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celestial-toys · 3 months ago

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That I Would Be Good [1/5]

How to Help

You take note of the two people on this couch with you. These innocent lives you brought into this awful world, with no thought given to the consequences. Stereotyped them down into boxes and expected a perfect fit—naive enough to think you could bring a fantasy to life.

You really want to apologize for falling into the business of playing God.

- - - - - - -

In This Chapter

Moon attempts to care for you as you do a little bedrotting.

The boys debate over taste in entertainment as you cry over work stress.

Much to Sun's chagrin though it all may be, you're saved from a potential night spent sleeping with your dog on the cold, hard hallway floor.

Pairing: Sun x Moon x Reader

Word Count: 5,174

Contains: [AU - Real World] [depiction of depression] [crying] [arguing] [an episode of vertigo] [tension] [fear]

A/Ns: This is a songfic. Lyrics and title are from 'That I Would Be Good' by Alanis Morissette.

This fic is part of my AU “[Not] Made by Design”, the full series can be found here.

Links to other parts of this fic: [Ch.1 (you are here)] [Ch.2] [Ch.3] [Ch.4] [Ch.5]

Lastly but certainly not least, this fic is dedicated to my friend Adrianna @roses-and-tears, whom I’ve been teasing with the existence of this fic for far too long. Thank you for your patience as I took my sweet time on this, and thank you for your patience with me in general. Your friendship means a lot to me, as does your endless support of my writing. I’m really grateful to have you in my life. Happy Birthday, Adri. 💛

That I would be good even if I did nothing.

Late afternoon sunlight slips through the slim crack between the drawn curtains covering your balcony doors. Over the past hours you’ve absently watched it grow from a bright yellow at noon to a vibrant orange now, the thin line cast across your bedsheets growing longer as the sun slips lower and lower. It serves as the only illumination in the room, all of your various lights and screens turned off in an effort to pretend that it’s an acceptable hour to be miserably curled up in bed, ignoring the world.

The occasional soft, muffled sounds of various housework being done by your—rightfully concerned, you suppose, yet surprisingly concerned, if you’re being honest—partners prevents you from ignoring the entire world, though. The subtle reminder that they’re here with you, that the house isn’t really empty, serves as a comfort that you aren’t sure you deserve. A small part of you wishes you truly were alone again, so at least you’d have a good reason to feel this way. You’d certainly feel less guilty about it too.

To their credit, they’ve handled this episode pretty well. Giving you space when you request it and proximity when you need it. Checking in on you. Keeping you clean, hydrated, and fed to the best of their ability in spite of your reluctance.

You just wish you could pull yourself out of this already.

You have work to do.

The mere thought of all that you’ve fallen behind on has you reaching up, grabbing at the corners of your pillow and tugging them down over your ears, eyes pinching closed in desperate avoidance.

Through the pillow you barely pick up on the muffled sound of soft knocking at your door.

You sigh, and manage a weak acknowledgment. “Yeah?”

Moon’s low voice rumbles through the barrier. “May I come in?”

You cough, clearing your parched throat. “...Yeah.”

The door swings open slowly and you squint, expecting the sting of the bright hallway light to hit, but it never does. You crack an eye open, releasing your hold on the pillow and tilting your head to watch him enter.

Your voice comes out more aggravated than you intend it to sound. “We got a bulb out in the hallway or something?”

Moon pauses halfway through closing the door behind him, his monitor swiveling around to face you. “Hmm?”

You clarify. “The light’s off out there.”

Understanding straightens the scrunched lines on his display that serve as his eyebrows. “Oh, no. The lights are fine, I just…” His monitor swings back around to align with his body as he gently pushes the door closed. “I’ve gathered that it hurts your eyes.”

The door quietly clicks shut and the light of his screen dims, adjusting its brightness to match that of the room. “The contrast, I mean. It being so bright out there when the bedroom is… so dark.”

A look, half-guilt and half-apology tugs at your features as you watch him approach the bed. “I’m sorry…”

His monitor clicks about 20 degrees to the right. “What for?”

His question is spoken so softly, so gently, and if you didn’t know better you’d almost believe that he really can’t think of anything you’d have to apologize to him for.

You know that couldn’t be further from the truth, though.

You’re about to acknowledge his ironic disdain for the darkness, but as you watch him reach down and experimentally lift the still-full bottle of water he refilled for you some odd hours ago, you pause. As his neutral expression curls into a small frown, you realize you should apologize for that, too. Your mind quickly offers up more and more things that you should apologize for, and within seconds your eyes are welling up with tears.

“Everything…” you say as you blink, letting them roll along your temples and—annoyingly—into one of your ears.

His monitor turns halfway toward you, but his false eyes don’t follow the motion, still locked on the bottle of water he’s thoughtfully swirling in his hand. His real eye must take in the state of you though, either that or his mics picked up on the emotion in your voice, because he passes the bottle into his left hand before turning and gesturing down toward the mattress with his right. “May I sit next to you?”

You nod, knowing he can see the motion even in the dim light, and you shift a bit from your dent in the mattress for the first time in… well, probably since Sun poked his proverbial nose in here an hour or two ago to make sure you were still breathing. Begrudgingly, you haul yourself up into a somewhat-vertical position, knowing if you don’t do it now Moon will coax you into it soon anyways. You pull your long sleeve down over your hand and use it to wipe at a few wet tear tracks.

Moon settles himself down on the mattress next to you, gently helping to pull away the sheets just enough to free you from your blanket prison as you halfheartedly reposition yourself. He rests the bottle on his left knee, monitor turning toward his right to face you.

“I don’t think that’s necessary. I think… a lot of the things you apologize for don’t even need one in the first place, and as for the things that do need one… well, you’ve already given them and I— …we’ve already accepted them.”

You sigh. “I wish it were easier for me to believe you.”

His tone has an edge of resignation, or… defeat, in it when he replies. “...So do I, star.”

His simulated breath deepens a bit and in the quiet of the room you hear his cooling system kick down a notch due to his shift into physical inactivity. He passes the water bottle into his right hand, his gaze flicking down toward it and then up to you. “Can you take a sip of this for me, please?”

Now that you’ve actually tried to speak and realized how… gross your mouth feels, you take it from him without reluctance and take not one but several sips, greedily downing it as your body finally recognises its thirst.

Settling the bottle in your lap, you shake your head a bit at his offered hand. “I’ll hold onto it for now… thank you.”

You steal another glance up at his monitor and see a small, unexpected smile and kind crescent eyes. “Of course.”

As his hands fold neatly in his lap, you question him. “Is Sun mad at me?”

His expression fades back into one of concerned confusion. “Why do you think that?”

You shrug and take another sip of your water, downplaying your explanation. “…Dunno. Just feels like that sometimes.” You think for a moment. “I wouldn’t blame him for it if he was. Wouldn’t blame you either.”

Moon’s display swivels side to side on its axis, shaking his head in disagreement. “I don’t think he is. I mean… you know Sun. He’s cold. Not as much as he once was, but still colder than I am, at least. Distant. Quiet. But… I don’t believe that he’s mad.”

He shifts, leaning back against the headboard and stretching his legs out across the length of the bed, crossing them as he releases an imitation of a breath. Angling his screen back toward you, he whispers, “You wanna know what I think?”

You nod, eyes widening in curiosity.

“I think he’s just as worried about you as I am. He just doesn’t know how to show it, or what to even do with such an emotion in the first place.”

You frown, your mind automatically finding yourself at fault. “I—I did my best to train your AIs identically… I don’t—I don’t know what happened with his emotional processing—”

Moon cuts you off, redirecting your attention with a gentle hand on your arm. “That’s not what I meant. I didn’t mean to blame you. AIs…” his voice and expression both turn playful, “…we’re a dangerous thing. You never truly know how we’re gonna turn out.” He nudges your shoulder with his, and you fight back a tiny laugh.

A comfortable sort of silence falls over the dark room, and you break it with one more quiet question. “…What’s he doing right now?”

“Same thing as Zero is, actually. Sleeping.”

His features dissipate, display changing as he pulls up an image he’d apparently taken of the dog and the bot sprawled across the couch. You huff a laugh at the sight of the two of them attempting to fit together.

“He told me he was up all night, but wouldn’t elaborate on why. So I wasn’t very shocked when he crashed in the living room and asked me to bring him his cable earlier.”

You sigh and look away, half-amused and half-stressed. The image fades, Moon’s default expression taking its place. You take another swig from your bottle before leaning back and to your left, the pillow behind you sliding along the headboard until you’re pressed against Moon’s side. “I wish he wouldn’t strain his battery like that. Gonna have to bring him in for a premature replacement at this rate.”

Moon nods, humming a quiet concurrence as he raises an arm, carefully wrapping it around your shoulders, your silent request for comfort heard loud and clear.

---------------------------

Neither of you ever got an answer as to what had kept Sun up that night. But, if you’d been able to look inside his mind and see his most recent activity, you’d have found a messy assortment of browser tabs, each one’s title containing the keywords “depression” and “how to help.”

That I would be good even if I got the thumbs down.

You’re settled atop Sun’s lap on your too-small couch, back comfortingly pressed against his chest, legs stretching out across the cushions to rest on Moon’s thighs. He’s the only one out of the three of you that’s actually sitting on the couch properly, Sun instead opting for his usual lengthwise position, one arm draped along the back of the couch and the other wrapped around your waist.

One advantage of his mechanical body is that he can keep his head twisted 90 degrees to the left, facing the TV for as long as he’d like and never know the pain of a sore neck.

He seems just as invested in what’s on the TV as Moon is, and if the repetitive shifts in lighting and audio are anything to go by, you’re willing to bet they’re having another silent argument over what to watch. Too absorbed in the game on your phone to be bothered by the inconsistent ambiance, you brush aside the stray thought to remind them that they could each just watch their own show in their HUDs instead of fighting over the big screen. Their strange insistence on adhering to the “human” way of doing things is something for you to psychoanalyze another time.

You half-listen to the TV as it switches back and forth between what sounds like BBC Earth, and The (ironically named) Learning Channel, taking note of the way Sun’s body warms. His cooling system audibly kicks in, and the creator in you takes immediate notice, the attention to your phone waning as your concern over Sun’s internal temperature rises.

You pause your game, pulling in a breath as you prepare to interject on whatever silent argument is getting him so heated, but they beat you to the punch, their internal exchange suddenly becoming external.

“—Because we’ve seen it before! I already know everything I could possibly need to know about crabs!” Moon’s voice cuts through the background noise and you flinch a bit at its sudden volume.

Sun’s curled fingers splay out flat across your stomach, apparently trying to calm you and argue with Moon at the same time. “It’s not about knowledge! It’s about the implications! The metaphor!”

Moon’s monitor pivots away from the TV and over to Sun, his volume lowering a bit as his optics pass over your form curled against Sun. “What implications?”

You twist around a bit to get a glance at the screen when the narrator says something that catches your ear.

“Our spy becomes the crab's defender.”

The three of you turn and watch as a robotic imitation of a crab serves as a mechanical wall of defense between a vulnerable, soft shelled crab and a hungry stingray.

You feel Sun’s arm tighten around you.

Confused and unimpressed, Moon turns back toward his solar counterpart. “Mhm, that’s lovely, Sun, but what does it have to do with us?”

Sun’s volume drops as you feel his body mimic a sigh. “More than your stupid ‘Thousand Coupons and Counting’ show does, that’s for sure…”

You feel your phone buzz in your hand, the darkened screen lighting up once again and drawing your attention away from Moon’s rebuttal.

“Oh, come on, that’s not even the name...”

Their petty quarrel quickly becomes background noise as your focus zeroes in on the message preview in your notifications.

[ Hey, sorry to bother you at such an hour, but I finally had time to relay your most recent proposed alterations to the client’s requested design… ]

Your stomach drops as you tap to open the message and are met with a bullet point list of complaints and questions relayed from the client through one of your colleagues. You’re grateful that your team has a dedicated customer relations department because if you had to communicate with this particular client directly, you may be out of a job.

Your mood quickly grows sour and defeated as you scan over the list of criticisms, your colleague’s addition of a sympathetic [😕] at the end of their message doing little to soften the blow. You’ve spent countless hours trying to find work-arounds and alternatives to this client's unrealistic requests, the head of your team insistent that you find a way to please them lest you cost the company a “substantial potential profit.”

Clenching your jaw, you fight to keep a level head. You fight the urge to type out a hasty response, one you know would be full of childish, whining complaints about the inconvenient timing and the client’s unrealistic demands. You then fight the subsequent urge to just turn your phone off, and maybe hurl it through a window for good measure.

“Why would we need to know that? When will we ever need to afford fifteen 2-liters of Mountain Dew and ten jugs of Tide on a tight budget?! Who shops like that?!” Sun’s rapidly rising voice is enough to finally break through your swirling thoughts. The sound of your boys arguing, as ridiculous as the topic may be, only adds fuel to your emotional fire.

You fight the urge to cry, and you fail.

Clicking your phone screen off, you curl further in on yourself and press your temple against the back cushion of the couch. Moon’s voice dies down halfway through his retort, his attention quickly drawn to your sudden display of emotion. Sun’s focus falls on you at the same time, his sensors instantly picking up on the shift in your breathing and increase in your heart rate.

Moon’s body shifts, turning toward you and leaning closer as the hand he’d had resting on your knee begins to pet up and down the length of your shin in a gentle bid for your attention.

Sun aggressively whispers to Moon as the hand he’d had resting on the back of the couch comes down to hover anxiously over your head. “You idiot, look what you did!”

Moon mirrors his hushed tone. “What I did? You’re the one being unreasonable!”

You shake your head and clear your throat before cutting in. “This isn’t… about that.”

Sun’s hand comes down to awkwardly pet down your hair as you lean away from where you’d head-butted the couch cushion. “What… is this about then? What upset you?”

You turn your head, pressing your chin against your shoulder to dry the tears that had trailed down and converged there. You internally debate over how to explain yourself before giving up shortly after, opting instead to silently pull the message back up on your phone and hand the thing to Sun for him to read.

