to thank him for his offer, but to also let him down gently.

“I got you some water, it’s not exactly a drink, but I figured you could use it.”

Violet turned, and that was when she saw him for the first time.

She recognized him instantly.

It was the same nose, the same height, the same eyes, the same build, the exact same skin tone.

“You’re Sutan Amrull.”

“Hello.” Sutan smiled. He was wearing a deep green suit, a bottle of water and a whiskey in hand.

Sutan was one of Elite Model Management best managers and scouts. He was a legende, his ability to find potential talent and then nurture them with his golden touch was something most scouts could only dream of. Everyone who was anything in Manhattan knew him, his models longed for and sought after and for their beauty, their personality but most importantly their work ethic.

“You’re Raja Amrull’s twin brother.”

“Pleasure to meet you.”

Violet did the only thing she could think of. She snatched her clutch off the table, and tried to run.

“Hey!” Violet felt a hand on her arm. “Don’t run.”

“I-” Violet felt like she should be panicking, someone who was essentially a stranger holding her back, but she was in the middle of a party, she knew his sister, and even though he was touching her arm, Violet could barely feel the grip. “Okay.”

“I’m glad.” Sutan slowly released her, a mischievous glint sparkling in his eyes. “You’re the first woman I’ve met who knows who I am that has tried to run away.”

“I should really go.”

“At least have the drink with me.” Sutan nodded towards the bar, stopping himself as he looked at the selection, “or water, I guess.”

Violet’s night had already gone to shit, the memory of Pearl kissing another girl burned into her brain, so there was really no reason to say no.

“Thank you.”

Violet sat down, and Sutan did the same as he pushed the closed bottle of Pellegrino towards her.

“Now,” Sutan smiled, “since you apparently know my name, and who I am, can I have yours?”

“Violet, my name’s- I, umh. I’m Violet. Just Violet.”

“Hello Violet just Violet.”  

Violet shook her head, but she couldn’t help the smile that crept over her lips.

She had seen Sutan before, of course she had. He was Raja’s twin brother, and Violet had dissapeared into the background at enough cocktail hours, event openings and parties to see the two of them standing side by side, both twins acting and looking like the rest of the world ceased to matter when the other one was there.

“I-” Violet looked over at Sutan, their eyes meeting, the man sipping his whiskey like he had all the time in the world to wait for her to speak up. “I didn’t mean for-“ Violet pauser. “I didn’t intend to freak out. Before, I mean-”

Sutan nodded, a faint hum coming from him.

“And I don’t usually cry at parties.”

“You don’t seem the type.”

Violet felt a strange sense of being seen, like Sutan was playing genuine attention to her, like he was actually looking at her and only her.

“Tonight has been, no, this entire week has been…” Violet sighed. “It’s been interesting, to say the least, and I-” Violet stopped herself, a huff of disbelief coming from her. “I can’t believe I’m actually telling you this.”

“Sounds like it needs to be said.” Sutan smiled, his head resting on his hand. “I’ve been told I’m a great listener.”

Violet nodded. She could absolutely believe it, the man’s entire aura so different from his sister, Sutan almost like a warm crackling fire to Raja’s icy coolness.

“No one, especially a stunning woman on a night of joy, deserves to sit alone and cry.”

Violet laughed, but as she watched Sutan’s face, he seemed entirely serious.

“Oh…”

“Drink your water, talk to me if you want, and when you’re done, I’ll get you a car. Okay?”

Violet bit her lip. She had been on her own for a long long time. Sure, she had had the other students and the teachers at the academy after she turned 13, but she couldn’t remember anyone ever looking at her like Sutan did.

“Thank you.”

Violet had never had anyone take care of her like this, had never had anyone pay attention to her in this manner or treat her like she was something precious, worthy of treasuring, without expecting anything from her in return, and she found herself moving closer and closer, practically fitting herself to Sutan’s side before he finally finally finally put an arm around her, his hand resting on her hip.

***

Pearl hadn’t meant to get caught up on the dancefloor, but she had bumped into one of her more frequent fuckbuddies, the Calvin Klein manager a woman Pearl really enjoyed spending time with.

She had been swept along without a thought in her head, had enjoyed herself immensely  as they danced until her partner had leaned forward and kissed her, their lips meeting, the girl dominating it right away.

Pearl had enjoyed it, she wasn’t made of stone, but as they kissed, she realized that it wasn’t what she wanted at all.

She didn’t want sex and kisses from someone who didn’t matter to her.

She wanted Violet.

Pearl had pushed her away and told her she was on a date, Calvin Klein simply shrugging and catching the hand of another blonde to dance with, leaving her behind.

And then, Pearl had spent the next hour looking for Violet, had called her phone over and over again, but she was completely gone, practically evaporated into thin air.

Pearl was just about to call the police, when she spotted Violet, the other woman sitting at the bar, looking like she didn’t have a care in the world.

A man was with her, a stranger she couldn’t recognize since his back was turned to her. His arm was around Violet’s waist, the two of them caught up in a quiet conversation, Violet actually smiling, and Pearl couldn’t help but see red.

How dare she?

Pearl had taken Violet on a date, had invited her to this amazing party, and instead of waiting for her like she was supposed to do, Violet was now basking in someone else's attention.

Pearl didn’t know what to do, anger burning in her body, but instead of running over, instead of pulling Violet away, she turned around, and went right back to the dance floor.

She’d find Calvin Klein even if it was the last thing she did, and give her so many orgasms she would black out.

***

“Here you go.”

Violet couldn’t help but smile. Sutan had somehow managed to wrestle her wrap away from the check in girl, and while Violet knew his sister could change the mind of even the most stubborn person, she had gotten the distinct impression that Sutan had that exact skill as well.

“Thank you.”

