#{ ooc: 🥺 it's been a long while for these two so i just had to... also- }

[angelshadowsinger]

oh my fucking god your work is incredible! holy literal shit balls i have never felt that entranced by a fanfiction until reading yours. thank u thank u thank u your azriel is PERFECT.

also i’m totally gonna need your thoughts on azriel sharing with his shadows 👀

re: ummmmmmm call me parmesan bc u got me CHEESIN!?!?!! that is literally sO sweet of you to say, i am touched 🥺 as a fic author you always worry if you’re making the character OOC and, it just makes me so happy to hear your praise!! thank you so much anon~ ♥︎ This HC is a bit more than what you’ve asked for, but it does includes it, so pls enjoy!

Azriel’s Shadows Around his Mate Headcanons

･ ゜゜・．｡ ･ ゜゜・．｡･ﾟﾟ･．｡ ･ ゜゜・．｡･ﾟﾟ･

ɴᴏᴛɪᴄᴇ: ʙʏ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴡᴏʀᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴇʀᴛɪꜰʏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ᴏᴠᴇʀ 18 ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴏᴛ ᴀ ᴍɪɴᴏʀ. ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ ʙᴇʏᴏɴᴅ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴘᴏɪɴᴛ ᴍᴀʏ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴀɪɴ ɴꜱꜰᴡ ᴛʜᴇᴍᴇꜱ. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴏᴡɴ ᴅɪꜱᴄʀᴇᴛɪᴏɴ.

･ ゜゜・．｡ ･ ゜゜・．｡･ﾟﾟ･．｡ ･ ゜゜・．｡･ﾟﾟ･

In my eyes, Azriel’s shadows are a part of him. There hasn’t been much insight that Maas has given us with shadowsingers and their capabilities in general, but this is what I choose to believe~

Since Azriel’s shadows were perhaps the first of his powers, and the first entity to treat him with some kindness/obedience, I think he would be very in tune with them and he himself would consider them a part of him. He has had over 500 years to develop his relationship with them and therefore, I believe once he found his mate, his shadows would be just as captivated with her as he himself.

Obviously, Azriel is a total simp for his girl (but that’s another hc in its own), so that means his shadows are too. Honestly, it could be viewed as annoying how often at least a few of his shadows are constantly at your side. He’s used to having them totally loyal to him, so now that he has to share them with you… well, it’s not really actually that cumbersome, because he knows that even when you two are apart, he’ll be sure to know if you need him/his help. Though he has a couple less to send out on his spymaster business, technically, the ones with you are acting as his spies anyway. Just, with a far more interesting and important subject.

His shadows do a variety of things for you, making your everyday life easier and more pleasant. Just as their master, the shadows like to give you princess treatment.

For example, they go out of their way to help you with mundane things. If you’re making dinner and a tomato rolls off the cutting board, they’re pushing it back to you. When you’re putting on a dress, they’re helping you with the zip and clasp. If you’re writing something and your pen runs out of ink, somehow they’ve procured a new one that matches your exact preferences.

Both Az and his shadows notice the small things. They take notes of your likes and dislikes, what makes you giggle, cry, or provides you comfort.

At times when he’s away for a long while, and you’re missing him, they will deliver small gifts to you. A couple flowers tied with twine, native to the strange lands he’s currently working in. A special spice he knows you love to use in the foods you share with him. An especially-delicious pastry made with your favorite fruit/flavor. Though the shadows themselves do not find you gifts, they are happy to deliver whatever Az requests they send.

They also will take anything you wish to send him. Whether he’s in another country, or simply training at the House of Wind with his brothers, his shadows will deliver your every gift. Most of the time it’s little sweets or a lunch you’ve packed. Sometimes when you’re feeling cheekier, a receipt from the lingerie store informing him of your latest purchase. If you’re really feeling brazen, sometimes the panties themselves. His shadows are perhaps happiest to carry those items, either to get into contact with them or to see their master’s red cheeks as he shoves them out of his brothers’ view.

His shadows are your caretaker when he is not with you. When you’ve fallen asleep staying up for your mate’s return from yet another mission, his shadows will tuck you under your favorite blanket, taking off your reading glasses and ensuring your spot in the open book on your lap is not lost. Az nearly melts when he comes back to the sight, you dead asleep on the couch in front of the blazing hearth, his shadows perched dutifully there, guarding you.

However, they grow attached to you and even when he is with you, they will not leave you alone unless he commands them.

Azriel likes to take full advantage of his time alone with you. There is nothing he finds more comfort and pleasure in than being in your embrace. Sometimes that’s hard to do, though, when his shadows steal away your attention, or beat him to helping you with the zip of your dress.

It’s a very endearing sight to see him get jealous of his own shadows. He’d have a scowl on his face as he glared at them, silently ordering them to leave your side so he could have you all to himself. The shadows would melt onto the floor, gloomy in a way, whisper once more around your ankle before they go off to fulfill their master’s instruction.

Most of the time, you manage to guilt your mate into letting a few of them come back. And as soon as he calls them, they appear and shoot right for you. Az rolls his eyes but of course he understands. How could they not fall in love with you?

Azriel is actually very good with sharing. This usually applies to you when his shadows are involved, though sometimes he just needs to be alone with you. Whether it’s to have his way with you or just to snuggle up and bask in his mate’s presence. When he needs time like that, he will have his shadows guard your quarters and they will do so without question— fiercely protecting the only two beings they care for.

~spicy hc’s begin ;)~

Most of the time, Azriel will take the lead in pleasuring you— as he should, as your mate— but he’s likely to let his shadows watch or join his efforts if they play a supporting role.

For example, his favorite thing is to be between your legs, feasting on your sweet cunt and making sure you know you are his, while his shadows hold you down so you can’t move an inch. This way, you have to take the pleasure in the exact way he desires, unable to greedily chase your high or buck your hips or push him away.

Usually he plays with you for a while like this, teasing you and edging you a handful of times before he’s ruthless, unstopping even after you’ve come. He does cease his ravishing after you’ve come again, only to ensure he doesn’t overstimulate you before he’s had a chance to fuck you like you both want.

His shadows are happy to shackle you and render you helpless to his onslaught of pleasure; they love hearing your wanton cries and will dry away any tears of pleasure that escape with a cool, ghostly caress.

Speaking of their caress, one of his favorite uses for them is to soothe your skin when he’s done marking it up. Meaning, after every spank or particularly hard bite, the shadows will rove over the irritated flesh, kissing you with their cooling tendrils.

Since the shadows are slightly cold, sending them to curl around your nipples while he fucks you from behind is also another favorite. The temperature-play heightens everything— especially when they move down your curves to tease at your clit or your ass, depending on your preference…

Sometimes he lets them fuck you as part of your foreplay— usually while you’re sucking his cock. He just loves the surprise that flickers in your eyes when you’re choking on the length of him deep in your throat, how your lashes flutter when that familiar cool touch tickles your inner thighs and pushes your wet panties aside, how your moan feels vibrating around him when they thrust inside of you. He savors how your rhythm gets thrown, how you struggle to continue when his shadows are running over every sensitive crevice of your most intimate parts.

On rarer occasions, Azriel will let the shadows have their way with you. He’d sit back in a comfortable, wing-friendly armchair, darkened hazel eyes drinking in every movement before him— you with your eyes rolled back in ecstasy, the darkness holding your legs spread and fondling every inch of you— cupping your tender breasts, tweaking those pert, hard nipples… stroking your face, your hair, your hips and thighs… flowing over your puffy clit, slipping between your dripping folds and even wandering inside of you, perhaps just as deep as Azriel’s cock could reach. He would jerk his leaking shaft at the sight before him, lip held prisoner in his feral snarl. He wouldn’t be able to last very long, the sight before him too much for him to keep his composure.

When you’re both spent and panting for breath, the shadows will run up and down your moistened back, taking away the heat that lingers there and helping to lull you to sleep.

Only when you’re unconscious do they return to Azriel, curling around his shoulders in thanks. They know they are lucky to be the sole creature/presence with which he shares his mate, and any time spent with you is valued payment for the many services they provide their master with.

[devildomditzy]

Aaah!!!!! I’m so excited for this!!!! Would it be alright if I requested “I need you beside me.” ❤️‍🩹🥺 for Mammon? I love all your work, and I can’t wait to see everything that comes out of this event!!!!

Thank you very much ❤️ I hope I make you cry a lil

(this one got way too long)

TW for gore, spoilers for lesson 16

Also should have mentioned - ooc mammon bc i want to see him get angry

——————————————————————————

Things changed after that day. As much as you hate to admit it, seeing your lifeless, cold, dead body in your best friend’s arms really does fuck with you.

You became fearful, jumping at loud noises and avoiding the attic. A simple hand laid on your shoulder could provoke the most blood curdling scream, and necklaces were out of the question. If you felt even the lightest of touches around your throat, you’d panic into fight or flight mode.

And it wasn’t just you that changed. No, every brother personality’s shifted ever so slightly, and while you made a point not to mention it, you can’t say you were that fond of their new…‘quirks’ so to speak.

They became softer, too afraid to set you off into a spiral of memories that’s hard to come back from. They made sure you were never alone, a trait that while comforting, was becoming extremely bothersome. They watched you, ever present like hawks just to be sure you were still alive, you were still breathing, you were still with them. And even more so, they watched Belphie.

You’re trying to be nice, fuck, you’re really trying your best. Now that the news that you’re Lilith’s descendant has washed over, Belphie has taken a new, rather innocent interest in you. When he smiles that sweet, gentle smile at you, asking if you want to take a nap together, all you can see if his twisted, self righteous smirk, his lips upturned in laughter as he squeezed all the life out of you, crushing your windpipe and slashing a large, deep, sickening gash along your chest, reaching down to your stomach. It might have not happened to this version of you, but since Barbatos merged the times lines, it might as well have. You have all the memories, all the burning feelings, all the swelling pain. And now you had to learn to live with that.

Progress was being made, you told yourself, in order to keep spirits up, not letting yourself wander in your head too much. Hey, just last week you stopped crying when he was in the same room! You could tell it made Beel happy to see you two interact. He’d try to offer to sit in on movies and naps to get you two acclimated to each other, but you just couldn’t . It’s not only your mentality holding you back, there was a physical force stopping you form getting any closer. Quite literally whenever the opportunity would arise, Mammon would grab your wrist in a vice grip, pulling you behind him and answering for you.

“They’re not interested in anything that has to do with ya.”

His body language screamed protection, and the gaze he shot the youngest reminded everyone he’s the second most powerful avatar. Honestly, you were thankful for it. You didn’t want to hurt Beel’s feelings, but the thought of being in a room with Belphie without Mammon made you want to throw up.

Group activities have been attempted. Family movie nights were once again ago, but the second born made sure the two of you were the farthest possible distance from his younger brother while still being able to see the screen. The atmosphere always awkward, intense, suffocating. You noticed Belphegor’s gaze reach you a few times, a small smile on his lips.

It was almost unbearable, if not for Mammon.

It once was rare that you felt Mammon’s aura become dark and foreboding, so rare that it took so long for you to see his demon form, the first time being at the ball Diavolo held. It was the first time you’d seen one of them like that and your brain didn’t scream in fear. Hell, he was the only brother who hadn’t tried to kill you. The amount of restraint he usually had was commendable.

That was all out the window now.

Mammon stared across the room at his brother, eyes throwing a wordless threat towards him.

“Dontcha wanna watch the movie Belphie? Ya keep starin’ at them yer gonna lose the plot.”

You’ve never heard him so emotionless.

So cold.

So threatening.

Unsurprisingly though, the youngest had decided he had enough of your protector.

“You don’t own them, Mammon”, Belphie grumbled under his breath.

“What did ya just say?”, Mammon shot back, his voice laced with venom, daring Belphie to answer him.

“I said you don’t own them!” The seventh born raised his voice now, tone matching Mammon’s in a lethal contest. “I said I was sorry! I’m trying to make up for lost time, but I can’t if you keep being their guard dog! We’ve barely seen them all week!”

The rest of the room stayed surprisingly quiet at first, simply observing the exchange in anticipation, waiting to see who would make the first move, if any move at all.

“Make up for lost time? Ya wanna make up for lost time when you almost made us loose them for good?”, you notice Mammon begin to clench and unclench his fists in what you have come to learn is an attempt to calm down.

“Ya better shut yer mouth before I shut it for ya. Permanently.”

This was going to break bad any second.

“How about I choke ya out till I cave your throat in? Slit ya down the front until you’re bleedin’ out and cryin’ for mercy, huh? How’s about I make you feel like they did, kiddo?”

Your eyes widen and shoot towards the only source you know who could stop this. As if waiting for your cue, Lucifer stands up and puts a hand to Mammon’s shoulder.

He leans in and whispers something harsh, quietly so the others can’t hear but loud enough for you to take in.

“Enough. Mammon, I understand your anger, but I will not allow anymore deaths on this property.”

When the second born does not seem to back down, he continues,

“Don’t you think they’ve seen enough carnage?”, he gestures towards you, and the action makes Mammon falter.

“Now, take them back to their room and calm down. If this happens again, I won’t be so forgiving.”

Mammon hangs his head, making his expression unreadable to you, huffing out shaky breaths before wordlessly grabbing your shoulder and ushering you out of the room.

You now find yourself seated on your bed, watching him pace relentlessly. He’s talking to himself under his breath, but you’ve never been good at reading lips. Usually between the two of you there’s never a dull moment, never a lull of silence. Right now though, you’ve got it. And it’s scaring you.

“Mammon?”, you question cautiously, trying to get his attention. You can tell he heard you by the way he jolts, but chooses to ignore you to continue his circling.

“Mammon, please?”

He stops, back facing you. At least he’s listening.

“I…”you struggle to find the right words. “I really appreciate you looking out for me.”

With that, he finally turns to face you, cobalt and golden irises finally locking onto yours. He looks pissed, but you can tell he’s trying to calm down for your sake.

“And I really appreciate you hanging out with me all the time…but, I don’t want that to get in the way of the relationship you have with your brothers.”

“Nuh Uh. No no no no no, nope. Don’t blame that idiot’s actions on yerself,” he sighs, grabbing you by the shoulders.

He kneels down now, meeting you at eye level.

“Listen, okay? And listen good cause I’m only gonna say this once. Our family’s problems shoulda never became yer own, got it? None of this is yer fault. Just…you were kinda… how should I put it…wrong place wrong time?”

“So you’re saying it would have been better if I wasn’t picked as an exchange student?”

“NO!”, he winces once realizing how loud that came out, with a speed that needed to cut off that line of thinking any further.

“But you guys have killed humans before? You even talked about eating them, and I can’t tell if you’re joking or not, but Beel definitely has, so why do you care about me? All of this started because you have to protect me, you’re honor bound and pact bound. If you didn’t feel the need to protect me so…so strongly, you would have never been mad at Belphie. Hell, you probably would have felt the same way about me too.”

You drop your gaze, unable to look at him now. The tears that pin prick your lash line threaten to pour over and fall down your cheeks. You become surprised as a hand comes up and wipes them away.

“Fuck, you’re an idiot, ya know that? Sometimes you can be a bigger idiot then me, and that’s sayin’ sumthin’”.

You head shoots up to angrily glare at him only to find him giving you the most sincere look you’ve ever seen on his face.

“You comin’ here didn’t change anything. Belphie woulda done anythin’ possible to kill the human exchange student if it was you, or any other schmuck. An I woulda had to look out for them, too.”

You ponder it for a moment letting his words sink into your skin. It sounds logical, you know that, but you still can’t help but blame yourself. He can almost see right through you.

“But, I don’t want any other schmuck, got it? You’re my human and I’m your first man. Ya know what that means?”

“It means I have to give you my undivided attention or you’ll throw a hissy fit?”

“Wha- Hey! No!”, He tried to look mad, but how can he when you giggle so brightly.

“It means you’re mine, idiot. There is no one else because no one else could even compete with ya. Of course I’m gonna protect ya. I can’t go loosing ya”, you can hear him choke on his words a bit before continuing, “not again.”

You reach out and wrap your arms around him, pulling him into your chest and holding on as tight as you could, almost for dear life. He lifts his head of unruly white hair to look up at you.

“I need ya beside me.”

[helluvapurf]

Thoughts on latest HB ep "Ghostf**kers" (*now that I've regained a bit more energy post-Halloween weekend lol*):

So the newest ep of HB has came & went from what I've seen- aaaand naturally feels like the best time for me to finally ramble about it now that its settled in my brain some more .3. Thoughts (+Spoilers) below~ NOTE: Most of this -does- get a lil rant-y below sooo... read at your own risk lol .w.;;

First things out of the way to start things off on a good note, the Pros:

To start off with... FINALLY we got some Millie focus for a major episode plot (-or more specifically, focus that doesn't get revolved back to Moxxie somehow lol)😭👏👏. Even if Millie's spotlight here did have to be shared with Blitz for a good chunk of the ep, their friendship was actually genuinely sweet & compelling to watch (esp. their backstory & how Millie was allowed to stand up for herself, give him space, BUT also coming around to acknowledging the good in Blitz, when it all came down to it🥺👏). Which ngl, after these previous episodes reigning down HARD on this dude... idk, just felt refreshingly wholesome to see for this series, yknow?😊

New villain Rolando was pretty cool, and surprisingly spooky to watch as the second-half went on oml- .o.;; While I'm still a teensy bit confused how his powers/demon lore work (at least to what we already know about Hell limitations crossing to the human world, ex. succubi & their crystals), his underwater monster vibe gave some fun visuals to watch up until the climax. I'm not 100% familiar with John Waters' works, but damnnn he should take up voice-acting more often ngl~ 👀

FINALLY MAMA TILLA MAKES AN (on-screen) APPEARANCE 😭😭Her whole vibe & Blitz's clear love and regret over what happened to her... hhhhh my whole heart ;n; 💔

That pink client lady (Rita, I think her name is?) who assigned the hotel mission? I dig her vibe, its cute~ :3

I.M.P. feeling like a legitimate workplace family for once, with even Loona & Moxxie getting a nice lil moment towards the end?? More. Of this. Please. 👌👌

Even with the lil undertones of the Stol*itz drama from the past couple eps, I very much appreciate Blitz (+the show itself) acknowledging that what's been going is NOT a breakup ('cause... yknow, they never actually dated to begin with lol🤷‍♀️). It may not 100% fix how messy that particular narrative's been handled as of late (which I'll get to in a sec-), but eh... its a start in the right direction, I guess? .3.