He takes in the message’s contents with typical robotic speed before handing the phone over to Moon, an unreadable expression on his display. Moon scrolls back up, reading the list of complaints and releasing a sigh as he hands the phone back to you. “They’re being unreasonable.”

You nod in agreement, releasing a sigh of your own. “Can’t tell ‘em that, though.”

Your words hang in the air as a contemplative silence falls over the room, and it’s then that you idly note that one of them must have muted the TV at some point. With their debate over taste in entertainment quickly drawn to a close, you suddenly feel guilty. “I’m sorry…”

“What for?” Sun’s voice questions over your shoulder.

“Ruining another evening…”

Moon scoffs, his retort lighthearted with a dose of rare sarcasm. “Oh, of course! How dare you interrupt our ‘important’ television debate with your silly little real-world problems.”

You glance at him, cracking a small smile, but it doesn’t last. Sighing, you lean further back into Sun, letting your head fall back until it’s resting on his shoulder. From the corner of your periphery, you see his head pull back and tilt down to get a better look at you.

“It’s not even just this one client, it’s… I mean- it is, but… fighting over what is and isn’t possible… nowadays it just reminds me of how I fought with the team over your designs. Reminds me of all the ways that I let you down. All the ways I failed you.”

You watch a frown form on Moon’s display, and you’re about to apologize for dredging up the past again, but Sun’s hands are quick to distract you. Reaching down and around you, he takes the phone from your hand, moving slowly enough to give you time to resist his attempts should you choose to. Meeting no resistance, he cradles the phone in your lap, and watching over your shoulder, opens the message once again and begins typing out a response.

[ Please remind them that while we are always eager to please, there are certain limitations to what sorts of ideas we can bring to life. Link them to our Product Design FAQ page if you haven’t already. I’ll review their comments and look into potential alterations first thing Monday morning, when our business hours resume. Thank you. ]

Moon’s curiosity got the best of him, leaning across the length of the couch to get an upside-down look at the phone screen. Rotating his faceplate 180 degrees, he hums in approval before leaning back, head slowly completing a 360 and righting itself once again.

Sun’s thumbs pull away from the keyboard and he requests your approval in a low voice. “That sound good?”

You want to ask him why he’s helping you. You want to ask Moon why he isn’t mad. You want to ask them why you’re even still employed, why you even deserve the job you’re apparently so bad at. You want to apologize for everything under the sun.

You really want to apologize for falling into the business of playing God.

But you don’t. You re-read the message and let out a soft, resigned sigh, nodding. “Better than any response I’d be able to come up with tonight. Thank you.”

You raise a hand, tapping the send button, and then watch as Sun puts your phone on do not disturb before clicking it off once more. You point to the coffee table and he places it there, and Moon reaches for the TV remote at the same time. As you quietly readjust yourself in Sun’s hold, Moon offers you the remote with a soft question. “What would you like to watch?”

That I would be good if I got and stayed sick.

Flicking the light off, you make your way out of the bathroom and down the hall. Zero trails directly behind you, the dog insistent as always that you be accompanied on the long, arduous journey from the bedroom to the bathroom and back.

Perhaps, this time she could sense something that you couldn’t, because no more than a few steps into your short trip back, something quickly begins to feel… off. Closing your eyes and coming to a halt in the middle of the hall, you feel your stomach drop as you register the dreaded, familiar feeling of the world starting to spin around you.

Attempting a deep breath, you open your eyes and immediately regret it, disoriented and beginning to grow a bit panicked at how quickly this came over you. Muttering a soft “fuck… not again…” you reach out, placing a hand on the wall in an attempt to steady yourself. You try to at least make it back to the bedroom, but a terribly familiar hint of nausea makes itself known, and you suddenly aren’t sure if you should try for the bedroom or the bathroom.

Your body ends up deciding for you, a wave of lightheadedness teaming up with the dizzying sensation and quickly convincing you that taking a seat right where you are isn’t such a bad idea. As you slowly slide down the wall, butt thumping against the floor, you shakily call out. “Guys?”

Within five seconds, two round screens with wide digital eyes peek out from the bedroom’s open doorway. Stumbling over one another to get out of the room as soon as they see you on the floor, they question you in tandem. “What happened?!”

Clearing the short distance in a few strides to reach you, they both crouch down, one on each of your sides, Zero nervously pacing back and forth between them.

“I… I don’t know. It just hit me again out of nowhere.”

Moon’s faceplate clicks back and forth rapidly, a few degrees to the right, then a few degrees to the left. You close your eyes again, unable to look at him for long. You don’t have it in you to tell him that the motion itself is a dizzying sight. Sun seems to gather as much from his quiet observation, reaching out and roughly pinching the edge of Moon’s display, bringing the lunar bot’s anxious fidgeting to an abrupt halt.

“Vertigo?” Sun wastes no time in getting straight to the point, as usual.

You press your head back against the wall with a quiet groan. “Uhuh.”

“Can you tell us what—exactly—you’re feeling right now?” Moon questions you softly as he subtly struggles to pry Sun’s iron grip off of his head.

“Uhh… dizzy… lightheaded… getting kinda nauseous…”

Sun’s hand gravitates toward its favorite spot—that being around your neck—and since you don’t see it coming, you flinch.

He sighs, thumb finding its home on your pulse. “…It’s just me. You should know by now that I’m not gonna hurt you.”

You huff a humorless laugh in spite of your current state. “Yeah, well, I should know a lotta things by now.”

Sun doesn’t humor you with a snarky response, too focused on the current matter at hand. “Your pulse is pounding. Fast.” He’s quiet for a beat before tacking on a question. “Do you not feel it?”

You scoff. “Of course I do, Sun. I’m just used to it. It’s just doing that ‘cause I’m…” you hesitate, but honesty slips out of you rather easily in this state, “...scared.”

Concern seeps into his voice. “Of me?”

This time there’s a bit of humor in the laugh that he draws out of you. “No, Sunny… not you. Not this time.” You press the heels of your hands into the floor, searching for something grounding. “...It’s this. I’m scared of this. Whatever’s happening to me.”

Moon chimes in. “It’s gonna pass. It always does.” He places a hand on your knee. “And we’re right here. Gonna help you through it, just like always.”

You dare to crack your eyes open again, and find his screen blessedly still, light dim. “Still scares me though… don’t know why it’s happening.”

Sun retracts his hand from your neck. “We’ll figure it out. First priority is getting you situated somewhere more suitable. Do you want to go back to bed?”

You mull it over, wishing your nausea would decide to either get worse or get gone already so you could make up your mind. “I… wanna get back in bed, but… I don’t know if this nausea is gonna get worse or not.”

Sun almost shakes his head, but stops just short of it, not wanting to mirror Moon and make things worse. “You know we have a bucket dedicated to solving that very problem, so you can cross that off of your list of concerns. Besides, if it gets worse and you change your mind, we can always take you to the bathroom, easily.”

Sighing, you allow his reasoning to override your anxious, indecisive mind. “Yeah… okay. That’s fine by me, as long as you’re sure you don’t mind.”

Moon answers for both of them. “Of course we don’t.”

Sun leans back on his heels. “If that was the only thing keeping you, then why don’t we move this to the bedroom?”

In spite of your current state, you can’t help but crack a smile, unable to resist the opportunity to tease him. “Goodness, Mr. Sun. Too eager to even buy me dinner first?”

It takes the solar bot a moment to process the implications of your words, but the way the concerned expression on his face swaps to an empty black screen is enough to tell you that he got the joke—and that perhaps—he didn’t like it.

His voice comes out deadpan as he suddenly stands, distancing himself from you in more ways than one. “Ha-ha, very funny. If you’re feeling well enough to joke around then perhaps you don’t need my help after all.”

Moon grabs ahold of Sun’s ankle as he attempts to walk away, mirroring the iron grip the solar bot had recently had on him. “Come on, Sunny, don’t be like that…”

Sun gives a sharp tug on his leg, but Moon’s grip doesn’t relent. Even without a face nor a voice, you can still sense him silently telling Moon to not test him. You know better than almost anybody that their physical strength is perfectly matched to one another. They could stay locked in a stalemate until their batteries died if either of them truly desired it.

As amusing as it may be to push Sun’s buttons, even you know when something’s about to go too far, so you make the call to break it up. “Ah, let him go, Moon. He’s put up with enough of my shit for one night.”

Moon releases his counterpart, and Sun mutters a quiet “That’s right.” beneath his breath, striding back into the bedroom.

Zero yawns into a whine.

You shakily reach a hand up to pet her and she bends down, slipping her head beneath it. Your voice is something close to jaded when you address the quiet lunar automaton still crouched beside you. “Well, now that I’ve successfully put everyone in a bad mood, I suppose it’s time for bed, huh?”

He’s his usual understanding self when he replies. “I know it wasn’t intentional, star.”

“Yeah, but… I know he’s sensitive. Should really get around to repairing that brain-to-mouth filter of mine one of these days…” You trail off, making an effort to stand, and regret it quite quickly as the world starts to spin again.

Moon’s hands brace you instantly, and a soft request fills your ears as you clamp your eyes shut again. “Let me carry you instead?”

“...Please.”

“Of course.”

The three of you make your way back to bed, and in spite of Sun’s previous statement implying he wouldn’t help you, you notice the way the room is already prepared for you. Bed sheets straightened, pillows situated, lights dimmed as low as they can go. The movie you’d paused is no longer waiting on the TV screen, the device having been fully turned off, and you know that Sun must’ve read somewhere that bright, flashing, moving images on screens can make your symptoms worse. (Who’d’ve guessed.)

He slips back out of your closet as Moon places you down in the center of the mattress, your just-in-case bucket dangling from his hand. His hands settle on his hips after he places it down near the nightstand, still-blacked-out monitor swinging slowly, surveying the room.

“Last time this happened, crackers and water seemed to take the edge off. Would you like to try that again? Do you think you can stomach it?”

He doesn’t mention his (over)reaction in the hallway, and you elect to drop it too.

“I… yeah. Guess I’ll try anything that might help.”

He’s out of the door and off to the kitchen immediately, and back with both items in hand by the time Moon gets you both settled in bed. Moon holds your water and you take the crackers as Sun takes his seat on the other side of you, Zero curling up at your feet. Your shaky hands fiddle with the packaging for a moment before black and yellow segmented fingers hover over your own. You pause, and Sun makes quick, silent work of parting the wrapper. You offer up a quiet “...thanks…” that receives no verbal reply.

A few crackers and a quarter cup of water later, you’re relieved to find your symptoms beginning to ease. It’s no magical cure, but you feel more stable than you did on your own out in the hallway, where you honestly might’ve slept had you been left to your own devices.

Two of Moon’s fingers press against your inner wrist. “Hmm… better, but not back to baseline. Are you still scared?”

You’re quiet for a minute, trying to search for the source of your fear. “Scared… that this is gonna keep happening at random, forever.”

Moon is quick to reassure you. “I’m confident that we’ll work out the root cause of these episodes one day.”

You mumble defeatedly through a mouthful of chewed cracker. “I sure fuckin’ hope so.”

Of course, it’s only once you’re content to let silence fall over the room that Sun speaks.

“You don’t need to fear it regardless. Even if this is with you forever. Because…” he releases a sigh, full of reluctance, but finishes his sentence nonetheless, “...it’s not like we’re going anywhere either.”

A/N: Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed. I'll be back tomorrow with part 2! You can also find my notes and commentary on this fic right here on Ao3. Links to the playlist and moodboard for [N]MbD can be found on this blog’s pinned post, as well as in the series notes on Ao3. Header Image Sources: x - x - x

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smok3r7 · 11 months ago

Text

New Traditions // Valentine’s Day Oneshot

Joel x f!reader

Explicit, 18+

Main Masterlist & My AO3

Summary: The last Valentine’s Day two years ago has shattered your view of the so-called holiday. When Joel brings up the idea, you shut him down immediately, but he doesn’t listen. He hopes he can change your opinion on the holiday of Love.

Word count: 4.6k

Warnings: No outbreak AU, no Sarah or Ellie, slight angst, fingered, FLUFF

—

“What woman doesn’t love Valentine’s Day?” Joel questions as he lets your bent knees fall on his lap and lays one of his hands on your bare skin. The question throws you off, it’s a no-brainer; your face furrows instinctively.

“I guess just me,” you shrug your shoulders and laugh, “I just- I don’t have the best memories, is all. Ended up catching my ex of five years cheating on me two years ago with my receptionist. In my own home, might I add. So, safe to say that I despise this bullshit holiday.”

“You’re serious?”

“Yeah…fucking Adrianna, the gremlin lookin’ bitch.”

“Welp, his loss. So fuck ‘em.” Joel winks at you, causing you to chuckle and slightly shake your head.

“Thank you, but don’t think my feelings are gonna change just ‘cause you said that. Gonna take a lot for that to happen - if that’s even possible.”

“Oh baby, I got a week to think of somethin’ to do for you. But if it doesn’t work, I won’t try again okay?”

You give him a glance as your head lays in the palm of your hand, propped up by your elbow on the back of the loveseat. “Don’t go out of your way, baby, okay? I promise, I’m okay with doin’ nothing special or even related to it. Nothings gotta change, alright?” Your tone has more of an edge than before, making sure he understands that you really, really don’t want to do anything.

Joel must’ve heard the tension in your voice because he just nods his head, yes ma’am. He slowly leans closer and lays a soft kiss on your forehead as he cups your face with his large hands. Both of you turn your attention back to the TV that’s playing an old episode of Dexter, with both of you understanding your wishes.

—

The memory of that conversation finally clicks in your brain as you stand by the round kitchen table, with a mixture of fresh fruits and homemade omelets as Joel stands behind the wooden chair he’s waiting for you to sit in; you’re baffled.

“Joel, I told yo-“

“Don’t, I don’t want to hear it from you.” He interrupts your strong protest, before it can even begin. “Now, here’s the plan for toda-“

“But I said-“ you glare at his face when you cut him off, starting to become irritated because you really did want today to be the same. You just wanted to enjoy the day with Joel with no special treatment, but the fact that he didn’t listen to your wishes from a week ago kills you on the inside.