Violet was just about to reach out, and take her coat, when Sutan held it up.

“Oh.”

“I hope you don’t mind?” Sutan smiled.

“No. No, not at all.” Violet turned around, slipping her arms into her coat. Sutan put it down over her shoulders, his hands resting on them for just a moment before he released her.

“Let’s go outside.”

***

“Careful.” Violet said, her voice muffled as she climbed into his car. “I’m wearing Gabbana.”

“I know,” Sutan chuckled, following right behind her. It had been the plan to get Violet a cab, to send her off on her own, but as they had stood outside, Violet wrapped up in her jacket, they hadn’t been able to find one, so Sutan had offered her a ride in his car.

He had arrived at the Vogue Fashion Fund with a date, but right now he couldn’t even remember her name, and if he was honest he had actually forgotten it the moment he saw Violet sit at the bar.

She was absolutely wonderful. Weird and unpredictable, keeping him on his toes in a way he hadn’t tried in years and years.

She didn’t seem impressed by who he was in the slightest, but she wasn’t disrespectful either, his profession, which was so often mocked, something she so clearly understood.

“Remember your seatbelt, young lady.”

“I’m not that young.” Violet looked at him, her brown eyes bright. “I’m 23.”

“And I’m 41.”

It stung a little to say it. Sutan loved his age, loved that he was an adult with a career, that he was in charge of his own life, but right now it truly sucked that he was 17 years Violet’s senior.

“So?” Violet smiled. “You don’t look it.”

“Ouch.” Sutan snorted. “We both know I’m going gray.”

Raja had been ready to kill him when he had shown his twin his first gray hairs, his sister actually hitting him while she had yelled that it wasn’t fair.

“I think you’re beautiful.”

“Beautiful?” Sutan laughed, surprise flushing over him. “You think I’m beautiful?” He hadn’t been called that since his late teens, the choice of word yet another thing that he hadn’t expected at all.

“Mmmh.” Violet nodded. “And I think-” Violet looked at him, a small smile playing on her lips. “I think,  that it would be really nice if you kissed me.”

Sutan hadn’t planned to kiss the stranger he had met in the bar, hadn’t intended for his night to end this way, but as he leaned over the seat, his hand finding Violet’s hair, he didn’t want it any other way.

***

“Bunny!”

Courtney grinned. Adore was waiting outside their favorite pizza joint, and the second Courtney saw her best friend, her steps grew lighter and bouncier. As exhausted as she was after her first week at Galactica, nothing made her happier than a day with Adore, catching up over lunch and then snuggling up on her couch for a well-deserved marathon of their favorite cheesy rom coms.

“Hi!” she cried, skipping up to her and flinging herself into her arms.

They hadn’t seen each other since before her interview, and even though they texted all the time, it felt like it had been forever since Courtney had felt the warm comfort of one of Adore’s perfect hugs. Adore squeezed her back tightly.

“I missed you so much,” Adore said, and Courtney nodded in agreement, face buried in her neck.

“Me too, baby. How are you?”

“Good! The line’s moving quickly, which is great because I am starving! ”

“Awesome.” Courtney laid a head on her shoulder, still not letting go.

“So? How was it? Tell me everything!”

Adore put her hands on Courtney’s shoulders, pushing her back to look into her face.

“Um…”

“Isn’t Fame the best? ”

“Uh, yeah, she’s-”

“She’s practically my godmother,” Adore laughed. “You’re so lucky that you get to work for her and not my sister. Who, you know, I love and everything, but she is such a hardass. But Fame is like, the nicest.”

“Right.”

Courtney had met Adore’s infamous “hardass” sister a few times in passing, while they were in college. And while she was certainly intimidating, Courtney couldn’t remember her being nearly as relentlessly uptight as Fame. Who, Courtney supposed, must be very different outside of the office.

“And she gives the best hugs in the world,” Adore sighed.

“I’ll take your word for it,” Courtney replied with a chuckle.

It seemed a bit unfair--knowing this warm and loving version of Fame existed, and that she’d probably never get to meet her. How could she miss someone she’d never met?

“What, not a lot of hugging in the office?” Adore bumped Courtney playfully with her hip.

“Unfortunately not.”

Adore wrapped her arms around her. “Awww, sorry bunny.”

“I’ll survive,” Courtney said.

They stepped up to the counter to order, then found a small table, perching on stools. Adore, as usual, immediately took a huge bite, then moaned in pain. Courtney laughed, shaking her head.

“You always do that.”

“I know! But it’s just because I love pizza!” Adore whined, sucking on an ice cube from her Mountain Dew.

Courtney giggled again, taking a sip of her root beer.

“So...you haven’t really told me anything! What’s the job like? Is it super glamorous?!”

“Um, it’s mostly like office stuff. Answering phones, scheduling meetings, errands, things like that.” Courtney picked at her pizza crust, taking a small bite.

“Well, is it at least better than the steak house?” Adore asked.

“Yeah, for sure. And most importantly, now I can stay in New York.” Courtney smiled. “Thanks for helping me get the interview.”

“Of course, bunny. I would go crazy if you left. No one else understands me the way you do.” She leaned forward and pressed a sloppy kiss to Courtney’s cheek.

“Same!” Courtney grinned back at her.

“So like...it’s good, then? You’re happy?” Adore’s blue eyes were wide with hope.

It didn’t seem right for Courtney to complain to Adore. Not after she’d gone out of her way to help her get the interview. And certainly not about her “practically a godmother.”

“Yeah! I mean, it’s been a little tough learning everything fast enough, but I think I’m doing alright.” Courtney picked at a mushroom that was falling off of her pizza and popped it into her mouth.

“Of course you are! I would expect nothing else.”

“I just really want to do a good job, you know?”

“Yeah, sure.” Adore nodded, and then gave a sympathetic shrug. “I wouldn’t really know.”

