#//But sleep is rather hard for him to come by nowadays | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thetempleofthemasaigoddess · 10 months

Text

(and if nothing brings you back) Surely, I'll roam through life in black

Mihawk x reader. NSFW!!

This fic is part of the Beast in Black series. There will now be a separate epilogue to this story!

*****

Dracule Mihawk is a patient man.

It is a natural quality, and at the same time that self-restraint is one of the reasons he has come as far as he has. After all, you don't become the best at what you do if you get bored easily, or frustrated after a visible lack of progress after a few short weeks; while natural talent did undoubtedly play a role in making him the man he is, Mihawk knows it is the long hours he spent practicising his swordsmanship (every single day since he was five, hundreds and even thousands of repetitions of the same figure, of the same lunge or the same parry, until he could perform them in his sleep and through simple muscle memory) that has made him the most respected and feared adversary in the four seas. He has always known in his heart the way of the sword was his destiny, no matter how hard and long the way to the top would be, and that path he has walked, patient and persevering, confident that one day his efforts and dedication would bear fruit - which they have. Even so, he still practices, every day, with the same focus and tenacity of when he was ten, still until his arms hurt and his fingers bleed, and then a little more.

Dracule Mihawk is a very patient man, not least because there is very little nowadays that can actually excite his curiosity to the point of anxiety; no rival in the last decade has seriously interested him, no swordsman he has heard about or met has made him feel excited at the prospect of a fight (or rather, one has; but a full year after their first and only meeting, Roronoa Zoro still has a long way to go before becoming a worthy opponent. But that is not a problem; once more, he is patient, he can wait.) and no future plan or commitment has ever made him wish time would pass faster. He is not bored, per se; he is just perfectly content with the way he spends his days, without worrying about what the future may bring...

... except for a single, tiny (no more than fourteen pounds by now, according to a book he has accidentally found in his library and even more fortuitously leafed through until he has found the chapter about infant growth) detail... one that has kept him awake at night for the first time in his life, and that not even training until his body gave up and his mind begged for the relief of sleep has been able to banish from his thoughts.

You. Or, to be more precise, the consequences of the night you have spent together. Or, to be even more precise, the reason why you haven't made him aware of them like you had agreed to do.

That... your silence, and the suspicion you are not deliberately keeping him in the dark (why should you? You have promised to inform him as soon as you had seen your doctor, you have his transponder snail number, you know how important it is to him) but something is keeping you from calling... that is what is making him loose his sleep.

To be honest, he started feeling anxious (a feeling he has at first almost struggled to recognize, so alien it was to his personality) just a few days after you had said goodbye, a feeling that became harder and harder to ignore, and then to keep at bay, as the weeks succeded one another. At first, he wasn't worried - just irritated. Even the most ignorant man in matters of childbearing knows it could take a while, perhaps even a whole month, before a person has reason to suspect they are expecting, and a late period could be due to several reasons other than pregnancy. Also, according to the book, it is not uncommon for pregnancies to end in the first three months, for reasons not even the best doctors fully understand; perhaps, he reflected as he polished Yoru at the end of yet another day-long training session, you have decided to wait until you are reasonably sure your pregnancy is real and healthy enough to reach full term, before informing him. Given how important this is to you, how desperately you wanted to get pregnant and have a baby, you may have ordered yourself not to believe it yourself until then, as if you knew you couldn't bear to lose the child you had waited for so long...

He was sure - no, he had been ready to bet his life that you would call after three months, to tell him you were officially, undeniably pregnant with his child. You are not the sort of person who forgets a promise they made, and while he has not yet decided what role he would play in the child's life, if any, you knew (you had to know!) it was important for him to be aware of the truth. He expected to receive your call any day, and he was determined not to miss it, so much that for the first time in his life he started bringing his transponder snail to the training room, or wherever he had decided to practice in that day, to make sure he heard it ringing.

It didn't. Or rather, when it did, it was never the call he expected. It was never you, and while three months became four, and then five, and then six, Mihawk started feeling restless, and frustrated, and then worried. Why aren't you calling?, he kept wondering. The thought, that was rapidly becoming an obsession, was constantly on his mind (when he trained; when he ate; when he showered; when he fought, either yet another quarry the Marines had sicced him on, or some fame-hungry swordsman who thought they could measure themselves against him and invariably discovered they could not; when he tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep) and threatened to drive him mad.

Six months after your night together, he had to stop lying to himself and seriously consider the hypothesis that you hadn't simply failed to contact him, whether because you had forgotten (absolutely impossible) or deliberately, but something was preventing you from doing it. Also, the two of you had never gone so long without meeting, and your few mutual acquaintances had not seen you recently either; you might have taken some time off from, or indeed put an end to, your activity as a mercenary when you realized you were pregnant, but that would not explain the lack of contact. Were you sick? Was the baby making you sick, and so weak you could not even hold a transponder snail receiver and speak in it? It seemed absurd: you were a still young, healthy woman, and even the most difficult pregnancy could not put a person into a coma! What could have been happened, then?

Has something terrible happened to you? It was, unfortunately, much less improbable than he would have wished; after all being a mercenary had to be one of the most unsafe, potentially fatal professions in the world, and your latest quarry might have turned out to be more challenging than you had expected, or maybe someone set to avenge one of your past victims had been able to sneak up on you and...?

He wanted to know. He had to - no, he needed to know, he reflected one night, the umpteenth in which he had found himself unable to sleep, as he looked at the starry sky out of his bedroom window, because while very little in the world had the power to upset or even just to actually interest him, he felt not knowing what had happened to you, and if you were safe and sound, could really drive him insane. You were strong, clever and resilient, but no one could keep their guard constantly up day and night, and so many dangerous things existed in the world; if you were hurt, and kept somewhere against your will unable to ask for help, he would move heaven and earth to find and set you free. And if it were already too late, if you had... died, either at the hands of an enemy or for some other reason...

In that case I really don't know what will become of me, he thought, then and so many times in the following months. He would have gladly stabbed himself in the heart rather than uttering those words out loud, or having someone else know he felt that way, but that was the truth and Mihawk was not in the habit of lying to himself.

The thing that vexed him the most was the inability to contact, and then to look for, you himself. He had not thought about asking for your own transponder snail number (something he had reproached himself for many times) and he even ignored the name of your island, which would have been the first place to search in. Worry and frustration prompted him to do what he never thought he would: call the Marines and ask... for informations.

"(name)? I haven't seen her in a while." Vice-Admiral Garp said, his tone pensive, on the day Mihawk contacted him "I was informed the man I had sent her to dispatch is dead, but she never came to collect the bounty, nor has she called or written to ask us to send it to her. I'm starting to think something bad has happened."

"Have you tried contacting her?"

"Of course we have. But her transponder snail has been deactivated since the first time we called, I don't know where she lives nor whether she has friends or family. Why do you care what happened to her?"

The sudden question, asked in a deliberately casual tone, took him by surprise for a moment. This doesn't concern you, Mihawk wanted to answer, but he stopped himself in time. He didn't particularly like Garp, but the older man was clever and relentless, not to mention he considered those like the two of you, pardoned pirates and mercenaries, like a necessary evil to keep in check; he would not go as far as to hurt a pregnant woman, and was probably already aware of your acquaintance given all the times you and him had sat down to drink and talk at the Marine HQ, but the least he knew, the better.

"(name) had promised to help me find a person I am interested in." he invented, confident a mere business deal would not interest the Marine much "A famous swordmaker she had been acquainted with years ago. She had promised she would track him down for me after her latest assignment, but I have not heard from her in a months."

"Had she now."

"What do you mean, Vice-Admiral?" Mihawk asked, suddenly irked; he didn't like the skeptic, vaguely mocking, tone the older man had used.

"Nothing, nothing. I'm afraid I can't help you, Mihawk; If you see her, tell her we'll keep the bounty for her."

As if he were the Marines' messenger boy. Mihawk disconnected without answering, sighed, and covered his eyes with his hand. It was as he feared: the call had been useless; you had disappeared, and he had no way to find you.

*****

And he still doesn't, six more months later, as he sits on the front steps of his house, a glass of red wine in his hand and his gaze facing the sunset, the familiar but still breath-taking view of the sky lit of red and black for once failing to catch his interest.

A year. A whole year spent thinking about you, worrying about you - and without you. He has sent word to his (very few) allies, acquaintances and whoever he could trust or owed him a favour, asking them to be on the look-out and inform him of any news, no matter how apparently far-fetched, about you.

It was all for nothing. You must have given birth by now, your baby should be around three months of age (has he ever seen a baby that small? Probably not since he was a very young boy himself, and he is sure he has never held one in his arms; well, he’s sure you’ll show him how…) but there is no trace of either of you. You seem to have disappeared into thin air, and Mihawk has never been so worried in his entire life. The possibility you are safe, having decided to hide and fake your death, doesn't even cross his mind; you had a deal, one he knows in his heart you would never break, both because you would have no reason to and because you would never do that to him (you wouldn't. It may sound presumptuous to think so, to believe he has some kind of influence over you, and he cannot claim to know what is in your mind... let alone in your heart... but you would keep you word, he would bet his life on it) which must mean that something is keeping you from contacting him, someone has hurt you, either keeping you prisoner somewhere, which would at least explain why you have disappeared, or worse...

You could have been killed. You could be dead, and the thought is so fiercely painful, the agony it fills his very being with so scorching and bitter, Mihawk wishes he could tear his heart from his chest, because if that were actually true nothing else, nor vengeance nor the passing of time, and surely not another lover, could ever give him the smallest amount of relief. So many people die every day, in some cases alone and unmourned, but the same cannot have happened to you, you are too... too smart and capable to have let an enemy overcome you, and too special and precious to have lived through something so terrible and humiliating...

And the baby? Your baby? What has happened to them?

Accepting to conceive a child together has been an impulsive decision, taken after just a few hours of reflection, but Mihawk does not regret it... and not simply because it has led him to the best night of his life. The thought of a child, of any child, hurt and killed would naturally horrify him, but to imaginehis own baby, his son or daughter, in danger or hurt... is it possible for a man to bear such an overwhelming grief?

He never thought he could feel like this; he never thought he would meet someone capable of arousing that sort of feeling in him, but he has, you have, and while Mihawk doesn't regret it, and knows he won't even if he does discover you have passed, the thought of losing you and your child before even having the chance to meet them... and to say goodbye to you, and... to talk to you once more, is... is...

He doesn't pray. He never has, and he knows in his heart it would make no difference, nor would he be able to find some comfort in it. Mihawk doesn’t believe in God, not in the benevolent, all-powerful kind so many people trust to make their lives a little more bearable or at least to reward them for their good deeds in the afterlife. What, who, he believes in, is himself, and this is why, after he woke up screaming from an horrible, excruciating nightmare (in which he opened the house door to find your reanimated corpse in front of him, a tiny dead body in your arms, telling him you were sorry you made him worry) he promises himself that if he ever finds you, you or the baby or hopefully both, he will never leave you again, and will give his life to protect you.

I swear, (name). I know you didn’t break your promise voluntarily; let me keep mine. Please, come back to me; I trust you. I can’t go on like this; not knowing is destroying me. Let me know you are both all right, and I swear I won’t let anything happen to you…

Are his feelings (fear, the instinctive protectiveness towards a child who is the blood of his blood, the memory of the night of passion you shared) getting the best of him, leading him to make a much deeper commitment than he would have been willing to had you, safe and sound, phoned him after a month to announce him you were in the family way? Perhaps. After all he does have a heart, but while he doesn’t intend to ask for your hand as soon as you meet again, he knows that whatever destiny has in store for the two of you, he will never regret his promise or the choice he made a year ago.

He never could, if you keep being part of his life. So he vows, in the privacy of his heart, and barely one day later he receives an answer; by God, by destiny, or someone else, he doesn’t care, but he has to quickly put an hand to his mouth to prevent Garp from hearing his sigh of relief.

“(name) has just called me.” The Vice-Admiral says; he sounds amused, as if his conversation with you had confirmed his suspicions about the reason why Mihawk was so worried about your disappearance. Lookin for a famous swordmaker indeed! “She has lost your number, but she was able to retrieve mine through an acquaintance who works close to another Marine base and asked me to convey a message.”

Silence.

“Mihawk?”

“I am here, Vice-Admiral.” he answers, in control of his emotions once more, even though he is clutching the transponder snail receiver so hard his knuckles have turned white “What is the message?”

“Simply her number, that she has asked me to give you. Do you have a pen?”

Mihawk does, but he needs to hear the number just once to know he will remember it forever. You are all right, he keeps repeating himself, alive and if perhaps not unharmed strong enough to carry out a conversation. Relief hits him, so sudden and overwhelming it almost hurts; did she tell you where she’s been in the last year? Is she all right?, for a moment he is about to ask, before thinking better of it; he will call you as soon as he finishes with Garp, who in any case he wouldn’t confide his fears in.

“I’ll tell her about the bounty she is owed. Good evening, Vice-Admiral.” he says, before hanging up and without giving the older man a chance to reply. He is alone, as always when he is at home, and Mihawk has never been so grateful for that lack of guests or, Gods forbid, house mates, because the last thing he wants is to have someone see him in that moment.

You’re alive. That is not enough to dispel all his fears, since as far as he knows you could be deadly ill or kept prisoner somewhere, and, most importantly, he still knows nothing about your baby, but suddenly he feels able to breathe normally for the first time in ages - in a whole year, that is. I knew you hadn’t forgotten your promise; that you hadn’t forgotten about me, he thinks, still worried but feeling a smile (a real, sincere smile, something no one in the world has ever seen on his face) open on his mouth. He remains still for a moment, the memory of your kiss and the sensation of your warm, solid body in his arms still etched in his mind, and a moment later he is already dialing the number Garp gave him.

You answer immediately; as if you were waiting for him to call. (You were. Desperately, fear and longing heavy on your heart; you needed to hear his voice like a person lost in a desert needed a glass of cold water, but at the same time you knew what you needed to tell him would destroy him, like it had destroyed you.)

“Mihawk?”

“This is him.” he promptly answers; until now you have always spoken in person and it has been a year since the last time, but he would recognize you voice anywhere “(name), are you all right?”

Silence.

“Name? Please…” he insists; that last word sounds almost alien on his tongue, but he can hear the call didn't fall, and the idea of you not wanting to talk to him is too painful to bear “Are you all right? Where are you?”

“I…”

“Is our baby all right?”

He can feel you hesitating for a moment more before slowly answering: “You needn’t worry; no one has been seriously hurt.”, which sounds too and unnecessarily complex when a simple we are both all right would have sufficed, but the determination in your voice is enough to reassure him “I’m sorry, I know I had promised to call you as soon as I had been to the doctor. I swear I would have, but…”

“Have you been kidnapped?”

“How do you know? Well, you’re right; I have been kept prisoner for a year, and my transponder snail was taken from me. I got free four days ago and I got home the day before yesterday. Mihawk, I…”

“Yes?”

Silence. Again. “I think it would be better if we spoke in person.” you state in the end “I’m sorry to ask you, but my doctor says I shouldn’t move for a few days a least, and my mother is of the same mind...”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Mihawk quickly answers, perfectly aware he doesn’t even know where there is, and utterly unbothered by the issue.

“Really?”

“Of course. Give me the coordinates.”

You do, from memory, and he writes them down, just to be safe; he shouldn’t take more than a day to reach you, he is pleased to realize. “I will be there tomorrow morning at the latest.” he promises; most people would think twice before sailing at night in unknown waters, but he is not most people “How do I find you?”

“I’ll send someone to wait for you at the harbour. Mihawk?”

“Yes?”

“Were you worried for me?”

He snorts - inelegant, perhaps, but since you cannot see him…

“What do you think?” he pointedly asks, and he’s happy to hear you laugh, just for a moment. “I’ll see you tomorrow, (name).” he promises, and then he is the one hesitating just for a moment, before adding: “I can’t wait to meet our child.”

You say your goodbyes and hung up, quickly enough he can’t hear you burst in tears.

*****

He is sailing less than thirty minutes later, pleased to discover a favourable wind is pushing his ship in the right direction, and exactly twenty-two hours later his ship docks at the only little port of your island, in a warm, sunny morning he would consider a good sign, were he inclined to believe in that sort of things (he never has). The moment he steps on the harbour, mainly occupied by tiny fishing boats, a trio of men in livery approach him.

“Welcome to our island, sir.” the oldest respectfully tells him as they all bow in unison; he doesn’t ask for his name, Mihawk notices, nor does he mention it to make sure he’s addressing the right man “Lady (name) has sent us to meet you. Will you please follow us to the fortress?”

He does, and the brief ride in the small but elegant horse-drawn carriage gives him the opportunity to explore the place you call home. You had told him it was small, and it really is, little more than a rock in a relatively unimportant corner of the sea, but patriotism aside, he can see why you like it: the streets are large, the building well-kept, the marketplace the carriage passes next to thriving, and the flora seems to be as lush as you said it was, given the huge trees he sees in the squares and along the streets.

Still, sight-seeing is not what he has come here for, and when finally the fortress (a solid, relatively large stone building, wind-tossed flags at the top of the four corner towers and a drawbridge over a deep moat) appears in front of him, Mihawl feels his heart skip a beat, both looking forward to seeing you and at the same time fearing the state he will see you in. Such sentimentality, such an inability to put order among his feelings, is very unlike him, as well as the sort of things he has always done his best to avoid and considered an unnecessary distraction. Still, he doesn't regret those feelings; you are part of him now, an unexpected but not unwelcome state of things, and while openly discussing matters of the heart has never been easy for him, and he doesn't yet feel ready to give a name to the emotions you have elicited in him, he wants you to know, he needs you to know, he has never stopped thinking about you from the day you said goodbye...

About you, and about the child you have given him. The child, about three months old now, who he is going to meet in a few minutes.

Crossed the large double door of the fortress, the older man in livery exchanges a few words with another servant. "Lady (name) is in her quarters." he then reports "I'll bring you to her straight away, sir, unless you want to rest for a while. A room has been prepared for you."

Mihawk is not tired, but had he not slept for a week, his answer would be the same. "Bring me to her."

You like admiring the sunrise in the morning, as you prepare to begin your day, hence your quarters are east-facing. Mihawk is led to a small parlor, which might double as your study given the desk and the full bookcase on one side. A closed passage leads presumably to your bedroom, while an open double door gives way to a sun-lit terrace, where a quiet but serious conversation is taking place.

"... need to tell him. You owe him the truth, especially if you hope for your relationship to continue."

"I know that, mother. I don't want to lie to him, but... he told me he looked forward to meeting the baby... I can barely bear to think about what the doctor said, but to discuss it..."

"I know how painful it will be; for both of you. But you still have a whole life in front of you, and you need to come to terms with..."

The conversation quickly ceases when the man in livery steps on the terrace. "Pardon, my ladies. Your guest is here, lady (name)."

The terrace is a mostly empty semicircle bordered by a wrought iron parapet, the breath-taking view opening on the whole island; Mihawk doesn't even glance at it, his yellow eyes immediately drawn to the younger of the two women sat not far from him, semi-reclining on a deck-chair under a large straw umbrella, a pillow behind her back hiding a tiny but deadly machine gun.

You.

The first thing he notices is the weight you have lost. He has tried many times to imagine how your body would change because of your pregnancy, what you would look like heavy with his child; he was sure he would find you beautiful as ever, perhaps even more so. He even entertained himself wondering how it would have been to make love to you as you were visibly pregnant... and discovered the thought was not at all unpleasant.

The you in front of him couldn't be farther from those fantasies. No doubt because of the year you spent imprisoned, you are clearly underweight, your left leg, left naked by the short skirt of your dress, is braced and bandaged, a profound, overcome but persistent weakness surrounding you, as if the excellent care you are receiving at home still couldn't undo the ill treatment you have suffered.

A strong-willed, resilient woman like you would not be cowed by a slap or a skipped meal. What sort of violence and abuse did your captors have to resort to in order to break your spirit? Have you been beaten? Starved? Exposed to the weather in the coldest days of the winter? Have they... assaulted you? Whatever the truth, Mihawk suddenly wishes he could have them in front of him; after a single hour, those bastards would beg him to die quickly.

Then you smile at him, happy and relieved, and the desire for revenge is promptly forgotten - or at least put aside. "Hello, (name)."

"You came."

"You know I would have."

You share a look, brief but enough to make him feel as if the last year had been no longer than a day; he can see unmitigated joy in your eyes, and relief, and... wariness, almost as if you feared what could be said during the conversation he has come to have. Are you... afraid of him? Why? What do you have to tell him that could upset him to the point of...?

He notices, a whole minute later than he should have, that the baby is not with you, nor there is on the terrace a cot or a little bed you could have put them in. He is about to ask, when the woman sat on the chair next to you, at the other side of a small round table, stands and turns to look at him. He doesn't need to consider the evident family resemblance, nor to think back to what you have told him about your family, to realize she must be your mother: you have the same look, the same kind but piercing gaze in your like-colored eyes. "Good morning. I am lady Veressa, (name)'s mother. It is a pleasure to have you on our island."

"Thank you, my lady." Mihawk answers with a slight bow of his head; he is able to behave courteously with people of authority, whatever Garp may think "The pleasure is mine."

"(name), I will leave you with your guest. Please, do not overexert yourself."

