#“where have you been this past week” i have been celebrating this non-stop

[i44rise]

it's been a week since this incredible win

[runninriot]

written for @steddieangstyaugust day 10

Maybe

prompt: "Where were you?" | wc: 2180 | rated: M | cw: cheating | tags: established relationship, lovers to exes, heartbreak, break up, open ending with a tiny flicker of hope | also on ao3

When he hears the front door open, Steve turns to risk a glance at the clock on his bedside table, red numbers glowing too bright in the darkness of the room.

It’s way past midnight, too late for Eddie to come back from the meeting he was supposed to be caught up at.

    ‘I’m sorry, baby. I’ll be home late again. Don’t wait up for me.’

Eddie had called him to let him know he wouldn’t make it home in time for dinner – the third time in two weeks – said each time he’d make it up to him. That he would take Steve out to this one fancy restaurant where they celebrated their fifth anniversary two years ago, hasn’t made true to his promise yet.

Eddie’s been so distant lately, kind of stressed and on edge, acting weird around Steve.

It's like something has changed between them. Something just doesn’t feel right.

Steve misses Eddie’s closeness. Misses being scooped up in strong arms like Eddie used to do whenever he came home from work. Misses the kisses, the hugs, the cuddles, the ‘I love you��s. He misses the sex, the way Eddie used to be obsessed with him. How he worshipped him.

It all didn’t stop over night, they’ve been in a rut for months now.

And maybe that’s normal.

Maybe 7 years of being together have finally taken their toll on things like passion and desire. Maybe waking up to the same face every day does that, makes your love life dull or rather non-existent.

Maybe it’s Steve’s fault for letting himself go a little. For having gotten too comfortable in the mundanity of their day to day life. He’s gained a bit of weight over the years, hasn’t been to the gym or on a morning run in ages. He prefers to wear comfortable sweaters instead of skin-tight shirts, wears his hair shorter now because he couldn’t be bothered anymore to style it every day to keep it out of his face.

Steve hasn’t tried to spice things up like he used to in the beginning of their relationship, when they could barely keep their hands off each other and spent whole weekends in bed fucking, making out, forgetting the world around them.

Maybe it’s all Steve’s fault.

Maybe he is the reason why, for the third time in two weeks, Eddie comes home past midnight, careful not to wake Steve when he slides into bed, reeking of alcohol and cheap perfume that isn’t his.

That’s why he doesn’t notice that Steve is awake, can’t even be bothered to kiss him goodnight like he used to do.

That’s why he lies.

Lies about meetings and business dinners, uses them as weak alibis to hide where he’s truly been.

   “Where were you?” Steve turns around facing Eddie’s back.

He knows Eddie isn’t asleep yet, knows he heard him, so he counts the seconds until finally, Eddie turns to look at him.

   “Didn’t know you’re awake.”

Steve closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

He could leave it at that. Could press a stiff kiss on his partner’s lips that the other man wouldn’t return and pretend that everything’s fine.

Could just keep pretending that he doesn’t know that his boyfriend is cheating on him.

   “I asked you a question, Eddie. Where were you?”

Eddie huffs, seems angry and Steve can’t believe how unfair this is. If anything, Steve should be the one that’s angry. He should be furious. But instead, he’s doing his best to hold back the tears that threaten to spill.

   “I told you, babe. I got caught up in this meeting and then the guys wanted to go for a few drinks after, that’s all.”

Steve almost believes him. Wants to believe that he’s telling the truth but he can feel in his heart that it’s a lie.

   “Do you still love me?”

It’s a question that has been burning inside him for a while now. Slowly eating away at his sanity because- what if not? What if Eddie fell in love with someone else? What if he met someone who can give him what Steve can’t? Someone younger, prettier, and more successful than him. Someone Steve can’t compete with because-

What does he have to offer, really, except his undying love?

The bedside lamp flickers to life and Eddie sits up so suddenly, that it startles Steve.

   “Steve, where is this coming from? You know I do!”

   “Can’t even say it,” Steve mumbles to himself as he pushes himself up to sit.

   “What?” Eddie asks, looking annoyed and confused.

   “I said. You can’t even say it!” Steve nearly shouts the words, doesn’t care how much his voice trembles, doesn’t care that Eddie can see the tears now running down his face.

He’s been keeping this in for too long; he can’t do it anymore. He can’t keep up the charade of them being this happy, loving couple when it’s so clear that they’re not anymore.

When he finally realises that everything has slowly been breaking apart under his disbelieving eyes – he could’ve put a stop to it before it was too late but instead, he chose to ignore it. Chose to believe in the lies he told himself, lies he wanted to believe because the truth seemed too unbearable.

Eddie tries to take his hand but Steve pulls away, wraps his arms around himself for what little comfort it gives.

   “Baby, please-“

   “Do not call me that. You have no right to call me that.”

Eddie sighs, rubbing his hands across his face and when he looks back up at Steve, he can see the truth he’s been dreading all this time in the other man’s eyes.

   “You’re right, I’m not. Steve, I- I am, fuck. I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean for it to happen. I- I don’t even know why I did it.”

The confession slices through Steve’s heart like a knife, tears him apart from the inside out. He can’t breathe, can’t think, can’t believe that his worst nightmare is now bitter reality.

But it is; Eddie just admitted to it. Doesn’t even try to lie his way out of it this time.

   “Do you love them?”

Steve doesn’t know why he’s asking. Does he really want to know the answer?

Maybe he needs it. Maybe he needs to hear Eddie say it out loud to make it real. To make him believe that it is.

   “No! I only love you.”

Steve scoffs, feels sick.

   “You’ve got a hell of a way showing that.”

   “I know! I know I’ve made a mistake but please believe me. I love you, Steve! Only you! I fucked up, I know that. But-“

No.

No, this isn’t right.

   “But what, Eddie? Fuck you! You cheated on me! You haven’t even kissed me in weeks but you went out there and fucked someone else?”

Steve’s voice cracks as he breaks down sobbing, hiding his face in his own hands.

This is it. It’s over.

Seven years of building a life together, of creating a beautiful home, seven years of happiness thrown away.

Just like that.

   “Stevie, baby,” Eddie’s voice is suddenly so much closer and before Steve can register what happens, he’s wrapped up in Eddie’s arms, pulling him against his chest.

He hates how good it feels. How his body sinks into the embrace out of sheer instinct. How he lets himself be held because that’s what he knows. For years, Eddie has been his anchor, his whole goddamn world. And although he knows he should fight it, he can’t help but sling his arms around the man he loves. Still, even after what he did.

   “I’m so, so sorry, Steve. I never wanted to hurt you. I love you, baby. I love with all my heart and I know I’ve fucked up big time. It wasn’t even- I didn’t-“

Steve can hear in his voice that he’s crying, too. But he can’t bring himself to look up, can barely focus on his own grieving heart and the muffled sound of Eddie’s voice.

   “I was drunk when it happened the first time and I know that’s no excuse. I know that! And it doesn’t justify that I went back. That I- that I hurt you. You deserve better, Stevie. You deserve the whole fucking world and I-“

   “I only wanted you, Eddie. That’s all I needed.”

Finally, Steve finds the strength to peel himself out of Eddie’s arms.

   “Why? Why did you do it? Am I not enough for you?”

Eddie takes a staggering breath and it pains Steve to see him like that – hurt and defeated, regret written all over his tear-streaked face.

It hurts so fucking much because all he ever wanted was to make Eddie happy.

But he failed. He failed to love Eddie the way he needs to be loved or else he wouldn’t have had searched for pleasure somewhere else, right?

   “You are everything, Steve. This is my fault, not yours. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Somehow, that makes it even worse.

   “I was stupid. So fucking stupid. And I’ll do everything I can to make it right.”

One month later

Breaking up with Eddie had been the hardest decision he’s ever had to make. But Steve knew if he stayed, he’d only hurt himself. That he’d give himself up trying to mend what’s been broken, that he’d drown in self-doubts and misery trying to pretend that everything could be right again.

And maybe Eddie knew it, too, deep down.

It’s not like Eddie didn’t put up a fight, he did. Tried to talk Steve into staying, begged on his knees for another chance. But eventually, he let him go. Gave him one last kiss goodbye, one last hug, one more moment of familiarity before Steve’s world changed and everything he’d known for seven years suddenly turned into a scary, unknown future he’d have to face on his own.

It still hurts. Especially when Steve comes home to an empty apartment after work, knowing that no one will be there to fall asleep next to at night. This is probably the hardest part of it all, lying in an empty bed without the comfort of Eddie’s body to cuddle up next to.

But it’s for the best.

He knows it is, even if he still wishes Eddie was there, here, with him.

Steve manages, gets by. He found a nice little apartment, tries to keep himself distracted with work, has picked up on hobbies he’d given up years ago.

Life is... okay. Not good. Not how it used to be because there’s always something missing.

There’s always this void, this empty space where Eddie used to be. On quiet Sunday mornings when the smell of coffee fills the kitchen but Steve’s mug is the only one on the table. Or when their favourite songs play on the radio and Steve’s voice is the only one singing along.

It’s lonely without Eddie.

Lonely without the man that still, after everything, is the one that holds his heart.

When Steve comes home after work, two bags of groceries in one hand, fumbling for the key with his other, he’s stopped in his tracks at the sight that greets him in front of his apartment door.

There’s a bouquet of flowers waiting for him. Pink peonies and yellow roses – and it shouldn’t surprise him anymore because it’s been like this for every single day for three weeks but it still makes him smile like it’s the first time.

Steve drops the bags to pick up the flowers and look for the card he knows is there.

    Hope you had a good day.

    I love you.

    E.

The messages vary but it always ends with the words Steve so desperately wanted to hear him say before their world broke apart. And although Steve hasn’t forgotten what he did, he appreciates Eddie’s stubbornness. His willingness to try.

These sweet little gestures are as heart-warming as they are painful. Because it reminds Steve every day of how much he misses him. Misses Eddie’s laughter and his hugs, his kisses and the warmth of his eyes. Misses the sound of Eddie’s voice when he called him baby, despite everything.

Because he loves him.

Still.

And it makes him wonder if maybe, when the time is right and the pain has soothed enough to talk about it, maybe they can dare to work it out?

Start from the beginning, on Steve’s terms.

Give their love a second chance because-

No matter how stupid it sounds, his heart tells him it’s worth another try.

Because people make mistakes, it’s in their nature to fuck up. And sure, some mistakes cannot be forgiven.

But maybe, in this case, it’s not about forgiveness. Maybe it’s more about healing and finding a way to look past what happened – not to forget, but to take it as a chance to do better.

Because maybe, a love that runs so deep, that lives in every cell of Steve’s body, deserves a second chance.

[jake-sullys-wife]

Hiiiiii can I request a smut where dilf!jake sully is fucking human!reader in the forest in front of all his friends to since they’re curious about humans and to show off his human girlfriend to them?? Jake also lets them touch y/n like playing with her nipples and running their hands all over her body. If they get too close to her pussy or ass Jake gets mad at them

The celebration

(if you don't like this,then don't read)

warning! : ⚠️,🔞,🖤

Violence!/abuse!, non con!, size difference!(Let me know if I'm missing anything)

(sorry guys it takes so long for me to post because things have been hard for the past few weeks maybe months but I am now here and all that shit I know I'm just saying that but I'm telling the truth so please forgive me 😭🙏🏽 plus quaritch x Jake have been on my mind a lot 🧍🏽‍♀️)

(And to the anonymous who requested this I didn't read it all the way through when you said a front of the friends curious about the human body I didn't read it that until I started writing and finishing it now I'm looking at it and I'm very sorry but I hope this satisfies you again I'm very sorry 😔 )

*Jake is in the lab with his oxygen mask and y/n and are just talking about random stuff but Jake asked y/n this question*

"Hey I was going to ask if you want to come to the celebration. Do you want to come?"

*Oh yeah the celebration is coming soon*

"Sure I could come! I need to get out of this lab every once in awhile" *y/n said as look down at her paperwork then looking back at Jake which he was chuckling*

"Haha! Well I'll tell neytiri about you coming plus she can give you the clothes you know the top and the Loincloth"

*After that little conversation Jake left to go tell his wife and after a few hours neytiri came by and handed her the finest clothes*

♡

*It's the day at the celebration and y/n put on the clothes the top and Loincloth, she put on her oxygen mask and left out the lab.*

*At the celebration there was a lot na'vi having a good time*

*Y/n had a few drinks, some food (of course you got to take the oxygen mask off and put it back on) then she decided to dance a little*

*She had her arms up and swaying with her hips, then a few na'vi males surrounded her and dancing with her*

*She didn't mind it of course because you know they're dancing, she's dancing. it's the celebration*

*One of them went behind her and put their hands on her waist, y/n is giggling and didn't even care*

*The male na'vi sliding his hand up going under her top but then Jake came out of nowhere*

"Hey can I borrow her for a sec?"

*He sounded demanding and most likely pissed off?*

"Oh yes, of course toruk makto"

*he ran off so did the others, Jake grab her wrist and took her far away from the celebration. Y/n doesn't know what's wrong with him and why is he acting like this?*

♡

*Jake stopped and pushed her against a tree, his eyes filled with anger and lust*

"Why did you let those fukers touching you like you're were some whore"

*Some whore? The hell is he talking about?*

"What are you talking about, you invite me to the celebration-- !" *Jake punched her stomach, he punched her that hard that the next day a big bruise will show*

*Y/n almost fell to the ground, holding her stomach. It felt like she's going to throw up*

*Then Jake's hand grabbed y/n's hair making her look up at him*

"Yeah I did invite you to celebration but that doesn't mean you let those nasty fucks touching you like that, especially touching what's mine"

*Then with a flip of a wrist Jake ripped her top and her Loincloth, throwing them behind his shoulder*

"W-what are you doing!?" *Y/n panicked, covering herself with her arms but Jake grabbed both of her wrists with one hand and rising her wrists above her head*

"What am I doing? About to Mark what's mine to show those men what they are touching" *with his free hand he got between her legs, touching her pussy and stroking her lips with his fingers while his thumb rubbing her cilt*

*Y/n struggle while he's playing her pussy, she also struggled trying to pull her both of her wrists from his grip* "stop!..~"

"How about you stop struggling? Besides we both know you like this~" *Jake said. He stopped playing her pussy then with his freed hand he untied his Loincloth, revealing his big massive cock*

*Y/n's eyes widen seeing something that big in front of her*

"See *this*? *This* is going to be inside you~" *Jake pushed y/n on the ground while holding both of her wrist, he got between her legs. Stroking his member with purecum leaking out*

"It's not going to fit..." *Y/n said look at it. She couldn't keep her eyes off of it*

"Oh it will, it will fit. I'll make sure it fits" *and just like that with that warning he thrust it in her. His thrust was harsh and rough. He can feel her walls tighten around him but he's only halfway in which means he has to put the rest of him inside*

"Already I can feel you clenching around me~" *another harsh thrust he finally put the rest of him inside. Y/n moans loudly as she can feel him stretching her walls and feel his tip though her cervix*

*After a few moments Jake began to move, his hips hitting against hers while y/n is moaning loudly throughout the forest that every animal can hear her*

*His hand groping her breast while he's thrusting* "fuck! You feel so good~ so good~"

*He lean down biting her neck* "j-jake!~"

"Yeah that's right, scream my name!~ scream my name with those pretty lips!~" *Jake let go both of her wrist then. He used his hands to grab her legs and put them on his shoulders*

*He went he went a little deeper inside her pussy. Y/n gripping the Forest Grass for dear life*

"You fucking love this, don't ya?~ gonna breed this pussy~" *wait did he just say...breed? Oh shit*

"N-no! Don't--ah!~" *y/n tried telling him no but that interrupted by his thrusting. He thrusts so rough*

"Fuckkk I'm gonna cum inside!~" *a few lazy thrust he released his seed deep inside her while y/n cried through all of it*

"Now.... Let's see those fucks try to touch you now~"

*End*

(I tried my best as you can see 😔)

[something-tofightfor]

Aphelion - 12

Pairing: Oberyn Martell x Female Reader, Oberyn Martell x Ellaria Sand

*Please be sure to consider all chapter warnings before reading! Warnings will be updated for each chapter in individual posts as well as on the Masterlist.

Warnings: language, discussion of the past, mentions of violence, blood and death, mention of self-harm, NSFW, vampirism, biting. sex talk - Oberyn and Ellaria are together in this chapter, but it's offscreen.

Word Count: 14,251 (whoops.)

Summary: It's one night out - and you need it.

When Tyene and Toban take you out to give Oberyn and Ellaria the privacy they need, you're able to fill the night with something that you've been lacking for the previous weeks: non-vampire company.

While out, you spend some time talking with everyone, digging just a little deeper into how - and why - their family has lasted for so long.

Back at the apartment, the group springs something on you ... and you decide to take your chances and let Oberyn know exactly how it makes you feel.

A/N: First of all, we're very sorry that this has taken a literal year. Life happens, but we're back at it with our favorite Vampire Prince. We appreciate your patience, and we really and truly hope that this chapter is everything you've hoped for - there's not too much left to this story now, but I can tell you with certainty that this chapter contains the bulk of their last "relaxed" moments before shit hits the fan.

Thank you for reading. Happy Halloween (if you celebrate!) Questions or concerns? You know where to find us.

Catch up with the Aphelion masterlist here!

(banner by @valkblue )

You hadn’t stopped smiling since Toban handed you the phone and told you to invite a friend out for drinks. And once Nora showed up at the bar you suggested, you knew the smile wasn’t likely to fade any time soon. Oh, I really fucking needed this.  

The past two weeks had been surreal in every way. 

Just fourteen days earlier, you were at Golden Lion’s Halloween party, and the biggest shock had been the fact that Oscar - the alluring and attractive stranger you’d met in a chance encounter a few days prior - was also in attendance. 

Since then you’d watched that same attractive stranger wield what you thought had been a prop blade in an alley fight as he saved your life from a brutal attack while risking his own. You’d also learned that his name was not Oscar but Oberyn Martell - Prince of Dorne and one of the immortals known as Others that you always assumed were just the stuff of ancient folklore. 

All of that would have been enough to fill your Bingo card of things you never even dreamed were possible. But it was only the beginning. 

From the ease with which you’d accepted who and what he was, to the undeniable physical and emotional pull you felt toward him; from the paralyzing fear that filled your heart when you thought you might lose him, to the overwhelming urge to do everything in your power to help him not only survive but also conquer his enemies, you’d been on a non-stop adrenaline fueled rollercoaster. And it’s not over yet. 

Under normal circumstances, you never would have gone through so many life-changing events without opening up to Nora about it. The two of you rarely went more than a day without talking, even if it was just about the mundane details of your Thursday afternoon. The fact that you hadn’t been able to talk to her at all, let alone tell her about everything you’d been through, had made the stress of it all seem heavier. For obvious reasons you still couldn’t tell her most of what had happened since the last time you spoke, and you weren’t sure if that would ever change. 

But as she wrapped you in a tight hug and then slid into the seat across from you at one of the high-top tables, you realized that it didn’t matter. Not that night, anyway. That night, all that mattered was that for an hour or two, you got to have a normal night out with your friend.

As discussed with both Toban and Tyene prior to Nora’s arrival, you kicked off the conversation with your cover story for being MIA for the last two weeks.  You explained that immediately after the Golden Lion party, the company contracted you for another big project. This one, unlike the archival work they’d had you doing previously, dealt with much more sensitive information - and as a result, the confidentiality protocols were far more strict. 