“Well, we don’t all have rich sisters supporting our music careers,” she added.

“I know, what a shame!” Adore laughed. “Speaking of which, pizza and movie snacks are on Bianca today, so eat up.”

“Well...thanks, Bianca,” Courtney said, toasting their invisible patron and then lifting the slice to her mouth for a bite.

***

Pearl was smoking a cigarette, the morning sun shining down. Violet hadn’t answered any of her texts or any of her calls even after she had returned home, and Violet infuriatingly enough didn’t even have any social media profiles she could stalk, so Pearl had done the only thing she could think of.

She had camped out on the roof, waiting and hoping that she’d bump into Violet doing her morning yoga.

Pearl was just about to give up, when the door finally opened and she saw Violet step through, the other woman stopping dead in her tracks, yoga mat under her arm.

“Viole- Hey!”

As soon as Pearl had opened her mouth, Violet had turned on her heel.

“Hey!” Pearl shouted, throwing her cigarette over the rooftop edge.

“Violet! What the fuck, dude?!” Pearl flew down the stairs, but Violet was annoyingly fast; when she finally caught up to her, she had just jammed the key in her door.

“Violet! What the hell is wrong with you?” Pearl groaned, her heart hammering away. “First you ditch me and now you’re ignoring me?!”

Violet spun around, her hair almost hitting Pearl in the face. “Are you high right now?!”

“I-” Pearl straightened her back. “No, unfortunately. But if you’re interested, I do have some weed in my-”

Pearl had hoped for a smile, a laugh, anything, but instead, Violet simply slammed the door in her face.

***

Patrick opened the door, curious as to who it could possibly be ringing their doorbell unannounced on a Sunday evening. He couldn’t imagine the wealthy divorcée who lived in the brownstone next door needing to borrow a cup of sugar. Instead, he was greeted with a very familiar face.

“Pearl?” Patrick opened the door wider upon seeing the young blonde. She looked a little rough, like she’d been hard drinking all day.

“I’m sorry! I-should have called first. I don’t know why I thought-I mean I didn’t think-”

Patrick’s heart softened, seeing the clear distress that his wife’s latest paramour was in. Patrick knew Pearl, and enjoyed her company quite a bit. She was Fame's favorite and most reliable work playmate, always happy to please her, but didn’t often come to their house.

“Is everything okay, dear?” he asked gently.

“No.” Pearl shook her head.

“Ah.” Patrick slipped an arm around her shoulder, pressing a fatherly kiss to her hair, and guided her inside. He called out to Fame in the kitchen, “Darling! Set another place for dinner!”

#rpdr fanfiction #thedane #veronica #galactica #lesbian au #fashion au #pearlet #vitan #fame x pearl #violet chachki #raja gemini #pearl liaison #courtney act #adore delano

[retroateez]

Prophecy - Chapter Seven

wc; 2433

You had assumed that you'd end up in prison one day. But not the one time you haven't actually stolen anything.

"I wasn't stealing anything!" You protested loudly as the guards dragged you along. "I'm not a thief!"

Of course, they hadn't believed you, which was why you were currently curled up on the cold, stone floor of the castle prison.

According to the guards infernal teasing, you were one of multiple thieves caught that day alone, and incedently the last straw for the kingsguard. They had been instructed to bring any other thieves directly to the castle instead of the general prison in the lower settlements of the city for the irritated kingsguard to personally deal with.

Just your luck.

You sat in the tiny cell; 3 rough cobblestone walls and a dark iron gate you have to call home for god knows how long.

Huddled on the ground, your mind wanders back to Yeosang.

Back to Yeosang and how he simply abandoned you in the market, allowing the guards to drag you away and throw you in this dingy castle cellar.

You knew deep down that finding someone as generous and selfless as Yeosang was too good to be true, his immediate welcoming aura should've been suspicious to you. Nobody is ever that nice.  It was a shame that he ended up proving you right.

You just hope he didn't truly leave you here.

He's all you have.

With a groan, you haul yourself off the floor and stretch your limbs out; you can't see the outside from your cell, but you're certain the sun has set in the hours you've been confined in the castle prison.

Pacing back and forth through the cell, you don't notice two guards- different from the ones who arrested you- unlock the heavy metal door.

"Prancing about like a little fairy, are we?" One of them sneers.

The other grabs you harshly by your wrists, pulling them behind you and binding them together with a scratchy length of rope.

"Kingsguard wants to meet you, little fairy." His face contorts into the ugliest expression you've ever seen. You think it's supposed to resemble a menacing grin, but the lack of joy this vile human has ever experienced prevents him from actually being able to smile.

"He's intrigued about our sweet little thief," the other continues. "Not often we get a lady prisoner down here."

You don't need to be a genius to figure out what they're thinking.

So instead, you stay quiet and let them push you through the cobblestone hallway of the prison, up until you're face to face with giant, mahogany doors.

The guard tugs the ropes impossibly tighter around your wrists and you wonder whether or not your hands are getting any blood circulation.

Probably not.

"You try anything in front of the kingsguard..." The second guard flashes his glistening sword threateningly around the side of your neck, running the edge of the blade gently across your skin and making you shudder.

You're pretty sure you understand what he's getting at.

They carry on escorting you through the castle, through hallways lined with plush crimson rugs and exquisite paintings hanging on the walls. Floor to ceiling curtains hang on almost every wall, illuminated a deep wine red by the torches glowing throughout the passage.

You pass a set of grand doors on your right, only allowing you a brief peek inside, but you're stunned.

What you assume to be the grand hall of the castle, is absolutely breath-taking.