"I won't, mother. Thank you." you answer, and smile when she bends to kiss your brow. A moment later the lady of the island has left, the man in livery behind her, leaving the two of you alone.

Neither speaks as Mihawk moves the free chair even closer to yours and sits; there are about a million questions he wants to ask, but for a minute he is content like this, simply looking at you, reassuring himself you are really there, clearly exhausted but alive, healing, and still beautiful enough to take his breath away.

"You have a ten million berries bounty to collect." he points out after a while; you, apparently expecting to hear something completely different, blink, and appear to struggle a little to understand the meaning behind those words, as if your activity as a mercenary were a long-forgotten childhood game and not the trade you have practiced since you were still a girl.

"Oh... right. I will have to call Garp again one of these days."

You smile, still nervous but happy; your hand reaches towards him, and he takes it in his, careful, as if it were made of glass.

"I have missed you, Mihawk."

"And I you." he promptly answers; he wonders if you realize how rare, and surprisingly easy, it is for him to utter those simple words. Something tells him you do "Are you well?"

"Considering everything I have been through, I think so." you answer after a moment of reflection; there is no trace of complaint in your voice, rather it is the matter of fact tone of a person who dispassionately acknowledges a situation and moves on "The doctors said I have been lucky, a few more weeks under the loving care of my jailers and I would have died. And my leg should heal perfectly, which is the thing I was most worried about."

"That is good to hear. (name)..."

"You want to know about the baby." you interrupt him, and there is something on your face he cannot name, but that makes him shiver; as if you were preparing yourself for an unpleasant chore you could not avoid. You told him no one got seriously hurt, which only partially reassured him, and he knows he won't be able to relax until he sees his child with his own eyes... "Am I right?"

"Yes. Where are they?"

*****

This is a conversation you can't avoid; your mother is right, you owe him that much and more, especially if he is to still be part of your life from now on, which you desperately wish for. Still, you would give half of your blood (not a small sacrifice, considering how much of it you have wasted in the last year) to avoid or at least to postpone it, and enjoy the quiet, comforting joy of having Mihawk close once more, after fearing for so long you would never see him again.

You breathe in and, holding tight as if preparing for a violent impact, you confess: "There is no baby. I... I had my period a week after our night together, and regularly after that, at least for a while."

You have time to count up to ten before you hear him answering; you can't look at him, and perceive he'd rather you didn't.

"I see."

"I am so sorry, Mihawk. It was my most fertile period, and we tried three times... I was so sure..."

This time he is the one interrupting you. "I know. It is not your fault." he murmurs; you can feel the emotion in his voice, without a doubt much more than he wishes you to, and that makes you feel guilty, as if you were intruding in an intimate moment "I... I guess this is good, after all. You have clearly been hurt, and taken prisoner. That is not the sort of situation you'd want to be pregnant, and to have a child, in."

You can't help but agree, and you swallow, hoping against hope you can stop talking about it and the two of you can enjoy some time together before he leaves and you can go back mourning what will never be in the privacy of your heart, but Mihawk's next words hit you like a punch in the stomach.

"Maybe... maybe we can try again." he slowly suggests; he has started caressing the back of your and with his thumb, and the intimate tone of his voice, a still serious but unmistakably sensual accent in it, is enough to make you shiver, and cry "Once you have returned to health. Our night together was... very enjoyable, I wouldn't mind doing it again, and I must confess the idea of a child has grown on me..."

You will not cry. Not in front of him, not now. Don't you dare, (name).

"I can't." you murmur miserably; you feel as if you were confessing a terrible crime, something to be ashamed of, which couldn't be farther from the truth, and this makes you angry "I... after I came back, my mother insisted the doctors carried out a complete medical examination, to make sure we knew exactly what was wrong with me health-wise; we thought it was important to leave nothing untreated. My period had stopped after a few months, no doubt because I was given very little to eat, so my women's doctor visited me, and discovered... she found out that I..."

That I can't have children, and never will. Your voice breaks before you can utter those words, but Mihawk seems to perceive them all the same, and the flash of shock and pain in his lovely yellow eyes, brief but too sudden and fierce to hide it behind his usual sangfroid, makes you feel the worst, cruelest woman of the four seas. "Mihawk, I am so sorry... I swear I didn't know..."

"I believe you. I... I am the one who is sorry, (name). I know how important it was to you."

It was, and it still is; otherwise part of you wouldn't wish you had died in the cell you had been put in. "I know, but... you just told me you had started liking the idea of being a father. Well, I'm sure there are thousand of women who..."

"No. There aren't." he curtly stops you, as if to make it clear that he considers the matter closed. The intention behind those words, that he cannot imagine, that he doesn't want, a woman who is not you as the mother of his child, should make you feel happy, and flattered, and it does, even though that is just the light of a single candle in the unending darkness of your pain.

A still bitter but peaceful silence falls on you, your hand still enclosed in Mihawk's; even now, despite the excruciating pain making you feel as if a beast were eating you from the inside, you feel comfort, and peace, in having him close.

"What will you do now?" he asks after a while, and you shrug.

"My closest relative until two years ago was a distant cousin I didn't particularly like; he died, but he has left a son, and my mother and I agreed the best thing to do would be to name him my heir. He is only six, so it is too early to know whether he is a good fit for the role, but I will ask his mother to let the boy come live with us, and we can prepare him to rule after my death. He is technically of my blood so the succession should not be contested... but honestly I don't care much at the moment. The good of this island and its people has been my first and foremost interest since I was a girl, but now... now I would wish for everything to disappear. That I could disappear."

He has never seen that part of you, dejected and fragile and hopeless like a baby in the snow, and normally you would be embarrassed to have someone you respect and whose opinion you value witness those moments, but you know Mihawk has a heart, even though few people can say they have seen it, and you trust he will not judge you.

He doesn't.

"The people who hurt you." he mentions after a while "Are they alive?"

"The man who kidnapped me is dead, as well as a few of his henchmen I had to kill when they tried to stop me from escaping. Why?" you ask, confused, but a moment later you look at him, and a tiny smile blossoms on your lips "You want to go avenge me?"

"It is what you deserve."

"You don't even know why they did it. For all you know they could have had a good reason to try and hurt me."

"I'm sure they didn't."

"It was partially my fault actually. Every mercenary knows they should guard against friends and families of their victims, and I am usually careful, but that day I had lowered my guard." you admit, still ashamed of that rookie mistake "I was returning to the Marine HQ with the head of my latest quarry, and I fell in the trap this man had set for me; I had killed his brother years ago and he wanted revenge. I thought he would have killed me, but instead he wanted to prolong my suffering. He kept me in a cell so low I couldn't even stand, he starved me, beat me, left me outside and it was so cold I thought pneumonia would kill me... he took my derringer, my favourite gun, from me and smashed it under a rock, and I swear, that was the..."

And then he kisses you. To stop you from blabbering, perhaps, or because hearing what you have gone through has made him lose control with both rage and relief; you'll never know, and in the end you don't care. He has bent over you, covering the short distance between your chairs, his hand delicately cupping your face and his lips... his cool, soft lips, both gentle and hungry, are pressed against yours, and that is enough to light the fuse, to make your heart skip several beats and moan with pleasure, the memories of your night together instantly filling your mind.

You part your lips, suddenly so hungry for him you don't even care someone could enter and see you, but before you can deepen the kiss Mihawk breaks it, gently but firmly moving away and forcing you to let the hand you had placed on the back of his head fall.

"I am sorry." he says, with the least apologetic tone the world has ever heard "I shouldn't have."

"Yes, you should have. Do you really think you need to apologise?"

"You are very weak, and hurt. The last thing you need is to exert yourself."

"Is that your medical opinion?" you promptly retort; you still feel dead inside, like you have since you learnt you are destined to remain childless, but you want him so much you can barely breathe, and that makes you bold "I will not die if you kiss me, Mihawk; nor if we sleep together once more, which I would really like."

"(Name)..." he says with a sigh, and for a moment you almost hate him; he looks, and sounds, like a patient adult dealing with an unruly child, which is frustrating and more than a little offensive.

"You told me a moment ago you would be willing to try again. I know I do not look my best right now..."

"Do you really think I care about that?" Mihawk retorts; he hasn't raised his voice, but anger is seeping in his tone, which you approve. Anything, even rage, is better than concern; anything is better than him treating you as if you were broken, even though you are "I never have. Not with you. I have never stopped wanting you since we last parted, and I still do, fully and desperately."

If there is a thing you can always count on with Mihawk, it is him being sincere. "Then won't you stay with me?" you ask, holding out your hand towards him; you have always found it degrading for a woman, for any person actually, to beg for that sort of companionship, but this is what you are doing, you are begging him to take you in his arms and make you forget, at least for a little while, and you feel no shame or embarrassment, because you know that he, a proud and severe man, will not judge you "I need you, Mihawk. Please, don't leave me."

Your crutch, that the doctor (reluctantly) gave you permission to use to move around instead than using a wheelchair, is leaning against the wall next to your deck-chair, but before you can reach for it Mihawk's arms slip behind your back and under your bent knees, and a moment later he's crossing the terrace door and then the parlour, you firmly but gently held in his arms.

"Mihawk, put me down! I can walk..."

"You clearly can't." he reasonably points out, a trace of amusement in his voice "And don't worry, you're light."

You don't remember ever being held like this since you were a very young child, and you immediately decide you like it, both because you can feel his heart beating, much faster than normal, against yours, and because the proximity allows you to kiss him, which you avidly do, your arms circling his neck. You feel nothing but desire and joy and relief as you cling to Mihawk, pouring your very soul in each kiss, not stopping even as you push your bedroom's door open to let him carry you inside.

You need him. Because you are hurt and weak and scared and he is the only one you feel able to receive comfort from, but there is more to it; he is part of you, in a way you would be unable to explain but that you cannot ignore. In the solitude of your heart, you know it to be true, and it scares you, but you are not sorry for it.

Mihawk delicately lays you down on your bed, next to the little table cluttered with medicines and bandages, mindful of your broken leg. He takes his plumed hat off, his eyes trained on you as he leaves it on a nearby chair, and then places Yoru against the nearby wall. "I thought I would never see you again." he murmurs; he doesn't elaborate, keeping silent on the thoughts and emotions that belief elicited in him. Perhaps he wouldn't be able to, but that is all right, because you can perceive what he feels and thinks all the same; looking in his eyes is enough. "I... I missed you very much."

He doesn't know how much of a treasure those words are to you; which means, you immediately decide, you'll have to show him.

"And I you."

You quickly untie the knots of your dress, but then you stop, enraptured as you observe Mihawk undressing. He is not exactly putting on a show for you, but judging from the smirk adorning his face, he is more than aware of the effect he has on you. His long coat is the first to go, then his dagger necklace, his boots, his pants and what he wears underneath. Soon he is naked as the day he was born, and he joins you on the bed, slowly advancing like a predator moving towards his next meal. "Are you ready for me, woman?" he whispers, and you smile, confident you can play his game and even beat him at it.

"Maybe you're the one who is not ready for me."

Still, your self-confidence lasts only a few seconds, until you have awkwardly slipped the lower half of your dress from under your ass and taken it off, leaving him free to observe your abused, weakened body. You wait, anxious like a young soldier being inspected by a superior officer, afraid of what you could see in his eyes.

"Don't pity me." you warn him softly as you welcome him in your embrace "I have been lucky."

Mihawk sighs, as if understanding your motives but reticent to accept them; he gently lowers you on the bed, propping himself with his elbow next to your face. "I wish I could make them all pay." he whispers, his free hand gently caressing the bruises, wounds and scars scattered on your skin, the tenderness of his touch enough to bring tears to your eyes. "More than anything else... I wish I was there to help you. To protect you. I know you can take care of yourself..."

"I clearly can't."

"You know what I mean. You saved yourself in the end, did you not? (name), I wish I could make it all go away."

He can't, not really, and you both know it; still, you can smile, as you take his face in your hands, and feel his desire pressed against your tight. "Kiss me." you answer "And hold me tight. That will be enough."

He doesn't answer, but Mihawk has always been the sort of man who lets his action speaks for him, and thank the Gods, actions is exactly what you need now. You sigh, finally relieved, as he kisses you again, your mouths chasing each other as your hands explore the heavy, warm body above yours, your single night together, by now a year ago, enough to make you remember what he liked and what gave him pleasure. Mihawk pants as he feels your fingers caress his smooth chest, lingering for a moment to tease his nipples, and then descend towards the firm roundness of his ass; you grasp at it, greedily kneeding his flesh, and his hips quake. "(name)..." he murmurs, his tone reverent and almost worshipful; you are in awe, moved and grateful you see in his eyes the same emotions that fill your heart "(name), how... how I have missed you..."

"Tell me what you want, Mihawk." you invite him; it is his comfort you crave, the passion and pleasure of your lovemaking to forget at least for a while you will never have a family of your own, but that doesn't mean you don't want him to find joy in it "I want to make you feel good."

Again, he needs no words to express his intentions. He grins before moving to lie on one side next to you, your legs interwined; you are still kissing passionately as his hand moves yours to his hard cock, that you happily caress and tease while Mihawk is greedily sucking on your neck.

"You'll leave a bruise." you laugh; you can't wait to feel him inside you, and at the same time this is enough, the intimacy of feeling him close, not to protect you or to assure you you are still valuable and whole after what was done to you, but simply to know he cares "And everyone will know what I, we, have been up to."

"Good." is Mihawk's curt reply, and a moment later he is nuzzling your cleavage, his tongue lapping at the soft flesh of your breasts. He makes sure you are looking at him before capturing your nipple in his mouth, sucking and even gently biting until you have to press an hand to your mouth, that a moment later Mihawk decisively takes off. "Don't." he orders.

"But..."

"Don't hold back. Scream if you want. Make the whole fortress hear, let your people know what their pretty lady is doing. Let all the men on this island know they have no chance."

Of all the things you could have imagined, Mihawk being possessive, even jealous, of you, would have been the last of the list. But you like it, you immediately decide, you like it a lot, so much that you lift his gaze towards yours with an hand under his chin, while the other grasps at his cock with enough force to make him quiver, and you see pure, raw pleasure explore in his gaze.

"I don't want other men." you confess; it is way too early in your relationship (assuming that he actually wants one; you know you do, and the disappointment would break your heart) for promises and commitment, but you know you'll never regret uttering those words "I only want you. All of you. Take me, Mihawk; I'm yours, whatever you want you can do it to me."

The sound Mihawk makes after hearing your words is not a moan nor a grunt, rather a growl, and when your eyes meet once more you know that he couldn't stop even if he wanted. He doesn't need to, fortunately, and you smile as you lift your hips, careful not to put your weight on your broken leg, and let him take off your panties. The moment you are finally naked in front of him, ready and so eager, you see him lick his lips as he lifts your good leg to wrap it around his hips. He kisses you once more, intense and devout and hungry, and a moment later you feel him push against you, and your body opens like the petals of a flower to welcome him inside.

The moment you are finally one, so close and intimately linked, the relief filling your body is so intense you could weep for it; you can feel his heart beat against your chest, and it is lovely, it is so amazing, because it beats jointly with yours. Mihawk's forehead rests against yours, his hand still caressing your hair.

He is smiling. "Now you're mine." he whispers, in what is both a claim and a promise; and then he starts moving.

*****

It is a good thing that he arrived in the morning, you reflect as you lazily caress Mihawk's chest, since you are free to enjoy the intimacy and closeness between you until it lasts, without having to waste time sleeping. You are lying on your back, pleasantly surrounded by the warmth of his embrace, and it is as if the world outside your bedroom had disappeared; another gun, that you chose to replace your lost derringer even though it doesn't carry the same personal value, is hidden under your pillow. You seem to remember you had some important task to carry out today, the opening of a new school or a meeting with some council member or other, but you are not sure, and for the first time in your life you don't care.

"Does your mother know about me? About us?" Mihawk asks after a while; he is lying on your right side, so as not to bump into your broken leg, and he has yet to let you go, his strong arms firmly encircling your shoulders and waist. Despite the intensity of his desire, he has been gentle with you, as you needed in your state but more than you wanted him to; still, you feel pleasantly sore, your body tired but content and satisfied as Mihawk's fervor still warms your skin.

A soft laugh escapes your lips. "Why? Would it embarass you?" you ask back after kissing his chest.

"Not at all. She didn't seem upset when she saw me, but perhaps she disapproves her daughter associating with a pirate."

You assure him that fortunately your mother has never demanded to choose who you made friends (or more) with, especially since you have become an adult. "Also, she wouldn't have the right to judge." you add pensively as you slowly turn on one side to return his embrace "Since she also fell in love with a pirate."

That also escapes your lips without you realizing; Mihawk does.

"Your father?"

"Yes. He... well, he was part of Gold Roger's crew. He was the navigator."

Mihawk's raised eyebrows suggest you have done what perhaps no one else in the world has: taken him by surprise - twice. "You are not joking?"

"Of course not. I hadn't been born yet, of course, but from what my mother told me their ship passed by our island during one of their voyages, and the captain decided to stop for a while to rest and restock provisions." you explain; many people would be excited to hear a first-hand account of a meeting with the famed King of the Pirates, but you have always been much more interested in the man who, in true pirate fashion, stole your mother's heart. "She, who at the time was the heir just like me now, was the one who went to welcome them at the harbour; she met my father, and for ten weeks they were inseparable. On the day the crew was meant to depart, she told him she was pregnant; she knew the sea was his home, and that no matter how much they cared for each other, and how amazing a father he would have been, settling down on land with her would have made him miserable. So she let him go, and they started exchanging letters. When I was little, my mother would read his to me to make me fall asleep; I never met him, but I kept his wanted poster framed in my room. Then he returned, suddenly one day."

Mihawk's fingers begin to move along your leg, tantalizing close to your crotch. "Was it after Roger had died?"

"It was. Apparently, Roger left his crew voluntarily, he wasn't captured as the Marines said; he had relinquished command to his first officer, but a few members of the crew decided to leave it. My father was among them. He didn't expect my mother and me to welcome him with open arms after seventeen years spent living as he pleased, he told us, but he had never stopped thinking and caring about us, and hoped we would give him a chance to prove it. My mother, who by then had succeded her father as ruler of the island, let him stay, with my approval, and so we had a chance to finally bond."

You don't tell him of those years. Of how you gradually got used to your father's presence in your life, where until then he had been just a picture on the wall; of how he slowly, patiently built a relationship with you, learning to know your emotions, your thoughts, your dreams and fears, and how equally little by little you came to trust him, to respect and finally to love him. Of all the things you did together, the quiet, pleasant afternoons spent fishing at the docks, your legs dangling next to his and the sun on your backs, his awe and pride as he saw how talented you were with a gun in your hand (your maternal grandfather had been the first to teach you, like his own had done with him) and capable in your recently started activity as a mercenary, and how he liked dancing with you while your mother played the piano. You don't tell him how happy you felt when he and your mother told you they had decided to pursue a relationship once more, and how proud and excited he was when you told him you were expecting.

You don't. You can't, because it hurts so much, still today, enough to feel your heart bleed. What you are able to share, although with a huge effort, is that one day, nine years ago, a merchant ship reached your island, ostensibly to exchange or sell the goods in its hold. The truth was very different.

"The ship's original crew had been massacred by a band of pirates, who had then stolen vessel and cargo to carry out the captain's plan. My father had been sure no one would recognize him from his past as a pirate; after all our island was so tiny and virtually unknown, and Gold Roger had been so famous few had ever paid attention to his men, especially one who had no special abilities and powers like him. He was wrong; one of the island's rare tourists had recognized him from his old bounty poster, and weeks later he mentioned it to his friends in a tavern. The captain of the pirate crew happened to hear."

"Did he know your father?" Mihawk asks, still holding you tight; he seems genuinely interested in your story, which does please you, but part of you regrets even starting it, spoiling the pleasant moment you were living together... and that you don't know how long will last.

"No, he didn't. The captain wasn't interested in my father personally, he just wanted to find one of Roger's men... and force him to reveal the location of the One Piece." you explain "My father told the captain he didn't know; that Roger had hidden his treasure in a place only he knew, and had brought the secret to his grave. The captain didn't listen; by then, his men had surrounded the fortress and announced we would both be killed had my mother, who had by chance been at the other side of the island when our home had been besieged, ordered the guards to force an entry. He told us he would kill both of us if my father didn't him what he wanted to know... and in the end he did. The pirate shot me, but my father attempted to shield me with his body; he took a bullet in the head for me, and he died, and then a few guards who had disobeyed orders broke into the room, and I got hit in the cross-fire. I survived, but I miscarried; and even though I had no idea, because I kept having my period as usual after that, it was then that... something must have broken inside me, preventing me from getting pregnant ever again. That day I thought I had lost almost all of my family, but I had no idea of how right I had been."

Your tale has ended; you spoke for a few minutes at most, but you feel exhausted, even more than after you had escaped from your captivity and dragged yourself back home. As you expected, discussing the loss of your father and your baby, and the fact that you are destined to never be a mother, has been an agony you would not wish on your worst enemy; last night you have cried yourself to sleep, and you thought the overwhelming, excruciating pain you felt was too much for a person to bear, and you would die from it. Now that you're able to rationally reflect on it, you know you're not going to be so fortunate: you're gonna live, potentially for decades to come, and this pain will never leave you completely.