Enjoyed all the colorful flashback looks given, never would I have thought I needed mercenary!Millie with a fluffy ponytail til nowww hlkjlk😩❤️

Aaaand as for the not-so-good bits (imo), aka the Cons:

Pacing felt kiiiinda all-over-the-place, I'll admit; like one min we've got a whole intro & a half to deal with Blitz's whining fest (+some other pointless banter at the hotel)... then the next it feels like we're breezing past Rolando's whole presence as the "big bad" villain. Which... idk, I guess I shouldn't be too harsh on given the production drama behind-the-scenes (aka: the leaked content that had to be cut & redone awhile back)... buuuut yeah, its just one of those things you can't help but take notice of, critique-wise lol 🤷‍♀️

The humor wasn't... exactly at its strong point here, mainly just a lil overdone in the sex joke department imo though I guess thats kind of "par-for-the-course" in the Hellaverse series nowadays, so lol

Now, idk if this may be an unpopular opinion or not; but was I the only one who felt like Blitz's month-long mope fest over Stolas was rather... OOC, all things considered? .-. Like, okay its one thing for Blitz to still be (understandably) upset over how the last two eps went down (but being the "boss" he is, continues working anyway to keep I.M.P. afloat, like in the latest HB shorts)... but for Blitz of all people to just randomly use ALL his company's funds on useless junk, force his daughter Loona to stay up all night/not go home, drive Moxxie in a panic from all the budgeting issues this past month was just... wut- 🤦‍♀️ ...Mind you, this is meant to be the SAME Blitz who not even a few episodes ago begged Stolas to not take away the Grimoire (aka the key to his + his employee's livelihood), clearly being willing to do anything to not lose all that he holds dear. You seriously expect me to believe he'd be the type to throw that all away (for a WHOLE month)... all to simply whine over some blue-blooded bird not noticing him? ...Yeaaaaah sorry, but I'm gonna have to call bs on that, chief- 🙄

Kiiiinda tying in the last point, but as much as I enjoyed the tense thills gained from the "Rolando enters Blitz' mind to make him see his own flaws/past mistakes" sequence... I do have a few issues with some of these other "flashbacks" added to the mix: 1) Loona's groin kick towards Blitz in "Seeing Stars" (*wasn't Blitz's fault since ALL he did was tell her to be nice to clients... and was right about to apologize to Loona just seconds before the kick 😒*) 2) Blitz pushing Stolas' hand away in "Ozzies" (*which Blitz only did after Stolas hide his face/didn't defend Blitz during the song*) 3) Stolas' hurt expression at the end van scene of "Ozzie's" (*mind you, taking place while Blitz is rightfully standing up for himself/telling off Stolas for being a privileged creep all of S1*) 4) Stolas trying to present the Asmodean Crystal gift in "Full Moon" (*a whoooole mess in of itself I already covered prior-*) 5) Stolas angrily walking away from their pool fight + trash-talking Blitz in the "Motherf**kers" song + drunkenly dumping his problems on him + making out with a whole other dude in front of Blitz (*again, a huge mess I covered prior but TL;DR... most of that WASN'T fully-Blitz's fault in those instances??😑*)

Like... I dunno man, I don't mean to sound like I'm just ragging on Stolas per-episode as of late... but these last few points just keep giving me mixed signals than any genuine idea as to WHY Blitz even has these "feelings" growing for Stolas, atm?🤨For any canon couple in fiction, I WANT to see reasons for why they work best together, what kind of interests/aspects they've got in-common, what special "spark" is there that helps them stand out above all the other dynamics in-canon... but from what I see so far on Blitz's end (& the narrative continuing to guilt on him being "the problem")... it honestly feels more like he's only now fallen for Stolas out of pity... not because Blitz actually wants him for him, y'know? :/ Which... ngl, sounds like a really sad precedent to send for a main-endgame couple, regardless of series genre imo... 🤷‍♀️

-------

Soooo yeah, all that rant-y rambling aside... not a bad ep in the grand scheme of things! 👍👍Here's hoping the last few remaining eps (+possible shorts) for S2 keeps up the good work! 🙏

[chaichaiiskai]

Jack hanma x male reader … you can just do wtv you feel like doing for this … this is probably gonna get ignored cz it’s just ‘jack x male reader’ but if you do .. Yk do smth, thank you 👍🏾

Gotta be honest, I don't remember jack shit about jack (pun intended) aside from his ability to not lay tf down despite getting his ass beat so--- he's very stubborn so I think I can do something with that... Ya didn't give me much to work with but I'll take the reins on this one.

Now, personally, I don't think jack would be too interested in romance since his number one goal is to beat the shit outta his father but for the sake of your request I'm just gonna feed into the fantasy and add a bit of spice. Jack's definitely gonna be ooc

Let's say this takes place a little while after he's defeated by Baki and he's a bit more humble, also he's at the heaping height of 7'11 aka 241 cm. I had no idea what to do!!!! But let's do this.

jack hanma! x male! amab! reader

warnings: amab reader, male reader, mlm, he/him pronouns, homophobes dni, overprotective behavior from jack, no smoot this time cause i wanna give jack the cuddles he deserves and male readers deserve fluff too 🥺

Working could have its downfalls and its moments of relief, especially in this special part of the city. It wasn't exactly the most rundown place, but it wasn't all that safe either. However, you chose not to let that bother you as you focused on doing your job, collecting tips, and then heading back home. Being a waiter proved to be easy enough when you weren't dealing with difficult, idiotic customers who had some kind of privilege problem, complaining about the food not being hot.

"Sir, I'm more than happy to have another meal prepared for you, it won't take too long—" Your insistent words were soon cut off by the sound of the angered man you'd been serving, slamming his fat fist onto the table. You could practically see the veins in his forehead and neck looking close to popping, his reddened face reminding you of Red from Angry birds, he even had the brows to match.

"NO! How dare you disrespect me with this fucking SLOP!" He shouted, and then moved his other hand. In a flash, and before you could brace yourself for what was to come, you grunted when a plate was tossed at you, a bloody steak and hot potatoes were thrown directly at you. Fortunately, you were able to bring your arms up to quickly cover your face, the food and plate hitting your arms before it all crashed to the floor after covering your uniform and shoes in the man's tantrums. A light burning sensation spread over your arms and elbows, but not harsh enough to call for medical care, thankfully.

"Where do you get off thinking you can get away with this, boy!?"

Before you can explain yourself, or even defend your character, perhaps even offer to refund him for the meal he seemed to have a problem with, you felt a heavy hand on your shoulder. Along with the weight, you smelt a familiar cologne, your senses being invaded with a sudden sense of comfort and relaxation. Though, the hairs on the back of your neck knew what was to come next.

Jack.

You looked up at the heap of a man and he didn't look at you, instead, he offered the cloth napkin that he had gotten from the table he'd been dining at. You took it and stepped back, starting to wipe your arms off, taking note of the remaining slight sting you felt from the hot food, you would live but you couldn't believe this guy had the audacity to lie about the food being cold. Why? Did he just want to cause problems on unsuspecting waiters and waitresses? Was it some kind of elaborate scheme to humiliate those that he deemed below him?

"And who in the fuck are you!?" The difficult customer suddenly asked, making a show of getting out of his seat to stand off with Jack even though the blond easily towered over him, but their physiques were somewhat similar. Two walls built of muscle. All that proteins seems to go somewhere.

"Just a concerned customer. You're disturbing my meal, and you're lacking manners." Jack replied, his tone calm and his features as nonchalant as ever. This seemed to anger the other man considerably, seeing how he suddenly thrusted a finger in Jack's chest, soon to be met with the sound of crunching.

He'd broken his finger.

It was his own fault for carelessly touching a man who seemed to be crafted from sheer marble and stone.

The man let out a scream, clutching his broken finger with his uninjured hand, cradling it against his chest. In response, you took another step back and watched, along with many other patrons and staff members. Jack, on the other hand, grinned and looked back at the witnesses who couldn't take their eyes away from the scene.

"You all saw who touched who first, correct? You're all my witnesses."

Before anyone could even confirm what the blond had said, he covered the entirety of the angry customer's skull with his hand and lifted him off his feet. With the swift, calculated movements of a seasoned pitcher, he pulled the man towards himself just by holding his head like an oversized baseball and tossed him forward... right through the restaurant window, much to the horror of everyone in the restaurant-- aside from Jack and you. No, you were already groaning at the idea of needing to find another job.

...

"You can't keep doing this, Jack! Do you know how many jobs I've had to resign from because of you butting into everything?! Those poor people can't even fire me because they think you'll come after them and bash their skulls in with your bare HANDS or something!!"

You exclaimed, lecturing your boyfriend on his repeated offenses when it came to protecting you and your pride at every restaurant you worked at, mostly doing waiter work. The massive man simply chuckled at your words, tossing his arm over your shoulders as he pulled you closer into his hardened side, the warmth he gave off was a nice contrast to the approaching winter night but you were still upset. The two of you were in the back of the van he had bought to accommodate his large stature, while his chauffeur drove you both to the apartment building Jack owned.

"I don't get why you need to work when I can easily take care of you. I already do, but you always insist on working. Are you planning on saving up money and leaving me or something, short stacks?"

You rolled your eyes at the pet name, wanting to ignore him for the rest of the ride, but you couldn't bite your tongue back from recanting. "No. I can't do that even if I tried because I somehow fell in love with you. But that doesn't make me want to stop from going out to work, I want to contribute. You already pay all the rest of the bills." You murmured, crossing your arms over your chest and sighing, your anger dissipating into saddened frustration as you looked down at the van's floor, frowning at the sight of your dirtied shoes.

Jack simply watched you for a few minutes, the gears in his head starting to turn about before he spoke up.

"Why can't you apply for any other job then? Do you have to be a waiter?"

"I don't know what else I'm supposed to do, Jack! It's not like jobs are just falling from the fucking sky and are ripe for the taking!"

He seemed to linger on your words, not effected in the slightest by the raise in your voice. Instead, he wanted to be a problem solver, even if he wasn't the smartest guy out there, he figured there could be something out there for you.

Before the conversation could continue, however, it was interrupted by the van parking, the backdoor opening and you climbing out, rushing out into the underground garage to head straight for the elevator so you could go up to the penthouse and bathe. Jack simply watched your retreating back, rubbing at the back of his neck before he finally climbed out after you. With a quick dismiss of his driver, he began the trek to the stairs, which he preferred to take instead of the elevator, despite living on the 20th floor. How could he even pass up on a workout? It already took a lot out of him to not try and run everywhere, but you insisted on getting a van because you didn't want his body to continue breaking down at such a fast pace. And you usually would have forced him to take the elevator with you, but you were too upset with him and grossed out by your soiled clothes to wait.

As soon as you got into your shared place, you took your shoes off and left them by the door, shuffling across the hardwood floor with your somewhat soiled socks and dropped your bag on the living room couch, making your way directly to the bathroom. Once inside, you didn't bother to shut the door behind you and headed for the shower, turning it on so that it could heat up to the proper temperature before stripping out of your clothes. You dropped the articles of clothing on the floor, knowing you'd drop them in the washer after you were done bathing, and hurried into the shower, instantly sighing in relief as the water began to shower off the stickiness of that asshole of a man's dinner from your skin.

The shower was pretty much a massive glass box, and like everything else in your home, it was meant to fit two Jacks inside of it, making it almost seem like a giant's castle with you inside of it. That was okay with you, everything was just extra comfortable, especially the shower that had sprayers behind you, in front of you, and on the ceiling, rinsing every inch of your body if you so desired. It was a great contrast to the frustration from the day. And you preferred to stop smelling like meat and potatoes.

Eventually, about halfway through your shower, Jack had finally made it inside, grunting as he kicked off his shoes haphazardly, entering and taking a brief look around. It didn't take a genius to know where you'd gone. He put on his house slippers and went further in, shoving his hands into the pockets of his dark sweats as he entered the bedroom, deciding he'd be of some help.

By the time you came out of the shower, feeling more refreshed with your head a bit clearer, a towel wrapped around your waist and another emcompassimg your wet head.

You noticed Jack first sitting on the edge of the humongous bed, and then a fresh change of clothes splayed out on the mattress beside him. "Thanks, babe."

He hummed in response, removing his phone to unlock and look through it. Whenever he held something significantly smaller in his hand, it was always amusing, no matter what mood you were in. You sighed and shook your head to keep yourself from chuckling, moving to get dressed in one of his t-shirts that drowned you in fabric (no matter what size you are), and pair of comfortable bottoms you tended to lounge around. You decided to finish drying your hair, plopping down beside him, sinking into the firm yet soft bed.

The silence was comfortable in a way, with the sounds of him tapping and you lightly scrubbing away at the moisture on your head.

"How about this?"

You paused what you were doing when he suddenly put his phone in front of your face, showing something to you. You squinted in confusion and leaned in a little to get a better look at what he was showing you. A job listing for a remote job. Immediately, you took his phone from him and looked over the requirements, the description, and everything else in-between. It was almost too good to be true. How did he find something so easily in such a short amount of time? You decided not waste anymore time to rush over to gather your laptop, carrying along his phone, and went to apply for this job as quickly as possible. Luckily, you had a little desk you often used in the bedroom tucked away in the corner nearby the closet. If you got this job then that means you'd have to make up your own office. What were the odds? If you got this job, you might not be as frustrated with Jack as you were before... Who were you kidding? Even if he didn't present this golden opportunity you wouldn't have lasted much longer being frustrated with him.

With a new sense of determination, you were quick to upload your resume along with your application and a few other things you needed, a sense of hope settling itself on your shoulders. Alongside the hands that were currently resting their, Jack peering over your shoulders, not leaning any of his weight on you as he watched you diligently type away.

"Will I get a reward if you score this job?" He finally asked after you hit 'submit' on your application. Breathing out a sigh from your nose, you tilted your head back to look up at him, bumping into his hard abdomen. "Hm... don't know. You acted pretty hasty today, knowing I could have handled it on my own... I think I should punish you."

Jack blinked in surprise for a moment, his mouth soon forming an 'o' shape, followed by a cheeky grin that spread across his face like a forest fire.

"Punish me? Kinda wanna see you try. Doubt you could do anything though." After challenging you, he removed his hands from your shoulders and crossed them over his chest, raising an eyebrow in wait.

You nodded and then pushed yourself out of your chair.

"Bet."

And with the speed of lightening, you hurried over towards the bed and flopped onto your side, immediately getting comfortable and pretending to sleep.

Jack: 🧍

"You little shit."

[harcove]

hi 🥺 i hope you’re doing all right — i’m sending so so much love 🫶🏼 i don’t want to bother you with a request so please feel free to just read this and move on if you need to ! i was just doing my hair, and as a curly girl i imagined begging Billy to let me do my post-shower styling routine on his luscious hair. he’s probably protective over his hair but i think it would be so cute !! like , him sitting on the edge of his bed, a little (a lot) stiff, with hair strands in his eyes as his s/o fusses over his wet hair, scrunching product and twirling clumps into ringlets 🥹🫶🏼 and he hates to admit that he loved being taken care of and despite his grumbling, he liked how his hair turned out 🥹

A/N: me, a year after taking a hiatus from writing, answering all my year old requests: "heyyy guysss...."

Fr I'm sorry y'all I stopped writing, and left all your beautiful requests in my inbox cause I didn't wanna delete them cause I love them and always wanted to do them someday... Even if it's LATE BY A YEAR IM SO SORRY... I hope this kinda makes up for it 🥺

Pairing: Billy x reader

Length: 3.4k

Warnings: Nopepepepe, but I will say OOC Billy just so no one tries to tell me I write him OOC even though this is how I characterize him lmao

Nah, I trust you - B.H.

Billy's back was stiff as a board.

He couldn't help it; it was his natural reaction to the situation. Facing his back towards people. It was hard. But you had begged- pleaded. Please let me do your hair, please! And no matter how many times he said no or brushed you off, you wouldn't let up. You were absolutely relentless.

To Billy, his hair was a key part of him. It was one of the few things he had complete control of in his life; something that was completely his and something he had the free will to do with it as he pleased (even if it meant his father would make a nasty comment or two about it) and it was something he took pride in.

Yes- he had let you touch his hair before. But that was after a long day, when he knew he wouldn't be going out again and was winding down in bed.

Not after a shower. He usually did that himself because he was the only one who knew how to do his hair the way he wanted. Or at least, he believed he was the only one who could do it right.

It may have sounded stupid; people might say it's just hair and its not that big of a deal. But to him it was a big deal. It was an integral part of him that even his father couldn't take away, even if he had something to say about it.

He supposed, maybe, if there was anyone who he might trust enough to do his hair after he showered, it might be you.

Your hair was beautiful. Thick curls that you tended to and he had seen you tend to before. Times where he'd been in your room, reading some random book he found on your bookshelf while he waited for you to finish showering- you walking out with wet hair and sitting at the vanity to put things in it- to make sure you took care of it.

So, if there was anyone he might trust for this, it was you.

In fact, it was always you. For every thing that Billy found himself alone in, found himself with no one he could trust, there was always you. He trusted you.

"Trust me, you're in good hands."

You note his stiff shoulders as you sat behind him on his bed whilst he sat on the floor. Billy was caged; in the beginning of your relationship he was especially so in all situations. Some days were still harder for him but he was much better than before.

It took a lot of patience and thinking past his personality at times, but it was worth the effort. He was worth it.

It was just too bad that so many people in his life didn't think so.

"I'll stop driving you to school if I'm fucking not," his voice is low, and much of his words came out as a grumble from his chest.

Gently, you place your hands on his shoulders and lean forward, bracing yourself on him so you don't fall from the bed. For a second his shoulders tense a bit more but when he realizes what you're doing they start to relax.

"Trust me," you kiss the side of his face gently- your lips brushing against the spot beside his ear, his wet hair tickling your own face.