Why didn’t you just listen to me?

Joel interrupts your sentence by barking your name loud, this is when your body language shifts. Your arms quickly fold in front of your chest, your weight shifts to your left hip, and you just stare into his face with tears starting to blur your vision.

You hate to be yelled at, hell, scolded would be a better word for it. This has always been an issue for you; the minute you feel like a man goes against your wishes and then scolds you for arguing about it - you shut down and start to crack.

An eerie silence coats the walls of the kitchen that surrounds you and Joel. It feels like time has stopped, he stands in front of you with both hands wrapped around the rectangular dark wood chair and his face sharp. Although you’re about eye level to Joel, you somehow still feel small and broken as he looks into your eyes; you’re not quite sure what to do or think.

You look up slightly and start to rapidly blink so you can try to stop the tears from rolling, so you don’t seem like this weak little girl, but this just happens to cause the salty drops to fall. With a fifteen year age gap between you and Joel, there are times you do feel like a child and it twists your stomach into knots.

Your lips quiver from a smile, to biting your bottom lip, to being slightly pursed, all because you’re trying not to lose it completely.

“You went a-against my wishes, Joel,” you barely whisper, lowering your sight back to him in front of you.

“Just-“ he removes his fingers from the chair and turns his body to face you, now only about three feet apart from you.

“Please sit down n’ eat this breakfast, okay, baby?” He questions quietly, which causes his southern accent to vibrate through your ears.

Still with your arms crossed and body weight on your left side of your body, your eyes shift from his face to the delicious food on the table - that he clearly got up early and prepared for you. You don’t say anything when you look back at him, all you do is nod and wipe the tears from your face.

“Thank you,” Joel sighs, he then stands back and lets you sit down as he pushes the chair in behind you, and he kisses the top of your head, then walks to his seat across the small table from you and sits down.

Breakfast is eaten in silence, but a different one than before. This time, the silence feels comfortable and calm, no tension or eeriness in the walls. It’s just the scrapes of the knives and forks on the glass plates, mixed with the chewing from the two ends of the table, that fill your ears.

So delicious, my god.

By the time you clear your plate Joel is already standing up and reaches for your dishes. Instinctively, you move to stop him, but your brain stops your body from rejecting and you decide to sit back in the chair instead.

“Thank you,” you whisper as you scan your eyes up the large body only inches away from you.

“No need, darlin’,” he responds, staring down at you, he then turns and walks towards the sink and sets down the dishes with a soft, clink. “Now, I want you to head upstairs n’ wait in the bathroom for me. I’ll be right up.”

Your brain still isn’t functioning how it should be, and a large part of you wants to scream at him about how you don’t need to be treated with special treatment. But then the other part of you wants to accept this for what it is, that this man is madly in love with you and desires to treat you to special things.

An even smaller piece of yourself really does want to enjoy Valentine’s Day, it’s always sounded like a sweet thing; maybe this is the time.

So you know this isn’t a time to argue; instead, you smile when you stand up, and you don’t say anything when you walk in the direction of the landing that leads to the staircase. As you hesitantly step onto the dark carpeted landing, you hear the faint sound of the faucet turn on and the clinks of dishes in the kitchen.

The corners of your lips softly curl, and you continue up the staircase. The dishes are a part of the cleaning you did around the house - you and Joel split the chores around the large home, it was something that seemed fair for the both of you so no one got overwhelmed or felt taken advantage of.

So, the fact that he is taking the time to do something off of your list causes your heart to flutter. You reach the top of the stairs and head in the direction of Joel’s, and now your, bedroom. When you gently push the door open, your nose is filled with the scent of Joel, the musky scent of his cologne and his shirts lingering in an intoxicating way; this warm tender feeling forms in your belly, you feel so loved.

You just have to accept that Joel wants to do this, it’s not a chore for him, it’s a desperate need that he has.

Swiftly, you walk through the bedroom to reach the master bathroom that’s connected, and you slide the large barn style door open to the sight of tall candles lit and spaced out on the white tile floor and the outer edge of the porcelain tub, a small chair with bottles that read “Shampoo, Conditioner, Butter Cream Bubble Bath” next to the tub, and two white towels on the back of the chair.

When did he have time to do this? You whisper to yourself as you set your bare feet onto the cool tile, sliding the door closed behind you to keep the warm air from the heater confined to the bathroom. Your mind is trying to jumble ideas together, but comes up completely blank.

You still hear the sounds of dishes and water running downstairs, n’ wait for me. A smile grows on your lips, your cheeks warm up, and your belly spins and spins from anticipation. You spot your plush gray robe hanging on the hooks next to Joel’s black one, that’s hung up besides the glass standing shower.

So you decide to strip your pajamas off, the black tank top and sleep shorts dropping them in a small pile on the tile floor beneath your feet. Your right hand grabs the robe off the wall and swings it around your bare body so you can slip your arms through, and wrap the soft fabric around the front of yourself, as you do a little tie to keep it loosely together.

When you spin around to observe the bathroom from this side of the room, the soft glow from the candles is still just as breathtaking and beautiful. You catch the spot on the counter between the two sinks is empty like normal, at least something is the same. It’s the spot you sit whenever Joel shaves, brushes his teeth, showers - honestly, whenever he’s in here.

To keep some kind of routine and normalcy, you stride over to the counter and turn around so you can push your body up and set your ass onto the white and gray marble counter. Why does he insist on doing this? I’m not deserving of this kinda love and affection, it just doesn't seem real.

Your legs dangle off of the edge as you wait to hear the thumps from his feet on the stairs and the creak from sliding the door that separates you from the rest of the house. By now, the noises from downstairs have stopped and it’s only a matter of time until he’s in front of you.

The same time that you lean back onto the large mirror behind you, the barn door to your right gently slides open. The biggest smile appears on your face when you see him standing there, holding a long tray that’s filled with some more fruits cut up, but this time they’re covered in a white chocolate.

“Baby,” you purr as you sit up straight and he closes the door, then walks towards you on the counter and sets down the tray on the other side of the sink. Without saying anything, he turns around and turns the tub faucet on and to the hottest setting, and steam slowly rises from the water. Then he turns and brings his large body between your dangling legs, his hands placed on your hips, and he lowers his head to kiss you.

Your eyes start to well with tears as you kiss him back, but these are happy tears. You’ve never been treated with such care and tenderness, it’s very refreshing to know that a man is still capable of doing simple and effective gestures. Naturally, your arms hook around the back of his neck, which pulls your body right up to his; the smell of sweat, dish soap, and spices from breakfast overpower your nose.

God, he’s perfect.

“Okay, darlin’,” Joel sighs between the last couple kisses before he hesitates to pull away from you. “I want you to know that today is meant for you n’ that I want you to learn to love today. Cause’ you’re meant to, alright?”

With your hands playing with the curls that lay on the nape of his neck, you smile and nod as you stare into his soul-catching whiskey eyes, yes sir.

The smirk that appears on his face has your stomach doing flips, your hips instinctively grinding on his lower abdomen. His fingers dig deeper into your hips that’s covered by your robe as he groans under his breath, his eyes staring daggers into yours, trying so hard to not give in on his desires.

“Stop tryna’ distract me,” he tells you as he smiles and backs away from your jello-like body. Your arms drop in your lap as you watch him spin around and turn the tub faucet off, grab the bottle that reads “Butter Cream Bubble Bath” and squeeze a good amount into the water, and he swirls the steaming hot liquid. Bubbles start to appear just above the rim of the white bathtub, you can’t help but smile like a child waiting to be put in the bath after a long day.

Joel then brings his attention back to you, and the butterflies begin to appear like they did the first time you laid eyes on him at the bar where you met. The way his head cocks to the side to try to analyze you and your reactions tells you that he’s really trying to understand you fully, which you absolutely love.

He steps between your legs again, but this time his hands find a place underneath your ass and your arms hook around his neck once again. Joel then pulls you up, your legs latch around his waist, and your face rests in the crook of his neck, now lined with droplets of sweat from the warmth and humidity of the bathroom. You inhale once again, you can’t help it - you’re just so intoxicated by the smell of him, it’s almost an addiction.

But, just as soon as he lifts you up, he’s kneeling down and sitting you on the edge of the bathtub. You pout your lip at the loss of the body contact, your arms still around his neck as he kneels in front of you, his face now parallel to your chest.

“Don’t wanna’ get this wet, do ya?” His voice is deep and low as his hand reaches for the tie at your waist, his fingers slowly pulling the string keeping the piece of clothing together. You chuckle at his sudden confidence change, and you love when he does this, it somehow makes you fall even more in love with him.

His hands rise up to your shoulders and he gently pulls the fabric off of your body, letting the soft robe pile around your ass and thighs. His eyes gaze up and down your bare body, lingering on every inch of your skin like he’s eyeing his food, about to devour.

You slightly shiver from the warm air that hits your bare skin, Joel’s eyes move to your tits and he watches how your nipples perk from the humid air that circulates around the room. He licks his lips and mumbles something to himself, between the heater on the floor and the thumping of your heart in your ears you can’t make out what he’s said.

Both of his hands are placed on the top of your thigh and his thumbs start to do small up and down sort of motions. Your cunt beats at the same rhythm as your heart, a swirling feeling growing stronger in your belly, and you try to move your hips for some sort of friction. But your body is stuck from the grip Joel has on your thighs. You slightly whine and he smiles at seeing you losing your control.

“Now, spin your little self around n’ sink in.”

You do as he says with no hesitation, no questions, and no arguing. When you spin around and sink your feet into the bubbly steaming water, you’re immediately wrapped in warmth. Hhmm, you moan as you shut your eyes and fully submerge your body into the tub, laying your back on the porcelain behind you.

The water is almost at a scalding temperature, but it feels amazing on your skin, immediately relaxing the tension in your limbs that you didn’t even notice before.

“There you go, babygirl’, just relax n’ I’ll be downstairs, yell for me if ya’ need me.”

“Wait-“ you quickly say as your eyes shoot open and you lift your body up, causing your tits to surface from the water with clouds of soapy bubbles over them. Joel stops his movements and looks at you in the bathtub, waiting to hear what you have to say.

“You’re not gonna come in with me?”

Joel’s jaw clenches at your soft voice and the question, “Only if ya’ want me to,” he smirks back at you. All you do is nod and move your body closer to the faucet so he can slide in behind you. He watches the way the water moves with your body, and he starts to strip himself of the basketball shorts and his dark gray t-shirt, dropping them in the pile of your clothes.

Your cunt clenches at the sight of Joel naked in front of you. His chest and belly full of dark hair, his tan skin underneath, his cock hard up against his lower abdomen, and his thick legs beneath - he’s the perfect man, physically and emotionally.

He steps over the ledge and sinks into the same water you’re in, the bubbles and water now only an inch away from spilling over the edge of the tub. He slowly maneuvers your body so your back is against his chest, and you feel his cock lay against your lower back. Your head falls to his shoulder and leans into the crook of his neck, and your hands rest on his thighs that bend on the outside of yours.

Joel’s strong arms hook around your waist, one hand spreads against your lower belly and his right hand lightly grabs your inner thigh and raises it out of the water to hook your calf on the outer edge of the tub. The drastic temperature change between the water and the air causes goosebumps to rise on your skin, and Joel chuckles. You feel the rumble at your back as he does.

“Now, I want you to listen,” he whispers in your ear as he drags his fingers down your thigh and submerges back into the bubbles and water, stopping right at the crease before your mound.

“My moon n’ stars, you’re beautiful inside n’ out.” He bends his face and you feel his stubble tickle your neck as he starts to leave soft kisses between his words. His hands are still on your lower belly and thigh, giving soft squeezes to your skin; the mixture of it all causes soft moans to escape your lips, but you want more.

“You deserve nothin’ but the best things in life,” the hand on your thigh lowers and hovers over your aching cunt; your hips rise to try to feel him, causing the water to spill a little bit.

“My baby’s needy, huh?”

Mhmm, is all you can force yourself to do as you dig your fingers into his thick thighs and bite your bottom lip as you let him continue to leave sloppy kisses on your neck. Your stomach feels like it has dropped into a sinkhole, you’re just waiting for his touch so you can relax that overwhelming feeling. And just like that, his middle and ring finger swipe from your slick hole to your clit, your back arches and a broken moan leaves your throat from the sensation.

“Love when you finally give in, the noises you make,” his two fingers softly circle your clit and your right hand comes up to hook around the back of his head as you turn your face to meet him.

“N’ the way your body moves,” he whispers into your mouth as he kisses you with moans between each one. His fingers swirl slow circles on your clit for a moment before he lowers them and slowly inserts them in your small hole. The moan that leaves your lips is swallowed by Joel’s kisses as he pumps his fingers in and out, “So tight baby, relax,”

You try but you can’t. You’re so overstimulated from his fingers, his palm hitting your clit with each thrust, his cock throbbing behind you, and his other hand now pinching your left nipple.

I love you, my sweet girl, you look so damn pretty when you��re full of my fingers, your cheeks get so flushed and the way you can’t form words, just drunk off of the love.

You’ve never felt so loved before, this was all about you and Joel being able to do things for you - you’re finally starting to understand the appeal of Valentine’s Day. Pure love.

“That’s it darlin’, just like that. I’m right here.”

You break the kiss and lean your face into his neck, arm still wrapped around his head behind you, and you finally let that coil snap. With the last pump of his fingers, your back arches and you feel this tension release in your hips. Joel, fuck, you repeat into his neck as you calm down from the orgasm he just ripped from you, as he continues to slowly thrust his fingers in and out of you.

Shhh, pretty girl, I gotchu, he purrs as his left arm lowers around your waist so you don’t slide down too far into the water.

By now the water has cooled down, and it’s still warm but any longer and the two of you will be laying in a cool bath, which is fun for no one. Joel waits until your breathing has calmed down, and when it does, he taps your thigh that’s still hooked onto the outside of the tub. It jumps a little before you submerge it back into the bath water.