A sigh escapes your lips. "I am sorry; this is not the sort of topic one should discuss when with... someone special." you quietly admit, and Mihawk grunts in disagreement.

"I think you and me are beyond this sort of things." he points out before kissing you once more, and despite everything, despite how dead inside you feel, the sensation of his tongue against yours is enough to make you tremble. "You didn't deserve it, (name)." Mihawk quietly adds; he can't make it all go away, no matter how dearly you both want it, but those few, apparently impersonal words matter more to you than any I am so sorry or display of sympathy "Nobody does, but you least of all."

"I agree."

You enjoy the quiet and intimacy between you for a few more minutes, sharing lazy kisses and touches that you know you have already developed an addiction for, and that you will never stop craving.

But you have to. At least for a while, because the strength you need to go on you have to find it inside you, and you can't do it if you're tempted to hold onto him.

"How long can you stay?" you murmur a moment after your hand has slipped downward to caress Mihawk's cock, tearing a satisfied moan from his mouth.

Mihawk shrugs. "I have -ah...!- no pressing duties to attend to. I can stay as long as I want." he explains; a moment, and then: "As you want."

"Oh, you're leaving me the choice?"

"This is your home, and your island. I don't want to be the sort of guest who overstays his welcome."

"You never could and you know it." you point out, and you shiver, feeling his fingers gently explore the expanse of your chest and belly; then, thinking that even the worst criminals are granted a twenty-four hours reprieve to put their affairs in order before the sentence is carried out, you propose: "What if I asked you to stay until tomorrow at this hour?"

"That would be fine. Why?"

"Because I feel that if you stay longer, I won't be able to let you leave."

Mihawk reflects on your words; he doesn't seem surprised, nor particularly happy, about your proposal. "Then." he begins as he turns to cover your body with his once more; there is sadness in his yellow eyes, but even more, there is trust and warmth, and perhaps even love, even though that could be wishful thinking on your part "I say we relish the time we can spend together while it lasts. What do you say?"

You obviously agree; you take him in your arms and hold him tight, leaving everything else behind - for a little while at least.

This fic is dedicated to @alphaash99 and @skynikan. Thank you for your support, hope you like this!!

#One Piece #One Piece Live Action #OPLA #Steven John Ward #Dracule Mihawk #Dracule Mihawk x reader #Mihawk x reader #Bellona's stuff #100 notes

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bumblebeehug · 1 year

Text

Gave him her heart

Ship: Natsu Dragneel x Lucy Heartfilia Summary: Lucy worries about what to get Natsu for his birthday, not knowing how ridiculously easy it actually is. Day 5 of Nalu Week 2023 - prompt: gifts Ao3

***

Natsu was a good man. He was wild, fun, crazy, but most of all: good. Lucy was very aware of this and knew that such a good man truly deserved the best. So, naturally she felt slightly panicked when she realised his birthday was coming up.

Lucy liked to believe that she was good at giving gifts. She was observant, both on the battlefield and off, so she knew what people looked a little extra at when they browsed shops or went by markets. Wendy turned to sweets, cute dresses or jewellery, something Lucy was relieved over when she noticed it – Lucy was nothing if not good at picking clothes and accessories, and Wendy was transparent with her tastes (sweet = good, savoury = fine, if there was a good reason to why it was gifted, otherwise a little weird, and sour = danger zone. It could be risky, but citrusy tastes were appreciated in sweet desserts). Erza was also easy to please with gifts – either go the sword and armour route, or go the girly route, possibly with some suggestive books. Gray appreciated nice soaps and clean décor for his house, and if she wanted to be funny with him she could always gift him underwear, seeing as it was the only clothing that stayed on for a while (though since him and Juvia got together it wasn’t really an option – Juvia didn’t care too much about what Lucy gave him, underwear or not, but Lucy herself felt weird about it, so nowadays she kept to soaps). Carla liked tea and pretty dresses as well, but appreciated flowers and other handmade things, and Happy was never happier than on his birthday, when he practically could get buried in the number of fishes he’d be given.

Natsu, however? Lucy wasn’t too sure what she could give him. He liked loads of things – food, fights, adventures, funny hats, board games: few things were off the table with that guy. If she gave him a bouquet of flowers he’d probably smile and say thanks (and maybe he’d try to eat them once he got home), if she gave him tea, he’d probably set the leaves on fire and accidentally get high or something – she didn’t want to risk it either way. He’d be thankful for any clothes she would give him, but would most likely only wear them when he really had to, or to sleep if they were comfortable enough. He really liked his special made ones, that managed to stay intact no matter how hot his fire was. He would definitely try to eat the soaps, and that wasn’t worth it in her opinion, and if she gave him a fish he’d very likely think she was either giving Happy a gift through him, or that she was confessing her undying love for him, since that’s what it meant when Happy gave fishes as gifts to the opposite gender (of the same species, might be important to add).

Point is: giving Natsu gifts was hard when you knew him too well. She had even considered giving him jewellery that matched with the ones she had gotten from him recently, but it once again came down to him only wearing them as a chore, and her pride couldn’t really take that. She would have to put a pin in this challenge though, because she was expected at the guild to help cover a shift for Mira as she dealt with one of her requested missions.

As she entered the guild hall, she was relieved to see that it was rather empty. It had its perks, working at a bar in the middle of the day, and since she saw some of her closer mates, she knew she could take her chance to dig around and find out what others would be gifting him.

“Hi Master,” she greeted Makarov, still using the title he had tried to give over so many times already. Though technically he was still in charge, so Lucy thought it only appropriate to keep calling him master until he truly was off the position. “I’m covering for Mira this afternoon.”

“I heard,” he grumbled from his position in the wheelchair. “You’ve been behind the bar before, so you know the drill. In fact, could you bring me a plate of fried squid and a beer? Just put it on my tab.”

Lucy took his order and sent a note into the kitchen per his request. Normally Mira would help out in the kitchen as well, but since Lucy had limited experience with cooking the meals they were serving, she was excused to just manage the drinks and easier snacks, like nuts and chips. As she waited for the staff in the kitchen to finish the order, she poured a glass of beer for Makarov. Half with light alcohol, half with none. He was currently cutting down on his alcohol intake, Porlyusica’s demand, but to not make him fall back immediately from quitting cold turkey, they slowly made him drink lighter and lighter.

“So, Natsu’s birthday is coming up,” Lucy said, trying to cover it up as small talk, but realising it was obvious what she was trying to do.

“I’ve heard.” A smug grin graced Makarov’s face. The relations between the mages in his guild were always amusing, especially in the stage that Lucy’s and Natsu’s had been in the last couple of years.

“I’m a bit curious…” She gave him his order. “What do you think he wants? You’ve known him for longest.”

“Child, I’m too old to remember all my guild members’ gift preferences, and I’m definitely not rich enough to give away gifts like it’s nothing. For a long time now, I’ve allowed myself to forget who likes what.” Lucy smiled, ready to brush the topic off and take another order across the hall, but he continued. “I do, however, know that you could give him a stick or a pebble you found on the sidewalk, and that boy would treasure it like it’s his most sacred, most valuable item in his possession. Do what feels right, Lucy.”

She thanked him, but within she felt like she was back at square one. She knew he would be happy about getting any gift, but she didn’t want to give him just any gift. She wanted it to reflect how much she appreciated him and their friendship, and she wanted it to stick out. Maybe it could even suggest that she appreciated him more than a normal friend, but only if he started overthinking the gift (which she doubted he would do anyways). It was meant to be subtle, but not subtle enough for it to never be discovered by him. And if it needed to be discovered by him, whatever this little message it was she was trying to convey to him, then it would have to be flashing in neon lights above his bed when he woke up in the morning.

So, she spent a few hours continuing to ponder on what to do, as she was taking more and more orders as people kept dropping in. At around 6:30pm her true saviours arrived at the guild hall. Her team, plus a few other closer friends and minus Natsu and Happy, who were camping today and tomorrow, were back from one of their shorter missions, and they were probably starving for some dinner. Lucy was quick to come over and take their order, also grabbing her chance to question them about their thoughts on this conundrum.

“Hi guys, did the mission go well?” She greeted them, preparing her notepad.

“It went great!” Wendy beamed, and Lucy made a quick mental note to ask about the mission more in detail at a later date. She must have done a good job if she allowed herself to be this proud – Lucy always thought she was too harsh on herself when they fought on missions.

“Gray even kept his clothes on,” Erza added, praising the man on her right.

They took a quick moment to chat, and as they finally decided on what to eat, Lucy seized her moment.

“So,” she started, already knowing she would never live down asking a question like this, considering that many of the people at the table were quite transparent on their opinions on Lucy’s and Natsu’s relationship, “Natsu’s birthday, huh?”

The silence her sentence brought made her regret it immediately. She could already see how their brains were working on new ways to tease her for whatever she was going to say next, but she would have to swallow her pride once again. It’s for a good cause, she kept telling herself.

“Have you gotten your presents yet?” She chuckled awkwardly, hoping their answers would be enough to inspire her, so she could get their food and forget she ever brought it up in the first place.

“Mhm.”

“Yep.”

“I have too.”

“And I’m with Wendy on her gift,” Carla added, still making it painfully obvious that nobody was elaborating their answers. They were making Lucy work for it; she just knew it. They loved grabbing their chances to make her say embarrassing things, and today was no exception.

“Really…” She forced out a laugh. “So, what have you gotten him?” She tried again to prompt anyone at the table to speak up, but they knew she would have to continue pressing, and that it would sound more and more desperate the less information they gave her, so after they all stayed silent for another minute, Lucy gave in.

“I’ve just completely blanked out; I can’t even remember a single thing he likes! Please, help me! Give me some inspiration!”

Erza exchanged a glance with Wendy before she answered.

“Well, he likes fire.”

“And fighting.”

“And ugly tourist shirts,” Gray chimed in. Lucy groaned.

“I can’t exactly give him a clip card for sparring matches, and I’ve already considered a bonfire, but I wanted to have a get together later with all of us where we make a bonfire and drink hot chocolate and stuff.” She spared Gray a short glance as well. “And he only wears his special made clothes, so I can’t give him a shirt to frame for 200 jewel.”

“Then we can’t help you,” Erza said, flipping her bangs as she always does when she lies. Lucy pouted.

“I’ll get you your food, please help me afterwards?”

“Deal.”

After 30 minutes she finally had four hot plates balancing on her arms, ready to serve to her stubborn teammates. They were chatting along just fine now, so hopefully the would have forgotten their silent agreement to keep themselves clammed about their gifts. Lucy hurried to place out their food, hoping that they would notice her way of bribing them by giving them extra big portions.

“Now please...! What should I give him?” Lucy sat down at the table. She wasn’t going anywhere until she got an answer she was pleased with.

Wendy gave her an apologetic smile.

“Well… We can tell you what we think, but don’t you think he’d like it better if it truly came from you?” Erza nodded along.

“I’m going to give him a sword that’s enchanted with endless fire,” she revealed. “But you know, it’s not really a gift that screams ‘Lucy’.”

“Erza’s right. I’m giving him some scrap wood I found in the woods because I can’t really bother, but no gift we tell you to get will be as appreciated as the one you come up with,” Gray said, taking a sip from his beer.

“And we’re getting him a small cupon at a restaurant,” Wendy added.

Lucy sighed.

“I know it won’t be the same, but my creative well has completely dried up. Nothing I think of feels like enough. If I get him something I’d appreciate it would be like I don’t know him at all, and that doesn’t feel fair.” She started to feel hopeless. She didn’t like how drained she got from worrying about this – she loved Natsu! And she would love to properly show him how much she loved him, because he truly deserved that. Platonic or not.

“Hey, you look like you’re giving up, that’s not like you! Think of it like this, we’ve all combined our own interests with Natsu’s interest: Erza with the sword, Wendy and Carla with the food, and me with the scrap wood that shows that I have zero interest in him. Why don’t you write something to him? It may not look like it, but I think he know how to read. At least simple words.” Gray gave Lucy a half-hug from his seat in an attempt to comfort her.

“So… you think I should write him a letter? Would that be enough?” She felt sceptical, but it could work.

“You spitting on him would be enough,” Carla snorted, almost offended by her obliviousness.

“Carla!” Wendy burst out, not before Lucy raised an eyebrow in confusion. Her gut told her not to ask, and for once, she decided to actually follow that gut feeling.

“Do you really think a letter would be enough though?” She asked.

“How about you give him an experience? A friendly date of sorts,” Carla suggested.

“An experience?”

“Like going to the movies, or to a restaurant, or maybe picknick or stargazing?” It was Erza who spoke up this time, and Lucy thought she could see a sparkle in her eye. If she didn’t know better, she would almost think that Erza had been on dates like that herself.

“Hm… I guess you’re right. If he doesn’t like it, I’ll just have to ask him directly, I suppose.”

Lucy stood up from her seat at the table and bid farewell to her friends, along with her thanks. A letter would have to do, and she had a gut feeling that told her that she would figure out a good topic to write about. She hurried to end her shift so she could get to her gift-making. A good idea rarely stayed for long in one’s head.

When she finally sat at her desk, pen in her right hand and paper in front of her, she knew this was the right thing to do. What better way was there to tell Natsu how much she appreciated him, if not through words on paper? It was her speciality, after all. She had even lighted some candles to keep her company, since she knew she would sit there for a while. There was a lot of things she wanted to tell him and thank him for, and the letter would be the perfect way to convey these feelings. Right. Feelings. That could include her less platonic ones, and even if this was a great opportunity for that as well, she didn’t know if she was quite ready to go that far yet. In the meantime, she would just have to tell him she loved him in every way except the straightforward one.

Four hours and 16 pages later, she had her letter. It was ridiculously long, she knew that, and he probably wouldn’t be able to read it in one go, but her heart felt light. A letter was the perfect gift. She had even included multiple invites to ‘experiences’ she wanted to give him, and if he took as long to read it as she thought he would, then those experiences would be experienced with about one week in between them. Lucy gave the thick envelope a quick lick to seal it, and after that she couldn’t help but to give it a soft kiss. She had poured her heart out, and though it would be embarrassing for her to know that he would read such things, it also felt very right. It wasn’t a love letter, but in a way, it felt like it was. She had told him all the things she loved about him, all the moments she especially appreciated him being there, and how great her entire life was thanks to him. If read with the intent of reading a love letter, it could very well translate into one, and maybe, someday in the future, he could look back at it and see the hints she left him.

Lucy leaned back in her chair with a big yawn. It was well into midnight hours by now, and she really needed a refreshing shower. A thought went to how Natsu and Happy were having it right now, in a tent somewhere in the woods. Though she was happy to get to sleep in her soft bed, she was missing them. Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough. To speed time up she hurried to the bathroom so she could get into bed as soon as possible – her apartment wasn’t the same without those two.

Lucy cursed herself. Why, why, why had she written that letter? It was the most obvious love-confession anyone could ever read, how on earth had she not realised that when she read it through yesterday? She was dragging her feet behind her, because if the embarrassment wouldn’t kill her when he read it later, she would have to kill herself, and no one non-suicidal would ever look forward to something like that. So, her feet dragged. The letter felt heavy in her hands, and she knew that as soon as it would be opened, she would feel naked. Her gut was begging her to turn back, but her heart told her that celebrating Natsu today was more important than her pride. Him and Happy were coming back from their camping trip, and they promised her they would stop by the guild to say hi before heading home, and that’s when they would be surprised with a small celebration. Nothing like other events, where people went completely wild, but a celebration big enough to show him some appreciation.

Checking the clock one last time, she made sure that she was there before they arrived. They woke up pretty late generally and their favourite camping spot was about an hour into the woods. 10am. Maybe they hadn’t even woken up yet, but Lucy didn’t want to risk it. She wanted to prepare and decorate the guild, and then she would grab something to eat, considering she hadn’t eaten any breakfast yet.

As she entered the guild, she was relieved to only see her team and a handful more people. They were chatting and blowing up balloons, and they had turned one of the tables into a gift-table. Lucy hurried to put her letter amongst the others, eager to get the gift out of her hands.

“Good morning, Lucy!” Levy greeted her with a hug. “You’re pretty late, did you stay up last night?” Lucy chuckled lightly.

“Yeah, I had something important to finish.” She felt her team’s eyes in her back – they knew she had stayed up writing, and though Lucy knew she hadn’t written a love confession of any sort (other than platonic) she still managed to feel a blush creep onto her cheeks.

“So, do you need help with the balloons?” She offered, greeting the rest of the group.

“It’s fine, you go ahead and grab some breakfast instead,” Mira smiled.

“How did you know I haven’t eaten?” Lucy sat down at a table.

“You have a tendency to forget to eat when you have other things on your plate,” Mira just answered, placing down a yoghurt bowl with homemade granola and fruits. Lucy could only smile sheepishly, slightly embarrassed how obviously nervous she was about this event. She was sure Erza had told her about her moment of weakness yesterday, so she reminded herself to try to keep herself under the radar. She’d just be here, sing a happy birthday song, eat a piece of cake and watch Natsu open his presents, then the day would be over and the whole Lucy-confesses-her-feelings-though-a-letter thing would be over! No unnecessary teasing from her friends, if all went well.

“I’m back!”

The guild door shot open with a noise loud enough to give the untrained ear a heart attack. Lucy however had a trained ear, so she just turned her head and met Natsu’s happy gaze, her heart fluttering at the fact that his eyes immediately searched for her and no one else.

“Happy birthday!” The guild cheered. Lucy stood up from her place at the table, not really knowing why until Natsu stood in front of her, just an arm’s length away. If she reached, she would be able to bring him into a hug, and it truly itched in her arms to do exactly that.

“Hey,” Lucy smiled softly. “Happy birthday.” Watching Natsu’s smile go from surprised and generally happy, to soft and caring made Lucy lose what little control she had, and she caved into her needs to hug him. As soon as she felt him hug her back, she knew that whatever the others thought about the content of her letter contained, as long as Natsu read it and took it to heart, all would be fine.

“Thank you,” he whispered, tightening the hug for a second before he went ahead and thanked the rest of his friends, never straying far from Lucy.

The birthday party was overall a quite big success, everyone had a great time, and Natsu, who not so secretly had been itching to open the presents, finally gave in and announced what he was planning to do.

“Time to open the presents!” He cheered, almost jumping in place in excitement, clearly not representing the age he was turning (400-something years old) but making everyone smile regardless. Everyone except Lucy, whose heart flew up in her throat, suddenly getting the strongest urge to grab her letter before he got to it so she could throw it away or burn it. Not because she didn’t want him to read it – she would just prefer it if he read it somewhere more private, where the burning eyes of her much beloved friends could read it and jump to conclusions. So, she hurried close to whisper her plan to Natsu – despite him being the cause of these nerve-racking feelings, he was still her partner in crime, and she knew he would break his neck to achieve whatever she asked him to do. This time, what she asked him not to do.

“Psst!”

Natsu shot a glance to Lucy, who was whispering just quietly enough that no one else would notice, unless they had dragon ears and paid attention to her. Lucy, who saw that he had heard her, hurried to shoot her shot.

“My gift is the letter, I would kinda like it if you read it after the party instead? It’s just – it’s quite long and it won’t be any fun if you sat down and read it here, you know?”

The ball was in the air, and now she could at least sleep well knowing that no matter the outcome, she did try her best to steer the situation into best case scenario – all to her means of course.

Natsu, the king of pranks and someone who was surprisingly good at sneaking around, despite his usual love for the “let’s just barge in and fight anyone who tries to stop us” approach, still managed to keep up his gleeful demeanour as he had listened to Lucy’s request. He once again met her gaze and gave her a quick nod, ensuring that she had scored. The rest of the evening would manage to stay calm and uneventful. All thanks to their ways to keep down low. It was really convenient to have dragon hearing at times like these – though usually she had that thought on missions, and not happy, meant to be uneventful celebrations and parties.

The birthday boy himself didn’t mind opening Lucy’s gift later. In fact, he was just happy he was getting something at all from her, considering how stressful most birthdays could be for her. Sure, she already knew what genre people liked, but getting down to picking the actual thing and managing prices was a hard task for Lucy to tackle without stress. So instead, he went ahead and opened the elongated, wrapped gift that said “Happy birthday, from Erza” on the card. He would make sure to ease Lucy’s mind today, considering how stressed she clearly had been the last couple of weeks.

Natsu couldn’t stop grinning. He truly had the best friends ever, and despite him not being a big birthday celebrator when it came to himself, it felt good to be appreciated. There had been good songs playing, yummy food to eat, and most importantly: good company. He especially loved the presents he had gotten, since they clearly were gifts that his friends had carefully thought through and taken into consideration before giving them – yes, even Gray’s gift was appreciated, because though it seemed silly, he did sometimes need firewood after hard missions to speed up his recovery. Everything was dear to him, so when he finally got home with that thick letter in his hands, he couldn’t wait a second more to open it. This, you see, might be the dearest gift of all.

The softly written “To: Natsu Dragneel” on the front of the envelope made Natsu’s heart beat harder. He knew that the content in it probably wasn’t anything out of the ordinary stuff the two of them said to each other, but still. He liked that Lucy had put extra thought into whatever she had written. Or, at least he hoped she had, seeing as he didn’t actually know what the letter said yet.

