#this got widely hugely IMMENSELY long and i wrote it all in one sitting

[rubyleaf]

As I’m almost done with Night of the Dragon (yes, finally), here I am again writing fic! This time, Tatsumi and the friendships he never formed with the squad in canon. I still think we were robbed, so here goes!

As the sun rises over the destroyed landscape, a single soul floats to the horizon in a glowing ball of light, drifting into the sky and leaving the confines of the world.

For a long time, Tatsumi flies through darkness. The earth grows smaller and smaller below, the sun a distant light that is soon lost in the vastness around him. Stars drift by, constellations, twinkling colorfully in the distance—glimpses of other worlds, perhaps, inhabited by beings far beyond his imagination. Tatsumi doesn’t stop to explore them. Carried by an unexplainable pull, he flies past all of them, on and on until he loses all sense of space or time.

And then, from one moment to the next, he flies into a bright light and his feet hit solid ground.

Tatsumi opens his eyes. He doesn’t know when he has taken up human shape again, but when he looks down along himself he sees the body he is used to: the lean teenage boy, dressed in his clan’s black and purple, black hair falling into his eyes and obscuring his vision. But his wound is gone, and when he feels for his sword he discovers it is no longer there.

Where…am I?

Tatsumi looks around. He has landed on a rocky shore, the waves of the sea crashing and foaming where they meet the land. His legs are up to the knees in water, but he barely registers the way it seeps through his clothes, and even though it’s cold, he doesn’t shiver.

So this is Meido, he thinks. He doesn’t know how he imagined the place to be, but somehow this isn’t it. This place looks like it belongs to the world of the living, except that, back in Ningen-kai, he couldn’t feel wind or warmth or water anymore after he died.

His eyes scan his surroundings, searching for other arrivants, other souls he might know. There is no one. He is alone.

Tatsumi starts walking.

Bordering on the shore is a deep, dark forest, the gnarled trees taller and older than anything found in the living world. All the same their shadows are eerily familiar, and as he passes between their roots he suddenly remembers why.

I carried her this way.

He has been here before, but back then he wasn’t alone. Back then he was alive, and he was half a demon, and on his arms he had a dying kitsune girl, unconscious and bleeding out. Now he isn’t injured anymore, not half drowned, not merged with the First Oni of Jigoku anymore. But his arms are empty, and the forest he walks through is silent except for the sound of his footsteps.

The forest deepens. On the edge of Tatsumi’s vision lights flicker by, but every time he stops and turns to look at them, they are already gone. Sometimes he thinks he can hear a voice calling out to him—Yumeko’s, Master Ichiro’s, Hakaimono’s—but there is never anyone there. The only thing around him are the trees, tall and silent and oblivious to his presence.

There are no times of the day here, no sunrise or sunset. There is no wind, no weather; only the trees, the undergrowth, the ever-unchanging light beneath their branches. Tatsumi keeps walking. He doesn’t know where he’s going, where he wants to go. He doesn’t know if he has anywhere to go. For all his life he has always had a destination, a place to go, a task to fulfill. But now there is nothing, nothing except for the great unknown.

Tatsumi keeps walking. He’s used to walking great distances alone. For most of his life, he has always been alone.

Except…has he?

Not truly alone, he realizes. Hakaimono has always been with him for the better part of his life, a constant presence that ensured he was never truly on his own. Abruptly Tatsumi finds himself missing the oni. He was the one responsible for most of his torment, and yet he would rather hear the demon’s taunting than nothing at all.

Without Hakaimono, all on his own—who is he, anyway?

Tatsumi’s feet stumble. The trees around him look exactly the same as those he already passed a few hours ago, or maybe days. Is it an illusion? Has he been walking in circles? Where is he coming from? Where is he going? Has he ever been headed anywhere at all?

And then his eyes land on a shimmering light in the distance, and though he doesn’t have a pulse anymore, his heart skips a beat.

This glade…

Forgetting himself, Tatsumi runs, crashing through the undergrowth into the light beyond. And sure enough, there it lies: the very glade where he called on the Kirin to bring Yumeko back to life, mere days ago and yet an eternity away. Except now the glade is dead and empty, and there are no kodama watching him from the trees, no sacred spirit to bring back the girl he loves more than life itself.

He is alone. Completely, truly alone.

Everyone and everything he held dear is worlds away, and he has no way to return.

His vision blurring, he falls to his knees. Can souls cry if they have no bodies to form tears with? For the first time in many years Tatsumi wants to cry, wants to break down sobbing until there are no tears left in his body, calling Yumeko’s name over and over until she hears him and answered. And yet there are no tears in his eyes, no sobs escaping from the tangle in his chest, no words coming from his ghostly mouth no matter how much his soul aches with loneliness and deep, deep loss.

Darkness falls around him. Tatsumi doesn’t know how long he sits there, unable to look up, unable to move, unable to think of anything other than Yumeko’s tear-stained, beautiful face. His light is gone. Gone, gone beyond his reach for many years, perhaps centuries, and all that remains for him are the shadows grinning at him like they want to swallow him up.

“…san? Kage-san!”

Something in Tatsumi stirs. This voice…he knows this voice. The shadows lift a little.

“Oi, Kage-san, can you hear me?” Footsteps rustle through the grass behind him, then a hand appears in his field of vision. “Are you awake? Hey!”

Tatsumi stirs, but his soul is still too heavy to respond, let alone take the long, familiar hand that is waving before his eyes. Something slides down his face, and it takes him a moment to register that it’s a single teardrop falling from his eye.

“He must be heartbroken,” another familiar voice remarks, and on the edge of Tatsumi’s vision something bright and shimmering moves over the grass. “Let us give him time, Okame-san. He may not yet be ready to stand up and speak.”

Tatsumi can’t respond, but he doesn’t have to. Two figures sit down beside him, one on either side. A hand comes to rest on his back, warm and strangely alive even though souls should be intangible. Another slides across his shoulders, then an arm wraps around his back and pulls him over to slump against a bony shoulder.

“I get how you feel,” Hino Okame mutters, his voice very quiet. “I miss Yumeko-chan too. She was like the little sister I never had.”

“We all miss Yumeko-san,” Taiyo Daisuke remarks, still resting his hand on Tatsumi’s back. “I am glad she still lives, but however selfish it sounds, our lives are less bright for lack of her presence.”

Little by little, the darkness around Tatsumi clears. His soul is still heavy, but the pain of losing Yumeko is now less acute, less overwhelming. Slowly, he lifts his head to look up at his two companions.

Hino Okame and Taiyo Daisuke. Yumeko’s friends, he thinks, and only tangentially his. If at all. They barely had any time to get to know each other.

“Why are you here?” he asks, his voice raspy from lack of use.

“We came across you on our search,” Daisuke replies, smiling quietly. “We have been looking for you for a while.”

Tatsumi blinks, an unfamiliar emotion fluttering up inside him. “For me?” he repeats. “Why?”

Okame offers a lopsided grin.

“We know how it’s like to be lonely,” he says, scratching his head the same way he did back when he was still alive. “So, you know. We were worried about you.”

Tatsumi’s soul tangles up into knots.

“Why?” he asks quietly. “I was never your friend.”

“You always were,” Daisuke corrects him.

“Yeah, you were a bit scary,” Okame admits. “But you’re still part of the family. Also, who else is supposed to look after you for Yumeko-chan?”

“I…” Tatsumi’s words fail him. He still isn’t used to kindness, to being cared for. And yet here these two are, offering just that.

“Thank you,” he mutters at length, staring at the grass and suddenly feeling like a small child.

Smiling again, Daisuke stands up, offering him a hand. Tatsumi takes it and rises to his feet, assisted by Okame from the side. To his amazement, he finds he can stand again. The glade doesn’t look quite as empty anymore.

“Let us go,” Daisuke says. “Reika-san will be glad to hear we found you.”

“Oh, she sure will,” Okame mutters. “The shrine maiden’s been nagging us for ages. Some things never change.”

Side by side they pass through the forest. The trees quickly grow less dense on either side, light filtering in through the branches until they finally step out into the open. A town rises up ahead of them, but even closer lies an almost-familiar shrine.

“Reika-san!” Okame calls. “We found him!”

There is a shuffle from inside, then the shrine maiden comes out. “About time!” she exclaimed. “What took you two so long? Kage-san!”

Hurrying up to him, she looks him up and down, inspecting his form as if looking for injuries. “Your soul is very battered,” she remarks, furrowing her brow. Turning to the noble and ronin, she adds, “What were you two thinking, taking so long to bring him back? Look at the state he’s in!”

“We humbly apologize,” Daisuke answers before Okame can respond with something less polite. “We only found him very recently, and at first he was in no state to walk. We brought him in as soon as we could.”

“Merciful Kami! Next time, Chu and I are doing the searching alone.” Reika lets out a huff. “Come on, Kage-san! Before you go anywhere else, we need to patch you up.”

---

Some time later Tatsumi finds himself sitting in the shrine, covered in patches and bandages by Reika’s skillful hands. “There you go,” she says. “This is as far as I can mend you. Some of your wounds are too deep for me to handle.”

Tatsumi looks up and down along himself, not understanding a thing. “Wounds?” he repeats.

“Your soul is badly hurt,” Reika answers. “I’ve done what I can for the more recent injuries, but there’s a lot that needs to heal on its own. I suspect you won’t be able to be reborn until your soul has fully finished healing.”

Dread jolts through him. “How long will that take?”

“I can’t say,” Reika replies, and the dread teeters on the edge of despair. “It depends on the person. The best thing you can do is try and heal from the bad things you dealt with in your lifetime.”

That’s a lot, Tatsumi thinks. So much he barely knows where to start.

“How do I do that?” he asks.

Reika hesitates.

“There is no one-size-fits-all solution,” says an aged voice from the door. “However, the best thing you can do is surround yourself with good things to balance out the bad.”

Reika lifts her gaze, her face lighting up. “Master Jiro!”

Striding over, the old priest sits down across from Tatsumi, Ko—in small dog form—curling up at his feet. “Find people who make you happy,” he says. “Do things that make you happy. Take your time to process all that happened to you, and then leave it in the past.”

People who make me happy. Things that make me happy.

At first Tatsumi’s mind comes up all Yumeko. If he could spend time with her, he thinks, he would surely heal in no time. Except, that isn’t an option. And suddenly she seems further away than ever.

Except, something within him whispers, he isn’t alone. He is sitting in this shrine flanked by Yumeko’s friends who insist they are also his friends, who found him in the middle of despair, picked him up and brought him here to be pieced back together. He didn’t get to know them much while alive. But maybe now he actually has a chance.

“In that case,” he says hesitantly, fully prepared for a rejection, “may I stay here with you for a while?”

The smiles on the others’ faces tell him all he needs to know.

---

“There you are, Kage-san!” Okame calls out to him as he enters the shrine, returning from a walk and a lot of thinking. “Sit down, we’ve been saving a spot for you!”

Wary, Tatsumi pauses, regarding the ronin, then the noble with him, both smiling so invitingly that it’s obvious they’re up to no good. “What?”

“Sake,” Daisuke explains, motioning to the bottle between them. “Okame-san found it in town. Would you like some?”

For a second Tatsumi wants to say no, mentioning his duties, and then he remembers he doesn’t have duties anymore. He is free to drink, if he wants to. He isn’t sure how comfortable he is…but then again, without a body, can spirits even get drunk?

“Just a little,” he says, sitting down beside his companions. Okame doesn’t look for further encouragement before pouring a cup of sake and handing it to him. Tatsumi eyes it, then the ronin, and frowns.

“I said a little,” he remarks.

“That is a little,” Okame shoots back. “Just take it! If you’re that much of a lightweight, take a sip every hour or something while we get wasted.”

Muttering an awkward thanks, Tatsumi takes a sip and can’t help grimacing. He has never much liked the pungent taste of alcohol, and the smell strongly reminds him of the stuff healers used to put on his wounds to keep them from getting infected.

“Disgusting,” he mutters.

Okame bursts out laughing. “It’s nasty when you first try it, huh?” he says, patting Tatsumi so hard on the back that he almost spills the sake. “Don’t worry, Kage-san! Just keep forcing it down, and someday you won’t be able to live without it.”

Now it’s Daisuke’s turn to laugh as Tatsumi snorts. “Is that a good thing?”

“No, it isn’t!” Reika’s voice comes from the next room. “We already have one alcoholic too many in this house,” she adds, poking her head out through the door. “Don’t you dare corrupt Kage-san with it!”

Okame eyes her up and down, then a smirk crosses his face. “Would you like a cup, Reika-san?” he says. “I’m sure we’d all love to see what our proper shrine maiden’s like piss-drunk.”

She chucks her comb at him, which he easily dodges. “Keep dreaming!” she shouts. “I wouldn’t think of it!”

Picking up the comb, Daisuke turns it over in his hand before an idea lights up his face, and he sticks it into Tatsumi’s hair. “Why, it suits you,” he remarks. “You should keep it in, Kage-san.”

“No, he shouldn’t! Give me my comb back, you thieves! I’m so sorry for their nonsense, Kage-san.” Pacing across the room, Reika reaches for Tatsumi’s hair, then gives him an appraising look. “Though Taiyo-san’s right, it does suit you.”

Tatsumi blinks. “I can’t say,” he replies. “I don’t have a mirror to check.”

The shrine erupts with laughter. Tatsumi doesn’t understand what he said that was so funny, but in the face of all this mirth he can’t help cracking a smile anyway.

---

Reika blinks as she looks up from the texts she was studying, visibly surprised to find Tatsumi in the doorframe. He understands her bafflement; he rarely seeks out the others, even now, Master Ichiro’s lessons about keeping distance still too drilled into his mind. But Master Jiro has told him to get rid of all that, so here he is, making an effort.

“What’s wrong?” the shrine maiden asks.

Tatsumi takes a breath, even though, as a ghost, he doesn’t technically need it. “Nothing,” he says. “Can you teach me about healing?”

Turning fully around, she stares at him like she thinks she didn’t hear him right. “Healing?” she repeats. “I suppose I wouldn’t mind, but…why all of a sudden?”

Tatsumi looks away. “I realized the only thing I know is how to fight,” he admits, his voice quiet and a little awkward. “I have no other skills, no interests, nothing. So…I thought I should change that.”

Reika gets up.

“Of course,” she says. “No problem at all. What would you like to know?”

For the next hour or two she lectures him about herbs and salves, cures for illnesses, pain and exhaustion. She mostly leaves out the part about patching up wounds, fully aware that Tatsumi knows that all too well already. Tatsumi listens closely. There are so many things she knows that he has never heard before, things that he hopes he’ll remember again in Ningen-kai so he can save people’s lives with this knowledge.

“You’re a good student,” Reika remarks when they finally take a break. “You pick things up fast, and you don’t ask stupid questions. I can’t imagine what would happen if I had to teach the other two idiots instead!”

“Teach what idiots what?” says a voice from the doorframe.

Reika snorts. “Speak of the devil,” she says. “How long have you been eavesdropping?”

“We just came in,” Okame retorts, entering the room followed by Daisuke. “What’s going on?”

“I’m trying to learn about healing,” Tatsumi explains. “All I can do is fight, and I want to change that.”

Daisuke’s face lights up with understanding. “Broadening your horizons is always a good idea, Kage-san,” he says. “If you would like further help, I can teach you about music and literature as well.”

Tatsumi lifts his head. “I would like that,” he says. “Thank you.”

Okame pulls a face.

“I don’t really know anything fancy,” he admits, cracking a wry smile. “But I guess I could teach you about playing dice.”

Tatsumi snorts, but he also smiles.

“I’ll take it.”

---

The moon is shining when Tatsumi steps outside, startled to find that he isn’t alone at the small stream passing in front of the shrine.

“Oh, it’s you,” Okame mutters, briefly meeting his eyes where he sits on the grass. “What brings you out here?”

For a moment Tatsumi doesn’t say anything; he only sits down beside the ronin, pulling at the grass. “You look like something is bothering you,” he remarks at length.

Okame lets out a humorless laugh. “Is it that obvious? Yeah, I guess there is,” he admits. “It’s nothing to worry about, though.”

Tatsumi looks up at him, his messy hair silhouetted against the light of the full moon.

“You can tell me,” he says.

Blinking, the ronin turns to stare down at him. “Hey, now—”

“You were there for me when I needed it,” Tatsumi adds. “Let me return the favor.”

Dark eyes rest on him, a heavy gaze, pensive and hesitant. Then Okame lets out a defeated sigh.

“I saw my brother today,” he says.

Tatsumi pauses. “What?”

“Yasuo. My younger brother,” Okame explains. “When we were out on the town. I don’t know if he recognized me, but…I keep thinking about it.” He stabs a hand through his hair. “You know, when my clan held that siege on your clan…he and I were both there, back then. Except I got scared and ran away from the final battle. And he stayed behind and died.” He swallows. “I left him to die.”

Tatsumi doesn’t say anything; he doesn’t know how to comfort people, except maybe Yumeko. And certainly not in a situation like this.

“It was so long ago,” Okame continues, “but I keep thinking about it. If I wasn’t such a coward, maybe I could’ve gone after him. Told him I’m sorry for abandoning him. But…” He shrugs. “Would he even want to hear it? Our relationship was never that great…maybe he’ll refuse to forgive me.”

Turning the ronin’s words in his mind, Tatsumi thinks, wondering what to do. Wondering what he would do in such a situation—what she would do.

“Yumeko,” he muses, “would tell you to talk to him anyway.”

Okame looks up.

“She’d say it’s clearly still bothering you, and you should get it off your chest,” Tatsumi continues slowly. “If he forgives you, maybe you can forgive yourself. And if he doesn’t, then at least you tried.”

“…you’re probably right.”

Taking a deep breath, Okame pushes himself to his feet, flashing a grin down at Tatsumi. “You’ve changed,” he remarks. “The old you was all prickly and loner-y, and here you are snapping me out of my funk.” He ruffles Tatsumi’s hair. “Thanks so much, Kage-san! I guess I’ll get myself some liquid courage and then go talk to him.”

For most of the next day Okame is absent, and when he returns his eyes are red and swollen from crying. But his features are also glowing with relief, and the grateful smile on his face tells Tatsumi everything he needs to know.

---

“Tatsumi-kun,” says a voice in the street, “it has been a while.”

Tatsumi spins around, his long-forgotten walls shooting up in a heartbeat. He knows this voice, even though the man it belongs to has aged in his absence; his hair is fully white now, his face covered in wrinkles. All the same, it barely takes him a second to recognize him.

“Master Ichiro,” he whispers. Panic grabs him. His eyes flit to the friends at his side, crowding closer to him as if sensing his fear. He wants to tell them not to. This man will surely beat him for letting people into his circle, and then force him to banish them all—or worse, cut them down to prove his loyalty to the Kage and the Kage alone.

But Master Ichiro doesn’t do any of these things. He only smiles—a sad, almost grandfatherly smile the likes of which he never showed while the two of them still lived.

“So we meet again,” he says. “I was hoping to see you here someday. I have had many students after you, but you are still my favorite.”

Something inside Tatsumi recoils at the phrasing. “Your favorite?” he repeats quietly.

“You were like a son to me,” Master Ichiro says. “It’s a shame I needed to be so strict with you to ensure your survival. I loved you dearly, you know.”

Loved me? Master Ichiro…loved me? Like a son?

Little by little, Tatsumi’s lips form the next words, quiet, calm yet filled with deep betrayal. “And you never told me?”

Master Ichiro blinks, taken aback. “Tatsumi-kun—”

“Don’t make me laugh!”

Bursting past Tatsumi’s side, Reika leaps into his path, glaring up at the old master like she wants to strangle him. “You loved him? Like a son?” she yells. “Don’t be ridiculous! Don’t even think of claiming the title of love when all you ever did was cause him pain and suffering!”

For a second, Tatsumi is convinced Master Ichiro will hit the shrine maiden, right here, in the middle of the street. But his old teacher does no such thing. He only frowns.

“I needed to do so,” he tries to explain. “It was for his own safety. Otherwise, Tatsumi-kun would—”

“Silence!”

Reika is positively trembling with rage. “For your own good! For your own safety! How many times have I heard that excuse?” Her hands are clenched into fists, barely restrained from grabbing Master Ichiro’s collar and shaking him. “I don’t care what you tell me! People who claim to love their children and hurt them ‘for their own good’ should never be allowed to raise a child—”

“Reika-san.”

Striding past, Daisuke places a hand on her shoulder, gently pulling her back. “It’s all right, Reika-san,” he says in an undertone. “Leave it to Kage-san.”

Taking a sharp breath, Reika closes her eyes and forces herself to calm down. At the same time, Okame gives Tatsumi a subtle nudge forward. “Go tell him, Kage-san!”

Tatsumi looks at his friends. Then at Master Ichiro. The man who raised him…the man who caused him so much pain.

The fear is still deep within him, intensely and painfully real. But…he isn’t the same person he used to be.

Tatsumi bows his head.

“Thank you for raising me,” he says, “and telling me the truth.”

Reika lets out a disbelieving gasp, but Tatsumi squares his jaw. Sizes up his old master. Swallows the fear of repercussions.

Then he swings and punches him hard across the face.

“And that,” he says as he returns to his cheering friends, leaving a startled Ichiro behind, “is for everything else.”

He doesn’t notice until later, but a large part of his soul heals that day.

---

When Tatsumi feels the pull, he almost doesn’t want to leave.

Of course he can’t wait to see Yumeko again. But returning to her will mean leaving his friends behind, the people he has grown to love so dearly, the people who helped him heal. He’s going to miss them. Even if, sooner or later, he will surely meet them here again.

“I have to go soon,” he tells them when he can’t resist the pull for much longer. “I can feel Ningen-kai calling. But…I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye.”

The others’ faces are both happy and sad. “I’m glad you can return to Yumeko-chan,” Reika says. “May you be happier in your next lifetime.”

“Happier, and may you live longer,” Daisuke adds. “We shall miss you. But, who knows—maybe we shall soon follow you into Ningen-kai.”

“Or we’ll still wait here when you come back,” Okame replies. “Either way, look after Yumeko-chan for us. Tell her we still miss her.”

Tatsumi feels choked up, but he cracks a smile. “I will.”

A heavy silence falls. The pull grows stronger. None of them know what to say.

“Thank you all,” Tatsumi says at length. “I’ll never forget what you three did for me.”

Daisuke smiles. “Don’t mention it.”

“That’s what friends are for,” says Reika.

Friends, Tatsumi repeats in his head. His friends.

He’s going to miss them so much.

But the pull grows ever stronger, nearly impossible to resist. “It’s almost time,” Tatsumi says. “I—”

This is as far as he gets before Okame pulls him into a crushing embrace.

Tatsumi splutters, but before he can respond, Daisuke and Reika join them to form a big hug-pile. Tatsumi tries to hug them all back at once, physical impossibilities be damned. Okame sniffles a little.

“Take care,” he says. “Good luck.”

Tatsumi closes his eyes. Then, suddenly, the pull grows too strong, and he transforms into a ball of light and starts drifting away towards Ningen-kai…towards a new life, hopefully with Yumeko.

On the grass by the shrine, the other three remain behind.

Okame wipes his eyes, sniffling again. “I miss him already,” he says.

“Me too,” Reika answers. “Now who am I supposed to give tired looks to when you two are being ridiculous?”

Daisuke smiles sadly.

“We shall all miss him, I think,” he says. “After all, he is part of the family.”

---

From the chamber of Kage Haruko’s daughter-in-law erupt the cries of a newborn baby.

Kage Kousuke has a little brother. The child has wide, solemn eyes with a hint of purple, and somehow he looks like he has already been to this chamber, this palace.

They name him after a hero, the fearless young shinobi who slayed the Harbinger and then the kitsune god.

A boy named Tatsumi will surely be just as brave.

#this got widely hugely IMMENSELY long and i wrote it all in one sitting #shadow of the fox #night of the dragon #kage tatsumi #hino okame #taiyo daisuke #reika #kage ichiro #night of the dragon spoilers #BIG FAT SPOILERY SPOILERS #me and my writings #headcanons

[t0wnspersonb]

Volleyball Shorts (Akaashi Keiji x Reader)

chubby-bun-bun

said:

hello!! i have this fic idea for akaashi where he & reader are really good friends. reader is really quiet, shy, & adorable. she's also part of the girls volleyball team and is an extremely strong and vital member. akaashi & his teammates go to see her play in an huge official match for the first time and idk he gets really impressed, shocked, entranced, and attracted haha! only if u're taking requests tho! thank u!

~~~~~~~

OMFG I really hope I wrote this okay for you. I’m sorry it took so long, I’ve been dealing with some personal stuff in my life and got too busy to write. I hope you like it though @ chubby-bun-bun! I’ll be writing more for sure!

~~~~~~

Word Count: 1,898

Summary: Akaashi and the rest of the team attend one of your volleyball matches and the quiet setter can’t seem to take his eyes off of you.

The smallest smile grazed Akaashi’s lips as he stared at you doing homework. Your face held nothing but concentration, a slight crease between your eyes as you scanned over the math questions. 

 It was currently lunch time right now, and both you and Akaashi had decided to spend it in the library together, finishing up some homework before the weekend.

 Well the real reason why you were trying to finish homework was because you didn’t want to have to worry about it after your volleyball matches.

 It was the Spring Interhigh Qualifiers, all the countless hours you spent training and practicing was for that very reason. Of course you didn’t want to worry about homework during the most important matches in your life.

 You were going to make it to the Spring Tournament. You just had to.

 “Y/n-san. Are you finished? Lunch is almost over.” Akaashi said, staring at the clock on the wall.

 You looked up, carefully pushing your glasses up the bridge of your nose. “Oh. Yes I’m done now. Shall we go?”

 He nodded as you guys began gathering up your stuff and making your way back to your classroom.

 “AKAASHI!” 

 You flinched from the loud noise but immediately recognized the voice. Bokuto came barreling around the corner, his eyes locked on Akaashi who was sighing in annoyance next to you.

