#“old man yells angrily at cloud”

[jonathanbyersphd]

One of my biggest pet peeves with st is that as someone who grew up in a small town (like 8000 ppl I went to HS with 400 other kids) NANCY SHOULD'VE KNOWN WHO ROBIN WAS IN S3.

Like yea ok maybe they weren't friendly but to not know her at all??? Like they never had a single class together??? That makes zero sense.

Like I promise you I may not have been friends with all those other kids but we knew each other and we knew what everyone was up to.

[bibleofficial]

cant lie, there is so much power in yelling & shaking a cane at whatever is bothering u

[photo1030]

Leather and Lace - Chapter 20: All The Little Things 

Summary: Arthur takes note of all the little things you do for him and tries to decide if he’s ready to take your relationship to the next level. 

Warning: 18+ please. Minors - DNI; NSFW - This one is a bit longer than I planned, sorry!

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*This beautiful images comes from the always stunning @foundynnel

*Beta-read by the wonderfully supportive @readingcoco (Thank you for herding in my thoughts, my friend!)

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*I tagged people who expressed interest in the continued story. If you’d like to be added or removed, please let me know. There are a few that would not let me link, so I apologize if this doesn’t ping some people. 

It’s been a few weeks since you and Arthur proclaimed your affections for each other and you have quickly settled into a comfortable routine. With Arthur being a senior member of the gang, and with you as his woman, you feel that you need to step up and contribute more to the Van Der Linde Gang. And Dutch and Ms. Grimshaw couldn’t be more thrilled. 

The gang must always come first - that is what Arthur has instilled in you and it’s what you have come to adopt as your own adage too. You feel that same sense of belonging and responsibility for these people and finally begin to truly understand Arthur’s unrelenting loyalty to them. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and as long as the gang does well, the people within it will prosper. 

You are quickly becoming more embedded into this rag-tag group than you had ever thought you would. It’s not just a group of random individuals or a place for you to hide for safety, they are your family now, just as they are Arthur’s. These are the people who comfort you when you need it, and protect you as one of their own. They laugh with you; they yell and stomp angrily with you. You affectionately think of them and pick-up little gifts that will make their day, and you are rewarded with their love and appreciation in return. This is what Arthur is devoutly devoted to, this sense of belonging. For this is much more than a gang of lawbreakers. These people chose each other, which is a bond tighter than most blood relatives. 

The sun is just climbing into its zenith in the autumn sky, desperately trying to break its radiant beams through the gray, overcast clouds to shine down upon the earth below. You and Tilly rumble into camp on a wagon, having just come back from town with a load full of supplies. Mr. Pearson greets you as the old wooden vehicle creaks to a halt. He waddles over and peers his chubby face over the side. The cook is thrilled, seeing an extra crate of potatoes, two more tins of lard and a sack of grain more than he expected you to return with. 

“I guess battin’ those eyelashes of yours at the store owner goes a lot further than I thought,” the portly man teases you as he grabs some of the items from the back of the wagon. 

You beam back at him with a smile of pride as you hike up your skirt into your hand and climb down from the wagon seat. “What is it they say? ‘Catch more flies with honey than vinegar?’”, you hum.

“Well, don’t be surprised if I start sending you out more often, then. We’ll probably get further along with your pretty face than mine.” Pearson’s round figure vibrates slightly with the laughter of his own joke.

“Just let me know what you need, I’ll be happy to help.” Suddenly you halt dead in your tracks, realizing that you’ve just repeated one of Arthur’s sayings. Tilly is right:  you and Arthur are already starting to act like an old married couple. The phrase causes you to shake your head before moving back to the wagon to grab more of the items to unpack.

You pick up one of the smaller boxes and turn to head over to the tables where the men lazily sit about, discussing random topics and enjoying a brief moment of peace and quiet. Arthur and Hosea sit, each relaxing with a cigarette in hand, listening to Dutch carry on about something that he's read recently. He’s been obsessed with “An American Eden” by Evelyn Miller lately and takes it upon himself to “preach its teachings”, as it were, to whomever is within the sound of his voice to hear it. The small group of men currently around him are not what you’d call “high-brow” and his philosophy lessons tends to fall on deaf ears sometimes. 

“Hello, boys!” you sing as you saunter over, being met with a collection of head-nods and grins of acknowledgement.

As you grab their attention, you proceed to hand-out a few thoughtful extras that you pilfered in town. You toss a package of new guitar strings to Javier who snatches them out of the air with one of his nimble hands. 

“Gracias, mi amor!” he beams happily as he examines the small bundle in his hands. “Where did you come across these?”

“Don’t you worry about it. I have my ways,” you smirk with an accompanying wink.

You reach over to hand a new book to Hosea with a smile, and offer a premium cigar to Dutch, who gratefully accepts your gift with appreciative eyes. Placing the empty box on the table, you look over at Arthur. “Oh, and by the way, Arthur, I think I saw that jack-rabbit you’re chasing in town today.”

Arthur’s head perks up right away. “The Petersen bounty?”

“Yeah. He was over by the brothel. By the looks of it, he’ll be holed up there for a while,” you say nonchalantly as you pull an apple out of your skirt pocket and rub its red skin against your sleeve before biting into the crisp, juicy fruit. 

“Well shit, why are you just telling me this now?” Arthur huffs impatiently as he quickly gets up and starts moving towards the horses.

“Like I said, he’s in no hurry.” You shrug. “Do I get a finder’s fee for my part?” you call after him with a grin as you watch him pull Buck from the hitching posts. 

Arthur just waves you off as he slides his dusty boot into the stirrup and hastily slings up into Buck’s saddle, taking off for town. 

—---------------------------------------------------

The flames of the evening’s campfire pop and crackle softly as they roll and crawl over the slightly damp wood. The aroma of heady oak permeates the air and the smoky plumes rise and dance up towards the night sky. You and Arthur sit alone on the ground by the fire, leaning back against a log with a blanket wrapped over your legs. The night is quiet as the stars sparkle overhead. Most people are playing cards at one of the tables, or have drifted off to their tents for the evening. 

The fire offers its warmth and golden glow, creating a soft ambiance. Arthur pulls you in for a gentle, absentminded kiss, and you find yourselves wholly content with each other, forgetting that the rest of the world exists as lovers often do. Your lips run languidly, with no urgency or demand as if working of their own accord. You start to gently rake your fingers across Arthur’s chest, slowly flexing to curl around the worn fabric of his faded brown shirt and occasionally reaching up to caress along his neck and chin. The feeling of his skin radiates through your fingertips and down into the palm of your soft hand. Eyes rolling shut, you smile into his mouth in blissful happiness as his arms lovingly and protectively envelop you. 

Arthur’s strong hand sits on your hip, lightly grasping at the supple flesh hidden under the fabric of your skirt. He loves the feeling of your skin on his, it doesn’t matter what the scenario is. Whether it’s his fingers grazing yours when he hands you a cup of fresh-brewed coffee, or when his hips are pounding into yours in the throws of passion, or even just as it is now when the softest of kisses land upon his chapped lips: the feeling of you against him is like electricity pulsing throughout his entire body, bringing him to life, just like that weird story by Mary Shelley that you read to him.  

It’s a rare thing for the two of you to be left alone in camp like this. Usually you have to hide away if you want any sort of privacy. But truth be told, the rest of the gang is respectfully giving the two of you some space. It’s nice not having a bitter and angry Arthur around all of the time. Ever since you publicly claimed him in the middle of camp as yours, he hasn’t been as snarky or barking at people like he usually does. And of course, people will do anything for you. The demands of daytime chores and responsibilities are one thing, but the calm evenings are left for you two. Sure, not every night is as peaceful as this, so you revel in the rare moment of solitude when the two of you can get it. 

Arthur’s lips eventually part from yours to leave a trail of delicate kisses under your jaw and down your neck, hitting that favorite spot of his. The place behind your ear is where the softest skin he has found on your body is hidden. That spot always tastes so heavenly to him and draws that little breathless noise from you that drives him wild. 

Arthur’s nose buries into your hair, picking up the floral notes of the soap you use to wash it with. You giggle and nuzzle him as your hands come up to cradle his head, your fingers entwined into the locks of his hair, hugging him to you as your nose wrinkles in merriment when his beard stubble delightfully tickles your sensitive skin. 

And suddenly, as you roll your body closer into his, before you can even think twice about it, the words just float from your lips like a dandelion seed being carried on a summer breeze. 

“I love you, Arthur.” Your voice is a breathless sigh of utter contentment, a melody singing through the air.

You haven’t seen his face yet, but feel his movements halt as his whole body goes rigid against you. Arthur slowly pulls his face from your neck and looks at you, speechless, with shocked and confused eyes, face flushed a shade of scarlet to rival the fire in front of you.

But you quickly place your fingers over his lips as if to hush any sort of protest he may have. “Now before you go crazy, Arthur, you don’t have to say it back. I simply said it because I wanted to, because it felt right just now.” You give him a soft and reassuring smile, amused by his reaction as he continues to stare at you, blinking quietly. You can tell he wants to say something in return, but can’t find the words as his mouth begins to work, but no sound comes out. 

“It’s okay, Arthur,” you giggle. “Really. I didn’t tell you that to hear it back. I just wanted to make sure you know it. And you can say it if, and when, you’re ready.”

You pause to give him a moment to answer, to make sure he understands that you have no demand of him, but you can see that he is still troubled and finding it hard to articulate what he needs to say. You honestly do not need him to say it back to you. How he treats you is how he feels about you, regardless of words stated or not. Words are used to manipulate people. His actions show you everything you need to know. So thankfully, you put him out of his misery by leaning over to kiss the corner of his mouth as he continues to look at you dumbstruck.

“Don’t get too worked up over it, Arthur.” You pat his cheek affectionately as a look of empathy sits upon your face. “I don’t need you having a heart attack over it. Like I said, you don’t have to say it back. I just wanted you to know where my heart lies.” 

Arthur’s forehead creases as he watches you stand up, brushing the dried leaves out of your skirt before reaching down for your blanket. You bend over to catch his scarred chin in your fingertips. “Goodnight, Arthur,” you whisper and kiss him again. You give him an impish little grin before heading over to your tent for the night. 

You leave Arthur still sitting speechless on the ground, a troubled look settled upon his handsome face as he watches your lovely form fade into the darkness of night before disappearing from view altogether as you close your tent. 

—-----------------------------------------------------

In the days that follow, Dutch announces that he is going to move the camp again. You are all sitting around the fire when he proceeds with an impassioned speech about moving south just outside of a town called Blackwater. 

You watch Dutch as he presents himself to the group, noting how he carries himself in front of others. He is charismatic and passionate, a natural-born leader. Since you have known the dark-haired devil, he has always had a dramatic and commanding presence, drawing his people to him with his idealism and wit. 

You find it amusing how Dutch’s boldness and optimism is a perfect compliment to Hosea’s skeptical wisdom. The two of them together make quite the dynamic duo, two sides of the same coin. Sometimes you wonder at the true nature of their relationship. Are they “brothers”, just as Arthur and John are, or is there more there, smoldering under the surface like hot coals left after a raging fire has burned down? Both men had their lady-loves in their lives, and both were left devastated when these sparks of light were extinguished in their otherwise dark lives. But you can’t help but wonder if there was ever more to Dutch and Hosea’s relationship than meets the eye. The “curious couple and their unruly sons.” The very idea of it makes you regard them with a softer spot in your heart.

The gang is preparing to go to work and the new location has some hot tips emanating from it. The camp is abuzz with packing and planning with everyone sprinting about and working on their assigned tasks. Arthur and Hosea are discussing a real estate tip around West Elizabeth, while Micah and Dutch have their own plan…something about a ferry boat. 

Arthur and Hosea wander to sit at one of the campfires, away from distractions, and are busy discussing their tip and planning for the new move when Hosea casually asks Arthur about you.

“So…how’s things going with (Y/N)?” He gives Arthur a sly smile with that twinkle in his eye. Hosea has been silently observing the budding courtship from the beginning, carefully watching for any signs of discord that would need to be nipped in the bud before trouble brews. 

A slight pink dusts Arthur’s face at the older man’s inquiry, visible even under his week-old beard. A sheepish little grin tugs at the corner of his mouth as he purses his lips in thought. 

“Have you ever wanted to listen to every word someone says, even about the smallest thing in the world just so you can see their face light up and hear their voice?” 

Hosea gives a light-hearted chuckle as he brings his cigarette to his wrinkled lips. “Yeah, that girl broke down those walls of yours without you even noticing she was doin’ it, didn’t she?”

But the smile slowly drips from Arthur’s face as a dark cloud settles over his features. A deep and sad sigh pushes its way from his broad chest under his worn beige jacket. His eyes relax their focus and stray to look out over the camp as he absentmindedly chews on his bottom lip. Hosea notices the change in mood and immediately fears the worst. 

“Ah, shit, what did you do?” accuses the old man in disappointment.

“Nothing!” Arthur counters defensively as his face snaps back to Hosea’s attention. But he is met with the clever fox’s skeptical scowl. Arthur hesitates to share what’s on his mind, afraid that once he verbalizes the phrase again, it will become all too real. 

“She…she told me that she loves me,” Arthur admits quietly, before letting his gaze float to the worn leather of his boots, his toe poking at the grass.

Like a switch has been pulled, Hosea’s face lights up like a Christmas tree. “Well, that’s great news, my boy!” He claps Arthur on the shoulder in congratulations. “Although I could’ve told you that after the first week she was here with us.” But when Arthur doesn't return his friend’s enthusiasm, Hosea’s smile quickly turns down again in confusion, eying him up cautiously. “What’s the matter?”

“I don’t know.”

“What, are you tellin’ me that you don’t love her?” Hosea asks incredulously, his face drawing up in disbelief. 

“No, I wasn’t sayin’ that at all,” pouts Arthur. “‘Cause I do,” he says with a slight, yet definitive nod. The man fidgets slightly, his hands suddenly sweaty and shaky as he finally admits outloud what he’s known internally for awhile. A short, yet sharp exhale escapes him, as the statement is now out there, exposing his fragile heart for the first time in a long while. 

“Well, then I fail to see the problem,” presses Hosea with a flippant wave of his hand in exasperation.

Arthur fidgets with the cigarette in his fingers, slowly rolling it between his thumb and index finger. “What if she realizes that she doesn’t? Love me, I mean?” He catches Hosea’s eye. “What if she wakes up one mornin’ and decides she don’t want me no more?” He turns his gaze outward, focusing on nothing again. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

Arthur cringes when he hears his own voice whining about being loved, bitching about the same thing he said to Marston a few weeks ago. Yes, it’s sooo horrible to have a wonderful woman love me. He thinks sarcastically. God, I’m pathetic.

“I suppose I see your point.” Hosea nods his head in understanding, as Arthur’s worry becomes all too clear. “So what if she does one day? Hmm?” The old man waves his hand dismissively in the air. “But, what if it turns out that (Y/N) wants to be with you forever?” Hosea squints at Arthur. “Don't you think she’s worth the gamble?”

Arthur turns his pained eyes back to his old friend. “I can’t go through that again, Hosea. I just…I can’t do it.” He leans out on his elbows onto his thighs, head swimming with ever-present self-doubt, coupled with the desperate yearning for the love and acceptance he’s craved since he was a child. 

“Arthur, if (Y/N) tells you she loves you, you better believe her.” Hosea points his weathered, crooked finger at Arthur, poking him in the chest. “Don’t be afraid to start over. You may like your new story better this time around. (Y/N) ain’t like that other one,” he grumbles, his jaw clenching slightly without even needing to mention Mary by name. 

“No, I suppose you’re right. She surely ain’t.” Arthur sits quietly for a moment, mulling over Hosea’s words. Hosea always has a way of getting him to see reason, always had since Arthur was a kid. Hosea could quiet his mind with just the simplest words. Arthur takes another deep drag of his cigarette before that roguish little grin pops up again. “You know…if I somehow manage not to screw this up, Hosea��I’m gonna marry her.”

The admission makes the old man’s heart almost burst with happiness as he huffs out a laugh and pats Arthur’s shoulder again in approval. “God willing, I’ll live long enough to see that.”

The two men share a soft chuckle between them. They have been through so much together to get to this point in their lives and the idea of hope and love in the future gives them a feeling of contentment that is rare for their kind of life.

Arthur wants you, of that, there is no doubt. After Mary and Eliza, ‘love’ was just a word to Arthur, some meaningless string of letters that he’d hear from Mary-Beth as she read her silly stories. Four little characters that created an empty and almost cold feeling for him. L.O.V.E

But now, the word has taken a whole new form in you. You are his definition of desire. Arthur never knew how engulfing the flames of love could be until now, until you uttered those three simple little words to him. You are the only thing that could have brought him back to life with your hands, your lips, your soul. Arthur would journey to the ends of the earth to keep you in his life. He misses you from the moment you separate. All he knows is that nothing else makes as much sense to him as loving you. This is what it feels like to fall and not know, or care, where you land. 

You have no idea the depth of how you affect Arthur, how you calm the chaos in his head and still the tornado of thoughts that threaten his sanity. When he holds you in his arms, you become the eye of his storm, the center that is safe while the gale rages wildly around him. 

When two souls fall in love, there is nothing else but the yearning to be close to each other. The very presence that is felt through a hand held close, a voice heard drifting into one’s ear, or even that slightest smile that you know is only for you. Souls do not have clocks or calendars; they do not function with the idea of time or distance. Devoted souls only know it feels right once they have found each other. Like a magnet to steel, beloved hearts will always be drawn to each other with that force of nature that is undeniable. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------

“Uh oh”, whispers Abigail. Her brunette head pops up as she watches with trepidation from where you both pack supplies into one of the wagons. 

You lift your head to follow her sightline and see Micah and Arthur arguing again. The two of them have been at it for the last few days as the plans to move out of the area are beginning to be set into motion. You wonder how Dutch could put his trust in two men who are so drastically different. It follows suit that Micah will run his mouth with Arthur getting a few verbal, sarcastic jabs in here and there. But it usually ends with Arthur simply towering over the much smaller man until he shrinks down into submission in fear of an iron fist landing into that filthy mouth of his. 

This latest fight seems to be in regards to the competing jobs which have been planned for once you all move down towards Blackwater. Arthur wants nothing to do with this ferry job that Micah is pushing, citing it to be reckless and overreaching. The gang has been in the law’s cross-hairs for some time now and he and Hosea both think sticking to smaller, more reliable jobs is best right now. But Micah has been pitching a more grandiose scheme, arguing that the gang needs to strike bold and quick, garnering as much money as you can so you can start to move away from the civilization that is slowly strangling the gang. Unfortunately for Arthur, Micah seems to be like an earworm, burrowing into Dutch’s brain and playing on his already inflated ego.

You and Abigail observe with baited breath to see how far this current argument will go. But it appears Micah is not backing down this time, continuing to push Arthur to the limits of his patience. Suddenly, in a bold move of newfound courage, Micah steps up right in Arthur’s face, almost nose to nose. The cool autumn air is sucked sharply into your lungs as you gasp and your whole body freezes in apprehension, adrenaline like a knife suddenly thrown into your belly. 

“(Y/N)…” Abigail warns, placing her hand on your forearm. But you are already ahead of her, quick to stride over to the feuding men. As you get closer, a small group begins to gather as the yelling continues to escalate. 

“I’d take a step back and reconsider myself if I were you, Micah,” John smirks with a half-hearted warning from where he sits off to the side, sharpening his knife. John knows full-well that it is only a matter of time before this gets physical, as Arthur has little patience. He has seen Arthur pummel men into a pulp for less offensive actions. But truth be told, John would love to see Micah get his ass beat by Arthur. Hell, he’d even consider paying for it. 

Arthur isn’t saying much but you can tell by the heaving of his chest and the scowl etched into his face that he’s a bomb seconds away from exploding. His broad shoulders set hard as stone as Arthur stands even straighter, towering over Micah. His large hands slowly curl into themselves, fists clenched tight like boulders at the end of his pulsing forearms.

Carefully, you approach the two men from the side, watching them closely and trying to gauge how much time you have before Arthur’s fuse burns to the end of the powder-keg. The tension in the air builds uncomfortably, causing a knot to settle in your stomach. 

“Arthur?'' You call his name softly, trying not to startle him. You tilt your head to look up into his face, trying to catch his attention, but Arthur’s icy stare is trained only on Micah. But then you notice that Micah’s hand is hovering at his side, fingers flexing over his gun in its holster. 

This has now elevated to a precarious situation that needs to be diffused quickly and delicately. You don’t understand why no one else is stepping in to break this up, but assume it’s probably to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. Out of everyone in the gang, these are probably the two men that you absolutely would not want to tangle with. 

Dutch, conveniently, is not around for this show, which may be why Micah is suddenly so bold to openly challenge Arthur like this. While he likes showing off for Dutch, Micah knows he can push the envelope when the leader of the gang is not around, as if trying to insert himself into that coveted role. Over Arthur’s dead body, that is. 

When Arthur still doesn’t answer you, you inch even closer. Carefully, your arm lifts and moves fluidly across Arthur’s chest to lay your hand against his cheek. You calmly say his name again, “Arthur.” 

The simple act cuts to the outlaw instantly as he blinks out of his angry trance and turns to look at you, confused as if he hadn’t even noticed you were standing there. 

Once you catch his attention, you offer Arthur the softest of smiles, your eyes bright and sparkling, distracting him from the weasel that is his ire at the moment.

“Come with me, please.” Your request is quiet yet authoritative.