Happy peaked over Natsu’s shoulder, closing the door behind the two.

“So, what are you waiting for? Open it!” Happy urged, eager to see what Lucy wanted to say to him, but clearly couldn’t since she had to write it down. In his opinion a speech would be quicker, knowing how slowly Natsu read.

Carefully Natsu parted the sealed wax from the paper, making sure not to tear anything. If he could make some space, he’d want to hang everything on his memory wall later, and in that case he didn’t want to ruin it.

Still standing just inside the door, Natsu began to read. The letter started out rather normal. She was writing the obligatory happy birthdays and saying hi to Happy, who she knew would read over Natsu’s shoulder despite it being a private message. That part piqued Natsu’s interest a little extra. What did she have to say to him that not only had to be written, but wasn’t meant for Happy to know? It sparked some hope in his heart that she possibly could feel something special about him – special-er than what they already had. He continued down the page. She started reminiscing about the past, and about halfway through the second page, Happy gave up on Natsu’s slow reading and told him he’d simply read it after Natsu was done with it. Natsu took a seat as he joined Lucy’s trip down memory lane, enjoying the new information on how she saw him when they first met, during their first missions and more. He especially liked learning that despite his foul mood the first days together, she still had fond memories of him, like when he included her in his list of friends when they fought Macao (before they knew it was him, since he had turned into a Vulcan) and how the reason she didn’t refuse to get along with him after he had seemingly deceived her for a mission, was because he had managed to get a few lucky words in. Something like “because we thought you seemed nice” had made her stick, and Natsu could only thank his past self for accidentally pressing the right buttons.

As he continued reading, he was struck by the wonderful realisation that he truly mattered to Lucy. It’s not like he didn’t know that she enjoyed his company, but seeing in in black and white was completely different. It wasn’t just that she had written something along the lines of “I care about you, your existence matters to me” (though that would have worked as well), but the fact that she could remember so many small details of what he had said and done, that she may as well have written a complete book with all those moments, and it would probably be at least 200 pages long. He knew she had been cutting down on what memories she brought up in the letter, because enough talks with one person made them show how much brain capacity they had, and Natsu knew that her brain capacity was way longer than a 16-page letter. This was her way of being concise. Yet she still managed to bring up moments he only vaguely remembered, sharing almost exact quotes of what was said and by who. Mostly the who was either Natsu or Lucy, but it was still impressive.

Natsu had never been interested in reading. It was a chore he had to go through to get the money he needed for food, had never been any more interesting than that. Except for two occasions: Lucy’s first published book, and this letter. Sure, he had been reading it for almost double as long as it probably took to write it, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t interested. This letter was so far the greatest thing he had ever received, which wasn’t an easy thing to manage.

At 4am had he gotten to the last line of the letter. His eyes were trying to force him to rest, but his mind fought it like never before. He had skipped dinner for this, and he was not planning to give up last minute, just to succumb to something so superficial, boring and unnecessary as sleep. No, he gathered up some extra will power and pulled though. “Though you probably understand this after reading this letter, I am simply eternally grateful for everything you are, and what you’ve just read is the best I could do at describing my gratefulness in words. Thank you for all you’ve done, and for being unapologetically you. No one else could make me as happy as you have, so once again: Happy birthday, Natsu Dragneel.” She had signed it with her signature at the very bottom, ensuring that all he had just read was completely and wholly from Lucy. After reading the whole thing, he felt his legs itch. No, maybe it was his arms. Feet, hands? No, it was most definitely his soul that had started to climb inside his body. He wanted to go to her, and he wanted to see her. Preferably five minutes ago. He threw another glance at the clock. 4:50am. He had been tossing around, unable to even do as much as close his eyes, for the last 40 minutes, and he knew he wouldn’t feel better until he was within a 20-meter radius of Lucy. Or rather, 2-meter radius.

Not bothering to sneak around the heavy sleeper that the exceed was, Natsu jumped out of the bed and pulled on his slippers. In less than 3 seconds he was out the door, and in another 3 he noticed that he was running. He wasn’t quite sure what he would do when he saw her, especially considering that she most likely was asleep in this hour, but he simply had to get to her, quickly. The time was ticking, like he was a bomb soon to explode, like he was going to run out of time if he didn’t arrive soon. Wind blowing in his ears, he could barely make out the sound of his heavy breathing. He hadn’t run this fast in Mavis knows how long, and he might actually had made it outside her apartment in record time. His chest rising and lowering in big breaths, he managed to make something of a sigh in relief to see her window slightly opened. Climbing the wall quietly was no challenge with Natsu’s experience, so he swiftly pulled himself up, making sure to fully open and enter the window as quickly as possible – though this time with less success since he didn’t have as much experience with that part. Usually he just barged in after scaling the wall, seeing as the time he did it at was most often a time where Lucy either was away or awake.

Either way, he didn’t manage to sneak in as stealthily as he’d like. The window creaked and his body almost fell limp after getting a whiff of Lucy’s calming scent – that he had been running like a maniac to get there didn’t help either, and after a loud, nongraceful landing, Lucy was already awake.

“Natsu? ‘s that you?” She mumbled, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“Yeah, sorry for waking you,” he whispered, finding his balance on his legs again as he stood up.

“No worries.” Lucy had now swung her legs over the edge of her bed and sat in a more upright position. “Did you need anything? Is Happy alright?”

“Yeah, he’s at home sleeping. I just felt like coming here,” Natsu said, full transparency.

“Alright,” Lucy said, now taking a better look at his face. He looked red and flustered, but with his heavy breathing it might just be the fact that he ran to her place.

“I read it.”

Lucy’s face started getting hot as well.

“The letter?”

“The entire thing.”

“Wow. Uh, so what do you think of it?” Had the hour been normal she might not have asked him such a bold question, but something about the way the streetlights and moon illuminating the room made her feel brave. Perhaps she still thought she was dreaming, but this felt much too real to be just a dream.

“It’s perfect.” Natsu took a few steps closer. He could now make out most of her facial features, sleepy yet alert of his presence.

“I’m glad.”

A few more seconds went by, though it felt like minutes.

“Is it true?”

“Is what true?”

“All of it. All the things you wrote?”

A soft smile graced Lucy’s lips.

“Of course. I would never lie about those things.”

Natsu knew he could be dense in most situations. He couldn’t always read the room, and he wasn’t good at subtext. This time however, he had felt something the whole time as he read that letter. Maybe it was what other would call “reading between the lines” but he suddenly had great confidence in something that could change their relationship forever. Of course, it was a very long shot, but perhaps the adrenaline from all that running was just what he needed to gather the courage to take it. He did, however, decide to test out the water first. Running headfirst was usually his go-to method if he could choose, but he wasn’t blind to the delicacy of the situation he was putting himself in.

“Can I assume things?” He tried.

“Assume things? From what I wrote?” Lucy asked, curious where he was leading this conversation. She was very aware of her heartbeat, but she didn’t know that she didn’t have to be this time, considering that all that Natsu was hearing was his own.

“Yeah.”

“It depends. What do you want to assume?”

Natsu swallowed. Did he always have this much saliva? If so, maybe something was wrong with him. He swallowed again, clenching and unclenching his fists. Had he ever been this nervous in a situation as calm as this? No bandits, no monsters, no big wild animals – not even an annoyed Erza was around.

“That…” he started, his tongue thickening as he spoke. Not literally, but it sure felt like it. He could barely concentrate on what he wanted to say, gazing into those doe eyes. She was so, ridiculously pretty. He knew that before, of course, but he almost found it unfair. How could he think of any words when she sat there, looking all nice and pretty. “That you like me?”

He had said it as a question, though it sounded more like a statement right now. Lucy’s heart must have skipped a beat or two. She was still sleepy, but the tiny possibility that this wasn’t just a perfect dream made her stop herself from straight up answering yes.

“Well… I hoped my letter was clear on that. You’re my best friend in the whole world, how could I not like you?” She let out a small chuckle at the very idea of disliking a friend. She didn’t, however, predict what he would say next.

Natsu reached out his left hand, touching a piece of her hair that had fallen out from behind her ears.

“But can I assume…” He put it behind her ear, “that you like me more than a friend?”

Natsu’s eyes were darker than usual in the dimmed light, but Lucy saw clearly that he was being serious. Though, this exact facial expression was one she had never seen before. She had seen his tender look, his soft look, his happy look, his loving look, but she had never seen this combination of all. And it was her he was showing it to. In fact, maybe it was exactly this expression that made her admit the truth for once. For so long she had been scared that he would feel bothered or surprised by the very idea of “liking beyond friendship”, or love, as she would prefer to call it. She had been afraid that he would find her fantasies of the two of them living their life together as a couple weird, or even mildly repulsive. That her confession would lead to their friendship breaking apart forever. That, however, could no longer be the case. Lucy wasn’t blind, and she certainly wasn’t dumb. If Natsu looked this… happy? To even assume that she likes him beyond friendship, then the outcome from telling him the truth couldn’t possibly be bad. She tilted her head lightly towards his hand, sharing another smile.

“Yeah. I do like you more than a friend, or a best friend.” Natsu took another step closer, now close enough to make her feel his hot breath on her face that he had tilted upwards, towards him.

“Then…” He bended down slowly to come closer to her sitting position. “Can I kiss you?” His words didn’t come out louder than a breath, but Lucy knew what she heard. Her heart had never danced as wildly as it did when she nodded and closed her eyes as Natsu closed the space between them.

The kiss itself was probably nothing special to someone watching. It was plain and soft, just two mouths pressing against each other. For them, however, it was nothing short of magical fireworks. Lucy’s cool, soft lips against Natsu’s hot, slightly rougher ones sent shivers throughout both of them, as if the small touch had opened a completely new door, a way for them to connect and become closer than ever.

Inexperienced as they both were though, they soon had to break it off to breathe. After less than 20 seconds, Lucy pulled their faces together again. How could they have been missing out on this awesome experience for all the years they had known each other? Natsu knew that this already had topped the list of his favourite activities – even placing higher than eating and fighting. The next time they went up for air, they couldn’t stop themselves from giggling.

“Can this count as a birthday gift if I haven’t slept since yesterday?” Natsu asked, more energetic than reasonable after his long day.

“If that makes you happy,” Lucy smiled, giving him another peck on his lips. Whatever they decided to do from this point on, Lucy knew they would figure it out. After all, if they had managed to overcome the obstacle of going from friends to whatever this was, then they could definitely manage anything and everything else thrown at them. What’s important was that they from this point out, took on every challenge together.

#fairy tail #lucy heartfilia #natsu dragneel #nalu #fairy tail nalu #fairy tail fanfic #nalu fanfic #fairy tail fanfiction #nalu fanfiction #natsu x lucy #bumblebeehug writes #yay i'm posting my fics on tumblr #thanks to mya's advice :)

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nijisanji-brain-rot-fics · 10 months

Text

sorcerer?! i barely know 'er!

SHU YAMINO - DECEMBER 1

IM ACTUALLY SO BAD OH GOSH

OK SO THIS IS BASICALLY UH LITTLE WITCH ACADEMIA

BUT ITS SHU

AND... YOU!

you cant do magic for shit because lets be real, none of us will ever know how to do magic but will all be willing to do it for shu

alsoooo just gonna say, this is storyline is over the span of six months i promise they didnt just kiss kiss fall in love

It was just a regular old day for Shu. As usual, he had his coffee with five shots of espresso because who has time left to sleep nowadays, he aced his first two classes with flying colours, not being shaken from his top spot. But then his day started to change once he got into his incantations class. You were introduced as a new transfer student with a recommendation by their Headmaster, which wasn't common. He eyed you with interest, as did everyone else. After all, it wasn't everyday that a new student came in during the middle of the school year.

Once classes started, everyone had their eyes on you in some way, thinking that you were finally going to threaten Shu Yamino from his top spot in every class! Until... You couldn't do a single spell. Every mark you drew and every spell you tried to accomplish failed miserably, bringing most of the class's hope for you down low. The only spell you could perfectly do was one even little mage children could do! It was humiliating.

"So... Welcome to the school, I guess." Shu went up to you as class ended, a fox-like smile on his face. Your face was red with embarrassment; it was hard to not notice everyone watching you do spells anyway.

"Heh... Thanks. I'm [name]. You?" You looked at him, your hand meekly outstretched to shake his, which he firmly shook.

"I"m Shu, Shu Yamino. Nice to meet you." He said with a smile, giving you a hand shake. "So... Have you ever even been to a mage school? Because... you only seem to know the basics." He pointed out with a nervous chuckle, hoping he didn't offend you in any way. Your face turned bright red, embarrassed about it now because you haven't even been to a real school due to being home-schooled by your non-mage father until now.

"Uhm... No, I haven't actually." You admitted sheepishly, turning away because you got way too embarrassed about not even being up to your classmates' levels yet managing to enter their year.

"Oh. Well, do you want me to help you with it?" Shu suggested, tilting his head to look you in the eyes, since you seemed to be staring out of the window rather than at him.

"Huh...? Oh! Uh... No... That's okay." You said in a rush, far too flustered about the entire thing to even take his offer on his help. He looked at you, rather surprised but didn't want to push it.

"Ah, alright then. That's alright. But if you ever need the help, you can always come to me, alright?" Shu reassured you before leaving the classroom to get to his next class.

His reluctance to leave you without any academic help for was not without reason as he noticed that you were lingering near the bottom of the class rankings in every class you were in every time the official rankings came out at the end of the week. Every time Shu saw the leaderboard with his name at the top of his year, he would watch your excited face droop every time you noticed you were near the bottom. He hated to admit that it hurt him a bit every time your joyful smile turned into a disappointed and pitiful half-grin whenever you finally saw your rank on the board. Shu wondered why he felt like he should care for you; you were nothing compared to him. Or that's what everyone else thinks, anyways. But he didn't think that. He thought that you should be on the same level, after all, you were a recommendation from the Headmaster so you should be as good as him right? Besides, he just couldn't bear watching you try to hide the sheer disappointment you felt every week.

After one class, he searched for you, looking through every classroom until he finally found you in an empty music room, relentlessly trying to study for a test that you both had that upcoming week in incantations, the only class he ever shared with you.

"Hey. [Name]." Shu called out, looking at you from the door frame. He was panting a bit, as he had jogged from classroom to classroom trying to find you. Even he was surprised by his own determination to find you.

"Shu?" You said, bemused. Why was he here? Was he here to taunt you about always being at the bottom? It wasn't out of the question; you always noticed him staring at you every time your year's rankings came out. Your mood soured as he sat down beside you, a flustered expression on his face.

"I'm going to help you." He said firmly. It wasn't a question but a statement. You were bewildered as he took out his own notes and pencil.

"What?" You just managed to say before he pulled you by the waist so that you sat down beside him, your hips pushing against each other as he just started to explain how to do certain incantations.

An hour passed... Two hours... Three... You were both in that classroom for almost four hours as he managed to catch you up to your grade's level. He might've been the only one who would be able to teach you sufficiently in that short amount of time, to catch you up on all the years you never even learned magic.

"Why did you help me?" You asked, still in shock of how long you were there together. Something about his voice was just so calming and made you concentrate more, which was why you were able to figure out the incantations easier.

"I just can't stand seeing you frown every time you rank low on the rankings. I shouldn't be this attached to you. But I just can't help it." He said, almost breathless. His usually neat hair was not a bit disheveled, his violet eyes almost droopy with exhaustion. Using magic always exhausted everyone, though it was almost a miracle you both hadn't passed out from exhausting your magic for four hours.

When you heard what he said, you felt the air around you get warm. This wasn't magic, was it?

#shu yamino x reader #nijisanji x reader #nijisanji en #fanfic

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laismoura-art · 1 month

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I love the Guaraná plant!!! It's so weird and somewhat freaky!! It doesn't even look real! I want one so bad! 😂 You don't only have amazing myths, you also have an amazing fauna!

You have a really cool take on Delia's godhood, especially her rise towards it. It's a good callback to her OG status as a normal edenian to her new one as a goddess.

I wonder if the hordes of darkness she and the other sorceresses had to face were a result of Shinnok somehow. I mean, he is the Elder God of death, darkness and corruption after all.

This got me wondering about your god hierarchy because from what I get, in your AU there are only gods, not elder gods. So does Shinnok exist? Is he still a god and Cetrion's brother? IIRC, his amulet appears in MK1 but only because it was brought from another timeline and I wonder what Liu Kang did to Shinnok (was it said???) because you can't just erase death y'know?? 😭

Hi Rasta! Thanks for the ask!!💕

YEEEES! Guaraná is a true national GEM!💚

And we gotta love a hard-core backstory, like, "grown out of a dead child's eyes and watered with mourning tears??" Who gave this little plant the right to be this edgy??😂😂

If you're interested in a taste, Guaraná makes a delicious soda! (You can find it in France (I searched))

And if you're also interested in our folklore, I highly recommend the series "Invisible City" on Netflix! It, unfortunately, only had two seasons but it's great to get to know some of our myths!

My absolute favourite character is Inês, the Cuca! Her myth comes from this lullaby:

"Sleep little baby, that the Cuca is coming to get you. Father went to the fields and mom left for work. Bogeyman, get off the roof, let the little baby sleep soundly."🎶

She's also a powerful witch with an alligator's face! Though in the series, she has a regular face and a butterfly motif rather than an alligator's. But the most important is: She is a QUEEN!

She steals the show and will steal your heart! 👑

youtube

Alessandra Negrini rocked in this role!💕💕💕

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Ok, back to Delia!

I was so hoping the Brazilian folklore inspired origin would catch your eye and I'm so glad it did! 💚💛 I highly appreciate you reading through my walls of texts and finding amusement in them!

In general I'm glad you liked the result!!🥹❤️

And now, regarding the Gods/Elder Gods:

There are two types of gods: The ones who are born Gods, such as Argus and Cetrion. And the ones who ascended into Godhood, such as Delia and Asgaarth!

Godly-borns spawn into existence according to their realms necessities. Outworld lived in darkness, so the God of Light and Fire was born and Earthrealm needed to bear life, so the Goddess of Life, Light and Virtue was born!

Meanwhile Ascended Gods were once mortal beings who sacrificed themselves for their people and were gifted Godhood. Their godly blessings allow them to offer their people what they need the most to survive and prosper.

Delia's people needed a more constant light and protection from the hordes of darkness, so she was gifted the sun and through it, she helped her people.

In life, Asgaarth was the advisor of the First Edenian Queen, Mimh (who's soul nowadays rests in the oldest tree of the Living Forest), he ascended after dying protecting a group of wanderers. He became the God of Wind and Patron of Travellers and graced the wanderers, who had accepted him as one of their own and also pleaded the gods to take him, with powerful wings (and other bird features) that would allow them to travel far and safe!

It is an unspoken rule that Ascended Gods have a closer relationship with the mortals and get to handle their affairs more often. Godly-borns tend to keep a safe distance as they lack a certain empathy only mortals possess.

The only exception is Cetrion, who tried to be a more present Goddess and directly serve her Realms residents.

I've been pondering for a while on how much of the previous timeline and Kronika Cetrion remembers, and through her redesign I think I got my answers! She remembers everything! And she's doing her hardest to go against her mother's desings for her (like I said, it's her rebellious phase, lol)

Which is why she decided to stay closer to the Ascended Gods instead, to learns from them and ultimately grow closer to the mortals under her protection. Acting as such granted her the trust and devotion of the Shirai family and all the women who would become the Order of Cetrion!

Liu Kang is an Ascended God but he pretends to be a Godly-born, because he doesn't want risk anyone finding out about his past as Time Keeper. Cetrion knows, obviously, but she keeps secret. She also knows about Geras still being around and helping but both avoid each other cause they aren't yet ready to talk about their past with Kronika.

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Gods may be called "Elder Gods" but not because they rank above other Gods, but because they are literally older, lol! It's the same as calling an elder "sir/mr/mrs" it's just a formality (though when Cetrion calls Argus that, she means it in a derogatory way, lmao)

No God, Ascended or Godly-born, is above other. They are all equals!

Regarding on whether Shinnok is alive or not:

I'm not sure about canon, Liu said Shinnok’s Amulet "wasn't supposed to exist" and it could imply either that Shinnok specifically doesn't exist (and maybe there's a new God of Death) or that he hasn't turned evil yet!

Personally I like both ideas and could be open to either! But my main idea is that Shinnok himself doesn't exist as a deity but parts of his being are still present and manifesting in other ways, such as the hordes of darkness! (Because indeed, ou can't just erase death)

Plus, I have an old theory that the New Era also suffers with Canon Events 🎸 and as much as he tries, Liu can't just erase certain things and they end up manifesting in other ways (the Tarkatans, the Shirai Ryu vs the Lin Kuei, Hanzo and Takeda as Shirai Ryu, Tomas as a Lin Kuei, etc, etc) some things are just inevitable and they will happen one way or another, you know?

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Okay, that's what I have for now! Hope it answers your questions (and raise some more cause I love to talk about this AU) and more importantly, hope you enjoy the reading!💕

@mikka-minns @thedragonholder @orbitinytheworld @madamealtruist You girls would like some godly lore?👀

#umgadi girls au #worldbuilding #brazilian folklore #brazilian culture #cetrion #mk delia #mk argus #mk asgaarth #<- surprise?#liu kang #elder gods #<- or not. so long to them :P #mortal kombat #mortal kombat au #mk1 #please y'all watch invisible city! it's so good!!💕

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anneangel · 5 months

Text

Friendship...