You only catch a glimpse of the polished brown tile floor and the oak dining tables stretched out from one end of the hall to the other, which seem to extend for miles. You can't even begin to imagine the extravagant balls and banquets the king holds in there. The guards quickly whisk you into a room just beyond the hall doors, ripping you from the luxurious daydream you had begun to imagine.

The room is a neat, box-shape, with pale grey stone walls and the same blood red curtains decorating the walls to your left and your right. In front of you, the stone walls are replaced with gorgeous stained glass windows, which you can only imagine filter in a spectrum of colours in the sunlight. However, the darkness offers no beauty to the glass pictures, and the colours sit stagnant, miserable and dull in their panes.

Between you and the windows, was a large, oak desk, littered with various books, letters and empty ink bottles. Whoever wrote at this desk clearly had an issue with organisation, you think.

You needn't look very far for the culprit; to your right is a very tall and slender man (not as tall as Yunho, you note) standing before a exceptionally carved bookcase, pouring over a book he's holding gently in his hands.

The guard holding your bound wrists coughs, and the tall man snaps his book shut with a start.

"Have you never heard of knocking?!" He seethes, whipping his head round to glare at the source of his interruption.

Momentarily, your brain stops and you're sure you feel your jaw drop. (It does).

He is...

"Handsome?" The man quips with a knowing smirk. "I know"

He places the book back into place with ease, slotting it between the other books like he's done it a million times before, and slowly makes his way over to you.

You watch as he moves, almost like a cat he's wary and precise, but in the same way he's sleek and graceful. He wastes zero movement, not making any unnecessary steps and always being on his guard.

His figure is tall and lean, with a narrow face and cheekbones that Aphrodite herself must've sculpted. He's got huge, rich brown eyes, piercing but you sense enough softness in them to make even the coldest heart melt. His hair is raven black, a fair portion of it hanging down over his left eye. Dressed in a fitted, raven black coat and trouser ensemble, he looks incredibly intimidating. In short, he is very, very, very attractive.

He's also far from impressed at your presence.

"So, another thief caught in our market today, hm?" He towers over you threateningly and you find yourself refusing to meet his gaze.

"Yes, sir," The guard begins. "She was ste-"

"I wasn't talking to you." The painfully beautiful man snaps sharply, his piercing glare boring straight into the guards eyes and halting his flow of speech abruptly.

"Right," the guard nods meekly; if he had a tail you're certain he'd be tucking it between his legs. "Sorry, Seonghwa, sir."

Seonghwa sighs deeply and takes a step back from you, placing his palms flat against the desk and leaning on it, observing you in a way that makes you incredibly uncomfortable.

"I'll be honest, a sweet little thing like you was the last thing I expected these lumbering fools to bring through my doors." he chuckles almost dismissively, like he suddenly thinks you're not worth the time and effort to speak to just because you aren't the typical drunken fool he usually has to deal with.

You frown as he speaks; were all royal employees patronising arseholes?

Despite your distaste for his character, you still couldn't bring yourself to look him in the eye, instead keeping your gaze fixed adamantly on the lavish carpet underneath your filthy shoes.

"Look at me when I'm speaking to you." his voice plummets an octave or two, and your head tilts upwards to meet his gaze before you even register the movement.

It seems you forgot exactly who this man was. You'd never met a kingsguard before, (probably because you'd never been in a castle), but you knew he was extremely powerful and important.

Essentially the king's right hand man, Seonghwa could order you to be killed purely for his own amusement.

"That's better." He has the audacity to smirk, and you want nothing more to slap it off his stupidly handsome face. But considering how your hands are still tightly restrained behind your back, you don't.

"So," Seonghwa sighs. "Would you like to tell me why you thought stealing from the market was a good idea?"

You scan his face carefully. You can tell he's already on edge, what from the countless other thieves he's dealt with today, as well as other pressures from holding a key role in the kingdom. You don't particularly care about the condescending kingsguard has to deal with day to day and how stressed he is, but you do care about your own head, so trying your best not to anger him even more would be the safest course of action.

"I was-wasn't!" You stumble over your words, groaning internally when Seonghwa's eyebrows knit together.

"Oh?" He pushes himself off the table towards you once more, piercing your eyes with his own penetrating glare. "Now you think it's okay to lie to me?"

"No! I didn't steal anything I swe-"

Your rambling is cut off by Seonghwa grabbing roughly at your shoulders and bringing his face level with yours.

"Be quiet." He growls. "I was willing to listen to you, but clearly you think lying to me is accept"

Seonghwa turns his attention back to guards, straightening out his posture and somehow looking even more menacing than before.

"Take her back to her cell. I have more important matters to attend to at the moment. More important than some filthy street rat, anyway. I'll visit later and we can discuss the situation then."

With that he turns away from you, and you don't see what he does next because the guards have already shoved you out of Seonghwa's study and halfway down the hallway.

They waste no time locking you back up like some common criminal, although to them that's exactly what you are.

You throw yourself down into the corner and eye the guards, who are now standing on duty just to the left of your cell.

"Seonghwa's in a right foul mood today" one of them grumbles.

"King's been banging on about that fuckin' prophecy again." the other replies. "You know how hassled they get over it."

Prophecy? What on earth were they talking about?

"It's a load of horseshit if you ask me. Written in the stars? There's more truth in the shit on the bottom of my boots." the guard mocks with a short laugh, which sounds more like the grunting of a very large pig.

"Whatever it is, the king goes mad over it so shut your trap. If he catches you takin' the piss he'll have your head for it."

You tune out the rest of their conversation, wondering whether or not the plan formulating in your head could work. It's not like you have any other choice though, is it?

Yeosang left you here, in the clutches of the stuck-up royal assholes. You doubt he knew they took you directly to the castle, but that was besides the point. He left you. And you didn't know if he would try and get you out. So the only person who can help you, is yourself.

And you had just the plan.