 You carefully moved away from the setter as the volleyball captain began shaking his shoulders dramatically. “Akaashi! Why didn’t you eat with me today!?”

 “Bokuto-san. You’re scaring Y/n-san. Please lower your voice and stop shaking me.” Akaashi said simply, putting a hand up to stop Bokuto’s antics.

 The third year immediately noticed you and smiled brightly. “Y/n-chan! Tomorrow is the Qualifiers right!?”

You flinched once more at his loud voice, your face turning incredibly red as both boys were now staring at you.

 “Um… y-yeah. The f-first ma-match is at t-t-ten o’clock.” you stuttered out, averting your gaze and fidgeting with the edges of your sweater.

 It wasn’t that you didn’t like Bokuto, you found him funny, and you admired his strength in volleyball, as well as how completely unapologetic he was about his personality.

 You wished that you could be the same way. 

 You were quiet and soft spoken, incredibly shy, so seeing someone as carefree as Bokuto, well, you couldn’t help but admire him.

 “Ne, ne Akaashi.” Bokuto said, his eyes wide and bright. “Let’s go watch Y/n-chan’s match!” 

 You could feel your body break out in a cold sweat. You definitely didn’t want those two to see your match. You knew how talented the boy’s volleyball club was, you had attended many matches. You also knew how incredibly talented Bokuto was, he was part of the top five aces in the country for heaven’s sake.

 But you also knew how incredibly talented Akaashi was as a setter. The same position as you. 

 There was no way you were going to let them see you play.

 “T-That’s not n-necesarry.” you said quietly, biting your bottom lip. “H-Honestly, i-i-it would make me m-more nervous.” 

 Bokuto looked entirely confused at your statement while Akaashi looked at you with a gentle blush on his face.

 The way you were fidgeting and the way you bit your lip, it was just way too cute. Akaashi had always found your quiet and nervous nature entirely adorable. He enjoyed your company immensely.

 “I don’t get it Y/n-chan,” Bokuto said scratching his head. But before he had a chance to continue the lunch bell ended, signaling that it was time to return back to class. 

You and Akaashi were seat mates, and that’s how your guys’ quiet friendship had started.

 “If you really don’t want us to come Y/n-san, we won’t.” Akaashi said gently, peering at you as you grabbed a notebook out of your bag. 

 “I-It’s okay, Akaashi-san. If you guys want to watch you can.” you said softly, giving him the sweetest smile. 

 He shifted his eyes away from you, not wanting you to see the blush that was now covering his cheeks. “Well we still have practice that morning, we’re still preparing for our Qualifiers too. But if we have the chance we’ll stop by.” he said.

 That was the end to your conversation, the rest of the day blurring by and before you knew you were finishing up with volleyball practice and heading home. 

 Good luck tomorrow. I know you guys will win.

 You weren’t sure if it was the text from Akaashi or the hot shower you had just taken, but your body felt incredibly hot at the moment.

 ***

 “You need to relax.” Your senpai said in amusement as she watched you bouncing on your feet. 

 Right now you guys were warming up, it was your first match of the day, and needless to say, you were incredibly antsy.

 “She always gets like this before a game. It’s like a ritual for her. Let her do her thing.” another teammate called out, sitting down in a split. “Y/n-chan is the best setter we’ve ever had. We’re going to the Spring Tournament.” She grinned, throwing up the peace sign.

 You were ignoring your senpais completely. Opting for complete concentration, adjusting your sports glasses and taking in a deep breath. 

 It was almost methodical, the way you prepared yourself for a game.

 You started off stretching out your arms and your neck, before stretching out your legs.

 Deep, concentrated breathes going through your nose and out through your mouth.

 This was how you prepared.

 You needed to be strong mentally for your team. Your underclassmen, and your upperclassmen, were relying on your skills as the setter.

 You got to control every aspect of this game for your team.

 This was important.

 You weren’t going to let anyone down.

 Unbeknownst to you, the boys volleyball team began taking their seats. Bokuto was in a temper tantrum for one reason or another and was refusing to talk to any of his teammates.

 Akaashi was fed up, needless to say.

 His eyes scanned across the court, immediately taking notice of the Fukurodani colors on the volleyball uniform.

 “You know this was a pretty good idea…” Komi mused, drinking in how tight and short the girl’s volleyball uniforms are.

 The first match was just starting, and surprisingly, you were the first one up to serve. 

 He could feel his face burn as his eyes scanned your figure. He wasn’t used to seeing you in clothes like this.

 The jersey hugged your body in all the right places and he couldn’t help but notice the number five on it, that was his number. The tight volleyball shorts you were wearing made your legs appear incredibly long and strong, and… Akaashi couldn’t help but let his eyes linger below. The fabric clung to your ass and quite frankly it was exquisite.

 But what really struck him was the look on your face, he had never seen you look so confident before, so calm, so strong.

It was… it was fucking hot.

 And then you did your jump serve, hitting the ball over the net with incredible force and speed.

 No that was fucking hot. That was fucking incredible.

 Akaashi’s lips parted in awe as he continued watching the game, completely captivated. You looked incredible out there, elegant almost, in every play that you did. He couldn’t help but notice how you were all over the court, working well with your team. But at one point he was worried about the toss you were about to throw to your wing spiker. He knew you were a setter, you had mentioned it quietly in passing the first time you had met Bokuto, and he had asked you what you thought about volleyball. 

 But he didn’t know that you were that good. For a moment he started doubting his own abilities, wondering if you ever thought that he wasn’t good from all the games you had gone to.

 The toss you had made towards your wing spiker was the kind of toss you knew she liked, high and fast. She spiked it down perfectly.

 You cheered loudly with your teammates.

 “Akaashi.” Bokuto called, he finally got out of his funk after the match had started, enjoying the heat of the game. “Does Y/n-chan seem different to you?”

The setter nodded, his eyes never leaving the court, or rather, his eyes never leaving your figure.

 “She’s really good. It’s like her personality is the complete opposite when she’s on the court.” He muttered, mostly to himself.

 “Right, right.” Bokuto mumbled, “did she always have such a nice butt?” he blurted out.

 Akaashi turned towards the third year, scowling deeply in annoyance and… was that jealousy?

  “Bokuto-san don’t say stuff like that about Y/n-san.”

 “Eh? But you were staring too Akaashi!” Bokuto pouted. 

 The team noticed the bright red color dusting the setters cheeks at Bokuto’s exclamation, and began snickering and laughing at the poor second year.

 His scowl deepened, and before he could scold his team, he heard you yelling.

 “Connect the ball!” you called out, watching as it went up in the air, your libero easily receiving it.

 You all were getting ready to do a synchronized attack, but you surprised the other team by doing a setter dump, or more like a spike because you slammed the ball down hard.

 The game had ended.

 You guys had won. You were still in the Qualifiers.

 You were immediately surrounded by your teammates, cheering and hugs being passed around before you guys cleaned up the court and left to gather your stuff for the ride home.

 You were switching out your sports glasses for your regular ones when you heard familiar voices.

 “Hey, hey, hey! Y/n-chan! You were great out there!” Bokuto praised. Behind him was the rest of the boy’s volleyball team, who were now conversing with the girls on your team.

 “Thank you.” you said softly, a sweet smile stretching across your lips. “I’m glad w-we won. I-It was pretty close.” 

 Bokuto frowned slightly, his eyes dropped. “Y/n-chan. Why are you acting shy now? You weren’t like that at all on the court! You were awesome!” 

 Akaashi smiled at the sweet flush that covered your cheeks as you waved Bokuto off frantically, voicing how you were just really concentrated on the game.

 Before Bokuto could pressure you even more he interrupted. “You did amazing Y/n-san. You’re an incredible setter.” 

 Your lips parted in surprise. But warmth started spreading throughout your entire being at his praise. “R-Really Akaashi-san?”

 He nodded, taking a step closer to you. He took in your blushing face and messy hair. 

 Why were you so fucking cute?

“Yeah.” he said, carefully reaching up and tucking a piece of hair behind your ear, smiling softly as your face turned more red.

 “Your uniform looks good on you too. I’ll have to go to more of your games. Maybe we can play a game of volleyball together soon.” he said softly. “Or we can do something else.”

 He would love to see you play up close and personal.

 Or maybe he’d rather just spend more time with you.

 You could feel your heart racing in your chest as you nodded your head rapidly. “I-I would like that a lot actually.”

 Akaashi’s smile grew more, and he couldn’t help himself but to reach down and grab your hand, squeezing it gently.

 “Me too.” 

#akaashi keiji #akaashi x you #akaashi x reader #akaashi fluff #akaashi keiji x reader #reader insert #haikyuu!! #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x you #haikyuu fluff #request #requests are welcome #akaashi haikyuu #haikyuu imagines #one shot #akaashi oneshot

[morimakesfanart]

Sindria's Prophet #16

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]

[AO3]

~POV Sinbad~ Mori wasn't just a Prophet, she had immense knowledge of her own that was going to make Sindria untouchable. Sinbad was going to achieve his dream much sooner than he had ever imagined. Mori was special; intelligent, clever, capable, and she could read the waves of Fate. Was there any other woman as attractive? The unknown craving that had plagued him for the past week was placated. Delicious wine, beautiful women, delicious food -none of his normal pleasures had fulfilled whatever that feeling was, but for some reason this moment with the his Beautiful Prophet was. "And now you're *my* kind and generous King Sinbad, ... Right?" Mori's bashful confidence was always endearing, but hearing her call him 'my King' in person made something snap in him. They were in a corner and Mori is small; he could easily block view of her in case any of the magicians turned around. He wouldn't even have to lean that far to get a taste of her. "DO EITHER OF YOU Have an ounce of self awareness??” Ja'far popped the bubble that had formed around the two.

King Sinbad froze. Everyone in the room was watching them. Sinbad stood up straight. He shouldn't exactly continue his plans with an audience. He removed his hand from the window and crossed his arms. Yam was practically shaking the magician next to her. "I wasn't the only one to see it this time!” An older magician with a beard laughed and said something like 'to be young.' Another said something a long the lines of "So it's like that then." Ja'far was still grumbling about his King's behavior -he should know better by now, he promised he wouldn't, etc. but 1. Sinbad didn't do anything wrong, and 2. he said he knew what he was doing -he knew how to handle flirting with Mori; he never said anything about not flirting with her. "And you, Lady Prophet," Ja'far changed targets. 'Oh?' Sinbad didn't expect Mori to be reprimanded for his flirting -although, she did flirt back. Ja'far continued, "You said that you knew about Sin's habits so wouldn't fall for him or-" "AAAAAH" Yamuraiha yelled over the other General as she crossed the room as fast as she could, and clapped a hand over his mouth. She turned to the King and Prophet with wide eyes and a forced smile. "Your Majesty! Mori! Would you like to see the spell again with our new changes?!" She didn't let go of Ja'far. The group of magicians started supporting her suggestion with "Let us show you," "I'm sure we've got it this time," and reciting the changes to the formula. They were clearly trying to stop Ja'far from discouraging Mori. Sinbad had no idea why they suddenly decided to become his wingmen, but it was convenient for him since he planed to do more than flirt with her later. Mori walked up to the Generals, although she only addressed Yamuriaha. "Yes, please! Even if it's not perfect I'd like to see your progress!" She spoke with the same forced enthusiasm as Yam. Sinbad only got a glimpse before Mori's back was to him, but her face was definitely a brighter red than it had been a moment ago. She was getting better at flirting with him, but she couldn't hold her composure for long. The King laughed as the head magician practically body checked Ja'far out of her way and left him out of the group before they preformed the newly revised spell. This time it produced a mostly clear stone. It wasn't a high quality diamond, but they had done it. They would have to be careful with this though since it could lower the market value of whatever they make. As they figured out the specifics for every substance they needed, Sindria could become fully self sufficient -they would still deal in trade so as to not completely leave the rest of the world behind. It was amazing. His magicians were amazing for being able to figure this out in such a short time, and his Prophet was just as -if not even more- amazing for knowing all of this and being able to explain it to them. When the excitement around the magic spell died down they finally showed him the microscope. It was a prototype so they had to be gentle with it. Two pieces of glass with water squished between them were slid under and when Sinbad looked through the lenses he saw the strange small creatures that Mori had written about. Seeing them forced him to accept that what Mori wrote about 'germs' had to be true too -and those were even smaller than these things. Looking at those things squirming around and knowing they were everywhere made his skin crawl. The King stopped looking through the device. "They really are real." "Yup." Mori responded plainly. "And now that you all know and have proof. There's going to have to be a lot of changes. The way illnesses are handled is obvious, but there's going to have to be a lot more changes to how food and housing and things are handle to better maintain sanitary environments. I know a bunch of sanitation procedures so I can help there too." Ja'far was rubbing his temples. "This is going to be a logistical nightmare. Do you realize that we are going to have to fix all those things and get all Sindrians to understand without having it affect our production or

trade??" "It's not like we're doing this alone." Mori tried to comfort him. "We'll figure something out." The conversation moved to this new problem. His Beautiful Prophet really was something else. She had solutions to problems they didn't even know they had. Mori had a habit of using her hands whenever she talked -even more when she was excited. She was cute and deserved to know, but she was in the middle of helping his people so he would hold his tongue and just watch her. If Sinbad was honest, he had stopped listening to the conversation a while ago and was just looking for an opportunity to finally ask Mori -and Yam of course- if they would join him for dinner so he could get all of his Generals more aquatinted with her. Someone mentioned a specific scroll in one of the libraries. Before the whole group could drag Mori out of the room, King Sinbad raised a hand and got everyone's attention. "I know there's a lot to do, but I have some things to discuss with my Beautiful Prophet as well." Mori looked back at him. "What is it?” It seemed that nickname wasn't as affective as before -hopefully it was just the timing. "Is it something we can talk about here?” "I was thinking we could talk over dinner," Sinbad paused to see how she would respond to the implications. Mori's eyes widened and her shoulders tensed, and best of all that blush came back. "With all of my Generals, of course." Mori blushed harder realizing he was messing with her. Yam looked disappointed at first -his Generals cared way to much about him finding a wife- but then she looked content with being a part of the plan. "You might have met them, and know them from reading Fate but they still don't know you yet." He finished. Yam spoke first. "This is a great idea. Pisti was just telling me that she wanted to get to know Mori." Mori regained her composer. "I'd like to get to know everyone personally too, so I'm find with this." It was a roundabout way of saying 'yes.' Her blush was gone but she was still embarrassed. With that settled, Ja'far let Yam and Mori know when dinner would be ready. It was a little earlier than he normally ate but this would give them more time to mingle before they'd be completely out of sunlight. "Well then," the King turned to his Prophet, "since we have some time beforehand-" "OH no you don't!" Ja'far cut in. "You've already had a long enough break *and* you plan on ending early today? The least you can do is work your butt off until then." --- ~POV Mori~ The King was pushed out of the room by his right hand man. I had a mix of relief and longing watching him go. "You'll see his Majesty again soon." Yam had a sweet smile on her face, but I knew better than to trust it. All eyes were on me and they were no longer the eyes of academics; they were hungry for gossip. I was not ready to explain why shipping us was a bad idea. "So about that scroll you mentioned earlier..." I completely shifted conversation back to the eventual rebuilding effort and luckily one of them obliged me.

I was lead to one of the libraries and handed a few scrolls on the construction used in the country. I had read a little on ancient construction methods out of interest and some on modern methods since my uncle worked in the industry. I had a little bit of experience with construction when I worked at a community theater, but it wouldn't be anything the people here wouldn't know. That paired with these documents showing how magic was used in the process made what little I did know completely useless. 'Can't know everything I guess.' I turned my head up towards the ceiling. I wasn't sure how much time I had left and I decided to use it soaking up the ambience of the library. The smell of paper, the maze-esc layouts, the quiet feeling; it's like a gentle space separate from the rest of the world. The libraries of the Black Libra Tower also had huge windows to let in a ton of natural lighting. I was really going to enjoy working in this place. --- Yam and I ended up lost in conversation, so someone ended up being sent to bring us to the dinner. When we finally arrived and opened the doors to the dining hall my nose was filled with the smell of herbs and delicious food. This was my first meal that wasn't paired with bitter medicine. I might have been procrastinating subconsciously to avoid the medicine I was no longer taking. Everyone was already there chatting. The long table was covered with food, but I couldn't make out any of it from the door. King Sinbad was sitting at the head of the table at the other end of the room with a goblet in his hand. Yamuraiha started in ahead of me and called into the room. "I'm sorry we're so late! We were talking about magical proofs and," she rambled in her explanation. I heard a few comments of congrats for getting better and said "Thanks" reflexively more than consciously. As I got closer, I ignored the Generals at the table to look at the spread. There were a few different types of fish, meat of some kind, a bunch of vegetables, and bread. It brought tears to my eyes; It was so beautiful. The Imuchukk laughed at my obvious interest in the food. "What are you waiting for? There plenty for everyone." He was sitting closest to the door. I didn't look away from the food when I answered. "I'm small with a small stomach so I'm going to need to pace myself to be able to eat a little of everything. If I save the best for last like I normally do then I might not even get to eat it." That garnered laughs and comments. I ignored them; I was too busy weighing my options. As the guest of honor I was placed at the opposite end of the table from King Sinbad. Thank goodness, because I didn't think I could handle being super close to him all evening. Even with the direct line of sight, I had distance to protect me. Yam sat on the other side of Hina from me. Pisti was on my other side. Sharrkan was across from Yam. Spartos was between Yam and Ja'far. Drakon was across from Ja'far. And Masrur was between Drakon and Sharrkan.

I picked up my plate to get food. "Alright. I've decided to just grab my favorites. If I have room later then so be it!" I was used to being watched while I eat so their stares didn't bother me. I covered my plate in all of the types of fish and some vegetables. "I take it you like fish?" Sinbad asked while I was taking some of the fish that was on his end of the table. "It's my favorite!" I answered excitedly. I could tell as I placed the grilled fish on my plate that it was going to be heavenly. It was already flaking and letting the smell reach me faster. I couldn't wait to get back to my seat and took a bite of the fish. It melted in my mouth. I let out a squeak of approval as I grabbed another bite. After a moment Sinbad asked me another question. "What do you think of greasy foods?" It felt pointed. "I'll eat it if it's the only option, but I'm not a fan." The Generals made some comments that amounted to, "They have the same taste." I was too busy enjoying my food to think about what they were saying. Pisti asked me her own pointed question as I sat down. "Do you like alcohol?" They were comparing me to Sinbad. I suddenly remembered the Official Character Encyclopedia. According to it, Sinbad's favorite food was fish, his least favorite was greasy, and his favorite snacks were the types that paired well with alcohol. "I'm not a big drinker, but it's not like I dislike alcohol. I'm just allergic to sulfites." "Huh?" The group asked in unison. Time to explain one of my allergies again. "Sulfites are a very useful preservative so it was also added to a lot of foods back home including alcohol. All grape wines produce sulfites naturally. When I ingest about 2 shots of a drink that contains sulfites I will struggle to breathe for about an hour." As soon as the words were out of my mouth, the goblet of wine I didn't realize was in front of me was grabbed by Hinahoho. They all looked panicked at each other like they had just dodged a bullet. In an attempt to relieve the tension, Sinbad asked Yam to catch everyone up on the meeting from earlier. Yam started ranting about the progress we had made with the alchemy magic. While they focused on reclaiming the mood, I focused on the delicious food. I tried a root vegetable on my plate. It was a little earthy with a subtle sweetness. The seasoning added to the sweet, but also had a little spice similar to cracked pepper. It had been streamed so it wasn't crunchy. I was asked to repeated what I told Sin and Ja'far earlier about the tech of home, Their questions had me explain more about my world and many of the things I had done: volunteer work to get scholarships, marketing for some networking organizations and some other companies, an assistant and teacher in out of school programs for 6 years while also working at a theater to pay for my own education. I only mentioned some of the places I had traveled to. I didn't even get to the things I did as hobbies or in working toward my dream of being a full time writer&artist. "I'm surprised by how much you say you've done." Drakon commented. I had heard similar before when talking about my past. "Is it really that shocking? Considering my age, I think it makes sense for me to have done a bit." It's more shocking that I was doing all that while getting so sick from my chronic illnesses that I would be fully bedridden and need a machine to breathe at least once a year until I turned 15. But I had also ate up inspiration porn as a child as a motivation to not let my body hold me back if I could. "Aren't we around the same age?" Yam asked me in response. I laughed. "Do I look 23 to you?" I've been mistaken for much younger than I actually was for as long as I could remember. It 1st became a problem when I turned 18 and got told I was clearly 12 with a fake ID when trying to buy an M rate game (Devil May Cry btw). "You're not?” ”Nope.” I rested my elbows on the table, interlocked my fingers, and I placed my chin on top with a smile, "But I'm curious how old you all think I am now." At 25 I was mistaken for a 14

year old. At least, a few months back someone thought I was legal (they guessed 19). Most realized I had to be older the more they talked to me, but their impressions never fully dissipated. As frustrating as it was, I found amusement in times like this by turning my age into a guessing game. Sharkkan had the face of someone fearing they had hit on someone too young. "You are at least 20, right?” They all suddenly looked worried. "I'm definitely older than 20." I answered. Pisti laughed. She was also short with a baby face; she knew my struggle. "Maybe she's older than Ja'far!” Of course she would make the closest guess. "There's no way she's older than me." Ja'far scoffed. "I am older than 25 though.” I could have teased him but I held my tongue since he already seemed annoyed with me. "How old are you then?” Hina asked. "I'm 29.” I smiled at everyone's surprise. I might only have surface levels similarities to Sinbad, but when you're a simp for a fictional character does that really matter? "I was born on April 7th so I should only be 5 days younger than King Sinbad since he was born on the 2nd. However, I don't know if there's a time dilation between my world and this one. The day we met was Oct 3rd for me back home. It wasn't the same date here, was it?" Sinbad is 29, Ja'far is 25, and Masrur is 20 during the Balbadd arc; their 2nd set of ages are 30, 26, and 21 respectfully. Ja'far's birthday is Aug 30th and Masrur's is Dec 27. Those 2nd ages listed can't be for right after the 6 month time skip because no matter how you calculate it the shortest distance between those 3 birthdays is 8 months. I was really interested in how the current arbiter of this world was going to figure this out. "It was Oct 3rd here too." "Oh. Well, that's convenient," was what I said while my thoughts were cursing the arbiter. 'That lazy son of a bitch synced the worlds so they wouldn't have to deal with a time dilation. I can feel it. Hold on... I arrived on Oct 3rd; the coup was 4 days later on the 7th. 6 months later would mean Sinbad arrives back in Sindria on my birthday. Did some 'real me' somewhere plan a b-day present for myself in some self-indulgent fanfiction??' ((Yes. Yes, I did UwU & I plan on making Mori panic then too.)) King Sinbad had that smile on his face that told me he was ready to flirt. "I didn't realize we were so close in age." No colors got in my way when he talked. That was good. I was desensitized again, and wouldn't have to deal with unnecessary distractions. I couldn't tease Ja'far, but I could tease his Majesty. "I know, right? It's amazing what the difference of 5 days can do for one's complexion." Sinbad froze and his expression went blank. Something that was probably wine sprayed across the table as Sharkkan had a spit take before erupting into laughter with Hinahoho and Pisti. "Oh my" Yam murmured with a hand over her mouth. Drakon , Spartos, and Ja'far stared at me in disbelief. Sinbad still wasn't responding... Maybe teasing him about his age was a bad idea. So far, unless it was something important I flirted with Sinbad since that was the best way to get on his good side; hearing something like this from me must have hurt a bit extra. I had been so wrapped up in my thoughts that I forgot just how sensitive he was about his age. I ended up flailing my hands from nerves, and to get his attention. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that when I know how self conscious you are." He flinched. "I don't know if this will make you feel any better, but you won't look any older than you do now 5 years from now..." "I uh.. Is that so?" Sinbad asked as he started to regain himself. "It is. You'll be just as-” "If you're willing to talk about the future, does that mean you are finally ready to explain about those calamities you mentioned in Balbadd?" Ja'far cut in with a fierce look. He had been waiting for any mention of the future to bring this up. The King spoke with a gentle but stern tone. "I don't know if this is the time for that conversation. This is Mori's first meal with

everyone after all." "I'm fine. I made a promise and I intend to keep it. As long as everyone else is willing to talk seriously for a few mins, I don't see the problem." I had been avoiding this conversation for long enough. There were things I still planned to keep secret, but I couldn't avoid having this conversation forever. And besides, I could feel in the waves that Ja'far wasn't going to let this night end unless I explained some of it. ((I have the next 3 chapters written but it's going to take me a bit to draw all of illustrations & comics. Also, good luck to all the students reading this. I know classes are starting up again. Be safe out there.))

#magi prophet fanfic #sinbad x oc #magi sinbad x oc #king sinbad #sinbad magi #magi fanfic #magi sinbad #yamuraiha

[kythed]

just my cuppa

yamaguchi tadashi x reader

synopsis: a soaking wet, stressed out (y/n) stumbles into cafe-owner!yamaguchi’s coffee shop. 

word count: 1,944

--

The coffee shop is comfortably warm and smells of cinnamon and ginger, a sharp contrast to the heavy autumn rain pelting the pavement outside. Yamaguchi watches water torrent down the windows outside as he meticulously wipes each table, thankful he’s clean and dry rather than braving the storm outside. It’s 9:25pm on a Friday night, approaching closing time. Usually he’d wait until the last minute to start closing up, but there haven’t been any customers since around 8. He hasn’t even seen any passersby since then, just the occasional car splashing through flooded streets, headlights muffled by the deluge.  

So, understandably, he’s surprised to see you stumble in through the door, soaking wet and clutching a sorry looking umbrella. The bell hung on the doorframe jingles cheerfully, and Yamaguchi stares as you exhale heavily and apologetically wring your hands. 

“Uh… hi?” you offer hesitantly, looking rather abashed. “I’m sorry… I was trying to make my way home, but my umbrella snapped and I noticed your cafe was open…” 

Yamaguchi stares at the wet clothes clinging to your frame and the way your shoulders are trembling. “Oh my God. Please, come sit down, let me make you a hot drink or something. It’s gotta be freezing out there; you aren’t even wearing a coat. Come, come.”