I just love the friendship between Bilbo and Elrond, Bilbo and Aragorn, Bilbo and Frodo, and Bilbo and Thranduil, and I'm sad because I've already read all the little fanfictions about Bilbo's friendship with them!

So here are some excerpts from the books in case anyone wants to get inspired:

“Hmmm! it smells like elves!” thought Bilbo, and he looked up at the stars. … He loved elves, though he seldom met them. … Bilbo would have liked to stay a while. Also he would have liked to have a few private words with these people that seemed to know his names and all about him, although he had never seen them before. He thought their opinion of his adventure might be interesting. Elves know a lot and are wondrous folk for news, and know what is going on among the peoples of the land, as quick as water flows, or quicker. (…) They (the dwarves, Gandalf and Bilbo) stayed long in that good house, fourteen days at least, and they found it hard to leave. Bilbo would gladly have stopped therefor ever and ever.

The master of the house was an elf-friend — one of those people whose fathers came into the strange stories before the beginning of History, the wars of the evil goblins and the elves and the first men in the North. In those days of our tale there were still some people who had both elves and heroes of the North for ancestors, and Elrond the master of the house was their chief. — He was as noble and as fair in face as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of dwarves, and as kind as summer. He comes into many tales, but his part in the story of Bilbo’s great adventure is only a small one, though important (…) His house was perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all. Evil things did not come into that valley.

(...) Bilbo heard many stories there (...)

“What are moon-letters?” asked the hobbit full of excitement. He loved maps (…) and he also liked runes and letters and cunning handwriting, though when he wrote himself it was a bit thin and spidery.

“Moon-letters are rune-letters, but you cannot see them,” said Elrond, “not when you look straight at them (…)”.

There a warm welcome was made them, and there were many eager ears that evening to hear the tale of their adventures (…). When the tale of their journeyings was told, there were other tales, and yet more tales, tales of long ago, and tales of new things, and tales of no time at all, till Bilbo’s head fell forward on his chest, and he snored comfortably in a corner. He woke to find himself in a white bed, and the moon shining through an open window. (…) “A little sleep does a great cure in the house of Elrond,” said he.

Weariness fell from him soon in that house, and he had many a merry jest and dance, early and late, with the elves of the valley. - The Hobbit

‘(…) you are the heir of Bilbo, the Ring-finder.'

`Dear Bilbo!' said Frodo sleepily. `I wonder where he is. I wish he was here and could hear all about it. It would have made him laugh. (…)

Gloin looked at Frodo and smiled. 'You were very fond of Bilbo were you not?' he asked.

`Yes,' answered Frodo. 'I would rather see him than all the towers and palaces in the world.'

Elrond went forward and stood beside the silent figure. 'Awake little master!’ he said, with a smile. Then, turning to Frodo, he beckoned to him. 'Now at last the hour has come that you have wished for, Frodo,' he said. `Here is a friend that you have long missed.'

The dark figure raised its head and uncovered its face. `Bilbo!' cried Frodo with sudden recognition, and he sprang forward.

`Hello, Frodo my lad!' said Bilbo. `So you have got here at last. Ihoped you would manage it. Well, well! So all this feasting is in your honour, I hear. I hope you enjoyed yourself?'

`What were you doing?'

`Why, sitting and thinking. I do a lot of that nowadays, and this is the best place to do it in, as a rule. Wake up, indeed!' he said, cocking an eye at Elrond. There was a bright twinkle in it and no sign of sleepiness that Frodo could see. 'Wake up! I was not asleep. Master Elrond. If you want to know, you have all come out from your feast too soon, and you have disturbed me-in the middle of making up a song. (…) I shall have to get my friend the Dunadan to help me. Where is he?'

Elrond laughed. `He shall be found,' he said. (...)

They did not notice the arrival of a man clad in dark green cloth. For many minutes he stood looking down at them with a smile. Suddenly Bilbo looked up. 'Ah, there you are at last, Dunadan!' he cried.

`Strider!' said Frodo. `You seem to have a lot of names.' (…)

`Where have you been, my friend? Why weren't you at the feast? The Lady Arwen was there.'

Strider looked down at Bilbo gravely. `I know,' he said. 'But often I must put mirth aside. Elladan and Elrohir have returned out of the Wild (…).

`Well, my dear fellow,' said Bilbo, `now you've heard the news, can't you spare me a moment? I want your help in something urgent. Elrond says this song of mine is to be finished before the end of the evening, and I am stuck. Let's go off into a corner and polish it up!'

Strider smiled. `Come then!' he said. `Let me hear it!'

(…)

`I was not sent to beg any boon, but to seek only the meaning of a riddle,' answered Boromir proudly(…) He looked again at Aragorn, and doubt was in his eyes.

Frodo felt Bilbo stir impatiently at his side. Evidently he was annoyed on his friend's behalf. Standing suddenly up he burst out:

‘(…) Not all those who wander are lost (…)’. Not very good perhaps, but to the point -- if you need more beyond the word of Elrond. If that was worth a journey of a hundred and ten days to hear, you had best listen to it.' He sat down with a snort.

`I made that up myself,' he whispered to Frodo, `for the Dunadan, a long time ago when he first told me about himself. I almost wish that my adventures were not over, and that I could go with him when his day comes.'

Aragorn smiled at him; then he turned to Boromir again. `For my part I forgive your doubt,' he said.

- The Lord Of The Rings.

And for Bilbo and Thranduil, here, see this post:

#the hobbit #bilbo baggins #lord of the rings #lotr #elrond #elrond peredhel #frodo baggins #aragorn #thranduil #tolkien books #jrr tolkien #I need more fanfictions

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allisluv · 6 months

Text

COMING CLEAN

Chapter one: Thumper

WC: 5.5k

Finnick O’Dair x OC

Dahlia Holloway sat quietly on her porch as morning dawn approached over the horizon. The events of the 67th Hunger Games had followed her back to district nine and almost a decade later, it continued hanging over her head like a black cloud.

Over the years, she had tried every trick in the book to stop the constant buzz of thoughts; writing down what she felt, walking aimlessly through the fields of wheat, having the shower turned up so hot that skin peeled off of her bones. Out of all the things she had tried, knitting was the only hobby that worked.

Every morning, when she had grown tired of staring at her ceiling when it was so apparent that sleep was not coming, she would creep downstairs and slip out onto the patio. It was peaceful and the one place that she could knit without the fear of someone intruding.

It was a neat little way to make money too; while her district was more commonly known for grain, cotton had become another popular crop over the years. Her brother often came home with baskets full of it and she would use it to make clothes.

It failed in comparison to the clothes that the Capitol citizens wore daily but the residents of district nine had more important things to worry about than attaching gems to their cloaks. So long as they had something warm for the winter, they weren't fussy.

Sunlight was beginning to creep up through fields of wheat and grain. Mockingjays had begun to wake up and whistled melodies back and forth while squirrels scurried up tree branches.

"You're determined, huh?"

Dahlia involuntarily flinched before casting a glance over her shoulder, fingers picking up their pace with the needle again. "One of us has got to bring money into the house," she teased lightly, the tension in her shoulders dissolving.

Her eldest brother, River, had always been light on his feet and he shot her a lopsided apologetic smile. A part of him forgot that she would never completely recover from her time in the games. Nowadays, they had to announce their presence rather than sneaking up on her. He had learnt that the hard way and had a broken nose to show for it. "Couldn't sleep?" he leant against the wooden bannister of the porch. She pursed her lips and shook her head. "Me either."

Dahlia silently continued working on her patchwork, refusing to meet his gaze. She felt as though it would burn a hole through her soon enough. Ever since she could remember, River had always been the one who wriggled answers out of her.

It wasn't intentional but he had these intense, prying eyes and sometimes, it felt like he could look straight through her soul. He would undoubtedly be met with the darkness in her chest and thirteen names carved into her heart but she tried not to think about that too often.

Most mornings started like this. Dahlia rocked back and forth in her chair, basking in the sunlight until River eventually graced her with his presence. Those were the mornings where everything felt quiet and she didn't feel so alone anymore.

Dahlia huffed out a sigh and ran a hand through her chocolate curls, flexing out the muscles in her legs. "I better check on the others. I swear to gods, if any one of them has kicked the bucket, I'll lose it," she failed to hide the bluntness in her tone but her brother had become more than accustomed to it.

Pushing through the back door, she slipped inside the house and busied herself with getting everything ready. Grabbing two wicker baskets from under the sink, she began stuffing day-old loaves of bread into them. River had to duck to fit through the doorframe and he grumbled under his breath, disappearing into his bedroom.

For once, she was grateful she had stopped growing before hitting the six-foot mark.

Dahlia crammed strawberries and blackberries into two jars, making sure there was enough to keep her fellow victors going for a little while. Just as she was wrapping up the goat's cheese and containers of fresh water, River shuffled out of his room.

"Here," he held out a packet of frosted cookies and slowly inched them closer to her. She blinked up at him, waiting for an explanation. "I got them from the bakery. Cost me five squirrels. Just leave one for Ivy and split the rest," he explained, running his tongue over his bottom lip impatiently. "I'm trying to be nice so... take it or leave it."

The corners of her lips quirked upwards and she dug her bony elbow into his stomach. "Aw, don't worry, I can take the credit. We wouldn't want you losing that reputation you worked so hard for," she stood on her tip-toes to lightly smack the side of his face, cackling like a mad woman.

He scowled down at her but she could see the hint of a smile trying to break through. Shoving his sister off of him, he narrowed his eyes jokingly. "I thought you were meant to be making sure our neighbours are still with us?" he arched a brow and shooed her out of the house, shoving another loaf of bread into her already overflowing arms.

The door slammed in her face before she had time to spew back a witty comment. He underestimated how soundproof the door was because she could still hear him laughing on the other side. "Bastard," she hissed.

It took some manoeuvring and wobbling on one foot but Dahlia somehow managed to loop the handles of the wicker baskets through her wrists. With a loaf of bread under one arm and a piece of (shoddy) needlework under the other, she trekked towards the other victors in their village.

She passed Juniper Sinclair's house, deciding that it would be easier to bypass it for the moment. Juniper was more than capable of taking care of herself for an hour or so.

Wyatt Riley on the other hand... well, he hadn't been doing too well lately—— and by lately, she meant the last ten years.

Despite her desperate attempts to return some of the light and joy to his house, it never stayed around for very long. His patio was littered with rotten, maggot-infested apples and Dahlia swore that the damn tree had some personal vendetta against her. They'd have to be dealt with later.

Rapping her knuckles against the front door, she didn't bother waiting for an answer. No one else ever visited and this had become a daily routine, so Wyatt wouldn't be caught off guard. Pushing her way inside of the run-down house, the floorboards creaked in a form of protest. "It's just me!"

Another broken mirror lay at the bottom of the staircase and splinters of glass crunched underneath her leather boots as she ventured further inside. It was safe to say he would not be receiving any more mirror-shaped presents from her at this rate; that one had only lasted a week.

She waded her way through rubbish and glass before forcing her way into the kitchen. It was almost pitch-black but there was nothing new there. Fumbling her way around furniture, she easily found the table and set her wicker baskets down. Now was the hard part; finding Wyatt.

Sometimes, the twenty-seven-year-old would be spread out on the floor and other times, he would be tucked behind the fridge. She supposed that he found relief in knowing that no one would find him in his hiding spaces. It was strange but acting oddly came hand in hand with surviving the games. She knew that better than anyone.

Dahlia wasn't in the mood to hunt for him and she let out a sigh of relief when she found him buried in blankets on the sofa. Flicking on the light switch and arming herself with a fire poker, she stood a short distance from the sofa. "Wyatt," she gently prodded him with the poker and waited for an answer. "Wyatt." He snored obnoxiously. "Wyatt!" she groaned, jabbing his ribcage with the poker.

Wyatt jumped out of the sofa with a gasp, wielding a kitchen knife in his hands and blindly flinging it into the air. Dahlia ducked and the knife lodged itself in a cupboard behind her head (and this was why the fire poker was part of their morning routine).

She clutched the fire poker in both hands and held it out in front of her, waiting for the adrenaline high to wear off. After a second, he seemed to get a grip on his surroundings. "It's just me. Are we good?" she arched a brow and brushed stray strands of hair out of her eyes, slowly lowering the weapon.

Wyatt nodded sheepishly, his adam's apple bobbing as he took deep breaths. Running his shaking hands down his face, he quietly muttered reassuring words to himself. Purple bruises were beginning to blossom on the olive skin of his knuckles. Dahlia guessed that was where the broken glass in the hallway had come from. Her heart constricted in her chest and she had to bite down hard on her cheek.

Sometimes, she wondered why she burdened all this extra responsibility on herself. Hell, sometimes she'd much rather let Wyatt rot in his house than deal with him. But then, there were moments like this, when he would mutter into his hands and she knew giving up on him wasn't an option.

Wyatt Riley was the victor of the 66th Hunger Games at eighteen years old. Dahlia remembered the day of his reaping—— she had stood with a crowd of other fifteen-year-old girls, each of them waiting with their hearts stuck in their throats, hoping and praying that they'd make it through another year.

Jasper Riley had been called and suddenly, someone from the crowd was screaming that they volunteered as tribute. The utter desperation in Wyatt's voice had been enough for people to allow him to pass through and then, he was stumbling onto the stage, clutching his chest as though it was going to give out on him.

He had volunteered for his younger brother who had been fourteen when his name was called. Jasper and Wyatt Riley were strangers to Dahlia at the time but she did know that they were kind people— until the games, that was. Wyatt smiled for the cameras when he returned home but there was something different. Something missing.

He used to radiate sunlight. His smile used to reach his eyes and laughter had come as easy as breathing to that boy. But that boy had died in the games. Hollow eyes and frown lines were all he was left with.

She had seen his light return once. Only once; after the games, when he got to reunite with his family. It was a fleeting moment but it was there. Dahlia saw it in his eyes——he had spun his wife, Violet, around in a circle, laughing and giggling as he captured her lips in a kiss. When the newlyweds finally parted, Wyatt had scanned the crowd and practically bolted toward his daughter. Every camera panned in on ten-month-old Isla and her father as he held her close and cried into his wife's shoulder.

She had never seen the light in his eyes again.

When Dahlia was reaped the following year, she was sure she would die in that arena, just like he had. The only living mentor for district nine was a man three years older than her. A half-dead man.

But even with her doubt and her scepticism, he had pulled through. He gave her pointers on appealing to the crowd and an angle to work with. He convinced the sponsors to root for the underdog. He gave her hope. No matter how difficult she made his job, he refused to give up on her.

And she wouldn't give up on him. Not now, not ever.

"I brought you some stuff," she cleared her throat and dug through the first wicker basket she laid eyes on. Kicking her foot at one of the wooden chairs, he obediently sat, a tired look in his honey-brown eyes. Berries, loaves of bread, goat's cheese, water, fresh eggs and cookies were unpacked from the basket. "I'll find some meat later. Swing by if you run out of food."

Wyatt nodded quietly, eyes surveying the mountain of food on his kitchen table. "Thank you," he tugged on his dark curls anxiously, keeping his eyes trained on a broken floorboard beneath his feet. To say that he was grateful for Dahlia Holloway would be a huge understatement. On mornings when exhaustion left him tied to the bed and grief seeped from deep in his bones, she never let him go hungry. And how did he repay her? By aiming a knife at her head.

Dahlia didn't seem to mind, though. She hummed a tune under her breath as she buzzed about his kitchen. Small talk had never been their strong suit and they opted to sit in silence instead. The knife hit the chopping board as she carved the bread into thin slices. Finding a jar of gooseberry jam in the fridge, she slathered it on two of the slices and slid it across the table to him.

"Eat," she ordered, tongue quickly running over the excess jam from the knife. She was sure he would happily starve if she didn't force-feed him.

Wyatt gingerly took the bread, muttering a soft word of thanks. In the time it took for Dahlia to sweep and restore a bit of order to his house, he had finished off another two slices of bread. He got to his feet to help but Dahlia glared over her shoulder and he sunk into the chair again. He was older but he also knew better than to argue with her— talking to a brick wall would be easier.

Pushing herself onto a countertop, she leant forward and cracked open a window to let fresh air in. Dahlia hopped down and wiped her palms in her dark jeans, spinning around to look for Wyatt. He had reclaimed his place on the sofa, curling into the far corner with a baby blanket clutched in his grasp.

She softly padded her way towards him and perched on the edge of the sofa, gently ruffling his dark curls. "It's okay," she whispered, the pad of her thumb running over his bruised knuckles. "It's all okay," she soothed.

They sat like that for the better half of an hour until Wyatt's breathing evened out and he fell asleep. She draped a fluffy blanket over the exposed skin that his baggy sweatshirts didn't manage to cover and started gathering up her belongings.

Balancing the lighter load in her arms, she managed to slip out of the front door without much noise. She kicked the rotten apples off the porch and hoped that the birds would take them off her plate.

Dahlia retraced her steps, trekking towards her final destination of the morning. Pale pink tulips bloomed in the flowerbeds outside of Juniper Sinclair's house, brightening up the young girls' front lawn. Before she could even knock, the door swung wide open and she was almost flattened as Juniper tightly hugged her.

"You're late today," Juniper pointed out, rocking on the balls of her feet as she grabbed Dahlia's hand and pulled her inside the house. A fond smile tugged at Dahlia's lips as she kicked the door closed behind her and followed the bubbly blonde into the kitchen. "Do you want me to take Ivy scavenging today—"

"What the hell is that?" Dahlia cut in, dark eyebrows almost disappearing into her hairline as she stopped in her tracks. Hastily throwing the basket down, she chewed on a fingernail and watched with reproachful eyes.

Juniper squealed excitedly as she bundled the rabbit into her arms, stroking its black and white fur with a gentleness that resembled a mother holding her newborn baby for the first time. "It's a rabbit! My rabbit. His name is Thumper," she explained proudly, wisps of sleek blonde hair framing her face.

Dahlia resisted the urge to roll her eyes—— the last thing she wanted to do was upset the seventeen-year-old. If she had learnt one thing about Juniper, it was that the victor was easily upset. At the start, it got on her nerves but she grew more sympathetic when she realized that it wasn't an act—— it was simply part of who Juniper Sinclair was.

Instead, she folded her arms across her chest, eyeing the rabbit suspiciously as if it would launch itself out of Juniper's arms and start attacking. "Alright, cliché name aside, whats it doing in here?" she asked flatly, waving a dismissive hand about. "Please don't tell me you wanna keep it, June," she groaned, digging her fingers into her temples.

Juniper wrinkled her nose in confusion and the freckles dotted across her cheeks dipped. "Well... I've named him now," she frowned, taking her bottom lip between her teeth. "I'm keeping him," she paused as if she was hesitating on speaking. "I get lonely in this house. It just reminds me that I'm alone, I guess," she admitted, ducking her head to hide her flaming cheeks.

Dahlia's stomach was doing flips and bile burned the back of her throat. Memories raced through her head at the speed of light; kneeling on the grass outside of Victors Village as Juniper buried her face in Dahlia's jacket, sobbing and screaming.

Now, a year and a half later, she felt crescent moons forming in the skin of her palms as she tried to stay tied to the present. She couldn't dwell on it. Falling apart wasn't an option at this point.

Regardless of whether they kept it together or not, it wouldn't bring back their loved ones. Wyatt wouldn't get back his wife or his daughter. While Juniper may have managed to escape the clutches of the repulsive Capitol men, she was still an orphan.

Dahlia, on the other hand, had refused to sell herself to snobby Capitol citizens and in turn, traumatized her younger sister when she watched their parents be slaughtered. The final nail in the coffin, really, was that Snow had still managed to keep her under his thumb.

All he had to do was flaunt the threat of harming Ivy or River and before she knew it, she was being pulled back to her hotel room by a man who left bills on the dresser instead of saying goodbye.

Rolling her shoulders back, she clenched her toes in her boots and cleared her throat. "Alright. So long as you look after it, I don't mind, June," she shrugged a shoulder and turned her back but not before Juniper pumped her fist in the air excitedly. "What's a rabbit meant to eat anyway?" she mused, rummaging about inside of the wicker baskets.

Juniper placed the newest member of her admittedly non-existent family into a cardboard box and slid up onto the countertop beside the baskets. "Haven't got a clue," Juniper yanked her cream-coloured cardigan up over her slender shoulders. She rested her chin in the palm of her hand and Dahlia shot a pointed look her way. "I'll figure it out! He might like ice cream or bread or something!"

Dahlia's mouth fell agape and she had to fight back a laugh—— Juniper may have been cunning and a fighter, but god she lacked common sense at times. "June, if you want that rabbit to stick around, you don't feed it ice cream," she started searching the cupboards and checking expiry dates. "I think they eat grass and lettuce."

"Are you sure you're not trying to kill him?" June raised an eyebrow and tapped her fingers against her kneecaps as Dahlia chucked a gone-off banana out of the window for the birds. "Five minutes ago, you told me to get rid of him and now you're telling me about his dietary restrictions."