“What for?!” he snaps, the fury radiating off of him as you can feel how his whole body is flexed and rigid.

A slow and deep exhale emanates from you as you intensely hold his gaze. “Would you rather go for a walk with me..alone…by the river where it’s peaceful and quiet? Or sit here and argue with Micah Bell?” 

You can see Arthur’s mind trying to process your words, his anger and frustration wrestling with your simple logic.

 “Fine,” he barks, not really directing his venom at you.

Arthur reluctantly lets you snake your arm around his and turn him away from Micah. It’s like trying to pull a tree out of the ground with your bare hands. But Micah will not be dismissed so easily. His eyes narrow as he stares you down, just as you begin to maneuver Arthur away. 

“Oh sure, run and hide behind a skirt!" Micah teases. “Pretty damn sad, Morgan!”

“Shut your damn mouth, Micah, or I will shut it for you. Permanently!” Arthur’s voice booms through the camp as his finger points in Micah’s direction to accent his point. Arthur’s eyes lock coldly with Micah’s as he cranes his neck to shoot Micah one last heated glare before he continues to walk away with you.

“Come on, you,” you delicately chide Arthur, your arm and hands tightening around his bicep just a bit more, eager to get the two of them separated as fast as you can. 

Behind you, Micah stands pouting as the two of you walk away. A pain clicks in his chest as he watches how you handle Arthur. He sucks his lip between his jagged teeth, jaw clamping down on the tender skin. He’s irritated to no end with Arthur, but even more so, with your infatuation with the man. A pang of jealousy cuts deep into Micah as his fists clench open and closed as they still hover over his holster at his side.

“Micah’s got a point. Looks like Arthur’s gone soft on us,” Bill snarks as he stands with his thumbs hanging on his gunbelt.

“I’d like to see you tell him that to his face, Bill,” John quips. 

“Mock all you want, gentlemen,” adds Javier, waving his hand towards Micah and Bill. “But the fact of the matter is, that man is taking that woman to bed tonight.” And he points in your direction. “You two have fun all by yourselves in your tents later.”

“Shut up, Javier,” mumbles Bill. But Micah only stands in angry silence before spinning on his heels and heading off in a huff to get a whiskey bottle from one of the supply wagons to sulk.

The wind kicks up a bit, biting at your cheeks as you walk down the path out of the camp. Arthur is heatedly silent as you walk. It is little wonder to you why so many find him so intimidating and fearsome. 

Passing by the hitching posts, your gray Gypsy gets antsy, whinnying and stomping the ground in a tantrum at the possibility of being left behind. “Ugh, are you acting ornery today, too?” you huff as if scolding a child. “Alright, come on. You can come along, too.” You quickly grab Blue to follow, as he’s been pent up quite a bit lately and is itching to move about. 

You lead Arthur, with your horse in tow, as the path takes you down to the river’s edge. The soft lapping of the water against the sandy edge of the bank offers a calm and welcomed change of scenery. And it is here that you turn Arthur loose, letting him vent loudly, while you simply agree with everything he says, replying occasionally with “I know�� and “I get it”. 

“Goddamn fool! Don’t know his ass from a hole in the ground!” shouts Arthur, waving his arms around.

“I know,” you reply calmly as you rub your hand along Blue’s nose and face. The horse nickers softly and nudges into you, like a cat purring in your hands as you watch Arthur pace back and forth in frustration like a wild animal in a cage. 

“And Dutch is gonna go along with it?! Just like that?” He flashes his intense blue eyes at you. 

“I know, it’s crazy,” you shake your head at him.

“Are they even thinkin’ ‘bout the rest o’ us?”

You just shrug. “I don’t get it, either,” you say calmly.

Arthur momentarily stops in his ranting and looks at you, finally taking a moment to breathe. Why you are not as heated as he is is beyond him. “Is that all you’re gonna say?” 

“Well, I figured I’d let you carry-on and wear yourself out and when it’s my turn to yell, you just point and then I’ll go.” You cross your arms over your chest and give him a little smirk. 

But Arthur’s face holds anything but amusement, as he firmly plants his hands on his hips in frustration. “I ain't in the mood for jokes, (Y/N),” he grits out slowly. 

A grin creeps its way across your face. “I bet I could get you to laugh.” 

“I doubt it,” he grumbles with a slight eye roll.

Squinting slightly in challenge with a teasing look, you walk over to him, placing your hands on his ribs before letting them slowly drift down to his waist. He raises an eyebrow at you but is quickly disappointed when your hands divert from his waistline to reach into his satchel and dig around until you pull out his leather gloves. Confused, Arthur’s eyes follow you as you saunter over to Blue and step up towards his great head, stopping to place each glove over one of the horse’s ears. As your horse twitches his ears, the gloves appear to be hands waving back and forth at you. 

“Huh…Huh?” You point at Blue, a huge grin erupting over your face, clearly pleased with yourself and your childish little distraction. 

Arthur just stares at you blankly, totally taken aback at your adolescent behavior. “You’re ridiculous,” he snorts with an eye roll to the heavens.

“Oh, come on, that’s funny and you know it!” you snicker, hugging Blue’s neck affectionately. 

Arthur rolls his eyes skyward once more, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head at your nonsense as he finally ambles over to you. “You drive me crazy, you know that?” he huffs. 

Knowing he’s been beaten, Arthur sighs with resignation, wrapping you up against his barrel chest and bear-hugging you tightly. Your glittering laugh gets muffled by his chest as your arms hook under his to return his embrace. Arthur pulls back for a moment, collecting your happy little face into his giant hands, and looks down at you. But all he can do is shake his head once more before hugging you again, placing his chin atop of your head. 

Amazingly, you were right: he has forgotten all about Micah Bell. 

Later, after you’ve gotten Arthur to calm down enough to safely be around other people again, the two of you are tucked away in his tent. He sits on the cot, scribbling something in his journal, as you stand in front of his shaving mirror, unpinning your hair and getting ready to retire for the evening. 

“Oh, I forgot to tell you, I found something for you!” Your face lights up with excitement as you spin around back to his table and pick up one of the items sitting there. You eagerly shove a small aluminum tin into his face, hardly able to contain yourself. Arthur peers inside, curious what it is that has you so worked up. 

“Cherries?” he questions, surprised to see the little jeweled fruit inside. 

“Yeah! I found a cherry tree that the birds hadn’t gotten into yet, so I picked some for you. I remember you telling me that your mother used to make cherry cobbler for you as a kid. So I was going to try and make you some.” You look down at the tin of deep red fruit, shaking it a bit and watching them roll about. “I’ll have to mix these with some that we’ve jarred up, so it probably won’t be as good as hers,” you admit, mouth twisting a bit in disappointment, “but we’ll see.” You look back at him with a simple smile and shrug before turning to set the tin back down on the table. 

Arthur stares at you, thinking back to the other night at the fire when you whispered those lovely little words to him. His mind rolls over how you treat him, how you care for him, how you’ve made him your focus like no one ever has before. 

“Hey, you”, he mutters softly. 

You lift your face back to him, eyebrows arched awaiting him to continue. “Hmm?” 

The outlaw reaches out with his calloused hand and gently wraps it around your bicep, pulling you over to him. You stand between Arthur’s knees as he holds your hips and stares up at your angelic face. You lean over and kiss his forehead, his eyes fluttering closed as you run your fingers through his hair. After a moment, his eyes slowly open again, drinking you in. And Arthur realizes as he stares into your beautiful eyes that he has fallen in love with all of the millions of simple little things that you do, things that you do all of the time, and don’t even realize you’re doing them. 

“I love you, (Y/N).” 

You smile brightly down at him as his gravelly voice utters those amazing words so softly from his lips. You observe the seriousness in his face, so earnest in his declaration, as if he is trying to convince you of it. Arthur waits for your reply, hoping he hasn’t taken too long to tell you, fearing you’ve had second thoughts. 

After a brief moment you lean forward and kiss the tip of his nose. “I know,” you whisper, raising an eyebrow with that smart look you get. 

“I mean it”, he insists. “I never wanted more ‘til I had you. And I’m sorry I didn’t say it sooner.” His hands grasp a bit tighter as if he’s afraid you’ll walk away from him. “I suppose I was just too afraid to let myself go there again.” 

“It’s not love that you’re afraid of, Arthur. It’s that the next person that you love will be like the person who left you broken.” You cup your hands around his face, your thumbs drawing against the weathered skin of his cheeks. “I promise, I won’t do that to you.” 

Arthur’s eyebrows crease even further, that shadow of worry cascading over his face again. “(Y/N), I can’t give you the life you want, the life that you deserve.” 

“Are we doing this again?” you ask with a tinge of admonishment. “Arthur, I don't want someone who will promise me the world. I want someone who will hold me when I need it; who will bring me coffee in the morning; who will pull the blanket over me on cold nights when I’m sleeping. I want someone who will love me the same as I love them: madly, uncontrollably, inconveniently, and, yeah, maybe even foolishly.” A bright smile illuminates your face. “And I think you’re just the fool I’ve been waiting for.”

This makes a small chuckle break from his stern face as he shakes his head.

You pull his stubbled face in closer to yours. “I don’t care how complicated this gets, Arthur. I still want you.”

He lifts his hands from your hips and wraps them around your wrists as you continue to hold his face. “Maybe I’m afraid because you mean more to me than anyone ever has. I don’t want to mess that up.”

“Just keep doing what you’re doing, and you won’t mess it up, Arthur.”

You watch the idea of it settle over Arthur, wrapping him up like a warm blanket and just as comforting as one, too. The tension in his shoulders ebbs away and his eyes soften and twinkle, making them rival the bluest ocean. 

He smiles up at you again. “Say it.” 

“What?”

“Say it again for me, would ya? Say you love me.” Arthur beams up at you as he wraps his arms completely around your hips, pulling you in and holding you tightly.

“I love you, Arthur Morgan. More than you can ever know or even comprehend.” You lean your face in close again, hovering sweetly over his. “We can do this, Arthur. I promise.” 

“Yeah, we can.”

—--------------------

The next day, Arthur, Charles and Javier have gone into town to get more supplies and stop for a round of poker and a quick drink. A quick drink soon turns into many. And many drinks turns into an argument with the locals. One that ends with the boys coming home victorious, but pretty banged up. Even as drunk as they were, the Van Der Linde gang is not a group of men to be messed with. 

Charles and Javier come back with mostly superficial wounds, black eyes and bruised ribs. Arthur, of course, always seems to carry the brunt of the trauma in these situations. If he’s not taking on the largest brawler, he’s dealing with more than one man at a time. Either way, Arthur is always the one to come home more torn up than the others.

But thankfully, you now have Arthur safely in your med tent, stitching up a shallow knife laceration in his side as he sits quiet and guilty. Arthur sheepishly avoids your eyes, as you are unusually silent about the situation, a clear indication that you are not happy about it. You tug on the thread of his stitches a little too aggressively as short huffs emanate from your nose in frustration.

“What if you get tired of this?” Arthur grumbles as he watches how you carefully pull the thread through his red and inflamed skin, wincing slightly as the needle pushes into his flesh over and over again. 

“Of what? Patching holes in you that you get from being reckless and stupid? Or seeing you without your shirt on? Because those are two totally different things,” you quip as your eyes briefly dart up to meet his before going back to your handiwork.

“You know what I mean.”

“Well, I do hate seeing you all busted up and bleeding,” you frown. Your delicate fingers dance across the damaged skin, deftly folding the thread around your fingertips with expert precision.

“It ain’t so bad. If you think I look bad, you should see the other guy’s knuckles,” Arthur jokes.

“Funny,” you deadpan.

“You ain’t the only one who’s funny, you know.” He pokes his long finger into your ribs in jest, making you squirm as you try to keep your hands steady.

“Point taken.” You continue to fuss, cleaning his wound and scrutinizing the stitchwork. “I will always take care of you, Arthur. I promise.” 

“And I will always be reckless and stupid,” he snickers. 

An exasperated sigh escapes you. “That wasn’t the point.” 

“Nope, can’t go back on your promise now,” he gloats.

—--------------------------------

You wake in the middle of the night in your tent, cold and lonely. Arthur was still out of camp when you went to bed tonight, but you miss him terribly. Sometimes when you are separated, you get this overwhelming feeling of emptiness without him. Maybe it is the ever-impending threat of danger that you live in. Or maybe it is that you just love him so much that it hurts to be apart. 

Still half asleep, you meander out of your tent and quietly pad over to Arthur’s, hoping to find him there. When you get to his tent and pull back the opening, you find him asleep on his cot. He still has his boots on, too, which means he came home and just plopped down and passed out. (Usually he will stop by your tent upon returning to camp, but you figure he was either too tired or didn’t want to disturb you.)

You smile with a great sense of relief and slip inside the tent, affixing the tent door down behind you again in privacy. You tiptoe over to the cot and carefully crawl onto the bedding. You snuggle-up next to Arthur’s side, lifting his arm and wrapping it around yourself as you rest your head on his chest. Once settled, you breathe out a sigh of contentment, nuzzling your face into his chest and eager to feel the warmth that radiates off of him. Within moments, you are back asleep, tucked safely under Arthur’s arm.

But while you fall back to sleep, Arthur is awake for the next hour that follows. He stirs at the feeling of your delicate hand around his wrist when you settle in next to him, but he has a hard time going back to sleep now. As you lay there together, Arthur listens to your peaceful breathing and inhales your flowery scent. He relishes the feeling of your weight on his chest and your feline-like body up against him. As he lays in the soothing darkness, his gaze lands on your gently sleeping form laying upon him. He observes how your chest steadily rises and falls with each delicate breath. He notices how you have carefully entwined your leg around his own, and your fingers gracefully splay across his beating heart. Arthur realizes that he has in his grasp what he’s always wanted:  someone to come home to, someone waiting for just him. And he doesn’t want to miss a single moment that he gets to hold you like this. 

When Arthur eventually shifts his weight, it causes you to stir from your comforted slumber. A large and deep yawn escapes you as you roll your eyes up to meet his blue orbs gazing down at you. A sleepy grin blooms across your face when you see that he is awake. 

Arthur softly runs the back of his dirt-stained knuckles against your cheek. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“No, it’s alright. I should probably be getting up anyway.” You sigh with a slight pang of disappointment as you roll yourself up and stand off the cot. 

“Aw c’mon, stay with me,” Arthur whines, catching your hand and holding it tightly. 

“All night?”

“Yeah, all night,” he insists. “It ain’t like people don’t know what we’re up to in here. And either way, it’s none of their business anyway.” He rolls onto his side, propping his head up with one hand as he continues to hold yours, playing with your fingers and drawing his thumb over the back of your hand.

“Do you really want to roll over and wake up with my face smashed into yours?” you tease.

“More than anything.” Arthur tugs you back down to him and kisses the corner of your eye, making you giggle. ”I’ll make it worth your while,” he utters out in a sultry tone, causing your knees to go weak. Your only response is a flutter of your eyelashes and a deep kiss to his pillowy lips as you climb back onto his cot. 

Arthur shifts his body and wraps his muscled arm around you to usher you back down, pinning you under him. A quiet hum escapes into the quiet, still air as he quickly deepens the kiss, his tongue pushing past your sweet lips. You hungrily reciprocate his affection, your hand gliding from his cheek to the back of his head as your fingers card through his hair. The feeling of your fingernails gently scraping along his scalp sends shivers throughout his whole tired body. Slowly, your knee bends, rubbing your leg against his much larger frame, indicating that you want more. 

Arthur’s hand roams freely and greedily over your sumptuous body as his palm firmly clamps over your breast, massaging the tender flesh before his mouth encompasses it over the thin cotton of your nightgown. Your chin floats back at the feeling of him touching you, your mind already lost in an incoherent fog. He works his way from your breast to your sternum, and proceeds to leave a trail of kisses and caresses down your figure. And as things go, your heat begins to tingle and ache with dire need. The anticipation is wreaking havoc with you, drawing soft whines and moans from your throat. 

The delicious sounds emanating from you set Arthur ablaze inside. He quickly sits up onto his knees as he begins to impatiently pull at your nightgown. But instead of just pushing it up, he yanks the obstructing article up and over your head. With the top half of your body exposed, Arthur makes quick work of your bloomers, folding your legs up in front of him so he can work the fabric down your lovely calves and over your feet. 

You are now completely bare to him, your large, shining eyes staring up at him as he looms over you like a predator. Arthur’s own eyes are filled with a divine mixture of love and lust, just for you. Your arms stretch out to him as a silent plea for him to continue. With a smirk, Arthur is quick to pull his shirt over his head and undo the buttons of his trousers and union suit underneath. You reach up and clumsily tug at the sleeves of his undergarment, exposing his chest to the cold night air. He has no time to strip himself down completely, as once his hard cock springs free from its confines, it is very clear he is ready to get things moving along. 

Arthur covers your body with his own once more, slowly rocking back and forth with a hypnotic motion. Your leg snakes around his backside in response, your heel digging into his thigh. Hot, steamy breaths cover each other’s faces from the barrage of wet heated kisses as the intimacy quickly escalates. Arthur’s hand drifts down between your two bodies to seek out your tender folds. A sharp moan jumps from your lips as the pads of his fingers sublimely rake across the delicate skin between your legs and your pelvis jerks up to grind against his palm. 

“Christ Almighty,” Arthur pants with his lips crushed against your temple.

“I know”, you sigh in agreement. 

A deep and guttural groan erupts from his chest, filled with want and desire for you. Feeling how your slick coats his fingers already, Arthur reluctantly withdraws his fingers to give himself a few quick pumps of his cock, using your wetness to lubricate himself. He rolls his hips to align his large body at your entrance, looking down at where your hips conjoin. Your hands find their way under his arms and grasp tightly to the flesh of his back, urging him to move forward and to do it quickly. Arthur’s chin lifts to meet your gaze, finding your mouth gaped and eyes heavy-lidded with wondrous longing as his name falls as a whimper from your kiss-swollen lips.

He hastily pushes himself into you, his usual slow and careful pace forgotten about. The feeling of his thick cock being roughly shoved into you makes you cry out, but you are quickly muffled with his scorching mouth over top of yours. Arthur is quick to start a fast pace, as his hips snap sharply into yours, rutting deeply into your core. The velvety walls of your cunt flutter tightly around him when you feel his length twitching inside you. The grinding is euphoric, sending waves of pleasure shooting throughout your bodies. The way the two of you sync up in the throws of passion is glorious, transcending any pleasure either of you have ever known. 

Arthur proceeds to sit back up onto his knees so he can fully take in the vision of you, your body shuddering beneath him from his force. The cot creaks beneath you as the very strength of its joints is being tested. He wraps his hands around your soft thighs for leverage as he observes how his cock glides in and out of you. Your back lifts off of the cot, arching to angle your pelvis towards him, eager for him to fill you even more, if that is even possible. Your hands seek out his thick wrists, slightly pulling yourself towards him to match his motion. When your head drops back against the canvas of the cot again, Arthur immediately falls forward to suck on your exposed jugular, leaving slight bite marks that pinch your overly sensitive skin. 

“You are so fucking amazing,” he garbles into your skin. “I don’t ever want to leave this tent.”

His burly body covers yours once again, encasing you under his muscled limbs as his arm snakes around your head, his face tucked tightly into your neck. 

“Then we won’t,” you whisper. You turn your face towards his, your bottom teeth dragging across the plump skin of his earlobe, your panting hissing in his ear as he continues to rock into you. You can taste the saltiness of his skin and the faint notes of earthy musk from being out all day in the elements as your tongue flicks at the bare skin of his shoulder as you attempt to muffle your moans into the muscle there. Your whole naked body feels as if it’s on fire with every inch of it touching him right now. The sound of your beloved outlaw grunting lustfully into your ear erases any and all other outside distractions or thoughts. And as his torso lurches back and forth over you, you feel that oh-so lovely lightning barrling its way towards your climax. 

“Whatever you do, don’t stop now,” you whine. Your arms encircle Arthur even tighter as you await that rapturous feeling that you know is coming. 

As usual, your whole body clamps down around him when your climax hits. Your wanton squeaks and moans are a bewitching melody in Arthur’s mind. The already-tight walls of your cunt restrict around his hefty cock, drawing out a brief whimper from him, pushing him to his own orgasm as he pulls himself out of you and rubs himself against your stomach in search of that friction needed to finish. 

Arthur instinctively clutches you to himself when he climaxes with an almost bone-crushing pressure. You tremble slightly, more from the overstimulation than from the damp night air encompassing you. You curl up into him, clinging desperately to his frame. Your fingertips dig into the valley of his spine, the soft chestnut colored hair that decorates his back sticking to his skin with a thin layer of sweat. The two of you have been together quite a few times by now, but every damn time it is exquisite, just as if it was the first time all over again.

The feeling of Arthur’s chest rapidly rising and falling beneath your arms mesmerizes you as you feel the very life of him coursing through your hands while you lay there wrapped up in each other. You can feel his heartbeat against your cheek as you nestle your face into that coveted space where his massive shoulder and neck meet. The weight of Arthur on top of you is so comforting. Where some may consider Arthur’s sheer bulk smothering, you find it calming. You wonder how he could ever think you are not safe when you’re with him, as that is always where you feel the most secure.