“Oh, no, I really shouldn’t track puddles on the floor--”

Yamaguchi ushers you onto a seat at the counter despite your protests and takes your umbrella, setting it to the side. He flies into action, snatching various colored packets and jars of sweet smelling spices. As he sets a kettle of water to boil, you sneeze violently and his eyes widen. “I think I have a towel in the back, I’m gonna go grab it so you can dry off a little.” 

You open your mouth to object but he’s already sprinted into the storage room. In less than a minute he reemerges, cradling a folded towel and a sweater. “Go dry off in the bathroom and change into this sweater. I’m afraid I don’t have any spare pants, but by the time you’ve finished I’ll have that drink ready. Oh, and please, don’t worry about paying-- it’s on me.”

He flashes you a quick smile and you stare, struggling to form words… then you burst into tears. 

Yamaguchi rushes to your side, hesitantly hovering his hands over your shoulders, not sure if he should hug you, comfort you, or what. When he came into work this morning, he did not expect to have a drenched, emotional wreck of a girl stagger into his cafe late at night and start sobbing and dripping on his counter... He settles on patting your shoulder in as motherly a manner as he can muster. “Oh, um, it’s okay, there, there.”

“I’m-- hic-- I’m so sorry,” you sniffle, wiping your eyes with the edge of the towel. “It’s just, I’ve been having such a hard-- hic-- week, and this is the first nice thing someone’s done for me in a while.” 

“Oh.” Yamaguchi’s heart just melts and he impulsively wraps you up in a warm hug, despite not even knowing your name. This is so improper, he thinks, a little too late. Curse my empathy for crying women. You bury your face in his chest and cry a little more, the exhaustion of the day expelling itself in the form of sobs that rack your body in waves. He rubs your back lightly, something he used to do when his younger sister would cry as a child. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Everything is going to be fine, just dry yourself off and sip a little tea, yeah? Does that sound alright?”

You nod, untangling yourself from his embrace and smiling tearfully. “I’ll go change now. I’m sorry, again, for… everything. I’m pretty sure I got snot on your collar.”

“Stop apologizing,” Yamaguchi scolds, giving you a light push towards the restroom. “It’s not a problem at all.” 

You nod, face hot and eyes puffy, and head into the bathroom, dampening a paper napkin with warm water to dab your face with. You gaze at the girl in the mirror with swollen, tear stained cheeks. How embarrassing to be caught at such a bad time by this kind, attractive stranger… thinking about his gracious smile again sends you into another fit of tears that you quickly brush away.

After you’ve stripped your shirt and dried off as best you can, you slip the sweater over your head. It’s far too large, but the inside is soft fleece and smells of men’s cologne. You inhale deeply, comforted by the spicy, woody scent, and head back into the cafe, where Yamaguchi’s finished up the drink. He slides the steaming mug in front of you, along with a saucer of tiny cookies. 

“It’s Earl Grey,” he says, taking one of the cookies for himself. “You looked like a tea drinker to me. It’s got a bit of milk and sugar, too, so I hope that’s alright.” 

“That’s perfect; thank you so much,” you say, lifting the mug to your lips for a sip. It’s hot and sweet and seems to wash away the acrid taste of the day’s tribulations. “I’m (L/N), by the way. If I’m going to impose on your hospitality a little longer, you might as well know my name.”

“I’m Yamaguchi,” he says, pushing the cookies closer to you. “And I already told you, you’re not imposing. It’s not like I have anything else to do anyways! I was getting bored without anyone coming in-- I haven’t had a customer for hours.” 

“Yeah, it’s no wonder,” you say, eyes wide and nodding vigorously. “It’s practically a hurricane out there. I thought I could make it from work to that bus stop on the corner without getting too wet. I was wrong, obviously.” 

“Oh, where do you work? It’s gotta be pretty close for you to even entertain the idea of stepping out in a storm like this,” says Yamaguchi with a laugh. He takes a hairband from his wrist and begins to absentmindedly tie his long, dark locks into a loose knot, out of which a few strands fall to charmingly frame his face. 

You smile, finally deciding to nibble on one of the cookies. It’s chewy, has a distinctly spiced apple flavor, and immediately boosts your mood. “It’s close enough. I work at the little florist’s shop on Mayweather Ave. You know, near the supermarket.”  

Yamaguchi perks up. “Arrangements by Aiko? The one that always has a few big bundles of bouquets out in front?” 

“Yeah, that’s the one. You’ve been there before?” you ask, swirling the remnants of your tea around the bottom of the cup. 

“No, no, but I drive by every day on the way here. You guys always have the nicest looking flowers.” Yamaguchi refills your drink from the still-steaming kettle without being asked as you murmur a quiet thanks. “How come you’ve never been ‘round here, then? It’s hardly a two minute walk if you hurry. I’m pretty sure I would’ve remembered if you ever came in for a coffee.” 

You laugh softly. “There’s a Starbucks up the street from us.”

“Pssh,” Yamaguchi scoffs, crinkling his nose. He’s had a personal vendetta against Starbucks for years. Stupid chain, thinking they’re all that just ‘cause they have a trademark and a logo. “That Starbucks has gotta be at least ten minutes from the flower shop. Plus, I happen to know my vanilla bean frapp is a hundred times better than theirs. They don’t even use real vanilla! Can you believe that? This cafe is obviously superior.” 

“Oh, my,” you gasp, dramatically holding a hand to your chest. “I’m not really a frappuccino person, but that is quite the scandal indeed. Maybe I should stop giving them my valuable business and start coming here instead.”

Yamaguchi nods solemnly, eyebrows raised. “Yeah, I think so. Plus, I heard that they don’t give out a discount for pretty girls like we do, something you’d surely benefit from.” 

He smiles shyly, a little surprised at his own boldness, as a splotchy blush rises to your cheeks. You briefly bury your face in your hands, embarrassed, before popping back up with a huge smile. Unable to compose yourself, your next sentence is punctuated by giggles. “Is that so? Well, I guess that seals the deal then.” 

“Mhm,” Yamaguchi agrees happily, immensely pleased with himself. 

You and Yamaguchi pass the next half an hour enjoyably, pleasantly chatting about your jobs, friends, family, and world news until the clock strikes ten and you give a start, remembering you have work early in the morning. “Ah, I should really get going. But again, thank you so, so much for everything and I’m so--”

“Don’t you dare say it,” he interrupts, leaning over the counter to grab a to-go cup and a plastic baggie of cookies. “It’s been my pleasure, seriously. Do me a favor and take these. Then I’ll dial up a cab and we’ll have you home in no time.” 

“At least let me pay for the cab,” you say, exasperated, as he tucks the baggie into your sweater pocket and shoves the cup in your hand. You slowly extract yourself from the cradle of the tall counter chair, muscles stiff. 

“Not a chance,” he says with a sweet smile. “I thought you’d know me better than that by now.”

When the car arrives, Yamaguchi walks you out to the door. A biting cold nips at your noses, but the rain has subsided, at least for the time being. All that remains are the puddles and the slow drip, drip, drip of water rolling off the rooftops. You sigh, breath curling into the crisp air. You bury your hands in the pockets of the sweater Yamaguchi lent you earlier. “I’ll return this to you.” 

“Don’t worry about it,” he says, opening the car door for you. “It looks better on you than it does on me, anyways. You should definitely pop in for another drink soon, though.” 

You climb in, careful not to crush the pouch of cookies. “Absolutely I will. Maybe I’ll even try that vanilla bean frapp you were bragging about.”

“You really should,” he says, beginning to close the car door but suddenly freezing in his tracks. “Oh, wait right here for a second.”

He sprints back into the cafe and rushes out again in a lightning fast thirty seconds, clutching a paper napkin. After folding it into a little square, he hands it to you proudly. “Here. I wrote down the code for the discount. Come back with that, and you’ll get two dollars off your next purchase!” 

“Thanks, Yamaguchi,” you laugh, gingerly taking the napkin and sliding it into your pocket, right next to the cookies. Then you close the door, roll down the window, and wave cheerily as the car pulls away from the curb. “I’ll see you later!”

“See you!” Yamaguchi waves until your cab turns a corner, leaving just the faint scent of exhaust. He pumps a fist in the air before spinning on his heel, heading back into the embrace of the warm cafe with a bounce in his step. 

It’s not until you arrive home twenty minutes later, shower, and sit at your kitchen table with a pack of instant ramen on the stove that you remember the little napkin. Unfolding it, you discover that it's not quite a discount code like Yamaguchi claimed. Instead, it’s a phone number accompanied by a poorly drawn teacup with steam rising from its rim. 

You’re a hot-tea! - Yamaguchi Tadashi (part time comedian)

P.S. I lied. Sorry. Not a discount code. But maybe we can arrange some way to get you those two dollars off if you go on a date with me? Let me know.

Shaking your head with a grin, you pull out your phone and punch in the number.

#haikyuu #haikyuu!! #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu x reader #anime #yamaguchi tadashi #yamaguchi x reader #yamaguchi tadashi x reader #coffee shop au

[llendrinall]

What would Harry and Draco be like if they were parents? How would your take on it be from their child/ren's birth to adulthood?

Sorry if my English doesn't sound right.

Well, on the one hand I don’t think either of them would want to have children. Or rather, neither wants to be a parent. Harry knows too well what a bad childhood does to you and I imagine he would be terrified at the prospect of something happening to Draco and him and leaving his child an orphan. Sure, Ron and Hermione would take that hypothetical kid, but what if something happened to them too? And to the rest of the Weasleys? And Luna? And Neville? What would happen to the kid them? James and Lily gave Harry a godfather and it didn’t stop Harry from growing up in an abusive home. So Harry would be super anxious about that, imagining more and more elaborate scenarios in which anyone remotely capable of raising a kid without giving them life-long trauma would be unavailable, and Harry’s kid would end up in hard and uncaring hands, just like Harry and Neville.

(And I’m sure Neville doesn’t help on that respect when he says he won’t be having kids and if he has any, he wants them to have their mother surname. No Longbottom will have a claim to them).

Draco knows his parenting role models are awful. He was extremely spoiled while also suffering immense pressure. Draco got all the candy and gifts he ever wanted, but he was also expected to excel at school, be a powerful wizard and become a Death Eater. It’s not that he doesn’t have a frame of reference, it’s that the one he has is really, really, bad. How do you go not giving your child a mix of anxiety and self-absorption? He would sure like to know.

On the other hand, I’m sure that Harry will adopt anyone who stands still long enough. He is not one to let pain make him hard and cold. Rather, his suffering made him more compassionate.

So he and Draco would eventually adopt a kid (or two or three). Although they might also get an accidental biological magical child too. Let’s give the kid a name, just to make writing easier. Say, Celeste. Celeste the most likely adopted, but still possibly biological magical child.

Celeste would be happy and loved. Probably an only-child for a long time, because both Harry and Draco would still be scared at the notion of parenthood. Celeste would learn quickly to entertain themselves and relate to adults better than to other children.

Harry would stress about Celeste’s wellbeing and having them be self-reliable. Draco would insist on letting the child express themselves and find their own interests. There would be a lot of mistakes and doubts, but overall they would do fine.

Celeste would grow up under the assumption that candy exists only as a Weasley family tradition. Like, candy is something that the Weasleys do but no other household has it. Celeste has certainly never seen a candy treat that didn’t come from Weasley hands.

It’s because Draco has this weird crusade against treats. He got so many as a child! It’s a wonder Draco didn’t develop an eating disorder. There were many other aspects where Draco was spoiled silly, but since he wants Celeste to have a broom and learn to fly young, and also play an instrument and what’s the word? A game-boy, Celeste ought to play muggle games too, Draco is focusing on treats and candy which are completely banned at their household. The Weasleys just ignore the prohibition. It evens out. Celeste has some candy, but not as much as they would otherwise get.

I love the idea of Celeste developing magic (especially if they are some sort of magical biological child, because people would see them as Potter 3.0 Malfoy edition) receiving the Hogwarts letter, going to Diagon Alley to buy a wand, everything, all the little traditions and rituals, and once they arrive to Hogwarts… they don’t like it. Beautiful magical place, yes, but it’s still a boarding school. Putting aside that everyone, from teachers to students, looks at them weird because of who Celeste’s parents are, Celeste misses home, isn’t making friends because it takes them a while to open up and overall is having a bad time.

So Harry and Draco take Celeste back home. No questions. Their child wrote saying they didn’t like it there, so Harry and Draco removed their child from that situation immediately. There is no reason they can’t apparate every day for lessons and even if there were, even if there were all kind of obstacles… Their child wrote asking for help and harry and Draco want to do better.

They take Celeste home, where Celeste has all their stuff, is happy and can see Oso. (Oso is the family dog. A huge mastiff so called after a picture in a children’s book. The picture was of a bear, but to be honest Oso does look like a bear to any well informed three-year old).

Of course Hogwarts doesn’t agree with the new arrangement. Harry reminds them that on Halloween of his first year they had a troll roaming inside and things only got worse after that. Harry is told that most of those unfortunate events where a consequence of Voldemort. Nowadays Hogwarts is perfectly safe and perhaps Harry is letting his anxieties take undue hold of him.

“What about the student bullying?” Harry says, with heroic calm. He would rather set the desk on fire.

“What about it? There are centaurs in the forest, but no bulls, I assure you, and as you well known, Mr Potter, students are prohibited from wandering the forest. I do think you are seeing threats where there are none”.

Ah, of course. The wizarding world isn’t familiar with the concept of “bullying”. The application and execution, they know it well, but they don’t’ have a word for what is considered normal conduct.

Celeste attends the rest of the year as if it were a normal school, which is widely criticized although there are also many other parents interested.

And then… The academic year ends and Celeste drops out of Hogwarts. The whole wizarding world comes to a stop, although one should specify that in this case “the whole wizarding world” means “English wizarding society”. The continent doesn’t care if a child attends school or not. Welsh and Scotland care, but not enough to come to a halt. They do discuss it, but they go on with their business. It’s the English wizards who seem to have a problem with it. From September to December the papers write about nothing else.

The things is, Celeste has acquired some of Harry’s anxieties and is concerned with how little they were learning at Hogwarts. A lot of magic, yes, but nothing on language (and Celeste loves reading and learning languages) and even less about math. Not that Celeste likes math, but they worry about not knowing how to adequately manage the family fortune when their parents are gone. You know how wealth does not last three generations? Well, it certainly won’t if Celeste doesn’t learn how to balance expenses. Celeste wants to learn enough that they won’t be vulnerable to their solicitor., and when they put it that way even his gransfather has to admit there is a point.

(And maybe Harry failed Celeste here, letting his child worry so much about becoming an orphan, but Harry routinely receives dead threats and Draco has suffered two attempts on his life, so).

Harry couldn’t be more proud. No benevolent-looking wizard will take advantage of Celeste. Draco is also very happy because Celeste’s muggle school has art lessons in the curriculum and they have Drama as an extra-curricular. Celeste doesn’t want to sign to Theatre, but the mere fact it’s there pleases Draco immensely.

The ministry makes Celeste sits the OWLs in order to keep their wand. There are parents asking about educations alternatives, so the Ministry hopes that once Celeste fails people will accept Hogwarts as it comes, none of that day-school nonsense and hiring qualified teachers.

Except muggle school prepares you really well for the study process (or maybe, it simply prepares you better than magical schools do) so Celeste excels at the written exams. They do really, really, well, which is something Hermione Granger had been predicting for the last four years but nobody listened to her, so she is even more chuffed than Harry and Draco. Hermione has won sixteen different bets and is going to bring parliamentary reform to the education system.

Celeste’s spell work could see some improvement, but they have no trouble conjuring a corporeal patronus and that still qualifies as an automatic O in DADA. With that and some luck in Transfigurations, Celeste graduates Hogwarts having only attended a year. Lucius Malfoy, who is still racist but above all is a social creature and social climber, gives a week-long ball to celebrate his grandchild academic achievement. He also gifts Celeste a summer trip around Europe. Correction, because Lucius knows both Harry and Draco, but specially Draco, are very strict with gifts, he makes a donation to Celeste’s school language club. Did Lucius pay so thirty-odd muggle teenagers can spend three weeks around Europe practicing their foreign languages? Why, he sure did. And you won’t disappoint said children, will you Draco? I will take the money back if you ask me to, but little Prisha will be crushed.

There is a Prisha in Celeste’s school. Lucius is either weirdly stalkerish or paying attention to Celeste.

So maybe Celeste has inherited some anxieties and complexes, like many children do, but Lucius has become a better person and a pretty cool grandfather, so overall I think Harry and Draco are good parents.

#harry potter #draco malfoy #grandpa lucius malfoy #drarry #verse: drarry parenthood

[youbloodymadgenius]

Along the Silk Road - Broken (Ivar x reader)

(spoiler free!)

A/N: This was requested by @surrendertotheunknown​. Sorry it took me so long! I was very conflicted: smut or not? There’s no smut in this one, but a second - smutty - part is possible. Let me know - all of you - if you’re interested!

I wrote this in English first - the French version on Wattpad is a translation. It’s the first time I’ve done this, but definitely not the last 😉

@inforapound​, you’re the best and the most supportive beta ever! 💖💖💖

Request:

Warnings: Ivar’s inner demons; angst; fluff (?) at the very end.

Words: 2042

So many noises and sounds, colours, smells, scents... All different, all strange…

So many new feels…

Sometimes, like now, it’s so overwhelming it's hard for him to breathe.

Nonetheless, he's grateful for that because it keeps him from thinking. Thinking kills him so he drowns in this world he doesn't understand.

Laughter and smiles. Many smiles. Too many for his restless mind, his tormented soul. Though he can't help smiling back, feeling a little silly.

He feels dizzy.

Screams and exclamations in a language he doesn't comprehend.

Children, dressed in rags, but who seem genuinely happy.

Men with engraved face and tanned skin, shouting from stall to stall, laughing out loud.

Animals like he's never seen before, colorful birds, huge snakes.

And the women… their skin darker than his own, their hazelnut eyes, their long smooth hair… They are so beautiful… Entrancing… Their female curves, the softness of their features, their smooth, delicate faces…

They radiate such tenderness; such kindness…

They are different from the women back in Kattegat. Less muscular, less athletic. They seem to be more genuine, maybe more ingenious too… More truthful than Freyd…

Feeling nauseous at that thought, he forces himself to focus on something else. Unexpected colors, surprising scents. He's looking for anything, truly, to escape from his depressed, troubled mind.

***

"We are going to stay here for one night, maybe two!" Thorsten's rough voice startles him, bringing him back to the present moment. Confused, he blinks several times. "How? Why ?"

"Your cart needs to be fixed. Horses are tired. Men are tired. We all need to rest. We are traveling day and night for so long, Ivar. Even if Bjorn's men are after us, and I doubt it, we can afford at least a proper night's sleep."

Looking at his man, he weighs his options. He'd like to keep moving forward, even without a goal, but he's exhausted. His legs hurt like hel and his back is sore from sleeping on the floor.

Tilting his head, he slightly nods. "Where then?"

"Over there." Pointing to a small farm not far away, Thorsten explains. "The owner is a merchant. He doesn't live there. It was his stepfather's farm I think. When he died, the merchant couldn't bring himself to sell it. Whatever, we're allowed to stay. The guys and I will sleep in the barn. For one more coin, I got you to sleep in the house, in the one room. The barn girl will bring us bread and water."

***

Sitting on the bed, cutting his beard, a sharp blade in his hand, he doesn't see you looking at him from the threshold. Clearing your throat, he raises his head and finally acknowledges your presence as you slowly enter the room.

Never taking his eyes off you, he watches you getting closer to him. Putting on the table next to the bed the heavy tray you're carrying, you point it out, showing him the food you brought in. Some bread, as you master told you, and chicken that you decided to add on your own, thinking the stranger might be someone important since he had been allowed to sleep in the only room.

Glancing quickly around, the crutches and the leg braces you notice against the wall make you realize he's the cripple you heard about earlier. A Viking, it seems. Maybe even a king. You don't really care who he is. The only thing you care about is the sadness in his eyes, so deep that you can hardly bear it. You want, you need to help.

Taking a step forward, you stretch out your hand before putting it on his, both of your hands now grabbing the knife's handle. He freezes, startled and somewhat baffled, unsure of what your intentions are. But he knows you won't harm him. How could you? You're so small, almost frail.

Staring at you, he can see that you're shy but not scared, as you hold his gaze. You gently put your free hand on his messy beard, your eyes asking for permission.

Conflicted, but mostly dumbfounded; that's exactly how he feels.

The old Ivar would have pushed you away, frightened you, surely even threatened. But he's not that man anymore. Or a king. Or a god. He's barely Ivar. He's a stranger, a runaway. A nobody. That's who he is now. A nobody. A nobody deprived of human touch for so long, craving immensely for your kindness, your gentleness and the warmth radiating from your hand resting on his.  

Giving in, allowing himself to be weak, he eventually nods at you quietly and you sit down on the bed, next to him, smiling tentatively. Allowing you to take the blade, he closes his eyes for a moment, breathing out a sigh before resting his hands on his lap.

"Y/N." Whispering, you're almost startled by your own voice.

Words are useless, as you don't know his language and he doesn't know yours. Nevertheless, you feel the need to bond with him; to break his loneliness, even in the slightest way.

His eyes wide open, looking at you bewilderingly, he furrows his brows. "Y/N." Blushing shyly, you keep repeating yourself, your index finger pointing at yourself. "Y/N." One more time.

Suddenly his face brightens, a faint smile curling up his mouth. Mimicking your gesture, his hands points at his own chest. "Ivar."

You nod, showing him you understand, before repeating softly, "Ivar." His smile widens slightly, not even reaching his eyes, but it's enough, you don't need more.

Raising the knife, you release a breathe and get to work cautiously.

***

As so often, he doesn't sleep, fighting his own slumber. Tossing and turning in bed, he sighs heavily, trying to chase away the awful memories from his mind.

Baldur…Freydis... Joined lately by Sigurd.

They are haunting him, endlessly. It's easier during the day. But at night, he's alone. If he falls asleep, it's only to be woken by nightmares. Horrific nightmares. Worse than any he's ever had. Worse than his mother's death. Worse than the shipwreck. Terrifying to the point he doesn't want to sleep. He doesn't know how much longer he can bear to relive their deaths, over and over again. So, he doesn't sleep, racked with guilt.

Exhausted. Exhausted and in pain. That's how he feels, how he is. The sharp physical pain is often overwhelming. He's used to it. Mental pain, on the other hand… He's never felt anything like this before, even when his mother and father died. For the first time in his life, there's no anger left. Just guilt. And an infinite sadness that consumes him day after day, night after night, hour after hour… He doesn't know how to cope.

As he sits in bed, his back resting against the wall, a single tear runs down his cheek.

***

It's far from dawn but you're already busying yourself, making bread for Ivar and his men, who will leave, or not, in a few hours. Either way, they'll be starving when they wake.

"Ivar.” A whisper. You love the way his name rolls off your tongue. "Ivar…"

His huge, dejected eyes haunting your mind, you can't stop thinking about him. What has he been through? Why such grief? You lose your train of thought as you hear a muffled noise. Sobs. There's no one else here, so it has to be him.  

Grabbing a candle while rushing toward the room, you poke your head around the half-open door. There he is, crying.

Getting closer, you clear your throat so he'll notice you're there. Looking up slowly at you, tears streaming down his cheeks, his puffy eyes meet yours but you're not sure he sees you. But you can see. The sadness in his gaze seems excruciating. You want to help. You need to.

Without a second thought, you grasp the cloth you left earlier on the table, soaking it into a water bucket intended for his morning wash.

"Ivar." Whispering, you sit down next to him on the makeshift bed, wiping his face gently. A simple gesture, the one your mother used to make when you had a bad dream. At first, he doesn't react, his breathing uneven, his features contracted.

Hoping to soothe him, you put a hand on his chest, still whispering his name as he rocks his head slowly from side to side, sobbing.

"Shh… Ivar…"

All of a sudden, he finally gazes into your eyes, grabbing your wrists. You startle but don't have time to be scared, as he starts talking, his words rushed.

"I am so tired, Y/N. I'm tired of being in pain. I'm tired of being myself. A failure." Hiccupping, he swallows. When he speaks again, it's in a shaky voice. "A… a monster. That's who I am. I killed them. I loved them and yet I killed them. How… How am I supposed to live? I… I should have let Bjorn kill me. I can't anymore. I can't, Y/N."

Ivar's face crumbles as violent sobs wrack his body and make it seem like he might shake apart.

You may not understand his words, but you know what it is. Loneliness. Despair. Torment. Suffering. This man is lost. Distraught. Hopeless. Broken.

"Ivar…” You wish you could tell him it is going to be okay. But you cannot. Because you don't speak his language, clearly; and you don't know that for sure, not wanting to lie.

Therefore, you do the only thing you can. Stretching out your hand, you pull him into your chest, wrapping your arms around him, hoping to provide comfort. He doesn't fight back, leaning forward, his head on your shoulder, his tears on your dress.

He cries for what seems like forever, and you let him. One hand on his back, the other in his hair, humming a lullaby, you gently cradle him.

Finally, he calms down, pulling away, his swollen eyes full of gratitude and you smile before softly stroking his face. His skin is warm beneath your palm. Your lips graze his cheek as your hand faintly squeezes his arm.  His slight smile warms your heart as much as it relieves you. He feels better now and you can leave.

Barely moving away from him, his hand grasp yours, preventing you from going.

"Stay."

You don't know the words, but the silent prayer in his eyes is unmistakable, perfectly clear. Sighing to yourself, you cannot deny him.

Closing your eyes, thinking for a moment about your chores, already well underway, you eventually nod and are rewarded with a smooth smile. Shifting in the bed, Ivar adjusts his legs, wincing briefly before lying down, silently requesting you to do the same as one of his hands softly grabs your arm.