Dahlia snorted at the comment and playfully swatted her in the face with a tea towel. "I'm not trying to kill him, you idiot."

There was never a dull moment in Juniper's presence and today was no exception. As Dahlia restocked the pantry, she rambled on about every thought entering that little head of hers. Every so often, she would ask if she should stop talking and every time, the woman insisted that it was fine. She couldn't begin to imagine how isolated June felt at times.

Despite her bubbly personality, Juniper lacked in the friend department. She was the victor of the 73rd Hunger Games but, unfortunately, it didn't win her any brownie points with teenagers her age. Most of them claimed she was too much, too exhausting to be around, and her friendships usually fizzled out after six months.

Ivy was the only exception——Dahlia's younger sister and Juniper were like two peas in a pod. Both Dahlia and River had been slightly worried that it might end in tears but so far, they had been best friends for two and a half years (despite the two being polar opposites).

Once the cupboards were stuffed full of juicy berries, gooey pastries and tins of ripe tomatoes, Dahlia eyed up the rabbit once more, trying to make up her mind on it. So long as she didn't have to take care of it, she supposed it didn't matter. She didnt have a say in the matter, technically speaking, yet June nearly always ran things by her anyway.

Maybe it was because Dahlia had been her mentor in the games. In the last two years, she had grown fond of the younger girl, to tell the truth. Or maybe it was because Dahlia was the closest thing to a mother that she had left. Either way, she wouldn't tell her what to do unless it was something irrevocably stupid—- and a rabbit didn't exactly fall into that category.

She dragged her attention away from the rabbit and back to the girl, who was too quiet for Dahlia's liking. "What's wrong with you?" she interrogated, hands on her hips. "Come on June, spit it out," she impatiently dug her fingers into her hipbone.

June hesitated, slowly starting to rock back and forth on the counter. "Do you think our tributes will stand a chance this year?" she murmured, green eyes staring blankly ahead. There was no answer and she cracked her knuckles to fill the silence. "I mean, it's a quarter quell, isn't it? What do you think the catch is gonna be?" she shuffled back on the countertop until her spine hit the wall.

"I don't know," she muttered truthfully. Her answer did little to soothe the blonde's nerves. She didn't have all the answers but she backtracked all the same. "Well, it's four months away. I haven't thought about it, really."

She leaned against the oven, close enough to feel the lumpy dials digging into her pelvis. "Hey, at least it's not us," she teased, draping an arm around the girl's shoulders. "We're gonna do what we do best—- we'll teach them how to fight and we'll work our pretty little asses off to win them sponsors. That's all we can do. Got it?"

She chastely kissed the crown of Juniper's head and squeezed her shoulders before struggling to her feet. "Now, are you walking me out or do I have to do that on my own and all?" she raised a dark brow jokingly.

If Juniper was still upset, it didn't show. She hopped her way to the front door, dragging her feet along the tiles and grabbing hold of Dahlia's bicep when she remembered something she so desperately forgot to tell her.

Dahlia knew what she was doing—— it was obvious that she didn't want to be left on her own for the rest of the day (and, let's be honest, subtle was not in that girl's vocabulary). Nevertheless, she hummed when it fit the context and nodded without missing a beat.

If the years she had spent socializing with the people in the Capitol had taught her anything, it was how to fake a conversation she had absolutely no interest in. After an agonizing ten minutes, she stepped onto the porch and into the warm stream of sunlight before a shadow got in her way.

"Hello, hello, hello my darlings!"

District nines escort, Malaki, traipsed his way down the driveway, flashing the girls a dazzling smile as he approached. Once he was close enough, he grabbed a hold of Juniper's hands, squeezing them gently. "My god. You need to stop growing, Juney," he tutted. There was no malice in his voice—— there never was, not when it came to Malaki.

He turned on Dahlia next, picking up a few limp and loose strands of hair. "Bloom's gonna kill you, y'know that right?" he frowned, letting his hands drop to his hips once more.

As if on cue, a blood-curdling scream came from the woman behind him, followed by the frenzied clack of eight-inch heels.

Bloom clutched at her chest and Malaki had to slip a hand around her waist to keep her steady. "Oh my god, I need a drink already," she murmured between heavy breaths.

Within a split second, she was manhandling Dahlia, angling her head and prodding her cheekbones. "You need to give me something to work with, darling. It's the same every month," she complained, rubbing the crease between her brows.

Bloom began ordering about her gaggle of assistants, hysterically screeching that they were at least twelve hours behind schedule now. Dahlia chanced a glance at Malaki and it took every ounce of self-control that she possessed to not burst into laughter. That would certainly send her stylist into a breakdown.

Bloom's entourage of assistants were drenched with sweat from hauling bulky suitcases from the train. Admittedly, the train couldn't be any closer to Victors Village, but Bloom couldn't fathom the concept of packing light and it showed.

With aching arms and forceful pants of exasperation, the assistants began carrying the supplies up the hill leading to the Holloway house. Dahlia's house wasn't far— less than a minute away from June's, to be exact— and it was more a slope than a hill but with the amount of equipment her stylist had packed, she wasn't surprised by their lack of enthusiasm.

"Don't tell me you forgot about today," Malaki raised an accusing brow in her direction but she brushed him off with a roll of her eyes. "You're lucky Bloom hasn't caught on yet," he continued, checking his golden watch to double-check how long they had to pack. "You may be able to fool our little redheaded friend, but not me, my darling. I know everything."

Dahlia suppressed a smile by clamping her lips shut. He was right. He nearly always was. She had forgotten and Bloom would lose it if she found out.

Malaki always knew people better than they knew themselves.

If Bloom was fretting over a new outfit, he knew how to put her mind at rest. When Dahlia was searching for an escape route out of a particularly painful and uncomfortable conversation, he would glide onto the scene and sweep her away without anyone batting an eyelid.

Malaki wasn't scared of calling people out when they were in the wrong. He knew what to say and when to say it.

"How long does the Capitol need me to stay for?" she couldn't hide the bitterness in her tone as she kicked a pebble into the air. She narrowly missed hitting the back of Bloom's shins and made a mental note to keep her anger at bay before her stylist tripped in her ridiculous heels and broke an ankle— or worse, a nail.

"A week," Malaki replied, choosing to bite the bullet rather than sugar-coating the truth. He didn't scold her for her tone, not when her anger was directed in exactly the right place. "Since our star-crossed lovers won the games, there's been parties in the Capitol all night, every night."

He paused, fingers moving to toy with his lip ring. If he wanted to approach the subject, he needed to take precautions. What she was forced to do on her visits to the Capitol was a sour and sensitive topic and one that she didn't talk about. "I know it's not gonna be a lot of comfort, my darling, but at least you somehow managed to escape some of the parties until now."

She didn't answer for fear of what would come out of her mouth. She knew that he was trying to make her feel better but the reality was that nothing was going to ever make this better.

She sucked in a steadying breath and tried to remain focused as her house grew closer with each step that she took. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks," she choked out the words, offering him a tight-lipped smile.

Malaki gave her a curt nod. He didn't push her for a further answer and chose to walk in silence while the pair caught up with Bloom and her assistants.

Dahlia worked her way through the miniature sea of people gathering at her front door, each one of them slightly skittish. She couldn't blame them— Ivy and River had a history of being... hostile when it came to her prep team.

She debated asking them to wait outside but decided against it. Hopefully, she could gather her things and leave as quickly as possible. Ushering the group into the warmth of her hallway, she racked her brain for a plausible excuse that would satisfy her brother.

"What the hell are they doing here?"

Looked like she was out of time to think. Closing the door behind her, she let out a sigh and turned to face her brother's temper. "Dial it down, for gods sake," she huffed under her breath, returning his glare with just as much discontentment. Shoving her brother out of the back door and onto the patio, she left her team to their own devices in the living room.

River's eyes were blazing with anger but she knew it wasn't directed at her. No, it was aimed at the people who were associated with the Capitol, a group of rich and selfish people who had stolen his parents from him. His jaw was clenched so tightly that it ached. "How long are they here for this time?" he snapped, knuckles white from holding onto his bicep.

"Not long. I have to go to the Capitol for a week," she folded her arms over her chest shamefully. "I can tell Ivy that I have to do planning for the quarter quell or something," she pinched the bridge of her nose, head throbbing with pain.

While River knew about her... arrangement with the president, Ivy was unaware of why she was called back to the Capitol every month.

Ivy was seventeen and her older siblings had agreed that there was no need for her to know. She was still so young. She had a couple of childhood years left—and Dahlia was damn certain that the Capitol didn't get to take those, not when they had robbed her family of so much already.

River's eyes softened ever so slightly and he sighed through parted lips. "I'll come up with an excuse for Ivy. I'll look after Wyatt and Juniper, too, there's no need to worry about them," he said softly, rubbing at the crease between his brows.

"Just—— be careful, yeah?" he dragged a hand down the length of his face. He moved a bit too quickly for Dahlia's liking and she flinched without thinking. He muttered an apology under his breath, taking a step out of her space. "You better bring me back those scones I like, alright?" he teased, trying to break cut up the tension in the air. He lay a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

His touch began to burn and she wriggled out of his grasp, grinding her teeth. He didn't take it personally; between the Hunger Games and the men in the Capitol, she couldn't stand being touched.

Dahlia endured the physical contact whenever it was asked of her but if she could avoid it, she did. Ivy and River had witnessed one too many of her episodes to bother being offended at this point.

She wrung her hands together anxiously and craned her neck to peer through the glass panel in the back door.

Malaki ran his fingers over a painting that hung on the wall while Bloom hastily dashed about, scolding her assistants for messing with precious valuables.

Dahlia pulled her sleeves over her hands and turned her attention away from her prep team. "I should get going before Bloom pops a blood vessel." She made a start for the door but paused. "River?"

"Yeah?"

"Please don't let June feed that rabbit ice cream."

#grace talks🐚🌷#the hunger games #wlw #thg #finnick odair x reader #finnick odair x oc #finnick odair fluff #finnick odair smut #catching fire #mockingjay #coming clean #dahlia holloway

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letters-from-dekarios · 5 months

Note

(Jasper is a snarky drow wild-magic sorcerer/multiclassed rogue. He was pretty careless about his magic until meeting Gale, and his solutions to things still mostly ends up being ‘is it worth lockpicking, or should we just explode it and run?’ He’s closed-off and snippy with people he doesn’t know, but longs for connection at heart. It just… takes a while to get there. He’s quite awkward when he’s actually being open with people. When the two of them are alone, it’s one of the few times Jasper actually is fully himself.

Jasper is illiterate; never learned to read, but ‘begrudgingly’ lets Gale teach him slowly after the events of the game. Still not great, but getting there. While they do live together, Jasper still takes trips to the Underdark every now and again. This letter was written during one of his times there.)

Gale, hello.

(The handwriting drastically changes. While the above line is practically intended into the paper, the rest is written in neat cursive.)

The rest of this letter is being transcribed by Astarion because I don’t feel like sending you something that could be mistaken for a toddler’s journal. Then again, that’s what your handwriting can look like sometimes if you’re tired enough, so maybe you’d find it readable anyway.

What do people even write in letters, anyway? Hello, dearest Gale of Waterdeep, how farest thou in my absence? Psh, he’d laugh at that. He’s cute when he- wait, don’t write that down- hey, give me the-

(There’s some illegible scribbling after that.)

Anyway, Gale. How are your bookshelves? They’re probably dusty. You should dust them.

Did you eat food today? It’s dinnertime. It won’t be when you get this, though, I guess. Hm.

Ok, seriously, what am I supposed to say? Astarion note: He rambled for about five minutes about the uselessness of letters and small talk, darling, I’m not writing all of this down. He misses you, you’re both pathetically in love, it’s absolutely sickening, get a room.

Oh, right. Some of the mushroom people myconids gave me some stuff to bring back to you. I didn’t really stay long enough to figure out exactly what it all is since the whole mind speaking thing makes me nauseous, but there’s some amulet and a couple scrolls.

I also have not blown anything up yet. On purpose. Two explosive surges happened. Whether that’s good or bad is up for debate. There aren’t any of the explodey mushrooms around where I’m staying.

Pet Tara for me.

And if you look like you’ve pulled even one all-nighter when I get back, I’m dragging you to bed. Put your books down and go to sleep, wizard.

~ Jasper

(The name is signed in the same poor handwriting as the greeting)

P.S. Hello. Astarion again, absolute pleasure. Next time, send a scribe with him if you want to be penpals, or I’m going to start charging.

Sweet Jasper,

And Astarion, by default.

No matter the transcriber, you know I adore hearing from you. I’d spend countless nights decoding your handwriting if it meant our communication stayed strong during your nights away. And, for the record, I’m glad you think I’m cute when I laugh. You’re rather adorable when you laugh, too.

I have cleaned the tower in your absence, but it’s quickly returned to dust-filled madness since beginning a new project of mine. No matter, though, it’ll be spotless by the time you return. You’ll be happy to know I’m eating just fine, and Tara can vouch for me on such. She’d have a field day if I didn’t stop and have a meal now and then, no matter how deep I was into a tome.

Thank the Myconids for me. Their scrolls have proved to be rather helpful lately. It’s always a joy to receive new items from them. And, I am glad to hear you’ve not yet blown anything, or anyone for that matter, up! I would hate to have another incident occur and use all of our resurrection spells again. Those are pricey and hard to come by nowadays. Stay strong, darling, I know how much you desire to set fire to things.

I cannot guarantee the state of myself when you return. I’m awfully invested in my current tomes and you know how much I hate losing my place. But I will try, dear.

Enough about me. How are you? I hope your time in the Underdark is serving you well. Have you found anything of interest? I’ll be more than delighted to hear all about your adventure when you return home. The nights grow cold without you by my side, love. But I know how much your journey means to you.

I hope you’re eating well, also. Sleeping just as much, too. Send word when you aim to return home, I’ll have everything ready for you.

Be safe, my love. I hope to hear from you again, soon.

With all my love,

𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒌𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒔

Astarion, I thank you for your hard work with Jasper. You know the depths of my coin pouch. Name your price, though not too substantial- I’m not made of money, after all. But, I’d much rather you than a stranger scribe for him.

text reads: gale dekarios

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ramspatula · 7 months

Text

Zinnias | Lloyd Garmadon x fem!reader | Part 4

The first time leads to a lot more.

Previous part, Masterlist, Next part

I woke up to light tapping on the window next to my bed. I turned to see Pearl all splayed out on her bed, snoring and fast asleep. Another tap made me whip my head back around to the window. I quickly sat up and peaked through the side of the blinds to see green. I let out a sigh of relief and banged on the window once to get him to stop. I quickly threw some shoes and a jacket on before climbing out the window.

“You scared the shit out of me, greenie.” I told him and he shrugged.

“Sorry, just thought you’d be awake.” He said and I rubbed my eyes. I didn’t check the time. I didn’t care.

“Well I am now, so tell me why you’re here before I go back to sleep.” I told him and he held his hands out before a pure ball of green energy was staring at me. I paused. “Uhm- wow-?!” I said, in shock, I went to touch it and-

“No-!” My hand went straight through the ball. I made the thing turn a mix of peach, purple and pink before it started acting hyper, like it was trying to glitch before it just burst and became green again.

“Did you just corrupt me?!” I asked and he stood in shock before the ball burst and disappeared.

“I- no one’s able to touch it- it’s pure energy-! It should’ve sent you flying-“ he rambled and I took a moment to notice how I’d heard Lloyd do the same when he was flustered. Lloyd was always up late. I’ll message him when Greenie leaves.

“It didn’t though, in fact, it tickled me.” I said and he laughed.

“Tickled?” He asked in disbelief. “It definitely didn’t tickle anyone who’s touched it before.” He said and I laughed.

“Did you come here to show me this, Greenie?” I asked and he did a so-so motion with his head. “Do you have no friends?” I asked, jokingly and he shoved me.

“I have friends.” He counter argued and I made a disbelieving expression. “I do-! Anyway-! I was just wondering if you wanted to train your powers!” He said and I frowned.

“Yes but- right now?!” I asked and he nodded.

“I don’t have much free time so I hope this is good for you too.” He said and I sighed.

“Yeah, it’s alright. Didn’t really like sleep that much anyway.” I told him and I heard him laugh a little. Familiar. Way too familiar. “The green ninja having green eyes is like the most on brand thing I’ve ever seen.” I told him and he laughed.

“You should see my wardrobe. Even when I’m not in this, I still wear green.” He told me and I laughed, Lloyd wore a lot of green. I swore sometimes I could hear Lloyd’s voice behind that mask.

“You’re a man, can I ask you something about men?” I said and he nodded.

“As me anything- apart from my name and all that.” He said and I smiled.

“What do guys do when they like you- like really like you?” I asked and he froze.

“Someone interested in you? Or vice versa?” He asked and I nodded.

“I mean I think he does. My best friend gets screwed over a lot, it’s hard to pick the worst from the best nowadays.” I said and he nodded in agreement.

“Okay, I’m up to speed now.” He said, more to himself, “Does he make you happy?” He asked and I shoved him.

“Yes! Very! Now tell me how a guy acts when he likes someone- like for real!” I said and he nodded, rather happily.

“I don’t need to tell you to know this guy likes you.” He said and I frowned.

“You know the guy I’m on about?” I asked and he nodded.

“Personal stalker, remember?” He said and I nodded.

“Have you stalked the guy?” I asked and he shrugged.

“Bit hard to do- Lloyd Garmadon right?” Greenie asked and I nodded, I couldn’t help the big smile that grew on my face.

“Yeah- and it is hard-! He has no socials!” I said and he laughed before covering my mouth as I rambled on.

“Enough man talk, training.” He reminded me and I smiled.

“Am I one of your bros now? You really have no friends do you?” I asked and he shoved me.

“You are not one of my ‘bros’- who even says that?!” He asked in outrage and I laughed.

“I don’t want to train.” I said as soon as he turned back around and I saw the way his eyes deadpanned as I sat myself down.

“How are you going to learn then?” He asked and I shrugged.

“Maybe my dreams will teach me.” I said and he sat next to me.

“You scared?” He asked and I looked at him.

“Maybe? Probably more of trying something new than anything else.” I said and he wrapped an arm around me.

“It’s okay, I’m here for a reason.” He said and I patted his arm.

“Thanks bro.” He playfully shoved me away from him.

“Last time I try to be nice-“

“Oh don’t be like that- Greenie- come back!”

🪺. *. ⋆

“You better not be trying to scare me!” I shouted at the vacant parking lot. I grew nearer to the forest as I looked around. “The green ninja is like my best friend so don’t-“

“What?!” I heard an amused voice say in shock before hugging me from behind. I turned in Lloyd’s hold to look up at him.

“Hey.” I said and he shook his head.

“Don’t ‘hey’ me- go back to the whole the green ninja is my best buddy thing-“ he said and I shook my head.

“Stop!” I said in embarrassment, trying to bury myself in his chest. “Okay- Okay! He saved me from some serpentines a few weeks ago and since I can’t keep out of trouble I’ve seen him a few times since but I promise you- we’re like this-“ I crossed my fingers “he’s more of a stalker than both of us combined.” I said and he laughed.

“I bet- so I’ve not got to worry about some ninja stealing you away?” He asked and I laughed.

“No, we’re just bros. I’m one of the green ninjas homeboys now-“ he laughed more and shook his head.

“You are so not-!” He said and I gasped in outrage.

“Okay-! Whatever- greenie may have said the same thing but- did you come from the forest?!” I suddenly realised and he paused.

“Maybe?” He said, sheepishly and I smiled.

“Do you live in the forest?” I asked and he shrugged.

“Kind of- well yes -but not like in a public area- my Uncle owns a boarding school and a lot of land- it’s complicated.” He said and I nodded as we started making our way through the forest.

“Uncle Wu?” I asked and he nodded.

“He got me up at 4:30 to clean the do- classrooms this morning as punishment.” He told me and I frowned.

“Punishment?” I asked and he nodded.

“Was out late last night, he didn’t appreciate not knowing where I was or what I was doing.” He told me and I nodded.

“I can see that- aren’t you 18?!” I suddenly asked, realising a legal adult was being punished like a 12 year old for staying out late.

“Yep.” He said, sounding like he had just accepted his fate. “I’d rather not argue with him though, he carries around this staff and he’s got an almighty swing with it- I can still feel where he got me round the head a few days ago.” He said and turned his head and held the back of his head. We soon made it to a clearing that had a dead campfire and a few benches around it that were just logs.

“What did you do?” I asked and he smirked.

“Wasn’t focusing, had someone else on my mind.” He said as I sat next to him.

“Oh…” I said and he smiled as he wrapped an arm around me, I leant against his shoulder. “I’m really cold.” I admitted and he smiled before holding me tighter- since when was he so warm?! “You are so warm.” I said and he laughed before his phone went off and his face dropped. He began messaging quickly and I looked up at him worriedly, I couldn’t see his phone.

“Shit.” He cursed and I frowned.

“What’s wrong?” I asked and he closed his eyes briefly in frustration, before rubbing his temples.

“My Dad is trying to attack the city again, he has this stupid mega-weapon-“ Lloyd told me and I cut him off.

“Do you have to go?” I ask and he sighed.

“I don’t want to, I’m trying to not. My Dads kind of on this thing at the moment where he wants his son back but of course that’s not happening and my Uncle doesn’t like me being openly available for him to take at any minute.” He told me and I nodded.