“The two other people on the team both had to travel pretty far for this job. Golden Lion put us all up temporarily in a hotel downtown so we’d be able to work together and not have to commute anywhere.” You didn’t love lying to her, but it was more like a stretched version of the truth than an outright fabrication. Plus, you had previously worked on projects that required you to relocate for the duration, so you hoped that Nora would buy your explanation without too many follow up questions. “And in the chaos of packing and all that, I lost my phone and just got a new one today, so that’s why I haven’t called or texted or anything until tonight.” 

You were met with a smirk. “Yeah, that and the fact that you hooked up with rooftop bar guy. I’d lose track of my phone, too.” You rolled your eyes as she winked. “So is this him?” Nora asked, cocking her head in the direction of the bar, where Toban stood waiting for your drinks. What? Oh, she must have seen me talking to him when she got here. “The guy you absconded with after the Halloween party for… hmm, let’s call it a -” She held up her fingers to make air quotes. “A long weekend of do-not-interrupt style sex and- ” 

Your eyes went wide as you cut her off. “Oh my god, Nora, no.” In your peripheral view you could have sworn you caught Tyene barely conceal a snort from across the room. You knew without a doubt that Toban had also heard the assumption. But while he was likely to just brush it off and never bring it up again, you could already hear Tyene teasing you about it every chance she got. Oh well, nothing I can do about that now. 

You let out a small huff of laughter and shook your head. “Toban is one of the people on my team for the new project Golden Lion has me working on. We get along well, but… no. It wasn’t him.” 

She clicked her tongue. “Here I thought I was gonna get to meet the guy that charmed you out of that costume you spent days making. What’s his name? You never told me. And where’s he tonight?” 

Oh, he’s busy fucking the side effects of an ancient immortal’s powerful blood out of his system so that he can focus on finishing a two thousand year old revenge plot. You cleared your throat. “His name is Oscar, and he already had plans for tonight.” Circling your wrist, you went on. “Some kind of family obligation I think.” 

Nora gave you a small frown. “Well that’s a bummer. But-” Her frown curved upwards, morphing into a smirk. “Since he’s not here, that means you can tell me everything. So spill.” 

You laughed, one hand coming up to cover your eyes as you shook your head. Oh, Nora, even if I could tell you everything, I’m not sure you’d believe me. Dropping your hand back to the table, you looked up at her wearing a small smirk of your own. “Okay, well, I’m not gonna tell you everything, because…” You trailed off and rolled your eyes at the ceiling. “Some things need to stay between me, Oscar and the walls, if you catch my drift.” Like the fact that I kept him alive by letting him drink my blood, or that he gave me a mark of protection that he hasn’t given anyone else in hundreds of years. 

Nora scoffed. “Fine. I’ll settle for whatever you can tell me. Like… What’s he look like? What does he do for a living? And, the most important detail -” She held up one finger and tilted her head, fixing you with a serious stare. “What’s it like to kiss him?” 

At her third question you felt your cheeks flood with warmth. Pretty sure he invented good kissing. Letting out a breathy laugh, you answered her in order. “Well, he’s so goddamn handsome that he literally called me out for staring at him when we met.” Nora snorted as you went on. “He’s got gorgeous brown eyes and an incredible smile. Dark hair, tall, strong - like, really strong.” Immortally, supernaturally strong. “He dresses really well, too. Like, he looks just as good wearing clothes as he does out of them.” Tyene is never going to let me live that one down but I don’t care. 

“Hot.” Nora’s smile widened. That doesn’t even come close to describing it.

You laughed and addressed her next question, telling her that Oscar was an art and antiquities dealer, and that he was at the party because he was doing business with Golden Lion. That was a fabrication, again one that you decided on beforehand. But it also had some anchor in the truth - between his pendant, the spear, and - you were positive - countless other items of priceless value that he likely owned and had stashed away in places around the world, he could at the very least be deemed a collector. And he definitely has business with the Lannisters, so… 

Luckily, Nora didn’t press you for more on his occupation. “Nice. So he’s hot, cultured, smart and has good taste.” She ticked those qualities off on her fingers and you nodded along with each of them. “Now what about the smooching?” 

You took a big breath, your tongue poking into your cheek as you tried and failed to contain your smile. Letting out a sigh, you looked your friend square in the eye. “Dizzyingly good. It’s hard to stop, honestly.” 

“Ah!” Nora drummed her fingers against the tabletop. “Good for you! So is this like, a thing?” She flattened her forearms in front of herself and leaned over them. “Are you guys like, seeing each other?” 

One hand came up to the side of your neck, your fingertips instinctively finding the place where you wore Oberyn’s mark on your skin. You thought about what he’d told you about why he’d stopped offering his protection, even to those he cared deeply for - and about what it meant that none of that mattered to him when he marked you. Toban’s words from the rooftop echoed through your mind - “I am glad that it will not be the same with you.” - as though he knew without a shadow of a doubt that Oberyn intended to offer you more than just his protection. 

Your chest swelled as you recalled what Oberyn had said regarding finally finding someone to make that offer to  - “I will be the luckiest man on this planet if they say yes.” Throat going dry, you heard your own voice as you almost uttered the words “I love you” to him as you were falling asleep. 

If all of that didn’t qualify as a thing, you weren’t sure what did. 

“We, um…” You swallowed, dropping your hand down to the table and letting out a nervous laugh. “I think so, Nora.” Nodding, you bit your bottom lip and shrugged. “We’re not… we haven’t really talked much about the future or anything.” Your head shook from side to side. “We’re just seeing how things go for now though.” 

That was true. 

As much as you wanted to believe that you would be in Oberyn’s plans - and in his life - after things with the Lannisters had been settled, you needed to make it to the after, first. As much as you wanted to let yourself imagine what being with him without a constant threat hanging over your heads might look like, you needed to get out from under it before anything you imagined could become possible. 

Nora reached across the table and placed her hand on your wrist, one eyebrow arched high. “But you like him?” 

At that, you couldn’t help the amused sound you made as you blew out a burst of air. “God, yeah.” You rolled your eyes at the way heat bloomed in your cheeks and in the center of your chest at the admission. “Yeah, I like him. A lot.”

“I can tell.” She beamed at you, gently shaking your arm. “This is as over the fucking moon as I’ve ever seen you, and it sounds like this Oscar feels the same.” Releasing her grip, she drew her hand back, resting that elbow on the tabletop and her chin in her palm. “I’m happy you’re happy, even if it’s new.” She wrinkled her nose. “Just be careful and all that shit I’m legally obligated to say as your friend.” 

You laughed again. “I will,” you assured her. In more ways than you mean, I will. “I promise.” 

She nodded once. “Well, if this does turn out to be a thing, I hope I get to meet him next time.” 

I want that to happen. So much. “If it does,” you winked, giving her a small grin. “You will.” 

“Good.” She narrowed her eyes before letting them dart over to the bar, catching on Toban again as he and Tyene started heading back your way, drinks in hand. You had to stop yourself from laughing as her expression turned almost comically wistful. “So, quick question. Do you know if tall, chiseled and handsome over there is fair game? Because…” She widened her eyes, nodding as she spoke out of the corner of her mouth. “Definitely would hit.” 

At that you snorted. Partially because you’d had a sneaking suspicion that Nora would be attracted to Toban, but also because you knew that he had just heard her comment even though she thought she was being covert. You had no idea if Toban enjoyed the company of humans the same way that Oberyn did, or if he would even entertain Nora’s flirting. But what could it hurt? “Yeah,” you let out a huff of laughter. “Go for it.” 

“Go for what?” Toban asked, a grin tinting his voice and lighting up his green eyes. He set a beer down in front of Nora before taking a seat next to her. “Drinks? We already have those.” 

You pressed your lips together as you watched Nora try to look less flustered than the man’s proximity to her was causing her to be. “Yes we do, thanks to you.” She beamed at him, one hand wrapping around her pint glass. 

Beside you, Tyene plopped into her seat and slid you one of the two drinks she carried, shooting you an amused sideways glance and raising her eyebrows. Yeah, I know. You shrugged as Nora continued answering Toban’s question. 

“No, um, we-” She motioned with her pointer finger between the two of you. “We were talking about a work thing. I was asking her if I should…” Laughing at herself, she shook her head. “Nevermind that, though, we’re here to have fun.” 

“We are.” Tyene spoke up, lifting her glass. “Cheers to that.” 

For the next hour or so that was exactly what you did. 

Conversation flowed easily between the four of you, Tyene and Toban joking and engaging with Nora like they’d known her as long as you had. At one point she mentioned an upcoming trip to Lisbon for her cousin’s wedding, and Toban, laying his wide palm over her forearm and causing her eyes to dart excitedly to yours before snapping back to his, offered enthusiastic recommendations of some of his favorite places in the city. You snorted into a sip of beer at just how raptly she listened, the woman propping her elbow on the table and leaning her chin into her hand. Subtle.

When you finished the first round, Nora excused herself to the ladies’ room, Tyene popping up to tag along so she could touch up her makeup while you and Toban grabbed refills. 

“Nora seems like she’s having a good time.” He leaned against the bar rail and faced you with a smile. “I hope you are, too.” 

You grinned at him as you stepped up to the bar and waved down the bartender. “I am.” You closed your eyes, letting out a sigh. “I really am.” Opening your eyes again, you gently knocked his elbow with yours. “Thank you for this.” 

“My pleasure,” he responded with a quick wink before turning to place the drink order with the man who had just appeared in front of you. “We’ll take four more of the same, and you can put it on my tab. Thanks.” The bartender nodded and headed for the taps, Toban returning his attention to you. “I do have something to ask you, though.” 

You tilted your head, eyebrows drawn together. “What’s up?” You stood up straight and crossed your arms over your chest. Is something wrong? “Is everything okay?” 

“Everything is fine, I promise. If there was a problem, we’d already be gone. ” He placed his hand on your shoulder and you instantly relaxed, dropping your arms again. Damn, that’s useful. “I just still have to take care of finding someone to -” 

“Oh!” Your eyebrows flew up as you realized what he was getting at. He still needs to feed. “Toban, if you need to drink I’ll let you -” 

He shook his head then, cutting you off. “That’s not what I was going to ask you.” He gave you a grateful smile. “Thank you, I appreciate the offer, but you wear Oberyn’s mark.” Your eyes widened. Oh, shit, is that some kind of etiquette thing that I just fucked up? “And while I’m sure he would not be upset, that is a line I won’t cross for my own reasons.” I … don’t know what that means, but now I want to. 

You swallowed. “Okay. So what um -” The bartender showed up then, dropping off two of the four drinks you were waiting on. “Thanks,” you accepted the glasses and waited for him to step away to grab the others before finishing your question. “What did you need to ask me then?” 

Toban shot a glance in the direction that Tyene and Nora would be returning from, then settled his eyes on yours. “I was wondering if you would be okay with me drinking from Nora.” 

The shock you felt registered as a quick outburst of laughter. “What?” You blinked at him, your expression still halfway between amusement and confusion. “You’re asking me permission to…” You trailed off as the bartender set down the other two drinks. 

“Thank you,” Toban nodded to the man. “You can keep it open for now.” Once he’d walked away to take care of other patrons, Toban resumed the conversation the two of you were having. “I’m asking if you would be okay with it, or if you would rather I found someone else. But if I do that, I should start looking soon because we’re probably going to be ready to head back in another hour, give or take.” 

Even though you didn’t want to rush the night, a jolt of excitement passed through you at the prospect of getting back to Oberyn. Ugh, Nora was right, I really am over the moon. But as difficult a task as it was, you set aside your eagerness to be back in his arms and focused on Toban’s question. Because it’s important. We didn’t just come out tonight to socialize, he needs to be ready for… for what’s coming, and that means he needs to drink. 

Clearing your throat, you considered what he’d asked you. “I…” Honestly, I feel like if I say no and Nora found out, she’d be mad at me, so…  You shrugged. “I know you won’t hurt her, so I don’t see why not.” 

Toban locked his eyes with yours. “I won’t hurt her, you have my word on that.”

You nodded. “I trust you, Toban. If it feels right between you … I won’t think it’s weird or anything.” 

He grinned. “Thank you.” Wrapping his hands around two of the glasses, he jutted his chin over your shoulder. “They’re back, we should go join them.” 

Picking up the other two, you followed him back to the table. Well, Nora, you did say you were into him. Let’s see what happens. 

As though she could hear your thoughts and needed to prove them true, your friend spoke up then. “So I noticed that they have a dart board here.” She brought her free hand up and across her body to point out the black and white circular game board. Your eyes flicked in that direction and then back to her face. “Anyone feel like playing?” 

You narrowed your eyes. “You want to play darts?” 

Nora blinked twice and gave you a tiny head shake which you took to mean play along. “I think it could be fun.” Her eyes shifted in Toban’s direction and then back to meet yours. 

Deciding to give her just a little bit of shit, you scrunched your nose. “Are you any good at darts?” 

She widened her eyes at you and pressed her lips together, and you had to take a sip of your drink to keep from bursting out in laughter at the flash of mock frustration in her eyes at your question. “Well, I don’t know. But I’m sure Toban could teach me.” She turned to face him, her cheeks lifting into her eyes with a broad smile. “You look like you know what you’re doing.”  

Tyene snorted before Toban could answer. “Oh, this should be good.” She linked her arm through yours and spoke your name. “C’mon, looks like we’re teammates.” As you stood, Tyene looked over to Nora and jerked her chin in Toban’s direction. “He’s really good with pointy things. He can definitely teach you.”

With that, your group moved to a high top table near the dart boards, the four of you playing a few games. Much to your and Tyene’s - and likely Toban’s - amusement, Nora took every opportunity to ask him  for help with her aim, your friend practically swooning when the man placed his hand on her back and adjusted her stance. This is officially the strangest wingwoman situation I have ever been involved with, but it’s fine. 

Midway through the third game, during one of Nora’s shots, Tyene’s phone dinged from inside her jacket pocket. “Hey,” she flicked her eyes from the screen up to meet yours, and then turned the phone around so that you could see the screen before glancing up to catch Toban’s eye. 

Setting your mostly empty glass on the table, you looked down at the message. 

You can come back whenever you’re ready. 

The words, though simple enough, made your heart pound against the walls of your chest as soon as you’d read them. Excitement to be back in the apartment with Oberyn swirled with a sudden rush of nerves over the potential for awkwardness, knowing what went on while the three of you had been out with Nora. What if it’s weird? What if he… 

Without thinking, you lifted your fingers to brush over the invisible mark on your skin. You felt your own pulse thrum under your touch as you marveled again at the importance of the sigil you wore. No. It won’t be weird. Nothing will be different, it’s just… 

Tyene cleared her throat and slipped her phone back into her pocket. “So I’m thinking we let Bullseye McGee and Toban win this round and then head out. Thoughts?” 

The uncertainty you were feeling seconds earlier vanished as you laughed, muttering “Bullseye McGee” under your breath with a shake of your head. “I think that’s a good plan,” you responded, lifting your glass and tapping it against Tyene’s. “What about -” You tipped your head in Toban and Nora’s direction. “Doesn’t he still need to -” You widened your eyes, and then it was Tyene’s turn to laugh. 

“Yeah, he still needs to walk Nora home.” She winked exaggeratedly, and you took the hint. He’ll take care of that at her place. Got it.  

“Right.” You nodded, winking back at her, and then you finished the last of your drink. “Okay then. Let’s go lose at darts real quick.” 

You caught Toban’s grin as he listened in from a few feet away, and then you stepped up to get Nora on the same page as the rest of you. Well, close to the same page, anyway. Conjuring up a yawn, you reached over to squeeze her elbow. “I think we should probably get going soon. Tomorrow’s a big day for our project, and -” Your stomach flipped inelegantly at the truth of that statement, but you did your best to ignore it. 

“- And you need your beauty sleep.” Nora finished your sentence, pinching your cheek teasingly before rolling her eyes. “Fine, be a buzzkill.” She draped her arm around your shoulder. “But let’s finish this game first. I’m feeling a comeback.” 

You laughed. “Oh are you?” You gestured to the board, where her last dart was still stuck two wedges to the left of where she was aiming. “Alright, then. Let’s see it happen.” 

Twenty five minutes later, you’d hugged Nora goodbye before asking her to let you know when she got in, and then you watched as she and Toban headed down the street in the direction of her building. It was probably about a fifteen minute walk for them - roughly double the time it would take you and Tyene to get back to the apartment you’d been staying in. But the night air was pleasantly cool so you didn’t mind the walk and you knew Nora wouldn’t, either. Especially because it means more time with Toban. 

The thought made you laugh to yourself, prompting Tyene to ask what was so funny. 

“Oh, maybe it’s the fact that I sent my normal human best friend off to make out with an immortal she just met.” 

“An immortal who is planning to drink her blood,” she added, pointing at you with a smirk. “Don’t forget that part.” 

That drew another laugh from you, as you once again pondered how all of this was actually happening in your life right now. That train of thought brought up another question. Wait a minute…  You looked over at Tyene, curiosity cutting a crease between your eyebrows. “Actually, about that part specifically…Can I ask you something?” 

She swiveled her head in your direction, short hair bouncing with the movement, and gave you a small shrug. “Sure. Go ahead.”  

Okay, now how do I word this? “How, um -” You hesitated, clearing your throat and reaching across your body to adjust the strap of your bag. “On nights like tonight, when you go out to -”  Fuck, just ask the question. “How do you drink without the person knowing?” You dropped your arm back to your side, head shaking slightly. “Don’t they feel anything?” I definitely did. “Wouldn’t they… I don’t know, don’t they notice?” 

“Oh, simple,” she replied, facing forward and continuing to walk without missing a step. “We just hypnotize them.” 

You clicked your tongue and gave her a playful swat on the arm. “Tyene.” She laughed at the false exasperation in your tone, the sound contagious enough to make you laugh, too. “I’m being serious.” 

“And how do you know I’m not? Hmm?” She glanced over at you with one eyebrow raised. “You ask a question, I give you an answer, and you automatically assume I’m fucking with you?” Her left hand came up to her chest. “That hurts, you know?” 

“Well maybe if you don’t want to be the girl who cried Direwolf you could try - I don’t know - not fucking with me every chance you get.” 

That only made her laugh harder, her head tipping back. “Yeah, yeah,” she replied. “But where would the fun in that be?” 

You rolled your eyes. “Oh, I’m sure you’d find ways to have fun without playing confuse-the-human.” 

She draped her arm around your shoulders and pulled you in. “Hey, I’ve gotta strike while the iron is hot. I won’t be able to play that game with you forever.” 

She winked, giving you a small squeeze before releasing you. Her words made you suck in a quick breath. She keeps… Your heart thudded hard, and you knew she could hear it. It was far from the first time that Tyene had alluded to the fact that she didn’t believe you would stay human once Oberyn finally had his revenge. You didn’t love to admit it, but you knew that there was a part of you that wanted her to be right. But I still don’t know if - 

Your thoughts were interrupted as she spoke again. “Think of it as a rite of passage.” I will absolutely not think of it that way, but okay. “And if it makes you feel any better, you’re way better at picking up on my bullshit than others have been in the past.” 

“Oh, good.” You said it sarcastically, and through a smirk. But you were aware that the ability to pick up on - and call her out on - her bullshit actually meant something to Tyene. Your smirk grew into a real smile. “I’m so glad.” I am, though. “But can I please get a real answer now?” 

She snorted. “Yeah, alright.” The two of you stopped at a corner, Tyene pressing the button on the post to change the signal. You watched as she did another quick scan of the area, her eyes darting around to make sure that you weren’t being followed or listened to. There were other people out on the street, but they were all self-contained in their own little groups and pairs, none of them paying the two of you any attention. After a few seconds, Tyene confirmed your safety by continuing the conversation. “The answer is actually a simple one, even if it doesn’t involve hypnosis.” Her shoulders lifted in a shrug. “We can control what our bite will feel like.” 