"Please, hold me tight, Y/N.” Begging eyes, hesitant voice, he seems almost scared, like a little boy, reminding you of Babak, your baby brother. If you needed it, this sweet memory is enough to convince you.

You slip without a doubt into the sheets and lie down, careful not to touch his legs but he immediately draws you close, his powerful arms lifting you up like you're a twig.

"Thank you." Whispering, he buries his head into the crook of your neck, silent tears returning as you wrap your arms around him once again. "Shh… Ivar….”

Tightening his grip, you can feel him relaxing, holding you tight as if wanting your bodies to melt together. You are sure that tomorrow your skin's will be bruised showing the signs of his need for you. It doesn't matter.  Tonight, only Ivar matters. It's all about him.

Humming once more, a chill goes down your spine as he awkwardly croons, apparently pleased with you. Yet, he soon falls silent, allowing you to get lost in the beauty of the moment. The peacefulness is nearly exhilarating, putting a smile of hope on your lips. Everything is fine. And maybe Ivar will be fine, too.

Eventually, his breathing gets deeper, slow and steady. One arm across your chest, his head on your shoulder and your legs intertwined, he's finally sleeping.

"شببخیرایوار"

Muttering, you kiss his forehead before closing your eyes. For now, he's fine.

🛡⚔️🛡

A/N: " شببخیرایوار"= Good night, Ivar"

@gearhead66​ @lisinfleur​ @honestsycrets​ @waiting4inspiration​ @saldelys​ @readsalot73​

#vikings #vikings imagine #ivar #ivar the boneless #ivar ragnarsson #ivar vikings #ivar imagine #vikings ivar #ivar x reader

[bluecalic0]

i posted this on my twitter but i wrote a short wangxian confession scene while i was in my feelings so you can have it too

Lan Wangji was sitting on a small deck chair in his garden when he heard Wei Wuxian call his name. It was the middle of summer and the heat was absolutely sweltering. Usually, Wangji would stay inside and try to stay cool there, but this year was exceptionally hot and he’d been forced into the garden to seek relief from the sun. He’d found an old chair and taken the book he was reading out with him, finding it relaxing once he eventually got comfy. 

“Lan Zhan!” he heard the familiar voice call.

When he looked up, he saw Wei Wuxian who had clearly jumped up and was hanging on the fence panel to look over into the garden. 

“Lan Zhan!” he repeated, “can I join you for a bit?”. 

Wangji nodded, standing to go round and open the door. Before he got far, though, he heard Wei Wuxian again. 

“No need!” he said and suddenly his face disappeared. A mere second later, the fence panel he’d been peering over was lifted and Wei Wuxian stepped into the garden. God knows how he knew the panel would move but Wangji was so used to his antics that he wasn’t surprised anymore. 

Returning to the chair, Wangji didn’t reopen the book he was reading and instead watched Wei Wuxian sit on the floor in front of him. As he shuffled to get comfy he had already started speaking. 

“I was talking to Jiang Cheng the other day and he said there’s a field that Huaisang showed him that’s not surrounded by many houses and there are no street lights. That means at night when the sky is clear you can see the stars so much more clearly than you would just coming out to watch them here!” he said with an enormous smile on his face. 

Lan Wangji sat and listened intently. It was taking an immense amount of concentration not to immediately smile back just as widely. There was something about Wei Wuxian’s smile, something infectious that filled him with an overwhelming sense of joy and safety whenever he saw it. 

“Tonight’s supposed to be clear. Wanna go see if we can find it?” Wei Wuxian asked. He was so excited and Lan Wangji loved the stars. How could he possibly say no. 

For the rest of the afternoon they relaxed in Wangji’s garden, doing whatever they could to avoid the heat. The book never got picked back up. Wangji was too engrossed in whatever Wei Wuxian was rambling about to even think about going back to it for now. 

It was summer, so night didn't fall until kind of late. Before they left to go find the place Wei Wuxian had wanted to visit, he quickly said “Bring your ID. I want wine.”

As expected of Wei Wuxian. 

It took them just under an hour to find the field as all the direction they had to go on came from Jiang Cheng, who could get lost walking a route he’d taken hundreds of times before. He had tried his best but even he had to admit his sense of direction was absolutely appalling.  

The location was indeed out of the way. It was no wonder neither of the boys had seen it before. Just like Jiang Cheng had said, there were no houses too nearby, and street lights hadn’t quite made it this far out of the main town. The two had to rely somewhat on the light of the moon and somewhat on the light from their phone torched, but in the end they managed to find a spot in the middle of the field and made themselves comfortable there. 

The wine Wei Wuxian had bought was a fairly inexpensive Pinot Grigio, but it tasted pretty decent. They drank from the bottle - Wei Wuxian a lot more than Lan Wangji. He’d always been able to drink a fair amount without it affecting him too much. Lan Wangji was more of a lightweight and only occasionally took the bottle from the other. 

For a while, the two just sat. They leaned back onto their hands and watched in silence. When he grew tired of the wine - or finished it, Wangji couldn't be sure - Wei Wuxian decided to make himself comfortable. He rested his head on Wangji’s thigh and lay on his back. 

When they looked up, it was like being inside the biggest planetarium that could be imagined. If a close look was taken, it seemed as though there was a huge dome around the earth and they could actually experience seeing the curvature of the earth even though that didn't seem possible. 

Instead of just the brightest stars you could see even for all the street lights and cars and houses, you could see everything. Every tiny star whose light struggled to make it to the earth, the dim ones that would always be just overshadowed by the bright lights of modern civilisation, the constellations that became so much clearer. It was truly a sight to behold. 

The Plough sat clearly in the low sky, just above the treeline. Here, they could see that rather than the deep black they were used to seeing, the night sky was the deepest blue they’d ever seen. It was so dark, but definitely not black. 

The stars decorated the sky just as the lights decorated a city viewed from above. Each star, even the small ones, screamed out. They wanted to be seen. They knew that the souls seeing them were few, and wanted to prove their existence and bathe in the gazes even if just for an evening. 

It was stunning. To see a sky like this was something few people ever sought to do. For all the astonishing beauty the stars in the sky held, Lan Wangji could only look down. 

He had looked to the stars and taken them in with a warm feeling in his heart, but inevitably his gaze drifted down to the boy in his lap. Under the moonlight, Wangji could see the sparkle in his eyes. The same eyes that looked at the world with so much wonder, and saw the bright side in everything. It perfectly lit up his face, accentuating just how pretty he was. 

A very familiar urge rose up inside Lan Wangji. It was something he’d felt countless times before and always managed to suppress. 

At that moment, Wei Wuxian met his gaze. “Lan Zhan why are you looking at me?! Look up!!” he said. The smile on his face was as wide as ever. This was the Wei Wuxian only Lan Wangji got to see. 

‘I’m looking at you because I may never see you like this again’ Wangji said to himself. 

Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the setting, but Lan Wangji decided not to suppress the urge this time. 

Wei Wuxian looked back to the stars. Lan Wangji kept looking down. In a moment of confidence he did what he’d wanted to do for the past two years. 

He leaned down and kissed Wei Wuxian. It was a gentle kiss and he didn’t let it linger. Afraid of the reaction, Lan Wangji quickly leaned back onto his hands to watch the stars. He had hoped he could pretend it didn't happen, but Wei Wuxian quickly sat up and turned to look at Lan Wangji. 

“Lan Zhan…” he said quietly. 

“I’m sorry” was all Wangji could say. If Wei Wuxian wanted nothing to do with him anymore, then so be it. There was nothing he could to change things now. There was no going back. 

Just as he was having an internal crisis with himself, he felt Wei Wuxian’s hand cup his face. 

He actually returned the kiss!

This time the kiss was a little deeper. There were feelings they each could never put into words. Wei Wuxian, with this one kiss, had told him so much. Everything they’d never said out loud was carried in that moment. 

“Lan Zhan, you have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for that.” Wei Wuxian said, looking into Wangji’s eyes. 

“You have no idea how long I’ve been too afraid to.” Wangji returned, bringing their lips together again. 

Under the light of the moon and the stars, the both of them confessed everything. Every “you’re more beautiful than you think, Wei Wuxian”, every “Lan Zhan… you seem so cold but you have the warmest heart”. Every “stay with me” and every “it’s always been you.”

#wangxian au #wangxian #wei wuxian #wei ying #lan zhan #lan wangji #i love my dumb gay idiots

[uswntpoet]

One Day (Kellex One Shot)

Summary:

Technically winning a World Cup is the best moment in your life, but why does it feel like everything is going downhill for Kelley and Alex ever since?

Notes:

Hey guys, this is the author of ‘Love on the brain’, I wrote a one shot that isn’t related to that story, I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think :)

“Kelley!! Alex!! Shots at the bar!” JJ screams, waving her hand enthusiastically.

“I’ll be right back, babe.” Alex says, freeing herself form Servando’s embrace.

“Would you mind?” Kelley asks Hannah.

“No of course not. Go, have fun.” she encourages, smiling sweetly.

“5 minutes.” Kelley smiles, pressing a sweet kiss to her lips.

“Kel?” Alex calls over her shoulder.

“Coming!” Kelley responds, immediately turning around, putting her hands on Alex’s shoulders. Alex turns her head to look at her, smiling brightly. Kelley eyes are beaming and she smiles back at her even brighter.

“SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, EVERBOOOODY!” Kelley yells loudly, her hands guiding Alex through the crowd to the rhythm of the music, lightly moving her shoulder blades from left to right. Alex laughs loudly, already feeling the effects of the alcohol. She reaches for her shoulder to hold on to one of Kelley’s hands while throwing her other hand into the air, joining in on Kelley’s shenanigans.

“There you are!!! Now let’s down these fucking shots bitches.” Ashlyn slurs, putting her shot in the middle of the group to toast. Ali hands Alex and Kelley their shots and they all bring them to the middle.

“Kel?” Megan asks, raising her eyebrow.

“To being fucking WORLD CHAMPS! OOS- OOS- OOS- AAH!” Kelley yells.

“OOS- OOS- OOS- AAH!!” the whole team yells, clinking shot glasses.

“WOOHOO!” Tobin, Allie and Kelley all yell after taking the shot. Alex laughs loudly, looking at some of her teammates who are scrunching up their faces from the shot. Meanwhile, Kelley feels awesome. Her whole body is more energized than ever, running at full speed. Right in that moment she feels as if she’s on top of the world. Her head is bopping to the beat of the music and her mind is on a high that resembles a trip.

“ANOTHER ROUND!” she exclaims, making some of her teammates roll their eyes and leave while others cheer and stay.

Another shot turns into six other shots and after round three the only ones remaining are Kelley and Alex, their promises to return to Servando and Hannah long forgotten. Hence, ‘5 minutes’ turn into one hour of not coming back and tipsy chuckles turn into drunken laughter while stumbling around, almost falling over each other. If you’d asks either of them, no one could have answered how they ended up outside of the party. Now they are sitting on the curb of the sidewalk, several feet from the back door, sharing a bottle of champagne.

“France, you’ve really been perfect!! Now I understand why everything is about love here.” Kelley slurs into the crystal-clear night sky, looking up at the stars.

It’s a warm summer night, the street completely empty and crickets are chirping along to the muffled bass of the music that is echoing through the streets.

“Imagine spending a night like this in Paris, drinking wine and dancing in the streets with someone you love.” Alex slurs, longingly looking up at the sky as well, handing Kelley the champagne bottle.

Kelley takes a swig of the bottle and sets it down on the ground, standing up.

“What are you doing?” Alex chuckles.

“May I?” Kelley holds out her hand, taking a bow.

“You can’t be serious right now. We’re not dancing here.” Alex giggles.

“Why not?” Kelley laughs.

“Because it was only nonsense.”

“I know you, it wasn’t.” Kelley grins.

Alex rolls her eyes, hating that Kelley indeed does know her so well, “Still.”

“Miss Morgan this may not be Paris and I only got champagne for you, but it’s still a pretty perfect summer night and someone who loves you is standing in front of you, asking you to dance with them in the streets of Lyon.” Kelley announces with a smile, still holding out her hand.

Alex looks at her with uncertainty, but the smile that is born on her face is the brightest Kelley has seen from her all day.

“Huh?” Kelley grins, raising her eyebrows and wiggling her fingers to make Alex take her hand.

“Aaaalright.” Alex says, taking Kelley’s hand and letting her help her up.

Kelley pulls her close, putting her hand on her waist, guiding Alex’s hand to her shoulder and taking her other hand into her own. She looks down at their feet, lining them perfectly and when she looks up at Alex, her eyes are looking back at her with a glow that Kelley would love to see all the time.

“One..two…three.” Kelley says under her breath, before taking the first step forward, making Alex take a step back and immediately matching her step.

“Good anticipation, Miss Morgan.” Kelley winks.

They dance around smoothly, holding eye contact at all time, the drunk smiles never leaving their faces.

“Why did I know you were going for a slow waltz?” Alex asks with an amused smile.

“Because I’m romantic as fuck.” Kelley grins smugly.

“Can’t argue with that.”

Kelley holds her arm up, letting Alex turn under it and smoothly takes her hand again, continuing the dance, pulling her close. A little too close. Much closer than necessary. Their foreheads are almost touching now, their gazes fixed on each other. Bright smiles turn into longing looks. Alex’s breathing starts getting heavier and her heart is beating out of her chest.

“Wanna try something even more romantic?” Kelley whispers.

Alex just nods her head, speechlessly. Kelley releases her hand and places both of Alex’s hands behind her neck while her own hands go around Alex’s waist, turning the slow waltz into a slow dance. Their bodies are pushed together completely now, not one inch space in between them, their foreheads finally touching. When Alex feels a light tingling of Kelley’s breath on her lips, she looks at Kelley’s lips before quickly looking back up into her eyes. The usual mix of green and brown in Kelley’s eyes which Alex always found really pretty is gone. Instead Alex can see almost only black, Kelley’s pupils dilated immensely. Alex starts thinking that it must be the alcohol and why in the world is she thinking about how pretty Kelley’s eyes are. The next moment Alex realizes that they have stopped dancing. They’re just standing there in the middle of the street in Lyon, bodies so close that they feel like one, staring into each other’s eyes for what feels like eternity. There is absolute silence for a minute. Before either one of them can process what is happening, they are both leaning in at the same time, sharing a short kiss that resembles a peck and both pull away again. They end up looking at each other’s lips confused. When they go in for another short peck, their gazes meet simultaneously once they pull away for a second time. That is the last straw it takes. They start kissing again, but this time it’s not a peck. When their lips touch it feels like an explosion of passion. Kelley literally feels her body releasing dopamine that flows through her veins like electricity, her heart racing. Their teeth clash together in urgency. The kiss a desperate attempt to express all of their emotions, turning it messy. Both of their eyebrows are furrowed while holding on to each other’s faces for dear life to kiss forcefully. Their lips move restlessly and needy as if it was their last moment on earth. Alex suddenly feels a sharp pain spreading through her head and she pulls away slightly.

“I-I can’t.” she rasps breathlessly, sounding anything but sure.

Kelley just starts kissing her more passionately, the creases on her forehead starting to intensify. A hasty attempt to stop Alex from thinking and it appears to work. As soon as Kelley’s lips are on Alex’s again, she forgets every thought that started to rush into her brain, the kiss anesthetizing every feeling of pain. Now Kelley is the one to pull away, panic written across her face.

“Fuck, we shouldn’t be doing this.” she gasps, but they still continue to kiss.

“I know.”

“We’re drunk.” Kelley mumbles.

“I know.” Alex breathes, turning her head to deepen the kiss.

There is pain and desperation written across both of their faces, but neither one of them can let go. Mid kiss Kelley starts walking forward until Alex’s back hits the wall of the venue they are celebrating in. She kisses Alex’s neck, making her moan lightly, throwing her head back against the wall. Kelley’s hands start opening Alex’s belt while Alex’s hands disappear under Kelley’s shirt, her nails digging into her back. When Kelley starts unbuttoning and unzipping her pants, Alex grabs Kelley’s chin to redirect her into a kiss again. Kelley’s hand starts making its way into Alex’s pants, teasing Alex by going agonizingly slowly. This only lasts until Alex grabs Kelley’s wrist impatiently and pushes it further down.

“Aaaaalex??” a voice calls, making both of them freeze on the spot.

“Kelley? Are you here???” the approaching voice calls.

They pull away from each other’s lips.

“Fuck.” Alex exhales in panic.

Kelley quickly buttons Alex’s pants, jumping away from her, starting to hectically go through her hair and her face. Meanwhile, Alex tightens her belt just as hectically, also brushing her hands through her hair. Kelley sits down at the curb again, taking the bottle of champagne into her hand and Alex sits down next to her, leaving a suspiciously huge gap between them.

“Are you insane?? Come closer!!” Kelley whisper yells, grabbing Alex’s arm to pull her closer.

“Same goes for you! Who sits like that?!” she snaps at Kelley, who sits so upright that she might as well dine with royals. Kelley relaxes her back just in time when Allie walks around the corner.

“There you are! What were you guys doing without me?” she slurs.

Kelley’s eyes go wide and she quickly starts chugging the rest of the huge bottle of champagne. Alex looks at her in disbelieve.

“We were just talking.” Alex says, standing up.

“Wowza Kel, you’re the life of the party.” Allie laughs, when Kelley sets down the empty bottle which was nearly half full.

“I’ll be right back. I need to go to the bathroom.” Alex excuses herself.

“That I can see.” Allie chuckles.

“What?” Alex exclaims wide eyed while Kelley freezes again.

“Your zipper.” Allie laughs, pointing at Alex’s pants, “It’s already open.”

Alex and Kelley’s eyes dart down to Alex’s zipper which indeed is still and not already open.

“Uh, yeah. I really have to pee badly.” Alex laughs awkwardly, before almost jogging to the back door to enter the venue again.

Allie looks at Kelley observingly.

“Dude, your lips are so swollen from chugging that bottle of champagne right now.” she laughs.

Kelley hesitantly starts joining in with Allie’s laughter, before redirecting the conversation to something else. They talk for about 15 minutes, waiting for Alex to return, but she never does. When they reenter the venue to go search for her, they are told that she already left about 15 minutes ago.

“And man did she leave hastily, I bet Servando is getting lucky tonight.” Ashlyn laughs drunkenly, causing Allie to burst into laughter and Kelley’s heart to ache. As if that wasn’t quite enough, she feels a hand on her shoulder and when she turns around big brown eyes are looking back at her. Her girlfriend.

“Where have you been?” she asks with an annoyed edge to her voice.

“I- uh- I-“ Kelley slurs, feeling the effect of the champagne combining with all the shots. The room starts spinning, her head hurting badly from the mix of the alcohol and the concussion she got in the game. Kelley feels her eyes moving uncontrollably. A dull droning fills her ears, making the conversations around her incomprehensible.

A muffled “What’s up with her?” is all she can hear Allie say, before blacking out.

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“I-uh-I-“ Kelley slurs, making Hannah look away impatiently.

“What’s up with her?” Allie asks alarmed, pointing at Kelley, who looks like she’s about to pass out.

Hannah looks at Kelley, who slumps over in that exact moment.

“Woooah, slowly Kel.” Allie chuckles, stepping forward to help Hannah to prevent Kelley from falling.

“Aaaaand she’s out.” Ashlyn laughs loudly, blindly trying to find the straw of her drink with her tongue without success.

“Something tells me she’s not far from it either.” Allie whispers loudly to Ali, pointing at Ashlyn.

“HEY!” Ashlyn yells while Pinoe arrives with a shitfaced smile.

“Kel bell, what’s up with you?” Pinoe slurs with a baby voice, poking Kelley’s face without getting a response.

“Great. Was she still drinking when you found her?” Hannah groans, ignoring all the drunkards around her.

“Found her whilst chugging half a bottle of champagne.”

“LEGEND.” Pinoe bawls.

“Ugggh. Tomorrow is going to be awesome.”

Allie takes another look at Kelley, who is limply hanging on to their supporting shoulders with her eyes closed, toppling back and forth.

“Definitely.” she laughs.

“Okay, party’s over, babe. Let’s get you to the hotel.”

“I’ll help you.” Allie offers.

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Kelley miraculously survives the night without any incidents. Knocked out like a light, she sleeps through. The miserable part starts in the morning when she wakes up guilt ridden, the memories of the night before flooding in. She wishes the alcohol somehow had made her forget. Instead her body still feels and smells intoxicated, however the real origin of anything poisonous is located in her thoughts that are drowning her like a wave, violently pulling her head underwater every time she tries to breathe. Kelley starts to wonder how she even got to the hotel and her eyes start going wide when she realizes that apparently, she can’t recall as much as she thought. Kelley looks around the room in panic, making her head hurt badly. She is alone. The bed beside her is already made or untouched in the first place. She then looks down her body which is covered in clothes. A good sign. Kelley lets out a deep breath, looking at the ceiling. At least she didn’t do anything worse she thinks before realizing that it really couldn’t get any worse than it already is. She reaches for her phone, squinting at the bright light of her phone which immediately makes her headache even more prominent.

Hannah [8:49]: Call me when you wake up.

Instead Kelley texts her, not ready to face the agony of hearing Hannah’s blameless voice. It already hurts enough to know that she is going to have to lie to her either way. After Kelley motionlessly and numbly stood under the stream of an ice-cold shower, she meets Hannah in the lobby to go for a walk outside since she can’t even think about breakfast. Hannah fills in the blanks in Kelley’s memory and Kelley hasn’t been able to even look at her once since they met.      

“What’s up with you?”

“Huh?” Kelley mumbles absentmindedly.

“Something is off.”

“Eh no I just-“

Kelley stops mid-sentence when she hears Alex’s voice, arguing loudly. Before Kelley is able to process what is about to happen, Alex walks around the corner, looking behind her, not watching where she is going. She is walking so fast that she almost crashes into Kelley who quickly grips her arms to cushion the collision. She barley manages to stop before they knock heads and Servando comes to an abrupt halt, the words he was yelling faltering. Alex looks at Kelley with wide eyes. Kelley notices the tension between her and Servando in a heartbeat. She has been running from him, he was chasing. Kelley feels a feeling of sickness arising in her body.

“-feel sick.” she finishes.

She quickly pushes Alex back forcefully and bends over, starting to throw up.

“Kelley!!” Alex gasps.

“Oh my god, Kelley!” Hannah exclaims.

“Shit.” Servando says worried.

Alex jumps into action faster than lightning. She holds Kelley’s hair and gently strokes her back, while Hannah rushes to her side as well, being left with patting the lower part of her back. When Kelley stops, she slumps down to the ground, leaning against the wall, closing her eyes.

“Water.” she says weakly.

“I’ll get you some!” Hannah quickly says.

“I’ll get some wet towels.” Servando adds, jogging to catch up with Hannah.

Alex sits down next to Kelley, putting her arm around her. Kelley lets her head fall on Alex’s shoulder exhaustedly. She wipes the sweat off Kelley’s forehead with her hand. Even though Alex only sits beside her, she can feel Kelley’s heart racing. So, while her hand is still holding Kelley’s forehead, she lays her free hand on top of her chest, right above her heart to calm her down.

“Hey, shhhh, I’m here.” she soothes with a gentle voice.

Kelley nods lightly, nuzzling her head in the crook of her neck. After a minute or so of just sitting in silence Alex starts to worry.

“Your heart is still racing.”

Kelley doesn’t answer for another solid minute.

“I think you’re only making it worse.” she finally whispers with a weak smile on her face.

Alex heart makes a jump, but she still decides on ignoring the comment and drop her hand.

“Are you okay?”

“Alex…I-“

“Shit, babe, are you okay?” Hannah asks worried, handing her the water bottle while Servando hands Alex a towel.

“Eh-yeah. I drank a lot last night, haven’t been feeling well all morning.” Kelley says with a crack in her voice, still avoiding eye contact, turning her head to Alex so she can place the cold towel on her forehead. Alex looks at Kelley disbelievingly, knowing that Kelley is lying. Meanwhile, Hannah and Servando seem to buy Kelley’s cheap excuse.

“Typical hangover. That’s the worst, man.” Servando grimaces.

“Ugh, Kelley I literally told you not to drink that much. I already had a handful with getting you to the hotel last night. You’re lucky Allie was such an angel. I don’t watch you for like one hour and you’re shit wasted. I should have left you at the venue.” Hannah rants.

Kelley looks at her annoyed, clearly not in the physical condition to argue.

“Alex, I’m so sorry!” Hannah apologizes.

“NO!” Alex exclaims loudly, making everybody look at her.

“Eh, I mean, no everything is fine. Actually, I’m the one who has to be sorry.”

Kelley looks at her with panic struck eyes that scream ‘You can’t be serious!’ while Hannah and Servando look at her questioningly.

“Kelley isn’t to blame. I got her this drunk. We were downing some shots and I kept on ordering more.” Alex defends.

“Well, defending her is really honorable Alex, still I don’t see you throwing up all over the lawn. However, I got to say, you look really pale right now.” Hannah observes.    

“Uh, yeah. I don’t feel quite well either.” Alex answers, now being the one who can’t look at Hannah. Kelley notices immediately, trying to pull the attention away from Alex.

“I think I need some more rest. Would you mind helping me upstairs?” she asks Hannah.

“Yeah, sure.”

Only now does Alex realizes that her other hand is still around Kelley and she quickly drops it. She then jumps to her feet, awkwardly dusting off her pants. Hannah puts her arm around Kelley to stabilize her for the second time in the last 24 hours.

“Do you need any help?” Servando asks.

“We’re good. Who drinks that much has to deal with the consequences, right?”

“…Right.” Alex mumbles quietly, looking at the ground.

Her gaze quickly shoots up when she feels Kelley’s eyes on her. She looks at Alex desperately.

“Thanks again Alex, your reaction was blazing fast. I don’t think I would have acted that quickly when someone almost threw up on me.”

“Of course. I care for Kelley. That goes without saying.” Alex says meaningfully and Kelley looks at her guiltily, catching the insinuation.

“Thanks, Al.” she says quietly, before they leave.