---

Hours pass until you hear the unfamilar clacking of shoes echoing through the prison hallway, bringing you out of your slumber.

"Sleeping, little thief?" your sleepy eyes snap open and you find yourself staring up at Seonghwa, who is unfortunately, still as stunning as before.

You pick yourself up off the floor, moving slightly closer to the iron gate, but not too close.

"Scared?" he questions mockingly. "I won't bite".

You remain silent, only eyeing him with a steely gaze.

"We have two options here, my love." Seonghwa looks at you with an expression you can't quite read. All you can tell is that the kingsguard loves to mock and play mind games with you. And this is a game you do not have the time, nor the patience for.

"I can let you go, at the price of risking you stealing from our poor merchants again, which, and I'm sure you'll understand, is something I and the rest of the royal court do not want."

You raise an eyebrow, waiting for the catch. There's always a catch.

"Or... I can order to have you killed. Meaning there's zero possibility of you thieving, bothering, or annoying me ever again, which, and once again I'm sure you'll understand, works out much better for me."

He stands on the other side of the gate, a smug smirk painted on his face. You'd love nothing more than to punch him straight between the eyes.

"I'm not too sure you'd want to have me killed though, Mr. Kingsguard." you quip, watching his face contort into one of both intrigue and confusion.

"And why would that be?"

"Because I have information I'm sure the king would be thrilled to have." Seonghwa's face drops somewhat, the traces of sarcasm wash away and are replaced with caution. He's wary of you; you can see it in the way he's standing with his arms folded tightly across his chest, signifying he doesn't quite believe you yet, but the way he's ever so slightly leaning forward towards you shows you that just one more tiny push and the kingsguard will be wrapped around your little finger. Here goes nothing.

"Information regarding what exactly?" he asks.

"The prophecy, of course." you reply matter-of-factly.

Seonghwa's jaw falls open and his eyebrows band together. His deep hazel eyes lose their patronizing glint and he stares at you in bewilderment.

There's a brief pause and a tense silence between you while the kingsguard collects his thoughts.

Suddenly, he clears his throat and straightens his posture, tugging the collar of his smart, black uniform around his neck.

"Very well," he responds at last. "I'll arrange a meeting with the King himself, and if I catch even a whiff of bullshit from you, little thief, you'll be buried six feet under quicker than you can say kingsguard." Seonghwa departs with a growl, turning on his heel and marching out of the prison, his polished, heeled boots clacking against the stone as he strides.

You exhale heavily, letting out a breath you didn't even know you were holding.

You didn't know whether meeting the King and attempting to convince him you were an expert on something you had literally never heard of before was better or worse than being executed and buried six feet deep underground, but now it was clear you really had no choice.

What on earth had you gotten yourself into?

Chapter Eight

#ateez #ateez au #medieval!ateez #seonghwa #yeosang #hongjoong #san #wooyoung #yunho #jongho #mingi

[fatcatsarecats]

Xavierine witcher ficlet! Inspiried by my screaming at @gerec‘s askbox and @traumschwinge’s xavierine ficlet. i hope you guys don’t mind me tagging you guys in as well!!!

Many thanks to @irelise and @jackyjango who helped bunscheme this into shape!!!

—

If Charles knew Logan well, and he very much did, then the reason Logan hasn't answered any of his summoning Ravens is because he's been mucking around in some dingy cavern on either a treasure hunt or a Witcher Contract. Indeed, a quick location spell and a portal later, and Charles finds himself sinking his boots into a pile of hairy, but thankfully dead, arachnomorph legs. His nerves almost jumps out of his skin, but he doesn’t let himself cringe until he’s carefully climbed his way down the pile.

Times like these he’s grateful for his leather gloves and his study of magic. An enchantment sharpens his eyes to the darkness, and he finds Logan crouching by the mutilated body of an arachnomorph, holding a knife as he palms through its spilled innards.

"Watch your left."

Charles ducks fast enough to miss a small section of an arachnomorph leg sailing through the air. A thin silver, line of its blood splashes on his arm. He stifles a shudder, and with a burst of magic, waves his clothes clean again.

Lord, the sodden smell of algae is nothing compared to dead, squished spiders.  

Logan doesn’t pay him any mind. He’s probably already smelt Charles coming the moment he stepped out of the portal. Even though he’s tied his hair, strands have plastered itself to his forehead, drenched he is from the cave waters and… other things  

Which simply won’t do. A burst of magic thickens the air, and Logan grunts when he finds himself clean again.

“You could’ve washed away some precious extract, you know,” Logan grumbles.

Charles stifles a chuckle. “If they were as precious as you claim it to be, then it wouldn’t be splattered all over your clothes.” He walks to get a better look at dead the spider. "Charming," Charles says, scrunching his nose. "A contract, is it?"

“Ealdorman’s son went missing. Tracked his body down outside the cavern.”

“That poor boy,” Charles mutters. “So they sent you out here.”

“Nah, just thought I’d clean place up and maybe stock up on supplies while I’m at it.” Logan bags a couple of sticky, bright blue mutagens, before getting to work on it’s heart. "Can't let good ingredients rot to waste."

"Joy."

"Scuttly little bastards they are," Logan says. "Could've used your help when they were ganging up on me."

Charles raises one eyebrow. "If you had answered my calls, then I would have been happy to help. But, of course, you had to make it hard and camp inside a cavern."

Logan huffs in amusement .“All my fault, huh.”

“Always,” Charles says, his lip twitching. “Although, consider yourself forgiven if you save some of that saliva for me.”

Logan thinks on it, then he dips his finger into a pool of saliva. He scoops out a thick glob and offers it to Charles.

“In a vial, Logan.”

Logan barks out a laugh. "I forgot how sticky and pungent their webbing is. Wouldn’t be surprised if wads of the shit has slithered under my chainmail."