You and Joel chuckle at your body’s response, “You ready, dear?” You lift your face to look into his and you nod with a fucked-out look on yours. “You gotta carry me though,” you laugh as you say it, causing Joel to smile ear-to-ear and a deep laugh leaves his chest, “Was already plannin’ on it baby.”

Joel taps you once again to tell you to lean forward for him to get out, which you do. You watch him grab his black robe off the wall and slip it on as he ties it loosely in front of him. He then goes to grab yours and throws it over his shoulder, his hands then reach for yours to grab onto. You smile as you lift your hands into his and with the help of him pulling, you’re able to stand up and step out of the white tub. Water and suds drip down your body as Joel brings your rope around your body and lets you slide your arms into the soft material, then he ties the string to keep it together.

The smile has not dropped from your face, and you don’t think it will any time soon. Joel now has a softer smile over his, like he sees your opinion changing of valentine's right in front of him.

Joel takes your hand and leads you to the barn door once more as he opens it and tells you to lay down on the king size mattress you two share. Your brain is too foggy to try to refuse, so you climb on the navy comforter that smells of Joel. When you reach the pillows and turn around to lean against the headboard, you notice Joel holding the tray that’s full of the chocolate covered fruits that you forgot about.

Your face lights up as the sight of the chocolate strawberries, pineapples, and melons. So much so that Joel chuckles, I knew you forgot about these. He walks over to the side of the bed and sets the tray on your lap, he then grabs the TV remote that’s on your nightstand and he turns it to the station that plays movies that you always seem to love.

As you shove your face with the fruit, you also watch the guide on the TV as Joel scrolls and you look in the top left corner which reads, “2:48PM”. You almost choke when you realize that you two spent over an hour and a half in the bath, it definitely did not seem that long.

“There it is,” Joel says out loud as he clicks on the 234 channel, “Look at that, Good Will Hunting,” he turns his body to gauge your reaction, which is amazing nonetheless.

“How did-“

“Don’t. A magician never reveals his secrets. Now, I’m gonna’ go start dinner-“

“You’re not gonna watch with me?” You pout, setting down the small strawberry you were about to pop into your mouth.

“I mean, I had a couple more things planned, darlin’.” He replies but he watches your posture and how your eyes lower with sadness, it’s like a gut punch to him to see you like this.

“But if you’d rather sit up here n’ watch this, I’d be more than happy to do that with you.”

Your face brightens when you hear his voice tell you that with pure sincerity. You nod your head quickly, yes, please, baby, spills out of your mouth and you scoot over for him to sit next to you. He chuckles and climbs into the spot you cleared for him. “Wanna’ share?” he asks with a smirk on his face.

The laugh that leaves your chest causes Joel to blush and smile like an idiot. “My bad baby, of course.” You grab the tray and lay half of it on your lap and the other half on Joel’s. You lean into Joel’s side, he lifts his arm and rests it over your opposite shoulder as the two of you watch Matt Damon solve a ridiculous math question.

“So did I change your mind?” Joel’s question vibrates your body against his.

You take a second to answer him, you raise your eyes off of the TV and to Joel’s face where he’s already looking at yours below him.

“Order some Chinese takeout, and you sure did.”

Joel’s laughs and shakes his head, deal, darlin’. The same smile you had from the bath, takes over your face again as you push yourself up to kiss his soft lips.

“I love you, thank you.”

“Anything for you pretty girl, I love you more than the moon n’ stars combined.”

He kisses you one more time before he grabs his phone from his nightstand and goes to the menu for your favorite Chinese restaurant down the street. You bury your body more into Joel’s black robe, and you lower your eyes back to the movie.

Matt Damon bangs on the restaurant window, “You like apples?” The other dude nods his head, and Matt slams the napkin with the girl's number on it on the window, “How do you like them apples?” All his friends laugh as they walk into the street.

#joel miller #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller x reader #joel miller smut #joel miller x you #joel miller fanfic #joel miller one shot #valentines day #joel miller fic #joel miller imagine #joel miller x female reader #joel miller fanfiction

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of-elitiism · 28 days ago

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Everyone, what’s a trait you find attractive in a partner?

"Power. Harmless courtship without a tinge of wariness for one's life sounds awfully dull. I do enjoy the thrill of knowing the can rip me apart but chose not to~" Adrianna's response is direct and nonchalant, product of years of experience when it comes to finding those suitable enough to welcome into her bedchambers.

There is a bit of hesitation before he answers, mostly because there's a whole array of things Achim might be looking for in a partner; choosing just one trait seems a bit difficult. "...I'd say honesty. Cuz I don't like bein' lied to, gettin' taken advantage of or just feeling used by other people--- y'know, whatever opposite of being shady and sneaky might be."

"Proper manners and etiquette," Isaac all but sighed his answer, as if he subconsciously knows it's quite hopeless. "Partnership is so very, very enjoyable when following common propriety and moral values. I often am saddened by the staggering lack of consideration individuals have towards others and even themselves, at times."

"...patience. I'm not fond of rushing into anything anymore. I've grown tired of how fast everything and everyone seems to be moving. Should there be someone for me, i'd like them to be patient. And calm." Marcus spoke slowly, taking his time with every word spoken as he kept his gaze lowered and his fingers intertwined.

"Honestly, i'd be awesome if they would just--- like me first! Like-- actually be interested and care a bit about me, but without like--- me doin' something for them first or because they owe me a favor~" Terry's answer is simple an chill, her entire body being super animated as she talked. Her arms flailed around, her shoulders shrugged and she was rocking back and forth on her heels. The small smile tugging at her face is her true defense mechanism so she wouldn't get too emotional with this conversation. "I'd just want them to like me first, that's all~"

#[ voice - achim ]#[ voice - adrianna ]#[ voice - marcus ]#[ voice - terry ]#[ voice - isaac ]#[ annonymous ]

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of-elitiism · 2 months ago

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Slowly she kept twirling the wine in her glass as she listened and watched him closely. The rummaging sounds of music and chatter filled the lounge, yet the proximity between them made it fairly easy to take in his every word and the breath that came along with it. Adrianna smiled in return, yet again lowering her eyes and feigning shyness. Truth be told, the Fallen wouldn't have hidden away from basking in his attentions as the satisfaction she felt in being entertained like this was the kind of currency she sought after. However, the way he phrased it just now made it sound as if she was being presented with a sort of challenge, no matter which way he might've meant it.

"Very well then," she retorted after gingerly sipping her wine and settling the glass on the table in front of them. Her tone was playful and light, but not as demure and considerate as before. "Let us stop dancing around and talk like adults, hm?" Fully turning her body towards him, she'd pressed herself against his form, on arm reaching around behind him to sprawl fingers over his shoulder, while her other hand slithered a cold, snake-like, touch up his chest and neck. Slender fingers gently wrapped around his jaw and made him face her as she kept a scheming smile upon her lips.

"Should i allow you into me sheets tonight, will you manage to properly keep me entertained? Or will you prove to be a disappointment?" her thumb dragged the tip of her nail across his bottom lips as she seemed to be scanning him up and down, like goods at the market. "My time is precious, i've no reason to play the blushing bride."

[ Adrianna to Roderick ] Accidentally sits too close to the man, so now her thigh is brushing right up on his. This little lounge bar is a bit crowded though, so let's say the proximity would be understandable. Also, this corner table doesnt have individual seats either, just a long bench for patrons to share. She smiles, gingerly twirling a glass of wine. "My, didn't expect these quarters to be so lively this early in the evening. We don"t have to linger for long if you're not to keen on the crowds~"

“I can’t say that I mind the crowds too much.” — especially given how crowded the club could get some days.

Did he prefer the crowds and the limited space that came as a result of it? Of course not… but he wasn’t uncomfortable where he was now, either. Adriana helping herself to some of his personal space all but a given if the two were forced to share said limited space… so the most he gives in response to the unexpected brush of her thigh ( against his ) is a an amused breath as he brings his own glass up to his lips.

“But I can’t say that I mind leaving much either if it gets too rowdy. Or if you finish your drink before I do and decide… you wanna pull me out of here.” The corner of Roderick’s lips curve up as he watches Adrianna. “Or, if neither of those things strike your fancy, there’s nothing wrong with… giving me a reason to leave.”

“At this point, I think you just like the song and dance I go through to keep you entertained.”

Prompted | @of-elitiism

#[ voice - adrianna ]#sansloii #[ suggestive ]#[ huehuehuehue ]

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asvterias · 8 months ago

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𝖢𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝟦: 𝖥𝗂𝗋𝗌𝗍 𝖨𝗆𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗌𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌 𝖬𝖺𝗍𝗍𝖾𝗋

the cast // series masterlist

chap. 1 || chap. 2 || chap. 3 || chap. 4 || chap. 5 || chap. 6 || chap. 7 || chap. 8 || chap. 9

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: Dealing with Grief and Losses, Trauma Responses, Trauma Bonding, Implied Mentions of PTSD, Mentions of Multiple Deaths

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: (Brief & Platonic) Annabeth Chase ✘ Daughter of Poseidon!Reader, Adrianna Smith ✘ Daughter of Poseidon!Reader, Younger!Brother Percy Jackson ✘ Older Sister!Reader, (Platonic) Grover Underwood ✘ Daughter of Poseidon!Reader, Clarisse La Rue ✘ Daughter of Poseidon!Reader, Dionysus ✘ Daughter of Poseidon!Reader

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: Now recovering from her injuries during her ultimate fight with the Minotaur, Y/N wakes up in an unknown infirmary. During her exploration of the strange cabin, she’s greeted with new faces and new identities.

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 5.4k+

𝐓𝐚𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭: @s0r0ws @starvviss @kjisbae17 @lov3rgiiirl @starless-nightz @random-girls-loves @coolgirl458

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫’𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: Please don’t be a silent reader and interact within the chapter! If you wanna be tagged in this book, comment below and say ‘future tag’! Ahhh Clarisse and Reader FINALLY meet!! And so did Adrianna and Reader!!

🐚 ✘ 🗡️

𝖢𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝟦

𝖲𝖾𝖺𝗌𝗈𝗇 𝖮𝗇𝖾: 𝖤𝗉𝗂𝗌𝗈𝖽𝖾 𝖮𝗇𝖾

──── ⭑ ☆ ⭑ ────

Your mind was hazy, blurring visions glitching as you managed to make sense of everything. Through your half-lidded eyes, you saw two figures standing above you balancing out the scenery of the thunderstorm outside.

“Where am I?”

“Trust me, new girl, you don’t wanna know.” The unknown girl spoke, appearing to have braided hair.

“You look pretty banged up, so you should rest, to recover from recent injuries.”

“…Who are you? What are me and my brother doing here?”

“I’m Annabeth, and your parentage is the reason why you’re here.”

“What– what does that mean?!”

“That means it’s our godly parent’s fault for making us the way we are,” Another figure appears, this time having blonde hair.

“Adrianna.” The younger girl’s figure shushes.

“It is their fault regardless!” She protested.

“Don’t freak her out!”

“Annabeth…” you whisper woozy, “That’s a pretty name, and I really like your braids, wanna be sisters sometime? I promise to protect and love you forever and ever way more than the asshole who abandoned you. You too Adrianna, you sound like my new best friend.”

“…Is she high?” Annabeth asked. “What did Cassandra give her?”

“I don’t fucking know, but I want whatever Cassy gave her,” Adrianna chuckles.

Annabeth hits her on the arm.

“Anna Banana, can I call you that?”

“No you may not,” she answered monotonously, crossing her arms.

“We’ll see, I’ll warm up to you, I always do with everybody,” You grinned, shifting your focus to the other girl, “Adri, that’s a cute nickname!”

“Only you can call me that,”

“Really? Oh, that makes me feel so special!” You rejoiced, stretching your arms out, “Don’t worry, Annabeth, I’ll figure you out, one way or another,”

“You sure she isn’t your actual sister from a different father?” Adrianna inquires.

“I wouldn’t mind it either way, she seems smart and honest so I like that about her,”

You fall back into a dark abyss of unconsciousness as the girls’ voices begin to fade out all around.

──── ⭑ ☆ ⭑ ────

Eventually, you woke up with a groan, everything began to hit you like a train wreck. You had no idea how long you were out for, the only thing coming to your mind was the two unknown girls from the other day, peering down and talking about you.

The rainy thunderous night, while desperately trying to escape a demigod killer. The car crashed onto the side of the street and everyone waking up battled and bruised. It was your mom’s last moment, in the car, telling you to be safe and discover your true potential. Your cries still echoed in your mind as you shuddered at the faint memory, struggling to keep the fresh tears at bay.

More importantly, the fight with the Minotaur was one you’d never forget. That wretched monster killed your other mom, Sally and so you killed it, driven by vengeance and grief.

It was a wonder how you survived so far, the aching heartbreak of recent losses still lingering in your mind.

“It’s okay, you’re safe.” Grover starts.

“Y/N, you’re awake!” Percy states, rushing to you for a hug. You winced slightly at the impact but returned the hug.

“How long was I out for?” You examined your body, recognizing the same pair of clothes from the Minotaur fight.

“Two days straight.”

“Is there— Are our moms…?!” You gulp, too heartbroken to finish your statement.

They both looked down, refusing to admittedly say it, knowing the losses were a sore subject to discuss.

You frantically searched for the necklace, sighing in relief when you pulled it out, dangling the necklace in your face. You held the sentimental item to your chest, whispered a quick prayer to your parents, and briefly kissed the necklace. The bracelet you wore on your right wrist reminded you of your mother, Sally, gifted on your 10th birthday. It was a Pandora charm bracelet, matching ones, yours was silver and hers was gold.

“I just wanna be left alone right now, if that’s okay.”

You wished the earth swallowed you whole.

“Well, it’s a big deal to kill a monster like that.”

“Did you see it?” Percy asked.

“So, I wanted everyone to know–“

“Did you see it? Did you see what happened to our moms?”