You felt your eyes widen in surprise. Oh. It wasn’t what you were expecting, but it immediately made sense - they wouldn’t want to harm or scare the humans they drank from, but when encountering an enemy, they had the ability to inflict intense pain. Like when Oberyn bit Gregor in the alley. He definitely wanted it to hurt then. 

The walk signal changed and Tyene stepped off the curb, with you following half a step behind. “So,” you took a longer stride to catch back up with her. “So to them it just feels like… nothing?” 

“Well I don’t know if I’d say it feels like nothing. I like to think that after four hundred years I’m a little bit better at making out than nothing.” 

“No, I -”  You groaned, the sound turning into a laugh as you brought one hand up to your face.   “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” 

“See?” The point of her elbow bumped your bicep. “Very good at recognizing my bullshit.” She laughed, letting her arm drop to swing naturally with her gait. “But to actually answer your question, all they feel is the rush from kissing a stranger.” She shrugged. “No one’s going to complain about a little nip on the lip or one of us paying some extra attention to their neck.” No, I guess they wouldn’t. “And we always heal them when we’re finished, so there’s no marks or cuts. No proof.” She looked over at you, pausing to look past you and into the night for another check of your surroundings, her eyes coming back to yours after a few seconds. “We only take small amounts, so they typically don’t feel any side effects. But since we almost always pick someone at a bar it's easy enough to blame any slight dizziness during or immediately after on the alcohol.”

You hummed. “That makes sense.” 

You weren’t entirely sure, because it was dark and you weren’t as familiar with the part of the city the apartment was in as you were with other areas, but you thought you were getting close to the building. Probably just a few more blocks, and then - 

“I’m guessing you’re asking because Oberyn didn’t mask it when he drank from you?” 

“Um.” You blinked, clearing your throat before responding. “No, he… I definitely felt it. I mean -” You shook your head. “I knew what he was going to do, even the first time. I told him to do it, so I guess there was no reason for him to. And he was -” You took a breath that shook as you tried not to think about how close to death he was when the poison was at its worst. “He was injured, so maybe he couldn’t control it as much because of that?”  

“From what Ellaria told me, he would have been too weak to control what you felt closer to when she arrived.” That tracked. The poison in Gregor’s blood had left him so debilitated that he hadn’t even been able to heal you after a certain point. And I was so out of it I didn’t even know it was happening towards the end. “But,” Tyene held up one finger. “Not when he first drank from you. He would have been able to make it painless then.” 

“It didn’t hurt,” you clarified, shaking your head. “I thought it would, but it didn’t.” Heat rose to your cheeks as they lifted in an involuntary smile at the memory. “It was… it felt good.”

Tyene chuckled under her breath. “Leave it to Oberyn to try to pleasure his last meal.” The words were barely out of her mouth before she swung her head in your direction. “I’m kidding, I know you mean way more to him than that. And I’m not trying to make light of how serious the situation you both were in was.” She sighed. “That is like him, though. Thinking more about the people he cares for than he does himself. He wanted you to understand what was happening, because you’re not just some random hookup from a bar.” She smirked. “But he also wanted you to like what was happening, because you’re not just some random hookup from a bar.” 

No, I guess I’m not. You thought back on everything Oberyn had told you about his past - about Isabel and Cameron, and how much they each meant to him. They both knew what he was. He trusted, respected, and loved them enough not to hide it from them. Not to hide himself from them. It was overwhelming to think that that list now included you - that he had already started to feel the same way about you that he felt about them. That’s… I shouldn’t think about that. I should focus on - 

“You know,” Tyene broke the silence, her tone more serious than usual as you turned the final corner that brought your destination into view. “I don’t think I thanked you yet, for everything you did for him.” She sighed, tipping her head back to look briefly up at the sky. “In my first life, I lost my parents when I was still young. But once I met Ellaria and Oberyn?” She paused, turning toward you and wearing as soft a smile as you’d ever seen on her sharp features. “I never felt like I didn’t have a family. They both became like parents to me.” Oberyn had told you as much about Tyene’s history. But hearing it from her - hearing the emotion in her voice - made it hit much harder. “Losing him would have been…” 

She trailed off and you understood why. There weren’t words to describe that kind of loss, especially after centuries spent together. 

Reaching over, you took her hand and squeezed it. “I hope you never have to finish that sentence, Tyene.” 

She returned your squeeze and then lifted her hand to swipe at her eye. “Me fucking too.” She laughed and then you did, too, and then you were walking through the glass lobby doors and into the building. 

The elevator ride up to your floor was quick, with no one else getting on or off. As soon as the light indicated that you’d arrived, Tyene stated that she was headed straight for a shower. “The last apartment had shitty water pressure, so I’m taking full advantage while we’re at this place.” 

“It did, and I don’t blame you,” you responded. You got the feeling that while she was at least half serious about the water pressure, her immediate plans also had to do with giving you and Oberyn some time together, and for that you were grateful. “Enjoy it.” 

She scanned the key fob against the lock, the mechanism beeping as it opened. “Thanks, I absolutely will.” 

You followed Tyene through the door, turning to close and lock it behind you. As soon as you slid the deadbolt into place, and before you could turn back around, you heard your name. “You are back.” 

A syrupy smile spread across your face at the sound of Oberyn’s voice close behind you. “We are,” you replied before you moved, his hands reaching for and landing at your waist. 

“He just means you!” Tyene called from the hallway. “He doesn’t really give a shit that I’m back!” 

That made a laugh burst out of you, your forehead leaning forward against the door as Oberyn’s fingers curled more tightly around you. 

“I do care that you are back, Tyene.” You could tell without looking that he was speaking over his shoulder to her. “But -” You closed your eyes and took a breath through your nose as you felt his lips press behind your ear. “I did mean you.” 

You turned to face him then, one of your hands landing on his shoulder, the other resting flat against the right side of his chest. “I am,” you corrected your response. “Hi, Oberyn.” 

He smiled as you said his name, his eyes shining like dark suns and making you suck in a breath. 

Oh, he’s… There was a slight change in them from earlier, a brightness you hadn’t seen since he kissed you on the balcony at the Halloween party. It hit you hard to know that in that moment he was as much himself as he had been before his encounter with Gregor in the alley. 

There had been a subtle, underlying dullness in his eyes while he was suffering the effects of the poison, and a sharpness to their glint after Ellaria had given him so much of her blood to save him. But now he’s… You lifted your hand from his shoulder, bringing it up to rake your fingers through his hair, and Oberyn’s smile grew with the contact. This is all him, and exactly as it should be. 

“Hi,” he murmured in response, his grip moving from your waist to the crooks of your elbows before sliding down your arms to take your hands in his. “Did you have a good time?” 

You nodded, letting him pull you away from the door. “I did. Seeing Nora was…” You sighed. “I really needed that.” 

Oberyn ran his hands back up your arms, giving your biceps a light squeeze. “Good. I am glad that you were able to spend some time with her.” He dropped his left arm back to his side then, but lifted his right so that he could cup your cheek. “But I am even more glad that you are back. And that you are safe.” 

Pressing into his touch, you hummed. He’s so warm. “Me too. I knew I was safe with Tyene and Toban, though.” 

“You were.” His thumb swept over the crest of your cheek, and then his eyes narrowed as they flicked to the door and back to your face. He dropped his arm, looking over your shoulder at the door, and you took the opportunity to slip your shoes off. “Where is Toban? Did something happen, or -” 

From the hallway, Tyene poked her head back into the room, answering before you had a chance to. “He walked his midnight snack home to make sure she got there in one piece.” She disappeared again, the sound of a door closing behind her telling you that she’d likely gone into one of the bedrooms. 

You snorted, leaning into Oberyn’s chest and laughing. Nora would actually love to know that she was just referred to as a midnight snack. The context isn’t even important. . 

His arms came around you then, holding you close like he wanted to absorb the feel of your laughter. It made your heart flip. Oh, Oberyn. You wound yours around his back and turned your head to fit yourself against him, feeling the vibrations of his voice as he spoke again. 

“Wait a minute. Does that mean…” He pulled back just enough to look down at you, an amused expression on his face. You peered back up at him, barely holding back another laugh as he arched one eyebrow. “He drank from Nora?”

You wrinkled your nose and nodded. “Yeah, I think that was the plan. But don’t worry, she was definitely into it.” 

Oberyn chuckled, the sound bringing a warm amber tone to his voice as a teasing smirk played on his lips. “So she met someone at a bar and she probably let them bite her?” One eyebrow formed a perfect arch. “You and your friend are a lot alike.”  

Rolling your eyes, you let out a scoff. “Yeah. We are. Apparently we’re both irresistible to men who just want to drink our -” 

He cut you off with your name, dipping his head so that he could speak low into your ear. “It is not only your blood that makes you irresistible to me, issa ōños.” 

A shiver passed through your body as that phrase rolled from his tongue, making your heart skip in a way that you knew he could feel. “Oberyn.” 

Straightening up once more, he looked directly into your eyes and released you from his embrace. “You are my light.” He skimmed the tips of his fingers over the skin at the corner of your eye, then dropped them down to the side of your throat. You kept your eyes on his as they flicked down to follow the motion of his touch. “You are the end to the darkness I have known for so long.” You sucked in a sharp breath as he traced his mark, your mouth falling open and his gaze returning to yours. “And that has nothing to do with what runs through your veins.”  

You sighed as he let both arms fall to his sides, your tongue darting out to wet your lips before you slowly nodded. How do I even respond to that? “I know.” 

It was barely a whisper, and it felt inadequate compared to what he had just said to you. But you wanted him to know that you understood how serious he was about you. Even though he just spent three hours in bed with Ellaria, it doesn’t… You swallowed. It doesn’t matter. Doesn’t change what he’s feeling or what he wants. 

“Do you?” He asked, his smile poking a dimple into his cheek. “Good.” He took your hand then, gently pulling you away from the front door. You let him lead you towards the couch, but as he did, you realized something. Wait. He hasn’t… “Now come, tell me about your night. What did -” 

“Hold on.” Stopping a few steps from the couch, you tugged his hand so he’d turn back around. There was a question in his eyes, but you didn’t let him ask it, instead reaching for his other hand. Guiding both to your waist, you let yours land on his chest and shoulder. “Aren’t you going to kiss me, Oberyn?” 

His fingers curled in the fabric of your shirt, a husky sigh coming from his throat. “Is that what you want?” You hummed, moving your head up and down. “I wasn’t sure, because of what you said before you left.” He tilted his chin downward, eyes glued to your lips. “About how you didn’t know how you’d feel after…” 

“Hey.” You shifted your hand from his shoulder to the side of his face, calling his attention back up to your eyes. “I know. And I still don’t think we should… do anything in bed tonight other than sleep.” You scrunched your nose. “Or I guess, I’ll sleep and you’ll just watch me.” That earned you a small chuckle. “But right now? I feel like I want you to kiss me, Prince - Oh!” 

He didn’t make you wait one second longer, taking the rest of his name right out of your mouth as his lips met yours, parting to take your lower one between them. 

His left hand moved from your waist to the middle of your back, fingers splayed along your spine to urge you closer, while the right came around to cradle the back of your head. You closed your eyes and let out a quiet whimper at the swipe of his tongue along the inside of your bottom lip, immediately granting him what he was asking for. He deepened the kiss with a soft stroke of his tongue along yours, taking you right to the edge of the dizziness you’d mentioned to Nora. 

Nothing about the way that he kissed you gave you any indication that he was still thinking about the things he’d done earlier that night with Ellaria. In fact, every time he kissed you, despite your knowledge of the truth, he made you feel as if yours were the only lips he’d ever kissed. And that’s after only a few weeks. Your knees shook at the thought of how it might feel to be kissed by him after a year or two. Or 10.  

You groaned as you licked into his mouth, the point of your tongue slipping over his teeth and finding that his fangs had descended. He’s not trying to hide them at all anymore. That means… Oh, fuck. You tried to keep the next thought at bay, but your defenses were useless once you felt him nip gently at your lip. 

Imagine what it would be like to kiss him after a few hundred years of it. 

Your heart thumped unevenly and you sighed into the kiss. Stop. Stop it. You needed to rein yourself back in before he noticed how carried away you were letting yourself get. But pulling away from him was difficult, especially when you heard the gravelly sound he made as your tongue slipped over the elongated points of his teeth again. Oh, fuck, Oberyn. It’s not fair.

“If you keep doing that,” he mumbled against your lips. “It will be very hard for me to stop kissing you.” Illustrating his point, he kissed you again, that time surprising you by pulling you down and onto the couch beside him. 

You hummed out a laugh, both of your hands landing on his chest and resting near his collarbone. “Would that be such a bad thing?” 

He wrapped one arm around your shoulders and used the other to drape your legs over his lap. “A bad thing? No.” His thumb swept back and forth over your leg as he said your name. “Very much the opposite. But,” he paused, leaning in to trail his lips across yours and up to the corner of your eye. “I do want to hear about your night.” Straightening up again, he loosened his hold on you. “We will have plenty of time for more of that later, if that is something that you want.” 

Of course it’s something I want. “Fine,” you agreed, pulling your legs back to your side of his body and shifting slightly on the cushion. Oberyn withdrew the arm he had around your shoulders to let you get situated. You bent one knee, leaning it against his thigh, and tucked that foot beneath yourself as you held up one finger. “But I’m gonna hold you to that.” 

Oberyn smiled, and you thought you caught a quick flash of something that almost looked like uncertainty in his eyes. But they were bright and warm again by the time he spoke, his hand coming to rest atop your bent knee. “I hope that you do.” 

You glanced down at where he touched you, letting out a sigh at the way you could feel the warmth of his palm through your jeans. “I’m sure that I will.” Bringing your focus back to his face, you leaned sideways into the couch cushions, ready to regale him with the tale of your night out. “But you want to hear about bar hopping first, right?”

“I do.” He nodded. “How was-”

Wait. Is that…

His question was cut short by the sound of your gasp, your eyes widening at the glint of gold that you saw beneath his shirt with the small movement of his head. His chain. The pendant.  “Oberyn,” you breathed out his name, lifting one hand up to run your fingers over the solid links. “You have it back.” 

Gently, almost reverently, you untucked the chain from under his shirt, exposing the ornate pendant that hung from it. When you lifted your eyes back up to his, it hit you - what it meant to see him wearing it again. It’s how it should be. Though he hadn’t complained once since Ellaria took it from him, you knew that Oberyn hated not being able to feel the sun on his face for any length of time. The brief moments that he’d been permitted to use it while moving between apartments aside, it had been a full week since he had been able to step outside in daylight. You were glad that he had that back again. 

It also meant that you were right about what you saw in his eyes - that he was back to himself, the lingering traces of Ellaria’s more potent blood all but gone from his system. You knew that she wouldn’t have given it back to him yet if that wasn’t the case. Yes, he’d need it for the engagement party the following day, since it started before sunset. But you knew that Ellaria would have waited until the last second if she thought there was even the slightest chance that Oberyn couldn’t be trusted with it. And she didn’t. You swallowed a knot. Because he really is back to himself. 

Seeing that chain around his neck meant that the nightmare that started in the alley, when Oberyn had been poisoned and so gravely injured that every second that followed made you fear his death, was finally, truly over. You didn’t let yourself think about the fact that it also meant that in less than twenty four hours, Oberyn would be face to face with Cersei and Tywin Lannister. This is just about him. Not them. 

“I do,” he responded, reaching for the hand you’d used to free the chain and bringing it up to his lips. They brushed over your knuckles, and then he lowered your hand to press it over the pendant. 

You felt the ridges of the intricate design against your palm, your fingers spreading over the soft fabric of his shirt. “How does it feel?” 

His fingers slipped between yours, curling shut around your hand and the pendant. “Right.” He spoke your name then, smiling around the syllables. “It feels right, having it back.” 

I bet. You bit down on the inside of your cheek before you nodded, giving him  a smile, too. “Good.” He released your hand, letting his own fall back to his lap. You did the same, but kept your eyes on the pendant. The sun was still out when we left, I wonder if… “Did you get to use it?” 

You looked up at him again when he answered. “No. It was already dark when Ellaria returned it to me.” That’s a shame. “But even if it was still light out I would have waited.” 

What? Why? You shook your head, confusion forming a furrow between your eyebrows. “Waited for what, Oberyn?” 

He blinked, long lashes sweeping slowly shut and then opening again to let his eyes rove over your face. “For you.” That caught you off guard, your heart skipping a beat at the adoration in his expression as he continued. “Ellaria saved my life, and that is something that I will always be beyond grateful for. But you are the reason that there was anything left for her to save. You are the reason that I will get to feel the sun again.” Using the hand that had been resting on your knee, he tucked the pendant back under his shirt, then reached for your hand. “And I want you to be there when I do.” 

Me. He wanted to wait for me.

You hadn’t realized that a tear had rolled down your cheek until you tasted salt on your lips. “Then I’ll be there.” Your voice warbled slightly, throat thick with the sudden rush of emotion that his response hit you with. “With you, right at sunrise.” 

Another stray tear slid from your eye but Oberyn didn’t let that one reach your lips. Using his knuckle and then thumb, he swiped it from your skin and gave you a smile that turned his eyes to soft leather. “Sunrise sounds perfect.” 

Any time with you sounds perfect, Oberyn. You let out a sigh. “Too bad we have to wait -” Leaning forward, you reached for the phone on the coffee table, tapping the screen so that you could read the time. “- six and a half hours.” 

The warm sound of his chuckle reached your ears as you leaned back into the couch cushions, Oberyn’s arm winding around you to pull you closer. “A handful of hours is nothing.” His lips found a spot near your temple, pressing a kiss there as he continued. “I have waited lifetimes for this. For you.” You sucked in a breath as you straightened up to look at him, the remnants of his laugh still present in his eyes. “I can wait a few more hours.” 

“Oberyn,” you whispered, unable to reply with anything else. You still felt slightly tipsy from the few drinks you’d had earlier, a pleasant buzz humming through your brain and body. But it was nothing compared to the intoxicating feeling of knowing that Oberyn Martell wanted you. Your heart skipped and you knew he heard it from the twitch of his smile. You shook your head, forcing yourself to continue. “You’re one hell of a romantic, you know that?” 

That earned you another laugh, deeper and richer in tone. “Well I have always said that I was a better lover than a fighter.” He brought the hand that was resting near your waist up to curl around your bicep as you rested your head against his shoulder. “And I am an excellent fighter.” 

You hummed out a small laugh of your own. “And so humble, too.” 

Before either of you could say anything else, the phone buzzed on the table and you sat up to grab it. That’s gotta be Nora letting me know she’s home. Opening the message, you confirmed it with a snort to yourself. 

Hot Toban got me home safe and VERY sound if you know what I mean. ;) 

You typed back a quick response, letting her know that yes, you did know what she meant, and that you were glad. You hesitated, thumbs hovering over the keyboard for a few seconds before you added one last line. 

I promise we’ll go out again soon! 

I hope. 

You knew you weren’t completely in the clear yet and that there were still things that could get in the way of you making good on that promise. But you were trying not to dwell on that fact as best you could. Because worrying won’t change anything at this point. There was a solid plan in place. All that was left to do was to enact it. And it’s going to work. You leaned forward to set the phone back on the table. It has to. 

“Everything alright?” Oberyn asked, his eyes on you as you settled into your seat again. 

You nodded, smiling. “Yeah, everything’s fine. Nora was just letting me know that she was home.”. 

His expression warmed at that, eyes lightening. “You two care about each other very much.” 