“Sounds like your Uncle actually cares about you.” I said and he nodded. “Maybe you should go, the only thing I can offer is a dorm room and if we go there you’d have to talk to Pearl and that’s an experience I don’t think anyone is ready for.” I said and he smiled.

“I couldn’t leave you out here anyway.” Lloyd told me and I smiled.

“Lloyd, don’t risk yourself for me.” I told him and he frowned. “Listen, I’m sure if anything happens the ninja will be there and if they’re there then Green will be and he is my personal stalker- not to mention. I can take care of myself, big guy.” I said and he smiled.

“Okay, but I’m walking you home.” He said and I shook my head.

“It’s a 10 minute walk, I’ll be fine. And if your Dad shows up I have one of those TikTok’s for when you think a creepy guy is following you-“ he burst out laughed causing me to laugh too. He dipped down to kiss me and I let him, for a long time. I also let it progress until his tongue was in my mouth, sloppily. It seemed we were both inexperienced. I held his face as he carried on. A sudden crackle and the overwhelming feeling of sudden warmth made us break apart as the campfire was now held a raging fire. I held onto Lloyd in shock who did not look impressed.

“Shit…” He said and helped me, in my shocked state, to stand.

“Did fire just drop from the sky?!” I asked and looked up and he shook his head.

“No, that was the fire ninja.” He told me and I frowned. “That was his sign of telling my ass to get in gear.” Lloyd said and I let out a perplexed laugh.

“I think I’m going to pass out-“ I said and he just smiled. “-How are we supposed to put that out-? Forest fires and all-“ a sudden blob of water fell down on the fire.

“And that’s the water ninja telling me to hurry.” He said and I shoved him, playfully before quickly kissing him again. Another splash of water- “Okay! Okay-! Let a guy say goodbye to his- they have no patience.” He said and I smiled at the slip up.

“See you later, Lloyd.” I said before making my way out the forest and home.

“I’ve only met her once! I knew her briefly-!” A voice called mockingly from above in the trees.

“Shut-!” He warned as his gi was dropped in his hands.

“Sorry- did we ruin your hook up, green boy?” Another voice called, a whinier one, Kai.

“I really don’t like you guys sometimes.” Lloyd told the two siblings who shrugged him off.

“I don’t like your Dad destroying my home but he’s still trying to do it so let’s go!” Kai yelled before running off and Lloyd quickly threw on the Gi.

🪺. *. ⋆

When I got home, I turned to see the dorm room a mess. Pearl’s clothes- and mine- were thrown across the room. Said girl was rushing around and searching frantically. I closed the door loudly making her turn.

“I’m guessing there’s a good reason the doom room looks like a bomb has gone off- you know Garmadon is attacking as we speak?” I said and she rolled her eyes.

“He attacks like every other day-! I don’t care anymore.” She answered and I smiled.

“What’s your opinion on him? Like his family and stuff?” I asked and she frowned.

“I couldn’t care less.” She said and I smiled. “Where is your big winter coat? The one you got for Christmas a couple years ago?!” She asked and I frowned.

“Good, because I’m dating his son.” I said, walking over to the pegs with multiple coats on.

“His son?!” I grabbed the coat from underneath the others and handed it to her.

“I got this when I was 14, I don’t know if it’ll fit?” I said and she grabbed it.

“It was too big at the time anyway but- his son?!” She asked and I nodded.

“Lloyd Garmadon.” I said and Pearl froze. “What can I say? Why do you need my coat anyway?” I asked and she shook her head in disbelief.

“Because my Nan is taking me on holiday up north for two weeks and- what?! Lloyd Garmadon?” She asked again and I nodded.

“Went on our first date a week ago.” I said and she was still in shock.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” She practically yelled and I deadpanned.

“Because you and macho boy were raw dogging in your bed when I got home.” I said and she looked disgusted. Imagine how I felt.

“Don’t call Kai that- and no-! If he comes here during the two weeks just tell him I’m not here and that there’s no signal where I’m going- if he calls me I will catch feelings.” Pearl told me and I rolled my eyes.

“Why do I always have to kick them out?” I questioned and she shrugged before packing- I did notice some of my clothes being packed too.

“She’s picking me up in an hour and I don’t know how much to pack!” She worried and I rolled my eyes before fetching my suitcase from under my bed, wiping the dust and helping her pack. She looked at me in thanks before sorting her makeup out. I grabbed my phone quickly whilst she was busy throwing all her makeup into her makeup bag.

‘I’ve got an empty dorm for the next 2 weeks’ -sent 4:03pm read 04:04pm

‘Come over?’ -read 4:04pm

‘I can’t tonight but definitely tomorrow :)’ -sent 4:06pm

‘See you then’ - read 4:09pm

🪺. *. ⋆

Lloyd quickly threw himself behind the building he was fighting next to as a random blast from his father’s weapon almost stunned him.

“You may have grown, green ninja, but I am still stronger. You don’t want to fight me, give in, I’m not afraid to admit I don’t want to fight you either!” His father admitted and he tried not to let the words hit him too hard. It was true. On both ends. A horrible twist of fate to make a man fight his son and a boy fight his father. However, Lloyd knew he was fate’s soldier and to give in would never make his father good or give him back the years of fatherhood his Dad has missed. It wouldn’t make up for the years Lloyd had dreamed that his father would walk into his school, tell him how much he loved him and everything they’d do together. This man couldn’t be a father, no matter how much he wanted to. The evil in his veins forbade him to put anything above his desire to destroy. And to be a father, is to put your child, your family, above any and everything. Thats why he would never forgive his mother either. With that thought in mind, a charged green energy blast made its way into the serpentine surrounding his father. Serpentine. His fault but he let go of that thought after seeing how they tried to mug Y/n, over cake and tea?

Y/n. The one thing Lloyd could truly focus on, despite the impending final battle and the prophecy of the Green Ninja being held over his head and life every two minutes. She didn’t know. She didn’t care. She liked him. Actually liked him. The name ‘Garmadon’ meant as much to her as a missing poster. You stop to read it, feel a little bad about it and then move on with your life. She was refreshing. What he needed. No one really understood that. That he needed her. That he obsessed over. He couldn’t sleep until he knew there was no one looming around her dorms, no one was following her home. Nothing happening couldn’t put her in danger. She consumed his mind. Effortlessly throwing away his worries and stresses with a smile. And she was like him. Her powers were unheard of, desired but she didn’t want them. She didn’t like them. Like he hated his. But without them, he wouldn’t be able to teach her how to live with them so even with just being her- she was making him like himself again. He made her happy. Happy enough to talk about him to others freely, not caring for their opinion. Thinking about her made it easy to beat the shit out of serpentine because she wasn’t the distraction. She was the motivation. The sooner they were over with, the sooner he could see her again. Was it normal to feel this way about someone? He hated Kai for ruining their moment earlier. He didn’t understand. Kai hadn’t ever wanted a relationship with someone. He hadn’t ever needed someone. Not like Lloyd needs Y/n. He- he…

He needs to talk to his uncle.

This isn’t normal. This has to be from his Dad’s genes. Some evil in his blood that has corrupted his emotions into making him feel so overly possessive and temperamental over someone he’s known for a month? They’ve been dating a week, kissed a lot and talked endlessly. She already trusted him enough to fall asleep on him on the first date, in that car, TV girl playing in the background. This wasn’t normal.

“You’re distracted son.” His father’s voice rang out. He was practically behind him, behind the seemingly taunting tone, a concerned father could be seen from a certain angle. Lloyd almost believed his father could actually help him, answer for why he is this way but then he remembered that the man before him chose power over him. No matter how much he loves his son, he’ll never be able to show it. He’d just continue to pour his baggage into Lloyd and leave again and again and again until there was no more of Lloyd for him to ruin or take.

“You ruined me.” Lloyd spat out before setting the floor on fire, making Garmadon step back. As the other ninja jumped in. He was told to avoid fighting his father as it could prematurely start the final battle. How he’d love for this all to be over.

It was over. Not it all. The final battle hadn’t happened. His father had just retreated and set to prepare to come back another day to try and ruin the city.

“Good work, everybody- Green!” Lloyd looked up to Cole who patted him on the back.

“Good job, not engaging with him. It takes a lot of strength just to evade attacks rather than just get it over with there and then. There’s a place and time for it and we can’t decide it. I’m proud of you, kid.” Lloyd didn’t respond, just nodding. Cole went on but Lloyd wasn’t focusing. “-Let’s go home!” The ninja cheered but Lloyd couldn’t calm down. Garmadon had ruined him. And he will never forgive him for that.

🪺. *. ⋆

I was bored. Living in a dorm alone was boring. You had no one to talk to. There’s only so many times I can scroll through my Instagram feed and TikTok before I get bored again. I stared at Lloyd’s contact, wanting to call him, just talk to him. I think about him way too much. What he’s doing. If he’s okay. If he likes me? If he thinks as much about me as I do about him? I think about him so much all I see when the Green Ninja talks to me is Lloyd Garmadon some times. Maybe I view him as some sort of hero for myself. My knight in shining armour. Although, Greenie himself was a charmer. Nice guy, caring. Like Lloyd. If I could see his face, I’d probably fall hopelessly in love. Give him the same look I give Lloyd- just Lloyd. He had me in some sort of mind- chokehold. Within a month he had me totally enthralled with him. I didn’t know what to make of myself anymore. TV girl was playing through the speaker, quietly. I threw my phone away and laid down. Bringing my hands to my head. The light tapping on the window had me smiling, I could use company.

“Hey bro- Lloyd?!” I said in shock and he smiled, sheepishly and I laughed in shock. Opening the window fully for him to climb in and he did, shutting the window behind him like a true gentleman. “I thought you couldn’t come!” I said in shock and he smiled.

“Change of plans- that and I was really upset about earlier.” He admitted and I smiled.

“Me too, big guy.” I said and he smiled before dipping down to kiss me and I let him.

It didn’t take long for me to end up below him as he worked down my neck, sloppily, there was no rhythm in his movements but just him had my toes curling on a daily basis so experience didn’t matter, not that I had much if any either. He paused and I let out a disapproving noise.

“What’s wrong?! Is everything okay?” I asked sitting up and he shook his head.

“Yes! Very! I just- I just want to make sure we’re on the same page here and I have no clue what I’m doing- I’ve never had sex before-“ he admitted and I cut him off by kissing him.

“It’s okay, I’m totally clueless too. We don’t have to do anything- I like you, Lloyd.” I finally said it and he looked up at me. “You’re everything I’ve ever wanted in another person. I want to be with you, I want something good to come from this. So if you don’t want to anything- I don’t mind! I’m happy just being with you.” I noticed the tears in his eyes and I swallowed my own.

“I like you too, a lot. An overwhelming amount. I’ve never felt so- strongly before. I don’t know what this is or if it’s normal but I want to do this, I just don’t want to leave you high and dry.” He told me and I smiled, taking my shirt off and his eyes widened.

“You won’t.” I promised and he frowned.

“How can you be sure?” He asked and I smiled.

“I’ll teach you- can I?” I asked and he nodded. I took his shirt off and discarded my own pyjama bottoms off. I tugged on his waistband lightly, “You’ll want these off.” I told him and he took his pants off, leaving him in just his underwear too.

“Teach me.” He told me and I smiled. I took his hand and brought it down until it was flush against my underwear and already applying pressure, I positioned his finger on my clit.

“Press a little harder.” I told him and he put more force into his hold onto my clit. His hand felt secure and his hold felt confident as his other fingers rested near my vagina. “Start making like circle motions, keep the pressure, don’t ever loosen it.” I told him and he nodded.

“Like this?” He asked and I couldn’t help the sharp intake of breath at the unfamiliar touch and I nodded as he continued and I held tighter onto him.

“You’re already good at this-“ I said in disbelief as he pressed a little harder on a certain area. “There- there-!” I said quickly and he pressed harder, making side to side motions there and I gasped and couldn’t help the way my body almost started convulsing but it wasn’t enough. I quickly sat back again and threw off my underwear. “I need more.” I told him and he continued pushing me onto my back as he started again from where he left off, this time kissing me too, making his way down my neck like he had before. Skin to skin. I’d never felt more alive. He suddenly stopped kissing me and rested his head next to me as the hand holding him up dipped down and I though he was going to start getting himself off too before I felt a finger teasing around my whole.

“I gotta stretch you too, right?” He asked and I nodded.

“Yeah! Yeah! Thats right, I-“ I felt the finger slowly starting to slide inside me and I gasped and the insane pressure build up. “Lloyd-“ I almost screamed when the second one came in prematurely. “Slow down-! This- this bit hurts.” I admitted and he took the second finger out and I breathed in relief. “Work the first one in a few times before adding the next- your fingers are bigger than mine.” I guided him and he nodded.

“Okay!” He said and did as taught. I cried as I almost came close to relief when he loosened a little on my clit before doing it again. His finger curled a little up when he began fingering me again and my back arched as I actually moaned.

“Add the second!” I told him as he did, slowly working the second one in and when he finally did he began the same motion with the second and I practically cried out. “You know what scissoring is, right?” I questioned.

“Yep.” He said before doing it to prove it. “I wanna see you cum.” He told me and I breathed out shakily.

“Go a little faster.” I told him and he did and it took me all of 30 seconds to climax. I dug my nails into his back as my body arched into his chest. I cried out and fell back down before I laid slack. Taking deep breaths. He stopped and took his fingers out. “Your turn.” I said and he laughed.

“You sure you’re good to go?” Lloyd asked and I nodded.

“I’m gonna be a pillow princess, if that’s okay?” I said and he nodded before kissing my cheek quickly and discarding his boxers. I looked down at the thing about to go inside me. I was in trouble.

“You alright?” He asked and I rolled my eyes and chucked the bottle of lotion we’d be now using as lube. He laughed and poured some into his hand before coating himself.

“Quick before I loosen up.” I told him and he laughed before putting go my legs either side of his waist and I spread them as far as I could to try and accommodate him. I was relieved he kept me in missionary, I wanted to see his face. When I felt how he slowly started pushing into me, I gritted my teeth. It burned. I wasn’t expecting it to burn so much. I hissed and he paused, I shook my head. “Just get it in, don’t stop. Give me a minute to get used to it and then go for it.” I told him and he nodded, kissing me again, soothing me as he bottomed out and I tried not to cry. After a few minutes the burn lessened and I felt less intruded on. I held onto him as I gave him the word to continue.

“Let me know if you want to stop, okay?” He said and I nodded.

“I will, I’m okay. You can move.” I told him and he did. He started off slow before he started chasing his own climax. And God could he move fast and hard. He adjusted his own position which gave him a lot more power in his thrusts. My body arched again at the feeling. My stomach felt as if there was something tying up in it and when I pressed down on my stomach I could feel where he was inside me. He really bulged through my stomach and the added pressure made him groan.

“Fuck.” He cursed and I held onto his neck, his eyes snapped up to mine. “Look at me.” He told me and I did, my eyes drifting to his and his movements sped up more somehow. “So fucking beautiful, Peaches.” He swore and bit down on my collarbone. I gasped at his teeth actually breaking my skin before giggling at his antics and this identified kink? I bit on his shoulder briefly to test it out but he has already paused his movements and I felt it. Warmth. Warmth where I’d be never felt so warm before. And it came in spurts. I jolted in sudden realisation. He wasn’t wearing a condom.

“You’re safe, right?” I asked and he blinked in confusion. Stuck in his own satisfied haze. “We didn’t use a condom.” I said and he seemed to catch on.

“I think so? I’ve never done this before.” He added and I smiled.

“I’ll take the risk…” I sighed. “Tomorrow’s problem.” I said as he settled next to me, putting his boxers back on as I unclipped my bra and threw his T-shirt on and put my underwear back on. The twin-bed couldn’t really fit us both but he seemed content letting my rest half on his chest.

“Good I’m tired.” He answered and I laughed.

“You not gonna get a dead arm or something?” I asked and he laughed.

“No… you’re like nothing for me. Practically a feather, Peach.” He told me and I smiled, laying back down as he began playing with my hair.

Lloyd wouldn’t admit how his head had cleared after being so close with Y/n. He wouldn’t admit how much relief he felt when he bit her. Was that some unknown kink of his? Maybe. He couldn’t stop staring at the corner of the bite peeking through the collar of his shirt on her body. She had fell asleep not long after they had settled and he wasn’t far off. There was a looming thought in the back of his head that he should head back to the monastery but he couldn’t. Not yet. He doesn’t think he can leave anyway. It would be wrong. It’d upset Y/n and he doesn’t want to leave. He heard the vibration of his discarded phone against the bedside table and grabbed it.

Cole Brookstone

‘Good work everyone, Wu put us on a late training tomorrow, so don’t wake me up before 10, we earned this ;)’ -sent 8:47pm

Lloyd sighed and put his phone back down. He was a liar. Two faced. Literally. He was deceiving Y/n, letting her believe she had this friend to rely on in the green ninja and a boyfriend to treat her well in Lloyd. He hadn’t even asked her to be his girlfriend. She didn’t deserve him. He had nothing good to give her except emotional baggage and a permanent target on her back. Was this really how he was going to let her live just for liking him? Should someone have to pay that price for a relationship? Not for someone like him. She didn’t know about his age either. His literal age not actual age. He may have skipped a few years and completely developed. He wasn’t 14. His body wasn’t 14 and neither was his mind. That was the problem with that aging tea. It made anyone who had drank it or in this case been consumed by it, age to adulthood. Lloyd’s body was done aging and he had to shave so often, he already had thick stubble. How do you explain to someone that you’ve been alive for 14 years but you are not 14? With that thought in mind he decided to actually try to get some sleep before he’s back to waking up at 4:30 everyday again.

I always hated when the sun woke me up. The shitty dorm blinds did nothing to block the sun and I groaned and tried to turn over, only to realise I was laying on a grown ass man. He face looked like porcelain in the sun, his hair actually glowed a golden colour and I smiled to myself before kissing the underside of his jaw. I leant back down to lay on his chest again but he began shuffling. I sat back up to stare at him and he stared at me for a moment as he came back to consciousness. His eyes were red. Like a blood red. My mouth opened slightly and he smiled before sitting up and taking me with him. I laughed a little as he sleepily trapped me between his arms. I looked back up at his face to see his eyes again and they were still red. Didn’t the green ninja maybe have red eyes. No. They were green. But so were Lloyd’s. Well, one does have an evil overlord as their father with red eyes and 4 arms.

“What’s the time?” He asked me, taking me out my thoughts and I shrugged.

“I don’t know, I haven’t looked yet. I don’t even think I charged my phone last night. I’m probably on like 3%.” I joked and he smiled, checking his.

“Beat you, 2%.” He told me and I laughed, before his smile dimmed into a frown.

“What’s wrong?” I asked and his frown didn’t disappear.

“It seems my sister- Nya- and brother- Zane- have noticed that I’m not at the monastery and are moments away from telling my uncle if I don’t respond- it’s also 8:03, on the dot, literally just changed.” He told me and I smiled, standing up to get dressed.

“Are they worried you’re gonna get lost in a ditch or something?” I asked and he laughed breathlessly.

“No it’s because they can’t help treating me like a kid.” He said and chucked his phone to the side after sending a quick message. “I get these messages all the time whenever I’m away.” He added and I looked at his phone as a new message came through. I didn’t mean to read the message but when I saw the number 14, it was hard to focus on anything else.

Nya Smith

‘I don’t care if you say and have the body and mind of an 18yr old, you’ve only been alive for 14 years and we can tell because you don’t know how to message to say you’re going somewhere???’ -sent 8:04pm

‘It’s cool that you get an en-suite bathroom in your final year, I don’t think I could’ve gotten away with going into the communal bathrooms.” Lloyd joked but I didn’t even look at him.

“I don’t know, you could probably get away with it. All the 14 year olds here have to use it.” I said and he froze.

“I’m not 14.” He said and I shook my head.

“Really?” I asked and he nodded. “I don’t know if you know how age works, Lloyd, but if you’ve been alive for 14 years it makes you 14!” I said and shoved his phone in his hands. He took one look at it and his eyes widened.

“No-!” He quickly stammered and I nodded.

“So you lied to me?!” I said and he stood, frozen in shock.

“Not fully-!” He tried to argue and I gasped.

“You think you stopped growing-?! That doesn’t make you 18- oh my god- 14 year olds can’t give actual consent.” I said and held onto my own chest.

“No, I’m not 14– not- not physically, not mentally, not emotionally- listen, my Dad a few months ago-“ He started and I scoffed.

“Stop it.” I said, not wanting to hear his lies again.

“No- please- listen-!” He begged and grabbed my hands to which I snatched them away but didn’t move away, just glared up at him as I crossed my arms. “Thank you… a few months ago, my Dad used his mega-weapon to make the bones of a grundle de-age and have a thirst for ninja blood. The ninja tried to stop him but got reversed back to childhood in doing so.” He told me and I frowned.

“What the hell does this have to do with you?” I asked, through teary eyes and his eyes lit up, like he was glad I was actually listening.