Before you can pull back to work on his hair, his hand grasps your arm and he drags you back with enough force you think for a minute you're going to fall over his shoulders onto the floor, but thankfully you manage to use your other hand to grab onto his shoulder again.

He's pressing his lips to yours. It's rough and it's almost as if he's kissing you for the first time after years of not seeing you. Billy Hargrove is a great kisser. It's passionate at times and gentle at others. Oftentimes he's stronger than he realizes, but he's never hurt you.

You feel him bite your lip, and you squeeze his shoulder hard, pulling back.

"You're trying to distract me," you breathe out, trying to catch your breathe.

There's a heat deep in your lower body, in your stomach, and your face feels a tad warm. He knows what he's doing, he always does. But you won't let him get away with trying to distract you- besides, making him wait grants a better reward, for you and him both.

"I don't need to try babe," his eyes have a glint in them and you push his back as you sit up straighter.

"Okay Prince Charming," you role your eyes and bring your hands to his head, feeling the curls in his hair.

Billy's got a mullet; a ever popular hairstyle at the moment, but his looks better than others you've seen. He's also got a natural wave and some curl to his hair. He uses a curling iron on it too sometimes to really accentuate the curls.

He could always try to get a perm, but it was something in the back of his mind. He was fine right now doing what he was used to. Besides- who knew better about how much curl or wave he wanted than himself?

Pouring a bit of leave in conditioner into the palm of your hand, you slap them together to coat both of your hands before running them through his hair again. Your fingers tangle into his locks and you can already see the natural curl and wave in his hair. It's thicker at the root and thins out a bit at the ends.

With it damp like it was, it looked brown rather than the dirty blonde/brown you're used to seeing. His hair is beautiful, and you're unafraid to let him know so.

"Your hair is so beautiful Billy," you say with a smile that can be heard in your voice   "Beautiful just like you are."

Billy's not used to being called beautiful. It's not a word people commonly use on him. Hot, yes, sexy, of course. Beautiful, no.

Yet you always seem so keen on using the word on him. At first, he'd always push back and claim that a word like that was meant for the likes of you, not him. Just call him sexy like everyone else did.

But you were insistent. You always were. And you'd brush him off and do it anyways. And soon, the word began to have a different meaning to him. A word that he associated with you. He wasn't sure if he thought himself beautiful but he knew you were and to you he was.

It always managed to make him feel something in his chest, that was for sure.

"Jesus, can't you call me hot, or some shit?" Billy bites out, but there's no malice in his words. More so, he sounds akin to a petulant child in that moment.

You suppose he's never had a chance to really be a child in his whole life. Never been taken care of, or babied.

So of course you'd do it for him now.

"You are hot," you make a sizzling noise with your mouth as you pull your hands from his hair, "but you're also beautiful."

"Glad you know."

It quiets down from there, a gentle lull in conversation is peaceful and welcome. Sometimes, Billy can be so loud (and as he likes to tell you, you can be especially loud when you're alone with him) and he can play loud music and get angry. But he likes the silence sometimes- only with you- because when he's alone, it's the music that blocks out his darker thoughts and his father's words.

But with you, the silence is safe.

Your hands pick up the heat protector Billy has on his bedside table and you spritz it a few times in the air to see that it's working, making Billy grab it.

"That shits expensive," he says before he starts spraying it into his hair himself.

"Alright, alright, I'll buy you a new one for your birthday- stop, I'm supposed to be doing this!"

With a quickness you grab the bottle back from his hands and spray his hair once more at the back before putting the bottle back on the table.

You're the only one he let's do these things.

Once that's done you run your hands through his hair again, half because you want to feel his hair again and have to make sure the product is everywhere.

You can feel it; the way his body relaxes just a smidge as you place your hands into his hair, playing with his locks and massaging his scalp. Compared to when you started, his body has loosened, his back is not as stiff- he's actually somewhat slouched, and his shoulders are too.

Moving to crawl across his bed, you grab the hair dryer and curler to really get to work on his locks. As you plug the former in, Billy looks at you, just drinking you in in those simple and quiet moments.

He's fucking whipped for you, and at one point in his life, that terrified him. It still did sometimes. But only because he'd never felt that way before. And he didn't want to ruin you.

Soon his hair is dry and your moving onto the curler.

His natural hair is already wavy as it is, and he's got some natural curls- especially on the nap of his neck he has what you called baby curls. You pull on them lightly, tug them, and you're doing it on purpose because soon Billy's large hand is grasping yours from behind and you're giggling.

"You're like a fucking child," he squeezes your hand, not enough to hurt you, but he's always been more heavy handed than most, "You're not touching my goddamn hair again if you don't stop."

"Your baby curls are so cute," you smile- removing your hand from his grip and placing both of your hands on either side of his head, tilting it back to look up at you.

He's always had the most beautiful eyes. Blue, clear, piercing.

Beautiful.

You gingerly place your lips against his as you lean forward. But he kisses back less gently, more needy, and his hands are soon finding their way backwards to hold the side of your own head. The position is odd, but the passion is familiar.

But this time it's not you that pulls away, it's him. And you can't help but pout as he does so- his tongue jutting out to lick his lips before a Cheshire like smirk shows itself, beautiful white teeth making their appearance like a vampire.

"Well? We don't have all night," he's so snarky when he speaks, knowing what he's doing to you- in a battle of wit and playfulness, Billy is the master. He is always one step ahead of you. You can never win. He throws your actions back in your face- the ball in your side of the court but he's the one holding it.

You let out a hmph as you take the heated curler and begin the task of curling, ignoring the heat that pools in the depths of your stomach and the way you can still feel his lips on yours. And he sits there, shoulders hunched slightly; a tiny thing that you notice with a soft smile and a bittersweet happiness. For so long when you had first met him, he was always tense; even alone, he always seemed like he was wound tight. At first it was confusing, worrying, and your worrying was warranted when you found out about his father. Neil Hargrove was at the bottom of the bucket, not worth any of your time or energy. Only ever worth the energy if you were trying to protect Billy.

He tells you to leave it alone. But you would never sit there and let him get shoved around in front of you. Something his mom should've been there to stop, you were trying to stop instead.

But now, he relaxes his shoulders, slumps his body lazily, when you're with him alone he is all mush. Usually. Right now, you were both aware that Neil and his wife, Max's mother, were away for a weekend trip together or something like that, so he could be this way in his own home.

It breaks your heart to think about how every other time he was home, and Neil was too, he was wound tight; always on edge, always waiting. Wondered how he could sleep at night. (That was probably why he liked to take naps at your house whenever he was there.)

If you could, you would keep him with you at your house. Your parents didn't mind his presence and were privy to the knowledge about his father. It was inevitable they found out that his relationship with his father was less than stellar. The extent of their knowledge wasn't that deep however- because if they knew, they'd call the police.

You weren't opposed to that. But Billy was. Vehemently so. Claimed that if the police were involved, it would only get worse- not just on him, but on everyone involved (this was code word for Max, you knew it). Also told you that police had been called before, when he was younger, by a neighbour who had suspicions. But his father was a good actor. And the police didn't dig hard enough, try hard enough.

You tell him all the time when it comes up that Hopper is different than the police in California at least. Hopper is a good man, a man with morals, and a man you trusted and one who would take this seriously. And it is not just you talking out of your ass, trying to convince him- no, you know Hopper would take it seriously.

But it always falls on deaf ears. And you can't force him to do something he doesn't want. You've tried. So you relent. For now. Things are more calm than they've ever been with Billy and his father. It could be related to the time he spends at your home, not around enough for his father to start too much. It's not good. But he's not bruised up. So for now, you relent.

You do not want to make things worse.

"You should sleep over next week," you casually suggest as your hands move to curl another section of his hair, running your fingers through already finished curls to make them look more natural.

"I slept over last week," Billy says, one of his  legs stretching out in front of him as his body further leans back, "Can't get enough of me?"

You wonder if he's aware of the reason you always ask him to sleep over at your home. Well, part of the reason. You enjoy his company, you enjoy falling asleep beside him, flush against his body because your bed is meant for one person, not two, and God forbid he stays on the ground to sleep or sleeps in the living room on the couch away from you. You enjoy waking up to see his beautiful golden touched skin from his time soaking up any of Hawkins sun, and you enjoy watching his face- calm and at ease, as he sleeps. Not worried, or on guard. Just calm.

The other half of your reasoning is to keep him away from his father when you can.

If hes aware of the secondary reasoning, he  hasn't said anything. Or made indication of it. But you're positive he must know or have an idea, because Billy Hargrove is perceptive and he is smart, something people don't tend to realize. More the fools they are.

"I'd just die without you," you playfully respond, (though you aren't sure how playful it is when you think about losing him- it horrifies you and you don't know what you'd do) as you turn the curling iron off, setting it aside to cool down before it can be put away. You run your fingers through his hair again, lightly pulling curls and brushing through them so they're not so perfect and the blend. So they look natural.

It isn't hard. Billy's hair is amazing. And you're not so bad at doing hair yourself, you remind yourself with a smug grin. Your hair was tended to nicely and you took pride in the curls and coils.

"I know," he scoffs, letting your fingers massage his scalp, "I'll think about it."

You smile softly. As much as you try to keep him at your place, you could never force him to do it. It was up to him when he would accept the offers or show up randomly for a night or two. He was independent. And you knew that was a part of him that he cherished and held onto tightly; the independence to choose to come over, the independence to own something like his camaro. His father took a lot from him, made him feel small- you would never take away his freedom to choose, never make him feel small. Never make him feel like you wanted to force him to do anything.

"All finished... My mom is making those cookies you like by the way," you tease, tugging on his hair, "the ones with those tiny peanut butter-"

"Cups in the middle," he finishes sharply, suddenly pulling himself away from your soft fingers in his hair. He flips himself to face you in a quick motion, a devilish look on his face as he surprises you with his sudden movement- pushing you down against his bed- his body pressed against yours as his face is so close you can feel his warm breathe fan across your lips, "trying to bribe me is a shit tactic. Won't work."

You roll your eyes, but you know he loves your mothers cooking. But you really aren't bribing him. Just a little, jokingly- he knows this too. He knows you.

"I know," you wiggle beneath him, trying to make yourself more comfortable. He rests his entire weight onto you, and it feels like you're covered in a weighted blanket, "she always leaves some aside for you anyways. Sometimes I think she likes you more than me."

Your mom adores Billy. Tries to baby him when she can. And at first that made you nervous; afraid of how he might react to it. He was wary at first but he took it well. He was charming, and good at making people like him. And you thought perhaps he secretly liked having someone try to mother him. Maybe it made him feel safe. Or happy.

"Of course she does, I mean, look at me."

It sounds so funny coming from him. He's referring to his good looks- and how Nancy Wheelers mom had tried to hit on him before.

"Don't be gross," you push down against his shoulders, not doing much to change your position or deter him. If anything it makes him worse.

But this time he relents, if only to get a look at his hair. When he looks in his mirror, you wait with bated breathe, still laying on his bed from where he'd been on top of you and pushed you there- but

His lips catch yours, hungry. He forces his tongue into your mouth, though it doesn't take him. It never does. He's intense and he isn't letting up; his hands move to dig into your hips, pushing your body deeper into his bed.

Billy's body stops resting on top of yours so heavily as he moves, placing one of his knees between your legs, and heading straight for your neck.

He always knows what to do. How to make you feel good in any situation. He's not even giving you a chance go breathe. You squeeze his biceps with your hands suddenly, letting him know you need him to stop for a moment. His baby blues look into your eyes with mild annoyance.

"Don't you want to look at your hair?" You manage to say as you catch your breath, "see if I... Messed it up?"

He looks at you in silence for a few moments, his face deadpan; too void of emotions for you to pinpoint what he's thinking. His eyes search your face and flicker from them to your own curly, thick hair  and his tongue darts out from between his lips unconsciously to wet them. He breathes through his nose.

"Nah," he brings himself close to your face again, a small tilt in the corner of his mouth, "I trust you."

[salternateunreality2]

AGSZC Taking Care of Their Feral Chocobo (often against his will)

Just some OOC crack excerpts from Cloud being feral and his boyfriends suffering.

from many a conversation with @strayheartless

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

Unjust Punishments

Cloud: *has dorm toilet duty for "fighting with" bullies* Eh, this isn't the worst thing someone in charge has done for something that's not my fault.

*Everyone's gaze sharpening dramatically*

Sephiroth: What WAS the worst thing?

Cloud, casually: Oh probably that time I saved the mayor's daughter and was almost thrown in jail with my broken ribs...or maybe the time Johnson...never mind, I got him back so it's fine!

*One-Winged Angel starts playing from four directions at once*

Cloud: The mayor thing was only that bad because I was 8 and freaking out too much, no big deal because Ma stopped them from actually throwing me in jail.

*Estuans interius...*

Cloud: And Johnson's nuts are crushed now, so yeah, all good.

*Ira vehementi...*

A little while later...

Cloud: Hey Zack?

Zack: Yeah, buddy?

Cloud: You know I love cuddling you...

Zack: YES, ME TOO! *squeezes tighter*

Cloud: ...but I get the feeling I'm stuck, and I'd like to know for how long.

*Zoom out to see Zack and Cloud have been tightly wrapped in a burrito together, squirreled away in Genesis' giant bed-nest, and their whole burrito bundle is swaddled so thoroughly that escape seems untenable. Outside, sounds of growling, pacing, and theme music can be heard*

Zack: IDK, last time they got me after I almost got trampled by a behemoth, they had me in here for a day or two. I say just enjoy it. I definitely am! *Pecks on cheek* You're the cutest!

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

Medication

Cloud doesn't take pills. Get that thing away from him. He will tough it out. Pills are for the weak! ZACK, GET OFF!

Zack's clamping Cloud's jaws shut while Angeal strokes his throat like a stubborn dog's to get him to swallow, "there, there, just swallow, that's it, be a good rabid chocobo, good"

Two minutes later, with lots of "bleaugh blech blaugh blep blech": *pill clatters to the floor*

Dissolving it in milk doesn't work because he can sMeLl It.

Genesis: "That's it, next time it's going to be liquid!"

Next time...

Genesis: *covered in disgusting cough syrup and germs* "NEXT TIME IT'S GOING TO BE A SHOT."

Next time...

The shot goes awry and gets injected wrong and now Cloud looks like the most sad and pathetic creature to ever walk the earth because (a) they BETRAYED HIM and (b) the shot got injected into something that HURTS and it was a NEEDLE and they BETRAYED HIM. Little tears glisten on his feverish cheeks and the tiniest of whimpers comes out and he holds his injured arm extra gingerly, and now everyone feels awful. 🥺

Genesis: "...fine, next time it'll be pills."

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

Weaponized Cuteness

Cloud: *doesn't want to do something* *stands next to Angeal and rubs his head*

Angeal: Awww my precious chocobaby, does your head hurt?

Cloud: *looks away, pouting*

Angeal: Sweetheart, we have to take care of ourselves. Here, sit down in the shade and have some juice.

Zack: *offended puppy noises* GEAL MY HEAD HURTS TOOOOO

Angeal: It does not, keep squatting

Cloud: *smirking behind his juice box*

-

Zack: Kunsel, you gotta help us, he's playing them! You see that, right?!

Kunsel: Yep.

Zack: Great, then we need you to tell the-

Kunsel: Nope.

Zack: What do you mean "nope"?! YOU ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT HE'S DOING?!!!!

Kunsel: Yep, and it is hilarious 🍿🍿🍿

-

It backfires when Cloud is actually unwell and doesn't want help.

Cloud: *coughs up blood very quietly* Bye guys, I'm off to kill a zo- er, off on a patrol!

Angeal: *appears from the ether* No, you are not.

Cloud: But 🥺 I gotta, for work!

Angeal: I smell blood.

Later...

Zack: Heh.

Cloud: Shut the fuck up.

Zack: Nah, you look like a marshmallow and I will take as many blackmail pics as I please, my angry little muffin!

Cloud: *growling and coughing up blood from his straightjacket cocoon*

-

Genesis being manipulated into giving Cloud's lactose intolerant ass more cheese:

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

They burrito him for the flu one time and come home to find that he CHEWED THROUGH the cocoon and is out racing Roche with a raging fever.

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

It's cold, and Angeal is frantically wrapping Cloud up in many layers because he's "small" (compared to the giraffes the rest of them are) and unenhanced...and now Cloud is passing out from heatstroke before because his Nibelheim genes are strong.

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

Cloud: *sways*

Angeal, from two floors away: ...I smell naughty bird. GENESIS!

Genesis: Angeal?

Angeal: Did you eat today?

Genesis: Yes.

Angeal: 🤨

Genesis: SIGH I had a breakfast sandwich and a chicken dish for lunch from the cafeteria.

Angeal: Good. My bird senses were tingling, so I... *Looks at Genesis* 😱

Genesis: 😱 CLOUD

They both make it downstairs just in time to catch him. He hadn't eaten in a day and a half.

[dreamingcloudie]

❛❛ A Snowy Miracle ❜❜

✎ ❛❛ Thank you for being with me, Dear. ❜❜

Pairing(s): Dottore x GN!reader

Genre/Format: Fluff (One shot)

Warning(s): None! Maybe an OOC Dottore but that’s about it. The rest is just some tooth-rotting fluff :) Wrote this at 5am so uh, have fun 💀

wc: ~1.3k

Notes: I know. I know. It's a bit too early for a Christmas fic, but C'MON IT'S DECEMEBER AND THIS IDEA CAME OUT OF NO WHERE I JUST HAD TO WRITE IT-- And yes it's soft Dottore again. Boo me all you want I just love this man being a softie 🥺 Anyways, any feedback is greatly appreciated ♡

Gentle snow danced through the air as it hit the ground. Living in a nation with ice covering every inch of the land was no fun. But the atmosphere it brought when a certain holiday was right around the corner made it felt as if it came out of a fairytale.

The usually vacant streets of Snezhnaya would be stuffed full of people as they bought gifts for their loved ones. The usually dull city would be lightened up with different shades of colorful string lights. Even the usually eerie silence of the Zapolyarny Palace would be broken by the jolly laughs shared among the Fatui staff.

If only you got to enjoy the festive spirit with your lover as well…

It has been a while since the both of you have spent any time together. The only time you got to see him was when you stayed up and waited for him. Even then, he would only give you a quick kiss and fell fast asleep as he was too tired to do anything with you.