Your hips are always a bit sore after making love to Arthur, not used to opening up so wide to accommodate such a large man, but you snicker as you tell yourself that you’ll just have to do it more often to get used to it. The more you are together, the more comfortable and relaxed you become, giving in to the sweet intoxicating feeling of the other. The societal shame and guilt that often gets attributed to the act of sex have long been discarded. You two are no longer self conscious about being too loud, and are no longer hiding your bodies from each other in fear of rejection. Playful giggles of excitement, needy and eager hands, and exploratory kisses are the norm for you two now. 

Both fully expended and exhausted, Arthur hands you one of his towels to clean your stomach of his pearly spend that scatters across your skin. Once you toss the soiled linen to the side, Arthur shifts his body lower so he can lay his head onto your chest and pulls his blanket up and over the two of you. Your lips lay against the crown of his head as you play with the thick waves of hair while your fingertips drag along his forearm that tightly holds you to him. And within moments, you are both fast asleep again. 

—---------------------------------------------

After breakfast, you finish washing up the last of the dirty dishes, drying your hands on your short apron as you head over to the horses to give them the vegetable scraps. Arthur is already over there, throwing down some grain and fresh water for the lot. He catches your eye as you approach, giving you a smile and nod as you return his gaze with a blushing grin, the memory of last night still fresh in your mind as well as between your thighs. 

Arthur watches you as you toss the greens into the horses’ buckets, laughing lightly as they push each other to get to you. “Alright, piglets, hold on. There’s enough to go around.” You lovingly pat Taimia on the neck, as she is the best behaved out of all of these “spoiled children”. Arthur draws on the cigarette that hangs from his mouth, his eyes hovering over you. He squints slightly as he fidgets with the cigarette between his thumb and forefinger, his thoughts kicking around in his head since last night.

“Hey, so I’ve been doin’ some thinkin’...” he starts nervously, his voice hesitant as he tosses the butt into the grass. 

You look over your shoulder back to Arthur as you try to keep Blue from nipping at your pockets, looking for treats. “Yeah?”

 “When we setup the new camp in a few days, what if you put your things in my tent?” He averts his gaze from yours for a second, unsure of how you will react to his suggestion.

But you simply give him a quizzical look. “What do you mean?”

Arthur takes a tentative breath before he elaborates. “You know, move your things over and, um…stay there.”

It takes a moment to register, but the idea of it causes a huge smile to slowly spread across your face from ear to ear. “Arthur Morgan, are you asking me to share your tent with you?” Your cheeks flush like a brilliant rose and you nibble your bottom lip with excitement.

Arthur reciprocates with a big grin of his own. “I kinda like the idea of waking up next to you every mornin’.” He swaggers over closer to you. “Although you do snore, though.”

“I do not!” you exclaim in playful offense, your hands planting onto your hips.

“Yeah, you do. It’s cute, though,” he snickers. “Like a cat meowing.” He proceeds to imitate a snore/meow sound as he pulls you to him by your waist. 

You slap his arm as you playfully scowl at him. “You’re an idiot.”

“Yeah, but I’m your idiot.” Arthur arches an eyebrow at you as he ducks his head to kiss under your jawline. 

“Yeah, I guess so,” smirking as you roll your eyes. “I'm kind of already invested in you and all.”

“It kinda works out nice that way. You’re mine and I’m yours.”

Your effervescent giggle makes Arthur’s heart melt. “I’ll take that deal.”

Arthur cups his hand around your cheek, his thumb pushing your chin up so he can look into your glittering eyes. “I’ll ride with you through all the bullshit, Y/N, just as long as you don’t bullshit me. Fair?”

Your delicate hands run up his chest and push over his strong shoulders where your fingers lace together behind his neck. “I can only make you two promises, Arthur:  That I will never hurt you in the way that I, myself, have been hurt, and that I will love you in the ways that you, yourself, have never been loved.” 

You stare into those sapphire eyes of his, trying not to get distracted by the full-range of emotions he has dammed up behind them, emotions that you have only just begun to unleash. “I don't want to just be with you, Arthur. I want to live and love with you. I want to experience every single thing, stupid or great, that our time on this Earth is willing to give us together.” 

A deep and relaxing breath is pulled into Arthur’s lungs and released, taking with it any of the anxiety and doubt that he’s been fostering over this new thing, this new beginning that you have gifted him and that he cannot wait to start.

“Just be with me now and we’ll figure out the details later, I suppose,” he hums. He leans down to catch the rose petals of your lips into a delicate kiss. Your eyes float close and you smile into his mouth. The kiss is not too short, nor too long, but just perfect, as it carries all of the affection you both hold within it.

Arthur pulls back from you, and cradles your face in both of his large hands, staring down at your happy, sparkling expression. 

��In my life full of wrongs, Y/N,  you’re the thing that’s right in it. And I don’t want to miss a minute of it.” 

[kuroosdumbslut]

Hi,

Can you write some Snape x wife reader,something angst, when they have a big argument in front of their children. The End is up to you. Thank you ❤️

Thank you so much for the request!! While this isn't the longest and prolly not my best, I hope you enjoy! I can never just write angst, so I hope you enjoy the ending!

Being married to Severus Snape was never going to be easy and you knew this. He was fairly closed off and didn’t easily express if something was bothering him from his time as a spy. That being said, you did love him dearly and never wanted to part from him. Even when you did have arguments, you both tried to have them away from your children. Severus knew what it was like to witness his parents fighting, and you knew you never wanted them to have to witness any as well. But, as much as you both tried to protect your children, one day it finally happened. “What the bloody hell do you mean?! We both agreed when we got married to work together, as a team! Please, just tell me what is going on!” Severus huffed angrily and turned away from you, facing the wall.

“This isn’t something I feel the need to involve you in! Just fucking leave it!” You slammed your hand against the desk separating the two of you, making him whip around. “YOU STUBBORN OAF! I am your WIFE! You know damn well I hate seeing you struggle, especially after everything we’ve both been through! Even just talking about it would be helpful and you know that! Quit being so bloody stubborn!” The shouting match went on for several more minutes, obscenities and yells exchanged with fiery passion. You never were a person to back down easily.

You both stopped your fighting when you heard your youngest, Jasper, sniffling and hiding behind his sister’s leg. Your oldest, whom Jasper was hiding behind, was desperately trying to hold back her own tears. You and Severus exchanged brief, panicked looks, and quickly realized the entire argument was idiotic to begin with. Now, the thing you both tried to protect your kids from happened. Your daughter, Lyra, was the first to break the thick silence encompassing the room. “Momma, papa…please don’t fight. W-We don’t want you guys to get divorced.” You and Severus looked at each other, tears forming at her words, and you both shook your heads. “No, baby, we aren’t getting divorced…Mama and Papa are just tired and…” You trailed off, unsure how to proceed with the conversation. To your surprise and slight relief, Severus quickly spoke up. “We just…couldn’t talk properly for a moment. Papa is a stubborn man…and I let that cloud my judgement. C’mere my loves.” The children both ran to hug onto Severus, and though you wanted to let them have a moment, Severus gently took your hand and brought you in for the hug as well. For a moment, everyone just silently let their tears out and held onto each other. The silence wasn’t thick and stuffy anymore, it was light and comforting. Without missing a beat, you and Severus put the kids back to bed with sweet words and expressions of affection before retiring to your own shared room.

“I’m sorry, love…For shouting at you, for accidentally showing the kids our argument…I’m so sorry…” Severus rambled, a wave of fresh tears making his eyes burn. You sat on the edge of the bed and tugged Severus to join you. “I’m sorry too. I just…It scared me when you weren’t talking much…confiding in me. I…I feared you might be getting sick of me, you know?” Severus pulled you close and pressed a salty kiss to your temple. “I could never get sick of you…It’s…To be honest, I’ve just been having a rough time re-adjusting to teaching. Every room and courtyard…it all brings it back… I slipped back into the old habit of being a closed off arsehole…”

Taking his hands in your own, you squeezed them a bit to get him to look at you. “Severus, my love….you have no reason to stay in that position if it makes you so unhappy. The dark lord is dead, it’s all finally over. It has been for a while. You’re not a spy anymore, not a double agent. You’re a father and a husband. We can figure something out, but you don’t need to stay at that school anymore if you don’t want to.” Severus sobbed out, clutching onto you. That was the first time he heard those words, and now, it finally sunk in. He’s a free man. He can be and do whatever he wants now. “We’ll talk more in the morning, my dear. C’mon, lets get some sleep. We have quite the day ahead of us, and probably a special breakfast for the kids.” Severus nodded and you both fell asleep with your hearts fuller and you minds a bit clearer.

Bonus:

“Wait…who told Lyra about divorce?”

Severus sat up at your words and looked down for a moment. “Oh goddammit…Draco and I will be having a talk.”

[thosefuzzywordfeelings]

La Seduction Vengeance // Part Two.

CW: mentions of violence, manipulation

The rope was tight. Enough. Coarse, tied securely around the trunk of a blossom tree outside the house, I observed my setup. If my amateur calculations were correct, the breezeblock suspended from the tree should fall directly onto the bonnet of Mr Thompson's car. It was midnight, people on my street known for getting early nights. That was the lucky thing in my situation, the residents of Blossom Close either over the age of 80 or so inundated with money that they'd be visiting their multiple holiday homes as soon as the sun burned the streets warmer. My dad and I were the youngest on the street, keeping everyone feeling youthful and hopeful with the sitcom-like happiness that used to radiate from our home.

Now, Mr Thompson wasn't a terribly behaved man, he just had some what he called 'old-fashioned' ideals about the way the world was changing. And it was those outlandish opinions shared a little too loudly to those on our street that made me choose him for this particular mission. I needed to get that SUV down this road, and I needed to speak to that officer. Double checking that none of the houses lights had switched on - elderly folk up using the bathroom at witching hour - and when I was sure it was clear I pulled out the shiny engraved switchblade my dad had bought me for my 18th. "Every young woman should have one of these. In case of emergencies, you know?"

I'd consider this an emergency, Dad. Slicing the thick rope in one swift cut, the breezeblock came tumbling down onto the grey metal, the alarm instantly blaring to alert the street. I ran away to my house, three doors down - thankfully - and ran through my screen door. Sweat formed on my brow as I peered through my living room curtains, making sure to keep all my lights off. As I heard commotion and angry yells from Mr Thompson; I knew that was my cue. Wrapping a large hoodie around my frame and pulling it over my head, I pulled an eye mask over my head too, letting it nestle on the rim of my forehead as I slipped on some slippers. Heading out into the cold, dark night once again, I found Darcy coming out to our side of the road.

"Looks like Jerry's in a bit of trouble there." Darcy spoke with a slight giggle. She didn't like him either, not many of the residents of this street did. Looking down the pavement at Mr Thompsons arms flailing about angrily as residents began to gather at the chaos, the all too familiar silhouette of the black SUV came swinging around the corner of the street. Bingo. Clunky black DM's hit the concrete as the young man stepped out of the car, sucking back a disgusting cloud of flavoured smoke from a vape I could see was electric green from down the street. He came towards Mr Thompson and his beautifully wrecked car (you're welcome) before looking around at the other residents. His eyes landed on mine for a moment before drifting back to Mr Thompson.

"He might just be the dishiest officer we've had around here, you know. Your age too." Darcy mumbled as she folded her arms, trying to hug herself away from the chill of the night. I knew what she was trying to do, trying to hook me up with the not entirely unattractive sheriff, but she had no idea of my ulterior motive. I chuckled lightly in her direction, keeping my eyes on the officer. Shit. He was walking towards me. If I end up in a jail cell I'm screw-

"Good evening ladies, or should I say mornin'?" The young man spoke with a sideways smile. Darcy and I smiled in response, her bony elbow nudging mine subtly. I nudged her back. "You lovely ladies see what happened to Gerry's car?"

"No, sir. I was sleeping. Woke up to the alarm blaring." I replied innocently, pointing to the eye mask atop my head. His eyes flickered up to it, studying it for a moment.

"Sleep is for the week?" He read the lettering on it aloud, chuckling to himself as he turned towards Darcy. "What about you, Ms Brook? Know you ain't too fond of the man. Got some weightlifting trophies we don't know about?"

I fought the urge to roll my eyes at his ridiculous attempt at humour, my eyes looking over his uniform and his features. He had beauty marks dotted over his skin, ironic considering his cocky personality was so ugly. But the way his kevlar hugged his frame, his cap rested almost over two big chocolate eyes was getting a little intense. He didn't seem that attractive when he was perring out of the SUV window, but I suppose that's a distance away. Doubt flooded my mind that this young man could have possibly killed my father, but I needed to get answers nonetheless.

"Well here's a card with my details on. You know, incase something comes to ya." He said, shoving a little piece of cardboard into just my hand, Darcy peering over my shoulder at the writing. Gator Tillman. Tillman sounded familiar, but i couldn't think where from. I nodded up at Gator, tucking the card into my dressing gown pocket. He walked away, taking one more quick glance over my shoulder at me before patting Mr Thompson on the shoulder; seeming to have made amends with the old crony about fixing his car. Hm. I needed to speak to him more, I thought to myself, as I bid goodnight to Darcy and headed back into my house to sleep. And plan.

Like some kind of crazed, grieving magician I'd been working on my next trick for just a few days. The middle of the night worked best, as it seemed Gator was on call a lot more nightly as of late. I'd decided to make this one a little personal, meticulously planning out a break in. Of my own home. I'd wait until the street was silent, all the elderly folks resting peacefully in their beds - bar Gerry Thompson who I could practically still hear grumbling about his car even still - and I'd smash my front door window in. My dad had left some money in piggybanks in the basement and it was a little window, easy to fix. In he'd come, like a knight in shining camouflage and then I'd out him. Or whatever, I hadn't actually thought of the crux of the trap yet. The onyx sky rolled around quickly, as I bound multiple tea-towels around my fist and headed through my back door and around the porch towards the front. Punching straight through the glass, I unlocked the door and snuck in; making sure to use a pair of my dad's old shoes to tread in the glass. I did the same to my back door, punching out the glass towards the patio so the 'attacker' could escape.

Unwrapping the tea-towels and putting them back in the kitchen drawer, I was relieved that my fist was unharmed. The next part was to wreck my beautiful kitchen, making sure the drawers were emptied and the knife block was menacingly strewn onto the floor as it looked like someone had ransacked the place. Grabbing duct tape from the drawer, I wrapped it around my wrists, pulling it and securing it tightly with my teeth. Some feat. I threw the duct tape underneath the sink. Holding two strips in between the fingers of one hand and my mobile phone in the other, I headed upstairs to my dad's bedroom, sitting in the corner opposite the dresser and tying one of the duct tape strips haphazardly around my ankles. Calling 911, I took some quick breaths in succession before they picked up. Just as an unfamiliar male voice answered, my tied feet kicked the dresser and let everything crash from its top. I screamed for help as the person the phone confirmed someone was on their way. As I covered my own mouth with the final strip of duct tape, I muffled some fake screams through it as the call handler tried to reassure me. Rolling my eyes I took the final step, adrenaline running through my veins at my intricate plan; drawing my head back hard against the wall and slumping down with my eyes.

I came round to a deep voice and a firm hand pinching my shoulder. "Ma'am? Can you hear me?" Groaning and mumbling, I blinked my eyes open to see two officers knelt beside me, holding pieces of duct tape from my body and bottled water. "Is he gone?" I mumbled, mentally noting that I should absolutely write a speech for my upcoming Oscar. "Is who gone? We found signs of forced entry, you're looking at getting two new doors replaced. No perp though." One of the young officers spoke softly. Neither of them were Gator. My entire plan had been to get Gator into a corner, like a little rat. A rat who, no matter how intelligent he may have seemed, had no idea that the person holding the cheese had backed him up into that corner on purpose.

With an inspection of my head and more numbers to call if I was 'alarmed', the officers headed back to their station as I packed a bag to stay at Darcy's for the rest of the night. The officers warned that the 'perp' may come back with my broken doors, so they'd asked my sweet, oblivious neighbour if I could crash at her place. She was kind, as always. Opening the door in her fluffy robe and matching slippers, her smile as warm as the heating that rushed out of the door of her home. "Come on dear, tea is ready for you. Lord knows you must be shaking like a willow in a storm." Her soft voice carried me into her home, as I settled on her floral-patterned couch. We drank tea, as I allowed my mouth to ramble about the horrors of what - I had orchestrated - had happened that evening. I felt awful lying to Darcy's face but the rigid ache in form of flashbacks and memories of my father pushed the lies right out of my mouth.

She gave me a kiss on the head as I stood in the doorway of her spare room. I felt my eyelids tingle with a sadness I hadn't allowed myself to process yet. "You'll be alright darlin'." Darcy's words were gentle, but her actions bore a heavy weight that I think she knew I needed. Then they came, what felt like gallons of tears washing over my cheeks as Darcy wrapped her arms around my shoulders, pulling me against her chest. "Double squeeze." She whispered softly, her arms tensing around my shoulders twice. I pulled away instantly with a worried look on my face between sobs. "How do you know - about - about double squeeze?" I said weakly, my voice wavering with sadness. Darcy's face broke into a sympathetic smile. "I've known you since you were this big, darlin' -" She whispered, holding her index and thumb finger paralell to each other, "Saw you grow up. Saw how your father loved you. Saw how you loved him. He always told me how clever you were, how you were going to take on the world. I still see it. In your eyes, you're still that clever little girl, that clever big man raised you to be. He said to me one day," Darcy spoke with such passion, her elderly voice hinting with her own grief for my father as she grasped my hands tightly, "He said, if I'm ever not here, remind her. Remind her of her bravery and dont forget the double squeeze." I let out a sad chuckle as I kept the flow of sadness streaming down my face as her words clung to my skin like the double squeeze. My father would always hug me, tightly, sometimes so tight that my lungs felt like they could burst. He'd let go with a chuckle, kissing the top of my head as he'd wrap his arms around me tighter, squeezing twice as he mumbled 'double squeeze' into the top of my head. What I'd give to feel that from him again. Darcy's arms were thick, soft and plush and the squeeze felt too kind. I needed the air knocked out of me. With a sad smile, I hugged her and thanked her for her kindness tonight as I shut the door behind me and settled into the squeaky metal bed frame. I hugged one of her downy cushions tightly, letting a few more tears hit the pillow. "Take on the world." "Clever little girl." Darcy's words echoed around my head as I tossed and turned, staring up at the mottled ceiling. I needed to get to that smarmy officer. Pretty boy. Dangerous for an active murderer to wear such a sweet smile. I needed to come up with something better.

[urds-bitch]

Sleepy beauty

My writing skills are a little rusty, but this has been on my mind for a while. This is anthousai nymph reader x Pope Heyward and how the two met, taking place during season 1. Longer than I thought, hope yall enjoy!

He needed to find a place to hide, Rafe and his friends are on his tail. JJ and him already been separated so he had to hope JJ didn't get caught and pray he doesn't. As Pope was running he decided to just pick a store and hope they didn't see him so he can hide. He must have the worst luck today, he managed to run into the most abandoned shop in town. The store only had the old woman who runs the store and someone looking at the different plants. He couldn't run back out that would be too risky, especially since he can hear them coming closer to the store.

Pope decided to hide behind the table that was jam packed with different plants, he tried not to sneeze from all the scents mixing together. Then his heart froze from the sound of the bell ringing, through the leafy plants he saw Rafe and Topper heavily breathing as they ran through the door. From the sound of the shop door bursting open the woman had turned around and saw Pope squating behind the plants. She could understand why he was sitting there, too sleepy to put two and two together. 'Damn... I need a n-' her thoughts are interrupted by Rafe's booming voice. Him yelling for her attention while Topper looks hesitant and ready to leave. "Hey man he isn't here, let's just go." Topper says already half way out the door. "Shut the fuck up, Hey (y/n) have you seen Pope?!" Rafe yells, his voice a little too loud for her liking. "Who? If your looking for a Pope Rafe I think a church is a better place to look..." He makes a frustrated sigh after her comment, he started to describe this "Pope" person and then it clicks. The guy Rafe is describing is the same guy that's hidding be behind the herbs! 'Damn I really need a nap.' She thought as she moves to look at the plants that were on the table standing right next to the hidden man.

Pope prays that she don't reveal his hiding place and turns to you with fear in his eyes, hoping she'll get the message. "Hey a-are you listening to me?!" Rafe's voice booms his angry stutter becoming evident as he realizes that she weren't looking at him, probably not paying attention. Which was only half right, she were listening just didn't like looking at Rafe's face for too long. She just don't want the nightmares. "Rafe, you're just like poison ivy, invasive and annoying to get rid of. No I haven't seen this 'Pope' person, so please leave your giving me a headache." She snapped as you finally turned to look at him and Topper, their faces riddled with shock. The same expression painted Pope's face as well, he's never seen a kook snap at Rafe like that other than Kie. Her face remains unchanged as she picks up two plants that look the exact same. Rafe huffs as he angrily storms out the door as he continues his search, motivated let his anger out on Pope, Topper stumbling to follow him.

Still looking at the flowers the girl addresses him, "you can stand up now they're gone now." Pope slowly stands up still a little hesitant to leave the safety of his hiding place. He looks at the person who just saved his life and is able to finally get a proper look at her. Her face dewy and flawless, if she's wearing makeup it's hard to tell. It was like her hair was a cloud and every strand of hair was in it's place. Her clothes that even though they're simple you can see how expensive it is. yet she's uncaring about whether these clothes gets dirty frome the dirt in the shop. She was beautiful, a kook through and through, which made him question why she helped him. She not only helped him but she also insulted the angry kook prince himself, to his face. Realizing he was staring, even though she wasn't paying attention too deciding where she wanted to sleep today, he quickly cleared his throat and thought of something to say. "Thank you for helping me, you really saved my life." He didn't want to question why she helped him, wanting to not upset her. She finally looked at him after a bit, sleepy eyes and lazy smile painting her face. "No problem, but now you owe me Mr. Pope." She turned her whole body turns to face him, manicured hands still holding the flowers. Panic sets in his face, worried what she wanted to from him to repay his 'debt' to her. While a million thought run through his mind she holds out the twin plants.