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At lunch, they say goodbye to their friends and family. However, while for most of the players the goodbye is either happy because they are going to see them in a couple of days again or sad because their partners and families go back to their normal working schedules, both cases don’t apply to Kelley or Alex. After Alex said goodbye to her family, untypically prolonging the hugs to avoid facing Servando, she finds herself standing in front of him, still not able to make eye contact.

“Hey.” he says softly, putting his finger under Alex’s chin to make her look up at him.

The moment Alex’s eyes meet his she can’t stop the tears from coming. They are streaming down her face like a waterfall and desperate sobs escape her lips. Servando wraps her in an affectionate hug, gently combing his hand through her hair. The loving hug only makes Alex cry harder and she holds onto him, her face buried in his chest. He kisses her head softly.

“Don’t cry. I’ll meet you in LA in a few days.” he says softly, causing Alex’s body to shake heavily, the tears soaking his shirt.

Meanwhile, Kelley is standing across the room apathetically while her family and her girlfriend have a conversation, she should probably engage in. Still, they don’t bother since nothing seems to grab her attention all morning. Hannah rightly accused her of being distant which Kelley excused with being extremely hungover, downplaying her real emotions. Despite all that, her attention is drawn towards Alex immediately when she hears her crying. She instantly feels a profound urge to walk up to Alex and hold her close, but instead Alex is wrapped in Servando’s embrace. Her husband. ‘Alex has a husband’ Kelley thinks. She watches Servando kiss Alex’s head, whispering something which only makes Alex cry even more and she doesn’t recognize her feet starting to make her way across the room until a hand on her shoulder stops her.

“Are you okay?”

Kelley turns around to look at Hannah. Her girlfriend. ‘I have a girlfriend’ Kelley thinks.

“Do you have to throw up again? You look terrible right now.” Hannah asks worried.

Sam walks by with a cup of beer and Kelley snatches it from her hand, downing it in one go, before putting the cup back into her hand. Sam looks at her with her jaw agape.

“Thanks.” Kelley pats her shoulder, making her walk on confused.

Kelley turns around hastily to look at Alex and Servando before Hannah snaps her finger in front of Kelley’s face angrily, looking at her in disbelief.

“What?!” Kelley says a little too loud when her head snaps back to Hannah.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe this.” Hannah turns around angrily.

“Wait, Hannah! I’m sorry!” Kelley chases her.

She catches up with her in the lobby, gripping her arm.

“Stop!” Hannah warns, freeing her arm from Kelley’s grip.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Kelley takes a step back, looking around nervously.

Hannah observes her closely, sighing when she sees the dull look in Kelley’s eyes.

“What are you sorry for?” Hannah asks desperately.

“For being in a bad mood.” Kelley mumbles unconvincingly.

“Bullshit.” Hannah counters.

“What are you really sorry for?”

Kelley stares at the ground numbly, chewing on her bottom lip.

“Why are you acting like that?” Hannah goes on.

No response.

“Kelley…I’m not blind. Can’t you just say it?”

Kelley shakes her head, tears starting to fall down her face. She wipes them away quickly.

“You love her.” Hannah says softly.

Kelley’s eyes meet Hannah’s. Now she allows the tears to silently roll down her face.

“I’m so so sorry.” Kelley cries, her voice almost unintelligible because it’s cracking so much.

She looks away ashamed, hiding her face in her hands. Suddenly, she feels her hands being pulled away from her face. Hannah holds her hands, giving them a squeeze.

“It’s okay.” she whispers, making Kelley’s heart break into a thousand pieces.

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The team leaves France behind to continue on riding in the whirlwind that has them under its control ever since the night before. Kelley keeps a straight face for the first two hours of their flight back to the US, partying with her teammates, trying to erase all her pain. After another exhausting round of drinks, nearly everyone has fallen asleep to somewhat stay alive for the next 24 hours. Kelley doesn’t know how many beers she drank within said two hours, but sitting in the now silent plane she knows one thing for sure and that is that she’s feeling like shit and it’s not going to go away that easily. She tries to fall asleep for what feels like an eternity, tossing and turning sleeplessly, but her mind can’t rest for just one second. What she doesn’t know, is that she isn’t the only one. Alex watches Kelley since half an hour, the pain in her chest growing with every minute she sees the distraught expression on her face. Kelley sits up, exhaling deeply and rubs her hands through her face. When she stays put with her hands over her face for a really long time, Alex starts to worry even more and just as she decides to walk over, Kelley stands up determined. Alex quickly closes her eyes, pretending to sleep. She hears the light steps coming closer, feeling Kelley standing over her. That’s where she remains motionless for about 3 minutes. Alex considers if she should just open her eyes and check if Kelley has left, but she senses her presence unquestionably. Kelley squats down, lightly touching Alex’s shoulder.

“Al?” Alex hears her gentle voice.

“Alex...are you awake?” the warmth of her voice makes Alex’s heart combust in the same way Servando’s unknowing and pure tone did earlier.

When she gets not response Kelley sighs heavily. Just when Alex thinks she stands up and leaves, she feels Kelley’s warm breath on her ear.

“I’m so sorry.” she whispers shakily before pressing a featherlight kiss to her cheek. That’s also when Alex feels something else touch her cheek and she senses that Kelley is standing up quickly. The pressure in her chest gets unbearable and Alex contemplates opening her eyes, but what should she say? Does it matter anyway? Shouldn’t they just ignore what happened? The tingling on her cheek pulls her out of her thoughts.

“Wait!” Alex whispers, quickly sitting up, her arm darting forward to reach for any part of Kelley, but her hand reaches into nothingness. Alex catches a short glimpse of Kelley jogging down the aisle, wiping away her tears and disappearing into the bathroom. Alex stares down the now empty aisle heartbroken. The tingling on her cheek starts moving down her face and Alex wipes her cheek, catching Kelley’s tear before it drips down her chin. They don’t talk after that.

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“Alex!! Alex!!! Give us a smile!! Alex to your left!!” the photographers yell deafening loud when Alex walks through a screaming crowd, ducking her head and following her teammates to enter the hotel.

“Alex, can you sign my shirt?”

“Alex what do you say to the criticism of your goal celebration?”

After all the years of standing in the spotlight since a very young age, the screams are only white noise to Alex. Therefore, Alex can’t explain why one particular question somehow forces its way into her ear.

“Alex where has your husband been all tournament??”

Alex’s step falters. She clenches her fists. The screams around her getting louder and louder until they are echoing through her head on maximum volume. She becomes uncomfortably aware of the noise that she tuned out before.

“Are the rumors true that you’re breaking up?” the same reporter yells.

Alex turns around abruptly, quickly striding in the direction of the reporter with sheer anger on her face, determined to take action, when she feels the wind being knocked out of her. She collides with a torso that is pushing her in the direction of the hotel entrance with such force that Alex can’t do anything but swim along the stream of her teammates and the staff, bolting for the entrance to escape the people. However, that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t try to fight back. When they enter the building, the body moves them away from the hustle and only now does Alex escape from the tunnel like state her mind was in that prevented her from perceiving her surroundings. She stops fighting against the force and takes a step back to look who’s been dragging her along. She looks at Kelley perplexed who is standing in front of her barrel-chested.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Alex barks, trying to push past her.

“I’m obviously saving you from a huge mistake!” Kelley argues, blocking her way.

“I don’t need to be rescued!!” Alex yells, shoving her in the chest.  

“Apparently you do Alex!!!” Kelley yells back.

“And what makes you the great hero to take that responsibility upon your shoulders?” Alex comments with a spiteful chuckle.

“Are you fucking serious right now?! I worry about you!!!” Kelley screams, making everybody look at them.

“Oh, spare yourself the sympathy.” Alex says numbly.

“You’re really campaigning for ‘Asshole of the Year’, huh?” Kelley asks sharply, getting into Alex’s face.

“As the defending champion, are you nervous?” Alex counters arrogantly.

“Guys!!! Stop!!!” Dawn intervenes, trying to pull them apart, but they keep on going.

“Are you insane?! Do you know what could have happened?? Alex, really, do you understand what it would have meant to go at him?!”

“That’s MY problem!!! That’s MY FUCKING problem!!! Not yours!!”

“You know what Alex? Go ruin your life then, but don’t come crawling back to me and make me say ‘I told you so’. All I wanted was to help you.”

“You’re so full of yourself. Don’t act like you care anyway!!!!” Alex yells in anger.

Kelley raises her eyebrow at her, shaking her head and turns around to leave, but Alex walks around her, stopping in front of her.

“Don’t you dare look at me like that!! I don’t need your condescending attitude. I don’t need your pity. And most of all I don’t need your help!” Alex bites, pushing her pointer finger into Kelley’s chest repeatedly.

Kelley takes Alex’s finger into her hand, holding on to it.

“Yeah, right Alex. You made it pretty clear that you don’t need me.” she whispers bitterly, her voice full of pain, looking at her intensely. She then releases her hand, removing it from her chest and walks away without looking back once.

“Kelley!” Allie yells after her, but Kelley just keeps on walking.

Ali, JJ and Becky start running after her.

“What in the world was that?” Allie asks shocked, pulling Alex from her state of rage. That’s also the moment that Alex notices most of the team staring at her, jaw agape. When she does, she looks away ashamed, tears forming in her eyes and she takes off.

“Alex! Wait!” Allie calls after her.

Alex enters the staircase of the hotel. She sprints up the stairs until her lungs are burning and the tears are blocking her sight. Then she slumps down on the ground, pulling her legs to her body, hiding her face behind her legs. The staircase is filled with devastated sobs and it only takes two minutes until it’s also filled with sounds of steps approaching carefully. Someone sits down beside her. Alex feels arms pulling her in an embrace and she leans into the hug, crying even harder.

“It’s going to be okay.” Allie says softly, stroking her hair.

Alex shakes her head, gripping Allie’s shirt and keeps on crying for hours.

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Kelley wakes up with a jolt, a gasp escaping her mouth and she sits up straight.

“Fuck.” she breathes, letting herself fall back in the bed.

She grabs her phone, checking the time. 04:03 AM. She groans loudly. She only managed to fall asleep about one hour ago and is already woken by Alex wandering around in her dreams.

“Fuckin’ awesome.” Kelley whispers, throwing her legs out of bed.

She gets up and still feels the effects of the alcohol in her system, stumbling out of bed, almost falling over. They went out earlier, still celebrating the win. Kelley probably drank a sip for every minute Alex didn’t look at her which was a lot since she didn’t do so even once. She paces around her room, grabbing a small bottle of booze from the minibar, downing it in one go, scrunching up her face and letting the bottle fall to the ground. Kelley then leaves her room, staggering down the hallway, crashing into the walls every few steps until she arrives in front of Alex’s room. Under the door Kelley can see a light and she knocks against the door loudly.

“Aalex?”

Kelley holds onto the door frame to keep from swaying back and forth, waiting for her to open the door. When she doesn’t, she starts raising her voice.

“Alex, we need to talk!”

Kelley puts her ear against the door, listening for any noise.

“Aaalex!” she yells.

“Alex, I know you’re awake.” Kelley slurs, leaning her forehead against her door to support her weight.

“Heeey, open up!!”

She knocks again, but Alex is not responding. Kelley bangs her fist against the door hopelessly.

“I know you’re there. You can’t hide from me forever.” Kelley whispers, as she turns around and slides down the door, sitting down on the ground.

Meanwhile, Alex sits on the other side of the door, mirroring Kelley’s position, covering her mouth to silence the sobs that are escaping her once again.

“You know, I really need you to talk to me…” Kelley slurs, her voice sounding lost and almost childlike which it never does and it breaks Alex’s heart.

Alex closes her eyes, breathing unsteadily, the tears rolling down her face silently.

“I don’t know what to do…” Kelley cries.

“Al, I don’t know what I should do and I need your help. I need you here with me.” she sobs.

That’s where they both fall asleep. Back to back, but still a thousand miles apart.

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Kelley is woken by a kick to her ankle. She squints up, the light in the hallway blinding her and she rubs her hands through her face exhaustedly.

“You look like shit.” Allie comments drily.

“I feel like it.” Kelley rasps.

“Did you really spend the night in front of her door?”

Kelley looks around disoriented, still half asleep, “Looks like it, huh?”

Suddenly her eyes go wide and she jumps up immediately.

“Uuuh, I mean- I- I don’t know!! I must have been sleepwalking or very drunk.” Kelley stutters.

“Kelley?”

“Yeah?”

“Cut the crap.”

Kelley gives her an awkwardly nervous look.

“Uh…did she..uh-“

“Did she tell me?!” Allie chuckles.

“Ehm, yeah?” Kelley asks unsure, her voice high.

Allie bursts into loud laughter, making Kelley look at her insecurely.

“Bitch, please!! First of all, I’m surprised it only happened now-”

Kelley shakes her head shocked, wondering how Allie noticed.

“Don’t shake your head like that, I’m not fucking blind-“

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Kelley frowns.

“-and second of all ‘We were just talking’?!? Who were you guys trying to kid? A three-year-old?”

“What do you mean?”

“Kel, Alex looked like a flustered mess with her zipper open and when it comes to you, no champagne bottle in the world makes your lips look like that.”

Kelley opens her mouth, meaning to defend herself, but she closes it quickly again.

“That’s what I thought.” Allie says knowingly, raising an eyebrow.

Kelley exhales deeply, looking at Allie exhaustedly and slides down the door again, closing her eyes and massaging her forehead.

Allie squats down in front of her, “Does she know you slept here?”

“Maybe…probably…I don’t know. I don’t quite remember last night that well.” Kelley shakes her head, frowning.

“Kel…”

Allie stops and puts her hand on Kelley’s knee to make her look at her.

“You shouldn’t be here.” she whispers pained, giving Kelley a compassionate look.

Kelley lets her hand fall from her forehead, looking at Allie with bloodshot, dull eyes, but somehow her gaze still is intimidatingly piercing. Kelley studies Allie’s eyes closely, looking at her motionless for a long minute. Then she gets up without saying a word. Allie still squats on the ground, now looking up at her questioningly. Kelley nods at Allie emotionlessly, her face gone distant and cold.

“Yeah.” she says before she turns around.

Allie, who remains in her position, watches her walk down the hallway, trying to read what she just witnessed. Kelley stops in front of her room, unlocking her door, taking another look at Allie before entering her hotel room. Allie stares at Alex’s door blankly and then turns her head to Kelley’s door again.

“No.” she whispers, jumping up and running to Kelley’s door, turning the doorknob hectically.

The door is locked and Allie hammers with her flat hand against it repeatedly.

“Kelley! Open the door!”

Kelley doesn’t respond.

“Kelley open the fucking door!!”

The door springs open and Kelley walks out with her suitcase and her bag, pulling the door closed. She has never been gladder that she didn’t unpack her things when they arrived at the hotel the day before.    

“What are you doing?!” Allie exclaims, looking at her shocked.

“I’m leaving.” Kelley says coldly, marching down the hallway.

“What do you mean you’re leaving?! Are you crazy?? You can’t just leave, Kelley!!” Allie shouts, following Kelley frantically.

“I have to, you said it yourself. She doesn’t need me.”

“I was talking about sitting in front of her door you fucking idiot!”

“No, you’re right. I’m no good for her. I’m going to make her life a mess and she is the one who made her decision!”

“Woah, stop right there!! What are you talking about?!”

“I said what I said. She made her fucking decision without any hesitation, she chose this!!” Kelley snaps outraged.

“Kel, that’s really unfair. Why are you making her out to be the one who made that decision?!” Allie scolds her angrily.

“Because she’s with Servando!!!” Kelley yells, stopping and turning around.

“And you’re with Hannah!!” Allie yells reproachful.

Kelley stays silent. Allie is waiting for a verbal response, but instead only gets a look out of Kelley that she wishes she hadn’t seen. Kelley looks at her with such agony in her eyes that Allie nearly has to look away because she can’t take it. Kelley turns around, walking towards the elevator. Allie is left dumbfounded, frozen for a few seconds before she catches up with Kelley, gripping her arm to turn her around harshly.

“No, no, no, no, no! You’re with Hannah!” Allie emphasizes intensely.

“Leave me the fuck alone.” Kelley says icily, trying to free her arm.

Since Allie doesn’t let her go, Kelley just keeps on walking, dragging her towards the elevator, pushing the button. Allie lets Kelley’s arm go, getting in her way.

“Kel, you’re with Hannah. Right?” Allie asks shocked.

“We broke up.”

“HOOOLY FUCK.” Allie exclaims.

“The morning before we left Lyon.”

“Are you kidding me?!”

“I wish I was.”

“That’s insane!!” Allie exclaims.

“I know!” Kelley yells.

“…I know. I wish I could lie, say that it’s okay, that I want her to be happy with him. But the truth is I can’t. I can’t do that. Not when I know what could have been. I can’t just sit and watch. It’s killing me, Allie. When I see them together it causes this excruciating pain in my chest and all I can think about how my hands would touch her more gently than his, how my voice would worship her more than his does, how my heart would love her more than he ever could. I wish that just for one day, I could be enough…but I’m not.”

“And now you’re leaving?!”

“How should I bear seeing her everyday without once daring to look her in the eyes and tell her the truth?? I’m messing up her life.”

Allie looks at her in disbelief. Kelley steps into the elevator.

“She is married.” Kelley breathes, looking at Allie meaningfully, her voice cracking.

Allie holds her arm into the door, stopping the elevator from closing.

“But Kel…you and Hannah…you were-“ Allie whispers with tears in her eyes.

“Engaged. Yes.” Kelley says calmly, her voice carrying enormous pain, “Maybe it was a good decision that we never told anyone.”

“Kelley.” Allie breathes, tears rolling down her face.

Kelley walks up to Allie, taking her face in her hands.

“Allie, you have to let me go.” she says valiantly.

Allie shakes her head.

“You were right. I have to.” Kelley whispers calmly, her eyes glossy.

In Allie’s head the wheels start turning and Kelley can almost watch her thoughts battling between logic and feelings. Suddenly, Allie’s face goes blank and Kelley is pretty sure she finally lets her go.

“No Kel, that’s not going to happen.” Allie says determined, wiping away her tears, taking a step forward and disabling the elevator.

“What did you do??” Kelley asks aghast.

“I’m not going to let this happen.”

“Allie.”

“No, Kel. As your friend it’s my responsibility to stop you from committing what I believe is a huge mistake. You and Alex need to sort things out. If after that you decide to leave, I can’t stop you, but right now you’re not going disappear without saying a word. Plus, Jill would literally kill me, if I’d let you go right now.”

“And what am I supposed to say to her??” Kelley exclaims hopelessly.

“The truth.”

“The truth doesn’t matter anyway. It’s like you said, I shouldn’t be near her, sleeping in front of her door and stuff.” Kelley exclaims.

“I know what I said, but…” Allie rambles.

“But what?” Kelley mumbles discouraged, rolling her eyes and looking away from Allie.

“Kelley, look at me.” Allie commands.

Kelley reluctantly makes eye contact.  

“Alex is an absolute mess right now.” Allie looks at Kelley meaningfully, stressing her words to mark their significance.

Kelley looks at her shocked, the thought of Alex hurting because of her making her even more miserable.

“But she won’t even talk to me.” Kelley reasons stunned.

“Then find a way to make her. Kelley, really, you need to fix this.” Allie urges, gripping Kelley’s shoulders and shaking her lightly.

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Another day goes by without talking to Alex. The whole Tuesday Kelley tries to get a hold of her, but no matter how hard she tries, Alex just keeps on ignoring her. After a long, painful day Kelley is at her wit’s end and lays in bed wide awake and exhausted. She doesn’t get any sleep that night and instead keeps drinking to numb the permanent twinge in her chest. When the first rays of sunlight beam through the window of her hotel room, Kelley already has been up for a while since she was no longer able to lay still and instead took a long shower, trying to make any sense of everything that is happening. After she got dressed, she finds herself in front of Alex’s hotel room once again, sitting adjacent to her door. That’s where she waits rather impatiently. When an hour goes by Kelley starts asking herself why in the world she is sitting in front of Alex’s room since 5:30 am yet again. Kelley continues checking her watch, drawing along the patterns of the hotel’s carpeted floor out of pure boredom. At 8:00 am Kelley hears shuffling in Alex’s room and even though she is glad to hear that Alex is still in her hotel room, she also feels an enormous feeling of anxiety devouring her body. At about 8:40 am Kelley hears Alex’s steps approaching the door and at this point her heart is beating so fast that she considers running away, but instead she takes a deep breath.

“You got this.” she tries to calm herself, but every sense of calmness is thrown out the window once the doorknob turns.

Alex opens the door, meaning to make her way to breakfast after another horrible night with a maximum of 2 hours of sleep. When she spots Kelley sitting in front of her door, she stops dead in her tracks, looking at her stupefied. Kelley freezes in her spot too, looking at Alex overwhelmed. They stay like this for a few seconds, before Alex takes a step back and starts closing the door again. Kelley jumps to her feet, taking a huge leap and gets her foot in the door just before Alex is able to close it. Alex tries pushing the door closed with all her power, but Kelley holds against it relentlessly.

“Go away.” Alex orders bitterly.

“Over my dead body.” Kelley replies determined.

“Leave me the fuck alone!” Alex snaps, leaning against the door.

However, Kelley does so as well, using all her power and bodyweight, knowing that Alex won’t be able to keep the door closed. Within a few seconds Kelley pushes the door open, walks in and locks it behind her quickly. Alex looks at her fumingly and tries reaching around her to get out, but Kelley blocks her way.

“Get out of my way right now!”

“Not gonna happen.”

“Just fuck off already!!” she yells aggravated.

Kelley just shakes her head, making Alex’s blood boil. She turns around on her heel, crossing her arms defensively. Kelley follows her into the room, reaching for her arm to make her turn around, but her hand gets slapped away.

“Don’t touch me!!”

Kelley lets her hand fall, looking at Alex with yearning pain in her eyes.

“Alex…we need to talk.” she says softly.    

“What about?” Alex asks coldly.

“You know what about.” Kelley counters pleadingly.

“I don’t have anything I want to talk to you about.”

“Listen, I can’t take this anymore, we need to talk about what happened between us.” Kelley begs desperately.

“Nothing happened between us.” Alex says blankly.

“HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?!?!” Kelley explodes in a deafening scream, making Alex flinch.

However, Alex quickly masks her surprise at Kelley’s outburst with an indifferent expression, blankly looking through Kelley as if she wasn’t even there.

“How can you say nothing happened??!!?” Kelley yells.

“HEY!! LOOK AT ME!!!” she roars, but Alex doesn’t do so.

“Alex, I swear to fucking god, I want you to look at me!”

Alex keeps on looking past her icily, not once making eye contact.  

“See, you can’t even look at me because you know what would have happened.” Kelley says pitying.

This makes Alex look at her immediately.

“Nothing. Would. Have. Happened!” Alex bites through gritted teeth, full of anger, for the first time showing any kind of emotion regarding what happened between them since the fight they had in the lobby.

She walks up to Kelley and comes really close to her face threateningly, her eyes burning with fury. Kelley finally sees a way of cracking Alex’s shell and starts provoking her, getting closer to her face.

“You know what Alex? Here is what would have happened, I would have fucked you all night long.” Kelley bites, looking at Alex provocatively.

“Shut the fuck up!” Alex screams, pushing Kelley back, but Kelley walks right up to her again, getting even closer, gripping her chin, their lips almost touching.

“I would have taken you to my hotel room and I would have fucked you so good that all you would have done is scream my name all night long, forgetting he even ever existed.”

The next thing Kelley feels is the burning sensation of Alex’s flat hand connecting with her cheek, slapping her across the face hard, “FUCK YOU!!!”

What follows is absolute silence. Alex’s eyes go wide when she realizes what she has done.

“I-“ Alex starts.

“Don’t you think it’s sad that even after that I feel better?” Kelley whispers, holding her cheek, looking at Alex hurt.

“Kelley, I’m so so-“

“I feel fucking better because you hit me in the face…” she shakes her head, staring off into space.

“Kel, please I’m so sorry!” Alex cries.

“I feel fucking better because I finally got your attention.”

“Kel.” Alex sobs.

“And apparently it doesn’t even matter anymore how I get it.” Kelley says, finally looking at Alex numbly.

“I’m so so sorry.” Alex cries silently, her mouth forming the words, but her voice never uttering them due to her sobs.

Alex looks away ashamed, the tears dropping down her chin. Then Alex feels a gentle hand on her cheek, intensifying her crying even more.

“Hit me, yell at me, hate me, do whatever, but don’t you dare ignore me for one more second, because I can’t bare that anymore. Please…don’t leave me alone.” Kelley whispers, her voice cracking.

Alex dives into Kelley’s arms, burying her face in her chest, wetting her shirt with her tears. Kelley gently strokes Alex’s hair, reminding Alex of the hug she shared with Servando, however in Kelley’s arms she feels safer than she ever felt in his and it’s terrifying her.

“I can’t do it without you.” Kelley whispers in her hair, the tears rolling down her face as well.

Kelley presses a kiss to Alex’s head, closing her eyes, whispering, “I need you.”

Alex hugs Kelley even tighter, clinging onto her desperately.

“I need you, too.” Alex sobs, causing a sting in Kelley’s chest.

“Why don’t you just hate me?” Alex exclaims in a self-loathing tone, pulling away from the embrace.

Kelley shakes her head, “N-no, I- .” Kelley stutters.

“I hurt you!!” Alex yells pained.

“So did I!” Kelley exclaims.

“Kel…I hit you.” Alex whispers, looking at Kelley sadly, reaching out to touch her cheek tenderly.

Kelley closes her eyes, leaning into the touch.

“This can’t be good.” Alex whispers hurt.

“Don’t say that.” Kelley shakes her head, her eyes still closed.

Alex starts pulling her hand away from Kelley’s cheek, but Kelley stops her, holding it in its place. She lightly turns her head and presses a soft kiss to Alex’s hand. When she opens her eyes, the tears on Alex’s face have intensified.

“It’s okay, you were angry. I provoked you. I’m sorry.” Kelley comforts her.

Alex wipes the tears away frantically, but they just keep wetting her face.