Charles shudders, batting at Logan’s hands, and Logan laughs even louder. As he always does when he purposely grosses Charles out.

"As... engrossing as it is," Charles says. “Aren't you going to ask why I've called on you?"

"Can't it be for my pleasant company?"

“Ah, yes. Because you are quite the conversationalist, my friend,” Charles says. “Well?”

Logan folds his own arms and stares at Charles. When it doesn't look like Charles is going to offer his reason—because really, he can be just as stubborn as a mule if he puts his mind to it—Logan sighs.

"Alright, I'll bite.” Logan tosses a pair of arachnomorph fangs in his palms. “What brings you here, Charles?"

Charles rolls his eyes. "I've detected residues of magic in Skellige. Ones that came from a big spike of power. There's a high chance that it could be Laura and her friends… but my report is quite dated. They could be long gone by now, so there’s no rush. I’d like to investigate the site, nonetheless.”

Logan's eyebrows dipped on his head. "I'm surprised you haven't checked it out yourself?"

Charles hears the unspoken, ‘With Erik,’ in his comment, and gives Logan the grace of ignoring such thing. “I was heading in that direction and I was wondering if you'd want to come with me."

“Why?”

“I thought it’d be nice to bring her father along if we do come across her.”

Logan doesn't say anything for a minute. He just scrutinises Charles with his unnerving stare. His cat eyes are infamous—known to discompose even Mages and Sorceresses—but Charles is used to them; he used to the myriad of expressions which crosses those cat eyes—both Logan and Erik’s.

"You could've just gone," Logan mutters. "You know how I hate portals."  

Charles waves his hand. "Nonsense. I'm due for some quality time with my horse, anyway."  

“You could have gone with Erik.”

Charles forces himself not to stiffen. “I didn’t think to ask. We’ve gone our separate ways.”

"Hmm," Logan says. "Trouble in paradise?"

"Darling,” Charles sighs, “when normal people skirt over a subject, it usually indicates and unwillingness to talk about it."

"But we're not normal, yeah?" Logan says. "You look upset."

Charles purses his lips. "You are as tact as ever, my friend."

“I’m one hell of a wordsmith in my own right,” Logan says. “But I don’t give that much of a fuck for Lehnsherr. He lands on his feet more fucking times than I can count. It’s you I’m worried about. Not to mention, the last time you and Erik tried to do anything with a Djinn, half of Rinde almost felt its wrath.”

Charles looks away. On instinct, he rubs his face (‘It’s better than crying.’) and exhaustion settles in, as it usually does whenever he thinks about the situation with Erik.

Logan’s face softens. There’s only silence between them as Logan rummages through his satchel.

“Here.”

Charles looks down. In Logan’s hand is a vial of monster saliva. He touches the vial almost gingerly.

He must think Charles to be so pathetic. Things didn't work out with Erik, so he runs to Logan crying about it. Isn’t that what he’s doing anyway? But then, Logan is much kinder than to call him out on it. Much kinder than what Charles deserves, probably.  

"Things with the Djinn didn't stick?" Logan asks gently.

"No." Charles sighs. "It did. That's the problem."

Erik wasn't supposed to be his, Charles knows. Erik was his by a lethal combination of pure stubbornness and a disastrous accident. He was Magda's first, and Charles fooled with a Djinn when he wasn't ready and they ended up bonded. The next few decades were spent bouncing between passion, love, and resentment—the kind that’s thick enough to choke on.  

Charles was ready for the latter. He took away Erik's choice in his love for Charles It was his fault for releasing the Djinn and putting them in a position where Erik’s life was compromised. When he used his last wish to save their lives, he invoked the Djinn’s mischief, and the Djinn tied their destinies together.

They spent all those years fighting, and Charles spent all those years hating himself for ruining one of the only good thing he's found in decades… Charles wondered why he spent so long waiting to find another Djinn to break their bond. Maybe he could have spared himself the current heartbreak.

Because to find out that their feelings were their own. To find out the Djinn had nothing to do with their hearts—and certainly nothing to do with their proximity from all the times either of them have stormed halfway across the world in their anger...

That… Charles was not ready for.

All the pain, the resentment, the hurt.

All for nothing.  

They ended things there, so they could start fresh. It was more so Charles's decisions than Erik's, but Erik has other business to sort out himself. Magda is a fellow sorceress. It could be as if no time had passed at al.

It was—is—better this way.

"I'll tell you about it one day," Charles says, tucking his vial into his rucksack. "Are you done here?"

Logan stares him again. This time, Charles blinks back at him, tilting his head in question. Logan brushes some blood off his shoulder plates as he stands up. He offers a hand and pulls Charles up with him.

Charles chants a quick cleaning spell on Logan’s gloves. He’ll thank Charles for this, he’s sure of it.

"Still got one or two nests to go," Logan says. "Want to come with?"  

“Why is it whenever I visit you, we always end up in some dark, smelly cave?”

“Should’ve kept better company then.”

That pulls a laugh out of Charles. “At least it was treasure last time,” Charles says. "But why not? Two heads are better than one, I suppose."

Charles gathers a ball of light in his hands. He holds it out, and the ball floats near his head, illuminating a soft blue on their surroundings.

“Speaking of...” Logan says. "Aren’t you going to..."

Charles tips his head in question.

Logan taps the side of his forehead.

Surprised, the ball of light beside his head blinks out momentarily. He could count the handful of times Erik has invited him into his head. Logan has long surpassed both fingers of his hands. It’s how Charles got the inkling that too had a past with a fellow mind reader. He’s simply too comfortable having someone in his head.

He forgot how nice it could be when someone else takes the initiative.

Logan’s head feels like it always does. A glass of whisky warming his systems in a lowly lit pub. He’s thinking about Laura, mostly. Worrying about her. Wondering what forms of trouble has she and her friends been up to.