"Which one?" She says her head slightly tilting lazy smile still on her face. His thoughts stopped and looked at the plants, roses, does it really matter which one he chooses? Is the choice going to decide his fate or is it just a choice of which one looks better? As he thinks about the meaning behind this choice the girl yawns making a small noise that brings him out of his mind. Even her tired expression and yawn is beautiful. "Does it matter? They're the same flower." He says hoping he didn't make the wrong move by asking. "These are two completely different flowers! These are roses while these are Double impatiens. So yes it does matter." She exclaimed holding up one plant then the other as she says the names of them. Confusion sets on Pope's face as he looks at her, even when she points out which is which he doesn't see how it matters when they look the same. Seeing his still confused face causes her to sigh pulling the plants closer to her chest, possibly causing her shirt to get dirty. "Ok I'm gonna need you to study up on plants, next time I'll ask again. If you say something like that again you'll regret it." She turns around as she says this, only turning her head to look at him squinting as she made eye contact. He stood there as he watch her turn and go to checkout and then leave the store. When he finally leaves the girl is long gone, he now wishes he could have talked to her longer. Her calm voice and sleepy expression riddles his mind as he walks, completely forgetting why he went into the store in the first place but happy that he did. As he walks JJ ran up to a smile on his face while he's gasping for air. "Barely managed to lose them, glad to see that you're ok." JJ says as he bends over hoping the ground will provide him with more air. "Hey do you know if Kie or John B has a book about plants?" Pope says still looking forward in somewhat of a daze, JJ looking at him confused as he continues to gasp for air.

Divders made by @strangergraphics

[gamerbearmira]

Could you do a small writing of Pedro and little Bruno from supermario au?

OF COURSE I CAN 🥶🥶

Pedro being a protect father, my favorite genre of Pedro <33 He's so radical, unlike Black who is not radical

Lee get it <33

—————

Bruno struggled in the strange evil man's arms. He and had come to his and his sisters' papa's mansion while the sisters went with their mother. He was getting help from some of the other Boos and ghost while his papa took care of something in the meantime. All of a sudden a lot of Boo's started moving to one side of the mansion and covering their eyes and hiding.

Bruno, wanting to help his father's subjects, went to investigate. And he was met with this strange man (was he even a man?). He didn't know who he was or where he came from, but he didn't like him. As soon as the man made eye contact and saw Bruno flying around on his cloud, he snatched him off and has since been holding him.

Tears welled up in Bruno's eyes as he took in a deep breath, the strange man grumbling as he worked on something else. Bruno's breath hitched and the man looked at him angrily. "I told you to stop crying," he growled, and that's what broke Bruno's last straw.

He wailed. Loudly. Tears burst from his eyes and he cried. He didn't care if he looked like a baby, he just wanted his papa. "Papá!" He yelled, squirming more as tears continued to fall. The man looked at the boy, throwing his cape up.

"I told you to shut up!" He yelled and that only scared Bruno into crying more. He was only 6 years old, could you blame him? The evil man continued to berate the crying boy, and he only cried louder, still calling for his father.

"Your dad isn't here, so shut up!" The man yelled, and he snapped his fingers. A magic bind wrapped itself around Bruno'd mouth, and he scolded him for crying. Bruno stared in fear, but his eyes widened with hope as he felt the room temperature slowly drop.

The lights flickered, and there was laughing from the Boos and Gloops that inhabited the mansion. The strange man stopped yelling for a moment, whipping around as the room began to colder and colder. The lights all blew out, and the man finally turned to look fully behind him.

He saw a pair of legs, then looking up more, he saw him. The King Boo himself. And he looked furious. He had an icy stare, and there seemed to be a purple glow coming from him. The villain froze, his magic becoming weak and it released Bruno from the magic binds that held him and kept him quiet. The boy immediately dashed over towards his father, clutching his legs and he sobbed, doing his best to explain how the evil man was trying to hurt the other ghost subjects and how he just wanted to help but got in trouble. Pedro's eyes shifted to the boy, and they softened for a moment as he bent down to pick him up, hugging him tightly. Bruno climbed onto his father's back, staring down at the evil man with watery but fierce glowing green eyes. Pedro's eyes looked back at the man who stole his son and his face contorted back to the one of silent anger.

"What are you doing here?" Pedro asked, and the man stuttered, eyes full of fear. Pedro knew this man, he was an enemy, and an enemy to him and his family. 'Count Bleck' he called himself. He wasn't entirely sure what he was and he don't know what kingdom he was from, but he was sure of one thing---he was banned from any territory and kingdom owned by the Madrigal family. And he also knew that he told him the next he saw him he would kill him on the spot.

"I...I didn't know that was your son I..." Bleck stuttered, his shoulders dropped as he backed away. Pedro moved closer.

"Why does it matter? I thought I told you not to show your face again," Pedro smiled widely. "Did you think I was messing around? That I was joking?"

"No, I..." Bleck tried snapping his fingers, to escape, but it wouldn't work. He was paralyzed with fear, his magic wasn't working right.

"I told you if I saw you again I'd show you why I was named King of Boos," Pedro seethed, and he raised his hand, purple flames flaring up. Bleck jumped, and barely dodged a blast of fire. Pedro growled in slight annoyance as he fired another one, this time catching Bleck's cape on fire. Bleck screamed, stomping the fire out as he ran in a different direction.

Pedro moved slowly, easily covering more steps than Bleck. The other Boos within the mansion were present, jumping out at him, only scaring him more. Eventually, he was back against a wall, and Pedro charged another fire ball. "This should show you not to come near me or my son ever again," Pedro said darkly, and the fire rushed towards Bleck.

Just before it hit him, a white line boxed Bleck, then flipped, and he disappeared. There was hysterical laughing, and then silence. The purple flames died down, and Pedro scoffed. He got away again. He was lucky this time. He was lucky that stupid jester was there to help him, lest he would've been a dead man. But now that he was gone, he could properly check to see if his son was ok.

Pedro pulled Bruno from his back, holding the boy close and he turned, walking down the hall they were just in. "Are you okay mijo?" Pedro asked, and Bruno nodded, hugging his father closely.

"Yeah, I'm ok," he sniffled, clutching his father's shirt. "I'm glad you came, I was scared. He said he wanted to take my power. Cuz I'm half Boo and half Koopa."

Pedro sneered, hugging his son a bit tighter. Of course Bleck was only after his power. That was the case last time, though in that scenario he was after Pedro himself, and he hadn't even been aware of his triplets. Now he knew. Which meant Pedro would have to keep a closer eye on them. Not that he minded, but it did still make him angry that he was after his kids to begin with.

"Well it's alright now," Pedro said, smiling down at Pedro. "Papá will be right here to protect you, no matter what," he said, and Bruno smiled back, snuggling closer to his dad as the man walked. Pedro swore he wouldn't let the boy out of his sight for the next month.

—————

HES SO COOL ⁉️⁉️ everyone isn’t he so cool <333 ANYWAY I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS BECAUSE SUPER MARIO IS ONE OF MY FAVES <3333

[cuddlemonsterdean]

I was tagged by @shallowseeker , thank you! :3

Rules: Make a new post and post a bit from your WIP

The sky is really blue, with only a few fluffy white clouds at the horizon. In front of where he’d parked his car, the corn stacks are moving softly with the wind, back and forth, back and forth. Like waves in an ocean.

There’s a windmill in the distance. The smell of wildflowers in the air. Dean’s waiting, but it won’t be long now. It won’t be long now—

A bright flash, and then thunder rolls directly above. His heart racing, Dean sits up straight, looks around. Rain is pouring in waves down the windshield, a storm howling outside, the sky low and gray.

On the dashboard, Dean's phone is vibrating angrily with a call.

"Dean?! Where are you, are you okay?"

It’s Sammy. Dean blinks at the windshield. There's so much water pouring down, everything outside looks blurry and unreal.

"Dean!"

Oh, right.

"Um." Dean cranes his head to look out the other windows. "Some field, I guess."

"What?! What field? Dean, what are you doing there?"

Yeah, that's. He was—

"...waiting."

"You—what for?"

Dean groans and blinks against the bright light as another bout of lightning splits the sky. "Stop fucking yelling, my head hurts."

There's a pause. "Are you drunk?"

"No, Sam, what the fuck. This freak storm just hit and I'm waiting for it to let up, jeez."

Instead of calming down, Sam only gets more agitated. "Dean, you said you were just gonna go on a supply run in town. You were supposed to be back over an hour ago. And now you—” He breaks himself off and then takes an audible deep breath. “Did you have an episode again?”

Dean bristles. He peers out the window once more, at the—fuck, he’s got no clue where he’s at. Trying to stay calm, he drags his free hand over his face. It comes away wet. He rubs at his eyes some more, only now notices the ache in his chest. Like there’s something heavy in there, in a way that it hurts.

“Look, Sammy, I’mma just head home now, okay?”

Dean tries for reassuring and instead lands somewhere south of brittle and scared. He bites his tongue hard to make sure no pathetic noises come out. It’s really cold in the car, he’s shivering.

There’s another long pause and when Sam speaks again, he sounds gentle in a way that has Dean's eyes well up with tears.

“Dean, should I come get you?”

It takes humiliatingly long for him to swallow the lump in his throat and answer like a forty year old man instead of a four year old boy.

They hang up and Dean starts Baby and backs her away from the field. He’s going to have to give her a real deep spa treatment at home—the sorry excuse for a road he apparently drove down is muddy as fuck. Bumpy as hell too. He whispers apologies to her the entire time it takes to get back to the highway.

The rain is still pouring but at least with the windshield wipers on, he can see better now. Can see the road signs too. He’s somewhere in bumfuck nowhere outside of Lebanon, which is—which is not where he was supposed to be, apparently.

Dean shivers again, and—right, yeah, genius move, he never turned the heating on. When he does, the legos rattle in the vents like they always do. The noise usually soothes him but with the storm outside, he can barely hear it.

The lightning has eased up, but his head still hurts like the thunder is happening directly inside it. He rubs at his dry eyes and fights the irrational urge to turn the car around.

this is a bit from my post 15x19 canon divergent destiel longfic that I've been working on for like two years now and that I'm a little over halfway done writing.

tagging... hmmm I have no idea who is working on something rn. maybe @geekout-f-t-w @curioussubjects , @carolinasacco , @luxshine ? :3

[demon-shark]

Red Cloud Curse; Chapter 1

Warnings: Cussing, highway meat robbery, alcohol, mystery shipping

Man makes the mistake of leaving his meat truck in the hands of Kisame, Deidara, and Hidan.

Kisame was walking back to the apartment with Hidan and Deidara when they came across a truck. The guy they assumed had been driving it was standing next to it and typing it away angrily on his phone. It must have been dead because the driver ended up angrily shoving it in his pocket. He then looked up at the three of them and pointed while he yelled, “Hey! Yeah, I’m talking to you!” Kisame stepped up to the guy as he approached asking, “You gotta phone?” Kisame dodged the question by asking his own, “What? Did your truck break down?” The man looked between Kisame and the truck before snapping, “No genius, I just like standing around in a shitty neighborhood. Look I’m already two hours late on this delivery, I try to take one short cut and this is what I get. My goddamn kid drained my phone playing some stupid game, my goddamn wife took my charger. Listen, I will give you ¥5 if you let me use your phone. Just one call.” 

“Oh, we don’t have a phone. Our Dad said not until we’re 18.” Deidara lied without hesitation. Deidara then turned around and waved down the street, “There is a bar down 10 blocks that way… I can’t remember the name. They should help you out though.” The man’s eyes widened. “10 blocks?! Fricken.” The man then reached into his pocket and started counting out some cash. “This is yours if you watch the truck.” For a desperate man, he sure is cheap. “¥5, cool. Thanks, mister.” The man then started down the street, “And make sure no one gets near it!” As soon as he was out of earshot Kisame pulled out his phone and made a call, “Hey Kakuzu, I’m sending my location to you now, bring a crowbar.” 

It took 5 minutes for the rest of the Akatsuki and some of their neighbors to show up. As soon as Kisame was tossed the crowbar he broke the truck open revealing an entire butcher shop's worth of meat. Kisame and Kakuzu jumped in and started helping others into the truck so everyone could take what they wanted. As they started emptying the truck, more of their neighbors caught on to what was happening and joined in. One rather feisty old lady slapped Hidan away from a box of something, “Get back, I’m married to two husbands.” Hidan raised his hands as he said, “Take it easy, Grandma”. As the Akatsuki dragged their portion of the haul into the apartment, Konan stood in front of the freezer, “How are we going to store all of this?” It was then that Kisame came in with a whole cow leg on his shoulder, “Careful, coming through.” Konan looked over everything before turning to Zetsu, “Does Imada still have that chainsaw?” Zetsu didn’t look up from the meat he was weighing as he said, “yeah and he owes Hidan cause he covered for him while he was having an affair.” As Kakuzu went to grab the chainsaw to cut the larger meats, the others took knives to what they could and wrapped them up in newspapers. They soon heard the sound of the chainsaw being used from the sidewalk, “Can someone get the leg to Kakuzu?” Konan asked and she chopped up some beef. Hidan jumped up from his station and plopped the cow leg onto his shoulder, “You got it,”. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Loud bangs shook the walls of their apartment as a grumpy Madara made his way to the door. He nearly ripped the door off its hinges startling the officers, only made worse by the scowl that Hidan is convinced is permanently stuck on his face. “I-I uh…” The first officer struggled to find his words causing his partner to step up, “We’re investigating the recent robbery of a meat truck that took place last Friday. We were wondering if anyone here might have seen something.” Madara crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway as he looked down at the officers. “No.” The first officer took an awkward step back as if trying to escape only to be stopped by the second officer. “We actually have a few suspects we would like you to look over.” She then pulled out three pictures that roughly looked like Kisame, Deidara, and Hidan but Hidan and Deidara were the wrong gender and Kisame’s shark features were exaggerated to almost cartoonish proportions. It was then Kisame walked out from the room he shared with Itachi, Sasori, and Deidara. 

Madara turned around at the blue man he found to be a companion and called him over, “Kisame! There are some cops here with some pictures they want you to look at.” Kisame looked only slightly confused before he walked over, the second officer held the pictures out to him and without hesitation, he said, “I have never seen these people in my life,”. Madara heard someone choke down a laugh in the back and if he knew what was good for him he would be gone by the time Madara turned around. “Very well, thank you for your cooperation,” the second officer said before leaving, the first officer practically sprinting away from the door. Madara slowly closed the door behind him, before turning around to a grinning Hidan who looked a little too proud of himself. “Have you never heard of discretion?” Hidan immediately waved him off, “It’s not like the dumbasses recognized me.” Kisame raised an eyebrow at the silver-haired ass, “Where are you going?” Hidan looked around the kitchen as he said, “Maruko du Pain.” Kakuzu then stepped out and headed to the kitchen to start making coffee. “Don’t distract Itachi.” Hidan looked back at him offended as he said, “I wasn’t going to,”. Hidan then grabbed a piece of toast and headed out the door. “Was that picture supposed to be me?” Kisame asked, turning to Madara who grumbled as he rubbed his face and headed back to bed. 

Hidan enjoyed Madara’s breakfast as he made his way into a nicer part of the city. As he did, he noticed a familiar redhead entering his very destination. He grinned to himself as he ran in after Sasori, the door not even having the chance to close. The look on Itachi’s face said it all ‘Please don’t do this’. Upon seeing Itachi’s face, Sasori turned around and immediately regretted it. Sasori turned around and took his usual place in a corner of the cafe that was hidden from the cameras. Hidan strutted up to the counter where Itachi stood with a look of utter defeat, unable to run because of his job. Only Hidan was interrupted by the sound of a woman clearing her throat. She had to have come in after Hidan because he hadn’t seen her when he entered but that didn’t stop her from looking up at him as if she expected him to move. 

Upon seeing that Hidan wasn’t going to move she shoved him out of the way. “This creme brulee has dirt in it!” Itachi looked slightly concerned as he reached out his hand, “Can I see it?” The woman handed it over and Itachi quickly relaxed, “This is vanilla.” The woman then scoffed as she asked, “Are you calling me stupid?” Hidan then mocked her scoff as he said, “He isn’t but I’m going to.” The woman then put her hands on her hips as she turned to Hidan, “Vanilla is clear, if you’ve ever baked before you would know that.” Hidan then put his hands on his hips in an exaggerated manner, “Maybe your cheap store brand stuff is, but vanilla pods have little specks in them.” The woman then gave an offended gasp before storming out of the bakery. “What was her problem?” Itachi gave a tired sigh as he said, “That was Okubo Azumi, she lives next door to the bakery and seems to have an issue with the bakery.” Hidan removed his hands from his hips to look over at Itachi, “So she does this regularly?” Itachi gave a tired nod causing Hidan to look back at the door the lady just left, “Who beefs with a bakery?”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

As they lit the trash fire everyone gathered around with their beers and their kids to celebrate the meat hull they pulled off earlier that day. “I’m gonna be honest, when these… teens moved in six weeks ago going on about some cycle of pain or hatred or whatever, I thought they were a bunch of loons. But I’ve come to see the light. How we have come to over rely on heroes causing good people to stand by when someone needs help. Heroes who care more about fame and money than helping down-troughton people like us. Heroes help maintain a system that suppresses us. A system that shames and demeans those for things out of their control. A system that puts assholes in charge because they were determined better than the rest of us at birth. People I had brushed off as just some teens who didn’t know what they were talking about, opened my eyes to real problems with our society. And that’s just my way of saying… thank god for the Akatsuki.” Everyone then raised their beers as they yelled, “To the Akatsuki!” Miyake Hiroki, a drunkard who liked to play the victim, wasn't too far off from what Pein had been pushing since they learned about this hero society. However, what he believed the message was as an individual isn’t as important as how the community had taken it. As he watched over the trash burn and barbeque he was approached by Tobirama. “Pein.” Pein looked over at the albino, returning with his own, “Tobirama”. Tobirama then moved to stand next to his wheelchair, his arms crossed. “We need to talk.”

It was then everyone heard the dreadful sound of police sirens. The lights soon came into view and turned out it wasn’t just the police, a fire truck had shown up as well. The crowd quickly started to boo as the party was shut down. The police ushered the people away as the firefighters put out the fire. “Gotta hand it to um, they handled it faster than the heroes did.” Jouzetsu smiled as he put his hands in his pockets. “That’s because the heroes don’t come into this neighborhood,” Dokuzesu grumbled, the implication of Jouzetsu being a dumbass clear in his tone. “That does remind me though, whose turn is it for the electric bill?” Hidan gave a quiet, “Crap,” before reaching into his pocket and pulling out ¥25000 in cash, “This should cover it,”. Pein then looked over at Tobirama who had been cut off by the situation, looks like he wasn’t going to drop it. Pein gave the rest of them a look before he and Tobirama left to talk.

[bleachanimefan1]

Hallowed Fangs Part 10

The Swamp Part 2,

Astarion and Vex returned back to the camp to find that everyone else was already awake and were starting to pack up. Vex walked over to her bedroll and started to roll it back up when she noticed Shadowheart eyeing her with a suspicious look and walked over.

"So where did you and Astarion go to last night?" 

"We just went out for a walk." Vex told her.

"Seemed more than a walk if you were gone all night." Shadowheart smirked.

"I thought that you were asleep." Vex spoke.

"I was until a woke up and saw that your bedroll was empty and Astarion's. So, what did you two actually do?" Shadowheart asked.

"We slept together. You happy, now?" Vex sighed.

"So, what was it like, sleeping with a vampire?" Shadowheart asked.

"I'm not going to give you all the details." Vex told her. "Now, go get ready. We need to stop by Ethel's. I think that we're close by."

The party eventually saw a wooden shack up ahead. They went inside and saw Ethel yelling at a young woman, who appeared to be pregnant. So, this must be Mayrina.

"I don't want a crumb left on that plate, girl." 

"Auntie Ethel, please! If I eat one more bite, it's going to come back up to say hello." Mayrina groaned, holding her stomach about to puke.

"Don't make me go and get the wooden spoon. You're eating for two, so get to it."

"Uh, what's going on in here?" Vex asked. The old woman turned around to see Vex and the rest of the party.

 Ethel smiled. "I was starting to wonder when you were going to show up." She walked over to Vex. "I can sense that there's something that's been bothering you. Perhaps, something that's hidden behind your eye. I can extract the worm out, if you want me to." Vex blinked at her in surprise.

"And how will you do that?" Then Ethel turned into a large green hag in front of everyone. "I'll just pluck it out and extract the parasite." She spoke, holding her long nailed finger up that started to glow.

"No, thanks. I'm going to have to pass." Vex told her. "But I think there's something that Mayrina should know. Something about her brothers." Mayrina's eyes widened, looking at Vex and the others.

"M-My brothers?" She asked, shocked. "What are you talking about?"

"Ethel killed them." Vex told her.

"What!?" Mayrina exclaimed. Ethel glared at Vex and sneered at her.

"So, you want to play it like that and blame me, fine." Then she turned Mayrina. "Yes. I did kill your brothers. Only because they kept sticking their noses in where they didn't belong."