“The thing that made me angry is that you were right.” Alex cries, her voice heart-wrenching.

Kelley observes her silently.

“I…I really wanted this. God…what kind of human am I?” Alex exhales.

Kelley just remains silent.

“If we wouldn’t have been interrupted I-”Alex goes on distressed, stopping mid-sentence, not able to find the right words.

“-and how could I do this to…“

“Servando.” Kelley finishes for her.

Alex looks at Kelley sorrowfully, “Yeah. How could we do this to the both of them?”

“Have you told him?”

“I didn’t.” Alex looks to the ground ashamed, not able to look at Kelley.

Kelley nods her head dejectedly, her heart hurting like it’s been shot. She then shakes her head self-mockingly, a loathing laugh escaping her lips. Alex catches a glimpse of the look on Kelley’s face when she looks up again.

“What’s that look supposed to mean?” Alex frowns.

“Nothing.” Kelley breathes.

“Tell me!” Alex insists.

“No.”

“Kelley, are you fucking serious right now?” Alex starts getting aggravated again.

Her voice is getting louder, “Why are you looking at me like that?? Do you really think-”

“You’re still with him, right?” Kelley interrupts her, making Alex look at her perplexed.

“What do you mean ‘am I still with him’?? He’s my-”

“Husband. Yeah, I know! I fucking know!” Kelley exclaims angrily, a single tear rolling down her face.

Alex looks at Kelley dumbfounded.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!?” Alex exclaims confused.

“I care about you!!” Kelley yells.

“So do I!!! Are you telling me that I don’t care about you enough, that I should leave him?!”

Kelley stays silent.

“You’re in a relationship as well, Kelley!! You’re engaged. Do you think it’s easy for me to see the two of you together?! Because it isn’t, it fucking isn’t!!” Alex yells irritated.

“I’m-“ Kelley stares at Alex helplessly, knowing what she was about to say might destroy everything, so she keeps her mouth shut.

“You’re what Kelley?!”

Kelley bites her lip nervously.

“What are you not telling me?! I can’t take this any-”

“I broke up with her.” Kelley bursts out, ultimately no longer able to keep this from Alex. The words are loudly echoing through the room as everything goes completely silent. In that moment, the world seems to stop turning. Alex looks at Kelley speechlessly, the words she was about to utter dying on her lips.

“Alex, I-” Kelley’s voice goes hoarse and she has to take a deep breath to get it back to normal.

“I’m in love with you.” Kelley says, gulping heavily, her hands shaking.

“I’m not telling you that you don’t care about me enough, I’m telling you that I care about you too much.”

Alex is not moving one inch, it’s almost as if she’s stopped breathing.

“And I know this is wrong. I know I can’t be mad at you or him for being with each other. For Christ’s sake, he is your husband, but I am desperately in love with you and I think I’ve been for a while now.”

Alex opens her mouth, but Kelley interrupts her before she can even say anything.

“Don’t.” Kelley holds her hand up to stop her.

“I don’t want you to say anything you don’t mean and first and foremost I don’t want to ruin your life. It’s just that I can’t hide this anymore. I can’t pretend that I’m not feeling this. It’s just too much Alex.” Kelley stresses exhaustedly, her voice straining to get the heaviness and the meaning across.

Kelley pulls at the collar of her shirt, feeling as if the air is sucked from her lungs with every word she utters.    

“Kel.” Alex calls out softly, reaching for Kelley’s hand to keep her from ripping her shirt.

“I guess I just always thought that one day everything would fall in place. I always thought: one day if life is cruel and merciless to her, I’ll be there, I’ll be waiting for her. But this is so wrong Alex. How can I think like that? How can I walk through life, waiting for us to happen? How can I wait for one day?” Kelley cries.

She wipes away her tears, taking a deep breath.

“Still I can’t stop. Alex, I know I’d wait a lifetime for you. Even if it means that we are going to be 99 when it happens.” Kelley shrugs with a self-pitying laugh that breaks Alex’s heart, Kelley’s words bringing her to tears.  

“I shouldn’t be telling you all of this and I know I am messing up our friendship right now, but I just want you to know that there is no one in the world that loves you as much as I love you. This doesn’t mean that I want you to reciprocate my feelings. I know I can’t give you what he gives you and I’d be destroying everything you ever had. You’re happy with him. Happier than I could ever make you. I can’t mess that up. The only thing I need is for you to talk to me again. Just as friends. I need my friend, Alex. I need you. Can you promise me that?”

Alex nods with tears in her eyes. Kelley takes a step towards Alex, making her look at her questioningly. Kelley then leans forward and presses a light kiss to her cheek before staring into Alex’s eyes.

“One day, Alex.” Kelley whispers, her voice shaky.

She then turns around and quickly leaves the room.

The door closes and Kelley rushes down the hallway with tears streaming down her face, her heart set on fire. She knew it would hurt, she knew it was only a matter of time, but making her way to her room, Kelley only now realizes what saying it out loud really entails. She thought telling Alex the truth was going to be deliverance, taking away all the pain she was feeling and putting an end to her suffering, but instead it’s now robbing her of all her freedom. It feels as if somebody put shackles on her feet, pulling at them to keep her from standing up. With every step she takes down the hallway, she knows she is running to find a cure for a poison that has already spread through her whole body, every antidote in vein. This is going to fuck her up badly. It doesn’t help that in her room her packed bags are waiting for her to leave. Her decision one that will change her whole life. However, what makes her hurt even more is that she chose this and now she is paying the prize for exposing what she’s been feeling, ruining their friendship. What happens next is something Kelley didn’t expect one bit. She hears Alex’s hotel door open again.

“Kelley, wait!” Alex cries, jogging down the hallway.

Kelley freezes mid-step, her heart pounding out of her chest while Alex jogs up to her. Alex takes her face into her hands, looking her in the eyes deeply and then leans in to kiss her passionately. Kelley is pretty surprised that Alex came after her, which is why she’s even more caught off guard by the kiss, her back hitting the wall due to the force Alex puts into it. Kelley is furrowing her brows at the intensity of the kiss and all the passion that is put into it. There is no space between them, as the long kiss is taking away all the air to breathe. When they part lips, it’s only because of the lack of oxygen, keeping their foreheads leaned against each other. This is how they remain for quite a while, breathlessly, their eyes closed, holding on to each other.

“Alex…” Kelley breathes, hesitantly.

Alex presses her lips to Kelley’s again. Furrowing her eyebrows in pain and Kelley defenselessly surrenders. After a while Kelley pulls away, looking at Alex questioningly. Alex’s hands still hold Kelley’s face and she strokes her thumb across Kelley’s cheek, eying her closely with a contemplative look.

“I don’t understand.” Kelley whispers lost.

“Kelley O’Hara, I am in love with you too.” Alex whispers in awe.

Kelley looks back at her stunned, her forehead in creases.

“But- I- are you sure?” Kelley asks overwhelmed.

“Sometimes ‘one day’ might mean right now.” Alex whispers, looking into Kelley’s eyes deeply with a soft smile on her face. Kelley gazes at Alex captivated and a smile is born on her face too. She leans forward and kisses her fondly.

#Kellex #kellexfic #kelley o'hara #Alex Morgan #kellexfanfic #USWNT #one shot #one day

[sempertristis]

Figi: Part 1

This is a little short story I wrote up while I was brooding over the series finale. It will be in two parts. There aren’t any spoilers here, I don’t think, but just in case- Beware! This takes place during and after the battle with Sendak on Earth. It’s canon-ish?? I may have made some changes hehe

This is a James Griffin x reader thing. pilot!reader, fem reader. Very subtle romance, but it’s there. 

Anyway, lmk if you like it!

"Check missiles."

"Missiles go."

"Weapons and countermeasures are go."

"Copy that. Falcon 2-6 ready for launch."

"Good luck out there, Figi."

The pilot grinned and rolled her eyes at the call sign her squadron had given her when she'd flown solo for the first time.

"Thanks," she replied while making some final checks herself. "Now lets go kick some Galra ass."

Once she was given the go, the pilot launched out of the garrison particle barrier and into the sky where an epic battle was taking place. Voltron was battling a giant space cruiser, and the MFE pilots were trying to hold off the other fighter jets that never seemed to stop coming from the huge ship.

"MFE Leader this is Falcon 2-6. Ready to assist." She called, weaving through blasts to get to where to main action was.

"Copy, Falcon 2-6." Griffin's voice sounded frustrated and tired. But she didn't have time to think about it too much. "Take your pick."

With that, she set out to make quick work of the alien ships that had immediately come for her once she'd left the safety of the garrison's particle barrier. She shot down jet after jet, and the aircraft crashed into the city in fiery explosions. She'd lost count of how many she'd scratched until one jet didn't play along.

"MFEs, this is Falcon 2-6. I can't shake this one." She tried evasive maneuvers, but the damn alien wouldn't get off her ass.

"Copy, Falcon 2-6. Bandit coming up on your right. Break left, break left." The voice was steady in her helmet. Kinkade.

"Roger." She eyed the second jet that was coming up on her for just a second before she did as she was told and tried to get behind the jet. But the pilot behind her maintained their position. "Dammit, he's still on my six!"

"Copy, Falcon 2-6. Evasive maneuv-"

A sharp beeping sound broke over the voice in her ear. She looked down at the console to confirm that the enemy pilot had trained his guns on her.

"Shit. Enemy lock!" She punched a button on her console. "Flares out!" She launched the flares behind her and drove the nose of the jet down to try and evade the incoming blast, but the rough jostle on her tail let her know she wasn't fast enough. Emergency lights started flashing and systems were beeping loudly to let the pilot know she was fucked. She looked into the reflection of the glass cockpit and saw smoke coming from the back of her plane. "I'm hit! I'm hit!"

"Falcon 2-6, can you level out?" The leader's voice come over her again and this time he was worried.

"Less likely you'll crash if you can level out." Leifsdottir's calculating voice joined in.

Just then, another blast hit her jet. This time she felt the hit on her left. She looked out of the cockpit and saw that tt was the second pilot Kinkade had warned her about. "He got my wing! Not sure if any critical systems are damaged." Her console was blinking in and out of power, making it hard to determine what was functional and what was not. Her plane was still in a nose dive, and she began to feel like she was free falling. "Shit, shit, shit."She manically pressed buttons and flipped levers on her console, but nothing was responding.

"Figi, try to level out!" Rizavi called over the radio.

The Falcon pilot tried to pull up on the controls to level out but they wouldn't follow her commands. Then she tried to override the controls so she could manually fly the plane, but none of her control systems were responding. The plane continued to dive in a free fall. If she didn't get control of the plane soon, she'd start to spiral.

"Mayday mayday mayday! Command, this is Falcon 2-6. I have lost control of my plane and I'm diving! I say again, I have lost control of my plane!" Now she was starting to panic. The ground was approaching too quick.

"Falcon 2-6, state altitude."

"I'm spiraling!" The plane has started to spin out of control and the amount of g-force it put on the pilot made her almost black out. Her head smacked back against the head rest of her seat, hard enough for her to see stars. She felt like she was falling even faster, if that was possible. She couldn't even see the ground anymore, it was all a blur.

"Falcon 2-6-"

"Mayday! Mayd-" her vision blurred and darkened suddenly, and her head felt heavy. Then, right on impact, it went completely black.

***

"What happened?!" Griffin shouted as he twisted his jet to avoid fire.

"She's down!" Rizavi cried.

Griffin circled back above the wreckage of the Falcon plane. It was one huge, fiery mess. The back of the plane was mangled and smoking, and the left wing was shot to near pieces, but the cockpit seemed intact. He was too high up to see if she was still in there, or if the glass had been broken, but with a crash like that...

"Leifsdottir-"

"Survival rate of a crash with damaged fuel pump thirty-five percent."

"Damn..." Kinkade looked down at the wreckage and took in Leifsdottir's estimation with a grain of salt. Then he pulled up to cover Griffin's six. They were still under heavy fire and Griffin was exposed to more of it the longer he stayed circling the wreck.

"Falcon 2-6, this is MFE Leader. Do you copy?" Griffin called out to the downed plane. All he got was radio feedback. "I say again, Falcon 2-6, do you copy?" Again, nothing.

"Command to MFE Leader. Do you have visual on Falcon 2-6?" Veronica's voice came over the com.

"This is MFE Leader. I have visual. Coms are down."

"Downed coms could mean-"

"I know what it could mean, Leifsdottir!" Griffin snapped. "Command, this is MFE Leader. Request medevac. Grid: golf, foxtrot, two, zero, six. I say again, request medevac for Falcon 2-6. Grid: golf, foxtrot, two, zero, six."

"Griffin you have to move!" Rizavi's strained voice shouted in frustration. She was trying to draw the fire away from Griffin, but the other MFE pilots couldn't hold the enemy off forever.

"MFE Leader, read-back: request medevac for Falcon 2-6. Grid: golf, foxtrot, two, zero, six."

"Command, read-back correct."

"Griffin! Let's go!" Kinkade shouted now.

Griffin took one last look at the wreckage then flew back into the battle.

***

"...shira..."

"Lieutenant..."

Slowly her hearing was coming back to her, and with it, her vision and the sense of immense pain throughout her body. She was lying down somewhere, she didn't know where. And everything hurt.

She opened her eyes and saw that she was in a bunker of some kind. The bed she laid on was low to the ground, she had casts on both her legs, and a thick wad of bandages on her neck, and still braces on both her arms. "Ugh..."

"Ah, Lieutenant, you're awake!" A voice coming from her left startled the pilot, and she flinched. The tiny movement sent waves of pain throughout her body.

"Jesus! Ow, oh my god, ow." Her attention was brought to a young girl who couldn't have been older than fifteen. She stared at the pilot with wide, curious eyes and almost seemed to vibrate with energy. "What is wrong with you? Don't you know you can't just sneak up on people like that? Jesus, that hurt really bad."

"I'm sorry Lieutenant," the girl smiled, despite being reprimanded. "I've been sitting here for a long time waiting for you to wake up."

The pilot looked at the girl from the corner of her eye, since she couldn't move her neck because of the bandages. The girl was indeed sitting in a chair and next to her was a bottle of water, a bag of chips, and a book. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"I'm Noma. I'm a private in the Resistance Army. You're in one of our bases." The girl kept bouncing in her chair.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"About two days."

The pilot took in a sharp breath, but it hurt to do it. She winced and that caused her even more pain. "Shit! Ow, ow, ow. Two days? What- how could I have- oh my god." She looked up at the grey ceiling to try and get herself together. She tried to breathe more evenly. "What happened with the battle? Did we beat Sendak's battle cruiser?" She eyed the girl, Noma, once more.

"Yes! It was amazing! Voltron was incredible! But then the Atlas came and it absolutely crushed the invasion force!" Noma spoke with such excitement and adoration for Voltron and the Atlas. The pilot supposed she couldn't blame her. Who thought that in their lifetime they would not only learn of intelligent alien life, but then have five pilots from Earth control one of the most powerful machines in the known universe. And on top of all of that learn that the most dangerous alien race in that universe was after Voltron. I

It was a lot to take in. But Noma didn't seem to have any trouble processing it.

"What about my squad? Does the Garrison know where I am? Do they know I'm alive?"

Noma's face fell a little. "We found you after the battle was over when we were looking for civilian casualties." She looked down at her hands, the bubbly energy fading from her mannerisms. "Your plane was ruined, and you were beat up pretty bad."

"But my team," the pilot pressed, "Have you had any contact with the Garrison?"

Noma still refused to meet the Lieutenants' eyes. "We haven't had any contact with the Garrison at all since the invasion. We've been stranded out here. The Garrison cracked down on the radio transmissions that were interceptable after the invasion. The few that we have been able to receive have been so encrypted none of our tech people can decipher them."

That wasn't surprising. With scientists like Sam Holt and that weird worm looking guy, who's name the pilot could never remember, there was no way someone was going to decipher something the scientists didn't want them to know.

"Great, so now I'm stranded here too. Okay. How long do you think before I'm able to walk again?" She asked. Her mind was already moving to the next problem, trying to figure out how she could get back to the Garrison. To him.

Noma looked up again, a little uneasy. "It's hard to say. Doc says both your legs are broken in multiple places. He was able to seal the breaks with some doctor-y magic," Noma made gestures with her hands that were supposed to resemble a magician, "But even with the sealant, you probably won't be able to walk again for a couple of days, maybe a week. And the injury to your neck might re-open too."

"What happened to my neck?" The Lieutenant wanted to put her hand to her neck, but it was impossible with the stiff braces on both her arms. "You know what, never mind. Okay, so that's going to be at least a couple days then. No walking back. How about the radios?" The pilot turned her eyes back toward the ceiling and was talking to herself, but Noma interjected.

"I can get you access to a radio!"

The pilot looked back to Noma and smiled. "Great. How soon can you make that happen?"

Noma smiled back. "Right now."

#voltron #mfe #mfe pilots #james griffin #pilot!reader #fem reader #james griffin x reader #james griffin/reader #voltron short #figi #kinkade #rizavi #leifsdottir #garrison #galaxy garrison #veronica #iverson #sam holt

[theonyxpath]

Eddy here! The realms of Pugmire actually slightly predate the design of the RPG. Back in 2014 I wrote a short story called “Winter of Man” for an anthology, and the response to it was amazing. If you’re new to Pugmire, this story should give you a sense of the world. It’s a bit outdated — some world details changed to work better as a game world instead of a one-off short story — but about 95% of it is accurate. This six-part story is really where the realms of Pugmire began. I hope you enjoy it!

“It’s been snowing for more than a year,” Yosha Pug said. “I have a manuscript here that explains what we need to do.” She shuffled the books in her paws to get a particular one, and nearly dropped them all onto the keep’s stone floor.

Sister Picassa Collie adjusted her shepherd’s robes to free her paws, and plucked the errant tome from the middle of the young pug’s burden. “Is it this one with the glass screen, my lady?” she asked.

Yosha nodded, her ears bouncing on the side of her head. “Yes, thank you. In there is a legend about the Weather Tower. I think we’ll find something there that will end this long winter.”

Pan Daschund tried to snatch the book out of Picassa’s hand, but she raised it out of the hunter’s reach, touching the glass front of the book with her paw to advance the text. He huffed in annoyance and went back to adjusting his shortbow. “It’s weather, Yosha. You can’t…”

Rex Pyrenees crossed his arms across his massive chest as he stood behind the diminutive hunter. “It’s Lady Yosha to you, old hunter.”

Pan waved a graying paw behind him, dismissing the guardian’s correction. “Old enough to know you can’t just stop weather,” he continued. “It’s… it’s not a thing you stop.”

Picassa looked up from the book, casting a soft glow on her golden fur. “There is a story in here from one of the later ages of Man about how such a tower was used to channel the weather. Different stories from different ages conflict on whether Man predicted it or caused it to happen, but it is powerful.”

Yosha looked for a place to put the pile of books she was carrying. Not finding any space on the large wooden table or the velvet-backed chair, she placed the stack on the floor, where they promptly fell over in a loud crash. She gave a high-pitched yip, and started wagging her curly tail in embarrassment. “The tower isn’t far,” she said. “Just on the other side of the forest.”

“The forest is dangerous territory,” Rex said, rubbing the scars on his muzzle.

“And past the forest is cat territory,” Pan added. “I know the language of the cats, and they have seven different words for ‘betrayal’.”

Rex looked down at Yosha. “You cannot go, my lady. It will be dangerous.”

The pug looked up at the huge guardian, her eyes sad. “I have to. Prince Murra worries that another month of this snow will wipe out our stores of food. We may be at peace with the cats now, but our relationship is not good enough to ask them for more to eat. If there is a cause for this long winter, we have to find it.”

“‘We’? Surely your father did not mean that his daughter should be the one to find it?” Rex asked. “I will go instead.”

Yosha motioned to the books on the floor. “But this is a Man tower, and I know more of the incantations of Man than any other dog in Pugmire. I have to go.”

Picassa touched Rex’s arm. “You know the Code, Rex.”

“Obey the Master,” he said. “But the Code of Man does not forbid me from coming with you.”

Yosha’s tail wagged with pleasure. “I would be honored to have you with me, Guardian Pyrenees.”

Picassa handed the book back to Yosha. “I will come as well.”

Rex turned in surprise. “Sister…?” He left the question hanging in the air.

“What Lady Yosha is too modest to admit is that Pugmire is also low on medicine, and there are many sick dogs here. If there’s a possibility this tower may have some Man-tech medication, it will help immensely.” She brushed the long fur on her face, which always got matted by her robes. “Pan and I will go with you.”

“Oh no,” Pan said, sliding the shortbow over his head to sit across his torso. “I have enough problems with the cats of Korat. I don’t need to be poking my snout into that place anytime soon.”

Picassa frowned. “But the Code…”

“Man-damn your Code,” Pan said.

“Be a Good Dog,” Rex growled, stepping toward the hunter.

“Don’t you quote scripture to me, Rex,” he said, looking up at the hulking guardian. “The cats of Korat aren’t sane. Even other cats avoid them.” “What do you mean?” Yosha asked, her eyes wide with innocence.

“They’re just rumors, mind you, but there’s one cat noble out there—Zola Mau von Korat. The pariahs around the forest say that he’s a neck… necker…a cat who talks to spirits.”

“Oh!” Yosha yipped in pleased surprise. “A necromancer?”

“Yeah, one of those.”

“I’ve always wanted to meet a necromancer,” Yosha continued. “My father has told me all about…”

“The Good Dogs of Pugmire know the skills of Vinsen Pug and his descendants,” Rex said, still staring at Pan. “I can only assume that a cat who claims such talents is a liar and a fraud.”

“Not necessarily,” Yosha began. “There’s another book here that explains…”

“My lady,” Picassa interrupted. “You must be careful taking the word of pariahs. They were banished from our kingdom for their violations of the Code. They are not Good Dogs.”

Pan snorted. Rex growled again, but Yosha stepped to Pan with wide-eyed innocence. “Master Hunter, you know much about the forest and the lands beyond. I would be honored if you would help us in our journey.”

The hunter looked down at her for a long moment before turning away. “I don’t know.”

“But I’ve heard all about your heroic deeds,” the pug persisted. “Is it true that the teeth you wear as a necklace belonged to the Badger King?”

It was Rex’s turn to snort, but Pan looked back at her with a smile. “You heard about that?”

“Oh yes. One of the minstrels came to court last year and sang about it. I’ve always been a fan of yours, and I don’t think anything as dangerous as a badger will be in the tower.” She sat on her haunches and looked up at the hunter with large brown eyes. “Please?”

“Fine, fine.” He flapped a paw at Yosha. “Just stop looking at me like that, kid.”

“Hooray!” Yosha jumped up and barked with joy. “I have to start packing!” She ran around in circles, grabbing books and papers as she went.