It wasn’t a question, but you answered anyway. “We do. I’m lucky to have her.” That was putting it mildly - your friendship with Nora had made your life better in just about every way. You didn’t grow up with a sister, but you’d found one in her. 

“A friendship like that is a rare thing. I’m sure she feels just as lucky to have you.” Oberyn returned his palm to the top of your thigh, giving it a light squeeze. “And I’m glad that she got home safely.” Me too. “Now, will you please tell me about your night?” 

You laughed. “I promise it was a very normal night. But, since you want to hear about it so badly…” 

You took him through the whole night out, telling him about the first place you went to with Tyene and Toban, describing the burger you ordered and the excitement you felt when Toban handed you the phone and told you to invite a friend out. You told him again how good it was to see and catch up with her, about how effortlessly she fell  into conversation with the rest of the group, about her very unsubtle crush on Toban and the rounds of darts that you all played. 

By the end of your retelling, Oberyn was grinning. “It sounds like it was a good time.” 

“It was,” you answered, reaching for the hand that he still had on your leg and lacing your fingers with his. “The only thing that would have made it better is if you were there, too.” 

The words were out of your mouth before you could stop them. Shit. That sounded desperate. But Oberyn didn’t seem to agree. Instead, he leaned in and nuzzled his nose along the side of yours. “Then we will have to make that happen soon.” He kissed the corner of your mouth, pulling away to see the smile his promise put there. 

“I’d love that.” I really would. You sighed, leaning against him as he lifted his arm to let you come closer. For a few seconds it was quiet, and you could hear the sound of water rushing through the pipes, meaning that Tyene was still in the shower. But wait… “Oberyn?” He hummed a response. “Where’s Ellaria?” 

“She is in her bedroom, making some last minute adjustments to what we are wearing tomorrow.” You felt his fingertips slip beneath the hem of your shirt so they could brush over the skin at your waist. “She will be out when she is done. Or when Toban returns, whichever happens first.” 

“Nora doesn’t live too far from here, so he should be back soon.” 

“But I finished first anyway.” You heard Ellaria speak as she entered the room. 

At the sound of her voice you sat up and turned to see her wearing the same dress she’d had on when you left, though her hair had been secured into a long braid. You wondered if she ever looked less than the dictionary definition of elegant, but as she gracefully lowered herself into the chair opposite you, you realized what a ridiculous thought that was. 

“Did you have a good time?” She asked. “Tyene said she had fun but I didn’t get much else out of her because she was hell bent on getting into the shower.” 

You laughed. “She told me how much she was looking forward to it, so that tracks. And to answer your question, I had a great time. I’m glad it was able to happen.” 

You spent the next few minutes recapping the night for Ellaria, Oberyn’s arm still around you the whole time, his fingers continuously sweeping over your skin. It struck you how normal it felt to be sitting there that way with the two of them. 

Though you knew - and accepted - what was going to happen while you and the others were out of the apartment, before you left you weren’t sure how you’d feel when you got back. And that didn’t just include Oberyn - you were unsure about what it would feel like to interact with Ellaria afterwards, too. But… Nothing is different. It was a striking difference from what you’d felt before she’d arrived for the first time, and you were unsure of how to feel about how quickly you’d started to feel comfortable with Oberyn in her presence. I’ll think about that later.

Tyene sauntered in with a towel wrapped around her hair as you finished bringing Ellaria up to speed. “Did you tell them about how we kicked ass at darts?” She perched on the armrest of Ellaria’s chair, one leg crossed over the other at the thigh. “Because we definitely did.” 

“I did! I -” 

But halfway through your response, the atmosphere of the room changed entirely. In a single second it became tense, the same way it did just before Toban and Tyrion had arrived. You took a breath and held it as the three of them exchanged pointed glances, and began to worry the longer they remained silent. What’s happening? 

You heard the faint sound of footsteps in the hallway, and then Ellaria shot to her feet, her eyes locked on the door as though she could see right through it. Is it Toban? You felt Oberyn stiffen beside you and your heart started thumping nervously behind your ribs. Or is it… Are we safe? 

Ellaria crossed the room as the door opened inward, and you finally exhaled when you saw that it was Toban. Oh, thank fuck. The relief, however, was short lived, and judging by the tightness in Oberyn’s jaw, you knew that something was off. And as soon as Toban fully entered the apartment and you got a good look at him, you realized what it was immediately. 

He fought someone. 

He didn’t appear to be injured, but he looked generally disheveled - for him, anyway - his shirt bearing a small rip near one shoulder, dirt rubbed deep into the fabric there, and his hair tousled. What the fuck happened? Who did he fight? Was it Gregor again? 

You stood up, unsure which was racing faster; the beat of your heart, or the questions tumbling over in your brain. 

“Toban.” Ellaria spoke his name while she reached for his arm. Her braid fell over her shoulder as she angled her upper body to get the best view of his face. “Are you alright, my love? What happened?” 

He finished with the locks and turned so that he was looking directly at her. Lifting his hands to take her face between them, he locked his eyes with hers. For a handful of seconds it was as though you, Tyene and Oberyn weren’t even in the room with them. “I am fine.” He nodded once, then leaned down to kiss the top of her head before meeting her eyes again. “I promise.” 

You noticed the small movement of his thumb over her cheek, his touch an instant comfort to her. She visibly relaxed with his reassurance, the tension dissipating from her shoulders. You were struck, not only by the depth of the connection that was shared between Others and their Creators, but at how extremely human it was for Toban to be able to soothe her with such a gentle, innocent touch. It was equally impressive for him to want and need to give her that comfort. They love each other so much. So deeply. 

You swallowed and returned the squeeze that Oberyn had just given your hand. He does, too. Even with his and Toban’s history, he loves him.

Just as you were about to turn to look at the man whose hand you were holding, Toban surprised you completely by stepping away from Ellaria and directing his focus toward you. He spoke your name, placing one large hand on your shoulder. “I want you to know that your friend is safe.” 

Eyes widening, you gave a quick shake of your head. “Nora? Yeah, I - she -” You withdrew your hand from Oberyn’s and used it to gesture toward the coffee table, where the phone still sat. “She texted me, and -” Oh. A sudden weight dropped into your stomach as you connected the dots and realized what Toban was actually telling you. Oh, shit. You let out a burst of air, dizziness buzzing through your brain and goosebumps prickling your skin as you sucked in another breath. Oh my god. Your next words were barely above a whisper, your voice shaking slightly. “There was someone at her apartment.” You swallowed. “The Lannisters, they s-sent someone to her apartment? They-” 

They sent someone there to kill her. 

Your knees buckled then, but Oberyn didn’t let you fall, his arm swimming beneath yours to wind around your waist. “I’ve got you.” He spoke softly, lips close to your ear as you leaned your weight into him, letting him steady you. “You’re alright.” He kept his arm in place, even as you got your legs back under you and Toban continued. 

“They did.” The blond man confirmed your assumption, a chill speeding down your spine. His emerald eyes briefly flicked up to meet Oberyn’s before returning to yours as he said your name, the tone of his voice soothing. “They did, but they did not succeed. Nora is safe, I promise you.” He nodded once. “I made sure of it.” 

That means he killed them. He killed them before they could kill her. You swallowed hard, tears stinging the corners of your eyes as you tried not to think about what would have happened had Toban not decided to walk Nora home. Reaching out with one hand, you gripped his forearm and squeezed. “Thank you, Toban. That means everything.” 

His expression softened with your gratitude. “You don’t need to thank me, I would not have let anything happen to her.” 

A tear rolled down your cheek as you took a shuddering breath. “Well I’m thanking you anyway,” you managed, before your throat tightened again. 

Toban simply nodded, patting the hand you had on his arm and giving you a small smile. “Of course.” You dropped your hand when he lifted his, the man shifting his attention again, turning to Tyene. “What about you? Did you run into any trouble on your way back here?” 

Something in the way that he asked made you feel like the attempted attack on Nora wasn’t entirely a surprise. Did they expect something to happen tonight? You glanced up at Oberyn before turning towards Tyene for her answer. 

She shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. “No, nothing. Guess Tyrion was right about them not wanting to send out too many of their fucking goons so close to the big event.” Wait, what? You stiffened, standing straighter and taking some of your weight off of Oberyn. So Tyrion tipped them off that someone might… that something might happen tonight? Why didn’t… Why didn’t Oberyn say anything about that? She rolled her eyes and examined her cuticles. “I wouldn’t have minded, actually. Fewer of them for us to take on later, and-”

“Speaking of Tyrion’s input -” You turned to look at Ellaria as she cut in, the concern on her face still present but fading. “You didn’t bite, did you my love?” 

That question struck you as strange. Why wouldn’t he? That’s the most efficient way for them to fight, isn’t it? There was something you were missing. There had to be. An uneasy feeling swam through your stomach as pieces started falling into place. 

“I did not,” Toban responded, those three words erasing the rest of the worry from Ellaria’s face. He clapped one large palm to Oberyn’s shoulder. “I think Oberyn’s experience with their poison was more than enough for all of us.”

“What?” You startled yourself by asking the question out loud, and then four pairs of eyes were on you as you shook your head. “What are you talking about? Tyrion’s input?” You looked from Ellaria to Tyene, the girl removing the towel from her hair and tossing it onto the couch with a frown. Why isn’t anyone - You looked up at Oberyn, a furrow forming in your forehead at the almost guilty expression he wore. “Oberyn…” You took a breath and let it out shakily. “What’s going on?” 

He took both of your wrists in his hands as he spoke, his eyes looking directly into yours. “I… I did not want you to be worried.” 

You felt your eyes widen as your mouth dropped open in shock. He knew. He knew that someone would be looking for us tonight. And if Tyrion told them not to bite if they were attacked, that means… You were knocked dizzy with your next thought. That means he knew that the Lannisters were using the same poison they gave to Gregor in all of their foot soldiers. It meant that your fun night out was truly anything but that. 

“Didn’t want me to be worried?” With a scoff, you withdrew your hands and crossed your arms. I’m going to be worried until this is all over. “We’re a little bit past that, aren’t we?” You shook your head. “I would have never invited Nora out if I knew she was going to be in danger because of it.” 

Out of the corner of your eye you saw the others leave the room, and as they did, something else hit you. 

“Oh my god,” you muttered, letting out a ragged breath. “She already was in danger, wasn’t she?” You blinked rapidly, licking your suddenly arid lips. “That’s why you had me call her to -” Another incredulous breath rushed from your lungs. 

Oberyn spoke your name, his tone laced with apology. You looked up at him and instantly wished you didn’t feel as angry and upset as you did. But I am. He… He should have told me. “We -” He frowned, closing his eyes and correcting himself. “I knew that there was a strong possibility that someone close to you would draw the Lannisters’ attention after you went missing,” he admitted, opening his eyes again. “But nothing was ever going to happen to you or to Nora.” 

You blew air through your lips. “You can’t say that for sure, Oberyn.” Shrugging, you shook your head. “What if Tyrion was wrong, and they sent ten men instead of one?” You cringed. “And I’m not just upset about Nora. Toban and Tyene were in danger, too, and you -” Your throat tightened as anger mixed with hurt and a touch of embarrassment. “You just had me believe that it was all fine, and-” I should have known. I should have known that a night out wasn’t just a night out. Not with everything that’s going on. 

“I am sorry.” 

You knew that those three words coming from him were a rarity. And when you searched his face you saw that they weren’t just words. It was there in his eyes, too. A part of you wanted to forgive him right there on the spot, wrap your arms around his neck and tell him it was fine. No one was hurt, and you knew that he had good intentions. Part of you wanted to just let it go, let him kiss you senseless until sunrise and chalk the deception up to him doing what was necessary to keep you from worrying. 

But it’s not just about what could have happened. It’s about the fact that he kept the truth from me. 

That was where the hurt was coming from. You weren’t one of them. You weren’t immortal, you weren’t powerful. You were, by comparison, painfully human. But you were just as much a part of what was happening as anyone else in the group. You deserved to know what they did, especially when it came to your also-human friend. 

You realized you hadn’t responded to his apology when he spoke your name. Breaking yourself free of your thoughts, you focused on Oberyn as he took a small step towards you. “Please, let me explain why I -” 

You stepped backwards, his frown deepening with the distance. “I will.” You swallowed and shook your head, the corners of your eyes starting to sting. “But I need a minute. I need… I just need to process this, Oberyn. Can you -” You blinked and a tear slipped free, his shoulders falling as he watched it roll down your cheek. “Can you just give me some time?” 

He nodded, eyes still tracing the salty track left behind on your skin. “Of course.” His hands clenched into loose fists and then fell open again at his sides, and you knew that he was resisting the urge to reach for you. You knew because you were doing the same. “Take however long you need.” 

You took an uneven breath and let it out, then returned his nod and forced yourself to turn away, leaving him standing in the living room. 

You felt slightly better after a hot shower. 

A hot shower and a good cry, to be exact. 

Standing under the steamy water, you’d let your emotions flow freely. You let yourself feel the delayed fear of finding out that you and people you cared about had been in real danger. You gave in, just for a few seconds, to thoughts of worst case scenarios - of you or Nora, killed by some Lannister lackey, of Tyene, poisoned like Oberyn, but unable to stave off death because she wasn’t as old or powerful as he was, of Ellaria losing Toban, of Oberyn losing you. You let yourself feel anger and rage towards the Lannisters and Gregor Clegane for creating the entire situation. You let yourself feel the smallness that came from being left out of the loop. 

And only when you felt that you’d emptied the tank did you get out of the shower, find a comfortable pair of sweats to put on, and climb onto the bed. Sitting back against the pillows, you brought your hands up to your face, dragging them down over your mouth. What a fucking night. 

A knock on the door startled you then, your whole upper body pivoting towards the sound. You figured that Oberyn would wait for you to go to him when you were ready to talk. Because that’s what he said. You blew out a long, slow breath, licking your lips before speaking. “I’ll be out in a minute, Oberyn.” 

If the knock hadn’t surprised you, the voice that responded would have - especially with its softness. “It isn’t Oberyn,” Ellaria said, adding your name. “Can I come in?” 

Sucking in a small gasp, you blinked at the door. “Um -” You stood from the bed and took two steps closer, heart thumping in your throat. Ellaria? Why is she… She wants to talk to me? “Yeah, h-hold on.” You let out a slow exhale and closed your eyes, trying to finish pulling yourself together before reaching for the doorknob. They opened as you opened the door, revealing the stunning woman on the other side of it. “Hi,” you muttered with a sniff, stepping aside to let her in and closing the door behind her. “Sorry, I -” 

She shook her head, cocking it to one side. “What are you apologizing for?” 

You let out a small, humorless laugh and gestured at yourself. “For…” 

“I understand why you were upset.” She crossed her arms, nodding. “Honestly, you handled it better than I would have.” Taking three long strides, she crossed to the bed, turning so that she could lean back against the mattress without actually sitting down. “More importantly, though -” She fixed her eyes on yours as she continued. “Oberyn understands.” 

Your mouth dipped in a half-frown. “Did he ask you to-”

She gave you a small smile. “No, I’m not here because he asked me to talk to you. I am here because I wanted us to have a chance to speak… without Oberyn present.” 

You felt your eyes widen at that, your mouth falling open. “Where is he?” You cleared your throat. “Won’t he be able to hear us?” 

“He is upstairs, on the roof.” She tilted her head to one side. “And technically, yes, he can hear us. But he won’t be listening.” 

You recalled what he told you about how he learned to tune things out to give others privacy. And he’d never eavesdrop on Ellaria. Clearing your throat, you nodded. “Okay. Should I sit down? I was… I was just about to go and talk to him before you -” 

“You can sit if you’d like, but what I have to say will only take a minute.” She waited to see if you would move to take a seat, and when you didn’t, she went on. “I know that he made a mistake tonight, not telling you things that you probably should have been told, and asking the rest of us not to tell you, either.” You felt your forehead wrinkle as you drew your brows together, but stayed silent while Ellaria continued. “But I also know that you mean as much to that man as finishing things with Cersei and Tywin does.” 

You sucked in a gasp, floored by what she had just said. “Ellaria, I…” 

“I also know that he has a good reason for everything that he does.” She surprised you again by lifting one side of her mouth in a smirk. “He may not always get things right, but he has his reasons.” 

When you spoke, your voice was thin, still breathless from the idea that you meant as much to him as she said you did. “I’m sure he does.” 

She stood straight then, her smirk spreading into a warm smile. “There are so many people in the world he could have chosen. But I am very glad that he waited for you.” 

Your heart slammed erratically at that. It was the first time that Ellaria had basically stated that Oberyn planned to offer to change you. That he wants to make me his first. 

“I… Ellaria, I’m not sure what to say, I -” You sputtered, mouth suddenly dry. 

“You don’t have to say anything.” She crossed the room, pausing to place her hand on your arm. “Just go listen to what he has to say.” Her fingers tightened briefly on your arm, but after she spent a few seconds letting her gaze wander over your face, she released her grip and left. 

You stood there for a solid ten seconds, one hand over your mouth, uneven breaths fanning out over your fingers. Then, without thinking twice, you grabbed the folded blanket from the foot of the bed, stuffed your feet into your shoes, and made your way out to the elevator. 

There was a slight breeze when you reached the rooftop, the cool air making you shiver as you stepped outside. 

You saw him immediately, Oberyn’s silhouette dark against the skyline as he stood near the railing, looking out over the city. He obviously knew that you were there, but you could see the moment that your presence registered with him, his shoulders lifting slightly. He turned, but even as you crossed the space he was still in shadow when he spoke. “I would not have blamed you if you did not come up here tonight.” 

There was a sadness in his tone and you briefly wondered if he was afraid that he’d gone too far, that you’d want nothing to do with him. Couldn’t be further from the truth, Oberyn. You cleared your throat, wanting your voice to sound certain. “Well, we have a sunrise date, remember?” 

He sighed out your name as you tossed the blanket onto the outdoor couch and came to stand beside him. When you finally got a good look at his face, you frowned. Oh, he looks - “I am truly sorry that I did not tell you everything you needed to know. And I am sorry that your friend was in danger because of me.” He shook his head, turning away from the view to meet your eyes. “I thought that I was protecting you both but I… I was wrong.” 

“I know, Oberyn.” You pressed your side against his and wrapped one arm around his waist, his arm winding around you so that you were both looking out at the lights. You sighed, resting your head against him. “I just… I think I’ve handled the truth pretty well so far. You have to give me credit for that. I can take the truth, even if it’s dangerous.” 

He turned to press a kiss to the top of your head. “I know,” he murmured into your hair, the strands still damp. “I know you can.” 

You tightened your hold on him then, your next words coming out just above a whisper. “You should have told me.” 

“You are right, I should have.” He turned to face you, bringing the arm that was around you up so he could cup your cheek. “I would like to explain why I didn’t, even though it was wrong, if that’s alright with you.” 

You nodded, leaning into his palm. “Okay.” 

He swallowed, letting his hand fall from your face to rest at your hip, and you realized that whatever he was about to say wasn’t going to be easy. “I was thinking about Elia.” 

That sucked the air from your lungs. Oh, Oberyn. 

“I was thinking about how when the Lannisters had my sister and her children killed, they did it to get to Ellaria. They did it because they knew that hurting me was a good way to hurt her.” You could hear the vitriol he felt for them even through the sadness in his tone. “ And I know that now they are trying to hurt me, and they know that the best way to do that would be to hurt you.” He sighed. “I know that Nora is like a sister to you.” You felt tears prick your eyes again. She is. “I know she is who you called the first night we were together, when I asked you if anyone needed to know that you wouldn’t be home. And I know that you would have been devastated if anything were to happen to her, just like I was when I lost Elia.” 