“Comfortable?” Logan asks.

If you don't mind, Charles says. Remember that it goes both ways. I’ve fine tuned the spell as such. And if you need space...

“I'll tell you, bub,” Logan says. “Just don't go looking into places you're not supposed to be. Unless you want to see a bunch of alghouls fucking around the place.”

As far as he knows, alghouls do not mate or reproduce with each other, but he doesn’t doubt the imaginative powers of Logan’s mind.

Charles shudders. You have an odd and macabre sense of humour, my friend. Shall we get going?

#xavierine #past cherik #witcher au #charles xavier #logan howlett

[gasp-iwrotesomething]

Can I have G 1 and 17 with Vivienne please? Love your work 💕

Aw, thanks so much for the kind words, anon! Glad I could offer you somethings you like! I’d be happy to write this for you; thanks for taking the time to request and I hope you enjoy! ❤

G1: “Sorry to burst your bubble, but you’re a bit of a moron.”

G17: “I may be small but I can be intimidating. You ever seen a chihuahua? Yeah, same shit. Don’t try me.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vivienne’s facade was working.

She had been tasked with buttering up a businesswoman who had enough artifacts in her home to supply a newly erected museum. MC was the one who was to scope out the premises--explore the terrain of the woman’s home to try and discern where she hid said artifacts. “I have heard such wonderful things about your company, darling,” Vivienne’s rich, sycophant voice blares through the tiny wire attached to MC’s ear, drowning out the silence that flooded the mansion, “you seem to be the epitome of a strong woman, no?” MC could sense her hackles rise as she harks to the businesswoman’s sheepish reply. It was something so shy that it put MC to shame whenever Vivienne touched her--and THAT was a wonder all on its own. Even though MC couldn’t see Vivienne, only hear her through a mirage of crackling static, she could sense the gentle smirk that teased the seductress’ ruby lips--dangerous lips, one that could kill if enough lipstick was lathered on. “Yes, strong women are what this world needs. They have their solicitous charm that just really melts my heart like no other. Do you agree, mademoiselle?” MC ignores the plumes of anger that billow within her and focuses on the businesswoman’s bedroom; uprooting every drawer and hamper and any other potential hiding place for secrets that she could think of checking. But there’s no key or password or even scrap of acknowledgement that the dreaded artifacts exist. MC grows antsy. Over the wire, a barked laugh catches MC’s attention again and she listens to her girlfriend’s indirect charm pour into her ear.

“I feel like your life must be tricky, especially with all of the business you’ve got to go through,” there’s a deliberate pause, one that sparks, electric, as if the wire was malfunctioning--it wasn’t, “you must have men and women alike throwing themselves into your lap, endeavoring to become your little lap dog. It’s a wonder that you haven’t been claimed by anyone so far.” MC’s face reddens with barely restrained frustration, and under her breath, she mutters something bitterly. “Yeah right.” Since there was a microphone clipped to her ear, it picked up the sound and MC hears Vivienne’s quiet ‘tch’ over her own pounding heart. “W-what is something... wrong, Ms. Tang?” The businesswoman inquires with a mountain of overwrought concern and MC fears their cover might’ve been blown. Shit, did I just fuck everything up? But the suave, seductive Vivienne swoops in and swimmingly saves their mission, her voice the same immodest purr it was before the interruption. “No, I’m just a little frustrated with the lack of attention you’ve been given--if I were in charge of it all, I’d have you swamped in all the attention you could wish for.” As if a spell was woven around the clueless, wreck of a businesswoman, she disregards Vivienne’s behavior in exchange for her fooling words. Soon after, MC finds the artifacts and carefully extracts them from their nest of velvet and silk that garnished their hiding place, and scoops them up into her arms. She was in a rotten mood despite her success--Vivienne and her had a lot to talk about when they get home.

The celebration erupted as soon as the Gilded Poppy arrived back at their hideout, and despite the grievance that stuck to her from the heist, MC was able to bask in the joy of accomplishment. Pleased, Nikolai collects the artifacts from MC with a crafty compliment to her before her need to stay relents. Seemingly, as if their minds were linked, Vivienne comes to the same conclusion and whisks into her room--a flash of red in MC’s peripheral vision. The Cuban artist follows the seductress into her room, her jovial grin scrubbed away by a frown. Vivienne makes a beeline for her vanity, snatching up a hairbrush to fix her unusually unruly hair. She doesn’t even notice MC brooding by the door. Frustrated, MC clears her throat. “So... what was that?” MC dives in straight to the point; she wasn’t aiming for any of Vivienne’s evasive language tonight--she just wanted to fizzle the jealousy in the pit of her stomach. It’s jealousy, right? I’m not a certified lunatic, right? Vivienne offers her a baffled smile; a polite offering. “What was what? There’s a lot of that’s I could identify, love, could you be more specific?” She flutters as she drags the brush through her long glossy hair. If MC didn’t know Vivienne like she did, she might’ve mistaken Vivienne’s cluelessness as taunting. But MC could see the genuine confusion in her girl’s face and knew that Vivienne truly had no idea what she was talking about.