#Onyx Path Publishing

[ynnabel-blog]

The Missing Key

MONICA

“…and if you’re currently listening to this, I hope you find the reason why.” I immediately turned off the tape I found and switched up to my usual R&B playlist. The sky is bright and the sun is on its usual blooming aura which led me to wearing my shades to prevent too much irritation in my eye. I switched the gears and stepped on the gas of my car as I drove to an unknown slate—unknown but foreign and clean. The tape I was listening to was a tape I found on the loose brick of my room back in my apartment in New York. Now that I have finished listening the tape, my mind seems to be like a fuzz, a haywire and no other word is enough to describe how fast pacing my thoughts are because of what I found out. Denisse, the girl I was in love with, was buried 2 years ago. It seems like long time, but because of what I listened to, it’s like a fast motion to what happened on what seems like a long time ago. FLASHBACK It’s a gloomy day, I just drove 2 states for 13 hours, who would have guessed I would survive that long drive? It’s been years since I drove that far. I didn’t want to use my credit card for plane tickets because my mother would possibly know where I’m headed and that’s the thing I want to avoid the most—most likely, I want to avoid her. Avoid the problems covering up on my head. I drive by this huge coffee shop that has a board covered with neon lights that has a text “30 hours latte” on it. I’m guessing this is what it’s called, it’s cute and aesthetic with a touch of Riverdale vibes on it because of its neon lights. It seems like a weather to pair with some hot coffee, it’s not a very bad idea to stop and maybe sip some to think correctly. As I opened the door of the coffee shop, the aroma of the place didn’t escape my sense. It had a very inviting aura blended with the aroma of the coffees made inside the place, as I turned my head to the left side, was a girl on the stage platform singing sincerely. She has this brown hair, almost blonde, thick eyebrows, wide eyes, narrow nose and great lips paired with a white set of perfect teeth. “Stunning..” I couldn’t say any other word, it seems like all the adjectives I have learned for a good 20 years of mere education has slipped through my grasp of thoughts. Nevertheless, I turned my head, went to the counter and ordered a cup of coffee that seemed to be the most familiar to me. No matter how much I want to be distracted in my train of thoughts, I just couldn’t fathom what’s going on. The girl singing in front.. I wonder what her name is. It has never been in my denial state that I tend to like girls of my own sex. I am not up for what they call the sensation, but I am up for the real affection. I don’t know why, too. I was so distracted of the song that it almost felt like a rush for me to stand up without any warning as I saw the girl walking up to my direction from where I was standing. “Hey..” I said. How could flirting be this hard? Oh, I forgot. I’m bisexual. The pretty girl while carrying her guitar, actually met my eyes for the first time. I guess she thought it was me who greeted. “Hi..” she smiled. Her voice was healing for the ears, even if it was not used for singing notes. “Care to sip some coffee?” I asked. “Sure, I’m just gonna go to Alice and get my beer.” She smiled at me then immediately walked on a normal pace to the counter. I wonder what she’s up to next. She’s like a walking question, which is not an unusual description for her because I just met her. In almost like a heartbeat, I saw her sitting across the chair on my table and smiling at me. “Hey, I sing everyday here and your face isn’t that type of familiar. Are you new?” “Yeah, I guess so. If that’s what you wanna call it.” “By the way, my name is Denisse. Would you like a beer? I’d appreciate it if you want me to treat you one.” It was unlikely of a new stranger to offer me a drink, I do not really trust that action. I looked outside, it’s more likely to be a rum-weather and not a beer-weather. “Oh, thank you. But I would just like to sip my cup of coffee. I’ve come from a long car ride all by myself.” “Hmm.. I guess I do understand that. Hey, my friends are here—“ she paused, stood and signalled a “wait” sign by opening the palm of her hand and gently smiled, I nodded, doubting if she even saw it. Just like 2 minutes later, she was back with strangers—her friends. 2 guys and one girl. “Hey, these are my friends. Radleigh, Roze and Damon.” She talked to me while pointing each person she mentioned. I smiled, a little uncomfortable. Denisse seemed to be a little too comfortable to strangers, is she like this to other people? Radleigh and Roze just smiled at me while Damon, out of the strangest moment, winked at me while laughing. I’m suddenly confused. “Listen, we’ve got to go somewhere else because we have something planned to do. Wanna join us?” Denisse asked me. It was a little uncomfortable because for once in my life, I have never known these people. So with immense respect.. “I’m sorry, but I’ve got things to do.” I said. “Oh, that’s unlucky.” Denisse said, she suddenly let out a pen and wrote something on my tissue paper, “My details. Let’s be friends.” I picked up the tissue paper and saw contact details written with lousy penmanship. I smiled, and saved the number. As soon as I found an apartment fit to my standards, I booked it and used my debit card, I don’t wanna go wrong using my credit card because my mother has a lot of connections that I don’t want to take advantage of. The tissue paper suddenly crossed my mind. It seems to be a time of talking, so I got up and texted the number. “Hi, is this Denisse?” I texted. Absentmindedly, I checked the left details of my apartment, and saw a swimming pool in front. So this is what I paid for. I know I’m never wrong packing the most random things in my luggage. I wore my yellow bathing suit and dived right into the pool, it was a proper swim as I heard my phone ping inside my room. With the immense feeling of excitement, I swam across and went to my room while gently drying my hair with the free towel. “Yes, who is this?” The number I texted responded. It’s Denisse. She responded. “This is Monica. I was the girl from the coffee shop hours ago.” I texted. And so it began.. A series of wonderful and smitten exchanging of texts. Day and night, not even a moment passed when Denisse and I did not talk to each other. I felt this red string between us, connecting our souls. It may seem a little early for me to talk about the future and foreshadow events, but I think that Denisse and I may have another type of connection that most people do not have. I got out of my apartment and went to 30 hours latte. Denisse and I agreed to meet on a Tuesday afternoon, to do random things, I guess. It was a day off from her part-time job on singing at the coffee shop. As I opened the door, the welcoming aroma once met me at the entrance. I swung my head and looked everywhere for Denisse and saw her on a spot, far from everyone else while sipping her beer. It’s been a long time since we’ve been going out. As far as my count, I think this is our 10th date. I do not know of how she perceives our meeting ups together, if she even considers this as dates or not. As I approached her, the aura of a gloomy Denisse also walked to me. I guess she sensed my presence so she looked up to me and flashed a crooked smile. “Hey, what happened?” I asked. She stood up with silence and hugged me. “Jared and I.. we broke up.” Confusion arose through my thoughts. There was a Jared? Who is Jared? What am I? A friend to cry on? Not minding what I was thinking, I hugged back and comforted her. She talked to me about things I did not expect about, making me feel awkward about the time spent. Jared was her 2-year boyfriend. She told me what she felt and I did not know what to do, neither to say. I was speechless. Darted in the moment. But time ran fast at the speed of lightning and I found my way going back home, with a train of thoughts crashing, and soon I fell asleep. The day after, I invited Radleigh, Roze, Monica and Damon to my huge apartment. The three have become one of my closest friends, too. We gathered up for no reason, but it felt like a necessity to just bond, do nothing in sense and have fun. The first thing we did was swim in my apartment’s pool then watched movies while Roze did her thing in the kitchen. I learned that Roze was actually passionate in that field. Like, whatever we were trying to eat, she would wholeheartedly make it as long as we had the complete ingredients, “it’s always a pleasure to fill up stomachs with good food”, she always says. The gang and I have been to several trips which I always paid for the expenses, I have a great amount of money in my bank account and it keeps adding up because of my company shares back home. I changed my phone too, to avoid calls from my mother back in my original house. This is what I have always longed for. To be passionate about my friends, to have fun, and to always feel great without problems, like any other person not entitled of any responsibilities. It was always a dream for me since as long as I can remember to carry on simply in life surrounded by real people. 3 days later I hear a loud banging in the door, a series of phone calls both in my line and in my telephone. What’s the commotion? “Monica! Monica! Open up!!” I slowly opened my eyes and scratched the itchy part of my neck, everything feels groggy and foreign because of my fresh sleep. I opened my door and saw Roze with a messy mascara, with tears welled up on her eyes. “Why? What happened?” Everything seemed unfathomable and I just couldn’t understand the reason why she was acting like that. “Denisse.. Denisse..” she sobbed, I could merely understand her words but because it sounded like Denisse’s name, I slowly mentally woke up. “You love her.. Right? I could see it in your eyes.” She continued, I did not respond. Today is not the time to expound feelings, I want to know what has happened while I was in my sleep. “She hanged herself.” “What?” was the only word I could say. Everything became a blur and nothing was understandable. Hours passed and Radleigh, Roze, Damon and I suddenly are in a room of silence. No one had the guts to say something, nor open up. For the first time in forever, Radleigh, the snob, initiated a conversation with the only word, “Why?” “I don’t know too..” Damon answered. “She’s in a great place..” Roze concluded. “Must be because of that asshole. He does not deserve to get a life sacrifice from Denisse.” Radleigh said. I didn’t say a word. Everything that happened has been an eternal abyss, a path where everything is a cross road and changing. Like a never ending question mark surrounded by mirrors. I guess it’s just never enough. Friends are never enough to make you long for life. I have the guts to say too, that her ex was a part of everything that took part. Denisse, hanging herself and leading us to a mesmerizing set of sorrow and anxiety. “Listen.. Let’s be strong, okay? This is only a passing phase.” Those were the only words I could say. “We should avoid blaming others, that would be the worst we could get. Everything that Denisse did to herself was self-inflicted and whatever the reason was, let’s be crucial yet simple with it. We cannot avenge her because in the end, it will do nothing to get her back.” I continued. There is this loose brick in my room I have always thought of as creepy the whole time. What could be there? Fighting my anxiety, I decided to remove it and saw a cassette tape. ‘Denisse’ was imprinted on it. Feelings showered upon me. I have no words, once again. The sorrow and the longing came back to me and in the speed of light, like a rush I contacted the gang. As soon as they came to my apartment, I showed them the piece of the cassette tape that’s been stuck in my room for I don’t know how long. “What is that?” Roze asked. “I don’t know..” The discourse ended like that. We tried to cheer ourselves by doing shots at the end of the day. We swam too. But it was nothing compared to when Denisse was still here. “Hey, Monica. Could I have that?” Damon asked me. I nodded and gave him the tape. I am not ready for what it talks about or what its contents have, so I guess it’s more of an advantage to give it to someone who’s actually gonna use it for it’s purpose. Days after, Damon went over to my house along with Radleigh and Roze. We just chilled out and did our usual routine: doing shots, swimming in the pool and watching a series of movies while Roze does her thing in the kitchen. The cassette tape slipped my mind.. or maybe, it’s just me, trying to avoid the topic. While I went to the kitchen to get a sip of coffee, I was startled by a gentle tap on the shoulder. “Oh my, God! You startled me.” It was actually Roze who poked me, she frantically laughed at my reaction. “It was a poke, okay?” “Yeah, I guess!” I sarcastically said and rolled my eyes. Silence came and embraced us, that’s when I knew that the following discourse was gonna be a serious one. “Listen.. Mon..” Roze initiated. “She’s in a very happy place now. And I hope you’re happy for her.” She continued. I did not find the words to say anything so I only smiled and hug her. “I have seen your eyes twinkle everytime you see her. I am not a stranger to people. It’s like a skill, I’m like a psychic, you know. When I see and sense something, I’m just never wrong.” She said. “Hmm..” It was the only thing I was capable of uttering. “Please be strong.” As she gently placed the cassette tape in my hands. 2 years later Everything has happened in a flash. Denisse’s words kept on boggling on my mind by its series of repeating, repeating and repeating. I think it’s tiring. “Hi, to anyone who’s listening to this. May it be Damon, Roze, Radleigh or even you.. Monica. I.. I’ve been kind of depressed lately.. You see how I am passionate with my singing so much. *cough, and I’ve lost voice.. I can’t sing. I do not know what to do. This has been the only thing that’s keeping me from alive and I have flirted with death a lot of times. I don’t know. I have nothing to say. Damon, I love you. I hope you’re gonna do well in everything. Roze, I love you, keep being passionate. Radleigh, I love you. You have been the best shoulder to cry on. And Monica.. I love you, thank you for being my friend. Things have been just so hard for me lately, you know. Like I need to take a break on things. You know what has happened recently. Goodbye.. and oh, and if you’re currently listening to this, I hope you find the reason why.” I’ve become lost in words. As I sped up closing to a 180 kilometres per hour, I suddenly stepped on the break because of a girl who suddenly walked across the bridge. God, if I hadn’t took the break, I could have hit her! I opened the door of my car to check if the girl was okay, but in a sudden turn of events, the shock transferred to me.

“Denisse?”

[melonmork]

college jungwoo pt 1

alright my honeys are u ready??💕🌷🌸

~okay i dont feel like i know jungwoo as well as the other members since i havent known him as long but im gonna do my best!!

~jungwoo is in his sophomore year studying to be a veterinarian so hes always very busy since he's taking science-intensive classes

~he loves biology. it's easily his best class; he makes As on nearly every assignment and he focuses super hard during labs, but this also means he's almost always either in the campus library or cafe studying or writing lab reports

~his junior friend doyoung always has to drag him away from studying or writing because jungwoo will forget to eat, he'll only drink lattes or hot chocolate for an entire day

~jungwoo resists doyoung but he's always thankful once they're eating together and jungwoo has the chance to see his friends and relax. he's a workaholic, but he enjoys his friends' company immensely when they manage to drag him away from his textbooks

~you're also a sophomore! u know jungwoo because you had bio lab with him in freshman year and he was often your lab partner

~you honestly felt bad when he voluntarily partnered with you because you felt like you werent as good at bio as him. whenever he approached you first about partnering up, you felt like he did it out of pity. after all, he's a sweet boy and he even helped you on your calc homework after labs even though he wasnt in calc

~but you loved being partnered up with him :^) jungwoo would subtly take charge of the lab because he got super excited about being hands-on with the scientific material he was learning about

~he would quietly and patiently help you set up equipment, reaching beakers from high shelves for you without teasing you, lighting burners for you bc those things are scary as heck (jungwoo: is it okay if i do that? i dont want you to get hurt :-o)

~one time he even put your apron on for you and tied the strings behind you (after asking your permission, of course) and you could have sworn you saw a cute dusting of pink on his cheeks as he asked

~u have not forgotten anything about that moment,,,

~also, being his lab partner meant you got to see his cute smile up close!!! actually all year during labs you would glance his way constantly, admiring the soft features of his profile and the way his eyebrows would furrow and he'd purse his lips when he was super concentrated on a task

~sometimes, every now and again, he'd catch you watching him and the two of you would blush and look away and pretend like it never happened

~through the year you two became closer and you exchanged numbers and would send each other notes and ask about each other's lab reports

~eventually the texting ventured away from school and once he even invited you to get smoothies with him at the end of second semester

~but over the summer, you two fell out of touch :~( and this year you didnt have any classes together

~honestly, you missed him a lot. you have chem lab this year and your regular chem partner is sweet and helpful but not as,,, well,,, enchanting as jungwoo was, so you admittedly dont enjoy lab as much as last year

~in fact, u dont even really see him until one night when you're in the library printing out a two page essay you wrote (last minute) for literature

~you're waiting by the printer, wearing sweats, a hoodie, and teddy bear slippers, literally nodding off as you wait for this old printer to crank out those pages

~after a few seconds it starts humming loudly and you perk up, ready to snatch those pages and trudge back to your dorm so you can go the heck to sleep

~the printer spits out two pages and you go to grab them but ,...more pages keep coming out... and more and more and more and you're standing there in front of the printer like ????? what is going on????

~you dont see anyone else in the library and most of the computers are visible from where you're standing so you're thoroughly confused

~you wait for a bit longer as the printer finishes up and for a second you hesitate to grab papers that obviously arent yours but... maybe yours are in there? so you grab the stack and look at the name

~your heart skips a beat when you read the name on the paper.... "jungwoo?" you read aloud

~and you jump in surprise when you hear a small "hi" from behind you

~feeling your cheeks heat up, you sheepishly turn to face him, embarrassed to be seeing The Kim Jungwoo, the sweetheart angel boy who you havent seen in so long, while wearing sweats and a hoodie and slippers

~but it's okay cause sweetheart angel boy is also wearing sweats, a hoodie, and slippers..... and wow does jungwoo look exhausted :~( your embarrassment wanes as you get a good look at his softly smiling face

~he has exaggerated dark circles under his eyes and his skin isnt as clear as you remember it being last year, his hair looks like he's been running his hands through it all day, and his smile is a little bit less bright than it used to be

~but he still looks ethereal... his hoodie framing his wide shoulders so cutely, strands of his soft black hair falling haphazardly over his forehead and his pretty mouth forming that warm smile of his, framing his cute teeth and Oh My God your little crush on him has not gone away at all

~"jungwoo... how,, have you been?" you manage, heat rising to your cheeks again

~"ive been alright... sort of overwhelmed this semester!" he laughs softly and glances down at his feet, then looks back up at you, "but im okay. how are you?" he looks you in the eyes and smiles again and your stomach does a lil flip

~"im pretty good! i dont like my lab partner this year near as much as last year, though"

~it's quiet for a moment after u say that and u realize what u just said and u feel ur face burning up now because whY thE Heck did u just blurt that out oh no hes gonna be creeped out oh no

~but his smile widens and his entire face softens and he lets out a genuine little laugh

~"yeah, me neither. i... miss you" he says, hesitating a little and looking down at his feet again

~your heart warms up and ur stomach does that lil flip again and you smile and for a few seconds it's quiet and you finally say "me too." and then it's quiet again

~then u remember that you're still holding jungwoo's enormous stack of papers in your hands so you shuffle over to him and hand them over and he takes them, apologizing for making you hold them for so long and you laugh and tell him he didnt make you carry them

~and u stand in front of each other for another few seconds, awkwardly wondering whether to continue talking or to move along

~finally, jungwoo says he has to get going and that it was nice to see you and he flashes you a tired smile before making his way out of the library, laden with a huge bookbag and a textbook in his arms as well as all of his papers

~you watch him go, feeling a little bit sad that nothing more became of ur lil run in with jungwoo

~u print our ur essay and make ur way back to ur dorm, ur heart and eyelids both feeling a bit heavier than when you went to the library, despite having seen sweetheart angel boy again after so long

~the next morning you get breakfast with ur roommate and the head to literature and turn in your essay, trying not to think about jungwoo cause u dont want to fall back into that crush especially since u wont be seeing him again,,,

~u do a pretty good job of circumventing any lingering thoughts of (sweetheart angel boy) jungwoo from the night before

~that is, until 11:48 AM

~when you get a text

from: jungwoo 🐻

good morning!! I'm sorry I wasn't able to talk longer last night. are you busy sometime after 5 today? I'd love to catch up 😊

~u, in the cafeteria, mouth hanging open: Yes

~n then you realize that u probably should send that as a text ,,, so you quickly respond yes!!! i would love to!!! im free at 6

~and u put ur phone down and start eating but like ,, a minute later ur phone vibrates again

from: jungwoo 🐻

Yay!!! 😆 Let's get smoothies again! 🥤see you there at 6!

~u send him a confirmation text and then finish ur lunch while ur heart soars because wOw he actually does want to see you!!! wow!!! and this time u wont be wearing slippers!!!

~and u cant deny that u also get excited about the idea that jungwoo will also not be wearing pajamas or slippers ,,, u always liked jungwoo's style,,

~all day after that all u can think about is jungwoo's soft voice last night when he told you he misses you... it was so forward of him and it makes ur heart skip a beat even just thinking back on it... is he always so forward? you wonder

~around 5:50 you start walking to the smoothie place, feeling nervous but much less silly without ur teddy bear slippers

~jungwoo's exact thought at 5:50 while hes sitting at a table in the smoothie place waiting for u: their teddy bear slippers were so cute 😣

~once u arrive he gets up to greet u and u guys awkwardly say hi and stand in front of each other and then get in line to order smoothies

~u two are a little bit clumsy with your conversation at first, speaking at the same time and then laughing and telling the other to go first

~but eventually, once u two are sitting across from each other at a little table and sipping on ur smoothies, u have a steady conversation about school and sophomore year and your friends and new roommates

~the conversation dies down again after a while and u two sip on ur smoothies and u wonder what u could say to continue talking to jungwoo because you're having such a nice time and ur heart is so happy to hear his soft voice again... u hadnt realized how much u missed it until this evening

~but before you can think of anything to say, jungwoo rests his chin in his palms, his elbows propped up on the table and he looks at you, making eye contact and doing that soft smile of his

~u have to take a second to remember how to breathe

~after a moment of gazing at u he sighs

~"im so happy to see you again, i really have missed you" and he smiles, his cheeks getting a bit pink but otherwise not rlly seeming to be embarrassed or shy by what he said and youre a flustered mess !!!!

~u manage to not stutter when u say "me too, jungwoo" and he giggles at your shy expression that you're trying so hard to hide (hes dying inside because youre so freaking cute !!!)

~after u finish ur smoothies, he walks with you back to campus and as you guys are on your way back, you're stopped by doyoung who comes up to you guys with his mouth open wide and his eyebrows raised

~"jungwoo... i just went to the library to look for you and you weren't there so i went to the cafe and you weren't there either and it didnt even occur to me that you werent actually studying... are you... are you two-"

~jungwoo cuts him off with a little shake of his head and explains that u guys were lab partners and friends last year and were just catching up and hes on his way to the library now

~you're kinda confused by the whole exchange bc from what doyoung said, it seems like jungwoo is pretty much always studying and it's odd for him to have gone out and done something other than study in the evening

~and while that thought makes u feel bad for him, u also feel pleased that he chose to spend time with you instead of studying :'~)

~doyoung leaves after a few minutes of him n jungwoo laughing abt something that their friend taeil did earlier that day

~doyoung and jungwoo hug and hold each other's hands until their fingertips are touching, then let their hands fall to their sides again as they say goodnight to each other and you're watching and smiling fondly cause jungwoo is so loving to his friend and it makes your heart swell

~jungwoo turns to u and smiles sheepishly, letting out a little laugh and apologizing for making you wait on him

~you shake your head and tell him you're happy to have met his friend!!

~and his eyes light up and his face brightens into a beaming smile and he tells you that he's so happy that you met doyoung, too

~he walks you back to your dorm building and u two say goodbye and u start to go up the steps when jungwoo calls for you again

~you turn around to see him at the bottom of the steps, smiling up at u and looking a little bit shy but So Handsome (ur heart? mush)

~u walk back down the steps to see him and you're standing on the step in front of him so you're pretty much the same height now and his face is kinda close to urs and both of u have an entire butterfly garden break dancing to dubstep in ur tummies tbh

~"yes?" you ask him, smiling and trying to hide ur nervousness because of the proximity

~"i just wanted to say that i had a lovely time tonight and i want to see you again soon"

~omg sweetheart angel boy makes your heart do acrobatics with his soft sunrise voice and his pretty dark brown eyes looking into your own and the cute shape of his cheeks as he smiles at you

~"let's get dinner this friday?" he continues, his eyes widening a little bit in a hopeful way, his smile widening too

~and you cant help but smile so big, u have to look down at your feet for a second just to regain any semblance of composure u might have had before

~after a second you look up and nod and hold your pinkie out to him

~"pinkie promise" you tell him, and he smiles Even Wider and links his pinkie with yours and touches his thumb to your own and you two stand there like that for a little bit longer than necessary

~finally u both let go and say goodbye for real this time and u walk up the steps to your dorm but u feel like you're floating cause woW sweetheart angel boy kim jungwoo is going to take you out for dinner in three days... friday is in three days...

~both u and jungwoo spend the entire three days in anticipation and almost middle-school-like-giddness because !!!! this is kind of a date right???? like neither of u said it but it's kind of a date????

~doyoung certainly says so and he's been telling all of his and jungwoo's mutual friends

~doyoung: yukhei, guess what? jungwoo has a cute date this friday

~yukhei, in the library, at a table with jungwoo and doyoung: ooooHOhOhoHHOHOHO jungwoo has a DATE!!! get it!!!!!!!!!

~jungwoo, probably: im leaving

~when thursday night rolls around, you're sitting on your bed, typing something up on your laptop and probably watching youtube tbh and your phone dings :^)

from: jungwoo 🐻

I'm excited to see you tomorrow. I'll meet you at the bottom of your stairs at 7 tomorrow night, is that okay?

~you probably forget to respond for like 15 minutes cause u take a screenshot of the text and send it to ur best friend and yell about how nervous and excited you are and when u finally respond, you tell him you're looking forward to it! and you ask him what you should wear

~a few minutes later, you get a response...

#nct #nct u #nct fluff #nct scenarios #nct writing #nct au #nct jungwoo #jungwoo #kim jungwoo #jungwoo fluff #jungwoo scenarios #jungwoo imagines #kpop #nct 2018 #nct empathy #nct dream #nct 127 #i feel sucky adding tags that dont actually apply to this au but like ... i want ppl to find it yknow? #anyways im gonna start working on part two rn #sorry it's so long!!!

[imgilmoregirl]

New York Is For Memories

AO3 Link

Summary: Rumplestiltskin takes his family to Neal's old apartment and he can't help but to reflect over his life.

Notes: Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time or any of the characters and storylines in the show. This is just a fanwork made for fun.Forgive my anxiety crisis. I needed to write this. But yeah, this is the first one-shot of 2018 and I totally wrote it out of a bad moment, but thought I should share it with you guys, so I hope it's enjoyable.

It was still difficult for him to believe that moment was real. Today was a day in which he is full of memories and thoughts and being in this place makes everything even more bittersweet. He walked around the tiny apartment, opened drawers and doors, trying to find the smallest things that belonged to his son and could bring up some good remembrances. But of course, after years of his death, most of Baelfire's belongings are no longer here.

There is a lot of things Robin Hood brought during the short time he lived there with his family. He finds books, old clothes and toys and even a small bed they set on the living room for Gideon, which one day must have belonged to Roland, however there is very little from Baelfire to be find. Rumplestiltskin keeps someone coming every couple of weeks to clean, so he can be travelling around the world with his wife and child, but keep this place alive.

He hadn't come back there for years and it was only when Belle started to babbled repeatedly about New York, when they were in a place called Hawaii, that he decided he wanted to show it to her. And as different as this apartment is from the gorgeous hotel rooms they had been staying at along the last two years, she never looked so marvelled by something as she did the moment they entered Bae's place. Belle had taken her own walk around, Gideon's hand tucked on hers as she told him about his older brother and great hero he had been.

Their boy had heard Baelfire's story many, many times, but as a typical three-year-old he didn't mind hearing it again and was excited all the same as if it was the first time. He was very alike Belle and sometimes when Rumple was playing with him and he giggled happily or said something silly in his childish voice, he almost felt tears coming to his eyes, because an immense joy filled his chest to know this time, he was having the change of raising his son properly and innocent, bubbly Gideon would never turn into the tortured young man he met a while ago. He would be happy and loved and that would make him good, just like his mother.

Rumplestiltskin took a last look at him, sleeping peacefully in his small bed and pressed a kiss to his forehead before walking back to the bedroom he was sharing with his wife. He caught her staring down the windows, her petite frame dressed in a short silky nightgown. It was a breath-taking vision, which he would never get used to. Sometimes, the reality still hit him hard. Years could have passed, but she was still that girl he dealt for, the same one he locked in his dungeon, made his maid, and somehow, she had still managed to fall in love with in. However, what surprised him more, was how she forgave him and came back willing to him even after everything he did to her.

Truth be told, he never expected someone could love him the way Belle did. After being rejected by so many people, he didn't think himself worth of anything, and yet, there she was.

He took silent steps to his wife, enlaced her waist with both his arms and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to her neck, which elicited a low moan from her. Belle leaned against him, shoving all her hair to one side, so she could give him full access to her skin. He had never expected someone to have those reactions at his touch. Milah loathed him, made him feel the useless man alive. Cora wanted to have fun, as long as it was forbidden and dangerous she wanted it, but her eyes never showed love and she was always on command, which made him feel sometimes like he was a tool for her. Now he was pretty sure he was.

But with Belle, oh, with Belle everything was different. He could remember very well the first time they shared a bed. So innocent, so willing. It a moment was so full of passion that it could erase all of their mistakes, all the anxiety and how nervous both were. With her it was always a matter of love. He teased her about not being a virgin for really long on their wedding night and she dared laughing at this, saying it was pointless, because she was his all along, from the moment they made their deal, to the moment they consummated their relationship. Rumple agreed with her. But then, he thought he lost her.

He did all the wrong things, he ruined their marriage so badly in such a short amount of time. For him, he deserved to never see her again, to never be loved or cared for. But she came back. When darkness was all he had left, she walked through the door of his shop, bringing light into his life again. And in that night, as they were wrapped into each other's arms, feeling the warmth of the pleasure rip through their bodies, they created a whole new life, a child both of them would adore. He could remember the peace in Belle's eyes as they laid side by side afterwards, when she thought nothing else could ever torn them apart again. Oh, how wrong she was!

But how beautifully insistent in her love for him, Belle was either. She adored his soul, she accepted his flaws and he worked on his mistakes. It took time for them to heal, therefore it made them stronger than before. Nothing could come between them now and it was quite a relief to know they were very far away from Storybrooke, where problems were always being throw over them, no matter what they did or where they choose to hide. Outside that town line, their family had the chance to have happiness, to start again.