"You-You monster! You can forget about our deal!" Mayrina screamed at her, angrily. Ethel snapped her fingers and Mayrina vanished in a cloud of green smoke.

"Help!"

Vex quickly turned back to the witch. "What did you do to her?" 

"I put her somewhere so I wouldn't have to listen to her squabbling for a bit. But as for you, I can't have you interfering. I'll let my friends deal with you lot." Then Ethel vanished in front of everyone's eyes.

"Uh, we got company!" Shadowheart shouted.

Suddenly, several redcaps started to swarm the shack. The party quickly took the creatures out and the last one fell to the ground, dead. Then Vex saw something move from the corner of her eye and turned to see Ethel running away. She passed through a fireplace, that was hiding a hidden entrance.

"Get back here!" Vex shouted, chasing after the witch. Everyone followed Vex and went through the fireplace and went down the stairs. 

"What is this place?" Vex asked a little disturbed. There were several bodies spread out in the room, each one gruesome than the other.

"I've been in unsettling places than this, but not very many." Astarion commented.

"This place makes my skin crawl. Don't trust anything in here." Shadowheart replied.

"There are many illusions bound to this place. Trust not your eyes or your ears." Lae'zel spoke. They continued a little further until Vex noticed an elven man huddled in a corner, mumbling to himself, fearfully.

"No...No. Don't look. Musn't look. Musn't see." The man trembled as he rocked himself back and forth.

"Are you alright?" Vex asked, concerned.

"I see it-what's to come."

Vex saw many mirrors behind the terrified man. They must be creating an illusion.

The man shivered. "Me. Dead. Dead. Fleshrotten. Boneshining."

"Calm down. Whatever you're seeing isn't real." Vex tried to reassure him but the man backed away from her.

"Lies! Lies! I see it. See truth. See death. The future."

"He's obviously lost it." Lae'zel scoffed.

"Is that so? And what does my future hold?" Vex asked him.

"Always ask. Never good. Never see. Never..." Vex tried to move closer to snap him out of it, but the man shrieked.

"Ah! Gods! Don't hurt me. Oh, please, please, please..."

Vex smirked. "Every time you open your mouth, it does get a little tempting."

"NO! No. Monster!" The man screamed. "Minddripping, fleshpeeling, MIND FLAYER."

Vex opened her mouth and let out a roar. The man screamed and fell down, curling up into ball.

"No! No... I'm sorry!"

Vex saw Astarion crack a grin, wanting to laugh, while Shadowheart laughed and Lae'zel smirked.

"How pathetic." The Githyanki snorted.

"A mind flayer. I don't have any intention of letting that happen." Vex frowned and she walked over to a vine covered wall that had a face. It appeared to be a doorway. It refuses to budge.

"There's got to be some way to open it." Shadowheart wondered, trying to push it open. Astarion tried to pull on the roots, but it still wouldn't budge.

"Open up or I'm going to set you on fire!" Vex shouted.

"Please, like that's going to work-" Lae'zel scoffed and stopped when she saw the door slowly disappear, revealing a hidden pathway. The group walked inside and saw several people inside the room, wearing strange masks on their faces. They were mumbling to themselves. They quickly took them out and climbed down a minefield of exploding spores until they reached the hag's lair. Vex saw Mayrina hanging in a cage made of wood over a deep chasm.

"Please! Help! Get me out of here!" She screamed.

Everyone saw Ethel appear below them, smirking as she looked up at them.

"So, you came after all."

"Let Mayrina go and maybe I'll let you live." Vex spoke. Ethel turned towards the cage and set it ablaze. Mayrina screamed as the fire, slowly began to engulf the cage.

"You want her then come and get her. But you don't have long!" Ethel chuckled, evilly. Vex quickly fired an arrow at the hag and Ethel dodged it. Then to everyone's surprise they saw Ethel cast a spell and created several illusions of herself, spreading throughout the room.

"We don't have time for this!" Vex shouted.

"This is rather annoying." Astarion agreed.

"Just find the real one!" Lae'zel shouted, charging at one of the Ethels. She swung her blade, but it phased through. The illusion giggled and disappeared. Shadowheart fired a fire bolt at one of them, destroying another illusion. One of the illusions casted a spell at Vex and Shadowheart quickly ran.

"Watch out!" She shoved Vex out of the way and the spell hit her, instead.

"Thanks." Vex got up and saw Shadowheart standing where she was, being held by the hold spell. Vex quickly turned back to Ethel glaring at the hag and dashed towards her, bringing her sword down. It made contact with skin, slashing through. It was the real one. Vex smirked.

"Found you."

Ethel's eyes widened in shock and tried to create some more illusions. Lae'zel charged taking out some of them. Astarion quickly fired his crossbow, hitting Ethel in her stomach. The hag let out shriek in pain, pulling out the arrow.

"How dare you!" She roared and sent a flash of lightning bolts at Astarion. Astarion quickly dodged them, before he tripped over a rock. Ethel was about to launch another attack. Vex swung her sword again, slicing the hag in the upper arm. Suddenly an arrow made of fire flew past Vex and it slammed into Ethel's shoulder, knocking her down. Vex saw Shadowheart was free from the hold spell, aiming another arrow.

"Alright! Alright! You can have the girl! Please, don't kill me! Let me go and you'll never have to see me again!" Ethel pleaded, looking at Vex.

"Just go." Vex glared at her. The hag gave her a smirk.

"Bless you, lass-"

"Go before I change my mind." Vex hissed. Ethel vanished and quickly left. Vex turned back to Mayrina who was still in the burning wood cage. It was almost about to crumble.

"Get me down from here! Please!" Mayrina cried out. Shadowheart saw a small lever on the wall and quickly ran over to it, lowering the cage. Mayrina hopped out just as it broke and fell into the dark chasm.

"Are you okay?" Vex asked her.

"I don't know how to thank you enough. I can't believe I actually believed her." Mayrina sobbed.

"How did you end up with her to begin with?" Vex asked.

"My husband, Conner, was killed. I can't raise a baby alone. Ethel promised me that she would raise them in exchange for bringing my husband back."

"You promised to give up your baby to that woman?!" Vex exclaimed in disbelief.

"I can't raise it on my own. Ethel told me that I was unfit to be a mother. And she's right, I can't do this without Conner." Mayrina told her.

"So, you believed her, instead of believing yourself. How do you know that you can't raise your baby?" Vex told her. Mayrina quickly shook her head.

"I can't! Not without Conner!" She cried.

"Do you think he would want that?" Vex asked. Mayrina glared at her before her eyes dropped.

"I'm going to get Conner and say my farewells and take him back." She spoke and walked away.

"Let's make sure she makes it there safely." Vex said.

"Oh sure, let's help out everyone who needs it! It's her own fault she got into this mess and dragged us into it!" Astarion said, sarcastically. Vex looked at him.

"Come on, don't be mean. The poor woman lost her husband." She told him. Astarion stayed silent. The party followed, heading to where Mayrina had left. They walked into a room that appeared to be a treasure room, filled with weapons, some food, potions and gold.

"At least, we didn't come out empty handed." Astarion smiled. They looted the room, grabbing what they could carry until their bags were full. At the end of the room there was a small ladder, leading up to the surface. Just as they were about to leave, Vex noticed a small wand carved out of wood, lying on a stand. She walked over to it and picked up and left with the others. As Vex climbed up, she saw Mayrina standing not too far away in front of a coffin that was sitting on top of an altar. 

"Oh! You scared me!" Mayrina jumped, startled to see them. Vex walked over to her and looked at the coffin that had Mayrina's husband inside of it.

"So, this is him?" Vex asked. Mayrina nodded, sadly. 

"I just wanted to say may final farewells to him before leaving." She said. 

"We did find this when we were leaving. It's a wand with the name "Connor" written on it." Vex spoke, showing it to Mayrina. Mayrina's eyes widen a little.

"There may be a chance to bring him back after all! Do it!" She quickly told Vex. Vex pointed the wand towards the coffin. There was silence for a moment and then the coffin lid slowly slid open. To everyone's surprise and disgust, they saw Conner crawl out of it. His body was in a rotting and mangled state and emitting a foul odor.

"So, the hag kept her word after all." Vex spoke.

"I wanted her to bring him back, but not like this!" Mayrina cried out.

"Well, we could always put him back." Vex told her about to pull out her sword. Mayrina stopped her, grabbing Vex's arm. 

"No! Don't. He doesn't like the dark. But maybe there's someone at Baldur's Gate who can fix this." She spoke. "Can you give me that wand."

"Are you sure you want him like this?" Vex questioned.

"Yes. Please." Mayrina told her. Vex slowly nodded and handed Mayrina the wand and she took it. 

"Thank you." She smiled before turning back to her undead husband. "Come on, Conner, let's go." Just as the two were about to leave, Vex stopped them.

"Wait! How do we leave the swamp? We kind of got lost on the way here." Vex told her.

"Just head north from here and you'll be back at the village." Mayrina told her and the two left. Vex turned back to the others.

"Well, at least we are able to get back on track now." 

"This has been a strange day." Astarion replied.

[moongirlcleo]

Hi Anon, of course you may!

“Man, am I beat. You wanna go hit the pool later, or what?” Sting reclined back on his arms, failing to stifle his yawn. Beside him sat his best friend, the shadow dragon, Rogue. Rogue glanced in his direction, and gave him a shrug.

“Not particularly,” he grunted. “I’m starving. Maybe we should see what y/n is doing. I haven’t really heard from her in some time.” 

Sting shot up and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to think of the last time they’d actually seen her. 

“Yeah… you’re right, Ro. Shit, we suck at keeping in touch.” 

He thought back to when the three of you were young, barely six years old. You made them promise that the three of you would be the best of friends for the rest of time. And so you had. Years passed, and you’d all grown up into the strong, capable young adults that you all were. But they were a constant in your life. Even if you weren’t apart of the strongest guild, Sabertooth, they were your family. 

Suddenly, Sting felt immense guilt. Jiemma had both Sting and Rogue working like mad trying to prepare for this year’s Grand Magic Games and there was zero time for anything else. He knew the last time they’d seen you was four months ago. It was unacceptable. 

“Let’s go. We’re surprising her at her house right now.” He stood up to go, but halted once he realized Rogue wasn’t following. 

“I may have already texted her.” Rogue held up his communication lacrima, showing Sting the conversation.

>> y/n! What are you up to? Sting and I just got back and want to get dinner.

Oh, cool. Glad ur back safe. <<

>> Yeah, you want in?

I’m good, thanks though. <<

Sting read over the conversation and frowned. “That isn’t like her. Something is wrong, I can feel it. We need to get to her now.” 

Rogue nodded in response, and went to grab Lector and Frosch before heading out the door to your apartment. They traveled in silence, unaware of what they’d be walking into. Were you hurt? Did someone kidnap you and were trying to keep a ruse up? By the time they were at your door, the twin dragons were in a near panic. 

Sting kicked the door down, and was immediately greeted with your scent, relaxing him slightly. 

“She’s still here,” he muttered. They split up, searching for you. Rogue heard it first. He quietly walked toward your bedroom and slowly opened the door.

There you were, curled up in a nest of blankets and tissues, face all puffy and swollen. You barely had the energy to look up at his face, which had clouded in shock.

“Y/n… what? What’s wrong?” He knelt down in front of you, doing his best to wipe away the fresh tears welling up in your eyes. 

“Hey, Ro,” you answered, voice husky with emotion. “I told you I was okay, why are you here?” 

“You look anything but okay, y/n. Tell us what’s wrong.” Sting’s voice cut through the air, and you lifted your head to see the blonde idiot in front of you, cheeks tinted pink and emotion swimming in his eyes. 

“I dunno,” you began quietly. “Everyone is so busy with their lives being guild wizards, that none of my friends have had the time to hang out with me in months.”

The boys just looked at you, Rogue’s face slowly matching Sting’s in rosy hue. You continued. 

“It’s just easier for me to withdraw so I don’t feel like I don’t matter, you know?” Sniffling, you pulled the blanket around you tighter. “You’re all so important, and I am beyond proud of you. It just hurts less to push you away than to constantly be rejected or have my texts read with no reply.” 

“That’s bullshit!” Sting yelled, wiping at his own eye angrily. “You’re important, and we’d never reject you.” 

Rogue sat down next to you and pulled you into a tight embrace, causing the wall you’d thrown up to crumble. He sat there quietly, letting your tears soak into his shirt as you continued bawling into his arms.

“Let us make it up to you, please. I know we haven’t been the best friends lately, and I know Rogue feels the same as I do. Let’s make dinner and watch whatever corny ass movie you wanna watch, how’s that?” 

Sting ducked as you tossed your pillow at him, causing him to flash you his trademark smile. You know, the one that made you melt. 

Pulling back from Rogue’s arms, you wiped your eyes and gave them both a look. By now, you’d noticed that they were both crying too. Feeling the emotions bubbling up again, you shook your head and wiped away each of their tears before giving them each a kiss on the cheek.

“Fine, but let me make dinner. No offense, but unless you’ve been training in a restaurant, then you both still suck at cooking.”

[dejwritesarchived]

quarantine.

↠ characters: levi ackerman

↠ warning: covid-19 mention, angst, 

↠ pairings: levi ackerman x black!female reader

↠ summary: in which you have to quarantine with your ex-boyfriend levi ackerman after he was in contact with someone that tested positive of covid. modern au !!

↠ a/n: even if i'm sure levi probably would be spraying people with lysol spray and yelling 6 feet when somebody breaking social distancing rules, pls just bare with me. for the plot !! let me know if you guys want a pt 2 since i left this on a cliff hanger since i didn’t like the original ending i had written. ♡

YOU LET OUT A STRING OF CURSE WORDS as you entered the formally shared condo that you and your ex-boyfriend Levi Ackerman resided in. You hadn't seen the place in about two days, considering that's when you and Levi decided to close the door on your relationship angrily. Now you were back here staring at the familiar furniture with your travel suitcase. You gripped your suitcase handle so hard that you could see your knuckles turning white. The memories of you and Levi clouding your mind, you tugged at your mask before rolling your suitcase towards the guest bedroom. You could hear Levi locking the door to the condo and throwing the keys on the miniature coffee table next to the door.

He found out he was in contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19. He was beyond paranoid now, he was so careful before, and one slip up caused his word to tumble up. He didn't understand how he, of all people, could have possible catch the deadly virus. He wiped everything down in his house daily. He sprayed disinfectant spray constantly way before Covid-19 struck the world like a lightning bolt. But his own greed only got him caught up when just a day before the breakup with [Y/N], he invited his old fling Petra over for drinks. Not knowing that the woman was positive for the virus. If he was a cruel man, if he would have broken up with you through a text or phone call instead of in person, this could have been avoided. His heart practically sunk in his body, getting the contact tracing call from the hospital. However, his heart was ripped out of his body of nervousness when he had to contact [Y/N] to tell her the news.

He could still remember the long string of profanity that escaped your filthy mouth before he heard the dial tone on the other end of the phone. He gave you your space because he realized that if the roles were reversed, he would also be angry. He then contacted you about quarantining together since he was aware that after moving out of his place, you were staying with a close friend, and he knew how much it would hurt you if you possibly got the friend infected. This was just a messy domino effect, and the dark-haired male caused it.

He heard the door slam shut for the guest room, and he decided to do what he did best, and that was clean. As he wiped down practically everything, he kept thinking about how he never mentioned how exactly he got in contact with a person that tested positive. He just chalked it up as if you wouldn't care. You would have just loved to quarantine and get it over with. After Levi practically cleaned the already clean apartment spotless, he searched through his fridge to figure out what was for dinner. Even though Levi set his mind on what he could make you two for dinner, he also thought about what was going through your mind.

You probably were still cursing him out mentally for putting you into this situation in the first place, which behind the closed door [Y/N] was cursing her ass off to Hange Zoe, a close friend of both you and Levi. You sat on the floor of the guest bedroom, back against the door. Hange told you to calm down and that Levi would never purposely put you in danger, so the theory of him purposely getting sick to try to make up was pushed out of your head. You let out an agitated sigh, "I wonder who he was in contact with that tested positive," you huffed.

"It doesn't matter, just quarantine with the guy, and then you can go your separate ways," The brunette woman explained. She knew that if [Y/N] picked at the situation, it would be blown out of proportion. "For all, we know he could have just taken change from a damn grocery store worker."

You were quiet for a second. You could sense the thick aroma of someone cooking. "I guess you're right," you simply said. "I'll try not to kill him during this quarantine." You chirped.

"Please don't kill Levi during quarantine," Hange said.

"I can't promise you that, but I'll talk to you later."

You hanged up your phone, placing it on the charger before you stood up, brushing off your jeans before exiting the guest room. You would follow the scent of food being cooked. Your stomach growled in hunger. You realized that you hadn't eaten all day due to the stress packing you were doing to come over here. When you finally made it to the kitchen, you slide into one of the stools that were pushed closer to the counter. Your small knotless braids were pulled up in a bun, Levi who was chopping up some vegetables, glanced up at you. Now that your braids were pulled out of your face, he took in your beauty under the nicely lit kitchen. He remembered just how much he adored your face. From your brown skin to your glossy eyes, your broad nose that had a nose piercing, all the way to them plump full lips that on some days would be covered in some scented lip gloss.

"Do you need help?" You asked. You remembered how domestic you guys were when you lived with each other.

Took turns cooking for each other, you took baths together, did laundry together, after a night of passion, Levi would read his favorite book to you. You let them memories swirl around your mind, which your thoughts were interrupted by Levi's deep voice.

"With the situation I got you in, the least I could do is cook us a nice dinner. Just relax," He said. He placed the knife down and went to dump the vegetables in the already hot pot covered in olive oil.

Those steamy thoughts of memories tugged outside your mind as you sooner remembered why you were here in the first place. Now you were back seeing red as you watched him cook. You didn't know what you would do during these 14 days, especially considering that you two weren't dating anymore. Maybe you could just lock yourself in your room and only come out when you needed to shower or eat. You did bring your laptop and your Nintendo Switch with you. You had all the entertainment you needed. You think.

You noticed that Levi was making pan-fried noodles. Your eyebrows raised at him. This was the first meal he ever cooked for you. You remembered it because it was your first date, which was insanely in this exact apartment. You two had arrived late for your reservation at this fancy Japanese restaurant, and they gave your table up. You thought that he would reschedule, but instead, he took you to his place and cooked for you. You adored the effort he put into even though it was extremely last minute.

"Are you cooking this on purpose?" You asked. Your eyes were staring at his back.

You could hear the sizzling of what was cooking in the large pan. Levi also noticed the meal he chose to cook, but even though the choice held a special place in both of their hearts, the ingredients were technically the only thing in the fridge for him to cook. "[Y/N], it was the only thing that I could make with the ingredients I had...would you have preferred something else?" He questioned as he used the chopsticks to mix up the tasty meal.

Your lips formed a straight line, "It's fine. I appreciate you even cooking for me." You said, pushing yourself from the stool. You went over to the fridge and opened it. It was practically empty. The only thing in there being a carton of eggs, a bottle of red wine, and an opened bottle of sake.

You wanted to scream, but then you remembered before you broke up, it was your turn to go grocery shopping. It took you by surprise that Levi didn't do it before you two had to quarantine. After all, he was going to be the one living here all alone. Your hands reached for the sake and brought it to the counter to sip on. "We have to get some groceries sent here. I'll make a list." You chirped as you disappeared into your room to find a pen and piece of paper.

You took your seat back on the stool, taking the top off the pen before you just started writing. Levi turned the burners off to the stove. He would search through the cabinets looking for plates and utensils. He noticed you writing down the list of groceries. Which before the harsh breakup, you were the one that wrote the list in the first place. He would just add stuff on once you were done or threw in suggestions as you were writing.

"Princess...I mean [Y/N] dinner is ready," Levi said.

Your head shot up, hearing the familiar pet name escape his lips. You also noticed that he had set the dinner table. You let out a huff sliding down from the stool, grabbing the bottle of sake that you took from the fridge. This was going to be awkward. You took a seat at the table. You noticed how close he made you guys sit next to each other. When you were dating, you would sit at the other end of the table, ignoring Levi's flirtatious commands and comments as your thighs would be tightly closed from feeling just how wet Levi made you. But this time, he wanted you close. You didn't really understand why but you didn't have time to argue.

Levi would place two shot glasses on the table, probably for the sake. He also placed two glasses of water on the table before finally placing your food in front of where you two would be sitting. He plopped down in his seat, handing you a set of chopsticks would you took quickly.

"Thanks," You said as you broke the chopsticks apart.

"We need to lay down some rules while we quarantine," Levi said as he held his chopsticks in his hand.

"Like what? Just thought I'll stay out your way, and you stay out of my way," You answered, looking at him as you picked up some noodles and vegetables to eat.

"I know this is awkward considering the circumstances, but can we not make it awkward?" Levi answered.

"Levi, we broke up. It was going to be awkward regardless." You answered as you looked at him. This conversation was already pushing you to drink. "I appreciate you inviting me to quarantine with you to be on the safer side, but we can't just pretend that we didn't break up. No matter how many dinners we cook each other or kind gestures we do."

Levi was silent. She had a fair point, "Okay. But I still want some ground rules for these fourteen days."

You placed your chopsticks down, leaning back into your seat. Your arms crossed across your chest as if you were an obedient teenager. "Okay, and those rules are..." your voice trailed off.