As one of the top Fatui harbingers, he had a lot of work that needed to be done. Even when it was a holiday, they could barely catch a break.

Your train of thoughts were cut short by a knock on the door to your shared bedroom. The door was then opened by none other than the man you loved, Dottore.

You were surprised to see him here. You expected him to be either in his lab or office working his ass off.

"Hello, Love," he greeted as he walked closer to you.

"Dottore? What are you doing here?"

"What? Am I not allowed to see you?"

"I'm just surprised to see you here. I thought you'd be busy working."

"Well," he sat down next to you and put his arm around your waist before he continued.

"I would be. But I managed to finish all the work earlier so I can spend the day with you," he linked his hand with yours before bringing it up to where his lips were and kissed your knuckles.

"Really?" You asked, feeling hopeful.

Not needing to say another word. In return, he gave you his signature grin. Letting you know that he was being serious.

You squealed in excitement and pampered him with kisses everywhere on his face while saying a 'thank you' after each one.

He chuckled at your reaction. Letting himself to be basked in your attention before reluctantly stopping you.

"As much as I love to be kissed by you all day long. Don't you have anything you wanted to do? I'll make it up to you by doing anything you want for not spending much time with you lately."

"Anything?"

"Anything."

And that was how you ended up here, trying every silly Christmas themed head band on with Dottore at the store. It was embarrassing for him. One of the most feared harbingers was indulging his lover with their shenanigans.

Well, he did say he would do anything.

You laughed as you put a Christmas hat attached with a white beard on him. Enjoying the way his cheeks would heat up as you gushed at how adorable he looked.

Not long after, you also put another one without the beard on your head.

"We are Santa and Mr(s). Claus now!"

"Yes, yes we are indeed. Can we leave now?"

The two of you left the store with two identical hair clips on. Both of them had a tiny version of the Christmas hat on it. You wanted to get the ones you tried at the store but Dottore said he didn’t want people to see him with those ridiculous accessories on. So you settled for these instead.

After playing around in the store, you started to feel a little hungry. An idea popped in your mind and you dragged him to fetch a few things before returning to the palace.

There the two of you stood in the kitchen with your aprons on. Each of you had your own tasks. Dottore was focused on making the icing, while you were kneading the dough.

“So, what is this gingerbread house that you speak of.”

“It’s like building a house, but with gingerbread. Pretty self-explanatory, Doctor,” you said in a teasing tone. Finding it quite amusing how a man with an endless amount of knowledge asked what a gingerbread house was.

As if he sensed your amusement, he let out a laugh.

“Being a smartass now, aren’t you?”

“I’m just saying— Hey!“ before you could finish what you wanted to say. Dottore put some icing on your nose. You were caught off guard and turned to him. Only to be met with a cocky expression.

“Oh, you’re on,” you said. With a hand still covered in flour, you smudged some onto his face and giggled at how it made him look like a cat.

After spending almost half of the afternoon playfully fighting Dottore with food. You cleaned up the mess and finally got to finish building the gingerbread house.

“Annnd, done!” You put the last piece of the candy and stuck it to the house.

“Now what?” Dottore asked.

“Now—”

You snapped a piece off of the gingerbread house and munched on it.

“��you eat it!”

“…What was the point of building it then?”

“C’mon! It was fun!”

He sighed and also took a piece of the baked goods, muttering something along the lines of ‘you and your weird interests.’

You stared as he ate his fair share of gingerbread, while trying to stifle a laugh.

“What?”

You grabbed a napkin nearby and cleaned his face.

“You got some crumbs on you, you silly man.”

He watched as you cleaned him. At that very moment, he could’ve sworn he just fell in love with you all over again. The things you made him feel. Being with you made him feel normal, and not just the mad scientist that everybody talked about. He smiled to himself, thinking how it was a miracle for him to have met you.

“Yes, Dear. I am your silly man.”

The both of you were just walking hand in hand as the moon slowly made its way to the sky. You noticed Dottore seemed to be lost in his thoughts. A slight frown appeared and disappeared on his face every so often.

“Are you okay, Love?”

“Yes… yes, I’m fine.”

“Are you not enjoying yourself?”

“No, I—“ He let out a sigh of frustration.

"—sorry, I’m just… you know me. I'm not good with words," he grumbled.

He stayed still and thought for a bit. You just stood there and waited for him to continue. After what felt like minutes, he seemed to have made his mind up as he took both of your hands into his.

"I've been wanting to say this for a while now. And right now is the time," he took a deep breath.

"All I wanted to say is… today I realized just how much I love you, and how much you love me as well. I know I am not an easy man to love. I'm glad that you stayed even when I'm at my worst and I… I'm just so happy to be with you. To be with someone who genuinely loves me. And the things you make me feel, I wish they could last forever so…”

He reached into his pocket and took out a red velvet box. Your eyes widened at the sight before you and you could hear the heavy thumping of your heartbeat.

Dottore got onto one of his knees and opened the box, inside it held the most beautiful ring you have ever seen. It was a silver ring with intricate patterns carved onto it, and a sapphire sat proudly at the top.

"(Y/n) (L/n), will you marry me and become the Mr(s) Claus to my Santa?"

You didn’t notice the tears that were streaming down your face until you choked on your sob and could only nod your head eagerly. The smile on his face widened as he put the ring onto your finger.

For someone who was viewed as not having a heart at all by the others, definitely had the biggest one that you knew of.

As if the world has witnessed this very moment. Snow began to fall from the sky once more. It swirled around the both of you, in celebration of the bright future ahead.

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

Heyo, Mousy! I just came by to say again that I really appreciate and love the whole Farmer/OC interactions you made with our OCs! The memes and stories you made long ago are something I still love! 🥰♥️ I still remember them!!! 😍😍 Sadly, I lost them when my blog was deleted 🥲 So, I might hunt for them again in your blog. I really need to reread the short stories 🥺👉🏼👈🏼

I'd love to come up with some silly ideas for our Farmers/OCs, too! (If we put aside their lore for this to happen, hehe). But I'm afraid of getting characters being OOC 😅 maybe if I do have some ideas, I'll share! 😁

Though I had a very, VERY silly thought (based on a friend's idea), and I have to ask you so randomly 😅 Can you imagine the idea of our Farmers all meeting and along with their spouses, too? For example, Julian's spouse is Lance, and so is Ziana's! Can you imagine the situation? TWO LANCES?! Or am I too silly/weird with this?? 😭😅 Like, they messed with magic so badly that they could visit each other's universe kinda situation but not really ruining anything 😂 We can ignore the whole seriousness with the sitiation, haha. Honestly, just... if the question is too weird, please ignore 😅😅 I just wanted to share the rambling, KASJJSJJS-

Have a good start to the day, Mousy!! ✨️✨️ (I want to run, but I'm fasting, so I'll just... walk fast from the scene 🚶🏻‍♀️💨)

😂😂

Hewwo again Nim :3

Thanks so much for the kind words, and I'm glad you and others like my OC stories! I've had a lot of fun imagining these situations myself, where our chaotic farmers start their adventures together ☺️💕

I have a links to Ziana and Aelfden's stories in the masterlist for sure, by the way (or you can find them by tags on my blog, I usually put a tag on each OC farmers).

Phah, I like your idea so much 😄 To be honest, I've been thinking about this kind of situation for a long time. But usually never voiced it, because my original idea was that Lance is only one. And the thoughts that half of our farmers would fight for Lance's attention (while the other half fights for the right to be called Isaac's simp) is a little sad. I don't want our OCs to be enemies of each other! (Even though it is very comical).

The situation with the two Lances, on the other hand.... Good alternative, everyone got their own Lance! 😃 (we'll set aside considerations of alternate reality, breaking the fourth wall and the very logical possibility of this event). Lance will definitely start to have a philosophical musing about why in all alternate realities he is always there, but Farmer is always unique? And while he's puzzling over the question, in the background a whole bunch of Isaacs will be running away from our other Farmers with flowers chasing them.

Man, this scenarios itself is so silly, and I love it! Thanks again to Nim for this one ☺️💕💕💕

[candlewaxandp0lar0ids]

pls i had to double check the notification to make sure i saw it right because the scream i let out- 😭 you better believe me when i tell you i cried a bit 😤

i love these two so so much and you write them to, dare i say, perfection. i literally cannot imagine them being even slightly different than how you write them....i mean.... you've made them look so natural at every freaking single thing they do or think or act on, it's like they're real people because everything about them is so detailed and in character omg I LOVE THIS (idk if im making sense im so overwhelmed with happiness im giddy 😭)

i missed their dynamic so much and watching jungkook finally getting comfortable enough to trust her on some things is amazing and what's even more amazing is how she is experiencing that shift too.... honestly i feel happy for her when it comes to her feeling comfortable with trying to trust him and even relying on "probably's" as she says because even if that does lower her guard and might not always be the best thing to do in her line of work but i still feel that she's been so hardwired all her life to stay in that hyperaware and cautious state that she's in certain ways just not felt safe enough to truly "breathe" tbh. we know she's always forcing herself to shut down her emotions and surely after that long period of not really "feeling" things, all of these new emotions must make her feel different and uncomfortable in a sense but i truly hope she can find a healthy balance in feeling and honestly accepting those emotions (jungkook better help her with it if she ever needs support tho 😤)

i know i always say this but hector truly is the bestest character everrrrr i love him and he's precious 🥺 i love his dynamic with the oc too and the gentle understanding they have for each other is really like a safe place amidst the entire list of intense interactions among other characters in the story. i could write a thousand words about why i love this story so much and it wouldn't be enough 💗

ohhh and i loved reading the long author's note too! pls feel free to write em as long as you want 😌 i love this story and i feel grateful that you choose to share it with us! that said, you definitely don't need to rush with the story. write at whatever pace you feel comfortable with and i'll be always here to support you (im sure a lot of us will be!)

i haven't been as active here as i used to be during the stay at home days since life has started happening again and im graduating soon too which means im having a very stressful time with the final year project and thesis too just like you mentioned you did but this iicngyp update came as a saviour in these stressful times and for that alone, i will support it till the end. you could say im emotionally attached to this fic 🥺

i said this already but the QUALITY of your writing is unmatched and it just pulls me in with how immersive it is but!! you wrote in the author's note that you feel scared that the chapters or writing won't be as good as earlier or if it'll match but i just wanna tell you that no matter how you write them, i trust that i'll love it. so pls don't feel scared or nervous about us not loving it because im sure we always will!

thank you for writing, ily 🥺 (also sorry for this long ask)

Hiiii, it’s always good to see you in my inbox 😁 and never apologize for long asks, the longer the better truly~

Ah no you make sense and this makes me so happy 😭 I was particularly worried about this chapter and if they’d feel ‘ooc’ (weird thing to say since I’m the one writing them I know) considering the fact that there’s a huge shift happening in their relationship, coming from Jungkook in particular. You’re right though, OC is not quite… there… yet. There are feelings that are starting to bubble to the surface and she essentially keeps shoving them back under. So yeah, it might take a little while until she gets somewhat healthy about it, but she’ll get there!

Hector is such a sweetheart, OC needed someone who’d be on her side and I’m happy with how he turned out and the fact that people like him that much 😁

That’s super sweet of you! I’m not looking to rush the story, but also sadly my productivity just plummeted after Covid and it’s upsetting because there’s a pretty direct link between my mental health and that (if I don’t write I’m less happy, if I’m less happy I don’t write, so it’s quite the vicious circle lol).

Oh gosh I hope your thesis goes well for you!! I know how stressful but I’m sure you’ve got this, don’t forget to take care of yourself during it too 💜

Ah thank you so much again, with this chapter I was actually quite unhappy with the way it turned out until I edited it, and then I was quite happy with it. The first scene (which had been written for months already) was almost entirely rewritten and I think it really helped ‘lift up’ the chapter. I’m very glad you enjoyed it though, makes me feel like my hard work really paid off

Thank you so much for the comment, again, always happy to see you in here and I hope i’ll get to keep reading your thoughts for future chapters as well 😊

[redgearsmovin]

The fic is in a high school setting, where the movers and nina are all teenagers. Knit Knots is their teacher. The movers are still a band called Imagination Movers btw. and Warehouse Mouse is Smitty's pet.

Under the cut because it's long tbh hahah:

Dave confessed to Rich that he loved him (also that he was gay and his parents didn't approve of it.) and Rich rejected him because Rich isn't gay. Rich was nice enough and reassured they would still be friends, but after that confession Dave felt as if he and Rich had started growing apart (doesn't really seem the case from Rich's POV)

Dave started regretting his confession so he then decided he was gonna make a time machine to go back in time so that he never confessed.

Oh also Captain Terrific is in this (he's from S2 not sure if you've seen him yet) and he's a teenager too and likes Dave (is a creep about it and bothers him. this is ooc for the character btw lol). In this fic, his name is Xander.

So Xander bothers Dave to go to his party (i think) on Saturday and Dave rejects and because of that Dave then got to class late, which made the Movers wonder because Dave is never late. Professor Knots (lmao) suspends Dave (I think?) and sends him home, but Dave then wandered until he met Xander again and Dave got mad at him, then Xander told Dave he could clear off his name (because he is like an important person at school? idk) if Dave went to his house on Saturday, and Dave agreed.

During lunch, the Movers and Nina discuss about Dave, because Smitty brought up how weird Dave was acting the past few days. Rich hesitated to tell them, and just told how Dave had visited him crying and told Rich about him being gay and the parents unaccepting. He hid the part where Dave confessed because he wasn't sure if Dave wanted them to know about that. So the others are accepting of Dave and asked how Rich comforted him (?) and Rich made up that he was gonna throw Dave a party, so the others decide to have Dave's party at Nina's.

Then cut to Dave in his garage, building his time machine that he forgot rehearsal with his band. He rushed to Rich's place and when he arrived, there was just them two. Smitty and Scott were in another room chasing Mouse who got out his cage (Mouse is there because Smitty brought him to the vet on the way to Rich's house). So Rich and Dave talked like normal (i forgot what they talked about) and there was a moment where Dave laughed (or smiled) and Rich was a little glad to see because it was the first time he had seen Dave smile after the incident (that made me 🥺 ngl LOL). Then practice started and as soon as it ended, Dave left. Rich thought it was because he was still avoiding him, but it was weird because he and Dave were talking fine just a while ago. Turns out Dave actually wanted to go finish up his time machine as soon as he could.

And then the story ends there so far, and I'm gonna be honest i'm actually invested now. It's been 2 years since the last update but I left a star and I'm hoping.. maybe...

there's a rich/dave hurt fic up in here

[macuilsung]

starter for @armatization​​​

Any moment now.

Under different circumstances, Forwin would simply content himself to honing his craft through the night, what with having the grandeur and acoustics of the cathedral all to himself. There would be no reason to anticipate any interruptions cutting into his alone time with his lute given the late hour, save for the odd lurker investigating rumours of a ghost.

At least, he never counted on repeated encounters for his private practices aboveground, this time with the lurker in question being a returning face. While there was little he could do to shake off this lingering guilt in his unintended game of deception, the ethereal-posing “Elffin” was nonetheless happy to greet his new and otherwise reclusive friend with a smile—and she brought her instrument, just like she said she would!

He had almost given up the ghost and tried to keep his expression as serene as can be, but how could Forwin not show a little excitement? It had been a long time since he last played an honest-to-goodness duet!

“I see you brought your horn with you tonight! Did you bring sheet music as well-?”

[snowblossomreads]

Young And Beautiful

Summary: In where Severus wonders how someone so beautiful could love him.

Pairing: Female Reader x Severus Snape

Warning(s): body image issues, implied age gap, a bit of angst but also all the fluff to combat it (I'm too weak to write straight angst haha)

Word Count: 3.1K

A/N: Hoo boi it's been a while! In something totally different from the last two fics I wrote here is a lil comforting Sev fic bc I love him 🥺🥺and Alan's portal of Snape, even if he was twice the age of what the books had was perfect (also dad bod 🙏). Soo, I kind of just said why don't we just run with that, so Sev is like in his 50s or something in here and probably OOC bc love does that to you I guess.

A/N+: Is the title bc of that Lana Del Rey song yes lol. I'll stop rambling now enjoy!!

“For fucks sake!”

The sharp exclamation that reverberated around the room caused [Y/n] to jump in place and drop the lipstick she was about to apply onto the vanity with a faint ‘thud’.  A squeak of surprise left her lips as she poked her head out of the bathroom, eyes quickly falling onto the back of her husband who was standing in front of the closet mirror. 

She watched as he tugged at the arms of the black outer coat incessantly, frustrated curses leaving his lips as with one pull to one arm's sleeve, the other would roll up in sync with it. Bemused, she wordlessly made her way over to his side, a hand laying upon his forearm as she examined the contrasting expressions on their features in the mirror.

“What’s wrong darling?” 

Her hand rubbed his arm in a pacifying manner while she placed soft kisses against his clothed forearm before laying her head against it.

“The last time I saw you this irritated is when our sweet baby boy somehow melted our floor with his vomit.”

They both couldn’t help but pause to wince at that memory. It was a long story that started with irritation that morphed into a slight panic, but it was indeed the confirmation that their little boy was a wizard. While her expression changed into serene amusement still thinking about that, his only went from a grimace to a muted frown at the current struggle. 

“It’s these damn buttons!”

Usually deft fingers fiddled with said irritants yet still having issues with some of them closing caused a loud scoff to leave his lips before he let his hands drop to his side in a defeated manner.

“As you see they won’t close.” 

Taking a step in front of him and running her fingers against the cloth, she pulled gently on the flaps of the coat and noticed that while they did meet it wasn’t without a bit of effort. It couldn’t be comfortable considering the grunt Severus had let out when she did try to tug the pieces together so she let the fabric go.

“When was the last time you wore this?” She questioned strolling behind him, fingers reaching from behind him and latching onto the lapel of the coat. An exasperated sigh left his lips as he yanked at one of the sleeves before foregoing it all together and with clenched teeth gritted out,

“I don’t know, a year, two, what does it matter? We are going to be late!”