You blinked away the unshed tears, clutching onto your mom’s necklace with one hand and using the other, fiddling with your mother’s bracelet.

“I did,” Grover spoke after some time. “Y’know Y/N most people would go for the eyes but you went for the neck, I’m impressed.”

“She went for both, but okay,” Percy mutters.

“Thanks, Grover, please can we keep the commentary to ourselves for right now?”

“Oh…” Grover catches on, his eyes crinkling in sadness as he holds his head down, “I’m sorry….”

“What are you apologizing for?”

“For not doing my job properly,” His ears dejected as he looked down shamefully “…I failed you both.”

“What happened to my moms wasn’t your fault, you couldn’t have predicted that or stopped it.”

“But I still feel guilty.”

You remained silent, eyes stuck on the ground before a sudden weight crashed into you, catching you by surprise.

“I know I can’t take your sadness away, believe me, if I could I definitely would. So I’m going for the next best thing, a hug.”

A small genuine smile appears on your face at Grover’s statement as you reciprocate the hug before feeling another presence join the hug. Percy nuzzled his head, smiling as you three lingered in silence for a while, comforted by each other.

“Wait,” you backtrack, being the first to pull away from the group hug. You noticed the Minotaur’s horn on the table, “That fight with that thing was real??”

“Oh yeah,” Grover nods, “It’s also called a Minotaur, that doesn’t matter and you probably don’t care.”

“Look at you catching on, I’ve never been prouder.” You joked, finally taking in your surroundings. “Where the hell are we?” You inspected the room, getting up from the bed.

“Welcome to Camp Half-Blood.”

“That’s a stupid ass name.”

“It kinda is.”

“Guys,” Grover stares at the sibling duo, “Not the right focus.”

“Totally.”

“My bad,”

“Y/N, I think you should change into something a little less…dirty.” Grover insists, gesturing to your dirty outfit.

“Good call,” you click your tongue, “Where’s the shower? I’m due for a nice hot steamy shower,”

Grover looked at you with a hesitant smile.

“Oh, please don’t tell me this is an actual outdoor camp where I shower in a communal?!”

──── ⭑ ☆ ⭑ ────

The rest of the day went by slowly for you and somewhat, gloomy. Taking a nice shower and changing into fresh clothes was one way to ease your mind, but it only numbed halfway. You wore a bright orange shirt, consisting of the engraved words ‘Camp Half-Blood’ warped around a circle, surrounding a flying horse, and a pegasus, all in black.

Not going to lie, the specific choice of color was too blinding for your taste but you had to tolerate it. Apparently, this shirt was all they had…probably the only one they’d give you, so you took the shirt with gratitude.

However, your beige cargo pants and simple black converse shoes, pulled it all together, making you look presentable.

You complained when viewing the shirt in the full-length mirror in the bathroom though.

How can a camp be in a shortage of decent shirts but have many of these human-size walking traffic lights just lying around? How many kids do they want to come to this camp? You couldn’t even stand a school full of students, and now, this camp is filled with them, you couldn’t escape kids no matter what.

Getting bored of loathing your shirt, you ventured through the infirmary, hoping to be entertained.

The lingering effects of your parents’ deaths still took a toll on you. Your mood was dampened, despite attempting to hide your emotions from your brother, Percy, to not worry him even further.

You found yourself sitting on one of the lounge chairs on the patio outside.

“Hey, new girl,” A voice calls out to you.

Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion, sitting up slightly at the new presence of a stranger.

A pretty stranger too…seems to be around your age, and looks to be a natural blonde white girl. Who also seems to be wearing the eye-soring orange of a shirt.

“Yeah?” You answered hesitantly.

“Is that chair taken?” She points to the empty chair.

“I wanna say yes but I feel obliged to tell you to fuck off,” You honestly respond, shrugging your shoulders.

The blonde girl stared at you in amusement at your honesty, and so were you, shocked even by your unusual behavior. You winced at your harsh tone, refusing to believe your own ears at your words. Great, be an absolute bitch to the girl who wants to be friends with you, nice going Y/N!

Most of the time, you were nice to everyone, but your patience and kindness wore thin so you spoke the first thing on your mind.

“Yes or no?”

“Sure,” you exhale.

You closed your eyes, leaning back in your chair, ruining your posture completely. The footsteps pad against the wooden floorboard and halt when she sits down.

“To be honest I thought you were nicer,” She started, “Sucks to discover you’re just a pretty girl with an ugly personality, message received,”

“Just caught me on a bad day, I’m quite interesting once you get to know me.”

“Oh, I’m certain.”

“Can I confide in you?” You asked quietly, leaning toward her as if you were entrusting her with a major secret.

It was random for you to trust the promise of a stranger, but she felt different, she felt trustworthy enough. Either way, you need to rant your true feelings about recent events to someone. Just to freely talk with them without judgment or their personal opinions, only them listening. You’d talk with Percy, but you doubt he’d be able to assist due to his many lack of experiences in life as yet or burden him with your issues.

“Hit me.” She replies.

“My life changed drastically in only a few hours, and I don’t know how to…cope with it… with everything regarding it. Especially…”

“I lost my mother too,” she hums lowly, casting her eyes downward, a faint sad smile as she recalls the traumatic memory. “When I was 8…she died right in front of me. We were arguing about my father and how I had to leave for my own safety, but I refused to hear her out. So in a desperate plea to end the conversation…I didn’t know where this blinding source of energy, this new power came from, and…it scared me so much. Next thing I knew, the kitchen stove turned on and everything else happened way too fast. The horrid desperate screams, her helpless body being engulfed with flames, and the wretched sound of her body hitting the floor with a final thud. I still relive her death in my nightmares at times, I think my dad does it to haunt me, or maybe it’s my own self-consciousness telling me I did that to my own mother…”

“I’m so sorry that happened to you, it must have been horrible for you, a little girl, to endure hardships this early in her life,” You leaned closer, resting your hand on top of hers before hesitantly pulling her into a comforting hug. “Don’t blame yourself for your mother’s death, it was never your fault.”

You frown, noticing the blonde slightly flinch away from your touch. You quickly moved your hand away, not wanting to make her uncomfortable again.

“Sorry, I like to comfort people, it’s an annoying habit…I know–“

Taking you by surprise, she instantly pulls you in another hug to soothe her worries.

“Thanks, I guess I really needed that. Sorry if I was crossing any boundaries or being too clingy.” She pulls away from the hug.

“Of course, anytime. I’m always here to help a friend, especially if they’re coping with a past trauma.”

“It’s fine, it’s in the past,” she wipes away stray tears, dismissing the tragic experience of hers.

“No it’s not fine, it’ll never be fine. That shouldn’t have happened to you.”

“I believe you owe me a tragic story too,” she chuckles, trying to diminish the somber mood.

You send her a weak smile, “Prepared to get one story for the price of two then,” You exhaled heavily, “On the way here…to camp half-blood, me and my family were outrunning the Minotaur, and if that couldn’t get worse enough, it’d rammed itself into our car, knocking us off the road. I was the first to wake up and get everyone out of the car, and…when I went to rescue my mom…she wasn’t moving, unresponsive and quietly still, that’s when I realized she was dead, although my poor attempts to revive her weren’t clearly working out. By the time me and my brother managed some distance from the Minotaur because of her distraction, that monster crushed her with his…bare hands, and she turned into…” You hesitated, pondering whether to proceed with the following information, “She died from the crushing impact…I killed the Minotaur for that. I killed the Minotaur for killing my mothers,”

“Oh…wow, just so you know…I’m so sorry that happened to you and your brother. Your mothers sounded very brave and loving,” Adrianna murmurs, squeezing your hand gently.

“Well, that’s life, what can you do?” You wiped the tears away.

Hearing the quiet sniffles coming from you, a frown tugged at the blonde girl’s lips, “I don’t know how to comfort you very well, so would you like a hug?” she negotiated with you, “Ask for one, get one free?” She joked.

“Sure, I would love a hug!” Your sobs came out in a hearty laughter, accepting the comforting hug.

“I just get a feeling that she’s still somewhere here with me,” you played with your necklace.

“She is,”

“And so is your mother, she knows what happened to her isn’t your fault,”

“I like you, let’s be best friends.”

“Sure, okay.”

“Huh, that was easy,”

“I think we get along so well because of similar past experiences,”

“It’s been proved that therapists call that trauma bonding,”

“We don’t have any of those here – therapists, I mean…but trauma bonding, ohh, there’s plenty enough to go around!” she whistles, “We’re destined to be each other’s therapist and forced to deal with our own shit in the process. It’s a lose-lose situation, we all cope here differently.”

“Don’t gotta tell me twice.” You muttered, noticing the sunset arriving on the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, maybe this camp wouldn’t be as bad as you thought it would be, considering you made a new first friend.

Adrianna exhaled, standing up and patting off any dust off her pants, “I gotta go, but someone will be back with dinner for you and your brother,”

“How long until me and Percy can actually reacquaint with other people our age?”

“Not too long, trust me. Whenever you reach, keep an eye out for me, okay?”

“Of course,”

“See you later, Y/N!”

She leaves your sight, heading back towards the actual camp alongside the other campers.

“See you later, Adri!”

Huh, your first true friend you made all on your own. Your parents would be very proud of this, you know they truly would...but they weren’t here. They won’t ever come back, and sooner or later, despite the grief, you’d have to overcome their losses and move on with your life.

Your eyes flicker down in sadness, reminiscing on your mothers, your favorite memories of them, and celebrating your milestones. Gosh, they missed so much, making you wonder how much more they will be missing out on in your life.

──── ⭑ ☆ ⭑ ────

Later that evening, the crickets chirped loudly in the grass as you stared at the sky. Percy was still inside the infirmary cabin, lying in the bed, keeping his thoughts to himself.

You wanted to be there in his time of need, but you knew he processes things differently from you. You weren’t always going to be there for him, to be his steady rock every time. It pained him to come to that realization, but he knew it was true, that you had your own life to manage.

So reluctantly with a heavy heart, you knocked on the door lightly, nervously chewing on your bottom lip. Of course, Percy locked the door, demanding some privacy and time to reconcile with his grief as well.

“Hey, I’m here if you need to talk…we don’t even have to talk…we’ll just wallow in silence if you prefer. Just know I’m here for you.” You stammered.

He remained silent, waiting as you left him alone once again.

“I’m sorry I was unable to protect our mothers, I felt like I should have done something more, or if I’d known ahead of time, I would have prevented their deaths. I’m just…I’m so sorry Percy, I never meant for any of these to happen to us. Please, you have to believe me, this was never my true intention,” You cried, pressing your body weight against the door. No tears left your eyes, it was just your voice cracking with each word.

Still, he stayed silent, even to your desperate pleas.

“Okay, I get it you’re silent now, but whenever you’re ready to talk, I’m here, so I’ll be outside.”

You turned to walk away but stopped yourself to say one more thing. “I love you, Percy, and I’ll never let anything happen to you,” You promised.

“I love you too, Y/N.” He murmurs, hoping you’ll hear him.

“Dinner is soon coming, so please eat.”

“Okay, tell me when it’s here,”

As your footsteps retreat from the door, a small smile curls up on his face, content with your presence.

Opening the front door, you stepped outside, closing it behind you, overlooking the sight before you.

Another girl walks up to the patio of the infirmary, balancing two trays of food in her hand, them being foiled-wrapped, supposedly being your dinner. She is absolutely gorgeous! Her skin was beautiful, an olive tone, as the golden hour sunkissed her body, showing off her muscular arms that slowly strained with every movement.

She has curly hair, seemingly refusing to restrain it, which probably tangles quickly, giving her a hassle to handle but you doubt she cares. The olive-skinned girl wore the same dreadful orange camp shirt and a simple pair of blue jeans.

Why am I talking so much about her hair? Snap out of it! Focus on what she’s saying instead of wondering what flavor shampoo she uses.

“What’s up with you? You’ve been saying nothing for a little while, it’s getting quite concerning. I can assure you there’s nothing special about this place. The whole thing is a dump,”

Oh, shit, she noticed me staring at her! She probably thinks I’m weird now. How did I proceed? What do I say to justify myself? Is there anything possible to say to justify my peering eyes on her? Nope, I don’t think there is. This is so fucking embarrassing!

“Just….” You cleared your throat, scratching the back of your neck, rambling anything, “Getting used to my surroundings,” You finished off, trying to convince her about your whereabouts. Who were you trying to convince here more? You or her?

“Huh-uh,” she agrees unconvinced by your excuse, walking closer to you, “Well while you get used to your surroundings, you can eat something, if you fill your stomach with food, then perhaps your mind can regain control too.” she handed you a tray, filled with different sorts of food. She rested the other one on the mini table.

“Thanks for the food…” you squint your eyes, hoping to remember her name, if she even told you it yet.

She finishes, sitting on one of the patio steps. “Clueless and you are…?”

“Y/N.”

“Do you lack a last name or something?” She quirked an eyebrow.

“Matthews-Jackson, call me any which one is fine by me.” You unwrapped your foil, glancing at your dinner choices.

“Clarisse La Rue,”

“Great. Quick question!”

“Ask away, clueless.”

“Where the hell are we?!”

She chuckles, “God, you’re really living up to that nickname of yours, clueless.” The girl sneaks a grape off your plate and munches on the fruit, “Just know it’s keeping people like us safe.”

You stared at the curly-haired girl unimpressed by her vague response, expecting more.

“Already told that, say something new.” You stated.

“Okay…for starters, I’ve taken a liking to you, which is saying something, even for me,”

She steps closer, causing you to gulp down your fear of personal space.

“I don’t know why or how you intrigue me so much when I barely know you, but trust me, I intend to find out.” her gaze pierced through yours, eyes analyzing your facial features and she smirked slightly at your body language. You flushed underneath her gaze, and your eyes averted elsewhere.