Levi cleared his throat, his hand holding up the glass of water before taking a quick sip. "I shower first." He started off earning a gasp from you.

Usually, you two would sometimes shower together. But now, he was demanding to shower first. "You're going to use all the hot water, Levi." You found yourself whining.

"Would you prefer to shower together then?" He questioned, going back to eating the food in front of him.

"Nope." You simply said, "Any other rules?"

"We have to eat and cook dinner together," He adds.

You didn't even want to be in his presence, and here he was making you be in his presence. You didn't argue, though, as you listened to his other rules that consisted of basic things like cleaning up after yourself, if you're ordering groceries, let the other know, and the list went on.

"Do you have any rules for me?" Levi questioned. He pulled two shots of the same sliding one over to you.

You would look at him, your hand reaching to grab the shot glass. "Nope, let's just get these fourteen days over with." You said as you both drowned the shot quickly and went back to dinner.

The rest of dinner was silent. The only thing you could hear was chewing. You offered to wash the dishes, which Levi protested against. "It'll give me something to do," you simply said, taking his empty plate before his stubbornness could cause him to speak.

But as you were washing dishes, the man just couldn't leave you alone, and he surely wasn't social distancing. As you washed the dishes, he would take them out of your hand to dry them. The sleeves to his white button rolled up to his elbows.

"It seems like we can't stop doing what we used to do," You uttered as you passed him the glass he once was sipping water out of.

"As if we're accustomed to it." He adds, drying the glass off with the red-colored towel.

You still couldn't believe that you two decided to break up. You just felt like the love wasn't there anymore, the sparks died out, and the butterflies that once fluttered in your stomach were dead. He got too busy at work despite the pandemic pushing everyone with jobs like his to work from home. He didn't touch you anymore or said those sweet comments to you anymore. It was beyond odd to you. As if his heart turned into stone.

So, the behavior he was displaying right now caused you to raise an eyebrow. Remembering Hange telling you to behave during the fourteen-day quarantine, but you were as stubborn as Levi. You were going to pester a situation they didn't need to be pestered.

"You haven't acted like this in a while." You stated as your eyes looked at him.

"Like what?" He questioned, putting the dish he had in his hand away.

"Don't act clueless, Levi," You said as your eyes went back washing dishes. "We broke up because our relationship was starting to lack stuff like this." You handed him the last dish.

Levi would dry it quietly. He didn't know what to say. It was true. Their relationship started lacking moments like this when he was moving up and getting more promotions at his job. Being the face of a million-dollar company was stressful, and now with the pandemic, it didn't help at all either. But he only blamed himself for not communicating that. Instead of going to his current girlfriend, he was about to give in to Petra to comfort and coddle his feelings.

"I apologize. I should have communicated with you better. Work has just been stressing me out. It wasn't my intention to distance myself." Levi found himself explaining.

You stared at him. This was the talk you guys should have had weeks ago instead of just breaking up for the sake of your own heartache. Your arms folded over your chest as you continued to listen to what he had to say.

"You didn't deserve to be iced out simply because I suck at communicating what's going on in my life, especially considering that I view you as a significant person in my life outside of work."

You would dry your hands with a paper towel. "I'm not sure if I accept your apology. We'll see." were the only words that left your lips as you walked by him to go to your room.

Leaving Levi in the dimly lit kitchen to figure out how the hell was he going to tell you he was about to sleep with Petra the day before you two broke up.

[chasingpj]

𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐦𝐞?

"My soulmate is so mean. He’s done nothing good with these stupid drawings. You know, all I want is something cute, like a picture of, maybe, flowers?"

pairing: leo valdez x gn reader

words: 2,994

warnings: cursing, mentions of genitalia

category: one-shot, soulmate!au

You don’t know who your soulmate is, but when you find out, you know the first thing you’ll do is punch him in his face. You don’t understand why he does this. Why can’t he be romantic like everyone else? You have a few friends who have the same connection you share with your soulmate, through your skin. Your friends rise from their slumbers with beautiful sketches on their arms; Or throughout the day, lines will appear as they’re being drawn, creating the most beautiful artwork you’ve ever seen. However, of course, you don’t get that; instead, you get this.

You stare at yourself in the mirror with pure disbelief, and you can’t decide whether to cry or scream. You’re used to these kinds of drawings in places like your arms, stomach, and legs, so they were easy to hide. But this has never happened before; it's never been in a place so… so visible.

You fill with rage as you observe the sloppily drawn dick on your forehead and your fist clenches as it lays on top of your bathroom sink. You fucking ass. How the hell am I going to hide this? You have to be at work in fifteen minutes, and you have this vulgar drawing on your forehead. You’re sure if you tell your boss your situation, he’d probably dismiss you because this is obviously not appropriate for the workplace. Still, you can’t even imagine trying to explain this to him. It was way too embarrassing.

"What am I going to do?” You whine as you rub your hands on your face. The drawing won’t be removed from your skin unless your soulmate removes it on his, so you had to think of a solution right away.

“Where could he possibly be where this is acceptable?” You try to refrain from sobbing hopelessly as your frantic mind searches for a solution. You think maybe a hat will work, but you discard the idea knowing your boss will tell you to take it off once you’re indoors. Suddenly, like a sign from the heavens, your solution hits you right in the face when you catch sight of your makeup bag lying on the toilet seat. You reach over, grabbing the pouch and unzipping it. Your quivering hands move too fast, causing the products to fall out and scatter into the sink. Your eyes skim over them in search of your thickest foundation and concealer. When you find them, along with your primer, you sigh, saying a silent prayer before getting to work.

***

Leo gasps sharply as the sight of his face in the mirror shocks him out of his fatigue. He touches his forehead, trying to recall the memory of last night while ignoring the pounding headache surging through his skull. He remembers getting to the club with a group of friends and how they took one shot after another until their vision was blurry. He has a faint memory of dancing with some girl, and the chaos of his 4 am Macdonald’s run with his friends. However, he doesn't recall the moment when this picture was drawn on his face. When did this happen? More importantly, who did this? He pauses, gawking at his reflection. His jaw clenches as the culprit comes to mind. He felt foolish for questioning who did this because he lives with, and he went home with one person last night, and that's Percy.

“Percy!” He yells angrily, and in the next room, he hears Percy’s manic laughter getting louder as he runs down the hall and into the bathroom with him. Percy can’t help but laugh even harder at the sight of a distressed Leo, and he silently congratulates himself for pulling such a successful prank. Leo’s expression hardens, and his gaze snaps over to him, “It's not funny!”

Percy snorts and nudges his shoulder, "Come on, loosen up!" Leo laughs sarcastically,

"Come on, loosen up!" He mocks with clear annoyance, making Percy’s laughter ceases. Leo usually takes things like this so well; he's never been angry at him because of a childish prank. The two of them have been pulling pranks on each other since they moved in together, and they would always laugh it out while deviously planning their revenge. Percy tilts his head, now growing annoyed that Leo’s annoyed.

"Why are you so uptight today?" He almost snaps, not understanding his fury. Leo's eyes narrow at him,

"My soulmate is linked to my skin." He speaks slowly and carefully, accentuating his words to make sure Percy understands how bad this is. Percy's mouth drops open, and he stares at the vulgar art on his forehead.

"Oh… shit," is the only thing he can think of saying. “Fuck, I forgot. I’m sorry,” Percy apologizes even though he knows it doesn’t help anything. He didn’t share the same connection with his soulmate, so he had forgotten entirely about Leo’s bond with his. He’s now left with regret knowing that there's someone out there going along their day trying to hide this lewd image.

Leo groans as he throws his head back. "I-It'll wash off? Right?"

Leo flips up the sink’s nozzle, dipping his head in the cold tap water to wet his face. He scrubs with his fingers, blindly grasping the soap next to him. He runs it over, spreading the suds and lightly scratching his forehead. He rinses everything off and returns to his original position to check his face now. He yells in panic when he sees the drawing didn't budge at all; it didn't even fade. Percy audibly gasps,

"I used permanent marker."

"BRO!"

"I'm sorry!"

Percy shifts on his feet as the memory of last night comes back to him. Leo fell asleep in the cab ride home, and Percy, somehow without much balance, carried him over his shoulder into their apartment complex. He squints his eyes, and with a vague remembrance, he recalls plopping him down on the couch. Leo was unconscious, and Percy’s drunk mind saw this as a perfect opportunity to prank him. He picked the first marker he saw, and in the middle of a giggling fit, he sloppily drew the phallic item and took a picture.

Leo frantically puts his head back in the sink to scrub again, and Percy stands by the door, watching panic wash over him. Leo continues scrubbing his skin, and though his skin becomes red under the friction of his nails, he persists. Percy shakes his head, walking over to him quickly, and he pats his shoulder.

"Come on, man. It's not working; you’re gonna hurt yourself." If Percy let him, Leo would scrub his skin raw. He disregards his advice and continues to scrub, bringing the soap over the drawing once again before scratching harshly. Percy, not wanting his friend to hurt himself, turns off the tap, and Leo groans, standing straight. He stares at himself in the mirror, his face dripping wet, and his skin is red with irritation. I'm so sorry.

***

Your day hasn't gotten any better since this morning. First, you wake with a dick on your forehead; second, you miss your bus because you took so much time layering makeup on your face. Then, you get to work about 15 minutes late because your commute, which usually took about 5 minutes, was delayed due to traffic. You assumed that your day couldn’t get any worse, but you discovered you spoke too soon when the system your job uses to put in orders crashed, making your job even harder than it had to be. Also, you spilled hot coffee on yourself during the morning rush, and that almost sent you straight into tears, but somehow, you prevailed.

By the afternoon, you wanted to rip your hair out when you realized you forgot your wallet, leaving you unfed and cranky. Your boss was no help to your mood either. He picked at everything you did today and held a grudge about you being late this morning. You've never had such a shitty day at work, and there is a sense of relief when you witnessed the clock turn to 4:30 pm. You immediately stood up from your chair, collecting your things before walking straight to the computer to clock out.

The last challenge you're facing is to get home in the slippery aftermath of the pouring rain earlier today. It was colder than usual; the sun’s hidden behind stormy gray clouds, and the smell of wet soil is in the air. You shiver, your arms wrapped around your frame in a poor attempt to keep you warm. You don't have an umbrella, and you hope it doesn’t start raining again. You were sure that if your makeup washes away in the rain for everyone to see the mystery under it, you will lose your mind.

You stand in the corner of the waiting shed, resting your head on the side. You take a deep breath, noticing your hands are anxiously chipping away the week-old nail polish. From the corner of your eye, you see someone join you under the shed, and out of usual curiosity, you look over. A tall, slender guy stands in the opposite corner; he wears distressed blue jeans, a black hoodie with a print you can’t see from your view, and a black winter hat. In his hands, he fiddles with a piece of scrap metal. His skin was tan, and his brown curly hair peeks from under his hat. Oblivious to your staring, he looks away from his fiddling and happens to glance over at you. There's a moment of awkward eye contact before you snap your vision away and out to the street.

You cringe at yourself for staring too long, shifting on your feet. You casually lean over the side of the curve, and you swear the light of the heavens was shining on your bus as it drove toward you. You couldn’t help but smile, a sense of relief washing over you. It’s here; you were one step closer to getting home and relaxing.

The excitement was taken away as quickly as it arrived, your bus passing your stop making a mini tsunami in the process. A wave of water splashes directly on you, and it takes you a moment to process what just happened. You stand there, cold and wet staring blankly at the curve. You felt overwhelmed, not being able to hold back the cries that you’ve been suppressing all day.

"are you-" a sob releases from your lips, stunning the unknown guy next to you. You miserably walk over to the bench, plopping down and resting your elbows on your thighs to lay your head in your hands. You sob freely, not caring about the boy's presence, and he stands in his spot, not sure what to do. He had an innate urge to make you feel better, and he doesn't know why but it pains him to see you like this. He clears his throat and decides to settle in the seat next to you. "Bad day?"

You sniffle, trying to find your breath, "The worst."

You don't look up, your hands doing their part to cover your face and your forehead. "I don't understand why everything is going so wrong.” You didn’t even care that you were pitying yourself, but you felt like you had the right considering how shit your day has been.

"I woke up with an awful drawing from my soulmate. I was late for my bus, which made me late to work; I haven't had lunch either. I'm hungry, cold, and now, soaking wet in street water." You sniffle once more. "My soulmate is so mean. He’s done nothing good with these stupid drawings. You know, all I want is something cute, like a picture of, maybe, flowers? I'd even take a tacky picture of two stick figures falling in love... shit; I’d be satisfied with a grocery list. But of course, with my luck, that doesn't happen. I get stupid drawings of... genitalia."

Leo’s body tenses next to you, and his teeth bite the inside of his lip. Drawings of genitalia? Sounds like him. Now he needed to see this drawing you were talking about, and he feels himself getting anxious at the possibility that you could be his soulmate. You continue to cry, refusing to move from your position.

"Well... it can't be that bad?"

"Oh, it's bad,” you managed to respond in your ragged breathing. Leo hesitantly reaches over, affectionately rubbing his hand across your upper back. Your breath hitches softly at the back of your throat, and there is a surge of warmth that radiates from his hand. You feel your tense shoulders begin to relax, and you furrow your eyebrows as your breath miraculously finds its regular pace. You even have this strange desire to cuddle into his frame to acquire more of his touch.

"Come on, show me. It's probably not as bad as you think." He speaks from his experience this morning. If you aren't his soulmate, he's sure that whatever you have isn't as traumatic as what he and his soulmate have.

"No! You'll laugh," you whine, your head laying firmly on your hands.

"I won't! I promise." You can tell from his voice that he was genuine, and for some reason, you can trust him. You slowly remove your hands from your face, but your head is still in an embarrassed bow. His heart pounds in his chest at the anticipation and leans forward to get a look at your face. You close your eyes, not wanting to see his initial reaction.

There it was. Right under your concealer, there is the familiar drawing faintly present. Leo's mouth drops, and his eyes widen; how is he going to tell you that he has the same picture on his forehead? You sigh shakily,

"It's bad, isn't it?" Your face burns in pure humiliation, and you now regret showing him. Leo is silent for a bit, trying to find words to explain himself.

"I'm sorry," he blurts out. Your eyebrows furrow and your eyes flutter open to look at his guilty expression.

"Why are you sorry?" He doesn't even attempt to explain himself in words. He simply slides off his winter hat, showing you the original drawing on his skin. You inhale sharply, your mind trying to process what is happening in front of you.

He's your soulmate, the person that you ideally would spend your life with. You didn't think you'd find him anytime soon or even at all. Your stomach flutters at the sight of him, and your cheeks get warm. You both gaze into each other’s eyes, and there was an immediate connection. You take in the tousled curls on his head, a bit frizzy from his hat and his big brown eyes. Your heart pumps hard in your chest, just as fast as the boy’s heart in front of you.

A few people told you that you’d feel like the world will slow down when you meet your soulmate. You’ll feel complete, and all at once, you’ll fall in love. You thought it was a load of over-romanticized bull, but you found that it was true even with your strange circumstance.

You finally found him…

But he's done this.

Your anger somehow counteracts this "in love" feeling, and you momentarily hate him for starting your day off on a sour note.

"You!" Your arms lift to strike him in the chest, but before you could attack, he grasps your tight fists.

"I'm sorry! I can explain!" He says quickly. Your arms loosen up, and you narrow your eyes at him,

"Explain yourself then." Sheepishly Leo cowers and his hands remain around your fist, just in case.

"Well," he sighs, "I partied a little too hard last night, and um, my roommate, Percy, thought it would be funny to draw this on my forehead."

"Your roommate is an ass."

"Well, yeah. Sometimes. But he was just as drunk as I was, and he didn't realize that the marker was permanent. When I saw it, I immediately thought of you, and how you’d have to walk around with this." He chews on the inside of his cheek, "I tried getting it off, but it won’t go away." You sigh, willing to forgive him since it wasn't his fault.

"So, we're gonna have this for a while?"

"Probably a couple of days or so." You groan and don’t say anything in return. You look down at your lap, still hiding your face from anyone around. "Oh, here, take my sweatshirt. The hoodie can keep it hidden.” He puts his hat back on and pulls his sweatshirt over his body, passing it to you. You smile softly as you take it from him. You pull it over your still soaked and cold frame, slipping your arms in and bringing the hood up. You mutter a small thank you, shoving your hands in the front pocket. He replies with a hum, allowing the sounds of the passing cars to fill your comfortable silence.

"Again, I'm sorry,” he apologizes sincerely, and you turn your head. You smile reassuringly,

"It's okay. I'll forgive you this time,” you say teasingly, and he chuckles. "I'm y/n, by the way."

"Leo." You reach over, taking his hand, and you guys share a handshake.

"Nice to meet you, soulmate.”

masterlists

[katsubiatch]

Distant Shores-2

Summary: The heathens came to raid every year, stealing treasures and killing along the way. Your father was the King of Wessex and wanted to strike a deal with the heathens. The heathens and their ruthless numbers in exchange for some lands to farm, riches... and you. You are the Christian princess that is now to marry the Heathen King, a man that you're sure would rather kill you than marry you. This is going to be a miserable marriage.

A Viking!BakugouxReader fic.

The boat ride back to where the Vikings lived was a long one. As exciting as being on the open water was, to see so much open space it got old quickly. The water would spray at you, soaking you to your bones and causing you to shiver. There also wasn’t much to look at other than the deep blue of the ocean, white fluffy clouds in the sky, the other Viking ships floating nearby. 

You also couldn’t really speak to anyone, you did not know their language at all nor they yours. The only one who seemed to know anything was the man that was to be your husband, however he didn’t seem interested in talking. At least not to you. From what you could tell he was grumpy, rude, unpredictable and overall unpleasant. You wondered why these people followed him, weather or not they had a choice in the matter or not. Back home no matter what anyone thought of your father they had to follow, he was King after all. You weren’t quite sure how it worked here but you couldn’t ask either. 

You huffed, drawing the fur closer around your body, the same one that had been placed on you near the start of your journey. He had to have a nice bone somewhere in his body, right? If he gave you this fur, then again maybe he just hadn’t wanted to hear you complain. It felt like you had been on the sea forever, and there was a constant chill to you that you couldn’t shake. You had no idea how some of these men were shirtless, though you supposed it would be easy to work up a sweat rowing as they did. You hadn’t ever thought of that, that there were people who did such a job. You hadn’t been on one of your fathers ships and even if you had you wouldn’t have seen the men working so hard to row.  One of the men must have noticed your staring because he gestured to you and then to the oar that he was holding, laughing and joking with the men beside him. However you stood up, giving the man a smile. At this point you’d do anything to warm up and help. You felt useless this entire time, the only person who hadn’t taken a turn to row. The man looked shocked at you as you stood up, gently touching the oar. You weren’t quite sure how to do this, that much was obvious but the man did his best to instruct you without actually speaking. You figured you got the gist of it and it only took you a minute or so to get in sync with the other men rowing. You laughed softly to yourself before starting to feel the burn in your arms. This was a workout, but judging by the men near you and their large arms this was something they were used to. A few of the men near you let out little snickers and chuckles, shaking their heads. They hadn’t expected such a prim and proper lady to do such a thing. You on the other hand, found things like this interesting and wanted to try it all. 

It did not last long however until you felt a strong hand wrapping around your upper arm and dragging you up, causing you to drop the oar and gasp slightly. Bakugou was barking angrily at the man that had gotten up from his position while gripping tightly on your arm. You couldn’t understand what he was saying but he sounded angry and you instantly regretted your decision. “It is my fault.. not his.” You managed to get out, your own hand touching Bakugou’s arm.  “Quiet you, you are meant to sit here until we get back.” Bakugou growled as he looked down at you, almost snarling as he deposited you back to where you had originally been seated. You grumbled for a few moments, looking up at Bakugou with narrowed eyes, obviously upset that he had pulled you away from your task. 

The two of you were sharing a very long, intense stare. A few of the men around you admired your braveness and said as much, not that you could understand what they were saying to begin with. Soon a spray of ocean water broke your gaze as it came crashing right next to you and you had to move to get out of it’s way. “You sit here, and do not say anything the rest of the way.” Bakugou grumbled as he moved you to a spot where there wasn’t too much spray and threw another fur over you. 

His mood was hard to understand, he could be somewhat kind as you’d witnessed before, but he was also surly and rude. To be married to someone like that for the rest of your life, always having to guess at what emotion he had and walking on eggshells. That was not something that you wanted to deal with, however you didn’t have much choice in the matter. Running away? Well you were in the middle of the ocean and once you got back to land your odds weren’t much better. In a foreign land where you didn’t speak the language? Yeah that wouldn’t be good. So at this point you were stuck, with no much choice other than to marry a man you didn’t know or love. 

It was a day or so later that seagulls were seen flying above and you saw the men getting excited, so you figured that you must be getting closer to home. Well their home, your new prison. Moments later a small town came into view, huts and longhouses, docks and a beautiful beach. You stayed put where you were however, instead of going to get a closer look. You really didn’t want to anger your future any further. 

Soon the men were docking, women waiting with children at the docks smiling happily and waving at what you presumed were their husbands. They were all so happy to see their families some jumped off the boats before they were properly docked and unloaded. You wondered what it was like, to have such a family. You figured you’d never know. Your parents weren’t exactly the loving type, always more concerned with their country and duty. You smiled at watching them reunite, happy for them. Children climbed on their fathers shoulders, heavily pregnant women eagerly hugged their husbands. 