You didn’t want to interrupt, so all you did was nod, encouraging him to go on. 

“When I made my choice to become what I am, when I said yes to Ellaria’s offer, my decision was influenced by Elia’s death. With more than two thousand years of this life gone by now, I like to think that I would have made the same choice if my sister had lived.” He heaved an unnecessary breath and shook his head slowly. “But I will never know for sure.” Leaning over, he rested his forehead against yours and spoke your name. “I do not want it to be the same for you.” 

Oh my god. Holy shit. He… 

“When I gave you this…” He lifted his head and brought his hand up to your throat, thumb brushing over the invisible mark on your skin. Your eyes fell closed at his touch, a small breath escaping your lips at the way it felt. “When I gave you my protection, it was not just others of my kind that I promised to protect you from. It was all things that would cause you harm. All things that were within my power to keep from hurting you. And I foolishly thought that if I didn’t tell you about the Lannisters watching Nora, if I just had it taken care of without you knowing, that I was somehow protecting you from feeling that fear.” 

You looked up at him then, silent tears falling freely. “Oberyn…” 

He leaned forward and brushed his lips near the corner of your eye, catching a salty drop before it fell. “I am sorry.” He repeated the same action on your other cheek, kissing away another tear. “I promise it will not happen again.” 

You had no idea how to respond to what he’d said, so instead you simply wound both arms around him and buried your face in his chest. He held you like that for several minutes, until your tears stopped coming, and then, as though he knew that you were overwhelmed by the way he had all but confirmed what Ellaria had hinted at, he simply took your hands and led you over to the couch. 

“It is a good thing you brought that blanket if we are going to stay out here until sunrise.” He pulled you down with him, letting you settle against him before making sure that you were adequately covered. 

“Like I said,” you yawned. “We have a date.” 

He chuckled then, the sound welcome after all the tension of the last hour or so. “If you fall asleep before then I will not take it personally.”

You hummed a small laugh of your own. “Good, because I probably will.” Another yawn broke though. “Just wake me up if I do.” 

“I will.” 

“I bet it’ll feel nice,” you mumbled, exhaustion starting to set in. “Feeling the sun on your skin.” 

“And you in my arms,” he added, his voice like warm velvet. You nestled closer as his biceps flexed around you, and then you felt the press of his plush lips near your hairline, their contact lingering as he spoke. “The last time I felt both of those things, I was unsure that I would survive and terrified that you might not.” He dragged the tip of his nose over your forehead to drop another kiss to your temple. “This time, I know that we both will.” 

You ran your fingertip along the links in the chain around his neck before letting them slip over his skin beneath the collar of his shirt. “We will,” you mumbled. 

You felt yourself slipping under then, but you could have sworn you heard him repeat those two words, and then add a few more. “We will. And then we will have forever.” 

[hrts4hanniehae]

clutch || two

there are written parts :)

warning: mentions of parental abuse (emotional), mental breakdown, blood

her move into her new shared apartment was fairly quick, considering all her stuff were still in boxes at minghao's house.

"luckily you found a new place the same week jun is moving in with me." - minghao

"my only friend abandoned me for his boyfriend. i'm so sad." - yn

he dropped a box into her arms. "i'd have let you stay longer, you know? but luckily my friend wonwoo had a room free."

"how do you know him anyways?" - yn

"we were schoolmates from high school all the way to college. he studied computer science in university so we split up." - minghao

"so what do all your friends do now?" - yn

"seungcheol is a rapper under woozi's production label. jeonghan is a model. joshua owns a company that makes jewellery. jun is an actor, hoshi is a dancer/choreographer." - minghao

"i've met hoshi before, right?" - yn

"while he was drunk, yes. wonwoo is a gaming streamer, woozi is a music producer and co-owns an entertainment company with hoshi. mingyu is a celebrity chef. dokyeom is a florist and a theatre actor. seungkwan is a model and a show host, and vernon is a model. dino is a soloist under woozi and hoshi's company." - minghao

"ah. so you all have faces blessed by genetics... great." - yn

amid her rant, she could feel herself begin to cry. where did it all go wrong? she was just a girl who wanted to be an artist. she didn't ask to not be "pretty" according to her mother.

she was a child born to be an experiment. her parents experimented with parenting on her. she was the 1.0 -- the start but never the finish.

in her rage, she threw her phone at the wall and punched a hole in her sculpture. but before she could succumb to her pain and just cry... her phone chimed.

"well, that was weird..." he muttered to himself, but he started his stream anyways.

gam3boiftw: HE'S BACCKKKKK

wonwoono.1fan: life update!!!!!!

"you want a life update? okay. so this streaming site decided to take 30% of my earnings every stream, and my apartment's rent went up so i've been busy dealing with that. it's okay now though. seollie is still very healthy... and i may be doing a vlog when i meet up with my friends next week. that's it."

gamegamebo1: play valorant.

gam3boiftw: no he should play a relaxing game

wonwo0o0o0o: nah he should play a gacha game.

"i'll play a few rounds of valorant... then maybe cookie run kingdom if it's not too late. don't blame me if i lose because i'm rusty."

-

obviously, he won all the games he played.

fbwovbero: no move the tree left some more. align it with the train

rebveornvp: no move it to the right!

"chill i know what i'm do-"

"OH FUCK!!"

a sudden shout from the room opposite his scares the daylights out of him.

gam3boiftw: wtf was that?!?!??!

fkbnenveln: help??!??!?!

"sorry i think that was my neighbour. let me go check it out, give me a few minutes."

while shaving down the side of her wood carving, she was distracted and sliced the knife along her palm, splitting it open. deep.

"OH FUCK-" oh shit. she slapped her hands over her mouth at her outburst, smearing blood all over her face. she didn't mean to shout so loud.

"oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god what the fuck do i do??????"

her door suddenly burst open.

"what h- oh my god are you okay?" - wonwoo

"i'm so sorry for shouting. i'm fine. i'll just go sort my hand out. go back to your stream." - yn

"the blood isn't from your nose?" - wonwoo

"why would the blood be from my nose?" - yn

"there's blood all over your face." - wonwoo

"OH MY GOD- oh shit sorry. i'll just go deal with this. i'm so sorry." - yn

she pushed past him, running to the bathroom to examine her cut. it was deep and bleeding non-stop.

"what the fuck do i do..."

"i ended my stream. let me drive you to the hospital." - wonwoo

wonwoo was standing in the doorway of the toilet.

"do you mind?" - yn

"you're injured. of course, i don't mind. safety first." - wonwoo

ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ💓ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ badum.

ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ

synopsis: wonwoo is a popular streamer known for his incredible gaming skills and good looks. He turned heads. but he hates the attention. he just wants to play games and earn money. one day he receives a letter. his apartment’s rent has almost doubled. no warnings at all. his current paycheck from streaming can’t shoulder those bills. he has no choice but to rent out his spare room. to who? a fresh art university graduate who has… 1. a stable job ✅ 2. talent for art and sculpting ✅ 3. many friends ❌ 4. social anxiety ✅ 5. no filter ✅ when his iconic cat logo gets copystriked, she comes to the rescue with a new logo for him. when his apartment’s walls start peeling, she fixes it. whatever he used to struggle with… the empty space... was now filled by her. so what does he *last player standing* do when her ex *enemy spotted* tries to take her back? heh. *clutch* he clutches.

inspired by wonwoo's gam3bo1 streams, falling into your smile & gogo squid (has hints of valorant)

pairing: streamer!jeon wonwoo x fem!artist!reader (ft. jeongcheol, soonhoon, junhao, seoksoo, verkwan)

genre: fluff, comfort, slowburn, comfort, pining, bestfriend!minghao

warnings: stalker ex, toxic ex, mentions of abuse, guns (game), cursing, hate comments, panic attacks

started: 28.12.23

ended: ?

taglist: join from my masterlist

main masterlist

smau socials

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tags! @fairyofhour @megseungmin @sun-daddy-yoriichi @woozixo @euphoric-univers @christinewithluv @haowonbins @ocyeanicc @asyre @cynthiaaax13 @superhoshisvt @bangantokchy @chimmy-bts @angelarin @daisawa @writingbarnes @jeonghansshitester

@belladaises @wonwootakemyheart @wonwooz1 @luchiet @kookssecret @caratsland @peachescreamandcrumble @thepoopdokyeomtouched @isabellah29 @leah-rose03 @yandere-stories @coupshour @heesbees

[trashboatprince]

Hey, remember a while back when I was making art and stuff of Ten in a skirt because fashion has no gender and the Doctor would look cute in one? And I wrote a whole one-shot about Ten buying one with Donna being there as support? This one?

I decided to do a part-two with Fourteen and Rose Noble.

As always for me, I write Fourteen as enby going by they/them, but doesn't care what pronouns people use for them. However, Rose is not aware of this at first, so she uses he/him before she learns.

On with the fic!

--

"Do you ever sit still?" Rose snickered, watching as the Doctor shifted in his seat on the bus, looking at whatever was going on through the windows on either side of the vehicle.

"Impossible for me, clearly." The Doctor said. "Your mum and grandmother won't stop complaining about me fidgeting at the table. Just yesterday, Sylvia told me not to sit cross-legged at the table! Much more comfortable, if you ask me."

"Yeah, and when you put your feet on the floor, she told you to stop tapping your feet on it." Rose grinned and the Doctor grinned back.

The Doctor had been living with the Noble-Temple family in their temporary home provided by UNIT for two weeks now, and Rose was getting used to the alien being around. He was actually really cool, once you got past his odd quirks. But she had developed some of his quirks from previous incarnations throughout her life, so she couldn't say anything.

Today was Saturday, and Rose was looking forward to a shopping trip in town. She had gotten paid well from a few sales and wanted to celebrate with getting some supplies. And a few new items of clothing, her closet could do with it. The Doctor had tagged along because he wanted out of the house, and Mum had the key to the TARDIS so he couldn't go in there to do whatever it was he did in there.

Also, hence why they were on the bus.

But it wasn't like the Doctor couldn't just get into the TARDIS without the key. He had the sonic, and he said she'd open for him easily, but Mum was strict about the retirement thing. No running off for adventures or whatnot!

Still, the Doctor happily had agreed to come along with Rose into town, saying it wouldn't hurt to do a bit of shopping for himself. Yeah, he said he had a lot of clothing in the TARDIS, but Mum and Gran were getting on him about dressing like a human, not as... well... Mum said he looked like someone who 'worked in men's wear'. And this made the Doctor bristle, saying something about how she's never gonna let that one go.

Whatever that meant.

"Ooh, this is our stop." The Doctor said as the bus came to a slow stop and the two of them got off when the doors opened.

He was grinning, bouncing on his feet as he glanced about. "Ah! I know where we are!"

"You do?" Rose asked as she adjusted her backpack purse.

"Yeah! I came here years ago with Donna! This is where I bought-" He stopped and looked a bit flushed.

Rose raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Uhh... I know, I know, dumb to get embarrassed about, considering I was a Time Lady before this face, and you're under a similar flag..."

She blinked and gasped. "Oh! Did you get some feminine clothing from a shop here?"

"Yep." He said, popping the P. "Bought my first skirt here, was nervous as hell about it, didn't know what your mum would say about it. But she encouraged it, said that it was my choice to dress how I wanted and all that. Especially cause I basically came out as, well, genderfluid? Non-binary? One of those to her."

"Oh shi- wait, you're non-binary? Crap, have I been getting your pronouns wrong?"

"What do you use?"

"He/him."

The Doctor shrugged. "I can understand why. I've never corrected any of you guys on it, everyone uses those for me, considering the face and all. Look rather boyish, honestly, even at my old age." There was a bright grin at this.

"Ah, but I personally don't actually see my gender as really a big deal nowadays. I honestly just use they/them when I think about myself now, but I'm not offended or opposed to the use of male or even female pronouns. Though being called 'miss' again with this face would be fun."

Rose nodded, listening. "So... you're fine with me using whatever? Do you have a preference? I remember you telling the Meep you used the definite article."

"That I do! I mean, the Doctor, that's as good of a gender as any! But you can use whatever, I don't care." The Doctor said, shoving hi- their hands into their pockets. Might be better to go with the ones they used for themself.

"Right, got it." She nodded and started to walk with them to the thrift shop down the street. "What are you looking to buy anyway?"

"I dunno, I'll see whatever catches my fancy. Might get some new shoes, I love these ones, but my future self ran off with the ones I got when I regenerated and these ones," The Doctor gestured to the very worn and slightly burnt converses they wore, "were damaged when I went from this face to Chinny. At least he was nice enough to bring them back to the TARDIS."

She laughed a bit at their grumbling as the two entered into the shop. "Thinkin' about maybe getting another skirt or two from here? Since this is where you found your first one, as you said?"

The Doctor paused and looked back at her. "Should I? Think I can still pull it off?"

"Oh yeah! I think you can! If you want, I can help you pick out things."

The Doctor smiled at her, in that soft way she sees them do when they're relaxing, loosening up and not having their hackles up. She grinned. "Come on, let's doll you up!"

--

They were in there for over an hour, and so far Rose had found more clothing for herself than the Doctor. It wasn't their fault that a lot of things in thrift stores weren't always to their tastes. And this one seemed a bit picky.

Pinstripes weren't for them this time around, they rather liked tartan better, but it wasn't easy to find anything that fit them right. Sizes were also a problem. They were a skinny thing, as Donna put it, so things often were a bit big, and the Doctor liked tighter clothing, there was a sensory comfort there.

But, they had found some silly shirts with ridiculous sayings on them, including one that had Rose and them laughing. It said 'I'm no rocket surgeon', and it went right into their little cart.

They had even found a new pair of converse to wear, not white this time, but they were a really nice dark blue. They even found a pair in hot pink, which reminded them of the two Rose's in their life. Ah, but those ones were too small, oh well.

A few comfy looking sweaters and some buttons up went into the cart as the Doctor browsed, and as they examined a really fuzzy ones in pink and green stripes, they heard Rose call out to them, waving her hand.

"Find something good?" They smiled as she came over and they stared at the item in her hands.

It was a surprise to find a skirt that match their old pinstripe suit perfectly all those years ago, but to find a second perfect skirt, in their tartan? Well... that was...

Probably best not to question the universe, honestly. Not when it came to being around the Nobles.

"It's perfect! It might even be your size!" Rose said, holding it out to them.

The Doctor took it, looking it over. "You think so?"

"Oh yeah, and I think I found a few more in other styles and colors you might like that could work with some of those tops you've picked out. But that one? That's perfect for you!"

They looked at the skirt, checked the size, and put it into the cart. "Thank you." They said, and she looked delighted. "Now, show me these other ones you found!"

--

"-gonna keep sticking the googly eyes to yourself, I'm removing you from eye duty."

"You sound like your mother."

"Okay, just for that, give me the jar of eyes."

"Nope!"

Donna paused in removing her shoes at the door, hearing her daughter and her adopted alien sibling from the living room. There was some noises followed by laughter and a comment of 'oh dang, we made a mess'.

She sighed and set her jacket on the hook, along with her purse. She walked into the living room a moment later, finding Rose with some of her sewing material on the coffee table and on the floor, where she sat with a half-made plush toy in her lap. The Doctor was seated next to her, trying to scoop up a mess of googly eyes that had fallen out of their designated jar.

Donna noticed that the Doctor did in fact have some googly eyes glued to their arms, clearly meant to mess with Rose or to be part of a telling of a fantastical story of some alien or whatnot. But she also noticed what their were wearing.

"You're in a skirt again." Donna said instead of a greeting.

The Doctor looked up at her, blinking behind their glasses. "Oh! Yes, I am! Rose and I went shopping today for craft stuff and clothing. She found it in a shop, it's that little shop you and I visited. Remember that? Where I got my first skirt?"

"I remember it, you had been so nervous, and once you tried it on, you didn't want to take it off. You even considered finding those ugly galaxy-printed leggings to go with it. Glad to see you didn't give into that desire again." She replied as she sat down on the couch.

The Doctor laughed. "I did get those eventually, remember? Ooh, I think Bill stole 'em from me though, sneaky granddaughter. Anyway," They stood up, knocking some eyes to the floor that had been in their lap, "whatcha think?"

They did a little spin, and Rose laughed at this as more eyes fell to the floor. Donna sniffed. "It's cute, very fitting of you. However, are you ever, EVER going to wear socks that actually match the pattern of your clothes!? Or even just match in general?"

The Doctor looked at their feet, as if for the first time noticing that they were wearing one blue, white and pink sock that was stripped and a red and green sock that was decorated it what looked like hot sauce bottles and chili peppers.

"Nah." The Doctor shrugged and sat back down, knowing that Donna would never win that battle. Still, at least the Doctor could coordinate the other parts of their clothes at least. And besides, the skirt was what mattered, Donna thought as she watched two of the most important people in their life try to pick up their little mess.

Two people sitting happily and comfortably in clothing that made them feel good about themselves.

She could forgive the horrendous sock combo for that.

--

I love the idea of Rose and Fourteen picking out outfits for each other after this trip.

[eviesaurusrex]

Hey! I read your Mrs. Strange fic (which was amazing) and was wondering if you could write one for Tony? Where the reader and Tony are getting married and hes absolutely obsessed with y/n. Love your writing!

Hey, love! First of all, thank you so much for reading and enjoying my silly writing! <3 And of course I can write something for Tony. He is actually pretty front and center on my list of characters :3

***

"ɪ ᴛᴏʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ɪᴛ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ꜱᴜɪᴛ ʏᴏᴜ." | ᴛ. ꜱᴛᴀʀᴋ

GIF not mine!

Tony Stark x Navy Pilot!Reader

summary: It's Tony's and YN's wedding day, and Tony can't stop himself from showing everyone that he had been right all along.

word count: 2k

warnings: nothing really, this is just pure and wholesome fluff, some loving bickering, mentioning of pregnancy because I can't help myself, this man deserves anything and everything, not entirely proofread

author's note: This will be a short one, I hope no one is mad about this. I just want to get back into writing, and I think that's the best way to achieve it :3 I still hope you like what I came up with even though I'm not too pleased with it :x Btw: We are ignoring the Coulson-thing. I wanted to have him here, so we have Coulson here. Deal with it.

***

Smiling, YN watched the guests as they enjoyed themselves in the lavishly decorated venue and took a deep inhale of the flower-scented air wafting around her and everyone else. Tony had been adamant in his endeavors of turning every single fantasy and image fragment floating through her head into reality, so everywhere they had gone today, she had been surrounded by the prettiest of flowers and plants—from their apartment in the compound where she had gotten ready with her bridesmaids and hired stylists, to the grand venue they had held their wedding ceremony in and now celebrated the day. A church wasn't even a fleeting thought because neither YN nor Tony believed in a higher being, despite the many impossible situations they had faced and overcome in the past many years. She actually didn't want to think about the many near-death experiences they both had walked past, nor felt YN the need to think about the expenses made for today's arrangement.

They had enough money, yes, but that had never meant for her to spend it as heavily and indulgently as Tony loved to do.

The thought of her newly turned husband dancing through her mind made the commander smile as brightly as the sun outside. With the same smile resting unmoving on her lips, YN started to thank each and every one she saw for coming and wished them a pleasant afternoon while simultaneously heading toward the perfectly stocked bar. Ever since the beautiful ceremony, which had not only moved her to tears but also a certain man who was still in his denying phase, the woman had felt the dryness in her mouth increasing every passing moment, urging her to tend to her needs which had gotten worse rather quickly over the last few weeks.

She would be lying if she said it didn't scare the living daylights out of her.