“The ninja ended up in the comic store I used to hang out in because he lets you read comics without paying for them, you just couldn’t leave with them- anyway - the ninja come in, but they’re children so no one is listening to them. They took these tiny children’s ninja costumes and these light sticks to try and fight the grundle because in the grundle comic, it gets defeated with these light stick things. But of course they’re plastic so it doesn’t work. The only hope was to age back up the grundle and obviously the ninja too. There was this magic tea thing that could sped up an aging process which made this smoke actually but their sensei couldn’t hand it to the ninja in time and it landed right next to me. So I used it. It aged up the ninja back to adults and the grundle back to bones but- I got caught in the crossfire. Physically, I’ve reached full adulthood so older than 18 but mentally and emotionally I’m around the age of 18-21 but we went with 18 because it was the youngest we could go, we did so many tests and everything- I can literally go home and get them-“

“If you weren’t you I’d call bullshit and never talk to you again.” I said and he frowned. “Is this why daddy dearest wants you so desperately, not that you’re a fully grown adult?” I asked and he sighed.

“My Dad is an awful man, but he loves his son. He didn’t take me with him when left 2 years ago because he believed my Uncle would keep me away from all of my Dad’s life and everything- ‘give me a chance’ in his words -and when he found out I had been aged up and was now an adult… it hit him hard. He’s got this crazy guilt that he made me look like a monster and now he’s taken my childhood away from me because of the pure evil he can’t get rid of.” Lloyd said and my eyes widened. “And well, my Dad already missed 10 years of my life so finding out I was now an adult and he had missed even more time made him more insane. He’s now talking about he can only have his family in ‘his image’ and how my Uncle has no right to keep a son from their father- it’s weird.” I paused for a moment, jaw left open in my speechless state, before turning and holding a hand up as if to push him away.

“I can’t- what?!” I said more to myself than anyone. “So you’re 18?” I asked and he nodded. “But 14 also?” He shook his head.

“The laws of time are very complicated, my body experienced aging and my brain developed the same- I’m a biologists best gift.” He said and I shook my head.

“I want those tests.” I said he nodded.

“Of course.” Lloyd nodded and tested out coming closer. I shook my head, just taking his hand and holding it from a distance and he let me.

“You understand that you come with a lot, right?” I asked and he nodded. “This is a really big decision for me, Lloyd. I’m only now learning and realising a lot of things and trust! Trust is a big thing.” I said and he nodded, letting me say my peace. “Last night, I felt safe with you, I felt cared for. I was vulnerable and I exposed myself to you and I’ve never done that before. I really like you, Lloyd, but you can’t hold it against me if I can’t handle everything you come with or don’t react so casually or calmly.” I told him and he nodded.

“I like you too- I’ve never done that either. I want to be with you.” He told me and it was my turn to nod. “I don’t want to hurt you. If anything I want to protect you- I’m sorry- for all of this baggage I come with. You don’t have to carry any of it.” Lloyd said and I shook my head moving closer to hold his other hand.

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault someone else ruined you. Someone ruined me too.” I told him and he smiled leaning his forehead on mine.

“Why does everything you say sound like it belongs in a scripture.” He told me and I smiled.

“I think I read too much.” I said and he just tiredly leant more on me. Still not letting go of my hands. He suddenly pulled back with a sudden frown and my eyes widened in confusion as I looked back from the door to him. My face replicated his as I went to ask what was wrong…

A sudden knock made me jump out my skin. Did he seriously hear someone coming?!

“You’ll never guess who’s got a free morning! I was thinking we get it on and then see if the burger place near the south end has started serving yet-!” Lloyd turned to me as the man continued.

“Are you kidding me?!” He asked, angry, letting go of our hands and I frowned. “What the fuck is that?!” Lloyd asked and I stuttered a moment before shoving me and ripping the door open.

“Hey baby, I was thinking we push the beds against each other again, Peach didn’t notice last time- Peach! I didn’t know you were here- I thought you had that group thing today and every week on this day too- that’s what Pearl said.” He elaborated and I rolled my eyes.

“Pearl isn’t here, Kai.” I said, bluntly and he faltered.

“What?! But- where did she go?!” He asked and I shrugged.

“Away, holiday, her Nan took her. She’s alright.” I said and he paused.

“I- I can’t- is there somewhere else in there?! Because I know we’re not exclusive and I can smell a different cologne to mine.” Kai said and I shook my head.

“No-! No one is here, just me.” I said and he frowned.

“Was someone here? That’s a good bite mark on you-“ I slammed the door in his face. “-no! I’m sorry! Peach, c’mon!” I ripped open the door again.

“Fuck you, Kai, leave before I call campus security.” I watched as he sighed and turned around. “And your hair looks shit!” I finished off before slamming the door again.

“Kai?!” Lloyd asked and I held my head in my hands as I slid down the door.

“He’s the worst one of Pearl’s fuck-buddies.” I said. “That’s the easiest he’s ever left before, though. Normally begs to see Pearl and she has a schedule of who she wants to be with and when their turn is so of course I have to get them to leave- and she’s never even here when they want her!” I ranted. “Fuck him.” I said and Lloyd all of a sudden let out the loudest laugh ever, it made me jump.

“That was my brother, Peach!” I froze and he laughed more. “My brother, Kai, that was him!” He said and I couldn’t move.

“Well he’s a massive dick!” I said and he nodded.

“He is, you’re not wrong.” Lloyd agreed.

“I’ve already had a horrible day and it’s not even 9am.” I said.

“Good morning.” He said and knelt in front of me.

“I’ve known you for a month and I think I’m already falling in love with you.” I said and he smiled. “That’s not normal, is it?”

“I don’t care, I don’t think I’ve ever been excited to live before.” Lloyd said and I melted. Tears pooling out. “Oh, don’t cry- no I’m sorry! You mean nothing to me- you have no effect on me! I don’t think about you every waking moment-!” He said and I laughed, moving onto my knees to hug him in our positions on the floor and he placed his knees on the floor in place of his squatting position.

🪺. *. ⋆

It was fair to say that Lloyd didn’t feel overjoyed to see his whole team family waiting for him when he walked through the monastery doors. He simply shrugged off his coat, put it on the over-filled coat rack and turned around to face them. They said nothing, only glaring with stern faces and positions. He nodded and went to walk past them only to be stopped by Cole.

“No! You don’t get to just walk by after disappearing for the night and morning.” He grabbed Lloyd’s shoulders. He hasn’t seen the man this distressed about something in a while. “Where the hell have you been?!” Cole almost screamed and Lloyd cringed. His super-hearing not being helpful when a grown man was whining in his ear.

“What happened to not treating him like a child?” Jay asked and Cole shoved him away, earning a yelp, staring straight back at Lloyd.

“I don’t care, he clearly still can’t take of himself!”Cole said and Cole was known to be more of a motherhen over the team. Making sure everyone had breaks and was doing okay, was eating well and wasn’t too tired. Kai thinks it’s his internal guilt for watching his mother pass and his father deteriorate and not be able to do anything. That’s really sad now that Lloyd thinks about it.

“I’m fine- was fine! I have a life too!” He said shrugging Cole off. Trying to get to his room without harassment, his back kept stinging and he wanted this t-shirt and material off it.

“We were worried about you, Lloyd! Not even a message to say you were staying somewhere else!” Jay yelled as they neared Lloyd’s room. They were really following him.

“Didn’t think I’d have to and I was busy.” He said, entering his room and going to closet to try and find a less rough shirt.

“Busy-?!” Kai asked, and Lloyd nodded.

“Yes, busy! I’m not just a ninja!” He exclaimed, tired of them following him and ripping off his shirt, he heard a gasp and turned around to see their shocked faces.

“You sure were busy.” Jay said and Lloyd frowned.

“What?” He asked, unaware of what was on his back. He turned towards his mirror to see the raw, deep scratches down his back and a sort of hickey/ bite on his shoulder where Y/n had imitated him biting her and it would’ve tipped him over the edge if he wasn’t already there. Thats why his back was stinging. How did he not see that this morning? “Damn you, Peaches.” He murmured to himself, away from the Ninja ears at his doors.

“Who did you fuck?! A bear?!” Kai asked and Lloyd laughed, shaking his head in amusement.

“Sick bastard. He likes getting mauled!” Cole said and Lloyd just smiled.

“So what if I do?” Lloyd said, making the other ninja pause in shock.

“Zane hold me.” Kai said, and the ice ninja did as ordered. Holding the over dramatic ninja in his arms until he cooled down- if that was possible.

“Lloyd had sex, Lloyd has sex-“ Jay repeated and Lloyd frowned.

“Let’s not repeat that to the whole world, okay?” Lloyd said and Jay nodded. Walking away.

“You broke Jay.” Nya informed and he nodded, rubbing his temples. He picked up his phone to message Y/n, ignoring the other ninja’s comments towards him.

‘You left my back looking like a bear had attacked me’ read 12.07pm

‘My family is freaking out.’ read 12.07

Peaches is typing…

I looked a mess. My lips were puffy, even after a shower to cool my body down I felt red hot. The bite mark on my neck was deep. I had to put a cold towel on it for a while before I pressed a little and a load of blood came through my skin. I gasped and had to put a bandage on it. I hoped it would heal okay. I’m not really sure about I feel about a bite mark scar on my neck for my whole life. I was stood in the mirror, just in my underwear before turning around to look at myself from the back and not only gasped but jumped. The back of my thighs were bruised. They were bruised black. I took a picture and sent it to Lloyd.

‘I can rival your back scratches.’ read 12:10pm

*pic. attached*

Lloyd is typing…

“Who the hell could you be messaging at this time?!” Kai asked and Lloyd ignored him. How the hell did he do that?!

“Can I borrow Zane? My back stings?” Lloyd asked instead and Zane immediately left Kai to go run his natural freezing cold hands over Lloyd’s back. Lloyd sighed in relief.

“I believe you’ll need some ointment for this.” Zane said and Lloyd shook his head.

“It’ll go away, soon enough.” It did not.

It didn’t because that night he was back fucking Peach. And the next. And the one after that. Just gentler than the first time.

“Oh my god- let me get you off-“ I went to sit up, he just ate me out for the first time and I was panting. He pushed me back down with one hand before diving back between my legs. He had his hands gripping on my thighs- well one keeping me down by the stomach. He had a thing where he wouldn’t let me touch him and he had to always get me off first before fucking. He learnt what aftercare was and now I’m like a patient after sex.

“I get off from you alone.” Lloyd said and I gasped as he sucked on my clit. “Plus, I really like this.” Lloyd said and I smiled. And when I came again, he let me sit up and kissed me, until we both couldn’t breathe and I ended up on his lap.

“I really want to suck you off.” I said with a smile but his face changed. “What- is that not okay?” I asked and he cleared his throat.

“No it is but- I don’t know- I feel guilty Peach. Whenever, we focus on me you get hurt.” He said and my face dropped.

“Lloyd! I don’t-“ He cut me off.

“You do! Your thighs- your neck-! Multiple times-! I don’t know how to not do that-“ I held his face.

“I have an idea- you teach me.” I said and his eyes widened. I slid off his lap and took off his boxers, I slid to the floor. I took his dick in my hand and looked up for guidance. Something changed in his eyes. He looked almost scary from this position, powerful. And it turned me on.

“Loosen your grip- fuck your hands are softer than mine.” He said and I smiled. “Now move up and down, gently- slowly- fuck you might need both hands.” He said and I put both on, one under the other on his base and he groaned. Loudly. I started moving up and down but testing out doing so with twisting my hands and he threw his head back. We went on like that for a minute before he leant forward and grabbed the back of my head, gently. “Here is where you tell me if you’re hurt okay? Just tap my thigh.” He told me and I nodded. “Open your mouth.” And I did, he used his own hand to move his dick to lay on my lips. “Suck and work your way down.” He told me and I did, I kissed and licked the tip first before taking more and more. He was groaning and grunting like a mad man and his hips twitched, wanting to thrust up into my mouth. “Teeth, Y/n.” He warned me and whined and the tug at the back of my hair. This side of Lloyd was deadly arousing and authoritative. I pushed as much down as I could suddenly, until I gagged but I kept it there for a moment before shoving more down, letting my throat get used to the sensation every time as when I got to the base of his dick, breathing frantically out my nose I could feel his smirk as my nose nestled in his pubes. That’s when he took control, moving my head up and down his cock. I just had to focus on keeping my mouth open wide enough and my jaw did ache. “You’re so fucking good.” He said suddenly and I whined. Not being able to say anything else. I tried to grind on nothing and he noticed, sticking his food below in between my things and I immediately started rocking myself on his leg. “Of course, this turns you on as well.” He said and I hummed, the vibrations causing him to groan again. “You were made for me, in every fucking way, you were always meant for me. You belong to me.” He suddenly said before cumming in my mouth unexpectedly. I whined but refused to take his cock out my mouth even as it slowly went limp. I leant my head on his thigh as we came down from our high. “Peach, you can let go now.” He said and I held onto his thigh some more. I didn’t want to let go. That was so much. I felt safe here. I didn’t want to move. I’d never seen Lloyd like that before. I’ve never realised how much stronger he is than me before. I wanted to stay down here, holding him, feeling like I was everything to him. “Y/n?” He asked again and tears started pouring out my eyes but I still held onto him. I shook my head when he went to pull me off but he did anyway and I almost whimpered. He lifted me off the floor and into his lap. “What’s all this about?” He asked, both my legs on the side of his and my head in the crook of his neck as he held me so protectively. We stayed in silence as he rocked me and held me so protectively. I’d never felt anything this strongly before. And for a moment, I think I was scared and I just wanted to do anything to please him.

“Lloyd?” I asked and he immediately turned towards me, to try and see me from my place in his neck.

“Yeah?” He asked and I closed my eyes for a moment.

“Fuck me, I want to feel like I’m meant for someone again.” I said and his eyes widened. “I want to feel loved again.” I told him and something like anger settled into his eyes and he lifted me up and settled me on his cock, not giving me any time to adjust as he pushed me down and I bottomed out.

“Loved? I don’t need to fuck you to make you feel like that, Y/n. I don’t even need to touch you.” He said and leant back. “Show me if you even love yourself before I do make you feel like you’re meant for me.” He said and I started moving. He didn’t do anything which made me more desperate.

“Lloyd, please!” I begged, leaning closer to him as I fucked myself on him. I was crying and he wasn’t giving in. I started bouncing harder and faster, slamming my hips down as fast as I could. I felt my high building but going no higher. I need him. “Please! I need you- I can’t finish!” I said and he just smiled.

“But you will.” He said from where he was leant on his elbows so I couldn’t even get in his face. He was smiling and I sobbed out as I leaned my whole body down until I was laying my head on his torso, still fucking myself on him. I moved one hand to start toying with my clit and it got me further along but I wanted- no need more. “There we go.” He said and it made me get closer. I just needed him.

“Lloyd…” I became a mess, saying his name over and again, like a breathless plea before I felt his dick twitch and I almost came there and then. He sat up, taking me up with him. I almost screamed when I finally came and he began moving me up and down himself until he spilled not too long after. “Baby…” I said and he chuckled, holding my completely fucked out body.

“You’re a mess…” he said, fondly, before taking us into the shower and placing me down as the water changed temperatures over me as I sat in the bottom of the shower. When he deemed it perfect temperature, he forced me to stand, I leant heavily on him as he washed me and he smiled to himself as he let me sit back down as he quickly washed himself. “We should try shower sex when you can keep your eyes open again.” He said and I whined, hitting his leg.

“I don’t know what you did to me… I felt like I had to do anything and everything you wanted me to. All because I wanted to.” I told him and he frowned.

“A want so strong it’s a need?” He asked and I nodded.

“I’ve never been so turned on as when you switched up then.” I said and he chuckled.

“What?” He asked, wanting me to elaborate.

“When you took control- you should keep it from now on- maybe.” I said and he laughed.

“You like when I tell you what to do?” He asked, perplexed and I shrugged.

“So what if I do?” I asked and he took us both out the shower.

“If we’re being honest about what we like then I fucking loved eating you out.” Lloyd admitted and I laughed.

“Because you love anything to do with your mouth. Biting, sucking, licking-“ I said and he laughed.

“Okay, okay, I know.” He tried to cut me off but I kept going.

“You really loved when I sucked you off.” I said and he smirked.

“You really love when you sucked me off.” He turned the table and I shrugged. “But what was that whole thing about after?” He asked as he dried me off after swiftly drying himself.

“I just felt vulnerable, I felt safe. I haven’t felt like that since I can remember.” I told him and his face changed to something like recognition. “You make me feel safe, content even. I’ve never had that before. You’re special, Lloyd. And I can’t stop thinking about you.” I said and he paused for a moment before kissing me.

“You feel like everything to me. Whenever I’m around you my head goes blank and when I’m not all I can think about is you, how long until I see you again, what you’re doing, where you are, if you’re okay.” He admitted and it sounded obsessive but I didn’t care. I just kissed him again. “I want to be with you, not just like this, but actually. I want a relationship, Y/n.” He admitted and my eyes widened.

“Yes.” I said and he frowned. “I want that too.” I elaborated and he smiled.

“So that’s a yes, you’ll be my girlfriend?” He asked and I nodded, biggest smile on my my face.

“Yes you- you- oh my god!” I said and jumped at the knock at the door. Lloyd laughed before throwing my pyjamas at me and I quickly got them on, almost tripping.

I swung open the door and yelped. Who the fuck was that?! A man with the longest white beard I’ve ever seen and wearing robes was at me door with a bamboo staff and a straw hat. This was the kind of shit you saw in Jamanaki, not here.

“How can I help you?” I asked, feeling a bit bad for how rude mr initial reaction was.

“I’m looking for Lloyd- and don’t bother, I already know he’s here.” I froze. WHO was this man? And how did he know Lloyd. Had he escaped the nursing home?

“Can I at least get a name?” I asked and he gave me a polite nod.

“Sensei Wu, now where is my nephew.” I nodded before turning to where Lloyd still was in the bathroom.

“Give me a minute, I’ll let him know you’re here.” I said and went close the door but she shoved his staff between the frame and door quicker than I could imagine and let himself in.

“I will find him myself.” I was now overly aware of how my dorm smelt of sweat and cum and the slight scent of strawberry from my body wash. He didn’t move further into the dorm, despite his words and I quickly picked up some dirty clothes and our underwear to try and hide what we’d been doing. It wasn’t working and I barged into the bathroom to put it in the dirty basket.

“Your uncle is here.” I said without another word and he froze. Almost cutting himself with the razor he was shaving with. At least he had the decency to put another set of clothes on. Well clothes that he let me have as pyjamas since Pearl took most my clothes for her holiday.

“I made my beg again and sat down, awkwardly facing the sensei.

“Would you like a drink or anything?” I asked, there was a kettle, a sink and a microwave in our dorm and the over 16s had a communal kitchen. We lived much more separate to the others as we were technically in ‘higher learning’.

“Tea will suffice, thank you.” I grabbed a clean mug and boiled the kettle as Lloyd exited the bathroom.

“Uncle.” He greeted.

“Nephew.” The old man greeted back. What a weird family.

“You want a drink?” I asked and he nodded. I knew what he wanted. We became oddly domestic over the past few days that he was staying and leaving for work at certain times. I grabbed another mug as the two began speaking. Lloyd sat on my bed and faced his Uncle.

“I assume you’ve come here for a reason, Uncle.” He said his Uncle nodded, taking the hat off and I only just noticed he had a long white braid. I poured the hot water into the mugs that each had a tea bag. I grabbed myself a can out the mini fridge and the milk.

“Any milk?” I asked and he nodded.

“I would like a weak tea today.” He said and briefly stared at Lloyd who shook his head, telling me he’d explain later. I widened my eyes at him and pointed at the man behind his back and Lloyd sighed.

“Uncle?” He asked again.

“You seemed to have taken residence here over the past few days.” Wu said and I tried not to freeze as I took the tea bags out and handed both the boys their tea, before taking my own can and sitting next to Lloyd, who held me defensively.

“Yeah, didn’t want to leave Peach on her own.” He was careful to use my nickname.

“Peach?” His uncle asked and I nodded.

“Yeah, that’s me… weird name I know.” I said and he gave me a sheepish look before focussing on his nephew.

“Uncle, if you’re here to tell me I’ve been slacking or become lazy-“ Lloyd started but his Uncle wacked him in the side of the head with his staff. I gasped and moved a little away before turning Lloyd’s head towards me to look.

“What was that for?!” I yelled and Lloyd patted my leg, telling me to clam down.

“As much I agree with you, it’s his way of love, Peach.” Lloyd told me and I frowned.

“It was because my nephew cannot keep his mouth closed.” He said and I became speechless.

“Yep, there it is.” Lloyd said and sat up again. I didn’t want to let go of him but he made me.

“I’ve actually come here, to speak to you both.” Wu said and I would’ve gulped if it wasn’t for Lloyd basically doing it for me.

“Nephew, you have been excelling lately. You are much more content and- this may sound rude- much less insatiable than your team mates. You have become focused and are now ahead of your teammates who have been training for longer than you. I’m here to thank, Miss Peach.” Wu said and I froze. “Keep up the good work, you’ve turned my most inexperienced student into one whose skills are currently unmatched. I’ll leave you both now- oh! And a little incense and an open window goes a long way.” He put his mug in the sink as he let himself out. When did he finish the tea?!

“Do you need a moment?” Lloyd asked and I nodded, opening the window.

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