Her flirtatious smile sent an intense feeling in your stomach and your heart accelerated at an alarming speed. Thankfully, your brown skin concealed your blush or else a generous amount of teasing would be sent your way. Was it butterflies…bursting into millions of more butterflies?! No! No! Could it be…?! Maybe you felt slightly attracted to Clarisse, but could it go further beyond being acquaintances?! Guess, we’ll see soon…

“What’s this camp’s deal?”

“That’s not my place to tell you,” She distanced herself away, sitting down and leaning her head against the wooden frame. The two girls sat on the patio steps, continuing their conversation.

“But you could.”

“Yes, I could.”

“So tell me, then!”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“Because I could but I won’t,”

You roll your eyes, “That isn’t fair,” you cross your arms, huffing slightly.

“Nothing in life is, Matthews,” She muses, shuffling closer to you, “Now eat your food, I’m sure you’re starving.”

“Yes ma’am,” You playfully comment, picking around your food with the fork.

She smiles at your behavior, getting startled when your entire demeanor changes in an instant. Your wholesome voice was replaced by a firm tone of authority. It almost scared her a little bit to witness a whirlwind of emotions appear in an unexpected moment.

“Percy!” You yelled for your younger brother inside the infirmary room.

“What?!” His voice rang from inside.

“Dinner’s here! Come eat now or you’ll starve tonight!”

“Y/N, don’t touch my plate at all!”

“Can’t make no promises!”

Clarisse turned to you, “You have a brother?”

“Yep,”

“I thought you came here alone.”

“You thought wrong then.”

“Is he annoying?”

“All brothers are!”

“I heard that!”

“Perhaps I should repeat myself: all brothers are annoying, especially my overdue growth spurt of a baby brother, who goes by the full government name of Percy Jackson-Matthews!”

“My growth spurt just hasn’t caught up to me yet. It’s perfectly normal for guys my age. Also, leave my name out of this!”

“Whatever, blondie. Either come in 30 seconds or your grapes are gone.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Oh, but I would,” You challenged with a teasing smile, “We both know that I’m a big foodie.”

Happy to know that Percy’s feeling better and the sound of food only dignified that. God, he really was your brother.

──── ⭑ ☆ ⭑ ────

The following day was a recurring one, you and Percy remained in the infirmary cabin, both deciding to get introduced to the head adults of this camp.

Your brother’s eyes caught onto another small building, an open room, a few feet away and you two stumbled across there.

“Excuse me, sir, I’m Percy Jackson-Matthews.”

“And I’m Y/N Jackson-Matthews, we’re new here,”

“Peter Johnson and Y/N Morgan are here.” He shouts to no one, creating an echo.

“Okay,” Percy shuffled on his feet, looking clueless, “That isn’t really our names.”

“Not even remotely close.” you shake your head at the man before you, “Do you know where the office is? Or who’s in charge of this…dump?” You peer at the stacked old dusty wooden box against the wall, instinctively jumping away when a spider appears. Percy scoffs at your sudden clinginess, wondering what scared you but he flinches away, noticing the large spider on the box too.

The man slides his shades down, getting a much better look at the two siblings.

“For your information, missy, this camp isn’t a dump.”

“Then what is it? I doubt it’s a heaven.”

“You’re right, it’s a hellhole, my personal hell, and you just happened to spawn here without warning.”

Grover’s hurried tone appears throughout the room as he runs inside, standing in between the two Jackson siblings.

“Percy and Y/N, this is Mr. D. He’s the camp director.” He introduced you two.

“Mr. D. This is Percy and Y/N Jackson-Matthews.”

“Yeah, Grover,” he throws his sunglasses on the table, “I heard them the first time.”

You tilted your head at the man, “But did you?”

Grover pulled you and Percy aside in a small corner of the room.

“You don’t really wanna start with this guy,” Grover warns.

“Don’t wanna start with him but he’s starting with us,” You retaliated.

“Y/N, the D is for Dionysus, that’s Dionysus,” He recorrects himself.

“What do you mean Dionysus?” You inquired, “That’s an ancient ass name, who names their kid Dionysus?”

“Like the god Dionysus?” Percy persisted.

“No way!”

“Yes, way!”

“There’s no fucking way!”

“You’re not supposed to be cursing,” Percy gasps.

“Oh, and what are you gonna do? Bite me, blondie boy,” You snarled at your brother.

“Do you wanna go? Do you wanna go right now because we can go right now?”

“Shut up you doofus. We’d both know you’d lose, even Grover knows it,”

“Make me, loser,” Percy stuck his tongue out at you.

“Guys let’s not…do that right here. Can you both please be civilized people, at least for a couple of minutes?”

“I can, I have more self-control than Percy,”

“My sister is an excellent liar,”

The three of you turned back to him, walking forward to his table.

“Excuse me, your highness.” Percy starts. You close your eyes, whispering an incoherent prayer as you shake your head in embarrassment. Dionysus grumbles in disapproval and you roll your eyes, slapping Percy in the back of his head, lunging his head forward a little bit.

“Ow, Y/N, what was that for?” He held his head, spinning to you in shock.

“Why are you calling him your highness? He’s not a god or royalty.”

“Yes, he is. Grover just told us.”

“No you imbecile, he told us Dionysus was a god, not a powerful god or not one of the gods.”

“He doesn’t have to be important, he’s still a god.”

“Very obviously not an important god if he works at this dump of a camp, this is probably some punishment for him,”

“Anyways,” he focuses his attention back onto Dionysus, “I think my dad may be around here somewhere, and I don’t know how to ask for him…we don’t even know his name, but I think we should see him,” he says, glancing at you, “I think we really need that right now. Can you help us?” he blinks at Dionysus.

“Yeah, he owes us that much,” You snort, crossing your arms, “Years of abandonment and he doesn’t have the decency to show up.”

After Percy’s sentimental confession, Dionysus sits upright, resting his coke can on the table, and begins to speak. “Actually I think I can….son.” he concludes, keeping a neutral face as he looks at you, “and my beloved daughter.”

“Dad…” Percy initiates, stunned at the revelation.

“Hold up, what?”

“Yes, Peter?”

“It’s Percy.”

“Exactly.”

“You idiot, he’s not our dad.”

“He so could be.”

“How? Tell me how Percy?”

“Save the sibling theatrics for later. Now, before we get to know each other, there’s something very important I wasn’t you to do for me, okay?”

Percy agrees to the instructions.

“In the galley,” You looked at the open door, staring at the far distant green galley, “There is a bottle of 1985 Château Haut-Brion. Will you go fetch that for me?”

“Uhh, fuck no, my brother’s not your lap dog, he may have the personality for it, but he’s not doing that.”

“No one’s talking to you, missy!” The older man rebuts.

“Is that really all you have to say to us?”

“Hey, um, Mr. D, even if Percy was–“

“Uh, uh, uh, bup! Grover, quiet, please. This is a nice moment, don’t ruin it.”

You stifled a laugh as Grover was rendered silent.

“The galley is right down that path. Grab that bottle and I’ll talk to you about whatever you want. You know, uh…you, uh…me, who cares?”

Percy contemplated his decision for a minute before concluding. He motioned to walk outside the room, but he stopped in his tracks, eyes intensely focused on a moving presence, the sound of hooves against the hardwood floor.

“Holy shit, what the fuck–“

Okay, you were clearly losing it now!

Mr. Brunner stalked closer towards you two, confident in his movements as he halted, staring at the siblings.

He clicked his tongue, “Percy. Y/N.”

“Mr. Brunner?” Percy asked, appalled.

“What are you?!” You inquired, bewildered.

At that, the man remained quiet.

“Uh, Mr. Brunner’s real name is Chiron.” Grover informs, “Camp activities directory, immortal trainer of heroes, he is–“

“Grover, thank you. I’ll take it from here.”

“Oh, Y/N and Percy, this must be a lot for you to process.”

“You being half horse is adding more to that,” You crossed your arms.

“Oh, no. It’s–it’s fine. I mean you’re a horse, my father won’t talk to me unless I get him a drink. Well this all seems totally normal and reasonable–“

“Dionysus has no clue who we are, do you?”

“Yes, I do.” Mr. D replied nonchalantly, “What kind of father would I be if I didn’t.”

“A horrible deadbeat one, that’s for sure.”

“Aren’t you the life of the party?”

“You just wanted to get drunk, did you?”

“Well, if I have to deal with kids like you, I’m gonna need one every hour of the day.”

“No, no, no.” Chiron explains, “Mr. D is not your father, either of you.” The siblings turned to him.

“Told you, dummy.” You grit your teeth at your brother.

“I could be.” he reaffirms with a nod.

“Yes, but are you?”

“Why must you ruin everything?”

“I was right,”

“Aren’t you a little miss know it all? I’m sure you’d fit in right with Athena’s children, possibly another sister of Annabeth.”

“Mr. D knows that Zeus has forbidden him from consuming alcohol and that demigods can do things for gods that gods are forbidden to do for themselves. Mr. D was taking advantage of that. Hmm?”

Your brother faced Mr. D and he only offered a shrug and displeased face.

“Percy, Y/N, walk with me and we’ll start again,” He bargains.

Agreeing with the man’s kind words, you and Percy follow after Chiron, to which Grover trails behind until Chiron stops him.

“Uh, Grover, please give us a moment,”

The boy sighed and fell back, watching you and Percy walking with Chiron towards the camp.

──── ⭑ ☆ ⭑ ────

likes, comments and reblogs are highly appreciated!

#her pretty girl series #clarisse la rue series #dior goodjohn #dior goodjohn x reader #clarisse la rue #clarisse la rue x reader #clarisse la rue x fem!reader #clarisse la rue x black!reader #clarisse la rue x black!fem!reader #daughter of poseidon

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of-elitiism · 4 months ago

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give her attention, she's being fussy

#[ vibes - adrianna ]#[ voice - adrianna ]#[ open starter ]

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shes4twnksinatrnchct · 2 months ago

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Hell of a Show

Jake Kiszka x fem oc

Fifteen years after resigning from Greta Van Fleet, for reasons undisclosed to the public, Coley Payne is asked by her former band members to tell her side of the story.

Warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI, explicit language, angst, shameless flirting, sexual reference, mention of parental death

Words: 3.1k

Please keep in mind this is a work of fiction and enjoy!

***LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT TO BE TAGGED***

***Table of Contents***

The Beginning: Interlude iii

2039

Josh hasn’t changed at all.

Coley’s reminded of that as his laughter fills the house off and on whilst rambling about his family…

How his daughter’s starting first grade in the fall, his partner’s graduating with his doctorate in Literature in December, and what film projects he’s working on currently.

They’re able to actually have a pretty in depth conversation, this time, as opposed to the party they were at the last time where carrying on a lengthy conversation was nearly impossible.

Meanwhile, his twin brother quietly pouts at his poor timing whilst sipping his drink (that has shifted to something a little stronger than beer over the past hour), and eventually heads back to the kitchen to start on dinner officially.

As more time passes, more people start showing up.

Rhett, Collins, her boyfriend—Dominic, Kayce, his wife—Brooke, their daughter—Adrianna, all show up within ten minutes of each other, filling the house with all the more noise.

Rhett and Kayce are able to make themselves at home immediately because they often find themselves here, anyway, having reconnected with Jake through the years.

That’s solidified when the first question out of Addi’s mouth to Jake is, “Where’s the kitty-cat?!

Collins, on the other hand, is having a more difficult time facing the house she hasn’t seen since she was seven years old.

Like her aunt, she assumed he would’ve moved out after everything that happened, but he appears to enjoy making himself miserable.

Sitting on the couch, she glances around at how things seem so similar yet so different.

Despite Jake’s more-than-welcoming persona and gracious skill of hosting, the home just isn’t as warm or inviting as it had been all those years ago.

It’s merely a skeleton of the love that once flooded it when they first moved here, but it feels exactly the same as it did the day they left it with Jake inside.

The brunette glances at her aunt while she’s enveloped in conversation with Brooke, the maroon-haired woman explaining to her husband’s aunt that their new house has flooded twice now from the plumbing, and they’re not sure what to do.

“We’ve had two people come out and look at it. We’re scared the air conditioning unit is screwed, now, from all that water.” Brooke adds.

“Maybe aunt Coley can call her special H-VAC friend and get you guys a discount.” Collins voices suggestively to jest at her aunt.

It’s as if a record has scratched silence into the home, everyone seemingly hearing her say it.

Jake nearly chokes on his beer from where he hears it from the kitchen, while his twin brother jolts from running his mouth to Rhett, who’s taken up the mantle of helping Jake get the food ready to go in the oven.

“What?!” Josh calls from the kitchen, poking his head around the corner.

“Who?” Kayce presses.

“‘Special friend’? Since when do we have ‘special friends’?” Josh adds, stepping toward them.

“We don’t have special friends.” Coley assures him. “It’s not a thing—”

“—She wants it to be, though.” Collins teases.

“Elizabeth Collins.” Coley scolds her.

“Wait a minute, wait, wait, wait,” Rhett shakes his head. “Is this the dude that came and fixed the a/c when I was over there?”

“Yep. He left her his personal cell phone number to get back to him if it broke down again.” Collins explains. “Then she texted him—”

“—To ask a question about the new unit!” Coley defends herself.

“What did he say back?” Josh asks the question they’re all wanting to know the answer to.

“That she could call him anytime she needed and he’d be over.” Collins states.

“Okay, you’re making it sound bad.” Coley tells her niece, rolling her eyes.

“That’s what he said, Aunt Coley?” Kayce snaps, raising his brows.

“He was talking about if I needed anything else H-VAC related.” She insists.

“No, he wasn’t.” Josh thoughtlessly blurts, blinking at her in confusion that she could be so…oblivious.

“You know, Josh, some men don’t want sex 24/7.” Coley states, crossing her arms.

“You text him and tell him your unit needs an adjustment. See if he even shows up with tools—well, ones for the a/c, at least.” He mutters into his tequila soda before taking a swig.

Her nephews and her niece erupt into laughter, which takes her into the pit of a bad mood, not wanting Jake to get the wrong impression but she doesn’t understand how he can’t, now that everyone’s made it out to be much worse than it actually is.

“Whatever.” She grumbles, standing up to step to the kitchen to finally get something more than water to drink.