You were roughly pulled from your seated position, a calloused hand gripping your upper arm tightly and hauling you towards the docks. You did your best to fall into step beside him, tripping over your own feet as his pace was quick. “Keep up.” He grumbled as he looked back angerly at you before stopping once they had got to the red head you often saw Bakugou hanging around with. He was huddled close to a beautiful, bubbly woman holding a a newborn baby wrapped in furs. The two were cooing over the little thing before Bakugou walked over to them.  “Look at how beautiful she is, you really outdid yourself Mina.” 

“Well you had a hand in it as well you know.”  You heard the woman giggle but you had no idea what they were saying so you just stayed put, catching your breath from that walk. Bakugou stayed put, looking down at the baby and you could have sworn you saw a light smile gracing his lips. However whatever was there was gone just as quick.  “She is beautiful.” Bakugou agreed and looked at the two. “Congratulations. A new child is a wonderful thing.” “Who is she?” Mina asked, peeking around Kirishima to get a better look at the woman Bakugou was holding onto so tightly.  “Oh don’t worry about her, I’ll explain later.” Kirishima whispered to her before Bakugou drug her along and she stumbled to keep up. You didn’t dare speak up, not wanting to be embarrassed in front of people you didn’t know. It took a bit but soon you made it to a very big long house where many people seemed to be convening and all were smiling at Bakugou, saying words that you didn’t understand and clapping him on the back. You were sure they were all congratulating and thanking him for a raid well done. You got many curious looks as well, however Bakugou didn’t divulge that information to anyway.  There was a large feast prepared, everyone sat in the great hall laughing and feasting. You were set next to Bakugou, picking at your food because you were just too nervous to do much else. Of course you felt out of place, you didn’t understand any of the conversations going on and the only person who you could speak to seemed much more interested in other things. However a bit after this feast started Bakugou stood up and everyone silenced, even the children were quiet in the presence of their earl.  “We are gathered here to celebrate our great raid!” Bakugou yelled out into the crowd, even if it was quiet he felt the need for such celebration. Everyone yelled out, taking drinks and laughing amongst themselves. “We had a very succesful raid and we shall make it through the winter, if not longer! We did strike a deal with the King of Wessexs. He offered us riches and land in exchange for our army should he need it. We also have his daughter, who I am to marry.” He didn’t say the last part quite happily but it was what it was. He was to marry this girl and that was that. “Now weather or not we uphold our part of the deal is to remain seen. After all if he is going to drag us into a lengthy and pointless war we will not participate, and deal with those repercussions later.” At that the men laughed. “Now eat, drink, celebrate our return and our new riches!” 

You hadn’t understood anything that he’d said but you assumed that it had something to do with being back and some kind of pep talk you were sure. It didn’t take a genius to figure it out. Although while the men and women drank, celebrated and got a touch too feely with each other than you were used to you awkwardly sat and watched the festivities. Children running and playing, wives draping themselves over their husbands and some doing everything they could to welcome them back, men sitting around and talking with each other. Your husband to be was doing just that, drinking and talking with a few of the other men you’d seen him around often. 

You felt out of place some eyes staring at you and definitely giving you the cold shoulder. You were an outsider, a stranger to their otherwise seemingly close knit unit. Even those who seemed to be servants ignored and moved around you. It had been a very long journey and an even longer night. You felt yourself falling asleep sitting up, while you had no idea where you are supposed to sleep. “Get up.” A gruff voice next to you grumbled and gripped your arm, hauling you up from your seated position. Your eyes opened as you stood and looked up at Bakugou. “You can’t fall asleep at the table. Come.” He commanded as he made his way towards a curtained off area. Once you got past the curtains there was an area with a bed, trunks, spare furs and treasures you hadn’t ever seen before. “You’ll stay here with me, in the bed.” Your eyes went wide at that, having never shared a bed with a man before. However you supposed that this man was going to be your husband.  You nodded before looking around the room and noticing that your one trunk wasn’t here, “Your things are not here... you can sleep in this.” Bakugou threw one of his tunics at you, and while it would be big on you it certainly wasn’t what you were used to and you’d be showing more than you were comfortable with. “I’ll turn around.” He rolled his eyes, grumbling and turning around. 

“Thank you.” You whispered, although you knew that he would see it all soon enough you were grateful that he would at least give you this until that day came. 

Days came and went, and most of them would have been spent alone had Bakugou not been so generous as to allow one of his men to escourt you around, it helped that he was also fluent in your language. He had joined the Vikings on one of their raids last summer and while some of the men still didn’t trust him he was loyal to them. His name was Shoto Todoroki and he was quiet but kind. He would translate conversations for you, although most of them held no interest for you however some did involve you and most of the women around were upset that you were taking Bakugou. However you weren’t exactly taking him, you’d been forced into this marriage just as much as he had. You also didn’t think that he’d been too interested in the women either. 

No one wanted to speak to you, and it was lonely although you did have Shoto but there were times that he had other things to do and you didn’t want him to have to hang out with you all day. He was sweet and kind however and much more of a conversationalist than Bakugou. You would get occasional grunts and commands when you were together but that wasn’t often. He was always busy and kept you under watch whenever he was gone. 

A week had gone by since you’d been in the Viking lands and it was time for your wedding. It had been planned quickly and all the traditions were so different from your own. The wedding was on a Friday, because it was Friggas day and she was the Goddess of marriage, love and fertility according to Shoto. You’d bathed in a bath house with Bakugous mother, Mitsuki, to wash away your status as a Maidan. It was usually done with married women of your family however none of your family was here so different arrangements were made. You quite liked Bakugous mother, she was not quite as brash and rude as her son but you saw where he got his personality from. 

After your bath your hair was braided and ornaments were placed in it, another tradition you were not familiar with. You were dressed in a blue gown that had been made specifically for this wedding, it was simple as you’d been told your hair was more important than the actual dress. You’d picked up on a few words here and there, as well as Shoto had been teaching you some things. Especially what to say during the wedding, which was something you’d been nervous of. 

Once the actual wedding started you were feeling nervous, walking down that long way towards Bakugous back, seeing him wearing his best furs and clothes. During the ceremony you did your best to pay attention, although you didn’t understand everything and just went along with what was happening. Exchanging rings, swords-which was strange for you-and a very chaste, first, kiss. Bakugou looked indifferent the entire time, and you felt much the same. You hadn’t gotten to know him since you’d been here, he was always off working with his people or solving their problems. 

There was a large feast held afterwards with plenty of mead flowing and while you hadn’t ever tried the stuff before you decided why not, after all you had no idea what was to become of your wedding night but you had a feeling Bakugou was going to expect something. Where you came from no one spoke of it, however a few cheeky maids had let you in on the secret of losing your maidenhood. You were nervous but figured some liquid courage could help. You sputtered and choked at first, to which your now husband laughed at you for. “Didn’t expect you to want to drink.” He laughed, the mead loosening his tongue a bit. It was the most that he’d spoken to you in days.  “If I am supposed to be your wife maybe I should act like a Viking.” That got another laugh out of your husband who shook his head. This feast was quite a bit like allthe others every night but this one was bigger than the rest and there was much more alcohol flowing through it. 

The night dragged on and soon enough you found yourself in Bakugous large bed, naked and surrounded by furs. He could tell you were nervous and so he took his time. Working you up, only to have you crashing down with such a force that you couldn’t explain. The maids might have told you about losing your maidenhood however they hadn’t spoke to it feeling like this. Just when you thought you couldn’t take anymore he proved you wrong. You didn’t think that it could feel like this, nor did you think Bakugou could be so gentle and nice. At the end of it you could hardly keep your eyes open and Bakugou cleaned you up and dressed you, covering you up with furs. He might not have wanted this marriage but he wasn’t going to be the biggest asshole in the world. At least not tonight. 

A/N: I did my best to add in viking wedding traditions although it was a little hard because a lot of them involved thins with family and obviously reader does not have family here! Yes I decided to put Kirishima and Mina together, idk why it just seems like a good pairing to me and I’ve seen it in quite a few fics as well! Mina is also a warrior but she stayed behind because she was still pregnant at the time of the raid starting. Also when things are in italics that is when they are speaking the Viking language. Also I am not adding smut in because I can’t control if a minor is going to read this or not plus I am not good at writing it anyway haha. This got a little dry and boring in the middle, I apologize but The next part will start to get a little more angsty and juicy so I hope you’re ready!!

TagList

naiomiwinchester  wannabe99now  @whore-for-anime  moshi-moshi-angie015  ojfugk  angie-1306

[neesieiumz]

Hi there, I noticed your requests are open! May I please request some smut for laxus with a fem reader, headcanons or scenario I don't mind (I hope this isn't too vague and I hope you do smut, if not some fluff would be nice) thanks!

Surprise {Laxus Dreyar x F!Reader}

Summary: You had news, important news to tell Laxus. You wanted to make it special, so while preparing the surprise, something happens. Will you be able to tell Laxus the news?

A/N: I AM SO SORRY!!! I was working on this ever since you made the request and I had that long bout of writers block and hated touching my WIPs! But now I can finally do this request! I wrote like six prompts for this request and this was the one that I could flesh out the most. I know you asked for smut, so I may do a part two of this, have it take place after the one year time skip. I just wanted have something for you, instead of leaving this in the drafts. 

Word count: 5k

---

You’ve been in the guild since you were young, and have stayed with them through thick and thin. You found solace in the Thunder Legion and in the arms of the Master’s grandson Laxus. The two of you clicked in ways you’ve never expected. You started as going close friends and went through it all together. From the Battle Royale, which did drift you to his sudden appearance at Tenrou Island. It was the two of you, along with the Thunder Legion, against the world. Ever since Tenrou Island, the two of you have been dating, and it was the best decision of your life. 

Now it was after the Grand Magic Games and for a while, things were peaceful in Magnolia. There were a lot of jobs being taken, wizards of Fairy Tail were thriving. It was all good.

You were out shopping, a soft smile on your face as you picked up things for the dinner tonight. You were planning a dinner with your boyfriend and his friends tonight. A special one you told them. You were wearing a black, spaghetti strap, corset top, with ripped, black jeans and a pair of strappy boot heels. You were in one of the best moods of your life, so excited for tonight. 

You picked up some dry pasta and placed it alongside your other items in your basket. You went over the list of everything you needed before heading to an empty checkout line. Once you began to place the different food you bought in the lane, your mind drifted back to before you arrived here. When you had to tell them why you couldn’t come with them for their restaurant job at 8-Island. 

“A special dinner? For what?” Bickslow questioned, crossing his arms. 

You just smiled smugly, placing your finger on top of your plump, glossy lips, “that, my dear friend, is for me to know and for you guys to find out! Now I don’t want to keep old man Yajima waiting! Go!” You shoved the long-tongued man, along with the rest of them, towards the large guild door. 

Laxus, being Laxus of course, barely budged from your efforts to push them out, instead choosing to turn around and grab you by the wrists. You tried to squirm out his hold but he held your wrists tighter and pulled you even closer, looking into your eyes. You squirmed at his intense stare, trying to look away from his blue-gray eyes. 

“You sure it’s nothing bad?” He questioned softly, one of his hands moving from your wrist to your waist. 

You relaxed a bit before smiling, exhaling through your nose. You raised an arm to caress his cheek softly, running your thumb over his lips. 

“I promise it’s a good thing.” Still holding his cheek, you leaned up and gave him a peck on his cheek, leaving a glossy print. 

He muttered “angrily” at your actions but his cheeks gave him away as they turned red which made him glance everywhere but at you. You smiled at his actions and gave them one final push out of the guild so they can make it on time for their restaurant job at 8-Island. 

“See you guys tonight! And don’t eat too much there, I’m making a big dinner!” You waved them off. 

The Thunder Legion turned around and waved at you back, Evergreen yelled at you to make your famous butter rolls. You smiled at her and yelled back that you already planned to make them. She smiled at you and turned back around and caught up with the rest of them. 

Laxus glanced back at you and winked at you, making you roll your eyes and smile at him and waved your fingers at him before entering the guild to talk to Mira about her recipe books. 

You smiled before hearing the cashier calling out to you. Your cheeks immediately burned in embarrassment, before pulling out your wallet to pay for your things. She handed you your receipt, which you thanked her for before summoning a cloud to help you carry all of your things home. It was already getting close to the time they were supposed to be returning from 8-Island anyways. You wanted to get dinner started for them so they wouldn’t be waiting long. 

You walked towards your home, clouds carrying your bags and your hands on your abdomen. 

Not realizing the horror that was happening to your loved ones right now. 

----

Meanwhile, at the Fairy Tail guild hall…

“How are we supposed to tell her?”

The entire guild was in the infirmary, moments after Freed carried all his team and Yajima back to the guild. They were currently unconscious, their bodies writhing in pain from the Bane particles in their system.  Porlyusica was still trying to ease their pain.

“Huh? Tell who?!” Natsu asked, looking around the guild. 

“You idiot!” Lucy yelled, hitting him in the back of the head before pointing all around the guild. 

“Who else?!? Y/n Of course! She’s not here! She doesn’t know what happened to them!”

Natsu looked at Lucy incredulously before looking around before realizing she was right, you weren’t here. No one has seen you since Laxus and the Thunder Legion left for their job. Mira, however, looked away and down as she started to recall the conversation you had with her. It was right before you left the guild, heading towards the stores in town today. 

“She went out in the town today,” Mira started, tears filling her waterline, “she said she had a surprise for Laxus and the Thunder Legion and wanted to make a special dinner for the four of them,” Mira told the whole guild, looking down at her hands, tears filling her eyes. 

“I have to make an amazing dinner for them tonight, cause of the news I have to tell them!” You were so excited, taking the book in Mira’s hands and putting it in your bag. 

Mira giggled and clasped her hands together in joy, “may I ask what this special surprise is supposed to be?”

You looked at Mira, eyeing her carefully. After Ever, you did think of Mira as your best friend. The two of you hit it off when you joined the guild with Evergreen. Plus she knew how to keep a secret. When she wanted to anyways. You took a deep breath and smiled before placing your hands on your abdomen. 

She looked down at your hands before looking back at you. You tapped your finger pads gently against your abdomen, making her look back down. She was still confused for a moment before her eyes widened in shock and she gasped loudly. 

“You- You’re preg-”

Frantically, you quickly reached up to her face and covered her mouth with your hands. You looked around to make sure that no one heard her. Luckily no one is paying attention to you guys. All you did was nod your head at what she was asking you before slowly removing your hand from your mouth. 

“I’m so happy for you!” Her eyes filled with tears as she carefully wrapped her arms around you. 

You smiled at her happiness and wrapped your arms around her, relishing in her warm hug. You both stayed like that for a moment before letting go. You told her that you hadn’t told Laxus or the Thunder Legion yet and that you wanted to make a special dinner for the five of you. To do that, you have to head out to the store to get the things you needed for dinner tonight. 

Mira smiled in happiness for you as she waved you off, seeing you walk out the guild doors, with a skip in your walk. 

“See you later Mira!”

Mira began to sob in her hands, taking a seat beside Laxus’ bed. Lisanna immediately began to comfort her, wrapping her arms around her older sister’s trembling shoulders. The entire guild could only look in sadness as the white-haired S-Class wizard cried for her friends. 

“T-this is going to kill her,” Mira sobbed, taking the tissue Juvia offered her. 

Gray opened his mouth, was about to say something when loud creaking, which usually came from the guild front doors, started filling the quiet air. They could hear footsteps slowly entering before hearing, 

“Hello!!? Where are you guys? Where is everyone?” 

It was you. It was way past the time that Laxus said he and the others would be home. After waiting for over an hour, you decided to come to the guild. You had planned to go to the 8-Island restaurant but city officials had closed off the area due to a gas leak. At least, that’s what they were telling people who asked. They would have told you something different, however, your guild Mark was on your shoulder blade, and you were wearing a jacket.

Mira began to cry harder, her body shaking. 

“I-I can’t-,” she choked, coughing into her hands. 

Master Makarov sighed, stroking his beard, his eyes closed. He stood there for a moment before turning around and headed towards the infirmary door. 

“Don’t worry child, I’ll tell her.”

——

You were getting worried. First Laxus and the Thunder Legion don’t show up and now the guildhall is empty. You changed out of your outfit, wearing a long-sleeved, black, ruched dress with ruffles all over the dress. Your coils, usually in a wash-and-go style, are now slicked up into an afro puff and decorated with a butterfly clip that Laxus had gotten you one time. You looked around at the empty guildhall, wondering where everyone was. 

“Guys, this is getting really weird… where are you?!” You called out one more time. 

You then heard movements behind you, making you quickly turn around and get in a battle stance. Only to find Master Makarov coming down the stairs. You let out a breath of relief before walking up to him. 

“I’m so glad to see you,” you smiled at your future grandfather-in-law, “where’s the rest of the guild? Have they all taken jobs again? And do you know where Laxus is? It’s getting late.”

Gramps sighed before taking your hand and leading you to the closest table to the stairs. He made you sit down as he looked down in anguish. 

“Gramps… is there something wrong?” You asked him tentatively, leaning over to try and look him in the face. 

You could see tears in his waterline which made you even worried. What could have happened for him to feel like crying?

“My dear Y/n… something has happened…”

——

The doors of the infirmary slammed open, causing everyone to gasp and turn around as they saw you running inside like a madwoman. You pushed them all away from you, basically having no regard for any of them. You soon reached the closest bed. 

Which just so happens to be Laxus’ bed. 

Your body began to shake as your eyes glanced over on his sickly body. He was pale, oh so very pale, you could almost see the poison moving through his veins. His eyes were closed but you could hear him grunt from the pain of the and writhe in pain. There was sweat glistening on his body. The tears were already falling from your eyes. 

“N-no, not L-Laxus,” you stuttered, slowly falling to your knees.

You couldn't breathe. You could see dark spots started to cloud your vision, you could feel your eyes beginning to flutter open and closed. You took a couple of steps back before you lost your footing, stumbling on yourself. 

“Y-Y/n?” You heard someone question but you couldn’t place who it was as your vision blackened, falling to the ground unconscious. 

“Y/N!”

Gray, being the closest male to you, immediately picked you up and placed you on the next empty bed, the one beside Freed’s. Porlyusica immediately came over to check on you, placing a stethoscope on your body and placing it at different vital areas. She removed the tool and placed her hands on your abdomen, her hands giving off a blue glow. A few seconds after her hands immediately turned pink. 

She slowly nodded her head, before removing her hands, the pink glow slowly fading away. The entire guild watched as Porlyusica slowly rose from her kneeling position before turning to face the rest of the guild, looking on at their collapsed guildmate with immense worry. 

“Well?!” Natsu questioned, “what’s wrong with her?”

Porlyusica just sighed and smiled sadly, shaking her head. 

“She’s pregnant.”

The entire guild gasped loudly at the news and the reveal only seemed to make Mira cry even harder. Some looked over at you, seeing your tears drying on your face as you rest. Some looked onto Master, waiting for his reaction. Others looked onto Porlyusica as she explained the reason for your fainting. 

“She just needs to rest, I guess she stressed herself out a little too much today and this just topped everything,” Porlyusica said, reaching over to pull up the blanket to right under your chin.

Porlyusica made sure that you were as comfortable as possible, before turning to the rest of the Fairy Tail Guild, “This is a crucial time for her, she needs to be resting… which means you all need to find the person who did this Laxus and the rest of the Thunder Legion and find them quickly!”

The guild’s all-around sullen faces became hardened with resolve, with these new developments, a new enemy was upon them. Master Makarov already started to make plans to find the other council members and protect them while making plans to find Tartarus. The entire guild soon cleared out of the infirmary, on Prolyusica’s orders, of course, saying that the large group was making her and her patients stuffy. After everyone left, Erza already yelled at them to start the search for the former council members. However, Mira and Lisanna stayed, looking on to your resting body before turning their eyes towards the Thunder Legion and Old Man Yajima. 

“Don’t worry Mira,” Lisanna said, giving her sister a reassuring one-sided hug, “Laxus and the others are gonna make it out of this alive and he and Y/n are gonna have their baby.”

Mira took a deep breath, wiping her tears away with a clean tissue. She looked down at her hands before forming a small smile on her face.

“Yeah, you’re right Lisanna.”

——

You were awake.

It had been two days since you found out about Laxus and the Thunder Legion’s demise. You were now awake and you barely spoke to anyone, using mostly nods and head shakes to communicate to people. Mira was the only one who would hear you speak real words. But the most she would get to hear you say is “no’s” and “yes”. The only time people would hear you speak full words and sentences is when you would talk to Laxus. He obviously couldn’t respond but you couldn’t help it. You knew he was mostly listening. At least you hoped. 

You refused to leave Laxus’s side, Mira had to bring you clothes from your home and you ate and slept in the guild. In the empty infirmary beds. No matter what, you refused to leave his side, no matter what people tried to tell you. A plus to this was that Porlyusica could do checkups on you. She made sure that the baby was growing and nothing was hindering their development. However she, and the other have been trying to convince you to take a break from the guild. Although you couldn’t go out and help people with the search, they wanted you to at least take a walk outside of the guild. 

“You can’t keep staying here Y/n, it’s not good for the baby,” Mira tried to convince you to take a walk but you wouldn’t budge. 

You were sitting by Laxus’ side, as you’ve always been, holding his hand and just looking at him. You were wearing a pair of comfy sweatpants and a matching sweatshirt. Your hair was dry and crunchy to the touch. You had not moisturized it for days, still pulled up in the same puff you had a couple of days ago. 