So, when she turned around in his arms and her lips met his, Rumplestiltskin is no longer afraid nor hesitant in believing her love, because now he knew what she feels is an echo of what is inside his own heart. They truly and endlessly belong to each other. He takes her to bed, treats her like the queen she is for him as he dives himself into her welcoming warmth, murmuring love to her ears. Then, she falls asleep by his side and a small part of him hopes they will be blessed with another child, so Gideon can have a playmate for their travels. He would love to add lots of baby pictures to Belle's book.

But he doesn't have time to think about that right now, because he hears a little voice calling for him in the other room, so he slips of the bed and pull some clothes on before reaching for his son.

Gideon was standing in the middle of the living room looking at a shelve while waiting for him to come. The boy pointed at a frame he had found, picking it up to show his father.

"My brother," Gideon said, proudly, as if he had discovered a new planet.

Rumplestiltskin gasped, because he had looked all around the apartment but hadn't seeing this picture in particular. It was one of Baelfire with Emma, probably taken years ago, when the two of them first met. It probably would pass unnoticed for him, because Rumple only gave attention to the highest shelves, while Gideon could only reach for the lower ones, but it was good to see it, because Bae had his brightest smiles in it, which caused him to grin widely as he moved to sit on the floor with his boy.

"Aye, indeed, Gideon, this is your brother," he agreed pulling his son to his lap. "But I thought you were already asleep."

"I wanted water," Gideon explained.

And sure, he couldn't keep himself away from the shelves, because just like his mother he was a curious little thing. Rumplestiltskin thanked his boy, then tucked him back to bed and told him the story about how a poor spinner became a powerful sorcerer to save his son. Then, when the boy had already fallen asleep and the apartment was drowned in silence again, he sat on the old couch, watching for his child, knowing that in the room beside them, his wife was also dreaming peacefully and in the next day they would explore this new huge city that once were his oldest son's home.

It would be nice, Rumplestiltskin thought, like the life he always wished to have, but never got the chance. He walked to the windows, looking at the busy streets down there, just like Belle had done and he almost could feel like he wasn't standing alone in there, because it was in these indescribable moments of peace and happiness that he felt Baelfire was still right by his side, like in the endless nights they spent watching the starts in a time long enough to be considered another life.

#rumbelle fic #rumbelle #mine #writing #rumplestiltskin #belle french #gideon gold #baelfire #post season 6 #ao3 #fanfiction #family feels #papafire

[imaginexmeintheuniverse]

Talking to the Moon

A lovely anon requested: "hey im such a huge fan of your writing!! i was wondering if maybe you could do a peter x reader based off the bruno mars song 'talking to the moon' please? thank you so much if you do!!!"

Pairing: Peter Parker x Fem!Stark!Reader

Warnings: very few swear words, mentions of implied death?

Word Count: 2, 651

Summary: Fast forward a few years from now, Reader is an advanced S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and Tony Stark's adopted daughter who's gone on an undercover mission and Peter Parker wishes there were things he'd said before they left.

Masterlist

A/N: This song is so good and I had too many ideas I couldn't sort them out which is why this ended up being a huge mess. I apologize in advance for this. The reader and Peter Parker are in their early twenties. I literally wrote this under the full moon which I think is pretty awesome. Also, as you may be able to tell, I've been catching up on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Talking to the Moon by Bruno Mars

You've been gone for six months now. A little more than six months actually; 191 days as of tonight to be exact. 191 days ago, you got the offer to go on the undercover mission of a lifetime, the duration indefinite. 191 days ago, you had to leave immediately without so much as a goodbye to anyone. 190 days ago, was when you last communicated with the boy- now man, you are in love with.

The day after you were whisked away, you managed to slip an encrypted message through your adoptive father, Tony Stark, to let Peter know that you were okay. It was totally illegal and you spent the whole night encoding and encrypting when you should have been getting your rest for the mission.

You knew your father had the means to keep tabs on you throughout the project and you knew he'd give the team updates about you. You were never safe, but at least you were still alive. Little did you know, for the past two months you were totally off the radar and no one had any idea if your cover was blown, or if you were still alive.

For a while you didn't think you'd make it out. All you could think of in those moments, was that you might die without ever telling Peter how you felt.

I know you're somewhere out there

Somewhere far away

I want you back, I want you back

You never led a quote-on-quote "normal life". Your parents, who were also S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, were taken from you at a young age due to a mission gone awry. The number of agent casualties during that mission were the highest in a very long time, your parents included in the devastating death toll. They had trained you throughout your childhood, so when your skills were evaluated by the organization after their passing, you sent straight through the academic and recruitment process. Not long after being put in the system, they stuck you with Tony Stark for a bit and he decided to adopt you since you had lost everything, and he saw an unbelievable amount of potential on top of having grown to love having you in his life.

The academy was a boarding school, but Tony would bring you back to New York as often as he could. You grew up around the Avengers and considered them your family. Whenever you were over, you'd always hang out or train with them, leading you to acquire a wide variety of skills from each of them. As much as you love them all, you've always had a bias towards your dad's work with software and technology which was a large part of why you two got along so well. It was during one of your visits home that you had met Peter Parker.

Peter Parker has been in love with you ever since then. You weren't like anyone he'd ever met before. Besides the extremely impressive fact that you were a prodigy, having attended the academy at an earlier age than would normally be allowed, and graduating with honors. You trained with the Avengers while still attending the S.H.I.E.L.D. academy, and joined in on multiple missions. At first you assisted as Clint and Natasha's apprentice or under your father's wing (or sidekick as some may call it) for their individual missions, and now you had quickly grown to be your own hero as well as an official member of the team.

Being around the same age, you and Peter basically grew up together, seeing each other from your awkward teenage years to your still awkward young adulthood. Essentially being raised by agents your whole life, you were never the trusting type, but you trusted your father's judgment. If you're being honest, the first time you met Peter you couldn't quite believe that he was the friendly neighborhood genius from Queens your father told you about, because he face planted into a wall after seeing you. He was so stressed about making a good impression on you, that he somehow made the biggest fool of himself whenever you were around. At first you kept your distance from him like you would with any person you didn't know and observed his behavior. You brief social interactions consisted of you giving him short answers and curt nods, and him being a stuttering mess. He always maintained the excitement of a child and told really bad jokes which led you to worry that he might not be mature enough.

Eventually, you happened to come back home and came across him and your dad working in the lab. You watched them for a while before entering to greet them and he dropped a box of screws all over the floor. Witnessing how smart and professional he was while working, you decided to give him a chance. After all, you were both still teenagers and he just liked to have fun, but having grown up so quickly, you didn't know what that was like.

You soon found the thick walls you had built to protect yourself from the world crumbling down at the hands of the sweet boy with the big brown eyes. You had endless conversations about absolutely anything, but also felt most content in the comfortable silences. He charmed you with his sense of humor, bringing out the goofy side you didn't think you had.

When you'd fall asleep on the couch while marathoning the Star Wars movies he'd introduced you to, he took in all your features and how serene you looked when you're sleeping. He remembered every detail of all the stories or theories you've ever told him. During training, he memorized every way your body moves and was left flabbergasted at all the different ways you could kick his ass every time. He memorized the way your face changes when you were happy and the sound of your laugh as if it were the last time he'd see you.

He loves every bit of you and he never told you.

How could he not tell you? He saw you every day; when he'd go to the Stark Tower for work, during training, on missions, when you'd go out for lunch or hang out, and sometimes you'd even help him out with keeping the city safe. You spent all the time you possibly could together. Every time he would either forget about his insecurities and bask in the happiness you brought him, or he'd give himself lame excuses as to why he couldn't tell you, and later beat himself up about not being able to confess his feelings. You are best friends - or were- he doesn't know anymore and it's driving him insane.

The pressure of being a hero is getting to be too much for him. Crime rates have gone up recently, and when that happened in the past you'd always be more than happy to help him out. With you, he feels strong enough to save the world with you by his side and him by yours. Without you, he feels like he's carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

He wants you back.

My neighbors think I'm crazy

But they don't understand

You're all I have, you're all I have

Peter gets back to his apartment, hanging out on the fire escape after his nightly patrol. He stumbles, wincing as he slowly eases himself to a sitting position with his back against the wall. The jump in crime rate and the stress, not to mention the injuries that are adding up, are taking an immense toll on his body. He slumps down, taking a long and painful breath. He pulls out his phone, letting his thumb hover over the phone icon not knowing whether to bother or not. He can't give up.

He calls Tony, like he has every single day for the past two months, even though he had just been in contact with the man a few hours ago.

"Peter, I'm going to tell you what I've told you every day for the past two months: no one's seen or heard from Y/N. If anything changed I would tell you."

"Please, there must be somethingyou can do! Anything- Something we haven't thought of yet-"

"Listen, no one has heard from her, and none of us have the clearance to get that kind of information!" Tony snaps.

"Mr. Stark you don't under-"

"Understand?! She is my daughter! My pride, my joy, the one thing that doesn't make me feel like such an asshole when I go to sleep at night- And now I don't know if I'll see her again!" He sounds nonchalant and sarcastic like he usually does, but Peter senses the immense pain that lies underneath the surface.

"Please- I-I love her!"

Tony goes quiet on his side and speaks in a softer tone. "I know, Peter. I know." Peter's never heard Tony's voice so full of sorrow and he feels his knees go weak at the thought that something really bad might have happened. It was highly unusual for Stark to show that much emotion. Which is why Peter's heart hurt a thousand times more at hearing the pain of your father. "Peter, you need to concentrate on keeping the city safe right now. If there is even the least bit of trivial information that surfaces, you'll be the first one I call. But for now, you have a responsibility to this city."

"Yes sir."

After hanging up, Peter gets up and leans on the railing, burying his face in his hands with his elbows supporting his weight.

"I know it's pointless and I don't know why I keep doing this, but I don't know what else to do," he mutters to himself. He looks up at the moon, throwing his arms up in the air and releases a frustrated shout, "Give me some sort of sign!"

"Hey!" Someone calls from the street. "No one gives a shit!"

Okay... Not exactly the sign he was looking for, and yet he can't help but consider it as one. For all anyone knows you could be gone for good. He refuses to believe that. You've never given up on him and he sure as hell won't give up on you.

He can't give you up. He just can't.

You're all he has left.

At night when the stars light up my room

I sit by myself...

Talking to the moon

Trying to get to you

In hopes you're on the other side talking to me too

Or am I a fool, who sits alone, talking to the moon?

He sits on a chair that he's permanently left in front of the big window that leads to the fire escape as me places a bag of his choice frozen vegetables over his bruised ribs. It's become a ritual that he hasn't failed to complete every single day since you've been gone; call Tony for updates after nightly patrol, then pour his heart out to the night sky while he takes care of the damage done to his body.

"I don't know why I keep doing this either. Maybe I'm being foolish, but I hope you can hear me."

He had no idea how to tell you everything he feels for you before you left. So here he is, talking to the moon, telling it everything he wishes he could say to you, hoping that the moon will somehow deliver his messages and make you feel loved wherever you are.

"I miss you, your dad misses you, everyone misses you- but you probably already knew that," he starts, in a light tone as though he was pretending to be happy for your sake. "Aunt May's been worried sick about you. I told her you left for a long work assignment overseas- which I guess technically isn't lying to her, but she knows something's wrong. I think she sees it in my eyes every time I visit her without you by my side, and she still always has extra food prepared in case you do show up as a surprise or something." He chuckles, but the sound he emits holds more sadness in it than it does humor.

"I remember the first time I saw you smile; it lit up the whole room. I walked in on you reading a book in the compound's kitchen early in the morning. You were in you pyjamas; flannel bottoms and a large t-shirt with the pi numerals on it- I remember that moment precisely because it was the first time I saw you as just another kid my age. You always acted so grown up because your childhood was just another memory of time that was robbed from you. Anyways, I guess you read something funny because you smiled wider than I ever thought you could- it wasn't directed towards me, but it made me feel so happy." He feels the similar sting prick the back of his eyes.

And like he does every time,  he averts his gaze away from the moon, ashamed to have you see him cry. He fiddles with the frozen bag in his hands, and like he always does, he forces himself to keep going. "And the first time you smiled at me, it lit up my whole world. I knew then that I never wanted you to stop smiling, so I made it my personal mission to make you smile at least once a day." Peter watches his tears drip down, onto his bruised hands. "It was about the millionth time you had bested me in training, and you had me face-down on the mat. I don't know what made that time different, or if it was some dumb thing I said, but that day everything changed. Every time you beat me, I fell harder for you- Literally."

When he files through all his memories it's always bitter sweet. His happiest moments are with you, but when the daydream is over and he realizes that you're not there, it leaves a sour taste in his mouth. He sees you everywhere he looks, but when you disappear, he feels the back of his eyes sting. Thinking about how much he loves you but can't have you, it makes his heart ache. Lately, his thoughts of you bring him pain and he wishes it would just go away.

He rises from his chair and makes his way back out to the edge of the small balcony to get as close as he could to the moon; to you. "Every day, it gets worse out there, and I'm terrified. It's not about life or death, or getting hurt that I worry about anymore. What if I get injured bad and I forget even one single moment I had with you- I, I can't even imagine my life without you in it. I can only think of you and everything else is a giant blur." He looks all over the sky, remembering all the times the both of you would identify every single constellation you could see, and finally back at the moon that seemed to shine brighter than it ever had. "I love you more than anything, I hope you know that."

But he could never forget you. Even if he wanted to- which he would never, he couldn't. He knows that eventually, the pain will subside and be replaced by happiness. He knows that can't start until he gets past the denial stage.

Maybe it's finally time to move on.

"Goodbye, Y/N."

Just as his last tear falls and he turns to leave, something catches his eye in the street below. There's familiar silhouette of a person with their head tilted up to look at him and he can see the faintest sparkle coming from their eyes. The figure steps into the light of the moon, revealing their features.

It can't be.

There you are, looking up at Peter Parker with glassy eyes and a nostalgic smile. Your hair has been cut and dyed a different color, and you have fading scars and bruises all over your body, yet in Peters eyes, you are the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. He sees you and yet doesn't believe his own eyes. It's not until you speak that he realizes it's not just another dream.

"Peter?"

#peter parker #peter parker x reader #peter parker imagine #potatowrites #my writing #talking to the moon #bruno mars #tony stark #marvel #marvel imagine #avengers #avengers imagine #spider-man #spiderman #spider-man x reader #spiderman x reader #spider-man imagine #spiderman imagine #requested

[dfroza]

An open or closed heart to Light?

A flying book.

these are what we read of in Today’s pairing of a chapter from each Testament with Acts 18 and Zechariah 5

and why is a book viewed as a bird?

because its words are able to fly into the space of the heart (into the spirit) of a person, to illuminate from within, which is what the Spirit does right alongside the Scriptures to reveal the eternal truth in Love

Today’s paired chapters beginning with the ancient writing of Zechariah:

[Sixth Vision: The Flying Book]

I looked up again and saw—surprise!—a book on the wing! A book flying!

The Messenger-Angel said to me, “What do you see now?”

I said, “I see a book flying, a huge book—thirty feet long and fifteen wide!”

He told me, “This book is the verdict going out worldwide against thieves and liars. The first half of the book disposes of everyone who steals; the second half takes care of everyone who lies. I launched it”—Decree of God-of-the-Angel-Armies—“and so it will fly into the house of every thief and every liar. It will land in each house and tear it down, timbers and stones.”

[Seventh Vision: A Woman in a Basket]

The Messenger-Angel appeared and said, “Look up. Tell me what you see.”

I said, “What in the world is that?”

He said, “This is a bushel basket on a journey. It holds the sin of everyone, everywhere.”

Then the lid made of lead was removed from the basket—and there was a woman sitting in it!

He said, “This is Miss Wicked.” He pushed her back down into the basket and clamped the lead lid over her.

Then I looked up and to my surprise saw two women flying. On outstretched wings they airlifted the bushel basket into the sky.

I said to the Messenger-Angel, “Where are they taking the bushel basket?”

He said, “East to the land of Shinar. They will build a garage to house it. When it’s finished, the basket will be stored there.”

The Book of Zechariah, Chapter 5 (The Message)

and chapter 18 of the book of Acts:

[Corinth]

After Athens, Paul went to Corinth. That is where he discovered Aquila, a Jew born in Pontus, and his wife, Priscilla. They had just arrived from Italy, part of the general expulsion of Jews from Rome ordered by Claudius. Paul moved in with them, and they worked together at their common trade of tentmaking. But every Sabbath he was at the meeting place, doing his best to convince both Jews and Greeks about Jesus.

When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was able to give all his time to preaching and teaching, doing everything he could to persuade the Jews that Jesus was in fact God’s Messiah. But no such luck. All they did was argue contentiously and contradict him at every turn. Totally exasperated, Paul had finally had it with them and gave it up as a bad job. “Have it your way, then,” he said. “You’ve made your bed; now lie in it. From now on I’m spending my time with the other nations.”

He walked out and went to the home of Titius Justus, a God-fearing man who lived right next to the Jews’ meeting place. But Paul’s efforts with the Jews weren’t a total loss, for Crispus, the meeting-place president, put his trust in the Master. His entire family believed with him.

In the course of listening to Paul, a great many Corinthians believed and were baptized. One night the Master spoke to Paul in a dream: “Keep it up, and don’t let anyone intimidate or silence you. No matter what happens, I’m with you and no one is going to be able to hurt you. You have no idea how many people I have on my side in this city.” That was all he needed to stick it out. He stayed another year and a half, faithfully teaching the Word of God to the Corinthians.

But when Gallio was governor of Achaia province, the Jews got up a campaign against Paul, hauled him into court, and filed charges: “This man is seducing people into acts of worship that are illegal.”

Just as Paul was about to defend himself, Gallio interrupted and said to the Jews, “If this was a matter of criminal conduct, I would gladly hear you out. But it sounds to me like one more Jewish squabble, another of your endless hairsplitting quarrels over religion. Take care of it on your own time. I can’t be bothered with this nonsense,” and he cleared them out of the courtroom.

Now the street rabble turned on Sosthenes, the new meeting-place president, and beat him up in plain sight of the court. Gallio didn’t raise a finger. He could not have cared less.

[Ephesus]

Paul stayed a while longer in Corinth, but then it was time to take leave of his friends. Saying his good-byes, he sailed for Syria, Priscilla and Aquila with him. Before boarding the ship in the harbor town of Cenchrea, he had his head shaved as part of a vow he had taken.

They landed in Ephesus, where Priscilla and Aquila got off and stayed. Paul left the ship briefly to go to the meeting place and preach to the Jews. They wanted him to stay longer, but he said he couldn’t. But after saying good-bye, he promised, “I’ll be back, God willing.”

From Ephesus he sailed to Caesarea. He greeted the church there, and then went on to Antioch, completing the journey.

After spending a considerable time with the Antioch Christians, Paul set off again for Galatia and Phrygia, retracing his old tracks, one town after another, putting fresh heart into the disciples.

A man named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was a Jew, born in Alexandria, Egypt, and a terrific speaker, eloquent and powerful in his preaching of the Scriptures. He was well-educated in the way of the Master and fiery in his enthusiasm. Apollos was accurate in everything he taught about Jesus up to a point, but he only went as far as the baptism of John. He preached with power in the meeting place. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and told him the rest of the story.

When Apollos decided to go on to Achaia province, his Ephesian friends gave their blessing and wrote a letter of recommendation for him, urging the disciples there to welcome him with open arms. The welcome paid off: Apollos turned out to be a great help to those who had become believers through God’s immense generosity. He was particularly effective in public debate with the Jews as he brought out proof after convincing proof from the Scriptures that Jesus was in fact God’s Messiah.

The Book of Acts, Chapter 18 (The Message)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for Tuesday, january 14, being the 25th day of Winter

[appynation]

When in Doubt, Swing it Out

I’ve been super into the electro swing genre lately (I blame @kaxpha for playing bomb music in their art streams) so I wrote this little blurb of a fic. Enjoy!

Lance had most definitely had better days.

Not only had been woken up by a surprise training drill by Allura, but he had barely slept a wink anyway thanks to some not so friendly dreams due to his spike of homesickness as of late.

He sat on the couch in the main lounge, sighing as he scrolled through his cellphone, a reflex that he had yet to have broken. There obviously was no cellphone reception in space. But, fortunately, Pidge had brought her phone charger with her in the backpack she carried when this entire crazy adventure started, so at least Lance could look at the pictures. Him at the Garrison with Hunk and Pidge, him at the beach in his hometown, his mom, his siblings, his family.

Lance’s face held somber as he flicked his finger through the pictures, then the text messages. Texts he was so glad he hadn’t erased. Ones from his sister talking about her summer camp she was about to attend, from his brother giving him shit for getting in trouble with Iverson—again—… his mom telling him how proud she was of him. She liked to send a text every day—even if it was to tell him she loved him. He chewed on a fingernail, a habit he’d thought long since forgotten, staring at the phone as the gang come into the room.

“There you are!” Pidge exclaimed, running over to the couch as she plopped down next to Lance. They had all seen his mood shift the last couple days, and Pidge knew the perfect solution. “You’ll never guess what I made.”

“Mm…” Lance feigned intense thought, putting his finger to his chin as he tapped it gently. “A machine to cut Keith’s mullet while he sleeps?” He produced a slight grin at the obvious glare he assumed Keith was drilling into his head from behind the couch.

“No smartass,” Pidge retorted with a chuckle, “I built this!” she held up a small box with an AUX cord attached. “It’s hooked up to the castle’s intercom systems! I figured we could make the castle a bit more ‘homey’ with some of our own music. What do you think. Care to give it a shot?”

Lance’s eyes widened as he looked at the device before taking it, turning it around in his hands as he slowly grinned, grabbing his phone off his lap and plugging the cable into the headphone jack, a loud popping sound reverberating over the speaker system forcing the paladins to either flinch or cover their ears. “Sorry, sorry.” Lance replied sheepishly before he opened his music, tapping the ‘shuffle’ button. A majority of the songs that began to play most of the team recognized as pop hits, ones that either they’d heard while back on Earth, or heard Lance singing when the blue paladin thought no one was listening. But, after only a few seconds of preview, the song would be skipped. Lance was looking for something.

But there it was, after a flood of Beyonce and Rihanna. A song he settled on. It was a genre that the majority of the paladins had not expected on Lance’s music list. The unforgettable sound of a stand-up bass seeping out of the speakers had Lance’s ocean blue eyes all but electrified. A wide grin took over his expression as he stood up, his hips already starting. It was as if he was hypnotized by the music as it soon became very apparently a swing tune as he tapped his foot.

As soon as the music flooded through Lance’s ears, memories-- happy memories-- of growing up began sprouting in his mind. Having to be dragged to his sister's dance classes… and realizing he liked them. He began going on his own after that, content just sitting and watching, until that wasn’t enough. He started in hip hop, afraid his brothers would tease him for enjoying to dance-- but his family was nothing but encouraging. It filled him with a self-confidence he sometimes desperately wished he could get back. Soon after he had dabbled in tap, contemporary, even some ballet, before one summer the studio announced that a special swing class would be offered. Well, immediately Lance was hooked. Every day that summer, him and his sisters would run home and shove their furniture aside just to show their mom what they’d learned that day.

As these memories drifted through his mind, Hunk grinned and plopped down on the adjacent couch. “I haven’t seen you swing in a while, Lance. But it’s no fun to do it alone. Perhaps you should ask for a partner?” He nudged his chin toward Keith.

Wingman of the year. This was why they were the ultimate bros.

Keith barely had time to process what Hunk had suggested before Lance had literally snatched his hand, dragging him to the middle of the circle of couches.

“Lance! Wait, I can’t dance--”

“Just trust me and follow my lead, mullet.” Lance grabbed Keith’s other hand and winked with such a blinding smile that it was hard for the red paladin to argue as he shut his mouth and looked down at Lance’s feet as they began to move to the beat. Lance couldn’t help but chuckle at the confused and lost expression his crush wore as Lance began pulling and moving him around the floor to the beat. Though, fortunately for Lance, he was a good lead. A great one. And his excitable presence could’ve made Mona Lisa herself smile.

It didn’t take long for Keith to loosen up, even laugh a few times as Lance tried to get him to do a move he just knew he couldn’t do. Keith was great on his feet in combat, not so much on the dance floor. Though that didn’t deter Lance one bit. He continued to swing Keith around, moving along to the rhythm, like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“I never knew you could dance like this.” Keith finally acknowledged. He was a bit out of breath from the constant cardio, baffled by how Lance wasn’t. “Impressed?” Lance boasted with a grin, spinning around once before he offered his hand back to Keith.

“Actually-- yes. I am.” The honesty left Lance dumbstruck, his bravado tapering slightly as he stuttered for a response. The reaction made Keith grin as he took Lance’s hand, pulling him back in. “Show me what else you’ve got, hot shot.”

They lost track of time, and most importantly, they were able to finally able to set their worries aside-- filled with laughter and the fast-paced beat of Lance’s swing tracks.

Eventually, the others realized they may be infringing on a private moment. Grinning at each other for a job well done, they quietly made their way out of the music-filled room. Their plan of distracting Lance from the downward slide his emotions had taken as of late had been immensely successful. Plus, they were able to give those two pining lovebirds to dance together. That was a huge plus.

Lance seemed to be in his own little world, a world he desperately wanted to share with Keith. A world where he could stop harboring so much on the losses of his life, and begin seeing all the wonderful things this new life had to offer. He wanted Keith to share the discovery of that world with him. A world of laughter, dancing, kisses, and cuddles.

And, slowly but surely, Keith was beginning to tear down the shelter he had built around his heart, the rays of Lance’s hope seeping through.

Being able to loosen up, shut down their minds, and just dance had miraculously helped them with these realizations.

They’d both definitely have to thank Pidge for this later.

#Idk what this is #I just needed some fluff in my life! #But of course some angst had to be thrown in there too #lance mcclain #keith kogane #pidge gunderson #hunk garrett #I realized Shiro didn't even get mentioned in this haha #klance #voltron