The food’s been in the oven for a few minutes now, while Jake’s been remaining in the kitchen—avoiding Coley the best that he can for the time being—absorbing the conversation and keeping his mouth shut.

Coley can practically feel the tension leaking from him when she steps into the kitchen and sees him leaning against the counter, downing the rest of his drink.

“Do you have wine?” She inquires quietly, hearing her niece, nephews, and Josh carrying on from the living room.

Jake doesn’t answer her at first, only stepping to the fridge to grab a bottle and place it on the counter.

“Here.” He mutters, reaching into the cupboard and holding out a wine glass to her.

Her fingertips brush along his hand when she accepts it from him, and he shut the cabinet and takes in a deep breath, looking at her from the corner of his eye to make sure she’s not looking at him before he outright stares at her.

“I’m not screwing my a/c guy, by the way.” She assures him, flatly, opening the bottle and pouring herself some, feeling his eyes on her back.

“I wouldn’t care if you were.” He lies, and she looks over her bare shoulder and blinks at him before taking a sip of the deep red liquid. “You’re single. You can sleep with your a/c guy. You can sleep with my a/c guy if you want.” He uses humor to try to distract from the fact he’s overthinking it entirely. “Bet he wouldn’t fuck up the wood flooring—they wear sensible shoes.”

Coley turns to face him, leaning against the counter opposite of him, unable to resist the smile that creeps to her face from his words while a quiet giggle leaves her.

“We’re in our forties. I think we all wear sensible shoes, now.” She points out.

“You wear sensible shoes now? What, you went from six inches to five or something?” He sarcastically scoffs, recalling the heels she wore in here.

“Four inches.” She corrects him, raising her brows.

“Four inches?” He asks, cooking up a smart comment that she doesn’t catch in time before he cuts his eyes at her and adds, “Since when is four inches enough for you?”

Her face burns red, and she lets out a flustered breath.

“I kinda walked into that one.” She admits with a sigh before bringing her glass to her lips, again.

Jake watches her do so, looking at the glass that she drains and places on the counter to refill.

“Want some?” She offers, noticing his attention on her as she pours more for herself.

The wine itself is the least of his desires compared to the woman holding the bottle.

It’s an invitation for trouble…and they can probably say “goodbye” to their meeting once they hide in the kitchen and get drunk before Connie even gets here…

The doorbell sounds, signaling the perfectly timed arrival of their former manager.

“Maybe later.” He tells Coley, ripping his eyes from her to get some relief—or at least try to, taking the opportunity to leave the kitchen and go to open the door.

“Hey, kid!” They hear her pipe to Jake as soon as he opens the door, not even giving him a moment to greet her before she’s adding, “Oh, my gosh, look at you!” her hands patting at his handsome face. “You need to shave.”

Coley’s blue eyes nearly roll out of her skull at the sound of the woman entering the house when Jake ushers her inside and offers to get her something to drink.

“Water. Hi, dear,” She says to Josh when he welcomes her in a hug, adding, “Oh, new faces,” referring to the group in the living room as Jake moves back to the kitchen.

“Just two new ones.” Josh says to her. “You remember Kayce, Collins, and Rhett.”

“How could I forget?” She chuckles, and Coley bites into her tongue as Connie’s introduced to Brooke, Addi, and Dominic.

When Jake fixes her water, his ex-girlfriend whispers, “Spit in it,” causing him to laugh quietly.

“Be nice.” He tells her lowly after mustering up his ability to be serious, raising his brows as he looks down at her.

“I am.” She insists, lying through her teeth.

“I’m serious, Coley, be nice.” He repeats it, more sternly. “This needs to be as cordial as it can be. Just let bygones be bygones.”

“What am I gonna do, Jake? Fire her again?” She asks, making him get nearly nose to nose with her to drive his point home.

“Bygones.” He repeats, his eyes staring into hers as he awaits her agreement to do so.

“Don’t shave. I like this.” She avoids acknowledging his request for peace, the wine already loosening the filter connected to her mouth and brain, as she admires his face an the facial hair he's let grow out.

He marks yet another thing of hers that hasn’t changed in the last fifteen years.

His eyes descend from the crinkles at the corners of her eyes from her smiling, to the curve of her lips that only grows when Coley plainly sees he's distracted.

“Here.” He snaps out of it, handing her the glass of water. “You need this more than she does.”

Coley shoots him an unamused look and he gets Connie more water before walking to the living room to hand it to her.

“Where’s Sammy and Daniel?” Connie asks as Jake hands the glass to her.

“They’re coming.” Josh assures her.

It’s as if now Connie’s realized that Josh isn’t the last one to arrive.

“Has hell frozen over?” She asks him, raising her brows.

“Coley got here early, too.” Josh shrugs. “For different reasons, I’m sure, but…” He adds with a subtle wink at Jake, who retorts with, “Shut up.”

“Oh.” Connie says upon the realization that Coley is here, after all, having not even paid attention to the amount of vehicles in the driveway. “Coley’s here?”

Coley rolls her jaw and now feels obligated to go acknowledge Connie, coming to the living room to join everyone else.

“Well, what do ya know, she is!” Connie adds sarcastically, beaming at the sight of the blonde woman before her.

The last time the two women saw one another, Coley was taking matters into her own hands, and firing her.

No consulting the band, no inquiring with other managers, or legal, or their publicist…

It was a sporadic, angry, fed-up, “Get your shit and go back home,” that had been conjured up on a day and a half of no sleep, dealing with children who were growing more and more difficult from constant traveling, and last-minute shows being added to the schedule.

“Hey, Coley, how are you?” She asks, next, deliberately speaking it in a manner intended to irritate the other woman, and it does in all its sickly-sweetness.

“As good as I can be.” Coley retorts, taking note of the way a select few people in the room seem to be holding their breath.

They’re soon seated around the dinner table, talking and waiting for Danny and Sam to arrive at any moment while the food is finishing up in the oven…

“…Gosh, it was a nightmare getting these kids ready and on stage on time!” Connie exclaims with a laugh, sharing some of the joys of being on the road with five stubborn young adults whose ammunition of barbaric pass-times was endless—all while Kayce, his wife, Rhett, Collins, and her boyfriend cling to each word.

Connie brushes her strawberry blonde hair from her eyes before taking a sip of wine and carrying on about the very hectic chaos of sound check, clambering back to their rooms to shower, going back and forth on when to leave for the venue, scouring around for wardrobe and what to wear, trying to race the clock for hair and makeup, weighing how much to drink or not drink to avoid being drunk on-stage…not to mention the array of technical difficulties, illnesses, or vehicle break-downs along the way.

It was a whirlwind more times than not, moving at what felt a million miles an hour.

“Mmm, and then, of course, it was only that much worse when you three came along.” She continues, motioning to Coley’s niece and nephews. “God, being up with two toddlers in the middle of the night, making sure the seven year old didn’t wander off, trying to keep you entertained on the road, keeping up with shoes and diapers, and hairbows, and toys…” She drolls on before quickly turning her attention to Rhett, “What was that blanket you drug everywhere that had the embroidered rabbit on it?”

Rhett snaps his fingers as he tries to remember what he called his beloved possession…

“You say that like it was you who was up with the two toddlers in the middle of the night, and you keeping up with Kayce, and you keeping them entertained on the road, and you keeping up with shoes and diapers, and hairbows…” Coley cuts in, eyeing Connie.

Josh and Jake glance between the two women as tension starts to tighten in the air, unbeknownst to the handful of twenty-somethings surrounding them.

“…And it wasn’t a blanket, it was a pillowcase, and it was called ‘Rabby’.” Coley informs her, lastly.

“Rabby, that’s it.” Connie says, blinking with a sarcastic smirk directed at Coley, then focusing her gaze back on Dominic and Brooke, “Gosh, we forgot that thing in Barcelona and didn’t realize it until we got to Madrid, and Rhett screamed and cried until Coley and Jake went back and got it. It was a complete nightmare.”

“Are we surprised?” Collins pokes fun at her little brother, and Josh and Jake laugh it off, hoping that it’ll ease the change of energy.

It’s a lost cause when Connie pointedly adds, “Hey, now, Rhett never stopped any shows on account of pitching a fit.”

“Thank you.” Rhett says with a chuckle, too naive to understand the slight bitterness in Connie’s tone as she brings all this up.

Of course she’s still bitter.

It’s now that the decently convincing expression on Coley’s face falls, and her leg knocks into Jake’s under the table, signaling him to pipe, “I, uh, I wouldn’t necessarily call it her pitching a fit.”

“Yeah, she couldn’t really control her spells, you know?” Josh adds with a shrug while simultaneously mentally preparing for Connie and Coley’s inevitable rift.

Dominic glances at his girlfriend and she offers an uncomfortable smile, growing embarrassed, her eyes shifting to her aunt who rolls her tongue along the inside of her bottom lip.

“Oh, yeah, talk about a clusterfuck—oh, sorry,” Connie offers, looking at Addi who’s perched on Brooke’s lap before looking at Dominic and ripping the lid off of the can of worms that’s at the heart of the contention that began between her and the Rhythm Guitarist years ago. “Collins used to get so upset when Coley would have to go on stage, or go to meetings, or leave her at all, really, and she would cry, and cry, and cry. Well, one night they got on stage and Collins started up, and she couldn’t catch her breath, and then the next thing we know she’s turning blue, and passing out!”

Everyone else who had been present for the terrifying health scare don’t necessarily wish to relive the details of it, but Connie doesn't pay that fact any attention.

“Which the doctor said to just blow in her face and it’ll help her catch her breath, and that seemed to work. But it was a whole mess to try to get anything done without her being glued to Coley’s hip.” She quips.

Jake’s hand is a welcomed comfort when it lands on Coley’s thigh, free of any intention other than reassurance.

She releases a deep breath and keeps her mouth shut, trying to maintain the peace while surrounded by people she loves and wants to spend time with…

“…In fact, I think tonight will be the first time we have a meeting since 2019 where she won’t have a baby in her lap.” Connie’s over-exaggerated laugh matches her over-exaggerated comment, and Jake feels Coley tense under his palm, predicting her response the way that an eery calm predicts a hurricane. “It was overwhelming.” Connie finishes with a shake of her head before breathing out and adding, “I need more wine,” while standing up to go to the kitchen.

“I got it.” Jake offers but she waves him off.

Coley contemplates what she does next, weighing the option of either tearing into her right here in front of everybody, or doing so somewhat privately…

“I’m getting more, too.” Coley mumbles, grabbing her own wine glass.

“Coley,” Jake mumbles, subtly shaking his head while Josh distracts the other guests with a joke.

“Do you want me to do it outside, or in here, in front of all these people?” Coley asks Jake in a mutter, raising her blonde brows.

“I’d prefer you not do it at all.” He replies.

“I’d prefer her not do it at all, either, yet you guys invited her here, so.” She grumbles and rolls her eyes, moving away from the table and into the kitchen, glaring at Connie’s back.

“You know what was overwhelming?” Coley asks her as calmly as she can, and the older woman sighs out and replaces the cork in the bottle. “Sherri and Trace dying. Both of their parents. Dead. In the same moment. I think that constituted Collins ‘pitching fits’ when she felt like people she loved were leaving her, and Kayce needing to ‘wander off’ and be alone every now and then, and Rhett being so attached to that damn pillowcase of his mom’s that you always bitched about him dragging around.”

Constance turns to face her.

“You can be pissed at me for firing you. I understand that. But I don’t understand, nor will I ever want to understand, why you’ve always been so damn pissed off at the fact that I didn’t just let those kids go to the fucking State—because, again, it’s not like you were their caretaker having to endure and adapt to them.”

“Postponed shows, canceled shows—”

“Oh, Christ, of course, anything that messed with your money.” Coley scoffs.

“I comforted you and watched you have a meltdown because you thought you were knocked up and knew you couldn’t raise a kid. Only for you to turn around and voluntarily take on three of them, and not tell anybody until it was already a settled deal. Not even your own boyfriend—who was miserable, by the way, but never told you that because he supported you, and just wanted you to be happy. Even if it meant becoming Father Goose before he was even twenty-five—but, hey, anything Princess Coley wants, right?” There’s a bite of resentment in her voice, and Coley furrows her brows. “It was always your way or no way. Hell, you left Jake because he wouldn’t get off the road. You’ve always been like that, and nothing has changed because you still have your panties in a bunch over the fact that they re-hired me after you quit, and you have no say in whether I’m here or not.” Connie scoffs.

“Wanna bet?” Coley asks her, confident that she could go to Jake and have Connie out of the house within the next two minutes.

The strawberry-blonde steps to her, looking down at her before getting eye-level with her like a child.

“I do, actually, because they asked me—personally—to do this documentary with you guys. They want me here, regardless of whether you do or not.” Constance states, about to walk past her back to the dining room before stopping. “And my issue isn’t with those kids. It’s not their fault their aunt is a forty-year-old who still acts out when she doesn’t get her way.”

@takenbythemadness , @edgingthedarkness , @lizzys-sunflower , @zooweemama555 , @fleetingjake , @hollyco

#greta van fleet #gvf #jake kiszka #jake kiszka gvf #jake gvf #jake kiszka series #jake kiszka fic #jake kiszka fanfic #jake kiszka angst #jake kiszka x oc #jake kiszka fluff #jake kiszka smut #greta van fleet fanfic #greta van fleet fic #gvf fic

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luverofralts · 6 months ago

Text

Arkhelios Adventures

It was cold in the Twikkii Island royal tombs. Despite the tropical location and the constant sunshine, the old marble kept the building cool. Slabs of marble lined the floors and walls, making the tombs look timeless and formal, but keeping everything inside them chilled.

Queen Consort Ulyssa Siew was the only living occupant currently being chilled in the tombs. She'd gotten up that morning, fought with her wife about some stupid barbecue, and played on her drum set for an hour or two to blow off steam. Her usual meetings with local charities had gone well. Nothing was amiss. She had just been about to sit down for dinner when palace security had burst into the room, ordered her not to touch any of the food and whisked her off to sit alone in a mausoleum filled with Maura’s dead relatives.