“Well my dear husband,” she started gently, pulling the coat off of him and tossing it on the bed behind them, it making a soft ‘fwuff’ sound when it landed, “it looks like those are too small and we need to take a trip to Madam Malkin’s. I’m sure transfiguring some other dark cloth on it for the time being will work though.” 

Standing on tiptoes and placing a chaste kiss on his cheek, she turned to go back into the bathroom to continue getting ready. Grabbing the lipstick that had rolled into the sink after she walked away, a little huff escaped her noticing that the fall had damaged it and smashed the delicate tip of the cosmetic. 

“Tsk, damn it.”

A sigh left her as she placed the tube back down and glared at it to make sure it stayed in place while she went to retrieve her wand to fix it. Pleased that it wasn’t rolling about, she began to make her way to the nightstand on her side of the bed, only to stop when she noticed Severus was no longer standing at the mirror but sitting on the side of the bed with his head down cradled in his hands.

“Sev what’s wrong?” 

The frown that tugged at her lips was an automatic response to his dour position and she was by his side in an instant when he didn’t respond. One arm was strewn around his broad shoulders while another found its way to the hand covering his face. Delicate fingers stroked the skin beneath her thumb before she leaned down briefly to place a feathery soft kiss against his knuckles.

“Darling what’s bothering you?” Her voice came out in a hushed manner while she continued to caress his hand in hopes of giving him comfort while eyeing him with concern. There was only silence between them as he kept his face buried in his palms making no move to answer her. 

“Severus-”

“Even after all this time, I still don’t understand,” he cut her off with an elongated weary sigh, hands dropping from his face, and landing on his lap in a clenched fist. Her hand that had been holding his fell to her own lap as she waited for him to speak. 

“Why someone so...so young and beautiful would want to be with me?"

From the sharp inhale of breath that filled her lungs, it was clear that [Y/n] hadn’t been prepared for the statement that fell from his lips. It was no secret that when they started dating, he had some insecurities about himself even if he tried to hide them between harsh words and sneers that would make even the most battle-hardened wizard shiver. 

There were many arguments that stemmed from those insecurities and some of hers too that lead to tear-filled nights. But they always worked through them together, never wanting to leave things unsaid whenever something hurtful might have been said out of anger. 

In time the bond between the two of them strengthened, and the arguments became words of encouragement and love, and well here they were now, husband and wife along with a little boy. 

So to say she was surprised when she heard him say this was an understatement. At first, she didn’t know how to respond, too stunned and caught off guard by such a sudden confession. It wasn’t until she exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding that she let her question out, voice wavering a bit,

“W-What are you going on about Severus?”

“Look at me!” Sharp words came out with a tone of bitterness as he balled his hands into tight fists causing blue veins to contrast with pale skin. His lips were turned downward in a scowl while his eyebrows were knitted together, summoning the frown marks that had rarely made an appearance nowadays. 

“An old, bitter, hideous man who can’t even fit into my own clothing,” he snarled, bringing his fists down against his legs with each insult he threw at himself.

It was done with such force that each time he struck his leg, her own hands twitched immediately wanting to grab him and stop him from hurting himself. “That is what I’m going on about [Y/n]! I cannot comprehend why you ever chose me when you could have had your pick of the lot someone who could-” 

“Enough!”

[Y/n] voice rang around them firm and clear as she found herself shooting up from his side not wanting to hear any more of his self-deprecating diatribe.  

“Severus, listen to me.” She dropped to her knees next to his legs, hands reaching out and taking his balled-up fist into them. “Stop saying those horrid things about yourself because you are none of them do you understand? You are hardly old, and even so we all age, we all grow old so what does it matter?”

Pausing, she leaned down and pressed her lips against his knuckles before her eyes traveled up to look at him. When their eyes met, she felt a pang of sorrow grow in her chest as she took in his miserable expression. 

His lips still turned downward in a frown and dark eyes were watering as he tried to focus on her but all he could think about was how she would have been better without him. But she didn’t think that. Never in a million years, that’s why she was with him. In her mind, no other person could hold a candle to him, the man she loved and cherished with every fiber of her being.

“You call yourself bitter, yet tell me how could a bitter man love me so well?” She continued, this time placing a kiss against the top of his clothed leg which twitched at the action. Her eyes sparkled at him with hopes that he could feel the earnestness of her words, and if not, it was an open invitation for him to look and feel how much she loved him.

“You make me so happy every day I get to wake up beside you! Besides, how could someone bitter raise our son to be such a sweet and loving boy.”

Even with her words, she could see there was still doubt in his expression. His eyes still held hesitancy in them and his hands were still clenched with such force she was sure there would be imprints of his nails on his palm. So she continued more than willing to give him the praise and comfort that he needed from her because he so deserved it. 

“And hideous my love?” 

Releasing his hand from her grip, [Y/n] trailed her fingers up from his thigh all the way up to right above his heart before a smirk crossed her lips. Even in that solemn moment, Severus could feel the mischievous energy radiating off of her with the look she was giving him. Before he could even say anything though, he felt her hand leave for a moment before he was pushed back against the bed. 

A watery choked gasp escaped his throat as he tried to cover his tear-filled eyes with his forearm but she was having none of that. Quickly she straddled herself on top of his hips, legs spread on opposite sides of him as she grabbed his arm and brought it to her lips. Their eyes met briefly before she placed her lips on his palm, kissing the pale flesh and drawing another gasp from him.

“You are the most handsome.” 

She started, laying his hand down on the bed and leaning down to press her lips against his midsection before trailing kisses up to his chest just right above his heart.

“Most alluring.”

She continued whispering against him, laying herself on top of him now, as she went to press her lips softly against his neck. The side where faded yet visible scars stood testament to the horror he had endured years ago. It was something he hated looking at it for years yet she wasn’t once disgusted by him for it.

His breath hitched at the contact, and the soft whimper that left his lips was accompanied by a stray tear escaping at her action as he stared at the ceiling.  Pressing one more kiss to his neck, she continued to trail her lips across his throat, stopping for a moment to watch how his Adam's apple moved as he swallowed before kissing it too. 

“And most enchanting, man I’ve ever had the honor to set my eyes on,” she finished with a kiss to the tip of his nose before brushing her lips against his own, “and nothing anyone can say, including you, will ever change my mind about this!”

“[Y/n].”  

“Shh,” she hushed him before he could say anything more and closed the minuscule distance between their lips. 

Reflectively they both let out a moan at the contact that brought warmth to both of their faces. One of Severus’ arms wrapped around her waist while the other found home on the back of her head and he cradled her close. All thoughts of being late to their reservation were lost as they enveloped each other with their warmth. 

Their lips were soft against each other as they pulled back only to fill their lungs with air before delving back into one another. Quiet sighs and groans escaped them as they lost their sense of time with one another.

Hands roamed over each other in a soothing manner that made the safe comforting feeling they had feel more intense. Both of their hearts squeezed at that.

It was [Y/n] who finally pulled away from him much to his chagrin. She wore a warm smile on her face as she maneuvered herself so that they could both gaze at each other. Neither said anything to the other as they lay in each other's presence finding that at that moment nothing else needed to be said. 

They laid undisturbed for a while, the only noises around them were birds chirping outside signaling that the day was slowly coming to an end, and the soft sounds of their breathing.

As the singing of the birds continued, both of them slowly began to get up from their places on the bed. There was a peaceful stillness between them as they each made their way to separate areas of the room to finish getting dressed. 

Severus grabbed the offending coat from earlier and began to search the closet for a similar one he had while [Y/n] went to retrieve her wand as she was doing so earlier and made her way back into the bathroom.

It wasn’t long before she was standing at the door, just finishing putting on a sensible pair of heels that she felt arms wrap around her waist and a kiss being pressed on the top of her head. A delighted hum escaped her lips as she turned around to get a look at Severus, a joke on the tip of her tongue about male and female stereotypes about getting ready.

But it fizzled as quickly as it came when she found herself ogling him. Eyes drinking in the way the coat from earlier that had caused distress was now draped on him in a manner that accentuated his waist quite nicely. She knew for a fact that she probably had the derpiest lopsided smile on her face as she kept eyeing her husband up and down.

“Oh my Merlin Severus Snape, are you trying to get me sent to Azkaban?” 

That wasn’t the reaction he was expecting from the way his eyebrows shot up in a bewildered expression as [Y/n] hands flew to his waist and began to smooth her hand against the coat. Eyes gleaming as she kept ogling at how good he looked, she continued with her spew, enthusiasm and sincerity dripping off of each word.

“Because if any witch or wizard has the same thoughts I’m having about you right now at this dinner I will duel them to the death.”

A choked cough (or laugh) left his lips as he turned away from her in an attempt to cover the blush that was creeping up from her words. While said in jest, there was a hint of seriousness in her tone that had him believe that she would probably duel someone in the middle of a restaurant for staring. 

“Thank you my love, I’m glad I inspire you so much that you would risk going to Azkaban because of unsolicited ogling but,” he murmured, going in to wrap his arms around her waist causing her to mimic his action and laying her head against his chest enjoying being in his embrace. “It is my preference that you not be sent there as I'm quite fond of you. Plus I think our little boy would be quite upset with his mum.”

“Oh, you are worth so much more risk than that! But you are right,” she said, eyes flickering up to him and a content smile on her face while she studied the bemused expression he wore. “I’m quite happy with our little family so I’ll try to rein in my possessiveness.”

“I think the other patrons and myself would appreciate that,” he answered as he loosened his grip around her and brought a hand up to cup her cheek. His fingers stroked the supple skin causing her to nuzzle his palm happily enjoying the warmth that radiated off it.  

“And [Y/n]?”

“Yes, that's me!” 

“Thank you.”

She didn’t know when her eyes closed, but she found them opening at his word of gratitude and meeting his own. Those dark inky pools that by nature should only be capable of holding a perceived coldness were warm and welcoming to her as they held each other gazes. 

“For what?” 

“You of all people know it is no secret that I have my…flaws. I’m a grumpy old man that can’t be bothered to deal with most people,” he sighed as he went to pinch the bridge of his nose, eyes closed eyebrows furrowed in concentration. “And sometimes I wonder how someone so radiant like you could wake up each day and be happy with me. ”

“Oh Severus, we all have flaws, they make us who we are and give us interest and you have many more good things about you that negate them,” she beamed up at him, her hand going up to push a stray strand of hair away from his face. 

“And sure you may be grumpy sometimes but that’s okay because,” she mused while going onto her tippy toes and pressing her lips against his cheek. A smile sat on her features when she pulled away and she took in the questioning raise of his eyebrow and that quirk of his lips. “You let me kiss you more when you’re grumpy so I don’t mind it at all.”

His nostrils flared a bit at the sudden escape of air that left him at her playful words and before she knew it, he had leaned down to press a kiss against her forehead. Their noses brushed affectionately against each other's due to the closeness and he murmured a quiet, 

“Silly girl.”

Before placing another swift kiss on her lips and straightening up leaving [Y/n] with a dreamy smile as she looked up at him. 

“But I’m your silly girl who is very happy with you and will love you until the end of time with all your flaws!”

Shoulders that had been tense the whole evening had dropped and the unsure expression that clouded his features began to dissipate at her confession.

He had felt silly about the way he acted early on, letting his emotions control him as if he were a petulant child, yet she didn’t miss a beat in trying to make him think differently with words of encouragement and love. She made him feel safe, she always had and he was so very thankful that she was with him. 

The thought had his lips curling upwards into not a grin, but a smile, the first real smile that he had given her that day and he could all but feel her happiness radiate around him as she returned it with her own. Her smile, soft and delicate, was similar to his tone when he responded to her with,

“I know you will.”

A/N: I hope you guys liked it!! Please let me know if you do and don't be scared to drop a comment I love hearing what yall have to say❤❤!

[chuuyrr]

HI CHUU!! can i request a oneshot with baby scarlet witch disappearing from toman's sight so they call tenjiku just to find out she's gone?? like everyone despairs and looks for her quickly only to find her along with brahman/black dragons (please no dead characters and no family problems here 🥺) thank you!!!

scarlet witch! baby fushiguro! reader with brahman

jujutsu kaisen x reader x tokyo revengers

masterlist of the series

╰➤ CW(s): nobody dies au & no family problems, possible spoilers for tokyo revengers, izana swearing and speaking in tagalog because i just know he does when he's panicking, everyone losing their sh!t because you went missing, major themes of fluff and crack, definitely ooc characters lmao

╰➤ PAIRING(s): platonic! tokyo revengers x reader (mainly toman, tenjiku and brahman)

hello!! :) thank you so much for requesting and for being patient, and no worries, i got'chu haha get it? 'cause my screen name is *gets hit by a slipper* anyway, enjoy ♡

takemichi was well aware that he was holding your hand tightly while mikey and the rest of toman dealt with a gang. he only looked away for a fraction of a second, and when he looked back, the weight on his hand was gone, and so were you. it was as if you'd disappeared into thin air.

oh no, this cannot be. takemichi's mind went completely blank. he took a look around, panic rising in his throat, fearful that you had slipped into the conflict between the two gangs fighting in this abandoned lot.

the frantic faux-hawk blonde haired boy cried out, scanning the area. "[name]-chan?!"

"takemitchy! what are you yelling for?" mikey yelled, but only after landing a sharp high-roundhouse kick on a delinquent he was facing. his dark eyes widened as he realized takemichi was empty-handed. "where's [name]-chan?"

"[name]-chan's missing!!" takemichi yelled back, his voice resonating across the parking lot.

when toman heard you were gone, they came to a halt for a split second, as if a switch on their backs had been flipped. each of them was now emitting an ominous aura.

toman immediately began speeding up things. the opposing gang was bewildered and eventually beaten to the bone as toman went crazy with fists and kicks while asking them if they had seen a [color]-haired child with [color] eyes and even threatened them, thinking they had kidnapped you from takemichi.

"oi! you better give us back [name]! we will fucking kill you, ya' here us?!" baji violently shook the delinquent he was gripping by the collar. "give us back our kid. now."

before being pummeled to the ground, the poor young man sputtered out, "w-we didn't take the kid from you! we swear!"

however, by the time they were done, you still weren't found.

"well, crap. they really didn't take [name]." draken scoffed, scratching the back of his neck as he looked down at the unconscious bodies of the entire gang they had just fought.

"weren't you holding her hand at all?" pah-chin's eyes narrowed into a glare that was directed to takemichi.

takemichi gulped as he waved his hands in the air defensively, "i was holding her hand! i promise, i was!"

"let's not point fingers." mitsuya said, letting out a long sigh and placing a hand on takemichi's and pah-chin's shoulders. "this was bound to happen eventually. [name] isn't from our world, remember? she's a baby with telekinetic powers who comes from a world of curses."

"do you think she returned back to hers?" chifuyu inquired, blinking.

kazutora folded his arms across his chest, "if she did, she would have told us. [name]-chan always says her goodbyes."

"maybe her powers acted up for some reason? [name]-chan doesn't exactly have full control of her powers. she can only do so much at her own will," takemichi speculated.

"either way, it's not safe for [name]-chan to be here on her own. she's still a kid. even if she has the powers of a god, she can still get hurt," mikey exclaimed before turning to the rest of his gang members besides takemichi and the founding members, "everyone, look for [name]! go!"

gang members flooded the streets of shibuya, each one calling out your name, but you were never found. toman even checked your favorite places, from the pier to your favorite restaurants and parks. as everyone returned empty-handed to mikey, he was forced to call his adoptive older brother, who he knows rules yokohama with his own, much larger gang. tenjiku was, after all, close to you.

"mikey? what do you want?"

a gruff, almost agitated voice came from the phone mikey had brought to his ear. it was izana. he didn't particularly like mikey, or at least that's what mikey thinks considering how cold and blunt izana was with him almost all the time.

"[name]-chan's missing." mikey swallowed thickly as he scratched the nape of his neck, "we don't know where she went. we looked everywhere. is [name]-chan there?"

"putangina ano? [name]'s not here with me!" when izana learned of your disappearance, he found himself raising his voice, "how could you lose her? since when?!"

"just earlier, izana-nii." mikey said sadly, "i thought [name]-chan might go there to see you and tenjiku."

"tch, you should have paid her more extra careful attention. the last time [name] was here in yokohama we found her standing on top of a construction beam!" izana deeply sighed, "i'll have my men look for her, but don't stop looking for her there, alright?"

"we won't izana-nii, promise. not until [name]-chan is found." mikey answered firmly.

with that, you had not only toman looking for you, but also tenjiku, yokohama's largest and most dangerous gang. at this point, everyone is in full blown panic. after several hours, you were still missing. you were not to be found in shibuya or yokohama, and that is certain, because you were in shinjuku.

you were on your own when you collided with a figure, causing you to fall on your bum from the impact.

"oh, no! are you okay?" the person rushed to your aid, gently pulling you up and inspecting you for injuries. "you're not hurt, are you?"

as you lifted your head and faced the young woman with big, curious [color] eyes, her green eyes widened as she realized who you were. you were fushiguro [name], the same kid who's close with toman, the same one that her older brother talks about, and you too, recognized who you just bumped into. she was akashi senju, or better known as kawaragi senju. you've seen her around mikey and emma's house before apart from baji and haruchiyo, hanging out there and being good friends with the sano's.

"senju-nee?"

as you recognized her, a smile spread across your face. "senju-nee!" you exclaimed joyfully, wrapping your tiny arms around her waist and burying your face in her abdomen like an affectionate cat.

"hey, isn't that [name]?" takeomi, senju's other older brother, peered over her shoulder.

"it really is you! what are you doing here in shinjuku, [name]-chan?" senju smiled softly at you, gently patting your head and allowing you to embrace her. "but where is mikey? is he with you or are you with takemichi?" she asked, looking left and right.

"it's just me!" you explained before making grabby-hands to her. "up-up."

"eh? how did you get here, then?" senju's face lit up with surprise as she picked you up and carried you in her arms.

"i used my wiggly-woos!" you chirped, showing her your red glowing hands.

"you mean to tell me this kid came here all by herself?" the purple-blonde haired man, who was with senju and takeomi, blinked as the dango stick he had been chewing fell from his mouth.