"Anything non-alcoholic and a glass of water, Frankie, please," YN asked one of the many bartenders Tony had personally handpicked through hours of going through every single resume the wedding planner had to send straight to him. Both women still didn't understand the meaning of it all, but YN soon had stopped questioning her husband's strange behavior towards everything related to the wedding. Softly shaking her head, the bride mumbled a small Thanks and grabbed for the water to at least inhale half of it before she dried out on the spot. It was strange what her body was willing to do and which changes it went through in order to create a welcoming environment for something she had never considered possible for herself.

"Mrs. Stark! Mrs Stark!"

The all too well-known excited voice of non-other than Peter Parker ripped her mind from its spiraling nature when it came to that topic and back into reality where the brunet young man arrived at her spot at the bar, a bright grin on his handsome features and shining eyes—just as usual. Other than Tony, YN never had hesitated to show him affection in any way possible, considering Peter as something close to a son, and she believed he was thankful for that, even though the woman knew that his aunt was perfectly capable of handling those things herself. But gladly, May and she agreed a long time ago that Peter could use more of that loving environment, so YN had made it her duty to do exactly that.

Smiling, the bride softly brushed over his shoulders in order to straighten the black suit he wore—handpicked by Tony, of course—and straightened the tie around his neck. "Is everything alright?" Being part of the superhero business for longer than YN would like to admit, one could never know, especially not when one married Iron Man himself. But Peter only grinned and nodded too fast for her eyes and dizzy head. "Yeah, totally! Mr. Stark sent me here to remind you to drink and stay hydrated, but you obviously already did that, so here are some snacks I brought from the buffet and which are really, really good, oh, and I also found some chocolate at the dessert table, and—..." Softly laughing, YN stopped the flood of words escaping his mouth by taking the plate filled with an assortment of deliciously looking canapés from his hands and gently patting his cheek. "Thank you, Peter. That's incredibly kind and attentive, but you should go and look for MJ. I think I saw her at one of the balconies."

And with that, YN pushed the shy-turning boy in the right direction and nudged him forward. She was nothing but a matchmaker—at least, she tried her best.

But the moment of quietness didn't stay long because suddenly, someone came up to her and cleared their throat to earn her attention. With a canapé in hand, YN turned and smiled widely at the familiar sight of Phil Coulson, but without his accompanying ID dangling at his suit jacket. "Phil! I'm so glad you could make it." Indeed, she was because, during all her time working with SHIELD and even during the aftermath of what had happened in D.C., Phil Coulson had become a somewhat friend to her, which Tony always had disliked, of course. The agent smiled at her and clumsily patted her lace-covered shoulder. "I couldn't miss this, Commander Stark."

A grin tucked at the corner of her mouth at the sound of her title combined with her newly acquired last name, and maybe YN had to admit that it sounded much better than she ever could've imagined. And as if he knew her thoughts, the man of the hour walked over to them and let his arm slowly sneak around her waist to pull her into his warm, inviting side. A loving, lingering kiss to her cheek followed before Tony shook hands with Coulson. "What do you think, Phil?"—YN couldn't help it and rolled her eyes—"The name fits her perfectly, doesn't it?" One of her hands immediately rose to hit Tony against his chest while her husband only laughed, and Coulson slowly shook his head with an amused expression on his face. "I will leave you two to discuss the matter. Tony, Commander. Congratulations."

As soon as her favorite agent had left them to themselves, YN started to chew on the snacks and cocked a brow at Tony. He, on the other hand, only was able to stare down at her, that one particular smile specially reserved for her very person spreading over his handsome features. His arm tightened its hold around her waist while his other hand started to brush over her arm upward, reaching her shoulder and continuing to her neck, so his thumb could caress her cheek. "But, tell me, wife." The man paused for a moment to grin at YN's chuckle. "Do you still think the change of names was such a disaster?" Cocking her head from one side to the other, YN observed Tony's face before shrugging. "I mean, I don't know yet. Barely anyone has called me by it so far. Maybe you should give it a try, and maybe I could be convinced to start thinking it's not too bad after all," she teased him and giggled at the feeling of his lips pressing kisses to hers. He only stopped to whisper soft versions of "Mrs. Stark" against them, grinning victoriously at the sound of her pleased humming and into the kiss she gave him in return. "Watch out, or you might have to call me Mrs. Stark for the rest of our lives."

Now it was Tony's turn to grin his cheeky, teasing grin and nudged YN's chin up, so he could look her directly into her eyes. "I told you it would suit you, Mrs. Stark. And think of the non-existing trouble we'll have when we start thinking about names. We won't have to find one that suits them both." Almost immediately, she could feel the tears—happy ones—welling up in her eyes, and taking a deep breath, YN leaned her cheek into the warm, comforting palm of his hand. She still couldn't believe how her life had turned for the better, and now, they would have everything they ever wanted, everything they had ever talked about when lying in their dark bedroom, watching the slow sunrise through the grand windows when sleep just wouldn't take hold of them. "And," Tony continued with a soft smile as soon as he saw the tears trying to spill out of his wife's eyes, "She needs the Stark name. We can't have her inherit every single penny without wearing the name that's printed on everything she'll own. Imagine the troubles and unnecessary stress she would have to face in that case because she would need to change every single goddamn letterhead. I don't want that for her."

YN still sniffled a bit, blinking rapidly to suppress the tears from falling, and instead concentrated on the growing question mark in her mind. "She?" The woman asked in a hushed whisper, not daring to take a breath, not wanting to risk scaring Tony off. But he only nodded, barely visible, and let his hand wander to her lower abdomen, where a tiny bump had already made its presence known and which would soon be all over the press. "It's not some weird fatherly feeling, I promise. There's only that one image in my head I can't forget. It's stuck like a damned idea, keeping me up all night."

He removed his hand from the position he had learned to love ever since YN had told him her suspicion to wrap his wife in a tight embrace. "So, you want a girl?" Her question pushed him to kiss her again. "I'm sure I wouldn't mess her up too badly." Her hands on his face and neck let him take a deep breath and ground himself. "You won't mess them up, Tony. I know you won't let that happen because you are who you are. You are the best man I ever had the pleasure to meet—well, not from the beginning..." His grumbling only made her laugh. "That's the way to ruin a compliment, love," the Stark returned but let her continue. "No one is born perfect, husband. We both had to develop and grow on this path we decided to walk together, but we did, and now I can proudly say that I married the best man on earth and that he will be such a wonderful father. Because you will be a wonderful father, Tony. They won't miss a thing in their life because you'd be there to fulfill their every wish and hope, even if it meant for you burning parts of the world down."

He could feel his hands shaking as he cupped his wife's face tenderly, seeing the ring she put there only hours ago almost gleaming in the corner of his vision, and knew he finally arrived at the spot he always was meant to be. Here, with this angel of a woman, making him the happiest and proudest man on earth, and letting him feel things he never had dared to hope for. "You will kick my ass if you ever think I mess her up." YN nodded at that and Tony bent down to press a lingering kiss to her forehead. "And that's why I'm the luckiest man on earth." Because with her, he wouldn't repeat the mistakes his father made all those years ago.

***

Oh gosh, I'm so sorry for this horrible dump of words. The idea in my head was so much better T.T The next Tony piece will hopefully be better. As usual: Reblogs, comments, and likes are much appreciated!

Taglist: @hopefulinlove @seasonofthenerd @onecrazydirectioner @meeksmusic83 @nyctophilic0vitnir @lastwandastan

[alchemicaladarna]

Well...Happy 1 year of QSMP I guess...

There's just no easy way to say anything about everything that's been happening the past few weeks and everything that's happened since yesterday because it's a fucking dumpster fire and I'm just so tired of it all to be honest...

But this post isn't about that.

I still want to celebrate this server's first year anniversary because of how much it means to me personally. I made a post talking about how I initially started watching the qsmp (two days early 💀) but I'll reiterate what I've always said:

That despite all the problems of the server, despite all the damage that has been done, never forget what it has managed to achieve and hopefully continues to achieve in the future, under better conditions.

The QSMP's mission was to unite people from all over the world to play together and be friends despite speaking different languages and having different cultures. It united communities and formed friendships across the globe. Personally, achieving that takes more than just sticking random people in the same room together because it's about making genuine connections that could last a lifetime. And the qsmp achieved that. I'll never stop saying this because despite all its glaring problems, the qsmp is revolutionary for all the good it has managed to do.

Ok, like think about the translations alone. I'm using Bad as an example because he's the only one so far that I've seen do this but, BBH has set up live translations of multiple languages on his screen so non-english speakers can still understand his streams and his vods even if he's not playing on the qsmp. That wouldn't have happened without the QSMP's influence. That's fucking incredible!

Think about all the CC's and admins that became friends after meeting on the server. Former admins like Lumi (Pomme) and Shade (Dapper) still talking to Bad on his chat and watching his stream. That's still really awesome! Not to mention all the amazing collaboration projects with many qsmp members outside minecraft like Ordem Paranormal and Liar Liar, to name a few.

Look, the last three weeks have been extremely difficult on everyone. I myself am tired of the situation and scrolling through the tag, especially after yesterday, just makes me sad tbh. For the first time since these weeks, I felt so despondent and shocked about everything. It got to the point where, after Shade and Lumi announced their departure, I called my mom and broke down sobbing and vented about the whole admin situation. And bless her heart, my mom actually listened and I'm going to share the advice she gave me:

"Let them fix the problem. Let the company do the restructuring they need to do because right now, it sounds like they have a lot of problems to fix. It's going to take a long time before things can go back to any sense of normalcy, so while they do that, focus on yourself for now. If you're so invested in all the problems of this online world, maybe it's time to step back for now. Maybe it's time to focus on the real world."

And well, she's right. I've been so upset about the situation that my mental health wasn't faring well because of it. Yesterday was kind of a wake up call for me I guess?

I've been in this fandom for 10 months now. It's the longest time I've been invested in a community and qsmp has and will always have a special place in my heart. But I think it's time to let go and move on for now. I'll keep my hopes up and hope that the future is bright, and the qsmp will continue because it has so much potential to achieve more greatness, but I'll leave the project to rest and focus on other endeavors for now.

I'll be posting art and checking in on stuff from time to time, and of course, I'll be watching BBH, but it might be time to depart and say, "Thanks for everything, and I'll see you later."

Most people will be ashamed to mention the fandoms they've been a part of when they were younger, but 10 years from now, if anyone ever asks if I was a part of the qsmp fandom, I'll gladly say yes and tell all the good stories I have about it.

I love the community we made here on qsmpblr, and if I trust the QSMP's mission of uniting people, then I trust that, no matter what happens, this community will be here when I return.

Because...Despite everything, it's all about love, right? And no matter what happens, the love is still there, and will always be.

Thank you for the journey <33

[moiravim]

I Miss When We First Met: Chapter 24

YN Potter falls in love with Draco Malfoy. Along with that, her relationship with her brother, Harry begins to fall apart as she was sorted into Slytherin. Will Harry find out about the relationship between his enemy and his sister?

IMWWFM: Masterlist

It was the morning of quidditch tryouts. Ginny had been talking about quidditch non stop for the past week and have convinced you to try out with her.

You had just finished getting ready and were making your way towards tryouts so you could meet up with Ginny.

As you make your way onto the field you see Ginny excitedly waving at you.

You happily wave back at Ginny before rushing up to her. "Hey YN! Do you know what position you're gonna try out for? I'm trying out for chaser."

"Hi Ginny! I'm gonna try out for beater I think. I was gonna do seeker bur Draco's already our teams seeker and that also means I would have to go against Harry. So beater it is." You state shrugging your shoulders slightly.

You and ginny part ways, the both of you going to your designated teams.

Gryffindor and Slytherin get called to go against eachother in tryouts. Everyone mounts their broom before heading up to where you're supposed to play.

As a beater your job was to hit bludgers at the opposite teams and get them out.

As the whistle blew everyone sprung into action. You had a bat in hand and was trying to find the bludger.

You see the ball and immediately fly towards it, using your bat to hit it at one of the gryffindor players.

Eventually one of the gryffindor bludgers It's the ball straight at you, but you hit it back at them before it touches you.

Every few minutes you'd glance at Ginny. You didn't know that much about quidditch, but you knew she was doing very well.

The whistle was blown and the time to tryout was over. You met up with Ginny and patiently waited for the results.

Neville came down from the bleachers and told the two of you about how amazing you both were.

"Really, You were both great on brooms! And YN, why did you never tell us you were so good at quidditch?" Neville continues, "You've never shown interest in it before".

"Oh.. um, well I mean... I've played with bats at the playground before." You explain, "But other than that I don't have any experience in quidditch".

Soon everyone was called up to the field and they revealed who would be accepted into the team. Thankfully both you and Ginny had gotten the parts you wanted.

You congratulated Ginny, as it was a big deal she was the chaser at only year two.

You then walked with Ginny and Neville to the Great Hall for dinner and spent the rest of the afternoon celebrating.

[sleepingghostt]

Wip ( fuck you Wednesday)

Anniversary

-

“Trust me, you’re gonna love it.”

“Trust me, I won’t.”

He probably would though. Daiki always loved when Taiga surprised him because he always gave him what he wanted. Whether it be five hours of non stop sex, a new Mai-Chain magazine or a pair of new Jordan’s for his ever growing collection. It was one of the things Daiki curled into instantly during their relationship. Taiga spoiling the fuck out of him just because he wanted to.

Now in hindsight, it was their anniversary and Daiki usually didn’t give two fucks about things like this. Until he and Taiga got together. Then, only then did it become a little less shitty. However, on this day in particular, Daiki was in a shitty mood. Shitty enough to say fuck off to fancy restaurant dinners and movie dates.

He just wanted to celebrate at home this time, wrapped up in one of the biggest, coziest blankets he could find and watch a movie with Taiga, maybe play a round of Mario kart and finish off the evening with a couple rounds of hot sex before bed. He had even suggested the idea to Taiga after the redhead literally asked for his opinion during a night of pillow talk a week ago.

So why were they here?

“This is bullshit.” Leaning back in the passenger seat of their jeep wrangler, a gift from Taiga’s father for the redhead’s twenty-first birthday, he put his feet up on the dash and glared out the window, the bustling streets of Los Angeles, a fadeaway as they zoomed down a winding road, sandwiched between tall palms and bendy trees.

He would’ve crossed his arms but one of them was broken. Yeah, broken. Apparently, he wasn’t as invincible as basketball proved him to believe.

“Why can’t we just eat at home like normal people?”

Taiga chuckled - damn him and his low, husky laugh - and shook his head, his bangs swishing in his eyes, that hot careless look accenting well with the light stubble on his jaw.

It was perfect scenarios like these where Daiki really couldn’t take his eyes off him. At first it was a jealous thing, like who the fuck gave him the right to look hotter than me? The only one who can look hotter than me is me.

But now it was a comfort, a little thought in the back of his head when Taiga managed to surpass all limits of humanity and become an actual fucking god, one that cuddled Daiki close at night and kissed him awake in the morning with a hot cup of tea and a nagging complaint about his dirty clothes on the floor, tan chiseled abs catching the eyes of the sun, peeking through the bedroom window.

That…I’m dating that. And he loves me…

“Have you looked in the mirror lately? We’re not normal people, Dai.”

“So? We’re not weirdos either and last time I checked, you work at a fucking restaurant on weeknights. You can cook. You could’ve made us something.”

“Who says I didn’t this time?” He threw a little smirk Daiki’s way and no matter how long they’d been dating, his throat still went dry and his legs felt weak even though he was sitting down. Damn you fucking asshole.

“Tch. I don’t see a stove. Our table. If you have food shoved up your ass, pull it out and show me because this,” he gestured around the car with an aggressive flick of his hand. “Doesn’t look like what we agreed on.”

“Oi, calm down.” Keeping his eyes on the road, Taiga grabbed Daiki's good hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it gently. The action relaxed the bluenette and he sighed, slumping back in his seat.

“First of all, we agreed on jack shit.”

“No we fucking didn’t-“

“And second,” he breathed, giving Daiki’s hand one last kiss before lowering their arms to rest against the center console, his thumb rubbing circles into the dark skin. His tone grew softer. “I know how tough these past couple weeks have been for you. Breaking your arm sucks, especially with basketball and you haven’t been out of the apartment since you broke it.”

Daiki opened his mouth to point out college but of course Taiga beat him to it.

“That’s not true. I still go to my-“

“Classes. Yeah I know. But that’s it. You gotta get out more, baby. Being home all the time isn’t healthy for you.”

You’re one to talk. That’s what Daiki wanted to say but he couldn’t. Taiga was rarely home these days. When he wasn’t at school, daydreaming about Daiki, (‘cause seriously, what else could he possibly be doing?) He was at work or at practice. And Daiki’s schedule was no different, (minus the job part obviously.)

Basketball and Taiga were a middle ground. But thanks to his broken arm, the first one was on standby. He hadn’t held a basketball in weeks and because Taiga was barely home…well, Daiki had been closer to having a mental breakdown in the last few weeks than he was closer to getting his dick sucked every night which was saying something because five out of the seven days, both boys basically radiated sex.

God, and it wasn’t even the end of the semester.

“Daiki?”

“What?”

Daiki snapped out of his thoughts and looked sideways at Taiga. There was a knowing look in the redhead’s eyes, sad in the way he sighed and smiled at Daiki, like if he tried hard enough, he could lift all the weight from the bluenette’s shoulders and bare them on his own.

“Breathe okay? It’s just us tonight. Nothing else matters.”

Daiki complied with a grumble, feeling his lungs deflate like balloons, the weight in his chest becoming lighter, more easy to push aside like a small heap of clean jerseys that didn’t mean shit till the next game.

The hand holding his, gave a reassuring squeeze and he squeezed back, fully aware of Taiga’s stare on his face, switching back and forth between him and the road.

“I’ve got us, babe,” he mumbled. “Just relax and trust me. That’s all you need to do, okay?”

The only thing Daiki could do was nod and look out the window again.

How could he not when the redhead got like this? It was one of the things Daiki loved about him. Whatever he lacked, Taiga supplied tenfold. And vice versa.

“We’re almost there. I swear to god, you’re gonna love it.”

—

“I hate it.”

“Bullshit,” rolling his eyes, Taiga turned off the car and unbuckled his seat belt, his muscles flexing under his thin white tee. “You haven’t even lifted your dirty ass feet off my dashboard.”

“Our dashboard,” Daiki hummed under his breath. “And mine aren’t dirty. Have you seen your soles after practice? I swear they’re dirtier than Nigou-”

“Just get out of the damn car!”

“Tch. Dirty ass bastard.”

Refusing to move, Daiki crossed his arms as best he could with his stupid cast and glared through the windshield at a hill of sand. God he hated the ocean. “Take me home Taiga.”

“No.”

Flashing him a sly grin, Taiga hopped out of the Jeep and Daiki considered locking the doors. He really did.

“Come on,” opening Daiki’s door, Taiga held his hand out and Daiki swatted it away with a pout, hopping out himself.

“This is lame. I don’t wanna go for a walk on the beach right now.” Grumbling, he glared as Taiga kneeled down on the pavement of the empty parking lot and untied Daiki’s shoes, holding them steady as the bluenette carefully stepped out of them.

“We’re not doing that.”

“Well you’re out of luck if you’re planning on swimming. I can’t get my cast wet and the water’s gotta be freezing so I’m not putting my feet in.”

“Seriously, shut up for two seconds. What did I say about trusting me?”

Daiki sneered at him before reluctantly backing down, carelessly running a hand through his hair.

“Whatever. Let’s just get on with it.”

He grabbed the redhead’s hand as Taiga straightened and let himself be pulled gently to the sand, leaving their shoes in the Jeep.