Guard Adrianna Pervil suddenly appeared at the door, knocking the code that it was safe to let her enter.

"Your Majesty, the queen regent, long live the king."

"Long live the king," Ulyssa whispered, suddenly unsure of how to act around another living being. After all of this isolation, hearing another person speak felt wrong. It was this bewilderment that kept her from demanding the questions she'd been asking since being entombed, but not anymore. Not when the stakes were this high. "Why won't anyone tell me what's happening? Where are my children? Where's Maura? Why are you saying there's a king? Maura, my wife, is queen. Adrion won't be king for decades from now. Tell me where Maura is!"

"Your Majesty, we can discuss this once the palace is cleared of danger and the rooms are swept for bugs or explosives. It's not safe to speak."

"Explosives? Why would there be explosives in my home? Where is Maura? Where is Adrion and why are you saying that he's the king? Tell me what's happening right this instant, or I'm going to start throwing royal urns! Why have I been left here when my family is clearly in danger? Is Maura dead? You have to tell me, I'm her wife dammit!"

Adrianna looked torn. She had always been close to Maura and her family (a little too close to Maura than Ulyssa had liked) so Ulyssa's pleading seemed to be chipping away at her resolve. Ulyssa gave the woman her most pitiful look, the same one that had saved her numerous times after getting caught sneaking out as a teen. It seemed to have the same effect on Adrianna as it did her father.

"I'm not supposed to say, we don't have a lot of information at the moment. There are a lot of rumors and Pleasantview is-"

"Pleasantview is doing what?" Ulyssa demanded, furious and afraid. "They were supposed to be at a family barbecue! Why is Pleasantview doing anything on our land? Is Claudia attacking us? Is my family dead? If you ever cared about Maura, then you need to tell me where my family is!"

Adrianna's eyes fell to the floor and Ulyssa saw her victory.

"You were the only family member who did not attend the barbecue and you're the only family member we have officially secured. It is protocol to move the royal family into the royal tombs for safety during an attack on the crown. It is secure and easily defended."

"And awfully comvient if I die in here! You don't even have to move my body much. You can just put me in that corner over there with Maura’s great-great aunt!"

Ulyssa's voice bordered on hysteria. The fact that everyone she loved might currently be dead was starting to sound terrifyingly real.

"We are currently working with Pleasantview to secure the area. Queen Claudia is relatively uninjured and has brought in medical teams and her royal coven to assist-"

"Well, isn't that convenient that she's perfectly fine and has her army all ready to invade us!" Ulyssa snapped. "She did this! Whatever happened, she's behind it!"

Adrianna's face looked like it was desperately trying its best not to respond just as angrily as Ulyssa.

"Her Majesty is a victim who is graciously helping her family in a dark time. This is why you're here. You're too much of a liability to release in front of the press and your previous disloyalty makes you a danger to the crown. You were protected because you are the queen consort and that is your right, but we are only here allowing you to be informed as far as the situation requires you to be."

Ulyssa wasn't sure how to feel about these words other than afraid. Of course, she was being judged for her affair. Her family was probably all dead and the only thing Twikkii Island could think about was her disastrous fling with Roman. Why was she needed anyway? If Maura and their children were dead, who would take her place? Trent and his children with Cindra were first in line. He was at the party though, maybe he and Cindra were dead too. It would be Adrian after that. Roman's daughter Luciana would be queen in that case, assuming Adrian died too.

God, how many people were dead in her family? Why had she let Maura talk her out of attending the barbecue in the first place? Anger. Jealousy. Spite. Those were the only reasons that Ulyssa was alive and her entire family was dead.

She closed her eyes and saw the terrifying image of Zane after he died. After he had been brought back wrong in so many ways. Would Maura look like that? Could Ulyssa survive seeing her wife and the mother of her children as dead as Zane?

"You are the queen consort, and in the event that Her Majesty cannot fulfill her duties, the crown passes to your underage son, Adrion. This is the situation we find ourselves in. Her Majesty has been gravely injured and she is under the care of the best doctors we and Pleasantview have to offer. I cannot lie to you when the stakes are this high. She is in critical condition and may still pass away if she cannot be stabilized. Your son is the king until she either recovers or succumbs to her injuries, but he is underage. You will need to act in his place until Her Majesty recovers or until he is eighteen if she does not. Do you understand?"

Ulyssa nodded, ignoring every word the woman had said except for the ones that insinuated that her son was still alive.

"You have Adrion?" she breathed, watching Adrianna's face for signs she was right. "If you're putting this policy in place, that means he's alive! Otherwise, it would be Alysiara as queen. Tell me you have my son!"

"We don't officially have him secured by our forces. He is currently sheltering with Her Majesty Queen Claudia, but Lord Siew is going to bring him to this location once he passes a medical exam."

"Adrian is alive?" Ulyssa gasped. Her body sagged with the relief that her worst fears weren't true. Adrion and Adrian were alive, surely that meant that everyone else was fine. Maura would pull through and this would all be a funny story they told years from now. Adrian knew how to use weapons to defend himself and had a partner whose knowledge of magic frightened most magic users. They would keep her son safe.

"This is good," Ulyssa decided, hugging Adrianna in breach of royal protocol. "Adrion is safe and Maura will be fine. This is upsetting news that we were attacked, but we'll get through it."

Adrianna didn't struggle against Ulyssa's embrace, but her shoulders were still rigid and her disposition grim.

"Your Majesty, there were several casualties today. There were several explosions, some meant to injure and others to distract while targeted individuals were attacked. There is still much confusion about the events that needs to be cleared up, but most people can confirm that there were assassins present, and possibly demons as well. Queen Maura was attacked directly by one of these assassins, and we are treating the situation as if she were the main target."

"Assassins? What does an assassin look like? How could you possibly tell an assassin from a demon? This is ridiculous."

"The assassins had the markings of the Red Queen and her trained assassins. They haven't been seen since the Red Queen's death, but it was unmistakably them. And before you accuse Queen Claudia unjustly, they did also try to attack her as well and not as a ruse. She and Lords Siew and Goldman held most of them off before reenforcements arrived. She's the only reason Her Majesty survived. You owe her your thanks and not your suspicion." Adrianna paused, waiting for Ulyssa to process this information without ranting about Pleasantview again. Ulyssa had a duty to perform and her adopted country needed her to be ready to act on the world stage. "Your Majesty, I need to relay more information if you are going to act as regent. Please, take a seat on the stairs behind you. This will be difficult."

Ulyssa nodded absent mindedly, but remained standing. Her mind was running wild as it was. She didn't need any more bad news.

"Your sister, Lauren, was among the casualties," Adrianna began. "I'm so sorry for your loss. Princess Cindra has informed your family already and is handling that situation for us."

Ulyssa stood in frozen shock, trying to imagine her father receiving this news. Losing the baby of the family in such a horrible way would surely kill her father. She needed to go comfort him and be with her family. Jorah would be a wreck emotionally and collapse under the strain of leading the Durant family in such a dark time.

"Your Majesty, please sit down," Adrianna insisted. Her eyes were still sad. "You really should sit down."

"I should call my father," Ulyssa mumbled, still picturing a sad burial in the Arkhelios church yard. It would be beautiful and solemn, just like the funeral her mother had never had.

"Your Majesty, that's sadly not all I have to report. Please, sit down. You must prepare yourself. I'm so sorry."

Ulyssa's blood froze in her veins at these words. Her heart stopped beating in her chest. The look on Adrianna's face was unfathomable. Ulyssa had already lost a sister and had her wife struggling to survive. What possible cruelty was left?

"As you know, Prince Adrion is being secured. We have reports indicating that Princess Viola and Princess Georgiana are about to be secured as well. I'm sorry to report that Princess Alysiara passed during the initial attack. Prince Spencer passed an hour ago of his injuries."

The floor dropped out from underneath Ulyssa. She was falling and falling in a chasm with no end. Adrianna was still speaking, but Ulyssa had lost the ability to understand the sounds she was making. Two of her children were dead? One while she was stuck in this memorial to the dead? She should have been at her son's side, not locked away in the very place her children would be put to rest. Her heart ached, trying to make sense of the world she now found herself in. A world with royal funerals for her babies and possibly Maura as well. A world where she might have to be regent until Adrion was old enough to take his mother's place, just like Maura had done before him.

Sobs overtook Ulyssa and Adrianna awkwardly tried to comfort her. She wasn't permitted to touch the queen consort under normal circumstances, but it seemed appropriate for this situation.

"Your daughter was born just after Maura was admitted to the hospital," she said quietly. "The queen was in danger of losing her with her injuries, so they performed an emergency c-section. You can see her once the hospital is secured. Congratulations."

Ulyssa stopped crying long enough to figure out what Adrianna meant by "her daughter". Through the haze of her grief, she remembered. Maura’s daughter with that repulsive man had been born and now Ulyssa had to confirm in front of the world, possibly while Maura died, that this was her child. Her daughter. Alysiara was her daughter. She remembered vividly the look on Maura’s face when the pregnancy test turned positive. The hope that they had for the future. That future was gone now and in its place was death and betrayal. How had Maura’s bastard child lived while their daughter died? While their son died without his mother to hold him?

"I want to see my children. I want to see Maura." Each word felt like she was chewing on glass just to get out. All of her worry about her father's reaction to Lauren's death felt hollow now. She was the one about to die and be buried beside her children. There was no air in the room or a heart in her chest. She thought she had understood pain and guilt and sorrow when she watched Maura’s face fall when she was told about Roman. That hadn't been true suffering at all. She would never again see two of her children, while publicly welcoming a daughter that wasn't hers.

She was being punished for her affair. That had to be it. Twikkii Island didn't want her, but only she could bridge the gap between Maura and Adrion. The kingdom needed a monarch and she was all they had. All Ulyssa wanted to do was curl up into a ball and try not to die from the grief she was drowning in, but her surviving children needed a mother. Maura’s daughter needed a mother. Twikkii Island needed her to lead in a way she'd never anticipated. This was the burden Maura had warned her about when she proposed. This was the cost of loving the queen of Twikkii Island. Her children and wife could be murdered and she would have to pick up the pieces and hold a nation together while trying to piece together the shards of her heart.

"Give me a moment."

Ulyssa wandered into the next room to collect herself, still walking like she was the ghost and not her children. She collapsed to the floor, sobbing like she'd never stop until she was dead as well. Adrianna waited quietly, trying to offer words of comfort that Ulyssa couldn't hear.

After an unmeasurable amount of time had passed, Ulyssa rose to her feet and tried to copy the confident, regal look she'd seen Maura adopt every time she was called to duty. She would grieve when there was time to grieve. Until then, she had living children who needed her and a country under attack. She would sit at Maura’s bedside once their children were safe in her arms and the nation had been addressed. Maura needed her to do this. Even with all their fighting and Maura’s self-destructive affairs, Ulyssa loved her wife. She would hold together their shattered family for Maura’s sake and collapse once Maura was fit to rule again.

"Take me to Adrion," she ordered, as she had always been instructed. "Bring the rest of the children to meet us at the hospital Maura and my youngest daughter are in and have a speech prepared to deliver in an hour. I also want updates on just what happened and what we're doing about it. Who did this? What's the timeline? You can't keep things from me if you want me to step in for Maura."

Adrianna looked uncomfortable and craned her neck to see the entrance to the tombs.

"No one has come through here? No sounds in the halls? Do you have a reasonable expectation that you are alone here?" When Ulyssa nodded, Adrianna sighed. "I'm not supposed to brief you until we've secured a space to do so. This information is highly sensitive."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere until I have something to work with," Ulyssa insisted. She'd watched Maura tear down her occasionally infuriating security team and Ulyssa felt confident that she could copy Maura’s attitude. "I need to know the victims and I need to know what happened on my wife's land. I'm not rushing off where you want me to without those two things."

"The casualties were Lauren Durant, Princess Alysiara, Prince Spencer, and potentially Her Majesty. There was a targeted attack by trained agents, who we believe to be affiliated with the Red Queen, as well as planted explosives we believe were designed to isolate the targets from the crowd."

Ulyssa nodded, counting her breaths like she had when she was pregnant. This was all too much to handle, especially now that she could see the same pattern the security team had too.

"My sister, my wife, and my children were the targets?" she repeated shakily. "No one died who wasn't in my immediate family? We didn't publish the fact that I wouldn't be there, it was a last minute thing. Maura and I were arguing and she asked me to stay behind. She said it would make us look bad if we couldn't even agree on a simple barbecue. I thought she was using the barbecue as a chance to meet up with one of her lovers. The killers thought that I'd be there. The killers wanted me to be there. I'm not just being self-absorbed, right? My family and I were all supposed to die."

Adrianna nodded, putting aside her dislike of Ulyssa for the moment. Maura had chosen her to marry and Adrianna had never questioned one of Maura’s orders.

"Your sister Cindra was also targeted, we believe, but survived. There may not have been a heavy security presence on the lot, but as you know, the Siew family takes pride in educating its members in self-defense. Even before the Pleasantview coven arrived, I'm told the intruders were already retreating. One of the Darktide children apparently drew blood on one of them with a spell and we're running the blood left behind for DNA analysis. Another child stabbed one attacker in the thigh, protecting Princess Georgiana. The Siew family is resilient."

Was Georgiana specially targeted or had she been in as much danger as my other children? Did the attackers know her paternity and target her directly because she wasn't Maura’s biological daughter?

Ulyssa struggled to breathe, relying once more on her pregnancy breathing to calm her down. This was a targeted effort to destroy her family and she had to stay strong. Maura had always warned her that this might happen and she agreed to the risks when they got married. It was time for Ulyssa to be both the Durant family head and the Siew regent. She'd been caught without a proper defense this time, but that would never happen again. Ulyssa would protect her two families with everything she had.

#sims 2 #arkhelios #arkhelios adventures #sim: ulyssa durant #ulyssa durant #tw: death #tw: child death

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