"right, i forgot you had powers; mikey, takemichi, and haru-nii mentioned them to me before," senju sighed, shaking her head before smiling at you. "but you shouldn't show your wiggly-woos magic out here in the open, okay? it's not safe, so put those away."

you nodded in understanding and immediately dissipated your red psionics. "okay!"

your stomach had let out a small growl, causing a blush to spread across your cheekbones, just as senju and the rest of the men accompanying her should have been interrogating you further.

"heh, looks like someone’s hungry." the tall, muscular, platinum blonde-haired man pointed out, softly chuckling.

"you haven't eaten yet, have you?" senju inquired, giggling as she booped your nose before you shook your head in shame. "you poor thing! don't worry, my big bro will buy you food. right, take-nii?" she looked past her shoulder to face takeomi.

"okay, let's get the kid something to eat first," takeomi sighed at his little sister before reaching out his hands to you, "i'll carry her for you, senju."

"no! i want senju-nee!" you immediately wrapped your tiny arms around senju's neck and pressed your cheek against senju's, mustering up the best glare you could muster, even if it just made you look even cuter. "i don't know you!"

"oh, right. you haven't met take-nii before, have you [name]-chan?" senju pointed out, smiling as she gently patted your back, to which you responded by shaking your head. "this is takeomi, he's my older brother," she said, motioning to the tall and slender man with a slicked-back black and blond mullet and a scar across his right eye.

"i thought haru-nii was your brother." you furrowed your brows, still feeling intimidated.

"ah, he is. both of them are my older brothers." senju explained to you briefly. "take-nii is just as nice as haru-nii, i promise."

a frown deepened on your face, "he doesn't look like you and haru-nii at all. he looks scary."

as the two other men with senju and takeomi burst out laughing at your statement, takeomi held a rather surprised and slightly offended but amusing expression.

"am i really that intimidating?" takeomi sweat-dropped as he pointed at himself, and you nodded repeatedly in response.

"what about us, do you recognize us?" as the four of them walked with senju carrying you in her arms, the man with purple-blonde hair gently tapped your arm, lazily smiling at himself and the other.

you took a brief look at the two of them, blinking as you took in their appearance. you noticed how the man with purple and blonde hair reminded you of ran and rindou, the haitani brothers you adored from tenjiku, particularly with his droopy lilac eyes. the muscular man with platinum blonde hair was as intimidating as takeomi, but he seemed softer for some reason. nonetheless, you shook your head. you've never seen them before.

"this is wakasa, and that's benkei." senju introduced you promptly, "i thought for sure you'd recognize them. "especially takeomi. they're friends with mikey's older brother."

"zana-nii?" you tipped your head in confusion.

"ah, no. the other older brother who lives with mikey and emma, shinichiro." senju corrected, instantly knowing you were referring to izana.

your eyes lit up in recognition, "oh, shin-nii!"

they eventually brought you to a restaurant in shinjuku and couldn't stop staring at how you ate with your cheeks all puffed up adorably as you shoveled spoonfuls of food into your mouth.

instead of asking you questions, senju, takeomi, wakasa, and benkei ended up telling you about them while you ate. you learned that senju has a gang called brahman in shinjuku, and that takeomi, wakasa, and benkei used to be in a gang called black dragons, with shinichiro as the leader, but that was before shinichiro retired and went run a bike shop owned by himself. they, as first generation members, offered their assistance when senju expressed her desire to create brahman, which you thought was cool.

senju and them were on their way to return you to mikey in shibuya after eating with them when you ended up dragging them to an amusement park along the way. takeomi, wakasa, and benkei ended up taking you to the said amusement park, letting you and senju play games and ride attractions because they didn't have any other options, especially since senju is equally childish and playful as you.

the two gangs have decided to join forces in order to better search for you, and the amusement park has become frantic as a massive horde of people dressed in red and black gang uniforms, riding motorcycles speeding through, calling out your name in desperation. toman and tenjiku were conducting a search, and mikey and izana were on the front lines.

"[name]-chan?! [name]-chan!!"

toman and tenjiku would almost certainly be reported for flooding the amusement parks with their yelling and bikes, but that was the least of their worries right now.

"hey, isn't that [name]-chan?!" takemichi pointed at you from a distance.

toman and tenjiku were completely speechless when they saw you on wakasa's shoulders. takeomi and benkei were wearing amusement park headbands like wakasa and holding a bunch of animal balloons while senju was eating and handing you the other half of her twin ice pop. it was a sight to see the former and first generation black dragons to be so domestic with you and senju. to be fair, it's not something you see every day.

"[name]-chan!!"

everyone yelled for you as they dismounted their motorcycles, causing senju and the first generation black dragons to turn and gasp at the sheer number of toman and tenjiku charging at them at once.

brahman screamed in unison before being flooded by the onslaught of gang members from both gangs, "toman?! tenjiku?!"

"are you guys, okay?" senju sweat-dropped as she looked at each of them, noting how they all had tears in their eyes, especially takemichi.

"w-we were looking for [name]-chan everywhere!" takemichi sobbed, sniffling as he brought an arm to cover his eyes. "i was holding her hand earlier when s-she just disappeared without a trace."

izana exclaimed, pointing to his adoptive younger brother who stood beside him. "tangina, akala ko talaga may nangyari kay [name]. muntikan na siya malintikan sa akin."

"why did you run off like that, [name]-chan? you gave us the scare of a lifetime." mikey buried his face in his hands, not wanting to cry in front of hundreds of people at the sight of you being okay.

you tilted your head to look at mikey, izana, takemichi, and the other gangs who sought out to find you, before happily smiling and giggling innocently, clearly unaware of the chaos you had just caused.

"i got hungry!"

[satoriberry]

Can I PLEEEAASSSEEEE request a baker s/o headcanons for Suga, Kenma and Iwa and anyone that you want???🥺🥺🥺🥺

‣ Currently Growing: What they'd be like with an S/O that's gifted in baking!

‣ Pairings: Sugawara Koushi + Kozume Kenma + Iwaizumi Hajime x GN!Reader

‣ Watch out for: Nothing really? lolol, maybe slightly OOC kenma (?)

‣ Berry's note: KSHSKSJS CONGRATS ON BEING MY FIRST EVER ASK!! djdkd idk feeling kinda cool rn [happy]. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed what I made! :)

Part two! ( ๑>ᴗ<๑ ) Part three! ( ๑>ᴗ<๑ )

• Sugawara Koushi:

-Ok, so let's get this out of the way. He got to know you through the school's baking club.

- You and 3 other people were the only members but it was very lively since students and even staff members would visit to see what yall were doing (aka steal some pastries and leave lololol)

- You were in the middle of making the final touches to your Choux chantilly à la fraise (cream puffs with strawberries <3) when you heard a faint sliding noise.

- You look to the side and see a head of silver hair poking through the tiny gap, just,,,,,staring at you.

- He excused himself and politely walked over and stood across the decoration table where you were.

- You just stood there like ".....yeah?" and he struck up a conversation about what you were doing.

- You know that thing in cartoons where a character wants to stealthily steal something so they distract the person with a conversation? Yeah that's what he was doing. He was trying to steal a cream puff.

- You caught on to it pretty quickly but offered him one anyway. He didn't even hesitate to shove the whole thing in his mouth. He cried. It was THAT good,,,,he cried.

- Long story short, you two started to date a few months after this very fateful moment. And he abuses his boyfriend privileges in regards to your baking skills.

- Literally brags about you all the time. He could be in the middle of the most torturous, vigorous, borderline abusive training by their coach and he'd go "omg guys y/n made me a fruit tart the other day lololol we ate all of it together lolol not that you would ever get to taste their baking lololol fucking losers lololol".

- But oh my god. Bring some of your creations for the team to enjoy after training and he'll basically propose right then and there. 72% chance he'll cry again.

- He loves the domesticity of sitting with you in your kitchen on a Saturday afternoon and watch you make something new for him (and only him) to try. He loves it so much <333

• Kozume Kenma:

- You see, he didn't know about your talent for a while. It wasn't until you two had been together for a few months that he actually found out.

- It was on a weekend and you were over at his house, him playing a new video game he'd bought and you trying to get some homework done.

- Kenma's probably more cheerful when playing a new game so his answers to anything you said were longer and more detailed.

- You'd said something along the lines of "Y'know, I could really go for some [favourite thing to eat], maybe I should get some later." to which he responded to with, "Hm, apple pie sounds really good right now..." then he went back to kicking ass (gamer boy moment lolol).

- You mentally went "Waiitttt, I can make that myself...", so after that, you made it your objective to some your Sunday making the meanest apple pie because kenma + apple pie = shoujo anime type BS unlocked.

- And make the meanest apple pie, you did. You packed it in a cute lil lunch box and decided that giving it to him after his volleyball practice on Monday would be perfect.

- The entire day, he was kind of confused as to why you were so eager but you held it in until the end.

- You two normally take a route that's right next to a park when going back home. You convinced him to sit down with you on the grass and enjoy the weather, that's when you took the cute lil box out and gave it to him.

- "Sorry y/n, I'm not really hungry :(" "Open it smartass 🤨"

- See, Kenma isn't easily surprised or taken aback, but at that moment, you could swear you saw his eyes widen and his jaw drop just slightly. But that expression was quickly replaced with a somewhat toothy smile, his cheeks a barely visible shade of red.

- "Did you seriously make this yourself? For me?" He asked you in a calm but clearly giddy tone, pointing his index at you then towards him to emphasise his point.

- You nodded, feeling the pride surge through your veins at this one in a million reaction. His smile grew softer, his gaze back at the pie and his brain trying to imagine how cute you probably looked while making this lunch, brows furrowed in concentration and hands slowly working on the presentation of the pastry.

- He reached for the tiny spoon that fell out of the box's wrapping cloth and went for a bite. He made sure to hold eye contact the entire time because 1) he'll feel like a true food judge and 2) he wants to see your raw reaction.

- His eyes went 👁👁....

- You could swear you saw his eyes get glossier, but he didnt cry dwdw 💀

- He doesnt like to brag in general, and this also applied to things regarding you. Mostly because he knows Kuroo and Yamamoto will try and convince you to make them something because "you're our beloved Kenma's amazing and talented s/o, we're like family" (their words, source: me because im right)

- He never hesitates to help you with baking,,,,by sitting on the counter and reading the recipe out loud to you. Jkjk, he struggles in the kitchen but his favourite thing to do is crack eggs and measure ingredients <3

- Kenma + Baker S/O = Making brownies at 1 am with Super Mario Bros. in the background

- He tries to not make it a big deal, but the way you smile so wholeheartedly when something you make turns out perfect never fails to make him hide his face and look away, so you dont see his own giddy expression :((

- Kenma <3333

• Iwaizumi Hajime:

- Out of these 4, Iwaizumi is definitely the one who's most impressed.

- You see, he's probably REALLY good at cooking, but baking? Put him in a kitchen with some flour, milk and eggs and he'll start a regional hazard. Can NOT bake for shit, not even to save his life 🙅‍♀️🙅‍♀️🙅‍♀️

- So when he once decided to come over and saw you frosting a fucking 3 layer cake all by yourself, he just 😯😶👁👁

- Asks so many questions, and wants many answers >:(( dont leave him hanging

- He hides his admiration by keeping it cool and going "Ahaha that's dope, who would've thought you can make these kinds of things all alone?"

- He also finds it very...attractive. Well, he finds YOU very attractive (hot) and cool looking when you reach for the cloth of your apron to wipe ypur hands ands and neck while baking. Something about you being so passionate and putting so much effort into this is so hot to him but he'll eat his own nasty ass socks before even saying this.

- GATEKEEPS YOU!1!1! GATEKEEPS YOU FROM THE ENTIRETY OF AOBA JOHSAI'S MALE VOLLEYBALL CLUB!

- Doesn't mention anything about you being a god at baking because he KNOWS the other third years will ask you to make something for them as a "gift of appreciation for dealing with Iwa-chan when you're gone 🥺🥺🤞🤞" (Spoiler: he failed and they know about it)

- Oikawa will (and did) ask you on more than one occasion to make something for him (milkbread-), Hanamaki will literally offer you 3 month's worth of his allowance money to have you make him some cream puffs (his favourite food <3). I don't think Matsukawa will ask for anything but he will tease Iwaizumi for being such a fucking simp for you and the fact you make him feel so special with your sweet gifts

- The second years and first years know better than to mention it around him (or in general) LMFAO

- But he would never ACTUALLY get mad at you if you made something for the entire team, he'll just die from happiness <3

- Iwaizumi thinks of you as some kind of angel whenever you come up to him after volleyball practice with a cute box in your hand, because he knows what's in it and he knows just how much love and care you put into it

- Iwaizumi = boyfie material <333

• BONUS ROUND! FT. KITA SHINSUKE:

- This will be kind of self indulgent but you're a student from Inarizaki Highschool working part-time in a bakery that's in the same district as the school <3

- He heard of the shop you worked at through Suna, who talked about going there with his sister to get her dessert every now and then.

- Kita isnt particularly invested in baked goods, always choosing traditional sweets like mochi, kakigori and daifuku when an urge for sugar hits him.

- But he ruled that trying something new doesn't sound half bad.

- On one Friday, after the school day ended as well as volleyball practice, Kita and Aran were preparing to lock the gym and leave when the latter excused himself.

- "Yeah, my mom wants me to drop by the post office downtown and collect her parcel. It's better if you return home without me. Cya."

- And so, Kita was left to walk back home by himself, when a sudden idea hit him. How about he go and get something for him (and his grandma because Kita is a fucking angel >:0) from the new shop that's approximately 7 minutes away, according to Suna's story?

- Setting foot in there for the first time, he wasn't expecting to be overwhelmed by the strong scent of warm sugar and vanilla.

- It takes a lot to have THE Kita Shinsuke deeply amazed, and the exquisite array of foreign delicacies, some of which had names he couldn't pronounce, did exactly that and more.

- He chose the "cute golden pastry thingies" with cream (Chouqettes à la crème) to bring home with him. Except there was no one to take his order? No cashier at the register and no random customer to ask for the whereabouts of said cashier.

- Kita was slightly dumbfounded and on the verge of leaving when he heard a panicked, "SORRY SORRY, I HAD TO TAKE CARE OF SOME STUFF."

- You clumsily stumbled out of the back room with a tray in your hand.

- And at that moment, his eyes fell on you for the first time. You had flour on your chin and above your left eyebrow, jam on your chin and pastry cream all over your apron. Obviously, you were kind of a mess right now, but something about you looked so....pleasing. So gentle and calming, looking at you made his heart feel lighter.

- "Excuse me for being late, the manager left me in charge of many things and I was supposed to take these out an hour ago and you had to wait and I'm so-" "It's completely fine, I understand :)."

- He didn't want to make you apologise, you seemed like very dependable person and that's something he was fond of in a person.

- "Oh, ok then, thank you. What would you like to have today?" Opening his mouth to butcher the name of those "cute golden pastry thingies", he gazed at the tray you were holding a few seconds ago.

- "What's that?" " Oh, it's just something I've been working on. Nothing special really, it's cherry clafoutis with lemon z-" "I'd like to have two slices please, in a box if possible."

- He wasn't going to lie, he didn't know what a "cherry clafoutis" was. For all he knew, it could be poison. But the joyous look in your eyes from him wanting to get something YOU made was more than enough to make him forget about this uncharacteristic impulse decision. He felt his heart beat faster for some reason ("some reason" simp.)

- You gently packed his order in a folded box, the store's signature colours and stamp on the side and top.

- His fingers grazed yours while handing the box, but he didn't want to react in fear of embarrassing you and himself accordingly.

- After exchanging a "Thank you, goodbye." and a "Come back soon!", he stepped out of the store, his face reddening at an alarming rate. He wasn't a fool, he knew that this simple first meeting with the cute patisserie shop employee was going to be one of many visits. Most of which will have the ulterior motive of seeing your face and cute smile again.

- He really had to thank Suna.

‣ Berry's after-writing notes: HSODYSKSHUS I FEEL SO HAPPY AND AWKWARD BECAUSE OMG YAY FIRST REQUEST AND OH FUCK MY WRITING IS KINDA SHITTY BUT anyways thank you for requesting!!! <333

[versadies]

mondstadt characters general hc

characters: kaeya, diluc, jean, lisa, and albedo

sypnosis: what they would be like in a relationship

warning/s: angst (for albedo), spoilers for jean’s story quest and archon quest

penpal: forgive me if the characters (specifically albedo) are being ooc 🥲 i also made sure the reader here is gender neutral so i hope you enjoy this headcanon! p.s.: you have a specified role in some of the headcannons below (such as lisa’s, jean’s, and albedo’s)

Ngl I see Kaeya as a playboy or a person who always flirts with other people.

However

After developing feelings for you, I think he would def stop flirting anyone that isn’t you and would start throwing every single of his best flirts to you.

Since he’s the famous Calvary Captain, he’ll definitely try to keep you two’s relationship a secret.

But of course, the truth always comes out.

I think everyone in Mondstadt will find out not from you or Kaeya— but from someone who caught you two together and started spreading about it.

When everyone found out, it’s both a bad and good thing for the two of you.

For Kaeya, it’s a good thing because everyone knows that you’re taken and that Kaeya won’t have to be annoyed at anyone who tries to flirt with you. The bad thing is that you could be put in danger due to him being a part of the knights of favonius.

For you, it’s a good thing because you two get to spend time openly unlike before. The bad thing is that people will probably make fake negative rumors about you.

Either way, it didn’t stop you and Kaeya from loving one another.

As for dates,

Kaeya seems the type of person who would go for something classy— such as a dinner in a fancy restaurant or a picnic + beautiful view of Mondstatd. Any date with Kaeya is always full of surprises.

As the Calvary Captain, I think he won’t be able to spend a lot of time with you because of it.

He’ll mostly go out on missions or be in his office doing paperwork.

Arugments with Kaeya don’t happen a lot nor argue a lot. The main reason the two of you would fight is because of how he isn’t very open much.

Obv you’ll be the first to apologize— unless he said something very offensive, then Kaeya would be the first to apologize.

Kaeya doesn’t open up a lot and you understand. Though it feels strange for you that he knows so many things about you while you know absolutely nothing of him other than what he likes.

After your work, you’d usually visit the Knights of Favonius’ headquarters for Kaeya. Depending on the time of the day, you would bring food with you so that he could eat.

Kaeya would be like “🥺🥺🥺” whenever you give him the food you cooked- he’s very soft when it comes to domestic stuff.

Despite being very busy during the day, the two of you always have time at night unless Kaeya had to do something important.

But since the traveller came and saved Mondstadt from their demise, important paperworks are rare for Kaeya.

Mornings with Kaeya are random to say the least.

Kaeya usually wakes up first and would cook eggs and bacon for the two of you’s breakfast.

He always tries to give you morning kisses but you would prevent him to do so due to “my morning breath is a kiss of death” which earned a laugh from the Calvary Captain.

Whenever he tries to wake you up, it either ends up a cuddling session or a quick nap with you depending on how he wakes you up.

When going out on missions outside of Mondstadt, Kaeya will definitely write letters to you everyday. He’ll ask if you’ve been doing okay and if you have eaten well— it’s just wholesome 🥰🥰🥰

Before Kaeya goes out, you always give him a long cherishing kiss because you’ll never know if it’s the last time you’ll ever kiss him.

He really really misses holding your hand and cuddling with you when he’s far away but won’t admit it.

You on the other hand wouldn’t stop thinking about him whenever he’s out for his mission.

I mean, can you blame yourself? Kaeya’s missions are always dangerous and the thought of him getting killed while you’re doing your usual routine not knowing about it makes your heart ache.

And when he comes back to Mondstatd and sees you waiting by the gates, this can go two ways: he’ll either sprint to you and give you a warm hug or you rush to him and tackle him with a hug— either way, it’s a sweet and relieving moment for you two.

Of course, Kaeya wouldn’t hesitate to tease you about it.

“Aww did you miss me that much, love?”

“Shut up, I know you miss me too.”

“...Yea you’re right.”

Idk how you somehow have the darknight hero fall for you but you 👏 are 👏 one 👏 lucky 👏 lad 👏

I see Diluc as a tsundere-like guy but exclude the “nO i dOnt liKE yOu duMmy 😡” lol

Just like Kaeya, you and him kept your relationship a secret for a few reasons.

How did the public find out? Unlike Kaeya, the two of you announced it yourselves during a celebration in dawn winery.

Everyone was very happy for the both of you and considered the two of you as the “happiest couple in Mondstadt”

Whenever you two are out in public, he wouldnt be affectionate — other than a simple hug or holding hands

But when you two are somewhere without the public eye, he’s a big SOFTY

He’ll openly give you affection without hesitation.

It’s always wholesome indoors lol

Scratch that, with Diluc, it’s always wholesome BOTH indoors and outside, even when he isn’t so open outside.

As his spouse, you knew his night time duties

It’s kinda unfortunate for the both of you, given that you could not see Diluc in both day time (due to your work of choice) and night time.

But whenever you two have the chance to hang out, the both of you would make most of the time memorable. Whether it would be going out on an adventure, strolling around Mondstadt, or eating in a restaurant together— days with Diluc are days that you would never forget, and the same goes for the darknight hero.

During his “nighttime duties”, you couldn’t help but stay outside of your home waiting for your lover’s return.

It made Diluc have the urge to finish his darknight hero works and just go back to your home so that the two of you can sleep in peace.

Argue with Diluc is seldom and it only happens because of you hating the fact that there’s a chance that Diluc could die from his night time duties.

When it comes to making up, the two of you mostly apologize at the same time. It ends up with a cuddling session.

Sometimes, if you work as an adventurer, you’d go with Diluc on his darknight hero duties much to his dismay.

If the two of you came across to an Abyss Mage or hilichurls, Diluc wouldn’t hesitate on backing you away and fight them on his own.

But of course, you wouldn’t let your lover fight them on his own. After all, being a lover meant that you’d always be on his side right?

Unless you don’t have a weapon, then you might as well watch and pray he won’t get hurt.

Speaking of hurt,

When Diluc sometimes goes home with injuries, you happily nurse him back to health.

Depending on how serious his injuries are, you’d fix his schedule and made sure he won’t continue his nighttime duties until his injuries have been healed.

When you two are still awake at night, the two of you would have late night talks about anything while being in each other’s arms. It’s always peaceful when it comes to that.

Mornings with Diluc are always pleasant.

Depending on who wakes up first, the two of you would make each other’s breakfast (much to the head maid’s dismay) and get ready for the day.

As for parties in Dawn Winery that requires Diluc’s presence, he never hesitates to ask you to be with him.

He’s the type to buy you an outfit that suits you very well. It’s the one thing you can’t stop him from buying.

Yes, he spoils you very much.

Whenever it’s your birthday or an anniversary, expect a lot of (insert favorite genshin flower) being delivered to you while you’re working.

He always tries to find an excuse to buy you things knowing that you would tell him to not buy you so many things.

“Congratulations, N/N. Have some gifts,” *cue diluc giving you a flood of gifts*

“Diluc, It’s just a day off we don’t need to celebrate that—”

Being in a relationship with the Knights of Favonius’ librarian is... interesting to say the least.

The woman’s a charming, lazy, and one of the smartest people in the city of freedom. And you are the assistant of the knights of favonius’ alchemist, Albedo.

Of course, with you two being a part of knights of favonius, it gives a lot of advantages.

Such as visiting Lisa in the library during break times, going on missions together, going home together, etc.

I see Lisa as a playful woman who knows how to make your knees turn into jelly.

Whenever she visits you and Albedo’s laboratory in the headquarters, she wouldn’t hesitate in flirting with you— much to Albedo’s annoyance.

Albedo gets more annoyed if you flirt back and ends with you and Lisa flirting together but wouldn’t say anything due to you doing your work while flirting with Lisa.

What he doesn’t know is that the two of you are very much aware of Albedo being annoyed lol

Omg but like— the two of you can make potions together!!!

It’s a hobby for the both of you during your day offs, the two of you would try out different herbs and ingredients to see what you two can make.

During Stormterror’s days when the knights of favonius requires Lisa to stay in the headquarters at night to research on stormterror, you’d sneak in to the library and help her out.

When it comes to lunch time, you and Lisa would eat your lunch together in either the library or Good Hunter depending on you and Lisa’s laziness.

Some people couldn’t help but be jealous of you being able to win the Witch of the Purple Rose’s heart.

The two of you don’t really mind the fact that everyone in Mondstadt knows of your relationship since Lisa is very open in PDA. When going out, the librarian will always hold your hand or wrap her arm around yours.

When helping Lisa in retrieving books, it’s just like Lisa’s story quest. You’d always buy her jewelry or food depending on which one is the nearest.

While many people are afraid of Lisa when she’s mad or uses her electro vision, you on the other hand are very much amused.

Even when Lisa can struck the strongest lightning of all Teyvat, you’d still think that she’s cute and hot much to her embarrassment.

Depending on why she’s using her electro vision, you’d hype her up.

Lisa looking down at an Abyss Mage: “Are you asking for a death wish?”

You in the background: “WOOO THAT’S MY GIRL! LET’S GO; GO STRUCK A LIGHTNING AT ‘EM!!”

During training sessions with Razor, you would just watch Lisa and Razor nearby while examining herbs and materials for your alchemy experiment.

Sometimes you’d give food for Razor and his wolf friends before he goes back to his home much to his delight.

Mornings with Lisa are lazy but peaceful.

You’d be the first one to wake up and make breakfast. When you’re done making breakfast, you wake up Lisa — which usually ends with a quick cuddle session or dragging Lisa up much to her dismay.

Arguments with Lisa are very rare. Yes there were arguments between the two of you but it wasn’t serious. The only things you two would argue about are either related to books or potion-making.

You and Lisa’s favorite days are days when the two of you are on a break from work.

Your dates are mostly indoors or in a restaurant. The two of you would talk about almost anything really. Any topic would end up with the two of you talking for hours until the day ends.

Sometimes during those dates, Lisa would talk about the dendro nation, Sumeru while you, in return, talk about Dragonspine.

Being Albedo’s assistant means you going to Dragonspine.

Whenever you leave from the headquarters to go to Dragonspine, Lisa would pout.

“I’ll feel lonely, darling.”

“Lisa, I’ll go back in two hours, it’s not like I’ll be gone for years—”

“C’mon it’s always boring here without you.. okay, okay, I’ll stop pestering about this. Now give your lover a goodbye kiss, will you darling?”

When you are required to go to Dragonspine and have to stay there for a day or more, expect Lisa to drag herself to the cold place just to see you.

“N/N, darling! I was wondering if you’d know where my favorite stockinhs are?”

“Sweet Barbatos, Lisa what are you doing here?!”

Being in a relationship with Jean is busy.

That’s one way I would describe Jean if not self-righteous and responsible.

If it weren’t for you being her secretary, your relationship with her would’ve felt.. distant.

When it comes to Jean doing people’s request, you’d take over her office while she’s out— dealing with people who came to the headquarters to discuss matters regarding about Mondstadt’s safety.

When Jean has to go on missions, you’d also join her unless the mission takes at least 2 more days.

If it only takes a day, you two get to adventure around the nation and fight against enemies side by side.

However when it’s 2 days or so, you have to stay behind and perform her duties while she’s away.

Like Kaeya, you would write letters to her about your day and how Mondstadt is, to which Jean would reply back hours later.

When she comes back, you’d help her bring her things to her office and the moment you two are inside her office, it ends up with you tackling her with a hug and lots of kisses.

It’s very wholesome.

Like Kaeya and Diluc, the both of you agreed to keep your relationship a secret. Though unlike the both of them, the both of you are very secretive at it and aren’t planning on announcing it.

Perhaps when you two are about to be wed, maybe that’s when you’ll most likely announce your relationship.

The only people who knows of your relationship are Lisa, Barbara, and Kaeya— who are all very supportive.

If there’s someone who would tell everyone about the two of you the moment they find out about it, it’s definitely Klee.

And the both of you are very aware of that risk so you decided to tell Klee about it as well + warn her to not tell anybody or else “Mondstadt will be in danger”

You see her as a daughter of your own so whenever she’s alone in the confidement room, you’d always visit her and ask her about her adventures without Jean knowing.

Unknowingly, she knows what you’re doing but just plays along lol

Dates with Jean are rare but when it happens, it’s beautiful.

You’re most likely the one who’d plan on it and always make Jean close her eyes while dragging her to your destination. Your dates are always somewhere new and that made Jean excited.

Given that you two’s relationship is a secret, the dates always takes place outside of Mondstadt and during night time.

If you two are brave though, the date could be during day time.

Jean’s favorite datespot is definitely stormterror mountains where you can see the whole view of the nation (reference to the beginning of the game where you did the tutorial)

As Jean’s spouse, you’re also her personal masseuse.

Being the Acting Grand Master, Jean is always exhausted. Whenever you have a lot of free time, you’d give her a massage much to her delight.

Depending on how tired she is, she’ll definitely fall asleep while you’re at it. You would take her to the couch nearby and do her paperworks and duty— using the “Master Jean is attending important matters so I’ll be here performing her duties while she’s gone” as an excuse lol

She would lightly lecture you about it when she wakes up though— but you didn’t mind.

Arguments with Jean are very rare since there’s nothing to argue about. Unless it’s about Jean pressuring herself to the point where she forgets to take care of herself. Though that happens seldom.

When you two did fight, Jean is most likely the one who’s calm. She lets you vent and as son as you calm down, you two would start talking about it and sort it out.

What happens when Jean gets sick like in her story quest, you ask?

Obv you’ll force her to go back home and take a rest.

However, Jean wouldn’t stand down from it.

She knew that her job is very exhausting and didn’t want you to force yourself in doing her duties so she’ll definitely be stubborn and insists that she can still perform her duties.

But if you give her a lot of persuasion, Jean will give up and go home to rest.

Despite the commissions being difficult than you expected, you still manage to finish them all along with Jean’s paperworks.

When you go home from the headquarters, you immediately cook Lotus Soup for her.

Expect Jean to make it up to you with gifts and a date the next day hehe

And perhaps a ring...

“Thank you, N/N. For always being there by my side when I need it- your efforts have been appreciated.”

“Anything for you, Jean.”

I don’t know Albedo as much as the mentioned Mondstadt characters here but I applaud you for being able to win his heart.

He’s the type of guy who isn’t really focused on having a relationship since he’s very dedicated to alchemy so the fact that he loves you back is very surprising.

Like Lisa’s hc, you’re working with him in the Knights of Favonius headquarters.

While he manages Alchemy in KOF, you manage their weaponry and armor.

So you two most likely first talked when Albedo visits your office regarding the Festering Desire sword or requests an upgrade on his weapon.

When it comes to the public, the both of you didn’t care if your relationship is a secret or not.

I don’t see Albedo as the kind of guy who’s into PDA much but that doesn’t mean he’ll shrug you away when you try to do PDA.

During break times, you would visit Albedo’s lab and make him eat with you since he always forgets to eat. He lowkey loves it whenever you take care of his well-being.

Whenever Albedo has to go to Dragonspine, you either go with him or stay in the headquarters. It depends on your work if you have stuff to do.

Sometimes when you have a lot of time on your hands, you would visit his labratory and clean it up.

There were times when you decided to go to Albedo in Dragonspine with Jean’s permission. Usually it’s a surprise visit so Albedo couldn’t help but hope that one of those days is when you visit him.

As for dates,

Dates for you and Albedo are very very rare, when it happens, it’s because the day is a special day.

It’s either a picnic outing near Mondstadt or strolling around Mondstadt together— any date that is outdoors is fine with you two, though it’s mostly a picnic date.

During the picnic dates, Albedo will definitely sketch you. His sketchbook has a lot of drawings of you and you would be flustered from it.

Sometimes he would sketch you without you noticing— you just looks so inspiring that Albedo can’t help himself.

When sleeping together, the two of you would usually sleep at such a late hour— mainly Albedo, who would be focused on his experiments to even notice the time.

You have to go up to him and tell him to sleep with you. Ofc, he’ll say he’ll follow you but you knew he wouldn’t in the next hours. So you always have to drag him away from his work and force him to sleep.

There were times when you two would argue. Mainly because of how Albedo needs to take care of himself more and that you can’t always be there.

You’re mostly the one who has to apologize first but depending on how serious the fight was, Albedo will apologize first as well.

When adventuring in Dragonspine with Albedo, he would keep a close eye on you. If he sees an enemy nearby, he would take you somewhere else. The last thing he wants is to fight enemies and be distracted.

There were times when Albedo thought of a breakup.

He dread the day of being the one who brings Mondstadt to its demise. The thought of killing you broke his heart.

Even when he thinks breaking up with you is the best option, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He loves you so much.

Albedo has to rely on Aether in bringing him down before he could destroy Mondstadt. As long as the traveller’s around, Albedo can hold on to your relationship longer.

Of course.. the day of when Aether leaves Teyvat after finding his sister will come.

He hoped that when he awakens, Mondstadt’s Honorary Knight will still be here to stop him.

If not, then he has no choice.

“I’m sorry flower... I don’t think this is working out at all.”

[thoughtfullyrainynightmare]

Chapter 48 of Embers. This time it’s the Royal Ball ft. King Augustus. This chapter was a bit difficult for me to write, because of multiple reasons. One being that properly outlining a ball would take a lot of details, research, time and words. Which might take away from the focus of the story. Two... I really wanted to have Lara deliver subtle burns... but justifying them? That’s the hard part (but luckily she was cooperative). And three... I have many mutual OCs in this, and I hope that I portrayed them correctly. 

Gals, please tell me if your OCs were ooc, and I’ll edit the text 🥺 Anyhow, please enjoy. ^^ 

Tag list: @succulentsunrise​ @simpingforthisonedeer​ @tokimihyachi​ @ckjwnnbc​ @jovialnoise​ @lyranova​ 

This series contains mature content, so reader discretion is advised. 

Words: 4408

Chapter 48: The Ball

That’s it… I suppose… Solara thought to herself while inspecting her outfit from the mirror to make sure it was all, as it was supposed to be. Her hair was tied on a low bun where her head met the back of her neck, her make-up was modest, because quite frankly she disliked feeling as if paint had been splashed all over her face, and her accessories complimented her dress. The most prominent of which was the piece of jewellery decorating her left hand. It began from her wrist, as if an ornate bracelet and continued with thin chains to her fingers, covering them with the same intricate details, much like a gauntlet. Her fingertips were hidden under extensions of the golden material, making her nails appear long, almost as if claws.  

Faint mana emanated from the gauntlet-like piece of jewellery, but it was known to her, so she didn’t pay attention to it. Instead, she wondered where she might find the hosts, namely Fuego. Not that she had a real reason to find him, not an official one at least; just the sense of longing that always lingered around, hiding in the corners of the room whenever he wasn’t there.

A smile tugged her lips up as she thought about him; about his smile, his eyes, his gentle presence. And the strings of fate around her heart, they pulsated with the golden, glittering glow, as if they were living beings of their own.

I just want to see him… She thought, deeming no other reason that she really needed to venture out of her room and begin searching for him. Though she had a few educated guesses on where she might find him.

She made her way down the hallway, towards the most often used common room of the Vermillion Castle, from where the prominent mana, and yells, seemed to originate from. Or rather, as she ventured closer, was sure that the yells originated from.

“THIS IS JUST LIKE WHEN WE WERE-“

“OH QUIT BRINGING THAT UP! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? CRY ABOUT IT?”

Solara chuckled to herself slightly. Sounds like a pointless sibling scuffle… Oh I’ve had my fair share of those with Lena. Though… ours were … not quite this loud. But… each to their own, I suppose.

As she was about to enter into the room, she noticed a figure near the doorway, dressed in a dark green ballgown. Detailing, of a few shades darker in shade than the rest of the gown, ran over it as if vines and leaves. But the focus, despite the intricate designs, weren’t on the dress, but instead framed the face of the person wearing it; Tani.

The brunette turned towards her, lifting her hand into an awkward wave.

“Hey,” Solara greeted with a smile, making Tani pause for a moment, perhaps as if to assess how she should greet back.

“Hey,” she greeted back, opting for the less formal approach.

“How are you?”

“I’m… good,” Tani replied with hesitance as they stood side by side, her gaze shifting to the two siblings going at each other.

“Wonderful to hear,” Lara smiled.

“M-mmm,” Tani hummed, unable to keep her gaze from wondering to the two Vermillions. “Should we-, should we do something about this?” She gestured towards the argument.

“Hmmm…” she hummed, turning her attention towards the argument, which seemed to have only escalated during the brief moment. “They’re grown people, I’m sure they’ll reach… a conclusion… eventually. Besides, I’m interested to see where this is going.”

“YOU BRAT!”

“SHIRKER!”

“Aaand we have sunk to name-calling. Perhaps you’re right,” Solara concluded.

“How do you propose that we do so?” Tani inquired, seeming uninterested in stepping between the two, which, in all honesty, was sensible.

Solara sighed to herself, still keeping her eyes on the two lions, going at each other. “[Gravity of the Sun.]” The words flowed from her, just as they had the last time, she had walked in on them fighting. And just as before, her mana collected in the air, grounding the two red-heads in place, making their eyes turn towards her.

She dropped her spell, hoping that the point had been made, and crossed her arms while quirking an eyebrow. Meanwhile the two turned to face her and Tani.

“Hmm… The angry scowl. Last time you were screaming at us,” Mereo commented, attempting to joke.

“Y-es, as far as I remember, I was pissed off on that particular day. And besides, I’m more used to this by now.”

“You make it sound like this would be a regular occurrence.”

“Aneue please, we have more important matters to attend to,” Fuego commented, while straightening his jacket.

Mereo opened her mouth, still clearly in fighting mode, but was spoken over by Tani: “Your pantsuit looks good.” The observation felt hasted, and the manner nearly careless, but the tone spoke of genuine opinion; perhaps blurting out her thoughts in an effort to shift Mereo’s attention away from the brawl.

The fire-y woman turned to face the brunette, her lips tugging into a smirk as her eyes landed on the green dress, and the person wearing it. “Oh? Glad you think so. They tried to get me into a dress, but I find them troublesome to wear,” Mereo chuckled, taking a few steps closer to Tani. “But you pull it off well.”

“Thank you…” Tani replied with a hushed tone, averting her gaze slightly. “Icree told me that I should wear something like this…” she continued.

“You don’t need to wear anything you don’t want to,” Mereo half scoffed, half replied, but it all flowed from her with a soft undertone, as if a gentle breath. “But… you look good.”

So, the lioness does purr as well, Solara mused to herself while taking a few steps away from the pair, and towards Fue, who mirrored her movements.

His formal wear, speaking both of his profession and his origin of birth, was well tailored and ironed, framing his strong features. But. A few wrinkles had managed to wind up on it as a result of the argument.

“You look… breath taking,” he commented with hushed syllables as he let his gaze travel around her form, trying to imprint all of it. His eyes, they started from the hem of the carmine dress, over which glistened faint streaks of golden specks, forming a net like pattern, visible only up close. Or, rather that it was visible only up close, or when the soft cascading light of his flames made them shimmer. The hem of the gown tightened at her waist, turning into a structured top that hugged her figure, showing a hint of cleavage, which made him swallow.

For a moment he needed to compose himself, remind himself to draw air, before letting his eyes continue. They travelled over the golden necklace around her neck, he finally reached the complexion that he adored, the eyes he worshipped, and the person he loved. Her hair, on a low bun, framed her face; the strawberry locks… almost draping. Oh, he remembered; he thought of how those strands had draped over her shoulder just the other morning. A part of him wanted to remove the hair ties that kept her hairdo together, just to be able to see it unfold before him, and to have those silken locks fall over the soft skin of her shoulders. A part of him wanted to just not care of the ball that would begin shortly and just-

“Fue?”

“Hm? Yes?”

“Nervous?” She half mused; half inquired while placing her hand onto his cheek; standing closer to him.

His eyes shifted to the ceiling momentarily as a chuckle rolled from him. “Perhaps a little,” he admitted. “But. I’m certain that it’ll be alright.”

---

So stale and uptight, Solara thought to herself while gazing around the room, filled with nobility and magic knights. Tani and Mereo had retreated somewhere behind a corner, or perhaps were lingering in the side lines; it was difficult to tell in such a crowd. There had been a glimpse of Aika and Julius, but they had disappeared towards the balcony, perhaps to talk about magic, politics, or… something entirely different. One could never tell with Madam Tolliver. Predictability can be such a dull quality, she chuckled to herself while thinking about her mother’s associate, or former associate, the classification of their relationship had slipped past Solara, making her think that she should ask about it. But the thought was brief, only passing through, as she found herself thinking the irony of her previous thought.

And here I am, in love with a man who crafts a daily timetable for himself. A man who tries to take everything into an account and make the most rational decision, thus making him just that: predictable. But that… stubborn predictability… it’s…. she smiled to herself, trying to find him from the crowd. Endearing.

Neva was on the side of the room with a few other members of the Golden Dawn, and Selena, Selena was standing close to Nozel with a stoic expression. You’re thinking about something, are you not? Physically you might be here, but in your head, you’re a million miles away. She thought as she looked at her sister from the corner of her eye.

Fuegoleon was doing, what a good host ought to be doing, greeting his guests. The customary process of seeing to each of his guests. Tedious, was the one word she would have used to describe it. Though it is necessary. They’re all his guests, so it’s… courteous. But at events and parties this large, the relationships between people hardly extends from knowing each other by anything else than name alone. A façade. That’s what this is. But. It’s a façade with a point. She shrugged to herself concluding that the King was nowhere to be seen, perhaps fashionably late.

She spotted Randal strolling about, as if making rounds, perhaps unable to settle down, or then looking for someone. But since, as their gazes met, he started making his way to her, it must’ve been the former.

“Good day,” she greeted.

“Good day, my lady,” he replied with a bow.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, remembering the conversation they had once upon a time.

“It’s expected,” he noted and he was right. The situation called for it, so she curtsied in return.

“Feeling restless?”

“Hmm… You could say so,” he replied, not seeming to know the answer even himself. “Could also be the fact that this kind of social events, outside of the knight circles, have a different…” he paused trying to find a suitable way to dress his reply.

“Set of motions?”

He nodded, deeming it as accurate enough for the setting. “I hope you’re not counting on me to introduce you,” he attempted to joke, but it tumbled from him clumsily.

“No need,” she chuckled. “Just pointing the way will suffice.”

“I don’t think even that is needed. You’ll know,” he smiled, knowing fully well that she knew what Augustus looked like. But the clumsy attempts to lighten the mood, eased his nervousness.

And it was just then that the doors opened to welcome the King of Clover.

“Well, here goes nothing,” she whispered to Randal, while looking at the greetings being exchanged.

“Not… quite….” He commented.

“Well true, but I should make myself known, should I not?”

“Um…. Well… Yes…”

“Mhm,” she hummed before walking away. But after taking a few steps, she took a deep breath in an effort to calm her racing heart. Alright. Calm down. Just… Given the type of a person he is, or seems to be, telling him what he wants to hear will aid our case. Or, rather, formulating things in a way that makes it easier for him to swallow, will aid our case. And. And, if he thinks that the idea of an alliance is his, he’s more willing to go along with it. Be smart, but let him think that he’s smarter.

“And on this occasion, we have foreign visitors,” Fuegoleon continued, Solara having missed the first parts of the conversation.

“I hear that there’s been foreigners here for a good while already, and it certainly has been a while since we’ve had any at our balls,” Augustus commented, his gaze slightly turning towards Solara as she was walking straight to the pair of royals along with the nobility that surrounded them.

She saw how eyes turned to her with Augustus’ gaze, including Fuegoleon’s.

“Here to make official introductions already?” Fuegoleon inquired, sounding slightly surprised.

“I thought it to be only courteous since I’m not only guest at the ball, but in the country as well,” she said with a curtsey, staying a few steps away.

“Hm… Perhaps I could grant you a little of my time,” he spoke while tilting his head slightly back, and looking at her along the length of his nose.

“I see you’re as gracious as you are handsome,” she noted with a monotone voice, almost as if speaking out a readymade dialogue. Almost, but not quite, making it sound more serious than prickly statement. And all the while she tried to keep a straight face.

Those around them visibly tensed with her words, as if weary if the king would see through the remark.

Oh gods, Fuegoleon thought.

“Why yes! You clearly have an eye for greatness,” Augustus smiled with a content, boastful laugh.

“You flatter me, your highness. For such an observation is clear in your case.” She replied, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

“Ohohohoo I see not all of you foreigners are such blind imbeciles. And that is why you’re here of course. To see this mighty nation and its glorious king in the flesh,” Augustus concluded while outstretching his arms.

“Why else would I be here?”

“Why indeed,” he chuckled. “Though I have heard rumours of seeking an alliance with us. Now I must warn you, we have high standards and we won’t accept such with just anyone who strolls in.”

“Of course not. For that would be the acts of a foolish king. And from what I understand, you’re highly selective, since you really have collaboration with… one nation if I’m not mistaken. Thus, being granted an alliance with a nation with such high requirements would surely be a great honour.”

“Finally! Someone who understands the grand scheme of things! This is a pleasure,” he grinned.

“Once again, you flatter me, your highness.”

“Yes. I hope you appreciate it, because I don’t give compliments away freely.”

“Certainly. A well-earned compliment is the compliment one should regard with the highest of values.”

“Hmm… I quite like you. And your mana seems adequate enough…”

She blinked slowly, taking a deep breath and concentrating on the mana around her. This suffices… She thought before opening her eyes once more, and with the action, those around felt mana flowing from her, as if flowing as waves. It swayed with the crowd, as if mirroring the movements of the people around her.

“Ohohoho that is marvellous! Not as marvellous as mine of course, but good enough for nobility. I think we can move forward to talk about the possibility of continuing negotiations. You understand that as a king I can’t just so freely yet grant an allegiance. Even if I happened to like you.”

“Of course, your highness. Though I hope you don’t tax yourself too much with the negotiations. For having to consider allegiance with our crafters, those making our magical tools, scholars, those who wish to collaborate with magic research, along with the political alliance, can be so time consuming. And I am certain that you have so many important things to attend to.”

“Why yes! I am a busy man. But Julius will help me with the labour, so that I will not be overworked,” Augustus spoke with a tone that implied sorrow, dripping from him as if he was feeling sorry for himself.

“And surely, a wise king such as yourself would ask for some kind of an assurance. Since we know that the process will be long and taxing, there needs to be something to make sure neither backs down at the first sight of trouble; to give willingness to see through difficulties.”

“Aaah yes. That is most often solved with marriage between nobility.”

“So it is.”

“Hmmm…. That is something that indeed needs to be solved.”

“But… not today, I take it. For your highness is here to celebrate your victory.”

“Yes. It can wait. I’m far too consumed for today to be thinking about such things,” Augustus agreed with a rather melodramatic motion of placing the back of his hand onto his forehead.

“So, I shall take no more of your time, your highness. May your evening be as pleasant as you are.”

“I’m sure it shall be.”

Solara curtsied to him and took her leave, leaving the people around the King standing with jaws nearly opened, and standing with slightly slouched forms. They really ought to put him on a leash while talking foreign politics. Why this country hasn’t rendered their treasures to other nations freely by the King is beyond me…. Or, well, suppose it’s because he’s not encouraged to take part in foreign politics, I take it.

Fuegoleon let an internal sigh of relief, feeling a vast array of emotions that clashed together inside of him. That…. By the gods… I almost had a stroke. Dear, please, be more subtle next time.  

Mereo was smirking in the side lines, having emerged in some point from outside. Quite possibly grinning at the expressions that surrounded Augustus. Meanwhile Lena, who was now approaching her, bit her molars together. Her lip quivered slightly in an effort to keep herself from snickering, but the quiver and the nearly escaping flutter of her voice, they were so faint and subtle that they could be swept away by even the smallest passing breeze, making them be noticed by only Solara.

“[Telling him what he wants to hear?]” She smirked with a whisper in passing.

“[Would he be receptive if I said it in any other way?]” Solara inquired with hushed syllables and a forcefully composed tone, laced with a crafted layer of innocence.

Lena brushed an un-existing loose strand of her hair behind her ear, as if to fix her hairdo. “There, all better now,” she continued with a faint smile.

“Thank you,” Lara replied with a smile of her own.

---

“That was rather thick,” Mereo scoffed. “But it seems to have done the trick. I hope that doesn’t lead to another investigation,” she remarked with crossed arms.

“Hm?” Tani uttered, but then remembered the mentions that Mereo had made of the past few months and its events.

“It doesn’t,” Aika remarked, appearing from seemingly nowhere and butting in to the conversation.

“How so?”

“Because first of all that’s a natural ability more than it’s a spell. And secondly, even if it was a spell, it wouldn’t reach the necessary requirements.”

“A natural ability?”

“I’m sure that she has mentioned about how mana replenishing works for them. Or at least how mana is to them, since they experience it a bit differently from us. Because to them, mana is a river, where we tend to describe it as a ‘mana pool’. For them mana is something to be drawn from the environment, a bit like drawing breath. Though describing it simply as mana being a river to them and a pool for us, is misleading, because our mana replenishing also works by regaining it form our surroundings. It doesn’t just appear out of nowhere. It’s more about their mana intake being heightened from ours, which is a result of-“

“I’m not looking for a lecture on mana replenishing,” Mereo remarked, making Aika look at her for a moment, blinking slowly.

A few seconds ticked away, until Aika just gave her a smile. “Of course,” she replied. “To put it simply, they can, with time, learn to turn down that ‘talent’.”

“Why would they shut off their mana intake?” Mereo quirked an eyebrow.

“To do just what she did. It’s a… hmm… a trick, in lack of a better word for it. Because, if they shut off their mana intake, it gets reflected back. It’s essentially them, shoving the mana, that’s emanating from others, back. It can be used to amplify someone else’s mana, or work as a kind of a scare. Let’s say that you’re in a mana dry area, you’re low on mana, and a large magical beast with a lot more magic than you, takes interest in you. Then you have the option of trying to trick it into thinking that you, in fact, have more mana than it has, and scare it away.”

“Or then challenge it.”

“That is the other possible outcome.”

Mereo hummed in thought for a moment, before concluding: “That explains why it felt so different from her usual mana.”

“Mhm. Most can’t tell in a crowd this size, since there’s mana mixing together all around.”

Mereo just hummed as a reply without saying anything further to the matter, but instead asking Tani if she’d like to dance later.

The brunette gazed down to the hem of her dress, thinking about how difficult it was to move around in it, let alone trying to dance. High heels and big ballgowns at a royal ball… She was very much outside of her comfort zone with all of it.

“Let’s go take a stroll in the garden instead,” the vermillion-haired woman spoke instead with a hushed tone, laced with adoration, making the other smile.

---

“May I have this dance,” Fue offered as the triple timed melody of the string quartet flowed through the air, signalling the beginning of a dance.

“Certainly,” Solara replied, placing her hand onto his.

He led her onto the dance floor, and taking a hold of her before the music swept them into a waltz. The first few steps… she needed to remind herself of them again, but the way he led her, and the way he held onto her, so firmly and adoringly, made her forget about the conscious thought. It made her immerse herself into the moment, and just look into his eyes, not quite lavender, not quite royal purple. And he looked into her eyes all the same, forgetting about the eyes that observed as the dance continued.

“Laying ground work?” She smirked.

“What ‘ground work’?” He chuckled. “You’re the one who told the king that we should get married.”

“I did no such thing,” she argued with amusement. “I simply said that it would be beneficial for both nations to have a kind of an affirmation on settling differences, since the process of forming new relations is bound to show difficulties.”

“Mhm,” he hummed with a low tone, seemingly unconvinced.

“But if you tell him that you’re willing to take one for the team… I suppose they wou-“

Her voice nearly pitched, as he dipped her, making her back arc.

“Don’t try that with me,” he grinned with a low, sultry voice, before lifting her back up.

“Oh? So, you oppose?” She teased.

“You’re impossible,” he concluded, letting his gaze cascade over her while pulling her closer.

“You didn’t answer the question,” she smirked.

“I suppose I didn’t,” he agreed.

“In need of a better, more clear wording?”

“Hmm… Perhaps that might help,” he thought out loud with a tone that nearly rolled as a coo from him.

“Then perhaps I might.”

“Is that your intention?”

“Depends.”

“On?”

“What is yours?”

“Have I not made it clear, my love?” He whispered while leaning closer.

“You have, my beloved,” she whispered back.

“Then you have an answer, without needing to ask,” he purred, with his eyes locked on her. “It is I, who needs to do the asking.”

The music was coming to a halt, the strings of the violin still drawing sound.

“[I love you,]” he whispered, just before the sound ceased and he pulled back, walking her to the side, as the dance had ended, and the room was quiet, other than the echoing applauses. But would she whisper it back to him, she’d need to lean close, something she couldn’t subtly do.

She wanted to. By the gods how she wanted to; just not care and lean closer, pressing a kiss onto his cheek and whisper those three little words to him. But there it was again. That foolish sense of restraint, crafted by the expectations of the noble circles. The tug back, to be composed and ‘proper’. To refrain from expressing affection. The refrain that she had denied at times in the cases of her family. An embrace and a kind word, a laugh that rang far too loud. All the things that shouldn’t be. And she cursed it! She cursed it all. The tug, the pull, the chain holding her back. For she had been far too brash for one evening already.

But still, she was unable to shake it, the sensation of ‘want’ and ‘wish’, perhaps even ‘need’. She grit her teeth, but she could not shake it; the need to refrain from the confession that she had done so many times already, but all in private. The confession that she wanted to utter countless times again and again, until the words would be worn out, but perhaps, by then she would have found something more suitable to describe the depth of her affection.

Did you plan this? Timing it so that I’m not able to say it back to you? Why? You know how much I want to say it back to you. You know. You know that I’m not done with my confessions of adoration. You know. And yet you do this.

There was a hint of a triumphant smirk painted over his lips that made a burning sensation, an emotion, swirl inside of her. One that tasted like irritation, licked her bones like anger, but enveloped her, like the gentle, soft presence of her tender emotions. Passion, some might call it.

And you call me ‘impossible’? You, perfectly adorably, infuriating man!

A frown passed over her, making him chuckle, as if he knew what she was thinking. It was, as if, he knew that he would not be able to untangle her from himself the following night.

But. He wouldn’t mind.