The sand was cold as it crunched beneath Daiki’s feet, filling the spaces between his toes. It felt nice. The cool breeze felt nice. The distant crashing of ever growing waves felt calming. Daiki allowed himself to breathe again, almost stumbling over uneven bumps of sand.

“Easy, D.” Like always, Taiga was there to steady him, a large hand latching onto his waist, pulling him tight and secure into his firm side.

“Don’t want you breaking the other arm.”

“We’re on sand dumbass,”

Taiga scoffed and lightly pinched his hip. “Says the one who broke said arm getting a fucking banana milk out of the vending machine.”

Daiki opened his mouth then closed it again, blushing harshly. It happened, it hurt and he didn’t want to talk about it again. Ever. Case closed.

Reading his expression, Taiga cleared his throat and chuckled sheepishly. “Ah, too soon?”

“You think?”

“Sorry.”

Honestly Daiki couldn’t decide which was worse: physically breaking his arm getting a banana milk out of the vending machine or having to walk around with a cast that read, property of Kagami Taiga in black sharpie letters.

“I’m just glad it wasn’t your leg.”

“That’s stupid. How could my leg fit inside a vending machine?”

“The same way your arm did, dumbass,” Taiga sighed and gently thumped Daiki’s forehead, his fingertips sliding down to cup his cheek and turn his face towards him. “I’m serious Daiki. Be more careful next time. You really scared me.”

“Yeah…sure. Whatever, but…”

Staring ahead, the words died in Daiki’s throat, his hand tightening around Taiga’s.

Up ahead, spread out on the sand was a large picnic blanket, covered in a neat spread of plates, champagne glasses, two large baskets of food and two candles.

“I…T-Taiga?”

Unable to find the right words for the large amount of shock waves in his system, he just stared, his hand going slack in Taiga’s, dropping and thumping against his side. Slack jawed, he glanced at his boyfriend who chuckled.

“You like it?”

[sugdenlovesdingle]

so the incoming Dutch government has (among others)

a prime minister who is not a member of a political party but basically just someone who knows the right people to get him a nice job, former head of immigration and naturalisation services

a health minister/deputy PM who used to be a member of a white power/neo nazi forum and strongly opposes late term abortion.

a minister in charge of trade and international aid (as in aid sent to other countries from the Netherlands) who wanted to cut that aid significantly or even get rid of it altogether to pay for a hair brained plan to lower health insurance costs here a few years ago, who is (or was i'm not entirely sure) a board member for an even more racist and unhinged Dutch version of fox news, believes in some ass backwards conspiracy theory that the "elite" are trying to "replace" the population with non white/non western (Jewish!) people but claims that is not nazi rhetoric but a "factual description of a demographic development" , pro zwarte piet (loooong story but basically she's pro blackface)

a minister of immigration who also believes in the replacement conspiracy theory, is also racist, has referred to Islam as despicable. She's been called out on spouting nazi bullshit and just went "it's possible it's a nazi thing, I don't know, I don't really care/think about that"

a speaker of the house who also believes in the replace conspiracy theory and has mentioned it several times as an mp. He also complained about being sick of talks about slavery when there was a discussion on whether or not the (then) prime minister and the king should officially apologise for the Dutch slavery history. July 1st is Keti koti in the Netherlands - which celebrates the end of slavery and remembers those who lost their lives during it (kind of like Juneteenth in the US) and there is an 'official' celebration/memorial service in Amsterdam where normally at least some politicians would show their face and speak. The organisation has said they don't want Bosman (that's his name) there because he's a racist asshole. He's planning to go anyway.

an MP who blatantly denies there is famine in Gaza and says 2000 aid trucks enter the Gaza strip every week.

the leader of that ^ gang who is bffs with Viktor Orbán (Hungarian PM) and the American republicans (that should tell you enough), who was going to make sure there would be 'less Moroccans' in The Hague after winning local elections there, has insulted Islam on various occasions throughout the past 20 or so years, and wants to ban people from having dual citizenship except that one guy in his own party he kinda forgot about

The daughter of an immigrant who opposes immigration and wants to stop people from bringing their family here when they've officially been told they can stay. The EXACT same law that allowed her father to bring her and her mother and siblings here after he left Turkey when she was a kid. She also claims hundreds of thousands of people do this every year - which is bullshit, but she 'didn't do it on purpose' so it's ok.

a minister of housing who actively opposed building plans in her city. And also who nobody takes seriously because she got kicked out of her old party for openly criticising their covid policies during lockdown. Comedians love her because she says stupid shit all the time that they can use to make fun of her.

the leader of the farmers party who can't do maths, won't let anyone run the numbers on her party's plans because it's "not important what things cost or how they'd be paid for"

So yeah - the country is going to shit!

[rancidpancakebatter]

This Post is About BLM and Tyre Nichols so Buckle The Fuck Up

I am a black person. I come from a small, rural town with two stop lights run by a railroad tycoon and "footloose" university. (It's a Christian school and among their vast restrictions is a rule that you can't dance unless at a wedding- hence "footloose"). In my experience growing up, I was the only Black American I knew who wasn't adopted by a rich white family.

My father entered my life when I was thirteen. Before then I was being raised solely by my very gentrified Mexican mother. I knew that I was black but not because I recognised that identity. It was because that is how everyone labelled me. I was not Mexican, I was not white, I was black. Anytime I celebrated my heritage people would grow uncomfortable because why would a black kid speak Spanish? Why would they bring homemade tortillas to lunch? Why would they have a quiñceanera? You are black, act like it.

Since having my father in my life- having his influence, seeing our culture, not through the characterized lens in the media but his- I would say I feel black now. That identity now comes from me, not others. But unfortunately, that growth, that journey, is seen as irrelevant.

I first learned that I was black on the playground in the first grade. A little girl asked me why my hair looked "that way"? At the time I had an afro. I told her I didn't know, it wasn't something I had thought about. She continued to question my appearance: my nose, my lips, my skin. When I wore box braids, years later, for the first time I was chased around that same playground. The children pulled at them; they told me I looked like Medusa. They had created a game in which they would freeze anytime I looked at them. This applied at recess, in the gym, in art class, during lessons, at lunch, in the halls, etc.

That is a very minor form of racism spurred on more by ignorance than hatred, but I have suffered from hatred as well. What I mean to say is I am no stranger to racism. So when I say that as a citizen of the US, I am afraid, I don't say that lightly. I have been stopped randomly by police late at night. I have been unjustly blamed for an altercation just because I was there, so I must have "aggravated the situation."

But the fear I feel is not for me. At the end of the day, I am perceived as a weak woman and I am really good at "white-passing" with my language and mannerisms. However, my father isn't. And he shouldn't have to be. He dresses like a "stereotypical thug" with sagging pants, chains, and durags. He looks nice, I think he looks rather handsome, but I have watched WASP moms cross the street as we walk past them.

It doesn't matter that he is the sweetest man alive. It doesn't matter that he is so crazy in love with his wife and posts every craft she makes on Facebook to brag to all of his friends and family. It doesn't matter that he looks at me like I single-handedly hung every star in the sky. It doesn't matter that he asks for screenshots of my ios theme every week when I change it just so he can tell me it looks pretty. It doesn't matter that he still makes sure that he makes enough food for all of us and freezes my portion so I can have it when I visit. It doesn't matter that despite being a boomer he has a trans son and a queer, non-binary "daughter" that he loves and supports with everything in him. What matters is he's black, and he's dangerous.

Black men are killed every day in the US at the hands of cops. This upsets me of course, but it hurts me personally as well. How many others have nightmares where they get a call from their mother to tell them their father was killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time? How many others see the headline "Cops killed another black man" and hold their breath as they scroll to see if it was their brother? How many others make sure to keep their hands in their jeans pockets and their hood off so they don't look as threatening. How many others were taught what to do when pulled over in a car before they learned how to turn the car on? How many others live in this reality?

I see the conversation around Tyre Nichols and it breaks my heart. He was nine years my senior with a wife and child. He was active in his community. He liked to skateboard. He was a lot like me. And he was brutally beaten and murdered. That's insane. That could have been me. That could have been my brother, or his. It could have been my father. And my heart breaks for his family. I respect them for the spotlight they are taking. The justice that they are demanding.

Recently one of his family members posted a video of him. They said that when the body cam footage was released that it was going to circulate. That his death was going to circulate. And they wanted to share a video of him living. And I think that's really beautiful. Often times we get swept up in our anger, our fear, and we forget momentarily that their life was not just this one instance. Tyre Nichols existed before this.

I will always be afraid of when I will have to do the same thing. When I will have to beg people to remember that my father, my brother, were so much more than just victims. My father is a chef, he is a kind neighbour, he is an amateur gardener. My brother is loved, doing well in his transition, a shoulder to cry on, and the life of the party. They are such beautiful and important people.

So, I beg you. Be angry. Protest. Riot. Make your voice heard. Help this family try and right a wrong that can never be brought to true justice. But don't forget who they're fighting for. Say his name. But also share his story. Not just the ending.

[strangefaninastrangeland]

Brewing without Brooding – Strange Tales Of Halloween 2024 – Prompt: Potion

A/N: A little story for the first day of Strange Tales Of Halloween 2024 @a-strange-server :). Beta by the wonderful @hayanwulf

“…The end of the growing season and the gathering of crops are significant events also for mystical reasons,” Wong’s voice was strong and calm, despite the pace he was setting. Thankfully, Stephen’s long legs were well-suited to keeping up. As were his strong lungs.

“Yes, yes. I already know that. This period has historically been associated with the thinning of the veil between the living and the dead. I still don’t see how…” Stephen trailed off as he came to a stop. He assessed the opening in the dark forest before them for ectoplasmic residue. His hands trailed a soft light as he moved them in a pattern he had only learned a week ago. It had become extremely well-practiced by now.

Wong stood silently beside him. His eyes glowed with Sanshur’s Vision. The creaking of dry branches and the undulating shadows falling on them made the whole scenery uninviting, especially as no perceptible wind was responsible.

Suddenly, Wong exploded into motion as several specters swooped down on them from the barren treetops. Stephen skipped over the fallen tree trunk before him and ran to the middle of the opening. He pulled the vial out of the protective inner pocket of his belt and set up the Ghost Trap (not a very inventive name; he would have to come up with something better later), pouring out the astringent liquid in a near-perfect circle around himself, while Wong provided an impressive—and deadly, at least for some dry trees—lightshow, snapping at the specters with his Eldritch Whip like a whirlwind.

“Ready!” cried out Stephen, and he opened up the conduits for dimensional energy on his body. The specters let off their attacks on Wong and converged on Stephen, their grayish ethereal shreds billowing wildly in the non-existent wind of their flight. In a matter of moments, Wong appeared beside him, pushing his own energy into the activated Trap as well.

The otherworldly apparitions, getting caught in the potion’s compelling field, let out shrieks and howls that grated on Stephen’s ears and mind. Not the kind of music he was fond of. He had gotten to hear it a bit too often lately for his tastes. He stepped out of the circle, dropping the half-full vial in the middle.

“Because you don’t want to see?” picked up Wong from where they left their conversation effortlessly. “The end of the harvest season is a natural time for communities to come together. Not only to celebrate the bounty of the earth but also to remember and honor ancestors who played a part in past harvests. There you have it. Mystic significance.”

The Trap sucked in the last errant wisp of the specters. Another job well done.

“Wong, you won’t convince me that an intercultural cooking course in Kamar-Taj is a mystic event no Master can miss.”

~~~

Wong didn’t really need to convince Stephen. He could very easily threaten him, which, as a master of the threatening arts, he only alluded to. Not that Stephen was that unwilling to go. He liked Kamar-Taj festivals, and the community events were always a hoot. But this time, he was expected to contribute—with a demonstration. In a cooking course. He far preferred silent observation and preserving the hard-earned respect of the others.

“Can I take the Ghost Trap? It’s a very useful potion. I could rename it Halloween Punch. Merge cultural significance and a witty pun.”

“That’s neither witty nor a pun, Stephen.” Wong’s unapologetic deadpan was a joy.

“It is! You can punch a ghost with it! Or as good as punch,” defended Stephen. Then he carefully poured Wong another cup of tea, his hands barely shaking despite the workout he had put them through today. All in all, a good day. Wong acknowledged the gesture with a slight bow of his head.

“It is also not for consumption. You could invent a new beverage with a Halloween theme if you have to, but it must be palatable. And not toxic.”

“Why must I be one of the ones on stage again?” On the stage, demonstrating. Cooking.

“You are the highest-ranking American invitee.”

“That reeks like something you just came up with.”

“Sad for you that I can come up with whatever rule I like.” Wong, decidedly not sad, lifted his cup to his mouth. After a short contemplation of the tea’s aroma, he continued, “Every Sanctum will prepare a demonstration. Don’t play the reluctant, Stephen. You can be the center of attention, your favorite place to be.”

“Slander,” snorted Stephen. “I prefer to keep a low profile in Kamar-Taj. Too many touchy sorcerers and prank-happy novices.”

“That’s news to me. Your profile is sharp and pointy. Will you comply?” Wong put the cup down, leaned forward, and looked at Stephen as if his answer held deep importance.

“I’ll be there,” said Stephen, aiming for an ominous tone, then ruining it with a smile. He hid it behind his own cup. He imagined Wong maintaining his stoic facade should Stephen go ahead and present the Ghost Trap (with a nifty new name), just because he could.

~~~

“…and Master Strange from the New York Sanctum will be showing us…”

“The Halloween Punch!” Stephen’s satisfied smile grew wider at Wong’s warning “Stephen!” from the background.

“A variation of the so-called Witch’s Brew, a cocktail commonly served at Halloween parties in wide areas of the United States and beyond. Not to be confused with the Specter Snaring Potion, formerly known as Ghost Trap, an ingenious new tool in the arsenal of a responsible Master of the Mystic Arts. Invention of yours truly.” The muted colors of the decorations flared up and wobbled slightly. He blinked, but the reds and yellows still stood out from the greens and blues. He was also growing giddier by the minute.

Disregarding the groans of some of the less appreciative members of his audience, Stephen opened his arms theatrically and swept his gaze over the small crowd. They were colorfully dressed, diverse, and enthusiastic to varying extents. Some were fidgeting or whispering to each other in soft tones (mostly the newer residents of Kamar-Taj), while others exuded calmness and quiet dignity (Adepts and Masters). He felt another inexplicable surge of confidence and made a small step to widen his stance to keep from stumbling.

“Behold!” His voice resonated nicely in the small courtyard in one of the hidden corners of Kamar-Taj. There was no stage, just everyone standing in a semicircle around the table laden with ingredients for the demonstrations. But no stage was needed. He swung his arms inwards, his fingers folded into the hand sign for the activation of his spell. He didn’t plan to be this loud about his presentation previously. He distinctly remembered being nervous and wanting to keep it short and simple. But that had been before and now was now. The Punch deserved a punch-up.

“The traditional recipe, passed down from generation to generation in many families, includes fruit juice, optional alcohol, and for a magical touch, something extra like a vibrant jello mixed with carbonated soda. The Strange version, however, is nonalcoholic, made with ginger ale, pineapple juice, and lime sherbet floating on top!”

The ingredients glided in graceful arcs during their introduction, then deftly mixed themselves into the small cauldron in the middle of the table. To the left of the table, a more impressive version of the cauldron stood, containing a larger amount of the drink Stephen had prepared for the occasion. He may or may not have sampled his own concoction beforehand, perfecting the ratios even in the last minutes. He felt a pleasurable buzz just remembering.

Stephen’s eye caught on Wong. He was standing beside the big cauldron, his face in his hands. He looked sad. But there was no call for desperation!

“Let’s taste it!” Stephen made some quick, precise gestures, and several round bottles filled themselves and wafted over to the crowd. Some uncertain cheering was heard. Wong jolted from his place, hand lifted in a warding gesture, but several sorcerers had already taken a fine big gulp of the Halloween Punch, and the crowd grew lively. Eyes widened in surprise. People jostled each other to snag more punch. More enthusiastic cheering filled the air.

“Thank you! Now, lift your hands in the air for Master Astram from the London Sanctum!” Amid the shouts and whistling erupting from the majority of the audience, with no mind to the confused mutterings and stares from a (punchless) minority, Stephen strutted away in a slightly curving line. He offered a cheeky wink to Master Astram along with some reassuring words: “I have warmed them up nicely for you!”