“How about you take a small walk, I can convince Levy to take over for me and I walk with you?”

Nothing. Not a word from you. You were still silent, sitting by Laxus’ side and holding his hand, slowly stroking it. Your eyes were lifeless, eyes heavy with bags. 

“Y/n, I know you're worried, but please think about what Laxus would want. He would want you to take care of yourself, take care of your baby. And staying like this isn’t good, you need a breath of fresh air. Please if not for me, for the baby then?”

You took a deep breath and leaned back, still holding his hand. 

“Mira is right, your baby comes before you now. Take some time outside, before you come back to this dreary place,” Porlyusica then said, looking at some herbs and oils in glass beakers. 

Mira came up and grabbed you by the shoulders, “please just for five minutes, and then you can come back inside, okay?”

You sighed, glanced at her before looking at your lover, who was currently fighting for his life right now. You looked at him with longing, to see him wake up, to see his reaction when he learns of your state. You caressed his face, thumbing over his cheek before slowly sliding your hand off of his face. You looked back at Mira and nodded your head, sliding your chair back. You got up and followed Mira outside, ignoring the members who were running around, currently on the mission to find the former council members, hopeful to find the ones connected to FACE. 

Mira kept you updated about the guild at times.

The two of you stepped outside and took in the cool air slightly blowing in your faces. You took a deep breath as you began to rock back and forth. You crossed your arms together and rubbed them up your biceps to gain some warmth in your palms. 

“See, don’t you at least feel a bit better, more air in your lungs at least?”

You said nothing, just continued to look out into the Magnolia distance. Squinting your eyes, you could see the old Island-8 restaurant, and the construction workers beginning the new building. You felt a lump in your throat as you looked on, before taking a deep breath and rolling your shoulders back, feeling the joints in your backbones crack. 

“Y/n?”

You felt a force slightly push you at your shoulders, pulling you out of your headspace. You jumped a little before turning around looking at your friend, who looked at you with even more worry. You gave her a small smile as she grabbed your shoulder, joining you in looking at your home city. 

“You know he’s gonna pull through, so please don’t stress yourself out,” Mira said, laying her head on top of your shoulder. 

You let out a small breath throughout your nose before reaching out to place one hand on her head and the other one in your slightly protruding abdomen. The two of you just stood there for a while, taking in all the fresh air you could before someone called out to the both of you. 

The two of you glanced at each other before looking at Warren, who was sweating and panting like a dog in need of water. 

“Mira! We need you!”

Mira let go of you but looked back at you, eyes swimming with unspoken unconcern. You smiled and gestured for her to go. 

“Go,” you whispered, nodding your head towards Warren, “go find the council members.”

She smiled before following Warren into the guildhall. Yous sighed before turning back, staring at the horizon once more. The cool breeze  You smiled to yourself, the first real smile you’ve felt in days. 

“Laxus would love how this day looks…”

----

You were disoriented, the confusion caused your stomach to start to flip on itself. The baby definitely didn’t like the ride, no matter how smooth Carla tried to make it. You groaned as you tried to push yourself up from… the rock? You glanced around, only to find yourself in an unfamiliar place. You looked down to find yourself, surrounded by the Thunder Legion and Old Man Yajima, who was also laying on the ground, still unconscious. You gasped and stood up as quick as you could without upsetting your stomach and your baby anymore. The wind around you was blowing all around you, as in the distance, you could see a large building in the distance. You took a couple of small steps, squinting your eyes as you got a better look at the emblem sitting front and center of the castle. 

Tartarus. 

You gasped as you looked around to find your guildmates appearing all around you, coming from Cana’s cards. That’s when the final moments came back to you, you were sitting inside Laxus, holding his hand as Porlyusica administered something to help ease his pain. That’s when the door slammed open and you turned to find Cana running inside. Before she could explain herself, she had already placed all of you in the cards. She then handed them to the three exceeds, putting herself in a card as well, right before the whole guild hall blew up. Cana saved the entire guild’s lives just in time. 

“CHAAAAARGE!!!”

You quickly looked up, seeing an army of Tartarus soldiers, headed straight for you and your entire guild

“Y/n!” 

You turned around to see Cana looking back at you, holding her cards as she began to fight off the soldiers.

“You and the wounded get a safer place, you can’t fight in your condition!” She said, glancing down at your slightly protruding abdomen. 

You looked down at yourself before looking back at Cana, who was waiting for you to move. You just shook your head at her concern before cracking your neck. As you did that, the clouds above began to move as your eyes began to glow white. Your fingers twitched with bright, blue-white lightning, the most powerful type that you can control. The guild and even the soldiers glanced up at the changes in the weather, The wind began to blow all around, centering around you. You raised your hands high as thunder sounded off in the sky. 

“Thunder Clap!” You yelled, bringing your hands together in front of you in a swift motion. 

The loud clap echoed into a large soundwave which knocked down all the incoming soldiers that were closing in.  You turned your head and smirked at Cana, who just smirked back at you. You could feel Prolysica’s disappointment glaring right at your back but you couldn't sit back. Not when your entire guild was giving everything to save the kingdom and magic in this world.

“I think we’ll be just fine Cana, worry about getting into their guildhall!” You yelled, before summoning a bout of lightning from the skies to take on some more soldiers. 

She nodded at you before charging ahead, taking down more soldiers as she went. You took a deep breath before looking at the oncoming soldiers. Your eyes went white once more before as you took a crouching stance, lighting appearing at your fingers. 

“Let’s do this,” you whispered to yourself. 

You knew you couldn’t go all out, so you needed to take out as many as you can and save enough energy in case you needed to move the Thunder Legion and Old Man Yajima. 

---

You collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. You could hear Porlyusica exclaim, running over to you. Your magic power was greatly reduced since you have another lifeform feeding off of you. So you couldn't hold your own in a battle as long as you could anymore. After Tartarus activated Alegria, and someone somehow found a way to let you guys go. You immediately found yourselves surrounded by soldiers, and you were the only functioning wizard for miles, everyone getting separated in the rubble. So you had to fight them off, and you were already tired from the previous fight.

“You pushed yourself too hard! Now, look at you!” She turned you to your back, using her stethoscope and using her hand to feel around your abdomen. 

You could the ground rumble under you, the tiny stones jumping up and down. You turn your head to find even more soldiers headed your way. You tried to push Prolyuisca away from you, you had to keep fighting. But as soon as you did that, you could feel something cramp up painfully in your lower abdomen. The grip there, caused you to gasp painfully and lay back down, curling yourself into a fetal position. You pushed your coils out of your face as you glanced at the incoming soldiers, they were getting closer and closer. 

You took another deep breath and tried to sit up but this time, Porlyusica pushed you back down. 

“Lay back down! You pushed yourself too hard and now you baby could be in danger!”

“They’re coming, and we don’t have an offensive wizard anywhere around us! I have to fight through it!”

The pain only intensified every time you tried to move, your efforts going for naught. You could feel tears fall down your eyes, God was this it? You had no idea where your guild was, the entire Tartaros castle laid to rubble, and you couldn't get up anymore without endangering you and your unborn baby. 

That’s when you heard it. 

Lightning. 

The both of you glanced up, to where the soldiers were coming to only find them all taken down in one fell swoop, struck by yellow lighting. Once the smoke cleared, only one man was standing. 

Your man. 

 You gasped, feeling tears of happiness come to your waterline. He was shirtless, and you could see his body sweating even more than usual. He then turned his body halfway, looking down at you and Porlyusica. He just gave you his signature smirk before facing forward once more. 

“Take care of her. She stressed her and the little one too much.”

And with that, and a stroke of lightning from the sky, Laxus was gone. 

“LAXUS!!”

And that was the last thing you said before fainting from all the fighting and stress. 

---

You took a deep breath, smelling antiseptic and disinfectant. A hospital? Being your first thoughts, shifting about slightly. You could feel a thin blanket on top of you as you slowly opened your eyes, before squinting due to the bright lights above you. 

Yep, definitely a hospital. You thought. 

You took another deep breath before pushing yourself up, still feeling some soreness from the battle. Once you were setting up, you tensed up slightly as you heard a noise right beside you. A snore. You glanced to your left, before melting at the sight before you. 

Laxus was sitting right beside you, looking so much healthier than the last time you saw him. The color in his skin was back., which means that while you were asleep, Porlyusica must have gotten the blood to make the antidote. Currently, he was sitting in a hospital chair, which was tiny by the way so his very large body was stuck cramped in it. The sight was almost comical to you but the thought and gesture caused you to smile sweetly. You reached over to him, before taking his hand, stroking over his knuckles with your thumb. As you did that, you could hear him jump in his sleep, his snores going a higher octave for a moment before his own eyes began to open slowly. 

You smiled at him, “Morning sleepyhead,” you teased. 

His eyes widened. Your voice pulled him out of his sleepiness as he realized you were awake. He jumped out of his seat and wrapped his large arms around you, placing his head in your neck. You giggled at his actions before hugging him back, laying your head on his shoulder, taking a long whiff of his cologne. The two of you stayed like that for a long time, just staying there hugging each other. You could feel tears falling from your eyes, starting to make a damp spot on his shirt. You sniffled a couple of times, you had him back. You had your Laxus back and he was okay. 

“God I was so worried about you,” you choked on the lump in your throat, tightening the grip around his neck. 

You could hear him chuckle, “funny, I was gonna say the same thing about you, well the both of you.”

You could feel his arms slide down your back before going around your waist, his hand landing on your abdomen. You smiled at his actions, before moving your hand on top of his. With his other hand, he scooped you under your legs. He picked youtube and placed you on top of his lap, still holding you close to his body. You then leaned against his chest, feeling his heartbeat out of his chest. Both of your hands are still on top of your abdomen. 

“I’m pregnant.”

“I know. I heard everything you said.”

You smiled sadly, “I had a better way to tell you.”

You played around with the buttons on his shirt absentmindedly, more focused on the way he took a deep breath once you said that. 

“Is that so? Tell me about it.”

“Well, first I was gonna cook this big ass dinner…”

And the two of you stayed like that, relishing in each other’s touch until the Thunder Legion came to visit you. From there, the five of you made plans for your next move. Where to go, what you would do next.

-

[Taglist]

@perzawa

[mckiwi]

Whumptober 2022 Day 16: Mind Control

Characters: Stephen Strange, Wanda Maximoff, Donna Strange, Victor Strange, Eugene Strange, Beverly Strange

Summary: What if Wanda got a glimpse into Stephen's mind

Wanda's vision cleared to a cabin next to a lake with trees surrounding them. It was homely, with Cattails and Lilly pads growing along the lake's shore and small waves softly crashing against the dock. A boat with oars rocked quietly to the side and leaves rustled in the light breeze. She heard echoes of laughter around her and saw mirage-like images appear. A mother rocking a small boy to sleep on the front porch. It dissipated and she heard giggling deeper inside the woods. As she investigated, she saw a five-year-old boy walking across a fallen tree with a younger, perhaps three-year-old girl trailing close behind. "Stephy! Don't leave me!" The girl giggled. The boy, Stephen, spun around and continued to walk backward and smirked, showing off.

Wanda found herself smiling at the picture of child Stephen playing with his little sister. It reminded her of what she and Pietro used to do as kids, running through the streets of Sokovia, causing mayhem wherever they went. No matter what life put them through, they always had each other. Until his death, that is.

The breeze was now bone-chilling and Wanda shivered. Clouds covered the sun and the sky turned grey rapidly as she approached the cabin. She took one last glance at a slightly older Stephen with a baby in his arms and his little sister jumping into a pile of leaves. Wanda knocked on the door. Thunder rumbled loudly, causing the baby to whimper and reach out to wrap his tiny arms around his older brother's neck. Stephen shushed him and started carefully bouncing him, even as he looked wearily up at the sky.

Wanda tried the doorknob and found it was locked. In fact, even the windows were boarded shut. She saw no light within, but she heard screaming. After trying the doorknob once more with no success, she simply blasted the door off its hinges. Lightning struck across the sky bright enough to blind and rain abruptly flooded the area.

She stepped inside and immediately regretted it. She watched in horror as a drunk man yelled angrily at his wife in the kitchen while Stephen, no older than eight, shoved his younger siblings into a room down the hallway. As the man picked up a plate from the table, Stephen lept in front of the woman and grabbed the man's arm, "Dad, stop!" His father's fist sent Stephen flying to the floor, clutching his cheek. To his credit, Stephen quickly recovered despite the tears in his eyes and continued to try and stop the man alongside his mother. The father trudged to the room in the hallway, all the while Stephen shoved and pushed and begged his father to stop, to please sit down, go to bed, you're drunk, you're hurting me.

Wanda watched helplessly as Stephen grew up, trying to protect his siblings with everything he had. Time and time again. His little sister, Donna, broke the TV when their father had a bad day at work? Stephen took the blame and the beating without complaint. He even comforted her as Donna apologized and cried on his shoulder. Victor had trouble with his homework? Stephen helped him after dinner and then stayed up late to finish his own. He made sure they both got a birthday party every year, never having one for himself. Birthdays are for children, his father had told him. She watched Stephen take care of their parents while his siblings slept. His father throwing up at three in the morning due to drinking too much? Stephen was by his side even while holding an ice pack to his face. Their mother was in a depressive mood? He was there to eat ice cream and watch romcoms as the sun was rising. Some days were better than others. Some days Stephen got out of bed bright and early to make breakfast for the family. Some mornings his face was still crunchy from quietly crying himself to sleep the night before.

Wanda took a shuttering breath and hurried out of the house. The sight she was met with was arguably worse than inside. Donna and Stephen out in the middle of the frozen lake, cracks racing out from under their feet. "Stay right where you are! I'm coming to get you!" Stephen said. Donna screamed as the ice gave way under her. So did Stephen. He screamed out for help, called her name, reached as far into the water as he could without falling in himself. He did this for what felt like hours until his voice was too strained to be heard and his face a dangerous shade of red. His entire body was shaking when his mother finally dragged him away.

Wanda wiped away a tear she hadn't even realized she had shed. She watched as Stephen's father shoved him to kneel at a headstone. His eyes squeezed shut and his throat tight as he tried not to cry while his father screamed in his ear. The teenager stayed there even after his father left to go back inside, staring blankly at the words 'beloved daughter and sister'.

She went back inside to see Stephen argue with Victor as he held an acceptance letter to Columbia University. The hopeful light in Stephen's eyes had disappeared. He became obsessed with his studies, so long as it meant he didn't have to deal with his family. She opened a bedroom door in the hallway to a funeral home and saw Stephen standing at a podium, giving a speech at his mother's funeral. It was just barely over a year after his sister's. There was a hint of silver at his temples now.

She opened another door. It only took a few more years for Stephen to get a call from his brother about their father's death. Unlike his sister and mother, Stephen looked relieved at this news. Wanda noticed that Stephen didn't go to that funeral, and paid for it when Victor gave him an unexpected visit at his apartment in New York. Stephen did his job of protecting his siblings a little too well. Victor was furious that his older brother wouldn't go to their father's funeral even after the man had done so much for them. Stephen just let Victor accuse him with a face devoid of emotion, though Wanda knew there was a current of pain beneath the facade. His father had done well in teaching his son not to show weakness. Victor snapped and walked out… walked out straight in front of a car.

She opened another door to a bathroom. The only remaining Strange stared at his arm with tears streaming down his face and a scalpel in his hand. Alone in the privacy of his own home where he could show weakness. No one would see. Wanda sucked in a breath when she realized what she was witnessing. Stephen's hand shook as he held the scalpel above his wrist. Just then, the phone rang. Stephen didn't move as it went to voicemail. "Stephen? This is Christine. I saw some chocolate yogurt cake for sale at that bakery you really like so I got some. My shift is over in three hours so I'll be over then. Bye! Love you! Happy 23rd birthday!" Stephen pressed his lips together and the scalpel shook harder. Wanda waited anxiously as he debated with himself. He took several ragged breaths before the scalpel clattered to the floor and Stephen collapsed against the wall, sliding down to the chilly tile in a sobbing heap. He curled into himself and broke down in every way possible for one man to do. Wanda desperately wanted to reach out and comfort him. He managed to get himself cleaned up, not a trace of his earlier breakdown left, in time for Christine to arrive. He acted as if nothing ever happened. Wanda doubted he ever even told anyone.

Wanda absently hoped this would be the end. Stephen finally looked happy. She knew, however, they wouldn't last. It reminded her of the way she and Vis used to be. A decade of some semblance of happiness passed for Stephen. He graduated top of his class with his M.D and Ph.D. He and Christine proved to complement each other's personalities and be a good couple. He quickly skyrocketed as one of the best neurosurgeons in the United States, and possibly the world.

All good things must end. Stephen became obsessed with his work, much like his studies many years ago. Christine felt neglected of his love, and so she broke up with him after eleven long years. She still cared, but not in the way Stephen did. He loved so fiercely that it was breathtaking to watch. He'd endured so much pain for love. Had risen to fame and gained riches just to support Christine. He fell into a depressive episode, reminiscent of his mother. Beer bottles started piling up on the counter, but never enough to interfere with his career… never enough to become his father.

It got darker the further she walked down the hallway. She almost felt bad about seeing this man's entire life story, but curiosity had gotten the best of her. She wanted to know what forty years did to make the little boy happily drawing with his sister turn into the man who could face the Mad Titan without an ounce of fear.

She slowly opened a door, and a spray of water hit her face. She wiped it off but froze when she saw what was in front of her. She floated over to the car in the water and gasped when she saw Stephen's condition. She could barely believe he lived through this. All of this, really.

The next few months of his life were filled with hospitals and pain. The only person to ever visit him was Christine, and eventually, even she stopped showing up. Again, obsession took over. He needed to get his career back if it was the last thing he did. Wanda quickly went through the doors of his journey through Kamar-Taj and learning magic. Some moments were worse than others. Unfortunately, she started to recognize the man she knew.

Eventually, she got to a door that wasn't like the others. It was the door to a safe. Bolted and locked and tied so securely no one could get in, or so nothing could get out. The metal warped and popped as hand-like figures tried to push their way through. The metal groaned and creaked under the pressure. Wanda seriously had to consider if she was going to open it. She had invaded Stephen's mind to see his worst fears, after all, and use them against him, though she was fairly certain she had enough ammo as it was. Still, she pushed on. She undid the locks.

The door slammed open and Wanda screamed as every sense of her being was pelted with memories.

"Dormammu! I've come to ba-ghhhh" Stephen had his limbs ripped from his body.

Thanos complimented, "Earth chose its Stone Keeper well." Blood poured from Stephen's eyes as Thanos activated the Soul Stone, "but it will need to choose another." He writhed in absolute agony as his soul was splintered and extracted from his body.

"Pain's an old friend," Stephen said. Dormammu impaled him. Wanda believed him.

Dormammu growled, "you will never win." "No," Stephen agreed, "but I can lose. Again, and again, and again forever."

Tony Stark held Peter Parker to his chest, "go away!" He told Stephen. Stephen tried to explain, "Tony, it was the only way." "I DON'T CARE. MY KID IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU, NOT THAT YOU'D CARE. YOU SAID YOU WOULD LET HIM DIE." Tony choked on a sob, "how could you?" Stephen kept his face carefully blank. He knew he'd be dead within a few hours, too.

Stephen trapped himself in a loop, except this time, it was on Titan. He relieved the same moment over and over until nobody died. When he broke the loop, Tony was there to catch him. Everyone celebrated how easily Thanos was defeated. No one noticed how Stephen flinched at just the name.

"Dormammu! I've come to bargain!" He was quickly pinned to the ground like a butterfly. He died a few days later from thirst.

She wasn't expecting this. Wanda destroyed the Mind Stone far before Thanos could get the Time Stone. Wanda was also the one to rescue Stephen was from Thanos' clutches. They grew to be friends, eventually. They shared stories of their younger siblings. How their loved ones died. The fact they were both lonely. She found herself coming to the Sanctum often to check on him, eventually just deciding to move in. She and Tony settled their differences, and Peter adored her. Stephen fell in love with a woman named Clea. They raised America Chavez together and got married. Wanda was their maid of honor. She became Aunt Wanda to a little Sofia Strange. Wanda fell in love again as well. They never married nor had kids, but she was content.

She had gone insane after losing Vision. Created a fake reality for herself over Westview. That seemed familiar. She studied the Darkhold. "Do not talk to me about sacrifice," she had said. She invaded Stephen's mind. Wait a min-

"Get out!"

Both Wanda and Stephen gasped and collapsed to the floor as Wanda was expelled from his mind. Stephen clutched his head and hissed in pain. She knew he was trying to lock away those memories again and honestly felt sorry for being the one to release them. She began, "Stephen."

"Don't," he bit out. Those far too old eyes landed on her.

"I'm sorry," she said, surprised to find a few tears on her face. "I had no idea."

Stephen shuddered and took a harsh breath, "no one does."

Wanda couldn't help but openly stare at the man, "how can you stand it? The grief? Knowing you could get what you want but denying yourself?"

He laughed, but it sounded awfully like a crack in the dam of emotion. "I can't stand it. That's why I lock it away, no thanks to you." He shook his head and convulsed minutely. "Leave… please."

Wanda nodded and did as she was asked. For a few days at least. She came back a few days later to discuss how she could see her children again. Wong suggested training America how to better use her powers, then finding a universe with no Wanda. She agreed. Stephen invited her to move in at the Sanctum, and Wanda recognized what he was offering. A chance of friendship. A chance to make that reality he had seen their reality. She accepted.