“The heist. Your part in it and how you... you...” MC trails off as her pent up resentment amounts in her chest, tangled and hissing. “I’m just going to apologize ahead to time and say sorry to burst your bubble, but you’re a bit of a moron.” The words teem from MC recklessly and she doesn’t regret it until Vivienne’s face first dilates, shocked, before it sours fastidiously. The seductress seemed like she was about to lash out against MC, fangs bared and tail rattling, but then her features are effortlessly combed of any hostility. She simply straightens her spine, sifts the luxurious brush through her black tresses, and casts a sultry smirk over her shoulder. “Degrading, huh? I had known that you were a woman of rogue desires but I didn’t know that there some this vile...” Vivienne keens. The sparkle that haunts her hazelnut eyes reflects off to MC, which prods a flurry of heat to tiptoe up MC’s nape. Don’t let her throw you off-track! Get it together, MC, she’s playing with you! “Vivienne, I’m serious,” MC softly insists, her hands rising to her hips, “you almost sensitized our heist all because you heard me quip over the wire.” The artist examines Vivienne as she places the brush down on her vanity, her hair now the signature gentle wave of pitch lilting down her shoulders that MC was familiar with. Now the disturbed curve to her brow returns and she pivots on her stool. It was evident that she didn’t like MC placing the blame on her.

“Me? Oh darling, it was certainly not just me who nearly flunked the heist. What about the woman who breathed her grievances into my ear, causing me to nearly give away my cover?” Vivienne deflects, her voice more soft than harsh, as she studies MC with imposing eyes. MC meets hers without flinching as she thinks over what Vivienne said--she was right. If there was anyone to blame, it was MC. If she hadn’t lost her cool over meaningless seduction, maybe she wouldn’t be standing here trying to force guilt onto her fairly innocent girlfriend. God, I’m more childish than I thought. Sighing, MC presses the heels of her hands against her eyelids. Then she bursts into a quiet melody of breathless laughter. She couldn’t believe how she had reacted. Vivienne had been in her zone, conducting her magic little spells of seduction until MC had to go and ruffle her feathers. Maybe that was why Vivienne had been so clipped--MC had overreacted to the seductress flirting with the businesswoman by implying that she wanted to be the woman’s lapdog. At that, MC couldn’t stay as mad as she was, only slightly vexed.

Vivienne is caught off guard by MC’s laugh and her eyebrows hike an inch. she looked intrigued and the impatient smudge she had on her face melts away some. “What’s so funny, MC?” The artist shakes her head, her hands cupping her face as she recoups--slowly. “It’s just,” MC streaks her fingers down her face as she sighs, amused and slightly frustrated with herself, “I got mad at you for flirting with a woman who thought having a lapdog was something to get flustered over.”

Like a massage to the tense air, knots unravel and the thickness depletes. It feels like MC could breathe properly again. That is, until Vivienne’s rosy lips camber into a smile so soft and dazzling that her lungs malfunction in her chest. The seductress rises from her vanity and with a swift sweep of her cape, she was in front of MC, her caring arms surrounding MC’s waist. Vivienne was only a couple inches taller than MC, but when her beautifully toned eyes and earnest smile were right there in front of MC to see, she could’ve swore Vivienne was much taller--towering over her like an angel descending the heavens. I don’t care if that’s cliche--it’s more true than it sounds. “I didn’t think of it like that,” she crests her palm against the subtle dip of MC’s back, her hand an anchor to the Cuban artist, “I was so caught up in feeding that woman something she wanted to hear. It was an unintentional ploy, I assure you.” She soothes the remaining tension strung along MC’s spine as she smooths her hand up and down her back, one still secured around the beginning of her hip. In Vivienne’s dapper arms, MC could relax and relinquish any remaining feelings of jealousy. After all, the businesswoman had been much older--in her late 30′s as far as MC knew. There was little chance Vivienne would run into the arms of someone so much older when she could just stay with a woman who was younger. “Yeah, I thought it over some and I figured it as much. As charming as you are, Vivienne, I don’t see you as the type to be someone’s lapdog.”

That sparks a new kind of tension in the air--one that’s heated but silly with the leftover fumes of playfulness lingering around them.

Vivienne’s smile becomes wry as she presses MC closer. “I’m full of surprises, darling,” she purrs, her hot breath ghosting MC’s lips, “maybe if you put the right collar on me, I could be a little more willing to be your lapdog.” The dirty insinuations ring in MC’s head as she becomes scarlet in the face. She quickly averts her eyes from the devilish woman in front of her. Putting a collar on Vivienne... that’s something I’d dream about and know that I’m dreaming about. “Oh really? I always thought I was the lapdog in our dynamic. You know, the tiny spawn of Satan that is more evil than even the biggest, most feared dogs.” MC spins the conversation in another direction to avoid being the lamb for Vivienne to daunt. She keeps her voice teasing--not Vivienne teasing though, or else there was a risk that her dress would be a few shredded scraps on the floor--and playful. Vivienne’s eyebrow lifts and her lips are smirked humorously. “Hm, that description certainly matches you. Small, ready to bark and nip when provoked, able to make people regret underestimating her...” The seductress tapers off impishly, her eyes roving the traits of MC’s face. She ticks them off thoughtfully. Those traits harden into a challenging smirk as the artist pulls away from Vivienne to shoot her a more wide-angle grin. “Hey, I may be small but I can be intimidating. You ever seen a chihuahua? Yeah, same shit. Don’t try me.”

Her dry remark reels a laugh out of Vivienne, who sidles closer again to mockingly stroke her fingers across MC’s head. “Aw, you sweet little thing, you wouldn’t hurt a fly!” She derides a coo as she gently pets MC, who wriggles away from her hand and pretends to nip at Vivienne’s hand. Almost as if they were in a play, Vivienne’s expression takes on a scolding shadow, though her smirk remains. “Bad girl!” She chastises through a laugh, her eyes crinkling with a smile that soaks her face in glee. At the sight, MC reciprocates it like it was contagious; because it was. But then she burns up as she thinks over Vivienne’s words. Bad girl... Just like before, the seductress’ sultry implicit replies makes MC blush more than it should. 

And MC wishes Vivienne’s effect wasn’t so prevalent on her--kind of.

I don’t mind it most of the time but right now? I could do with a little more headspace that isn’t hijacked by Vivienne’s lewdness.

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#vivienne tang #queen of thieves