He felt positively punchy.

~~~

Stephen was on his back. For added stability, he lay spread-eagled on the cool floor of his bedroom in the Sanctum. The Cloak, blessed relic that they were, carefully exchanged the wet cloth above his eyes. They gave Stephen’s hair a soothing ruffle, which elicited a groan from the suffering sorcerer.

“Stephen?”

“Stop shouting, Wong, for all that is sacred and holy,” whispered Stephen.

“No success with the detoxifying potion yet? The others are more or less fine.” Wong’s softer voice was still too loud.

“The others sampled far less of the contaminated punch,” breathed Stephen, desperate to keep his brains from spilling out of his nose.

“I have the apprentices who thought it would be funny to sprinkle the moon powder into your cauldron scrubbing the toilets of the infirmary. You can have them afterwards for Sanctum duty.”

“I don’t care.”

“They are appropriately cowed. Master Hamir is very scary with a magical hangover.”

“Hah. I still don’t care.”

“Come on, Stephen, it was a great show, and you received incredible reactions to your three-ingredients-punch. You’ll have fans!” Wong didn’t bother to conceal his mirth, which only went to show how he was a cruel man who liked to kick someone when they were already down.

“I’ll never, and I repeat, never again accept any invitation of yours. Ever.”

“You don’t mean that, Stephen.” Wong chuckled (he chuckled! When Stephen wasn’t joking!) and stepped up to him. A cool sensation flowed over Stephen's body, a balm for his screaming nerves, spreading from head to toe.

“You’ll teach me this spell as a recompense.”

“I will.”

“And I get meals delivered from Kamar-Taj’s kitchen for a week. Untampered with meals.”

“You will.”

“And I get to borrow some of the rune working studies from your private collection.”

“Stop right there. Quit while you are still ahead.”

Stephen slowly removed the cloth from his eyes and squinted up at Wong. Wong was crouching beside him, looking resolute. Quitting while ahead sounded reasonable.

"I guess I’ll have to roll with the punches," Stephen muttered. Wong threw his head back and laughed.

The End.

A/N: Don’t let your drink out of your sight, friends, and keep an eye out for your friends' drink as well!

[incomprehensiblelentils]

@purlturtle tagged me in this, thank you! <3

15 Questions for 15 Friends

ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?

Not my first name, but my mom got my middle name (Melissa) from a coworker she really admired.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

Ooh...I think it was a couple weeks ago while I was watching the Fantasy High episode where they find the corpses of *SPOILERS* and Kristen does a ritual to free their spirits. I just found that scene very beautiful and touching.

DO YOU HAVE KIDS?

Nope! I'm very excited to be a gay auntie to any of my friends' future kids. And B and I have our dolls (see @saintalectoshomeforwaywardgirls).

WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY/HAVE YOU PLAYED?

I rode horses from ages 8-16 (had to stop bc school got too overwhelming). I toy with the idea of getting back into it as an adult sometimes, because I do miss it.

DO YOU USE SARCASM?

I don't know the meaning of the word. (I know this joke doesn't really work but I couldn't resist)

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?

This is a weirdly difficult question - I am hilariously non-observant at times and have had to ask more people than I should if they recently got their hair cut/styled differently. I guess maybe their way of speaking? Not necessarily accent but the cadence and pitch of their voice. Physically I guess it's just their general bulk and/or the way they take up space in the world.

WHAT'S YOUR EYE COLOR?

Light brown.

SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?

Depends on my mood honestly! I am dipping my toe into horror films (I generally prefer audio dramas or books/short stories) but sometimes I want a good creepy time. I think generally I will go for happy endings most of the time, but I like horror as a container for my anxiety to go into.

ANY TALENTS?

Writing, I'd like to think! I'm also reasonably good at drawing (mostly animals) and I'm a speedreader. Nothing that's any good for a talent show unfortunately.

WHERE WERE YOU BORN?

In a suburb of Seattle, which happens to have a tiny airport they use to fly in celebrities who come in for the local ComiCon (which is very embarrassing, because that means like, Gwendoline Christie has seen a lot of my shitty hometown).

WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES?

Cosplay, general fandom bullshit (affectionate), reading, writing, and I think my Warrior cats spreadsheets count as a hobby by themselves at this point lmao.

DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS?

Not yet - we'd like to get cats but shit keeps happening to put it off lol. We love our friends' and parents' animals though!

HOW TALL ARE YOU?

5'3", which I recently found out - I have been saying I'm 5'2" for like a decade and this revelation was kind of destabilizing.

FAVOURITE SUBJECT?

English/Writing.

DREAM JOB?

I think I should be one of the guys making up shitty puns for children's valentines, because I'm way better at coming up with them than the stuff I see every year in stores.

Tagging @toriasimmons @swiftzeldas @jenny-dreadful @emmaswanned @theomenroom @dannypinot @amidalleia @zenithofdork @ben-g99 @areax @dollsome-does-tumblr @mrdistracted @nerdfaerie @afterword @thydungeongal only if you wanna! (also if you see this and you wanna do it count yourself tagged!)

Also stealing purlturtle's genius idea to include this at the end of the post - a version for easy copy-pasting!

15 Questions for 15 Friends ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? DO YOU HAVE KIDS? WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY/HAVE YOU PLAYED? DO YOU USE SARCASM? WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? WHAT'S YOUR EYE COLOR? SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? ANY TALENTS? WHERE WERE YOU BORN? WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES? DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? HOW TALL ARE YOU? FAVOURITE SUBJECT? DREAM JOB?

[basicallyahedgehog]

This Time

The wonderful, amazing, incomparable @phoebe-delia celebrated her 2nd fandomversary this week. It's also recently been a year since I fully crashed into her DMs and then just never left, and she's also been kicking absolute ass in her non-fandom life too and I just super proud of her.

So I found this fic that has been languishing in my docs for way too long, dusted it off and finished it, and Pheebs, I present to you the completed "Fic to Wreck Phoebe." It has 8th year party games, boys being idiots, non-linear narrative, break-up and make-up, and is inspired by a Glee song, because I just had to. (One of our earliest conversations involved glee gifs, this was a given).

I love you so so so much, this little thing doesn't even come close to communicating that. But I hope you enjoy this little thing.

Read Below, or on AO3

He walked through the corridors, fingers running along the stone walls, eyes bright and heart heavy. So much had happened here, so long ago. 

Ghosts of his past self were around every corner, young and bright-eyed, older and world-weary. Laughing with his friends, racing off on adventures, snogging in dark alcoves. 

In his mind’s eye he saw the bright flash of his alcove-mate’s hair. He didn’t need a ghost to remind him of that face, those eyes, the tiny smile that hid in the corner of his smirk.

It hurt more knowing he was here, in this building, unaware that he was being thought of. 

Harry shook his head and pushed through the heartache. He only had himself to blame. 

The eighth year common room was loud and warm, the crackling heat of the fire a comforting addition to the noise and press of bodies against each other, vying for attention. They were all pleasantly tipsy, draped across armchairs or sprawled on the floor, watching the bottle to see where it landed. 

A cheer went up when it finally landed on Harry. He had somehow avoided it all night, but his luck seemed to have run out. 

“Truth,” he yelled, much to Seamus’ chagrin. They had been playing this for too long for Harry to trust his body to any of his friends’ dares. 

It was Ginny who got in first, her quidditch-captain’s voice ringing out across the room. “Who is the prettiest person in the school?”

Harry smirked. “Gin, you’re my ride or die, but we all know that the prettiest person is…” He trailed off purposely, teasing his friends by keeping them in suspense. In the light of day he could barely get a word through the permanent lump in his throat. But in the dim common room, his head buzzing with cheap alcohol, he could say anything. 

“Malfoy.”

He let himself wander, switching off his mind and allowing his feet to take him all over the castle. In only a few short weeks the school would be overrun with teenagers, but right now the halls were eerily silent. 

When he finally took in his surroundings, he almost regretted his aimless wandering. Taking in the door in front of him, he stopped himself just before he could reach for the handle. 

If he asked for a safe space, would it be the same? Would he walk into the cozy little room they had spent so many hours in, or had he lost that right when he had left?

“Never have I ever kissed a boy!”

Harry leaned further into the sofa cushions, letting the silly atmosphere wash over him. He was probably the most sober one in the room — although more emphasis should be given to the most than the sober. 

He took a sip of his drink, mind casting back to dark alleys and hazy clubs. He ignored the ache in his chest, the little voice in his head that insisted that he should have waited for a boy, not just the first bloke he’d seen that night in Muggle London. 

He scanned the room, attempting to shake off his thoughts. He watched as Dean and Seamus drank from each other’s cups, as Blaise knocked back a shot with a “I’ll try anything once.”

He watched as Draco sat stock still, staring at the bottle in his hand as if it had mortally offended him. He didn’t take a drink.

Try as he might, he couldn’t ignore the sinking feeling deep in his gut. He was too sober for this.

Harry paced back and forth in front of the door, repeatedly calling up the Room but never entering. 

I need a safe space.

I need to see Draco.

I need our room.

The bottle spun and spun and spun, or was that the room spinning? Harry had been getting tipsier and tipsier during these parties, unable to bear the persistent ache in his chest any longer than absolutely necessary. 

At the beginning the ache had only appeared during these parties, watching Draco allow himself to relax a little, counting the tiny wisps of hair that escaped his normally-neat ponytail. Recently, however, the ache had followed Harry wherever he went, calling up images of Draco’s small smile when he got the right answer in class, the bags under his eyes after a night of no sleep, the sound of his giggles when he was tipsy. 

Harry didn’t know how much longer he could stand it. 

He didn’t know how long he stood outside the door before he finally turned the knob. He’d entirely lost track of his thoughts, and didn’t know what to expect on the other side.

Whatever it was, surely it couldn’t make the ache in his heart any worse. 

He should be used to it by now, he’d been carrying it around for so long. In his dreams — and his nightmares — at work, at the Burrow, at the pub with his friends. It was all his own fault, not even the person he was aching for was to blame. 

He’d been so young, so stupid, and he’d ruined his own life before it had even really begun. 

“Oi, Potter!” 

Harry lifted his eyes from his essay, turning towards the group by the fire. Yet another drunken games night was in full swing, but he had begged off, claiming he had too much research to do for his final Transfiguration report. 

In truth, he didn’t think he could handle the sight of a soft, silly Draco tonight — or any night. If he allowed himself to look he would do something stupid. Like kiss a boy he didn’t get to keep. 

“Get over here!” Pansy was bright-eyed, draped across Ginny’s lap as she beckoned Harry over. “Blaise just dared Draco to kiss you, and he said he’d do it!”

He steeled himself, stepping through the door before he could back out. He had done that once, he wouldn’t do it again. 

Even if it was only him, now.

“You don’t have to.” Draco’s face was downturned, but Harry could still make out the blush on his cheeks, the teeth biting into his lower lip. His eyes lifted as Harry made his way over — slowly, as if in a dream — pale blue peeking through blonde lashes, betraying all the uncertainty and hope that Harry himself was feeling.

Had Draco been wanting this, too?

“I want to,” he breathed, kneeling in front of Draco’s chair, leaning closer, closer…

The Room looked the same as it always had for the two of them. Warm fire, cozy armchairs, soft blankets thrown over them haphazardly.

The books were still there, torn pieces of parchment marking their places when they became too sleepy or too absorbed in each other to continue. Harry was pretty sure he could see an old Slytherin tie stuffed haphazardly into the corner of the couch.

He walked towards the fire in a daze, toeing off his shoes as he stepped onto the rug. The rug that Draco had been adamant about keeping clean.

The rug upon which Draco had told Harry that he loved him.

The rug upon which Draco had sat, alone, as Harry had fled.

They’d had one, blissful month. A month of stolen kisses and laughs echoing down the corridors as they ran outside, or to the Room. A month in which Harry didn’t have a single nightmare, a month of cuddles by the fire and gentle hands running through his hair.

He could feel himself falling, falling, falling. Falling in love, falling into a happiness he never thought he’d have.

Falling into a fear of all he could lose, a fear that threatened to engulf him, swallow him whole.

He pushed it aside, focusing on NEWTs and soft lips and softer giggles. He tucked each smile into his heart and tried not to think about how it would all end.

The night before graduation, Draco dragged him into the Room. “One last time,” he whispered, pushing Harry against the wall, into an alcove, against the door of the Room as it swung shut. 

“One last time.”

It echoed through his head, the finality of it stinging. And so, he hadn’t really heard what Draco was saying, not until hours, days, weeks later. Not until after he had already ruined his life.

“I love you, Harry.”

Harry dropped to his knees, head in his hands, as the sobs ripped through him. Sobs he hadn’t let himself have all those years ago. Sobs that he still didn’t deserve, even ten years on.

This was a terrible, awful idea, coming back. How could he have said yes, knowing what it would mean? How could he live here, work here, knowing that doing so would be a constant reminder to Draco of what they had had, what he himself had torn apart.

He was selfish, and heedless, running head first into a situation yet again, thinking only of himself, of his own need to see Draco one more time. 

Harry stood stoic throughout the graduation ceremony, staring resolutely ahead despite his brain screaming at him to look just a little bit to his left. He squeezed his eyes shut as Draco’s name was called, not deserving to watch as he graduated — second in their class only to Hermione.

Harry was so, so proud of him, of how hard he’d worked. But he didn’t get to feel that, not anymore. Not when he’d gone and ruined everything.

Because why would Draco still want him after he had run like a coward?

Time lost all meaning as he sat, doubled over, in front of the fire, finally allowing himself to mourn the last ten years. To feel the pain of them — his fault, all his fault — to feel the pain of his own — foolish, stupid — decision to come back.

Time stood still as arms wrapped around him, as he was pulled back against a strong chest. As he was rocked, as hands ran through his hair.

Only one pair of arms felt like that. Only one pair of hands knew just how to detangle his mess of curls.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

“Sshhh, love. It’s okay. It’s okay now.”

Harry scrambled back, rubbing furiously at his eyes as he stared at Draco in disbelief.

“No, it’s not! How can you say it’s okay when I ruined it all ten years ago! How can you stand to be here, with me?”

Draco reached out, taking Harry’s hands in his own. “You hurt me, yes. And we will need to talk about it sometime soon. But Harry, don’t you think we’ve had enough hurt and sadness? Don’t you think you’ve beaten yourself up over that night enough?”

Draco laughed as Harry stared at him in consternation. “You forget that I work with Neville, and that my best friend is married to a Weasley.” He pulled Harry back into his chest, running a tender hand over his cheek. “And if you’d stayed around long enough any time they tried to talk to you about it, you’d know that I’m not angry, never was, really. Upset, yes. But I know you, Harry. I know you were scared, and taken by surprise. I’m sorry that I didn’t come after you, that night or any in the years since.”

“I don’t deserve you.” The tears had stopped, but his heart still ached with all the time they’d lost, all the questions he was too scared to ask, even now.

“Oh, love. You deserve everything.” Soft lips pressed tender kisses to his forehead, his cheeks. “I never stopped loving you, even when I tried to. It’s always been you, Harry.”

There was so much he wanted to say. “How did you know I was here?”

“My magic felt you.”

Harry didn’t know who moved first, all he knew was soft lips on his, and hands in his hair. All he knew was the rug against his back as Draco laid him down, gently, tenderly. All he knew was the feeling rising up in his chest. 

“I love you, Draco. I love you, I love you, I love you.”

[simpingcorner]

Daughter of the shadows Ch. 5

Word Count: ~1.5k

Warnings: subtle mention of human tr*****, Non-canon events(?), bittersweet goodbye,not proofread, let me know if I forgot something.

Author's Note: Fifth chapter to my Grishaverse fanfic. I know Inej canonically leaves after the events of Crooked Kingdom, or at the end of season two on the show. But trust me it’ll make sense in the future, please don’t be mad at me.

Also sorry for the late update, I was celebrating Easter with my family.

A reminder this is insipred by my SoC DR so it’ll follow both the books and the show plotlines, there will be changes to the canon characters and their storylines, it’s also a Kaz Brekker x OC. | English isn’t my first language so please bear with me and tell me if there’s something wrong. I hope you like it.

all rights to leigh bardugo, i only owny liith and her backstory (other ocs will be introduced later)

Ch. 1 - Ch. 2 - Ch. 3 - Ch. 4 -  Ch. 6

CHAPTER 5

LILITH

It had been a few weeks since she had been wounded, the brunette knew Kaz needed her, though he would never admit it.

The usual dangerous and violent jobs that had become a daily part of her life had been entrusted to Inej, leaving Lilith to guard the door of the Crow Club, the bar of the club or simply to sort out paperwork in the boss's office.

The late autumn sun woke her as it filtered through the window above her, the enforced rest and sedentary work that had filled the last few weeks had allowed the girl's wound to heal leaving only a white scar.

Lilith looked at herself in the mirror, her body like a map, a pale canvas covered in even paler lines, the scar that cut across her lips was white in contrast to the red of her lipstick, the numerous scars on her arms that cut across the two tattoos reminded her of some of the worst moments of her life, the scar on her side was just an addition to her story, something to be proud of, something to remind her of how strong she was and how many nightmares she had woken up from stronger than before.

She wore a black sweatshirt covering her story; sure she was proud of every single scar she had on her body, but she wouldn't show them to anyone, they were her past, her story, her life, her memories and no one else's, she didn't demand anyone's pity and she knew it would come if she showed them.

She covered her right hand with the leather glove, secured the knives in their sheaths, feeling the heat in the handles before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

The corridors were silent, her colleagues' rooms were closed, occupied by Dregs either fast asleep or busy enjoying their morning off; she descended the last few steps, the room in front of her, usually full and noisy was empty and quiet, the only people in the room were the younger Dregs who did not yet have the privilege of Sunday off.

"Dirix remember to clean under the table in the council room." Said Lilith looking at the younger one from the stairs, "I don't envy you Dir, at least you didn't witness the scene though." yelled Brawen from behind the counter, "Brawen the toilets on the first floor need to be cleaned." said Lilith to her with a half smile, "But I cleaned them last week, today was supposed to be Pim's turn." complained the blonde walking towards the storage room, "Pim is running errands for Specht." explained Lilith simply before walking out the door leaving the room behind.

The salty air filled her nostrils as Lilith sat on the dock of the seventh harbour, the only abandoned harbour, she fixed her gaze on the sea ahead, the blurry shadow of Hellgate in the distance ready to remind her where she would be sent if they found out who she was, what she had done to survive and how she had come to Ketterdam.

Somewhere across the expanse of water her family was looking for her, she could feel it, she knew they would never stop looking for her, but she knew she could not return to them.

"We will see each other again soon." A man's voice rang like an echo in the girl's mind, she could not remember his face, every detail of the man had disappeared from her memory, every detail except the last sentence addressed to her. It was a promise, he had promised her that they would see each other again, that they would be together again, but years had passed and that promise had been broken.

She could feel his hand gently caressing her cheek, a pure cheek, porcelain white skin marred only by tiny mahogany flecks, tears had overcome the child's resistance and fell freely onto her white cheeks, the man's thumb wiped them away as a father wipes away a daughter's.

The man's calloused but gentle hand brought her back to that day, she had left everything behind, forgetting who she was, hiding who she had been, becoming yet another soul lost to the corruption of society and the violence of the world she lived in. Everything she had had during her childhood, everything she had studied, everything she had been taught was now something Lilith would never want to talk about, she had discovered the truth too late to continue living the way she had grown up, too soon to be able to change her future and that of others.

"We will see each other again soon." Whispered Lilith to the sea, the promise echoed on the waves of the sea before disappearing into the horizon.

Her footsteps echoed before her feet touched the dock, the girl's gaze was fixed on the blue expanse before her, in the distance a few ships could be seen, she could not see who was working on them but part of her knew that one of those ships was the one that had brought her to that city, that had brought Inej, Brawen, Pim and hundreds of other kids to that city forgotten by the Saints.

"Will you feed my crows?" Inej asked as she sat down next to Lilith, her legs crossed in front of her, the handles of the daggers glistened in the afternoon sun, Lilith's gaze shifted from the sea to the Suli beside her, the brunette knew she was beautiful, that she had all the qualities a boy could ever want in a mate, but not only did she not care about boys, sure she had had her experiences but she would never want to feel trapped in someone else's shadow, she had decided to be free, to choose herself, her heart had no place for another person, but all the confidence she had disappeared the moment Inej entered the room, her optimism, her determination, her faith, everything about the girl made Lilith wonder if she was enough.

The sun shone on the Suli's caramel skin, her black hair was perfectly arranged in a ponytail, even with the wind blowing in from the sea it didn't move, her brown eyes shimmered reflecting the sea water below, her lips slightly open to inhale the salty air were soft, a brilliant colour without the need for chemical or grisha aids.

"Can I count on you?" The Suli asked again, shifting her gaze to the younger one, "Why can't you?" the brunette asked, "Because I don't know when I'll be back." "You'll come back from where?" "Kaz finished paying Tante Helleen..." "You're free..." "And he found a boat, not as big as those, but big enough to let me set sail with a small crew." "When do you leave?" "Tonight, after the eleventh bell." "How long have you known?" "A few weeks, just long enough to find the boat and crew, I wanted to tell you but with everything that's happened I didn't want to make you feel worse." Lilith smiled at the Suli, she knew this moment would come from the moment she had met her, it shouldn't have been a surprise and yet the brunette was at a loss for words, Inej had been the first girl she had met in Ketterdam, since the first time they met she had been the person Lilith had shared the most with and she knew she would miss her.

"I will feed them, don't worry. Promise me one thing, kill the bastards who brought us here for me." "I will make them pay." Inej said, smiling before hugging Lilith.

They both knew Inej would leave without saying goodbye to anyone and Lilith would be too busy with the Crow Club to greet her as she would have liked, but sitting there, legs dangling, hands intertwined, eyes fixed on the horizon and daggers at the ready was what they needed, something familiar and habitual before the change Inej's departure would bring.

"Inej." Lilith broke the silence by moving her hand from her friend's and bringing it towards the sheath attached to her thigh, pulling out a knife and handing it to the Suli, "I want you to have it, a reminder that you will always have someone to return to here." Inej studied the dagger, the black handle had red inserts extending to the blade, a design unknown to Inej covered part of the blade, "Lils..." "Please remember me when you use it." "I will.” The older girl brought the dagger towards her belt drawing one of her own before securing it in it, "Sankta Lizabeta, I know you do not follow faith but we know we both could use their help and blessing.” The dagger was light in Lilith's hands, lighter than her own, she knew why and she knew that the one she had given to Inej had been forged from the same metal, while the others had been forged especially for her, the handle was white, contrasting with the black blade.

The two girls remained on the dock until the sun went down, in silence, each lost in their own minds, until the eighth bell rang, their steps were silent, their movements almost imperceptible, "Don't die." Said Lilith to Suli hugging her, "Don’t perish." replied Inej breaking the embrace and walking towards the harbour.

Towards her boat.

Towards her future.

Tag list: @awkwardbean4337 @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy